#on their way to somewhere!! where are they headed? adventure? a nap? straight off a cliff in true waddle dee fashion?!

[starflungwaddledee]

waddle dees are the most common inhabitants of Dream Land. this simple foe walks left and right, harming Kirby if he bumps into it. while mostly harmless, some waddle dees have been known to loyally serve King Dedede

⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☀︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚★⋆｡˚ ┊ ┊ ⋆ ┊ ★⋆ ┊ ◦ kirbytober 2024 #06 ★⋆ retro

[softskincutie]

Somewhere --

Somewhere in this world today is one of my old best friends birthday. Somewhere in this life I didn't have to work some forty days straight. Somewhere in this life I am at home with my cats and not worrying about a hundred things. Somewhere I wasnt chugging caffenine to stay functioning. Where I wasnt losing weight rapidly. Some where I am sitting under a tree in the park taking a nap. Where Id have paint on my jeans and hands from painting all day. Where I would be sitting on a plane traveling to some far off place with no since of direction but adventure. Where my life isnt just work and sleep. Where I could find the joy in cooking food again. Where I could breathe and be myself. Where I didnt have to live in the professional persona I have had to wear for so long. Somewhere where things turned out different. Where I could wear a pretty dress and he would actually tell me I look beautiful. Where I had friends instead of just a career. Where I might have been a mother or a godmother. Where I could wear my hair down and in clothes that I enjoy. Where I could take car rides with the windows down and not worry about where I was headed. Somewhere where Im enjoying books, art, theatre, and music. Somewhere where she is an author and writing silly little stories. Somewhere in this world a part of me is living a different life. A more simple relaxed life. Somewhere she is happy and not burnt out. Somewhere she is not going to regret the next ten years of her life. Somewhere or some way, Ill be her. Some day Ill be her. Some day things will actually living and not surviving.

[miskatonicfolly]

Ikkaku-of-heart:

The Miskatonic Ferry chugged smoothly up the river towards Arkham, as it had done for decades. Standing on the deck, the collar of an old blue coat flipped up to shield her face from anyone who might feel the urge to do more than glance at her, Ikkaku read over Herbert's letter for the third time in the last hour. Mostly to keep herself busy and more specifically look busy so fewer people would be tempted to bother her. It had been a few years since she'd left Joras, but not so long that her face would have been forgotten. Especially considering how she now had a wanted poster to remind them.

Coming back to her home island was typically at the bottom of her list of things she ever wanted to do. Even for a short visit. But Herbert was her friend, and she needed...well, not a vacation, but a place away from the Tang to sort out her head.

She'd been messing up lately. Making mistakes no matter how hard she tried, which she couldn't afford as the ship's mechanic. Screw ups from her could be deadly for the whole crew. Part of her knew it had to do with the lack of sleep she'd been getting lately. Nightmares had been haunting her far more than usual, and even sedatives and naps with Bepo hadn't been able to keep them at bay. So, Law had ordered her to step back and get her head straight. He had big plans and while he loved his engineer, he needed her to be at her best if he wanted them to succeed.

Then Herbert's letter arrived, and the timing made her suspicious. Gramps always told her that the Creator Turtle always found a way to get him to wherever He needed to send his Light Keepers, so this felt like it could very well be such a situation. And that was the case here, hopefully once it was over, she'd be able to come back to the Hearts fresh and ready to start their next adventure.

The ferry came to a halt, and Ikkaku didn't hesitate to get off of the steamboat. The sooner she found Herbert, the sooner all of this could be over. And she did enjoy his company, odd as he was. It was nice to have a friend who understood some of her cultural oddities, even if he was more of a fan of the island than she was.

Peering out over the crowd, Ikkaku recognized the short, spectacled doctor off by one of the fountains. Rushing over, she engulfed him in a hug. "Been a while, Herbert," she said with a tired grin. "What do you say we go somewhere drier where you can fill me in on these findings without the risk of someone recognizing a wanted pirate, eh?"

Herbert looked at his watch as he waited for Ikkaku's boat to arrive. Dark clouds shifted up in the skies above, casting the island in its usual gloom. There was a bit more thickness to the air today though. Rain, perhaps? Annoying but expected. With any luck, the weather would hold off until Ikkaku arrived. He could hear the steamboat at the harbor now.

His wait was not long. A fact he was grateful for. The throng of people standing around, even if not too close to him, were feeling far too in his personal space. His normally collected wits were starting to feel a little frayed. He couldn't fight the relief that filled him as he saw a flash of yellow in the crowd. The sudden contact of the woman's embrace startled an undignified sound out of the doctor. It took a moment to compose himself again. His arms hesitantly returning Ikkaku's hug. "It- is good to have you here."

One hand patted her back. The movement awkward and a bit stuttering. He straightened up and pulled back slightly. Hands fixing his coat as he floundered with what other action to take. He settled his glasses more expertly on his nose before offering Ikkaku a small but genuine smile.

"I believe that my home would suit both our needs greatly." He motioned away from the over-populated fountain area. "I've taken the liberty of getting a few of the treats you enjoy from one of the coastal bakeries."

Herbert reached under his coat and pulled out an umbrella. He opened it and handed it to his friend. While he was sure neither of them was truly bothered by the rain, it would be nice to avoid. Allowing Ikkaku to hide under the umbrella was just an added bonus. "I am also eager to show you my findings. I have stumbled upon something that perhaps will lure your interest."

[twistedmusings]

Arabesque and Plie

A/N: I don't know why, as I crying trying to write my paper, I thought of my old ballet classes. There is such an intimacy in dancing a pas de deux with someone, especially with lifts, and such a tenderness when you see them communicate with just their faces...so I immediately put a twst spin on it. Warnings: Malleus and Leona trying to one up each other but failing because they are too focused on moving with you as one.

Malleus Draconia and Leona Kingscholar meet outside the gates of Ramshackle, only one of them being called out to meet you...how would they react when you ask them for some help?

----

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Malleus blinks as he looks at the dorm leader of Savannaclaw, the other glaring at him as they both met near the entrance of Ramshackle. Leona huffed and looked down at the package in Malleus’s hand.

“You brought a gift?”

“...I would think it is rather impolite to arrive at a dear friend’s house without a gift.”

Leona clicks his tongue as he pushes the gate open, forcing his way inside and refusing to look back at the dorm leader following him.

You really had gone and invited the lizard and not him? Where the hell did you get off? Here he was being decent enough to hand you the homework you had missed, after Vil forced him to do it, and you had gone and invited this cold blooded iguana to your place?

“Were you invited as well, Kingscholar?”

Wouldn’t he like to know.

“Mind your damn business, lizard, I’m just here on business.”

Malleus nods as he knocks on the door, both dorm leaders looking around as they heard music coming from...somewhere. Leona’s ears twitched as the door opened, the music getting somewhat louder as Grimm opened the door with an exhausted look and shaky paws.

“UGH! FINALLY.”

He floats over to Malleus as he points back at the entrance of Ramshackle.

“Please do something about them! My paws are hurting so much and I don’t think I can keep it up for much more!”

Blue eyes turn to Leona, Grimm tilting his head and looking at Leona up and down.

“...did you get los--”

“Just show me where the herbivore is.”

Leona spits out and makes his way into Ramshackle first, not looking back at the two as he looks around. He had never been in Ramshackle dorm but from what Jack told him it was simple and compact. His eyes had already spotted three great napping spots, which he would make use of the moment he handed you these damn papers, before he stepped into the foyer.

“Letting your pet open up the door for you now? Is the title of dorm leader getting to y--”

His teeth click as Leona shuts his mouth while his ears perked up at the growing intensity of the music in the room. Although, maybe that wasn’t the only reason they were up.

Eyes immediately went to your legs. .

The leg that was standing straight like an arrow seemed to not waver as the other extended itself out, one of your arms reaching outwards while you moved the other arm back so that your hand would press against your extended leg, the position imitating a sort of hunting bow as you held the position for as long as you could--

Leona jumped when you let out a breath, immediately dropping your position and spitting out a small ‘dammit’ into the air.

His surprise lasted only a moment as the mood was amazingly ruined by the two people he forgot were there, Malleus walking up behind him as Grimm took the snack filled box into the kitchen.

“Child of man.”

You turn around.

“Oh! Malleus! There you are! I need--”

Your eyes fall on the Savannaclaw dorm leader, tilting your head as he waits for his greeting.

“...do you need something from me, Leona-senpai?”

You little--

“Hah? Am I not allowed in your dorm? Only lizard boy over here can come over?”

“What? No! I’m just...surprised. You never really leave Savannaclaw that often, at least that is what Jack says.”

Leona tosses the papers on a nearby coffee table and lays himself out on your couch.

“He doesn’t know me as well as he thinks he does...tell him next time to mind his business.”

You roll your eyes before holding out your hand for Malleus to take, the other quickly taking it and following you to the middle of the room.

“Grim mentioned you performing some sort of physical task that left him exhausted.” He looks down at the way your hands fit together before smiling.

“Are you in need of magical assistance?”

“As much as I would like to take a raincheck on that, the only thing I need right is you, Tsunotarou.”

You jump as you hear Leona drop one of his shoes on the floor loudly, taking the other one off slowly and refusing to look your way.

“...me?”

The Diasmonia dorm leader squeezes your hand lightly as he feels an unlikely warmth in his chest at your words. He briefly wondered if he should speak about the sleepless night he had, his mind far too giddy about you inviting him over that he held himself back on the sun waiting to rise in favor of sleeping as much as he could so he could enjoy his day with you.

“Yes! I just need you to…”

You hum and put a finger to your chin, tapping it twice as you figured out the best way to explain what you wanted from him.

“You know, I think it would just be quicker to show you.”

You rush over to the phone Crowley had given you, tapping the screen as music started to play from the small speakers. Malleus remains rooted to his spot as you get on your tiptoes, the shoes you got from Sam yesterday greatly aiding you in keeping comfortable as you move your arms up and down while concentrating on the routine you had memorized over and over.

Lime green eyes widen as you extend yourself back, dropping down to touch the floor as your other leg goes up with your movements before reaching back as if being held by someone. He watches you hold the position for a few seconds before both of your feet drop gently as you move closer to him.

Your eyes open to reveal a sad look, both feet now on pointed toes as you reach out to him only to pull back gently and lean forward only a slight bit before moving back and going into a simple arabesque.

The music grew in intensity as two sets of eyes are on you now, watching you spin twice before you raised your arms along with the crescendo and your leg going up to try to match their height--

You hiss in pain as you drop the position immediately, Leona sitting up quickly as Malleus is at your side in an instant.

“Child of man--”

“Are you trying to stretch yourself out, herbivore?”

You sigh and stop the music, shaking one of your legs out to get rid of the cramps.

“Before coming here I used to do ballet in my free time. I thought that maybe they would have a ballet club on campus but Vargas said he has never heard of ballet before--so here I am trying to kill my boredom by dancing to one of my old routines and putting a new story to it.”

Both dorm leaders want to say something but find themselves rather lost.

Malleus recognizes this type of dance despite it being called a different name in the Valley of Thorns and Leona has only been around traditional Afterglow dances so what you just did impressed him more than he’d care to admit.

You pout.

“And I thought that I could maybe do a pas de deux by myself but--I’m not strong enough.”

Leona nods.

“So you needed someone to help you...is that it?”

“Exactly!” you grin and turn to look at Malleus,“You don’t mind right? It’s not like you have to do anything too complicated just...spin me when I tell you to and when the time comes for me to do that pose--”

You try to imitate it as best as possible.

“Just hold my leg up! All you need to do.”

Malleus had pretty much already made up his mind, nodding to your every word as you instruct him on where he should hold and for how long--

Only for him to frown as Leona grabs your wrist and pulls you away from him.

“If you needed someone to just hold you still, you could have used that raccoon over there.”

“THEY DID!”

Grim comes out of the kitchen with a plate full of snacks as he makes his way upstairs.

“My paws are shaking from trying to keep their entire leg up...I never asked for this type of exercise!”

You sigh.

“It wasn’t that bad, Grim!”

“YOU WEREN’T THE ONE ALMOST GETTING SQUASHED WHEN YOUR LEG CAME

DOWN!”

Grim goes upstairs.

“AND DON'T EXPECT TO GET ANY SNACKS.”

Leona tries to speak up but stops when Malleus puts a hand on your shoulder.

“You were only here to deliver some homework, correct?”

He tugs you back lightly.

“You should be getting back to your dorm, Kingscholar.”

The lion prince growls only to grab your wrist and pull you back.

“You don’t tell me what to do, Malleus. If I wanted to live here I would do so instantly.”

“Uh...no?”

They both turn to you, Malleus looking down with a kind smile as Leona glares at what you were going to say next.

“Shall we get started, child of man?”

“I can help you just as well as he can!”

“Sit down for now, Leona-senpai?”

Malleus can’t help the smile on his face as you lead him back to the center of the room. You had called for him after all, Kingscholar was just here because...well he didn’t know.

You start up the music again and begin the routine, Malleus smiling all the while you seem to glide effortlessly through movements that seemed far too complicated for him to put together. One moment you were crossing your legs and the other you were stretching out your leg while balancing yourself in one foot.

He readies his arm as you move on tip toes towards him, giving him a gentle smile before turning your back to him and going into an arabesque.

“Grab my waist Mal and...gently spin me around.”

The dorm leader does as he is told, meeting your eyes and chuckling when you make a face at him.

“You said there was a story to this, child of man?”

You start moving backward, one leg stretching out and remaining steady as his hand now moved to your lower back so he could support some of your weight.

“The original story is somewhat cliched...so I was thinking of making it a story about an adventurer who meets a lonely king. They don’t know they are a king because he purposefully keeps it from them--I’m going to learn forward, okay?”

His hands are on your waist as you glide down, touching the floor with your foot as your other foot goes straight up, coming back up elegantly as you explain the plot further.

“The adventurer and the king spend a lot of time together...yet the king feels like if he reveals his secret now the adventurer would run. So he keeps it hidden until an unfortunate incident--”

You hold out your hand for him as you stand on your tiptoes, Malleus taking it and giving it a gentle squeeze before watching you raise one of your legs up so that it is at the same height as his stomach.

“Yet when it is revealed he finds that the adventurer doesn’t care who he is. All they care about is the person who they care for the most...and that is the king.”

Were you trying to tease him? This story sounded far too familiar. If he were to pick a character to relate to it would certainly be the monarch. While Malleus certainly wasn’t scared to show you who he was, he just wanted the mystery to last a bit longer so you would stay at his side. If you had known he was the Malleus Draconia, would you act as light hearted as you are now? Or would you pull away and cower in fear?

The very thought made him anxious as you turned your back towards him again, your hands raising up as you got ready to go into your big arabesque position. You give Malleus a quick cue as you stretch yourself out, your leg rising up as far as it could--only to lay gently against Malleus’s hand as you let out a sigh of relief.

“...do you think the adventurer would stay with the King?”

“Huh?”

Malleus can see he caught you by surprise as he lets your leg go down slowly, setting you back into first position before you once again stand on your tiptoes and put your hand up so Malleus could spin you around twice. At this point, he was entirely focused on where your hands were going and how you were moving, picking up on each cue as he dared to look into your eyes.

“I know this is your story but if the adventurer were to leave...the King would be rather heartbroken. I am certain that he would prefer if the adventurer were to stay.”

He knows he would prefer it if you stayed. And if he ever dared to be so bold, he would prefer that you stayed by his side.

The music fades out after the last note, Malleus still holding your hand as you try to catch your breath.

Had he said too much? Did he perhaps make you uncomfortable? The story was from your imagination and he was just reading far too into it--

His eyes widen as your other hand rests on top of his, looking at you with surprise as you giggle and pull them close to your heart.

“If the King would have them...I’m sure the adventurer could find a new home with him.”

“If you want to help then...fine.”

Leona smirks as he watches you apologize to Malleus, the other visibly disappointed which already made him feel pretty great. He hadn’t even meant to stay here for too long and yet you had picked him for this little dance of yours. Suck it, lizard.

He turns to look at you, watching your eyes staring at him intently as he leads you to the center of the room.

“What is it?”

“...do you think you can lift me up?”

Oh you were being really funny, weren’t you? Of course he could lift you up. Out of all of the Magishift members and out of all the people in Savannaclaw, he was the strongest one. At this point you were just asking stupid questions.

“Try me.”

You nod as you pick a different song, starting it up as you start out in first position with your back turned to him. He watched as you bend your leg and bring it up to your thigh, slowly unbending it and lifting it up as it goes past your head. Eyebrows raised, he goes to support it but you stop him with a sound.

What? Wasn’t that what he was here for? He watches you glide into every move with great precision, turning towards him with one foot as the other is raised halfway. In his opinion, it made you look like a living doll.

He wasn’t sure why he liked that so much.

You walk back towards him slowly, your hands at your side with your palms facing outwards before you do a single turn and speak up.

“Grab me by the waist and just hold me. I’ll tell you when to spin.”

With great effort, you lift up your leg once again and stretch out while giving him the command to gently spin you. Leona nods as his hold on you changes, turning you around slowly and watching you bend down sideways.

His hold changes from one hand to one, wrapping his arm around your waist as his other hand starts to outstretch to support him better. You come back up and smile as he gives you a shit eating grin.

“Did you expect that?”

“I almost don’t want to give you the satisfaction of an answer.”

Leona takes great care to make sure that his hold on you is as light as it can be. If he was holding onto you for dear life, he was sure that your bones would immediately break. And with the way this dance was going, it seemed that you needed him to be as gentle as possible.

Already a tall order for him.

“So what’s the story of this dance?”

He takes a hold of your waist as you stretch yourself out, both hands going outwards as he brings you back in slowly.

“The original is a bit cliche but...maybe I should make it about an adventurer trying to find a lost prince--I’m going to need you to lift me up over your head.”

You glide to the right before jumping up, Leona giving you the extra boost you needed as you put one leg up and your arms stretching themselves out as they briefly rubbed against his ears.

“Maybe the adventurer hears a story of a missing prince who was never seen again after a quarrel with his country, yet the country needed the prince’s plans in order to succeed in battle. So they asked an adventurer to please seek him out.”

A prince, huh?

He gently guides you down but his hands never leave your waist as you instruct him to keep his hold a bit tight as you stretch yourself out towards the other dorm leader sitting on the couch but being greedily pulled back to Leona.

“Unbeknownst to them, the adventurer had already met the prince. They had stopped the prince’s rather tedious plans to take over some foreign land. The adventurer understood why they would want him back...but they didn’t know if he would accept.”

You tell him that you are going to move forward and that when you do he should immediately lift you up. It is surprising that he follows your every move so effortlessly, but maybe he was just that in tune with what you were doing. It’s the first time he has held someone so closely without trying to cause them physical harm. Besides, it was amazing to see you remain composed and relaxed as he lifted you up into the air only to watch you hold your pose.

“So? Did the adventurer get to the prince?”

He turns your waist clockwise fast, making you spin around in four circles before stopping you as you lean forward and raise your leg up, the movements getting a bit faster as his hands went from looking at the back of your head to your waist.

“They did...but the prince told them that he just wanted to stay where he was now. How it wouldn’t be worth it to go back home after all the shameful things he has done.”

Leona can almost feel your determination as you pull away from him. Why would you pick a prince out of all people? And one of an outcast nonetheless. Were you still trying to call him out for his past mistakes? Was that all he was to you? The dorm leader who had tried to cheat his way to victory?”

You smile and hold out your hand, Leona raising his slowly and taking your as you raise your leg up.

“But the adventurer wouldn’t leave it there. They know what the prince is capable of...all they need to do is make sure that he sees it as well.”

A quick glide downwards as he picks you right up, setting you down on two feet before you resume your position on your tiptoes.

“The adventurer tells the prince that there are plenty of things that only he can do that nobody else can. Even if the crown wasn’t his, he would still hold great power over the decisions of his kingdom. One didn’t need to wear a crown to have great power.”

You turn your back towards him and start getting ready to go into your great arabesque position--!

Only to stop when Leona stands in front of you and goes down on one knee, staring at you in the eyes while you raise your leg up and instead of fully stretching yourself back...you merely lean down and rest your hands on his shoulders.

He may be lazy but he knows symbolism when he sees one. If you were to be the adventurer and he was the prince, he imagined himself staring up at you as you spoke words of comfort to him and him alone. The bastard in the story must be pretty lucky to have someone like the adventurer believe in them…

The music fades out slowly as you go back into first position, Leona scratching the back of his head with a bored look while you pick up your phone and stop the music altogether.

“First Vil and now you, everyone is making me work today.”

Leona can’t look at you in the face, not after he pulled that cliche sort of move. One moment of weakness and he was putting himself in the shoes and feeling jealous of a character that didn't even exist! When did he get so pathetic?

He mumbles a quick goodbye and heads out, deciding that he needed to nap for the rest of the day after that embarrassing moment--

“Leona-senpai!”

The dorm leader stops in his tracks, turning around with an annoyed look only for it to melt away as you trot over to him and smile.

“Mind if I call you in case I need your help again?”

Damn you. Damn you, damn you, damn you you made him so weak--

He leans close and grins before flicking your forehead.

“If you reward me properly then...maybe.”

[sohin-ace]

Rohan - It's got to be Rohan

This is inspired by something that just happened to Giovanna. I chose Rohan as the mysterious japanese man.

This is kind of crackfic-ey, it's not to be taken too seriously, I just had a moment with @gio-is-writing. Please don't expect any quality from this.

Also no beta, we die like men, we take it raw, my gangsters.

You were seated in the boarding room of the airport, rubbing your tired eyes. No matter how much you loved travelling and how relaxing your vacation was, you could never get used to the stress of boarding, moving around from one plane to the other and walking kilometers of huge airport grounds.

You barely had any sleep at all and your neck was killing you from the poor excuse of a nap you took in the preceeding plane. You felt like your head was about to fall off from your shoulders.

Now you could only wait for your seat number to be called for your next flight back home after another bizarre adventure.

You tried to mute out the dull background sound of people in the airport, staring out the large window right to the vast runway where workers were signaling pilots and directing planes to the parking zone and moving around to who knows where, making sure air traffic was fluid and secure.

Barely able to focus on the boring sight, your eyes instead fell upon not what was across the glass but rather was was reflecting it.

Right behind you was a young man, seated just there. You could make out his handsome features and beautiful face from where you were.

Now, you tried not to stare and act like a creep, but no matter what you did to distract yourself, your attention always came back to this beautiful stranger sitting so close behind you.

He seemed to be about your age, nicely-styled dark hair, and with very intriguing sharp eyes. He looked asian-phenotyped, but you could never be sure of his exact origins. You could only guess he was most likely japanese.

He had came from the same plane you just landed from and your departure destination was a place known to be popular amongst the Japanese population, so you speculated.

But how could you confirm? You could never just go talk to him. You just couldn't dare. You couldn't imagine walking up to random people asking them if they were japanese or not based on nothing concrete.

Talking to him was out of the question, you thought to yourself. He looked so handsome and intimidating. A normal, basic person like you couldn't just come up to him and strike a conversation, not even knowing if he spoke your language at all. You couldn't muster the courage to do so.

In a pit of despair, you thought of the brilliant idea of trying to peek at his phone discreetly through the glass reflection. Maybe you could see which language it was set in, clearing up the mystery once and for all.

... But all in vain unsurprisingly.

You rubbed your temples in frustration. You didn't know why you were suddenly so infatuated with this man, but for your defense, he was the most interesting thing in the boring, endless wait of your boarding.

Ah, yes. Like that could work. You just had a thing for coming up with clever ideas that you would never execute.

You thought. Hard. What would your best friend do in this situation? Maybe you should just throw logic out the window and punch him in the face for daring intruding your already fragile peace of mind.

Or maybe on the other end of the spectrum you should go out there and kiss him until he doesn't remember his own name.

Sighing at your own very stupid and mindless thoughts, blaming boredom and exhaustion for them, you glanced back at whatever just made noise somewhere in the boarding room.

It seemed like the mysterious supposedly Japanese stranger had the same idea and glanced behind him, your eyes meeting for a brief moment.

You couldn't help but take in his features once again, this time even more clearly. His eyes were greener than emeralds and his skin looked as gentle and heavenly as porcelain. You couldn't believe how soft yet inexpressive he actually looked like from this close.

You even took in his strange bandana, suddenly curious about the odd shape and thinking that could make for a great conversation starter. Nothing weird about asking some stranger about their fashion, right?

But alas, before you could even think about opening your mouth, the beautiful man had already turned back around to mind his own business.

You pouted, thinking of the lost opportunity. The butterflies in your stomach and the burning warmth in your cheeks completely staining your proper judgement on the situation.

Oh you two must be meant for each other. You looked back at the same time, your eyes met. That was a sign, you could already hear the wedding bells singing your union. Your heart was stammering.

Oh you couldn't wait to tell your best friend all about this fictional husband you haven't even talked to at the airport, knowing they would absolutely approve of your ectoplasmic relationship and would root for you all the way, like the supportive friend they were.

You stood up. Maybe you could walk around a bit in his direction, pretending you had something to check somewhere farther in the boarding room, motivated by your own inside pep-talks.

You had no idea what you were doing but you hoped to get his attention somehow. Who knew what could happen. There were plenty of people out there having incredible stories straight out of movies where they found love in such improbable ways, meeting people from across the world once and ending up meeting them again in impossible circumstances or somesuch.

Maybe the little child inside you wanted to live that kind of fantasy as well.

You suddenly regretted looking so awful today. Make up and hair barely done and hardly bothered to put on nice clothes for the sake of comfort and practicity on a long and tiring trip.

Trying to act as nonchalant as ever yet still elegant, you slightly turned back around, only to realize you couldn't see him anymore.

...What? What was going on? What happened? Did he leave? Was his seat called while you were turned around?

Your heart pounded in anxiety, aching for a moment, thinking it was over. That you had lost him forever. Your one true love. The delusional love of your life. The man of your dreams. A nameless soulmate that you knew nothing about, yet that you would trade everything for, even your life.

Your lips threatened to twitch as your held back tears, regretting every decision in your life that had led you to this suffering, this tragedy. God, why did love hurt so much? Why did you have to be the one to go through this?

"Why..." You sobbed dramatically in the middle of the boarding room, walking shamefully as your heart bled. "Why did you go... Why did you have to leave me- Oh... Nevermind he's right there."

Your theatrical number instantly switched as soon as you realised you had just wandered too far and were actually walking in the wrong aisle, quickly coming back to where your and his seat were.

You did not care for the strange looks you were receiving from people sitting by who thought you were completely mental, which you probably were.

All that mattered, is that your handsome Japanese prince charming, your very own 'Ouji-sama' was right here, looking as beautiful as ever, staring down at his device and completely ignoring your entire existence.

As soon as you got back to where your belongings were, extremely frustrated with your imaginary lover's sheer obliviousness, you heard the echoed sound of the boarding room speakers call your name.

'Passenger L/N Y/N. L/N Y/N seat B-17, is requested for boarding. Please present yourself at the gate immediately."

Your mother, much more reactive than you, hurried to gather your luggage and walked towards the gate where you were expected.

You grabbed your bag from your seat and instantly noticed the object of your obssession stand up, briefly staring at his boarding pass in hand, confirming his own seat number.

He looked up and sent you an effortlessly handsome look, staring down at you for a moment and you swore you saw his eyes widen for a split second before returning back to his resting sharp look.

You blushed and flinched at his intense gaze, feeling squirmy under his scrutinizing eyes. You didn't know what to do with your hands and averted your eyes, deciding to join your mother who was already waiting in line.

'W-w-what the hell?' You panicked as he elegantly strided in your direction, his expensive-looking clothes framing his body so perfectly he looked like some Versace supermodel. 'Is he... Following me or something?! No way...'

Just as you thought he was about to board in the same plane as you, bringing your hopes up, he talked to one of the airline agents.

"I'm so sorry sir. We indeed called the seat B-17, but it's for the flight GW3180. For your flight you need to go to that boarding room, on the far left." The lady instructed, giving him thorough indications as he nodded in understanding.

You slumped your shoulders in defeat. He wouldn't board the same plane as you, he just got mistaken. Of course, you thought unsurprised, he would probably go back to Japan, he had no reason to join you, now did he? That would be one unsuspecting trick of fate.

You could just watch him as he walked away, farther and farther away from your reach, never to be seen again. Your chest tightened as his legs took your love away, guiding him to fly off somewhere out of your reach.

"Oh, you recognize him?" Your mother called out, noticing how persistently you were staring at the fine man. "He does look familiar..."

You looked back at your mother in confusion, your curiosity piqued. "What do you mean?"

"He reminds me of that one japanese child you befriended when we came here for vacation. Oh it was years and years ago. You were still a little kid at the time." She chimed, reminiscent of old times.

You blinked. "I... I can't remember at all, I'm not gonna lie."

She hummed. The waiting line not shortening one bit she added, "He couldn't speak our language at all, but no matter what you were telling him, he always acted like he understood you and nodded his head." She chuckled and you smiled.

"That's... That's adorable." Your voice softened, wishing you could have remembered such a wholesome memory. "What else do you recall about him?"

"He loved to draw in the sand with you. I wonder if he ended up becoming an artist. I think his name was.... Hmm.." She furrowed her eyebrows and held her chin, deep in thoughts, "Hold on I can't remember it's been so long..."

"Well, I can't really blame you for not remembering a japanese name you heard once from years ago." You bashfully reassured her, but she still tried to remember.

"No. I know I remembered his name because it was the same at that one famous French art school.... I think it was... Ro.... What was it... Roh...an..? I think. Yes, Rohan."

Your eyes widened at the name. Yout delusional self couldn't barely hold back the joy of finally putting a name to that beautiful face that stole your heart. Needless to say you were quick to jump to conclusions like on a trampoline.

That was it. 'It's got to be Rohan!' you screamed in the comfort of your own mind.

Oh and what a beautiful name it was too. It rolled out the tongue so naturally. Rohan. Rohan...

"Oh but it's probably not him. The odds of meeting a kid years later like that in the same place are too small..." Your mother dismissed as she showed her boarding pass to the gate agents, not aware that she was crushing your tiny little hopes. "Oh well, whatever."

You liked the fantasy of some impossible reunion with a long lost childhood sweetheart love story much better. Especially with the way he stared at you, as if he remembered you, after all those years.

But for now, you just had to board on that plane and go back home pretending your feelings have never existed, for there was nothing you could do about it.

You could only dream that it had got to be Rohan.

[voidsentprinces]

I think the best part we can do now that Emet’s story is closed out officially. Is we can look back at all his actions and kind of filter the subtext of an estranged friend through it. He is the architect of many empires, at least two that we know of hellbent on the conquering of all. Which would of given Emet a wider net to catch the shard of Azem in it and monitor their activity. Instead, the Warrior of Light evades his grasp on the Source. As they inevitably travel from somewhere else to Eorzea. And though both 1.0 and ARR, we are subject to a Garlean conquest. In some way, shape or form we push back both attempts to conquer the region and granting Emet a view of our work. What does Solus do in response to knowing a familiar teeth shatteringly frustrating traveler is opposing his efforts? He straight up abandons the Garlean Empire as a lost cause. Leaving Elidibus and Lahabrea to their ends instead, going off to take a nap. When he is woken up by Elidibus, Lahabrea is dead and the traveler has gone through the Royal Line like swiss cheese. So Emet plays the part...in that he points Varis in the direction Elidibus wants and immediately abandons the empire again to head to the First.

He just straight up nopes out of having to deal with us and when we follow him to the First. He begrudgingly approaches us with an olive branch and his first adventure out with Azem in a thousand, thousand life times? They are still earth, shatteringly frustrating as they don’t give Emet, a calm and pleasant stroll but enflame the natives and so he returns to the shade. Doing nothing to bar our path as we work through Rak’tika and only showing up when he wakes up from his nap feeling Y’shtola use Flow and is then captured and taken to Fanow by the Vii Sisters. Where he “reluctantly” agrees to fish, Y’shtola out. Sees us off to fight another Lightwarden and then just so happens to show up and give us a history lesson of our past? This motherfucker ain’t fooling no one.

After which he pretty much has had it fill of Azem Adventurers. So while he prods us towards Amn Araeng and Kholusia, he doesn’t walk along side us. Watching from behind the Exarch’s shoulder and prodding G’raha to see if he can be used to advance his schemes that involve the Warrior of Light. And when the fight at Mt. Gulg subsides. He just casually walks up the steps and sees Azem’s Fragment breaking from the Lightwarden essence. What is he to do but kidnap the Exarch. And here’s the rub is. He’s the most powerful sorceror in Amaurot and, arguably, in existence. Yet he uses a gun, to strategically wound G’raha and carry him off. Giving us a reason to visit Amaurot in an attempt to grant us more information about our past. Leading us down into Tempest basically by bed crumbs. Even going through the trouble of making a shade of Hythlodaeus with even more self-awareness than is required of shades. If he is going to have one fragment of a friend, he might as well reunite both of us.

With the benefit of hindsight, the grandstanding in front of the door in Amaurot. Feels more like a lovers’ spat. It is a dear old friend, who knows us but we’ve never known. Pouring his heart out through dramatic monologue of his trials and tribulations. And then in a final effort to draw us deeper into our history. He walks us through the Final Days of Amaurot to see what our people went through. And then we just so happen to reform with Ardbert and bring the briefest flash of Azem back to a surprised Hades’ face? If the SHADE of Hythlodaeus can see Ardbert. Emet-Selch would most likely of seen at least an inkling of the ghost following us about. Through our bond we are one step closer to Emet’s long lost friend. But then there’s the issue with the Lightwarden’s aether still being a big question mark. Good thing the most powerful sorceror in Amaurot chooses to use his magics to incapacitate the Scions instead of...you know...out right killing them like the other Ascians have tried. Strange how they’re able to eventually get back up after our initial bout isn’t it? And then the villain is defeated and he can finally return to the aether stream and get his rest. Leaving the memory of Amaurot to us after all we’ve been shown. Even planning ahead to give the shade of Hythlodaeus the crystals of the Convocation. To eventually allow Azem to Shepherd Elidibus to a peaceful rest as well.

Like this dude sent out a net to monitor us but then after avoiding us a couple times. Gets re-attached and goes through all the trouble of being our main villain just to spend some quality time with us. He doesn’t have a lot of foresight though, but I mean who could see Zenos coming back to kill Varis and Fandaniel causing a huge problem later? Nor does he apologize or try to make amends for how he orchestrated Garlemald to almost cause two calamities and the millions of others he sacrificed to get there. He is too busy focusing on putting on a play for his remaining companion since Hythlodaeus is still sealed on the Moon.

But I’ll take some small solace in him waking up in the aether stream and gaining all his Elpis memories back and just being teeth shattering angry in the aether stream after yelling:

MO! THER! FUCKER!

[obxsummer]

Our Secret // John B. Routledge

word count: 2.6k

pairing: john b routledge x maybank!reader

warnings: lots of cursing, descriptive physical child abuse, mentions of sex, angry!JJ, angst

summary: you thought you were doing so well hiding your relationship from your brother. after an amazing day with your boyfriend, you come to realize that jj’s not as oblivious as you predicted which ends in the worst argument you’ve ever witnessed.

request: hiiiii a request where you’re seeing john b in secret because you’re jj’s sister and then jj finds out?

masterlist

ask me anything

--

“I swear to God if you leave a hickey, JJ’s going to murder your ass.”

John B laughed, his lips pressed against your neck as he hovered over you, one hand holding him up as the other rested on your cheek. “I’m not that dumb. Plus, he can’t murder someone if he doesn’t know who to murder.”

This isn’t the typical post-sex conversation most couples had but for you and John B, it was normal. The past five months had involved a lot of lying, skipping plans, faking sicknesses, and a lot of concealer to keep your relationship hidden from prying eyes. There were two main reasons everything was secret: one, no Pogue on Pogue macking and two, your brother would literally punt John B into another country. 

It wasn’t that JJ was against you dating anyone, but he definitely wouldn’t appreciate the fact that at the end of the day you were crawling under the sheets with his best friend. You couldn’t help it though. Being with John B was literally intoxicating and you found yourself needing more every single moment you were with him.

There had been many close calls, but somehow, you had managed to keep your secret thus far and you weren’t planning on spilling anytime soon. Although it sucked to keep your hands to yourself when you were with your other friends and your brother, it was worth it when the two of you spent time alone.

“John B? You here?” 

John B’s hand was over your mouth before you could even scream in surprise. He held a finger to his lips in a sign to be quiet as he pushed off of you. You quickly got up, pulling a shirt over your head as you snuck into the bathroom.

While your boyfriend left the room to confront your brother, you took a moment to adjust your appearance in the mirror. You rolled your eyes, spotting an already darkening mark on the dip of your collarbones where John B had definitely ignored your warnings, not that you minded, it just took a little additional effort to cover up.

Sighing, you leaned against the wall as you listened to the muffled conversation going on through the wall. After a few brief minutes, there was a knock on the door before it opened, revealing John B’s exhausted figure.

“He’s gone,” He mumbled as he walked towards you. “Sorry about that.”

You laughed, wrapping your arms around his neck before kissing him softly. “It’s my brother, my problem. I probably should be going anyway. He’ll get suspicious here soon.”

“Yet you’ll end up back on my couch around midnight,” He mumbled against your lips, hands rubbing your back. “I wish I could do more for you guys.”

“Letting us crash here is more than enough,” You responded, “It means I get to see you even longer.”

John B hugged you tighter to his chest and rested his chin on your head. He hated knowing that you and JJ feared going home. Even before the two of you were dating, he couldn’t stand the fact that you could possibly end up with a black eye or a bruised rib. Your dad always blamed harming JJ on the fact that he looked like your mom, but at the end of the day, you were her splitting image. Sometimes he couldn’t tell if it was actually her again or just you hiding in the shadows.

It freaked JJ out. Knowing that you weren’t safe from the hands of your own dad was hard, but for your brother, he couldn’t stand it. There were countless times JJ would walk through the front door so you could sneak in the window, or he would take the blame for a broken dish with the idea that your dad would react even worse if he knew it was you. You were overwhelmed with guilt knowing that your brother put himself on the front of the battle every single time to keep you safe. You hated knowing JJ was bruised and bleeding because of you.

“Be safe, okay? I’ll be here if you need me.”

Once you had all of your stuff and clothes were returned, the walk back to your house was one filled with anxiety and nerves. You knew JJ was home from the bike outside and you managed to sneak in without a peep, your dad crashed on the couch completely asleep. You exhaled and tiptoed to your room without another word.

“Where the hell have you been?” JJ hissed as he stood in the doorway of his room. “I’ve been looking for you.”

You rolled your eyes. “I told you I was going to the beach for a walk, chill. And what exactly do you want?”

“Did the horny seagulls give you a hickey?” His finger pressed against the dark spot on your neck. You rolled your eyes and shoved his hand away. He wasn’t actually looking for you, he just wanted to give you shit. 

“Fuck off, JJ,” You mumbled before going into your room and shutting the door without another word. You weren’t in the mood to deal with him, nor were you up to covering your tracks. You flopped on the bed with a groan, still sleepy from your day with John B. You closed your eyes and allowed sleep to take over.

--

Waking up was a whole new adventure. Voices were shouting, glass broke somewhere along the lines and it had you on your feet in seconds. Throwing open your door, you walked straight into someone’s back causing you to stumble slightly.

“What’s going on?” You mumbled, still half asleep. You had run into JJ, who turned to glare at you with an anger you haven’t seen before. You stood next to him so you could get a clear view of the scene.

“What’s going on is your brother is screaming like a maniac for no goddamn reason!” Your dad shouted, pointing at JJ who was already sporting a black eye. He had clearly been woken up from his nap early and one of you would pay for it with more than a bruised eye.

Your brother ignored your dad, however, and instead was still attempting to murder you with his eyes. “Wanna explain this?” The dark blue piece of fabric dangling in his hand sent a chill through you as you recognized John B’s bandana in between his fingers.

“It’s John B’s? So what?” You tried to play it off but deep down, you knew you were screwed. “We’re with him all the time, JJ. That’s not abnormal.”

“No, but it is abnormal that I’m finding his clothing in your room, hickeys on your neck, and you’re both coincidentally ‘busy’ at the same time on most days. So what the hell is it, Y/N?” JJ was yelling now and you were becoming increasingly terrified. Your brother never got angry with you, not like this. “What are you hiding from me?”

“Great, now I’m letting a whore live in this fuck up of a house!” Your dad reentered the conversation to give his two cents. “I fucking knew I shouldn’t have let your mother talk me into keeping you. You’ve turned into nothing but a worthless piece of shit who just takes up space and wastes money!”

His hand clamped around the collar of your t-shirt as he shoved you against the wall, his saliva landing on your cheeks as he continued to scream. A large hand tightened around your throat, cutting off your airway as he held you off the ground. “You’re a slut, you hear me? Fucking your brother’s best friend like the piece of trash you are.” 

“Dad!” JJ’s voice echoed in your ears as you struggled in the harsh grip, your vision spotty as you tried to kick your way to freedom. Your brother was pulling against your dad’s shoulder to get him to let go, a panicked look in his eyes at the image before him.

“Stop,” You gasped as you shoved your hand out, barely hitting your father’s chin as you attempted to get any air. “Please.”

Your weak body collided with the floor where you choked for oxygen. The battle wasn’t over until multiple harsh kicks were landed on your ribs and back. You cried out and curled into a ball. The world slowly became still as you managed to get to your feet before darting out the door without another look. Knowing running wouldn’t help your already damaged situation, you threw your leg over the seat of JJ’s bike, thankful that he left the keys in the ignition before speeding away towards the only place you could find help.

John B was swaying in the hammock when you pulled up in a frenzy, leaving barely enough time to kill the engine before you were scrambling towards him. “Y/N?” He was pushing himself out of the hammock to meet you halfway when you crashed into him, heavy sobs leaving your chest as you held on to him tightly. 

“I’m sorry! I tried to stop it a-and-” 

“Shhh,” John B held your head against his chest as he rubbed your back in an attempt to calm you down. “You’re okay, baby. I’m right here. Calm down.”

You weren’t sure how long you stood there, but it was enough time for your breathing to slow and JJ to get his ass over to the chateau. His heart broke as he watched you stand there and cry in his best friend’s arms. JJ never wanted to hurt you, and he never wanted to set you in a situation where your father could hurt you, yet that’s exactly what he did. He felt awful and seeing the already forming bruises around your throat made him want to throw up.

“Little?” The nickname left JJ’s lips unconsciously. He had called you that for years ever since someone said you looked like the smaller version of him as a kid. He never let you live it down, always calling you “little” or “mini-me”. JJ was so grateful to have you in his life but he hated that it took until now for him to realize how much he needed you.

At the sound of your brother’s voice, you hugged your boyfriend even tighter causing John B to look at the new presence. Seeing your brother, he frowned yet didn’t shift to remove you from his arms. Whatever happened upset you severely and if this was how JJ found out about the two of you, then this was how JJ was going to find out.

John B’s fingers tapped the side of your thigh, a signal between the two of you that was unspoken but simply understood. You jumped from the ground into his suspecting arms as he carried you like a koala back to the hammock before settling in. It took some adjusting before you both were comfortable with him laying on his back and you resting on his chest. His lips pressed against your forehead as he continued to rub your back in a calming manner.

JJ stood in shock as he watched the interaction between you. Never would he imagine this, but watching you and John B was like watching a cheesy rom-com. It looked so right, and it was this moment when JJ realized how badly he fucked up in reacting out of anger.

“Hey,” John B mumbled as he watched JJ lose his control on his emotions on the steps of the chateau. “Pretty girl, you gotta let me see what happened.” The bruises on your skin didn’t go unnoticed to him but he wanted to wait a bit before talking to you about it. With a shaky breath you sat back on the hammock and let John B pull your t-shirt over your head to reveal your bruised stomach and chest. Some spots were red where skin was torn and your neck clearly revealed the outline of a hand.

“Fuck,” JJ cursed at himself as he ran a hand through his messy blond hair, tears of his own falling from his eyes as he realized what just happened. At the sight of your injuries, he lost it. He swore to protect you, to keep you out of his father’s cruel hands if it was the last thing he did and he failed. He failed because he was so pissed over you having a relationship and not telling him. “Little, I’m so sorry.”

You forced yourself to look over at your older brother before carefully stepping down from the hammock. John B followed you, handing back your t-shirt as you walked over to JJ and wrapped him in a hug. “It’s not your fault.”

“But it is!” JJ argued as he let you hold onto him. “I shouldn’t have even brought it up in front of him, that’s so fucked up, Y/N! I stood there, a-and I just let him because I was so pissed that you were fucking John B behind my back. Fuck! I’m so stupid!”

You shook your head, tears falling again as your brother finally broke in your arms and hugged you back, the two of you crying together. “I should’ve told you,” You mumbled into his shoulder. “It’s not just fucking around, J. I promise. He makes me really, really happy, and I should’ve just told you from the start.”

“We both should have,” John B interrupted as he stood a few feet away and observed the scene. “I’m sorry, JJ. I promise you this isn’t just some hook-up thing. I really love her, man.”

You smiled slightly at his words. The two of you had yet to say I love you to each other, as cheesy as that was, but standing here in the moment, you knew you loved John B. You loved him more than anything, enough that you were willing to risk your relationship with your brother because of it.

“It’s okay, man,” JJ sniffled as he pulled away from the hug, instead adjusting to hold you to his chest so he could have the small bit of comfort knowing you were okay. “It’s not worth an argument over. I’m really happy for you, trust me. Just wish this could’ve been in different circumstances.

“And I’m so sorry for letting that happen, Little. I never ever want to see you in that position again, and I’m sorry I let it happen in the first place like. Fuck!” JJ pulled at his hair in frustration. “I’m such a fucked up brother!”

“You are not!” You defended as you stepped away from him. “JJ, there’s been so many times where you take the damage instead of me, even if I deserve it. You can’t blame yourself for our shitty dad. It’s not your fault, it never will be your fault.”

John B shook his head. “You never deserve it. Neither of you do. Just stay here, yeah? You don’t have to go back.”

JJ wrapped an arm around your shoulders and kissed the side of your head. “I’m sorry.”

You shoved him away and gave him a light punch to the arm. “Would you stop apologizing? It’s nobody’s fault. Look, let’s just go inside and chill, okay?”

“Fine, but if I find out that there’s more hickeys on your neck tomorrow, I will bust someone’s ass, you hear me, John B?”

“JJ! Shut up!”

[juju-on-that-yeet]

Home Before Dark

Whumptober Day 26: If You Thought The Head Trauma Was Bad... Prompt: Concussion 

This cave trip was supposed to be a fun, easy adventure. Instead, Illinois falls through a hidden hole in the ground, and finds himself battling with a concussion as he tries to escape the cave before he can't anymore.

Warnings: Head injury, vomiting mention

Read on AO3 (Full Whumptober Series)

Enjoy!

~

Illinois could never get tired of this, of the dirt and sand under his boots, of the quiet tranquility of a cave system, of the places that haven’t seen a human in many years. He’s had his eye on this cave for a while, one of the rare adventures where he doesn’t expect a treasure at the end of the tunnel. Exploration and adventure is fun without a reward, and Lio likes traveling for travel’s sake. There doesn’t always need to be a goal, sometimes it’s fun to just be.

Of course, he’d like to follow the cave as deep as it can go. The cave isn’t totally explored, and he’s not foolish enough to go wiggling into a cavern he could get stuck in, but he’d like to see those caverns before he turns around and goes home. Caves are sometimes risky but they’re also a lot of fun. They aren’t as high-intensity as jungle treks or mountain climbs, but more strenuous and with more potential for unique experiences than hikes or forest walks. The cave he’s in now is quiet, no sound but water dripping somewhere far away. It’s dark, but not so dark that Lio’s headlamp can’t light his way forward. Lio sort of hopes he’ll see a cave creature at some point on his journey, but even if he doesn’t, there’s something exciting about being the only soul in a place.

These places make it easy to get lost in thought, and so Lio does, not coming back to the present until his foot touches an unsteady patch of ground just below him.

He tries to jump back but it’s already too late. The ground below him breaks apart and Lio falls among the rocks, a scream of surprise ripping from his throat. There’s not enough time to right himself in the air, and the first part of him to hit the ground is the side of his head. The blow knocks the wind out of him. Rocks fall around him, some bouncing off his back or legs, but they hardly register against Lio’s throbbing head. His vision swims and he lays there for a long moment, trying to remember how to breathe.

“Don’t pass out, Jones,” he thinks to himself, “Now is not the time for a nap.”

After several long moments, he’s finally able to lift his head and sit up. His head still hurts, but he can at least think straight and look around – mostly. Things are still a little blurry, but it’s nothing he can’t deal with.

He looks up to see that he hasn’t fallen too far, certainly not too far to climb back out of. He shrugs off his backpack to get his climbing gloves. He didn’t bring any ropes; there’s no use for them without a point at which to attach them, and in a situation like this, that’d be a two-person job. Once the gloves are on, he stands up – and immediately wobbles. His stomach rolls, and he has to pause, take a deep breath.

“Well, I’m definitely concussed,” he wheezes to himself. As if the blurred vision wasn’t enough of a clue.

Still, he doesn’t have any other way but climbing to get out of this hole. So he takes another deep breath, jumps onto the wall, and makes sure he has a good grip before he starts climbing.

It’s harder than he would’ve guessed. If his head wasn’t still giving him trouble it’d be easy, but as it is, he has to pause seemingly every inch to let his head stop swimming. But he knows this continual pausing is bad for the rest of him, and if he gets too tired, he’ll fall down again. He forces himself to keep climbing, forces his eyes to pick out secure spots for his hands to grab through the blurriness.

One hand slips, the section of wall he grabbed crumbling away. He scrambles for another, cursing himself for not seeing the integrity of the rock. He finds a place to hold onto and takes a moment for his racing heart to calm down. He can’t take long, though; his arms are beginning to tire of holding himself up, his feet are aching from curling around the rocks. He grits his teeth and keeps going.

Finally, after what feels like forever, he reaches the edge of the hole, and grunts as he heaves himself up and over and escapes.

“That sure was a workout,” he huffs, laying there on his stomach next to the hole he just climbed out of.

After a minute of catching his breath, he rolls over and sits up, looking ahead. The hole doesn’t span the entire width of the cave path, and considering the walls of the hole were strong enough to carry him, Lio should be able to walk around it. Hell, he could even jump over it if he got a running start; the hole is pretty small. His head still hurts, his vision is still a bit blurry, but a part of him wants to keep going and finish the adventure he started.

Then he stands up, and wobbles so much he nearly falls back into the hole. His stomach turns again as he takes a few steps back, putting some distance between himself and the hole.

“Alright, point taken,” he gasps. His head throbs, seemingly in response.

Still, he’s not overly worried. If he was able to climb a rock wall, surely walking home will be no problem, right?

It isn’t at first. The path he took to this point is a bit winding, but it’s mostly a straight shot to follow to the entrance – or exit, in this case. He walks slower than he did on the way in, still tired from climbing. He winces every so often as the pain in his head spikes in harshness. Things are still blurry...and if he’s not mistaken, they’re getting blurrier. He’s glad he decided to turn back. Really, he wants to take a nap. But he’s still cognizant enough to realize that that’s a bad idea.

When he comes to a fork in the path, he pauses. He’d forgotten this was here. He tries to remember which way is the right way back, but nothing comes to mind. He frowns at himself; he’s usually much better at remembering things like that, to the point where he hardly ever leaves himself markers to guide himself back. He stares at the forked path, hoping a solution might materialize. For a moment, the cave becomes darker.

He shakes his head, immediately regretting it, but at least his vision isn’t black anymore. Upon looking up again, he just barely spies his old footprints on one side of the forked path through his blurred vision. There’s no wind in this cave, so his prints were left undisturbed. Now satisfied, Lio walks over his old footprints and continues on his way out of the cave.

The satisfaction doesn’t last. His body feels like lead, each step is harder than the last. Blackness keeps fluttering into his vision, once or twice he catches himself standing still, swaying against his aching brain. It feels like jello sliding around in his skull, sending pings of pain through his head every time it hits a wall.

And here he thought he could walk home. At this rate, he’ll be lucky to make it out of the cave.

Fortunately, the warm light of the outside comes into view after what feels like an eternity of walking. At this point, it’s more like stumbling. Lio’s head is swimming, his vision is so blurry he can hardly see. But if he can’t go any further, then he’ll have to call or text someone for help. He fumbles around in his pocket for his phone, and it takes him a good few moments to get a grip on it. A sudden wave of nausea grips him, and instead of passing like the last two did, it only spikes by the second, until Lio has to use his free hand to brace himself against the mouth of the cave as he vomits onto the dirt.

“Ffffuck,” he mutters. The word slurs on its way out of his throat.

The vomiting only makes his head pound harder, and when he opens his phone, he can’t concentrate enough to find the right buttons. He ends up texting...someone, he can’t even tell who. He’s too out of it to care. He only manages a single word: h ekjp.

At some point he sits down in the dirt, unable to keep standing. He’s not cognizant enough to tell himself not to nod off anymore. He would have, if not for his phone suddenly vibrating and ringing in his hands. Luckily, he’s still able to answer.

“Lio, hey, are you okay?” says Yancy’s voice on the other line, concerned. “That text you just sent me is really weird, it’s got me kinda worried about youse.”

“Heyyy,” Lio mumbles, smiling a little through his wretched headache.

“Noisy? What’s going on?”

“F...fffell. Hit muh head.” Lio pauses to groan through a particularly bad spike of agony. “G...got out, but ’m tired...”

“Hey, hold on, stay awake!” Yancy cries, voice going shrill with fear. “Just hang in there, babe, I’m gonna get help, someone’ll come get youse soon! Just don’t hang up, alright?”

Lio lets the phone drop out of his hands onto the ground. He’s too tired to understand anything. The phone lands face-up, he can still hear Yancy talking to him, but nothing registers. He sighs, leans against the mouth of the cave, closes his eyes against his headache. It feels as if his brain is splitting open. Yancy’s voice on the phone gets louder, and suddenly it gets quieter, and his blurred vision fades from the edges in, and then all of it disappears as Lio falls into oblivion.

[jojoimaginestories]

Thank you (Giorno Giovanna)

Thank you

Paring: Giorno Giovanna x Fem! Reader Words: 1699 Warning: Mild Language, Fluff, Protective!Abbacchio a bit, Bruno wants to play matchmaker, kind!Reader, a little bit dark but not EXTREMELY dark Requested By: None

**Gif not mine**

Some people would describe you as a broken soul. You were between this existence and the land of the dead. Some would say you had lost your will to live and were just trying to find someone who would give you that one shred of love you ask for. Some have just assumed you were extra baggage no one claimed. You were nothing, in their terms. Others, however, described you as something differently.

You did things for the kindness of others. They explained that you haven’t found your path and were a bit misguided by others. You were tossed on a beaten path and came out scarred. Well, they weren’t long. Life itself was scarring. It gave people wounds deep within, things that needed to be buried up and held inside.

Despite you being in your mid to late teens, your experience made people think you were in your late 20s. Wait until you tell them your age. Their jaws will drop in an instant. The first person whose jaw didn’t drop was your leader, Bruno Bucciarati.

Bucciarati had found you while you were young and easily influenced, but he knew really why you were the way you were. Years of neglect, searching for something to do, searching for a purpose. He was one of the men in your life that gave some meaning. The second, was Leone Abbacchio. Back in his cop days, he found you searching through a trash can trying to find food and he bought you something to eat. You were very thankful to him. The day you found out he wasn’t a cop anymore, you asked Bucciarati to find him and scout him. That day that Abbacchio joined, you were grateful. You had already met Fugo by that point, then came along Narancia and Mista. You had your own family, and had found a piece of something you had searched for.

The day Giorno Giovanna joined Passione, you felt that he had different intentions than the others. There was something about him that didn’t settle with you, but it couldn’t be that he was bad or anything. He was actually quite nice to you, in fact, he warmed up to you due to how close you both were age-wise. He opened up to you and Bucciarati more. Abbacchio had a thing against him, but the others were fine with him.

“Hey, Brat,” Abbacchio muttered towards you as you looked up to face him.

“Yeah Abba,” You asked innocently.

He ruffled your hair. “I’m gonna be gone on a mission for a few days. It’ll just be you, Bruno, and the other brat,” He hummed. “If he does something to you, I’ll fuck him up, alright?”

You blinked. “…Do you mean Giorno?”

He grunted at the sound of his name. “Yeah. I mean him. If he does something, I’ll make him wish he was never born. Alright?”

You slowly nodded. “Don’t threaten him like he’s going to murder me. We’ll be fine, alright? You better come back,” You stood and puffed your cheeks towards him. “Last time, we couldn’t play cards and you promised we would.”

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll be careful.” He ruffled your hair again before walking off.

You watched him and the others depart, wishing them luck and waving bye. You saw Bucciarati turn towards you and Giorno as he nodded.

“I have to go somewhere for a bit as well. I won’t be back until tomorrow, hold down here (Y/n),” He nodded to you, then nodded towards Giorno. “Make sure she doesn’t get in trouble. She does that often.”

“…Not often,” You puffed your cheeks out. “But sometimes…”

“Exactly,” He chuckled and left.

You grabbed your book that you were reading and returned to your sitting position on the couch, leaving Giorno where he stood.

“What’re you reading (Y/n),” Said boy appeared near you as he looked at the book in your hands.

You perked up. “This is a good book! It’s about a knight fighting for a princess against the whole kingdom because she’s betrothed to another. It’s so cheesy, but I like it!” You grinned and looked up at him. “What’re you gonna do, Giorno? You can practically do anything while they’re gone to keep yourself busy.”

He stood up straight. “I might just go on a walk. I’m a bit hungry actually.”

You stood up next to him. You weren’t that short compared to Giorno, but you still had to look up at him. “Then let’s go! I know a place that sells home cooked food~!”

You dragged him along and giggled. His cheeks were a bit flushed.

--

You two spent the day walking around the city. You admired a lot of things, mainly scenery and little snacks you two decided to eat on your adventure. What Giorno did was admire you. You see, ever since he met you, he couldn’t help but feel attracted to you. He thought there was something enchanting about you, something he couldn’t ignore. He wanted to say something to you, but knowing who was there to protect you, Abbacchio would be first to deliver a swift ass-kicking to Giorno for tainting you. Though, really, you were simply an innocent girl just trying to find her path. And he wanted to be there every step of the way when you would soon find your path one day.

“Look, it’s (Y/n),” You both heard. “She looks so happy for once, maybe someone finally wants her.”

“Oh, I doubt it. I heard she’s a prostitute. She sells her body because she can’t find anyone who would want to touch her.”

You froze at the voices. Your happy exterior vanished as your mind became hollow. It was typical to hear things like that at this point, but it didn’t stop your emotions from feeling something from it. Giorno saw your face and thought. He breathed. He cupped your cheeks and made you face him. He pecked your lips gently and pulled away.

“Don’t believe them,” He murmured. “You are the happiest girl I’ve ever seen. Even I know there’s something enchanting about you, and rumors won’t change that.”

Your hollowed eyes returned your emotions as you stared at Giorno’s fiery-green eyes. He pulled away and tugged on your hand.

“Let’s get you some gelato. I want your smile to return.”

You stared at him as the two of you walked. You moved towards him and wrapped your arms around one of his. You stared at him in awe.

“Why’d you just kiss me,” You mumbled.

He blinked as his face got red. He looked away from you and rubbed the back of his neck. “I-I… I just wanted to, okay? Don’t think so much into it,” He murmured.

Your eyes glowed. “Do you like me, Giorno?”

“Of course, I do. Everyone in Passione does.”

“But do you LIKE me? As in, are you in love with me?” You smiled. “Do you?”

“…I may…”

You giggled. You leaned up and kissed his cheek. “Then I’m in love with you too~!”

He looked at you. “Won’t the others hurt me for confessing my feelings for you?”

You shook your head. “No, just Abbacchio, but if I explained how you defended me, he’ll just reprimand you. I’m pretty sure Bucciarati had nothing planned and wanted us to be by ourselves.”

Giorno blinked in realization that the way Bruno left was a bit too sudden for his liking. “Huh… do you think that clearly?”

“I study people for a living, Giorno,” You winked. “It’s my job to.”

His cheeks flushed a bit as he smiled. “You should tell me more about it.”

“I will when you buy me gelato first~! That way, we can properly enjoy this date.”

--

By the time the others returned, they saw Giorno leaned against you as you were reading. You looked up and waved.

“Did you two fight while were gone? You both look tuckered out,” Mista chuckled.

“Aw, we missed the fun,” Narancia pouted.

“We didn’t fight,” You sighed. “You think so lowly of us,” You pouted.

Abbacchio’s eyes darted between you and Giorno. He glared at him. “Oi, brat, get off of (Y/n),” He muttered and almost kicked him.

You gasped. “Hey, don’t mess with my boyfriend,” You muttered.

They all gave you a shocked expression as Bruno sipped his cappuccino in a recliner. “I told you all leaving them alone was good,” He hummed. “Give me by bets now,” He held his hands up.

Fugo grunted. “You staged it, you know that,” He asked.

“It was just convenient.”

Fugo turned towards you. “Was this forced,” He asked. “I know you rush into things quickly, (Y/n).”

“No, this wasn’t force,” You waved dismissively. “I’m full of genuine feelings. Now seriously, he’s napping Abba, if you kick him, I will kick you.”

“She won’t hesitate either,” Narancia laughed. “She did that once and your headphones almost broke!”

“It was almost scary,” Mista shivered. “That’s why I stay on her good side.” He walked off.

Abbacchio still glared at Giorno. You leaned forward a bit and looked into his eyes. “He saved me from these women calling me out on the street, you know? One called me a prostitute and said that no one loves me. He reminded me that I am loved.” You smiled. “So be nice to him.”

He huffed. “Alright, fine, I won’t kick his ass. But he better watch himself,” He muttered and walked off. “I need a bottle of wine.”

“Thank you Abba!”

Giorno woke up from his nap as he looked up at you. “Why did I hear voices,” He asked quietly.

“The others got back. Bucciarati is now richer, Abba was a bit pissed but he won’t hurt you, Mista and the others are cool with it, and I’m pretty sure Fugo is going to punish Narancia with math. You didn’t miss much,” You winked.

“Huh. You did say that Abbacchio wouldn’t hurt me but reprimand me.”

You nodded sharply. “I’m a smart cookie! He’s just telling you to watch yourself.”

He chuckled. “You’re lively aren’t you? You’re certainly not hollow.”

Your cheeks flushed a bit as you stared at him. You smiled softly. “Thank you, Giorno.”

[tsarisfanfiction]

Long Way From Home: Chapter 1

Fandom: Thunderbirds Rating: Teen Genre: Family/Friendship Characters: Scott

His brothers are missing.  In their place is a family of strangers, the only explanation that makes any sense is beyond comprehension, and the only solution is impossible.  Scott Tracy’s never been so far from home.

Oh boy, so I’ve been working on this for literal months and it’s gonna be a hell of a ride.  Strictly speaking, I haven’t got far enough in writing this to be totally confident in starting to post it, but it’s Thunderbirds Day and quite frankly there is no day more perfect to start this particular adventure.  I have a vague plan to update this approximately weekly, but we’ll see how uni interferes with that...

Beep…  Beep…  Beep…

The shrill noise pierced his head unpleasantly.  It was familiar, frustratingly so, but as unconsciousness slowly permitted him to drift awake, he couldn’t find a single reason for it.  Who was hurt?

And why, he wondered as he peeled his eyes open briefly to see a sterile white ceiling, was he lying in a bed?  A hospital bed, with wires pressing against his skin.

His memories held no answer, for all that he probed at them.

The mission had been a simple one.  Solo, even, his brothers still fast asleep in their beds as the dead of night cradled home in its embrace.  A trapped climber was routine by this point – Alan likened it to International Rescue’s equivalent of the fireman’s cat up a tree, for all the comparison was somewhat inappropriate.  Grandma had told him off for that, when she’d heard him say it.  He hadn’t, seeing the humour.  Grandma had then told him off for not being a responsible adult and schooling his youngest brother.

The woman shouldn’t have been there, alone amongst the peaks of the Rockies with no backup as dawn broke to find her camp set up too close to a precipice and a simple rockfall cutting off any route she could take with the gear she’d had.  She’d made the call, and Thunderbird One had been dispatched to pick up the latest in a long list of stranded climbers.

After he’d set her down at the base of the mountains, he’d started talking with John about sending out a worldwide PSA to please be careful in the mountains.  It had started off a joke, something to keep his mind alert as he turned the beautiful red nose of his girl towards home, but he’d barely left the American coastline before their discussion took on a more serious note.  Too many climbers were taking risks that just never used to happen.  International Rescue was being taken for granted, and they only had so much capability to be in multiple places at once.

The beautiful, rugged spires of home had come into view, John signing off from the conversation for another of his cat naps, and he’d landed Thunderbird One safely in her silo without a hitch.  He remembered post-flight checks, making a note to check a minor issue with a shoulder harness later after some sleep, and then disembarking onto the extended gantry as usual.

Then, nothing.

Had he fallen from the gantry?  His brothers were periodically clucking about the lack of a handrail – Gordon, in particular, disliked it – but he’d never felt unsafe on it.  It was high above the hangar floor, however, and while the beep… beep… beep… steadfastly continued, he was in no pain.  An unchecked fall from that height would have left his body broken.

Experimentally, he flexed his fingers.  They obeyed instantly, hands curling into loose fists and then extending again. His toes responded equally positively. No paralysis, tricking him into thinking there was no injury, then.  Well, he’d always take good news, and more made itself known as he drifted a hand up to his head.  No lumps, bumps or bandaging of any sort.

In fact, there was no bandaging anywhere.  He’d spent enough time injured over the years to know the slightly itchy feeling of the fabric against his skin, but nowhere could he feel even the tight stickiness of a plaster clinging to his skin.

Thoroughly mystified at the information his memory and sense of touch were relaying, he opened his eyes again.  This time prepared for the white, he didn’t immediately close them again.  Instead, he looked around, realising with a sinking feeling that wherever he was, it wasn’t home.

The room was an infirmary of some sort, as he’d initially surmised.  With at least one other bed in clear view, and room for more between metallic tables and cabinets filled with meticulously organised jars and bottles, it was clearly private, rather than hospital-grade.  He was reminded of their infirmary at home, ready for use at a moment’s notice despite ignored prayers that it would never be needed and kept organised by the iron fists of Grandma and her willing protégé Virgil.

There was a window, though. At home, carved into the rock their villa was as much an extension of as an intrusion upon, the infirmary had no natural light source.  Artificial lights and holographic visages kept the room from being a dark dungeon. From his position on the bed, he couldn’t see outside, but the light streaming in through open blinds was entirely natural.

Most bizarre of all, however, was the technology surrounding him.  At a glance it seemed outdated, the light-up displays using something that seemed even older than LEDs and not a hologram in sight.  John would dismiss it as junk, he assumed, before realising that he had no idea what most of it was for.  Numbers flickered, not even digital but a flick-flick-flick of cycling cards. If not for the labels – tacky, raised lines of metal forming letters and words – the idea that it was monitoring his blood pressure and other vital signs would never have even crossed his mind.

Basic competence with standard hospital technology had been drilled into them all firmly by Grandma, even if only Virgil had taken it further than the fundamentals needed to keep someone alive long enough for professional medical help to arrive. Outdated technology had been included in that list, anything Grandma had ever used throughout her life a requirement because not everywhere had the technology of International Rescue, or even an up to date machine.

He could say with certainty that he wouldn’t even know where to start with the technology surrounding him. Logic dictated that that meant it was even older than Grandma, or state of the art beyond even Brains’ inventions, but neither felt right.

There was nothing primitive about the machinery, for all that he still maintained John would find it fit for the WRMs.  Brains and Virgil would be itching to take it apart, see how it worked and whether they could improve it, or find inspiration to improve their own.

Speaking of his family, it was odd that none of them were nearby.  Virgil almost always camped out if someone was injured or sick, and if he was away on a rescue another Tracy would step up to take his place.  Gordon never stopped talking when he was on infirmary duty, finding topic after topic to plough through until he found one the injured party reacted to and milked it for all it was worth.  Alan, in true teenager fashion, was a fidgeting wreck unless he had his games with him; it was not unusual for him to flop belly-down on an unoccupied bed with his headset on in his own form of company. John might not be capable of physically being in the room, unless it was so bad he’d felt compelled down from his beloved stars, but constant communication links allowed him to be tied in at all times.

Of all his brothers, it was John he was most surprised to have seen or heard nothing of since he awoke. His vitals should have been being streamed straight to Five, no matter where in the world he was – John would have known the instant he regained consciousness and responded accordingly. Even if, as he realised, his uniform and communicator had been relieved from his person.

Someone, presumably the person responsible for settling him in the unfamiliar infirmary, had changed him out of his flight suit and into soft, flannel pyjamas.  They were comfortable enough, even if they weren’t his usual style, and fit perfectly.  His uniform, he discovered with relief after another look around the room, was folded neatly on a chair.  Everything was there, his baldric still full of grapple packs, barring the one used up on the rescue, and the grapple itself, and the controls for remote piloting both One and his jetpack remained three per bracer.

Wherever he was, and whoever had put him there, it appeared no-one was interested in investigating International Rescue’s gear.  At least he could rule out the Hood, he supposed, although perhaps he’d have preferred their nemesis to the total unknown…

No, he decided after a moment’s deliberation.  He wasn’t quite that desperate.  He was unrestrained and his gear was safe.  That automatically made the situation far better than anything involving the Hood.

Still, too many questions and no answers for any of them spurred him into action.  Pushing himself up into a sitting position, wires tugging futilely before falling away and sending the machines into a frenzy, he steeled himself to make a break for it – out of the room and hopefully ending up somewhere that would give him the answers he needed.

The door opened as beeps turned into squeals, and he turned towards the new arrival, hoping to see Virgil or Grandma, hands on hips as they chivvied him back into bed.

It was not Virgil or Grandma.  Nor was it any of his other brothers.

Sharp blue eyes surveyed – analysed – him, set into a face that was hard to read.  Furrowed brows gave the stare an almost disturbing intensity as his conscious state was registered; they were almost the same colour as the mop of short dark brown hair on the man’s head.  Dimples that, if coupled with a smile, could bedazzle and disarm anyone completed the look, and he felt his jaw drop slightly before strength of will forced it shut again.

Standing in front of Scott Tracy, arms crossed and wearing a look of cautious suspicion he knew all too well, was Scott Tracy.

Chapter 2>>>

[bowieandqueen11]

101 Dalmatians / Rosa Diaz Imagine

Request: I can't get this out of my head. I was wondering if you could write this B99 meets 101 Dalmatians imagine? Like, Rosa and the reader are walking their dogs, but they get tangled around the leashes and end up falling? So they go to the reader's apartment or sit on a bench to dry out and find out that they like each other? 

This is so cute I literally can’t get it out of my head @trench-coat-wearing-angel!! I haven’t seen 101 Dalmations in a long time so I hope this is okay <3

Please comment if you can, it really does keep me writing!

Although she hated to admit it, the park by the precinct was beautiful.

She hated the ones in smaller towns. The miniature, empty, formal gardens that were created only for the elderly and retired - although she would never admit it, she found them too quiet, too creepy. She had grown used to the noise, the hustle and bustle of Brooklyn, the acres of concrete interspersed with neat grass verges. She had grown familiar with the vendors and their hotdogs and burgers, vendors with curry and rice, vendors with tacos and sour cream. There's always music, sometimes clashing from various sources, none of them official. 

It always felt as if anything could happen. She would never admit it, but she loved that thrill of adventure.

Entering the park, a slight breeze rustles the leaves, making them fall to the  ground by your feet one by one.The air was warm, the beams of sunlight glowing on your skin as you breathed it in, being justled towards the grass by the puppy tugging on its maroon leash. Flowers are vast, and they conceal the freshly cut green grass, the one your dog is now rolling its face in, forehead speckled emerald as it jumps up panting. You smile to yourself as you pass playing children and the parents talking among each other, making your way down the walkway.

Neither of you can see Rosa yet. She lifts up her glasses, winding the blue leash further around her fingers as she watches Arlo bounce his little puppy paws along the loose pebbles, spitting them out against her combat boots.  

A sudden tug on your arm draws you out of your daydream, laughing at your dog as he pulls you away from the little marshmallow clouds you rarely see during this time of the year in New York. Your eyes follow your dog’s path, gaze set as he stops with his tail straight up, and saw, coming down towards the two of you, another dog. It was one of the quietest and peacefullest dogs you had ever seen: it seemed so content, floating dreamily along the ground. On he came, serene, dignified, and calm, and with him came the most beautiful women you had ever seen.

You tried not to stare as she approached, but she hadn’t spotted you yet, and you were trying to figure out from afar if her eyes looked brown, but as she nears you notice the colored specks of honey. They're bright and liquid warm, sprinkled with light brown specks, framed by beautiful thick lashes.

You try not to gasp, to make your eyes squeeze down to their normal size again, but all that happens is that you lose control. Your doggo runs off, zigzagging towards Rosa and dragging you with them, until he’s done a complete loop of her legs and you have butted head first into her forehead. The two of you let go of your leads in shock, Rosa grunting slightly in confusion as the doggos lie on their backs next to each other, gently headbutting each other with their button noses, not paying a jot of attention towards the pond.

The pond that shimmers with emerald moving across the deep green surface as if light itself could be blown across it by the wind. The opaque waters were icy even in the shallows. 

And it was into this that both you and Rosa fell, arms entangled in each other with a tight grip, your head butting into the dip of her chest as the water flows over your head.

~

The bench was an old brass colour that reminded Rosa of a murder weapon. Strange, she knew, but there was something menacing about the twirling swirls of metal that wound like spikes around the top as she let her fingers fall to the surface, feeling the heat of the day that had soaked into the metal. The bench was typical of the parks, the rosy cedar browns married to the iron that curved into the great arms and grew into ever-blooming flowers to rest on.

The bench had been exposed to the elements for many seasons, but still she ran them over the swirls in the wood grain as she talked hesitantly to you.

She sat, not without patience, but feeling as if her legs had been glued to the seat, Arlo napping with loud snores by her feet, just allowing the rays to dry her damp clothes.

Plus, she was surprised to find that she was actually enjoying another person’s company, considering the circumstances.

‘I really am so sorry, again’, you murmur, a shy blush littering your cheeks as your feet squelch in your sneakers.

‘It’s fine, Y/n, totally. Most exciting thing that’s happened to me all day.’

‘You need a new job then’, you laugh slightly, trying to look Rosa in the eyes as she raises an eyebrow at you.

‘I’m a detective at the 99, which can be pretty cool. Sometimes. We get a lot less wet.’

‘Oh, I work at the 89! In the I.T. department, isn’t that so strange. I guess we have good taste.’

Your fingers reach out, gently bumping against her shoulder as you giggle - nothing more than a fleeting touch, an instinct of nerves that lasts no more than a few seconds, but Rosa’s skin begins tingling where you touched her and her heart beat erratically in my chest so hard that I thought it might fly out. There were butterflies, no, lions in her chest, but it felt nice, for once.

She finally admitted to herself what she had known when you first fell into her arms, but was too afraid to admit it: she liked you. Too much for comfort. 

She blurts it out.

‘I want to see you again!’

‘...I would like that, Rosa. Perhaps somewhere a little less damp, this time.’

[sparrowwritings]

Final Fantasy Writing Challenge Day Twenty-Three: Mellow

Day Twenty-Two -- Masterpost -- Day Twenty-four

“Can either of you at least tell me where we’re going?” Alphinaud asked. He didn’t complain. If his tone sounded close to it at all, it was because he was currently being led to some unknown location whilst blindfolded. Something the Warriors of Light had insisted on getting him to wear just before they’d teleported with him via aetheryte to...wherever this was. Someplace warmer than Mor Dhona, clearly.

“You’ll see when we get there!” Came Lara’s voice from somewhere to his right. 

“Just keep walking straight ahead.” Roger called out from his left.

He didn’t know why he agreed with the Warriors of Light when they’d asked him if he wanted to join them. Neither of them had given any details and he was incredibly busy. Minfilia had recently returned to take her rightful place as Antecedent of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, but there was still so much that needed doing. Forms to file, people negotiate with, supplies to wrangle, on top of the complicated matter of moving the headquarters of the Scions to Revenant’s Toll. That was all while also working on his secret project. 

And yet...from the darkness of the blindfold came the memory of Lara and Roger’s concerned faces as he insisted that he didn’t need to rest. They were nearly identical to the various worried faces that Krile would make when, back when he’d attended the Studium, Alphinaud had insisted he could work the many hours needed to complete his projects. He’d been much younger then, of course, so she had more reason to worry. But Roger and Lara were about a year older than him. Practically his age. It was stranger to see on their faces than on someone his elder.

Perhaps that had been the reason. Their worry, followed by their not-subtle-at-all invitation to go someplace else to get him to rest, had given him that momentary lapse in judgement that led him to consent to this mad outing. This was what he insisted to himself was the case when the blindfold was finally lifted from his eyes.

Roger and Lara had led him to a stretch of yellow sandy beach. A quick glance at the green cliffs around them confirmed that the three were now somewhere in La Noscea. It would take a more thorough investigation to determine exactly which part he’d been taken to, but Alphinaud had a sneaking suspicion that neither Warrior of Light were willing to let him do that. 

The sarcasm rolled out of him as easily as the waves were hitting the sand. “If only I’d known, I’d have brought a bathing suit.” Not that he would have even if he had known. There were some things he refused to let the Warriors of Light find out about. His lack of swimming skills was among them.

Rolling her eyes, Lara pointed towards him. “You’ve been working too hard lately.” 

“And the work won’t get any easier by being away from it for a short period of time.” He pointed out.

“Yeah but you’ll just push yourself too hard and then nothing will get done.” Roger folded his arms. “I’ve seen it happen.”

Alphinaud stared at the other boy. “...At the chocobo stables…?”

“Wha--okay maybe not at the stables specifically...” It looked as if Roger’s mind was about to take the tangent and run with it before he shook his head. “But that’s not the point. My good friend Walker is always running himself ragged trying to keep up with Botanist work. And after a while he gets really sick and lose a lot of time recovering and then he goes back and worries about the work again and--” His ramble was interrupted by a sharp elbow from Lara.

“We’re not saying you need to walk away from the important stuff forever.” She continued. “But it really does help if you take a break every so often. It’s not like Roger and I are always adventuring.”

The two of them shuddered almost simultaneously. 

“Man I’d hate adventuring if that’s what we had to do all the time…” Roger muttered.

“We take breaks and we visit friends and most of all…” Lara indicated the beach with both hands. “We find places to have fun at.”

Alphinaud folded his arms as he took another look around. Of note, this area was almost completely hidden away by the cliff faces around them. Behind him was an entrance that led directly between two of them, but was difficult to spot from anything other than a head on view. He couldn’t hear the typical sounds of habitation, though it could just be that the rock around the three echoed the sounds of the ocean far better than they could a city. 

There was something significantly telling about how the Warriors of Light considered such an isolated area a “place to have fun at.” He settled that observation into the back of his mind to ruminate on it later. “So for your own amusement, you two travel to a beach such as this one and…do what exactly?” Alphinaud gestured at them, trying to encompass his meaning while doing so. “Fight crabs? Consider walking into the ocean to find an underwater kingdom? Throw sand around?”

The fact that the two looked at each other with equally bewildered expressions told him he’d guessed at least one of those right. 

“W-well…” Roger scratched at the side of his face while avoiding eye contact. “Sometimes, yeah...mostly we just take off our boots, roll up our pants and go wading. Or build sand castles. Or nap.” Alphinaud must have made a face because the other boy was quickly panicking. “Not! That you need to! Uh, do any of that.”

Lara pursed her lips for a moment before she added, “Yeah, you could sit on the beach and not do anything if that’s what’s going to make you happy.” She shrugged. “We just wanted to get you out of the Rising Stones for a little bit, that’s all. Let the sun hit you and the fresh air surround you, you know?”

He didn’t, really, but he nodded anyway. “The effort is appreciated, but I’ll be taking my leave.” Alphinaud sniffed. “If you’ll allow me.”

The Warriors of Light gave each other a look before turning back to him. “Fine.” They said at the same time.

Well that was unexpected. “You’re not going to stop me?”

Roger shrugged. “If you don’t want to relax here, then it’d be rude to force you to try.” He squatted into a sitting position and started taking off his boots. 

Lara gave him a smile, but it wasn’t nearly as bright as hers usually were. “We thought that it might help you unwind to give you a surprise trip to a beach. You know, give you something different then just...work, work, work.” She shook her head. “If we can’t convince you, we can’t convince you. What can I say? Other than sorry for wasting your time.” Saying this, she also set to removing her shoes. “I’m going to go splash around, though, since we’re here.”

Alphinaud stood there, watching the Warriors of Light discard their footwear and pad towards the water. Neither of them turned to watch him leave. Instead, they chatted among themselves as if they didn’t do so on a regular basis.

Something cold came from his heart and ran through his blood, turning the warm day several degrees cooler. 

As he continued to stare he was again reminded of being at the Studium when he was younger. He normally eschewed the company of other students, but every so often he’d spy a group of them and just...observe. Alphinaud would make note of their warm smiles, their animated gestures, the open way they treated each other without being related. And, very briefly, he’d feel a pull towards that heat. As soon as any of the students saw him, however, they’d become closed off and politely greet him before walking away.

He felt that same pull now.

Just before either of them reached the water, Roger turned to him. Giving a warm smile, he gestured at Alphinaud to join them. The cold feeling was quickly chased away by a pleasant fluttery sensation. The Warriors of Light still wanted him around. That was...nice. He still felt no desire to be in the water, but he did kneel near the discarded shoes to draw pictures in the sand with a finger. It seemed to satisfy Lara and Roger's desire to see him relax, even if it wasn't directly with them.

The work would still be just as daunting as it was when he’d left. A little time to decompress wouldn’t hurt, though...

[zwritestuff]

Kitty (One-shot) - Kyara

A/N: I wrote this loosly based off this comic, because I wanted to read this with Kyara, and I knew that if no one did it, I would have to do it myself (like everything I do). Hope you guys like this! It’s short-ish, unbeta-ed, but cute (I hope, at least.)

Summary: Kyne’s cat, Alexander, keeps getting chubbier by the day, despite feeding him all sorts of healthy food. (AO3 Link)

***

“Have you seen Alexander?” Kyne asks Rita, roaming around the apartment to find her cat. Rita pauses the show she’s watching, looking behind the sofa.

“Nope, haven’t seen him since last night,” she replies, looking back at Kyne. “Doesn’t he stay in your room most of the day? You’re the one with a widow, he must’ve escaped,” Rita offers as an explanation, though it doesn’t really ease Kyne’s worry.

Alexander is an old cat, he rarely leaves his spot in Kyne’s room unless it’s for sunbathing or following Kyne around the apartment. It’s unlike him to just straight up disappear, even when Kyne leaves the window open in the nights where she feels like she’ll melt if she leaves them closed. She tries not to worry, to tell herself that he must be somewhere, but she has already searched under her bed, in the kitchen cupboards, the closets and every place that can fit a cat as big as him.

Rita, sensing her bad wording, quickly corrects herself before continuing watching her show. “He’s probably roaming around the building, you know, doing cat things. I’m sure he’ll be back,” she assures her with a comforting smile, and Kyne muses a thank you, wanting to believe that.

She goes back to her room, scratching to the back of her brain to think of places where Alexander could be. She goes to check inside the closet yet again, realizing she hasn’t checked the top part of it. Kyne swears under her breath that if it turns out Alexander was up there all this time, she’ll lower his amount of treats and—

Kyne hears a purr behind her, and she almost snaps her neck with the speed she turned around with. 

Alexander is looking up at her, with his little black eyes full of curiosity, tilting his head in an adorable way that always gets him out of trouble. His fur is dirty, a proof that he was probably roaming around the cornices, taking naps under the sun. She scoops the cat up, scolding him with a maternal tone, as if he could understand what she’s saying.

“Where did you go, buddy? You don’t usually like going out, huh,” Kyne says, only getting a meow as a response. “Look at you! You’ll need a bath with how dirty you are.”

This time, Kyne got a high pitched meow in response, and she could swear Alexander was throwing a tantrum.

***

Days pass, and Kyne all but forgets about Alexander’s little adventure - he hasn’t escaped again, and has rather gone back to sleeping on his bed under the window all day, distracting Kyne when she tries to do her homework by sitting on her notes or demanding food. Nothing out of the usual.

Well, except a tiny detail that almost escaped Kyne.

“Alexander has gotten a little chubby,” Rita says one day; it’s not a question, it’s an affirmation. Her eyes are glued to the cat that’s stretching all over the sofa, while she tries to write an essay.

Kyne looks up from her papers sprawled all over the coffee table to meet her roommate’s gaze, focusing on Alexander. The cat, oblivious to their stares, starts to lick himself, and Kyne realizes that Rita is right.

“That’s weird, I haven’t overfed him,” she mumbles, furrowing her brow as she reaches for Alexander. The cat meows, clearly offended that she interrupted his bath session, but his annoyance is lost on Kyne as she realizes he feels heavier as she picks him up. “Have you been feeding him when I’m not around?” Kyne asks towards Rita, who shakes her head.

“No, feeding him is your thing, I haven’t even offered him a treat,” Rita replies, going back to focus on her computer. “Maybe he sneaks into the cupboards when we’re asleep and eats the cat food,” she offers, and Kyne hums noncommittally, settling him down. 

“That must be it,” Kyne says, deciding to hide Alexander’s food somewhere else before going to sleep, thinking that will do.

Turns out, that doesn’t help at all.

Alexander’s belly does nothing but grow, and Kyne would be worried about her cat having kitties if he wasn’t a male cat. Rita swears she hasn’t been feeding him behind her back, nor she has seen him actively search for food around the house, neither in the past weeks nor ever. 

Kyne buys different brands of food, hoping that would stop this out of the blue growth, but Alexander keeps getting chubbier by the day, and Kyne’s wallet pays the price when yet another so called healthy brand doesn’t seem to work.

Rita advices to take him to the vet, that he perhaps is sick and needs actual care instead of having his food switched all the time. Kyne, already tired of dragging a bag of cat food for five blocks every other week and getting weird looks from people, promises she’ll take him to the vet as soon as her parents send her money for her monthly expenses. 

It’s a hot night, and Kyne can’t sleep. The fan barely helps her to cool down, and she feels sticky despite having showered already. She blindly reaches for her phone from the nightstand, squinting when the light hits her straight in the face. It’s 2 A.M., and the streets are lively outside her window, but she’s had a rough week and all she wants to do is sleep as peacefully as Alexander is, hovering a corner of the bed.

She reluctantly gets up, careful as to not startle Alexander, groaning under her breath when she feels the warm tiles under her feet. She supposses another shower won’t hurt - Rita is still out with her friends, it seems, so she makes a note to not use all of the hot water. Rita had asked her earlier that day if she wanted to join her and her friends for drinks, but she had politely declined, not only because she didn’t know any of her friends, but because after an exhausting week of midterms, all she wanted to was sleep until she recovered her will to live.

The heat, however, was making that difficult.

She comes back with a towel wrapped around her torso, feeling less sticky at least. As she dries up and rummages through her closet for some pyjamas, Kyne hears a meow come from Alexander, so she looks at him over her shoulder, finding him stretching lazily.

“You can’t sleep either, huh?” Kyne asks aloud, finding a sports bra and settling for that. “We could turn on the living room AC and sleep there - the couch is better than this broken fan, anyway,” she proceeds, pulling up her pyjama bottoms.

She turns to look at Alexander, and she’s surprised when she finds him on the verge of the window, staring at something. Kyne makes her way up to him, but he jumps before she can reach him.

Kyne yelps, dashing towards the window, calling Alexander’s name. She lets a sigh of relief when she sees the cat walk along the edge of the cornices, trotting up until he reaches another window, and begins patting his paws against the glass, meowing loudly. Kyne calls for him, does that stupid pstpstpst that allegedly all cats answer to, but Alexander stays firmly put where he is.

She’s wondering what has gotten into him when the window is opened, a woman poking her head full of curls out the window, audibly cooing at the cat. Kyne can’t distinguish her face, but she hears her words clearly; she says something in what Kyne guesses is French, softly stroking Alexander’s fur, and the cat actually leans against her touch.

It takes her about two seconds to put two and two together to realize she’s probably the one that has been feeding Alexander extra meals, and that Alexander has been cheating on her with a neighbor she didn’t know until then.

The woman goes to pick Alexander up, and that’s when Kyne snaps out of her surprise.

“Ma’am! Ma’am, that’s my cat,” she exclaims, poking her body out the window. The woman turns to see her, craning her neck up, and Kyne sucks in a breath. She’s gorgeous - no wonder Alexander is cheating on her.

“Your cat? I thought he was a stray! He always comes to visit at night, keeping me company while I study,” she explains, her hands still stroking Alexander’s fur, who meows impatiently, clearly wanting to be picked up. The woman looks back at the cat. “No wonder you’re so big, Bunny! I should’ve known, you always smelled like vanilla and strawberries,” she says with a giggle, and Kyne wonders why hasn’t she met her before. “What’s Bunny’s real name, uh—”

“I’m Kyne,” she quickly introduces herself, “And his name is Alexander.”

“That’s a nice name - better than calling a cat ‘Bunny’, anyway,” she says with a laugh. “I’m Kiara, by the way. Nice to meet you, Kyne.” Kiara smiles at her and Kyne gulps, suddenly intimidated at how pretty her neighbor is. 

“Nice to meet you too, Kiara, uh. Would you mind if I pick up Alexander from your apartment?” Kyne tentatively asks, as the cat continues to meow to be picked up. Kiara finally gives in with a chuckle, cradling him like a baby. Alexander rests his head against Kiara’s chest, and it occurs to Kyne that he’s one lucky bastard.

“Sure, no problem, I live in the 4-C,” Kiara informs her, “We’ll be waiting for you.” She gives her a sly wink, entering back into her apartment shortly after that.

Kyne wastes no time in finding some decent shorts and a shirt to put on. Who would’ve thought she would meet a pretty girl on the hottest night of the year because of her sneaky, gluttonous cat? 

[the-silvr-speedster]

The Totally Crazy Adventures of the Astro Ambassadors

After they return from their six-month mission in space, Daisy, Daniel and Kora want just a bit of peace and quiet before they are shipped off on another space adventure. But Mack has other plans for them since they are needed for one more short mission. However, things might not go according to plan and without the extraction team, they have to rely on a teleporting device they’ve never used before.

Chapter 1: Just One More Adventure on AO3 or tumblr

Chapter 2: Welcome to Berhert on AO3 or tumblr

Chapter 3: The Taste of the Pristine Nature on AO3 or here ↓

Hi guys! I hope you are having a nice week despite all the stuff that is currently going on in the world. Anyway, here is another chapter that will hopefully help you get away from the reality for a little while. So sorry I didn't upload it yesterday but I was dealing with some work-related problems for the past week. I hope you'll enjoy this.

Sorry for any mistakes.

It was a hot sunny day. A light breeze was grazing the treetops of the forest. The peaceful rustling of the leaves was accompanied by a variety of animal sounds, ranging from a soft chirping and whistling to a loud screeching that carried through the forest. All the animals were minding their own business, whether it was a search for a suitable tasty lunch, a cleaning after devouring their prey, or a nap in the shadows cast by the huge trees that blocked the piercing rays of the midday sun. A small rat-like mammal sauntered its way across a small clearing and disappeared under a tree trunk.

Suddenly, bright blue light spread from the middle of the clearing and startled a flock of birds sitting on a nearby tree. The fading light revealed three figures standing in a circle around a spherical object, clearly confused by their surroundings, as could be judged by their perplexed expressions.

“Where the hell are we?” Daisy asked, frantically looking around. “This doesn't look like D.C.”

“Well, we all did think about Earth, didn't we?” Daniel spoke up while running his hand along the trunk of an enormous tree in awe.

“You guys said to think about home,” Kora spoke up from her crouched position, examining the soil.

Suddenly the trio was interrupted by a loud screeching from somewhere in the treetops.

“What was that?” Kora jumped up ready to fire an energy blast.

“I have no idea. But it definitely didn't sound friendly,” Daniel said quietly, quickly pulling out his gun from the shoulder holster and aiming it into the tree.

“Where…where’s Daisy?” Kora asked, alarmed.

Daniel spun around to look at the place he’s seen Daisy standing just a minute ago, panic filling his mind. But before he had a chance to call out her name -

“Uhm…guys?! You better see this right now,” Daisy called from somewhere behind the nearby bushes.

Daniel and Kora shared a relieved look before walking in the direction of Daisy's voice. Daniel held up some branches blocking their way and motioned for Kora to walk first before casting one last wary glance in the treetops and followed after her.

They found Daisy standing in a large hole. At least it looked like a normal hole at first but then their eyes scanned its shape and met Daisy's panicked brown eyes.

“Is that...” Daniel started but let it hang in the air.

“A footprint?” Kora piped up.

“Yeah. A really huge one,” Daisy nodded and curled her hand into a fist.

„It looks like it's from…a very big...reptile.” Daniel carefully stepped into the footprint inspecting every curve imprinted in the ground. He stopped at Daisy's side and took her hand in his in a calming manner. She loosened her fist and let him intertwine their fingers. He wasn't sure whom that gesture was supposed to calm more, Daisy or himself.

“Daydra...she said that...that the device is extremely sensitive so we have to give it a very specific command with our minds.” Daisy looked at him while a shiver ran down her spine. Something went very, very wrong.

“I thought of Earth,” Daniel said with a shrug.

“That is not very specific. I thought of HQ in D.C.” Daisy spoke up turning to face Kora.

“What? As I said, I thought of home.”

“Kora...that's...” Daisy ran her hand down her face with a sigh. “Which home?”

“Just home. Uh...but then...” Kora mumbled and the color drained from her face as she came to a realization.

“Then what?” Daisy barked out, her voice coming up a few octaves.

“I... I thought of the Afterlife in my original timeline and mom...” Kora carefully looked up at Daisy who was looking at her incredulously. She threw her arms up and started to pace around agitatedly. “I just got distracted by the memory, OK?! I was trying so much to concentrate which was really hard with the soldiers coming for us!”

“Kora,” Daniel said warily as he exchanged a worried look with Daisy upon hearing some rustling in the bushes behind Kora.

“But I was so nervous about the whole situation and...” Kora ignored him and continued in her rambling.

“Kora! Be quiet!” Daisy whisper-yelled at her.

“...I didn't want to mess up...”

The bush behind Kora parted and an animal with the size of a large turkey emerged out of it. Its body was covered in feathers and it had an elongated head, a long tail and a big claw on each hindfoot. Its yellowish eyes scanned the scene in front with curiosity.

By then Kora finally noticed the warning glances Daisy and Daniel were sending her and slowly turned around to face the curious animal. Her eyes grew wide upon seeing it and she started to back away, slowly raising her hands in case she had to blast it away.

“What the hell is that?” She whispered when she reached her teammates. “Is it a bird?”

The feathered animal emitted a screeching sound exposing the row of sharp teeth in its maw.

“Or a reptile?” Daniel whispered back.

Daisy swallowed hard as a thought occurred to her. “Or both.”

Daniel gave her a questioning look but they were soon distracted by the animal which now clearly lost its interest in them, probably by considering them to be too big to be a potential lunch. It screeched again and disappeared into the bush.

“I hope it didn't go fetch the reinforcements,” Daniel noted and turned towards Daisy while his gun remained securely in his hand. “What did you mean by it being both a bird and a reptile?”

Daisy looked at him in thought, then she scanned the flora around them again. Her eyes landed on a huge tree-like fern towering above them and then looked past it, deeper into the forest.

“I think we are on Earth, after all. We all thought of it. But we didn't think about the same location or...time for that matter,” she looked pointedly at Kora.

“Hey! It's not-”

“Shut it!” Daisy sighed, frustrated. “I think the device got confused by that and we ended up here.”

“Where is here?” Daniel asked apprehensively, not really wanting to know the answer.

“In the past. But the very, very…very far past. God…I think we are in the age of the dinosaurs.”

“But that was hundreds of millions of years ago!” Kora spoke up in shock.

There was quiet among the teammates while they let the words sink in, leaving only the sound of the breeze rustling the leaves around them and the distant cries of some animals.

“We can just jump out of here right now, no problem,” Daisy pointed out, seeing their panicked faces. “Let's just use the device again.”

“Okay. Let's get back to it.” Daniel snapped out of the shock first and led the way back to the clearing they arrived at.

“This time we just have to think about the exact same location and time, understood?” Daisy ordered, looking behind her at Kora pointedly. Her sister seemed rather quiet now but nodded in understanding. Daisy was about to say something else when she suddenly ran straight into Daniel's back.

“What the...” She looked at him confused as he stood there frozen and then followed his line of sight until-

“Where is it? Where is the device?” She asked anxiously, stepping on the clearing, looking around.

“It was right here.” Daniel pointed at a small dent in the ground before crouching down inspecting it. “Are those claw marks?”

Hearing that, Daisy joined him on the ground. “You want to say…that thing took our only way out of here?”

“It did look like a big egg,” he noted with a sigh.

Daisy plopped down and ran her hand through her hair agitatedly. A humorless laugh escaped her lips, her eyes fixed on the dent in the ground.

Daniel put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly before he sat down too, his eyes never leaving her face.

Kora remained standing nearby, looking at her feet with slouched shoulders.

“We are screwed.”

  Tracking the bird-like dinosaur through the prehistoric forest turned out to be pretty hard to accomplish. The three agents were walking in line, sending cautious glances in all directions. Daniel took the lead, searching for more claw marks to point them in the right direction, Daisy was trailing behind him, not saying much, and Kora was last, her previous panicked expression transformed into one of awe as she took in everything around them. They were running high on adrenaline, easily startled by unexpected noises from bushes or fern growth around them.

“We just need to find a vantage point and assess the situation from there,” Daniel said with a sigh when they took a short break after two hours of unsuccessful tracking. They lost the last tracks a while ago in a particularly thick part of the undergrowth.

Kora was sitting on a fallen tree trunk, her leather jacket placed between her and Daisy. “Great. If only it wasn’t that hot,” she groaned, her previous excitement long gone, as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. “How is it gonna help us, huh? Even if we find…I don’t know…a cliff or…a suitable tree to climb up to, all we are gonna see is just more trees…but this time from above.”

Daniel sighed, his right leg placed on a tree stump, and looked at Daisy. She was leaning her elbows on her knees and her face was hidden in the palms of her hands. She took off her gauntlets and the jacket of her suit which left her only in a black tank top. Daniel’s forehead wrinkled in worry at the sight of her. She was uncharacteristically quiet.

“We should find some water first,” he suggested. The heat was wearing them down too quickly and the last thing they needed was to get dehydrated. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and find our thief there. There must be a small stream or a river or something.”

“Yeah…but also…I don’t want to catch some prehistoric bug from unfiltered water,” Kora mumbled.

“You weren’t concerned about catching a space bug from unfiltered water when we were on Orilia,” Daniel pointed out with a raised eyebrow. “Would you rather get dehydrated?”

“No,” Kora muttered and stretched her legs.

“Dais? You OK?” Daniel leaned closer to her and brushed his fingers along her forearm tenderly.

Daisy took a deep breath and looked up at him with a ghost of a smile. “I’m fine.”

“Are you ready to go?” He asked her softly, searching her eyes for an honest answer.

She gave him a small smile and nodded, standing up from the tree trunk, dusting off her trousers from dirt and pieces of plants.

“But he doesn’t ask me if I’m ready,” Kora mumbled under her breath.

Daniel sent her an amused look. “Are you ready, Kora?” He asked her with a grin and offered her his hand.

“No, I am not,” she told him and accepted his help. “But let’s go anyway,” she smiled as Daniel pulled her up. She took her jacket and fastened it around her waist while Daniel shifted his attention towards Daisy again. Kora looked at her sister in thought. She wasn’t herself and of course, Daniel could sense that something was bothering her. So, she decided she should give them some space to talk it out. “I can go first this time,” she offered.

Daniel gave her a grateful smile. “OK. Try to listen for any signs of water and watch out for insects, the more of them the closer the water source is. The same goes for animal tracks,” he informed her.

Kora nodded, thinking. “So, which way?”

“Well, we are on a slope and the water runs downhill…”

“Yeah, right,” Kora sighed, doubting her decision to lead them.

“You’ll do just fine, Kora,” Daniel assured her. “Just follow ditches or valleys. We want to find running water, less chance of bacteria in it. And…we are right behind you.”

“Fine then. Let’s go,” Kora announced with fake excitement. “If I was annoying feathered little shit who stole an egg-like object, which way would I probably go?” She asked herself quietly and choose the less steep way down.

They walked in silence for a couple of minutes, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Kora looked behind her from time to time, to check on Daisy and Daniel, but kept her eyes on the ground most of the time. She put on a brave face when she volunteered to lead them but in reality, she was freaking out. A little. The silence was unnerving. What do people say when you are going on a hike in a dense forest? Don’t go alone and don’t be quiet. You don’t want to surprise a bear and get attacked. Somehow, she doubted the same worked for dinosaurs. But who can say what works for them and what doesn’t? No one has ever met a living dinosaur before. She swallowed. She really didn’t want to be the first one to meet a giant one.

Suddenly, she felt a pinch on her forearm. There was a really big mosquito, just casually taking a sip of her blood. Kora sighed and fried it on the spot using her powers. Not a minute later, there was another pinch on her shoulder. She cursed and fried that little bastard too. A thought occurred to her then. Mosquitoes equal water. They must be getting closer to a stream or something. She stopped for a while and listened. She couldn’t hear any sounds of running water so either there must be a lake or a pond or the mosquitoes prefer small dents in the trees filled with water. She scanned the ground for any tracks. She found some smaller ones in the mud and there seemed to be some kind of a path. If animals frequent this way, it has to lead somewhere, she thought.

“Have you found anything?” Daniel spoke from behind her, curious.

“Maybe,” she mused. “Come on, we’ll see soon enough.”

Daniel watched as Kora walked further away before he and Daisy followed after her. They walked side by side, their hands brushing from time to time. They were both on high alert, casting worried glances into the dense undergrowth but for Daniel, the thick foliage wasn’t the only source of his worries.

“So, what period do you think we traveled to?” He asked Daisy casually.

“I have no idea,” she answered briefly, looking sideways.

“I hope it’s not like in those movies you showed me,” he muttered, hoping to get her talking more.

“The Jurassic Park series?” She let out a small laugh. “No, they exaggerated quite a lot in them. Many dinosaurs didn’t look like they actually did in reality. Some were made bigger, scarier. Like the one who stole the teleporting device. I think it was a raptor. I’m not sure, though. In the movies, they were much bigger. Featherless. But some…were pretty on point,” she sighed and looked behind them.

“What do you mean?” Daniel asked hazily.

“I mean…if we are indeed in North America as we wanted to be and not…Asia, thanks to Kora, there is at least one dinosaur I’d like to evade. Well, depending on the period we are in. That one is as scary as it was in the movies. I’m getting goosebumps only from thinking about that one,” she ran her hands over her arms in a nervous manner. “I’m not even gonna say its name out loud. I brought us enough bad luck as it is.”

Daniel sighed. “So, that’s what this is about, huh?”

“What?” Daisy looked at him, confused.

“You being all quiet and…resigned,” he explained with an edge to his voice, staring intently at her. “You are blaming yourself for this mess, once again.”

She remained silent, not even looking at him. He took that as a confirmation. Her long locks were falling into her face, hiding her sad expression from him.

“Daisy,” he sighed and took her hand in his. “You’ve got to stop doing that every time something goes wrong.”

“I am the team leader, commander of Zephyr Three. There is no one else to blame but me,” she burst out, locking her eyes with his as she stopped walking. “I am…not a good leader, Daniel.”

“Where is this coming from? Daisy, you are a great leader. I’d follow you anywhe-”

“Yeah, but you are not being objective. Neither is Kora so don’t even look at her,” Daisy told him raising her voice, taking her hand from his. “How many times the mission went to hell in the past six months? We were given this big responsibility, exploring space, being emissaries, finding new allies. How many times we almost started a war instead? One time is too much.”

“Daisy-”

“No! Augus was right!” Daisy called out raising her hands in defeat. “One does not simply bring a weapon of mass destruction to a meeting about alliance!” She sighed and shook her head. “Did I just use that meme quote from Lord of the…” she mumbled to herself. “You know what, whatever. Look at this,” she motioned around them frantically. “This is probably the biggest mess so far. And it happened all because of me…again. I’m just…tired of not being good enough,” she confessed and that defeated tone in her voice hurt Daniel more than anger would. She turned away from him and ran her hand through her hair frustratingly.

But Daniel was having none of it. He was angry. He didn’t even know at what or who. Maybe the anger was directed at everyone who has ever made Daisy feel less of a person. Or at the universe that kept hurtling disasters at them even in the time when they should be happy and enjoy a few quiet moments together. He knows that Daisy has these moments when she doubts herself. After every failed mission. She keeps it to herself so no one would see her like that. But he does, and he is always there to remind her who she is. He’ll never stop doing it.

He saw Kora leaning against a tree further away from them, with a pained expression on her face. They were both hurting for Daisy. She gave him a nod and disappeared behind a big fern to give them more privacy.

“Daisy, look at me,” he told her with a soft but urgent voice, and turned her around, keeping his hands on her arms. “Human or inhuman, we all make mistakes. We all blame ourselves for them but what you are doing… It’s not right. You are blaming yourself for mistakes that are not yours, for problems that you had nothing to do with or decisions that you weren’t a part of.” He raised his hand to wipe away a tear that escaped her eye.

“But-”

“No. You are gonna let me finish without cutting in. I have a whole speech ready,” he said with a smile.

Daisy chuckled and sniffled.

“The incident with the handshake on Vorix was my fault, not yours,” he squeezed her shoulders to emphasize it. “When someone hates Inhumans, that is also not your fault. Neither is this mission,” he assured her and moved his hands to hold hers. “Firstly, we were following Mack’s orders. Secondly, Augus came to the meeting with the sole purpose of disrupting the alliance. And thirdly…you can’t possibly blame yourself for using an alien teleportation device for the first time and messing up. So…don’t doubt yourself. You are the most capable person I know.”

“That was a different speech than the last time,” she told him with a raised eyebrow, a small smile playing on her lips.

“You know, I have to change it from time to time, so it doesn’t get boring. And also, I need to address the newest problem that led us to have this conversation in the first place,” he grinned at her, his hand gently cupping her cheek.

Daisy leaned into his touch and closed her eyes for a moment. “Thank you.” Then she closed the short gap between them and got lost in his warm embrace.

“For what?” Daniel asked quietly, placing a kiss on her forehead.

“For being my light in the darkness,” she mumbled, hiding her face in the crook of his neck.

Daniel smiled, content in their small moment. “Always.”

Suddenly the nearby ferns parted and super excited Kora jumped out of them. “You guys, I found water!”

Daisy yelped and automatically took her fighting stance and Daniel pulled out his gun from the holster, both looking extremely alarmed and ready to fire.

“No need to be this hostile. I’ll show you where it is out of my own free will,” Kora muttered teasingly with a satisfied grin on her face.

“Kora! You almost gave us a heart attack!” Daisy yelled at her younger sister.

“Nah, you are safe. The grandpa next to you should be more concerned,” she remarked and turned on her heel. “You coming or what?”

“I swear to God she’s the worst,” Daisy said while Daniel just laughed.

  It didn’t take long for the three agents to reach the water source Kora’s found. It was a smaller stream that was flowing into a bigger one a few hundred meters further down the hill from where they stood. The water was crystal clear and the thought of finally quenching their thirst made the agents excited. Daisy kneeled on the ground and cupping her hands scooped up the water. Daniel did the same while Kora watched them, with a smile.

“Tasty, right?” She spoke up, amused.

“Refreshing,” Daisy said with a content sigh, splashing some water over her face, too.

“This is probably the best water, I’ve ever drunk,” Daniel informed them, scooping some more water to drink.

“Well, no pollution, just pristine nature. No wonder it tastes like heaven,” Daisy commented.

“We should come up with a brand name and use that as a slogan,” Kora chuckled. “Hmm…how about…Jurassic Spring, no pollution, just the taste of the pristine nature.”

“Or…Jurassic Spring, the true taste of the prehistoric forest,” Daisy added with a wide grin.

Daniel smiled at the sisters, shaking his head slightly. “Have you ever wondered what the prehistoric forest feels like? Try Jurassic Spring. No pollution, just the taste of the pristine nature.”

“Oh, you win, Danny-boy. You just came up with the whole commercial,” Kora laughed and high-fived him. “We should start our own marketing agency.”

“Yeah. Galaxy-wide, ideally,” Daisy joked, now sitting cross-legged on the ground. “Astro Ambassadors – Galaxy at your fingertips.”

“Wow. That actually sounds great. We could use it as a side job to earn more money,” Kora mused, already imagining it. A few seconds later she was brought back to reality by a splash of water from her sister. “Hey!”

Daisy chucked and pointed towards the stream next to her. “You are not thirsty?”

“I’ve already had some,” Kora shrugged as she stepped closer to the water. “But I might as well have some more. We don’t know when we find another stream.” She crouched down and dipped her hand into the water. After a few refreshing gulps, she looked conspiratorially at Daisy and grinned, splashing twice as much water on her as she did on Kora.

“Kora!” Daisy yelled, standing up from the ground, ready to quake the whole stream at her sister.

“Do you hear that?” Daniel cut in, suddenly.

“What?” Kora asked, confused.

“Exactly,” Daniel noted, looking at her with worry.

Daisy listened carefully to their surroundings but didn’t hear anything unusual. Well, except-

“It’s too quiet.”

She felt it at first. A shiver running down her spine and the feeling of dread settling in the pit of her stomach. The quiet around them getting even more pronounced. She looked around cautiously. Daniel and Kora stood behind her, doing the same. Time seemed to slow down…

Then she heard it. A deep throaty drumming sound coming from the direction they came from. She looked up into the nearby undergrowth, and when she finally saw it, masked among the huge leaves, her heart stopped for a moment and her eyes widened in fear. She swallowed hard and forced a breath into her lungs, frozen in place. Judging from the lack of sound from her teammates she assumed they saw it too. She felt like a deer in the headlights. Unable to think or act. Her mind was totally blank, void of any thought.

If you asked her later, she wouldn’t be able to tell you what happened first. Maybe it was Daniel calling her name, pulling her backward, and shouting something at her. She couldn’t comprehend his words. Maybe it was the enormous beast emerging from its hide, its huge teeth coming closer towards them. Maybe it was Kora’s scream. Or maybe it all happened at once.

She only knows when she finally came to her senses. Gauntlets. I need my gauntlets. She saw them next to the stream, they were getting further away…no, she was being dragged further away from them.

“It’s too late for that! We need to move!” Daniel called urgently into her ear.

Did she say it out loud? She wasn’t sure, she was still a little dazed. But as she watched as a huge foot stomped on her gauntlets and saw the snap of those big jaws she was brought to her senses completely.

Suddenly a huge ball of energy hit the dinosaur into its side. It emitted another deep throaty sound but otherwise looked unharmed. Just pissed off.

“I think you made it worse!” Daniel called to Kora and started to run along the stream, dragging Daisy with him.

The creature started to chase after them. Well, not exactly chase per se. It was more like fast walking as Daisy observed. However, with its long legs, even its walking was as fast as their running.

“I don’t think we are gonna outrun it!” she exclaimed fearfully as they ducked under the fern growth. The animal just stomped right through it without a sweat.

“Do you want to fight it, then?!” Kora asked breathlessly.

“Maybe I can slow it down,” Daisy replied and send a quake towards the beast. It stopped for a moment, shocked, then shook it off and followed after them again. Daisy groaned and sent another, much stronger quake at it. She hissed as a pain shot through her arm. The dinosaur lost its balance and sprawled on the ground, headfirst.

“Nice,” Daniel commented and pulled at Daisy’s arm to get her moving again.

“Where are we even running?” Kora spoke up, exhaustion seeping into her voice. “I don’t think I can keep going like this for too long.”

“Neither can I,” Daniel huffed. “We have to come up with a plan!”

They looked briefly behind them. The dinosaur was back on its legs and getting closer to them.

“On second thought, running seems like a good plan,” Daisy commented as a group of smaller feathered raptors came running out of the bushes.

“They run faster than us,” Kora piped up when a bunch of them ran past her.

Daniel stopped to catch his breath, massaging his right thigh. Daisy sent another powerful quake, toppling the beast to its side. They were now in the wide open. Next to them, the small stream changed into a river and a grassy field laid ahead of them, only small patches of trees here and there. Not many places to hide in.

“How’s your leg?” Daisy asked worriedly, placing her hand on his back.

Daniel just waved it off and motioned towards the scrambling animal. “Is that what I think it is?”

“A T-Rex?” Daisy asked, breathing heavily. “Well, considering the tiny arms, huge teeth, and the overall size of its body…I would say that yes.”

“I wouldn’t think it’s going to have feathers on the top of its head,” he remarked as he straightened up.

“I wouldn’t think I am actually gonna come face to face with it in the first place, yet here we are,” Daisy sighed. “The only good thing is that now I might know in which period we are.”

“Maybe it’s a good thing, but it’s totally useless,” Kora grumbled with a mixture of emotions in her voice.

“Let’s just hope the asteroid is not gonna hit the Earth today. That’s all,” Daisy muttered lightly as she sent another quake at the T-Rex. “But with our luck…”

Kora’s face paled a little. “What?!”

Daisy was about to bite something back when her eyes caught a reflection on a metallic object, not so far from the angry beast. “That can’t be…”

“What?” Both Daniel and Kora asked at once.

Daisy thought back on the animals that ran out of the bushes after getting startled by the big raging monster. Only now she realized that some of those looked exactly like the one that stole their teleporting device.

“Guys, look!” She pointed towards the metallic object on the ground.

“Oh my God,” Daniel breathed in disbelief and turned to look at Daisy with hope in his eyes.

She gave him a big smile in return and squeezed his hand. “We can go home.”

“Not if the Godzilla here crushes it with its foot,” Kora spoke up alarmed, as the T-Rex took few more steps towards them, coming closer to the device too.

“We need a plan,” Daniel said.

“There’s no time for that,” Daisy told him and started to walk towards the enormous creature. “We have to split up. Divert its attention.”

Daniel wanted to protest but he knew very well that there was no stopping her now. “So, I’ll guess we improvise.”

All three of them ran towards their impending doom, hoping they survive it. Daisy’s eyes were fixed solely on the prize – the device. Daniel pulled out his guns, not being sure if they’ll do any damage to the beast at all. Kora looked the T-Rex over, searching for a vulnerable spot where her blasts would hurt the most. The problem was, the animal was not only hungry but after being quaked to the ground multiple times, it was now full of rage.

Daisy almost reached the device when the dinosaur took a big step in her direction and its jaws clicked just a few inches from her head while she dived to the ground, ending the fall with a roll. She ended up in front of the device and grabbed it securely in her hands. Only then she realized that she is also right under the beast, which turned its attention towards Kora and her energy blasts. Daisy yelped and rolled away from her place, narrowly avoiding being crushed. She scrambled to her feet, preparing to throw the device to Daniel when she got hit by the T-Rexes tail. It sent her flying through the air and she landed hard on the ground. She groaned and rolled onto her back.

“Daisy!” Daniel called as two shots were fired.

She looked up to see the beast turning its attention towards Daniel, instead of her. The device was nowhere near her. She realized that it must’ve got knocked out of her grasp.

“I have it!” Kora exclaimed, running to Daisy’s side. She helped her stand up.

Daisy assessed the situation in front of her. “Whatever we do, it’s just pissing the T-Rex off more.”

“I know.”

Daisy sent a quake towards the beast again, aiming for its legs. It toppled over. Without her gauntlets, she couldn’t risk going full power on the creature. There were already some bruises visible on her forearms.

“Daniel! Come here!” She called to him, keeping an eye on the T-Rex. “We just need to distract it for long enough to get out of here,” she told Kora.

“What do you have in mind?” Kora asked when Daniel finally got to them at the same time as the animal stood up, its jaws snapping angrily.

Daisy crouched to the ground, placing her hands down into the grass.

“Whatever you are doing you better do it fast!” Daniel urged her impatiently.

She felt the vibrations of the soil first and then she went deeper feeling the rock. She concentrated her powers on it while trying to limit the vibrations in her arms. The ground started to shake. When she heard the crack, she smiled, turning her eyes towards the approaching dinosaur.

“Daisy! It’s coming in hot!” Kora yelled, clutching the device for dear life.

With another much louder crack, the ground opened in front of them and the surprised animal fell into the rift. Daisy straightened up and dusted her trousers.

“You guys OK?”

Kora was looking at her incredulously. “You couldn’t have done that earlier?”

“You know, it’s kind of hard to think when someone is scared out of their mind,” Daisy stated and reached for the device. “Now let’s get out of here.”

The agents stood in a circle again ready to jump away, listening to the rumbling sounds of the trapped dinosaur. The rift wasn’t too deep, so eventually, it was going to get out. They definitely didn’t want to stay long enough to see that happen.

“I hope it’s not broken,” Daisy mumbled scanning the sphere for any damage, missing Kora’s panicked expression. “We have to concentrate on the same place, don’t forget that. HQ is probably the best bet.”

“On three?” Kora asked.

“Fine,” Daisy mumbled as the blue lines appeared on the sphere.

“One.”

She looked at Kora encouragingly.

“Two.”

Then her eyes met Daniel’s and she let out her breath shakily.

“Three.”

Everything disappeared in the blue light.

End Notes: Did they finally manage to get home? Ehehe, I am not going to make it that easy for them. More adventures await. Speaking of...now is your time to give me ideas. I have a few more chapters planned and I know where this is all going (since I've already finished one of the two/three last chapters) but there can be more adventures in between. So, if you guys think of any time periods you would like to see them in and any characters for them to interact with (from Marvel or just the history), feel free to write it in the comments or send me an ask or a PM. The sooner the better.

This chapter was really fun to write, even if it took more time than I thought. I did a lot of research, learned some new things about T-Rex, Velociraptors, and the Late Cretaceous period. I read in an article that the sounds T-Rex probably emitted might've been similar to those of Emu. So, that's how I put it in the story. Also, the adults probably had feathers on their head and tail and were completely covered in them as young hatchlings.

Anyhow, that's enough of my rambling about Dinosaurs. See you guys next week and please leave kudos or reblog this. Stay safe!

[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.

[voidwaren]

[READ MORE] STORY 3/?

happy Valentine’s, guys! here’s a part 3/[READ MORE] story I whipped up for the occasion that is not technically finished, but is finished enough to share until I rework it for the eventual AO3 publishing.

(note: it’s more hectic shenanigans than romantic anything, though, so be forewarned. this isn’t fluff! though... if you’re used to my shit, you probably already knew it wouldn’t be.)

enjoy!

It starts as it usually does—with Warren waking up.

Waking up from a heavy sort of nap, specifically, that he’d taken somewhere around when the clock had ticked over into four in the morning and Nathan had left the room for a piss break that Warren knew, even with his wits slowly fading away into sleep, also meant he was going to smoke something Warren would complain about later. Warren had promptly passed out before Nathan had returned, lulled into oblivion from the comfort of the couch by the gentle whirring of Nathan’s movie projector, the snarling face of one Dracula frozen on the wall in all its glory.

He wakes up still on that couch, possibly in the same position he’d passed out in, with a blanket that belonged to either him or Nathan draped over his torso and a pillow shoved haphazardly into the space where his head might have been had he not already had it pressed deeply into the crevice of the cushions like a sorely confused ostrich in a thunderstorm by the time Nathan came to the rescue with sleep essentials.

None of that is particularly out of the norm for Warren to think much of anything about any of it, so he doesn’t as he stretches his appendages out and slowly works the feeling back into his virtually-dead arm. Not until a photo catches his eye from where it sits on the table, surrounded by an arrangement of paper roses Warren knows, thanks to some insightful mentoring from his newest therapist, Nathan had learned how to make, amongst other, slightly more distasteful things.

(You’d be surprised what kind of origami tutorials you can find on the internet. Warren fell down that rabbit hole each and every time Nathan resorted back to tearing the paper to shreds instead of folding it, bored with whatever project he’d focused on and unwilling to bother, at least in that moment, to look for a new one.)

The photo is new in both presence and existence. Warren knows it hadn’t been there before, because the table had been littered with snacks and folders when Warren had fallen asleep, and neither of those things were within eyesight now. He thinks briefly of letting it be, because he wasn’t sure what the point of it was and he wasn’t one to mess with other people’s things, but then he remembers all the times Nathan has gone through his stuff and decides, fuck it, fair is fair. You can’t put candy in front of a toddler and then expect them to live and let live.

Warren picks the photo up, and then he starts to laugh.

It’s a polaroid photo, which immediately tells him Max was somehow involved—as she usually tended to be nowadays, much to both Warren’s and Chloe’s chagrin, thanks to a shared class she had with Nathan and a natural ease between them that came when no strife presented itself, which Warren had not foreseen in any potential future—of Warren’s action figures of the Eleventh Doctor (Christmas Adventure Set) and The Flash (JLA Series 1), tangled in some semblance of an embrace that would have done the famous V-Day Kiss photo proud.

(Well, maybe. The Flash’s hand was clearly situated somewhere around The Doctor’s plastic ass, and Warren was about eighty-five-percent sure the original photo had no such groping, but it was the thought that counted, right?)

Warren flips the photo over, and written on the back in bright, scratchy red sharpie are the words, Nerdy enough for you to be my Valentine? 

And Warren’s throat goes completely dry in response. His stomach does a familiar plummet straight to the heels of his feet, but, for once, it’s not out of fear for a future he couldn’t control.

Nathan was not romantic. At least, not in the traditional sense, and the reasons behind that were ones Warren had, admittedly, been too afraid to traverse after learning of some of the things Nathan had gone through growing up. Warren was okay with that, because he’d yet to regain the concise ability to try at being very romantic himself, and he was sure that, by the time he even got a little of a handle back on his wooing skills, he wouldn’t even feel the need to use them on someone like Nathan, who never did things like this.

Well, you know. Until now.

Nathan was not a romantic, and Warren didn’t have the intuition to see past that. And now Warren had nothing to give Nathan in return.

Okay, yeah, Nathan probably wouldn’t actually care if Warren had nothing to give, but Warren would care, and that bothered him enough that he ripped the blanket off his legs and tumbled from the warm embrace of the couch to launch bodily at his charging phone. He both nearly knocks over a haphazardly-placed camera and almost rips the charger from the wall socket once he gets there, but he barely notices as he decides the fact his phone is upside down is the more dire issue at hand. He knows of only one person so good on her feet that she was as reliable a companion as he could ask for in such a sudden and grave situation, and her number is pulled up almost without him having to think about the action.

He jams his finger against the screen and calls Chloe immediately.

“Warren?” Chloe asks instead of some other typical greeting. She sounds alarmed. Probably because Warren never calls her. They have a purely text-based mobile relationship, and deviating from the norm was a label for potential disaster. He curses himself for not thinking of what his action would look like after everything that they’d been through. He knows he should know better.

“I’m the only one having a crisis,” he explains quickly, just so Chloe can relax.

She does so immediately, as is evident in her tone. “You have an oral obsession with a Prescott,” she teases, “of course you’re having a crisis.”

“It’s not just oral,” Warren grumbles, then shakes his head sharply, because that was not the point of this call, dammit. “Don’t distract me! I’m having a crisis and I need you to help me find something for Valentine's Day.”

The line goes silent. Warren can’t tell if Chloe’s shocked, holding in enough laughter to potentially kill her, or some combination of the two. He knows the line didn’t go dead. He can hear the faint static hum of it still being open. 

It lasts for nearly thirty seconds, and then, “Today is Valentine’s Day.”

“I know.”

“You didn’t get anything for him on Valentine’s Day? How did you not get him something, like, three months ago? You're the sap of the group. It’s basically your prerogative.”

Warren winces. “I didn’t think we were that kind of couple.”

Chloe snorts one hell of a snort. It could top charts, Warren thinks, if such a thing existed. “Not that kind of couple? The shit does that mean? What kind of couple could you actually be? You got together over a mistake in the space-time continuum. Who does that?”

“Er, probably some forms of romcom couples in movies?”

“Are you saying you’re living a romcom, Cracker?”

No, Warren thinks without hesitating. No, he is not. Because there had been far too much terror and trauma involved with his journey for anyone to be laughing.

“Just help me Chloe,” Warren begs. “Please. I’ll owe you if you help me.”

Chloe hums, but it’s in that way that she does when she’s not actually considering Warren’s offer because she’s already made a decision. “Fine,” she says after barely a moment of the supposed consideration. “But if you make me late for my date, it’s your skin on the line.”

“I wouldn’t dare.”

-

Warren sneaks off of the Blackwell campus and meets Chloe at the edge of the block, where she pulls up in her truck with a particularly smarmy smirk on her face. Warren has no idea where Max is—or Nathan himself, for that matter—but he’s not about to start questioning it when he didn’t want to run into either just yet.

“I can’t believe I’m helping Nathan Prescott’s boyfriend get him a Valentine’s Day gift,” Chloe says good-naturedly, if a little awed, as Warren clambers into the seat. Her nose scrunches up. “Actually, I can’t believe Nathan Prescott has a boyfriend. What’s the world coming to?”

“Armageddon, obviously,” Warren grumbles, then smacks his hands against the dash nervously when Chloe pulls from the curb with enough gas to rival Nathan’s hasty driving tactics.

Chloe leans over and swats at his hands to make him stop. “You know what you’re getting him?”

Warren cradles his assaulted hands against his chest and looks over at her. “Was that a question or are you about to tell me what I’m getting him?”

“What makes you think I have any idea what to get a worm like Prescott for Valentine’s Day?”

A fair point, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t try. 

“What do you get someone who has the money to buy the entire town?”

Chloe hums thoughtfully. The familiar stores of the road past the Academy pass them by, and Warren wracks his brain with little to show for it by the time Chloe says, “Why don’t you just snap him some nudes and call it a day?”

Warren nearly chokes on his spit with how fast he inhales, and Chloe starts to cackle. “I am not taking nudes for him, Jesus Christ,” he croaks, trying his best not to blush at the idea and failing spectacularly, if Chloe’s continued mirth when she glances at him is anything to go by.

“I was only half-kidding,” Chloe says from beneath her laughter, and Warren knows it’s a lie. She wasn’t kidding at all, and she’d probably been hoping he’d agree so she could get off scot-free.

“I’m not even technically legal. I don’t know if he’d appreciate it.”

“Oh, he’d appreciate it,” Chloe muses nearly to herself as she turns sharply into a parking lot. Warren graciously ignores that comment as he watches her wrench her gear shift into park and twist in her seat until she faces him. “Are we actually about to go into this blind?”

“Do you have a better plan?”

She purses her lips, then reaches over and unbuckles his seatbelt. She’s not wearing one, or Warren might return the strange favor. Then she smacks Warren on the arm like she’s about to send him off into the fray of an important sports game and then snaps the handle of her door to unlatch it. “Let’s rock and roll, bitcharoo.”

She’s out of the car before Warren can tell her he liked that line more than he thinks he should, and Warren scrambles to catch up with her long, purposeful strides as she makes her way into the Rite Aid like there was a zombie apocalypse brewing behind her and this was her last chance to get the goods before they all surrendered to the oncoming doom.

They’re met immediately with a pink and red smorgasbord of garishly decorated aisles bathed in the sterile white light all drugstores seemed to love to use, peppered sparingly with wilting bouquets, sagging balloons, and the forlorn figure of one Hayden Jones.

“Aw, shit,” Chloe has the chance to say just as Hayden lifts his head and spots them both, and then his face splits into a grin.

“Graham, Price!” he greets cheerily, immediately closing the distance between them.

“How does he know my name?” Chloe whispers, but doesn’t get any semblance of a response as Hayden throws his arms around Warren and picks him up like they hadn’t seen each other in months instead of the maybe-fifteen hours that had actually passed since their last face-to-face interaction, wherein Nathan had thrown the cap of a camera lens at Hayden to get his attention in the hallway of the dorms and missed and nearly beamed Warren instead just as he was coming out of the bathrooms. Thankfully, Nathan’s aim was either terrible or fantastic, and it had struck the wall just over Hayden’s shoulder and right next to Warren’s ear instead. That interaction had ended with Hayden laughing and punching Warren in the shoulder like some sort of teammate that had made a good play. Having taken place, again, maybe not even fifteen hours ago, Warren still had the bruise to show the interaction.

But Hayden was Hayden, and snatch Warren up he did. Warren was never sure what incited the action, because he’d never seen Hayden do it with anyone else. But, hey. At least he wasn’t beating Warren up.

Warren, pretty much used to this kind of thing from Hayden at this point, just holds on until Hayden lets him go again. He keeps his hands on Warren’s shoulders even as he pulls away, looking at Chloe with interest. “What are you two doing here? Where’s Max?”

“How come you call Max by her first name?” Chloe then asks, but is quickly followed by Warren waving his hands in the air and saying, “We’re just here for Valentine’s stuff. Why are you here?”

“Same thing! Thought maybe the candy would be on sale, and it’s good shit to stock up on for parties.”

“Oh,” Warren says, surprised, because that actually was a decent idea. “Cool, okay. Which way to the aisle?”

Warren starts to crane his neck, but Hayden’s face falls. “You’re standing in it.”

“Well, fuck,” says Chloe helpfully as the startlingly bare shelves become the elephant in the room. “There’s nothing here.”

“We’re a little late,” Hayden agrees.

“Little late? This place looks like Walmart after Black Friday.”

Warren pries Hayden’s distracted hands off, then stalks down the short aisle as Hayden and Chloe converse about the relative emptiness of the area and what other places might be like if the Rite Aid was as ransacked as it ended up being. Aside from a few sad bags of chocolate slumped against the far niches of the shelves, there was absolutely, and annoyingly, jack shit all left.

Great.

“What am I going to do?” Warren moans, threading his fingers into his hair and yanking dramatically. “Why didn’t I think we were this kind of couple?”

“What kind of couple?” Warren hears Hayden whisper-ask Chloe. Before she can answer, if she was even going to, he tacks on, “Oh, this is for Nate?”

“You got another boyfriend you didn’t tell me about, Cracker?” Chloe calls, just to be a dick, and Warren whips around and glares at her. To his credit, Hayden gives him a sheepish smile, knowing full well that one was his fault.

“I’m so screwed,” Warren continues, slumping his way back up the aisle and past Chloe and Hayden, who follow like drones directly behind him. The bell rings as they exit, and that’s when Warren offhandedly realizes no one had been at the register while they’d been in there. It must have been a blood bath, whatever had happened to make the shelves that way.

“Uh, no, you’re not, because that would be a good outcome,” corrects Chloe, smacking Warren on the back. Warren tries not to be upset about all the physical affection he was the receiver of nowadays. “The whole point of the holiday is to get fucked, duh.”

Warren shakes his head violently, only stumbling a little when the action grants him unsteady footing. 

“You are not helping, Chloe,” he warns her as Hayden’s hand is suddenly on his arm and steadying him to keep him from falling. Chloe only returns the statement with her patented shit-eating grin to show she’s fully aware of the fact.

“You were going to get him something themed for the holiday?” Hayden asks when they reach Chloe’s truck, eyeing the thing up like he’s not sure what to do about it. Warren nods solemnly. Hayden waits a beat, and then asks, “Why?”

And Warren just blinks at him. Because, yeah, wait a minute. Why was he getting Nathan Prescott something Valentine’s Day-themed on Valentine’s Day? He wasn’t some lovestruck teenage kid praying their boyfriend would drop them a special candy gram (no pun intended) while they were in class or anything, he was Nathan fucking Prescott. Pink candy and hearts and falsified niceties were basically his antithesis, and that was pretty much proven with what Nathan gave Warren. There was hardly anything romantic about the simple gift—it had literally been nothing but something Nathan had known Warren would love. Why the hell wasn’t Warren doing the same?

Jesus, and who here was Nathan’s boyfriend again? Because, right now, it’s kind of looking like Hayden.

“Hayden, I could kiss you,” Warren tells him in awe.

“Oh, uh,” Hayden stutters, apparently caught off-guard by the declaration, as Warren scrambles back into the truck. 

If he was going to say anything more, it’s cut off by Chloe frowning at Warren and blurting, “Are we bringing the lug?”

Blunt to a fault, that Chloe. It was almost an art form.

Hayden’s face immediately scrunches up.

“You wanna join us, Hayden?” Warren asks, just to make the look go away, because Hayden was a nice guy, and Warren found himself strangely uncomfortable with Chloe being her usual barbed self with him.

Hesitating, Hayden looks from Warren, to Chloe, to the truck, and then back at Warren again. He shrugs, “Sure, yeah. Got nothing else to do.”

“Get that ass in gear, then, boy,” Chloe says, ushering Hayden in through the driver’s side before jumping in herself, and back onto the road they go.

-

If Hayden was supposed to help at all past what he’d initially helped with, though, that doesn’t happen. He only sits between Chloe and Warren as Warren lobs ideas at the both of them and Chloe comes up with various reasons as to why each idea is lame, laughing occasionally and being a general deadweight between them. Warren hadn’t exactly expected much more from him, sure, but he would be lying if he said the sudden radio silence wasn’t a little unsettling. 

Thankfully, Hayden perks up once they reach their destinations, even if he still doesn’t offer much by ways of help. He instead meanders around the different, useless shops, offering commentary on things Nathan would definitely not like, and he and Chloe make a game of deciding what Nathan would hate the most.

“Definitely these,” Hayden says in one drugstore on the outskirts of the town, a last-minute-ditch attempt that proves just as useless as the first two, as he holds up a pair of rainbow socks for Chloe to bear witness to. Chloe laughs maniacally and pulls something distinctly X-rated off another shelf to present to Hayden, and they both cackle and banter and generally make Warren’s search harder by attracting attention he didn’t want. He has to wave off store clerks hoping to hurry along or kick them out too many times to count.

They go to three different stores, all full of things that were so far from what Nathan Prescott stood for that, by the time they’re almost back to the academy, Warren’s two steps from throwing himself out of the truck just to both distract him from the task at hand and to be a little dramatic, because that’s just what he was feeling right then.

“Forty-five minutes more and then I’m dropping your asses,” Chloe warns as they pull into what is apparently their final stop before they lose their quick transportation and will be stuck with everyone’s least favorite method of movement: Warren’s poor excuse for a car. “I have places to be and acting as Cupid’s chauffeur is not my day job.”

It’s a relatively small store they’ve arrived at as their last-ditch effort before Chloe called it quits, somewhere past where the gas station and the diner sat, that mostly sold things for tourists to enjoy after visiting the bay for what was usually either whales or something regarding Blackwell. Warren had less of a clue how the hell he was going to find something here than anywhere else, but they were running out of places to go, and there was enough of a mishmash of things housed within that Warren hoped, maybe, something would come to light.

It’s so small that, the moment they step into it, Warren realizes yet again that he recognizes another set of patrons, and that Arcadia Bay was too damn small for its own good.

“Trevor? Dana?” Warren half-greets in surprise when the two figures look up from where they’re paying at the register.

“Graham?” Trevor greets back in the same moment Dana lights up and says, “Warren!”

“And Chloe,” Chloe mumbles from next to Warren, and Warren catches Hayden cocking his head at her in confusion.

“What are you guys doing here?” Warren asks, ignoring them both.

“We’re on a date,” Dana says, smacking her open palm against the curve of Trevor’s shoulder. 

Trevor gives his Trevor smile. Which is to say, a smile that is a little crooked, very warm, and mostly directed at Dana herself, regardless of who he was actually talking to. He holds up the bag he’d just purchased. “They’ve got old vinyls and other things here, sometimes we get one and chill out with it.”

“Like a retro section?” Hayden asks, throwing Warren a look, but Warren’s already caught on. Old movies were basically his and Nathan’s thing.

Dana, too, seems to catch on immediately, even though there’s no possible way she could have had any previous information regarding Warren’s problem beforehand. She walks over, reaches out, and curls her arm into Warren’s. “Over this way,” she tells him as she guides him through the store to a small nook in the back. Set just in front of them is a single, long table covered in crates with vinyls stacked inside, and along the walls are shelves of box sets of varying degrees of media, from anime to sitcoms to shows Warren’s somehow never heard of. It reminds Warren of the FYE in the big mall way farther inland than Warren usually ever had time to bother with.

Warren can swear angels start singing in his ears the moment his eyes land on the glorious display, and they sound suspiciously like Dana herself.

Oh, wait. No. Dana’s just talking to him. Warren tunes back in.

“Might I suggest something over here?” she tells him as if she’s selling him something extremely expensive and obnoxiously sparkly, pulling her arm away to gesture at a small specific section with a flourish. It’s a part of the display that’s sectioned-off by a string of paper hearts, and it holds within a variety of box sets, all with an obvious romantic theme to them. Dana’s got a twinkle in her eye as she picks up, specifically, a black and white box that says Worst Romantic Movies of the Ages in looping white script.

It’s so perfect, Warren is stunned where he stands by the mere idea of its existence. He has to take a moment to reboot, and Dana snorts a laugh while the other party members, who had been left to their own devices, trickle onto the scene.

“That’s the bitch,” Chloe says immediately, grinning and snapping the fingers of both her hands into a finger gun, and Warren blinks as if coming out of a trance.

He lunges at Dana, bypassing the box set completely, and wraps her up in a hug. She laughs and hugs him back, and not even a beat later another set of arms are around him, and then another, and Warren can feel the corner of the box set digging painfully into the small of his back as he becomes enveloped in an entity of friends.

“I ain’t hugging you guys,” Chloe says, and Warren starts to laugh a laugh that almost edges on crying from how surprisingly relieved he is over something he knows doesn’t actually matter.

No—didn’t matter to Nathan. Nathan wouldn’t have cared, that much Warren knows. But it mattered to Warren, getting something for Nathan in return for staying with him all the times he thought he was losing his mind even after it all had been done, and he realizes, as everyone peels away and looks over the box set like it was worth infinitely more than the price tag stated, that he should have known better instead of waiting until it was almost too late.

“I can’t believe you found this,” Hayden offers as Warren gathers himself. He rolls the set between his hands, peering at it with an excited look on his face. “I didn’t even think of something like this. It’s great.”

Warren nods his head, maybe a little too enthusiastically, then turns to Dana, where she’s standing with an arm around Trevor, watching. “Thanks, Dana, holy shit,” he tells her earnestly.

She and Trevor both beam. “Anytime, Warren,” she says, and Trevor punctuates her statement with a nod and a wink.

“Might not be the most romantic thing ever,” Hayden says, clapping a hand on Warren’s shoulder proudly, “but Nathan will love it.”

Chloe reaches out, peels one of the paper hearts off the display, and slaps it on the box set. “There. Romantic as fuck. Now let’s ditch this joint before I miss my Valentine’s Day shindig.”

-

Finding Nathan turns out to be a relatively easy ordeal. He’s in Warren’s room when Warren checks, sitting at his desk and going over a file spilling photos all along its surface, a few rejected options tossed away to sit haphazardly on Warren’s bed.

He looks up when Warren enters and only has a moment to look relatively unperturbed before his eyes narrow into suspicion when Warren’s hand immediately darts behind his back.

“Where have you been all day?” Nathan asks him slowly, highly suspicious, after he’s taken a moment to just stare at Warren and wait to see if it alone would make Warren cave.

Warren hesitates, debating between outright telling Nathan the whole story and instead just giving him the gift, then decides the latter was the safer route when it came to Nathan and his impatience for Warren’s word-vomit and withdraws his hand until it was fully extended, the box set hanging in the air between him and Nathan.

Nathan stares a moment—surprise crossing his face so briefly that, had Warren not already been looking right at him, he would have missed it—and then he stands up and closes the distance, his eyes never leaving the gift.

He doesn’t take it right away—only stares at it, like he wasn’t sure it wouldn’t lunge at him and bite if he put his hands on it. It takes Warren shaking it gently, once, for Nathan to finally accept it with both his hands.

Nathan scrutinizes the box set carefully, turning it slowly in his grip. He’s not frowning, so that’s a good sign, but he looks like he’s not processing what he has in his hands. He confirms the speculation a moment later when he looks up at Warren and says, “What’s this for?”

Warren just blinks. “Uh. Valentine’s Day?”

Nathan’s face screws up like Warren just told him the equation of string theory. Warren can’t help it—he wilts a little, and his fingers spring to twist his sleeve up between them like they always did when he wasn’t comfortable with whatever was happening either to or around him.

“You—” he starts, then falters. Nathan doesn’t say anything, so he tries again, “You wanted to be my Valentine?”

Was he wrong? Had the photo not been for Warren or something? It seemed improbable, given the fact Warren was not only pretty fucking sure they were technically dating now, but also that the fact that it was a picture of The Flash and The Eleventh Doctor didn’t really leave a lot of room for outside speculation of who the figures were supposed to represent. So, you know, who the fuck else could it have been for if not Warren?

Warren is so lost in his own near-spiral that he almost completely misses the slow smile that springs to life on Nathan’s face as he eyes Warren, growing from first a small twitch of the lips until it hung on his face, full and crooked as the kind of grin only Nathan Precott could really pull off.

“You’re an idiot, Graham,” he tells Warren softly, and then he reaches out and wraps his hand around the back of Warren’s neck to pull him down and in. Warren relaxes immediately, and his hands release their hold on his sleeve to press against Nathan’s face.

Hell yeah, Warren thinks to himself as he leans into the kiss, the box set thumping softly on the carpet next to him as Nathan’s hands find their way under Warren’s shirt and Warren’s fingers thread into Nathan’s belt loops in turn.

Nailed it.