#sonic is saving tails the trouble of murder

[sofibeth-arts]

Whatcha got there buddy?

[yanderes-galore]

Hello, could you make a platonic concept for Sonic and Tails (game version) sharing the reader? Since they both see each other as brothers, they could try to make the reader their new sibling.

Aww... Sonic and Tails making you part of a trio 💜 Here you go! Sorry for the long wait as always, I'm really trying :)

Yandere! Platonic! Sonic + Tails Sharing Darling

Pairing: Platonic - Sharing

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Overprotective behavior, Manipulation, Jealousy, Paranoia, Tracking, Stalking, Violence, Brief blood mention, Clingy behavior, Implications of murder, Dubious companionship.

Sonic and Tails have been friends for, what, years?

The two are probably the closest to one another due to all the adventures they've had.

They'd definitely share an obsession between one another as friends.

I can't really see the two fighting over someone... they care for each other too much.

The two would be protective of a shared friend between them.

Like... extremely protective.

The two have been through nearly everything together since they were friends.

Most of the time it's due to them dealing with Eggman.

I imagine the two ended up meeting you on one of their adventures, perhaps even saving you from Eggman.

Sonic is his usual cool and laid-back self, always playful with you and Tails.

Tails is more shy but always wants to help you out, often offering you a gadget to help your daily life.

The two love to give their friend gifts as then you'll think of them.

The two are no doubt incredibly affectionate with you as their friend.

Now, if they view you as a friend or sibling... they could go either way as it doesn't change much.

Tails seems like he'd love hugs, honestly Sonic would too but not admit it often.

There's times when you greet them and the two bombard you in affection.

They are both definitely physical when it comes to affection.

Regardless on how they view you, as platonic yanderes they take such a role seriously.

The two value your safety... especially with all they've been through.

Tails definitely hides at least one tracker on you to know where you are like in his usual concepts.

He'd often alert Sonic where you are, originally he only uses it to keep you out of trouble.

Over time they both just find comfort in knowing where to find you....

I imagine Tails is more tame while Sonic can come off as intense at times.

Sonic can come off as intimidating if his friends are hurt.

In this case that would include both you and Tails.

Because of the universe and personalities of both characters, I don't expect any murder.

Violence on the other hand... that can happen.

Tails seems like the type who would give subtle threats to those who bother you.

While Sonic is similar, I can see Sonic being more up front about threats.

While the two care about you a lot, I want to believe they won't socially isolate you too much.

They'd be more likely to just insert themselves into interactions you have instead.

For example, you'll be talking with someone only to have either Sonic or Tails join the conversation.

Tails is always so sweet about it while Sonic uses his popularity to distract the attention off of you.

I'd say they both can get jealous.

Tails is more quiet about it but Sonic seems to be more vocal about it.

They're probably one of the best duos to have since they are mostly not that intense.

They genuinely just want to care for their friend and most likely won't kidnap you.

Instead there's the whole tracking situation... but with that you at least have your freedoms, right?

They aren't too fond of isolating you too much.

Even Sonic loves his freedom.

Instead they choose to protect you from danger as friends should.

Although... they may make you second guess your choice in friends.

Maybe the two end up giving you trust issues, jealous if you're spending time with others more than them.

They can be lenient... to a point.

The two see themselves as your heroes, always knowing what's best for their dearest friends.

Heroes shouldn't get blood on their hands...

Key word is shouldn't

However... perhaps there's some exceptions.

If the two ever did hurt someone for you, they'd work together to hide it.

The most I can see them doing is beating someone up or threatening someone to be quiet.

The two killing is rare and almost unheard of...which may just give them the perfect cover if I'm being honest.

You have no clue what the extent of their friendship with you really is.

Far as you know, they're harmless heroes who are just protective of you.

In reality they may be threatening and beating up those who may make your life less than perfect.

Perhaps the friendly exterior Sonic and Tails have around you and others isn't fully truthful?

Maybe they really do threaten, lie, beat up... or maybe even kill...

But surely there's nothing to worry about...! They'd never do such a thing... that's what you tell yourself, that is.

In reality, who knows what they do to maintain their friendship with you...

Perhaps the rumors are true... and there really is blood on their hands.

"Hey, has anyone been bothering you lately? You seem a bit worried...."

"You shouldn't have to worry, friend... we'll take care of everything, right?"

[neutral-emerald]

SILVER THE COSMIC TIME-JANITOR (or: dude, what's with all the alternate futures)

silver the hedgehog has a very simple backstory. he's a kindhearted, sorta-naive but altogether very driven psychic hedgehog here to save the world by time-traveling to the past (also known as present-day) to prevent the apocalyptic future he was born into from coming to pass!

[ID: A screenshot of Silver from Sonic 06. He’s glowing with cyan energy as he flies over a dark, post-apocalyptic city.]

...wait, if he's time traveling 200 years into the past to completely change the shape of the timeline, how do the stars manage to align such that he manages to be born at the exact same point in the new timeline with the exact same genetics? how are his parents born? does silver have parents?? and how does he do this no less than THREE SEPARATE TIMES??!

hey everyone, i'm tumblr user neutral-emerald here to make good on the idea i vaguely gestured at yesterday and point out silver's wildly inconsistent backstory(s) and then explain to you how this isn't just sega playing hopscotch with the concept of time travel, but actually TOTALLY EXPLAINABLE if you don't mind a whole lot of conjecture and "fuck dude i just think it'd be cool."

LET'S GO.

before i get started, a few things to establish.

first, this is about… half serious, tops. it’s less of a theory and more of an observation of something that’s weird and then throwing some possible explanations at it because i am a massive sucker for time-based nonsense. if you wanna take my observations and build your own conclusions, go for it. i’m not your boss.

second, i'm basing my conclusions off of both the games and the idw comics. the conclusions i draw are applicable to either continuity, but the logic does rest a decent amount on the comics, so just a heads-up in case you were expecting pure game canon from this.

and third, i'm working off like half a brain and very intermittent checks of the wiki and cutscene compilations, so there's probably many things i'm missing! if you notice something i said was wildly off-base, go ahead and correct me in the replies and i'll either edit the post or explain to you just how that detail doesn't actually matter, depending on whether it. y'know. matters.

with that out of the way, let's get into the first topic of discussion!

part 1: the future is inconsistent, y'all

now, i'm not sure if you've heard, but in the year 2006 sonic team released this little indie game creatively entitled Sonic the Hedgehog. it was a smash hit, won countless awards, and for some reason went down in history as a messy, incomplete bugfest. but that's not what matters. what matters is that it introduced Silver the Hedgehog.

silver hails from 200 years in the future. the world is a bleak, fiery place, and has been since the monster iblis was unleashed after princess elise's death. silver was born into this world, which we know since it's literally the first thing he says in his story.

[ID: A cropped line from Silver's story in Sonic 06. "This world was devastated before I was born."]

i'm not going to drag you through a beat-by-beat summary of the entire plot of sonic 06, you should know it already. silver meets mephiles, gets lied to about who caused the apocalypse, mephiles yeets him and blaze into the past, he tries to murder Sonic the Hedgehog™, and so on. eventually he helps kill god, and then sonic and elise travel further back in time to kill god even deader so that none of the game ever happened, and the bad future into which silver was born never happened, thus thoroughly scrubbing silver's existence from the timeline!

...until.

sonic rivals.

i'm not going to speak much on sonic rivals, mostly because i'm not super familiar with it. but what matters is that silver is back! he's still from the future, he's still here to change the past, and most importantly he wasn't deleted from existence by the destruction of solaris, unlike everything else from sonic 06 including everyone's memories of it. and obviously, whatever state his future is in, it's not the same as it was in sonic 06.

now, i don't have a single clue what is going on in rivals 2, so do inform me if there's some big information i'm missing from that one. all i know is he's fixing yet another possible apocalyptic future, like always. correct me if i’m wrong, i don’t have the patience to trawl through it myself.

then we've got sonic colors, in which silver is again from the future. notably, he’s definitely not from an apocalypse!

[ID: Some screenshots from the DS version of Sonic Colors, again cropped to just the text. Tails and Silver are talking to each other.

Tails: What's the future you came from like, Silver? Silver: A lot brighter than this. Silver: The sky is blue, and everybody's got a smile.]

sonic generations doesn't add much. again, correct me if i'm wrong, but i don't think we learn anything about what kind of future silver is from, and he's definitely not here to fix it this time. that's sonic's job! he's just hanging out like everyone else.

now, up until this point the future has been reasonably consistent, setting aside my somewhat abstract understanding of the rivals games. there's nothing to say that silver's not coming back in time from the same point in a single timeline, which is the one and only version of the future ever since the destruction of sonic 06.

UNTIL.

[ID: Two panels from the comic Sonic Forces: Stress Test. In the first panel, Silver looks worried as he lands in front of Knuckles, who looks skeptical.

Silver: We've got big trouble! Eggman— Knuckles: How can you be here? I thought you returned to the future?

In the second panel, Knuckles looks away with a self-assured grin, while Silver looks more panicked.

Knuckles: Oh wait— I must be dreaming! Silver: What? No! I've come back with a dire warning from the future!]

i have a lot of issues with sonic forces, especially with how its story is written. something i do NOT take issue with is the supplemental comics, mainly because they are WONDERFUL evidence for my crackpot time travel theory.

like i said, up until this point we don't really know whether silver has been experiencing separate instances of the future, or simply traveling back in time to prevent an also-time-traveling eggman nega from messing things up in the past. but here, we get some very juicy information:

[ID: Knuckles and Silver again. Knuckles has his arms crossed and is looking at Silver, who has a nervous look on his face as he slams a fist on the palm of his other hand.

Knuckles: Come again? Silver: Something happens that brings the world to ruin! But the historical records are sparse or make no sense. I came back to hopefully head off whatever's about to happen and save the future.]

silver travels back in time to prevent a terrible apocalypse. this is not the beautiful future silver came from in sonic colors— but this is the same silver. everyone recognizes him. he recognizes everyone. and yet, the future he came from is different.

part 2: silver is a walking paradox

allow me to remind you of what i pointed out when i was talking about sonic 06. silver was born into the iblis-apocalypse. considering no elaborate timeline nonsense happened to him before the events of the game (by his reckoning) i think we can safely assume he was born like a regular person with parents.

in the first post-06 timeline, silver was probably also born. let's be charitable, acknowledge that sonic team doesn't overthink the butterfly effect like i do, and say that silver was born to the same parents, because the universe likes to keep things nice and simple and contrive itself to make this particular character exist in this time period.

so, it's entirely fair that silver comes to exist in a post-06 timeline at the equivalent point in time, aka 200 years in the future. it's also fair that he travels back in time to prevent some kind of apocalypse, because that's his narrative role! it's what he does. when it's time for him to exist in the story, that's what he's there to do.

what isn't fair is the fact that it keeps happening.

[ID: A panel from the IDW comics. Sonic is stretching his legs while looking faintly exasperated at Silver, who is nervously holding his arm.

Silver: Er… No. I came back because defeating Eggman didn't save the future. Sonic: Couldn't even play along. Had to bring the mood down. Sonic: *sigh* Okay, what happened this time?]

[ID: The following panel, cropped to just Silver's text bubbles narrating over a starry sky.

Silver: When I left, my time had been conquered by the Eggman Empire. Everyone lived in fear, choking on polluted air. Silver: When I went back, the Eggman Empire was gone— but so was everyone else. Silver: There was nothing left. No people, no animals, no machinery. Only water and sparse, metallic plant life.]

allow me to summarize my understanding of all this: silver is from the future. normally, the future is good. sometimes it isn't. when it isn't good, he goes back in time and fixes things, then returns to the future to check if that fixed things.

the least conjecture-y interpretation i can come up with is that sometimes silver will go into the past, then go back to the future but end up in a Bad Timeline and thus go into the past again to fix things. there's no weird warping directly between bad timelines, he only gets there by way of the past.

but that's boring, so here's my PREFERRED interpretation.

silver hails from a good future, but sometimes it just changes. he's unstuck from time— if something weird happens in the past, he's the only one to know that the passage of fate was changed, because he went to bed in one timeline and woke up somewhere categorically worse, and the only way he can fix it is by figuring out just what caused this and going back in time to fix it.

or, to say it in a meme:

[ID: A picture of someone lying in a hospital bed with a nurse standing next to them, edited so that Silver is in the bed.

nurse: sir… you've been asleep for 2 hours silver: oh boy i can't wait to wake up in the same timeline i went to sleep in]

part 3: how did this happen?

it's one thing to point out that silver doesn't experience time like a normal hedgehog, and another thing to explain how and why this happens.

fyi, this is the part where i go wildly off the rails and start saying whatever i want. there's a ton of explanations one could come up with, most probably stemming back to sonic 06. i'm just going to go with my own, and probably not come up with a whole lot of concrete evidence because i'm just spitballing. this is me having a fun time. going "heeheehoohoo time traveling hedgehog go brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr"

so. something i haven't touched upon is that in all games after sonic 06, silver can time travel. we never see him do it, it's never explained how he does it. all we know is that he's doing it under his own power.

which is kinda odd, don't you think? should he be able to do that?

in sonic 06, we see three mechanisms for time travel. first is the chaos emeralds. if two people perform Chaos Control with a chaos emerald apiece, they open up a swirling rift in the air which can send them to different points in time and space. silver can't be doing that, for obvious reasons— he's only one hedgehog, and he's not exactly running around with a chaos emerald at all times. that can't be how he does it.

second is a time machine eggman built. that obviously can't be it; the machine doesn't exist at all after the timeline gets wiped, and again, silver is doing this on his own. he's actively antagonistic towards eggman, even. absolutely not this one.

third and finally is mephiles, who can make big purple orbs to take himself and passengers to different points in time. this obviously can't be it either, for similar reasons to number 2, right? after all, mephiles is one half of solaris, who was destroyed before he could be split off. he doesn't exist to be silver's time-traveling uber driver.

...right?

well, obviously. i'm not going to try and tell you that mephiles is secretly alive and shepherding silver back and forth between timelines for no reason. that's ridiculous. no, i'm going to try and tell you that silver is mephiles.

or rather, he's solaris. or RATHER, he's the new solaris, sorta-ascended to the role of Time God after the old one got blown out like a birthday candle.

like i said, i'm going wildly off the rails and as such don't have any concrete evidence to explain why it's this instead of something else, but hear me out. after elise blew out the flame of hope, the universe was left in an interesting situation. someone needs to be in charge of the flow of time, but the previous time-god was just unceremoniously destroyed. but all the power and energy of a time-god has to go somewhere, in some form, in some time.

with nothing else to go off of, the role of time-god starts flipping through every notable being it had interacted with. they're all solidly accounted for in the timeline, except for one. silver the hedgehog was born into a timeline that cannot exist. silver the hedgehog does not, and cannot exist. silver the hedgehog interacted quite a bit with both sides of solaris— he spent a substantial amount of time fighting back iblis, and associated with mephiles, even being one of the few people to directly experience his time travel abilities. silver the hedgehog tried and failed to absorb iblis into himself.

here's my theory: after sonic 06, the universe reasserted itself such that silver was the new Solaris. silver is not consciously aware that this is what he is, but he knows that he can time travel. sometimes the timeline will rearrange itself around silver. he is unaffected by this because he is a higher being unaffected by such petty trifles as "an origin" or "paradoxes".

silver the hedgehog probably doesn't have parents. he sprang into existence one day and everyone just kind of went with it, himself included.

oh also something i thought was neat but couldn't think of where to put:

[ID: More cropped dialogue, this time from Team Sonic Racing.

Silver: I'm fine. It's just, something bad is gonna happen. I can't explain it. I just feel it. Blaze: Have your travels through time given you precognition? Silver: I don't know. Maybe they have. Or maybe I'm just thinking too much.]

silver might be becoming psychic in a future-vision kinda way. that, or he’s riddled with anxiety. possibly both.

TL;DR

silver hails from no less than three separate timelines, his existence is a tangled web of who-knows-how-many grandfather paradoxes, and i choose to believe that he's god.

if anyone who cares more about evidence wants to gather up like, little one-off clues that support or conflict with my conclusions, go right ahead. or just throw your own arbitrary headcanons for what's going on with this at me. or incorporate these ideas into an au or something! i just want more people thinking about what the Fuck is up with silver post-06, because by god there is a WHOLE lot of potential packed in there

anyway thanks for reading make sure to like comment and subscribe—

[greenyvertekins]

Top 5 Misunderstood Sonic Characters

1 - Big

Often misinterpreted to be stupid and extremely annoyingly, this false interpretation made its way into an official game. Fuck you Bioware. The truth of the matter is, Big is simple, not stupid. They’re two very different things. Yet he’s been morphed into a non-sequitur spouting dumbass who is so dense, he can’t even tell if his eyes or open and closed by….those hacks.

2 - Sonic

A character whose outlook on life and even heroism is so simple yet so many people, both fans and officials, fail to grasp it. Sonic does hero’ing not because he thinks that he has remarkable powers and should use them for the sake of humanity and dedicate himself to heroism a la Superman but because 1 - Stopping the likes of Dr Eggman Is fun and 2 - He gets to oppose the oppression and such that he so despises whilst satisfying his inability to turn away from those in trouble.

Also portrayed as pretty thick in a lot of fanwork and certain official media *CoughSatAMCough*. Factually, Sonic is pretty clever, something pointed out in his SONIC CHANNEL profile. He’s also often portrayed as a hyper-maniac-can’t-keep-still-has-no-time-for-sedentary-habits too, when it’s even canon that he likes kicking-back with a good book.

A good gauge of seeing how misunderstood Sonic is by the fandom is the stupid reactions to his final wish in SatSR and the frequent insistence that he should’ve wished for something self-serving. Also, see how many fans defend and even celebrate his jerkassery in Chronicles when in truth, Sonic doesn’t have a genuine mean bone in his entire body.

3 - Amy

Often portrayed as a temperamental terror who gladly resorts to psychotic violence when it comes to Sonic. Or as a selfish bitch for her lines in ‘06 when she affirms her loyalty to Sonic even after Silver states that he’s responsible for destroying the future world. Having enough faith in Sonic to assuredly know that he would never knowingly doom the planet is not insanity or selfishness.

Also Bioware? Amy is not manipulative like you loved making her out to be - She’s honest about her feelings and her expression of them and would NEVER resort to fucking with Sonic by inventing a fictional boyfriend.

4 - Tails (By Pontaff)

Remember the brave Fox cub who put-aside his insecurities and fright to step up to the plate and save Station Square from Dr Eggman? Remember the kid who, after watching his big bro seemingly get blown-up and murdered right before him, put-aside his despair and swore never to give up and finish the mission to stop the Eclipse Cannon whilst avenging him first priority?

Remember the character that acknowledges the regard and value Sonic places in him and often understands why the Hedgehog does what he does?

*Takes a look at Lost World and Forces*

😔

5 - Dr Eggman

Often portrayed as a mega-evil incarnation of Satan, a pushover or a complete pussy.

In reality, Ivo has humanistic qualities despite his general lack of regard for the environment, doesn’t perform cruelty for cruelty’s sake (Victims of his antics, including the environment, are more collateral than anything), doesn’t revel in inflicting suffering, has pretty huge balls and is very, very rarely intimidated by anything if at all and is very much capable of some ingenious foresight, capable of turning the tables on Sonic for example very quickly. Especially when the Hedgehog has underestimated him.

[boomstyle]

Sonic Boom : Friend or Foe

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters and settings of Sonic boom. Oh, watch out for OCs!

Truth Hurts But Heals

On the Next day

I was on my way to Meh Burger when I saw Shawn passing through the route close to Amy's house. Amy's house is as close as a zip across the beach. It's easy just go straight to the right and you'll see a lush garden with a practical stilt hut close to the shore of a clear lake. That's where Amy's house lies. Yup, he's going there. Now, I'm hiding close to the window. I just hope I don't get caught or else I'm doom.

Amy Rose's hut

(door knock)

"Coming", Amy Rose said.

When Amy open the door, she invited Shawn in. Amy, I hope you're more careful with him. He's dangerous.

"Shawn, come on in!"

Amy is really happy to see him but did she know anything about him. I guess not. What she knows is his vacant mask. I will unmask him but I have to be careful. If I get caught up in the process, there's nothing he could do to harm us or even the whole village.

"AMY(cries)", Shawn cried crocodile tears. What a fake guy he is?

"What happens, Shawn?", Amy asked.

"Amy, I am hopeless, very hopeless.", Shawn fooled her. Oh, he can fool the whole team or even the whole world but he can't fool Shadow and me. I'm glad Shadow shows some of his soft spot toward me despite the fact we're rivals.

"Sonic, he... kicked me out of his house and said that I'm worthless pal."

What? I never said that. Sure, I was jealous and suspicious of him over the course of months but this is just too far. That's it. I'm barging in. I don't care if I ever get caught as long as my team was safe.

"That's it, Shawn or should I say Zuko.", I give out a firm statement after I barged into Amy's house.

"Zuko. Wait for a second! Are you the former East Bender that Grand Master Heretic mentioned?", Amy asked.

"Yep I am.", Zuko said.

"OMG, I am so fan of you. Grand Master said, "You're awesome but you vanished." but why did you vanish from the martial art world?", Amy asked.

"It's a long story.", Shawn answered.

"yeah, a long story of the villainous scheme. HUH?", I retorted.

"Look, Sonic. Let me explain!", Shawn said.

"Explain what? That I am worthless. Yeah, whatever.", I retorted.

"Sonic, what's the matter with you? You're being offensive today.", Amy talked back.

"Oh yeah, I am. I am tired of this whole thing. It seemed that he mattered to you more than me, right?", I said.

"What? No, but...", Amy said.

"But I am mean to him, right? I kicked him off and said he's a worthless pal but I'll tell you one thing, Amy. He's not the guy you thought he was.", I recklessly explained the fact. Great! Now, I am toast.

"That's enough, Sonic. Today, your attitude is totally unacceptable. Let's go, Shawn!", Amy said.

Great! Now, he's taking Amy too. What am I going to do now?

"Brokenhearted?", Shadow suddenly appeared. That's shocking. I wonder since when Shadow started a conversation. Last time he only started combat with me or even the whole team.

"No. It's just that Amy is in danger. I'm worried about her. Shawn, con her.", I lied as I face him. Not exactly, just a half-truth.

"Uh Huuhh.", Shadow drone, raising his brow in a way that implied he doesn't believe me

"Fine, I am.", I grumbled after I murmured a little.

"It's just that I feel like Amy doesn't love me anymore. She might as well leave me for him or worse going back to her first crush. What a nightmare?"

"Hmph, just as I thought.", Shadow melancholy implied.

"What's the matter?", I asked. Geez, why he's so fried up now? Don't say that he's in love with Amy? There's no way Shadow is gonna be lovey-dovey toward her. He's just too cold-hearted, self-centered, and aggressive to actually be in a love relationship with someone.

"It's none of your business", Shadow blushed. OWW... He's blushing. No, I shouldn't tease him. He would be really furious. Just get to the business!

"So, Shadow. Are you fine right now?", I expressed my concern. Yesterday, he seemed to be perpetuated. I didn't want to stir a riot.

"Hmph, I'm always fine.", Shadow was being Shadow again. It's obvious he's not fine. I just hope he would just swallow his pride a bit.

"Yeah, sure. Shadow.", I said.

"Anyway, how do you know I am brokenhearted?"

"I'm a skilled surveillance. You won't even notice I am here in the first place.", Shadow implied.

So he's here the whole time I was spying on Shawn today. Wow, that's just creepy. Okay, Sonic. Now, the most important thing is finding what's Shawn has been up to.

"Okay, Shadow. See you around. I gotta see Amy and Shawn for a bit.", I said.

"Not so fast, Sonic.", Shadow said.

"What is it?", I said impatiently.

"Gotta go fast. Gotta reach and beat Shawn or else Amy would be in danger."

"Why are you so impatient, Sonic?", Shadow said slyly.

"Do you think you can beat Shawn?"

"Of course. I am Sonic The Hedgehog, the fastest being alive. Even Rere and Clara admired me.", I confidently boast myself.

"Pfft. You won't even stand a quill against him.", Shadow deem me pathetic

"How can a panther stand a chance against elemental bender?"

*flashback

*LOL*

Oh, so he insults me. Hm, nevermind! I don't want to cause a scene. Try asking how to approach them, that's more like it.

"Then what should we do?", I asked.

"We? More like you. I don't care about her.", He blushed in embarrassment and backed away.

"Ok, so what's your suggestion?", I asked.

"Follow me!", Shadow instructed while holding my hand.

(Teleported)

Meh Burger

"Wait, what?", I mumbled. How is this possible? I thought Shawn was just gonna kill her or anything. It turned out they're eating at Meh Burger with my other gangs.

"But...but"

"Humph...What do you expect? If Shawn devises a murder plan too early, his plan to dominate the world and destroy all organic life forms will fail.", Shadow revealed his intention blatantly. Wow, Since when did shadow care about saving the world. I suggest he care neither to save nor to destroy the world. No! He must have another reason why he wants to get rid of Shawn. Shawn must have manipulated, enslaved, or controlled him. Otherwise, Shadow wouldn't hunt Shawn. Remember, he's neither hero nor villain though that doesn't mean he's to be taken lightly.

"I see. He took us as bait to fulfill his wicked ambition.", I said.

"Wicked? Define what is wicked! Saving the world is not my concern, Sonic. I just didn't like the face of him. He manipulated me to the point I lose someone special.", Shadow explained. I know it. Shadow doesn't help me to save the world or probably even care to be an extra member of Team Sonic. He pursues Shawn out of a grudge for losing his special someone. It's unfortunate. I wish he will be more open to friendship. Who knows someday he might be my pal just like Tails someday?

"Until next time, Sonic.", Shadow part away.

"Sonic.", Shawn calls and waves his hand.

"Uh, Hi.", I greet and takes a seat at Meh Burger.

"Are you going to order something?", Shawn asked.

"Oh yeah", I said without hesitation. Nah, why should I grumble and mumble against him? If I want to save my friends a lot of trouble, I must keep a poker face in the meantime.

And yeah, I immediately take an order in a zip. Uhm..., I longed for a chili dog a lot.

"One chili dog with fries"

(Several minutes later)

"One chili dog with fries", Dave the Intern repeats.

"Ugh, chili dog is my faves.", I complimented.

"You should try some. It will", I advised Shawn and give him an intense stare.

"Oh yeah. I will", Shawn stares his eye down. At the same time, I look at Amy to start a conversation but she gave a sour look and turned her face back.

"Amy..."

"Hmph", Amy huffed and closed her arms as well.

"Uh, guys.", Tails called. Oh, Tails. You don't know what happen between Amy, Shawn, and me.

"What a great couple", Sticks said sarcastically. How? How do you know?

"No, we're not...", I tried to explain but something urgent happens.

Not again. The whole village is surrounded by robots. It must be from Roboken. Where is Team Cyborg? The duplicate of us? We need you guys.

Ok, this is gonna be interesting. Remember Sonic Boom episode, "Robot from the Sky part 1-4". Yeah, the story will be similar to that only that there will be 3rd person in the game of robot war. What do you think Shawn is up to?

Anyway, Shadow had a soft spot toward Sonic right now. I hope he will get along well with the whole team soon but right now, this is good. Unfortunately, Amy and Sonic's relationship worsen due to a misunderstanding.

[mobius-prime]

68. Special - Sonic Blast

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Sonic Blast

Writer: Mike Gallagher Pencils: Art Mawhinney Colors: Karl Bollers

So, as you might have guessed, this special issue is based off the Sonic Blast game, in which Sonic rescues Flickies - small nonsentient birds - and transports them and himself through magic rings. The intro page gives us a little detail on how Flickie Island is apparently the "last unspoiled ecosystem on Mobius," but of course, now that Robotnik's gotten wind of such a place existing, he's determined to pollute and exploit it. But Sonic the Environmentalisthog won't let such a dastardly thing happen!

Funnily enough, the way that the Freedom Fighters find out about Robotnik's plans is because of Snively, who is still pissed at Robotnik for the events of the Sonic Quest miniseries. Thus, he decides to broadcast Robotnik secretly to the entirety of Knothole as revenge, while Robotnik rambles on and on about his plans. Sally comes to find Sonic sitting at the beach, and finds him rather sulky, thinking about how she lied before about her extensive history with Knuckles. To put his jealousy over the echidna to rest, she decides to flirt with him in perhaps the most uncomfortable way imaginable.

Sorry, Sally, but really? "You know how to bristle, don't you"? What does that even mean? Do you get all hot and bothered when he shows his spines to you or something? And dear lord what is that painful expression you make when you get close to his face? Are you trying to kiss him? It looks more like you just got sucker punched in the mouth and now your lips are all puffed up and swollen from it. Art, buddy, I know you generally go for a more cartoony style in your drawings but damn it, you can do a better almost-kiss face than that.

Anyway, they of course get interrupted by the news about Robotnik before they can make out, and Sonic sets out with Tails and Rotor in their respective submarine vehicles to Flickie Island to stop Robotnik from causing any trouble. Luckily for the plot, Robotnik's already there, on the hunt for the Chaos Emerald he's sure is around here somewhere, and is taking advantage of the small cute birds' trusting nature to turn them into his robotic slaves.

Shocking behavior, Ivo! By the time Sonic and co. reach the island, the roboticized Flickies are already swarming around the place, and divebomb them when they try to investigate. However, by chance some of them land in the water, and come out reverted back to their organic forms. Sonic decides to test this theory using some speed superpowers that, if tried in any real-life setting, would probably explode the universe from the sheer amount of energy released. I distinctly remember discussing this exact scene with some friends several years ago, and how utterly ridiculous it is, but then again, we're debating the physics of Sonic the Hedgehog here.

I mean, for real, he could have gotten the same effect by just splashing it really hard. Way to show off, man.

Anyway, Sonic then fearlessly dives into the water, proving once again how different he is from every counterpart of his in other canons, and heads into the heart of the island while Rotor and Tails battle their way up the beach using some spare super-soakers they had on hand. Sonic soon happens upon Robotnik with the help of a random Flickie, and they duke it out for a bit - interestingly hand-to-hand. Normally Robotnik relies on minions and robots to defend himself physically from Sonic, but apparently he's given his costume a few upgrades this time around, being able to shoot lasers from his robotic arm, zap Sonic to disorient him, and then tie him up in his indestructible cape once they make it through the magic ring leading to the Flickies' home zone.

Robotnik is sure this is where his prized Chaos Emerald must be located, and sure enough, he finds it embedded in the forehead of a giant stone Flickie statue. Hooray for Ivo! Oh… wait…

Wow, Robotnik is an advocate of religious tolerance now? He's certainly come a long way from the issue where he declared his ban on religious freedom.

Robotnik soon finds himself on the run for his life, emerald in hand and zone collapsing, and by the time he reaches the ring, Sonic's already managed to shred the cape he's wrapped in with more supersonic powers. They manage to get through before the zone collapses, but…

See, I find it unnecessary for Sonic to have saved Robotnik at all. Sure he would have lost his arm trying to hold onto the emerald, which would surely have been a horrific souvenir for the Flickies left in the zone, just a big flabby severed arm flopping down onto the ground with the symbol of the owner's greed still clutched in its fingers, but that's not the point. That's his only organic arm - his other is cybernetic. Clearly, at some point in the past Robotnik either lost an arm, or willingly sacrificed it to augment himself with robotic parts, but either way he's no stranger to having a prosthetic arm. I feel like losing his other one would be at worst a minor inconvenience until he built himself a new one, which let's be real, would be even stronger than his organic arm and therefore better by his standards.

Either way, he ends up not losing the arm, but is forced to leave the emerald behind. Rotor and Tails then show up to inform him that in the meantime, they already deroboticized all the other Flickies and sent them back through the ring to their home zone, so they're now forever out of his reach. They then leave in their submarines, marooning Robotnik on the island. This is actually like one of the first really smart decisions they've made regarding him, honestly. Sure he'll find a way to get off, but these guys spend way too much time and energy saving him from his own hubris and thus leaving him alive to murder more innocents.

The T.U.F.F. Awards

Writer: Angelo DeCesare Pencils: Dave Manak Colors: Karl Bollers

This is really just more of a silly couple pages than an actual story. Sonic and Sally are hosting the T.U.F.F. ("The Ultimate Freedom Fighter") Awards, and giving out awards for "Most X Freedom Fighter" to everyone. Unfortunately, Rotor was in charge of deciding who won each award, and apparently has terrible judgment.

In the end, Sally claims the "Smartest Freedom Fighter" award for herself, claiming that she's earned it when she turns out the lights on the show. Good job, Sally, cause honestly it wasn't interesting at all.

Bugged Bunnie

Writer: Angelo DeCesare Pencils: Dave Manak Colors: Karl Bollers

What a pun! Robotnik and Snively sneak up on Bunnie while she's napping in the grass to plant a tracking bug on her in the hopes that when she wakes up she'll lead them back to Knothole. Unfortunately for them, she's a rabbit, and thus is able to traverse terrain they really can't by hopping long distances (her robotic lower half helps too). Ultimately, she jumps over a gap too far for them, and they're forced to leave, trusting their bug, which they really shouldn't have.

Oh yeah, you see where this is going. The little mole (or… whatever it is. Gopher? Prairie dog?) takes the bug deep underground, and thus later that night Robotnik and Snively are stuck digging for hours, sure they're close to finding the secret village! Good job, guys.

[rachelbethhines]

The Antoine and Bunnie Retrospective - 174

“Trouble in Paradise” Trouble in Paradise III - Sonic Universe #19

Best. Cover. Ever. 

So we pick up right where we left off....

Antoine swan diving off a cliff, scaring the wits out of his wife, all for the sake of making a grand theatrical spectacle. 

Fortunately the comic spares both us and Bunnie the unnecessary agony of a forced “cliff-hanger”. (forgive the pun) 

Unfortunately even her brief freak out is enough to get Speedy suspicious of her. 

So how did Antoine survive? Well remember Tails was out in his sub trying to rescue them last issue...

What follows is several pages of just Tails and Antoine interacting and it’s glorious. Simply too fun to cut, so enjoy.

Now this is the type of interaction I hoping for back in issue 210. Sadly in that issue we were over swamped with exposition; here though we have just enough to keep the plot going while the rest of the page space lets the characters breathe. 

Antoine functions as the big brother of the Freedom Fighters. Sometimes annoying and a little bit prone to lecturing because he’s the oldest, but mostly he’s looking out for everybody, handing out snippets of wisdom from his experience, and being genuinely proud of his friends accomplishments. While also good naturedly teasing them from time to time.  

And this is really important to the book to show off his relationships with other characters besides just his wife and Sonic. It fleshes out the world, makes the characters feel more alive, and gives certain future issues more emotional impact. 

In fact I’m kind of sad that Ant didn’t get any alone time neither Sally, Nicole, nor Rotor before the events of 234. 

Meanwhile Speedy is onto our fav rabbit and teams up with some mad scientist or other. 

Now back to our regularly scheduled cuteness. 

Ya know maybe Bunnie wasn’t too far off the mark when describing Tails as a ‘psychotic weapons expert child soldier’ last issue. Cause he’s awfully excited about blowing stuff up. ;) 

Bunnie looks really pretty here. I think the ponytail suits her. At least when it’s drawn right. 

Ya know nothing is better then seeing someone you care about get excited over their interests. Antoine squeeing over a sword is the best thing in this entire arc and that’s really saying something given how outstanding this story is. 

So outstanding that I’m now just posting practically the whole comic with running commentary because A. It’s good stuff and B. I’m tired and it’s my review series so I’ll be as lazy as I want to be, kay.  

Pfff...Ant’s still POed about getting cocked-blocked. Way to keep you’re priorities straight my little revengeful ball of fluff.  

What follows is an action sequence. It’s fun so I’m going to post it, I don’t know if there’s anything really you could to add to it. 

Things to say... things to say... oh..uh

Tails takes charge of everything because he’s the Sega game char-- er, I mean cause he’s the one with plan. riiight. that it. 

Yardly’s work is wonderful to behold as always

Dr. Foo is a hoot (pun intended) 

Bunnie, baby, you really need to learn not to overexert yourself. You’re starting to give your hubby heart attacks. 

Also finally more evidence that Ant is secretly a fuzzy murder machine that must be saved from himself. 

And we end everything on cliff hanger. So be sure to tune in next week for the collusion of the arc and the week after that will be the special NSFW review. 

[tessatechaitea]

Black Canary #1

Isn't a black canary just a crow?

I love everything about Black Canary's outfit. The high-heeled boots with the huge cuffs. The gloves with the huge cuffs. The short jacket with the huge shoulder pads. And obviously the fishnet stockings. Maybe the only thing that is a little tiny bit unrealistic (and only because everything else is so on-point realistic!) is that fucking wig. It's too much, man! Although as long as Dinah doesn't mind getting it torn off in battle to reveal her actual identity, I suppose it's a good surprise tactic in battle. Some brutish drug lord thinks he's got her dead to rights as he grabs her hair to pull back her head and woof! Her hair comes off in his hands, he loses his balance, and Black Canary cuts his fucking balls off. Now I want Black Canary to be infected by the Meta(l)gene so she becomes Death Canary. Maybe instead of a sonic scream, she could emit a poison scream. That fits the theme of the canary in the coal mine which would be a dead canary which is where she got her name, Death Canary. Try to keep up! And if you were keeping up, sorry to be so patronizing, you fucking genius you! I'm taking a break from Twitter so whenever I get the need to do a Tweet, I'm just going to insert it into my comic book reviews. Like so: Tweet: "I think I have the Kokomovirus." That's the kind of brilliant thing people are missing because of the gloating Biden fans who don't care that if I get sick or have a medical emergency, I'm going to die and/or go bankrupt. Oh well! I guess I haven't earned life!

Welcome to the club! It even includes Superman! Unless he's already dead. Which means I should have said, "Which doesn't include Superman. Because he's already dead!" This comic has the same cover date as Superman #75 so I don't know how to word my joke which probably wouldn't make sense to people reading this in 2020 anyway without all the exposition!

Tweet: "I've just discovered my new kink is women hanging from ladders." Black Canary is tailing a girl, Sally, who has found herself mixed up in some dangerous things. I don't know what those things are but the girl is dressed like an extra from Road Warrior. And not an extra that lives behind the wall of trucks hoarding all of the oil or water or lube or whatever. She looks like one of the people trying to steal the good stuff.

Remember when there was a moment in time when panhandlers being honest seemed charming?

I'm not sure what Black Canary's first clause has to do with her final clause. "He has bad dental hygiene but at least he doesn't lie." I mean, I can sort of see it when I restate it. "Here is a thing he is neglectful of but then again, he has a positive trait." Still, it's clunky. But just looking at a guy and thinking "Ugh! Rotten teeth and bad breath [redundant!]! But at he least he's honest!" seems a bit weird. Her response, "Sorry, no pockets," is the response I'm going to use from now on, even when I'm wearing cargo shorts. Which I only wear in hypothetical sentences although if I did wear them, I would not be ashamed of it. In 2020, it's less likely that a person would have no pockets and more likely they just wouldn't have any cash. Unless a panhandler has ApplePay, they're shit out of luck.

I have two pet peeves when it comes to comic book depictions of objects: getting the pips wrong on dice and getting the stripes wrong on the flag of the United States. And I don't even care about the flag! I just think it's lazy to get it wrong!

Since those aren't real dice, the artist might be commenting on how fuzzy dice producers are lazy assholes who get it wrong all the time. Once every five years, I feel charitable and decide to give an artist the benefit of the doubt. Because I was angry about the dice, I almost missed the rest of the panel which showed a couple of guys on a stake out. They must be the reason this girl is about to get into trouble! She's fallen in with a dangerous crowd and the cops are ready to bust them! I hope Black Canary saves her from ruining her life! Although I don't know why I hope that. Is it because I trust Black Canary's judgment? Because I really don't give a shit about Ms. Mohawk there. I barely give a shit about myself! If I were walking into a dangerous situation only to discover I was about to be murdered, I'd probably just shrug and think, "Seems fair." Black Canary tries to reach out to Sally in the bar. She's fifteen years old and on the streets working for a pimp. The girl doesn't want any help and tries to leave but some guy in the bar grabs her. She kicks him in the chest and the guy pulls a gun on her and tries to murder her. Is that the kind of thing we've decided to classify as "boys will be boys"? I'd think of it as a sense of patriarchal entitlement but I think we're saving the word "entitlement" to disparage government programs that help make people's lives better. I fucking hate this world. Due to the commotion inside the bar, the cops ditch their stakeout and rush the entrance just as the girl is leaving. They grab her and, being that she doesn't know they're cops and they're just more men trying to control and limit her agency, she slices one with a knife. Now the cops also try to shoot her! But Black Canary stops them the way she stopped the other guy. You know, by beating their asses. They'd love to arrest Black Canary but Seattle, unlike the small town in the miniseries, doesn't have laws against women looking hot on the street. Maybe they have laws against assaulting police officers but they don't mind giving her the benefit of the doubt because she works with them better than Green Arrow does. She also distracts them by giving them a different lead to follow.

This is fucked up. This really makes it seem like Black Canary suspected this guy was about to die in this alley from a drug overdose and she simply ignored it!

Black Canary tells the cops that she's seen this kind of thing before. A local politician used booze and drugs to keep get street people to vote for them. The cops are all, "Big deal! There ain't nothing criminal in that memory!" ignoring the fact that Black Canary is just telling it to maybe shine some light on the street person they just found who died of an overdose. Black Canary responds, "Getting people drunk ain't a crime but poll fixing is! And, you know, murder!" Then Black Canary continues to remember when she was a young teen trying on her mom's outfit, eager to become a vigilante. Black Canary remembers that at least one of the homeless people being kept stoned to keep them happy as they're bused to the polling place to vote for the corrupt politician was blinded by the cheap alcohol being used. To keep the person quiet, one of the corrupt politician's staffers suffocated him and dropped him in an alley. That's why Black Canary has seen this before! It's probably the same corrupt politician! Because the same thing is being done again. Only this time instead of staffers drugging homeless people, he's paying young street kids to hand out the drug-tainted alcohol. And Sally was the one who gave the murder drink to Canary's rotten toothed homeless man! And she's horrified when she learns she killed a guy! But the local politician is all, "There's more money where that came from, murderer!" Black Canary #1 Rating: B. This is a decent story about a street level hero just trying to do good while trying to also work with local law enforcement. It's probably better written than a number of super hero books at the time but I only continued with this series for one more issue. My guess is that at 21, I was less interested in a well written comic book discussing social ills and more interested in muscular bodies in tight and gaudy outfits punching other muscular bodies in tight and even more gaudy outfits. I know at this time in my life especially, I was really into solid super villains. And nothing could bore me quicker than the villain being a corrupt politician in a suit. Man, the real world would be way more exciting if Donald Trump just bought a mask and a weird fucking purple and green spandex outfit. I say if you're going to go full super villain, look the fucking part, dude.

[taco-night-frenzy]

Stuff I wanna write

I’m pretty tuckered after writing so much, but I want to blab about other ideas that have been floating around for months and months that I still wanna do some day maybe. 

Obviously lots of F/F and short Trails in the Sky fics (maybe one medium sized one) and then one big Luigi and maybe a few Sonics. Anyway here’s the list because I just... I want to write down ideas and put stuff out there. It’s what I like doing. Support me and tell me I’m great if you want, I love that, but don’t feel you have to. I'm full of myself and love compliments and nice words like “Wow that sounds cool, you should do this idea!!” Or maybe like “I also like that pairing, here’s what I’ve always thought about that too!” And just you know, nice interactions are cool.

Estelle/Dorothy. Wanna do another NSFW one that takes place in Zeiss. Would technically be right after Estelle/Josette fic but I wouldn’t tell you that really shh. Estelle gets a “quest” from a mysterious sender, turns out to be Dorothy because Dorothy spelt her name completely wrong. Dorothy wants to take pictures of Estelle, and Estelle’s like FINE SINCE I’M HERE. Anyways, Dorothy makes Estelle feel really good about her body and takes great pictures and ... you get the rest. 

Another Estelle/Anelace (Possibly just Estelle & Anelace). SFW this time. I have much less worked out on this one, but I want Estelle and Anelace to go on a mystery together and solve a murder or something. Not super romantic, but a few light touches here and there and some fun plot. I’ve not nailed it down well..

Schera/Aina. Maybe spicy? Maybe NSFW? Who knows. I want to write something with them. Maybe about the time they’re on the run from that weird Mafia that actually happened and they had to spend the night in an abandoned home together. Lots of talking and developing feelings... or maybe another idea completely but with a similar preface.   Estelle/Female!Joshua genderswap I GOTTA do Estelle/Joshua!! They’re a good ship! I just wanna make Joshua a girl for my own needs. Been struggling with a plot on this one. Maybe Joshua finds out he likes dressing up like a girl more than he realized (I always loved that Estelle called him beautiful and seemed genuinely attracted to him when he crossdressed.) Maybe while he’s been out on his own exploring ancient ruins something turns him into a girl and its a weird experience and he’s feeling vulnerable and strange and calls to Estelle to help him work it out and then you get some nice romantic hurt/comfort...  And last but certainly not least...  Detective Luigi 2: Hotel Wario

I have already written like 10k+ of this one and written down the basic plot and all that. It can be a real struggle writing such a long thing again, though, but for the most part this one takes place a year later from the last mystery. Daisy and Luigi are invited to Wario’s brand new hotel with a bunch of other fancy rich or famous people like Bowser, King Boo, E. Gadd, Prince Peasly, Lord Crump disguised as someone else... and Booster and Valentina and... A lot of others. Have plans for Goombella and Toadette to return and help and also Vivian now too. Basically general plot is someone steals Wario’s ancient relic, and Dr. Crygor’s automatic defense system locks EVERYONE in until they can find who did it. A locked box kind of mystery with a lot of Mario RPG characters and decent Wario world/ware theme. 

I wrote it actually before Luigi’s Mansion 3, but it’s been good inspiration. It continues where it left off where Luigi is learning to be his own person, learned how to say no to when people ask him for things. But there’s more to life than just saying no all the time and Luigi still has to struggle finding a good balance.

There’s a lot going on and a lot of people have different motivations and feelings that have stayed the same or changed over the past year. I think I’ll just post what I got on Tumblr sometime later if I can get myself to working really hard on another long fic. 

And I do have one idea that I’ll probably never do but have always sort of daydreamed about...

Chaotix Mysteries starring Vector and Knuckles. I really don’t think I’ll do this one but who knows. Station Square city and Team Chaotix already lend themselves really well to doing mystery AUs. Wanted it to mostly be Vector as the main detective and his partner Knuckles with occaaaassional Espio and Charmy help. Been a lot of gem thefts in the city and a lot of trouble in general, and it’s definitely not Rouge because that would be really obvious and boring, but they’d be asking around with Rouge and Shadow first thing and.... well again it’ll be YEARS if I ever ever ever get to this one...

I have a lot of Sonic Mania stories I started and never finished too. 

Knuckles first person journal as he explores Mirage Saloon. I actually wrote some of this too years ago. Knuckles keeps a journal around and gets lost in a desert and finds himself in a crazy weird saloon with Fang/Knack and tries to get to the bottom of it by like punching stuff. Also Knuckles tries to write down rap lyrics a lot because he thinks they’re cool. (They’re not.) 

Another one I started with Sonic Tails and Knuckles at flying battery... Sonic has to fight Mecha Sonic and tries his best to keep it away from Tails and Knuckles. It doesn’t work well and he’s losing a lot and he learns (probably doesn’t) that it’s okay to rely on Tails and Knuckles a little sometimes. Remember, this is Classic Sonic, so he’s still young and kind of rude and thinks he’s all that. I started this one too like a year back. It was mostly Sonic getting beat up and Knuckles shittalking to Tails how Sonic’s a jerk, and Tails is just like trying to live his life and find Sonic. About halfway through, Mecha Sonic goes Super and Knuckles has to fight him again. Mecha Sonic is way stupider than Metal Sonic and way more basic, so Sonic has trouble with that. Knuckles is better at fighting against brain dead idiots. Sonic’s able to keep up with Metal Sonic since Metal is more advanced and has Sonic’s thoughts and feelings kind of programmed in there. 

Then one at Titanic Monarch... I also barely started this one... Just wanted it to be Sonic running off ONCE AGAIN on his own to fight Eggman. The illusions are strong, it has like every last boss all at once. Metal Sonic, Mecha Sonic, Big Arm, al lthat... Tails and Knuckles show up and are like GOD you IDIOT let us fucking HELP and Sonic’s like o, sorry. 

Another Sonic Mania one with Studiopolis where Amy’s just watching TV at her apartment and its mostly from her perspective. Eggman hacks the TVs and turns the world into weird illusions and makes everyone watch his broadcasts as he spreads propaganda about how Sonic’s evil and bad, and Amy’s like NO!!! He’s NOT BAD!! Anyways, you only see what Eggman shows you, and Eggman like kidnaps news anchors and forces him to say how great and good he is and Sonic is bad, but then Sonic saves the day anyway and Amy’s watching the whole thing like SEE I TOLD YOU and just screaming and being a maniac. 

ANYWAYS THAT’S ALL MY IDEAS I’VE GOT PROBABLY. I want to write them all some day, but it’s tiring...

[nervyghost]

The Dragon in the Box (9 out of ?)

The three of them power-walked through the building, The Doctor slightly ahead of the two humans, his hands stuffed deep into his pockets. He did feel guilty for scaring them, but the only other option would've been death by cyanide. 

Not exactly the best set of options.

He was just glad that they didn't stop helping him when they saw what he was, though he wouldn't have been able to blame them if they had refused to help. Sherlock suddenly broke the silence with a question. "You took all the sugar, right?" Molly nodded. "Yeah, there weren't many packets of sugar to begin with." "That's probably for the best, we don't want anyone else to get poisoned." Sherlock frowned. "Now is hardly the time for jokes Doctor." He coughed slightly, scuffing his shoes a little. "Right, sorry." Molly suddenly turned, pushing open a door. "That's the cafeteria, though it's deserted right now." Gray chairs were neatly set up next to pristine tables, all swabbed clean and left for the night. The Doctor glanced around the room, quick to notice the security cameras, strategically placed so nothing escaped their view. If he was going to cough up any more smoke, he was going to have to leave. Sherlock seemed to notice his discomfort at seeing the cameras. "Better not pull anything." "You don't say. I don't really want to be shipped off and dissected, thank you very much." He heard Molly snicker quietly behind him, and Sherlock just sighed. "Look. I'm trying to save them in any way I can. Any form of cooperation would be APPRECIATED!" He snapped. The Doctor knew he should have seen this coming, he was just trying to help! Maybe his sense of humor wasn't appreciated by all, but it had become a bit of a nervous habit. This regeneration did seem to have a big mouth, and he supposed that there were always going to be people who found him annoying. "That's how I cope with danger, try and make light of it." Sherlock didn't respond, so The Doctor continued. "I know what to expect, but my companions usually don't. I don't want them to get scared, so I pretend like I'm not." Sherlock ignored him, striding toward where the sugar had been. There were a couple scattered packets of cream and stir-sticks, but other than that, completely nothing. "Where's the clue? There's got to be another clue here!" The Doctor leaned down to get a closer look, pulling out his glasses as he did so. He ran his fingers along the edge of the table, searching for any niches in the metal. "Try the sonic." The Doctor obliged, pulling out the device and pointing it at the table, hoping against all odds that something would blip. The scan brought up nothing. Sherlock noticed The Doctor's face drop and scowled, giving the table a kick. Molly looked between the two of them, her expression worried. "Anything?" The Doctor sorrowfully shook his head. "Nothi-" He was cut off mid-sentence by something vibrating in his pocket. Sherlock eyed him suspiciously, as if daring him to drop another bombshell secret.

 The Doctor dug a hand into his coat, trying to figure out what was going off. His fingers closed around the object and he pulled it out with a flourish, recognizing it immediately as the disc from before. Sherlock's eyes stayed fixated on the silver object, and Molly looked confused by its presence. "What's that?" She asked, taking a nervous step backward. The device buzzed again, and The Doctor slowly placed it on the table. Sherlock narrowed his eyes, moving closer to The Doctor's side. "Blocking the cameras." He whispered. The Doctor nodded, and Sherlock motioned for Molly to step closer. She obeyed, eyeing the device warily. The Doctor gave the button on the top a light tap, and a display flickered to life atop it. A set of numbers were ticking down, along with a few words. TAKE A BREAK, YOU'VE EARNED IT. The Doctor leaned over the table, hanging his head as he did so. "Six hours.” The words stuck painfully in his throat. “Six hours for me to be nothing but useless." Sherlock shook his head. "That can't be what it means." His voice sounded desperate, a sound The Doctor knew well. They stood in silence, just letting the meaning of the words sink in. The Doctor slowly extended his arm, pushing the button once more and turning off the display. "Sleeping probably won't be much of an option, though it would do us both some good." He slid it back into his pocket, the sinking feeling in each of his hearts almost unbearable. Sherlock nodded curtly, his expression a mask. "We should go back to the flat. Maybe we missed something." Molly cleared her throat, and The Doctor and Sherlock turned to her. "Can one of you please explain what's going on with this case?" She asked, "Because something tells me it isn't the usual murder." Sherlock and The Doctor exchanged looks, neither wanting to put her in any more danger. The Doctor finally turned to address her, deciding to be honest with the brunette. "John has been kidnapped, along with one of my friends." Molly visibly paled, a quiet 'Oh' escaping from her lips. "You were going to be the next victim, but I was poisoned instead. Not the best way of getting around it I'll admit, but it worked." "I'm sorry... Is there any way I can help? Anything at all!" Sherlock shook his head. "Stay here, and contact me if anything weird starts to happen." She looked like she was going to argue, but Sherlock cut her off before she could. "Please. I've lost one friend in the last twenty-four hours, and I honestly don't think I'd be able to cope with losing another." She sighed. "Alright. But do call me if you change your mind, you got that?" The Doctor grinned. "Wouldn't dream of doing anything else." They were about to leave when Molly grabbed his sleeve. She took a deep breath when they made eye contact. "I know you said you weren't a dragon and all, but dragons in legends were supposed to be protectors and guardians." The Doctor nodded slowly, and she continued. "And I just wanted to ask that you protect Sherlock, if it's not too much trouble. With John gone, there's nobody to keep him safe..." The Doctor smiled gently, touched that she cared so much about him that she was willing to confront what she thought was a beast. "You have my word." "Good." With that, Molly returned to her work. He exited the building to see a rather cross looking detective, though he supposed that Sherlock usually seemed cross. "There's no point in trying to find anything else, we aren't getting any information to work with." The Doctor sighed, grudgingly admitting the fact to himself. There was nothing he could do. At least, not for six hours. It seemed like a long time, but he knew that it could pass in the blink of an eye. Sherlock seemed to be under the same impression. 

The silence was deafening on the cab ride back, neither wanting to admit how damaged they felt. Neither wanting to admit how they were practically useless. The Doctor was quick to exit the cab, wanting nothing more than to retreat to his TARDIS in peace, but Sherlock stopped him. "Upstairs. Now." The Timelord didn't resist, knowing that it would be pointless to disagree. He nearly bumped into Mrs. Hudson upon entering, and she seemed surprised to see him. He spoke before she had time to express her surprise. "Hello, Mrs. Hudson! Lovely morning, doncha think?" She smiled tiredly. "Yes, I suppose it is." Sherlock stuck his head back down the stairs, looking slightly irritated. "Doctor!" They made eye contact and Sherlock gestured toward his flat. Mrs. Hudson seemed to pick up on this. "Do you boys need any tea?" Sherlock shook his head. "No thank you." "In that case, I'll get back to cleaning then." She gave them an over-the-shoulder look before finally leaving the room, the sound of a vacuum coming from around the corner. The Doctor hung his coat before following Sherlock up the stairs, unsure as to what exactly the detective had in mind. Sherlock crossed his arms, staring down The Doctor like he was a lab specimen. "So." He began, now facing his mantle. "No more secrets or lies from you?"The Doctor sighed. He should've seen this coming. "No, that would be all." His eyes drifted around the room, and he had just opened his mouth to ask a question when Sherlock cut him off. "How many people here know?" The Doctor leaned back slightly toward the table. "Just Molly, Donna, and yourself." "Nobody else?" "Nope!" Sherlock sat down on the couch, his hands pressed together under his chin and his eyes closed in concentration. "You should tell Mrs. Hudson. You're under her roof and she deserves to know what she's getting into."  The Doctor frowned, thinking it over. "Are you sure?" Molly had taken it well, but that was because she didn't really have an option. "She won't have a heart-attack or...?" Sherlock opened one eye, not moving from the couch. "She is one of the bravest people I know, she can take it. And if she faints, I'll catch her." The Doctor raised an eyebrow, but he knew in his hearts that Sherlock was right. How bad could it really be? "Do you want me to... Y'know..." Sherlock sat up, looking at The Doctor with a hint of fear in his eyes. "I don't have to though, if you don't want or if there isn't enough room we can do it downstairs..." Sherlock slowly nodded. "No, no there's room here. Try not to knock anything over..." The Doctor could hear the reluctance in Sherlock's voice, he clearly thought this was a bad idea. "You sure about this? I don't have to if you're scared." Sherlock scoffed at the mention of his fear, and The Doctor couldn't help but smile. "I'm not scared of you." He insisted, but The Doctor could tell he was just putting on a brave face. He slowly closed his eyes, feeling Sherlock's stare on him. His two legs became four and he opened his eyes again, curling his tail around his feet and sitting quite like a cat. He kept his head low, keeping eye contact with Sherlock. The detective remained mute for a moment, just taking it all in. "You looked bigger at the hospital." He finally remarked. The Doctor tried not to smile, but it was incredibly difficult. "And you're sure she'll be fine?" He rumbled. Sherlock flinched when he spoke, probably the teeth he thought. Donna had taken a while to get used to his four-legged form, and she was around aliens on a regular basis! Something told him that Sherlock was going to take quite a lot longer to adjust...

It still came as a shock to Sherlock to see the creature sitting in his living room, even after the incident at the hospital. It unnerved him to see the powerful jaws moving up and down so fast, knowing that they could just as easily crush his skull. The Doctor was still rambling, something about how it was okay if he wanted him to change back, and that it was alright to be scared. He suddenly seemed to notice that Sherlock hadn't spoken, and his ears drooped. "I'll switch if you'd like, I promise it's alright." Sherlock shook his head. "No, I'm fine, you're just... Still you." The Doctor barred his teeth in what Sherlock had decided was his attempt at a smile. "Of course! I just look a little different, that's all!" Sherlock felt his insides turn to water. You're being paranoid. He scolded himself. The Doctor must've noticed his change in expression, and he stretched his neck closer to Sherlock. "Are you still sure?" Sherlock set his jaw. He knew she could take it. She lived with him after all. "Mrs. Hudson?" He shouted. "I think that tea would be lovely." The Doctor nodded once, accepting Sherlock's decision. "Would it be better if I moved... Or if I was lying down...?" Sherlock gave him a once over. "The couch is free, probably best if you keep your claws under your body..." The Doctor nodded and carefully stepped over to the couch, his tread surprisingly light. His tail twitched a little, the bushy tip causing dust to fly from the end of it. The couch creaked and groaned as The Doctor settled down, stretching across the entire thing. His eyes followed Sherlock as he paced around the room, and to his surprise, he seemed concerned. Sherlock finally stopped, really looking at the creature sitting on his couch. His paws were neatly folded together and his hind legs were concealed by his tail. From a distance, Sherlock supposed he could be mistaken for a large horse if his tail was tucked behind his body. His eyes, though bigger and more reptilian, were the same color and portrayed the same amount of intelligence. The colors on his pinstripe suit mirrored his draconoid form, and Sherlock suspected that it was done so his friends could eaisily bridge the gap between his two bodies. His ears sat atop his head, a spiky mane running down the length of his back, along with a few tufts of fur on the sides of his muzzle. One of his ears perked up, and Sherlock realized that he was listening to something. "She's poured the tea... How am I supposed to drink it like this?" The Doctor's voice was nearing a whine, which Sherlock found rather amusing. Definetly still the same. Bigger? Yes. Scarier? Of course! But underneath the scales, it was the same mind. "You might want to go warn her..." Sherlock nodded. "Good idea." He kept an eye on The Doctor whilst moving to the door, not turning around until he heard the latch click. He slowly desended the stairs. What was he supposed to say? Hello Mrs. Hudson, your tenant is a dragon? That was stupid, he couldn't come off as stupid. Maybe it would be better if she just walked in... He was so deep in thought that he nearly collided with his landlady, who was carrying a tray with three cups balanced atop it. "Do you mind if I carry that?" He asked, trying not to let his tone show how worried he was. She looked a little suspicious, but let him take the tray. "Is this one of your experiments?" Sherlock hesitated in the stairway. "Something of the sort..." She sighed. "If the fridge is full of body parts again, you're going to have to do more than just this to make up for it." She began to walk up the stairs, but Sherlock stopped her again. "I just wanted to let you know that everything upstairs is safe, and that it would be best if you didn't scream." "Sherlock, what have you got upstairs?" Her voice had developed an accusing tone, and Sherlock couldn't help but curse his luck. "Nothing dangerous, I promise." She ducked past him, much to his dismay. "I'll be the judge of that." "Wait!" She slowly turned back to him. "Please, don't be scared, alright?" "Yes, alright!" Sherlock held his breath as the door was pushed open. He could only hope that The Doctor hadn't gone and done something stupid. He heard her stop dead in her tracks, and quickly followed her into the room, closing the door behind them. The Doctor (To Sherlock's relief.) hadn't moved an inch and was watching them intently. She grabbed Sherlock's wrist and hissed in his ear. "Sherlock, what the hell is that!" The Doctor looked rather ashamed of himself, and he sighed a little. Sherlock couldn't help but feel a pang of pity for the creature. "That... That would be The Doctor." Mrs. Hudson looked at him like he had just said he was from Mars. "What do you mean that's The Doctor?! You've got a bloody dragon holed up in here!" The Doctor hung his head, sinking into the arm of the couch. Sherlock took a few steps toward The Doctor, and Mrs. Hudson remained frozen in the doorway. The Doctor raised his head but didn't say a word, his ears still low. "It's him." That seemed to bring her out of her trance. "What are you doing!?" Her voice was reaching hysterical, and Sherlock was surprised that he couldn't hear her heart racing. Sherlock took another step, and Mrs.Hudson held her breath. The Doctor gently moved his head toward Sherlock, his eyes unblinking. "You can talk now." Whispered the detective, which caused the dragon to huff. "Alright." Mrs. Hudson's eyes grew wide. "You... You can talk!" The Doctor's head bobbed up and down. "Yep." A note of concern entered his voice. "Are you alright?" She looked shocked by the question. "No! I'm not alright, thanks for asking!" Sherlock guided her to a chair which she promptly slumped into. He offered her a cup of tea, and she took a few sips. Her hands were shaking, but that wasn't uncalled for. The Doctor and Sherlock made eye contact, and he seemed rather worried. Mrs. Hudson finally looked up, getting to see The Doctor in all his draconoid glory. "What are you?" The Doctor slowly started to explain what he was, but Sherlock didn't pay attention to his tale, as it was the same one he had told in the hospital. His focus was directed toward his cell-phone, and he was texting Mycroft. Stop looking for the box, I don't need any information on it anymore. -S.H Why not? It's not like you to give up on something. -M.H Sherlock sighed heavily, he had hoped that Mycroft wouldn't question him. That's none of your business. You can leave the creature alone as well. -S.H Really? Why? -M.H He frowned, trying to think up a decent excuse. The only problem with that was the fact that Mycroft had seen him, which got rid of the 'There wasn't anything to worry about' excuse. He tucked it into his pocket, deciding to ignore his older brother for now. His phone buzzed again, and it took every ounce of willpower he had not to answer it. Mrs. Hudson finally decided to speak, her voice wavering. "You're an alien... I rented out a flat... To an alien!" The Doctor nodded again. "Sorry I hid, I didn't mean to put you both in danger." Her face suddenly paled again. "Is-Is Donna a timelord too?" The Doctor chuckled, each one rumbling in his chest. "No, she's human. A good friend she is." Mrs. Hudson nodded slowly, her knuckles white on her teacup. "Anything else I should know?" Sherlock mouthed the word 'Case' The Doctor sighed, his entire body going slack, right down to the tip of his tail. "Donna and John have both been kidnapped." Her hands started shaking again. "Can you save them?" Her question was directed at both of them, and neither knew how to answer it. The Doctor looked at Sherlock, emotions in his eyes that Sherlock didn't know how to name. Sherlock took a deep breath. "I don't know." Confessing it didn't make it any easier, it only made it seem more impossible. "But we will." They had to. There wasn't another option, that was a fact. Mrs. Hudson smiled weakly, color slowly returning to her face. "Oh, I don't doubt that. The kidnapper is the one who should be scared!" Sherlock tried to smile, hoping that what she said was true. "Can you pass me a cup of tea?" The detective passed over the tray and The Doctor delicately took the cup in his clawed hands, trying his best to take a drink. He was surprisingly dainty, expertly handling the cup without spilling a drop. His ears suddenly shot up and he cocked his head, the two humans jumping at his sudden movement. His hackles slowly raised and his voice turned to a low growl. "Are either of you expecting anyone?" Sherlock immediately stiffened. "How are they walking?" The Doctor now had his eyes closed, his ears twitching as he listened. "Either a cane or an umbrella, not too heavy of a tread. Oh, hold on!" He moved his head slightly to the left before continuing. "Scratch that, it was definitely an umbrella. He just put it down. He's coming up the stairs..."  Sherlock's eyes opened wide. "You have to change back." The Doctor didn't question Sherlock's sudden demand and was back to his human form in less than a second. He made a slight attempt to fix his hair before finally deciding it was good enough. He fixed his gaze on Sherlock, and he looked rather amused. "Who is it? You clearly know..." Sherlock scowled, pulling out his phone and reading the last message. I'm coming over. You can explain yourself then. -M.H "MYCROFT!" He bellowed, the door swinging open as he did so. The smug voice that greeted him made him want to hit something, maybe the smug face that went with it. "What gave it away?" "The noise of your umbrella." Mycroft smiled, looking like he was about to say something before he noticed The Doctor. "Who's he?" "Friend." Mycroft seemed surprised at the use of the word 'friend', as it wasn't a word Sherlock threw around often. The Doctor stood and extended his hand in greeting. "Hello! I'm The Doctor!" Mycroft frowned but shook his hand anyway. Sherlock could tell that The Doctor would irritate his older brother even more than he irritated him, which was a concept he found rather amusing. Sherlock hid a smile when his brother turned back to face him, but his spark of joy quickly faded as Mycroft spoke. "Is he trustworthy?" Sherlock frowned, his gaze flicking over to the alien before giving a quick nod. "Why don't you want any more information on the dragon?" The Doctor tensed up, and Sherlock avoided making eye-contact, knowing how betrayed he must feel. He cleared his throat and Sherlock took a deep breath, knowing full well what The Doctor was going to say. "What dragon?"  Damn. He had hoped that The Doctor would let it slide, but luck wasn't on his side. Mycroft raised an eyebrow. "He hasn't told you?" The Doctor shook his head and Mrs. Hudson looked worried. Even she seemed to know this couldn't end well and she was quick to excuse herself. Sherlock secretly wished that he could do the same, but instead he listened to his brother give a detailed explanation of exactly what Sherlock had told him, right down to him asking about the box and the beast. The Doctor listened attentively, nodding along with the conversation, though Sherlock could tell he was still on-edge and ready to run. "He said to leave it alone, which is why I showed up." The Doctor gave a slow nod. "Interesting..." "Mycroft, I asked that you leave it alone!" "And the reason for that is..." Sherlock let out a noise of frustration, knowing that whatever he did next, a dragon would still be cross with him. "Because I have other things to deal with!" He finally snapped. Mycroft frowned. "Such as..." Sherlock felt his anger deflate like a balloon when he said the next sentence. "John's been kidnapped." Mycroft looked startled. "So has one of my friends..." The Doctor piped up, his hurt hidden well. He made eye-contact with Sherlock, and he immediately regretted it. His eyes said it all, and Sherlock was surprised at just how... Human he seemed. It only lasted for a second, Sherlock quickly looking in the other direction, inwardly cursing himself. "Do you have any leads?" He nodded. "Moriarty. He's back at it again." The Doctor sighed. "Seems that we're a part of his game of puzzles..." "Well, if there is anything I can do to help, don't hesitate to call in a favor." "I don't NEED your help." Sherlock hissed. Mycroft rolled his eyes, turning his eyes to The Doctor. "He always does this. If you need help, don't hesitate." With that, he spun on his heel and stalked off. The second the door closed, The Doctor cleared his throat. Sherlock slowly met his eyes, which were angry as he had expected. "So... How long have you been waiting for me to put a toe out of line?" His tone was dangerously soft, like he was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. "I promise, I wasn't trying to shatter your trust in me." The Doctor stood up and started pacing around the room. "Then how come you've been hunting me down?" Sherlock sighed. "I wasn't hunting you down..." The Doctor made a non-committal noise, which made Sherlock even more uncomfortable. His next sentence was spoken just loud enough so that the detective could hear, but not so loud that it made The Doctor seem angry. "How long have you known? He said he got the picture after he was told, meaning that you figured it out before I showed you at the hospital." "The first day you got here. At two in the morning." He seemed confused for a moment. "In the alleyway?" Sherlock nodded, all but trying to disappear into his coat. "Why didn't you tell me!?" "I don't know what to do! Alright!?" The Doctor was taken aback for a moment, but he was quick to recover. "So you asked your brother to declare a dragon-hunt? Is that it? Waiting for me to do something bad so you could set the entirety of Great Britan on my trail!?" "It isn't like that!" He insisted. "I didn't know what you were, or what you wanted, or what you were going to do and it scared me, alright!?" Hearing all of this out loud made him realize how petty it all was. "And I'm sorry." The Doctor didn't say anything, his head bowed slightly in thought. "Suppose that you know about the wings then." He commented dryly. "I'm going to go fix up the TARDIS, world hopping does a number on her." He left without looking back, clearly distraught. Sherlock groaned and slumped into a chair, holding his head in his hands. He really hadn't meant for it to come out like that, but it all happened in a blur. He knew that he'd need The Doctor's full cooperation, but it suddenly seemed like that was going to be very hard to get...

The two hostages were becoming increasingly tired of waiting to be rescued, so they figured that it was high time for an escape attempt. The only problem with that idea was the heavy rope holding them in place. Both Donna and John had been fiddling with the knots for nearly an hour, and they were finally getting some results. John was the first one to be free of his binds, and he was quick to help Donna with hers. "What now?" She whispered, rubbing at her wrists, trying to get her blood flowing at a normal rate. John surveyed the room, looking for any potential exits. "I thought you had a plan!" She looked confused. "What made you think that!?" He started pacing, still holding onto the hope that a potential escape exit would come into view. "It was your idea to stop waiting!" "Well, I thought we'd have a plan by the time we got free!" She whisper-shouted, both of them keeping their voices down due to the fact that neither of them knew where their captors were currently located. That was yet another detail they had overlooked when trying to escape, and both of them were currently realizing that they had no idea what to do now that they were free. Donna's eyes nervously darted around the room and she strode over to the door, trying the handle. Locked. John tried his pockets, even though he knew that he had been stripped of anything even remotely useful. Donna seemed to come to the same realization, looking utterly defeated. They had hope for only a few seconds, only to have it dashed to pieces yet again. They sat back down in their chairs, both thinking hard about what they were supposed to do. A sudden sound from outside caused both of them to press their ears against the door, listening to the conversation between killers. John immediately recognized the voice of the Dalek. "WHAT IS OUR NEXT MOVE?" He heard faint laughter from outside. "We wait for them to start fighting, six hours should be more than enough time to have them at each others throats. As for the victim, someone else close to Sherlock would be perfect. Probably that idiot D.I at Scotland Yard." The sound of their voices started to fade as they walked away from the door. The pair of them sat by the door in silence for a minute, until John decided that he could use a bit of a conversation. "How do you know so much about the Dalek? You seem to be an expert." She chuckled weakly. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Even I find it hard to believe sometimes, and I'm living it." "You may as well tell me. Looks like we'll be staying here for a while." Donna slowly started to tell him of The Doctor, and how he wasn't human and how they had been on such amazing adventures. John listened attentively, even though it sounded completely insane to him. He had thought Sherlock was crazy, but this story was backing up his claim that The Doctor wasn't what he seemed. "There's one thing that isn't making sense though..." John looked up. "The Doctor said that Daleks showed no mercy and that they'd kill us on sight. Why hasn't it killed us yet?" John had just opened his mouth to answer when the heavyset door swung open, revealing the Dalek in all its glory. It rolled into the room, Donna and John flattening against the wall. "ESCAPE IS NOT AN OPTION." It blared, its eyestalk uncomfortably close to the pair of humans. "YOU WILL STAY HERE. THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE." That's when Donna decided to speak up, much to John's dismay. "Why haven't you just killed us then? That just seems to be easier." It seemed to take offense to this. "YOU ARE NOT IN A POSITION TO MAKE DEMANDS." She set her jaw. "Yeah, I know, but why not?" Moriarty sauntered into the room. "That would be because of me. It wasn't easy to convince it, but I managed to make it into a game." "That's sick!" Moriarty grinned, his eyes widening as he leaned close to her to speak the next sentence. "I know..."  He pulled a cloth out of his pocket with a flourish, pressing it against John's face before he could react. The world went fuzzy as he left the realm of conciseness, his body hitting the concrete floor with a dull thud. Moriarty whispered in his ear before he blacked out completely, words that chilled him to the bone. "This is my game, and believe me, I WILL win..."

[skswriting]

take me to the sky

Rating: R Pairing: Yoongi/Jimin Words: 7734 Summary: “What does it look like, I’m here to join you as a sky pirate,” he says, like he expects the both of them to burst into applause and cheer him on. Instead Yoongi scoffs. “Are you looking to get yourself killed? You wouldn’t last one day as a sky pirate. You look like you’ve barely lasted as a common street thief.” And so Yoongi finds himself eating lunch with a Viera and a stow-away, on his ship. Sometimes Yoongi feels like he doesn’t actually have control of his life. AN: So this is for the yoonmin fantasy bingo on ao3, for the square ‘pirate’ 

“Help there’s a thief!”

Yoongi pulls the collar of his cloak tighter around his lower face, ducking his head as he slips into the crowd.  After many years of escaping, it’s easy for him to maneuver through the crowd, his body small and lithe and letting him brush by people without so much as a hint of a whisper.

“There’s a thief, find him!”

Yoongi secures the sword a little tighter, the bulkiness of the cloak helping hide the shape of the sword. Some people are side eyeing him, but that has more to do with his fashion choice rather than their suspicion that he’s a thief.  Bhujerbans care more about how they look than the safety of their belongings, hence the ease Yoongi had… “liberating” the weapon shop of some of its inventory.

Yoongi slides up to a market stall, picking up a trinket and raising it to the sunlight as some of the city guards rush past him.

“Are you interested in that ring, sir?” a little girl asks from the other side of the stall, her brown eyes staring up at him imploringly.  Shop keepers who used their children to make sales make Yoongi sick.

“How much is it?” he asks regardless.

“It’s 500 gil…” she looks down at her feet, stubbing her toe in the cracked pavement like it hurts her to ask so much of him.  A real-world class actress.

Yoongi digs into his gil pouch and she smiles as she graciously accepts it, “Thank you so much sir! This’ll help put my younger brother through school!”

Deplorable, the tactics people use.  Yoongi nods at her and sets out, blending into the crowd as he heads to the airship dock, back to his ship, back to The Min. Hopefully Jin is on board and not out galivanting around, seducing people with his inhuman good looks; Yoongi needs to get this sword back to their buyer.

­­­

The airship dock is bustling, of course, with people heading in and out of the sky city.  Yoongi keeps his head down and his cloak tight, the sword pressed close to his body.  Yoongi’s ship is docked on the end, much smaller compared to the others but Yoongi has never been one for grandeur.  His ship is small, but it’s all he needs to travel around and do his jobs.  It’s not much, but it’s home.

“Jin!” Yoongi calls as he walks up the loading dock of The Min, “Jin are you in here or out getting free drinks at a bar?!”

“Now if I was out getting drinks, would I be able to hear this infernal racket you’re making?” the sound of Jin’s stilettos against the metal of the ship announce his presence before he comes around the bend, “Did you get the sword?”

“Did I get the swo- of course I got the sword, what do you take me for?”

“A loud mouth hume who has trouble expressing his feelings and-”

“It wasn’t a literal question Jin, can you please just start the ship so we can head to Rabanastre and collect our bounty?”

Jin snorts, an undignified sound coming from the Viera, before he struts away leaving Yoongi to roll his eyes at his attitude.

“I should have known better than to invite a Viera to travel with me,” Yoongi mutters, following after Jin.

“I heard that,” Jin calls over his shoulder and Yoongi curses his super-sonic hearing in his head.

-

Yoongi doesn’t like Rabanastre: it’s louder than any other city, cruel, dirty, and filled with lowly thieves.

“That argument has never made sense to me,” Jin questions as they walk down the uneven cobbled backstreet, turning the heads of all those who see him, “You yourself are a thief. A good one, but still a thief.”

“I’m not a thief, I’m a sky pirate.”

“Changing the word doesn’t change the meaning: you both steal,” Jin winks at a girl shamelessly checking him out and she winks back.

“Please don’t sleep with anyone in my ship again, take them back to their place if you have to,” Yoongi reprimands and Jin gives him a look.

“You know I’ve sworn off humes.  Humes know how to have sex, they don’t know how to make love,” Jin complains and Yoongi snorts, as they stop in front of a seedy little shop.

“I’ll be right back, keep watch for any city guards,” Yoongi commands.

“I think a Viera standing outside a shop obviously keeping watch is going to set off some alarms but hey, you’re the boss.”

“Can you drop the attitude for once?” Yoongi snarks, before he pulls the cloak off his mouth and walks into the shop.

They both don’t notice the pair of eyes watching them from the shadows.

-

Yoongi is triple counting his gil to make sure the amount is right, before he splits it down the middle to give half to Jin.

“We need some big-time job,” Jin starts, the same way he always starts, “These little petty jobs aren’t worth the hassle and definitely not worth the gil.”

Yoongi ignores him, the same way he always does, putting his gil in his pouch until he can put it somewhere more secure on board.

“I’m serious Yoongi. Why don’t we take a hunt-”

“Jin you say the same thing after every job and I’m also going to say the same thing after every job: no.”

Jin’s ears perk and twitch for a few moments and he turns to regard the ship hallway, a thoughtful look on his face.

“What?” Yoongi asks, hand reaching for the gun on the table.

“… Nothing.  I thought I heard- there.”

“I don’t hear anything. What is it?”

“A heartbeat.”

“A heartbeat?  You can hear heartbeats?”

“Normally I tune them out but there should only be one heartbeat on the ship – yours.  This one is foreign.”

Yoongi grabs hold of his gun as he and Jin stand, “Let’s find them then.”

-

It’s not hard to find the source of the new heartbeat with Jin’s hearing and they find themselves in a storage room at the bottom of the ship, a cramped little section of the ship where Yoongi has saved junk over the years.

“We know you’re in here, better come out now and save me the trouble of having to find you.”

There’s a tense moment of silence, before a box squeaks as it moves and a lithe body appears out of the shadows.

“A… child?” Jin questions, ears twitching and head tilting.

“I am not a child!” the not-child stamps his foot, face contorted with indignance.

“His cheeks are so chubby,” Jin smiles, “How old are you?”

“I’m eighteen, I’m an adult,” he fumes and Jin cackles.

“A baby!”

Yoongi gives the not-child a curious, albeit pissed off look, “How did you get in here and what are you doing here?”

“For two sky pirates, you’re not very aware of your surroundings.  It was easy to tail you and stow away on the ship.  By the way, where are we?”

“Floating over Archades,” Jin supplies easily, seemingly very interested in the not-child stowaway as he steps closer to him to sniff the air around him.

“Yeah that’s nice what are you doing here?” Yoongi reiterates, taking a threatening step towards him and making him step back into the box.

“What does it look like, I’m here to join you as a sky pirate,” he says, like he expects the both of them to burst into applause and cheer him on.  Instead Yoongi scoffs.

“Are you looking to get yourself killed?  You wouldn’t last one day as a sky pirate.  You look like you’ve barely lasted as a common street thief,” Yoongi pointedly says, referring to the way his ribs poke out of his skin.

“I can handle myself just fine,” the rat sniffs, “Put me in any battle and you’ll see.”

“You’re lucky I don’t kill you myself for sneaking aboard my ship,” Yoongi snarls, cocking his gun as raises it to the others face.

“Yoongi don’t be rude, putting a gun in our guest’s face.”

“Guest?!”

“Yes, guest.  Besides, you wouldn’t harm a child-”

“I am not a child!”

“-it goes against your sky pirate code or whatever.  What’s your name cutie?”

“It’s Jimin.”

“This is my ship do I not get a-”

“No,” Jin cuts in with a no-nonsense tone, “It gets so stuffy here with just your bad attitude, Jimin will be a breath of fresh air that we both need.”

“My bad attitude?!”

“Am I speaking to myself? Is that not what I just said?  I swear, he never listens to me.  Now come along Jimin, let’s get you something to eat.”

“Well… I am kind of hungry.”

-

And so Yoongi finds himself eating lunch with a Viera and a stow-away, on his ship.  Sometimes Yoongi feels like he doesn’t actually have control of his life.

“Don’t you have family that’ll be worried you ran away?” Jin asks, pushing more food towards Jimin who’s practically inhaling it.

“If you don’t slow down your going to make yourself sick,” Yoongi mutters around a mouthful of apple.

“Nah, my parents both died in the war,” Jimin says it so casually, even going so far as to shrug his shoulders, “I have a younger brother, but he lives with some friends so he’s fine.  A bit of a brat, but fine.”

“You poor thing,” Jin murmurs.

Yoongi snorts and Jin’s ears twitch in agitation along with his nose.  Yoongi finishes the last of his apple and tosses the core into the trashcan.

“So, what’s your plan kid? Go out into this cruel world, start at the bottom and work your way to the top, become a sky pirate legend and turned into a story that children are told about before bed?” Yoongi asks rather brusquely.

“Well… honestly my goal was just to make some gil to send home to Jihyun but… your plan sounds much better!  How do we make me a legend?  Do we take on hunts?” Jimin asks, a wild look in his eye and his hands clenched into excited little fists.

“No,” Yoongi says sternly, turning a hard face towards Jimin, “We are not taking on hunts.”

Jin throws his exceedingly long arms up into the air, completely exasperated, “Just because your fath-”

There’s a gun in Jin’s face before he can finish the word, Yoongi looming over him with a murderous look in his eye.  In a low, dangerous voice he says, “If you know what’s good for you, you won’t finish that sentence.”

Jin stares down the barrel of Yoongi’s gun, cool, calm, and collected, “Are you gonna shoot me Yoongi? Is that what you’re gonna do?”

They have a brief stare down and Yoongi thinks Jimin has stopped breathing.  Finally, Yoongi lowers his gun.

“It wasn’t even cocked. Keep your mouth shut, Jin, or I’ll throw you and this street rat overboard.”

Yoongi walks away before either of them can say anything, and it’s quiet around the table that holds Yoongi’s map of the world.

Jimin is the one who breaks the silence, “Does this… does this mean he’s letting me stay?”

-

“I don’t understand, this is so stupid.  Why are we pulling off these dumb, little heists when we could be making real gil, out on hu-”

“Shut the fuck up,” Yoongi hisses, words muffled by his cloak as he clamps a hand down on the back of Jimin’s neck, “Are you trying to get recognized?  Why didn’t you wear a face mask or something?  Keep your head down.”

Jimin grumbles under his breath, pressing close to Yoongi as they merge into a crowd in Archades.  Jimin says the same thing during every heist and Yoongi always responds the same way; it’s a little song and dance Yoongi is getting tired of.

“I just don’t understand,” Jimin mutters, having to wrap an arm around Yoongi to make sure they don’t get separated, “Why are you so content with the little money you’re making? You’re such a good shot, you could take down hunts so easily.”

“You’re right, you won’t understand, so shut up,” Yoongi also wraps an arm around Jimin because the crowd is getting so thick he’s afraid he’ll lose Jimin and the jewels stuffed in Jimin’s pocket.

“Then help me understand, hyung,” Jimin smiles at a lady giving them a suspicious look.

“No.”

And then Yoongi startles, because he feels Jimin press his lips to his cheek for one, two, three seconds.

“Wha-” Yoongi blubbers, his face heating up as he tries not to look at Jimin smiling at him.

“That lady was watching us, so I was trying to throw her off.  I think it worked, she looks embarrassed.”

“She’s not the only one,” Yoongi mutters, trying to hide more of his face in his cloak, “Let’s just get back to the ship.”

“Why’s it called The Min anyway?” Jimin asks, as they near the aerodrome.

“It was my father’s ship. Now shut up.”

“Why-”

“Shut.  Up.”

They board The Min without any incidents and Jin greets them in the bridge.

“Why are you holding each other like that?” is the first thing he asks, eyeing the arms they have wrapped around each other.

Yoongi drops his like he’s been burned and growls, “It was to throw off the locals, Jimin’s idea.”

“Isn’t that smart Jin?!” Jimin looks so excited to tell Jin, eyes bright and sparkly, “This one lady was giving us a stink eye, so I kissed Yoongi hyung’s cheek and she got so red so fast.”

“That was very smart but you… you kissed Yoongi’s cheek?” Jin gets a shit-eating grin on his face, eyes gleaming as he turns to Yoongi who is resolutely staring at a metal screw in the wall, “God, I wish I had been there to see that.  Oh my God, tell me everything.  Did the woman blush?  Did Yoongi blush?”

Jin wraps his arm around Jimin and leads him away, leaving Yoongi to stand in the hull like a fool, gaping after them.

“But… the jewels…” he says weakly, but they’re already gone.

Not before Jimin smirks at him over his shoulder.

-

Jimin, Yoongi learns, is actually not so bad.  A little too energetic, a little too mouthy, but unlike most of the street rats Yoongi has watched from city to city, his heart is in the right place.  Or maybe he is just an actual fool.

Jimin visits Jihyun every time The Min docks in Rabanastre, to hand over some of the gil he’s come to possess.  Yoongi has actually met Jihyun a few times and he’s nice and looks a lot like Jimin.  The friends he’s crashing with are also nice, but they’re a family living in a small cramped house in the slums of Rabanastre and Yoongi can see how hard it is on them to have Jihyun staying with them.

“Here’s your gil for the month,” Jimin smiles, handing over more than half of the gil he’s saved since their last visit, “Make sure you give some to Namjoon and his family and use the rest to get some new clothes.”

“Thanks, hyung,” Jihyun smiles, pushing himself into Jimin’s arms and smooshing his face in his chest, “I can’t wait until you save up enough gil and we can live together again.”

Something in Yoongi’s chest squeezes and he turns away from their family moment, pulling his cloak tighter around him.

“And thank you too, Yoongi hyung,” a little body presses into his back, arms wrapping tight around his torso, “When Jimin hyung told me he was going to become a sky pirate, I thought he was going to get himself killed.  Thank you for protecting him.”

Yoongi clears his throat and Jihyun lets go so he can turn around and he will adamantly refute that his cheeks are pink, “It’s no problem kid.”

Jihyun smiles up at him and hugs his brother again.

“Be good,” Jimin tells him, “And tell Namjoon I’ll see him next time I’ll stop by.”

“I will.  Bye Jimin hyung, bye Yoongi hyung.”

Yoongi gives Jihyun a quick wave and Jimin kisses his forehead and then they’re off to collect Jin from the item shop.

And Jimin’s pure soul shines through as they walk through the slums, smiling at every dirty faced orphan they see and even giving a couple of gil to an old woman standing by the sewer gates.

“You shouldn’t give them your money,” Yoongi murmurs, hand on the gun in his holster, “They’re just going to piss it away.”

“I don’t understand what you have against those you call “street rats”,” Jimin shakes his head, “They’re just people down on their luck and they need help.”

Yoongi makes a small tch sound and steers Jimin onto the much brighter main street, headed towards Jin’s large Viera ears they can see even in the far distance in front of the item shop.

“You know, you’ve never told me anything about your father.”

Jimin doesn’t make a sound as Yoongi’s hand tightens around his bicep.

“Why does it matter? He’s dead.  Your parents are also dead and you never talk about them,” Yoongi says gruffly.

“Well, there’s not much to tell.  They worked a lot when I was younger, trying to make enough money to pay our landlord, so I don’t really have a lot of memories of them.  Then the war came and all the eligible men, including dad, had to go off and fight and mom got sick.  Living in the slums didn’t help her get better and she died a few months into the war.  Dad never came back,” Jimin says it so easily, even though there is a pained look in his eyes, “Even though I didn’t get to see them much I do miss them.  Jihyun says he does too, but I don’t think he really remembers them either.”

Yoongi swallows thickly.

“It’s okay hyung,” Yoongi can’t remember a time Jimin has ever called him hyung in a voice so, so soft, “if it hurts that bad you don’t have to tell me anything.”

Yoongi glances over at Jimin, to see him smiling softly at him with a smile that matches his voice and finds himself saying, “He killed my brother.”

In any other situation, Jimin’s bug eyes would probably be funny.  But Yoongi’s heart is squeezing and twisting in an uncomfortable way and Yoongi wants nothing more than to wipe the look off Jimin’s face and take the words back, stuff them in his mouth and swallow them down like he’s been doing for years.  Only Jin knows and it wasn’t any easier to say the second time around.

“Oh,” Jimin whispers, voice caught in his throat.

“Not exactly something you talk about over the dinner table, is it?” Yoongi’s mouth twist in some semblance of a smile but he knows it doesn’t work when Jimin’s frown persists.

“Look, I told you something about him, alright?  Now drop it. Jin!  Time to go!”

Jin looks up at Yoongi’s irritated voice.  Once he sees Jimin’s solemn expression, he stops haggling with the shopkeeper and turns over the correct amount of gil before he lets his absurdly long legs lead him to the duo.

“What hap-”

“Nothing, we’re leaving.”

Yoongi drops Jimin’s arm and walks away from them before either can say anything.

“What happened?” Jin asks, ears twitching, “What happened?”

Jimin sighs as he rubs at his bicep, the skin red from the pressure of Yoongi’s fingers, “He told me about his father.”

“He did?” Jin asks, eyes curious as he turns them towards Jimin.

“Well… he told me his father killed his brother…”

“Interesting…”

“But where’s he going? The aerodrome isn’t in that direction,” Jimin says.

“Yoongi always gets like this when he talks about his father, he just needs some time to himself, he’ll be fine don’t worry.”

Jimin nods, but he’s still worried and there’s no way Jimin can let Yoongi sulk on his own.

-

Jimin has been around Yoongi long enough to know that if Yoongi’s looking for some place to be by himself, he’s not going to it in Rabanastre.  Jimin finds Yoongi sitting on a fallen tree in the Giza Plains, a small Giza rabbit sitting by his feet.  The Giza Plains is in the middle of the dry season, so it’s almost unbearably hot and Yoongi has hit cloak resting on the log beside him.  Jimin is quiet as he takes a seat beside him on the rotting wood.

Jimin has come to learn that just sitting with Yoongi is comfortable.  Yoongi likes to take his time with his words, likes to pick and choose them carefully and Jimin has learned to appreciate that.  Being with Yoongi gives him time to take in his surroundings and just be.  There isn’t much to see in Giza Plains when it’s dry, but Jimin takes in the dry air and the blue skies and the Giza rabbits gathering around them.

Eventually, with a Giza rabbit curled up in his lap, Yoongi speaks up, “I’m sorry.  It’s been years and I still… I still have a hard time talking about it.”

Jimin sighs and shakes his head, leaning back vicariously on the log, “You shouldn’t be the one apologizing hyung; I should.  I could tell it was a touchy subject for you and I pushed anyway.  So, I’m sorry.  I’ll keep my nose out of your business from now on, I promise.”

Yoongi smiles, laying his hand on the Giza rabbit’s head, “You’re a good kid Jimin, you could have got an honest job in the city, why did you choose to become a sky pirate?  Why did you choose to follow us?”

Jimin smiles as he squints at the sun, “There’s no… profound answer Yoongi, I’m sorry.  I’ve always been nimble and I… stole a lot when I was younger so it wasn’t much of a step up to become a sky pirate.  It was easy to figure out who you and Jin were and I figured you were a good place to start.”

Yoongi sighs, petting softly at the rabbit in his lap, “I lied to you.”

“Huh?”

“The ship wasn’t my father’s, it was my brother’s.”

“But Min is your last name, right hyung?”

Yoongi smiles slightly, shoulders tight, “Yeah, it’s our last name.”

Yoongi falls silent, and Jimin isn’t sure if there’s more he wants to say or if he’s done.  From his furrowed brows, Jimin thinks he wants to say more but Jimin isn’t going to push Yoongi more than he already has.

“Honestly hyung, you don’t have to tell-”

“I want to,” Yoongi interrupts, quietly, the rabbit staring up at the sky with sleepy, beady eyes.

It makes Jimin’s stomach twist in a way it’s never done before to see the rabbit so comfortable with Yoongi; when Jimin was younger, the rabbits were friendly but skittish. What does it say about Yoongi if one of them is so easily curled up in his lap?

“In time, hyung, I can’t imagine it would be easy to open up like that.  In the desert no less,” Jimin tries to joke and it brings a miniscule smile to Yoongi’s lips.

“You really are good,” Yoongi murmurs, so low Jimin almost missed it, “C’mon, let’s get back to the ship.”

Jimin nods and watches as Yoongi carefully removes the Giza rabbit from his lap, rubbing its head one last time before he dons his cloak when they stand.  Then, Yoongi places a hand on Jimin’s lower back and leads him away.

-

Yoongi seems nicer after that visit to Rabanastre, so much more that even Jin seems to be surprised.

“What did you do to him?” Jin asks, tone bewildered, “He seems… happier.”

“Lighter,” Jimin corrects, “Holding things in can be a heavy burden.”

Jin smiles, knocking him lightly on the head, “When did my cute, small child grow into such a man?”

“We’ve known each other for three months and I’ve been a man,” Jimin rolls his eyes, a smile on his face as Yoongi plops down beside him at the bar, a contemplative look on his face.

“Okay, don’t freak out about what I’m going to show you,” Yoongi says and Jin’s perfectly shaped eyebrow raises.

“What?”

Yoongi slides a weathered and dirty piece of paper across the bar towards Jin and Jimin’s heart kickstarts in his chest.  That’s a-

“A bill,” Jin says, voice strong and tone even, “You’re showing us a bill.”

“I am,” Yoongi says, challenging.

Jimin can’t believe how calm they both of them are being.  It’s a hunt, one they should jump on before someone else does, and they’re talking like they’re discussing the weather.

“Why are you showing us this?” Jin asks, and Jimin glares at him.  It doesn’t matter why!

“I think we should do it,” Yoongi says, shrugging and Jimin wants to tear his hair out.

“Oh, you do, do you? I don’t know, I think what we’ve been doing lately has been more than enough,” Jin says and Jimin has to physically stop himself from strangling the Viera.

“If I recall correctly, someone once said the jobs we currently are doing ‘aren’t worth the hassle’ and ‘certainly not worth the gil’?” Yoongi questions.

“Since when do you ever listen to me?” Jin snarks, but snatches the bill off the table to better investigate it, “This mark is in the Mosphoran Highwaste… Atomos.  He looks like a real monster.  I guess we better go talk to… Burrogh.  He’s in Nalbina Fortress’ bazaar.”

Jimin is practically vibrating in his seat with excitement as Jin starts writing down a list of what they need to stock up on and weapons they need to upgrade to.

“Stop complaining, I know how much gil you’ve saved up you can afford to get a new gun.  A better gun,” Jin tells Yoongi, throwing him a withering glance, “And you, I would suggest you go check out some new magick spells, we’re not sure what he’s vulnerable to.”

Jimin gives out an excited cheer, drawing looks from other people around them but he couldn’t care less.  All Jimin can think about is the glory and gil they’re going to gain once they take Atomos down.

-

Jimin realizes now why marks are called hunts, because they’re ridiculously difficult to kill. Atomos is no joke and even though the three of them are ranged fighters, Jimin has enough bruises, and he’s fairly certain a broken toe, to last him for the next year.  Jimin can feel all the magick in his veins draining as he fires spell after spell from behind a rock, swatting away vultures as they spawn. Jin is hidden in some bushes, only his arrows visible as they speed towards Atomos and Yoongi is hidden in a crevice in the wall.  Jimin isn’t sure how Yoongi hasn’t run out of ammo as the last spell Jimin had launched had been a half-assed one, all his mana finally depleted.

He sits panting against the rock, Atomos stomping around as he tries to locate a target, too weak to even fend off the vultures attacking him.

He thinks he can hear someone calling his name, Jin, maybe Yoongi, but this vulture is being particularly aggressive and is trying to literally tear his arm from its socket. A shot explodes in the vulture’s face and Jimin can barely raise his arm to cover his face from shrapnel before a body drops beside him.

“Jimin, fuck, Jiminie can you hear me?” Yoongi asks, fumbling with his satchel as he roots through it, “Jiminie ple-”

“Have we won, hyung?” Jimin asks tiredly, slumping into Yoongi as Yoongi raises his hand to let off a few rounds and Jimin hums at the smell of sweat on Yoongi’s skin, “Can we go home yet?”

“Not yet Jiminie, I need you to stay with me, okay?” Yoongi says softly, despite the sound of battle raging around them, “Can you lift your head up and drink this for me Jiminie?”

The answer is no and Yoongi has to support Jimin’s head as he tilts it back and pours the sweet taste of a hi-potion into Jimin’s mouth.  Almost instantaneously Jimin comes back to himself, eyes popping open and soundly alert.

“Thank the gods,” Yoongi sighs, eyes wild as he glances over the rock, “You’re okay, you’re okay.  Here, drink this mana potion, we have to help Jin.”

Jimin nods before he downs it and springs into action.

They’ve almost depleted all of their health and mana potions before Atomos falls dead, body disintegrating as the souls holding it together are set free.  The vultures are quick to flee without the promised protection of Atomos and Jimin falls to his knees as he almost cries in relief.  His body is shaking from exertion and adrenaline and a little ways away he can see Jin lying on the ground, rather undignified for a Viera.

Except after a few moments, when Yoongi calls out Jin’s name a few times and doesn’t get a response and doesn’t otherwise react to his surroundings, does Jimin realize that Jin is either dying or already possibly dead.

“Jin?” Jimin whispers, crawling on shaky limbs towards the unmoving body, having to blink rapidly to try and get some blood out of his vision, “Jin?”

Yoongi is slowly limping his way towards his best friend, holding his arm up as it’s likely dislocated, and reaches Jin before Jimin does.  Yoongi sinks to the ground as he stares at the unmoving Viera, whose face is turned towards the sky with his eyes closed, body littered with gashes and bruises.

“Seokjin?” Yoongi asks, voice trembling as he lets his good hand frame Jin’s face, “Seokjin, please, open your eyes.”

By the time Jimin has finally crawled his way to Jin’s body, Yoongi has tears streaming down his cheeks, the drops falling onto Jin’s cheeks.

“Seokjin please, you can’t die,” Yoongi sobs, body crumpling over Jin’s as he grasps at Jin’s tattered shirt, “Seokjin please.”

Jimin tries to concentrate every last drop of mana he has into his hands as he lays them over Jin, eyes closed as tries to cast some level of cure over his friend.  His body quakes as he draws more from himself than he ever has, feeling the blood through his body as he gets dizzy and his vision swims.  But he can’t not do anything, so despite the blood dripping from his nose and the swooshing feeling he has in his stomach, Jimin doesn’t let up.  He doesn’t let up, even as Yoongi continues to sob into Jin’s chest, until-

Jin gasps, fingers twitching as Jimin removes his hands, so very, very sick.  Jin gaps and he coughs and he breathes and he lives.

“Seokjin, oh gods, Seokjin you’re- Jiminie?”

Jimin has a moment where he smiles at Yoongi, who’s looking back at him with red rimmed and puffy eyes before his vision swims one last time and he passes out.

-

Yoongi is staring resolutely into the campfire through the tent flap, the other hunters bustling around them as they set up tents and cooking utensils.  Seokjin is up and moving around, his Viera blood kicking in and healing him faster than a hume and Jimin is still knocked out.

Yoongi still has the awful taste of blood in his mouth from when he had split his lip in half when Jimin had passed out, face white as a ghost and blood dripping from his nose. He vaguely remembers screaming, vaguely remembers hunters busting through the foliage to see him hunched over one barely conscious body and screaming at another unconscious one.  Yoongi doesn’t remember moving, only that he was positively sick the entire time the hunters helped move his friends to their camp.

On the outside, Jimin looks like he’s taking a nap, face smooth and serene and clean.  His hair is a little messy, but that’s because Yoongi keeps running his fingers through it, offering comfort to someone that he’s not even sure can feel it.  Yoongi’s other hand has one of Jimin’s clasped tightly in his, his knuckles white from how hard he’s holding it.

One of the healers, Seulgi, had told him that she had never seen it with her own eyes, but that she had heard stories of people so desperate to heal another that they physically give some of their own lifeforce away.  Jimin had done just that; he hadn’t been tapping into his mana to heal Jin, he had been tapping into his lifeforce.

“Does that mean… does that mean he’ll die younger than humes typically do?” Jin had asked, voice weak as he cleaned up, shamelessly naked and curious at the predicament their friend had found himself in.

Seulgi had only been able to supply, “I’m not sure, my grandma talked about it a lot but she never told me the consequences of it.”

“That fool,” Jin had shook his head, sadness etched in the faint lines of his face, “A foolish fool.”

Now, Yoongi sat beside Jimin, praying to gods he had stopped believing in that Jimin would open his eyes, or squeeze his fingers, or something.  Something more than lie there and breath and potentially die in years to come because he was too good for the world.

“I never even got to tell you,” Yoongi whispers, head bowed, “I never even got to tell you…”

-

Seulgi informs them that moving Jimin won’t harm him and so Yoongi and Jin move him onto The Min, before deciding that they had better to take him to Rabanastre 

“If he’s going to die, it should at least be where he calls home,” Yoongi says resolutely, eyes staring into the expanse of the sky as they race towards the royal city.

It isn’t pleasant informing Jihyun of what’s happened, Jimin resting in Yoongi’s arms.  Jihyun just stares at his brother’s body, no emotion in his eyes before Namjoon gently leads him aside, telling Yoongi to bring him to Jihyun’s bedroom.

Yoongi is careful as he lays Jimin down, smoothing Jimin’s bangs before watching Jihyun take a seat beside him.  Namjoon and Jin linger in the doorway.

“Hyung,” Jihyun whispers, voice thick in his throat as fat tears roll down his cheek, “hyung I told you this would happen.”

Yoongi runs a hand over his eyes before he makes his way around the bed, leaving Jihyun to watch Jimin.

“Hyung,” Jihyun calls, and Yoongi knows he’s not talking to Jimin, “hyung you told me you’d protect him.”

Yoongi turns a fraction to see Jihyun staring deadly back at him, his hand encasing Jimin’s tightly.

“Instead you’ve kill him.”

-

No other words have ever weighed so heavily on Yoongi before, except what his brother had whispered to him on his deathbed.

“Don’t let him get you too.”

Yoongi had been six, had been so young when his brother had pleaded for Yoongi to leave their father, for Yoongi to escape before the madman hurt him too.  Yoongi had been too young to understand what his brother had meant and so he had stayed, had endured years of abuse because he thought it was love.  Yoongi let his father’s toxic words consume him, mold his thoughts until they were no longer his own.

The only reason Yoongi is now his semi-own person is because his father died, killed trying to take down the same mark that had killed his brother.  Sometimes, Yoongi can still hear his father in his head, making snide remarks about others, those ‘down on their luck’ as Jimin would say. Yoongi tries his best to ignore the thoughts, going so far as keeping people at bay so he never says anything he thinks.

Now, after years of isolation, besides the butting presence of Jin who had somehow weaseled his way into Yoongi’s life like Jimin had, Yoongi feels like the same lost little boy he was watching his brother fade away into nothing.  Except now, it’s going to be Jimin that fades away and Yoongi won’t be able to do anything about it.

-

Yoongi doesn’t go back to Namjoon’s house.  He can’t stand to see Jimin lying in bed like that, so reminiscent to his brother. Instead, he holes him up in The Min for two weeks, spending his time pacing the deck of the ship and sprawled on his bed staring blankly at the metal walls.

That’s how Jin finds him, laying on his side and spaced out.

But instead of Jin laying into him about how he needs to take care of himself, he says, “Jimin’s awake.”

-

Yoongi stands in front of Namjoon’s door, contemplating his entire life.  He doesn’t know if he should run into the room and throw himself on top of Jimin and squeeze the last little bit of life force he didn’t give away, or if he should turn around and never see Jimin again. It is his fault that Jimin ended up like that in the first place, going after a hunt Yoongi wanted to do.  He raises and lowers his fist a few times, unable to work up the nerve to actually knock.  He can’t help but think, what if Jimin doesn’t want to see him?  What if Jimin blames him for everything?  What if Jimin hates him?

“How long are you just going to stand there?” the door swings open and Jihyun stands on the other side, looking incredibly unimpressed.

Yoongi rears back a little, surprised, but quickly composes himself.

“I haven’t decided yet,” he says, which is not the best answer but Jihyun caught him off guard.

Jihyun shakes his head, “He’s been asking about you.”

“… he has?” Yoongi doesn’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but it has something heavy settling in his stomach regardless.

Jihyun nods and stands aside to let Yoongi in, who hesitates for a split second before stepping in.  The door swings shut behind him with a heavy thud and then Yoongi is following Jihyun down the hallway, to his room.  The door is open and Yoongi can hear Jimin laughing from inside and his insides swoop dangerously, before he sees Jimin sitting on the bed.

He’s still pale, hands still a little shaky as he waves them around enthusiastically.  His hair is oily and he’s in desperate need of a shower, but there’s a beautiful smile resting on his face and all the air leaves Yoongi at once.  It catches Jimin’s attention, who turns away from the Viera caring for him to Yoongi, eyes lighting up once he sees him.

“Yoongi hyung,” Jimin’s voice holds so much affection, sitting up a little straighter and beckoning Yoongi towards him, “I’ve missed-”

Jimin doesn’t get to finish his sentence because Yoongi has crossed the room in two large steps, pushed Jin aside, and kissed Jimin.  He kisses Jimin with everything he has in him, hands grasping tightly at his arms as he hunches over Jimin.  Jimin kisses back with as much vigor, one hand balling itself in Yoongi’s cloak and the other coming to rest on Yoongi’s face.  It’s as Jimin touches his cheek and smears wetness across it that Yoongi realizes he’s crying.

“You fucking idiot,” Yoongi says, pulling a hair fraction away from Jimin to breathe raggedly in the space, “You stupid fucking idiot you could have died.”

Jimin gives Yoongi a confused look, like he doesn’t understand what he’s saying, “But, hyung, if I couldn’t let Jin die.”

“He’s a fucking Viera he would have been fine, you on the other hand-”

Jimin waves his hand, like his life literally means nothing, “I’m fine hyung, see?”

Jimin takes one of Yoongi’s hands and leads it to his chest, placing it over his heart and letting Yoongi feel it pump underneath his palm.  It’s a little slow paced, not as strong as it should be, but he can feel the steady beat and Yoongi sinks onto the bed as he lets his hand linger.

“So, when do we take off again?” Jimin asks brightly, even though he probably couldn’t support his own weight if he were to stand up.

Yoongi snorts, “We’re going to dock for a while, until you start feeling better.”

“But hyung I’m-”

Yoongi raises a hand, cutting Jimin off, “You’re not, shut up.  Once you don’t look like a permanent shade of death, then we’ll talk about taking off.”

Jimin pouts and Yoongi doesn’t stop himself from leaning forward and kissing him again, telling him between kisses, “Besides, we have a lot to talk about.”

Jin finally speaks up, snorting as he says, “I’ll fucking say.”

-

Jimin starts to come back to himself, bit by bit.  True to his word, Yoongi docks them, moving The Min to a more secluded part of the aero dome so she doesn’t interfere with the other airships coming and going.  But Yoongi doesn’t make them stay in The Min; for all his years of being a sky pirate, he’s accumulated enough gil that he’s able to rent the four of them, Jihyun included, a place to stay while Jimin works through his ailment.

Yoongi comes clean to Jimin about everything, about his father and the damage he’s done to Yoongi, about his brother and the guilt Yoongi still holds, about Jimin and how much Yoongi has come to need him.  Jimin listens to him intently, absorbs every word Yoongi says and watches him with sweet, sweet eyes.  Once Yoongi has finished baring his soul to Jimin, Jimin wipes his face free of tears, kisses his cheek, and holds his hand.  He doesn’t say anything; doesn’t tell Yoongi that what’s in the past is the past, doesn’t lament that he’s honored Yoongi has told him, doesn’t say anything.  Just sits beside Yoongi, holding his hand and leaning his head against his shoulder, and Yoongi has never been more grateful for someone.

He kisses the top of Jimin’s head and just lets himself be.

-

“Why did Yoongi call you Seokjin?  When you were dying?” Jimin asks, as Jin takes him around Rabanastre for his daily walk.

Jin hums, taking a moment to think through his answer, a surprising twist for the normally quick tongued Viera.

“That was my name,” Jin smiles, a sad twinge in the corner of his mouth, “Before I left Eruyt, before I left home.  I felt it was appropriate to change it.”

“Oh,” Jimin nods, feeling he’s breaching a touchy subject, something he’s apparently good at, “You don’t talk of your home much.”

Jin continues to smile, but Jimin can see the sadness grow, “I have not been home in many, many years.  I am no longer welcome there.”

Jimin’s eyes widen and he almost bumps into an older woman in his shock, “What?!”

Jin nods, leading Jimin down a less busy street as his voice softens, “Viera villages are protected from humes and once a Viera leaves that protection, we are no longer allowed to return.”

“Why would you leave then?  Why would you leave all that behind?”

Jin takes longer to answer this time, his bottom lip caught between his teeth, “I wanted what everyone wants: I wanted more.”

Jimin lets it go, seeing the pain Jin is trying to keep off his face.

“The only thing I regret,” Jin says, the full effect of the consequences of his actions laced tightly into his words, “is that the Wood no longer speaks to me.”

Jimin has heard of the Wood, but he doesn’t know exactly what that means and voices as such.

“The Wood?” Jin smiles, “She is all.”

Jimin lets that fly over his head, as they round back around to the place they’re currently staying at.

“But, I think she is still watching out for me,” Jin says knowingly, peering down at Jimin, “I think she brought you to me.  To us.”

“M-Me?” Jimin questions, “I haven’t-”

“You saved my life, Jimin,” Jin shakes his head, “Yoongi is right in that Viera are more resilient than humes, but even we have our limits.  Atomos had almost killed me and I could feel myself going, but you were too stubborn to let me.  You almost killing yourself to save me is something I will never be able to repay you for, Jimin.”

Jimin has tears in his eyes, reaching a hand out for Jin who gladly takes it.

“I can also think of someone else you’ve saved,” Jin says, before he turns his gaze as Yoongi steps out of the building.

“What happened?” Yoongi asks, voice panicked as he jogs over towards Jimin, “Why are you crying? Who hurt him?”

Jimin half sobs, half laughs into Yoongi’s chest, “Jin was just telling me about his home.”

“You’re such a crybaby,” Yoongi sighs, drawing Jimin farther into himself, “you care about others too much.”

Jin laughs, running a hand through Jimin’s hair, “That he does.  Let’s get him inside, that walk was a little longer than usual.”

-

It takes months for Jimin to finally feel better, feel like his old hume self again.  Yoongi watches over him carefully, dreading the day coming.  But even the strongest magick can’t stop time forever.

“I think I’m ready,” Jimin announces one day, hands placed resolutely on his hips as he faces Yoongi, “I’m ready to go back up.”

Yoongi is quick to shoot it down, “You’ve only just started feeling better, we should give it time to make sure it’s not a fake out.  What if we go out and something happens to you?”

Jimin rolls his eyes, “Things are always going to happen to me, hyung.  We’ll learn how to manage it, how to be more careful so something like that doesn’t happen again.”

Yoongi reaches out for Jimin, who willingly gives Yoongi his hands.

“I can’t lose you Jiminie, not again.”

Jimin smiles, “Hyung you never lost me.  Besides, I still have a goal to achieve: legendary sky pirate.”

Yoongi can’t help but laugh at the smug look Jimin has on his face, ready to show the world exactly who its dealing with.

“Okay,” he concedes, hands tightening around Jimin’s, “We can leave tomorrow.”

The look Jimin gives him about knocks him off his feet.

“Take me to the sky, hyung.”

[yanderes-galore]

How about some headcanons about Yan!Sonic.Exe and Yan!Sonic pining over the same darling?

Have a good day/night

Sure! Darling is depicted as being in Sonic's world. This concept looked better in my head, ngl-

Yandere! Sonic.EXE vs Yandere! Sonic Concept

Pairing: Romantic - Rivalry

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Murder, Major character death, Blood, Sadism, Possessive behavior, Overprotective behavior, Torture mention.

- For this I'll be depicting Sonic.EXE as a demon like in the last fic I wrote for him.

- We could also think of this in two ways.

- Sonic and Sonic.EXE are in two different bodies, or they're in the same body and fight for control.

- If they are in two different bodies it's a shock to the both of you when you find there's a doppelganger Sonic wandering around.

- Perhaps Sonic.EXE has the ability to look exactly like Sonic to fool you and others?

- That or if they share the same body and Sonic got corrupted somehow, the demon hiding within and watching you.

- That's just some background on how the rivalry could work.

- Before the existence of Sonic.EXE, Sonic was already a little obsessed over you.

- You two were great friends and got along well with others.

- Occasionally the hedgehog acted jealous over you spending more time with Tails or Knuckles but his crush was small then.

- It only intensifies when Sonic.EXE appears.

- If Sonic somehow got possessed by this new unknown demon, EXE would pick up on his crush.

- Which could be one way it intensifies to something more obsessive.

- Then there's if EXE simply copied Sonic, wishing to harm him and his friends.

- What better way to torment the hedgehog than ruin what he loves most, right?

- As expected, Sonic's the more overprotective Yandere of the two.

- He wants you safe, happy, and beside him with a smile.

- While Sonic.EXE is the more sadistic Yandere.

- The demon wants you to cower before him, treat him like a God, acknowledge the fact you're at his mercy.

- Once Sonic knows something is up he does whatever is in his power to stop this beast from harming you.

- Sonic.EXE has fun putting Sonic and his friends through hell and back in front of you.

- Watch as your beloved friends suffer at his hands.

- The two would probably be even matched, if not, Sonic.EXE would have more of an advantage.

- The two would never stop fighting until one of them goes down.

- Like in the original creepypasta, EXE would target Tails, Knuckles, and Eggman.

- Tails and Knuckles because they are close to you and Sonic.

- Eggman due to him causing trouble for you in the past. (or you're close to him for some reason too?)

- It brings glee to the demon to make you watch your friends suffer.

- Sonic would be saved for last as he's lasted this long.

- Even if he and Sonic are in the same body at this stage, he'd copy himself over into a clone to complete his game.

- You both have nothing except each other.

- Sonic still vows to keep you safe and to himself despite the horrors he's seen.

- EXE on the other hand is determined to take this hedgehog's place and claim you as his new doll.

- The final battle will be bloody and disturbing.

- Whoever wins in this battle of good and evil will determine how you live your life... even if you lost your friends along the way.

- "I won't let you take (Y/N) away. You may have taken everything else, but you can't take (Y/N)!"

- "You've already lost, hedgehog. Now kneel and accept your fate."

[lunar-lattice]

My Roommate Was A Monkey Alien (1)

Kaito considers himself a very ordinary person in an extraordinary world that, luckily, just hasn't quite made it to his doorstep. Kohlra's here to challenge that notion.

AO3 mirror / Fanfic.net mirror

Next

1. Enter Extraordinary

Kaito always dealt with things how they came. He supposed it came with his childhood. Sure, his parents were great but that mattered little with the scary thing is you heard about on the news. Like murderers or natural disasters or that one time East City was blown off the map. Or that entire month or about where everyone lived in terror of being killed by an...alien? Bug? Thing? Then after that there was some sort of disaster that Mr. Hercule Satan had also taken care of. The details on that one were sketchy, some sort of shapeshifting pink demon. There's been a fair share of earthquakes and weird lights in the past few years as well.

But Kaito said he dealt with it. Though, his anxiety medication would tell you differently.

So it made complete sense when he unraveled when a savior from the sky quite literally spirited him away from a hungry dinosaur. He had gone out for a casual walk and to catch some photos. He didn't expect any excitement! So as of right now, he was screaming his lungs out as he hung on for dear life as his savior zipped through the forest, dodging trees expertly. She set down in a clearing and dropped him unceremoniously. "They really should weaponize you…,” she paused, searching for a word, "... creatures' screams," she said with an obvious expression of disdain.

Kaito would have been offended if he wasn't more focused on checking if his glasses and camera were okay. Luckily, they were which was a relief as even one needing to be replaced would clean out his savings. Both? He'd be, as they say, SOL. He straightened his glasses and looked at his savior. She was taller than him not counting her purple-black hair and counting it? She was much taller than him. She wore purple spandex under white and brown armor that seemed vaguely familiar. A brown tail lashed behind her which was odd but Kaito shrugged it off. The king was a dog, for God's sake! A girl with a tail wasn't that weird in this world. She glared at him with cold black eyes, pupils dark enough to be miniature black holes. "Be useful," she snapped, "and tell me where in the universe am I!"

Kaito glanced around. Nothing was familiar here. "Well, we shouldn't be too far from North City—it's where I live—"

"Idiot!" the girl hissed, "The planet!"

He blinked dumbly, "Earth?"

"Thank you," the girl said in a way that made it obvious she didn't actually mean it.

She turned, surveying the area, "Never heard of Earth, which is good. Must be some backwater planet which means no one's looking for it."

Kaito heard everything she said, decided he had no idea what she was talking about but that it couldn't mean anything good, and looked for a way out. He could make a run for it but that risked getting even more lost. Not to mention that if she could fly, it would be a moot point. He mumbled, "Are you gonna kill me...?"

She snapped her head to look at him and he withered away. He didn't mean to say that out loud! "As much as that might make me feel better, no. I'm trying to hide and I won't be taking any risks with the locals. You might be weak but I'd bet whatever kind of currency you have here that someone here could kill me. And the way my luck is going, they'll find out if I kill someone!"

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "My parents would think me a disgrace if they found out I wasn't looking for a fight."

Kaito nodded, only to show he was listening. She must have saw him since she continued—or she only continued to hear herself speak, "I just need to sit low, scope out the place and be safe. There's probably no use in finding help now anyways."

"I'm-I'm sorry for whatever happened..." Kaito mumbled.

"You don't even know what happened and I won't tell you," she hissed.

Kaito frowned, "Alright, sorry-"

"Stop saying sorry!" she snapped.

Kaito flinched and satisfied, the girl turned on the heel of her white boots and strode away. He sighed and took out his phone. Shoddy reception. He glanced at the sky, where the sun was heading west, heralding evening time. He could find his way north from there. It wasn't optimal but it was what he had.

"Hey."

He nearly jumped out of his skin as the girl came back. She snorted, "Tell me where this North City is and I'll take you to it."

Kaito blinked in surprise but decided to trust her. He pointed north, "It's not very far, you should be able to see it from high enough up!"

She nodded and picked him up, hefting him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. As they rose off the ground, Kaito resisted the urge to grab on to her clothes for some form of grounding. But he failed and found her armor had no grip anyways. It was smooth with a slight rough texture, suggesting weathering.

From up here, it wasn't hard to spot North City and with a hum, she set off, flying leisurely compared to her earlier breakneck speed. They were there within minutes, faster than Kaito had made walking only a short distance into the woods. She set down just under the trees by the road leading in and said, "You need anything else?"

He shook his head, "Oh, no, thank you, ma'am!"

She eyed him with a thoughtful look before she extended one gloved hand, "The name's Kohlra."

She didn't squeeze when Kaito took hers and shook it, "I'm Kaito! Thank you again!"

She watched him for an uncomfortable moment before he turned away, "Uh, it's a long walk home so I better get going..."

"You don't want me to take you?"

Kaito turned back. Kohlra's face expertly masked her true feelings, leaving her looking vaguely bored. "Er, don't want people to freak, I mean some people can fly but um, want to keep that sort of thing under wraps!" Kaito gave as a weak excuse.

"I see. See you around then," and with a short hop, she took off, spiraling higher and higher until she was out of sight. Kaito felt sick just watching. He didn't mind heights but at some point, it was too much.

By the time he got home, it was sunset and the city was awash in hues of pink and orange. So Kaito walked the whole way up the stairs to the roof with the intent of snapping a few photos. He stopped at the railing, taking out his camera from it's bag. He looked at the view. There was the city and beyond, the mountains, their snowy peaks lit up in pale pink. He smiled and looked down, turning on his camera, fiddling with the settings...

"Hey."

He nearly jumped out of his skin once again and the only thing stopping him was the expensive camera in his hands. His perfect photo was ruined by Kohlra, floating just past the railing.

He sputtered, "Why are you here?"

She countered, "Nice way to greet a friend."

Kaito grit his teeth. He had come off as annoyed. Sure, he was a little annoyed but not enough to outwardly express it. "I mean, is something wrong?" he said, making his voice soft.

"I have a problem. I need a place to stay. I could sleep in the woods but that's not comfortable."

"I hope you're not asking me. I only have the one room," Kaito laughed nervously.

"Do you not have a living area?"

"Well, I do but-"

"Perfect," she alighted by him, "Show me the way then."

Kaito frowned, "I can't do that! There really is no room and if my landlord finds out, he'll freak! Especially if you break anything!"

Kohlra frowned, except hers was followed with a look that could kill, "I won't break anything that will get you in trouble. Without you, I have nowhere to go. Now show me or I'll acquaint you with the ground," she jabbed her thumb at the railing, her message clear.

Kaito withered away then with a meek nod, he showed her the way.

He closed the door behind them when they got in and deliberately took his time following her. He shrugged off his hoodie as he walked to the living room and dropped it on the back of the couch. His blue hair tie followed and he shook his hair, letting it's full length fall into place. He looked up at Kohlra, eying him. Seeing she was being watched, she turned to the couch, "This is acceptable."

"Better be acceptable," he muttered under his breath as he headed towards his room with the intent to put up his camera. He was surprised he hadn't gotten it broken yet.

Kohlra scoffed and Kaito mentally smacked himself. Of course, she had super sonic hearing. He decided he'd go through his photos the next day, after work. He didn't have classes until the next day anyways.

He returned to her pulling everything out of his fridge. The many plates she had pilfered from his cabinets made it obvious she was about to make herself a full course meal. "What are you doing?!" he shrieked, "That's a good portion of my paycheck!"

She winced and said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Making myself a meal. Also don't be so shrill."

"With all my food?!"

She rolled her eyes, "Saiyans have a high metabolism."

He rolled his eyes back, "What about me?"

She shrugged, "Hunt."

He opened his arms, "With what? My good looks?"

She looked at him, studying him, then conceded, "You're right. Not sure if the prey would even come out of pity. I'll hunt and I'll even bring you the leftovers--if there are any."

Without giving him time to respond, she pushed past him and let herself out. Kaito sighed and looked at all the food he had to put back up. He really had his work cut out for him.

[sonicpositive]

(This where the best drawings I have with me right at the moment.) Hello, this is a submission for fan character Friday! With me I have my first sonic oc, and my most fleshed out oc in the sonic fandom to be honest. I never really showed her off, and I maybe am a little bit shy to really do that (I’m scared she is a Mary Sue) but I hope you enjoy!

Name: Klazina “Ilona” Fransisca The Hedgehog of Elementos Age: 14 Gender: female Species: Hedgehog Type: Run Running Type:Endurance Affiliation: Heroes Teammates: Kaithlinn the Wolf Weapons/Items: -Elementos (object) – medallion who can turn into a slingshot. Also used to get Elemental form, but only when the medallion thinks it is needed and when all the bearers of the elements of it are together

Basic Stats

Agility:6 /10

Speed:7 /10

Stamina:6.5/10

Strength:5 /10

Intelligence:6.5 /10

Defence: 8.5/10

Skill: 6.5/10

Songs

Theme Song: Send me away, Kensington Battle Song: Slicer, Kensington

Personality: she’s a little bit sarcastic. She tries to be nice and tries to be strong for people. She also tries to keep problems for herself, and does everything to protect the kingdom, her people, family and friends. can get irritated quickly, and mostly holds her anger inside of her.

History: Ilona comes from a little kingdom called Elementos. In Elementos the people have some sort of magical powers. When Elementos just became a kingdom, there were two royal siblings, a brother and a sister. The brothers name was Darkia, while his older sister was called Elementa. The two were really close, but thanks to some fights and Darkia learning dark magic, Darkia turned against his sister, trying to take over the throne. Elementa didn’t want to fight against her brother, but what he did wasn’t right. So Elementa got her friends together, and used the Elementos against her brother. However, she couldn’t bring herself to murdering her brother, so she banished him to the mountains. She gave her friend gifts to thank them, and later became queen.Thanks to these events the royal family and the Dark family where created. The Elementos got lost in the Years that passed, and the two families had grown, together with Elementos relationship with Mobius. The Dark family had gathered some allies, and began attacking some villages on Mobius, burning them to the ground and injuring the inhabitants. The mobians, that didn’t know that it was the Dark family, where Elementians had nothing to do with, began fearing the Elementians to the point they would get killed. The Elementians panicked and made a plan. They all gathered together and performed a spell that wiped out every trace of them existing, and reduced every memory of them to a fairytale, a story that would be told to kids when they go to sleep, and got into hiding. However, the events that happened made the Elementians lose their trust in eachother. They would almost attack each other when Eleghanta, descendant of Elementa and the princess of Elementos, came between it and reminded them of the things they had done, showing them the Elementos she found between the roots of a tree. The kingdom slowly moved on, and the Dark family, whose plans failed miserably,isolated themselves from the rest of Elementos. More years passed, and Xarrida, descendant of the Dark family, tried again to accomplish the plan that his ancestors had. Some years before that, Ilona was born, who grew as an only-child. When she was seven years, Maiya, one of the friends of Elementa who got a ring that lets her have an immortal lifespan as gift, came to her parents to ask if she could teach Ilona. Her mother didn’t agree with it, but her father was rather positive. Ilona, who had listened from behind the door, rushed into the room, shouting “I will go with Mayia to learn things! I won’t let you down mom.” At last her mother agreed with it, so Ilona got taught by Maiya till she was twelve, when her studies suddenly ended because of Xarrida becoming a real treat, so she wanted to help. When she is fourteen, they find out that Xarrida has a plan to try and take over a village in Mobius for a base. Ilona, Kaithlinn and Titanium go to Möbius and check it out. Being in the village, they attack Xarrida’s army of shadows. They almost seem to lose when Sonic, Tails and Knuckles show up, because they heard there was trouble in the village. They help them defeat the army, and Ilona decides to spill the beans and tell them about Elementos and ask them if they could help. Sonic and the gang agrees and they all go back to Elementos. After some mini adventures, they go to Xarrida’s base to stop him with the Elementos. After they defeat him, the kingdom is saved, and they decide to go out of their hiding and try to build up the relationship between Möbius and Elementos.

Relationships

Sonic: Ilona and sonic get along great, as he helped her save the kingdom, but she sometimes is irritated with his jumping-straight-into-action tactics Knuckles: okayish, as Knuckles hot temper and Ilona holding her anger inside because she needs to be calm and collective as a princess can make them fight pretty easily, however they both seem to have a knack of learning about their natives history. Tails: Ilona and tails tend to get along very well, and she likes to read books by him and talk with him about them, but sometimes are in a discussion about magic and science. Amy: okayish, as Ilona isn’t exactly is the girly kind of girl, but they can talk hours about their lives and probably find some similarities in them. Cream: okay, as Cream is a sweet girl who is nice against everyone, but Ilona can get rather uncomfortable being called miss or Princess all the time, still, she would just pull up with it. Shadow: if they would meet, Ilona would probably try and make him happy, which fails. They have different beliefs and motivations so they would probably clash really hard. Rouge: Ilona isn’t exactly fond of Rouge, as she is a spy and all, and her way of working doesn’t stand her. Kaithlinn the Wolf: Ilona and Kaithlinn are bff’s since they where young, and that bond doesn’t break easily. Ilona and Kaithlinn both like reading books, but Kaithlinn is more the science girl while Ilona is more fond of history. Titanium the hedgehog: Titanium (also nicknamed Tia) and Ilona are not that close as Kaithlinn and Ilona, but their friendship is pretty great. Titanium was one of the soldiers in the castle, so Ilona would occasionally go to her and talk with her. Tia was rather quiet then, and didn’t have many friends, their friendship slowly grew to what it is today, and Titanium learned to accept what happened with her brother and move on with everything in the back of her mind. Eggman: Eggman doesn’t have much to do with Ilona, as Eggman sees Elementos just as more land for his plans, and ilona as a irritating obstacle in his way, while ilona would do anything to protect her country.

~~~

I can see you really put time, effort and so much love into creating her. Thank you for sharing your love for Ilona with us. 

~Mod Nerd

[sonicrevival]

Ultimatum- Chapter 1 of 5: Awakening

Hello all. 

I’ve decided to start posting this story here. I’ll be posting chapters daily over the course of the first few weeks, until I catch up with the DA and Ao3 uploads (Where I’ve just posted Chapter 24), at which point uploads will switch to one every two weeks.

For some preamble: Sonic has managed to (mostly) restore the world post-Worlds Collide, albeit there are some differences that will be expanded upon later in the story.

Additionally, Emerl is a girl in this story. Per Sonic Battle lore, Emerl was implanted with a digital “soul” copied from Maria’s, which prompted me to change the pronouns Emerl identifies with in this story. 

I have taken some liberties with lore here and there, so if you have questions then ask away.

Read on Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18500557/chapters/43840852

Sonic: Revival- Chapter 1 Ultimatum, Part 1 of 5: Ignition The digital plane was something of an escape, Nicole had decided. While she was in the computerised aether, the AI could disconnect herself from the outside city and enjoy some time to herself, something that was becoming more and more of a necessity lately. After his failures to protect the people, Naugus’ hand had been forced, and he had allowed the lynx to re-enter the city. Concerns raised by his more fervent supporters as to how he was supposed to protect them from her were dismissed- Her powers had no sway over him, and both of them knew it. Nicole tensed slightly, anger flaring inside her. She hated the hypocrisy of it all- Naugus had attempted to murder them all in the past, of his own choosing. The only bad things Nicole had ever done were while she was under the sway of another, and yet she was being blamed for it. Now she was the threat, and he was their protector. Separating herself from the city was a necessity, because occupying any of the nanites meant potentially overhearing another argument about her and the ‘King’, feeling one of Naugus’ more violent supporters try to damage her constructs, or listening to Mina’s awful song again. She bore no ill-will to the mongoose now. In fact, Mina had been trying to get the song taken off the air, but it was having no luck. Apparently, ‘We Won’t Be Afraid’ was the new favourite of the city’s population. Nicole retreated back into the void, curling up to relax. At times like this, all she wanted to do was confide in her closest friend… but that wasn’t an option open to her anymore. Sally was gone, taken from her, and everyone else, by Eggman’s latest maniacal scheme. She held out hope that it wasn’t permanent, that Sonic, Tails, and Amy would catch up to Mecha Sally and subdue her, allowing them to find a way to restore her body and mind, but as the days turned to weeks turned to months, she couldn’t help but feel that they might never see Sally again. She wasn’t the only one gone, either. Sonic and his team had taken off to rescue Sally, and Rotor was making an effort to defend the city almost by himself, with Naugus constantly taken ill. Elias had joined up with a smaller team that were quietly working to overthrow Naugus. But Antoine was rendered comatose, still slowly recovering from his injuries, though it was unclear when, if at all, he would wake up. Bunnie had taken off shortly after his injury, and where she was going, or why she left her friends in their darkest hour, were a mystery to the lynx. She wanted to be angry at the rabbit, she wanted to somehow find her and lay into her for leaving when everyone else needed her… but she knew that was unfair. Bunnie had always been the rock that everyone could rely on, and it wasn’t fair to expect that of her during the current situation. She was hurt too, after all. Darkest hour… Why did that phrase resonate with her? She was never the most poetic soul, and she couldn’t recall any of her friends or allies using it… And yet, she definitely had some memory of it, but she had no idea how to reach it… Perhaps searching for it in her databanks would help... Her reverie was interrupted by a blinking light informing her that she had a new message incoming. She floated over to it, and tapped a knuckle against it, opening a video link and coming face-to-face with Amy. To her surprise, the hedgehog was genuinely smiling- The lynx was good enough at reading people to tell the difference between the forced, not-quite-reaching-the-eyes smile she had worn before leaving with the others, and the genuine look of happiness and relief she had now. From her surroundings, she appeared to be in the back seat of the Tornado, and she was wearing a thick winter coat. “Hello, Amy,” Nicole smiled half-heartedly. “You’re looking pleased with something.” “We did it!” She announced. “I’m sorry, did what?” “We saved Sally!” She clarified. Nicole brightened immediately, shifting closer to the screen. “Wait, really?” “Yeah. I mean, technically we just knocked her out so you can zap into her computer-brain and undo whatever Eggman did to her, but the hard part’s over!” “Oh my gods, that’s wonderful!” Nicole beamed. “Please, hurry back!” “Well, we were actually hoping you could send yourself over and do it in-flight,” Amy said. “We’re not sure how long she’s going to be out and if she wakes up in transit we could be in trouble.” “I’m afraid my long-range connections have been deactivated by Naugus…” Nicole let out a sigh. “But the Tornado is one of the fastest planes around.” “That’s true, in jet mode,” Tails’ voice cut in from somewhere in front of Amy’s seat. “Unfortunately we’re in biplane mode, and we can’t transform it right now. We had to put Mecha Sally in the cargo hold.” “Oh, I see…” Nicole paused. “What’s your ETA?” “About two hours,” Amy said, looking less happy now. “So we should be okay, but it might be bad.” The two friends’ conversation was interrupted from a loud clang somewhere below Amy. Her eyes went wide, as she glanced down on instinct, then laughed nervously and looked back to the lynx. “I… may have just jinxed it.” “Oh no…” “It’s alright, we should be able to subdue her again, Silver’s here too, it’s just… this isn’t a good position for her to wake up in,” Amy continued, as another clang sounded. A few more ominous sounds of the Tornado’s titanium frame taking a beating from inside, before the sound of tearing metal alerted them both to the cargo doors being torn from their mountings. “Amy, is she loose?” Nicole slammed her hands against either side of the screen, panic rising. “Yes, she is, but it’s okay, Silver’s-” “Missile lock!” Tails shouted. “We’ve got Eggman on our tail!” “Amy, Tails!” Nicole screamed. “It’s alright, we’ll be okay!” Amy said, already drawing her hammer. “Tails is taking us down, we’ll be-” The link went dead, and Nicole backed away, curling up again. It wasn’t fair! They were so close to getting her back, but now Eggman was going to sweep their feet from under them again, if they even survived the crash landing. Her friends were alone, somewhere cold and dangerous, and she couldn’t help them thanks to Naugus. One result found! Nicole looked up again. Her memory bank search had born fruit. She looked at the single result, a text file with no preview. Odd… and highly suspect. She subjected it to every sort of security scan she could think of, but there didn’t seem to be anything actually untoward about it. It even had Rotor’s signature on it. Shrugging, she opened the file, and found what looked to be an old Brain Trust memo, with some sparse text on it. Knothole, under the lab. The codeword is ‘Ignite’. Use only when there is no other choice. Under the lab? There was something below Tails and Rotor’s workshop this whole time? Would it perhaps have survived the destruction of the old city?  She certainly didn’t recall that… Still, she wasn’t as omnipresent back in those days, so it could’ve slipped her notice… If Eggman was focusing on recovering Mecha Sally, he probably didn’t have any attacks on the city lined up. He was the sort to generally fixate on a single goal, especially if it was something taking whatever he’d claimed as his own- Just thinking of Sally in that context made the AI nauseous, but Eggman’s fixation gave her all the room to investigate this… maybe it was something that could allow her to help… Nicole quickly transferred herself over to the computer in Freedom HQ, hologram taking full form in the main room. She floated from the domed building and made her way over to the site of the old lab. With a wave of her hand, a small telekinetic pulse rippled the dust and rubble away. There, beneath the surface layer, was a heavy iron door, with a keypad beside it. She leaned down, inspecting the controls themselves. They seemed to still be working, fortuitously. I-G-N-I-T-E Long-abandoned engines groaned into life, servos straining as the door began to lift up, hydraulics whining all the way. Stairs extended down into the dark depths, but her own body lit the way for her as she descended into the hidden chamber. At the bottom, she found a small corridor, leading up to a sliding door with a camera above it and a screen either side. As she approached, the camera angled toward her, and the left screen popped into life. Today had largely been full of things she didn’t expect. She didn’t expect to hear that Sonic’s team had captured Mecha Sally. She didn’t expect to hear that Silver was with them. She didn’t expect to find a hidden file in her system. She didn’t expect said file to lead her to a secret room underneath the remains of the lab in her old home. And, adding another to the list, she wasn’t expecting to see Fiona Fox’s face looking back at her from the screen. Instinctively, her response was to prepare for some form of attack on the other side of the door, but she noticed that the vixen appeared to be standing in the same lab that she had just passed through the rubble of, wearing her old yellow and white outfit, and her expression was calm and neutral, rather than the ridiculous forced grin she normally wore now. “Hey Nicole,” The recording spoke. “If you’re watching this, then either someone’s brought you down here or Tails’ predictions for your development were accurate and you’re now moving on your own. Oh, also, something’s going really, really wrong and we need a new big gun.” The recording went to static for a moment, before clearing up again. “If you’ve entered the “Ignite” code then the lab’s systems should be preparing what we have locked up here. Tails, Rotor, Chuck, Tommy and I have been working on it for a while now, trying to make it safe to use, but… we haven’t had much luck, and experience with these things tells me that we can’t wing it with this one. I mean, if it doesn’t work, it’ll take all of Sonic, or Tails, or Knuckles’ power to subdue it. Probably.” More static, and a clear image again. “Basically, if you’re looking at releasing it, well, only do it if it can’t really make it any worse. I call it the ‘Darkest Hour Protocol’. This little guy-” Fiona’s arm reached out of the frame and dragged Tails into view. The smaller fox looked as though his brain had stopped working at the contact, and Nicole couldn’t tell whether Fiona was aware or not. “- thinks I’m being cynical and maudlin, but I don’t see him or Rote coming up with anything better, do I?” “W-well… no.” Tails sighed. “Exactly! So yeah, please be careful with this, Nicole. Of all of us, I know you’re the one we can all count on to do the right thing with this power. If you need it for real, the second password is ‘Awaken’.” The recording cut off, the screen going dark as Nicole approached the door. Her fingers brushed against the keypad, pausing for a moment. Fiona’s warning seemed more than dire. Whatever was on the other side of this door could potentially win them the fight, or it could make things even harder for them. The fact that this had been hidden from her, the key buried in her code made her suspicious… No. She couldn’t sit around and wish she could help her friends, and then pass up the potential opportunity. If it was something that the Brain Trust had worked on, it was probably a machine anyway, so if it couldn’t help, she could shut it down. A-W-A-K-E-N The door slid open with a pneumatic hiss, the room on the other side lighting up. Heading inside, the first thing she encountered was what appeared to be a Chaos Emerald, though the glow was much fainter than normal, resting on a small stand. “Tails’ synthetic Emerald… So this is where it ended up…” Behind it, against the back wall, was what appeared to be a metal casket, lined with faint blue lights. She walked over to it, laying her hand on the top. To her shock, the box hummed into life, a glowing blue circle lighting up around her hand, lines spreading out from it, covering the whole piece. The top split down the middle, and with a rumble, began to open. Nicole jumped back, as a mechanical arm lowered from the ceiling, grabbing the Emerald from where it stood. It slid over to the casket, lowering the Emerald into it. Nicole rushed back over, watching a claw extend from inside, grasping the Emerald, then retracting back down. The gemstone descended into what appeared to be a socket made to fit it, a ring of metal plates closing in to mostly cover it, lines of warm yellow light spreading from it like arteries, filling out the shape of a Mobian figure, roughly the same size as her hologram. What looked almost like a metallic liquid spread up from around the metal skeleton’s feet, forming the shape of armoured plating- Thick, bulky, and rounded. At the same time, more pieces of the endoskeleton rotated and clicked into place around the robot’s chest, forming a rounded shape with a hole in the centre, through which Nicole could see the faint glow of the Emerald beneath it. A faint mote of energy floated up into the empty chest cavity, and for a moment, it hung there, unmoving, before it flickered, sparked, began to grow, first to a small flame, then rapidly turning into a raging inferno of Chaos within the new machine’s heart. The spreading metal formed the two halves of a chestplate, then closed down over it, the blazing core only visible through a trio of circles in the centre of the plate. Above it, two optic sensors lit up, bright yellow with a tiny, almost-white pupil in the centre, before a third opened in the centre of the forehead. The trio of beady eyes focused on her for a second, before golden fire erupted from within the casket, throwing her back once again. The figure all but rolled out of the casket, perching on edge in a crouched position. Its eyes scanned across the room for a moment, before it stood and launched itself upwards, straight through the ceiling, on a tower of blue flame. “Oh dear…” Nicole murmured. Phasing through the now-crumbling ceiling, she spotted the robot hovering above her head. In the daylight, she was able to see it more clearly. Most of the plating on its body was a light sandy colour, with bronze on its shoulders, knees, the soles of its heavy, boot-like feet, and the distinctive single-pointed crest extending from its forehead. Burnished brown covered its upper arms, thighs, hands, and narrow midsection. It seemed to sense her presence, as it it whirled to face her and immediately raced back down toward her. She phased back from the strike, which split the earth where she had been standing just moments before, and floated herself upwards. Whatever this robot was, it had gone berserk within seconds of waking up, and Nicole quickly found herself regretting her decision to ignore Fiona’s warning. Out here, her processing power was limited, and if it happened to destroy the headquarters in its rampage, she would lose connection entirely. As the robot recovered from its slam, it locked onto her, staring for a moment. “Δείξε μου τη δύναμή σου. Ή δεν θα υπακούω. Εκπροσωπώ όλα τα πράγματα και θα γίνω Γκισοειδής, ο κατακτητής όλων …”  The voice came from the machine’s head, somewhere behind the mouthplate on its face. The tone was softer than she expected, not a harsh, grating screech, or a monotonous drone, but much more lifelike, almost like that of a young woman. The language itself wasn’t one currently in use… but Nicole did recognise it. It angled up toward her and fired its thrusters again, launching itself up toward her, fist drawing back as Chaos flared around it. Nicole braced, holding her hand forward, a square barrier of light forming between the two of them. The robot’s fist smashed through the shield, continuing to race upward, until it stopped dead, its punch slamming uselessly into a wall of telekinetic force. For a moment, its engines strained against the psychic barrier, while Nicole held firm, feeding as much power into it as she could. She spotted the droid’s third optic focusing on her for a moment, before its engines began to wind down. It jetted back slightly, circling slowly as its eye continued to scan her. Then, its pinprick pupils widened, growing to normal size. Its eyes turned blue, as did the glow from the circles on its chest. The central eye snapped shut at the same time. “Ποιος είσαι?” Nicole paused for a moment, as her systems processed the two samples of language from the robot. “Hm… Nocturnian?” She mused, quickly translating the original speech it had sent her. It had asked her who she was. ‘Show me your power. Or I shall not obey. I represent all things, and shall become Gizoid, the conqueror of all... ’ So, that was what Fiona meant… This thing was powerful, and without something else powerful to match it, it would be uncontrollable. Luckily, it seemed her psionic abilities were enough to qualify. Still, she’d have to be careful with this... Nicole turned to face the robot again, now speaking in its own tongue. “< I am Nicole. I am a Freedom Fighter. Some of my friends found you and gave me the keys to awaken you. >” “<They shouldn’t have done that,>” The robot replied. “<And you shouldn’t have let me out.>” The robot’s inflections weren’t easy to understand in such an old language, but it didn’t take much to pick up on the melancholy in its words. Immediately, Nicole’s wariness eased a little. Clearly the bot was aware of how much of a gamble she was taking by awakening it, and it seemed to feel… shame? Fear? Apprehension? She floated closer to the hovering figure, smiling as disarmingly as possible. “<Why?>” “<I… I don’t remember. My memory banks appear to be damaged. Oh. But I do remember how much power I have… and how bad it would be if that got out…>” “<Well… I have a lot of power too,” Nicole said. “And if that were turned loose against the world, it would be nigh-unstoppable… But… someone very important to me taught me that I can be more than that power. I don’t have to shy away from it for fear of what it could do, especially not if I can use it to help others instead…>” “<I… never thought of it like that…>” The robot admitted, tilting its head as it looked at her. “<Thank you.>” “<You’re welcome.>” She smiled, putting her hand on the bot’s shoulder. To her surprise, the third eye opened again, and a static charge rippled between her fingers and the plating. “Ow! I didn’t think holograms could get static shocks…” “You’re a hologram?” The robot asked. Nicole paused for a second, and realised that it had spoken in North Mercian, rather than Nocturnian. Well, ‘it’ didn’t seem appropriate now. In the more familiar dialect, the robot was clearly speaking with a woman’s voice. “You can speak North Mercian?” “Is that what this language is? I think I just absorbed it from you,” She shrugged, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly. “That was probably what shocked you, so, sorry about that.” “You… ‘absorbed’ it?” “Yes, that’s what my power is. That’s why I’m so dangerous, I think. Anything I see, if my brain can comprehend it, I can replicate it. Languages, weapons, powers, the works,” She explained. “But yeah, you’re a hologram?” “This body is. I am an artificial intelligence program. The hologram is how I interact with the world around me.” “That’s actually really cool.” The robot beamed, or at least Nicole assumed she was smiling from her tone of voice. “Thank you,” Nicole smiled. “Do you remember your name?” “Uh… It’s… um…” The robot paused for a moment, then looked back up at her. “My name is Emerl.” “Emerl? Well, it’s nice to meet you, Emerl.” “Thanks, it’s nice to meet you as well,” Emerl nodded. “So, why did you wake me up, then?” Nicole’s face fell, and she looked away from her new friend. “I’m sorry to spring this on you, so soon after you’ve awakened, but I was told not to activate you unless we found ourselves in a crisis… and we’re in a crisis.” “What sort of crisis? Hopefully one where punching things real hard can fix it, otherwise I don’t think I’ll be much help,” Emerl sighed. Nicole laughed slightly, and shook her head a little. “Well, I think it might come in handy… My friends, the Freedom Fighters… we’re the primary opposition to a madman named Doctor Eggman…” “Uh, ‘Egg Man?’ Does that combination of words have a different meaning on this language, or does it still effectively mean Αυγό άνθρωπος?” “It really does mean that. We’re not sure why he calls himself that either,” Nicole shrugged. “In any case, Eggman leads a small Empire of his own, and he has made it his ambition to take over the entire planet and convert everyone on it into a mechanical slave that only exists to follow his orders and massage his fragile ego. Normally, his attacks are fairly inept, but occasionally he manages to hit us just right... “ “He transformed our leader, Princess Sally, into a robot slave and then weaponised her body to make her into a combat droid. Shortly after that, two more of us fell in battle… And now three more of us have gone to try and rescue Sally. They were successful, but something took down their plane and Mecha Sally woke up, so now they’re stranded somewhere north of here and they’re in danger… and I can’t do anything to help them.” “Okay, that sounds like a pretty huge crisis…” “That’s not even the entire problem… but, it is the most pressing concern right now. The plane went down about half an hour ago by now… And I’ve been working to position their exact location all this time… I think I’ve got it, but I don’t know how long they’ve got…” “Well, you’re in luck,” Emerl said. “I happen to be pretty fast, and I also have a vacant storage slot for an AI in my head. I think it’s for recovery purposes… but I’m not sure what I’d be recovering. Anyway, it’s there for you. If you guide me, we can rescue your friends.” “Really?!” Nicole gasped, hugging the robot. “Thank you!” “Not a problem, Nicole.”

[mobius-prime]

149. Sonic the Hedgehog #83

I haven't yet mentioned it, but it's worth pointing out about now that Tails has begun to undergo his final visual transformation. For over a hundred issues now, he's been drawn to look… well, nothing at all like his counterpart from the games, really. He's been colored anywhere from dark, dark brown to a dim orange-yellow, drawn with very strange secondary fur tufts on his cheeks, given generic head fluff instead of the anime-esque three strands of fur on his forehead, and just generally looked like some sort of drowned rat a lot of the time. I’m gonna chalk this up to a combination of awkward-looking early North American Sonic art, the mild ambiguity of early pixel graphics, and artistic liberties taken by the early artists for the comics (after all, Archie Bunnie looks pretty different from SatAM Bunnie as well). But now that the comics are slowly taking steps to fall more in line with the designs from the games, Tails has begun to be drawn and colored much more like how he looks in said games, using Sonic Adventure as a guideline (considering, you know, that it was the only 3D Sonic game out at the time). This isn't totally consistent between issues - we're sort of in a transition period right now where his design flip-flops around depending on the artist - but in the end they settled decisively on the design from the modern 3D games, and you can see the beginnings of that influence in this issue's cover in particular.

Menace to Society

Writer: Bollers Pencils: Butler Colors: Gagliardo

Knuckles, in the middle of continuing to explore the Mystic Ruins, chances upon an unconscious Eggman lying on the ground. He immediately, after wondering briefly who put him in this position, considers outright killing him, which, man, while it's kind of dark, I can't say I disagree with. I mean, at this point he's still an inorganic machine instead of flesh and blood, so that might be hard to pull off, but man, Knuckles, do it. I don’t care if it's murder in cold blood - you'd be saving the world a whole hell of a lot of pain and suffering if you just went through with it. Unfortunately, he doesn't notice the blob of living water creeping up behind him…

Meanwhile, in Station Square, the Freedom Fighters are hanging out while Sonic tells the story of his and Knuckles' defeat of Chaos on the Egg Carrier, believing their problems to be over and done with. However, there's one loose end to tie up - the loss of Tails' inexplicable blue fighter plane that never existed until the previous issue.

That's actually remarkably good thinking, Nate, considering Tails never thought of such a thing in the actual game. Would have saved him a lot of trouble in the long run. Sonic and Tails race out to find the plane, but on their way, find an unconscious Knuckles on the ground, with Eggman flying off in his Egg Mobile nearby. Sonic initially assumes that Eggman must have attacked Knuckles, but Knuckles corrects him that it was Chaos, still alive after all. They rush to Tails' plane, but find Big the Cat a short distance away also recovering from being hit on the head, and before they can reach the plane a jet of water blasts up from its location.

Well, it only has one Super Emerald - how easy could it be for it to get the other six, anyway? At that moment, Mayor Bullyani is taking the rest of the team through some more tours of his city, including into the facility that houses the power source that maintains Station Square's artificial environment. What is this power source, you ask? Why, of course, the other six Super Emeralds! And everyone arrives just in time to watch Chaos ooze its way into the display case after dripping through the ceiling tiles.

On the streets of the city, the waters begin to ripple and manhole covers shake, and water begins bursting out of the sewers and pouring from the windows of the skyscrapers. Guess who it is?

As the Freedom Fighters spring into action, grabbing and rescuing any stranded citizens they see, Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and Big all arrive in the city to see the destruction. They ponder how to defeat it only to see Eggman break through the city's false sky in a new battleship, furious at Chaos' "betrayal" and determined to blast it into oblivion.

Eggman's battleship explodes, sending him flying, and at that moment Tikal's spirit touches Sonic's forehead, showing him a brief image of Chaos as it existed in its peaceful form in the past before manifesting as a ghost standing in front of him. For whatever reason, her name is misspelled as "Tical" throughout the issue, which is downright bizarre given that they spelled it right only a couple of issues ago, and this problem persists into the next issue as well. She insists that they must defeat Chaos without destroying it, using the power syphon that controls the city's environment to drain its power so that they can seal it into the Master Emerald.

Uh, nice ninja pose there, "Tical." Sonic, using the power of the Super Emeralds as well as the positivity from his friends nearby, is able to transform into Super Sonic, and rushes forward to fight the monster. He uses his enhanced speed to create a whirlpool out of the water that disorients Chaos and slams it into a skyscraper, and Tikal thinks it's working, but Sonic realizes it only made the creature even more mad, rushing back into the fray as the city watches…