#stoprewind

[natewantstobattle-lyrics-daily]

"when'd I become my own enemy? / I don't understand what you see in me / 'cause I'm just another story / (that's not worth the reading)."

- stoprewind

[stargazer-dreamer]

It's on the Tip of My Tongue Chapter 2

character: yami sukehiro

content warnings: denial of feelings, jealousy

reader: gender neutral; ring magic user

chapter list: 1, 2 [you are here]

notes: also on ao3. 2k word count. pre-relationship. part of the stoprewind verse

Mealtimes at the Black Bulls were chaotic. In the week leading up to your official first day, you had no idea—you hadn’t dined a single meal with them. Either out for lunch with Finral during a break, or so focused on getting your room cleaned that you didn’t notice the plate left for you at the door until it grew cold, you hadn’t sat down at the table with everyone until the ebony robe sat upon your shoulders and the paperwork was properly filed away. And even then, it took the witch coming out to find you and bring you back already in the thick of it to get you to understand exactly how hectic things could get.

It was well-past noon, and you and Yami had wandered aimlessly throughout the forest talking. It turns out, he was serious about getting to know you—but his version of this seemed to only consist of asking unrelated questions one after another until you were sure he didn’t actually care about the answers he was getting at all. It became quite repetitive, a question and a reply, the captain barely sparing a moment to reflect on your answer given until he’s moved on to the next.

He probably does this to all the new guys, you thought, stepping over a fallen tree branch in the path, to help them feel included. You were going to be living under the same roof—you figured the plan was that Yami would spend some quality time with you before returning back to his normal routine. Break the ice, learn some facts about you, converse a little. The two of you were, after all, supposed to be working closely together from then on out. It made sense that he would be working from a mental script—he was the captain. This was apart of the job.

Nothing else to it. Nothing at all. But I didn’t know Yami was such a poor conversationalist…

It was starting to get ridiculous. You watched as he bent to pick the branch off of the ground. Pausing for a moment, he slowly rose to full height with it in hand, an unidentifiable look sitting on his face. Eyes on the branch, you watched as his eyebrows furrowed. And then, in a large swooping motion, he whipped the branch to the side. You blinked. He did it again, and again, and again, and with one step forward one more time, before straightening back up again.

After a pause, he looked at you, tossing the branch to the side. He said—“What do you like to eat?”

For a moment, all you could do was stare. What kind of a demonstration was that? And that’s what he decided to ask you? Mouth opening trying to formulate a response, you were needlessly cut off by a rising, grumbling noise. It came from Yami’s direction. The longer it continued, you realized that it was coming from the captain himself. Namely: his stomach.

“Oh!” you bit back a laugh, understanding the question now. “Oh, you’re—okay, yeah! We can find a place in town. Here—” a ring left one of your fingers and hovered in midair between the two of you. “There’s a place I really like that serves—”

“There you two are!”

Voice drowned out by the sudden interruption, the two of you looked skybound. Up higher than the trees, a figure on a broomstick waved, her dark robe stark against the sky. Flying in a sweeping circle, she found a break in the treeline and descend; the wide brim of her hat fluttering in the wind as she did. Landing, she walked over with the stick over her shoulder. Her eyes shone like jewels, tinted lips curving the closer she got. She was recognizable even from a glance—Vanessa Enoteca.

“I was sent to look for you guys!” she said, with a hand on her hip. She was as beautiful as they say. Perhaps moreso, in person. “Figured you guys would be in town by now, but now that I think about it—this makes way more sense!” She smiled at you like she knew something, but you were certain you had absolutely no clue on what exactly that something was. Before you had time to respond however, her gaze traveled. “A quiet little outing—I didn’t expect that from you, Yami!”

The captain shifted his weight, reaching for a new cigarette and swatting at your still-floating ring, causing it to return to your finger.

The action didn’t go unnoticed, but, “Lunch is ready,” she was carrying on. “Let’s get back and eat!” And with that, she turned on her heels and started down the path with a bounce in her step.

Hesitating, you adjusted the now resting ring on your finger. The final piece of the puzzle put itself into place in your mind as Yami’s hand came down gently on your shoulder as he passed you, leaning down so his next words were heard by you only—“Next time,” he said, scratching the hairline at the back of his neck. The action drew him closer, and his next words came quieter, a rumble that shot exactly to where it shouldn’t—“There’s a place I like. I’ll take you.”

---

Despite the order of finding work, it seemed like the entire squadron was there; filling their plates high and chatting all the while, loud and boisterous—this was the Black Bulls you knew. Sitting in a circle around a rather large table, chairs and sofas had been moved to gather around; the common room transformed into a space to share a meal together. The noise was incredible, each person’s voice raised to speak over the other, seemingly in a constant loop that grew louder and louder by the second.

“Captain!” called the man with the mohawk. Magna Swing, with his gloves still on and sunglasses pushed up towards his hairline. “I saved seats for you!” He patted heartily at the loveseat beside him, nestled between him and Finral. “Come eat!”

Vanessa found a seat on the opposite end of the table—and it appeared that the only remaining place for you was right next to Yami. A bit sheepishly, you followed him into the fray and sat down. It was a bit of a tight fit—the loveseat was of average size but Yami’s bulk was anything but average. An unfortunate shift in your seat could have your thighs pressed up against each other—and following that specific line of thought, you snuck a peek sideways out of the corner of your eye.

He was silent, face once again unreadable as he filled his plate with the buffet before him. The reach of his arm going across the table towards the various foods stretched his muscles nicely, and when he pulled back, the shape of his biceps had you—

At least Finral was on the other side of you. “Welcome back,” he smiled. “You two were gone for a while.” There was a certain lit to his voice, one that brought to mind the memory of earlier in the day, when just about everyone had laid witness to the misunderstanding in front of the base.

Your face burned. “N-no! We were just talking!” You looked towards Yami but any additional input you hoped he would have provided was nonexistent—his plate now towered high with several portions worth of food. He slapped thieving hands away, the movement drawing your eyes to the ring encircling his finger. Stealing the light, it sat vivid against his skin and the scars that embedded him. A new connection; a bond formed between the two of you, the ring a symbol of your—

“We were just talking,” was your explanation. For everything. “Just walking around the woods!”

Finral gave you another smile, polite this time, and raised his glass to his lips. “Okay, okay. I won’t embarrass you.”

“Nothing to be embarrassed about,” came Yami’s voice before the overloaded plate was dropped in front of you. “Figured we’d talk in peace. Finally. What with you hogging up my new ride’s time and all.” His face was still indescribable, but the angle of his brows were curious as he locked eyes with Finral. “Couldn’t even offer a simple hello before you started portaling across the entire kingdom.”

There was a certain hardness coming from the captain. A pressure that weighed you down, leaving you sinking into the cushions as suddenly an awkwardness settled within the room; a haze that slowly drowned out every voice. Not so subtlety, conversations stilled and all eyes came to your side of the table.

Avoiding every gaze, you focused your attention on the food. There was just about everything on that plate, the entire buffet’s worth of selection spilling over each other and tumbling down the tower every so often—and a glance at Yami found him without a plate of his own. Admittedly, with so many different flavors and textures mixed together, it didn’t look very appetizing at all—but a fork was passed over to you, so you started to dig in, if only to appear that you weren’t paying attention.

Picking at the bread, you listened as Finral sputtered. “I was just doing what you asked of me!�� his eyes flickered in your direction. “Come on, I’m not trying to—we still have a lot of places to mark—”

“Now you suddenly want to work.” Coming from Yami, it didn’t sound like a question.

You knew of Finral’s reputation—he was known to slack off, often found leisuring around the castletowns instead of working. You frowned, remembering that day in the alleyway. The two of you were paired up immediately, imprinting upon countless and countless of locations, so really, who’s fault was it that you were often together? Besides, Finral was working—what was wrong with that? From what you’ve heard, he was usually off flirting…

Cutting through your thoughts like a hot knife, your attention was pulled across the table towards the starry-eyed boy from before as he called out to you. The conversation happening at your side drowned out as you tried to remember the kid’s name.

“Asta!” he supplied. “From Hage Village!” You didn’t know where that was. “I didn’t get the chance to ask you before—what kind of magic do you use?”

His obliviousness to the confrontation happening literally right in front of him was a breather, causing a soft reset in the vibe at the table overall. Slowly, conversations started to pick back up and the noise level steadily grew—not to what it once was, but high enough to no longer be as obvious about the eavesdropping as before.

“It’s ring magic,” you explained, trying to concentrate. With multiple conversations happening all around you—including the one currently flying over your head—you were finding it exceedingly difficult to hear yourself. “I can do a lot of things with it, but it follows the basic functions of rings as a whole.”

Asta shoveled food into his mouth as he looked at you in awe. Without swallowing, he asked, “What’s that?”

“Communication. At least, that’s how I think of it.” You thought of playing with your mother’s jewelry box as a child, and fiddling with her rings. They were cheap things, bought on whims, but you didn’t care. They were beautiful; hers, a piece of her left with you while she worked long hours, away from home. You felt your heart start to swell at the thought of it. Inspired, you carried on. “A ring usually signifies a bond or status, so I can use them as communication or tracking devices. Opening portals is what I do the most though—it’s just so much easier to take one step as opposed to walking all the way across town.”

Suddenly solemn, your eyes lowered as you remembered: “It’s not a really desirable attribute though, since it’s so easily replaceable with actual magical items. And it’s no good in a fight.”

“What are you talking about? It sounds like you could do all sorts of cool stuff,” Asta chewed. “Besides, it doesn’t matter what other people think—aren’t you here because of your magic?”

You didn’t know what to say.

“If you want to learn how to fight, I can teach you!” A messy-haired boy spoke up from the other end of the table. You recognized him as Luck Volta; and if his reputation is anything to go by, you knew taking him up on that offer was a bad idea.

His static raising your hair already, you frantically shook your head—“No, thank you, really, I’m not good at that—”

“If you need help with your magic, you should ask Gauche!” A small girl was stuffing her face. As she paused to down her drink, you were able to catch a glimpse of her features—Charmy Pappitson. She pointed in the direction of the man in question. “He’s usually using an item, too—he could probably give you some good advice!”

Gauche Adlai was looking at a photograph in his hand, hardly touching his food at all. Monotone, he replied, “I only help my sister.”

“Focusing on one aspect of your magic isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” Vanessa sipped directly from a bottle. “You’re working on portals, right? I heard you can make a whole lot more than you used to—and it’s only been a week! You should give it a proper spin.” Before you could ask what that meant exactly, the shine in her eyes appeared again as she stood up from her seat. Circling the table quickly, she came to a stop behind you. With each arm, she pulled both Finral and Yami closer, encaging you in a huddle of sorts.

“Okay you two, I think we can all agree that Finral can take a little break,” she smiled. “Yami! Why don’t you two lovebirds go on that mission you were talking about earlier?” She shot you a wink, “The two of you are perfect for the job!”

[int0themist]

good to know that i can post exactly 0 original things for like a month, let alone smth abt nwtb for like... 4? 5? time is fake. and then immediately come back with another nwtb post and get 15 notes in 24 hours. glad i could be of service to that community 🫡

[starchytart]

nate successfully spins the pizza box in shadow of agony blooper vid reminds me of when he does bottle flip for StopRewind MV on the first try, he can't lose even if he wants lmao

[the-carlos-cow-eyes]

Why am I just now realizing that I've been listening to Nate's music and have been a fan of him In general for NINE YEARS?? ALMOST A FUCKING DECADE??

The first thing I ever saw him In was Night 3 of the FNAF Musical, which had just come out by the time I watched It because I was keeping up with those videos, and I've been obsessed with him ever since.

That's so fucking Insane to me. He's been my favorite artist for almost ten years....since I was twelve years old. I'm twenty-one now.

He's still my favorite artist to this day. His music has meant so much to me and still does. I even got a tattoo of a lyric to my favorite song of his (‘StopRewind’). It's honestly my favorite one out of the three tattoos I currently have, lol

Anyways, thanks for bringing me so much comfort over the years and In the years to come, Nate. Love you <3

(I know this gif Isn't from Night 3, lol. This Is just my favorite line of his from the FNAF musical as a whole😭)

[xjesslynne]

moments from five days at streamy bearussy's.

initial hype.

more hype.

stream crash. wash, rinse repeat about seven times.

liquid and i paying rent.

USSY.

nate becoming one with nightbot.

getting stuck in a stoprewind loopy loop.

cheese discourse / tier lists.

zack, me and julian getting stuck in chat purgatory.

chevy commercial.

nosebleeds. pulled muscles.

krumping on everyone and everything.

chat bonding over forgotten.

liquid going feral over w & w.

apollo having to pay to talk to his boss.

phantussy / bonussy.

paying nate to get his attention after abandoning us.

four hours of streamn't.

add your own. there was so much chaos. both cursed and wholesome.

it was a stream of all time.

[th3w00ds]

Introducing: Apollo!

Apollo is my fan made NWTB ego based off of the album Sandcastle Kingdoms by NateWantsToBattle. I’ll explain his backstory and powers here, and his backstory will be split up into what I came up with based on each song in SK.

His backstory and powers are below the cut!

-Backstory Section-

Branded: His backstory starts with him being a popular but struggling behind the scenes music artist, selfish and experiencing creative burnout, believing that while he is well off, he’s in a sort of hell in his life. “Shine so bright this star’s gonna burn out.” 

StopRewind: This one is him thinking about wanting to be something more than what he is now. He thinks he isn’t deserving of his popularity and money and everything, and he realizes that he’d rather start over. “When’d I become my own enemy?” 

Live Long Enough to Become the Hero: This song is the one where he actually gets isekai’d! In my opinion, the lyrics are about how happy he is to finally have to at second chance he wanted and to start over. He also was very unsure about the new world he was in, since he didn’t really mean that he wanted to start over in a whole new world when he wanted to start over. His main intention was start over his career, but… hey, being a prince of a kingdom made of sand isn’t that bad, right? “My whole world was crumbling down, but I’ll still mend… I’ve found the strength and now I know where I can confide.”

To the Ends of the Earth: Again, this one still takes place in the isekai world he’s in. He’s reflecting on his feelings of happiness about being here, and is also thinking about the lengths he’ll go to be able to stay. Even if it meant fighting, which through training he can do now, he would fight to stay in his “perfect world.” “I’ll fight and defend, I’ll see this out till end.” 

Heroes Never Die: Now he’s becoming increasingly arrogant and cocky in his abilities, since he’s spent a lot of time in this world and has fought a lot of beings and people, not just to stay, but for his kingdom, his people. “You don’t call the shots, don’t you tell me when I’m done (Live it up, this life is amazing!)”

Perfect by Design: This song is the turning point in the album, starting the “depressing/sad” songs. This is when he realizes that the world he’s been sent to isn’t perfect as he thought for so long, in fact, as with his old world, it is extremely flawed. He starts to become depressed and closed off, a far cry from what he was just a few months before. He also feels immense guilt for his actions in the past in order to stay in this “perfect world.” He thinks that maybe his old life wasn’t that bad, as he had friends, fame, money. Not that he doesn’t have that now, he has the fame and the money, but not really the friends. As the prince of this kingdom he has a great amount of responsibilities and friends don’t really fit that well into them. “A million strangers walking past and stare… Open up the door I’m leaving soon… How did this get underneath my skin… Let me know when it’s all said and done.” 

I’d Love to Break It to You: This one still is kind of depressing, but more aggressive than Perfect by Design is. He’s spiraling more into his negative thoughts, believing he’s completely alone, and that everyone will forget him. He’s starting to become more aggressive himself, taking it out on others and even his people. “Parading like you own the place, give it time we’ll all forget your face.” 

All I See: This goes back to that “depressing” theme I’ve been mentioning. Unlike I’d Love to Break It to You, All I See goes back to being not very aggressive, like Perfect by Design but a bit faster at times. 

We Are Ignited: This one isn’t really aggressive, but to me it feels like Apollo deciding that he wants to go back to his old world, now wanting better days than he has now. He wants to forget the plethora of enemies he made in his so called “perfect world” as well. “You ventured off, no turning back, you’ve gone astray… The room’s too small to spread his wings out and take flight,”

Sandcastle Kingdoms: Before Apollo can make it out of his kingdom and the other world, a disaster happens. A large tidal wave was displaced somehow (don’t ask), and it completely washed over his kingdom. Some thought that before it happened, a wave from the Ocean of Dreams would bring destruction to the kingdom, but nobody believed them. That caused it to fall, as it was made of sand itself. When the tidal wave hits, it destroys the buildings and a lot of civilians drown, and Apollo also drowns there. “But all kingdoms drown, as tides bring them down… The subjects stay loyal, but don’t wait their turn; Now, blindly they follow their king to the fray, but he has no action and they have no say!” 

TLDR; He got fucking isekai’d..

Powers: I wanted to give him some powers. He didn’t have them in his original world, but in the other one he does, and when he woke back up in his “old world,” he kept them. He can control and manipulate sand, water and light. When using his sand or light powers, his eyes glow yellow/orange, and when using his water powers, they glow blue. 

[orangetintedglasses]

When'd I become my own enemy? I don't understand what you see in me 'Cause I'm just another story (that's not worth a reading) Now you've got me pinned up against the wall Why aren't you afraid that I'll take a fall? There's more that came before me (am I worth believing?) I'm not so sure

[hannahhook7744]

Hello, I'm so sorry I'm asking this. But if you would be up to it/ want to do it or anything. Could you do something w/ Chad Charming and 'StopRewind by Natewantstobattle'?

I understand if you're busy or not interested. So- Not forced!

Hope you're having a great and lovely day! Bye!

Trigger Warnings; child abandonment, orphans, implied ableism, resentment, implied depression, attempted suicide,  sick children, etc.  Chad is implied to be Neurodivergent.

🤴🤴🤴🤴🤴🤴🤴🤴🤴🤴🤴🤴🤴🤴🤴🤴🤴🤴

“Day and night my mind is running,

Reaching out ‘cause I want something more

 that I’ve never had before.”

Chad’s earliest years consisted of a loneliness that he had never been able to explain to anyone in his later ones. Because the type of loneliness he had faced was the kind only others like him could face. 

He had been left on the doorstep of Auradon’s Orphanage when he was barely an hour old. 

Already abandoned 60 minutes into his life. 

And that was a pain nobody who hadn’t experienced it for themselves could properly understand. 

“I’m scared to chase what I’ve been dreaming, 

Beyond a want and now I need it.

Push me by surprise,

So I can take the dive.”

Chad had spent the first six years of his life alone in all the ways that mattered. Alone despite the fact that he was surrounded by dozens of other children just like him and the people who were paid to take care of them. 

Alone because his biological parents hadn’t wanted him.

Alone because no one from previous interviews had wanted him. 

Because he was born different—born ‘wrong’ according to those who surrounded him. 

And because of that, he was alone. 

“Day and night my mind is racing,

Dents and foot prints I've been pacing

What am I supposed to find?”

Chad had thought that he was gonna be alone forever at six years old. 

He had thought that he was never gonna be wanted. 

Until they showed up. 

Princess Cinderella and Prince Kit Charming. 

And they chose him. 

“My god I'm the bait and the predator's my mind,

It eats at me all the time.

Can we stop and rewind.”

Chad had thought they had truly wanted him. Like his grandfather did.

He had thought they were telling the truth. 

That they had loved him more than anything. 

He had truly believed it more than anything in the world—more than he had believed anything else before.

“I'm not so sure.”

Even when his mind had told him otherwise. 

He believed they wouldn’t abandon him.

He had believed that his grandfather would stay with him forever. 

He had believed that his friends—Ben, Audrey, Lonnie, Doug, and Jane— would never forget and leave him.

Even when his sickly little sister, Chloe, was born. 

He had believed.

“When'd I become my own enemy

I don't understand what you see in me

'Cause I'm just another story

(That's not worth a reading)

Now you've got me pinned up against the wall

Why aren't you afraid that I'll take a fall?

There's more that came before me

(Am I worth believing?)”

Chad had been wrong to believe. 

His grandfather died. 

His parents slowly started to forget him due to their work and his little sister who they feared wouldn’t make it. 

And his friends outgrew him like he always feared they would. 

Because he wasn’t worth remembering as he was. 

And he slowly, slowly became his own enemy. 

Like the other unwanted children before him had.

Not even aware that he was one. Doing what he thought would get him everything back. Unsure himself and of Audrey, who he wanted so desperately to stay. Even though he knew that she wasn’t what he remembered. Even though he was sure he wasn’t the boy his grandfather used to read to.

“I'm not so sure.”

Chad grew more and more unsure of himself.

And even more unsure of Audrey.

Because she was growing bitter too. Bitter as her cousin’s taunts hit closer and closer to home. Bitter as her mother was away for her show. Bitter as her father worked on running two kingdoms because her grandmother wanted to make her into the perfect princess, regardless of what she herself had wanted.

He could tell. He could see it. He could feel it whenever she stared at him with cold eyes that had once held a warmth that could rival the sun’s. 

A warmth that faded over the years until it was destroyed by the news that Maleficent’s daughter would be coming to Auradon.

Chad couldn’t blame her for being angry. 

Not when he had been angry ever since his grandfather died. 

“Eye to eye our worlds collided

Ear to ear you kept me smiling

Kept me happy kept me grounded

Before I flew away.”

His grandfather who had kept him grounded after his sister was born wrong in a way worse than he was. 

His grandfather who had loved him more than anything and whose death had shattered who he used to be. 

The grandfather he would never stop missing. No matter how many years passed. 

“And I felt it breaking

Then you came around

In this world of white noise you're my favorite sound.”

He kept shattering over the years, into smaller and smaller pieces. Wondering why he had been born so wrong. Wondering what was so wrong with him that he hadn’t been  wanted even as a tiny baby. 

What could a baby had done to cause it to be unwanted?

Chad never could quite figure it out. 

Though he knew now why he wasn’t wanted, even by the person who he knew he couldn’t live without.

He was everything Ben wasn’t. Everything his parents hadn’t wanted.

He wasn’t unwaveringly sweet and loving like Ben. He didn’t have good grades and a good brain. He wasn’t good at watching his mouth or his temper. He wasn’t good at anything other than sports, driving, and looking good, He wasn’t what Audrey wanted.

He wasn’t the person his adoptive family had wanted him to be.

And he wasn’t fit to be a king no matter how badly he wanted to be. 

“We brave and broken fewer

Three cheers to fear the future

We brave and broken fewer

Three cheers to fear the future.”

He feared the future more and more as the days went on. 

He feared that he didn’t deserve one.

That he didn’t really want one.

He knew he wasn’t a good person. 

That he hadn’t been in a very long time. And he hated himself for it more than he had ever hated anything in his life. More than he had ever hated his biological parents for leaving him to fend for himself at 60 minutes old. More than he had ever hated Chloe for taking the parents who had once wanted him away. More than he hated his grandfather for defending his parents and sister every time he was forgotten.

More than he hated his friends for being everything he wasn’t. 

It was really no wonder that no one had wanted him.

“When'd I become my own enemy

I don't understand what you see in me

'Cause I'm just another story

(That's not worth a reading)

Now you've got me pinned up against the wall

Why aren't you afraid that I'll take a fall?

There's more that came before me

(Am I worth believing?)”

No one but Gil that is.

Gil who had talked to him when he saw him trying to drown himself.

Gil who was smarter than people gave him credit for.

Gil who took him home and piled blankets upon him, still talking. 

Gil who saw him and liked him in a way no one ever had. 

Gil who’s friends also liked him after a while.

Gil who fixed his friendship with Audrey.

Gil who believed in him when no one else did.

“I'm not so sure.”

Even when he himself didn’t.

Even when he wasn’t sure that he didn’t have anything to fight for.

Chad wasn’t sure what he would have done without Gil and his friends, and he never wanted to know. Not when he was finally happy again.

[dutybcrne]

𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄.

Share at least 5 songs that you associate with or remind you of your muse!

Everything I Ever Thought I Knew // Zachary Levi

Diver // Amalee

I'd Give Anything // Mandy Moore

Ao no Sumika // Tatsuya Kitani

StopRewind // Natewantstobattle

Love Like You // Rebecca Sugar

Atlas: Two // Sleeping at Last

Tagged by: @strdstd (Thank you!) Tagging: @goldtravl , @dcndrohime / @fleetinglotus , @capravulpes (ganyu), @starscrxssed (Takuya or Tighnari!), @ananthologyofsouls (Diluc or Rosaria!) and anyone else who might want to snatch this!

[natewantstobattle-lyrics-daily]

“and I felt it breaking / then you came around / in this world of white noise, you're my favorite sound."

- stoprewind

[stargazer-dreamer]

It’s on the Tip of My Tongue Chapter 1

character: yami sukehiro

content warnings: misunderstandings

reader: gender neutral; ring magic user

chapter list: 1 [you are here], 2

notes: also on ao3. 2k word count. pre-relationship (but we’re getting somewhere). part of the stoprewind verse

Your room, when presented to you, was covered in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs. It took you a considerable while to feather and air it out—but you just couldn’t find the time to roll up your sleeves and get down to the dirt and grime of it all. Between that, imprinting locations with Finral, reviewing all your past and future responsibilities, and preparing for the transfer into the Black Bulls, you found little time to settle into your new home within the base.

You didn’t even get the chance to mingle with any of its other members, much less the captain himself. He talked real big, but you’ve hardly seen a glimpse of him all week. This frustrated you—he wandered in, in the middle of your day-to-day operations, uprooted your entire lifestyle, demanded you work under him specifically, yet he has not greeted you once. If he was going to be this sort of captain, he would have to earn your respect.

You, however, were finding a quick friend in the spatial mage—going from location to location got boring fairly quickly and, as polite as he was, he seemed to drop the act when Yami wasn’t looking.

“He works me to death! You know how hard it is managing funds while having to pay out property damages every other day, in between having to joyride him around the country? I have to do paperwork on the road!” Finral stepped through his own portal and waited patiently on the other side for you. “It’s the worst, really.”

There must have been a change to your expression, since he seemed to backtrack a little bit. “But it’s not so bad! Really! Now that you’re here, I’ll have more time to work through it!” He scratched at the back of the neck as his gaze traveled. A tilt of the head—like he was debating on saying his next words. “And he seemed pretty sincere when he said you’d only be doing the transportation thing. He usually leaves me to my own devices until he’s ready to head back or move locations, so you’ll probably get a lot of downtime…!”

He smiled at you, good-naturedly. “Lucky you.”

This did not help improve your quickly souring impression on the captain. You spared a moment to mark the area before moving on to the next. It turns out, Finral had well-over a hundred different locations he had imprinted upon, not including the local area—and the captain wanted you to retain all of them! The nerve!

Hardly ever having left your hometown, the sudden increase to your mental magic map took a little while to get used to; and with it rapidly expanding every day, it was a bit overwhelming, to say the least. Finral must have realized this early on, dividing up his list into digestible sections throughout the week—but the two of you were far from done yet. First came the important locations, then the common ones, next were the useful areas, followed by the more niche places…

Despite Yami’s command of all of Finral’s impressions, the two of you found no need to share his more personal locations, such as his family home and room back at the base. Those were for Finral specifically, and there was no need to hand over such keys.

As a seasoned spatial mage, his senses were naturally more adept at managing a mental map of the world; for you, it was far from the case. After going at it for a few hours, you found that you developed headaches that could only be mended with proper rest or mana-regaining methods, such as specialized drinks or medicine Finral would graciously provide. It was more of a nuisance than anything else—all you wanted to do was finish this first task, but you couldn’t handle the load.

That’s something you admired about Finral; he was a pretty capable mage.

The day finally arrived when the documents were properly filed; Captain Yami Sukehiro stood you in front of the rest of the squadron and introduced you properly—as properly as it seemed he could manage, at least—followed by a multitude of questions from everyone in the room.

Instead of navigating through the sea of voices yourself, the captain made short work of it for you. “No fighting, no hazing, no eating; you just ate, no looking at pictures, no one can hear you, no shopping—we’re busy.”

“We are?” you asked before he handed you, rather unceremoniously, the infamous black robe.

“Yes,” he replied, short, before addressing the squad once more. “This is my new ride, so I won’t be sharing. Finral’s still here, if you need quick transport.” You sputtered at his choice of words—his ride? Sharing?

“Oh! So you use spatial magic too?“ A starry-eyed boy inched closer. “That’s so cool! Can I see?”

“Oh, no,” you shook your head, but at his continued interest, showed him the band encircling one of your fingers anyway. Haunted by the memory of your shoddy escape the week prior, you started wearing multiple rings on both hands, in addition to keeping one tucked away in your grimoire pouch, just in case. “While I do use a form of spatial magic, I’m actually—”

“What did I just say?” You didn’t need to turn around to know who was towering behind you, the mana in the air stirring like crazy.

Despite that, the boy carried on, unfazed. “But sir! The use of any teleportation magic must take an incredible amount of control—”

“Which is why I need you to bugger off, so my ride can be in top condition for me. C’mon,” with a glance in your direction, he gestured with a jerk of the head and walked towards the front door.

Stepping outside in the dancing shadow of the trees, you were struck at the difference in lighting, how striking he really was. Out in the morning sunshine, you forgot the words you held for him for over a week. The blue morning glow of the waking sun didn’t do him justice, if this is what he truly looked like, underneath the new warm hue. The thin undershirt he wore did little to hide anything—especially since he chose to wear nothing over said shirt—skin all but bared to the world, in all it’s severe beauty.

He was a warrior alright and had the scars to match, crisscrossing his skin in rough patches; down his arms, across his shoulders, and up higher, to the one bisecting his brow, and the one set at the corner of his mouth.

To keep from staring at his lips, your eyes lowered to his jaw, and focused in on the stubble, down his neck, evolving into the hair leading to the peek of his toned chest underneath it all.

Suddenly, you felt the need for a cold drink. You spun a band circled around a finger. “Um,” you began. “Captain Yami Sukehiro?”

“Just Yami’s fine,” he said, and went to light a cigarette.

“Captain Yami,” you said instead, resulting in a click of his tongue and quirk of his brow. Actually just Yami, I guess. You’d work on it. For now, you were trying to remember what it was that you had been meaning to say to him.

He led you out here with some type of purpose. You stopped fretting with the robe in your hands. You had to speak your mind, first and foremost.

“Yami,” you met his eyes. Steel. Like his blade, you did not know how much power it hid. But you were not afraid. “You said you wanted me for my magic. You may be my captain now, but I do not intend to be taken advantage of. I will not be overworked.”

His reply was instantaneous. It was different than before, when he walked out of the alleyway; instead of his entire being, this laugh came from the chest—throwing his head back with the force of it. Your eyes widened, before it clicked. Before, you felt as if he was laughing at you—now, it was something different entirely.

He smiled at you, big and proud, and declared—“I like you.” Warmth welled up inside as a weight seemed to lift itself off of you; like the smoke rising from his lips. He lifted a hand and before you knew it, he was ruffling the hair atop your head. “I don’t give jobs to people who can’t handle it.” You blinked. “Don’t sweat it—you’re my ride. Simple as that.”

So what Finral told you was true. You were so lost in that thought, you didn’t notice Yami’s hand go to smooth out your hair, running down, until it stilled, cupping the side of your face. You felt warmth once more, but not from the inside. “What—what are you—”

“Getting to know one another, like I said we would.” Before you could piece together what he meant, he pinched at your cheek.

“Ack!”

“You’re too serious,” he said, like a statement. “You’ve been running around all week. Every time I tried to find you, you were off doing some other thing. When you were here, you were either off with Finral or busy in your room. When was I supposed to be with you?”

It sounded distinctly like a pout. You stood there, rubbing at your cheek, staring at him. Yami Sukehiro, with a plume of smoke surrounding him, trying to wave it away. Like a distraction. He shifted his feet. Put his hands in his pockets. Removed one to scratch at the back of his neck.

He clicked his tongue. The robe you had resumed fretting with was snatched from you, and before you could even process it, Yami’s hands were at your front, doing up the button and straightening up the hood around your shoulders. “You’re a Black Bull,” his eyes were downcast, focusing on his work. And then, quieter: “I said I wanted you.”

You remembered the alleyway, and the sun eclipsing him; his touch, and the way he held your hand. “Oh,” was all you could manage. The transfer was busy work. He must have not realized that. And when he gestured to your still fretting hands, all you could do was stare harder.

“You have more this time,” his hands went back into his pockets. “That’s good, for you.”

The subject change nearly gave you whiplash, despite the pause between. “Um, thanks?”

“Yeah. Anyways, mark this one too.”

It was a simple band. Black, with no embellishments; and when he tilted it in the light, it seemed to swallow the sunshine whole. Dark and—when you got a closer look—incredibly inviting. As you held it in your hand, you noticed it was lightweight. Sturdy, with a smooth finish. Whichever material it was made of felt powerful where it sat. Indestructible. It would not shatter so easily.

It was only after you marked it did you realize you’ve never imprinted upon a ring that didn’t belong to a family member.

After you were done, he slipped it on—left hand, ring finger. His non-dominate hand. A good choice, for his fighting style; he wouldn’t have to worry about changing the way he handled the grip of his sword. It would be out of the way, but at the ready if he needed it.

“There,” he said, with a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. You tried not to stare. “Had it made. Figured I’d need one for myself—your hands are puny.”

You sputtered. “Not everyone is as big as you!”

He carried on as if you didn’t say anything. “Thought maybe, if you gave me one of yours, I could wear it on a chain or something. But that seemed like a hassle, so this was what I got instead.”

He held his hand up to the light. One of the things Yami was known for was his magic attribute—it seemed fitting that he would choose an accessory that physically matched the aesthetic; though, you never would have guessed he cared about that sort of thing. A black hole, it claimed space for itself; tugging you in and pulling you within his reach. His hand was warm, when your fingers intertwined.

“It’s beautiful,” you told him. The compliment, however, got drowned out by another, more pressing noise.

“Attaboy, Captain!” someone cheered from an open window. Then, from someone at the front door—“I’m happy you found the perfect ring!”

You turned to see what seemed like the entire base crowded around each other in windows and the entranceway, making no effort to hide themselves as they watched the two of you.

“That’s the man’s way!” The man with the mohawk pumped his fist in the air. “Straightforward!”

The witch held up a bottle, “Let’s celebrate!”

The short one next to her nodded enthusiastically, “We’ll have a feast!”

The man with the hair covering his eye looked surprised. “So this is what they meant when they said Yami was after someone…”

It appeared, where you stood, that there had been a major misunderstanding. Rumors are already spreading in the workplace—on your first day, nonetheless! Involving your boss. Your mother had warned you to stay out of Black Bull scandals; but there you were, in front of the entire squadron, probably ruining Yami’s reputation even more. You dreaded the headlines already—the immigrant Magic Knight captain, abusing his position of authority. Alternatively: the rookie mage, a golddigger.

In your horror, you spotted Finral in the back. Meeting your eyes, he gave you a thumbs up.

“What are you bums doing standing around for?!” Yami charged forth. “Go find some work, all of you!”

Scrambling out of sight, the group dispersed rapidly. Based on the shielded grins and fading laughter, you did not think that reaction cleared up anything at all. What a start to the day.

[tenebraevesper]

Sonic Cyber Revolution, Entry 24: Artificial Life

''When'd I become my own enemy, I don't understand what you see in me, 'cause I'm just another story (That's not worth the reading). Now you've got me pinned up against the wall, why aren't you afraid that I'll take the fall? There's more that came before me (Am I worth believing?)! I'm not so sure…''

– StopRewind by NateWantsToBattle

xXxXxXx

''Okay, spit it out, what is your deal?!''

Ferra cornered Toshiro, with Metal Sonic keeping an eye on Mephiles. After they had been dismissed by Eggman, they exited into the hallway and Ferra grabbed Toshiro by his shirt and pushed him against the wall. Her fellow Enforcer was stunned by this sudden display of strength and audacity, but then grinned back at her with an air of superiority, amused by just how frustrated she looked.

''What's the matter? Someone else is keeping secrets and you don't like it? Tough,'' Toshiro replied snidely.

''I don't like your attitude,'' Ferra muttered, frowning, and added in a louder tone, ''I know you two are up to something.''

''I'm amazed that you noticed,'' Mephiles taunted her, earning a glare from Metal Sonic. He ignored it, instead exchanging glances with Toshiro. ''I suppose we might tell them something, else their minds might explode from anticipation.''

Toshiro laughed, with Ferra's cheeks turning red out of embarrassment and she stepped back, trying to collect herself. There was something quite unsettling about the smirk Toshiro just gave her. She and Metal Sonic already didn't trust either of their fellow Enforcers, and at this point, Ferra felt legitimately creeped out by these two. Toshiro merely shrugged.

''I suppose that if you dig deep enough, you will eventually learn more. It is quite fun to see you fuming, though,'' Toshiro told Ferra and Metal Sonic. ''You are already familiar with Prof. Hiroshi Sakamoto's achievements, right?''

''Yeah, we are,'' Ferra muttered. ''He was the one behind Project Shadow.''

'From the data I had gathered, it can be concluded that Hiroshi Sakamoto is also in an alliance with Doctor Eggman,' Metal Sonic added, with Ferra nodding.

''That too,'' she added. ''Not that anyone really told us the details about Prof. Sakamoto working for Eggman.''

''It's not like you needed to know,'' Mephiles said. ''However, Project Shadow wasn't the only project the Professor was working on. There were two more projects, resulting in different creations. The more recent one was named Project Shadow: Resurrection, where instead of creating 'The Ultimate Life Form', he decided to create 'The Ultimate Weapon'.''

''The Ultimate Weapon…'' Ferra muttered under her breath, her eyes widening in realization, ''You mean…''

''You're a fast learner,'' Mephiles interrupted her. ''Isn't it a bit peculiar how I look very similar to Shadow, our true origins nonwithstanding? We both have the same creator, and I suppose that one could say that we are brothers, in a way.''

'What about you?' Metal Sonic asked, staring at Toshiro. Clearly, the teenger couldn't understand what the cobalt hedgehog robot said, but the intense gaze he was given was enough.

''Well, you can have an Ultimate Weapon without a Living Battery, I guess,'' Toshiro started, chuckling softly. Both Ferra and Metal Sonic were clearly unamused by that comment. ''In any case, I do have a familial connection to Touka. Our backstories are similar and genetically, we are siblings, with her being the older one.''

''I…'' Ferra needed a moment to process this information. At the same time, it made sense for Toshiro and Mephiles to have some kind of connection to Sakamoto, considering what she knew, as well as them having some kind of familiarity with Touka and Shadow… but siblings?! Admittedly, Ferra didn't know much about Touka's life, but wouldn't Touka mention Toshiro at some point? ''I didn't really expect that.''

''Make no assumptions, Shadow and Touka don't even know that we exist,'' Mephiles told the two. ''We weren't present at the Codex Research Facility either when it was still operational.''

''I suppose you're not going to tell me more beyond that,'' Ferra said in a rather cynical tone.

''Check your messages,'' Toshiro replied, walking away, with Mephiles slinking into his shadow. ''However, for your own safety, don't go to those coordinates until everything is over.''

''What are you talking about?'' Ferra asked, but Toshiro had already left. She tapped on her AR Visor, sharing the screen with Metal Sonic.

'Those coordinates are showing the location of one of the Egg Bases at the far side of Infinity Forest,' Metal Sonic said, his red eyes flashing. 'Do you wish to go there?'

Ferra remained silent for a moment, then shook her head. ''At this point, I think it would be better for both of us to just follow Eggman's orders.''

'Wouldn't you rather know what Mephiles and Toshiro are up to?' Metal Sonic asked. Ferra just sighed tiredly, pressing her hand against her forehead.

''Frankly, I'd love to go snooping around, but…'' She paused, biting her lip. ''Do you remember what happened last time when we listened to these two? We ended up releasing Shadow and that event nearly killed everyone. I don't want to take risks this time.''

'I understand. Then, we shall proceed with destroying Sonic,' Metal Sonic said, with Ferra being able to hear the excitement in his tone. He had been waiting long enough for this.

xXx

''Have you managed to find them?'' Toshiro asked Mephiles, who was standing behind him, his green eyes glowing as he focused, floating above a black hole. Both were standing on a building overlooking Westoru, with Toshiro having used his AR Visor to access the Eggnet.

''I did,'' Mephiles replied, turning to Toshiro, snorting. ''It appears that grey hedgehog is still upset over the roses, yet does not know who had committed this so-called 'crime'.''

''Well, he will be getting his answer soon. The Badniks en route,'' Toshiro replied, the holographic screen before him closing. ''What about Touka and Shadow?''

''They are not too far away from our location,'' Mephiles responded. Despite not having a mouth, his facial expressions were akin to that of a smug smirk.

The main reason why Dr. Eggman had sent these two to act as a distraction was because of Mephiles' versatile abilities and sheer power. The Dark Irregular was capable of molding shadows and creating copies of himself, which were quite useful for spying on other people. His copies, while imperfect and weaker than he was, were still powerful enough to hold their own in a battle. However, that was just his shadow ability. He also had access to pyrokinesis, the ability to create and manipulate fire, and by combining both abilities, he was capable of creating crystallic matter that could harm anyone who touches it. It was quite an unusual ability for someone who was called The Ultimate Weapon, but Mephiles knew how to put his powers to good use. Still, he preferred a more indirect approach, manipulating his victims into causing their own destruction.

''While the shadows take care of the rest of Team Neos, we can finally continue with our own plan,'' Mephiles said, the glow in his eyes vanishing.

xXx

''Hmm, Doppelgänger again…'' Amy scrunched up her nose as she held up the tarot card. She, Minami, Sonic and Lucas were at Heizeru Park, Sonic taking a nap under the tree, while the rest of the group was eating some snacks they bought at a vending machine on the street. Amy decided to check her tarot cards to see whether there were any events in the future, and the first one she pulled was the very card associated with both Sonic and Shadow.

''Maybe we'll run into Metal Sonic again,'' Minami suggested, a chocolate-coated Pocky stick in her mouth.

''I hope not,'' Lucas said, lowering the soda he was holding. ''Ferra and Metal Sonic are also now capable of using Chaos Surge. I don't want to imagine the destruction they could cause with it.''

''I wouldn't mind a bit of a challenge,'' Sonic said, eyes still close and hands behind his quills as he laid on the soft grass. Lucas, Minami and Amy just exchanged knowing glances.

Then, Amy and Sonic's ears twitched as they heard a strange noise, which Sonic opening his eyes and sitting up, now fully alert. Before he could even register what was happening, a blue blur flew right at him, grabbing him by his arm and flew up with him, throwing him across half of the city, with Sonic hitting the ground hard.

''Speak of the Devil…'' Sonic grumbled as he got up, his whole body aching. He looked up, staring at Metal Sonic as he looked down at him. ''It had to be on sight, huh? You couldn't have given me at least a warning?''

Metal Sonic suddenly charged at him, but Sonic leapt to the side, dodging the punch. Metal Sonic fired a blast from his chest, which Sonic easily dodged due to his superior speed, but when he preformed a spin attack on Metal Sonic, his robotic counterpart activated his defensive system. Sonic hit the Black Shield, but bounced away harmlessly, doing no damage to his robotic rival. He got into a tripod crouch, tapping on his AR Visor to call Lucas, but for some reason, the holographic screen just crackled, leaving him unable to call his partner. Dodging another attack from Metal Sonic, he opted to activate the tracker to make sure that his friends could find him.

''Looks like it's going to be only you and me, Metal,'' Sonic said, staring at his rival.

''That's where you're wrong.'' Sonic was startled by another voice, only to see Ferra appear on her hoverboard, hovering above the two. Sonic furrowed a brow, a grin spreading on his muzzle.

''Fancy seeing you too, Ferra,'' he said. ''Did Egghead told you to destroy me?''

''Let's just say our goals had aligned,'' Ferra replied, glancing at Metal Sonic. ''Metal, show him what you're made of!''

At her cue, Metal Sonic charged at Sonic, who tried to dodge the attack, but the punch connected, followed by a kick to the gut, sending Sonic flying into a tree. The cobalt hedgehog shook his head, trying to recover, but he only got the time to lean to the left as Metal Sonic almost gouged his eye out, his clawed hand leaving deep scratches in the tree bark. They locked eyes for a moment, before Sonic kicked Metal in the chest, causing him to stagger back, and followed up with a spin dash. To his surprise, Metal actually managed to catch him, following up with another laser blast from his chest. Sonic fell on the ground, badly injured from a blast at such close range. His whole body was aching, and all he could do was just lift his head up, gritting his teeth as he met Metal Sonic's cold gaze.

He wasn't going to give up so easily.

xXx

''We need to go and find Sonic!'' Amy insisted, her Piko Piko Hammer already out.

''I'm trying to call him, but he isn't answering,'' Lucas replied, a holographic screen in front of him, showing that the call cannot go through.

''Wasn't that Metal Sonic?'' Minami asked. ''If they're fighting, he obviously wouldn't be able to answer.''

''No, I don't think that's the case-'' Lucas gasped when suddenly, something lunged at them from between the trees. Amy leapt towards it, her hammer meeting a lance. To their shock, Egg Pawns wielding Egg Spears emerged, coming right for them. ''Badniks!''

''I think that explains Metal's appearance,'' Minami said in a snarky tone. Amy swung her Piko Piko Hammer, smashing the closest Egg Pawn. ''Amy, I'll lend you a hand with this!''

''Gotcha!'' Amy dodged the swing of a lance from another Egg Pawn, blocking it. She took a step back, before charging at it and smashing it. She then quickly extended her hand towards Minami.

''Chaos Surge!''

Lucas observed the two as they got enveloped by pink energy, with a pink hammer forming in Minami's hands. She took a swing at another Egg Pawn, blocking the lance, with Amy finishing it off. She then turned to Lucas, who looked a little reluctant to just leave them.

''We can handle this!'' she said. Lucas nodded.

''You guys take care of the Badniks! I'll go find Sonic!'' Lucas said, grabbing his hoverboard and speeding off on it. Minami and Amy then faced the Badniks.

''Ready to turn them to scrap?'' Amy asked, grinning as she held up the Piko Piko Hammer.

''How about making it a contest?'' Minami suggested, smirking as she brandished her own hammer.

''You're on!'' Both charged right into the battle.

xXx

''Hmm…'' Rouge placed her hand over her mouth, pondering as she observed the Badniks movement. She was flying high above the street, having spotted them earlier. She felt an itch in her healed wing, furrowing a brow as she kept an eye on what was going on. It seemed as if the Badniks were controlled by shadow-like creatures that emerged from seemingly out of nowhere, directing them towards certain points of Neos City; specifically, Heizeru Park and Eden Botanical Garden. Surprisingly, it appeared that the humans and ARNavs who spotted the robots didn't pay much attention to them, although it helped that the Badniks didn't attack them either, but she was more interested in what those creatures were. They reminded her of ARNavs, but she doubted that they were actual ARNavs. ''I don't think I should get involved in this, but…''

Rouge's attention was caught by Shadow and Touka, the ebony hedgehog skating down an empty street, while Touka followed him on her hoverboard. She wondered if they knew what was going on, making the decision to follow them. However, she stopped mid-flight as she spotted something black spreading below them, like a living shadow. They stopped, both clearly surprised by what was going on and to their and Rouge's shock, the shadow below them suddenly enveloping them. There was a bright flash of light, like a flame, forcing Rouge to shield her eyes, and when she looked back, she realized that they were both knocked out.

She was about to fly down towards them to check on them, but to her surprise, an ARNav resembling those she saw earlier emerged from the shadow, with a teenage boy walking out from a nearby street. Suspicious, she flew closer, hiding behind a building and holding her breath as she saw the ARNav looking up to where she was a moment earlier.

''What are you up to?'' she muttered under her breath. The ARNav reached out for the teenager's hand, with both suddenly being enveloped in purple energy, then leaned over and placed his hand on Shadow. There was a bright flash of light blue light and then they vanished. Rouge frowned. ''I have a bad feeling about this.''

She flew down, landing on the street and started looking for clues to where they may have gone, but there weren't any. She placed her hands on her hips, not liking the situation at all.

''What is going on here?''

xXx

''Ugh…'' Shadow felt a throbbing headache as he slowly opened his eyes. His vision was blurry and he could feel the cold floor below him. He shook his head, his vision clearing and the headache subsiding the moment he spotted Touka lying on the floor, still unconscious. He quickly scrambled over to her, shaking her shoulder. ''Hey, hey, Touka, wake up!''

To his relief, Touka stirred, lifting her head. She grimaced, clearly in pain, but she didn't appear to be injured. ''Ugh… My head feels like it's gonna explode… Shad…'' She squinted, rubbing the sleep off her eyes and sitting up. ''Wh-What happened?''

''I don't know,'' Shadow replied, feeling alarmed. ''The last thing I remember was just… darkness. I suppose we got ambushed.''

''Okay, but who ambushed us? And why?'' Touka asked, completely confused. Both looked around, noting the room they were in. It was filled with monitors, strange devices and papers strewn all across it. ''Where are we? How did we get here?''

''I wish I knew,'' Shadow muttered, getting up and helping Touka up. ''This place reminds me of the Codex Research Facility.''

''Yeah, but it doesn't appear that we're at Codex,'' Touka replied, looking around. ''I know that building inside out and I've never been in room before.''

Shadow frowned, already on high alert. ''Stay close to me. We're going to find a way out of here.''

''Okay,'' Touka replied, nodding. ''You know, we could try using Chaos Control to just warp back.''

''You're correct, but I see two issues with that. We don't know how far away we're from home, so even if we used a Chaos Surge-boosted Chaos Control, it might not be enough,'' Shadow pointed out, tilting his head and crossing his arms. ''Furthermore, knowing you, you'd probably want to investigate this place.''

''Yeah, you're right,'' Touka said in a slightly snarky tone while smiling. ''Let's just not get separated.''

Shadow didn't respond, with the two instead walking out of the room and into a hallway. They took a careful look around before walking down it. It didn't take long for them to hear steps, causing them to stop. However, these steps sounded strange, being heavy and sort of… mechanical. Touka and Shadow leaned against the wall, both peeking into the next hallway. To their surprise, they saw several Egg Pawns patrolling through it.

''Those are Badniks, aren't they?'' Touka whispered. Shadow nodded, with Touka crouching next to him. ''So, should we go into stealth mode or just brute force our way through?'' Shadow didn't answer, instead skating down the hallway and spin dashing into the Egg Pawns, destroying them. Touka rose an eyebrow, smirking. ''Okay, brute force it is.''

''I suppose it needs no saying, but it appears that we're inside one of Eggman's bases,'' Shadow said as Touka approached him, pointing at the logo on the wall.

''Huh, that explains where we are, but not why we're here?'' Touka pointed out, clasping her hands on her back.

''We're about to find out,'' Shadow responded, walking down the hallway, with Touka following him.

If they had indeed been somehow captured by Dr. Eggman, they would definitely do everything in their power to stop him from whatever plan he had. However, both soon realized that there appeared to be something off with this place. While they did find another Badnik, with Shadow quickly destroying it, this base seemed to be eerily empty. Any time they saw a shadow of some kind of figure on the walls, they carefully approached it, but there wasn't anyone there. Was this place somehow messing with their minds?

''I don't think we're going to find anything here,'' Touka said half-heartedly. ''Maybe Dr. Eggman abandoned this base.''

Shadow just hummed in response, a brow furrowing when he lowered his head. He stepped back, staring at his own shadow on the floor, realizing that it was moving independently of him. The shadow then extended, elevating itself and taking on a form resembling that of its host, with only a few differences. The figure's shoes and stripes were grayish-green, and he had a pale-skinned muzzle with no mouth, his green eyes with slit pupils having a piercing and eerie gaze to it. The figure then laughed coldly, his laughter sending chills down Shadow and Touka's spines.

''I had been awaiting this meeting for a long time, Shadow.'' The figure then bowed, head lowering before he looked up, his green eyes then focused on Touka. ''It is pleasant to meet you too, Touka.'' Shadow and Touka were silently staring at the figure, feeling a strange sense of familiarity with him, but Shadow quickly stepped in-between the figure and Touka. Shadow's doppelgänger chuckled softly in amusement. ''I suppose I should introduce myself properly before we proceed. The name is Mephiles the Dark.''

''Mephiles…'' Shadow's eyes narrowed as a memory had been triggered. He was indeed familiar with Mephiles, but only as a character from a video game. Nevertheless, he was still on guard, ready to fire a Chaos Spear at the Dark if he even made a wrong move, as he knew that, even if Mephiles was not the same as his video game counterpart, he had a hunch that he was very cunning and manipulative. They needed to be careful. ''What do you want from us?''

''I had been hoping that we could talk. I'm certain that there are many questions on your mind,'' Mephiles replied.

''You were the one who brought us here,'' Touka stated, with Mephiles giving a curt nod to confirm her suspicions. Touka frowned. ''Why?''

''Follow me,'' Mephiles responded calmly, gesturing at a nearby room and walking into it. Touka and Shadow exchanged glances, both hesitant, but then relented, following Mephiles. They knew that they had to be cautious, but they also wanted some answers to their questions and they could only get them if they went along with the Dark.

Both felt a pit in their stomach as they stepped into the room, this one being much messier than the one they woke up in. As they observed the room, they spotted a glass tank at the far end of the room, with Touka shivering as she saw it. Shadow, on the other hand, looked around for Mephiles, spotting him in the corner of the room. Even though he had no mouth, Shadow had a strange feeling that he was giving him a smug smirk, as if enjoying their puzzlement. He didn't like it.

''Why don't you tell us why you brought us here?'' Shadow told Mephiles in a stern tone. If Mephiles was trying to play mind games with him, he wasn't going to give in. Mephiles picked up on Shadow's tense demeanor, feeling slight amusement.

''I believe you're already familiar with all the details that Project Shadow entails,'' Mephiles said, merging with the shadows in the ground. Shadow clenched his fist, him and Touka looking around for him, a whisper seemingly coming from everywhere. ''The project was supposed to result in the creation of The Ultimate Life Form, but unfortunately, the project had to be shut down because of a little 'accident', never to be spoken of again.'' Touka and Shadow now stood back-to-back as they tried to track Mephiles down. ''Years later, it had been revived, this time under the name of Project Shadow: Resurrection, with the sole goal of creating The Ultimate Weapon.''

Touka and Shadow turned around, spotting a dark shadow on the ground, with Mephiles rising from it, his body taking on a purple hue and becoming more crystalline. The room suddenly became much colder as Mephiles spoke again, his voice only an eerie whisper. ''Both projects were a clear success.''

There was a moment of silence in the room as Touka and Shadow processed this information. Mephiles observed them contently, patiently waiting for a response. It was obvious that both realized the meaning of this reveal; that is, the fact that he and Shadow had been created by the same man, Hiroshi Sakamoto, and Mephiles fully expected them to further pursue that particular truth with more questions, only to be caught off guard by Shadow's response.

''How long have you been observing us?'' Shadow asked, his tone calm and collected. Mephiles was quiet for a moment, wondering why Shadow was asking him that. Slightly irritated by Mephiles' lack of response, Shadow continued, ''You know who I am. You know the details of Project Shadow, despite it being a secret no one was supposed to know about. I don't believe you'd keep this to yourself.''

''Shadow, you mean…'' Touka stared at her little brother, her eyes wide in surprise, then turned to Mephiles. ''Were you the one who told Ferra and Metal Sonic about the Codex Research Facility?''

''Actually, I was the one who sent the message.''

Touka and Shadow looked up, surprised to see a teenager leaning against the entrance, arms crossed on his chest. Touka frowned. ''Who are you?''

''The name is Toshiro Miwa. I'm Mephiles' partner,'' Toshiro introduced himself. ''As for the message, we both had figured that it was time for you two to finally meet up after being separated for so long. It is a bit unfortunate that you missed each other because you got knocked out and locked up in that room and Shadow decided to destroy Neos City because he believed you were dead, and no one was there to tell him the truth until it was almost too late.''

Suddenly, an orange bolt of energy appeared in Shadow's hands and he threw it at Mephiles, who held up his arm, creating a crystallic barrier between himself and the Chaos Spear. The bolt of energy hit the barrier, destroying part of it. Mephiles and Toshiro were alert, staring at Shadow, who was completely furious, gritting his teeth as he glared at the two.

''You knew!'' Shadow growled, baring his fangs. ''You wanted me to destroy everyone!''

Mephiles exhaled, quite amused. ''I thought you'd take much longer to figure it out. I suppose I underestimated you in that regard. It doesn't make you less of a fool.'' Mephiles made a sweeping motion, the crystalline barrier, which both Touka and Shadow recognized to be the same as the crystals they had found at Codex, turning into flames and dissipating. Both were shaking in rage as Mephiles continued to speak, ''After all, you almost killed the person you cared about the most, all because of a bunch of lies.'' His brows furrowed, as he added in a cruel tone, hoping to twist the knife further into Shadow's chest, ''How does it feel to know that you once again almost caused your beloved sister's death?''

''Why you-?!'' Shadow charged at Mephiles, but the Dark quickly disappeared into the shadows, with Shadow quickly turning around, leaping to the side to dodge crystals erupting from the ground, only for them to morph into flames, surrounding the ebony hedgehog.

''Shadow!'' Touka cried out, worried for her little brother. Fortunately, it didn't appear that Mephiles had any intention of actually hurting him, only containing him via the flames.

''You know, we could continue the fight, but I'd prefer to tackle another subject. I'm sure you're still questioning why you don't have any memories beyond your life at the Codex Research Facility,'' Toshiro continued, addressing Touka. Her eyes widened at first, then she glared at him.

''How would you know?'' she hissed.

''Because I'm suffering from a similar memory loss, except it isn't a memory loss. As a matter of fact, it is quite normal for artificial humans like you and me,'' Toshiro explained.

''Wh-What…'' Toshiro smirked as he observed the shocked Touka, while Mephiles kept an eye on Shadow, having extinguished the flames once he was sure that Shadow wasn't going for another attack. Instead of going after Mephiles, Shadow was focused on Touka, clear worry on his expression. Touka gritted her teeth, yelling at Toshiro, but her voice was shaky, ''Wh-What are you talking about?!''

''You heard me. You are not real. Your whole existence is a mere accident,'' Toshiro continued in a smug tone. ''Any memories you might have of a previous life are completely fake.''

''You're lying!'' Touka cried out, her eyes tearing and her fists clenching.

''Am I? Why don't we ask your creator directly for confirmation?'' Toshiro replied. Touka was taken aback.

''Creator?''

The four of them heard steps, with Touka and Shadow being stunned to see an old disheveled man walking into the room, hunched over, leaning against the door frame. Despite his age and unkempt appearance, both recognized him as Hiroshi Sakamoto. What happened to him?

''P-Professor…'' Touka felt chills going down her spine. Sure, she did wonder whether she would ever meet this man again, but at the same time, she wasn't sure whether she wanted to. His appearance alone reminded her of just how much she hated being confined to the Codex Research Facility.

Meanwhile, Shadow glanced at Touka, hoping to get some kind of instruction from her on what to do. They were in an Eggman facility, being confronted by Mephiles and Toshiro, who just revealed that they were behind his own release and that Touka might not even be a real person, and now Sakamoto was here as well. Frankly, Shadow never wanted to see his creator again, and considering by the amount of distress Touka was dealing with, it was clear to him that she too didn't want to be near this man. They needed to leave.

''Touka,'' Shadow called out softly for her, but Touka didn't seem to hear him, as she stood there, staring at Sakamoto and being completely paralyzed. He glanced at Sakamoto, who was shocked to see them. He took a step inside, staring solely at Touka as if nothing else existed in this world, uttering a name no one expected to ever hear.

''Tomoe?''

xXx

''Watch out!''

Silver dodged to the side, using his psychokinesis to lift up an Egg Pawn, with Tails throwing his boomerang at it, shattering the head. Much to his frustration, Eden was once again under attack, with him, Tails and Knuckles defending it. There were Badniks, but what worried him more were the three shadow-like creatures that were just observing everyone.

''Is it just me or are these guys somewhat familiar?'' Makoto asked, with Silver floating next to him. ''We should focus on them.''

''Right!'' Silver nodded, flying towards the shadows, only for them to suddenly create a fire circle around him, forcing Silver to shield himself with a barrier. His golden eyes widened in panic as he stared at the flames getting closer to him, the only thing that kept him safe being his barrier. He felt his heart racing as a memory flashed in his mind, one of smoke and an inferno engulfing the city. He froze, his breathing getting heavier.

''Silver!'' Makoto's voice suddenly woke Silver up from his trance, and he saw a spray of water being directed at the fire, realizing that Makoto had grabbed the hose and tried to extinguish the flames. Unfortunately for him, the water did nothing to the fire, with Makoto staring at it in shock. ''Wh-Why is it not working?''

''It can't be extinguished!'' Silver replied, with the flames closing in. He then let the barrier fall, only to send a wave of cyan energy which, fortunately, did neutralize the fire. He breathed heavily, his eyes itching from the embers. He looked up, glaring at the shadows that were encircling them. This was not his first interaction with this kind of fire.

''Take this!'' Knuckles delivered an array of punches, taking down another Badnik. He glanced at Silver, who clearly decided to fight the non-Badnik opponents. He then turned towards another Badnik, uppercutting it. He was about to smash another Badnik, when he saw another figure kicking it into pieces. ''Rouge?! What are you doing here?''

''My, my, do you always get into battles with robots?'' Rouge asked, smiling at Knuckles. Knuckles just frowned.

''If you want a fight, then wait until I'm done with the Badniks,'' he replied. Rouge rolled her eyes, placing her hands on her hips.

''I'm not here to fight. I just saw two of your friends, Shadow and Touka, getting kidnapped!'' she told him, with Knuckles giving her a baffled look.

''By whom?'' Lily, who overheard their conversation, asked. She was on the call with Lucas, having already informed him about their situation.

''I don't know their names, but the ARNav resembles those guys,'' Rouge quickly explained, pointing at the shadows that were fighting Silver.

''Rouge, I know I'm probably asking a lot, but could you help us?'' Lucas, who overheard the conversation, asked. Lily and Knuckles gave him a baffled look, while Rouge just rose an eyebrow.

''You really want my help?'' she asked, placing her hand on her chest.

''I don't think it would hurt…'' Lucas trailed off, wondering if he made the wrong move. He was aware of Rouge's thieving ways, but he did believe that she actually was a good person. After all, she made the effort to tell them that Touka and Shadow were gone. ''Would it be possible for you to find them?''

''So, you're giving me a mission?'' Rouge said, sounding intrigued. ''I don't know if I have the time for that…''

''Look, either you help us or you stay out of our way!'' Knuckles snapped, startling Rouge. He then turned around to punch another Badnik into oblivion. ''No one here has time for negotiations!''

''Hmph,'' Rouge huffed, feeling a bit insulted that Knuckles was so dismissive of her. ''I never said I wouldn't help.''

''Huh?'' Knuckles was surprised, with Rouge winking at him.

''Of course, as long as I get to go on another treasure hunt with you as the guardian,'' she added, then turned towards Lucas. ''Just give me your number. I have my own ways of finding people.'' While she and Lucas talked, Knuckles just kept staring at her, still baffled by the proposal. Why is she acting like that? Rouge, who was done with the call with Lucas, took out an eye-piece visor out of the bag that was over her shoulder, and placing it on her head. She then smiled at Knuckles. ''Good luck, handsome!''

Knuckles stared at her as she flew away, then noticed that Lily was giving him a questioning look. He then frowned, punching the closest Egg Pawn.

''Just focus on the fight,'' he said to no one in particular.

Links:

#Previous Chapter

#Current Chapter

#Next Chapter

#Sonic Cyber Revolution (Masterlist)

[pain-is-too-tired]

"You're My Favorite Sound."

"Eye to eye our worlds collided

Ear to ear you kept me smiling

Kept me happy kept me grounded

Before I flew away

And I felt it breaking, then you came around

In this world of white noise, you're my favorite sound"

StopRewind by Nathan Sharp

Finally drew some more Jake x Michael!

Thinking about Jake supporting Michael when he's stressed about his duties as Head Counselor and still mourning Lee.

[nwtbsquad]

The List of Us

Adrian🍂 - "Guren no Yaima" English Cover

Allan🔵 - Kanto

Bones🦴 - Bones

Carter🔦 - FNAF Musical

Dylan🍳 - Ask For More

Echo🔌 - Fanmade DBH Ego

Heathen🪶 - "Heathens" Cover

Hero👊 - Heroes Never Die

Natemare🟣 - Mangled

Nate🎤 - Factive of Nathan himself

Orion🌐 - All I See

Paultin🎼 - Dice, Camera, Action

Phantom🎰 - Phantom

Ryan‼️ - Fanmade Punk Ego

Seth🏫 - Senpai Notice Me

Sharper⭐️ - Branded

Skel🎃 - "What's This?" Cover

Stanley📝 - StopRewind

Tess💡 - Take Me Anywhere