#the apocalypse must be nigh

[fincalinde]

It always baffles me when I see WWX written as promiscuous. This is the guy who canonically makes it into his twenties (and then technically into his thirties) with his only sexual experience being one (1) kiss of dubious consent with LWJ when he's blindfolded at the Phoenix Mountain hunt.

WWX is an incorrigible flirt, but he takes even the simple act of kissing seriously. He's supposedly 'saved' his first kiss for twenty years, and when it's taken from him he responds by coping in his usual way: externalising any potential distress or uncertainty by being superlatively obnoxious.

A black outfit and a devil-may-care attitude do not necessarily equate to promiscuity, and this all feeds into the larger point: the importance of looking past the way WWX tries to present himself and focusing on what his actions actually tell us about him. Rather than being a promiscuous contrast to LWJ's prudishness, WWX's attitude to sex and relationships is actually a big part of why he and LWJ are compatible.

[911lsbts]

The end is near—and not just for this spinoff that remained on Fox after the LAPD-set mothership moved to ABC. In a plot inspired in part by a real-life meteor strike in Siberia, the Austin-based crew prepare as an asteroid barrels toward Texas.

“We had this very apocalyptic feeling, just finding out that our show was going to end in Season 5 instead of what we would’ve hoped,” admits showrunner Rashad Raisani, who learned of Lone Star‘s impending doom back in September. “So a big part of this season has been about pushing our characters to an existential threat–level crisis way earlier in life than they would’ve expected.”

Raisani credits show writers James Leffler and Molly Green with the Deep Impact-caliber idea. “They always have these great high-concept ideas that they’ve taken from real life and so they had been wanting for years to do an asteroid storyline, based on an incident that happened in Siberia when a meteor fell and it blew out windows for like 60 square miles…and we just thought, okay, well that feels like the right idea,” he continues. “Sometimes life just takes you where it hurts when you least want it to or expect it, so let’s do that on a grand scale!”

Thankfully, Leffler and Green had done their homework seasons earlier, looking at everything from timelines to the environmental fallout, post-impact. “They had all this research so that we could, as ridiculous as it sounds, really ground this in the reality of what happened in Russia in terms of how the thing hit the atmosphere and then what happened, how it broke apart,” offers Raisani, readily admitting the plot also has a popcorn aspect to it.

“Even though it’s, of course, this sort of absurd billboard-level kind of thing that could happen, we wanted to ground it because again, the hope is — and I think when you watch the episodes, you will see — as crazy as it is, it all ends up coming back to a place of character and how these people go through this crucible.”

Some of them may not go through it well. The action kicks off in the January 27 episode, which features “a flash-forward at the beginning that just makes you go, ‘Oh, my God,’” Raisani previews. “Something really crazy and terrible is happening. As we roll it back, you start to go, ‘Wait a second, this asteroid… Oh God, I think I know what is going to happen because of the asteroid!'” Amid all of the chaos — “our last couple emergencies are motivated by what people do when they think the apocalypse is nigh” — Raisani reveals that the penultimate episode also includes “one of my favorite cases…we have [Seinfeld‘s] Wayne Knight making an appearance in probably the most Wayne Knight role since Newman!”

In the finale, though, there is little room for laughs. As more emergencies erupt due to the fast-approaching catastrophe, first-responders Tommy (Gina Torres), Judd (Jim Parrack), and Captain Owen (Rob Lowe) must either settle or put aside deeply personal matters to save the day along with the rest of Station 126. To wit: Tommy’s valiant fight against cancer, Judd’s ongoing efforts to remain sober, and Owen’s potential career shift. “If we’ve done our jobs, you’re watching these three characters, each carrying around what they believe is an existential burden, about to unburden themselves with each other,” sets up Raisani. “And just at that moment — if you remember what happened in Hawai’i a few years ago when there was that [false] missile detection alert — everybody’s phones go off.” And as 9-1-1 fans know, once that happens, it’s all hands on deck. “The telephone is central to our DNA and we did it that way so that everybody gets that alert, which is how it would really happen.”

What the alert informs our team is unclear, but Raisani will confirm that the asteroid’s trajectory has a very intentional end-point. “We looked at the real city of Austin and thought, ‘What’s the worst thing that could possibly happen and where’s the worst place that it could happen if something hit it?’ And so we started to build the episode around that and it meant putting our team in the most dangerous place they could be.”

Without spoiling anything, we do know that there will be blood. “This will be the most casualty-strewn rescue since the pilot, when the entire team except for Judd blew up [in a factory fire] and died,” warns Raisani. “We decided who should get hurt and who should get hurt the worst in a way to show the depths of both their own characters and the character of the people next to them.” Still, he adds, “I’m a big believer that the worst circumstances of life will bring out the best in people,” promising a massively heroic rescue by these everyday heroes.

“Our final sequence, which I believe may be the high watermark of our series, is literally every character working together and doing their own part toward the same singular goal… It’s all about one single moment.”

[madbard]

Siffrin is of the Lonely.

This is the fear of isolation, of being completely cut off from other people. This is the fear that preys on lone travelers. This is the fear that once trapped an actor in an endless performance, unable to perceive people as anything other than masked audience members and hollow performers. This is the fear that manifested during the apocalypse as a massive empty house that slowly feeds on your memories, making you forget your friends, family and identity until you are left an empty shell, completely alone.

As a rule, the fears are nigh-inescapable. But the Lonely stands apart even from the other entities, because it is actually impossible to escape it on your own. You must remember the people who care about you, even as memory fades and they seem years away. You must cry out for help, or reach out for a lifeline thrown by someone else, even if it feels like dying. Someone who cares about you must come looking for you, and they must not turn back, even if the Lonely tries to drag them in too.

The Lonely is the fear of being abandoned. What could frighten Siffrin more?

[aziraphales-library]

Hi there! First off, thank you so much for y’all’s work here on Tumblr, def one of my main sources of fic recs.

I read Summer’s End by FeralTuxedo a while ago (lovely rec) and am definitely back in my TLOU-apocalyptic-setting-with-a-moody-but-calm/nature-esk-atmosphere-and-character-centred-plot era again. I just genuinely enjoyed the specific atmosphere that the apocalyptic setting gives works. Anyway, that being said, I would love any recs that would fit that kind of vibe (I would prefer less smut since I skip over it but honestly as long as it isn’t specifically plot-relevant its fine lol also not TOO much angst please, I cant deal with Az or Crow actually dying or something like that unless it is done in a comforting way).

ps: on a more specific request, if y’all know of any GO fics inspired by TLOU I would greatly appreciate recs (look, Bill and Frank’s episode in the tv adaptation is screaming to be written as a fic with Az and Crow instead- Bill and Frank’s deaths are wht I mean by deaths done in a comforting way I suppose, haha).

Wow, this is a long request, so sorry. Thank you so much for reading, have a great day and happy new year!

Hello! Pretty sure we've recommended almost all of these before, but there aren't loads of this kind of fic (and I could find no The Last of Us specific fics)...

Dead Genres by A_plus_platypus (T)

The end is nigh when a zombie virus ravages the world. Luckily, there is hope yet in the form of pharmaceutical scientist Anthony "Just Crowley" Crowley. With his adopted younger brother Adam, his other three kids The Them, and English teacher Aziraphale Fell, he searches for the fated military base in Tadfield. There, they — along with the rest of the world — have a chance at survival. And also Crowley is a disaster, and Aziraphale is a disaster, and everyone needs a hot cup of tea.

what's to come by PepperPrints, restlesslikeme (M)

Post-Apocalyptic AU. Even without the Antichrist, both Heaven and Hell insist on Armageddon. Aziraphale is missing and Crowley sets out to find him, driving through a scorched Earth with a witch in his passenger seat.

is there anybody out there? by theycallmeDernhelm (E)

Welcome to the zombie apocalypse. England has been overrun by walking corpses, everything's gone to hell, and the few survivors are scattered- among them, Crowley and his 11-year-old son Warlock. When Crowley's radio signal is unexpectedly picked up by another group of survivors, he finds himself falling, in a way he never thought he'd fall again, for the charming and kindly Aziraphale. Over three seasons and a tenuous radio connection, a romance develops between them, while a friendship grows between Warlock and Aziraphale's nephew Adam. Love isn't dead (or undead) after all.

Ouroboros Forever and One by iblankedonmyname (T)

An AU where the Apocalypse-Definitely-Did, Aziraphale is a cowboy and Crowley is on a mission from God to reboot the universe. “God gave you, a demon, a mission?” Aziraphale snaps his glass onto the table. “Millions of angels at Her disposal, and yet…” His eyes are sparkling again. It’s more refreshing than a glass of tequila in a waterless land. “You?” His eyes slip from Crowley’s toes up to the top of his head. “Well, I am certainly surprised.”

Zombie Apocalypse by AppleSeeds (T)

When a meteor strikes Earth carrying a virus that can 'turn people into zombies', Aziraphale finds himself responsible for a group of frightened teenagers at an airbase-turned-hospital in Tadfield. Aziraphale is terrified, but experiences some relief when the teens introduce him to Crowley, who has a plan to get them all to safety. When things don't exactly go according to plan and with the zombies closing in, Aziraphale must face his fears in order to protect the children from becoming infected.

My Favorite Ghost by cassieoh_draws, DiminishingReturns (T)

Decades after the world didn’t end, Heaven and Hell got their war — and nearly destroyed everything in the process. When Aziraphale finally manages to reacquire a corporation and return to Earth, he discovers he was gone longer than he thought and the planet has become unrecognizable. As he searches for Crowley and tries to figure out how he fits in a world that Heaven, Hell, and God have all wiped their hands of, nature works around him to reclaim the bones of an old civilization as the scraps of humanity build a new one. A lush and optimistic post-apocalypse story, told from the POV of an immortal who can't let go of the past.

And the one you mentioned...

Summer's End by FeralTuxedo (E)

2095. Britain is a post-apocalyptic wasteland ravaged by droughts, the collapse of civilisation, and hordes of the undead. Despite that, Aziraphale’s life is actually pretty good. He has his caravan, his books, and his work, offering his services to the men who stop by Tadfield on their arduous journey north. One day, a mysterious stranger knocks on his door. Crowley is charming and handsome and he appears to know his way around a vegetable garden. He comes with the tempting offer of a mutually beneficial arrangement. But it’s in Aziraphale’s best interest not to get too attached. A dystopian cottagecore sex worker AU.

- Mod D

[positivelybeastly]

From the Ashes Infinity Comics #15: Pygmalion, Part 1

So, for those who are not aware - Infinity Comics are online-only comics distributed through Marvel Unlimited, their subscription based app and browser collection of comics. Regarded as 'inessential,' but still very much canon, the raft of Infinity Comics coming out of From the Ashes have been quite good, but I haven't seen fit to comment on them for a bit, until now, because . . .

Let's go.

For those not aware, Pygmalion is a famous novel by George Bernard Shaw, detailing the attempt by a phonetics professor called Henry Higgins to 'elevate' a Cockney flower-girl named Eliza Doolittle.

Intrigued by a bet that he could pass her off as a duchess through careful schooling, he decides to take her on, and though he succeeds, she ends up feeling marginalised and overlooked, treated as an object of gambling and curiosity rather than an individual in her own right, and though the play is best known for the 'culturing' of Eliza Doolittle, it is as much about the arrogance of Higgins, who is a thoroughly unpleasant and rude individual, in thinking that he has any ownership over Eliza for his education of her. He may have 'created' her, but he does not control her.

The Factory that the X-Men are living in at present must have really good central heating for Cyclops to be wearing basketball shorts and a crop top that short.

Beast is currently investigating some kind of issue with Magneto's chromosomes - to put it succinctly, he appears to be ageing rapidly, and does not have access to his X-gene at present. This is a continuation of the storyline in the previous Infinity arc, which focused on Magneto.

Something worth noting - this is the first acknowledgement of the fact that though Hank's body may be of roughly the same physical age as his original, his mind is considerably younger, situated at some point in his mid 20s. For someone who was always the oldest of the original X-Men, this is fairly significant.

Also worth noting - Hank joins the ranks of superheroes who are actively seeking therapy for their problems! Good on you, Hank! And good on you, too, Scott, for suggesting it. Though, perhaps, given recent developments in the mainline X-Men comics, you should take your own advice . . .

The fact that Hank refers to himself as the only one left seemingly confirms that X-Force took care of the Beast clones who Beast Prime planted around various landmarks as part of the Ghost Calendars arc. Though they were defeated in their respective future timelines, I wasn't quite sure if they had been taken care of in the present as well. This seemingly confirms that they were.

Hank's therapist is Dr. Andrea Sterman, a supporting character from Jed MacKay's Moon Knight run, and a member of the Midnight Mission. Given that the writer, Alex Paknadel, confirmed on Twitter that he talked with Jed MacKay about making sure all the details for Hank's storyline would line up with the mainline X-Men book, I can only imagine this was done as a rather fun continuity nod.

Hank also refers to a Shi'ar warship, an avian alien race that the X-Men deal with on a regular basis. This makes sense, given that Hank was beamed aboard the Shi'ar imperial flagship during the events of Dark Phoenix Saga in 1981 - ancient history for us, but relatively fresh in Hank's mind, given his memories come from 1985.

Hank, naturally, does himself a disservice here. Dark Beast was, assumedly, abducted at a relatively young age from his human parents, and indoctrinated by Mister Sinister as something of a protege - a protege living in perpetual fear of his mentor. He probably didn't have a chance to develop any kind of moral code divorced from the social Darwinist hellhole that is the Age of Apocalypse.

That being said, Hank probably lacks that context, and Dark Beast is unique among Age of Apocalypse denizens, not just for his unerringly cruel nature, having never shown any altruistic tendencies (unlike, say, AoA Cyclops or Nightcrawler), but also for his resilience. He persists, even now - though last seen in Immortal X-Men #9 as a head in a jar, he has come back from the dead at least twice before, and it is unlikely he is gone for good.

Fun fact - his appearance here is based on the costume he wore during his scrap with Emma Frost's X-Men team in a confrontation with Spider-Man and the Lizard. Though the X-Men naturally encountered him after this point, it's fun that this appearance by Dark Beast is considered iconic enough to be the 'definitive' look for him by this comic.

Hank's final remark, about 'Henry McCoy plus time equals atrocity,' is a sentiment often repeated on social media boards, and it's interesting to see it being internalised by Hank himself, given his unique perspective on the events that created his future self and the other potential timelines the X-Men files likely refer to.

Mm. A lot to unpack here.

Hank's relationship with his X-gene has always been complicated, and the way he views it here, as essentially morphing him into a shape that he finds abhorrent, predatory, and beyond his control, is consistent with how Hank seemed to see himself during his feline mutation, which lasted from 2000 to 2013.

Though his feline phase is not referenced in this comic, beyond the 'over time, and with a little help, these became more pronounced,' (probably a reference to Sage's jumpstarting his secondary mutation) it assumedly would be in the files Hank has been using to catch up, and one has to wonder if he's been repeating some of the thought processes that made feline Hank such a uniquely neurotic version of the character.

It's also nice to see a canonisation of my long held fanon that Hank's X-gene is actively attempting to craft a form for him that is best suited for survival, a belief that Hank only hinted at back in Morrison's New X-Men, but which made sense, given the circumstances of his mutation in X-Treme X-Men.

That being said, Hank's own mind seemingly strays back to the night his furry mutation first manifested at the Brand Corporation in Amazing Adventures, where he flew into a berserker rage and nearly killed Carl Maddicks, which always seemed a little incongruous with how Hank was written in subsequent appearances in Avengers and Defenders, but which now seems to be retroactively made an expression of the brutality he was capable of during his feline phase.

The 'violent upheavals' Hank refers to here are likely his initial secondary mutation, and then his near-death experience when said mutation randomly destabilised in All-New X-Men. It could also be a reference to his numerous genetic troubles during X-Factor volume 1.

His opining that he found refuge in the life of the mind is very reminiscent of Hank's desire to find meaning in poetry, literature, art, humanity, in the wake of the changes in his body in both X-Factor and New X-Men. X-Factor #33 and New X-Men #117 both specifically reference his delight in the freedom to think, in opposition to the clouding of the mind that came with his Pestilence inflicted dumbing down, or his newly awakened predatory impulses.

Ironically enough, Magneto is, aside from Simon Williams, the character with whom this version of Hank has shared the most panel time and dialogue, between his conversations in X-Men and previous From the Ashes Infinity Comics. It would appear that Max's need for a cure for his condition are fostering a necessarily stronger bond than Hank and Max have ever shared before in canon.

Precisely where the rest of the team is during the course of these events is unknown. If I had to guess, it's possible this might be set during the events of X-Men #2, where the rest of the team was attending to a mutant rescue in San Francisco, accounting for the lack of availability of the Marauder and a reliance on an old Quinjet.

Quite how Hank got his hands on said Quinjet is unknown, though it's possible it might be a holdover from Hank's Defender days, where he would regularly borrow a Quinjet from the Avengers, for purposes ranging from actual superhero missions to attending Patsy Walker's wedding.

Though this Hank's memories originate in closest proximity to the Defenders, and though that team did enjoy some degree of notoriety under Hank and Candy Southern's stewardship, the Avengers have always been where Hank was most popular in-universe, and he has had a habit of using that association to smooth things over in mutant related books, such as in X-Factor volume 1 and the 90s X-Men run.

Unfortunately, mutant rights are in a more dire state than ever before, with things having seemingly gotten only worse for them since the 1980s, and it's likely Hank didn't expect this level of hatred from normal civilians.

I have, unfortunately, run out of images, so I'll be posting the last of this issue and my final thoughts and predictions in another post.

[vroomvroomwee]

The way Good Omens shows us how unhealthy and detrimental going to the extreme can be. Because look at it.

It's full with contrast. Angel demon. Witchfinder witch. Children against the literal manifestation of death and destruction. Heaven Hell. Etc. Even Crowley and Aziraphale's, as well as Nina and Maghie's, personalities differ from each other.

And especially if you look at Crowley and Aziraphale.

Crowley recognises the system is corrupt and wants to leave it that way, to abandon it. And in some sense he's right. It can't be saved. But that's not a reason to always look the other way and run. Aziraphale meanwhile consistently denies it until he can't anymore. Time and time again he puts his faith in the system which could be the end of him. He's courageous and hopeful that he can save Heaven and fix the system even though the mission is in vain. Neither of them are in the right. One wants to fix the unfixable, the other wants to abandon the inevitable.

One has lost all his faith in the system, while the other refuses to let go of it. Aziraphale, determined to save Heaven, to save the Earth, to save Gabriel, to save Job's children nearly kills himself and hurts Crowley along the way. And Crowley, in his eagerness to escape and find happiness independently from the Earth, pushes Aziraphale away and nearly leaves the world to be destroyed. One goes too fast, and speed runs through life, while the other clings to memories and the past. Neither of them being in the present. Neither of them meeting in the middle.

Which is precisely why Armaggedon was stopped, not by the Good side, or the Bad side, but by a human. A human not exposed to this polarity, but who's seen both Good and Bad and is himself a mixture of both. Adam represents humanity in all its flaws and virtues and saves it in the end. While Heaven and Hell, so convinced in their own purpose and goal, so convinced in their own purity/wickedness lead to the destruction of the Earth.

Paralleling Aziraphales and Crowleys argument, both of them going to the extreme, and ending up breaking their relationship.

The entire point of having a demon that isn't even remotely evil, and having an angel that isn't completely without sin, is to show that going to the extreme is nigh impossible. No one can truly be good and no one can truly be evil. "When Heaven ends life on Earth, it'll be just as dead as if Hell ended it." Both Heaven and Hell so determined to win and defeating the other side, to prove their own righteousness or wickedness, because they believe Heaven and Hell can't coexist, only one must emerge as the victor, so determined that they end up destroying the entire world, meanwhile being no more virtuous or corrupt than the other side.

And on the same note, Heaven and Hell can't exist without the other. "You can't be truly good unless you have the opportunity to be truly wicked." Without Hell, Heaven loses its meaning, and vice versa. They need the existence of the other, which proves that going to the extreme is impossible and would only result in pain and suffering. They need each other to balance each other out, they need the middle ground, the gray area. Whether it be shades of light grey or dark grey.

Now connect that to Aziraphale and Crowley. It's no coincidence that they managed to stop the Apocalypse TOGETHER, both of them on each of Adam's shoulders, converging both good and bad, which they both hold in various shades, together. And only together could they hope to stop the Second Coming.

They "need each other." Aziraphale needs Crowley just as Crowley needs Aziraphale. "Cancel each other out." No... BALANCE each other out. It's no wonder Warlock grew up into a demon child who nearly killed everyone at his birthday party (the book) and trashed the entire place. Because Aziraphale and Crowley were going AGAINST each other, and it was driving Warlock wild. The boy couldn't possibly be truly virtuous or truly evil, so he ends up a mess. Aziraphale and Crowley were going to the extreme and created something that wrecks and destroys.

They need to work together. And my guess is that saving the world in season 3 entails them to bring Heaven and Hell together. To find the middle ground. "Heaven and Hell against humanity." Because if Heaven and Hell continue on like this, there would never be peace on Earth. Just as Crowley and Aziraphale have to come together to fix their relationship.

[zmediaoutlet]

i'm watching season 8 and i can't seem to figure out why sam wouldn't even attempt to look for dean.

would you say it's in character for sam after 8 years? trying to wrap my head around it and struggling.

hello hello anonymous friendo -- I answered a similar ask a while back (...two years ago) which I will cannibalize here.

I know the reason a lot of people want to reject it out of hand is that “Sam would have looked for Dean.” I get it; it’s tough that he didn’t. But there’s a difference between Sam should have looked and Sam necessarily must have, and the fact that he didn’t is so OOC we have to invent a full on AU for him. I mean, for one thing, the actual canon information as presented doesn’t contravene the idea that Sam did actually try but failed, and gave up* after failing. He was alone with a busted car, zero help (Bobby dead, angels not listening, demons not answering the phone, etc), and had no idea if Dean was dead or just winked from existence (because why would he assume that he went to Purgatory?). With zero leads and dead ends at every turn, it’s very easy to insert like a month of him failing and then he hits a dog – and then, because he feels intensely guilty, telling Dean that he didn’t really try, because his efforts were so paltry that he can’t even count them as trying. …but even that isn’t really that much of an argument. One thing that I find happens a lot with the Winchesters in fandom discussions, but especially with Sam, is like… not allowing them the dignity of their choices. Which – like, duh, they’re fictional characters, they’re written a certain way. But there’s a real tendency to leap to OOC claims or “the writers don’t know what they’re doing!!” whenever it’s something we wish the character wouldn’t have done because we don’t like it. But like… that’s not how characters work. Characters do shit I don’t like all the time; it doesn’t mean they didn’t do it, and that I shouldn’t try to fold even that disliked thing into my conception of who the character is. (Important caveat: there’s a great post by astolat that talks about the venn diagrams of audience belief and canonicity in texts with multiple writers that makes this more complicated. Still, I think that variability comes in small details as she mentions in that post, or indeed dumb little moments of Jensen improv in spn canon, rather than whole-ass plot arc decisions.) Sam stopped looking for/didn’t look for Dean when he disappeared. That’s interesting. Kinda sucks, and the show and Sam himself point out multiple times that it kinda sucks, but that doesn’t make it uninteresting or OOC, especially given the Sam we have who is nigh indomitable. The fact that it was his choice speaks to a Sam who’s really just… beaten down. And why wouldn’t he be? Slings and arrows from birth all the way to age 27 when he threw himself into the worse torture imaginable – then he got saved, hallegoddamnlujah, and he thought maybe he’d be there with Dean, living a life he could choose for once instead of one he’d been forced into by destiny – and then it was just another apocalypse, and enemies on all sides, and every friend and ally and hope just torn away, one by one. It’s a miracle he got to keep the car. I can see that Sam, in that last torn circumstance, just – going into hiding. He hits a dog and then inertia keeps him in one place, spinning his wheels. He meets a girl and she kinda sucks but she’s prickly and rude and not-samey enough to prod him back up into life, and at that point it’s been months and Dean’s gone and he thinks, if this is life I guess I can live it. He can’t go back to the shell of a life he loved with Dean and it’s just… too much. He’s always been very, very good at putting one foot in front of the other. (It’s why he manages to live after the finale.)

the @spn20rewatch is entering s7 today -- idk if this is a rewatch for you or a first time through, but it's worth really thinking about the circumstances of right then in canon. As fans we often cling to the part we thought was most compelling -- i.e. a Sam fan might think back to e.g. Mystery Spot or something and go, there's no WAY he wouldn't fix it and damn the consequences! -- but one of my favorite things about these guys is the ups and downs they go through, and Sam at the end of s7 is in a VERY PLUMMETING DOWNWARD spiral. At some point the people you love die. It's gonna happen. Most of us have to accept it as a matter of course; it's really interesting to me that Sam can accept it, too, even though he knows it could be otherwise.

[postapocalyptic-cryptic]

Newt Geiszler NSFT Alphabet

A set of NSFT headcanons for Newt based on @the-coldest-goodbye's list! Written with @suborbitalrailgun looking over my shoulder and helping.

Notes: No trigger warnings, Newt is FTM trans, some Newt/Hermann details

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

After sex, Newt gets kind of hyper. He’s all fired up now and he wants to do something, not sit around and cuddle Usually, this means that he either gets up and does some aftercare stuff for Hermann like getting him food and water and something to clean himself up with, but it also means he brings a book or his phone to bed after so that he can cuddle Hermann without losing his mind with boredom

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Newt’s favorite part of his own body is his arms. They’re pretty well-muscled from working with heavy kaiju specimens, and of course there are the tattoos. He thinks the bracelets make his forearms look even better. His favorite part of Hermann’s body, besides everything, is his face. He just really loves looking at Hermann’s face.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

Newt is one of those lucky transmasculine souls who was blessed by the testosterone gods with a hair trigger and a lot of stamina. It’s not unusual for him to come three or four times in a session, and Hermann is very jealous. That being said, he doesn’t get super wet, so lube is absolutely a must when it comes to penetration. You win some, you lose some, you know?

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

He has, on at least one occasion, masturbated in the lab while Hermann was in there. Hermann didn’t know. Yes, Newt finished. E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?) Newt tends to be one of those people who people like for one night stands. He’s cute and he’s got a lot of personality, but people find him annoying or too much after a few days, so he’s got a lot of experience with one-offs and short relationships. He was also kind of dedicated to Hermann by about year three of the letters, so that stuff tapered off. The apocalypse and subsequent containment to the Shatterdome didn’t help. All that being said, he has a decent amount of experience, but he’s not super talented at sex itself. He knows some generic things that work for everyone, but he hasn’t really spent a lot of time thinking about how he likes to have sex.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

When he’s topping, Newt likes doggy style. He wants to minimize the awkward eye contact and find a good angle and all that. When he’s bottoming, he prefers to be on his side. Something about that angle just really does it for him.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

Oh, he’s absolutely goofy before, during, and after. If you can’t tolerate a little laughter during sex, you’re not going to enjoy sex with Newt. He’s also going to listen to his music if he’s given the chance, so you might end up with some deeply unserious songs.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Newt generally doesn’t care about how he looks downstairs. If he’s going out or planning on having sex, he’ll trim everything a little bit, but he’s not a big shaving guy. Whatever happens down there happens.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

It depends entirely on the person! He can be really lovey and sweet, but usually he likes a light and/or sexy mood more than a serious or romantic one.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

This guy jacks off all the time. I’m serious. It’s not quite a daily thing, but it’s close. The apocalypse is nigh and he’s stressed, okay? Also, if you’ve never been on testosterone you don’t understand the urge to jack off like a transmasc on testosterone does

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Exhibitionism (see above dirty secret) Electrostimulation Masochism Restraints Spit (being spit on, etc.) Biting and being bitten

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

Club bathrooms The lab (in his dreams) Bedroom

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

Hermann Weed Being told off (by Hermann)

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Anything that could be seriously unsafe in a chemical way. He won’t fuck on his side of the lab. He knows too much about biology to fuck around with that Specific kinds of dirty talk Humiliation, being called annoying even in a joking way

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

He likes giving it but he’s not necessarily good at it. Once he and Hermann are together for a while, he gets good through practice, though He does like receiving, and he’s likely to grab hair and push and all that.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Fast and rough, whether he’s giving or receiving. With him and Hermann, this is sometimes an issue, because Hermann has a hard time taking or giving that kind of force, but they work around it. Possibly, Newt builds some shit to work around it.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Newt is a quickie enthusiast because it lends itself to exhibitionism AND his short attention span. Make it feel good and get it over with. He’s not one for drawing things out.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

Yeah! Especially when he’s first together with Hermann, they do a lot of experimenting.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

As mentioned before, he has great stamina in terms of how many times he can come, but less so when it comes to how long he actually wants to go for. Especially when he’s topping, he goes too fast and wears himself out quickly.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

He has a pretty good collection of toys, some of which he’s made himself. They make solo sessions much more enjoyable, and when he and Hermann get together, they definitely see a lot of use

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

He wants to tease, but he’s also an attention whore and an impatient little creature so he usually breaks first

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

There have been several noise complaints

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

Newt actually doesn’t really like anything to do with his chest or nipples being touched. After top surgery, they’re not very sensitive in a sexual way, and the sensations he does get from them tend to be uncomfortable

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

A pretty nice t dick Size B-ish cups before top surgery A healthy amount of pudge

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Very

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Not for a few hours at least. He’s very wired after sex and probably wants to go do something else immediately afterward

[ronearoundblindly]

Oooh, can I get 4, 7, & 8 for RoaR, please??

I had a hard time choosing questions because that story is so incredibly well-developed that I felt like I already knew the answers to most of them. 👏👏👏

Questions from this ask game and for The Root of All Ransom series with Ransom Drysdale x rich!reader.

*I just want to preface this by saying RoAR Ran is an eternal work-in-progress. He will never magically become soft and cute all the time. He doesn't turn into a super-loving, sweet thing only around Reader but stay a grumpy asshole to everyone else. It's way more complicated than that.

4. Who initiates affection? Why does the other not initiate affection as much?

What we know from RoAR's story so far is that you and Ran are pretty evenly the instigators of sex, which is very different from affection in this case. Ran takes a long time to develop affection for anyone. Most people he hates, some people amuse him, even fewer people he tolerates, and there has been no one--not a single soul in the world--that he's ever loved...until you.

He shows affection in teeny, tiny ways. He remembers far more of your preferences and tastes than he learns for anyone else. It used to be that he remembered things for the purpose of fucking with people (like how he knew his mother would hate what he bought for her birthday and why he chose to dangle you and your Birkin in front of her). He still does that. It's a hard habit to break.

Ransom doesn't receive affection well either, and that's a similar, slow progression.

Even during sex, for those first months before Harlan's birthday party, Ran can't accept that there are moments that aren't about the sex anymore. Moments of connection get swept aside so he doesn't need to think about it. Kissing never means more than kissing...until it does.

Intimacy is scary to him, okay? You try not to spook him; he can't handle clingy unless it's a product of exhaustion. I believe it was in this ask that I eluded to him being nice during sleepy sex. Isolated and tired is the only time Ran has no walls up and no filter for his openness. He'll be needy and clingy, too. It's like a magic hour, just much shorter and easier to end early. That higher, self-conscious, self-preserving brain function kicks in very quickly.

Again. That's for the first few years. After that, he finally trusts the bedroom as a whole to be a safe zone.

7. How often do they say “I love you”?

Rarely the words. Since Ran is so...let's use the nice term 'guarded,' it's clear that even the smallest of gestures is a big deal for him, and that speaks louder than the words.

Has he done something that is more convenient for you than him? He must really fucking love you.

Has he gone out of his way to do something only you enjoy? Holy shit, Ransom Drysdale is in love.

Has he *gasp* not complained the whole evening? Sell all your stock! The apocalypse is nigh! Ran really, really fucking loves you.

You say "I love you" when it's absolutely crucial he hears it. Ran could so easily dismiss that sentiment if the phrase is overused. He won't believe the power of the words if he hears them for no reason all the time. If you say it for every little thing, then 'I love you' becomes a little thing.

8. What do they love most about the other? Why?

Though it might be subtle and hard-earned, Ransom's loyalty is FIERCE.

He can feel betrayed somewhat quickly (like being disinherited by Harlan), but Ran will fight tooth and nail for the very few people he trusts. He will die for you--either by sacrifice of his reputation or his life. It's endearing and quite possibly the most rewarding gift he could ever give you.

That's what you love the most about Ransom. Despite his best efforts to remain indifferent, he is completely and utterly devoted to you.

Ran, on the other hand...

He loves the crook of your neck.

Hold up! Hold up now! I said what I said, but hear me out!

Ransom is not close to people--anyone really--and does not allow people to get close either. Throughout this enemies-to-fuck-buddies-to-reluctant-lovers journey, he's had to let a lot of walls come down. Renovation's a bitch, ya know. Mentally and physically, it's a big fucking deal that he continues to see you, to sleep in the same bed as you, to call you and talk to you and listen the whole time. Ran is not accustomed to having to be present.

He can sleep in the crook of your neck. He can listen to you talk like there's no one else in the world. He can hear your heartbeat when you're quiet. He can hide because this is all really new for him. He can smell your skin and remind himself that it's okay to miss you when you aren't there. He can kiss there and mean everything all at once: "I'm horny," "you're sexy," "I love you," "I'm tired," "get off the fucking phone," "I don't want to get up," or "don't leave me."

The crook of your neck. That's Ran's new center of gravity.

Thank you for asking!

ope. i'm fine.

[haveyouseenthishorrormovie]

SUMMARY: A family vacation is interrupted by the arrival of four stranger claiming that the apocalypse is nigh - and that the family must make an unimaginable choice in order to avert it.

mod L says: as a fan of the book this movie is ostensibly based on, I can't spend too much time thinking about it, or I start crying blood.

mod Z has seen this and actually liked it a lot despite it not being the best movie out there

[emcandon]

I return from my bg3 stupor with a fresh 2 am question:

was the TAU story and world a concept you were baking for a long time until you had a chance to write it, or was it a more recent creation?

Do you find it easy or hard to build out new story concepts? Like, do you need to sit on them a while until they feel right, or does it just come pouring out of you from the start? Or a secret, third thing?

Just anything about your personal creation process!

lol hi it might not surprise you to learn that i am also steeping in bg3 (i am still stumbling around act 1! i'm not allowed to play until i hit daily sequel writing quota, which is healthy, i'm sure, but does mean i am somewhat behind just about everyone i know who is also playing :P)

(my first Tav is an enormous nb tiefling bard named Faretheewell who is, imo, perfect. very beautiful. very kind. definitely does drag. lying a lot, but mostly just for funsies. has turned astarion into their little purse dog.)

ANYWAY, TO THE ACTUAL QUESTION:

TAU's an interesting case because it was cannibalized from a couple different ongoing projects into something entirely new.

The characters had been floating around in different iterations since about 2013, and their final forms in Archive are quite distinct from the original seed! Imagine Sunai as an exiled diplomat who got involuntarily apprenticed to a cursed king/the last magician in the world; imagine Veyadi as a disowned god-child tasked with murdering the last magician! I'm still probably going to use that world somewhere so I'll mum about it now (it's the one I call "grandma heist.")

((imo that's why you should always yoink characters you like from whatever source you enjoy, be it your own or something else -- they will inevitably change in their new context, often so substantially that they are nigh unrecognizable.))

The story concept also originated in 2013: "Pacific Rim, but the mechs are built out of the kaiju, and pilots must have survived being poisoned by those kaiju." The addition of strange and upsetting AIs of divine power was somewhat inherited from the story Sunai and Adi came from, where divinity was fraught, fractured, and hungry.

Here's a funny. In 2017 I thought TAU would be a nice, simple, clean project. However. I know some folks who turn out gloriously clean first drafts. I AM NOT ONE OF THEM. My brain is a hazardous work environment, very non-OSHA compliant. Basically I do a lot of thought work in the drafting, so the drafts are consequently messy, and there are a LOT of changes from concept to actual workable manuscript.

Which I suppose is to say that story concepts nest in my brain quite often when it is healthy. The frequency with which I land on new and interesting story thoughts is actually a pretty good indicator of how well I am doing ambiently! Right now I'm storing up a lot of them, some of which I am fairly rabid about -- nearly as rabid as I am about Archive, which is the real indicator of a project that is ready to transition from Thought to Work. They are described here as "apocalypse magicians" and other such things. There's one that's going to be kind of an argument with Lovecraftian unknowability via desconstruction of Enlightenment epistemologies + queer identity destruction, and another that's going to be the Le Carré approach to espionage + magic as divinity meets public service + interplanetary empires intruding on your bumfuck planet offering the solution to climate change might still be bad actually. (I want to write that last with my wife and we are making SUCH GOOD FUCKING SHIPS FOR IT.)

How to summarize this? 1) find a story notion/concept about which i can obsess, 2) actually start writing it, 3) mess up spectacularly for a few drafts, 4) finally whittle together something more or less correct, 5) that's my editor's problem now!!

[king-of-wrath]

Ramon: ⚡️During your earliest years in Hell, which overlord was considered to be the most vile demon to the point they had to be overthrown?

"During my second century in Hell, there was not just one tyrant that needed to fall," Ramon shook his head. "There were eight."

"'The Covenant of Blood and Bone', they called themselves---though many would call them 'Blood Knights'. Murderers, mutilators, marauders, madmen and malefactors flocked to their ranks, eager to satisfy their nigh-insatiable lust for blood."

"It began as an apocalypse cult, but whether it began on Earth or in Hell, I do not know. They praised the Wrath-King's name and offered sacrifices to Him in hopes that they would rule at His side, come the End of Days. But from their ranks, eight butchers of men would rise---drawing His gaze upon them."

"Some unholy pact was made, compelling them to even greater heights of barbarism: they slaughtered whole communes, leaving nothing but streams of blood and icons of bone. Others were even less fortunate, being flayed and crucified upside-down, dragged along by barbed chains or painted with the gore of their loved ones---their skulls hanging on necklaces and belts."

"This would not stand. So profane were these perversions that even the most bitter of enemies banded together, swearing to shatter this bloody covenant and marching together in lock-step. But the eight had far worse monsters than mere cultists at their disposal..."

"Barely-tamed beasts and feral Hellborn were unleashed upon us, turning the ashen plains into a quagmire of slick gore---the sheer stench of which drew more into the melee. Such was the bloodshed that Wrath Himself parted volcanic smog to observe the carnage from high above."

"Sensing His eyes upon them, the eight fell into a savage frenzy. They and their minions then hacked and cleaved anything in reach, desperate to prove themselves the greatest of them all. 'Blood', they sang like a dark chorus, shaking the ground with stomps of their gore-stained boots. 'Blood'. 'Blood'. 'Blood'. Each kill only seemed to strengthen them, felling beasts and shattering lines with single strikes. 'Blood'. 'Blood'. 'Blood'."

"Freeing my mace from the greymatter of some deformed beast, I turned and stared one down. 'Blood', he pointed at me. 'Blood', he gripped his axe. 'Blood', he began to charge. 'Blood', he chanted unceasingly---even as I crumpled his chestplate, crunching his ribs behind it. 'Blood', he spat through the grate of his helmet."

"Wrath's presence must have affected me, too. I ignored my own wounds, fighting like a man possessed. He threw out his fist, sending me flying back with a tumble. 'Blood', he growled as he towered over me with axe raised high."

"'THEN SATAN WILL HAVE YOURS!', I shouted back and swung with all my strength---breaking his leg, felling him like a tree at the cost of shattering my mace's head."

"He dropped his axe, needing both arms to push himself up from the blood. Perhaps it would be fitting for him to die so ingloriously, drowning in the shin-deep pool of that which he craved. Ironic, even. But I would not allow this. I wanted to make an example of him. I wanted to defy Satan Himself, holding the head of His would-be champion."

"So as this knight struggled to remove his helmet, having slipped and fallen back into the crimson muck, I raised his weapon and brought it down upon that exposed neck. I unfastened the strap he could not grip---so wet were his armored fingers---and pulled the head out by the hair."

"Perhaps I was still afflicted by Wrath's power. Perhaps I was only being cocky. But I did what I wanted: I lifted both my head and his to the sky, staring back into His four flaming eyes."

"To this day, I am puzzled as to why He did not strike me down. He did not react in any way I would have thought. No, he instead laughed and went away."

[mochalottie]

What is this?? A chapter posted at a reasonable time by me?? The apocalypse must be nigh, quick grab your sandwich boards!!

Also, a very happy fathers day! Consider this my own celebration because my own dad can't be here with me to celebrate. The chapter is very aptly centred in Jake's POV so enjoy having our knucklehead stride (read stumble) through life for 12k words.

Anyway, ta ta for now lovelies <333

[iknaenmal]

By to funk I think about Gielgud arthound a lot. He had an all ice mom who stopped being alive and then he me his nephew because he was a,nary and he went and eaten the abppple and turned into work which ma FR a beg to back in turn to tell a 12 yea 4old Lou Gehrig stan with shoes too kill a man who kill so he destroyed the stray dog pouletion in 33kismoleter raids and a mob set mgave him the key to the ant who he killed to get a sound beat the animals to death end he went and killed the secret fifth member of the blue Cman group and saved a text bar from his prison and also Palma. So they stopped a zombie apocalypse but it Zion tr work so me.Glasses has to save them from the floor. So the nes and Jeff and Paul ago to the . Saturn Valley, home of Mr. Saturn, Mr. Saturn, Mr. Saturn, Mr. Saturn, Mr. Saturn, Mr. Saturn, Mr. Saturn (I looked it up and Saturn Valley has a population of 5297 so I can’t finish this joke), who tell them how to get to the base behind Grapefruit Falls, home of Master Belch, a sentient pile of vomit. Theydefft mater bel boys anYou've traveled very far from home... Do you remember how your long and winding journey began with someone pounding at your door? It was Pokey, the worst person in your neighborhood, who knocked on the door that fateful night. On your way, you have walked, thought and fought. Yet through all this, you have never lost your courage. You have grown steadily stronger, though you have experienced the pain of battle many times. You are no longer alone in your adventure. Paula who is steadfast, kind and even pretty, is always at your side. Jeff is with you as well. Though he is timid, he came from a distant land to help you. Ness, as you certainly know by now, you are not a regular young man... You have an awesome destiny to fulfill. The journey from this point will be long, and it will be more difficult than anything you have undergone to this point. Yet, I know you will be all right. When good battles evil, which side do you believe wins? Do you have faith that good is triumphant? One thing you must never lose is courage. If you believe in the goal you are striving for, you will be courageous. There are many difficult times ahead, but you must keep your sense of humor, work through the tough situations and enjoy yourself. When you have finished this cup of coffee, your adventure will begin again. Next you must pass though a vast desert and proceed to the big city of Fourside. Ness... Paula... Jeff... I wish you luck...d drink coffe who tells them thayou’ve travelled very farm from home… Do you remember how your long and winding journey be so with someone pounding and you for? It was pkwy, the worst person in your neighborhood,who knocke don thr door that date fit. Nigh,On your way, you have walked, flaked, and taught. Yet through all of this, you have never lost your courage, you have grown steadily dronter, youth you have experienced the painf of battle many times. You ar enolonger alone in your adventure.Paula, who is steadfast,kind and even pretty, is with you at your side. Jeff is with you as well. Ess, as you certainly know by now, you e not a return young man..you have an awesome Destiny to fulfill. The journey from this point will be long, and it will be more difficult firm anything you have undergone to this point, yet, I know you will be all right. When good battlesnefik, who ch side do you th8nk winds? Do you have faith that food is trumpants? One thing you must neve t lose is courage, if you ebele8ve in the coal that you are striving for, you will Ben orageous. There are many difficult times ages, but yiu mucht keep your sent of humor, workmdtough thr tough seturuts, an emoji ydiurself. When you have finishedthis cup of coffee, you’re efrteree will bejli. Agin. Next you fist mass throug a voter desert and proceed to the big city of four side, Ness, Pauak, Jed, I wisunyiulu come… so they drink milk and heAd to the desert but the American transport system is so bad that the roads dis clogged so they have to ,get eats

ironed I don’t emended what happens in four side but they eat a banana to sign, go to diamonds and gold and kill the third strongest mole, an find classes lenses, then they kill a rat, Paul gets kidnapped by a POSER and they smoke weed to kills d eom. They then go ro I don’t ache,my remember after that but at some point they all live in a yellow submarine. I think there was Oh I remember so they have to go to summer and do more eeed to get poo They go to winter and the. Toto to meet scarab. They steal a o rice,ess artifact to see crystal and beet bungeon ban. HIn the town where I was born Lived a man who sailed to sea And he told us of his life In the land of submarines So we sailed on to the sun 'Til we found a sea of green And we lived beneath the waves In our yellow submarine

We all live in a yellow submarine Yellow submarine, yellow submarine We all live in a yellow submarine Yellow submarine, yellow submarine

And our friends are all aboard Many more of them live next door And the band begins to play

We all live in a yellow submarine Yellow submarine, yellow submarine We all live in a yellow submarine Yellow submarine, yellow submarine

Full steam ahead, Mister Boatswain, full steam ahead Full steam ahead it is, Sergeant (Cut the cable, drop the cable) Aye-aye, sir, aye-aye Captain, captain

As we live a life of ease (a life of ease) Every one of us (every one of us) Has all we need (has all we need) Sky of blue (sky of blue) And sea of green (sea of green) In our yellow (in our yellow) Submarine (submarine, aha)

We all live in a yellow submarine A yellow submarine, yellow submarine We all live in a yellow submarine A yellow submarine, yellow submarine We all live in a yellow submarine Yellow submarine, yellow submarine We all live in a yellow submarine Yellow submarine, yellow submarine they visit shy people and have to kill more robots and tentacles. They rescue frien from shyness so they can meet dinosaurs and kill a dog made of fire. Ness then gets absolutely lost in the sauce and kills the kraken and hiss evil sk they can go kill more robots. They go to Saturn valley to kill a swirl and porky runs away. [REDACTED] and they gieguas dies. Al, that because nobody gave Giegue a hug

Sent from my iPhone

i will think about this for the rest of my life

[piratesofhyrule]

The Story That Will Never Be Told 3: The Divine Beast (TOTK spoiler)

By popular vote, up next is the story behind Draconic Zelda. This one was pretty new compared to just about everything else as it's only because of TOTK that this even exists.

Now finding out about Zelda-Dragon didn't necessarily derail anything I had already planned, but it warranted interest and investigation. Finding out how such a cool concept couldn't be afforded a suitably emotionally charged telling and consequence thereof, I immediately decided "okay, if Nintendo won't give Zelda a dragon form with a compelling narrative and emotional payoff, then I will!"

Same thought process behind giving her a big-titty goth gf but I digress

So researching into it, found out that how Zelda even becomes a dragon was pretty contrived and stupid with no heart or compelling emotions, even after she turns back. In a moment of inspiration thanks to @ladyicepaw I figured out how to shoehorn include the concept of Draconic Zelda!

Now in my continuity's history, every Zelda has had the power to ascend to a Divine Beast. However, the circumstances required for this are INCREDIBLY specific, they lose all control over themselves and there's no guarantee they turn back afterwards (some did, but those were so far and few in between that there's no record of how they did so). The previous Zelda, the Ghost Queen, actually died after her ascension into the Divine Beast, hence she warns the current Zelda (pirate barbarian) that "you can do it, but it will cost far more then you are willing to sacrifice"

To summon the Divine Beast, it's only when there's enough people across the whole world hoping and praying for divine intervention in the face of a dreaded calamity. So many voices have to cry out in one voice, all asking for the same thing in the throes of desperation for the stage to be set. And this typically only happens during an apocalyptic event and everyone's at risk of dying horribly. But in these bleak moments, "every heart upon the earth, sea and sky beats as one, every voice cries out as one, all asking for the same thing; deliverence"

These rare moments create what's essentially a gestalt field of worship-fuelled energy that only those chosen by the divine can tap into. This is a power source that exceeds just about anything else, but only forms when every single person on the entire planet is praying for the same thing. And given these moments typically only happen when "the end is nigh", everyone's praying that something saves them from the apocalypse so these energies reach a fever pitch.

Because Zeldas all serve their kingdoms through the ages, they are able to hear these prayers and hopes. The fact these are all focused towards "save us from [insert world-ending event]", that is why the Ganons cannot use these and while the Links possibly could, none have. During the times that the Divine Beast appears, "it's only when hope is bleakest and faith is sundered at the end of all things that Hylia's Divine Beast shall stir. Her daughters who bind themselves in full to a spark of the Divine shall awaken the Dragon that will deliver the world from oblivion."

Now the fact the necessary energies are generated by an entire planet all hoping for the same thing is also the reason for the cost of ascension. The Divine Beast is the epitome of the world's final prayers, it acts in accordance with the dying wish of the world. Ergo, the few times it appears it always helps save the world from doom, but the Zelda who ascends to it is but one of the millions of thoughts that direct the Dragon. She must willingly sacrifice herself to this gestalt conciousness, knowing that she will probably never return from it but willing to do whatever it takes to save the world.

Hence why although the Dragon has appeared several times in the ancient past, only four of the dozens of Zeldas who brought it forth have ever returned afterwards

Now in addition to the fact this requires a whole planet hoping for the same thing, the Zelda must also be holding a piece of divinity to catalyze the process. Thus far, they've been able to use the Wisdom Triforce, but the Barbarian Pirate one actually gives up her Triforce to Sheik as she has an alternative piece of divinty; The Heart of Hylia. Although the Heart is knocked overboard as The End arises, Zelda dives into the sea

And from the ocean, Hylia's Divine Beast arises to stop the Blood Moon's fall

[adventures-of-team-dystopia]

The Ultimate Revenge

Written by Darkqueen and Wandering Angel

Cover Art by Darkqueen

Chapter Five: Big Trouble in San Francisco

Content Warning: This chapter contains mild swearing, mild violence, mentions of death (READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED)

Summary:

Over the last ten years since the Black Arms’ defeat at the hands of one Shadow the Hedgehog, Eclipse the Darkling has been trying to make an escape from the abandoned Black Comet. After making his way to Earth though, he ends up encountering a certain dark half-god, Mephiles…who ends up reviving Black Doom, in his new crystal statue form, no less! Now working as a trio, they plan to launch a huge invasion on the planet, all in the name of revenge against a certain ultimate lifeform…

[Start]

[Previous Chapter]

[Next Chapter]

San Francisco has been looking pretty peaceful today, with nothing too out of the ordinary as far as the eye can see. Cars are driving through the usual slow California traffic jam, the weather is hot as always, and overall, everything is just as regular as it can be for a typical life in San Francisco.

That is, until a certain world-ending trio entered the scene with the glow of a purple energy orb, with the sky slowly turning dark with a mix of red and purple clouds, as if heralding the apocalypse of their arrival.

That’s right, Team Dystopia had just arrived in San Francisco, thanks to the purple energy orb Mephiles used earlier, allowing for a seamless escape from Green Hills all the way to San Francisco. In a way, these purple energy orbs must have been Mephiles’ own equivalent of these ring portals the heroes always love to use, and really, Mephiles is just happy to have some sort of an edge over the heroes in that department, since he seems to generate these purple energy orbs whenever he wants without limit.

After gleefully gloating to himself about his powerful abilities, Mephiles then shifts his focus to what he and his teammates are planning to do next: Preparing to launch their next attack on San Francisco. Of course, it’s always a good idea to take note of the surroundings for a little bit. It seems they’re currently standing on top of the Golden Gate Bridge, with the crystal Black Arms army waiting on the nearby cables of that bridge…

“Ah, San Francisco… I believe this will be a truly valuable stronghold for the Black Arms…!” Black Doom confidently declared, seemingly excited for the possibilities after checking out the Golden Gate Bridge.

“And why exactly do you believe that?” Mephiles questioned, his nonexistent eyebrow raised after hearing that. Why specifically San Francisco of all places?

Black Doom looks over at Mephiles with a menacing stare for a moment, as if he’s about to say something important, and…

“I just think it’s neat.” Black Doom bluntly answered, as if that’s the most obvious thing in the world.

Mephiles just stares at Black Doom, not sure if he’s actually being serious with this or not. Is he seriously hearing this from THE ruthless alien overlord himself? “…What?”

“Did Master stutter?” Eclipse said, almost sounding offended, as he unquestionably follows Black Doom’s words as always. “If Master says San Francisco works as a valuable stronghold for the Black Arms, then it must be! You didn’t think he conquered all of these galaxies with sheer blind luck, did you?”

Mephiles stares blankly at his two Black Arms teammates for a little bit, feeling like they lost their minds for a moment…

“I’m one half of a sun god, and yet, I end up in this nonsensical cult that doesn’t even worship me?? How insolent…” The crystalline hedgehog creature laments in his mind.

Mephiles then sighs. “…Never mind. It’s about time we launch an attack soon. Is everyone ready for more destruction?”

“You bet!” Eclipse cheered excitedly as he got into a stance, ready to fight anyone who dares to oppose the Black Arms.

“Excellent… Then it seems that it is time to show the pathetic humans that the end is nigh…!” Black Doom boomed, sending an order to the crystal Black Arms army to start attacking, leading them to slide down the cables.

Mephiles decides to summon his own clones, sending them off to join in on this chaos. “Yes, dance, my shadows… Go on and cause some more pure destruction and carnage!” Mephiles yells this in the hammiest way possible, clearly enjoying this moment a whole lot.

With the rampage of the crystal Black Arms army and Mephiles clones heading their way, the city of San Francisco seems to be in real trouble now. This just turned from an ordinary day to a truly hellish day for the residents living there…

Today seems like a perfect day for a nice, calm family picnic, and that’s exactly what Rachel, Randall, and Jojo are planning to do. They all decided that nothing will ever get in the way of this picnic, especially Rachel who took every measure to make sure that nothing goes wrong for this picnic.

“Alright, this picnic is lookin’ mighty fine so far!” Rachel commented happily.

“Of course it is, you always make the most perfect picnics, Rachel.” Randall agreed before giving a quick kiss to his wife’s cheek.

Jojo simply nodded with agreement to Randall’s statement.

Rachel cannot help but feel flattered by all the praise. “Aww, thank you! I’m sure that nothing will go wrong now!” She stated.

Just then, the sky went dark, and before they knew it, the crystal Black Arms army and Mephiles clones suddenly appeared and overran the park area, as if Rachel’s words were cursed. Randall simply gets on guard while Jojo stands behind him in hopes of remaining protected, all while Rachel is just standing nearby, processing all this.

All of this chaos is already ruining the peaceful mood of this family picnic, so perhaps it’s no surprise that Rachel feels nothing but great rage at this turn of events. Someone’s getting an earful alright…

“What the hell?! Who is out here causing a war or an invasion or whatever the hell, and thinks it’s a good idea to disrupt some family picnic! It took us three days to set this whole picnic up! THREE DAMN DAYS!” Rachel yelled, letting anyone within earshot know EXACTLY just how pissed she is.

Right at that exact moment, the members of Team Dystopia have decided to make their presence known, as they floated into this family’s view of sight.

Rachel seethes at the sight of these monsters. “Are YOU the troublemakers who made our day hell?!” She interrogated them.

Mephiles can’t help but chuckle at the sight. He’s not gonna lie, destruction isn’t the only thing he gets pure joy from in life. Sometimes, messing with these pathetic humans is just as fun. “Why, yes we are. Do you have a problem with this turn of events? Because frankly, I find them VERY entertaining!” He boasted with much sadistic joy.

That only made Rachel more livid, to the point that one can imagine steam coming out of her ears. “You are gonna pay for ruining our picnic! I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL DO IT!” Rachel screamed at the trio.

“Well, at least she didn’t swear to that one certain deity of dreams I know and loathe too well…” Mephiles snarked in his thoughts.

Black Doom, however, didn’t take her threat too well. “You dare challenge the great and powerful Black Doom?!” The alien overlord sneered.

“Trust me, you do NOT want to stand in the way of Master if you pathetic humans know what’s good for you!” Eclipse added, currently being held by Black Doom while the others are floating.

“And you certainly don’t want to stand in the way of the half-god, much less the Black Arms’, during their quest for revenge against that bothersome black hedgehog?!” Mephiles added as well, his eyes glowing with hatred.

“Look, I don’t give a damn fourth chicken nugget about your revenge, vengeance, or whatever Comic-Con rejects you are! You ruined my picnic, I’m gonna ruin your jewels, and I don’t just mean Black Donald’s jewelry body!” Rachel ranted at the trio.

The doomsday trio look at each other, wondering what this angry woman is on about, and if she’s even serious about trying to take down THE Team Dystopia, who are already large threats on their own before this team even became a thing.

However, their question soon gets answered once Rachel suddenly decides to go full-blown ninja mode on them, picking up some sausage links and wielding them as nunchucks, all while shouting some random Bruce Lee quotes, as if trying to tell Team Dystopia to fear her.

“Empty your mind… OR ELSE I’M GONNA EMPTY YOUR INSIDES!” Rachel screamed, putting her own threatening twist on that Bruce Lee quote.

Mephiles then bows while laughing maniacally, taunting her. “Then by all means, come and get us, you worthless human!” He retorted with much ferocity, while the Black Arms members of the team look at Mephiles with confusion, wondering why he’s being so extra.

Rachel then charges at Team Dystopia, screaming out a warrior cry full of rage, as she wildly swings the sausage nunchucks around while running at them. As soon as she gets close to them though… Team Dystopia suddenly disappears from view, as if they never existed.

“Huh?! Where in the fresh hell did y’all go?!” Rachel asks as she looks around, purely in hunt mode.

Just then, Mephiles clears his throat from right behind her. Rachel swerves around to see only Mephiles floating there in front of her. He laughs maniacally at her confusion, ready to gloat some more.

“Why, where did your anger go? I see nothing more than a fearful human-”

“COURAGE IS NOT THE ABSENCE OF FEAR, IT IS THE ABILITY TO ACT IN THE PRESENCE OF FEAR, SUCH AS KICKING YOUR ASS!” Rachel shouted, aiming a sausage nunchuck swing at his head.

Mephiles teleported away, nearly missing that sausage link swing attack. He then teleports back into her view, this time out of reach, with an expressionless sneer. “Your will to fight is commendable, but it’s not going to be any use to you once the invasion spreads throughout the whole-“

“BE WATER, MY FRIEND?! MORE LIKE BE DEAD, MY NEMESIS!!!”

Mephiles narrowly dodged her throwing the sausage-link at him, making him look down at her with annoyance now. “What is wrong with you?! Are you that insecure about your own human strength?!” He insulted her, laughing maniacally once more, as he still derives enjoyment from messing with her despite the annoyance.

“THE ONLY STRENGTH I NEED IS TO SEE YOU DEAD!” Rachel screamed, abandoning the Bruce Lee quotes at this point, probably because most of them normally sound too calming for her liking.

Before Mephiles can continue, he can faintly feel something graze by him. He looks down to see Randall, now wielding some sort of taser gun, and he looks just as miffed.

“Quit messing with my family, bro!” Randall shouted.

Mephiles shakes his head, feeling displeased with his own little fun being ruined.

“Hmph… It doesn’t matter. Soon, the world will soon fall into dystopia…” Mephiles warned right before teleporting away from the whole scene.

Rachel crosses her arms proudly. “Ha! I knew these troublemakers would be driven off eventually! Good job, team!” She says to her family members, who smile back with agreement.

As for Mephiles though, he simply teleported over to Black Doom and Eclipse, who were hovering somewhere else nearby, witnessing the whole chaos.

“Well, I suppose that would do for me in the amusement department for now.” Mephiles stated while crossing his arms, overall satisfied with the results.

Black Doom stares blankly at Mephiles. “…You sure are a lightning rod of chaos and mayhem, Mephiles…” He commented.

Eclipse looks over at Mephiles with confusion. “That was fun to watch and all, but… I don’t really get the point of messing around with an angry woman who seems content with spewing out cryptic quotes?” He added his own two cents in, seemingly befuddled with the overall Earth culture.

Mephiles rolls his eyes. “Hmph, it seems you two need to learn to have some fun messing with humans. Didn’t realize you two have such a one-track mind on your galaxy conquering goals.” He snarked.

“The Black Arms shall show no mercy to humans, no matter the circumstances!” Black Doom replied, staying with his own stance there.

Mephiles shrugged. “Well, in the end, I suppose it doesn’t matter once destruction falls on this world… Now, let us focus on expanding this invasion further, shall we?”

Black Doom and Eclipse nodded with agreement. “Yeah! Let’s go show the humans what the biggest threat of the whole universe is made of!” The latter exclaimed.

And thus, Team Dystopia teleports away to some other location in San Francisco, presumably to guide the armies, and to watch the carnage and destruction once more.

At this point, Team Dark, Team Future, Team Sonic, and the Wachowskis managed to arrive in San Francisco. The latter two groups split up with the former two teams in order to cover more ground. This way, the invasion of San Francisco would be less overwhelming to take on, or at least, that’s what they figured.

It didn’t take long for Team Sonic and the Wachowskis to spot Black Doom right away, considering all the chaos of this invasion and the fact that he was hard to miss. The crystal alien overlord momentarily froze in place, as to not let them know right away that he’s alive for more stealth.

“I don't remember a statue being here!” Sonic said curiously, pointing at the statue.

“Must be an avant-garde art piece…” Tom added, looking out of the car window with mild bewilderment.

“Hmmm… Something’s off about this statue, but I can’t quite put my finger on it…” Tails thought to himself out loud. This statue’s design certainly reminds him of something he has researched in the past though…

“I am a new addition to this place, you might say…”

“Woah! A talking statue??” Sonic exclaimed, doing a backflip out of surprise.

“Ah! T-That’s why it seemed off!” Tails screamed, now being reminded exactly about what research he was thinking about.

“What is this sorcery?!” Knuckles shouted with a mix of shock and disbelief.

“Now I’ve seen everything…” Tom sighed with a slightly exasperated tone.

“And yet, something tells me that’s not everything…” Maddie snarked.

“I know... Pretty crazy, right??” Sonic interjected, looking back at the group. “I thought that stuff only happens in the movies-!”

All of a sudden, Black Doom violently pushes Sonic aside, making him fly off to the side and land on the ground in the same violent fashion.

“Sonic!!” The others all shouted at once.

Sonic slowly gets up from the ground, still sporting a confident smirk on his face despite the fall.

“Don’t worry, guys… I’ve got this!” Sonic reassured his found family.

Black Doom immediately gets on guard as soon as Sonic zooms off towards him, with the blue hedgehog itching for a fight against one of the perpetrators of this invasion. Sonic runs around Black Doom, trying to search for any weaknesses the crystal alien dictator may have.

Welp, time to try a homing attack! Homing attack spam has never failed him before, right? It’s always his go-to method during fights, and it has helped him beat down enemies like no tomorrow ever since he mastered the move. Sure, there are many sharp edges on that crystal statue fiend, but it’s still worth a try, right?

So he jumps up high into the air, curls up into a ball, and makes sure to lock on to his desired target. Great, everything is all set up now! Now to prepare a witty quip…

“Looking sharp, big guy!” Sonic quipped. He then launches himself at Black Doom, ready to commit to the homing attack spam, should the first one connect…and he pokes himself on one of Black Doom’s sharp edges right on his first launch. “Oww... Feels sharp too! What is this guy made out of, anyway??”

Black Doom takes the opportunity to grab Sonic by the throat, and then he gives him a cold, menacing stare, going all in on the intimidation tactic.

“I’m made of crystal, blue hedgehog, what are you made of?”

Normally, anyone would have felt intimidated if they were in Sonic’s position…but not Sonic himself.

“I’m made of pure badass. What do YOU have going for you? Looking like a bootleg crystal version of The Almighty Tallest?” Sonic said, still sticking to his quippy guns, complete with the smirk still remaining on his face.

That only made Black Doom glare even more at the blue hedgehog, displeased at his attitude as he threw Sonic towards the ground once more, hurting him like that once again. Of course, Sonic is still choosing to get back up, not ready to give up anytime soon…but Black Doom is charging up a wave of energy on his hands, preparing to attack Sonic while he’s vulnerable.

“On guard… Swift st-”

Before Black Doom can finish fully charging up his attack, Knuckles glides into the scene, punching at Black Doom’s side while taking care not to take a hit from any of the sharp edges, making Black Doom back off.

“That’ll teach you to use dishonorable attacks in battle!” Knuckles stated as he landed on the ground, staying true to his warrior spirit.

Black Doom can only scowl at the echidna. “Hm… It seems I’m attracting a bothersome lot of heroes here at this rate… This encounter is starting to become fruitless… No matter, you PATHETIC humans will soon see the errors of your ways…” Black Doom briefly ranted at the heroes right before quickly hovering away from the conflict, not letting any of them follow him.

As he hovers away, Black Doom only has one thought on his mind:

“I can never fathom that strange half-god’s desire to enact such frivolous tasks like this…”

Meanwhile, on the other side of San Francisco, Team Dark and Team Future both do their best to hold off the crystal Black Arms and Mephiles clone army from encroaching further into San Francisco (and the rest of the world, of course). Of course, despite the sheer number of both armies, all seems to be going well with each team’s combined efforts…

…Until a certain dark half-god enters the fray, teleporting into the action, in front of Team Future in particular.

“So, we meet again, Princess.” Mephiles expressionlessly sneered.

Blaze immediately gets on guard, knowing how big of a threat he is. “You fooled Silver and I once, but you can’t fool us again!” She protested in a rather confrontational manner.

“Hmph, not like I need your help anymore.” Mephiles scoffed, as he then beckons over at someone.

Omega shoots at Mephiles in an attempt to prevent whatever he’s planning, but the latter dodges just in time.

“Good thinking, robot. But it seems that I was one step ahead! After all, I’m not alone anymore!!” Mephiles remarked with great pride, sensing that whoever he’s beckoning to is nearby. “ECLIPSE! Go show these pitiful fools the real true meaning of pain!”

And just like he said, the darkling himself made an appearance by jumping high into the sky and landing gracefully on his feet in front of Team Dark…and it seems that his hands are currently turned into red wings at the moment.

The Team Dark members can’t help but look at this with bewilderment, with Shadow in particular reacting with a grimace, not liking the looks of this situation at all.

“What is even going on here…?” Shadow questioned.

Eclipse sneers as he simply shrugs with his wings… and then all of a sudden, a dark little wisp-like alien flies out of his arm, with his arms immediately forming back into their normal state soon afterwards. He then taps into his head, still smirking. “This? This is my trump card.”

Shadow starts to feel a faint sensation within his mind again…and that’s when he realizes something. Is this the power of the Black Arms hive mind that Eclipse is using right now? The black hedgehog has no choice but to assume this, and well, he’s fully dreading what’s about to come next.

Soon after, three more of these little dark wisp-like aliens come over to Eclipse’s aid, floating over to him, and then flying around him with almost reckless abandon, as if they’re eager to fulfill whatever whims their own master wishes them to fulfill.

“Say hello to my precious friends, the Dark Arms.” Eclipse said, STILL smirking, as if he’s fully convinced that their powers will be enough to finish off his wayward brethren’s annoying Team Dark buddies.

Shadow gets into a fighting stance along with the rest of Team Dark, no longer planning to hold back against him. “Walk away, before you get hurt… for good.” He warned the darkling.

Mephiles watches the confrontation from a distance, fairly confident that his fellow darkling teammate has things under control with Team Dark. “How entertaining…” He commented as he then glanced back at Team Future. “Now then, where were we? Ah, yes, the pure destruction of annoying pests like you!!”

Mephiles immediately goes in to attack Blaze afterwards, attempting to tackle her, but she throws him off of her via igniting herself on fire.

“I’m just as prepared as you, you know!” Blaze retorts.

Mephiles huffs from that annoying remark, but he decides to materialize a crystal spear for him to wield, and then he continues to fight her, with Blaze fighting back with some quick fire punches. They get into a full on power struggle of a fight at this point, with Mephiles blocking her fire punches with his crystal spear, and then pushing her back with the spear every time he gets an opportunity to do so.

They may be at a stalemate at this point, but of course, Mephiles doesn’t do his plans without reason. The crystalline hedgehog’s current angle is to keep relentlessly pushing back against Blaze’s attacks, making sure that she keeps on trying to attack him until she tires herself out. She may be powerful, but she does have limited stamina. After all, she’s not borderline unstoppable, unlike that certain ultimate irritating lifeform…

Oh well, at any rate, it’ll take any minute now until her attacks start to slow down…and by that point, Mephiles will be ready.

Oh wait, he just noticed that her fire attacks are coming in at a less frequent pace… Now’s his chance! He pushes Blaze with the blunt end of the crystal spear as hard as he could, making her almost lose balance from that push. He takes an opportunity to charge up a lethal kind of crystal spear…

…That is, until Marine jumps on him, quickly placing a water bubble on his head, while holding on to him to make sure said water bubble stays on his head.

“Hahaha, gotcha now, mate! No way you’re gettin’ outta this water bubble and my strong grip! Hope you’re havin’ a blast drownin’, buddy!” Marine boasted with her typical bravado, sounding unusually chipper despite the morbid implications of her attack.

Mephiles, however, just glances back at Marine in THE most deadpan way possible. “…Are you serious right now, you petulant child?” He said it just as deadpan, his voice sounding watery because of the water bubble.

Marine smiles nervously upon realizing that this particular attack doesn’t work on inorganic beings like Mephiles. “Hehe... It’s just a bit of a laugh, yeah? Not like you’d actually croak from drowning, mate, yeah? So let’s just shrug it off and pretend it never happened, yeah?”

That response was met with Mephiles swatting Marine off of him, letting her fall onto the ground as the water bubble popped.

Thankfully for her, she gets caught by Silver’s psychokinesis before she hits the ground, making sure to readjust her footing before gently putting her on her feet.

Silver then turns to look at Mephiles, a determined scowl on his face, clearly ready to use his psychic powers to the fullest here. “Time for you to disappear, deceiver!”

Mephiles can only laugh at the silver hedgehog. “Muahahahaha! We’ll see about that!”

And just to make things harder for Silver, Mephiles summons some of his clone army to surround him, making sure to overwhelm him with some numbers. Once all of them surround him, each and every one of these clones start to charge up a laser spear attack, intending to throw them all at once.

After charging them all up, they all throw the laser spears towards Silver in the middle… However, Silver has an idea.

With the full power and concentration of his mind, he manages to not only stop all the laser spears from reaching him, but he also manages to grab ahold of all of them with his psychokinesis. With all of these laser spears in hand, Silver then floats up and spins around, which pretty much makes the laser spears spin around too, and as a result, these laser spears cut through each and every one of the Mephiles clones that tried to surround Silver.

The real Mephiles growls out of anger, not liking what he’s seeing. He always hated his clever plans being outdone like that…

“What…?! Hmph, I’ll teach you for defying me so brazenly!!” He yelled.

So he ends up rushing towards Silver as soon as the latter is done defending himself from the clones. However, before he can even reach the silver hedgehog, he suddenly gets blasted out of the way with a powerful water hose attack.

“Haha! That’ll teach ya not to go under, mate! And for chuckin’ a kid like she’s rubbish, ya crystal muppet!!” Marine gloated with a laugh.

Mephiles glares even more towards Marine. He’s really starting to hate this kid now…

“I will make you wish you were never born…!” He threatened towards her, shooting as many eye daggers towards her as possible…in a figurative sense. He’s not really sure if he actually has that power or not.

All of a sudden, he can feel the heat suddenly increasing nearby him. He then glances behind him, just to see Blaze charging up a huge fireball from behind, which seems to be almost fully charged up.

That’s when Mephiles starts to realize the result he’s about to receive in battle. “No… I WANT…TO SUCCEED…!”

And just like that, the huge fireball has been quickly shot in his direction, seemingly engulfing him in flames. Once the fireball disappears, nothing of Mephiles seems to remain, only revealing an empty spot where the fireball used to be.

Blaze crosses her arms after seeing that result. “There is no success for your invasion. Ever.” She said, her tone resolute with authority.

Little did she know though, Mephiles had teleported away right before the fireball’s impact, with him now hiding behind the tree. He glowers at Team Future celebrating their apparent success in battle. “These fools think they’re so powerful… Well, I can’t wait until I finally get an upper hand on these optimistic fools, and then they’ll be sorry…!” He ranted to himself, quickly punching a tree right before teleporting away to meet up with the others.

Meanwhile, while Mephiles was battling Team Future, Eclipse hits the ground running with his battle against Team Dark by letting one dark little wisp-like alien, which has blue eyes, fly into the darkling, absorbing that wisp’s power for a bit. Shadow can’t help but feel the Black Arms hive mind within his mind go berserk for a few moments…

Omega does not seem that impressed, judging by how he switched one of his hands into a chainsaw. “YOU STILL SEEM LIKE A PUNY ALIEN TO ME, JUST LIKE ANY OTHER. TIME TO PUT YOU OUT OF YOUR MISERY NOW.” He says, immediately dashing at Eclipse with the chainsaw revving at max speed.

And yet, Eclipse just stands there, a confident smirk on his face, as if he wasn’t even worried about this walking arsenal of a threat rapidly approaching him. In fact, is it just him, or is Shadow seeing Eclipse’s body starting to become even more crystallized than usual?

“BLURK, IT’S TIME FOR ARMOR!” Eclipse commanded, and just like that, his body became completely crystallized now. And just in time too, as Omega’s chainsaw slammed right into Eclipse’s crystallized body right after that command.

The chainsaw screeches violently as it tries to scrape and cut through Eclipse’s body in any way, shape, or form…to no avail. The only result is Omega’s chainsaw being broken beyond repair after scraping violently against a near-unbreakable crystal armor covering Eclipse’s body.

Eclipse sneers, delighted by the result. “Is that your strongest weapon? What a sorry sight.” He insulted Omega right before punching him, his current armor enhancing the punch to the point that it sent Omega flying back for a bit.

Shadow’s eyes can’t help but widen a bit from witnessing that power, right before immediately regaining his composure right after. This is no time for questions, at least not until he can subdue the darkling enough to get some answers out of him.

At this point, the same blue-eyed Dark Arms wisp (who apparently goes by “Blurk”) that flew into Eclipse earlier now chooses to fly out of the darkling, its power now expended, at least until it’s ready to be used again.

Eclipse isn’t really fretting, however, as he subliminally commands another one of the Dark Arms via the hive mind, this time with cyan eyes, to give him some power-up as well. His hands then turn into “gloves”, which have a cyan hue to them. “CYZER, LET’S SHOOT THEM WITH YOUR LASERS!” He commanded.

He opens his hands up, revealing eyes on the palms of these gloves…and these eyes end up shooting a multitude of lasers at Team Dark.

Rouge simply flies up into the air, doing her best to dodge these lasers with grace in the sky, while Omega (after quickly recovering from that armor punch) simply stands in place and fires back at Eclipse with a hail of bullets from his machine gun arms. And as for Shadow, he tries his best to get close enough to Eclipse to deal a devastating blow, figuring it’ll be enough to put an end to this battle.

However, every time he tries to get close to Eclipse, the darkling always finds a way to nearly blast the black hedgehog with one of his lasers throughout the whole laser onslaught, making the latter dodge before he gets hit by a laser. Even the good ol’ teleporting method doesn’t work because every time Shadow teleports to Eclipse, Eclipse immediately sees him coming and teleports away as well, evading whatever attack Shadow could throw his way.

After a couple minutes of this, “Cyzer” flew out of Eclipse, the latter losing that laser power-up as a result. He then stares at Shadow with a serious glare. No more playing games. However, Shadow can’t help but sense a hint of pain behind Eclipse’s glare…

“Shadow… Why are you fighting against our fellow brethren like this? We’re supposed to be fighting together in helping the Black Arms prosper and defeat these horrible humans, not fight each other like this! I know you have fought against us before in the past, but it’s not too late! Join us in making sure that the Black Arms will deliver the rightful punishment to humanity!” Eclipse offered, reaching his hand out towards the ultimate lifeform.

Shadow scowled in response to all this. Why do the Black Arms keep trying to bring him back to their side…? He finds their offers and the way he keeps on receiving this offer (almost like a spam e-mail) straight up irritating at this point, he’s not gonna lie. “The more you keep on pestering me to join you, the harder I want to hit you.” He threatens, charging up some chaos energy in his hand.

Eclipse sighs, looking down at the ground with a hint of remorse. “If that’s how it has to be…” He said, his tone feeling almost lifeless, almost as if he’s dreading what he’s about to do next. “CREGAL, LET’S SOAR TO THE SKIES!”

After that command, “Cregal”, a Dark Arms wisp with crimson eyes, flies into Eclipse this time, letting him absorb its power. His hands start turning into crimson wings once more, presumably allowing him to have the power of flight. Before he can take off to the skies though, Eclipse looks back at Shadow.

“Shadow… Just know that the Black Arms are a force to be reckoned with…”

Before Shadow can retort, he suddenly feels the flow of chaos energy within his body just…stop. Looking at his hand, he saw that the chaos energy he was charging there earlier has now disappeared, as if he was never going to charge up for a Chaos Spear attack in the first place. It seems Eclipse activated some sort of “Chaos Block” technique or something like that to prevent Shadow from activating any of his chaos abilities…

“Dammit…” Shadow cursed, finding it all too inconvenient.

His attack now defused, Shadow looks up to see that Eclipse is already flying in the sky, using the crimson wings to soar around the sky with ease. Circling around the Team Dark members on the ground, it seems he’s going to attack them from above. Unfortunately, with the chaos energy currently blocked within him, Shadow cannot find a way to get up to Eclipse…

Thankfully, Eclipse is not the only air combatant in this battle, with Rouge making her entrance via her dive kick attack towards him. The alien nearly dodged that attack, looking down at Rouge with rage.

“ALL HAIL THE BLACK ARMS! LONG LIVE TEAM DYSTOPIA!” He yelled as a war cry.

Rouge’s ears perk up after hearing that. “Team Dystopia… So that’s what they’re calling themselves, huh?” She mused.

Shadow crosses his arms, a frown evident on his face, as that latest exchange just confirmed that they’re actually actively working as a team now. The world truly will be doomed if they let Team Dystopia continue to wreak havoc like this…

“I will make sure you and the rest of this scummy humanity will quit trying to contaminate Shadow with your corrupt ideals!” Eclipse yelled as he tried to dive-bomb Rouge, making sure she stops being a nuisance to him in the air, but Rouge quickly saw that coming, dodging without an issue at all. One must know better than to mess with this bat in the air, considering how experienced she is at air combat.

Eclipse is more than willing to test that experience though, flying quickly around Rouge in a huge circle, speeding up to make sure she can’t easily track him, right before throwing a bunch of Chaos Spears for her to dodge.

She’s not going to lie, the Chaos Spears threw her for a loop, but she’s doing her best to dodge them all, keeping her eye on every Chaos Spear that comes her way. Her graceful flight evasion patterns are really starting to pull through for her, as she evades each spear with no trouble at all, really showing off her flying experience there.

“Ha, you’re gonna have to try harder than that to pull one over on a master treasure hunter such as myself!” Rouge boasted once all the Chaos Spears stopped being thrown in her direction.

Except… She didn’t get a response.

Huh. Rouge would have expected an angry retort, or at the very least, a snarl, but she got none of these reactions. In fact, is he even here right now…?

Rouge takes a look around, still floating in the sky. Indeed, Eclipse is nowhere to be seen after that Chaos Spear barrage. Where did that darkling go…? Is he trying to set up a sneak attack or something? But then where can he even hide if that’s the case? They’re literally in the air, there’s seemingly nowhere to hide here! Unless…

Before she even realizes it, Eclipse suddenly teleports above her, aiming his fist right at her. And unfortunately for her, it was too late for her to see the attack coming, with his punch managing to connect, making her fall down from the sky. Thankfully, Shadow witnessed the whole thing, and he was able to catch her in his arms right before she hit the ground, saving her from further pain.

After checking her condition (she seems to be mildly dazed after the hit, but otherwise okay) and gently setting her down on the ground, he then turns to look at Eclipse as the latter gently floats down to the ground, with “Cregal” flying out of the darkling, signaling the end of his flight.

“See what happens when you pesky scum try to oppose the Black Arms? Destruction will only await humanity if they continue to resist us!” Eclipse gloated with a smirk, feeling awfully proud for grounding Rouge like that.

Thankfully for Shadow, it seems it’s now time’s up for that “Chaos Block” technique, and as a result, he can now feel the flow of chaos energy circulating around him once more! So it seems that the “Chaos Block” technique doesn’t last forever… That’s good to know. He’s sure not going to waste a second more on this opportunity he was just presented with.

“Chaos…CONTROL!” Shadow shouted, stopping time everywhere around him. For a few seconds, it seems everything around him has stopped moving, giving Shadow slight hope that he’ll finally be able to make quick work of this.

“Trying to use Chaos Control? Hehehe… Did you forget that we’re related by blood, Shadow?” Eclipse said, almost amused by the situation, obviously not affected by the Chaos Control at all due to sharing Shadow’s chaos abilities and bloodline.

Shadow, however, has no time for games. He immediately rushes at Eclipse, throwing a punch at him, which Eclipse narrowly blocks. This doesn’t stop Shadow from glaring at him with complete daggers, which Eclipse can’t help but feel a bit unnerved from seeing Shadow’s pure rage. “Your meaningless taunts don’t matter to me. This ends now.”

And just like that, the battle between the ultimate lifeform and the darkling enforcer has now officially started.

Shadow decides to start off the battle by throwing a barrage of punches at Eclipse, who manages to match the same pace and frequency of jabs towards Shadow, leading to their punches hitting each other, inadvertently blocking each other’s attacks in the process.

They immediately switched tactics soon after, with the black hedgehog opting to throw Chaos Spears at the darkling, with the latter choosing to teleport all over the place. The Chaos Spears always miss as a result, and Eclipse has tried to get a few sneaky hits in by teleporting besides Shadow and trying to punch him. However, Shadow has taken a page out of Eclipse’s book, teleporting out of the way every time Eclipse gets within punching range of him.

“Quit running from your true purpose and accept your fate, Shadow!” Eclipse protested after missing yet another surprise teleportation punch.

“I’m not going to yield to anyone, much less a cult-like alien race like yours.” Shadow retorted, firing another Chaos Spear at Eclipse.

After a few more attacks like this, they switched tactics once more, this time focusing on pure fisticuffs. Most of their punches end up blocking each other, due to their punches hitting each other. Shadow is starting to tire of how much of an equal match their fighting abilities are, so he decides to be pragmatic and he does a leg sweep on Eclipse, catching him off guard and tripping him onto the ground. Eclipse, however, grabs onto Shadow’s legs during the fall, making him trip as well.

They end up wrestling on the ground for a bit afterwards, with both of them managing to land a few punches on each other here and there. This intense fight went on like this for a minute until Shadow decided to become pragmatic again, generating a Chaos Spear in his hand before slamming it down into one of Eclipse’s legs, stabbing his leg in the process.

And despite Eclipse’s leg being partially crystallized, it still hurts like hell to him. Which is more than good enough for Shadow, as he finds an opportunity to teleport away from the darkling, now standing in front of him from a distance.

After screeching from pain in a rather unsettling alien-like fashion, Eclipse then gets up, his scowl very apparent on his face. “You really have gone and done it now… NOW I’LL MAKE SURE THAT YOU JOIN THE BLACK ARMS FOR GOOD!” He screamed with pure rage as his body started to suddenly light up with a magenta glow, warning Shadow that he just absorbed another one of these Dark Arms wisps.

Shadow then gets into a battle stance, ready for anything as his body starts to glow with a red tint. “Don’t bother. This endeavor will only end with death…for you!” He warns as he quickly starts to skate towards his opponent, clearly intending to unleash his full power as soon as he gets there.

Eclipse scowls even more. He’s gonna have to unleash his full power as well. At least he has assistance from one of his beloved little Dark Arms companions…

“RHYGENTA, TIME TO BLOW HIM AWAY WITH YOUR SOUND!” Eclipse commanded as he points one of his arms at Shadow, revealing that his arm has now transformed into a magenta-hued cannon, and it’s already all charged up, with him firing a sonic blast of a magenta explosion towards Shadow.

“CHAOS BLAST!” Shadow shouted, activating all of his built-up chaos energy for this very attack, unleashing a red explosion.

Right after that, two blasts of explosions popped up around the two of them, colliding with each other and figuratively fighting over which one is more dominant.

After a few more seconds of these devastating explosions, the streets battlefield finally starts to clear up from all the dust, finally settling into its slightly-more destroyed state now.

Shadow slowly opens his eyes, realizing that he’s still standing, and that time is finally moving again, as evidenced by some of the functioning cars still moving around them. Hmph, it seems Chaos Control has ended for the both of them…

He then glances over at Eclipse and sees that he’s currently down on the ground, although he doesn’t seem to be unconscious. This makes Shadow realize that his Chaos Blast turns out to be the one to overcome Eclipse’s sonic blast that came out from his cannon arm. Well, it seems like he won the entire intense battle. That’s good and all, but Shadow can’t help but ask a few questions…

He then walks over and looks down at Eclipse, a serious look in his eyes. “Eclipse… I don’t remember your Dark Arms companions harboring this much power before… Did you upgrade them since our last encounter?” He asks in a tentative fashion.

Eclipse manages to weakly look up at Shadow, matching the serious look in his eyes with his brethren despite his current state. “This has always been the Dark Arms’ true power since the beginning…!” He exclaims right before pointing at Shadow. “And THEY’RE the ones who kept me sane back when I was stranded in those damned remains of the Black Comet all these years ago…! You do not understand…just how hellish it was to survive there…!”

Shadow gives off a skeptical look to the darkling, prompting the latter to continue.

“Having to sustain off of nothing else but Black Arms-cultivated red fruit… Having to survive all these years alone with little to no resources…all while surrounded by the dead bodies of my brethren…! Those times were truly hell, and I refuse to go back to it…!” He ranted, his expression only becoming more and more of an interesting mix of pissed and distressed.

At this point, it’s becoming increasingly clear to Shadow that Eclipse certainly lost a shred of sanity from all this, due to trauma… In a way, Shadow can’t help but relate to this, having been through similar traumatic circumstances himself… He can’t help but look down at the ground with some sympathy. “Eclipse…”

Eclipse glances back up at Shadow once more. “No matter… Soon, we’ll carve a path to a brighter future…” All of a sudden, his mouth sports a smirk. “…Especially for the Black Arms!”

Eclipse then points his arm cannon at the black hedgehog once more. “RHYGENTA, TIME FOR OUR ENCORE PERFORMANCE!” He commanded.

Before Shadow knew it, he gets blown away by a sonic blast, which didn’t hurt him badly, but he is certainly stunned from the sudden sensation of sonic waves disrupting his ears for a few seconds. Eclipse takes an opportunity to escape from the whole confrontation via teleportation, taking all of the Dark Arms wisps with him.

After regaining his composure, Shadow then stares off into the distance with a scowl, right as Rouge and Omega catch up with him.

“Shadow! Are you okay?” Rouge asks with concern, knowing how painful that would have felt since her beatdown in the sky not too long ago.

Shadow glances back at Rouge, still scowling. “…Darkling? More like weakling.” He snarked.

Rouge can’t help but feel relieved after hearing that, taking that Shadow is alright despite that little sneak attack. She then smirks a bit. “Shadow, I thought that you put the past behind you. Why are you regurgitating lines that you have said to Sonic all these years ago?” She playfully snarked back, showing that she’s okay too in her own way.

Shadow rolls his eyes as he crosses his arms. “I did what I had to.”

“Wh- There you go again!”

“What?” Shadow said, completely unaware of what he just did.

Rouge shakes her head. “Never mind. At least we’re all good now, right, Omega?”

Omega strikes a victory pose. “THE URGE TO DESTROY IS STILL PRESENT. IN OTHER WORDS, I WOULD SAY WE’RE ALL GOOD.” He answered.

Rouge then looks at the others. “I believe it’s now time to regroup and assist others who may be dealing with these pesky armies overrunning this city.” She stated.

Shadow nods. “Understood.”

Omega gives a thumbs up. “A CHANCE TO DESTROY MORE PUNY BEINGS? SIGN ME UP.”

And thus, Team Dark runs off, ready to get started on the assistance effort.

Meanwhile, back to Team Future, they seem to be celebrating their apparent victory over Mephiles, with Marine being the most obvious participant of the victory celebration.

“Strewth! We smashed it! We smashed it! We booted some serious arse out there!” Marine exclaimed with cheer, jumping up and down with joy.

Blaze looks around with caution, being the one member who doesn’t actively partake in the celebration. “Yes, I can’t deny that, but…I can’t help but feel like we should keep our guard up.” Blaze stated.

Silver floats around the area, trying his best to chill while keeping a lookout at the same time. “I can’t help but agree with you on that one, Blaze… Even so, I thought it was pretty cool that we finally got to teach that deceiver a lesson once more!” Silver happily replied.

“Yeah mate! No way we’ve got other stuff to fret about now!” Marine boasted.

All of a sudden, the crystal Black Arms army suddenly jumped out from their hiding spots, their little ambush plan working. Team Future tries to get on guard, but of course it’s quite impossible to do that when they didn’t expect this attack to happen AT ALL.

Also, Marine can’t help but notice the other two fellow members giving her the look of baffled exasperation. She smiles sheepishly at them. “Mate, looks like Hydrokinesis ain’t me only trick, right? How ‘bout I suss out a few of your futures too, eh?”

“Not the time, Marine!” Blaze responded, getting on guard with Silver.

The crystal Black Arms army prepares to jump Team Future, seeing as how they already got them surrounded, until…

“BACK OFF!”

A random spinning hammer suddenly enters the fray, and it’s rather giant too… Regardless, this hammer spins around in the circle of the crystal aliens, smashing each and every one of them upon each impact. Its high speed meant that these crystal soldiers had no time to react as well, so they might as well be as good as shattered.

Once all of these crystal minions are shattered, the hammer spins away from the circle, landing on the hands of a certain cloaked pink hedgehog.

“What’s up?” The pink hedgehog says casually while lowering her cloak to better reveal herself, as if she didn’t just destroy a whole batch of crystal Black Arms soldiers. Team Future can only stare with a mix of amazement (mostly from Marine), concern (definitely Silver), and caution (Blaze, no doubt about it).

“Crikey! That was the most bonza attack ever! You’ve gotta show me how to do that!” Marine exclaimed, not letting the reveal get in the way of her overexcited nature.

Blaze inspects her with some degree of wariness. “I would like to know who you are though, since your timing does seem rather convenient…”

“Yeah! Plus, where did you even come from?” Silver added to the questions.

The pink hedgehog looks at the trio with mild surprise. “Oh right, sorry! I can’t believe I forgot to introduce myself!” She said before happily pointing at herself. “My name is Amy Rose! I just happened to be wandering near the city of San Francisco when I noticed the sky going dark… I decided that I want to help aid others throughout this disaster, and boom, here I am!”

She then raised her arms with excitement after saying that, right before taking one ring out of her own pouch. “Thankfully, I managed to get here quickly, thanks to this. Better thank a certain blue hedgehog for giving me those the last time we met!”

Silver gazed at Amy with wonder. “Whoa, you know Sonic too?” He then glances over at Blaze, having some thoughts running through his mind, before looking back at Amy. “In that case, I trust you. Any friend of Sonic is a friend of mine!” He said with a good ol’ precious smile.

Blaze simply nods. “I suppose I’ll have to trust you as well. I certainly can’t deny what you did for us after all. I guess you would benefit our team greatly.” She answered seriously.

Marine is bouncing with excitement. “Strewth! I chucked me faith in her the instant she saved our hides from those annoying crystal buggers!!” She shouted, apparently telling the whole world about how cool that moment was.

Amy beams upon hearing those responses. “That’s great to hear!” She says right before twirling her Piko Piko Hammer around and holding it firmly in her hands. “Now, let’s go and teach these menaces to society a lesson!”

Cheers erupted from Team Future as they and Amy zoomed off, planning to regroup with the rest of the heroes while kicking butt along the way.

Meanwhile, Team Dystopia finally manages to regroup at the top of one of the tallest buildings in San Francisco. It’s called the Transamerica Pyramid, they believe, although it wouldn’t matter much once they take over the whole radical area.

Eclipse was the last one to make it to their meeting spot on top of the building, teleporting over here and then taking many exhausted deep breaths after.

“M-Master, I finally fought the annoying Team Dark members with all my might!” Eclipse reported to Black Doom with enthusiasm despite his current fatigue.

Black Doom can’t help but glance at Eclipse with some level of concern. “…Eclipse, I can’t help but notice that you took your time coming here. Did they give you a hard time?” He boomed, not hiding the fact that he has a clear grudge against that team, especially with that one particular hedgehog…

Eclipse took a couple more deep breaths. “W-Well, they certainly did give me some trouble…especially Shadow. It’s a good thing Rhygenta helped me out there, because otherwise…” He paused for a couple of moments before sighing, still having some things on his mind. “Well, it doesn’t matter now. I made it back safely here now, didn’t I?”

Mephiles scoffed as he crossed his arms, overlooking the destruction below him. “Hmph, why am I not surprised that Shadow lacks the goodwill to join our side? We really should have just killed him from the start, no regrets!” He started to rant again before Black Doom cleared his growly throat, cluing the crystalline hedgehog to stop flying off his handle every time he mentions Shadow.

“That’ll be enough, Mephiles.” Black Doom said before turning around and shifting his focus to Eclipse. “You did well in your fight with them, Eclipse… I suggest you rest up before our next encounter with these pathetic creatures, lest we lose our strongest enforcer for the Black Arms…”

Eclipse looks up at Black Doom with concern. “I understand…but what about Shadow?”

Black Doom growls out a sigh while crossing his arms. “There would be no point in reasoning with the traitor to the Black Arms race… It would be optimal to focus more on our invasion efforts…” He suggested.

Mephiles throws his hands up with exasperation. “Well, wasn’t that very obvious from the beginning? I’m appalled that you would even consider giving this irritating hedgehog a chance!” He ranted a little more before glancing up at Black Doom. “And do not even say anything, you know I have a point there!”

Black Doom can only stare at him with his multiple eyes, almost in a deadpan way. “…Your vengeance knows no bounds, Mephiles…”

However, while the alien warlord is starting to grow exasperated by Mephiles’ downright petty vengeance, the darkling sees something different. In his eyes, he sees a potential great help for the Black Arms’ cause.

“Now, hold on, guys! I think Mephiles may be a bit…much, but I see some true dedication to our cause here! He could be a real asset here!” Eclipse suggested with excitement.

Mephiles raises one nonexistent eyebrow.

“…What are you getting at?” He asks, a little wary.

“You know, I was thinking… We should induct you as an official member of the Black Arms!” Eclipse eagerly suggested to Mephiles. “I bet you would be a real valuable ally for us, wouldn’t ya say?”

This seemingly catches Black Doom’s attention, as he nods with agreement. “Ah, what a wonderful idea!” Black Doom agreed. “Truly, he would be a much more loyal brother figure to you than Shadow ever was…!”

“I wholeheartedly agree, Master!” Eclipse concured.

Mephiles simply turns away from the Black Arms duo. “Don’t bother. I’m not interested.” He said, coldly turning down his teammates’ offer.

Shock would not even begin to describe Eclipse’s feelings right now. “Why not?! Are you too good for us?” Eclipse questioned.

“Probably.” Mephiles bluntly answered. “Look, I’m the mind and consciousness of Solaris himself! I have far more important things to do!”

Black Doom looks down on the ground in a despondent manner, matching his offspring’s disappointment, although he’s not really surprised either, considering he’s well aware of Mephiles’ true intentions, based off of their interactions alone.

“...I see. You only revived me to get revenge on Shadow.”

Mephiles looks back at the duo, internally sighing. “Well, don’t get me wrong, I love seeing more evil in the universe!” He responded. “But I can’t be a part of your army, no matter how much I respect what you do. I must find Iblis, so Solaris can finally be whole again.”

Eclipse, however, doesn’t really seem to take that answer well…

“...I still feel insulted…!” Eclipse cried, still clearly devastated that Mephiles had turned down the offer to join the Black Arms.

“Now now, Eclipse… I’m sure he’ll come around sooner or later…one way or another.” Black Doom reassured, doing his best to comfort Eclipse, before turning his attention back to Mephiles. “You’ll still stay with us to finally slay that traitor, right?”

“A chance to kill my arch-nemesis… Heheheh… How could I possibly refuse?” Mephiles smirked with his nonexistent mouth, immediately taking his chance for vengeance without question.

Eclipse, on the other hand, prefers a much different outcome for his “brother”.

“H-Hold on..! I th-think there’s still a chance that we can get him on our side!” Eclipse stuttered.

“Oh, Eclipse… If only things could have been different…” Black Doom sighed, clearly sharing his offspring’s sentiment.

“I-I don’t want a s-single one of us Black Arms to die!! Not even S-Shadow!!” Eclipse continued to stutter, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“...I admire your hope…but he’s already left us behind long ago…” Black Doom somberly lamented, having already given up on swaying Shadow ever since the last time they battled long ago.

“Hmph. Hope... How useless.” Mephiles scoffed under his breath, not planning to abandon his desire for vengeance anytime soon, before turning his attention to Black Doom. “Let’s discuss our next step.” He then proposed.

“Gladly.” Black Doom agreed.

The two proceed to leave the area as they begin to plan their next move, while Eclipse is curled up in Black Doom’s arms, softly sobbing. Despite their somewhat different motivations, they still have a common enemy to fight. Soon, humanity will be doomed by them…!

Meanwhile, every team of heroes are slowly starting to regroup together in the center of the San Francisco city, with Team Future being the first to regroup there. Naturally, that leads to other teams meeting Amy for the first time as soon as they regrouped there, as she’s currently fighting with Team Future against the crystal Black Arms army at the moment.

“Hey, how are you guys holding up – Wait a minute, who might you be? You certainly seem like another hedgehog…” Rouge commented as she glanced over at Shadow and Silver for references about their hedgehog nature.

“Oh, don’t mind me, I’m just sticking around until this whole invasion crisis stuff is over.” Amy explained rather casually once more, deciding to hold on to her hammer tightly and curl up into a ball, executing a spinning hammer ball attack as she jumps up into the air and knocks into every one of these crystal aliens while spinning her hammer, decimating the current wave of the crystal Black Arms soldiers as a result. She slowly slows down, uncurling back and standing in front of Team Future, no worse for wear.

“Wow! What a comeback!! Blaze and Marine are right, you would be such a good addition to our team!!” Silver excitedly said to Amy after witnessing all that.

“Okay, no need to exaggerate my words that much, but…yes, I would have to agree.” Blaze conceded.

“Awww, you really think so?” Amy replied, feeling somewhat flattered.

“I know so!” Silver responded back with conviction.

“Hm, I can’t help but agree after witnessing that technique.” Rouge admitted.

“ARE YA JOKIN’ ME?! WHO WOULDN’T BE ON BOARD AFTER CATCHIN’ THAT TECHNIQUE?! IT WAS BLOODY CRAZY AWESOME!” Marine screams with pure excitement as she jumps up and down like a hyperactive raccoon, much to Blaze’s chagrin and Silver’s amusement.

“IT IS CERTAIN THEN! THE PINK HEDGEHOG GIRL IS NOW A PART OF OUR TEAM!” Omega announced.

“Hold on, let’s see how Shadow feels about it.” Rouge interjected before looking over to Shadow.

A long silence permeates the area, as Shadow is staring off into space, not fully paying attention to the conversation. Something is clearly on his mind there, but what…?

“...Shadow-?” Rouge asked.

Shadow turned to face Rouge and the others, apparently hitting a breakthrough in his thoughts.

“We have to get going. They’re hunting me down, but they will gladly destroy whatever is in their way to find me.” Shadow told them with utmost seriousness.

“Uh… How do you know all that?!” Silver nervously asked, glancing at him with much wariness.

“I can listen into Black Doom’s thought process via the Black Arms hive mind. Sorry for not speaking up sooner, I wanted to get every bit of info I could so I can always be two steps ahead of them.” Shadow explained, trying his best to explain his method as best as possible.

“Creepy alien stuff, got it!” Silver replied, still retaining that nervousness and deep-seated distrust towards Shadow.

“Don’t worry, Silver, I’m keeping an eye on him.” Blaze reassured her friend, putting her hand on his shoulder as her way of comforting him.

“Okay…” Silver replied, taking a deep breath.

“Alright, enough small talk, let’s get to them before they can get to us! Should help minimize the damage!” Rouge suggested.

“My thoughts exactly.” Shadow agreed. “Though be sneaky about it, no doubt Black Doom has unintentionally picked up on my plans.”

“Hey, what’s all the weird stuff he’s talking about?” Tom suddenly asked, making the Wachowskis’ and Team Sonic’s presence known as they both regrouped at the city’s center with the rest of the heroes.

“Yeah, what did we miss?” Sonic added, shortly after making sure that the Wachowski guardians are watching from a safe distance in their car once more.

Well, this certainly caught Blaze’s attention.

“Shadow has connections to two of Team Dystopia’s members.” Blaze replied, trying her best to fill in for the latecomers.

“Connections?” Tom inquired further with one eyebrow raised. “What kind of connections?”

“Family connections.” Blaze elaborated. “He’s apparently a traitor, but I’m still keeping tabs on him.” She glances over at Shadow with a serious frown, as if to prove a point, with Shadow quickly frowning back with mild annoyance.

“Fantastic. Great, just what I want to hear about the guy in charge.” Tom said sarcastically.

“Hey, maybe he’s innocent in all this. After all, guilt by association is not truly a way to find a culprit now, is it?” Maddie said, putting her two cents in for this whole issue.

“Yeah! Plus, it’s a lousy way to play Among Us!” Sonic added his own…unique two cents in for this whole issue.

Tails and Knuckles can only glance at Sonic in the most incredulous fashion possible (especially the latter).

“Did you really think making an Among Us reference would make you sound fitting for that moment?” Tails said with mild concern.

“Not only that, but making this reference at all in this day and age is the most dishonorable thing you can do! And you don’t even play honorably in that game!” Knuckles commented while crossing his arms indignantly.

Sonic chuckles while holding his hands up in defense. “Alright, alright, enough of my sus impostor tactics! Let’s get going and-“

At that moment, his eyes landed on Amy, and that’s when he trailed off, realizing who else happened to be there with Team Future. Amy looks back at Sonic with a knowing smile and waves at him. It’s been quite a while since they have last seen each other…

“Hey, Sonic! Long time no see!” Amy greeted with a soft smile.

“Heya, Amy! Long time no see yourself!” Sonic playfully replied as he walks up to her. “How did your wandering travels go lately?”

Amy shrugs. “Heh, it certainly was eventful, to say the least. The rings you gave me certainly came in clutch though!” She happily responds as she shows off one of the rings she has in her pouch.

Sonic gives her a high-five after hearing that. “Nice, that’s awesome to hear! You gotta tell me more about your travels! I bet they’re so epic-”

“Ahem.” Shadow clears his throat, catching everyone else’s attention, as he glances at Sonic and Amy with a deadpan look. “The reunion is touching and all, but this is no time for dawdling, especially when these crystal abominations are on the move. So let’s get moving!”

Sonic and Amy can’t help but sheepishly smile at Shadow while nodding in agreement with everyone else.

“Right. Let’s go and shatter some more crystal butt!” Sonic exclaimed.

And thus, Team Dark, Team Future, Team Sonic, and the Wachowskis (along with Amy) then prepare to spring back into action, ready to break down any more crystal Black Arms armies on sight. They’re on a mission now, the mission to protect the planet from the fearsome forces of Team Dystopia, no matter what…!