#what happened with the emerald they lost on the void

[ohplasticheart]

just finished watching sonic prime and uuuummmhhhh is that it? that ending was so underwhelming somehow and the battle a little too long

[xiiithhazard]

Chaos Control

Knuckles tracks down a chaos source that could threaten his home. (Movie Verse)

Word Prompt – Begrudging

@year-of-the-echidna

(Warnings at the end)

…

Knuckles opened his eyes when something seemed to pull at him, something from inside his own body. A sensation he hadn’t felt since finding The Master Emerald, signifying the end of his journey. However, as he sat up in his bed and focused, he realized that kind, yet demanding touch had returned.

Turning around he checked on his brothers, both of whom were still fast asleep, neither one of them even aware of the strange energy in the air. Not even Sonic, who had been the last to hold possession of the Emerald, before it had been lost to the void, upon the destruction of the eclipse cannon.

Another tug against his soul and Knuckles slowly got up, making his way toward the window and looked out at the stars. However, the pull did not originate from there. It was instead much closer. Coming from the surface of the planet he currently stood upon.

Again, it pulled on him and he could no longer ignore it. And so, taking one last moment to make sure that his clan would be safe while he was gone, he silently leapt to the circular window in the ceiling and made his way out onto the roof. Keeping his steps light upon the tiles as he oriented himself, finally focusing on the direction in which he was being called.

…

It took him a couple of hours to finally pinpoint the exact location of the energy source. Though the closer he got to it, the less he was sure of what it was. The sensation of pure chaos was that of the emeralds, yet it was only one.

He’d been afraid of that.

Without him present to restore it, the seven Chaos Emeralds were now let loose upon the world. Separated and scattered to who knew where, doing who knew what, just waiting for some unlucky sap to pick one up and go mad with power. That was why, even if the sensation of its energy felt worryingly - off, he had to secure it before something happened.

However, his quest was cut short, when the pull led him straight into the solid stone face of a cliff. Grumbling to himself, the echidna turned his eyes to the top of the wall, trying to focus on the pull and its point of origin. But it wasn’t coming from above, so he walked alongside the wall for a bit, only to snap back when the energy signal moved.

He only just managed to get his arm up to defend himself, as a mass of Chaos power crashed into him, and he had to swallow a scream of pain when his already broken wrist cracked under the pressure. With his vision going white for a second, he couldn’t see what was attacking him, before it suddenly snapped out of existence, only to reappear on his undefended side. However, this time he’d sensed it coming and reached out to wrap his fist around the attacking figure’s neck.

Twisting his whole body into the throw, he leveled the creature directly into the cliff face. The force of the impact sending a crack charging up the wall and creating a massive hole where a familiar shape rested at the center, clearly shocked by the sudden turn of events. And, for a horrifying second, Knuckles thought it was Sonic. But when his vision cleared of the pain, he realized it was another hedgehog.

“Shadow?” He asked, honestly shocked. They had all believed him to be dead. But before he could determine anything else, the hedgehog lifted his head, eye’s sparking with orange chaos energy, as he vanished again.

Still able to sense the lingering power of the Master Emerald within his attacker, Knuckles was able to pinpoint his returning location and prepared his defenses for the impact. However, he was still sent flying back into the forest from the pure strength behind the strike.

Branches and leaves snapped under him, as he rolled into the fall, eventually coming to a harsh stop at the base of a large tree, where he found himself gasping for air, his ribs protesting with each breath. But yet, he couldn’t help but smile. It had been so long since he’d had a worthy opponent, and while he truly loved his new home, there was really nothing there that could challenge him.

However, he kept his excitement in check, as he could still sense the vortex of energies inside his opponent. Now that he was close enough, he realized it was not a chaos emerald at all, but instead an intense built up of pure power that was likely equivalent to one, yet this was darker, fueled by fear and rage.

It was so intense that he was actually surprised Shadow was keeping it under control at all. Of course, that was before he looked up to find that the hedgehog had stopped his attack and was instead meandering about, clutching his head in pain. Clearly fighting to stay in command. However, the more he pushed it back down, the more pressure was built.

Even he wouldn’t be able to contain it forever.

Understanding now what he was looking at, Knuckles carefully got back to his feet, causing the hedgehog to freeze up for a split second, before turning to lock his eyes on the echidna. An action that honestly made him look more like a cornered and frightened animal, than the power chaos warrior he really was. But it didn’t take long for that unnatural vulnerability to fade again, replaced by a more familiar rage.

“What do you want?” He growled. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

Realizing that his intentions had been misunderstood, Knuckles opened his mouth to explain. But didn’t get the chance, before the hedgehog was attacking him again. And, again, this was not a normal reaction.

Though they had met just a few times and fought only once, Knuckles had gotten a good read on his opponent. Shadow wasn’t the type to strike first, he was more patient than that, he waited for the opportunity, when his enemy had dropped their guard in the initial, overconfident moments of their attack. The fact that he had given up on the strategy that had won him so many battles was proof of just how panicked he truly was.

However, Knuckles couldn’t afford to show him sympathy. Shadow was not someone he could simply hesitate against. If he didn’t fight back, the hedgehog would go right through him.

Sensing the incoming attack, he dodged, just as Shadow reappeared to crush the tree he’d been leaning against. The force of the blow, sending the thing tumbling into the forest, but having missed his original opponent, the attack also left him slightly off kilter.

Taking advantage of this, Knuckles rushed in for a hit of his own and managed to just make contact, before the hedgehog snapped away. He didn’t get far, as he reappeared only a few feet to the right. But the force of Knuckles’ attack had not been negated, so he was left to slide and tumble across the forest floor, until he finally came to rest in a pile.

Keeping his guard up, the echidna carefully approached the unmoving form, hoping he hadn’t gone too far. But he pulled up again, when Shadow finally moved, slowly getting to his hands and knees, struggling for the breath that had been knocked out of him.

Eventually, his shock led him to look up and, for a moment, he looked like Shadow again, not afraid, just confident, maybe even impressed. But then the moment was shattered, as his body suddenly erupted with energy and he screamed, clutching at his head again, his chaotic presence moving erratically, as if torn between worlds. The power within him ready to rip itself free of his body and consume everything around it.

Feeling the buildup of energy, Knuckles’ attention was momentarily called toward the Wachowski home and the surrounding town. If the hedgehog’s power were to detonate, everything within miles would be leveled. Including his clan.

Immediately, he disregarded his own safety and rushed forward to take hold of Shadow’s arm, noticing that one of his gold rings was missing. But he didn’t get much of a chance to consider this fact, as the second he made contact with the hedgehog, the unfiltered chaos energy surged through his body, and he was flung backward again.

Thankfully, he didn’t get too far before he crashed into a boulder, but the impact left him momentarily dazed, and he felt a trickle of blood run down his face. However, before he could get up to try again, Shadow appeared to regain some form of control. But unfortunately, it was directed at him.

Shadow had always walked a fine line between light and darkness, but now he seemed to be teetering dangerously close to the abyss. His eyes were wild, unfocused, a storm of agony and rage, as the chaos energy threatened to consume him. And Knuckles knew that he had to act. Not just to protect everyone else from the disastrous fallout, but to protect his own life.

Summoning his strength, he pushed himself off the boulder, launching himself at Shadow and barely ducking under a wild energy blast that scorched the air above him. And, in a desperate and awkward reach, he finally got a hold on Shadow's arm.

Immediately he felt the searing heat of chaos raging through his body once more, but this time, he held on, trying desperately to ground the erratic energy. Of course, Shadow was not going to make it easy. As he quickly struck out with his other hand, hitting the echidna straight in the head and opening the already bleeding wound there, before changing his tactic and snapped them both to another location.

Somehow, despite all odds, Knuckles managed to keep his hold on the hedgehog, as they fell through the forest canopy, hitting the ground hard as they fought for control of the situation. Chaos sparking around them, turning leaves and twigs straight to ash and leaving scorch marks on anything it touched.

At some point, Knuckles realized that the screaming in his ears wasn’t just Shadow’s anymore, but also his own. The pain was so intense his body had simply stopped registering it. However, his mind was still reacting, trying to get him to let go. But he couldn’t, he had to hold on, he had to keep it under control – even if it killed him.

…

 “I’m – sure he’s fine.” Sonic said, though he wasn’t even able to convince himself let alone Maddie, who’d been waiting by the window for the last two hours. “It’s not like he hasn’t disappeared before.”

This was true, of course, that had been in the early days following Knuckles’ acceptance to the family. It had taken him a number of months to grow accustomed to the idea that he was now accountable to other people. People that worried about him when he disappeared for days on end. But he had slowly come to understand that, if he planned to be gone, he had to, at the very least, leave a note.

It hadn’t even been a full day since the family had woken up to discover their resident warrior was missing. But they’d just assumed he was training or patrolling. So, they had started their day like any other, expecting him to be back in time to eat. But breakfast had come and gone without him, leaving Maddie particularly irritated, but it was what it was. Then lunch had passed them by and still no sign of Knuckles, that was when she had started her pacing. It was almost dinner time now and the sun had almost completely set. Now they were all starting to worry.

“It’s not like him.” Maddie insisted for the hundredth time, as Tom walked up beside her to check the window as well.

“Alright boys.” He said softly but firmly causing Sonic and Tails to perk up, as the man turned to them. “Time to start the search.”

“Tom.” Maddie proclaimed sternly, reaching out to stop him from opening the door. “You just got out of the hospital. You’re not going anywhere.”

“But –”

“We will be searching.” She indicated the boys and herself, before poking the man in the chest, being careful of his broken collarbone. “You will be staying here; in case he comes home.”

The poor guy looked like he wanted to argue, it was almost painful to watch him give up on the idea of looking for one of his kids, but he knew she was right and complaining about it would only waste precious minutes of daylight.

Giving Tails a minute to get his bag of gadgets, they each took a flashlight and stepped out into the encroaching night, only to pause when something slowly emerged from the forest.

“Knuckles?” Sonic asked the too large form, stepping up to put himself between it and his family, in case it was something else. However, he just ended up staring, like a deer in headlights, when Maddie flipped on her flashlight to show them what it was.

It was Knuckles, but he was covered in blood and burns and looked to only be barely conscious. Despite that, he was still moving forward, carrying something on his back.

“Oh my god.” Maddie breathed in horror, being the first to respond, as she raced down the steps to him. Eventually everyone else followed, only to be pulled up again, when they got closer look at what Knuckles was carrying.

“Shadow?” Sonic whispered in both shock and anger, unable to really decide which was more appropriate for the moment. On the one hand, this was the hedgehog that had nearly killed his father and had seemingly just tried to kill his older brother too. But on the other, they’d also worked together to save the world just a few weeks before.

Needless to say, he was a tad conflicted when Knuckles locked onto his eyes, breathing harshly, and seemingly only able to open one eye, as the other was caked in blood. But he remained focused as he spoke. “Containment.” He forced out, but it seemed to use all the breath he had collected, as he had to lower his head to get more, prompting Sonic to finally snap out of his stupor and rush forward.

“What?” He asked, getting as close to his brother as possible, so he could hear what he had to say.

“His energy – it requires – containment.” He finally explained, before finally losing the battle with consciousness and collapsed. But Sonic was there to catch him, slowly lowering his brother to the ground, before lifting Shadow away, so Maddie could check him over.

By the time the two of them managed to carry Knuckles into the house, Tom and Tails had set up a makeshift hospital, clearing the living room for a mattress to take up space, and every single medical or veterinary object in the house was now placed somewhere nearby.

 Trusting Maddie to help his brother, Sonic forced himself to leave and return to the yard. Thankfully, the other hedgehog was still out cold and exactly where he’d left him. Though he wasn’t exactly sure what to do about it.

Eventually Tails followed him, having left to find something that could fulfill Knuckles’ request to contain Shadow’s energy. Though the only thing he’d come up with were the titanium handcuffs, which he had designed to hold creatures with massive amounts of energy like Sonic or Knuckles, so they could only hope it would be enough. In the end, they opted for two sets, one for his hands, the other for his feet. Just so the hedgehog couldn’t wake up in a bad mood and go on another rampage. After a couple of minutes, they also decided to bring him inside, if for no other reason, then he would be easier to keep an eye on there.

“How – is he?” Tails asked in a tiny, worried voice. Finding a place where he wouldn’t be in the way but also close enough that he could hold Knuckles’ hand, as Maddie cleaned and dressed his wounds.

“Thankfully, it’s not as bad as it looks.” She explained, obviously distressed, but was holding it together as their most experienced doctor. “But – he’s burning up and I don’t know why?”

Sonic came over as well, watching as Tails pulled out his little handheld computer to scan the echidna. However, before he could do so, Knuckles suddenly shifted, as if he were waking up and they all quickly rushed in, wanting to be there when he did. However, it seemed that Maddie had noticed something they hadn’t as she suddenly rushed to put her arms around his head, just before his body convulsed again.

“What’s happening?” Sonic demanded, only for Tom to pick up on the problem as well and pulled him and Tails back, as their brother began to shake and jerk, his back jackknifing so sharply that their feared it was about to break. But Maddie was able to roll him onto his side, still holding his head protectively, somehow able to keep his neck straight.

Eventually everyone else joined in, doing what they could to keep him still, as the full effects of the seizure took over, and his unnatural strength was suddenly turned against him. It took everything they had and maybe a little divine intervention, but they were able to keep him safe, as red chaos energy sparked to life, around the room.

It seemed to go on forever, but thankfully, at some point, everything slowly began to calm down again, and Knuckles started to breathe a little easier.

“Shhhh.” Maddie whispered, gently holding his hand when he mumbled something in his sleep. “It’s okay. We’re here. You’re safe.” She promised. Tears running down her checks, as she pressed their foreheads together.

“Tails.” Tom spoke up, turning to the fox and softly rubbed the kid’s back as he stood staring at his injured brother in complete horror. But the contact quickly brought him out of it and Tom handed him back his computer, knowing the best thing for the fox to do, in that moment, was distract himself. However, when he finally got the opportunity to run a scan and check over his findings, he seemed even more alarmed by what he’d discovered.

“What is it?” Sonic demanded worriedly, and the fox shook himself out of his shock once again.

“He – his body is full of chaos energy.” Everyone looked understandably confused by that.

“Isn’t that – normal, for him?” Tom asked, but Tails shook his head.

“Yes, but not like this.” He insisted, tapping at his computer, like he wasn’t sure if it was working properly. “His energy is usually neutral. But – now it’s got a negative charge. I – I don’t understand. That shouldn’t be possible. Unless –” He paused for a second, clearly coming up with an idea and lifted his eyes to look at Shadow. “Unless he absorbed someone else’s.”

“He can do that?” Sonic asked, but even Tails didn’t look convinced by his own hypothesis.

“I don’t know – in theory, he should be able to channel chaos energy, the same way you do with the Emeralds. But – normally someone with an innate chaos of their own can only handle one type at a time.” He looked up at Sonic, as if needing eye contact to calm himself down. “For example, your chaos charge is positive, if you were to take negative energy into your body, it would make you really, really sick, maybe – maybe even kill you.”

Sonic felt his heart skip a beat, as he looked back at Knuckles, who was thankfully still breathing. But – he’d never before been so badly hurt that he’d lost consciousness, and he’d certainly never had a seizure. “He – he’s gonna be okay – right?” He finally asked, looking back at the fox, who again looked unsure.

“I don’t even know how he managed to absorb this much energy, let alone survive the charge distortion.” He insisted, making everyone wince at his distracted word choice. “But, maybe –” He filtered off again, once more speculating the nature of this strange event. “It could be that his connection to the Master Emerald has given him a stronger advantage, maybe even an innate ability to channel and – possibly purify chaos energy.”

He suggested this as more of a question than a statement. As he clearly had no idea and just wanted to come up with something, anything but the presumption that his brother was simply dying.

“Hey.” Tom cut in, kneeling down to bring both Tails and Sonic into a one-armed hug. “Don’t you guys worry about him. You know Knuckles is more stubborn than that.”

Well, that was true.

Of course, they didn’t get the chance to discuss it further, before another moan had them all turning to look at the couch, as this one had instead come from Shadow. Immediately, Sonic was on his feet, putting himself between the hedgehog and his family, as the guy slowly opened his eyes and became aware of the fact that he was handcuffed.

This obviously woke him up, as he quickly tested his strength against the titanium. But, as promised, Tails had built them to withstand just about anything. Eventually his attention was instead drawn to Sonic, leaving them to just stare each other down for nearly a full minute, before Tom stood up to address the heavy atmosphere.

The effect was almost instant, as Shadow turned to look at him, his eyes widened in shock and all he could do was stare at the man, who he clearly believed to be dead.

“Hey, it’s alright.” Tom insisted when Sonic moved again to stand directly in front of his father, his fear and anger causing blue energy to radiate from his body. But the man was able to get ahold of his shoulder and gently bring him back to earth. “We’re all friends here. Isn’t that right Shadow?”

The hedgehog blinked as these words seemed to pull him from his stupor. However, he was clearly unable to respond, so Sonic did it for him. “Friends!?” He proclaimed in horror. “Are you kidding me? He nearly –”

“It was just an accident.” Tom insisted kindly, still not taking his eyes off of Shadow. “Just a simple case of mistaken identity – right?” He asked, and Shadow jumped as if his spirit had just slammed back into his body.

“I –” He tried, forcing himself to finally look away from the man he’d nearly killed, only to notice Knuckles instead and he tensed up again, causing Sonic to get right in his face this time. However, his rage soon dissipated, when Shadow looked up to meet his eyes and he remembered the moment, on the moon, when they’d been in nearly the same position. He’d been unable to act on his anger then – and couldn’t do it now.

Eventually Sonic managed to pull his eyes away and stood with his fists clenched and his breathing heavy, as he fought down the surge of chaos energy in his body, until it was finally gone.

“How?” Shadow spoke up again and Sonic twitched, but didn’t move, as the other hedgehog looked down at his cuffed wrists, not even trying to escape them anymore. “How did I get here?”

The room was quiet for a moment, but it was Tails that eventually broke the tension. “Knuckles carried you here.” He explained, his voice was a little jittery, but he was staying strong. Even when Shadow looked up at him, clearly shocked by this information and he turned to study the echidna once again. Only to quickly look away, when Sonic tensed up, prepared to jump in and defend his brother, if the black hedgehog so much as breathed the wrong way. However, Tails somehow found the courage to step forward and continue their conversation. “He – has a large amount of negative chaos energy in his body. Is – it yours?”

“What?” Shadow asked, clearly confused. Only to seemingly remember something and he looked down at his hands again, specifically focusing on his right wrist, which was missing an inhibitor ring. “He –” He proclaimed in shock, looking back at Knuckles, despite Sonic’s warning, only this time he looked almost flabbergasted, maybe even somewhat humbled. “He helped me? But – why?”

This got everyone’s attention, as it was pretty clear that Shadow was far too traumatized to lie. “What do you mean he helped you? What did he do?” Tails insisted, trying to collect as much data as possible, in order to help his brother. But, for a moment, the hedgehog just looked back at his hands, clenching and unclenching his fists, before finally answering the fox’s question.

“Without my ring – my power was unstable. I couldn’t control it anymore. I was – I was going to – die.” He admitted simply, looking back at Knuckles once again. “He must have syphoned it off. That’s the only way I could still be alive right now.”

“Okay.” Tails muttered shakily, running his thoughts through his brain analyzer. “Can – you syphon it back?” He asked, but Shadow only shook his head.

“I don’t have that ability. I’m honestly surprised that he does.”

Tails made a noise of deep concern and bit his finger in consideration. Desperately trying to find a way to help his brother, before finally focusing on Shadow’s inhibitor rings, and reached over to poke one, barely even noticing anymore that he was in the presence of their most dangerous enemy to date. “Would these be able to help him?” He asked, but again Shadow shook his head.

“They are designed to contain my power, not remove it.”

The fox was about to ask another question, when Maddie called them back and they all turned to find that Knuckles was actually waking up. Though he was still groggy and not all there yet.

“Knuckles.” Maddie whispered, gently rubbing her thumb along the bridge of his muzzle. “Hey honey. Talk to me.”

“Mo – ther.” He mumbled and everyone kind of started a little, having never heard him call her that before. However, it wasn’t exactly clear whether he was aware of this fact or if it was a case of mistaken identity, and Maddie looked as if she might melt into a puddle of happy tears, so no one had the heart to either confirm or deny it.

Eventually, with a little more coxing, the echidna opened his eyes. Though they were dull and unfocused at first, he started to slowly come around. Leading Tails to pull out his computer again and scan him.

“What?” Sonic asked, when the little fox looked at his screen in shock.

“It’s – going down.” Tails proclaimed in a tone of voice that suggested that this simply should not be possible.

“What?” Shadow demanded and they turned back to him. “Where is it going?” He asked, clearly aware that that would be the only reason for the fox’s explanation. But Tails only shrugged, looking back at his computer again and smiled a nervous little grin, clearly happy that his brother was okay, even if there was no explanation for it.

“Contain?” Knuckles told the ceiling groggily, as he tried to get his arms to work and push himself up, but he didn’t accomplish much more than getting Maddie irritated with him.

“Don’t worry, big guy.” Sonic told him, kneeling down to place his hand on the echidna’s shoulder, to help keep him from moving, and smiled when their eyes met. “We got it under control. Now the only thing you need to do is get better.”

This finally helped the warrior to relax, in fact, they’d never seem him look so relieved. It made them wonder just what kind of serious situation they had truly missed in the subtests. Either way, he was able to focus on other things now, as he slowly turned to look at Maddie again, his expression a little drunkenly sheepish.

“I’m – sorry.” He offered, looking like he was afraid he was about to be grounded. “I’m – late for breakfast.”

…

They tried moving Knuckles to the spare room, or Shadow to the garage, but the echidna was having none of it. Despite not even being able to sit up yet, he insisted on keeping an eye on the hedgehog. Which meant that Sonic was pretty much permanently rooted to a nearby chair. And Tails had moved everything he’d need into the dining room, so he could work on something to help contain Shadow’s energy while still being close by.

Tom seemed to magically appear anytime there was even a hint of animosity. Maddie was usually checking on Knuckles’ or Shadow’s recovery or making sure that her husband didn’t do anything he wasn’t supposed to. An endless task, considering the man’s worst enemy was boredom.

Then there was good old Ozzy, who was always whenever someone needed a snuggle or a pet. He even managed to get through to Shadow a few times. Of course, Shadow hadn’t moved from the couch once since he’d gotten there. And thankfully seemed content to keep it that way, at least until Tails was finished with his new inhibitor ring.

“Why did you help me?” Sonic opened his eyes, when Shadow said this and slowly shifted until he could see the other two occupants of the room. It was night and everyone was supposed to be asleep. However, Knuckles casually opened his eyes as if he’d just been waiting for the black hedgehog to speak.

“Because I had to.” He whispered back. “Your energy was unstable. If I had done nothing, it would have destroyed my home.” He clenched his fists, before turning to glare at Shadow. “I have lost everything once. I will not allow it to happen again.”

Shadow looked shocked by this reviolation and slowly looked away from the echidna’s intense stare. “Still, you could have achieved the same goal – by just killing me.” He pointed out, only for Knuckles to suddenly sit bolt upright, despite clearly feeling some discomfort from the action.

“Do not tell me how to achieve my goals, hedgehog.” He snarled angrily, somehow able to keep his voice down, so as not to wake anyone else. “For years others have tried to make me kill for them. I would not do it then; I will not do it now.”

Sonic twitched at this sudden revelation, realizing that his brother was talking about things that he’d never brought up before. He had always claimed that his past was just that ‘the past’ and he had no need for it anymore. However, it seemed that something about his interaction with Shadow had opened the flood gates.

And it appeared that Shadow was picking up on this as well, as he slowly turned to look at him again. “If those people were truly so evil, then killing them would have been a blessing.” He insisted, clearly convinced of that, as he met Knuckles gaze firmly and without fear. However, the echidna didn’t waver either.

“Perhaps.” He admitted.

“Then why not just kill them? You have the power.”

It was Knuckles who looked away this time and lifted his hands as if to check them for something. “I nearly did.” He said and Sonic started to feel uncomfortable. He didn’t want to spy on his brother, but at the same time, he couldn’t make himself speak up. “I faced that monster you refer to as revenge.” Knuckles spoke again and looked back at Shadow, more determined than he had been before. “And it nearly consumed me.”

Shadow blinked and honestly looked a bit taken aback. “So?” He finally asked. “At least you would have had –”

“I would have had nothing.” Knuckles corrected him sternly. “Killing him would not have taken my pain away or returned the years that he took from me. All I would have achieved was becoming that which I hated.” It was clear that Shadow had never actually considered this in his own quest for revenge, as he suddenly looked far away in his thoughts, which made Knuckles soften his words as well. “It took everything I had to get back even a small piece of myself, when all was said and done.” He revealed quietly and Shadow looked back at him again. “If I had turned against my own beliefs, turned against everything I knew to be right. I would not have been able to find even that. I would never be able to face my father again.”

Shadow considered this for well over a minute, before finally speaking up, though there was something else in his voice now. Like he was in physical pain, upon realizing just how close he had come to doing the same thing, to turning against everything Maria had stood for and never being able to face her memory.

“You said – you lost everything once?” He asked, almost like he hadn’t meant the words to actually be said aloud. However, he still looked back at the echidna, prepared to finish the question anyway. “What is – everything?”

Knuckles just continued to stare at his hands for another moment, lost in his own thoughts. “Everything.” He answered simply. “My clan, my father, my home, my freedom, even my own memories were slowly stripped away. The person I once was – died, and I have never been able to get it back.” He finally looked up at Shadow again, an odd softness to his eyes now. “But – I have found a new life now. I have a family here, friends, brothers. And I have slowly come to find the person that I want to be. It is not the same, but that doesn’t matter. This is my island to protect. This is my home.”

Shadow slowly looked up again and he too seemed to soften a little, to the point where he almost smiled. “How did you do it?” He whispered and Knuckles smiled back, before turning to look over his shoulder and Sonic jumped, as he met his eyes.

Realizing he’d been caught, or maybe they’d known all along that he was listening, he smiled back and slowly untangled himself from his blanket. Then he sighed and looked at Shadow, finally feeling all of his anger and fear fading away. If Knuckles could do it, after losing so much more than anyone should ever have to, then how could he, the one who’d actually managed to pull him back from the edge, do any less.

“It’s not easy, Shadow.” He spoke up at last, the other hedgehog seemingly coming alive for the first time since they had met. As the three of them found connection in their shared losses and their shared love. “But you don’t do it for yourself.” Sonic continued, feeling tears in his eyes. “You do it for them. The ones we had to leave behind. Because – if we don’t live for them, no one else will.”

…

Chapter 2

(Warnings: Blood, seizures, death, trauma, loss, mentions of slavery)

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Dadphiles Master Post

Dadphiles is a Sonic AU that diverges from the Solaris fight in Sonic 06, wherein Mephiles separates from Iblis at the last moment. In his haste, he accidentally pulls a de-aged Sonic, Shadow, and Silver all to the past with him. Now Mephiles must watch over them as they grow up if he wishes to enact his revenge… He just wasn’t expecting them to call him “Dad”.

All posts can be found under the #Dadphiles AU tag.

Details below + Links:

This post will be updated as time goes on. New additions will be marked as (✨New!✨). Last update: (August 11, 2024)

Character Sheets

Sonic | Shadow | Silver | Mephiles

Height Chart (See above)

AU Lore

Mephiles/Iblis/Solaris breakdown (Art): Mephiles the Mind, Iblis the Heart

The Trinity Gods of Mobius: Gaia who provides the Earth, the Master Emerald who provides life, and Solaris who provides the sun.

Mephiles' Crystals: Pieces of his power, they allow Mephiles to reach Sonic, Shadow, and Silver across time and space even with his weakened state.

The Void: A place between time, like a pocket dimension, made by Mephiles' power. It allows him to protect the children without interfering with the rest of their respective points in time. It's a place of absolute darkness and when the children enter or leave, it is in a brief plume of dark smoke.

Due to Mephiles not having the full power of Solaris (something Iblis possesses but does not have the mental capacity to use), Mephiles does not know which threats to the SSS happened in the original timeline or if they're genuine threats. Therefore, he pulls them into the Void whenever they're in danger.

Animatics

Was it all a dream? (Post-Separation) - Tumblr

The sun is not a mortal's to control. (Sonic Forces) - Tumblr

(✨New!✨) Rage of a God (Sonic Forces) - Youtube

(✨New!✨) "Eat sh✩t and die" (Present Day) - Tumblr

Fanfics (Ao3)

And the Void was Silent - Ch 1/1

Comics

(✨New!✨) The Beginning - [Note: Pseudo-Canon]

(✨New!✨) Would you still Love me? (Present Day)

Timeline

Canon Divergence from Sonic 06 Final Battle >> (✨New!✨) The Beginning - Immediately after escaping the final blow, Mephiles finds he dragged three hoglets with him. (Mini Comic) [Note: Pseudo-Canon] >> And the Void was Silent - Mephiles' POV while raising Sonic, Shadow, and Silver. (Fic - Complete)

AU-Altered Sonic CD >> The Incident - Sonic, Shadow, and Silver are abruptly returned to their times, marking this the last time they see one another for years. Mephiles falls into a hibernation while the children are left lost wondering what happened.

Was it all a dream? (Animatic)

AU-Altered Sonic Adventure 2

AU-Altered Sonic Heroes

AU-Altered Shadow the Hedgehog

AU-Altered Sonic 06 >> "Destroy the seal of Iblis..." (Mini-Comic)

AU-Altered Sonic Forces >> The sun is not a mortal's to control. (Animatic) >> (✨New!✨) Rage of a God (Animation)

Present Day >> (✨New!✨) "Eat sh✩t and die" (Animation) - Mephiles, Vanilla, Vector >> (✨New!✨) Would you still love me? ( Comic) - Mephiles, Shadow, Silver, Sonic

-=-|-=-

Bonus art and answered Asks can be found under the #Dadphiles AU tag.

[incorrect-green-lantern-quotes]

do you ever think about what it was like for the Green Lantern Corps during Emerald Twilight? I try not to do it too much because when I do I wanna punch holes in the wall and cry

Hal fights at least eight of his fellow Green Lanterns on his way to Oa. Some of them, like Boodikka and Kreon, he'd personally recruited to the Corps. All of them, he strips of their rings and leave them floating in the void. Geoff Johns might've brought them back as the Lost Lanterns, but before that retcon, there was no way for them to have survived.

How many other Green Lanterns died like that when Parallax destroyed the Central Battery? Their rings suddenly shutting off with no explanation, cutting off their life support and leaving them to choke in the cold vacuum of space. Some, I imagine, were on their way to fight Hal, and they die wondering if they could have stopped this if they'd just been faster, stronger, better...

Others however, had no clue of what was happening on Oa. Adara, a former Green Lantern that Kyle meets on his first venture into space, says as much. Her ring died while she was fighting Corellian privateers, and she only survived because her enemies wanted to capture her.

Green Lantern (1990) Issue #56

Dozens, perhaps even hundreds of her fellow GLs aren't as fortunate. Their final thoughts are of bewilderment and pain and terror. But perhaps the ones who died early are the lucky ones.

Adara is tortured by the privateers before she's able to escape. Later on, Kyle encounters Fatality, the last survivor of Xanshi. Her ship is filled with trophies of the former Green Lanterns she'd hunted and killed.

The Green Lanterns had many enemies as a result of both their successes and failures. The fall of the Corps would have been a golden opportunity to exact revenge on its now-powerless members. And they likely wouldn't have had much trouble finding them.

Old habits die hard. Green Lanterns are heroes after all, with or without their abilities. The Oath is not just a passphrase to charge their rings, it is the promise that they keep with every breath. They would have continued to help others and protect the innocent because that's what they do. But without their power, without the protection of their Corps, one by one the former lights of the universe are snuffed out.

And of those who remain, at least a few are forced to sacrifice the principles they had once sworn by, just to survive in a universe that is now hostile to them. Fear and desperation drive even the best of the universe's heroes to allow evil to escape their sight, and for at least one, the shame is too much to bear.

Adara seduced Kyle and stole his ring while he slept, trying to reclaim the life that had been taken from her. Neither knew then that this last ring was keyed to his DNA and would never have worked for her. For all Adara knew, the ring rejected her because she'd broken her oath, and this is the final straw that breaks her. She rejects Kyle's offer to start a new life and instead turns herself into yet another casualty of the Emerald Twilight

In the end, it is impossible to name all of the Green Lanterns who fell with their Corps, whether it was in the initial slaughter or in the dark years after. It is easier to count the survivors, the lucky few like Salakk or Rot Lop Fan who lived to see their Corps reborn and helped rebuild it.

[asktheevilgeniusesson]

| Open starter based on the end of the SONIC FORCES DLC! (Using neo&Infinite, any and all are welcome to respond to this)

Stuck. Thats what they were. Neo had no way to track how much time had been passing in this void-like pocketdimension, stuck on some floating rock. Or was it an asteroid? In the middle of an actual void with no means of escape. His powers and energy were drained, he couldnt risk flying around to see what awaited them away from this heap of rock, he’d loose thruster power and plummet into the void and die. He didnt feel like letting the void take him so easily.

Being in this pocketdimension was horrid. They were cut off from mobius entirely and the only way of telling any sort of time passage- was the mortal jackal that’d been trapped here with him. How he’d grown to hate the dog. His plan was perfect. Infinite just had to LISTEN but EVERYTHING got to his head and that goddamn hedgehog and that stupid wolf got their way because of infinites refusal to stick to a simple plan. Turning to look twords the jackal, who sat on the opposite edge of the meteor, he could detect he was malnourished beyond belief. It had been a good long while then, is all he could tell, by how he could see the jackals ribs against his fur, how he panted 24/7 from lack of water or food here- and its not like either of them could do anything to feed him, his ruby was broken and cracked, but just intact enough to keep him from dying on the spot due to ‘heart failure’, so his reality bending powers lended no help. And neo lost the chaos emeralds so he couldnt do much of anything outside his programmed capabilities. He wondered how he was still even NEO without the power. But he’d rather be stuck like this than in that metal sonic cage of a body.

Silence enveloped the dimension as the to sat and floated through the void. Neo wouldn’t have alot of time left to have company, he could tell the jackals body was starting to give in to the malnourishment and lack of anything to keep him alive. He’d lost his mask in the scuffle, so he could see how his face looked. It was tired, weak, the only noise that filled the silence was his heavy breathing and coughing or sneezing. It would’ve annoyed neo had this not been the only noises he’d power off too for gaia knows how long. It had been enough time for the two to have this odd friend-but-enemy relationship where they’d argue constantly but still want the others company. But neo wasn’t looking forward to the timestamp where the effects of being sealed here without care would take the jackal out. He knew he’d last awhile longer after infinite croaks, theres not much here to rust him besides him just sitting here and letting fate take its course. But neos stubborn. Thats not happening if he can help it. So, with that in mind, he finally stands up onto the meteor again and begins to pace around the rocks mass, to keep his joints from locking and rusting and also providing some noise for the both of them with the sounds of his metallic feet hitting the rock and his robotic joints whirring in movement. Despite how annoying the frequency was to infinite.. he had long lost the energy to argue with neo about the simplicity of how his joints moved.

So, there they are. A dying jackal sprawled out on the edge of the meteor watching a robotic overlord pace around with no hope between either of them. What a fun existence this was, hm?

[tenebraevesper]

Sonic Prime (My Interpretation of The Ending)

So, I have seen a people scratching their heads over the ending of Sonic Prime. The general consensus seems to be that the ending is either confusing or unsatisfying, leaving people with more questions than answers. However, don't take my word for granted, this is just what I heard through the grapevine.

This is why I decided to thrown in my own thoughts out in the open. Once again, I do not speak for the community, these are just my personal thoughts and my own interpretation of the ending.

We clear? We clear.

What happened?

During the finale of Sonic Prime, after Nine repaired the Paradox Prism and the Shatterverses, and after Sonic and Shadow got back to Green Hill, we return back to the time just before Sonic shattered the Paradox Prism. Sonic is clearly fine and happy to see his friends again (and also happy to see Eggman). As the fight resumes, Shadow appears, Chaos Controlling the Paradox Prism away so it couldn't be used by Eggman. Eggman curses the day and leaves, while Sonic and his friends go to have a relaxing day on the beach. When they hear another explosion in the distance, all of them go back into action to fight whatever this threat is.

Do Sonic and Shadow remember the events of the Shatterverse?

I can say, with absolute certainty, that yes, Sonic remembers what happened after he had shattered the Paradox Prism. It is implied multiple times that he remembers that event, both in his dialogue and general behavior.

As for Shadow, it is not as clear cut as Sonic, but I do believe he also remembers the events of the Shatterverse. Note, unlike Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Rouge, Big & Froggy, and Eggman, Shadow escaped the shattering of the Paradox Prism, making him an paradox in the same sense as Sonic even if he didn't have the Prism Energy (something that was pointed out in the final episode).

So, yeah, the most likely answer is that Sonic and Shadow remember the Shatterverse.

What happened to the Paradox Prism?

In the finale, Shadow Chaos Controlled the Paradox Prism to someplace unknown. It is never answered what he had done with it, but given Shadow's character in general, we can conclude that he placed it somewhere safe; a place where no one will be able to find it.

Also, going by Sonic and Shadow's silent interaction in the cave, it appears that Sonic was aware of Shadow's plan and approved of it. Both knew what the Paradox Prism could do if it fell into the wrong hands or was broken apart and neither of them wanted to repeat what happened.

It is up to the viewers to speculate where Shadow had hidden it.

What happened to the Shatterverse?

Now, this is a question I cannot answer, but I can speculate about. There are two outcomes for the Shatterverse situation and I think it depends on the viewer's interpretation and wishes.

The first outcome is that the Shatterverse still exists in some way, and New Yoke City, Boscage Maze, No Place and The Grim now co-exist with Green Hill within The Void, meaning Nine and the other Shatterverse Variants are free to live their life in their own Shatterspaces. Whether travel between the Shatterspaces is possible is unknown, as we know that Shadow couldn't go into the Gates, while Sonic could due to the Prism Energy. Whether the Shatterspace Variants could do the same without the Prism Energy or opening a portal, I don't really know (if someone has information on this, I'd be happy to change my statement).

The second outcome is the more... bittersweet one. In this outcome, the Shatterspace has ceased to exist and all of the Shatterspace Variants have vanished, or perhaps unified with their original counterparts. Evidence for this is that Sonic and Shadow were sent to just before the Paradox Prism was shattered (with Shadow having the Chaos Emerald that was previously lost to The Void), meaning that if Sonic doesn't shatter it, the Shatterverse wouldn't come into existence. It is a bit complicated to explain, especially with no clear evidence, and the only thing I have is going by my own logic.

If you want to understand where I'm coming from, please watch Reploid Revo's Time Skimmer EXTRA - MegaMan World video, where he explains the complications of a paradox cycle.

I believe that the fate of the Shatterverse has been left vague on purpose, as people would certainly be upset to hear that the likes of Nine, Dread, Rusty Rose and so on have been erased from existence. However, I also offer another solution based on the video above, combining it with the first outcome.

Sonic and Shadow obviously changed the timeline by not letting the Paradox Prism get shattered, meaning that, by this logic, the Shatterverse in this timeline should not exist. However, there is still a possibility that the Shatterverse exists in a different timeline, one that cannot be accessed anymore (or maybe it can, this is the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise we're talking about after all). In short, the Shatterverse itself would be a paradox, because it keeps existing even though by all logic, it shouldn't exist.

It is also very possible that Sonic Prime's situation is similar to that of Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), where the whole timeline with Mephiles and Iblis had been erased. However, as said above, this is all up to fan interpretation.

What was the explosion at the end?

At the very end, we see a blue energy pulse spreading through Green Hill, with an ominous shadow covering Sonic and his friends. Sonic is clearly exasperated while his friends are surprised/shocked, and they get back into action.

We do not know what this explosion was (it did have similarities to the explosion at the very beginning, when Eggman lured Sonic into finding a way to the Paradox Prism) and we have no indication to what the ominous shadow was.

It literally could be anything, but my interpretation is that it was Eggman being up to something once again.

Where is the 24th Episode? Will there be a sequel?

As you had probably noticed, we got 23 episodes instead of the promised 24. I don't know whether there will be a 24th episode, and while I sincerely hope for one, I doubt it. My friend suggested that 24 episodes were listed because the 1st episode was 40 minutes long, meaning the 1st episode could be counted as two. I can understand the logic behind it, but why don't they tell us that we'd get 22 Episodes + a 40 minute introduction episode? Maybe something changed during production and they decided to just not address it? I don't know.

As for the sequel, according to the grapevine, I don't believe that there will be a sequel. Sonic Prime seems to be a one and done story, with a cliffhanger hinting at a possibility of a sequel if they ever decide to pick it up again. Not to mention, this is a Netflix show. I think we should be happy that at least the full story has been told instead of getting cancelled.

Why didn't Sonic and Shadow interact more at the end?

I have seen people asking for at least a conclusion to Sonic and Shadow's relationship during the show, and yeah, I'll be honest, I'm also one of those people. Like, seriously, couldn't they even add a conversation between the two once Green Hill was restored? Maybe have them acknowledging what happened in the Shatterverse and looking back on their adventure?

*sigh* Hey, fellow writers, could you recommend me a fic with that kind of premise? Thanks in advance!

Is Sonadow now canon?

Despite what certain images lead you to believe...

Just kiss already!

...Sonadow is not canon and will never be. SEGA's official stance is that no romance will be happening besides Amy's crush on Sonic and Vector's crush on Vanilla (officially, Tangle and Whisper are VERY close ''friends''; but fans know better), which I don't mind. Having an official couple might lead to brutal shipping wars of the magnitude that were present during Archie!Sonic (if you don't know, ask at your own risk), and frankly, I don't think anyone wants to be part of that.

Instead, it is best to leave things to fan interpretation (with Sonadow Prime providing us with a LOT of content for that) or maybe ask Ian Flynn for his interpretation of how certain ships would work on the Bumblekast Podcast. After all, he did a whole episode on Sonadow.

As for Prime!Sonic and Prime!Shadow, I'm certain that they appreciate each other more and have a deeper respect for each other. That, and Shadow definitely freaked out when Sonic wasn't anymore in his arms after they landed in Green Hill before realizing what was going on.

Sonadow Prime AMV (Enjoy!)

Do you plan on writing a story based on Sonic Prime's ending?

Yes, I do, but it won't be a rewrite of the ending as some other people did. Instead, I'm planning on writing a sort of epilogue, mainly based on Sonic and Shadow's thoughts, feelings and relationship after the whole Shatterverse adventure. I don't know when it will be published, since I'm currently working on the new Sonic Cyber Revolution chapter (which also features Sonadow moments), so there's that.

#Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer (Masterlist)

[daxhalfawake]

That feeling when you read an old thing you wrote and wouldn't change a damn thing about it 🥹 doesn't happen often but I'm NGL, I'm so proud of this.

Link if anyone would like to throw some kudos my way, but I'm going to put the fic below anyway.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/41365350

The Lost

“Morpheus…?” Several voices called out the name from a single body, though not all at once. They overlapped, some having a cadence which lingered long after the others’ echoes had died out. The body to which they belonged was still assembling itself upon the spot where it originated – as though it could not quite find its way through the endless void. Their edges shifted slightly to the left as the silence became so deafening that it pressed in upon the ears which had not yet manifested. “Oneiros!” They tried again; this time the sound had sharp edges, both hissed and shouted. Each iteration stopped short, though the echoes continued seemingly ad infinitum.

Dream of the Endless materialized, silencing all. He looked on at the being struggling to keep themself together. A brow arched slowly in curiosity, though not confusion. Lips pursed, he did not speak. He did not feel he had reason to, yet.

“What is this?” The voices hissed and crooned. Apprehension crept into their words.

“This,” Morpheus stated slowly, “Is that for which you asked.”

“It's so dark,” the voices wailed in unison. “So… cold.”

“What did you expect from an absence of dreams?”

The entity considered the King’s question carefully. They hardly felt human, let alone alive. They certainly had not anticipated such feelings to follow them out of the waking world. Finally, a single voice uttered a frightened whisper, “I expected peace, if only for an hour.” Their form still had not fully stabilized, but it was less a sandstorm and more a shadowy, humanoid figure. Emerald glinted out of the space where one might assume their eyes would be. "This is worse than the most gruesome night terrors."

Morpheus fell silent once more. A gasp and a sob ripped through the otherwise barren air. The being collapsed, seemingly suspended within the void. Dream crouched over the being before him as it settled into the form he knew to belong to the subconscious’ current mortal body, if slightly desaturated. “You are so fractured,” he murmured as he very slowly pushed the hair from their face.

These dreamers, he referred to as Lost. They were the ones so plagued with nightmares that they pleaded (with him, albeit usually unbeknownst to them) to be freed from the Dreaming altogether. Of course, this was something that Dream of the Endless himself could not fully grant – for humans could not survive without it. Instead, he could relieve them of the Dreaming by casting them into the void at its outskirts. Very few of the Lost actually experienced the void. Typically, their waking minds would assume that they simply did not remember the Dreaming. Lost like the one lying before him, however, he pitied. They knew that all that awaited them in his realm was taciturn darkness. They could not look forward to sleep any more than they had while they were plagued by his nightmares. His art was wasted on them.

With a heavy sigh and a sweeping gesture, the Endless dotted the void with faraway stars and swirls of dust. His heart had softened towards the Lost as he discovered them – and the circumstances which created them. He hoped that maybe they would find their way back into the Dreaming when the time came; in the meantime, he could at least brighten the void for them.

[watcher-servant]

A new resolved forge.

It had been several weeks since the return from the Ever After, team RWBY and Jaune were given question upon question on what happened to them. Along with the revelations of what had happened after the portals had closed. There were some tears, long hugs and even contacting family once the initial shock of their return happened. Though Jaune noticed a slight shift with the group; in his time away he noticed that Nora and Ren had more or less accepted Emerald as just a member of the team, and along with Oscar had functioned as a true team, something that was hard fill for a long while. Now that he had returned and explained what happened to him, not only Nora or Ren but also team RWBY wouldn't leave him alone for more than a moment.

Jaune understood the reason for it all, his partly white hair being the prominent reminder of his experience. At the same time, he felt disconnected from them, he was no longer the same age, and while it was good that they check up on him. It was an entirely different reason to call or message him every 5 minutes, and it only reminded him of his childhood. The constant worrying for his safety, when he's taking it slow to reacclimate to Remnant, and even more so when it came to the issue of his weapon.

He had to make a choice with crocea mors, it was a constant reminder of everything, his family, his honor, his legacy, and when he took Penny's life. Even in its broken state, it proved to be a formidable weapon, but now that he's back and finally having the chance to reflect with nothing much to worry about. It was time he crafted a weapon of his own, it had been on his thoughts ever since Atlas, and even more so now he had to find his identity again. Stripped of everything he was in the Ever After and given the role of the rusted knight, Jaune didn't know who he really was.

Jaune knew what he was before, a son, a brother, a leader, and a friend, but at the same time he was a fake for a while, he was reckless and he had blood on his hand...one that shouldn't have been killed but made a request of him. For a long time, he had focused on the failures he had, with Pyrrha and the lingering emptiness she left behind. She was the first person to ever believe him but didn't trust him enough to fight by her side. With Cinder, the immense feeling of rage and grief pushed him to find her, get answers, and maybe get vengeance for not only Pyrrha but for other innocents who were lost due to her plans. Now he was lost, he needed a change a new identity to be crafted that he could call his own.

In his thoughts and remembering his strengths, there was one aspect that he had ignored during his time in the Ever After. His aura, the light of his soul that was a constant companion to him, and his semblance helped make sure that he or others would be seriously injured if he reached them in time. Remembering the meditation practice Ren once showed him, that felt so long ago now Jaune would sit in the assigned room he reserved for training and started to concentrate on his aura. It would start slowly feeling his aura cloaking his body; from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet a constant shine of pale aura would emit. Once his entire body shined with aura, Jaune turned his thoughts inward as he lost touch with his senses.

First his hearing, then touch, then sight, taste, and finally smell as unconsciousness took him. Slowly opening his eyes Jaune sees nothing but black, an empty void that had stretched as far as he could see. Getting up he starts to walk in a random direction as he realizes something is wrong. Looking down he sees water coming up to his ankles along with a anvil that slowly came up from the water-bearing a hammer on top.

Taking the hammer in hand a bright light would overtake his vision for a moment, and as his vision came back a large flame stood before him. It was bright and warm, like the sun had suddenly appeared bringing light to his world. Reaching his hand out the flame would react as small whisps would coalesce, forming a ball in his palm. Just trying to look into the small ball was blinding in a sense, too bright for normal eyes, maybe even more so for faunus if he ever attempted this. Looking back at the hammer, and then to the anvil, an unexpected idea would come as he placed the ball on the flat surface. Raising the hammer up, Jaune would strike at the ball as hard as he could as sparks bounced from it. Looking back at the ball, it didn't bear any indents as he could tell, but he felt it was the right direction.

Raising the hammer again, he strikes the ball letting more sparks fly, and he would continue a few more times as no noticeable change had appeared. Raising the hammer one more time, Jaune thought back on what he was trying to make and what he needed. He needed a sword, a weapon he was familiar with in his journey and to some he called friends. Then his thoughts wandered to others wielding a sword, to Weiss with Myrtenaster, to Blake with Gambol Shroud, to Qrow with Harbinger, even to Cinder and her twisted and nameless Maiden blades, and then finally to Penny and the numerous Maiden blades she made with her power, to imitate those that had been made for her as an android. Striking the ball again, it would finally start to flatten yielding to the possibility of what it could become.

Jaune would strike the ball again, and again as the ball finally started taking shape resembling that of a tapered line of energy. With a bit of uneasiness, Jaune grabbed, what he was assuming was the handle as the 'blade' pulsed feeling his touch. Lifting the 'weapon' it felt right in his hand, it felt like him, that he was finally coming to an understanding to a part of himself he had ignored for a while.

A sense of fatigue would wash over Jaune as the 'void' he had put himself in started to fade. The anvil disappeared, the giant flame was snuffed out and finally, the only thing that remained was his 'sword' in his hand as it seemed to return to a ball shape and drop into his hand. Waking up with a gasp, Jaune looked around as a timer was blasting through his replaced scroll showing that his reservation time was up. Getting up from the ground, his scroll would ping him again, this time notifying his aura levels. Taking a look at the gauge, it had 25% left on the meter leaving him in shock. Looking at his right hand, Jaune would focus on his semblance allowing a sense of relief to wash over him as the flickering light turned into a constant glow.

Taking a risk with what he did in his dream, Jaune focuses his aura on his hand as a ball that fits into his palm is formed. Squeezing the ball, the aura would narrow, covering his hand up to his forearm as a blade forms reaching the length of a broadsword. A look of shock would come across his face as the end result couldn't be denied. He made a weapon... his weapon, one made by him. A door opening would catch his attention, making him turn to see a slightly surprised Winter Schnee giving him a questioning look. "Wanna explain that?" she asked him as she covered her eyes from the bright blade.

[winterpinetrees]

Trench Warfare (The Gap Years 2x9)

September 27th

Maze, NE

Navigation Guide

Previous

Clay and Marin escape an ambush and hide out in a drainage ditch like they've fallen back into the trenches of the First World War. Like all teenager soldiers who think they're about to die, they say some dumb things.

......................

He’s waiting on three messages. The first, to their emissary, who warned them of an ambush like what they’d seen before, not a commoner at the negotiating table with a squad of strike troops behind them. The second, to Brian, who he last saw tackling a high noble for reasons he was in too much emotional-not-medical shock to understand. Finally, he waits for a text back from Sierra, who could still escape in her car, if they didn’t come after her first. 

Clay clutches his pistol in one hand and presses the other to his chest. He turned nineteen about a month ago. He could be at Harvard, walking into wealth and power as if the world wasn’t metamorphosing around him. Instead the millionaire’s son crouches in a drainage ditch, trying to tell if his ribs are broken or just bruised as two of the most powerful elves in the world wade out into the corn fields. Beside him, Marin might be experiencing the other type of shock, the physiological one, and struggles to catch his breath. 

“In my world,” he begins, looking up into the rain. There’s one final dagger in his hand. “We gave the prairie back to the bison”.

Clay clenches his teeth. The group chat is silent. He prays. It’s a scene out of a world war. Two boys in the mud, saying delirious halves of sentences while they wait to die.

“The rain won’t stop her. She’ll find us”. 

He means Devana Marolak, the elven hunter who’ll abandon any person or group for her anti-human creed. Emer swayed her by attacking physics labs, then stopped after the failure at Project Excalibur, and Devana got her killed within a decade. They’ve only managed to stagger into this field because she wasn’t used to fighting without magic. 

“Maybe not today. You saw what Brian managed to do. High nobles are fragile”. 

“I know”. Marin turns to look at him. Emerald magic flares in his eyes, and he might be crying, but it could be the rain.

“What’s the type of dog you say he acts like? A golden something? He really did jump at her”.

“Golden Retriever. But he doesn’t like it when people say that”. 

What even happened? They had been negotiating, and things had gotten tense. The green-haired Betrayed behind them spoke, but it was the tone of a man with nothing left to lose, and Clay had reached for his gun. Then, chaos. 

He peels off his damaged jacket and examines evidence of the crime. A leather jacket is essentially weak body armor, and he cut slits into the lining to add kevlar and ballistic plates this summer. Clay runs his bloody hands along the scratch from broken glass, the two bullet holes, and the magical burn that charred down to the hard armor. 

The bullet holes on the back are from Cress’s human pistol. He has friends who could guess the caliber, but it doesn’t matter much. He’d shoved Marin forward then as Urey, screaming with rage, flipped the table into a shield. It wouldn’t hold for long, but the powers of the Betrayed lack object permanence. Before the prison break, Marin and Zerada had explained that they had a much stronger effect on things they could see. Maybe it was for the best that the little eddy wasn’t enough for Marin to get his magic back and escape to the elven world. There must have been elves there as well, and those soldiers would’ve had working guns. 

Now they lie in a field, cold, wet, and bleeding. Marin has his magic back, but this place is an equally unremarkable patch of prairie in the elven world. 

Marin bites his mud-covered fist to keep from screaming so loud that their attackers can hear over the rain. 

“May they be lost forever to the void. Or lost for a week before they starve to death, because they’re one of the damn Betrayed and even our curses don’t apply to them”.

Clay nods. “Betrayer”. 

“You should’ve heard what Urey was saying. I’ve never heard someone swear like that. Apparently she saved Cress from being taken with the other Betrayed. They were much more powerful than they claimed”. 

And what good it did. He imagines the scene. Urey, strong as a mountain, learning that a coup has been thrown and Betrayed were being pressed into service. Could she really have chosen who to try and protect and who to turn in? We’re all waiting for death the way things are. Was it survivor's guilt that drove them to contact Devana? But the other Betrayed are still alive. The odds that he killed Cress’s friends under the glacier are astronomical…

“What a god-awful bargain. Getting back at someone who saved you by leading an army to her”.

“Well, the plan was probably for us to die”. 

Now that Marin has said it, it is clear that Cress was stronger than they claimed. Not a single magical gadget in the room would function. In another fight, the glowing veins on elven armor would help him tell the soldiers apart. Instead, only one soldier managed a sputtering glow and and the rest were faceless like the police around the edge of a riot. They shifted their hands on malfunctioning guns. One elf held a shortsword against Cress’s neck, waiting for an order to restore their power. Like police around a riot, they were nearly as scared as Clay was. 

Marin glanced over the barricade, then turned in terror. “Marolak”. 

Genus Marolak. Magenta. Symbolized by the wolf. He could only mean the short officer with armor like pink glowsticks half a night later.

“Like the noble who betrayed your mom?” Brian asked.

“That’s her”. 

Maybe the right thing to do would have been to shoot the councillor right then. She had a mane of shaggy dark hair halfway down her back, so the helmet didn’t seal tightly around her head. But Maze had seemed like a dream. Off-grid, anarchist, full of color and texture. So Clay was still crouched behind the table when Brian kicked a leg off from it and threw himself across the room like an attack dog. He shouted to run, and they did. This wasn’t the first time Clay had slashed his palms climbing through a broken window, after all. He leapt to the ground, nearly losing his footing on trampled wildflowers. Marin threw a dagger back where they came and sprinted ahead. He didn’t check to see where it landed, but not long afterward there was a flash of red like a neon sign in the dark. Human minds aren’t made to understand magic. They provide something of a warning when it is around. Someone had gotten rid of Cress. Two bursts of magic went wide. A third shot hit him in the back, dissipated through his armor, and left him numb. He threw himself forward and tumbled into the corn.

Clay laughs to himself, spontaneously, and chokes on the pain. How do you even treat broken ribs? 

“Say, Mari. Is there a genus of the leopard?” 

“Genus Kotija, like the new apex’s husband, is probably the closest. Clouded leopard. Why?” 

“Just this human political joke”. 

“About leopards? I thought they were nearly extinct here?”

“It’s- it’s a stupid thing. ‘I never thought leopards would eat MY face,' sobs woman who voted for the Leopards Eating People's Faces Party’”. 

Marin dwells on that for a moment. The rain is pouring harder now. Maybe they’ll get pneumonia before the elves find them. 

“I don’t think Urey supported the coup. It doesn’t fit”.

“I know. That’s why it’s stupid”. 

“It might fit Cress though? They made a deal with the Mercurali for something. Maybe a prisoner exchange where she frees some of the Betrayed in exchange for us? Instead, she killed them. She killed them for an easier fight”. Marin sits up and crosses his arms around his knees.

Until that moment, Clay had assumed it was Marin’s dagger that killed Cress. One soldier did have a sword drawn though, and he saw nothing. Hell, the physical effect would be the same if no one died and Cress was just knocked unconscious and dragged to the elven world. Did Marin kill a traitor? Did Devana have her soldiers break a terrible bargain? He holds the same pistol that he used to kill three Betrayed under the glacier while half of their elven allies watched. His hand shakes- because of the rain and the cold, obviously. 

At least he isn’t the only one to have killed Betrayed out of convenience now. At least convenience is a reason. Cress was in the way of their capture, and now Devana is surely stalking into the field. Clay killed them all for nothing. Humans exist in their world to serve, and what a good assassin he was. He counts kills on his empty hand. He runs out of fingers. He lets the rest slip through with the rain. 

“Marin?”

“Hm?”

His family clawed hundreds of millions of dollars from lies and he’ll bet Grandfather won’t confess any of it on his deathbed. Clay thought he inherited that stone heart.

“We know you want to conquer the human world too. You haven’t just been using us to stay alive. You’re actively working against us. It’s probably for the best that Brian just got hauled off. If we’d kept winning until you let smallpox kill half the planet, I think it would have broken his heart”.

“Life and death, all you had to say was the first line”.

Then Clay’s phone, the brick-like satellite one that he uses on the quest, buzzes. 

Hold on. We’re counterattacking. Are the boys with you?

Hilarious timing. Who even is we? Sierra, obviously, and then the rest of the commune? People like the ones in this town talk big, but there isn’t much actual reason not to tread on them. Then he bolts upright at the sound of gun fire. The sound of many guns. 

“Forget I said that. Sierra is trying to come get us-”

“She is? She thinks that will work?”

“I guess?”

Marin nods at that and stands. He and Clay are almost the exact same size. The other boy’s locs make up for a slight difference in height, but that is to say that neither of them are tall enough to see over the fully-grown corn. Light flashes over the town in too many colors to be lightning. He texts back.

Marin is with me. Brian isn’t. 

They step back into the drainage ditch, sinking into the mud halfway to their ankles.  They can follow it diagonally towards town. 

“Did you hear me talking with Zerada, before she left?” 

“No? What’d she do? Talk the whole plot over with you?”

“No, no. We talked about… philosophy”.

Better to cut off the conversation now.

“It wasn’t any one moment that we overheard. You’ve slipped up a few times. It really started with learning that your mother had begun the plague project and spiraled from there”.

“It’s always the lies of omission, isn’t it?”

“No. More often people with power just lie”. 

The sounds of fighting grow closer and more frenzied. Marin crouches along the ground, but Clay’s ribs won’t let him. They move as fast as they can. 

“I’m not very good at this, am I?” The prince asks. He’s not. He’s quick on his feet and can throw a dagger but the details of lies don’t stick in his head. That’s all politics is, anyway. Being able to keep straight the difference between the lies you tell yourself and the lies you tell your followers. He’s seen the older Whittakers work. Their politics swing back and forth across the generations, but they're always trying to put the same family on the ballot. 

“You’re likable and you’re not dead yet. That means there’s hope”. 

Marin looks back with a sad smile and asks for the gun. He takes the pistol with its last two bullets and disappears from sight. Is he invisible or in another world? Corn waves ahead of him like a person is walking through it, then abruptly stops. Clay half-crawls, half-walks to the edge of the field and looks out like he’s watching between the bars of a cell. 

Powerful magic must be at work. He sees a plume of fire rise through the rain, drawing a half-circle that pushes back… armored soldiers? This town had Betrayed in it. None of the commoners have strong enough magic for this. Then a short figure steps out from behind a building holding a flamethrower half as tall as they are. A tool for controlled burns? A second elf stands a shield in the mud and braces against it, while someone somewhere shoots down with a sniper rifle. 

Then he sees firelight reflect orange off the wrists of the figure holding the flamethrower. Copper wire wrapped around her arms. The short form crystalizes into a girl he knows. Sierra Bracken just set someone on fire. The last soldiers flee. It must not be worth it to die to a five foot three hacker.

Clay is unarmed, injured, and vulnerable to magic. He’s soaked to the bone, without armor,  bleeding in three places, and for once he’s running into, not away from, whatever the hell has gone wrong. He trips behind the shield, which is a heavily dented hunk of metal, and the contrast between Sierra’s welder’s gloves and his arm is what finally makes him realize how awful his second skin of muck must look. 

“Crazy how our dads both own, like, private yachts”. 

“Don’t sell him short. Your dad owns a space program”. 

The elf with his shoulder braced against the shield audibly scoffs, but gives them space. Sierra flicks the flamethrower off. All is quiet except for the rain. 

“How did you get a flamethrower? It’s raining?”

She points to the backpack. “They work fine in the rain, the fire just doesn’t catch, which might be a good thing. Robin, the blue mask girl, had one”.

Definitely a good thing. Each year the summers get hotter and the grass dries out more. Marin has told stories about his world’s own climate catastrophe, but he doesn’t quite understand that the two worlds are starting in different places. The water to irrigate these plains comes from a collapsing aquifer, one that even these elves must be tapping into. And this corn, if they’re selling it, is just being used to feed cattle. As they drive through one square farming town after another, Clay feels dread like lead settled in his bones. What are they even doing trying to stop this? Hasn’t he been begging for years for someone, anyone, to set the world right? Brian always said people were trying. He’d look out at their high school as if the crowd of kids with all of their privilege would actually save the world. All Clay could ever see was a battle for college admissions spots. Sierra didn’t bother to look up.

“Have you seen Brian?” He asks. 

“Where did Marin go?” She says at the same moment. 

Brian’s not in Urey’s house anymore, so he’s probably been taken to the elven world. Marin ran off invisibly to fight, and maybe get him back. He nearly asks if Cress was taken as well, but politics is about lies, and he knows what he wants to believe. Instead he waits. 

“I saw red a few times. The same red from when I was cursed, you know? It stopped when we brought out the flamethrower,” She bares her teeth. Sierra’s always hated the rain. 

“There couldn’t have been two councillors here. We fought them off”.

The fight has moved on to the elven world, where they can’t travel on their own. Their sniper leaps from the roof down to the stable ground and disappears as well, though he says he wishes that he was strong enough to bring them with him. All that remains of the fight are bodies. One soldier and a few common rebels. The rain has washed away the blood, but they’re too still. The soldier, at least, would’ve switched realms if they could. 

They step under an awning to wait, discussing whether Kebero has a whole noble family of murderers with blood-red magic. His phone has a few new chips in the paint, but the thing is fine. A string of messages appear simultaneously in the group chat beside an unflattering photo of Brian. 

Not dead!  Im bleeding but in an aesthetic way Do the medic thing Marin hurt his shoulder tho again

In the distance, a cluster of beat-up, mud-covered motorcycles draw towards this side of town. He wipes off his glasses to see them more clearly. His friends sit behind common folk with huge guns, battered but upright. Brian looks like he’s been hit full-force with a baseball bat, which did happen once, and there's blood his chin. Nearby, Marin looks like an angel. If he’s bruised, Clay can’t tell. His eyes glow brightly enough to cast the rest of him into shadow. His triumphant grin, pointed ears, and the edge of the sword he must have been given, are the most defined things in the storm.

Marin’s left arm has been immobilized with a sling of yellow fabric. As they draw closer, he can see DONT TREAD ON ME curled around his shoulder.

“When I thought we were going to die, I confessed. He knows how we feel about him”.

Sierra only shrugs. “Well, he does look like a king”. 

.....................

Next time, Esther deals with the fallout of her actions!

@lokiwaffles @reggie246 @wishndreamer

[admirelight]

She watched as Anderson bled out on the floor. She watched as her own blood escaped in waves. Her eyes hung heavy with an exhaustion that only death could relieve. 

She limped over to the dying man despite the pain each step caused. She didn't want to be alone. She didn't want him to be alone, so she pushed forward and finally dropped next to him.

"Commander," his voice cut through the silence as they stared at the raging battle just outside the giant window. 

"We did it." The tangy taste of blood dripped down her throat. She noticed her voice was barely a whisper. 

"Yes. Yes, we did." He agreed, his voice wavered. "Quite the view." 

Shepard felt a smile tug on her cut-up face, "Best seats in the house," a statement she meant. The Earth looked beautiful in the backdrop of the dark void and death. Bright greens and deep blues swirled about the planet. 

"God...It feels like I haven't sat down for years," Anderson coughs, pulling a wince from Shepard. She felt the end nearing for the both of them, the feeling setting deep in her stomach. 

"I think you earned a rest." Shepard nodded in agreement with the war-torn man. Her mind wondered to memories of Thane, his cool skin, full lips, and his final breaths. She prayed to his gods that he didn't feel the same when he passed and that they would let her join him. 

"Ever wonder how things would be different, how our lives would be different if this... haven't happened?" He mused to the dying woman. Her smile faded. 

"Sure." She answered, her thoughts came to Kaidan, maybe they would have been happily married. It dawned on her that she wouldn't have met Thane. The idea was pushed away. Perhaps her and the drell were meant to meet and would have. Shepard was more content in this thought. It eased her aching, mangled body. She pictured the farm in New Mexico that they spoke about getting after the Reaper war when she visited the hospital. She willed her mind to place herself in the dry summer heat of that farm. Watching Thane's beautiful emerald scales shine in the sun. Imagining his deep black eyes steady with ease as he enjoy the arid scenes of scorpions hunting and birds claiming their place in a clear blue sky.

"I never had a family, Shepard. Never had children." Anderson's comment made her pause in her dreaming. The stale cold air of the lifeless room crept in place of her imagination. In Shepard's final moments, she forgot about her own family. The one lost years ago to slavers, to the darkness that the galaxy doled out to those unlucky enough. She glanced over at Anderson. When she thought of the word "Dad", he stood where her real father should have. She couldn't even remember what that man looked like. All she saw was Anderson. 

"There will be time enough for that now," She pushed herself to say. Another sibling would be nice, one that could grow up being best friends with Wrex's kids. His weak laugh brought her back to the wet, hard ground they both were sitting on. Their blood stained the white tiles, pooling like water under them. 

"I..." he struggled to get his thoughts out." I think that ship has sailed," he paused. " What about you? Ever think of settling down?"

The question hit her like a ton of bricks, made her heart and body ache more than the physical pain did. 

"Can drell and humans have children together?" Her question slipped out. 

Anderson slides his hand over hers, his grip weak. "You have a habit of making the impossible work." She looked down, feeling a bit embarrassed. 

"Yeah. I like that sound of that." She relented. The conviction in his voice made her mind hopeful enough to conjure what their drell/human children would look like on their farm. Beautiful green scales, on a human face with hopeful green eyes staring up at her. Would they have hair? She chuckled to herself. Maybe they would have her pale human skin and his endless black eyes. 

She thought of Kolyat, they would look like him she decided. He would be an older brother to these siblings, more motivation to stay on the right path, she assured herself.

Shepard let the dream continue, guiding her to new ideas. She thought of her team, her new family, and how they would have their own children. Jane would throw parties where they all watch the toddlers and young kids of different species run around, playing, and laughing in the earthly sun.

Kasumi and James would rope the kids into troublesome pranks, and Mordin would entertain the children with bizarre science experiments made to teach them about the wonders of science. 

The children, on their own, would explore the pokey land around them.

Liara's child would lead the charge on artifact hunting. Having Wrex's dozens of children and even Grunt dig for those ancient secrets in the hard desert ground. 

Kaidan and Ashley's kids would probably have books, explaining to the others what to look for.  

Garrus and Tali's child chasing off intruding bugs and lizards, with Jack teaching them to use their biotics. 

Shepard and Thane's own children would run supplies to keep the operation running smoothly under Miranda's careful guidance.

Dr. Chakwas patching up any scraped knees in between her shared sips of brandy with Addams. 

Shepard's mind raced, thinking about Traynor and how she would be bragging about her white picket fence house to Steve, Gabby, and Donnelly. 

Zaeed teaching Jacob's older children how to shoot. 

And how the sun would finally set, shining brilliant hues of purples, reds, and oranges across the dazzling desert sands. They all would watch it fade into the horizon and make room for the millions of milkyway stars to dance above the happy group. 

Samara and Javik would take turns to enthrall the children and adults a like with their dozens of stories around a campfire that fought off the chilly night air.

Shepard could smell the roasting marshmallows, the sound of children ooing and awing, some snoring from a long day of fun. See Anderson napping with a small drell child curled into his lap. 

She even imagined Joker and EDI building an AI child and the shit storm it would cause with the council. 

Then she thought the thousands of children she sent to death in the Batarian system. How they will never have playtime with friends, how she stole naptimes from grandparents. Her mind turned to men and women of Akuze. How she couldn't save them, and the anger their families felt towards her lone survival. Her guilt wormed deeper, her coldness and ruthless attitude, the inability to live in the moment. "I don't think I'd be much good at it, though. I'm a soldier, like you, Anderson." The man squeezed her hand tightly as if to keep her from running away, or maybe to convince that he knew she had goodness. 

"Sure, you would. I think you would make a great mom." He asserted. 

"Thanks." She sighed, unsure if she believed him. 

"Think of how proud they would be, telling everyone their mom is Commander Shepard." He pushed, trying to remove her doubts.

"I don't know about that." She coughed, trying to alleviate the painful burning pit in her chest. Her eyes closed as she tried to focus on breathing. "Not everything I've done is something to be proud of." She admitted but couldn't stop the proud feeling that invaded her heart. Knowing that her own father figure believed in her.

Anderson's grip release its tight hold. Looking over, she noticed he was nodding off, too. "Anderson? Stay with me." Tears sprung from her eyes as she held on to his hand, hoping it would keep him from leaving her alone. "We're almost through this." Her voice cracked, echoing off the walls of the bare room. 

"Come here." He forced out, "You did good, my child. You did good." He huffed, letting his body slump over, "I'm proud of you." His final words barely passed through his lips, as his body forced him to finally sleep.

"Thank you, sir..." she blinked the tears from her eyes, "Dad?" She tugged his lifeless hand, torn between two wishes. One wish was that he didn't actually go, and the other wish was that the hero was allowed to rest.

A long awaited rest, Shepard felt would take her too at any moment. She looked down, seeing how caked in blood she really was. I don't think anyone has gotten to cheat death as many times I have, she smiled at her own observations, closing her eyes again. Her heart grew heavy with loss and loneliness. 

Maybe it would be okay for her to pass now, too. Her ears roared with the sound of waves washing over her, smell of salt water in her nose. The sea was calling her name, as she found each breath harder and harder to suck in. 

"Shepard? Commander?" Hackett's desperate voice ate through her haze. She sighed, willing her mind and soul to stay, even if she felt her pulse weaken. 

"I...uh... what do you need me to do?" She choked out the fumbled words as she pushed herself up. The pain she expected was faded, Hackett's words felt so far away that she couldn't even make out what he was saying. She just stumbled and crawled to the console. Pressing whatever buttons, just hoping it would be enough. 

"Siha, stay here for a little longer," Thane's voice whispered into her, as clear and soft as a summer's gentle breeze. "The sea will wait for you. You'll be here soon. Just fight a little longer, Jane." His warm encouragement breathed life into her. Shepard felt his hands help her lift the heavy broken body that her soul fought to stay in. Shepard looked around, her eyes setting on a VI child that was staring at her...

[shinysamurott9]

How I nuked my 400 Hour Save of Pokemon Heartgold

So, recently I've been playing through the Pokemon Generations doing a Ribbon Master Quest, obtaining every Ribbon a single or set of Pokemon can possibly obtain by sending them up through the series. Just yesterday I was on the tail end of finishing the Gen 4 segment of the challenge.

I have a team of 5 Ribbon Masters currently; Mushi, my Shiny Heracross from Pokemon Colosseum which I hunted specifically for this Ribbon Master Quest, Velos and Seibzehn, a Latios and Metagross I raised to use in Emerald's Battle Frontier, Sparda, my Shiny Arceus I hunted using the void glitch in Pearl and Nero, my Shiny Giratina from Sinjoh Ruins. The only ribbons left for them to get was the Legend Ribbon for beating Red and most pertinent to this story, the World Ability Ribbon.

For those unaware, the World Ability Ribbon is obtained by reaching Rank 5 or higher in the Wifi Room in Gen 4's Battle Tower. Despite what you may think, this is still obtainable thanks to fan made servers which restore old wifi functionalities in Generations 4 & 5. The thing is though the Wifi room is bullshit. The opponents you fight are recorded teams from other players and unfortunately, on top of the highly optimised teams you’ll encounter, you'll also encounter many teams of blatantly hacked stuff like Machamps with OHKO Moves or Sturdy Shedinjas.

This is where I mention the fact that I just so happen to have a modded 3ds, which, among other things, let's me backup save data. So since the game was blatantly cheating anyway, I decided "Fuck it, I'm cheating too". How I did this was to fight one battle in the Wifi Room, and after winning, I'd use the rest option to save and exit the game. Then I'd backup that save file, so if I lost the next battle, I could restore that backup and try again, letting me continue my streak. A slow process but it would mean eventually, I would be able to climb the ranks high enough to get the World Ability Ribbon.

As you can imagine though, I was doing this process of reloading and backing up a lot, and at one point I restored a file incorrectly, taking out the game too early, causing the file to go blank. No problem I'll just restore the file again and if I was competent, that's wherethis would have ended. But, because of how much I was using Checkpoint, my muscle memory got a lite crosswired, so instead of restoring my file, I made a new backup over it, effectively erasing the entire thing.

For reference this included:

400 hrs of Gameplay, A Pokedex roughly 2/3rds complete, A fully developed Safari Zone, Several Pokemon from my various Gen 4 Playthroughs over the years, Every Arceus Plate, (Which are actually pretty difficult to get in HGSS), All 5 of my Ribbon Masters

And perhaps worst of all, my entire collection of Gen 4 shinies. This included:

My near back to back Shiny Luxio and Luxray from Platinum,

A shiny Darkrai and Shaymin I hunted with the Void Glitch

Several Radar and Safari Week Shinies

And a shiny of each Sinjoh Dragon.

Needless to say I was both pissed and devestated. There was some consolation, since I had backups of Gen 3 and Platinum, my Ribbon Masters and Battle Tower mons were safe. Everything else though, initially I was resigned to either losing them forever or trying very likely in vain to recreate as much as I could in PKHex which has it's own issues both logistically and ensuring they were legal, not helped at all by how bad the legality checker in PKHex actually is.

BUT

There was, one, just one saving grace. Fucking POKEMON BATTLE REVOLUTION

The way that Battle Revolution works is that you connect a Gen 4 Save File and it will make an exact copy of your boxes so you can use them in BR's various Colosseums. And of course I just so happened to have copied my boxes from HG a few months ago just after Safari Week meaning every pokemon I had nuked still existed! I had to hack my Wii U to dump the save file but because of that I was able to completely restore almost every single pokemon by copy pasting them back onto Heartgold.

Obviously still lost a lot in other areas but I really can't complain considering what I managed to restore.

As a sidenote, there was a similar incident way back where I accidentally erased my friend's Ruby Master File no shinieswere lost just a lot of progress. I think his reaction speaks for itself.

[headstrongblake]

what was your plan ??  you could’ve gotten yourself killed ! / bell & o / @thewholecrew

emerald hues snap up toward him, teeth clenched so tightly that an ache works its way through her mouth before she forces a deep breath out of her nose. "what was my plan?" she asked, repeating her brother's words back to him as her bottom lip trembled. her fingers lifted to her mouth, pressing against her lips as if that might stop the pain from pouring out as her head shook. a choked sob slipped past her as she lifted her shoulders, along with her hands exasperatedly.

"i had no plan, ok? nick begged me, over and over and over again to go with him and you know what? i had to. ok? i had to go with him, bell." octavia stated firmly as she frowned. "and i know, i know, that's not what you want to hear, and i could've died, or i could've gotten hurt..." a harsh breath came forward because without even realizing it, that hurt happened anyway after seeing grant. after coming face to face with his cold gaze, void of any love he had ever had for her or nick, she felt worse than when he left all those weeks ago.

octavia swallowed the painful lump in her throat, burning with the anger, love, hurt, and loss she felt as she stood before her big brother. "all i could think was i can't go through this again. i lost you, bellamy. i lost you for so long, and that night when nick was taken... i almost lost him and...i can't," her voice shook, "i couldn't do that again."

defeat welled in her eyes because it didn't matter in the end. when it came to grant...octavia understood now was the time to quit. for her sanity, for her sake, for him...she had to try to let go. but nick? there wasn't anything octavia could do to convince him not to go back out there to track grant. "doesn't matter, it didn't do any good, i'm here, i'm safe...and nick is out there."

[novankenn]

Altered Destiny (v1-5)

{Table of Contents}

Panic rose up in Jaune’s chest as those words set themselves into his mind. “You died.” Jaune started to spin about, glancing everywhere, searching for the source of the voice.

“Calm yourself, my daughter. There is no danger here. You are safe.”

“Why do you keep calling me that?” Jaune yelled, fear, anger, and confusion taking a hold of him.

“Because I am your mother. I made you. Rewove your life thread, restored your tapestry of fate.” the voice remained life, soft and reassuring, “What else could I be but your mother?”

“My mother’s name is Jasmine Arc!”

“She was…”

“Was?”

“You died, Jaune. You died. I pulled you from the Void, restored your broken body… I gave you a new life.” the voice floated about Jaune. “Jasmine was your physical mother, but that was to your old body. I had to make you anew… so you are born through me… you are my daughter.”

“I… I don't understand? What is going on?”

“Jaune… calm, all will be explained, in time.” Jaune felt like the voice kissed his cheek, “But there are new realities you need to accept. I am your mother, I gave you life.”

“How?”

“Your Life Thread was severed… I took hold of it and pulled a Thread of Possibility from the ether to mend it… to grant you a rebirth… to give you a second chance to overcome the trails that lay before you…”

“But…”

“More will be explained later, daughter.” the voice started to drift away, growing faint. “Wander and explore… you are safe in my realm.”

Jaune stood there surrounded by flowers, the night sky full of glowing stars. There was no moon, and there was no evidence of the constellations that he knew. Confusion still ran about Jaune’s mind… but it was that single statement that kept coming back. “You died.”

With nothing else to do, but stand around, Jaune chose a random direction and began to walk.

/=/

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE CAN’T SEE HIM?” Nora bellowed at Professor Goodwitch as she stood her ground before the doors to the infirmary, against the arrayed forced of team (J)NPR.

“I don’t understand, Professor. You called us here and tell us Jaune was seriously hurt, but you won’t let us see him?” Pyrrha asked, her body language telling Professor Goodwitch she was nearly at her breaking point. “I just don't understand. Why?”

“Jaune is safe, however he is in a coma and until the medical staff are sure he’s completely stable, or waked up they have asked that no one interrupt their work.”

“Can you tell us what happened?” Ren asked as he was stepping in between his female counterparts and placed a reassuring hand on each of their shoulders. 

“Jaune, decided to make an unsupervised trip to the Emerald Forest.” Professor Goodwitch relayed, “He ran into trouble, and by the time we were able to get to him, he had been knocked over a cliff.”

“No.” Pyrrha’s hands slapped over her mouth, muffling her shriek, as tears began to trail down her cheeks. Nora instantly wrapped her teammate in a tight hug.

“I take it he survived?”

“He… did, but he suffered severe injuries that have rendered him unresponsive…he went into a coma.”

“What are the nature of his injuries?” Ren asked, his voice cracking.

“He lost a large amount of blood, and suffered substantial damage to his back, neck, and head.” Professor Goodwitch lied. “The medical staff feel due to his aura reserves he will make a full recovery, but until they are certain they are being cautious, and restricting all access to medical staff only. Not even I can see him, at this point in time.”

“Is there a chance he might…?” Ren’s voice wavered, unable to finish the question none of them wanted to ask, but all need an answer for.

“That is a possibility, but the medical staff assure me that it is unlikely. Jaune is rather willful, and I doubt he would just give up.” Professor Goodwitch replied, “We will keep you all informed of his progress and condition.”

[wartieingreek]

doing update of this i did not too long ago, just want to include more and make it more accurate (Please be aware for any of my Sins (Kiwano, Yellow Rose, Dicentra, Begonia, Fly Trap, Petunia, Jabuticaba) I will be using their Pre-Gem versions (aka the start of their lore :3) to not have the really strong Sin stuff in it :3)

(As usual, Beast Ancients au belongs to @cuppajj :3)

ALIVE:

Teal Shard Cookie - Hiding out in a cave, scared out of his mind. He’s witnessed the forces growing ever nearer and is in a constant state of panic. To whatever God may be listening to him, make it quick.

Gallane Squire Cookie - A loyal warrior amongst Midnight Lily’s forest, serving her with no questions asked. He may be slightly skeptical, but he does not voice them.

Fool’s Goldenberry Cookie - Staying with the Cookies of Darkness, working especially with the cake hounds, raising them at their younger years. He’s been feeling a little uneasy, but it’s likely a cold or stomach bug, right?

Burnt Shrapnel Cookie - Scouring the arid outskirts of the Parmesan Desert, aware of Celestial Cheese. She keeps her distance from the Neo-Beast, however, not wanting to succumb to whatever would happen, just in case.

Haemoglobin Cookie - Already being alone on a island, not too far from the Licorice Sea grants some confort, but the noticeable change in it’s behaviour has his raised concerns. Their eyes and ears stay on alert, just in case.

Begonia Cookie - Her heart has been shredded, having witnessed his girlfriend’s death before his eyes. She’s absolutely ruined mentally, hiding out in the woods, holding a remnant of Dicentra in her hair.

Kiwano Cookie - Being good at hiding from people’s eyes helped, most definitely, but witnessing his sister and friends die or go missing shook him up. He blames himself, and stays in a hut. He’s blissfully unaware of how close he is to the Saint’s territory.

DEAD:

Black Void Cookie - Frozen, one of many ice statues trapped in the lands of Frigid Cacao. From scurrying about, spying on those it considered dangerous or interesting, to stuck in fear and ultimately dying due to the cold. A sad end.

Yew Songbird Cookie - A valiant fighter, he sensed the intrusion into his section of the deeper forests, using all he had at his disposal to try and fend them off. Ultimately, exhaustion and time were his enemy.

Yellow Rose Cookie - A great friend, but a better sibling. She had to force her brother out of their home to save his life. She has since died, now at peace thanks to the Saint.

Dicentra Cookie - She tried to escape with her other half, but ultimately couldn’t hide the best due to dough tones and height. She’s in a better place now.

Fly Trap Cookie - Escaped him after they witnessed what happened to the others. They ended up lost and after enough wandering, found some orchids. They potted one, and kept it with them, caring for it. Big mistake.

MISSING/UNKNOWN:

Shaded Jam Cookie - They always stuck to the shadows, messing with others to their own discretion. They’ve not been seen out the dark in a while. Some say they see white pupils in other’s shadows, though only for a second.

Petunia Cookie - Last seen attempting to fight off the Saint, then gone. There’s been sightings of a red tail tip on occasion, though it may not be them.

Jabuticaba Cookie - They were last seen throwing Begonia and Dicentra over a fence. Some have said they’ve seen a large purple-ish figure, though it is unclear if it is him.

War Crepe Cookie - Missing, last seen staring off into the sunset, then nothing. Footprints lead into the waters.

Emerald Fracture - They just vanished, as if they were deleted by some other force.

[kalevalakryze]

All Or Nothing

Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types, Ahsoka Series Pairings: Shin Hati/ Sabine Wren, Shin Hati & Ahsoka Tano Characters: Shin Hati, Sabine Wren, Ahsoka Tano, Grand Admiral Thrawn, The Nightmothers, Zombie Troopers, Great Mother Klothow, Great Mother Aktropaw, Great Mother Lakesis Warnings: This one is straight up Torture, Blood and Violence, Major Character Injury, Hopelessness, Blood-loss, Delirium,  There Will Be War Crimes, Mind-Alteration, Undead, Body Horror, sensory deprivation . Does it count as OOC if it’s a reaction to literal torture lmao? Notes: For Whumptober Day 11 Prompt:  “Captivity | “No one will find you.” Word Count: 2,970 AO3 Link: Here!

Baylan’s last order had been to return to Thrawn and to take some place he had prepared for her, and even though she’d lost him and did not understand his reasoning any longer, they still knew that he would never lead her wrong…

Until she returned to the Chimera, and the… witches accused her of knowing more than she was willing to tell in her report, accusing her of leaving out some important, omnipotent detail that could alter their success in… whatever the krif they were doing. 

The last thing Shin remembered was the feeling of ice in her veins and emerald flames licking at her skin.

When she woke… or… her mind slipped into consciousness? She couldn’t see, the darkness was unending, and the force was silent. Her armor was gone, with the feeling of claw marks tearing into her skin where the metal plating had once sat, as if each piece had been torn from her body by some otherworldly being. 

There was a spark, a glimmer of something earthen in her peripherals. Her boots scraped against cold stone as she turned to face it; Heat arced where fire wrapped around her forearm, scorching into her skin as a cold metallic base secured itself into her flesh with thin barbs. 

Shin did not cry out, and after her first knee-jerk reaction to yank her arm back, away from the nerve-igniting pain of the simmering inferno, the blonde forced herself to still. The green of the witch’s fire gave her light she could use to see, Baylan had taught her long ago to not allow her fear to cloud her judgment in a situation just like this, that stopping her emotions would be the key to survival in their journeys.

“Sometimes, to stay alive, you have to kill your mind.”

In the dim lighting and through the haze of pain, Shin was able to find details about the room she’d found herself in; They could stretch out fingertip to fingertip across each side of the room twice, with crumblings walls and a foul odor coming from a corner of the room. A corpse sat decaying in stormtrooper armor, bones broken and bent in odd angles, old scorch marks against plastoid in a similar pattern across his arm…

When the next metal cable ignited in magik ejected from the wall, Shin waited until the sound of the arcing metal got close enough, stepping closer to the restraint on her side and allowing the tool to crash into the stone, crumbling rock dropped to the floor as spools pulled the side back in.

“Clever,” Thrawn’s syrupy voice called from somewhere she could not identify, as if it were originating from the base of their skull, as the man’s presence filled every aspect of her life that the Force had once occupied; It was a trick, something those filthy witches must have set up; Thrawn was no god, he was a liar, an oathbreaker, a warlord, and a cheat. 

“What have you done?” She called into the void, as the flames were doused over her arm, scorched blood rising to the surface around the cable as it was no longer burned away, 

“Your Master, Lord Skoll, warned us of this. Your disloyalty,” Shin tugged on the cord, nose twitching as the pain was brought to the forefront of her mind. “That if anything were to happen to him, it would be your fault,”

Stone ground together painfully, they had to force their hands over their ears at the sound, feet scrambling to push back into the corner, body awkwardly positioned over the trooper’s corpse until their shoulder blades pressed into the cold of the wall.

Artificial light flooded the cell, which soon became overcrowded as the three extra witches flooded the room, staring into her soul with voidless black eyes. They had to force themselves to meet the gaze of the woman in the center, even though the sick, echoing whispers around her had every system in her body begging her to cower, that hiding in the decimated corpse of Thrawn’s trooper would be a better experience than this; 

Baylan had known she didn’t like witches, had promised she would never have to deal with them again, and yet, all he’d done since Morgan had reached out to them was to find ways to explain their involvement, how sorry he was about the necessary evil they would have to endure together to reach an end goal he kept only to himself. 

The hand on her shoulder was gentle, at first, until yellowed nails started pressing into the sinew of her shoulder, sinking past her flesh like she was made of nothing; “You are nothing,” The echoes around the great mother’s promised, as she was yanked away from her corner by a woman whose body should not have had that kind of strength.

“Your Master had too much faith in your abilities, Padawan,” The cool tendril of metal was wrapped around their arm manually, no flames to set her skin ablaze and to scorch failure on the surface. “You will learn the price of failure. Your actions have consequences.” The sickly woman reminded in her ear, Shin could see the flicker of a smile pulling at her lips, as she pulled genuine enjoyment from the fear pouring off of the Apprentice in waves. 

“You failed in your mission, Mercenary,” Thrawn’s voice returned; Shin wanted to see him, wanted to both spit on his boots in her dislike of the man, and to beg for redemption, knowing that this was the life Baylan had worked so hard to create for her, while he went off on his own. “There is a price to be paid for letting Ezra Bridger and Sabine Wren live, for allowing Ahsoka Tano to land, and for losing my soldiers…” As she was forced back to the center of the room, they could picture the ugly twist of his lips, the way blue skin would crinkle around his eyes as his lips parted to speak once more. “No one will find you.”

Two witches pulled from the room, her arms were forced outwards to create a line parallel to the floor as the wires pulled taut. Their heart hammered in their chest as they desperately reached for Baylan in the force, reached  for the promise  of safety offered in the eyes of a predator, reaching for anything in the force that could help.

All she found were the raspy whispers and the swirling mist of majik as the Great Mother whispered into the growing void around her. Her shoulders were pulled to the brink as the whispers prickled at her skin like knives intent on peeling away her flesh layer by layer.

“Stop,” She pleaded to empty ears, her own voice fading from her reality as the ancient tongues forced translations past her eardrums in ear-splitting screams. “I will do better,” She begged to no avail. The promises of failure, of loneliness and abandonment, combined with the fears they’d hidden down so far since losing her parents to a shadow of green flame, gray skin, and black tattoos.

“You were predestined to fail your Master, you lived long past your use as a sentient being…. Perhaps, you may find some use in the afterlife,” There was a feeling of mocking pity from the woman before she turned, red satin cloak flashing over dusty stone as she swept from the room. The last thing Shin saw before darkness encroached once more was the steady drip of crimson from the cable in her right arm, splattering onto the old stains of rust embedded into the dirt below.

There was no way for Shin to know how much time had passed inside of the spire, metal cable long since pulling her shoulders from her sockets, screams had bled her throat dry ages ago, hunger pangs in her stomach at infrequent intervals and the metallic smell of infection festering in her arms were the only thing that forced her to realize consciousness was upon her.

There was no respite between the hours she found herself awake or asleep, words drilled into her skull like knives all hours of the day. Her eyes never did adjust to the lack of light, but she always felt like there was something moving around her. The force offered no strength, memories offered no fondness, and her training offered no knowledge. She was not meant to survive this, would be better suited as a corpse like the ‘friend’ behind her.

“What did you do to piss of Thrawn?” She asked her deceased companion dryly one night, long after the spire had shaken with rumbles of activity outside, after the world beyond the stone had fallen more silent than even before; without the haunting presence of the witches just on the other side. 

“Grraaasgh,” A haunting voice replied with the sound of crinkling plastoid and the oozing sound of flesh separating from it’s confines. “Hrrnnguuuuuu!”

They tried to turn, to face the corpse that had behind her this whole time, but they could not force their weight to raise on locked knees, fear ignited in her bloodstream at the nauseating sound of a reanimated corpse dragging itself with squelching thuds. 

Thick, warm fingers wrapped around her ankle, she could feel mottled flesh through the layer of grime, dirt, and general yuckiness that had clung to her own skin. The Trooper’s lurid rasps for air it’s lungs were too decomposed to need filled her ears, the first reprieve she’d had from the ache of the Great Mother’s voice, but a very unwelcome one.

White light pierced the wall across from her, a stream of plasma cutting away at the wall, a beam of a vivid pink joined feet away from the first, igniting the room in light that hurt, but she could not look away as the corpse crawled up her body; it’s legs were prone in the corner, still twitching as they tried to catch up to the rest of him. Dried up organs spilled from where his body had split, with wisps of majik keeping pieces of himself together. His jaw hung from the bottom of the helmet, part of Shin wanted to despise the way in which his breath smelled better than her own.

“Master, please,” She croaked in vain, one last time. Baylan had saved her once, twenty years ago when he’d saved a small child he owed nothing to, surely, she’d repaid her debts enough to ask one last time. 

Nothing came, the pillars of light on the other side taunted her as nails tore at her own flesh, weak from dehydration and brittle from the cords that had applied a consistent pressure to her dislocated shoulders. 

The trooper's hands clawed at her face, she forced her eyes to shut even as he pulled at her eyelids; Shin had always thought they would face the end with dignity, but this had been anything but, had been waning and pushing everything they had ever known… She could not face it, not like this; Because she was not Shin Hati, Apprentice of Baylan Skoll, she was nothing, a failed mercenary, and she was a coward, a coward who could not face the consequences of their actions.

There was a familiar smell of burning ozone and flesh, the hand at her face dropped to the floor with a wet thunk. “Get away from her!” Someone shouted, she could hear the sabers wooshing, but could not coax her eyes open. What a way to die, dream up some nameless savior to cope with the end. Would it be more painful, putting a name to the memory of purple hair and painted armor, knowing that she’d thought up a Mandalorian as her savior, over her own Master. 

“Sabine,” A calmer, collected voice called, though Shin could not place it as her weight sagged uselessly into the metal that had kept her in place for so long. 

“Shin,” Sabine’s voice was close, the hand that rested on her bicep had the blonde crying out in pain, a raspy whisper that brought blood to her lips as her body convulsed away from it. “Karabast, Ahsoka… what do we do?”

“Let me die,” Shin rasped, begging, at their mercy, eyes still shut, numb fingers clenching against the painful pull of muscle and cable. “Let me die,”

“I’m not doing that, di’kut,” The Mandalorian was close, too close, in space that had only been personal for so long. She could feel the displacement of air around her bared skin, like the Magik fire that had scorched itself in her soul. 

“Her shoulders are out of place,” Sabine continued to her Master, following the wind of the cords to the points they’d dug into scrawny biceps, blood all but wielding metal to flesh.

“This isn’t going to be fun for any of us,” Ahsoka promised somberly, “Put gloves on, we can’t risk infection spreading,” The woman ordered, the smell of late cutting through the odor of corpse and rotting sentient. The material was cool when Ahsoka’s hand touched feverish skin, though it ignited a pain that had her trying to jerk back. 

“Hold her still, no matter what she says, how she reacts; keep her as still as you can until she’s free,” 

There was silence and a quiet rustling, before she felt the press of armor against her back, the feeling of Sabine’s knees working under her just enough to guide them back against her chest. “I’ve got you,” The Mandalorian grumbled in their ear, the first comforting promise they’d had in so long. 

Any reprieve from the darkness offered by strong arms around her brittle frame died with the pain of barbs being worked from her skin. She reacted as if struck by lighting, Air was forced into reluctant lungs with gasps as she struggled with an inhuman amount of strength against the Mandalorian forcing her still as each barb was removed, hot blood welling to the surface as ehr only support for days was taken away.

Through the pain, she was aware of her begging, pathetic sounds not unlike the same promises she’d made to the witches, to Thrawn, the memory of her Master, and to the void that had swallowed her. “Please, please stop; I’ll be better I’ll do it right, I’m sorry, please stop. I’m sorry,”  She rasped, begging the Togruta, the Mandalorian, and all who had ever held her life and wellbeing in their hands as the two Jedi did now. “Let me die, please; please. I have no more to give,” They wailed to sympathetic beings. 

One of Sabine’s arms crossed her chest, while the other stayed pressed across her waist like a safety belt. The rebels had known war, had seen the effects it had on the survivors, the Inquisitors who’d been handled like Shin had. But the blonde still clung onto a purpose like a desperate child caught stealing; Even if they didn’t recognize it, it was their fingers wrapped around their life, around the vestiges of light that had been pushed through whatever the witches had done. 

Shin’s body sagged forward, held up by the Mandalorian as their struggling core muscles refused to cooperate, exhausted from the constant strain of keeping herself up. “I’m going to put your shoulder back in place, Shin.” Ahsoka called from another planet away, placing steady hands against their trembling limbs. 

There was a wet pop and another cry of pain as her shoulder was guided back into the socket. The force eased the transition, as if the Jedi had managed to use the power offered to help guide it into place just to spare the fallen apprentice some pain. 

The process was agonizingly repeated to her other side, until both of her shoulders were back in place, and she was dropping entirely into Sabine’s arms, the aches fading under the gentle mintrations of the tap of Sabine’s finger against her breastbone, a beat too quick to be their own heart beat, but one she could feel through her back, even with the cool beskar separating them. 

The Mandalorian’s chest rose and fell in an exaggerated motion as well, coercing Shin’s frayed body to follow her example in calm intakes of air and deep breaths out; Shin could not feel the force around her, but she could feel the pain ebbing away into something indescribable, like something that ran parallel to the cosmic power she’d once called home. 

“Shin,” Ahsoka’s voice was soft but demanding. “It’s time to open your eyes,” 

The command was gentle, though Shin could feel the urgency to her tone, a flicker of fear that had her Padawan stiffening under the prisoner. 

It was hard to crack their eyes open, the light hurt so bad, it was too much, too overwhelming; a soft whine passed broken lips. Light pooled in from the cut away sections of wall, the spire had been destroyed, and Shin had been unlucky enough to remain in one of the final standing pillars of the structure. 

The Togruta’s shoulders drooped in relief; Shin’s eyes, despite being windows to an unimaginable pain were not tainted by the dark side. There was still hope; and that was always enough. “You can rest now, Padawan,” Ahsoka soothed, the suggestion in the force light, though the woman had no barriers left to raise, their eyes blinking closed slowly, head lolling back against Sabine as they succumbed readily to the offer for rest. 

“Thank you, master.”  They whispered as consciousness finally released its hold on her. 

“Thank the gotal’ad her Howler found us when he did,” Sabine grumbled, nose twitching at last, the smell of the isolated cell hitting her enough to have her shifting uncomfortably under Shin. “We’ll be able to get her back okay?”

“I promise,”

[fishgirl514]

ok. just finished season 3 now im going to ramble:

i was not a huge fan of the fact that the entire season was one really long fight scene in the same location? it got a little boring lol

also a lot of the things that happened just kind of …happened. not a lot of explanation or justification or setting up for logical conclusions.

also i know this iteration of sonic is definitely not the same as other versions of his personality but his unyielding determination to redeem nine when he was literally tearing the universe apart was very odd. like.. sonic wouldn’t do that. he’s never been a guy who’s determined to redeem villains and make friends.

the threat posed by the robots was really inconsistent, esp the big one? ALSO WHEN THE 2 TAILS FUCKING DIED AND EVERYONE JUST MOVED ON ??????? WHAT LMAO.. i know they were alive in the end but still😭

sonic’s whole “my friends!!!!!!!!!!!” thing was so undefined and all over the place. like does he want to save his friends or just nine? because he was being such a pushover with him.

honestly a lot of things were all over the place. dread was moping and refusing to fight and then next scene he’s normal? what does tails even want..? him becoming a power hungry supervillain wasn’t really narratively justified.

for the first 2 seasons there was a bunch of character arcs set up. shadow learns to trust sonic, sonic learns to cooperate with his friends, and he grapples with the concept of having to destroy the new worlds he created to bring back an old one. yeah it’s a complex topic… but if ur going to set up a crazy moral dilemma you have to solve it! instead we got some stupid voltron steven universe bullshit LOL

what happened to the void? and the chaos emerald? WHERE WAS SHADOW IN THE END??? i wanted to know if he lost his memory of everything or not!!!

ghhhhhhhhhh…….. in the end, i still really enjoyed this show. the animation was FANTASTIC and i loved the voice acting and designs and the *concept* the started with. im happy to see that it wasn’t abandoned and im happy that sonic got a netflix series. hopefully this will mean good things for the franchise moving forward but dear GOD they have got to get more subtle with sonic’s character. he’s such a mope it’s making me want to go rewatch sonic x to see him being normal again. this seems really negative and complainy because there was a LOT to discuss but honestly this show still means a lot to me and it helped me through a really dark moment and overall i still think it’s pretty good.

im absolutely going to talk about what i would have done to wrap up all the character arcs in a sort of rewrite thing in another post as soon as i finish thinking it through bc my mind is buzzing.

FUCK ALSO I FORGOT TO SAY THE SONADOW WAS PEAK IM SAD THEY DIDNT GET A CLOSING MOMENT BUT SHADOW CARRYING SONIC BACK WAS MY EVERYTHING AND THE HUG MOMENT WHERE SHADOW DIDNT PUSH OFF LIKE HE DID BEFORE WAS ADORABLE