"Blood-laced Night Burns Blue"

"We have to stop meeting like this, Blade."

Disgruntled by Knives' observation, the blood-streaked hedgehog gave him a scowl. "We just have to stop meeting—period, Knives."

From high above, Angels rained down. Gilt flashes were dodged; in response came streams of bullets. Heads exploded. Carmine masks flew. Blood splattered. A quartet of blue zoomed, gunfire blazing with moonlight-boosted accuracy. Whatever they didn't shoot, they punctured instead; high-speed kicks rattled the Angel's exoskeleton before a final—Bang!—blasted it to bits.

A demonic edge carved into each enemy. De-winged and demoted, the remaining Laguna stomped in aggravation. Mostly due to a bold swagger made by the black hedgehog. "Bring it," he growled. Talons came at enraged thrusts, but every finger was sliced clean off. Wails now denoted fear, as a crimson flash pierced them. Only to find that it was his gaze; his blade came soon after—in a hellish fury.

Gun and blade met.

"Get out of my way," Blade threatened. He didn't seem concerned by his katana facing the other hedgehog's neck.

"Don't you find these meetings odd, though?" Knives smoothed a free hand through his spines. "I mean, look at where we are: Dancing…under the moonlight…on a falling clock tower…while fighting Laguna hordes together." He pirouetted closer towards the black hedgehog. Not a nick was made. But a strong barrel came up to his cheek. "Don't you think it's kinda romantic?" A gentle poke, then it slid down to caress his chest. Then, his waist. Then, and his groin, and ending at his inner thigh. He gave him a sexy purr.

Blade's eyes narrowed. "Not even remotely."

"Aww!"

A screeching caw came from behind. Knives knew to duck, and Blade sideswiped the intruder. A solid poise kept his footing as he relied on the Angel's velocity to finish his attack. It ended up slicing itself in half on his weapon.

Down below, Knives covered his back by firing bullet upon bullet on stealthy movers. At a panther's crouch, he used the gap between Blade's legs as a peephole to shoot down the various encroachments.

"Heads up! Inspired's on the scene, now!"

"I know that already."

A giant snakelike Angel interrupted its minions' attack to introduce itself. By firing a meteor at the two hedgehogs. Blade made a faster dash out of the way, but Knives felt a searing pain spark his flesh. A spicy gnaw, it burned through his snowy-couture jumpsuit. Gold halos sprang all over the place.

Slow motion for the "fainting damsel": "Oh no! I just collected those!"

"Tsk! Moron." Blade gained another foothold, and launched himself into an aerial flip. His own jumpsuit was tattered, but dazzled with rubies and onyx. Magic swelled in his aura, and he unleashed a demonic crow with a simple summon: "AGRAA ORS"

The malicious crow soared in to snatch its talons against the Inspired that had targeted Knives. It decapitated the Angel first, only to move onto devouring its head. Considering its deed done, it flew back into the magic circle it was released from.

Blade landed across from Knives. Blood-red barrels embraced those solid high-heels. Coolly, he sheathed his katana and stood.

"Wow-wee!" Knives cheered, "You saved me, Blade! So cool!"

"You should be saving yourself, dammit," the black hedgehog snarled back.

"I do save myself, jeez…Sometimes, I just like it when you do it. Mm~, I love being saved by you, Blade." A sneaky smile. Knives was about to swagger up to Blade. But his actual blade stopped him. "Aw, c'mon! Can't I thank you, at least?"

Another snarl. "You can. From over there."

"Shut up, you know you like it when I praise you."

"Like I said, you can. Just from over there."

"Oh, stop~!" He waved his hand at him. "You know you like when I'm close to you."

Blade's eyebrow twitched. "Shut it."

"No. Because you already know…what comes next." Another tight pirouette landed Knives right up against Blade's chest. Wily hands combed through his white tuft. He snickered, "What usually happens now…is that I take this hand…and I send it back here"—one hand traipsed along Blade's spine—"while this hand…travels along your sexy,"—a finger snuck around Blade's nipple—"hardcore,"—down his chiseled abdomen—"curvaceous ass." A playful squeeze ended Knives' road trip across Blade's body. Sensual lips were licked, in a teasing manner.

An angry flush took over the black hedgehog's face. "Kiss it, Knives."

"Gladly, Blade. You know you like it."

"Screw you—!"

"Please~!" Flickered eyebrows.

Grip!—"Don't even start with me, pissant."

Yank!—"Well, one of us has to, or else we're not gonna get anywhere."

"Fuck you."

"In the ass, preferably." Another snide lick.

Seething to a boil, Blade threatened a stranglehold almost at the same time as Knives. While Blade's hands went for the blue hedgehog's throat, Knives aimed for the black hedgehog's face. Both palms squished his cheeks.

"Aww, look…fish lips~!"

"What…?" Blade hissed. He could only blink slowly, and irritably.

"Bloop! Bloop! Bloop!—Buh-loop!"

"Really…?!"

Descending from above, an even bigger enemy introduced itself. Light burned from its intense halo, grand and majestic in every angelic sense. Twin dragon heads screeched. An enormous face observed their aggressive display, but said nothing. Its wings flapped, somehow keeping its massive bulk airborne: Only one of the uncanny features on the Auditio of Courage, Fortitudo.

"Umm…?" Knives let go of Blade's cheeks, and redirected his grip on his buttocks. "Why's he just hovering there?"

"He's probably waiting for us to be done with our shenanigans…."

"While still falling hundreds of feet per second?"

"We obviously have no time for this."

"Sure we do. He probably wants us to get kinky and strip each other in front of him…!"

An exchange: Knives' wily eyebrows vs. Blade's unmotivated glare.

Fortitudo's dragon-heads prepared to attack.

But the hedgehogs whipped out their pistols in flawless simultaneity: "Love is Blue," Knives cooed—"And Vengeance is Mine," Blade finished. Buffeting the Auditio in a broken-heart shape. Together, they scored a—"Round Over!"

"Blood-laced Night Burns Blue" End.