Disclaimer:

All Sonic characters belong to their respective owners.

Oh, and Rikku belongs to RikkuMcClowFox on Fanfiction. (Or Slashin' Azriel Hacke on FictionPress.)

Now, on with the show!

Exploding Refusal

"Audi Famam Illius…Spirits above, let this light strike, pierce and imprison…Light Spear Imprisonment!" Six spears of light suddenly hit Rikku, not piercing her, but merely trapping her.

"Audi Famam Illius…Roaring sound of thunder, fill the sky! Sight of lightning, strike death unto one! Lightning Flash!" The sound of thunder filled the sky, lightning being seen passing from cloud to cloud, building strength…

The lightning finally unleashed it's wrath…upon the ground near Rikku. "…You would've been defeated…"

"Forget defeated! I would've been KILLED." Rikku said, Tails chuckling.

"I see the training's going well." Levitas appeared, Tails nodding.

"…Your Offensive card…it's a powerful one." He grabbed the card from Tails, reading it.

"Lux Lucis Cupiditas…Light Ambition? Oh…I get it. Light, going upward, skyward to light…har har…" Levitas said, Tails raising an eyebrow.

"…What happened?"

"Each of your cards has something to say about you."

"Do mine!"

"…Votum Romanorum…Desired Romantic."

"…Guys used to ask me out, but my heart just stuck to Tailsy." Rikku said, playfully punching the kitsune.

"Your Henshin cards say something as well." He took the duo's Henshin cards as well, looking at the cover.

"Intrepidus Restituo…Eager Mechanist?"

"…Both of us are great mechanists!" Rikku said, Levitas nodding.

"Defensebiliter Obscoena…Defensive Offensive. I can see that. You use your daggers as a defensive weapon, and go in for the attacks when they're tuckered out, or you have their weak point." The vixen nodded as Levitas gave the cards back.

"…I also heard the news that you gathered from Decretus. It seems every Master is aware of it now." Levitas said, Rikku nodding.

"She's one of the seven, right?" Rikku asked, Levitas nodding forlornly.

"…Sadly. It pains Decretus so to be in this situation."

"I don't blame him. His own wife his enemy…" Tails said, sighing.

"…It's rather unfortunate. However, we must carry on with our duties…our paths." Levitas disappeared in a flash of lightning, thunder accompanying the lightning.

"Well, for someone who just tried to kill my friend, you seem content." Cosmos angrily glared at her aunt, or what she thought was her aunt.

"…I do what I must."

"But resorting to…this?! Trying to kill my friends-"

"They aren't your friends…I know that!"

"What are you talking about?!"

"…Heh…heh heh heh! All you do is stand around, looking at everyone! Is that what friends do?!"

"No…I don't believe it!" Cosmos quickly ran out of the room, Iris giving a wicked smile.

"Foolish…" Decretus arrived in a flash of light about to punch Iris.

"…You mentally torture our niece?! What's wrong with you!?" Decretus said, Iris sighing.

"Look. I'm your enemy, not your wife anymore."

"Then just leave! Leave this place, and don't come back!" Decretus was enraged at his wife, who merely showed a hurt expression before melting and sliding away…

"Hey, Cosmos! What's the rush?" Nodoka began to run alongside the frustrated feline, who was in tears.

"Leave me alone!" She missed her punch, Nodoka now in front of her.

She placed a hand on Cosmos' shoulder, and shifted her body in case she would attack once more. Thankfully, she didn't and was merely in tears. "…Cosmos! Pull yourself together!" She nodded, and wiped her tears away.

"…I'm trying to…but how should I trust you?"

"What do you-"

"Are you my friend?"

"What?!"

"…You heard me. Are you, or are you not?"

"I am, really!"

"…Do I believe you?"

"What?" Nodoka was quite perplexed as the feline began to tear again.

Sam was about to walk into Nodoka's sights, but chose not to as he sidled against the wall, listening to the conversation. "…Cosmos…what's happened to you?"

"…Answer the question."

"I can't. Only you can." She broke down in tears, Nodoka patting her back gently.

"…Neither can I…right now…I don't know what to believe…not anymore…" Cosmos said, Sam now walking in.

"Clichés, GO!" Sam thought as he walked up to the duo.

"…Cosmos…we're all going through a hard time now…but you, most of all. Your aunt's turned out to be evil, and your uncle may get a divorce…but whatever happens…you've got me." Sam said, Cosmos looking at the ebony hedgehog as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"And me as well." Nodoka said, Cosmos nodding.

"…And me." Sonic appeared, literally riding on a gust of wind, but accidently crashing into the wall...

"Oww…I need some work on my landing…" Sonic said, rubbing his arm painfully.

Cosmos merely chuckled, looking at the hedgehog as he stood up, a trickle of blood trickling down his arm. "Here!" Cosmos punched Sonic, Shitsuren summoned, the wound healing in a matter of seconds.

"Thanks." She nodded, wiping her tears away.

"…I…I really don't know what to do now, y'know." Sam suddenly grabbed her by the shoulder, the duo disappearing in a flash of light.

Nodoka growled, about to let out rage…but didn't, and instead took her rage out on the wall Sonic had previously hit. "…That stupid, cheating, son of a-" Her fur's color began to change into a much darker shade of purple, Sonic trying to calm her down.

"Hey, hey…what's wrong? You seem a bit-"

"A bit?! I just saw my boyfriend run off with a girl he met only, what…around two weeks! A bit, no, a insane amount would be a total and complete underestimation of my level of infuriation right now! I swear, when I see that hedgehog, I am going to personally-" Sonic then grabbed Nodoka by the shoulders, the hedgehog looking into his eyes.

"Nodoka! Calm down!" Sonic said, the regimental hedgehog starting to cry.

She merely nodded, leaning on his shoulder as her fur changed back to normal. "…They just-"

"I know." Sonic pat her back gently, Blaze walking up to the duo quietly.

Sonic merely gestured for Blaze to be quiet, the feline nodding. "…Now…just lie down on your bed, get some rest, alright? You can work things out a bit later…" She nodded, and with Sonic letting go of her shoulders, she sunk into a puddle of darkness…

"…What happened?"

"A bit of drama…nothing much." Sonic said, an unconvinced Blaze raising an eyebrow.

"…If she was leaning on your shoulder, looking into your eyes while crying, it wasn't 'nothing much', Sonic. What happened, really?" Sonic sighed, and proceeded to talk…

"…Cosmos…are you okay?" Sam asked, the feline nodding.

"What happened?" Cosmos merely shook her head, trying not to recall that painful memory, practically burned into her mind…

"…Cosmos." She embraced the hedgehog, who pat her on the back gently.

"Look…you need a break. Just calm down, back away from-"

"No! I can't…I won't accept it!"

"…But for your own sake and everyone else's…I think you have to."

"…Can I at least just stay here…only until things have settled?" Sam nodded, going down and exiting the light plain.

"...Why can't I just choose…" Cosmos muttered, looking down at the world beneath her…or rather, the floor.

"…Nodoka, where are you?" Sam asked, the regimental hedgehog gone from his sight.

"I leave for one second, and-" Sam heard footsteps, his ears perking upward.

"She's gone to her room. She seemed pretty angry." Sam raised an eyebrow as he turned around, seeing Sonic walking up to him.

"…Really…I guess I'll leave her be for now, then." Sam said, dashing off to Levitas' room: he had to pay the good mink a visit.

"…Levitas!" Sam barged in, the mink suddenly awakening from his slumber.

"What?" Levitas quickly said, spinning around in his chair.

"I need…'it' for a little. Oh, and you wanted to help me out with 'it'?"

"But of course…just give me a couple of-" A sudden clap of thunder awoke him, Sam smirking as he rubbed his hands together.

"…Fine." Levitas said, getting up from his office chair and walking toward the hedgehog.

"So give me 'it'. I need to see 'it'." Sam gave Levitas the object, the mink concentrating on it.

"…Alright, this is kind of hard to cover…but I suppose I can help. Here's what you should do…"

"…Nodoka, what are you-" Rikku was cut off by Nodoka banging her head against the wooden wall in frustration.

"Nodoka-"

THUD.

"...Hey, are you-"

THUD.

"…You're okay, r-"

THUD THUD THUD.

"…I'll just leave you b-"

THUD.

And with that thud, she fell to the floor with, you guessed it, a thud, groaning as she closed her eyes tightly. "…Are you okay?" Rikku suddenly regretted asking that, Nodoka quickly opening her eyes.

"…Yeah, that's a GREAT thing to ask when someone's CLEARLY banging their head against a wall!" Nodoka said, now banging the back of her head against the floor.

"…What happened?"

THUD.

"…Alright, that wasn't me." Nodoka said, getting up.

"…What's that sound?"

THUD.

"…It's from upstairs."

THUD.

"Wanna check it out?"

THUD.

"…Yeah, whatever." The duo rushed upstairs to, coincidentally, Levitas' room, where Sam was making a present.

The door was slightly ajar, so Nodoka and Rikku peeked into the room, Sam holding a large hammer, smashing something. "She's going to LOVE this…it's coming out so well!"

"Indeed. I'm not sure if…you know who, will like you just handing it her. I mean, isn't she…"

"…Trust me on this…I've got a HUGE plan." Sam unnoticeably smirked, Nodoka running away.

"…Did I hear something?" Sam asked, opening the door to find Rikku knocked back.

"Well, well…a little vixen decided to sneak a peek, eh?" Levitas asked, Rikku smiling, and backing away slowly.

"...Come to think of it…Rikku, I think we might need your help. See…there's something I got in a bit of a mess…so, I think I may require your help. You're good with technology, right?" The vixen nodded, Sam leading the vixen to something on a metal iron, the object glowing golden.

"…See, I messed up. See these fractures? It seemed the fire did something to it to get those fractures, combined with the hammering…it might break. So we need some help covering, or possibly removing these fractures. Think you're up to it?" Sam asked, Rikku grabbing the object with her gloved hand.

She took a quick look at it at all sides, inspecting the object fairly quickly… "…Well, it seems that I think I know what to do."

"Well, what would that b-"

"YAH!" Rikku then took the hammer, placed the object on the table, and smashed the thing as hard as she could…

"…Are you insane?!"

"No, but look at what happens." Rikku pointed to the object, which was now shining a even brighter shade of gold, a thin layer of gold on the floor.

"No way…all we had to do was smash the thing?! That's-"

"Absurd? I think otherwise. Now if you will excuse me, I have to-"

"Help us out with this? Alrightthanksalotlet'sgo!" Sam said, Rikku sighing.

"…Why did I get myself into this mess…" She thought, grabbing a tool from the side...

"Nodoka, what-" She just kept running, tears in her eyes.

"…Hold up!" Blaze ran after the regimental hedgehog as she sped down the halls of the treehouse complex.

"Nodoka, calm down…what happened?"

"…He's…he's making something…"

"Who? You mean Sam?"

"He's making it for Cosmos, don't you see?! He's cheating on me!" Nodoka threw a punch at Blaze, who easily dodged it.

Blaze, seeing this as a chance to calm her down, grabbed her by the shoulders. "…Nodoka…let me ask you. When is your birthday?"

"How is that pertinent?!"

"Just answer." Nodoka came to the realization, and chuckled.

"…Five days from now."

"And why would he be making such a noise?"

"To make something."

"Exactly. Think these things through."

"…But Levitas said that it was…for…meh."

"Don't jump ahead to conclusions. It won't make anything better." Blaze sighed, and then let go of Nodoka, whose tears had frozen.

"…You're emanating an icy aura…" Blaze said, Nodoka suddenly snuggling onto Blaze, who was quite startled.

"Hey, get off!" Blaze pushed Nodoka off her, the hedgehog realizing what happened, she mentally slapped herself.

"Sorry…I have a tendency to do that when I'm cold." Blaze sighed, wiping off some fur from her cape.

"You snuggle the nearest person near you?"

"Yeah…having Ice as an ability doesn't help." She wiped her frozen tears away, though not before looking at them intriguingly.

"…I suppose I should just learn to keep my cool about these things." The regimental hedgehog sighed, walking alongside Blaze, who had her claws out.

"…Do that again, and I will scratch you. Also, bad pun. Understood?" Nodoka jokingly backed away, hands in front of her.

"Okay, okay…Jeez, it was once…" Nodoka chuckled, and proceeded to once again walk alongside Blaze.

"…There!" Sam held up the object triumphantly.

"All I need are the jewels that I'd like placed on the thing, along with time for the things to cool…and I'll be done!" Sam smirked, looking at Levitas.

"Thanks!" He and Rikku quickly dashed out of the room, satisfied.

"…So, who is it? Cosmos, or Nodoka?" Sam smirked, waggling a finger.

"Not telling…" Sam playfully said, Rikku groaning.

"…Come on! Tell me…I've been DYING to know…maybe you can reconcile with both of them!" Sam chuckled, not even intending to utter the name.

"I know who the present is for, and I'm not telling." Sam thought about it for a second, and decided to joke around a little.

"…If you want, I'll give you a hint." Rikku's ears perked upward as Sam was leaning against a hole in the wall, acting much like a primitive window.

"Then give me the hint!" Sam smirked as Rikku got closer to the hedgehog, just dying to hear the 'hint'.

"…Fine, I'll tell you the person outright." He grasped Rikku's shoulder lightly, and whispered in her ear:

"I'd rather have you, y'know." Her eyes widened, and she began to play with her hair as she looked down, blushing.

She then began to punch him mercilessly, making him wince and protect himself. She leaped out the window, smirking. "…Who knows?" Rikku landed with a grin on her face, and proceeded to walk away.

"…Fine, I'll tell you…jeez." He too, leaped out the window as Rikku swiveled around quickly.

"But you have to keep it a promise, dear." She slapped him, but missed.

"Alright already! Just spit it out!"

"…I'm giving that to-absolutely no one." Sam quickly said, seeing Nodoka and Blaze walking together.

"…C'mon!" Sam disappeared into the light plain, grabbing Rikku by the arm…

"…Cosmos isn't here…so she's gotten over it. Alright, I'll tell you. I'm intending to give it to…" He whispered the rest in her ear, Rikku nodding.

"…Fine. Just as long as it wasn't me. But I wouldn't mind: it looks great and all, but I have something better." She showed him a silver ring, traces of gold in it, and a ruby in the center of it.

"Nice…who made you it?"

"Who'd you think?"

"…Sonic?" Sam said jokingly, getting a punch from Rikku.

"I'm joking…I know it was Tails." Rikku took the ring off, looking at an inscription inside of it, shedding a tear or two before she placed it back on.

"…So now you know, alright. Don't ask me again…"

"Yes, sir!" Sam chuckled, grabbing her arm as he descended, the duo descending further until the exited the light plain.

"What do you mean?"

"…She's gone. Left the divorce papers…"

"…No way…" Cosmos ran out of Decretus' room, tears trickling down her face…

"This can't be…" She ran into Sam and Rikku, falling to the floor.

"…You alright?"

"...No…" Cosmos said threw her tears, getting up.

"…She left?" Cosmos nodded, Sam nodding forlornly.

"…Cosmos." He ran up to her quickly, grabbing her shoulders.

"Get a hold of yourself." His stern, yet gentle voice made her do so, Cosmos nodding.

"Look…if you're really going to let it end like this…let it all come to an end, all without a fight…so be it…you can go home." She began to walk away, Sam grabbing her shoulders and forcing her to look him in the eyes.

"You can let go of everything that you've learned…everyone that you've met…but you can go home." She turned away, but realizing it was futile, she turned to him.

"Stop it! You don't know…you don't know how much I want to stay!"

"…If you choose to stop walking the path of the Chosen…then I presume that this is where we part ways, Samantha Cosmos." She sniffled, Sam looking at her as she began to cry.

"…Now…you can go home…or you can go…with us." Sam said, Cosmos quickly going into the light plain as she wiped her tears away.

"…She's going to Decretus'. Shall we?"

"We shall." Sam grabbed Rikku's arm, leaping into the light plain.

"…Uncle Dec, I-"

"Am going to help burn these." Decretus said with a smile, holding the divorce papers.

"Really?" Decretus gave her the divorce papers, and quickly led her to Insendius' room, walking in with her.

"…Yes. Insendius, I am in need of your assistance."

"You wish to burn the papers now?"

"Yes he does!" Sam and Rikku appeared behind Decretus, Cosmos turning to them.

"…Satisfied?" Rikku raised an eyebrow, Cosmos merely chuckling.

"Very." Decretus handed Insendius the papers, who chuckled.

"…Now how to destroy this…I know!" Insendius grabbed a wooden tube, and rolled the papers up, stuffing them inside of the tube, along with gunpowder!

He then laughed maniacally as he placed covers on both sides of the tube. He knocked on the covers, making sure they were secure. He then went to his door, looking at his primitive window. "…HAH!" Insendius threw the cylinder quite far, as though it was a mere dot in the sky.

Sam and the others began to clap, but Insendius chuckled. "Not yet…" He made his hand tense, concentrating on his middle and index fingers, a fiery energy being concentrated in those two…

When the 'dot' was seen at the primitive window, Insendius merely chuckled before exclaiming one thing:

"SOLAR FLARE! FIRE!!!" He rushed to the window, placing his middle and index finger as far away as minkly possible from the window, an outrageously small fireball was quickly sent to the tube.

The others watched as the ball traveled, until… "And in three…look closely and enjoy this!"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.

An outrageously large explosion was seen, heard and felt, the Solar Flare exploding as well as the tube once filled with divorce papers and ridiculous amounts of gunpowder. "Hahah!" Cosmos said in delight, high fiving Insendius after the shockwave had passed.

"That was INSANE." Nodoka rushed up to the group, holding in laughter.

"I know, right?!" Sam added, Nodoka chuckling.

"And what was in there?"

"A ridiculous amount of gunpowder and the DIVORCE PAPERS!" Sam gleefully said, Nodoka bouncing up and down in joy.

"That was awesome!" Rikku was quite satisfied, chuckling every minute or two.

"Well…that was interesting." Blaze entered calmly before a certain blue blur rushed up to the rest of the group.

"THAT WAS RIDICULOUSLY AWESOME!" Sonic was…ecstatic from the blast, hopping up and down.

"…How'd you even figure the room that it took place?"

"This is why they have windows. I saw when Insendius was sticking his fingers out." Blaze said, Sam nodding.

"Well, Cosmos, your divorce has officially been blown into oblivion. How do you feel?" She merely kissed him, embracing the hedgehog so tightly that he was turning bluer than Sonic's fur…

"…Can't…breathe…" She let go, allowing him to regain his breath.

"Thank you. I'll take the death hug and kiss as an 'I'm absurdly excited!'." Sam stretched, and placed a hand around Nodoka.

"Well, since this episode is done, I'm all yours Nodoka." Sam said, Cosmos nodding.

"…Alright then. I was going kind of…"

"Insane?" She nodded, Sam smirking.

"You just can't live without me, can you?"

"Nope." Nodoka hugged Sam, the duo blushing.

"…We were pretty cute together." Sam admitted, Cosmos blushing.

"But that was then, this is now. Let's go, Nodoka." And with that, the duo disappeared into the light plain…

Well…here's another. I may be depressed…but my former friends want to reconcile, so I'm hoping for the best. School's nearly over…and my mom found a Summer School. WHAT. A. PAIN. My life isn't hectic enough…jeez. Well, I hoped you enjoyed reading as much as I did typing, R&R, and I'll see you next!

~ADarknessInHeaven

Aka: Sam