DanceDream: Just to get this out here before I forget… Knuckles is on the Egg Carrier 2 at the time the fight is happening, not in Meka Tower. ;) That would be a bit odd if he was back there. As for the rest, heh, I tend to react similarly to cliffhangers… I certainly don't mind eliciting a reaction like that! xD Yay eagerness! Yeah, Eggman's changed a lot, but at the same time he's so… out-there sometimes that you can almost pin it to his character rather than different writing. I prefer Adventure-era Eggman myself, but I did like the touches of the clever humor he has in Colors and such (lol, his lines in the background of the levels). Wish they'd merge them both! xD But I digress. Yeah, I suppose Sonic is the priority here, everything else can be answered later. Thankfully this chapter is of the same mind. ;) Though all that other stuff will be addressed at some point here. As for that hit… *pushes chapter at you* :3 I'll shut up and let ya find out! Thanks for your comments!

Phantom: Hey, glad you think so! More is on the way; hope you like the new chapter! Thanks!

MsArtsy: Yeah, that's a good way to think of it! Good for you. ;) And you're welcome. Thank YOU for reading and commenting!

Misy: Not sure if you've gotten this far, but I'll try to explain here anyway. :) Eggman's brief hesitation there is elaborated upon later, in Chapter 22: Prophecy, in a way that I think makes sense with the doc's character. The short and somewhat more generic version, I suppose, is I don't think it'd be believable to have Eggman do such a thing to Sonic without any sort of conscience whatsoever… so like you said, he probably was feeling a little bad, momentarily.

x

Hey guys, coincidentally enough we have more SR-inspired art, whose artists I need to plug! Two readers wound up collaborating for this one. Kitsuneaku over on deviantart has drawn a moment from one of this story's darkest scenes (yep we're going there), colored by Sonicspeed5. Now, the link's on my profile like the others, but do be warned, it isn't watered down. (…If you know what I mean.) Don't forget to check out their other art as well, it's really good!

Now, back to the presently occurring part of the story, time to see where the rest of this battle leads. Here ya go!~

CHAPTER 35: PURELY FOR MYSELF

"S-Sonic… Sonic…"

Tails felt cold. He heard himself repeating his brother's name. At that moment, no sound came from the other side of the door. He wasn't sure he would know if it did. Sonic's scream echoed too loudly in his mind.

"Tails, what's wrong?"

He lurched as the guardian's voice finally came through. Finally. When it was already going to be too late.

"Kn-Knuckles…!" He fumbled raising his hand to stammer into the communicator. "You have to… you have to come here! Sonic needs help, I don't know what to do, he's getting hurt and I…!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Tails, you need to calm down, I can't…"

"C… C-Calm down? Aren't you listening to me?" Tears streamed down Tails's face, so deep was the agony he felt for his friend. He had the same sense of desperate protection that he'd had for Sonic on Space Colony ARK, even though Sonic was normally the protective one. He wanted nothing more than to pull Sonic out of this dangerous situation, and say it was going to be fine.

Chest aching, he remembered collapsing into Sonic's arms when they saw each other again, remembered Sonic's wordless but palpable confession that he was ready for this battle to be over. He wanted to be in his brother's arms again, both of them reassuring each other it would be okay. They had both known, even then, that the battle wasn't over. They had both known there was more difficulty coming. But now that they were right in the middle of it, it was worse than the fox could ever have imagined.

It hurt. He was so upset that it physically hurt. He sunk down to the ground completely, gasping between sobs. He wanted this battle to be over too. He couldn't take this anymore.

Tails had seen his brother in many a fight. Even serious ones like this. He was a big kid; he could normally handle it. But right now, his threshold was still low from all that had happened before… from being separated from his best friend and knowing only the worst of his situation. He couldn't even wrap his mind around it all anymore. It was just too much, and he was too tender.

It was all he could do to cling to the little hope he had left.

Knuckles took a deep breath. Tails heard him exhale over the communicator and could only perceive it as impatience. He wanted to scream. "Tails," Knuckles said a lot more carefully than the fox had expected. "I need you to stay calm and try to talk to me here. Just explain what's going on. Okay? I don't even know where you are."

Wiping one arm across his face, Tails tried to stop sniffling. "Sonic and I tried to get the Master Emerald for you… for all of us. But Eggman closed my door and I can't get back in. Sonic's inside and—"

"Eggman? I thought Eggman was—"

"Piloting the ship, I know!" Tails cried. "I don't understand either! All I know is he's here, and he's winning, and Sonic is going to get killed in this room if something doesn't happen fast!" If he's not already… "Knuckles – please! You need to come here! You're the only one who might be able to break down this door!"

"Tails… I don't have a plane to take like you did. I'm at least an hour away on foot!"

The young fox knew that in his heart, but had wanted more than anything for Knuckles to have an idea. They didn't have an hour. Sonic didn't have an hour. Horror settled deeply in him as he realized the guardian was just as lost as he was.

Still, hearing Knuckles mention the plane gave him an idea. He needed a way to open the door, stop Eggman, and get the Master Emerald. It was a big chance to take – one he hadn't taken up until this point, not only because he hadn't thought of it but because he realized Sonic probably wouldn't want him to unless it was completely necessary.

Now it was necessary. It wasn't promising, and could just as easily make things worse… but maybe, just maybe…

Before he could finish the thought, Sonic made another noise from inside the room. A groan that conveyed pain. And effort. Like he was trying to win still. Tails couldn't find it in him to be happy Sonic was still trying. Not right now, not when Eggman had given him a chance to compromise.

As if that would actually have helped anything

But right then Tails didn't care. For once – for a slight moment – the fox thought he would rather have the fight end and let Eggman win than hear what he was hearing right now.

It was a horrible sound – one that he never, ever wanted to hear out of his older brother again.

Then he remembered himself a little. Remembered just who he was and just who Sonic was. Fear ignited into rage. Body still quivering with his quiet, angry cries, Tails turned around and began running back uphill as fast as he could, hoping against hope that his only idea would work.

Xxx

For Eggman, the battle had become just as much about defeating Sonic as it was about gaining possession of the Master Emerald. He laughed, laughed at his own advantage and winning position.

Sonic lie on the ground in agony, eyes closed, doubled over as he held his abdomen. The electrolaser had stunned him momentarily – but it didn't even matter. He would have been stunned to stillness anyway from the impact alone. He writhed, breathing hard and shaking, because the pain needed an outlet it didn't have. Hotness burned against the skin on his tender stomach as if the laser was still searing against it.

Despite his momentary gloating, Eggman did not continue to watch Sonic until he got back up. Not this time.

He had had his goals rubbed in his face by that hedgehog one too many times… he wouldn't risk it again. He couldn't take it anymore. He was insane with rage and determination… with Chaos energy that had nothing to do with his powered-up robot…

The robot picked Sonic up by a leg. Eggman had it hold Sonic there in front of the barrier for a moment so he could look at him. Somewhere in his daze Sonic had the mental capacity to refuse eye contact and try to escape.

"Have it your way, hedgehog," Eggman muttered, and the robot tossed Sonic away like a toy. The hedgehog came back down on a jutting rock, body folding over it momentarily before he finished his journey limply to the ground. He had hit it more with his back than his front… but the sheer force of impact didn't let his quills offer much protection.

"…Oh dear," the doctor said mildly, amusement covering what might have been some trace of genuineness, "I didn't even mean to do that! What a shame."

Sonic tried to swallow air. His mouth was open, seeking but not finding, as if his body didn't know how to work anymore.

For a moment that seemed a lot longer than it actually was, he laid there, motionless save for the dangerous quivering caused by immense physical stress. Something was cracked… and somewhere in the background of his foggy conscience, he knew he was lucky he was alive to feel the pain. There were stalagmites in here; rocks much more dangerous than the one he had just been thrown at.

As someone who had been fighting for years, Sonic was instinctively aware of two things. One was that he needed to stay down and gather himself for a moment. Wait for his body to deal with the pain of his injuries so he could function. The other was that he needed to get back up. There was no time to stay down.

Eggman's robot approached him and grasped him around the torso, unintentionally squeezing the area that had made contact with the rock. He was suddenly able to gasp in air again, and screamed. It came out like a convoluted gurgle. On a primal level it felt a million times better than not being able to pull in a breath. But on every other level his body was protesting. He could see nothing and hear nothing, even though his eyes and ears were fine. There was only sensation. His nerves felt raw.

It faded mercifully fast and gave way to numb adrenaline. He tried to get away.

Of all his opponents… this was the worst robot he had ever been up against. Never in his life had he been this far on the losing side of the spectrum… despite how many enemies he had fought, he many severe situations he had been in…

And it wasn't the Death Egg. Wasn't Chaos. Wasn't Biolizard. It was only an eight-foot-tall robot. A robot packed dense with the energy of the Master Emerald. It was still glowing vividly. Only a small portion of its energy could even fit into that robot compared to how much there was.

Despite that, the robot was on its last leg. It was damaged and dented, smoke rising more thickly from it than before. But Sonic was on his last leg too. One way or another it was all going to be over in moments.

The android giant lifted him higher now, the hand still clasped tightly around his middle, and held him there. There was nothing else it could do, either. Its weapons were useless.

"Let me go," Sonic managed, still dizzy from the impact. He struggled against the robot's firm grip, the attempt starting off groggy but increasing to something more determined and focused as he kicked and punched and pried.

"That's right! Don't give up, you stubborn blue rat, you're making this all the more fun!" Eggman was mocking, shouting with so much force that his voice rang menacingly throughout the spacey cave. "Fight me!"

Sonic's eyes were wide, his mind having swung back into full focus once more. He tasted coppery bitterness of blood in his mouth from a bleeding lip. Bruises covered him, but it was pure exhaustion and the robot's tight grip that was defeating him. His ribs and stomach screamed in protest. He had to get free of its grasp. If he couldn't do it now, it was all over.

There were no other functioning limbs left on the robot now. Sonic knew Eggman could not attack him again. But the remaining hand, the one holding him up in the air, was trying to literally squeeze him to death. He was scared for his life as the pressure became tighter on his ribs. He couldn't resist it. It was too strong.

He wanted to scream out to Tails, if the fox was still there – scream to get away. To go back to the others and tell them what had happened so that they might have a chance. But it was too late for that. The robot's grip left him no room. His breathing was shallow and strained; he couldn't get enough air to shout as loud as he would need to.

Refusing to give up yet, he curled his knees upward towards him, trying to wedge them into the giant hand to give himself leverage… even though there was nowhere near enough room left for leverage.

Desperate, he looked over at the Master Emerald one last time and wondered what if… but did nothing. The risk wasn't worth it. If he was going to go, he was going to go knowing he was his own. Not Eggman's. Being under his control would be worse than death, for him and for everyone.

"What did I tell you, pincushion?" The madman shouted, angry and triumphant at once. "Why didn't you accept the compromise?"

Suddenly there was a new sound nearby. It was the door at the mouth of the cave, grunting loudly as it slid open. Eggman and Sonic both looked at it. In the doorframe was the Cyclone, Tails sitting inside, looking frantically furious. Without hesitation he fired at the center of Eggman's robot. Before the projectiles even struck, he fired again, over and over, screaming and holding nothing back. Sonic could feel the impacts reverberating as they plowed into the robot. Not one bullet or beam strayed to hit him. Tails's aim was precise, and the fox knew it.

The robot tried to stay upright but continued to stagger backwards. It was going towards a wet area that had still hadn't gone away after the storm. Tails was unrelenting, teeth gritted in rage, mashing the attack buttons repeatedly. A collection of missiles and powerful beams struck the monstrosity all at once, and it fell backward in the shallow water and screeched along the ground, finally knocked off that last figurative leg-to-stand-on. Somewhere on the way down its flailing arm let go of Sonic, who went flying in the same general direction and landed on nearby ground with a thud.

Throughout the whole battle, Eggman had taunted the robot's similarities to the H-series. Now, one last similarity came to light as the robot lie in the puddle, sparking and spazzing: the vast majority of the H-series was not waterproof.

Feet away, Sonic managed to roll over and push himself up on an elbow. He shot a glance over to the disabled Eggman. The ridiculous smugness on the hedgehog's exhausted face clearly said in response to his question; "That's why."

Then everything gave at once, and he collapsed completely, landing on his front with a content grunt.

Tails's gaze shifted over to him from Eggman at that very instant, and his heart plummeted into his stomach at the sight of his best friend lying in a bruised heap. "…Sonic? You okay?" he asked quietly, unsteadily. Sonic did not respond. "Oh no…" Feeling sick, Tails climbed out of the plane. Remembering why they were here – what Sonic had fought for – he clumsily heaved the Master Emerald into the back of the plane. The same energy that allowed it float also made it lighter to lift, and it went in easily.

Heart pounding, turned back around, bent down, and carefully lifted Sonic, using his tails to propel them both back into the Cyclone. Then he started the engine as fast as he could and got it walking. He didn't know what to say or do, only that they needed to get out of here before Eggman's robot got back up. Suddenly numb to fear – because he had to be – he marched the machine back through the tunnel wordlessly, pressing a button so the door slammed down behind him. The Cyclone's wings, while retracted, scraped the narrow walls on the way. It was obnoxious as it had been when he was on his way, and the paint was probably being torn away, but he didn't care. None of it mattered.

When out of the tunnel, he quickly changed the machine back to its plane form and took off, heading for Station Square. He nearly jumped when Sonic addressed him a few minutes later, and then cautious relief seeped into his system.

"H-how'd you do it?" the hedgehog strained.

"I… I went and got the Tornado and my tools," Tails replied, sounding frightened and uncharacteristically serious. "It's my door. I figured if I made it work to begin with, I could make it not work. I had to mess with the lock's mechanics for a while to get it to open. But… that doesn't matter right now."

"Tails… you're a life saver."

The fox nodded solemnly, knowing the truth of this. Deep inside he wanted to throw his arms around Sonic and cry more. But he was all out of tears, and too deeply shaken, to do much other than stare ahead.

Still, a few silent moments later, he couldn't but ask one thing. "Sonic… is it over?"

"What?"

"Is it over," he repeated, a quiet demand, "is this battle over? Are you… are we safe again? Can we go home soon?"

"Tails…" Sonic tried to coax a deep breath into his aching body. Things you took for granted, like breathing and talking, were difficult. His life wasn't threatened, but he was in a lousy state nonetheless. one that he realized had affected him profoundly in the fight even before he had been hit by the beam. It wasn't severe injury as much as it was sheer exhaustion from the constant battle that life had become. His body was at his threshold even if his mind was not. "I don't know, bud," he finally said. "I really don't know."

"I should have done what I did a lot sooner." Tails sighed sadly. "I didn't even think about using the Cyclone until I talked to Knuckles. I wish I had."

"You delivered the last blow to that robot, at the perfect timing," Sonic explained between breaths. "If you had done that any earlier, Eggman probably would have been able to total you too, and… and neither of us would have been able to save the Master Emerald."

"I'm sorry," the fox said.

"What? But Tails, I just said it's not your…"

"I'm sorry that all of this has happened," Tails said. "It's not fair, Sonic. It shouldn't be like this."

"Hey…" Sonic said, and gingerly sat up a little straighter, one hand hanging onto the Master Emerald for support. "Life happens. I wasn't expecting this to all be smooth sailing, bud. And finally, we're getting closer. We have the Master Emerald again."

"Yeah, that's true."

"Hey Tails," Sonic said, tone becoming a little more alert as he saw the terrain below, "wh-where are you going?"

"To get you to a hospital, duh!"

"What? But I… we have to go back up to the fortress! I can't abandon this now!"

Tails felt a little more confident as his friend's voice gained more foundation. He sounded like he was going to be okay… in a few days or weeks, anyway. It was hard to believe that he hadn't been hurt worse. In the state he was in, Tails was sure he had been hurt. Now he remembered that Sonic had been in a state already, and that sheer fatigue had hindered him more than anything.

But still…

"Is there any way I can reason you out of this?" the fox asked quietly, almost sadly since he knew what the answer would be.

"No."

"But what's left to fight? Eggman's trapped. He's smart enough to hack his way out of there, yeah, but for now he's trapped. All that's left to do for the moment is get the fortress back to the ground, and I can do that."

"What about everyone else? All our friends? I have to make sure they're okay."

"Hey… Sonic?"

"What?"

"Are you keeping something quiet?"

Sonic hesitated, then said thoughtfully, "Tails, do you ever just… get a hunch?"

"It's happened, yeah."

"I just have a hunch. I think… just because Eggman's taken care of for now doesn't mean the whole situation is. He was only the main madman in this whole thing. But what about all the androids? And Chaos Control? And that Knuckles robot or whatever it is?"

"I see," Tails said, relaxing a little, but nevertheless looking reluctant as he said, "Well… okay. I'll head back to the Meka Tower area, but only if you agree to something."

"And that is?"

"Let's land the plane – just for a few minutes – so I can fix you up a bit. I've got a lot of first aid stuff in the storage area. Bandages, stitches, disinfectants, and the like." He saw Sonic inhale a breath to protest, but raised a hand to silence him. "Sonic, maybe you're oblivious to it, but you are actually hurt. And you could use the rest, big time."

"Okay, okay," Sonic muttered. "Fine. It's better than being cooped up in a hospital room for a week or something."

Tails had already made to land the Tornado and was nearing ground. Sonic refrained from wincing as the plane made bumpy contact. Maybe Tails was right; he was hurting quite a bit. He didn't tend to notice things like that until someone pointed it out. It was just something he had become used to. When you had to combat evil on a regular basis, often with the rest of the world hanging in the balance, a little discomfort was really quite insignificant.

"What hurts the most?" Tails asked, pulling a first-aid kid out from underneath his seat and joining Sonic in the passenger area.

"The fact that we're sitting here," Sonic mumbled, veiled urgency in his eyes as he looked off in the distance.

"I'm sorry, Sonic, but you're my friend and I'm not gonna let you do anymore fighting like this. Sometimes the people around you can see things that you won't acknowledge," the fox told him, and then added obviously, "like pain."

Sonic snorted and crossed his arms, then grimaced as the action caused his elbow to press on his injured ribs.

"Case in point," Tails said with a gentle smile. "You don't want me to see that. I know. You don't want anyone to see, because you want to be stronger than that. But the thing, Sonic, is we've known each other for so long now. I… I see everything. Just like you always know what I'm thinking and feeling too. So don't hide it. It's not your fault you got hurt, anyway."

The hedgehog looked away, rubbing his nose with a self-conscious chuckle. "Um… thanks, bro."

"So, care to answer my question for real now?"

"…Wha?"

"What hurts?"

"Oh, uh, my leg for sure. Just stings a lot. It's not even deep, but… ouch." That seemed to be adequate enough, as Tails's ears went flat when he looked down at the obviously painful injury.

"Ohh… uh, anything else?"

"Uh, my side. For sure. Had an encounter with a rock, and uh, the rock won."

"How hard did you hit it?" The fox asked, looking at his torso area.

"That bruise was already there," he quickly explained. "But that definitely didn't help it any. Luckily I think I hit it a little further back…" Sonic gestured to his side, where the blue started. "Though not further back enough for the quills to help much."

Tails looked at him, inwardly questioning the use of the word 'luckily' for such a lousy circumstance, then shook his head and moved on to words more important.

"Sonic… you could still be seriously hurt, or something! We have to—"

"Hey now, we made a deal," Sonic reminded him, trying not to sound too impatient. "Besides, I don't think it's quite that bad. I'd know by now. Or I'd be… It just hurts, is all."

"Well… okay. Move your arm out of the way and let me see how bad it is."

Gingerly, Sonic unfolded his arms and rested the obstructing one over the back of the seat. Tails didn't see him take grasp of the material there to keep himself from moving during the fox's inspection.

The injured area was swollen and bruised. Sonic's breath caught in his throat as Tails started pressing gently. The contact was cautious but it still set his nerves ablaze and seemed to radiate. He curled his toes and endured silently and wondered how in the world people went to hospitals.

"I'm sorry…" Tails said after a moment, looking uncomfortable as he glanced up at his friend. His ears folded down again. "I know I'm hurting you. I'm really sorry, Sonic, I'll stop. But I think some of them are hurt. I mean, I'm no expert, but…"

"Not much we can do about it now," the hedgehog said a bit tersely. "It could be a lot worse anyway. How about we just worry about what we can actually fix."

"Actually, I can do a little bit about it," Tails said, pulling out a roll of bandage wrapping. He looked at Sonic, eyes gently helpful if not a little shy about attempting to treat his blue friend. "Scoot forward some so I can get around you."

Sonic did, pulling his arm back over the seat and lifting both of them out of the way so Tails could wrap the bandage around his middle.

"I'll have to park the Tornado far away when we get there so the Master Emerald isn't too close to Meka Tower," Tails warned. "Honestly I don't like the idea of even doing that, but Knuckles really wants it back."
"It's better with him," Sonic said. "He knows how to use its own energy to make it smaller, remember? So he'll be able to keep it on him. And he's strong enough to fight off just about anything that'd try to take it."

"That's true. Heh, it's kind of funny hearing you defend Knuckles. Usually you're the one he has to be defended from."

"Yeah, well, don't you tell him I said anything good about him. Besides, it wasn't for him as much as it was to reassure you."

Tails laughed. "What would I ever do without your reassuring?" he asked humorously. "But anyway, what I was going to say is that since we'll be parked far away, you're going to have to do some walking. Or, actually, I could fly you…"

"No worries, Tails," Sonic said. "I'm pretty sure I can handle owww," he groaned as the fox wound the bandaging around him a little more tightly. "Walking, even."

Tails couldn't decide if he was more pleased with Sonic's resilient cooperation or with his own ability to keep a straight face despite how much he wanted to chuckle at the contorted expression on Sonic's. Then he felt bad for wanting to chuckle and bit his lip.

"There, done with this part. That should at least provide some stability until you can get some actual medical attention."

"Fair enough."

"So that's the hard part. I'll do the same with your leg, but with more gauze so it hopefully won't bleed through. Looks like it's not bleeding as bad anymore, anyway!" Tails met Sonic's eyes, finally becoming relieved. "Hey. Are you gonna be okay for the rest of this?"

Sonic chuckled once. "This is the easy part, bro."

"Then, go ahead and sit back, and let me take care of it. We'll be done in no time. Okay?"

The hedgehog nodded. "Fair enough," he said again, and gave his friend a thumbs-up that was returned happily. This wasn't going to take forever after all.

xxx

"Where do you suppose Sonic and Tails are?" Espio asked, turning to the group with skepticism. He looked tired. It wasn't very often that Espio showed anything negative – he saw it as a sign of weakness – but right now he couldn't help it. Not only was he still recovering from the fighting; the chameleon hadn't slept well since he had first infiltrated the tower. "Am I the only one that thinks they should have been back by now?"

Knuckles, Amy, Lucas and Amber all wore a very similar expression as they heard the chameleon's words; one that said they had indeed been thinking the same thing, and hadn't wanted to hear their worries confirmed.

"But we just heard Eggman on the loudspeaker," Lucas said. "He couldn't have gotten to the Master Emerald, could he? Is that what you're worried about?"

"Partially," Espio said. "More so, I'm concerned about the Knuckles doppelganger out there somewhere. If he encountered them, would they hand over the Master Emerald without realizing it is not the real Knuckles catching up with them?"

"That's it, I'm going to find them," Knuckles snapped next to him, quite real and quite infuriated. "Only reason I didn't before was because of Lucas's injury, and because of that damn fence. But now that we're outside it, I have no reason to be mingling around here."

"What about the Egg Carrier 2?" Amy asked. "Most everyone is still up there. And it's still getting higher!"

"What's going on…?" Amber mused quietly, almost to herself. Everyone went quiet, trying to mentally answer this question themselves. No one had an informed enough response to speak aloud.

"We don't know anything," Knuckles said, "aside from that the Master Emerald needs to be kept safe, and that the Egg Carrier 2 needs to be landed. Since there is no way for us to do the latter, I must at least attempt to do the former. I have wasted enough time inside Meka Tower; I will not waste time outside of it as well."

"Wait!" Amy exclaimed, grasping Knuckles's shoulder as he turned to go. "Look! I think I see the Tornado off in the distance."

They all looked. Indeed, a familiar speck of plane was in the sky, growing larger in their vision as it came towards them. Amy ran towards it in spite of the fact that she couldn't exactly fly up to reach it, cheering in joy and relief. Knuckles visibly relaxed and turned back to the rest of the group. Espio looked at him, a question in his eyes.

"It's safe," Knuckles murmured, something coming over his face as he watched the Tornado near. "I can feel its energy. Sonic and Tails did it."

Xxx

"I have no master, except the wind that blows free." –Sonic, Black Knight

Xxx

In the next chapter: Sometimes the biggest challenges are your friends rather than your enemies.

Xxx

Also, before I wrap this up there's one more thing I need to throw at ya: in Chapter 33: Guardian, I added a few thoughts from Sonic regarding what happened with the Egg Carrier 2 that probably warrant being mentioned. This is while they were flying to get the Master Emerald. Feel free to go see it in context if you want, but here it is (and sorry again for the obnoxious chunks of stuff in author notes xD).

What let his thoughts slow just slightly - though by no means comfortably - was thinking back on what had almost just happened. He wondered if the ship had been leveled again too late. He wondered how many people hadn't made it; wondered if someone he had made eye contact with or smiled at or talked to hadn't made it.

It was the first time death had presented itself so blatantly. But it wasn't the first time it had been there. He remembered the stories he had heard on the lower levels. The way people's faces had looked. He realized on some level that tragedy had been there all along, though silently. People had been starved, hurt, horribly neglected. Of course not everyone had made it.

He made his best effort to do what the situation had done for him up until that point: block it out until he could afford the time and mental state to think about it. There was nothing he could do for what had already happened... only for what hadn't happened yet.

…Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed! 'Til next time.