Review Replies!

Ri2: Yeeeah, that's Game of Thrones withdrawal talkin' right there.^^° But glad that one got cleared up. Here's a chapter without references this time, hope you like! ;)

EnderMagic: Hahaha, Taranea-Tuesdays, huh? XD Well, let's see how long this lasts :p

XxShadowxX : Second half of the fight scene coming right up! And now, let's see whether the characters are gonna be in trouble for the story violation, shall we...? ;)

Kayslay : Oooh yeah. Gotta love the abridged series :3 'Life...' sequel coming soon, already quite a few chapters written :) Thanks for commenting!

Katiemonz: Heh, fight scenes are not always easy to choreograph, glad you liked this one. One conclusion, coming right up! :)

tolu ogunyemi: (That's an...interesting pen name, is it another language?) No worries, the update is here!

AngelofGrace96: Heh, Erazor already showed up in chapter 19, during the first confrontation with the Ifrit ;) But no worries, that he halved Sonic's flame back there might very well have consequences in this chapter...! :p

SonicDude87 : What can I say, it's hardcore GoT-withdrawal over here. XD Glad you liked and thanks for the review!

Aurawarrior13: No worries, we had fun regardless :D But now, let's see whether the rule-breaking was really such a good idea...;) Thanks for commenting!

YumeTakato: Thanks! Here you go!

Kogarashi: Never too old to run around in circles with flailing arms! XD And of course, one remark about teamwork and the superpowers thereof already coming up...;)

CHCynder: Aw, thanks! :D I try. Hope you like the new chapter!

Asher Tye: Ahahah, great. XD And eeyup. Couldn't just introduce all of them and then have them stand around with nothing to do, now, could I? ;) Thanks for the comment, as always :)

Katz4: Boy, did I ever ;) And yeah, I'd also totally love fanart, but I'm glad for the few pics I've gotten already :3

SerenaTheHedgehog: The, uh, ring bombs are part of a certain game I'm trying my hardest to forget, sorry. XD Tails in this fic doesn't have any long-distance attacks of his own, unfortunately, but he is a very valuable part of the team in that he can ferry Sonic and Amy around to bring them into positions where they can attack :)

DanceDream: Oh wow, MEGA review, THANKS! :D Glad you liked the Sonic Heroes vibe! My main motivation for this fic was wanting to see this story retold with Sonic's friends, not characters-who-look-like-them tagging along for the ride :) Also happy to hear you like my interpretation of Sonic, as usual, I owe a lot to JudasFm here. :3 My shipping preferences...err, weeell, I do have a second account on ffnet where I'm a fairly prolific Sonadow shipper and writer, but in (most of) my Taranea-stories, they're just friends/rivals and any shipping is likely to be canon-ish, faint Sonamy undertones ;) (butyeahokayinthischaptertheremightbeSonadowifyousquint XD) And aw, thanks for the compliment! :D Coming up with funny descriptions is something I've mostly learned from reading Terry Pratchett, his novels are works of comedic genius :) (Also expanded my vocabulary greatly as well!) Hope you enjoy this chapter as well (even if the updating – as always – took a while!) Again, thanks for the insightful comment, it's reviews like that which keep me writing :)

IHJTMQ : What can I say? Abridged fangirl here. XD Now, let's see whether there isn't any trouble in paradise after that little stunt, though... ;)

DEV: ooooh, ja, aber hallo. Ein Teil der Schreibmotivation dieser Fanfic ist Spiel-Trauma-Verarbeitung auf meiner Seite, die Stelle, an der Sonic in Pirate Storm voll ins Meer rasselt ist nicht von ungefähr...XD Ich muss öfters mal für Fanfics einen der Bosskämpfe nochmal spielen, da ist dann regelmäßig viel Gefluche dabei... (Und die Abridged Series war zu schön, um sie wegzulassen. :p) Wenn man genügend fähige Schreiber zusammentrommeln könnte und die fehlenden Spiele noch für Adaptionen erteilen würde, wäre super, leider sind die Dinger furchtbar viel Arbeit.^^° Ob es jetzt hier Probleme gibt, wegen den gebrochenen Regeln allerdins...well...read on to find out! ;) Und danke für den Kommentar! :D

Guest: Yupyup! Though the others will no doubt find ways to make themselves useful still :P Hope you like the new chapter!

St. Noof: Beat the Clock mission in this chapter, though...very condensed. I figured if I added any more running-through-the-factory in this fic, it wouldn't be done in five years!^^° Still, I hope you like the new chapter, and thanks for the comment! :D

You Can Call Me Nora: Aw, thanks! I try :) More drama, fire and friendship coming right up!

Guest: Hm, now that you say it, I think I've actually heard about this! Can't say I ever managed to see him myself, but I would altogether not be surprised if Big somehow managed to walk into the Arabian Nights by mistake. XD

Some Random Tosser: Heh, glad you like! I think creative writing is really hard to teach, though! I don't think we ever had anything like it in school :p Thanks for commenting!

Shadowspinner22: Hah, I have a few completed Sonic stories on my profile, but Burning Arrow isn't yet one of them ;) But no worries, it will be finished. Thanks for the review!

Guest: Thanks! Here we go! :D

Disclaimer: If I owned this Game, there'd likely be more talking in it than in Sonic Boom

Chapter 34: Together We Stand, United We Fall

Shadow's Chaos Spear hit the barrel of the Ifrit mid-flight and let it explode into the golem's face.

Seconds later, the Ultimate Lifeform impacted onto Sonic's platform like a one-winged angel, uncurling from his aerial somersault to land in a crouch on one knee and one fist, just before he drew himself to his feet and gave the hero of Mobius a smirk. "There you go. Figured I should repay you for the skates."

"...thanks," Sonic managed, blinking for a moment while in the background the Ifrit screeched and flailed for a bit, giving the blue hedgehog time to regain his usual poise. The hero of Mobius put a hand on his hip.

"Though I thought I was supposed to be on my own for this one. How come you of all people felt like joining me down here?"

"I'm not the only one." Shadow shrugged, just in time for a scream to tear through the air in the cauldron-like chamber, and another howl of the Ifrit as he was pelted in the head with a massive steel girder torn from the ceiling above, tell-tale punching marks on it a clear sign which echidna had torn it loose. Behind Shadow, the golem collapsed again, for a moment dazed, hands clanking limply onto the circular walkway, but the black hedgehog didn't even turn around, just facing Sonic with an almost bored expression.

"The others are at it as well. The genie girl wasn't too fond of it, but..." he trailed off for a moment, gazing at his own hand still burning green, "...well. Let's just say this world wasn't prepared for either a master of Chaos or someone who doesn't need a magic flame to survive the temperatures this close to a sea of molten metal." The Ultimate Lifeform smirked, and the glow of the metal beneath them for a moment illuminated his face in unholy radiance.

"Hey! Quit talking and hit it!" Amy's voice from above cut through their conversation, the girl dangling from Tails' hands pointing at the dazed golem. When Sonic and Shadow both seemed somewhat surprised at her tone, she rolled her eyes.

"What? Are you forgetting that I was also a team leader when we went after Metal Sonic? Now GO!"

"Do what she says," Shadow nodded, letting his hand erupt into emerald flames again. "I've got one more of these to give you some back-up, but after that, you're on your own. Let's finish this quickly."

"Hey, 'Quickly' is my middle name – or it would be, if my mom had had any common sense, anyway. Maurice? Honestly," Sonic muttered, but then was already gone, leaping over the gaps between the metal parts jutting out of the metal lava and landing gracefully on the golem's outstretched arm to race up the limb toward the felled creature's head.

Sadly, the outcome of the explosion as he hit the Ifrit's weakpoint for a second time was exactly the same as the first one, which meant that the last words anyone heard of the hero of Mobius were a yelped 'Oh shoot, there has to be an easier waAAAAAYYYY-!"

…before the legendary hedgehog was hurled straight through the cauldron-shaped chamber like a cannonball for a second time.

"Everyone! CATCH HIM!" Amy yelled, jade eyes widening in panic as it became obvious that this time Sonic very obviously would not be landing on a convenient platform, but instead simply impact against a wall and then tumble to a fiery death in the metal sea.

"Sonic!" Tails screamed as well as the body of his brother was slammed against the metal and the blue hero's eyes shot open in a panic as he twisted in the air, dazed, but couldn't see anything to grab onto to stop his fall. The Ifrit roared in triumph...

...and then howled in obvious frustration as the blue speedster was securely caught by a pair of strong red and black arms, their owner nothing but a dark blur against the scorching sea beneath, and moving across the deadly liquid with the grace of an olympic ice skater.

"Umph!" Sonic commented as his fall was interrupted and it took him a moment to open his eyes and realize that he was currently carried through their arena bridal-style, Shadow's hands supporting him at his back and under his knees.

"That was a close shave," Shadow commented, calmly. "The echidna is right when he calls you reckless."

"Heh. So far it's worked out, though. Thanks for the save," Sonic replied with a grin, trying to crane his head back to see what the Ifrit was doing now. He could see the lava had risen again as the fire spirit had sunk underneath the surface once more and most of the safe footholds had disappeared. It had also started its tactic of throwing barrels at them again, which Shadow was expertly avoiding with graceful turns and feints. Sonic cocked his head a little and raised an eye ridge as he looked back up at his dark-furred double.

"Heh. You know, under different circumstances, this could be quite romantic."

The glare which Shadow shot him was cold enough that the blue hedgehog was privately surprised the entire metal in this room hadn't instantly solidified.

"One more word in that direction, hedgehog, and I swear I will drop you."

"Sonic! Shadow!" Tails shouted from the ceiling. "We need to attack its knuckles so it exposes its weakpoint again! Do you have any Chaos Spears left, Shadow?"

"One!" Shadow shouted back, before adding, more quietly, "But I can't use it like this..." Then a thought seemed to occur to him, however, because red eyes abruptly narrowed, and he looked up again.

"Fox kid!" he yelled. "We only need to hit him once more! Attack, then drop the girl off and get the faker from me!"

"Uh. Say, do I get a say in this-?" Sonic, still hanging in Shadow's arms tried to raise a finger, but was utterly ignored.

"Okay!" Amy simply shouted back, and then Tails was already swooping down and another hammer had appeared in her hand.

"Take this!" Amy shrieked, at the same time hurling her weapon at the golem like a pink goddess of thunder to hit the Ifrit straight into its vulnerable joint.

"Strike one!" Tails cheered. "I'll be right down! Knuckles, you try to get another hit in meanwhile!"

"Gotcha," the echidna nodded, at the same time smashing a fist into the ceiling and tearing out a piece of dislodged metal as if the walls were made of paper. Sonic (who, truthfully, was starting to slightly lose track, here) didn't get to see what happened next, though, because at that point, Tails had already swooped downwards and grabbed his wrist with both hands.

"Come on, Sonic! I've got you!"

"Woah-!" the blue hedgehog called out as he was abruptly lifted upwards again, Tails whirring toward the ceiling like a rocket. "Hey, li'l bro! Easy!"

"It's incredibly hot down there, Sonic! I could barely stand it there for another second before passing out," Tails croaked down at him. "No idea how Shadow hasn't collapsed yet..."

"Strike two!" Knuckles roared at this point, just as another metal projectile hurled by his hand impacted on the Ifrit's hand with an ear-deafening clang! The fire spirit screeched, mechanical eyes rolling wildly and trying to locate the source of its pain, but the only thing they could discern was Shadow, still swerving over the ocean of metal before him like a blackened fire sprite.

"Awesome!" Amy, having been dropped by Tails onto the platform they had stood on earlier, punched the air in triumph. "Now Shadow only needs to get the final strike in and we can send in Sonic to finish the thing off! See that, Shahra?!" the pink hedgehog called up at her new friend. "The real superpower of teamwork!" she cheered (entirely unaware of Knuckles cringing ever so slightly...)

"I...I'd never have thought this would be possible..." the genie breathed, staring at the display below. Knuckles at the ceiling beside her was one thing, Sonic and Tails circling the monster's form high overhead was another, but what really took your breath away was the way the Ultimate Lifeform was whirling over the molten sea in front of the monster, his skates blazing almost as brightly as the flames surrounding him. Shadow was darting over and around platforms poking out of the liquid metal like a shooting star, carving his path into sharp turns and sideways twists, leaping and somersaulting over metal eruptions and debris, always only inches from death while he was closing in on the golem to get his shot in, flames in his eyes putting the surroundings to shame.

Shahra stared at the battle beneath him, eyes wide.

"It's...almost like he's dancing in fire..."

"Perhaps he's danced in fire too much," Knuckles replied quietly.

"Chaos Spear!"

Below them, Shadow's shout drew their attention again and they watched as the last of the chaotic missiles found their mark in the Ifrit's joints, letting the golem collapse again, weakpoint on its head exposed.

"Yes! Brilliant work, Shadow!" Sonic cheered, "Okay, Tails, get me down there so I can-!"

"No! Let the echidna toss him! There's nowhere for him to run and build up speed down here, that way the Guardian can put far more momentum behind it!" Shadow shouted up at them, and Tails nodded.

"Oh yeah. Good idea."

"Hey, wait-!" was all Sonic managed before his little brother had already yelled

"KNUCKLES! CATCH!" and Sonic found himself unceremoniously tossed across the room.

"Agh!"

"Got him!" Knuckles called, snatching Sonic pragmatically out of the air by catching him around the ankle. "But the best pinpoint precision here is...Amy! You ready?!"

And, to Sonic's horror, the girl was now brandishing the third hammer for the day, grinning up at them from the platform.

"Born ready! Toss him here!"

"What the hell guys, I'm not a ping pong baaaaaaaa-!" Sonic wailed, but by then Knuckles had already hurled him toward Amy, who swung her hammer back, and Sonic barely had time to curl up so none of this would succeed in breaking every bone in his body, privately thinking that he should have dumped every single one of his clinically insane sidekicks way back in the friggin first chapter.

"Huzzah!" Amy screamed, and Sonic could feel the dull impact of her mallet against his backspines, the force reminding him of the collision with a comet, and then he was off to smash against the Ifrit's weakpoint like a rocket.

The explosion was spectacular. Even a long time later, Sonic still thought so, though he also remembered that he would have hoped to not be in the goddamn middle of it when it happened.

At least the small, familiar arms catching him were a small consolation.

"Got you!"

"I...I swear I'm gonna cut yer pocket money..." Sonic wheezed, hanging onto Tails with the very last of his strength as the explosion rocked the chamber. Amy was cowering at the very back of the platform, Knuckles had clawed himself into the wall as hard as he could, tucking his head into his arms and even Shadow had ducked behind the largest steel girder he could find, holding on as the blast wave washed across them.

"For that you'd have to be paying me any," Tails reminded him gently, and Sonic groaned. His grip had noticeably slackened on Tails's wrists and in response the little fox had shifted his hands underneath Sonic's arm pits instead, the entire hedgehog now dangling limply from his brother's grasp as they returned to the platform. Knuckles was also gliding back to it, and below them, Shadow was leaping up and ricochetting off walls in the usual hedgehog way to get back to their starting point. The golem, with his head exploded into searing light like the rest of Erazor's minions, was starting to both sink and dissolve simultaneously, limbs that had been animatedly trying to kill them only moments before now stiff like discarded thrash metal. Whatever force had given life to them before now had obviously been banished.

"Phew," Sonic commented as he dropped down onto solid ground again. "Good riddance to bad rubbish. Now-"

"Look! What is this?" Their heads turned as Amy pointed at something. From beneath the molten metal where the last remnants of the golem had disappeared, a small, round object began to rise, hovering out of the deadly liquid and ascending to land straight at their feet. Sonic stared at it. The thing was shaped like a round ball, though it had the same kind of odd ridges like the brain-like object had Shahra had given him the night before. Contrary to that one, though, from between the creases of the new object, a pulsating light was spilling out, its insides glowing. And now that the sounds of the battle had stilled, Sonic also thought he could a hear a sound emanating from it, a kind of...thumping...?

"What the...?" Tails was the first to tiptoe cautiously closer to the thing, bending over it, "Is something...about to hatch?"

"Be careful, envoy!" Shahra also called out, swooping closer to pick the sphere up. "I can hear..." she lifted it to her ear, "Something like a heartbeat..."

It was at this point that Shadow finally reached the platform with one final jump that allowed him to grasp the upper edge and then pull himself upward with a grunt. When he saw what they were all currently focusing on, he frowned.

"Say. Is there a particular reason you're holding what's obviously a time bomb?"

"What?!" They reared backwards.

"It's beating faster!" Shahra cried, holding the thing away as if that could possibly help.

"Oh no! This can't be good!" Sonic shouted, causing Knuckles to shoot him a look that obviously communicated he thought the hedgehog was slightly concussed from the battle, and then the echidna darted forward, snatching the thing away from the blue hero and pointing toward the exit.

"We've got to get out of here! This thing has to explode out in the open!"

"Right," Sonic shot back, apparently having gotten back his bearings enough to grab the bomb and nodding at everyone. "Let's run!"

xxx

Their flight from the factory was chaotic, a whirl of rusty colours, fires and explosions littering their way just as they had come inside. Shahra was anxiously calling out how they had to prevent the bomb from exploding inside, otherwise the evil sealed in the foundry would be released and poison the story world still, and the heroes of Mobius ran. They careened up the spiral walkway that had led them down to the Ifrit, leapt over the boiling lava in the next room, Tails grabbing both Amy and Sonic in practiced movements as they vaulted over the ridges, pits and spike traps that followed, Knuckles and Shadow gliding, boosting and wallrunning behind. More fire djinn were utterly ignored in their mad dash, none of them heeding any danger from uncontained fire blasts as they jumped across more metal lakes, past the stompers, tossing the bomb to whoever was furthest ahead, be it on blazing skates, scorched sneakers, with whirling tails, shooting out from a plothole or straight out barrelling through any obstacles in their way with iron fists.

"Come on! We're almost there!" Shadow, currently the one rushing at the front of their group shouted as they were now finally approaching the window that had been their entry point into the foundry.

"Give it to me!" Sonic yelled, only metres behind and catching the bomb expertly as the black hedgehog tossed it over to him. Holding onto it as tightly as a basketball pro preparing for a slam dunk, Sonic's breath was coming in rapid gasps as he raced up the high wall to the window the way only he could, just as Amy screamed a desperate

"KICK IT!"

and Sonic did just that.

The resulting shock wave from the sky knocked him clear inside the factory again, but this time it was thankfully Knuckles who caught him.

"Are you hurt?"

"Just my pride, I think," Sonic groaned. "I think I've had enough of being tossed about for one day," he managed as Knuckles set him back onto his feet. Tails had already lifted Amy and Shadow up on top of the window ledge, and now he and the echidna followed.

"Look..." Amy whispered, just as Sonic and Knuckles pulled themselves over the ledge. The pink hedgehog pointed at something a few dozens metres away from them outside in the air, now descending in the light of the evening sun. "It's beautiful..."

"Is that what I think it is?" Tails wondered.

"I think so." Shadow nodded, narrowing his eyes. "It looks just like another one of those seven World Rings."

"I wonder if it was inside the Ifrit this whole time..." Shahra spoke quietly as she followed Sonic and the others leaping down from the window ledge into the desert outside, all of them jogging up to the point where the ring, a red one as it was now becoming apparent, was descending. Knuckles was the first one to reach it and grabbed it from the air. Just like Sonic, he gasped as soon as he made contact with it.

"What-?! I feel...rage."

"Well, that's nothing new for ya, Knucklehead," Sonic commented glibly, stepping up to take the circlet from the Guardian with a smirk, though he also couldn't suppress a shocked intake of air as he touched it.

"Woah. Knuckles 's right, that's some serious anger issues here..." he glanced at his companions. "If all that rage was sealed up inside that golem it's no wonder he tried to thrash us like he did."

"Wait. Sealed up rage?" Shadow asked with a frown.

"Yeah," Tails nodded, hesitantly. "I've actually been developing a theory that the rings hold in various emotions. That one would be the power of rage, then." He rubbed the back of his head slightly sheepishly. "Maybe I'm wrong, but I had that thought when I touched the yellow ring we found in Sand Oasis. Because I thought it felt...kinda happy...uh." The little fox' cheeks started to redden as he became aware of all the curious stares levelled at him and he rapidly looked at the floor. "I mean, maybe that's stupid, I don't know, I don't have any equipment here with which I could really test that theory, but-"

"Nah, I think that sounds really clever. Cool idea, li'l bro," Sonic stepped over, ruffling his head fur as he lodged the ring securely in his quills, before looking up at Shahra with a smile. "Or what do you think? Does that make sense?"

"I... I don't know. I'm sorry," the genie mumbled, now once again looking strangely subdued.

"Hey, that's okay. Nobody can know everything," Amy said, coming up to her and giving her a nudge. "Let's celebrate we got out of that factory, okay?" she asked, and Sonic was glad for the distraction, because he had also noticed that Knuckles, and even more so Shadow had again given the genie some suspicious looks at her hesitant answer. Were they just paranoid or was there actually...?

No. Sonic shook his head. She's your friend and she said so. And you trust your friends and don't keep doubting them the entire time.

"Yeah, celebrating sounds good," he instead replied with a grin. "Let's find a place to stay for the night."

"And then what?" Shadow asked. "Where are we going then to find the next world ring? Genie?"

"Um..." now Shahra once again looked slightly nervous. "I am...not sure at the moment..."

"Isn't that why we dumped the Doctor in the library?" Knuckles pointed out. "He should have found something out by now. Let's pay him a visit in the morning."

"Checking up on Egghead? Heh. Not my ideal brunch date, but I guess it's a plan," Sonic shrugged. "Alright then, let's head for dinner. I'm starving!"

xxx

It was some time later, with the sun now already sunk beneath the horizon, that Sonic was standing close to a small creek, alone. He had told the others he wanted a wash in private to get the soot out of his fur, but that hadn't entirely been the truth. The hero of Mobius shot a glance backward to make sure his friends were all engaged in setting up the camp site, actually not far from the one where they had spent the night at the edge of Dinosaur Valley, and then cleared his throat.

"Shahra?"

"Yes, ma- Sonic?" the genie appeared in a puff of smoke next to him immediately. "Is...is something wrong?" she asked as soon as she discerned the expression on his face.

"...I don't know," Sonic admitted. He swallowed.

"It's just...maybe I'm imagining things, but...Shahra, I think ever since we defeated that Ifrit...my flame's getting smaller. It's worse now than when Erazor halved it two days ago." He looked at her, lips a thin line, and when spoke, his tone was a whole lot quieter than before.

"Shahra, I think this might be killing me quicker than I thought."

And even as he spoke, it seemed like something in Shahra's face had cracked.

"I'm...I'm sorry, Sonic, I tried to stop them..."

"What? Stop who?"

"Your friends," Shahra spoke with her face in his hands. "They shouldn't have helped you against the Ifrit. It takes away from your narrative." She looked pained. "Therefore it distracts from your lifeforce."

When Sonic didn't reply immediately, only looked at her with a slightly stricken, but still confused face, Shahra seemed to get that more explanation was needed, because she scrambled to try and elaborate a bit more.

"Erazor's power thrives on anger, grief and loneliness," she said, and it sounded like something inside her was just ever so slightly breaking. "That flame arrow pierced your heart with the magic of the story he came from – a story, like I told you, that was filled with...loss, and isolation and despair. And now that you're breaking the rules of that story..." she broke off. "I'm so sorry..."

"You mean-?" Sonic frowned. "'cause the others helped me cream that Ifrit, now I'm paying for it?"

"Basically...yes," Shahra swallowed. "And the more you keep them around and the story focuses on them instead of you, the worse it gets."

For a moment, Sonic didn't say anything, just gritting his teeth. Silence stretched between the two of them, only filled by the too-loud crackling of the flame on his chest. Shahra seemed about to hide her face in her hands again, her whole body tense like someone awaiting punishment because she again had failed to protect her Master...but then that moment seemed to pass like a desert breeze, as Sonic's unreadable face so softly relaxed again, and when he glanced back at Shahra, appeared at ease, even a slight smile gracing his features.

"Oh, well...that's okay, I guess."

The genie blinked.

"What?"

"Well, I dunno about your stories, Shahra," Sonic explained, calmly, "But my stories are never just about myself." He gave her a grin. "And I'd rather my story was over in a single chapter with my friends than spend a life's tale alone like that stupid Erazor!"

And when Sonic later at the camp fire was just a little more quiet and maybe, just maybe hugged Tails and Amy just a little longer and just a little tighter than he usually did before going to sleep, neither of them noticed and Shahra didn't speak.

To be continued...

Well, here we go! Story is starting to come to a head, with five levels down and two to go! Except for Sonic it's rapidly looking like he might not make it this far...P Hope you liked and if you read, please review! :D (Also, there's a new poll open on my profile, so if you wanna drop a vote there, that'd be cool. Cheers!)