Chapter 10 - Rainy Day Feelings
Aura was lucky.
After the events of the previous day, she was afraid of having a nightmare regarding her parents, or worse...of Kharis. Instead, she slept peacefully...dreamless and waking up to the feeling of a wet nose pressing against her nuzzle.
Ryndar was still nuzzled against his "mother", sleeping peacefully in the comfort of Aura's arms. Aura responded by hugging the small Chao closer as she remembered what Kyle had said last night. Apparently, his words held, since the fear she felt from when she released the fire power had left.
Well...almost left.
She was still a bit scared, and one question seemed to haunt her. Why did she receive this power...a power that destroyed her parents so long ago? True...what Kyle said was right. Fire could destroy, but was also a source of warmth and comfort. However, she could not get past the fact that she did not want this power.
Yet...was there a purpose behind it?
If so, she hoped that time...and her new friends...could help her find it. For now...she was finding comfort in the nuzzlings of her Chao.
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As it happened, Aura wasn't the only one being cuddled.
Rouge began to wake up and noticed that she was in an embrace. Shadow had his arms around her, seeming to provide additional warmth to suppliment the warmth that the covers provided. She also noticed one thing...
Shadow was smiling.
This sight made Rouge feel warm on the inside as well. She knew that for a long time Shadow had very little or no reason to smile, after what had happened on the ARK and all. Now...it seemed that those demons had lifted and Shadow was once again happy.
She started to get up, carefully removing herself from Shadow's embrace. However, as she started to get up, she heard a quiet voice say, "Don't go..."
Rouge looked back and saw that Shadow was also awake, and appeared to be looking up at her with pleading eyes. She smiled and sat next to Shadow's prone form, and said, "We can't stay in bed forever, silly."
"Why not? I was asleep for fifty years," Shadow quipped back at Rouge.
Rouge smirked at that comment and leaned down to give Shadow a quick kiss on the cheek. "Maybe...but I'd rather spend my day doing things than just lying around. Besides...what would the others say?"
(A/N: Not...a...WORD...Marvin!)
"Let them say whatever they want," Shadow said. "I'm just happy being with you."
Rouge sat down next to him and said, "The feeling's mutual, Shadow..."
It was then that Shadow frowned and said, "Although..."
"Although what?" Rouge asked, now concerned at the change in Shadow's attitude.
"Well...I have no purpose now," Shadow said. "I mean, I'm grateful to have friends and companions again, but...what do I do now? I feel...empty without a purpose."
"We'll find something for you, Shadow," Rouge said. "Mobius is a big world, after all...and Arcadia's even bigger. There's bound to be a purpose for you somewhere."
"I...hope so..." Shadow said, and then looked up towards Rouge. "Thank you, Rouge."
Rouge smiled and then gave Shadow a small peck on the cheek. However...that small peck eventually turned into a longer liplock.
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"Well, good morning to you too."
Sally found herself being awakened by a kiss of her own, and saw the familiar green eyes of Sonic looking over her. Sonic responded to her statement, speaking softly, "Hey, what can I say? I couldn't resist living a fairy tale by kissing my princess awake."
Sally smiled and sat up, saying, "Maybe I should have you live at the palace from now on. I kind of liked that method of being woken up."
"Well, I don't think your father would approve...yet," Sonic said, and then extended a paw towards Sally. "Come...allow this cool blue hedgie to escort you to main room."
"Well...if you can wait a bit, I need to get into a robe first," Sally said.
Sonic nodded in understanding and waited outside. After a short while, Sally stepped out in her robe and the two headed towards the common room. As soon as Sonic stepped into the room, he stopped and motioned for Sally to wait. He had noticed Anthony and Amy still asleep in the chair, and was surprised. He then turned towards Sally and, barely whispering, said, "Sal...check this out!"
Sally looked where Sonic indicated, and noticed the two sleeping. She then placed a paw over her mouth and whispered a quiet, "Aww..."
"Heh...looks like the two conked out before either could make it to their beds," Sonic said.
"We should let them sleep," Sally said, looking at the small smile that was on Amy's face as she slept. "I'd hate to wake Amy up from whatever dream she's having to make her smile like that."
As soon as she said that, the elevator to the underground base opened and Red Sonic, Lazer, Mina, and Rebecca came out. They were talking with each other until they noticed Anthony and Amy still sleeping on the couch. Unfortunately...it was too late to be quiet, as Anthony started to stir from his sleep.
"Uh oh..." Mina said.
"Nice going, guys..." Sonic said.
Anthony began to open his eyes and look around at his surroundings. He noticed he was still holding a sleeping Amy, and even smiled a bit at the cute smile she had on her face. Almost immediately afterwards, when he shook some of the cobwebs out of his system, did he notice that he was being watched.
"Oh...uh..." Anthony began to say.
Rebecca motioned for Anthony to be quiet, and then whispered, "It's okay. You can tell us later. Besides...don't wake her. It looks too cute."
Anthony smirked at that comment, and looked back down at Amy. "No doubt...she DOES have that effect on people."
"Dare I ask what brought this on?" Red Sonic asked, also whispering along with the rest.
"Well...I guess it was my telling her that she was my hero," Anthony remarked. "Mostly because of the way she helped me over my emotions."
The females in the group all quietly let loose another "Awww...", and it was at this time that Amy started to stir from her sleep. As soon as she opened her eyes, she noticed Anthony looking back down at her.
"Anthony?" Amy said. "Wha...?"
"I think we both fell asleep while you had a tight hug on me last night," Anthony said. "Though, from the look of that smile on your face, you didn't seem to mind. Mind you...we attracted an audience..."
Amy looked around at the group that was sitting at various locations in the main room, and then blushed and said, "Aw, man..."
"Maybe you should get up now, Ames," Anthony said.
"I'm...still a little sleepy though..." Amy said, yawning to illustrate the point.
Anthony smiled and shook his head at this remark. "Alright...I'll let you snuggle a little longer..."
"Aw, geez...just spoil the kid rotten, why don't cha, Anth?" Sonic said.
"Alright, Sonic...I will," Anthony remarked, and then used a Telekinesis power to bring a blanket over to his chair. He then covered Amy with it, and Amy began to cuddle into it.
"Hmm...you did that as if you had experience with kids doing that to you, Anthony..." Lazer remarked.
"Well...a niece and several young cousins," Anthony said.
Just as Anthony finished saying that, Tails walked into the main room. He had already showered and put on his gloves and shoes, and looked very much awake...bright eyed and bushy tailed. (Pun VERY much intended.)
"Morning every..." Tails began to say, and then noticed Amy sleeping in Anthony's lap. "Awww..."
Anthony could tell this was going to be the way his morning was going to go. All he had left was to have Julie-Su go "Awww..." as well.
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[Rise and shine. This is your morning wake up call. Did you want us to turn down your beds when you leave?]
Both Teila and Tyreke woke up and found Metal Sonic looming over them. Tyreke shook his head and said, "Heh...why thank you, Metal. Uh...just don't leave a mint on the pillow this time."
Teila laughed at the quip and got up along with Tyreke. She was glad that Metal Sonic appeared to be out of his gloomy attitude. Apparently, whatever Sonic had said to him seems to have stuck.
Still...it was still strange to her that a robot needed to be cheered up in the first place. Even if that robot was made with an engram of Sonic's personality.
Metal Sonic left to allow the two of them to get cleaned up and dressed. As he exited their room, he observed Gamma apparently looking at a panel on his left arm. [What are you doing, E-Series?]
"STANDARD DIAGNOSTIC. DONE EVERY MORNING AT INITIAL STARTUP ROUTINE," Gamma replied in his usual monotone.
[Huh...like you'll really need to do that once we get updated by this "Dr. Light" person,] Metal Sonic replied. [Maybe he'll even give you some new speech subroutines so you don't sound like that...what was the name Davie-Kins mentioned? HAL?]
"YOU REFER TO THE COMPUTER FROM THE EARTH MOVIE '2001 - A SPACE ODDESSY'," Gamma replied.
[That's the one,] Metal Sonic confirmed. [So...you anxious to see what you'll look like updated?]
"THAT WOULD REQUIRE EMOTIONAL SUBROUTINES," Gamma said.
[Point taken,] Metal Sonic said. [Personally...I hope I don't stray too far from my badass self. While I was in the PHM's "service", I managed to look up on Earth's internet. Apparently, I have a lot of fans.]
"YOU ARE A METAL COPY OF THE HEDGEHOG, SONIC," Gamma said, contradicting him. "THOSE 'FANS', AS YOU CALL THEM, ARE PROBABLY THOSE OF THE HEDGEHOG."
[Nope...apparently I've got a few more fans than he has,] Metal Sonic said. [Even that two-tailed friend of his has more fans than he does.]
Gamma appeared to be taken aback by that. "THIS DOES NOT COMPUTE. I AM TOLD HE IS THE 'STAR' OF THE GAMES."
[Heh...well consider this your first lesson about being sentient, E-Series,] Metal Sonic said. [NOTHING is supposed to make sense.] After saying that, he walked away and let Gamma return to his diagnostics. As he walked away, he then said under his "breath", [Not even how I managed to be forgiven...]
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After finally getting showered and dressed, Aura made her way from her bedroom to where she heard Lisa talking. Ryndar was nestled in her arms and was getting in a quick nap while enjoying being cuddled. As soon as Aura arrived where Lisa was, she found her and Kyle sitting down to a breakfast Lisa had laid out, with Hogi-San nibbling on some fruit in a bowl. She also noticed that they had company...
"Alexa?"
Alexa, who was sipping on a small cup of coffee, looked up towards where Aura was and said, "Ah, good morning, Aura. I hope you don't mind, but after yesterday I figured I should come to see how you were."
"Oh...thank you, Alexa," Aura said, and sat down in a chair that Lisa offered her. "Actually...my night was quite peaceful."
"That's good to hear," Lisa said, sitting back down in her chair. As she sat down, Hogi-San bounded over to where Aura was and jumped into her lap, landing next to Ryndar. This caused Lisa to react. "Oh...Hogi-San! I'm sorry, Aura..."
"It's alright, Lisa. I think he just wanted to wish me and Ryndar a good morning," Aura said, smiling as she saw Hogi-San also give Ryndar a good morning hug. She then looked up at the others and asked, "So...what do you think the plan is for today?"
"Well...we'll probably have to wait to hear from the others," Lisa said. "Hopefully, we get to have a bit more fun together. Yesterday was just way too random for me."
"Funny...I thought you liked randomness, Lisa," Alexa quipped. "Especially the way you practice your spells..."
Lisa gave Alexa an evil look while Kyle tried to stifle a giggle. Aura began to smile a bit as well, feeling a bit better despite all that had happened.
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After a short while, Anthony decided to put Amy back in her room so she could rest and managed to get back into his room to dress. As he got dressed, he looked at himself in the mirror, and began to think. For some reason, just his street clothes seemed wrong to him. He looked over to where his armor was recharging...and had been recharging since the return from the Colony ARK.
He then nodded as if he had made a decision, and began to put on his armor. After a while, he looked in the mirror again, and nodded as if it looked right.
"Much better," Anthony said. He then grabbed his Sword of the Gamemaster and strapped it to his back, and walked out towards the common room where the others were talking. Many looked up as he walked in, and were surprised.
"Anthony? Why are you wearing your armor?" Sally asked.
"Just felt like it," Anthony said. "For some reason...I feel more comfortable wearing it now."
"Hmmm...'Some burdens can be carried easier when personal burdens are gone'," Lazer quoted. "Something my sensei taught me a long time ago."
Anthony nodded in agreement, and then looked around. When he noticed Julie-Su was awake, he asked her, "Julie? Didn't Knux wake up with you?"
"Are you kidding? This is one of the few times he's actually been able to relax," Julie-Su said. "On the island, all he does is worry about the protection of the Emeralds. And...now that the Servers are in your possession..."
"I get your point," Anthony said, and then headed towards the elevator leading to the underground base. "I'm going to practice my swordplay a bit and print out that information for Aura."
"Need a sparring partner?" Lazer said, standing up.
"Not for this. I'm going to try something different," Anthony said as the elevator doors slid open. As he stepped in, he then said, "When Knux wakes up, have him come down. I need to talk to him about something...in private."
"Sure thing, Anth," Sonic said.
The elevators then slid closed and the elevator headed down to the underground base. A few minutes later, Knuckles entered the room, already showered and dressed.
"Huh...speak of the devil," Julie-Su said as she noticed Knuckles.
"Huh?" Knuckles said. "Did I miss something?"
"Yeah...Anthony," Sally said. "He wanted to talk wtih you as soon as you woke up. He's in the underground base right now."
"I see..." Knuckles said, and then headed towards the elevator. As he waited for the elevator to open, Sally decided to turn on the television and check out the news.
Just as the elevator arrived and Knuckles stepped inside, a segment of a news story caught his ear. "...and experts are still at a loss to understand the appearance of a meteor storm last night over Station Square. No one can seemingly understand how it could have occured."
As the elevator doors closed, Knuckles scowled as he suspected that he knew what caused it.
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As soon as Knuckles arrived at the base, he headed towards where he could sense the presense of the Server Emeralds, knowing that was where Anthony was. When he arrived, he saw Anthony in a fighting stance, sword drawn and ready to fend off against some drones.
He was also blindfolded.
As soon as Anthony was ready, he said, "Begin." The drone fighters advanced on Anthony and Anthony began dispatching them one by one, dodging their strikes and shots and slashing at them with sword strikes. Within a few moments, the drones were reduced to scrap and Anthony removed his blindfold, replacing it with the glasses that he had in his jeans pocket.
It was then that he heard Knuckles's voice say, "Huh...if it isn't the Baultosai, the Bot Slayer."
Anthony gave Knuckles a sideways look and groaned. "Knux...that was horrid..."
"Well...why the 'Man Without Sight' routine there?" Knuckles asked.
"Just something I wanted to try," Anthony explained. "I wanted to see if I could fight using my psi to see my enemies."
"Looks like it worked," Knuckles said. "Looks like you're improving quite a bit in all levels. Speaking of which, I heard you wanted to speak with me. Is it perhaps about a certain meteor storm I heard about?"
Anthony smirked and said, "Figured out that was me, huh?" He then let out a sigh and began to explain the situation. "It was...a Descendancy Power. Astrokinesis."
"A Descendancy Power?!?" Knuckles said, surprised.
"One awakened by using the white Emerald," Anthony said. "Though I had it all along. It was just..."
Knuckles could sense there was more to Anthony's discovery. "What?"
"It didn't surface until after I let go of all my feelings," Anthony said. "After I had went on that crying jag with Amy comforting me and after I finally admitted to myself that...I needed Arcadia..."
Knuckles nodded in understanding, realizing what Anthony was saying. "I shouldn't be too surprised. We've seen your psionics fail to work or become affected another way whenever you were in an emotional state."
"I know, " Anthony said. "Thing is...I'm even more worried now."
"Oh?" Knuckles said, curious as to Anthony's comment.
"I don't want...or need this much power," Anthony said. "And yet...now that I've let my emotions go, it seems new powers are becoming known to me, connected to these Emeralds." He then looked towards Knuckles and said. "Knux, be honest. Am I ready for this?"
"That depends..." Knuckles said. "Just how scared are you?"
Anthony paused for a minute, pacing a bit as he did so. He then turned towards Knuckles and said, "Knux...I'm almost afraid to use the Emeralds again for fear of what else I might do...even by accident."
Knuckles nodded and then said, "In that case...you are ready. The fact that you recognize the danger those Emeralds represent if misused is proof that you're ready."
"Great..." Anthony said, not so sure he WAS ready.
"Don't worry," Knuckles said. "Right now, just relax. That's the reason you are here on the South Islands. Once the vacation is over, and once we get to Angel Island, I'll teach you all that you'll need to know."
"Alright," Anthony said, sheathing his sword.
"Now...what say we rejoin everyone upstairs?" Knuckles said. "Everyone's up right now, so we can decide what we're going to do today."
"Alright, but one moment," Anthony said as he headed towards the computer room. "I want to print up a couple of things."
"Oh, what?" Knuckles asked, as he followed Anthony.
"We found some info for Aura for when she returns to her own Mobius," Anthony said, as he sat down at one terminal and typed something. "Also, Mina found something...interesting."
"Oh, what's that?" Knuckles said. He then looked up at the screen and his eyes widened as he saw what Anthony was talking about. "Whoa..."
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After getting what he needed to print up, Anthony and Knuckles headed back up to the main room where the others were waiting. After Anthony sat down on the couch, he found himself being snuggled against five minutes later. He looked and saw Amy sitting there.
"Sorry, Anthony," Amy said, smiling innocently. "I wasn't quite finished snuggling!"
"No problem, Amy, but...uh..." Anthony said. "Why are you wearing your armor?"
Sure enough, Amy was wearing her own tech armor. As for the reason why...
"Well...I figured that if we saw Cream again, she might want to see it," Amy said.
"Heh..." Anthony said, chuckling a bit.
"Well, sounds like you're in a better mood now, Anthony," Mina said.
"Yeah," Anthony said. "I'm finally over my angst, and Knux just ensured me that my Guardian training should go well. I am NOT going to let anything ruin this vacation..."
Just as Anthony had said that, the news that people were watching on the television switched over to the weather. "Well, folks...you might want to stay inside today. We have heavy storms coming in, which should give the South Islands region a decent drenching. Any plans to go to Emerald Coast or Twinkle Park might have to wait until tomorrow..."
Anthony immediately sweatdropped upon hearing that. He then managed to get a giggle from the rest of the group when he said, "I have GOT to learn when to keep my mouth shut..."
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As it happened, Rouge and Shadow also just got the weather news.
"Oh, darn it..." Rouge said.
"What's wrong with rain, Rouge?" Shadow asked. "From what Maria told me about it, it's just water."
"Yes...but it's not fun being drenched," Rouge said. "Whatever we do today with the others, it'll be inside, that's for sure."
Shadow nodded in agreement, and then smirked as a thought crossed his mind. "Maybe we SHOULD have stayed in bed..." Rouge giggled at that statement.
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"Okay...there's gotta be SOMETHING we can do..."
Anthony and everyone else at the hotel room were busy looking over various pamphlets regarding Station Square. From time to time, people would speak up with suggestions.
"What about Casinopolis?" Sonic asked.
"Uh, Sonic?" Amy said. "Anth, myself, Tyreke? We psions would be kicked out..."
"Yeah, I can vouch for that," Mina said. "Tyreke was kicked out just as Teila and I were looking for him."
"Okay...then I'm stumped," Sonic said. "That's the only place I can think of where we..."
"Well...what about just catching a movie?" Lazer said. "I heard that the theater is still open."
"BOOOOOOOO-RING!" Sonic said.
"Like we have a CHOICE, Sonic?" Sally spoke up saying. "Not much else we can do today unless we wwant to be soaked...and if Metal Sonic and Gamma haven't been rustproofed recently..."
"Come on, bro," Red Sonic said. "You guys came here to relax, and where better to relax than a theater?"
"Yeah, you're right, bro," Sonic said, finally giving in. "Alright, let's do it."
"I'll tell the others to meet us there," Sally said, walking towards the phone.
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A few moments later found most of the group waiting outside the Station Square Theater. Anthony looked up warily towards the sky, noticing a few clouds gathering, but no sign of a storm.
"Well...skies are clear so far," Anthony said. "Maybe the weather reports are wrong."
"How could they be wrong?" Tails asked. "They use equipment here that's more advanced than on Earth, Anthony."
"Yeah, but the weather here could be like Minnesota's," Anthony said. "Amy can attest to how random the weather is there."
Just as the group laughed at that, they saw others walk up. This group included Shadow, Rouge, Teila, Tyreke, Metal Sonic, Gamma, Ryan, Bristy...and two others that the group recognized.
"Hey guys...look who we ran into!" Ryan said, indicating the two others: Nack and Nicollette. Nic still had a bandage on her muzzle to cover a cut and had a cast over her lower arm.
"Yeah...Nic just got discharged from the hospital, and Ryan suggested we join you guys," Nack said. "We were hoping you guys could help us with finding a place to go for work, now that I'm officially out of the thug for hire business."
"Well, THAT could be difficult, considering your rep, Nack," Knuckles said. Just as Knuckles said that, another voice spoke up.
"Perhaps...I can help."
Everyone looked towards the source of the voice, and saw Sara walking up to the group. Ryan snickered and whispered to Anthony. "Hey...your girlfriend's here!"
Anthony gave Ryan a sneer and said, "Unless you want to make Bristy a widow before you're married...stifle it!"
"*gulp* Yessir..." Ryan said, quickly.
"How can you help, Sara?" Sally asked.
"Well...my father had actually procured Nack's services one time for the government," Sara explained. "I'm sure he can help find a permanent position for Nack now that he has a sister to support. Perhaps...to help catch other thieves?"
"Heh...the old 'takes a thief to catch a thief' thing, eh?" Nack said.
"Which probably means you'll be working under me," Rouge said, smiling evilly towards Nack and causing him to gulp in fear.
As the group began to talk, Anthony noticed Lisa, Alexa, Aura, Kyle, and Cream arrive. Hogi-San, Ryndar, and Cheese were being held by their respective owners.
"Hey guys!" Anthony said, waving at them. He then looked towards Cream and asked, "Cream? Where's your mother?"
"She's running some errands today, so Mom said I could spend the day with Lisa and Kyle," Cream explained.
"I see..." Anthony said, and then turned towards Aura. "And...how are you doing, Aura? You don't seem as stressed as you were earlier."
"I'm...fine..." Aura said, still sounding a bit unsure. "I'm still a bit shaken, but I'm recovering."
"Which is why I'm here," Alexa said. "I wished to keep an eye on Aura in case any other powers surfaced."
"Probably a good idea," Anthony said, and then revealed a small bundle of papers he was carrying. "Here...I printed this up for you, Aura. It's information on your reality we could find from the files on the Fleetway comic. This way, when you return, you'll be prepared."
"Oh...thank you..." Aura said, taking the bundle. "I'll look at this later, when I feel up to it."
"Okay...oh, and Mina wanted me to show you guys something else," Anthony said, taking another sheet of paper from his pocket. "Knuckles already saw this, but the rest of you should see it too. Sega just revealed a new character for an upcoming Sonic game on Earth."
The group gathered around the sheet of paper, all going "whoa" or "cool" or some iteration thereof. When Cream took a look...all she could do was gasp and stare.
The sheet had a list of information and a picture of the new character. The picture...was of a young Mobian rabbit with cream colored fur, orange markings around the eyes and on the tips of the ears, and wearing a red dress, red and yellow sneakers, and white gloves with gold buttons on the cuffs. The young rabbit even had a bow tie wearing Chao next to her.
"Oh...my..." Cream said, realizing who that was a picture of. "Th...that's...ME?!?"
"Congradulations, Cream and Cheese!" Julie-Su said, illiciting a small cheer from the group.
As the group cheered, Cream immediately grabbed Anthony in a hug and spoke a quiet, "Thank you..."
"Hey, don't thank ME," Anthony said. "I'm not in charge of creative control at Sega!"
"You only WISH you were, huh, Anthony?" Lisa asked.
"Nah...I'll leave that to that Cirrus Verant guy I saw who wrote that one Sonic fic," Anthony said, finally getting a break as Cream let go of her hug and wiped away a few tears of joy.
"I...I can't believe this..." Cream said as Cheese flitted nearby.
Anthony handed her the sheet and said, "Well...show that to your mother. I'm sure she'll be pleasantly surprised."
Cream giggled and said, "No doubt. Though...I can hardly believe it..."
[That's makes two of us,] Metal Sonic said.
"Well...we can talk about it later," Sally said, looking towards the theater. "Shall we see what's playing?"
The group nodded, and then they all filed into the theater.
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Extended Author's Note:
Okay folks, this is going to be...interesting...
See...I already have what happens in the theater posted elsewhere. Thing is...I can't post it here. Why?
Because it's a MiST...which is not allowed on Fanfiction.net.
However, since there are a couple of elements from the MiST that are pertinent to what happens next in the story, I will post the links to the MiST here. Consider this a break in the action while I take a break during the holidays. Anyways...here are the links:
http://www.marvinman.0catch.com/MiSTings/Anthony/sapt1.htm
http://www.marvinman.0catch.com/MiSTings/Anthony/sapt2.htm
http://www.marvinman.0catch.com/MiSTings/Anthony/sapt3.htm
http://www.marvinman.0catch.com/MiSTings/Anthony/sapt4.htm
Don't worry...the action will pick up quite a bit afterwards! Also...a friend of Nic's from the Archie Comic series will make her first appearance in Arcadia! See you next time!
(P.S.: Xing? If you are reading this, I hope it's okay. If not, I can edit/remove this part.)
Aura was lucky.
After the events of the previous day, she was afraid of having a nightmare regarding her parents, or worse...of Kharis. Instead, she slept peacefully...dreamless and waking up to the feeling of a wet nose pressing against her nuzzle.
Ryndar was still nuzzled against his "mother", sleeping peacefully in the comfort of Aura's arms. Aura responded by hugging the small Chao closer as she remembered what Kyle had said last night. Apparently, his words held, since the fear she felt from when she released the fire power had left.
Well...almost left.
She was still a bit scared, and one question seemed to haunt her. Why did she receive this power...a power that destroyed her parents so long ago? True...what Kyle said was right. Fire could destroy, but was also a source of warmth and comfort. However, she could not get past the fact that she did not want this power.
Yet...was there a purpose behind it?
If so, she hoped that time...and her new friends...could help her find it. For now...she was finding comfort in the nuzzlings of her Chao.
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As it happened, Aura wasn't the only one being cuddled.
Rouge began to wake up and noticed that she was in an embrace. Shadow had his arms around her, seeming to provide additional warmth to suppliment the warmth that the covers provided. She also noticed one thing...
Shadow was smiling.
This sight made Rouge feel warm on the inside as well. She knew that for a long time Shadow had very little or no reason to smile, after what had happened on the ARK and all. Now...it seemed that those demons had lifted and Shadow was once again happy.
She started to get up, carefully removing herself from Shadow's embrace. However, as she started to get up, she heard a quiet voice say, "Don't go..."
Rouge looked back and saw that Shadow was also awake, and appeared to be looking up at her with pleading eyes. She smiled and sat next to Shadow's prone form, and said, "We can't stay in bed forever, silly."
"Why not? I was asleep for fifty years," Shadow quipped back at Rouge.
Rouge smirked at that comment and leaned down to give Shadow a quick kiss on the cheek. "Maybe...but I'd rather spend my day doing things than just lying around. Besides...what would the others say?"
(A/N: Not...a...WORD...Marvin!)
"Let them say whatever they want," Shadow said. "I'm just happy being with you."
Rouge sat down next to him and said, "The feeling's mutual, Shadow..."
It was then that Shadow frowned and said, "Although..."
"Although what?" Rouge asked, now concerned at the change in Shadow's attitude.
"Well...I have no purpose now," Shadow said. "I mean, I'm grateful to have friends and companions again, but...what do I do now? I feel...empty without a purpose."
"We'll find something for you, Shadow," Rouge said. "Mobius is a big world, after all...and Arcadia's even bigger. There's bound to be a purpose for you somewhere."
"I...hope so..." Shadow said, and then looked up towards Rouge. "Thank you, Rouge."
Rouge smiled and then gave Shadow a small peck on the cheek. However...that small peck eventually turned into a longer liplock.
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"Well, good morning to you too."
Sally found herself being awakened by a kiss of her own, and saw the familiar green eyes of Sonic looking over her. Sonic responded to her statement, speaking softly, "Hey, what can I say? I couldn't resist living a fairy tale by kissing my princess awake."
Sally smiled and sat up, saying, "Maybe I should have you live at the palace from now on. I kind of liked that method of being woken up."
"Well, I don't think your father would approve...yet," Sonic said, and then extended a paw towards Sally. "Come...allow this cool blue hedgie to escort you to main room."
"Well...if you can wait a bit, I need to get into a robe first," Sally said.
Sonic nodded in understanding and waited outside. After a short while, Sally stepped out in her robe and the two headed towards the common room. As soon as Sonic stepped into the room, he stopped and motioned for Sally to wait. He had noticed Anthony and Amy still asleep in the chair, and was surprised. He then turned towards Sally and, barely whispering, said, "Sal...check this out!"
Sally looked where Sonic indicated, and noticed the two sleeping. She then placed a paw over her mouth and whispered a quiet, "Aww..."
"Heh...looks like the two conked out before either could make it to their beds," Sonic said.
"We should let them sleep," Sally said, looking at the small smile that was on Amy's face as she slept. "I'd hate to wake Amy up from whatever dream she's having to make her smile like that."
As soon as she said that, the elevator to the underground base opened and Red Sonic, Lazer, Mina, and Rebecca came out. They were talking with each other until they noticed Anthony and Amy still sleeping on the couch. Unfortunately...it was too late to be quiet, as Anthony started to stir from his sleep.
"Uh oh..." Mina said.
"Nice going, guys..." Sonic said.
Anthony began to open his eyes and look around at his surroundings. He noticed he was still holding a sleeping Amy, and even smiled a bit at the cute smile she had on her face. Almost immediately afterwards, when he shook some of the cobwebs out of his system, did he notice that he was being watched.
"Oh...uh..." Anthony began to say.
Rebecca motioned for Anthony to be quiet, and then whispered, "It's okay. You can tell us later. Besides...don't wake her. It looks too cute."
Anthony smirked at that comment, and looked back down at Amy. "No doubt...she DOES have that effect on people."
"Dare I ask what brought this on?" Red Sonic asked, also whispering along with the rest.
"Well...I guess it was my telling her that she was my hero," Anthony remarked. "Mostly because of the way she helped me over my emotions."
The females in the group all quietly let loose another "Awww...", and it was at this time that Amy started to stir from her sleep. As soon as she opened her eyes, she noticed Anthony looking back down at her.
"Anthony?" Amy said. "Wha...?"
"I think we both fell asleep while you had a tight hug on me last night," Anthony said. "Though, from the look of that smile on your face, you didn't seem to mind. Mind you...we attracted an audience..."
Amy looked around at the group that was sitting at various locations in the main room, and then blushed and said, "Aw, man..."
"Maybe you should get up now, Ames," Anthony said.
"I'm...still a little sleepy though..." Amy said, yawning to illustrate the point.
Anthony smiled and shook his head at this remark. "Alright...I'll let you snuggle a little longer..."
"Aw, geez...just spoil the kid rotten, why don't cha, Anth?" Sonic said.
"Alright, Sonic...I will," Anthony remarked, and then used a Telekinesis power to bring a blanket over to his chair. He then covered Amy with it, and Amy began to cuddle into it.
"Hmm...you did that as if you had experience with kids doing that to you, Anthony..." Lazer remarked.
"Well...a niece and several young cousins," Anthony said.
Just as Anthony finished saying that, Tails walked into the main room. He had already showered and put on his gloves and shoes, and looked very much awake...bright eyed and bushy tailed. (Pun VERY much intended.)
"Morning every..." Tails began to say, and then noticed Amy sleeping in Anthony's lap. "Awww..."
Anthony could tell this was going to be the way his morning was going to go. All he had left was to have Julie-Su go "Awww..." as well.
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[Rise and shine. This is your morning wake up call. Did you want us to turn down your beds when you leave?]
Both Teila and Tyreke woke up and found Metal Sonic looming over them. Tyreke shook his head and said, "Heh...why thank you, Metal. Uh...just don't leave a mint on the pillow this time."
Teila laughed at the quip and got up along with Tyreke. She was glad that Metal Sonic appeared to be out of his gloomy attitude. Apparently, whatever Sonic had said to him seems to have stuck.
Still...it was still strange to her that a robot needed to be cheered up in the first place. Even if that robot was made with an engram of Sonic's personality.
Metal Sonic left to allow the two of them to get cleaned up and dressed. As he exited their room, he observed Gamma apparently looking at a panel on his left arm. [What are you doing, E-Series?]
"STANDARD DIAGNOSTIC. DONE EVERY MORNING AT INITIAL STARTUP ROUTINE," Gamma replied in his usual monotone.
[Huh...like you'll really need to do that once we get updated by this "Dr. Light" person,] Metal Sonic replied. [Maybe he'll even give you some new speech subroutines so you don't sound like that...what was the name Davie-Kins mentioned? HAL?]
"YOU REFER TO THE COMPUTER FROM THE EARTH MOVIE '2001 - A SPACE ODDESSY'," Gamma replied.
[That's the one,] Metal Sonic confirmed. [So...you anxious to see what you'll look like updated?]
"THAT WOULD REQUIRE EMOTIONAL SUBROUTINES," Gamma said.
[Point taken,] Metal Sonic said. [Personally...I hope I don't stray too far from my badass self. While I was in the PHM's "service", I managed to look up on Earth's internet. Apparently, I have a lot of fans.]
"YOU ARE A METAL COPY OF THE HEDGEHOG, SONIC," Gamma said, contradicting him. "THOSE 'FANS', AS YOU CALL THEM, ARE PROBABLY THOSE OF THE HEDGEHOG."
[Nope...apparently I've got a few more fans than he has,] Metal Sonic said. [Even that two-tailed friend of his has more fans than he does.]
Gamma appeared to be taken aback by that. "THIS DOES NOT COMPUTE. I AM TOLD HE IS THE 'STAR' OF THE GAMES."
[Heh...well consider this your first lesson about being sentient, E-Series,] Metal Sonic said. [NOTHING is supposed to make sense.] After saying that, he walked away and let Gamma return to his diagnostics. As he walked away, he then said under his "breath", [Not even how I managed to be forgiven...]
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After finally getting showered and dressed, Aura made her way from her bedroom to where she heard Lisa talking. Ryndar was nestled in her arms and was getting in a quick nap while enjoying being cuddled. As soon as Aura arrived where Lisa was, she found her and Kyle sitting down to a breakfast Lisa had laid out, with Hogi-San nibbling on some fruit in a bowl. She also noticed that they had company...
"Alexa?"
Alexa, who was sipping on a small cup of coffee, looked up towards where Aura was and said, "Ah, good morning, Aura. I hope you don't mind, but after yesterday I figured I should come to see how you were."
"Oh...thank you, Alexa," Aura said, and sat down in a chair that Lisa offered her. "Actually...my night was quite peaceful."
"That's good to hear," Lisa said, sitting back down in her chair. As she sat down, Hogi-San bounded over to where Aura was and jumped into her lap, landing next to Ryndar. This caused Lisa to react. "Oh...Hogi-San! I'm sorry, Aura..."
"It's alright, Lisa. I think he just wanted to wish me and Ryndar a good morning," Aura said, smiling as she saw Hogi-San also give Ryndar a good morning hug. She then looked up at the others and asked, "So...what do you think the plan is for today?"
"Well...we'll probably have to wait to hear from the others," Lisa said. "Hopefully, we get to have a bit more fun together. Yesterday was just way too random for me."
"Funny...I thought you liked randomness, Lisa," Alexa quipped. "Especially the way you practice your spells..."
Lisa gave Alexa an evil look while Kyle tried to stifle a giggle. Aura began to smile a bit as well, feeling a bit better despite all that had happened.
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After a short while, Anthony decided to put Amy back in her room so she could rest and managed to get back into his room to dress. As he got dressed, he looked at himself in the mirror, and began to think. For some reason, just his street clothes seemed wrong to him. He looked over to where his armor was recharging...and had been recharging since the return from the Colony ARK.
He then nodded as if he had made a decision, and began to put on his armor. After a while, he looked in the mirror again, and nodded as if it looked right.
"Much better," Anthony said. He then grabbed his Sword of the Gamemaster and strapped it to his back, and walked out towards the common room where the others were talking. Many looked up as he walked in, and were surprised.
"Anthony? Why are you wearing your armor?" Sally asked.
"Just felt like it," Anthony said. "For some reason...I feel more comfortable wearing it now."
"Hmmm...'Some burdens can be carried easier when personal burdens are gone'," Lazer quoted. "Something my sensei taught me a long time ago."
Anthony nodded in agreement, and then looked around. When he noticed Julie-Su was awake, he asked her, "Julie? Didn't Knux wake up with you?"
"Are you kidding? This is one of the few times he's actually been able to relax," Julie-Su said. "On the island, all he does is worry about the protection of the Emeralds. And...now that the Servers are in your possession..."
"I get your point," Anthony said, and then headed towards the elevator leading to the underground base. "I'm going to practice my swordplay a bit and print out that information for Aura."
"Need a sparring partner?" Lazer said, standing up.
"Not for this. I'm going to try something different," Anthony said as the elevator doors slid open. As he stepped in, he then said, "When Knux wakes up, have him come down. I need to talk to him about something...in private."
"Sure thing, Anth," Sonic said.
The elevators then slid closed and the elevator headed down to the underground base. A few minutes later, Knuckles entered the room, already showered and dressed.
"Huh...speak of the devil," Julie-Su said as she noticed Knuckles.
"Huh?" Knuckles said. "Did I miss something?"
"Yeah...Anthony," Sally said. "He wanted to talk wtih you as soon as you woke up. He's in the underground base right now."
"I see..." Knuckles said, and then headed towards the elevator. As he waited for the elevator to open, Sally decided to turn on the television and check out the news.
Just as the elevator arrived and Knuckles stepped inside, a segment of a news story caught his ear. "...and experts are still at a loss to understand the appearance of a meteor storm last night over Station Square. No one can seemingly understand how it could have occured."
As the elevator doors closed, Knuckles scowled as he suspected that he knew what caused it.
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As soon as Knuckles arrived at the base, he headed towards where he could sense the presense of the Server Emeralds, knowing that was where Anthony was. When he arrived, he saw Anthony in a fighting stance, sword drawn and ready to fend off against some drones.
He was also blindfolded.
As soon as Anthony was ready, he said, "Begin." The drone fighters advanced on Anthony and Anthony began dispatching them one by one, dodging their strikes and shots and slashing at them with sword strikes. Within a few moments, the drones were reduced to scrap and Anthony removed his blindfold, replacing it with the glasses that he had in his jeans pocket.
It was then that he heard Knuckles's voice say, "Huh...if it isn't the Baultosai, the Bot Slayer."
Anthony gave Knuckles a sideways look and groaned. "Knux...that was horrid..."
"Well...why the 'Man Without Sight' routine there?" Knuckles asked.
"Just something I wanted to try," Anthony explained. "I wanted to see if I could fight using my psi to see my enemies."
"Looks like it worked," Knuckles said. "Looks like you're improving quite a bit in all levels. Speaking of which, I heard you wanted to speak with me. Is it perhaps about a certain meteor storm I heard about?"
Anthony smirked and said, "Figured out that was me, huh?" He then let out a sigh and began to explain the situation. "It was...a Descendancy Power. Astrokinesis."
"A Descendancy Power?!?" Knuckles said, surprised.
"One awakened by using the white Emerald," Anthony said. "Though I had it all along. It was just..."
Knuckles could sense there was more to Anthony's discovery. "What?"
"It didn't surface until after I let go of all my feelings," Anthony said. "After I had went on that crying jag with Amy comforting me and after I finally admitted to myself that...I needed Arcadia..."
Knuckles nodded in understanding, realizing what Anthony was saying. "I shouldn't be too surprised. We've seen your psionics fail to work or become affected another way whenever you were in an emotional state."
"I know, " Anthony said. "Thing is...I'm even more worried now."
"Oh?" Knuckles said, curious as to Anthony's comment.
"I don't want...or need this much power," Anthony said. "And yet...now that I've let my emotions go, it seems new powers are becoming known to me, connected to these Emeralds." He then looked towards Knuckles and said. "Knux, be honest. Am I ready for this?"
"That depends..." Knuckles said. "Just how scared are you?"
Anthony paused for a minute, pacing a bit as he did so. He then turned towards Knuckles and said, "Knux...I'm almost afraid to use the Emeralds again for fear of what else I might do...even by accident."
Knuckles nodded and then said, "In that case...you are ready. The fact that you recognize the danger those Emeralds represent if misused is proof that you're ready."
"Great..." Anthony said, not so sure he WAS ready.
"Don't worry," Knuckles said. "Right now, just relax. That's the reason you are here on the South Islands. Once the vacation is over, and once we get to Angel Island, I'll teach you all that you'll need to know."
"Alright," Anthony said, sheathing his sword.
"Now...what say we rejoin everyone upstairs?" Knuckles said. "Everyone's up right now, so we can decide what we're going to do today."
"Alright, but one moment," Anthony said as he headed towards the computer room. "I want to print up a couple of things."
"Oh, what?" Knuckles asked, as he followed Anthony.
"We found some info for Aura for when she returns to her own Mobius," Anthony said, as he sat down at one terminal and typed something. "Also, Mina found something...interesting."
"Oh, what's that?" Knuckles said. He then looked up at the screen and his eyes widened as he saw what Anthony was talking about. "Whoa..."
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After getting what he needed to print up, Anthony and Knuckles headed back up to the main room where the others were waiting. After Anthony sat down on the couch, he found himself being snuggled against five minutes later. He looked and saw Amy sitting there.
"Sorry, Anthony," Amy said, smiling innocently. "I wasn't quite finished snuggling!"
"No problem, Amy, but...uh..." Anthony said. "Why are you wearing your armor?"
Sure enough, Amy was wearing her own tech armor. As for the reason why...
"Well...I figured that if we saw Cream again, she might want to see it," Amy said.
"Heh..." Anthony said, chuckling a bit.
"Well, sounds like you're in a better mood now, Anthony," Mina said.
"Yeah," Anthony said. "I'm finally over my angst, and Knux just ensured me that my Guardian training should go well. I am NOT going to let anything ruin this vacation..."
Just as Anthony had said that, the news that people were watching on the television switched over to the weather. "Well, folks...you might want to stay inside today. We have heavy storms coming in, which should give the South Islands region a decent drenching. Any plans to go to Emerald Coast or Twinkle Park might have to wait until tomorrow..."
Anthony immediately sweatdropped upon hearing that. He then managed to get a giggle from the rest of the group when he said, "I have GOT to learn when to keep my mouth shut..."
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As it happened, Rouge and Shadow also just got the weather news.
"Oh, darn it..." Rouge said.
"What's wrong with rain, Rouge?" Shadow asked. "From what Maria told me about it, it's just water."
"Yes...but it's not fun being drenched," Rouge said. "Whatever we do today with the others, it'll be inside, that's for sure."
Shadow nodded in agreement, and then smirked as a thought crossed his mind. "Maybe we SHOULD have stayed in bed..." Rouge giggled at that statement.
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"Okay...there's gotta be SOMETHING we can do..."
Anthony and everyone else at the hotel room were busy looking over various pamphlets regarding Station Square. From time to time, people would speak up with suggestions.
"What about Casinopolis?" Sonic asked.
"Uh, Sonic?" Amy said. "Anth, myself, Tyreke? We psions would be kicked out..."
"Yeah, I can vouch for that," Mina said. "Tyreke was kicked out just as Teila and I were looking for him."
"Okay...then I'm stumped," Sonic said. "That's the only place I can think of where we..."
"Well...what about just catching a movie?" Lazer said. "I heard that the theater is still open."
"BOOOOOOOO-RING!" Sonic said.
"Like we have a CHOICE, Sonic?" Sally spoke up saying. "Not much else we can do today unless we wwant to be soaked...and if Metal Sonic and Gamma haven't been rustproofed recently..."
"Come on, bro," Red Sonic said. "You guys came here to relax, and where better to relax than a theater?"
"Yeah, you're right, bro," Sonic said, finally giving in. "Alright, let's do it."
"I'll tell the others to meet us there," Sally said, walking towards the phone.
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A few moments later found most of the group waiting outside the Station Square Theater. Anthony looked up warily towards the sky, noticing a few clouds gathering, but no sign of a storm.
"Well...skies are clear so far," Anthony said. "Maybe the weather reports are wrong."
"How could they be wrong?" Tails asked. "They use equipment here that's more advanced than on Earth, Anthony."
"Yeah, but the weather here could be like Minnesota's," Anthony said. "Amy can attest to how random the weather is there."
Just as the group laughed at that, they saw others walk up. This group included Shadow, Rouge, Teila, Tyreke, Metal Sonic, Gamma, Ryan, Bristy...and two others that the group recognized.
"Hey guys...look who we ran into!" Ryan said, indicating the two others: Nack and Nicollette. Nic still had a bandage on her muzzle to cover a cut and had a cast over her lower arm.
"Yeah...Nic just got discharged from the hospital, and Ryan suggested we join you guys," Nack said. "We were hoping you guys could help us with finding a place to go for work, now that I'm officially out of the thug for hire business."
"Well, THAT could be difficult, considering your rep, Nack," Knuckles said. Just as Knuckles said that, another voice spoke up.
"Perhaps...I can help."
Everyone looked towards the source of the voice, and saw Sara walking up to the group. Ryan snickered and whispered to Anthony. "Hey...your girlfriend's here!"
Anthony gave Ryan a sneer and said, "Unless you want to make Bristy a widow before you're married...stifle it!"
"*gulp* Yessir..." Ryan said, quickly.
"How can you help, Sara?" Sally asked.
"Well...my father had actually procured Nack's services one time for the government," Sara explained. "I'm sure he can help find a permanent position for Nack now that he has a sister to support. Perhaps...to help catch other thieves?"
"Heh...the old 'takes a thief to catch a thief' thing, eh?" Nack said.
"Which probably means you'll be working under me," Rouge said, smiling evilly towards Nack and causing him to gulp in fear.
As the group began to talk, Anthony noticed Lisa, Alexa, Aura, Kyle, and Cream arrive. Hogi-San, Ryndar, and Cheese were being held by their respective owners.
"Hey guys!" Anthony said, waving at them. He then looked towards Cream and asked, "Cream? Where's your mother?"
"She's running some errands today, so Mom said I could spend the day with Lisa and Kyle," Cream explained.
"I see..." Anthony said, and then turned towards Aura. "And...how are you doing, Aura? You don't seem as stressed as you were earlier."
"I'm...fine..." Aura said, still sounding a bit unsure. "I'm still a bit shaken, but I'm recovering."
"Which is why I'm here," Alexa said. "I wished to keep an eye on Aura in case any other powers surfaced."
"Probably a good idea," Anthony said, and then revealed a small bundle of papers he was carrying. "Here...I printed this up for you, Aura. It's information on your reality we could find from the files on the Fleetway comic. This way, when you return, you'll be prepared."
"Oh...thank you..." Aura said, taking the bundle. "I'll look at this later, when I feel up to it."
"Okay...oh, and Mina wanted me to show you guys something else," Anthony said, taking another sheet of paper from his pocket. "Knuckles already saw this, but the rest of you should see it too. Sega just revealed a new character for an upcoming Sonic game on Earth."
The group gathered around the sheet of paper, all going "whoa" or "cool" or some iteration thereof. When Cream took a look...all she could do was gasp and stare.
The sheet had a list of information and a picture of the new character. The picture...was of a young Mobian rabbit with cream colored fur, orange markings around the eyes and on the tips of the ears, and wearing a red dress, red and yellow sneakers, and white gloves with gold buttons on the cuffs. The young rabbit even had a bow tie wearing Chao next to her.
"Oh...my..." Cream said, realizing who that was a picture of. "Th...that's...ME?!?"
"Congradulations, Cream and Cheese!" Julie-Su said, illiciting a small cheer from the group.
As the group cheered, Cream immediately grabbed Anthony in a hug and spoke a quiet, "Thank you..."
"Hey, don't thank ME," Anthony said. "I'm not in charge of creative control at Sega!"
"You only WISH you were, huh, Anthony?" Lisa asked.
"Nah...I'll leave that to that Cirrus Verant guy I saw who wrote that one Sonic fic," Anthony said, finally getting a break as Cream let go of her hug and wiped away a few tears of joy.
"I...I can't believe this..." Cream said as Cheese flitted nearby.
Anthony handed her the sheet and said, "Well...show that to your mother. I'm sure she'll be pleasantly surprised."
Cream giggled and said, "No doubt. Though...I can hardly believe it..."
[That's makes two of us,] Metal Sonic said.
"Well...we can talk about it later," Sally said, looking towards the theater. "Shall we see what's playing?"
The group nodded, and then they all filed into the theater.
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Extended Author's Note:
Okay folks, this is going to be...interesting...
See...I already have what happens in the theater posted elsewhere. Thing is...I can't post it here. Why?
Because it's a MiST...which is not allowed on Fanfiction.net.
However, since there are a couple of elements from the MiST that are pertinent to what happens next in the story, I will post the links to the MiST here. Consider this a break in the action while I take a break during the holidays. Anyways...here are the links:
http://www.marvinman.0catch.com/MiSTings/Anthony/sapt1.htm
http://www.marvinman.0catch.com/MiSTings/Anthony/sapt2.htm
http://www.marvinman.0catch.com/MiSTings/Anthony/sapt3.htm
http://www.marvinman.0catch.com/MiSTings/Anthony/sapt4.htm
Don't worry...the action will pick up quite a bit afterwards! Also...a friend of Nic's from the Archie Comic series will make her first appearance in Arcadia! See you next time!
(P.S.: Xing? If you are reading this, I hope it's okay. If not, I can edit/remove this part.)