Chapter 18 – Preparations and Breaks

Clay's POV

OK. I won't explain how it went – as it was kind of…labyrinthine – so let's just say that I lost my temper and whacked Emerald in the head.

Deciding to do more training, Mecha offered us a training lesson to handle the next upcoming battles. We were walking through the hallways. I was in a bit of a grumpy mood, but I was OK. Mecha was still perplexed by what happened, but seemed fine – seriously; how come people act so CHILL when somebody attempted to see their privates?! Emerald was smiling…though dizzy with a huge bump on her head. Sebastian and Bubblegum were still a bit dazed of that stupid prank.

At one point, we passed by Sonic who was leaning against the wall.

"Hey there!" he said. "Everything's alright?"

"Yeah…" Bubblegumm, Mecha and I in unison. "We're good…"

Sonic looked a bit surprised. "That's a shocker. No longer seeing 'Try-Hard' here trying to push people of the cliff."

Mecha just laughed at him slightly after a second. He sounded a bit sad. "In your dreams, hedgehog."

The blue hedgehog looked concerned. "Are you OK? You look a bit beaten up."

"Eh…I'm still progressing all of this, but I'm feeling better…I won't bully anyone anymore."

"So what now?" said Emerald.

"We got the first generator destroyed," explained Sonic. "And there is the second one at Death Egg. We are trying to come up with a plan to destroy it without losing too many squads. A lot of soldiers died before. We need a better plan. In the meantime, knucklehead sent many squads to check up on the bunkers in different countries."

"Well, that's good to know," said Bubblegum.

All of a sudden, Sebastian pointed to my right arm. "What…is…that?"

"Huh?" I said.

"What is that you are hiding?"

I looked at my right arm still covered in white bandage. "Um…it's just a scratch…I got it from last night."

"No," said Sebastian. "What is THAT black fur coming out from the bandage?"

My eyes widened. I looked at the end bit of the bandage…there was…still blackness travelling through my arm.

It was enough for all of us to see.

I was about to lie when Bubblegum grabbed my right hand and ripped the bandage off.

RIIIIIIIIIIP!

"Ouch!" I yelled. "That hurts!"

"What the hell?!" said Bubblegum.

I looked at my arm.

It was partly…covered in black.

It didn't reach the elbow part.

It felt…strange.

"What?" said Sonic. "Why is there…?"

"What's going on?" said Amy from the meeting room. She looked from the room and saw my infected hand. "Oh…bring him in."

I broke into a cold sweat nervously. I slowly walked into the meeting room and I saw the shocked and worried looks of the Resistance leaders. I also noticed that Shadow was there as well – Sonic found him and the ones that seemingly teamed up with Eggman were replicas made from the Phantom Ruby.

I was almost tempted to hide my arm, but everyone saw it, so I just slightly raised my right arm up.

"What the…?" said Knuckles.

"Jeez!" said Silver. "That looks nasty."

"Is that the Black Death?" said Charmy.

"I don't think it is," said Espio flatly.

"Rookie?" said Amy. "When did you have that?"

I sighed. "I see…I have no other choice, huh. You see…I have it for 6 months already."

"6 FREAKING months?!" said Bubblegum. "That is like the entire war!"

"And when we first saw you, your right arm was perfectly fine," said Sonic.

"I swear!" I said. "I don't know anything about this. The reason why I never told anyone about this is because we got bigger worries already. The war! Hello? The only thing I know is that whenever my arm gets dark, I feel…darkness."

"What?" said Knuckles.

"Yeah…a lot of negative emotions…pain…anxiety…anger…sadness…stress…I don't know…"

"Wait…" said Mecha.

He went up to me and observed my rings again. He looked at them before staring at my black arm.

"When…did you found those rings?" he asked.

"I don't know," I said. "Belt said that he found them in a cave a long time ago. I have them on my wrists for my entire life."

Mecha snapped his fingers, possibly solving the problem. "Ges I hynny! NOW I know. Those rings are powerful and have an unlimited source of energy."

('Ges I hynny' means 'I got it' in Welsh)

"Unlimited?" said Amy.

"I never seen these rings before," said Knuckles.

"They don't look like they are made by Chaos," said Sonic.

"I might as well get into quick history. There are two pair of rings; one pair that holds the power of light and the other holds the power of dark. Nobody knows where they come from. Some claimed that they were both made by demigods of Chaos and were placed in Australia. The last owners of those rings passed away and the rings were hidden in a cave, waiting for their next owners who would will use and wear them…FOR LIFE. Nobody knows what else lies in those powers. Belt wears the green rings, right?"

"Um…yes he does."

"That means that Belt has the power of light. You – on the other hand – have the power of dark. Belt has the ability to activate the dark powers of your rings. He must have shut your powers, but accidentally unlocked them on the day the war started. Therefore, you are known as the Dark Wolf!"

A collective gasp arose from everyone.

"What?!" said Tails.

"So…it's like the Dark Gaia?" said Sonic. "Dark powers?"

Mecha nodded.

"So that's why Infinite called him that!" said Bubblegum. "Because Rookie's powers are like nothing else in the world!"

"But that doesn't make ANY SENSE!" I said. "The rings I only provide some kind of yellow energy and not dark energy."

"That's just the beginning," continued Mecha. "Every time you stress out, those rings will cause your body to cover in darkness."

"And what will happen is Rookie is…fully black?" asked Charmy.

"I remember from my nightmares," I said. "There was this shadow monster...trying to tempt me to 'release the beast'."

"That means that…" Mecha said nervously. He hesitated for a moment – as if looking like he didn't want to admit the truth to me – before talking in a hushed tone. "…you'll…be evil…the darkness will take over your mind…and…you will start to think negative thoughts…you may not be able to control yourself…you may…there's a slight chance that you will join Eggman because…of his doomsday plan…but you will hurt people…no wonder why you lost your temper yesterday."

I was shocked.

If I am fully covered by darkness, I will become…evil.

And I nearly gave into the darkness as I nearly hurt my teammates.

All of a sudden, the memory of seeing my brother killed entered my mind.

"CLAY!" he screamed.

I clutched my stomach and let out a gasp. I felt the darkness continuing to spread my arm.

"ROOKIE!" yelled Mecha, grabbing my arm. "Calm down! You don't want to do this, right?! Then try to relax."

I managed to block the memory and started to breathe in and out. Slowly, the darkness disappeared, but the blackness on my arm was still there.

"R-Rookie…" said Amy. "Your eyes…"

"What is it?" I said.

"T…they were golden before…but they flashed…yellow…"

"Yeah…" said Bubblegum. "I saw your eyes turn yellow every time you are worried…it's gradually building up."

I looked down, ashamed and worried for everyone's safety. I turned around and was about to walk away when Sonic grabbed my hand again.

"Don't try to run away, Rookie," said Sonic. "That will make it worse. We can't just dump you. We need those powers to win the war, but we need to learn how to control them. But they're yours, Rookie. YOU need to learn how to control your feelings."

Mecha winced a little. "I believe there is a cure to get rid of the darkness for a while, but we have to find it when we get back home. Please don't worry. If you do, you'll be close to changing sides soon."

Knowing that fear is going to kill me, I took a deep breath and sighed. "OK then."

"Alright then," said Sonic as everybody relaxed. "So now what?"

"We still need to stop Eggman from destroying the world," said Amy. "We only have two days left, so let's get going!"


Third Person's POV

As the Black Squad passed by, Tails watched them while rubbing his chin. However, he had his eyes on Mecha. The last time Minty was around, she was with him before she…

"Oh…Minty…" thought Tails, nearly crying. "Something happened to her. Mecha said he had no choice but to drop her. As much as I want to deny it, something…something is not right about him…oh, no…probably, maybe someone can help."

He saw Shadow leaning against the wall. He went up to the black hedgehog.

"Hey Shadow?" said Tails.

Shadow scoffed. "What?"

"I got something to ask you."

"What is it?"

"Do you know that bird named…Mecha Nism?"

Shadow thought and remembered the turquoise bird he saw in the meeting room. "Well, don't know much about him."

"You two met before 10 months ago. He was the guy who tried to stop you and Infinite from fighting."

Shadow looked surprised. "Well…I thought I killed him."

"Apparently, he is still alive after you gave him the boot. Remember? Black goggles? Cyan feathers? That scar?"

"A…scar? He…didn't have one. The last time I saw the blue bird before the war. He had a bandage over his eye…"

Shadow paused, thinking clearly. "…unless the wound under it healed and became a permanent eye scar."

"Well…" said Tails nervously. "I…and another soldier named Minty found this information at Mystic Jungle. It was on a video. However, today, she disappeared. She was with Mecha during the full frontal attack, but she…died."

"I don't think that speaks well for this situation," said Shadow.

"That bird was pretty mean to his squad. However, he was trying to defend Infinite many months ago. He didn't even dare to fight him during at Metropolis."

"That is kind of confusing."

Tails sighed. "I'm not sure if this is true, but…Minty stated that…Mecha is working with Eggman the whole time."

Shadow stood up. "What?"

"Well, he must be a spy from Eggman, so he's probably stealing information or trying to find a way to sabotage our missions. He's been acting like a jerk and Minty said that 'it is how bad guys would do'."

Shadow sighed and shook his head. He was starting to have reasonable doubt, but he wasn't sure if Mecha was the one who was part of Infinite's squad long ago. He swore that he killed the bird, but…he appeared to be still alive. It frustrated Shadow a lot; the war, the illusionary world he was stuck in and Infinite took their toll.

However, Shadow agreed to Tails' opinion. He couldn't deny it.

"I'm not sure about this, but I see your point," said the black hedgehog gruffly, rubbing his forehead. "I will take it from here."

"Not yet!" said Tails. "We don't have any hard evidence."

"Evidence? I don't care if we do not have any 'hard evidence'. We already know the facts, so saying it from the mouth will be enough.

"I already sent the footage through the Resistance Network System, but is is encrypted and it's going to take me a while to find the right file. Now, it will be hard to convince the others if we just openly tell them. Mecha won't talk about this and he will threaten violence to anyone when asked if he knows Infinite before."

"Just keep an eye out on him," said Shadow, walking away. "If anything happens to NOT be under control, I will take care of that…PERSONALLY."

Tails shuddered, knowing what Shadow meant.


Clay's POV

As our 'teacher', Mecha set something up. He had created some kind of small maze with different blocks and obstacles. He even set up a tall tower only made of wooden crates.

And it was stable enough to not fall down!

Bubblegum, Emerald and I stood at the starting point. Sebastian decided to watch on, saying that Mecha trained him 'many times already'.

A loud slam could be heard from the tower.

"LISTEN UP!" called Mecha strictly, holding something as he stood over the tower. "We have only one generator left to destroy, but I believe that Eggman will put more defenses there. We have only two days left until he wipes out everyone. The Eggman Empire is currently the most powerful empire in the world. They are the strongest unless we can stop them! They have an army of robots and the illusions of the Phantom Rubies. If you want to fight, you have to stay strong. So to kick things off, let's start with an important skill: dodging."

Bubblegum and Emerald gasped at what he brought. It was a large sniper gun that looked tough and new. It was in a stunning yellow, turquoise and light blue colour. It had the words 'XS 5' in gold written on it. Unlike a normal sniper, it had a tank connected to it at the bottom and seemed to be filled with turquoise liquid.

"Is that a FLOOD SPLASH weapon?!" said Bubblegum.

"I always practice with other weapons," explained Mecha. "So I can know how to use OR counter them in battle. I mostly use hands-on weapons like bombs or swords."

"But you are afraid of swords…"

"Wait," I said. "What is a 'Flood Splash'?"

"It's a powerful weapon made from Forest Tournament Town," said Mecha. "This one is Version XS 5. This sniper has the longest range out of the set. This training of mine ain't gonna be easy! The shots will be painful, but they won't kill you. One hit and you have to start again. You have to get to the tower without getting shot OR using your powers and weapons! Who's up first?"

Bubblegum pushed me. "You go first."

"Um…" I said. "No thanks…I rather see how you do it first…"

"But you are in the front first."

"…ffffffine!"

I took a step back and ran onto the obstacle course.

Only to be shot.

BLAM!

"EEEEYAH!" I screamed.

I doubled over and laid on the floor, holding onto my crotch.

"Well, looks like I cleaned somebody's balls," said Mecha with a smirk.

"You only gave him ONE SECOND!" said Emerald, shocked.

"Correction. It's 1.56937 seconds…whatever. You have to train extra hard NOW. This is the EXTREME level. So…show me what you got now."

Bubblegum sighed. "This is going to be a long day."

So far, we got shot in our next few tries. However, we came up with a strategy to not get hit. For me, I decided to move a lot. It worked. Sort of. Eventually, I was able to dodge every flying bullet of water. Bubblegum was able to pass as well by doing acrobatic moves. Emerald was pretty past on her feet, so she was able to get past the bullets fastly.

"Not bad," said Mecha smiling. "Onto the next course!"

Within moments, he changed the obstacle course into a more difficult one.

"Ooh…" said Emerald.

"What?!" said Bubblegum.

"The hell…?" I said.

It was probably the largest and longest obstacle course Mecha made. There was the starting line, then barb wires, a ladder rope set, a tightrope over an oil pool below, monkey bars with water below, parkour platforms set above goo, a hanging wire above mud and the tower where Mecha was at.

"Alright!" called Mecha. "Rookie! You're up first!"

"Oh no…" I said.

I sighed and started the course. I slowly went through the barb wire by crawling under it. It felt…fine at first. I thought that I might be able to go through this course…that was until...

"Expect to be shot on the battlefield!" said Mecha.

That was when a robot drone started to shoot at me.

"GOOD LORD!" I screamed.

I started to crawl quickly to avoid the incoming lasers. Even though those drones were harmless, I didn't want to be shot. Eventually – to my surprise – I was running on all fours like a REAL wolf!

After I managed to get through the barb wires, I went over the ladder rope set. It wasn't that bad.

And then came the tightrope.

Eh…did I say that I'm bad in balancing before?

That's because I'm REALLY bad when going over a tightrope.

I looked down, feeling anxious about THAT part of the course.

I slowly placed my foot on the wobbly tightrope.

Then, I placed the next one.

And just like that, I immediately fell into the disgusting black oil pool below.

SPLASH!

"OH MY GOODNESS! OH MY!"

As soon as I hit the pool, I quickly jumped out and tried to get out. I was lucky that the pool wasn't too deep as the oil only strained my back. Trying to shake the oil from my fur, I ran out of the pool in a haste. Once I was done, I looked down at myself.

The oil stained my clothing and I could see that my hair and tail were covered in black oil. When I lifted up my armpit, I smelled like petrol.

"Ugh…" I groaned, holding onto my nose. "Gross…"

"Out…" said Mecha, shaking his head. "Bubblegum. You're next."

The pink cat sighed and made her way. She was able to clear the first half of the course. I was surprised of how she was able to get through this. I know that she was skilled in strength and agility, but she was going through this parkour course like a champion! She had good speed and balancing when going through the barb wire, the ladder rope set and the tightrope.

That ended when she went through the monkey bars.

As she climbed on the bars, something popped out from the water pool below.

A fish with SHARP TEETH.

It flew upwards and nearly touched her hand – 'bite' should be the right word – before falling down.

Bubblegum's eyes widened. "What the…?

"Oh…" snickered Mecha slyly. "I forgot to mention that I got Sebastian to infest the water pool with…ha, ha, ha…ROBOT PIRANHAS!"

It was then revealed that there were MORE robot piranhas attempting to bite Bubblegum. They poked their heads from the water and kept on opening and closing their mouths, revealing their metallic, sharp teeth.

I felt faint. "Good thing I didn't have to go through that…"

Bubblegum stared at the piranhas dumbly with obvious dread. Like a creaking door, she slowly lifted up her head to glare at Sebastian.

The lime wolf cheerily gave her the thumbs up.

"When I'm done," she said. "I'll chop off your head with your kantanas."

Growling, she struggled to get through the monkey bars, trying not to get bitten by the piranhas on the hands and legs. She had to stop and punch some of them out of the way. Eventually, one of the piranhas bit her tail.

Bubblegum let out a small yelp, quickly looking behind.

With her distracted, Bubblegum soon pinned down by the remaining fish and splashed into the water. I nearly screamed, but the pool was only knee-high. Bubblegum quickly ran out of the water and started hopping and kicking like a maniac. She screamed as she tried to get rid of a few piranhas that were attached to her ears, tails, fingers and shoes.

By the time she managed to kick them off, she was right in front of Sebastian.

"Sorry…" said Sebastian sheepishly.

Bubblegum narrowed her eyes.

She grabbed Sebastian in a headlock and slapped his bottom.

SLAP!

"AH!" exclaimed Sebastian.

"Emerald!" said Mecha. "You're up!"

Emerald looked at the course nervously. "But…but…"

"I'm going to regret this," muttered Mecha under his breath, before smirking. "If you finish the course, I will give you your favourite treat!"

He pulled out an ICE CREAM SUNDAE. The second Emerald saw it, she went NUTS. She went charging through the entire obstacle course – including being oblivious to being covered in oil, water and being bitten by the piranhas – and collided with the tower.

WHOMP!

This caused the whole stack of wooden crates to fall down, breaking into several pieces. They smashed into the ground, making a huge mess.

A screaming Mecha crashed down.

Including that sundae.

Happily, Emerald started to eat the ice cream treat while a bruised Mecha slowly got out…only for a wooden crate to hit him on the head.

BONK!

He stumbled backwards. "You know what…let's not do this anymore."

Finally (after I got a shower), he got us to do aiming and shooting…only for ME. Bubblegum was already an ace in shooting and Emerald STILL doesn't know how to aim. Since I was the one who was still learning, Mecha wanted to show me some tricks.

"You want to be a good sniper?" he said as he motioned me between the White Wispon and the targets. "You not only have to shoot these targets, you have to use your skills."

He threw the Wispon into the air, watched it spin before catching it. He rapidly pressed the triggers, shooting light blue lasers at the targets with no misses.

During this, Mecha used some of his moves by doing a backflip, spinning around and did that same roundhouse kick. Yeah, he was trying to show off.

By the time he was done, he smirked.

"W…wow!" I said surprised. "That was terrific."

"Thank you," said Mecha smugly. "And I know. Let's see if you can try."

"OK…"

I decided to try doing the 'throw-spin-catch' technique Mecha did, so I threw my Wispon into the air…

BONK!

And landed onto Mecha.

"Ouch…"

The second time, he stood a distance away from me.

I threw the Wispon…a bit too high.

BONK!

And then, you could hear the noticeable thunk of Mecha collapsing on the floor head-first.

The third time, I was successful. I threw it, letting it spin, and I caught it. For a couple of tries, I was just shooting the targets in a normal way. Then, I had my own idea. Knowing a few dance moves, I did some and successfully, I was able to land a hit on every target without missing. Most of the time, I was spinning around, nearly shooting a few other things by mistakes. It was a relief that I didn't shoot anyone.

After I shot the last target, I threw my Wispon in the air, watched it spin and caught it, blowing the smoke from the mouth.

Bubblegum and Emerald clapped.

Mecha was impressed.

"You're ready, kid," he said, patting my back. "You got those skills, so no need to lift those dumb bells for the war."


I slumped onto a chair pretty exhausted. After a few hours of training, I felt exhausted. Unlike last time, I kind of enjoyed it.

I looked up to see Mecha smirking.

"How did the training go, puppy?" he said.

"Fine…" I said quietly getting up.

"Have you seen my Yellow Wisp? I can't find him anywhere."

"…I'm not sure…the last time I saw yours is when Bubblegum let him go off to play with some other Yellow Wisps."

"…you know what, I will pick him up later. If he's safe, then I'm happy."

He sat next to me. "You kind of remind me of Finn."

"What?"

"Yeah…he…nearly has the same fur color as you and he is shy like you. He is a bit more cheerful than you."

"…I'm not sure if that's true…I got a question…do you…know Belt?"

Mecha sighed. "Yeah…"

I gave him a look. "Did you…bully him?"

The bird inhaled sheepishly. "Well…two times to be exact. Sorry. All I did was push him to the ground. The second AND last time I did that, he got upset, so he…beat me up in return. He didn't stop, until I saw stars. That was when I decided to stop bugging him."

I tutted. It must have been on the day when I saw Belt coming back home looking so ticked off. I remembered that day because I had never seen him so angry before.

"I never seen you live in town before," said Mecha. "Where do you two live?"

"Well…Belt…and I…lived in the forest…"

Mecha looked shocked. "WHAT?! Then how come you know how to speak or have knowledge of some things?! How can you even SOCIALIZE with other people? How do you even earn money?"

"Uh…Belt taught me a thing or two…with some textbooks. I guess that is how I know most facts about the world. He was the only person who I stuck around with…I can talk with others, but…as I never meet new people before…I'm kind of shy. I have poor social skills unless I'm around with someone I'm close to. And for the money…Belt managed to deal with it. He had a job where he sell newspapers, paid the insurances and was able to buy enough food for the two of us along with some…wolfish needs."

"Ah. That's why he always throw newspapers at people."

I smiled a little. For some reason, I felt…comfortable with Mecha being around me unlike last time. I started to feel like he is a brother to me. I guessed that being a brother of two younger siblings gave him that character.

Pushing aside the bully act, he shown me that he does have a heart out of pure gold. I was satisfied that he was beginning to be much kinder. Maybe he isn't too bad after all. It is nice of him to become a good person, excluding the part where he can be teasing at times. That was just minor.

I wondered how Belt would react to this. Mecha said that he pushed my older brother two times. My guess? Mecha would be a goner.

I nearly laughed at the thought of Belt pulling off Mecha's feathers.

"Hmm…" I thought. "I'm not sure of what is happening to Belt. Is he OK? Is he dead...? ARGH…don't think like that. Maybe Eggman is treating Belt as a slave. I swear I will come to wherever he is and…I…I have to wait…for now…"

I cleared my throat.

"Um…I know that you don't have a good relationship with you mum…and you want to see your dad, but you can't get to him…but do…d…do…"

"'Do', 'do', 'do', 'do'," mimicked Mecha jokingly.

I rolled my eyes. "I mean…do your siblings try to help you?"

The bird hesitated. He sighed as he brought his knees close to his chest and wrapped his arms around them.

"Um…well…they DO care about me," he explained. "Even when I tried to push them away. My two brothers and three sisters want to help me the best they could, even though they feared our mother. Mostly, it was my twin sister Nicki. About her…at least you don't have to grow up with her. She's pretty annoying. She want to help me and give me MONEY, but I told her that she didn't need to. Of course, she wanted to make me feel proud of her, so she did kind of a…risky thing…she earned money in…stupid ways."

He looked down, looking a little numb.

"One thing I regret was not telling her to not sell her items. She tried to get money during a school trip in Sydney by selling her UNDERWEAR to a bunch of men. It didn't work, so she just put the underwear on the ground along with a sign that said 'UNDERWEAR $400' and slept beside it. When she woke up, she found it missing and there was no cash, so she looked for it…only to find a flying seagull who gave it back to her. Never knew how the undies got stolen in the first place…"

As Mecha talked on, I couldn't help but hear Ash coming up to Bubblegum who was practicing her shooting skills.

"Hey Bubblegum," said Ash.

"Hi," said Bubblegum then noticed his Chao. "Ah…your buddy is here."

"Chao!" said the Chao, landing onto Bubblegum's shoulder.

Ash chuckled a little. "I think he likes you."

That was when he noticed that Mecha was talking to me.

"So…" he said, sounding surprise. "You already good with Big Blue?"

"Yeah," said Bubblegum. "You…you probably already know why…Rookie comforted him and I told him that he doesn't need to do things alone…so we're cool for now."

"That's cool," said Ash mischievously. "But do you want to see something COOLER?"

"Uh…yes?"

Ash cackled and I heard the unmistakable click of a gun.

I looked behind to see him holding ONE.

"Oh, this is gonna be VERY COOL," said Ash, his glasses shining.

"...I don't think he ever found it," continued Mecha. "Sorry. I was rambling on about my siblings."

"You are lucky to have so many brothers and sisters," I said, thinking of whether running off before Ash does something illegal.

Mecha smirked. "Well, at least you only have only ONE older brother. Can't have too many-!"

BANG!

Ash pressed the trigger and the bullet went flying. It hit Mecha's hair feathers, causing the duct tape to come off along with the broken feather parts.

They dropped onto the ground in front of him.

Mecha's eye twitched.

He turned around to see the laughing Ash and Bubblegum who was struggling to keep herself together.

"HEY! WHO SHOT ME?!" snapped Mecha. "IT'S NOT FUNNY!"

Concluding that it was Ash who did it, Mecha pulled out a nearby CHAINSAW.

"He, he, he…" he laughed with a slasher smile and a psychotic look in his eyes. "Let's see how you feel when I tear off YOUR stupid feathers!"

Ash's lips (or at least what they are called since it's hard to tell for his beak) shrank to a tiny circle. "Uh oh."

Eventually, the two birds broke into a run. Ash was laughing his head off while being chased by the berserk angered Mecha. They ran from one side to the other and back again with Mecha unable to catch up to Ash.

"COME BACK, YOU STUPID SPARROW!" he screeched.

CRASH!

"You will never catch me!" mocked Ash.

Bubblegum and Ash's Chao just watched. I came towards them.

"O…K…" I said awkwardly. "That was unexpected."

"That always happen," said Bubblegum as the Chao rest in her hands. "I've seen Mecha triggered like this before."

"Should we stop them?"

"Nah. They will tire out…"

CRASH!

"…eventually."


Bubblegum's POV, 30 minutes later…

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

I shot down as many targets as I could with my Wispon. There was no target I missed, no fault I did and no bullets wasted.

Actually, the correct word was 'spiky balls', but I prefer 'bullets'.

Ash's Chao – who was sitting on my shoulder – clapped his little hands. He was squeaking happily, cheering me.

"Thanks, little buddy," I said, patting it.

CRASH!

I slowly looked behind to see Mecha and Ash chasing each other. They were running from one side of the room to the other. They were doing this for 30 FREAKING MINUTES. I thought that Mecha would stop, but I was wrong.

Whenever you ticked someone off, they would be zealous.

I groaned, shaking my head in annoyance.

My Pink Wisp came out and sighed at the ongoing chase.

"Those two idiots," I said to her. "Huh?"

That was when Ash's Chao noticed my Wisp. He flew towards her and reached out his hand as an offer to handshake. My Wisp just looked away, crossing her tentacles.

"Pink," I said. "Be nice."

Sighing, my Wisp shook hands with the Chao.

My mind suddenly went out of focus when I heard something.

More like someone.

It sounded like…singing?

I looked at where Rookie was singing. He had his headphones on and there was loud Electro Rock music blasting loudly from his headphones. Apparently, they were connected to his phone. I recognized some of the songs he was listening to. Some of them were on the charts. Most of the music he was listening to are rock covers.

So he is pretty more 'emo' than me since I'm not a fan of rock. I prefer ballad pop.

He was moving around on his wooden crate in a rhythmic way. It was funny I got to say; sometimes, he would be pretending to be playing an electric guitar or bobbing his head up and down. His eyes closed, enjoying the music. He seemed to be daydreaming, singing at the top of his lungs. Maybe it was because he put the volume too loud. His voice was really raspy and young, but unsurprisingly, he sound good.

His Cyan Wisp was next to him. Since she was nearby, she was dancing away to the music blasting from Rookie's headphones.

I didn't think he EVEN noticed me, since he was so into the music. I crept up to him. When he saw me, he let out a scream and his headphones fell off. He even nearly tipped over, but quickly used his foot to stop him from falling.

"Really, idiot?" I said.

"Heh heh…" chuckled Rookie, trying to laugh it off, even though he wasn't smiling.

I rolled my eyes.

He sat up and turned off his music.

"I-I-I kind of…got away with…the music…" Rookie said nervously.

"I heard you howling-I mean 'singing'," I said.

It was Rookie's turn to roll his eyes.

"You have a good voice."

Rookie looked at me surprised. "W-what?! W-W-What are you talking about?!"

"I just heard you, you know," I complimented. "Sounds a bit like a rock star."

Rookie blushed a bit. "OK. Maybe I am."

"Do you sing that much?"

"Well…I do play music with my brother…he is also a good singer…I play the keyboard…and he plays the guitar…"

"No wonder why Belt's voice can be charming at times."

Rookie chuckled. "Ya think?"

A question came to mind.

"Now that I saw your phone," I said. "Can you…call Belt?"

Rookie's eyes turned yellow. He looked down. "I don't think so. My mobile data died a long time ago. I don't know how I'm supposed to pay it. I'm not really all into this 'tech purchasing' things."

"I know phones that die easily," I said. "My phone doesn't have a good mobile connection."

Rookie's eyes slowly turned back to gold. He nodded. "I wonder why."

I smiled a bit. His last witty line was a joke and had a side of sarcasm.

"Bubblegum…" Rookie said. "What do you…do you…think of Belt?"

"He was a good friend," I said simply. "He was nice and all. He…he sometimes snapped at Emerald for some of her stupid pranks. I don't really know him well on a personal level, but I know that he was polite to me. Snarky 50%...or maybe more than that. He had a good heart and sometimes told me that he wishes to go on journeys due to living in his home for a long time. By the way, why didn't he let you come to town or let us know that you are his brother?"

Rookie shrugged. "He was overprotective. Ever since our parents gone missing – I don't know them as I've never met them – he acted like this father figure to me. He was worried about me. He just wanted to protect me from danger. I think he was…afraid of bringing me to strangers."

"Typical older brother stereotype."

Rookie sighed. "Well…it was nice talking to you all…I…I guess communicating with other people is good after all. Even though you might be a dark Goth rebel…"

Here we go again…

The young wolf tried to smile, but miserably frowned in a weird way. Gosh, he IS very socially awkward.

I snorted. "I'm NOT a dark Goth."

"You look like one," said Rookie flatly. "Especially with how you deal with anger."

Ash's Chao looked at me confused and my Pink Wisp laughed at this.

I felt ashamed.

"Look," I said, my face turning red. "I'm not into Gothic stuff. I don't REALLY brood. If I was one, I would be wearing black makeup. I'm still a GIRL though. I don't mind wearing any dresses or skirts or pink or makeup. The makeup – maybe not – because I don't like to cover my face with something fake. But who are you to talk? You wear black as well."

Rookie was taken aback by this. "OK then…maybe we both look like rebels."

"You look like more like a DJ."

"Heh. I always want to be a DJ."

Both of us laughed at this. To my surprise, Rookie smiled.

"Well…this is nice," I said. "Um…just to let you know that…we…are…just…friends."

"Why's that?" said Bubblegum confused.

Rookie opened his mouth, but closed it. He sighed, trying his best not growl. He leaned closely to me with a stern look. I saw yellow flaming in his golden eyes.

"Some people teased me that I LIKE you," he said in a somewhat firm voice. "That is not true, so let just be friends and nothing more, OK?"

I was a bit intimidated by his sudden fierce look. "O-OK then."

Rookie calmed down. His eyes turned back to gold.

"Good," he said.

A stupid idea came into my mind.

I leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Rookie was TICKED OFF.

"HEY!" he said, blushing. "I thought I told you…"

I laughed and covered my mouth. "Don't fuss. It's just a platonic kiss."

"Better be."

I nearly laughed when I saw gold and yellow colors danced around in his eyes. It didn't seem that Rookie was personally mad, but just annoyed. I have to admit, the gold and yellow in his eyes are impressive.

I looked up to see my Pink Wisp and Rookie's Cyan Wisp looking at us. They both glanced at each other before babbling in unison.

"Huh?" said Rookie. "What are they saying?"

I turned on my translator and asked the Wisps to talk again.

"Are you two a couple?" they both said at the same time.

"They ask if we are a couple," I said bluntly.

Rookie's face turned red. "WE ARE NOT A COUPLE!"

I slightly laughed at his outburst.

While we were talking, I managed to pick up what was going on in the background.

"GET BACK HERE AND FACE YOUR DOOM!" yelled Mecha.

"Yeah!" said Ash. "You can have YOURS!"

"WAIT! That's not fair! That is way too-!"

KABOOM!

Both Rookie and I stopped our conservation and looked behind to see the source of the explosion. We saw Mecha flying through the air and crashed into a barrel. I mean he fell INSIDE the barrel. He slowly got up…but a broken light hit him, rendering him to finally give up and lie down in the barrel in defeat.

"Oh boy," said Ash, coming towards the humiliated Mecha. "That was fun! Sorry about it though."

He went off leaving Mecha groaning and cursing in pain. "I will destroy you…"

Rookie turned his head to me. "Should we help him or should we give him a few minutes to breath?"

"I say give him 3 minutes," I said.

Mecha let out a disgruntled chicken squawk as he tried to get himself out of the barrel.

"…or more."

Rookie tutted and looked to the side. "Hmm…oh. Richard and Mic are here…"

I looked at where Richard and Mic were. They were coming into the training room. For some reason, when I saw Richard…my heart began to beat in my chest. I felt an overwhelming pleasant feeling going all over my body. My stomach suddenly felt…full. I felt my face heating up.

I forgotten that Rookie was next to me. "Anything alright? You look…uh…red-pink now."

I quickly shook my head, embarrassed. "W-What?! It's…it's nothing."

Rookie noticed that I was staring at Richard. "Uh…are you…interested in Richard?"

"W-What?! N-No! It's not what you think!"

"Oh really?" said Rookie bluntly. "And you didn't tell us about this?"

I shook my head. "I-I don't know what you are talking about! It's not like I like him or anything...d-don't get the wrong idea…i…idiot!"

At that point, I was blushing.

Both Cyan and Pink mewled, tilting their heads.

Clay curled his lip quizzically. "Sure…"

"So…" said a voice behind me. "Do you like Richard?"

I screamed and turned around to see Mic JUST RIGHT BEHIND ME.

Fortunately, Richard wasn't around, already in a conversation with a few Resistance soldiers.

"N-No!" I protested, trying to keep my eyes away from Richard. "I-I don't like him!"

"Sure you do," said Mic in an innocent tone.

"You're dreaming. Shut up, idiot."

Mic just crossed his arms and smirked.

Clay stared at me.

I was surrounded by two wolves who were questioning about my sanity when I was around Richard. I guessed that I couldn't hide it, huh…

"OK…" I admitted nervously. "I…I like him. When I first saw him…I…I kind of have feelings for him. He…he looks so brave…tough…handsome…just can't look away from his brown eyes…I'm a bit like him…"

"Maybe you should ask him to go out with you!" joked Mic. "He's one of a million."

I rolled my eyes. "As if. Do you think he would love me; a simple town girl?"

"But do you like any other cats back at your home?"

"I know everyone in my town and they are just friends. Most of them are jerks. I have some romantic feelings for others, but not too strong. For some reason…I felt like that Richard is far more unique compared to them…"

Mic laughed. "If Minty is here, she will be gross out about it."

"What do you mean?"

"She really HATE love. She would ramble about it, saying how disgusting love can be. The kisses, the make outs, the dates, the…I rather not say that. You are not ready for that."

"Actually, I heard of that before."

Mic was shocked. "What?! Y-you're just 14 years old! That's way too young for you to know THAT sort of thing!"

"What thing?" asked Rookie.

"It's a long story," I said. "I'll tell you later."

Pink grunted in disgust.

"Anyway…there's a chance," continued Mic. "Richard's been lonely for a while. I remember him complaining that 'everyone has a mate and he doesn't'. He wants to have a girlfriend. He is longing to have one. Maybe you will be the one!"

I fiddled my own long tail, feeling a little doubtful.

"If you want to show that you are his Juliet," said Mic. "Maybe go our on a date with him! I say…a nice, simple stroll around the Resistance HQ."

"…what?" I said.

"You know some couples do that. They like to walk around with each other's company. You two can even go outside and see the beautiful sky. It's not ruined by the war yet!"

I blushed, wanting to reject the idea. However, I couldn't stop thinking about Richard and I felt like my mind was going to explode.

"You listen," I snarled, pointing a finger at Mic. "If I trip or anything, I'm blaming you for this. It will be your funeral."

"But I was the one who made that grappling gun for you."

"J-Just please don't tell Richard about this. It will be a bit crazy if that happened."

"What's crazy?"

It was Richard.

I screamed again and whipped around to see the brown cat.

"NOTHING!" I said quickly, forcing a strained smile on my face. "Just talking with the wolves under the moon, ha, ha, ha, ha…"

So much for making a response.

Clay and Mic gave me looks.

Cyan and Pink giggled.

Richard looked a bit confused. "OK…"

I cleared my throat. "Ah…a-anyway…I was just wondering…is it…OK…if we can have…a nice evening stroll?"

Richard blinked, surprised.

I looked away, my cheeks red.

"Why's that?" asked Richard, a little too casually.

"N-Nothing, dummy!" I said. "N-nothing, dummy! It's not like I-I-I…just that…I…I…I just thought it would kind of nice to walk around with you…get to know you a little."

Richard blinked again, seeing Mic pouting his lips. He smiled, blushing a little. Either he was embarrassed or surprised, but at least he didn't think of me as a weirdo.

"That…kind of sound nice," said Richard sincerely. "Let's stroll around."

"Let's go already," I said hastily.

I immediately stood up and grabbed Richard's arm hastily. Both of us walked away. I was trying to look serious, but I noticed that Richard was smiling, seemingly keen about the idea. I looked behind to see Mic's smirk and Clay's confusion.

I glared at the two wolves before we made our way out of the training room.


Mecha's POV

Again, if there is one thing I hate more in the world, it would be having my hair chopped off?

Why you may ask?

Alright…it's a little stupid, but I…have 'peladophobia' and 'aichmophobia'…which means that I'm AFRAID of sharp objects. I developed a fear when my older brother was playing around with a knife. I touched the pointy bit a little and it made my finger bleed a little. It was small, but I couldn't help see that little droplet of blood poking out. I remember crying at the sight of this while my brother tried to calm me down.

Ever since, I did my best to stay away from knives.

Of course, my siblings loved to tease me about it.

Later, I already 'fixed' my hair feathers using more duct tape. I was in the bathroom washing my face. After I turned off the tap, I looked at myself in the mirror and sighed.

I slowly touched my scar.

I was urging to punch the mirror again, but this time, I held it back. Still, it was hurtful to see my own reflection. I still thought that I look pathetic. Even though the others easily forgave me, that didn't change the fact that I looked ugly. How that scar made me look like a mistake.

And so did those stripes on my wrists.

Looking down, I took one of my gloves off my left hand and looked at the brown stripe around my wrist. I slowly stroke the stripe with my right hand, feeling my own soft feathers.

That was then I saw somebody behind me when I looked at the mirror.

"HEY, MECHA!" said Emerald.

I yelped in shock, quickly turning around.

"Oh, sorry," said Emerald.

I raised one of my eyes. "What are you doing here? This is the boys' room you know!"

Emerald smiled. "It's just that…I want to say that I think that scar on your face and those brown lines on your wrists look special. They make you who you are."

I was surprised. Nobody had commented nicely about my scar or my wrists. Emerald's words felt so foreign to me. Even more foreign than the languages I spoke in. I closed my eyes when I remembered what my mother said to me.

"Now I'm stuck with you. The biggest mistake I EVER made."

I winced. I felt like crying. "But…they're deformities…"

"No buts, no cuts, no coconuts!" she insisted. "Don't even think of shaking your butt! Also, that scar shows how tough you are."

My beak slightly hung opened. "What? What are talking about?"

"At least the scar doesn't look too nasty. It looks fine on your face. Like I said, you look tough with that scar."

I looked down. "But…scars would…would always scar people for life."

"But they heal."

I let out a bitter laugh. "Wounds do. Not scars."

"They fade a bit. Um…you see; I don't know where you get that mark, but you would have died when you got scratched…TWO TIMES. But…you are still alive and that scar is already healed. Scars are good flaws. You receive them by fighting, but getting out alive shows that you're tough and strong-willed. That's what you are. Those scars DO symbolize what you had to go through, but they also represent your inner strength. Your ability to keep on moving."

I was dumbfounded. I forgotten that I am still strong, even though I got scars. "Y-yeah...what about the stripes on my wrists?"

"They look fine to me," said Emerald. "They look like tattoos. COOL tattoos. Like Bubblegum's. These are something you should be grateful of. They are not too huge. Besides, many people have flaws! I'm sure many people have stripes like you…like Ash and Shadow! Also, look to Tails: that fox kid has two tails, yet they are useful. You are overreacting with your tiny flaws, so you don't need to stress much about them."

I slightly smiled. "Yeah…but…"

"No butts about it!" she said, shaking her butt. "See you tomorrow!"

She ran out. I chuckled at her little joke. So…did she meant it? I remembered what Sebastian said to me.

"What's wrong with them? They wouldn't mind. They will still look up to you."

Maybe Sebastian was right. My teammates wouldn't mind my flaws. They looked up to me and they wouldn't care about how nasty or wrong I was as long as I cared about them. Even if I pushed them away. Finn would be watching me, seeing those stripes already.

Scars make you look tough, huh? I started to appreciate Emerald's comment more than anything in the world.

I looked at my hand before sighing sadly. I couldn't help but hear my mother's nasty words about me. I still felt worthless seeing those scars.

"What will Dad say if he see these?" I thought as I put my glove back on.

I was ready to go out when I heard my phone ringing inside my pants pocket.

"What now?" I said, taking it out.

NOTIFICATION: You have one new email.

"That's strange," I thought. "I don't usually get emails unless they are from my jobs or the tournament."

I opened up the email. I checked the sender…and my eyes widened when seeing that it came from a 'Resistance User'.

"W-what is this?"

I read the email. It was…something I never read before.

Subject: Always be happy :)

Hey there, Mecha Nism. If you don't know who this is, don't worry. It's me. The Yellow Wisp who followed you along. That's right. I wrote this email to you. I'm becoming an expert in using computers. I was planning to talk to you, but I want to write something up to express my feelings deeply and put words in the correct groups. And honestly, I don't know how to bring this topic up to you without making myself feel too uncomfortable.

OK. I heard everything. Ever since we got back to the Resistance HQ, I spied on you. I'm sorry for doing that, but I tend to do this kind of thing because I want to see how you behave when all alone. And then, I saw you opening up your insecurities to your squad.

I want to say that I'm sorry about what happened to you. I know that the two of us work as a team, but you would say that we aren't the same. I never know how it feels like to be mistreated by your own parents and lock yourself away from others. To me, it's really wrong. Families are supposed to be together and everyone needs to have a friend.

It's what brings happiness.

That is all I ever want. Happiness. Ever since I was born, I am always happy and energetic. I really like to make new friends and fly around my planet. Everyday would be like this sweet dream where nothing can stop me and no negativity can prevent me from being happy. However, as I grew older, I realized that not everyone is happy and I had been so insensitive to the negative feelings of my kind.

I started to think that happiness can never be found in anyone.

I told this to Mother Wisp and explained how I felt about learning the fact that everyone is unhappy. She told me that everyone will have their own ups and downs, but there will good times when they will smile inside and outside. She suggested to me that I should try to make people happy.

And to this day, that's my goal. I'm always happy, but if everyone isn't, I can't. I want people to be happy, so that nobody will have to be hurt again. I know I'm sounding a bit like Emerald, but that's my goal.

Even during the war, I want to remind others that there is still hope. No need to be upset again. If we can get pass our problems and win the war, happiness can finally be brought back to our sweet universe.

That's why I've decided to stick with you. I don't want to leave you. Even though you were mean, I was curious of why you were a bully. I'd seen bullies before and I sometimes sneak into their house to see their own issues. Because of this, I am worried about you.

Seeing you becoming nice; that is all I wanted. To see you smile. I know that you're still hurting inside, but I will be there to pick you up.

I don't expect everything in return except if I can stay with you. Become your official partner. It's crazy, I know. But I need to be with an animal or a human if I want to take bigger steps. I'll be here for you. Even for your new friends.

You don't deserve to be sad because you have been through a lot.

You deserve to be happier than me because you need to experience happiness for once.

I was speechless. I started to wonder if my Yellow Wisp REALLY wants to make me happy. He is trying to. So that nobody will go through pain ever again. So that I won't be hurt again. That was why he never left me even thought I was a jerk before. I felt tears forming in my eyes.

I removed the phone away from my eyes to see a Yellow Wisp staring at me. I recognized it as my own. To my surprise, he was…crying.

"A-Are you OK?" I said.

He shook his head. He pointed to my phone, so I gave it to him. He wrote a message and showed it to me.

Not really. Sorry. I forgot to say that it's really hard to make everyone happy. Only one who goes far can do that kind of thing. I did. But it's nearly breaking me apart like being stabbed in the chest. I've seen people who are ALWAYS unhappy and this costed their lives. I saw a LOT of things and those disasters are wrong. I want to make you happy, but how can I?

"I…don't know…so…you…you cared about me…" I said. "You never leave me. You…you think I deserve a chance to be happy? E-E-Even though I bullied others?"

My Yellow Wisp nodded.

A lot of things went through my mind. Faces appeared in my mind and I remembered them.

Finn – the young wolf who looked up to me.

Sebastian – my closest teammate who wanted to be a brother.

Minty – even though she was suspicious of me, she didn't judge me for crying.

Rookie – the first ever person to hear my problems and my own mental battles.

Bubblegum – the first ever person to accept my apology and who I bullied before.

And I remembered that when I finally told the truth to them, they didn't turn away. They listened to me and they understood me.

And because of the kindness they showed me…I felt…different for the first time.

I realized that during the training, I was more nicer to my squad. I found myself communicating with Rookie and hearing about his older brother. It was…interesting. I was improving a lot. I was acting like another older brother to him; like how I was to my younger siblings. Even today, I am surprised of myself that I indeed still have a heart of gold. I thought I threw mine away a long time ago, but…it must still be in there for me.

I was changing for the first time.

At first, I thought that it would be hard for me to grow out from my jerk act, but the way I talked to my squad, I started to think that I can still a good bird after all. I found myself to feel…satisfied. The feeling of talking to someone about my problems made me feel happy.

I lowered my head and let out a soft sob.

My Yellow Wisp looked at me in concern. He babbled as if saying 'are you OK?'.

I let out a sob, tears rolling down my face. "I'm…I'm more than OK…and less than OK. I..I had hurt others…but…but you guys were nice to me…your kindness…it makes me feel like the world isn't so grey after all…I…I still don't feel like I deserve this…but…I'm grateful…thank you, Yellow. Thank you for being by my side…I wish I can give you back something in return…starting today…I can only give you friendship…fir not leaving me."

Hearing this, my Yellow Wisp started to sob as well and flew to my chest, his tentacles wrapping around my body. I started to cry as well and I placed my hands around him to return the embrace. For some reason…I felt…happy.

To know that there will be people who will be there for me.

To know that I'm not alone.

To know that I can finally find happiness.

And I don't need to inflict pain on others anymore.

I cried a lot on that day, but this fifth tearful breakdown was more comforting. Everything felt peaceful. My Yellow Wisp looked at me, glowing brightly. I smiled back at him and he squeaked happily, showing that the two of us can rely on each other through hard times. The next day would be back to the war, but I felt like as if this moment changed everything.

I wish that this moment can go on forever.


Bubblegum's POV

For a while, me and Richard were just walking around the halls of the Resistance HQ. We were quiet for a while, but the silence between us felt…like a peaceful harmony. Everything felt peaceful. I didn't know how to say about this.

Richard seemed fine as well. He appeared to be walking around with me for a while.

To get me off my mind, Richard told me a joke. Now…I don't remember what he said to me, but it pretty amuse me. I placed a hand over my mouth and I started to laugh, finding the joke funny.

Richard smiled. "Hmm? Surprised that you like my joke. This is the first time I ever see you smile for once!"

My eyes widened at this. I felt my cheeks burning, so I quickly put on my serious face.

"D-Don't get used to it," I said, sounding a little bossy.

I reminded myself that I was talking to someone I have feelings with, so I tried to be as polite as I can.

"Anyway," I said, trying to change topic. "H-How are you doing?"

Richard sighed. "I wish I can say that I'm good, but…I…I still can't believe Minty is not here anymore…but what's the point? She's gone and that's how it will always be…just like my family. Sorry. I…I can't get my mind off the war. I want to just stop Eggman already and show him a thing or two."

"I can say the same thing."

The brown cat looked at me with those lovely brown eyes of his. "I got to tell you; I heard about your fight with Infinite. I probably don't know the other half of it, but…"

A smile formed on his face. "You actually managed to land a hit on Infinite!"

I frowned. Honestly, I would feel proud, but I remembered that I kicked Infinite's mask off to reveal his face. I wanted to fake my own worry, but I just decided to go undisguised.

"Is that something special?" I asked bluntly.

"It's more than special!" said Richard, suddenly becoming excited. "You fought back against him. I did try to, but I escaped. You actually knock him the ground! Many who dare to fight him would be dead in seconds, but you actually made him bleed!"

I gave him a look. "I didn't make him bleed."

"Same thing. You managed to show him who you are! Up to that monster! Don't let that go to waste and don't let anyone stop you from decaying your strength! Women like you are true warriors."

My mouth fell open, stunned by his compliment. Not that he showed that he is impressed, but he said that women like me are TRUE WARRIORS.

You heard that?

It was rare for men to acknowledge women, so…this is surprising to me.

I felt my heart beating as a smile crept onto my face. "Why…eh…thank you."

We both stopped at a corner. Richard looked at me in the eye, still holding my hand.

"You know," I said. "I…I have been thinking about this whole…war thing…"

"What do you mean?" asked Richard.

"Do you believe that people like…Infinite…like any 'bad guy' stereotypes have their reasons to make a motive to do…these…bad things?"

Richard raised an eye. "What? N-No…I haven't thought of that before…"

"I just…" I hesitated. "Mecha has a struggling background and this led him to become a bully in the first place. Do you think that…Infinite might have a reason to become who he became today?"

Richard narrowed his eyes. "I don't think so. He's a psychopath. He doesn't care about anyone because he is born as a murderer. If you are born as one, you choose to kill people for no damn reason."

I sighed. "I'm sorry…I just thought…"

Richard nodded. "I'm sorry, Bubblegum. I…I don't think we have the time to think about why Infinite is evil today."

"There are some things we can't solve, huh. Like trying to make the world a better place."

Richard was silent for a while. He looked down and opened his mouth, but closed it. He seemed to be nervous.

I wasn't. I was more concerned.

"Richard?" I said.

He was about to speak when…

…a flash of white appeared behind him and pushed him.

PFFFFFT!

Within moments, I found our lips…to be in contact with each other. Richard was nearly on top of me, his face near my face. His lips were pressing against MY lips.

He…was kissing me.

My heart started racing and an explosion set off in my mind.

I looked behind to see the white figure running off, laughing with an alluring female voice.

Quickly, I snapped out of my confusion and broke away from the kiss.

Richard gasped, trying to progress what happened.

The two of us stared at each other for a while in awkward silence.

"Richard," I said slowly. "Let's not talk about this ever again."

"Agreed," said Richard, his face turning red.

Another minute of silence.

"Wait," said Richard. "What time is it now?"

He looked at his own watch. "It's getting late. Probably need to go to bed soon."

"You're telling me," I said. "I'm not in Australia anymore and I'm still trying to adapt to this new time zone. Maybe Mic shouldn't have flown east when he took us to here."

A smile slowly appeared on Richard's muzzle. "Say…can I show you something?"

"…sure?" I said.

Before I knew it, Richard grabbed my hand and pulled me, taking me through the hallways. I wasn't sure where he was taking me, but I recognized the path we were going.

We were actually making our way outside.

I found myself back on the rocky top of the headquarters. The dark night sky already covered the entire place. Because there were no lights around, I could see the stars. The ocean below was a cool deep shade of purple. All the colors suddenly appeared in my eyes, washing away the grey bitterness in my heart.

It was as if…the war haven't taken away all the colors in life.

"So," said Richard as we sat at the edge together. "What do you think?"

I looked up to stare at the night sky. It was…glorious. There were several layers of colorful waves in the pitch blackness. A range of extraordinary blues, purples and rich pinks that gradually merged into the infinite darkness. The stars in the sky would glow bright or grow dim. Some of them were bigger than others, out-shadowing the other stars.

"You know," said Richard. "Some people always shoot for the stars…to run away from the night."

I nodded. "Yeah…you know…I have been trying to be one of the 'stars' up there. I was hoping to be…this high like the stars up here."

Richard smiled. "You know that you're already one of the stars. You just didn't look closer yet."

I looked at him. "Do you think I'm one?"

The brown cat nodded. "You are."

I smiled back, feeling a good warm feeling in my heart.

I looked back at the sky and noticed something there.

"There's the Southern Cross!" I said, pointing at some stars that formed a cross.

"Where?" said Richard, looking around.

I giggled a little. "Right there, dummy. Its beauty is right there."

Richard saw them. His brown eyes seemed to expand in admiration. "Wow…yeah…I see."

"Always telling us that Australia is here for the world," I joked.

Richard nodded.

"You know," I said. "It reminds me that even if Christ died on the cross, he is there for us."

Richard looked a little sad at this. "You're one hard-willed Christian, huh?"

"Why's that? Is there something wrong with that?"

"It's not how you see it…it's not how…" He paused, looking as if he was trying to hold back tears. "I just…feel that it's worthless to be praying to God. You know…he isn't really there for us. Why…why do you keep putting your faith in him?"

I sighed. "Look, dude. I don't know that God is real or not. I'm not even sure that He is for us. All I know is that he had been there before and that's what matters. If He always look out for us, then we wouldn't be alive. To the Christians who died, they did their job to fulfil their purpose out of selflessness. I don't care if people say that God is real or not. I just want to hold onto my faith on Him no matter what. It's because He was there for me in my down times."

Richard looked at me, a little confused and a little unconvinced. However, he took the time to absorb in what I said and sighed.

"I see," he said. "You're really religious…"

"It's OK if you're not," I said. "It's your choice."

Richard nodded.

I looked back at the sky. "Before…my mother would tell me that…when people pass away, they become the stars that look down for us. They are there…to guide us in the midst of distress."

Richard smiled. "You know that's from a kids' movie, right?"

"It can apply to anyone."

The brown cat laughed heartily. "I can say that my entire family is looking down for me."

I smiled.

Out of the blue, a gush of wind blew in my face. I immediately wrapped my arms around my chest and my tail wrapped around my knees. I started to shiver.

"Oh my lord…" I whimpered.

"Huh?" said Richard. "What's wrong?"

Soon, he started to tremble as well.

"Venus Heist!" he said. "It's getting cold now!"

"Let's get back inside," I said.


Clay's POV

Just before we went to bed, Amy called me to come over to her. Surprisingly, Bubblegum and Mecha were with her. Their Pink and Yellow Wisps were floating above them.

My Cyan Wisp squeaked and flew towards the two Wisps, talking to them happily.

"What is it?" I said. "What do you need?"

"Apologies if I interrupted you with something you were about to do," said Amy. "Now, for the first two days you were here, we allowed you to wear what we want. However, I think you need a change of clothing."

Bubblegum tilted her head. "Why's that?"

"One," said Amy. "It appears that you haven't changed your clothes for a while. I can smell the stink of your clothes from here…no offence."

Too be honest, I wasn't offended. I took a sniff at my vest. It was covered in dust – due to the battles I went in – and oil – due to falling into the stupid oil pool before.

"Two, your clothing here looks a little too casual. I don't think they would fit the army."

We three teens looked down at our clothes.

Mecha whined. "But my singlet and jeans are camouflage!"

"But they won't survive the battlefield for that long," said Amy. She turned around and picked up a large pile of clothes. "Here. Take a pile."

Bubblegum, Mecha and I took a pile of clothing from Amy.

Mine consisted of a blue camouflage vest with a fancy-looking collar, a larger black belt with a yellow buckle, black jeans and tall boots that are in shades of grey and black along with yellow gems sitting on the top.

Bubblegum got a black and grey camouflage jacket with a hood, a white belt with a silver buckle, black jeans, purple kneepads and hiking boots in vibrant colors of pink and purple with black laces and soles.

Mecha had a set of purple camouflage, collared shirt, black ripped jeans and black boots. While his wasn't much, he also received a golden chain necklace.

"What is this?" I asked.

"These are your Resistance outfits," explained Amy with a smile. "I decide to choose those for you based on your interest and how you like to wear your clothes. The camouflage clothing are actually bulletproof, so they can protect you from anything that hits you! It can even withstand bombs. They can be easily clean."

"This looks like a heap," commented Bubblegum. "I like your thinking, cobber."

"Hmm?" said Amy. "What did you call me?"

"That's an Australian slang for 'good friend'," said Mecha.

I swore that I saw a faint blush on Amy's face.

"I see," she giggled.

"I don't get the golden necklace there," said Mecha.

"Ah. Because of how little your outfit is, I thought I give you a bonus extra. This necklace is unbreakable."

Mecha smiled. "Why eh…thanks. It's a nice gift."

"You guys get to keep this," said Amy. "Even when the war is over."

I felt my tail wagging when I looked at my new set of clothes. I really wanted to try them out already.

"Do you think that this is worth it?" asked Bubblegum.

"I'm sure it is!" said Amy.


AN: In the first place, I didn't plan to have a full romance scene with Richard and Bubblegum. However, due to changes to this chapter, I've decided to add in a moment between Richard and Bubblegum, just to add up some romance for the story.

Guess who made Richard kiss Bubblegum on 'purpose'? Whoever is right wins an imaginary cookie.

I came up with the idea of giving Clay dark powers. Before, I have been interested with shadow magic and darkness, so I created the Light Rings as a gift/curse to Clay. This gives him a responsibility to control them while trying not to give in the darkness.

Yeah...I got a little overreactive with spiritual beliefs over God. This is actually something I want to share. Even though I'm a Christian, I don't really have a strong belief. I usually have two sides of me thinking about God. One side tells me that He is 'bad' and responsible for anything awful that happened in life (it even made me believe that he let the COVID-19 happen on purpose). However, I had to remind myself that He is still there for me and He is watching over all of us. He has big plans for us. Some people forget that and it's actually sad to see them like this.

As always, thanks for reading this chapter! If you enjoy this story, be sure to follow or favorite this story, so you can get updates about this story. Make sure to review this chapter on what you think about this chapter. I'm OK of hearing improvements from you (please no flames).

See you all later!

Keep on rocking!