PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE BOTTOM. THANK YOU.
Review comments:
lotyyh: (;
StarlightSparks: Can I explode with happiness? … Nope. Dang it! Anyway, I loved your review. One question though: You wanted Sonic to run away? … Just out of curiosity, why? *checks calendar* HOLY CHAOS IT HAS ALMOST BEEN A YEAR. (HALO. We need to do some sort of year celebration or something!) 'Legendary'... I am well please.
MeowthKitty: What is it with us and loving angst? I mean, you'd think the happy parts would be the best, but no. It's the angst.
Hawkfeather: That's one way of putting it. Die, Robotnik, die! Detective Shadow is coming to town. And the General… Yeah, he did keep his word, much to Shadow's annoyance. Good for GUN. *reads last paragraph over and over again* I AM SO HAPPY.
Zosonils: That is the best metaphor ever. No, it was just a giant surge of energy that got out of hand but, [SPOILERS] so you're [SPOILERS]. And as for the whole [SPOILERS], HOLY CHAOS. It's always good to understand the references. I love your reviews… Thanks!
Autumn: Aww… you're so sweet!
IcyPinkFlower: They will come or my name isn't *mumbles a name*. As long as you don't flood my inbox with daily "UPDATE" messages, it's fine with me!
Afterburngaming: "fantasmaliscous". That is a wonderful word. And yeah, I have a personal headcanon that Shadow feels a semi-obligation to keep Tails safe, when Sonic is a little… unavailable. Thanks for reviewing!
Quantum27: Thanks! Hope we keep it up.
Guest who left the giant review: I love how you just summarized the chapter. It showed you actually read the whole thing and really enjoyed it. Plus, it was fun to hear a perspective on what you think happened. And yeah, everyone in here has some pretty depressing pasts… I think Shadow and Sonic are tied in depressing pasts as well.
ultimateccc: Yeah, his friends are sort of glued down in crossfire…
msyafinas: Your review made my day because of [SPOILERS]. As for it being out of Shadow's character- I don't think he's concerned for Sonic, but more interested in what is going on with him. Kind of like a detective. He likes to know about everyone, but doesn't really have a major care for everyone.
That Speedhunter: That makes sense now. I think I listened to 'Believe' but I need to look it up again… I listen to a lot of music so it sort of blurs together sometimes. I have this thing where when things get really intense, I like to have a brief break in the intensity that doesn't completely derail the issue. So like Amy suddenly yelling in medieval time language lightens the really terrifying moments of narrowly escaping death. You'll find it a lot throughout the story.
Sonia's POV:
The day started to go down hill when Manic crashed the van. I would like to say it wasn't my fault, but… Hey, it wasn't completely my fault! Manic had a part in it too!
Let's just put it this way: Manic and I arrived at Station Square before realizing that we didn't really know how to get to Angel Island. I'd only been once, and I was blindfolded on the trip there and distracted on the way back. And since it was a mystic island it wasn't like we could pull someone over and ask for directions.
Then Manic got his bright idea. "Let's check with Rouge. She knows everyone."
The accident occurred because I was trying to convince him that was a bad idea. Like, a really bad idea. The worst idea he's ever had.
No other car was hit. In fact it was more of a dent in the bumper than anything, but Manic was still panicking.
"MY BABY! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" He jumped out of the car and ran to where we had scuffed the front.
"Are you talking to the car?" I asked incredulously. Even after living with him for over six months, I was still getting used to his arsenal of quirks.
"SAY SOMETHING! ANYTHING! MAKE YOUR BEAUTIFUL MOTOR HUM LIKE IT DID IN THE OLDEN DAYS OF A MINUTE AGO! WITH CHAOS AS MY WITNESS, I WON'T LET YOU DIE!"
"Man- Matthews! Knock it off! You're making a scene!"
We had decided to go back to calling one another by our fake names, at least for the time being. It would be easier than having to awkwardly explain to Knuckles that I'd been lying to to him about something as important as my real identity. Nope, it would be much simpler to just go by Sofia until our business was over.
This was one of the worst birthdays ever. Seventeen years old and I'm lugging my younger brother around the city trying to find his ex in order to find my ex, both of whom probably hate our guts. Happy Birthday to me.
Once Man- Matthews had calmed down enough to see that it was only a dent ("A really big dent that will take FOREVER to fix!"), we realized that we were only about a block away from where he said Rouge's apartment building was located. I had no idea how he could remember that, but Matt seemed to have a knack for remembering random places and things that really didn't serve much purpose (try and get him to remember anything more useful, and it takes days).
We walked up the sidewalk lined with high-end shops, and I had to admit, this area was kind of nice. Definitely on the upper class side of town and a lot easier on the eyes than the usual slums Manic seemed to be so comfortable near. No cruddy hot dog vendors or hoboes sleeping in the gutter, not even that much garbage on the ground. I could get used to this.
We arrived at a beautiful luxury penthouse building with white pillars and rosebushes in front. I felt a little more than out of place among all the filthy rich people who could afford to live here, but Manic didn't seem to care or even notice. He just walked in like he owned the place, and I decided it wouldn't hurt to follow his lead. The ride up the elevator I had to watch him very closely; he had told me before of what he used to do when he was bored.
Mani- Matthews led the way up to the top floor to the third room down down the hall. He raised his finger to ring the buzzer, then paused. Caution or worry weren't emotions my brother expressed very often, but it was written all over him now.
"Hey, um… sis?" he said quietly. "Do you think she'll kill me?"
"Uh, yes." I crossed my arms and glared, "Which is why I'm saying: this is a bad idea."
"Oh yeah, and paying your hermit ex-boyfriend a visit is a wonderful idea. I'm in awe."
"Shut up, it's all I got."
"Well, this is all I got!" he retorted. "Look, me and Rouge were never exactly together, but I got to know her well enough to learn that she's got contacts everywhere. If your ex really does guard some giant magic jewel thingie, I'd be willing to bet that Rouge knows him- or at least knows of him. The point is, she can help us, probably."
"Probably?"
"I'm ninety-nine percent sure she hates my guts," he said, shuffling his feet. "Man, I never should have stood her up… think she'll ever forgive me?"
"Well…" I said, shrugging. "We'll have to see, won't we? Who knows, maybe she'll understand."
This seemed to reassure him a little, and with a trembling hand, he pressed the buzzer.
XXX
Shadow's POV:
I have never been fond of meetings with Sonic's team. The main objective is nearly almost sidetracked due to their incessant chattering and joking around.
Although, I suppose the hedgehog's absence helped keep everyone focused. Miles was especially panicked as he paced around Rouge's coffee table, ringing his hands together.
The Guardian was standing at the window, gazing at the setting sun. "He's probably fine… I mean, it was a hard battle."
"Knuckles, he hasn't answered a single message." Miles shook his wrist communicator to emphasize his point. "It's been two days! He'd at least check in!"
Amy sat on the couch playing a card game with Rouge. (They claimed it was War, but I suspected Canasta had been crossed over with some form of poker). She placed a hand down, smiling at Rouge's frustration before responding to the fox's concern, "Tails, we all know Sonic isn't the most reliable when it comes to communication. Maybe he's just out of range."
"He would have gotten my messages and would have at least responded with a text. I know Sonic better than anyone, and something is wrong." Miles pulled a screwdriver out and began to twirl it in his hands.
I remained in the corner. No one noticed me. That was how I preferred it. It was surprising how much one could observe when one kept to himself.
Amy Rose was obviously much more worried about Sonic then she was allowing herself to show. Her eyes continued to flicker to the door and window, with her fingers nervously flipping through her cards. The Guardian was acting in a similar manner; His eyes continuing to scan the horizon, never looking away for a second.
Even Rouge was concerned- as she was continuing to lose to Miss Rose. Typical.
Sonic's extended disappearance confirmed my suspicion. Something about that fight with Doctor Robotnik had not been right. Everyone knew it. Yet here we all were, sitting in Rouge's apartment, ignoring that fact. It was driving me mad. Ignoring a problem would not solve anything. I was preparing to verbalize my frustrations when-
Ding.
Rouge placed her cards down and dusted her gloves off. "Now who could that be?"
"Sonic?" Tails wondered hopefully.
"Doubtful. He doesn't know we're all here." Rouge rolled her eyes. "Probably my landlord about this month's rent. One sec," She exited the living room.
Miles and Knuckles struck up a conversation regarding possible locations Sonic could be hiding in. Amy put her cards down to listen in on their discussion.
"MATT?"
Everyone froze in place. I raised an eyebrow as the front door slammed and Rouge came storming back into the room.
A muffled yell was heard and someone began to bang on the door, "Aw, come on, Rouge! It was an accident! Can we talk about this?" The accent indicated an urban origin. Most likely downtown. Uneducated.
Knuckles frowned, "Who in Chaos is that?"
"No one. It was a solicitor. Let's forget this ever happened." The bat's voice dripped with a venom I had only seen reserved for the worst of her enemies. Hmm.
He frowned and listened to the banging and shouts a little longer before tilting his head at the door, "May I?"
"Be my guest." Rouge picked up her cards again and turned to Amy, "Your turn, hon."
Miles watched in perplexion as the echidna cracked his knuckles and marched to the front door. I found the prospect of whoever was at the door being greeted by the Guardian rather… amusing. My ears strained to hear the door open and Knuckles growl.
"Look dude, she doesn't wanna see you, so why don't you just scram before I-"
His voice suddenly cut off, and there was a long pause before the door was slammed even harder than the previous time, causing the paintings to swing and the windows to rattle. The Guardian came marching in mumbling to himself.
"Of all the hair-brained, idiotic, stupid, Chaos cursed-" his speech continued on with the insults and the banging on the door got harder for a moment.
"Hey! Um… hey, what was his name? … Knuckles! Wait! Come back!"
"Matt, shut up!" a higher voice was heard. Female. Southern, if I wasn't mistaken.
"What? I'm trying to help you! Knuckles, open up!"
Rose forgot about the card game, standing up and peering down the narrow hall, "What is going on out there? Knuckles, who was at the door?"
"No one."
Miles pointed at the door. The banging had stopped but the raised voices were still present, muffled and incoherent. "That was not no one."
"That," the echidna buried his face in his hands, "was Sofia."
"Your ex?" Rouge's eyes widened. "What in Chaos is your ex doing at my door?"
"I… I don't know. And with her boyfriend of all thi-"
Rouge's throat let out a strange sound that seemed to be in between a scream and growl. "She's dating Matthews?"
"Wait, you know him?"
"That idiot… After I did him a favor… The nerve of him..." She crossed her arms and legs, her glare hard enough to make an hardened soldier shake in his boots. "That petty, double-crossing, good for nothing street thief… Oooh, I'll kill him!"
The voices outside had died by now and I assumed the two strangers had lost interest. I was... not correct.
"ROUGE! ROUGE! OPEN UP, THIS IS AN EMERGENCY!" Matthews's banging suddenly returned, his terrified tone of voice causing me to perk up.
Rouge rolled her eyes and drew another card. "Ignore them. They'll leave eventually."
"ROUGE, PLEASE! LET ME IN!" The pounding ceased again, but the shouts continued.
I lost my patience with the screams after about thirty seconds. I may not be the romantic type, but I know one thing that was unacceptable- showing up on your ex's doorstep with their replacement, and making a scene in the process. No one tried to stop me or even questioned my motives as I moved from my corner down the hall. I swung open the door, ready to teleport the two away if necessary.
What I found was... unexpected. A green hedgehog in clothes that looked like were dug up from a trash can was on the ground, cradling a pink hedgehog in a blouse and skirt. She appeared to be unconscious and the boy looked terrified.
His expression grew a little more frightened at the sight of me, but he swallowed it down and pleaded, "Please… she has seizures like this all the time, but it's never-"
Sofia began to convulse, her body shaking violently, her breathing uneven. And to my personal shock, I sensed a large quantity of Chaos energy emanating from her. "Matt" had a similar reading, though not quite as strong.
"-been this bad. Please…"
Why me?
I bent down and scooped the girl up before carrying her into Rouge's apartment, Matthew tailing behind me.
Rouge did not look happy. "Shadow, I think I made it pretty clear that I don't want these two in my hou-"
Out of nowhere, Sofia screamed, her back arching as her hands grabbed at her hair, "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"
Any hard feelings there were disintegrated. Sofia was whipped out of my arms and laid on the couch by a very frightened Knuckles. Amy ran over and tried to hold the thrashing girl down, quietly comforting Matthews with the promise that she had been medically trained. This didn't seem to console Matthews in the least.
Rouge ran into the kitchen before returning with a heavy duty medical kit. I returned to my corner, content to watch the scene play out.
"What happened to her?" asked Knuckles softly. It was clear that the Guardian still retained some affection for the unconscious hedgehog, even if he continued to deny it.
"I… I don't know. We were arguing and then she passed out. She's done it before, but… then she started shaking, and saying all this weird gibberish, and I… I don't know what to do!" Matthews sounded as panicked as he looked, slurring his words as he spoke; his hands were constantly knocking on things and tapping together. He never stopped moving. Was it a nervous tic, or…?
Miles joined me in the corner, fully aware he would be more in the way then be of any real assistance. "What do you think is wrong with her, Shadow?"
I frowned and continued to observe Sofia. She was still having difficulty breathing and she gasped out in words, some in Mobian and some not. I continued to hear words repeat such as, "Eldest... Warning... Emerald... Dark..." A chill went up my spine for no reason whatsoever.
"I do not know," I replied, choosing to leave it at that.
Knuckles and Matt were getting in an argument, to no surprise. Knuckles was insisting that they call an ambulance while Matthews pleaded for him not to, assuring him that she would be fine… most likely. It sounded more like he was reassuring himself than anyone else. Amy was having difficulty holding Sofia down and treating her with Rouge of all people as an assistant. I knew first hand how difficult that was.
After several minutes of this I had had enough. Their methods of solving the problem were clearly flawed, yet they did nothing to change them. Idiots. I marched forward and placed my right hand on her forehead before sending a pulse of energy into her mind, then pulling away.
Sofia sat up, gasping for air, her arms hugging herself, eyes closed. "Oh Chaos… Oh Chaos…"
I walked back over to my corner. I was not about to get involved in any romantic issues that were certain to occur momentarily.
"Soni- Sofia!" Matt grabbed her hand, "Are you okay? Tell me you're okay! Right now! Say it! Please!"
"Yeah, I'm fine, I think…" she replied uncertainly. "What… what happened? We were fighting, and then it all went black, and..." Sofia shuddered and refused to disclose anything more.
"You had one of your, um… seizures." said Matthews. I noted the hesitation on the word with a slight frown.
"My seizures-? Oh, Chaos… Mani- Matt, where are we?"
Again, my frown grew. Something didn't ring true about these two. There was a definite sign of Chaos energy emitting from both but neither seemed to acknowledge it. Not to mention that this was yet another instance of peculiarity in the past several days. First Sonic's Super form incident, then the General's insistence on withholding necessary information from me- now this.
I wasn't sure if I could handle anything else.
"We're, um… we're in Rouge's apartment." said Matthews with great deal of discomfort. He stared at the ground, refusing to make eye contact with anyone but Sofia.
"Oh… great." Sofia sounded annoyed by that information and she buried her hands in her face before looking up and giving a shy wave to the echidna. "Hey, Knuckles."
"Hi." His tone was cold and unfeeling. Scratch that- it appeared that he was once again on the edge of unbridled rage.
I took that as my cue to leave. Miles was in the kitchen filling a glass of water for Sofia and everyone else was busy with the... guests. It was obvious this would take some time to clear up, and that was time I was not willing to waste on these two. I had my own mystery to sort out.
I went unnoticed as I exited the apartment. No matter. It was time I had some private words with the Doctor about a certain blue hedgehog.
XXX
Sonia's POV:
Worst.
Birthday.
Ever.
I really didn't expect to see Knuckles today, tomorrow, or for a few weeks- if at all! Yet, here he was, angry, furious, and handsome as ever- wait. Shut up, me.
Man- Matthews, was no help. He was too busy trying to make amends with Rouge, using a combination of shameless flirting and groveling on his knees. It was pathetic.
"Can you at least let me explain myself?
"Y'know, I would, except the sound of your voice is driving me to consider cold-blooded murder. Your… girl over there is fine now, so for the last time, get off my property before I throw you off the building."
"You say the sweetest things."
I rolled my eyes and buried my face in my hands. "Okay, so you don't like him. Got that. Matt, shut up and leave the bat alone!"
"Hey, it wasn't my idea to come all the way to Station Square just to see your ex!"
"I told you, it was all I had! And remember that I said it was a bad idea to see your… what is she?"
"One-time partner and potential girlfriend that I never got a chance to date."
Rouge smacked Manic on the back of his head, fuming. "Potential girlfriend? Get over yourself, loser."
"Okay, first of all, ow," said Manic, rubbing the spot where Rouge had hit him. "Second, if you would just listen for a minute, I could explain to you why I've been kind of a jerk to you."
"Remember what I said about throwing you off the building if you didn't get out?" she hissed, narrowing her eyes. "Clock's ticking, Maniac."
Matthews gulped; Was she serious? She couldn't be serious.
That may have dragged on forever if Knuckles didn't interject. "Woah, wait a minute- what was that part about coming to see me?"
Chaos. This was going to take a lot of explaining, wasn't it? "Um… Okay, so for the sake of making this short as possible, we need a favor." As soon as the words left my mouth I knew I should have worded that differently.
Knuckles crossed his arms and glared, "I'm sorry, a favor? From your ex-boyfriend? The one you, not me, you broke up with?"
Pink hedgehog in the room made a face and the fox winced. Who they were, I had no idea, but I didn't think I'd get to have time to be introduced.
"Um…"
Matt facepalmed. "Told you this was a bad idea…"
"Did you really think you could just show up on my doorstep and ask a favor?" Knuckles was very angry and I honestly couldn't blame him.
"For the record, I did try and call you. About six times. It went to voicemail."
"Maybe I didn't want to talk to you!"
"Well, maybe I wanted to apologize!"
"Well, maybe I've moved on and don't want anything to do with you!"
Matthews snorted. "Dude, you texted her for two months after you broke up. There is no way you 'moved on'."
Why does my brother have the habit of making situations worse? Knuckles glared at him, his rage growing very apparent, "Yeah, I did!"
"Prove it."
Okay, I would like to interject for a moment and point out a few things. The first is that Matt and I did not have any of this planned out which made for very awkward and misunderstood conversations, thus causing a very, very, uncomfortable situation. The second is that Matt, being the idiot he is, was trying to help but making it worse. And finally: Knuckles was very angry and determined to cut all ties from me. Can't say that I blamed him. With my appearance and Matt's pressuring, it drove his own decision making skills out the window. Knuckles is a terrible liar. I learned this early on in our dating, and it was one reason I liked him. He is not a liar by nature.
So the next words out of his mouth, I didn't believe for a second.
Knuckles was obviously in some sort of panic, his eyes darting around nervously before focusing on the bat Manic seemed to like so much. He drew in closer to her and wrapped his arm around her, glaring fiercely at me. "Rouge and I are dating. How's that for moving on?"
The bat whirled around and stared at him, her expression blank but her cheeks bright red. The two seemed to have a silent conversation for a moment before Rouge smiled wickedly at Matt, wrapping her arm around Knuckles's waist.
"Yeah," she said slowly. "That's right. See, Maniac? You ain't the only guy interested in me."
This situation was just getting worse by the second. Pink hedgehog squealed out, "Why didn't you tell me?" with the poor fox kid in the back just staring with his jaw dropped.
"W-woah…" the fox sputtered. "Why.. You and Rouge… Knuckles? What?"
Rouge sidled in closer, Knuckles beginning to look slightly uncomfortable but trying to mask it as frustration with me. Rouge wrapped both hands behind Knuckles's head; She licked her lips and pulled his face to hers, kissing him full on the mouth.
It felt like time had stopped.
I snapped out of it when I heard the sound of shattering glass, realizing too late it was the cup I'd been holding.
"Omigosh, I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed, immediately beginning to pick up the shards. One cut me on the finger, but I hardly noticed the pain. She kissed him. That disgusting tramp kissed him.
My emotions literally began to fight inside my mind. Jealousy really wanted to smack the bat upside the head while Practicality tried to remind me it was just a lie. Hope rose up and helped rein back Jealousy, singing at the top of its lungs, "He still likes you!" Frustration started calling for an escape out the door and of course Revenge began to grin evilly and think of a plan.
Knuckles looked very uncomfortable but his anger was still very much in control, "I'm not the only one who can find a replacement, Sofia."
And now Disgust rose up in my chest and threatened to hurl my lunch out of my stomach. This just kept getting better and better, didn't it?
Okay, time to get this situation from spiralling down even further out of hand. I took a deep breath and placed my fingers on my mouth. "Alright, before anyone else does anything, let me breathe for a second." The shards of glass were thrown in a trash can brought in by pink girl, and I gathered my thoughts.
I would like to say that Honesty won out in the end and that I apologized for everything before telling the whole story. Unfortunately, I can't. Jealousy was raging and Revenge called for a team up. I almost laughed out loud. Knuckles wanted to play that game, huh? Well, I could play it too!
Challenged accepted. And I would win, but not in the way he planned.
"First of all," I started. "The only reason I was coming to ask you a favor at all was because I knew you were the only one who could even begin to help me since it has to do with a Guardian thing."
Knuckles's eyes grew slightly wider and he frowned. "Uh…"
"But clearly, I made a bad call and did not approach this correctly so we'll just forget all about it." I forced a quivering smile and made a motion to the bat still clinging to the echidna. "As for your new… relationship... I'm happy for you!" I'm not the best actress, but I could definitely fake it better then Knuckles.
Rouge snorted.
"No, really, I am! I was just surprised. That was why I broke up with you in the first place. Long distance relationships are never fun and I didn't want you to be tied down by me when I didn't even know if I was coming back." I gave a winning smile at the bat, resisting the urge to yank out my handgun and force her away from my ex. Rule number one on getting revenge on your boyfriend: pretend you don't care- no matter how hard it is.
Knuckles face was still angry, but I saw the small light of doubt in his eyes; I had to hold in the evil cackle that threatened to burst out of my throat. Oooh, this was too good. (I had been spending too much time with Manic…)
"And finally," I motioned at Matthews, who was still too flabbergasted at the sight of Rouge kissing another guy, "As for him being my... my... " I gagged. "Boyfriend… I think I'll use a phrase Matt says very often to me: ARE YOU INSANE?"
Everyone winced at my shriek, but I ignored it, "Why on Mobius would I ever even think about dating him? I would rather die! Ew!"
Matt went pale and looked like he was going to puke. "Holy-! You thought-? UGH! MOUTHWASH! EW! That's- that's… That's disgusting! You're disgusting!"
Knuckles rolled his eyes, clearly not believing a word of this. "Oh please, it's obvious from the way you two were fighting in the halls and how worried he was about-"
"Knuckles, he's my brother." I folded my arms and glared slightly, "My twin brother."
I struggled to stifle my laughter at the look on Knuckles's face. He pointed at Matt, then at me, seeming to have lost the ability to speak coherently. "He's your… you two are… I… Um… What?"
I ignored his shock and gave a sweet understanding smile. "Once again, sorry for the misunderstanding," I shrugged. "I guess I wasn't clear enough on that." Without another word to him, I stood up and dusted off my skirt, ready to make my exit. "Come along, brother dear. Let's leave before we break something else." Like Knuckles's sanity.
Matt followed obediently, shaking his head in distaste at Knuckles and Rouge, who were still glued to each other's side. I shut the door rather loudly and walked far enough down the hall that I'd be out of earshot; When we stepped inside the elevator, I started laughing.
Matt looked at me like I was crazy. "Um… Sonia? What's wrong with you?"
"Wrong? Nothing! Everything is going perfectly!" I kept laughing; this whole situation was so absurdly hilarious that I couldn't stop. I was beginning to scare myself. Matthews eyed me warily and took a couple steps back.
Eventually, I calmed down and was able to start acting like a normal person. When we got in the van, Matthews (who was still keeping his distance), demanded an explanation on the absurdness that had taken place two minutes ago.
"What, your mind reading thing didn't pick up on it?" I asked.
"Uh, no," he replied. "I tried, really, but your emotions were so off the charts that I couldn't pick up on anything else. …And FYI, your ex was lying to you about dating Rouge."
"Well, duh. I knew that from the start, he's a horrible liar."
"Wait--" said Matthews, the gears turning in his head. "If you knew that the whole time, then you… Holy crap, you were playing him?"
"Yup."
Suddenly, I was being hugged tightly around the middle. Manic looked so proud I thought he was going to cry.
"My sister's first underhanded scheme… I'm so happy for you! You go and manipulate that boy back on your side, ASAP! I believe in you!"
I couldn't help but smile. This definitely wasn't over.
XXX
Cut!
Sonia has an evil side, who knew? You should see when I get all 'revenge-y'. It's not pretty… Speaking of which:
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING CAREFULLY AS IT CAN AFFECT YOUR UPDATES ON THIS STORY:
Rant time: Alright so I'm not going to use names, but for the past… let's go with two months I've let this slide so my annoyance has been building up. And so as the issue. Now my annoyance is at it's peak and it is starting to turn into anger so let's just get to the root of the problem and pray it get's over with.
Next time someone curses in the reviews I'm WITHHOLDING THE NEXT UPDATE FOR A WEEK.
And I will lock Halo out if necessary.
I know that seems harsh, but I don't know how else to get this into some people's skulls. Maybe I'm overreacting but…
It's really not a lot to ask. I mean, I'm not asking you to refrain from all caps, a word shortage, or make every review excessively long or positive. Seriously, use any substitute you want! Flip, dang, drat, scrap, kriff, shoot, quiznack, Chaos, etc. Any fandom, any whatever. Heck, come up with fake words. I'll give you props for the little "*", but it's still sort of obvious.
I get that it's in some of your vocabulary and it's how you show you're excited but it's one of those annoying ticks that sets me off. It's like asking some kid who excessively taps on the table or is clicking a pen over and over again to please stop because it's annoying you.
And if you think I'm joking, ask Halo. I'm very stubborn and will not change my mind. She won't. Trust me.