SonicANIME2010 here, bringing in the penultimate chapter to the Little Planet arc. Good action coming up now, let's gets right to it. Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic, Nanoha or their respective franchises; that'll keep the legal team of vampires and robot-maids happy.
[Little Planet: Metallic Madness]
[BGM: "Metallic Madness (Present)" Sonic CD (JPN/EU)]
Prior to his descent into supposed madness and his obsession with world conquest, Doctor Eggman had the reputation of being a world-renowned and composed scientist. However, if anyone were to have the chance to look beyond that image, they would find a man with some serious anger management issues. Some would say that the doctor was dedicated to his craft and would often be short-tempered, but others would've just said he was an arrogant brat.
Despite the anger issues, there was one thing that could not be doubted; Doctor Eggman's intelligence. The man's IQ had been recently calculated to over 300 points and he had an understanding of machines and robotics the likes of which no one could've thought possible. Not only that, he had the knowledge to use his intelligence; granted his temper didn't get the better of him.
"Curses!" The aforementioned temper had recently blown the top once again. The doctor was absolutely fuming after his recent defeat in Wacky Workbench, "Curse that blue hedgehog and his fawning girlfriends!
"Not only have they destroyed over half of the robotic forces I've mustered up for this world" The doctor slammed his desk in fury once more in his rant, "But they keep stealing the Time Stones that I wanted. I've only got two left and they aren't enough for what I have planned!"
"You know, Doctor, all of this "Yelling to yourself" nonsense isn't going to help you." a young, female voice chided in a rather boring tone. The doctor's other "guest/prisoner" was the pink hedgehog captured from Collision Chaos, Amy Rose.
The girl was tied up to a post nearby, but she didn't seem that much scared; rather annoyed. She may have been scared at first when that metallic copy of her idol had dumped her in Eggman's clutches, but she grew bored of it rather quickly. In her defense, who wouldn't get bored if you had to spend the better part of an hour listening to some grown man act like a whiny little crybaby when he didn't get his way?
"In fact, it's not only given me a headache" The pink hedgehog went on further, "But it's also a painful reminder of how bad your breath stinks"
Ever since the pink hedgehog arrived she was one headache after another for the furious scientist. Not only was she without a Time Stone, which drew the wrath of Eggman on Metal Sonic for mistakenly capturing her, but she was a pain in the egg with her constant complaining. The doctor had almost half a mind to drop her off with the heroes and let them deal with her, but figured she would've been good bait.
"Shut up, Pink girl!" Eggman turned his rage to the hedgehog that dared to insult him, "You're lucky I still have use for you otherwise I would've been ever-so-happy to make you into one of my special robots."
"Ewww!" Amy gagged in response, no doubt taking the wrong context from the statement; it didn't help that she was imprisoned by a middle-aged and apparently single man, "Gross! Icky! Dirty old man! Have the police talked to you about your pedophilia?"
"Y-you think I'm some perverted freak!?" If Eggman's face were to turn any redder in fury, he would've rivalled a fire extinguisher, "Why you little…"
Alarms from the console in front of the doctor conveniently distracted Eggman from unleashing his fury on the pink hedgehog. The alarms indicated that he had intruders in the Stardust Speedway zone. The doctor would've blown his top in rage had a cunning plot hadn't hatched in that egghead of his.
"Oh yes…." The doctor smirked evilly, giving one more glance at the pink hedgehog, "This is just perfect."
[OP: "Innocent Starter" Nana Mizuki]
Sonic the Hedgehog: Lyrical Familiar
Chapter 20
Race of the Hedgehogs
[Little Planet: Stardust Speedway]
[Local Time: 0940 hours]
[BGM: "Stardust Speedway (Present)" Sonic CD (JPN/EU)]
Alicia led her allies to the highway zone, Stardust Speedway. The zone was a highway themed with musical instruments over a large city. As the namesake of the zone implied, the city glowed with many lights much akin to the glow of stardust.
"Whoa!" Sonic was close to gaping in awe at the city below the speedway, "Now that is one huge city!"
"Are you sure it's not inhabited?" Nanoha asked rather curiously, finding it rather improbable that such a large city could be devoid of inhabitants.
"Sadly, yes" Alicia nodded solemnly, as much as she'd wish otherwise, "I wouldn't have felt so lonely if it was."
"Well… um… you're not alone now" Fate, feeling her confidence in speaking with her original rise during the time spent together, tried to assure the shorter blonde, "You have us now."
"Yeah, we're here!" Arf, having caught on to what her mistress was attempting, provided support in her efforts, "Is there anything hold you back here?"
"Nothing, I have been thinking about leaving when I was confident in my flying" Alicia caught onto the idea, and had an honest ambition of trying to leaving the planet, "When the Planet appeared over your world this time, I felt that this was the time, but some fatso had to ruin it."
"We'll kick him out in no time." Sonic assured her of that, "And maybe after we do, you could come with us when we leave."
"Tempting, and I was going to see if it was possible to meet with Mother as well." Alicia sounded intrigued by the offer already, but there was one thing she had to make sure of, "Would I get to spend more time with my adorable little sister?"
"We're not in a position to make any promises" Nanoha answered, letting Alicia know of the uncertainty, though she wasn't without optimism, "But I think it's possible"
Fate took the conversation as an opportunity to attain a clear look of the zone they were about to proceed through. The first thing she noticed was the fact that the overall design seemed to be focused on speed, either land or air. The roads were thin, long with a far more curves than straightaways. She found herself a little bit puzzled by the loop-de-loops and the weird contraptions on the ground right before them.
"Um, Alicia-san?" The taller blonde questioned in some concern and curiosity; "Why does this area have a different design than the others?"
"It's designed to test our speed" the shorter blonde replied, almost pouting a little when her "clone" used a formal context of reference, "Those things on the ground are speed-boosters. If you pass through them, they'll instantly push you in the same direction."
Sonic couldn't quite hide the grin on his face when one of his favorite words was said. If there was one thing that becoming a familiar didn't change, it was his love for speed and going fast. The hedgehog felt reminded of the Star Light Zone from South Island; albeit there was less robotic interference. On the note of the robots, he had to restrain a groan at the lack of originality displayed by his arch-nemesis of a scientist as the aforementioned mechanical foes held the same bug-theme. They did appear to be something of a challenge as there were aerial fly-themed units that were swift and the electrically charged light-bugs. Not to mention the armored centipede bug robots that had Sonic wishing he had a lawyer to sue Eggman for copyright infringement on his spin-dash.
The group proceeded through the zone at a far quicker pace than the previous zones. As the Speedway was named appropriately, there was little room for error in control. The robots, despite being unoriginally themed, proved to be a fair challenge as the light-bug themed robots had shot out streams of electricity between them, which threatened the safety of the mages. Thankfully they were still fodder to Fate and Arf's Photon Lancers. The fly robots were dispatched easily as well with Alicia's sharpshooting skill while the armored centipedes were put into their place as scrap metal from Sonic's original spin dash.
Were it not for Nanoha's keen eye in her flight, the group might've missed a Past sign in their progression. Thankfully, the white-clad mage had easily got them to adjust their route and blaze right on through the sign. The nauseating feeling returned as the mages and familiars were instantly transported through time. One might have thought that they would've been used to it at some point, but the Speedway's emphasis on speed had complicated matters.
[Stardust Speedway –Past]
[BGM: "Stardust Speedway (Past)" Sonic CD (JPN/EU)]
Upon setting foot into the past of the Speedway and battling with the motion sickness of the high-speed time travel; Sonic and Nanoha felt a historically familiar vibe from the zone. Historical in the sense that the zone had taken an ancient theme that resembled the old times of the Romans and the Greeks, albeit with the greenish themed overgrow of vines.
"Et Tu, Brute?" Sonic, nevertheless, made no attempt to withhold his quick delivery of a themed quip.
"Clever, Sonic-kun" Nanoha would give her familiar the historical reference behind it, but held a reservation over how it fit with the zone's theme, "The colors are off though"
"But the theme isn't" Countered the blue hedgehog with a grin.
The little banter would've been cute and funny had Alicia, Arf and Fate could understand the historical context behind it. As the trio was local to Mid-Childa at some point, there was little understanding and some confusion to them.
"If you two are done?" Arf interjected the bantering duo from Earth. Not that she wanted to ruin their fun, she could hardly care less; she'd rather have the mission completed ASAP.
Despite the small moment of embarrassment, Nanoha and Sonic were quick to recover and press onward with the rest of the team. The robots they faced were little different than the ones in the present; if only a bit faster as the robots hadn't "aged" per se in the passing of time from Little Planet. In the end, they were still scrap metal to the combined group of mages and familiars.
Following the pattern from the previous zones, the mages had successfully located and destroyed not only the robot-generating machine, but also the Metal Sonic projector. The action not only ensured that Eggman's physical hold over the zone was over, but as was his emotional hold over the animals that weren't in hiding. Before they could take a little trip to confront the doc in the future zone, they had to make one little stop in the present to take care of something that Sonic thought he noticed prior to the time jump.
[Eyecatch #1: A chibi version of Sonic was chased by a chibi version of Amy Rose back and forth through a light-blue background. The chibi pink hedgehog was stopped in her tracks rather comically by a well-timed barrier spell conjured by a chibi Nanoha. Chibis Fate, Arf and Alicia had watched the humorous scene close to the logo]
[Eyecatch #2: Chibi versions of Fate and Nanoha enjoyed an absolutely adorable picnic scene by the countryside. Each girl enjoyed the latter's baked cookies and bread. The two would hug afterward and the whole scene appeared in a dream bubble as a sleeping Nanoha and Fate had shared the cute dream and their physical bodies were drooling a bit, much to the annoyance of Sonic, whom Nanoha had clung tight to in her dream while Arf delighted in Fate's adorable hug. The story logo would appear on the side with a chibi Alicia cutely pouting on the star part of the logo]
[Stardust Speedway –Present]
[BGM: "Stardust Speedway" Sonic CD (JPN/EU)]
"So what are we doing here?" Arf asked the minute the group had landed in the present; she was obviously getting used to the whole "time jump" thing, not that she liked that feeling though, "If we're following your video game script thing, we should've been at the boss level or something already"
"I thought I saw some construction work around here before we jumped" the blue hedgehog answered with a bit of a frown as he took a long look into the environment of the speedway, looking for something in particular. He must've found what he was looking for, because the sight he took in had deepened his frown, "There it is…"
Following the hedgehog's gaze, the others had to take great lengths to keep their faces from looking too disgusted. There was a construction site near the center of the zone. The site was for a large statue in Eggman's appearance. None of the robots present looked threatening in any manner, just a few in hard hats with one resembling a contractor.
"Yeah… Eggman's got some serious issues" the blue hedgehog noted in annoyance. He had contemplated closing his eyes, but the image spot of such a sight was already burned in his mind.
"He's probably having the robots build the statue in this time so that way it'll be complete in the future" Alicia noted the logic, despite how dumb the idea really was, behind the construction, "Which means if we take it out here, we won't have to see it in the Future"
"Just what I was thinking to" Sonic agreed with a grin, "Who's up for some renovations?"
"Cannon Mode!" Raising Heart's rapid response had her master and everyone else briefly wondering if the Intelligent Device was alive.
After shifting into the aforementioned combined bombardment and sealing form, Raising Heart had displayed more of its prowess by already charging up the energy needed for a low power Divine Buster. No one took exception to Nanoha taking out the construction site and whatever progress the robots had made to the statue, though there as the lingering regret that they couldn't have joined in on the fun.
With the eyesore of a statue out of the way, the group was ever the more eager to progress onto the Future and take on Eggman, and with the speed-oriented layout of the Speedway zone, there was little delay in finding and utilizing a Future sign.
[Stardust Speedway –Future]
[BGM: "Stardust Speedway (Good Future)" Sonic CD (JPN/EU)]
The Good Future of the Speedway zone had kept the more modern look from the present, albeit it resembled more of an amusement park or a carnival rather than a city. As the time of day was still rather in the middle of the morning, the illumination from the sun had lightened the purplish hues of the road on which they travelled.
"I'm seeing colors I didn't even know existed" Sonic noted in comment.
"Yeah, they're so pretty too." Nanoha added as she took in the scenery. She was acutely aware that they had made the time jump near the location of where the Eggman statue was being built, but she could hardly expect the sight that it was replaced by, "Whoa!"
The others had followed her gaze and, apart from Alicia, whom might have seen it before, they let out a collective gasp. The statue of Dr. Eggman was replaced by what appeared to be a beautiful cathedral-like mansion. Upon the inquiring of her lack of response by the others, Alicia merely shrugged and said that the cathedral was already present when she had arrived. She didn't use it much as she wasn't too religious.
Admittedly, the team was curious to see how Eggman would react when he found that his precious statue was not to be completed and that may have inspired them to keep a quicker pace through the zone. Although, the faster pace could've also been due to the speed boosters as well, but it didn't matter as they still made their progression swift.
It wasn't long before they caught sight of the familiar Egg-Mobile. They would've been disappointed as the mech was only modified to hold a laser canon, but the disappointment turned to slight curiosity and confusion as they had found the doctor hovering over what would appear to be the starting line of a race course.
[BGM: "Eggman Battle" Sonic CD (JPN/EU)]
"Well hello there" The doctor almost casually greeted the group. Red flags were already raised from the doctor's tone in of itself, not to mention the fact that he hadn't erupted into any childish fits when his statue construction was abruptly put to a halt, "You're just in time"
"I'll bite" Sonic, taking the role of the de facto leader for the encounter, decided to humor Eggman and hear out the old fool, "What are we in time for?"
"Why, the race of the century!" The doctor declared proudly and it was only then that the group that his regular red suit was replaced by a flagman's outfit for a stock-car race. Sonic had to hold back a quip about the fashion police as his attention was drawn to a figure on the starting line.
Greenish eyes met flickering red ones as Sonic stared down his metallic counterpart, Metal Sonic. The robot had carried itself in a rather cocky fashion as it impatiently tapped its metallic foot on the ground. It was obvious that the robot was going to compete in the race, but the real question would be who his opponent would be.
"I see you've already met Hyper Metal Sonic" The doctor idly said, giving a name to the robot that was also responsible for the kidnapping of Amy Rose, "He's my second-in-command here on Little Planet, you know"
"And you name him after me?" Sonic mocked with a grin, "Awe, I'm touched"
"I wonder if you'll be saying that after he beats you" Eggman refused to take the bait on that one, merely countered with a challenge, "After all, you're going to be the one he races"
"And what makes you think that I'll be interested in racing?" the blue hedgehog countered, with honesty as he didn't really feel like humoring that part of Eggman's plot.
"Because I have one of your friends here held hostage at the end of this course" The doctor was quick to provide proof in the form of a video screen that displayed the captured Amy Rose tied up against a post at the finish line, "You win the race, you can have her back."
"Okay, genius scientist, did it occur to you that we have magic?" Sonic countered once again, finding some amusement in the exchange as he was aware of his status superiority in the situation, "What's to stop us from binding your mech in chains, rushing through the course and saving the damsel in distress?"
"Ah… well... b-because… well… I uh… installed a safety net" The doctor absolutely fumbled in his answer and the best he could do was bluff, "Yeah, a safety net. If you try that then I'll shock her with the electric bindings I tied her up in."
The bluff was rushed and half-assed and even Eggman knew that the team wasn't buying it. The doctor silently cursed his lack of preparation on that front and knew that his plot was crumbling fast. To his shock, he noticed that the group had started to turn towards the course and enact their plan when they were abruptly stopped by an unknown force.
"Stop!" Lindy ordered the team of mages and familiars over the communication channel. As it was privy only to the mages and familiars, there was no way that the doctor could eavesdrop.
"What is it, Lindy-san?" Nanoha inquired curiously, she had a feeling that the admiral caught onto the bluff, but was unsure as to why she stopped them from calling the doctor out on it.
"I'm sure you are aware that he's bluffing, but I want you to play along anyways" The woman calmly stated; if need be, she would've made it an order. Her reasoning was also understandable enough, "I want to give this madman a sample of what happens when he trifles with us."
It took all of about 30 seconds to determine the course of action from there. Lindy hadn't officially ordered the group to buy into the poor bluff, but the respect they had for her made it unnecessary. The doctor's surprise could only grow as Sonic approached the starting line, where he then performed a series of stretches to loosen up.
"Uh…" Eggman, whom normally wasn't an idiot, certainly felt like one at the moment, his question didn't help matters, "Are you going to race?"
"No" Sonic replied sarcastically, "I'm just admiring the track, here's your sign"
'Walked right into that one' Eggman smacked his forehead in annoyance, especially after the girls gave the hedgehog a little courtesy giggle for the joke.
The doctor was quick to recover from his slight moment of embarrassment in record time as he pressed a few buttons on the console of his egg-mobile. The laser cannon mounted on his Egg-Mobile would fire off a few test beams down onto the ground just to make sure they were working.
"This will make it even more interesting" the doctor grinned, "If you fall too far behind, this laser will blast you to the next world."
"I'm so scared" Sonic mocked, definitely not scared at all. He had already finished his pre-race stretches and was pretty much waiting for the signal to go off to start the race.
"We'll cover you from the air" Nanoha said as she and the other three took to a small hover, "We won't interfere with the race, but we'll make sure Eggman doesn't try anything sneaky and cheat!"
"Got it!" Sonic replied with a grin, he would opt to take the race on the ground, for a few reasons really. For one, he could really rub it into the doctor's face, for two, his flight wasn't nearly as stable as the others just yet.
"Ready…." The doctor declared with an excited grin as his console would light up much like a raceway light set. There would be 3 yellow lights flashing up before the long green to start them off, "GO!"
[Race: Sonic vs Metal Sonic]
[BGM: "Stardust Speedway (Bad Future)" Sonic CD (JPN/EU)]
The green signal sent Sonic and Metal off in twin flashes of blue. Had Nanoha, Fate and Arf not already been used to the speed of the blue hedgehog familiar. The first challenge in the race, which pitted Sonic's foot speed against Metal's flight, included a tricky obstacle course that included twists and turns that tested both racers' control. The nod would've gone to Metal for his flight having an answer, but Sonic had shown early on that he could handle the turns on his high speed.
It was during a set of straightaways that Sonic had discovered a few dirty little secrets the good doctor had installed in his metallic counterpart. If Sonic had too much of a lead, which he normally would've tried to monopolize, the robot would attempt to overtake him under the protection of a burning fireball aura. The hedgehog had to sacrifice some of his speed to avoid the fireball with a short leap.
In doing so, Sonic had to up his pace to not only keep from being blasted by Eggman, but also catch up to Metal. That was when the robot had deployed its second countermeasure. Metal had sacrificed some of its own speed to deploy an electrical barrier in attempt to electrocute the hedgehog should he try to overtake him.
Fortunately, Sonic had his own advantages to use in the race. Sure, he said he wasn't going to take flight in the race, but there were more than one ways to take the advantage of the higher ground. Using the Floater Field spell that he had picked up from a certain Tutorial Ferret, Sonic was able to deploy a series of glyphs above the metallic fake's head and use them as platforms.
Despite the advantages that both racers were capable of utilizing, the race was a close one. Neither Sonic nor Metal could utilize their perks when the race hit another set of twists and turns decorated with dangerous spikes to make sure that mistakes were minimized. Sonic had maintained a close lead through this part of the course as well, despite the flight advantage that Metal had.
The race reached the proverbial home stretch as the finish line was clear in sight. The support mages and wolf familiar had flown over the final gate, but made no moves in dealing with the captive Amy Rose, who was completely surprised to see them. A dirty glare from the wolf familiar Arf had kept the pink hedgehog from making any sort of a scene as the focus was maintained on the race.
Sonic and Metal both kicked into high gear for the final stretch. Sonic had utilized his signature Super-Peel Out dash while Metal opted for the fireball charge. Despite Metal's hard effort, the 2+ second lead that Sonic had taken with his signature dash had sealed the deal straight and he was able to easily pass through the finish gate.
The downside to Metal's all-or-nothing charge was that there was no way the robot could stop itself from the harsh impact with the door. He flew right into it and outright shattered into pieces upon impact.
"Gah! Metal!" The doctor cried out in shock as he was helpless in watching his finest work break apart in its loss against the blue hedgehog. The doctor flew past the gate and stopped to confront the group one last time.
"You may have won this time, but I still have my base in the next zone" The doctor declared with a mad scowl as he had already started to leave, but not before leaving the group the purple Time Stone; he considered it a bonus, but was still confident that he would get it back and much more.
[1st Place: Sonic]
[Jingle: "Round Clear" Sonic CD (JPN/EU)]
Normally, Sonic would've celebrated his victory with a small pose, but Nanoha had freed Amy Rose just as the doctor left. The blue hedgehog, uncomfortably so, had to endure a clingy glomp hug from the pink hedgehog. To add to his horror, none of the other girls had tried to help him in the matter as they felt that the damsel in distress deserves to hug her hero.
Luckily for Sonic, the ecstatic pink hedgehog had kept her hug somewhat tame. For some reason, the blue hedgehog couldn't help but notice his wolf counterpart Arf glaring daggers into the back of the pink hedgehog. He wasn't alone in noticing the wolf's behavior as Nanoha and Fate had also taken note. While Nanoha appeared oblivious and a little curious, Fate appeared to have a clue, but kept silent.
"Alright, pinkie, you've had your fun." Alicia, while amused by the antics of the group before her, still felt that a job was still present; and she had taken charge in getting the focus back on the task at hand, "We need our ally back, thank you very much."
"Mou… Fine" the pink hedgehog relented and released her blue crush from the glomp grip. She sent a pouting look in the shorter blonde's direction, only to relent in nerves as she took the full force of Arf's glare.
"Looks like we've got one last zone to go through" Sonic was the first to comment about Eggman's parting words, "And Eggman said he'd throw out all of the stops on it too."
"Do you know anything about the next zone, Alicia-chan?" Nanoha queried of the shorter blonde in curiosity, "Anything that we should be aware of?"
"Well I know that it's based on technology" Alicia admitted that much, but she was unsure as to whatever else she could offer, she usually was reluctant to go past the Speedway on her own, "I know there are a few traps and mazes, but I don't know any of the specifics. The place unnerves me no matter what Time zone I visit it in"
"Time zone?" Amy Rose asked in confusion; clearly she hadn't been aware of the time warping capabilities of Little Planet, "What do you mean?"
"Nothing for you to know" Arf replied coolly, though in hindsight, she'd probably question her treatment of the pink hedgehog. The wolf didn't quite know what to make of it, but for some reason, Amy Rose just kept annoying her, especially with how clingy she was of the blue hedgehog.
"Arf" Fate scolded lightly, while she was somewhat understanding of her familiar's annoyance regarding the pink hedgehog, she still had to mind her manners, "You don't have to be that hard on her"
"Sorry" The wolf genuinely apologized; if there was one thing she was trying to avoid, it was the ire of her mistress. The poor girl had been through enough trouble in the past month and the last thing she wanted to do was add onto that with her attitude, "I'm just wondering what we should do with her"
"You're not thinking of leaving me behind, are you?" the pink hedgehog did not appear to like that idea. Not only would she be separated from the boy of her childish affections, but she would also miss out on the chance to impress him as well.
"It is dangerous in the next zone" Nanoha noted rather innocently. She had to step back in a defensive manner when the pink hedgehog levelled a glare in her direction, "Not that I'm saying you can't handle yourself, it's just that Eggman's robots can hurt if you're not careful."
"I know that, I spent the last hour or so trapped in that base" Amy had to restrain her excitement a little when her counter drew up another idea which could be a productive gamble. Her hobby of Tarot Card reading had developed a keen sense of sight and recognition, "And I think I know the place too"
"Really?" Alicia couldn't help but lace her tone with ice in skepticism, "You were captured and dragged into that hellhole by Eggman's robots; how can you possibly know the area?"
"I've got a good memory" the pink hedgehog replied in no small amount of pride. To add to her reasoning that she should tag along, she summoned up her trusty piko-piko hammer, "And I can take care of myself too."
'Stubborn' the one worded thought was shared amongst the group. Not that they were any better themselves though, and they weren't in any better of a position to argue either.
"Alright…" Alicia relented in defeat, they could use a guest party member anyway, "It's not like we can stop you without creating a headache."
"Yippee!" The pink hedgehog's energy level shot through the metaphorical roof in excitement. Immediately the others had started to regret the decision.
With one more zone to go, the team has added another member to their plight. It won't be easy, as Eggman would be sure to throw out all of the stops against them. Not to mention the possibility of a final trump card. Will Amy Rose's aid be enough to deal with Eggman's final zone, or will the mad scientist win out in the end?
[To be continued]
[Ending: "Little Wish ~Lyrical Step]
[End of Chapter 20]
Author's note: Sorry for the long delay folks. I've just had one thing pop up after another. Surprise anniversary visit for my grandparents, schoolwork; and I burned through my thanksgiving break awfully quick too. But, fear not! I shall continue on! Even better news, my Fall Semester at UVU should come to a close in a few weeks with Finals week and Winter Break for the holidays. I'll not only keep this story going, but also try to focus on my Knight of the Night Sky and Lyrical Record stories as well. I haven't forgotten about them, this one's just kinda given my tunnel vision. Alright! Read, review, identify cleverly placed references, you know the scthick…