PoC: Back with a vengeance! *Replaces bloody tissue with a clean one*
Metal: PenFullofChaos819 hasn't paid me for that box of Kleenex.
PoC: Hardy har har, Met. Now get on with it!
Metal: Oh? Very well then: PenFullofChaos819 doesn't own his own clothes either. All of his are borrowed I tell you!
PoC: Yeah genius, I have my own car and place, but I can't afford clothes riiiight. Who would I borrow from anyway?
Metal: Judging by your fashion choice, I'd say Silver.
PoC: …You sir, are an a**.
Silver: HEY! What's wrong with my awesome clothes? You're all just jealous, that's what!
PoC: Uh…
Metal: Um…
Silver: WHAT? How can you deny how cool I look?
PoC and Metal: No comment.
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Time to Reflect
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She couldn't laugh, but nor could she gasp. Overall, it was too unremarkable to justify any extreme reaction. The dream's description matched any number of miscellaneous ones Maria herself had dreamt in the past. Still, knowing how much it was scaring Amy, she figured it wouldn't that easy to dispel the problem.
"So what do you think?" Amy came right out with tough question.
Maria, trying hard to not sound rude or condescending, replied "Well the dream is weird, but it doesn't seem that frightening." worried she had said the wrong thing, Maria clammed up before finishing.
Lucky for her, Amy didn't seem to take offense "The part I told isn't the really scary part." she confessed "And even with the spookier parts, it didn't really bug me. At first, I just thought I'd eaten too much before bed or something. I wasn't really scared until the storm from my dream was shown on T.V."
That was a point Maria had to hand to her. Even she'd be pretty freaked out if her dreams, scary or not, started playing out right in front of her very eyes.
"After I saw it," Amy went on "It got me thinking: What if all the other stuff starts coming true too? The second part about the creepy guy with the mask, then the little white light in the big dark sky; what if that all comes true?"
"To be honest, I don't get the 'light in the sky' part." Maria admitted "Still the 'masked' part does get me unnerved for some reason." failing to recall all of the dream's details, she asked "Now who did you say you saw in that part?"
"I-I don't know who the first person was. All I know is they had big red eyes." she could hear Amy shudder before starting again "Then the face broke, like smashing a big mirror, and fell to pieces. Then I saw…I saw a picture of Sonikku and Tails standing next to the broken pieces."
"Right, I remember that part." Maria nodded to herself "Wasn't that it?"
"N-No, cuz the next part I didn't tell." Amy said shakily "I didn't understand the end well, but I think the broken face reformed again. B-But this time it looked like…l-like Sonikku…" Amy sucked in a tear-stopping breath "Then the face started shifting between looking like Sonikku and then like Mr. Tails, but something was wrong them! They both had those same scary eyes, and they looked so cruel and mean, an-and!" but her sentence was swallowed by audible sobbing.
Pausing to take in how that would feel to a little girl, heck how that would feel to her, Maria could easily see why she was so upset "Oh Amy…why didn't you tell me sooner?" she asked the nervous hedgehog in a soothing voice.
"C-Cuz I was scared about that too! Scared that you wouldn't believe me, or maybe think I'm crazy…" she sniffled.
"No Amy, I don't think you're crazy and I do believe you." Maria assured with complete honesty "But if this really is about the future, don't you think someone needs to tell Sonic and Tails?"
"I tried calling them, but they won't answer!" Amy explained sorrowfully "I don't know what else I can do! I feel so worthless…"
"Don't you dare feel that way Amy!" Maria said firmly "You had the courage to tell me that chilling dream of yours, and tried to warn your friends about it. That's anything but useless!"
Amy sniffed a little on the other line and said "Thank you, Miss Maria."
"Oh! No no no. Just 'Maria' is fine!" she said somewhat flustered by the formal title.
"Okay…Maria. Hee-hee." Amy giggled mildly for the first time in their conversation "Um… Can you do me a favor though?" once Maria agreed she asked "Could you not tell Sonic and Tails about this? I wanted to tell them, but I don't think they'd really understand."
Maria didn't want to break trust with her, but she had to say something if it was a real premonition. Rouge came to mind, until Maria slapped herself for forgetting what kind of situation she was in. Wracking her head for another good choice, she suddenly recalled another girl "How about if I tell Amethyst instead? You trust her, right?" Maria was crossing her fingers because she herself didn't know much of anything about the said vixen.
"Really? You'd tell Miss Amethyst for me?" Maria was about to gulp until Amy cheered "Yay! Miss Amethyst is the best! She'll know what to do for sure!"
Grateful that it had all went well, Maria said "Then I'll tell her as soon as possible. Until then you just relax and try not to have anymore nightmares, okay?"
"'Kay! Thanks for listening to me Maria! You're just as nice as Shadow said!" Amy said in her regular chipper voice, but cut her thank-you short to ask "Maria? Are you okay?"
Now it was her turn to cry. Fortunately, Maria had a strong enough hold on her emotions to say "It's nothing Amy. I'm fine."
"Really? Hmm…okay. But if you're ever really sad, you can tell me about it." Amy offered politely.
"That's sweet of you, but I'm okay, really!" Maria strained to sound as upbeat as she could manage.
"If you say so…" the pink hedge-girl didn't really buy the act, but thought it was only nice to let it alone "I don't want to stop talking, I've got to go see my mom and dad. They've been really worried about me. Can I still talk to you later?" Amy was very hopeful.
"*sniff* Of course you can! Call me anytime." Maria listened as Amy said her last word of thanks and hung up. Although Amy's remark was going to cost her a box of tissue, Maria was pleased knowing she'd helped in a small way.
"To make the world a happier place." she said rubbing her eyes "That's what we dreamed of, right Shadow?"
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*Outside Marina*
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With their last targets confirmed and supplies packed, the stout-hearted group was taking their final steps towards rescuing their imperiled ally. Sonic took the front, acting as the scout for potential threats and necessary landmarks. Amethyst naturally made a good navigator thanks to her plethora of on-hand devices.
Although very much the brains of the team, Tails was stuck lugging most of the extra weight. In his current state of mind, this suited him just fine. His head hadn't unclogged itself of all the undue stress he was still carrying. Realistically, that was probably holding him down much more than the hefty load.
"I just can't find my focus." his thoughts grumbled "It's like all the problems I've been ignoring for the last few weeks are pouring into me all at once."
Even with all this pressure, Tails did his best to hide it from the others. The last thing he needed to do right now was slow the others down with his disparaging mood. Tails had, for years now, learned to suppress his emotions for efficiency purposes. In fact, until he lost his Sonic, he hadn't had a single breakdown since childhood.
"I took protecting him seriously." he mused about the not-so-distant past "But when I failed him, I wished I had been a better brother. Only now do I realize that shielding him wasn't enough." his attention turned towards the hills to see the older blue hedgehog smiling while still leading them onward.
"I kept forgetting how to have fun." the fox realized "In doing so, I wasted the best times I could've had with him." his eyes trailed over to Amethyst.
"With them." he corrected. These ideas continued to barrage him without ceasing. How much had he missed out on life? And what could he do now to get it back?
These questions soon left him vulnerable to far darker topics; like the supposed deaths of his friends. Knowing he played a part in their downfall ate at him more than all his other troubles combined. Remembering his vow, Tails contemplated the possible future with a dreaded seriousness that didn't suit him at all. Now instead of trying to make up for lost time, he was back to thinking about how to end his time honorably.
Something nobody present wanted for him.
A few paces ahead, Sonic was charging backwards at full steam. Though nowhere near freaking out, his face did say urgent with a capital 'U'. Stopping to catch his breath, the hedgehog waited for the vulpine pair to reach him.
"What's the word Sonic?" Amethyst asked outright.
"I'd say 'complicated' fits pretty well!" the blue hero panted "We're pretty close to the marsh you were talking about, but I spied something else headed in the same direction."
"Robotnik and Maria?" Tails guessed.
"Maybe Maasawd or Knuckles?" Amethyst took a shot.
"Nope, but it's a ship. At least I think it's a ship." he said, much to the group's confusion "To be honest, I've never seen anything like it in my whole life." Sonic confessed and rubbed his chin "Now that I think about it, how is that thing even airborne?"
"Let's have a look." the vixen suggested and the three climbed to the hilltop. However, they arrived a little too late to see the mystery ship a second time.
"Hmm…I KNOW I wasn't seeing things, but where did it go?" Sonic quizzed himself aloud. The others did seem a little suspect, in the end though, the decided to take the hero's word. Still, the ordeal had been a raw deal for Tails who had just hauled the heavy sack up the hill for nothing. To compensate for this, Sonic offered to switch positions, to which the weary fox gratefully agreed.
"I still think this world's going to have me wearing my shoes on my head, before this is all over." Sonic massaged his achy sinus. To be sure, this upside down world had thrown him a few shocks and spooks that made him wonder,
But in all his adventuring days, he had never expected to see a flying house.
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*Underground Cell*
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Frankly, it was amazing. Amazing how reflective captivity could make someone. Rouge was not one to dwell on, or even worry about things in the past. When you consider not having much to do but eat and sleep, it made sense that her habits had changed.
"Never thought it would take separation to make me miss the gang so." she rested her cheek on her palm "Right now I'd give anything to have those guys bust in and tell me I'm free."
Her funny way of passing time revolved around deciding who she missed most. The first one that came to mind was her main female camaraderie. It was difficult to get by without another girl to understand her the way Amethyst did. Despite her brainy nature, she was more extroverted that the bat agent ever was. She was also one of the precious few who knew Rouge was sensitive and old-fashioned about 'real' relationships.
"I really miss her spunk." she admitted "I love a girl who's not afraid to stand up to any man, but still gentle enough to be a woman."
Her next person to miss usually ended up being Tails. Though he could be gruff and even a little cold, she knew deep down he loved his friends more than life itself.
"You know, maybe that's his problem." Rouge thought "He's so busy being everyone's hero that he doesn't stop to smell the flowers. He thinks people need his strength, when all they really need is his time."
The third was a toss-up. Amy was a sweet little girl that always talked a million miles-per-hour, which made her all the more adorable. Cream was a sweet, obedient girl that would no doubt grow up to be a well-spoken lady one day. Both made her wonder if having children was really that bad after all.
"I think the whole 'being a mother' jig would be a blast with great kids like that." she sighed happily.
The fourth and final group cumulated mixed feelings. There was Shadow who she missed, in some ways, the most of all. The main reason for this was his failure to come back to them, unlike Sonic. Shadow used to be a source of positive energy for her and his sister-like friend Maria. He would approach with that fearsome scowl, only to flip it over into a genuine smile, albeit somewhat small.
"He was like a gentle giant." Rouge reminisced "Powerful on the outside, but shy and caring on the inside. I think he was one of the best friends I ever had."
Rubbing away a stray tear along with some memories, her last friend came to mind. Sonic, the one she'd thought to be dead along with Shadow, had returned from the grave.
Sadly, he no longer seemed like himself.
He wasn't a lot larger, as mobians do stop growing at an early age, but he did act and sound different. For one thing he wasn't the young teen she remembered; he was an older, stronger version of himself.
"Even though his eyes were bloodshot when I met him." she recalled humorously "Then I ended up scaring him, twice!" she giggled at the now-fond memory.
This cheeriness faded quickly once she recalled their last exchange "Then he couldn't remember some…obvious things." she cringed "I got mad, left for my room, and then I never saw him again."
Over her depression by now, she did still regret her hasty reaction. Sonic clearly wasn't himself when she saw him and, for all she knew, could still be suffering from his amnesia. Even if he didn't have memory loss, she wanted the chance to apologize and possibly get to know this 'new' Sonic. He seemed so distressed when she left him. She could only hope that Tails had been there to help him where she could not.
"Eternal brothers, those two." Rouge rolled her eyes with a smile "I think the universe could split in half and those guys would still, somehow, be watching out for each other."
Her musings had to be stopped short, as the creaking of her heavy door told her to get ready.
"That's my cue! Hee-hee!" Rouge giggled mischievously "Let's see how that tough guy Maasawd handles this!"
As the cloaked person made his usual entrance, Rouge stood up to her full height and gave the shady figure a wink "Come to see me again so soon Maasawd honey?"
In his one visible red eye, one could see Maasawd's laughable look of surprise. While Rouge stepped slowly around the figure, his gaze trailed after her with puzzlement written on his concealed face.
"Creepy bat." he mumbled "What does she think she's doing?"
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End of Chapter Twenty
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To think I've come twenty chapters into this long tale. Well it's not over yet, but it's about over the middle mark (at least, I think so). This one is fairly short, but it'll have to do for now!
DanceDream: Just so you know, the tomato was not mine *dodges a tomato* see? XD Yup! In this world Gerald succeeded in saving her (but as you might've guessed, he's no longer alive :( ). Ahem, 'Julian' is always a bit of a kook. ? What happened to Shadow? Remember Chaos Control? That's what (sorry if you were expecting something more in-depth :( ). The way I see it, Robotnik or Maria recovered Shadow's phone and rings from the accident, but never found his body. Thus, Maria wondered what happened to him (trying to not think of him as dead); hope that clears things up (as much as I ever do *evil laugh*)! Well this Tails (as shown in this chap) has lived a burden-heavy life. He feels it's his job to keep everyone safe. So much so that nothing else matters (even spending time with them). He actually hates arguing with Amethyst, but his stubbornness always seems to be landing him in hot water with her. I can understand if you don't like Tails now, but that's why he'll soon start to change (with Sonic and Ame's influence) into something better. I really wish I had room to add the rest of my comments, (that's why I love pm's) but since I don't, I'll keep the rest as short as possible! P.S. I went as (please don't laugh) as…well Link (from legend of Zelda). My nephew begged me to do it so…I did (but everyone thought I was a Santa elf with a sword XD). Really quick, the prototype is more confused than conflicted I guess. Maasawd is doing his thing on purpose as opposed to by accident (which is kind of the prototype's game so far XD). On that last, LAST note I should confess, I attend PVCC and am a Christian (I know I sometimes curse, but I am a follower). Whew! Sorry for the length, but what can I say? I had a lot to…well say! XD
Ghostkid33: Tails and Ame have metric ton of issues, but you know me, it's all part of the plan! Sonic's got the right of it; they should just chill and stop the whole 'getting in each other's face' trip they've been on. Yeah that's way I planned it (Amy's call plus Shadow's phone equals…Maria? XD)! Whether you are still studying for finals or not, good luck man (or ma'am)! P.S. I have to do that with everyone I wish well (to avoid offence). Calling you man or ma'am doesn't mean I don't have a good guess in mind! XD
Serenity: It's cool to change gears with a character like Maria! And yup, Sonic is still on the job (maybe he just found his calling)!
Infamousplot: Yeah I guess I made my favoring Tails a little obvious in this chap XD. Even so, I want everyone of the main group to have moment to themselves (I want to do the same with Amethyst soon). I hope you don't mind my short comment to you. I just figured space is getting a bit cluttered, and I like pm's anyway! The length is not proportionate to how much I value your opinion (but you know that already, right? :) ).
KoTwz10z: That was my intention (with subtle hints from the prior chap)! I wanted people to be unable to connect Amy with Maria until it happened (looks like it was a success)! Maria is great to have in and, personally, I like Amy like this better. I wish they would make her sweeter and more thoughtful in the games. Tails and Ame DO have the most complex relationship in town! But, that makes the romance less sappy and much stronger later (I normally dislike romance). No worries on the lateness (did I send you a pm too? If so, I might be repeating myself DX). Until next chap KoTwz10z!
Kindra Mckleen: Dr. Sonic? Heck yeah! I love it! Maybe I should write something regarding that title XD. Ya everything needs just a sprinkling of humor to take the edge off. I agree, Maria has some rough luck. Still, I'm here to make sure it all works out for her in the end! :)
Sierra Zanimalini14: I pm'ed you most of the good stuff, but hey it's never wrong to add another thank you! I hope you enjoy the finish up of Maria and Amy (don't worry, we'll see them again soon).
TehGoatGoesBahh: I don't know if I lost your review in the black-hole I call an inbox, or you just simply didn't review this time. Sorry if I just misplaced it (I really do appreciate your comments)! If you didn't review, that's cool too. But if you could, send me a pm about the last chapter (preferably what sucked about it). On the other hand, if you were just busy, sorry to hassle you (no pressure, seriously). I hope to see you next time nonetheless!
Sparkling-nexis137: As promised, you now a part of the family! XD I haven't too much to say, but I pray this latest chap has your seal of approval as well! I can't get over your kind review; it really was wonderful to read! As a grateful author I thank you once again for your time and consideration. It truly means a lot :)
Super Shadix 520: Welcome to the excessive author notes section! You have my thanks for reading and quote "loving" my fic! :D I hope Maasawd becomes a clearer character as time goes on! Your opinion, I will be eagerly waiting for on this current chap!
Until next time!