Charmy: What's happening to ME? I'm small and weak, with yellow-black strips, and weak, with tiny child gloves for hands, which are weak, and I have a…THORN stuck in my rear-end! I didn't even have a real rear before!
Knuckles: Oh YEAH? Well while I got tough arms, I lost my beautiful, flowing quills for these nasty, dandruff-filled dreadlocks! Plus, my manly pride and joy, my chest-fluff, has whittled down to a bald-spot! A BALD spot I tell you! *Begins to cry*
Rouge: Listen carefully you half-wits; as always, whining about our problems doesn't make them any better. But, in case you haven't noticed, don't you think I pulled the REALLY short stick this time?
Charmy & Knuckles: *Think for a moment* Definitely.
Rouge: Let's just move on until we figure out what happened: PenFullofChaos819 doesn't work for Sega or own any of it's affiliated characters used in this story.
Charmy: In other news, former writer PoC was recently repossessed by Sega for his disturbing impersonation of a known female bat. Police are currently questioning the young man's sanity even as we bring you this broadcast.
Rouge: Piss off Metal! It's not like wanted this! Silv, you're on my side right ol' buddy?
Knuckles: Sure, sure, but you've got to admit…~Dude looks like a laaaady!
Rouge: …when I find what happened, you're all gonna pay.
Charmy: Darn…I knew a woman of your caliber wouldn't write or work for free.
Rouge: AARRRRGH!
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Point of no Return
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Two hours, possibly less, was the time frame for their departure. With the job of getting everyone up to speed going off without a hitch, the task of dealing with their 'junior' members proved to be the only real time-consumer. Seemingly everyone, with the key exceptions of Rouge and Amethyst, hadn't expected a pair of young girls to be so insistent about coming along. Even with the combined pleading of the leading hedgehogs, serving the male side's 'secret weapon' of persuasion, Amy and Maria refused to budge, but matter were about to get worse. Knowing the kids would need responsible supervision, Sonic, with the consent of Shadow, Vector and Espio, made the grueling decision to divide their forces once again. As such, things became markedly hairier when it was revealed who would be getting left behind.
"You've got to be kidding!" Rouge shouted first upon hearing the decision "You expect us girls to just hide somewhere while you men get to hog the action? I never expected this kind of chauvinism out of you Sonic." The blur in return tried explaining how much danger they'd already been through just trying to keep her safe, and then asked her to consider the absentmindedness of placing mere children in the fray. However, the bat agent would have none of it, reminding Sonic that Knuckles was still on the loose, thus could pose equal if not more of a threat than their current foe.
Frustration flared up on both sides until Amethyst chose to step in by saying "We respect your concerns Sonic. You have my word that we'll keep Maria and Amy out of harms way. Just go and bring Tails back to us." Rouge turned to her best friend with a look of betrayal, whilst Sonic thanked her for cooperating peacefully. The hedgehog regretted making such a callous choice to keep them out, but he knew deep down it was for the best.
Figuring their negotiations had succeeded, the teen to adult males all boarded the house ship, leaving behind two women and three children on the edge of the shoreline.
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*Later on with Sonic*
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With a start, the hero snapped awake. The movement of the waves had somehow lulled him off to sleep, despite his known case of 'hydrophobia'. It wasn't until he remembered that he was surrounded, no…more like cornered, by the deep, deadly water that be began to feel sick to his stomach. Stuck in this newfound 'illness', the hero didn't notice the black and red figure making his entrance.
"I think of myself as fairly fearless." Sonic jumped when he heard his dark hedgehog counterpart speak out of nowhere, prompting him to locate and listen to what his normally quite companion had to say. Shadow took a moment to gently rap a creaking wall before resuming speaking.
"As such, I'm unafraid to tell you that this crumbling ship scares the scarlet out of my fur!" Once his words processed, the hero didn't know which he should laugh at: The fact that Shadow was admitting to being nervous, or the silly way he chose to articulate it. At any rate, Sonic knew by his ambivalent red eyes that Shadow was mostly just making conversation to pass the time. It likely wasn't easy for him to bid Maria farewell as he had only recently been reunited with her, thus he was probably harboring a good deal of brotherly fear for her well-being. In a different, but similar, way Sonic was worried about Rouge and Amy, concerned that leaving them might undo the harsh rescue operation they'd worked so hard for.
Shadow sighed openly whilst taking a seat across from his cobalt twin. Sonic couldn't help noticing how much the dark-hog's head seemed to be hurting him. Whatever his days under control had done to him, it must've left a number of mental scars that would take a long time to recover from. Though the hero sympathized with him whole-heartedly, he almost couldn't resist the urge to ask this Shadow hundreds of unanswered questions; like what he remembered about Chaos Control, or about the 'real' Sonic, or even what that transparent nut-case was planning. And maybe…he'd also like to know what would soon happen to Tails.
In the end, the hedgehog hero held his tongue, realizing how selfish he was actually being. Did it never occur to him that Shadow would've told him everything if he could? He had no way of knowing how much torture and brutality his rival must've been subjected to. It was probably a miracle that he managed to scrape together his memories of Maria alone, much less recall the likely suppressed fragments he had left from his enslavement.
While preoccupied with this, Sonic didn't expect to hear Shadow say "You are very kind to not assault me with your questions." He spoke formally, though with some underlying sullenness "It pains me that I can't provide you with any answers, even after you saved my life from that monster. I…wish knew why my memories haven't returned yet." He clasped his head again, physically citing how agonizing it was have all the important details locked inside you, yet still out of reach.
Sonic, feeling a little risky, decided to do the thing he did best with everyone that seemed depressed, even HIS Shadow, at the cost of his own safety: He sped up to dark one's side, throwing a friendly hand over his shoulder, and said "Hey no sweat Shads my man! It's all good where I'm standing. But one thing dude, try to not make a habit out of angsting or the whole 'memory-loss' gig. It's really not cool on sooooo many levels." As expected, the black and red hedgehog cringed at both the contact and the overly forwardness this Sonic was famous for.
"Um…yes of course…? Now, if you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you released me before I toss you into the suffocating depths of the briny blue. Sound fair to you, dude?" Shadow flashed a tiny, wicked grin, almost as if he was hoping Sonic wouldn't let go. Happy to have sparked a smidgen of 'real' Shadow out of this formal imposter, Sonic did as he was told, but not until he had smacked his comrade's shoulder in an excessive display of friendliness. The joke was further sweetened when Sonic caught a disturbed Shadow wiping off his now violated personal space.
Soon after the 'touching' bonding scene was over, the prickly pair found themselves incased in the red glow of previously unnoticed emergency lights. Not yet ready to panic, though certainly NOT enthusiastic about abandoning ship, while being surrounded by death liquid no less, Sonic raced up to the pilot deck to get the word from their 'captain'. To his dismay, the clumsy duo obviously hadn't taken regular 'fire drills' when prepping this ship for disaster, as Vector could be found hiding underneath the control panel leg-space, ostrich-style, while a frenzied Espio struggled to get a hold of the ship's rather confusing controls. To take fear up a notch, the emergency alert had activated the window's defensive shutters, leaving the cockpit crew completely blind. The blur digested the situation fast by sliding a seat up alongside the stricken chameleon, ordering him to pull down a fairly large lever, while he studied the ship's countless buttons. Once Espio had done as the hedgehog asked, Sonic deduced roughly just what he needed to input. A tense moment later, the veil of red lights lifted though shutters remained shut, leaving the ship at the mercy of Vector's 'auto-pilot'.
Nevertheless relieved, Sonic let loose a long sigh as he quickly turned to find out what had tripped the alarm, evidently not seeing the strange look the purple reptile was giving him "Where did you learn to operate these…these blinking and flashing contraptions?" Espio vented what seemed to be frustration for his lack of savvy in this department.
Sonic, not wanting to humiliate or insult the man, shrugged and simply replied "Well outside of a few self-taught flying lessons, Tails was the one who really got me up to speed on this tech-y stuff." He confessed, only seconds later realizing his need to verify "I mean the Tails from my world of course." The pit of his gut twisted a little when he mentioned his little bud, and real home, for what felt like the first time in centuries.
Espio nodded slowly, finding it difficult to comment on something so selective. The blur didn't blame him for being at a loss. Such a topic could kill any conversation with ease, given how poorly understood the entire mystery was to this day. Despite this, Sonic had the sneaking suspicion that his molting ally had something to say, which usually meant Sonic was back to his reoccurring doctor/counselor/advisor role again.
"Sonic…" Espio started off at a snail's pace, until the fed up hedgehog gave him a stare that said 'if you have something to say, say it fast'. Rushing things was rude to be sure; however, given how close they were to their destination, they didn't exactly have an eternity to wait. Comprehending this too, Espio went out and asked "Sonic do you…Uh…do you believe leaving Amethyst and the others behind was a good idea? Shouldn't one of us be back there protecting her?"
That's it? That's what the fearless 'ninja' was hesitating to ask him? Now this was a problem he could eaaaasily handle. Prepping his old-fashioned sense of unwavering courage, all he had to do was administer the treatment with a gift-wrapped speech and this down-hearted lizard would soon be fit as a fid-
Wait, what did Espio mean by 'her' and not 'them'? Weren't they all in the same theoretical danger? Moreover, why did he only mention Amethyst by name, and with such…sensitivity?
Oh this is…such a steaming pile of….hog-refuse. Did he really just catch Espio in an awkward slip up, or had he simply imagined it? Well it DID square up with what he thought he had seen earlier today, but come on this is ESPIO he was talking about. Guys like him don't get tangled up in things like that…do they? And anyway this assumption conflicted with the fact that Espio had come off as overly concerned with Tails' safety, which was particularly odd considering he had, just a short time before, challenged him to a death match. Now that it occurred to him, why did those two have such an intense, albeit one-sided, rivalry? Sure, Sonic knew that he and his Knuckles always duked their issues out, but that could be explained by their starkly opposing natures and habits. It was hard to picture the Tails and Espio from this realm clashing so fiercely over separate viewpoints alone.
He knew going out on a limb might cost him…well a limb; still Sonic was convinced that they couldn't have any conflicting interests lingering on the eve of this their most critical mission, given how the odds were already against them. Readying some 'real' courage this time, Sonic steadied his ground for the incoming, million ring question. There was no foolproof way to say it, so he started cautiously "Espio dude, don't take this wrong but ah…" Disappointingly, his fumbling piqued the magenta lizard's interest, leaving him no choice but to spill his guts outright with no restraint "Ah heck with it! Tell me straight up man, do you have a thing for Amethyst or what? And if you do, then why man? Why are you so dang gung-ho about saving the guy who might be her future fiancé?"
They say a 'subtle' question deserves a subtle answer, but strangely Espio didn't say a word or make a move. Ideally, Sonic had been expecting some kind of melodramatic reaction like a jump of surprise, or maybe the inane babble used by one in denial, or something that would get him to the bottom of this instantly. Against the hero's guesses, the collected Espio remained silent and stoic, though, interestingly, still hadn't answered the question. Instead, the ex-ninja went about checking on a recently fainted Vector, before returning the hedgehog's inquisitive gaze.
"All I can tell you, Sonic, is that my primary concern remains to be Tails' safe return. Nothing I feel will ever compromise or change that." Such was as close to an answer as Sonic would get out of the shadow-dwelling reptile, for now at least…
But it wasn't like him. It wasn't like him to so blatantly sidestep a straightforward inquiry. While Sonic couldn't detect any malicious, insidious intentions hiding underneath Espio's pseudo-admission, he never guessed a secret like that would be stowing away inside a fellow team member's thoughts, especially not one as emotionless as Espio. Granted, even if all he presumed to be true turned out false, the hedgehog deduced those two, at a minimum, had quite a complex rivalry; one completely unlike any he'd formed in his own lifetime.
No doubt wanting to change the subject, Espio called attention to back their vessel's predicament by saying "So it seems the emergency alarm was triggered by a structural pressure anomaly." The description came out so effortless and confidant that the blue blur nearly suspected that the sneaky informant had been pulling his leg with his supposed 'technological incompetence' front. Wordlessly Sonic scratched at the truth with a mildly accusative stare, leading Espio to state "That's…simply what the computer screen says, you see?" he backed this up by pointing out a bold message highlighted in bright red.
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*With Shadow*
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Twenty minutes had gone by…was the problem with the ship that serious? Though he didn't want to admit it, Shadow had feared this unscientific atrocity would become a liability early on, a fact not helped by the ship's ill-trained captain and crew. The dark one knew Sonic would try, but he never knew his sapphire counterpart to be at all handy with machines. As such, Shadow had about convinced himself to go lend a hand, when out of nowhere his right ear twitched. Looking over his shoulder and then around the room revealed nothing out of the ordinary, though he was sure he'd detected the soft, whining creak of…something being forcefully bent.
"Do we have an intruder?" he wondered quietly. Not once forgetting that he and the others were still stranded out in the middle of nowhere, the noir hedgehog wisely self-advised a search of the utmost caution, which would start behind the front door where the noise had most likely originated from. Checking his steps for a moment, Shadow weighed out the pros and cons of telling the others first. He soon dismissed this thought, however, knowing that they needed as many hands as they could get to steady this half-sinking tub. Besides, he figured he should be capable of handling one lousy investigation by himself.
The anti-hero stopped his inner monologue abruptly, or rather was interrupted by a sudden jiggling of the front door's brownish-gold handle. So the disturbance hadn't been dreamt up. Someone or something really was trying to force their/its way inside, a very strong someone at that, seeing how the door strained underneath the person or thing's consecutive slams. Steeled up for the worst, Shadow crept up with the intention of repulsing the unwelcome guest with his own empowered strike. Gathering what little energy he remembered how to use, he had nearly prepared to advance when…
It was too late.
The next thing he felt was the heavy, splintering impact of wood snapping over his skull, sending the unsuspecting hedgehog to the floor with a crash. Falling in such a way caused his head to twirl resulting in double vision and muffled hearing. Just as his consciousness was fading, Shadow thought he could just barely make out a person speaking.
"Oh…Shadow… You're not hurt are you…?" with his fuddled senses, Shadow couldn't tell if the voice was sincere or sarcastic, male or female, or anything else about it at all.
Not long afterwards, he blacked-out completely…
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*Indefinite time later*
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His senses, or at least his hearing, had roughly returned, though his sight was regretfully slower to recover. This cocktail turned out to be unfortunate as Shadow's mind was only able to loosely perceive his current, possibly new, surroundings. After taking a minute or so to listen, the hedgehog came up with peculiar results. His interest wasn't in the kind of things he heard; rather it was in the amount, the vast number of garbled audible sounds that flooded his pointy ears. Little by little his brain recovered enough to reveal that these 'noises' were in reality voices. Confirmation of this guess presented itself in the form of a distinct gravelly voice saying his name…over and over.
Shadow knew he had heard a voice like that before. It rang in him a degree of familiarity…and with it a highly unpleasant, asphyxiating sensation. He started to feel walled in, contorted, claustrophobic even. Combining all these offensive details at once led him down a painful trip through memory lane…
Control…he now remembered his time under the specter's control.
That voice, unmistakable now, it was the words of the mask itself. That same charcoal tone had not long ago been taunting and guiding his every move. Sometimes it came under the guise of a friend, urging him to submit his former master's will. Reminders of the atrocities it commanded in his time of manipulation coursed through his mind without ceasing. Troubling as this was, the past was not Shadow's greatest concern, for he was hearing the voice again, here, now in the present. It wouldn't be long before it approached him, demanding his cooperation, chaining him once again to his old fate…
He only wished it was all a dream…a dream he could wake up from any second.
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*Within the Metus Maw Caverns*
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Above sea-level again at last… Had she still been made of flesh and blood, she would've never entered these abandoned tunnels, leastways not without a guide of sorts. In retrospect, she had wondered why the tribal nations had bothered to make their underground channels so perilous. It's true that their lesser cousins, the non-mobian echidnas, delighted in making hidden passageways too, but never ones that could possibly endanger their own. Not to mention the disturbing name and carvings left on the said cave's 'mouth' adding to the foreboding atmosphere. It was sheer cruelty to so much as dream of making anyone go through this accursed network of trials.
"Ouch! D***IT ALL! That's it! I'm getting outta this &%(#!* up place before it kills me!" Anyone except THAT foul-mouthed brat she'd been babysitting all day. Sickened by his constant outbursts, Tikal rewarded her 'tough-guy' descendent with a harsh slap upside the head, followed by a painful ear pinching that had the larger echidna hollering like the whiny kid he was. It was hard for her to imagine how a person so engaged in corruption and vileness could be such a baby when it came to their own suffering. Secretly, she hoped to get him out of here fast enough so she could return to helping Sonic and the others. At least they didn't use such filthy language, well…not in her presence anyway.
Forcing him to look her straight in the eye, she said "Listen carefully you snot-nosed child! In my tribe, our tribe, neither warrior nor prisoner was ever permitted to complain when given an order by their superior or warden, so what makes you think I'll be any more lenient with you?" At this, Knuckles foolishly attempted to take a swing at the ghostly girl, only to wind up tasting the sharp, earthen floor of the cave for his trouble. Scowling down at him with increased disgust, the girl continued "And now you heavy your burden by choosing to attack a maiden, a crime that was once punishable by death. But then…you're already guilty of that, aren't you?"
"I never really did anything with her!" was his angered reply. Knuckles knew all too well what Tikal was torturing him about: Rouge. His denial of any true wrongdoing didn't come as a blow to the past-age girl, for she knew full well what his defense would be. Not wishing to take the words out of his mouth, she patiently waited for him to finish. Getting up, but still leaning against a ledge, Knuckles explained "The first time I broke in was only to scare her, 'cause I was working a job at the time. Doing what I did was the only way to get Shadow and Tails' attention! The few cuts and bruises I left her would heal, so what did I do wrong, besides having a little fun?"
Ready to nail him in his coffin, Tikal grabbed the echidna by his neck scruff and snarled "Fun? FUN? You call traumatizing a girl senseless with threats of sexual assault FUN? And have you forgotten everything else? What about all the lives you took? The people you killed? Are you going to try and justify that too, Bloody Knuckles?" Her commanding voiced thundered through the echoing caves, but Knuckles didn't waiver or drop his guard this time.
"They were evil Tikal, more evil than me." His response hummed ominously through the stagnant mist of the cave "They were all gluttonous, craven scumbags for clients, and guess what? I enjoyed every minute of their deaths! Yeah that's right, I spilled their blood on my hands, and I'd do it again! So go ahead! Call me a murderer, call me a thief! I enjoy being feared and respected! It's a hell of a lot better than becoming weak and remorseful…" With his part said, the fallen tribesman tried to desperately slither back into the sinister recesses of his warped mind, but it was too late; Tikal had already seen the truth. Behind that demonic face of purest rage was the soul of a hunted, scorned, and broken mobian. She knew he was still to blame, as everyone is ultimately held accountable for their crimes, though she felt a twinge of hope and sorrow for the monster she'd helped him become.
Knuckles turned to resume his grueling climb when he came upon the same edge he'd slipped from last time. Fighting hard against his untrained cowardly impulses to give in and give up, the tainted warrior put all his might into one final reach for the top. Looking up through squinted eyes, he could see Tikal waiting above, offering him the boost he critically needed.
"Wash your hands of the bloodstained life. Be reborn as the Knuckles you were meant to be."
Though he didn't fully comprehend her words, the warrior withheld his straining long enough to offer a solemn nod, if only in hopes that she would help him up.
Almost immediately following this, he felt his feet planted firmly on the solid ground above.
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*Aboard the Tactichaos' agency*
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Not good, that sound could NOT have been good. Here Sonic thought the weird warning and closing shutters were bad, but now they might have a job of severe patching up to do in order to keep this hunk of junk afloat. Not only that, Sonic also recalled that Shadow had still been in the room below when the impact took place.
Hurrying to the living quarters below required guts, as the lower compartment could be filled to bursting with hedgehog-killing sea water by now. Flinging the door open faster than his 'chicken' receptors could kick in; the hero was only half-pleased with what met his eyes. The ship was indeed still in one piece, with the exception of the front door which was now smashed in, while a guilty team of women and children looked on in shame.
Tapping his foot irritably, Sonic glared furiously at the 'intruders' "What the heck is this? Rouge? Amethyst? Are you guys deaf? I thought I told you all to stay put!" His thundering words made Amy and Maria take shelter behind the teens. Of the older girls, Rouge took his tone the worst, seemingly crushed by how angrily the hero chastised them. Meanwhile, Amethyst merely gave a little nervous wave and a silly grin, hoping to diffuse the hedgehog's rage. Charmy unsurprisingly hovered off to the sidelines, his face frozen in an unnaturally huge smile.
Sonic prepared to play the aggressive interrogator, singling out first the one with the smuggest face "Amethyst, did you or did you not promise to stay and keep the kids safe while we go find Tails?" Feeling he had, using his superior memory, trapped the vixen with her own words, Sonic's eyelids fell half-shut in haughty manner.
Placing one hand on her hip, the bushy-tailed trickster wagged her other hand's index finger and answered calmly "I said we'd protect the kids and told you to find Tails yeah, but I never once said we'd stay behind." The hero chuckled victoriously, knowing just how wrong she wa-
Then it struck him…she never did actually agree to his terms. He'd only assumed that part.
Being the naïve spiny fool he was, no one had taught the hedgehog an important lesson about making deals with vixens: They always find the loopholes. He wanted to strap a 'Kick Me' sign to his own back for getting so effortlessly tricked, by Tails' girl no less. Still, sustained by stubbornness, he regrouped and restated his adamant stand about their security. As expected, both girls used the 'but it's too late to turn back now' card; however, Sonic countered that he and the rest of the crew would be more than willing to delay the mission in favor of turning around. To show how serious he was, Sonic spun on his heel and made for the bridge, ready to break the news and give the order.
"Please Sonic, wait!" without warning a small hand snaked its way into his. He shot his eyes back to see a pleading ten-year old Amy begging for him to listen "Sonic, us being here, you getting mad at us, it's just what my visions showed me! If you send us back, something horrible is going to happen! Please! You *sniff* just HAVE to let us come with you!"
Sonic sunk down on one knee to comfort his sobbing admirer. Firm as his stand was, seeing her so tearfully hysterical did murder on the hero's soft spot for kids. Sighing briefly, he glanced up to others and asked "Is it true?"
An unconvincing mixture of two head shakes and one nod, only to have the others swiftly switch their own reactions to nods, served as the suspicious reply. Furthermore, Amy's apparent 'breakdown' proved to hold less water than a fishbowl, chiefly because he caught her winking at the other girls while wearing a 'I've got this one in the bag' look. Less than enthusiastic about their deception, Sonic prepared to renew his argument when he heard the pilot cabin door quickly opening behind him.
"Sonic…you have to come see this." Espio interjected, catching the hedgehog a little off guard. The royal blue mobian had thought that if anyone would have a problem with the ladies joining up; it would be the shinobi man himself. Contrary to this, the magenta reptile barely acknowledged the unwelcome guests at all. Instead, his paled features continually beckoned Sonic to return to the bridge. Fueled by the urgency practically radiating from Espio's expression, not only Sonic but everyone crammed themselves into the cockpit above. The emergency shutters had lifted in Sonic's absence revealing what had the chameleon so amped up.
Just one look outside through the faded window sent a quivering wave of suspense throughout the entire group.
"We've arrived at our destination…our foe and Tails will be waiting for us inside." Espio spoke impassively, but the united team shuddered as though he had just delivered a profound speech. Something about the simple way he said it put finality into what fittingly would be their last mission.
In spite of the dread/awe this moment instilled, Maria unintentionally ruined the mood when she asked "Um… Has anyone bothered to check on Shadow? Y'know, after Crab-Watcher accidently crushed him with the door and all…?"
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End of Chapter Thirty-six
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A long chapter, call it compensation for the wait (I've said this before haven't I?). I hope you all appreciate this chapter more than the last. I say this because I noticed several people failed to comment. Remember my thinking: If you didn't like something I…want…to…hear about it! Commenting at least shows that you still care/read my garbage XD (yes I understand that many of you are as busy, if not more busy than I am). Thank you again to all those who did comment, don't think I don't appreciate you guys! I really do! Sorry for not having the individual commentary this time, but it's 3:38 AM where I am and I need the sleep :\.
Future-self note: Ignore (most) of my prior stress-crazed comments! I've been too twitchy to think straight lately, and, as a side-effect, it's making me foolishly impatient. DX I hope didn't offend anyone with my stupidity above...
Until next time!