PoC: Ladies and gentlemen…it…iiiis…TIME! Introducing first: Fighting out of the red corner! This fox is an Air-styled fighter. He stands at 3-feet 3-inches tall, weighing in at 77 pounds. He holds a professional record of 40 wins and 2 losses. Fighting out of the Mobius Isles: Miles 'Taaaaaails' PROWER! Introducing our challenger: Fighting out of the blue corner! This-
Silver: Cut it out Pen! You want to give the surprise away?
Metal: Not much of a 'surprise' if you ask me. No matter, PenFullofChaos819 still sucks at his Buffer impersonation, and doesn't own the characters of his story.
Silver: *After reading the chapter* Man…can I just say ask: Is a day ever going to come when we get a super happy chapter, or when Metal isn't blunt about…well everything?
PoC: Nah.
Metal: No.
Silver: Aw come on, why not?
PoC & Metal:'Cause that'll be the da-a-ay when I die~!
Silver: Oh, OH I see! Soooo, it's okay for YOU guys to sing, but not ME? Well then I GUESS I'll just have to sit here until you both apologize! *Crosses arms*
PoC, Metal & Silver: …*Crickets chip*
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A Selfless Soul
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She was so close, yet any effort made to alert her was failing.
He shouted, but she offered no reply. He reached, but his hands were repulsed. While the fox's rough paws were still throbbing, an examination revealed traces of blue flame singeing his fur-coved palms. Anxiety made the slight pain go unnoticed, for Tails now saw an encroaching veil of fire, no doubt the culprit behind his burns, closing in around Amethyst. Watching her face through the now-visible flames, Tails guessed that she herself could not see approaching danger.
More desperate than ever, Tails again repeatedly shouted out for her. His throat was soon aching from the sheer number of times he'd called out. At this time, Tails heard a mocking laugh; not in his head but from behind. He turned angrily to see, what seemed to be, his clone…or possibly doppelganger smirking at the unfolding events. The being's expression and mood changed drastically, however, when the real fox locked stares with it.
"Hey! Can you see me now?" The being seemed lost in thought for a moment, but then once again changed his mood. Now wearing a broad smile, the mimic said "How cool is that! But if you're here to play, you'll have to wait your turn. I'm busy with this really pretty girl, so come back when I'm finished, 'kay?"
What was this fool talking about? Tails was too enraged to worry about that now. He instead, lost in his raw emotions, launched his fist into the faker's face which connected perfectly. Having sent the creature staggering, Tails leaned in and grabbed it by the scruff, demanding "What've you done to her? Let her go right now or else!"
The still-grinning copy's eyes now shone a maniacal swirl of red and yellow as it replied "Or what, you big bully?" With a sneaky gesture, the fiendish fox wrapped it's two puffy appendages around the real Tails' leg and tripped him. The crazed clone then proceeded to pin it's original to the floor, retaining it's crazed grin all the while "You know, you used to be a nice innocent kid. But now that you're a grown up, you're no fun!"
Growing increasingly frustrated with his mimicker's antics, Tails growled out "Why are you doing this to her? What the heck are you?"
Donning an even creepier smile, now showing it's canines, the lookalike leaned in and said "You really want to know? Shh…it's a secret!" With it's muzzle now practically shoved in the real Tails' large left ear, the fake whispered "I'm a copycat, of course!"
Tails snarled at the being's intentionally idiotic response, opting to hastily shove the rambling fool off him whilst reversing their positions. Now in control, Tails afforded the trapped Amethyst another look before nearly screaming "Don't toy with me! Release Amethyst now, or so help me I'll kill you!" Tails hadn't realized it, but in releasing his wrath a burnt glow of fiery orange surrounded him.
The fake seemed to notice this, as he exclaimed "Hee…heh-hee-hee! That's why I like you! Your chaos and physical form are by far my favorite combo!" The copy completely ignored the real vulpine's rising rage as it wondered aloud "You know…I guess I'm supposed to wait for our fancy blue suit like all my siblings, but who cares? I don't like him as much!"
Tails, almost sure he was out of time, pressed his forearm roughly against the clone, trying to get it to speed things up. Frustratingly, the dark twin merely maintained his original pace, saying "Tell you what: Since I really like you, just agree to be my friend I'll save your trapped ~girlfriend! And, as a bonus, I'll even let you use all my awesome powers too! Pretty fair, right? What do you say?"
Narrowing his eyes, Tails backed off the faker to quickly ponder what it's offer meant. He had a vague idea what his other self implied, and he didn't like it. Granted, he knew his pool of options was fast running dry. He thought of aggressively forcing his loony other to free her, but he knew this psycho would likely kill Amethyst outright if he tried. Trusting the evil or resisting at his love's expense: It was a set of lose/lose choices either way.
The choice wasn't made any easier when he heard the voice in his head say "How far are you willing to go for her? Would you, figuratively, cast yourself in the fire and be consumed with her, or would you take the dark path and see her live? You've thrown away so much for her already, are you truly willing lose everything to rashness? Do not be restrained by fear. Trusting him, trusting us, is now her only hope.
He growled the voice's double talk. Hadn't it originally wanted him to leave her behind to die? Still…it had a point. If he acted rashly now, and she as a result died, he wouldn't be able to live knowing he could've done something to save her. Yes it was a trap, an obvious one at that, but risking a friend's safety for his fear, or lack of self-control, was not an option.
And so eventually, with great reluctance, the fox said "If I accept…you have to promise. Promise me no harm will come to her."
Inquisitively, the immature duplicate sneakily asked "So…is that a yes?"
When Tails confirmed this with a stiff nod, his darker self bit it's lip like an overjoyed child before lunging in to hug Tails tightly "Yay! It's going to be so much fun! Thank goodness I got to choose you instead of that dark guy, I mean yuck!" Tails wondered in passing if his two-tailed twin meant Shadow, while the mimic finished by saying "Welp, until the 'blue one' takes over; the power that I, Citrine, have is yours to command!"
Remembering it's possible reference to Shadow, Tails fervently tried to ask his copy to identify the 'blue one'. Unfortunately his question went unfinished and unanswered as the doppelganger dissolved into a blackish-blue mist. The said mist then, without warning, dove into the vulpine's mouth; leaving a burning, sulfur-like taste behind. The disgusting concoction left the fox speechless, with his reaction now only voiced by suffocated chokes and gasps.
His strength, soon afterwards, failed him. Sinking to his knees, the final words he heard were from the vile presence in his head; an unholy distortion of his doppelganger and the mask's voice echoed "At last…a new puppet to act out my master's will. I had hoped our partnership would've been more voluntary and less hostile, but I suppose it couldn't be helped. With your intellect and strength, I trust that you'll prove to be more useful than that hedgehog ever was."
It was noiseless following the inner voice's speech… Steadily, due to the evil that now tainted his mind, every memory of goodness and purity was soon swallowed whole by the darkness…
…except for one.
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*With Sonic*
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Pretty quiet where he was, but why? He vaguely remembered fighting off someone… No, not just 'someone', it was that phantom, or person rather. Not to mention he was surrounded by a cloudy grey smoke, likely as not something he was entrapped by (not that he felt good enough to move anyway). Logically, he concluded that he must've been captured. Rubbing his still sore neck, the hero took a moment to recollect everything.
"Let's see…Ame with me, and then we saw that freak… Then….then that bastard held out his hand and-WAIT! Crap, that's right! I lost my 'Super Sonic' powers 'cause of him!" His head swam at the mere thought. Far back as he could remember, with one exception, even Eggman would tremble at the mere sight of his powered up form. But this guy, he just calmly 'switched off' the hero's supply of strength. That alone, made the once cocky hedgehog take a minute to think. If that freak was THAT strong, what hope did he have of beating him? This guy…didn't seem like the 'Eggman-type' at all. Where lardy was always getting his larger than life rear-end handed to him by the godlike monsters, this monster exuded a feeling of total control. It was as if he could thwart any plans to stop him, long before they were even mentally conceived. A true mastermind, one that actually frightened the hero a little…
"Do I even have a chance now…?" he contemplated aloud. His former arrogance had all but departed by now. He wondered how he could have even a thread of hope against someone so obviously in control of the situation. Though his courage was not dead, numerous losses had successfully sapped his spirits down to a new low level. First Tails, then his friends, and now himself. No real hero would fail so many times…
"You've awoken I see." It was…him. Sonic's quills rose defensively as he clumsily attempted to strike a fighting stance "Please now…I mean you no harm. I'll have you know I'm not very accustomed to having company. It's rather lonely spending the greater part of my day towards making peoples' lives better. You of all people would understand, yes?" just then the specter materialized in all his half-visible 'glory'.
Sonic stumbled in his speed-less attempts to stand up to sinister one, leaving the hedgehog with nothing but angry looks and words "I don't know you personally, but I DO know sick freaks like you never help anyone but themselves." Though exhausted by his lack of energy, the hedgehog pushed out just enough strength to interrupt the hazed man's reply "And don't bother trying to convince me of how 'good' any twisted scheme of yours is. I've already listened to a hundred similar lies in my lifetime, so SAVE IT!"
Sighing audibly, the blurry figure turned his back on the hero "I could force you, but I want you to see for yourself the good I'm doing. Sonic, you know power comes at a heavy price…but this time, the price has already been paid. When you have recovered, I will explain at length." Stepping back into the grey background, he shifted back towards the imprisoned hero "I am…sorry I had to make you suffer so. Rouge's capture, Shadow's torment, Tails' enslavement…they each serve a key part in preparing you for your role." Then, with a somewhat forlorn pause, the man said "I want the best for this world…and if my calculations are correct, only you can help me save it."
Sonic, his mind running amok with questions, was then prompted to ask "Who or what are you?"
The specter stayed for a single second longer to say "It's coming soon. The time to tell you everything is close at hand. Until then, I suggest you calm yourself, lest you have your mind broken in this, your final test." Having said his piece, the figure resumed taking his leave.
Raising his head, Sonic strained to get one last comment in "The only thing that's going to get broken…is you! YOU HEAR ME?" But there was no indication that the master had.
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*With Amethyst*
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What had happened? First she sees Tails approaching her ominously, and then feels the most discomforting warmth on her skin, and finally nothing. Tails had vanished from sight, leaving no trace of his presence for her to follow. Not only that, but also Sonic and the distorted man were missing as well. How everything had managed to change so suddenly with no prior indication or warning, she didn't know.
"Was that Tails an illusion then? Ugh! How cruel can this place get?" She felt terrible at the thought of being baited so easily. Now Sonic would soon pay the price for her carelessness, should she not take corrective action.
"I'm such a stupid, stupid fool! How could I let Sonic get captured?" Groaning loudly, the vixen slapped herself in disgrace "I'm so useless…" Amethyst pondered her failure over and over again, ruthlessly punishing her heart's weaknesses. She had no way of defending her inaction, leaving her with only one semi-illogical response to her mistake: Self-disdain.
Though it felt fair to place the majority of blame on herself, Amethyst knew continued delays would only broaden the damaging effects of her errors. Rubbing her head for small comfort, she said "I can't let this messed up place get to me again. I swear the next time 'Tails' tries something like that again I'll…I'll just have to fight him." Reinforcing such action would take more than tough talk, but to move on she needed that sense of conviction.
Once she had gathered up her dropped supplies, which included Tails' unique rifle, she set out at last. Taking a good look around, Amethyst was distressed by how…irregularly long the hall appeared. She was almost certain it hadn't been this length when she and Sonic first entered, but the change was readily written off as a perception error. The bright side was that a larger area, as opposed to a tiny room, was more likely to have hidden exits or ways out, right? That, at least, was the hope she kept as her progressing steps echoed along the noisy marble floor.
"Uhh…"
That sound…the sound that reverberated along with her footsteps was just like of…a person groaning? …No, no it wasn't. It must've simply been her stomach growling or some…creaking of the marble floor (this was silly, but any excuse would suffice at this point). No way was she going to let an angler snare like that draw her in.
"Uhh…where…am I…?"
Oh yeah really clever. And when she faced the noise's general origin point, shock of all shocks, there sat a crumpled up, cheap copy of Tails. Pushing back her half-thought of shooting the fake where it sat, Amethyst turned and walked away. If whatever evil presence out there thought a ploy that blatant was going to work, it must be pretty slow-witted. Was it really foolish enough to believe she would play fall-guy, or in her case 'fall-girl', so soon after a similar deception? How insulting…
"Ughhh…is someone there? Ge…get out…get out of here w-while you still can-Argh!"
Convenient, as that's just what she planned on doing anyways. Even so, having had enough of it's whining, she chose to say back "Not until I find my friends. I wouldn't expect a monster like you to understand, especially since it was YOUR master that took them!"
After a slightly long silence, the 'Tails' poser said "You can…accuse me all you like. Just don't stay here…please. I don't want…to see you…get hurt."
Though it was probably her fault for talking to it, she wished it would shut up already. The trickster was getting better at sounding sincere, and strong, and so…much like him…but it wouldn't work! No matter how genuine the person sounded, it could never…measure up to the real Tails.
"That coward…hahh…took someone blue…beyond the emblem doors… Rescue him…and then…LEAVE! Urrgh!"
Amethyst swallowed hard at this. Why would it…why would it tell her where to go? What did this impersonator care about Sonic, or did it even know who he was? It…it didn't know what it was talking about… It must be trying to steer her wrong or her into a trap. Trying to get her to leave, hah! What…what a joke… It's not like possessed a conscience… It's not like it was capable of feeling ANYTHING. Not kindness, not mercy, not…love.
"W-why are you still here? GO! Go and…be safe…Ame…thyst…"
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*United POV*
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With a resounding thud, the fox had fallen over. Too weak to even groan now, the masked mobian just lay there; prepared to accept permanent sleep with gratefulness. The fox's vision showed a fuzzy view of the shining hall, it's beauty a twisted disguise for the corruption it concealed. Surprisingly though, the floor didn't feel as cold as the vulpine had initially expected. The tormented soul figured it must be his sense of touch giving out, unless hard marble was supposed to be soft as silk and warm as a gentle fireplace.
Ultimately, the fox felt he had to open his eyes. Even it was all just a good dream he didn't want to miss a single detail of it. With enough willpower, he succeeded and was promptly rewarded with a wonderful sight. Staring down at him was the face of, what he could almost mistake for, an angel, save for the fact that this 'angel' was clearly female. Ignoring his habit of nitpicking the details, the vulpine certainly had no complaint with this maiden being his heavenly guide.
Contrary to his rather extreme expectations of rapture, the angelic face simply leaned in and kissed his cheek. Invigorated by this, Tails gradually detected that the girl was cradling his upper body supportively. He was aware now that there was nothing divine per se about this 'angel'. That, however, didn't stop him from relishing her sensitive touch, which served as a curative balm for his damaged body and mind.
All this was temporary, however, due to his reignited fear for her well-being. Eager to get a word in, the fox reached for his beloved and pleaded "Amethyst…get out of here… Worrying about me…will put you danger."
The vixen didn't listen. She stubbornly kept him in her arms, despite the risk his presence might pose, saying "Still so overprotective…but that's how I know you're real." she let out a bittersweet laugh which Tails weakly joined in on. Using the last of his gathered strength, the hurt vulpine returned his mate's embrace as best he could.
This newly precious reunion was gruesomely shattered when Tails abruptly grabbed the vixen's shoulder and gave her a titanic shove backwards, causing her to breathlessly collide with the hard stone floor. His actions left Amethyst slightly bruised upon impact, but more exceptionally injured emotionally. Her sorrow from this unexpected 'attack' was deferred, or at least explained, when she saw Tails enveloped by a fiery aura; his mind seemingly at war with itself. Parts of the fox's body lashed out aggressively, striking even solid chunks of stone out of the nearby walls and pillars. Showing his last signs of self-restraint, Tails tensed his whole body into submission, an act that bought him just enough time to stare straight into Amethyst's eyes and say: "Run…!"
Though lacking even a minuscule amount of actual proof or data, Amethyst somehow greatly understood the situation. Seeing him in sate of possession had strangely, though painfully, granted her total clarity amidst the dense chaos. At this time, the memories of all her recently-forgotten friends, particularly Shadow and Maria, were vividly restored. Faced with the combination of her partner's agonized pleas and the recollection of similar tragedies, Amethyst made her choice. Kneeling for a brief second, the vixen launched herself at Tails. Caught off guard, the vulpine was surprised when her fist crashed into the upper part of his mask. The blow was strong enough to send Tails stumbling, a sight that made Amethyst's eyes sting worse than her now cut-up knuckles.
"You can't…push me away…" She asserted, hiding her despair very well "Sonic can take care of himself, but you… I'm not going let you end up like Shadow! If you're going to hurt someone, you'll have to start with me." True to her word, the vixen stood firm, proving her fortitude was no ruse.
What started out as choppy breathing, soon erupted into full-scale laughter, as the fox she once knew as Tails turned to face her; one of his corrupted red irises bleeding through a fresh hole in the tattered mask. Staring at her intently, a distorted voice, speaking through the fox's mouth, said "Now isn't this a shame? Half of my bargain with this suit was an agreement to not hurt a hair on your pretty little head. Such a shame, considering lover boy practically sold his soul for you!"
In blur of orange, the fiendish presence then appeared behind Amethyst, tilting it's vessel's head uncomfortably close to the vixen's neck "Hmph. He could've done far better…I should know given how long I've lived. Several maidens sacrificed to us where far more delectable than you. Hmm, but then, maybe it's the actual taste that counts." Ill in the stomach from the possessor's sadistic comments, Amethyst elbowed the creature, barely remembering to give the mask the brunt of the blow. Not giving the creature a second to react, the vixen turned around, grappled the back of 'Tails'' neck, and then slammed her knee into her opponent's gut; a move she knew would be more debilitating than harmful.
Openly stunned by her opposition, the controlling monster leapt back and shouted "Well, well, well! I see now what this boy likes about you!" It's former smile faded afterwards, while the monster put itself in a more 'battle-ready' position "As fetching as I find it, your resistance is, sadly, nothing but a voluntary sacrifice. A sacrifice to me…to US!" As the demon spoke, the body of Tails surged with a familiar corrosive blue light. A stream of nearly liquefied energy embedded itself in the fox's body. Shielding her eyes from the sight, Amethyst received a chilling 'before and after' image of her companion, who was now fully immersed in twisted chaos energy. His fur presently appeared a navy blue, outlined with much lighter 'veins' of pulsating energy. From where she stood, Amethyst thought his body looked almost…crystalline.
"This puppet is very strong. I must say I'm impressed." The evil voice claimed, looking over it's changed form with pleasure "Any other vessel would've disintegrated from having this much negativity shoved into them at once. This fox lad must've not been the positive fellow I thought him to be." Inevitably, the monster gave the vixen it's full attention "Now for that which we require. Chaos and discord are one, as you know. Your suffering by 'his' hand will generate much dissonance for us to consume."
Amethyst rose up to meet it's threat/challenge by brandishing the one weapon she had, up until now, been very reluctant to use, while saying "Do you remember this gun, Tails?" She asked somberly, refusing to acknowledge the dark being at all "It's the same one I built and customized to keep you safe on your missions. You remember, right?" Shouldering the sturdy assault rifle, she aimed as carefully, as much her rattling grasp allowed, at the deformed beast before her.
"I…n-never…" Internally commanding her voice to stop faltering, she repeated "I never thought I'd have to use it against you…!" She cried out in sorrow laced with bitter anger. Her thumb lightly brushed the engraved letters 'MXA'…
…before squeezing the trigger.
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*Tunnels near the Stone Tower*
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"I'm not a mole…" someone could be heard complaining just outside the stone complex of mayhem "Just digging like one does NOT make me a mole!" the person continued to grumble beneath a shifting patch of earth "I like digging for treasure, sure, but this crap I'm doing here…is SUICIDE!" just then, a spiked hand cracked out of a relatively soft spot of dirt. Another arm sprang up as well, both eventually unearthing their temperamental, crimson-furred owner.
"Stupid me…thinking that 'light at the end of the tunnel' was my easy ticket out." Above ground now, the echidna got his first glimpse at the stone tower. Unlike the others who'd laid eyes on it, all of whom were greatly affected by it's negative aura, Knuckles merely flexed and stretched casually. Had he not been previously informed of the location's history and many anomalies, he may've had a stronger reaction. But, then again, thanks to his 'ghost friend' and her extensive cache of lore (which to Knuckles sounded like tales straight out of a horror flick) he could no longer claim the bliss ignorance brought either.
"My ancestors got into some jacked up stuff. And looking at me, I'd say it must run in the family." His lax comments were a poor reflection of how powerfully hearing his tribe's horrible past affected him. Choosing to indefinitely internalize his 'sob-story' made the echidna's path more straightforward. Drama aplenty was certainly waiting for him as is. No need to 'ante up' in a pile already stacked a mile high. Thus, with no further complaint, the echidna proceeded into the silent realm.
Five minutes after entering, Knuckles was soberly alarmed by a silence-breaking sound. Wanting to be wary of any surprises, the red-head tweaked the limits of his dreadlock covered ears. Seconds passed quickly as a highly vocal person's rant carried through the foul air. Soon enough, one voice split into several as Knuckles carefully and patiently made his approach.
"Whew finally! Let's not fuse again if we don't have to, kay?" Unable to determine the voice's location, Knuckles further reduced his pace for better clarity "I say we absorb the rest of them now! I mean, why wait? Let's just…get it over with, pleeease?" The first voice whined, seemingly being a very immature brat (or so Knuckles thought).
"What's there to take? These empty shells can no longer exhibit will or emotion. Only those awake and aware can produce chaos." A second voice, apparently more intelligent or at least practical thinking, stated calmly but then thoughtfully added "That said, it makes me wonder: Why did the master ask us to pick them off one by one? Isolating the vessel I can understand, but leaving his friends alive? Without Onyx's mask, we have no way of infesting or controlling them, so what use can they serve?"
Unexpectedly, a third speaker (whose voice made the echidna's spines rise) laughed his way into the conversation "How simple of you to ask! When has the venerable master ever not had a plan? Juicy though these vessels may be, they can only serve to further entice our true vessel's dark nature! Once we have our way with him, we can do whatever we please to these fine morsels."
Knuckles, still following along as best he could, thought he heard a grunt accompanied by the second voice saying "Why must I be related to you? You must've taken only the perverted sacrifices back then. You, Azurite, make me ill."
Knuckles listened as 'Azurite' fired back "I have no taste for unappreciative dullards like you, Ruby. What sort of name is that for a masculine spirit, I wonder? In any case, all you do each day is plot our master's eventual demise. And why? Because you refuse to accept this, our absolute truth: We cannot be masters of ourselves. Be grateful that our master is more potent than those brainless, warmongering echidnas! Ugh! Aquamarine, dear child, you agree with me, yes?"
Though the conversation had Knuckles' brain aching terribly, he listened to the first voice, whose tone had literally done a 180 degree turnaround, reply "W-well yeah sure! But I…um…sometimes I just… D-don't you guys ever wonder what'd be like to have a 'good' master again? Remember, like that nice and fun echidna girl? In some ways I think she was…sort of better than our new master." The female speaker's tone, though originally creepy and maniacal, was so helpless and innocent, even Knuckles confessed to feeling a little sympathetic for whoever she was.
A dead silence hung in the air for a time, which eventually led to a firm shout of "What are you saying? Have you lost your senses completely?" Another silence came, and this one presented great tension.
Like before, this quietness was cracked by a sudden shout "You FOOL! You've been resisting the dark chaos again, haven't you?" The one called Ruby verbally slammed the child-like 'Aquamarine' repeatedly "Do you yearn for a time when we lay dormant, our power restrained by cowards who imbued us with their 'kindly' weakness? No…I WON'T HAVE IT! I demand that you take the negative chaos, and remember WHY we threw our positive side away!" This 'Ruby' fellow's dramatic shift from cool-headedness to raw anger made Knuckles' eye widen. More frightening, however, was Ruby's low, animalistic snarl as he said "But…if you refuse…then I'll simply have to FORCE YOU!" After this, the echidna could hear struggling mixed with cries and pleas for help. Subconsciously, Knuckles' movements shifted from quiet and stealthy to loud and determined.
"So I guess we agree on something after all!" The voice of 'Azurite' perked up "I much prefer her half-insane over this soft-hearted mewling. Don't worry, dear Aqua. You'll find total darkness to be very…liberating."
Picking up speed, Knuckles' heavy shoes raised heavy racket in the distorted hall. Exposing his position was the least of his worries now. All he knew was someone was in trouble, and he was going to, against his nature, do everything his power to help them.
"Working without pay is not my style." He grumbled, while pushing himself even harder "So if you can hear me Tikal, this better be worth it in the end!"
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End of Chapter Forty-two
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So here I am, back from what may seem like the writer's graveyard. I won't even bother to start endlessly apologizing for my misleading pms regarding my update time. Also, I won't lie by saying this was just my laziness acting up. Reason has become more and more difficult to remember/get around to. Now, (though it may sound unfair/unnecessary of me to say after all the great support you guys have provided) I would like to say one thing: No flaming this chapter…period. If you have anything bad to say, please say it in the form of friendly advice or else take it up with me in a pm. Granted I don't actually expect this from any of you, as almost everyone's reviews have always been exceptionally nice, understanding, and extremely supportive.
Note: To answer a common question I've been getting off and on: No I don't know which chapter will be the last. However, when it comes time (haven't I said something like this before?) the commentary, my notes, or the 'End of Chapter' portion will make it obvious.
Another note: Yes, I'm aware that I used Sonic's height and weight for Tails in the 'Buffer' part of the commentary. As the whole thing is just meant to be a light-hearted gag, I don't want to hear any complaints on the matter.
Thank you all for waiting with such…incredible patience (though I'm certain I've pissed many of you off repeatedly), and again I hope you all like the new chapter.
Until next time.