Disclaimer: I do not own any of the recognized characters or gameplay patterns within this fanfiction. Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails, Eggman, Blaze, and all related characters of such are owned by SEGA. All original character's are owned by me, unfortunately.

Exasperation 7.1

The walk to the witch's hut was silent, Tails thought. It couldn't have gotten much quieter. Katia was holding her side painfully, and he kept imagining flashes of what Spark had referred to. He had to shake out his head more often than not to keep the images from affecting him. The earth district passed by them quicker than he had thought, and it was only minutes that they saw the small hut in front of them.

"Witch?" Katia asked as she came in without knocking.

Blaze came in a moment after her. "Flora?" the cat asked gently. Tails motioned for Spark to stay behind for a moment, waiting to be invited in. The hedgehog was off in the corner, mixing up some herbs in a bowl, sitting down on a bed. She looked up, blinking in surprise at the intruders before she forced herself up.

"Come on in you two," Plague said with a tone of frustration, motioning for them to come in and sit down. Or was it Flora? How did Blaze know her name? Or was that just another name that Blaze had come up with, similar to how he had come up with Plague? "Not all at once," she said, sniffing the air, her eyes locking onto Katia's wound. "First, get something on that, it reeks. Prower, get the gel."

Tails absently went to get some of the gel hanging on the side before he froze, realizing what she'd said. "How do you know that?" he asked after a moment. He tensed, and he saw Spark narrow her eyes. She opened her mouth as it to talk.

"I know many things, you'll have to speak up fox," Plague interrupted without bothering to look at Spark, "Although really that's kind of rude to say that here, there's three of you-" Plague muttered as she looked over Blaze. "You're not hurt. Not physically at least, can't say for emotional damage. Why are you all here?" Katia started to look affronted and started to shout something, with Spark following a moment later. Tails narrowed his eyes, and opened his own mouth to demand answers, his voice joining Katia's and Spark's in a cacophony of sound.

"Calm down, all," Blaze commanded, a large flare appearing in the center of the room. Both Spark and Katia quieted down, Tails a moment later, and only then did Blaze let the miniature sun disappear. "Tails, hurry and do as she says for Katia, it might help. We need to talk, all of us, and this was the safest place," she explained to Plague. Tails narrowed his eyes, but did as the cat suggested. He'd get answers, one way or another.

The hedgehog blinked for a moment in surprise, before she nodded. "Surprisingly astute. Somehow I shouldn't be surprised, given who you are. Should I be ignoring this conversation, then?" she asked, a small smirk on her face. Tails reached for a bowl of the gel, the smell noxious. He hoped he grabbed the right one. "Wrong gel, Prower," she said without looking at the small bowl in Tails' hands. He rolled his eyes, reaching for the one next to it.

"Who's Prower?" Katia asked, looking around to stare at Tails. "Your name isn't Tails?" she asked after a long moment. Tails shook his head lightly. There was a lot more to the story behind his name...

"It took me months to find that out, and here you find out after only knowing him a few days," Blaze muttered under her breath. Spark let out a small snort before she composed herself again, a small jolt coming from her fur into the ground.

"No, his name isn't Tails. Fits though, doesn't it?" Plague said. "No, his name is-"

"Am I allowed to introduce myself?" Tails asked, affronted as he sat down next to Katia, the hopefully proper gel in his hands. Plague hadn't said anything, so he was sure he got it that time. "I don't remember telling you that information, though. It's not something I go spreading."

"No, I suppose you wouldn't. You never did, after all," Plague said softly, "but your parents did. Ages ago."

Tails felt himself stiffen. He took a deep breath and counted internally to five. Plague knew his parents? So then...did that mean she was from his world? How had she crossed over to this one? Could she know of a way to go back? The scent of blood forced his mind into the present, and he rubbed the gel onto Katia's wound. A lot harder than he was intending it to be, based on the way she let out a hiss.

"Tails. Gentle," Blaze reminded him.

"He's angry-" Plague started, only to be interrupted by Tails again.

He had been growing slowly angrier and angrier the more he thought about it, leaping to conclusion after conclusion, with his feelings and emotions being played with and toyed. He took a deep breath again, finishing up dressing Katia's stomach wound, this time making sure to be much more gentle as he did it. "Am I allowed to feel my own emotions without it being explained to the group?" he asked sharply. A bit sharper than he'd intended, based on the way Plague winced.

"I..."

"She's sorry," Spark interrupted. She smirked over at Plague's face, who after a moment gave a soft chuckle.

"I suppose I deserve that, yes."

Tails shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. You didn't. I'm just confused. Sorry Katia. Better?" Tails asked Katia. The red fox vixen felt at her side, and sighed a soft moan as his hands left her side. She gave a nod as the wound started smoking a bit, closing before their eyes. "Alright," he turned towards Plague, "First, how do you know my name? And yes, my name is Miles Prower, but I generally go by Tails. For obvious reasons," he said softly, pointing to his two tails, fluttering in the heat of the hut.

"I knew your parents, ages ago. Back on Cocoa Island," Plague said quietly. She sat down on a small bed, barely a few inches above the ground. His breath hitched as the first real lead he'd ever had presented itself. "It's confusing, and I realized I shouldn't have said that, especially in front of these two," Plague admitted. "But I was tired of keeping the secret. Tired of secrets in general."

"I think we all have secrets," Spark answered. "And I have one too. I want out." Tails nodded, and he was relieved when Spark nodded back. A small bolt locked onto Blaze's tail, and he was slightly amused by the way a small lance of flame came out to knock it aside.

Katia stared at her. "Out? Are you insane, Spark!? If Lightning heard you, he'd send you out for a duel against Riot, or worse, Strike!" she snarled. Spark winced as the names battered at her. Who were those two? He shared a glance with Blaze, who was paying more attention to Katia and Spark than him.

"That's what I mean by secrets. I'm...Katia, you know how unfair Ikan'thoa is," Spark said. Her shoulders were held tight, and Tails saw the small jolts from between her fur. She was keeping something in, something more. She opened her mouth, as it to speak, but nothing came out. Katia's eyes were narrowed, and Tails could tell she was starting to lose her patience with the younger vixen.

"Tell them, then. Like a story," Tails suggested. He turned to Plague, "after that, yours." The hedgehog nodded absently. It seemed she had no intention running away.

Spark was silent for a moment, before sighed and held herself straight. "I don't think I can tell this one, but I'll try. There once was a girl, barely of age. She was a hunter, and a channeler, and was of more than average strength. The elders saw that she would be a boon, but one of them saw only red. How dare this one have so much power, when his son does not? He, the most powerful of the elders, cannot control nature, and yet by their nature what does he control? So he hatched a plan. He would send this hunter, so desperate for affection after her parents murder, on devastating missions. After all, he couldn't help if she never survived a quest. But the others saw through his plan. On each one, each elder supplied another hunter, far stronger than she. With their guidance, she began to blossom, and to unfold.

"So the jealous elder came up with another plan. He would ensure that she would become part of his bloodline, and he used the customs as his defense. The others saw through his plan, but saw no way to interfere. She was doomed. But then came hope. When a rival of hers, one equivalent yet older, came with two others, two Exceptions, he came with another plan. He would wipe them all in one fell swoop, considering the Exception channeler to be stronger than all, not realizing that the Exception was simply smarter. Limitations and all.

"So he sent the Exception and the hunter away, and gave the hunter an impossible quest. Using his power, he forced her to accept. But the Exception saw through it, and came up with a plan. But he needed help. Of the other Exception...and of the rival."

Spark stayed silent for a moment, a stray smile on her face. "He asked you to mate with him. And he forced you to accept?" Katia asked, her eyes narrowing. Plague took a few deep breaths. Katia stared at her hard for a few moments. Tails could smell the stress in the air. "He did the same to me, as well," Katia said softly. "Promised me a hut in the channeler district, too. He's wronged both of us." Tails gave her a glance; she'd been forced for the same thing? By the same person, for the same thing, without wondering how he would see it...he wondered Blaze's plan to simply 'light it on fire' was still on the table. "Now how do handle it? You wanted to escape? To where? There is nowhere else that they can't go. Not with what they have now," Katia said.

"Across the ocean," Plague piped up. "None of the known rainbow roads lead across the ocean. They can't chase you out there."

Katia shook her head. "Even then, that's a stretch. Not with what they have now," she whispered. Tails' ears perked, and he sent her a questioning glance. She shook her head gently. Did that have anything to do with that idol thing that she and Blaze had to grab?

"For that, we'd need a boat," Blaze said, smirking as she met Tails' eyes. He grinned right back at her, knowing exactly what she was referring to. "And it's a good thing then that we have a boatsmith right here with us."

"We do?" Katia asked. She turned to Tails, "You can build boats? What can't you do!?"

"Channel internally. Maybe kill rosuvels and crayaks, but that's asking much. His external channeling is second to none," Spark offered from the side. Katia gave her a glance, a sent another predatory smirk towards Tails' way.

"Internal? External?" Tails asked quietly.

"She's referring to how an elementalist communes with their element. Some have it come from the inside, or an internal channeler. Some need an outside source, as you do. Those are external. Spark's a rare internal and external channeler. I'm an external, as you are. I can use an internal generation, but it's hard for me. Essentially, we have better control, but she has more power," Katia explained. Spark nodded.

Plague turned to Spark, "I know Katia's reason for being here was healing, what was yours? So when they ask me later I can give them an answer."

Spark's cheeks reddened a bit. "A check," she offered vaguely. If Tails didn't already know what she was referring to, he would have been lost. As it was Blaze raised an eyebrow straight at him. She must've got the hint much faster than he would have. He shook his head quietly and she nodded absently, her eyes narrowing a moment later.

"Ah. In that case, shall I go with 'no'?" Plague asked instantly. "Otherwise they'll ask for more evidence," she continued. Spark nodded her agreement. "Right. That's settled then. But how are we going to build this boat? The only place to ship off is quite a ways away. To take the materials out there, in hiding, and be able to build it all...you may not have that much time."

"I can ask for a mission that leads out to the bed of roses, out to the west. Give it a few days, because Lightning wants me to mate with him too, and...how long would it take?" Katia stated. "Not that I'm onboard with the whole 'ride off into the sunset' thing, just yet."

"Katia, we have to. We're just going to get ourselves killed if we stay here," Spark exclaimed simply.

"And how do I know that this isn't that plan already? Some plan for you to bring to the elders that I'm thinking of leaving, and take the Exceptions with me?" Katia asked, her voice blunt and hurt. "Like you did last time," she finished quietly.

"Lightning-"

"I know what he did, but you were still the one that did it," Katia said.

"You know exactly what it's like!"

"I do!" Katia started to raise her voice. "But I also know that you of all of us can fight back! And you didn't even try!"

"I had to! He was threatening exile for me!"

"And that's what he used on me!" Katia yelled. The witch's hut turned silent as both Spark and Katia gauged each other, their eyes focusing strictly on each other. Tails noticed that small sparks were coming from Katia's hands, blurring into her fur. Almost blue-ish, rather than the white lightning that he knew from actual electricity. That may be significant, he thought in his head.

"Care to explain what they're talking about?" Blaze asked Plague quietly. "It may be better in common," she said, switching languages easily. Tails' ears perked. Plague knew common?

"Ah," Plague said in the same tongue, "It's...not the easiest scenario. They were a part of the same raiding party. They were supposed to go to a ziggurat out in the southeast. However, it turns out that there was another village that had put itself up there. And one thing led to another, and Spark and Katia were sent to end it. I don't know what happened, but it sounds like Katia tried to leave, Spark was forced to report it to Lightning, and in turn got Katia exiled. It may not actually have taken effect yet, but that's bureaucracy for you."

"I think in this case it was a good thing," Blaze responded. "Tails, what kind of materials do you need for a medium boat that can travel across an unknown ocean with unknown waves, and life that can end us in a heartbeat?" How did Blaze know that Plague could speak common? How many other revelations was he going to have in the next five minutes?

"You don't make this easy, do you?" Tails asked as his mind shot forward a dozen designs. The first few he threw away instantly, not having the materials or the ability to do it. The best option would have been wood, but against the life here...that was just asking for a sea monster. He'd have to name it a kraken, just because. It would make too much sense not to.

"How long until you-"

"I'm going to need the Miles Electric. I'll be right back," Tails said. He whirled up his tails gently, and made sure there wasn't many others around the witches hut. Both Katia and Spark were still silent, sizing each other up. The air was thick with tension, and while he did need the little tablet, he mostly just wanted a break to get out of there. He wasn't the best in those situations. Even when Sonic and Knuckles got riled up at each other, he preferred an excuse to leave than to watch them fight and argue.

In an instant he was across the earth district, his legs and tails carrying him quickly. There wasn't many people around, as it was early in the morning still. Many had their stalls out and were just starting to put their wares out when he passed at high speed. "Channeler! Check yourself!" came a shout from one of the shop owners. Tails gave him a quick look to try to remember him, to tell him he was sorry later. The lightning district was on him faster than he thought it would have been.

A purple cat, almost the same size as Blaze, gave him a quiet look from where he'd eaten that morning. Her eyes were red, and she looked at him knowingly. He only noticed her out of the corner of his eyes, and he pretended to ignore her. It was best to just grab the Miles Electric and go.

Spark's cabin was the same as it was before, but there was something different about it now, in his mind. There was...there was another smell, here. Had someone been here? The Miles Electric was still in its corner, charging happily. It doesn't look like it was touched, but then...he looked to the bed. It was still slightly tousled, but the new scent was over it.

Someone had checked their sheets. Tails' eyes narrowed as he grabbed the Miles Electric and his bail-bag. Had it been that cat outside? He put the Charger in his fur pocket, just in case he needed it. He ran out a moment later, eager to get back to the witch's hut. Hopefully by then Katia and Spark would've started talking again.

—Side B—

Blaze stared at both Katia and Spark, acting as a mediator in case the two starting going after one another in the middle of Flora's hut. "We'll wait for Tails to get back, although he'll need some time," she explained. "And then you get to explain," she turned to Flora. "Just because he may have forgotten doesn't mean I have."

The hedgehog nodded. "I know. This is a day full of explanations, isn't it?" she said with a sarcastic smirk.

"And non-explanations, in Spark's case," Blaze pointed out. She sat down next to Katia on what she was going to call the medical bed. It was higher than Flora's own, with nicer sheets and bedding, and probably softer. They waited impatiently for the two tailed fox to come back. She knew where he was though, if her internal map was correct. Knowing how fast he could go, nearly keeping up with her, he should be back in three...two...one...

As if on cue, Tails stepped through the small blanket that divided the witch's hut from the outside. "More sapients outside," he said quickly. He turned to Spark, "they checked your cabin, at the bed. I think they wanted to tell if we actually had."

Spark gave a sigh of relief, before Katia shook her head, "They'll know, then. That you were lying," she murmured.

"Why?" Spark asked. "And how do you know?"

Katia blushed lightly, a soft crimson compared to her blood red fur, "Because there's different smells given off when mating. There's a lot more activity in the fire district than the channeler district, apparently, if you couldn't smell it."

"Channeler district has better walls. The scents don't come out as much," Tails answered. "I came through the caller district on my way back. They're more open about it, too."

"Oh," Spark said, blushing deep. Blaze rolled her eyes as Katia gave a soft smirk, as if enjoying her victory over the other fox.

"How long do you think it'll take to come up with a design?" Blaze asked, trying to get the group back on track. If she wasn't a cat herself, she'd say it was like herding cats sometimes. Although really, herding foxes was just as difficult.

"Anywhere between two hours and two days. It takes time, and I need to study up on my boatsmithing. But even then, we don't have access to the materials. We'd need wood or steel, at the least. Titanium, if we can arrange it," Tails said quietly.

"We can get steel," Katia said. "How do you think we make our spears?" she asked, tilting her head. "The caller district is the best at metalworking."

"Stainless or regular? If it's regular, it'll rust quickly when we're out at sea. Trust me, you don't want to be in a rusty boat out in the middle of the ocean," Tails answered.

Katia blinked. "I...don't know, sorry."

"I think he's just putting it out there. Tails, you know how to make stainless? Or at least rust-resistant?" Blaze asked. She realized she shouldn't have a moment later as he partially glared at her, as if daring her to say otherwise. "Yeah, he knows," she finished.

"It doesn't matter if you know how if you can't get it. I don't think the elders will simply let you leave," Flora piped up. "So your first plan needs to be how to get the materials to you. It's not going to be quick, and you'll have to do it slow," she exclaimed. "But that's your first step."

"Your? You're not coming with?" Tails asked. Flora shook her head.

"No, I can't. My place is stuck here. But they'll never question me, my position as the witch is too important for them to try to get it out of me," she explained. "It's why I believe Spark and Katia came up with the idea to meet here as a neutral ground. There can be no eyes on you here, asides from my own," she finished. Spark nodded silently, while Katia looked down at the ground, away from them all. Blaze shook her head. "You came up with it?" Flora asked her, and Blaze nodded. "Clever then."

"Could we gather the parts here?" Tails asked. "It's going to be tough to move it, but if we can assemble it here, or at least gather the materials here, I can work with that."

"No, there can't be any eyes or ears on you here, but they'll see if you're coming here too often. Bringing anything in here asides from yourselves is too much of a risk, I'm too out in the open."

"We can't stay here for much longer. The elders know why we came here already, and they suspect we're about done," Spark announced. "We should...get back, I think."

"Hate to agree with Spark, but we should," Katia agreed. She forced herself up a moment later, grunting as she stood up and put pressure on her side for the first time in a bit. Blaze knew that after a cut like that, both she and Tails would've still been out of it. The vixen was stronger than she gave herself credit for.

"Alright," Tails said, "I'll start working on the designs, using a minimalist approach. Just the basics, using the least amount of materials possible. I do want to come back though. I want that story," he finished, staring at Flora. The hedgehog gave a silent agreement.

"We'll adjust if we need to. If we have more, we can make a bigger one, or more luxuries," Blaze agreed. It was a good idea, she knew, to work from the bottom and go up. They could always add more later, but if they didn't have enough for the basic parts than it was simply a moot point. She glanced over at Spark, who pushed herself up off the dirt covered floor, slowly wiping away the dirt and dust from her tail. They filtered out, first with Tails and Spark, and then Katia and Blaze. The cat didn't want to give anyone any reason for them to talk.

The road to the meeting hall was quiet, and the denizens of the earth district watched with wary eyes, occasionally pulling away some children that wanted a closer look. Blaze didn't blame them; neither the parents nor the kids. She knew what she was like as a kitten.

"I guess I'll be working with the other Exception. Miles, was it? He never did get his answers from the witch," Katia whispered to Blaze.

"He prefers Tails. He'd ignore you if you went with that instantly," Blaze advised. She gave a concerned glance towards the two tailed fox, the teen having already put away his tablet into his bail-bag. It blended in with his fur remarkably well.

"Ok. I should avoid that, then. What about Exception?"

"I don't know," Blaze answered, shrugging. She figured that Tails would probably just treat it as a title, similar to how she answered to 'Guardian'. That probably did mean it would get confusing if Knuckles and her ever were in the same place...

Or Knuckles and Marine, for that matter. Although if Knuckles and Marine were ever in the same place, things were worse than she'd ever thought. What would Marine be doing right now, actually? Blaze wondered silently. Would she be guarding the Sol Emeralds, as she was supposed to? Realizing that being the guardian didn't mean just vanishing off to some backwoods island in the middle of the ocean without any method of communication?

She'd offered that one up multiple times, and each time Blaze had to patiently explain why that wasn't possible, nor good. She was pretty sure Marine had stopped listening after the second such explanation.

"What...what do you know about him? What is he like?" Katia asked after a long silent moment. Blaze blinked, realizing that the meeting hall was still a minute away or two. Enough to warn her not to push Tails' buttons...

"I know enough," she answered honestly, "to know that he is extremely self-conscious, yet kind. He is harder on himself than anyone else I know, and yet he also treasures everyone around him. Be his friend. And you will gain his loyalty."

"I don't want his loyalty-" Katia started.

"You do. Because otherwise he will ignore you even more than he is now," Blaze said softly. "Be kind. But most of all, don't patronize him."

"Is that just a Mi...Tails thing?"

"That's a teenager thing," Blaze muttered as she held open the blanket to the meeting hall. Katia blinked in surprise, evidently wondering when had they gotten there. Tails and Spark had entered a half minute before.

Tails and Spark were in the far corner, talking quietly. The words were too quiet to reach even Blaze's ears. Tails' hands weren't idle, a thing that Blaze knew he did only when talking about one of his projects, or when he was nervous. She doubted he realized he did that. Katia froze up next to her, and it was only a mild nudge from Blaze that kept her from staring at them. The elders faces were blank as they stared, all four of them, at both Blaze and Katia.

Lightning remained seemingly calm for the entire time that Katia and Blaze took to get up to the front. "We have reports of one Exception being useful from the original captor, however we need the other, as well. Spark's reports are...sustaining, but not as useful."

Katia nodded, and Blaze noticed that both Spark and Katia were looking down from the elders, keeping their eyes away from them. She gave a small glance to Tails, who met her eyes with a mild shrug. He'd noticed it too.

"Therefore, each Exception will go with the other. The channeler with Katia, the caller with Spark," Lightning commanded. He pushed his back up straighter. "Katia, you are to head to Revianah. The witch has asked for more herbs and flowers from that area. You are authorized for the rainbow road. Spark, you and the caller are to head to Vianex. Explore the area, and report any and all creatures in the area, along with any useful materials."

Katia's tail fluffed up instantly, as if she was excited, and Blaze caught the look of being starstruck on her face. This was going to suck for Tails, wasn't it? Did Revianah have some other tale to it? Spark seemed put out, withdrawing into herself just barely, which made her think that was a 'yes'. "Did the witch say which herbs and flowers to find?" Katia asked instantly.

"Yes. Fire?" Lightning said. The aged vixen slowly got up from her spot on the table, and pulled out a small bag and leather bound book.

"The witch's request is there," Lightning said simply. Katia nodded, and in an obvious attempt to keep her excitement under control, grabbed the book and bag. Blaze sent another look towards Spark, who'd managed to blank her face surprisingly quick.

"Was there a scouting party to Vianex before, to let us know what we should be expecting?" Spark asked quietly.

Lightning glared at her. "You are the scouting party. There is no rainbow road to Vianex, you'll have to run. You have no time limit, neither of you, but I suggest you hurry," Lightning said. Spark nodded, keeping a hand on her crossbow, but Blaze noticed the small jolt jump between her hands and her hips. Understanding the dismissal for what it was, Blaze started to follow Spark out.

"One more thing," Lightning said, just as Katia and Spark were about to turn around and leave. "I don't like liars."

Both Katia and Spark stared at him, their eyes opening wide. Tails had already reached the door, and turned around just in time for even Blaze to feel the slight charge in the air. She felt it across her mind, telling her things that weren't true. She felt pain lance through her, and for a bare second she felt it attack something else in her head. She growled internally, sending small flares across the inside of her head. Extremely dangerous, but she'd done worse already on this trip. In an instant she burned anything she felt like he was attacking her with. The panther recoiled as she fluctuated her pyrokinesis, the charge dissipating into the air instantly. Fire stared at her, the vixen giving her a slight nod of approval.

She didn't think Tails knew what was going on, or would be able to do anything about it. "You need to stop doing that," Tails said simply a moment later. Blaze sighed. He knew what was going on, at least. That was a weak retort though, but good enough, coming from a boy. If Tails had been eight, it would've been fitting. But at fifteen, he'd need to make much stronger statements if he wanted to be taken seriously. He wasn't Sonic. "After all, you never know when someone's going to come in here and not like what you're doing," Tails warned. Alright, that was better. Maybe he was learning more from Sonic than he cared to admit. It wasn't a threat, there was no threat directly in the words, but it was there. Water and Fire smirked at him, and Earth gave a hearty chuckle.

"You should be careful of your words, boy. They might get you into more trouble than you can handle," Earth warned gently.

"I can handle a moon being blown up, and the planet blown up from under me. I can handle more than most," Tails answered.

Katia and Spark managed to push themselves up, and Blaze smelled a bit of blood coming from their eyes and nose. She came over to help her up, but Katia pushed her away a bit. Just enough to finally make it to the doorway a few feet away. Blaze's ears flicked back. "Did he just say a planet being blown up? I don't remember hearing him say that before," Earth asked quietly.

Katia sent a few questioning glances back towards them as soon as she left the meeting hall. Tails was going to have to answer a lot of things to Katia for that particular remark, Blaze knew. And judging by the panicked look the fox shot her, he knew it. "Just tell her the truth," Blaze whispered. He didn't seem relieved by that advice, for some reason.

Ooh boy. I spent far too long editing this chapter...

Also, massive info dump. There were a lot of things to cover, and while I definitely missed the mark on a few, that was maybe slightly on purpose. As a note, Exasperation was first called 'Extinction', as in the extinction of ideas and ideals. Exasperation fits a bit better though, in my opinion...

Until Next Time!