Sonic The Hopeful

Chapter 4: Throughout Heaven and Earth, She Alone is the Fraudulent One

"The four of you plus Mint are near the fairground, standing in the parking lot of the baseball fields nearby," Tails narrated. "How will you get into the stadium without being noticed?"

"Is there anything viewing us right now?" asked Sonic.

"No people or security cameras can catch you in the parking lot."

Sonic smiled. "Guys, I have a plan."

The rest of the group groaned, knowing Sonic's ploy would probably end in disaster. "Guys, it's a good plan!" the hedgehog protested. "We turn into our Princess forms to use our magic, and nobody can identify us while transformed. Then, I will use my Royal Roads charm to create a route to the stadium that nobody will notice. And if any part goes wrong, my practical magic can bail us out like with Kuroyuki."

"You foolish hedgehog!" shouted Knuckles. "Your plan is… actually well thought out now that I think about it. Very well! I shall transform for Sonic's plot."

"Guess I'll transform too," said Tom.

"I can't," said Maddie. "Maggie's confidence is still shattered."

"Okay," said Tails. "Everyone except Maggie transforms, Mint included."

"Wait, since when can Mint transform?" Maddie asked.

"Since I read that Shikigami like him could transform between sessions," Tails admitted. "His transformed appearance resembles a three-foot-tall anthropomorphic fox that has been taxidermied, with many different patches of fur stitched together. Think of him as looking like a fusion of myself and Mahito, and you'd have an accurate idea."

"Who's Mahito?" Tom asked.

"Oh, sorry. I forgot I was talking with people who don't share my hobbies," Tails apologized. "Anyway, will you use Bath of Souls on Maggie?"

"Oh yeah," replied Tom. "What is Maggie's composure stat?"

"Four."

Tom winced. "I only have one dice… I'm not too fond of those odds. I could use my Invocation to bump up the dice pool. My best Invocation is Legno."

"Since Sara is temporarily restoring Maggie's mind to its natural state, can she apply Legno at no cost?" Maddie asked.

"Why is that?" Tails asked.

"Check the guide's entry on Legno."

Tails did as Maddie requested. Sure enough, the guide said that the Invocation could be applied for free, given that Tom was using it to restore something to its natural state.

"Alright, I'll allow it," said Tails. "Add your Legno to the dice pool."

Tom rolled three dice. "I got one success."

"You manage to restore Maggie's confidence, though the charm won't last forever."

Maddie smiled. "Finally! I transform!"

"Alright, how many yards is the stadium away from where we are standing?" asked Sonic. "I'm going to use Royal Roads."

"I'd say about fifty."

Sonic rolled four dice. "Two successes!"

"You create a magical path that leads directly to the stadium. You and the others can get to the stadium without issue."

"Woo-hoo!" shouted Sonic. "I assume the stadium is like last time, what with the sudden wave of grief out of nowhere."

"Yup," said Tails.

"I ask Mint how we are supposed to purify the Tainted Place," said Tom.

"'Our first step should be to find the Dark Door that leads to the Dark World. The next step will vary based on the nature of the Tainted Place,' says Mint. Everybody roll Intelligence plus Investigation."

Knuckles rolled one success, Sonic rolled zero, and Tom and Maddie rolled three.

"Thanks to Sara and Maggie's efforts, you can find a spot underneath the bleachers. It appears normal, but upon closer inspection, you notice that it is… wrong. It is a tear in reality through which darkness seeps and

corrupts the world. Do you enter?"

The group looked at each other momentarily before resolutely nodding at Tails.

"Very well. You must all spend a Willpower point to muster your courage. You walk through the portal. Inside the portal is a twisted mirror of the stadium. The structure is rotting as though a slight breeze could cause it to crumble; screaming comes from empty bleachers; mangled and rusted monster trucks drive around the track despite their horrible condition, with a few parked waiting for a driver; but the most disturbing part is what is directly in front of you: The bleachers are collapsed and torn as though a horrific beast rampaged through them, and mangled, shadowy beings lie around and underneath the wreckage. Atop the ruins, a familiar voice speaks. 'Well, well, well. Isn't this just a forking coincidence?'"

"Oh, don't tell me. It's Surge, isn't it?" said Sonic.

"Sure enough, the Fury is there, riding an aqua-colored fox with glowing purple eyes the size of a polar bear, holding her barbed wire. 'Let me guess. You're here to try to get rid of this place, too? Thought it would be easier to burn the stadium to ashes, but Kit said that the mortal police would be too much to deal with.' She glances at Maggie. 'I'm gonna assume that chick over there is the brat Harold Flower, right? I thought she was too chicken to show up at a place like this.'"

Maddie took a look at her character sheet. "Would it be in character for my character to start a fight against Surge over that insult?"

"I think it would be," Tails nervously replied. "Why do you ask?"

"I run toward Surge and attack her."

"She is far enough that you must forgo your defense to attack her."

"I can beat her in one strike," Maddie boasted.

"Roll attack."

Maddie rolled sixteen dice. "Eight lethal damage!"

"Your rapier runs through Surge's torso. You look at her wound, certain that she cannot withstand the injury."

"Wait, doesn't she have a Holy Shield?" Maddie wondered. "And why didn't Tails tell me her Defense? If she didn't use either, she should be out of Wisps or… oh no."

"You look at her face. It is grinning with bloody glee." Tails rolled twenty dice, much to Maddie's horror. "Cackling with venomous magics, her barbed wire lashes you across your chest, launching you toward your teammates. Mark ten lethal damage," Tails said as everyone rolled their eyes at Maddie's foolhardiness.

Maddie's jaw dropped to the floor. "I only have seven health boxes!"

"Then mark three aggravated damage and four lethal damage."

"You said Maggie was near us, right?" Tom asked.

"Yes."

"I go up to her and use Balm on her," said Tom as he rolled nine dice. "Four successes."

"You manage to heal Maggie's lethal injuries."

"You nearly killed Harold! What's wrong with you?" Sonic yelled.

"Surge scoffs as energy from Kit flows to her, partially remedying her injury. 'Witch, please. She tried to stab me when we were just having a conversation. I just retaliated,' she says while looking at Harold. 'Though I doubt a noob who doesn't even know how to use Holy Shield should be doing anything in a Nightscape.'" Tails acted as Maddie slapped herself in the face. "The fox she is using a steed speaks. 'Ma'am, we shouldn't fight them. It would be a waste of Wisps. I propose we cooperate with them to clear this Tainted Place.'"

"Your Shikigami speaks true," Knuckles acted. "I do not trust you, but I share a common enemy: the All-Consuming Darkness."

"Roll Manipulation plus Persuasion." said Tails

Knuckles rolled seven dice. "Three successes!"

"Surge considers your offer for a bit. 'Alright, fine. To cleanse this place, we have to alter the events happening here and avert whatever clusterfork caused this darned place to form. First, Kit, heal that brat's more severe injuries. Gotta prove we're serious about working together.' Kit follows his orders and lays a paw on Maggie's scar. Heal her aggravated damage."

"Nice," said Maddie.

"So, we have to alter the chain of events so that the monster truck crash doesn't happen?" asked Tom.

"Correct," replied Tails

"I will climb in a monster truck then and steer it very slowly."

"You notice a monster truck that is not moving and climb into it. Roll Resolve plus Composure."

Tom rolled six dice. "ZERO SUCCESSES!"

"The power of darkness overwhelms your sense of self. You fall into the dark narrative of a crash and dozens dying. You drive the monster truck around before turning to kill someone in an accident, and your next victim looks like a pineapple princess."

"So I'm trying to run over Surge?" said Tom. "Yeah, I can work with that."

"Okay, the monster truck you jacked has a handling rating of minus three. What is your Dexterity plus Drive?"

Tom looked at his character sheet, realizing in horror that his dedication to making a healer had once again bit him in his stupid ass. "Three." Tom sheepishly admitted. Knowing what this meant, he rolled a ten-sided die, hoping that this die would prevent him from being humiliated in front of his wife and children. Unfortunately for Tom, fate had other plans that Saturday.

"As a result of your dramatic failure, you lose your nerve while charging at the pineapple princess and make a sharp swerve, causing the truck to overturn and flip over her head before finally landing on top of everyone else in the party like a doomed pancake falling to the kitchen floor."

Everything collapsed around Tom into a black hole of embarrassment where time slowed to a crawl, the only things escaping being the words "dramatic" and "failure." A million desperate questions exploded in Tom's head, the most volatile being, "How did this happen?" If you want to know that, go back to the first chapter, which I started with this part in media res. Okay, where were we? Oh, right.

"HOLY SHHIELD!" everyone except Tom said.

"Vehicle crashes inflict bashing damage, so Holy Shield reduces the damage you took to one bashing damage. And due to the monster truck's safety features, Sara is unharmed."

"Yup," said Tom. "That makes perfect sense."

"Suddenly, the Nightscape collapses around you. All the Princesses and Shikigami in it return to the stadium."

Everyone was quiet until Sonic asked, "Wait, what just happened?"

"Mint, explain," Knuckles acted.

"The Frankenstein fox is grievously wounded from the monster truck attack. 'Relaxx girls, I'm fine, luckily my Barrier Jacket protected me, hey since when didyu allhavetwiiii…' he says before collapsing to the ground."

Tom sighed. "Balm it is again. Four successes."

"Surge stands there, wondering what in the name of the Light just happened before Kit breaks the silence. 'Pardon me, ma'am.'" Tails acted in a timid, childlike voice. "'The Mender crashed the monster truck in a way that avoided the bleachers and killed nobody. She was able to break the narrative of the Tainted Place, albeit in an… extremely unconventional manner.'"

"Task failed successfully, Donut Lord!" Sonic cheered.

"Surge looks at Kit briefly before saying, 'Eh, good enough for me. As for the rest of you, the brat did stab me, but you did cleanse the Tainted Place without anyone getting an arson charge.'"

"Wait, you aren't going to count White Rose nearly running you over with a monster truck?" Maddie asked.

"'She briefly fell for the Tainted Place's corruption, but she didn't hit Kit or me, so we're cool. Keep that brat on a shorter leash, and we're even,' she says before getting back on Kit and riding off, the two turning invisible as they leave the scene."

"Those two march to the beat of their own drum, don't they?" said Knuckles.

"Aw, man. We needed a ride!" Sonic lamented. "Oh well, I'll just use Royal Roads to get everyone back to the car."

"You manage to get everyone back to the car, and you all return to your homes for the night," said Tails. That seems like an excellent spot to end today's session! Knuckles, Tom, and Maddie mark two Beats; Sonic marks two Beats and one Lumious Beat."

"All right, I got an Experience!" everyone but Sonic said.

"I am just one Beat short of getting an Experience!" said Sonic. "Can I please have one more Beat?"

"No," Tails replied resolutely.

"Aww…."

OOOOO

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I SINCERELY BELIEVE THAT THE BEST WAY TO BOND WITH YOUR FAMILY IS TO HIT THEM WITH A MONSTER TRUCK. MY PARENTS DID IT WITH MY BROTHER, AND NOW WE DON'T ARGUE AT ALL ANYMORE!

NEXT TIME ON SONIC THE HOPEFUL THERE ARE GOING TO BE IMPOSTERS! WHERE ARE THEY? WHO ARE THEY? AND THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION OF ALL: WHY ARE THEY? ALL WILL BE ANSWERED IN CHAPTER FIVE: HEDGEHOG-FLAVORED DUCK SOUP!