It started suddenly, without a warning.
Eggman decided one day to launch a campaign to take over Mobius, the world of Mobians. He was the only human interfering in that world, and he wanted absolute control over it. So, in secret, he recruited a jackal named Zero, who happened to have a history with Shadow, and promised to make him stronger. Zero was tested on and subjected to the power of the Phantom Ruby in secrecy for almost a year. Eggman meticulously worked on the other part of his plan as well, trying to plan ahead for any potential angles that could be used against him to stop him from taking over the world.
Nobody questioned his sudden silence...or they simply didn't think that he would come up with something so brutal, so decisive, and so dark.
And then, when Zero - now renamed Infinite - was ready...they launched the campaign.
Infinite was sent as the first sign of the war starting. He captured Sonic, an act that had been impossible before, and took him prisoner to Eggman's HQ. This event shocked everyone, especially Sonic's friends, who were deeply destabilized and caught off guard.
Infinite used the Phantom Ruby's power to create Phantom copies of enemies once defeated, including Shadow. The real Shadow disappeared at the beginning of the war as well, and nobody knew about his whereabouts.
Eggman then deployed the biggest robot army he had ever come up with and built, which overwhelmed the Mobians. But hope stood strong, and a group called the Resistance was formed. Little by little, they managed to free Sonic, discovered Shadow's whereabouts, and won their first major battle.
But things weren't finished...Eggman seemingly went missing, and Infinite took over his place. Nobody knew what would happen from then on, but it was clear that the fight wasn't over...
3 years later.
Life had been a constant fight and rebuilding things that were destroyed, and Infinite kept sending Phantom Copies to try and defeat the Resistance, without relative success.
In the Resistance HQ, Krystal was walking briskly towards the storage area of the building. Amy had asked her to join her so they could go through what resources they had left to make an inventory of what they needed. Krystal was such in a hurry that when she turned the corner of a corridor, she bumped into Sonic and yelped as she fell backwards.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Sonic managed to quickly grab each and every one of the papers that she had dropped and also caught her before she had a chance to fall back far. "Wow, careful there. Someone's really got to put a mirror in that corner before someone gets hurt," he lightly joked.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal blushed from how he held her now, but she also burst out laughing at the joke.
"I couldn't agree more with you," she replied with a playful tone. "Oh, thanks for catching all of these papers; it is saving me some time," she then added.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"I'm guessing you're taking them to Amy?" Sonic asked, and he helped her stand upright.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"Oh, yes!" Krystal replied with a light chuckle. "We need to do the inventory of our resources, especially the food. And you? What were you up to?" she then added, genuinely interested in what he was doing.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"I was just about to head out on patrol of the area," he replied, stretching a bit. "Can't be too careful."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"Yeah, that is true..." she replied with a light smile. "Ok, I should go help Amy now, see you around, Sonic!" she then added, waving at him with a bright smile, before turning around and walking away briskly again.
As she walked off, Krystal's cheeks flushed red again, remembering how Sonic had held her by the waist when he caught her to prevent her from falling.
What is wrong with me? It felt kind of...intimate... Krystal thought to herself, her hands tightening around the paperwork as she briskly walked towards the storage room where Amy was. No, no, no, no...Amy likes Sonic, I'm not going to let subtle gestures and my imagination take me in the wrong direction! She then thought again, shaking her head but unable to shake off the blush from her face. I could have better chances with Shadow, perhaps... she then thought again with a sigh.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
When she got in there, Amy was giving instructions to some soldiers as they were moving some of the new boxes around.
One of them tripped and started to fall, nearly dragging the other two down with him.
Amy just darted over and caught it. "Careful, this food has to last us a while; we can't waste any of it."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal gasped and walked over, waving her hand. The box started floating, relieving the soldiers from holding onto it.
"Need a hand, guys?" she asked.
"That would be appreciated...we have a few more of these," one of the soldiers replied, relieved by the offer of help.
Krystal handed the paperwork to Amy. "Here, Sonic saved them when I bumped into him," she lightly chuckled.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Amy laughed a little, "Let me guess, he also caught you," she said, almost like she had seen it happen. Amy just laughed again, "classic Sonic."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal couldn't help but blush again, and she laughed a bit too. "Y-Yeah, he did catch me, he is...quite a gentleman," she replied, moving the box to its designed spot, as they talked.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"So, are you ready to help me catalog this stuff?" Amy asked.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal nodded. "Yeah, let's get this done, I have a feeling it'll take forever," she nervously chuckled.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"Why don't you start with that box, and I will start over here," Amy suggested.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"Alright." Krystal nodded.
They worked hard all day and part of the night, but thankfully, some soldiers offered a hand, so they were soon completely finished with all of the inventory.
Krystal yawned. "Oh, thank god, we are done..." she sighed, relieved and tired.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Amy laughed, "You can head to bed if you want. I need to put the information into the computer." [[USER_B]] said the following:
"Nuh-uh, it can wait until tomorrow morning; you deserve the rest." Krystal chuckled. "Come on, let's head off to bed."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"No, no, you go," Amy said, waving Krystal off. "This really needs to get done, but I'm not letting Silver blame me and keeping you up for you getting sick. Remember to take your vitamins and get some sleep."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal sweat dropped. "Alright...but I recommend just doing half of it, Amy...don't exhaust yourself," she replied.
She then hugged Amy and wished her good night, before leaving her to the inventory.
Krystal walked to the communications and surveillance room, where she found Tails.
"Hey, Tails," she smiled lightly.
"Hey." Tails replied and looked at her with a light smile. "What's up?"
"Amy is going to put the information about the inventory into the computer. We finished the physical part of it." Krystal informed him.
"That's great, but she should also stop to rest." Tails replied.
Krystal nodded in agreement, then seemed to hesitate to ask for something.
"Have you heard of...Sonic and Shadow, today? I saw Sonic this morning, and...Shadow...has been off for a couple of days, now..." she asked with a light frown.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Sonic had actually had a rather productive day while they were working. At least productive in his own mind.
He got back from patrol and came and bug tails for a while. Got bored and decided to go on another patrol. After lunch, he came back to bug Tails again and complain that chili dogs were SILL not on the menu.
Not long after zoning out during Tails' explanation of why chili dogs couldn't be on the menu because many of the ingredients were either too hard to get or were not an efficient use of the kitchen this time, there was an attack on the nearby village, and Sonic rushed off to deal with that rather than listen to Tails' lecture anymore.
At the time Sonic got back from that, it was already late, and he had already turned in for the night.
Amy, on the other hand, was far from turning in. Krystal may have recommended that she only do half of it, but she was stubborn as ever and determined to get it done.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Tails and Krystal went to bed after a while, when they were replaced by trusted members of the Resistance.
Knuckles eventually came to find Amy writing on a computer and groaned. "Amy, come on...you need to go to bed, the inventory can be finished later," he told her.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Amy waved her hand in his direction. "I.. I'm almost, " She started to say, but then couldn't suppress a yawn. "Almost done," she added before getting back to the work.
Amy shook her head a bit and blinked a few times. "This needs to be finished before morning." She added.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"Amy." Knuckles said more firmly. "It can wait. Go to bed, please. Now," he added, not backing down.
They needed to be rested in order to be at the top of their game...not half-asleep, not half-energetic...but fully charged.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"I... I'm almost done," Amy said, stubbornly feeling more dedicated than normal.
Being the second in command and controlling most of the logistics of the resistance was not an easy task, and she took her job seriously.
When knuckles got closer, he saw the scream; she wasn't working on the inventory anymore. Amy was working the schedule for guard shifts and patrol rotations tomorrow.
"Everyone... everyone is counting on me," she softly admitted.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Amy then felt Knuckles' warm hand gently resting on her shoulder.
"They're counting on all of us," he corrected her, but his gaze had softened. "But you also need your rest like anyone here. So go to bed, Amy, you can finish this later," he then added.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Amy takes a deep breath, "Maybe you're right," she replied, then closed the window she was working on.
Amy smiled as she turned to knuckles, "At least I got the morning rotations set up, I should be awake before they run out of schedule."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Knuckles smiled lightly and nodded. "That's enough, then," he replied and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Perhaps you'll even have time to say hi to Sonic and Shadow. Sonic went to help Shadow with defending a village. They should be back tomorrow morning," he then added, walking her out of the room.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"Yeah... Maybe," Amy said and yawned again. She was already starting to fall asleep on her feet.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Knuckles smirked and suddenly picked her up from her feet and princess style in his arms.
"Come on, the more sleep you get, the better you'll be to charge into your responsibilities again," he playfully joked, as he was now walking and holding her in his arms.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Amy wanted to protest, but she really couldn't. "Just... wake me up.... When they... get back."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Knuckles chuckled and just took Amy back to her room and straight to bed. Then he left her.
Hours later, he sent Krystal to wake her up. She shook her shoulder in order to do so.
"Hey Amy...Knuckles said you wanted to greet Sonic and Shadow. They have come back, so I came to wake you up." She smiled.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Amy quickly sat up, "They're back?" she said with excitement and jumped out of bed, still in her clothes from the day before. "Come on, let's go," she said, grabbing Krystal's hand and pulling her towards the door.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal chuckled a bit and didn't resist Amy pulling her.
They both quickly got out of Amy's room and headed towards the surveillance and communications room, where they could already hear voices coming from it.
"Now, now, what the hell happened?" Knuckles was heard saying, clearly annoyed.
"Hmph. They sent Phantom Copies and some robots again...the villagers tried to help, but their involvement only made things worse." Shadow is heard replying, his tone steady but with a hint of annoyance too.
"What do you mean, it made things worse?" Silver is heard asking.
"I mean that they got in the way of our job," Shadow replied bluntly.
When Amy and Krystal walked in hurriedly, they saw them, Shadow and Sonic, both having ruffled quills but otherwise fine.
Krystal's face lit up. "Hey, welcome back!" she smiled brightly.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"They were trying their best, Shadow. Give them a break. Not everyone has our level of experience," Sonic was pointing out as both girls walked in.
But Amy, on the other hand, didn't stop; she ran right over to them and through one arm each around Sonic and Shadow. "Welcome back, I'm glad you're both safe," she said with such enthusiasm.
"Whoa, whoa, Amy," Sonic lightly protested, but he was laughing a bit. "Watch the quills, I'm already a mess as is."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Shadow just let Amy do at first, but then got away with his eternal scowl, although it had softened a bit around Sonic and the rest of the Resistance.
"Hello, Rose," he simply said, acknowledging her presence.
Krystal lightly pinched her ears, wishing she had the nerves to do like Amy, but she still felt too shy - even after three years - to just run to either Shadow or Sonic and hug them.
She smiled sheepishly as she watched the three other hedgehogs.
"Sonic is right, Shadow. Not everyone has battle experience like us, nor do they have your skills or any of ours." Knuckles replied, folding his arms. "Did you two manage to protect that village in the end?" he then asked.
Shadow slowly folded his arms. "Tch. Of course we did, although there were a few wounded anyway, along with destroyed houses," he replied.
"Were they seriously injured?" Silver asked, a frown of concern on his face.
Krystal pinned her ears a bit more, hearing the question. "They wouldn't be here if it were the case...right?" she carefully asked Shadow and Sonic.
"They will live." Shadow simply replied, nodding at her in acknowledgement.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Amy let go of both of them; thanks to Shadow moving away and Sonic protesting.
Sonic just rolled his eyes, "I think there was a broken bone or two, nothing worse," he replied to clarify Shadow's words.
"Well, that's a relief," Amy said, then yawned since she had just woken up. "I should probably get back to scheduling rotations."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"Hmph." Shadow replied, his arms still folded.
Knuckles gave Amy a look. "Get breakfast first," he said with a firm tone.
Krystal lightly chuckled at Amy's devotion. "Come on, Amy, think about yourself too, you're as bad as me."
Silver grabbed her and playfully ruffled her quills. "That is why we are here to remind you both to stop taking all of the load," he playfully said.
Krystal giggled lightly, squirming to get away from her brother.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Amy sighed, "Alright, alright," she said, putting her hands up. "But it will have to be quick."
Sonic darted over to Amy and picked her up, "Oh, but quick is my specialty." He said, making Amy let out a squeak.
Amy playfully punches Sonic in the shoulder, "Hay, warn a girl next time," she said.
Sonic laughed, “I will make sure she eats something," he said, then smirked at Shadow, "You should eat something, too, Mr. Ultimate life form. Save your chaos energy for when it's needed most." He then quickly ran out the door, heading for the kitchen.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Shadow rolled his eyes. "I'm fine," he replied.
"Just go hang out before the next mission." Knuckles replied. "Percy will be mad if you don't relax a bit and socialize."
Krystal felt a pinch of jealousy watching Amy and Sonic enjoying an amicable moment like that.
Silver chuckled at the interactions.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"It's not like the food is going to hurt you, big guy," Rouge said lightly teasing as she walked into the room. "I know you have the time. You're not on this morning patrol rotation."
"Amy wanted you to have a chance to relax, even if you don't need to sleep," Rouge added.
Rouge then yawned, barely awake as is. "Me, on the other hand, I have to go out and take the morning patrol. Someone needs to explain to that girl that bats are nocturnal", she added, a bit grumpy, definitely not a morning person.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Shadow barely showed any physical emotion, but he looked a tad annoyed.
"Fine," he muttered.
"Alright, let's go eat." Silver smiled.
Krystal lightly giggled at Rouge. "I'll let her remind again, Rouge," she said, amused.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Back in the kitchen, Amy was warming up chilly on the stove and quickly searing a pre-cooked hot dog to give it that fresh taste.
"I'm so glad I made a big enough batch of this stuff so I don't have to make it from scratch each time." Amy said, then looked over at Sonic, "You know Chilly dogs aren't typically breakfast food."
Sonic just laughed, "Anything is breakfast food if that's when you eat it," he replied.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Silver, Shadow, and Krystal walked in soon after. Shadow just went straight for the wall and leaned against it, arms folded and clearly just being here to be there.
"Oh, chili dogs again?" Krystal noticed the chili dog. "That's not a bad idea, we could all use the proteins, she then added with a light chuckle.
Silver smirked at Sonic. "Have you ever considered healthier options?" he chuckled.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Amy laughed a bit, "Don't worry, Vanilla already made the real breakfast," Amy said, motioning to the other counter where there was a full spread of eggs, baked, hash browns, bread for toast, and fruit juice. "I just have to make mr. Picky over there is Daly fix."
Sonic laughed a bit, rubbing the back of his head. "What can I say, I'm a man of limited pleasures." He joked.
Sonic noticed Shadow leading the agents the way and got a smirk. He ran over to the table of food and picked up a slice of bacon, then darted over to Shadow. "Here, have some protein," he said, and without warning shoved it into Shadow's mouth.
Sonic then darted away to a voice, Shadow's initial reaction.
Blaze sighed as she walked in, "Sonic, why are you pestering Shadow this early?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Shadow could have reacted in a lot of ways.
He could have thrown a chair at Sonic. He could have rushed over and punched him in the face. He could have chased the blue blur around to pound him. He could've screamed.
But surprisingly, Shadow didn't do any of that.
He was caught off guard by Sonic's shoving bacon into his mouth, and he made a choking sound. He then just chewed on the bacon and swallowed it, before letting out a growl, showing his fangs.
"You're not even worth my time right now," he snarled under his breath, but remained leaning against the wall.
Silver sweat dropped. "Easy, you two, the morning just started, and you just came back from a mission," he said with a nervous chuckle. Sheesh, you'd think that working together would've helped these two to be less rivals and more friends. he then thought to himself.
Krystal approached the counter with the normal breakfast food and served herself a nice plate, then looked over at Amy.
"Rouge wants to remind you that bats are nocturnal, so you could put her on night shifts," she told her with an amused smile.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Amy froze halfway through polling a hot dog bun out of the pack. She had grown a bit, "That's right," Amy replied, thinking back. "I put her on the morning patrol by mistake. I guess I wasn't thinking clearly enough last night."
Sonic started laughing a little in a, ‘I can't believe I'm still breathing' kind of way. "Shadow knows it's all in good fun," he replied to Silver and Blaze.
"You shouldn't press your luck, Sonic," Blaze commented as she was heading for the food counter.
Sonic laughed a bit, "he's just too much fun." Sonic replied, putting his hands behind his back.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"Perhaps, but now that you have slept, you might do better," Krystal replied with a light smile and headed off to the table to sit and eat.
Shadow just gave him a deadpan look, but didn't reply.
Silver headed for the counter too and got food for himself as well.
"One day you will regret it," Silver replied and shook his head.
Krystal ate in silence and savored the food. Vanilla did put all her heart into making that breakfast for all of them.
"Oh, by the way...Knuckles set Sonic and Krystal up for a mission this afternoon." Silver then casually added.
Krystal froze and went wide-eyed. "W-What?" she stuttered, having not expected that.
"It'll be a three-day mission, apparently. Knuckles said something about helping around a remote village and staying around a bit to see if they needed more help." Silver added again.
Shadow looked unbothered and remained silent.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Sonic darted over and quickly leaned on the table next to Krystal. "That definitely sounds like something we can do," Sonic said to Krystal. "I know how helpful your abilities are from working with Silver. I can already tell We Will make a great team."
"Chilly dogs are ready," Amy said, holding up the plate.
Sonic's eyes lit up, "Be right back," he said, then ran over to Amy and grabbed the plate."Thanks, Ames," he said, then darted back to Krystal and sat at the table next to her.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal blushed and smiled sweetly, appreciating the compliment. "W-Well, I guess it can only go great with your help, too," she replied.
Silver smiled at his sister, then looked over at Shadow. "Knuckles also said something about you and Amy needing to go get more supplies from another nearby village," he informed him.
Shadow blinked, slightly surprised by the news. "Did he, now?" he asked, not really showing any emotions.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Amy laughed a little, "Don't worry, I will pack plenty of snacks," Amy said, not even having any problem with going on a mission with Shadow.
Sonic gasped, "Wait... that means three days without chilly dogs," he said, pouting.
Amy just rolled her eyes, "You will survive, you big baby."
"You're lucky Amy takes the time to make them for you as is," Blaze commented as she came to sit down with my Silver. "I plan to stay around the HQ. We can send all our best fighters away and leave our home unprotected."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"Or the time to cook at all," Silver added with a light nod of agreement.
Krystal chuckled nervously. "We're all doing our best."
"Yes, well, make sure to bring something warm, the village you'll be sleeping at might be...damaged," Silver replied, clearly concerned for her to potentially get sick from cold and rain or whatnot.
Krystal mumbled under her breath and just bit into whatever she was eating at the moment.
Shadow silently observed the exchanged talks, still leaning against the wall.
"We will need all the details before departing," he simply said.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Sonic looked over at Silver, "Don't worry, I will make sure she has plenty of blankets and shelter to keep her warm. You can count on me to take good care of her." Sonic said mostly to help Silver not be so worried about his little sister.
Amy looked over at Shadow for a moment when he was watching Sonic talking to Silver. She then turned around and headed back to the counter. "Wait, where is Knuckles anyway. Shouldn't he be eating too?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"Thank you, Sonic," Silver replied with a light smile, then looked over at Amy. "He and Tails have been working quite a lot lately...Tails, yet again fixing the planes in the forest...it's a miracle they haven't been detected yet."
"Hmph. The Fox needs to learn to stop pushing himself so hard," Shadow commented, slight annoyance in his tone.
They didn't know, but it reminded him of how many times he had found Professor Gerald asleep at his desk with lots of papers splattered everywhere on it and even on the floor.
Krystal lightly pinned her ears. "Knuckles also deserves a break..." she said, concerned.
"We all do." Silver sofly replied.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"Speaking of which, I should head back and finish up that," Amy started to say, but Sonic stood up.
"Oh no, not you too," he said, then ran to Amy, picking her up and quickly putting her in a chair. "You are going to eat something,” and then she brought her a plate.
"Now sit and eat it." He said, insisting.
"Sonic!" Protested. "I'm fine, really. I don't feel that hungry."
He then looked around the room. "No one let her get up till she has eaten."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal gave Amy a look. "Amy, you need to slow down too," she said.
Silver contacted Knuckles and Tails. "Hey, both of you get here right now to eat. Or we will come and force you," he chuckled.
"I can't slow down, the planes are almost finished!" Tails replied.
"Tails, come right now, or I'm sending Sonic or Shadow to get you." Silver playfully threatened him.
Shadow gave him a look, raising an eyebrow, but not even bothered that he was included in this...mischief.
"Let me finish my work, please! I'm almost finished!" Tails replied, before going silent.
"Tsk. Stubborn fox." Shadow commented, but seemingly lightly amused by that.
Knuckles finally replied. "I'll be there in ten minutes, just let me finish the morning briefing," he said.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Amy gasped, "Oh no, the briefing!" she said, trying to stand up, but Sonic pushed her back down.
"Sit." He insisted. "Why do we have so many workaholics around here?" Sonic teased.
"The work will still be there when you get back to it," Blaze added.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"Amy!" Krystal scolded her. "I'd be working hard too if I could, but they won't let me either, so suffer with me!" she then said, laughing.
"Amy doesn't have a weak immune system, Krystal." Silver nervously laughed.
"I knoooow, stop reminding me!" Krystal sighed in defeat.
"...You all need to watch out for your well-being," Shadow commented.
"That should also apply to you, Shadow," Silver replied, raising an eyebrow and smirking.
Shadow rolled his eyes. "My state of health is...different, therefore I do not need to slow down," he replied, clearly trying to describe his personal metabolism without saying that he was superior in any way.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Amy looked over at Shadow with concern. "That might be true about your health, but you still deserve to have a break like the rest of us," she said. "You still have to take care of your mental and emotional health as well," she added.
"I'm giving Tails 5 more minutes, then I'm going to get him," Sonic said.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"There's no need to worry for me, Rose. I am just fine." Shadow replied, looking over at her with his red eyes, still leaning against the wall with folded arms.
Silver chuckled at what Sonic said, and Krystal also laughed a bit.
Knuckles soon walked in and frowned. "Well, looks like I beat Tails this time," he commented and headed for the food.
"The Fox is an unsufferable workaholic...you all are," Shadow commented, remembering Professor Robotnik's habits again.
"You are one to comment." Silver teased him.
Shadow simply remained quiet at that.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"Well, I'm not," Sonic said, leaning back in his chair, putting his arms behind his back.
"Yes, you take enough breaks for all of us," Amy teased Sonic.
"Ha,y" Sonic protested.
Blaze laughed just a little.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Sonic ended up going to get Tails and dragging the protesting fox back to have a break and some food, even though he only needed to fix one last thing on each plane.
Soon enough, the afternoon came, and Sonic and Krystal had to go to the village they were assigned to.
Krystal and Silver hugged each other goodbye, and Krystal also hugged Blaze. Amy was busy at the moment, most likely preparing for her own mission with Shadow.
"So, how are you guys intending to go there?" Silver asked, amused as he already knew the answer.
Krystal lightly chuckled, also already knowing the answer.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Sonic chuckled. I thought I would just run, and Krystal can fly," He said, looking over at her, "if you're even half as fast as your brother, I'm sure you will be able to keep up." Sonic lightly teased.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal laughed a bit. "I think I can manage," she replied, amused.
"Don't you tire yourself more than needed?" Silver reminded her.
"Yes, yes, I know!" Krystal replied with a sweat drop.
Backpacks on their backs, Sonic and Krystal then departed HQ, him running and her flying off the ground. They both raced, exchanging playful banter and...it all felt so...natural.
They reached the village after two hours of traveling and...it was chaos. Most houses were half crumbled down or completely destroyed. The last attack on that village had been harsh, sudden, and without a specific purpose. The villagers looked tired, were quiet, and the few that welcomed them managed sheepish smiles and small talk, but then went back to trying to rebuild their homes.
Krystal pinned her ears, looking at the many ruins of the village, and at the growing despair on the villagers' faces. Her heart sank, feeling hurt for them.
"...What happened here...this...this is awful..." she quietly said.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"War," Sonic replied as he started to look around. He sighed. "These poor people, I just..." Sonic was about to say, but then stopped himself. "Come on, no point talking about it, let's get to helping."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"Right," Krystal replied, and soon they both got to work.
They spent the whole day helping around the village, helping rebuild houses, shops, and other structures. Krystal did the biggest part with using her psychokinesis, and by the end of the day, she was going to be exhausted from overusing them.
They also fought off people who tried to make it harder for the villagers, and soon it was nightfall. Sonic and Krystal were shown a deserted one-floor house where they could rest for the night. It was still standing, although with cracks in the walls and in the windows.
Krystal slid down and sat down by the wall with a groan. "Oh, man...Now I feel exhausted and hungry..." she mumbled, and started going through her backpack for food to cook over a fire. "Do you mind starting a fire? It's a little chilly, too," she nervously chuckled.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"Yeah, I can do that," Sonic said, then turned to her, "but do me a favor and stop using your powers for a while. If Silver finds out I let you use them this much, he's going to kill me," Sonic said, partially joking, partially not joking. "I'll be right back." He said, then went to get firewood.
It didn't take long for Sonic to come back with the firewood and get one started for them. He built it so it was away from the wind, but would warm up a small area for them.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal chuckled to herself and thought she'd try better the next day without using her powers too much.
Once Sonic had started the fire, she got started with a frying pan and made eggs with bacon, generously given to them by the villagers.
Shivered as she felt a breeze through the cracked window, and she was eager to cuddle herself up under a warm blanket.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Sonic picked up on it quickly. There was no way he was letting that happen. He darted in the direction the breeze came from and started looking for any holes. When he found it he ran outside and grabbed a large board to rest against the spot so the wind couldn't blow through.
Sonic then grabbed a blanket and came to wrap that over her.
"I am not taking any chances, I am not letting you get sick," Sonic said, then thought for a moment. "We should have asked to put you in one of the finished buildings. "
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal blushed lightly at the attention. "I did not think of it..." she admitted, finishing cooking the eggs and bacon. "Perhaps we can ask them tomorrow," she then added.
Secretly, Krystal was actually...enjoying this...alone time with her crush...but still thought she couldn't betray Amy, who might still be in love with him.
Krystal put eggs and bacon in two separate bowls, since they had no plates, and handed him one.
"In the meantime, nothing beats a warm meal in front of a fire," she sweetly smiled.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"Yeah, that's true," Sonic said and came over to sit down. "But... if you even start to feel a degree colder, you tell me, alright. I will personally take you back to the HQ before I let you get sick out here."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal laughed a bit. "I think I'll be fine, this room should get warm fast if we keep the fire running," she replied and started eating the eggs and bacon.
She was comfortable around him; it just felt...natural. Spending three years fighting side by side with your friends and allies could only make you grow closer to them, right?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"Well, alright," Sonic said and picked up his plate. "But I wasn't joking, if you start to feel cold, just let me know." He added before starting to eat.
He was being quite protective of her.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal blushed lightly. "I will, but the fire and blanket do help," she smiled sheepishly.
They both ate in comfortable silence, and then Krystal wrapped herself better in the blanket and let exhaustion take over her. Sighing, she closed her eyes and fell onto Sonic's shoulder.
It was a habit...even Shadow had to endure it. Whenever she was with someone on a long mission, she'd drop her head onto their shoulder.
"I wonder what tomorrow will look like..." Krystal mumbled, half-asleep.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Sonic blushed a tiny bit, looking away. "Who knows. It's hard to tell these days." He replied, not moving, not wanting to disturb her.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"Yeah, it's never the same..." Krystal replied, half-asleep. "Tomorrow will be another day, for sure..." she added, yawning.
But soon enough, she was asleep, leaning onto Sonic's shoulder. Trustful, innocent, comfortable.
She was just happy to spend time with her crush, even if he might not know about it. Even her best friend was still in love with the blue blur.Krystal was just happy to steal a few moments with him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Sonic looked back at her for a moment. He chuckled a little and reached around her to pull the blanket over her better. "What am I going to do with you?" he said, then put his head back against the wall to try and sleep.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
They ended up sleeping throughout the night like that, cuddled up innocently to each other. The next day, they woke up to sunlight beaming through the window. Krystal pulled her blanket closer around herself.
"Ten more minutes..." she mumbled, trying to get back to sleep.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"No, you can't have my chili dog," Sonic said, still asleep before suddenly wrapping his arms around her and pulling Krystal closer to him, knocking her over and landing on top of her. "It's mine, don't touch it."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
That got her more awake, and Krystal squeaked in both confusion and surprise. Her face turned fully red as she lay on her back underneath him,l wide-eyed and frozen.
"S-Sonic! Wake up!" Krystal loudly exclaimed.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"No," he said, and oddly enough started nuzzling the side of her head. "You will eat my chilly dog."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"S-Sonic!" Krystal protested and pressed her hands on his chest. "Please, wake up!" [[USER_A]] said the following:
Just then, Sonic's hand moved and, without warning, grabbed one of her breasts. "Big chilly dog," he said, still as he squeezed her breast.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal screamed and used her powers to swiftly push him off her, and his back hit the wall as she sat up with her arms covering her front, trembling, wide-eyed, red-faced and embarrassed.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Hissing the wall like that nicked the air out of him, and he fell down and started coughing. "What... happened?" Sonic said between, looked before jumping to his feet. "Who is it? Who is attacking?" Sonic said, trying to get his breath back, looking around for a threat.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal was just still blushing brightly, her arms covering her front, pinning her ears, and wide-eyed as she stared at him.
"Y-You...touched m-me..." she stuttered. "In...In your s-sleep..." she then added, her voice still stuttering.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Sonic started rubbing his throat, "Well yeah, you had your head on my shoulder, I could have avoided..." he said, but stopped the moment he noticed her covering her chest. His eyes suddenly widened. "Wait... no, I... I didn't mean to I...." He started frantically waving his hands. "It's not what it seems.... I mean, I wouldn't... I... I'm going to check if anyone needs me," he said, then darted out of the building but just ran behind a near by tree, his face bright red.
What is wrong with me...
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal's heart was racing quite fast in her chest. Well, that was unexpected...! she thought to herself, still red in the face. It's not his fault, he was asleep...that meant nothing at all. She then thought again, trying to calm herself down.
But… she couldn't push away the memory of his hand touching her...she still remembered the touch, and she blushed even more.
I need fresh air... Krystal thought to herself as she got up from the floor and walked to the door, also exiting the building.
That day, Sonic and Krystal mostly worked separately on different problems: more attacks and more rebuilding. Every time they crossed paths moving around the village, they were awkward and avoided direct eye contact.
This mission...appeared to be a mess, now, for them.
And then the evening came faster than expected. Krystal had returned to the same house they had been lent to prepare food again, and she started the fire on her own.
Sighing, she made canned beans with some rice and some pork that was gifted to her by the villagers.
Today was a mess...did I ruin everything by being honest about what happened...? Krystal thought to herself with a sigh.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
After a while, Sonic walked in the direction but stopped just on the other side of the wall. He takes a deep breath but just stares at the hole they have been using as a door.
What is wrong with me... I have never been this... awkward before... Sonic thought to himself.
He then takes a deep breath and fixes himself to walk forested, heading into the little building. He stretched his arms up over his head. "Well, that was a long day," Sonic said, trying to act normal. "Who would have thought one little town could get attacked that many times in one day?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal was relieved to see him come back, especially after that awkward morning and that day they just had.
"The villagers are very stubborn, they'd rather die than just...leave," she replied, mixing the beans, rice, and pork as it kept cooking in the frying pan. "All of their lives are here," she then added.
Good, good...keep talking about anything but what happened this morning, she then thought to herself.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"Yeah," Sonic said, chuckling a bit. "Sometimes it's good to be stubborn. If we keep going at this pace we will beet Infinite out of this area." Sonic said trying to avoid the topic as well.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"That's commendable." Krystal replied, then spread the food in bowls again, as it was ready. "Here, I'm starving and feel exhausted again," she said, chuckling sheepishly.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Sonic sighed, "You really got to stop pushing yourself so much." He replied and reached out to grab the bowl, but his fingers acsudently bridged along her hand and he quickly polled the bowl away hoping she hadn't noticed.
"Wow, this smells realy good I'm going to go eat it over here." Sonic said talking realy fast and quickly moving over to sit on the far side of the fire.
Sonic's heart was beeting faster. what on earth was that... I have touched people's hands before...
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal blushed and was startled a bit when he just took the bowl out of her hand so quickly and then left to go eat on the other side of the fire.
"The villagers gave me the ingredients again, we need the protein," she replied, stating a fact in a neutral tone.
What was that...? I felt...some kind of magnetic pull when he brushed his hand against mine... she then thought to herself, her heart pounding faster in her chest.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"That was nice of them," Sonic said and started eating. "This is really good." He then added before eating some more.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"Thanks, just doing my best with what I have...though I'm sure Amy would've made this more tasty," Krystal replied with a sheepish smile, then ate some of her food as well.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Sonic looked at it, then back at Krystal, "How?" Sonic said then looked back at his food. "I can't, imagin it being any more tasty then it already is. Don't sell yourself short"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal blushed visibly. "I-I'm only saying that because she has more expertise in cooking," she chuckled nervously, still eating too.
It was true, but she clearly enjoyed the compliment, too.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Sonic shrugged, "experience is nice, but so is instinct and intuition. Some people just know how to make stuff taste good even with less experience," Sonic replied.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal kept blushing, actually flattered by his encouragement. "Thank you, that is sweet of you." She smiled quite adorably, her heart pounding a little harder in her chest.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Sonic just made that cheesy but adorable smile of his. "Ehh, don't worry about it, it's really good," he said, waving a hand. He then went back to eating it.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal kept blushing and also went back to eating her food. Soon after, she cleaned the dishes off with water at least and put them aside. She then grabbed her blanket, sat up against the wall, and yawned.
She respected his space, not trying to invade it or force her presence at all.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Sonic sighed and leaned back against the nearby wall, and stared up at the stars through a small hole in the roof. "Why did it have to get so...awkward?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Thankfully for him, by the time that he muttered those words, she had fallen asleep.
The next morning, they were brutally awakened by explosion sounds and screaming.
Krystal jumped to her feet and dashed to the door, slamming it open and gasping.
"It's an attack! Bigger and more concentrated than the last ones!" she exclaimed, then ran out, already raising her hands to help people.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Sonic quickly ran out and started looking for what he could fight and who he needed to save.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
The attack was mostly led by robots again, but in the middle of it, a light blue rabbit suddenly appeared with speed that could rival Sonic's.
"This town will be Infinite's, one way or another," he said.
He then ran at great speed towards Krystal and kicked her harshly, sending her flying. Krystal yelped in pain and hit the wall of a destroyed house nearby, the air knocked out of her lungs, and she fell to the ground.
"The Resistance was foolish to send help here to try and save this village." the light blue rabbit comments, rings shining at his ankles on top of shoes.
Krystal shakily got up from the ground and growled at him with pinned ears. "Who the heck are you?!" she snapped and tried to throw bricks at him using her powers.
The rabbit dodged the attack and smirked. "You may call me Maurice. But I suggest that you give up, foolish girl. You can't defeat me," he replied.
Krystal growled again. "I'm not turning my back on those villagers!" she snapped in protestation.
This time, Krystal attacked the rabbit, and she and Maurice were seen fighting hand-to-hand for some minutes, but then the rabbit pounced at Krystal and sent her flying again, and she hit another wall, more harshly.
Krystal coughed up some blood this time and fell to the ground. She shakily got onto her hands and knees, trembling as she was trying to recover from that blow.
The villagers were running everywhere and screaming in terror.
Maurice approached Krystal menacingly, intending to keep on fighting her.