“I don’t know if this is interesting enough Sonic.”
Looking back at the ‘interesting’ thing that she and Sonic had found, Rosy was greeted by a massive monolithic structure built into a cliff wall. Though she questioned if it was interesting enough, there was no denying that it was far more interesting than the grasslands they had been running across. Though she was no match for Sonic, Rosy had been gifted his speed sometime in the nebulous past by him and could like him run at speeds exceeding the speed of sound. Along the open prairie that made it quite easy for her to keep pace, but that they ran for days without seeing any change in the landscape at their speeds was baffling. It was the nature of the strange lands they roamed, but Rosy’s growling stomach meant she would soon focus on other things.
Not before the sound of Sonic’s voice, however.
“I think you’re just looking for an excuse to keep running with me.” Sonic presumed of his companion as he looked at an inscription worn away with time. It was still legible, however…
“Can you read it? Rosy asked curiously tilting her head as she moved away from the rushing riverbank that had first broke up the scenery and led them to the monolithic structure.
Smirking to himself as Rosy joined him, Sonic teased her a moment. “Changing the subject won’t help you kid.”
“It’s Rosy!” the pink hedgehog insisted with a huff as she struck her curled up hands down by her side and puffed up her cheeks. “And what’s wrong with wanting to run with you? I know you’ve never liked having shared your speed with anyone, but it’s such a big help right now and running with you is my best chance to practice.”
“I’d rather not talk about the Ring Bonds I’ve shared with you,” Sonic turned distant at the mention of his ability to use Rings to share his abilities with others. A trait he had learned was permanent. Rosy however was not going to leave him to his thoughts so easily and badgered him annoyed.
“But making those bonds has helped you too! You could never swim before you made another one with me! And that helped you today!”
“I could have always just run across the surface of the water,” Sonic dismissed Rosy’s attempts to get him to relax about the Ring Bond. She could not argue further either as Sonic had just been doing exactly as he claimed until the surface of the water had grown too rough. At least that was the reason she could not argue that way.
“Well what about reading what’s written here? If you can’t you’ll make a Ring Bond with the script to understand it, right?”
“You’re being awfully pushy about the Ring Bond today kid,” Sonic accusingly sighed, but not because he was irritated with Rosy, but rather because she was right.
Sonic of course would have to use a Ring to establish the bond and It would consume the Ring. With as rare as Rings had been up to that point though it was not something he wanted to waste. Still he held up his hand and a twinkling of golden light formed within before giving way to the golden looped shape of a Ring. Taking hold of it he pressed it against the script and stared at the wall.
At that point nothing happened, and he smiled nervously.
“Well, guess that ends this little distraction.”
“It’s too old?” Rosy wagered a guess at why the Ring was still in Sonic’s hands, at least until he absorbed it back into his body with a similar twinkling of golden light.
“Unfortunately,” Sonic shrugged and placed his hands on his hips. “Nothing I can do about it though. I’d need a pretty ancient Ring to make a bond with this to be able to read it.”
Looking around in search of the Ring that Sonic would need to read the script Rosy could not ignore the absence of Rings. She could not ignore the absence of any viable entrance into the structure either but still had a suggestion to Sonic’s dismay. “Maybe there’s an entrance under water.”
“Maybe, but if this place is this old I kind of doubt there’s a Red Star Ring here.”
You don’t know that Sonic,” Rosy contested hopefully. “The one that took us here was in a pretty old ruin too!”
Walking away from the wall and back towards the water Sonic shrugged again as he presented his counter argument. “Except that place was full of life. This place looks like it hasn’t had anything growing here since it was built, no less living here. –!”
As Sonic finished his sentence the stone he stepped on gave way ever so slightly and both hedgehogs looked down curiously. Rosy won the reaction race though as her excitement got the better of her. “Oh~! Is it a secret door!”
“I’m doubting that Sonic contested as he pulled his foot back and watched the round stone continue to sink into the ground, along with several dozen more that filled the alcove. “I think we might have walked into a trap.”
“What!” Rosy gasped surprised before whining in disappointment. “Fang would be so mad if he knew I missed a trap, but we can both run out of here can’t we? Eep!”
Surprising Rosy by sweeping her off her feet and into a bridal style carry, Sonic gave her a stern look. “I can just run right up the wall, but we both know you don’t have a good enough grasp on my speed to pull that off. So, hold tight!”
Though speechless by Sonic’s action Rosy was far from stunned motionless and accepted Sonic’s invitation gleefully. Sonic himself did not waste time worrying about her giddiness and instead bolted from where he stood, approaching the wall from a rounding angle to get the leverage he would need to ascend it. In a blink he put his speed to impressive work and ran across the face of the monolithic structure and soon set Rosy down in the otherwise unchanging prairie above.
Looking back down the two hedgehogs watched as the ruin collapsed under its own machinations and bid the hedgehogs goodbye with a massive dust cloud. Rosy could not help but laugh. “I guess that really is that then. I don’t mind though because I get to keep running with you.”
Giggling and swaying her body back and forth cutely as she clasped her hands behind her back, Rosy was surprised to see Sonic still looking into the hole. “Do you see something Sonic?”
A bolt of green light that Sonic barely dodged answered Rosy and parted the dust.
“Sonic! Are you okay!” Despite asking Sonic about his wellbeing, and the danger present, Rosy peered back into the hole she and Sonic had ascended from.
“Just peachy,” Sonic replied dryly as he joined her to take a look at what had shot at him.
Looking up at the two hedgehogs from the bottom of the pit a stone figure that crudely resembled a sapient life with no head looked up at them with a single green gemstone ‘eye’. As light gathered into the gem Sonic shoved Rosy to the side and kicked back to dodge the next shot.
“It’s not very nice,” Rosy remarked as she sat up on all fours to peer over the ledge again.
“And probably not looking to make any friends either,” Sonic agreed as he held his shoulder and circled his arm a few times. “But that doesn’t mean I appreciate it taking a shot at us. Give me a sec to shut this thing down and we’ll see if Tails doesn’t have enough Rings to come join us.”
Not waiting for permission from Rosy to depart Sonic leapt down into the pit. Rosy did not mind in the least as she enjoyed watching Sonic in action. And he did put on a show, a short one, but one all the same as he deftly dodged the awkward golem’s attempts to attack him. In an instant Sonic ended the fight as he leapt and curled into a ball to perform his signature spin attack. Smashing into the green gem, Sonic shattered it and rock alike. But with the golem’s sudden end after waking for the first time since some period long forgotten, it surprised the two hedgehogs one more time.
“What’s that?” Rosy queried as she watched a twinkle of light eject a few feet into the air above the destroyed golem. Sonic caught sight of it himself as he skidded to a stop and turned to lack back at his handiwork.
“No way!” Rosy breathed in disbelief before jumping into the pit herself. “Sonic’ is that really–?”
Rosy’s question went unfinished as Sonic had to act quickly to catch the less experienced hedgehog, but as he landed with her in his arms again, he looked back and saw the answer to her question. A nervous bead of sweat ran down the side of his face and a look of confusion adorned Rosy’s.
“It sure looks like it, kid,” Sonic confirmed what they were both looking at.
“But isn’t that like–”
“Back on Little Planet you mean,” Sonic finished for Rosy and earned a nod from her. Looking at where the mote of light landed and sprouted into a large bouncing blue flower though, Sonic had no explanations at all. He was growing excited though as it was finally feeling like an adventure again. “Yeah, it looks like we have quite the little mystery on our hands, kid. “
Scene 2 · CLEARED
A Broken Rest, End
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