With barely a push of a white gloved finger the green gem cracked and broke, the mote of light trapped within springing free into the air above. Mighty watched it curiously before stepping back to let it fall to the stony ground that marked where there had once been a monolithic structure. As soon as it touched the ground a flower sprang to life, almost dancing as its bulbous bloom burst forth in a shimmering shade of blue.

     “It’s so unnatural,” Mighty remarked as he looked at the garden he had set to growing that morning.

     “It is,” Zooey agreed as she stepped up to the latest bloom and leaned down to look at it. Brushing a lock of her golden hair out of her face she turned to look at Mighty and offered the armadillo a smile. “Thank you for joining me Mighty. With Tails out in the X-Tornado I doubt there’s much I could have done here on my own. It wasn’t too much trouble getting here was it?”

     “None at all,” Mighty relieved Zooey of her concerns as he peered through the garden of flowers for signs of any more golems struggling to unearth themselves. “I’ve enjoyed the endless prairies of this land a fair bit, but the river has been a wonderful sight to refresh me. I just think it’s a shame Sonic and little Rosy could not stay.”

     “Well, it’s been several days already. You can hardly blame them for not staying. If there is one thing those two have in common, it’s loathing boredom.”

     Mighty and Zooey shared a laugh at the expense of their hedgehog friends before resuming their personal tasks. There was little really for Zooey to do, there being only so much she could write on the clipboard she carried. And little data to write besides.

     The photos she took with the film camera that dangled around her neck were of little long-term use as well should they never return home. ‘I can’t think like that.’ Zooey shook her head banishing the thought before it could take root.

     Looking for a way to distract herself, Zooey asked Mighty a question. “So, what type of flowers do you think they are?”

     “I couldn’t say,” Mighty confessed as he watched Zooey poke the bloom of one and examined the way it floated above its stem. Taking a few notes, she looked for a clear place in Mighty’s garden to set her clipboard down.

     “I think I’ll take one with me and see if I can’t figure out what it is. It might even be edible, and we could always do to add to our stores.”

     “It seems a shame to pluck it though,” Mighty smiled wistfully as he found another green gem poking out of the ground while Zooey took the flower that was taller than herself by the stalk.

     It offered her little resistance and in the loose stony rubble even its root ball came free much to her delight. “Oh wow! I didn’t think I’d be able to get the roots too. I couldn’t have asked for more.

     “Mighty, I think I’ve gathered enough now so I’ll be heading back up to the Skyskipper. Did you want me to wait for you or are you going to adventure some more on foot?”

     “I’ll be good on my own,” Mighty acknowledged Zooey’s coming departure with a nod and a smile. “Besides, I want to study these flowers a little more myself. They are so unusual, yet not all that different from others I’ve seen in my travels.”

     “Alright Mighty, but if you get in trouble, please don’t hesitate to use your emergency Ring Gate. All of you are so stubborn.”

     Leaving it at that, Zooey climbed out of the pit by way of a rope ladder and soon the Skyskipper drifted away into the sky above. Watching it as it went, Mighty walked through the flower garden enjoying his time alone with them now. Unnatural as their blooming had been, he could feel the wonder of nature from them and felt refreshed and alive to walk among them. So distracted was he that he did not notice the green gem he casually crushed under foot. The mote of light that followed it also escaped the armadillo’s notice and soon drifted down into his outstretched palm.

     At that point he noticed it.

     “Ouch!”

     Looking at his hand Mighty saw the flower had bloomed right where it landed, its root ball encasing his hand. Smiling he addressed the flower like an old friend. “Well that’s an amusing place for you to try and make your home, but I’m afraid I’ll need that hand.”

     Laughing to himself Mighty knelt down and dug a hole in the loose stony ground with his free hand. Reaching for the flower he attempted to pull it gently free from his hand and was intrigued as the bulb turned a bright yellow in color. “Well, that’s interesting. But also, just a little worrisome. I hope your self-defense mechanism isn’t anything too dangerous. I’d rather not believe I’ve left Zooey in any danger.”

     The flower on Mighty’s hand did little more to signal its distress to the armadillo who in turn happily lowered his hand down into the hole hoping to entice the flower to let him go willingly.

     “You see, the earth will provide you with a lot more nutrients than I can, plus then you can join your friends. –?!”

     Looking up at the other flowers, Mighty observed that the blooms on all of them had turned fluorescent red and were giving off an equally eerie glow. Not sure what to do, but sure he could not risk staying, Mighty moved very slowly so as not to agitate the plants further.

     “Well, if you feel that strongly, I’m sure it’s best I take my leave.”

     Like Rosy, Mighty had a Ring Bond with Sonic that granted him the hedgehog’s speed, and believing he would need it now more than ever he looked deep within himself and found it at his center. A golden light, a memory implanted in him by the Rings and Sonic. It was warm in a way, a platonic joining of the two that he cherished as much as his friendship itself with Sonic. Today however, it would betray him as the flowers all turned black and an explosion of grass filled the entirety of the pit entangling the armadillo within. Trapping him in a grassy, viny, prison.

Scene 3 · CLEARED

Flower Garden, End