From outside the ruins were unremarkable buried in the dessert crags and growing sandstorm. Within as the travelers and sightseers were led in through a dark unmarked corridor, Rosy was afforded time to be amused before the ruin revealed itself.

     ~It’s kind of funny really. I came out because of a rumor I heard, yet it just seems like people were confused. If no one had really been out here that much they wouldn’t have tour guides. Still, it’s nice that I don’t have to watch out for traps, but it is a little less exciting not exploring an unknown ruin. Or at least it sure seemed like that was going to be the case.~

     “Oh~ It’s a Ring Gate Beacon,” Rosy remarked, and was fortunate her knowledge of Rings was not heard over the gasps of her fellow travelers.

     ~It was not what I was expecting at all. Though my amazement wasn’t because of the shifting ceiling of blocks. The blocks with the lines of light on them were a normal sight in a Ring Gate beacon and wasn’t really any different from the one on Zooey’s airship, the Skyskipper. Well, it was a lot bigger and had all sorts of side rooms. There also didn’t seem to be any control panels to make Ring Gates connect to other beacons. I guess that shouldn’t be surprising though since there are plants everywhere. Tee-hee! There are even trees growing in here so this place hasn’t been used since well before we could use them. Or at least back home. It’s hard to use a Ring Gate if you’re scared of it.

     ~Walking around the massive beacon though the rumors the other travelers were still talking about became easier to connect to the crystal rose. Ring Gate Beacon’s obviously are powered by Rings and that means Rings pass through them a lot. With all the trees and other plants growing inside it made sense that there would be Rings too. Lucky for everyone else I was here, and even though I’d get smacked the next time I visited a town with those mean priests I could at least try to make things easier on them. How? By collecting all the Rings of course!

     ~It seemed like a good idea, but I may not have thought it through, hee-hee… Everyone was already on edge, so seeing the Rings that should have been floating around not being there… Well, they didn’t see me at least, though something caught everyone’s attention all of a sudden.~

     “You! What are you doing there!”

     Within a chamber where the geometric lines that glowed on the ever-shifting blocks of the Ring Gate Beacon had reached the floor as well the walls, one of the tour guides shouted and brought Rosy’s little side endeavor to an end. The tour guide was not the only one to shout out in surprise, however.

     “Is it the Ring Striker?”

     “It couldn’t be, could it?”

     “It could be, this place should be full of Rings, but it’s not. It’s the perfect place for them to attack.”

     “Not this again,” Rosy sighed to herself with a shrug. The continued mention of the now tiring rumor of the Ring Striker was enough to almost make Rosy ignore the crowd of sightseers as they started shouting. But the shouting and mention of a person left her ears turned towards them and her curiosity piqued. “Rings aren’t dangerous, so I doubt this jerk is either.”

     Pushing her way through the crowds and wearing an irritable look Rosy froze as she came into view of the mysterious entity who had caused a stir in the tour guides. They were slightly taller than someone who stood a meter tall, or at least measured to the shoulder where a massive cog served as the collar for a set of flowing purple robes. Rosy had seen that collar before as well as the massive bracelets around the individual’s wrists. The rod with the half cog head in one hand and a clear crystal rose in the other were new, but not the three quilled echidna head of perfectly smooth white stone. Rosy had seen it as well, a prisoner alone deep underground, but the glowing blue eyes that watched her from it now where lifeless then.

     “It couldn’t be, not that statue. Then, it was another golem?”

     Finally joining in the confusion of the crowd she accompanied, Rosy no longer stood out save her attire. Or so she would not have if she did not become the focus of the golem echidna as it turned its back to an altar of the shifting blocks of the beacon. Then, the golem spoke with a familiar voice.

     “Ah, so like the other rabble you were drawn by the ‘treasure’ held here child.”

     “That voice! You were with us in the truck! But… you’re a…”

     “A golem,” the golem finished for Rosy. “That is correct. One woken from a long slumber by the power of a Red Star Ring. And one whom seeks his dear friend.”

     “You’re nothing but a thief!” One of the tour guides cut in while pointing an accusatory finger at the golem’s hand that held the crystal rose.

     “You are mistaken,” the golem corrected the tour guide. “It is the right of Pir’Oth to make use of this gem. Or perhaps in this time I have come to be known as Ix. Regardless, I and I alone have the right to walk this sacred ground. The trespasser and thieves who wander these halls are all of you!”

     Twirling his staff, Ix slammed the unadorned end into the ground causing it to splinter and crack like a spiderweb. In response Rings burst forth as though cast from a fountain and flowers of golden light bloomed from the motes chasing them. Though he moved to attack, Ix again addressed Rosy, a momentary exception in his blue glowing eyes and the now glowing petals of the crystal rose.

     “You though child spoken to by the gods, I shall take of you your bond to them and allow your soul to rest forgiven for your trespass.”

     As the rings met the flowers of light no one was prepared for the golems that rose around them, tearing themselves from the stone floor that gave birth to them. There was little one could do to defend themselves as their arrival stole any stable footing away. And yet despite the terror and panic, someone still shouted out in further horror.

     “It’s the Ring Striker!”

     Lunging towards Rosy, Ix held a ring suspended before the head of his staff. His intentions were unknown to all, but Rosy simply puffed up her cheeks and balled up her hands into fists. “You’re being a jerk!”

     Ix’s glowing eyes widened as Rosy suddenly disappeared from before him. Skidding to a stop to not waste the ring, he looked about to spot where the pink hedgehog girl could have vanished.

     “It could not have been a Ring Gate; the beacon would have responded?” The sound of crumbling stone around him alerted Ix to what he sought, and his stone eyes continued to widen in disbelief. “Impossible!”

     The flowers that powered the golems returned as the sparkling seeds of light released from their destruction touched the ground. Standing up from their stony remains, Rosy looked back at Ix and puffed up her cheeks further and redder. “I thought you said you weren’t a bad guy!”

     “How?” Ix asked in shock, Rosy’s question lost on him. “I thought you but a simple child with the favor of the gods.”

     “Because Sonic shared with me the ability to be a hero,” Rosy answered trembling. Whether she was angry, terrified, or perhaps both, it was obvious that her emotions fueled her trembling. The sight was anything but heroic regardless, which in itself spoke of her courage to act. Ix however was less concerned for Rosy’s heroics as he was her words.

     “Do you speak of the sacred Ring Bond?”

     “What? You know about Ring Bonds! But how? Sonic is the only person–!”

     A terrible realization dawned on Rosy and obvious horror weighed down her features. Ix spoke again though before she could form her realization into words.

     “Only him? Then Ring Craft is truly lost in this age. What has become of this world during my slumber? I must find out.”

     “I won’t let you if it means attacking people. You can’t do that, it’s wrong!”

     “What is wrong child is the state of this world, and that I could not best a child. Yet surely you are not the adversary your cards spoke of.

     “Consider yourself fortunate child,” Ix proclaimed as he fiercely strode away from the short-lived battle. “You have saved the lives of these trespassers this day. But know I will challenge you. I must if I am to restore this world to its rightful state. And I will surely still need use of your connection to the gods. We will meet again, and I will lay claim to all that I require.”

     Twirling his staff once more, Ix again struck the ground, a cascade of Rings erupting from the vein of spiderweb like cracks that tore through it. With a wave of his staff he gathered the Rings up into a single point and with a flash of light they merged into a giant one through which he could travel. As the giant Ring spun the geometric lines of the stone cubes shifted from a blue hue to one of orange as they interacted with the Ring Gate and set a destination for it. Before stepping through however, Ix gave Rosy one last warning.

     “Remember child, you have not my permission to die or fall ill until I have brought you humiliation and defeat. Have claimed your bond with the gods for myself and have shown you the defeat of my adversary and the restoration of this world to its former glory.”

     ~With a flash of light and the shimmering golden motes left behind every Ring when they disappear, Ix vanished, his scary words lingering with me as I departed the ruins on my own. I didn’t really save the day and using Sonic’s speed always upsets people, so it was better that I left on my own. That, and I really want nothing more but to run really far away right now. He knew about Ring Bonds. He could make them himself and suddenly the rumors of the Ring Striker made sense. He was forcing Ring Bonds onto people so he could learn of the world. And now he wanted one with me…~

Scene 18 · CLEARED
Desert Rumors, End

Prompt Submitted by – Skylor-The-Ninja
Special Thanks to Cutegirlmayra
Story by @JoshTarwater/SonicFanJ
Inspiring Song – Fuse Man Stage (Arranged) – By Yoshiya Terayama – MEGAMAN 11 Original Soundtrack