Special Thanks - @Cutegirlmayra

Illustration - SmilesFPS (SmilesFPS www.twitter.com)

Logo Design - Xenoko (XenokoYT www.twitter.com)

♪ ~ [FFVII REMAKE: Hollow Skies – Nobuo Uematsu – FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE Original Sound Track]

Giant, decaying satellite dishes.
Farmlands, lakes, towns.
Rail stations unused and forgotten.
A lone steam train traveling along barely maintained rails.
Railroad crossings brought to life in its passing.
The eclipsed sun and the small world blocking it watching the land below.

~Watching the scenery by train is supposed to be romantic, but Sonic isn’t making it very romantic. I managed to talk him into riding the working train we found by convincing him he could get some sleep and still cover a lot of ground, but now I’m not sure if that was a good idea.

~Ooh~! Instead of sitting inside with me and sleeping he managed to lay down on the railing of the caboose. Only Sonic I suppose, but I was really looking forward to him falling asleep and resting his head on my shoulder or lap. Eee~! It would have been so perfect~♥

~With Sonic fast asleep I had time to talk with the other passengers and make some new friends. But there was one thing starting to bother me, so I eventually joined Sonic on the caboose. Hee-hee! It’s funny how fast he wakes up when I rest my head on his chest.~

“A-Amy! What are you doing!”

Sonic failed to keep his composure and Rosy offered Sonic a sweet smile, and a correction.

“Rosy.”

“That isn’t an answer to my question,” Sonic replied dryly, recovering his composure perhaps via his irritation at Rosy’s failure to answer him.

“Actually Sonic, I had a question, but you looked so comfortable I couldn’t help myself. Tee-hee~♥”

“Again with the ‘tee-hees’?” Sonic asked with a sigh and shifted his position to get more comfortable. Rosy rolled with him and looked at him playfully. Perhaps due to having his sleep interrupted, Sonic was in no mood to play and pushed Rosy again for what she wanted. “So, what’s this question of yours?”

“That planet in the sky. Yolk.”

Shifting her gaze to look at the planet properly named Yoluku, Rosy also pointed for Sonic’s benefit. “I could have sworn it had a Red Ring around it when I first saw it.”

“Oh, that?” Sonic laughed causing Rosy to puff her cheeks up in response. He did not disregard her confusion however, though perhaps he confused her more than she already was. “It’ll be quicker to show you. Close your eyes.”

“W-what!”

“Don’t make this weird you rascal,” Sonic sighed and gave Rosy a look. Her cheeks puffed up again, but she closed her eyes at his request.’

“Like this– Ow!”

Rosy’s eyes snapped open as Sonic tapped her left eye with a finger and she gave him a dirty look. “What was that for!”

“Go check out your reflection,” Sonic advised Rosy as he looked her in the eye as though he was confirming something.

“If you gave me a black eye Sonic!” Rosy huffed as she withdrew from Sonic, allowing him to sit up.

Watching Rosy, Sonic kept his emotions hidden as Rosy caught sight of her reflection in the windowed back door of the caboose and froze in surprise.

Turning to Sonic for answers, Rosy looked at him with her normal blue right eye, and with her left iris replaced by a peculiar Red Ring. It was mostly decayed, a red cogwheel connecting its ends, aligned with three points of a red star that rested in the Ring’s center. The cog wheel was still now however, which Sonic perhaps visibly relaxed seeing.

“It’s called a Yoluku Device,” Sonic explained and looked away from Rosy towards the planet in the sky. “That’s right. The same name as that big egg, and the jerk who put it there.”

“Why would someone do that to me!” Rosy huffed angrily.

“That jerk up there who we’re off to see seems to think of you as his property. That device would let him control you if not for the Ring Bond we share that lets you resist the gods like I can.”

“Then, are we off to fight a god?”

Rosy tilted her head unsure, Sonic’s stoic demeanor doing nothing to alleviate her concerns.

“I couldn’t say,” Sonic at last conceded. “But he has controlled you once before, and since then…”

“That’s what caused my memory loss…?”

The unsure question brought an uncomfortable silence between the two hedgehogs. Sonic was not one for leaving his friends troubled and hopped off the railing. Placing a hand on Rosy’s shoulder as he moved to stand next to her, he offered her a reassuring smile and a wink.

“Nah! That was probably my fault. I made a mess of things and his plans using the Rings. So, your memory loss is definitely my fault, and I’ll do my best to get them back for you.”

“No way!”

With a spin that threw Sonic off balance, Rosy grabbed his hand in both of hers and looked him fiercely in the eye. “We’re going to get my memories back, or at least enjoy the journey trying! Come on Sonic, I get to be your running partner for this adventure! Don’t leave me out of it! Besides, they’re my memories and that jerk up there is obviously after me!”

“Running partner?” Sonic asked, seemingly a ways behind before he laughed it off and slipped his hand out of Rosy’s grip and walked towards the very back of the caboose. Below his feet the rails drifted off into the distance before him and he rubbed the underside of his nose with a finger.

“It’s taking you everything you have to keep up with me as it is.”

“I’m starting to get better fighting beside you. I mean sure, you’re still doing most of the fighting, but… I can get better Sonic! Just you watch me!”

“Already doing enough of that,” Sonic laughed.

“Ooh~! I wish you’d watch me while I’m watching you!” Rosy whined and teased all at the same time. Her playful tone left Sonic scratching the back of his ear.

“That device in your eye and the one that appears around that egg aren't the only ones,” Sonic warned Rosy. “And they cause a lot more trouble than you’d think. But if you’re really up to it–”

“Of course I’m up to it!” Rosy interrupted with a shout, balling her hands up and holding them next to her face. “And if you mean these weird Rings control people then we just have to get rid of them. You must have already done that before too, right? I mean, no one seems to be being controlled and I don't see the one around that planet."

"It works something like that, I guess" Sonic laughed at Rosy's attempts to answer her own question from earlier.

"Well, if the one around that small planet is a sign that people are being controlled, then we'll just have be heroes before travelers. And that works for me too~♥

"I want to master the speed you shared with me and get good enough so you don’t have to worry about me while we're on this silly journey. I want you to have fun too. You’ve been way too tense Sonic, and I’m going to make sure you have as much fun as you can. Just because we have a destination and a bad guy to worry about doesn’t mean we can’t have fun and enjoy ourselves. It’s kind of like a big date really~♥”

“Really?” Sonic asked and turned around to give Rosy a questioning smirk. “I don’t know of too many people who call it a date when they have plenty of people looking to cause them trouble.”

“What! Really? Why!”

“In case you didn’t notice, people out here aren’t too fond of Rings, and the two of us rely on them quite a bit. That, and your little lover in the sky isn’t really popular either.”

“Ew~!” Rosy faked gagging at Sonic’s words and he laughed. “That’s gross Sonic! There isn’t any way! Besides, I’m your girlfriend!”

“Whatever,” Sonic laughed before turning his back to Rosy again. “I’m bored of this train and itching to run. You coming or not?”

“Wha–! Of course! So~ni~c! Wait for me!”

Jumping from the back of the train in pursuit as she yelled after Sonic, Rosy curled into a ball and allowed herself to bounce safely before uncurling and running as fast as she could after the blue hedgehog.