Special Thanks - @Cutegirlmayra

Illustration - SmilesFPS (SmilesFPS www.twitter.com)

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

♪ ~ [Secret Green Passage ~ Falcom Sound Team jdk ~ Original Soundtrack the Legend of Heroes: Sora no Kiseki]

The largest satellite dish imaginable.
The lake that filled it.
The life that flooded its waters.
Trains going to and fro across old rail bridges.
A city of domed structures built on the main antenna.
The beach on its lowest edge and the coral that jutted up out of the waters.

“Sonic! It’s beautiful!” Rosy squealed with delight! “What a romantic place for a picnic! Or maybe a train ride over the water! The bridges are so rustic and pretty! We could go on a long romantic walk or–”

With a raised hand Sonic brought Rosy to a halt. “I’m sure you have plenty of ideas in that pretty little head of your­–”

“You do think I’m pretty!” Rosy interrupted bouncing on her heels joyously, but Sonic continued seeming to not have noticed.

“–but we’re here to leave the Zone. Besides, I’ve already explored this whole area and I’d rather not go over it again so soon."

“What! Aw~! That’s not fair Sonic!”

“Sorry, rascal, but maybe you can come back in the future and enjoy it.”

“If you come with me, I will!” Rosy teased but was unsuccessful in getting a reaction out of Sonic.

Gathering up his Rings in hand, Sonic condensed at least fifty into a single ring and flicked it like flipping a coin in front of him.

“W~O~W!” Rosy gaped in amazement as the Ring Gate opened before them. “What exactly are Ring Gates anyway Sonic, and I didn’t know you could make them!”

“I can, I guess. Takes a lot of practice to get them to take you where you want. So, no, I’m not teaching you how either. Right now, we’re too pressed for time and have to stop Yolk’s next scheme.”

~Ooh~! It’s not that I don’t understand, but we didn’t even enjoy the hustle and bustle of the city after using the Ring Gate to get there in an instant. I mean, it proved Sonic really had spent quite a bit of time there, but he could have given me a little more time. Instead, we went straight to a hanger where a silver-winged, red biplane awaited us. Before long we were airborne and well above the Zone. Now if only it wasn’t so terrifying!~

“So~ni~c! Why am I riding on the wing!” Rosy yelled at Sonic from where she held on desperately for dear life.

“You get used to it,” Sonic laughed, but he kept the plane flying steady for Rosy’s sake. “Consider it a chance to practice your balance. The Tornado can’t fly nearly as fast as we can run, so it’s perfect. And I can catch you if you fall. Believe it or not, but I’m a pretty good pilot and wing walker myself.”

“I don’t doubt it, Sonic,” Rosy grumbled as she puffed up her cheeks, “but I’d rather share the cockpit with you.”

~There really was no point complaining. It’s not like I can fly the plane, and as tiny as the cockpit is I doubt Sonic would be comfortable having me in there with him for a long period of time. I don’t want to him too comfortable either just yet. I want my touch to make his heart race and fill him full of the excitement he fills me with. Ooh~! Sonic is so hard to work with. I bet learning to fly the plane would be easier than getting him to open up.

♪ ~ [Unbreakable Heart ~ ベイシスケイプ ~ Megaman Utopia]

-Mr. Soni~c!-

A youthful female voice that was at once as sleepy as could be but filled with vigor that almost rivaled Rosy’s echoed across the sky wrapped in static. -You… d‘nt think to… ‘scape by flying, did you?-

“Of all the troublemakers,” Sonic stressfully smirked.

“Hey, Amy, you wanted in the cockpit, right?”

“Is that someone you know Sonic?” Rosy asked not picking up on Sonic’s intentions.

“Just a pirate, bounty hunter, merchant, and information dealer. Also, one of Yolk’s unwilling puppets.”

“What! We have to free her from his control then!”

“Shy of a Ring Bond, I haven’t figured out a solution yet,” Sonic confessed. “She’s no fighter though, but she’ll have definitely brought trouble.”

-Not trouble Mr. So…ic. the f…nest autogolems I could buy! And it was a two for one deal! I’m so happy and just have to try them out!-

“The radio sounded better there, but maybe she should buy a new one rather than attack us,” Rosy remarked dryly as she watched the clouds for where the echoing radio was transmitting from. A shadow of a vessel covered in sails, wings, and propellers appeared for a moment but disappeared as Sonic banked the plane around another cloud forcing Rosy to hold on for dear life. “SO~NI~C~!”

“No time Amy,” Sonic chided her as he set the plane into autopilot and joined Rosy on the top wing. “You’re getting an impromptu flying lesson while I do the fighting. If we can break her toys, she’ll back off for now.”

“Me fly! Sonic I’ve never–”

“Neither had I when I first learned. Trust me though, it’s easy.”

~Sonic’s wink is so convincing and his smile so dreamy, I couldn’t resist. And with Sonic yelling instructions at me it really was easy. Maybe. I’m not sure what all the dials and switches mean, but Sonic is sure I just need to use the control stick. Hee-hee! Here goes!~

-Hmm… Is your little friend awake this time …nic? You should have to…d me. I have … introduce myself.-

"You were listening in on our conversation and you only ask now?" Sonic queried flatly as a sweat drop ran down his face.

-Ahem, I am Blister the Mouse, most non-infamous of sky pirates, and merchant extraordinaire! I hope you’ve heard of me and look forward to my seeing my wares!-

“Was that a recording?” Rosy questioningly laughed in response to Blister's introduction. “She doesn’t sound like a bad person… Are you sure we can’t help her Sonic?”

“Just concentrate on flying for now.”

“Hmph!”

Her cheeks puffing up in frustration, Rosy was surprised when two large autogolems burst out of a cloud bank. As the name suggested, they were golems, but more akin to robots.

Armor built onto clockwork skeletons, autogolems were purely machines and had quite the versatility in design to them. The ones coming after Sonic and Rosy however were fairly simple. A metal hoop with attached blades that spun around a motor with a head on top and a head below. The head below seemed to govern the two arms that held a large sword for one while the other carried a large, spiked ball and chain. The upper head however…

“Wah~!” Rosy shouted and banked the plane hard in fear as the two golems opened machine gun fire from the mouths of their upper heads.

“Amy, not so hard! You’ll break the wings off! Level it back out slowly and then move me into range so I can attack.”

“How do I do that Sonic!” Rosy cried completely overwhelmed by the situation.

“They’re pretty mobile, but they don’t look that fast. Try to get under them so they have to use their big guns.”

“Those aren’t guns Sonic!”

~I love Sonic, but sometimes he can be so frustrating. His instructions were simple enough, but the autogolems weren’t. I’m so glad we’re so high up or this crash course in flying just might end in a crash! And I think that’s what the golems want too. But I have to keep the plane under the golems so Sonic can fight. Wah~! It’s not easy at all!~

For all of Rosy’s concerns, she never realized that Sonic had never instructed her to turn off the autopilot. Whoever it was that had programmed it was a genius, and it managed to counter her erratic flying, keeping the plane airborne and under her control so she could concentrate on giving Sonic a place to land between attack attempts.

Difficult as the situation was for Rosy, it was even more trying for Sonic. He could barely attack and rebound back to the Tornado, and it was made that much more complicated when one of the autogolems got into position to use their machine guns. However, an opportunity presented itself at the oddest time.

“Hey! Watch it! That’s my plane you’re chopping up!”

Sonic’s quills straitened with his anger as the sword wielding autogolem managed to cut into the top wing of the plane. Naturally, the loss of control caused Rosy to start panicking.

“Sonic! The plane isn’t responding the same! What happened!”

“The wing just needs a quick fix.”

With a smirk, Sonic ran across the wing and up the autogolem’s sword. Skidding to a halt he curled into a tight ball and performed a quick Spin Dash. Quick as the Spin Dash was, it was effective in providing enough force to knock the autogolem back and free its sword from the Tornado’s wing. As it reeled back, Sonic recoiled and landed on the flat of the sword blade again. Quickly running up it before it turned vertical, Sonic held his ground a moment and waited for the auto golem to right itself. When it did, he ran back to the hilt and jumped up between the hoop that held the construct airborne. It was a daring maneuver, but he pulled it off flawlessly and landed next to the upper head.

“Hey there,” Sonic greeted it with a two-finger wave and a smirk.

Performing a one-handed cartwheel, Sonic tumbled over it and sat down pinning the head between his legs in a headlock. “Let’s see if I can’t get you to help us out. Heh! That should amuse Amy too.”

With a toothy grin, Sonic reached down and pulled off the autogolem’s back panel. Fishing around inside he found what he was after and leaned over to aim the head at the other autogolem. A moment later a string of machine gun fire tore through the sky. Most of the fired rounds missed but several found purchase and tore the other autogolem apart. Pleased with his work and watching the Ring that fell with the scrapped autogolem, Sonic stood up and pulled the machine gun free from the one he was on and chucked it into the clouds.

“Sonic! What if that lands on someone!” Rosy yelled at him from the cockpit of the Tornado as she watched the scene from a ways off. Sonic’s carefree shrug and uncomfortable smile made her puff up her cheeks, but there was little she could do. Instead, at Sonic’s instruction she flew the Tornado under the sword wielding autogolem.

Once he was positive Rosy was where he wanted her, Sonic leapt up, curled into a tight ball, and shot straight through the autogolem in a powerful Spin Attack. Uncurling as he exited, he landed on the top wing of the Tornado and playfully watched the internal workings of the autogolem tear themselves apart from the damage he inflicted. A moment later and the construct was scrap falling through the skies.

“Sorry about that Blister,” Sonic yelled playfully into the clouds. “I hope they didn’t cost you too much! But hey, you know where else not to shop now!”

-Mr. Soni~c! …re terrible! You’ll ru…n the pride of engine…rs everywhere!-

~I feel bad for Blister. Maybe she would still come after Sonic and me if Yolk wasn’t controlling her, but Sonic could have been nicer to her. Ooh~! But he was so cool and dreamy! Even with me flying he managed to beat those two autogolems in spectacular fashion! I just wish I could have been of more help. Hee-hee! I guess I’m going to have to really learn how to fly too!

~This Journey Sonic and I are on… It’s full of so much mystery and things I have to learn, and maybe remember. And we have to stop an evil bad guy too, who’s a total creep! And here I was just looking forward to having fun with Sonic. Well, who says I can’t? The journey is the best part of any adventure and can be just as exciting as any other part. I’ll get better, I’ll open Sonic’s heart, and we’ll go to the end of this adventure hand in hand with countless new memories between us. Even if I never get all of my old memories back, that will be plenty. Because Sonic and his world are all I need. Hopefully, he’ll let me be a part of it too…~