Written by Joshua David Tarwater
Special Thanks - @Cutegirlmayra
Illustration - SmilesFPS (SmilesFPS www.twitter.com)
Logo Design - Xenoko (XenokoYT www.twitter.com)

♪ ~ [Gathelatio, Seat of the Orthodoxy ~ RYO ~ BRAVELY SECOND END LAYER Original Soundtrack]

Spiraling roads of cobblestone and tree branch.
Natural awnings of forest canopy.
Schools, academies, laboratories, and factories.
Ancient ruins of stone and glowing, blue geometric lines.
Shifting blocks in clusters and alone.
Whole chunks of the city shuffled about by them.
Even the peak of the fingerlike mountain.

          ~Aah~! This is so much better~♥

          ~When Sonic and I arrived in this Zone, he was so tense and on edge. But he’s relaxed a lot since then. We had a big heart to heart, and I’ve been doing my best to keep up with him. It’s a lot easier though when I have some say in where we’re going.

          ~Archidemia Zone.

          ~That’s what the scholars here call it, but they’re as much engineers as they are scholars. In fact, all the cities which have almost fully overrun the ruins of the archipelago are run by the organization that calls itself the Engineers. They mostly make autogolems, but almost all the technology here is weird in that it seems to use Rings. I’m a little confused, but that’s alright. I just need to put myself in position to use my cards to help Sonic find the Yolk Device.

          ~To that end, Sonic and I have come to one of the mountain islands here where even the mountain itself is being moved around by the blocks he says are old Ring based technology. I guess the Engineers are studying them, but they don’t make a lot of sense to me. If everyone is wary of Rings, why do they use them?

          ~Oops. I already talked about that. Hee-hee…

          ~Anyway, the reason we came to this particular mountain was to counter Yolk. That creep will know when I’m using my cards because of the Yolk Device in my eye, but in a massive and busy city full of people under his control, everyone will be tripping over each other trying to find me. It’s almost too funny if not for that creep!~

         “So, is the coast clear Sonic?” Rosy asked looking up from where she sat on a cold and damp stone floor. Eclipsed sunlight fell on her as it cast her in the shadow of trees and steel bars. Sonic stood against the wall of which the bars were the top of below the walkway of the city above.

         “No one around here is scrambling around like when we ran into town,” Sonic assured. He was not feeling very patient though and started tapping his foot. Rosy’s cheeks puffed up at the display, but she quickly smiled.

         “I get it Sonic,” Rosy laughed as she withdrew her cards from the waterproof case they were stored in. Carefully she shuffled them and handled them tenderly. “But you can’t forget that you have to teach me how to use Rings to repair things. This ground is going to be awful for my cards and I can’t stand treating them badly. They’re kind of like my oldest friends.”

         “We’ll worry about that after we get out of this mess. I can already see people starting to act weird.”

         “Tee-hee!”

          ~It’s so exciting! Yolk couldn’t possibly see me from that small planet blocking the sun. But there are so many people here, and autogolems too. Once I start my reading, they’ll be scrambling to find us, and their sheer numbers could prove to be a problem. But it’ll be fun either way, as long as we don’t get caught.

          ~Let’s see, I’ve touched my cards to my left eye as the Yolk device there should help attune me to the one Sonic and I are looking to break. Now I just need to read what my cards tell me. And yup! I’ve got it!~

         “Okay Sonic, we can go!” Rosy declared cheerfully as she put her cards away, case and all into the puffy sleeve of her leotard.

         “Finally,” Sonic remarked and offered her a hand. “I was starting to get way too bored standing around.”

         “I didn’t take that long Sonic.”

         Rosy puffed her cheeks playfully up and Sonic smirked as he pulled her to her feet. Neither had the time to say anything however as the entire chamber, save the side walls, they were in was lifted by one of the shifting blocks the city was built on.

         “Uh-oh!” Sonic exclaimed as the throngs of people in the streets set their eyes on him and Rosy.

         “Whoops!” Rosy exclaimed alongside Sonic as the Yoluku Device that replaced her left iris identified her even without Yoluku’s brainwashing.

         “Run!” both hedgehogs shouted as they took off through the city streets. It was not long until they found themselves under attack by autogolems armed with machine guns.

         “We have to get out of the city!”

         “Way ahead of you kid!”

         “That’s the problem Sonic!”

          ~Ooh~! I’m messing up already. Sonic has chided me before for how I bounce when I land if I don’t uncurl, but it’s mostly proven useful as I can’t bounce off walls and nearly everything else the way he can yet while running. But in this shifting city that’s starting to become a problem. I’m falling behind, and– Ah!~

         The road rose up before Rosy and cut her off from Sonic as another one shoved her clear under the first and back into the waterways beneath the city. What light filled the waterways currently was only the blue glow of the geometric lines adorning the shifting blocks. The blocks continued to shift, and soon Rosy found sunlight and a way back up to the surface. A way blocked by a plethora of autogolems that spotted her instantly.

         “That’s not fai~r!” Rosy cried and took off again, trying to navigate the shifting underground labyrinth of tree roots, lost laboratories and classrooms, and the waterways of a long-forgotten civilization.

          ~I know I can find Sonic easily enough once I get out, but this really sucks. He may not be able to trust in me to make my way out on my own. I have to prove to it to him though. I’m not going to let this city beat me. It’s too much fun. The way it’s always shifting about I bet there are all sorts of hidden stores too that you may only ever see once. Ooh~! I’d love to try and find them all and buy souvenirs from each of them.

          ~Tee-hee! Listen to me go on about shopping. I have to get out of here first and catch up with Sonic!~

         Perhaps blessed with the greatest luck in the world, or by the gods themselves, Rosy eventually found everything she wanted. A way out. A tiny and adorable shop full of the cutest antiques. Even Sonic in the courtyard before the isolated shop.

         “Sonic!” Rosy shouted at his back as she emerged. He looked back at her in surprise, and his gaze was joined by Blister the Mouse as she peaked around the blue hedgehog.

         “Hmm~ What have we here, Mr. Sonic? It looks like your cute little companion caught up on her own.”

         “Urk,” Sonic grunted while gritting his teeth at the sudden change in situation.

         “I recognize that voice,” Rosy remarked and held a finger to her lips. “You’re Blister, the sky pirate that attacked us.”

         “Oh, you remembered so easily,” Blister swooned with a scheming air.

         “Just ignore her, Amy,” Sonic advised. “Ignore her and run. I’ll catch up with you later.”

         “Huh? Why Sonic? We should both be able to– ?!”

         “Hm. Hm. You really are a cute little flower,” Blister nodded approvingly as she poked Rosy's hips, letting her finger sink into the hedgehog girl.

         “Kya~!” Rosy yelped and jumped back. “When did–? Was that–?”

         “Hmm~ you didn’t know. Mr. Sonic must be terrible at introductions. I can as run as fast as he can.”

         “Not quite,” Sonic refuted and pulled Blister backwards by her pack. “I lost you last time while carrying this rascal. I can do it again just as easily.”

         “And I’ll just find you two again. Mr. Yoluku wants me to, so I will. And bringing him the cutie here–”

         “Rosy!” Rosy corrected the mouse woman. “Rosy the Rascal. I know I’m cute, but I still have a name too!”

         “Hmm~ a cute one too. Mr. Sonic really picked himself a nice flower.”

         “Wait a sec–”

         “I know! Right!” Rosy interrupted Sonic, her eyes lighting up as she pulled her balled-up hands close to her face. “And being Sonic’s girlfriend is every bit–”

         “We can drop it there Amy.”

         Cutting Rosy off, Sonic earned a pouting glare from Rosy and a curious look from Blister. One with a sinister cat like smile attached.

         “I don’t like that expression, Blister,” Sonic scowled and was met with Blister looking more sinister.

         “Hm. Hm. Yes. It’s such a shame Mr. Yoluku wants to separate you two. I bet it would be just as enjoyable watching the flowers bloom.”

         “Then why not just travel with us?”

         “Amy!”

          ~Tee-hee!

          ~It didn’t make sense to Sonic, but he had decided to start trusting me more. And even under Yolk’s control, Blister seemed really nice for a pirate. Plus, I’m sure she’s an ally!

          ~Unfortunately, even when I explained that Sonic and I are trying to get to Yolk to meet Yolk… Hrm, that’s too confusing. Anyway, we all have the same destination in mind, so it seemed like a good idea. Blister seemed bewildered by it though. I don’t know. It’s like she couldn’t figure it out with Yolk controlling her and ran away. Sonic scolded me after for it, saying we didn’t need to make it any easier on Yolk, but I think maybe that creep’s control on her isn’t as complete as it seems. I want to try rescuing her from him now.

          ~Before I can rescue Blister though, Sonic and I have to save everyone else here first since we know how. I can find the Yolk Device now. So that’s exactly what Sonic and me are going to do!~