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

♪ ~ [Dream Weaver ~ Shunsuke Tsuchiya ~ Another Eden Original Soundtrack]

          ~Archidemia Zone.

          ~During Sonic’s and mine time here, it’s really lived up to its name as being a bunch of islands for learning. I’ve learned a lot too. Though I don’t think Sonic has learned what he was hoping to. He already knows a lot of things, and there are a lot of things he knows that he isn’t telling me. From ways to use Rings to why he knows so much about the people fighting each other in the Far Lands. Of course, he refuses to learn how to swim too. Ooh~! That Sonic! Why does he have to be stubborn about that?

          ~None of that matters right now though. As I said, Archidemia Zone is a Zone of learning, so naturally, it was time for me to learn about the people who Sonic and I have to call enemies. The Orthodoxy. The Machine Knights. The Knights of the Sword. Rapier.~

A clockwork skeleton.
Gleaming white armor like bubbles stretched upon it.
A tiny head with glowing ivory eyes glaring out.
A rush of steam and a crackling of lightning.
The occasional loose arc of electricity from a blade of light.
An autogolem knight.
Rapier the White.

         “Rosy! Just run!”

         Rosy had never heard Sonic treat a situation so badly before. But the autogolem that stood before them on one of Archidemia Zone’s many city streets gave off a chilling aura. Standing at one- and three-quarter meters they were imposing to the two hedgehogs. And the feminine voice they spoke with was one firm and commanding of utmost respect and obedience.

         “So scared to face me now that the Medium has woken, Sonic the Hedgehog?” Rapier asked taking a casual step forward.

         “Don’t be ridiculous,” Sonic quipped with a teeth gritting smirk. “I just don’t want her getting caught up in the mess I’m going to make turning you into scrap.

         “Now Amy! Run!”

         Ordered again by Sonic, Rosy took off fleeing down the winding and moving city streets.

         “Wait!” Rosy asked herself and skidded to a stop looking behind her at the path that had now changed. “Why am I running. I’m supposed to be helping Sonic. And I heard about the Machine Knights…”

         Rosy trailed off as she heard the clinking of metal around her and found herself surrounded by autogolems. Unlike the less characterized autogolems of the Engineers however, these autogolems all where machines of steam built in and around a knight’s great helm. The ones currently closing in on her were of two varieties. One with four spider legs and a bottom mounted sword, and one with bumble bee like wings and a spiked ball mounted on its bottom.

         “Hee-hee…,” Rosy laughed with a nervous grin. We can’t be friends, can we?

         “Of course not!” Rosy whined as the autogolems moved to attack her. A mistake that resulted in a pink ball of hedgehog tearing through them with ease. Except for one flying autogolem that Rosy landed on gracefully as she uncurled after recoiling from impact with another.

         “Now to figure out where Sonic went.”

         Holding a hand to her brow, Rosy peered around the city in hopes of spotting Sonic. A twinkling of lights from below her though caught her attention and she looked down.

         “What are those?”

         Rosy asked as teardrops of light in myriad colors with large eyes and fairy wings flew up from the autogolems she had destroyed. Noticing her looking at them, they panicked and bolted in every which direction.

         “That’s–!?” Rosy started until a sonic boom tore through the air and near knocked her from her perch. Bolts of lightning tearing through the city and a roaring of thunder left her shocked with mouth agape. “That’s not… That’s not Sonic and the knight, is it?

         “Ooh~! I need to find out! Sorry little guy, but I can’t have you getting in my way either.”

         Jumping up, Rosy curled into a ball and smashed back down onto the autogolem. Ricocheting away from the destruction she wrought, Rosy uncurled as she fell back to the city streets below and watched the odd creature flee from the now destroyed autogolem. “So, they are being controlled by them… right?”

         With no time to ponder it longer, Rosy curled back into a tight ball and bounced off the ground before uncurling and chasing after the lightning.

         There was little chance though that Rosy could match the speed Sonic and the Machine Knight were traveling at in the peculiar city. She only really had one way to try and catch up and reached for the shoulder puff of her leotard.

         :Are you looking for help, so you can partake in the fun?: the voice of Benedict Yoluku invaded Rosy’s thoughts as her hand squeezed around her shoulder puff and the card case within.

         “Yolk…!” Rosy breathed out the name in surprise. Turning her eyes towards the sky, the small planet that she at least knew bore Yoluku’s name blocked the sun as it always did but seemed to smile mockingly as it looked down on her.

         “No!” Rosy shook her head and gripped her cards tighter. “There are plenty of others who can help me and my cards. And this isn’t about having fun. It’s about helping Sonic. He’s in trouble. I can feel it.”

         :Of course, he’s in trouble,: Yoluku’s friendly and pleasing voice agreed with a laugh. :As you run through the city fending off meager machine knights piloted by the Children of Gaia, he does battle with one of the Knights of the Swords. The beings who turned the Rings against me of all beings and forced me to my slumber in this boring seal. He stands little chance against such a being. Though, the Dirt Dweller may amuse me by defeating them.

         :Yes! Yes! That’s a wonderful idea! You must hurry my Medium. Save your precious Dirt Dweller. I have a new plan to be entertained and need a moment to prepare. So, I bid you my permission this one time to listen to the lesser beings for their aid. I must prepare a grand game to entertain us both after all!:

         Laughing with pleasant to listen to glee, Yoluku’s voice faded from Rosy’s ears, but her expression said she found the pleasing nature of his voice unpleasant. “Stay out of my head you creep. I didn’t invite you in.

         “Ah! Not now Rosy! You have to go help Sonic!”

          ~Letting myself get distracted by Yolk is disgusting! That creep makes my skin crawl! But right now I have to help Sonic, and with him occupied doing whatever it is he’s up to I can listen to my cards clearly. But it’s weird. I can get an idea where Sonic and the knight are, but tracking the knight… It’s kind of like predicting where lightning will strike when they aren’t matching pace with Sonic. What are they?

          ~Not again! It doesn’t matter. I don’t have time to get distracted! I can predict their movements and that means I can help Sonic!~

         True to her intentions, Rosy ran as fast as she could without losing traction or tripping over her own feet. The ever-shifting nature of the ancient ruins that the filled the zone made it more difficult than it need be, the blocks covered in geometric patterns of blue glowing lines refusing to stay still for long. That, and the Orthodoxy autogolems known as machine knights were hounding her every step.

         “I just want to help Sonic, you jerks!”

         Sonic was not necessarily in the need of rescuing that Rosy acted like he was, but the level of fight he and Rapier were engaged with was well above the pink hedgehog. Siphoning as much energy as he could from the Rings he carried, gathered, and recollected whenever Rapier scored a blow against him and scattered them from his person, Sonic ran at full gait engulfed in an aura of blue light. He could not outpace Rapier however who ran with a similar aura of white light, and occasionally leapt ahead flashing like a bolt of lightning before reappearing with a thrust that Sonic could barely defend against by curling into a tight Spin Attack. Occasionally he mistimed it however which is why he had to recollect so many Rings. Things changed the most recent time, however.

         Leaping between the awning and tray of a food cart, Sonic felt his spines and hairs stiffen as electricity filled the air. A hiss of steam and a flash of lightning resulted in Rapier appearing before him from a steam cloud born of her armor and crackling with electricity. Sonic could only grit his teeth and brace for Rapier’s next attack, one that did not come.

         “Leave Sonic alone, you big meanie!” Rosy shouted as she uncurled after recoiling from her collision with Rapier’s side.

         “A-Amy!” Sonic stammered in surprise as Rapier flew off and crashed into a nearby building. Composing himself, he could barely contain his worry founded anger as he yelled at Amy. “Didn’t I tell you to run?”

         “Well yeah, but you didn’t say I’d have to fight a bunch of autogolems, and my girlish intuition told me you could use a little help.”

         “Not as much as you, Lady Medium.”

         Rapier’s voice emerged from the rubble and was joined by a whip of electricity that arced straight for Rosy. With a squeak of surprise, she leapt up out of the way, not releasing her grip on her hidden away cards.

         “What is wrong with you anyway!” Rosy yelled as Rapier emerged from the rubble and her whip again became a sword of light. “What did Sonic and I do to deserve this type of treatment! I mean sure, I just hit you, but you were attacking Sonic!”

         “A hit you likely only managed due to the interference of Dreaded Yoluku.”

         “What? You know about Yolk?”

         “Of course, these tin cans know Amy,” Sonic sighed and placed a hand on his hip. His sudden casualness set Rapier on guard and he smirked. “That big egg in the sky and you being his unwitting mouthpiece is why we are even in this mess. Throw in my use of Rings and they think we’re in cahoots with that bad yolk.”

         “What? Why! Yolk’s a total creep and makes my skin crawl!”

         “Yet you speak as if you hear his voice,” Rapier assured Rosy of the dangers of her word choice.

         “That’s–”

         :Completely true.:

          ♪ ~ [Enemy’s Roar ~ Keiichi Okabe ~ SINoALICE Original Soundtrack]

         Rosy did not just hear the voice of Yoluku, she heard it from right next to her. Turning with wide-eyed surprise, she was unprepared as he poked her left eye and transformed her pupil to the Red Gear Ring that dwelled within.

         “Gah~!” Rosy screamed.

         :Please don’t resist, my amusing little Medium,: Yoluku asked, with a smile most charming in his young human face. One framed with golden Ring colored hair and home to beautiful blue eyes. :I want to share my wonderful plan after all, and you want to hear it too, do you not, Knight?:

         “Amy, resist him!” Sonic yelled at Amy who rose to her feet unsteadily clutching at her eye. She did not even realize why Sonic said as much and as she tried to ask, Yoluku continuing to speak with her voice revealing only she could see him.

         :After all, I know your plan with this amusing Zone. Luring the Engineers here with their thirst for knowledge and technology to destroy them in one swoop. How many of my Ring Gate Beacons have you destroyed to make this place?:

         “I will destroy everything of yours, Dreaded One.”

         :Even this precious, naïve, innocent, Medium?:

         “I will not hesitate if it means keeping you from this world and your seal maintained.”

         “Yeah, not happening,” Sonic interjected and slid himself between Rosy and Rapier defensively. “Like I’d let you hurt Amy.”

         :How noble of you, Dirt Dweller,: Yoluku laughed with Rosy’s voice.

         “Will you chase him out already, Amy!” Sonic yelled back as Rosy looked at him pleadingly, wanting to say, “I’m trying,” but only providing Yoluku a chance to speak again.

         :Don’t be so impatient, Dirt Dweller. My fun is only just beginning. This Zone after all is too unnatural for our world. It shifts and moves, but it is all contained, just like me. I believe it is time I free the Rings and save you two so you might humor me more.:

         “Wah~!” Rosy breathed out in relief as much as surprise while regaining control of her speech, only to fall to all fours. “Ow~! That creep! Why couldn’t I chase him out as easily as I did last time?”

         “It is likely your possession of Rings,” Rapier explained as she warily watched Rosy. “The Dreaded One, he is neither a god of Chaos nor Gaia, but this world’s sole god of Rings. One who controls the world and all in it through those wicked hoops of gold. An abomination that cannot be allowed to persist.”

         :Do not listen to her drivel my dear Medium,: Yoluku laughed as his visage knelt beside where Rosy still rested on all fours. :She is a dullard who does not appreciate me having a little fun. But she can’t stop me now.:

         Placing his hand over Rosy’s, Yoluku smiled and pressed down on the ground. :And now my plan!

         :Listen well, knight. I deem the Engineers the allies of these two and save them all from your trap. Now, amuse me in your humorous attempts to stop me. And of course, you as well Dirt Dweller.:

         “Don’t tell me–?” Sonic gasped as motes of twinkling gold light started to rise from literally everywhere. “A Ring Shift!”

          ~I didn’t understand what Sonic meant. But I saw him and that knight both start to make for me, so I touched my cards again, and predicted where I needed to be so Sonic could save me as the Zone vanished and we disappeared into a new one.~