“The most fundamental truth.
This world is made up of Rings. They affect every aspect of our lives.
How cursed we are.”

···

♪ ~ [The Riders Boon ~ Tsuyoshi Sekito ~ A REALM REBORN: FINAL FANTASY XIV Original Soundtrack]

         “GYA!” Rosy cried out as a stone fist collided with her and sent her tumbling down a natural staircase of shelf like cliffs. However, it was no staircase that any being save the most enormous of gods could ever use.

A natural maze of towering cliffs
Waterfalls filling pools in great natural shelves
Vegetation having found root everywhere
Ancient stone ruins covered in a blanket of nature
Sentinels of stone with anchor like silhouettes
Trespassers waking the floating stone ghosts

         The blow would have surely been more than Rosy could have handled, the golem being twice her size and made of solid, animated stone. Fortunately for Rosy she was in possession of her fair share of Rings and at the moment of impact they scattered and bounced about energetically. Even lost from Rosy’s possession, and twinkling out of their own accord, they protected Rosy who took no damage as she tumbled uncontrollably down the natural, giant stairs. She finally came to a stop with her back against a cliff wall in a shallow pool well below where she had started. “Phooey!”

         With puffed up cheeks, Rosy stood up and looked back up at the cliff to where the golem that resembled person and anchor had struck her. The golem itself did not fare any better than her, and perhaps worse as Sonic struck it with his signature Spin Attack. His curled up in a tight ball form smashed into the green gem that rested where a neck would have attached a head and shattered it. The golem crumbled to dust in turn and Sonic turned his attention to Rosy.

         “That was a nasty spill,” Sonic greeted her with a laugh as he made his way down to the shallow pool where she waited for him.

         “Good thing I had some Rings on me,” Rosy laughed, her bad mood having already vanished. "I wonder how that works, how they make sure I don’t get hurt even when I get knocked around like that.”

         “Dunno,” Sonic shrugged and spied a trail of Rings twirling on their axes above the surface of the pool. “But you might as well make sure to have at least a couple more on you. And maybe it’s time we take a break.”

         “Huh?” Rosy tilted her head confused. “Why’s that Sonic? I’m not tired!”

         “I bet you are a little hungry though, and,” Sonic countered before pointing at Rosy’s waist with his thumb,” you probably need to take care of that."

         Looking down, Rosy’s cheeks puffed up again as she saw her leotard had torn from front to back on her side. “Ooh~! This sucks! That golem was total jerk!”

          ~I guess some explanation is in order. After all, it’s not like everyone sees moving statues every day, or gets punched by them. But fortunately, I was holding some Rings when I was.

          ~You see, one of the really cool things that Rings can do is protect you from getting hurt. I don’t know how it works, but you’ll drop them all if you would have gotten hurt and they disappear if you don’t pick them back up. Sonic says when that happens that they just become part of the planet again so it’s okay, but it still sucks getting punched by one of these golems!

         ~The golems? I don’t know anything about them either. When you break one a little twinkling light like a seed comes out of them. And I know they’re seeds because when they touch the ground they suddenly bloom into a really big flower with a bloom made entirely of light that’s kind of like a closed pot. If one of those seeds land on you, you get pulled into the flower and it’s hard to get out. Sonic has had to help me more than once now. But that’s about all I know about the golems. It’s not like with the Rings where Sonic knows more than enough to help me out.

          ~The most important thing though about Rings is that Sonic and I can use them in place of food. It’s kind of hard to explain, but we kind of take the Ring’s energy into ourselves and that keeps us full like we’ve just eaten. Or maybe it repairs our bodies like it does other things.

          ~You want to see! Tee-hee! First Sonic and I should make our way inside. A lady shouldn’t be caught outdoors tending to her clothes~♥~

♪ ~ [FFVII REMAKE: (Home Away from Home) ~ Nobuo Uematsu ~ FINALFANTASY VII Original Soundtrack]

         “Really Amy?” Sonic asked frustratedly as a circular door of ancient wood was closed in his face.

         “Tee-hee~♥” Rosy giggled from the other side of the door. “You’re welcome to peak if you want~♥”

         “Never mind,” Sonic groaned and turned his attention to his surroundings.

Tunnel like hallways hidden within the cliffs
Ancient stone buildings of unknown use
Home to and furnished by mushrooms now
Small, large, and enormous in plentiful colors and shapes
Hints of sapient life buried under roots and moss.

         Lit by glowing mushrooms, the small circular room that Rosy found herself in might have once been a bedroom based on the bed sized shelf opposite the door. Stepping back from the door, movement caught her eye as it looked like it came from the other side.

         “Is that…,” she began and stepped back towards the door.

         Reaching up, Rosy traced a finger down the face of the door and dislodged dirt, dust, moss, and small mushrooms alike. As she did so, she quietly noted the smoothness of the surface of the door as well as the movement reflected in it. Movement that belonged to her own reflection which promptly excited her.

         “It’s a mirror!”

         Having seemingly forgotten why she had isolated herself from Sonic, no less went inside to begin with, Rosy quickly cleaned the door off to reveal the ancient mirror affixed to the back of it. It was an impressive one as well. One large enough for her to easily see herself fully in, and surprisingly well preserved enough to see herself clearly. In that moment, her enthusiasm passed.

         As she looked at herself in the mirror, her reflection looked back at her. Like herself, Rosy’ reflection was possessed of a problem in her left eye.

         It was an odd thing in her eye replacing her left iris. It was a red Ring which encircled a five-pointed star. But it was not complete. It was but two-fifths of a whole ring, its ends jagged like broken glass. Incomplete as it was, the turning cogwheel that passed through the Ring made sure it was complete in an artificial way.

          ~The Ring in my eye I call a Red Gear Ring. It’s frustrating having it there as I don’t know how it got there. I mean, I kind of do.

          ~Asides from sometimes replacing my left iris, there’s one in the sky behind the small planet that blocks the sun all the time. It’s hard to see though cause it’s kind of see through like a rainbow. But there are a whole lot more of them than that too. According to Sonic they allow the creep up there to mind control people and that it’s only through our Ring Bond that he can’t control me. So, it’s definitely a bad Ring. Though it’s funny that regular old Rings are protecting me again. They protect me from harm, and hunger, and even mind control. Sonic says they can protect me from poison too. Though don’t tell anyone, but hedgehogs are pretty good against poisons and the sort. They don’t really bother us!~

         “Aren’t you done yet?” Sonic asked pushing open the door and forcing Rosy to jump back and being a bother himself. More than he realized as Rosy’s face flushed as she looked at him, her leotard in her hands dangling in front of her. “Oops!”

         “So~ni~c!” Rosy cried out and shoved her garment up into Sonic’s face to block his line of sight. “I asked you if you were going to peak! Not walk in on me! You shouldn’t walk in on a lady! Especially since you know I can’t repair my clothes if I’m wearing them!”

         “Gah! Amy! It was an accident!”

         Scrambling to explain himself, Sonic simultaneously tried to retreat and was easily shoved out of the small room. As soon as he was clear of the door, Rosy’s leotard was pulled out of his eyes and disappeared behind the slammed shut door.

         “Stick to peaking, Sonic!” Rosy’s voice shouted at him playfully from the other side.

         “Ugh, she’s such a pain sometime,” Sonic groaned and scratched at an itch in his ear. “Whatever.”

          ~Ooh~! That Sonic! He always retreats from my advances but will just walk in like that! I’m so embarrassed! He’s just supposed to peak unless I invite him in. Hmph!

          ~Oh right! My clothes!~

         No longer distracted by her thoughts or Sonic, Rosy took a Ring and pushed it into her leotard. Disappearing with the same twinkling of golden motes of light as though she had absorbed it, the Ring vanished, her leotard magically restored to a like new state.

          ~Ooh~! Sonic isn’t always good at explaining things! I can give a Ring to my clothes, and it’ll repair them, and according to Sonic it doesn’t use up a Ring like a Ring Bond. But he won’t explain why it works. At best he just says as long as something was made with Rings it can be repaired with Rings. He says it’s like adding ingredients to a cake when you’re making it. I guess it makes sense, but clothes aren’t cake.

          ~Well, it’s fine. Even if I don’t understand I can keep my clothes brand new! And that means this cute leotard can hug me all over at full strength! Tee-hee~♥ I love how it feels and wish Sonic would hug me tight too! I wish I could remember where I got it so I can thank whoever gave it to me.~

         Emerging from the room, Rosy clasped her hands behind her back and leaned over playfully to look at Sonic. Laying on the ground propped up on an elbow, Sonic was still scratching at an itch in his ear.

         “Did you peak~♥” Rosy teased and received an over the shoulder eyeroll for her fun.

         “Make up your mind already,” Sonic sighed and rose to his feet.

         “Aw! Come on Sonic!” Rosy laughed and gave Sonic a playful shove while trying to hide her laughter. “It’s just a little fun! And I like the idea that you’d peak at me.”

         “Keep daydreaming, you rascal,” Sonic shook his head and turned to leave.

         “I will~♥” Rosy giggled cheerfully as she chased after Sonic as always.