“Can a part of the world be cursed?
If it is related to Rings, surely.
Rings are the curse upon which this world suffers.
They are evil, bringers of naught but misfortune.”

···

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

         A large splash marked Rosy’s fall, bottom first into a shallow pool upon one of countless step shelves that built up under the waterfall curtained cliffs. Finding herself stuck in the hidden mud she pouted at Sonic as he offered her his hand and a smirk.

         “You really are a rascal, you know?”

         “Ooh~! Just help me up Sonic!” Rosy whined in response to the laughter from her sole companion in the Far Lands.

         He did not need to be ordered by Rosy to help her from her quagmire, but he was not quick to do so either. Feeling herself going the wrong direction Rosy turned her pleading eyes onto Sonic. “Soni~c!”

         It was Rosy’s eyes though that held Sonic fast, even as the mud tried to pull Rosy under, for Rosy’s left eye was not possessed of a blue iris to match her right eye. Instead, there was at present a red, five-pointed star. It would have been encircled by a Ring of matching color but only two-fifths of a ring was present. However, a turning cog wheel that passed through the Ring made sure the star was imprisoned. The Ring and cog wheel union was also reflected in the water behind Rosy, as it could be seen as though it were imitating a rainbow as it encircled the sun eclipsing small planet in the reflected sky. The difference, and what had actually held Sonic’s attention fast was that the cog wheel was not turning.

         “Not good,” Sonic breathed out and rubbed the underside of his nose with a finger, a serious look on his face. One that Rosy ignored as she whined desperately as she found herself pulled in almost to her knees and armpits.

         “SO~NI~~C!!!!!”

Below the eclipsed sun a labyrinthine series of canyons
The outer most cliffs dressed fully in waterfalls
Hidden in the cliffs, ancient stone structures and ruins
An exposed hall behind a waterfall curtain
More a highway used by fast running red shoed feet
A white leotard washed clean in the waters beside

         “Amy!” Sonic tried to yell above the roar of the waterfalls as they crashed into the waters at the base of the cliffs. It was pointless however as there was no way Rosy could hear him where she swam beneath them.

         Where Rosy swam was unwise at best, the waters unquestionably turbulent from the constant downpour of water. She was almost impossible to make out in the mist borne of the waterfalls. Rosy was possessed of rather surprising strength however and Sonic’s speed she was granted through their Ring Bond she could turn towards swimming. As such, she was as fast in the water as she and Sonic were on land. Though she could hardly trip in the water and was far more capable below the surface than she was on land. As such, she swam faster than Sonic’s drowned out voice could reach her anyway.

         The Ring Bond however did something more between Sonic and Rosy than just share with her some of Sonic’s powers. Or perhaps it was because they shared more than one. Regardless, as Rosy swam she called upon that memory of Sonic’s speed her body possessed, and to her it was alike a golden glow in her heart that connected her to Sonic. As she embraced it, it was as though she could feel Sonic’s growing desperation.

         “Finally!” Sonic exclaimed as Rosy pulled herself out of the water and into the half-decayed tunnel he ran through. She was sopping wet as Sonic reached her, her leotard fully white again with no signs of mud. However, her pouting face assured she was still feeling quite fussy.

         “I’m still mad at you Sonic,” Rosy explained why her cheeks were puffed up as she shook herself off energetically before standing up. As she looked at Sonic again, her expression was far softer and there was sympathy in her eyes. “Sorry to make you wait though. What’s wrong?”

         “I think our old friend in front of the sun is up to something.”

          ~I might have messed up again. Ooh~! I’m making a habit out of it because I’m too clumsy with Sonic’s speed. I’ve been focusing so much on running that I didn’t notice Sonic’s concern sooner. Ooh~! Sonic’s going to call me a bad girlfriend at this rate!

          ~What has Sonic so concerned? It’s the planet in the sky. The one that blocks the sun and keeps the world in a constant eclipse. There’s a super big Red Gear Ring behind it, just like the one in my eye, but normally if you can see it the gear should be turning. That it’s stopped has Sonic worried that the creep who is asleep up there is up to something.

          ~I say he’s asleep, but…~

         :Guessing games are fun, don’t you think so my Medium?:

         Having moved to a more isolated room full of mushrooms in contrast to the green vegetation outside of the cliffs, Rosy sat with her legs shaped like a “W” and a set of tarot cards before her. She had them positioned around a Ring she had laid on the ground and had a look of concentration on her face. A look that the pleasing to the ears voice in her head laughed at with the most beautiful sound.

         :I do enjoy watching you try, but you and the Dirt Dweller prefer more physical games normally, do you not?:

         “Sonic,” Rosy whined as she drew another card from her deck and placed it beside the Ring making a simple pattern with her cards. “He’s being really loud! I know it’ll help me ready the Ring for dowsing the location of the Red Gear Ring here, but he’s such a creep and it’s so wrong he has such a nice voice!”

         :I am a god, my Medium.:

         “Just ignore him,” Sonic advised Rosy as he leaned over her with a hand pressed against a wall to balance himself. “He’s not down here and should be glad he isn’t. Cause unfortunately for ole Eggs Benedict, I prefer to scramble my eggs.”

         Rosy could not help but snicker at Sonic’s quip and tried in vain to hide her smile. One that shifted from laughter to satisfaction as she placed down another card from her deck. “Done!”

         :And just in time to be too late. How completely amusing!:

         Before Rosy could ask, she saw the answer to her question clear as day. Golden motes of light like the ones left behind from collected Rings were rising up all around her and from everywhere. It was like a swarm of fireflies had carpeted the entire Zone and all woke up at once. And it was beautiful to be hold.

         “A Ring Shift, now?” Sonic questioned the event with a tone that did not seem to appreciate the beauty of the scene he found himself in.

         “Is it going to take us elsewhere?” Rosy asked as she gathered up her cards and shoved them into one of the puffy sleeves of her leotard.

         “You know I can’t answer that,” Sonic remarked as he looked about with futility, refusing to acknowledge that the situation had gotten the better of him. “A Ring Shift could be moving the whole Zone, bringing an ancient memory of the Rings to life, or merging a new Zone into this one. But no one can say until it’s started.”

         :I can,: the voice inside Rosy’s head suggested, though it had grown almost inaudible since she put her tarot cards away and stopped her divination. Naturally, Rosy ignored it, a task made easier as Sonic sneezed, and the motes of light turned from gold to red.

          ~A Ring Shift is a perfectly natural event. If you’ve ever seen a map of the world or seen it from space, Ring Shifts are why it never looks the same for long. Our world is like a stack of pancakes, which I would love some pancakes right now. Tee-hee~♥ my appetite aside, a Ring Shift either shuffles up the stack of pancakes, but usually just in small areas. Though it can change whole parts of continents and more. But it’s thanks to Ring Shifts that we know the world is like a stack of pancakes. Well, and Ring Gates.

          ~Ooh~! This isn’t the time to think about Ring Gates, this Ring Shift isn’t natural. The motes of light from the Rings should never turn red, but I don’t know what it means or if my memory loss is why I don’t.~

         All around her and Sonic as Rosy tried to wrap her thoughts around the unnatural Ring Shift, the Zone changed. From out of the waterfalls steam powered manufacturing plants burst forth like suddenly grown coral. Metal bridges and catwalks decorated in beacon lights and warning signs appeared out of thin air, sometimes connecting the factories, and sometimes connecting nothing. The vegetation of the Zone both receded at the arrival of the Zone of manufacturing plants while also growing over them, the mushrooms within the cliffs finding new homes in the factories. It was total chaos, but chaos that eventually ended and marked the transformation of the Zone complete.

         Running out onto a steel and wire bridge that took them from behind the waterfall curtained cliffs and up to nowhere but a great view, Sonic and Rosy took it in. A view marked by a red sky full of giant turning gears to match the countless that filled the Zone. They seemed useless in the steam powered Zone, yet the clockwork machinations and steam powered machinations, like the Zone itself, existed harmoniously in a Ring created miracle.

         :Not as smooth as I was hoping,: the voice in Rosy’s head laughed sleepily. :But this little toy box should keep you entertained for a while. And remember my Medium, until you find my device, the Red Gear Ring as you call them, everything under this red sky is mine to control. I do hope you’ll provide me with an entertaining dream…:

          ~Listening to that creep’s voice in my head, I really think Sonic and I need to learn a lot more about him. About him and the Far Lands. Because if he can do this… Well, Sonic and I will just have to make sure he doesn’t. We just have to figure out how he did and undo it! I just hope it wasn’t because I was throwing a fit when I should have been helping Sonic find the Red Gear Ring in this Zone…~