#this collision nonsense is the absolute worst though

[streetkid-named-desire]

[early-sxnsets]

Moving In

Archive Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18672919/chapters/44282941

Chapter 1/12 of Proximity (The Collision of Lonely Men)

Word Count: 2289

Chapter Summary: Simon’s introduction to campus isn’t quite what he expected. Especially not the roommate...

I see the gates before I see anything else. The heavy wrought iron pillars, hanging open in the centre of the long traveling brick walls.

Of course, there's a flashy, decorative, wood-carved sign settled into the stone, reading the school's name in a fine, spindly cursive. Watford Academy. Freshly painted in mustard and maroon, it stands out proudly from the old greyed brown stone.

I'm not far in before I'm stopped at what seems like a moat, blocked off by vehicle security. I lean out, giving my name before I'm let in with a wave.

“There it is," I whisper to myself, turning the wheel as I follow the winding path down campus. It really is gorgeous; bright green and lively, yet so ready for the season to turn. Given it's only a week before the fall semester begins, it's clear that the fading summer is still being clung to by students and faculty alike.

Manicured gardens, people wearing shorts. It's all reminiscent of warmer days.

I somewhat feel out of place now, given my choice of outfit. I'd worn my everyday best--button down, blazer, and corduroys, but looking around, it seems like even teachers have opted for the jeans and a light shirt look. Now I just seem like an arse.

As I slowly drive closer to the main grounds, I see signs guiding me around to the office, and finally to the main building. Even the lot seems stuffy--cobblestone is a nightmare to drive on. Maybe that's why rich bastards like to keep it.

Stepping inside, I'm hit with the aging scent of dust and antiques. At the desk sits a wound up secretary, typing away at her keys and even before I reach the table, she's eyeing me up and standing. “Mr. Snow?”

“Uh,” I say (brilliantly). “Yes, that's me.”

She seems unamused, as she probably should be, and waves me back with her towards what I assume is the Dean's office. We go through three sets of doors, turning down corridors that I definitely won't remember before stopping off outside a room as she's presenting me with yet another secretary. He looks up, then towards the woman who brought me, nodding at her as he looks back. “Go on in, Mr. Snow. He's been expecting you.”

I can't help but feel like I'm 15 again, going to the headmaster's office after punching another student. It's awfully grim to hear yourself called into an office, regardless of what reason.

I open the door slowly, peeking inside and seeing the dean sitting upright. He scribbles something down, looking from his computer monitor before nodding his head towards me. “Ah, come in,” he says, pulling himself away from his work. I'm a bit shocked at first, watching him approach me and offer his hand. He's quite a zealous grip.

“My apologies if I'm a minute or two late…”

“Nonsense.” He seems quite charming, yet I can't help but be distracted by his green suit. “Why don't we take this outside? I've been cooped up all day.”

More walking? Brilliant.

I'm compliant, nonetheless. I follow along as he brushes past all the doors I'd walked through and out onto the large stretch of the lively grounds. “Did you have a chance to visit campus before today?” He begins as we stroll, the occasional person waving at him in passing.

“No sir, I haven't.”

“Don't call me sir. David works just fine.”

Dean David. I acknowledge him with a nod, eyes following the curve of the sidewalk as we head around a building.

“Right, well, since you're new, you should get well acquainted with the land. It's valuable to respect the age of the buildings while also seeing our times change here. New technology, old feeling.”

Ah yes, the classic gimmick speech. It's almost like a selling to the school, despite the fact that I already accepted the job. Although, granted, it is a lovely school. State of the art facilities, well regarded educators, and now, I suppose, it's got me (I really wouldn't consider myself something to brag over, though). What I do get a tad over excited over is the housing.

“Where will I be staying?” I slip casually into conversation, noticing a group of students spill out of what seems to be the library. The dean turns to me, his hands behind his back.

“Right. About that. You, of course, are housed under us, as you chose to be, but we're having a bit of a shortage on single adult living arrangements. You will still get an individual bedroom, but the living space, kitchen, and bath will be shared with another on-campus faculty member.”

Oh.

“That's no problem,” I lie, forcing a dismissive smile. I've shared plenty of flats in my life, but it'd be a lie to say I'd be thrilled to share another. “Are the arrangements already made?”

“Yes, yes. There's a teacher roughly your age that was housed alone in a two-room flat, so you'll be with him. It is, though, on the bottom floor of the main dorms building, so the pre-agreed responsibilities remain.”

Ah yes, the first aide knowledge and practically going back to being an RA. Still, I'm willing to live like that if it means I can have a place to stay.

“Lovely. That works out fine.” I give him yet another smile, punching myself internally. Lovely. I will absolutely adore this.

We speak briefly about my position, finding ourselves back at the main building before he shows me up to the guidance office. It's small and dark, and there seems to be only one other counselor. “Your office will be in here. Feel free to personalize it, just make it appropriate.” He opens the door, revealing a private room. There's an older leather couch, shelved walls, and a desk set up with a computer. It's plain. It's stuffy. It's boring.

“This is perfect.” I should join a lying Olympics. “Thank you for the tour.”

“Of course!” He clasps a hand on my shoulder, making me recoil instantaneously. “I'm glad to know my students will have a second social worker to rely on this year.”

Ah. Great. One of two.

I thank him again, nodding to him as he walks off before letting my shoulders sag. Relenting to the realization that I have no other choice in office, I flick on my light. It's old, and it  hums like it hasn't been checked since the 1960s. In fact, my whole office doesn't look like it's been of use since Monroe died. Well, all but the computer, but by the looks of that, they put that in no more than a month ago.

I step inside, inhaling the masked hints of mildew. The only natural light comes from the small window side window, overlooking the grounds below me.

Everything's too posh--too constrictive. I've never done well with rigidity, even after all those years with Aggie's family.

I think of them briefly, hand running over my mobile as it sits in my pocket and stays as silent as always. There's no reason for her to text me, or really me to text her, but there's the settling ache of the break up still wearing tight in my throat. I don't think she'd like it here. She'd turn her nose up and say something about the ancient feeling of it all, then question why I took the job.

In all honesty, I wonder why I took it, too. I spent so long fighting a uniform and regular schedule that this might as well be my worst nightmare.

Or maybe that's why I took it.

I don't have to be the same Simon Snow out here. I don't have to sit with kids, telling them I was in their shoes while reliving house-jumping and couch surfing. I don't have to scrape together pennies for dinner. Fuck it, I don't know if I have to scrape together anything, after this. Solid salary, only a small cut for housing and meals. A steal, dare I call it. I can save up for years, then fuck off after I'm tired of posh arseholes telling me their father's sending them off to a nice London school, even with shit grades.

I look around, swiping my hand over my desk as I sigh.

It's only a few years.

I turn off the headache inducing light, reminding myself to buy a lamp to replace it as I find my way back downstairs. As I'm gripping the front door's handle, I hesitate, then ask the secretary where the dorm building I'm housed in is. She looks at me, the bored glaze over her eyes still holding as she tells me where to go. I try not to get overwhelmed (and fail quickly) as I hop back into my car and follow her directions. Eventually, though, I see it.

The lot's across the street, and I've got too many boxes for one trip, so I stick to the lightest two and my bag for the moment being.

Room 106. Room 106. Room 10… aha. Room 106. There's a small slotted identifier outside the room, reading who's inside, as well as a little drop down note.

Professor Pitch

Any and all funny business is taken seriously. Do not approach unless serious matters must be attended to.

It's in a scribbled longhand, unlike the professionally engraved name placard. Makes me wonder what sort of bloke this Professor Pitch is.

I don't have to wonder much longer, because he's opening the door before I even get to knock, staring down at me.

I say staring down lightly, although usually I don't get stared down at. I'm nowhere close to towering, but I'm not particularly the shortest one of the group either. Yet, he's got a good few inches over me, making him probably a few over 6 foot.

“Hi,” I start, a little stunned as his eyes drag over me. I don't think I've ever met anyone as judgmental as he seems to be. Sharp, studying eyes and dark brows knit. He's got the slickness and lanky stature comparable of a fox and a skin of warm brown. He reminds me of every speech teacher that belittled me through primary school.

He sneers in response, letting go of the door as his arms cross. The button down he's got on pulls a bit at his elbows, but his trousers seem perfectly fit. Like they're tailored, or some other posh crap. “You must be Mr. Snow,” he begins, voice spitting out in a tight, aristocratic hum. “I'm unimpressed, to say the least.”

I nearly choke up at that alone, jaw falling open at him.

I scratch everything I'd thought about this campus being livable. If there's an epitome of living in your posh, little bubble, this dick take the bloody crown. “I…”

He steps aside, eyes rolling as his arms pull closer into his chest. “Don't touch anything,” he hisses, ”just put your shit in your room. We can figure out arrangements at another time. I'd rather not bore myself with that now, given I have lesson plans to attend to.”

My eyes follow him in, but my body doesn't. Not for a few seconds, anyway, until I can manage to pull myself forward and inside.

It's minimalistic, to say the least. The lack of all but one window really doesn't help with the entire stuffy vibe of the room. It's a cross between modern and classic goth. Neo-gothic? Sleek vampire?

I dare a quick look back at him, swallowing as I nod my head towards the hallway. “Which, uh… which one's mine?”

“Closest on your left,” he says, borderline emotionless as he closes the front door behind us.

With that, I'm inside. It's not terrible, just… blank.

I try to avoid him on my few trips back and forth to my car, emptying the boxes into my compact bedroom space.

In moments like these, I think of what Ebb would've told me. “Sit back on the bed, close your eyes, and count ten things that make it worse. Then count the things that don't make you sad right now. There's never fully bad and fully good. Grey is grey.”

My eyes open slowly, scanning over my books as I exhale

Every building feels stuffy. I'm somehow back to the uni-life with a God-forsaken roommate. It's a decent hike to the nearest city. I miss having someone to talk to. My office feels like it's a broom closet. I'm hungry. I'm extremely out of place here. This bed doesn't feel incredibly comfortable. I don't know the wifi yet. I really wish I had someone to call right now.

There. 10 shitty things.

My attention trails out to my window as I think, watching the sun set into a purple-ish orange and filtering into my room. It scatters onto the hardwood floors and up my white sheets, making my skin nearly golden in the light. I smile at my hands, even though it's just for a second.

The campus is gorgeous. I don't have to worry about the majority of my meals. I didn't have too much shit to carry. I can start fresh. The season is lovely right now. I'm warm and safe. I have a roof over my head and a bedroom to myself. I have a stable job. I'm not held down by an uncomfortable relationship anymore…

I stop for the 10th, thinking it over for a while before it hits me.

I have a bag of crisps in my bag. There's the 10th.

I grab it out, pulling it open and happily shoving a mouthful in as I watch the sun sink further towards the earth.

Well, it can only get better from here.

[thestoryweneededtowrite]

Javid Titanic AU - Part 31

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28 Part 29 Part 30

Lifeboat 14 picked up four people from the water that night. The first man had been pulled into the boat before it had found Jack and Davey; he wouldn’t see morning. After half scrambling, half been hauled into the boat, the first thing Jack did was make sure his sleeves covered his handcuffs. His wrists were burning with white hot agony but he couldn’t let the officers see the cuffs – they didn’t need a reason to throw him back overboard. Then he turned back to Davey, watching as he curled into a foetal position, trying to make himself as small as possible, on the floor of the boat. He didn’t have the energy to pull himself up onto a seat.

Jack knew he shouldn’t, knew it was a risk, but he shuffled until he was beside Davey and pulled him into his arms with the last bit of strength that remained from the adrenaline of seeing the lifeboat. It felt so good to finally be holding him again.

If he’d been alive, Davey wouldn’t have cuddled so close, not in front of other people. But he didn’t feel alive. Everything was so cold, even now they were away from the water, and this wasn’t what life felt like. He wasn’t dead either, because this wasn’t a fiery hell and it wasn’t a cosy, comfortable heaven. So this was purgatory? An endless wait for an absolution that would never come. And he was happy to spent that wait curled up in Jack’s arms, because he could hear Jack’s heart beating and that was enough.

Jack was too cold to move. He held Davey close and tried not to worry that instead of a warm body, it felt like he was holding a corpse. The officers gave them a look of confusion, but passed over a pile of blankets. No one had the energy to be prejudiced. Jack ended up tucked up to his neck in wool, with a fur coat draped over the top of his head to keep the heat in. Davey refused to move his head from Jack’s chest and Jack wasn’t letting go of him for love nor money, so they just draped blankets over him until he was cocooned in fabric and could slowly start to feel the first tremours of warmth tingling in his fingertips.

They didn’t talk, too focused on trying to stay warm enough to keep breathing. There was nothing dry for them to wear so they were still in the sodden, frozen clothes they’d put on the day before, when life had seemed normal, and Davey was starting to shiver violently under the blankets. But Jack knew shivering was good – it meant Davey’s core body temperature was raising a little. He was starting to shiver a little himself, too, his teeth beginning to chatter.

The lifeboat continued on through the endless corpses that filled the ocean and Jack couldn’t bear to look over the side. He’d made friends aboard, down in Steerage, and he didn’t want to see any of them about there. The officer in charge continued to shout out, but his calls of ‘is there anyone alive out there’ was met with silence.

Only one other man was pulled from the water. He’d been balancing on a piece of wreckage from a staircase and he was in much the same state as Jack and Davey, his face gaunt and pale, his eyes uncomfortably prominent and ringed in red. He didn’t even know Davey was there for a while, until after about an hour when Davey wriggled up until he could rest his head on Jack’s shoulder and press a kiss to his neck, not quite having gained enough mental functions back to remember why he wasn’t allowed to kiss Jack in public. Jack returned the kiss with one of his own to Davey’s icicle-patterned hair. The man stared, stunned to see two men being so casually affectionate, but Jack met his eyes and challenged him to say anything. They’d been through enough that they deserved this and the man seemed to be able to tell. He looked away, not comfortable with it but not about to speak out either. Jack could respect that.

It had been a long day for them all. Davey hadn’t slept in 21 hours and in that time he’d renounced his family, slept with the love of his life twice, and more or less lived through the most terrifying experience he could imagine. His entire body was in pain from the enduring cold in his veins, his ribs still ached from his collision with the side of the lifeboat as he’d fallen, and he just wanted to rest. Jack did his best to tuck the blankets close around Davey and whispered nonsensical, comforting things to him as he drifted off to sleep against his shoulder to the sound of we’re gonna get our happily ever after, baby, I promise and this is all gonna be over soon and you’ll be warm again and I love you more than life itself. He wasn’t sure that Davey could really hear him, but he was going to repeat it every day from now on so there was time.

Jack was doing his best to ignore the pain in his wrists from where the handcuffs pinched. The metal had contracted in the cold and, whilst it was expanding a little and pulling at his skin as he started to warm up a little, the cuffs were leaving rings of fire. He just wanted them off but it clearly wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. The keys were likely lost to the ocean.

It was an eternity into infinity when they saw the lights on the horizon. Jack was certain it wasn’t real. The officers on the lifeboats had been waving green flares, their glow colouring everything, and he figured maybe that had affected his eyes. But the lights only got stronger and it became clear it was a ship. Jack didn’t pass the news on to Davey, not wanting to wake him when he finally looked so peaceful. He was breathing evenly and was as warm as it was possible to make him given the circumstances, so Jack figured it was alright even if he knew sleeping whilst hypothermic was unwise.

Jack just watched as the ship got closer and closer, trying to internalise that that was their salvation. That ship was going to pick them up and get them warm and take them to New York. The endless waiting could finally come to an end.

The rescue ship’s lights were burning brightly in the darkness, especially now the torches on most of the lifeboats had died out. Jack knew he wasn’t alone in watching as it drew towards them and eventually stilled a couple of hundred yards away. Then nothing happened. No noise and no movement. The Carpathia had arrived expecting a floundering ship, ready to rescue passengers from aboard. When they had reached the coordinates of the last known position of Titanic and found nothing but ocean, they’d stalled. Until a light from one of the lifeboats shone, a dull green spark from another flare, as it began to make its way towards Carpathia. Titanic had become wreckage and memory.

It took a long time for all of the survivors to make their way up to the deck of the Carpathia, gripping rope ladders with frozen fingers. As lifeboat 14 approached the ship, towing a collapsible lifeboat that couldn’t travel under its own steam and rescuing thirteen more passengers from an overturned boat being used as a raft, all of whom had the good sense to ignore the two men cuddled around each other in the corner, Davey slept on.

Moonlight turned to sunrise and, as light began to creep back over the scene, Jack could finally start to make out details of their night. There were a few pieces of rubble, some splintered boards or abandoned chairs floating on the water, but the bodies had drifted or drowned and Jack was darkly glad he didn’t have to see their faces in the daylight. Each body was a hundred connections, family and friends and loved ones who didn’t even know they were dead yet.

The worst was the ice. They were surrounded by icebergs, some several dozen feet high, and Jack couldn’t help but look at them all and wonder which one was guilty. Which innocuous looking piece of frozen water had decimated the souls aboard the Titanic and sunk her to the ocean floor. He didn’t want to think about it, instead focusing his attention on Davey.

Now that he could see things better, he was by no means comforted by the state of his lover, although he was sure he looked much the same himself. Davey was still so pale, with the faint bruise Esther’s slap had left now prominent on his cheek in a way that made Jack’s blood boil. Jack tugged the tartan blanket, as he now saw it was, up a little higher to hide the mark. The movement had him skirting his fingers, just for a second, across Davey’s cheekbone and it was enough to wake him.

It wasn’t quite how Davey had imagined waking up next to Jack for the first time, but it would do. The fact that he knew there was going to be the next morning, and the one after that, and the one after that, made it all alright.

Seeing the blue of Davey’s eyes again made Jack want to cry. Even though they were dazed and reddened and sad, it was a sight Jack had resigned himself to never seeing again. Davey managed a small smile up at Jack before turning to see the Carpathia, now looming above them as they waited for the boat before to finish unloading.

“We’re okay?” he asked, his voice cracked and painful.

Jack grinned and pressed a kiss to Davey’s forehead.

“We’re gonna be,” he promised.

__

 Sarah spent her night huddled close to Medda for warmth, both of them sharing Medda’s fur coat. They had turned their backs on Esther and were trying to pretend like she didn’t exist. Sarah could never forgive her for what she’d said about Davey, not this time, and she was resisting the urge to push her mother overboard. She’d never have done it of course, the night didn’t need another tally mark for the dead, but she wished Davey could take her place. Or Mayer. Or even Jack. Someone who deserved it just that little bit more.

It felt horrible to be wishing her mother dead, but it was impossible not to when she knew that it was most likely that her brother and her father had gone down with the ship. She just hoped it had been fast and painless and that, wherever Davey was, he was with Jack now. Somewhere Esther couldn’t touch him.

Still, as lifeboat 12 drew closer to the Carpathia, the final boat left on the water, Sarah couldn’t help but hope Davey and Mayer would greet her at the top of the ladder.

[victorlincolnpine]

The Tale of Roy and Samantha: Episode One

Introduction:

Greetings, Reader, I am here today and for quite a few days hence to tell you the Tale of Roy and Samantha,

Our story takes place on Mobius; though not the Mobius you and I know today, instead, this is a Mobius of an alternate series of events. With some things very similar to the one we know and some things very much so different, but here, as it is there, the tyranny of Eggman and the courage of Sonic and his allies both play a major role in how this story unfolds.

Chapter One:

The sun sat like a red blot on the horizon. With plenty of space in which to play in the Mobian sky, the clouds formed broad plains of tall, precarious towers that glowed pink and gold like frozen blooms of fire over the sleepy village of Knothole. The final and only bastion of freedom before the all-consuming might of Robotnik.

With feet crunching over a once lush field of green, Reggie, a young tan colored fox breathed heavily. His breath fogged up in the chilling air as he trudged through a thick layer of snowfall which was silhouetted by the angry red light of the rising sun. Eventually, he stood before the front door of his parent's home.

"Roy," he said, banging on the knocker. "Let me in!"

A loud grown followed and Reggie heard the dragging of feet and grumbling. The door opened "Five a.m.," Roy grumbled as he rubbed his bleary eyes, talking to himself as much as to his sibling "And it was a very good dream too…"

Reggie merely pulled his well-worn baseball cap over his eyes and laughed.

"Reggie, take that stupid thing off your face and shut up." Roy's eyes burned. He rubbed them once more and struggled to concentrate on what he was going to say next "Did you even attend training yesterday or call in sick as usual?"

"Yeah, yeah. I did. Don't blow a gasket," Reggie propped an elbow against the sun-cracked door frame and pulled his cap off "So, you promised to show me your newest invention." Reggie stated matter-of-factly.

"That wasn't what I agreed to, what I remember is you saying that I`ll show you and then assuming that I would without letting me say anything." Roy corrected his brother.

"But you're going to show me anyway, right?" Reggie asked.

How did I get roped into this? Roy thought before, with much reluctance, he finally muttered, "Fine."

"What am I looking for exactly?" Reggie asked curiously.

Roy's workshop was dim and musty. Dust motes swam in beams of sunlight angling through a few gaps in the rough wooden walls. This was usually a place where Roy could unwind as he tinkered, but as he had visitors it was now a source of frustration. Roy bent down and put his hands on his knees so she could look his younger sibling in the eye. "We're in Mom's workshop. I don't know what you're expecting, but I'm an inventor, not a magician."

Looking past his elder sibling, Reggie pointed at the equipment chest that was in Roy`s room, which was adjacent to the workshop room. "Ooh yes! Now I can use that rifle you built!" Reggie shouted with glee as he started for it.

"Hold up, no, you`re not touching that, not after that incident with my machine-assist boots." Roy stated as he stepped into his brother`s path.

"Hey, that happened when I was ten, I`m twelve now." Reggie protested as he made for the chest again.

"Not happening, little brother," Roy stated, skillfully acting as a goalie between his brother and his room.

Reggie groaned. "You've gotten worse than Mom."

"Tch, fine.” Roy muttered under his breath, "Look, I'll compromise by letting you be the guinea pig for my shield emitter, I built it yesterday and I haven`t had a chance to test it yet."

"Awesome! Your newest stuff is always the coolest!" Roy said with glee, though he kept his voice down this time to avoid waking up their slumbering parents.

"Come on, I have a hill that is the perfect testing ground, it`s just behind the Freedom Fighter barracks." Roy said as he put on his gloves and shoes, motioning for Reggie to follow,

"Awesome!" Reggie said as he followed Roy out of the workshop

"Hold on, you gotta` get your coat on," Reggie mentioned when they reached the foyer of their home.

"Oh, yeah, it's cold out. The weather has been so unpredictable these days … thanks." Roy said as he went to retrieve his coat. Upon donning his winter coat, packs and after he got his equipment on, Roy gave the go ahead and Reggie cracked opened the front door.

On the other side, they saw a blanket of snow covering the peaceful and familiar village of Knothole, the gleam of the sunrise on the white snow a pleasant sight to behold as the two foxes went on their way. Reggie was pent up with excitement as they neared the Freedom Fighter`s barracks.

"Here we are," Roy declared when they reached the hill.

"So, how are we going to test your shield? There`s nowhere flat enough for it to work" Reggie asked, looking at the very large hill that was completely covered in snow,

"Oh, I think you'll like this " Roy said as he brought his new shield emitter out of his pack, a round silver item with a large silver button in the center, the emitter itself was attached to a leather belt as its buckle,"but first we need to climb to the top."

Fueled by excitement, Reggie ascended the hill in record time, reaching the summit before Roy had made it even halfway. When he got to the top, Roy feigned breathlessness "Dude, you might be as fast as Sonic." He said, causing Reggie to blush.

Roy scanned his surroundings, and when he was certain there were no obstacles to the bottom of the hill he turned to his brother "Now, I've set the emitter so that it activates right before collision with another object " Roy elaborated as he attached it to Reggie`s waist "So, don't freak out alright?"

"Why would I freak -" Reggie asked before he received a mighty shove and with arms flailing fell off the side of the hill, but right before Reggie made contact with the hillside, the shield emitter began to glow a pale blue-white and a barely visible, hollow sphere developed around him, causing Reggie to roll down the hill at a considerable pace, landing at the bottom in record time,

Roy heard neither hide nor hair of his brother and after a few moments of dreadful silence later, Roy panicked and made his way down the hill, fearing the worst. When he reached the foot of the hill, Roy saw a perfectly round ball of snow at the bottom, but no sign of Reggie.

What have I done? Roy thought, he wanted to get Reggie out of the snow before it suffocated him, but he was too afraid of what he might see if he cleared the snow off,

Then a voice came from the ball of snow, "Dude; that was so cool!"

Roy hurriedly cleared a window of snow from the sphere and saw Reggie suspended in the center, the shield emitter glowing brightly, "Why didn`t you say you were okay?!" Roy as he cleared more snow off of the sphere, he felt both annoyed and relieved.

"I wanted to freak you out," Reggie admitted.

"That`s wasn't funny at all!" Roy grumbled.

"How do you turn this thing off, anyway?" Reggie asked, still floating there in the center of the shield.

"I don`t know, I think that you being stuck there is so funny that it totally slipped my mind," Roy replied sarcastically.

"Hey, you can`t just leave me here!" Reggie whined,

"I don`t know, I could…" Roy said teasingly, pretending to start walking away,

"Hey, I`m gonna` tell Mom!" Reggie said as he started to flail around in the shield bubble,

"Look, I`m just messing with you" Roy assuaged, "press the button in the center of the shield emitter to turn it off." He explained. Reggie complied, and when he pressed the button the shield suddenly vanished, leaving him to land face-first in the snow with a thud.

"Owie, you did that on purpose!" Reggie complained as he brushed the snow off of his face and coat.

"Ok, I didn`t plan that, but that was really funny," Roy replied laughingly.

"No, it wasn`t," Reggie complained.

"Oh, yes it was." Roy teased,

The argument continued in that vein for some time, filling the air with a plethora of “yes it was`es” and “no it wasn`ts” until they both had calmed down.

"Let`s do that again!" Reggie said, promptly climbing the hill once more.

"Hey, wait up!" Roy shouted as he went up the hill as well.

For another hour or two, they both took turns wearing the shield emitter and pushing each other down the hill and have a great time doing it, but all this ended when Reggie accidentally crashed through the Freedom Fighter`s barracks, waking all those inside and causing the alarm to go off.

Within moments, the two were surrounded by every soldier in the barracks, each one in full combat gear, ready to fight off the invasion that they were absolutely sure was commencing.

When they saw that it was just Roy and Reggie, their readiness to defend Knothole turned to anger towards the both of them.

"What in the Master Emerald`s name are you doing here?!" Spoke a large Mobian Crow who appeared to be the commander of the Knothole army he marched his way over to the two of them.

"I am so sorry, Jeff, we were just playing and it got out of hand, it won`t happen again." Roy apologized.

"I`ve had just about enough of your nonsense and false apologies, Roy, running around with your roboticized boots and gloves…" Jeff snapped at Roy, cutting him off mid-sentence, "…and now you`ve taken to attacking Freedom Fighter property; you know, you`re looking more and more like one of Robotnik's cronies every day!"

At Jeff`s scolding, Roy became both enraged, hurt and more than a bit surprised at the suddenness of it all; it was as if the crow had rehearsed this, "Hey, you take that back!" said Reggie in defense of his brother,

"Like we`re gonna listen to the brother of an Eggman wannabe!" said Jeff, causing all of the other Freedom Fighters to start shouting words of agreement. Angry at being called that, Roy balled up his fists, causing his gloves to activate and glow a bright blue at their knuckles. When he saw this, Jeff smiled for a split second at the fact that his goading was working, but he wiped it away before anyone saw before saying, "So, you`re going to attack me, huh?" he hissed at Roy.

"Leave me and my brother and I alone, Jeff," Roy said in warning.

"Stay out of this, giving Roy more time to betray us? I don`t think so." Jeff stated, retrieving a halberd from its holder on his back and bringing it to bear.

It seemed a fight was about to break out, but before anything happened, a commanding voice called out from the crowd, "That`s just about enough!" boomed the female voice.

When they heard this, both Jeff and Roy turned to see a female chipmunk step through the crowd and into the center. When he saw her, Jeff immediately dropped his weapon and saluted, as did the other Freedom Fighters.

"Princess Acorn, I-I-" Jeff stammered.

"Please, it`s just Sally…" she spoke gently, then she looked at both Roy and Jeff before continuing "…what is going on here?" she said, this time in a much more commanding tone.

"We were playing on the hill and we accidentally crashed through the back wall of the barracks," explained Roy.

But before Sally could say anything, Jeff interjected, "You`re not going to believe this freak, are you!? He attacked the barracks on purpose and his brother is an accomplice!" he said, pointing at Roy and Reggie accusatorily.

Roy was about to say something in protest, but he stopped when he saw that Sally had slightly raised her hand, signaling for everyone to be quiet,

"I`ve heard enough," Sally said, "Jeff, I think you`re overreacting a bit."

"Are you just going to get away with it?!" Jeff protested, pointing at Roy again.

"I never said that…" Sally replied while taking a quick look at the damage to the barracks, then she turned to face Roy and continued, "…Roy, while it was most likely an accident, you did damage the barracks and endanger your brother, so I am forced to relegate you to exile from our village for one whole day as punishment for the damage you caused."

Roy said nothing.

"Well then, I request the duty of escorting him out of our village," Jeff said, his voice dripping with malice.

"No, you will not, Jeff -" Sally replied curtly, "-as of this point, your duty is to supervise the repair of the barracks."

Sally pointed to one of her Freedom Fighters "You there, Hershey, you are to escort Roy to our borders and to make sure that he does not re-enter the village until exactly twenty-hours have passed."

"Yes, ma`am!" Hershey said; as she promptly took Roy by the arm. Then Sally picked another Freedom Fighter from the crowd, "Hamlin, escort Reggie to his home and inform Roy`s parents of what has just happened."

Without a word, Hershey started to usher Roy away, despite Reggie's protests.

"Don`t worry, Reggie, it`s only a day!" he reassured his distraught younger sibling

Sensing that her job here was done, Sally left without another word so she could go back to sleep, she had already dealt with a long night of brainstorming and this whole mess was not helping any. When he saw that Sally was out of earshot, Jeff decided that he would have the final word, "Oh, I think you deserve far worse, but who am I to disobey her highness." Jeff said.

"Leave me alone," Roy said, not even bothering to look at Jeff,

"Oh, that`s a laugh, you, telling me to leave you alone, after all of the meddling that your family has done over the years-" The crow hissed provokingly.

"That`s quite enough, sir," Hershey interrupted.

"What, you`re defending this traitor?!" Jeff snapped at Hershey.

"I am neither defending him nor condemning him, I am simply following the written law." Hershey replied.

"And what laws would those be?" Jeff asked.

"That all exiled persons are to be shunned and never spoken to -" Hershey explained.

"Bah, I don`t know what part of the law book you`ve been stuffing your nose in at night, but fine, I have no need to converse with an Eggman wannabe anyway." Jeff said before returning to the village in a huff.

After she was sure that Jeff was out of earshot, Hershey spoke, "You know I lied, right?"

"Lied about what?" Roy asked.

"I lied about that rule; you know, the one saying that exiles are to be shunned," she replied,

"Why would you do that?" Roy asked, not really getting the point,

"Well, two reasons: one, I wanted to get Jeff to go away and two, your family has done so much for our village, I just had to repay them somehow; getting 'the Jeff' off your back seemed like a good way to do it," Hershey explained,

"Hold on a moment; what`s going on with you calling him 'the Jeff' anyway?" Roy asked chuckling.

"Oh, right, Jeff had a reputation for driving his trainees so hard that on average, eight out of ten of `em would quit in the first week of training…" Hershey explained, "…and this was all before the Eggman showed up."

"Wait a moment, you mean there was a time before that monster was around?" Roy asked, surprised, "…I`ve always heard that he was an immortal demon that took your soul and put it into a machine to act as his puppet." He added,

"Oh, yeah, that children`s story…" she remarked, "…nope, according to Jeff, the Eggman appeared about fifty years ago and at first was considered an ally to us Mobians, but then we found out that he just wanted to use our talents to take over the rest of the world; when we refused, that`s when the Eggman decided to start roboticizing folks to force them to do what he wanted anyway; it all seemed like it was over, but then Sonic appeared about twenty-five years ago; the rest is history."

"Why wasn`t anyone told about this?" Roy asked,

"Well, the whole story wasn`t really kept from us on purpose, not really…" Hershey explained, "…it just most people didn't want to tell their children or simply didn`t want to admit that they were once allies with the greatest nightmare of our age."

For a while, neither of them talked, Roy was still trying to process recent events while Hershey simply had nothing else she wanted to say. After a while, Roy could not help but ask, "Why is all this happening?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Hershey asked in reply.

"Why am I being exiled for a day and not get thrown into the brig" Roy replied, "this isn't standard procedure, is it?"

"Do you think I'm a mind reader? I have theories but -" Hershey replied.

"What kind of theories?" Roy asked.

"Gossip actually, that you venerate Eggman, but I never believed it" she replied, "…besides, no offense, but I don't think you're anywhere near as smart as him."

"But I`ve been trying to give you some tips and weapons and no one would listen; they`d just say something about how I`m defiling the premise of the Freedom Fighters and then act like what I just said didn`t matter," Roy complained, "…and now I`m getting exiled because of my ideas!"

"Hey, don`t look at me, I never get one say or another concerning how things are run around here, nor do I want to…" Hershey replied, "…but from what I heard, there`s a new Freedom Fighter that`s making some headway into changing that."

"Who?" Roy asked,

"Come to think of it I didn't catch the name, but I'm fairly certain it started with an N…" Hershey replied,

"Tch, well that`s really helpful, thanks," Roy said sarcastically,

"Alright, if you`re gonna be like that, then just shut up until we can both go home." Hershey said.

The two did not speak any further until they reached a row of wooden posts that marked the village limit.

"Be back here in approximately twenty-three hours, and I'll escort you back." Hershey ordered Roy.

"It`s been an hour already? I didn`t think that we`d been walking that long." Roy inquired,

"Look, my orders are to take you out of town, not walk you to Robotropolis." Hershey replied.

"Well, gee, that`s very generous of you," Roy remarked sarcastically,

"Just be patient…" Hershey said, "…home isn't going anywhere." With that, Hershey found a comfortable spot and sat down to keep an eye on Roy. Deciding it was best to sleep his sentence away, Roy laid his head down next to a tree and shortly thereafter, fell asleep…

Quite sometime later, Roy awoke to booming sounds in the distance.

"Roy, get up!" Hershey shouted when she saw Roy was awake.

Roy stood up to see Hershey staring into the forest, After standing up the rest of the way Roy saw it as well: sporadic flashes of light, coinciding with the booming sounds, as well as smoke billowing over the top of the trees.

"Is, that the way to Knothole?" Roy asked, his voice slightly shuddering at the frightening possibility,

"Yes," Hershey replied shakily.

"We have to get home." Roy stated.

"If there's still a home left after all this," she replied in a quivering tone.

The pair ran all the way to the village in just under a minute, only to be greeted by a terrible sight: the village of Knothole marched upon by hundreds of Swatbots and Robian; laying waste to everything in their path.

In the distance, Hershey spotted a hopeful sign of life: a group of ragged refugees slipping away amid the chaos. "Roy, we have to help them.” She said, but when she turned around, Roy was already heading further into the village, towards his own house and by extension the robotic menace.

Hershey quickly gave chase, catching up to him in the span of a heartbeat, grabbing him by the shoulder and spinning around to face her tear streaked face. "Roy, stop! Whoever's back there. They're gone!" Hershey shouted as she tried to usher him away to safety.

"Let go of me; I have to help him!" Roy stated, brushing her aside and continuing forward.

Before Hershey could reply, a trio of Swatbots crashed through a nearby building and onto the road; one of them took aim with its wrist-mounted laser rifle and fired a bright red beam of light at them.

"Run!" as Hershey yelled as he quickly pushed Roy away from the shot, just barely avoiding certain death herself as she squeezed off two rounds from her hunting rifle back at the Swatbots, but both ricocheted off without leaving so much as a scratch on their black chrome finishes. Hershey grabbed ahold of Roy and darted into an alleyway as quickly as she could as dozens of deadly beams of light filled the street behind her.

"Why are we heading further into the village?" Roy asked worriedly.

"Now`s really not the time for questions, move!" Hershey replied before she ushered Roy between the buildings and away from the assailants. When they reached the other side, Hershey directed Roy to a nearby building on the other side of the street, "Stay inside, I`ll draw them away, then when they`re gone, you use this and find your way north." Hershey instructed Roy before handing him a compass with a black leather casing.

"Why head north?" Roy asked.

"Because that`s-" She was about to reply before a bright flash of red light blinded the both of them and smashed the building next to them.

When the dust settled, Roy found himself alone, Hershey was nowhere to be found, though presumably buried under the nearby rubble.

Before Roy could react, however, another flash of light struck the other building next to him, forcing him to start running again.

The three Swatbots were now much closer, though to Roy`s benefit, he now had two buildings worth of rubble between him and them, but that wasn`t going to be enough, as one of the bots cleared the rubble away with a single swipe, sending pieces of brick flying some thirty blocks away.

Roy turned around just in time to see this and was knocked completely unconscious by a flying chunk of brick, and saw no more…

…Roy awoke quite sometime later, only to find himself trapped in a pile of building materials,

Roy looked around, but no matter where he searched, he could find no trace of an escape route, just darkness and suffocation.

Roy started to panic and begin to hyperventilate as he scrambled for a way out. He moved aside rock and rubble in the immediate vicinity of his paws before coming to the realization that he was no closer to escaping his predicament than before. "Calm down; perhaps this is a good thing, if I can`t see outside, then the bots outside can`t see in." He said to himself.

Then a thought struck him: his family is still out there with those things, Roy reviewed his surroundings one more time, but couldn't find a way out, "Come on, what am I missing, what am I mis- oh, yeah, I forgot!" Roy said, taking his backpack off and rummaging through it. Roy retrieved a set of high-tech goggles from his backpack, put them on and pressed a button on the side of them; instantly, the darkness around him was replaced by the somewhat comforting green glow of infrared vision.

"Now to gather some details…" Roy muttered aloud as he pressed another button on the underside of his goggles, he now saw an ultrasonic image of the pile of rubble he was trapped in.

"Hmm, there`s only about two feet of rock above me..." Roy said, "…now to find a way to get it off of me." Roy thought for only a split second before coming to a solution: he would blast his way out.

"But how can I do that without plastering myself in the process?" Roy asked himself, "I know, the shield emitter, that`ll work!" Roy exclaimed, snapping his fingers,

Roy took the shield emitter out of his pack and fastened it to his belt, "Well, here goes nothing." Roy remarked as he pressed the button on the emitter. In an instant, the rubble cleared with the explosive force of several tons of TNT, sending bits and pieces flying in all directions,

But when the dust settled and Roy got back on his feet, the sight that greeted him was terribly sobering indeed,

There was no real trace of Knothole left, just a snow-covered wasteland,

The ashes from the devastated village coalesced with the fallen snow, painting everything a hideous dull gray. Bits of blackened wood and brick dotted the landscape and a small fire burned here and there for good measure.

Roy simply stood there for a moment before plopping himself on the ground in defeat. There was nothing for him to save and his family was quite likely long dead, so what was the point?

Roy decided that it was best to just wait for exposure to do him in, it being winter, he figured that it would not take too long to do so. He sat there, for a long while, with no thoughts running through his mind, save for one: he failed.

But this is not the end of this story, not by a long shot… because after a while, another thought struck him: he did not just lose his family, his family was taken away from him, and he knew who took them… Eggman.

Roy`s thoughts suddenly turned from grief and lamentation to deep, cold revenge; he was going to make sure that monster paid for what he did; sitting there and dying wasn`t going to accomplish that.

But Roy had a problem: he had no real idea where Eggman was, or even where he himself was for that matter.

"Maybe there at least someone around, someone else who survived the Swatbots." Roy said aloud, "Help here, kinda lost!" Roy shouted at the top of his lungs.

But there came silence, no reply.

After walking around for a few hours, Roy cried once again for any signs of life. Silence again.

Roy decided that crying for help would only attract trouble, so he decided to find his own way out of this wasteland, or at least to some kind of supplies and/or shelter.

Roy searched for quite a while, never taking time to rest, for there was no place to do so.

After about a day of non-stop searching, Roy started to feel dizzy; he instinctively put his hand on his forehead and felt something warm and wet on his hand.

He looked at his hand and saw a dark red liquid on the fingers of his gloves, that brick did more than just knock him unconscious.

Extremely tired and a bit delirious, Roy tried to call out one last time for help, but he only gave a pitiful squeak of a shout before falling over and losing consciousness.

But Roy`s last cry for help brought providence to our brave hero in the form of another Mobian. She resides in the middle of a place that is neither constricting or spacious, but for sanity`s sake, let us call it spacious, the middle of nothing, or at least she thinks she is in the middle, it`s been so long that she does not even remember where or what 'this' is, or even her own name for that matter.

She was enjoying her favorite pastime: shouting the words: 'is anyone there?'; she no longer remembers why she does it, it just seems like something to do.

But this time, her activity was interrupted by someone else`s shouting, "Hello, I need a little help here, kinda lost!" spoke the voice that interrupted her activity. The female Mobian, irritatedly shouted back "Hey, I`m yelling here, wait till I`m finished!"

After she shouted this, the noise stopped and she resumed her odd pastime.

Sometime later, the noise started again, this time louder than the first, this angered the Mobian to a great degree; she was interrupted, again. The female raged at this annoyance, cursing and shouting protests against being interrupted from her pastime, if you had walked in the same room, you would most definitely have already snuck your way back out of the room before you even had time to notice that you were leaving. After her quite frightful bout of cursing, the voice stopped, Thinking that she scared off the annoyance for good this time, the female resumed her aimless shouting.

Quite sometime later, long after the female Mobian had grown bored of shouting, the noise started again, but this time it was weak and frail, as if it came from a dying person who was still desperately trying to cling to life,

"Whoever that is, they don`t sound too good…" thought the Mobian, "…I have to help them." She stated firmly,

The moment she thought those words, a bright light filled her prison, though it only illuminated her, for there were no walls to shine upon. At the light`s source, there was an odd little hole in the void; through it, the Mobian could see something different from the rest of the world, this piqued her interest, so she went over to see what was on the other side of the hole. Making her way over to this odd point in her strange world via some method unknown, she investigated the hole in the void, finding that it looked exactly the same from all directions, this puzzled her,

The Mobian figured that she should touch this curiosity, but the moment she made contact with the hole in the void, it expanded, whilst at the same time the void around her seemed to contract as if it was being replaced by the world that was on the other side of the hole, Before she could react, the Mobian suddenly felt the ground beneath her feet, air in her lungs and bright light in her eyes.

This all startled her and caused her to trip over on the ground face first.

"This is so odd…" said the Mobian, "…why is this stuff all over the ground?" she said, gazing at the dirt and snow whilst still laying face first in it.

The newcomer staggered onto unfamiliar feet which she tottered unsteadily upon until by some ingrained muscle memory she managed to right herself. With her eyes, blinking like a newborn baby as she took in the sights about her.

All around her was covered in white; shiny char-wood dotted the landscape, the sun was glinting off of every reflective surface in a dazzling display of light.

"Lovely." Said the Mobian, her eyes glinting in the spectacle.

Then she looked at herself, she saw her brown fur was covered with a tattered cloak that looked as though it was at one point pitch black, but it now was bleached a pale grey.

On her hands and feet were odd looking gloves and boots, they looked as if they were at some point gem encrusted, but all of the facets had lost their adornments ages ago, leaving only a slightly hideous set of mottled black and grey set of clothes. But the Mobian`s inspection was cut short by a weak cry from behind her, barely above a whisper "H-help me…"

The Mobian turned around to see Roy lying there, unconscious and with one foot already in the grave.

"Oh, dear, what happened to you?" asked the female Mobian, but there was no reply.

"You gotta get to someplace warm," she commented; never once asking why she knew what he needed.

The female decided to carry Roy to safety, though where exactly 'safety' was she did not know.

But when she touched his arm, the Mobian was suddenly flooded with new information, images, words, images about words and words about images, all coursed through her mind, and all at once,

Instead of being knocked over by this flood of information, the female Mobian simply continued what she was doing and slung Roy over her shoulder with ease, but she carried the look of one who suddenly had a great deal to think about and no time to ponder it.

She then proceeded to search for some kind of shelter. Following her new memories, the Mobian quickly found a wooden cottage that was somehow still standing amongst the ruins,

When she made her way inside, the Mobian found a simple cot and a wooden chair, beyond that there was nothing else in the room save for a roof, walls and dust. The female sat Roy down on the cot and then sat down in the chair, but when she sat down, the chair gave way almost immediately, transforming from a chair to a pile of firewood in a single move.

Finding that she had no place to sit, the Mobian decided to stand at the window and ponder her newly acquired memories.

"What is my name?" the Mobian asked herself, she pondered this question for a while, periodically muttering things like, "Now I know my name isn`t Roy because Roy is over there, is it perhaps Jeff? No, that`s not it, silly, that name is for the birds; let`s try that again…"

After a while of heavy pondering, the Mobian found a name that didn`t belong to a bird or a dude or both; she kept seeing a female fox wearing a white blouse and black jeans, "Could that be me?" she asked herself, there was no mirror around, so she could not confirm it.

After a few minutes, she decided; that fox was most likely her, so that fox`s name is most likely her name as well.

"That`s it, my name is Samantha!" she exclaimed, but Roy was still unconscious and did not hear her.

The female now known as Samantha looked over to Roy and just stood there staring at him for a while, trying to understand why she knew so much about him, and yet she knew for a fact that she had never even met him until about a few minutes ago.

"Perhaps I knew him at some point and then I got hit in the head and forgot." Samantha mused to herself.

For quite some time, Samantha stood there and pondered everything she had just learned from Roy`s memories, especially the most recent.

When she started to ponder the memory of Roy`s conversation with Hershey, her curiosity was quite piqued, for some reason, every time the memory mentioned Eggman, she kept seeing an image of a furless fellow with a ridiculously large moustache and an annoying voice.

"What an odd character, where`d all his fur go? Poor guy, no wonder he`s angry." Samantha said aloud.

Samantha`s comment made enough noise that Roy stirred in his sleep, "Oh, sorry, go back to sleep, didn`t mean to wake you…" Samantha said in a whisper.

Deciding that she did not want to disturb Roy`s rest, Samantha thought it best to go outside and think.

When she stepped out of the door, she saw the moon had risen some time ago, painting the scenery a brilliant blue-grey,

"This whole place is even more beautiful at night, wonderful…" Samantha said, placing a hand on her heart as if to still it.

The sky above resembled a rich wall of diamonds, endlessly shining amidst that dark canvass of the Universe. Then something interrupted her stargazing, an odd wave of energy washed over her, in response, her body started to glow a faint and deep blue color. "What is this?" Samantha asked.

She looked at her hands, the glow had softened a bit, but it was still noticeable; every time she moved her hand in front of her eyes, she saw a shimmer, almost like what happens to the air above a fire. A few minutes later, a bright flash came from the sky, Samantha looked up to see that one of the stars in the sky was now a million times brighter than all the rest combined. Then, as quick as it appeared, the star suddenly dimmed all the way to nothing, save for a small disc of light, a remnant of the brilliant heavenly light and nothing more.

Samantha wanted to see this disc a bit closer, to see what just happened, to investigate the wonder she just saw; but she knew that she could not reach them, for she could not leave the ground, so Samantha decided to go back to the cottage and see how Roy was doing, but when she turned around, she could not see the cottage, in fact, she could not even see the ground.

Samantha looked around herself, but the ground was nowhere to be seen, "Am I, flying?" Samantha asked, looked down and her question was answered when she saw terra firma some fifty feet down. She wiggled her toes and realized this was no trick of the senses.

"But, how?" Samantha asked. Glancing around, she noticed that her hands were now glowing brighter than ever and they seemed to project a bright blue stream of aether downwards which seemed to keep her suspended in mid-air.

Seeing that she could now reach that disc and with no other frame of reference, Samantha headed there. With a single instinctive thought, she started to ascend, as if the act of flying was as normal as running.

Higher and higher she traveled, as her confidence slowly grew, and so did her speed, until she started to see a cone of clouds form around her and a deafening noise begin to permeate the air.

Yet higher still she ascended, traveling higher and higher, the air started to become thin and cold, ice started to form on her hair and fur, stinging her with its cold embrace, Samantha felt no fear until she drew a heaving breath and realized the air was thinner than anticipated. She drew one wheezing breath, then another, but no respiration was granted to her. Her eyes crusted over with ice and she started to lose consciousness; at about thirty thousand feet up, Samantha lost consciousness altogether…

Samantha awoke about three thousand feet from the ground to see her new predicament: she was now hurtling towards the ground at a frightful pace; she needed to level out and fast, but it was too late, as she was now moving too quickly to change course, her only recourse was to curl up into a tight ball before she hit the ground.

She crashed some sixty feet from the cottage that Roy was resting inside, creating an explosion worthy of a large artillery shell and sending bits and pieces flying in all directions, After the dust settled, Samantha opened her eyes to find herself in a crater, but when she looked around, she found that much to her surprise she hadn`t a scratch on her.

"Ok, this is odd…" Samantha remarked, she didn't have any real memories, but some innate logic made her aware that falling for several miles and being unharmed upon landing was markedly abnormal, but before she had enough time to think about what just happened, Samantha heard someone call out to her, "Umm, are you alright?” Asked the interruption.

Samantha turned to see Roy standing at the crest of the newly formed crater.

"Oh, you`re awake!" she exclaimed, quickly climbing out of the crate before hugging him tightly as if she had known him for years.

"Umm, who are you?" Roy asked, confused.

"It`s me!" Samantha exclaimed.

"I think you're mistaken. I really don't know you." Roy stated, pulling himself away.

"Oh, right, I`m sorry, you`re right, let`s start from the beginning. My name is Samantha and you’re Roy; right?" Samantha asked excitedly.

"Uh, yeah, that`s my name. How do you know?" Roy asked in reply.

"I don't. The last thing I remembered is finding an odd hole in my world and then finding you on the other side, and then I touched you shoulder and all of a sudden I knew everything about you-" Samantha replied in a hyperactive voice that Roy found quite indiscernible.

"Ok, slow down, I`m confused, what are you talking about?" Roy asked; rather taken aback at the suddenness of it all.

"I think it would be easier to understand if you used your goggles and scanned me." Samantha said.

"How do you know about these?" Roy asked, as he unconsciously reached for the rim of his goggles.

"Like I said, it will be easier to understand after you scan me, trust me." Samantha replied.

"Uh, alright then…" Roy said as he pressed a button on the side of his goggles. At once, Roy`s goggles made a detailed scan of Samantha, save a few exceptions for decency, to Roy's disbelieving eyes. "These readings… They don't make any sense," Roy said incredulously.

"What do you mean; is there something wrong with me?" Samantha asked.

"What I mean is that based on all the data, you shouldn`t even be alive, much less a walking talking Mobian as you are right now," Roy replied.

"Why do you say that?" Samantha asked.

"Well, for one thing, your molecular density is absolute," Roy replied.

"Is that good or bad?" Samantha asked.

"Neither, it`s actually impossible; at your body`s density, you should be heavier than the planet itself, and yet according to your gravimetric data, you only weigh three tons, and to top it off, your electro encephalographic readings are running perpendicular to my own." Roy replied.

"What do you mean by that?" Samantha asked; subconsciously checking her figure at the mention of weighing three tons.

"What I mean is: the only way for your brain to function on the exact same wavelength as mine would be for you to have all of my same experiences, but in order to accom-" Roy began to say, but he felt a solid spike of pain shoot through his head and promptly doubled over, grasping his head with mouth agape as though he were locked into a silent scream.

"Roy, are you okay!?" Samantha exclaimed as she quickly ran over and caught him before he hit the ground.

"It's okay, it’s just that I shouldn't be using my 'Instant Design' with a concussion." Roy explained.

"'Instant Design'… isn`t that the ability that allows you to invent things at a moment`s notice?" Samantha asked.

Okay, that is going to get tiresome really fast! Roy thought, despite the screaming pain in his head. "Yes, that`s exactly right, so I need to get these off for now." He said aloud as he took his goggles off his head, "Umm, you can let go of me now."

"Oh, right, I`m sorry, let me help you up," Samantha said as she lifted Roy to his feet.

"So, what are we doing now?" Samantha asked a slightly dazed look on her face.

"North" Roy muttered as he rummaged through his pack, "We're heading north, away from Robotropolis and towards… oh, shoot, where`d that compass go?"

"You mean the one that Hershey gave to you?" Samantha asked.

"Do you know where it is?" Roy asked as he continued to look around.

"No, I don`t, but I do know that you have another in your equipment chest at the foot of your bed," Samantha replied, jabbing a finger in a seemingly random direction.

"What are you pointing at?" Roy asked.

"Cause that`s the way to your house…" Samantha replied, "…you really need to look at your memories a bit more objectively." She remarked,

Oh, great, now she`s starting to talk like me! Roy thought before he said aloud "If you know the way, lead on, I need to get my equipment and rations anyway."

"Fine then, follow me," Samantha said as she started to walk with him in tow.

"Hey Samantha," Roy said after a few minutes.

"What is it, Roy?" Samantha asked.

"I know that it`s probably just a coincidence, but you have my mother's name." Roy replied.

"Really, that`s funny…" Samantha replied, "…nah, it`s probably just a coincidence."

To be continued…

 Thank you very much for reading my story (Or at least skipping to the end to read this comment)

I hope that you enjoyed it and I also hope that you favorite and watch this story.

(Edited by Zoggerific: https://www.fanfiction.net/u/10296931/ and yours truly).   (Original idea by yours truly).