ARAAT4: Origins

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A Rose And A Thorn 4: Origins

Co-Written by Harley Quinn hyenaholic and Froggy22651

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Harley: Ah, past the introduction, and things can start getting interesting. Slightly obvious, but definitely more interesting. What else can I say, except I am so relieved you’re all enjoying it. This fanfic was a big risk.

Froggy: Yeah, we’d love to work for Sega. You wouldn’t see any silly plot-holes then, like “Who fixed the Eclipse Cannon?” And the Team Battle between Sonic and Shadow, “Wow, Shadow’s alive, let’s kill him!” Unfortunately unless you guys have any contacts I think we’re a bit stuck.

Harley: Now then, there’s a big story to tell. Many stories, in fact. Along with paradoxes, explosions, fighting and sex. So let’s get a move on!

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Chapter Two: Making New Friends

Breathe in. Breathe out. Slow your body. Quiet your mind. This is what the young male thought as he sat cross-legged on the floor of the ARK’s main training facility. His steely grey eyes opened, and he got to his booted feet smoothly, grasping the wooden quarterstaff firmly in his hands. Slowly releasing a breath, he began to start the drill, moving the staff through the air slowly and gradually gaining speed, the complexity of the moves increasing over time. The purpose of the exercise was not to memorize with the mind, but to memorize with the muscles and nerves. The mind just got in the way, and it was better to silence it. This rested the mind, freed him from its troubled wanderings. That was why the midnight blue echidna enjoyed doing this.

Project: Mirage paced up and down the corridor outside a door labelled ‘Training Room’, and had been doing so for much of the evening. She remembered it well enough - every experiment ended up testing and stretching and breaking their limits in there. The problem was... despite all the tests that assured the scientists she had Master Emerald powers, and despite the three Power Rings bound tightly around her tail, she still felt weak. She was scared. Scared of finding out just how weak the reversal of time had made her. She was still quick and agile, thank goodness... but so much of her skill had been sucked dry. Now she was like a child learning to tie its shoelaces for the first time - she knew how it was done, she just couldn't do it.

The echidna closed his eyes as he swung the weapon through the air; right now, sight was an unnecessary distraction. Faster and faster he went, every move perfect, the drill a work of art. Anyone who would witness this would think that he had trained to do it for years.

You are scared, Mirage’s mind sneered as she ran a paw through her black, furry quills, You are scared of being weak. And proud. Too proud to admit that you are not as strong as you were, too proud to learn it all again. She mentally kicked the voice in her head in the head, I am not afraid. I am here because I have to face my fears. So get your stupid weak-ass ass moving and get in there and train, bitch. She took a deep breath, patted her quills, and pushed open the door.

Distantly, the echidna heard the door to the training facility open, heard someone else enter the room. Someone very light on their feet, judging from the sound. He ignored it and continued his drill. He hadn't been expecting anyone else to come there at that late hour of the ARK's artificial day; he had chosen to visit the gym at such a time precisely because he was expecting to be alone

Mirage watched the echidna for several long moments, I used to be able to move like that, she thought sourly. She stomped on the jealousy hard, and picked up an identical staff, holding it in a defensive position as she approached, "Hello there," she said calmly. The staff whirred past airspace where her head would have been if she hadn’t ducked. But she'd been expecting something like that, and leant back, putting the quarterstaff up to block. The two staffs clashed, "Who are you?" she asked the echidna.

Automatically, the echidna pressed forward, pushing the unseen visitor back and off-balance. He blinked a couple of times and witnessed the owner of the feminine voice, looking into crimson eyes. He couldn't determine her exact species. She seemed to have a few feline traits: the ears, the tail, the nose, the claws, but there were other traits that were not like any feline he had ever heard of, the highlighted quills worn not unlike his dreadlocks, the crimson, burning stare and the bare muzzle being a good example, "I'm called Midnight,” he said, answering simply.

Mirage pushed back on reflex, looking the dark blue echidna over. He was wearing brown leather fingerless gloves, and brown leather boots to match. They seemed to have some sort of metal toecap on them, "Are you a Project as well?" she asked, wondering why she didn't remember him, and furthermore, wondering why she felt she should.

"Do I look like an appliance, piece of unfinished art, or someone's hobby?" he asked, apparently offended. The echidna pushed back harder against her staff, testing the female's strength.

This second push was too much for Mirage, who had to take a step backwards to keep her balance. She glared, "Well, you do not act like a scientist, you do not look like a guard, and you are a member of a race that has, according to my files, been extinct for 10,000 years. So unless you are an android that looks like an echidna…" She smirked before she could stop herself, "I would say you were grown here, just like me."

Glaring at the smirking feline, Midnight said, "Echidnas are extinct, I was grown in a tube, and yes, I'm sure some scientist considers me a project of theirs. Satisfied?"

"Yes, for now," Mirage dropped the staff and backflipped away from him, landing on the crossbar carefully and sitting down, "I am Project Mirage. I am new here."

"Yes, I thought so,” he spoke, "I would have remembered you." The blue echidna leaned against his wooden staff and tilted his head to the side as he looked her over. She spoke strangely… as if speaking didn’t come quite naturally to her… then again, she was brand new, "You figured what I was quickly enough, Mirage, but I'm having trouble determining your own species."

"That is because I do not have an exact species," Mirage replied, swinging her legs, "They invented a new one this morning. They put all the names in a hat and had me pull one out," she sneered automatically at the memory, "It turns out that I am a Hedgecat."

Midnight assumed that by 'they' Mirage meant her creators, "Interesting choice of species,” he noted, running his eyes over her slowly, "They must be getting bored."

"Or sloppy," Mirage agreed sourly, "I expect I shall find out the point of it all soon enough." She already knew the point of it all, of course. But if she started acting too smart too soon, she'd end up with electrodes implanted in her brain. Who the hell was going to believe some crazy story about time travel anyway? "Why are you training so hard?" she asked the echidna.

Midnight shrugged and slowly raised and rested the staff in his gloved hands, "I enjoy it. It’s something to pass the time, to keep my mind off of all this." He gestured around the room at the surrounding space colony.

Mirage raised an eyebrow, "Well, are not you lucky that you have found something that works," she said, stroking one of the rings on her tail absentmindedly, "How long have you been awake, anyway?"

"Just over a year,” he answered her, laying the staff down on the ground. He ran and leapt at the crossbar, joining her on top of it.

Mirage shuffled along a little, making space for him, "I need to train," she said calmly, "I do not have much time and... would you help me? I could really use a good sparring partner." She tucked a quill behind one ear.

The echidna glanced over at the hedgecat and nodded, "I haven't had a worthy adversary... all my life, actually,” he said, looking her over again, "Very well." Pushing off from the bar, he dropped gracefully to the floor and turned to face her, "Show me what you know."

"There is still a big difference between what I know and what I can do," Mirage stood up on the bar, "So I do not think I will be very good yet." She looked around the room, taking it all in so that she could plan her moves. Then she jumped over Midnight’s head, landed behind him, and snatched up one of the staffs, aiming a strike at the back of his legs.

Midnight leapt over the strike and landed in a roll, snatching up a staff of his own as he got to his feet. Armed and facing her, the echidna launched an attack at Mirage's head.

Mirage brought up the staff to block. It wasn't that she wasn't fast or agile enough, but she still lacked strength enough to win. Midnight's blocked blows knocked her back repeatedly, until she was up against the wall. She already knew she was going to lose this match - but she'd be damned if she was going to give in. She reached out and grabbed Midnight's shoulder, then used him as a boost to get out of the corner.

Without looking, the echidna swung behind him, hoping to strike the hedgecat as she landed. Mirage was lacking in strength, but she made up for it with speed and agility. Remarkably, she seemed to understand combat well; it seemed that combat training was a new part of the flash learning program. Still, she lacked experience, and that was the factor that was going to lose her the sparring match.

The blow knocked Mirage sprawling. She managed to take it into a forward roll, but lost the staff in the process. She stood there for a few seconds, looking nonplussed, but as Midnight took the opportunity to swing at her, she caught it with one hand, pushed it back towards him, and aimed a punch at his jaw.

Midnight released the staff and leaned back to avoid the feline's punch. His left hand shot up to grab onto her wrist while the right took a handful of her white vest. He lifted her off the ground and tossed her safely away from himself. That was too close.

But Mirage was like a rubber ball. She practically bounced as she hit the floor, and then got back to her feet in one smooth movement. She was panting slightly though, so the fight was taking effect, even though she tried to hide it. She just stood there now, waiting for Midnight's next attack rather than using her own strategy.

The ball was now in Midnight's court, so to speak. He had no problem with that. Rushing at Mirage, he launched a series of quick jabs at her face and torso.

Mirage blocked most of the blows, but one struck her jaw, and the next hit her in the stomach. She grimaced in pain, but ducked under the next blow, slamming her foot into his legs as hard as she could.

Grunting in pain, the echidna allowed the blow to knock him to the ground to avoid any real damage. Rolling back slightly, he retaliated with a two-legged kick of his own.

Mirage was knocked backwards across the room and into the crossbar. It must have hurt; he could see the flicker of pain in her eyes. But she stood up anyway, and Midnight realised something - he was fighting somebody who would never give up, not because she was afraid of losing, but because she simply couldn't permit herself the act of giving in. To beat her, he would have to take her down, and make her stay down.

The echidna rolled to his feet and swiftly moved to intercept her, forming a plan to take down the stubborn feline. He attacked as he did before, jabbing at her, but it was merely a distraction to keep her defending her upper body. After a few quick punches, he swiftly dropped down, spun, and sent a sweeping kick towards her legs.

Mirage yelped in pain as she was knocked to the floor. She scrambled back up to her feet again, and punched forward in a similar manner at his jaw, then grabbing the wrist he blocked with, and squeezing hard as she punched at his stomach.

Grunting and doubling over in pain, stars swam in Midnight's vision, the wind knocked out of him. Sucking in a breath, the blue echidna snarled and rushed forward, forcing Mirage back with sheer mass. Regaining his footing and grabbing onto her arms, he leapt at her to tackle her to the floor.

This took her down, but the way she was struggling and kicking at him, she clearly hadn't given up yet. She managed to twist an arm free and land a punch on his jaw. She was losing, and she would lose. They both knew it. But she couldn't give up.

Midnight rolled his head with the blow, bleeding off some of its energy in doing so. She was stronger than she looked in that slim body, but not strong enough. The feline and the echidna struggled on the ground, Midnight fighting to pin her limbs to the mat. He was taller and heavier than her, and he had the leverage over her; it was only a matter of time until she exhausted herself in her struggles.

"Get... OFF ME!" Mirage shouted, and tried to bring her knee up between his legs. But pinned to the floor and lacking any swing, the most it did was smart. By now her claws had slid out and were doing some serious damage to the mat under her.

After another moment of struggling, the echidna firmly pinned his knee between her legs to prevent any other attempts at striking a vital spot. Midnight leaned in until they could feel each other's breath, their noses practically touching, and their eyes locked. In a quiet, rumbling voice, he spoke, "Yield, and I will release you."

"I cannot just give up!" Mirage answered, without the slightest hesitation. With that, she cracked her forehead against his. It probably hurt her a lot more than it hurt him, but it made him pull back enough for her to twist around and drive her elbow into his gut. She managed to roll out from under him, panting as she staggered to her feet again.

Midnight casually got up and faced the feline, "It’s shameful to lose,” he told her, "But it’s even more shameful to waste your strength when you could instead learn from your failures."

Mirage bit her lip until a tiny bead of dark red, almost black blood came. Her legs could hardly even support her any more. For a moment, Midnight thought she was going to admit defeat. Then she stepped forward again, one fist pulled back, ready to strike.

He didn't give the exhausted feline a chance to strike, delivering a hard kick to her abdomen, "You are defeated,” he growled softly.

Mirage was knocked down to the mat again, breathing hard. She managed to roll onto her front, and made it to her hands and knees. That was when it became clear to Midnight - she had been made as a fighter and a weapon, and she would not, could not ever give up; as long as there was strength in her she would force herself to keep going. Even though by now she could barely stand.

In some ways, this irritated Midnight. It was just a damn sparring match, not a life-or-death battle! There was nothing at stake but bragging rights, and yet she acted as if her very life was on the line. And yet... he couldn't help but admire it as well. The feline was strong, determined, uncompromising, and he felt himself drawn to those qualities. There were two ways he could end the battle: he could either beat her until she had to be dragged to the infirmary... or he could appeal to her need for victory, "You can keep fighting me now, Mirage, and lose,” he told her, "Or... we could continue this battle another day, after I have taught you how to beat me."

Mirage struggled once again to get to her feet. Giving up, ever, was unacceptable. Suppose this had been Ashura, or an Artificial Chaos? It had been hard enough to not use her claws to shred him open... "I..." she forced her body to dredge up any remaining reserves of strength, and managed to stand, "I accept your truce," she said, breathing hard.

Then she collapsed.

The blue echidna moved in and caught the hedgecat before she could strike the ground. Setting her down slowly, he let his eyes roam over her face and secretly breathed in a lungful of her scent, "I'm impressed though,” he told her in a whisper, "No one has lasted more than 30 seconds against me in a fight."

Mirage smiled weakly, "Thankyou," she said, taking a deep breath herself to try and slow her heart rate from the fight, "But... I still have got a lot to learn."

Midnight returned the smile, "You will,” he assured her. The echidna leaned in even closer, rubbing his muzzle against her cheek, taking in another slow breath, closing his eyes. Then, he abruptly pulled away and helped the hedgecat to her feet, letting her lean on him, "But for now, I think it would be best for you to rest and recover from this round."

"Yes, I suppose so," Mirage answered, suddenly a little concerned about the close contact. She dismissed it. If anything had happened between them she'd have remembered it. Besides, he was about 18 years old in his body and one year old in life experience. And she wasn’t much better off, if at all, "I should go to my cell - I mean, room." She smiled slightly again, indicating a joke.

He smirked and nodded silently. Still supporting her, he led the hedgecat out of the training facility and led her back to the section of the enormous station reserved for housing the genetic experiments. Slowly walking down the corridors, his grey eyes searched for the room with her name on it.

Finally they reached the room. The door read, “S-56. PROJECT: MIRAGE - 119.14.”

'Cell' was probably the right word. Rooms with windows were rare in the ARK. The room was a tube, about ten feet high and with a five-foot diameter. There was nothing else, not even a bed. At the top of the tube there was an observation window set in the ceiling, where light came through. Occasionally feet walked across it. And though Mirage could currently come and go as she pleased, the password-activated lock on the outside ensured that when she was confined to her room, she really was confined to her room.

The door slid open at Mirage’s touch, and she turned in the doorway, "So... I will see you tomorrow, right?" she asked, "Same time, same place?"

"I'll be there,” he said, tilting his head towards her, his dreadlocks swaying with the motion.

Mirage nodded, and closed the door with a smile.

Midnight turned away and walked down the corridor towards his own ‘cell’, which was identical to hers. Surprised, he found himself doing so reluctantly. Ever since his artificial birth, the echidna hadn't cared much for contact with the other experiments or the humans aboard the space colony. He had never met anyone he thought was worth the time, but this Mirage was different. She had earned his respect in that little duel, showed him what she was made of. Very interesting. He looked at the door to his cell.

“S-18. PROJECT: MIDNIGHT - 23.8.”

He opened the door and walked inside, kicking off his boots and tossing aside his gloves as he lay back on the hard floor that he had become used to over the course of the year.

Pressing his nose against his own fur, he could still smell her scent lingering on him from bits of her fur that she had shed. Oddly enough, he found it pleasant. Shrugging, he closed his eyes and drifted off to a peaceful sleep. For once, he had something to look forward to in the next day, rather than endless training. It was a welcome change.

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Harley: Well, well, well… an echidna, eh? A clone from 3000 years ago. It’s as good an explanation as any, and better than most. I’m surprised more people don’t think of it.

Froggy: Midnight is my character, although Harley thought up a lot of other little details. So you must ask me if you even want to consider using him. Or I’ll HUNT YOU DOWN.