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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Froggy: Piglord asks a very interesting question. After all, there are no female echidnas aboard ARK - or are there? After all, we did say OC/OC… Or maybe we’re just going to leave that alone and concentrate on this and not make things any more complicated than they are already.

Harley: On with the show! Let’s make some more new friends!

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Chapter Three: In Training

Mirage pushed open the door to the gym. Quite a lot of her body ached from yesterday's scuffle, which was why she was almost half-an-hour earlier now, getting ready. She stretched her leg carefully on the crossbars and thought hard. She'd spent most of today - when she wasn't being given more intelligence tests - trying to locate where the Artificial Chaos were being made, and she'd found a likely area. Levels 9 to 15 were restricted to her, even though she was normally allowed to go anywhere she wanted. Soldiers didn’t guard empty rooms. She hadn't actually seen inside it yet.

She reflected on Midnight too. It still bugged her that she couldn't remember him. But maybe that was a good thing. Maybe she was already changing things. She put her other leg up on the crossbar, and hung upside down on it. He was nice, she'd give him that. Then another, far more unpleasant thought occurred to her - would he die too?

At exactly the same time as she had entered yesterday, the door to the gym opened, and in walked the midnight blue echidna. Walking across the mat towards the room's center, he glanced briefly at the hedgecat, giving a faint nod in her direction. Once at the center of the room, Midnight began to stretch and pop his joints, "I figured you'd be here early,” he said idly.

Mirage smiled slightly, "What tipped you off?" she asked him.

"You just strike me as the type,” he answered as he continued to limber himself up, "A perfectionist. Someone who prepares well in advance."

Mirage couldn't help but smile at that too. He really had no idea how true that was, "I am still finding out a lot about myself," she said quietly, jumping onto the crossbar and standing on one leg, testing her balance. It wasn't completely a lie, she supposed. Up until a couple of weeks ago about 56 years in the future, she'd never dreamed she'd be able to stand up to that smug bastard Ashura. She had to do it again now. She was just glad that she hadn't been given the chance to yet.

"You couldn't have been born very long ago. You have a lot of learning to do,” said the echidna as he lowered himself to the floor for some push-ups, "Those scientists can program all they want into your brain, but it’s no replacement for real experience."

"I know that," Mirage did a careful handstand, and frowned, "I just... I mean, if I was real, I would live down there and I would get real experience instead of flash programs and a real life instead of people telling me everybody here is very special..." She sighed from her upside-down position, and then sneered, "Which is just a smart way of saying nobody is..."

The echidna glanced up at Mirage and smirked, "Unless you are a figment of my imagination, you are real, I assure you." Midnight ended his stretches and sat up with his hands on his knees, looking up at the hedgecat with his head tilted slightly to the side, "As for real experience, that is the reason we’re here, isn’t it? I only had the early flash learning programs. I certainly didn't learn to fight from them. I had to start from the beginning. You seem to have a head-start, Mirage."

"Listen to a karate movie in your sleep. It has approximately the same effect," Mirage turned herself the right way up again, because all the blood was rushing to her head, and sat on the crossbar, swinging her legs, "How did you get so good in a year, anyway?" she asked, "To be that skilled in a fighting style usually takes a real lifetime."

The echidna gave her another smirk and tapped the side of his head with one finger, "My memory is perfect. Completely perfect. I can recall exactly what I was having for breakfast in the morning three months ago with no problem. It was sugar-frosted cornflakes with semi-skimmed milk. It’s an unintended side-effect of the flash programming,” he explained, "It happens to about every one in a thousand hooked up to those machines. In those rare cases, once someone is disconnected from those learning machines, their brain still acts like they are hooked in, their ability to retain information altered. My brain is like a sponge."

"Sometimes forgetting is a good thing," Mirage cursed mentally on saying that. She wasn't supposed to have many memories yet, "Anyway," she said quickly, "I do not know about being a sponge, but hopefully I was made to learn fast."

Midnight frowned for a moment, but it was quickly replaced by that confident smile as he got to his feet, "Good. I say we should test that. Let’s start by showing me what you learned from yesterday."

Mirage thought for a few seconds, then nodded and jumped off the bar, obviously deep in thought. Strategy. She picked up a quarterstaff again and swung it at his legs. She was using the same strategy as yesterday. Knock 'em down and keep 'em down.

Midnight jumped over the staff, the weapon passing below his feet. Rather than take the opportunity to send a kick her way, he just landed and stayed on the defensive, observing her tactics carefully.

Mirage swung again at his head, and he caught it. So she let go and did a backflip that caught him a kick in the face, as well as putting her several feet away from him.

Midnight thoughtfully rubbed his aching jaw, "Better,” he said, voicing his approval. The blue echidna tossed away his quarterstaff and shifted into a fighting stance, approaching her, "Your agility is a great asset and an advantage you will have against most opponents."

"Thankyou," Mirage replied, "But I still need the strength to back it up." She thought fast, and aimed several fast jabs at his stomach, similar to the moves he had pulled on her yesterday.

Midnight took the punches to his stomach with a grimace of pain. Backing up, he said, "You don't need strength, Mirage. I'm bigger and stronger than you, but you can turn that strength and mass against me." He rushed forward and thrust the palm of his hand hard towards her sternum.

It connected, knocking Mirage back, but then she grabbed his wrist tightly, holding him in place, and aimed a kick at his upper torso.

Her kick connected, Midnight grunted in pain, and he reminded himself of just how limber the feline was. Grabbing onto her own wrist, he yanked the hedgecat towards him, grappling with her and trying to wrestle her to the ground.

His strength outweighed hers, but she wasn't giving in, kicking at his shins repeatedly. She managed to twist so that her tail, heavy with the three Power Rings, thudded into his side.

"Oof!" grunted the echidna, but he still stubbornly held onto her, forcing her down onto the mat. She certainly was fighting better this time; he wouldn't come away from this one without bruises.

Once again flat on her back, Mirage freed one hand - it wasn't easy, thanks to Midnight's tight grip - and pushed against his chest, trying to get him off her enough to give her a little leverage.

Midnight leaned over the hedgecat, pressing his weight down on the one hand trying to push it down. This fight was almost over.

Once again, the expression on Mirage's face became one of sheer determination. She gritted her teeth and pushed harder, her claws scraping gently against his skin, and curled up her legs underneath him. She kicked him in the chest as hard as she could.

Midnight finally let go, rolling away from her and quickly scrambling to his feet. Rather than resuming the fight, he raised one hand towards her, palm outward, "That was good. You're getting better, Mirage, but you can't win like this. At this rate, I will wear you out long before you do the same to me. You need to conserve your strength and use your opponent's against them. Allow me to demonstrate," Lowering his hand and letting his arms hang at his sides, he said, "Rush me."

"Ah, so I now volunteer to have the shit beaten out of me," Mirage shrugged, and Midnight couldn't help but notice the interesting way her chest moved, "To hell with it." Her claws slid out fully, and she charged.

Midnight stood his ground as the feline hurled herself towards him, and as she reached him, he grabbed onto her wrists and fell backwards, pulling her with him. As they fell, he curled his legs up, pressed his feet against her, and kicked, tossing her far over his head to come down hard onto the mat. The echidna twisted his body and swung his legs through the air, jumping back to his feet, "Do you understand now?" he asked her.

Mirage lay back on the mat and waited for her breath to return, So he is the one I learnt that move from, she thought, Why did I remember the move but forget him? She sat up, "Yes, I do."

The dark blue echidna smiled at her, "Good. That is the kind of move you need to use. Minimal effort for maximum effect, using your opponent’s weight and momentum against them. Master that, and you can beat me."

"It seems to me, that the person who attacks first is the person who inevitably loses," Mirage stood up, and sat on the crossbar.

Midnight walked over and joined the hedgecat atop the crossbar, "Yes,” he told her, "That is generally true. Never be the first to attack, if you can avoid it. Get your enemy to attack first."

"I have much to learn," Mirage said quietly, "And I have to learn fast. I do not know how much time I have... I cannot explain."

Midnight frowned, but didn't press her for an explanation. Nodding, he said, "I understand. You already have learned much, Mirage."

"How do you understand?" Mirage turned to face him. The question wasn't accusing, it was interrogative.

"I understand that you have little time to prepare for something. The details are another story," Leaning his face closer to hers, he asked, "Do you wish to tell me why you must learn to fight?"

Can I trust him? Mirage wondered, Or will he just think I am crazy? Well, there is only one way to find out… "I have two reasons," she replied, "I do not find out the second reason for another 56 years."

Now Midnight looked truly confused, "56 years... what?" Titling his head to the side, he looked at her as if she had grown a third eye.

Mirage took a deep breath, "In 56 years time, I... I am given a reason to live this life again. Terrible things are going to happen! I have to stop them! I have to be strong enough to stop them!"

He stared at her, blinked, and frowned, "Oh. Well, I will do my best to train you for that."

Mirage sagged, "You think I am crazy, do not you," she jumped off the crossbar, "Or paranoid. I do not blame you. I would think I was crazy or paranoid if I had told myself all that crap the first time around."

"I don't know what to think,” he spoke to her from the crossbar, "It sounds crazy, but you seem perfectly sane to me. Perhaps you were programmed to believe that, for some reason or another. You are already programmed for battle, so I assume you were built to be a warrior of some kind,” he suggested.

"Do not mess with my mind like that," Mirage leant on the wall, a worry-line appearing between her brows, "It is bad enough in here as it is."

Midnight smirked at her, "I can sympathise. Still, it is possible. ...I don't think you are crazy, Mirage. At least, no more than anyone else here."

Suppose it was programmed just to make me train... it would not have happened... Espio would not have happened either... everything I believe is a lie... I do not know what would be worse... Mirage smiled weakly, "That is good to hear," she managed, twisting a quill around her finger absentmindedly, No... I cannot take the risk... I cannot just give up, "I just wish... I wish that I remembered you, too."

Midnight hopped off of the crossbar and walked up beside her, "You don't need to. You're making new memories of me right now."

"Or old memories anew," Mirage replied, staring into the distance.

Midnight shrugged, "Either way, it doesn't matter. You are here in this time, and it is here you must live."

Mirage smiled, "You know, you sound a little like somebody I will meet in the future. Always sticking with the present. Not worrying about the future or caring about the past... I suppose that was why he was always in such a good mood..."

"Remember and learn from the past, prepare for the future, but live in the present,” said the echidna with a smirk.

"My past is my future..." Mirage looked down, "I... I should go." She pulled away from Midnight and headed for the door.

"...Wait!" said Midnight. The echidna hurried over to her, "I'll go with you." It was a sudden, impulsive action that he hadn't even thought about.

Mirage hesitated, her tail curling up between her legs, "Thankyou," she said finally, with a little smile, her tail straightening out again.

"You're welcome,” he said politely, following after the feline. He didn't know what was going on with her, exactly, but he figured it would be best for him to go with her. A gut feeling.

Mirage was heading straight for the area she hadn't been able to get into that morning. She looked at the door, and stood on tiptoes, looking through the window.

Midnight followed behind her, looking cautiously behind them occasionally. As she peeked through the window, the echidna stated the obvious, "That's a restricted area." What did the hedgecat have in mind?

"You asked to go with me," Mirage replied, looking through the window, "You did not ask where I was going. Will you give me a leg up?" Midnight bent over so that he could help her up enough to see though the window. Scientists deeply absorbed in their experiments, and many horribly crippled failures, and recent successes, occasionally passed the door. She had no doubt that she'd been designed and grown in this area, and moved out of it for 'birth', "Yes... this is the place..." she murmured, "This is where it all started to go wrong..."

The echidna snorted below her and nodded his head. "Of course. This is where the humans test out their ideas without concern for the consequences. I'm sure that when man first made fire, he burned himself."

"Lost?" a musical voice spoke behind them. Mirage dropped with a gasp, and turned. A rather beautiful grass-green hedgehog with sky-blue eyes and a muzzle so pale it was like ice, was looking at them both with a horrible smirk, "Maybe I can help," he finished.

Mirage felt icy fear pool in her stomach, Ashura.

Midnight, on the other hand, was perfectly calm as he straightened and faced the green hedgehog, his hands clasped behind his back, "Kind of you, but we're not lost. I know exactly where we are. Thank you for the offer, though..." Tilting his head, the echidna waited for the other to state his name.

The hedgehog smiled calmly, "Please, call me Ashura," he looked at Mirage, "Ah. And Mirage. I was hoping to run into you."

Does he remember? Mirage thought, trying to appear outwardly calm, Does he remember the future too?!

Glancing over at the hedgecat, Midnight picked up on the nervous fear she was trying to hide from being around the green hedgehog, another experiment, he presumed. His expression masked any concern he had as he offered Ashura his hand, "Good to meet you, Ashura. You may call me Midnight."

Ashura took his hand and shook it, "Can I assume you are a Project, like Mirage?" he asked politely.

"Was a project,” the echidna corrected him, "The humans learned what they wanted from me already."

"Ha!" Ashura laughed, releasing his hand, "Those humans... they're probably studying you right now... observing your responses to the world around you... as an echidna, there's nothing you could be but a clone... and unless you've already told them about your previous life, they're probably working on a way to get it from you."

"I'm sure they are,” Midnight replied with a wry smile, "But if they are seeking to know more about the previous owner of this DNA, they would be better off leaving that to an archaeologist."

"Humph, yes," Ashura turned back to Mirage, "Oh, and dear girl, I'll need to talk to you later. One to one."

Mirage tried to look calm, "Oh. Yes, I see."

"Well, I'll see you around, boy," Ashura turned and walked away, not even bothering to look back. Mirage's cheeks had turned a pale grey colour. She wiped the sweat on her hands off on her thighs.

The echidna watched Ashura leave them until he was completely out of sight. Without turning, he muttered, "I take it you don't get along well with that guy."

"I have never met him yet," Mirage replied, "But I will not."

Midnight turned to face Mirage, finally letting his concern show, "Will you be alright?" he asked, "If he becomes a problem, just tell me, and I'll take care of it."

“I will be fine,” Mirage pushed her fingers into her quills, "Thankyou," she said, "Thankyou so much for caring... it means a lot to me..." She suddenly turned and hugged Midnight tightly, her head on his chest.

Midnight blinked in surprise, looking down at the hybrid who had latched onto him. Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around her and returned the hug.

Mirage gave him one final squeeze, and pulled away, looking a lot happier, "Like I said, thankyou," she said again.

Giving her a faint smile, Midnight bowed his head briefly towards her, saying, "No, thank you."

Mirage blinked, "What? What for? I have not done anything… have I?"

"Just being here is enough. I haven't had anyone I thought was worth being around for all of my rather short life,” he explained.

"Oh," to her embarrassment, Mirage felt herself blushing. She turned away slightly to hide it, "Well, um... thankyou for the compliment. I would say the same about you, but I do not have a lot of experience in the matter..." This was true. It occurred to Mirage that not only had she not been alive for long when the ARK got royally cluster-fucked, but she hadn't been alive for that long 56 years afterwards either.

Midnight just smiled. He turned and began to walk down the hallway, gesturing for her to follow. "Come on. Let’s go somewhere we are less likely to be punished for being."

Mirage nodded and caught up with him quickly, "Where did you have in mind?" she asked him.

"Well, there are many of places aboard the ARK where we could go,” Midnight explained, "Obviously, we won't be allowed just anywhere, but there is a recreational facility set aside for the projects. Has a bar, a lounge, a game room, TVs... all the comforts you could find on that blue sphere below us," he smiled, "They also have an excellent, well-crafted garden here. Trees, rocks, a little stream... makes you forget that you are on an orbiting piece of metal. I like to go there to meditate."

"You meditate?" Mirage asked, and mentally kicked herself for the words, You know that thing you do, when your mouth opens and words come out, her brain chided her, You really should stop doing that.

"Of course,” he replied with a shrug, "It refreshes the mind and body. Another way of keeping my mind off of things."

Mirage nodded, “Well, that garden certainly sounds nice. Will you take me there?”

Midnight closed his eyes and gave her a slight bow, "I would be glad to." The echidna led her down the many corridors of the large space colony, his perfect memory allowing him to navigate it with ease. Soon enough, the pair of them were walking through the recreational areas set aside for the population of ARK when they had free time, headed towards the gardens.

"It is nice that they actually considered we might want to do something other than train mindlessly," Mirage commented.

"Irritable experiments are difficult to deal with,” agreed Midnight as they moved through a lounge area and opened a steel door into an artificial wilderness. The echidna and the hedgecat walked inside, surrounded by trees and grass and a few rocks placed around the area. A small stream bubbled and flowed past them on the right side of the pathway. The air smelled fresh and clean and full of life, not like the recycled air on the rest of the station. Midnight drew a deep breath, exhaling slowly.

Mirage's eyes widened as she turned slowly, "Wow..." she breathed, "It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen..." she said softly, her voice almost sounding normal.

“Yeah…” Midnight's eyes moved over Mirage's face, witnessing her shock and simple, childlike joy, and he couldn’t help but smile as well, his heart warmed by it. He then looked up past the canopy of the trees to the blue sky above them with puffy white clouds and a shining, warm sun which seemed to stretch above them forever, the effect completed by the soft breeze. Pointing up towards the sky, he said, "The sky is holographic. It can also simulate the night, and when the plants need watered, storms."

Mirage walked through it all, slowly, "It is all... so very nearly real," she said finally, hardly looking at Midnight. She sat on a wooden bench quietly, "The best things in the world are very nearly real. The real thing always seems to leave something to be desired..." she finished, her voice returning to its normal, clipped tone.

Frowning, Midnight sat next to her on the bench, looking hard at her face. She sounded... hurt inside, hurt from experience which she simply had not lived long enough to have. That wasn't something that could be dreamed up.

Mirage took his hand and squeezed it absentmindedly, looking at her feet.

Midnight squeezed back, still looking at the side of her face. Quietly, he asked, "It really happens, doesn't it?"

"I should never have told you... I should not have burdened you with my troubles..." Mirage sighed, "Besides, you could be right... it might be the programming. I just cannot take that risk. I suppose they knew that.”

"Neither can I,” said he, shaking his head slowly, "The burden of your troubles is one I choose to carry. Tell me what will happen."

Mirage closed her eyes, "The Biolizard has already escaped, has not it?” she asked.

“That awful lizard thing that broke out a few weeks ago?” Midnight asked her, “I was locked in my cell while guards dealt with it. Took them days… killed a lot of people. Now GUN soldiers are replacing the guards of ARK.”

Mirage shrugged, “Next the Gizoid will cause trouble. It will kill people. Then the Artificial Chaos will escape. GUN will make its move. And then... more people will die." Mirage shuddered, "I have to stop all of that happening! I cannot just give up... I cannot..."

Gizoid, Artificial Chaos... these words meant nothing to Midnight, but he did know about GUN. The Guardian Unit of Nations was a paramilitary force with no national allegiance, basically the police force of the world, dedicated to maintaining order, containing conflict, and protecting the human species. They supplied the majority of the funding for the ARK. He had no doubts that GUN was searching for military applications for various experiments conducted there. Reaching over, Midnight cupped her chin in his hand, "We will,” he assured her, "We know that it is coming, so they won't have the advantage of surprise this time."

"I am scared..." Mirage whispered, looking into his eyes, "I should not be... but I am..."

"It’s alright to be scared,” he told her, his steely grey eyes looking into hers, his hand caressing her cheek, "Fear keeps you alert, motivates you to survive."

"I do not remember what happens to you," Mirage said finally, "I am sorry..."

"It’s alright,” he said, "Whatever happens, you surely just changed it. I know what's coming."

Mirage sagged, hanging her head. It was as if, by telling Midnight all of this, she had lifted a terrible weight off her chest. Her hand closed around his, moving it away from her cheek slowly, "Thankyou..." she whispered.

He nodded slightly, whispering in return, "You're welcome," Leaning in, he nuzzled his cheek against hers, "We will make it through this. I will teach you how." The fake sky rumbled above them, and in seconds, dark clouds rolled in. Raindrops began to fall upon them.

The rain trickled down, slowly growing heavier. It plastered Mirage's thick fur to her body, I miss Espio so badly... she thought, If I succeed, he will probably never fall in love with me... if I fail I will lose him anyway... She felt a sob choke up in her throat as she rested her head on Midnight's shoulder, I cannot even cry...

"Aw man!" a voice called out further down the path, "Now my quills are all messed up!" Walking in their direction was a brown hedgehog with messed-up quills, wearing a pair of red and white sneakers.

Mirage looked up quickly, "What the hell-" She stood up, soaking wet and trying to squeeze out her fur, a futile thing to try, I remember this... I remember him... I remembered him last time but he didn't remember me... This is not going to be good... "Who are you?" she asked anyway.

The brown hedgehog stopped walking and looked up away from his soaked fur at the hedgecat, "Eh? Name's Project Sonic Speed, but my friends call me Sonic. Pleased to meet you. They really need to warn me before they start with the waterworks."

"You think rain is bad? At least it is controlled," Mirage sat down again, "Nice shoes, by the way."

"Ya think so?" Sonic asked, raising one foot to look at the shoe, "Those scientists dudes gave 'em to me. Said that they'll keep me from burning my feet when I run." The hedgehog rolled his eyes. "Yeah, like I'll ever run that fast..." Midnight just quietly stared at the hedgehog.

Mirage looked at the young hedgehog side-on, "Well, with that attitude, of course you will not," she tried to wring the water out of her fur again, with no success, "Fu’sht, I hate being wet!" Sure enough, she appeared to be in a worse condition than the hedgehog and the echidna, both of whom had thinner, shorter fur than she did. It was like looking at a furry sponge.

Midnight snickered, unable to contain his amusement any longer, "Well, perhaps we should go back inside,” he suggested to her

"We are inside," Mirage squelched her way towards the exit, "And you would not be fond of mud either if you cleaned yourself with your tongue," she added.

"Of course,” replied the echidna, following after the hedgecat, trying to block out the image. True, they were inside, but the illusion was good enough to say otherwise. The brown hedgehog followed after them.

Once outside the garden, Mirage continued to get the water out of her fur, "So, um..."

"Once again, Sonic," the brown hedgehog told her.

Mirage looked him over. The kid wasn't even blue, and he couldn't have been any older than ten years old. It was probably a coincidence, "Sonic it is. What are you doing around here?" she asked him.

The kid leaned up against a wall with his arms crossed over his chest, an extremely familiar cocky grin on his face, "Oh, just chilling,” he told her.

"Is that ALL you do with your days?" Mirage asked, raising an eyebrow, "Are not you part of something bigger?"

"Oh, you mean the tests with the guys in the white coats?" asked Sonic. The hedgehog shrugged, "I'm supposed to be some experiment in super-speed powers."

Mirage started walking towards the training decks, "And how fast have they got you going?" she asked him, out of curiosity.

"They're trying to get me past Mach 1,” explained the hedgehog, walking beside her and Midnight.

"And you are not there yet," Mirage assumed. In training, being constructed from Shadow’s DNA meant she could clock up well over 100 miles per hour in a sprint, "You have got to try harder then."

"I think I've gone as fast as I can on my own,” Sonic told her, "But I did overhear them saying something about giving me a boost. Jolting me with some energy or something."

"Now that would be something to see," Mirage nodded, "You just be careful about what they hook you up to. You do not want to be electrocuted or something!"

"Hey, I may not move as fast as sound, but I can sure outrun them if I want,” Sonic gave her a confident smirk. Midnight just nodded silently, wondering if the hedgehog's confidence was justified.

Mirage leant on the wall and took off one of her shoes, tipping water out of it, "If you do not test your limits, how will you ever break them?" she asked him, putting the shoe back on and emptying out the other, "You need to be more confident in your own skills," she grinned hugely.

Sonic grinned back. "You've got a point,” he said. Then the hedgehog turned and headed for the door, "I think I'll go practice some more,” he said, "See ya!"

"You too, kid," Mirage nodded. Once he was inside the training room, she turned to Midnight, "Well, you were pretty quiet then."

The echidna shrugged. "Just watching your reaction to him. He seemed familiar to you?"

"Not yet," Mirage lied. She was terrible at lying, "Oh, all right, maybe. Well, slightly. In fact, if I am right... he is more important than the both of us combined."

Raising an eyebrow, Midnight gave the feline a slight smile, "That kid? I think I've been offended."

Mirage punched him on the shoulder playfully, "We shall see," she said with a smile, "But if it makes you feel any better, I was including myself in the equation."

"Good point,” he said, bowing his head towards her. He smiled again, noting that the feline seemed to be in a better mood.

Mirage took a deep breath, still feeling uncomfortably wet, "It was nice of you to take me to the garden," she said finally, "Shame about the weather."

"It was a pleasure,” he told her, "Next time, I'll bring an umbrella."

I know that is supposed to be funny. I am just not laughing, Mirage thought, slightly worried. She smiled again, "I should dry off though, or I will catch a chill or something... You are lucky, you dry off so quickly!"

"Huh. Well, we need to get you a towel then,” said the echidna, looking around, "The gym locker rooms have plenty of them. We can get one there."

"Oh, I know where those are," Mirage smiled, hurrying down the corridor. Nodding, the blue echidna jogged behind the energetic feline, deciding to stick with her. She managed to pull a towel from one of the lockers, and started to rub her quills dry frantically. When those were done, she moved onto her tail, and rather than trying to remove the Power Rings, settled for just drying the parts of the tail that could be seen.

Midnight leaned against the wall, watching the hedgecat dry herself off with the towel, his eyes absently moving over her damp body. He couldn't deny that he found the feline attractive, but did she feel drawn to him as well? Whenever they got close, he could sense that something was holding her back, something from her past. His future.

Mirage continued to dry herself, carefully removing her wet vest and hanging it on a door handle. It didn't make much difference on the whole, but she turned away from Midnight anyway, hunched over a little as she dried her body. He couldn't tell whether she was embarrassed by him watching, or not.

He continued standing there, wondering when she was going to comment on him being there. Until she did, he was perfectly content where he was. Glancing down at the tail, his eyes followed its back and forth movement, eventually asking, "What are the rings for?"

"According to the scientists, they moderate my abilities," Mirage told him, "Agility, speed, defence… they make it possible for me to focus my power, or I would go totally out of control," she grinned, holding the towel up in front of her chest, "Plus they make me look cool."

Smirking, he nodded towards the glittering objects. He had to admit that they were stylish on her, "I like them."

"Well then, I think I will leave them on," Mirage smiled, as if she had a choice, and picked up the vest. It was still soaking wet. If she put it on, it would remove the whole point of drying. She wrapped the towel tightly around her chest instead.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

"I am certainly feeling drier," Mirage replied, smiling. She looked at Midnight, and suddenly realised that she liked him. She found him an easy person to talk to.

Midnight smiled back. "I'm glad to hear that. Now...what are we going to..." And his sentence was interrupted by a growling sound come from his stomach. He gave his belly an annoyed look.

"Hungry?" Mirage grinned, standing up, "There is always the canteen. Well, I cannot go walking around like this, even if you can... I will catch up with you. I am just going to get a clean vest first..."

Midnight bowed towards the feline. "Very well. I'll see you there, Mirage." Giving her a grin, he turned and walked away to find something to eat.

~~~

Harley: PROJECT: SONIC SPEED! (add exclamation marks to taste)

Froggy: But he's brown, not blue.

Harley: Very true. Maybe we're just bluffing to annoy you.