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: To answer Piglord’s question, it depends what continuity you’re reading, but it’s partially canon to the English explanation of how Sonic became blue, with some not-so-small changes.

Harley: All your questions will be answered. Just not in this chapter.

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Chapter Six: Late Night Training

Project: Mirage wandered down the corridor quietly. After today’s events - the blowing up of Sonic, and Midnight’s flashback, and their kiss... sleep was impossible. There was also the fact that she was afraid to fall asleep. The images behind her eyes filled her with fear, even with the knowledge that they hadn’t happened. She was always afraid of what she’d wake up to now.

So rather than lie in her cell, getting more and more exhausted, she had elected for some solo training. It would give her a chance to get her head straight too. She stopped with her hand on the door, and listened. There was somebody already in there. She shrugged, and pushed the door open.

Standing in the middle of the room was Midnight, swinging and spinning and stabbing a wooden sword through the air, viciously fighting an imaginary opponent and tearing it to pieces. The echidna was constantly in motion, his dreadlocks swinging behind him, a thin sheet of sweat already coating his dark fur. He was totally absorbed in the fake battle, not even noticing her walk in.

Mirage stared for several seconds, her eyes wandering over Midnight's strong, well-toned body. She gave herself a mental slap to stop, and smiled. This was definitely a surprise. Better give him one too. She picked up a staff, and moved in front of him, swinging the staff at his head. The point of the exercise was NOT to hit the other guy's weapon with an impressive clang. That was for when you were playing with children.

Midnight finally noticed the other being in the room and her attack directed at his head. Automatically, the echidna brought the sword up to block, halting the staff's movements. He glared ahead through her for a second, and then recognition dawned. He smiled back, "Well, well, well. Didn't expect to see you up this late. Having trouble sleeping?"

"If I was not having trouble sleeping, I would be asleep by now, would not I?" Mirage countered. She swung the other end of the staff at his groin.

He brought the wooden sword down, intercepting that end of the staff and shoving it down to the mat, "Must be your feline side coming through. A natural light sleeper. There is a remedy for that..." Giving Mirage a cocky grin, he said, "I promise you'll sleep well after this." Then he stabbed towards her chest.

Mirage performed a cartwheel to the right, dropping the staff as she did so. As she returned to her feet, she aimed a kick at Midnight's side.

The kick struck him, knocking him back with a grunt. Regaining his stance, he aimed the blunted tip of the sword at her face, slowly stepping closer. As he neared it, he kicked the staff into the air, caught it, and tossed it back to her, "You'll need that,” he said, smirking.

"If this was a real fight, you would not do that," Mirage told him. She held the staff close to her body, and made a sweeping kick at Midnight's legs.

The echidna leapt over the attack with a short hop and tried to tap her arm with a swing of the practice sword.

Mirage swung hard at his outstretched right arm, her every intent to make him drop the wooden sword and leave him unarmed. The move worked perfectly, the blow numbing his arm and making him drop his weapon.

Grimacing in pain, Midnight quickly back-pedalled towards the wall and the nearest weapon rack. Reaching it, he pulled two wooden swords off the rack, one for each hand, "Oh, you're getting better,” he said with a smirk, "My turn." Leaping at her, the echidna whirled into a furious series of attacks, swinging both swords at her as fast as he could manage, trying to simply overwhelm her.

Mirage felt the sweat trickling down her face, but she didn't have the time to wipe it off. Even a hard wooden training sword could really hurt if it connected well. She flipped away, and realised that the staff was actually slowing her down. She tossed it aside and charged, one swipe from her claws shattering the wooden sword in Midnight’s left hand, and her right foot kicking at his chest.

The kick connected with his chest, knocking him back again. Giving the feline a smirk, he dropped the other sword and leapt into the air, sending a kick of his own her way.

This kick Mirage caught, but it had a negative effect - while intending to merely pull Midnight off balance, she wound up pulling him right over. His greater weight meant he easily knocked her over, pinning her down. On reflex, she began to struggle.

Taking advantage of the mistake, Midnight fought to grab onto her arms and pin them beside her, using his weight and strength to his advantage.

Mirage squirmed and kicked until she was completely out of breath, but resistance was, to put it simply, futile. Once again, her gaze locked with Midnight's, and she found herself struggling against him less and less.

Feeling her struggles lessen, Midnight smiled down at Mirage and leaned closer, eyes locked, feeling her breath on his face, "Looks like I won this round,” he said quietly, leaning ever closer, bumping his nose against hers, "All the same… You're getting better every time..."

“Then how come you are still on top?” Mirage asked him, glaring fiercely.

Smirking, he said simply, "Because I'm still better. But judging from this, it won't be long before I'm the one on my back."

Mirage continued to glare, and tried to push the heavy echidna off her again. The main result of that was that her chest pressed quite hard against his, but it didn't actually give her any extra leverage.

Midnight continued to hold her down, allowing himself a smug grin. He knew it had to be exceptionally annoying to the feline. Good. It just gave her greater incentive to return the favour someday.

"Will you stop grinning like that?!" Mirage snapped, kicking at his shins, "You are bloody heavy, you know that?"

Wincing and giving her a sheepish look, he crawled off of her and sat up on his knees, "Sorry..." he muttered. He hadn't been thinking about that.

Mirage sat up, taking a deep breath, "I am still not good enough," she said quietly, crossing her legs and looking at her feet, "I cannot just give up... no matter what, I cannot."

"I know,” said Midnight with a short nod of his head, "It’s one of the things I admire about you."

"Thankyou," Mirage edged a little closer to him shyly. Her hand wrapped around his quietly, "I need to be ready... when the time comes."

He gave her hand a comforting squeeze, "You will be. Of that, I have no doubt,” he said. Glancing over at her, he gave her a softer smile, saying, "I may be hard on you when we fight on this mat, but it’s going to pay off."

"Oh, you are not that bad," Mirage blushed softly, and bowed her head to hide it.

He tilted his head to the side curiously, still giving her that smile, "I'm not?"

Mirage blushed again, "Well, you are heavy, but... you know, I never realised how much… innuendo there is in that position."

The echidna blinked and then laughed softly, "That's very true. Hmm... did you like it?"

"I... do not know..." Mirage confessed, "You did have a lot of power over me... if I did not know you better I think I would have been scared... after... you know... Ashura..."

The smile on Midnight's face died a swift death, and the echidna looked away uncomfortably, “Sorry,” he muttered.

Mirage touched his cheek lightly and turned him back to face her, "But I was not scared," she said softly, "Because I know you are not like my nightmares."

The echidna relaxed at her touch, gazing back into her eyes and resting a hand of his own on her cheek. Stroking her gently, he leaned in and kissed her lips.

Oh, my… Mirage sucked in her breath, her eyes closing, and her lips moving against his slowly. Her hand moved from his cheek to his shoulder, and she drew herself closer to him.

Midnight pulled the hedgecat into his lap, and began to kiss her deeply, as if he had been thirsting for it his whole life. His fingers probed and scratched at her back as a deep, rumbling, pleased hum rose from his chest.

Mirage's hand slid down Midnight's slick, sweat-soaked body, stopping at his hips. Her other arm wound lightly around his shoulders, and her chest was pressed against his so firmly, she could feel his heart beating against hers.

Midnight slid his hands up into Mirage's vest and clutched at the thick white fur as he deepened the kiss further, probing her mouth with his tongue and sucking on her bottom lip. Another, louder rumble rose from him, more akin to a growl.

Mirage winced, and took his hands, moving them down a little to her sides. She broke the kiss, and ran her sandpaper tongue over his lips. She began to purr, and he could feel her chest vibrating against his. She took one of his dreads into her mouth and chewed on it very gently, nuzzling his cheek as she did so. A soft mewling noise came from her throat as she began to kiss his neck lightly.

Midnight raised his chin to make it easier to kiss his neck. For the moment, thoughts of the scientists, of Ashura, and of the apparent impending attack didn't even enter his mind, and Mirage's touch was most welcome indeed.

Mirage’s kisses trailed down his neck and to his chest, and then she paused, for the first time actually noticing the pale blue crescent crossing over his chest. She’d seen that mark on another, although it hadn’t seemed important at the time, since she’d been too busy concentrating on stealing the Master Emerald. The Guardian, the red echidna; he had a mark just like it.

It is probably just a coincidence, Mirage tried to reassure herself, After all, for all you know, all echidnas have the Nike swoosh on their chests. The alternative options were far too disturbing to contemplate.

Midnight slowly opened his eyes, noticing, but misunderstanding the feline's hesitation. Smiling, the echidna gave the hedgecat's ears a gentle scratching, "It’s alright,” he said softly.

Coincidence. Definitely coincidence... Mirage nuzzled Midnight's chest with her eyes closed, and her fingers stroked his sides slowly.

Running his hands down her back, Midnight kissed her forehead and murmured happily, "I could get used to this..." Suddenly, he felt self-conscious of the fact that they were both probably being observed through a camera lens at that moment.

"Is something wrong?" Mirage asked the echidna as she felt him tense up against her.

"No, of course not,” he lied. Reaching down and tilting her face up towards his, he looked into her eyes, "Nothing at all."

Mirage began to purr again, and rubbed up against him affectionately, her arms wrapped loosely around his broad shoulders.

Smirking, the echidna wrapped his arms tightly around the feline and stood up, picking her up with him. Without a word, he began to carry her with him, towards the training area's showers, in the next room. They had done enough practicing for now.

Mirage licked his cheek, "You know, you did not beat me up so badly that I cannot still walk," she said with a smile.

Smiling back, he replied, "I know that, but this is much more fun, right?" Carrying her into the showers, Midnight carefully set the feline down. Hesitating for a brief moment, he then reached over and began to remove her vest, his eyes locked on hers as he did so.

Mirage blushed a furious red, but as her vest dropped to the floor, she reached over and pulled off his fingerless leather gloves.

He rested his head against hers as she removed the gloves, one free hand toying with the emerald shard hanging around her neck, but it was the one item on her he decided to leave. Carefully, he kicked off his brown, leather boots, leaving him clad in nothing but his dark blue fur.

Mirage felt a shiver run down her spine as she removed her own shoes and threw them into the corner. Still blushing fiercely, she stepped forward, her arms crossed over her chest.

Midnight wrapped his arms around her smaller frame and guided her over to the shower heads, twisting one of them on. Warm water spilled out onto them, washing the sweat out of their fur. The echidna continued to just hold her there for the moment, enjoying the feeling.

The water drenched Mirage, plastering her fur against her skin, making her look even slimmer than she really was. She felt her body relax slowly, and her arms uncrossed and looped around Midnight's shoulders again, bringing them closer.

Midnight gave a pleased rumble, nuzzling her wet cheek, pulling their bodies against each other tightly. Pressed against her stomach, Midnight's arousal was distinctly obvious to the hedgecat, but before any comment could be made about it, the echidna picked up a bar of soap and slowly began to rub it over the feline's fur.

Mirage gasped, suddenly gripping Midnight's fur tightly, "M-Midnight..." she moaned softly, her body shuddering against his.

He reached up and caressed her cheek comfortingly as his other hand continued to soap and clean her fur, slowly and thoroughly moving down her body, not being at all shy about it. His free hand left her cheek to reach down and support her quivering body as he washed lower still, down her chest and belly, between her legs, and over her hips.

Mirage whimpered and closed her eyes, her hand pressing suddenly against his belly, pushing up into his wet fur.

Midnight hummed happily at her touch, his hand leaving her hips to scrub and wash her tail. He leaned in and nuzzled her cheek again, getting soap suds on her face in the process.

Mirage blinked suddenly, pulling away as the soap got in her eyes, making them sting, She held up her face to the showerhead, baring her body fully as the water ran down her face and body.

Midnight's jaw dropped as he watched the water trickle down the curves of her body. Regaining his composure, he shook his head, water spraying off in all directions from his dreadlocks. Walking up behind her, he wrapped his arms around Mirage's belly and rested his chin on her shoulder.

Mirage tensed up suddenly, feeling uncomfortable with Midnight behind her. It wasn't him; it was just... her false memories ganging up on her telling her that was the way it had happened.

Feeling her tense up, Midnight whispered, "It’s me, Mirage. I'm not going to hurt you. You know that."

"I know it is you," Mirage replied, her body relaxing. She turned to face Midnight again, certain that if she wasn't soaking with water she'd be soaking with sweat, and buried her face in his chest, breathing in deeply.

Midnight closed his eyes and hummed quietly, holding Mirage gently against his chest. Pushing her away slightly, he smiled and presented the bar of soap to her, "Your turn."

Mirage blushed again, but nodded, taking the soap. Keeping her eyes locked on his face, with a small smirk, she slowly and deliberately began to soap up her hands, moving her hands over the soap instead. Now, she reckoned, she could have some fun with him, messing with his head just a little bit. She squeezed the soap 'accidentally' too hard, and it flew out of her hands, "Whoops," she said with a small smirk, "I guess I will have to use my hands instead..." She started to rub her slick, soapy hands over his body slowly.

Midnight grinned and closed his eyes, sighing deeply as her slick hands roamed over his toned body. The echidna clasped his hands behind his back to keep them from roaming, his cock hardening further and twitching in response to her arousing treatment.

Mirage smiled, pleased that he was enjoying it, and moved her hands around to his tail, lifting it gently and rubbing underneath it, moving closer to him in the process, his erection rubbing up through the wet fur on her belly.

Midnight groaned softly, resting his hands on Mirage's sides, his hips pressing his erection through her damp fur, "Mirage..." he uttered in a strained voice against her ear.

Mirage hummed softly, her hands resting shyly on his belly, as if she wasn’t quite sure of what she was and wasn’t allowed to do.

Midnight leaned in, panting softly, and took the edge of her ear into his mouth, his hips still rhythmically rubbing his member on her belly. All other concerns were pushed out of his mind; in that moment, all he cared about was him and Mirage and the sensations they were feeling, the need to be closer, "Don't be shy,” he whispered into her ear, feeling her hesitation, "Do as you please."

Mirage nodded slowly, and without looking, she took his erection in her hands carefully, rubbing it up and down slowly, the purr in her chest deepening.

Midnight groaned happily, his panting speeding up, as well as the strong beat of his heart. The echidna continued to suckle on the hedgecat's ear, his hands roaming over her back, sides, and tail. The deep rumble from his chest grew louder with Mirage's rubs, like an eruption building beneath the surface.

Mirage pressed her ear to Midnight’s chest, feeling the beat of his heart and the vibration of his chest, purring softly as her hands began to rub a little harder, a little faster.

Something reached its boiling point within Midnight, and the dark blue echidna pushed Mirage back against the shower wall, holding and squeezing her body tightly against it as he leaned in to kiss her passionately, a deep, animal growl rising from his throat.

Mirage yelped, her eyes wide and frightened, trying to push him away, her entire body freezing up, "Please stop..." she begged, suddenly looking very small and afraid.

Midnight opened his eyes, pulling his mouth away from hers, his steely eyes staring into hers, "What's… the matter?" he asked, his deep voice still thick with lust, the desire to knock her down to the floor and just push in and out of her almost overwhelming.

"Nothing...” Mirage was shaking slightly, "Just... too fast... frightened me..."

Midnight leaned in and softly rubbed his nose against hers, water raining down on their furry bodies, that animal growl still there, but subdued for the moment, "I'm not going to hurt you,” he promised her.

"Just… go slower," Mirage asked of him, her hand pressed against his chest, her crimson eyes gazing up into his face, still shaking a little, "And... if I ask you to... please stop."

Midnight silently nodded his head, his eyes not leaving hers, and he reached up to run his fingers over her face once more. Letting the hand fall from her face, he pressed the weight of his body towards her, against the wall as he lowered his face and wrapped his lips around her throat.

Mirage smiled, relaxing again, and another shiver went through her; one of pleasure. She tilted her head to one side, and her hands worked their way back down to Midnight's waist, slipping through his fur slowly.

Midnight hummed loudly as he lapped at the feline’s throat, pressing his body closer to hers. He pressed his erect member against her belly again and slid its length slowly up and down between her legs.

"No!" Mirage cried out again suddenly, and she crossed her legs, blocking any entrance, taking a deep breath, "No... not yet..."

"I know,” he said with a soft chuckle, still rubbing the length of his cock against her. The echidna slowly crouched lower his licks leaving her throat, moving down her chest and over her breasts, and the echidna caught one of her nipples in his mouth, sucking on it gently.

Mirage moaned, a tremor running through her body, and shifted slightly, taking one of his dreads into her mouth and chewing on it carefully, nuzzling his cheek as she did so, her hands rubbing at his sides.

Midnight hummed happily, enjoying the attention the feline was giving him, moving his mouth to suck on the other breast, he placed a hand on her furry belly and slowly stroked it in circles. She shuddered, her hands suddenly squeezing Midnight's body tightly, leaning her head back against the shower wall, her tail twitching rapidly. He groaned quietly into the fur of her chest, feeling her reaction, encouraging him to continue what he was doing, speeding up the suckles and lapping of his tongue.

Mirage suddenly realised that she was frightened, "Stop," she managed, "Midnight, please stop..."

Midnight pulled his mouth away from her breast and straightened up, surprised, his eyes gazing into hers, silently asking for an explanation.

"I cannot do any more," Mirage whispered, her voice clipped again, "If we keep going... we will go all the way... I cannot do that yet... I am... scared..."

Hesitating a moment, the echidna reluctantly stood up and lifted his weight from her body, leaning in to nuzzle her cheek. "We don't have to go further,” he whispered back.

Mirage sighed with relief, and turned off the shower quietly, stepping out of the shower and picking up a towel, which she wrapped around her body tightly, "Thankyou for understanding," she said, looking up at him.

The blue echidna gave her a slight smile and a nod, "Of course I understand, and I'm not going to force you into anything." The echidna stood there, water dripping from his body, and he told her, "You go on ahead, Mirage. I'll finish up here and join you in a few minutes."

Mirage nodded quietly, and picked her clothes up, leaving the shower room, a damp, dripping trail left behind her as she walked back to her cell.

After Mirage left him there, Midnight exhaled loudly and turned towards the shower again, turning the cold water all the way on and groaning as it splashed over his body, quickly killing his arousal. The echidna briefly washed his fur again and stepped out once the cold shower was done, grabbing a towel and his clothes. He followed after Mirage, using the trail of water to track her.

She was leaning on her cell door quietly, a small frown on her face, looking at her feet. As Midnight approached, she spoke, "I am sorry," she said without thinking, "I am sorry I could not-"

The echidna raised one finger to her lips, silencing her, "You don't have to be sorry, Mirage,” he said, "You were nervous of your first time. That's nothing to be ashamed of."

Mirage rested her forehead against his chest, breathing slowly, still holding the towel up with one hand. The other, she rested on his shoulder, and she opened her mouth as if to speak, but then changed her mind and closed it again.

Why could not he have just asked?

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Froggy: What, no sex just yet? Oh well, it was fun anyway. Hope you enjoyed it…

Harley: Read, review, and head on over to the next chapter.

Froggy: The Nike swoosh is on Knuckles' chest. It's true, you know. It was an advertising ploy by Sega and Nike that fell through.