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Post by Leedzie on Jul 21, 2008 1:01:10 GMT -5
@yami@ The squirrel blinked. "...You know, I'm really not sure," he answered, his own surprise evident in his tone. "I'm still not even sure where I got it. It was in that bag I had when I woke up in the air ducts. I'm pretty sure it's not actually mine, but..." Ray chuckled sheepishly and scratched his head. "Well, in a weird way, I sort of feel like it, um, speaks to me. The idea of giving it up feels like a fate worse than death." More nervous chuckling came as he turned his focus to the blue jewel, turning it about in his hands, his affectionate expression bathed in a gentle azure glow. "I guess I've just gotten attached to it."
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Post by Jamie Lee on Jul 21, 2008 1:06:44 GMT -5
"A fate worse than death," Minight echoed in a skeptical tone. Though she knew Ray was being serious she couldn't help but want to shake her head and roll her eyes at just how ridiculous the claim sounded. "You know what I think you should do?"
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Post by Leedzie on Jul 21, 2008 1:10:10 GMT -5
@yami@ "Mm?" he casually replied, not taking his eyes from the glittering gem.
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Post by Jamie Lee on Jul 21, 2008 1:11:24 GMT -5
"SCREAM AND BEG FOR MERCY!" she yelled, suddenly tackling the squirrel and tickling furiously at him.
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Post by Leedzie on Jul 21, 2008 16:03:23 GMT -5
@yami@ AND A SCREAM SHE GOT, though mostly one of surprise. Ray's eyes bulged as he was abruptly knocked to the floor, but before he could ask what the hell she was doing, his words quickly transformed into a shrieky sort of giggle. The squirrel kicked and squirmed from his attacker, and his fur rapidly fluffed up until practically every inch of it stood straight up on end. "M-M-*SNERK*-MIDI!!" Ray gasped amidst his strangled laughter. "STOPI*TITTER*CAN'TBREATHE!!"
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Post by Jamie Lee on Jul 21, 2008 22:44:20 GMT -5
"You remember this, don't you, Spaz?!" Midi yelled, never relenting her attack on the Ray.
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Post by Leedzie on Jul 22, 2008 10:14:49 GMT -5
@yami@ Wheezing and giggling and progressively looking more and more like a feather duster, Ray desperately clawed the floor in an attempt to escape Midnight's merciless attack. "IGIVEIGIVE*ROFFLE*LEMMEGO!!!"
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Post by Jamie Lee on Jul 23, 2008 11:18:07 GMT -5
Instead of letting go, Midnight simply parked her rear end on his back and grinned, all the while still tickling at his sides. "Nope."
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Post by Leedzie on Jul 23, 2008 11:29:58 GMT -5
@yami@ Ray coughed and choked on his own laughter, awkwardly struggling to wrestle away from the bat that held him hostage. Apparently all that Chaos energy tethered to his neck was still powerless against Midi's tickling fingertips. "M... MIDIIIII!!" the squirrel howled, practically hyperventilating at this point. " *SNERKTITTER* STOPIIIIIIIIIIT!!!" Suddenly, a brilliant flash illuminated the cave. "Hand over your Cha-- ... ... ... ..."
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Post by Jamie Lee on Jul 23, 2008 11:40:49 GMT -5
Just as abruptly as the chimeric hedgehog appeared Midi stopped her assault, looking up at Shadow with a look of complete bewilderment. "... 27...?"
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Post by Leedzie on Jul 23, 2008 22:16:13 GMT -5
"................................" Shadow glanced aside and coughed forcefully into his free hand. It wasn't often that the hybrid hedgehog felt embarrassed, but somehow managing to always Chaos Control into... "private" situations was getting a bit awkward. "I, er, apologize for interrupting your... ... ...intimacy," he mumbled lowly, stashing the purple Chaos Emerald into his malletspace. "I came for that blue jewel. If you would simply hand it over without any commotion, I'll be on my way." @yami@ Ray, meanwhile, remained oblivious to the intrusion as he struggled to catch his breath. If anything, he would've been thankful for Shadow's arrival; Midnight's relentlessness had caused him to feel dizzy and nauseated. Had the assault gone on much longer, he probably would've fainted or thrown up. Or both.
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Post by Jamie Lee on Jul 23, 2008 22:54:45 GMT -5
Midnight however didn't seem to be listening to what the hedgehog was saying. Rather, she wasn't listening to what he was specifically saying. She was too busy puzzling over the fact "27" could now speak. The last she saw him he couldn't even pronounce her name correctly! Click. At first glance he was easy to mistake for the strange alien hedgehog she had found, but with further inspection she realized the small differences in their appearance - most notably his eyes. Climbing off of Ray she took a couple small steps toward Shadow, tilting her head as she inquisitively studied him. Apparently his striking similarity took a higher precedence in her mind than the fact a stranger had just appeared in the middle of her house from thin air."Are... are you... do you know 27? You look almost exactly like him..."
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Post by Leedzie on Jul 23, 2008 23:05:38 GMT -5
It would be inaccurate to say that Shadow arched an eyebrow; rather, the other one lowered. "I don't know what you're talking about, and I don't care, either. I'm only here for the Chaos Emerald. I'm not interested in a fight, but I'm also not afraid to take it by force." @yami@ By now, Ray seemed to have recovered at least in part, as he had pushed himself into a position somewhere between sitting and kneeling. He had noticed the newcomer to be sure, but since Midi hadn't seemed troubled by the hedgehog, Ray figured he shouldn't be, either. That is, of course, until something about taking the Emerald away came up. Out of nowhere the squirrel's head snapped around to glare at Shadow, his sharp eyes narrowing. "I beg your pardon, sir," Ray forced himself to say through gritted teeth as he stood and dusted off, "but this gem is not your property."
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Post by Jamie Lee on Jul 23, 2008 23:25:34 GMT -5
Something about what Ray said seemed to snap Midnight back to her senses. Her heart suddenly fluttered as she realized that, yes, a stranger had indeed broken into her house and that, yes, he was demanding possessions from them. Though, now she couldn't shake the feeling that, beyond his resemblance to 27, something seemed very, very familiar about him... She gave a shake of her head to clear her senses. "Look buster, I don't know how you got in here without me hearing you, but if you don't know anything about what happened to 27 you better ship out before I call the police!"
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Post by Leedzie on Jul 24, 2008 0:06:02 GMT -5
"Chh," the hybrid snorted with a slight roll of his eyes. "Go ahead and call them if it'll please you. GUN is hardly what I would call a threat." Shadow's rock-like expression moved on then to Ray, and the hedgehog's mouth scrunched to one side in morbid annoyance. "On the contrary, the Chaos Emeralds are mine to use as I see fit -- including the one hanging around your neck. This is your last chance to just hand it over before I take it from you." @yami@ A furious snarl overtook the squirrel's throat, and the air around Ray grew hot -- so hot Midi may have been reminded of the prison they'd been trapped in not so long ago. Clutching the Chaos Emerald with both hands and holding it aside defensively, Ray roared, "YOU ARE NOT TAKING IT AWAY FROM ME!!"
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Post by Jamie Lee on Jul 26, 2008 3:47:31 GMT -5
Midnight looked between the two several times. She felt helpless - she hated feeling helpless. If these two started fighting it was going to be her who wound up paying. " Damn it," she muttered, latching onto Ray's arm and giving it a tight squeeze. "Ray," she said through gritted teeth. "You're in my house. Remember?"
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Post by Leedzie on Jul 26, 2008 10:04:43 GMT -5
@yami@ Ray's jaw clenched, but despite his focus, he was not deaf to Midnight's reminder. He released a slow breath through his nose, apparently to help calm himself, but his unwavering glare never drifted from Shadow's face. Eventually the squirrel straightened up and said, "She's right. Whatever business you have with me, work it out with me alone. The lady has suffered enough." Without any further explanation, Ray began to make his way out of the wreckage of Midi's cave, apparently expecting the hedgehog to follow. But Shadow just looked more irritated, if anything. He seriously meant what he'd said before; he wasn't interested in a fight. He just wanted to get this whole thing over with, dammit! Even so, he could at least agree that whatever happened should only happen between himself and the squirrel. Letting out a disgruntled sigh, Shadow began to tromp after Ray, giving no further acknowledgement to the bat one way or another.
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Post by Jamie Lee on Jul 28, 2008 5:39:58 GMT -5
Midnight groaned, smacking her forehead. " That's not what I meant." she hissed, catching up to Ray and grabbing him again. "Dude, just give him the damn thing. It's making you act weird and it's starting to freak me out! It's caused MORE than enough trouble already!"
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Post by Leedzie on Aug 4, 2008 12:42:23 GMT -5
@yami@ "But..." Ray's expression remained firm, but as his gaze fell to the jewel in his hands, his eyes betrayed the conflict he felt. There was not a single inch of him that ever wanted to give up the blue emerald. He needed it. He almost felt dependent on it, really. But Midnight insisted that it was a threat... And even though he couldn't remember much, he was sure that he could trust her. Should he go with his instinct, or trust in Midi's? What should he do?! The striped hedgehog meanwhile folded his arms and grumbled lowly. "My patience is wearing thin," he warned.
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Post by Jamie Lee on Aug 4, 2008 12:54:11 GMT -5
" Oh shut up," Midnight snapped at Shadow under her breath. "If you don't wanna hand it to him than lemme have it," she said, holding a hand out expectantly.
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Post by Leedzie on Aug 5, 2008 13:30:40 GMT -5
@yami@ Ray looked into Midi's waiting palm with a practically horrified expression. This situation just seemed to get worse and worse! He still didn't want to give up the Chaos Emerald, to Midi or anyone else, but Midi was a trustworthy person... Yet he knew that giving it to her would be the same as giving it to that hedgehog; she'd been pushing for him to get rid of it all along. Why should giving it to her be any less painful? He'd still be giving it up.
The squirrel's eyes shifted back to the jewel in his hands, which seemed to pulse in greeting. No. He just couldn't give it up. Ray couldn't surrender his Chaos Emerald anymore than a mother could give up her baby. He wanted to keep it and protect it; he'd just told Midnight previously that losing it would feel worse than death. He hadn't realized just how accurate that statement would be. Ray's jaw clenched with a distressed whimper. "But.... it's..." No, he just couldn't do it!!
His frantic eyes rose to the bat once more. Midi would never do anything to hurt him... wouldn't she? There had to be a good reason she was asking him to do this. She'd mentioned that the gem seemed to be causing his poor memory, and it was starting to scare her. Could he really be so selfish as to continue to put her through that discomfort? And if it WAS the reason he couldn't quite grasp his memories, was he really that self-destructive?
Ray's agonized face dropped to the Chaos Emerald, then drifted aside all together. This... This was going to be very, very difficult. With ever-obvious reluctance, the squirrel released his grip on the jewel to instead grab the rope it dangled from, and lifted it from around his neck at a snail's pace. Despite the emerald being free, Ray still didn't immediately hand it over; he seemed stuck in hesitation, still cradling -- almost hugging -- it with both hands.
Finally, the squirrel turned to Midi for a final time, his trembling hands slowly offering up the Chaos Emerald. He tried to say something, but the words collapsed into a whimper before they made it out, and a thin stream of tears spilled from his heartbroken eyes.
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Post by Jamie Lee on Aug 6, 2008 17:06:10 GMT -5
She felt guilty. She really did. But the point she'd made was an undeniable fact; the emerald had caused far more trouble than it could ever be worth. The sooner it was rid of (and hopefully STAYED rid of), the better. She just wanted things to return to normal.Holding the Chaos Emerald up to eye level she stared into its glowing cyan center. She could feel the energy that it gave off; an oddly electrifying, yet at the same time pleasant, disturbance to the air it occupied. It radiated into her skin, into her bones; a dizzying feeling of empowerment as strong as any adrenaline rush. It was easy to understand why Ray hadn't wanted to let the thing go... She glanced up at Shadow with a passive-aggressive glare, and with a fluid motion chucked the emerald at his face. "There's your stupid rock. Now get the hell out of my house."
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Post by Leedzie on Aug 6, 2008 17:47:07 GMT -5
@yami@ Upon releasing the Chaos Emerald to the bat, Ray turned and collapsed into a nearby chair -- not because of the grief he was clearly experiencing, but because he'd suddenly begun to feel deeply ill. " About damn time," Shadow grumbled as he caught the cyan gem. After a quick pause to examine it and remove the harness, the hybridhog nodded to Midnight in acknowledgement. "Thanks for the help. Sorry for the intrusion. " CHAOS... CONTROL!!" Just as suddenly as he'd appeared, Shadow was gone in a blinding flash of light. Ray made no comment on the situation; he'd apparently fainted.
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Post by Jamie Lee on Aug 6, 2008 19:44:58 GMT -5
"Hrf," Minight huffed in a mixture of feeling. For several moments she could do was just stare unfocused off in space as her mind recalibrated itself. With another huff she looked down at the now unconscious squirrel, then back at the rest of her disheveled cave. Twice now it had been invaded, and she realized with a sudden shiver in her spine that it no longer felt like the comfortable safe haven it should have been. Looking at Ray again and twisting her mouth to one side, she shook her head and began lifting the smaller body up onto her back between her wings to carry. Once she was sure she had him secured she began heading toward the front door looking like a miserable wreck.
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