"Won, teg ydaer rof eht tasl egnellahc. Fi uoy niw, neht uoy nac evah ruoy remmah kcab."
(Now, get ready for the last challenge. If you win, then you can have the hammer back.)
𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗔'𝗦 𝗣𝗢𝗩
I nodded at the leader's words while glancing at him but he kept his gaze away.
Then the leader clapped twice as a signal and I took a deep breath.
Just then— I heard someone yelling, "Hey! Where are you talking me!?"
I turned around and saw that it was. . .
"Knuckles!!"
We both looked at eachother then at Knuckles again.
"Oh, hi, Sonic! Hi, Sonica!" Knuckles waved at us, still being tied.
Sonic waved back at him slowly.
"Yhw did uoy gnirb mih ereh?" I asked.
(Why did you bring him here?)
"Ask him, why did he bring me here?" said Knuckles.
"I just did.." I nodded.
"Oh, okay." Knuckles looked at leader again.
"Sti esuaceb rof eht txen elttab, eerht srotitepmoc era dedeen. Owt nac osla etepmoc tub ti ti'now eb taht nuf ot hctaw. Os, siht der andihce lliw osla etepmoc." said the leader.
"What did he s-"
"It's because for the next battle, three competitors are needed. Two can also compete but it...won't be that fun to watch. So, this red echidna, which is you, shall also compete."
Knuckles nodded slowly, "Okay.. What are we doing again?"
"teg ydaer!"
(Get ready!)
But then it started to rain. The leader groaned and stood up from the throne, saying :
"Ti sah detrats gniniar. Ew lliw trats eht noititepmoc retfa eht niar spots. Uoy eerht nac tser rof won."
Then I just looked up at the sky, smiling. And I closed my eyes, feeling the cold breeze and the gentle raindrops falling upon me.
"Sonica! Sonica, what did he say?!"
I kept my eyes closed and sighed softly, "It has started raining. So we will start the competition after the rain stops. We three can rest for now.."
The tribe members led them back to the prison or whatever it was called. The leader had his personal umbrella-holder.
"..I will be back in 5 minutes!" I said to them and and looked back up at the sky, sighing in relief. I closed my eyes with a slight smile was on my face. It felt so nice in the rain.. but then I opened my eyes and found my hands glowing cyan.
I silently kept looking at my hands, taking advantage of the act that no one was here or so I thought..
Then my hands suddenly started shaking.. I looked up at the sky as my tears mixed with the raindrops...
But then something blocked the rain and I looked up to find a huge green-leaf used as an umbrella. It was.. the same tribe member who had helped us before.
What should I say..? I hid my hands behind my back.
"Era uoy yako?" (Are you okay?) He asked.
I nodded, glancing away.
"Tahw deneppah ot ruoy sdnah?" (What happened to your hands?) he asked again.
I had no idea how to explain... So I sighed and looked down at my hands, they were still glowing.
"Esaelp t'nod llet enoyna tuoba siht.." (Please don't tell anyone about this..) I whispered while looking at my hands.
He nodded slowly.
He then held out his hand to me..? I was surprised for a second. He clearly saw my hands were strangely glowing, yet he didn't backa way?
I looked at him, "Yhw dluow pleh me, I-"
(Why would you help me, I-)
"Uoy dluohs teg niedis ro uoy thgim hctac a dloc.(You should get inside or you might catch a cold.)"
I nodded slowly, still confused. Then I quickly asked, "S'tahw ruoy eman?"
(What's your name?)
But then I heard someone calling my name.
"Sonica! Sonica!!"
It sounded like Sonic-
"S'ti 'Sivay'. Uoy dluohs og won. Ruoy sdneirf era deirrow." (It's 'Sivay'. You should go now. Your friends are worried.)
I nodded and looked back at Sonic's direction.
Sivay. Got it.
"Sonica, there you are! Why didn't you come after us?! We were waiting for you-" He suddenly glanced at the tribe member and crossed his arms. "So you are with 𝗵𝗶𝗺 , huh?"
I nodded slowly. Then I noticed that his fur was wet and so was mine, but he was shivering too..
"Sonic, are you oka-"
"Yeah yeah, totally. Let's go now!"
He grabbed my wrist and started running, making me run with him. Then I looked back at that Shiro. He was just… standing there, looking at us.
I wonder what expression he had under his wooden mask.
— 56 - ՏᗴᑕOᑎᗪՏ - ᒪᗩTᗴᖇ —
"Where were you, Sonica!?" Amy, a bit worried, shook my shoulders.
"I-" *ˢⁿᵉᵉᶻᵉ*
"Sorry, I-" *ˢⁿᵉᵉᶻᵉ*
"Ugh.." I wiped my nose and sniffled.
Sonic sighed, "You have caught a co-" *ˢⁿᵉᵉᶻᵉ*
Oh dear. . .
"Look! You two have caught a cold! Now, come dry yourselves quickly before it gets worse!" Amy scolded while pinching Sonic's ear.
Sonic winced. "Ow ow ow! Amy st-" but then he sneezed again. "But there's no towel or anythi-" *ˢⁿᵉᵉᶻᵉ*
Meanwhile, I was at the corner of the wall, using my fire power to warm myself.. But some part of me felt selfish. So I decided to take the risk..
"Sonic, come here."
"Hm?" He came over to me, still shivering.
I patted the spot next to me and he sat down, "what are you u-upto, *ˢⁿᵉᵉᶻᵉ* Sonica-"
"I wanted to show you a magic." I cleared my throat.
"Oo, magic! I wanna see! I wanna see!" Knuckles excitedly sat beside me.
I chuckled nervously.
"Seriously..? At this time?" Sonic groaned, rubbing his arms for warmth.
"Just watch.." I quickly snapped my fingers and summoned a flame of fire on my right hand's palm.
His eyes widened and so did everyone else's.
"What!? How!?"
I fake coughed and replied, "I told you.. magic~"
"But Sonica, you might get hurt!"
.. that's the first thing that you say, Sonic? Very considerate of you.
"No, I am fine. Here, you must be cold." I brought my hand near him and he reluctantly accepted the situation.
Hopefully, he felt a bit warmer and his sneezing minimized.
"But.. its not possible.. How did you.. do that?" Tails glanced at my hand then at the clipboard in his hand, still shocked.
"Well... I learnt this magic from a secret method-" *ᵏⁿᵒᶜᵏ ᵏⁿᵒᶜᵏ ᵏⁿᵒᶜᵏ*
Huh?
We all turned to look at the door. They never knocked before.
The door slowly opened and yes! It was Sivay!
He brought some food for us and gave each of us a plate, excluding.. me?
I still had the flame in my hand, maybe that's why..
But he didn't seem to be shocked by it. He then placed the plate next to me and left.
Sonic narrowed his eyes at the door and started eating with the others.
I increased the flame a little bit more so that Sonic felt warmer and his fur dried asap. After that was accomplished, I slowly turned my hand into fist and the flame disappeared.
He looked amazed.. yet also annoyed?
"Thanks.." He muttered, glancing low.
"No problem.." I replied back quietly and began to eat from my plate.
Things were getting intense..
— TIᗰᗴ - ՏKIᑭ —
While Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, Tails and Sticks were busy playing cards, I zoned out while looking outside the window.
Why would he help me?
"Oh, the rain has stopped."
"Yeah, but it's already dark so the battle will be probably tomorrow." Sonic folded his arms behind his head as he relaxed on the ground.o
"Can't believe we spent all day in here.."
They nodded and resumed their game.
"Isn't it time for dinner now?" Knuckles scratched his head while looking at his cards.
"I don't think they will give us dinner. We already ate a couple or hours ago." Sonic said with a shrug.
"Exactly! A couple of HOURS ago!" shouted Sticks.
"So what am I supposed to do!?" Sonic shouted back.
I sighed and rubbed my face. Honestly I was hungry too...
FEW MINUTES LATER :
The bickering ended.
And the door slowly opened, revealing one of the tribe members who signalled us to follow and we did.
They made us sit on handmade rugs which was awesome! I sat down with my legs crossed and so did others.
"If we get soup again then I am gonna get sick." whispered Sticks.
Then they started giving each of us a bowl of soup and a plate— Hopefully, there were rice, some vegetables, and other items. . . which I don't know the names.
"Looks like you won't be sick, Sticks." whispered Tails and they chuckled.
Everyone started eating. That's when I glanced around, hoping to find Sivay. I had lots of things to ask him.
I quietly began to eat, still glancing around.
Then a tribe member sat next to me. And it was him!
"Yeh." (Hey) Sivay said.
"Yeh.." (Hey) I replied and kept my plate down. "S'tahw lla siht segnellahc gniht? Tnemniatretne rof ruoy redeal?"
(What's all this challenges thing? Entertain for your leader?)
". . ." He just looked away.
And I blinked in confusion before asking, "..Dnimreven that- I tsuj tnaw ot wonk.. whw dluow pleh em? Ew era slavir dna I ma neve tnereffid morf srehto, uoy wonk ti. Dna erofeb osla uoy depleh em niaga.. Yhw?"
(Nevermind that- I just want to know.. why would you help me? We are rivals and I am even different from others, you know it. And before also you helped me again.. Why?)
He sighed and shook his head. "I tsu-"
"S I V A Y !"
"G-Gnimoc!" (C-Coming!)
He quickly got up and ran to the leader without a second glance.
..He left, making me more curious.
— ᕼᗩᒪᖴ - ᗩᑎ - ᕼOᑌᖇ - ᒪᗩTᗴᖇ —
"Okay, time to sleep now.."
"It was a tiring day.."
Then they laid down just like previous night.
Then came "Goodnight."s followed by a yawn.
I sighed and laid down as well, facing the rooftop. I wasn't sleepy at all. I had a lot of thoughts racing in my head.
I looked at others and they were already asleep..? I no longer understand who is tired and who is not. My body is beat, just not my mind.
Then I sighed again and closed my eyes. But then I felt an arm wrap around me. I quickly opened my eyes and looked up. It was Sonic's arm.
"..So-"
"..I don't know what I am saying but.. do you maybe.. like that tribe guy?" He whispered, withdrawing his arm.
The thought itself made me feel awkward. And I sighed, closing my eyes again. "It's none of your business."
But then he wrapped his arm around me again and pulled me closer. "I am just.. curious.. Please?"
I took a deep breath and placed his hand aside and sat up. "No, I don't have a crush on him, okay?"
"Okay." He shrugged and closed his eyes, turning to face the other side. "Goodnight then.."
I sighed and closed my eyes. "Goodnight.."
After a while. . . my ears twitched as I heard someone talking outside. So I quietly got up, went near to the window and saw the leader talking to someone.
"Sivay, t'nod tnioppassid em." (Sivay, don't disappoint me.)
"I t'now..." (I won't...)
The leader nodded and walked away. Sivay then saw me through the window and I waved at him. He first glanced around, then waved back. Then he just. . . disappeared?
Suddenly I heard the door cream open and it was Sivay!
"Emoc tuo."(Come out.) He whispered.
I looked back at my friends, hoping they were sound asleep, and followed him outside.
"Uoy t'nerew peelsa llit won?" (You weren't asleep till now?) He asked.
I shook my head. "I saw gnikniht gnihtemos..." (I was thinking something...)
"Taht?" (What?)
"Ew t'ndluoc klat ylreporp kcab neht.." (We couldn't talk properly back then..)
—[A/N: Their tribe language will be directly written in English for the reader's pov.]—
He stopped walking and glanced at me before glancing down at his hands. "I also have...a supernatural power.."
My eyes shot wide open along with my mouth. But I shook my head to compose myself and cleared my throat, "Really?"
"Yes.. But they caused a lot of problems for me.. and others.." he rubbed the back of his neck.
"What do you mean!?" I asked, surprised because I felt the same.
I wasn't alone!
He sighed and took off his mask. To my surprise, he was a... white hedgehog.
WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT!!!
SIVAY IS A GIRL?!
"You are a girl?!" I shouted in shock before quickly covering my mouth as SHE shushed me.
Then SHE chuckled and scratched her head, saying, "Yeah.."
HOLD ON-
"Your voice!" I whsiper-yelled, still wide-eyed.
SHE nodded and held out HER mask. ".. these masks are made in such a way that our voices become more hoarse, rough, more.. man-like."
"But.. why?" I said, slowly taking the mask and examining it.
"Let's not talk about that." SHE said with a chuckle and looked at me.
Then I noticed.. HER eyelashes were long and beautiful. SHE had two different coloured eyes.. one eye was red and the other was blue.
Then SHE looked at me and turned away.
"What.. is it?" I asked, stepping closer.
Then she rubbed the back of her neck, "Let's say.. I have this power.. of half fire, half ice.. which, after my birth, made my half body start flaming and the other half start getting covered by ice, and my parents.. decided to...kill me.. Haha.." she scratched her head, glancing away.
My. Jaw. Dropped.
How could any parent think of that?!
"They thought I was a cursed one.." she cleared her throat as she continued, "but then our leader stepped up.. She took me with her and.. well.. she has been training me to use my powers and keep them in control. No one really remembers about that now.."
Hold on!
"The leader is ALSO a 'she'?!" I asked, surprised.
She blinked a few times before bursting out laughing, hugging her stomach. "Yes, she's a 'she'! I am sorry if we made you confused."
I put my hand over my face in embarrassment before speaking, "..I mean... your voices and body frame.."
"It's fine. We made it that way." She chuckled and showed me his wooden mask.
Oh.. I wanted to ask 'Why?'
But I remember how she brushed if off earlier, so I decided not to push further. Then I focused on the main thing and looked at her in the eye. "Your leader is amazing.. How are your powers now?"
"Well, I have full control over them now." She smiled and formed a snowflake in mid-air. "I have the power of fire and ice elements, nothing more than that. You see."
I was surprised. "I have elemental powers too!"
"I noticed." She chuckled and drew a circle in the air and it turned into a ring of flame.
"Whoa~" I watched in awe.
Then she snapped her fingers, the ring froze and then shattered into small ice crystals.
"That's so amazing!!" I couldn't help but feel more excited in anticipation.
Little did I know, my excitement would bloom another flower.
"Oh, boy.. I need to take control of my powers too.." I muttered while plucking the flower.
"You need to face it to get over it."
"Right.."
She then smiled and held my wrist. "Forget the rest, why don't you try it? Draw a circle like I did."
"Oh.. I don't know if it will work but.."
"Just relax and concentrate on the fire."
I took a deep breath and nodded, closing my eyes. She guided me by my wrist as I drew the circle.
It obviously didn't work in the first attempt.
"It's okay. Try again."
Then the 2nd try. And the 3rd try. Then 4th, 5th and 6th.
By now, I was annoyed and tired of myself. "Forget it."
Then she shook her head and threw a snowball on my head—
"Hey-"
"You aren't focusing enough. Calm the storm of thoughts that are swirling in your head." She crossed her arms.
I sighed and closed my eyes again. "Alright.."
Holding my hand out, I visualised the flame, it's warmth and the light it radiated. Then I slowly drew a circle in thin air.
I heard her stifle a chuckle, and when I opened my eyes, even I started laughing too.
I successfully managed to make a ring of fire but the ring wasn't so circular.
It looked more like a P O T A T O !
"You did it!" She said in-between chuckles and snorts. And I nodded while chuckling. "Thank you so much, Sivay."
"No problem." She replied and took a few steps back, "Oh, I want to show you this.."
I waited patiently in anticipation. She was a mistress of her powers, I wonder if I will ever be able to control mine.
"Okay, be ready!" She stopped at a distance. "3.. 2.. 1. . . Here. We. Go!" She used both her hands to draw a huge circle in the air and when she slammed her palms together, it turned into several, beautiful snow flakes! ❄︎
"Amazing!!" I clapped, excited to try it myself. But I forgot I didn't have the ice element.
"They are beautiful, right?" She chuckled. And I nodded while chuckling in return.
Then I looked up at the soft, snow flakes falling slowly on the ground.
"Hey, looks like you successfully tamed some of your powers. No flowers bloomed." She smirked, looking at me.
"Yeah. I guess I have to stop running away."
I chuckled and gently touched a snow flake. But then suddenly—
My eyes widened, my pupils glowed and I felt a something rush through my blood. The lighting bolt on my forehead started glowing and then a bright, blinding flash occurred.
The last thing I remembered was hearing Sivay yell my name…