Something bad was going to happen to Earth. I left with Marcel and Xander, and we stopped at a restaurant for food, where I met someone new.
I was posting some art I made, and she posted hers right after, which was rude. I started arguing with her, at one point asking about the art she posted, where she revealed interesting Sonic lore that intrigued me. We put the argument behind us and hung out for the rest of the time. I learned that her name was Ally and this was her first time visiting Earth, but now that it was getting destroyed, she has to leave. I introduced myself as Moon and offered to go with her.
We went into her spaceship, which was more like a tiny sphere. Ally started driving, but she started to breathe heavily and stoped steering. She was having a panic attack, so I had to take over flying.
We were approached by three similar-looking spaceships, except they were darker in colour. They fired at us, which I managed to dodge with an uncontrollable sharp turn. I managed to return fire on one spaceship before I had to flee, dodging and weaving with terrifying speed.
Before long, a large mothership that somewhat resembled a hover drone came into view. I dove underneath it and turned back to my pursuers, who had wisely decided to back off. I managed to direct the spaceship in through a hole at the bottom, and Ally and I exited the ship. She was doing better now, and complemented me on my flying skills. Few flyers could direct their ship like that. I laughed and thanked her, but added that I was probably not the best candidate for flying.
Ally led me to a group of girls our age, and introduced me as a new cadet. They were friendly, but went back to their own thing quickly.
More girls joined the group, clearly already familiar with everyone there. To my surprise, a boy wandered in, and everyone began baby-talking at him and acting really condescending. He told us that Admiral Heather would be here shortly, and left.
I asked Ally what that was all about, why did everyone react to the boy like that. She looked confused and said that’s the way it was here — males weren’t as capable as females, and would remain on the ship doing menial work while the women went on important missions. Sexism was alive and well on the mothership.
Admiral Heather made her appearance, and all the girls snapped to attention. She welcomed everyone back from their scouting missions to find Warg outposts, and told everyone to report any findings to her office later. This group had proven themselves as worthy warriors, and would be welcomed into the next rank. Then she dismissed us, and we all went back to our quarters.
Ally took me to her room, and we talked. I asked her what happened back on the ship, when she shut down, and she nervously said that it just happens sometimes. She doesn’t know why.
I told her that it was most likely a panic attack, and I had them too occasionally. I explained how they worked and how they were not a symptom of weakness or anything of the sort. Ally seemed mystified, telling me that everyone thought she was suffering from some sort of disease, and no treatment had worked, in fact they often made it worse. Fearing that it was contagious, nobody would share a room with her.
I confidently told her that I would stay here with her, and she seemed genuinely surprised, and thanked me earnestly. I offered a hug, and Ally hesitantly tried, the concept apparently new to her. I hugged her, and she whispered that it was nice. I’d have to sign up to officially be able to stay in this room with her, but for tonight it was fine.
I took the empty bed on the other side of the room and watched as Ally took out a journal and started writing. I was curious, and managed to catch a glimpse of a sentence that had my name in it, but decided not to push the issue. She was entitled to her privacy. We went to bed.
I woke up in the middle of the night to find Ally breathing shakily. I came over to her and quietly asked what she’d like me to do. She gasped out that she didn’t know, so I sat on the edge of her bed and wrapped her in a bear hug. It seemed to help, and Ally regained control of her breathing in just a few minutes. I asked if she was okay now, and she said yes. I asked if she’d like me to stay, and she said yes. I held her for the rest of the night, and we fell asleep that way.
We awoke early the next morning, and Ally said it was time for training. They were going to assess everyone’s abilities individually, to make sure they hadn’t fallen during their time away. I stopped by the front desk and signed up as Ally’s roommate, and the clerk registered me in the system. I could now train with everyone else.
The first was flying. I was naturally skilled at evasion and aerial battle, but making sharp turns and navigating tight spaces turned out to be an issue for me. At least I knew now.
The other lesson, surprisingly, was on water. I went on a jet ski with two guides, and we took off. I actually found it easier than flying, but the exercise was a lot longer, and familiarizing myself with the jet ski’s controls turned out to be a steep learning curve. I couldn’t fit through the last doorway and got marked down for it.
The tests were over, and I met up with Ally by a refreshments table. We talked about our results, but the conversation turned back to earth. Ally was not supposed to be there at all, as the people here were forbidden from ever visiting the primitive earth for fear of one group infecting the other somehow. They were told stories about how males dominated the society there and the injustice all around, and were made to believe that this backwards planet had nothing good about it. But Ally found it beautiful, and wished she could return and befriend one of the fluffy creatures she saw, a dog. Such an idea was treason, of course.
I noticed a guard looking directly at us. Her name was Luna, and she started to approach us stiffly. We ran. Ally turned out to be very bad at sneaking, and we ran all the way back to our room with Luna close behind. We were cornered.
Luna looked down at us and reached into her bag. We tensed, expecting her to pull a weapon, but she drew out a small white creature. She placed it on the floor and shut the door without a word.
I recognized this creature. This was my dog, Ferdinand! I had no idea how Luna happened across him. We made sure to make Ferdie a hiding spot during the way, and spent the rest of the time cuddling the old dog.
Ally leaned against me, and I took her hand. I asked how she felt. She said she felt… home, for the first time. This place finally felt like home, and it was because of me. We spent the rest of the night at each other’s side.
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