Anon Who's That?

he didn't think sonic would hug him back. he couldn't remember the last time he had given someone else a hug, genuinely, and felt safe in their arms. his grip on sonic increased subtly, a shivered exhale of relief and peace leaving him. his head turned in towards sonic without his conscious realization, grateful. if sonic thought so, then yes, julius would try again. perhaps next time, they could spend time together at sonic's home. maybe eventually, julius could branch out and start to actually include the other little trio- not right away, but in time. who knew-

"....it's gonna be alright, julius. okay?"

julius' gaze opened, eyebrows slightly furrowing at that. what?... did sonic think he was that overwhelmed by everything? yes he'd been overly stimulated, but being off on this quieter road was calming his nerves down.

"i promise ya, everything''ll be alright."

sonic stepped back. no, something was⸻ a crack of sheer pain caused his sight to turn white from the impact, and before julius could register what was going on, he fell unconscious.

only to startle awake, inhaling sharply and his eyes shooting open. greeted by darkness; but it wasn't a normal type of shadow, he could normally see in the dark. this? like an inky black void, unable to see through it for as hard as he tried.

his knees hurt, and julius realized why. tried to move, but couldn't. his arms, legs and even his neck were bolted in place, massive shackles holding him down, chained and reinforced into the floor. he was being forced to hunch forward, couldn't even twitch his arms. there was a half mask clamped along his jaw, stopping just at the middle of the bridge of his nose, restricting him from talking.

at most, the only thing he could move were his eyes, and he could hear his own rasped breathing under that half-mask, getting heavier and heavier the longer he sat in this reality. how-

"....it's gonna be alright, julius. okay?""

he⸻ sonic had⸻ his breathing hitched, getting more uneven as the realization slowly dawned on him, widened gaze, pupils shrinking in shock. julius tried, he focused, as best he could, but he couldn't push out his chaos energy. couldn't begin to build it, tap into it, no matter how he tried. whatever they were restricting him with, wasn't giving him any access to his chaos energy. he couldn't escape this, truly. he was trapped.

his eyes skewed shut, for a brief moment, not wanting to believe. sonic wouldn't⸻ julius had trusted him⸻ felt his body tensing, and his mouth opened and a scream left him, that sound elongated, sheer rage, disbelief, hatred, anger that burned at his lungs and caused his throat to ache but that scream wouldn't stop, getting louder and more desperate and breaking on the edges from how intense as that near roar of betrayal left him.

his expression skewed, eyebrows furrowing as julius hugged him. sonic hesitated before hugging back. he could feel julius' face turning and almost tucking closer to him, and sonic swallowed. "....it's gonna be alright, julius. okay?" his voice is quieter, and it does shake a tad. "i promise ya, everything''ll be alright."

he squeezed julius just slightly, breathed out and stepped back, before swiftly and suddenly jerking his hand forward and slamming it into the side of julius' neck and lower jaw, as hard as he could. watched as julius' eyes widened before he slumped over, knocked unconscious.

a gasped exhale, and sonic swallowed before lifting an arm into the air, motioning with a short wave. it took a second or two before those G.U.N soldiers repelled down the sides of those supposedly empty buildings from their hiding spots on the rooftop.

"excellent work, sonic." clearly the leader of this squadron, addressed sonic. sonic was staring at julius, having to look away as some of those soldiers placed larger restraints along julius' wrists. could hear them doing the same to his legs.

"...he'll get the help he needs. you'll make sure of that." he's turning to look up at the man, who flashes a standard for the public smile.

"at G.U.N, nothing is impossible. even robotnik can be reformed under our guidance." a hand juts out, and sonic shakes his hand, glancing over and watching as those double doors closed, julius now tucked detained. that vehicle begins to drive off.

"....can i see him, at least? you've got like, visitations or something, right?"

"i am afraid not. robotnik is a.... let's say a flight risk. he will be better off under our care without any outside influences."

"better off..." sonic echoed, inhaled, exhaled, nodded. right. this was, for the best. julius would be able to get the mental, and the emotional help he needed.

i'd like to know you ⸻ hearing those words felt, bizarre. as precious and as warm as sunlight, they felt & yet that ever present and nagging fear, numbness threatened julius at the mere notion. the mere fraction of a thought: until you won't. until julius said or did something that was too much, too confusing, too outlandish or too contradictory, or too selfish or too sensitive or too⸻ he was scared, at the thought of losing this. losing him.

& just how much of himself was he willing to give, could he give? could he give parts that stone would help him to understand? julius had always wondered that, how he was supposed to just KNOW things innately when no one ever bothered to teach him, to explain, to show him. to let him feel, not that he felt very often or for very long.

at the reassuring smile, julius gives a small, awkward, brief one in return. like he isn't used to smiling very often, never sincerely. at what is said next, julius blinks, his turn to be caught off guard. oh. right. he supposed they never introduced themselves, did they?

"julius," he steps forward, reaching a hand out and shaking imad's, "it's nice to meet you, imad. er, properly." julius' touch lingers, not wanting to let go of imad's hand. he's probably shaking it for too long. how long did one normally shake another's hand?? julius glanced down, cleared his throat, finally stopped shaking imad's hand after probably 30 seconds, rubbed at the side of his neck again.

considered, but then stepped back, wanting to give imad space. "....your name suits you, i like it."

the little apology caught him off guard, and he chooses to nod as he shifts his weight from one foot to the other, seeing yet another change in the man's demeanor. stone figured julius was likely pushing himself way out of his comfort zone, and he really did wonder just why that was. the man had shown he was very capable of deflecting, of being indifferent to what stone said and even expressed, so why the change of heart?

"I'd like to know you, as much as you feel comfortable telling me. In turn I will tell you about myself, that way it is an even exchange."

he offers him a reassuring smile, his previous look of annoyance fading away as he takes on a more friendly stance. "We could start with our first names, yeah? I am Imad, what is yours? I'd at least like to properly address the person I am speaking with."

Jeanette Winterson, Gut Symmetries

"i, for one, have never been prouder of colin."

" you should see the other guy. "

a little scoff of a chuckle; as though julius were simultaneously amused by that statement, impressed, and found joy in the thought. it shows, in how he gives a very brief, rare smile. an eyebrow rose in some contemplation as julius regarded roman from behind obscuring sunglasses,

"have you brought me a present," he wonders, "should i expect to see a corpse with a bow on it being dragged behind you by some of your little henchmen?" he holds a hand out for roman to shake,

"pleasure to see you as always, roman."

@blckfckinmsk

[txt:] hey.

[txt:] sorry i don't really text very much

[txt:] lol

"as can i," he motions with a slight grand sweep of his arm, "& yet here we are."

quiets as he lets the echidna stew on his former question. honestly julius doesn't expect an actual response. at most he figures the echidna will dismiss him or laugh outright in his face. tell him it's none of his business. julius knows it's what he would have done.

colour him surprised when the warrior actually opts for honesty, vulnerability. hmph. he respects that. enough not to mock him. it'd be easy to do, but julius refrains.

"for whatever it is worth to you, i am sorry for your losses. losing a family is one thing, but an entire tribe? i can't begin to fathom that. so while i can't say i completely understand your," he motions to the broken pipe, "peculiar way of dealing with problems. i won't chastise you for it, from this point onward. unless you piss me off."

@drrobctnik xxx

a sputtered clipped laugh punches out of him immediately at the echidna's confession about the 'fixed' phone. ah yes, of course. how stupid of julius to think elsewise.

"you do realize you can stop and think before resorting to brute strength, yes?" how hypocritical of julius to say. especially considering whenever he did lose his composure and his calm, julius would be the first to resort to and praise violent or physical methods. that being said, julius drew the line at trying to 'fix' menial tasks using sheer strength alone. even he wasn't that desperate to resort to such violence. he wasn't some mindless barbarian. "i know you are not that daft, echidna. what is the real reason you want to constantly 'fix' things using only your fists alone? what is it, some nonsense about fear of not being acceptable enough or worthy enough if you're not the strongest of the bunch?"

He fails to see what's funny about malfunctioning devices, particularly those that are the creations of humans- a tribe which the man hails from. Perhaps this is a case of laughing at oneself? Humility doesn't suite the other well. Not even the slightest.

The suggestion is met with a short puff that seems to fuel the trajectory of his gaze as it rolls. Advice. Like he asked for it! "I can think...of better ways to spend the time."

He's adjusting the cuffs of his boxing gloves when his critic based company continues to pry into nothing more than an instinct on his part, but he's annoyed enough by the fact the man probably thinks that's all it boils down to even though he'd blindly agree with his short fused patience. Glove creaking as he squeezes the tension out of one, he shakes his head with the intent of knocking the dreaded quills falling cross his gaze back. "It is all I had. Relied on. Since I lost everything."

A response like rumbling thunder despite how plain of an answer it is. There is nothing more to say about something so clear cut. So he does not.

at how the lankier man mentioned blood being appealing, julius hummed in agreement. "does it turn you on," he holds eye contact as he says it, voice dipping in that thinly veiled lust. "shall i spill more?" chaos energy kisses at his finger tips, sparks of red electricity arcing and dancing deftly across his left hand.

"i did, once." hadn't in years, but julius still remembers how much he had loved putting makeup on, only to have it defiled and smeared during his nights in the clubs. "been debating on whether i should again or not. a darker shade, you say? what colour do you suppose suits me?"

" that's a lot of blood. "

"indeed it is," his face and neck are covered in it. front of his shirt and bits of his jacket are drenched in that blood. "adore your makeup." particularly the lipstick, to say nothing of the accentuation around his eyes. "what brand do you use?"

curious, julius glanced over when he noted movement, and saw sonic rummaging around the grass. what was he doing? then, sonic's picking up a - rock? julius' eyebrow raised. tossing, it skips before going into the water. sonic mentions it not being 'flat' enough. if that's the case.....

he bends down, gloved hand feeling through the grass, until he feels a sizeable rock, flatter than sonic's. smirking, julius lifted it and closed an eye, staring at the pond as if that'd help him aim better.

he tossed that rock, and it skipped about several times before finally submerging. a smile crossed julius' expression at the realization. hmph. how stupid.

at that, sonic gave a soft, understanding smile. he shrugged a little bit, "no problem," then thought about what to talk about. not like he and julius ran with the same circles, or really talked outside of fighting or battle quips. his gaze lowers to the grass, fingers roamed until he felt a small pebble. lifting it up, sonic tossed that rock and watched it skip across the pond about twice before sinking, "drat, not flat enough."

he sensed it behind him, head lilting and shifting up a fraction as that sensation of another world's chaos energy washed over his back. tingled at his skin, thrummed along his own chaos energy like a disorganized harmony losing it's foot and placement. he inhaled, tasting that sensation of chaos energy that he hadn't felt nearby in years⸻

he turned, to face him. knowing without needing look, who it was. stone. & yet, different: older, clearly, a different emotion or perhaps lack thereof clouded his once bright eyes. julius could tell at a glance that this stone had been through quite the life.

& then stone spoke, or began to, "you're not my...." catches himself, redirects, "you are not the man i had hoped to find here."

no contractions. interesting. to denote distance? or were it a sign of silent strength and formality on stone's end? were it anyone else that had said such a thing, the words would have ghosted through julius. he would've barely bat an eye. but, hear those words, coming from that face? with his voice (even if the cadence and grit were different, sharper)? these words SPEARED HIM, felt like his heart was being torn into. at most, julius' lip twitched along the corners. his gaze narrowed behind obscuring sunglasses. but he didn't look away from stone.

he stepped forward. & then he walked forward with purpose and almost hurried nature to his steps. not a word, before he's grabbing stone by the arm and pulling him forward, leaning down and hugging him. his gloved hands are shaking somewhat as his palms press into and his fingers dig into the back of stone's jacket. julius' eyes closed behind those sunglasses, head shifting and lilting inward, towards stone's.

closed starter with @drrobctnik.

how long had it been since he last saw the doctor? he had lost count as the weeks slowly turned to months, and months to years. the last he had seen of the man was the transmission he sent out before choosing to save the earth from its demise.

why had he done that? because of him?

had the doctor just taken him with him to the ark the earth wouldn't have mattered! instead he chose to be a savior at the end of it, and though the transmission was meant to bring closure it did anything but for the sycofriend.

if anything it drove stone mad, and the man soon was toiling away in one of robotnik's hidden lairs. grief stricken and feeling a whirlwind of emotion he works on failed experiments from the man for longer than he could remember. then he got to thinking about the multiverse, and how if it were true then the doctor was still alive. there was a timeline where he lived, and stone was still with him. the thought floored him, and if he could find said timeline he could easily eliminate that stone and take his place, and have the doctor back right where he belonged.

years he spent researching, years he spent studying those stupid rings and seeing if they were capable of multiversal travel. in the end he was right, and as a portal opened up he could see robotnik on the other side. not wasting a moment he quickly steps through, but it was only when the man looked utterly baffled at what just happened that he knew something wasn't right.

he did not look like the doctor, save for them having the same face, no. something was definitely wrong. the realization however happened slowly, as by the time it had struck the portal had closed and the ring outright disappeared. then he focuses his attention back on the man, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before finally speaking.

"you are not my..." he pauses again, feeling a lump form in his throat before he swallows it down and continues. "you are not the man I had hoped to find here."