A/N: Chapter 7 already?! Well, let's get to it!
The New Heartbeats
Intro Music: Open Your Heart Crush 40 VS Bentley Jones Remix - Sonic Adventure
Chapter 7: Worry
"YOU IDIOT!"
This was the voice of Shadow, who now had Sonic pinned against a tree after hearing the story on how they got here.
"So, we're all here because of you! Did it ever strike you that spindashing into the Master Emerald could cause consequences?!"
"Would you have preferred if I had done nothing?! There was no time to think!" Sonic gritted his teeth, but Shadow became more enraged.
"You never think anyway! That has always been your problem!" Shadow's grip got looser, stepping away from Sonic. "I can't believe you right now. Instead of trying to find a way to get back home, you go put yourself in a school and not even bother trying to search for the Chaos Emeralds!"
"I was getting to that!"
"Oh, really? When were you getting to that?" Shadow mockingly replied, making Sonic roll his eyes. "Everything that we're going through right now is because of you!"
"Then help me! We can search for the Chaos Emeralds together while attending the school!"
That's when Shadow literally burst out laughing, finding Sonic's question to be quite funny. "If you think I'm making myself do that, then you really don't know me."
"No… you don't understand… I need your help. I really, really need your help." Sonic's change in tone did catch Shadow's attention, at least. Sonic took a deep breath, looking at the ground before looking back at Shadow.
"Black Doom is back."
That statement made Shadow's eyes widen, the mere mention of that name giving him angered thoughts. Even so, his face still looked relatively calm, given the personal history that he had with Black Doom.
There was a long silence, their thoughts overtaking them. Eventually, Shadow would turn his head, looking away from Sonic.
"All of this really is your fault."
He would run off, leaving Sonic alone.
"Quite the friend you have there." Caliburn added, Sonic sighing.
"He's complicated. Now that I think about it, Blake reminds me of him…"
Sonic sat on the ground, closing his eyes as Shadow's words kept going through his head. Maybe he was right.
No, there wasn't a maybe.
He was right.
XXXXXXXX
"Soniiiiiiiiiiic! Soniiiiiiiiiiiic!" Team RWBY had decided to split up and search for their newest teammate and friend. Ruby was calling out his name, being in one part of Vale as she tried to find him. "I have chili dogs! You like chili dogs… right?"
She was sure that the mention of chili dogs would make the blue blur reveal himself, but there would still be no sign of him. She sighed deeply, rubbing her temples. "Dang it, Sonic. Where are yo-"
"SALUTATIONS, RUBY!"
"What the-OOF!"
Ruby had gotten tackled by Penny, one of her best friends. "It's so nice to see you again! How have you been?" Penny asked, but Ruby felt like she was being crushed.
"P-Penny… P-Personal space… Can't… breathe..."
"Oh, I'm sorry!"
Penny had gotten up, which allowed Ruby to get up and catch her breath. Phew, Penny was a lot stronger than she looked.
Wait, maybe Penny knew where Sonic was?
"Hey Penny, I have a question for ya."
"Hmm? What is it?" Penny asked curiously.
"I have a friend that recently ran away. Spiky blue hair, green eyes, and super fast. Like, otherworldly fast. Is it possible that you've seen somebody like that?"
Penny shook her head, frowning. "Unfortunately, I can't recall ever seeing somebody like that. Sorry, Ruby." Her tone signaled that she felt bad since she couldn't help Ruby out.
Ruby sighed loudly once more, before coming over to Penny and giving her a hug. "It's fine. Don't feel bad, he's extremely hard to catch." She got out her scroll and called the rest of her team to see if their searches were going any better.
"Any luck in finding him?"
"Nope!" Weiss replied angrily.
"He's way too fast for his own good." Blake added, clearly being frustrated.
"No…" Yang half heartedly said, this whole thing taking an effect on her mood as well.
Team RWBY has been searching for the past two days, their weekend effectively being ruined all because of Sonic. Ruby groaned, wanting to throw her scroll in the water. Finding Sonic was looking to be almost impossible.
"Let's just… get some rest for today, I guess. We can try looking for him again tomorrow." Ruby told them.
"Alright." they all replied in unison, ending the call.
Meanwhile, Yang stared at the sky, her face visibly being sad.
"Come on, Sonic… Just come back..."
XXXXXXXXX
Team RWBY had made it to their dorm, trying their best to sleep, but they really couldn't do it. Once again, it was all Sonic's fault. Though, when it seemed like their bodies were slowly drifting off, that's when the girls heard a knock on the door.
"Ugh…. who comes knocking on the door this late…" Weiss rolled in her bed, not wanting to get up and check who was knocking.
"Somebody get the door… Too tired…" Ruby's voice was muffled since her mouth was right on the pillow, clearly not having the energy to see who it was either.
Like a zombie, Blake got up and opened the door. However, she got her energy back when she saw who it was.
"SONIC?!"
And suddenly, the rest of the team had energy too.
"Hey th-WHOA!" Sonic instantly got pulled into the dorm, the door being shut behind him so he wouldn't be able to run away. That's when everybody surrounded him, which was making Sonic nervous. He started scratching the back of his head, not sure what to say or do.
"Uh… Hey guys…?"
"Judging by the looks on their faces, Sonic, you are quite screwed." Caliburn said. That comment wanted to make Sonic throw Caliburn out the window, but hey, he wasn't lying.
"Where in the world were you?!" Ruby, Weiss, and Blake all said this in unison, but Yang stayed back, remaining silent for some odd reason.
"I… I... Yeah, to be honest, I got nothin'." Sonic replied, knowing that he wasn't getting out of this situation anytime soon.
"Do you know how long we've been searching for you?!" Weiss pointed at him, while Ruby said, "Yeah, it's like you wanted to make us worry!"
"My bad…" Sonic muttered. "I just… Gah, ever since that night, I didn't know how to explain things to you guys."
"Speaking of that night," Blake started, "What was that? What in the world did you transform into? Who in the world were you facing?"
Oh boy, the exact questions that he didn't want to answer. Sonic had to think of a way out of this one. He didn't like lying, and as a matter of fact, he hated it. It went against everything in his character, but he still didn't think this was the right time to tell them the entire truth.
With a sigh, Sonic looked at the girls, beginning his story. "What you guys saw me transform into was my dark form. That appears whenever the people I care about get hurt. While it does increase my power a ton, it makes me lose any sanity I have. I can't stand transforming into my dark form for that reason alone." As Sonic explained his story, it did seem like the girls were starting to understand him better.
"So, is that like your semblance?" Ruby asked.
Oh great, semblance. The word that he remembered when he had his conversation with Ozpin, but forgot the definition of it as time passed.
Luckily, Weiss would intervene.
"But that wouldn't make sense. Sonic's semblance is super speed. How can somebody have two semblances?!"
Sonic shrugged, as he acted like he knew what they were talking about. "I don't know, but I guess it's something that it can be looked into."
Yeah, Sonic was weird. Super speed, dark form, didn't know what a scroll was, and his weapon was a talking sword.
"We'll… discuss having two semblances later. Though, there is something else we would want to know. Who or what were you facing that night?"
"I have no idea."
And there goes the lie in his story.
"When that explosion happened, I ran to see who it was. I thought it was some Grimm," Sonic gave himself a mental pat on the back for remembering what Ozpin told him about Grimm, "But when I made it outside, I saw something completely different. That thing gave me the creeps. I wanted to face it alone so you guys wouldn't get hurt, but-"
"Stop right there." Ruby told Sonic, smiling. "You do know that we're fully capable of taking care of ourselves, right? Still, we're supposed to act as a team. Team doesn't equal one man show."
"Right. I get it now." Sonic smirked, feeling like a crisis was avoided, but then he noticed something. Throughout the confrontation, Ruby, Weiss, and Blake all had things to say.
But Yang didn't say one word.
Until now.
"Sonic, I need to talk to you."
Well, that caught the blue blur off guard. "I mean, I'm sure you can say it in front of everyone el-"
"Alone."
The girls looked at Yang, then back at Sonic. Oh boy, he had no idea where this was going. "Okay…?"
"Rooftop." Yang told him, walking out of the dorm, Sonic not being too far behind her.
Once they made it to the rooftop, Sonic and Yang were looking straight at each other. Honestly, Sonic felt very uneasy. Why would Yang want to be alone with him? Couldn't she have said whatever she wanted to say in front of everybody?
"Yang, I-"
"Did you even check your scroll?"
"Huh?"
"Your scroll."
That's when it hit him. Sonic brought out his scroll, his eyes getting big once he realized how many times each person texted him or tried to call him. He also noticed that Yang was the one that tried the hardest to get in contact with him.
Realizing the tremendously deep hole that he put himself in, Sonic was still looking at his scroll, not even wanting to look at Yang at this current moment. Though, he would make himself look at the blonde, and seeing the way she looked now was even scarier than looking at Black Doom.
Her eyes were now a raging red, and it looked like literal fire had appeared around her hair.
"Oh crap."
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"
Yang didn't even care for the people that were trying to sleep, she needed to let her anger out.
"You didn't even bother to check your scroll?! Do you know how much we worried about you?!" the blonde shouted, wanting to smack Sonic off the rooftop at this point. Jesus, they weren't even in a relationship, but the conversation makes it seem like they are.
"Look, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have ran off! I get it!"
"Do you really?!" Yang angrily shouted back, not being done quite yet. "I haven't been able to sleep because of you! I want you to feel like you can talk about your problems to your teammates, not run away!"
Oh boy, now Sonic was starting to feel really bad. Yang's tone was carrying some serious emotion behind it. This made Sonic think a bit. With him pulling off that running away stunt… did Yang take it as a form of abandonment?
It is very possible, seeing as she's already dealing with that issue since her biological mom left her.
But are both of these situations really that comparable? Was Sonic really on the same level as Yang's mom? Certainly, she didn't care about Sonic that much?
Right?
Not even knowing what to say, Sonic just came up to Yang and hugged her, which took her by surprise. Her eyes and hair had turned back to normal, hugging Sonic back as she closed her eyes.
"It won't happen again, alright? I'm truly sorry." Sonic told her softly. Yang didn't even reply, letting the hug continue.
In the end, Yang was glad that the reckless blue haired idiot was okay.
XXXXX
Another day of class, and unfortunately, it was probably the worst one of them all. Professor Port was telling his old war stories once again, making half the class fall asleep. "Let me tell you all about the time that my moustache saved Remnant! It was a long, hard fight, but ultimately my foes were no match for my moustache and blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah."
He wasn't actually saying blah blah blah, that's only how the students were hearing him after a certain period of time. It was painful whenever he started to tell his stories.
Which was everyday, to be specific.
Throughout the class, Team RWBYS wanted to fall asleep as well. Though, while others were somewhat paying attention to the story, Sonic wasn't paying attention at all. It wasn't because of his natural rebellious nature, and it didn't come from being tired. Heavy thoughts were going through his head, and those thoughts would last for the entire class period. He kept thinking back to the words that Shadow told him when they saw each other again.
"All of this really is your fault."
Those words were getting to him as he kept on thinking about them over and over. This world might get into a fight that they have no business being in.
And it was all because of him.
The bell suddenly rung, Professor Port not being able to finish his story. "Ah, looks like the story of my amazing moustache will have to be told another day. Class, you are dismissed!"
Ruby, Weiss, and Yang had left the classroom, wanting to their own thing. With Sonic being lost in his own thoughts, he didn't realize that he had run right into Blake, making them both fall.
"Sorry, Blake! You okay?" he quickly said. Great, another thing that was his fault.
"I am completely fine, thanks for asking!" Blake replied, not even wanting to make eye contact with Sonic. Looking to see what she dropped, she had dropped a book that had fallen to the floor. She swiftly picked it back up, and made herself get away from him.
Sonic raised an eyebrow, finding that whole thing to be weird. "Is something wrong with her…?" he asked himself. If something was wrong with her, then he was going to find out.
Getting up, he went back to the dorm, figuring that would be where Blake was located. He would be right, as she could be seen on her bed reading… an 'interesting' book.
Blake had an embarrassed look on her face, not expecting Sonic to follow her. "Sonic! Uh… Wonderful weather we're having, right?"
"Blake, what's going on? You're usually weird and mysterious, but now you're really acting weird and mysterious."
"Oh, nothing! Just reading this book."
"A book that you don't want me to see?"
Blake looked shocked, wondering how Sonic even came to that conclusion. "H-How did you…"
"How did I know? You made it pretty obvious when you grabbed that book like you didn't want me to see it, and hightailed out the classroom at the speed of lightning."
Sonic's answer made Blake sigh, knowing that she was defeated. "Okay, you got me…"
"Though, I do want to know why you're hiding this book from me." Sonic started to come closer to Blake with each step he took. Blake may have accepted defeat in one aspect, but she wasn't going to accept defeat that easily again. She got into her ninja stance, yelling, "S-Stay back! I'm warning you!"
"Oh, for the love of…" Sonic rubbed his temples, using his speed to grab Blake's book and go back to where he was in less than a second. When Blake realized the book wasn't in her hands anymore, she started to freak out.
"Sonic, you don't want to know what that is!"
"Uh, I believe I do want to know what this is, thank you very much!" he exclaimed, the first thing being able to be seen was the title.
When he read the title, that's when his eyes widened, while Blake had a look of utter shame.
"Between… the... Sheets…?"
That was the title of the book.
"You probably think I'm some pervert now…" Blake didn't even want to look at Sonic, deciding to look down at her bed.
Sonic didn't even bother to read the rest of the book, as he stared at the title for a bit, his face being blank.
Though, what would come next would surprise Blake.
"Nah." Sonic shrugged, catching Blake's attention immediately.
"What?! You don't?!"
"It's a book that you read. People make assumptions on someone's character by seeing them do certain things, but you're not a pervert. People who judge others, but never even had an actual conversation with them, are the worst kind of people."
Sonic's explanation made Blake shocked. It's not that he wasn't right, but she was expecting a much more different reaction.
"You're… You're taking this quite well…"
"Is there a reason why I shouldn't?"
"The last person who read this book called this filth…"
"And am I that person?"
Honestly, Blake couldn't believe what she was hearing. She knew Sonic had a heart of gold, but to see it in action one on one, it was mind blowing.
"No."
"Okay then." Sonic handed Blake's book back to her, smiling.
Blake was still processing what was happening. She really, really wasn't expecting that kind of reaction. "I guess I'm just so used to everybody not understanding what I read, which made me assume that you'd have the same reaction. I'm the only one on this team that reads books like this."
"Never assume, Blake." Sonic replied. Though, the last thing she said caught his attention. "So, she always reads by herself, huh?" he thought.
Ah, screw it.
"Mind if I read with you then?"
Blake fell back in classical anime fashion, getting back up immediately. Now she had to process everything again. "You're going to make me have a heart attack."
"Please don't. We kinda need you on this team." Sonic joked. "I mean, I don't really read books since I prefer running, but I have had… interesting experiences with books in the past."
He was talking about fighting a genie and being transported into the world of King Arthur, specifically.
Throughout all of this, Blake finally smiled, feeling like Sonic's words were true.
"Okay. Make sure to keep up with me."
"That won't be a problem." Sonic smirked. Even if reading books weren't his thing, maybe it would make his mind stop thinking about how everything was his fault.
A few hours later…
"That's the biggest katana I've ever seen in my life…" Sonic said, almost being traumatized by this point, as he and Blake had read a few chapters. Blake giggled, having a smirk.
"Hope you don't regret reading with me."
"I don't. It was actually kinda cool." Sonic replied, staying strong. He did mean every word he said, though.
"You just keep on shocking me, huh?" Blake asked, smiling.
"Heh heh. It's what I do." Sonic grinned.
XXXXXXXX
"So, your name is Shadow?"
"Yes, that is my name."
"And what makes you want to join Beacon?"
"Well, I-"
"Stop." Ozpin said, drinking his cocoa. "You're one of Sonic's friends aren't you? Which means you're from another world, correct?"
Shadow was surprised that Ozpin knew about that. "He told you about that, huh?"
"From what I can tell, I'm still the only one that knows. Besides, you two have similar facial features and similar hair, so it wasn't too hard to find out that you're related to him."
"We do not look alike. I am not related to him." Shadow responded, but Ozpin would beg to differ.
"I'm not sure what you guys may have looked like as hedgehogs, but you might want to use some type of brother excuse to keep your secret under wraps." Ozpin suggested, making Shadow sigh.
"Anyway, do you have the same abilities as Sonic?"
"I have greater abilities than him."
This caught Ozpin's attention.
"Oh? Mind if you show me then?"
Shadow smirked, taking a step back. He revealed his green Chaos Emerald, shouting, "Chaos Spear!"
Multiple blasts were coming Ozpin's way, but he blocked them with his cane. "Interesting… Do you have super speed as well?"
To show a demonstration, Shadow zipped from Ozpin's desk, back to where he was in a second, having his arms crossed as he kept his smirk. "Speedy enough for you?"
"Quite." Ozpin was indeed impressed. "Very well. You will join Team CME. They're new to Beacon as well, so you shouldn't have too much of a problem bonding with them. They only have three people, so your presence will be much appreciated."
"Very well." Shadow said, turning around and walked away, Ozpin raising an eyebrow.
"Don't you want to know where the dorm is?"
"I can find it myself."
XXXXXXXX
Shadow had left Ozpin's office, getting near his new dorm. He opened it, and once he entered the dorm, he saw a brown-skinned woman with green hair, her attire consisting of a white top and a colored crop top. Hey eyes were red, and her pants were a light brown.
On the other side, there would be a guy with gray eyes and gray hair. He wore a grey and black jacket, while his body was also well built.
"Who the heck are you?" he asked, his whole demeanor carrying arrogance.
"Your new teammate, apparently." Shadow replied smugly.
The brown skinned woman sighed. "New teammate, huh?"
"Now now, I'm sure we can welcome our new teammate better than that." Cinder had walked closer to Shadow, smirking.
"Tell him your names."
"Mercury."
"Emerald."
"I'm Cinder. And you might be…?"
"Shadow."
"Shadow… hm." Cinder kept her smirk. Still, it crossed the line between genuine and threatening. "Welcome to the team. I'm sure all of us will get along quite fabulously."
"If you say so."
END OF CHAPTER 7: Worry
Shadow: "Hey everyone, it's Shadow, the most popular character in the whole Sonic canon. Speaking of him, I want to smack him as soon as I see him. Though, my new team does seem interesting, at least. You're going to have to catch what happens next in chapter 8. See ya. Chaos Swiss Roll!"
A/N: Hey, you! Yeah you! The person that's reading this! Leave a review, a favorite, or follow! If you don't… I will find you. I know where you live.
In all seriousness, thanks for reading this chapter and I'll see you guys in chapter 8!
