GammaTron: Hoo boy, hope you all enjoyed the first chapter.
Seanzilla115: And hope you're ready for more action and drama...and explanations...ahem! WE hope you enjoy it!
GT: Disclaimers are the usual. We do not own Sonic the Hedgehog nor RWBY! Only OCs! *punches the camera, breaking it*
"Hmm…" a rather rotund man with a large bushy moustache muttered, eying the screen showing Lien-Da's fight with Sonic's Team, and Ruby and co, "...And you're sure this is what happened?"
"Yes, Eggman, sir" Lien-Da nodded, "We should be careful ab-"
"Dismiss them."
"Wh...what?!"
"You heard me. Dismiss them," Eggman ordered, "Besides...Sonic's the bigger threat. The rest are just useless."
'Of course…' Lien-Da thought with a mental sigh, "Sir, I can agree that Sonic is the bigger threat, but isn't it just as important to keep note on these new factors?"
"Hm?"
'Don't screw this up, Lien-Da,' the echidna thought to herself, "Well...They appeared from nowhere and had abilities that countered everything that I was granted permission to use for the occupation. In all honesty…They were rather...chaotic."
"..." Eggman looked at her, "Chaotic…" he turned away from her, his glasses slipping for a moment to reveal the whites of his eyes were pitch black and his irises were a solid red, "Chaos…" he straightened up and readjusted his glasses, "Perhaps, Lien-Da. H-Have someone keep a subtle watch on them. Learn more about them."
'Oh thank the gods it worked…' Lien-Da mentally sighed in relief, "Yes sir."
"And go get Metal Knuckles' head to the repair bay," Eggman added, "Honestly, losing your body...I thought I built you with better understanding on keeping it with you."
"...About that…" Lien-Da began before flinching at the glare he gave her, "He shut down thanks to that programming of yours if it showed weakness!"
"...Yes, of course. How could I forget…" Eggman mummered, stroking his moustache for a moment, "Thankfully I didn't program that when I modified the Princess." he waved her off, "Dismissed."
'Really glad Snively told me about why Eggman's so obsessed with Sonic. 'Chaos Incarnate'...Honestly, with him showing up and then those girls and two guys appearing, I'm starting to believe that, myself,' Lien-Da thought as she left.
"So Finitevus brought you here from your Zone," Knuckles noted, sitting in a large room in the building at a large table with the echidna couple, Remington, Julie-Su, Saffron, Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Teams RWBY and JNPR, "Or rather…" he looked at Ruby, "...You shot a charged Warp Ring and caused it to start sucking you up."
"I...thought I could knock it away or shut it down," Ruby sheepishly replied.
"Still, we're glad you arrived when you did," the mother echidna noted, "Things began to feel grim for our situation." she put a hand to her mouth, "Ah. My apologies to you all. While you've introduced yourselves, we haven't. I am Lara-Le, the Chieftess of Albion. My husband is Wynmacher."
"Greetings and thank you again for aiding our home in this," the male echidna thanked as the baby babbled happily at them, shaking a stone rattle.
"Constable REmington of the Albion Security Team," Remington tipped a ranger hat to them.
"You know my son Knuckles and his Soultouched Julie-Su," Lara-Le noted before picking up the baby, "And this is my youngest child, Kneecapeon Mace, or 'Kneecaps' for short."
"Mom~! Do you have to tell everyone to call him Kneecaps?" Knuckles groaned as Sonic, Tails, and Amy were snickering...before he whipped around to glare at them, cracking his namesakes as the trio whistled innocently and trying very hard to not look at him, "What's so funny?"
"Nothin'. Nothin' at all," Sonic muttered.
"This occupation has set back much of our repair efforts," Wynmacher noted, looking out the window at the structures in the city, echidnas working hard to repair them, "Still...It might have been in far worse shape had you all not arrived."
"Eh, no sweat," Sonic chuckled, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "But I think the only reason they fled was because Knux showed up."
"That or because of the powers these girls showed off," Julie-Su countered, pointing at Ruby and the others.
"Heh. Like to see Eggman try and ignore that!" Sonic laughed, "Seriously, those Legionnaire soldiers freaked when they were lifted up by some mystery force!"
"That was Pyrrha's Semblance," Jaune explained.
"Semblance to what?" Amy asked, raising a brow.
"No, that's what we call a special power that uses Aura to fuel it," Ruby explained, "Like how Nora could soak up that lady's lightning blasts or how I can move so fast."
"Aura? Hmm…" Knuckles closed his eyes, "Come to think of it...I can feel a strong aura from each of you." he looked over at Julie-Su and Saffron, "And both of yours seem stronger...a lot stronger."
"Well, they were really hurt so Nora decided to do something crazy and see if Mobians have Aura," Jaune explained, "Good news is that Mobian can unlock Aura."
"How come I nearly passed out while Pyrrha just seemed winded?" Nora pouted.
"...Hmm…" Tails began to ponder a bit, "What if...it's because of Chaos Energy?"
"Chaos...Energy?" Weiss repeated, raising a brow.
"Seems we have a lot to talk about," Sonic noted before groaning, "Great…"
"Forgive him. We were in the middle of another mission before coming here," Amy apologized.
"As I recall from the few times we've met, he hasn't been one for patience," Lara-Le noted.
"No he does not," Knuckles nodded, earning a stink eye from the hedgehog.
"Um...Yeah, as much as I'd like to continue these little jabs these two are trading, can I ask about that on your wrist?" Jaune asked, pointing at a Warp Ring on Knuckles' wrist.
"It's a multi-use Warp Ring," Knuckles explained, "Unfortunately, these can't be charged so I can't use it to send you back where you all came from. And the only one who knows how to make these is the very echidna that brought you here and we have no idea where he is."
"Leaving us trapped here…" Ren spoke.
"Because of course things can't be easy for us," Weiss sighed, rubbing the side of her head to fight off a developing headache before knocks came from the door.
Remington opened it, revealing a blond female echidna in a blue dress, "Teri-Lu?"
"Reporting on some findings, sir," the echidna replied, "At the docks we found Devil Dogs frozen in a block of ice. Furthermore, we found a Tasmanian Devil frozen in a block of ice in a freezer outside of one of the buildings. From what we could tell, it seems someone was trying to turn the freezer into a boat while making sure it kept the frozen Mobian in it frozen."
"That's Thrash," Julie-Su scowled, "Keep that guy on ice."
"Huh? Why?" Wynmacher asked.
"..." Julie-Su covered Kneecaps' ears, making the baby pout, "He planned on throwing every single Echidna into an Empty Zone using Warp Rings he charged with the Master Emerald."
"If it hadn't been for these eight appearing and landing on him while he had been holding one, Julie-Su and I would've been stuck in that Empty Zone still," Saffron added.
"Jerk shouldn't have messed with my hair," Yang huffed.
"...Right. Please keep this 'Thrash' detained in his current state until we can contact the right people about handling this," Lara-Le ordered, "Remington, please go with her to make sure nothing happens to the block of ice he's in."
"Yes, ma'am," Teri-Lu nodded as Remington followed her out.
"...Knuckles, my beloved son," Lara-Le spoke, "Would you mind explaining why you look like you're close to punching the wall when we don't need more repairs to add on?"
"...I met him in Downunda before I came here," Knuckles frowned, "He was a member of the Downunda Freedom Fighters and seemed like a nice guy. But to think he'd try something like that? Putting our people in a Zone with nothing in it? I shoulda took that Warp Ring instead of letting him keep it. Because of it, I was nearly the reason that there would be no more Echidnas…" he glanced at Julie-Su and Saffron, "...and why you two were in that empty Zone."
Julie-Su frowned, "You idiot."
"Hey!"
"You're not at fault here. Just like with what happened to Albion," Julie-Su argued, "You thought he was a good guy and fought beside him in Downunda if I heard you correctly."
"Well, yeah...but…!"
"No buts! I don't get why he was going to do what he did, but that's for later and not your fault."
"But if I never let him keep that Warp Ring from when we fought Finitevus, he…"
"...Would have found another way to try to do that sooner or later or maybe find something even worse. The point is that it's happened this way, I am safe, Saffron's safe, every single echidna here is safe, and it is not your fault for his actions," Julie-Su interrupted, poking him in the chest at the last six words for emphasis.
"She's right, you know," Wynmacher noted, "You couldn't have predicted what he would do with that. It was his choice to attempt something." he bowed to the eight, "And it seems we have another thing to thank you all for."
"Of course," Blake bowed her head a bit.
'Ugh...The longer we're here, the further Egghead gets away…' Sonic thought, "Look, as much as I'd like to stay and help fix things that got broke here, my team and I need to get going after Eggman to rescue Sally."
"Of course," Lara-Le nodded, "But a quick question before you leave?"
"I'm listening," Sonic noted.
"May I ask if you have any place to let our visitors from another Zone stay? I would offer residency in Albion, but…" Lara-Le motioned to the damaged city outside...before barely flinching when one of the buildings collapsed on itself due to its damaged state.
"...We could ask Nicole if she'd be fine with them staying in Freedom HQ," Tails noted as T-Pup ran over to him.
"Think you can drop them off, Knuckles?" Amy asked the male echidna.
"What do I look like? A Taxi?" Knuckles deadpanned.
"No, you look like the guy who has a multi-use Warp Ring," Sonic replied.
"Nicole, can you hear me?" Tails asked, looking at T-Pup in the eyes.
The mechanical pet's optics flashed before a hologram was projected from it, forming the image of a figure. The figure was a Mobian Lynx with chocolate-brown and black fur wearing a purple toga of sorts and no shoes, showing her feet were mainly black with chocolate-brown toes. She had black hair pulled into a braided ponytail going over a shoulder and grass-green eyes.
=Yes, Tails. What is it you need?= The lynx asked.
"We have some folks from another Zone that are kinda stuck here," Tails explained, "Would it be fine if they stay in Freedom HQ?"
=Hmm...I believe so, yes= Nicole replied =How will they arrive?=
"Knuckles and his Warp Ring," Tails replied.
"I haven't…" Knuckles began before Julie-Su gave him a look, "...Fine."
"This won't suck us up, will it?" Ruby asked.
"So long as you don't shoot it," Julie-Su joked.
=Is there anything to note about them?= Nicole asked.
"Well, they're humans and one Corgi," Tails replied, "All of them are seventeen aside from one girl, who's fifteen." another knock and Wynmacher opened it, revealing an echidna struggling to carry all the luggage the teens had that had come with them, "And a lot of luggage."
"I feel for you," Jaune noted to the struggling echidna under the luggage as he was quick to help.
"Be careful with the white ones," Weiss warned, "The majority of them are the Dust I was providing for the camping."
"...You filled suitcases with dead skin?" Knuckles asked, "Your Zone is strange." a stone rattle hit him on the head, "Gah! Kneecaps!"
Outside of a large building beneath an awning, a figure sat on a stone bench fidgeting in worry. They were a Mobian fox with black fur, a white chest and muzzle, and big blue eyes. He wore a blue jacket, white gloves, and a pair of orange and white velcro shoes. He also sported a pair of tails like Tails, however the tail on the left was inverted with having a white body and black tip instead of a black body with white tip. The door to the building opened and he quickly looked up at a Mobian dog in uniform.
"Haseo Yukimaru Sakurai?" the dog asked.
"Th-That's me, mister," the fox replied.
"The council is ready to speak with you," the dog informed.
"Th-thank you," he nodded, moving off the bench as he cautiously walked into the building.
Within the building, he was lead to a large chamber with a raised wooden stand on the other side. Sitting behind the stand were seven Mobians, six wearing white and blue uniforms. The ones in uniform were a brown/dark orange fox with long red hair, a yellow mongoose with purple hair, a brown porcupine, a purple platypus, a pig, and an elderly blue hedgehog with a bushy grey moustache and eyebrows. The last of them was a well-built male skunk wearing purple gloves, combat boots, and a bandolier and sat in the middle of the seven at the highest part.
"State your business," the skunk ordered
"..A...Ano…" the young fox muttered, taking a deep breath to try and remain calm, "M-my name is Haseo Sakurai, and I had came here with my s-sister, Roll Sakurai...Who...who had vanished not long after those b-b-birds attacked…"
"Speak louder, kid. I could barely hear that," the pig ordered.
"Hamlin, settle down," the sole fox on the council ordered before giving Haseo a small smile, "It's alright, Mr. Sakurai. The attack earlier this month was indeed harrowing. Though, I'm confused."
"Eh?"
"Well...You didn't file a missing persons report," she explained.
"I t-tried actually...it got turned down."
"Really? Do you have a copy?" the platypus asked.
Haseo nodded as he pulled it out. The platypus got down and took the paper and brought it up to let the others look.
"...I can't make heads or tails of this," Hamlin noted after looking at it.
"S-Sorry, but um...I don't know how to read this," the porcupine added.
"It's the native writing of the Dragon Kingdom," the fox noted.
"Child, this is why it wasn't accepted," the skunk stated, "Do you not know how to write our kingdom's language?"
"N...no," Haseo replied, his ears drooping, "I d-don't."
"Well, judging from you correctly filling it out, you do know how to read the language or understand the provided secondary language from Soumerca," the fox noted.
"Th-the second," Haseo replied.
"You can read that stuff, Rosemary?" Hamlin asked.
"I've always been a language enthusiast," she replied.
"...Still, I say Nay to this," Hamlin huffed, "The Battle Birds' attack was long ago. For all we know, his sister could be dead, so it's pointless to file a missing person's report to begin with."
"Hamlin!" the older hedgehog scolded, "You need to be more gentle on these issues. It's been barely a month since the attack, meaning there could still be time. I'll be voting Yea on the matter."
"I will be voting Yea as well," Rosemary informed, "I prefer to be optimistic on this manner like Charles is. And he did fill this out correctly if in his native language."
"I'll vote Yea as well," the mongoose added, "It's better to hope she's still alive and can be saved."
"Yea," the platypus stated, 'If only because the kid looked like we just kicked his puppy while it was sick when Hamlin stated his reason.'
"And what of you, Dylan?" Charles asked, looking over at the porcupine.
"Um…" the porcupine rubbed the back of his head as he looked at everyone, "Yea?"
"The majority is a 'Yea.' Motion passes," the skunk stated, "You are dismissed."
"Th-thank you, for your time," Haseo bowed as he began to walk out.
"Ah, wait," the mongoose spoke, "There was another file that had been filled out in the same writing."
"Eh?" Haseo paused as the mongoose motioned to the dog from earlier who handed her a paper.
"This was put into a file meant for applicants to Team Freedom," the mongoose explained as Rosemary looked at it.
"It does seem to be the same," Rosemary noted, "...You came from the Dragon Kingdom, correct?"
"Um...Y-Yes," Haseo replied.
"...We still haven't been able to come to an agreement on Nicole's supervisor and tomorrow is the deadline for informing her of it," Charles noted, rubbing his chin, "Mainly due to the fact none of us can get the required 'Yea' votes since everyone we've been selecting has been, well, decisive."
"Decisive nothing. It's been those that are too close to the original Knothole Freedom Fighters prior to their dissolution or those who may 'accidentally' shut her down," the platypus muttered.
"Were you here when the Iron Dominion invaded?" Rosemary asked.
"NO!" Haseo replied vehemently before sniffling, "They...Th-they're the ones who let the Raiju..."
Charles nodded, managing to maintain his expression despite wanting to give him a calming, assuring hug, "So that means Haseo is a neutral party, not really knowing her or her involvement and situation it seems. I'll vote Yea on this."
"Yea," Rosemary and the mongoose added.
"Yea?/Yea," the porcupine and platypus added.
"...Alright, alright. Yea as well," Hamlin huffed, 'If only because she'd be allowed to go without approved supervision if we don't have someone there.'
"Motion, ugh, passes," the skunk stated, managing to mutter the hint of disgust, 'And yet another added to a group of thorns in my side.'
"Eh?"
"Your copy will be sent to Rotor Walrus. Please report to him immediately to learn your duties," Rosemary informed, "We'll also keep you informed on the progress of finding your sister."
"Oh. H...hai," Haseo nodded, bowing once more, "Th-thank you…" he whispered as he walked out again.
"...Isabella, you're aware that the one who filled this out…" Rosemary whispered to the mongoose.
"Yes, but I think having him do this to keep his mind off his sister's current status is a good idea," she quietly replied to the fox she sat beside before Haseo poked his head back in.
"Um...Wh-Where do I go to see Mr. Walrus?" Haseo asked.
"...Draw him a map," the skunk groaned, facepalming.
"You seriously had issues with lifting this stuff?" Knuckles asked as he stepped out of the Warp Ring, carrying all the luggage in just one hand, "It's not even that heavy."
'Says the humanoid echidna with spikes growing out of his namesakes,' Jaune thought as the seven humans, one Faunus, and a corgi were looking around the moderately-sized structure before them, looking as if it was made by digging into a small hill with a red flag sporting two stylized blue 'Fs' on it.
"It's like the fort Yang and I made when we were eight!" Ruby awed.
"This is just the first floor. The rest is underground in a limestone cavern," Knuckles explained.
"It does seem...interesting," Ren noted before looking out at a large patch of wasteland, "Especially the landscape."
"The Great Wastes," Knuckles stated with a frown, "It used to be an entire village called Knothole before Eggman's army carpet bombed it earlier this year." his eyes narrowed, "On the wedding day between two friends of mine."
"?!" the eight looked out in shock.
"Apt responses…" Knuckles noted, "And that's only the tip of the iceberg on what he's done to the people of Mobius."
"Okay...I am not going to joke about that name anytime soon," Yang muttered.
"Greetings," a voice noted, making most of them jump and turn around to see Nicole standing behind them, "You are the ones Tails informed me about, correct?"
"Yeah. This is them," Knuckles replied.
"There is a strange energy coming from many of those bags and suitcases," Nicole noted, looking at what Knuckles was carrying, "Is any of it volatile?"
"No. All of it is properly contained and sealed up to prevent any spillage," Weiss replied, "Especially from shaking it and causing someone to sneeze."
"I said I was sorry…" Ruby pouted.
"...Duly noted," Nicole nodded, "Please put them on the table inside, Knuckles."
"Got it," Knuckles nodded, "I need to get going after I do this. Kneecaps wouldn't stop crying until I promised I'd get back to Albion immediately after dropping these guys off."
"Understood," Nicole replied as the echidna carried the luggage off into the fort.
"So you're Nicole, huh? You look very nice," Ruby noted with a smile, "I'm Ruby! This is my sister Yang and my teammates Weiss and Blake. We're called Team RWBY!"
"I'm Jaune," Jaune spoke before motioning to his teammates, "And these are Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren, my team. We're Team JNPR."
"Your team is named after yourself?"
"No, no, no," Jaune shook his head, "The names of teams made in our, um, Zone-boy, that is weird to say-are made from the first letter of our first or last names. So Team RWBY is spelled 'R-W-B-Y' and JNPR is 'J-N-P-R.' When a team's made, the leader's name is often used as the first letter."
"That is quite interesting," Nicole noted as Zwei sniffed at her, "...Hello." Zwei looked up at her, panting while she patted his head, "Please come in. It was on short notice, but I was able to make some guest rooms for you to stay in. I hope none of you mind bunk beds."
"Not at all!" Ruby beamed as they were led inside, revealing a moderately-sized room with a computer set up on a wall and a ladder going down a hole away from the wall with the computer.
"And to be honest, it will be nice to have compa…" Nicole began before the front door slightly opened up, "?"
"H-hello? I...was told to come here after I was debriefed," Haseo spoke, lightly poking his head in.
"Hm? Oh, hello," Nicole greeted, "Who asked you to come here?"
"Um, Mr. Walrus," Haseo replied as he reached into his white tail and held up a paper, "I...I'm here to speak with a N-Nicole-san?"
"Oh. That would be me," Nicole replied.
"..." Haseo slowly blinked as he looked at her...and a small blush began forming on his cheeks, quickly becoming heavy, "T...Tenshi da…"
"Hm?" Nicole pondered before a white and pink blur zipped by.
"Oh, you are just too cute~!" Nora exclaimed.
"Ah! Nani?! N-Nani?! Nan de?!" Haseo yelped, his voice muffled due to his face being pressed against her in her hugging him, while he comically waved his arms and tails.
"Hm? His tails are a different color...wait. He has two tails?! ...That makes him even cuter!"
"Nora…" Jaune groaned as Nicole caught the paper.
"Are all foxes here born with two tails?" Blake pondered, recalling Tails.
"No. It's actually quite rare," Nicole replied as she looked at the paper, "'Nicole, could not come with Haseo due to a small experiment on improving my power suit. The one who gave you this is a young fox Mobian named Haseo and he just joined Team Freedom. He's been assigned as your 'supervision' by the Council because he's essentially neutral. Rotor.' ...Well, it seems Freedom HQ will be as lively as it used to be when Knothole was still standing for a bit, it seems."
"Mmm~" Haseo whined a bit, still in Nora's arms as his ears drooped.
"...Nora," Ren spoke, earning her attention," Please let him go."
"Aw~ But he's so fwuffy~"
"Now."
"...Fine," Nora pouted as she put Haseo down, letting him fall on his back while taking in deep breaths of air.
"Sorry about Nora," Jaune apologized as he helped up Haseo.
"Overlanders?" Haseo pondered before seeing Jaune's finger, "Eh? Gou?"
"Go? Go where?"
"He said five," Ren stated.
"Considering humans are a rarity as well as we've only met them in the last two years, I'm not surprised he mistook you as Overlanders and is confused over the extra finger humans have," Nicole noted before bowing, "It will be a pleasure to work with you, Haseo."
"H-Hai…" Haseo nodded, the blush returning.
"Okay. Introductions asde, I think we should take this time to rest up," Weiss suggested, "Afterwards...I think we'll need a full explanation on who and what we're dealing with."
"Indeed," Nicole agreed, "The rooms are set up downstairs and I've added the names of your teams to the doors."
"Huh? How did you do that when we just introduced our team names?" Ruby asked.
"I'm connected to a vast amount of nanites, allowing me to make things from them," Nicole explained while holding a hand up...where a ball formed before turning into several shapes and then dispersed.
"...That's so cool~!" Ruby awed as she blurred up to the lynx, a few rose petals falling to the floor.
"Yes. In fact...the body I am using is composed of nanites as well."
"Oh, that's...wait, what?" Yang asked in surprise.
"...Are...you some type of advanced AI?" Jaune asked, "Like in some comics I've read?"
"I am," Nicole nodded before vanishing in a swirl of nanites and data before reappearing on a nearby screen =See?=
"S-Sugoi…" Haseo awed as Nicole appeared once more in a swirl of nanites after the screen turned off.
"I've left some basic reading material on the beds that may assist you in having a basic understanding of our Zone," Nicole continued, "When you need me to expand on some of what you've read, just call for me and I'll reply. And, please, avoid the room I tapped off. I think Rotor left his old milkshake experiment in it and it's become sentient."
"...I'm starting to have flashbacks to Professor Peach's cooking class…" Pyrrha muttered before the group shuddered.
"How'd that happen just from trying to make a sandwich…?" Jaune added.
"Hmm…" Finitevus hummed in thought as he looked at some of the ashes from the Grimm he had captured through a microscope, "I can feel remnants of something within these remains. It feels like some sort of magic...Could the magic in that Zone differ in origins to our own? If so, what are its limits?"
A door slamming cut off his thoughts, "Yo, Doc! We're here, so what do ya want?"
Finitevus adopted, for a brief moment, an annoyed expression. His face returned to its usual neutral expression as he turned to the doorway to the lab to see a hedgehog approach. He had emerald-green quills with a pale/tan fur on his chest and muzzle with two jagged diagonal scars on his chest underneath an open leather jacket with frayed ends to its long sleeves and fire designs on the shoulders. He wore a pair of green and black bulky running shoes. A pair of red-rimmed sunglasses laid on his forehead while his cobalt blue eyes were looking at him with a sense of overconfidence.
"Scourge...What perfect timing…" Finitevus muttered.
"Yep! Had ta take a side trip ta Moebius to get some fresh duds. Lemme tell ya, No Zone sucks," Scourge snorted.
"Indeed," Finitevus nodded before producing a Warp Ring, "I require Chaos Emeralds. Use this to go to the Special Zone and get at least two." Scourge opened his mouth, "No. I do not want Anarchy Beryls. I read the report Amy Rose filed about your use of them and I don't want to deal with any secret drawbacks on what I want to do with the two Chaos Emeralds I require."
"Fine, fine," Scourge huffed before looking at the container, "...What's with da ashes?"
"They come from a creature I think you'd enjoy, but capturing them results in them killing themselves."
"Wait. They killed themselves rather than being captured?" Scourge raised a brow, "...That's metal as hell." he walked up to the open canister, "So all that's left is this stuff?" he sniffed before twitching, "ACHOO!"
"GAH!" Finitevus exclaimed, jumping back from the small burst of ashes, "Out with you right now!" he grabbed Scourge by the back of his jacket and punted him out, slamming and locking the door, "Now my samples are contaminated." he pulled out the small satchel of charged Warp Rings, "Memo to self: Make a Warp Ring that can be used multiple times and be capable of being charged up to make portals to other Zones without the Warp Ring exploding. The stupid mutt from those ancient tests millennia ago at least made it easier on myself in not needing to charge some more." he flicked a charged Warp Ring ahead of him, letting it expand and reveal the clearing from the other Zone, "And now I need to collect more samples. At least I'll have a chance to figure out where the controller of these beasts resides."
"Ugh...Sheesh, Doc should take a chill pill…" Scourge grumbled as he got up, rubbing his behind before holding up the Warp Ring, "So I gotta get two Chaos Emeralds from this Special Zone place. Eh, no sweat. Shouldn't take all that long."
"Hmm...Even when we get to Artika's base, there may not be enough to fully recharge my masterpiece," Eggman noted, looking over some data, "And with my original Chaos Emerald with Albert, I no longer have a way to fully charge it quick enough."
"Well, sire, may I offer a suggestion? If we need a Chaos Emerald, why do we not go to the Special Zone and get another?" a small red and white orb-themed robot with blue optics questioned, standing beside a white and yellow cube-themed robot.
"Hmm….good idea. But Metal Sonic is currently indisposed at the moment…" Eggman growled, stroking his moustache for a moment, "And I need to rebuild Metal Knuckles. Metal Amy and Metal Tails are also being repaired at the moment after someone…" he glowered at the cube robot, "...had a malfunction with their voice chip that made them a prankster that thought it'd be hilarious to add sea water to their cans of crude motor oil…"
"I think he means you, Orbot," the cube robot stage whispered to the orb robot.
"I certainly can't go because I cheated the Feist when I should have just left that backstabbing nephew of mine in there," Eggman huffed, "Speaking of…"
"His bi-daily rations were just delivered to his container," Orbot informed.
"Good. Lousy issue with Auto Automatons is needing the one they're based on to stay alive to work correctly," Eggman grumbled, "I'm not risking failure from one of my Grandmasters."
"...Why not use the princess, sire?" Orbot suggested.
"That's…" Eggman began before blinking, "...Brilliant! I've already designed her to keep up with the hedgehog, so going through the Special Zone should be a breeze! Oh Sally~!"
"Yes, Lord Robotnik?" a voice spoke as a robotic figure walked in.
The figure was a robotic chipmunk with short, scarlet 'hair' and brown 'fur' of two different shades. Their body was feminine in shape and was primarily cobalt with a blue-tinted silver waist, lower arms/claws, and lower legs/feet with black plating on the lower legs/feet. Their optics were a light blue.
"Mecha Sally, I need you to be a dear and go into the Special Zone to retrieve a Chaos Emerald or two from there."
"At once," she replied.
"Oh. And if Sonic appears there and gives you trouble, feel free to let loose," Eggman added.
"...Understood."
"Good girl," Eggman smirked as Sally walked off, "Now then…" he looked over a screen, showing a list of his Grandmasters, "Hmm…Orbot, what happened to Diesel in Efrika?"
"He attempted to jump over a canyon and his bike exploded when he missed the landing and hit the wall of the other side of the canyon instead," Orbot replied, "By the time medical teams arrived, his bombs had been ignited by the fire of the destroyed bike and blew him to pieces."
"Blast…" Eggman frowned, "Now I need to get another lackey to be in charge down there before the stupid bears and hyenas start pummeling each other over who gets to be the boss."
"There has been rumors of a water buffalo by the name of Axel," Orbot stated, "And a chinchilla by the name of Thunderbolt."
"Have them duke it out with the loser going to the southern half of Soumerca," Eggman replied, "And construction on the base in Northamer's west coast?"
"Things seem to be going at optimum efficiency. Grandmaster Clove is doing well for her first month on the job," Orbot noted, "No Freedom Fighter factions have succeeded in any attempts at delaying progress."
"Excellent," Eggman smirked.
"If I may ask though, why bring up the Grandmasters?"
"Because I believe it's time for some changes," Eggman answered, "In fact, station Thunderbolt in Soumerca."
"Gotcha, boss," the cube bot replied.
"Oh wow! This is all so cool!" Ruby awed as she zipped around the various tunnels, leaving behind trails of rose petals that slowly dissipated, "Oh my gosh! They have a slide! Where does it start? And someone ran up it? Neat! Ooh! What's this?"
"A-ano, c-careful please," Haseo spoke when Ruby passed him, "I...I don't want Ms. Nicole to be upset."
"Ruby, calm down!" Weiss ordered, looking up from a pile of papers while she was sitting at a round table with Blake, Jaune, Ren, and Pyrrha, "We're trying to figure out the language here."
"To be fair, we should have expected this. While our tongue is the same, the writing would have been different," Ren noted, looking at his Scroll and then at the pamphlet Nicole had provided that basically summarized Mobius and its history, "From what I can tell...they use the same number of letters as ours, so if that's the same…" he scribbled underneath the words on the pamphlet, "It's a match."
"Great!" Jaune beamed, "Now we just need to write it down under the words on the pamphlets." a red blur zipped by, making the paperwork cover him and Pyrrha, "..."
"Chill it, sis!" Yang shouted.
"Can't! Too excited!" Ruby beamed, "Besides, Nora has Zwei at the moment, and Nicole is examining your weapons still!" she then began to pout, "Why didn't she take her time with Crescent Rose?"
"Because you basically told her every single thing about it," Weiss deadpanned.
"It is true," Nicole spoke, currently examining Jaune's shield, "Interesting...it doubles as both a sheath and a shield...yet your sword is a regular sword, Mr. Arc."
"Ahh well...I'm simple like that, I guess…" Jaune admitted.
"I see...though if I may make a suggestion, why not make the sheath as an extra layer for your sword to make it more akin to a greatsword?"
"...Huh...That sounds pretty cool," Jaune noted.
"In fact...I might be able to think up some ways for your weapons to be upgraded," Nicole added before nearly jumping when Ruby blurred in front of her.
"Upgrade?!"
"Down, girl!" Yang barked, tugging her away from the startled Holo-Lynx by her red riding hood.
"I must ask, though...why is it that the majority of your weapons double as firearms?" Nicole asked.
"We're not in trouble for that, are we?" Pyrrha asked in concern.
"No, no. It's just that it's only been recently that the gun ban had been dropped after several decades it has been in effect," Nicole noted, "In fact...not even Eggman would think up of interchangeable weapons...outside of his robots."
"They're meant to help us fight the creatures of Grimm," Pyrrha noted.
"Grimm?" Haseo repeated.
"Soulless monsters that attack settlements and anything that humankind has created," Pyrrha explained, "We don't know where they come from, but we do know that they focus on attacking us first and foremost. The older the Grimm become, the smarter they become and, in turn, become more efficient killers."
"?!"
"...No, no. Given his past experiences, I doubt Eggman would be able to control them," Nicole muttered.
Meanwhile, Ruby had zipped up the ladder and began to look around the upper part of the fort. She tilted her head when she found a pair of posts. They were mainly red with gold and black bases, gold poles, and a pair of red and black orbs with gold stars on the tops of them. She poked one of the spheres and it spun around the top of the post. She walked around them and the movement caused the orbs to jiggle. She moved quicker and made them spin even faster, causing them to produce rings of sparkling stars.
"Huh...What a-" Ruby began before she suddenly vanished.
"-re these?" Ruby pondered before blinking, taking a quick look around, realizing she was in a large flat plane with the sky a myriad of colors, "...What...Where am I now?!" she yelped when a Warp Ring appeared and Scourge jumped out of it, letting it shrink and land in his hand, "?!"
"Hoo...Well, this place sure is nuts," Scourge noted, looking around before spotting Ruby, "Overla-oh, wait. Five fingers. A human's here? Take a wrong turn, Red?"
"Hey!" Ruby puffed up her cheeks in annoyance before a swirling vortex appeared between them and vanished, leaving Mecha Sally kneeling down between them before standing up, her optics flashing, "Ah!" she jumped and landed in Scourge's arms, much to his bewilderment, "Robot chipmunk terminator! Yang's secret movie collection was right!"
"What the...?! Get off me, ya crazy dame!" Scourge snapped as he pushed Ruby away, "...You better not go 'uwu.' I went to this one Zone after leaving Moebius, and I just went 'NOPE!' to that crap!"
"...Well you're rude," Ruby muttered.
"Oh no, f-" Scourge began before noticing the robotic chipmunk, "...Wait. A...are you...oh...hohohoho~! Ahahahahahah! Oh, Sonic must be reeling hard if the fatass Roboticized you!"
"And you are unpleasant as always, Scourge…" Mecha Sally stated as she stood up, "However, you are not the main priority at the moment."
"And she's finally snarky!"
"Um...I'm lost here. Both figuratively and literally," Ruby admitted, "What's going on? Where are we?"
"You are in my domain, mortals."
"?!" the trio tensed as they looked around.
The ground before them crumbled away before a massive shadow came over them, making them all look up...and up...and up. Before them was a massive panda-like Mobian, wearing just a silver belt and solid yellow eyes, filled with annoyance.
"A giant panda!" Ruby gawked.
"Hoo boy…" Scourge gulped, "So you're da Prime Zone's Feist...Hoo boy, you are a biggun…"
"Hmph. So you know of my name," the panda spoke, his voice deep and rumbled like thunder, as he looked at the three..before noticing Ruby, "A human? Here in...wait…" he lowered down, examining Ruby a bit, "There is something...odd about you, child…"
"...O...Odd how?" Ruby cautiously asked.
"You...have silver eyes."
"?!" Scourge fell over at that.
"I've only met one figure before with those eyes. A dragon of light who needed a place for his younger brother, a dragon of darkness, to vent his frustrations and brought him to this Zone when it was once the Zone of Silence...before it became the Zone of Silence."
"?" Mecha Sally raised a brow at that before Feist rose back up.
"However, we have gotten off track here. State your business and fast."
"I was just looking around this neat underground fort when I went by these two posts and they got all sparkly and I ended up in here when I touched one," Ruby explained, "Wherever here is."
"I am here to retrieve a Chaos Emerald," Mecha Sally answered.
"Here for the same reason as the robot princess here, only I want two," Scourge stated as he stood up.
"Hmm...A lone figure who came here by pure chance, a Robian here for just one, and a green hedgehog here for two…" Feist noted, rubbing his chin before holding up a hand.
A gold light shined in the palm of it before two forms appeared within the light. The forms were a pair of fine-cut gems. One was cyan and the other was yellow and both seemed to glow with an inner light.
"Unfortunately...I only have the two of the seven Emeralds," he explained with a scowl, "One previous group cheated me of two and the last ones before you three cheated through taking a third option." his eyes narrowed at them as the ground around them crumbled, forcing them to get close together, "I do not like cheaters in my Special Zone."
"...What?" Scourge blinked, noticing the stare Mecha Sally gave him, "...What?!"
"I think she's giving you a 'you so are a cheater' look," Ruby spoke, "...Though kinda hard to tell since she has no mouth."
"Stay out of this, red! Yer not involved in this!" Scourge barked.
"I think I'm feeling involved…" Ruby muttered before looking up at Feist, "Um...Mr. Panda, sir? I don't even know what's going on here…"
"You are in the Special Zone, a realm that I created from the Zone of Silence," Feist informed, "Everything here is mine to command with a simple thought." the ground reformed enough for them to move away from one another, a bit of the Grimm remains flaking off Scourge, "Hm…"
Feist held a hand up towards Scourge. The green hedgehog yelped as the remains were sucked up towards the hand before Feist clenched it once it was all in his hand. He opened it and Ruby squeaked on seeing a massive bear-like creature. Its body was pitch black with jagged bones emerging from its back, shoulders, and elbows with a bone-made 'mask' over its head, glowing red eyes shining behind the sockets.
"Ursa…" Ruby gulped, her hand going to her weapon before Feist chuckled.
"How interesting...It feels like you, but in the opposite. A creature with no soul, only a desire to destroy all that is its opposite," Feist noted, glancing at Ruby and then the Grimm in her paw, "...Considering I only have two Chaos Emeralds remaining...And two of you both want one or both…" he looked at Sally and Scourge before smirking, "Then I will find this challenge for you three far more interesting."
With that, he crushed the Ursa, causing a flood of black liquid to spill from his hand and land before the three as the ground reshaped, changing what had been a multicolored floor into a grassy field with several hills and exposed stones. The pooling black liquid rose up, becoming the wolf-like Grimm until well over a hundred were made. More dripped from Feist's paw until a pool formed behind the wolf Grimm.
"Three waves. Each growing harder to overcome. The one who kills the most wins both."
"Beowolves," Ruby noted.
"Ya know these things, Red?" Scourge asked.
"They're Grimm," Ruby replied.
"Oh gee, ya think that's our current situation here?" the hedgehog snarked.
"I believe she's referring to the type of creature these are," Mecha Sally stated.
"Oh...well I...wait," Scourge blinked, "...That's what the doc was researching on from that one Zone?! Goddamn! They are metal as hell!"
"Doc?" Ruby repeated before three Beowolves snarled and rushed her.
The trio tackled her...only to tumble amid rose petals. The two looked up to see Ruby high in the air, a calm expression on her face with her left hand to her back. She pulled it out, revealing Crescent Rose in its rifle mode and she pulled the trigger. A startled yelp made them look in time to see a headless Beowolf collapse, disintegrating to ashes. Ruby landed, firing another round and taking the head off another on her landing and then another as she stood up. She converted her gun into its scythe mode as one tried to attack her from behind. She spun around, caught it by the back of its neck, and pulled the trigger. The recoil moved her away...and took the head off the body. Scourge blinked twice, rubbed his eyes, blinked again, and then whistled slowly.
"God...damn! That was nice. A scythe that doubles as a gun? Nice…" Scourge noted before jumping over a Beowolf that tried to lunge at him, "Whoa! Bad mutt!" he curled up into a ball and slammed down on its head, crushing it, "Bring it on, ya damn mutts!"
"...Very well. Terminating targets," Mecha Sally stated, a pair of energy blades popping out of her wrist before she impaled them into a pair of Beowolf, making them gag out before she pulled out and sliced their heads off.
Scourge cackled as he curled up into a ball and shot off towards more Beowolves, his sharp quills tearing through them. One jumped at him only for a red blur to shoot by, covering Scourge in a few rose petals and the upper half of its body to shoot off its lower half. He looked to see Ruby zip around, firing her weapon at times to increase her speed with the recoil as she sliced through the Grimm like this was second nature to her.
"A supersonic human? Man, I have been outta the loop here since I was in the No Zone Jail…" Scourge muttered while grabbing a Beowolf and prepared to snap its neck only for Mecha Sally to stab its head, "Ah! Oh, you dirty metal stinker! That was my kill, dammit!"
"I will not allow you to steal the Emeralds I sought for," Mecha Sally argued.
"Look. I don't know what that fatass wants with 'em, and frankly? I just don't give a damn!"
"You are a Sonic; my primary mission is to interfere with Sonic. Deal with it," Mecha Sally stated before slicing the head off several more and rocketed off, "Current count: 28. Human currently has 39. Hedgehog has 11."
"What?! Tch. Damn…" Scourge growled before shooting off as a green blur, tearing into Beowolves, "I ain't losin' ta you, ya metal bint!"
"Yeesh. Testy too…" Ruby muttered, flipping over a lunging Beowolf before turning and slashing it, "Just hope the others aren't worried."
"...It's quiet...too quiet…" Weiss muttered, "...That should be a good thing, but...it's too eerily quiet…Ren?"
"Nora's over there," Ren replied, pointing at the orangette that was running away from Zwei with Haseo over her head.
"I have no idea how she got me…" Haseo whimpered.
"...Hold on a second. Yang…" Weiss began as she looked over at the Blonde, "Where's Ruby?"
"I don't know," Yang shrugged.
"I'll check the security cameras," Nicole offered before her eyes glowed for a moment, "...Oh dear."
"Oh no...what did she do?" Weiss asked.
"She went into the Special Zone," Nicole replied.
"...The what?"
"A dangerous place run by a Mobian by the name of Feist," Nicole explained, "Due to the Chaos Emeralds being taken into there due to Tails and Shadow, Feist was able to become omnipotent in there with them, letting him reshape it into whatever he wants."
"..."
"You may want to cover your ears," Nora whispered to Haseo as Zwei whimpered as he covered his face with his front paws.
"RUBY!" Weiss and Yang screamed.
"Achoo! ...Oh I feel like I'm in trouble…" Ruby cringed after sneezing.
"Current count: 50. Human: 87. Hedgehog: 63," Mecha Sally noted.
"Wh-?! How am I so behind Red here?!" Scourge snapped.
"She kept getting the finishing blow before you could on several of them," Ruby replied, "And I have to fight these things daily, so I have a lot of experience with them."
"...I take back any nice thing I've said about you, Red."
"Aw…" Ruby whined.
"Last wave," Feist informed, "But to make things interesting? Since you're keeping count, there will be only one worth 100 points."
"Oh no…" Ruby squeaked.
"What?" Scourge asked as the pool of black liquid bubbled.
"Think, buffoon," Mecha Sally stated.
"Hey!"
"If this one is worth a hundred…" Mecha Sally stated before a massive figure erupted from the pool, "...It will be as powerful as a hundred."
What landed before them was a massive gorilla-like Grim. Jagged bones grew out of its back, shoulders, elbows, knees, and knuckles. Rib bones grew out of its waist and chest area while the upper half of its face had its skull growing out of its face. Its glowing red eyes looked around before settling on the trio. It let out a bellowing roar while banging its fists on its chest.
"...Ah crap," Scourge whispered, his ears drooping a bit before jumping back from an attempted slam.
"What is that one called?" Mecha Sally questioned.
"I've never seen these in real life before, but they're called Beringel," Ruby gulped, "My dad and Uncle Qrow told me the one time they were on a mission and encountered one. Uncle Qrow had a cast on one leg and dad had his right arm in a sling for a few weeks. Both had clean breaks in their bones in several spots, but they finished the mission they were on so Uncle Qrow decided that was a good thing and I..."
"Less talkin', more dodgin'!" Scourge shouted.
"Ahh!" Ruby yelped as she dodged another slam.
The Beringel roared as it grabbed one of the stones in the area-easily as big as it-and hefted it up and threw it at the three. Mecha Sally's blades sliced through it and caused the other two to dodge. She flew at the gorilla-like Grimm and delivered several slashes that barely did a thing before the Beringel slapped her away.
"So, uh...Know anything 'bout this thing?" Scourge asked.
"Well, they're really strong, and my dad told me the one they fought was smart and would throw Grimm near it at them from as small as a Beowolf to as big as a Death Stalker," Ruby replied.
"...What's a Death Stalker? Sounds badass."
"It looks like a giant scorpion with a yellow stinger. Think as big as a bullhead."
"And a bullhead is…?"
"...Um...Maybe as big as a house is a better comparison?"
"Dang that's big," Scourge noted before the two dodged...only for the Grimm to grab them by the back of their jacket/cloak and slammed them together and threw them to where Mecha Sally had crashed from the slap, "Ugh...And that bastard's a smartass with quick reflexes…any weaknesses?"
"My dad and Uncle Qrow dropped a train on the one they fought to kill it," Ruby replied, "...No, realy. They found a really old train and dropped it on the Beringel they fought."
"...Your old man and uncle sound badass."
"We do not have a train here," Mecha Sally stated, "Just rocks and grass."
"...And each other," Ruby noted, earning looks, "Look, we're not going to survive if we just go at it separately. But if we work together, I'm sure we'll win."
"Ha! That's funny, Red!" Scourge laughed, "You expect me to work with you and robo-princess here?"
"Do you have any other ideas?" Mecah Sally retorted.
"...You've gotten snarkier since ya turned into a 'bot," Scourge grumbled.
"We can limit its mobility if we hit the back of its legs where they go into the feet," Ruby noted as she hefted up Crescent Rose before ejecting the spent ammo clip and pulled out another with a snowflake printed on it, "These should help slow it down enough to give you two a shot at them."
"So aim for the ankles…" Scourge noted before grinning and flicking his sunglasses over his eyes, "Good. That should give me some ideas to deal with my goody two-shoes counterpart next time I fight him."
"Wait, what?" Ruby blinked at that before the trio dodged another slam, separating them.
Ruby quickly opened fire at the Beringel. The moment a shot hit the Beringel, ice emerged from where the shot hit yet barely lasted a second before shattering as it charged at her with a roar. It then cried out in pain when a pair of blurs shot past its legs, black liquid spilling from behind its legs as it collapsed onto the floor.
"It seems this Grimm did not evolve with protection on its ankles, like the human stated," Mecha Sally noted, energy blades extended.
"Ugh, I think I got black blood on my quills. Fi' is gonna be pissed if I got blood in my quills again just after they grew back to the right length she likes…" Scourge grumbled.
'Fi'? ...Wait...Fi..Finiti...wait. Does he...uh oh….RED FLAG!' Ruby mentally exclaimed.
"Orders?" Mecha Sally's question snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Yeah, what next, Red?" Scourge asked before they ducked under a thrown boulder, "Because we left it near a bunch of rocks."
"Mmm...It's durable, able to take several slashes from all of us without effort outside of the weak ankles," Ruby noted before looking at the broken rock, "...Got it!" she swung Crescent Rose at the broken rocks and carved a pole out and handed it to Scourge, "Think you can spin while holding this?"
"Oh, I get it...Ya want me to whack him with it!" Scourge grinned.
"No," Ruby replied as she pulled Mecha Sally over with several grunts of effort, "I need you to hold the ends and extend your blades. Are you good at spinning?"
"Spinning...Affirmative," Mecha Sally replied.
"Good," Ruby nodded before ejecting the Ice Dust Ammo Clip from her scythe/rifle and pulled out one with a black cross-like design on it, "Hop on the end of Crescent Rose."
"You're shooting us at it?! ...Damn, you're more brutal than I thought, Red."
"What will this ammunition do?" Mecha Sally asked, looking at the image on the side.
"Gravity Dust," Ruby replied, "I use it to speed up big time. Last time I used it was on an entire pack of Beowolves that were in my way of getting home from talking with my mom."
"High speed? Pfft! Please, Red...like that's anything new t-" Scourge began.
"Just start spinning before it decides to throw itself," Mecha Sally ordered as she grabbed the ends of the stone bar.
"...Ugh. Fine...bitch," Scourge grumbled as he curled into a ball and began to spin in place.
Mecha Sally extended her blades out and hopped onto the muzzle of Crescent Rose. She began to spin like a top, becoming a blue blur with a green saw in the center. Ruby aimed her weapon at the Beringel as it began to pick up another rock and pulled the trigger. Two blurs shot off as they pierced right through the Grimm, causing it to stop just before it could throw its rock. It staggered back for a moment, a cut starting to appear around its neck before a long one began to go down the middle of its body...and within a matter of seconds, the Grimm fell into pieces as black blood spilled out around the area. The two stopped and separated from each other with Scourge still holding the rock pole. He looked at the Grimm as it dissolved away and grinned.
"Whoo! Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" Scourge cackled, "Why didn't the doc take me with him?! I would've loved tearing these boys apart! ...no. Better yet...sic them on Sonic and his merry little band and watch the blood spill!" the sound of a gun reloading caught his attention, "...heh. Really Red?"
"You...you work for Finitivus, don't you?" Ruby asked with a frown, aiming her weapon at the green hedgehog.
"Oh, you met the Doc, huh? Yeah, not really a big fan of the guy myself, but I've got a pretty hefty debt to repay the guy, so gotta work with him and his craziness," Scourge shrugged.
"...And you…" Ruby began as she looked at Mecha Sally, "You're one of Eggman's...aren't you?"
"What was your first clue? Her being a Robian?" Scourge snarked.
Feist chuckled as the field changed back into its original state of a multicolored ground, "My, my. This has been quite amusing. Far more than simply having others race for a Chaos Emerald. However...we only have one winner...and sadly, it's neither the hedgehog or the robian."
"Wait, what?" Scourge blinked at that.
"The human is the victor."
"...Okay first: WHAT?! Second; THE FUCK?!" Scourge snapped.
"...It was when she used us as 'bullets'," Mecha Sally spoke in realization, "Since we were used to defeat the Grimm...the kill did not count for us, rather...for her."
"Oh that is horse shit!" Scourge exclaimed.
"Well done on your end, young human child," Feist noted as the two Chaos Emeralds appeared in Ruby's hands, "A word of caution, however. When all seven are used together, they will return to the Special Zone once the seven are used all at once. Until next we meet."
Feist held up a hand and snapped his fingers.
"Now let's see…" Eggman muttered as he was currently under a computer console, a panel lifted up over him so only his behind was exposed, "Ah ha! There's the issue. Now I ju…" a portal appeared and Mecha Sally shot out of it, slammed into Eggman, and sent him into the opening, causing the cover to fall on it, "Gah! ...Hello?" he knocked on it from the inside, "Hey! Open this up right now!"
A Mobian female fox with dark-red fur, a yellow muzzle and belly, a yellow bow, and wore black punk clothes blinked twice. Scourge slowly popped out of the indent in the stone wall shaped like him and slowly slid down the wall before falling flat on his back.
"...Something happen, Scourge?" the vixen asked.
"...Fiona...you know that story 'Red-Riding Hood?'" Scourge asked, making her raise a brow, "...I officially despise it. Also, how much hair remover would it take to de-fluff a giant panda the size of a building?"
"Okay?" the fox raised a brow.
"So let me get this straight. When that blue hedgehog from Albion runs by these fast enough, he can open up this portal to another place called the Special Zone," Weiss noted.
"A bit more complicated, but that does simplify things," Nicole replied before the portal appeared and Ruby tumbled out, "Welcome back, Ms. Rose. Are y-" she paused before blinking in surprise, seeing the two Chaos Emeralds in Ruby's hands, "..."
"Ruby, what happened? Are you okay?" Yang asked, checking her over.
"What are those in your hands?" Blake asked, noticing the Cyan and Yellow Chaos Emeralds.
"Oh you won't believe it!" Ruby exclaimed as she got up and began to talk quickly, "I made these stars appear on these posts and when I poked them, I got pulled into a big rainbow looking place and met a green hedgehog who swore as much as Uncle Qrow when he stubs his toe and a robot chipmunk terminator like in Yang's movies! And then this giant magic panda appeared that said my eyes were silver just like Headmaster Ozpin did when I first met him before I got into Beacon early and that green hedgehog has the remains of Grimm on him and the panda used it to make a whole army of Grimm that we had to beat up! Ah! It was so cool~! He was all hyah! Yah! Hayoo! And the robot chipmunk had these neat energy blades in her wrists and was going swoosh! Swish! Fazoom! And it was so awesome and exciting and Eeee!"
"...I...I'm sorry…What?" Weiss slowly asked.
"So you encountered Feist," Nicole noted.
"Oh yeah...I think that was his name," Ruby noted, "Anyways, I won on a technicality and he gave me these." she held up the Chaos Emeralds, "They make me feel all tingly, like I could do so much more than normal."
"...Keep them away from Nora if they're capable of that."
"Wuzzat?" Nora blinked, poking her head in with Zwei and Haseo.
"Those are two of the seven Chaos Emeralds," Nicole explained, "Once there were thousands upon thousands of them, but earlier this year, Tails and Shadow worked together to seal them into the Special Zone where Feist united them all into just seven Emeralds."
"Really? Th-wait..but..Feist said he only had two left," Ruby stated.
"Sonic has been in there twice before, meaning that others have also been in there," Nicole noted before making a chart appear, showing seven fine-cut Emeralds that were colored in either Red, Green, Yellow, Cyan, Purple, Blue, and Grey, "Sonic originally received the Grey Chaos Emerald, but in order to save Tails, Mina, and Mighty, he had to give it up to Mammoth Mogul who own Casinopolis." the image of a Mobian Mammoth's face popped up beside the grey emerald, "When he went into the Special Zone again, Sonic was betrayed and the Purple Chaos Emerald now resides with Ixis Naugus, the current...king...of New Mobotropolis." a gruesome head with a menacing face, pointed ears, a horn growing out of the forehead, and a beard popped up by the purple one, "Ruby has brought us the Yellow and Cyan." a chibi image of Ruby appeared by both while three question marks popped up by the last three, "Meaning that the Red, Green, and Blue are with unknown figures."
"...Ano.." Haseo spoke up, earning her attention, "?! U...um...I...I have...a..q...question."
"Hmm? What is it?"
"Ano...wh-when a council makes a decision...d-doesn't the king finalize on it?"
"I believe so...why?"
"...ano...because I saw someone different than...th-that," Haseo replied, nervously pointing at the image of Naugus.
"Hm?"
"A skunk."
"You mean Geoffrey St. John," Nicole noted as the Mobian skunk's face popped up beside Naugus', "Due to the current ruler having fallen ill, he is currently working in his place."
"Oh…S-soka," Haseo noted, "G...gomen. I...thought something was odd…"
"It's alright," Nicole assured, "Still...This is good, Ms. Rose. They could be of use to something in New Mobotropolis."
"Really?" Ruby blinked, "...Well...perfect! I did a good thing!"
"You're still in trouble for making us worry about you though…" Yang countered.
"D'oh~" Ruby slumped.
Finitevus narrowed his eyes as yet another Grimm took its own life, "Still you defy my goal of understanding. Is your master's control over you that strong?" he grit his teeth, "Insolent controller…" he captured the remains and put them into another clear container, "Tch. And each time I come, I use up two Warp Rings to do so. It's tedious...I need something to make this easier...but this Zone is not part of Mobius' history…Hmm..." he began to grin, "Or, rather…" he tossed another charged Warp Ring into the air, making the portal, "...This Zone is not part of Mobius' history...yet."
GT: Ooh...What is that Echidna planning?
SZ: Knowing him...nothing good at all.
GT: Well, how do you think he'll feel when he learns Scourge failed?
SZ: LIVID most likely...well let's see what happens net time, guys and gals. And hopefully Ruby and co will adjust to this world…
GT: Yep. So read and review, folks!