The New Heartbeats
Author's Note: Chapter 19 is finally here! WOOOO! Enjoy!
Intro Music: Fullmetal Alchemist Opening 1
Chapter 19: Reunited & It Feels So Good
We now go to Atlas, going right into the Schnee Dust Company. The people who were walking together were General Ironwood and Jacques Schnee, followed by a group of scientists that were not walking too far behind them. The research lab looked absolutely ridiculous, going from experiment to experiment as it related to dust.
"Always a pleasure for our esteemed general to pay us a visit, am I right?" Jacques stated, mainly trying to get on Ironwood's good side.
"Cut the crap, Jacques. Just give me a report on how the Dust Project is coming along. With all of these new threats that I'm hearing about that are attacking Vale, along with us trying to stop Salem, progress is the only thing that matters right now." Ironwood replied in a no-nonsense manner, making Jacques clear his throat.
"Yes, of course. I'm sure our scientists would be able to tell you about the great progress we've made so far." Saying this, Jacques looked back at the scientists, one stepping up to talk to Ironwood.
"Well, what's the report?" Ironwood asked the scientist.
"We have successful animal trials. When it came to their raw power, they showed a 1000% increase, being able to control four of the Dust crystals at will." The scientist said, but Ironwood wanted to know more.
"I'm sure with that kind of increase there were side effects, correct?"
"There was one trial that showed side effe-"
Jacques would cut the scientist off before he could mess up. "That trial was the only one that went wrong. Ever since that one, every trial has been successful."
Ironwood raised an eyebrow, suspecting that Jacques was intentionally not trying to tell him something. "That's not what I asked. I asked if there were any side effects."
The scientist stepped in, telling Ironwood the truth. "The side effects were violence, aggression, and insanity."
Ironwood folded his arms, Jacques now going into mini panic mode. "Again, that was the only test that went wrong. With the exception of…" Jacques stopped himself, looking at the scientist's name-tag because he honestly didn't know his name.
"With the exception of Dr. Lee, everyone has approved the Dust Project to be ready for human testing."
Ironwood looked at Jacques with a suspicious look on his face, turning back to Dr. Lee to get his final opinion.
"Dr. Lee?"
Dr. Lee paused, before looking up at Ironwood.
"We need to take the whole thing back to formula."
Ironwood stared at Dr. Lee, then back at Jacques. All he could do was shake his head, turning around. Jacques got right into Dr. Lee's face, not believing that he would say something like that. He was seething with nothing but pure, unadulterated rage.
"Back to formula?" Jacques repeated, his tone signaling that he wanted to kill Dr. Lee right where he stands.
"Jacques!" Ironwood called out, making Jacques turn to him as he would do the same. "If you don't have a successful human trial by the time I check in for another progress report, you can kiss your riches and political career goodbye."
Translation: If there's not a successful test, Ironwood is kicking Jacques out of his own Dust company.
Ironwood walked away, leaving Jacques and his scientists alone. Jacques would look at the floor, being deep in thought as he tried to figure out what to do next.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
After Blake did the unthinkable, she ran into her dorm and quickly shut the door behind her, breathing heavily. Oh God, she kissed Sonic. She actually kissed him. What was she thinking? What in the literal crap was she thinking?
She groaned, her fingers now touching her forehead as she closed her eyes and sighed.
"What's up with you, Blake?"
Blake's eyes widened, immediately recognizing the voice and was now going into full panic mode, her life flashing before her eyes.
It was freaking Yang.
"Uh, nothing! Nothing at all! Nope! Nothing is up! Why would anything be up with me?! That would be ridiculous!" Blake shouted, Yang now being weirded out by her behavior and started to worry for her best friend's mental health.
"Blake… Are you okay? Something seems to be bothering you." Yang said, Blake instantly refuting that statement.
"What?! Pffffff, no! I'm fine! I'm as free as a bird! Just a little hyper, that's all! Hahahaha… haaa." Blake awkwardly replied, finishing it off with the awkward laugh.
Yang raised an eyebrow, folding her arms. "But you're never hyper."
"WELL THERE'S A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING! OH, LOOK AT THE TIME, I JUST REMEMBERED THAT MY TUNA COMES IN THE MAIL TODAY! OH, WHY DO THEY TAUNT ME?! BYE!" Not wanting to be in this conversation any longer, Blake opened the door and ran out the dorm, leaving Yang utterly baffled.
There was a silence in the dorm, before Yang finally decided to comment on Blake's insanity.
"…What…?"
Meanwhile, Sonic had entered back into Beacon, getting away from Sun and Neptune due to his speed. Thank God he was the fastest thing alive, he didn't want to hear their nonsense when it came to him and Blake. As he was walking, he suddenly jumped up, feeling a hard punch on his shoulder.
Considering he was on edge, this made him freak out even more.
"I DIDN'T DO IT!" Sonic yelled, turning around and swiftly got into his fighting stance.
However, he eased up when he saw who punched him on the shoulder. Even in human form, he was as recognizable as ever.
"Knuckles?!"
"It's about time I saw your face again." Knuckles smirked, the two being happy to see each other as they did a bro fist bump. Tails was also with Knuckles, smiling widely.
Finally, freaking finally, Team Sonic was together again.
Though, the happy moment wouldn't last too long.
"So, how did the Master Emerald get shattered into pieces?"
Oh boy, that question right off the bat, eh?
Sonic scratched the back of his head, not wanting to answer. "Well, you see, it's truly a wonderful tale-"
Knuckles cut Sonic off, his response already giving him all he needed to know. "I knew it! You're the reason why we're here in the first place!"
Sonic slouched, already feeling like he's gotten beaten up physically and mentally more times that he could count recently. He knew if he ever saw Knuckles again, he knew this day would come. "Knuckles, look. I couldn't think of anything else to do! If I didn't spindash into the Master Emerald, who knows what would have happened?!"
"Anything would have been better than transporting to a completely different world along with transforming into humans!" Knuckles yelled. One minute in, and these two were already arguing. Tails facepalmed himself, clearly having enough of this crap.
"Guys! Come on! This is what we're gonna do after not seeing each other for a long time?!" Once again, Tails was bringing the logic into the situation. Seems like he's the only one that has sense in the group most of the time. "We should be happy that we've finally reunited! And now, with Team Sonic back together, we can finally get back home!"
Sonic and Knuckles listened to Tails, a short silence entering the hallways of Beacon. Sonic and Knuckles both sighed, ultimately knowing that Tails was right. Not only about the arguing, but with Team Sonic finally getting back together, there was nothing that they couldn't do.
"Don't forget about me." A voice said, catching Sonic off guard.
"Whoa! Who was that?!" Sonic questioned, Tails chuckling to himself as Knuckles smirked.
"Oh, nothing but an old friend of yours." Knuckles replied, reaching into his pockets and brought out a golden ring. Suddenly, the golden ring turned into a person, a certain pink haired Genie that Sonic has history with.
"Shahra?!" Sonic shouted, not expecting to see her here at all. Geez, how many people were sent here because of him?
Shahra came close to Sonic and hugged him, with Sonic returning the favor. "It's good to see you again, Sonic."
"It's good to see you too!" Sonic exclaimed happily. Seeing Shahra again made him come to a realization as soon as they stopped hugging. "Oh man, my two storybook weapons are here! This is great!"
Shahra looked confused. "Two storybook weapons?"
Sonic would decide to explain. "Yeah, my other storybook weapon is Caliburn, a talking sword. He's a bit uptight, but I'm sure you guys will get along."
Shahra showed a smile. "Well in that case, I can't wait to meet hi-"
"Who dares to come in and try to steal my spot as Sonic's weapon?!"
Team Sonic turned around, seeing Caliburn jump towards them. Caliburn had heard the entire thing, now knowing that he had some competition. "Sonic, who is this woman that claims to be your weapon?! I am your weapon!"
A devious grin appeared on Sonic's face. "Uh oh, is the great Caliburn getting jealous?"
"Me?! Jealous?! Blasphemy! Absolute blasphemy!" Caliburn replied, Tails and Knuckles looking at this situation progress, being completely clueless.
"I have no idea what's going on." Tails said.
"Same." Knuckles nodded. It was understandable, given the fact that they didn't go on either of the adventures that Sonic went on with both Shahra and Caliburn. I mean, they were kinda there, but kinda not… Ah, screw it, you get the point.
"Very nice to meet you, Caliburn. I'm sure we'll get along swimmingly." She said sweetly, Caliburn looking at her then back at Sonic.
"Sonic, she doesn't have the right to be your weapon."
"Actually, I met her first before I met you, so she does have the right. I love you both equally, though. This just means that I have more weapons at my disposal!"
Hearing this, Caliburn sighed, while Shahra could only giggle. If this whole thing wasn't getting crazy enough…
Penny would make herself known.
"SALUTATIONS, SONIC!"
In mere moments, Sonic felt like his bones were beginning to break due to Penny suddenly hugging him. Tails, Shahra, Caliburn, and Knuckles couldn't help but to laugh at the sight.
"W-Who is this person hugging me?!" Sonic struggled to say, feeling like he was being suffocated to death.
"Sonic, this is Penny. Ozpin put us as a team for the purpose of helping you out. Isn't she just a ball of positivity?" Knuckles said, getting enjoyment out of Sonic not expecting Penny to be this strong.
"Oh boy, I've heard so much about you! It's good to finally meet you!" Penny said, Sonic's face signaling that he was struggling to breathe.
"Penny… I'm dying…"
"I'm sorry!" Penny said, stopping the hug as Sonic dropped to the floor, taking multiple deep breaths.
"Knux, I think I found somebody that might be able to beat you in strength…" Sonic said, holding his chest as he tried to get himself together.
"Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, now." Knuckles replied, smirking.
Team Sonic, along with a few others, were finally reunited, and it feels so good.
BGM: Lady Gaga – Poker Face
Later that day, it was now nighttime, the Junior's Club in Vale being as energetic as ever. Inside the club, there were two people in particular that were looking like they were investigating something. Well, mainly one person. The other looked unenthused to be here.
"Shadow, why the heck are we in a club right now?" Emerald asked, Shadow continuing to look around.
"I'm looking for something important since my so-called brother wants to goof around all day." Shadow replied, talking about Sonic and how he thinks that he isn't taking the situation of getting back home seriously enough.
God, that brother thing still annoyed him to no end.
"And you think we're going to find this important thing in a club?" Emerald responded, annoyance being in her voice.
"Trust me, what I'm looking for usually ends up in the most unlikely places." Shadow told her, having a point on that part. He was talking about finding one of the Chaos Emeralds, but Emerald herself would have no idea what Shadow was talking about.
Emerald's palm would meet her face hard. "I don't even know how I ended up here…" she honestly said. Why did she agree to help Shadow? Couldn't Mercury and Cinder do tha-… Well, probably not Mercury. Cinder can be difficult at times, too.
"Clubs are for partying and drinking, not for finding whatever the heck you're looking for. Speaking of drinks, I need one right about now." Emerald told Shadow, now beginning to walk away and being sick of this crap.
"What are you doing?! I thought you said you would help?!" Shadow shouted.
"Find whatever you're looking for on your own!" Emerald shouted back, making her way to the bar. This caused Shadow to grit his teeth and clench his fists in frustration, looking away.
"Whatever! I don't need your help anyway!"
END OF CHAPTER 19: REUNITED & IT FEELS SO GOOD
BGM: Kingdom Hearts – Simple and Clean by Utada Hikaru, Audio Boost Remix
Shadow: Fine then, go away! I don't need your help!
Emerald: I wasn't going to help you anyway- WAIT, SHADOW! LOOK OUT!
Shadow: GAH!
Next time on The New Heartbeats!
This Machine
Shadow: Wait a minute, isn't this the name of Team Dark's theme song?!
Author's Note: Oh boy, haven't updated this in over a month. I was planning for this chapter to be longer, but then I made the choice to separate this into a mini arc. Get ready, y'all, because Shadow and Team CMES are going to go through their bonding phase over these next few chapters, just like Sonic did with each member of Team RWBYS. I'm excited to write this mini arc, because this group right here is a ticking time bomb! Lol. If you guys like what you read, leave a follow and a favorite. Don't forget to READ AND REVIEW! See you guys in chapter 20!
