Outworld Huntsmen
A/N: Hey, everyone! Sorry to keep you waiting these past few weeks, but you know how the writing process goes; editing and rewriting—the usual one-two.
That being said, I'm happy to see that this story has gained followers. Glad to know you guys are enjoying it.
Also, I'm not gonna hold you guys. This chapter is a little longer than the first. I really went into it with this one. But I promise this is where things pick up a bit. So, should you feel the need, take a break from reading, rub your eyes, and grab a bite if you have to.
And with the formalities hashed out…
On with the chapter!
Enjoy!
(Edit: Tails' surname for Remnant was changed from "Sárga" to "Saffron" to roll off the tongue better for readers.)
Chapter 2
Special Enrollment
Overhead, the Tornado 2 soared through the skies. Knuckles looked over his seat while Sonic and Shadow looked down from the top wing at the city below.
"Man, check it out," Knuckles said. He scanned the city, seeing the numerous buildings that spread out far and wide.
"No kidding," Sonic said. "Guess luck is on our side. This ain't a bad lookin' place."
Tails pressed the blue button on the Miles Electric, and the screen flashed with the city's digital map.
"It gets better," he said. "I've managed to connect to the Wi-Fi here. I'm already getting data on this city right now. It won't be long before we know where and how we can get around until the Emeralds get their power back."
"That gizmo was able to connect here? No passwords or anything?" Knuckles said to Tails.
"Naturally. I made the Miles Electric for universal Wi-Fi accessibility. All you gotta do is hit the button, and the library of global information is yours."
"Man, you think of everything, Tails," Sonic said, giving a thumbs up.
Tails chuckled as he said, "Well, any gadgeteer worth their wrench always makes tools for future endeavors."
"Then, perhaps it can tell us where to land," Shadow said, looking straight ahead. "It would be rather fractious if we were to settle in the middle of the street."
"Not to worry. According to this map, there is a forest just north of the city known as Forever Fall. We can touch down there and get the Tornado when we're ready to head back."
Sonic grinned. "Well, let's get going!" he said with passion in his voice. "I could use some sightseeing after being on that island."
Tails gripped the throttle. "Okay. Everyone hang on!" Tails gripped the throttle, and everyone braced themselves before Tails pulled the throttle down.
The engine's blue flames blasted roaring in their burst, and the Tornado 2 sped through the air with a fighter jet's speed, zipping through skies. Below, the citizens looked up to see the plane fly overhead. It soared over the city towards the horizon, coming to a tremendous mountainous forest, and lowered before it disappeared into the trees' leaves' redness.
The city of Vale thrived with life, its people in every direction going about their tranquil lives. Going up one street and down another, entering and leaving stores, or even stopping for a spot of peace at one of the café's, the people went about their business in the serene climate.
Along a sidewalk of a city block, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Shadow walked through the passing civilians with Tails carrying the backpack. He held his Miles Electric as he tapped the screen, browsing and enlarging images of the city and global maps. Knuckles and Shadow looked around, Shadow with his arms crossed and Knuckles with his hands behind his head. In front, Sonic grinned in his walk down the street.
"Feels good to be back in a city," Sonic said. He took the sight of streets and buildings and the sounds of passing cars and people walking by. Clearing his throat, he turned to the others and spoke in a deep father's voice, "Alright, kids, remember where we parked, no running down up and down the street, and be sure to go the bathroom before we leave." He chuckled.
"You always got jokes, don't you?" Knuckles said, rolling his eyes.
Sonic shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say? It's a gift."
"Just don't go causing any trouble while we're here," Shadow said.
"Yeah. We don't wanna freak out the people of…of…," Knuckles flexed a brow and turned to Tails. 'What's this place called again?"
"Well, the island we came from was Patch. So now, we're in Vale," Tails said, pressing another button on his device. "Well, the city of Vale, to be accurate. It's the capital city of the kingdom of Vale."
"So, the Kingdom is named after the city?" Shadow said
"Yeah. It's one of the four Kingdoms that make up the world we're in right now. The world of Remnant."
"Remnant?" Sonic queried. He and the boys stopped in front of a window of a shop. "Kind of a weird name for a planet if you ask me."
"From what I'm reading, there are a lot of theories for the name." Tails looked at the screen, studying the lines of words as he scrolled down. "Some say that it's due simply to choice. Others suggest that a cataclysmic event took place, but I can't find anything concrete."
"Whatever the case, the people here seem to be fine," Knuckles said. He turned to face the shop's window, seeing his reflection. He looked at the tan skin of his appearance and then down to his see his red pants and signature red and yellow green-cuffed shoes. Knuckles then looked at his hands, catching his spiked knuckles on his gloved hands. "Now, maybe you can answer our big question. How come we look like this here, but we still keep traces of how we look back on Earth?"
"I was getting to that part," Tails said with a tap of his screen, and an image of silhouetted figures appeared. The people stood lined in a row, all bearing different animalistic traits. "Oh, here we go."
"Whatcha find?" Sonic said.
Tails read a page of words as it appeared next to the image, "Well, apparently there's another intelligent race that lives here with humans. Along with them, we're part of a race known as… Faunus."
"Faunus?" Shadow said. "Like the god of the forest?"
"More like from the term, 'fauna,' used to describe animal life."
Sonic titled his head. "I'm guessing they got something to with animals?"
"They're part animal to be accurate," Tails said as he continued to examine the information on the screen. "I guess you can say they're human-animal hybrids. Each Faunus seems to have a physical trait they share with a certain animal; horns, fangs, claws, tails or even scales, to name a few."
"I guess that would explain our quills, your tails, and Knuckles' spikes," Sonic said. "That's crazy.
"That's more info about the Faunus. A lot of it, really, but some of it…not exactly uplifting."
"Well, we can learn all the gory details later," Sonic said as she stretched his arms. "Right now, let's see if we can find a place to rest our feet, maybe even grab a bite."
"Not a bad idea. My dogs are barking," Knuckles said as he lifted and stretched his feet.
"There should be a small restaurant not too from where we are. We can head there for a quick stop," Tails said.
"Cool. Let's get goin'," Sonic said. He and Knuckles moved on ahead and crossed the street.
Tails proceeded but soon stopped and noticed that Shadow stood behind, starring as his reflection in the window. Shadow examined his face, focusing on his face and light brown skin.
"Something wrong, Shadow?" Tails asked.
"No," Shadow said. "I'm merely taking in the irony."
"Irony?"
Shadow turned his focus to his gloved hands and Inhibitor Rings and then to his Air Shoes before returning to his reflection. "You may recall that at one point, I despised humanity for the loss of Maria. But that was when…things were different. And now, here I am in this new world, in this human form. Well, human-esque, I should say."
"I'm guessing it's all giving you a new perspective."
Shadow chuckled a slight bit at Tails' point. "Call it fate or call it something else, but I suppose this will give me a chance to see things through different eyes, through Maria's eyes."
Tails smiled as he said, "That's a pretty nice way to look at things, Shadow. Maria would've loved that."
Shadow smiled at his reflection and closed. "Huh. I'm sure she would've." He opened his and looked ahead to Sonic and Knuckles, who had already crossed the street. "But, we have other business to focus on. Let's go."
Shadow walked past Tails, and Tails followed.
Ahead, Sonic walked and turned his head to the boys. "Yo, Tails," He called. "Pull up that restaurant again. I'm craving a chili dog like a —"
A crash cut his words as he bumped into a girl by the shoulder.
The girl fell to the ground as Sonic stumbled. "Ah, man," Sonic groaned with a rub of his shoulder. He noticed the turn to the girl who got to her knees. "Hey, my bad," he said as he offered a hand.
"No, that was my fault," the girl said, taking Sonic's had." I wasn't watching where I was going."
Sonic pulled her up to her feet. As she stood, the girl brushed the dirt off her black long-sleeved blouse and red-cloaked hood, and Sonic noticed the silver rose belt buckles on her skirt. He turned his attention to the girl's face, catching her striking silver eyes. His eye's widened at the sight of the girl's as if he saw a ghost. The image of the rose on the gravestone he saw flashed in his mind.
"Thanks for helping me up," the girl said with a cheerful smile. She then turned around and resumed her walk.
"Uh," Sonic said, shaking his return to reality. "Yeah, no problem." He said with a smile of his own.
As Tails, Knuckles, and Shadow caught up to him, Sonic looked at the mysterious girl who went on her way. The corner of his lips curved as he starred back in thought.
"Was she…" He shook his head. "Nah, that'd be crazy. Wouldn't it?"
Sonic turned and walked along with the other boys.
Through The Vale, a humble outdoor restaurant with people of different walks of life settled themselves at the numerous chairs and tables, either enjoying their meal or conversing with their friends. The restaurant bared wires of red, green, and yellow lights wrapped around the wooden support beams, matching colored flags connecting from one beam to the next.
At one table, Sonic sat with Tails, Knuckles, and Shadow. Sonic munched on a steaming-hot chilidog in his hand while Tails sat across from him looking at his Miles Electric. Knuckles sat with a soda in his hand, and Shadow sat across from him, leaning in his chair with his arms crossed.
"Mmm, man, the people here know how to make a good pretzel chilidog," Sonic said, his mouth stuffed."
"You're just lucking were able to pay for that," Knuckles said. "If it weren't for that Ring Box in the backpack, we wouldn't be here. Seriously though, I've never seen a waitress's eyes sparkle like that."
"Hey, we might not have this world's cash, but with all the Rings we got back at the lab, I bet we can get some kind of gold exchange going and make a living here."
"Speaking of 'living,' Sonic, I was looking up information on that monster we fought at Patch,"
"Anything good?" Sonic said.
Tails took his Miles Electric off his lap, placed it on the table, and tapped the screen.
"It goes without saying that thing wasn't an ordinary wolf, but a living creature of darkness."
"Darkness?" Shadow asked.
"Yeah." Tails turned the device. The screen showed artistic depictions of monstrous creatures with black bodies and white bone armor with red markings and yellow eyes. One showed the image of the large dark wolf. "That thing was a Beowolf. The people here call it a Creature of Grimm, or rather just the Grimm."
Sonic's eyes widened as he looked at the image. 'Grimm?"
"They're vicious monsters that have plagued Remnant since ancient times. They've been described as 'creatures of destruction,' annihilating anyone and anything they come across."
"Going by what they look like in the drawings, these things look like their default setting is a bad attitude," Knuckles said with a rub of his chin.
"That's the thing." Tails turned his device over and tapped on the screen. "From what I'm reading, the Grimm are said to be drawn to any negative emotion; anger, hatred, fear, sadness. Then, they go to the source and just destroy everything."
Shadow folded his arms as he said, "It seems that these creatures are guided by instinct."
"Well, it seems to be the only thing have going for them since they don't have a soul."
"They're just that nasty, huh?" Sonic asked.
Tails shook his head. "No, I mean, they really don't have a soul. No essence drives them, making them incapable of producing what's known here as an Aura."
"Ora what now?" Knuckles said, quirking a brow."
'Aura," Tails corrected. He tapped the screen and pulled up images of silhouettes surrounded by luminous radiations with different colors. "Research here says that Aura is the manifestation of a living being's soul. Everyone's got one, humans, Faunus, and even animals. It's basically in their inward life-force made outward."
"Kinda sounds like Chaos Energy," Knuckles said.
"Right. Like your own energy source."
"It'd be cool if we could use it here."
Sonic placed on hand on his chin, and he raised a brow as he looked up. "Maybe we already can." He said.
"You think so?" Knuckles asked.
Taking another bit of his chilidog, Sonic continued, "When I was fighting that Beowolf thing, it took a swing at me and knocked me down. Obviously, it didn't rough me up too much, but here's thing real kicker. I got up and saw this glow…this light covering me."
"That must've been your Aura protecting you," Tails said.
"But, how? I didn't even know I had it, let alone tried to use it."
Tail scratched his head. "It's a theory, but it could be due to your experience of harnessing the energy of the Chaos Emeralds. I think we all can do it if we have to."
"Makes as much sense as everything else we've seen so far." Sonic looked down and held out his hands. He furrowed his eyes. A slight tremble coursed through his hand, and the blue sheen of light flashed around it before fading. Sonic clenched his fist and smiled. "Aura, huh?"
The city's commercial districts flourished with the citizens going and out of the numerous shops or passing the streets. The builds of the community stood large and tall, with alleyways keeping them apart.
Between two buildings was a b, and two bearded men clothed in back suits and red shades sat inside.
The man in the passenger seat groaned as he straightened his black hat, "You sure this is the route?"
"Positive," the man in the driver's seat said. "The truck should be coming any minute now."
"It better. It's been bad enough trying to duck the cops and Huntsmen, but after that last flop with the Dust shop last week, if we screw this up, Roman's is gonna have our heads."
"Don't worry about Torchwick. Junior might've paid us to be his errand boys, but he'd be the least of our problems." The man in the driver's seat adjusted his tie. "I'd be more worried about that woman's he's working with."
The man in the passenger flinched and turned his head to his partner.
"You mean that chick in red?"
"Yeah, the way her eyes glowed, and how even Roman lowered his tone around her. If we ever get on her bad side, we'd be downright—"
"Hey look!" The man in the passenger's seat nudged his part. They saw a truck with the words, 'From Dust Till Dawn,' were written on its side. It stopped behind a car it approached a red light. "Get ready. It's time to go."
"Gotcha," the first man said as he clicked open his Scroll. "All right, boys, listen. Once the truck leaves, follow my lead. And if anyone tries to play hero, we deal with them ASAP. Savvy?"
He clicked his Scroll again and folded it before putting it in his pocket while his partner took out a red and gray handgun. The light turned and the car moved with the truck following behind. The headlights of the black car flashed, and its engine purred. The man pressed on the gas and drove out of the alleyway. The car turned to the right and followed the truck.
Behind, three more same-colored cars drove out of the different alleyways and followed the first. The cars drove behind the truck with the light at a stale green, following its course drove down through the district.
A few hours passed, and the evening was setting in with the Sun being much lower in the sky, shading it into an orange cascade. In the approaching night, the Moon of the rested in its partially shattered state with its pieces caught in its gravity.
People walked along the streets, but they were fewer in numbers than earlier in the day. On one sidewalk. Sonic walked in the lead with the remains of his chilidog in hand before he ate it with a smile while the other walked in behind with Tails continuing to press away at his handheld.
"Mmmhmm! Man, that that chili dog filled a hole! It's been a while since I had one that good," he said as he clasped and dusted his fingers off.
"Nice to know that we found a nice little spot to break," since we're gonna be here for a while," Knuckles said. He placed his hands behind his head. "That reminds me. How has this city not been torn apart by those Grimm things if they've been here for so long?"
"History states that Vale's survival has been attributed to natural barriers such as steep mountains and shallow waters." Tails said." As for any stray Grimm that make their way in, they're primarily done in by the Huntsmen."
Sonic's jumped at the term and stopped walking. The boys behind him noticed his halt and stopped as well.
"Back up. Huntsmen?" he said
"And Huntress, for the women, of course," Tails added. He turned his screen to the boys and showed an image depicting two caped silhouetted figures. The figures stood, armed with a double-bladed ax and a double-edged sword in hand, fending off two Beowolves.
"Whoa," Knuckles said, looking at the screen.
"I'm guessing they're the big shots around here?" Sonic asked.
"They're elite warriors," Tails said," fighters that have sworn to protect the four Kingdoms of Vale, Vacuo, Mistral, and Atlas. They train at one of their Huntsman Academies and then set out to protect the world from the Creatures of Grimm and maintain peace."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on a sec," Sonic said with a wave of his hands, "You're telling me that this world has schools where kicking butt is a graduation requirement?
"That's the gist of it," Tails said with a nod. "The Academies were made after an event known as the Great War. There's also something about naming children after colors as a form of self-expression after the war. I'll have to look more into that later."
"Sounds sweet," Sonic said with a grin, pumping his fist. "That's what I call quality education."
As Sonic raised his fist, a loud screech of tires shrieked, breaking the evening's silence, and was followed by a loud crash. More sounds of screeching tires echoed. The four looked at each other and then ran north towards the noise. They came upon the sight of a crash where different people of the city gathered.
The 'From Dust Till Dawn' truck laid crashed into a smoker's receptacle, and its hood was smashed open with smoke running out of its engine. The four black cars parked scattered yet surrounded it. The truck's back was busted open with large metal crates laid out open, spilling out glowing colored crystals. Inside, the elderly Shopkeep sat his with his on the steering. He ground as she lifted himself and rubbed his head.
"Oh, man. An accident?" Tails said, peering at the crash scene as he placed his Miles Electric into his backpack.
At his question, the door of the first three black cars opened, and men in black suits and red shades stepped out. Some wield red blades in their hands, while others wielded handguns and rifles.
Shadow narrowed his eyes at the men. "Somehow, I don't think that's the case," he said as the men approached the truck.
The fourth car open and another gunman stepped out with his partner. He walked towards the truck and opened its door. The Shopkeep shuttered in his seat before the gunman grabbed his shirt and tossed him onto the street.
Walking to the down Shopkeep, the gunman looked at the crowd.
"All right," he said. "I want to make this clear to everyone. Don't think about playing hero, or this geezer is getting his last health tablet!" The people shuttered at the threat, with the Shopkeep trembling for his life. The thug then looked to the rest of his gang. "Take the Dust and load them into the cars. And make it quick."
The criminals all nodded and went straight to work. They grabbed the crates and crystals that littered the street. The people around all back away and let them men do their raid, not wanting to become a possible target for their wrath.
Behind the robbery, Sonic glared. His eyes looked at the men, and his hands balled into fists.
Shadow looked at Sonic's posting, seeing him and bend his knees, preparing to speed into action.
"Wait," he said. He held out his hand and blocked Sonic. Sonic looked at him with his brow slanted, and Shadow looked back. "We have our own problems to deal with. Let the local authorities deal with this. We didn't come to this city to start any conflict."
Sonic scowled and looked at the men who were picking up the crates.
The Shopkeep slowly reached into his pocket and pulled and pulled out his Scroll. Hands shaking, he moved a finger to press on the screen. Gunfire sounded with a bang, and a bullet shot his Scroll out of his hand.
The Shopkeep trembled as he looked at the thug who towered over him. The man aimed at the Shopkeep's head. Smoke fumed from the gun's barrel, and the man looked at the Shopkeep with his mouth twisted into a sneer.
"Oh, I'm not starting any conflict," Sonic said. His eyes flared, and he crouched in his hand on the street for a running start. "I'm ending it!" With a lunge, Sonic dashed in a blue blur. Small clouds of dust blasted, and Shadow and others shield faces from the draft.
The criminal approached the Shopkeep crawl back away, afraid, looking at his assailant with wavering eyes.
"Big mistake," the thug sneered. He cocked his gun drew it near the Shopkeep.
"Yeah, for you!" Sonic's voice shouted in his run. The man turned to the voice, seeing Sonic rushing towards him.
Sonic jumped and swung with a kick. His foot struck the gunman square in the face with a sound crack. The man's red shade broke. His body reeled, and he flew back and tumbled to the ground.
Sonic landed on his feet. The people only stare in awe at his springing into action, and the thugs saw their comrade's unconscious body laid out. Sonic turned to the Shopkeep and approached him.
"Hey, are you alright?" he said. The Shopkeep nodded but cried out with a finger pointed towards him.
Sonic raised a brow at the Shopkeep's action. In his pause, the cocking of the gun sounded. His ear picked up the sound. He circled in a swift turn and faced another man in black. The man fired his weapon, and Sonic weaved his head, evading the bullet.
The people screamed and scattered, running in a panic away from the fight. The man fired again, and Sonic sidestepped in a short dash and bolted head-on. He threw his leg out and drove in his knee hard into the man's chest.
The man coughed air upon being rattled from the strike. Pulling his free leg back, Sonic kicked the man in the chin and sent him flying.
"Duck!" Knuckles yelled. The man flew fast in their direction. He, Tails, and Shadow all jumped to the side, and the man zipped past them before hitting the ground.
Turning around, Sonic jetted towards the Shopkeep and picked him up over his shoulder. He bent his legs and dash at blinding speeds to his friends before he hoisted the Shopkeep off of his shoulders and set him down.
Tails looked to Sonic. "You okay, Sonic?" he asked.
"Hah, don't ask me that," Sonic laughed. "Ask the other guys."
Knuckles looked to the left, and his eyes went round. "And they're not gonna be the only ones. Here comes the rest." He pointed to the crowd of men and black as they approached, armed with their guns, rifles, and blades.
"Uh, oh," Tails said.
"Great…," Shadow said. He folded his arms and shook his head at the situation before turning to the Shopkeep. "It's not going to be any safer. I suggest that you get clear until we're done."
The Shopkeep nodded. He scrambled himself with haste and ran out of sight. In front, the men in black approached. They each set their sights on the four boys, ready to make them their targets.
"Huh, 'we're?'" Sonic said to Shadow as he stood up. "What? You want a piece of the action, too?"
"I'm not doing this for you," Shadow said. He tugged on the end of his gloves and stretched his neck. "Once again, I'll have to step in and clean up another mess you've made."
"Right. Like I was actually going to stand and watch an old man lose his life," Sonic said.
At the side, Knuckles barred his teeth, grinning at the odds.
"Like any of that matters now." He clacked his knuckles each other and readied his fists. "Looking back, it's our fault for not thinking that a world with monsters and Huntermen or whatever was gonna have some bad guys of their own."
"I guess that's our lot in life," Tails said. He took a fighting stance. "What was it you always said, Sonic? 'Never a dull moment with us?'"
"I mean, it seems to make sense to me. So, how many are we dealing with besides the two knocked into dreamland?" Sonic said.
"From the looks of things, I'd say about eight." Tails said.
Knuckles cracked his knuckles. "Tch. Barley gonna break a sweat."
"Hmph, I suppose that dealing with this is less annoying than dealing with Eggman and his robots," Shadow said.
"Great!" Sonic said. He grinned and widened his stance. Setting his eyes, he smirked at the thugs. "Hey, fellas. Not very nice to go picking on an old man like that. Didn't your parents ever teach you to respect your elders? Then again, I can't see any parent letting their kids dress up like they're fill-ins for the Axe Gang."
The men readied their guns and blades at the insult and starred the boys down. Sonic and friends reading themselves and starred back.
"Shouldn't have gotten involved, punk. Now we're gonna have to hurt ya. If your little friends wanna play hero too, they'll get worse."
Knuckles growled, "Yeah? Take your best shot, tough guy!"
"Oh, we're gonna take more than that," The man sneered. Get em!"
He motioned a hand forward, and he and the rest of the thugs stormed ahead. Sonic and Shadow bent their legs and took off. Tails took flight with his tails and flew after Sonic and Shadow, and Knuckles batted his fist together before he ran after the others.
The gunman in the lead aimed his weapon and fired shot after shot. Sonic and Shadow zigzagged in blue and black blurs out and from his line of fire. Sonic zipped appeared in front of the gunman in a flash. The man aimed his gun, but Sonic disappeared in another burst of speed.
As Sonic cleared, Shadow appeared in a blur of his own. The man retook aim, but Shadow charged and jabbed his elbow into the man's chest. The man coughed out in his pain with spit flying from his gaping maw, and Shadow lifted him by his chest with his hand.
Shadow looked at the man and sneered with a "Hmph," and balled his fist. With a jump, he swung up and crashed his knuckles on the man's chin. The man screamed out with his head reeled as the punch sent him rocketing.
Behind, Sonic reached the end of the street and turned his head skyward to see the thug flying high.
"Huh, well, you know what they say," In a lean, Sonic zipped away and jumped into the air to the airborne gunman. Sonic reached the man's level in altitude and tightened his fist as he lifted a leg in the air. "What goes up has gotta come down!" He brought his leg down with force and clashed his heel down on the man's face. The glass of his shades shattered. He hurled down fast and slammed hard on the pavement.
Sonic touched down and ran over to Shadow, who looked at the down gunman.
"Hah! That was almost too—." As Sonic joked, the sound of rapid gunfire cut him off. Bullets sprayed across on the ground, and Sonic and Shadow shielded their faces from the gunfire. Sonic gritted his teeth and looked through his arms, seeing another man in black firing at them. His rifle sounded in an endless cackling with the man's continuous gunfire.
Sonic motioned his hand in his opposite direction, and Shadow and Sonic dashed in retreat. The gunman turned his rifle and continued to fire more rounds. Sonic and Shadow ran in jumped to evade the hail of bullets in their run.
The gunman growled through his teeth as he missed his targets. The bullets flew endlessly, but none hit the mark. He then looked down, watching Sonic and Shadow run over the glowing crystal that still laid on the ground.
With a grin, the man fired, and the bullets hailed on the streets and struck the crystals. With every hit, the crystals flickered, Sonic and Shadow stepped over a scattered gathering of red, blue, and yellow crystals, and the crystals shined with great light, grabbing their attention.
"What?" Shadow said as he looked down.
"Oh, this is gonna hurt," Sonic said. His eyes lit up as she saw the crystals glow with their power.
The crystals shined and erupted with a thunderous blast of waves of fire, icy fogs, and streaks of lightning surging through the massive energy cloud. The explosion sent the truck speeding the wall of a nearby store, and the black car flew back from the force the crates flying into the air, sent more the crystal on the streets.
Tails flew and stopped at the explosion and turned his head back to see the cloud rising with Sonic and Sonic flying through and out of the smoke.
"Guys! Tail cried out.
Sonic and Shadow soared and fell to the ground, rebounding before landing on their backs. Sonic's Aura shined, while Shadow's Aura flickered with a golden yellow light. Tails turned to face the gunman. With his brown snapped together and his hands squeezed into fists, Tails spun his tails at high speed and jetted for the gunman.
The gunman turned at the sound of spinning propellers and saw Tails flying towards him. "What the—" He took quick aim and fired round and round of bullets, but Tails weaved in his flight, avoiding the shots.
Heaving his body, Tails cocked his leg back and pivoted. He swung his leg and struck the man with a sound kick across his face. The man flew and crashed into a mailbox behind him, denting on impact. It tipped over, and the man tumbled on the concrete.
Tails landed as he looked at the down gunman. His eyes then snapped wide open, and he switched his attention to the Sonic and Shadow, who laid on the other side of the smoking crater in the street.
"Sonic! Shadow!" he cried.
Behind him, one of the men in the black ran towards him. He brandished his blade overhead.
"Say goodnight, freak!" he said. Tails turned the man and shook at the sight of the blade. The man raised and swung his sword down, but a gloved hand stopped him. The man looked down, seeing Knuckles holding his grip.
Knuckles creased his brow, and his eyes narrowed at the failed assailant. He looked to the left and saw the other six men charge with their weapons. He returned his attention to the man with the blade and tightened into a fist.
"Good night, freak!" Knuckles drew back his fist, widened his stance, and threw a powerful punch to the man's chest.
The man grunted. His body shifting from the blow, and Knuckles swung him down hard before he tossed him to the left. The man collided with his comrades, knocking them over each other.
"Hah! Got em', Knuckles said, pumping fist back, and turned his head to Tails. "You okay, Tails?"
Tails nodded as he said, "Yeah, I'm okay, but don't worry about me." He then pointed in the direction of the smoke. "C'mon. We gotta help Sonic and Shadow."
Knuckles nodded, and he and Tails ran to Sonic and Shadow, who turned themselves over and stood to their knees.
"Sonic! Shadow!" Tails called. He ran to Sonic, placing his hands on his body before helping him to his feet. "Are you guys okay?"
Sonic staggered with his hand on his temple. His eyes spun in disordered circles, ping-ponging out of control. "Guuuh…..Dream….cast…," He stopped tottering and shook his head, sending the dizziness away. "Ugh…ah man, what was that?"
"You mean other than us being blasted?" Shadow groaned as Knuckles helped him to his feet.
"Well, whatever it was, it did a number on the street. Take a look." Knuckles pointed to the crater that remained as the smoke passed. It laid out, large, and scraggly, encompassing almost the entire street, with the crystals surrounding it.
Sonic, Shadow, and Tails all looked at the hole. Sonic's mouth went slack and hung open at the pieces of the road lying in heaps.
"Boy, the road crew's got their work cut out for them come morning," Sonic said.
"So, there is a reason why those men want these gems," Shadow said.
"They're the least of problems," Knuckles said with a finger pointed ahead. 'We still have a few faces to break."
The boys faced where Knuckles directed their attention to the six men who stood up and glared at the boys from their recent thrashing.
Sonic looked at the men. He smirked and rolled his shoulders before he leaned to the side to stretch out his legs.
"Huh. Six still kickin', huh?" In a swift shift, Sonic snapped upright and stretched out his back. "Well, then, guess we better wrap this up. What do ya say, boys?"
"Okay," Tails nodded and widened his stance.
"You read my mind," Knuckles said with a clash of his fist.
Shadow held out a hand and tightened his glove. "Let's get this over with," He said. He flexed his fingers, cracking and readying them for action.
The six men charged with their guns and blades at the ready, and Sonic and his friends all stared back, steadying their positions.
"Tails! Set em' up," Sonic said.
"On it," Tails said, crouching into a starting position.
His tails spun with incredible velocity. A backdraft was created, whirling the dust of the street in their speed. Setting his legs, Tails launched, moving in like a blur. Sonic dashed ahead in pursuit, and Shadow and Knuckles followed. All of the men in front of him braked as Tails honed in on the thugs. He swung his tails and struck swept their legs, sending them airborne with rushing free under them.
Behind, Shadow clenched in his fist and jumped into the air towards the men. He kicked his legs, and his Air shoes fired off a jet of air. He dashed past the man in the lead and towards the others. He swung the fist and struck the first man in the jaw and sent him crashing into the rest behind.
As Shadow landed, the man in front of the rest fell, and Knuckles raced to his position
"My turn," Knuckles said. He stopped under the man with a stomp of his feet and threw his fist straight. The man fell to his level and his face connected with Knuckles' fist. The punch forced him back the man soared.
In front, Sonic turned to see the man coming at him fast. "Perfect timing." He reached his arm out with a spin and grabbed the man's wrist before throwing him into the air. Crouching, He jumped high and kicked the man at his back. Sonic forced more power into the leg and flung the man away with his strength.
The man screamed and collided into the collection of his battered partners. They scattered from the impact, and each slammed onto the concrete one by one and littered themselves on the street.
Sonic landed on his hand and feet. He rose his head to the groaning of the men who laid on the road. He watched as they held their aching sides and throbbing head. Some attempted to raise themselves, only to collapse with their face in the pavement. Standing, Sonic smirked and flicked her nose with his thumb.
"Huh. Guess these guys had enough," he said. He saw Tails, Knuckles, and Shadow gather together. He rushed over to join the other boys. "All right. All badly dressed bad guys have been officially whooped. Awesome work, guys," he said with thumps up to his friends.
"Hmph, it was effortless," Shadow said, crossing his arms.
Knuckles stretched his neck dusted off his shoulders. "Yeah, but it was fun to get a little street justice in."
Tails looked down and noticed a yellow crystal near his feet. He picked it and brought it close to his face. His eyes scanned the crystal, watching it glow with its light.
"Ya know, I bet these crystals are good for something other than blasting holes in the street," he said. "I'd take a few of these with us if I didn't think it'd be taking evidence from a crime scene."
"Ey, maybe we could some of these as a reward or something for knocking these guys out," Knuckles said.
As Sonic and Tails conversed at one spot on the street, one of the men in black pushed himself to his feet. His body trembled, legs and arm quaking with his rise. He gnashed his teeth and aimed his gun at the boys. Brow furrowed, his eyes peered through his broken shades with fury.
"You're dead…," The man panted and cocked his gun to take his shot.
He placed his finger on the trigger, and a gun fired with a loud shot, followed by a cry in pain. Sonic and the others turned to the sound, seeing the gunman in front with his weapon drawn to them. However, he didn't move. Under his busted shades, his eyes rolled up. He titled back and collapsed with a gasp. Upon hitting the ground, his Aura glowed with a red sheen that flashed throughout his body and dissipated into glowing particles.
"Whoa," Knuckles said. "Didn't even notice the guy. I guess he wanted more." He, Tails, and Shadow walked up and looked over the down gunman.
"He's still breathing," Shadow said. "Whoever it was, they were merciful."
"Not that he could've taken us anyway, but it's good that we don't have to worry about him now.
Behind, Sonic looked around. "But who could've…" His eyes looked throughout the streets and building. They then slingshot the building in front of him. Sonic directed his sights, gazing up at the building's rooftop.
On the roof stood a figure with a red and black sniper in hand. The sniper appeared to be highly advanced with a red and black color scheme. Sonic eyes then shot wide open at the familiar sight of the figure's red and black dress and red hooded cloak.
"That girl," Sonic said.
The girl on the roof stood upright, her cloak flapping in the evening breeze. She flipped her weapon, and it compressed before she placed it behind her back. The hood of her cloak draped over her head and covered much of her face. However, Sonic could see a tiny bit of silver shining under the shade of her hood.
She gave a wave of her hand and gripped her cloak before wrapped herself in her hood and vanished, leaving what appeared to be rose petals to scatter in the wind.
Sonic only blinked. His mouth opened, but no words came out.
"Hey, Sonic," Tails' called. Sonic blinked, snapping back to the world. Tails walked over to Sonic, turning the yellow crystal in his fingers. "You saw something?"
"Yeah, Sonic said with a nod, "you know that girl I ran into earlier today? Well, I think she helped us. She had like this gun or something, then she just disappeared. Guess we owe here."
"Well, now that the riff raff's been taken care of," Knuckles said as he and Shadow turned around, "what do guys you say we—"
The sound of an engine roared loud, shrieking in the distance. Sonic and the others jumped and turned to the opposite end of the street, where the engines' noise grew louder. As the sound reached its highest point, a large, silver armored truck cruised, driving fast upon turning a corner.
"Holy—!" Knuckles shouted. The vehicle sped. The boys jumped out of its path, rolling onto the sidewalks, and the truck stopped at the crater's front.
They stood up as the car stopped, and the thugs that laid on the street all began to stir, groaning as they picked up from the ground. In front, the backdoors of the truck with a black show kicked them open. On the edge of the inside stepped Roman, who straightened his suit
Sonic looked at the man as he stood and narrowed his gaze.
Roman looked around, seeing the men rise to their feet, and bit in the lit cigar in his mouth before taking it out.
"Alright, you idiots, get in. You're done here," he said
"Roman?" One of the men said. "B-but we didn't get the Dust—"
"Forget the Dust. You're all fired anyway, but I'm not gonna you leave to rat me to the police after getting beaten by some kids. Now get in," Roman said, motioning his cane.
At the demand, the men stampeded and ran past the boys whose eyes lit with confusion.
"They're leaving?" Knuckles said. "After all of that, they're just leaving?"
"Like heck they are," Sonic said.
Sonic held out his arm and opened his hand. Streams of blue formed circled into a bright blue spiraling sphere in his palm. The orb glowed, and Sonic took towards the truck.
"All right, boys, let's get out here," Roman said to the men as the last one jumped in the truck.
"Hey you, Bowler Cap!" Sonic shouted
"Excuse me?" Roman turned his attention to the call and saw Sonic approach.
"Think you're getting away? Fat chance," Sonic said as he stopped.
Roman only gritted his teeth and took the cigar out of his mouth. "What is it with kids in this Kingdom" He then directed his attention to the passenger seat of the truck. "Hey, you wanna take care of this?"
The woman stepped from her seat at the mention, and Roman made his way over to the driver seat. She stopped behind the open doors. The light revealed her red dress, while the shade created under the truck's roof hid her face, showing only her bright amber eyes.
Sonic looked at the woman's eyes. The ball of wind grew brighter in his hand. "Sorry, but your car's about to be impounded! He pulled back his arm like a pitcher, ready for the winning throw. "Sonic Wind!" He swung his arm and threw the sphere. It glided at high speed as it raced towards the truck.
The woman narrowed her eye at the sphere and held out her hand. The yellow designs of her dress along her arms and back glowed with orange light, and a wisp of fiery orange energy surrounded her eye. She formed a glowing ring of fire near her hand, and the wind sphere clashed and dispersed against it.
Powerful gusts of hot wind emerged from the blast, and Sonic crossed his arms from the rushing gale. Behind, Tails, Knuckles, and Shadow shielded themselves as their tails and hairs danced in the powerful current.
Tails braced himself from the winds. "Sonic!" he said. The winds subsided, and Tails ran toward Sonic.
Knuckles noticed Tails and ran after him. "Wait, Tails!"
"Dammit," Shadow said through his teeth and followed behind.
The woman in red smirked. She summoned a fireball in her hand and drew it back. She then waved her hand, sending forth a massive wave of flame at the boys.
Sonic's bared his teeth at the fire. "Oh shoot," he said as the Tails, Knuckles, and Shadow reached him with the same expression on their faces.
The wave hit the ground and exploded into a massive torrent of fire. Smoke accompanied the rising inferno and with dreaded winds, and Sonic and his friends flew back from the force high into the air. The woman smiled at her ascending enemies, and she gripped the handles doors of the truck.
"Go," she said and slammed the doors shut.
The truck's tires screeched. It peeled out down the street and sped away upon making a turn.
Above, the boys soared up in the air, eyes shut and unconscious, and began to descend as they started plunged. Their bodies, limb, they fell fast neared the ground. Then, they stopped mid-air inches above the pavement. Sonic twitched, and his eyes opened.
"Ugh…what?" He blinked a few times and found himself looking at the road. "Uh, what the…I'm not charred?" He felt his body and looked behind, seeing his friends floating as well. "Guys, wake up! It looks like we're not dead."
Together, Tails, Knuckles, and Shadow groaned and shook themselves awake. They looked around and saw that they were inches above the ground.
"Huh?" Hey, what's going on?" Knuckles said.
Tails turned around, and his face lit up. "Guys," he said and pointed behind them.
The boys faced their savior. Pushing her glasses to her eyes, Glynda Goodwitch aimed her riding crop at the boys.
"Children…" she said. She lowered her riding crop, and the boys descended with its motion before being placed on the ground.
Glynda then focused on the busted road and scattered vehicles. She whipped her riding crop and lifted broken pieces of the road. Motioning her wrist, she set the chunks of asphalt into the crater, putting them together as they were puzzle pieces, and filling it whole.
The boys watched the woman's work. She waved her riding crop and cleared the cars and trucks out of the middle of the street, and moved them to the side in perfect alignment.
"Man, I have no idea who she is, but she really knows how to clean house," Knuckles said.
"Yeah, not to mention saving our skins," Sonic said.
Glynda flexed her arm and straightened her blonde hair. She then faced the boys. Her forehead creased with the hardening of her glare, and she walked toward them.
Tails jumped at the expression on her face. "Something tells me she's not too happy with us."
Glynda neared the boys and stopped in front of them. She folded her arms. Her expression remained still. Sonic and Tails flashed a sheepish grin, and Knuckles placed his hands in his pockets while simply folded his arms.
Eyes darting back and forth in the awkward silence, Sonic looked at Glynda.
"Uuuuh….How's it going." He flashed a wider toothy grin with a peace sign, only to earn a grumble from the Glynda.
The integration room rested in darkness thanks to the night. A bright light of a lamp that rested on a table contrasted with the dark of the room. Sonic, Tails, Shadow, and Knuckles sat next to each other under the light.
"Honestly, why is it always children?" Glynda muttered to herself. She pushed her glasses up and paced in front of the table. "I hope you young men realize that your actions tonight will not be taken lightly."
"Wait. Our actions?" Sonic said.
"You four had no business putting yourselves in harm's way like that. You and other people could've been seriously hurt."
"What? Hey, they started it!" Sonic objected.
Glynda looked to the side. "Hmm, déjà vu." She returned her attention to the boys.
Tails sat up. "We're sorry for the trouble, ma'am, but we felt that we had no choice."
"Yeah, it was either fight or watched that old guy get exed. How about cutting us a bit of slack, lady?" Knuckles said with a flip of his hand.
Glynda scowled at the remark. "I would appreciate it if you did not refer to me as 'lady,'" she said. "My name is Glynda Goodwitch, and I would like to be addressed as such."
Sonic eyes lit up at the mention of her name. "Hold up. Like Glinda the Good Witch?"
"I beg your pardon?" Glynda asked, quirking her brow.
"You know, Glinda the Good Witch? The Good Witch of the South? Sends Dorothy and friends off to see the Wizard of Oz?"
Glynda didn't move. She only studied Sonic with a narrow gaze. The silence grew stale.
Tails turned to Sonic and nudged his arm, "Sonic," he whispered, gaining Sonic's attention. "I don't think she'll get it. It's like the gravestone at Patch. For all well know, the things we have on Earth might not exist the same way here.
"Oh yeah. I forgot about that." Sonic said in realization, and he rubbed the back of his head with an awkward smile. He then returned his attention to Glynda. "Uh, never mind."
Glynda shook her head. "Young man, I don't know what kind of stories you've been reading. But, I can assure you that neither am I a witch nor is Ozpin a wizard of any kind."
"Ozpin?" Sonic whispered.
"Speaking of whom," Glynda approached the door and grabbed the knob. "He wishes to speak to you four."
She opened the door, and a man dressed in green attire stepped in. Holding a mug in one hand with a cane in the other, Ozpin set his thin, brown eyes at the boys over his shaded spectacles.
Sonic and Tails looked at the man in surprise. Shadow narrowed his eyes at the man, and Knuckles shot only a puzzled look.
"Well, he definitely likes green like the Wizard," Knuckles said.
Ozpin approached the table and sat down with his cane to his side and his bug on the table.
"Evening, gentlemen," He said. He folded his hands on the table. "Quite an eventful night you've had."
Sonic leaned back in his seat. "Well, it wasn't boring if that's what you're thinking."
"I suppose not." Ozpin gestured his hand. Glynda walked and handed Ozpin the tablet before he placed it on the table. The table showed a visual record of the four's earlier fight with the men in black. "Where did you boys learn to fight like this?"
"Uh….from getting into a lot of fights?" Tails said, pressing his fingers.
"That, and we just have a knack for kickin' tail," Sonic added.
"Hmmm, self-taught, I presume?" Ozpin said.
"You can say that we've been fighting our whole lives," Knuckles said.
"Is that so?" Ozpin said before he took a sip from his mug. "It's just that I do not see many young Faunus with the kind of intuition for combat you four have shown," he turned his sights to Tails. "Or Faunus with two tails."
Tails jumped in his seat with a small clumsy laugh. "Oh, uh, these?" he said, looking back to his tails. "These are just something from a… genetic abnormality, sir."
"You seem to make great use of them. I never thought it was possible to use tails to fly." Ozpin leaned in close. "Tell me, what are your names?"
Sonic and the others all flinched and looked at each other. A small bead of sweat formed at Sonic's forehead as he faced Ozpin.
"Uh…were—"
"Tails Saffron," Tails interjected. Sonic, Shadow, and Knuckles all looked at him, perplexed. "My name is Tails Saffron, sir. And these are my friends, Knuckles Rooi, Shadow Kage, and Sonic Azure."
Ozpin and Glynda looked with their brows drawn together.
Knuckles quickly stood and took Tails by his shoulder. "Uh, could you guys give us a minute?" he said to Ozpin and Glynda. He picked up Tails, and he, Sonic, and Shadow walked to the corner of her room before they huddled up.
"Yo, Tails, what's up with the names?" Knuckles whispered.
"We gotta blend in, guys," Tails said. "You remember the color naming thing I told you about earlier today? I read a little bit of it when we left the restaurant. It's a tradition the people of this world created after the Great War that was fought."
"A tradition involving colors?" Shadow asked.
"Let's just follow Tails' lead and play along until we're out of here," Sonic said. "We can get talk about this later."
They broke up and returned to the table. Glynda centered her gaze on them as they sat down.
"Something the matter, boys?" she questioned with a push of her glasses.
"Nah. Just needed to discuss something," Sonic said. "So, we're not under arrest, are we?"
"Nothing of the sort," Ozpin said. He straightened his posture in his seat. "Do you boys know who I am?"
"You're Professor Ozpin. Headmaster of Beacon Academy," Tails said.
"Hello," Ozpin said with a smile.
Glynda stepped forward. "You boys might not be under arrest, but it was still incredibly reckless to get involved if you aren't police or trained Huntsmen. Do your families know you're out here?"
"That the thing, ma'am. It's just the boys and me." Sonic said.
"Just you? By yourselves?"
"Guess you can we're orphans. Strays even," Knuckles said, placing his hands behind his head.
"We, uh, we're from the Kingdom of Mistral." Tails said. "But, we've only had each other our whole lives."
"But…how did you end up here in Beacon?" Glynda asked.
"We have our ways," Shadow said. "We'd like to leave it at that."
"Yeah, but we've managed to crash and make a place for ourselves at Patch, and we've been doing pretty well so far," Sonic said.
"I see," Ozpin said. "Well, how would you boys like to find yourselves at a new home? How would you like to come to my school?"
"Wait? Us?" Sonic asked.
"Yes. You boys have demonstrated the very actions that Huntsmen should perform in a drastic situation. You used your abilities to protect those who were in harm's way. And I believe your skills can take you a long way should you attend Beacon."
"Ozpin," Glynda said. "Is that truly something to consider?" She then faced Sonic and his friends. "How old are you boys?"
"Fifteen," Sonic said.
"Uh, fourteen," Tails said.
"Sixteen," Knuckles and Shadow said in unison.
Glynda's eyes snapped open, and she said to Ozpin, "Oh, there is no way we can do this. Two of them are eligible, but the other two have years ahead before they can attend."
"Then, we can consider this a unique enrollment for them," Ozpin said.
"You mean like what you did for Ms. Rose?" Glynda said with a sigh.
Sonic's eyes lit up when he heard the name Rose. He thought back to the rose symbol and the girl in the red hood from before. His brow furrowed and he stood up.
"Yo, Oz Dude, quick question," he said"
"You're not one for tact, are you, young man?" Glynda said to Sonic. "We don't address Ozpin with a 'yo,' and we certainly don't refer to him as "'Oz Dude.'"
"It's alright, Glynda. "He said, holding a hand up. "You had a question?"
"This 'Rose.' She wouldn't happen to be a girl in a little red hood with a peppy smile and big gun, would she?"
Ozpin smiled. "With silver eyes?"
"You know her? I ran into her into town, and she got the last hit on one of the goons. Then, she disappeared in…petals or something."
"Ah, yes. Ruby Rose. We offered her an enrollment for Beacon just last week."
"So, it was her."
Sonic placed his hands on the table. His mind replayed the moments of his encounter with the Beowulf, meeting Ruby, He and his friends fighting Roman and his henchmen, and the woman with the power over fire." A grin formed on his face, and he gave a small chuckle.
"All of this excitement is putting my quills on edge."
At the side of him, Shadow stepped from his head and approached as she faced Ozpin.
"With all respect, Professor, we—"
"We're in!" Sonic said.
"What?" Shadow choked.
Sonic raised his hand to clench his fist as his energy shot up. "Yeah. It's not every day we get to be part of a combat school. Besides, I wanna thank Ruby personally."
"Well," Tails stood up from his seat, "if you're going, then I'm going with you, Sonic." He smiled at Sonic, earning a smile from him in return.
"You can count me in, too," Knuckles said. He stood up and clashed his fist together. "Besides, there's I'm gonna let Sonic hog all the fun on this one."
Shadow sighed. "This was not part of the plan…" He placed a hand on his face and shook his. "Still," he muttered to himself, "I suppose it's better than wandering around with little to no idea of how things are in this world. At the very least, we'll be able to avoid suspicion when using our abilities in a school made for training warriors." He then stood up. "Very well, I'll enroll with them, but only to make sure they don't do anything ridiculous."
Ozpin smiled at their responses and exchanged glances with Glynda, who grumbled with a "Hmmph" before Ozpin turned to the boys.
"It's decided then," he said. He stood up from his seat and took his cane into his right before he offered his left. "The semester starts in two weeks. We'll see you boys, then."
Sonic laughed and gripped Ozpin's hand to his own. They both shook hands and sealed the deal of matriculation for the soon-to-be academy students.
"Count on it," Sonic said.
A/N: Aaand that is a wrap! Whew! Like I said, sorry if this felt long to read. However, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Once again, thank you for tuning it, following, and favoriting this story.
Also, I gotta ask, what do you like about the story so far? Lemme know in the reviews.
Oh, and here's some trivia just for fun on the boy's surnames for the story:
Azure = Portuguese for "Blue."
Kage = Japanese for "Shadow."
Rooi= Afrikaans for "Red."
Saffron= Comes from the Arabic word "safra,'" meaning "Yellow."
And rest assured, readers, I'm just getting started.
Until next time,
Ink out!