Hey guys! I told you I would be back, didn't I?! =D Finally, we're at my favorite number- 42! That's a Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy reference, in case you were wondering.

Man, I've had a crazy time lately. First of all, it's finally getting colder here in Texas, so now it feels like winter. More importantly, there were two earthquakes near my work place on the same day. Both didn't get above 4.0 on the Richter Scale, but still, earthquakes in Texas? It was probably due to the fracking that's goin' on. Fortunately, there was no property damage. Just some shaking and semi-panicked people.

Also, I read a review from ThatOneWriterFromShef the he/she placed all the way back in October concerning the anime known as Fairy Tail. Apparently, Michael Jones (the voice of Sun Wukong) is supposed to be a voice actor in that series. Well, I've finally gotten around to watching that show, and it's pretty interesting. Also, episodes 25-30, very intense.

I don't own RWBY or Sonic. Enjoy!

Airship en route to Forest of Forever Fall, 9:45 A.M.

An interesting team was assembled on the airship sent to retrieve the Chaos Emerald. It consisted of Team Dark, Knuckles, Sun Wukong, and Neptune Vasilias. Neptune was a last-minute addition (at Sun's insistence), but the rest of the guys went with it.

"So tell me again, what's the big deal about these Chaos Emeralds?" asked Neptune, shouting slightly over the sound of the engines. "Are they similar to Dust crystals?"

"They are, yet they aren't, hon," answered Rouge. "The seven Chaos Emeralds are a Mobius exclusive, and they have a variety of uses."

"Like what?"

Shadow turned towards the blue-haired youth. "They can give machines and creatures a power boost like no other, if properly utilized. The Eclipse Cannon on Space Colony ARK was powered by the Chaos Emeralds, and just six of them destroyed half of the moon. One of the more bizarre uses I've was to energize temples into a large golem used to defeat the entity known as Dark Gaia."

"The Chaos Emeralds even have the power to bring back the dead," said Rouge, remembering how Sonic was revived during the Soleanna crisis. Neptune whistled, impressed.

"That reminds me," interjected Knuckles. "What the heck happened to this world's moon? It's been buggin' me for a while, now."

"That's a mystery to all of us, too," Sun responded. He was leaning out the side of the airship with only a hand and his tail keeping him from falling out. "There's a pretty common theory that says that the moon was hit by a meteor, but if that was the case, how come the pieces of it are still floating above the surface?"

"Adolescent with simian limb's reasoning is correct," droned Omega. "Meteor theory not supported by fragments' positions."

"Shadow the Hedgehog, sir?" the pilot called out. "We're nearing the drop point, but there are a lot of Grimm nearby. Get ready to jump."

"Roger that. We'll contact you when we have our objective complete. Until then, stay at a safe distance." Shadow walked from the cockpit back to the assembled beings. "Alright, change of plans. We're gonna have to jump."

The airship banked over a small clearing in the red forest. "Hey guys, let's find out who can pull their chutes at the closest possible time," Neptune dared, putting on his goggles.

"You're on!" shouted Sun. He and Neptune bumped fists before jumping out. The Mobians followed suit, though they didn't bother with parachutes.

Knuckles and Rouge descended to the ground smoothly using their quills and wings, respectively. Shadow dove headfirst, flipping at a certain point before activating his jet shoes. Omega just shifted his parts to resemble a large ball before slamming into the ground, creating a sizable crater before he changed back to normal.

When Sun was about ten feet from the ground, he pulled his chute, gliding smoothly before stopping.

"Hey Neptune, I pulled ten feet above the ground!" he shouted triumphantly. He looked around after not hearing a response. "Neptune?"

"Up here," a voice grumbled. Sun and the Mobians looked up to see Neptune hanging from his feet, his parachute snagged in a few branches. "Let's just say my number was tree."

"Gee, honey, you aren't gonna impress the Ice Queen like that," teased Rouge.

Neptune grimaced, probably to hide his embarrassment. "Could someone just get me down from here?"

"I'll do it," Knuckles volunteered. He studied the branches that Neptune was attached to, then walked to the tree that was the owner of said branches. He held a fist back, then punched the trunk. This caused Neptune to be shaken out, and he fell on a small pile of leaves.

"Ow!" he shouted in pain. He wasn't hurt that much, but he did just fall out of a tree.

"Hey, at least you got out of the tree, dude," said Sun. He pulled out Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang in staff form. "Alright, Shads, where do we go from here?"

Shadow pulled out the Chaos Emerald locator. "We need to go about two miles south. I'm on point. Omega, watch our backs. Rouge, aerial reconnaissance. I don't want anything sneaking up on us."

"So, to put it in layman's terms, kill every evil animal we see?" asked Knuckles.

"Exactly." To emphasize his point, Shadow whipped out Crimson Dusk in katana form and stabbed deep into a nearby bush just behind him. When he pulled his sword back, it had a coat of blood on it, and an unfortunate Boarbatusk rolled out, dead.

"Whoa. How did know that a Creature of Grimm was right there?" asked Neptune in awe.

Shadow did a double take at the dead Grimm. "Okay, I'll be honest with you guys, I didn't know that creature was there," he said, genuinely surprised. The hedgehog stared a bit longer, then shrugged and cleaned the blade before transitioning to gun mode. "Now that that's out of the way, let's move."

Beacon Academy, 10:00 A.M.

"Alright Ruby, try to do your Homing Chain attack again."

Sonic, Amy, Tails, and Ruby were currently in the shooting range, trying to recreate Ruby's Homing Chain that she used in Remnant's Digital Realm. They had made good progress, but they did want to see how far the redhead could go with this new ability of hers.

Ruby, with a determined expression on her face and Crescent Rose in her hands, shot at the ground, sending her up. She then fired behind her, launching herself forward. Her boots landed on a flying drone Tails had built for this session, and her momentum crushed it. Jumping off of the drone, she then repeated the move on a second drone about ten feet away. However, when she tried the same thing on a third drone much farther away, she missed, and ended up crashing on the ground.

Sonic winced at the wipeout. "Ouch, that's gotta hurt."

"I'm okay!" said Ruby, standing up quickly. She shook her head, which had two purposes: it cleared up her thought processes, and it got rid of a few bits of grass in her hair.

Tails pressed a button on his Miles Electric, which caused the drones that Ruby smashed repair themselves for the next attempt.

"Well, Ruby, any thoughts as to why you crashed?" asked Sonic.

"I really don't know, Sonic. I was aimed right at the drone," said Ruby, slightly frustrated. They had been at this stage for a while now, and it seemed no matter what Ruby did, she couldn't hit that last drone.

"Aha!" Amy shouted. "I think I know what you need to do!"

"What's that, Ames?" asked Sonic, curious about what the pink hedgehog had come up with.

Amy strutted up to the starting position. "Just watch and learn, Ruby."

Ruby and Sonic exchanged glances as Tails set the drones up again. Amy leapt up and spin-dashed the first drone, then the second, much like Ruby's attempt. However, for the third drone Amy aimed a little above the third drone. This resulted in her hitting the drone perfectly, and she landed smoothly on her feet, doing a little curtsy.

"Wow, that was so cool!" gushed Ruby. "How did you do that?!"

"Well, Ruby," Amy began, "I may be a fast hedgehog, but I'm not nearly as fast as Sonic." In the background, the Blue Blur struck a pose. "As a result, gravity affects me sooner. To compensate, I aim just above the target so I can actually hit it."

"Hmm…" Ruby pondered this bit of information. "So you think that if I do what you did, I'd be able to hit enemies that are further away?"

"Hey, it's worth a shot!" said Sonic encouragingly. Tails reset the drones again as Ruby took the starting position. "Ready... Go!"

Ruby took out the first two drones with ease, but when she focused on the third drone, she aimed Crescent Rose slightly lower than she had been aiming before. The result was exactly as she had hoped for. The arc of her flight from the second drone hit the third one dead center, and she flipped off, landing perfectly.

Sonic, Amy, and Tails clapped at her success. "Excellent job, Ruby!"

Ruby put away her scythe, grinning widely. "Thanks, guys! Maybe things will be a little bit easier for us now!"

"That reminds me, I wonder how the others are doing."

Forest of Forever Fall, 10:30 a.m.

"How much further is it, Shadow?" asked Sun. The group had walked a ways, following the signal of the Chaos Emerald. Fortunately, they didn't run into any Creatures of Grimm along the way, but they were still on guard.

The Black Blur checked the detector. "We're about four hundred feet away," he answered Sun. "However, the readings still indicated it's underground, about two hundred feet."

Knuckles also checked the detector. He then cracked his namesakes. "Well, then, I think that it's my time to shine." He activated Clan Claw, revealing the wrist blades, then he pushed a button on the side, turning the weapon into something very similar to his old Shovel Claws. The echidna then knelt down and started to dig into the ground.

"Why are you digging now?" asked Neptune, dodging a piece of sod.

"Listen, kid. If there's one rule of treasure hunting, it's never to dig straight down," said Knuckles. "If I were to dig for the Emerald at the spot where it's located, how are we all gonna get out? I mean, no offense, but could you climb a relatively smooth rock wall for two hundred feet?"

Neptune thought about it. "Okay, you have a point."

"Right. No offense, but shut up and let me work."

"C'mon, Neptune," said Sun. "Let's let the echidna do his thing."

There wasn't much to do while Knuckles dug to the Emerald. Omega did some experimenting with his weapons by configuring his current ones in new- and lethal- forms, while Shadow sharpened the blade of Crimson Dusk. Neptune took over for Rouge in keeping watch. In the meantime, the white bat kept herself busy typing things on her scroll while hanging upside down from a tree. Sun appeared near her, also hanging upside down. "Hey, Rouge, you got a minute?"

Rouge looked at the hole that Knuckles was digging. He was about a quarter of the way there, but it looked like it was going to be a while before he found anything. "Yeah, I've got time. So what's up? Besides us, of course."

Sun grinned. "I take it you noticed my friend's interest in the Ice Queen, right?"

"I can tell that it's mutual, but don't tell Weiss I said that."

"Really? Weiss likes Neptune?"

Rouge chuckled. "I've read her diary. She's definitely got the hots for him. But something tells me this isn't about him. You're wondering if the kitty likes you, right?"

"Hey, don't spread that little tidbit around. I got a reputation to keep, after all."

"My lips are sealed, Monkey Boy."

Sun faced the bat, a serious and slightly nervous expression on his face. "In all seriousness, does Blake like me?"

Rouge thought about it. "I have seen that Blake is attracted to you."

Sun pumped his fist in victory. "Yes! I thought she liked me."

"Want me to set you two up on a date, hon?" the bat asked, winking.

Sun shook his head. "Nah, I got this. Thanks for the offer, though."

The two observed the rather large hole that Knuckles had dug. "You think he's getting tired?" the Faunus asked.

"Probably not. Still, maybe we should check if he needs anything."

At that point, Knuckles came walking out of the hole. "Hey, guys? Did we remember to bring flashlights?"

"I'm pretty sure all of us has a flashlight function on our weapons except you. Why do you ask?" wondered Shadow. "More importantly, why did you stop?"

Knuckles grabbed a bottle of water and drank the whole thing before answering. "Okay, I've dug maybe halfway there, but we've got a problem."

"The only problem visible is the absence of a Chaos Emerald in our possession."

The echidna faced Omega, rolling his purple eyes. "Oh, har, har, very funny. Anyways, I've found something you should see."

Everyone followed Knuckles as he led the way through the echidna-made tunnel. He stopped just before the end was visible. "Alright, what're we supposed to be looking for?" asked Neptune.

"Look down."

The group followed his directions. Right at the area where the echidna stopped digging, an opening about five feet across was visible. When Shadow peered down into it, he saw only blackness. He then faced everyone else.

"Rouge, call Tails. We're goin' cave exploring, and we don't have the right equipment with us."

Rouge nodded, but when she turned back to the entrance of the tunnel, the ground shook beneath them. A large crack appeared on the floor, then it broke away, carrying everyone with them.

"Hold on!" Shadow shouted. He felt a sharp pain on his head, then saw stars as he blacked out.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. And thanks again for the understanding about me needing a break. I really needed it, and now I'll be able to write this story with a little more enthusiasm.

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