Appearing in a flurry of petals, Ruby Rose takes a moment to take a breather after escaping from Infinite. Having witnessed him about to kill the unconscious Sonic and spotting System whom she dropped accidentally, she and Ragna has to act quick before the hedgehog is killed. It's a such a relief for her when she managed to save Sonic.
"Phew. Thank goodness he's not dead. I was worrying if me and Ragna are too late." Ruby sighs, lying Sonic on the ground. Looking at her surroundings, she sees that she's in Lakeside Port belonging to Ragna's world. It is also the place where she first met Ragna and have to gush over his weapon, much to his annoyance. Speaking of which…
"He's beaten senseless but he's gonna be fine," The gruff tone of Ragna sounded from behind. Ruby turns to look at him as he adds, "He's lucky that bastard didn't done him back there. He must have put up a good fight if the trees being uprooted are any indication."
"Hm." Turning to stare at the unconscious hedgehog, Ruby wonders if he's from another world. Judging from Infinite's appearance, she believes he and Sonic belong to their home world. "If he's strong, then it's possible we could use his help."
"Yes. You two definitely need him in your team. He's the key in defeating Infinite." System's voice is heard coming from Ruby's pocket, who she put in it when making her escape.
"Oh, sorry I forgot you System. Are you okay? Did that meanie Infinite harmed you?" Ruby asked the machine stuck in her keystone like a worried mother would, even rubbing it.
"I'm fine. The only thing that harmed me is being left on the ground for whole day long," System bluntly state the last part. "It's a good thing I got Sonic's attention so that I wouldn't stay stuck."
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to drop you!" Ruby apologized, feeling guilty over dropping her, even if it's accidental. "I was such in a hurry that I didn't notice you on the ground, having to escape Infinite when he first appears alongside Ragna and the others in Beacon, fending off hostile Replicas and…!"
"Calm down Ruby! She gets it! No need to ramble on and on. It's getting annoying." Ragna chided her.
"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to speak so quickly." She apologizes again, feeling bashful.
"Good thing you didn't because I can feel my ears bursting from your rambling. You carrying me doesn't help." System sarcastically stated.
"I don't know. I would like to see you getting agitated from Ruby's motor mouth." Ragna admits, smiling at the thought.
"How cruel! How could you think of that?" System responded with indignation.
"Hey! Says the one who put four and later three more worlds in Phantom Field!"
"At least I'm not doing it this time because I'm powerless and stuck here!"
"H-H-Hey... You two... Quit fighting..."
Before a fight could broke out, a groan is heard.
"Oh man... I feeling not too good right now..."
Turning to look at the awakened hedgehog, Ragna and Ruby watched as Sonic attempts to stand up only to wince when pain shots through his leg. "Ow! Darn it!"
Acting quickly, Ruby is on his side as she supports Sonic on his arms. "Don't move. You're still hurt from your fight against Infinite."
Perking up upon his name being mentioned, Sonic realizes he's in a different location and away from the abandoned temple. Looking around, he sees no sign of Infinite, only the red skies and ominous clouds reminding him he's still in a different world. Also, the port town is up in the flames, adding to the gloomy atmosphere.
"Um, where's Infinite?" Sonic asks simply after examining his surroundings.
"Far away from us. Me and Ruby wouldn't want to deal with him, especially when you're so battered up." Ragna answers, looking at the burning town with grimace. His statement makes him remember of Infinite's attack and shuddered. Just reminding it makes him feel like he's still being sliced by many swords.
"Seems like it... I thought I could take him on and put Infinite down with my own hands." Sonic sighs, now sitting on the ground while Ruby lets him rest.
"...And getting killed because of your recklessness? You should have known he's far outmatched for you take him on." Ragna bluntly tells him, prompting Ruby to glare at him. "What?"
"You're being rude to Sonic here." She told him the reason.
"I was being honest and realistic." He defended.
"But you should have said that without a rude tone."
"Fine, fine. I'll be sure to do that next time I say something."
"Hey, you two." Sonic speaks up. "Can you tell me who you are? You know my name and I have to know yours too, right?"
"Ah, right. I'm Ruby Rose, student at Beacon Academy and leader of team RWBY. Well, actually former leader..." She introduces herself, her voice trailing at the end as she tries not to remember her friends being...
"Don't think too hard Ruby." Ragna advised her, sharing her plight with his few allies being...well...
"I know Ragna. It's...too hard not to think of my friends."
"Just know that me and the others are here. Don't forget that," Turning to Sonic after giving Ruby a boost in mind, he says, "Speaking of which, name's Ragna the Bloodedge."
"Okay, got your names. Nice to meet you Ruby and Ragna." Sonic smiles at them, feeling a mutual friendship is blooming. "So if you don't mind me asking, did you two rescue me while I was at Infinite's mercy?"
"We did." Ruby nods. "You're lucky Infinite didn't go all out against you, otherwise you're already dead before we arrived at the scene."
"Wait, go all out? What do you mean by that?" Sonic inquires, feeling dreadful suddenly. If Infinite's claim that being able to do anything in his own field is powerful enough, then how powerful Infinite is at his peak?
Ragna and Ruby looked at each other, then to Sonic, then back to each other. They must be thinking of their next words before Ruby states, "It's alright Ragna. He deserves to know."
"It appears so... Just stay strong, a'ight?"
"I will."
Looking at Sonic, Ragna says, "It's best if I explain what happened to me, Ruby and the "prime candidates" System refer to us when that bastard Infinite appeared."
The next few minutes are spent explaining to Sonic how Infinite appeared and made his mark on their respective worlds by sowing destruction and chaos. It happened like a flick of a finger as everything went to hell before they can blink their eyes. As if to satiate his sadism, Infinite has gone to such lengths of killing off friends and allies without remorse by literally making them glitch out of existence. Ruby adds that the process must be painful, considering she claims to still hear her team's cries in the midst of Infinite's laugh over her pleas to spare them. After causing chaos and killing off friends, Infinite fused nine worlds, one of which is his own and already make his mark on it, into his own world where chaos and destruction reigns under the tip of his fingers called Phantom World.
As Sonic is horrified at the extent Infinite have gone to his world and the other worlds, Ruby explains that after witnessing her friends dying in front of her, she chose to flee, knowing full well she can't take on Infinite alone. Despite her reaching up speeds possible, Infinite always seems to catch up with her, appearing in several spots without explanation. It's as if no matter where she goes, Infinite's presence is felt. Her efforts to escape him were for naught once he catches her in his sphere called Phantom Sphere and was dead-set on killing her off if weren't for Ragna, Yu and Hyde appearing to surprise him. Like her, their friends, families and allies were killed by him but they managed to get out of his sight, which leads the three to join up and find Ruby when they find themselves in Remnant. After distracting Infinite, Heart, Yumi and Akatsuki showed up, having heard their voices and so, the seven of them went up against Infinite.
However, despite their efforts, Infinite seriously outclassed them in terms of ability and power. If Ragna can describe it, it's like going up against a sturdy wall that is so hard enough not even a strong man could break it. At the end of it, Ragna, Hyde and Akatsuki are still standing, panting from damage incurred and exhausted while Yu, Ruby, Heart and Yumi lied on the ground defeated but fully conscious. As Infinite moves in to kill them all, Ragna, in desperation activates his Idea Engine and charged at him roaring. Just as the two clashed, Infinite is suddenly blown away. At first, he believes his attack did hit him but upon closer inspection, he realizes a blue gem, which he got it before he arrived in Remnant, is the cause of the attack, supported by it being capable of cancelling Infinite's abilities, much to the jackal's anger. Also, that moment of desperation caused it to glow brightly and engulf all of them, healing them of their injuries. Seeing they have to flee, Ragna distract Infinite using the mysterious gem and when he did, all of them flee the scene. When Infinite chased after them however, Ragna told everyone to split up and, he and Ruby escaped from Infinite's wrath.
"…And that is how me and Ruby ended up seeing you got your ass handed by Infinite and rescued you alongside System." Ragna finished explaining.
While Sonic have seen Infinite as a threat ever since he got beaten up by him, that changes when he learns of Ragna, Ruby and their allies' plight and how much Infinite is willing to terrorize worlds just to fulfill his goal. If he has any word he can describe Infinite as aside from Ragna's bastard remark, he has one: a monster.
Such a thought is enough to make his blood boil. Oh how he'll make Infinite pay from endangering seven worlds. If he indeed died after defeating him the third time, then this wouldn't all happen. But no, somehow, Infinite's back and powerful than ever, who has targeted seven individuals from various worlds alongside him just for the sake of evil. Eggman is capable of endangering dimensions but he has moral standards he wouldn't cross. Infinite doesn't have any and so he has free reign in satiating his evil desires.
Calming himself down, Sonic sighs deeply, feeling exhausted already from their explanation. However, he has one question he needs to ask.
"About this blue gem… Do you still have it?"
"Yeah. I kept it with me the whole time. I consider it as a good luck charm to protect me and Ruby from any enemies we come across." Ragna answered.
"Okay, so can you show it to me then?"
Without saying any more word, Ragna brings out the gem from his pocket and show it to him. The moment he showed him however, Sonic's eyes widened and his mouth agape as he stares at the gem in surprise.
"Um, Sonic? Are you…okay?" Ruby asks with concerned look. She eaves her hand in front of him to see if he reacts.
"Hey. Why are you staring at this gem for? You looked surprised." Ragna raises an eyebrow over his reaction.
"Of course he has every reason to be surprised," System chimed in suddenly, having stayed silent for the whole explanation until now. "That gem belongs to his world after all. Why wouldn't he recognize it?"
"What?" Ragna and Ruby said at the same time, now realizing the gem is from Sonic's world.
"It is what System says," Sonic's voice brings their attention back to him, who is acting normally. "This gem actually belongs to my world. I can't believe you happened to be carrying this around. And for good reason too, 'cause having one of it is enough to give its holder the entire world."
"Really? Then, what is this gem called?" Ruby inquired, believing it has a name.
"Chaos Emerald," Sonic simply answers.
"Chaos Emerald, huh? That's a fitting name." Ragna concurs.
"It is Ragna. It is thanks to this babies that I use its potent Chaos Energy alongside six other emeralds to turn myself super and defeat any enemies powerful than my normal form. Of course, you have to turn your thoughts into power if you are to utilize it and, depending on if it's positive or negative thought, you would get either energy." Sonic explains, grabbing the emerald for display to the two (and System).
"Wow… Such power…" Ruby is awed, her eyes even sparkling in wonder.
"Heh. Guess I'm actually carrying Infinite's weakness. As long as we hold this, we can stand a chance against him." Ragna concluded. "Sonic. You said there are other six Chaos Emeralds, right?"
"Uh huh." Sonic nods. "If we collect the other six, then we could finally defeat Infinite and restore the worlds back to normal and to their right place."
"Restore the worlds?" Ruby parroted.
"The emeralds has power over reality as long as you put your thoughts into it. Such a feat is achieved through Chaos Control, which is normally used for manipulating space and time. Still, it is possible we can use them to save our homes." He explains.
"Hm. Guess it's settled," Feeling confident, Ragna lays out their goal in saving the worlds. "All we have to do is find the six Chaos Emeralds, find our allies and defeat Infinite. Simple, right?"
"Yup! Glad we have a mutual understanding of our goals, Ragna." Sonic approved, giving him a thumbs up.
"I was right. There was hope for us, after all." Ruby exclaims, feeling, well, hopeful that the emeralds are what they need in this desperate time.
"As long as we keep our hopes up, nothing is impossible. Now then, shall we proceed in finding the emeralds and your friends?"
"Well, finding our friends is one thing but how are we gonna find the other six?" Ruby asks.
"Oh, don't worry about that. Chaos Emeralds act like magnets in that they attract or repel each other. If we use that metaphor, then we can guess where the other emeralds are." Sonic answers.
"While I admire you three coming up with a plan and talking to each other, I hope you three aren't forgetting many Infinites charging their way here," System speaks up. "And from the looks of it, they want to kill you."
"Infinites?" The three parroted at the same time.
Noticing a horde coming at them, the three sees multiple Infinites either flying or running at them with bloodthirsty eyes. Unlike the Infinite they're familiar with, these Infinites have their masks be whole and Phantom Ruby on their chests. Also, glitches are prevalent in their appearance.
"Oh great. Replicas of Infinite," Sonic said, stretching his arms and legs in preparation for the battle. He's thankful for the emerald healing his injuries when Ragna showed it to him. He wouldn't noticed it if he's ignorant. "Figured the masked prick would send his clones at us anytime soon."
"Tch. We don't have time to deal with them. We're on the clock here so our best bet is to charge pass through them," Ragna suggested, wielding his Aramasa. "Think you two can handle it?"
"Yes, we can Ragna!" Ruby answers confidently, equipping her Crescent Rose. "As long as we have each other, we can achieve the impossible!"
"You said it Ruby! Time to show them what we're made of!"
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's blast through these bastards!"
"YEAH!" Sonic and Ruby yells out before they and Ragna charge towards the horde.
Later…
Looking at the burning port town, the unknown man looks at the direction where Sonic, Ragna and Ruby run off. Having overheard their conversation while staying out of sight, he has more context on what's happening.
The man grabs a brooch the size of his hand, which transforms into a yellow Chaos Emerald. The emerald glistens from the sunset that is visible through the clouds, making golden sparkles fly around him as the wind blows.
After transforming the emerald back to a brooch and putting it on his clothes, the man runs pass the port town, intending to continue following the three.
Second chapter is completed, folks! With Ragna and Ruby joining and the Chaos Emeralds appearing in Phantom World, our heroes have a chance of defeating Infinite. Of course, that's easier said than done but with the power of teamwork, they have the chance to stop him.
Just to let you all know, the only characters that'll appear in the entire story is Sonic, Ragna, Ruby, Yu, Hyde, Heart, Yumi, Akatsuki, System, Infinite and three other characters that I'm keeping it secret until later. While this is to make sure I can manage them without the pressure of writing many characters from any series, this is because the lore of Sonic and the other series is important here. It's not any grandiose but it's the key in their goal of defeating Infinite.
As for the timeline, this takes place one week after Episode RWBY's ending, except in this fanfic, Heart, Yumi and Akatsuki appeared as well and the events of Episodes BlazBlue, Persona and Under Night In-Birth happen too. Episode Extra is excluded.
With all of that said, I'm signing off. Stay tuned for the next chapter everyone!