Shining Beacon Zone, Act 2
STAGE 01 - RAIL CANYON
Intro
Sonic Speed Riders (Sonic Riders)
—
? - ? - 6:52 AM
Other than the engines of the Tornado and the light coming from the Miles Electric, very little could be seen or heard. The thick clouds that obscured their vision were capable of scrambling even the best technology from Holoska. Luckily for Tails, his tech was better than anything Holoska can make.
"Alright, we should be reaching Angel Island soon!" The fox announced, keeping a close eye on the Miles Electric's radar, whose screen occasionally turned to static or glitched out.
Sonic yawned, standing on the left wing of the Tornado. It sounded like he was stretching; He gets really antsy when he hasn't moved for a long time. "Mighty, you're still with us?" He asked, turning his head to look in his general direction.
Mighty nodded, only for him to realize that Sonic probably couldn't see him. "Yes, I'm here," The red armadillo said, voice stoic and gentle. He wore fingerless gloves with buckled cuffs, big red and brown boots, and had light blue eyes. "These clouds are strange… It's almost like they don't want us here," Mighty comments, looking down at the seemingly endless white abyss.
"That's just the magic of Angel Island! Unless it's stuck in the ocean, it's a pain in the butt to get too," Sonic says, remembering that time when the Death Egg landed on Angel Island, causing the floating landmass to fall in the middle of the ocean.
"Magic, or just the powers of the Master Emerald?" Mighty asked. The Tornado rattled for a moment, but nobody seemed concerned about it. "Probably the latter. If the ancient echidnas wanted to make sure Chaos didn't break free from the Master Emerald, they'd probably do everything in their power to make sure nobody breaks the seal," Tails deduced.
"Load of good that did them!" Sonic snarked. Internally, he wondered if Chaos would've broken free, regardless of Eggman finding the stone tablet in the Mystic Ruins.
"Huh? The clouds seem to be parting," Mighty notes, drawing Sonic away from his thoughts. Sure enough, the clouds surrounding the Tornado had floated away, letting them feel the sun on their fur. And in the distance, a massive floating island with lush jungles, ancient ruins, and a carnival of things floated above the ocean.
Now Playing… Angel Island Zone - Act 1 (Sonic the Hedgehog 3)
"Angel Island!" Sonic announced. "Ahh, feels like forever since we've been here!" He said, stretching his arms as he soaked in the bright sunlight. "I told Knuckles we'd be over by the beach," Sonic nodded to Tails.
"Which beach?"
"The one where he knocked the 'Super' out of my Super Form," Sonic answered, drawing a confused look from Mighty. "I thought you were impervious to damage in your Super State?"
"It was weaker at the time. Besides, Knuckles caught me off guard," Sonic said, shrugging and throwing his hands over his spines.
Minutes later, the Tornado landed on the Island's sandy beaches, one with a makeshift path that led into the Island's main jungle. Knuckles was waiting for them while sitting on a rock, clutching a brown burlap sack that had few loose stitches. The last echidna stood up when the plane made a complete stop.
"Hey-hey Knuckles!" Sonic laughed, jumping off the wings and walking towards the red echidna. "Long time no see! How's the Emerald these days?"
"Same as always; a total dust magnet," Knuckles says, bumping fists with Sonic. "It's gotten quiet around here. I almost miss having that damned bat trying to poach the Emerald from me everyday," He admits.
"Knuckles has a crush? Ooo~! Ya ever thought about telling her?" Sonic teased, only for the echidna to grab his face and shove it into the ground. "Can it, Hedgehog," Knuckles grunted, but there was a good natured smile on his face.
"Mighty! It's been generations since I've seen you!" Knuckles said, shaking hands with the armadillo.
"True. It's good to see you after all this time," Mighty said, taking a look at the jungle before them. "What's with the carnival? It wasn't there last time I was here," He asks, making Knuckles sigh as he slaps his face.
"It was one of Eggman's ideas to trap Sonic back then," Knuckles answers. "Luckily, there wasn't anything important; just a big open field. Other than that, nothing much has changed. Your meditation chamber in Icecap is still intact."
"Thank you. And the Master Emerald is still in Hidden Palace, correct?" Knuckles nodded, and roughly patted Mighty on the shell. "If there is so much as a hairline crack on it when I get back, your shell is going on the black market," the echidna says with a kind smile.
"I understand," Mighty said, unphased by Knuckles' threat. "You have my word that the Master Emerald will remain unharmed when you return," Mighty said with a small bow. Knuckles grunted, and flicked Mighty's forehead. "Why do you think I chose you and not the Chaotix?"
Knuckles gave a brief nod to Tails, and swung his bag into the back seat of the Tornado. "See ya 'round, Mighty!" Sonic jumped back on the wing, while Knuckles took his spot on the opposite side. Team Sonic waved goodbye to the armadillo, and the Tornado took flight, soon entering the mass of clouds that hid the Island from the rest of the world.
Angel Island Zone - Act 1 - Fade Out
Now Playing… Tornado Defense - 1st Battle (Sonic Unleashed)
"We've got a few hours before the airship leaves for Beacon," Tails mentions. "Knuckles, you wanna go somewhere before then?"
The echidna put his hand on his chin and thought deeply. "It's been a while since I've had Chun-nan's meat buns. Plus, I haven't had breakfast yet," Knuckles mentions, patting his stomach.
"On it! To Chun-nan we go!" Tails announced, slamming a button on the Tornado's console. A hatch opened up, and two robotic hands came out of it, grabbing Sonic & Knuckles by the waist as the wings folded into a X-shape, and a giant booster engine sprouted from behind the plane. The hands placed Knuckles in the back seat, while Sonic was put on a platform specifically made for him.
"Punch it, Tails!" Sonic & Knuckles shout in unison, and the fox happily obliges, tapping away on the plane's console.
With one final push of a button, the Tornado shoots through the clouds, leaving the floating island behind as Team Sonic flies halfway across the world for some breakfast.
Tornado Defense - 1st Battle - Fade Out
—
Empire City, United Federation - U.F. International Airport - 10:23 AM
Now Playing… Empire City - Day (Sonic Unleashed)
"Y'know, I still can't wrap my head over what happened last night," Ruby admits, hiding deeper and deeper into her hood. The wolf girl fidgets whenever an older kid so much as looks in her general direction, even if they don't notice her. She clutches her bags and beloved scythe in her arms, as if they were the only things keeping her tethered to the airport.
"Relax, Ruby! It's everybody's first day as well, so some people are bound to be nervous too!"
Yang Xiao Long is a dog with long, blonde fur that went all the way to her lower back and also hid a pair of floppy ears, and a tail that curved upwards. She wore a brown jacket and a low cut yellow tank top with a flaming heart design on it. She also wore black shorts, knee-high boots with orange socks. She wore brown leather gloves, which were connected to her shotgun gauntlets, Ember Celica, by the cuffs.
"That's easy for you to say. You're not skipping two full years!" Ruby half-heartedly bites back, flinching slightly when Yang gives her a strange look. "Sorry! Sorry! I'm just really, really nervous!" She whines, ears flat on her head.
Yang sighs, and moves in front of Ruby. "Listen, you're going to do fine, alright? If the headmaster of Beacon saw something in you, then that means you are just as good, if not better, than everybody else here, got it?" Yang tells her, placing a supportive hand on her shoulder. It takes a moment, but Ruby reluctantly pulls her hood down, looking directly into Yang's lilac eyes.
"Y'know what, you're right! I don't care what anyone thinks! I AM just as good as everyone! And I'm gonna prove it!" Ruby howls, drawing an annoyed look from everybody in the airport. her face turns as red as her hood, and she quickly hides back inside of it, eliciting a slight chuckle from her older sister.
On the other side of the airport, a snow fox with blue eyes stared at the two girls with contempt, like she was embarrassed to be going to the same school with them.
Her white fur was styled into an off center ponytail held in place by a tiara. She wore a strapless, thigh length white dress and jacket with a snowflake design on the back, opera gloves that went to her elbows, and white wedge heeled boots.
Weiss Schnee frowned and continued to push her suitcases filled with an unnecessary Chaos Drives inside the airbus. Well, at least she won't have to deal with those two sorry excuses for huntresses for much longer.
After dropping off her Drives in the cargo bay, Weiss walked back to the entrance of the Airbus, analyzing everybody that walked in those doors. For the most part, they all looked unimpressive, unskilled. Of course, that was what she had expected. Unlike most of these amateurs, she trained her mind and body rigorously each and everyday, from the moment she woke up to the second she retired for the day. Most of these civilians probably only trained during school hours.
Not to toot her own horn, but she was most definitely the most skilled person in this airship.
After a while her scroll buzzed; an announcement from Beacon. After the entrance ceremony, all first year students would be put into teams of three, consisting of a Speed-, Flying-, and Power-Type, or the closest approximation to one of those categories. If Weiss was to succeed at Beacon, she would need to be part of the best team possible.
During her scheming, a lynx with orange-red fur wearing Ancient Apotos-like armor walked inside, drawing hushed whispers from everybody inside the airbus. Weiss did a double-take to make sure her eyes were working properly. After rubbing them, the snow fox realized she was looking at Pyrrha Nikos, four-time champion of the Apotos Tournament.
A sly grin formed on Weiss' lips.
Empire City - Fade Out
As she began to walk towards the champion, another series of whispers started to form, enough to confuse even Pyrrha herself. Weiss looked out the door, and her eyes widened, even more so than when she saw the Apotos Champion.
Now Playing… Choose Your Buddy - Finger Bass Version (Sonic Adventure)
Sonic the Hedgehog had just walked in the airship.
The azure hedgehog, easily the most recognizable face in the world, just casually walked inside the airship, holding a delicious looking meat bun while talking to a young, two-tailed fox and a red echidna. Knuckles the Echidna and Miles "Tails" Prower, if Weiss recalled correctly. They weren't nearly as well known as the hedgehog himself. While Sonic was effectively a house-name brand all over Mobius, his other two companions sort of like those people on the internet who did something stupid and got their fifteen minutes of fame.
In Weiss' opinion, the reason why they have any notoriety to speak of is because they follow him around.
Sonic tossed his meat bun in the air, ate it one gulp, and burped loudly. He scratched his stomach, and sat down on one of the open seats. Knuckles face-palmed, while the two-tailed chuckled slightly. The echidna nicked Sonic's cheek with one of his spikes. "Don't do that in public, Hedgehog," Knuckles growled.
"What? I thought it was funny!" Sonic argued.
"It was funny!" Somebody from the airbus agreed.
"Thank you, person I don't know!" Sonic nudged Knuckles afterwards, giving him a smug look. The echidna sighed and took a seat next to the hedgehog, chewing on his own meat bun. Tails smiled, and placed his briefcase on the seat next to the right of Sonic.
"I'm gonna go find a terminal so that I can reprogram Eggman's robots; make sure they don't kill anybody. I looked through Oobleck's code, and it's littered with so many bugs. I'll be back in a few minutes," Tails said, walking past the SDC heiress. "Alright, don't get lost Tails!" Sonic waved as his two-tailed friend disappeared into the growing crowd.
Choose Your Buddy - Finger Base Version - Fade Out
After a few seconds had passed, the white-colored fox strutted her way over to Sonic. Just imagine: Sonic the Hedgehog, Weiss Schnee the Snow Fox, and Pyrrha Nikos the Lynx, all on the same team. They'd be unstoppable! The smartest girl, the strongest girl, and the most famous boy! They wouldn't just rule over the school! Together, they can rule the world–
"Should I be concerned about your plans for world domination?" Sonic quipped, pulling Weiss from her thoughts. She yipped in surprise, prompting a snort from Knuckles.
"World domination? I don't know what you're talking about!" Weiss said, her tail swishing anxiously. Sonic stood up. He looked much taller in person. He narrowed his eyes and leaned forward so that he was eye-level with Weiss, who laughed nervously.
"Okay, I guess," Sonic shrugged, dropping back into his seat, and pulling out his scroll once more.
Weiss cleared her throat, and extended a hand to Sonic. "It's an honor to meet you, Sonic the Hedgehog. My name is Weiss Schnee, heiress of the SDC," She introduced herself.
"SDC?" Knuckles asked, looking at Sonic.
"It's that one Drive manufacturing company that's famous for a lot of shady stuff, like abusing workers. They're the main reason the Freedom Fighters exist," Sonic said, glancing at Weiss with a small grin. "And also probably why they're a major terrorist group. I think Tails has a terabyte of conspiracies and stuff on his tablet."
"Those are just rumors meant to slander the good name of our company," Weiss says immediately. Sonic snorts, while Knuckles looks at her with his arms crossed.
"If ya say so pal," Sonic shrugs. "So, you wanted to talk to me about something?" Weiss nods, trying her best to remove the scowl from her muzzle.
"Yes. As you've probably already seen, Beacon Academy will be splitting us into teams of three. I was wondering if you've wanted to join my team, alongside Pyrrha Nikos," Weiss asked. Sonic raised an eyelid.
"Sorry, but I've already got a team with Knuckles and Tails," Sonic said, patting the thickheaded echidna on the shoulder. Knuckles pushed his hand away, and Sonic gave him a deadpanned look.
"I see. Tails is quite young, isn't he?"
"Well, yeah. He's skipping three years of school to be here," Sonic explained. "Not that he needs it anyways. He reprogrammed a supercomputer using dishwashing detergent and a toothpick. Is that a problem?" Sonic asked, eyes narrowing slightly.
"No, of course not. I find it commendable that someone so young can join a school like Beacon. It's just that… I think it would be beneficial for you to be paired with someone more reliable, someone with more experience. Sonic, someone of your caliber shouldn't be held back by a child like Tails. With me and Pyrrha by your side, we'd be the strongest team of huntsmen in the history of Mobius. So…" Weiss extended a hand.
"Would you like to be on my team? I can guarantee that you appreciate the results."
…
Weiss and Sonic stared at each for what felt like hours. There was a small smirk on her face when Sonic stood up and raised a hand.
"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Said smirk soon turned into a surprised look when Sonic ended up slapping himself in the face and laughing loudly, with Knuckles laughing even louder than him. In fact, Knuckles had a hand over his stomach, and even fell off of his seat.
"Pfft! Good one, Weiss!" Sonic half-laughed, half-muttered. "Holding me back, as if!" Sonic picked Knuckles up, who was still laughing. "Sorry, but I'm not joining your team. Tails has been helping me fight Eggman for a long time now. There's no way I'd ever leave him behind."
"Thanks, but no thanks!" The azure hero said. "Weiss, my team doesn't hold back, not at all. We help each other and bring out the best in us! There's no way I'd ever trade away my friends for fame or fortune!" Weiss can taste the cheese, and Knuckles can as well, considering the fact that he face-palms, but the snow fox can see his smile hidden underneath his glove.
It's irritating.
"I see… Well, you can't say I didn't try…" She muttered under her breath. "It was an honor to speak with you, Sonic. I'll see you in class." Weiss excused herself with a small bow. With a huff, Weiss spun on her heel and walked away. Sonic & Knuckles both cracked small smiles, and they fist bumped each other when she nearly crashed into a crazy-looking hamster with a pink skirt.
Tails returned a few moments later, confused by the duo's smiling faces. "Did I miss something funny?" He asked.
"No, nothing important," Knuckles responded. Tails just shrugged and took a seat next to Sonic. The three members of Team Sonic talked among themselves as the airbus slowly took to the skies.
—
United Federation - Red Mountains - 12:01 PM
The chattering voices of the young and bright-eyed huntsman-in-training came to a sudden halt when the holographic images of two Mobians appeared.
One of them was a blonde cat wearing a white top and black skirt, with a stylized cape that looked like arrows and/or flames. Standing next to her was the headmaster of Beacon Academy, Ozpin the Owl. He wore a black jacket with a green shirt and dark green pants, something that many were surprised by. He also carried a cup of coffee in his hands. Ruby was pretty sure he was addicted to the stuff.
"Hello, and welcome to Beacon. My name is Glynda Goodwitch, one of your instructors at this prestigious academy. You have been selected as the few who have been deemed worthy of attending this prestigious academy.
"Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace," Sonic chuckled under his breath, "And as future huntsmen and huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it."
Now Playing… Strategy (Sonic Adventure 2)
The cat lady stepped back, and Ozpin took a sip from his drink. "You have all trained to become warriors, and now the true worth of your abilities will be evaluated in the Red Mountains," Ozpin explained.
"A test? Already?" Ruby whined as Yang placed a supportive hand on her shoulder. The two professors disappeared, and were replaced by a three dimensional map of the United Federation. Their location was marked by a red pin, hovering above the mountainous region of the continent.
"You will begin here, and then move south, traveling through the forest to reach Beacon Academy. The journey should approximately take roughly 35 hours to complete, but no more than 50. Be sure to eliminate any Gaia Spawn you come across when night falls. Otherwise, your life will be forfeit.
"You will be ranked based on the time it takes you to reach Beacon, the amount of damage you have taken, and the number of Gaia Spawn you've killed. Then, you will be appropriately be assigned as either a Speed-, Flying-, or Power-Type, and be placed on a team with similar rankings to your own. You may choose to aid your fellow classmates, or you can journey on your own. The choice is yours."
"We will be arriving at the test site soon. Please take this moment to prepare," Glynda announced, before the holograms shut off.
The map of the path the students were taking was sent to each of their scrolls. Ruby quickly examined the trail, and quickly formulated a path that would take her to Beacon in no time flat.
"Yang, are you ready to go?" Ruby asked with a smile. Yang smiled back and gave her a hi-five. "Heck yeah I am! We're gonna ace this test!" She cheered. The sister performed a custom handshake they spent weeks perfecting, and lined up with the other students and the airbus' doors.
Strategy - Fade Out
Ruby slowly removed her folded Crescent Rose from her back and caressed it slightly. When she turned her head, she realized she was standing next to Sonic the Hedgehog.
"Meep!" Ruby cried, drawing a confused look from the azure hero. He gave a quick salute, and returned his attention to the slowly opening doors. He waited for approximately ten seconds, until he couldn't handle being still for much longer for much longer.
"Alright, I'm tired of waiting," Sonic deadpanned, and then ran towards the door, jumping and curling up into a ball to just barely squeeze through.
"Sonic, wait up!" Ruby did a double take when she saw Miles "Tails" Prower follow suit.
"Argh, that hedgehog is going to be the death of me…" Knuckles the Echidna muttered as he too jumped outside before the doors could completely open. Ruby could barely hold in a shriek when she saw him.
As soon as the trio had left the airship, many people had followed in their footsteps, clambering towards the exit before the door could open completely. Yang was one of those people. Ruby reached out a hand as she watched her sister put on a pair of aviator glasses and jumped out of the ship.
"YEEEEeeeeaaaah…?" Yang's shout slowly pewtered out when she looked down at the giant canyon below her. Ruby stood with her mouth agape, staring at the numerous grind rails, trains, and giant rock formations that looked like pumpkins, or even witch hats.
"Um… Uh-oh," Yang chuckled nervously as gravity took hold of her, causing her to plummet down into the canyon.
"YANG!"
Ruby's mouth opened wide. She slapped herself, mentally telling herself to focus, and leapt off the airbus, descending into the rail-littered canyon.
—
Now Loading
Stage 01
RAIL CANYON
Mission: Reach the forest before time runs out!
—
Now Playing… Rail Canyon (Sonic Heroes)
If there was one thing Ruby was sometimes capable of doing, it was looking before she leapt. Or, at least come up with the beginnings of a plan before she did something potentially stupid.
In this specific scenario, she may as well have jumped off the airbus with a blindfold on.
Ruby Rose plummeted down Rail Canyon, Crescent Rose in hand. With barely a moment to spare, she reached with her scythe and caught one of the many floating grind rails that littered the canyon. With a swing and pull of her weapon, Ruby planted both feet on the rails, and let gravity speed her through the winding, twisting rock formations.
"Yang?! YANG?!" Ruby shouted, tilting her body every so often so that she doesn't fall into the abyss. She couldn't really find anything, however. The color of the rock formations made it hard to discern anything other than an orangish-brown. Yang's fur color wouldn't be able to blend in completely, but her clothes definitely would. Mixed in with how fast Ruby was going right now, the only thing she could make out clearly was wear the bright colors of the grind rails.
Speaking of the rails, the one Ruby was on riding is nearing its end. Panicking slightly, she turned her head to try and find another set of rails to switch to. While she couldn't find any, she did spot a floating platform with a spring on it. Ruby leaped and folded Crescent Rose into its sniper form, and fired.
The recoil from the shot propelled her towards the platform. She rolled against the surface and bounced off the spring, which launched her to another series of platforms with a vague western theme. Ruby returned Crescent Rose to its scythe formand slammed the blade into the ground, using it like a lever to completely bypass the small platforming challenge that she would've had to go through. After she landed on the other side, she ran forwards and jumped off the platforms, going through Dash Rings that took her back to the grind rails running through the canyon.
And, coincidentally, right to her elder sister.
"Hey Ruby!" Yang waved cheerfully, the wind causing her hair to whip wildly, obscuring her eyes every few seconds. Ruby looked at her with concern, as the grind rails changed from metal to a glowing blue energy.
"Hey Yang! Are you sure you can see?" Ruby shouted, getting a laugh in response.
"Of course I can see!" Yang said, still waving. Her hand hit a switch the moment she said that, and the rails switched from blue to red. Ruby's rail changed direction, now sending her to the right, while Yang's rail now sent her downwards, leading to some sort of facility with the same western theme.
"Oh, come on!" Yang shouted, her voice turning to a harsh whisper as Ruby moved further and further away from her. The wolf girl pouted and crossed her arms, unsure whether or not she was annoyed at her sister, or the switch that she just happened to flip.
Dropping the thought from her head for the moment, Ruby quickly switched rails to prevent a red train with bull horns from turning her to strawberry jelly. "What the heck?" she muttered, turning her head back to the rails in front of her, and the incoming trains barrelling her way.
Ruby jumped from her rail, running along the top of the machine, before quickly side stepping onto the next one. Interestingly, this one had a red jump panel on it, which led to a series of metal platforms above her. How about that?
The panel propelled Ruby to the metal walkway. She sunk Crescent into the ground to keep her from falling off. Once she recovered, she noticed the logo of the Eggman Empire on the walls, with a pair of bull horns to fit the theme of the canyon. Ruby's ear twitched when she heard metal whirring coming from the side. She turned, and saw a small platoon of Egg Fighters, equipped with chainsaw-like swords, lances, and shields. For some reason, they emitted a warm yellow glow instead of harsh red or blue from their lights. When the machines saw her, they all struck a goofy pose and charged.
The first set of Fighters approached, haphazardly swinging their swords around with complete disregard for their comrades. Ruby easily paired these slices, and cut down three machines with a single swing. Ruby jumped over the fourth and stabbed her scythe into it, embedding the blade in the machine's torso. With a mighty swing, Ruby sent it and the fifth, sixth, and seventh Fighters plummeting down the canyon. Ruby swung upwards, cleaving the eighth Egg Fighter in half, and quickly brought the blade down and fired once from her weapon, leaving a large hole in the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth Egg Fighters.
Ruby ran forwards, avoiding what remained of the Eggman robots. She reached a set of parallel walls without a floor, and quickly jumped her way through. As she sprung from wall to wall, two turrets had activated, and started firing at her. Instead of jumping to the next wall, Ruby instead leapt into the air, taking out her sniper rifle and aiming two shots at the turrets, destroying them.
Ruby used her sniper again to propel her to the next set of rails. In the distance, she noticed an area filled with large green trees and the occasional loop-de-loop, and a large castle-like structure sitting in the middle of a clearing.
Unfortunately for her, Ruby's sightseeing made her oblivious to the fact that the rails had stopped a few seconds ago. In fact, she had been falling for a while before she even noticed.
Before she could fall even further, a black string was wrapped around her wrist, and Ruby was roughly pulled onto a platform. Her savior was a cat with wavy black fur that went to her upper back and striking yellow eyes, a black vest and a white crop top with white shorts.
"T-thank you!" Ruby said, taking out her scythe and hooking it on the platform, pulling herself up.
"Don't mention it," the cat said. She looked at Ruby strangely, eyes roving up and down. Ruby fidgeted slightly, but managed to resist hiding herself in her hood.
"Aren't you a bit young to be here?" The cat asked rather bluntly. "You seem to be about sixteen, fifteen at minimum."
"I, umm, got a-accepted early…" Ruby mutters, staring at her feet.
"...Impressive," She says, making Ruby blush.
"Blake Belladonna," She introduces herself, extending a white glove. Ruby stares at it for a moment.
"I'm Ruby Rose," Ruby says, shaking Blake's hand. Blake nods, and then takes off running, Ruby following suit.
"How much longer until we reach the forest?" Ruby asks, looking towards the setting sun.
"It's a few miles from here," Blake answers, taking Ruby's hand and throwing the ribbon, wrapping itself around a pole. Ruby activates her Chaos Power and runs around in a circle, creating a cyclone of rose petals that pulls both of them up. The ribbon unwraps itself, and the girls smash through the small group of Egg Fighters.
They hit a spring, and reach a circular platform. As soon as they touch the ground, an electric fence powers on, and a group of Egg Fighters and three Egg Hammers appear.
Blake wraps the ribbon of Gambol Shroud around Ruby's wrist, and Ruby points her rifle to the ground and fires. Both of them are launched in air, and Ruby continues firing, spinning in the air at high speeds. Once she was dizzy enough, Ruby swung Blake over to the Egg Fighters, using both the sword and the sheath to cleave through Eggman's robots. Using the momentum from the throw, she also drove the sheath through the Egg Hammer's arm, disarming the robot.
The Egg Hammer threw a punch in retaliation, but Blake quickly jumped away. Enraged, it tried stomping on her, but stumbled backwards when it received a bullet to the head, courtesy of Ruby. The second Egg Hammer ran towards the black and red wolf, and spun its hammer in circles, forcing her closer to the electrified fence. Ruby sidestepped another hammer swing, and slashed the robot's chest.
Egg Hammer number three hobbled over to its comrade and kicked it, causing it to fall on top of Ruby. She uses her scythe to prevent the machine from crushing her, but that didn't stop the Egg Hammer from raising its weapon and slamming it into its copy. The scythe went halfway through the Egg Hammer's face, and Ruby grunted as she tried keeping her weapon steady.
Blake folded Gambol Shroud into a pistol, and then fired at the third Egg Hammer. It turned its head 180 degrees to look at her, and it looked pissed. In a fit of rage, the hammer wielding mech turned its attention away from Ruby and charged, hefting its giant weapon and slamming it into the ground with as much power as it could.
Blake threw the Gambol Shroud and embedded it into the mech's neck, and swung herself to safety. The Egg Hammer failed to notice this, and accidentally crushed its disarmed ally, causing it to crumple like paper. Blake then pulled on the ribbon, causing the pistol to fire while still attached to its neck. The blade spun around the Egg Hammers neck, until the head eventually came clean off.
As Blake retracted Gambol Shroud, Ruby flung the final Egg Hammer into the air, and swung her scythe rapidly, reducing the mech to mere slivers. After a few short seconds, the Badniks exploded in unison, and the electrified fence was disabled.
Rail Canyon - Fade Out
Ruby let out a staggered breath, and fell to her knees. "I thought I was gonna be squashed strawberries for a moment…" She breathed, steadily rising back to her feet. Blake was about to say something, but the platform they were standing on shifted, and started descending down the canyon.
"W-w-what the heck? What's going on?" Ruby stuttered, bringing out her scythe once more. Blake walked to the edge and looked over. "The forest," She said simply. Ruby moved next to her, and saw that they were being taken to a cliff, right outside the edge of the forest.
"Alright! That means we're only halfway to Beacon!" Ruby cheered.
"That also means that Gaia Monsters will be appearing," Blake mentioned. Ruby stopped cheering, and looked up at the sky. The sun had long since disappeared, and the shattered moon had taken its place in the sky, its eerie light washing over the canyon and forest.
Shrill cries can be heard, and Ruby noticed a cloud of dark purple gas forming right next to her. A clawed hand burst from the burst, and started groping around.
"Should we fight them? We'll get a higher rank if we do," Ruby asked.
"True, but our objective is to reach the school, not destroy every monster in sight," Blake said. As soon as she closed her mouth, the ground started shaking, followed by a terrifying roar and the sound of trees being pulled from their roots.
"Do you think you can handle fighting a Titan?" Blake asked, sheathing her blade and turning towards the forest. Ruby groaned and shook her head, folding Crescent Rose and putting it away.
By the time they left, the cliff was littered with Gaia Spawn, ranging from the unassuming Rexes to the monstrous Big Mother. The tallest of the purple demons, the Titan, raised its club and roared, ordering its kin to follow their prey into the forest.
—
United Federation - Botanical Kingdom - 9:57 PM
"Ruby? Ruby, where are you?!" Yang shouted loudly, trying to find her sister as quickly as possible. Typically, shouting in a monster-infested forest wasn't typically the brightest idea, but this was all part of Yang's plan. Ruby knew what Yang's gauntlets sounded like whenever they were fired. How, when, why and she knows that is beyond her, but she still knows how they sound either way.
"Ruby?! Where did you gWOAH!" Yang was pulled to the ground by her tail, and landed unceremoniously on her stomach.
"Hey! What's the big idea!" She shouted, but was suddenly silenced by a finger placed on her lips.
The jaguar had black fur, which was tied into a ponytail and had a magenta streak on the left side. He wore a green outfit that looked like it came from Chun-nan, with pink cuffs and black and gold trimmings, black fingerless gloves, and white dress shoes.
He brushed some leaves away, letting both of them peek at the group of Nightmares slowly surrounding their hiding spot.
"What? Scared of a few monsters?" Yang teased, poking his side. The jaguar deadpanned, and pointed to one monster in particular, one that looked similar to the Nightmares, but was wearing armor, had long green hair that reached its lower back, and was lugging around a large, electrified hammer.
Yang's smile dropped.
"Ohhhhh…" She breathed in realization. The Dark Guardian howled, and charged straight for them.
—
Outro
Live and Learn - Acoustic Version (Crush 40)
