Another Genesis
Countdown to Chaos - Part 2

"So, this planet isn't called Mobius… It's Remnant?" A blue hedgehog with stylish red shoes and bright green eyes asked, blazing past the forest floor with ease by grinding on roots and jumping over branches.

Sonic the Hedgehog
Cool Blue Hero
(Beacon Academy Alumnus - Age 19)

"That's right. And it's not just the names that are different. The continents, important citizens, governments, major historical events, heck, even our technology and power systems are way different! From what I've gathered so far, the only similarity this world has with the original one is Angel Island," His two-tailed fox companion stated, holding a buggy PDA in his hands.

Miles "Tails" Prower
Genius Flier
(Official Apprentice - Age 14)

"Different power systems? What're you talking about? You mean that stuff that powers Nicole and other tech, or all the Chaos Energy related stuff we can do?" Sonic asked, vaulting over a large mushroom.

"Both actually. How much can you remember about Dust?" Tails asked him.

"Dust…? Well, I use that stuff to transform into Super Sonic, instead of the Chaos Emeralds," Sonic recalled, slowing down in order to sort through his scrambled memories. "Actually, I don't think the Emeralds or Power Rings exist in this world. I've never used 'em."

"You're only half right," Tails said. "Chaos Energy does exist in this world, it's just inside Dust. Think of it like Anarchy Beryl from Moebius, except with elemental properties, and it's a lot weaker. When we were leaving Mobotropolis, I asked Nicole to scan the energy signature of the Tornado. It was giving off faint traces of Chaos Energy, but not enough to be a Power Ring."

"Huh, that must mean I use up a lot of dust when turning into Super Sonic. I'm pretty sure my Super Form is also shorter and less powerful than the one from our original reality," The blue hedgehog muttered. "Speaking of Nicole, how you doin' girl?" The small computer in Tails' gloves started emitting red static and loud noises in an attempt to communicate with them.

Nicole
Super Advanced AI
(Not doing so hot right now)

"Gy-gy-gy–! Odwbvrpnirvpwien–!" the speakers of the PDA screeched. Both Sonic and Tails grimaced slightly.

"Don't worry, Nicole. Once we find Rotor and restore his memories, it'll prove or disprove my theory on them being able to restore you," Tails said.

"And finding him would be a whole lot easier if he wasn't being so darn secretive!" Sonic huffed, sidestepping to avoid a puddle. "You have any lead on Rotor bud?"

"I've got a weak signal narrowed to a few hundred meters, but that's it. If the King–er, if the Mayor hadn't given us those coordinates, we would've had no way to know where to look," Tails admitted.

"Secre–! Wowkevnpmexlkdnc–! Ails–! Eg–! sovknkmsakc–! mdnkcw–! Pa-a-a-a-a-a-a-ajdnoiwvnoi!" Nicole's speakers screeched again. Sonic looked at Tails, since it seemed like she was trying to say his name.

"Hold up, let me try to remember… I think there was a secret project Rotor and I were working on, something to do with Eggman. Thing is, I can't remember exactly what it is. It's hard sifting through to sets of memories," Tails glumly stated. Sonic slowed down so that he could place a supportive hand on his shoulder.

"Don't sweat it bud. Once we get Rotor and restore his memories, I'm sure we'll be able to sort everything out. But still, it'd be easier if we could find some way to narrow down that signal. Maybe we can even get some sort of… guide?" Sonic started to slow down, craning his neck to the side as they passed a small clearing. Suddenly, he grabbed Tails' wrist and rocketed down the path they came from.

"Huh? Sonic, what're you doing–!?" Tails managed to yelp out before they both disappeared into the foliage.

On the other side of the new world, a pair of robots were rolling a disabled vehicle, their joints creaking loudly with each decisive push.

"Oi! I've just about had it pushin' this thing, don'tcha know!" The yellow, cube shaped robot complained, turning around to push the Egg Mobile with his back.

Cubot
Has a Faulty Voice Chip

"Indeed. My servos are creaking!" The red, spherical robot groaned, using his shoulder to apply whatever force he could.

Orbot
Sassy Subordinate

In front of them, the mad doctor grumbled something under his breath. His clothes and gloves were ragged, with holes and tears in odd places. Clutching his stomach with his left hand, he carried some sort of weapon with his right, the muzzle of which looked like one of the exhaust pipes of his Egg Mobile. "Well, I'm hungry, tired, thirsty, had to camp out in the wilderness, and had to make a weapon using my own Egg Mobile just to survive out here, so the two of you can get over it!" He growled, practically limping forward with each step.

Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik
Mad Inventor
(Retired Atlas Professor - Age ?)

"Alright, alright. You don't hafta be so mean about it," Cubot muttered. Much as he liked to bite back, Eggman really did have a point.

"If only we had a genius mechanic with us. He could do such things as fix the Egg Mobile, so we could go home and–" Orbot began, only to be silenced by an enraged shout.

"Fix it with what, you passive aggressive bounce ball!?" Eggman shouted, pointing his makeshift weapon at the robot assistant. At the same time, a loud rumbling sound could be heard in the distance, slowly getting closer and closer. "I have no tools! I used up all the remaining fuel cells to make this in order to fight off those black monstrosities! You're welcome, by the way, for having saved your metal hide thirteen times already! I have no idea where we even are! If you happen to be hiding everything we need in that big mouth of yours, PLEASE, DO SHARE!" Eggman then whirled behind him and powered up his weapon.

"AND WHAT IN THE BLAZES IS THAT RACKET!?" Eggman said, firing his weapon. The nearby vehicles swerved around the thin laser. Just as they were to get back into formation, the ground erupted with multiple fiery explosions, knocking over the offroad vehicles, and causing those on air boards or other flying vehicles to tip over and crash into the ground. Eggman was about to fire again, but noticed that one of the vehicles looked like one he would personally design. In fact, multiple vehicles look like he designed and built them. His curiosity piqued, the mad doctor powered down his weapon and stood up straight.

The approaching vehicles surrounded him in a large semicircle, kicking up enough dirt to make Eggman cough. Once the vehicles powered down, a mobian buffalo wearing a purple suit leapt from his vehicle, walking towards Eggman.

"Is this another surprise inspection, sir?" the buffalo asked, clearly annoyed.

"Surprise inspection?" Eggman wondered briefly. His eyes suddenly flashed, and a devious smile grew on his face. "Of course this is an inspection! You didn't sneak up on me and managed to avoid my attack, which is good. But, your response time is lacking. Name, rank, you know the drill," Eggman said, dismissively waving his hands at the bovine mobian.

"Axel the Water Buffalo! Egg Boss of the Menagerie Egg Army Unit! Sir!" He saluted gruffly, pounding his chest with his fist and letting out a snort from his nostrils.

"'Egg Army!'" Eggman parroted, giggling and rubbing his hands gleefully at the sound of it. Axel glanced at him with a confused look.

"You, uh, need anything else?" Axel asked. Eggman turned around, the face of the Egg Boss reflected on the doctor's glasses. A few minutes later, Eggman cheered as he drove Axel's vehicle, having chained his ruined Egg Mobile to its side and made the Egg Boss ride in it.

"Whoa-ho-ho-yeah! I've gotta get me one of these!" The doctor said, shooting down black monsters with the on board weapons systems.

"Pardon me, boss, but I don't recall your forces being called the 'Egg Army,' and that Axel fellow certainly wasn't one of your subordinates." Orbot warned him, tapping the doctor's shoulder to get his attention. "There's also the fact that there is no place called 'Menagerie,' and no records of those black monsters that attacked us earlier on the EggNet."

"I know," Eggman interrupted. "I had my suspicions when we landed in the middle of nowhere, but now… I may have been hasty in disrupting Sonic's Chaos Control. I'll need to perform further research, but it appears the world's reality was altered to some degree."

"Yes, but to what degree?"

"Who cares!? I've got an Egg Army! With Egg Bosses! My concerns are dinner, fixing the Egg Mobile, and getting back to the Death Egg, in that order!" Eggman declared, laughing wildly as we swerved around a centipede monster, nearly knocking Axel off the Egg Mobile.

"And then it's right back to making Sonic's life miserable!"

Sonic and Tails eventually reached a small, rustic looking hut made out of sticks and leaves sitting at the bed of a river. Inside the hut was a large fluffy cat with purple stripes and a white stomach, sitting next to small green frog.

Big the Cat
Laid Back Titan
(Shade Academy Alumnus - Age 22)

Froggy
Big's Best Buddy

"Big! What are you doin' here, buddy!" Sonic greeted him, jumping over the river and landing next to him, while Tails slowly hovered down to the ground.

"Fishin'," Big said simply, paying attention to the bob lazily floating on the surface of the river.

"I can see that," Sonic deadpanned. "What happened to Team Freedom? Weren't you still in the city when we left?"

"Nope," Big answered, shaking his head.

"But… Well, what have you been doing all this time?" Sonic asked.

"Fishin'," Big repeated. Sonic crossed his arms and glared at Big, annoyed, but Tails placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

"Let me try," Tails said, walking over to Big. "Hey, do you know that project Rotor and I were working on?" He asked.

"Yeah. It's big. Like me!" Big replied, tugging on his fishing rod and pulling out a large salmon.

"I bet! We got lost. Can you show us the way?" He asked. Big nodded, and slowly got up to his feet.

"Sure," Big said, motioning for them to follow him. After a few minutes of walking, Big led them to a cliffside overlooking a lush green forest, with an ugly metallic tower sticking out. In the center of the forest, there was a large red dome with a star printed on top of it. Sonic walked up to the railing and leaned over it over the wooden railings. He took in a deep breath, and let out a nostalgic whistle.

"Man, I never get tired of this view. Even if the Final Egg's tower is sticking out and being an eyesore," Sonic snarked. Tails raised an eyebrow.

"The what?"

"Y'know, the Final Egg? Base for the Egg Carrier? When the Doc was using Chaos and he flooded Vale?" Sonic paused and placed a hand on his chin, his ears laying flat on his head. "Huh. I guess that happened on this world. I had to use Dust to transform into Super Sonic and defeat Perfect Chaos. I think my memories are starting to run together." Tails sighed and placed his arms on the railings.

"What if… what if our new histories overtake the old ones? We could use our old memories, like, if we could make a Power Ring Forge–" Tails said, only to be interrupted by the sound of an explosion.

"Somebody's fighting," Big stated, pointing to the large dome. Looking closer, they could see multiple flying Badniks surrounding the dome, and hear gunshots coming from turrets. On the dome, a large purple walrus jumped from one of the turrets as the Badniks, Spinners, flew through it, causing it to explode in the process. Just as it was about to chase down the walrus, a hand wearing a yellow glove with dark gray fingers grabbed the Spinner and threw it at them swarm, destroying them all.

"Is that all you got!?" The walrus taunted, putting on his goggles and running towards the next turret.

Rotor the Walrus
Freedom Fighting Battle-Mechanic
(Atlas Academy Alumnus - Age 20)

Sonic smirked and jumped over the railings, running down the cliffside as Tails started whirling his tails to follow him. "We'll worry about reality, memories, and all that junk later. Right now, it's hero time!"

"Right!" Tails responded, taking out Nicole from his satchel. "Rotor, do you copy? It's Tails! I've got Sonic, Nicole, and Big with me, and we're on our way!"

Rotor slipped down the microphone on his goggles so that it was level with his mouth. "Perfect timing as usual guys! I got spotted by this Badnik patrol just as I was about to implement the auto-targeting defenses!" Rotor explained, aiming the turret at nearby Spinners and shooting them down. "So I've had to apply personal touch! I've managed to keep their attention up till now, but we've got to end this fight before one of the Horde Commanders shows up!" He turned to the right, only to realize that a Spinner snuck up on him. Before it could do any damage, Sonic crashed into it and bounced away, taking out another set of Badniks.

"Gotcha covered!" Sonic assured, as he and Tails continued to bounce on top of Eggman's robots. While the hedgehog continued to homing attack Spinners, Tails uncurled and flew into the sky, leading the Badniks over to Rotor's line of fire so that he could shoot them down.

"We've gotta get rid of them before they transmit our location!" Tails said, leading some Badniks around, and causing them to crash into their own forces. Flying upwards, he produced a Dummy Ring Bomb and tossed at the Spinners, destroying them instantly. Behind him, Sonic bounced off Badnik after Badnik, continuously gaining more height as he destroyed them.

"Aw, so we gotta be fast? I dunno guys!" Sonic quipped, briefly uncurling himself so that he could grab two Spinners and smash them together. Looking down, he saw Big rolling down the cliff, spin dashing into grounded Badniks and flattening them. He uncurled dizzily, and got out his fishing rod, using it to snag Badniks and drag them away, more often than not causing them to slice through each other.

"Almost done boys!" Rotor exclaimed after blasting another set of Spinners. "I think we did it! There's no sign of–!" He was interrupted when a harsh buzzing sound went off in the distance. Looking towards the cliff, Rotor gulped nervously and pointed his turret at the newcomer. "Oh, me and my big mouth...!"

Silver Sonic
Badnik Horde Commander

Beeping, Silver Sonic leapt from the cliff and curled into a ball, with six massive blades jutting out of its body. Rotor growled and fired, but Silver's Sonic speed mixed with the steep curvature of the cliff allowed the mech to easily avoid each shot. Rotor attempted to fire again, but Spinners started surrounding him, and he had to jump out of the way before he could be sliced to slivers. "I've got a Silver Sonic inbound! And the Badniks are swarming me!" Rotor shouted, backhanding a Spinner.

In the sky, Sonic crashed into another Spinner and bounced higher, uncurling briefly so that he could strike a pose. "Yeah! Thirty-six homing combo! Did you guys see…!" Sonic turned around, only to realize how far he was from the dome. "Oh," He murmured, and started diving as fast as he could.

"Almost done with this swarm! I'll be right there!" Tails said, destroying another set of Badniks with Dummy Rings. He curled up and crashed into a Spinner, launching it into the ground.

Silver Sonic continued rolling down the cliff, tearing through trees and even its forces as approached Rotor's secret project. But before it could slice through, Big stomped forwards and pushed his hands forwards, stopping Silver Sonic in its tracks. Silver Sonic managed to budge a few more inches, but the large cat dug his heels into the ground.

"No! Stop!" The purple cat said, leaning back to avoid being cleaved in half. "It's not nice to attack my friends!" With a grunt, Big tossed Silver Sonic into the air, right in front of Rotor. The walrus pulled back his fist and punched the mechanical menace towards Tails, who ducked underneath it and chucked Ring Bombs at it. The explosions propelled Silver Sonic higher into the air, where the original Sonic came down with a dive kick, causing them both to crash into the ground. The force of blow cracked and cratered the ground, causing a large cloud of dust to float into the air

Sonic jumped out of the cloud and landed next to Tails, bumping fists with him as he dusted himself off. The dust cloud settled, and they both looked down to see Silver Sonic in pieces, it's bottom half completely destroyed, with wiring and circuitry scattered on the ground. Bumping fists, the two faunus curled up and finished off the remaining Spinners, landing next to Rotor once the deed was done.

"Great work, guys!" Rotor congratulated them. "Silver Sonic's been destroyed, and I'm not picking up any more Badnik readings!" Sonic and Tails looked at each other, then to Rotor.

"Rotor? That's you right?" Sonic asked with his brows raised, bumping fists with the slightly confused walrus.

"Oh, c'mon! I haven't been away that long!" Rotor exclaimed.

"No, I mean… You look good!" Sonic said rather unhelpfully. Rotor raised a brow and sighed.

"Uh, okay? You too. Anyways, let's get inside. I'm pretty tired right now, and it'd be a disaster if any Grimm heard the commotion," He suggested, reaching into his belt and pulling out a remote. He clicked a button, and the doors to the dome opened up. Big, Sonic, and Tails followed him inside to what looked like a conference room.

"So what is this place?" Sonic asked.

"Tails didn't tell you? Aw, man! I'll give you the tour!" He said, leading them to the back of the building. "Welcome to the bridge of the Sky Patrol! I'm your captain, and I'll welcome you to the maiden flight! Once Bunnie's and Sally's mission are done, at least!" Sonic and Tails looked around in wonder, watching as the lights turned on and revealed multiple consoles and machinery. There was a mechanical bark, and Tails whirled around to see a small mechanical dog that looked like him.

"T-Pup! You're here too!" Tails exclaimed, laughing as the mechanical fox leapt into his arms. "So–wow! 'Sky Patrol,' now I remember!"

"What, don't like the name now? Man, you insisted on it!" Rotor told him before addressing Big and Sonic. "Anyways, Tails and I built this beauty to finally have an answer to the Death Egg, the doctor's flying fleets, and all the other high-flying Grimm the world keeps throwing at us." At the mention of the Grimm, Sonic and Tails glanced at each other, their expression becoming conflicted.

"Look, Rote', It's… it'll be easier if you take Nicole. More direct, at least," Sonic said, his energetic tone absent from his voice, and replaced by something that sounded exhausted. Rotor looked at him, confused and walked over to Tails to take Nicole from him.

"What's gotten into you guys? I mean, sure, I'd love to have Nicole's help in debugging the systems and–!" He began, but as Rotor took the PDA, Nicole's screen sparked, releasing a dark red energy that spiraled up his arms. Sonic grimaced and Tails looked away briefly. When all was said and done, Rotor dropped Nicole, nearly falling on the ground from shock.

"Easy there, big man!" Sonic said, picking Rotor up before he could collapse. "How you takin' it?"

Rotor groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "There was… a whole other world! A completely different world! How can you take it!?" He stammers, pushing Sonic away and throwing up his arms. "I-I can't process this right now! Work! Let's focus on work and…!" Rotor drops to his seat and groans. After a moment of silence, he turns around to look at the duo. "How the hell did this even happen?"

"Long story short, Eggman met some guy from another universe, and they tried to rewrite reality together. With a little help, I managed to stop him, but when I tried to fix our universe, the doc messed it up, and all… this happened," Sonic explained, vaguely gesturing around him. Rotor grunted and pointed to Nicole.

"Context is great and all, but how come I only got my memories back when I touched Nicole? Why didn't it happen when we bumped fists earlier?" Rotor clarified.

"Huh… I… actually don't know? I was at the heart of the Genesis Wave when Eggman made it collapse on us, so how come I'm not the key to restoring everybody's memories?" Sonic asked himself.

"F-F-F-Freedom FFFFFFighters woidnpwdmc0inv! Bond-d-d-d-d-dsss! Left-over-ver energyyyyyyyyy!" Nicole suddenly said, getting everyone's attention.

"Leftover energy, and something about bonds?" Rotor asks, placing a hand on his chin. "I've got some ideas, but… Tails, what do you make of this?"

"I think I get what she means, but not everything. The bond she's talking about might be our connection with Sonic," Tails theorized. "Other than that, your memories returning and Nicole's speech being less bugged also proves my theory from earlier. She can still barely speak, but at least we can understand her better."

"As for the energy itself, it's more than likely that Nicole somehow managed to absorb the energy from the Super Genesis Wave," Rotor continued, "and maybe even some fragments from our previous universe. That's why, when we absorb the energy she lets out, we can remember our past lives. Once she runs out of energy from the Genesis Wave, she should be back to one hundred percent."

"Great! So now, I'll have to find the rest of the Freedom Fighters, and that way, we'll be able to fix Nicole. Think you can help us out, Rote'?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah, hold up, lemme just pull up our mission files and…" Rotor said, turning to the console and typing on it. "Okay, so Sally and Bunnie are on deep cover on missions for the Sky Patrol. Antoine's helping out Uncle Chuck at Knothole, just north of Vale City. Amy was supposed to be here helping guard the place, but she just vanished, and I know for certain a Nevermore didn't pluck off her ground. I thought maybe she went chasing after you again."

"Nope, so now what gotta find her on top of things. Thankfully, I know she can handle herself until we get to her," Sonic groaned, though there was a smile on his face. "But man! Uncle Chuck is okay, Antoine's on his feet, Bunnie's with us, and Sally… Sally's on a mission. She's okay! She's not a robot!"

"This world's hectic as all get out, that's all I'll say," Rotor sighed. "I'll stay here and wrap up work on the Sky Patrol… and sort things out in my head."

"I'll stay too. Grimm might show up," Big suggested, Froggy hopping on his shoulder.

"Good idea, Big! We appreciate it!" Tails thanked him, before turning Rotor. "And Rotor? After you finish debugging the Sky Patrol, you might want to conduct further research with Dust. Early scans from Nicole revealed that they're the world's version of the Chaos Emeralds."

"Really? Okay, once I'm done, I'll see if I'm able to make a Ring Forge using whatever leftover Dust we have. If I'm lucky, I'll have a prototype ready by the time you guys come back," Rotor said.

"Alright then! Tails, let's get moving! Knothole is a lot closer to us than Metropolis, so that's where we're going first!" Sonic tells him, rushing out of the Sky Patrol.

"Right! T-Pup, you're with us!" The mechanical fox barked, and waddled after the heroic duo. Rotor watched them as they ran out the door, and sighed.

"You okay?" Big asked gently.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine," Rotor said, getting up from his seat walking outside. "Watch my back in case more Badniks or Grimm show up."

"Okay."

"Okay, what happened this time?" Junior said slowly. Standing behind the counter were four of his men, two of which were recently released from the hospital. Sheepishly, one of the grunts raised his hands, and Junior leveled a glare at him.

"It was Team Chaotix, sir," The man practically whispered. Junior groaned and covered his face with his gloved hands.

"The Chaotix? The Chaotix? You got caught by the godsdamned Chaotix!?" Junior practically shouted. "Those overgrown lizards and their pet bee came this close to wrecking the club last time he came! I swear, if the croc manages to get a permit to search this place–!"

"R-relax, boss!" One of the grunts said, his arm currently in a sling. "We made sure to scrub the place clean of prints and anything else that can tie robbery to us, I promise!"

"Don't promise me," Junior said darkly. "Because, if anything happens that messes up this operation, that crazy chinchilla–!"

"JUNIOR'S IS NOW CLOSED! THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATRONAGE!" A loud, high-pitched voice suddenly screamed from the second floor. The music suddenly cut off, and the grunts currently standing guard started ushering people out the doors as quickly as they could. Once the dance floor was completely empty, Hei Xiong as his henchman stood to the side with their back straight, as a chinchilla with yellow fur and green eyes walked out of her office and towards the center of the dance floor.

Thunderbolt the Chinchilla
Vale City Egg Boss

"Quite, all of you! This transmission comes from Lord Eggman himself!" She screeched, glaring at Junior. Afterwards, she glared at the DJ, who proceeded to type in something into the sound mixer, causing a holographic screen to appear in front of the chinchilla. After a couple seconds of static, the devious smile of Dr. Ivo Robotnik appeared on screen.

"Lord Eggman–!" Thunderbolt saluted, only to be interrupted by the good doctor.

"Ut-ut-ut-ut! Let's see here… Thunderbolt the Chinchilla… Egg Boss of the Vale City Egg Army Unit, correct?" Eggman asked. The chinchilla nodded and saluted once more.

"That is correct, Lord Eggman! I'm honored that you have decided to remember my name!" Thunderbolt said enthusiastically. Off to the side, Junior can see Melanie Malachite rolling her eyes, and Militia giggling under her breath. Eggman grunted and pulled out a piece of paper.

"Yeah, yeah. Anyways, Thunderbolt. You have control over any and all Badnik Hordes both inside Vale and near the surrounding area, correct? You also manage all forms of transportation, including airships, vehicles, and trains? You personally monitor all that in your territory, correct?"

"Uh, yes, Lord Eggman!" Thunderbolt confirmed.

"Then can you explain why one of my trains and Eta's unit is currently ON MOUNTAIN GLENN, IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE!?" Eggman suddenly shouted, causing everybody in the room to flinch.

"Of course, sir! I'll explain right away!" Thunderbolt cried. "You see, one of Junior's associates came in, and wanted to borrow our men! He has supposedly come into contact with many powerful people, those he says whose ambitions rival yours!" Eggman sneered at the chinchilla.

"I fail to see how this relates to my forces being controlled by people other than me in an area devoid of any tactical advantage," He growls.

"Well, according to this Roman fellow, his employers have a plan. They wish to cause a crisis that forces Beacon's headmaster and any nearby to focus their attention on the onslaught of Grimm, so that they can destroy Beacon from the inside!" She explained. "And of course, it's not like they have control over your forces! I gave them fake access codes, so we can have them turn on Roman and his cronies anytime we like!"

"Destroy Beacon Academy from the inside, you say…" Eggman repeated, seemingly intrigued by the idea. "How much did this Roman–"

"Boss, planet-wide scan of the Super Genesis Wave's energy-shadow is in," Orbot interrupted, his arm coming into the frame. "Unfortunately, it seems as though the effects of the Wave are irreversible, at least at this point in time. If you hadn't interrupted Super–" Eggman whirled around and pounded his fist on his chair, growling at the spherical robot.

"BRING THAT UP ONE MORE TIME, AND I'LL HOLLOW YOU OUT INTO MATCHING SOUP AND SALAD BOWLS! Wait, let me see those readings… Give me that report!" Eggman said, going silent for a few moments.

"Lord Eggman…? Is something the matter?" The chinchilla asked. The doctor's silence continued, and slowly, a wide, toothy grin appeared on his face.

"So, that bumbling old headmaster thinks he can hide a Chaos Emerald underneath his school, ey?" Eggman chortled. "Thunderbolt, what are the exact details of Roman's plan?"

"Sir! Roman has been stealing Dust from all over Vale in order to use them as bombs! Using the abandoned railroads underneath Mountain Glenn, he plans to use mining trains in order to drill his way over to Vale, thus leading Grimm into the city!" Thunderbolt explained. Eggman smiled, seemingly intrigued by the process.

"Is that so? Orbot! Cubot! Are there any Badnik Hordes free near Beacon Academy?"

"E-108 Iota's unit is the nearest," Orbot answered. "In addition, Hey Ho's unit is on standby only a couple miles away from Mountain Glenn."

"Good. Send Hey Ho to Mountain Glenn. They are not engage unless huntsmen, Sonic, or any of those other Freedom Fighters show up to stop Roman's plan. Iota will be on standby near the school. Once Roman's plan is put into action and Ozpin inevitably sends the students out to play hero, Iota's unit will attack anything and anyone standing guard inside the Academy and drive them out," Eggman ordered. Afterwards, he turned to Thunderbolt and addressed her. "Once you've confirmed that there is nobody inside the castle, I want you and your forces to break into the basement and bring me whatever you find inside, no matter how insignificant it may seem. Do I make myself clear?"

"Of course, Lord Eggman! Will do, sir!" Thunderbolt saluted.

"I'm counting on it," Eggman said ominously. "Do you have anything else to report?"

"Sir! Lord Hood in Vacuo has reported an Atlas Military Carrier near his base, which currently has control over your air space. The person leading the attack is none other than Winter Schnee herself!" Thunderbolt stated.

"Winter Schnee, you say…!" Eggman says, chuckling viciously. "Contact Lord Hood. I will drive the invaders off myself! Oh ho ho ho ho! Thunderbolt, you're dismissed. Don't let me down."

"I wouldn't dream of it, Lord Eggman! Glory to the Eggman Empire!" Thunderbolt said.

"Glory to the Eggman Empire!" Junior, the Malachite twins, and the other gangsters in the club chorused, being the "loyal" Egg Soldiers that they are. The screen went dark, and Thunderbolt went back into her office, whispering ecstatically under her breath. Junior cringed slightly; Thunderbolt was always such a suck up for Eggman, and that made it difficult for everybody involved.

"Why do we tolerate those two nutcases again?" Militia asked Junior. He scowled and glanced upwards, making sure that Thunderbolt had closed the door to her office before he spoke.

"Because we have to. Besides, if the rumors are true, there's no way I'm getting on his bad side," Junior said, walking back to the bar.

"If he's really gotten the Roboticizer to work again…"

On the Death Egg, a chipmunk faunus in blue clothing sneaks through an empty machine shop. The door to the lab opens, and two Egg SWATs walk in, scanning the room with their bright red eyes. While the door is still open, the chipmunk manages to sneak by, making her way to the escape pods while the Badniks continue to search the room.

Inside the lab was a capsule which contained a humanoid robot with a feminine appearance. It wore a red dress with a white frilled skirt, black sleeves, and black boots. It also had thick belts around its waist and chest, and attached to its waist was a gold and black battle axe, with a trigger near the blade with the end of the handle acting as the barrel of the firearm.

The capsule was labeled "Mecha Rose."

"...I do not want to be the first guy in it."