Chapter 6: Hidden Sanctuary
Seanzilla115: Hey minna. Well..it's finally happening. The crossover all the Megaman and Sonic fans have been waiting for! That's right! I'm talking about the Megaman/Sonic crossover comic, When Worlds Collide! Oh man, I already read parts one and two and it...is...EPIC! And before anyone ask, yes. I'm planning on doing a arc based on the crossover. Only...it'll be a little different.*clears throat*Anyway, on to the disclaimer. I don't own anyone in this story, nor the Sonic the Hedgehog series, the Ben 10 series, and the Blazblue series. I do though own Haseo Yukimaru Sakurai the Hedgefox and Ellie the Hedgewolf while Gammatron owns Nun-Kaka and Omni-Kaka. Also, I had some help from Bigby the Big Bad Wolf and Gammatron with some of the scenes in here while some of it is from chapter 3 of Gammatron's Omniverse Underground story.
"This should not be too difficult," Rook noted as he and Tails surveyed their vehicles, "The vehicles themselves are intact, it is their engines and computers that suffered the worst. That EMP did a considerable number on them."
"I know what you mean," Tails nodded, "It might take me a while to fix them up again."
"I will gladly help in any way I can, Tails," Rook offered, "The longer we take, the more havoc this Doctor Eggman and his Dark Egg Legion wreak upon Mobius."
"Sure thing, Rook. Let's get started," Tails smiled as he went to the storage part of the Tornado and whipped out some tools while Rook readied his own Proto-tool for us.
"A pity that Ben's Omnitrix is still timed out," Rook sighed a bit as he inspected the engine of their ship, the Gale, "Perhaps enough joltage from one of his electrical forms could give our plans the boost they need."
"It's possible," Tails stated as he started tinkering with the Tornado, "But too much could wind up frying the engines and then who knows if they could be fixed."
"That is a good point." Rook admitted. "Then again there is Jury Rigg."
"Jury Rigg?" Tails repeated.
"One of Ben's transformations who specializes in fixing equipment at a remarkable fast pace. In fact, you could compare Jury Rigg to Sonic in terms of speed when it comes to machinery."
"Th..That fast?!" Tails' jaw dropped, nearly dropping the tools in his hands after hearing that.
"Jury Rigg has a compulsive desire to destroy or fix any machinery nearby. Though quite useful, his desires make him a difficult alien for Ben to control," Rook explained.
"Wow..." Tails awed as he took this information in, "I didn't know Ben could have trouble controlling some of his aliens."
"Aside from Jury Rigg, the only other alien I have seen Ben have difficulty controlling is Rath," Rook further explained, "But that is because Appoplexians, Rath's species, are naturally aggressive and lacking in intelligence. Sadly, that affects Ben whenever he turns into Rath. Ben has complete control over all the aliens I have seen him turn into."
"..." Tails nodded as he checked all over the Tornado, to make sure there wasn't any part he was missing, "I still can't believe they pulled an EMP blast."
"I am surprised as well," Rook noted with a frown, "The one in charge must have known the damage the EMP would do to their Legionnaries, but unleashed the blast regardless. Is this Dr. Eggman so cruel as to cast his followers aside like that?"
"...He is," Tails scowled, remembering all the cruel things Eggman and his minions had done; both to each other and to innocent lives.
"..." Rook shook his head as he started repairs on the Gale, "I have met many despicable life forms back in my own universe, but only a few have I met are as cruel as this Dr. Eggman. While Ben is not here, I am sure he would agree that we will do everything we can to help you stop Dr. Eggman."
"Thanks, Rook. I appreciate that. And I know Sonic and Amy do too." Tails smiled.
Rook smiled back. Deciding that conversation would help things go faster, he asked, "So, is it true that you made the Tornado all by yourself?"
"Well, not all by myself. The original was made by me and Nate Morgan. When it got damaged, I simply improved it." Tails admitted.
"I must admit, you are quite intelligent," Rook complimented, "You're even more intelligent that most adults I have encountered."
"Ah, gee, Rook," Tails scratched the back of his head sheepishly as they resumed working, "By the way, where did everyone go?"
"If I remember right, Sonic and miss Rose are helping some of the villagers out with some task, and I believe Makoto and Haseo are with Ben and Tsubaki at the moment," Rook replied.
"I see..." Tails noted, "And what are Ben and Tsubaki doing?"
"Hmm...if I recall, I believe miss Tsubaki is giving Ben a lesson on the Japanese language," Rook replied.
'Man...Makoto wasn't kidding,' Ben mentally groaned a bit as he had almost fallen asleep during Tsubaki's lesson, the Crimson-haired girl giving him a firm look while Makoto and Haseo watched from not to far away.
"I hope you're not going to fall asleep again, Ben Tennyson. Remember, I did warn you not to sleep during the lessons," Tsubaki stated to Ben in a firm tone.
"I..I know! It's just I'm a little bit tired from battling all those Dark Egg Legionnaires while you and the others were inside the temple!" Ben yelped a bit.
"...understandable," Tsubaki noted, the firm look not leaving her face, "But I suggest you stay awake long enough for the lesson, got it?"
"R..Right. I mean! Hai," Ben nodded.
"Good. And I see you're already starting to get some of the basics down," Tsubaki noted.
"Well, you and Makoto did teach me about those during the flight here," Ben replied with a small chuckle.
"That's true, Ben," Tsubaki nodded, "Now then, after a few more words, the lesson will be over for today."
"Alright," Ben nodded before mentally sighin in relief, 'Oh thank god! I don't I can take that look she's giving me any longer!'
"Now then..." Tsubaki began as she motioned to a picture of a wolf and cat with the Japanese Kanji for their names next to them, "As I was about to ask you before you started to fall asleep Ben...what's the Japanese words for wolf and cat?"
"..." Makoto was about to whisper something to him before Tsubaki shot a firm look at her, shutting the Squirrel Beastkin up.
"Hold on...I think I know this. Um...it's...Urufu and Neko," Ben replied.
"Good. You were paying attention at least," Tsubaki noted with a small smile before motioning to a picture with the Kanji for 'Friendship' on it, "Now, what's the Japanese word for Friendship?"
"Hmm..." Ben pondered a bit before asking, "Is it...Tomodachi?"
"No. But you were close, Ben. 'Tomodachi' is the Japanese word for 'Friend(s)'. The Japanese word for 'Friendship' was 'Yūjō'," Tsubaki explained.
"Darn. I thought I had it right there," Ben sighed.
"It's okay Ben. We all make mistakes at times. Now..." Tsubaki began before she felt a small jolt of pain in one of her eyes, causing the crimson-haired girl to hold one of her hands over it.
"Tsubaki? Are you alright?" Makoto asked her friend in concern.
"H..hai," Tsubaki replied as the pain subsided for now, 'Damn. Even if I'm not holding the Izayoi, I can still feel the side effects from it.'
Makoto was about to say something to her before a female Wolf Mobian with light-brown fur entered the room.
"Excuse me," the wolf spoke, catching Ben and the others' attention, "I apologize for interrupting what you're doing but, the Grand Chief wishes to see you."
"Eh? What does Lupe-san want to see us for?" Makoto asked curiously.
"She will explain once you're there," the wolf replied as she motioned the group to follow her, "Please follow me. I don't want to keep the Grand Chief waiting."
"Okay," Ben nodded as the group followed the female wolf.
"a...ano...T-Tsubaki-san?" Haseo spoke, catching the crimson-haired girl's attention.
"Hai, Haseo?"
"A...ano...are...are y-you sure y-you're okay?" the hedgefox asked her in a worried tone.
"..." Tsubaki was silent for a moment before giving Haseo a small smile, "I'm okay Haseo. You don't have to act so worried about me."
"D...demo...what about...?" Haseo began.
"Something just flew into my eye is all..." Tsubaki replied as she turned around and placed a hand close to one of her eyes, 'I'm sorry I had to lie to you Haseo. I don't think I can tell you or the others what's wrong with me.'
"...Man, I'm bored," Sonic yawned as he and Amy stood in the Grand Chief's room inside the temple, Lupe sitting across from them.
"Be patient Sonic. They'll come," Lupe told the blue hedgehog before she noticed Ben and the others walk in with the female wolf Mobian leading them, "And there they are right now."
"Finally!" Sonic exclaimed, "I've been waiting for them to get here!"
"...It's only been 10 minutes Sonic?" Amy sweatdropped.
"Yeah. And I've could've been searching the jungle by now with how long we were waiting," Sonic replied, causing Amy to sweatdrop again.
"I've brought them as you wished, Grand Chief," the light brown female wolf bowed.
"Thank you, Leera," Lupe nodded as the female wolf/Leera left before the Grand Chief turned her attention to Sonic, "And actually Sonic, that's kinda why I called all of you in here."
"Huh? What do you mean, Lupe?" sonic couldn't help but ask.
"One of the scouts had spotted a Dark Egg Legionnaire somewhere in the Shazamazon," Lupe replied, causing everyone's eyes to widen.
"What?! But I thought that EMP blast got all of the Legionnaires," Sonic said in a shocked tone.
"I thought so too, but it seems one managed to avoid it," Lupe stated, "Sonic, I need you and a few others to find this Legionnaire and see if he or she knows anything."
"'Kay. I'll take Ben and Makoto with me," Sonic nodded.
"What?! But what about me, Sonic? I want to go with you too," Amy whined a bit.
"Sorry Amy. I need you to stay to look after Rook and Tails while they repair the Tornado and Gale. Just in case that Legionnaire pops up here," Sonic told her.
"...fine," Amy pouted as she walked out of the room, grumbling about how she couldn't spend time with Sonic.
"A...ano...M...may I c-come too, S...Sonic-san?" Haseo asked the blue hedgehog with a stutter.
"...sure. Who knows, we'll probably find your sis as well while we're looking," Sonic told him.
"R...really?" Haseo asked hopefully, earning a nod from Sonic, "A...arigato, Sonic-san."
"Heh...no prob man."
"I'll..." Tsubaki began before wincing in pain a bit as she held a hand over one of her eyes again.
"Hmm? Are you okay?" Lupe asked in concern.
"Y...yes, Lupe-san. Just...a small headache is all," Tsubaki replied as the pain subsided again.
Lupe frowned at that, not buying that small lie Tsubaki told her.
"Alright...let's head out guys," Sonic said as he and his team left.
Tsubaki was about to join them before Lupe placed a hand on the crimson-haired girl's shoulder.
"I'm sorry, but you'll have to stay behind miss Yayoi," the Grand Chief told her.
"Eh? But..." Tsubaki began.
"It's not wise to tell lies, especially to someone like me," Lupe stated with a frown.
"...You noticed...didn't you?" Tsubaki asked with a sigh.
"Yes. There's something wrong with your eyes, isn't there?" Lupe asked.
"...Hai. But..." Tsubaki began with a sad sigh, "I don't think I can tell you, Lupe-san."
"Why not?"
"...I..just can't," Tsubaki replied sadly.
"...Don't worry," Lupe spoke, giving the crimson-haired girl a small, soft smile, "I won't tell anyone about it...but I want you to promise me to tell your friends about later on. Okay?"
"..." Tsubaki stayed silent for a few moments before replying, "O...Okay, Lupe-san."
"Say Haseo, mind if I ask ya a question?" Sonic asked the hedgefox as they, Ben, and Makoto walked through the Shazamazon.
"A...Ano...H-hai, Sonic-san," Haseo replied with a stutter.
"Your big sis...what's she like?"
"...O...Onee-chan...s-she...she's's the g...greatest..." Haseo replied, a smile growing on the hedgefox' face, "Sh-she's really kind, her cooking's amazing, and..and...she's the best."
"..she's that great, huh?" Ben asked.
"H-hai, Ben-san!" Haseo nodded a little louder than his normal, shy tone before gaining a sad smile, "She..she always took care of me, even when our Kaa-san and Tou-san were still alive. And..." He paused as he grabbed his snow-white tail and rubbed it a bit, "she always heals the wounds I get from the bullies back home in Furvill."
"...you were bullied because of your tails, weren't you?" Sonic asked.
"H...hai," the hedgefox nodded sadly, "Back home...the bullies would always make fun of me because I have two different colored tails, and sometimes they would beat me up as well...they...they also made fun of how shy I was, saying that nobody would notice someone as shy as me..."
"...I see..." Sonic noted with a frown, remembering all the times Tails was bullied because of his two tails, "Tails had the same problem as well before he met me and my friends, Haseo."
"R...really?"
"Yep," Sonic nodded in response.
"I had problems with bullies too when I was a kid," Ben added, remembering all the times his former bullies, Cash and JT, bullied him.
"...Same here demo...I don't want to talk about it," Makoto stated in a almost pained-tone.
Back in her world, Beastkin were often considered outcast, much like the Negro race when there was still a United States of America. She had decided to just let them have their way and yet they still didn't accept her. If she hadn't met her friends on that day, she'd probably closed herself off from anyone. Taking a deep breath, Makoto placed a hand on Haseo's shoulder.
"Haseo...those bullies back in your hometown..forget about them and ignore what they say," Makoto told the young hedgefox with a small smile on her face, "Because no matter what they say or do to you, just know that you're never along. Because your friends will be with you..." she placed a hand over Haseo's heart, "...Right here."
"...A...arigatou, M-Makoto-san," Haseo smiled, wiping the small tears that formed in his eyes, "Y-you know something...O...Onee-chan would always tell me the same thing."
"Well...that's because she looking out for you like any big sis would. I should know, because I..." Makoto began before a nearby set of bushes started to shake, catching everyone's attention.
"Sorry to cut the conversation short Makoto, but someone's coming. Quick, hide," Sonic spoke quietly as the group hid behind a nearby tree, the blue hedgehog sticking his head slightly out from behind it.
Peking its head out of the shaking bushes was a Dark Egg Legionnaire with cat ears. It looked around a bit before crawling out of the bushes, revealing it to be female from the figure it had, and it was holding a bag filled with something as it took another look around the area.
"Looks like Lupe was right about there being a Dark Egg Legionnaire out here," Sonic whispered as he turned towards Ben and the others, "I'm going to try to get a jump on her. If anything goes wrong, you guys come out, got it?"
"Got it/hai," Ben and Makoto nodded.
"Cool," Sonic nodded as he slowly walked from behind the tree and walked slowly towards the Legionnaire as quietly as possible. When he got into a good enough distance, he stopped and leapt towards the Legionnaire.
The Legionnaire's ears twitched a bit before she dropped her bag and jumped out of way, letting Sonic crash face first into a tree.
"...ow," the blue hedgehog groaned in pain a bit as he pulled his face out of the tree he crashed into and turned around, glaring at a sorta chuckling Dark Egg Legionnaire, "So you think you're pretty funny, huh? Well, let's see if you find this funny!" He became a blur and charged at the Legionnaire.
The Legionnaire's response to that? She moved slightly out of the way and held her leg out making sonic trip over it and crash into another tree.
"...Okay, now you're starting to make me mad, lady!" Sonic growled as he charged and attempted to grab the Legionnaire again multiple times, failing in each attempt as the Legionnaire kept dodging each grab.
After Sonic's 10th failed attempt to grab the Legionnaire, the cloaked cat pulled out a red cape and waved it like a Matador would to a bull.
Sonic's left eye twitched in anger at that as he charged at the Legionnaire again, who pulled the cape up at the last second, causing Sonic to crash face first into an anvil.
The Legionnaire chuckled a bit at the trick she just pulled while the still hidden Ben, Makoto, and Haseo tried their best to not laugh at Sonic's misfortune.
'Man, if Rook were here, he'd probably be asking 'where did that anvil come from?'' Ben thought before frowning, 'Where the heck did that anvil come from?'
"Why you little...!" Sonic growled as he charged once more...only to have the Legionnaire to move to the side, revealing a cliff, "Uh oh." Sonic tried to run back onto the land until the Legionnaire handed him the anvil, "Aw nuts." He screamed as he fell down the cliffside, "Ah! Ooh! Gah! Cactus!" a goat bleating was heard, "Goat! Ah! Another cactus!" everyone winced as they heard Sonic cry out, "Gaaaah! The nuts! Cactus to the nuts! What's with all the Cacti?!"
"That has got to hurt..." Makoto winced before she realized something, "Where's the Legionnaire?"
"What?!" everyone looked around to see the Legionnaire had escaped.
"Well that's our luck," Ben sighed, "I'll go get Sonic."
"Okay. Me and Haseo will try and see if we can find that Legionnaire again," Makoto stated with Haseo shyly nodding in agreement.
"Alright," Ben nodded as he activated the Omnitrix and turned into SpiderMonkey, "I'll meet you guys once I get Sonic from the bottom of that cliff."
"Okay," Makoto nodded as she and Haseo left while SpiderMonkey climbed down the cliff to retrieve Sonic.
"I can't believe I ran into Sonic of all people..." the Legionnaire noted to herself as she walked along a path, carrying the bag she had dropped before chuckling a bit, "Still...it was kinda fun to mess with him a bit. now I see why..." her left ear twitched when she heard something nearby.
Taking precautions, she climbed up a nearby tree hid behind its foliage. Moving a bit of the leafs back with her free hand, the Legionnaire peeked out to see what, or who caused that noise before sighing a bit in relief, seeing a broken stick laying in the spot where she was at.
"That's a relief...for a moment there, I thought Sonic was following me, angry about that trick I played on him," the cloaked cat sighed before she spotted a certain twin-tailed hedgefox walking down the same path she was on.
"A...ano...I...I wonder where Nanaya-san went?" Haseo pondered to himself as he shyly looked around.
'Wait..is that Tails? No...He almost looks like him...except he looks like he's half-hedgehog, and has black fur while one of his tails is a pure snow-white...' The Legionnaire thought to herself, unaware that someone else was in the tree with her, 'I wonder why...'
"Got ya!"
"Huh?!" the Legionnaire blinked before being grabbed from behind by Makoto, causing the cloaked cat to dropped her bag to drop near Haseo, the shy hedgefox giving out a small surprised yelp.
"Sorry lady...but you're not getting away this time," Makoto grinned as the Legionnaire tried to free herself from the Squirrel Beastkin's grip as she landed next to Haseo, suprising the hedgefox again.
"N...nanaya-san? W...where...?" Haseo began.
"I was in the tree's to see if the Legionnaire was hiding in one of them," Makoto replied before looking at the struggling Legionnaire, "Okay you...what's in that bag you were carrying?"
"!" the Legionnaire paused from her struggling before replying, "Um...n..nothing!"
Haseo blinked a bit before opening the bag, revealing that there was different kinds of food inside.
"A..ano..M..miss? G..gomen demo...th...this d-doesn't l-look like nothing," the shy hedgefox stated to the cloaked Legionnaire.
"Yeah...care to explain why you have all that food?" Makoto asked the cloaked cat with a frown.
"...fine...you caught me," the Legionnaire sighed in defeat, "I...I'll tell you everything."
"Good...but can you hold it for a bit? Me and Haseo have to get back to our friends," Makoto stated.
"..fine...but can you let me go, please?" the Legionnaire asked.
"Yeah...nice try, but I'm not going to fall for that old line," Makoto replied with a small frown.
"Darn...but still, smart move for not trusting me right there," the Legionnaire complemented.
"Thanks," Makoto nodded as she and Haseo headed back to Sonic and Ben, the Legionnaire still in the Squirrel Beastkin's arms.
"Ow...ow...ow...OW! Watch it there, Ben! You nearly pulled out one of my quills right there!" Sonic growled at SpiderMonkey, who was pulling the cactus needles of the blue hedgehog once they were at the top of the cliff.
"Sorry Sonic. It's kinda difficult trying to figure out which are your quills and which are the cactus needles," SpiderMonkey apologized as he pulled off the last few cactus needles on Sonic's back, "And that's the last off them."
"Finally," Sonic sighed in relief as he got up and looked around a bit, "Hey...where's Makoto and Haseo?"
"They went to go after the Legionnaire while I went to go and get you from the bottom of that cliff," Spidermonkey replied as he turned back into Ben before he and Sonic spotted the mentioned Squirrel Beastkin and shy Hedgefox walking towards them, "And here they come right now."
"Sweet. And they caught the Legionnaire too," Sonic noted as he saw Makoto carrying the Legionnaire in her arms.
"A...Ano...w-we're back, M...minna-san," Haseo stuttered a bit, carrying the Legionnaire's bag.
"We can see that, Haseo," Ben noted before spotting the bag the hedgefox was holding, "What's in the bag?"
"Some food demo...I don't know where she got it," Makoto answered.
"I see..." Sonic noted before glaring at the Legionnaire, "Alright lady, where did you get the food? Did you steal it from the Wolf Pack and the Felidae?"
"I didn't steal it from either of them! I stole it from the Dark Egg Legions base that was assigned to the Shazamazon!" the Legionnaire growled in a ticked off tone.
"...yeah right. You expect me to believe that?" Sonic frowned at the cloaked cat, "You better tell the truth right now before things get ugly."
"I am telling the truth!" the Legionnaire yelled.
"Yeah right! I bet you were hiding somewhere when that EMP blast went off, giving an advantage to steal from both the Wolf Pack and Felidae during the confusion!" Sonic growled back.
"For the last time...I DIDN'T STEAL FROM THE WOLF PACK OR THE FELIDAE! GOD! I FORGOT HOW THICK-HEADED YOU CAN BE AT TIMES, SONIC!" the Legionnaire snapped before realizing her mistake, 'Uh oh...'
"Yeah! Well...wait a minute..." Sonic blinked before looking at the Legionnaire suspiciously, "How do you know my name?"
"...Uh...W..well...a lot of people know your name. W...what's so suspicious about that?" the Legionnaire asked nervously.
"...I guess that's true...but let me ask you something else..." Sonic began as he moved in towards the Legionnaire's face, "Why do you have a faint smell of skunk on you?"
This caused the Legionnaire to freeze up while Ben and the others looked at Sonic in confusion.
"If you guys don't believe me, take a quick sniff yourselves," Sonic told Ben and the others.
Feeling a bit curious, Makoto took a quick whiff on the Legionnaire before using on of her hands to cover her nose.
"Jeez! She does have a faint skunk smell on her!" the Squirrel Beastkin gagged as she still held the Legionnaire in her other arm.
"Exactly. And last time I checked, there weren't any skunks here in the Shazamazon," Sonic nodded before looking back the now very nervous Legionnaire, "Now...who are you really?"
"...I guess one of the Freedom Fighters was going to find out eventually. Never figured it would be you, Sonic," the Legionnaire sighed in defeat as she motioned to Makoto, "Before I reveal myself, can you have her let me go?"
"...okay," Sonic nodded as he looked at Makoto next, "Makoto?"
"Hai," the Squirrel Beastkin nodded as she let the Legionnaire go.
"Thank you," the Legionnaire thanked her as she turned over to Sonic, "Alright...before I show you, promise me you won't tell anyone, not even the other Freedom Fighters, about this."
"...Alright. I promise," Sonic replied, "But...why?"
"You're about to find out..." the Legionnaire stated as she grabbed the hood of her cloak. She then took one last deep breath before slowly moving the hood down, revealing that she was a Mobian black cat with a white muzzle and emerald green eyes.
Sonic's eye widened in absolute shock the moment he saw the cat's face.t
"...N...no way..b..but I thought you..." the blue hedgehog gasped.
"Sonic, what's wrong?" Ben asked the shocked Sonic, "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Hai. Do you..know her or something, Sonic?" Makoto asked.
"Y...yeah," Sonic nodded as he shook of the surprised shock, "Sh...she's Hershey St. John, a member of the Royal Secret Service, a independent faction of the Royal Army that took on missions given to them by the king." He then turned his attention back towards the cat, "Hershey, what're you doing out here, dressed as a Dark Egg Legionnaire? Everyone thought you were dead."
"...I thought I was too but..." Hershey began as she gave a sad sigh, "Look. Can we talk about this somewhere else? I don't feel comfortable talking about this out in the open."
"O..okay but...where do ya want to talk?" Sonic asked, still shocked to see that Hershey was still alive.
"I know of a place where no one, not even Eggman, can find us," the black and white cat answered before motioning Sonic and his group to follow her, "Please, follow me."
"Alright..." Sonic nodded as he turned towards Ben and the others, "Let's head out, guys."
"okay/hai/H...hai," Ben, Makoto, and Haseo nodded as they and Sonic followed Hershey.
"But are you sure about this Sonic?" Ben whispered to the blue hedgehog.
"I'm sure. Hershey's a good friend," Sonic replied before whispereing to himself, "Even though she has bad taste in men..."
"I heard that, Sonic," Hershey spoke as she overheard the hedgehog, "And first off, Geoffery's a good man...even though he says somethings that end up ticking people off...and second, I don't have bad taste in men!"
"Oh really? What about Dra..." Sonic began with a teasing smirk before Hershey slashed him across the face with her claws, "YEOWCH!"
"Sonic...I know we haven't seen each other in a long time...but I suggest you don't mention him around me...got it?" the black and white cat growled in a very dangerous tone.
"Okay! okay! I'm sorry! I won't bring..his name up around you!" Sonic yelped as he held his scratched face in pain.
"Good..." Hershey nodded as she retracted her claws.
'Note to self, do not tick her off,' Ben and Makoto thought to themselves while Haseo hid behind the Squirrel Beastkin.
Meanwhile, back at Grand Chiefs hut, Lupe was deeply taking in all the information Tsubaki told her. Laying before the Grand Chief of the Wolf Pack was the item that started the explanation, Tsubaki's weapon, the Izayoi. Lupe took in every detail of the weapon before her, tracing her finger along the edge of the blade before removing her finger from it. She then looked over at Tsubaki, who was sitting across from her.
"Tsubaki...May I suggest something?" Lupe asked the crimson haired girl.
"H...hai, Lupe-san," Tsubaki nodded.
"..This weapon of yours...the Izayoi...I want you to get rid of it," Lupe stated with a serious look on her face, "FRom what you told me, the Izayoi has the ability to control light, making it a very powerful weapon to use. But...the side effect it causes..." she pasued as she clenched her fist, "To have it steal the user's eye sight and eventually killing them..makes the Izayoi a truly dangerous weapon as well..."
"..." Tsubaki stayed silent at that, knowing that a few people in her world told her the exact same thing.
"Also...I don't know why...but when I took a closer look at the Izayoi...I sensed something...like a pulse of sorts," Lupe added, "Almost...as if it was alive."
"Alive?" Tsubaki repeated as she looked over at Lupe.
"Yes...and I fear what'll happen if it becomes active...and that's why I want you to get rid of this..demons craft before it falls into the wrong hands..." Lupe stated to her, a feeling of dread growing inside the Grand Chief if Eggman, or someone worse then him were to get their hands on the Izayoi.
"...I wish I could Lupe-san...but I can't," Tsubaki sighed sadly as she placed one of her hands underneath her left eye, "I've already gone too far with using the Izayoi...my eye sight is almost gone. And from time to time, even when I'm not holding the Izayoi...my eyes start to hurt...But...so far, I haven't been using the Izayoi's light manipulating powers since me and Makoto appeared in this world. So as long as I avoid using it's powers...I won't lose my eye sight..."
"I hope you're right about that, Tsubaki," Lupe sighed as she got up and started leaving the room.
"Lupe-san? Where are you going?"
"...I'm going to go to the medical hut to see if I can find something to help with the pain in your eyes," Lupe replied, not turning around to face her, "Tsubaki...I want you to promise me 2 things."
"O...okay but...what're they?" Tsubaki asked.
"When you feel the time is right...I want you to tell your friends about this. And...if you continue to use the Izayoi...under no circumstances, even if it's a last resort, I want you to avoid using it's powers at all cost," Lupe stated to her in a firm tone.
"..O...okay. I promise, Lupe-san," Tsubkai nodded.
"Good," Lupe nodded as she left the room while thinking, 'That poor girl...having to use something so dangerous. But...I've seen it in her eyes. Even knowing what'll happen if she uses the Izayoi's powers...she has a strong sense of justice in her heart...and she truly cares for her friends. I just hope nothing bad happens once the Izayoi becomes active...'
Unaware to both Tsubaki and Lupe, the eye on the shield briefly changed into a dark, ruby red before changing back into its regular sapphire blue color.
Meanwhile, back with Sonic and the others, Hershey had lead them to the side of a large mountain with some moss growing around it.
"Is this the place you wanted to talk, Hershey?" Sonic asked the black and white cat as she walked over to a part of the wall that wasn't covered in moss.
"No..but we're almost there," Hershey replied as she pressed her hand against a spot on the wall, causing a doorway that was Ben and Makoto's size to appear on the moss covered wall.
"A secret entrance?" Ben blinked.
"Yes," Hershey nodded as she entered the door war and motioned Sonic and the others to follow her, "Follow me please."
"Got it," Sonic replied as he, Ben, Makoto, and Haseo follwoed the black and white cat inside.
"Everyone...welcome to Sanctuary," Hershey greeted as the group arrived at their destination.
"Wow/Sugoi..." Ben, Haseo, and Makoto awed.
The structure before them was truly impressive to the two aliens on the planet Mobius. The structure, while paling in comparison to some of the massive trees that seemed to go into the clouds, was still fairly impressive. To Ben, it appeared to be an exact replica of Notre Dame back on Earth, yet with some minor differences. The gargoyles had been replaced with angels. The pillars that supported the structure was shaped to resemble Eastern Dragons spiraling upwards while holding spheres in their upper talons, the spheres actually lights that illuminated the area at night. The windows were all made of stained glass of various colors. Above the structure was a hole, large enough to let the sun shine in so that some of the trees seen near the sides of the structure could get some sun light.
"It's amazing, Hershey-san," Makoto awed.
"That's what I said when I was first brought here," Hershey smiled before seeing a human girl around four peeking at the group from the side of the building, smiling at the group, "Well, here we go again."
"Ms. Hershey's back! And she brought Sonic the Hedgehog with her!" the little girl called out to the trees.
It was then Sonic was run over by a bunch of children of various Mobian species and Human species of various ages between three and thirteen. It was surprising that the youngest of the children were the first to tackle the hedgehog over in a large hug-fest.
"All these kids live here?" Ben whispered.
"Eggman's a cruel man," Hershey frowned as she gazed upon the laughing and excitable children that had surrounded the grinning blue hedgehog, "He's made orphans out of so many children. Some even a matter of minutes after being born."
"Children! Please stop that now. We have guests, afterall," a voice called with a few claps.
"Nun-Kaka!" The children around Sonic gasped before getting off him and running over to a figure.
Her outfit was a much-larger version of the white part of Kokonoe's outfit, reshaped to resemble a nun's dress, the upper part of it stretched by her rather ample bosom. Over her head was a nun's hat with the upper sides hiding her cat ears. Her face was enshrouded by darkness, leaving only three things visible to them all; a pair of red eyes and a white outline of a mother's smile, radiating all the warmth and kindness included. She gently patted the head of one of the children before waving them off inside. She walked up to the group of five.
"Greetings to you all," the catgirl bowed, "My name is Nun-kaka. I am the head nun of Sanctuary and am always happy to see new Mobians and people seeking refuge in these times of crisis."
"A Kaka Clan member!" Makoto gasped, "Do you know anyone by the name of 'Jubei,' 'Torakaka,' or 'Taokaka?'"
Nun-Kaka froze up at the last name. She slowly turned to Makoto.
"T-Taokaka? Please, did you just say 'Taokaka?'" Nun-Kaka asked, shaking just slightly.
"Um…Well, yeah. Is…is there something wrong?"
"Um…well…Tell me, is Taokaka…happy?"
"Happy? That's an understatement to what I've seen. She loves meeting people and fighting others, showing off her abilities. Keeps calling me 'Furry Girl,' too, but I don't care since she's one of my best friends ever since I met her in Doctor Litchi's clinic when I was in school!" Makoto replied, happily "She's the new guardian for her village, even. Well, once Torakaka officially retires from the job."
"She…She's being given that high an honor?" Nun-Kaka gasped, a hand covering her mouth in surprise.
"Yep!" Makoto grinned, "Why?"
"…Because Taokaka is my little kitten," Nun-Kaka smiled motherly.
"…What?!" Makoto gasped, her tail and ears shooting straight up, "But…But you died!"
"I nearly did had it not been for this strange being I saw before my end in that terrible collapse," Nun-Kaka noted.
"What did you see?" Ben pondered.
"A strange human, yet smelled off. Not like a human, but also human. He wore a white lab coat over a red sweater-vest and white button shirt with a pair of brown pants, and a strange pair of green-tinted goggles."
'Professor Paradox? He took this lady from her daughter?' Ben thought.
"Tell me, Makoto, was it not? Could you tell me about what you know of how my little kitten has been?" Nun-Kaka pondered hopefully.
"Sure I can! Do you know Miss. Litchi?" Makoto asked.
"You mean Boobie Girl?" Nun-Kaka tilted her head innocently.
"…You two are mother and daughter…" Makoto sweatdropped as Sonic held back a snort of laughter.
"B-Boobie Girl?" Haseo managed to squeak out, his entire body blushing after hearing that.
"When the village elder tasked Miss. Litchi in teaching Taokaka about the world, I helped along with two of my friends, Noel and Tsubaki, because Miss. Litchi helped treat me when I fell off a tree," Makoto explained, "Taokaka's a great vigilante."
"Really? Oh my…Ever since she talked with that Bang fellow, she really wanted to do that," Nun-Kaka shrugged as she shook her head, earning a giggle from Makoto, "Still…" she gave a soft, motherly smile, "To hear her achieve her dream brings such joy to me. But…it also brings such sadness since I could not see her grow up to become her dream."
"Nun-Kaka…" Hershey whispered.
"Hm? Oh! Hershey-chan!," Nun-Kaka greeted as she hugged the Mobian cat.
"Eheheheheh…it's great to see you too, Nunkaka," Hershey chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head with her left hand a bit after Nunkaka released the hug.
"Weird. I thought nuns slapped kids on the back of the hand for using their left hand for anything," Ben noted.
"Yes. That is the standard, but I choose not to. I've always believed that the Lady we are all under does not mind such trivial things. It is the deeds that you perform that she watches over, not the smallest of things," Nun-Kaka replied, placing her hands together in prayer's position.
"I se...wait. You think God's a girl?" Ben asked in confusion.
"Of course she does," Hershey answered, "And it's thanks to Nun-Kaka that I believe our lord is a girl as well."
"I see...but I don't really think about religions," Ben shrugged, "Too busy with saving the world and all."
"Ah," Hershey nodded, "Still, you always need something to turn to during dark times."
Ben nodded. He could understand a bit about what the Mobian cat was talking about. He saw a few soldiers on a planet stuck in a civil war between reds and blues praying to their own deity at times while he was there. It gave them a…a sense of calm and hope. Hope that they would survive another day of war. Hope that the war would end with victory and not defeat. Hope that some miracle could appear to them and save them all.
Ben didn't really take to any religion. Even when he was a kid, he didn't really see anything important with it. His parents never tried to make him believe in any deity, but he always believed in beings like Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and even the Boogeyman. The make-believe was what he always looked at in being real. His grandpa was even turned into Santa Claus for a bit once when he was ten, so it was all the proof he needed that Santa Claus was real. It was even during that fateful summer that his belief in the Loc Ness Monster was proven in a way since he did find a Nessie…but it wasn't in the Loc Ness. But this…now this was interesting. A girl creating everything? That was actually plausible in Ben's head.
"You know...it does kinda make sense if ya ask me..." Sonic noted outloud, seeing that a girl created everything was plausible.
"Meow? Oh! You must be Sonikku! Hershey-chan told me a lot about you!" Nun-Kaka beamed.
"Sonikku..." Hershey snickered a bit at the nickname Sonic got.
"I...I see..." Sonic chuckled a bit nervously whiel sweatdropping at the nickname.
"Ben Tennyson, ma'am," Ben held his hand out to her.
"…" Nun-Kaka blinked at the hand before tilting her head, "…Nya?"
"She doesn't understand the handshake, Ben," Hershey whispered, "You bow to her."
"Oh," Ben blinked before bowing.
"Oh! It's nice to meet you, Ben-chan," Nun-Kaka bowed.
"Ben-chan…" Makoto snickered.
"Wh-What's so funny?" Ben asked.
"Oh…Nothing…" Makoto looked away with a small, teasing smile.
"A...Ano...H...Haseo Y...Yukimaru S-Sakurai N...Nun-Kaka-san," Haseo waved shyly from behind Makoto.
"..It's okay, young one. You don't have to act so shy around me," Nun-Kaka gave a motherly smile.
"A...A..ano...o...okay," Haseo nodded shyly as he walked from behind Makoto.
"...I guess you were right about him being really shy, Sonic," Hershey whispered to the blue hedgehog.
"Of course. I thought the same thi..." Sonic began until he heard what sounded like faint music in the air, "Huh? Where's that music coming from?"
"Music? Oh! That must be Ellie playing her ocarina for the children again," Hershey replied.
"Ellie?"
"You'll see who she is once we get inside, Sonic," the black and white cat answered as she and Nun-Kaka led Sonic and his group inside Sanctuary.
Nun-Kaka gave a calm serene smile as her tail gently swayed back and forth. The youngest of the children in Sanctuary mumbled in their rest, some cuddling another as they listened to the calm, soothing music that was playing(think Lugia's song from the 2nd Pokemon movie). The person playing the soothing music was a female Mobian hedgehog/wolf fusion, yet she mainly resembled a hedgehog. Her fur was a soft white with her quills done in a ponytail with a sky blue ribbon holding it. Under her left eye was a star-shaped birthmark. She wore a baby-blue open vest on top of a rose colored shirt with a soft, yellow star on it, the star stretched a bit by her moderate C, low D bust, rose colored jeans that hugged her curvy waist, rose sneakers with yellow lines going down the sides and white stars on the heels, and black gloves with holes in the back in the shape of a star. In her hands was a midnight blue ocarina, the soothing music coming from it as the hedgewolf played it.
"Wow..." Sonic awed as he and the others listened to soft, soothing serenade the Hedgewolf was making, "That music...she's playing...it's amazing."
"That's what I said too when I first heard it," Hershey nodded, "Like me, Ellie really cares for this place."
"That she does, my child," a voice chuckled a bit, "That she does."
The group of five turned to see a Mobian jaguar wearing priest robes with a small, gold cross hanging around his neck walking towards them.
"Welcome back, Hershey," the panther greeted.
"Thank you, Father Solomon," Hershey bowed.
"So you're this Father Solomon Hershey told us about," Makoto noted, earning a chuckle from the Jaguar.
"That I am, my dear," Father Solomon informed with a small smile, "And I, along with the good lord, welcome you and your friends to Sanctuary."
"Thanks. Wait...'Lord?' I thought it was 'Lady,'" Sonic blinked.
"Uht!" Father Solomon slapped his forehead in annoyance, "Again? Honestly…I care for the dear, I do, yet this constant belief that the Lord is actually a…a…a Lady?! I do not know where she got that idea."
"Well, Hershey told me, Sonic, and the others here that it could be because both him and Nun-Kaka think that a male can't create something so vast," Ben noted, "Personally? It does sound more possible that it was a female…"
"I agree..." Sonic added with a nod.
"Absolutely not," Father Solomon sighed, "I accept her beliefs, but I just wish she didn't try to convert the children to that belief."
"From what I saw, it's mainly the girls that believe it," Makoto noted.
Father Solomon sighed with a facepalm.
"And the majority of the Kaka Clan from where I'm from believe that God is a female, too," Makoto noted, "Though…That's mainly because the children born from a Kaka Clan member is one hundred percent female."
Father Solomon, Sonic, Hershey, Ben, and Haseo slowly looked over at the squirrel Beastkin. They then slowly looked over at the now-purring Nun-Kaka as Sonic continued his melody. Ben shuddered as he began to think about whether or not Kaka Clan DNA was in the Omnitrix. He noted to himself to not scan Nun-Kaka if that were or were not the case just to be safe.
"Wait. So there had not been a single male born from her home?" Hershey pondered.
"Not one. The males there are all from outside the clan or the girls come home pregnant," Makoto noted, "Though…there is the small problem that only 100 Kaka members are able to be alive at one time because of a genetic defect in their DNA."
Ben frowned. On the inside of his head, he was slamming his head against a wall. On one side, he could help Nun-Kaka's genetic problem, but then he'd end up getting her DNA added to the Omnitrix. But if he ignored it, then he would be going against everything he was taught about and raised to live by and feel guilty for not helping a problem be solved when he knew he could do something about it.
"Um…I think I could help. With the genetic problem, I mean," Ben admitted, earning the attention of the others.
"How so?" Hershey asked.
"You remember what I told you about the Omnitrix? How Azmuth added a 'Noah's Ark,' if you will, to it?" Ben replied.
"A Noah's Ark in…?! How can a vessel so massive as to hold two of every animal on the planet able to be stored in such a small device?" Father Solomon frowned.
"Shh," Sonic sushed as he thumbed to the children and Nun-Kaka, the Kaka Clan member starting to glare at them.
Father Solomon sheepishly chuckled quietly before motioning the others outside.
"It's just what Azmuth decided to call the feature. It has the ability to revive any and all species that are stored within Primus while also doubling as a healer for genetic damage," Ben informed.
"So that means Nun-Kaka could have more children and not worry about the 100 limit for their populace?" Makoto pondered.
"Yeah. But she'd have to have an alien DNA in her as well, possibly one that most like her species in terms of appearance," Ben noted, "It was the only way it would work when it came to the Highbreeds."
"Hmm..." Hershey pondered a bit before speaking, "Well, think about it like this; they spent their entire species' time inbreeding, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, how long have the Kaka Clan been alive?" Hershey asked, turning to Makoto.
"Well…Ano…" Makoto frowned as she began to nibble on the tip of her thumb in thought, "Ano…Oh! I know! Almost a hundred and ten years!"
"So that means their DNA's possible less damaged by a ton," Hershey noted, "So you may not have to mix DNA here."
"Really?" Ben blinked.
"That's right!" Makoto exclaimed, "They've been inbreeding since the begging of their race, right? That's why you had to mix up the Highbreeds' DNA."
"I hope I don't have to," Ben frowned at his device before looking at Father Solomon, "Sir, is it okay if I try it?"
"I don't mind at all. But, uh, you should know that she doesn't believe in that stuff. She believes the Lord will bless her with a cure through prayer," the priest informed, causing the four to facefault.
"Father Solomon, I don't normally do this, but I am about to sin multiple times in the next few moments with all of them being the same reason," Sonic informed.
"The Lord forgives thee, child," Father Soloman nodded before Sonic let out a flurry of curses, making the priest pale a bit and fall on his rear in shock.
"Oh...my..." Haseo paled a bit at the curses.
"Grr..." Hershey growled in annoyence before bonking Sonic hard on the head
"Ow!" Sonic grunted in pain, "What was that for?"
"Just be lucky the children are asleep, Sonic. Otherwise..." Hershey paused with a cold look on her face before she brought her claws out, "Got it?"
"Y...yes ma'am," Sonic whimpered a bit at the look Hershey was giving him.
"That melody was simply soothing, Ellie," Nun-Kaka smiled at Ellie once they had walked out to the back of the church-like structure.
"Arigatou, Nun-Kaka," Ellie bowed before looking at the instrument she played the melody on, "I always loved playing this song. It always reminded me of..." she paused as a small tear escaped her sapphire blue eyes, "Kaa-san..."
"...Do not worry, Ellie," Nun-Kaka said as she gave the hedgewolf a hug, "I'm sure your Kaa-san is looking down at you right now. Same with your Nii-san, wherever he may be right now."
"...You're right...Arigatou again, Nun-Kaka," Ellie smiled sadly as she returned the hug.
"You're welcome, Ellie," Nun-Kaka smiled back as she released the hug before noticing someone approach her and Ellie,"OH! Hello, Sonikku!"
"Hey, Nun-Kaka," the blue hedgehog waved as he approached the two girls, "I was looking for you because I wanted to ask ya something?"
"Nya? What do you want to ask me, Sonikku?" the Kaka Clan member asked.
"I wanted to wait until she told me and my friends but...Why is Hershey going undercover as a Dark Egg Legionnaire? Also, how does she know this place?" Sonic asked.
"...Ellie. Go and see if Father Soloman need any help," Nun-Kaka told the white hedgewolf.
"Hai, Nun-kaka," Ellie nodded as she left both Sonic and Nun-Kaka along.
"Um...why did you do that?" Sonic couldn't help but ask.
"It's so I can explain to you why Hershey is doing this..." Nun-Kaka replied, a serious tone in her voice, "You see, a few months ago, I was looking for some food for the children...and I hardly had any luck in finding any aside from the fruits growing in the trees. Just when I was about to grab once last piece of fruit, I heard an explosion go off nearby."
'That must've been the same explosion St. John said that killed Hershey,' Sonic thought.
"I had went over to where the explosion went off to see if anyone was okay," Nun-Kaka continued, "When I got there, all I could see was destroyed metal and the ground burnt from the explosion. I thought no one survived until I saw Hershey laying on the ground, buried by some debris. I was luck to get to her just in time because she was severely injured. I removed that heavy outfit she was wearing before I brought her to Sanctuary to heal her wounds. It took almost about 3 or 4 days before she regain conciousness. She wanted to leave immediately once she woke up, but I told her no because of her injuries."
"I see...but why was she in...?" Sonic began.
"Because I wanted to get back to my husband as soon as possible," a voice replied.
Both Sonic and Nun-Kaka turend to see Hershey approach them from the side of Sanctuary, the black and white cat wearing a red opened vest on top of a light blue shirt, a blue scarf around her neck, light red shorts with a hole in the back to let her tail stick out, and blue boots.
"Hershey? What're you doing back here?" the blue hedgehog couldn't help but ask.
"I was heading back her to ask Nun-Kaka something until I overheard her explaining why I'm here," Hershey replied before looking at the Kaka-clan member, "Nun-Kaka? If it's alright with you, I'll take over from here."
"...Alright, Hershey-chan," Nun-Kaka nodded.
"Thank you," Hershey bowed before looking back at Sonic, "During my recovery here in Sanctuary, I got to know some of the children living here and learned what was going on here. You see...Sanctuary was doing poorly on food, due to the shortage in the Shazamazon thanks to the Dark Egg Legion stantioned here at the time. As I recovered from my injuries each day...I kept thinking of returning to my husband but..." she paused when she looked into the window, seeing the children sleeping inside, "These chirldren...they needed food. I...I couldn't just abandon them, especially with Eggman's forces nearby. I mean...Nun-Kaka...Father Solomon...they saved me...I...I couldn't just turn my back to them after they rescued me and healed me of my injuries."
"Hershey..." Sonic whispered.
"Once I recovered, I decided to infiltrate the Dark Egg Legion based here in the Shazamazon, disguised as a Dark Egg Legionnaire so I could get the food the children needed. With the Dark Egg Legion busy with fighting both the Felidae and the Wolf Pack, it gave me a perfect cover to sneak the food back to Sanctuary without anyone noticing," Hershey finished, "And in case you're wondering about the hole Sonic, I stole a Holographic device when I was on Eggman's ship one time and modified it so no one, not even Eggman, can find Sanctuary."
"Wow...So I'm guessing you're staying here then, huh?" Sonic asked her oen more time.
"Of course I am..." Hershey nodded with a small smile as she looked up at the curch-like structure, "I owe this place my life. If it wasn't for Nun-Kaka finding me that day...I'd probably be in heaven with the goddess. Perhapes...maybe one day, I'll return to New Mobotropolis. Sonic...may I ask you something?"
"Um...sure," Sonic shrugged.
"How's everything going back home anyway?" Hershey asked, causing Sonic to freeze up a bit.
"Um...well...I don't think you'd want to know, especially after what St. John did," Sonic chukled nervously before putting his hands over his motuh after that last part, 'Darn it!'
"...Sonic. I know you and my husband don't like each other...but surely he didn't do anything bad, did he?" Hershey asked again before noticing the nervous look on Sonic's face, "...He did, didn't he?"
"...Um...y...yes," Sonic nodded.
"...What did he do?" Hershey demeanded with a serious look on her face.
"..." Sonic gulped at the look Hershey gave him before looking at Nun-Kaka and pointed at the walls of Sanctuary, "These walls are sound proof, right?"
"Of course, Sonikku," Nun-Kaka answered.
"Good...Well...here goes nothing..." Sonic mumbled as he took a deep breath and began his explanation.
"HE DID WHAT?!" Hershey's voice screeched throughout all the Shazamazon, scaring all the birds in the trees away.
"N..Now Hershey, C...calm down," Sonic gulped nervously as Nun-Kaka hid behind him, scared of the enraged Hershey right now after hearing what her husband did.
"Of all the stupid...idiotic things to...GRRR!" Hershey snarled before she slashed a nearby tree, "If I ever get my hands on that no good, backstabbing husband of mine...I'm going to...!"
"Hershey-chan, please calm down!" Nun-Kaka yelled as she moved from behind Sonic to confront her.
"How can I calm down when I just learned my husband brought a power hungry wizard out of his madness and helped him usurp the throne?!" Hershey snapped.
"..Maybe he did it because he was so grieved after you 'died' in that explosion, he had to turn to Naugus, hoping to find a way to bring you back," Sonic spoke.
"..." Hershey raised an eyebrow a bit at that as her anger died down a bit.
"You see, when he was on trail for betraying the Freedom Fighters...when your name was brought up, he pretty much snapped when the lawyer appointed at the time said you were nothing but a tool to him. I barely remember what he said after he calmed down...but I do know this...He cared for you. He truly did cared for you."
"...Sonic. Nun-Kaka," Hershey spoke, her angry having died down.
"Yes, Hershey-chan?" the Kaka clan Ember asked.
"Can...Can you please head inside to see if Father Soloman needs any help or anything? I..." Hershey paused as she turned away from them, "I need to be along right now..."
"...I understand," Nun-Kaka nodded.
"Same here..." Sonic added as he and Nun-Kaka left back into Sanctuary, leaving Hershey all along.
"...Geoffery..." Hershey whispered to herself as she sat down against the walls of Sanctuary, tears starting to flow down her cheeks.
"Thank you again Benjamin for helping me gather the fruit from the trees," Father Solomon smiled as he and Ben carried a couple a couple of baskets filled with various fruits in it.
"No problem. It was easy to get to them as SpiderMonkey," Ben chuckled a bit.
"Yes...you quite suprised me there when you transformed in front of me, Benjamin," Father Solomon stated before looking up at the hole above Sanctuary, the moon shining above it, "Seems it's gotten quite late. Tell me, Benjamin, are you and your friends staying for tonight?"
"I wish we could, but we kinda need to get back to our friends," Ben repleid.
"..I'm afraid that's a very un-wise move, Benjamin," Father Solomon frowned.
"Huh? Why?"
"Because lately, some of the wild life have become quite dangerous at night," the panther answered, "I do not know why they're acting like this...but it is too dangerous for you and your friends to go out there tonight."
""...O...okay. I'll be sure to let Sonic and the others know," Ben nodded while thinking, 'That's wierd. That EMP blast the Death Egg 2 sent out earlier today knocked out every electronic device in the Shazamazon. Except my Omnitrix and Rook's Proto-Tool of course. So what's causing the animals too...?'
"Benjamin?" Father Solomon spoke, catching Ben's attention as they were already inside Sanctuary, "We're here."
"Oh...heh heh. Sorry about that. I was kinda lost in thought," Ben apologized as he and Father Solomon put down the baskets.
"It is okay, Benjamin," the panther nodded as he noticed Sonic, Makoto, and Haseo sitting near a fire place in the room, "It seems your friends were waiting for you."
"Huh?" Ben blinked abit before noticing his friends, "Oh! Hey guys."
"Hey Ben," Sonic greeted as he turned to face him and Solomon, "We were just waiting on ya to finish helping Father Solomon so we could head back to Tails and the others."
"Actually Sonic...from what Father Solomon told me, it's not safe to head out into the Shazamazon right now," Ben stated.
"Eh? But why?" Makoto couldn't help but ask.
"It's because lately, the animals have been acting strange," a voice spoke.
Everyone in teh room turned to see Ellie and Nun-Kaka walking towards them.
"Strange? Strange how?" Sonic asked.
"I don't know...but they become feral and really dangerous..." Ellie replied, "So I suggest you and your friends stay here until tomorrow morning, Sonic-san."
"...Well...considering our communicator's are down thanks to that EMP blast, I guess we'll stay here for tonight," Sonic shrugged, "By the way...do you know where we can bathe?"
"Of course, Sonic-san," Ellie nodded, "Demo...just to let you all know; there's only three private baths here and there is an entire floor dedicated the bathing because of all the kids that live here. And it's co-ed on that floor."
"Co…ed?" Ben blinked.
"It mean's you bathe with both men and women, Benjamin," Solomon cleared his throat a bit.
Ben and Haseo blushed heavily at that.
"Do not worry. Me, Hershey, and Nun-Kaka know where one of the Private baths are," Ellie stated, "Of course...it'll just have to be me and Nun-Kaka to lead Makoto-san there since Hershey most likely went to bed early."
"O...okay," Ben nodded, the blush still on his face.
"Hey Ben...mind if I ask you something?" Sonic asked as he poked the luke-warm water.
"Ask away," Ben replied as he rinsed himself with a bucket of water.
"What do you think of Makoto so far?"
"...Well...she's a great friend, and from what I saw, she really cares for her friends. Just like me..." Ben replied as he rinsed himself off again.
"Okay...But..if I may ask, what do ya like about here specificaly? Her personality? That tail of hers?...those..." Sonic began.
"Sonic, if you're going to say what I think you are, Rath will have a word with you," Ben glared at the blue hedgehog.
"Eyes! I was going to say 'Eyes'!" Sonic yelped, "Sheesh man! I wasn't going to say breast or anything!"
"G...gomen S..Sonic-san," Haseo spoke shyly as he poked his head up from behind a nearby rock, "D..demo...c..can you s..stop talking n...now? Y...you're kinda..." He then noticed someone come in, causing the hedgefox the blush heavily as he pulled his head back down behind the rock, "EEP!"
"Huh? What's the matter Hase...?" Sonic began when he and Ben noticed a nude Nun-Kaka walk in, not even bothering to hide her exposed breasts and womanhood to the trio while still keeping her normal head attire on.
"N...Nun-Kaka?!" Both Ben and Sonic squeaked out in cracked voices as they looked away from the nun with hard blushes.
"Ara-ara! I'm glad we're all here!" Nun-Kaka beamed as she slid into the bath waters and pulled the two in it into a hug, nuzzling their cheeks as their faces turned bright scarlet.
"N-n-n-n-Nun-K-Kaka…w...what're you doing in here?!" Sonic squeaked out.
"I...I thought you were with Ellie and Makoto!" Ben squeaked out as well.
"My My...seems you're getting quite flustered, Speedy Blue," Nun-Kaka giggled before looking at Ben, "And I just wanted to join you for a bit is all, Alien Guy."
"Alien Guy?" Ben blinked.
"Oh yes. Furry Girl told me about you and your other friends," Nun-Kaka giggled before gazing at his torso, "Ara? No injuries. You must be a fast healer, Alien Guy."
"Uh…Well…" Ben gulped as Nun-Kaka's impressive assets rub against his chest as she hugged him tightly.
"You were hurt by someone before going in that thingy, Alien Guy, that I can tell," Nun-Kaka pointed out, "So tonight, Nun-Kaka will be Nurse-Kaka."
"...N...Nurse-Kaka?" Ben repeated with a heavy blush.
'I'm kinda afraid to ask what it is..so I'll probably ask Father Solomon in the morning before we leave...' Sonic thought with a heavy blush as well while Haseo still hid behind the rock, his entire body a deep crimson.
"I…I think I just had enough with…with just about everything," Ben sighed as he walked up to Sonic, who was leaning against one of the trees outside Sanctuary as the morning sun shined down from teh hole above the church like structure.
"Nun-Kaka in your bed when you woke up?" Sonic guessed.
"How did you know?" Ben demanded.
"I asked Father Solomon about it this morning," Sonic explained as he got up, "When she goes 'Nurse-Kaka' on you, she'll sneak into your room and snuggle with you. But she doesn't do it often unless you were hurt badly like those wounds you had when me, Tails, and Amy first found you, Makoto, Rook, and Tsubaki."
"…I swear I am going to get you back for not warning me," Ben frowned.
"First off, I didn't know about it until this morning. And second, What can you do?" Sonic smirked before realizing who he was talking to, "Oh yeah…You can go Rath on me."
"Oh no. That would be too easy," Ben smirked, "You'll know it was me, but you just won't know when it was me."
"I see," Sonic gulped.
"And just so you know, Nun-Kaka's genetics are okay," Ben informed, "The Omnitrix does it immediately without confirmation from me verbally."
"So it's got mental activation, too? Dude, that is tight," Sonic smirked.
"Not when it has to copy the DNA in order to fix it," Ben frowned.
"…" Sonic began to point and laugh.
"…On second thought, Rath will be seeing you now," Ben frowned as he cycled through the images and slapped the symbol.
The flash of light happened. It faded and didn't reveal Rath, but a new figure. The first, most obvious, thing was that it wasn't male, but female. She wore an outfit similar to Kokonoe's lab outfit, but the arms sewn to hide the hands and went down a foot past them. It was colored black, white, and green with a hood covering her head, hiding her features much like it would for Nun-Kaka, revealing only a white mouth and green eyes. The only visible part was her legs that seemed to be tanned deeply from too much time catnapping in the sun.
"Omni-Kaka!" the neko-onna declared before looking at her cat-like sleeves, "Oh come on, Changing Watch, Omni-Kaka wanted Big Tiger Man!"
"…Ha!" Sonic pointed and laughed.
"Shut up, Blue-Guy!" Omni-Kaka hissed before swinging her left 'paw' at him, causing barely-visible scratch marks to appear on his face.
"Ah!" Sonic yelped as he fell over, holding his face, "Ow…"
"…Omni-Kaka likes this form neow," Omni-Kaka grinned deviously as climbed up into one of the trees.
"I swear I am not going to like that form," Sonic growled as he got up before slipping and fell face first into a puddle of mud, "Ah! Ah! Ah! Mud in my scratches! Mud in my scratches! God! What is with me and cats lately?!"
"Haseo? What's wrong?" Makoto asked the shy hedgefox, a sad look on his face as they walked over to the front door of Sanctuary, carrying a few bags of food Father Solomon gave them for the trip back.
"We couldn't find my Onee-chan yesterday...I...I really hope nothing bad happened to her..." the hedgefox replied sadly in aq worried tone.
"...Don't worry Haseo," Makoto said as she placed a hand on his shoulder, "We'll find her. I promise. Who knows? Maybe we'll find her today..."
"...I...I h-hope you're r-right Makoto-san..." Haseo sighed sadly a bit as Makoto opened the front door before they noticed Sonic groaning outside, covered in cat scratches, mud, oil, and feathers, "O...Oh my!" He gasped as he and Makoto ran over to the blue hedgehog to see if her was okay, "S...Sonic-san! A...Are you okay?"
"Never get Ben in a pranking mood. It will bite you in the butt," Sonic grunted as he got up, "Dang Omni-Kaka! Scratch to the face, plus mud, and now oil and feathers?! I will have my revenge!"
"Omni…Kaka?" Makoto and Haseo looked at each other in confusion.
"Good news, the lady won't have to worry about the 100 limit you gave us. Bad news? Ben got an alien form that's got the attention span of a three-year-old."
"…He didn't," Makoto smiled.
"He did," Sonic sighed before Omni-Kaka pounced on him, "Ah!"
"Hiya, Shy Guy, Fuzzy Girl!" Omni-Kaka waved, her brown and white tail wagging happily behind her, "Look! Omni-Kaka got a new alien form!"
"Ano...B...Ben-san?…You're on Sonic-san," Haseo pointed out with a stutter.
"I know I'm on Blue Guy, Shy Guy!" Omni-Kaka mewled before seeing the bags, "Did you bring meat buns? Omni-Kaka's hungry."
"…" Makoto facepalmed, 'An alien form that's acting just like Taokaka…'
It was then they heard a beeping sound. Omni-Kaka looked down at a red flashing light under her jacket. She moved it and exposed her moderate B-Cup held by two straps attached to her green short-shorts, revealing the symbol on his device was just above the breasts, flashing red. A red light filled the area and faded, revealing Ben sitting on Sonic.
"Finally it timed out," Ben sighed in relief, "I couldn't remember how to change into another alien at all when I was in that form."
"My revenge will be swift and painful…" Sonic seethed under Ben before the teen got off the blue hedgehog.
"...G...gomen Sonic but..." Makoto paused as she giggled a bit, "You're not having that much luck around cats lately, haven't you?"
"Don't remind me..." Sonic said in a annoyed tone as he got up, "Now let's go. Tails and the others are probably worried about us."
"You're right. So let's..." Ben began.
"Sonic?"
"Hm?" Sonic blinked when he turned around and saw Hershey walking towards him, "What is it Hershey?"
"...Look. I want to apologize about yesterday," the black and white cat sighed.
"...It's cool Hershey But...I'm still kinda ticked off at you for sending me over that cactus infested cliff," Sonic stated.
"Again, I apologize about that. And as for that, along with those other tricks I pulled on you yesterday...I...kinda wanted to mess with ya a bit," Hershey sighed while she rubbed her arm a bit, "But aside from that..can you promise me something?"
"Sure but..what is it?" Sonic asked.
"...Can you not tell anyone I'm alive? I...I don't think I'm ready to face the others yet," Hershey sighed sadly.
"...Don't worry. I won't tell anyone but...promise me that when you get the chance, you'll head home to New Mobotropolis, just long enough to let some of the others know you're okay," Sonic said.
"...Okay. I promise," Hershey smiled a bit, "Also..if you ever see my husband...hit him really hard on the head for me."
"...Okay," Sonic nodded, "Well...I guess this is good bye then."
"Yeah...until next time, Sonic the Hedgehog," Hershey nodded as she headed back into the church like structure.
"Yeah...Until next time...Hershey St. John," Sonic said as he and his team headed towards the exit, leading outside.
Smoke was the first scent one would have high above the Shazamazon. A large fortress, almost akin to the shape of a peregrine falcon in design, was starting to descend, smoke billowing out of various holes in it. Klaxons blared inside as bird Mobians were running through the base, some even flying through the hallways on strange board-like objects. A blur of purple raced through a hallway, laser shots seeming to vanish before they could hit it. The sound of claws clashing together echoed through the hallway, mixed with the sound of metal crunching and cries of pain. When another swarm of bird Mobians entered the hallway, all they saw were various parts that had seemed to be devoured with the personnel there being seriously wounded. The top of the vessel exploded as the purple blur emerged from the new 'exit' stopping near the front of it. The sound of a gun cocking made the figure look behind it, the purple revealed to be a left arm and a massive bastardsword resembling a demonic mouth with the guard resembling a deep violet draconic eye.
"Hold it!" a scarlet falcon Mobian ordered as he and a troop of the bird Mobians raced out, "Don't let her escape with Project Prism!"
"Sorry, but I've got some air to catch," the figure smirked as it dropped the demonic blade, "Float EX."
With that, the figure stepped off the vessel and entered a free fall. The sword glowed before turning into a sleek board with the trimming made of razor-sharp blades. The back of it sported a pair of air-using jets that lit up and caught the figure before racing through the clouds and into the jungle below.
"Find them now! Project Prism must be retrieved at all costs! We must not lose the Hyper Go-On!"
"Aye-aye, Admiral Vortex!" the birds saluted before another explosion occurred.
"And fix the damn engines!" the leader squawked.
Seanzilla115:Woah! looks like things are going to get tense in the next chapter...but who was that figure that escaped from that ship? What exactly is Project Prism and Hyper Go-On? And why do those Bird Mobians want it back so bad? Guess we'll find out next time in the next chapter of Azure Rebellion. Until then, this is Seanzilla115, and I bid you good day.*snaps fingers as I dissipate from view, leaving a few notes behind*
P.S: Sorry I didn't do the Omake in this chapter. I wanted to do it but...*slumps*considering I don't have a laptop anymore, I have to work on my stories on the library's computer, and I only get 2 hours tops on it. So hopefully next time, I'll be able to do the Omake for chapter 7 to make up for not doing the Omake for this chapter.