An Egg Cutter came bounding towards Tails, but he ducked under its attack. As it crashed to the ground behind him, the fox quickly turned around and blasted the robot apart with a fireball.

Growling behind him.

Tails' attention quickly refocused forward as a Beowolf came charging towards him, mouth wide open. Tails switched his weapon's mode and thrust it forward, causing the Grimm's jaw to bite into the barrel of the Double-Wispon. Tails pulled the trigger and a powerful bolt of lightning ripped through the soulless creature. The metal modifications to the Grimm's body made this attack much more effective, so that even if the Beowolf raised a claw to strike Tails, the monster disintegrated quickly with convulsions.

A little away from Tails, Ruby dodged the attack of an Ursa Minor that had charged towards her. As the monster ran past her, Egg Watchers crawled along the walls and leapt toward the silver-eyed girl with rotating claws. Using Crescent Rose's Sniper Rifle mode, Ruby shot down the robots with high precision. Then she spun around, changing her weapon back into a scythe, and held it across in front of her to block the Ursa Minor's swipe. The blow had enough force to knock her back several steps. Ruby remained steady tough and ran back toward the Grimm, scythe raised. When the bear-like creature roared and started running as well, Ruby let herself drop and slide underneath the Grimm. A spiky and pink glowing blade cut through bone, steel and darkness like a ray of morning sun did at the twilight of dusk. The Ursa Minor staggered as it was cut open from one end to the other, inky black smoke billowing out of the massive wound.

It still tried to turn around again, red eyes glowing with hatred as it wanted to inflict worse damage to the young human. But joint shots from Ruby and Tails finished the Grimm off.

The duo was about to lower their weapons, but an Egg Watcher, who had been lurking on the ceiling during the chaos of the fights, wanted to launch a surprise attack on Ruby. It jumped at them, but Tails destroyed it with a Spindash. The fox rolled up and gave his friend a worried look.

"Are you okay?"

The silver-eyed girl just gave the scraps of this and the other destroyed Egg Watchers as disdainful look while rubbing her throat.

She didn't forget how one of these almost strangled her during the Attack on Metropolis.

"I´m fine. Just not the greatest fan of these particular robots." She kicked a dismembered claw away. "They're quite the sneaky critters."

"My current opinion fighting the Grimm. Just replace sneaky with rabid."

Ruby just hummed in agreement. She then added, "Try to reach someone now, maybe we'll have success with communication this time."

Tails did so, but still the only answers Ruby and he received were static and glitches.

"Maybe if we get closer to the outer shell we might get a better signal." The mobian scratched his head in an unsure manner. "Assuming the interference is actually only caused by the Death Egg and not Infinite."

"Let's try. I don't think there's much else we can do right now other than move on."

Ruby nodded ahead. The path in front of them was covered with the parts of destroyed robots and Grimm modifications, with a few wisps of smoke still hanging around them. Sounds echoed around the curve of the corridor where the mass of enemies the two had just fought had come from.

There was no other way but forward. And despite whatever danger were lurking ahead, Ruby felt quite antsy in continuing on.

Clutching their weapons, the duo strode onward, getting closer and closer. The air filled with an unmistakably chemical smell. They both wrinkled their noses, wondering what to expect. After circling the arch, they walked down a short corridor and reached a massive hall. Just like everything else in the Death Egg, the walls and ceiling were covered in metal plates and a sparse number of small white lights.

The floor, however, was a different story. The path in front of Tails and Ruby led as a bridge over a deep abyss. It was filled with a steaming, dark purple liquid, the source of the smell that had only become more pungent here. Steel images of Eggman's grinning face with glowing were the source of this brew. The chemical liquid flowed out through the barred mouth openings of the illustrations like viscous waterfalls.

Ruby's reaction to this was curt. "Eww, that just looks disgusting. I've learned that the guy has way too big an ego, but does he really have to stick his face all over it?"

Tails didn't say anything, he looked closely at the purple liquid.

"Reminds me of Chemical Plant Zone. But there the substance was a lighter purple and it didn't steam either."

"So does that mean we shouldn't fall into this?"

"Yes, especially since it´s not empty. Look!"

Tails pointed to moving shapes in the chemical waters.

The pitch black bodies of Grimm sharks were swimming around underneath the bridge. Aside from metal plating on the bone masks and blade like extensions added on the fins, there were no modifications made to hinder the aquatic Grimm´s movement and nimbleness.

"How can any organism survive in this stuff?" Tails wondered.

"Grimm are soulless, produce smoke instead of blood, disintegrate when they die, and have no internal organs other than skeletal structures for stability. I don't think such a thing can be called a living organism. If I remember correctly, Grimm don't even breathe."

"Then why do the... uh..."

"I think they're called Rucebs."

"Then why do the Rucebs have gills?"

Ruby thought about it. Now she wished she had paid a little more attention during Professor Port's class (even though most of it was just nostalgia trips for himself).

The silver-eyed girl didn't need to think any longer, however, as the answer quickly presented itself. One Ruceb noticed the duo at the top of the bridge above them. The red glowing slits on its neck widened as it sucked in the chemical substance around it. The Grimm Shark poked its head above the surface and opened its mouth to fire the chemical as a high pressure beam at the living beings above it.

Tails and Ruby jumped apart with a yelp as the beam shot between them, cutting through the steel of the bridge's edge and the ceiling above them.

"Right… they can do that…" Ruby mumbled. She stared at the path before her, the bridge over the steaming lake filled with these 'living' cannons. Unfortunately, that wasn't all. The eyes of the Eggman depictions, which were cameras, focused on her and Tails and lit up. Round openings appeared in the ceiling. Buzz Bombers and Griffon Grimms, just as sparsely modified as the Rucebs for retaining their agility, flew out of them and towards the duo. They were followed by Egg Cutters crawling out and over the ceiling.

Ruby and Tails looked at all these enemies then at each other. They silently agreed that they should try to reach the other end of the hall rather than take on the entirety of these opponents. They started running, but after just a few meters, Egg Cutters dropped from the ceiling and landed on the bridge in front of the duo, while flying hostiles surrounded them.

Using her scythe, Ruby parried and cut trough the blades of the Egg Cutters. Buzz Bombers flew behind her and aimed at her exposed back. Energy surged inside the barrels of their stinger canons but before they could fire, Tails managed to shot a few of them down with fire. The remaining robots pointed their weapons at him and charged, while at the same time the Griffins dived at him. Tails changed the mode of his weapon and swung it in a wide arc so that he hit all attackers with his lightning beam. The Griffins slowed down with twitches and had problems staying in the air, while the Buzz Bombers crashed to the ground with short circuits or exploded directly, their shrapnel damaging the surrounding Grimm a little. The soulless creatures screeched in return and pushed trough the damage. Tails ducked underneath a claw swipe but then was almost nicked by a metal plated bone beak, implanted with some iron thorns for artificial teeth. Ruby, who was cutting the last Egg Cutter in half, noticed that her friend was in distress.

"Tails! Duck!" she shouted and activated her sniper rifle. The mobian did as told and Ruby fired lasers at the Griffins. Since these were wildly moving targets, and Ruby didn't really have time to aim accurately in her haste, most of the shots just scorched the metal armor on the Grimm's masks. Only here and there a lucky shot hit an eye or dark flesh. But it was enough to get the Griffins' attention. The Grimm flew towards them, leaving Tails behind. He wanted to rush to Ruby's side, but new Buzz Bombers pushed him back. He pointed the Double-Wispon at her when something came at him from his right in an explosion of purple drops. A Ruceb came towards him with its mouth wide open, a red glowing hole oozing with smoke and surrounded by several rows of jagged teeth.

Rotating his namesakes, Tails flew up into the air. He dodged attacks from the Buzz Bombers while the Ruceb landed on the spot the mobian had been standing previously on. It snapped upwards with its jaws but the fox was out of its reach. The Buzz Bombers tried to get Tails closer toward the Grimm. However, he flew higher up to evade their laser attacks and then destroyed the Badniks with several Spindashes. Once the last of the mechanical bees were destroyed, he focused back on the Ruceb.

To Tails' horror, it had found a new prey in Ruby, who was still busy with some Griffins. The Grimm moved its body, which was much more flexible than that of a real shark, towards the human girl with eel-like movements. The fox tried to destroy it with his weapon, but other Rucebs fired from within the confines of their chemical water with said substance at the flying mobian. He weaved in between the high-pressure beams and yelled, "Ruby, there is one coming from behind you!"

The silver-eyed girl risked a quick glance over her shoulder, then quickly had to hold Crescent Rose's pole across in front of her to block an attack. A Griffin bit into the bar and struggled and yanked at the weapon. Ruby gritted her teeth and held on to her weapon with all her might. The remaining Griffins and the Ruceb took advantage of their predicament and pounced on them. But all the Grimm could get hold of were just a few rose petals. Ruby and Crescent Rose materialized behind the soulless creatures and aimed her sniper rifle at them. As she did so, she called out to Tails, "Try another plasma attack!"

The fox nodded and let the orange energy collect in the barrel of the Double-Wispon.

Blue lasers and burning plasma were fired at the pile of Grimm. The Ruceb was immediately destroyed while the burning bodies of the Griffins flew through the air from the explosion, crashing into the walls and disintegrating.

With the path clear for enemies, Ruby ran down the bridge with Tails flying at her side. But more Badniks and Griffons appeared from the round holes in the ceiling while Rucebs jumped onto the bridge and slithered after them. The ones remaining in the chemical substance fired high-pressure beams alongside Buzz Bombers doing it with laser projectiles. Most of the attacks missed or were dodged by Tails and Ruby, instead damaging the bridge.

Finally, just before they reached the other side and the exit from the hall, a powerful metallic groan echoed through the air. Ruby felt the ground beneath her feet sink slightly before the bridge collapsed completely.

With a scream, Ruby suddenly felt herself falling, along with the Rucebs.

"Ruby!" Tails shouted and dove after her. The human girl felt the chemical vapors envelop her as she got closer and closer to the surface of the purple lake. Rucebs aimed their maws at her, either to shoot her or to tear her to pieces with their teeth.

Griffins also flew towards Ruby, but Tails clenched his teeth and rotated his namesakes faster. He reached his friend in front of the Grimm and held out his hands. Ruby's own hand shot out and grabbed them.

There was a slight jolt as her fall was stopped, unconformable but nothing she couldn't survive, and then they were flying upwards. The Rucebs hissed and sucked liquid trough their gill-like slits. Tails tried to dodge their attacks, as well as griffins coming towards them. An act that wasn't easy with a person taller than him dangling from his hands. Ruby made herself useful by using her other hand to keep attackers at bay with shots from Crescent Rose.

Once again they came closer to the exit, but a Ruceb jumped out of the water and flew straight towards the two. Tails flew to the side, but the Grimm grazed him and the blade-like extensions on the pectoral fin sliced his chest and shoulder while the tail slammed into his face. Stars exploded in front of his eyes and Ruby yelled his name in concern. Tails just shook his head as he tried to fight trough the pain and dizziness.

After dodging a few aerial attacks, he and Ruby finally reached the exit, this time flying through it and into another long corridor. Tails dropped Ruby onto her feet and then almost crashed on his face if his companion didn't catch him. She held him in front of her face and inspected him; blood trickled from the slash wound and there was a bruise barely seen under the fur of his head.

"Tails, are you okay?"

"I… will be fine… head just hurts a little…"

The silver-eyed girl wanted to take care of her friend, but there was no time. Griffons folded their wings and landed on the floor of the corridor, charging towards the duo. Buzz Bombers, small enough to fly into the smaller space, hovered close by the side of the Grimm and aimed their canons at the two organics.

Holding her mobian friend close, Ruby started running. Thanks to her Semblance she quickly gained distance between them and their enemies. The longer she ran, the more intersections Ruby came across. Due to the robots and Grimm behind her, and more attackers coming out of some of the hallways, Ruby mostly instinctively chose the next route.

Almost like something was steering her in a certain direction.

After a while, Ruby and Tails reached another large hall. Luckily it had a normal floor, no chemical lake full of Grimm Sharks or any enemies in sight. The entire wall to Ruby's left was a huge, thick pane of glass, a window that offered a view of the Death Egg's surroundings.

Ruby looked around, looking for something that might give her a tactical advantage over the Grimm and Badniks behind her. A hydraulically hiss made her spin around. A heavy steel door came down, blocking the corridor's path into the hall. A short time later, Ruby and Tail's pursuers crashed into them. The silver-eyed girl heard the Grimm from the other side growl and throw themselves against the steel door, scratching their claws across its surface. But they didn't get through. Ruby and Tails were safe.

But why? Why would Death Egg mechanisms shield them from the Eggman Empire´s forces?

Ruby looked around again, checking that no unpleasant surprise awaited her and Tails. But everything seemed calm. Ruby sighed, deciding to take her chances and use this situation to take care of Tails wound. She got on her knees and gently put Tails on the ground.

"Are you feeling okay? Are you better or worse?"

The fox ran his gloved hand over his wound.

"I'm fine. My head is no longer buzzing and the wound looks worse than it is. I've experienced worse."

"Still, let me help you."

Ruby pulled out some first aid supplies and disinfected Tails' wound before bandaging it. The two of them then got up from the floor and looked out of the large window into space. They saw how outside the Death Egg the rest of the Resistance within their spaceships were struggling with the external defense systems. Tails pulled out the Miles-Electric, hoping that maybe he could now make contact with Rotor or someone else. A few distorted images appeared on the screen, covered in slight static.

"Come on."

Tails tried his best to steady the signal, but it was in vain. Meanwhile, Ruby remained vigilant in case something unpleasant happened. As her eyes scanned around, she noticed the rectangular opening to another corridor at the opposite end of the hall.

Ruby felt herself compelled to go towards it.

Yet at the same time she didn't want to leave her friend alone while he was busy trying to get into contact with the others. The silver eyed girl thought about what to do for a moment before an idea came to her mind. She pulled out her Chaos Emerald.

"Hey Tails, maybe this can help you."

He looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Uhm... how exactly?"

Ruby shrugged.

"Perhaps the Emerald can give the Miles-Electric the necessary power to push trough and establish a signal. The Chaos Energies could also counter those of the Phantom Ruby. I think it wouldn't hurt to try. In the meantime, I could scout out the surrounding area."

Tails put a finger on his chin as he thought about this.

"Sounds better than nothing, I guess."

He took the white gem as Ruby marched toward the exit. Tails opened part of the Miles-Electric and carefully pulled out some cables. He tied the cables at specific angles around the Chaos Emerald, the wires directly in contact with the crystalline surface. Energy crackled and flickered.

"So far so good." Tails typed and worked with various things on the Miles-Electric. At first there was static. But then appeared Rotors face on the screen. The walrus was clearly stressed, thick drops of sweat ran down his forehead. But when he saw Tails, his face lit up.

"Oh thank Light Gaia! Tails, we've been trying to make contact for several minutes! The situation is getting more and more dire! We... we've already lost a few ships and people..."

Tails jumped briefly and stared dejectedly at the ground. "I... I'm sorry. Infinite surprised us and spread us across the Death Egg and/or changed its surroundings. Among a few other surprises. I´m currently with Ruby but we have no idea were the others could be or what awaits us in the close future."

"Whatever you decide to do, do it soon! We-" The image flickered briefly as something appeared to hit Rotor´s spacecraft's, sending it into brief turbulence. "-can't hold out like this any longer. The Death Egg's defenses are too strong, we just can't get any closer. Those who risked it..."

He didn't finish the sentence, but it was clear what was one of the reasons for the losses that the mobian had previously mentioned. Tails rubbed his forehead as he thought about what to do.

He wished Sonic, Shadow and the others were here so he could discuss the next steps for the current situation. But... they weren't. And the rest of the Resistance didn't look like they had the time he and Ruby would need to find their comrades and go through everything. Tails had to make a decision now. His brain seemed to be rattling as it went through all the current factors.

Some of the Resistance´s strongest members were on the Death Egg. With them being spread among its many ares they still could try to find one another or even the reactor for the Phantom Ruby. And if they manage to group back together…

"Okay, change of plans. You and the other pilots retreat."

Rotor wasn't sure if he heard correctly.

"W-what? Are you sure?"

"Yes. As things stand, unfortunately you can't get into the Death Egg. It would be better and more sensible if you all retreated instead of just holding out and being blown up. Even if your help would have been useful, our teams already in the Death Egg should be able to survive its dangers and destroy the Phantom Ruby Reactor. And when we all get back together, we can return to Mobius with the help of Chaos Control."

"That... I guess that sounds doable. Considering the kind of people you're there with. But it feels wrong to just abandon you."

Tails shook his head. "It IS wrong that you are all practically waiting to die. We will need the help of our troops even after the Phantom Ruby is incapacitated. Eggman would still have a robot army after all."

Rotor let out a deep sigh. "Alright. I'll let the others know. Good luck with the rest of the mission. I really hope you can do it."

"I hope so too."

Tails disconnected. He stripped the Chaos Emerald of cables and put them back into the Miles-Electric.

While the fox had had his conversation with Rotor, Ruby had gotten closer and closer to the exit of the hall and finally entered a dark corridor. Of all the interior areas of the Death Egg, this one had the lowest number of lamps. There were next to none. The shadows were deep and Ruby listened into the darkness. No whirring of mechanical limbs or the clanging of metal on metal. No growl was heard, along with the glow of red burning eyes in the blackness. And yet Ruby couldn't help to be completely on edge. She took a few steps forward, Crescent Rose firmly in her hand. The corridor curved and finally led...

The huntress-in-training strained her eyes. In the sparse light she thought there was a small room… and the outline of a person. A person moving their arms, to many arms, like…

Eyes widening, Ruby already turned around and was already running before all ten of Cinder´s arms lit up with flames she threw after the younger girl. Ruby had barely made it around the curve, the fireballs shot just behind her into the bend, and the explosion threw her out into the hall.

Tails jumped at the sudden crash and spun around to see Ruby hit the ground, her aura flickering.

"Oh no!" He flew towards her and landed on Ruby's side, helping her getting back on her feet.

"What happened?" he asked the silver-eyed girl. She didn't say anything. Instead, she just pointed with a serious and gloomy expression towards the hallway from which she had just been thrown. Smoke from the explosion billowed out of it in dense swathes. Tails saw a flaming glow in there. It brightened as Cinder stepped out, Fall Maiden magic burning from her eyes like a tiny inferno, looking at both Ruby and the mobian with a wide sadistic smile.

Tails´ face became quickly serious and focused.

No words were exchanged between the two friends. The fox just handed the Chaos Emerald back to Ruby and the two of them took battle ready stances in the face of their enemy.

So Ruby and Tails once again crossed paths with Cinder. Before we have our next bossfight with her, next week we will see what Shadow, Silver and Sonic have been up to.

To Guest: All will be revealed in time. But here is one hint: There had been no breaches into Remnants reality since the first and only one that sucked Ruby and Cinder into Null Space.

To Guest: Yeah I did. It looks good. As for Rouge: Maybe she is along for the ride because of some treasure she is hunting. Having Cream there is also great although it is the first time I have heard that she was hated.

I hope so too that I will be playable on more than just apple arcade.

To Guest: Just like with Arguable Reader: Long time no see buddy. Went back and fixed it. And its okay if you get busy, happens to pretty much everyone. Glad to see you back.

To Guest: Neither Eggman nor Infinite have control over them. They simply put the Grimm under force to certain locations and wait until later to unleash them to the Resistance members once they are in the same place.

To ArguableReader: The Apathy are the perfect representation of what the Creatures of Grimm could have been in their entirety. If they would be appearing here, I wouldn't need to make any change at all to them. Luckily for our protagonists the Grimm will be limited to more classic ones with a few exceptions. As for how and why the Grimm are here… that will be revealed later.

To Grand Chaos Master: Sonic will get the Power Boost in the sequel.

To Super Saiyan Fever: As this chapter has shown the development of the situation has forced the troops to retreat, sparing them from encountering the Grimm… for now.

To Monster King: I´m glad you do.