Cinder and Infinite wandered through the metal corridors of Eggman's main base. The Doctor's two generals had mostly calmed down from the way the battles with the heroes had went. Still, their mood wasn't exactly at its best.

"So close, I was so close!" The Cyborg Maiden hissed trough clenched teeth. "If those rodents hadn´t showed up I would have gotten my revenge and more power! And I could´ve taken my sweet time, but no!"

"Maybe you shouldn't have taken your time and finished the Rose as quickly as possible?"

Cinder gave her partner a side glance. "Like you´re one to talk. You would´ve done the same in my position."

The masked entity shrugged slightly. "You got me there, I admit I would have savored the moment as well."

"And that´s not even the worst of it!" She raised her arm that had gotten damaged by the white Chaos Emerald. Cables were dangling out from the hole and the Aura around it was still flickering, having not really recovered much there. "She just… pierced my Aura like it was nothing. Only specific Semblances can do something like that!"

"At least you were able to get back at her, didn't you say you were able to pierce her arm and pin it? A sniper and two-handed melee fighter will certainly suffer from the fallout off something like that."

Cinder crossed two of her arms. Her expression didn't really brighten.

"That's true and Ruby's screams showed what really lies behind the facade of the oh-so-great wannabe huntress. But you told me how advanced the medicine is here on Mobius. During our fight in Mystic Jungle I had fatally wounded her just to see her alive and well here in Metropolis."

Infinite nodded sagely. "True. Got me there again. But remember: Such wounds and experiences leave scars. Be it physical or mental."

He raised a hand and let one of his red cubes appear hovering over the gloved palm. It slowly rotated around its own axis, each surface of it displaying different images:

Shadow becoming enraged and careless after being tricked into hurting Phantom Maria, Sonic struggling against the fear of drowning in the Sink Illusion, Ruby´s fears and doubts of having failed Pyrrha and the rest of her friends given nightmarish forms and so many more things Infinite had shown to the minds of varying Resistance members.

"You just have to know were to find them and how to then pry and tear them open."

Cinder remembered how, unusual for her, Ruby had been aggressive and demanding. Infinite had told her how the plan to drop her mother's name and hints about her fate had had a strong influence on the silver-eyed warrior.

The ghost of a smile appeared on the Cyborg Maiden´s face.

"True. Salem did mention how useful it is to know how to push people´s buttons. Know what makes them tic. Whenever she talked about such things, I always thought she meant to dominate your puppets trough fear and power. Make them obey you. However…" Cinder looked at the imagines on the cube. She especially liked the one of Sonic, the hedgehog that treated her like a joke during their fight, being full of panic. "… I´m starting to see how you can basically control and break even your enemies with more nuanced means."

Infinite gave an approving nod.

"Yes. A wise observation. There is more to power than just brute force. Subtle means can lead to more effective… more fun… outcomes."

Their conversation came to a halt when they reached a set of mechanical double doors. It opened and the duo entered.

The room had not really changed since Cinder had last entered here, after her defeat in Mystic Jungle. Statues to stroke Eggman´s ego stood around and the wide window still gave view to Metropolis. Even if some destruction caused by the Resistance´s attack could be seen.

The mad doctor himself was also sitting behind the massive desk, but now he was crouching over it with a face full of worry and confusion. He was looking into the screens of several of his computers on the desk and tapping wildly on the keyboard. He was so focused on his… whatever he was working at that he didn't notice Infinite and Cinder enter.

"Why is it suddenly just showing 99% now when it was 100% just a few hours ago? What could have caused-"

"Doctor?"

"Gah! Eggman startled out of his muttering as he suddenly became aware of his generals presence. He quickly shut his computer off, stood up and stepped from behind his desk, approaching the duo with arms crossed behind his back and a serious expression on his face.

"Infinite, Cinder." He acknowledged each of them. "How did the counter attacks with our enemy forces go?"

Of course the scientist already knew how it had went. Orbot and Cubot had sent him the footage of his generals' mask and eye and the hidden security cameras. He was mostly asking to bait any possible curiosity and suspicion toward his behavior, he just displayed on his computers, away. Eggman was inwardly smiling when they took the bait.

With a sneer, Cinder showed him her damaged arm. "I had the silver eyed brat right where I wanted her. But it wasn't just her new friends who saved her, your `genius´ invention aren't as perfect as you´d claimed they be. Rose managed to pierce it trough my Aura with one of those Chaos Crystal Things!"

Cinder," Infinite warned as her demeanor became a tad to aggressive towards their superior.

However, Eggman didn´t seemed bothered by it in the slightest. Calmly, he observed the damaged cybernetic while he tugged at his mustache in thought.

"Hm, must have made some miscalculation. I think… yes, you Aura isn't used to being spread out to this new shape of yours, so it must have become unstable."

Cinder´s organic eye widened.

"What?" she muttered in confusion and even slight fear. The possibility of having something so important and vital to her way of fighting, and living in general, be described as unstable scared Cinder more than she wanted to admit.

Eggman noticed this but waved it away.

"Don´t worry about it. Just re-engineering one of my Chaos Drives and implanting it into your cybernetic body should give it enough power to stabilize your Aura. It, and in return your Semblance, maybe even your Magic, could become even slightly stronger than previously. But to not repeat a mishap like THIS-" He pointed at the flickering hole, "-we may to take a closer look later. What about you Infinite?"

"I´m fine. Neither Shadow nor Sonic could cause any lasting damage. Unlike me. They were at my mercy, but they managed to cheat their way out of my game with one of the Chaos Emeralds they stole from one of the Phantom Warriors!"

"And did they just run away because things got too difficult for them or was there perhaps a specific reason for their action?"

Infinite remembered back to the battle. "They said something about how `they did it´ and how they should escape Metropolis."

Eggman sighed. "Yes, this aligns with what has happened here."

Cinder and Infinite looked at him with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. Eggman continued.

"Shortly after I was trying to figure out how to deal with Neo Metal Sonic's remains, the alarm was activated. While you and most of my machines were outside dealing with the resistance, some of them had broken in here."

Infinite and Cinder let the information sink in. They were able to put two and two together when they connected the mentioned information with Infinite's statement about Shadow and Sonic's actions.

"This attack… it has been nothing but a distraction!"

Eggman gave a grim nod.

"I fear this is the case. After some investigation, I was able to find out that some of my servers were hacked into and received information about the Phantom Ruby."

Infinite froze upon hearing this. His visible pupil shrank.

"But... that means..."

"That they know about your power source and will most likely attack it soon, yes," said Eggman.

Cinder looked between both men. Although she was still an outsider in some ways, she had been given enough knowledge that she knew that the above was bad for her. Very bad. At the same time she also knew...

"But isn't there an additional source of energy?"

"Indeed. But it's an emergency generator and not as powerful as the original. I don't want it to get to the point where we lose it."

Infinite clenched his fist. The Phantom Ruby pulsed and vibrated in an agitated manner. Like a fast beating heart. Reality around the entity started to glitch and under the mask growling could be heard. Cinder took a concerned step back.

Eggman raised his hand in a calming gesture towards his subordinates.

"Listen here, lady and gentleman. The Resistance may know about our… lack for a better word, weak point, but we know that they know. So I say we will do the same thing they do: Make preparations for the assault. They think they can storm my city and then make another heavy attack on us? Well, I say let them come! We will improve our defenses so much that our attackers will regret opposing the Eggman Empire and feel like they will be the ones under attack!"


White light burned into Ruby's eyes as she opened them. The sight of the hospital wing greeted her as she adjusted to the bright lights.

well, here we are again, she thought dryly. Once again Ruby found herself lying inside a bed and hospital gown because of an attack from Cinder. The difference now, however, was the heavy bandage around her right forearm and a plaster nearby. The arm were Cinder...

Ruby winced as the memories of the searing pain came flooding back. Of the merciless madness in the disfigured face of the Cyborg Maiden, who was determined to take Ruby's eye, its power?, in the most cruel way. The way she talked as if she was entitled to Ruby´s suffering.

The silver-eyed girl tried to calm herself with a deep breath.

I-it´s alright. The… the others must have come and saved me, otherwise I wouldn't be here. I´m here, in safety, and not dead or trapped alone in a lab, prepared for some twisted experimentation's with my eyes and whatever power that light of theirs contain… oh Gods… is that what Cinder meant with that mom may not be death but wishes she would be? Is she… trapped somewhere? Alone? Suffering? What…

Ruby was brought out from her dark thoughts by some moaning, causing her to look around.

The other difference, aside from a different type of injury, was that this time she wasn't alone in the hospital wing. The other beds were full of Operation Big Wave wounded. Their conditions ranged from stitched or bandaged wounds, similar to Ruby's, to amputated limbs to people seemingly in some sort of comatose state. Doctors and nurses scurried back and forth, tending to their patients to ease their suffering. Among them were people Ruby recognized. She saw the rabbit mobians Vanilla and her daughter Cream. They were accompanied by two Chao, one blue and one brown, and...Oh, another robot, Ruby noted curiously.

The machine was humanoid and, unlike Omega, slim and much smaller in build, comparable to mobians. But the grey, steely coating and the yellow jagged headpiece gave them a stern and dangerous look, like it was another combat robot. Yet it took, under the careful instructions of Vanilla, gently care of a young soldier.

Ruby watched the group with quiet interest. Until Vanilla and Co. were finished with the treatment. The rabbit lady then looked around for someone else she could help and her eyes met Ruby's. Her face lit up with a, albeit tired, smile. She turned to Cream, the Chao and the robot and said several things to them that Ruby couldn't understand from the distance and the noises of the busy hospital staff and their patients. But she saw Cream nod enthusiastically and dash out of the room with the Chao Duo. The robot, on the other hand, behaved much calmer, seemed to say something back to Vanilla, which Ruby couldn't understand either, and went to another wounded man.

Vanilla then turned back to the silver-eyed girl and moved toward her. Once she reached her side, she asked: "Hello there Ruby. How do you feel?"

"I´m… I guess I´m fine." The human girl looked at her covered arm and then back at the rabbit. "It would probably be a lot worse without your help, so thank you."

"Oh, I wasn't the one who took care of your wounds. But I was there for the rest of the treatment. You had lost a lot of blood again, Ruby. From what Tails told me it was that Cinder again?"

Ruby clutched the cover of her blanket and gave a dark nod. Vanilla sighed and shook her head.

"Many people had been send here because they encountered this… woman during their missions." From the tone of her voice Ruby could tell Vanilla definitely wanted to use another word than woman. "Wonder what went wrong in her life? Her viciousness rivals that of Infinite."

"You don't have to tell me that," Ruby mumbled. She looked at Vanilla. Apart from the tired smile the motherly rabbit had given when she had seen Ruby awake, there were also heavy backs under her eyes.

"And you… how do you feel Vanilla?"

"Oh… you know how it is. Nurses have always work to do when it is peaceful. So during a war…" She shrugged. "But what can you do except make sure that people have a chance to recover. At least I have my daughter and Gemerl at my side to help me out. And of course our Chao for emotional support for me and the patients. I´m glad to see you´re doing fine. But just to be sure, could you flex your right hand?"

Ruby did as she was asked to.

"How does it feel?" Vanilla asked. Ruby opened her hand and then closed it again.

"It hurts a bit but nothing a can´t manage."

"I´m glad to hear it. It was quite the wound you got there and it could have made a negative impact on your future career regarding fighting. Good thing Shadow had handed over his Chaos Emerald for a while…" She looked at the humans and mobians with amputations with a glum expression. "Unfortunately it wasn't enough for everyone."

Ruby opened her mouth, but wasn't sure what to say, so she closed it again. She stared at her right arm.

Vanilla was right, if Mobius didn't have such incredible possibilities regarding healing, Cinder would have put a heavy handicap on Ruby. That, and if the silver-eyed girl hadn't been left-handed.

Ruby looked down at her hand and flexed it again, clenching it into a fist.

Despite my training and the help of Zen and Kurtis, I still ended up in a similar position after facing Cinder again, she thought with some bitterness. It only became stronger when she recalled what almost happen to the Wisps when they tried to help her.

How they almost ended up like Pyrrha.

How Cinder was clearly enjoying reminding Ruby of that pain.

How her eyes wanted to unleash the light yet couldn't do so yet again.

How instead the power of Chaos reacted to Ruby´s desires and made her react without really thinking.

How…

Vanilla´s hand touched her shoulder. The human girl flinched and looked at the rabbit. She gave her a concerned glance.

"Ruby? I have been saying your name several times but you seemed completely lost in thought. Is… are you sure you´re alright?"

"I…" Ruby herself wasn't sure what to say. But before she could really gather her thoughts, Cream appeared again. Apparently her mother had told her to get Tails, because the fox accompanied her, followed by Strom, Flare, Zen and Kurtis.

Vanilla´s gaze went towards them.

"Ah, they have finally have come back. Tails wanted to know immediately when you were awake again. I assume you may want to talk with him rather than with me."

Ruby nodded. However, she then became anxious that it came off as to direct and disrespectful against the motherly rabbit and said: "Yeah, but n-not that I mind you a-and talking with you, Vanilla. I-I just… just…"

"It´s alright." Vanilla´s tone was warm and understanding. Her hand, still on the human girl´s shoulder, gave her a gentle squeeze.

"Under certain conditions you need to be with certain people. I just hope Tails is the one who can help you with whatever is eating you up inside."

Said fox, alongside the other mobian, Chao and aliens, reached the duo. Tails smiled brightly in relief at Ruby and she couldn't help but do so as well. Despite everything, it felt good to see her friend again.

Vanilla, knowing that the two of them needed some space for themselves, took Cream by hand and led her and their Chao back to the gray robot, who was aparently called Gemerl if Ruby understood the rabbit´s words right. Both mother and daughter gave Tails and Ruby a friendly wave and then went back to work. The fox waved back at them and then turned to his silver-eyed friend.

"I´m sure Vanilla already asked you this, but how are you doing?"

"Well…" She raised her covered arm. "...I guess this time it went a little better than the last time, but…"

"But what?" Tails asked patiently.

Ruby stared down sadly.

"I... I... I just don't know where to start. So much happened when I was separated from Sonic and... things escalated and Zen and Kurtis..." She gave the Wisps a guilty side glance. "...I'm sorry you almost died to Cinder-"

Ruby suddenly fell silent as the Wisps flew to her and gently wrapped their limbs around her neck. They whispered something in their own language.

Tails translated it as the Miles-Electric.

"They say it's okay, that they were aware of the risk of becoming part of the active fight and are just glad that you're okay."

He put his gadget aside, flew on toward Ruby and joined the hug.

"I´m so glad you´re alright as well. When we saw you, helpless under Cinder who... seemed even crazier than usual, I was very worried about you. And, I couldn't really focus on it during the fight, but she seemed to have gotten extra arms?"

"Like I said, a lot happened," Ruby sighed.

"Zen and Kurtis gave some hints about it, but they didn't want to say anything more specific."

Ruby gave her Wisps a small, grateful smile. It was quickly replaced by a frown.

"I'm still not sure how to start."

"You said everything... changed after you were separated from Sonic. Start from there. He already told me the part about how you and him and Amy's squad were able to invade Metropolis with the Chaos Burst."

"Okay, that makes sense."

In a quiet tone that the people around couldn't hear, but was clear enough for Tails and the Wisps, the young human recounted what had happened to her. They listened carefully.

They didn't interrupt her or anything, but Ruby could see how shaken they were by the descriptions off the illusion and Cinder´s mannerisms. Especially during the end when the Cyborg Maiden had pretty much a psychotic breakdown after Ruby had managed to turn the tides of their battle with the white Chaos Emeralds. But what made Tails most curious was…

"So they mentioned your mother? What exactly is it about her? I don't think you ever really mentioned her. The only time was when Sonic said something about how you were distracting from the topic when it came up during the conversation. And…" Tails´ eyes widened when his mind connected some dots. "…and after our fight with Neo Metal Sonic, you were worried about how your family and friends would react toward your disappearance. Like… like your mother? Is that what you wanted to say?"

Ruby looked at Tails. He had seen her nervous, desperate and sad, but the mobian had never seen the otherwise happy, hopeful and energetic girl so... tired.

It seemed to be a topic weighting heavily on her heart. She opened her mouth, but then hesitated. She didn't feel like bothering Tails with all of her personal stuff. Not when he was already concerned with her because off Cinder´s vendetta. When everyone here had to worry about the fate of their world. But she remembered what Sonic had told her. How it was okay to open your heart towards others. And she remembered also how he, Tails and other people here on Mobius had been kind and understanding. Remained close by her side, especially the little fox, who was there for her since day one on this strange new world.

And so she started to talk.

"Yeah, my mom has been missing since I was really little. I... I can only vaguely remember her. Everyone always says how much I look like her. How she always tried to help everyone, be it as a huntress, as a friend or as a mother. Everyone spoke so highly of her. But... one day she disappeared without a trace. Apparently she never returned from some secret mission. We never got an exact answer."

"That must have been hard. Not knowing what had happen." Tails could feel for her. While he had never known his parents, he had a family in Sonic. When he didn't knew the fate of his brother after the first attack from Infinite… well, Ruby had met him during that dark time of his and was there for him. Now it was his turn to be there for her.

"It was very hard," Ruby confirmed Tails´ statement. "Dad just… shut down. My uncle started drinking and often went out to do some mission. And my sister tried to be there for me and them, but she definitely struggled as well. She was still little herself back then when it happened."

"And you? How did it affect you?" Tails asked carefully. He and the Wisps looked closely at the silver-eyed girl with concern and sympathy in their eyes.

"I… they all tried to pretend that everything was fine. But even at a young age I could feel something was off. That a certain… warmth was missing. How it caused everyone to become upset. So I tried my best not to upset everyone further. Tried to fill in the warmth as good as I could. As time went on, things got better."

"But never like it was before," Tails advised. Ruby shook her head.

"When Infinite and then Cinder talked about my mother... I was so shocked and confused. I pretty much decided that I would never see her again. And then when she started hinting that she might still be alive... I... it…"

Ruby's breathing became frantic and she blinked forming tears from her eyes.

"I just don't know..."

Tails interrupted her with another hug. He stroked her head soothingly. The Wisps hung back, deciding that the hug could be overwhelming with too many people.

"Things must be very confusing for you. Being stranded on a different world, separated from your loved ones and then to be shown cruel visions of them hating you and additionally having old wound to be opened. But you´re not alone. It may have felt that way when Infinite had led you straight into Cinder's arms and she was hurting your Wisps. But you still managed to save them. I felt similiar against Infinite after he beated me and defeated Sonic. And... remember how you told me how being with us gave you hope that Cinder wasn´t undefeatable? Well, I won´t allow that hope to be misplaced, because I managed to confront Infinite despite everything that happened! Next time, I will be by your side and help you! You won´t have to carry your burdens alone."

At first his human friend stiffened. But little by little she calmed down. Ruby put her arms around Tails´ body, clung to him like a drowning person to a piece of driftwood, and leaned her face into his shoulder.

There was still a lot he wanted to tell her, but the fox decided that it was enough for today. After everything Ruby had experienced, she needed some time to recover. It would be better if this talk continued in a less public space and after the silver-eyed girl had time to calm down.


And here the aftermath of Ruby´s and Cinder´s second encounter. It is similar structured to Chapter 9 as to show the similarities and differences between the first battle of the Remnant girls and how they and their allies react to it.

Ruby has also started to talk about her mother and some of her inner turmoil. Tails and Co. will try to help her about it but a certain other character in red and black may be more helpful towards Ruby´s issues and that a leader not always needs to put their emotional stuff aside to make sure everyone else is okay.

To Guest: I actually did make a refrence to Tails mint addiction in Chapter 19. As for the rest, I´ll have to see.

To Guest: Yeah… as seen in this chapter, Ruby is kinda a mess. But liked hinted above she will get the help she needs.

To Guest: Okay… listen… I can understand if there a certain things you don´t like in my story and you are free to comment on what you like and don´t like. My responses to thoose aren´t to invalidate your opinion but to explain my reason for my decisions. The main proplem is that you decide to respond back (sometimes in a manner that comes of as passive aggressive) and drag it out into a discussion that goes on several chapters past the initial one where you didn´t like something.

So please, just say stuff you want to say about a chapter, hear out my reasoning and then just decide for yourself if you´re okay with it or not, and then just let it be.

To Haxorus knight: What will happen to Cinder… well, you will see. But there might be some hints in this chapter as to what could awaiten her.

To SuperSaiyanFever: Knuckles in Forces of Speed: Studied the ways of his tribe to use Pachachamacs war tactics for something good, has Amy as a right hand woman and discussed with her and other people (like Abraham Tower) the pros, cons and strategy of such a heavy and important operation.

Knuckles in Canon Forces: "I thought up this strategy in about a minute and a half."

Yeah, I made sure to make Knuckles be a competent leader for the Resistance. And look where it got them. Information about the Phantom Ruby and the pride of the villains has been wounded. But just like the heroes, they are able to bounce back. Once Ruby and her friends managed to pick themselves up, shit will hit the fan.

To Monster King: Thank you so much, I am glad you do.