AN: Fitting that a month passed! Finally back with a new chapter and hopefully will update on 'Five Nights at Freddy's - Security Breach, Shades Up' and 'better not rest - a lizzy and thad story'. Though I may be busy writing another fanfic based on the new Trolls 3 movie and drawing a few more characters for my upcoming 'The Bad Guys' story.

So sit down and enjoy the carnival ride, everyone! This arc might get you excited.


Chapter 27

The first run could be considered the wisest thing to do or the dumbest move. No matter the choice, you will always receive the desired outcome and the consequences in the end. But the consequences could be stronger than the reward. It would always be the case. It's inevitable.

Karma always comes around, they say, and they weren't wrong.

Running towards the danger would always be a risky thing to do. Unless you were built for this kind of thing. But the man in front of me was unlike anyone else. And as soon as the red outline glowed brighter than before, his ears were more curved and pointed than his previous disguise.

While I had never been taught about the Devil before, I knew how his horns were shaped. Familiar with the bull's horns, but not the fiery glow from the Devil's horns. Never before could I imagine the horn symbols resembling prongs that would later stab the unfortunate hearts.

The resulting fire blazed right into my face. An extreme third-degree burn cut through my fur and skin. And I didn't have lessons on braving through fires like this. My entire body curled itself up in an attempt to protect myself. But that protection was only for the weak and there were no shields. Only my body exposed to the hellfire.

When I landed, I could only progress the damage. The head crashing against the hard rock only disoriented my vision alongside this blurry pain spreading through my body. The scratches and bloody wounds only left me dry like fresh meat out of the oven. My body was still steaming from the heaters that burned over me.

My heavy eyes refused to open. They wanted to remain shut. I didn't want to see the consequences of my mistake. However, I could still hear heavy breathing. My squad needs me. Why am I so scared? Was this out of my league? Forcing myself to open my eyes to get through this nightmare, I scanned the battlefield around me and came to the gruesome sight of my squad.

Everybody lied around. No longer the signature black fur; why was the red blood dripping down more visible on their bodies? It looked more like thick paint. These splatters glitched, patterns ripping through this bleeding. A potential consequence of this blind action. Maybe it must be true that my friends were gutted in this explosion. Maybe my blind act got them all killed.

A loud howl followed by a loud scream. Rocks crashing into another body repeatedly. I shut my eyes, fantasizing about a vision of a body torn into pieces by sharp rocks falling on him. There was only a quick glimpse at his bloodshot, watery eyes filled with fear before my own eyes snapped open.

He was standing over me, still standing.

Meanwhile, I was sitting down uselessly.

He had the higher ground, untouched. I was the meat, lying flat on the ground.

It all went too quickly when he grabbed me by the throat and slammed my head into the stump of a tree. I swore I could hear my skull cracking. I screamed. And it was in response to the intense pain splitting my head. It felt like it was about to crack in half. A tear into my weak body.

He held up a black knife. My next response was to scream loudly for help. But it didn't stop him from slamming it into my left shoulder. The knife penetrated into my flesh, its cold, sharp tip digging in. My left shoulder flared up in pain. I found myself going crazy, only able to cry wildly. He ripped it out again and landed the knife in another spot.

Ripples of pain popped from one part of my body to another. I wanted to feel paralyzed by this, but I was constantly twitching. I thought I could wrestle free. But in this state, he held me down, lifting and slamming that knife down into me continuously. I wanted all of this to stop. I kept screaming for him to stop. But it wasn't enough to satisfy him.

His red eyes matched the fresh blood splattering on his muzzle. There wasn't a single line on his perfect face that would make him bleed. His grin was disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. But it was filled with dissonant glee. He couldn't hold it back for long. He couldn't hold back his awful thoughts.

My lungs were nearly giving out from every cry I could make. Now, I could understand how it felt to be the weak who get stomped on. I didn't want this. I don't want to die. The knife stabbed near my throat and I could feel it hitting what might be my lungs. I screamed again, but it was then followed by something catching up in my throat. I was drowning in my own blood.

The pain weakened me from screaming more. I was growing more tired. The more tired I felt, the closer I was to slumber. My eyes were once again heavy, wanting this nightmare to end. They darted up to find him holding the knife above before slamming right into my eyes.

And all I could do was scream incomprehensibly and silently as my vision became too dark to see.

My eyes were able to open and I was met with the white sheet of my blanket. Immediately, I patted all over my body, trying to find if there were wounds. But there were no wet spots. I tore off the blanket. No signs of blood. The familiar ruby glowed, stuck on my chest. My breathing was heavy. It suddenly became really hard to breathe properly.

First look at the white wall in front of me, I could confirm it was a nightmare. Nearly, the first time I ever had one while sleeping. Could have taken the time when I hallucinated Shadow killing my squad long ago, but…this one came too close to home. What happened in there didn't happen in real life, did it?

My body slumped back into the soft, warm mattress, but I curled myself in a ball. My tail curled upwards and I immediately held onto the tip to cover my mouth. I was too shocked to say any words. Too distressed. Too pathetic. And it was very clear how on edge I was, close to tears.

Just why, out of all the days, I had this nightmare? I was alright after Ice's death last night, but how come I decided to visualize THIS happening? Was it really from settling in and letting those thoughts get to my sleep?

A whisper from my ruby, humming. It sounded really concerned, asking if I was alright. I nearly thought of blaming it for giving me this nightmare, but I didn't have the energy to be angry. I know it wouldn't really want to harm me. And immediately, I knew that I was finally in a safe place. It was soothing. Kind. Helping me relax a little.

With no one around to see me, I let my eyes pour and the sobs to be heard. I was surprised to hear my voice that squeaky, much like a dog whine. I felt stupid, but there was no one around to judge me. No one to see me overwhelmed. I just let myself hug my tail and bawl my eyes out. I didn't care if my fur would become wet from this.

With the ruby reassuring me that it was alright, I let myself pour all of this out of my chest. Just only this once.

It continued for a while. I couldn't tell how much time passed. Regardless, I wanted enough time to get myself sorted out first. It was my day off from community service, so I had all the time in the world. Once I felt less heavy, my tail slowly unwrapped and I lay straight on the bed. Huffing, I acknowledged my cheeks wet and wiped them away.

Randomly, I browsed my eyes of this room. When I turned to the side, I realized I had forgotten to close the door. At least nobody didn't pass by. I should mention that I have been going into the habit of leaving my door open lately. Thinking further, I hadn't talked much about what had become of this guest room.

Turning my head to the other side, I spotted the lonely desk. Except that it was stacked with different souvenirs and three photographs. Well, not exactly photographs, but pictures I took of the different places I came across. One was inside G.U.N HQ, another was Mitchell's school and the third was the Free Desire stadium.

Topaz told me it would have been better to take pictures of myself and others, but I didn't have the time and technology to do so. I often found myself not needing to do so, liking to remember from memories or familiar setting images.

A new clothes rack was nearby, one hanging all the clothes I collected. There was the old green jacket I wore at the very start, the newer green jacket more fitting for G.U.N, the green and purple tuxedo for the reunion party and a replication of Molly's pink coat and purple fedora…Molly actually gave me an extra pair of those to spare any temptation of me ruining her hat last night.

Drifting my eyes next to the table, I expected to see the backpack that I had from the start. But it wasn't really there. I briefly recalled that Topaz eventually dumped it into the laundry after going through a sandy desert before I arrived in Central City.

It had been a while since I thought about it and I kind of missed the backpack.

I hummed to myself, fiddling with my blanket. I hadn't focused much on the bedroom, but it reminded me how far I have come. It nearly looked like I adjusted to the city quicker than I thought. Then again, it took forever to absorb these discoveries and shenanigans.

I could wonder how I got there, but I soon switched that thought off to relax for the day.

As I folded the blanket forward, Stone passed by with a whistle. When he saw me, he grinned and rested against the door frame.

"Morning, pup!" he said with a wink. "Didn't expect that you would be up at this hour. After last night, thought you would sleep like a baby."

I wasn't willing to go into detail about waking up due to a recent nightmare. It was already growing blurry at this point.

"Just thought of waking up early," I said blankly. "I suppose you'll be on duty soon?"

"Yep, it's on investigating Ice's links discovered last night," said Stone, rubbing his hands together. "You don't have to be involved since he left the Jackal Squad early."

"Well, good luck on that," I commented. "I suppose that it won't be too surprising what he was cooking behind the scenes. Probably a few bloody chickens hanging by a metal wire."

Stone raised his eyebrows, intrigued. "I'll look forward to that. And with that comment, you seem to be sleeping alright. Last night must have been intense since you came home with stitches."

His eyes were directed to the stabs inflicted on me. Or at least what 'remained' of them. I looked down at the area around my left shoulder. Not even an ache in them except that they felt hot. Must be from that fever dream. But there were no visible lines beneath the fur. Not even scars. Regardless, I could still feel them and Stone would know that.

Pushing them aside, I shook my head. "Never slept better. Well, the music kept me up at midnight. Maybe due to that…" I shivered, disgusted. "Metal music. Not sure about the rest of Team Blood." And the first thought to their torture chamber, I remembered Antoine. "Any updates on Antoine?"

"You asked too early," said Stone. "But I heard he's off-duty for the week on request."

I sighed in relief, stretching my legs to stand up properly. "Well, that's good to know that he won't be losing his mind." My eyes widened. "Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to come off like that…my head's a little foggy right now."

Stone rolled his eyes with a sly smirk. "I'll keep that little secret with you. At least Antoine did the right thing by severely injuring a guy who's like a god. Ice could have ended a million lives. A god could have ended a million lives. Everyone loves the memory of killing a god!"

Believing that Ice was a god would be near impossible. I have to be blunt: everyone of Jackal Squad is NOT a god at all. Ice put that mentality too seriously with trying to blow up a stadium.

As I contemplated on that idea, I scowled at the thought of feeling good about 'killing a god'. Wouldn't that still be haunting? Antoine didn't take it well, even looking away when Ice had his brains blown to bits.

"Is it really easy to sleep on the fact that someone died?" I questioned. "I-I know I went through this kind of thing, but…" I wanted to refer to those living in the city but decided to go with something more specific. "...what's your opinion on that now?"

Stone had a thoughtful look. "Eventually." He cracked an ironic smile. "I just think of it like being in a movie."

I snorted. OK, why did it have to be a crude video thing? "A heavy action movie?"

"If we have an audience, they would be cheering that we end up victorious!" said Stone, grinning. "W-Well, for many reasons."

Charming. Though, thinking about it, maybe it was well-deserved to kill off Ice brutally after all the murders he did and wanted to commit continuously. And I found myself now feeling angry towards how he saw me. Stabbing was one thing, but it kind of hurt when he said what my squad perceived me…

I was able to smirk a little and pulled on my shoes. As I grabbed my gloves, Stone's face lit up and pulled out a small black box from his jacket.

"I meant to give this to you!" he said, placing it on the bed. "September's faculty suggested this. You were here for quite a while without a proper phone device to call."

A phone, he said? I raised an eye and lifted the lid. Sitting comfortably in a foam case was a small, sleek mobile phone. Its black screen was all I could see, looking like a void to hop into. Curiously, I lifted it up and inspected its back. It was only a blank state, paper-white. Flipping it around, I pressed the circular button at the bottom and the screen lit up.

I believed the term would be this…'lock screen'? 'Screensaver'? Not sure what it should be fully called. But it seemed like I didn't need to fill in a password for this. Pressing the button again, the screen transitioned to a green forest background with small, soft boxes floating around. I smiled a little at the natural forest background. It reminded me of my favorite color. But this was ruined by the cartoonish boxes floating around with strange logos.

My mind drifted back to when I saw many youths using these devices. The rowdy rookies watching stupid videos on them. The children being nonchalant to violence on video screens. And then, I thought back to Molly's cousin, Tuesday, who spent the whole time before dinner staring at her phone.

My first response was to place down the phone nervously. It felt like a high privilege and a curse.

"Um…well, thanks?" I said politely despite my fake smile. "But, is using this technology necessary? People seem to use them for trivial things."

"Yes," said Stone bluntly. "You can't always rely on verbal communication when we're too far away. A short text won't hurt. One thing, how much do you know about using mobile phones?"

I shrugged. "Only a little from observations. Eggman stuff. Though, the latter I lost interest after Cubot tried accessing too many buffering websites that are ridiculous."

Stone smirked, putting the light phone back into my clawed fingers. "Well, welcome to the modern world. Well, one, this is a tap screen. Two, it already has contact numbers of nearly every agent and faction of G.U.N connected to you and your profile."

I looked back down on the phone. Such a small and inconvenient device that could fit in all the numbers from people I knew from G.U.N. I hummed, tilting my head. While I wasn't hyped with it, I could see reason why it was necessary. Not like I could carry a bulky wireless phone.

When Stone saw my interest, he then poked on my shoulder. "And a bit of a reminder: this runs on the data subscription, so be careful using it." He dropped his smile. "SERIOUSLY, don't think of wasting it all. You wouldn't want to pay."

I nodded with a serious look.

"Oh, also, I got three spare phone covers that would fit!" piped up Stone, pulling out three objects.

They appeared to be…'cases' or 'skins' for the phone? Well, I would go for cases. Interesting shapes, I would have to say. The first one was a simple red case. The second one was a transparent case with Eggman's stupid face. And the third one was a blue case with Eggman's logo all over it…I slowly looked up at Stone with a glare.

"...they had exclusive offers when I bought them," he claimed.

Wordlessly, I took the red case and clipped my new phone into it. I observed the phone again. Twirling it around, switching from the black screen to the red case. Surprisingly, both sides had a beautiful shine. It looked like a different thing compared to any imaginable image placed on the screen.

Despite not being too fond, I turned back to Stone with a genuine smile. "Thank you, Stone."

He nodded with a matching smile. "No problem. Gonna be off to work now. Use that phone to call me if anything."

"I'll try to remember that."

A few minutes passed by and I was the only one in the house. Though, I had really nothing to do except sit in my official room. While I could explore around the house, I found myself so familiar with it that there was nothing else to admire and stare at. Everything felt natural. Sitting by the desk, I looked back at my phone and realized no one was around to watch me.

With that reassurance, I opened the phone and looked through its basic applications. It didn't appear that fancy since I could only click open and scroll through one app at a time, but at least they limited it to that so as not to make the screen too distracting. My first pitstop was on the contact list and boy, there was a lot!

Curiously, I decided to check the chat app the majority of them used. Topaz and Stone already sent a test message, making the chat connection through this app. To my surprise, Molly already sent a message. Clicking it, she sent the same hyperlink Fiyero wanted to show me. Followed by a message saying, 'read it, doofus'.

I chuckled at her signature talking style. Even she couldn't stop being a meany through text. Guessed that the second she was informed about me having a new phone, she took this opportunity to send me a text towards my number.

Before I could look further, the phone rang and a pop-up notification dropped from above. One that had September's face…with an upside-down pair of sunglasses over his nose. And a green button with an old phone logo.

That was kind of new.

Relying on the 'self-explanatory' aspect, I clicked the green button and held the phone close to my ear.

"Just only woke up today," I started. "That's you, September?"

The panther's familiar low and mature voice rumbled through the phone. "Good morning, Agent Obsidian. I'm hoping that you and your ruby are well-rested today."

I smiled to myself despite knowing I wasn't talking face-to-face with September. "Well, we're all good! My wounds healed overnight. You noted on that regeneration power."

"Those were just theory methods on healing," said September. "But if I find that there are no major trauma in your body, then it looks like your ruby did not cause any side effects. Speaking of which, I have an update on your Phantom Ruby prototype. Mind me, I'll connect to your Inhibitor Rings to check on your ruby."

It only took five seconds to process this, but I heard a beep on September's end when I was about to ask. Followed by my own Inhibitor Rings beeping in response.

And then came a familiar voice through the phone. One that had been in my head for a while, except not too distorted.

"What are you keen on sharing, Doctor September?" spoke the ruby's voice.

It wasn't from my head. It was directly coming from my phone. To hear it outside my head was surreal. Strangely, I wasn't too scared by this. At this point, I found myself taking it as a… pleasant surprise. It still felt weird.

"Whoa!" I barked. "What did you do?"

"I managed to construct a communication translator," informed September. "It's only a prototype, but this device picks up the energy readings to translate the prototype's thoughts and intentions into words."

"Great organism ethics, by the way," snarked the ruby.

"It's only me who know what you say, buddy," I said, petting the ruby gently.

"Well, we weren't informed that they could access the Inhibitor Rings to read my mind."

"Don't worry, you two," reassured September. "We won't be constantly looking through the ruby's thoughts. You already proved to be honorable. Even caring! Though, maybe I shouldn't call you 'it' anymore. Is there a preferred pronoun you would like?"

I nearly talked but reminded myself he was speaking directly to the ruby. Though, my ruby prototype still had shades of being a machine, given its long silence and the resulting answer.

"Answer unfulfilled," it said monotonously.

"I'll take that as a 'no'," I said. "So, what is the update?"

September cleared his throat before he could speak. There was a slight shuffle sound on his end as if composing himself for a professional explanation.

"Recording the energy levels from the experiments and experiences," he said. "We have found new results regarding your ruby and current condition."

Surprisingly, his tone of voice was surprisingly fast-paced and nearly too casual.

"Gonna clear up the bad news first: your body is nearly a ghost. It only remains physically flesh and blood when you have those Blocker Rings. But when you access your power, your physical body can lose touch with reality. Disclosure; it won't kill you, but it can make you glitch around unexpectedly. Just be careful not to crack the ruby."

The ruby hummed awkwardly while I sat there in stunned realization. The many times when I glitched and earlier when I could turn my body transparent to defend myself from attacks…a ghost, he said? The ruby coughed and it confirmed that September was right. I could feel its dark voices coughing in affirmation. Often honest and blunt.

My first instinct was to shiver at the thought of becoming a ghost.

But I was still breathing. I could still eat. I could even still feel the gloves I was wearing.

And I remembered that when wearing the Blocker Rings, I didn't end up having side effects while on the heist with Willy Walrus.

The only thing that reassured me was September's tone of voice. He seemed to know this would happen, but it wasn't bad. Just a weird side effect of the ruby attached to me.

"That explains why I glitched many times," I muttered, scratching the desk with my claw randomly. "Thanks for reminding me."

"On the bright side, we made an amazing discovery about your ruby's capabilities!" September suddenly sounded a bit happier. I could visualize the smile painted on his stoic face. "A colleague dug up the original Phantom Ruby. According to her, there were many myths shared by different clans. Some say it feeds into its host's dark thoughts. Some say it turns its host into something incomprehensible."

That didn't sound creepy at all. "How is this good news at all?"

"Quiet, Obsidian," snarled the ruby. "Listen."

"She found one theory resonating with your current circumstances," continued September. "Your ruby's power is strong because it is personally LINKED to you. Your mind, your emotions, your beliefs. Summed up by, well, everything that made you."

Personally linked? That so? I know the Phantom Ruby would be magical, but could that be true with some of Eggman's screwed-up experiments? Would some of those experiments just brainwash a person?

"It responds to your emotional stimuli. And by learning from your mind, it grows to interact with you as its own living being. But we cannot confirm if that's the case for other potential hosts."

I gulped at that statement. And my first worry was directed to Zero, the next one on the line to receive a Phantom Ruby prototype of his own. And how would his respond to his 'emotional stimuli'? The biggest concern was that we were mercenaries with barely any struggles in killing. What would that make out of him after all the trauma he endured?

"Some of your glitches occurred whenever you might be feeling angry. This tic contributes to all your powers. They become stronger based on how you're feeling. A lot can be translated through your ruby, but you have good control over it. Though, it could be due to you being an adult. That translation might have affected how the ruby responds to your needs."

Remember when I said that the ruby acted like a guide buddy? Yeah, now this was literally true.

And it confirmed that it had a mind of its own, barely just a cold rock. That revelation shouldn't come as a surprise, but the thought that it grew as its own person because it knew me wasn't what I expected. And that would explain why I became closer to my ruby. Why we become…friends due to this literal closeness.

I confided in it, lashed out to it, even letting it present myself as menacing whenever I reached my limit. It all came together with why I gradually felt great using the ruby, even if it could lash out at me. It was really understanding towards me. But then, I felt a little sad since I wasn't sure if it was…real. If it was just due to interconnected with my mind.

"Obsidian?" called September, concerned.

I shook my head, focusing on his presence. "Sorry, I just…" I was nearly at a loss for words but took a minute to say my thoughts. "I don't know what to say. You're saying…can I control my ruby because it is interconnected with me? That's why it has been…well, looking out for me?"

"Correct. Now, to your ruby, I'm sorry for saying all of this before you. This is why I hooked you up to the communication translator. You could speak up to me as well."

The ruby was surprisingly dead silent about this. It barely spoke for a few seconds. But it managed to say something and this one didn't sound robotic.

If anything, it was sullen. "I don't have any words to detail this. Obsidian would have been right that I could have made him a freak."

Ouch. That was the right word to say. And just hearing its sombre yet regretful tone was enough to make me lose all qualms and grudges towards it. There was something more humane in its statement. A saddened acknowledgment for its presence and value.

And growing to like my ruby more, I immediately felt terrible for talking trash about it in the first place. Making jokes and snarks at it for being a bratty beast. At the end of the day, it was unconditionally empathetic to me through learning from how I grew throughout my time here.

"No, no, no," I quickly reassured, patting my ruby. While I wasn't sure if the touch would help, I figured it might help in comforting it. "I'm sorry I took you for granted. I was hesitant to think that you might be…"

The ruby made an audible sniff. Did it actually cry? I was worried about that until it read my mind and chuckled sadly.

"At least you weren't a monster," it said quietly. "Your lack of willingness to be one made me like this."

"...would you say that's fair?"

September stepped in gently. "It's OK, you two. From the results and inspections, you two were in good coordination. I could say there was less trouble, but the bond between you two is real."

The ruby stirred in forced denial. "Are you sure about that?"

"I can't sugarcoat that you were established from an initial programming. But, believe it or not, I knew that the Phantom Ruby wasn't exactly heartless. It just has a way of growing."

I could feel the ruby chuckling. These small words must have meant a lot to it. Its hidden happiness bubbled to the surface and it played a cute melody much like the one it played last night. I also found myself smiling, now fully grateful for it being there for me. I wasn't sure if I still fear the ruby being manipulative, but hearing its full thoughts got me to understand it better rather than treating it as a monster.

"I'll let you think about this through," said September. "I have an incoming shift soon."

"Maybe we can catch up later today?" I asked. "Do you have time to meet up?"

"Sorry. I'm booked at the moment. Catch you another time during your work hours."

"OK then. Bye!"

"See you soon, Doctor September," the ruby whispered softly.

At the same time the call ended, multiple beeps were emitted from the Inhibitor Rings. No longer were they connected to the communication translator. Only me and the ruby to ourselves. I sat there patiently, expecting to hear it talk. But judging by the now-empty feeling, it didn't seem to have much to say.

This was…kind of awkward.

I still felt sorry for it, so I tried reassuring it further. "For the record, you saw me 'develop' as well. You know, I was biased until I learnt how complex the world is."

The ruby talked back, now having a clearer voice in my head. Without it being distorted, I could properly listen to it without feeling intimidated.

"I don't blame you." It paused for a moment, thinking. "But one thing that I share with the others is that we respond to change. We don't remain in the same state. I mean it when I say that I constantly adjust to growing. And…if your friend, Zero, receives the same treatment, then I can't doubt that his ruby will respond to him when he needs it the most for the right reason."

Glad to hear. I smiled, patting the ruby again. It hummed in affection. Once again, this was a signifier of how far I had come. It didn't feel wrong with the ruby acting on its own. It was warm and cosy inside. For some reason, it reminded me a lot of my squad.

"...erm…" the ruby started awkwardly. Never before had it sounded that sheepish. "Kind of realize something. Is it just me or do we have the same voice?"

I blinked. "Well, yours sounded like it has more of a growl. Mine doesn't."

"It didn't tick you off that I nearly have the same deep-throated baritone as you do?"

"My voice doesn't sound that deep to me," I said.

The ruby huffed. "Naive, little child."

My phone buzzed again and it was a new notification on the chat app I was looking through. A circular picture of a familiar, sassy-looking tiger popped up at the top of the list.

Fiyero.

That was strange, I thought. How did he get this number?

But then again, Molly wanted me to have a phone so that I could talk to him more instead of using her as a bridge. She must have sent my new number to him immediately. Opening up the new chat, I was greeted by the open and sophisticated message of the tiger himself.

Hey, hey, Obsidian! Welcome to the internet! About time you start being social. - Fiyero

I snorted and with my one-finger typing skills, I sent him a text.

I had already interacted with many people in this city. - Obsidian

But never with social media. This is kind of a social media app, but not exactly public. You might want to make a social media account since you're on the news! - Fiyero

I rolled my eyes. As if. Waiting patiently for the next message…took longer than expected. I was surprised that the little 'Fiyero is typing' indicator kept appearing and disappearing. For three minutes. Fiyero looked like he was caught in a blizzard with mittens over his hands. When I thought of just filling in, his message finally got through.

call later at 3 PM? - Fiyero

Sure! - Obsidian

c u soon - Fiyero

You're OK? - Obsidian

my boss is - Fiyero.

Mysterious, that was his last message. I waited another three minutes, but when he didn't continue, I turned off my phone and placed it on its dark screen. It had been a while since I had seen the tiger. He must be hyped to see me finally having a personal phone. Though, shame that he did it at the wrong time. He must be at work or his parents wanted him off the electronic device.

"Maybe he's shy," teased the ruby.

I laughed. "He acts mostly gusto."

"He could be trying to make a move."

My face heated up. A whine through my lips. "...don't put it that way."


The bunk room for the Lightning Bolt Society wasn't too packed. In fact, the entire HQ could be said to be nearly empty. After waves of activities in Central City, everybody was buzzing around like busy bees collecting for honey. It helped that they received more information from their spy at G.U.N. You think they kept quiet for now? Well, think again. All thanks to the attention drawn from their antics and Obsidian's aura of incredible luck.

In this room, one person from a group of three friends would also go out there soon. From the communications team to the cooks to even the cheerleaders got espionage and heist missions to carry out. And like them, this lucky one got his wish to have the adventure of a lifetime. They all joined to get the opportunity to be the greatest villains. No need for education, just cut to the chase.

Scott the crow was chirping in excitement to a female tiger and a male zebra, crowing about how his mechanic skills would come in handy. He couldn't stop thinking about working with Dave on this mission. Sure, he was humble with his role in fixing vehicles and weapons, but he couldn't leave it aside when told about this. It would invalidate everything he sacrificed to get here.

"Are you sure about this?" asked the zebra, shaking the crow's shoulders.

"Well, absolutely!" said Scott with a cocky grin. "I wasn't wrong when I saw Dave having the anime eyes during my spin with the wrench. And now, this is one way to advance my voice!"

The tiger was shivering, meek. "Are you really REALLY sure about this? You might never come back!"

"I have to," said Scott, hitting himself in the chest. "It's my sworn duty as much as yours."

This act of bravery was enough to get his two friends to cave in. They followed as well, a fist close to their hearts.

"May God be with you."

"We'll always remember you for your bravery."

For outsiders, it looked silly to see them acting so seriously. The heavy robes draped on them told them how literal they were taking things. Standard horror cult. But to them, they knew they weren't too competent to take on superhero-level offenses. Taking on a dangerous mission would be scary but exciting to them. And that was the realistic fantasy happening for them; a dream come true to be the one fighting.

With his beak high, Scott marched away to his destiny. The crow would look like anyone else, but his high head indicated his attitude compared to everyone else. With a simple flick of his robe, he felt confident as the soft material fluttered down to touch his arm and tail. A robe he couldn't throw away after how far he came. And he couldn't discard it in front of the leaders he was about to meet…

And Dave the Intern and Chameleon weren't even thirty centimeters away, sitting at one of the bunks.

The former was chewing the nails on his left hand while his shaky right hand tried grasping his phone for longer. It was actually one of the Weasel Bandits' phones. The belongings of the Weasel Bandits were all that remained of them here. Willy Walrus already wiped his traces from here. To Dave, not having them around anymore felt hollowing. The room dropped to burning ice cold when he only heard a recorded voicemail on the phone.

He could only hear their voices in faint memory, but in real life, not so much. This wasn't what he expected at all. They crossed the line, became the morons and now…could they be gone for real? He thought back to when he last saw Willy; it rattled him heavily about the walrus' choice. One wrong step and it could be all over for the people who helped him all this way here.

What wasn't enough to keep them safe?

This question had his body twitching, his breathing heavy. This was a contrast to the already grim and stoic Chameleon watching on. And right in front of the wolf was the scared intern who never showed that side for a long time.

"Judas Priest!" he squeaked through shivering teeth. "They're picking us off one by one!"

Chameleon sighed, patting Dave's shoulder. "Calm down, fidgety intern. It's only been eleven days since we lost four of our men. And you know that one of us was a traitor."

Dave flinched. The nerve of the wolf to be so casual about this! He whipped around to him with angry eyes.

"No, you don't get it," growled Dave.

He paused, remembering his last moments with Willy. Those horrified eyes. The longing look he made before he enacted his plan. The thing that kept them apart was normalcy. Something that kept them caged for too long. This soured his mood and his eyes narrowed in a nasty glare.

"Willy was supposed to help us! From the get-go!" he shouted, panicking. "He's my friend! They're our friends! Could you imagine what could happen to them now?! Not only might they give away our information, but that jackal could squeeze their necks with his claws! You know he's out of his mind!"

Chameleon's seemingly apathetic expression softened, looking like it was turning into concern. Truth to be told, he was worried as well. The Weasel Bandits and Willy Walrus were his friends as well. And even though they had different skills, he admired them.

"Good hunting, they would say. Surprisingly, you brought them back here more smoothly than the anarchy you evoked in the city."

"Breaking and entering is my specialty, after all. Well, but I'm not so good at exiting."

There goes the chance of those four breaking out of G.U.N alive. Exiting wasn't really their strength. Yeah, Chameleon was worried as well. However, he couldn't let emotion ruin his reason and chores. He shouldn't be let down by a few losses. Dave had made them, so why now was he acting so erratic? But then again, they didn't want to split up forever. He would feel homesick.

Eventually, Chameleon decided to draw on the reality.

"Dave, shouldn't it be time we weigh the circumstances?" he said quietly but firmly. "G.U.N barely reached us. Your spy is still out there. They're in good hands. You even confirmed that Obsidian had a weak spot. This proves the criminal discourses right. That he has been refraining his claws from even air."

Dave's face darkened, his fists gripped tightly. But it wasn't towards Obsidian. It was the mention of discourses and talks like this. He hated being reminded of that.

"B-But, isn't that just…" He spread out his arms as if it was obvious. "Gossip? No one cares about that stuff! It's all false!"

"Then explain the news your spy gave us in the morning," rationalized Chameleon. "Did they say anything funny about you? Or the Jackal Squad? How could Obsidian hallucinate so badly when Antoine stabbed Ice last night? Thirty times? Why wasn't Obsidian kept away while Antoine had to take a week off?"

Dave was flustered. "It's…it's probably the ruby! It's controlling him! It's giving him those visions! We know that!"

Chameleon scoffed. "If you say so. I wouldn't be surprised that Obsidian befriended Willy after their heist. And by the way, you are underestimating our friends' survival. They wouldn't want you to be thinking like that."

Dave wanted to let the wolf have it, but a part of his mind could see the reason for this. There was nothing else to argue about this. He looked down and nodded timidly. He was probably right about this. While everyone was already all-out to form a proper rescue party, they would eventually get to reunite with Willy Walrus and the Weasel Bandits soon.

Though, it had been on his mind why Obsidian was acting like…them as kids.

Letting it go, Dave let his shoulders relax and a sigh of relief flowed out of his gritted teeth. He wasn't sure if thinking about something else would be more critical, but at least he should devise a sound plan that wasn't too much. He got his spy to protect them as well.

When he looked up, he saw the awkward Scott standing nearby, a witness to the entire conversation.

"Oh! You're there!" said Dave, gradually switching back to appearing cordial. "Good to see you again."

The crow hummed. Was this the wrong time to come in? "Well, um…hi, Dave!"

Chameleon's attention shifted to their newbie, smiling generously. "Hello, our new dear acquaintance. I can feel your apprehension. I can understand that. But you are well-prepared for this…um…" He briefly looked down at Scott's name tag…before finding a way to address him appropriately. "CoolBoy19!"

Scott's reaction was justified, his eyes narrowed. His name tag was right there on his robe to show his full first, middle and last name. "It's actually Sc-"

"So, we got your request and you want to come with us to take your field mission!" interrupted Dave cheerfully. In his mind, he wanted to explain all before he could mop around again. After all, last time that happened, he couldn't check on Willy Walrus. "Is that correct?"

Scott nodded. "Yes? Well, I have been serving as one of the leading technicians. But I thought of stepping up to the game. You two inspired me, after all." He gestured to the whole room. "Look at how clean this place is. Everyone is inspired to get out there to do something instead of sitting around! I heard those espionage tasks had been successful!" He then glanced at Chameleon. "W-Well, except for name choosing."

The wolf remained oblivious to the reason why. "Yeah, but our names are born out of our capabilities. And let's just say that mine should tell you how much I hide behind."

Scott briefly scanned his tree disguise. He thought back to 'CoolBoy19'. Was he supposed to know the real meaning behind these facades?

"This is weird…" he said.

"You might be wondering why we picked you for this occasion, right?" asked Dave.

"Kinda. I thought it would be parkour, stealing, that kind of stuff. What are we robbing?"

Dave smirked and pulled out his phone. Turning it on, it revealed a night picture of a beautiful castle that looked like it came from a fairy tale. It looked soft, its edges not shape at all. This castle even had a rollercoaster track circling around it. Yellow and blue lighting decked the building, a cute show on display for all to admire and perhaps hug.

Then, he swiped his screen to reveal another location. This was at the back of the castle, judging by the silver walls in the background. And right in front of this background was a tall, typical circus tent. Colored in red, yellow and blue with festive lights and fluffy balls on the top of these tents.

The circus tent was surprisingly distinct from the known circus tents Scott saw before. This would be due to the numerous balloons attached to the top, rainbow streams hanging over the windows and a live burning tightrope hanging above the tent. Literally, it was on fire. Blue fire. And to emphasize its awesomeness, a huge crowd surrounded the front entrance, hyped.

"Twinkle Park!" announced Dave with a grin. "Specifically, the annual Scrumptious + Rambunctious Circus! It's a trendy event for the kids these days."

Scott was incredulous. "Wait, Twinkle Park? You're saying we're looting an amusement park mostly made of rusty gears, old-fashioned machines and dead innovations?"

"Uh-" The techno-babble was enough to get Dave lost for words.

"Hmm, what a long statement, my friend," said Chameleon, more understanding and literate. "But do you know what the Scrumptious + Rambunctious Circus is?"

Scott shook his head. "I can't really say that I do. Is it even a thing?"

"Scrumptious + Rambunctious Circus is a special circus act that occurs every year on this night," explained Chameleon. "It's always one day a year for a crazy night of perfection. A melting pot of acts. Last year's included a literal, sticky spider web that attracted many spiders over!"

This was news to Scott, leaving him a little speechless. "Oh dear!"

"And that's not all," said Dave, returning to gravity. "Back in the early 2010s, these guys had trouble coming up with original ideas. They were in a lot of lawsuits as a result of plagiarism and privacy breaches. That is until a new additional director and head mechanic joined the circus five years ago: Ringmaster Agatha."

He swiped the screen and Scott had to lean further to see the person on screen. The image was of a black-furred jackal with a white muzzle and golden eyes. She was waving at the camera with a cheery smile, her soft eyes overshadowing the sharp-toothed grin. In fact, the sharp teeth made her look a bit more cute and badass.

A top black hat covered her tall ears and sat comfortably on her hair. Her white, silky hair was tied in a long, braided ponytail with a massive front sweep and a neon pink streak.

Her outfit was an exciting mix between a ringmaster and an acrobatic: a half-red and half-black jacket with a broad lapel in matching colors, a white collared crop top with golden necklaces dangling from the collar, a black belt with golden studs, a pair of tight leggings with the left half in dark purple and the right half in black, and a pair of black combat boots.

Scott blinked owlishly. "Wait, is that Barker?"

"No, Barker is a dude and a dog," corrected Chameleion. "She's a jackal. She is a former member of the Jackal Squad. Only served half a year with them."

Scott's eyes widened in alarm. A mission that involved the surviving members of the Jackal Squad? He only heard bits and pieces about them, but they were known for ruthlessness and power in the wild desert. Coming across one of them in real life would be more for the experts. The crow was not one. He never met another dangerous villain before.

His mind scrambled as he tried to understand where this was going. His eyes widened in worry as he could only squawk a peaceful solution. "So…we're gonna hire her?"

"Not possible," retorted Chameleon.

Scott looked back at the picture of Agatha's soft eyes. "But she seems nice."

Dave had other ideas, however. "Uh, uh, uh! That's what they all say! We already had two former members rejecting us. Ice called us out as wannabes, but at least he's now making out with the coroner. Obsidian is too mentally ill to listen to us. I doubt Agatha will be different in her response."

Chameleon glanced at Dave with a disturbed look. "Where did you pick up that Obsidian is 'mentally ill'?"

Dave shrugged. "My spy picked on his psychological background and observances. You said that he's refraining his claws from even air."

The wolf groaned. "That's not what I mean. I'm talking about personalities, not facts."

"Whatever the case, the Jackal Squad is difficult to convince. At least Zero is working with Eggman, so we don't have trouble with that. For now, Agatha's properties are what we are aiming for." Dave swiped his screen to the following image. "You see those things she made?"

This current image was Agatha raising her arms upwards as she spoke proudly to the crowd. And right next to her was the circus cannon.

Except that it didn't look simply cartoonish.

Scott chirped happily when he saw the different shapes and buttons planted all over the cannon. It somehow made it look attractive. The inside of the cannon appeared to have a couple of cushion walls lining that very big hole to make the rider comfortable. There was even a gap ring where smoke could be emitted from.

"Whoa!" he said with a huge smile. "OK, it's not just the paint I'm blown away by. It's everything else! You can see how sturdy and safe this actually is!"

"You're correct!" said Chameleon. "Her innovations, choreography and machines put the circus into critical acclaim and spotlight. Except for these two characters."

The next image they swiped to was enough to wipe the innocent smile off the crow's face.

At first, he thought it was Sonic and Tails standing together, but he was reminded that it wasn't them. The limbs and parts of their bodies appeared to be…thicker. Roundly squarish proportions connected to each other. They looked too smooth. Too fat to replicate Sonic's and Tails' usual thin build.

The creepiest thing was their heads. Both had their jaws hanging open to reveal spiraling abysses of pure darkness. Their eyes were entirely black; the Sonic character had red pupils and the Tails character had blue pupils. These pupils were glowing, coming straight from Hell. Their curved ears made this theory stronger.

As Scott stared further at their bodies, he realized why they were standing straight and stiff instead of moving around casually.

"Now, she tried putting Sonic-EXE and Akrasiel onto the stage two years ago," continued Chameleon nonchalantly. "Tears of horror could be equivalent to tears of joy. Unfortunately, Agatha thought that was a good sign. After an abundance of recent lawsuits, she had been trying to readjust these animatronics. They are now for backstage spectacle but could get a little quirky at night."

Scott could understand why Agatha got that many lawsuits. Made in the likeness of Sonic and Tails, but this was off the charts.

"Well, this is not creepy at all," he muttered sarcastically.

"Craziest thing is that these are some of the technologically advanced machines," said Dave. "Saved for the show, but not for the war. She hid all of this to make these characters more lifelike. Which is why we are sneaking in to pinch her robotic chips."

Scott wasn't sure how to feel about this. Taking some parts of robots would be a good trip, but he wasn't sure about the outcome of handling THESE animatronics. He immediately swiped the screen to look away from Sonic-EXE and Akrasiel.

"Are we gonna dismantle those animatronics?" he asked hopefully.

"No," said Dave, looking way too confident. "Just need to take some chips. We don't have all the time and an unsubtle attack would alert Agatha. This is our only chance to rob a veteran mercenary while she's distracted by the circus."

Robbing from a veteran mercenary. Well, Scott could have been the kind of guy to outweigh the negatives, but he didn't have anything positive for this occasion. One, Agatha could still be a dangerous fighter. And given that they would steal her property, she would have a right to maim them. Not to mention that G.U.N was still on their tails. Agatha looked sweet, but he didn't know what exactly she could do.

Two, those creepy-arse robots in the form of Sonic and Tails. He swore he saw these figures from Reddit, but Scott often forgot about those stories. Now that they came to life, it was inevitable. His pride only pressed him to not cower, but he wasn't sure if these animatronics were harmless. If not, he would hate how they might stare into his soul as he pulled out their hearts.

He grinned a little, chuckling anxiously. "OK then! I can take out some wires and buttons. Ha ha! Not like one of them will bite me in the head, right?" His smile tightened, painful from his forced resignation. "Right?"

"If you say so," muttered Chameleon dryly.

"Don't say that again," scolded Dave lightly. "But don't worry. I have a plan!"


AN: Oh sure, Dave, you have a plan. Look at what happened with stealing from schools.

I feel like I didn't address too much of how the deaths of Obsidian's former squadmates impacted him. Maybe he was able to move on, but the trauma he endured would still trigger him. The nightmare was formed after Ice reminded him of the intense pain he used to go through. It enhanced after Antoine gave Ice his just desserts.

September's and Obsidian's phone call incited an interesting theory of the Phantom Ruby. A few fanfics detailed that it sent Infinite into madness with no control of his blood lust. One fanfic, 'Light of Hope 2: New Horizons' by SuperKirbyLand234, stated that the Phantom Ruby responds strongly to emotional turmoil. Since both Obsidian and Infinite/Zero have contrasting personalities, I applied the latter theory to Obsidian's case.

In an interesting twist, I pulled this massive reveal that the Phantom Ruby can develop and become its own person after learning from its host. If you didn't notice, Obsidian's ruby had its own subtle character development, now with a full voice heard. It comes as a peak when the ruby and Obsidian become intimately attached, reinforced by the low number of severe complications between them.

I could explain more, but more points about their dynamic might be more understandable near the finale. I'll stop by there, but my hint is to think back on Obsidian's growing consciousness and the ruby's voice made to sound like his. The latter is a new symbolism to the story.

The circus/amusement park setting came to my mind a few months ago. Initially, I planned to have the next plot arc set at a criminal club. But then, I went with a circus/carnival theme via Twinkle Park. Inspirations for this are the concept of 'A QUEDA' by Gloria Groove and the last two episodes of Helluva Boss. So expect Obsidian to have a blast while Dave and Scott get caught up in some weird animatronic nightmare.

And yes, Sonic-EXE is real in the Forces United universe. Or at least the creepypasta stories. Originated by some douchebag named 'Sir JC the Hyena'. I thought it would be pretty funny to include a replica of alongside the creepypasta counterpart of Tails (specifically Akrasiel of Sonic-EXE: Blood Tears DLF Fall of the Angels).

Like the circus setting idea, this one wasn't planned at the start until I watched Five Nights at Freddy's PARODY by Brandon Rogers earlier this year. I recommend watching it since it blends parody and horror perfectly. It makes sense to include Sonic-EXE and Akrasiel after the numerous show and comic references throughout this story, alongside playing with characters that are well-received, divisive or straight-up hated.

Dave and Scott will be fine, however! Maybe not CoolBoy19-I mean, Scott since he's like the Audience Surrogate of the story.

Thank you for reading this chapter! If you enjoy this story, be sure to follow or favorite this story, so you can get updates about this story. If there is any feedback or constructive criticism you want to share, let me know in your review. It would be nice to hear open thoughts to know what to improve.

Until next time, keep on rocking!