GT: Hello, everyone. New chapter here. I don't own any series in this story except for my OCs. Let's get going.
"Oh god~" Mai moaned as she sunk deeper into the hot spring water, "This is heaven~"
"Can you believe that Ben made all of this?" Makoto pondered, "I mean, just...I still can't fathom it."
"Eh? Ben-san made all of this?" Noel asked with wide eyes.
"Oh yeah, we never told you," Makoto blinked twice.
"I thought it was kinda obvious it was Ben-san who made it," Tsubaki noted sheepishly.
"...Okay, he made the inside of this bus and now he made the springs. What hasn't he made in here?" Mai asked.
"The stuff we put in our bedrooms and the food in the pantry," Makoto replied.
"...Fair enough I suppose," Mai shrugged as she rested against the edge of the hot springs.
"...This is nice, isn't it?" Noel asked with a small smile, "It feels like we're all back at the academy again."
"Yeah. A…" Tsubaki paused for a moment before frowning a little, "...Makoto, don't even think about it."
"Think about what?"
"You know what I'm going to say. Don't you think about surprise groping!"
"What?! When have I ever surprised groped someone?!" Makoto asked before pondering for a moment, "...On second thought, don't answer that."
"...Yup. Definitely feels like we're back at the Academy," Mai noted before looking down a bit, "Only...Cajun isn't here."
"True," Tsubaki admitted.
"Hey, come on now, girls!" Makoto grinned, "Maybe she's here on Mobius, too. I mean, all of us are."
"...That is true," Tsubaki nodded a bit, "Perhaps more people from out world ended up here as well."
"Possibly yeah," Makoto nodded, 'I just hope Hazama or any members of the NOL aren't here...and I swear if that perv Kagura is here, I'm gonna…!'
"Ano...M-Makoto-chan?"
"WHAT?!" Noel flinched at the Beastkin's snap.
"...y….you're crushing one of the rocks in the sauna."
"Oh…" Makoto looked at where her hands were, cracks in the large rock behind her, "Whoopsie."
The sound of a sliding door made the four turn to the doors to see Sonia and Roll walk in, towels covering them.
"Oh! Konnichiwa, minna," Roll greeted.
"Oh! H-hello, Roll-san…" Mai greeted before bowing a bit to Sonia, "S-Sonia-hime-sama."
"It's just Sonia, Mai," Sonia assured.
"Come on in! The water's fine!" Makoto grinned.
"Makoto, I swear you try to grope me again, I will not resist making a mini-water vortex with you in the center," Sonia warned, "My older brother may be the fastest with his feet and my younger is the fastest with the hands, I can certainly spin much faster than either."
"...Noted," Makoto quickly nodded as she slowly backed away.
"She's done it to you before?" Mai asked as the two slid into the water.
"A few times already," Sonia deadpanned.
"It's nice to always have a hot springs no matter where you are, ne?" Roll asked.
"Very," Makoto nodded, "Seriously, with all the stressful days we've been having, this is a god send."
"It does seem convenient," Mai admitted as Roll moved over to her, "Hm?"
"We haven't really gotten to introduce ourselves to each other, ne? Watashi wa Sakurai Roll," Roll introduced.
"Ahh...I suppose you're right," Mai nodded, "A pleasure to meet you again then, Roll-san. Watashi wa Mai. Natsume Mai."
"We're really sorry that your first introduction to Mobius was, well...a jail," Sonia apologized, "We're not all like that, I assure you."
"I-it's fine. I'm just glad we don't have to deal with GUN anymore," Mai replied.
"Agreed," everyone nodded before Tsubaki yelped.
"M-MAKOTO!"
"I knew it! I knew you were bigger than last time!"
"Ahhn~!"
'Well….at least it's not me this time…' Mai thought before Makoto looked at her next, '...'Course I could be wrong.'
"..." Noel slowly looked at her own chest before, comparing it to the other girls before a depressing aura appeared around her, "Mmm…"
"Daijobu?" Roll asked.
"H...hai...actually...Iie," Noel shook her head as she slumped, "I...I'm still the same as I was back at the academy?"
"...What do you mean? Y-" Roll began.
"I...I mean…" Noel paused, blushing a bit as she pointed to her chest.
"...Oh," Roll realized, "Mmmm...Oh! Maybe massaging would be a good idea."
"Roll, what are you saying?" Sonia asked.
"Well...When someone in my family was...well…" she glanced at Noel, "...We normally did massages to promote the body's growth."
"...Wait. Roll are you suggesting….oh my god…" Sonia facepalmed.
"Eh?" Roll tilted her head.
"Roll, isn't that a bit...oh I don't know, INDECENT?!"
"Eh? Indecent?"
"I don't see any problem with that," Makoto spoke up, "I suggested the same thing to Noeller's once back at the academy."
"Eh? You already know about my family's strawberry-scented massage cream?" Roll asked.
"Excuse me?" Makoto blinked.
"Well, of course. It has natural ingredients found and grown in our private strawberry patches that can cause a reaction with the body, promoting growth and development," Roll noted.
"...Oh...oh phew," Sonia sighed in relief, "For a moment Roll, I thought you were gonna suggest someone massage Noel's chest."
"..."
"...What?" Sonia asked.
"...Now who's acting indecent?" Makoto couldn't help but smirk.
"..." Sonia's face lit up in a heavy blush, 'Oh my god I can't believe I walked into that, much less said that! Ugh….at least no one else heard that.'
"Mmmm…" Manic let out a noise as his ear was pressed against the thick wall separating the two hot springs.
"Come on, Manic. You know it's not gonna work," Sonic shook his head.
"I've seen a lot of impossible things done and I've done most of them, too," Ben noted, "So Manic managing to hear them behind a thick wall like this? Ball's up in the air."
"I think I managed to hear something about massaging?" Manic noted.
"...You do know Sonia's gonna kill you if she finds out you're trying to spy on them, right?" Sonic deadpanned, "And that I am going to pummel you if you try to sneak a peek at Roll, right?"
"...Ruin a guy's fun…" Manic muttered a bit as he moved away from the wall and sat back down in the hot springs, "Dudes, I just realized that we're outnumbered."
"What?" Ben asked.
"How many dudes live in this bus? Three," Manic counted, "Four if you include whenever Ragna decides to come back for a night. Girls? Six. We're gonna get outvoted so much, dudes."
"...So what's your point?"
"We need more guys in our team! You know, try and keep it balanced or something," Manic argued.
"...Good point, but who would we even get to join our team?"
"..." Manic opened his mouth to say something before he began to ponder in thought, "...Good point. Who would we even get to join our team? Doubt Knuckles would considering he has to look after the Master Emerald, and his possible mini-harem...think we could get Kevin and Rook to come along, Ben?"
"We could, but Gwen would have to come along as well…" Ben replied
"...Damn. Then we'd still be outnumbered," Manic cursed
"That and if we do get new guys, who's to say they'd attract the eye of Tsubaki?" Sonic noted.
"Huh? What are ya talkin' 'bout, Bro?" Manic asked.
"Oh I dunno. Maybe a certain brother of mine getting green with jealousy?"
"...Woah woah woah! Bro, are you suggesting…?"
"That you got a mad crush on her? Yes. Yes I am," Sonic nodded, that smirk never leaving his face.
"Wh-Wh-What?! Dude, no way! Uh-uh! No way, no how!" Manic shook his head rapidly.
"Denial is just proving you do like her, man," Sonic's smirk grew.
"No way, dude! Not me!" Manic argued, "I mean, sure, she's got a nice bod and all, with that red hair of hers and that fair skin and that nice smile and...her laugh…" Manic trailed off as he saw the grin on Sonic's face, "...If you two say anything, I swear I will put that armor on and make nut-sized wolves made of hot coal go into your pants or shoes!"
"...Fair enough," Sonic shrugged as he leaned back.
"I'm cool with it," Ben shrugged, "Not the first time two different species had kids."
"K-Kids?!" Manic exclaimed, his face lighting up.
"Well, I know these kids that have a human parent and a parent from another species," Ben explained, "They're all certified Plumbers now."
"Oh cool," Sonic noted before looking back at Manic, "Ya hear that? It m-"
"Bro, I swear I will convince Roll not to make you Chili-Dogs for a month if you don't shut up," Manic threatened.
"Fine, fine, fine," Sonic waved him off, "Speaking of…" Sonic looked over at Ben, "What's it like?"
"Huh?"
"Space. I mean, we only really got a taste of it from the few hours we were on the ARK, but..What is it like in Space?" Sonic asked.
"...Space...I don't know how to describe it really," Ben replied as he looked up, "It's just so vast...and there's so many planets yet to be discovered...so many galaxies left unexplored…You'd be surprised what you can find on a planet."
"Huh...I see," Sonic noted, "...Maybe I'd like to go up once."
"Why? Scared there might be someone faster than you and Roll?" Manic asked with a joking grin.
"No. I mean, I'm the fastest thing alive, Manic. Who else could be as fast as me and Roll?"
"Achoo!...That was odd."
"You okay, Lilac?"
"Yeah. No worries. Though I just had the strangest feeling someone was talking about me indirectly."
"...That is strange."
"Next," Eggman ordered as a robot exited the lab.
"Robot Call Number 4869932," Shockwave called as a shaking robot peeked in, "Yes, you."
"D'oh….o...okay…" the robot nodded nervously as he walked in cautiously, "You're...not gonna scrape me, are ya?"
"No, no, no," Eggman assured, "We're performing an emergency maintenance on all robots built after a certain date." Shockwave displayed a holographic checklist, "This will not be long, I assure you."
"...O….kay…" the robot nodded as he approached the larger robot.
"Do you have a codename you prefer to respond to at this time?" Shockwave requested.
"G….Gary. My name is Gary," the robot gulped, "S-sorry. Just...had a really bad time out in the desert. Those d-darn Sandblasters pretty much tore all my friends down and everything for spare parts."
"My condolences for you loss," Eggman informed with a nod, "Bring me their numbers later and I'll see to it they will be awarded posthumous promotions."
"Th-Thank you, sire," Gary gulped.
"Occupation?" Shockwave requested.
"A-Accountant."
"?!" both looked at him with wide eyes/optic.
"And you've had to deal with the Sandblasters? ...You're being moved into the main base of our nation once this is all done with," Eggman informed, "You have more than earned the promotion."
"Th-thank you, sire," Gary nodded.
"Shockwave, when we take a break, inform Grand Master N to keep a closer eye out for those Sandblasters," Eggman ordered while muttering, "Calling themselves Freedom Fighters...tch."
"Indeed. Their motives are highly illogical. They say they are Freedom Fighters, and yet they persecute any who have cybernetic implants or replacements," Shockwave noted before resuming his checklist, "Please enter rest mode. We will trigger it to deactivate once we are done with the internal checkup, Gary."
"A...alright…" Gary nodded as his optics went blank, indicating he was in rest mode as he slumped.
"...That reminds me. I need to do a quick recheck on all my Grand Masters," Eggman spoke as he pulled out a list, "Let's see...scratch out Lien-Da and you of course Shockwave, given I know you two are alright. Scratch off Clover and her sister since I put them on break for a while...hmm...There's N, Conquering Storm, Maw, Thunderbolt, Rodyle-still haven't heard back from him since the ARK incident-, Akhlut, Lord Hood, and...hmm...Shockwave, who're my last two Grand Master's again?"
"Axel the Water Buffalo, and Sheriff McCree."
"I thought I…"
"McCree's first name is Amelia."
"Ahh...thank you, Shockwave," Eggman nodded, "Now let's open him up and look for that item, shall we?"
"Of course," Shockwave nodded as they got to work.
"She didn't!" Mai laughed.
"Oh, I can assure you she most certainly did," Sonia smirked with a giggle as Makoto's face was beet red, the six girls all in pajamas at the table.
"Oh my god that..that's just…" Mai couldn't finish as she held her gut.
"I-it's not that funny!" Makoto shouted as she tried to hid her blushing face with her tail.
"O-Oh my...I-I can't believe you did that, Makoto-chan," Noel gasped, looking at her friend with wide, shocked eyes.
"Can we please just move onto someone else?" Makoto asked, "What is this, 'laugh at stuff Makoto did day'?"
"You have to admit, Makoto. None of us were expecting you to do something like that for a distraction to help in a raid on one of Eggman's bases," Tsubaki admitted.
"Well how was I supposed to know that would happen?!" Makoto argued.
"I don't think Mai-chan is able to breathe," Roll noted, seeing Mai had fall out of her seat in her laughter.
"O-Oh yeah? Well, what are you planning to sing tomorrow, Roll?" Makoto asked.
"E-Eh?" Roll blushed.
"Ooh! Good point, Makoto. You haven't told us just what song you'll sing for your debut with us," Sonia noted.
"...ano...w...well…" Roll began nervously as she messed with the tip of her tail a bit, "It...it's a secret."
"Seriously?" Sonia groaned.
"Well I'm sorry, but I'm nervous, okay?!" Roll snapped a bit, "I haven't performed in front of an audience before!" she covered her mouth as she looked at them with wide eyes before her ears drooped, "G-Gomen nassai…"
"...Roll, do you have stage fright?" Tsubaki asked.
"A-Ano…" Roll just nodded, finding playing with her tail more important.
"...Roll, it's okay…" Tsubaki spoke, gently placing a hand on the hedgefox' shoulder, "Nothing bad is going to happen up there."
"Yeah. Take it from Tsubaki, Roll-chan. Back at the academy, she performed in quite a few plays when the drama club hosted one," Makoto added, 'Given back then you wanted to work alongside Jin, but still.'
"D-Demo…I...It...I'm not sure I'm that good…" Roll replied.
"...Hmm….well, why not give us a small preview then, Roll?" Tsubaki suggested.
"E-Eh?" Roll's eyes widened.
"Roll, it's okay...you're among friends," Tsubaki assured.
"Please, Roll-chan?" Noel pleaded.
"...H-Hai...I...I can try…" Roll replied before taking in a deep breath slowly while closing her eyes, "Time judged all unmei~ Kurosu suru ima~ Time judged all sora e Takaku mai-agaru~ Time judged all unmei~ Mawari-dashitara~ Time judged all tomaranai~ Owari kuru made~ Kiseki no chikiara koko ni kourin~"
"...Wow...just...wow…" Makoto whispered with wide eyes.
"I….it was bad, wasn't it?" Roll asked, opening her eyes.
"Bad?! That was amazing!" Makoto beamed.
"H-hai!" Noel nodded in agreement.
"Eh? R-really?" Roll asked as her eyes widened at the praise.
"I didn't fully understand the lyrics, but you have an amazing voice," Sonia assured.
"While I did understand the lyrics, I agree with her on your voice," Tsubaki nodded.
"Yeah. I mean...that was incredible," Mai added.
"Y-You're all just saying that..." Roll blushed as she played with her tail.
"Not at all. I'm seeing why Sonic is so insistent on having you sing with us," Sonia assured.
"...demo...what if I end up doing something to cause you three to split up? I've...heard what relationships can do to a band..." Roll noted, her ears down in worry.
"You've seen how the three of us act with each other, Roll," Sonia noted, "You think having you sing some songs will do something like that? Not a chance."
"...You sure?"
"Roll, how long have we known each other?"
"What day is it?" Roll asked.
"Tuesday," Tsubaki replied, looking at a calendar.
"202 days."
"Huh...It feels a lot longer," Makoto noted, "Like a few years or something."
"...Look, Roll. My point is you've seen how my brothers and I act when we play together, so there's no need to worry about it."
"And it seems Yacker agrees that you'll do good," Tsubaki noted as she pointed at Roll's hair, where Yacker poking out a little, waving a tiny flag with Roll's face on it.
"What th-?!" Mai yelped, nearly falling out of her seat again at seeing the Wisp, "Uh...Roll-san? Y-You know there's a one-eyed…?"
"Wisp. Hai," Roll nodded as Yacker floated out and waved, "I forgot to introduce you to Yacker-chan."
"W...Wisp-da?" Mai blinked for a moment.
"They're an alien race from another planet, but Yacker's been with her family since the first head of the Sakurai family," Tsubaki explained as Yacker flew around the table.
"He really likes hiding in Roll's hair, too," Makoto noted.
"A-and he is rather kawaii," Noel giggled a bit, causing the Wisp to blush a bit as he rubbed the back of his head.
"% $^8152sfavveWFWG2…"
"Uh...What?" Mai blinked twice.
"Yacker-chan said he doesn't think he's all that cute," Roll replied before Yacker spoke up again, "And he says that it's nice to meet you, Mai-chan."
"Oh. Ano...nice to meet you as well, Yacker," Mai replied, using her finger to carefully rub the top of Yacker's head.
"FWsv221#$ !4141~" Yacker seemed to purr a bit before shooting into her hair, causing Mai to yelp a bit.
"Oh my. It seems Yacker's taken a liking to you," Roll noted, "Did you use strawberry-scented shampoo?"
"O-on occasion…" Mai replied, still a bit taken back at Yaker suddenly going into her hair.
"Yacker-chan loves all kinds of berries with strawberries being his favorite," Roll explained, "He must have smelled a bit of remnants of the last time you use it in your hair."
"...I...suppose so," Mai couldn't help but nod.
"Okay...Tikal said he normally comes out here when Chaos is able to take his turn guarding the Master Emerald," Julie-Su noted as she moved through a piece of the island's jungle before stopping just as she was about to step on a wire, "...Okay...I almost keep forgetting these traps." 'Note to self; ask Knuckles about what traps are where on this island…'
She carefully stepped over the wire as she resumed her search for Knuckles, keeping an eye out for any traps and making sure not to set them off. After avoiding a few more traps along the way, she soon emerged from the jungle as gasped under her breath. Before her was a small lake, the water so clear she could see all the way to the bottom. If she was able to see if from the sky, the way the grass grew and the shape of the lake would make it resemble the symbol for yin and yang, the dots being a small pool of water and a tiny island in the lake.
"Oh...my…" Julie-Su whispered in awe before looking out and spotting Knuckles, standing on top of a large rock formation with another rock on top of it acting as a flat platform, "Knuckles?" she looked and saw his gloves were gone and his hat was off, bandages wrapped tightly around his fingers, hands, and a bit of his lower arms, "Huh?"
Looking at the base of the stone platform, she was able to see his overturned hat with his normal gloves in it. Looking back at the red echidna, she watched as he began to shift into a stance. He spun and delivered two palm thrusts to the air before spinning around and kicking at the air in the opposite direction of his palm strikes. The setting sun on him gave the area a glow as he continued in a flurry of movements before finally settling in a crouched state, a leg extended out back with an arm pointed back with the hand in a chopping stance pointing outwards while the other arm was swung ahead of his body with the palm held ahead.
"...Wow…" was all Julie-Su could muster as she watched this.
Knuckles jumped off the rock and landed before her, swinging his fist down at the ground. The impact sent his fedora into the air along with his gloves, the hat landing on his head while he slipped the gloves on before they could hit the ground. He adjust his fedora as he gave a grin.
"Hey," Knuckles greeted, "Guess Tikal told you about this place? Or did you normally come here on the other Angel Island?"
"...Uh…" Julie-Su blinked before shaking her head a bit, "Kinda on the former, and...well, no on the latter."
Knuckles nodded, "My great-great grandfather made this place when his father was Guardian. It is here he and other Guardians after him came to train in martial arts as part of their training to become Guardians. It's meant to reflect the only time he had ever left the island with his grandfather and had traveled to a land where a place like this existed and where he was inspired to learn the art. This is a natural springs, which is why the water's so clear while the rocks were once what covered the springs."
"I see."
"Yeah…" Knuckles nodded, "...So how're you holding up?"
"Hmm?"
"I know this isn't your original Zone and all, but...just curious how you're holding up here," Knuckles admitted.
"...Honestly, a lot of stuff here is different…" Julie-Su replied, "For one, the Eggman here is more...competent compared to the one I knew."
"Well, he was able to take over and control the planet for almost a decade and a half, give or take a few years," Knuckles noted, "...Wait. You said 'competent.' Was your Eggman not really all that?"
"No no. He was at first...but as time went on, he...well, how shall I put this…?" Julie-Su trailed off, "...He was obsessed with trying to defeat Sonic."
"Seriously? Just him?" Knuckles asked.
"He didn't see anyone else as a threat," Julie-Su shrugged, "...Though….last I heard before I was expelled from my Zone, he managed to not only Roboticize Sally, but turn her into a weapon...one Sonic didn't want to fight at first…"
"Who?" Knuckles asked.
"Princess of my Zone's Mobotropolis, and Sonic's girlfriend," Julie-Su replied, Knuckles gawking at that, "...well...not sure on that. They had broken up before after he came back from Space-though that was Scourge's fault more or less-, but they were starting to get back together before Eggman attacked the city."
"...Okay…" Knuckles blinked twice, "Well, we don't really have a Sally here; so it must be really shocking to learn that Sonic is a prince along with his brother and sister?"
"Heh...like you wouldn't believe," Julie-Su gave a small chuckle, "But the Sonic here acts just like the one from my Zone...minus the part about him being in a band more or less."
"And the Sonia and Manic? What were they like?" Knuckles asked.
"No Sonia or Manic in my Zone," Julie-su shook her head, "And as for his mom...well, she wasn't a queen, but she was his mom. Nice lady too."
"...And his dad?"
"Roboticized, but he had his free will," Julie-Su answered.
"Ah," Knuckles nodded, "So King Azure is still alive where you're from."
"Wait. Azure?"
"Yes. King Azure and Queen Aleena," Knuckles replied before a small silence came, "...They're named different, aren't they?"
"Yes. Jules and Bernadette respectively," Julie-Su replied.
"Right…" Knuckles nodded, "We really need to make a list of these differences for you. And, apparently, me as well."
"Yeah...good idea," Julie-Su nodded, "...just one last thing."
"Hmm?"
"If you see a large purple Mobian Tasmanian devil….don't face him head on," the female echidna warned him, "He's very dangerous…"
"...How dangerous we talking?"
"Who do you think expelled me, my sister, and practically every other Echidna in my original Zone?"
"..." Knuckles narrowed his eyes, "Right. What's his name?"
"...Thrash. That's all I'll say. Just...too many bad memories involving him."
Knuckles nodded, "It's understandable. I won't pry it out, but just know that when you want to tell it, my ears will be available."
"...Okay," Julie-Su nodded, a small unnoticeable blush on her cheeks, as she gave him a rather small smile.
"...So….everything okay at the house?" Knuckles asked.
"...Let's just say my 'roommate' left a bit of a mess?"
"Roommate? I ne….it's Sticks, isn't it?"
"Yep," Julie-Su replied.
"...What did she do?"
"Broke the broom I made and used all the pots and pans to hide herself from spies, said 'spies' being brooms."
"...You want to head back to the house?"
"Yeah. I think that's a good idea."
"Good. I'll lead the way," Knuckles nodded.
Ragna sat down in a meditative position before a small pond outside of the outskirts of the city, the waters still mostly polluted. It was rather relative to Ragna, since he couldn't rid his thoughts of something. Looking at his Bloodscythe laid down before him, his mind went back to two events. In his mind, he could see flashes of thirteen swords impaling him, the last of them also impaling a girl with long silver hair with wide, frenzied, red eyes, and to Shadow when he unleashed his first restraint and the single move that pummeled him just as bad as the first memories.
"...Ugh….damn it," Ragna sighed.
"Trouble?"
Ragna looked up and over his shoulder to see a slender, Noel-sized Mobian fox, her platinum-blond fur sporting silver strands in it. She wore a black kimono with red and gold dragon and tiger-themed details on it while her eyes were a soft teal. In her hands was a staff with a jade heart at the top.
"...You could say that…"
The fox gave a soft giggle, "I guessed by the way you were staring at your sword. Or, rather, at the way you were staring at nothing but the past."
"...right…" Ragna slowly nodded as he looked back at his sword.
"Would you care for an ear to hear your troubles? Sometimes, it is best to hear from another's perspective when troubles come to one," the fox smiled a little.
"...You sure you want to hear my problems, lady? 'Cause if I did, you'll most likely not believe me."
The fox gave a soft giggle as she sat down beside him, "In my life, those who often say that are often meant to be believed."
"...Fine," Ragna sighed in defeat, "I don't know why, but I feel like something's wrong...normally I'm able to kick a guy ass here to next week, but….let's just say I had my ass handed to me hard twice, both of which nearly costing me my life." the fox nodded, motioning him to go on, "I mean…" he gave a ragged sigh of aggravation, "Both times, something important was on the line. And, yet, both times...They were able to overpower me with ease. I...I just don't know what the hell I'm doing anymore..."
The fox nodded as she moved her staff towards the polluted pond before them, "Your mind is like this water my friend, when it is agitated it becomes difficult to see." she tapped the water and, to Ragna's surprise, the ripples made from the jade heart touching the water cleared away the pollution, letting him see his reflection within the now-still waters, "But if you allow it to settle, the answer becomes clear." he looked towards her as she stood up, "Quit. Don't quit. Know. Don't know. You are too concerned with what was and what will be. There's a saying: 'Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, but Today is a Gift.'" she tapped the tree behind Ragna and an apple feel, landing in Ragna's hand, "'That is why it is called the 'Present.''"
"..." Ragna slowly blinked, looking at the apple before slowly looking up at the vixen, "...Who are you?"
"Me? Just a passing elder," the fox replied as she stood up, using her staff to toss the sword up into the air and caught by Ragna, letting him see his reflection in the blade, "In victory, you only learn a single lesson; that you are stronger. Yet in defeat? A thousand more lessons are revealed. The only thing is this: are you willing to see these lessons or try to ignore them?"
"..." Ragna stared at his reflection, "...I guess I've been stubborn." he lowered his blade, seeing the fox was no longer there, "What?" he looked around and yet there was not a single sight of her ever being there except for the clean water of the pond and the apple, "...What the hell just happened?"
"There you are!" Ragna turned to see Sonic and Roll running over, the blue hedgehog having been the one who spoke, "I've been looking for you since yesterday afternoon, Ragna. I've been needing your help with some stuff for the stage." he blinked twice at Ragna's thoughtful expression, "Something up?"
"...N-noting. Question; did either of you see a Noel-sized vixen with a jade heart on her staff pass by here or anything?" Ragna asked, "Platinum blond fur with some silver to it?"
"No, not really," Sonic replied.
"The only fox I know of that sounds like that...was my Obaa-chan," Roll replied, "But she died when I was four."
'...Then...I was talking...to a g….ghost?!' Ragna mentally freaked.
"...You okay, man? You look like y-" Sonic began.
"It's nothing," Ragna interrupted as he put his blade back on his back while putting the apple in one of his jacket's pockets, "...You think you could teach me that Chaos Control?"
"Chaos Control? Why?"
"I...I need to improve my techniques," Ragna explained, "The last few times it's been a big fight and…"
"...No problem, Ragna," Sonic nodded.
"Thanks. Now come on, you two," Ragna stated as he began to walk, "That stage isn't gonna finish itself."
"Great!" Sonic grinned.
"Arigatou, Ragna-san," Roll thanked before looking towards the pond, 'If it was you who he saw, Obaa-chan...I hope it was for the right reasons…'
"Maybe….mou not here…" Haseo muttered as he looked through a list of Freedom Fighters, "...Where is she?"
"Looking for someone?"
"Gh?!" Haseo tensed as he quickly put the list back in its hiding place, "I-Iie! I-I wasn't trying to find someone!"
Skye chuckled before throwing a pebble. The pebble shot past Haseo and hit the list, sending it into the air and into his open palm. Haseo looked quickly between the list Skye had and the pebble where the list had been.
"All about physics with that," Skye chuckled as he sat down beside his son, "You're looking for someone in this list?"
"...H-hai," Haseo nodded, a small blush appearing on his face.
"From the little blush you've got going on, I'd have to say it's Nicole," Skye noted.
"...Mmm…" Haseo whined a bit, his face a deep crimson as he hid it behind his twin tails.
"Oh…" Skye wrapped an arm around him, pulling Haseo closer, "You know, you remind me of this shy little guy I knew. When he was around this girl or when she was mentioned, he was so bashful and shy that it was easy for anyone to tell that he was in love with her. Wanna know who that guy was? Me when I first met your mother." Haseo looked up at him from behind his tails, "Yeah. Surprising, am I right? But it's true. Before I met your mother, I was a shy little guy just like you are right now. When we broke the ice and got to know each other better, the shyness slowly went away and when we were married, well...Even you're surprised that I just said that I used to be a shy little guy." he hefted up the sheet of papers, "Well, how about you and I work together on this, huh? I'd like to see Nicole as well. She was like a second daughter to your mother and I, after all."
"...H-hai...that sounds like a good idea, Tou-san," Haseo smiled, moving his tails away from his face, "...Demo...I already looked through almost half the Freedom Fighter bases listed down here."
"Well, then we have two options now. One is that we start looking through the other half. The other? We go ask your brother-in-law to ask about her in the next meeting of the Freedom Fighter leaders," Skye noted, "I heard that with the reclaiming of and renaming of New Mobotropolis, they're going to be coming here in a few weeks to discuss what is going to happen now."
"...Which means Nicole-san might be with them," Haseo whispered in realization.
"Attaboy," Skye grinned, patting his head, "Tell you what, I'll get on the line and we call up the leader of Ryugu. Knowing Nicole, she might've been sending them messages about how she's been doing like all other Hyorinmaru women do when they leave the village as a way to stay connected to home."
"H...hai. Maybe Miyuki-san would know something."
"Exactly. I-wait, Miyuki? Little Mimi is the new leader?" Skye asked with a chuckle of disbelief, "Oh goodness, that's fantastic! Knew she had it in her!"
"Sh-she is an amazing leader from what I've been told," Haseo nodded, "E-especially with White-san's help."
"White?" Skye repeated, "Who's that?"
"F-from what I recall, he's the co-leader of the Frozen North Freedom Fighters, and Miyuki-san's husband."
"And she's married? Wait, is he a white hedgehog?"
"H-Hai."
"Heh. Called it. I so called that she'd marry a hedgehog with fur as white as snow," Skye grinned, "P'li owes me fifty-seven yen when we go to Ryugu."
"...P'li?" Haseo repeated.
"You don't remember P'li?" Skye asked, "He's your godparent and my cousin from Neighwaii who visited Ryugu four times a year; one for yours and Roll's birthdays, one for Christmas, and one for either my birthday or his birthday."
"..."
"...You...really don't remember him, do you?"
"I-Iie," Haseo shook his head, "I...still kinda have amnesia."
"Oh…" Skye frowned briefly before smiling a little, "Well...Do you want to hear some stories about him? It might help."
"...S-sure, Tou-san," Haseo nodded.
"Well, first things first; my cousin's a panda."
"A p-panda?"
"Your great-grandma on my mother's side of the family was a panda who had a pair of Hedgepandas, one of which was my mother and the other P'li's dad," Skye explained, "Let me tell you, guy can't handle stairs. Seriously, he can take like, what, twenty steps up stairs then he has to crawl up the rest of the way. But don't get between him and the path down a slope or hill or something like that, guy developed a way to use rolling as a wrecking ball of sorts. Last I heard before ending up Roboticized was that he was developing a way to set himself on fire for a burning wrecking ball."
"B...burning wrecking ball?" Haseo repeated, "...Ano...that...kinda sounds like something Panda King-san would do."
"Yeah. I-wait. Panda King?"
"I-I met him when me and Onee-chan were helping Sly-Itoko a few weeks ago," Haseo explained, "...g-gomen for interrupting, tou-san."
"Oh, it's okay, kiddo," Skye assured, petting his head, "Well, let me tell you; he was your favorite relative outside of me, your mother, and your sister and you were always so excitable as a baby when he'd come to visit. When he'd sometimes sleep until noon, you'd like to get onto his belly and nap on him."
"R-really?"
"Oh yeah. Your mother thought it was because you loved big, fluffy things like P'li's belly," Skye grinned, "She even got you a big teddy bear that looks like a panda to test it out one day and when she checked up on you, there you were; cuddling into the teddy bear in your sleep."
"...I-I guess that explains why I fall asleep so fast when I have something like a teddy bear near me," Haseo noted.
"Yep," Skye nodded, patting his head, "Now about P'li, when he'd come, he'd bring all kinds of gifts from his travels and you'd always get the first gift."
"T-Travels?"
"He works as an archaeologist and an explorer," Skye explained, "He'd get you these neat little toys and stuffed animals from the countries he visited and then after dinner when he'd stay, he'd tell us all about one of his adventures by the fire and you'd always climb into his lap to listen better." he dug into his pocket and pulled out a wallet, "Actually, I have a picture right here in my wallet of you with your 'Uncle P'li.'"
"...C-can I see?" Haseo asked.
"That's why I'm pulling it out, kiddo," Skye nodded.
He pulled out his wallet and opened it. After a few moments of looking, Skye pulled out a picture and nodded before showing it to Haseo. It showed him near a large fireplace as a little three-year-old in footy pajamas. He was sitting on the lap of a large Mobian panda who wore a black turtleneck short-sleeved sweater and tan shorts. The little Haseo was looking up at the panda in glee as it seemed the panda was telling some sort of story. One thing he saw that Haseo knew that this was his dad's cousin was that they had the same eyes.
"This is P'li,'" Skye explained.
"...P-P'li…" Haseo whispered, his eyes focused on the picture as something started coming back to him.
A young Haseo yawned a bit as he looked up at a clock, a panda teddy bear in his arms as his twin tails swayed behind him.
"Oh...Babykins, why are you still up?" a pair of arms scooped up the three-year-old and let him look up at his mother.
"U...uncle….kaa-san…" Haseo whispered, trying to keep his eyes open as he yawned, "Trying...to wait….for uncle…"
"Oh~Well, you know that he's arriving late because his boat up here was delayed," Aphrodite noted, "He may not be here until tomorrow." she gently kissed his forehead, "Oh, Babykins, don't cry. I know you love your favorite 'uncle' P'li." a loud knock came, "That better not be those little punks who've been door bang-ditching again." she looked down at Haseo, "Does Babykins wanna come downstairs with his Kaa-chan to see the door?"
"M….mmm," Haseo nodded, his tails wagging in hope that it was his uncle.
A moment or so later and the two were before the door as it was knocked on again. She opened the door and gasped.
"Oh!" Aphrodite exclaimed.
"Hey, honey. Look who arrived on the last boat of the day?" Skye grinned as he came in before a thud went off behind him.
"D'oh! Do you always lower the top of the door when I come to visit, Aph, Skye?" a voice asked.
"Nah. You're just naturally tall," Skye grinned before seeing Haseo in Aphrodite's arms, "And what's this? Oh, P'li I think someone's been waiting to see you before he goes to bed."
"Really? Who could that be?" the voice asked before a Mobian Panda ducked in through the door and spotted Haseo, "A-hah! Haseo! How's my favorite awesome little nephew?"
"Uncle!" Haseo beamed, jumping out of his mother's arms and glomped the panda who caught him with a large hand, his twin tails wagging excitedly.
"Ahahaha! It's never an arrival to Ryugu without one of your totally awesome Hugs of Supreme Hugging!" P'li laughed.
"I'm happy t…" Haseo began before yawning, "...see you, uncle…"
"Heh-heh. Someone's up later than normal," P'li chuckled, tickling Haseo's tummy with a finger.
"Well don't tickle him," Aphrodite giggled, "He'll just stay up laughing if you do that."
"Heh heh...did...you…" Haseo paused as he yawned once more, only a bit longer as her eyes were half-way shut, "Bring me...something...uncle…?"
"Yep. But you need to wait until tomorrow for me to give it," P'li winked, "After all, if I give it to you now, the sheer awesomeness of your gift from me will just make you stay up all night and be all sleepy tomorrow." he leaned his head a bit lower to whisper, "And between you and me, I think your mom's making pancakes. You don't wanna miss out on those, do ya?"
"N….no…don't...wanna...miss out on….kaa-san's…" Haseo couldn't finish as he drifted off to sleep.
"You okay, kiddo?" Skye's worried voice came to Haseo as the memory faded.
"...U...uncle…." Haseo whispered, "I….I remember…"
"You remember him?" Skye asked.
"H-hai," Haseo nodded, "I remember we liked kaa-san's pancakes. I remember all the stories he told me...I'm remembering everything about him!"
"Ah-haha!" Skye cheered as he gave Haseo a hug, "That's so great, Haseo!" he froze, "Ohh...I still haven't messaged him or anything. Been busy getting to know you and your sister again, getting things back to normal in this city, and everything else."
"...W-well...you're not busy right now….are you?"
"Not really," Skye chuckled as he let go of Haseo, "I'll go send him a message and then we need to start getting ready for that concert tonight."
"Oh! O-okay!" Haseo nodded, now feeling excited as his tails began to wag, so much that he started to hover off the ground.
"Heh-heh-heh. That is still amazing to see," Skye chuckled as he walked out to go write the message.
"Next…" Eggman groaned as he took a large drink of his coffee, "How many robots are left, Shockwave?"
"Just ten more," Shockwave replied as a femme walked in, a lance in her hand with a shield in the other, "Greetings." he produced the checklist, "This is an emergency check-up on robots built after a certain date. Do you have a codename that you prefer to use so as to make this easier for you?"
"Phyra," the femme answered.
"Occupation?" Shockwave continued.
"Oh! I'm the co-deputy to Grandmaster Sheriff McCree," Phyra replied.
"Co-deputy?" Eggman asked.
"I believe it's the next robot after her," Shockwave replied.
"Ahh...very well. Just enter rest mode, Phyra, and we can begin the examination. Do not worry. This won't take long."
"Of c-" Phyra began before her lance shot a small laser, hitting Starscream right in the bum as he yelped, "...Sorry."
"...Hmm….a lance that doubles as a blaster...interesting," Eggman noted.
"Did you modify this from a standard issued lance for the EggPawns?" Shockwave examined.
"Yes...it's not much, but…" Phyra paused as she pressed something on her lance, causing it to change into a sniper rifle.
"Very nice," Eggman nodded, "Once this is done, report to the testing chambers so we can see the limits of this weapon of yours."
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Now enter Rest Mode, please," Eggman nodded.
"Yes, sir," Phyra nodded as her optics shut, the femme powering down.
"I really hope Lien-Da and Sleet are having it harder than us," Eggman frowned as the two went to work.
"Is this it?" one of Thunderbolt's troops asked, holding up a stick in a bush with a bow on it.
"For the tenth time, no!" Sleet facepalmed, "We're looking for a green hunting bow. Not a normal bow on a stick!"
"I found one!" another of Thunderbolt's troops called out, holding a bow and arrow.
"..." Lien-Da took a deep breath before using her whip on the weapon, easily breaking it, "No. We are looking for a green hunting bow with an eye on it. Eggman wants it found right now!"
"Why did Lord Eggman give Thunderbolt the idiots again?" Sleet whispered as he walked over to the Echidna, "Honestly, not even Dingo was…was...Dingo..." he sighed as he looked at his old transforming remote sticking out of its holster, "..."
"...You miss him, don't you?"
"Of course I do. He may have been a bit of a nimwit, but he was a good partner in capturing the hedgehogs and other Freedom Fighters," Sleet replied before sighing, "But...in the end, he melted…Stupid Chaos Emerald..."
"...Look. After this...why don't I talk to Eggman and see if he can give you a week off to mourn your lost friend?" Lien-Da asked, '...ugh...I can't believe I said that…'
"You'd do that? Well, thank you," Sleet nodded.
"I think I found it!"
"AGAIN?!" Sleet snapped before shooting the bow on a stick with his blaster, "Now that is not the bow we are looking for! J-Just go look in a different bush! Jus...Just go...Just go look in a different bush!"
"But…"
"Let me take care of this," Lien-Da whispered to Sleet before looking at the troops, "If none of you find that green hunter bow, I'll tell Thunderbolt one of you stole that poster of Eggman she had hanging in her room."
"?!" the troops froze at that before they began to scramble all over, jumping into bushes and climbing up trees to search.
"Very nice," Sleet nodded.
"Thanks. When it comes to idiots like them, you need to be very firm and remind them who's in charge," Lien-Da stated, "If that doesn't work, always threaten them with a bit of violence or something."
"I see...I'm just used to ordering robots around so much that I'm still getting used to ordering Mobians, Beastkin, and the occasional Overlander we have in the empire," Sleet noted before pulling out a USB drive, "Speaking of that, I finally compiled all the video data that was ever recorded on Dingo and my attempts to capture those three hedgehogs for you to look at."
"Good," Lien-Da nodded as she took the USB, "This will come in handy when we face those three again."
"Indeed," Sleet nodded.
"Okay, final checks," Gwen spoke as she held a clipboard while walking around the outdoor stage before the finished palace, "Stage lights?"
"Check," Kevin gave the thumb up.
"Sound systems?" Gwen checked off.
"Sound systems are good," Rook responded with Ragna giving a nod.
"Curtains?" Gwen checked off before the curtains slid shut before her and then opened, "Check. Security fence?"
"All set up," Ditto Prime saluted before one of the fences fell, "5!"
"I'm on break!" Ditto 5 whined.
"...Security team?"
"All set!" Makoto saluted, wearing a bouncer outfit.
"How did I get roped into this?" Mai asked, wearing an identical one.
"Noel promised she'd make you a lasagna."
"...Darn you Noel and your cooking…" Mai whispered.
"Guitar?"
Sonic played a riff, "Check."
"Drums?"
Manic belted out a few beats, "Check, dudette."
"Keyboard?"
Sonia played a few keys, "Check."
"Vocals?"
"Ch...check," Roll nodded, wearing her normal outfit with a blue scarf on her neck.
"Good. Everything's set then," Gwen noted.
"Hold on," Ragna called, "Just need to check one last thing." he typed at the console he was at while Rook looked at a tablet in his hand, "We good, Rook?"
"Yes, yes we are," Rook nodded.
"Good," Ragna nodded as pressed something on the console.
"What was that?"
"A request of their mom," Ragna explained, motioning to the hedgehogs, "This place isn't the only place that needs some cheering up, so she's set it up for a simultaneous livestream across the planet."
"E-Eh?! Roll gasped.
"That's...not a bad idea, actually," Gwen complemented, "Especially with the issues caused by losing a bit of the moon's mass, especially for coastal cities."
"Oh my...oh my…." Roll panted to herself, trying to remain calm before Sonic placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "?!"
"You'll be fine," Sonic assured, "When it's time, just start singing and you'll just forget they're there."
"...O….okay," Roll nodded, taking Sonic's hand into hers as she gave him a small smile.
"Right. Well, we're almost ready for letting the crowds in," Gwen nodded as Aleena, Skye, and Haseo approached, "Ah. Your highness."
"Mom!" the triplets waved.
"You've done a wonderful job," Aleena smiled as she looked around, "I am sure that this will be a success in helping cheer up everyone who sees this event and be a sign that things will be looking up for the planet."
"Yup," Sonic nodded.
"And Roll?"
"H-hai?" Roll looked over at the older hedgehog.
"I know you'll do great," Aleena replied, giving her an assuring smile.
"A-Arigatou," Roll bowed.
"You'll be great, kiddo," Skye patted her shoulder, "I know you will."
"Otou-san…"
"Right, Haseo?" Skye asked.
"H...hai….ganbatte, Onee-chan," Haseo cheered softly.
*CRASH*
"FI-HI-HI-HI-IVE!" Ditto Prime screamed in pain under the fences.
"But I'm on break!" Ditto 5 whined in pain.
*poof*
"Mmmm…" Haseo pouted as Roll cuddled with him in his fluffy state.
"Heh heh…" Skye chuckled a bit at the sight, "He did this as a little tyke when thunder rumbled, too."
"T….Tou-san…" Haseo blushed in embarrassment.
"Well, it is adorable," Aleena noted as she pulled a brush out and, once Roll let go of him, began to gently brush his fur down.
"Next…" Eggman sighed.
"The final robot is Soundwave," Shockwave informed as the door slid open.
The robot that entered was a slender one. His body was primarily gunmetal grey with a series of plane blade-shaped spikes on parts of his body. His torso sported the Eggman Empire's emblem while his 'face' was just a full face visor.
"Alright, Soundwave, I need you to enter Rest Mode so we can do the check up."
"..."
"It is imperative we perform this check, Soundwave," Shockwave insisted.
"..."
"Soundwave?" Eggman raised a brow before the visor lit up a '3,' "What's huh?" the '3' changed into a '2,' "Oh, you got to be…"
Shockwave tackled Eggman and overturned a desk as the visor changed to '1.'
*BOOM!*
"Wh-What?!" Eggman gasped as he got up with Shockwave to see the crater in the ruined lab, "D...Did he just self destruct?!"
"It seems there was a glitch in his programming," Shockwave noted, "A pity."
"...No. That wasn't a mere glitch…" Eggman frowned a bit, "...I think Soundwave did have what we needed, but someone doesn't want us to have it."
"I'll salvage what I can, see what I can find," Shockwave informed.
"Do that. And once you have a lead…" Eggman narrowed his eyes behind his glasses, "Deploy Omega on them."
"Understood…"
'I programmed Soundwave myself with Shockwave's help, and there were no errors or glitches at all….what on Mobius is going on?' Eggman thought.
"Why are we up early? Is it an alien invasion?" Sticks asked as Knuckles finished loading a page on a laptop before Sticks put on a tinfoil hat and shook her boomerang at the sky, "You won't get my bottom for you intergalactic television satellites!"
"Good eye on finding this up there," Knuckles noted to Julie-Su, the two choosing the ignore Sticks at the moment.
"Figured it would come in handy," Julie-Su shrugged a bit.
"What are we doing?" Tikal asked as Chaos's head peeked out of the sink, looked around, and slowly made his way under the couch as a puddle.
"Manic radio called us this site link," Julie-Su explained.
"Site link?" Tikal repeated, tilting her head.
Knuckles promptly began to ignore Julie-Su and Tikal as the former tried to explain internet and computers to the ancient spirit. Beside him, Chaos formed into his normal state and sat down. The Water God gave what seemed to be relieved sigh motion before he looked to his left to see Canis Major and Canis Minor panting while looking up at him. The Water God threw his arms up before slumping and motioning to them. The two barked as they hopped onto the couch, the smaller cuddling into his lap with the larger leaning against him.
"Shh. Quiet. It's about to start."
"The apocalypse?" Sticks asked.
"No."
"Armageddon?!"
"No," Knuckles shook his head.
"...Tikal's time of the century again?"
"Thank Chaos no!" Chaos gave a thumbs up at Knuckles, "Ju...Just sit down and look at this."
"...Okay," Sticks shrugged as she looked at the screen.
"White-kyun, is everything…?"
"All set up."
"Thankyu."
"Thank you again for letting us watch this with your family, Lady Miyuki," Jing King thanked as she, Panda King, and a female panda in a red and black kimono sat with the Prowers, Sly, and Carmelita in the large theater room of the Prower home.
"It's no problem, Kyu," Miyuki nodded, "There's no way I'd let anyone miss this, kyu."
"More tea?" the lady panda offered to Carmelita.
"Gracias, Sing," Carmelita thanked as the panda refilled the emptied cup.
"It's starting," Sly noted.
"We're live," Rook confirmed.
The hedgehog triplets nodded as they summoned their instruments on the stage.
"Hello, world!" Sonic called out, "Everyone out there ready for this?"
"Yeah!" the crowd outside roared out.
The three nodded to each other before Sonia opened for them, playing a few keys.
Sonic: Just before the dawn, When the light's still gone, Shine, shine your way, And you may not know, where to go, Shine, shine your way
Manic and Sonic: *Manic starts playing* Open road but it's still dark, Build a fire from a spark, And shine, shine your way, Feed the feeling in your heart, Don't conceal it then you'll start, To find, find your way
Sonia: No one can stop, what has begun, You must believe when I say
All three: All of your tears will dry faster in the sun
Sonia: Starting today
All three: Shine, shine, shine, Shine your way!
As the three played, Ragna moved as fast as he could on the console, making sure the lights stayed on them as the lights started changing colors.
Sonic: There's an open sky, And a reason why, You shine, shine your way, There's so much to learn, And now it's your turn, To shine, shine your way
Manic and Sonic: There's a feeling deep inside, You can let it be your guide, To find, find your way, And there's no time for us to waste, Got to take a leap of faith, And fly, fly away
Sonia: Don't have to walk, Now you can run, Nothing can get in your way
All three: All of your tears will dry faster in the sun,
Sonia: Starting today,
All three: Shine, shine, shine, Shine your way
Manic: Morning is breaking,
Sonia: Darkness is fading,
Sonic: We found a way to the light,
All three: It's such a beautiful sight
Sonic: Any time, anywhere, Turn around and I'll be there, To shine, shine your way
Manic: Like a star burning bright, Lighting up the darkest night, I'll shine, shine your way
Sonia: Now I can see, You are the one, Sent here to show me the way
All three: All of your tears will dry faster in the sun,
Sonia: Starting today,
All three: Shine, shine, shine,
Sonic: We're on our way,
All three: Shine, shine, shine,
Sonia and Manic: That's what we say,
All three: Shine, shine, shine, Shine your way
Sonic: There's a reason why
All three: You shine, shine your way, All of our tears will dry faster in the sun, Shine your way
The crowd erupted into cheers as the last notes played. The trio began to play another song while, Backstage, Roll was sitting before a mirror, breathing in deeply and exhaling slowly. She had butterflies in her stomach about what she was about to do. A knock made her turn to the curtain acting as a maskeshift door, said curtain parted to reveal Skye knocking on the frame.
"Oh, Otou-san."
"I got ya something," Skye chuckled before pulling out a bouquet of sunflowers.
"Sunflowers!" Roll gasped as she walked over and was given it.
"I remember they're your favorite," Skye smiled.
"A-Arigatou," Roll thanked.
"You feeling nervous, kiddo?" Skye asked.
"...H-hai," Roll nodded.
Skye smiled softly, "It'll be okay, kiddo. Do you want to do this?"
"H-Hai," Roll nodded, "I...I really like to sing, demo…"
"Scared?" Skye asked, earning a nod from Roll, "...heh-heh," he gave her an assuring hug, "Don't let fear stop you from doing the thing you love. When you go out there, I want you to do one thing for me."
"Wh-What's that, Otou-san?"
"When you're out there, I just want you to sing. I promise you that you will not feel afraid anymore if you just sing. Because when you start singing, you'll forget all about all of them," Skye replied, Can you do that for me, my little Sunflower?"
"...Eto…" Roll pondered for a moment, taking in her father's words, "I...I can try."
"That's all I ask," Skye nodded, "You want to watch them play the next two songs before your debut? I heard they're meant to reflect the incident with the God of Destruction here and what happened with the ARK falling to the planet."
"...H-hai," Roll nodded, "At least it will give me some time to be ready."
Skye nodded as he walked out with Roll following. They made their way over to the side to look out at the stage, Aleena standing there with Haseo.
=They are really good= Cassia noted, the entire Northamer base in the base's meeting room with the livestream displayed on their main monitor.
"Indeed," Clove nodded in agreement, "It looks as if someone's started a donation fund involving this to help those coastal towns and cities that were affected from the moon's partial destruction."
=Yeah…= Cassia nodded =...um...Sis?=
"You want to donate?"
=Y-Yeah=
"...How much?" Clove asked before Cassia whispered her response, "...I see."
=It's...not too much is it?=
"It's perfect, Cassia," Clove assured.
=Really?=
"Mmm hmm," Clove nodded before hearing some mutterings from her troops, "I take it you're all wanting to donate as well?" sounds of agreement went off, "...Cassai, it seems we'll be donating a little more than you originally wanted."
=Looks like….you don't think Eggman will notice, do you?=
"With how he is right now, I don't think he'll mind. Mind you, he was trying to not use the moon as the demonstration," Clove whispered.
=Oh yeah...We still haven't figured out how the city blocked the laser, have we?=
"No. No one within the Dark Legion has figured out what blocked it," Clove responded, "Though all the Grandmasters are in agreement on one thing; we are never going to fire a laser at the city just in case they redirect it at one of our bases."
=Ahh...good idea= Cassia nodded.
"I have the number for the donation drive, ma'am," the bird Mobian informed, a phone in her hand.
"Good. Okay, everyone, we are pooling all the donations we're making into one big one! So write what you're donating and pass it to Vega here," Clove ordered, motioning to the bird Mobian, "Once we do, it'll be added all up and the donation will be made."
=Ooh! And don't forget to add a fake name the donation will be made under. I don't think they'd accept anyone in the Eggman Empire making a donation!=
"Yes, ma'am!"
=Hmm...oh! After this is over, wanna…=
"No." Clove instantly replied.
=...You're not still freaked out about that one boss I was facing are you?=
"The weak spot was...and her arms...and the legs...and ugh…" Clove shuddered, her white muzzle turning a sickly green shade briefly.
=...Yeah...fair enough…= Cassia agreed, feeling a bit queasy herself, =Maybe I'll just end up changing games...I am close to beating it after all=
"You do that...and not another horror one for two months. Please."
=Deal=
"Hmm? Oi, Ellie. Why'd you stop?"
"It seems there's a concert going on, nii-san."
"Soka…"
Standing there were a pair of Mobian Hedgewolfs, but they looked a bit more like hedgehogs with the female having a wolf-like tail. The girl of the two had snow-white fur and ice-blue eyes, a sky-blue highlight in her hair and a star-shaped mark under her right eye. She wore a pair of blue jeans with a pink and yellow tee that was stretched by her ample bosom. The other was a male and a bit taller than the girl with dark brown fur with a moon-shaped scar under his left eye. He wore a jet-black trenchcoat with a katana on his back, nestled in a black sheath. Beneath the jacket was a black shirt with blue jeans, a few holes in the jeans around the knees.
"...Should we check it out?" the female of the two asked.
"Iie. We don't have time," the male answered as he began to walk.
"Demo, we haven't stopped and rested since we left that town this morning."
"We can't st-" the male began before his stomach grumbled, "..."
"...You skipped out on eating again for training, didn't you?" the female frowned.
"...no?" the male tried to deny.
"...We're going to go check this concert out, and then we're finding someplace to eat."
"No. I'm the older sibling, so we're mov-GH!" the male tensed when the female jabbed her thumb in his neck, causing him to snicker before he fell to the ground, laughing uncontrollably, "Okay! Okay! We-hahaha! We'll do what you want to do!"
"Arigatou, nii-san," the female hedgewolf smiled as she began to walk away, the male following after her as he caught his breath.
"Ugh...I keep forgetting that…" he panted as he followed after her towards the gate when a stop sign was held up.
"Hold it," the two blinked twice at the strange black and white creature with green eyes and an armband reading '5' on his left arm, "Ticket?"
"What? Tickets?" the male asked before an identical one of the creature ran up and clonked the guy on the head.
"OW!" both yelped.
"Ignore 5," the second informed, the two seeing a 'Prime' band on his arm, "It's a free-to-enter event."
"Seriously?" the male raised a brow.
"Yup. So feel free to enter, mister…"
"...Zane. Zane Tsukikaze," the male replied as he walked past him.
"Thank you," the female bowed, "Ellie Tsukikaze."
"Ah. Ditto," the creature grinned before dragging 5 off, "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to scold 5 here for being lazy and trying to trick people...again!"
"Hai," Ellie nodded as she followed after Zane, "Were those twins?"
"He called him 5, so they may have a few other siblings," Zane replied.
"Ahh….fair enough I suppose," Ellie nodded before noticing the large crowd within the area, "...There are a lot of people here."
"It's supposed to be a concert, so of course there would be…"
"...True...oh! We've actually never been to one before, Nii-san!" Ellie gasped a bit, "Kakui~! I can't wait to see it!"
"It's just for tonight. After that, we're leaving…"
"...So soon?"
"We're guests in this place, not tourists."
"...A week so we could get more supplies?"
"...Ugh...fine. A week, but that's it."
"That's all I ask, Nii-san," Ellie smiled softly.
"Wait, wait, wait. You're telling me that guy that just showed up on the ARK and was somehow fused with Shadow…" Julie-Su pointed out the window at the Master Emerald Shrine, "Repaired that whole area by himself?"
"It was marvelous!" Tikal beamed, "He turned into this gold and black golem made of metal that fired a green light at the shrine's ruins and it changed back into what it was when I first saw it!"
"...This Zone is very weird, yet very interesting," Julie-Su sighed.
"Heh. Ben has a lot more than you think aside from a 'metal golem with time powers,'" Knuckles scoffed as he walked back in with a few bowls of popcorn balanced on top of each other, "From the few times I've run into the guy, he's turned into a giant that became a bigger giant, a humanoid dinosaur that can grow bigger, a loud tailless Mobian Tiger that likes to shout a lot, and...a pair of sentient clothing that turns into a stripper's outfit."
"...A….pair of sentient clothing...that turns into stripper clothes?" Julie-Su slowly repeated.
"Next time he comes here with that Squirrel Beastkin friend of his, we can try to get them to show you it," Knuckles replied as he tossed the bowls into the air, causing them to land in the arms of the girls and Chaos...which was promptly eaten out of Chaos's bowl by the two dog Artificial Chaos.
"..." if Chaos had a mouth, he'd probably say 'damn it' as he had a deadpanned look on his 'face.'
"Now now. No cursing, Chaos," Tikal scolded, hearing the popping water from the filled kitchen sink, "I think it's wonderful you're sharing."
Chaos facepalmed.
"...Yeah, still weird and interesting at the same time," Julie-Su sweatdropped.
"The tiny Sonic, Sonia, and Manic are back on the 'con-poo-turd,'" Sticks noted.
"Oh, it looks like it's starting," Ellie noted as the two watched three hedgehogs walk back onto the stage as the curtains opened to the cheer of the crowd.
"I think I've seen them before," Zane noted, "On wanted posters, I think."
"Really?"
"Yeah...It was a few days ago during that ARK incident or whatever," Zane replied, "Though also back when...that guy...was ruling in Robotropolis."
"Oh….s-soka…" Ellie noted as she looked up at the stage, seeing Sonic and his siblings prepping their instruments, "Ooh. They're about to begin."
"Welcome back, everyone," Sonic greeted, "Let's give a big hand to the Great Skydini and his assistant Chuckles."
Everyone applauded as, Backstage, Chuck was giving Skye a frown and a look as he wiped off the last of the clown makeup on him. Skye chuckled as he took off his cape and top hat and put them on Haseo.
"...N-nani?" Haseo blinked as he looked at the cape and top hat.
"You look cute in it," Skye chuckled.
"I am never being your assistant in magic ever again," Chuck deadpanned.
"It wasn't that bad."
"I thought you really set the box I was in on fire."
"Prestidigitation," Skye replied.
"We're nearing the end of this concert and we all thank you so much for being here and also watching on livestream," Sonic went on, "Don't forget to donate to the fund to help the coastal towns and cities that were damaged due to what happened to the moon."
The crowd cheered out in response.
"Now, before we sing this last song, we have a bit of an announcement to make," Sonic spoke, causing the crowd to go silent as they began muttering to themselves, "Tonight is a bit of a special night. Our band's expanding with a brand new member. So, ladies and gentlemen...and Manic."
"Hey…" Manic mock pouted to the laughter of the audience.
"Allow me to introduce to you…" Sonic motioned to the backstage and Roll shyly walked out, "Roll Sakurai."
"...A-ano….h-hello, everyone," Roll shyly greeted the crowd as they applauded, "Th...this is new to me, and...I hope you all enjoy this song." Yacker flew out of her hair, "Eh? Yacker-chan?"
"RHYTHM!" Yacker declared, making a flip in the air before turning into a magenta Wisp resembling an eighth note with a single green eye and three sphere-like tentacles.
"Eh?" Roll blinked twice as Manic tossed a three maracas into the air that Yacker caught.
"You ready to sing your song for your mom?" Sonic whispered.
"A-Ano…" Roll glanced over at the backstage.
"Just sing," Skye whispered, making a 'go on' motion to her.
"I...I am," Roll nodded; She took a deep breath to relax herself, calming her body as she closed her eyes, while moving the microphone closer to her, "I'm ready."
Sonic nodded, "You got this, Roll."
"Everybody's got a thing, but some don't know how to handle it~" Roll sang as Sonia began to play a soft tune on her keyboard, "Always reaching out in vain, just taking the things not worth having~" everyone in the audience was speechless by her voice, "Don't you worry about a thing~ Don't you worry about a thing, mama~" Roll opened her eyes slowly, "Because I'll be standing on the side," she glanced over at Backstage to see Skye smiling encouragingly and motioning her to keep going, Haseo holding up a tiny banner with 'Go, Roll, Go' on it, "When you check it out~" the siblings began to play a lively tune with Yacker giving a rhythmic shake of his maracas as Ragna pressed a button and the lights lit up, giving the white backdrop behind them a colorful morning sun theme, "They say your style of life's a drag~ And that you must go to other places~" the crowd began to cheer as her voice took on a more lively tone as she began to move with the music.
Roll: Just don't you feel too bad~And that you must go other places
Just don't you feel too bad
When you get fooled by smiling faces *she gave a shake of her hips in time with the last two words*
Don't you worry 'bout a thing~
Don't you worry 'bout a thing, baby
'Cause I'll be standing on the side
When you check it o~~u~~t
When you get it o~~~ff your trip~
"Ahahhaa~! That's my baby girl right there!" Skye beamed under his breath.
Roll: Don't you worry 'bout a thing, yeah
Don't you worry 'bout a thing, yeah
Come on!
Everybody needs a change
A chance to check out the new
But you're the only one who sees
The changes you take yourself through
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh~!
The crowd began to cheer louder.
"Wow! Mini Roll sings so awesome!" Sticks exclaimed.
"It's the real Roll, Sticks. We're just seeing her from far away," Julie-Su sighed.
"Gah! We're spies?!" Sticks freaked, Knuckles barely grabbing her arm before she could smash the laptop with her boomerang.
Roll: Don't you worry 'bout a thing, (Sonic: thing~)
Don't you worry 'bout a thing, (Sonic and Sonia: thing~)
Don't you worry 'bout a thing, (All three: thing~)
Don't you worry 'bout a thing, (All three: thing~)
All four: *the crowd starts clapping in time with it* Pa-pa-p, pa-pa-pa-pa
Pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa
Pa-pa-p, pa-pa-pa-pa
Pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa
Roll: Don't you worry 'bout a thing
All four: Don't you worry 'bout a thing, mama
'Cause I'll be standing on the side
When you check it o~~u~~t
All four: When you get it o~~ff your trip
Roll: Don't you worry 'bout a thing, yeah
Don't you worry 'bout a thing
Don't you worry 'bout a thing, mama
'Cause I'll be standing on the side
When you check it o~~u~~t
Oh don't you worry 'bout a thing
All four: Don't you worry 'bout a thing, mama
Roll: 'Cause I'll be standing, I'll be standing by you
Oh, don't you worry 'bout a thing~!
All four instrument players stopped as Roll bowed.
"...Sugei…" Ellie whispered in awe as she slowly began to clap, the crowd following suit with cheers and whistles.
"A...Are you crying?" Aleena asked, looking at Skye.
"My baby girl's all done growned up on me…" Skye sniffled, wiping a tear.
"I knew she was a great singer!" Makoto cheered as the Dittos timed out beside her.
"That was awesome," Ben awed.
"Oh yeah it was!" Makoto nodded, "Whoo! That's my shield sister!"
"That...that was amazing…" Mai whispered in awe.
"You think that was amazing, try seeing them literally transform an entire collapsing island into a brand new one," Ben replied.
"She has an amazing voice," Julie-Su awed.
"Indeed," Tikal agreed before a few pops went off in the kitchen sink's water, making her blush, "Oh, I-I don't think I sound nearly as good as her, Chaos…" more pops and the blush just grew stronger until Tikal turned into her spirit ball form and hid behind Julie-Su.
"Can I smash it to find the little people now?" Sticks asked.
"No," Julie-Su and Knuckles replied, Chaos grabbing her boomerang and shoving it into his chest for emphasis.
"Mmm…" Sticks pouted.
"Do you want to play with Chomp once this is over?" Knuckles offered, "He seems to really like playing tag with you."
"She left the moment you said Chomp," Julie-Su stated, the badger no longer in the room.
"..." Knuckles looked out the window to see Sticks shouting and dodging about with Chomp running after her, barking and wagging his tail, "Well, at least he gets good exercise from this."
"Very nice," White nodded.
"A good voice," Ryukendo noted.
"She did amazingly, kyu," Miyuki smiled, 'Aphrodite….if only you could see her now, kyu…'
"A...Are you crying?" Sly asked.
"No…" Panda King sniffled before white handed him a tissue that he blew into it.
'He's actually crying from her singing?' Carmelita raised a brow.
"Ah, such a lovely young girl," Sing noted, "Her mother must be proud of her in the life after this."
As the cheers finally died down, Sonic moved up to beside Roll, "Okay. We got enough time for one last song, everyone." he turned to Roll, "Are you ready?"
"I am," Roll nodded as she turned to him as he began to play a light melody on his guitar.
Both: I will stand by you
Even when we fall
I will be the rock, that holds you up
and lifts you high so you stand tall
I won't let you go
No one can take your place
a couple fights & lonely nights
Don't make it right to let it go to waste
Sonic: And I won't let you fall! *Sonia and Manic start to play* And I won't let you…
Both: Go~! *Yacker pulled out a horn and began to play it*
No matter where you are
No matter where you are, I'll be there
Both: *start to move around one another, never leaving eye contact with the other* I will hold on to
Everything we've got
A quitter, a regretter, and forgetter is
Everything I'm not
I'll take care of you
and love you just because
You and I are better than forever
Nothing can stop us
Roll: And I won't let you fall! *is spun around by Sonic, the hedgehog managing to play with a shoe-covered foot and his other hand for the twirl* And I won't let you…
Both: Go~! *Yacker plays his horn once more*
No matter where you are
No matter where you are, I'll be there
"They're so lovely together," Ellie awed, seeing the way the hedgehog and hedgefox seemed to dance and move together in harmony.
"...Y...yeah…" Zane couldn't help but agree.
"Maybe you could learn a thing or two from when we see Clover-nee," Ellie giggled a bit, making Zane blushed a bit as he turned his face away.
Sonic: We can be the generation
Who learns how to love
Mistakes & empty promises
Will never be enough
Roll: To tear apart the giant hearts
that beat inside us now
Let's conquer the percentages
and rise above…
Both: *Yacker stars flying about, changing into his different forms* ...the crowd~!
Sonic: And I won't let you fall!
Roll: And I won't let you go~!
Both: No matter where you are
No matter where you are, I'll be there (Sonia: I will be there~)
No matter where you are
No matter where you are, I'll be there (Manic: I~ will~ be~ there~)
No matter where you are
No matter where you are, I'll be there *the two move closer, their noses touching with loving gazes*
I'll be there~
I'll be there!
The crowd erupting into cheers once more.
"Sugei! Onee-chan and Onii-chan sugei~!" Haseo cheered on excitedly, his tails wagging excitedly as he hovered off the ground.
"They are just so cute together," Skye applauded, "Bravo! Bravo!"
Sonic took Roll's hand as they faced the crowd, the siblings dismissing their instruments. All four bowed and waved to the audience. Gwen pointed at Ragna, who nodded and proceeded to start lowering the curtain.
=That...that was….amazing…= Cassia whispered as most of the troops sniffled, a few blowing into some tissues they had on them.
"Indeed. It...It really was," Clove agreed.
"Agreed~!" the troops sobbed a bit.
The metal tentacle with a claw at the end shot into the water of a lake at the end of the river. Pulling out the other half of the Izayoi's shield, the tentacle retracted and into Soundwave's torso. Soundwave held a hand out and a holographic screen appeared, a soundbar the only thing on it.
=Did you get the last of the pieces?=
Soundwave nodded.
=Good. Return to base=
Soundwave severed the connection before his body shifted, becoming a sleek jet that shot off into the sky, the parts of the Izayoi slowly moving towards their halves, the damages fading away the closer they came to the others.
Help Me! Professor Kokonoe! (Chibi style Omake)
The curtain lifted, revealing something of a dark unlit lab…Said lab being somewhat messy. Then a spotlight sparked to life, revealing a fairly young adult catgirl with a slim body, wearing a large scientist like jacket with abnormally long sleeves that end up looking like paws, with cuts made in them allowing her slender arms to slip through, red pants with two long pink tails with white tips coming from the back, and high-heeled sandals. Her hair was pink, tied in a style consisting of a long ponytail backing up longer tufts resembling large cat ears which tend to overshadow her actual cat ears. Her eyes were a golden-amber with visible bags under them, possibly due to over-working, and she was also wearing glasses. With a certain elegance, she began to speak.
"Hello lost children. I am Professor Kokonoe, lord and master of the Sector Seven laboratory," She paused to push her glasses back into place briefly, and then began to speak again, "…Well, OK, we aren't in the lab at the moment. This place can sort of be temporarily moved into the Boundary. Well, simply put, it's a mysterious room. A mysterious room where you can do anything you want. To be honest, it's a paradise for all those sad, little children who couldn't make it to the true ending. A sort of Avalon. If you're one of those nutbars who's all 'I don't need help,' or 'I want to unlock hidden stuff,' or 'I'll just look for a flowchart online,' then you can piss off."
She proceeded to sigh.
"Anyway, my job here more or less is to do three things every five chapters. First: Answer common questions that I believe most people are asking. Second: To do a little re-cap of what happened in the past five chapters for you idiots who decide to skip them to get to the good parts in later chapters. And finally, give out supporting information to further your understanding of the terms of BlazBlue and Ben 10," Kokonoe proceeded to glare at you, "One thing I would like to make clear now, is that none of the actions in this segment are considered canon to the story, regardless of how crazy, funny, or even lovey-dovey it is. If I get one message asking about if this was canon or not, I'm castrating the sender of said message with a cattle prod and a rusty knife!"
Kokonoe proceeded to sigh once more. It was rather repetitive for her at that point. She began to speak yet again to you, the reader.
"Very well. Now that that's out of the way, lost children of the day…you may enter," She ordered, and suddenly the whole lab lit up and Kokonoe took a few steps back.
As if on cue, the sound of a metal door sliding open echoed in the area. Mai walked in.
"Huh? I'm back at Sector Seven?" Mai pondered as Yacker flew in, "Eh?"
"Ah! Yacker-chan!" Roll called as she ran in, "Eh? Where are we?"
"DAMMIT! I thought I put up a frickin' sign that explains this out there!" Kokonoe growled in annoyance, "Ugh….whatever." she then looked over at Mai and Roll, "First off; finally got a hold of you. Been trying to contact both you and Cajun for days now since that freakin' T'okustar destroyed our world."
"Eh?"
"But I won't say where I am exactly to avoid spoilers," Kokonoe added, "For now, we need to focus on questions, recap, extra info, all that crap."
"Do you have any idea what this lady is talking about, Mai-chan?" Roll whispered as Yacker floated around, taking pictures.
"I honestly don't know right now, but it's better to do what she says," Mai advised.
"Hai," Roll nodded.
QUESTIONS
"Well, let's see...Raidentensho, no. Just...we are not using those things. And there will not be RWBY in this story," Kokonoe stated, "...And yet there's a femme by the name of Phyra in this with a lance that changes into a sniper rifle, but that's about it! Ugh...next question." she looked at his review from Chapter 43, "...Not only 'no,' but HELL NO! You keep that Jojo shit away from this story, dammit!"
"Ano, what is Hamon?" Roll asked.
"I think I recalled it was from a manga I caught Makoto reading once," Mai answered, "Not fully sure what it is, but from what I can tell..you're basically fighting with the power of the sun."
"And it is staying a manga and NOT ONE BIT OF THAT MANGA IS SHOWING UP ANYWHERE NEAR THIS STORY!" Kokonoe snapped, "Oh, and Ultimate-Zelda-Fan, Bink's Sake was already performed in this story. Pay better attention, dammit. Let's just leave it now. We're out of questions."
RECAP
"I need a snack to get that Jojo shit out of my head. You two handle this, dammit," Kokonoe muttered as she dug around behind her desk.
"Oh...ano, h-hai," Roll nodded, "While Sonikku and I were trapped on Prison Island, Eggman and a few of his Grand Masters appeared on the Space Colony ARK and met Shadow. Up there, they learned of the Eclipse Cannon, a weapon capable of destroying planets if all seven Chaos Emeralds are used in it."
"Hold on. You're telling me that there's a space station on your planet with that kind of weapon on it?" Kokonoe asked.
"Hai," Roll nodded.
"The best we have in comparison is Take-Mikazuchi and that's only strong enough to destroy mountains," Kokonoe frowned.
"...S-soka…" Roll noted, "Ahem! While this was happening, Sonia-tachi, Sly-tachi, Manic-tachi, and Makoto-tachi had just arrived at Prison Island at different parts, eventually ending up running into each other with Sonia-Neesan and Sam-san meeting Sticks-san, a badger that had been living on the island's jungle."
"While that was happening, Sam's partner Max was causing a bit of a ruckus, and...well, he eventually met me," Mai spoke up, "As for why I was there…Well, I remember waking up, and they arrested me for invading private GUN property."
"Meanwhile, Sonikku heard me singing and, ano…"
"You got as flustered as Noel when we catch her writing poetry," Mai noted, causing the hedgefox to blush a bit, "Seriously, you have such an amazing voice, Roll-san."
"Let's move on before she goes mute like the blondie does," Kokonoe ordered.
"R-Right," Roll nodded, "Just as Sly-Itoko-tachi began to start their plan to free not only Sonikku and I, but everyone held captive by GUN, Eggman-Hakase and some of his troops arrived to attack the base to obtain three Chaos Emeralds inside of it with the help of three thieves-Rouge the Bat, Rosie the Hedgehog, and Fiona Fox."
"Yeah...the rescue was a success, but...well, Eggman planned to blow up Prison Island, so we all had to hurry," Mai went next, "But...Noel, Tsubaki, Makoto, and I ended up getting locked in a room with Rouge and her team, said room having a bomb in there, as well as a guard piloting a mecha-ship of sorts."
"A mecha-ship?" Kokonoe repeated.
"Hai. The R-1/A Flying Dog from what Rouge-san said," Mai added.
"...Note to self; work on a mecha-ship attachment for Golder Tager," Kokonoe whispered to herself.
"Eh/nani?"
"Nevermind. Continue on, you two."
"It was really surprising when it showed up," Mai noted, "We ended up having to work together with them to destroy it, but the doors wouldn't open."
"While that was happening, Sonikku and I were freed and, well, Sonikku ran off and I had to follow," Roll frowned, "We ended up running into Shadow and Sonikku and him started fighting until Eggman-hakase warned Shadow of the island exploding."
"Shadow had abandoned his fight with Sonic and hurried over to where me and the others were, using Chaos Control to teleport us out of there and onto the ARK," Mai stated before sighing a bit, "Where we were knocked out and instantly captured...though Noel seemed to get the easy treatment."
"We barely escaped the island while it was exploding and hid in an abandoned building once we got to land," Roll spoke, "We saw the announcement on TV and the Eclipse Cannon firing on New Mobotropolis...demo...something blocked the laser and sent it at the moon."
'I got a pretty good feeling a certain vampire had something to do with that,' Kokonoe thought.
"After that...Rachel-sama appeared and talked with us. Ragna-san figured out what she was talking about and shouted for Azmuth-san and he appeared," Roll continued, "We spent a lot of time after that building a teleporter to get to Space Colony ARK, managing to get through it before GUN could find us."
"And I assume the moment you got there, shit went down," kokonoe guessed.
"...As crudely as you put it, hai," Roll confirmed, "Bentley-san was coming up with a plan before we were spotted by the Artificial Chaos there a-"
"Artificial Chaos?" Kokonoe repeated.
"H-Hai. Ano...They looked like they were based off constellations," Roll noted.
"...Move on before I go into a rant on why you shouldn't make an artificial god," Kokonoe stated with a sigh.
"R...right...While that was happening, me and my friends ended up meeting Cassia and Clove," Mai continued before she began to tear up, "Poor Cassia…"
"...I still say her sister's a goddamn idiot for siding with that fatass," Kokonoe stated bluntly.
"Mmm…" Mai frowned.
"A-Anyways...while we were all separated, I...ano...I learned that one of the Raiju was on the ARK and went off to find them," Roll admitted, "And it turned out...it was the leader of the Raiju, Conquering Storm…thank Kami-sama Sonikku stopped me when he did. I could tell she was holding back...but the anger was still there."
"What is with girls and going out to fight people over their heads?" Kokonoe huffed.
"A-Annyway! After that, we found the Eclipse Cannon and the other Chaos Emeralds. We were going to put the fake Emerald we had when Eggman came on the speakers, telling us that they captured the others," Roll went on, "He wanted the real emerald and my family's sword. Sonikku made a fake sword for me to use in place and we went to meet him and the others. However...just as we were going to do the trade off...it turns out they knew the sword and emerald we had were…well, fake, and trapped us in a glass tube set to go out into space that would explode once it got far enough away from the base. We got launched out and I realized that Eggman-hakase said that we had five Emeralds, but we only had the real one and the fake. It turns out they were also sensing the Medallions and Sonikku managed to save us with Chaos Control, ending up with us landing in the same room Knuckles-san was in."
"Knuckles...That's the red echidna guy, right?"
"Hai, Mai-chan," Roll nodded, "Since we didn't have a fake Emerald, Knuckles-san offered the use of the Master Emerald to stop the Eclipse Cannon and we went off to shut it down. Demo...we ran into Shadow again with Ragna-san being defeated by him..."
"Wait...Ragna the Bloodedge lost to Shadow?" Kokonoe raised a brow
"Well...he is technically the Ultimate Life Form…" Mai noted.
"H-He proved it when Sonikku and him started to fight on the way to the Eclipse Cannon while Knuckles-san stayed behind to heal Ragna-san, letting me carry the Master Emerald with Tikal-chan floating after me," Roll explained, "It was really intense with the two going all out with Sonikku even using a new attack called Sonic Wind thanks to his Medallion. Demo...Starscream showed up with some of his robot soldiers to try to shoot Sonikku, but Yacker-chan actually combined with Sonikku and took them out and started to actually start beating Shadow!"
"Him?" Kokonoe raised a brow at Yacker, who was taking a picture of her messy desk, "Hey, don't take a picture of that, dammit!"
"A-ano...m-moving on!" Roll quickly said as Yacker floated back over to her, "We managed to stop the Eclipse Cannon, demo...It turns out Eggman-Hakase stole the remaining Emerald and attempted to use it to fully power the Eclipse Cannon, only to find out they activated a self-destruct sequence created by his grandfather, set to crash into Mobius and destroy it."
"It was really...really bad…the message, I mean," Mai cringed, "Especially when he was shot on the recording at the end…"
"So it went from Sat-Kill to Colony Drop," Kokonoe summarized.
"M-more or less, yeah," Mai nodded, "With how critical the situation is, we called a truce with Eggman and his troops to stop the ARK from falling, each of us forming a specific team for certain parts of the core."
"We...ano, also found out the core was also using a Cauldron in its design a-" Roll began.
"A what?!" Kokonoe snapped.
"A-A Cauldron!" Roll squeaked as she hid behind Mai with Yacker.
"Son of a…fuckign idiots!"
"You think that's bad, guess what they used it for? Repeated dives of the prototype of Shadow; The Biolizard. It ended up sealed inside of the Cauldron for fifty years, even!" Mai explained, "When the program to drop the ARK activated, it also released the Biolizard and, well, it looked more like a Black Beast."
"...It's official. Everyone on Mobius is a fucking goddamn idiot!" Kokonoe snapped, "You don't fucking mess with this shit for a fucking goddamn reason!"
"While that was happening, it turns out that Noel was brought to Shadow and whatever happened, it caused Shadow to rip Ben out of him and actually go to the Core to fight off the Biolizard with Ragna while Sonic, Roll, Sonia, Manic, Knuckles, and Tikal went to stop the Chaos Emeralds," Mai explained, changing the subject, "The distraction worked, but...It turns out that Gerald Robotnik put a hidden command into the Biolizard somehow and it used Chaos Control to fuse itself and the Cauldron to the space colony right at the end of the Eclipse Cannon, transforming into the FinalHazard and, well...yeah…" she handed Kokonoe a picture of it they were able to get from the ARK.
"...Mother of God…" Kokonoe whispered as Tager peeked over her to look at it.
"So let me understand this, Mai, Ms. Sakurai; this FinalHazard was determined to keep the ARK on its Colony Drop with the planet?"
"Hai. So, Sonikku and Shadow-san used the Chaos Emeralds and became Super Sonic and Super Shadow to fight it and stop the ARK from hitting the planet," Roll explained, "They managed to defeat it, and stop the ARk from falling using Chaos Control….demo…"
"...Shadow...didn't make it," Mai finished as she looked down, a somber look on her face.
"All that was left were his Limiter Rings that Sonikku gave to Noel-chan and Rouge-san," Roll noted, her ears drooping sadly, "He was our enemy at first, but...in the end, he died a true hero."
"...Damn."
"Hai. Oh, and when we got back to the surface, we learned that Aleena-Okaa-sama arrested all of GUN because Fiona Fox was really Inspector Carmelita and she sent all their illegal activities to her and the UN," Roll noted.
"Which is a huge relief," Mai sighed, "I'm glad we don't have to deal with GUN ever again…"
"...You do know you probably jinxed yourself, right?" Kokonoe deadpanned.
"...Mou…" Mai groaned, a depressing aura around her.
"Th-there there…" Roll comforted, patting the blunette on the back a bit, "A-Anyways, after that, everyone went off to do their own thing and rest. Mai-chan was enjoying Noel-chan's cooking...Urp. G-gomen. Kevin-san, Gwen-san, and Rook-san were busy helping the aliens GUN had illegally held, and Makoto-chan and I were having a small talk with her finally admitting she loves Ben-san."
"Ugh...they should just get it over with and fuck already," Kokonoe deadpanned.
"Kokonoe!"
"What?! I'm just giving my opinion, but the god damn authors are too god damn afraid of….know what? Forget it for now," Kokonoe groaned, pulling out a lollipop before plopping it into her mouth, "Just….move on so we can finish this goddamn re-cap."
"O-Okay…" Mai sweatdropped, "While we were all resting it, it seems Eggman had a bit of a breakdown and stayed in his room just watching things on TV in just his PJs...ew..."
"He seemed to have a bit of a breakdown with what happened on the ARK," Roll noted.
"Well of course he would. The guy' grandfather attempted to commit genocide and used a goddamn Cauldron to create that fucking nightmare fuel!" Kokonoe snapped, "Ugh…"
"Well, he had an epiphany and took curing Cassia quite seriously, even making a memory-reading hemet to find the cause," Roll looked at a sheet on what Eggman did.
"Where'd you get that?" Mai asked.
"Yacker-chan found it," Roll replied.
"Ah," Mai nodded as she looked it over, "Well...seems they found the cause was a green bow-themed Izayoi a…"
"Hold it," Kokonoe held a hand up.
"Um...What's wrong?" Mai asked.
"Did you just say 'Izayoi?' As in the Sealed Weapon Izayoi?"
"I think so," Mai replied.
"Ano...I remember the Oracle of Delphius mentioning that they're extremely rare, but there might be at least or just one on every continent," Roll tapped her cheek in thought.
"..."
"Then again, he said that all kinds of plantets could have an Izayoi on them…either artificially made or naturally made by the world's energies..."
"..."
"...Uh, Kokonoe?" Mai asked uneasily.
"...Find it. Find it and destroy it before anyone, especially the NOL, use it."
"Um...O-okay. Though...that's gonna be hard…" Mai checked the paper, "Considering that someone is using one of Eggman's robots, one called Soundwave, to collect the broken pieces of Tsubaki's Izayoi and had a duplicate self-destruct to throw Eggman off the trail."
"...FUCK!" Kokonoe facedesked.
EXTRA
"Ano...I don't really know much about the Izayoi," Roll noted, "Could you tell me about it, Kokonoe-hakase?"
"...You want the abridged version, or the full version?" Kokonoe asked, "Because this goddamn omake has given me a migraine, and I want it to fucking end soon."
"Maybe the abridged, please? I don't want you to feel worse," Roll replied.
"...Fine. Basically it acts like a double edged sword. It raises the user's power by several times, but it takes their 'light' in exchange," Kokonoe explained, "A sign of this is slowly going blind and then, from overuse, eventually killing its user."
"Oh kami…" Roll gasped.
"Yeah...along with its user's light, it has the ability to draw in electromagnetic spectrum, including radio waves, rendering radio calls worthless," Kokonoe added as she looked at the note, "Though it seems that the Izayoi can take on different standard forms on your planet. Even a cure of sorts from what I'm guessing?"
"Hai. The Oracle of Delphius had a cure and it even gave her a new weapon," Roll confirmed.
"That sword and shield of hers?" Mai asked, earning a nod from Roll.
"Demo...she did lose her memories of after the academy on your world, though," Roll frowned.
"Yeah...She did tell me that," Mai frowned.
"...It's probably a side effect of the Mind Eater curse," Kokonoe spoke up, earning their attention, "Basically, as the name suggest, it 'eats' away at the memories of those the user of the Nox Nyctores, Ouroboros. There's two variants of this. The Forced Restraint, which is used to mind control people, and the Cursed Order, which forces self-consciousness on the others, IE forcing your own consciousness onto them and forcing them to do what you want."
"That's horrible!" Roll gasped.
"No shit, and no doubt Tsubaki was affected by it when she first appeared on Mobius," Kokonoe stated, "And there's only three people I know who could use that spell, one of which is no longer among the living. The Imperator, and…" she paused as she growled, "Yuuki Terumi…"
"Eh?"
"Okay, you two can get out. My advice is just do what you're doing," Kokonoe informed, "I need to go take some aspirin or something strong."
"Demo…"
"Leave before I eject you both into a room labeled 'experimental slime room'," Kokonoe threatened.
"EEK!" both girls freaked as they fled.
"Yeah you better run.." Kokonoe frowned as the curtain lowered itself.
GT: Hoo boy...Things were going so good, but now we've got to deal with someone who wants the Izayoi.
SZ: Yeah...let's just hope it's not who we think it is...things were just finally calming down, and if they are involved….Eggman is gonna be the least of their worries from now on.
GT: Not sure if it is who you think it is or if it's who I think it is. But hoo boy...that pen-shaped blade and book-shaped shield are just not gonna stay down, are they?
SZ: Of course not. As Kokonoe stated in the omake, it is a double edged sword….a VERY dangerous one at that.
GT: Yep.
SZ: Hai...but anyways, be prepared for the next arc of this story...not sure what it'll be, but given that cliffhanger-ish ending….yeah. Things are gonna be tense.
GT: Indeed. Until next time, everyone! Make sure you read and review and submit those questions involving the story for Kokonoe to answer next time!