GammaTron: Another day, another chapter.
Seanzilla115: Eeyup, which means another adventure for our heroes a-*hears a knock*...did you invite someone GT?
GT: No idea. You?
SZ: No. Who could it be?*walks over to the door and answers it* Hel-Z0?!
Z0: Yo! I got bored so I'm here to spectate. *drops giant gift basket in SZ's arms* I brought snacks!
SZ:...Are there Butterfingers in this?
Z0: Maybe…*shrugs teasingly*
GT: Anything for a guy with braces in it?
Z0: Hm...one sec *splits in two as Green Z0 runs out before coming back with a second gift basket bigger then GT himself* Should be something in here.
GT: Thank you. *grumbles* I hate braces...lousy 2.5 years… Ooh! Chocolate!
SZ:...*pulls out a few Butterfinger bars from teh first basket*...You are more than welcome to come in, Z0….er, Z0s
Z0: *both* Don't over think it, save yourself the headaches *both fuse into one again*
GT: Excellent! Glad to have our resident Tokusatsu expert at anytime of day!
Z0: *Both Z0's bring in giant comfy couch* I'm just gonna put this down over by the water cooler.
SZ: it's cool. *looks back at the readers* anyways folks, we're here to bring ya another chapter of Omniverse Underground.
GT: That's right! Hope you're all ready for a doozy of a chapter!
SZ: Eeyup. Will we find out where Soundwave was heading at the end of the last chapter? Who is...know what? We'll let you all see for yourselves. As usual, we dont' own anyone in this story except for our OCs.
GT: So let's start. Kamen Rider Zer0, care to do the honors?
Z0: No one here owns any of the properties used in the making of this story. All of them belong to their proper company, creators and copyright owners. No profits are being made from this, it is a fan made work for entertainment. Please be sure to leave any and all thoughts, notes and or critique in a Review.
SZ: Eeyup. So let us begin.*pulls the curtain down*
"How is he?" Roll asked as she and Skye were looking into the New Mobotropolis Sakurai home's living room, where Haseo was looking sadly at the floor while he was lying on the couch.
"It turns out that the last time anyone saw Nicole was five years ago when she was sent on a mission and ended up MIA," Skye explained.
"Mmm…" Haseo whimpered a bit, his ears drooped as his tails swayed sadly.
"It feels like we take a step forward, only to fall back two," Skye frowned as Roll walked over and gently hugged Haseo.
"It will be okay, Nii-chan," Roll comforted, "We'll find her."
"...I hope so…" Haseo whispered, "I just hope she's okay…"
Skye patted his head, "She's a Hyorinmaru woman, kiddo. I know she'll be okay."
"...H...hai…" Haseo nodded, still a bit depressed as he stood up, "Maybe I'll look out at the stars tonight….th…" he paused as he blinked for a moment, "...T-tou-san?"
"Yeah?"
"G-Gwen-san and Kevin-San are Plumbers, right?"
"Yes."
"And...eto, they're like space cops, hai?"
"From what I've been able to summarize on their duties, then yes, they're kinda like that," Skye replied, "Why ask, kiddo?"
"W...well...considering no one has seen her around Mobius in five years...maybe Nicole-san is...up in space?" Haseo suggested.
"..." Skye and Roll looked at one another and then at Haseo.
"...Possibly. I mean, with the existence of aliens all but confirmed thanks to your friends and your Shield Sisters, we do know now that there's life out there," Skye nodded.
"H-hai…" Haseo nodded, "Reason I brought it up is...well, II was thinking maybe we could ask Gwen-San and Kevin-san if they know anything."
"That's a good idea, Haseo-chan," Roll smiled, her hug becoming softer with a nuzzle to the top of his head.
"A-arigatou, Onee-chan….oh! A-are they free right now?"
"Not sure," Skye shrugged, "Maybe they're busy with something important."
"WOAH!" Kevin yelped as he crashed into the wall, "Ow..."
"You shouldn't have dared me to an Arm Wrestling battle, Kevin-San," Makoto smirked, resting her arm on the table.
"...Double or nothing," Kevin frowned, placing his hand on the metal wall as he was covered in the stuff.
"Sure you want to do that?" Ben asked as Kevin walked back to the table, "She gives Rath trouble, you know."
"So? I made a bet with Manic I'd beat her in an Arm Wrestling competition, and I ain't backing down now," Kevin stated as he placed his arm on the table.
"There are this many kinds of aliens?" Mai asked as she sat nearby with Gwen, the former looking at a holographic screen from a metal bar in her hands.
"And an important part in the academy is memorizing at least half of them," Gwen nodded.
'...Cajun would probably love that part of the Plumbers Academy,' Mai sweatdropped.
"AHH!" Kevin screamed as he crashed into the wall again, "...triple or nothing."
"Kevin, I swear that if you break that wall, you're the one who fixes it," Gwen frowned.
"Noted," Kevin said as he pulled himself out of the wall before reaching into his pocket and pulled something out.
"...Is that Taednite?"
"Yup," Kevin nodded as he was coated in the diamond like substance, "Let's see squirrel girl beat me with this."
"Tempting fate," Makoto adopted a squirrely smirk.
"Whatever," Kevin snorted as he sat back down, slamming his arm on the table, "I ain't losing this time."
"We'll see," Makoto kept her smirk as she grabbed his hand.
"Oh, so that's why your copies kept shouting in pain each time," Mai blinked twice as she looked away from the entry she was reading to Ben, "Though...why was one of them…?"
"Honestly? I have no clue why that copy acted like that. Then again, it's always the fifth copy that is different," Ben shrugged.
"Oh...soka," Mai noted, "...Well, m-"
"WOAH!" Kevin yelped as he was thrown through the wall, "...Shut up, Manic."
"What'd I say?" Manic asked, a large grin on his face, while Tsubaki rolled her eyes as they paused in their work with Rook.
"I know what you're gonna say with that shit eating grin. I made that face a couple of times before," Kevin frowned.
"I warned you," Ben shook his head, "She can pin Rath in Arm Wrestling."
"Yup. Learned from the best," Makoto grinned as she stretched her arm a bit before narrowing her eyes at Ben, "...Though I will beat FourArms one day, Ben-kun. That I promise you."
"I have no doubt about that," Manic snickered, "Now what did you say, Kev? 'Triple or nothing'?"
"..."
"Manic, could you help with this?" Tsubaki asked, seeing the twitch in Kevin's eye.
"Hm? Oh, yeah, sure," Manic nodded, twirling his Medallion as it changed into its knife form and he began to tighten the bolts she was pointing to.
"No armor this time?" Rook asked.
"I can summon the knife on command, but that armor? Still trying to figure it out," Manic shrugged.
"I see...interesting," Rook noted as he looked over what he could of the knife Manic held, "Were you aware it was capable of this?"
"Not really. I mean, everyone thought it was just Bro with his Medallion turning into that sword of his," Manic shrugged, "Then mine went and turned into this knife."
"..." Tsubaki's eyes widened before she walked over to her knapsack and pulled out a familiar book and began to look it over, "A sword...and now a knife?"
"Yup. Appeared back at Chunan," Manic added, "Right when me and Sis-in-Law were dealing with Tsao. Remember?"
"Tsao?" Gwen asked.
"A really...REALLY sexist rooster that attempted to take over Mobius," Makoto explained.
"...How…" Gwen began.
"He had an entire prison mostly filled with women because he finds females inferior and weak."
"...Noted," Gwen frowned.
"Ain't that from that library Sonia holed us up in after that murder in the museum?" Manic asked as he finally noticed the book.
"I found a copy in the last town we had been to before going to Chunan," Tsubaki replied before showing the page of their ancestor, "Look."
"Yeah. That's our ancestor that had all three Medallions," Manic replied, raising a brow, "Why?"
"Look at his neck and then his hands," Tsubaki explained, "This page shows him with your Medallion and Sonia's, but he has a sword." she turned the page, "This page has a knife instead of a sword, but he has Sonia's Medallion and Sonic's now."
"...Woah," Manic gawked, finally seeing where she was going with this, "Mind officially blown right now."
"What?" Kevin raised a brow.
"Look at this," Tsubaki turned the page, showing the hedgehog with Manic and Sonic's medallions...but wielding a decorated spear.
"So...You're saying that Sis has one, too?" Manic pondered as he looked at the page.
"Most likely, hai," Tsubaki nodded, "And this is just a guess, but it might give her control over water, given how your knife and armor allows you to control the land while Sonic's sword allows him to control the wind."
"A triple threat," Manic noted, "Tight. Wonder when she'll be able to unlock hers?"
"Who knows?" Tsubaki shrugged a bit, "But it is strange...Why are they coming out now? And not sooner?"
"No clue, but I'm not complaining," Manic shrugged as he held up the red and green ProtoTool, "How's this, Rook?"
"Hmm…" Rook muttered as he looked it over, checking for any errors or misconfigurations, "This is an excellent build. Very nice, both of you."
"Well, we've been having a lot of tutoring from Ben when he uses Greymatter out on the road," Manic shrugged.
"And it shows," Rook nodded, "If you keep this up, you might be able to attend the Plumbers Academy."
"Whoa, dude," Manic held his hands up, "Not really an officer in the works here. I like being myself, ya know?"
"...I...suppose that is fair, I guess," Rook blinked a bit before looking at Tsubaki, "What of you, Ms. Yayoi?"
"Hmm? Oh...well, it does sound interesting…" Tsubaki admitted, "It would probably be like the Academy my friends and I went to back at the 15th Hierarchical City of Torefune, otherwise known as the Academy City."
"Hmm? An Academy City?" Rook repeated.
"80% of the city is related directly to the school, given the max capacity is around tens of thousands a-" Tsubaki began.
"Woah woah woah! Back up!" Kevin spoke up, earning her attention, "You telling us almost the entire city is a school?"
"That's correct," Tsubaki nodded.
"...Just...why?" Kevin groaned.
"A city dedicated to higher education? Interesting," Gwen admitted.
"...Run, just run!" Kevin freaked as he booked it out of there, Makoto picking up Ben and Mai and ran away as the two redheads started discussing the benefits and negatives of a city turned into a center of education.
"Wait! Don't leave me!" Manic shouted as he ran after them.
"Your findings?" Eggman asked as he stood before Shockwave and Lien-Da.
"The remains of Soundwave have been analyzed. The composition differed enough that there is a ninety seven point five percent chance that the Soundwave that self destructed was an imitation," Shockwave explained.
"...So that means the real one is most likely still out there somewhere," Eggman surmised, "...I better put out an order to everyone to let us be informed if they see him."
"At once," Shockwave nodded, bringing up a holographic screen as he typed down the order for Eggman.
"Lien-Da, thank you for informing me about Sleet's condition. He has been given the month off with a mandatory weekly counseling session," Eggman looked over at the echidna, "Were you able to find the Bow?"
"Yes. It took quite a while, but Thunderbolt's troops found it," Lien-Da answered.
"Excellent. N-"
"But…" Lien-Da spoke up.
"...Yes?" Eggman frowned.
"Thunderbolt found out what we were doing and wants to personally give you the bow herself."
"...I...I see…" Eggman nodded slowly.
"Yeah...it's at her base right now…"
"...I am not going there."
"Who says you have to?" Lien-Da asked, "Just call her up, and tell that you need that bow immediately. Knowing her, she'll transport it over to you faster than Starscream's losing streak."
"Excellent point," Eggman nodded.
"Speaking of, where is he?" Lien-Da asked, not seeing the flyer.
"He is in post-op," Shockwave replied, dismissing his screen.
"Post-op?"
"He requested a complete overhaul of his body," Shockwave explained, "Once he is done going through reloading his movement cycle, you will be surprised."
"Shockwave, send a message to Thunderbolt that I require that Bow immediately and that not a single soldier is allowed to physically touch it just in case the illness spreads through touch," Eggman ordered before seeing Lien-Da trying not to look at anything, "...Who touched it?"
"A few of her soldiers tested it out to see if they could….ugh...play dodge the arrow…" Lien-Da groaned, rubbing the bridge of her nose to sooth the incoming headache.
"...Shockwave, remind me; why did I give Thunderbolt the idiots again?"
"Because we wanted to test the theory that having multiple idiots together, there would be a high chance of success," Shockwave replied.
"...Put them all in quarantine and start giving them the same treatment as Cassia," Eggman ordered.
"Understood."
"And cut their pay to a tenth of what it was for incompetency on the job," Eggman added.
"Of course."
"It's been a few years since my last meeting with the leaders of the factions of the Freedom Fighters," Chuck noted as he, Roll, and Sonic walked through the recently finished park, "Tell me, do they still end up arguing about White being psychic or not?"
"Oh yeah," Sonic nodded, "Like you wouldn't believe."
Chuck chuckled, "Well, I'm glad some things haven't changed."
"Yeah," Sonic nodded.
"But I'm also glad that some things have changed," Chuck noted, giving a nod towards Roll as she was distracted by Yacker trying to catch a butterfly, "It seems that you and Azure had the same interests in women."
"Oh yeah...Mom's originally from Ryugu," Sonic recalled, "How did she and Dad meet anyway?"
"Well, your mother was a singer at this lounge in Northamer, having left Ryugu to do so, and your father and his 'brothers' Sam and Max…"
"We know them," Sonic noted.
"That worries me and relieves me at the same time. Anyways, they were on a case involving finding this missing long necked Overlander and a stolen frozen bigfoot and they needed to impress a record label who just so happened to have a representative at that lounge your mother sung at," Chuck went on, "Azure took one look and was smitten. The same with your mother, even if she finds Sam and Max...eccentric. They talked and ended up doing an improvised duet. Not only did they get the record label deal for what they needed, but she went with your father and, well, a few years later and you and your siblings were here."
"...Wow."
"Yeah," Chuck nodded before looking at a clock set up on a pole near the center of the park, "Ah. It's almost time for the leaders to start arriving at the castle."
"Oh...well we better hurry a-" Sonic began before someone bumped into him, "H-hey."
"Oh. Sorry man. We just got here for a meeting a-…" the person that bumped into him began before he tensed up, "...Oh...my gods. Are you Sonic? As in the Sonic the Hedgehog?"
"Yeah, that's me," Sonic chuckled as he looked at the orange porcupine that had bumped into him, "And you are?"
"Ahem! S-Spike. Leader of the Medista Freedom Fighters," the porcupine quickly introduced himself, "A-and with me is Sonar a…" he looked around, "Sonar?"
"Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! You are so beautiful in person!" the two looked at a teal and white fennec fox wearing a pink and black tee and black tights, her tail wagging, as she was before Roll.
"A-Arigatou…." Roll blushed.
"Uh...Sonar?"
"Hmm? Oh! Uh...I am so sorry," the Fennec fox quickly bowed, "Just...got a bit over excited there for a moment."
"Heh-heh. Told ya you'd get some fans with your singing," Sonic chuckled at a blushing Roll.
"E-eto…" Roll muttered.
"Ahem! A-anyway, Sonic, it's a HUGE honor to meet you," Spike quickly bowed to Sonic as Sonar walked over to him, "Me, Sonar, and our friend Trevor back home have been hearing stories about you ever since we first formed our group."
"As if Sonny's ego wasn't big enough already…" Chuck whispered jokingly to Roll, who gave a small giggle.
"Well, we were just about to head for the castle for the meeting. Care to come along? I'd like to listen to some stories of your adventures as Freedom Fighters," Sonic grinned.
"...It would be a total honor," Spike whispered in awe.
Sonic nodded as the group began to walk away from the area.
"Um…" Sonar began as she walked up next to Roll, "Again, sorry about earlier. I...normally don't act that excited. But, well, your singing was just so beautiful and…"
"I-It's okay," Roll assured, holding her hand out, "Would you like to be friends, Sonar-san?"
"I'd like that," Sonar smiled as she accepted the handshake, "It would be nice to have someone to talk too when I'm not busy in the workshop."
"C-workshop?"
"I'm the team's tech expert," Sonar explained before giggling a bit, "Trust me. You won't believe how many times I had to get the guys out of jams."
Roll nodded, "Manic-san and Tsubaki-chan are the tech experts of our team, so I wouldn't really the exact number of times with them."
Manic and Tsubaki sneezed at the same time. An alarm blared before both looked at what they had been working on with wide eyes.
"Oh shi-!" Manic began.
*BOOM*
"I hate it when dudes are talking about someone when we're working on something," Manic muttered in annoyance as Tsubaki lowered her shield, bits and pieces of metal on the floor and stuck in some walls.
"At least we already changed from oil to air pressure," Tsubaki noted.
"That's true," Manic agreed before looking at the bits of metal all over, "Though...we're gonna need some more metal for the frame."
"Yes, but still...we're getting so much closer," Tsubaki admitted.
"Yeah," Manic nodded.
"Seriously? You had to deal with the SandBlasters?" Sonic asked.
"Like you wouldn't believe," Spike sighed a bit, "Seriously, those guys have the nerve to call themselves Freedom Fighters, and yet they persecute anyone with robotic parts in place of their normal ones."
"So I take it that Jonathan is no longer the leader of them," Chuck frowned.
"We haven't found any evidence yet, but we think that the current leader of them offed him or set him up to be Roboticized," Sonar noted, her ears drooping.
"Yeah...and don't get us started on their little 'business' of theirs."
"Business?" the three repeated.
"It's a rumor, but...well, from what we heard, they're trafficking anyone they find suitable, especially Beastkins."
"Suitable?" Roll repeated, tilting her head.
"Basically anyone that's good for slave labor, or if they're female…" Spike began.
"We get the idea," Sonar frowned a bit.
"Hai…" Roll agreed, her eyes narrowed as her tail twitched in agitation with her ears flattened against her head.
"Truly terrible," Chuck shook his head as they soon turned a corner, "Ah. There it is."
The four younger Mobians looked out. Before them was the rebuilt palace. It was rather tall and Sonic and Roll were quick to recognize that some of the stained glass windows of the palace were made from Diamondhead's crystals. The palace, while holding some past designs and traits of a palace, was also modernized with a landing pad near the top, the castle doors being automatic sliding doors, and a few other minor details. Already, other Mobians, Overlanders, and Beastkin were congregating there. A slender, auburn-haired, rabbit Beastkin and a blue-haired Overlander were set up at a table that many of them were going to and from.
"Oh, good day, your highness," the rabbit greeted as Sonic lead the group up to the desk.
"Good day. We're here for the meeting," Sonic informed.
"Oh. Yes," she nodded as she picked up a clipboard, "Names of your group or groups?"
"Underground Freedom Fighters," Sonic replied before motioning to Spike.
"Medista Freedom Fighters," Spike replied.
"Oh? Where is Lady Nephtys? Isn't she…?"
"She's...no longer with us," Spike sighed as he and Sonar looked down sadly, the former's ears drooped.
"Oh!" she gasped before her ears drooped, "My humblest apologies."
"It's okay," Spike assured.
"W-Well…" she looked at her clipboard, "Your seconds?"
"Roll Sakurai," Sonic replied as the hedgefox bowed.
"Sonar the Fennec," Spike replied as the fennec fox nodded a bit.
The rabbit nodded before looking to Chuck, "And you?"
"Just here to give the latest report on defenses for the city," Chuck replied.
The rabbit nodded before handing Sonic and Spike a pair of cards with their team's symbols on them, "The meeting starts in thirty minutes in the main hall." she then handed Chuck a white card with a metallic blue 'S' on it, "Welcome to the palace. Please have a good day."
"Thanks," Sonic, Chuck, and Spike nodded as the group walked inside.
"I didn't really see any Mobians taking in Freedom Fighter leaders," Sonar noted.
"It's a test of character that the Queen's implementing," Chuck explained, "How can you be willing to fight for freedom if it isn't for everyone?"
"...Fair enough I guess," Spike nodded.
"That's...not a bad idea, actually," Sonar noted, her tail wagging a little.
"Hai," Roll nodded in agreement before she noticed Spike taking a calm, deep breath, "...Everything okay?"
"Hmm? Oh...sorry. Just...this is my first meeting as the leader of the group…" Spike replied, "So I can't help but be nervous…"
"Everyone has that feeling for the first few meetings they're in," Chuck assured, "Why, Sonny boy here nearly threw up before and after the first time I had him in charge of a meeting."
"U-Uncle Chuck!" Sonic exclaimed, his face lighting up in a blush.
"H-He what?" Spike asked.
"Indeed. Even the queen ended up with a panic attack before her first meeting and a bit after it when she was first introduced as the queen," Chuck noted, "Just take a deep breath and just do your best is all I can say."
"Chuck!" the five looked to see Skye walk over, Haseo beside him, "There you are! Please tell me you have the notes."
"Right here," Chuck replied as he reaching into his head quills and pulled out a set of paper.
"Great," Skye nodded before seeing Spike and Sonar, "Oh, hello. Skye Sakurai. Pleasure to meet you both."
"Thanks," Spike nodded a bit, "Spike, leader of the Medista Freedom Fighters."
"Sonar, Tech expert of the Medista Freedom Fighters," Sonar added.
"Interesting," Skye nodded as Roll nuzzled Haseo in a hug, "Well, you already met my daughter it seems. The one she's hugging is my son, Haseo."
"A...ano….h-hi," Haseo waved in a shy manner.
"..." Sonar let out a small squeak, resisting the urge to glomp the little twin-tailed fox as her own tail wagged excitedly.
'And once again, the natural shyness of my kiddo makes another girl want to hug him,' Skye thought with a tiny grin.
"Ahem! S-so, I take it you're here for the meeting as well, Mr. Sakurai?" Spike asked.
"Yes. I'm working on what we're presenting to the Freedom Fighters here today," Skye explained, "It's still a prototype, but we've managed to finally get the apple issue fixed."
"...Apple issue?" Spike raised a brow.
*poof*
"And now it just triggers when we say that," Skye blinked twice at the fluffy Haseo, 'I really need to ask one of his Shield Sisters to stay with him when there's an experiment going on when it involves explosions as an unintended side-effect.'
"...I apologize in advance for this, Roll," Sonar spoke before she glomped the fluffy Haseo, "SO CUTE~!"
Roll just giggled, "He is, isn't he?"
"E-eto...eto…" Haseo muttered, his face a bright red as Sonar nuzzled against him.
"Girls just can't resist the fluffy," Sonic chuckled under his breath to Spike.
"...Apple issue?" Spike repeated.
"Okay, he'll be here in a few moments," Gwen noted as she and Aleena stood at the landing bay, the former putting her Plumber's badge away.
"I am rather nervous," Aleena admitted, "I was unaware of what has been happening for most likely over fifty years and so many lives ruined."
"It wasn't your fault. It was the fault of GUN," Gwen assured, "He'll understand that you weren't to blame." her eyes glowed briefly, "And he's here."
The air before them rippled before it revealed a pure white Plumber's ship landed before them. The underside slid back before extending a ramp, allowing a figure to emerge from the ship. Aleena gave a formal curtsey as Gwen gave a military salute.
The meeting hall was spacious with a series of monitors set up at the tables and around the podium in the center of the hall, the tables set up in an elevating fashion with nearly every single seat filled with Freedom Fighter leaders and their plus ones. All talking settled down once they saw Aleena enter and approach the podium. Once she was on the podium, she looked around before nodding. She cleared her throat and all Freedom Fighters looked at her.
"To begin this meeting, I would like to thank each and everyone of you for coming here," Aleena thanked, "And to welcome you to New Mobotropolis, built upon the remains of what had once been Mobotropolis and Robotropolis." applause came about from many of them, "It has taken us a few months. It may have taken even a year had it not been for how many of our fellow Mobians, Overlanders, and Beastkin who stayed to aid in the rebuilding. I cannot express it enough how grateful those who live in this city and myself are for what many of you have directly or indirectly did to aide us in this time of need." she waited until the next round of applause ended before she resumed, "Now on to the first purpose of this meeting; Based on what you can see, there are two spots in this meeting hall that are empty. The first of which is the first topic of discussion: The Sandblasters."
"About time we talked about those bastards," one of the leaders there spoke with a frown.
Aleena nodded, "Mr. Samuel Fritz, you have the floor."
The monitors changed to show a rattlesnake Beastkin standing up, wearing a poncho and cowboy hat, "Well, my team in the west has been dealing with a recent string of slave trading." he held up a thick folder, "In the recent two years, there have been over eighty-seven different chains we've busted and in each of them, a description matching at least one of the Sandblasters has been made by them either capturing or assisting in the movement of these chains."
"Who is it?"
"Not just 'it'; they. As in each and every single member has been described at least once," Samuel replied, "As for some of their names...Avery the Bear, Jolt the Roadrunner, Shift E. Wolf, Tex the Lizard, and the leader of the group himself, Jack Rabbit."
Aleena nodded as Samuel sat down, the screens changing back to her, "Thank you, Mr. Samuel Fritz, for both this startling reveal and for freeing those set up to be sold as slaves." the screens changed to a nervous Spike, "Mr. Spike the Porcupine, you have the floor with your team's issues with the Sandblasters in recent years."
"R-right," Spike nodded, taking a deep breath as he stood up, "For the past few years, we've been trying to take down Eggman's forces hidden within the desert in Maizuri, but the Sandblaster's keep getting in our way, telling us to let 'experts' handle it. Not a bunch of, and I quote, 'peacekeeping hippie brats'." he frowned, "It was one of these incidents that cost us our previous leader's life along with twenty of our teammates."
"...How many members are left?" one of the leaders asked.
"...Just me, Sonar, and our friend Trevor the Mole back home," Spike sighed.
"A moment of silence for those lost," Aleena ordered.
Almost as one, many of the Freedom Fighters began to stand up and bow their heads, remove their hats and put them over their hearts, and began to give silent prayers. Sonic gave Spike a reassuring pat on his shoulder while Roll gave Sonar a brief, comforting hug.
"...I...believe that's all I have to say at the moment…" Spike said before nodding his head to everyone there, "Thank you all for the support."
"...Um...Spike? What about the Dark Legion there?" Sonar asked.
"...Oh right. Aside from the Sandblasters, we've received reports on a Dark Legion base. Not much is known about their leader, N, but they're a very dangerous tactician," Spike explained, "Whatever plan we come up with, N is always two steps ahead of us. But..."
"...But what?"
"For some reason, N doesn't seem to try and capture us...probably because they know who the real threat is in the deserts," Spike replied.
"A silent truce of sorts, it seems," T'Challa assumed.
"P-Possibly," Spike nodded as he sat down, the monitors changing to show Aleena.
"Thank you, Mr. Spike Porcupine," Aleena thanked as more Freedom Fighters went on to add accounts until a pair of buttons emerged from before the monitors of each leader, "Before you are two buttons. The red button is a vote against while the blue button is a vote for. I now call to vote; the dismissal of the Sandblasters and declaration that they are no longer Freedom Fighters, but enemies of those against us."
"I second the motion!" the fennec fox leader declared.
"Please press your buttons now, be it in favor or against," Aleena instructure as the monitors changed to show two bars, an 'X' below one and an 'O' below the other.
"In favor," Spike and Sonar immediately stated as they pressed their button.
After a few seconds, aside from a tiny bit of red above the 'X,' the blue bar above the 'O' nearly reached the top. Aleena nodded at the results.
"By majority's vote, the Sandblasters are no longer Freedom Fighters and are hereby enemies of the Freedom Fighters," Aleena declared.
"Agreed," mostly everyone in the room voiced.
"...Wait a minute…" Jian spoke up, seeing the small red bar for the 'X, "...Okay. Pardon my language, but who're the motherfuckers who voted against it?"
"While some spoke aloud their agreed vote, others chose to remain silent as they voted," the Lion Beastkin from the video conference spoke, "We must respect their opinion, whether we agree to it or not."
"But…ugh. Fine," Jian sighed in defeat.
"Thank you, Leonidas," Aleena nodded, "As to the second set of seats...we must first discuss recent events." she looked towards some Mobians and Beastkin with devices filled with water over their gills, "With the moon's recent damage, how have the allied nations beneath the waters of the planet fairing?"
"Despite increased storms beneath the waves and damages to our homes, there have been no casualties," a shark Mobian explained, "Thank you for your concern for us, your Highness."
"You are quite welcome," Aleena nodded, "Please, continue. Has anything else happened with the moon's partial destruction with the nations, homes, and lives both beneath the waves and on the shorelines you protect?"
"Aside from a few destroyed homes and towns, we're still checking for any further damage to the areas," the shark stated, "Hopefully we can fix everything in time before Akhlut takes advantage of this."
"Akhlut?" Sonic repeated, "Who's that?"
"...The most dangerous Mobian in the sea," the shark frowned.
"One of Eggman's Grandmasters, as well," the tigershark Beastkin with him added, her own face marred with a scowl, "Only making him far greater of a danger."
"...How much of a danger?" Sonic asked.
"Aside from possessing incredible strength, his enhancements allow him to delve into someone's mind and control them like puppets."
"Wait. Go into their minds? ...Is he psychic like White?" the fennec fox asked, looking over at the white hedeghog.
"Finnic…!" everyone groaned.
"What? It's a legitimate question!"
"This is not the time to talk about White's ability to predict the future," Leonidas frowned.
"Because he can't do that," a fox Beastkin huffed in annoyance.
"...I...I just knew this would happen," Aleena shook her head as the entire group of Freedom Fighters began discussing and arguing over whether White was psychic or not.
"This...This is rather strange," Chuck noted, blinking twice at the arguing as he, Haseo, and Skye sat beside Miyuki and White, the sole female of them hugging father and son with her tails so as to not let them vanish on her.
"White-kyun…"
*HONK*
"Thankyu," Miyuki thanked as White lowered the air horn in his hand.
*poof*
"...Mou," Haseo pouted a bit, his fur all poofed up again.
"..." Miyuki stared at Haseo.
"...One...two...three," Skye counted down as Haseo was smothered by Miyuki into a cuddling hug.
'Lucky kid…' many of the single males there thought, seeing his head nestling into the taller Mobian's impressive bosom.
"Mmm...you're still so kawaii, Haseo-chan, kyu," Miyuki smiled as she hugged the younger fox, "...White-kyun?"
"Yes?" White asked before one of Miyuki's tails handed him a note under the table, reading 'I want a baby, kyu', "..."
"And down he goes," Skye noted under his breath, still counting in his head, "Next Aleena will call a ten minute break."
"What?" Chuck blinked twice.
"I believe a quick ten minute break is in order," Aleena sighed, "Please reconvene in ten minutes."
"Then Finnic will say something and recline in his chair while taking a quick nap since he hasn't been sleeping well…"
"Finally," Finnic snorted before leaning back in his chair and started snoring.
"...and finally, Aleena will come over, pulling out a brush, and start taking care of Haseo's fur," Skye finished.
"While I am glad of your improvisation on settling the argument, please make sure to put earmuffs on him next time you do so," Aleena advised, walking over while pulling a small brush out and started tending to the fluffy fur on Haseo.
"Noted, kyu," Miyuki nodded before looking over at Skye, "And I am glad to see you once more, Skye-san, kyu."
"And you're not so little anymore, Mimi," Skye chuckled while Chuck blinked twice at him as Skye moved two steps to the right before a block of ice was in where he sat, a blushing Miyuki glaring at him, "And you've really improved your reaction time with ice manipulation."
"Thankyu...but please do not call me 'Mimi.' Only the other half of my husband may call me that, kyu," Miyuki stated.
"...Other half?" Chuck asked.
"MPD more or less, kyu."
"Very interesting relationship," Skye noted with a small smile, "Oh, and White's getting up now."
"Ugh…" White groaned as he got back in his chair.
"Okay, how are you doing that?" Chuck asked.
"The math of probabilities and observation of the area," Skye shrugged.
"Oh...I see," Chuck noted, "Heh...for a moment, I thought...You know what? I-I'm not gonna jinx it."
"Good," Skye nodded.
"And thank you, Mr. Blu, " Aleena nodded as a bird Beastkin sat down, giving the last report of consequences of the moon's damaged state causing on where his Freedom Fighters were stationed, "As all of you know by now, the reason for the moon's destruction was by the Eclipse Cannon on Space Colony ARK. None of us knew about the existence of this space colony due to one organization: GUN." the monitors changed to show the symbol of GUN, "For over fifty years, GUN made sure to keep this space colony a complete secret from everyone, often capturing, arrest, and detaining innocents. What many of you are unaware of, however, was that those detained were not just those native to our world...but worlds beyond." mutterings went about, "I know many of you seem sceptical about this, but I'd like to present evidence one of life out there; Ben Tennyson." the doors opened as Ben entered, "As many of you know, Ben Tennyson was the very first Human that became a Freedom Fighter. Now before any of you correct me; see his fingers?" the monitors changed to Ben waving, showing his five fingers, "Overlanders have only four like any Mobian does. Ben, on the other hand-no pun intended-, has five. This is not a mutation in Overlander DNA-that was tested multiple times. He is from another planet; one called Earth. The device on his arm allows him to turn into other alien species from outside our planet."
"She is correct, kyu," Miyuki spoke up, catching everyone's attention, "I have seen it myself, along with my husband and co-leader, White, and a few members of our group, kyu."
'And those who attended the Hallow's Eve Party at our home, though they thought it was all just special effects,' White thought.
"My team and I witnessed this ourselves in Chunan when we were aided by the Underground Freedom Fighters and the Cooper Gang," Dulcy spoke up.
"It's true. He transformed into a creature that resembled a Moth Mobian, yet it could turn intangible, invisible, and breath air so cold that it could freeze anything it touched," Jian explained, "He even turned into a tailless Tiger Mobian called Rath and then transforming it into a fearsome Liger."
A cat Mobian stood up, "I was held captive in Robotropolis by Eggman back when he preferred to call himself Robotnik. I witnessed him change from five-fingered Overlan-Human into a strange creature that seemed to be a machine at first but then could transform into a fearsome wingless dragon that could breathe flames of raw plasma. I thought he was transformed into machine at first, but there was no Roboticizer, no signs of one even used. Just a flash of green light." he looked towards Ben, "Thank you, Ben Tennyson, for freeing not just me, but all those trapped there."
"Of course," Ben nodded, "I couldn't leave you all in there to be enslaved by him. I wouldn't be much of a hero if I did just that." 'That, and I could barely think as Grimlock...but I still followed my instinct to protect.'
"Ahh...but you're more than just a hero," a monkey Mobian spoke up as they stood up, "It is thanks to you and Prince Sonic's battle against Chaos that most of the Mobians here are no longer machines, but full Mobian once again."
"Well, I think it was mostly those two is all…" Ben noted, trying not to get a big ego going.
"We can all give our thanks to Ben if we have them later," Aleena informed, Ben giving her a relieved look, "But why I say this is because GUN also captured and detained aliens that merely came to this planet with peaceful purposes, such as visiting somewhere on the planet, seeing our culture…" she looked over at Sonic, "...proving themselves to be faster than the rumored Fastest Thing in the Universe…" Sonic whistled innocently as many of the Freedom Fighters shared a good natured laugh at his expense, "...but regardless, what GUN did was illegal and very much so for those innocent aliens. Which is why a Magister and his apprentice have come here from an intergalactic police known as the Plumbers."
"Plumbers?!" Finnic cracked up, slamming his tiny hand on the table as he laughed up a storm, "Th-They call themselves 'plumbers!' D-Do their uniforms come with a butt crack?!"
The room rumbled as a loud roar echoed. Leonidas slowly closed his mouth as he ended his roar, everyone staring at him. Nearby, White removed the earplugs he put into Haseo's ears.
"Take this seriously, Finnic," Leonidas advised, "The name may mean something else in the language of another."
"In many planets, it means 'protector,' 'defender of the innocents,' 'they who end the suffering,'" Aleena explained.
'And thank you, Gwen, for the lessons for the Queen,' Ben thought.
"A Magister is considered the highest honor in the Plumbers," Aleena explained, "They are in charge of protecting entire Solar Systems. I have only spoken with this Magister on the intergalactic radio given to me by three representatives for their organization to speak with him over this matter and he and his apprentice have arrived just a few minutes before this very meeting." The doors opened and everyone looked towards them, "I introduce to you all, the Magister of the solar system Ben Tennyson originates from and his apprentice, who-once her training is accomplished-will become the Magister of our Solar System."
The first to enter was a human, much like Ben. He was an older man, in his fifties. He wore a white, uniform-themed spacesuit with black detailing. His green eyes looked about, noting everything and everyone before giving a small, grandfatherly smile towards a shocked Ben. The other made those from Ryugu gasp under their breaths. The other was a Mobian lynx with rich brown and black fur. She wore the same uniform as the elder with her black hair pulled into a braided ponytail with a red bead in it.
"Magister Max Tennyson and his apprentice Nicole the Lynx," Aleena introduced.
'N...ni….Nicole-san…' Haseo thought with wide eyes, a blush forming on his face as he looked at the female lynx.
"I now give to Magister Tennyson the floor," Aleena informed, moving out of the way as Max stood at the podium.
"I thank you and your Queen for your welcoming presence to your planet," Max thanked before giving a chuckle, "Normally, I get threatened to be shot down." a few chuckles came from the Freedom Fighters before he held up a hand, "Your queen has explained to me everything as best she could and provided me with the evidence she had on hand about the alien hostage situation caused by GUN. It is clear to me that they are at fault and will be persecuted for their crimes against not only your people, but also for nearly causing an interuniversal accident."
The Freedom Fighters gave a nervous noise at the last bit. They were barely fending off Eggman's empire. They did not want to deal with getting involved in a war with other planets.
"In a week's time, I will be speaking with the United Nations alongside your Queen. With the revealing of extraterrestrial lifeforms to your planet, the Plumbers will assist in providing as much information as we can to help you all become accustomed to the larger universe your planet has been exposed to," Max continued, "Once it has all been settled with, my apprentice will be the Magister that helps protect this solar system from greater alien threats. She is a native to this planet and the circumstances on how she made alien contact will only be released by her and her alone. However, know that she is here to help protect this planet from the dangers outside of this planet, but also willing to help with matters on the planet as well." he looked around, "If any of you have questions, please...ask them now. If you can't think of any, I will be more than happy to address them anytime this week so long as you write them down."
"..." Haseo blinked at that slowly before grabbing a nearby pen and paper and quickly, yet carefully began to write something down.
"The Floor recognizes Dulcy the Dragon," Aleena informed, seeing the dragoness holding up her hand.
"Um, yeah. Hello," Dulcy awkwardly greeted, "Um...I just have to ask this, but...what exactly is it that your organization do if there's an alien invasion on a planet?"
"It would depend on what the stakes are. If the invading force intends to conquer the planet or destroy it, we go in and assist the planet in need," Max explained, "But if they're there just for a vacation, we contact one of the more peaceful races to send a representative to act as a negotiator of sorts for the two races to ensure everything goes well for both."
"Oh...I see," Dulcy noted as she sat down.
T'Challa stood up, "What is your standing on the rights of Freedom?"
"It is a right to all living beings, from the smallest to the largest," Max explained, "The Plumbers do their best to help keep that freedom for all that we defend out there." the sounds of agreement were heard about the Freedom Fighters as the panther sat down, "Anything else?"
"Yeah I got one," Fennic spoke up, "What're ya Plumbers gonna do about our Eggman and Dark Legion problem?"
"That is not in our jurisdiction," Max explained, "While I have heard of what he's done, unfortunately, I can't interfere with issues that involve a single planet unless it involves aliens on both sides. However, due to Ben being here and becoming involved, it has allowed me to station Plumbers here to assist in protecting this planet and, if this 'Eggman' attempts something with them, they will have full permission to take him down." he patted Ben's shoulder, "So don't worry about losing anyone already in the Plumbers that has fought against Eggman; they'll be here to keep fighting him due to their involvement."
"Yeah…" Ben nodded.
"Okay. Now…" Max began before he felt someone tap him on the shoulder, making him blink as he turned to see a young midnight-black furred fox, his twin tails spinning around as he floated there.
"A….ano…" Haseo began before handing him a note, a heavy blush on his face as he tried to not look at Nicole.
"..." Max chuckled as he took the note, "Thank you." he looked at the note and read it under his breath, "'May I, my sister, and my father please talk to Nicole later? We haven't seen her in so long, especially me considering...well, I've had amnesia, and couldn't remember anything until a few weeks ago. Signed, Haseo Yukimaru Sakurai.'" he looked at him, giving a small, grandfatherly look, "Once this meeting is over, she'll have the rest of the day off as well as the next three days since she's hoping to see everything that's changed."
"...Th-thank you…" Haseo nodded before he became a blur and hid behind Roll, the young fox's face a deep crimson as he slightly peeked out, looking a bit at Nicole.
"If any of you have anymore questions, I will be more than welcome to answer them later," Max informed as Gwen entered, "I will be leaving my apprentice and my granddaughter Gwen as representatives for the rest of this meeting. I wish you all a good day and welcome your planet to the universe."
Everyone gave an applause as Max walked out, some fast, some slow, others mixed. Gwen and Nicole sat down in the empty seats in the audience as Aleena retook the podium.
"Thank you again, Magister Tennyson," Aleena thanked as Max closed the doors, "Now on to our next order of business; our tech experts here in New Mobotropolis have been working on a defense system to put on our bases that are meant to help protect us from Eggman's forces. Please welcome Skye Sakurai and Charles Hedgehog."
As Skye and Chuck walked down to the floor, Ben walked out to see Max standing by a window, looking out at the city.
"...Quite the amazing city, isn't it?" Max asked.
"Yeah, it really is," Ben nodded as he looked out at it, "As amazing as the people that live here…"
Max nodded as they continued to look out at it, "...Gwen told me about you being cryogenically frozen on this planet. I'm going to try to look into how it happened."
"...Yeah. I've been wondering about that myself for a while," Ben admitted, "Like, 'Why was I frozen in the first place? Why did I appear on Mobius with Makoto? Why…?'"
"Why you?" Max assumed, "I'm not sure, but…" he put his hand on Ben's shoulder, "I've seen the videos that were captured of you fighting that water creature and anything else they were able to scrounge up on my way here. I'm proud of what you've been doing on this planet."
"...Thanks," Ben replied with a soft smile, "And it's really great to see you again, Grandpa."
"Same here, Ben," Max smiled, giving him a side hug of sorts, "I'm hoping to catch up with what you've done in the last year here and I'm sure you want to know how the last five have been for us."
"Yeah...I'd like that," Ben nodded, "And trust me. I have a LOT of stories to talk about...some of which are pretty funny now that I think about it."
"I can't wait to hear them," Max chuckled.
"And the last of them has connected," Shockwave informed as the last screen turned on, each one revealing a Grandmaster.
"Excellent," Eggman nodded, "Greeting, my Grandmasters! It has been quite a while since we have all gathered!"
=Indeed it has, my lord= Maw nodded.
=Ah really hope this is quick, sir= a coyote Beastkin noted as she adjusted her stetson, a toothpick in her lips =We've been arming th' town fer any chance of the Sandblasters attackin' t'day=
"I assure you this will not take more than a half hour at best," Eggman assured, "Now then, first things first. Status reports, all of you. I have Shockwave, Clove, and Lien-Da's reports of recent activities, but not the rest of you."
=To be fair, we have been busy with our own problems= a Mobian cobra in knight-like armor stated =Like dealing with the Freedom Fighters roaming around MY kingdom!=
=Yes...the Kingdom YOU stole= Conquering Storm countered.
=Silence wench!=
=AHEM!= a Mobian Water Buffalo cleared his throat, causing the cobra to back down =Continue, boss=
"Thank you," Eggman nodded, "Now then, I take it you all have been busy with fending off Freedom Fighters and, for the desert region Grandmasters, the Sandblasters?" sounds of agreement went off, "Very well. Then let's move on. I have a vital task for all of you and whoever can do it will receive a hefty bonus to their monthly budget." Shockwave displayed a hologram of Soundwave, "Recently, this robot self-destructed in my base. Shockwave has analyzed the composition and discovered it was a fake. The real one is out there and has something of vital importance to assist in a highly important task. Your mission is to search for this robot. If the Freedom Fighters learn of this? Then it happens. What is important is just getting the robot. If you require it, submit a request and I will send EggPawns for you to use for the search instead of your own troops if they're needed to defend the bases."
=Wait. So...no harsh punishments if we lose the robot, or let the Freedom Fighters get it?=
"Oh, oh no. If you let them get it, there will be repercussions," Eggman frowned, "I will consider it violation of my orders."
=?!= most of them froze at that.
"Good...you understand. Now get to it a-"
=Of course. You have nothing to worry about my lord= a Wyvern Beastkin replied before he could finish, adjusting his glasses a bit =If any of the Freedom Fighters attempt to get in my way, I'll just send my pets their way=
"Detain, but do not kill," Eggman ordered, "We kill them, they'll just up the effort and kill us. You are my troops and I'd rather enjoy you all come back in one piece. ...Unless they're Sandblasters. Then you can off."
=...As you wish=
"Good. you're dismissed….er…"
=Rodyle=
"Oh, finally. So this is what you look like. You've only sent me vocal communications," Eggman noted before Rodyle's screen turned off, followed by the others one-by-one, "Hold it, Clove, N." Clove paused in her movement on the screen, her's and N's being the only ones still on, "N, I have something important to inform you of. The robot we're looking for is needed because we need it to make a cure for a dangerous illness for some of the troops that are being housed by Grandmaster Clove." Clove raised a brow while N nodded and turned their screen off, "N is a determinator when it comes to the health of those under her or with her. Plus, I trust her with her determination to find Soundwave. We have also received the Bow from Thunderbolt and analysis on it is underway."
=?!= Clove's eyes widened at that last part =...I see. Th-thank you for informing this=
"You're welcome. As to why we're after Soundwave, it is because we believe there's another one inside of him," Eggman informed, "Having two may improve the chances that we can discover a cure of sorts."
=I see...I'll be sure to inform you if my men spot Soundwave in the area=
"Thank you," Eggman nodded, "If you do, I am sending my best troops with exact orders to listen to your commands. We are not letting any chances to improve the chances of saving your sister and those troops slip away."
=Of course= Clove nodded =Speaking of my sister, I need to check on her. Clove out=
Eggman nodded before turning to the two Grandmasters with him, "Shockwave."
"The materials for making the metal were gathered over all the planet. Multiple techniques were used to make the frame so to confuse where it was made," Shockwave explained, "At this moment in time, we have no leads."
"Blast. They covered their tracks well," Eggman scowled, "...Lien-Da, think this might be someone you know?"
"Doubt it," Lien-Da stated, "...Unless it's Finitevus, but he's long gone."
"Finitevus?" Eggman repeated, "Explain."
"The guy was secretive, but dangerous and crazy as well…" Lien-Da explained, "He was the previous leader of the Dark Legion before…he happened."
"He? He who?"
"Enerjak."
"...I know I'm going to regret it, but that is the dumbest name I have ever heard. And I named my stockpile troops the EggPawns."
"And yet he's a demi-god strong enough to beat both Sonic AND Shadow, the latter with his limiters removed," Lien-Da countered.
"He wore limiters?" Eggman asked.
"...He never took them off in this Zone, did he?"
"Not to my knowledge, no," Eggman replied.
"Oh...well basically with his Limiters off, Shadow is nearly as strong as his super form. At least, where I'm from," Lien-Da replied, "Here with the stuff I've seen? ...No clue."
"Right," Eggman nodded, "And what happened to your previous leader?"
"Went into hiding most likely until Thrash found him."
"Thrash?"
"The person responsible for putting me, my sister, and practically every single echidna from my Original Zone in a pocket Zone," Lien-Da replied.
"I see…" Eggman nodded, "What are this Thrash's abilities? Any weaknesses you saw at any point?"
"For the former, incredibly strong and durable, and can produce sound waves from his mouth when he yells or roars," Lien-Da explained, "For the latter...not sure. I was barely able to get out of that pocket Zone using one of those Warp Rings he produced."
"Warp Rings?" Eggman repeated
"Basically the key to travel to other Zones."
"Ah. I see…" Eggman nodded, "Please go see the main base's sketch artist and give them details on what this Thrash looks like. If he is in this Zone, our men will have an APB on him. Kill or Detain?"
"Kill. Thrash is incredibly dangerous with those Warp Rings of his," Lien-Da stated, "If he uses it on you, he'll pull you out of your Zone entirely with little to no chance of escape since the Warp Rings only work for him."
"I see…" Eggman frowned, "Very well then. Now get going to that sketch artist. Shockwave, we're heading back to the lab to continue examining that bow."
"Gotcha/Of course," Lien-Da and Shockwave nodded.
Nicole inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, just taking in the fresh air that seemed ever-present in the city. Opening her eyes, she gazed out upon the city from her guest room balcony window, the lights on in the city giving it a gentle allure to her. It had taken almost until six at night to end the day's talks. So many questions had been answered, both by familiar, and unfamiliar faces.
"...So much has changed since I've been gone," the lynx whispered to herself.
A set of knocks came at her door, causing her to tense. Moving towards her dresser, she quickly picked up her blaster and held it close to her nightgown-covered chest, her finger beside the trigger. She moved towards the door before a set of knocks came from it once more. After a third set of knocks, Nicole sighed in relief and gave two quick knocks back.
"Told you she'd remember 'Shave and a Haircut,'" a voice chuckled childishly on the other side of the door.
Nicole reached for the door and turned the knob, opening it up to reveal Skye, Roll, and Haseo-the latter hiding behind the other two with a blush. Skye was in the front, holding a small cake with strawberries in the shape of a heart with 'We missed you' on it.
"...Roll, Mr. Sakurai, Haseo…" Nicole whispered with slightly wide eyes.
"It's been a long time since I last saw you," Skye noted, "You've gotten taller, too, Nikky."
"...Heh heh...same as ever I see," Nicole noted with a slight chuckle before she looked at Haseo, who yelped as he hd further behind Skye and Roll, the young fox's face a bright red as he hid it behind his twin tails, "...And I see Haseo is the same as well."
"Yep. But now loud noises make his fur become all fluffy like he was when he was a little kit," Skye snickered before Roll frowned at him, "...uh...Roll made you a cake."
"...Is it chocolate?"
"Of course," Roll smiled.
"...Even after all this time, you know me so well, Roll," Nicole smiled at the hedgefox, "Please, come in."
Minutes later, the four were at a small table in the middle of the guest room, the cake nearly polished off.
"It's been years since I last enjoyed a Sakurai dessert," Nicole sighed in bliss.
"Otou-san thought making you this would be a nice way to prove you're not in some sort of, as he put it, 'Lotus Eater Machine,'" Roll noted, giving a small frown at Skye.
"What? It could happen to anyone at anytime," Skye frowned, "You know that math I've done on it."
Nicole couldn't help but give a slight giggle at that.
"...T...tenshi…"
"Hmm?" Nicole's ears twitched a bit as she looked over at Haseo, who tensed as he hid his blushing face behind his tails once more.
"I...I said t-t-tenshi…" Haseo squeaked out.
"An angel?" Nicole pondered before looking over at Roll, who was wiping her mouth of some bits of her solitary slice of the cake, "...Well...Your sister does have the figure of one." she looked down at her modest C-Cup, "..." she looked over at Roll's generous I-Cup and then back at her own C-Cup, "...And I am curious how she has that figure."
'Maybe we should've prepared Haseo a little bit more…' Skye thought with a sweatdrop, glancing at the shy fox, before glancing at his flustered daughter as she tried to wave off the comment from Nicole, "Genetics most likely, Nikky."
"I see…fair enough, I suppose," Nicole nodded, "How is Miss Aphrodite doing?"
"...She's…" Skye paused as he looked down sadly, "No longer with us." he gently patted Haseo's shoulder, hearing the fox give a sniffle.
"She...a Human known as Jin Kisaragi killed everyone in the Sakurai Family back home," Roll explained sadly.
"?!" Nicole's eyes widened in shock at that, her hands over her mouth, "I….I am so sorry. I….I didn't know…" her own ears drooped down in sadness, "I've been away for so long, I...I was unaware of what happened…"
"It's okay," Roll assured, gently patting her shoulder in reassurance, "Ben-san beat him up with a form he called Heatblast and I was saved from being killed thanks to Sonikku."
"Sonikku? Wait, are you referring to the eldest prince?" Nicole asked before seeing a hint of Roll's front tattoo, "...You've Bonded to him?"
"Hai," Roll nodded.
"...If I am not busy tomorrow, inform me of everything that has happened since you two bonded," Nicole stated.
"I will. We're Shield Sisters, after all," Roll replied.
"Indeed," Nicole nodded.
"A...ano…" Nicole looked over at Haseo, his face peeking out from an opening in his tails as he looked at her, "I...I need to know something…Wh-where have you been all this time, N-Nicole-ch-SAN! N-Nicole-san?"
"O-Oh…" Nicole frowned a little, rubbing her left arm, "I...I was abducted by a pair of Vreedle a few months after I left to join the Freedom Fighters."
"Vreedle?" Skye repeated.
"Think...white trash trailer park folks mixed with expired cloning kits and a heavy affinity for anything that shoots and blows things up," Nicole clarified.
"Ah…" Skye nodded.
"It was a passing Plumber patrol that saved my life when we ended up in the Milky Way Galaxy through a wormhole they had used to get to our galaxy," Nicole continued, "I was...understandably aversive to any unknown beings at first, but...It was Magister Max Tennyson that managed to coax me into being a bit more open. He explained who they were, what they did, and why they did it and, well...A few months later and I was in the advanced courses in the Plumbers Academy after scoring rather high results in the entry exams in terms of the academic side of their academy. A few years later and I was now Magister Tennyson's apprentice and learned personally under him on how to be a Magister."
"Why was that?" Roll asked.
"It was because they finally found our galaxy, just a little beyond the Andromeda Galaxy. It was only in this year that the technology to let us move between galaxies faster was made available and I was appointed to be the Magister for this part of the galaxy on Magister Tennyson's recommendation."
"OH! Th-that sounds great!" Haseo beamed before yelping, hiding behind his tails once more, "G...gomen…"
Nicole gave a small giggle, "No, no. It's fine. It is great. Right now, the Plumbers are searching for other planets with life on them here to make contact with them," Nicole explained, "Until then, I'm going to be making the main base on Mobius with permission from the UN and Queen Aleena."
"Cool," Skye nodded.
"Yes indeed," Nicole nodded, "Ever since I joined, I've learned quite a lot. I've even made something that could help immensely, but...well, it's still in the prototype phase."
"Oh? What is it?" Skye asked.
"Nanites," Nicole replied, "So far, I've been able to make small to medium sized objects, such as silverware and tires respectively, but I've yet to create buildings with them."
"You've made sure to be careful and make sure they don't multiply out of control, resulting in them starting to tear down everything in their path to become more of them, right?" Skye asked.
"Yes. I remember the lessons I've had with you on being prepared for anything," Nicole assured.
"Okay good," Skye nodded.
"...Oh! I just remembered something," Roll gasped a bit, "Nicole, do you have a list of survivors on…"
"I do," Nicole nodded before Roll could finish, "Magister Tennyson and I were informed about the planet destroyed by a To'kustar, and I searched up the list on all people who survived."
"Is there anything on a family of Squirrel Beastkin by the name of the Nanayas, a family called the Yayois or the Vermillions?" Roll asked as Nicole walked over to her dresser and pulled out one of the small bars that displayed a holographic screen.
"I believe there were. Apparently, they had been in a durable bunker and had been in hiding from an organization known as the NOL," Nicole replied.
"NOL?" Skye repeated.
"From what we gathered, it is a acronym for 'Novus Orbis Librarium,'" Nicole explained, "May I ask why and how you know of those names?"
"Well, three daughters of their families are Shield Sisters," Roll replied.
"I see…"
"Here's something you didn't see," Skye grinned, "We're related to the Cooper Clan."
"?!" Nicole turned off the device and looked at them with wide eyes, "Explain. Please."
"We ran into Sly Cooper over in Chunan a few weeks ago, helped them take care of a very sexist rooster named General Tsao, and...well, during a trip to Ryugu, we found out we're related," Roll replied before pulling out her family's book from her cleavage and opened it to show the sumi-e of Ryoichi and her ancestor, "See? Ryoichi Cooper married my ancestor when he came to Ryugu."
"I….I see," Nicole whispered, her eyes still wide from the information, "Wait. Where did you…?" she looked at Roll's chair, seeing the katana resting on it, "...You found your family's blade?"
"Turns out Tsao had it," Roll replied, "His father's assassins stole the blade after…" she paused as she sighed sadly, "After they killed Obaa-chan…"
Nicole nodded, "I am just relieved your family now has it back once more."
"Hai…" Roll nodded before pulling Haseo into a hug, "And I am glad to have Haseo-chan with us again."
"...What do you mean 'again'?"
"There was an incident a year after you left," Roll explained, "Nii-chan went out to look for you since you hadn't sent any new messages and...there was an incident and everyone in Ryugu thought he was...no longer with us." her hug got a bit tighter, "And...And Kaa-san...she...she wasn't Kaa-san anymore..."
"...The Rule of Heartbreak?"
"Hai…" Roll nodded sadly.
"..." Skye gently rubbed her shoulder, a sad look on his face.
"...A...ano…" Haseo spoke, trying to force the blush back as he took a deep breath, "Wh-when I came too when Alpha-san found me...I-I couldn't remember anything...I...I was completely unaware of what happen back home...what happened to…" his ears drooped as tears began to form in his eyes, "Kaa-san…"
"..." Nicole looked to Roll, who nodded, before joining hugging the tearing fox.
"We're planning on going to Ryugu in two days," Skye informed, "Miyuki said that the ice finally melted on them and...it will be time to lay them to rest."
"...If it is okay with you, I would like to come along," Nicole said as she looked at him, still holding Haseo close with Roll.
"You are a Shield Sister. It would be wrong for you to not be there," Skye replied.
"Thank you," Nicole nodded before both girls felt Haseo go limp, "Hm?"
"Eh?" Roll blinked twice before they looked down, seeing Haseo's face had ended up smothered into Nicole's bosom when she had started hugging him and now it was a bright red with steam coming from his ears.
"Oh my…" Nicole whispered as she released her part of the hug, the lynx blushing a bit.
"And the kiddo's out for the night," Skye chuckled, seeing swirls had replaced his son's eyes.
"I...I see that," Nicole noted, trying to shake off the blush as she cleared her throat, "Ahem! M-maybe we should continue this tomorrow then."
"I think that's a good idea," Skye agreed before giving her a quick hug, "It's good to see you again, Nicole."
"Same here, Mr. Sakurai," Nicole nodded as the two let go of their hug and let Skye pick up Haseo, "And it was great seeing both you and Haseo again, Roll."
"Likewise, Nicole-chan," Roll smiled, pulling her into another hug, one Nicole could feel was filled with a family feeling, "You're a Shield Sister...you're family. And that's important to all three of us."
"...Thank you, Roll," Nicole thanked, returning the hug.
Max took another sip of his cup of coffee, he and Ben sitting in Max's guest room, "...So you've spent the last year helping with this war."
"Yeah. Even with all the bad stuff...this world's just...amazing," Ben noted, "And, well, I just couldn't refuse to help them."
"Glad to see you still believe in what is right," Max smiled a bit as he put the cup down on the table, "Still, to think you somehow ended up all the way out here in another galaxy entirely. And in suspended animation as well."
"Yeah...still not sure on how that happened," Ben admitted, "But regardless, I've met a lot of good people here. Sonic and his siblings, Roll, everyone in Ryugu...Makoto and her friends...even Ragna."
"Right," Max nodded, "Still, I am glad you've been able to start moving on from...that night…"
Ben nodded, a small frown forming on his lips, "It still hurts, but...I've had some good friends helping me through it in the last week or so, especially Makoto...heh. She sure knows how to cheer someone up."
"Oh?" Max raised a brow.
"Yeah. She cares a lot about her friends, she makes some pretty good jokes on the fly...she has a very nice smile…"
"Seems you're really moving on from that night," Max noted with a small grin.
"Well...Yeah," Ben nodded.
"Tell you what. Tomorrow, the talks are being held back to let the leaders look around the city and all that it has from its reconstruction," Max noted, "I'd like to meet these new friends you've made, so why not a tour with them tomorrow?"
"Sure. That sounds good," Ben nodded, "Just one thing?"
"Hm?"
"Don't try Noel's cooking," Ben advised.
"...Oh come now, Ben. It can't be that bad."
"It's censored...not sure how, but it's censored."
"...On cameras?"
"No. In real life. I once went Upchuck to see if I could eat it and...yeah...never again," Ben shuddered, "I just don't get how Rook and Mai can stomach it..."
"I see," Max noted, "Well, it does sound interesting. Almost reminds me of this one dish I tried on a planet called Ventus Antauri. You just can't describe it; you needed to see it to understand it."
"Ahh...gotcha," Ben nodded.
Max grinned before he stood up and stretched a little, "Well, it's getting late. I need to get some shut eye if I want to meet your new friends tomorrow."
Ben nodded as he stood up, "Yeah. Good night, grandpa."
"Good night, Ben," Max smiled softly at his grandson, "I'm glad you're okay."
Ben nodded as he turned and walked out of the guestroom. Once Ben was gone, Max reached into his pocket and pulled out an old photo of a younger Ben with his parents.
"You two would have been proud seeing him now," Max noted.
"So...That old guy we saw on the Freedom Fighters' private network for the conference was Ben's grandpa," Makoto noted as the five girls and one male of the Underground Freedom Fighters were finishing dinner in the bus.
"And from what the queen said, he's apparently really high in the Plumbers," Mai noted.
"H-hai," Noel nodded.
"Kinda neat when you think about it," Manic noted, "Dude's probably in his fifties and he's still out fighting in space. Heh...didn't realize Ben had such a badass gramps."
"...As crudely as he put it, I agree," Sonia nodded in agreement.
"...Think we might get a chance to talk to him?" Mai asked.
"No clue," Sonia replied before a ringing went off and she pulled out a cell phone, "Hello? ...Oh. Sonic, there you are. A...Oh, you're over at where Skye and Haseo are living at? ...Oh, Roll needs to talk with Makoto, Tsubaki, and Noel? Why? ...Oh." she handed the phone to Makoto.
"Hello?" Makoto answered as she shared the phone with Noel, "...Huh? Well, yeah. Nothing really going on tomorrow."
"...E-Eh?" Noel's eyes widened, "D-Demo! Is...Isn't that something more private an…"
"...Y...You're sure?" Makoto asked, "...O-Okay. We can do it. We'll be ready for tomorrow, Roll."
"What's going on?" Mai asked as Makoto handed the phone back to Sonia, letting her and Manic share it to speak with Sonic.
"W...We're attending a mass funeral tomorrow. Because we're Shield Sisters to them, it'd be important to them for us to go," Makoto explained.
"Oh...but wh-" Mai began before Tsubaki whispered it to her, causing her eyes to widen, "...I...I see...I had no idea…i-if it's okay, may I come? I'd...like to give my condolences."
"We can talk with them about it, but I think they'll agree with all of us going," Makoto noted.
"Ahh...okay then," Mai nodded.
"Wait. She what?" Manic's question made them look at the two hedgehogs as the youngest triplet ran over to the fridge and opened it, "...Huh. She did. Go, Sis-In-Law."
"What?" Makoto asked as Manic pulled out a cheesecake.
"She made a salted caramel cheesecake for dessert and…" he cringed as he put on a gas mask and pulled out a single serving-sized one that was censored, "...one that she asked Noel make for Mai."
"Oh...well that was sweet of her," Makoto noted as Mai took her piece.
"So what are we supposed to do at this…" Tsubaki began.
"Roll said her dad would explain it to us tomorrow when they come over to fly to Ryugu," Makoto replied, "But less talky, more Roll's yummy dessert."
"But…" Tsubaki began before Makoto stuffed her mouth with a piece of her cheesecake, '...question it later.'
A door hissed open and Soundwave walked through. He stopped in the middle of the darkened room, a lone light shining down on him.
"Show it," the voice ordered.
Soundwave's torso hissed before it opened up, allowing his tentacles with claws on the ends to come out, holding up the repaired sword, shield, and hat of the Izayoi.
"Excellent," the voice noted, "Begin Phase 2."
"Roll's Character Interviews!" A Chibi Omake
A set of curtains rise up, revealing a white room with a large window in the background depicting the night sky. Before the window was a large couch, a few potted plants, a wooden desk, and a comfy chair behind the desk. Sitting at the desk was Roll, dressed up in a black and pink formal women's business suit. On the table was a coffee mug filled with hot cocoa with the word 'I' followed by a heart and then a picture of Sonic's symbol.
"Konnichiwa, minna!" Roll greeted, "And welcome to another episode of 'Character Interviews'! I'm your host, Roll Sakurai." She looked towards the couch, "In this segment, we interview characters in the story thus far and may even revisit some characters later on!" she looked back at the 'audience,' "So, minna, let's give a big round of applause for our next guest; Tsubaki-san!"
Tsubaki walked into the area, giving a slight wave as she sat down.
"Thank you for coming today, Tsubaki-san," Roll smiled.
"Of course, Roll," Tsubaki nodded as she took a bit of a deep breath, "Now then, what would you like to ask of me?"
"Well, the first of it all is you seem to be the more level headed of you, Noel-chan, and Makoto-san," Roll noted, "So how did you three meet?"
"Ahh...well it was back at the Military Academy. I was a member of the student council and Noel and Makoto had just arrived at the school. But…" Tsubaki paused as she frowned, "The latter was being mistreated because she was a Beastkin. I even caught three girls bullying both her and Makoto, the latter of which was defending herself from the three when the leader tried to smack her for talking back."
"That's terrible!" Roll gasped.
"It was...but it had its effects on Makoto, and she ran away," Tsubaki continued, "Noel and I went out to go search for her and the next thing we knew? We, along with Makoto, ended up at an old forbidden section of the school. There we stayed until someone found us, so we ended up talking a bit...and Makoto ended up crying, saying she wasn't different and that she was the same as everyone else, so Noel and I comforted her until help finally arrived. We ended up with a few months assigned to cooking lunch for the school due to where we were, but we did end up becoming friends."
Roll nodded, "I see...And Mai-san, how did you meet her?"
"She was sick in bed for a while when the year first started, so we couldn't get a chance to properly meet her until the last week of our punishment...though…." Tsubaki paused as she looked off screen, "A certain squirrel girl had to be all grabby at first with her."
"Oh, come on, Tsubaki! You know I couldn't resist!" Makoto shouted from off-screen.
"I feel for you, Tsubaki-san. Truly, I do," Roll sweatdropped.
"Hai...ahem! Anyways, like I said, we had met during our last week of our punishment...and it was Noel's turn to cook that day," Tsubaki continued, shuddering a bit, "But Mai and Cajun, the former's roommate, were the only ones that ate it. Mai enjoyed it...but Cajun...she was put on bedrest for the rest of the week."
"...I feel for this Cajun-san. Truly, I do," Roll's sweatdrop only grew bigger.
"Hai...moving on. Eventually as time went on, we became the best of friends. Even forming a little club to investigate a few things around the school. Team Remix Heart."
"Oh! Mai-san mentioned that name before," Roll spoke.
Tsubaki nodded before frowning, "Though...I can't remember anything after graduation. All I know is from what Makoto and Noel told me about being in the Zero Squadron and that I used the Izayoi for some reason."
"Zero Squadron?" Roll repeated.
"You could say...they go after those who defy the NOL and the Imperator," Tsubaki explained, "The end result most of the time….is death."
"Eh?! Wh-why?!"
"It's the most important rule of the NOL. Anyone who defies the organization, or the Imperator is considered a traitor to the world, and is given the death penalty, no matter who they are, or how old they are."
"How terrible…" Roll gasped.
"I know and...and I don't know why I decided to join the Zero Squadron. Or did they recruit me?" Tsubaki sighed.
"L-Let's just move on, hai?"
"Please."
"Well...How are you handling being on Mobius?"
"Honestly...rather well," Tsubaki replied, "The people of this world are amazing in everyway. So many good people who believe in what is right...what justice truly is. Mobotropolis, Ryugu, even Northamer. There are so many truly wonderful places here on Mobius…"
"I'm glad to hear," Roll smiled, "And what about the technology? From what I've heard from Noel-chan and Makoto-san, you were never this interested before."
"Well, it was something I thought would be helpful and, well, learning it with Manic has been great and rather interesting," Tsubaki replied, "And with the new items we're working on, it could help with dealing with pollution caused by vehicles."
"Glad to hear," Roll nodded, "Are there any questions you'd like to ask me while we're on?"
"...Hmm…" Tsubaki pondered for a moment, "...What do you fully think of Noel, Makoto, Mai, and I?"
"I think you're all amazing friends and Shield Sisters in the case of Makoto-san and Noel-chan," Roll noted, "You've all been honest and it's just been such a wonderful time getting to know all of you."
"Thank you," Tsubaki nodded, "And we think you're an amazing person as well, Roll. You're such a kind, caring person that deeply loves her friends and family."
"Arigatou," Roll smiled.
"No problem," Tsubaki smiled before glancing at Roll's figure, "Though...I have to ask; that massage lotion, does it really work?"
"Hai," Roll nodded, "There are special nutrients in the lotion that, when combined with techniques only my family knows, help promote the body's development."
"Soka….interesting," Tsubaki noted.
"Hai. After a few sessions, I'm sure Noel-chan will see improvements," Roll beamed, "Demo...Why do you ask?"
"Noel wanted me to ask in her place," Tsubaki replied.
"Soka…" Roll nodded.
"...This has happened before, hasn't it?"
"More often than you'd imagine for my family being asked that by a third party," Roll nodded.
"Soka…" Tsubaki noted as the curtain fell.
GT: And that's that. Seems things are going to be happening in the story soon.
SZ: Eeyup. But question is…*takes a bite of my Butterfinger*who's the mystery figure Soundwave's working for? And what's Phase 2? 'Cause that sounds pretty ominous.
GT: Guess we'll have to wait and see.
SZ: *nods* In the meantime, our heroes will be dealing with some stuff in the next chapter. But you'll have to wait until next time to see that minna
GT: And until then, please read and review and don't forget to send questions we'll answer every fifth chapter.
SZ: Eeyup. So until then, I am Seanzilla115. He is GammaTron…
GT: And we bid you adieu!