A Red Rose in the Blue Wind

by Iron117Prime

Sonic and his friends have come to a new world, one Dr. Eggman hopes to conquer. Meeting new friends? That is to be expected of our heroes. New enemies? Also to be expected. But being caught in a war between two immortals? Not the strangest thing that's happened to them, but definitely something new. (Blood and minor swears)

36. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Hi everyone, thanks for your patience. But now we're finally ready to get back to the main plot of this incredible story! I've been really looking forward to this saga for quite some time.

Now, before we begin, I want to take this time to acknowledge the unfortunate passing of the talented actor Tony Todd. Those who follow my stories are probably familiar with his role providing the voice for Dreadwing in "Transformers Prime" or even the Fallen in "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen", as well as Venom in the more recent "Spider-Man 2" game, among others. Yet another great talent is lost… prayers to his friends and family, and may he rest in peace.

I've more than likely said this several times, but Volumes 4 and 5 are what I consider the worst of the RWBY series altogether. The story writing, the dynamics of the characters, wasted potential on new ones, so much went wrong with those Volumes. It picked back up a bit in Volume 6, but that doesn't change the mess that we got with the last few Volumes. I hope to fix things with my story, and I hope you like what I have planned.

Now if any of you are wondering, yes, I've started playing "Sonic X Shadow Generations" and the game is awesome! I haven't finished it yet, but I am thoroughly enjoying it. As for whether or not I'll include elements from it into my story, you'll just have to see. The same could be said for the upcoming Sonic 3 movie. Also, please avoid leaving any spoilers in the reviews for those who haven't completed the game, including myself. Thank you, that's much appreciated.

Last where we left off in the story, the main group of heroes have scattered across Remnant to find the dispersed Chaos Emeralds and rally any allies that they can use against Eggman and Salem. Sonic, Ruby, Yang, Knuckles, Qrow, and Amy are going to Mistral; Weiss and Tails are heading to Atlas; Blake is going by herself to Menagerie; and the combined group of Teams Dark and JNPR are going to Vacuo. Though there is still some tension between certain parties, notably Teams RWBY/JNPR and Ozpin's Inner Circle from where we left off before, and you can expect that to play much into the upcoming story, as well as what the villains are going to do going forward as well. I've got a few surprises in this particular chapter, and in the coming ones to, that I'm sure you'll enjoy.

With all that being said, let's get started!

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

The following day after the Battle of Beacon, Eggman had returned to Salem's domain and was currently making his way through the hallways of the Grimm Queen's fortress, Metal Sonic was right by his side, and the shaking Orbot and Cubot were right behind him.

"Have I mentioned before how much I hate this place?" Cubot shivered.

"Pretty much every time we come here." Orbot replied.

"Cause I hate this place!" Cubot exclaimed. "It's a haunted castle run by a scary witch lady with an army of man-eating monsters right outside!"

"Technically, since we're robots, we should be safe from the Grimm." Orbot commented.

"Not if I tell Salem to scrap you, you're not!" Eggman growled, causing the two robots to stiffen as they continued to follow their creator.

To say Eggman was angry would be an understatement, and it was obvious why that was the case. He was so close, so close to finally beating his greatest adversary with his own two hands! But just like every time, that chance for victory slipped through his fingers. But unlike all those other times, this one wasn't because of Sonic, but his newest fan who had some kind of magic eye power! Sure, Salem might have warned Eggman about people with Silver Eyes, but who could have anticipated that brat could pull off a freaking Chaos Control!? Honestly, with the anger that Eggman was exhibiting, he would have been swarmed by Grimm within seconds. The fact that Salem had allowed him admittance was probably what was keeping him alive, not that he was going to thank her for that.

The doctor came to a large wooden doorway and angrily kicked it open. This drew the attention of Hazel, Watts, and Tyrian, all of whom sat at the large table within the meeting room. But Eggman quickly noticed how the obsidian throne at the end of the chamber was empty.

"Where's Salem?!" Eggman exclaimed.

"You dare demand the presence of our divine savior?!" Tyrian exclaimed in shock. "And after your catastrophic failure at Beacon?!"

"Watch it, you lesser-known arachnid!" Eggman pointed to him. "I'm in a bad mood right now, so unless you wanna eat your own tail, keep your mouth shut!"

Tyrian was ready to leap at him for that, until Hazel quickly stood up. "She is in her personal chambers." The man answered Eggman's question. "Trying to see if she can use her abilities to locate any of the Chaos Emeralds. You did say that every time Sonic uses them when he transforms, they scatter across your world, correct?"

"Yeah, yeah, I said that." Eggman waved off. He happened to hear a slight scoff coming from the other scientist in the chamber. "Something funny, Watts?"

"Oh, nothing." The condescending and disgraced Atlesian doctor replied. "Just admiring the sight of a man falling from his self-built pedestal."

"I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you, Artie." Eggman glared. "The Black Queen virus was your project, and how'd that work out for you?"

"My virus was flawless." Watts argued. "The fault lies in Cinder as well you for mishandling it."

"Oh? Orbot, would you please show Watts our recently collected data?" Eggman requested, snapping his fingers.

"Right away, boss!" Orbot pulled out a scroll and pressed a button to show on the screen of firewall made from rapidly blinking ones and zeroes before transmitting it to Watts' own scroll. Watts looked at his device as he skimmed over the data, pressing a few key commands before his own eyes widened.

"What…?" He took another look to make sure he was reading the data correctly, all while it was now Eggman's time to smirk. "This… this can't be right…!"

"What can't be right?" Hazel questioned.

Watts slammed his scroll on the table and broadcasted a hologram that showed all the ones and zeroes. "This is the data from my virus! Only it's been… reprogramed! Reconfigured!" All the data that was being holographically displayed then condensed, taking the form of a spinning yellow ball with two fox tails at the end.

"Prower's handy work." Eggman explained. "Turns out, he located that virus, used it to trace to Cinder and her team, and even reconfigured it into an Anti-Virus firewall which he then uploaded into the re-established CCT network. Oh, and yeah, Tails brought that network back online despite Beacon Tower being destroyed."

"Impossible…!" Watts was in denial. "The system is dependent on all four towers being active simultaneously! If even one falls… the whole network falls!"

"But he fixed it, and made it even better, with the extra ammo that you practically handed him on a silver platter!" Eggman pointed to him.

"Don't you dare pin your failures on me!" Watts glared. "You were always going on about the superiority of your technology, and yet your grand assault failed! Not only is Beacon still standing, with the CCT still active no-less, but your little show to break the people's spirits all but revealed what that rodent is capable of!"

"I warned you all not to underestimate Sonic!" Eggman argued. "I showed you what he was capable of! You didn't listen, just like that Cinder brat!"

Immediately, Watts drew one of his pistols. Directly comparing him to that spoiled and arrogant brat crossed the line! But before he could even pull the trigger, Metal Sonic was on him, slicing the gun out of hands, grabbing him by the throat and smashing him out the window. Metal Sonic hung Watts over the ledge, dangling over the ledge with a massive drop to the crystalline ground down below.

Tyrian was ready to pounce again, but Metal's free hand converted into its energy blaster, and had it aimed directly at Tyrian, the energy building up inside as he was ready to fire. Hazel also quickly stood up, more than ready to join in himself.

"Enough!" A loud voice boomed through the chamber.

All eyes turned towards the doorway as Salem herself entered the room. Tyrian and Hazel both stood upright, Orbot and Cubot hid behind Eggman who just looked at her with a neutral and unafraid expression, while Metal Sonic eyed her cautiously. Watts also saw her and looked to her with a pleading expression, hoping she would help him here. Salem looked at him for a moment before turning to Eggman.

"Doctor Robotnik, would you please allow your machine to release Arthur?" She requested.

Eggman groaned. "Put him down, Metal." He waved off. Metal Sonic than pulled Watts back inside and dropped him on the ground. The Atlesian scientist rubbed his neck, looking directly up at Metal who gazed down at him with his blood red optics before moving back to his creator's side. Watts had worked with and programed killing machines in the past, such as the Atlesian Knights. Hell, he was the one who caused the Paladin incident in Atlas before, the one that killed off one of the Ace Ops, to fake his own death and disappear. And yet, for some reason, one look into that robot's red eyes felt like he was staring a Grimm in the face. And it made him feel somewhat nervous.

"Doctor Watts." Salem got his attention as he pushed himself back up, with Salem waving her hand to reconstruct the glass from the shattered window. "Your frustration is understandable, but must you antagonize our partner so?"

"I... I apologize, ma'am." Watts said in a more nervous tone. "I'm not… particularly fond of failure."

Salem then moved to sit on her own throne, and motioned for her subordinates to do the same, which they all did at their respective chairs. Even Eggman sat at the one that faced directly opposite of Salem.

"Then why is it that I am not on the receiving end of your criticism?" Salem asked.

Watts looked in a mixture of confusion and fear. "I-I'm sorry?"

"There were many contributing factors that led to our defeat at Beacon… but the main cause is that Doctor Robotnik is correct. I underestimated Sonic the Hedgehog and it cost us dearly." Salem began. "Every Grimm on the entire eastern half of Sanus is gone, including the pools of which they originated from. This also includes the Beetle I designed to absorb the Maiden powers. Which means the power of the Fall Maiden is now in the hands of any young woman on Remnant and we currently have no means of locating it. Beacon continues to stand, and communications remains between the kingdoms."

"Ozpin is dead though." Hazel said.

"For now, yes. But in our current situation, his death works more to our disadvantage." Salem replied. "Your broadcasting of that battle Doctor…" She spoke to Eggman directly, who growled as he knew where this has going. "Has shown the world of Remnant a new figure that they can rally behind. And unlike Ozpin, Sonic is capable of destroying everything we've built."

Truth was, Salem was absolutely furious with the result in Beacon. In just the event of one night, Sonic has undone a plan that was years in the making, wiping away Grimm that have been around for hundreds of years, or thousands in the case of that Wyvern. She should blame Eggman for that… But that would in-turn, lead to him turning the rest of his forces onto her. While nothing Eggman currently had could destroy her permanently, he still had hundreds of battleships with an uncountable number of robot soldiers; he had only used about a quarter of his entire armada in the assault on Beacon. And a conflict between her and the Doctor would only end up helping Sonic in the long run. If they were going to salvage anything and rebound from their defeat, Salem needed to maintain her alliance with Eggman.

"I will not allow that!" Tyrian exclaimed. "Send me after him, my queen!" He requested as he smiled sinisterly and curled his tail around his own face. "I shall deliver his pelt to your feet."

Eggman laughed. "He'd run circles around you and pulverize you into the ground before you could even blink."

Tyrian hissed at him, only for Salem to raise her hand. "He's right, Tyrian." The scorpion Faunus looked to his mistress in shock and even heartbreak. "I do not doubt your savagery and skill. But Sonic has shown that he's capable of matching a full powered Maiden in combat. And he's also surrounded himself with powerful allies, one of which defeated said Maiden."

"Hazel here said you were trying to 'divine the location of the Chaos Emeralds' or whatever." Eggman waved off, with Hazel staring at him. "Did you find any?"

"Unfortunately, no." She replied. "I've never seen anything quite like the Chaos Emeralds before. And it's hard to search for something that I don't know about."

"You could have just asked if you wanted to see the Emeralds." Eggman told her. "I wasn't exactly hiding them from you."

"Perhaps you are correct." Salem admitted. "Had I'd familiar myself with those gems, perhaps things could have been different." She closed her eyes and gave a deep sigh to calm down all her bubbling frustrations and anger. "But now is not the time to stew in our failure. We must press forward. Since you are the true expert Doctor, where you do believe the Chaos Emeralds to be gone?"

"The only thing I know for certain, is that they're not in Vale, and no two Emeralds will be in one place together." Eggman said. "Otherwise, they could be anywhere on Remnant."

Watts scoffed. "For someone who says he has experience with that kind of power, you'd think you'd have the means to track them."

"They're called the Chaos Emeralds for a reason." Eggman growled. "They're chaotic, unpredictable! Trying to predict their exact locations is like trying to navigate through a hurricane in the middle of the ocean!"

"So, you have no means to find them at all?" Hazel asked.

"I can track them with the instruments in my fleet, but I'd need at least one Emerald to do it." Eggman said.

"Very well then. Our priority must now shift to locating the Chaos Emeralds." Salem began to relay instructions. "Tyrian, you and Hazel are to meet with Lionheart in Mistral. Use his connections to search the kingdom for any of the Emeralds or even the Spring Maiden. Even if the Chaos Emeralds are now our top priority, we cannot afford to lose track of the Maidens either, not when they can rally behind Sonic too."

"Per your command, my queen." Tyrian bowed his head

"As you wish." Hazel nodded.

"Metal Sonic, you go with them." Eggman commanded his machine. "Use your speed to comb the continent." Metal Sonic gave a thumbs up in understanding.

"Doctor Watts, I am sending you to meet with our informant in Atlas for the same purpose." Salem instructed. "Try to locate any Emeralds there or even information on the Winter Maiden. Knowing Ironwood, he has her under lock and key. As you designed their networks, it should be relatively easy for you to find out all of that."

"Very good." Watts nodded.

"My good partner, Doctor Robotnik." Salem got his attention. "I would ask that you go to Vacuo. Unlike the other Kingdoms, my presence there is minimal. While you search for the Chaos Emeralds and the Summer Maiden, see if you can find any potential allies to join us."

"Yeah, yeah." Eggman waved off.

"And, what became of the Vale branch of the White Fang?" Salem asked.

"Completely wiped out." Eggman answered. "All that's left is Taurus and one little soldier."

"And where are they?" Salem asked further.

"Both are onboard my ship, with the rest of Cinder's lackies." Eggman replied.

"I want you to see if Adam has any contacts in the Faunus nation of Menagerie." Salem requested. "On the off-chance that we may find the Fall Maiden or any Chaos Emeralds there. Even in such a small and insignificant land, we can't afford to leave a single stone unturned."

"Fine." Eggman muttered.

"Speaking of Cinder, what happened to her?" Hazel asked.

"Don't know." Eggman shrugged. "Last time I saw her, she made the mistake of trying to take on Shadow."

"That's one loose end you should take seriously." Hazel said. "Cinder has information that our enemies could use against us."

"A valid point, Hazel." Salem granted. "But as said, the Grimm that I left inside her is now gone. And with that, my connection to her. I do not even know if she is alive or not. But even if she is, there is nothing any of us can do about her now. And with her failure, there is nothing she can do to contribute to our cause anymore. Even if she is still among the living, Cinder Fall is dead to me. If any of you happen to find her alive, do all of us favor and just get rid of her. She's of no use to me any longer."

Eggman, Watts, and even Tyrian all smirked at that. Truth was, none of them could even stand Cinder and her arrogance. It felt a relief to finally be rid of her. Hazel, however, looked away with a neutral expression. He wasn't Cinder's biggest fan either, far from it, but that didn't mean he'd take any joy in ending her life if he had to.

A knock on the table got all of their attention. All of them looked to see Metal Sonic tapping his fist onto the table.

"Got something to say, Metal?" Eggman questioned.

In response, Metal Sonic reached into his back and pulled out a certain red device, unfolding it to reveal the scythe mode of Crescent Rose.

"Ah, right. Another headache." Eggman rubbed pinched the bridge in-between his eyes.

"What is it?" Hazel asked.

"That little Rose girl, Sonic's newest lovesick puppy, pulled off a Chaos Control!" Eggman revealed, surprising everyone with even Salem looking curious.

"I had thought you said only that blue rodent and his doppelganger could use that ability." Watts recalled.

"That came out of nowhere!" Eggman said before looking at Salem. "You told me to watch out for Silver Eyes, but who could have predicted something like that?!"

"Yes… that is… surprising." Salem muttered.

"Um…" Cubot shakily raised his hand. "Silver Eyes are supposed to be… Anti-Grimm… and Ruby… was in the same room as that jellyfish Grimm you had so…" He was speaking directly to Salem, who turned her full and undivided attention toward him, gazing at the tiny robot, who shook under her dark red gaze, silently daring him to finish his sentence. "… It is… technically… you're faul…"

"Sush!" Orbot tried to clamp his fellow robot's mouth shut. "Don't mind him! Ha, ha, ha!" Orbot faked a laugh. "His voice chip is malfunctioning again!"

"But I just fixed…" Cubot tried.

"Do us both a favor and just shut up!" Orbot tackled him to the floor while Eggman just rolled his eyes.

"Back to the main point." The mad scientist spoke. "If that Rose girl pulled off a Chaos Control, then there's a chance she can use the Chaos Emeralds to transform too, just like Sonic and Shadow! Worst-case scenario, all three of them transform and not only wipe out all of the Grimm, but completely destroy all of us too!"

"And perhaps you may be correct, Doctor." Salem admitted. "That being the case, where do you believe this girl to be now, since she seems rather close to your enemy?"

"Based on what I've seen, she's sticking to Sonic like glue." Eggman said. "And knowing him, he or one of his friends have probably figured out how her power is your kryptonite. So he's going to be keeping her as close as possible."

"Very well." Salem then spoke to everyone present. "If any of you happen to spot Ruby Rose, Sonic the Hedgehog, or anyone affiliated with them, do not engage. Inform me first and I will relay instructions on how to capture her."

"Capture?" Eggman questioned. "I thought you were trying to kill everyone with Silver Eyes."

"In the past, perhaps. But I've more recently found a way where that ability can better serve us." Salem revealed. "And if it's true that she can harness the power of the Chaos Emeralds… then perhaps that girl could actually be the key to our victory."

Everyone had their own reactions to that revelation. Eggman and Watts looked more curious than anything, Tyrian smiled his typical deranged smile, and Hazel looked in sympathy and concern, already feeling pity for that poor girl and what Salem could do to her.

"You all have your assignments." Salem said, standing up from her throne and turning around to face the window, gazing up at the shattered moon. "Go. Inform me of any major updates."

With that, everybody stood up and began to leave the room. Eggman had made no mention of the Relic that is supposed to be under Beacon, not actually being there. Best to keep that little bit of information to himself until he learned more.

The last one to leave was Metal Sonic, who only turned around briefly to gaze directly at Salem just as the doors closed.

As the Grimm Queen gazed up directly at the shattered moon, she couldn't help but smile. Despite their catastrophic failure in Beacon, and now the very real possibility that she could be defeated permanently at the hands of a new and more dangerous enemy… this situation has also presented her with a grand opportunity. An opportunity that may not only lead to her defeating Sonic… but perhaps a way for her to use the Chaos Emeralds and destroy the Brother Gods. Maybe even set things right in Remnant and make them how they should have been. And the key to all of it… lied in this one particular girl.

"How most fortuitous…" She spoke aloud. "Wouldn't you agree… Summer?"

---

Emerald, Mercury, and Ilia all found themselves gazing out the window from the hallway aboard Eggman's ship, looking down at the barren and dark landscape just outside. Grimm emerged from the pools by the droves from the typical Beowolves and Ursai, to the airborne Nevermores and Griffons, and all sorts of different types that none of them have even seen or heard of before. It looked like a scene fresh out of hell.

Ilia found herself looking nervously towards Emerald and Mercury, hoping that either of them might have something to say about all this, but it was clear that neither of them, especially Emerald who looked towards her with that same expression, had anything to say at all. Ironic in that she joined the White Fang because of how badly humans have treated her and her fellow Faunus, and now she was looking to two for some kind of solace and security.

The doorway on the other side of the hallway opened, drawing all their attention as they saw Eggman, Metal Sonic, Orbot, and Cubot march toward them.

"Taurus still licking his wounds?" He questioned.

"H-he's in medical." Ilia replied shakily.

"So, what's the plan now, Doc?" Mercury questioned.

Eggman looked at him questionably. "Why are you even sticking around here? Cinder's little muscle, probably could have slipped away during Beacon."

"It was a spur of the moment thing." Mercury said. "But we're here now."

"And why should I bother entertaining either of you?" Eggman questioned. "I have an army of killer robots, what help can two brats give me?"

"You've seen what Emerald can do." Mercury said, referring to his ally. "Her Semblance is no joke, and I can fight just as hard. I've got more to give than you think."

Eggman looked curious. He knew about Emerald's Semblance to cause hallucinations, and something like that could have its uses. Mercury, as far as he could tell, didn't have any flashy powers. Though he was equipped with prosthetic legs, and with his genius they could be given a serious upgrade to make him even more dangerous, but that's provided they could deliver effective results.

"You wanna stick with me? Then prove your worth." Eggman told them, looking to Mercury specifically. "We're heading to Vacuo to find any Chaos Emeralds or the Summer Maiden. If you prove useful, I'll keep you around and arm you to the teeth. If not, I'll kick you to the curb. Got it?"

"Got it." Mercury nodded. Though he didn't like the tone he was being addressed in, especially with the threat to kick him out if he is seen as useless. That was the same kind of thing his father told him growing up, not that he'd ever kick out his favorite punching bag, much to the old man's regret. But the Doc did have all kinds of tools that he could use to make himself powerful enough that he may not even need his stolen Semblance anymore.

"What about Cinder?" Emerald asked.

"What about her?" Eggman questioned, which only confused Emerald.

"W-where is she…?" The girl asked. "Is she okay? When are we going to find her?"

"We're not." Eggman answered, much to Emerald's shock. "That pompous brat has proven to be more trouble than she's worth. And now, she's not worth a thing. The source of her power is gone, and she may very well be dead."

"…What…?" Emerald's face paled at that possibility. Cinder… Her Cinder… Dead…?

"It's what she gets for biting off more than she can chew." Eggman said brushing past Emerald. "Just forget about her. Even if she is alive, the hag ordered her to be killed on sight." That caused Emerald's eyes to widen in horror. "So not only is she useless, but a liability." He said as he walked away. "I suggest that you…"

The sounds of guns clicking was heard from behind, along with a sudden crash and scream. Eggman had turned around to see Metal Sonic pinning Emerald to the wall by her throat, her weapon, Thief's Respite, dropping from her hands as his metallic grip tightened around her neck.

"Hey!" Mercury was ready to jump in, only for Metal to glare at him, causing him to back off as the robot looked at him with a deadly gaze. Even Ilia found herself backing away in fear.

"Oh-ho, getting cocky, aren't ya?" Eggman sneered as he walked over to the pinned Emerald and loomed over her as Metal kept her pinned. "Listen up, sweetheart, you got two options. One, stay here with me and make yourself useful. We're gonna tear Remnant apart and rebuild it into the foundation of my new empire that will span the multiverse! You can be a part of that if you wish, but only if you're not dead weight. Or two, you can leave and look for your precious Cinder yourself and just stay out of my way. But if you aim your weapons at me again, it'll be the last thing you do. I know what your Semblance is capable of, and there is no hallucination that can keep you safe from my deadliest creation."

With a wave of his hand, Metal Sonic dropped Emerald as she fell the floor, coughing and rubbing her neck. A hand was offered to her, which she looked up with a teary gaze to see Mercury. Slowly, she accepted his hand and was helped back up.

"I… I'll stay here too." Emerald said. If what Eggman said was true, than there may be a chance of her finding Cinder if she's alive. She had to be alive. And if she was, Emerald can use her Semblance to take her and run away and they can hide and wait things out as Sonic and Eggman fight each other. And then… then…. Cinder would know what to do once they reach that point. She always knows what to do. But if she's out there, Emerald will find her and make sure to keep her safe, she'll protect her just like when Cinder protected her back then.

"Then prove yourself." Eggman said before turning to Ilia. "Let's go. I got a job for Adam if he still wants to stick around."

"A-alright." The shaky Ilia followed him and his robots, leaving Mercury and Emerald alone.

"You good?" Mercury asked Emerald.

"F-fine. I'm fine." Emerald rubbed her neck as she gazed out the window again, wondering just what she and Cinder have gotten themselves into. Above all, she had hoped that Cinder was okay.

---

Four Days Later

A group of airships flew above the Mistral forested landscape, which consisted of a few civilian ships and a couple of armed gunships for escort. All of these ships bore the appearance of flying sailboats, with the civilian ones being bigger than those that were armed.

In one such airship rode Sonic, Ruby, Knuckles, Yang, and Amy as they all looked around at the landscape of their new environment. Mistral seemed not too different from Vale, the wild area being surrounded by forests and mountains. During their flight, they saw a few villages on the ground below, but nothing that particularly stood out.

"It looks pretty nice out here." Amy said.

"On the surface, maybe." Knuckles replied as he looked at the information on his scroll. "But based on what we've seen and been told, Mistral's got the highest crime rate out of all the Kingdoms. There are a lot of scattered villages all over the continent, with only a few big cities, including the capital. It feels a little more spread out compared to Vale."

"Yeah, I hear a lot of villages don't really make it past a couple months." Yang put in. "It's a surprise since it's ya know, the job of a Huntsman to protect places like that."

"We'll know more when we reach the main city." Amy said.

Sonic smirked. "Maybe Huntsmen might have trouble here, but I can probably sweep this continent in a day at the most." He said with a chuckle. Knuckles and Amy both smirked with even Yang slightly scoffing. She happened to turn to her younger sister, who hadn't responded as she just gazed out the window, causing Yang to look with concern. Ruby really hadn't said much of anything since they left Patch.

"Ruby?" Yang tried to get her attention, but the girl didn't respond right away. "Ruby." She shook her by the shoulder, startling Ruby somewhat as she turned to Yang with a gasp. "You okay? You've been pretty quiet."

"I'm just… thinking." Ruby muttered with everyone listening as she stared out again. "This is our first time outside of Vale. I always hoped that after we graduated, we could travel all across Remnant as professional Huntresses, see the world and save as many people as possible. It looks like I might have gotten my wish sooner than I thought, right? I just wished… the rest of the team was here."

That immediately caused them all to look with sympathy, particularly with Sonic and Yang. "I get it." The blue Hedgehog assured. "I miss Tails, too. Wish everyone was here. But, you know…"

"I get it." Ruby interrupted. "We all gotta split up and find the Chaos Emeralds. I know why. But that doesn't mean I won't miss them."

"Of course not. I miss them too." Yang assured. "But at least we're all here, right?"

"Not everyone…" Ruby looked out the window and happened to spot a certain black feathered bird flying some distance away from the airship. The minute Yang saw that bird, she pulled Ruby away, knowing exactly who that was.

"Forget him. He doesn't wanna ride with us? That's his problem." She brushed off.

"Think maybe it might be us?" Amy asked. "I mean, Qrow pretty much said that he hates us." That caused Ruby to stiffen up even more. She also knew that her uncle wasn't a big fan of her new friends, especially Sonic, and she hated that. The idea of her beloved uncle being part of Ozpin's conspiracy and making shady choices was hard enough, but she couldn't stand the concept of him hating her friends. The image of her uncle punching Jaune as hard as he did, as well as Shadow ready to pulverize him in retribution was still fresh in her mind... and then there was what Jaune said regarding her own mother... that Qrow and Ozpin had gotten her killed and would do the same to Ruby. Her heart told her that Jaune probably didn't mean it and was shouting in anger, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

"Hey, if one guy doesn't like me, I can live with that." Sonic said. "Not asking for that."

"He could at least try to work with us." Amy said in a low and disapproving tone. She herself would try to keep it professional when working with Qrow, but if he talks disrespect to Sonic again or any of her other friends, she was going to have a serious problem.

"Guys… can we… please change the subject?" Ruby requested shaky.

"Okay, okay." Sonic accepted with Yang looking away with a scowl, something Knuckles noticed. "So… what do you wanna talk about?"

Ruby tried to think of something, anything… but she couldn't think of anything one could bring up in a chit-chat conversation. But she gazed in the direction of Knuckles and that's when she remembered something.

"Hey uh… Knuckles?" She got the red Echidna's attention. "Do you know anything about a…. girl Echidna and a giant water monster?"

Yang looked confused, while Sonic, Amy, and Knuckles were especially surprised. "What exactly are you talking about?" Knuckles asked seriously.

"Well… before I woke up back home… I had this weird dream." Ruby began. "I saw the Chaos Emeralds… and a much larger Emerald… and there were a whole bunch of other Echidnas trying to steal them. This girl Echidna tried to stop them… and there were these tiny cute little creatures too. But… they pushed her away and… that water monster showed up and… turned huge. Like… a giant monster the size of a mountain… way bigger than that Wyvern Grimm back at Beacon!"

"That was Chaos." Knuckles said.

"Huh?" Ruby blinked in confusion.

"What you saw Ruby was the catastrophe that wiped out most of my ancestors." Knuckles explained. "Three thousand years ago, Chief Pachacamac tried to steal the power of the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald to take over the world. His daughter, Tikal, tried to stop him, but when she failed… his actions angered my people's god of destruction, Chaos. Using the power of the Emeralds, Chaos wiped out most of the Knuckles clan, but Tikal sealed him away in the Master Emerald. And you saw all that?"

"I didn't just see it… I… I think she spoke to me…" Ruby said, which really drew their attention. "The servants… are the seven Emeralds…"

"The servers are the seven Chaos." Knuckles corrected. "That was part of her prayer. Wait… she spoke to you?"

"Yeah… looked at me in the eyes…" Ruby said as she looked towards Knuckles and Sonic, both looking towards each other in surprise. "What?"

"We kinda met Tikal too, a long time ago." Sonic said.

"Eggman tried to use Chaos as his personal weapon years ago." Amy explained with Yang listening intently. "But Chaos was too strong for him to control. He tried to use the Chaos Emeralds' power to destroy the world. But Tikal's spirit guided us and helped us to fight back and calm Chaos down."

"A ghost. You guys knew an actual ghost." Yang said with a blank stare.

"Yep." Amy confirmed.

"Ya know… at this point, I shouldn't be surprised." The blonde commented.

"But after Chaos was defeated, Tikal's spirit ascended and we hadn't seen her since." Knuckles said. "I assumed she returned to the afterlife. We didn't even see her when Eggman released Dark Gaia or even when the Nocturnes Clan attacked. But you're saying that she actually spoke to you?" He asked Ruby.

"Y-yeah… I think so." She nodded.

"So… what does that mean?" Yang asked, looking around hoping that any of them would at least have an answer.

"Could be connected to Ruby using a Chaos Control." Amy theorized. "Not sure."

"But we'll figure it out." Sonic said for the sake of optimism, reaching out to put a comforting hand on Ruby's back. "We got this, okay?"

Ruby smiled emotionally to him. "Okay."

"Hey, it looks like we're here!" Amy announced as everyone looked out the window in the direction she was gazing.

Their destination appeared to be a city that was built into two large twin mountains, with the largest building connecting the two summits. Various buildings were built all across the sides and base of the mountain. One could describe it as something of a mix to Mount Olympus with the architecture being something similar to East Asian countries.

"It's… it's beautiful…" Ruby muttered.

"Yeah, a mountain city. That's pretty cool." Sonic complemented.

"We're gonna be landing soon." Knuckles said to everyone. "Let's get ready."

---

The aircrafts touched down on a landing platform, which was on a cliffside, allowing all of the passengers to step off. Ruby, Sonic, Yang, Knuckles, and Amy were already off their ship and made their way toward the barred edge that gave them an overview over most of the city of Mistral.

"Whoa…" Yang muttered.

"It looks even more beautiful up close." Amy smiled.

Ruby looked down at several of the shops and stalls that were in some kind of outdoor market, where she spotted various people buying and selling weapons. Ordinarily, she'd geek out and want to go down to get a closer look herself. But seeing all these weapons made her think back on Crescent Rose. She happened to look to her back to see the sheathed Caliburn that Sonic had leant her. While she was beyond grateful that he gave her his weapon, it still didn't feel the same as her own. The very same weapon that Metal Sonic used to tear Penny apart. Gods, that memory still haunted her. While she was hopeful and confident that Tails can get Penny fixed up back in Atlas… that was one memory she could never unsee.

"They really made the most of these mountains." Knuckles observed with a smile.

"Impressed, Knux?" Sonic smirked.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Knuckles replied with a grin. "Vale was nice, but this place has more of a… natural feel to it. I could actually see myself living here."

"Yeah sure, it's pretty on the surface." A certain gruff voice spoke out from behind, causing them all to turn with Yang scowling at the appearance of her approaching uncle as he also oversaw the city. "But the City of Mistral has a dark underbelly to it, specifically with the lower levels. You'll wanna keep up top, that's where the Academy is."

"So, your buddy knows we're coming?" Sonic asked.

Qrow lightly scowled at Sonic before answering. "I sent a message to Lionheart about that before we left Patch, so yeah."

"What else did you tell him?" Yang narrowed her eyes.

"Let's see… the scattered gems that can bend and twist reality like a pretzel, Pyrrha being the new Fall Maiden…" Qrow listed off, but that last part earned a growl from Yang. "What? She said I could tell the rest of the crew about it if I wanted to."

"He's not wrong. Pyrrha did say that." Amy said specifically to Yang, hoping to calm her down.

"And I also said that you'd be coming." Qrow added. "So, let's not keep the man waiting. Come on." He led everyone off the landing pad, with Yang keeping a glare on him and not letting him out of his sight, something that Knuckles and Amy took notice as they shared concerning glances.

The group began to make their way through the city, passing by several stalls and markets that were offering and selling various items such as food, clothes, weapons, and other every-day stuff.

"Got fried chicken on a stick! Only twenty lien!"

"Looking for the latest fashion? I got a line of dresses that'll make your husband or wife fall in love with you all over again!"

"We got swords, axes, clubs, hammers, everything you need to survive outside the city, all at a discount!"

"Watch what you buy." Qrow advised everyone. "Some of this stuff is good; but other times, people will try to either sell you cheap crap or rob you with the most expensive prices."

While everyone heard and understood, Ruby felt a sense of awkwardness in the presence of her uncle, while also glancing to her right to see her older half-sister glaring at Qrow's back as they continued to walk along. Ruby looked towards Sonic and then to Qrow, like she was silently asking for permission to talk to him, to which the blue Hedgehog just smiled and gestured for her to go ahead. Ruby nodded with a small smile as she caught up and walked next to her uncle.

"You… weren't on the ship with us." She said, trying to strike up a conversation. "Pretty sure we had room."

"And I'm pretty sure my presence wasn't welcomed." Qrow commented.

"You were… kinda hard on everyone, especially Sonic." Ruby said, but Qrow chose not to respond to that and looked away. This caused Ruby to worry again before trying to think of another topic that would be less stressful…

"How you holding up, kiddo?" Qrow actually asked first before she could say anything, much to her own surprise, even as Qrow looked to her with genuine concern.

"Hanging in there." Ruby answered. "Had some time to process everything."

"You doing okay without Crescent Rose?" Qrow asked. He knew how much Ruby treasured her weapon, having helped her to build it himself, a rather nice memory for him.

"It'll take some getting used to… until I decide to make something new… but that might not be for a while." Ruby replied, looking away.

"Sorry I couldn't find it." Qrow apologized.

"It's okay." Ruby nodded before it became awkward again, until Ruby found a topic that she was genuinely curious about. "So… does it hurt?"

"What?" He asked.

"You know… turning into a bird. Does it hurt at all?" She wondered.

"Not really." Qrow answered. "It feels a little… weird, but the change isn't painful."

"Smaller animals do have weaker Aura." Ruby pointed out. "Is it like that for you too?"

"Yeah. Slight drawback." Qrow replied.

"Could… Dad and Mom do that to? You and Raven did, so…?" Ruby asked.

"No, just us." Qrow responded before smiling. "But your mom wanted to. And she wanted to turn into a little puppy. Said that nobody would ever suspect a puppy."

Ruby giggled. "She wasn't wrong. So… what happens to your clothes and everything?" She asked again. "You still got em when you change back, but you don't look like you're wearing anything when you're a bird."

"Don't know." Qrow shrugged. "But I ain't complaining." He then gave a teasing grin to his niece. "Unless you'd rather see me naked."

"Ew! Gross!" Ruby pushed him away but laughed a bit herself with Qrow chuckling.

Sonic happened to smile a bit as he heard bits of this exchange. Even if Qrow didn't like him personally, it was nice to see Ruby at least trying to mend a broken bridge. And if that helped to cheer the girl up, then good for her. After the mess that happened about a week ago, she really needs it.

However, that mood was quickly ended as a certain blonde made her way closer and purposely put herself in-between Ruby and Qrow. "Kinda seems like the bird's got more drawbacks than actual advantages."

Ruby lowered herself under Yang's harsh tone, even though it wasn't aimed at her, but rather her uncle who winced a bit as the blonde glared at him.

"Yeah, maybe… but it does come in handy and it's saved my neck a few times." Qrow said. "It's also pretty cool to actually fly."

"Oh sweet. You can fly." Yang said sarcastically. "And what did you have to give up in order to get that?"

"I didn't give up anything. Ozpin gave me a choice." Qrow said, getting a little irritated.

"Nothing you wanted anyway." Yang looked away.

Qrow stopped as he sighed. "Look, Yang…" It was clear that an argument was about to start. But before either Sonic or Ruby could intervene…

"Holy crap… Ruby Rose?!"

Looking on a bit further ahead, the aforementioned girl, and all those around her, were more than a little surprised to see Arslan Altan, along with the rest of Team ABRN.

"A-Arsalan Altan…?" Ruby stuttered.

"Hey, aren't these guys from the Vytal Festival?" Sonic asked his friends.

"Yeah, they fought Team RWBY in the first round." Knuckles confirmed.

"Well, I'll be damned!" Arslan walked over with a chuckle, lightly punching Ruby in the shoulder. "I haven't seen you since Beacon! What are you doing here? And… where's the rest of your team?" She asked, upon noticing how only one of her teammates was present.

"W-Weiss and Blake are… off doing their own thing so… it's just me and Yang." Ruby answered. "But, I didn't expect to see you guys here."

"Haven's our home school. After Beacon, Professor Lionheart called back all of his students." Arslan explained. "What about you?"

"I guess… you could say we're on a mission." Ruby answered. "We're on our way to meet Professor Lionheart too."

"Heh, on a mission dressed like that?" Arslan teased, gesturing to Ruby's casual clothing, causing the girl to blush somewhat.

"Well… my gear was trashed in the battle…" She rubbed her arm with embarrassment.

"Okay, easy fix. My team and I were gonna do some shopping, stock up on supplies. Why don't you come with us?" Arslan offered. "I'll even pay for it."

"Really?" Ruby asked in surprise. "I… don't wanna get in your way or anything…"

"Nah, it's cool." Arslan waved off. "I've got more than enough money."

"You know what? That's actually a great idea!" Amy said as she pulled Yang closer and hooked both her arms around Yang's and Ruby's "We could spend some quality girl time together. Get some levity in before we end up fighting to save the world."

"Sure, beats present company." Yang muttered, looking back at Qrow, who rolled his eyes as he looked away.

Amy looked towards Sonic with a smile, silently telling him her intent. Aside from the two needing to probably stock up themselves, this was a nice way to get Ruby and Yang away from any tension surrounding their uncle, maybe have some fun and get a break from all the heavy stuff. Plus, Amy would be the best one to do it. Fashion was her thing, not his.

"Is that alright?" Ruby asked, looking to Sonic.

"Sure, go for it." He allowed.

"Alright… let's do it." Ruby smiled.

"Follow me. I know the best the store that'll give you both fashion and quality." Arslan waved forward as she led her team in one direction with Amy pulling Ruby and Yang to follow her.

"Ya know what? I think I'm gonna take a bit of jog, get a feel of what this place is like." Sonic said as he hopped onto the railing of the path and looked down to a lower level. "I'll meet you guys at Haven."

"Hey, wait…!" Before Qrow could protest, Sonic had already leapt off the railing and sped down a nearby slope, leaving a blue windy trail behind as he made his way deeper into the mountain city. The man then groaned aloud. "He never listens, does he?"

"Sonic does his own thing. And he's not wrong in wanting to see what Mistral is like if we're gonna be staying here." Knuckles said. "So, you wanna get to Haven?"

Qrow didn't exactly like being left alone with one of Sonic's friends, but if his nieces needed the space, then he'd let them. And hopefully Yang can get this out of her system, and they can work things out. "Yeah, sure, whatever." He pulled out his flask and took a sip before waving forward. "Come on, the elevator's not far."

---

A couple hours later, Knuckles and Qrow had arrived at Haven Academy. The campus was somewhat smaller compared to Beacon; most of its architecture, much like the rest of the city, was akin to East Asian culture. Knuckles observed not only the architecture, but also the students present. A majority of them all wore the usual black school uniform, while others had their Huntsmen outfits and gear on. But there was also a tense presence in the air, a feeling of uneasiness felt by the students, something both he and Qrow noticed.

"They seem a little on edge." The red Echidna observed.

"Huh, observant, aren't ya?" Qrow said somewhat spitefully.

Knuckles closed his eyes in minor frustration before speaking straight. "Okay, look. You don't have to like us. We're not asking for that, not even Sonic is. But we're in this together. So would it hurt to at least keep it professional and work with us?"

"Why do you think I'm even here?" Qrow replied.

"Oh, and even if you don't wanna be friends with Sonic, you still at least owe him thanks for saving Ruby's life back at Beacon." Knuckles added. "Not to mention yours and everyone else's!"

"Maybe we wouldn't have been in such a messy situation if you guys didn't bring Eggboy and his whole freaking army with you!" Qrow argued.

"Eggman already had his sights on Remnant, and we were the ones who followed him. You wanna take this out on anyone? Take it out on him!" Knuckles stated.

"Believe me, I plan to." Qrow growled.

"You're even more bitter than usual it seems, Qrow."

Both of them looked ahead to see the headmaster of Haven Academy approach. He was a lion Faunus who appeared in his late sixties, with a mane of grayish tan hair, brown eyes, and lightly tanned skin. His attire consisted of a brown greatcoat with a matching mantle, which had cross emblems on each side. Underneath the greatcoat, he wore a white dress shirt, a western necktie, a pocket watch with a lion emblem attached to his belt, brown dress slacks and shoes.

"Professor Lionheart, I presume." The red Echidna greeted. "Knuckles the Echidna."

"A pleasure." Lionheart bowed his head before turning to his cohort. "Qrow."

"Leo." The man nodded.

Lionheart looked around for a moment before seeing if he could spot anyone else. "Where is your blue companion? You said he'd be here."

"Apparently, he went out for a 'jog'." Qrow rolled his eyes.

"Sonic wanted to see what the rest of the city was like. He'll be here soon." Knuckles explained. "Amy took a couple of our friends for some shopping, too."

"Your nieces, correct?" He asked Qrow, who only gave a single nod in confirmation.

"Why does everything here feel so tense?" Knuckles asked.

"Come with me." Lionheart motioned to follow him. "I'll explain it all when the rest of your comrades arrive."

---

Meanwhile, while the rest of her teammates were shopping around the local market, Arslan was waiting outside a small building that was selling clothes and gear. She waited about twenty minutes before two individuals stepped out.

First was Amy, and her new outfit consisted of a dark pink crop top jacket with long sleeves that stretched all the way to the rings on her wrists, with a white line coming down the middle and at her neck collar. She also had a white dress, dark pink boots that stretched up to her knees and white buckles at the instep.

Yang was next, and her biggest outfit change was the brown long coat that stretched down to the back of her thighs. She also wore a black belt that kept the jacket tight and close to her body to keep it from blowing everywhere. Underneath the coat she had a yellow shirt with her emblem sewn in black over her right breast with orange fingerless gloves. She also wore a dark golden mini skirt with black thigh high tights and brown western boots with a small purple scarf around her neck. She also had her hair tied back in a long ponytail.

"Nice, you two look awesome!" Arslan pointed to them.

"Thank you." Amy smiled as she showed off all angles of her new outfit. "Look cute, don't I?"

"Yep. And you look badass, Blondie. You got real style." Arslan complemented.

"Yeah, thanks." Yang said in a neutral tone. She really did like this new outfit she wore, but her current demeanor made it hard for her to actually enjoy it.

"So, where's Ruby?" Arslan asked.

"Still inside, said she needed more time." Amy answered. She also noticed the tense air around Yang and decided to address that. "Hey, could you give us a minute? Yang and I need to have a talk."

"Sure." Arslan shrugged and walked away, looking to meet up with the rest of her team in the market.

Amy then looked to the blonde with a serious expression. "Yang…"

"What?" She growled.

"I get that you're angry, and I don't blame you. But… can you maybe try to tone it down a bit?" Amy asked.

"Why? I'm not allowed to be angry at my uncle for lying to us?" Yang began. "For hating my friends for no reason? For trying to pressure one of my classmates into becoming his secret weapon?! For trying to get my sister ready to fight the same monster that killed her mom and drove my mom away?!"

"You got every reason to feel that way." Amy told her. "I'm angry at Qrow too for the way he's treating Sonic."

"Then why are we even keeping him around?!" Yang exclaimed. "We can get along just fine without him! And before you say that we need him, I don't think we really do. We're about to meet the headmaster of Haven, who probably knows everything we need to know about Mistral. The guy didn't even want to ride on the same ship with us. He clearly doesn't want to be here with us either."

"But he is." Amy insisted. "And even if you don't wanna be near him, Ruby's at least trying to…"

"Why does it all have to be about Ruby?!" Yang shouted. "What about me, huh?! Qrow gave her all his attention growing up, but he only spent the bare minimum with me! Why not me?! Who the hell kept the whole family together after Summer vanished and Dad shut down!? Me! I did that! When I freaking six years old! And I don't even get a 'thank you' or one little bit of gratitude! And why?! Because he's working for the same guy who got Summer killed! That right there should have been the last straw! Ozpin's the reason Summer's gone, so why even stick with him!?"

"I don't know!" Amy stated firmly, raising her own voice to meet Yang. "I don't know why he did what he did! I don't know the reasons behind his choices! Only he knows that!"

"Not that he's actually gonna tell me." Yang looked away with a scowl, crossing her arms. "So why even bother asking?"

"Maybe your dad knows." Amy suggested. "You could call him up…"

"I don't wanna talk to him right now." Yang still kept her back turned.

Amy looked to Yang with an expression that mixed understanding, sympathy, and a bit of frustration. Yang's feelings were valid, not just from the frustration regarding her uncle's recent choices, but probably all the built-up frustration she's had from having to take care of Ruby and her father apparently when she was six. The poor girl probably had to grow up faster than she would have liked and felt that she got cheated out of her childhood. That had to hurt.

"I'm sorry, Yang." Amy said to her. "I'm sorry that you had to go through what you did… and that you're feeling angry and lost right now. But you're not the only one. Ruby's more than a little lost to, right now. So… maybe you could talk with her. Not just for her sake, but yours too. Tell her how you're feeling… and you can both work together to bounce back. And we're here to help you too. Me, Sonic, Knuckles, we're all here for you." Yang didn't quite respond right away, prompting Amy to move forward and reach out to grab Yang's hand, causing her to finally turn towards her. "We're here for you."

Yang tightened her grip somewhat as her eyes watered, but she tried to push that back. It was true that she did have Knuckles, Amy, and even Sonic. But… could she let herself fall apart in front of Ruby? What if that made things worse for her? She did that before after what happened with Merlot and Mimic, but this felt different. Much more personal. She remembered how her little sister was back on Patch when everything was out in the open, and now she's dealing with all this crazy dream stuff involving Chaos Control, as well as losing Crescent Rose. If she vented in front of her, Yang might only be adding to the burden. She was going to be there and help her stand back up, there was no question in that. But she had to be the strong sister for her. It was frustrating, but that's what she had to do. She might vent in front of Knuckles while here… but not Ruby. She can't.

"Thank you." Yang muttered, causing Amy to smile slightly, happy to see that her words at least made some impact.

However, unbeknownst to either of them… Ruby was just outside the door and overheard everything that went on between Yang and Amy.

She figured that Yang had taken on quite a lot when she ended up raising her after Summer disappeared, but she had no idea it was this bad. Was she really this much of a burden to her own sister? Come to think of it… maybe she was. Yang was the one who took care of her since they were kids. While their dad did bounce back, and Qrow always came around to help Ruby train whenever he made his annual visits, and especially during her time in Signal, it was still primarily Yang who raised her and had such a hard and difficult time growing up. Why did Raven leave Yang? Why did Summer leave both of them? Why couldn't either have stayed and been a part of their lives? Why did everything had to get so complicated? And it wasn't just her own sister she was being a burden too… she might as well be one for Sonic and everyone. She knows how powerful he is, she's seen everything he can do. Heck, she was in his arms when he was Super Sonic! He was the most amazing person she'd ever met. He could probably handle Salem and Eggman on his own, and with the Ultimate Lifeform like Shadow by his side, as well as all of their other friends, they could easily take down those two bad guys. But now, Sonic had to watch Ruby because her Silver Eyes had put a target on her back. She was still going to fight alongside them and do whatever she could to help protect her home. But she couldn't help but feel that if she was a normal girl with normal knees, and not this special Silver Eyed Warrior like her mother… then she wouldn't be here to slow Sonic down.

"Yo!" She was taken out of her thoughts by the sound of a familiar voice outside.

Sonic had just sped onto the scene to see the newly dressed Amy and Yang.

"Love the new outfits, ladies." He smiled.

"Aw, thanks Sonic." Amy smirked. "Think maybe we can go out sometime with this?" She leaned in closely to smile and wink at him.

Yang sported a teasing grin. "Better say yes, unless you want her hammer to meet your face, Sonic."

Sonic gave a wincing smile as he raised his hands. "Trust me, I know better than to mess with that. By the way, where's Ruby?"

"Right here!" Ruby stumbled outside to reveal her new attire.

She still wore her typical red hooded cape with a white old-fashioned blouse with a red-sleeveless one-piece vest-dress over with a black trim around it all and rose-like pattern on the shoulders. She also wore dark red tights that stretched up to her tights with a black rose pattern embedded into it, along with black and red boots. She also carried her mother's silver rose emblem on her waist, as well as the sheathed Caliburn over her back.

"Alright, nice." Sonic nodded.

"Heh, my little sister's got style, who knew?" Yang teased.

"I always got style, just not your kind. Or rather… your lack-of-kind." Ruby teased back.

"Oh, you're gonna get it!" Yang pulled Ruby into a bearhug, causing the younger girl to laugh.

Sonic smiled, happy to see that the two sisters were having fun in this moment. Kinda seems like Amy's mission may have worked.

However, the pink Hedgehog leaned in close to him to speak in a whisper. "Sonic, doesn't Ruby's outfit look kinda familiar to you?"

"You're asking me that?" Sonic questioned. "I'm not a fashion-guy, that's your forte."

"Sonic, I'm serious. Her outfit looks almost exactly like Penny's." Amy said, much to Sonic's surprise. This lead to him getting a bit of a closer look with Ruby and Yang still playing and teasing.

"Now that you mention it…" Sonic muttered. "Is… is that gonna be a problem? I mean, she's not dead. You and I know Tails, the guy's worked with alien technology. He can get Penny fixed up in no time."

"I know he can, that's not the issue." Amy said. "It just… it just feels like Ruby's burdening herself with something. I'm not sure."

"You can tell just from looking at her clothes?" Sonic questioned.

"What a person wears can actually tell you a lot about their personality and what they might be feeling if you look hard enough." Amy said.

"Huh, I'll have to get into fashion then." Sonic commented. "But I think Ruby's gonna be fine. We're here for her, and everyone else, right?"

Amy smiled at Sonic's optimism. She could tell that he took her words seriously, but still had faith that they would work it out. "Right. By the way, I got a little something for you and Knuckles too." She held up a bag.

Sonic, again, gave a wincing smile. "Please tell me there's not a tux in there."

"Don't worry. I know you guys and your type of style, I'm sure you'll like it." Amy assured.

---

Knuckles and Qrow both waited in Lionheart's office where things have been pretty quiet for the most part. Lionheart said he wanted to wait till everyone shows up before explaining the situation to them, to avoid explaining everything twice over as there was much to cover. But things became tense soon after with Qrow not even making any attempt to strike up any kind of small talk with Knuckles. Lionheart knew why, he was told of the tension going on between Ozpin's group and Sonic's team and didn't want to get in the middle and unintentionally light up a powder keg.

There was then a knock on the door. "Come in." Lionheart allowed.

The door opened revealing Ruby, Yang, Amy, and Sonic, the blue Hedgehog now sporting a red leather jacket with a brown handkerchief around his neck. He also had white sports tape wrapped around his arms up to his gloved hands and his legs to his shoes.

"Sup?" Sonic waved.

"Bout freaking time." Qrow commented.

"Nice to see you too." Sonic waved off while Yang rolled her eyes in annoyance before Sonic looked to the headmaster. "Lionheart, right?"

"Eh, yes." He stood up from his desk and made his way over to Sonic. "Leonardo Lionheart at your service." He bowed his head. "I… I must say that… I'm rather nervous." He said somewhat shakily.

"What? Nervous? Come on man, I don't bite." Sonic teased.

"N-no… but when you are in the same room with someone who has the power to wipe out half a continent's worth of Grimm, anyone would be a little excited." Lionheart shook with a smile.

"Good point. Sonic the Hedgehog. Nice to meet you." He offered his hand, which Lionheart shook.

"Hey Knuckles." Amy went over to her Echidna friend. "Got you something." She handed him a paper bag. Knuckles took it and looked inside to see a green poncho with a black hood and an upside down crescent-moon shaped pendant at the neck. "Nice and simple for the Echidna with simple tastes. Hope you like it."

Knuckles put the poncho on and got a good look at himself before smiling. "This is great. Thanks, Amy."

"Anytime."

"Ugh, can we just get on with this?" Qrow complained, causing the mood to turn sour as Yang glared at her uncle again with Ruby looking a bit nervous before Lionheart made his way back to the desk.

"So, I'm guessing you saw what happened at Beacon, right?" Sonic asked Lionheart.

"Are you kidding? Everyone on Remnant saw what happened that night!" The headmaster of Haven began. "Every house in every kingdom saw a golden warrior single handedly wipe out an entire army of Grimm! For so long… our world has lived in fear… with the reluctant acceptance that we can never truly destroy the Grimm… that they would be a permanent part of our lives and those of future generations. But with that kind of power…" He turned to Sonic with an excited smile. "With your kind of power… we can not only be rid of the Grimm forever… but even destroy Salem once and for all!"

"And we'll do that." Sonic said. "But the thing is… the Chaos Emeralds, which I need to go gold, are now scattered across Remnant, and that's why we're here, to look for any that might be here in Mistral."

"Tails and Weiss are going to Atlas to work with Ironwood to find any Emeralds there." Ruby added. "Blake went to Menagerie to see if she could try and get any of her friends and family to help us. Team JNPR and Shadow's group went to Vacuo."

"But we're not just looking for the Chaos Emeralds, we're also looking for the Maidens." Knuckles said. "Yes, we know about the Relics and how the vaults work, and the risk it poses for them to step out into the open. But we have momentum now. And if the Maidens are really as powerful as you say they are, then they could help against Eggman and Salem, as well as use their power to help search for the Emeralds."

However, the second the topic of Maidens was brought up, Lionheart's smile faded as he looked to Qrow. "You didn't tell them?"

That caused everyone to look in confusion. "Tell us what?" Amy asked.

"The Spring Maiden, April, vanished over a decade ago." Lionheart revealed.

To say everyone was shocked by that would be an understatement. "What…?" Sonic questioned as everyone else looked to Qrow, Yang especially glaring hard.

"Why are we only hearing about this now?" Knuckles questioned.

"Cause it's complicated." Qrow answered.

"No, it's not complicated to say 'we don't know where she is'! Six. Words. Six simple words! That's not complicated, Qrow!" Yang moved closer towards him, causing him to look hard at her.

"Okay, okay." Ruby quickly came in-between her sister and uncle. "We know now. Maybe he should have said something sooner…" She looked to Qrow as she said that before looking directly at Lionheart. "What exactly happened to the Spring Maiden? Start from the beginning."

Lionheart looked away slightly before explaining. "April's predecessor was her own mother, but she died defending her village from a massive Grimm attack. At the moment of her death, her powers passed to the final person in her thoughts, her own daughter. I was there alongside Ozpin and a few others, discovering April's newfound ability. The poor girl was frightened, but we took her in and told her the story of the Maidens."

"Did you tell her about Salem too, or the Relics?" Sonic asked.

"No." Lionheart shook his head. "Ozpin felt that it would be too much for someone of her age and that he would tell her when she was old enough to better understand."

"Age?" Amy questioned. "How old was April?"

"She was twelve, when she inherited her mother's power." Lionheart revealed.

"Twelve years old?!" Nearly everyone exclaimed.

"Ozpin said there was an age-range to the Maidens, but that seems a little young, don't you think?" Amy stated.

"I didn't make up the rules." Lionheart said. "Though I do agree with that. Twelve years old is far too young for anyone to join our secret society, especially so soon after she lost her mother."

"What happened, happened." Qrow put in. "We couldn't undo it, so we had to make do with what we had."

"You could at least try to sound sympathetic." Yang commented. "But given what happened to Summer, and you weren't there for her, I shouldn't be surprised."

"Hold on a minute, Yang! That's not…!" Qrow tried to speak, only for Sonic to break it up.

"Alright, enough!" Sonic broke them up before he looked to Lionheart. "So, you took April in and told her about the Maidens. What happened after that? Why did she disappear?"

"At first… she was determined to follow in her mother's footsteps." Lionheart continued, though that last comment had Ruby look away somewhat as her hand gently brushed over her mother's emblem. "But a few years later, she found out about Salem… sooner than any of us would have liked. The weight of her responsibility was too much for her. The poor girl was so terrified… she ran away, abandoned her training, everyone. We've tried to find her… but we couldn't. Again, that was over a decade ago. We have no idea where she is… or even if she's alive."

Everyone looked with worry and concern. "Well… that's just great." Yang muttered.

"We can at least determine that Salem doesn't know where April is either." Knuckles said.

"How do you know?" Yang questioned.

"Think about it." Knuckles said. "If Salem had a genuine Maiden under her control, why go out of her way to mold Cinder into someone who can absorb other Maiden powers?"

"He's right. Cinder always went on about 'the chosen one' and 'worthy' of all the powers." Sonic added, rolling his eyes as he recalled all her rants. "She was probably meant to be the vessel for all four."

"Can someone have all four Maiden powers?" Ruby asked Lionheart.

"I do not know, not even Ozpin himself knew." The headmaster of Haven answered. "But speaking of Maidens, Qrow informed me that one of your classmates, Pyrrha Nikos, is the current Fall Maiden. Is that true?"

"Yeah, it's true." Amy confirmed. While she didn't like the idea of revealing this without the consent of Pyrrha herself, the girl did tell Qrow that he was free to tell his associates about her status as the Fall Maiden.

"And she is in Vacuo?" Lionheart asked again.

"She's on her way there with friends of ours." Sonic confirmed.

"Good. Best to keep that power away from the Beacon vault and out of Salem's hands." Lionheart said.

"That's pretty much the only good thing we got going on right now." Yang said, looking away with a scowl. "We don't know where the Spring Maiden is or if there any Chaos Emeralds here."

"Maybe not, but we'll find them." Ruby tried to tell her sister.

"Oh please. If Ozpin and his buddies couldn't find the Spring Maiden in over ten years, what good are we gonna do?" Yang questioned.

"W-we can at least try!" Ruby argued. "Sonic could…"

"Not if Qrow stops him." Yang growled.

"You think I can actually do that?" Qrow argued. "You think I can actually stop this guy after I got my ass handed to me by his edgy twin?"

"You'd find a way. You didn't tell us about the Spring Maiden till now." Yang growled.

"Just a little oversight…" Qrow looked away.

"That's a pretty big damn oversight if you ask me!" Yang stepped up close to him.

"You got something you wanna say to me Yang, then say it now!" Qrow told her. "Cause this passive aggressive thing you're doing is getting real old real quick."

"Looked in the mirror, asshole?" Yang growled.

"Yang…!" Ruby tried to stop her, but Knuckles held her arm to keep her from getting involved. She looked towards him with Knuckles looking to Sonic and Amy. It was clear that Yang was ready to explode at any given moment… But the blonde kept herself back, if only because her sister was in the same room. She may have said to herself that she wouldn't vent in her presence, but she couldn't keep this in much longer. She looked to Knuckles, who only gave her a nod, telling her to do what she needed to do. Best to get it all out in the open rather than keep it in. But that didn't mean it was gonna be easy.

Yang grabbed her uncle by the arm. "You. Me. Outside. Now." With that, she forcibly dragged Qrow out of the office, slamming the door behind her.

"She needs to get this out, Ruby." Knuckles told her. "There's a lot of frustration in there and the more she keeps it in, the harder it's gonna be."

"I… I think I understand but…" Ruby muttered.

"We'll work through it." Sonic said smiling, causing Ruby to smile back before he turned back to Lionheart. "Sorry about that." He said nervously.

"Don't worry about it." The headmaster assured. "I know Qrow can be… difficult. He and Ozpin were especially close. But with Ozpin gone… and no way of knowing when he'll return… not to mention the inevitability of his own soul merging with that of another… I can't imagine he's taking it very well."

"Speaking of, I'm sure you know that things seem pretty tense around Haven." Amy said.

"Yes… it's been that way since the battle." Lionheart revealed.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked. "We won that fight. Sonic won that fight! He's shown everyone that the Grimm can be defeated! You said that everyone on Remnant saw it!"

"They did see that, yes." Lionheart confirmed. "But they also saw the White Fang attacking Beacon Academy and the Atlas military, siding with a tyrannical dictator who has every intent on conquering Remnant and destroying everything in his path. By now, you must all be aware of the discrimination against my people… but since that day… it's gotten much worse. People now fear the majority of Faunus… even those in this academy… Faunus students are being ostracized, so much so that several students have already dropped out… even the Mistralian Council has talked about 'reliving me' of my position as headmaster and replacing me. Some of my own students no longer trust me." He said, looking away, causing everyone to look in sympathy. "Ironic… Ozpin helped me to become the leader of this academy, in an attempt to bridge the divide between human and Faunus… but now it's put a target on my back and every Faunus student in this academy."

"I'm… I'm so sorry…" Ruby said sincerely.

"Yeah… that's messed up." Sonic added.

"Thank you." Lionheart nodded. "But that's not the only problem. Mistral has the widest reaching territory, as you probably know by now. Before, because of all the spread-out villages and settlements, trying to protect them all was difficult… but now it's impossible."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Knuckles questioned.

"The Council has ordered that all professional Huntsman stay within the city of Mistral, and no longer take any active jobs for the outlying villages." Lionheart revealed.

"What?!" Sonic exclaimed with everyone else looking in shock.

"As I said before, tensions are high because of the White Fang's attack, and with discrimination growing… the Council fears that all of that negativity will draw in a horde of Grimm, or even a similar attack from Eggman and the White Fang, and they need every Huntsman, including the students of Haven, available for large-scale battle." Lionheart explained. "Mistral does not have an army like Atlas, our numbers are limited. Some villages that are closer are being protected, and the city of Argus is under the Atlas military's jurisdiction… but all those scattered settlements… have more-or-less been abandoned. The Council has even threatened to revoke any Huntsman that tries to disobey their order. They've more-or-less declared martial law in Mistral."

Sonic, Ruby, Knuckles, and Amy all had their eyes widened at that. Did the Council of Mistral really just abandon all of the outside villages? Left them alone to face the Grimm? While it was understandable that they were afraid of a possible Grimm attack and wanted to be prepared… this was a move that none of them could have seen coming.

The blue Hedgehog clenched his fist in anger before a stern look formed on his face. "I'm not a Huntsman. Neither are my friends. We'll do what we can to help. The Council wants to abandon those villages? We'll figure a way to protect them ourselves! If we find a couple Emeralds here, I could use Chaos Control to zap the Grimm away. It wouldn't be as big as I did in Vale, but it would still be something!"

"And you have our support, Professor Lionheart." Amy added. "I know that things were tense with us and Ozpin, but that doesn't mean we won't work with you. We're here to help. So, you can count on us."

Lionheart smiled to them gratefully. "Thank you…"

"Is there anything we can do to help you right now?" Ruby asked.

"As matter of fact, there is." Lionheart nodded as he reached into his desk to pull out a map of the continent of Anima and showed it to everyone as they got closer to the desk. "Just after the battle at Beacon ended, there was an… odd phenomenon that occurred here in Mistral."

"What sort of phenomenon?" Knuckles questioned.

"There were… two bright flashes of light at that moment in time." Lionheart explained. "One that occurred here, near the small village of Higanbana…" He pointed to one spot on the map. "And the other about two hundred kilometers to the southwest of our city, a little a bit outside the Council's protection. I sent a team of Huntsmen, Team SAFR, to investigate the latter and a Huntsman I trust by the name of Shion Zaiden to the former. Shion is a part of Ozpin's inner circle and knows about Salem, and recently they reported spotting ancient ruins, unlike anything we've seen here on Remnant… and Team SAFR reported a village of people they initially mistook for Faunus."

"Mistook?" Amy questioned.

"After hearing the descriptions of this village's inhabitants… and seeing you for the first time…" Lionheart referred to Sonic specifically. "I think they might be people from your world…"

That especially took Sonic and all his friends by surprise, with Ruby being confused. "I… I thought you guys were the only ones that came here." She said.

"We were…" Sonic confirmed. "Mimic was on the Ark too, so it makes sense why he'd be here but… why would a village…" His eyes widened. "Wait a second… did… did me using Chaos Control somehow bring them here…?"

"Let's go take a look and see for ourselves." Knuckles suggested. "I'm curious a bit about these ruins too."

"We'll investigate and let you know what we find." Amy said to Lionheart.

"Thank you, once again." The headmaster nodded.

"I just have two more questions to ask." Ruby spoke to the professor. "Our friend Blake told us that Sienna Khan, the leader of the Mistral branch of the White Fang, was here and that we should reach out to her, ask her for help in joining the fight against Eggman and Salem. Do you know where she is?"

"I'm afraid I don't." Lionheart shook his head. "I was briefly in-contact with Sienna when she became head of the White Fang. When she took it in a more violent direction, I was hoping to extend a peace offer. But she ceased all contact with me soon after and I do not know where she and her branch of the White Fang are based."

"Okay…" Ruby was disappointed to hear that. "Last question… do you have any idea where we can find Raven Branwen?"

---

Yang had pulled Qrow away outside the main building of the campus, around the corner in a secluded spot where there weren't any students or teachers so they could speak privately. But it was going to get loud real quick.

"What the hell is your problem?" Yang glared.

"My problem?!" Qrow questioned.

"My whole life that I've known you, you've always been something of a cynic." Yang said. "But you've never treated anyone I know like garbage before. And that's what you've been doing with Sonic and everyone since you arrived at Beacon! Why?! What the hell did he do to make you hate him so much!?"

"Yang, he's the reason we're in this mess! He's the reason you're here!" Qrow argued.

"Yeah! He's the reason I'm here, alive! He's the reason Ruby's alive! He's the reason that a quarter of our planet is Grimm-free!" Yang exclaimed. "Him and all his friends, you have no idea what they've done for us… Ruby practically worships Sonic! What, are you jealous that she found someone important in her life?! Someone who can actually stick around and not just up and leave?!"

"Is that what this is about?" Qrow questioned. "You're mad because I'm a part of Ozpin's group…"

"For both reasons!" Yang shouted. "You knew that Sonic was figuring out your little secret, but all of this tension could have been avoided if you just went directly to him and talked! And not use one of my friends as a means to an end for that! Which reminds me, what the hell went through your mind when Ozpin suggested Pyrrha, huh?! Why didn't you disagree?! You say you don't want us involved, but you might as well have done that when you volunteered Pyrrha to become your precious Fall Maiden!"

"For the hundredth time, we we're offering a choice…!" Qrow argued.

"No! That's not what I'm asking!" Yang pushed Qrow to the side of the building. "You are a Huntsman whose been all over Remnant, right?" Qrow didn't respond right away. "I'm not being rhetorical, answer the damn question!"

"Right! I've been all over Remnant!" He replied.

"So, you've meet plenty of pro-Huntresses, right?" Yang went on.

"Right." Qrow nodded.

"Would you say that you can think of at least one, just one, who you think would make a good Maiden?" Yang questioned. "Just one. Anyone. One out of probably a million Huntresses in the world… a million women who are experienced and tough enough to handle making a choice like that! One. Just one." She held up one finger. "Or do you just think that every Huntress on Remnant is rotten?"

"I don't think that…" Qrow said.

"So, answer me! Can you think of anyone at all who would make a decent Fall Maiden and a good addition to your little cult?!" Yang demanded.

"Yeah! Yeah, I can think of maybe two or three off the top of my head!" Qrow responded. "Give me some time, and maybe I can have a list of people."

"So why didn't you give said list to Ozpin?! Or name those two or three people?!" Yang questioned.

"We felt we didn't have enough time to travel half-way across Remnant to ask someone for help." Qrow said. "That and I trusted Ozpin's judgement."

"You trusted his judgement." Yang said blankly. "You trusted him in selecting a first-year student over a pro."

"Okay… okay… in hindsight… maybe we could have handled that better." Qrow admitted, holding his hands out.

"Ya think?" Yang spat.

"But just because we messed up once doesn't make Ozpin the bad guy!" Qrow argued.

"You mean the same guy that got Summer killed?" Yang questioned spitefully.

Qrow's eyes widened in shock at that. Did she seriously just say that Ozpin was the one who got Summer killed? Did he really just hear that? His eyelids lowered as he had an angry expression on his face.

"Yang. That's not fair."

"Not fair?!" She all but shouted, going up in his face. "You wanna talk about 'not fair'?! I'll tell you what's not fair! Not fair is my mother abandoning me when I was just a baby! Not fair is my stepmom deciding to leave and never coming back! Not fair is my dad shutting down for years because of that! Not fair is my uncle not spending more than a couple days at home only to go off for a year doing who-knows-what! Not fair is me… raising Ruby… alone! Not fair is my uncle being part of a cult that's trying to get my little sister ready to fight a monster who wants to destroy the world! You have no right to tell me what's not fair when you and Ozpin are the reason I got cheated out of my damn childhood! Why do you still stick with Ozpin even after what happened to Summer?! Even if it wasn't his fault, why stay with him and not us!?"

"People needed me, Yang! I'm a huntsman! Ozpin needed me!" Qrow argued.

"So did I!" Yang shouted.

"Look, I'm sorry things didn't work out for you! I'm sorry that you feel you got cheated out of your childhood!" Qrow stated. "I'm sorry that Raven left and I'm sorry that Summer never came back! But Ozpin has done so much for me, for all of us! He brought Team STRQ, your parents, together! If it weren't for him, you and Ruby wouldn't even be here!"

"So, what? He's like my grandpa or something?" Yang argued.

"Beats your actual grandpa." Qrow said, looking away. "My old man was a piece of shit."

"Apple didn't fall far from the tree." Yang glared.

"What…? You think I'm like…?!" Qrow questioned in disbelief. "You don't know my father, Yang! You don't know what kind of person he was! I am nothing like him!"

"You're right. I don't know your dad. Just like I don't know you." Yang said spitefully, with Qrow's eyes widening at that. "You want to know something, Qrow? Growing up, raising Ruby… I was always frustrated and angry… I wanted to ask you for help. Not just with Ruby, but with me too. But I never did. Because I was afraid… that if I did ask for help… that if I was weak… you'd up and leave just like Summer and Raven." Qrow's face paled at that. "And even when you were here, you always seemed to favor Ruby. The whole reason you even became a teacher at Signal was to teach her! You didn't even teach me, even though I was at that school too! It felt like that you were purposely avoiding me! Because maybe… maybe you loved Ruby more because she was Summer's daughter… and you hated me because I was Raven's."

"Hold the hell on! I never said that!" Qrow shouted, getting more than a little emotional, not noticing a few tiles from a nearby roof chipping and falling off.

"But you know what I just realized? You really don't love Ruby." Yang glared at him, venom slipping into every word as she spoke. "You were just molding her into the next Summer. You were only there for her because she had those damn eyes! If Ruby wasn't born with them, then you wouldn't want anything to do with us because we'd be useless to Ozpin!"

"That's not true!" Qrow continued to shout. "I trained Ruby to defend herself! Ozpin brought her into Beacon to protect her!"

"How?! By trying to train her into an unstoppable fighter!? To put her on the front lines of a war that, from what I can see, Ozpin has been losing for so long?!" Yang went on. "If you really wanted to 'protect' us, you'd keep us as far away from Beacon as possible! Keep her away from Beacon! Tell her to give up being a Huntress and just a live a normal life! No monsters, no life-or-death battles, but you dumped her on Ozpin's doorstep because you care more about him than us! You don't love Ruby! You don't love me! You love him!"

"I love you all!" Qrow shouted. "You're all my family!"

"Then why are you always staying away from us!?" Yang shouted. "I needed you, Qrow! I needed… wanted… you… in my life! What's wrong with me wanting my uncle to be a part of my life?! What?! What is so special about Ozpin and his damned war that you always go back to! Why do you keep leaving!? Why not just stay home with us!? Why, Qrow!? Why?!"

"Because we're fighting for something important! Bigger than just you and me!" Qrow shouted even louder. "Why can't you understand that, Raven?!"

In that one instant, everything became quiet. So much so that one could hear the wind blowing. Qrow's eyes widened as he only just now processed what he had said. He looked to his eldest niece… who looked at him with a face so pale that she looked like a ghost, with her own eyes in perfect circles as her mouth hung open. The minute she heard those words… she felt her heart stop.

"Nrggh… Yang" Qrow muttered in frustrated, putting a hand over his head. "I didn't…"

A loud and borderline animalistic roar escaped Yang's mouth as she flung her fist into his face, pummeling Qrow hard against the wall so much that it cracked upon impact. She was already on him in an instant, grabbing onto his shirt with one hand, her hair burning brightly and she pulled back her free hand and balled it into a deadly fist, glaring hard at him with red eyes, with a facial expression that looked like a desperate and cornered wild wolf ready to fight back with everything it had to tear its enemy apart.

Even if it was for a split second… The second Qrow saw that look on Yang's face… his mind instantly flashed back to the moment where Raven tried to take the infant Yang away. She had held her baby tightly to her own body with one hand, drawing a glowing red sword in the other, as she glared at him with the same facial expression. The same look where she was ready to fight like her life was on the line.

The only difference between now and then… was that Raven, no matter how misguided, was fighting to protect something. But not Yang. No. Right now, she was on the attack… no protection. Just pure rage.

And that rage would have been very painful for the man had Knuckles not quickly stepped in to catch Yang's punch with his gloved hand.

"Yang!"

Turning around with her look of rage and ire, she saw Sonic and Amy, the latter with worry and concern while the former looked serious and ready to step in at any moment. And standing just behind them… was her own sister… who looked at her in fear and worry… so much so that tears were already streaming down her face.

The second Yang saw those tears… her rage vanished. Her own eyes widened in shock as her hair and eyes turned back to normal. She then looked towards Knuckles, who still held her fist firmly.

"He's not worth it." He told her seriously and sincerely. "He's not." Maybe leaving Yang and Qrow alone wasn't such a good idea. He had hoped she would be able to vent and get out the worst of her brewing anger... but this was a bit too much.

She looked past him to see Qrow, who still had his shocked expression, with his back against the cracked stone wall. Her glare reformed as she saw him, but she relented and lowered herself, allowing Knuckles to release her.

"Yang…" Qrow rubbed his chin as he tried to stand up.

"Don't." She told him, turning her head away to not even look him in the eye. "Just don't… You love Ozpin so much? Then go to him. Find whoever his soul ended up stuck inside and be with him. If you can't do that, then just go find whoever else is in that little family of yours. Goodwitch, Ironwood, any of them. They're your family? Then be with them. I got no right to try and separate you from them if that's really who you want in your life."

"Yang, I…" Qrow tried.

"Just stay out of mine." She continued, finally turning around to face him. Her eyes were no longer red but their normal lilac, but that look of heartbreak and betrayal was still present. "I never want to see you again."

Ruby gasped as she heard that, putting a hand over her mouth. Even Sonic and Amy looked to each other in surprise with Knuckles looking to Yang seriously.

But none of that compared to Qrow, whose own eyes turned circular as he heard that. Even more so as Yang kneeled to his level to speak plainly and clearly.

"I'm done with you. You can do whatever the hell you want, I don't care anymore." She then leaned in close to his face, speaking into a whisper so that Ruby couldn't hear. "But if you ever try anything to hurt or endanger Ruby… I will kill you." Qrow felt his own heart stop with those words. Even in his shocked state, he could tell from her tone of voice that she was being dead serious. "As far as I'm concerned, she's the only family I got left. And I won't let you or anyone else take that way, no matter what your reasons are." She stood back up as Qrow looked to her in total shock. "Goodbye, Qrow. I hope you and your family have a happy life together."

With that, she turned around and coldly walked away, even walking past her sister and friends, not even saying a word to them, much to Ruby's shock and concern. She and everyone else turned to Qrow… with Knuckles approaching to offer him a hand.

Qrow only looked at the red Echidna's gloved hand before turning his own head away. Knuckles sighed, looking towards the others and shaking his head.

Ruby felt her own heart breaking as she wanted to reach out to Qrow, only for Amy to gently grasp her hand and get her attention. "Not right now, Ruby. I'm sorry but… not right now, okay?" The girl was surprised, but even she could probably tell that Amy was right. Maybe Qrow just needed time and… and they could… work it out. Maybe…

With a heavy heart, she turned and walked away, Amy by her side and Knuckles catching up to her. Sonic was the only one who stayed as he looked in Qrow's direction, the man slowly looking up to him with a defeated and sorrowful look in his own eyes, with Sonic looking to him in pity and sympathy.

"I'm sorry." The blue Hedgehog said before going off in the same direction as his friends.

Left alone, Qrow put his hand over his face as he stifled a sob. "Damn it…"

---

Yang walked towards the gateway of Haven Academy, stopping briefly as she heard her sister catching up to her, with everyone else right behind her.

"How much of that did you guys hear?"

"We heard enough." Amy said.

"Yang…" Ruby wanted to reach out to her.

"What's the situation?" The blonde asked, her back still turned to him.

Knuckles was the one to give the answer. "Lionheart wants us to investigate two spots outside the city. You don't have to come…"

"I'm coming. I need something to do… some way to vent…" Yang muttered, till not turning to face them.

"I'll come with you and we can take one spot…" Ruby tried.

"Ruby, maybe you should go with Sonic." Yang interrupted, much to Ruby's shock. "I'm… I'm not in a good place right now and… I… I just need some space."

"Yang, I…" Ruby still tried.

"Please, Ruby." Yang's body was shaking. She was trying so hard to keep herself together in front of her, to not break… she couldn't do that yet.

"That's fine." Knuckles accepted. "You and I can take one spot; Sonic, Amy, and Ruby will take the other. That okay with you?"

"Sure." The blonde accepted with a sigh.

Knuckles then turned to Ruby. "I'll talk with her, I promise."

The younger girl nodded. "Thank you." She knew that Knuckles was probably the best kind of person to help Yang. But with how she was just now… she wanted more than anything to help her. But if she needed some space… then she'll give her that. But she still had something that she needed to say to her. "Yang… I love you." Ruby said tearfully, causing Amy to have some tears herself as Sonic's expression soften.

"I know…" Yang's voice cracked, still not facing her sister. "I love you too…"

With that, Knuckles appeared by Yang's side and put a hand on her back. She turned her gaze so that only he could see her face… her broken and devastated face as her eyes were red… not with rage… but with all the tears that were ready to pour out. Knuckles gave a nod of assurance as he helped to escort Yang off campus.

"She just needs time, Ruby." Amy told the younger half-sister. "Knuckles will take care of her."

"Okay…" Ruby accepted, wiping her own face. "We should… get going. We could catch an airship and…"

"Actually, I got a better idea." Sonic smirked, thinking of something that could try to cheer Ruby up a bit. "A way that's both quick and fun. Wanna hear?"

---

All it could see was red. Through its red perspective, it gazed out at the surrounding forest as it scurried up a nearby tree to get a higher vantage point. Much like its brethren, it was drawn by negativity. But unlike the rest of its kind, it was born with what humans would consider the equivalent of radar, sensing and being drawn to the largest source of negative emotions. Hatred, anger, fear, grief, all of it was like a signal fire. It could also sense the strength of its target's soul. It's Aura. And it was always the strongest Aura that drew it, alongside any negative emotions that the prey would feel.

In more recent days, it had sensed a strong surge of negativity close by. Though it had yet to pick up on any significant Aura, probably not till it got closer. Either that, or it was a vast collection of smaller and weaker Auras clumped together. The weaker Auras weren't as appealing, but all that negativity continued to draw it in.

That is until a high-pitched scream caught its attention. It's red point of view shifted to an incoming blue streak before it stopped rather close. Gazing down, it saw what appeared to be a human-made wooden tool large enough to hold several of them. From its perspective, it spotted two blurs… entities that moved and spoke on their own…. Yet they didn't have any Aura.

However, something else had drawn its attention. It had spotted an individual with a rather strong Aura… as well as an intense negativity deep inside. Grief, fear, frustration, and anger deep within. This one…. This one… was perfect!

---

Ruby screamed as she clung onto the side of a wooden wagon, with Amy clinging to the other side as Sonic pulled on the reigns, running at a speed fast enough that they may as well be riding in a car with the top down, on the expressway, going maybe eighty miles an hour, leaving a blue trail behind as Sonic continued to pull them.

Once they were nearing their destination, Sonic slowed down as to not suddenly stop and send his passengers flying off. They would soon come to a stop near a ravine in front of a forest.

"And this is our stop, ladies." Sonic said. "I hope you enjoyed the ride, please come again and don't be afraid to leave tips."

"So much for a free ride." Amy teased as she got off, with Ruby shakily stepping off herself. "You okay…?" She helped Ruby when it looked like she was about to fall over, complete with comic swirls in her eyes.

"Sit down… I need… to sit…" Ruby muttered.

"Okay, okay." Amy held Ruby's arm as she guided her to a nearby rock for her to sit. Sonic's expression softened as he joined them with Amy handing the girl a canteen of water. "Here, drink."

Ruby guzzled down some water before handing it back to the pink Hedgehog. "Thanks…"

"You good?" Sonic asked. "Maybe the ride was a bit much but…"

"No… it was fine. A bit bumpy but…" Ruby said. Honestly, she thought it was fun, almost like being on a roller coaster. Any other day, she'd beg to do it again and maybe go even faster. But now… with everything that just happened… "It's just… too much…" Sonic and Amy looked with sympathy as they understood what she meant by that. "Yang… Qrow… Eggman… Salem… Everything… It all feels like… it's falling apart." She put her hands over her face. "Why did this have to get so complicated?"

"We get it." Amy said in understanding. "Too much happening at once… and it's frustrating."

"Have you guys ever had anything like this happen to you?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, yeah." Sonic gave a slight scoff. "There were a lot of times where things got really bad… so much so that it felt like some of the things we did to try and fix things only made it worse. Sometimes it did make it worse. Sometimes we messed up and hurt people we didn't mean to… other times some people turned out to be different… and they weren't who we thought they were and we only caused more harm than good. Trust me Ruby, I've been through a lot. We all have."

"But we were able to pick ourselves back up." Amy said with a smile as she gently touched Ruby's arm. "We got back on her feet, stood together, and were able to set things right."

"That's easy for you to say." Ruby muttered. "I'm nowhere near as amazing as all of you. I don't even compare to my mom."

"Who's comparing you?" Sonic questioned. "You don't have to be like your mom or us or anyone."

"B-but…" Ruby tried.

"Hey, Ruby, look at me." Sonic said seriously, leading to her to look at him in the eyes. "You remember what we talked about back at Beacon? After you were named leader of your team?" She shook her head. "I told you that you gotta stop with all these 'what if's, or trying to think about solving everything at once. Said the same kind of thing just before Eggman attacked too. If you're thinking too much about the future, or what you can't do… you'll end up forgetting about what's going on right now, what you can do. And you can do something. You are doing something."

"That's right. We have a plan." Amy added. "Find the Chaos Emeralds, get back-up, and take the fight to Eggman and Salem."

"You make it sound so simple…" Ruby muttered.

"Okay, maybe everything won't go so smoothly." Amy granted. "Heck, things are bound to go wrong a couple times. But like Sonic said, if you think too much about that kind of thing, you're gonna drown yourself in a sea of your own thought. Look, Yang just needs time, and you know Knuckles is going to help her. And whatever happens with Qrow, happens. We can't control that. What we can control is what we do now. So, focus on the now, and take it one step at a time. If you need help, if you need us to slow down, then ask and we'll do just that."

"Can we afford to slow down though?" Ruby asked.

"Sure we can. Our friends are worth it." Amy said with a firm smile.

"And don't go beating yourself up, Ruby. You're plenty strong." Sonic said as he smiled to. "I've seen what you're capable of and you got so much potential in you." He patted her back, causing her to look at him. "But nothing starts until you take action. If you got time to worry, then run. Run towards your goal at whatever pace you want, just run. Act. One step in front of the other, and you'll get there." She smiled weakly and emotionally towards him. "We got this. You got this. So, stop worrying about all the bad stuff that's already happened or gonna happen and do what you can do now. Kay?"

Ruby held out her hand towards Amy, silently asking for the canteen again, which Amy gave her as Ruby splashed some water over her face. Putting her hands over her wet face, Ruby took a few deep breaths to calm herself before lowering her hands to reveal a smile. Right before pulling both Hedgehogs into a hug.

"Thanks guys…"

Sonic and Amy both shared smiles before hugging her back.

However, a growl had caught their attention as Sonic looked into the woods in front of him to see a pair of glowing red eyes.

Acting quickly, Sonic kicked backwards to push himself, Ruby, and Amy up and away from the rock they were at just as a gorilla-like Grimm, a Beringel, along with a pack of six Beowolves and four tiger-like Grimm known as Sabyrs, emerged from the trees and growled at the three individuals.

"We got Grimm!" Amy said as she drew her Piko-Piko. "Got some new types too."

"A little variety doesn't hurt." Sonic smirked. "Think they'll make for a pretty decent warm-up. You up for this, Ruby?"

The girl had a determined look on her face as she drew Caliburn. "Let's do this!"

"Attagirl." Sonic smirked before whistling to the Grimm. "Come and get it!"

The Beringel, likely the alpha of this pack, pounded its chest like a gorilla with a roar before charging forward, leading to the trio to split apart in blurs of blue, red, and pink, forcing the Grimm to split up themselves.

The Beowolves went after Sonic as he sped a bit back to get some distance before speeding directly at the pack and blasting through one Beowolf to obliterate it. He jumped up to avoid the claw swipe of a second before delivering an aerial stomp to crush it completely. He then performed a Homing Attack to smash through the head of a third and repeated the same for the fourth. The fifth and sixth tried to come at him when he was about to land, but Sonic had landed on his hands and spun his feet outward, almost like he was breakdancing upside-down to kick away their feet before speeding underneath one and spin dashed into its back to knock into the sixth before repeating the move to destroy them both at once.

"Here kitty-kitty. Mama's got a treat for you." Amy teased the Sabyrs as they slowly crawled to her. The front-most one charged her, but Amy swung the Piko-Piko into its face with enough strength to shatter its skull and teeth before hauling up her hammer for another smash to obliterate its head. The other three came at her all at once but Amy spun her Piko-Piko outwards for her Tornado Hammer move to generate a tornado-like effect to send all three Sabyrs straight up into the air. Before they got the chance to fall down, Amy vaulted herself straight up with a smash onto the ground with her hammer and met them half-way, swinging her Piko-Piko fast and hard enough to kill the three Grimm before they even touched the ground.

Ruby faced the lone Beringel as it charged at her, she ducked and dodged its punches, speeding behind it to try and shoot, only for her hands to slip as she touched the blade of Caliburn as opposed to the gun-mode of her previous weapon. "Shoot!" She cursed herself. She was so used to Crescent Rose that it was practically instinct. But she didn't have that anymore.

The Beringel was on her again, trying to swing its right fist at her, but Ruby ducked underneath and swung Caliburn upward while also using her Semblance to boost herself up, slicing at its outer armor and face, and came back down as she held Caliburn up high before slicing down at its shoulder, only for the blade to get stuck in its armor. Ruby tried to wrench it out, only for the Beringel to grab her, wrench her off, and slam her to the ground.

"Ruby!" Amy exclaimed, catching Sonic's attention too. They would have been there in the blink of an eye when suddenly…

A cluster of purple strings had appeared around the Beringel, which quickly ensnared both of its arms before the strings lit up and sliced through the Grimm's arms like they were tissue paper, much to the shock of Ruby down below. That shock grew even more as those same strings curled around the Beringel's neck and severed it off completely. The headless beast fell to the ground, its body disintegrating as someone appeared behind it.

The individual in question had long silver hair, lavender eyes, and pale white-skin. Their attire consisted of a light purple shirt with loose and baggy sleeves and exposed shoulders, baggy white trousers with a black sash that held three golden keys, high heeled black boots, and a big light lavender pointed hat like what a witch would wear with three black feathers in it. The individual also wielded a staff in their hand with a dream-catcher at the top made from purple strings, the same ones that were used to slice the Beringel apart as they retracted back into the staff and the individual held their hand out to the downed and shocked Ruby.

"Are you alright?"

Wordlessly, Ruby accepted their hand. "Yeah…" She finally said, standing back up. "Thank you."

"Excuse me." Amy got their attention. "Are you… Shion Zaiden?" She asked. "Lionheart sent us."

"I am indeed." They nodded before looking at the blue rodent. "And you are Sonic the Hedgehog."

"That's me. Nice to meet you." Sonic speed up to them and shook their hand, which they reciprocated with a smile.

"You're a part of Ozpin's group, right?" Ruby asked. "So… you know about Salem?"

"I am and I do." Shion confirmed. "Though my role in the conflict is a bit different from everyone else's. I don't partake in politics or academics, my role is to hunt a specific type of Grimm, but that is not my current assignment."

"We heard." Amy said. "Lionheart sent you to investigate some ruins that popped up out of nowhere?"

"Correct. I was able to spot them just before you arrived. Please follow me and I'll inform you of the situation." Shion led the group into forest as they began to explain. "As Lionheart had said, two bright flashes of light had appeared on the continent of Anima at the moment of the ongoing battle at Beacon that you all took part in. I was sent to investigate this location."

"But I thought Professor Lionheart said that Mistral was under martial law from the Council." Ruby recalled.

"I was sent before that was declared." Shion said. "And I doubt the Council is going to go out of their way to arrest a single Hunter. But just before I arrived, I went to rest up at the neighboring village of Higanbana, only to find the village completely deserted. Every single inhabitant had vanished."

Everyone looked in surprise at that. "Lionheart did say that Grimm activity was on the rise lately." Amy recalled dreadfully. "You don't think that…"

"There were signs of an attack, but I don't believe everyone was killed." Shion revealed.

"How can you tell?" Ruby asked.

"Because I followed a trail in this direction, a trail of a great many people." Shion answered. "If I had to guess, all of the village's inhabitants had left their home to come here… perhaps to seek shelter in these ruins."

"Think maybe we can help in clearing out the Grimm then?" Ruby asked, looking towards Sonic. "Help them all to get back home?"

"Sure, easy enough. But let's find out what's going on first." Sonic said as they neared a clearing.

"We're here." Shion revealed as they came to the edge of the forest and all three spotted the set of ruins that they had come here for.

Ruby's eyes widened as she looked up in awe, while Sonic and Amy were in shock as they recognized these ruins. The main structure appeared to be a large and ancient temple, one that had architecture resemblant of those of the Aztecs and other South American ancient cultures.

"No way…" Sonic couldn't believe it. "Mystic Ruins…?!"

"You know this place?!" Ruby questioned with even Shion raising an eyebrow.

"Y-yeah, they're from our world!" Amy revealed. "In fact, this was the home of Knuckles' ancestors!"

Ruby gasped at that as she instantly recalled the dream she had of Tikal and the other Echidnas, as well as the emergence and transformation of Chaos.

"B-But how did it even get here?!" Amy questioned.

"Chaos Control…" Sonic realized. "It had to be…"

"But you only used it in Vale… trying to get rid of the Grimm…" Ruby recalled.

"Tails or Shadow would probably have the answer to that. They're the experts. We'll contact them later." Sonic said. "Let's just find out what exactly is going on."

"I think I see someone over there." Amy pointed to the base of the temple, where they saw a teenage boy holding a rifle, appearing to be guarding the area. "Let's get over there and talk to him."

"Hold on a moment." Shion held their staff out to stop them as they got a closer look. "That boy…" Even from this distance, Shion could see that the child was shaking. "…Is afraid."

"Of the Grimm?" Ruby asked.

"I don't believe so. Something else may be going on." Shion said.

Before anyone could respond, Sonic happened to look to the top of the pyramid, where he spotted a bright white light… right before it shot down from the pyramid, straight towards the group, and striking Sonic to knock him back.

This also drew the attention of the boy with the gun at the pyramid's base.

"Sonic!" Ruby came to him only to look in surprise to see what was now in front of the downed Hedgehog.

It was a tiny creature, hovering in the air, with white and light blue skin. It had a single dark pink eye on its head, a pair of dual antenna, and three tentacle-like limbs at its base.

Sonic looked at the creature as it communicated in a language that was impossible to understand, sounding in a high-pitched tone, but Sonic and Amy both recognized this type of creature right away.

It was a Wisp! A White Wisp!

"Oh… hey there." Sonic smiled as he patted the White Wisp's head which nuzzled itself against Sonic's face with a grateful expression.

Ruby gave a light squeal as she saw this creature. "Oh… my… gosh…! It's so cute!" She grabbed the creature with both her arms. "Come here you little sweetie!" The White Wisp purred as it appreciated the affection.

Sonic smiled as he saw this Wisp. It might look the same, but he knew this one wasn't Yacker. Still though, the resemblance was enough for the blue Hedgehog to think back to his friend, the one of millions who saved his life and his whole world. And he was happy to see that his newest friend, Ruby, seemed to like them to.

"What is that…?" Shion looked in confusion.

"It's okay, it's a Wisp." Amy told them. "They're friendly."

"We save their planet from Eggman a little bit ago before we came to Remnant, long story." Sonic explained. "Most of them went back to their home, but a few chose to stick around on our world. Guessing this guy's one of them." He gestured to the one that Ruby continued to hold with a gush.

"W-whose there!?" They all looked back towards the edge of the woods to see the same boy shakily walk to the trees, his gun pointed forward. "I can hear you! N-no outsiders are welcomed here! Please go away!"

Shion waved their staff to send out some of the string from the dreamcatcher-portion to snag the weapon and yank it out of the boy's grasp and into his own, causing him to stumble to the ground as everyone came out, much to the boy's fright.

"It's okay, it's okay." Ruby tried to assure as she let go of the Wisp and kneeled to his level. "We're here to help."

"Y-you can't be here! No one should be here!" The boy pleaded.

"Why?" Ruby asked. "Whatever's going on, we can fix it."

"N-no… you can't…!" The boy trembled. "They told us not to leave… or else the Grimm will get us! They took all our weapons… and we can't do anything against someone as strong as them… They're unstoppable!"

"They? They who?" Amy questioned.

"Hey, listen kid." Sonic spoke to him. "Everyone here is strong enough to tank Grimm in droves, we even got a pro right here." He gestured to Shion behind them.

"I was sent by Professor Lionheart of Haven Academy." Shion added. "You are from Higanbana, correct? Please, start from the beginning, and I promise we can help you."

The boy wasn't quite sure what to make of all this. Professional Huntsmen? One certainly looked the part. The other was a girl who seemed around his age… but these other two… they looked similar, yet different, from those two jerks who took him and all of his fellow villagers prisoner.

The White Wisp then came to him and communicated in its own langue, motioning with its tentacles and taking different flying positions with its body, with the boy appearing to listen intently.

"Can you guys understand?" Ruby asked Sonic and Amy.

"Not really, we don't have Tails' translator handy." Sonic answered.

"Hey, can you understand him?" Amy asked the boy whom the Wisp was speaking to boy.

"N-not when it speaks b-but… I guess it's like sign language…" The boy guessed. "But… I think…" He looked to the Wisp. "You're trying to tell me that these people can help?"

The Wisp nodded as it hovered over Sonic directly, motioning down to him while speaking its native language, and that seemed enough to convince the boy.

"Okay…" The boy sighed himself before speaking. "A few days ago, our village was attacked by Grimm. We would have been overrun… but two people… showed up. We thought they were Faunus at first but… they looked more like you." He said, referring to Sonic and Amy as everyone listened closely. "They were ferocious. They destroyed all the Grimm and saved the village. They brought us to this place, saying it had better defenses. But what they really did was take our entire arsenal and took us prisoner here! Now we have to do everything they say, we got no way to fight back, and we can't escape with all the Grimm outside!"

"If everyone is truly being held prisoner, then the resulting negativity will draw plenty of Grimm here soon enough." Shion said seriously. "Even a fortress such as this could be overwhelmed."

"Well then, I think we need to take our complaints straight to the management, right guys?" Sonic asked all of his friends.

"Absolutely." Amy confirmed, holding the Piko-Piko over her shoulder.

"Don't worry." Ruby assured the boy. "We'll take care of you and all your friends and make sure you get back home."

"So where can we find these clowns?" Sonic asked.

"At the top of the pyramid." The boy pointed up. "I think the rest of those… little guys are up there too." He gestured to the White Wisp, who nodded to confirm it too.

"And the villagers?" Shion asked.

"All hunkered down in the basement." The boy said. "But I think they took a couple up top with them, not sure why."

"Take me down there." Shion requested before looking to Sonic, Ruby, and Amy. "I'll help the villagers; you see what you can do about who is responsible."

"No problem. Let's go, guys!" Sonic sped up the pyramid with Amy and Ruby right behind him. The trio made it to the top of the pyramid and entered through a large and open doorway.

Once they were inside the darkened hallway, the first thing they saw were dozens of broken and cracked glass containers, and every single one of them had at least a dozen Wisps inside, all of varying colors and shapes. They saw more of the White Wisps as well as Cyan bolt-like Wisps, Blue cube-like Wisps, Orange rocket-like Wisps, Yellow drill-like Wisps, Green ghost-like Wisps, Red fire-like Wisps, Crimson bird-like Wisps, Pink spike-like Wisps, and many more. There were well over a hundred, maybe even two hundred.

Ruby looked with wide eyes as she saw all of them. These creatures… they were so colorful… so tiny and cute… and yet… she could sense that they were powerful too. Just looking at them… she could practically feel their energy… so positive and colorful.

It was like they were Anti-Grimm.

"A-are… are these all…"

"Wisps." Amy confirmed as she and Sonic were a bit surprised too, the pink Hedgehog putting her hand on one container, causing a few of the Wisps inside to shrink in fear. "Eggman used these containers to trap and imprisons the Wisps before he could try and suck away their energy. But these pods are broken… they can leave at any time but…" She looked at them again and saw how shaky they were. "They're scared…"

Ruby looked in sympathy, but then heard a squeak and saw something out of the corner of her eye. Just behind one pod was a lone Wisp, but this one looked different from the others.

It was the same size as them, sure. But its skin tone was like a very light pink, almost white. It had three eyes on its front with a tiny cluster of tentacles that seemed reminiscent of a jellyfish. It looked at the girl, but quickly shrunk behind the pod when it saw that she saw it.

"Hey, it's okay." Ruby kneeled down as she tried to smile with assurance. "We won't hurt you. Come on out…" She offered her hand, which the Wisp looked at before looking to Ruby to see her assuring smile. It then slowly moved out and felt its face onto her hand before giving a noise that sounded like a purr, causing Ruby to smile.

"Huh, never seen that type of Wisp before." Sonic noted to himself before looking around at all the pods. "These things are all busted… so why don't they leave?"

"They're scared." Amy said. She looked to the shaking Wisps with sympathy. "Why?"

Those that were in the container in front of her began to clump themselves together, taking the crude shape of a bi-pedal beast with claws, a shape that they all recognized.

"Grimm… they're scared of the Grimm." Ruby realized.

"Maybe the Wisps looked around after Mystic Ruins got transported here." Amy guessed. "They saw the Grimm and… got spooked. And as far as we know, the Wisps don't exactly have predators, so they've probably never seen anything like them."

'That, or maybe they're shaken from when Eggman turned them into Nega-Wisps.' Sonic thought before looking to those in the container in front of him. "Hang tight just a little longer." He said with a comforting smile. "We'll take care of everything."

A pair of laughs was heard from deeper down the hall, to the chamber on the other end. The three-eyed light pink Wisp that befriended Ruby shivered behind her in fright as the trio moved to the other side of the hallway. Ruby clung to one side of the doorway as Sonic and Amy did the other, all three peeking inside.

There were at least five individuals inside. Three were human and two appeared to be young pre-teen boys, while one was an older woman who had the attire of a waitress. And among them, the two that were laughing, were a pair of anthropomorphic skunks.

One had blue-gray and cream fur, the fur on his head shaped like a mohawk; he also had a big bushy tail, a black nose, and red eyes with yellow sclera. His attire consisted mostly of amber gloves and boots. The other one was much larger and muscular, having cream and beige fur, though unlike the other one… he seemed to lack a tail. This skunk's eyes were black with red sclera as he had a red nose, and his only attire was a pair of black boots and spiked bracelets.

The three humans they had with them were serving drinks as the skunks sat at a table in the middle of the room which was filled with several crude weapons, likely stolen from Higanbana. Though one of the boys had slipped and spilled all the drinks over himself, causing the woman and other boy to look at him in sympathy while the two skunks continued to laugh.

"Nice one, idiot!" The short one mocked.

"Yeah! Now go get us another round before we beat some sense in ya!" The taller one laughed, while also slamming his hand on the table.

"I-it was only an accident…!" The waitress tried to help the boy up. "I'm sure he didn't mean…" She was then pulled back by her hair by the shorter skunk as he looked to her with a sleezy grin.

"What's a pretty thing like you doing serving tables?" He ran his hand down her cheek, causing her to squeak in fright. "Maybe you could serve a bit more…?" He requested not-so-subtly as he rapidly raised his eyebrows, the woman to start tearing up in fright at his implication.

"Wow." Sonic's eyelids lowered as he, Amy, and Ruby continued to watch from the entrance. "Real classy."

"And I thought Cardin and his team were bullies…" Ruby muttered as she looked in disgust, with Amy being the most enraged.

"Let me at em…!" The pink Hedgehog was fuming as she held the Piko-Piko tightly.

"Hold on." Ruby said. "What about the people in there? We gotta get them out."

"All we need is a little distraction, and I got just the thing." Sonic grinned before leaping out in the open. "Hey! Tweedle-Dumb and Tweedle-Dumber!" This instantly got everyone's attention with the larger skunk standing up in a startle, and the shorter one spitting out his drink. "I'm Sonic the Hedgehog, maybe you've heard of me?" He gestured to himself as the armed Ruby and Amy stood by his sides. "These lovely but deadly ladies are Amy and Ruby Rose, and they know how to use those weapons they got! You guys are guilty of theft, blackmail, kidnapping, and being Grade-A jerks! So you can either come along quietly, or we're gonna get loud!"

Ruby looked past the two skunks and towards the waitress as the two boys clung to her. She motioned with her head for them to move towards a doorway on the side that led out of the chamber and deeper into the temple. The waitress understood as she nodded and led the boys away.

"Who said you could come to our place, huh!?" The larger skunk questioned as he threw his mug to the ground in anger. "Who said you could ruin our fun?!"

"Yeah, we called dibs on this place!" The shorter one added. "Squatter's rights! And yeah, we've heard of you hero, but you clearly ain't heard of us!"

"You looking to scrap?" The larger one began, cracking his knuckles.

"Then get ready to crumble!" The sorter skunk finished as he flexed his arms.

"Brace yourselves for… Rough and Tumble!" The two skunks declared, introducing themselves, as they took tough-guy postures, standing back-to-back.

Amy stared at them in confusion while Sonic tried his hardest to hold back his laugh, complete with tears in his eyes. "Oh no… I was… not prepared for this."

Neither was Ruby apparently as the younger girl burst out in laughter. A high-pitched laughter as she held her stomach, much to the shock of the pair of skunks.

"Hey! What's so funny?!" Rough questioned.

"D-did… did you guys… Seriously just rhyme…?!" Ruby said as she tried to straighten herself up, while still laughing.

"Yeah! It's our thing!" Tumble confirmed, sounding very offended.

"Why?!" Ruby continued to laugh.

"It strikes fear into our enemies!" Rough answered, trying to sound as sinister as possible.

Ruby only laughed harder at that, so much so that she fell flat on her back and kicked wildly into the air. Even Sonic couldn't hold back his laughter anymore as he held his knees and chuckled, much to the comic shock of the skunks.

Amy giggled herself, but smiled before looking to the pair. "Hey, thanks."

"Huh?!" They both questioned.

"My Rose-sister here was going through a real hard time, but you were able to cheer her up. So, thanks for that." Amy smiled innocently, just for the sake of mocking them. Though she was truly glad that Ruby was able to laugh like this. Nothing like a good laugh to turn some frowns upside down.

"I… I… Ugh!" Rough growled. "Whatever! Get em!" He pointed, with Tumble jumping into the air, his fists raised high. The laughing stopped as the three heroes scattered across the room to avoid the deadly strike of Tumble as both his fists struck the ground with enough force to break the stone floor.

Sonic immediately went for a homing attack into Tumble's stomach, sending him crashing into the wall while Ruby and Amy ran at Rough. Amy swung the Piko-Piko at him, but Rough jumped over her and came face-to-face with Ruby as she swung Caliburn at him, but Rough swiftly dodged the strike and swerved behind her to kick her in the back and knock her into Amy.

Tumble, who was being pressed into the wall by Sonic's spindash, was able to drive his feet down as he grabbed a hold of Sonic in his spindash form, much to Sonic's own surprise before Tumble smirked and began to dribble the curled up blue Hedgehog onto the ground repeatedly like a basketball before throwing him up to the wall near the ceiling. "Alleyoop!"

However, Sonic emerged from his ball form, landed his feet on the wall and used the momentum to kick himself back and spindash hard into Tumble's face to pound him into the ground.

Ruby and Amy chased Rough to the wall on the other side, swinging their respective weapons as he dodged by running up the wall and jumping over both of them.

"Stink Bomber!" The skunk curled himself up, creating his own spindash, while also releasing a green gas over both girls before landing on the ground. He laughed, only for that laugh to look in shock as a twirling mass of red shot out of the stinky smoke and smash into him, knocking him to the wall as Ruby's body reformed, though her eyes were red from the stinging glass.

"Ew! Ew! Ew! That is so gross!" Ruby waved her arms before grabbing Rough by the shoulders and using her own speed to carry him straight for the charging Amy, whose own eyes were red, with both stinginess and comic anger.

"You are so rude!" Amy exclaimed as Ruby let him go to send Rough right into the swing from the Piko-Piko, knocking him into Tumble as they crashed into a crate of weapons.

"Come on bro…" Tumble groaned, covered in bruises, as he helped his brother up, who was currently seeing stars. "We ain't done yet…"

"Whugh… you two okay…?" Sonic plugged his nose.

"No… and I just bought these clothes…!" Amy waved off. "Now they small rotten…!"

"Weiss would never let me live it down if she saw me like this…!" Ruby coughed.

A roar had drawn their attention as they looked to see the skunk brothers arm themselves with the weapons from the broken container.

"No more messing around." Tumble grinned as he held a mace.

"Say your prayers, chumps!" Rough laughed like a maniac as he let loose a flamethrower.

"Okay… that might be a problem." Sonic commented seriously.

"Nothing more dangerous than two armed idiots." Amy added.

Ruby looked around the room for anything that might be useful before an idea came to her. "Sonic, do you think you can use your Blue Tornado here?"

"No, not enough room. I'd suck you guys in too." Sonic said.

"Maybe not enough room for you." Ruby smiled before speeding directly to Rough and Tumble, much to Sonic and Amy's surprise.

Rough unleashed the flames from his new weapon at her, but before they even made contact, Ruby's body began to disappear as a cluster of rose petals all formed around a blur of red particles that seemed to make up her new form. This burst of red also moved in a manner akin to a corkscrew to bounce off and twirl all the flames away as she appeared directly in the middle of the two skunk brothers, reforming as she drove Caliburn into the ground, with the handle facing straight up.

Tumble was about to swing his mace at her, but Ruby was faster. Holding the handle of her borrowed sword, she sped around in a circle, while also moving in her red blur state, in a tight circle to bash away Rough and Tumble, but she didn't stop there. Ruby kept moving in such a small and tight circle, picking up speed as she did. Being in such a small radius, and moving as fast as she could, a red tornado-like effect appeared in the middle of the room, which pulled in Rough and Tumble. And once they hit the tornado, something solid hit them to knock them back to the wall, right before they were pulled back in with yells and were struck once more. They were knocked back against the wall one more time before being sucked in again. And again. And again. And again. By the tenth time they were pulled in, they were both sent flying and crashing into walls on the opposite ends of the chamber, both of which broke after all the repeated and continuous crashes, and seemed to knock out the pair.

The red tornado vanished as Ruby reformed, clutching the handle of Caliburn still as she shook the cobwebs from her head, getting a little bit dizzy, holding onto the sword to keep herself from falling over.

"Ruby… that was awesome!" Amy congratulated as she and Sonic came in close to join her.

"You pulled off your Red Tornado… and all by yourself! Last time, you had to have Weiss use Glyphs to help you out!" Sonic smiled.

"Well… it's a smaller space and… I'm nowhere as good as you are with your Blue Tornado… but I'd say I'm coming along." Ruby said confidently.

"Coming along nicely." Sonic nudged her, causing Ruby to giggle.

"Now that's two punks down…" Amy began but was quickly interrupted as the same light pink Wisp that Ruby befriend flew into the room and began to squeak and make its noises in a very distressed manner. Even if the trio couldn't understand it, they could tell right away that's something was wrong.

"What's up?" Sonic asked.

The Wisp motioned for them to follow it as it flew back towards the entrance, and as they followed, Ruby happened to notice how shaky the other Wisps were, hiding deeper in their broken containers, even more afraid than before.

The three were back outside, standing at the top of the temple, where they saw all the surrounding trees moving and crashing down, like something big… a lot of somethings… were moving closer. Complete with beastly roars and growls.

"Grimm…" Ruby realized.

"Hang on, I'll go see how many." Sonic sped down the temple and into the forest, circling the perimeter before running back up and meeting his friends.

"Well, how many?" Amy asked.

"Not as many as there were back at Beacon, but probably over a hundred. Enough to cause some serious problems." Sonic answered.

"Shion did say that with all the scared villagers in the temple… the Grimm would show up eventually…" Ruby noted, sounding nervous. "But I didn't think it would be this soon!"

"We'll handle this!" Amy insisted. "Ruby, you go to Shion and tell them what's going, help protect the villagers. Sonic and I can…"

"No, I got a better idea." Sonic said with a knowing smirk. He went back into the hallway, standing in the middle of the area, in front of all the broken containers. "Hey, Wisps! It's me! Your old buddy, Sonic!" He spoke to all the tiny little aliens while Ruby looked in surprise. She looked towards Amy, who smiled knowingly to the red-clad girl. Even that light-pink Wisp from before was listening intently. "I saved your planet from Doctor Eggman, remember?! But you also saved me and my planet when he let loose a black hole! You even saved all your buddies who were corrupted! I know that you're all scared and confused, in a new world that you don't know! And yeah, those Grimm things are kinda intimidating… but I know that you're all way stronger than them! Some of you even fought back against Eggman! You even put your planet back after he dragged it across the whole universe! I know fighting isn't your thing, but you've proven that you're all powerful and brave! Don't let those Grimm-jerks scare you! You got this! When you all work together, I know you can do anything!"

Several Wisps felt their spirits being aroused when they heard Sonic speak. They were already bleeping and squeaking in their native language, emerging from their containers as they all flew and spun around the other tanks, drawing out more of their brethren as they relayed Sonic's message. This blue Hedgehog risked his life to save them and their home… and they returned the favor. And in doing so, have shown everyone just how powerful they were. Now their savior and friend was asking them for help. It was time to show the universe again just what they were made of!

It didn't take long for the rest of the Wisps to become inspired. Any fear that they might have had was washed away as a strong feeling of courage and conviction set in. All the remaining wisps emerged from their containers, all of which were glowing their respective colors before they all took off and speed outside, all except the three-eyed one that still clung to Ruby, though it looked in amazement to as Ruby herself was looking confused.

"Wait… what are they…?"

"You're about to see for yourself." Amy said as she, Ruby, Sonic, and the light pink Wisp went back outside, looking towards the ravaged forest as the Creatures of Grimm came closer.

Beowolves, Ursai, Beringels, Sabyrs, even a much larger lion-like winged variety of Grimm known as Manticores, all of them bashed and crashed their way through the wood as they were drawn by the negativity and fear. A wave of black was moving closer towards the temple and would be there in a minute at most.

At the same time, the two hundreds of Wisps were all gathered directly above the temple, with Sonic, Ruby, and Amy looking directly up to them, the red-clad girl looking especially amazed as all the Wisps began to glow even brighter. Countless bright colors of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, pink, indigo, and white swirled together before spreading out around the entire temple, all of the Wisps spinning around the entire structure at literal lightspeed, creating something of a spiral of colored energy that looked like a dome.

Sonic and Amy both smiled as Ruby felt her mouth hung open and her eyes widen, the various colors reflecting in her own silver eyes.

Even Shion, who stepped out of a small opening at the base of the pyramid, with a few villagers behind them, all saw the same thing and looked in the same awe-struck and amazed expression.

The Grimm had finally emerged from the forest, only to stop dead in their tracks as they saw the bright multi-colored lights that continued to move around their target, shielding their prey from them. Before they could press further, the light shined brighter as the Wisps all shot outward in every direction. Their shared Hyper-Go-On energy, further amplified by their close proximity, allowed them to move at lightspeed, in the forms of beams of colored energy, piercing and blasting through every Grimm in the area. Upon contact, the Grimm were evaporated into white particles that practically erased them. No matter the size of the Grimm, once they made contact with the energized body of a Wisp, they were disentangled instantly, vanishing into white particles, and the larger Grimm were hit by several more Wisps just to make sure they were properly dealt with. The Wisps all moved out within a five-kilometer perimeter, making sure to evaporate every Grimm in the area and protect the temple.

Within a timespan of two minutes, the glowing lights that illuminated the surrounding forest of Mystic Ruins all died down… and every single Grimm was gone.

More gentle glows appeared, scattered throughout the forest as the Wisps arose from the trees as they all communicated to each other, verifying that the job was done before flying back to the temple, decorating the sky with their colored forms as they flew around in celebration. A group of them even flew to Sonic as one White Wisp in particular gave a beep and a nod in confirmation.

"I don't speak Wisp, but I think he's saying that it's done. Right?" He asked the Wisp, which nodded. "Right on." He offered his hand as the Wisp high-fived him with his tentacle. "Toldya you guys had it in ya."

Ruby couldn't help but look in amazement as she stared at all the beautiful colors in the sky, like rainbow stars in the middle of the day. She'd honestly never seen anything more beautiful. And it wasn't just that… these tiny little creatures just wiped out a horde of over a hundred Grimm, faster than what any group of Huntsmen has ever done before. She felt a nudge on her side and looked to see Amy smiling at her, leading Ruby to smile back before she looked to the one three-eyed Wisp that was still by her side.

"You… you guys… are… amazing…!" She was so awestruck, that she couldn't even find the strength to squeal in delight and joy. All she could do was smile... and that was more than enough. The Wisp next to her looked bashfully as it waved its tentacles.

Just then, they all heard a pair of groans coming from inside the temple.

Rough tried to help Tumble up as they limped to and retreat deeper into the temple, to find a spot to hide until they can find a way to slip away…

Only for a blue blur, followed by those of several other colors, to outpace them as Sonic and several Wisps blocked their path. "Where do you think you're going?" Sonic teased with a grin.

"Oh, come on!" Rough complained.

"Ahem!" Looking behind, the two brothers saw Amy and Ruby, and other Wisps, blocking off the entrance, effectively trapping them.

"The tables have turned…" Ruby began.

"They've certainly bumbled." Amy went on.

"It's butt-kick time for Rough and Tumble!" Sonic, Ruby, and Amy all said simultaneously.

"No, no, no!" Tumble roared.

"That's our thing! You can't do our thing!" Rough exclaimed.

Sonic then sped to deliver a kick into Rough's face while Amy and Ruby delivered a combined strike of a hammer-swing and kick respectively into Tumble's face, both brothers being knocked into each other.

---

Sometime later, all of the liberated villagers stood outside the temple as they cheered and celebrated, alongside the Wisps that flew happily above them. Sonic, Amy, Ruby, and Shion escorted the defeated Rough and Tumble, both with their hands tied behind their backs, which only caused the people and wisps to cheer even more.

"Y-you did it! You saved us!" The boy from before, who was previously and forcibly guarding the temple, said to the heroes enthusiastically. "H-How can repay you…?"

"Serve up some chilidogs, and we'll call it even." Sonic cracked.

"Sonic." Amy lightly scolded.

"Kidding, kidding." Sonic chuckled. "Don't worry about it." He said to the kid. "You don't owe us anything."

"We'll make sure that you and everyone else get back to Higanbana safely." Ruby assured. A few Wisps flew down and spoke chipperly in their native langue.

"Um… what are they saying…?" The boy asked.

"I don't know…" Ruby shrugged.

"I think they're gonna help us get you back home. Help fight back against any other nearby Grimm, right?" Sonic asked one Wisp, who nodded. "Yep, that's right."

"Thank you… Thank you so much…" The boy was brought to tears of relief.

"I've called for an airship." Shion said as he stood close to the defeated skunk brothers. "I'll escort these two back to the city and see to it that they pay for their crimes. They'll definitely go to prison for what they've done here."

"Their little cells won't hold us for long." Tumble warned as he and his brother turned menacingly towards Sonic, Ruby, and Amy. "We'll be out. And then we're coming for you."

Rough scowled as well. "You've made lifelong enemies of…"

"…Rough and Tumble!" Both skunks said at the same time.

Sonic and Ruby once again laughed while Amy glared at them and held her Piko-Piko out threateningly. The brothers glared again as Shion escorted them away. As they were led away, Ruby looked around at all the cheers and smiles of all the people as well as the Wisps, all this happiness and relief… she felt it too. So much so that she wiped some tears from her eyes.

"This… this is the reason…" She began.

"Ruby?" Sonic asked as he and Amy looked to each other curiously.

"This is the reason… I wanted to become a Huntress." Ruby went on. "To help people… to help them to smile again… even when things are down. I… I know that we're still in the middle of a lot of things… fighting Salem and Eggman… all the drama going on with our friends… what Yang and Qrow are probably going through… and maybe it won't all be solved at once but… even little things like this… they help… right?"

The two Hedgehogs smiled. "Right." Sonic confirmed. "And we'll totally take down Eggman and Salem. We got this."

"Hopefully this is the start of things picking back up for us." Amy said, before noticing the same three-eyed Wisp sticking close to Ruby. "Aw, looks like you made a new friend."

"Heh, yeah, I guess I did." Ruby said as that same Wisp purred, leaning close to Ruby's face.

"Funny thing though…" Sonic noted. "I've been on the Wisps' home planet, seen pretty much every kind… but I don't think I've seen that one before."

"Maybe it's a rare breed?" Amy guessed.

"Maybe… I'll call Tails soon and ask him. Maybe he might even wire his Wisp-translator into an app for our scrolls or something." Sonic said as he began to think, before looking back up at Mystic Ruins.

'I'll also have to talk with Tails and Shadow about this. If Mystic Ruins and the Wisps ended up on Remnant via Chaos Control… maybe me going Super again and doing what I did in Beacon might not be a good idea.' Sonic thought. 'And… Maybe it's not just Mistral. What if other things from our world ended up here too? Maybe other people? Wonder if my other friends are here? I don't wanna make another crisis that could rip apart dimensions… but…' Sonic looked to the Wisps. 'If these guys were able to teleport their home planet back its original spot… maybe they can help remove all the Grimm from Remnant. I'll have to ask them though, not gonna bring them into a war that they don't wanna be a part of. But we'll figure it out. We always do.'

"Well…" Ruby looked to her new Wisp friend. "What am I going to call you…?" She wondered aloud. "Can't just keep calling you 'Wisp'." She thought for a minute before an idea came to her. "How about 'Rosa'?"

"'Rosa'?" Sonic and Amy both asked.

"It matches her color, doesn't it?" Ruby replied.

"Her? It's a girl?" Sonic looked in confusion. "How do you know?"

"You're a boy, you wouldn't understand." Ruby told him with a teasing smirk. The aforementioned Wisp beamed happily, even shining a bit in its light pink color.

"I think she likes it. Rosa. Yeah, that sounds good." Amy approved.

"Nice to meet you, Rosa. My name is Ruby Rose, it's a pleasure to meet you." Ruby offered her hand for a handshake, only to remember how this Wisp didn't have any hands. But that didn't stop the newly dubbed Rosa from rubbing against Ruby's face again bashfully, causing her to laugh, leading to Sonic and Amy smiling.

However, unknown to all of them… despite the new positive air that surrounded them… none of them noticed… underneath Ruby's red robe… at the back of her neck… a small, black, crack-like mark had formed.

---

Meanwhile, back in Salem's domain… the Grimm Queen herself was on the balcony of her fortress, once again gazing out to the hellish landscape that was her home. Tyrian and Hazel, along with Eggman's machine, should be arriving at Haven any time now. Lionheart was resourceful enough to arrange a meeting without catching anyone's attention. Watts would also be arriving in Atlas soon, and Eggman himself in Vacuo, and she may receive word from Taurus' own spies in Menagerie. She tried to spread out her forces as much as she could…

But she still couldn't shake the uncertainty that she was now feeling as this conflict had taken such a turn. Before, when it was just Ozpin… the most he could do was delay things. And that was fine with her. She could wait a few more decades, she's gotten used to that. But now… with what Sonic was capable of… and that other Hedgehog, Shadow was it…? He could do the same thing that Sonic could. The two of them together... and now there was the possibility that Summer's daughter was capable of the same thing. If all three got the Chaos Emeralds, it may very well be over for her. Given what she heard from Eggman regarding this so-called Ultimate Lifeform though, she thought of the possibility of turning him over to her side and against Sonic. Though Eggman shot down the idea upon her first suggestion as he tried something like that himself, as did some other conquerer that had a hand in Shadow's creation... she felt it was worth a shot, being a master manipulator. But, if Sonic or his friends got to the scattered Chaos Emeralds first, it wouldn't matter. Once Super Sonic takes the stage again… it was all over for her, and she knew it.

Her complex game of chess against Ozpin has now turned into a race against someone who can so readily break the sound barrier, hence his name. And with Ozpin gone, the people of Remnant can now easily rally behind Sonic, even those who were once close to Ozpin could flock to him. She may have a shot though if she could get her hands on that Ruby-girl… but that itself was still a long shot if the girl was now under Sonic's protection and care.

A part of her considered letting Sonic achieve his goal. Let him find the Chaos Emeralds and transform… let him end her existence. She could be free… finally liberated from this cursed existence of hers…

No! She pushed that thought down as she clenched the railing of her balcony and crushed it in her grasp. No! She won't let those damned Brothers win! She won't play their game! She would find the Chaos Emeralds herself and find a way to use them, even if it was through that Ruby girl! She'd get all four of those blasted Relics and summon the Brothers back… just so she can use the power of those gemstones to wipe them from existence forever! No less than what they deserved! And then… once those who wronged her were destroyed… she could set things right. Maybe use the Emeralds and Relics together to break her own curse… maybe even bring her girls back… her family.

But she was getting ahead of herself. She had to actually find the Chaos Emeralds, but without any possible leads… she was stuck.

Suddenly, Salem felt an unusual sensation… she sensed something… coming from somewhere in her own territory… she could feel through the Grimm that roamed this treacherous land that they have found something… something foreign.

Her body was coated in shadows and black smoke before she flew off from her balcony and into the dark wilds of her land.

Salem would soon arrive at a valley, where she spotted several Nevermores, Griffons, and other flying Grimm circling a specific spot, like how vultures would before feasting. Yet none of them made a move to descend and just kept flying in circles. Glancing down, she spotted more than two dozen land-based Grimm; Beowolves, Ursai, Beringel, Sabyrs, even a couple Goliaths, all surrounding one specific spot… but none of them moved any closer… almost like they were afraid to even take a step further.

The Grimm Queen landed on the ground and made her way closer. As she did, the dark creatures noticed the presence of their alpha and cleared the way for her, bowing their heads as she passed them. Salem stopped at the edge of what appeared to be a crater, with all the present Grimm standing at the edge and looking down into it.

When she did… Salem noticed a glowing red light at the center of it. But this wasn't the same red glow of her creatures' eyes. No… this was brighter… it was different.

Sliding down the side of the crater, she saw the source of the light and gave a small gasp as she looked in surprise.

It was a Chaos Emerald!

The red gemstone, one of seven other different colored ones, was in her domain and she hadn't even noticed. It must have ended up here when all the other Emeralds were scattered after Beacon and her pets must have only just noticed.

Reaching down, Salem picked up the red Chaos Emerald in her hand and saw her own reflection shining off the crystal. The minute she touched it, she could already feel the power of this marvelous gem. She'd only ever seen pictures or holograms of them when Eggman had first arrived, but this was her first time holding one. And it felt good.

"Beautiful…" Salem smiled evilly. "Just beautiful…"

Done.

So, yeah. A lot has happened in this chapter, not a bad start to this arc, huh?

You all finally got to see how the villains are reacting to their defeat at Beacon and what their plan is going forward. Much like Sonic and Ruby's group, they're splitting up to search the other Kingdoms to find the Chaos Emeralds...

*Metal Sonic, Tyrian, and Hazel are going to Mistral.

*Eggman is taking his own forces to Vacuo, including Mercury and Emerald.

*Watts is going to Atlas.

*Adam is going to have his own spies search Menagerie.

But, it seems that Salem has already found a Chaos Emerald, the red one specifically, and is already getting ideas. And she even has her own plans on how to use Ruby going forward.

Speaking of Ruby, we got to see her, Sonic, Yang, Amy, Knuckles, and Qrow arrive in Mistral and meet Lionheart. And yeah, I do agree that his character in canon was terrible (yet another waste of potential). Let me be clear in case it wasn't clear already, Lionheart is a spy working for Salem (so everything that Sonic and the others told him, Salem will learn herself soon). But, it's never explained in canon what his reasons are, other than being a one-sided coward. Here though, I plan to give him a bit more development, just like with everyone else.

We also got to see some outfit changes from those in Mistral, many of these designs were ideas that were shared with me by my friend Amaya-chano7. Ruby's design is similar to what we had in canon during the Mistral arc, with a few minor differences, and I personally liked that outfit myself. Yang's design is very much different and my own original idea, taking elements from her original outfit, her canon Mistral outfit, and what she wore in Ice Queendom. I hope you guys liked it.

And despite arriving in Mistral together, there is still very clearly some tension going on… all of which just exploded right here between Yang and Qrow. Again, I am not gaslighting or character-bashing anyone, this is just the kind of reaction one can expect from these two who both have more than their fair share of baggage, and neither really seemed to have a proper way to vent all their frustrations. Yang always had to be the strong sister for Ruby, raising her on her own and felt she never had to show any weakness to her father or uncle; while Qrow deals with his issues by trying to drink them away in a bar, or venting by picking a fight with someone that he feels deserves it (such a case being Winter in Volume 3). One thing is certain though, Qrow has broken Yang's trust, not just with his choices as a part of Ozpin's group, but for not being there for her when she needed it. Yes, again, his Semblance is an issue that can harm her and anyone else even around Qrow, but Yang doesn't know that (yet), and was basically left to fend for herself and her younger sister when she was maybe six. That's a lot of baggage right there for any child. Not to mention Qrow's been treating a lot of Yang's friends like garbage, notably Sonic and his crew despite trying to extend an olive branch and work together, with even Knuckles (the one whom Yang is closest to) offering that… but Qrow just pushed it away. So… yeah. It's going to be very rough for him going forward if he wants to earn his nieces' trust back.

Speaking of rough… guess who just made their first appearance in this story!

Time for mischief and rhyme schemes!

Get ready for a fun struggle!

It's time for Rough and Tumble!

Out of all Ian Flynn's comic characters, these two are among my favorites (Tangle and Whisper are at the top spot, in case you are wondering) and I can tell that he had a lot of fun with this pair of skunk brothers, and I can't wait to write the kinds of chaos they're going to unleash going forward.

And the Wisps are here too! And they have shown once again just how powerful they are, being the perfect Anti-Grimm force. With Ruby making friends with a new type of Wisp and naming her Rosa. You'll learn more about her later.

I told you that we'd be getting more Sonic characters, and this is only the start! I've got lots more coming in the next few chapters as we see what everyone else is up to as they head to their respective locations.

And speaking of new characters… Shion Zaiden, a character exclusive to Ice Queendom has made their appearance as well. Though it is never said in canon, they are part of Ozpin's inner circle in my story. The specific type of Grimm that they hunt, Nightmares, do seem like something Salem would devise herself, as opposed to the likes of Beowolves and Ursai, likely made by the God of Darkness.

But it's not just Shion though… take a look at what happened to Ruby at the end right there. I'm sure you can all guess what's about to happen.

Anyway, I hope you guys all enjoyed this chapter. It certainly ended up bigger than what I thought was gonna be, but I am happy with how it turned out. We'll be seeing what everyone else is doing in the next chapter, so until then, stay safe and stay healthy out there.

Love you.