Cold, that was the first thing that hit Sonic's senses, Gaia, had it somehow become Winter already? Or had he somehow ended up falling asleep on Blizzard Peaks or somewhere like that-
Distortions, pain, Chaos Emeralds.
Oh... Oh man. The Hero of Mobius quickly pushed himself up, shaking the snow off his quills and taking in the area around him. Snow as far as he could see, it was day but the sky was covered by white clouds with snow gently falling. He couldn't help but smile, it really was a beautiful sight.
After taking a few moments to enjoy the sight of his surroundings, Sonic reached into his quills and pulled out his phone. Tails had modified it to work near anywhere on Mobius, so if he was still in his home dimension...
"No signal huh? Lets just hope I'm somewhere without it and didn't end up in the Sol Dimension or somewhere else". Considering he'd been using a full power Chaos Control in an already distorted dimensional space, it wouldn't surprise the Blue Blur if he had ended up in another dimension, it certainly wouldn't be the first time. "Alright then! Lets go find the locals!".
Stretching out his body, Sonic began to grin, he wondered what he'd see and find on this little adventure?
Once he was done stretching, he shot forward in a blue blur.
"Hm? An unknown energy signature?". Blue eyes looked over the dozens of screens she was working at, hands covered in blue gloves going up to her elbows, her upper body covered in a unique brown, red, and blue looking dress. Legs covered in blue stockings leading to gold heels, she smiled and brushed some long brown hair out of her eyes. "Interesting, I wonder if some magus let some experiment run free?".
Leonardo Da Vinci, the Universal Genius and Renaissance Man. A Heroic Spirit, a Servant, of the Caster Class. Despite being a male in life, as a Servant she has manifested in the image of her ideal beauty, the Mona Lisa. Absolutely confident in everything she does, she is a kind but narcissistic genius.
A genius who mastered both technology and magecraft, a genius born once every thousand years. That is the core of the Servant Da Vinci.
"With the Rayshift in a few hours, it'd be best to deal with this now...". Da Vinci tapped against her keyboard, the Director would refuse to send any of the Master candidates out to check what the source of the unknown energy was, and getting a member of A-Team was practically impossible... "I guess I'll need to handle it myself!".
With a smile, the Caster got off her chair and left the room. The Director could complain later-
"What the hell are you doing Caster!? You should be focusing on ensuring the Rayshift process is ready!". A young woman with striking white hair, gold eyes, and pale skin demanded of Da Vinci. Director Olga Marie Animusphere was a beautiful young woman, wearing a black and orange dress with a vague noble look to it, red stockings, and black heels.
It was only a shame she had so many things dragging her down, Da Vinci fully believed the Director would be far more successful if she didn't hold herself down so much by comparing herself to Kirschtaria.
Director Olga Marie Animusphere, the leader of the Chaldea Security Organization, one of the Lords of the Clocktower. She serves as the strict leader of Chaldea, working to protect humanity's future.
She's trained in her family's magecraft, but despite all her hard work, she lacks the qualities to serve as a Master to Servants.
"Oh I'm just taking a little walk, thought I'd enjoy the Arctic air". Da Vinci smiled, before bringing out her true reasoning. "My systems have detected an unknown energy source out there, and whatever it is? Its big?".
"Unknown? Its probably just some idiots experiment, leave it alone and focus on making sure the Rayshift is ready!". Olga glared at the Caster, but the Universal Genius noticed the discomfort in her posture.
"Director, I'm 100% confident the Rayshift system will work, but this unknown energy could be a serious threat. Think about it, would you rather take the risk or let me have an hour to investigate?". An hour was plenty of time to track down the unknown energy source, Da Vinci couldn't help but wonder what in the world it was. Some ancient mystic? A Noble Phantasm? Maybe even a piece of a Divine Spirit?
"Guh... Fine! You have an hour, but after that I want you putting everything you have into making sure everything is ready!". The Director's agreement caused the Genius's smile to widen and she nodded, quickly leaving the area.
Da Vinci considered grabbing a coat or at least something to deal with the weather, but she was a Servant, it wasn't like the cold could really effect her (Without at least some mystic element to it). So instead the Caster found one of the exits to Chaldea and left the large building.
"The snow is heavy...". The Caster's smile weakened but didn't fade, a bit of magecraft on her legs and she found it possible to run on the snow. Summoning her staff and gauntlet, she began to use one of its many functions to begin tracking down the unknown energy source. "West, alright then!".
With that, Da Vinci began to run, her speed far beyond whatever a human could do.
"Brrrr! It really is cold here!". Sonic's grin didn't weaken despite the sheer chill around him, he'd run through space before, a bit of cold weather wasn't going to stop him. At least it was a volcano, now that had scorched his quills! Jumping over a snow pile, he took in the area around him, snow, snow, a human woman in the distance, snow-
Huh, what was that last one?
Sonic calmed to a stop, taking in the confusing sight, she was a decent bit away, but he always had good eye-sight and it only improved from the constant adventures. She was human without a doubt, but not dressed for the weather and yet seemed unaffected by it.
"Well, guess I found a local!". The Blue Blur grinned, he had a good feeling about this. He didn't want to freak her out by going to fast (Although she was pretty fast herself, he'd say she was between Knuckles and Amy. Nothing compared to him of course, or even the speeds Tails could go if he was really determined).
So he kept to a slower pace as he approach her, the woman also stopping as she observed him and sheesh, how was she not freezing in that sort of clothing? Although looking at that weird gauntlet and staff, she was probably some kind of smart type and...
'Why does she remind me of Merlina?'. Sonic noticed how the woman gave him a similar feeling of his old friend, not in the bad way, but more... 'Magic! It's gotta be magic'.
While he was making his own observations, Da Vinci made her own.
"When I decided to investigate a strange energy source, I didn't expect to encounter a chimera". The Caster spoke aloud, at the very least this creature resembled some type of chimera between human and hedgehog. What sort of magus would create such a thing? And just WHAT was the energy it was radiating? 'Hopefully, its sentient and reasonable. It was travelling at immense speeds, D Rank without a doubt, what other secrets could it be hiding?'.
"Chimera? Do I look like a lion? I've been compared to a rat, but never a lion". Sonic couldn't help but find amusement in the woman's words, him? A chimera? That description better fit Shadow then him, he was 100% pure hedgehog! But that at least confirmed he probably wasn't on Mobius anymore, or at least the woman would've recognized him as a Mobian. "Names Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog!".
'Sentient enough to both speak and has knowledge of the animal kingdom. He's completely calm as well, like he doesn't even see me as a threat, but he's not hostile ether...'. Da Vinci decided to go diplomatic here, as curious as she was about everything regarding this 'Sonic', today really wasn't the day for it, after Singularity F was dealt with she could satisfy her curiosity. "A pleasure to make your acquittance, Sonic, my name is Leonardo Da Vinci".
The lack of reaction to her name told her this creature had no knowledge of history, which further confirmed her theory it was an experiment. Likely one it's creator had a personal care for if it had developed social skills, ah, no it would be better to refer to Sonic as a him at the very least.
"Leonardo huh? Mind telling me where I am? Got a bit lost my last run". Sonic was many things, reckless yea, but he'd been dragged to enough alternate worlds to know that claiming he was from a different world and looking for seven gemstones of unlimited power was a bad idea, at least without building up some trust. "If you can point me to the nearest city?".
"I'm afraid I can't do that, magical creatures can't be shown to the public". Da Vinci thought for a moment, before deciding on a plan. "If you agree to remain non hostile, I can take you to the facility nearby, Chaldea. However, in return you must listen to what I say".
Sonic frowned, he REALLY hated having to listen to orders, but if he was trapped in another dimension...
"Alright, but if you start telling me to bully kids or burn down villages, I'm gonna kick your butt". He could at the least listen for a bit, Da Vinci was nice so far and besides that confusing 'magical creature' bit, had done nothing concerning.
"If I started ordering that, I would appreciate you doing such a thing". It was kind of cute how Sonic believed he could defeat a Servant. Fast or not, Da Vinci was still a top-tier Servant. "Follow me then! To Chaldea we go!".
As the Caster began to walk, Sonic quickly rushed to her speed, her eyes widening at his sudden burst of speed.
"Sooo, what's a facility like this 'Chaldea' doing in a snowy place like this? Last I checked most humans aren't built for the cold". Sonic asked, now that he wasn't paying attention to Da Vinci, he could focus on surroundings and if he strained his eyes, he could see a large building in the distance.
"Chaldeas is an organization devoted towards protecting the future of humanity, backed by both the UN and Clocktower". Caster saw no issue with sharing this information, her mind more on the speed Sonic had just shown. 'Forget D Rank! It was essentially teleportation! A time field perhaps, speeding up time around him to mimic super speed? There was a family that used such magecraft before...'.
"Future of humanity? What, you got aliens running about? Because I'm good at dealing with those". Sonic joked, but in truth he was concerned. You don't have an organization devoted towards the future of humanity if there wasn't a danger.
"I'm afraid that information is above your pay grade". Da Vinci joked back, believing the talk of aliens to also be a joke. "If you run off while in Chaldea, we will have no choice but to consider you hostile, some will resort to lethal force".
"Not the first time I've had a gun aimed at me". The Blue Blur smirked, it was always funny watching people's reactions as he dodged bullets. The Fastest Thing Alive wouldn't be hit by some measly bullets.
After a minute or two of walking, they arrived at Chaldea, a large steel door opening before the two entered.
"{Unknown lifeform detected, scanning... Magic Circuits: ERROR. Circuit Quality: ERROR}". An artificial voice spoke up, Sonic glancing up at a speaker. "{ERROR, data cannot be taken, ERROR}".
"What the heck are Magic Circuits?". Sonic couldn't help but ask, taking note of the confusion in Da Vinci's eyes as they fully stepped into Chaldea.
"...Something we can discuss later". The Caster replied, more questions she wanted answers to. Chaldea's scanners should've detected Sonic's magical quality, no matter what. Was that strange energy interfering with it?
The two walked through the halls of Chaldea, occasionally passing by some staff members who stared at Da Vinci with fear and Sonic with confusion. His ears twitched, taking note of things said.
"-Familiars shouldn't be-".
"-Pretty but scary-".
"-Awww, what a cute little guy-".
"-A chimera? Tch, what subpar work-".
"-Servants shouldn't be allowed to-".
What was with all that confusing him for a chimera? And what was that talk about servants? Sonic had so many questions, this really didn't feel like dealing with Camelot or the World of Arabian Nights.
After a bit further walking, they arrived at a large empty room, Sonic noticed just how secured it was, it was practically a cell designed to look nice, no chairs, no beds, no pictures or furniture. Although...
He could tear out of this place with ease if he felt the need, and he couldn't blame these Chaldea guys for being paranoid.
"Sooo, a cell? I mean, I get it, mysterious handsome hedgehog shows up and you wanna know what he's about before trusting him". Sonic grinned, he'd just have to earn that trust.
"I would like to trust you, but my co-workers are... Less hesitant to trust a stranger, and it doesn't help you showed up on a very important day, no mistakes you see". Da Vinci tapped against her gauntlet, getting a projection of a clock (And taking note of the fact Sonic showed no surprised at the technology, interesting...). "Its currently 13:43, by 16:00 we should be done and we can talk".
"But thats like two hours!". Sonic couldn't wait that long, especially without anything to entertain himself! "Don't you have any books or games at least?".
"Hmmm... I suppose I can at least have some books sent over, assuming you can read English?". At the hedgehog's nod, Da Vinci smiled. "Alright, I'll have those sent over. After I'm done with me work, you and I can have a talk Mister Hedgehog".
With that, the door to the cell was closed, but Sonic quickly noticed it wasn't locked, well wasn't that a pleasant surprise. He'd rather not have to break through the walls if he wanted to get out, and it was a sign of trust as well. So with that decided, the Blue Blur sat himself on the ground and began to think.
"I'm definitely not on Mobius, everyone knows about all the supernatural stuff there. I'm not in the Sol Dimension ether, or any dimension I know about. At least I'm not dealing with the Paradox Prism again...". Sonic leaned his head against the wall, he'd need to find the Chaos Emeralds, he had no doubt they were somewhere out there and he really didn't want to see the destruction that'd happen if someone got their hands on one. Add in...
He'd not noticed it before, but this world really was reminding him of the Arabian Nights and Camelot, he could feel the magical energy in the air, but it was only now he sat down and focused on sensing it he could actually feel it. He unconsciously reached for his left wrist, running his hand over the shape of Chip's bracelet hidden under his glove, completely unaware of the light glove it was giving off.
"Sheesh, Tails must be freaking out, this was meant to be a small test with Cyber-Space and somehow I ended up in another world. What even was that rift and purple lighting? Remnants of The End?". Sonic shivered, he really hoped that wasn't the case, he'd had enough of that monster for multiple lifetimes. For now, he just needed to wait and-
"Fou?". Sonic blinked, taking in the white furred creature standing before him. It kind of looked like a fox, but its tail was way to big, big purple eyes, and it was wearing an honestly adorable cloak. He took notice of how it's gaze was on his left hand, which confused him. "Fou kyuuu fouu!".
"Hey there little guy, what you got locked up for? Me? I'm just to awesome for ordinary people to handle". The hedgehog reached forward, giving the creature some scratches behind the ears. "Never seen anything like you from Mobius, and I've been all over".
The white-furred creature purred, leaning into the scratches from Sonic.
"W-wow, I've never seen Fou warm up to someone so fast. Is this a special bond between inhuman lifeforms?". It was only with those words that Sonic noticed someone else had entered the room. She was a young teenager, with soft purple eyes, pink hair, pale skin, and a stack of books in hand. She wore a black dress, red tie, a white and gray jacket, black stockings, and brown shoes.
Mash Kyrielight, a member of Chaldea and of A-Team. A mysterious and reserved girl, soft hearted with a gentle demeanour. However, she keeps many secrets.
She is the caretaker of Fou, a privileged lifeform within Chaldea.
"I'm good with animals, if ya can't tell from the quills". Sonic joked, the girl's eyes widening. "Are those the books I asked for? Thanks, miss...?".
"Ah, my name isn't that important...". The girl placed the books down, missing the hedgehog's look.
"Hey! It doesn't matter who you are, of course your names important. Everyone has one, it's apart of our identity. Like mine, Sonic the Hedgehog, and you are?". The girl seemed surprised at his words, before nodding.
"Mash Kyrielight, and that mysterious lifeform is Fou, he's a privileged lifeform allowed within Chaldea's walls". Mash introduced herself, looking over Sonic. "Theres a talk of talk about you already, Senpai. Many are wondering where you came from".
Senpai? Sonic wracked his head, Japanese? It meant upper classman if his memory was correct. Man, when was the last time he went to Japan? They had some great sweets.
"Me? I'm from Mobius, some humans call it Earth but who names their planet dirt?". Seriously, why did humans want to name the planet after dirt?
"Mobius? I've never heard of Earth being called Mobius in any history I know of...". Mash frowned, Sonic didn't look like he was lying ether.
"Eh, this is probably an alternate dimension from mine. Wouldn't be the first time". The Blue Blur's words only caused Mash to pout, he didn't have to lie to her!
"You don't have to lie, Senpai...". Mash looked over the books she'd gathered. "If your going to read, I suggest-".
"My my, so this is the mysterious talking hedgehog Caster found?". It seems while the two were talking, another person had entered the room. He was a tall man with long, spiky brown hair and seemingly closed eyes. He wore a green tophat and suit, a gentle smile on his face.
Lev Lainur, a magus of Chaldea and assistant to Director Olga. Dedicated to the mission of protecting humanity, he is a wise and understanding professor.
However, at times he can be vague or disturbing with his wording.
"Ah! Professor Lev, I was-". Mash was cut off before she could finish.
"Following Caster's request, I understand. Still, orders changed, you are to head to the Command Room and ready yourself for the mission to Singularity F. The hedgehog... You have been offered to stay in Master Room 48, its empty and we never managed to get a 48th Master". Lev explained, Mash nodding along and Sonic...
There was something off, but he couldn't tell what. Lev looked human, but his energy felt off and something inside the hedgehog was screaming danger. He shook his head, for all he knew this was just another side of magic. Its not like Lev was the first person who's energy felt negative or dark despite being a good guy.
"Sweet! Any problem with me bringing these books?". Sonic picked up the books Mash had set down.
"None, as long as they are returned to the library later".
"Wait, Senpai! Fou can lead you to where the Master rooms are, so please follow him okay?". Mash gestured to Fou, which was apparently the name of the white squirrel creature. "He can't join the meeting, so can you please keep an eye on him".
"Sure, come on little buddy, we have a room to find". Sonic knelt down, allowing Fou to leap onto his shoulder. As the four left the room, he gave a final smile to Mash. "Talk to ya later Mash!".
"Fouuu!".
"O-oh? Uhm, y-yes Senpai! I look forward to talking with you later as well!". Mash seemed surprised that he was offering to talk to her again, guess she didn't get much social interaction. Sadly, they had to part ways there as Sonic followed the directions of Fou.
Despite seeing a lot of staff earlier, now it was rare to see even one as they walked about. Guess that meeting was really important, still...
"What the heck is a Master? I really doubt this is all some big maid and butler thing, and Mash seems way to kind to be involved in slavery. Is it just magic people using weird names for stuff?". Sonic talked with Fou, who tilted his head before letting out a 'Fouuu!'. "I get it dude, some human things just make no sense".
After a minute or two of walking, they finally arrived at what Sonic assumed to be the 'Master' rooms. it was basically a hallway with a bunch of doors on ether side, reading the numbers they finally arrived at their goal, room forty-six. Pushing it open-
"Gah! W-wait a second, who are you?! This is an empty room! It's where I slack off! Who gave you permission to come in... A-and are you a hedgehog?!". An adult male man was sitting on the bed, a laptop between his legs. He had fluffy orange hair and green eyes, wearing a doctor's coat over a green shirt.
Doctor Romani Arachman. Head doctor of Chaldea, most would call him a useless man for his lack of guts and tendency to panic. But underneath all of that, when it comes down to it, he becomes a determined man ready to face anything for those he cares for.
His skill in Magecraft seems non-existent, but he was personally invited to Chaldea by its former director.
"Sheesh, is everyone going to freak out about that? And I was told to come here by Lev!". Sonic could deal with a bit of confusion, but it was a bit annoying when everyone asked about him.
"Wait wait what... Oh! You must be the mysterious talking lifeform Da Vinci was talking about. Ah... Sorry about the freak out, its one thing hearing, its another seeing". The man rubbed the back of his head. "Ah, I should introduce myself. My name is Romani Arachman, head of medical department. For some reason, people just call me Dr. Roman. I don't know why, but it's easier to pronounce, so go ahead and call me. It sounds kind of nice doesn't it? Dr. Roman".
Sonic, who had a bad experience with a mad scientist calling himself a doctor, decided to never refer to Roman by that name.
"Nice to meet'cha Roman! Name's Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog". Sonic fully entered the room, placing the books on a nearby shelf while Fou leapt onto the bed, sniffing at a pile of sweets next to Romani.
"Oh! Hello Fou, you're usually with Mash, but I guess you must have bonded with our resident mystery here?". Romani reached forward to stroke Fou, but flinched back at the pitying look he received. "Owch, do you have to do that every time...?".
"Guess Fou really is picky... Hey Romani, do you mind answering some questions for me? Since I've gotten here, I've been hearing a bunch of confusing terms". Sonic decided to sit on a chair next to a desk, which had another laptop placed on top of it.
"Ah, I suppose you have no idea whats going on at Chaldea then... The entire staff is busy, all to help with that Rayshift experiment, the Director even kicked me out since she said I'd distract everyone... This is what they called a blessing in disguise right? Since we both have nowhere to go, I suppose I can explain things". Roman seemed to be the most comfortable around the hedgehog among those he'd met so far.
"Sure, I'm up for it". Sonic readied himself for a long explanation, and it was a long one.
A future prediction device saying humanity would go extinct, an experimental process called Rayshifting to travel to the pass, and the most interesting thing of all...
Heroic Spirits, legendary figures of history who've died and been placed into the Throne of Heroes. They could be as Servants, who served under Masters.
"Wait wait, so that Da Vinci woman I met is basically a super ghost? And Chaldea got a massive team together to summon more super ghosts to protect humanity, by travelling to the past to fix distortions?". Sonic couldn't help but ask, that had to be top five weirdest things he's heard!
...Still not weirder then the Super Smash Bros incidents. He would've won the latest tournament if it wasn't for ANOTHER interruption.
"Ah, I guess it does sound off when you describe it like that. But it's all very serious and important-". Romani was cut off from a beep from his laptop, which he quickly pressed a key and the voice of Lev came out.
"Romani, we're going to start the Rayshift soon. Could you come here in case there's an emergency? The A Team's in perfect condition, but B Team on down is less experienced and they are displaying some slight abnormalities. It probably comes from anxiety. The inside of that Coffin is like a cockpit". Lev requested, drawing a frown to both of the currently present face's.
"Ah, I'll be there soon. I've just got to grab some things to calm them down". The expression of Roman told Sonic no, he had no intention of being fast.
"Yeah, hurry up,will you? If you're in the infirmary, then you can get here in two minutes". With another beep, the call ended.
"...Bit of a grump ain't he? If you need to be there fast, I can run you over". Sonic offered, but Roman shook his head.
"Its fine, it'll only take a five minute walk and only A-Team should be sent to Singularity F anywhere, the rest are there for experience. That voice was Lev Lainur, have you met him yet?". Romani asked, with the hedgehog nodding. "He's a real genius, created the Near-Future Observation Lens, Sheba, a telescope used to observe that pseudo-planet, Chaldeas".
"Sounds like some impressive tech, my little brother would love to see how they work". Sonic smiled, it really did sound incredible.
"It really is, Sheba observes Chaldeas to help predict the future, but also serves as a surveillance system for most of this facility. It's one of the key points of Chaldea, along with the Rayshift technology, and the Pseudo-Spiritron Calculation Engine, essentially a super computer, which was provided by the Atlas Academy, another group of mages with a focus on research. All these different talents have been gathered to carry out this mission". Roman scratched the back of his head. "Its confusing for an ordinary doctor like me, but if I'm summoned, I must go. Thanks for the chat, Sonic! It was a bit strange getting used to a talking hedgehog at first, but you a swell guy. Once Da Vinci's finished questioning you, come by the infirmary, I'll treat you to some cake".
Sonic was about to give his own agreement when the lights suddenly flickered out, the room turning dark. The sudden panicked expression of Romani told him this was NOT planned.
"What?! Light's out? Did something-".
BOOOOM!
WEEHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Sonic stumbled on his feet, the sound of an explosion and alarm hitting his ears.
"{Emergency. Emergency. A fire has broken out in the Central Power Station and the Central Command Room. Central Area's containment wall will activate in 90 seconds. All staff must evacuate from Gate 2 at once. Containment wall will close in 40 seconds. Those remain in Central Area, evacuate immediately-}". An artificial voice rang over the speakers, a chill going down everyone's spines.
"SHIT! Was that an explosion?! What on Earth is happening?! Monitor! Show me the Command Room! Is everybody alright?!". Roman shouted at his computer, but nothing happened.
'The Command Room... That's where Mash is!". Sonic felt his energy begin to spark up, this was bad! Suddenly, the lights came back on, but red. "That can't be good!".
"Dammit! Sonic, you need to evacuate right now! I'm going to the Command Room, the containment walls will close soon! Get yourself somewhere safe before its to late-
SONIC?!". Romani could do nothing to stop the Blue Blur as he shot off, a white ball of fur holding onto his tail. "GET BACK HERE! ITS DANGEROUS! SONIC! FOU!".
Sonic didn't listen, people were in danger! It was time to do what he did best, save people and look awesome doing it!