Hey everybody, good evening or morning, whichever time and day it is for you when you read this. As promised, it's Saturday September 2nd, and the Rating Game Chapter is here. Because its so large, it had to be spilt into 2 parts, but its totally worth the wait to get here.
So... that Final Horizon Teaser's mad hype, huh? I don't think any of us expected Supreme to get a redesign, and while it looks badass... I'm kinda gonna miss his sniper rifle. With his now 7 arms, which ironically is the same number of Emeralds (coincidence? I think not.), his battle style will obviously change. Also, I'm thinking those blue eyes and multiple sparks of different colors… I could be pushing it, but it could be... Hyper Sonic. Ian Flynn even pitched the idea at one point during development.
I don't think SEGA will do this, but it that happens, then this would be undeniable proof they truly have changed and are serious going forward. From the new audience due to the movies, it would be perfect and insane for the brand.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
Also, while your reading, can anybody find the three hidden Smash Bros references? The first one is in one of the paragraphs just before the battle officially starts, but let's see if you can find the other two on your own. As this is going to be a huge turning point for the series, seeing as now the chaos emeralds will be directly involved, I figured we could have a little fun with it.
AND! If all three references are found, and I see them posted in the comments section, I'll release the second part of this Rating Game the following day instead of waiting (all I have to do is some touch ups). of course if nobody happens to find the other two, I'll let you know what they are next chapter; but you guys are smart, you can obviously figure it out.
From leonsion:
Well, most likely it's a mix between Super Sonic Power Boost
Bakuganman: Most likely, perhaps... I guess we'll find out for sure on the 28th.
Chapter 33 - A little Chaos in a Rating Game, Part 1
It was finally the day… the day of the Rating Game. The entire team had since returned to the clubhouse and were now just awaiting for the Rating Game to officially start. Rias was going over some battle plans again while drinking some of Akeno's tea, the Queen in question was also drinking a cup on one of the sofas. Kiba was on the opposite sofa, the checking one of his swords he just created (probably making sure his ability was in tip-top shape), and Koneko was putting on gloves while sitting next to Akeno. Finally Issei and Asia were sitting together with Kiba, mainly cause Asia self-admitted sitting near Issei was calming, while Sonic was standing nearby doing leg stretches.
Everyone was fully confident, but also a little nervous on the inside. This was the first Rating Game for each of them, and even Sonic wasn't exactly sure how this was gonna play out, but as long as they stuck together then there was no problem, right? With his speed and the teams magic, they'll fry Riser into a giant Fried Rotisserie Chicken in no time flat!
*creak*
The door to the office opened, getting the attention of the ORC. At first they assumed it was Grayfia about the game as time was just about up, but much to their surprise, it was actually a different yet still familiar face…
"Sorry to intrude without calling first." Sona said calmly and professionally, only coming partially into the office with her Queen Tsubaki.
"No, that's okay. Please do come in." Said Rias. Even though she portrayed professionalism, deep down, she was a little nervous. Seeing Sona, her close friend just before a big battle to determine her future, was actually a refreshing feeling. With the invitation, Sona and Tsubaki walked inside further.
Of course around this point, Sonic stopped his leg stretches. "Didn't that lady say other devils can't join us because of a conflict of interest?" He asked, rather rhetorically as he remembered that day really well.
"That would be a conflict of interest, considering I'm of the Sitri House. I'll also be watching the live broadcast." Sona confirmed.
"Live broadcast? So, we're gonna be on TV?" Issei asked, as he was not aware of this. If this was on TV, would that mean his family would see him too? Trying to explain how he ended up befriending an alien Hedgehog would be bad enough, but now they'd see him possibly get hurt and use magic? It made him a bit nervous.
"Not exactly." Rias said with a smile, and was probably thinking of teasing him (and maybe Sonic just to get and see his reaction), but decided against it. "It's live, but on private networks on magical frequencies, so it's not like your parents or any human can watch our performance."
"And besides, it's her first Rating Game. I wouldn't miss it for the world." Sona added.
"Well, I promise I'll do everything in my power to give it the Gremory flare and make it interesting just for you." Rias said. As she did say this, Sona couldn't help but do 2 things:
1) Glance at Sonic for a second. From what she's seen what the little guy was capable of, his addition would DEFINITELY make things interesting.
And 2) ... flashback to that footage she witnessed during Riser's last game. Even with Sonic, could they really pull this off? Especially against someone of Riser's stature?
If it was possible, Sona would help in a heartbeat. Her and her own peerage.
A 3rd thing happened, which was Grayfia's magic circle spawning in the room and arising from it. She still had the same neutral and unreadable expression on her face, making it impossible for the teens to tell how she felt about all this. If she could say one thing, is that she hoped the additional 10 days was enough... or at the very least, slightly exceed expectations, and last maybe a minute longer than the higher ups expected her team too.
"It's almost time, Lady Rias." Was the only thing she said. Oddly enough, the circle she was standing on was still below her feet.
"And we're ready." Rias said, letting Grayfia know she and her team was all set to go.
"The prepared battlefield is having some last minute finishing touches done on it. Once I'm notified of its completion, we will use my magic circle to transport all of you there." Grayfia said.
"So, where exactly are we going to be fighting? In an arena or something?" Issei asked.
Sonic shrugged. "Maybe on a giant chess board in a British school for witchcraft?"
Both Issei and Asia looked at sonic for his answer, but gave two different reactions. Asia's reaction was interest at the reference, while Issei's was unamused like asking: 'bro, really?'
"Not exactly." Akeno said, finding Sonic's answer amusing. "It's in an alternate space created just for us. because it won't be in the real world, we have the all clear to do some damage. We could even blow the whole thing up if we want." She added, her facial expression showing glee at the mere prospect, along with her sensational giggling.
Sonic, Issei and Asia couldn't help but sweatdrop from the Queen's answer. She seemed to like the idea a little too much...
"Me and Tsubaki will be in the student council conference room watching the game. Good luck, Rias." Said Sona, then when she began to turn to leave, she looked at Sonic. "And you too, Sonic."
Sonic flashed the Sitri Devils his signature grin. "Heh. We'll pluck their tail feathers and be back by lunchtime." He said confidently, and also giving them a thumbs up with a wink.
Sona couldn't help but give a small smile back. However, right when she and her own Queen were about to walk out, she then had a thought about that strange item she saw Riser use from the last Rating Game that was recorded of him, along with what Rias said during the dodgeball contest they had:
"Apparently he brought himself here by infinite power split into 7 Emeralds or something. It's ridiculous!"
As Rias' words echoed in her mind, along with the image of Riser using an Emerald-like object, Sona stopped and turned back again to face Rias. Since the Rating Game didn't start, she still had time!
Sona: Rias? Before y…
Right as Sona was about to say what was on her mind, a small circle of magic appeared on Grayfia's right ear which got her attention. "The preparation's are complete. Your arena is ready." Said the Ultimate Queen, the symbol on her ear vanishing a few seconds after. "Also, I just received word that the Great Devil Lucifer will be watching your game."
"… oh. Big Brother…" Rias said in a not-so enthusiastic tone. "… Let's get going then." She then added, shaking off whatever she was feeling, but it didn't escape Sonic's or Issei's notice. This just added more context as to why she wanted out of this marriage. The fact that she was the younger sister of the king himself gave her a high social status. Her looks and body type were mainly added bonuses to whomever was lucky enough to have her hand in said marriage.
Sonic and Issei couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
As it was time for the game to start, the entire peerage of Rias stepped onto Grayfia's magic circle as they began to teleport to the battle location. One by one, each member vanished in particles of light, with Sona and Tsubaki only able to watch. Seeing as there was nothing they could do, they headed back to the conference room so they can probably try to catch the live broadcast.
Sona was only a few seconds too late to warn them… she hoped they'd pull through…
XXX
When the ORC finished the teleportation… huh? They were still in the office? Did the magic fail or something? But then if it did, then where did Grayfia and the 2 Sitris' go? They were still in the office before.
"Did the magic circle break?" Asia asked, but then they heard Grayfia's voice, sounding like it was coming from a loudspeaker, which was impossible as the clubhouse didn't have any speakers connected inside of it.
"Good evening, everyone. My name is Grayfia, servant of the house or Gremory, and I'll be the referee during today's match." No, she wasn't talking to them; it sounded more like what a news or sports anchor would say when referring to their audience.
Confirming this wad the fact that Sona and Tsubaki were shown, watching several magic floating screens in a conference room, most likely this very Rating Game.
"This match will be taking place in an exact replica of Kuoh Academy, a school in the human world. After taking suggestions from both families, this was decided to be the most fair arena." Grayfia kept explaining to her possible viewers (and maybe a little bit to the groups participating).
"Uh, what's that all mean?" Issei asked, understanding they must have DID in fact teleported... it's just where is what he was still struggling to understand. Asia was the same way. Sonic has an idea what it meant, as this wasn't his first rodeo.
"Take a peek outside." Rias said. When Issei did and Asia and Sonic followed out of curiosity, he had to open a window...
Up above in the sky was a very strange aurora-like effect in the color of green, but it looked even closer than actual aurora would. That wouldn't be proof enough... it was the fact there was nothing ELSE in the sky whatsoever! Not a single cloud, star, or even the moon or sun! You could even HEAR; the aurora twist and turn as its lights danced in the now green sky!
"The sky!" Asia said, surprised by this view.
"Yup. This is an alternate space." Kiba said.
"Like I said, this isn't Kuoh anymore. This space was created by magic specifically for our game." Akeno said.
"This is totally a 'I just peed my pants' moment right now..." Issei said, he and Asia eyes still glued to the sky. While Sonic was too, he lost interest and turned away. "Bro! How are you so calm?!" Issei asked, questioning how Sonic was taking this so well.
The Hedgehog gave a single shrug. "Ya seen one Subspace, ya seen 'em all..."
Grayfia then continued with her explanation. "Each team has been given a location to serve as their Home Base. For Lady Rias, her own Occult Research Clubhouse. As for Lord Riser, he has been placed in the Principal's Office on the other side of the campus. As their ability entails, Pawns that happen to make it to the opposing base will be allowed to Promote the very second they step foot into it. The Rating Game is officially on. Good luck to all."
With announcement concluded, she went silent. The Rating Game had begun.
"Alright, let's say we fight our way to the deans den right from the jump. Then I can promote to something awesome and we can beat the crap out of Lord Douche-Nozzle!" Issei said, suddenly having a huge confidence jump as this entire alternative space was familiar territory for them, being the very school they go to. He's been over every inch of Kuoh Academy, and so was Sonic when he first met the ORC when he took them on a wild Hedgehog chase. This sounded like it would be pretty easy.
There were also rumors the principal had some sweet 4K anime videos in his office as well, so maybe Issei could get lucky?
"That's cute, if you want to get your ass handed to you and roasted on a silver platter." Akeno said without any hesitation.
"We gotta play this smart. Riser would obviously expect a frontal assault, plus he has a larger force and is a Rating Game Veteran." Kiba said.
"True, but Issei had the right idea." Rias said, agreeing with Issei oddly enough. "Like it or not, we are gonna have to fight our way to him eventually; but like chess, Pawns are moved first to promote them to something else or make room for the stronger pieces. We can use that as an opportunity to weaken his plays."
"Don't horses usually jump over them?" Sonic couldn't help but crack a small joke, which Kiba did smile at, and even Rias did while also lightly elbowing Sonic himself. Seriously, those two had gotten real close during the last 24 hours, as if they didn't cause an explosion of energy into middle of a Gremory private property.
Koneko then tapped Sonic's shoulder and handed him something. It looked like a pebble, only it was a reddish-pink color. "Oh, thanks?" Sonic said, more of a question than an answer, as he had no idea what this was about but took the pebble anyway as Koneko then did this with everyone else including herself. What completely took the hedgehog by surprise was the fact that exactly 3 seconds after it was handed to him, it glowed and floated into his ear. Not understanding what it was, he yelped and trying digging into his ear with his finger to try and get it out to no avail.
"Relax. These will help us stay in touch in both the Rating Game, and even in the real world. Think of them as a built-in walkie-talkie." Rias explained, smiling at Sonic's silly reaction before letting her own 'walkie-talkie' float into her ear.
"Oh, cool. Super Secret Agent type shit." Issei said, he and Asia inserting their own into their ears.
"Just place your hand over your ear and think who you want to speak to, the magic will do the rest." Rias explained further. Sonic, curious about this, quickly tried it himself by placing his hand over the ear the magic orb flew into. Sure enough, a small magic circle similar to the many he's seen in use through his time in this dimension.
"Aw, sweet! And I don't need a ring or a sword this time!" He said, lowering his hand away from his ear to shut the magic off, then continued to reactivate it a few more times. This wasn't like the communicators he had back in Mobius, but this felt just as cool.
XXX
Quickly checking in on Riser for a second, he was sitting at the principal's desk, his legs up upon it and crossed without a care in the world. Most of his peerage was cozying up to him, him in the middle of a several cute and/or or attractive women.
"After we win yet again, Daddy Riser, I should probably receive a reward…" said one of his servants, clearly having certain intentions.
"And who says you'd be the only one who'd get one?" Asked another servant.
"Actually, maybe I can touch the magic crystal again?" Asked a third servant, moseying her way into both the conversation and the group activity.
"Dream on! If anyone's gonna try the crystal again, it should be me!" Said a fourth.
Riser merely chuckled at this. "Ladies, ladies… they'll be plenty of time to play with our little toy later…" he said, gently clasping the necklace under her shirt, which was also giving off a faint glow. "Those idiots have no idea what power they're about to experience… in fact, I don't even think they're even worthy of witnessing it for themselves." He continued, which most of his peerage (save for Ravel who didn't look willing to be here at all) seemed disappointed by.
"This Rating Game won't take long, so simply put them in their place, force them into submission… show my blushing bride to be that she can't escape her fate forever. Anything else would be pointless.
XXX
Back with the ORC, they were formulating a plan of attack, looking over a map of the whole school. Alternate space or not, it still was their school.
"Okay, if cutting through the front isn't an option, how about circle around the back?" This was probably the third or fourth suggestion Sonic had made, all quick tactics. They weren't bad per say, just not ideal with the current situation.
"Both are quick and you could probably pull it off easily enough, but that's the most obvious maneuver. Riser probably already has some sort of defense for that by now, most likely a group of Knights and Rooks." Rias said, not necessarily disagreeing with Sonic, but just using logic to point out the flaws of it. Plus seeing Sonic wasn't able to knock Koneko down who was a Rook herself, while he could very easily outrun a Knight as shown with Kiba, he'll probably have some trouble with both types.
Additionally, he and Issei were her trump cards… too valuable to lose this early on.
"This doesn't leave us with many choices." Akeno said.
"What about the gym?" Kiba said, then pointed to it on the map. It's not far from either base."
"That's not a bad play. Whomever can secure that location in the middle of the battlefield is going to have a huge territorial advantage." Akeno then agreed with Kiba and so did everyone else. As he said, it was smack-dab in the middle of the board, which meant to could provide a big leg up depending on who locks it down first.
"All this talk about fightings just making me nervous…" said Asia in a low tone that only Sonic and Issei picked up on.
"Don't worry about it. If we stick together, we'll be fine." Issei said to her reassuringly, which did get her to calm down.
"Alright, before we do that, we'll need to secure a defensive perimeter should things go south. Koneko, you and Kiba get out around the woods of the clubhouse and lay some traps." Rias gave her first order. "Akeno, your allusion magic will come in handy with those traps, so go along and help them out." Both commands were followed without any hesitation. In fact, those same 3 Devils even summoned their Familiars to set them up quicker as they left.
"What about the rest of us? Anything we can do?" Issei felt the need to ask.
Rias took a second before she answered. "… to be honest, Issei; you and Sonic are my trump cards in this game. It'd be foolish of me to send you out into battle so soon." She said. "And as for Asia, she's my healing support. If we lose her, considering Phenex's own regenerative abilities, we'd be in at a severe disadvantage than we already are. So just for now, you 3 have to stay close to base."
Rias then sat on of the sofas, and began to relax a little… poor girl was obviously still under a bit of stress. This was it. The moment that would decide her future, where if she wins, then she's truly free… of course, if she loses…
"Actually Issei, there is one favor you can do for me." Rias then said.
"Sure. Anything." Issei said, prepared to do anything she asked of him.
With a warm smile, she tapped one of her thighs. "Put your head in my lap."
As you can probably imagine, this was one of the things the trio did not expect her to ask, and just stared at her questioningly wondering if they heard her correctly. When Issei made no moves to follow through with the request, she patted her lap again, showing she was serious.
"Uh, as cool as that sounds Rias; I'm trying to actually focus on the game, so if I do th-…" Issei tried to explain, showing he was going to put his perverted nature aside for the sake of the task.
"Will you get over here?" She interrupted him, not exactly ordering him, but instead just looked at him with a face that said 'Bro, I'm letting you rest your head on my thighs' and that it was the most obvious thing he should be doing right now.
Issei eventually gave in, and did as she asked, laying on the same sofa. She was sitting on, positioning, his head right on her lap... he was in heaven, if Devils could ever do that.
"Rias... I want you to know if I die again, I can die a happy man." He said in a cracked tone, tears of joy streaming down his face.
"What is with you? Why on earth are you crying?" Rias asked with a soft chuckle and smile on her face.
"I'm so overwhelmed by you actually letting me lie my head up in your business! This is up there with the top 10 best moments of my life! The nicest thing anyone's ever done for me!" Issei said, continuing to cry in happiness.
"Your such a little drama queen..." Rias said while she looked down at the boy in her lap.
Asia and Sonic had both taken seats on the other sofa to watch them, seeing as there wasn't much they could do about it. Asia looked jealous at this, and while Sonic wasn't exactly a fan of this either, he understood what exactly Rias was doing. She clearly has a liking to the perverted dragon boy, and while he wasn't sure it was love or anything, she obviously DID find humor in Issei's antics. The small chuckle she gave the moment he laid in her lap, the amount of times she'd allow and even offer to see her naked, that smile on her face right now...
This wasn't just for Issei... it was for her too... a way to calm herself for the big battle ahead. In a twisted way, it was very therapeutic for the curvy redheaded Devil.
XXX
Once Koneko, Kiba, and Akeno gave the word the traps were set; Rias sent Koneko and Issei to the gym to try and secure it.
"So once you two are inside the gymnasium, there's no way you can avoid a direct confrontation," Rias told him and her via the communicator symbol, with Asia and Sonic across from her on the other sofa. "Kiba, Akeno? You both on standby?"
Kiba: In position.
Akeno: You can count on me, girl.
"Alright, team. Let's go to work!" Rias said, finally initiating their game plan and putting it into action. When she gave the order and the team was spanning out across the broad, she looked at Sonic and Asia before her. Asia still looked a bit nervous, which was perfectly understandable, but Sonic looked a bit antsy. No, not because he was nervous. It was because he was literally sitting around doing nothing. He'd obviously much rather be out there running around...
Wait... that was it! That was a move even an experienced veteran like Riser would never see coming! Why didn't she think of that before?!
"Kiba? You still there?" Rias asked back into the magic in her ear.
"Not exactly going anywhere else right now." Kiba's voice said back.
"Good. Would you mind picking up Sonic for a second? Show him where the traps are?" Rias asked, which did get both Asia's and Sonic's attention. She then hung up, which left Kiba's answer unclear as Sonic's and Asia's communication circles were not active.
"Didn't you say you needed me close?" Sonic asked.
"Yes..." Rias' only response to that was a smile. "But I have a special job for you..."
XXX
3 of Riser's Pawns were eventually dispatched to the wooded area surrounding the clubhouse. As teleporting with magic circles to the home base of another player was obviously banned from tournament play as it was unfair, not to mention the point of a Rating Game was to move across the battlefield like chess pieces anyway. They did use magic to get here mind you, being able to travel in beams of light; but since it wasn't teleportation magic and only physical movement, it didn't violate any rules.
These Pawns were named Bülent, Marion (both in French Maid outfits except the former's exposes her cleavage), and Shuriya who was the most revealing of the three. She was in a bikini made up of a metallic underwire brassier and a silk loincloth that exposes her sides. She also wears neck and ear rings with a ruby and blue gems respectively.
What was odd was... what was with all the fog?
"Damn, even with my Devil vision, I can barely see through this fog." Said Bülent.
"So when we break into their home base, I'm gonna calling the Queen form this..." Shuriya was saying, that's when a strong wind blew past them for a moment, disrupting them for a second. They didn't have time to comment on the sudden breeze however, as a magic circle glowed in a dark corner of the woods and shot out magic at the trio, which they all dodged very easily. "Seriously? Those Gremorys really think such obvious traps like that would catch us?" She added, cockily.
"And she's supposed to be the next head of their house, and Riser's wife? She's even dumber than she looks." Said Bülent.
"What should we have expected from a Rating Game virgin? She has no field experience whatsoever." Said Marion. The trio continued to evade, and even disable, trap after trap as they scoured the woods for the ORC clubhouse for several minutes.
"Honestly, this is just getting sad." Said Bülent after disabling yet another trap.
"Where the hell is their home base at? It feels like we're walking in circles!" Said Marion. Just then, they all heard footsteps approach them and they took a battle position, only to see only one person was walking up to them from within the fog.
More accurately. A smiling Hedgehog.
"Oh, it's just their class pet." Marion continued from before, her guard now lowering. While yes, she and Riser's peerage had experienced his speed on display at one point; as long as they kept an eye on him, he couldn't try or succeed in any funny business, right?
"Shouldn't he be on a leash or something?" Asked Bülent, making a taunt.
"I don't know, guys. He is a bit sharp-looking. And while I'm not into Yokais' myself, he does have big beautiful eyes." Said Shuriya, who was either flirting or taunting Sonic (or maybe both).
"Flattered Ladies, but I'm a Hedgehog, not a lapdog." Sonic responded back in kind, his smile still apparent. "But I did promise a friend we'd win, and that's exactly what we plan to do."
"Your not considering taking 3 of us on by yourself, are you?" Asked Bülent.
"We get your fast Blue Boy, but I highly doubt even you can defeat 3 of us by yourself." Said Shuriya, her and her fellow Pawns doubtful of Sonic being able to strike them all down regardless of how fast he might be.
Sonic's smile got a bit wider. Whether or not he could defeat them was irrelevant... that wasn't the plan. He lifted up one of his fists, which the Pawns did take as a possible threat and took battle stances, then Sonic opened the hand and...
A ring? An earring actually, which was wrapped around his finger. The Pawns cocked their eyebrows, very confused... until all 3 of them gaped. Shuriya herself felt one of her ears and sure enough, she was missing one as Sonic began playfully spinning it around his finger. The Phenex Pawns also realized something else: this was an alternate space... a space artificially created... this fog and wind they felt before, weather shouldn't exist in a space that wasn't real. The fog could be explained by magic, but that rush of wind earlier must have been...
"... Give that back to her." Marion warned.
(AN: Optional music - White Jungle)
Sonic's smile turned into a grin and he finally stopped spinning the ring around his finger, but still clasped his hand back over it, not taking his eyes off them...
ZOOOOM!
He dashed into the woods without another word.
"GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE RAT!" Shuriya yelled, and her and her fellow Pawns flashed off in bright lights again after Sonic, chasing him down for her stolen earring.
Sonic dashed down further into the woods with the Pawn trio some distance behind him. Could he outrun them? Yes, but that also wasn't part of the plan either. For now, he kept at a speed that was only slightly faster than the trio so they could still keep an eye on him. As he did, he jumped on and off from tree to tree, just like he did when he first meet the ORC, only this time offensive type magic was being thrown at him. While this didn't cause any explosions from contact with anything, he wasn't gonna let himself be struck either.
Also like when he first met Rias and the others, he sped up off into the distance but this didn't stay that way for long, as before the Pawns could react, he was already charging back at them (most likely from making a u-turn from up ahead).
"Excuse me, pardon me, gotta go!" He said jokingly, bouncing off of each girl with Homing Dash, then Jump Dashing off the final girl before taking off in the other direction. The trio didn't take kindly to this, and after growling a bit, they to took off after him.
Surprisingly while Sonic ran, the Pawns in their light forms managed to catch up with 2 lights on Sonic's right and 1 light on his left. Before he had a chance to speed up, these lights then attempted to ram into him. Obviously he wasn't going to allow that; so he would Quick Step left, Quick Step right, boost a little forward and backward, even slide along the ground and jump off trees again to avoid getting hit; any trees that did get rammed into snapped in half. Either these Pawns were that fast (could also be due to their aggravation) or Sonic held back his speed a little too much.
Either way, he picked up the pace some more and made a turn to the left, the Pawns light forms following right behind him.
He ran down a certain path which seemed out his way, but when he did, a section of the ground he ran over glowed with a Gremory magic circle...
FLOOOOOOSH!
"WOAH!" One or maybe all 3 of the Pawns said (Sonic really wasn't paying attention), then they quickly altered course to evade the large pillar of Destruction magic before continuing to give chase. Literally at the exact same time, Sonic jumped up and swung off a branch, which triggered another circle on the tree itself...
*CRACK!*
The tree magically gained cracks on one side, and like a lumberjack, chopping it down, the tree began to fall in the opposite direction. More specifically, towards the incoming Pawns! This actually happened to several trees in a prefect straight line, forcing the Pawns to evade more. If that wasn't enough, Sonic stuck his hand out seemingly randomly, but this triggered yet another trap this was in midair and it fired bolts of magic. These bolts did even up hitting the Pawns but although slightly damaged by this, they persisted onward.
Sonic had to admit, this was probably the best and funnest idea Rias had. Obviously experienced players aren't gonna fall or be stupid enough to trigger the traps themselves, but Rias had Sonic deliberately run over them so they would trigger since they were so focused on Sonic, increasing the likelihood of them being struck and/or outright triggering them themselves. It was pure genius.
Sonic continued to forcefully trigger every trap he could that was set until he figured it was enough of this wild goose chase. Making a hard right in one direction, the lights of the Pawns continued to follow him. When he lead them to a certain spot, he threw the ring back towards them, which did strike the owners light form and cause her to exit it. The other 2 stopping to help their fellow Pawn.
(AN: end music.)
"Owwww... annoying blue canine..." said Shuriya, reapplying her earring back to its rightful place. "Where'd he go?"
"He ran off somewhere, but don't worry about it. It was a huge waste of our time. We still need to find the Gremory's home base." Said Marion, deciding to ignore the Hedgehog and get back the their task.
Bülent happened to look in ahead and noticed a building just a little bit ahead. "Isn't that it right there?" She asked and it appeared to be that way. They couldn't believe it! That stupid hedgehog actually lead them right to his own base! And once they get inside, they could also promote themselves to get stronger.
As they did approach it, like a mirage in a desert, it faded away... it was an illusion. Not the real clubhouse at all. Not only did Sonic drag them around, he lead them to a clearing with a fake location!
A whistle then got their attention, and they saw Sonic standing behind them just before the wooded area with a grin. Before they could attack him (or run at him), he... knocked on an invisible wall?... Wait a minute!
As Shuriya was a decent bit annoyed with him, she was the one to shot a small magical shot at him, but it didn't even work as the wall just absorbed it. The camera zoomed out to reveal this entire clearing had a large magic circle over it, and the Pawns were now trapped in it! Sonic lead them here to an illusion generated by Akeno's magic, only to be further lead into a large magic circle that the Pawns' magic could not crack.
"MMMMWAAAAH! See ya!" After blowing them a mocking kiss, Sonic dashed off back into the woods, the Pawns having no way of pursuing him.
"Dammit. We walked right into that one." Bülent said.
"*sigh* If we had Riser's magic crystal..." said Marion, but she didn't get to finish her sentence as someone else joined them.
"Hello, ladies." Said Kiba, from behind them in the other direction. "You seem lost. Club rooms the other way." He joked.
XXX
After Sonic got some distance away from the trapped Pawns', he phoned Rias. "Stage The Forest Act 9 is now complete." Sonic told her jokingly.
"Great job. Kiba can take care of the rest. Mind checking on Koneko and Issei for me? Then head back here if everything's alright." Rias said, feeling good everything was going according to plan so far.
"You got it, President." Sonic said to her, then hung up and dashed off again, heading to the gym to check on Issei and Koneko. This game still had a long ways to go, but it appeared everything was going right on track. If they kept this up, Riser's team would be finished in no time!