Can we stop complaining as a fan base for more than five seconds? First, we complained about the music, now we're complaining about Black Doom's final form in Sonic/Shadow gens being revealed?... I fail to see the problem. Perfect Chaos was revealed In Adventure's opening, so was Dark Gaia (maybe not his perfect form but still), so was Devil Doom to a degree. I think SEGA are holding back bigger surprises for us, they just doing this on purpose for the sake of marketing and hype. It's clearly working.
That Metal Overlord fight though... that's a hot dish. Can't wait to eat it. Especially that Sonic Central 2024 stream and everything in it, including all the teasers after it. Those are all delicious appetizers, not gonna lie... Then the Dark Beginnings happened, and I screamed. Where was that when i was a kid?! Going back to Black Doom's new form, let's call him "Doom Eater" for now, I have a small theory... remember when he said in the radical highway segment "my greatest creation?"... what if the Time Eater is that creation the whole time? Both stories are happening simultaneously after all, that was confirmed. Just a thought I had, and I don't have much evidence right now... maybe I'll make a video on it.
I also nearly cried for Shadow during the shuttle scene of Dark Beginnings... that was beautiful cinematography. I may have to find a way to put SonicXShadow gens in the story, probably a spin off if anyones open to that.
(NOTE: Up until the last break of the script (the XXX's); the viewings for Dark Beginnings, Sonic Central 2024 and the Sonic 3 trailer had not released at the time of writing this. So, if you see any references before then to those projects, it's crazy how I predicted it.)
weavile101:
keep up the good work they are getting good also can you make a chapters a little longer like 9000 words.
Bakuganman: I will try to make them longer, but I'm also not one of those writers that just add more words just to hit a word quota. Now, if you're talking about building suspense for a climax or world building, then fine. Makes sense to me. This chapter is a little over 8000, hopefully that's enough
Guest
Tengo que decirlo este capítulo para ser una entrada después de tanto tiempo está bien tiene su parte de Sonic y dxd bien puesta y organizada tengo que decirlo por ahora es estupendo veamos cómo avanza
Guest
el capitulo puede esperar enserio lo importante este vida que tengas un buen dia
Bakuganman: gracias.
BitesTheDust22122
Hi just finished catching up. While I wasn't initially a fan of Sonic being a bit under powered the results have been great so far with fun boss fights.
How many of Sonics friends do you plan to include?
And will Silver appear again? Even for a small moment?
Bakuganman: When I first started this, the original roster was going to be Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Silver, Amy, Shadow, Rouge and Omega in that order. I'm debating on the Chaotix for comic relief, but not sure if that'll ever happen. Silver actually has a role to play in the Holy Sword Arc, but we'll get to that in a bit (you're also the only person that seemed to notice him lol). As for more of Sonic's friends, Shadow's obviously another Hedgehog that's gonna show up, and once I get Amy in the story, we can start the Frontiers arc, which takes place between the first half of this season and the other half just before the Vali Boss fight.
Mob.k
Just finished binge-reading this and damn this is one of the best fanfics I read in a while didn't even know Sonic n DXD can go together just have one. Question though what happened to the hedgehog that Asia saved was that supposed to be Silver since a white hedgehog was mentioned?
Bakuganman: Refer to the last response above for the Silver portion of your question; and glad you enjoyed it that much.
Season 2, Chapter 3 - Chaos in the Knight
KLANG!
The dull clanging of metal reverberated through the azure sky, and a baseball flew through that same sky before gravity began to take hold and pull it back to earth. Issei, a glove on his hand, ended up promptly catching it after needing to back up a bit.
"Nice catch, Issei." Rias said in a gym uniform after putting the bat down she used to hit the ball, giving a thumbs up with her free hand. Currently, everyone was also in gym clothes and were playing a game of baseball out in the back courtyard of the old school building, the clubhouse, in a section of land that wasn't overgrown by trees and not allot of grass... ironically, this was the exact same spot that Akeno did that illusion magic trick during the Rating Game with Riser to fool his Pawns.
Why were they playing baseball and not doing Devil work? That's because Kuoh Academy's "Ball Tournament" was coming up next week, being one of the biggest events the school holds. Soccer, baseball, football, Kickball, tennis... fuck, even foosball... if I had a ball in it, there was gonna be a competition for it. Every single club was going to be involved in such an event... including Sitri's. So as far as Rias was concerned, and due to her highly competitive spirit, this WAS a Devils job.
The thing was... it was towards the end of the day, and Issei was a morning trainer, haven't gotten so used to that when he first started out in the ORC. It was draining, having to listen to same teachers lecture him every day, nearly the exact same lessons, the gym classes they had to do in the morning anyway and on top of that trying to get contracts; it would leave the poor Pawn wiped. From all that work and moving around, the only reason Issei believes he's still alive after all that is due to his now Demonic stamina.
Koneko was next who, to no one's surprise, smacked a home run without looking like she really tried (she didn't bother running around the bases either). Asia was after Koneko, but wasn't the most athletic, so she had trouble both hitting and catching a ball. In fact when she swung another time while trying harder, and of course missed, her entire body spun around a few times before she tripped over herself.
"Bottom of the 9th, tie score. And exactly who you want at the plate with the game on the line - Issei!" Sonic said as Issei was the next to bat, being behind Issei as the umpire, and even wearing the appropriate gear... at least, only for a moment as he wizzed by and was then a few feet in front of Issei as the pitcher, having changed his getup to match. "BUT! Staring him down from the pitcher's mound is the most fearsome southpaw in Kuoh Town - Sonic!"
Sonic then dashed off out the field a tiny bit, standing by Asia, and began straightening out his cap before he slapped his face a few times and did some armpit farts.
"Aim for the guy on the left!" Sonic said, getting a giggle from Asia due to his antics, then played 'the guy in the left' by going outfield and blowing a bubble of bubble gum next to Koneko, who just glanced at him like he was being an idiot (which he kinda was admittedly) even as he purposefully popped it on his own muzzle.
"Ugh, I can't with these guys..." Sonic groaned, still in character, only now next to Tails who also had his own glove and cap. He of course smiled at Sonic's antics as well. Even here, Sonic wasn't done with the joke, and dashed next to Rias, now appearing in a coach costume.
"Hey! Focus out there! Ya Space Cases!" Coach Sonic yelled at his team of Sonic's, then sighed. "And these guys want to play in the regionals..." Rias admittedly thought this was cute, so she was smiling at his performance.
Sonic, now back as pitcher, threw the ball at Issei and the kid did manage to hit it pretty hard. No, not Koneko levels of hard, but it went a pretty good distance both up and out. It was actually going for Kiba, which being the second fastest after Sonic himself (least when Issei wasn't in his Balance Break), no one tried to go to his space, thinking it was a piece of cake and a no brainer...
BONK!
Kiba however, I just stood there like an idiot and the ball smacked him on the head, lost in his own little world. So lost in fact, the ball actually hitting him didn't even register to him until Issei called his name.
"Yo! Kiba! Get a hold of yourself!" Issei yelled at him to get the Knight's attention, who looked in Issei's direction with a puzzled expression, but it only lasted a second when he realized the reason why when he also noted the ball at his feet.
"... ah. Sorry. Wasn't paying attention." He sincerely apologized, then picked up the ball and threw it back to Sonic.
Now everyone kinda just brushed this off as a one-off as he was now focused so the practicing recommenced, but this wasn't the only time this happened. Even during discussions in the Occult Research Club, he would look somewhere else and not participate. Issei even heard that it became a hot topic in his classroom, "a prince lost in his thoughts" girls would say, being worried over his expression. This guy was always smiling so this was rather unexpected, the prince with such a serious expression nearly every day. It wasn't like him.
XXX
The following night, Issei got called for a contract, but it wasn't his usual customers. It was actually in a upper class location, and wanting to keep his promise about getting first place in the contest of contracts, he figured what better way than to prove he was serious than get such one from a high ranking costumer. Of course, due to his internal magic still being too weak for transportation with someone going with him on the journey (which Rias could only get away with that one time), he had to resort to his bike once again.
When he got to the location, he wasn't too surprised it was in a luxury suite hotel, called the Village Amazon. What did catch him off guard was the moment he tried knocking the first time to announce his presence to the client behind the door, his left arm started acting up again just like before and he recoiled a bit while grabbing his arm. Again, it wasn't painful, but this particular pulse in his arm felt like something was trying to bust out. In fact, this had been going on for the past 2 days at this point, including during practice for the Ball Tournament, to the extent when Asia saw he was in pain and offered her Twilight Healing to help Issei out; but it only had a temporary effect and the pain would bounce back some time later a bit stronger as if making up for lost time.
He shook his arm to shake away the discomfort, then went back to knocking on the door again. This was too important to right now, he'll ask Asia for her healing later. The door opened to reveal a tall man appearing to be in his twenties with an average build, black hair, golden bangs, and black goatee.
'Did someone piss in his hair, or did his stylist use the wrong coloring halfway through?' Issei immediately couldn't help but think to himself, but kept these thoughts to himself for a reason. He was in the middle of a business venture, so it wasn't the time to be a smartass... to the clients face anyway.
"What's up? Your the lucky dude who summoned the devil?" Issei began. "Now, I get what your thinking: 'what kind of Devil uses the front door?' Usually we appear like poof! Out of one of these magic cards your provided, which duh is super bad ass and a hell of allot more cooler and convenient... I'm currently in transition. Sucks to be me, huh?" He explained, even showing Rias' magical card that her peerage usual pops out of, but also making lite of his situation.
"Well, you may as well come in, Devil Boy." Said the client in a cool tone. When Issei did go on, he plopped on an extra soft sofa... it was like he was sitting on a sheep.
"Damn, this place is amazing..." he said, taking a gander around the immediate room he was on. His client left him there for only a moment, coming back with a tray with drinks from a dark hallway, and not the kind for minors.
"Care to drink?" The client asked.
"Oh, no thank you. I'm still underage." Issei said.
"Huh, bummer. Was hoping to have a drink with someone..." the client said as he took a seat on another sofa across from Issei.
"That's it? That's your wish?" Issei asked, not expecting something so... easy, to be honest. Most of his clients ranged from weirdos dressed in sailor moon uniforms, to geeks with way too many hentai mags (and for Issei to think that, you know it's bad).
"What? Too much to ask?" The client asked kindly.
"N-No. Of course not." Issei assured him. "The contract will be formed when I receive fitting compensation in return for your request."
"Well, all I got is whiskey... you okay with tap?" The client asked, to which Issei agreed too and the two carried on for an hour or so. The client would say a few things and Issei would respond, the vice versa would happen which lead to a decent conversation. During said conversation, Issei even told the story about how and why he became a Devil when the client asked, who by the way was half buzzed by this point, focused on the how and began snorting about it.
"Wait-wait-wait; so even after being killed by the same chick, defeating her, and being revived by a full set, your magic is still so weak you can't teleport without your hand held?" Rather crude, but that was pretty much an alternative way to look at Issei's situation.
"Well, kinda..." Issei said.
"That's hilarious!" The client said in-between semi-drunken laughs.
Issei glanced away... humiliating himself, just to get a contract... this is what his life has come too... it was completely demeaning, but if he actually wanted this contract, he had to suck it up. Thankfully, the embarrassment didn't last too much longer as the client had enough after a few more minutes of drinking and laughing at Issei's expense.
"Ahhhh... your a riot, Devil Boy. I think that's enough for the night." Said the client, then smirked. "Guess you want my soul as compensation now, huh?"
"Uh, n-no, that's way too big of a price for just sharing a drink with you." Issei said, aside from the fact according to Rias that's not common for modern Devils. But still... it was really offputting that this guy was readily offering his own soul... maybe he was an alcoholic...
The client eyed Issei for a bit longer. "... I think I got something in the back that'll suit your fancy." He said before he started to get up. Damn, he almost looked sober now... dude can hold his liquor. "Follow me." He said, going down the same darkened hallway. Issei of course, as he was still on the job, followed him... though even this was strange compared to the clients he usually deals with.
They got to what Issei assumed was the dudes bedroom, which the bed looked incredible mind you... yeah, he didn't like where this was going.
"Uh, your not looking to make cupcakes with me, are you?" Issei asked, getting slightly nervous. Could he fight off a human's advances? Most likely he could, but that wasn't the issue he had with this situation. He kinda didn't want to beat up a potential (and hopefully regular) client in self-defense.
"I don't have much of a sweet tooth." The client simply said as he went into a safe nearby the bed. Now on one hand, you could probably say he was giving Issei money (which is not exactly what he was looking for, but who would turn down free money?), but on the other hand Issei couldn't help but think it could be one of those kinky storage units.
What was inside?... Fuzzy cuffs? Beads? Rings? Those sexy costumes with entrance holes?! While Issei's imagination was running insane, he heard the clicking sound of the safe opening, and when the man stood up...
...
...
Something red... and shiny...
"..." Issei had no response... this can't be real. This, this is a joke, right? Of ALL things to be paid with... "... an emerl...?" he started to mutter.
"There a problem?" Asked the man kindly, holding a red gemstone in his hand that Issei immediately felt was different based on how it supernaturally glowed in the dimmed room.
"Uh, n-no! It's very generous of you..." Issei said, his brain going miles a minute, trying to process what was happening 6 feet before him and also taking it... there was no doubt. Issei could feel the familiar energy from this close even before actually touching it, touching it just confirmed it... and being pummeled via its power during a game of chess isn't something you tend to forget.
His payment... was a Chaos Emerald.
He could not believe his luck! No wonder Sonic hadn't found any since that robot Rias chased down, this human had one locked in a safe the whole time! What were the odds of the millions of people in this town, Issei would be the one to not only met him, but share a drink with the guy who found one of his friends Rainbow Rocks?!
"I know, it's a bit expensive, but I've got nothing else to pay you with at the moment." The man said.
"Oh sir, you have no idea..." Issei said, still completely flabbergasted of this turn of events, his eyes still glued to the red gemstone... that's 4 down already. They were now halfway there, only that much closer to getting Sonic and his little brother back home.
The man then shrugged. "If it's not enough, there's always my soul..."
Issei: No thanks! I'm good!
XXX
Issei did make his way back to the ORC by bike, as not only was it policy to report in, but also show off what he received.
"Damn, that dude was crazy, giving up a Chaos Emerald so easily... did he not realize what it can do?" Issei thought out loud as he rode his bike down the path. It was a good question. By Sonic's stories about the Emeralds, they changed thoughts into power or something along those lines, and could cause corruption in a person as they saw with Riser if used improperly. Could the cilent just not sense its power?
"Eh, who cares? That's 4 Emeralds down and an official contract signed!... i'm gonna be Harem King of the world!" Issei added, speeding up. When he finally got back to the clubhouse, just before going in, he took out the red Chaos Emerald to take a look at it... seriously, this Emerald was gorgeous. To think such an object, if misused, could get someone seriously hurt, but it could also do so much good in the right hands.
"... only 3 more left..." Issei said, putting it away. He felt proud to finally be so close to getting one of his now closest yet fastest made friend home... but why'd he also feel slightly empty? He shook the latter feeling off rather quickly, feeling more excited to show off the spoils of his endeavors.
The rest of the ORC happened to be in the main office, using the cover of the night and lack of humans to show Tails around the clubhouse and some of campus while Issei was out, and were just relaxing as Issei came in... Kiba actually wasnt here for some reason, which was odd as he's usually the first one to these meetings.
"So... how'd it go?" Akeno asked in a teasing tone while sitting on a sofa, thinking Issei didn't get a pact signed like he usually does. They probably didn't noticed the energy of the Chaos Emerald yet... good. Issei was hoping for a blind reaction.
All he did was pull the Chaos Emerald out, and immediately got a reaction.
"Shut up!" Akeno immediately darted up from her seat, walking over to quickly check if her eyes deceived her. Everyone else followed suit, just as shocked as she was, though Rias lagged behind a bit and showed some hesitation, which considering how the Emeralds seemed to react to her... "You found one?!"
"More like it found me." Issei said. "Was called late for a contract, I actually asked and made sure i got a pact, and..." Issei let that hang in the air, but the entire group slowly understood what he was saying. The Chaos Emerald was the payment for Issei's services... kinda odd how anyone would just give it away though...
"Most valuable pact of the month, hands down." Sonic said. Frankly, the group couldn't agree more. Issei's first pact of this month, even if he does end up dead last again in official documentation, was more valuable than 1000 pacts. They were so close now! There was only 3 left out there to find! They just needed no screw ups until then, and Sonic and Tails are home free!
SLAM!
Kiba: Sorry I'm la...!
CRASH!
"GAH!"
It happened rather fast, but Kiba came rushing in and knocked into Issei, also knocking them both down. In fact it happened so quickly, that the force Kiba crashed into Issei caused the Chaos Emerald to go flying. From the Emerald's point of view; it flew past Akeno, Asia, Sonic, Tails and Koneko in that exact order; and heading straight for Rias. Not wanting a repeat of what'll happen if she touches one, she held up a single hand to put up a small glyph to act as a barrier between herself and the Chaos Emerald...
SHINE!
She was unfortunately too slow, the Emerlad being too quick, and it immediately began to surge and crackle with Chaos Energy the second it touched her fingers. Panicking, Rias immediately dropped it, not knowing what else she couod really do. Even after it hit the floor, it still crackled and glowed crazyily, as if the Emerald was going haywire with sparks even shooting out. Every one panicked as well, not knowing what effect will end up being triggerd... will it blow up again, or will they be transported to somewhere random?
Miraculously, the Chaos Emerald did manage to "calm down" if that made sense, and it slowly started to power itself down and the glowing and sparking also died down as a result. They all waited a few more seconds before officially trying to move, processing that it didn't blow up this time, and shared a sigh of relief.
"Phew... thanks for not pressing 'Y'..." Sonic said.
Now Tails, being the thinker of the group (at least on Sonic's side), got up a bit slower than the rest of them. He was made very much aware of what happened when Rias touched a Chaos Emerald, but to see it firsthand and that extent...? That was insanely severe. Way too chaotic to be just a random or accidental Chaos Control/Blast. The fact that neither move was triggered was a miracle itself!
"That's... not normal..." Tails said.
"Yeah. Last time she brought the house down..." Issei said.
"No! I mean, that shouldn't happen... that's not how the Chaos Emeralds usually react..." The Mobian Fox clarified his stance on the subject. He then turned his attention to Rias. "What were you thinking about just now?" He then asked the Devil King.
"Nothing! Only how everytime I touch it, something happens." Rias said, insisting she wasn't having any negative thoughts or thought of any kind that could generate so much power. Literally, the only thing she thought of last time was how much trouble the gem caused. It was only an observation... did she offend it or something?
XXX
Not long after in Tails' room/lab... okay, to be fair, they had no idea how he managed to pull it off and talk her into it; but both Rias and the Chaos Emerald were in 2 separate chambers, much to the entire groups surprise of again, how Tails convinced her. The only difference was the Emerald was on a pedestal whereas Rias wasn't. Regardless, Tails was going over lots of numbers on a monitor connected to these chambers, obviously trying to figure out what to issue was with Rias and the Chaos Emerald.
"Those are lots of numbers ya got there, pal." Sonic said, not exactly the most science-savvy Hedgehog in the room. Then again, he wasn't alone, as no one else really understood what Tails was looking at, even though he looked insanely focused.
"So, did you find out what's wrong with her?" Akeno asked Tails... we can see sonic chuckling in the background upon the question being asked.
"There's nothing... wrong with her, per se..." Said Tails, sounding as confused as they all were.
"Does that mean I can get out of here?" Rias asked though her voice was a bit muffled by the chamber, but the could still hear her tone. It wasn't exactly she was annoyed at Tails, more like annoyed at the situation. "This feels a little ridiculous."
"Just think of it as your... personal Batcave." Issei said, and while he wasn't trying to make fun of her, Asia ended up giggling from it... Sonic wasn't as nice however.
"Ya always did seem to live in a bubble." Immediately with that quip, Akeno snorted rather loudly at Sonic's joke, which Asia giggling at a higher volume as well. Rias of course, frowned at this. She knew he was joking, but she didn't appreciate it at this specific point in time... even if it was funny.
Tails kept monitoring the reading between Rias and the Emerald... in science terms, it was quite fantastic really. The energy Rias had in her body was insanely strong, and it was both fascinating and somewhat scary to learn such a strong power that could destroy the world was bottled up inside her.
Was it Dark Gaia, Time Eater or Biolizard/Final Hazard levels?... not exactly. If Tails had to gauge it in a tier list or something: the formers' were S-Rank hands down, whereas Rias was between S and A-Rank. No wonder she and Sonic survived a battle with each other. Science never lies.
But the real question was: was THAT what the Chaos Emerald reacted to? It was a decent theory, but he had no evidence that was how it went down, as the Chaos Emerald was now stable and not erratic. Technically, based on what his computer was telling him, it was safe to touch the Emerald now... maybe since Issei was also a Devil and it was also apparently the Dovahkiin (Sonic told him that), maybe that indirectly affected the Emerald in some way prior? Regardless of what it was, with the readings telling him nothing was wrong at this point in time, he had to... experiment with it...
With the touch of a button and a *woop-hisssss* sound, the chamber containing the Chaos Emerald opened up with the mechanism dragging the container part down into the machinery.
"Issei? Mind trying to touch the Emerald for me?" Tails asked, mentally and physically preparing himself for what could possibly happen. Was it stupid? Yes. But he needed to test to either prove or disprove his hypothesis.
"Try? I just held it!" Issei said, but went over to the Emerald anyway. He grabbed it with no trouble, holding it up in his hand while standing directly next to the pedestal the red gem was on a moment ago. "See? Nothing happens." He added, not understanding at all what Tails was trying to do.
Tails checked the readings... nothing... the Chaos Emerald didn't react at all, there wasn't even a single spark of energy released. There goes that theory, but he still needed to confirm one thing...
"Koneko? You try, please?" Tails requested. She did without a word and again, like with Issei, there was no change.
"... Asia?" She also did as Tails asked, and even looked excited to hold the beautiful Emerald again. Still nothing.
"Koneko?... Kiba?... Akeno?" The fox kit would go down the entire list of Devils in the room (even though Kiba looked lost when he was called as if his mind was somewhere else) until only Rias herself was the only Devil to not touch it. And every single time, not a single one of them seemed to trigger anything. The readings have been consistently normal throughout this experiment thus far.
*woop-hisssss*
Tails opened the only other chamber left. "Alright Rias... your turn." Tails requested, which of course Rias blinked and stared at Tails as if he just asked the stupidest question in the history of mankind.
"Seriously?" She asked him. "After what just happened? You already saw what that thing does! If I touch that thing again, I'll blow the whole clubhouse inside out!
Tails remained silent for a moment, sympathizing with her, before giving the most logical response. "... In order for me to figure this out, I need to have of better understanding as to why its happening. The only way to do that, is to determine whats going on inside the Chaos Emerald." Rias did see the logic, then looked toward the Emerald... there was no other way then, was there?
"It'll only be a second... just back away as soon as something happens. Once I get readings, we can solve this." Tails added. As much as Rias DID NOT wanna touch it again unless she specifically had to, if Tails could figure out and possibly find a solution, then why was she fighting him? If she WAS going to help find the last 3, the halfway point essentially, then she should be able to touch them in case there was another situation like with that Fallen Angel android (an E-3000 as it called itself).
Stepping out of the chamber she was in and making her way to the other one, as she approached, she held out her hand. Notably, she deliberately slowed herself down when she was right next to it, the thought of it exploding again in the back of her mind. Everyone was also kind of tense with her about to touch it, as anything could happen when she touched it to force a reaction from it. She still continued regardless, edging closer and closer to the Chaos Emerald until her fingers were less than an inch away. Here is where she stopped subconsciously, before forcing her body to just get it over with and quickly edged her fingers the rest of the way and grabbed it.
SHINE!
And just like before, the Chaos Emerald immediately went insane from Rias' touch, the readings showing an immediate and forceful spike of Chaos Energy. Thankfully because of how rapid the reaction was, Tails didnt need any additional time to gain more information. What he was seeing both on the monitor and IRL was more than enough, so not wanting to piss off the Emerald anymore, Tails told Rias that was enough.
"That's it! Step away!" Tails called over the crackling of Chaos Energy. Not being needed to be told twice, Rias used her wings to get away quickly, then Tails triggered the chamber again to contain the Emerald even as it went crazy. Thankfully it managed to calm down and the bright lights dimmed, signaling the Emerald was now stable and most likely safe to be around. The group had to sigh in relief once again, as the second time in a row dealing with an erractic Chaos Emerald was the definition of stressful.
"So... what did you get? What's wrong with it?" Rias asked, wanting to know if Tails got anything. It was around everyone gathered a bit closer to Tails to really see what he was seeing on his monitor.
"..." Tails was very silent, but inside he had so many questions on what the computer was telling him. "Its not... wrong, just... i dont know..." He continued to look over the data as he uttered that... this can't be. It didn't make any sense... how was this possible?
"Weren't you the Boy Genius?" Koneko asked, a bit admittedly, but that was just for normal demeanor. She wasn't trying to be rude.
Tails then waited a few more seconds before giving a new statement. "... there's nobody sugarcoat this, but the best way to put it is the Emerald seems... confused."
Everyone else either did one or multiple of the following:
•Cock an eyebrow
•Blink
•Tilt their head
•Had an anime-style question mark over their head
•Frown
•Look confused
Aside from that, they all did a double take on the words that just came out of Tails's mouth. The Chaos Emerald... confused?... That made zero sense to them. Granted, these Emeralds were very mysterious, and they didn't know all the answers about them; but the words Chaos Emerald and Confused didn't sound like they belonged together in the same sentence. How could an inanimate object be confused... even if those same inanimate objects did seem to have minds if their own based on how the react to certain people.
"C... Confused?" Asia asked, her confusion shared with everyone else.
Sonic stepped behind Tails with a smile, patting his back once. "Tails... ya know I love ya... and sure, you were attacked by flying raccoons or whatever, but..." he said, being silly and somewhat doubtful of Tails' theory, but as much as Sonic wanted to believe Tails, it was probably the most outlandish claim he ever heard uttered. "Rocks can't be confused." He added in a slightly lower tone.
Tails didnt exacty ignore Sonic, he just didn't respond to him. "Here, take a look at it this way..." Instead, Tails broke down the data on the computer. First, the Chaos Emerald appeared in the monitor; along with many equation, codes and formulas. Excluding the guy who brought up this information on the computer in question, even the smartest of them cannot decipher what they meant.
"It just looks chaotic." Rias said, pun not intended. Didn't surprise her this was what the Emerald's reading's were.
"Yes, but when you break it down..." Tails continued, pushing more keys which made the data condense to something more readable for the average mind. The data was broken down to various different factors: Energy Levels, Charge, Electrolyte, Temperature (odd one, but okay), Ampere, Milliampere-Hours, etc. While this was even more to go through, Tails focused on 2 readings specifically: Positive Charge and Negative Charge, most likely referring to the positive and negative energies the Emeralds have.
"And to keep as simple as possible, the Chaos Emeralds possess both positive and negative qualities, like a battery." Tails continued. He then brought up more data; this time when Issei, Asia, Akeno, Koneko and Kiba were asked to touch it moments ago. "This is how the Chaos Emerald reacted to each one of you, a slightly different react but otherwise normal."
As Tails explained that, they all checked the data and their performance with the Emerald. Asia was completely positive (to no one's surprise) with Akeno's only a little less than that and with only a small elevation of negativity; Koneko and Kiba were also positive too, though Kiba's negative reading looked like it fluctuated a bit; and while Issei's was more positive than negative... it was a little bit higher than most of the others, leaving to him being eyed by some people.
"I wasn't thinking anything like that, I swear!" Issei insisted with his hands up in defense, knowing what they were silently implying... although unable to prove otherwise, they didn't totally believe him.
"We kinda already know this. Depending on the thoughts of someone, they react positively or negatively." Akeno said.
"Exactly. Positive. Or Negative. " Tails said while now holding up a finger, putting emphasis on the term 'or' for some reason, also sounding so much like a teacher talking to a student. "Because when it comes to Rias..." Tails clicked away on the keyboard again and pulled up her chart now, and what they saw between the 'Positive' and 'Negative' signatures just made them even more confused. So much that they all just took in the sight for a few extra seconds...
Both Positive and Negative signals were detected... being equal.
"Both?" Sonic asked, which from his experience with the Emeralds, didn't make any sense. Chaos Emeralds giving plus or minus charge to a person? Sure. He's experienced that... but that was either or; not both at once.
"I thought you both said they give you positive or negative energy depending on the person." Rias said in a slightly annoyed tone, but not specifically at anyone, more of the situation (Sonic could made a meta joke here, but he held it back).
"They did. They just did both for you... somehow..." Tails said.
"Somehow?" Rias repeated. "You mean that's not normal?"
"Well, certainly it hasn't happened before..." Tails said, then went back to the data, of the reaction when Rias touched it.
"According to this, when you came into contact with it, both energy types were immediately triggered. Usually, it's one energy or the other, but my guess is, if the Chaos Emerald reacts this way when BOTH energies are called upon, it's causing the Emerald to overload, which in turn is causing HUGE internal energy pressure, with both positive and negative forces battling for dominance and trying to grant that wish of said power. So, probably to protect itself, the Emerald just unleashes all the energy at once, which is why you induced both Chaos Control and Chaos Blast on two separate occasions... it didn't know what else to do with that insane influx of energy, so it just reacted." He added.
"Protect itself? Why would it need to do that?" Asked Kiba asked. It was fascinating to hear, but also didn't make sense as to how an inanimate object could do something like that.
"The Chaos Emeralds are strong, but not invincible." Sonic said.
"Yes, and with enough force, they could even break. And considering just how much energy is in one Chaos Emerald, if the emerald in question can't contain that power, it has to go somewhere." Tails said.
"Um... Could it be because we're all devils?" Asia asked innocently, which after a moment to think about it, Tails shook his head once.
"I don't think that's the reason... If it were, then none of you would be able to touch it, because all of you would be causing the exact same reaction." Tails answered. "... I'll probably have to run a few more tests to be sure, but with what we gathered so far... it's probably best if Rias doesn't go anywhere near a Chaos Emerald. Not without a barrier or something first."
"And we needed a science experiment to figure that out?" Rias asked with a hint of humor and a smile, to which Tails smiled back with the same energy.
"Probably not. But at least we have an answer as to why." Tails remarked, which was a fair point. Better to know why the Chaos Emerald reacted the way it did instead of stressing out if they didn't.
It still bothered Rias to a degree. Riser was able to use one flawlessly, granted he claimed he had several months of preparation to learn how. And it affected his personality as well, which was probably a side effect... they were still so much they didn't know. But that begs the question... if being a Devil wasn't the reason for the Emerald going catastrophic... then what was?
XXX
The following night after a very normal and uneventful day, Rias was tasked with tracking down and subduing another Stray. The only problem this time, for some odd reason, the Stray in question was tracked to a perimeter rather than having an exact location like Vice did. It was also in an abandoned part of town where old buildings were falling apart, which didn't make it any easier. It could now literally be anywhere, its power (and scent in Koneko's case) being all over the place.
Tails even offered his assistance with the Cyclone. While the Gremory scouted the streets, Tails got an aerial view of the place along with Sonic, standing on one of the wings... ah, good times... so many memories...
Back on the ground, the ORC checked every building until they approached the only one they hadn't checked yet. By process of elimination, and the fact they could feel a strong presence by this particular building, this most likely meant this was the building the Stray was hiding in. Rias' plan was simple: she would have Kiba, Issei and Koneko break in and draw it out so they could subdue it outside. She didn't want a repeat of with what happened with Vice, and Sonic and Tails were overhead anyway, so she could just contact Sonic through the communication magic if they needed them.
It took Kiba an extra moment to get going by the way... needing Rias to call his name so he joined Koneko and Issei when they already starred to approach the building. Upon getting to the door, Issei noted something that looked oddly familiar... a weird insignia of a round face and mustache... he swore he saw it somewhere before...
POW!
It didn't matter anymore, because Koneko punched the door in.
"Cool. Breaking and entering works..." Issei said. As they walked inside, they noticed lots of spider webs were around... and some robots that also looked oddly familiar to Koneko (they would have also been to Kiba, but he went out if it again) ... different colored egg-shaped robots looking they were ripped apart, innards and all, and even some were incased in cocooned webs.
Koneko: ... it's here.
XXX
Back in the sky, Sonic and Tails were circling around. "Gotta be honest, buddy. I missed this... standing on a plane, the wind in my face, the city beneath my feet... so many great memories." Sonic said.
"I did too, Sonic... we all missed you..." Tails said, obviously referring to the rest of their friends back in their world.
"... Alright, back to business." Sonic said. "We got a rogue demon on the loose. How do we find it?"
KA-BOOOOOOOM!
Literally at the exact same time, a huge explosion in the shape of a crimson fireball (who could that be from? Nudge, nudge) erupted from the abandoned district below, catching the duo's attention. From one of the factories to be exact.
"We can, start with the giant fireball?" Tails asked.
"I love it! Let's start with the giant fireball!" Sonic answered, pointing down to the fireball's location.
After flying over the factory and landing nearby, Sonic and Tails ran into the factory only to find the ORC in a tight spot... literally. The Stray Devil (looking behind it to see who disturbed it) looked like a monstrous large demonic spider with some of its legs being mechanical, webbing trapping a some of the ORC for a snack later... scratch that, it was actually holding onto Kiba for one...
"Hmmm... dark corners, abandoned research facility, broken test tubes... where have i seen this befor... WAIT! Are those elf ears! And you got a horn too! Halloween's right on the corner, are you going as an Elfie-corn-thropod?! That's really unique! Better than batman and robin every year. who does your make up by the way, looks really convincing..." Sonic rambled as he made fun of the Stray, to which the Stray did not take too kindly to it and dropped Kiba hard on the floor, focusing its attention on Sonic.
This led to Sonic Spin Dashing toward, under, and away from it; only to rebound off some broken machinery and clock it in the back of its head, which it hissed about. While Sonic distracted the demonic spider, Tails worked on freeing the captured Devils with a drone that cut through the webbing and freed them. Sonic meanwhile, spin on and all over the demon's body (much like from the opening cutscene of Sonic Unleashed) to make it lose balance. Since it was messing a leg already (courtesy of Kiba offscreen), it fell over and it did struggle to get up, like a water bug on its back.
Not wanting to give the monster a chance to recover, Akeno zapped it, then Rias burned it alive. They all went outside to recover, Asia healing anyone who needed it.
SLAP!
That slaps sound caught everybody's attention... Rias had taken Kiba aside, probably talked to him, but then the slap came after that.
"Think you're awake now?" She asked in a disappointed and harsh tone. Kiba didn't answer, as what could he possibly say? He royally fucked up. "If Sonic and Tails didn't drop in when they did, a mistake like that could've led to all of us bug food."
"I apologize. It won't happen again." Kiba simply responded, taking the slap and reprimanding from Rias without a rebuttal.
Rias then sighed, then held both of his shoulders' and her expression change from a stern mother to a concerned one, and so did her tone. "Kiba... what's going on with you lately? First the tournament practice, your contract numbers go down, now this!... This isn't like you, talk to me!"
"I'm fine. We're allowed one bad week..." Kiba answered, a bit rude to be honest. He then bowed and excused himself. "If you'll excuse me..."
He then walked off into the next without another word... not even a wish good night...