A Red Rose in the Blue Wind

by Iron117Prime

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

40. Time For a New Game

Hi everyone, welcome back. I am very excited for what's to come, because the last four chapters of my story have been an introduction phase of sorts with the main heroes of Teams Sonic, RWBY, Dark, and JNPR settling into their respective locations, encountering new allies and learning more of the situation that's been going on since the events of Beacon. But now this is where the action kicks back up as both heroes and villains finally make their move, and each major party has at least one Chaos Emerald at the moment, so only five more remain. Things start to get interesting now as I have more than a few surprises for everyone.
With all that being said, let's get started!

Time For A New Game

Lionheart had cups of tea handed out to his guests in his office, Tyrian and Hazel. "Thank you." Hazel nodded as he took his cup and sat down on a nearby chair, while Tyrian took a crouching position on another with his teacup. Once the tea was handed out, Lionheart happened to gaze at Metal Sonic, who stared at him, which caused the Headmaster of Haven Academy to shudder.

"Pardon me… but why again is one of Doctor Robotnik's machines, here?" Lionheart asked.

"Metal Sonic was tasked to assist us in searching Mistral for any Chaos Emeralds." Hazel answered. "He can't speak and won't contribute to our discussion, but he will also act as a means for communication with our partner."

"Speaking of…" Tyrian had taken out a small bag and opened it up, revealing a small Seer Grimm, which slowly rose up to hover in the office, which only caused Lionheart's face to turn slightly pale.

"Is everyone accounted for?" Salem's voice spoke out via the Seer, drawing everyone's attention.

"Almost, ma'am." Hazel said.

As if on cue, Metal Sonic stepped forward slightly as a small port in his head opened, allowing him to project three life-size holograms of their associates, who were each currently in their respective locations.

Doctor Eggman, Arthur Watts, and Adam Taurus. The young red-haired Faunus had yet another Grimm mask on his face, to replace the one that was lost during the Battle at Beacon; but his biggest standout was that he was now quipped with a sleek black metal robotic arm to replace the natural right arm he had also lost in that same battle.

"Well, well, the gang's all here." Eggman snickered.

"And who gave the boy permission to be here?" Tyrian questioned, referring to Adam.

"Care to repeat that?" Adam growled.

"I would have to agree." Watts spoke up. "You promised to turn Beacon to ash before, only to fail so miserably. You even lost your arm in that battle."

"And if we were in the same room, you would lose more than that just for that little comment." Adam glared.

"We've already suffered because of one egotistical child with a temper, we do not need another." Watts repeated.

"Absolutely!" Tyrian agreed. "You failed our queen, Taurus…!"

"And it is your queen, who has allowed him to attend this meeting." Salem spoke, much to her subordinates' surprise, causing Adam to smirk. "Despite his failure at Beacon, young Adam has intelligence and resources that would indeed benefit us. And in our current situation, I'll take what I can get, but young Adam…" She got his attention. "While I do believe in second chances and redemption, I'm also willing to cut off any dead weight if it proves to be necessary. For your sake, you'd best hope not to qualify as such."

Adam's smirk faded as his holographic form clenched its fists. "I understand." He said reluctantly.

"Alright, so if that's everything…" Eggman began.

"Not quite…" Lionheart meekly raised his hand, causing everyone to turn their attention to him, which only made him all the more nervous. "We're still waiting on one more."

Right as he said that the door to his office opened as another individual stepped in. It was a tall, dark-skinned man wearing a red leather jacket, dark red pants with armored knee pads and boots, and a black undershirt. But what stood out the most was the black and red-furred boar mask he wore over his face.

"Sorry I'm late." A man with a deep and hoarse accent spoke out.

"Vermillion…?" Hazel stood up from his spot, with Watts gasping in shock.

"Raddock?!" Even Tyrian was surprised.

"And who are you supposed to be?" Eggman questioned as Adam looked more curious than anything.

"He is one of my subordinates." Salem introduced. "Vermillion Raddock. I had sent him to Mistral a few years ago with the intent on claiming powerful relics and weapons for our cause."

"But he hadn't been seen since…" Watts was still not over his surprise. "Truth be told, I thought he was dead."

"You can't kill someone like me so easily." Vermillion said. "I had to lay lower after that whole mess in Kuchinashi."

"And how come I didn't hear about him till now?" Eggman questioned Salem directly.

"Because he had failed to report in after the aforementioned incident." The Grimm queen responded. "Much like Watts, I feared he would be deceased. Though I am glad to see that those reports were greatly exaggerated. It is good to see you back, Vermillion."

The boar-masked man bowed before the Seer Grimm. "Good to be back, my queen."

"Vermillion reached out to me recently, just after what had happened in Beacon…" Lionheart revealed. "He told me to inform him when you would contact me of our next move, and… well… here we are."

"Thank you for keeping me in the loop, Leo. Now, to business." Salem began. "I can see Hazel, Tyrian, and Metal Sonic are now present in Mistral. Where are the rest of you, currently?"

"I've just arrived in Atlas." Watts revealed. "Currently, I'm holding myself up in an abandoned SDC warehouse. I'm on planning on meeting up with Jacques to see what he can provide for us with gathering intelligence."

"And Merlot's mutagen?" Salem inquired.

"Present as well." Watts reached into his coat to pull out a vial of the chemical substance that the late Doctor Merlot had created. "Once I have the right sources provided by the SDC, I believe I may be able to reproduce more rather quickly. Atlas' Grimm are notably stronger than those in the rest of Remnant, as many of you are aware. With this concoction in the mix, I'd wager they'd grow to be near unstoppable."

"Very good." Salem granted. "Doctor Robotnik?"

"Just showed up in Vacuo. The whole place is a mess." Eggman commented in annoyance. "Honestly, I'm surprised it's as lasted as long as it has. Finding anything, much less the Chaos Emeralds, is gonna take no-less than a geographical overhaul!"

"And perhaps if you spent less time complaining and more time acting, you would have the results you so desperately crave." Watts criticized, earning a growl from Eggman.

"Perhaps you can take your own advice, and not constantly belittle and criticize our allies if only to prove your own supposed superiority." Hazel commented.

Watts scoffed. "And here I thought you were one of the few people who had some common sense, Hazel."

"Enough!" Salem spoke loudly, ceasing any bickering. After a deep sigh, the Grimm Queen addressed the Headmaster of Haven. "Professor Lionheart, have you anything to report?"

"Yes, actually." Lionheart cleared his throat before responding. "Just recently… Sonic arrived at Haven, alongside his companions, as well as Qrow Branwen and a few students from Beacon."

That got everyone else's attention, with Eggman looking the most interested. "By any chance, was there a girl named Ruby Rose with him?"

"Y-Yes…" Lionheart confirmed, though he did catch the sinister cackle coming from Tyrian, which gave him a very disturbing feeling. "H-he's also reported to me the status of his other comrades… who are currently scattered across Remnant… in an effort to locate the Chaos Emeralds, recruit allies, including the Maidens. His doppelganger, Shadow, along with his team and a group of students are currently in Vacuo, the Schnee heiress and one other have returned to Atlas, and Belladonna has reportedly gone to Menagerie alone."

"Is that so…?" Adam wondered.

"Something on your mind, Taurus?" Salem wondered.

"I actually just lost contact with two of my spies in Menagerie." Adam revealed. "That can't be a coincidence."

"It would seem Sonic and his allies have a head start on us already." Hazel said. "Where is he now?" He asked Lionheart.

"That's actually another topic I wanted to bring up." The headmaster of Haven replied. "Just after the Battle of Beacon, there was an anomaly here in Mistral…"

"What sort of anomaly?" Salem inquired.

"Two bright flashes of light… and the appearance of an unknown temple… as well as a village that may or may not be inhabited by people from Sonic's world." Lionheart said.

That caught Eggman's interest. "Are you sure about that last part?"

"I… I don't know… yet." Lionheart replied. "I sent Huntsman Shion Zaiden, and Team SAFR…" At the mention of the latter team, Vermillion's fists clenched hard. "…To those locations. Sonic and his present friends went to investigate as well, and I should hear back from them soon to confirm anything."

"And you said this was a result of a bright flash of light? Around the same time Beacon was attacked?" Eggman questioned.

"Yes." Lionheart confirmed.

"Chaos Control." Eggman identified, much to the group's surprise

"Doctor?" Salem inquired.

"Sonic used Chaos Control to remove all the Grimm from Vale…" Eggman began. "But in doing so, he might have accidentally pulled over locations from his world to Remnant."

"How is such a thing even possible?" Watts questioned.

"I told you; the power of the Chaos Emeralds is unpredictable!" Eggman reminded. "Think like how you break the sound barrier, you create a sonic boom. Sonic's unorthodox manipulation of time and space must have created a similar ripple that brought those places over here. And Mistral might not be the only location affected. The rest of Remnant could have areas, maybe even denizens from my world here now!"

"Is that going to be a problem?" Hazel asked.

"No idea." Eggman shrugged, much to Watts' absurd shock.

"A problem, could just be a misunderstood opportunity." Salem said, sounding introduced. "Professor, when your informants tell you of what they have found, I expect to be kept appraised. And leave out no details."

"Y-yes… Of course…" Lionheart shakily bowed his head.

"As for the rest of you, keep an eye out for anything similar and let me know what you find. Perhaps we can find some way to use this to our advantage." Salem instructed.

"As you wish." Watts nodded.

"I can't speak on whether or not anything like that might have popped up in Menagerie, but if Bl… If Sonic's allies are there…" Adam spoke up, with his brief stutter caused several people present to look at him questionably "And they've already taken down my spies, I can only guess they're trying to turn the White Fang against us."

"Actually, Sonic said that one of the reasons he came to Mistral was to recruit Sienna Khan and her sect of the White Fang for that purpose." Lionheart revealed.

"And given his little 'golden god' stunt at Beacon, I wouldn't be surprised if those fanatics would end up following him, as if he were the God of Animals or something." Watts commented.

"This world is only fit for one god! Our goddess of destruction!" Tyrian exclaimed.

"I know a way to cut off that loose end before it becomes a problem." Adam said.

"Oh? And what would that be?" Watts questioned in minor amusement. "What exactly can you do since you got your entire branch of the White Fang wiped out?"

"The Vale branch might be destroyed, but I still have a number of spies in Sienna's ranks. I'll tell them to move now and kill her before Sonic and his friends even meet her. I'll even frame him for the incident, turn all of the Faunus against him." Adam revealed.

"Sienna Khan is no push over, though." Vermillion said seriously. "Do you really think your spies are up to the task?"

"I'll do it myself, if I have to!" Adam insisted.

"How? You're on the other side of the planet! It would take a day at least for you to arrive in Mistral from Vacuo!" Watts pointed out.

"One of my ships can get him there in a couple of hours." Eggman spoke up, surprising many, including Adam himself. "I even finished up with my latest Dust mech. It's not as big and mighty as the Egg Zeus, but it's a ferocious beast. With that, along with Adam's newest upgrade…" He referred to the robotic arm the red-haired Faunus now had. "It should be more than enough to finish off that little tigress."

A few were looking to Eggman questionably? Was he actually willing to send Adam this way? It even sounded like he was giving him the benefit of the doubt, despite Adam's failure at Beacon.

"Wouldn't it be more effective if you sent your precious Metal Sonic to do the job?" Watts questioned. "He's at least the only machine in your ranks that can deliver results."

"Except that I need Metal Sonic to cover these two!" Eggman argued, gesturing to Hazel and Tyrian, with the latter looking annoyed and angry at the remark. "Sonic is going to be using his speed to comb Mistral for the Chaos Emeralds, plus he's got that little Ruby girl stuck to him like glue. You want the girl? Metal is the only one here than actually match Sonic and give us a chance to take her!"

"The Doctor is correct." Salem agreed.

"My queen…!" Tyrian looked to protest.

"As I've said, the Chaos Emeralds are our top priority." Salem reminded. "And I need my strongest assets for that. You, my dear Tyrian, are best suited for that task."

That caused to sadistic scorpion Faunus to snicker. "If it is your wish, my goddess, then I shall obey."

"Very well, Adam. Consider this, your shot at redemption." Salem offered him. "Pull this off, and I will welcome you as one of us."

Adam grinned as his holographic form bowed. "I may have failed at Beacon, but I will not fail this time."

"Even if we are able to gather the Chaos Emeralds, we need allies of our own." Hazel spoke up. "Especially if the rest of Remnant now looks to Sonic as their ray of hope." He said that last part with disgust.

"On that note, I have a project in the works that can best serve us." Vermillion said, drawing their attention. "Despite our failure in Kuchinashi, I've been steadily building my own forces. The Hana Guild is still under my command, and still plenty strong. But I've also brought the Hearth in now that their leader, Abigail Pyre, is dead. I've also seen how Malachite and her organization, Spider, have grown and recruited people from the now-disbanded Wave organization, including several Pro-Huntsman."

"That last part is true." Lionheart confirmed. "Holding a seat on the Mitstralian council has granted Malachite a great deal of power."

"The only remaining larger intendent crime syndicate is the Black Sheep, still based in Kuchinashi." Vermillion continued. "But with the right people, recruiting or overthrowing their leadership shouldn't be an issue."

"What exactly are you suggesting?" Hazel asked.

"The combined resources of all these syndicates will build an army large enough to easily dwarf the White Fang!" Vermillion revealed, much to the group's surprise.

"You intend to build an army out of criminals?" Eggman questioned.

"Yes." Vermillion confirmed.

"That…" Lionheart was at a loss for words with that. "That couldn't… possibly work…!"

"Oh?" Vermillion looked to him, and while the mask covered his face, the man underneath was glaring at the headmaster.

"These criminals… they only value money…!" Lionheart stated. "They are loyal only to themselves…! Trying to make an organized militia out of that is fool's hardy!"

Vermillion wordlessly stepped forward, towards the desk where the Lion Faunus sat behind. And as he did, Lionheart found himself shrinking under the shadow of the large masked-man in front of him. "I've lived in this lawless kingdom for many years, and I've lived for a reason. I've led a ferocious force of killers during the last days of the Great War, slaughtering Grimm and warriors alike! And I'm still as strong as I ever was, maybe even more!" As he exclaimed, Lionheart found himself looking around the room for any one who could help him, even the Seer Grimm. But only Hazel seemed willing to do something as he had stood up, ready to pull Vermillion away if things got out of hand. The rest just seemed more intrigued and amused by Vermillion's rant. "But you're not wrong, Lionheart." Vermillion backed away, much to Lionheart's relief. "These people are greedy, but greed makes them easy to manipulate. Just promise them all the wealth and power they could ask for, and they will do anything you ask."

"And those that don't?" Hazel asked.

Vermillion cracked his knuckles. "If greed won't motivate them, then fear will."

Eggman's hologram shrugged. "It's how we got Torchwick and the Vale's White Fang on our side. Offer them what they want, and they are puddy in our hands."

"An ambitious offer, Vermillion. But can it be done?" Salem asked.

"It can." The boar-masked man confirmed.

"Then see to it." Salem granted.

With Salem's permission granted, Lionheart couldn't help but shake in fear. What they were suggesting was trying to build an army out of Mistral's entire criminal underworld. If they were right and they were able to pull it off, they could build a force that could overthrow the whole kingdom! Even several professional Huntsmen would be more than willing to join them.

"Hmm, you know… that actually gives me an idea." Watts spoke up. "Atlas has its fair share of corruption, not just in the SDC, and many of whom are not fans of Ironwood. While it may not be as big or flashy as what Vermillion is planning to do in Mistral, perhaps I can find a way to utilize them to undermine Ironwood and Sonic's efforts to find the Chaos Emeralds in Atlas."

"If you are able to do so Arthur, then feel free." Salem allowed. "And Ivo?" She got Eggman's attention. "I understand just how powerful and mighty your own forces are, certainly. But please do try to recruit any allies you can while you are in Vacuo. It wouldn't hurt to have people who know of the region on your side."

Eggman scoffed. "Fine."

"Is there anything else you would wish to share with us, Leonardo?" Salem inquired.

"Yes… one other thing." The headmaster of Haven spoke up. "As I've said, Sonic is planning on gathering allies to his cause. In addition to the White Fang here in Mistral… he is also looking for Raven Branwen."

At the mention of that name, Adam's fists clenched tightly, with even Vermillion looking intrigued.

Tyrian chuckled. "Ozpin's bird who long flew the nest?"

"Except, Ozpin isn't here right now." Salem countered, causing Tyrian to stop laughing. "Sonic, is. And with what he pulled off at Beacon, virtually anyone can side with him know. Watch your backs while in Mistral."

"If that's your wish." Hazel nodded as Tyrian bowed his head in compliance.

"I do have one question though, mistress…" Lionheart spoke to Salem directly. "Is it really necessary to involve Ruby Rose in this?"

"Are you questioning the wisdom of our goddess?!" Tyrian hissed.

"I-I know that those with Silver Eyes have been… a thorn in our queen's side for generations…" Lionheart stuttered. "B-But she is only a child… not a fierce warrior…! I just feel that… maybe your resources would best not be wasted with her…"

"If you believe I intend to kill the girl Leonardo, be at ease. For that is not my intent." Salem revealed to Lionheart's surprise. "I need the girl alive, and yes she is rather important to my plans, necessary even. I understand the deal that you made with me… You help me, and I spare all the students at your academy. And I have every intention of honoring that deal. But Ruby Rose is not your student. I need her. Is that clear?"

Lionheart looked away with mixed expressions. When he first became headmaster of Haven, he was originally honored. To teach the next generation to become defenders of this world, to protect their loved ones from the Grimm… He was so proud to be a part of that. But… Once he learned the truth… and saw what Ozpin really was… he saw the Academies, including his own, for what they really were. Traps. These children were being brainwashed… turned into sacrificial pawns to be thrown away and discarded in a war that Ozpin had no intention of winning. It made him sick! He was originally planning on resigning from his position in protest… but Ozpin would just fill the void with someone else and nothing would change. As much as he hated siding with Salem… and how much he feared her… at least in her new world… there would be no more need for Huntsmen academies… no more children being brainwashed and sent to their deaths… no more families destroyed… no more grieving parents… But he also knew that he couldn't change Salem's mind when she sets her sights on a target, and it seemed Ruby Rose was such a target. That was also the reason he hadn't told her about Pyrrha Nikos being the Fall Maiden. She too was only a student, a child, and deserved a better fate than being on Salem's radar.

"Crystal clear." Lionheart said with reluctance. Hazel looked towards Lionheart with an expression of sympathy and understanding.

"Excellent. And this Seer will remain on campus, so you can inform me of any developments that take place in the main city." Salem said to Lionheart. "The rest of you have your assignments. Go."

With that, Tyrian and Hazel stood up as they, Vermillion, Adam, and Watts all bowed before the latter two's holographic forms cut off. Eggman gave a nonchalant finger salute as his hologram vanished. With the meeting concluded, Metal Sonic, Vermillion, and Tyrian turned to leave the office. Hazel remained behind, if only to give a nod to Lionheart, to which Lionheart nodded back before Hazel left.

Lionheart then looked to the Seer Grimm to see it disappear into the shadows, leaving the professor alone as he sat at his desk quietly.

After a few seconds of silence, the Lion Faunus opened a drawer and reached inside to pull out something that made his heart sink every time he looked at it. It was a human woman, holding a young lion Faunus child in her arms.

The second he laid eyes on it… his body shook as tears fell from his face and onto the picture. "Forgive me…"

---

Salem sat alone on her obsidian throne, the red Chaos Emerald in hand, gazing at the jewel with a sinister grin. She chose not to tell Eggman of her latest discovery, because she was more curious than anything else. For all his genius, her partner had the demeanor of a child crying out for attention. If she had told him of the Chaos Emerald in her midst, he likely would have demanded that she'd hand it over to him and she needed time with it to see how its powers could affect and strengthen her own. And even if she couldn't directly, she knew that Ruby Rose had the ability to harness the Emeralds' power, and she could find a way to use their power through the girl once she gets her hands on her.

Perhaps she may tell the Doctor later, saying she only recently found it, and hand it over to him once she fully unlocks its secrets. But for now, this Emerald does not leave her hand and nobody but herself will know of it.

"Our little secret." Salem spoke to the red gemstone directly. "Now then… what exactly can you do?"

---

Meanwhile, Adam had made his way to the hangar onboard Eggman's ship, where he spotted a vessel prepared specifically for him. It was a large white and black transport with dual engines in the back and the Eggman Empire logo plastered on its face.

Orbot and Cubot were present as well, making sure that everything was ready as the former scanned the ship with a scroll-like device. "Transformation simulation appears to run at one hundred percent… everything is ready."

"Oh, I wish I could see this bad kitty in action!" Cubot said.

"Too bad, now out of my way." Adam said as he hoped into the cockpit.

"The coordinates you provided for the White Fang base in Mistral have been uploaded into the ship's autopilot." Orbot informed Adam. "Estimated time of arrival will be four hours."

"Fine with me."

"Adam!" Turning toward the hangar entrance, the extremist saw Ilia rapidly approaching him. "W-where are you going?!"

"To cut off a loose end that we can't afford." Adam replied.

"I-I can come with you! I can help you!" Ilia offered.

"No, I've got a special assignment for you." Adam told her. "I want you to return to Menagerie. Blake's come home, and I just lost contact with Corsac and Fennec." That caused Ilia to look in surprise. "I want you to find out what's going on over there. Do not be seen and do not engage unless you hear from me. Recon and report. Is that clear?"

"Y-yes." Ilia nodded as she looked away with concern. Blake's gone home? Why? Why go back to that one place where humanity just dumped them and told them to be happy with it? A constant symbol of human oppression and the whole thing they used to fight against together.

With that, the cockpit to Adam's vessel closed just as the hangar door opened, revealing the bright sun outside. The ship's autopilot activated, causing the ship to ascend slightly before taking off, leaving the much larger vessel and sailing over the desert landscape of the Vacuo region.

---

Eggman sat in his command chair from the bridge of his ship as he saw through the window Adam's vessel leaving. Truth be told, he only half-expected Adam to succeed. If Sonic was in Mistral, the odds of Adam running into him were pretty high, while the odds of Adam actually beating Sonic were almost zero. Honestly, that boy had just as much ego as Cinder did, but at least he was willing to use his tech and not be overly confident based on borrowed power. Still though, if Adam proved to be useful, Eggman will keep him around. And if not, then he'll kick him to the curb.

But he'll worry about that later. Right now, he had his own job to do. The mad scientist gazed out the window to the vast desert that stretched as far as the eye could see. But despite its unappealing appearance, Eggman had a good feeling that there were many juicy and powerful secrets buried underneath the sands. He knew personally that one shouldn't judge a book by its appearance, having seen plenty of powerful weapons under the guise of old ruins. In fact, he even had one quipped to his belt! Ozpin's cane had enough kinetic energy stored inside it that if it were all unleashed at once, it could obliterate an entire city! Sure, he had plenty of weapons that can do the same thing, but the fact that such a small tool could hold that kind of power is rather impressive, and something he can definitely make use of. And whatever secrets Vacuo held, he will make them his own and use it to seize Remnant by the throat! He may have failed in Vale, but he will not fail this time.

"Alright Vacuo… show me what you got! Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho!" Eggman laughed.

---

Atlas Academy

Silver and Blaze stood together in the training room of the academy on one side, facing the Ace Ops on the other. The training chamber was far more advanced than anything seen on Remnant before. Despite its simplicity design of only being a single square chamber, it was lined with a light blue-grid like pattern that extended the walls, floors, and ceiling.

All except a single wall of glass near the top of the chamber, leading to an observation room where Ironwood and Winter both stood with curious expressions.

"Are you two ready?" Clover asked the duo as he and his team had their weapons and abilities at the ready.

In response, Silver hovered in the air as his psychic powers activated, a cyan aura covering his body; while Blaze drew a rapier and slid her finger down the blade, which then caused it to light on fire.

"Ready." Blaze affirmed.

"Begin!" Ironwood's voice announced. And as he did, the grid lines of the room glowed before several blocks and collumns grew from the walls, floors, and ceiling, creating a series of pedestals and obstacles for both parties before the Ace Ops made their first move. Harriet sped around them all, weaving her way to Blaze and Silver and pulled back a fist to deliver a punch as the two spread apart to get some distance.

Once they were separated, Silver felt his right leg being hooked by Clover's King Fisher as the leader of the Ace Ops stood atop a column and hauled Silver up, but the gray-furred Hedgehog used his psychic powers to blast away the hook and hover in the air before telekinetically grabbing the column that Clover stood atop of and ripping it from the floor, though the veteran Huntsman was able to leap away to safety. This however, seemed to distract Silver as he was grabbed by a pair of Aura hands, courtesy of Vine, before he pulled him closer to the ground where Elm was waiting to slam Timber in its hammer-form at him, but Silver crossed his arms to coat himself in a protective psychic aura and shield himself from the impact before blasting a psychic wave to send Elm crashing through a pair of walls before landing hard on the other side of the chamber.

Blaze, who appeared to be racing alongside Harriet, trails of fire and electricity tangled amongst each other as Harriet threw a series of rapid punches to Blaze, who parried them all with chops from her free hand before thrusting her flaming rapier at the speedy Huntress, who limboed underneath the lunge just as the pair looked like they were about to crash into a wall. But Harriet veered around the wall as Blaze jumped and used some flames from her feet to propel herself upward and was about to land on the wall when she Marrow out of the corner of her eye. Acting quickly, Blaze swung her flaming rapier just as Marrow snapped his fingers at her.

"Stay!" Using his Semblance, Marrow was able to freeze Blaze in place, but this also made him vulnerable for the wave of fire that she sent his way to strike the floor in front of him, creating a small explosion that blew him back. Marrow's Semblance lost its effect as Blaze was unfrozen and landed gracefully on the wall. She looked to her side to see Silver struggling in a three-on-one match against Elm, Clover, and Vine and decided to help him out, leaping from pedestal to column as Harriet sped after her, weaving across the obstacle course of the training room.

Silver had pulled up several floorboards with his psychokinesis to act as shields from the hammer swings, rod-strike, and aura hands of his tree opponents, putting him on the defensive. Fortunately, he noticed Blaze appearing just above him with a knowing look on her face, something he recognized. Acting quickly, Silver pulled all the cover he had around himself as an all-encompassing shield, complete with a cyan-colored aura with Clover only just noticing Blaze appearing directly above Silver as she held her rapier straight upward, the flames around the blade glowing brightly.

"Clear out!" Clover warned, prompting his teammates to leap away just as Blaze thrusted her sword straight down, sending a column of flames onto Silver's clover. His psychic barrier allowed the flames to wash over it like water over stone and spread out a circular wave of flames to the fleeing Ace Ops. Clover flicked his pendant while also flailing King Fisher onto a pedestal on the ceiling before hauling himself upward while Vine grabbed Elm with one Aura hand and used the other to pull themselves up onto a pedestal and avoid the wave of fire.

The flames died down as Silver dropped his cover, with him and Blaze appearing back-to-back. "I got your back, Silver."

"Thanks, and I got yours!" Silver said as he used his psychic powers to grab Harriet mid-air just as it looked like she was about to ambush Blaze. He then threw her straight towards the recovering Marrow to take them both down before reaching out to several of the pedestal and columns that the Ace Ops appeared to use as cover and gave a grunt as he pulled his hands down, causing all the pedestals and columns to break apart and collapse, forcing Clover, Elm, and Vine to seek cover.

"Hmm, they certainly have the power." Winter observed. "Though Silver appears to use it rather bluntly, which does set him apart from the likes of Sonic or Shadow. Blaze, on the other hand, has much finer control over her powers as well as expert hand-to-hand and sword combat. It's clear to see who the superior fighter is."

"It would seem so." Ironwood agreed. He agreed to this spar because he wanted to see first-hand what Silver and Blaze were capable of, and they both showed such promise, especially Blaze. Silver, on the other hand… while he could tell the Hedgehog was a good person, he seemed a bit naïve in comparison to Shadow or even Sonic, acting younger even. His naivety did remind him a bit of Ruby back at Beacon, and while that's not a bad thing in of itself… it can cause problems in the future if they're not careful.

Back down, the Ace Ops had regrouped just as Silver and Blaze both came together, the two leaping in the air as Blaze thrusted her rapier forward to send a stream of fire to the Ace Ops, forcing them to scatter. However, what happened next caused everyone, including Ironwood and Winter, to look in surprise.

Silver used his powers to grab the flames themselves, causing a cyan-colored Aura to envelop around them just as Silver controlled and directed the flames to move after Elm, who was so taken by surprise that she was unable to defend herself as the combined attack struck her and sent her crashing through another wall. Silver then redirected the flames to move after Marrow, who was able to recover and point his fingers at the combined attack.

"Stay!" He froze the psychic flames in their place, right as Sliver and Blaze both appeared behind him with the latter sweeping her feet to trip him up before Silver grabbed him with his powers and threw him straight up, though Vine was able to catch him. With his grip on their combined attack gone, and neither able to control it any longer, the psychic flames exploded outward, though Silver was able to shield both him and Blaze from the attack.

"Did they just… Combine their powers…?" Winter looked in surprise.

"It would seem that Silver's ability is not just limited to physical objects or matter… but even energy itself…" Ironwood looked in awe. "That's… incredible…."

"Whoa…" Even Clover was impressed as he gave a smile, even as Blaze dashed straight for him with her flaming rapier, but as she brought it down to him and he attempted to block it with his King Fisher, Blaze momentarily caught off guard to see the blade of her weapon melt from all the fire and heat, leaving her open for Clover to kick her in the stomach and flail his line to entangle her just as she landed. "Huh, lucky me." Clover said with a friendly smile.

Blaze, however, kept up her grin. "I wouldn't be too reliant on luck." She said as flames encircled around her whole body to burn away the line of King Fisher, setting her free before she rushed Clover again, who lunged his pole at her, but Blaze flipped to land her hands on the rod and slide across it before delivering an upside-down axe-kick to Clover's head to push him down. He recovered just as she landed behind him as she took a combative stance. "You would best rely on your own skill."

"And if I told you that luck was my skill?" Clover said with friendly banter.

"Then I would be most curious to see such a skill in action. Care to show me?" Blaze made a gesture for him to come forward as her hands lit on fire, prompting the still-smiling Clover to rush her with his weapon.

Vine threw his Aura arms at Silver, who caught them with his psychic powers, to Vine's surprise before Silver re-directed them towards Vine to bend and entangle them around his body, binding him with his own ability, but not before Harriet sped up behind Silver to deliver a spinning kick to the side of his head and knock him across the ground, freeing Vine in the process. Harriet chose to press the advantage as she sped at Silver like a torpedo, only for Silver to raise his hand and catch Harriet right before she reached him.

"Sorry… but it's no use." The gray-furred Hedgehog said before thrusting forward to send Harriet flying, though Vine was able to catch her.

"Alright, that's enough!" Ironwood's voice sounded, signaling for the spar to end.

And as soon as the session ended, all the damage done to the training room seemed to repair itself as the damaged blocks and segments retracted and were pulled into the floor and ceiling to begin auto-repair. The Ace Ops recovered as Elm and Marrow helped each other to reach their comrades as Clover handed Blaze his hand to shake.

"That was good spar. I look forward to working with you, and seeing you in action, Miss Blaze." He granted.

"Same to you." Blaze accepted his handshake. "But please, just call me Blaze."

"Man, you guys are awesome!" Silver told the Ace Ops. "You got some crazy powers and weapons there! That thing you can do with your arms? So cool!" He said to Vine specifically.

"Thank you, your power is quite impressive as well." Vine nodded with a smile.

"Seriously… you were able to control so many objects… and even the flames of your partner…?!" Marrow looked especially excited as his tail wagged. "I can only freeze what I point at, and the most I can do is walk when I'm freezing someone! Man, I wish I had your power!"

"Sure… it's okay, I guess." Harriet criticized. "But way too blunt."

"Ignore her." Elm said to Silver. "She's the all-work, no-fun, type. But you got some serious power behind you little, guy." She said as she ruffled his head.

"Heh, thanks…" Silver replied in a somewhat embarrassing tone.

"Well done, everyone." Ironwood said as he entered the training room with Winter by his side. "Blaze, Silver, thank you for agreeing to this spar. I know you already said you would be of assistance to us, but I had to see what you were capable of."

"We understand, General Ironwood." Blaze assured. "And this was quite fun. Though I do have one request."

"Name it." Ironwood allowed.

Blaze held up the stump of her rapier. "First, I apologize for the loss of your weapon."

"That's just one of hundreds of spares that the Academy keeps if a student loses a weapon in combat and a new one is being built." Winter said. "No harm done."

"Well, my request is to have a weapon commissioned for me. One that allows me to harness my fire power without damaging the weapon itself. I have a few ideas that I'd be willing to share, if you would allow it." Blaze requested.

"Of course." Ironwood allowed. "And Silver? Do you have any weapon requests?"

"Not really." Silver shrugged. "No offense, I think your weapons are cool but… I just don't see myself being a sword-type. Not when I can do this." He said as he hovered in the air with his own powers.

"Then why not a shield?" Marrow suggested.

"Huh?" Silver looked to him confused.

"I get that swords and guns might not be your thing, but I got a weapon." Marrow showed off Fetch. "And it works well with my own Semblance, helping to cover the drawbacks I've said before. Maybe you could make a shield or something that you can call to you with your powers, or even for some extra protection."

"A shield, huh?" Silver thought about it for a moment. "That does sound pretty cool… I'll definitely think about it."

Blaze couldn't help but smile towards Silver. It seems he's made a new friend in the Ace Ops, and he was willing to learn new things from them too. But just then, she received a message on her own personal Scroll and pulled it out to see the message was from Tails.

"Hey, if you and Silver are ready, we should reach out to Sonic and the others and see how they're doing." The message read.

"We should go." Blaze said. "We need to contact Sonic and everyone and compare notes, formulate a plan."

"Go, but I expect to be kept in the loop when you're done." Ironwood said.

"Of course." Blaze nodded as she and Silver left the training room.

---

Mistral

Using his speed, Sonic pulled a wagon through the forested landscape, carrying Ruby, Amy, and Rose, all while heading for the requested meeting spot that Knuckles and Yang. With his speed, they reached their destination in no time at all: Spiral Hill Village.

"Wow…. There really is a town here." Amy said as they came to a stop, and they got off the wagon.

"Do you guys know this place?" Ruby asked.

"Nope, don't recognize it." Sonic said as they made their way up the pathway that led them into the town itself. They reached the gate at the top of the hill and into the town, where they saw all the anthropomorphic animals, showing that this town was indeed from Sonic's world, as Knuckles had said to them in his last message.

"Hey, there!" Looking up, the group saw the bouncing Tangle literally leaping from rooftop-to-rooftop before using her tail to swing herself at the gate to meet them. "I heard you were coming! You're Sonic the Hedgehog! The Sonic the Hedgehog!" She bounced up and down in front of him like a fangirl.

"Just Sonic… but nice to meet ya." Sonic smiled, offering his hand to shake, which Tangle do with her own tail.

"Tangle the Lemur. Always wanted to meet ya." She greeted.

"Charmed. And these are my friends, Amy and Ruby Rose." Sonic introduced.

"Hi." Ruby waved.

"Hello." Amy greeted.

"Aw, you two even have the same last name! That's cool!" Tangle shook Amy's hand with her own, while simultaneously shaking Ruby's with her tail, much to the girl's surprise and awe, evident by the stars in her eyes. "And is that a Wisp!?" She looked to Rosa in surprise, the wisp her giving a few happy chirps. "Aw, so cute!" She waved her finger at it. "Anyway, welcome to my home town! Let me give you guys the tour!"

"Um… totally would love that, but we should…" Ruby looked ready to get down to business.

"Hey, slow down, we got time." Amy assured the girl. "There's no crisis going on right now, so we can afford a few extra minutes of peace. Right, Sonic?"

"Totally. Maybe even get some chilidogs if they have any." Sonic winked to Ruby, causing the girl to smile before nodding.

"Alright, a quick tour." She allowed.

"Come on, let's go!" Tangle then led the group into her village to see some of the sights. Even if it was a relatively small town, it still had some noteworthy places to see and visit.

"First up, the bakery! It's a must for every breakfast." Tangle showed them a small bakery where a pastry chef was working, and providing some food for Pike, enjoying a nice doughnut. "The Salon…" Tangle said with her mouth partially full from the croissant that she ate, while Sonic, Ruby, and Amy had a French bread, a donut, and a muffin respectively. "I basically keep them in business buying their brushes. I tear through them trying to keep my tail neat." She showed them the building while Fenix was inside getting his hair done and clearly enjoying himself.

"Well, someone's bouncy…" Ruby noted as Tangle continued to bounce from place-to-place showing everyone all the sights.

"Reminds me of another certain girl I know." Amy said with a slight grin, nudging Ruby by the side, causing her to smile a bit too. "But seriously, Ruby. I get you want to get some stuff done, but we can afford to take a few minutes to relax, maybe even make some new friends." She gestured towards Tangle as she continued to show the group her hometown.

Ruby knew that Amy was right. And ordinarily, she too would be bouncing from every spot in this small town just like Tangle, wanting to see all the sights and explore. But ever since what happened at Beacon… a part of Ruby's spirit just felt lowered… not gone, but not as enthusiastic. But then, she reminded herself of what they recently accomplished at Mystic Ruins, putting an end to Rough and Tumble's misdeeds and freeing all the captive people as well as all those little Wisps. That was a good thing, and she really needed that victory more than she'd cared to admit.

And almost on cue, Rosa, happened to nudge herself into Ruby's face before bouncing in the air up and down, speaking in her cute but understandable language and gesturing to the town, almost like the Wisp herself was telling Ruby the same thing Amy was.

"See? Rosa gets it." Amy encouraged, causing Ruby to relax a little. Things were peaceful enough that no fight seemed to be around the corner, so maybe she could take some time to relax and explore this beautiful town.

"Hey, wait up!" Ruby caught up and made her way to Tangle. "Weird question, but you guys got a weapon's shop here?"

"Uh… no. But we do have a metallurgy where we make tools. Does that count?" Tangle asked.

"Kinda. Tools can we be weapons." Ruby replied. "Lead the way."

"Alright." Tangle used her tail to swing and attach herself to a lamppost as Ruby ran to match pace with her. "So, you got a thing for weapons or something?"

"Do I?!" Ruby beamed with joy. "By the way… how do you do that with your tail?! That's so cool!"

"Isn't it?!" Tangle beamed just as much as the girl. "It's been like this since I was born, and you could say it's my weapon with the things it can do!"

Ruby gasped with excitement at that. "Tell me everything!" She said happily as she and Rosa continued to follow Tangle.

"Well looks like someone's getting in a brighter mood." Amy observed as she hung closer to Sonic, only to notice a look on his face that showed he was deep in thought. "Uh hello? Earth to Sonic!" She snapped her fingers in front of him, breaking him out of his trance.

"Uh… yeah! I'm here!"

"Come on, don't tell me I gotta cheer you up to." Amy said in a questionable manner.

"I'm fine, Amy it's just…" Sonic sighed somewhat. "Knuckles said that his place was being attacked by Grimm when he and Yang got here. And this nice little town ended up here because of me. Because I used Chaos Control, and that got it and Mystic Ruins zapped here, along with the wisps. And maybe it's not only Mistral… what if something like this happened in the rest of Remnant…"

Such a thought began to disturb the Blue Blur. This brought back uncomfortable memories of when he shattered the Paradox Prism, which almost resulted in the destruction of not only his home world, but other worlds as well.

"Hey, you had no idea that would happen." Amy said to him. "None of this, because something like this never happened before when you go Super. In fact, you going Super usually fixes things."

"Too bad it didn't work like that this time around." Sonic replied.

"But you still saved Beacon, and everyone there." Amy insisted. "You wiped out the Grimm from half a continent! Whatever's going on, we'll figure it out and we'll fix it like we always do." She took both of his hands into her own. "I know you, Sonic. And I know you're not the type to let this get to you. So put on that confident smile and be the hero I know you to be, and I'll be by your side like always."

That caused Sonic to smile as he gave a slight sigh of relief. Amy was always a good shoulder to lean on and always someone who had his, and all their friends' back. One of the reasons he liked her.

"Thanks, and yeah, we'll set things right." Sonic said with a confident smile.

"There's the Sonic I love." Amy said as she took his hand and led them deeper in the village. "Come on, we still got a village to see."

After catching up, and seeing more of the sights, the group consisting of Sonic, Ruby, Amy, and Rosa were led by Tangle to a certain building which was being guarded by Arrasta and Asher.

"…And this is the Mineral Museum, run by my bestest friend!" Tangle showed them all. "And now it's got extra security!"

"Sup." Asher waved.

"Nice to meet you all. The Name's Arrastra, leader of Team SAFR." The blue-haired Faunus girl said friendly.

"Hey, I'm Ruby Rose, and I'm also a leader. I lead Team RWBY." Ruby greeted back.

"Really? You named a team after yourself." Asher said dryly, causing Ruby to look away somewhat.

"No… Ozpin named it…" She was taken by surprise when Arrastra put her arm around the younger girl in a friendly manner.

"Don't mind him, that was his attempt at a joke, we're still working on his sense of humor." The older leader assured. "And hey, I just realized something."

"What?" Ruby looked at her curiously.

"RWBY and SAFR. Red and Blue. Heck, that's even our own color scheme too! Pretty neat, huh?" Arrastra said.

That caused Ruby to smile as she got it. "Yeah… I get it. That is pretty cool."

"And we got plenty of actual rubies and sapphires right inside! Come on!" Tangle kicked the door open, startling the curator inside as she spilled all the papers in her hand, as well as catching the attention of the blonde girl and red Echidna who were also inside. "Hey, Jewel! We got company!"

The minute she saw her sister, Ruby immediately sped to her with a hug. "Yang!"

With a sigh of relief, Yang returned the hug to her sister. "Yeah… I missed you too."

Knuckles looked to the reunion with a smile and a nod before meeting with Sonic and Amy to share a fist-bump with the former. Only to look in surprise when he saw Rosa next to Ruby.

"Is that a Wisp?" He questioned.

"Yeah, long story. We'll explain in a bit." Sonic said.

"Alright, everyone this is Jewel. She's the curator." Tangle introduced the beetle to her newfound friends.

"Charmed." Tangle said to the group as Ruby broke off from her hug with Yang to meet the curator too.

"Jewel, the legendary Sonic the Hedgehog! His friend, Amy Rose, and my new friend Ruby Rose."

"Nice to meet you." Amy shook Jewel's hand.

"We grew up together." Tangle said, referring to herself and Jewel.

"Only because I was looking out for you." Jewel said to her childhood friend. "You're the 'antithesis of look before you leap'."

"True." Tangle made no effort to deny it.

"Sounds familiar." Yang nudged Ruby.

"Yeah, me always saving you when you get into trouble." The younger sister cracked, causing Yang to gasp with a grin before playfully pushing her sister, earning a chuckle from the group.

"We amassed quite a collection over the years." Jewel showed off the interior of her museum to the group, showing various gemstones, minerals, crystals, and other such objects. "Tangle, looking for adventure, and me, making sure she came back alive. Eventually, I put together this museum."

"It's beautiful." Ruby and Amy both said.

"And I'm grateful it's still in one piece, especially after those vile Grimm beasts showed up." Jewel said. "But I guess we were lucky that helped arrived when it did."

"Yeah, sounds like we gotta compare notes a bit." Sonic said, looking to Knuckles, who nodded in understanding. That's when the Echidna noticed Yang looking in his direction as she silently gestured to Ruby, silently asking him if it was okay for her talk with him, to which Knuckles nodded again.

"Um… quick question." Yang spoke up. "Is there a place where I can talk with my sister privately? I just… have a few things I need to say."

This caused Ruby to look with confusion and worry, before she looked to Sonic, who smiled and gestured for her to go with Yang, getting the feeling that Ruby wanted to say some things to.

"Of course." Jewel nodded. "My office. On the second floor, first door to the right."

"Thank you." Yang replied. "Ruby…?"

"Eh, yeah. Lead the way." The younger girl followed her older sister up the stairs and into Jewel's office. Rosa looked like she was about to follow them, but Ruby held out her hand. "Sorry Rosa… but… I just need to talk to my sister alone. Is that alright with you?"

Rosa looked down for a minute before perking back up and nodding, speaking in her usual cute dialect, causing Ruby to smile gratefully before entering the office.

---

Closing the door behind her, Yang asked the first question. "How are you holding up, Rubes?"

"I'm hanging in there." Ruby answered. "What about you?"

"Same." Yang replied. There was a brief awkward silence between the two sisters as they looked away for a moment before Yang spoke again. "Listen… about what happened… before we left Haven… I… I'm sorry that you had to hear what happened with me and Qrow. That got way out of control." The mention of that argument caused Ruby to look away, vividly recalling how Yang not only beat the tar out of her uncle but even said that she didn't want to see him again. "But… I meant what I said to Qrow… about not wanting to see him again."

Ruby winced at that. "But… I know what he did with Pyrrha was wrong but…"

"It's not just that…" Yang said. "He hasn't even apologized for it! He might have said how things could have maybe been handled better, but he seemed so willing to put Team JNPR through the same thing that he and his team with through! You'd think after losing Summer, he would have understood the pain of losing a teammate! But he just didn't seem to care!" The mention of her birth mother again caused Ruby to fidget. "Maybe he didn't… not when he had you." Yang muttered.

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

"Ruby… Please don't…. Don't be offended by this..." Yang struggled to find the right way to say this, in a way that she felt wouldn't hurt Ruby, but she was unable to formulate the best response for that. So, she decided to be blunt, if only to get it out there. "It always felt like you were Qrow's favorite, growing up. That he loved you more because you were Summer's daughter and he hated me because I was Raven's, or at least loved me the least... it made sense to think that since he spent more time with you than me... But honestly... It feels like that Qrow only ever saw us as replacements for our mothers. That I'm just a do-over with his sister, and you're supposed to be the next Summer. The fact that he trained you personally, and even supported Ozpin bringing you to Beacon early…"

"But I've wanted to be a Huntress like mom." Ruby protested. "I've always wanted to help people! I've always wanted to go to Beacon!"

"But you didn't ask to go early." Yang reminded, which caused Ruby's eyes to widen, realizing that was indeed the case. She didn't ask Ozpin to attend Beacon early and just thought that he would put her on the waiting list for when she was older or something. "And I know that you didn't ask to be the leader of our team either, not that I don't think you weren't good at it. I think you did a great job at Beacon. But I also know that Summer went to Beacon and was the leader of her team. And maybe that was Ozpin and Qrow's plan from the beginning. If it were just Ozpin it would be one thing, but Qrow…! Our own family…!? Trying to mold you into another Summer…?! I…" Yang clenched her fists tightly. "And as if that wasn't bad enough… he's been treating all our friends like garbage! Sonic, Knuckles, everyone… you know how badly he's treated them, even after everything they did for us! Sonic saved you and Beacon, and made all of Vale Grimm-free! And he has the nerve to say that Eggman coming here is Sonic's fault?! You can't tell me that you're not mad at him for that!"

"Of course I'm mad at him!" Ruby exclaimed. "I can't stand the way he's treating our friends!"

"Then why are you so eager to patch things up with him?!" Yang questioned. "Why even bother giving him another chance even though he hasn't freaking apologized!"

Ruby looked down at that, not having an answer right away. "I… I just don't want our family falling apart." She sniffled, causing Yang's expression to soften. "We lost Mom… I don't want to lose anyone else…"

Yang sighed before putting a hand on Ruby's shoulder, getting her attention. "I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm dumping all my problems on you. But… I just can't keep all this inside me anymore. Losing Summer hurt me just as much as it did you. And… it's always made me scared that I might lose you too… And with all the stuff that Qrow and Ozpin have been doing… the war against Salem… what's happened to people with Silver Eyes… I'm just scared that they're going to take you away from me. Even if you don't die… they might not let you stay with me. They'd do what they'd tried to do with Pyrrha and the Maidens…" She was almost brought to tears over that, the idea of losing her sister like she lost her birth mother and stepmother broke her heart.

The youngest half-sister looked to her elder in surprise and sympathy. Did Yang really feel that way? Did she really feel that Qrow would try to separate them? To take her away from her sister? A part of her wanted to believe that wasn't true, that Qrow wouldn't think about doing that. But ever since they left Patch, and Yang's fight with Qrow… there's been a seed of doubt in her about Qrow's intentions and that he really wasn't the beloved uncle she thought he was.

"Yang…" Ruby put her hand on her sisters', getting her attention as Yang looked to her with tears in her eyes and saw a comforting smile on Ruby's face. "I'm not going anywhere. No matter what anyone else tries, even if it's Qrow… I'm not going to leave you."

"Really…?" Yang asked shakily.

"Really." Ruby assured. "You were the one who raised me. And I know that must have been hard for you. But because of that, the one thing I know for sure… is that you are here for me. And I'm here for you. I will never leave you, Yang. I promise. I love you."

That was all Yang needed to hear. She smiled emotionally as she pulled her sister into a hug, who hugged her back. "I love you too…"

"But I need you to promise me something." Ruby said as they pulled apart. "If Qrow comes back… and he wants to make things right.… would you be willing to give him another chance?"

Yang's smile faded as she looked away somewhat, taking a moment to think before she answered. "He'd have a lot to make up for. For starters, he's gotta apologize to Pyrrha, to Jaune, to Sonic, hell to all of our friends. He was an ass and he's gotta own up to that."

"Absolutely." Ruby agreed.

"And if he does… then… I might be willing to hear him out." Yang muttered, causing Ruby to smile. "But…" Yang spoke again. "What if he doesn't? What if he still tries to act like none of that ever happened? That he was in the right to do what he did? And he still tries to take you away. What would you do? I need to know."

Now it was Ruby's smile that vanished as she let that sink in. Again, she hoped that wasn't the case, but her sister deserved an honest answer. "If that happens… then I'll stand against him." She said, surprising Yang. "I'm hoping he comes around, but if he doesn't… then I promise I'll stick with you and Sonic."

"Okay." Yang nodded. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't be." Ruby put on another smile. "You've always looked after me, maybe it's time for me to return to the favor."

Yang smiled again, feeling like a weight had been lifted off her chest. She now knew without a shred of doubt that Ruby would never leave her, even if someone tried to take her. "Thanks for hearing me out, Sis."

"Anytime." Ruby assured. "We should talk with the others though."

"Right." Yang said as she was the first to leave the office.

For the brief moment while she was alone, Ruby's smile disappeared as she took a moment to collect herself. She had hoped Qrow would indeed come around. After all, Shadow tried to destroy his whole planet and apparently attempted to kill Sonic in their first encounter. But if he was willing to turn around after all that, then there should be hope for Qrow to, right? But as much as he wanted to believe that, that shred of doubt was still there, and she couldn't shake it no matter how much she tried.

'No.' She thought to herself. 'You can't show anyone that kind of doubt. What kind of a leader doubts her own family? Yang, Sonic, and everyone need you to be at your best. Even if you can't match up to him or Mom, you still gotta do your best. You can't hold them back.'

Those were her thoughts as she rubbed the back of her neck, twisting it somewhat to get this odd kink she's been feeling for a while now… unaware of certain black crack-like mark slowly but surely growing at the back of her neck.

---

"…So, this Salem…" Jewel began to sum up the story that she and Tangle were just told by Sonic, Amy, and Knuckles. Arrastra and Asher returned outside to keep guarding the city along with the rest of their team. "…She's like the queen ant of these Grimm monsters… and she's working with Doctor Eggman?

"And my village got zapped to a whole new world because you… used cleared out all those Grimm on a completely different continent?" Tangle went along, looking to Sonic.

"I didn't intend to, I just…" Sonic tried before getting serious. "I never intended to pull anybody to Remnant. But I promise to find a way to get all of your back. Nobody here is getting hurt."

"We'll make sure of that." Knuckles added as he and Amy stood by Sonic's side.

Though Jewel seemed a bit uneasy, Tangle looked with unsurprised smile. "From what I've heard, you guys save the world almost every day. If anyone can find an answer to this mess, it's you guys." She had unwavering faith in these people, despite only just meeting them, which caused the trio to smile. "And if there's anything I can do to help…"

"We'll let you know." Amy replied. "But maybe it be best that you stay here and protect your village, Tangle. Vale might be Grimm-free, but Mistral isn't. And with what's going on in this Kingdom… I wouldn't count on somebody else showing up to help other than Team SAFR."

"Yeah, okay. Got it." Tangle nodded. As much as she wanted to join Sonic and the others on their adventure, her home and friends took priority, and she would protect them with her life.

"You told them?" Ruby looked in surprise as she and Yang entered the main room. Rosa quickly flew over to Ruby and nuzzled against her face, causing the girl to smile.

"Figured they were due an explanation given what their village just went through." Sonic said. "So, you two doing alright?"

"Yeah, we're fine." Yang smiled, looking to Knuckles specifically, who smiled and nodded with approval. "We should call the others, see how they're doing."

"Yep. In fact, we just got a message from Tails." Amy pulled out her scroll. "Everyone's checked in and we're ready for a group chat. They're just waiting on us."

"Great!" Ruby smiled, it would be nice to see everyone again, even if it hasn't been so long since they all parted ways.

"Hey, can we have the room, please?" Amy requested. "I know this is your museum Jewel, but…"

"I understand." The beetle assured. "Do what you need to do. And I'm not sure we can contribute much to this conversation anyway."

"Okay, we'll be right outside." Tangle said as she and her best friend walked out the front door.

Amy had her scroll out again as she spotted Tails' signature icon, likely an app he just invented and remotely installed and clicked it. Her scroll then shined as several holographic forms of all their friends appeared in the room. This included Tails himself, as well as Weiss, Blake, Shadow, Jaune, and Pyrrha. Though Tails, Weiss, and Blake appeared to have each gone through something of a wardrobe change.

Tails' new attire was something of a mix between a lab coat and a jumpsuit, all one-piece and a light blue sort of color with yellow patches on his elbows and knees, covering him from the neck down, all leaving a small opening for his dual tails. He also carried a pair of goggles on his forehead.

Weiss was now sporting a more colorful outfit. While white was still the dominant color, her new attire now had quite a bit of blue and red in it. She had a white jacket attached to a combat skirt with a red sash around her waist that had a snowflake emblem on it, along with a blue undershirt, blue gloves attached to her sleeves and dark blue knee-high boots.

Blake wore an all-black outfit that seemed fit for a proper kunoichi. She wore a black sleeveless-top attached to a pair of black shorts, along with a pair of unattached shoulder-length sleeves on her arms and thigh-high leggings with black shoes. Her hair was also tied back in a ponytail and she no longer had her ribbon to hide her cat-like ears.

But of course, Ruby and all her friends, and especially Team Sonic and Shadow were surprised to see the holographic forms of Silver, Blaze, and Vector all present as well.

"Hello, Sonic." Blaze greeted.

"Hey everyone!" Silver waved.

"S'up Sonic. Knuckles." Vector grinned.

"Blaze?!" Amy exclaimed.

"Silver?!" Sonic shouted.

"Vector?!" Knuckles questioned.

"This is certainly unexpected." Shadow noted.

"Friends of yours?" Jaune wondered.

"Allies." Shadow responded.

"H-how… how in the world did you guys get here?!" Sonic questioned, still not over his shock with Ruby and Yang being just as surprised. More people from Sonic's world are on Remnant? Not only that, but they all seem to know Sonic.

"Well my team and I ended getting zapped over here to Remnant from when you used Chaos Control." Vector explained. "Oh, and I know the whole story with Eggman working with Salem, so no need to fill me in there."

"Same for us." Blaze added, referring to herself and Silver. "Though we did not arrive via Chaos Control. Silver and I came to Remnant through the Sol Emeralds, and we are here to offer our aid."

"We ended up running into Tails and Weiss on their way back to Atlas and they told us about Salem too." Silver added.

"So Espio and Charmy are here too?" Tails asked.

"They are." Blake confirmed. "I met the Chaotix on my way back home along with Sun…"

"Sun's with you?" Yang questioned.

"Yeah, he snuck aboard my ship, and he knows the whole story about Salem too." Blake commented in partial annoyance.

"Why does that not surprise me?" Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Um… I hate to be rude…" Pyrrha spoke up. "But perhaps some introductions are in order?"

"Okay. To those who don't know…" Sonic began to introduce his newly arrived friends. "First up, is Blaze. She's the princess of another dimension and the guardian of the Sol Emeralds. They're like Chaos Emeralds but fiery."

"Wait… a princess…?!" Jaune exclaimed in comic shock. "A real live princess…!?"

"I am indeed." Blaze confirmed. "A pleasure to meet you."

"Up next is Silver, and get this… he's a hedgehog from the future." Sonic revealed.

"The future?!" Ruby practically screamed with her eyes nearly bulging out.

"Technically, yeah. But that future doesn't exist anymore." Silver replied. "Long story and I'd rather not talk about it. But it's nice to meet you all."

"And lastly, we have Vector, leader of the Chaotix Detective Agency." Sonic summed up. "These guys might seem goofy, but they've helped us loads of times in the past."

"It's true." Knuckles confirmed with a smile. "They helped me more than once. They're good friends and reliable allies."

"Yep, when Chaotix is on the case, we never leave a job unfinished." The crocodile himself grinned.

"You seem like a big guy." Yang observed. "Think you could go for a little arm wrestling when we meet up?" She challenged with a grin.

"Sure, if you got the strength for it, little lady." Vector grinned back.

"'Little'?" Yang questioned in amused annoyance.

"It is indeed a pleasure to meet you all, young Huntsmen and Huntresses of Remnant." Blaze said to the group of former students who haven't met her yet. "But as said before, we are aware of the situation on this world, as well as know who each of you are, so that will save us time. It may be best for us to simply cut to the chase to solve the crisis at hand."

"Agreed." Shadow nodded. "My team as well as Team JNPR have just arrived in Vacuo. We made contact with Headmaster Theodore and learned the identity and status of the current Summer Maiden."

"And?" Knuckles encouraged to continue.

"Her name is Starr Sanzang." Pyrrha replied. "We haven't met her yet, but from what Professor Theodore has said, she seems like a reliable person."

"And Theodore said he was willing to work with us to help fight Eggman and Salem." Jaune said.

"And he can be trusted?" Blake asked.

"He is willing to be cooperative with us. He is a rather straight-forward individual, so I believe he is on our side." Shadow confirmed.

"We also met with Team CFVY too." Pyrrha revealed, surprising the members of Team RWBY. "We haven't told them about Salem yet, but we might, depending on how things go."

"And how are things going for you in Atlas, buddy?" Sonic asked Tails. "Love the new suit, by the way." He gave his friend a friendly point with his finger.

"Thanks, and we're doing pretty well here, actually." The young fox replied. "Ironwood seems willing to cooperate. He told Winter and the Ace Ops about Salem too."

"What about the Winter Maiden?" Yang asked, which caused Tails, Blaze, Silver, and even Weiss to look a little uncomfortable, much to the group's concern.

"Her name is Fria." Blaze explained. "But she is an elderly woman who is not long for this world. Ironwood even suspects she may have a year left to live."

That caused everyone present to look in surprise and sympathy, with even Shadow's expression softening.

"He offered Winter the chance to be her successor." Weiss revealed with a complicated expression. "My sister hasn't made her choice yet, but if she declines, Harriet and Elm from the Ace Ops are willing to step in. But the Winter Maiden is secure for now."

"What about Penny?" Ruby asked with concern.

Tails smiled at that. "Her repairs are coming along smoothly. I've been working closely with Professor Polendina, and we've even given her plenty of upgrades. I even installed my anti-virus program into her so if anyone tries to hack her, they're gonna have a really hard time trying to get in. If things continue the way they do, she should be up by tomorrow."

"Awesome!" Sonic smiled.

Ruby felt her heart at that as emotions began to fill her body. Penny was coming back…! She would never forget what had happened to her at Beacon… A part of her was worried that she might be gone forever. But… that wasn't the case. She's coming back… And Ruby couldn't be any happier about that. She was already sniffling as Yang reached out to put a comforting hand on her right shoulder with Amy doing something similar by holding Ruby's left hand. Even Rosa cuddled up to Ruby's face. She couldn't help but smile at all their support.

"What about Cinder?" Shadow inquired. "She was taken into Ironwood's custody. Were you able to gain any intel from her?"

"No." Tails shook his head, his smile fading.

"You did a huge number on her Shadow." Silver added. "She's lost both her arms, her legs are completely wrecked, and she's got enough internal damage that she's been put into a coma!"

"It might not have been just what Shadow did though." Tails spoke up. "Further study shows that the Grimm that was previously inside her was attached to some of her vital organs. And when it was removed…" Tails didn't even need to finish as everyone could put it altogether, causing them to wince as they pictured it. Despite everything Cinder did, it was still uncomfortable to know that there was a Grimm inside her. "…Ironwood wants us to see if we can use cybernetics to at least restore her cognitive functions so we can get some intel on Salem. But… with the physical trauma she's sustained… I don't know."

"Has anyone ever told you that you can be too ruthless at times?" Weiss questioned to Shadow.

"Only when it's deserved, and she did deserve that." The black Hedgehog replied before looking down somewhat. "Though perhaps... I could have pulled some punches... We needed the intel." He groaned out of frustration towards himself.

"Okay…" Sonic tried to get back to the main topic. "What about Menagerie? Anything there?" He asked Blake and Vector.

"We managed to get my parents on board, and he has some contacts here that might be able to help us find any Chaos Emeralds that might have appeared on the island." Blake answered.

"But we did manage to snatch up a couple of White Fang spies working for Eggman." Vector revealed. "We got em locked up in the basement, and Espio is trying to interrogate some info out of them."

"Might want to watch yourselves then." Knuckles advised. "There might be other spies there."

"Don't worry, we're looking into it." Blake replied.

"So, were you able to patch things up with your parents, Blake?" Ruby asked. "I know what our job is but... I know that you wanted to..."

Blake gave an assuring smile. "It's alright, Ruby. Thank you, and yes, we were able to talk things out."

"Happy to hear that." Amy nodded to her friend, who nodded back. Ruby too smiled for her teammate, all while Yang looked away somewhat. While she was indeed happy for her partner in making amends with her family, she would be lying to say that she didn't feel a tad bit envious, given how messed up her own family is compared to Blake's more stable household. At least she still has both her parents, and they were honest with her.

"What about you guys? How are things in Mistral?" Vector questioned.

Sonic and his group shared a few winces. "Not great… actually." The blue Hedgehog said.

"On the bright side, we managed to get Lionheart to work with us." Amy said.

"And the bad news?" Weiss questioned expectantly.

"Mistal is a mess." Knuckles said bluntly. "This kingdom's council's pretty much locked down every huntsman in the main city, more-or-less abandoning all the outline villages. And all the prejudice towards the Faunus is only growing because the White Fang helped Eggman attacked Beacon." That earned a growl from Blake while Weiss looked away somewhat, the latter wondering if things were that bad in Mistral, they could be even worse in Atlas.

"What about the Spring Maiden?" Jaune asked.

"Apparently she disappeared over a decade ago, and Lionheart's got no idea where she is." Sonic said, much to everyone's surprise.

"What?!" Weiss, Tails, Blake, Jaune, and even Pyrrha all questioned.

"And here I thought Ozpin had all of Remnant wrapped around his finger." Jaune commented with partial spite.

"For real. Losing someone for over a decade?! That's way too sloppy for anyone!" Vector agreed.

"We're trying to see if we can find her ourselves but, with the Mistralian government the way it is, it's gonna be a long search." Amy put in. "We're more-or-less on our own."

"What of Branwen? Where is he?" Shadow questioned, which caused Ruby to look away.

"He's gone…" She muttered.

"He abandoned you?!" Blake exclaimed.

"I told him to get lost." Yang said immediately. "I thought I couldn't trust him, and I still completely don't."

Those that knew the situation with Qrow had mixed feelings about it. On one end, it was understandable why Yang felt that way and didn't blame her for it. But he still could have had some information that they could have used.

"I do have one question though. What exactly is… that?" Blaze's holographic form pointed to Rosa, finally drawing everyone's attention to her. Weiss, Jaune, Blake, and Pyrrha looked more curious than anything else at the small and colorful creature.

"Is that a Wisp?!" Tails questioned in surprise.

"Eh, yeah." Sonic answered. "The Wisps are basically aliens that Eggman tried to weaponize a while back. I saved their planet, but a few chose to stick around on my world." He explained to everyone who didn't know what a Wisp was.

"But how is one on Remnant?" Silver aksed.

"It's not just this one." Sonic revealed. "A whole bunch of em were taking shelter in Mystic Ruins, a set of temples in my world, and that got transported here via Chaos Control, like you Vector." He said to the crocodile.

"In fact, this village were in, Spiral Hill, is also from our world." Knuckles added. "But it and its inhabitants got pulled here the same way."

While Tails, Weiss, Silver, Blaze, Vector, and Blake were certainly surprised, Shadow exchanged glances with Jaune and Pyrrha, something Amy noticed. "Something similar happened in Vacuo, didn't it?" The pink Hedgehog questioned.

"Yes. Pyramid Base, which was once under the Doctor's control, also appeared in Remnant." Shadow reveled, surprising Sonic and everyone.

"The rest of our group, along with Team CFVY are about to set out to investigate it." Pyrrha informed.

"Eggman apparently abandoned it a long time ago, but somebody is there." Jaune added. "And we think we might be able to use it to hack into Eggman's network."

"Let me know when that happens. I can definitely try to use that." Tails said.

"Will do." Jaune nodded.

"But how exactly is that even possible?" Weiss wondered. "I understand how powerful the Chaos Emeralds are… but to have people and locations pulled over to our world…?"

"I may have a theory." Blaze began. "The Sol Emeralds are essentially my world's equivalent of the Chaos Emeralds and they are tied directly to my dimension. Therefore, when their power is used outside my dimension… my world will be pulled directly to the one they currently reside in, resulting in two dimensions colliding, which could be catastrophic. Perhaps this is something similar. Have the Chaos Emeralds ever been used in another dimension besides their own?"

"Only once, when we had to fight Ix in the Twilight Cage." Tails remembered. "But we left right after that, and that was a pocket dimension that didn't abide by the normal rules of space and time."

"But Remnant appears to do so." Blaze said.

This caused Sonic to look towards Shadow, wondering if he had the answers. The black Hedgehog recognized his lookalike's expression and was very concerned with this development. "If Blaze's theory is correct, then perhaps using Chaos Control to purge the rest of Remnant of Grimm might not be a good idea."

"Could Chaos Control fix it though?" Jaune wondered.

"Possibly…" Shadow said with an uncertain look, indicating that even he was unsure.

"Oh, I have an idea!" Silver raised his hand. "What if I go Super with you guys? My powers get like a crazy boost too! But instead of using Chaos Control, I just use my super-charged psychokinesis to literally pull all the Grimm off the planet, Salem included? No time-space powers needed."

"Seems simple enough." Vector said.

"Yeah, that could work…" Sonic said before looking to Rosa. "But… I also had the idea of asking the Wisps for help."

"Really?" Weiss questioned skeptically. "These little creatures? Sonic, I trust your judgement, but…"

"No, Weiss. He's right." Ruby said immediately. "Despite their cute and adorable appearance…" She gushed a bit and waved her finger in front of Rosa who giggled at her. "These guys are crazy powerful. I saw them clear away a forest of Grimm like nothing!"

"Seriously?" Yang looked in just as much surprise as her fellow former students.

"Seriously." Ruby confirmed.

"It's true. The Wisps are a lot stronger than they look." Tails explained. "They're an energy-based species. I've even seen them hold off a black hole! Heck, when Eggman pulled their star system across the universe to build his inter-stellar theme park, they were able to send it back with their power alone!"

"No way...!"" Weiss, Blake, Jaune, Pyrrha, Yang, and even Silver all shouted, with even Blaze looking surprised.

"Oh yeah. These guys are real powerhouses." Sonic smirked.

"But… that was also the combined effort of most of their species." Tails said. "I know a few chose to stick around on our world, but probably over a hundred at most."

"That's about as many as we saw in Mystic Ruins." Amy confirmed.

"I don't know if that's enough to completely clear the planet. Maybe a continent? If we do it one continent at a time…? But of course, we'd have to ask them first." Tails said.

"That's not the only issue. The Wisps may be powerful, but the Doctor was able to corrupt them and use them as weapons before." Shadow recalled. "And if he's capable of such a thing, then Salem likely is as well."

That really caused Sonic to look uncomfortable. He remembered when Eggman had corrupted the Wisps… and if Salem was as bad as he's been told, she would certainly try to do the same. He already shivered as he imagined the Wisps being turned into Grimm-like versions of themselves, and it wasn't a pretty picture to imagine. The last thing he wanted as them getting hurt because of him. Maybe asking them for help wasn't such a…

Suddenly, Rosa chirped rapidly, bouncing all across the room as it sounded like she was trying to say something.

"Um… what's she saying?" Yang asked.

"No idea…" Knuckles confirmed.

"Hang on." The hologram of Tails showed him pulling out his Miles Electric and hooking it up to his personal scroll. "Like I said before, I knew a few Wisps were going to stay and live on our world, so I kept my translator program. If I can download it to my scroll and transmit it to each of yours…" After typing in a series of commands in his personal device, everyone's scrolls beeped, prompting the entire group to pull them out as they saw a new feature uploaded and installed in their devices. One that had the icon of a White Wisp on it.

Ruby pressed the button first as a sonogram appeared on her scroll. "Um… hello?"

"Hello, Ruby." A high feminine voice popped up, causing her to gasp as she looked up to see Rosa in front of her.

"Rosa…? Did you just…?"

"Talk? Yeah. Well, I've always been talking, you just didn't quite understand me." Rosa spoke.

A wide smile formed on Ruby's face as she pulled Rosa in for a hug with a squeal.

"Knew keeping that translator program would come in handy." Tails smiled.

"Tails, buddy… you never cease to surprise me." Sonic smirked.

"I'm so glad that you can all understand me now!" Rosa flew in the middle of the room for all to see and hear her. "And just so you know, we want to help!"

"Really? Sonic looked in surprise.

"But Rosa, it's dangerous…" Ruby said.

"So? We've faced danger before. When Baldy Nosehair came to our home, we were scared. But then, Sonic came to our rescue and saved us all!" Rosa then flew to Sonic directly. "You told us that we were stronger than how most see us. You showed us that we can fight and stand for ourselves. So let us fight and save your world from Badly Nosehair and that evil witch! We want to help you!"

Once again, Sonic was reminded just how brave and powerful these little guys were, despite their small and squishy appearance. And at this point, they needed all the help that they can get. With that, Sonic showed off his usual confident smile and gave the pinkish Wisp a friendly point.

"Right on. Welcome aboard." He shared a high-five with the Wisp before she flew over to Ruby and who hugged her, with the Wisp squealing in delight.

Such a sight caused everyone in the room to smile, with even Shadow giving a nod. Despite the risk he mentioned, they really did need all the help they could get.

Right then, Jaune found himself laughing aloud, surprising everyone. "Sorry… it's just… 'Badly Nosehair'?! Was she talking about Eggman…?!" He said in-between laughs.

Sonic then laughed, processing it himself. "Yep, that's what the Wisps call him. Baldy Nosehair. Though I tend to call him Baldy McNosehair."

Ruby, Yang, Jaune, Silver, Vector, and even Pyrrha all broke out in laughter at that. Knuckles, Blaze, Blake, and even Weiss chuckled at the remark as well, with even a half-grin appearing on Shadow's own face.

"Okay… I am definitely calling him McNosehair the next time I see him!" Yang said as she continued to laugh before calming down. "Oh, and that's not the only good news we got!"

"That's right." Knuckles pulled out the blue Chaos Emerald, much to the surprise of Tails, Weiss, Blake, Vector, Silver, Blaze, Jaune, and Pyrrha.

"You found a Chaos Emerald!" Tails said in joy.

"Yep. A Grimm was using this to empower itself while attacking Spiral Hill." Knuckles answered. "But we stopped it."

"That's great! So, one down, and six to go!" Silver said with confidence.

"Tails? You think you can use this to track the others?" Knuckles inquired.

"Hold it over your scroll, I'll see if I can scan it. It'll be hard doing it a long distance but maybe…" Tails instructed. Knuckles did as so and held his scroll in one hand over the blue Chaos Emerald in the other. Tails then got to work with his own scroll, hooking it to the Miles Electric. "Alright, I've isolated the energy signature. Now if I can wire that into the Emerald Radar program and factor in Remnant's topography…" Tails focused hard as he typed in all the necessary commands before his screen brightened. "I got it… I think I got it!"

"You know where the other Emeralds are?" Sonic asked as everyone looked hopeful.

"I wasn't able to lock onto their specific locations… because I'm using my radar feature long-distance… But I have managed to locate their general proximity. This more than narrows down our search!" Tails explained.

"Well, don't leave us hanging, little guy! Where are they?!" Yang asked excitedly.

"Hang on, I'm transmitting their locations to each of your scrolls." Tails said, prompting everyone to look at their individual scrolls. "It looks like there's another in Mistral… on the northern tip of the continent. Maybe close to the city of Argus…"

"Argus…?" Jaune and Pyrrha both said simultaneously as they look to each other.

"You know that place?" Vector asked.

"That's my hometown… My mother lives there!" Pyrrha revealed, surprising everyone.

"My sister Saphron lives there too, with her wife Terra." Jaune added.

"I also know there's an Atlas military base there." Weiss said.

"So, we'll talk with General Ironwood and see if he can have his soldiers there help in the search." Blaze offered.

"Great, but what about the others?" Amy asked.

"Well, it looks like there's at least two here in Atlas…" Tails looked at the radar. "One a bit closer to the city… the other at the northern most tip of that continent too. We'll definitely look into those. And another seems to be in Menagerie…"

Blake looked at the findings on her scroll. "And that one seems to be smack dab in the middle of the desert."

"I'm guessing that's not a friendly spot to be." Yang assumed, noticing the disgruntle look on her partner's face.

"Well, if you don't mind dealing with dangerous desert Grimm while you're there." Blake replied.

"Leave that one to us." Vector said.

"There's one in Vacuo too…. But I can't pick up its exact location either." Tails informed. "There's a lot of interference in that area, but it seems to be in the central spot of the region."

"We'll look into it." Shadow said. "And the last one?"

Tails got the general location of the seventh and final Emerald… but once he found it, a shocked and borderline horrified look fell on his face… much to everyone's concern.

"Tails…?" Amy looked worried.

"Found it… but… it looks like it's on the Grimm's home turf." Tails revealed, pulling up an image of the black dragon-shaped continent with a dot in the middle of it.

"Salem's neighborhood." Sonic said seriously, which caused everyone to look either serious or nervous. He clicked his tongue before speaking again. "Ten chilidogs says she's probably found that one already."

"And if she hasn't, she will soon." Blaze commented.

"When we first arrived in Spiral Hill… it was being attacked by a Grimm that was amplifying its own power with this Chaos Emerald." Yang said. "And if a simple Grimm can do that…"

"It could empower Salem too." Knuckles said with a grave expression on his face.

"So?" Silver tried to get everyone's spirits up. "We got one, too! And we know where the others are! We'll find them, overwhelm Salem and take that last one back!"

"That's assuming it all goes as smoothly as we want it to." Weiss commented.

"We got no time to waste, let's get looking." Sonic said as he was prepared to leave.

"Sonic, wait!" Blake got his attention. "I know finding the Emeralds is important, but we need allies too! And if things are as bad as you say they are in Mistral, then… you need to find Sienna Khan!"

"She's right." Vector agreed. "And Eggman could have more spies in her midst."

"Can we be certain that this Sienna Khan can be trusted?" Blaze inquired. "From what I gather, the White Fang aren't exactly open-minded. No offense."

"And Sienna Khan is also the one who turned the White Fang from a peaceful protest into an armed militia." Pyrrha added.

"I know what you're all thinking, but listen to me." Blake pleaded. "I know Sienna and she is not a fanatic like Adam! If the whole world is in danger, that includes the Faunus, so I'll know she'll listen!"

"Got any idea where we can find her?" Ruby asked.

"We were able to pull off the scrolls from those two spies we nabbed." Vector informed. "We got their GPS logs and found only one spot they would frequently go to in Mistral. I'll send it to you." The crocodile pulled out his scroll and forwarded the location he talked about.

Sonic looked to his scroll and saw the sent coordinates, it appeared to be on the eastern side of the continent, in the middle of a desert-volcano based area. "It looks like her place is near a volcano."

"Mount Nacluv." Weiss identified. "It was an old Schnee Dust Company mine that had a plethora of Fire Dust crystals before it was run dry. Now it's abandoned."

"Seems like the perfect place for a militia to hide." Yang commented.

"Okay, here's the plan." Sonic said to his group. "I'll speed my way over to Nacluv and try to recruit Sienna. You guys, head to Argus and see if you can find that other Chaos Emerald there."

"We could come with you." Ruby offered.

"No, I'll be faster on my own." Sonic declined.

"Hey Sonic, just so you know… everyone in Menagerie looks up to you cause of your little flashy stunt in Vale." Vector put in. "Every Faunus here is calling you the Golden Hero. Maybe you can use that…"

"I'm not one for publicity but… I'll try." Sonic shrugged.

"It's the same here in Atlas too." Weiss added. "Everyone on Remnant is reacting to what happened..."

"Yeah, we heard all that from Lionheart." Knuckles replied.

"The rest of us will see what we can do about finding the other Emeralds." Shadow said. "We'll look into the one in Vacuo once we've secured Pyramid Base."

"Sounds like we have a plan now." Jaune said. "Oh and hey, Ruby before you go…" He got her attention. "I just… wanted to say that I'm sorry for how things went in your house before we left. I shouldn't have brought up your mom… I'm sorry." His holographic form showed a sincere look in his eyes, indicating that he really meant it.

Ruby was momentarily stunned by this… but nonetheless, she smiled gratefully towards her friend and fellow leader and gave a nod. "Thank you, Jaune. And for the record, I appreciate you standing up for me…"

"Anytime." Jaune smiled.

This gesture caused for Pyrrha to smile proudly towards him, with Shadow giving a slight nod of approval.

"And before we all go… I just wanted to say… I miss you guys." Ruby said to everyone. "I know we only just left a short a while ago but… Weiss… Blake… Jaune… Pyrrha… Tails… all of you… I really do miss you."

Each of them had smiles of their own. "I miss you too, Ruby." Weiss said sincerely.

"We all do." Blake said as well. "And yes Yang, I miss you too." She joked a bit, though the words were still sincere, something the blonde could tell.

"Yeah… same here." Yang said to her partner somewhat emotionally, despite trying to keep up an assuring smile. "By the way, love the new look."

A slight giggle escaped Blake's lips as a small blush appeared. "Thanks…"

"Tails, tell Penny I said 'hi' when she's back. And that I miss her too." Ruby said.

"Sure thing." Tails nodded.

"And I miss you too buddy." Sonic said to his best friend and surrogate brother, who smiled towards him. "But I don't miss you, Shadow." He joked, earning laughs form everyone.

"The feeling is mutual." Shadow replied, earning more laughs from the rest of the group.

"Tell Nora and Ren that we said hi too." Amy said to Jaune and Pyrrha.

"Same to Coco and the others." Yang added.

"We will." Pyrrha assured. "Now go crush some Grimm." She grinned.

"Good luck, to you all." Blaze said to everyone.

"May we meet together on the battlefield soon!" Silver vowed, trying to sound cool.

"Until then, hang in there!" Vector saluted before his and everyone else's hologram cut off, ending the group chat between the heroes.

---

Once that was all settled, Sonic and his group left the Mineral Museum, getting the attention of Tangle, Jewel, and even Team SAFR. "Hey Tangle! Jewel!" Sonic waved. "Thanks for having us, but I gotta go! Got a world to save!"

"It's cool, I get it! Thanks for coming over!" Tangle waved friendly.

"And, no rush… but please do try to find a way for us to return home relatively soon?" Jewel requested, trying to sound as polite as possible, despite being clearly nervous.

"You got it!" Sonic waved back.

"Hey Sonic…" Ruby got his attention one last time. She looked like she was about to say something, but hesitated for a minute before putting on a confident smile. "If you run into Eggman… Go scramble him up for me."

"No problem. And I'll make it extra crispy for your sake." The blue Hedgehog grinned before speeding down the path that led down the hill and away from the village. In a matter of seconds, the Fastest Thing Alive disappeared from the area completely, leaving only a blue energy trail in his wake.

When he was gone though, while Yang, Knuckles, and Amy went to speak with Tangle, Jewel, and Team SAFR, Ruby's smile faded and her spirit lowered somewhat, something Rosa noticed.

"What's wrong, Ruby?" The pinkish Wisp asked.

"I… I guess I'm just worried." The girl confessed.

"There's no need to worry about Sonic!" Rosa beamed. "He's the fastest being in the universe! He can defeat any enemy that crosses his way!"

"I know that." Ruby replied. "He's stronger than all of us… I'm more worried about us without him."

Rosa did dampen slightly at that, but tried to perk herself back up as she cuddled up to Ruby's face. "I'm worried too… But, we got all your friends and his. I'm sure it'll be okay."

Ruby chuckled slightly as she patted Rosa. "Thanks…"

"You're leaving for Argus?" Asher questioned.

"Yeah, it's important that we get there as quick as possible." Amy confirmed.

"Oooh, low roll there." Pike winced. "It would take several days to walk all the way to Argus. The fastest is by train, or airship."

"Fortunately, Lionheart sent an airship to pick us up." Arrastra said. "You can just borrow that and take that to Argus. We'll hoof it the way back to the city. It's how we got here in the first place."

"You'd do that for us?" Yang asked in surprise.

"After what you just did to that Geist when we first met? I'd say you'd earned it." Fenix put a hand of approval on Yang's shoulder. "You're gonna go far, Yang. Believe that."

Yang looked in awe at the praise she just received from a professional Huntsmen no less. With a humble smile, she bowed her head. "Thanks… And it was nice to meet you guys."

Knuckles smiled at the praise Yang just received, only for a shadow to loom over the whole group, catching their attention. Looking up, everyone saw a Mistralian airship lowering itself into the town square just outside the museum.

"Huh, perfect timing." Arrastra smiled.

The group went to the ship as it touched down and the side doors opened, revealing a group of individuals that surprised Ruby, Yang, as well as Knuckles and Amy.

"Oh, hey Ruby! Hey, Yang!" Neptune waved as he and his teammates, Scarlet and Sage stepped out, with Nolan Porfirio right behind them.

"Neptune?!" The two half-sisters exclaimed in surprise.

"Friends of yours?" Tangle wondered.

"They're Huntsmen students from Haven." Amy explained. "We met them at Beacon a while back."

"What are you guys doing here?" Ruby asked, still not over her surprise.

"Professor Lionheart sent this ship to pick up Team SAFR." Sage answered.

"We didn't exactly ask for kids to escort us." Asher commented skeptically. "No offense, but we can handle ourselves."

"Oh, none taken." Neptune replied. "He sent the ship for you guys, but he sent us here to help look after this village."

"Really?" Knuckles asked.

"It's true." Scarlet confirmed. "We know what's going on in the main city… with all Huntsmen being locked down to protect it. But we're only students…" A smirk fell on his face. "And the order doesn't necessarily pertain to us."

"You can rest at ease, ladies." Neptune bowed cooly to Tangle and Jewel. "Team SSNN is here for your protection."

"Oh… well, thank you…" Jewel, while grateful for the assist, she didn't exactly appreciate the way this Neptune-person was speaking to her.

"Well, hey, there! Totally nice to meet you guys!" Tangle used her tail to pull all of Team SSNN into a group embrace. "You're gonna love my hometown!"

"I'm sure we will." Neptune smiled before looking to Ruby and Yang. "So, where are Weiss and Blake? Arslan said that she met with you guys in the city, and I know Lionheart told us to expect you guys here but… they never said about the rest of your team."

"Weiss and Blake are on their own missions." Yang explained. "They had to go to Atlas and Menagerie. We just ended a call with them and the rest of our friends."

"By the way, thanks again for sending Sun." Ruby said, which only ended up confusing the team of young men.

"Sun?" Scarlet wondered, much to Ruby's confusion.

"Yeah… Sun ended up joining Blake." The girl said. "He's with her in Menagerie…"

"He's what?!" Sage questioned, much to the surprise of Ruby, Yang, Knuckles, and even Amy.

"Wait… he didn't tell you guys?" Yang asked.

"No, he didn't!" Scarlet stated. "He said he was going to catch up to us but… Menagerie?! That's on the other side of the world!"

"Ugh!" Sage smacked his hand on his face. "At this point, I'm not surprised."

"Hold on… he's done this kind of thing before?" Ruby questioned.

"All the time!" Scarlet complained. "How do you think he ended up in Vale before the rest of us?! He hitched a ride on that cargo ship before we even left Mistral!"

"Well… he did say he would meet up with us…" Neptune tried to ease them. "And he always does…"

Sage scoffed. "I'll give it maybe a couple months before we even hear from him again. And a couple days before he disappears again!" He shook his head in disappointment. "Some leader…"

As much as Ruby wanted to say something in defense of Sun, such as him helping Blake right now, which she was grateful for… she couldn't help but silently agree. Sun is supposed to be the leader from his team. But he ditched them?! He left without even telling them what he was doing!? What kind of a leader abandons heir team like that?! Her fists clenched in anger just thinking about it.

"Ruby…?" Rosa looked to her with concern, snapping her out of her angry thoughts, which she attempted to shake off.

"Nothing. Thanks for the ride, Neptune." Ruby said as she rubbed the back of her neck. "We should get going." She told the rest of her group.

"Right." Knuckles agreed as he and Amy boarded the ship alongside Ruby, with Rosa flying after her. Yang was the last one on, bringing her motorcycle onboard.

Once they were all inside, the ship's side doors closed before it took off and proceeded to fly away from Spiral Hill Village.

"We should head out too." Arrastra said to her team.

"Right." Pyke nodded. "Thanks for having us." He waved to Tangle and Jewel.

"Thanks for your help!" Tangle waved with her tail as she saw Team SAFR leave her town before turning to Team SSNN. "So, who wants a tour?"

---

Atlas – Schnee Manor

Weiss left the confines of her room, having just gotten off the group conversation with all her friends, all with a smile on her face. It was nice to see and hear from them all again, and she hoped that she'd still be able to do so. But first up, she had a job to do here.

As she walked through the empty hallways of her home, Weiss had her scroll out, which she used to transmit the data of the general location of the Chaos Emeralds to Winter. Her older sister could relay the information to General Ironwood, and if everything worked well, they would be able to find three Emeralds. But as optimistic as she wanted to be about all of it, she was also scared that something could go wrong at any given time. Being back in this household certainly didn't help to calm her nerves.

But right as she was about to put her scroll away, she got a news alert, which drew her curiosity. The heading on the alert read 'Strike at SDC Mine Continues'.

Her curiosity peaking, Weiss tapped the alert, which brought up a live news report of several miners outside a Dust mine, all holding up picket signs and protesting with an anchorwoman on the scene.

"It is now the second day of the ongoing strike at the SDC mines. Ever since the battle that took place at Beacon Academy in Vale, the miners have been less willing to continue their work. We attempted to speak to those who organized this rally just moments ago…"

"If the Golden Hero has shown us anything, it's that we don't have to be afraid anymore!" One Faunus miner said. "I'm done risking my life just to earn a bare minimum wage! We deserve better than this!"

"Already the SDC security detail has arrived. So far, the demonstration has remained peaceful, but that could change in a heartbeat."

With a serious look on her face, Weiss called for her older sister, who answered after a couple rings. "Weiss?"

"I just saw the news. Did you know about this protest?" Weiss questioned.

"Yes, we've been made aware." Winter confirmed. "The General doesn't really expect there to be too much trouble, however. One of our scouts reported that it's only been a peaceful protest."

"But knowing our father, that could change." Weiss said gravely. "So, I'll be going there."

"Weiss…" Winter protested.

"I'll try and negotiate with those in charge, see if we can settle this dispute peacefully." Weiss said. "And if I'm there, Father won't try anything. He won't risk hurting his little heiress, not without looking bad in front of the news."

Even if she couldn't see her, there was a small smirk on Winter's face on the other side of the line before it faded. 'Even if Father sits on his hands here, something could still happen. Tensions between Mantle and Atlas, and especially with the Faunus, have been high. And that could draw in the Grimm."

"Yeah… that would be a problem." Weiss admitted.

"Which is why I am going to request that Blaze and Silver join you." Winter said, to Weiss' surprise, particularly in that she was not only letting her go but also sending them and not any of the Ace Ops or a soldier detail. "If any soldiers arrive on the scene, the Faunus workers could see it as an act of aggression which could only make things worse. Maybe our new friends could have a different approach. Plus, they've proven they can handle themselves and you if something were to happen."

"I can handle myself to, you know." Weiss pointed.

"I know, but I'm still your older sister." Winter said in a somewhat humorous tone, which did earn a slight chuckle from Weiss. "I'll let them know and send a transport, expect it within the hour."

"Alright and… thank you, Winter." Weiss said gratefully.

"Just be careful, Weiss." Winter said before hanging up, all while Weiss had a smile on her face.

"Nice to see you two are still getting along."

Turning around, Weiss was stunned to see her younger brother right behind her with a knowing grin on his face. "When did you…?"

"Just now." Whitley kept a grin.

Weiss sighed in annoyance. "How much did you hear?"

"Enough." The smirking little Whitely replied.

"Are you going to tell Father?" Weiss questioned.

"Maybe…" Whitley purposely toyed with her, if only to further annoy his sister. "But, I might not… if you let me join you."

Out of all the possible attempts at blackmail she thought her younger brother would attempt, that was a request she did not expect.

"You've… never left the city of Atlas before. Why now?" Weiss questioned.

"You say you can try and negotiate with those protestors peacefully, while Winter would probably order the military to force them to shut down." Whitley said, which earned a glare from Weiss in how he just disrespected their sister. "But you're not a brute like her, so I'd like to see for myself just what you can do in a situation like this."

"And you would probably judge as to whether or not I'm to fit to be the heiress, correct?" Weiss looked at him expectantly.

"I wouldn't say that…" Whitely waved his hand, still toying with her. "But like you said, I haven't left the city, you have though. You got experience in the outside world, so truthfully would best be the one to deescalate the situation. All I ask is that you take with me to observe, and I promise not to get in your way."

Weiss was a little unsure about this. Her trust issues with Whitley aside, the younger brother who was too much like their father; she didn't know how he'd handle to being in a chaotic environment like what's going on at the mines. And even if he did, if something bad were to happen, he would be completely unprepared and could be in serious danger in the worst case scenario. But she feared that if she denied him, he would rat her out to her father, and that would make it harder for her to look into the SDC and find out just how deep Eggman's corruption in her family's company really is.

The heiress gave a slight sigh. "You let me do all the talking, and you do not leave my side. Understood?"

"Fair enough." Whitley accepted. "Shall we, then?"

"You'll want to get a jacket." Weiss advised before a smirk reminiscent of Sonic's formed on her face. "No offense little brother, but I wouldn't expect a city kid to last ten seconds in the cold. Wouldn't want you getting sick." She patted his head.

Whitley was stunned by her sister's remark as he blushed with embarrassment before walking to his room to get said jacket, much to Weiss' amusement.

---

Eastern Anima

Sonic sped his way through the eastern part of the Anima continent, having long passed all the mountains and forests. The new region he entered was now a mix of deserts and volcanos, though nothing was particularly humongous or dangerous. The most dangerous spots he could see where a few lava pools and geysers scattered around the general area, and there didn't appear to be a single settlement or village in this entire region, though Sonic was unsurprised by this.

"Not exactly a tropical paradise." Sonic said to himself as he continued to run, looking at the GPS on his scroll which showed a dot on the map, his destination. Looking around, he spotted what seemed to be the largest volcano before picking up speed to make his way there quicker.

In a matter of minutes, the blue Hedgehog found himself at the base of Mount Nacluv. "Hello?!" He called out for anyone who could hopefully hear him. "Is there a Miss Sienna Khan here?!"

A glint of light shinned out of the corner of his eye, Sonic gazed up to see two figures leaping down towards him with their weapons pointing outward. The Blue Blur leapt back to avoid a crushing strike from his attackers, with the dust clearing to reveal those that attacked him.

They were clearly Faunus but were noticeably tall. One had a lengthy build to him with horse-like hooves for feet, horse ears on his head and a long white horse-like mane on the back of his head for hair and yellow eyes. The other had a much more muscular build, having ox-like horns and long black hair and blue eyes. The horse Faunus wore black armor fitting for a Chinese warrior with a White Fang emblem painted on the chest, with his weapon of choice being a Shuangyue Flayer spear tip attached to a chain with a steel ball on the other end. While the ox Faunus had white armor identical to the other one with a black White Fang emblem painted on his chest, and his weapon appeared to be a simple trident.

"Intruder!" The ox Faunus pointed his weapon forward.

"Leave now if you value your life, this is your only warning!" The horse Faunus warned.

"Hey, easy Ox-Head and Horse Face." Sonic raised his hands, showing he was unarmed. "I just wanna talk to your boss, Sienna Khan."

"Nobody speaks to our high leader." The ox Faunus stated. "You may not be human, but you are clearly not a Faunus either!"

"Sure, but you know who is? Blake Belladonna who sent me here." Sonic revealed, catching the pair of Faunus guards by surprise. "And how about that creep, Adam Taurus, who sided with a crazy mad scientist and is hell bent on conquering all of Remnant?" The mention of that one's name caused the pair to narrow their eyes as they looked to each other. "Look, I'm not here to cause trouble. But your boss might be in danger so I'm here to warn her, as well as maybe help her out. So…? What do you say?"

Once again, the pair looked to one another before conversing with each other in whispers, all while not taking their eyes off Sonic.

"It seems Taurus really has betrayed High Leader Khan." The horse Faunus said. "And if Belladonna's daughter sent him here…"

"She left the cause too, Wuchang" The ox Faunus replied.

"I know that, brother. But she did so peacefully, and High Leader Khan chose to respect her wishes." The horse Faunus named Wuchang eased the ox Faunus who appeared to be his brother. "That… and this one does bare a resemblance to the Golden Hero."

The ox Faunus looked to the blue Hedgehog. "And no single intruder could have found our base this quickly. He was tipped off."

"High Leader Khan would like to know more of this, Heibai." Wuchang said.

With a sigh, the ox Faunus named Heibai relented. "Very well." He said to Sonic. "We will grant you an audience with High Leader, Khan. But take heed, if you try anything to endanger her or any of our brothers and sisters in arms, we will kill you."

"No harm, no foul. Promise." Sonic assured.

"Stay by our side and do not wander off." Wuchang warned as he pressed a stone on the wall of the volcano's base, activating a fulcrum as the stone receded and the rock wall split apart, revealing a pathway that led inside the volcano.

"Step inside." Heibai ordered, allowing Sonic to do so with the two guards right beside him, the stone door closing behind them soon after they entered.

---

Atlas

A Schnee Dust Company airship made its way from the floating city toward the dust mine where the protest was taking place. Onboard said ship, aside from the pilot, were Weiss, Silver, Blaze, Whitley, and a few security personal, each of them wearing heavy clothing, with Whitley wearing a much thicker jacket than the rest and appeared to be shivering somewhat, much to Silver's concern.

"Why are you cold? Isn't Atlas always supposed to be cold?" The gray Hedgehog asked.

"Well excuse me for not having a natural fur coat!" Whitley stated. When he first boarded the ship and met the two, he almost fainted at the sight of Silver especially as he bore such a resemblance to the Golden Hero, only for Weiss to tell him that they were separate people and that they were friends of hers, though she chose not to go into any further details, which Whitley accepted.

"Atlas and Mantle are both equipped with a heating grid to protect its citizens from the harsh weather outside." Weiss explained to Silver before a smirk fell on her face. "But Whitley is a bit less resistant to the cold because he never ventures outside the city so much. Such a sheltered boy." She teased her little brother, who only scowled at her.

"So, you hope to dissolve this protest peacefully, Weiss?" Blaze asked.

"That is my plan. Of course, I don't expect it to go so smoothly." Weiss commented.

"If people hate working in those mines, why not just quit?" Silver asked.

"Because it's probably the only job they can get." Weiss answered, much to Silver's surprise. "A majority of our miners are all Faunus and because of our… current system… they are looked down upon and are not really given the chance to work higher paying jobs."

"It also doesn't help that they're dangerous." Whitely said, drawing Silver and Blaze's attention.

"You are referring to the White Fang…" The fire princess noted.

"So, you've heard of them." Whitely replied. "Armed terrorists who take whatever they want and don't care about how much blood they have to spill to get it." He noticed the complicated look on his sister's face. "Oh come now sister, you used to say the exact same thing. They even attacked Beacon, supporting a would-be conqueror who would enslave all of Remnant!"

"The White Fang have done a great deal of damage, including killing people. I completely agree on that." Weiss granted. "However, you need to also remember Whitley, that not every Faunus is born into that organization. Some even disagree and try to fight back against them. And even then, they started off as a protest organization, only opting to take up violence because people like our father either look the other way when they're being oppressed or do the oppressing themselves. I am not defending the White Fang, but they ended up the way they did for a reason. And I even met some Faunus who only felt they had to join up with them because they had no other choice!"

Once again, she thought back to not only Blake, but also Fifer, the poor boy who lost his family while working in her family's mines. Her mind also drifted back to Adam… seeing his face… with her company's logo branded over his eye. Even if Adam was now a dangerous killer, she couldn't help but wonder if he turned out the way he did because of her family. But even if that was the case, she wasn't going to let any of that happen again. She had to fix her family name, she had to redeem it before her father destroys it completely. And she would start by negotiating with the leaders of this protest.

Blaze saw the expression on Weiss' face, and even if she wasn't a mind-reader, she could tell from the look in the girl's eyes just how invested she was with this. Blaze understood that all too well, feeling the responsibility of guarding the Sol Emeralds and protecting her own kingdom. But she also noticed a free spirit in her eyes as well, no doubt Sonic's influence if Tails' stories were anything to go by. Something else that she could personally relate to.

A smile formed on her face. "Well, I think what you're doing right now is very noble of you, Weiss." Blaze said, causing Weiss to look at her in surprise.

"Yeah, for real. Your dad might be a scumbag, but you're like the opposite of him." Silver added his words of encouragement. "I don't know much about your family, but if you're setting the standards, I'd say you set the bar pretty high."

Weiss couldn't help but look away with a smile and a blush, being praised by these two, especially Blaze, made her feel very warm inside. And she knew they were right. Sonic and Ruby wouldn't back down from a challenge like this, and neither would she. Though she wouldn't say it aloud, she chose to add blue and red for her outfit because of how inspired by them she was, and she wasn't going to let them or the memory of her grandfather down.

"Thank you both." She smiled.

Whitely, however, looked away with a scowl. That comment on their father didn't sit very well with him. While Whitely knew that their father wasn't perfect, he also knew that he brought the SDC up to where it was now, being the most successful business in all of Remnant. Sure, maybe it had its flaws, but it's practically the pride of Atlas, the most advanced kingdom in the world! If Weiss thinks she can just up and leave and still expect to run their family's company, then she had another thing coming. And these two animal strangers didn't know her as well as he did, or their family. So maybe they should mind their own business.

"We'll be touching down soon!" The pilot announced from the cockpit.

"Alright. Silver, Blaze, if at all possible, keep your faces hidden." Weiss requested. "Silver alone already bears a resemblance to Sonic, and I don't want to cause any misunderstandings."

"Why not use that your advantage, Sister?" Whitley questioned rather spitefully.

"Because, as I said, I don't want to cause misunderstandings." Weiss answered her brother in a subtly angry tone. "I don't want to falsely raise anybody's hope."

"Isn't that what you're trying to do now with this little negotiation…?" Whitley went on.

Blaze, however, stood up to break the growing tension. "We understand, Weiss. And we'll let you handle this, you're more familiar with these circumstances than we are." She put up her jacket's hood to conceal her face as Silver did the same.

"Yeah, and if the Grimm show up, we'll handle them." Silver said, to which Weiss nodded.

Their vessel touched down some distance away from the mining station, which was built into a mountain. The entrance to the mine was surrounded by various crude buildings with mining tracks and carts that led in and out of the large hole that went deep into the mountain, along with various heavy equipment vehicles like trucks, tractors, excavators, and loading cranes.

However, none of them were operational today as essentially every Faunus worker, who numbered in the hundreds, were all outside, shouting and parading large picket signs, refusing the work as they faced a line of SDC security personal and a few Atlassian soldiers, all of whom maintained a cold demeanor in stark contrast to the heated workers as they continued to shout in protest.

The side doors opened on Weiss' ship as she, Blaze, Silver, and Whitely stepped out with their personal security escort.

"Wow… that's a lot of workers…" Silver looked in awe.

"And they all seem very eager to be heard." Blaze said seriously.

"Let's go." Weiss said as she led those around them towards the ongoing protest. As they got closer, they began to hear a chant all the workers were shouting.

"We deserve better! Our golden dawn is here! We deserve better! Our golden dawn is here! We deserve better! Our golden dawn is here! We deserve better! Our golden dawn is here!" We deserve better! Our golden dawn is here!"

It didn't take long for Weiss, Silver, and Blaze to figure out what the protestors meant by 'golden dawn'. The fact that several signs they held up all had crude pictures of Super Sonic drawn on them all but sealed the deal. And the second she saw them, Weiss smiled before getting serious as she stepped forward to the leader of the security team, while her brother and friends hung back.

Weiss saw how the leader had a megaphone hooked to his belt. "May I borrow that?" She requested. He nodded as he handed it to her. "Thank you." She turned it on and spoke into it.

"Hello! Testing!" She made sure it worked first, and it got the attention of several protestors, while those in the back kept shouting. "Excuse me! May I have your attention!?" This seemed to quiet everyone down. "Thank you. As all of you probably know, my name is Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Company. And to probably all of you, my name isn't exactly something you can relate to anything particularly positive…"

"That's an understatement!" One deer Faunus worker shouted from the middle of the crowd.

"And I do not fault you for feeling that way. Nor do I for rallying behind such a symbol." Weiss continued. "I was at Beacon! I saw the Golden Hero with my own eyes! I saw him wipe out every single Grimm on that continent, making the Kingdom of Vale, Grimm-free, a feat that has never once happened in the history of all of Remnant! He is… without a doubt… an inspiration." Weiss said with a smile before continued. "And I'm hoping I can follow a similar lead. I know my company has done all of you wrong, and I want to fix it. I know you probably can't take my word at face value, so I will let my actions speak for me. Who is in charge here? I'm hoping we can reach a compromise and have your concerns addressed in a peaceful manner."

"Those are some pretty words there, Schnee." Someone made their way to the front with a group of people right behind them. It was a group of five in total, four women with their leader being a tan-skinned young woman with white hair and violet eyes.

And right beside her was a man with dark skin, messy black hair connecting to a short beard on his face, and gray eyes, his left one having a scar over it. He wore a dark grey coat with a white shirt underneath, a red bandana on his head, black pants, bright red gloves and black boots.

"Let's see you put some action behind it like you said." The woman continued.

Putting her microphone away, Weiss addressed the group of five, looking to the woman first. "You are Robyn Hill, leader of the Happy Huntresses. Despite graduating from Atlas, you and your team primarily operate in Mantle."

"Somebody's gotta since the army won't." Robyn said with disdain in her voice, something Weiss understood before she looked to the man who wasn't part of their team.

"And you are Hanlon Fifestone." Weiss continued. "A well-respected leader of the Mantle union."

"Huh, kid's done her homework." Hanlon said with a sarcastic tone and a half-smile. "And I know what you're thinking, most of us are human, so why bother to defend all the filthy animals?"

"I wouldn't say it like that…" Weiss said.

"Not all humans hate the Faunus. All these people live in Mantle and they are suffer the worst out of everyone in this kingdom!" Robyn stated.

"I know, and that's why I'm here." Weiss said. "Whatever it is that these people need and want… I'll help to provide it."

"Well for starters, how about a change of location?" Hanlon requested. "People are getting sick in these mines! They have heaters that can barely work, so if all the Dust poisoning doesn't kill em, freezing to death will!"

"And that's not to say how one accident can cause an explosion and/or collapse, crushing everyone inside." Joanna Greenleaf of the Happy Huntresses commented.

"Your company works with the military, right?" May Marigold added. "And we know all those old AKs are being decommissioned. Why not modify them to work the mines instead?"

'That's… that's not a bad idea, actually.' Whitley admitted silently. Though he didn't know the details of what their miners had to deal with on a daily basis, he did know that it was dangerous and potentially deadly. So having machines work in their place could make things more efficient and be less risky for their living employees.

"I believe we can make that work." Weiss said, finding something that she can use to establish proper negotiations. "My older sister is in the military and can get into direct contact with General Ironwood, maybe we can…"

"I don't know if that's a good idea." Fiona Thyeme said somewhat meakly.

"Why not?" Weiss asked with Silver looking in confusion to. "He's overseeing the decommissioning…"

"Cause he doesn't trust anyone outside his precious Atlas." Hanlon said with spite. "And even if the old AKs are deweaponized, there is a risk of them still being used as weapons. And somebody as paranoid as him won't let it happen."

"Perhaps you're not wrong about that risk… but you brought up the suggestion in the first place." Weiss said. "General Ironwood is the only one with the resources needed to give you what you want, but you're not even considering asking for the help you need? The help that we can provide?"

Robyn did understand that much at least. Even if she didn't completely trust Ironwood, she also knew he may be the only one who can make the arrangements needed. At the very least, they could actually have a conversation, as opposed to someone like Jacques Schnee who probably wouldn't even make the time of day for them.

"Get us into contact with Ironwood himself, and we'll talk." Robyn said.

Weiss smiled. "I can arrange that. Hopefully that settles…"

"Hey!" Everyone turned to see someone else come onto the scene, having arrived on his personal vehicle, resembling something of a motorcycle with hovercraft technology. The one driving the vehicle was a man with light skin, blue eyes, and long spikey brown hair that connected to a beard at his chin. His attire was that of a red jacket with gold accents with golden brooches on his shoulders, a black vest with gold accents tucked in beneath his beige slacks, a white dress shirt and a darker red tie. "This is the reason Essen hasn't been getting its Dust?!"

"Oh great." Hanlon rolled his eyes.

"Who is that?" Weiss asked, not recognizing this man.

"Bram Thornmane, he oversees some of the outlying villages outside the main kingdom of Atlas or Mantle." Robyn answered as the man angrily marched up, with Blaze quietly stepping in front of Whitley, who looked rather nervous at the man's visible anger.

"Essen barely has enough power to keep its heat going!" Bran stated to the whole group. "It's only a matter of time before we run out!"

"Oh, I'm sorry that the safety of all these workers is second priority to you." May said sarcastically, gesturing to the protestors.

"Whatever it is you're doing, I'm sure you can put it on hold for a few minutes and make sure that the people outside the main kingdom, who have a plethora of Dust already, get what they need so they can hold over the next year!" Bran argued.

"Mr. Thornmane." Weiss got his attention. "I'm sorry if it feels the people of your village are being neglected, and I'm sure there is something we can do now for them. But these people need help to." She gestured to all of the Faunus workers, and when he turned to see the dirty and exhausted state the miners were all in, his expression did soften somewhat. "If there are people who need Dust right away, we'll get it to them. I'm sure there's a compromise we can reach that well help everyone."

Bram then looked to the heiress skeptically. "You're a Schnee, and given your family's reputation, pardon me if I don't take your word at face value."

Weiss did her best to surpass an annoyed sigh. She understood his skepticism, but the prospect of being denied help at every turn was still frustrating. Robyn noticed the frustrated feeling in her eye as well.

"Hold out your hand." The leader of the Happy Huntresses requested, to Weiss' surprise and her friends' curiosity.

"What are you…?"

"Just do it." Robyn told her. More curious than anything, Weiss held out her right hand, to which Robyn grabbed with her own, and when they made contact, both their hands were coated in a pale lilac glow, much to the surprise of Weiss and her friends. "You say you're going to try and help us, try and get in contact with Ironwood about finding better conditions for all these people. Is that really the truth?"

Despite her initial surprise, Weiss gave her answer. "Yes, it is." This caused the glow around both their hands to turn green.

Robyn pulled her hand back with a genuine look of surprise. "Huh… an honest Schnee… I'll be damned."

"Your Semblance, I take it?" Weiss assumed.

"Robyn can literally tell if a person's lying or not, yes." Fiona said to Weiss.

'That certainly sounds like a useful ability.' Blaze mentally noted.

The leader of the Happy Huntresses then gave a nod. "Alright, let's talk this out. With everyone here." She looked to Bram, who seemed to have calmed down. He knew about Robyn's Semblance and how it worked, and if this Schnee girl was telling the truth about wanting to help everyone, then he could hear her out too.

"Good. I'm glad that we could come to an understanding." Weiss smiled.

Blaze smiled to as she had observed the whole thing. Weiss handled herself very well here, even when an unexpected variable showed up, she kept a calm and decisive demeanor during the whole exchange, as well as an open-minded attitude with a willingness to hear what the opposing party had to say. She was quite impressed to say the least.

However, when looking towards the crowd of protestors, Blaze noticed something that caused her to look with curiosity. Focusing her gaze slightly, she noticed a little girl who appeared to be hiding in the crowd. The girl herself noticed Blaze looking at her, which caused her to fall back deeper into the protesting workers, causing the fire princess to raise an eyebrow with curiosity and suspicion.

---

Meanwhile, while all the workers were outside, the mining tunnels that stretched all underground and throughout the mountain were completely empty. And within said tunnels, glowing colorful veins could be seen across the walls, this was raw and unrefined Dust, just waiting to be extracted and processed.

And yet, despite workers not being present, there was indeed someone here. A figure wearing a hooded robe, their face obscured by the shadows of said hood, quickly dashed through the empty mining tunnels, looking around for something.

The figure stopped when they found a spot on the wall to their right where Dust veins were conjoining together. They reached into their robe to pull out a black plate-like device and attached it to the wall. Running their gloved finger along the base of the plate, a red light shined, indicating the device's activation.

---

Mistral – Mount Nacluv

Sonic was escorted by Heibai and Wuchang into the White Fang base, which had the interior design akin to a temple mixed with a military base. There were a number of White Fang agents present, all of whom had similar yet different attire to the ones he saw in Vale. As he walked through their base, he observed a variety of rooms where he could see a few Faunus training in hand-to-hand combat, or rooms with weapons and vehicles, or even those just minding their own business.

A few Faunus in this base stood out more than others. A male Faunus with brown hair and bat-like wings on his back, a female Faunus with silver hair who hung upside down from the ceiling via spider-web, a large bald and muscular male Faunus with black bear-like ears, claws and fur on his arms, and a female Faunus who had long blue hair and blue reptilian eyes with white snake-like skin.

A large number of these Faunus quickly took notice of Sonic as he passed through, a majority of them found themselves staring.

"Nice place you guys got." Sonic said to his escorts.

"High Leader Khan was informed of your presence." Heibai said as he held out his scroll. "She is awaiting us in her throne room."

"Can't wait to meet her." The blue Hedgehog said before entering the next room over.

When he was gone, the spider girl dropped from her spot on the ceiling next to the bat-winged man and pulled out her scroll to type a message. 'We have a problem. The blue rodent is here. He's meeting Sienna.'

The responder messaged back. 'That was quicker than I'd expected. Who else is with you?'

'Myself, Yuma, Bai, and Gui, and everyone else.' The spider girl texted. 'But Sienna's people are here too, including Heibai and Wuchang.'

'I'll be there soon, with extra firepower.' The responder replied. 'Move now. Kill the traitors before they can cause any further damage.'

'Understood. Trifa, out.' The spider-Faunus known as Trifa looked to her bat-wing partner, Yuma with a serious expression. Looking across the hallway, they made eye contact with the bear man and snake woman, Gui and Bai respectively, and nodded to them. They nodded back as all four of them drew their respective weapons.

---

"High Leader Khan!" Wuchang announced as he and Heibai entered the throne room where a quartet of guards with spears stood around a throne where the current leader of the White Fang sat. "Our… guest." He and his brother stepped aside somewhat, allowing Sonic to walk up, though the two stayed close behind him to make sure they didn't try anything.

"Sienna Khan, right?" Sonic addressed the tiger Faunus woman on her throne, who stood up once she saw him. This short, blue-furred Hedgehog-like creature… he looked almost exactly like… the Golden Hero!

"You know my name." Sienna said seriously. "Who are you?" She questioned as her guards pointed their spears at him defensively.

"The name's Sonic, and I'm not here to cause trouble." The blue Hedgehog raised his hands. "I've come alone… unarmed."

"How were you able to find this place?" Sienna questioned.

"Oh from a couple spies in Menagerie working for the same guy who tried to level Beacon." Sonic answered, much to Sienna's shock. "Blake says 'hi', by the way."

Blake… the mention of that girl's name caused Sienna's expression to soften before she got serious again. "She sent you here."

"To warn you and to ask for your help." Sonic said. "I'm guessing you saw what happened at Beacon, right? About that jerk Adam trying to level the school, and teaming up with a crazed scientist whose got enough tech to put Atlas to shame?"

Sienna scowled as she did indeed remember that. She saw the broadcast of this Doctor Eggman openly attacking Beacon and using the White Fang as his personal foot soldiers. And judging by the look on her face, Sonic could tell that Sienna was not happy about it.

"Yeah… guessing nobody told you about any of that?" He assumed.

"You were at Beacon, correct?" Sienna questioned as she sat down, prompting her guards to stand up straight.

"Yep." Sonic confirmed.

"Reports said that most if not the entirety of the Vale branch of the White Fang was wiped out completely. Is this true?" Sienna asked.

Sonic had a sympathetic look on his face. "Yeah, it's true. I'm sorry."

"Was Adam among those casualties?" Sienna questioned.

"No, he slipped away along with Eggman." Sonic answered.

Sienna looked away with a scowl. "That stupid boy…"

"You really didn't know about any of that?" Sonic asked.

"Of course I didn't!" Sienna stood up from her throne in anger. "I don't know what you know about the White Fang…"

"Well, I do know that you were the first one to suggest using violence when they were only just protesting before." Sonic said, narrowing his eyes somewhat.

"Only when necessary!" Sienna argued. "Those protests weren't enough! Our people were still being shot at! Beaten! Murdered! We needed to defend ourselves!"

"That, I get." Sonic understood. "But I also do know that you've waged an open war against the Schnee Dust Company. And yes, those guys aren't exactly noble either, but your side did kill people, and not all of them were fighters." Sienna Khan narrowed her eyes, but made no effort to deny it. "Look, I get that you want to help your people and I'm totally onboard with that. But that creep Adam, and others like him, have basically turned your little revolutionary army into a cult, executing anyone they think deserves it. Now they're working for an even more dangerous whackjob and his cult friends who are going to make things worse for everyone, the Faunus included. I also know that Blake seems to think that you care enough about your people that you'd be willing to help fight the real bad guys, and I want to believe that she was right."

"How exactly do you know her?" Sienna questioned.

"She's a friend." Sonic answered. "We fought together at Beacon along with a lot of other really good people, human and Faunus, who want to fix things. This mess we're in is a whole lot bigger than you think and there's a lot more on the line than just Faunus rights. All I'm asking is that you hear what I have to say and maybe actually help your people to live another day, because I can promise that if the bad guys win, there might not even be a Remnant left to live on!"

This Hedgehog… he was saying a lot of the same kind of things that Ghira and even Professor Ozpin told her at different points. She knew Ghira and his family her whole life and even if she did respect him, especially in that he refused to compromise his own ideals, he wasn't willing to fight back even when being shot at. And she'd met with Professor Ozpin early in her time in trying to reorganize the White Fang as its new leader. He tried to warn her that her path wasn't the right one, that there are humans out there who want to bridge the divide and he was one of them. She knew that much was true and not every human on the planet was an irredeemable scumbag, but Ozpin was far too complacent and not willing to take risks or larger strides. Both of them were nothing more than pretty words with no action.

But this Sonic… He was different. Despite saying the same sort of things they said to her, she could tell from his eyes that he was a person of action. A free spirit and a fighter who was willing to take a stand for what he believed in, and fight back when people pushed against him. That was something she can understand and respect.

"You have five minutes." Sienna granted.

Sonic smirked. "More than enough time for me."

However, not even a second later, the entire chamber began to shake, much to the concern of everyone present. Several Faunus inactively grabbed their weapons as Sonic and Sienna looked up to the source of the shaking, where pebbles and dust fell from the ceiling. Almost like something was trying to force its way inside.

*BOOM!*

An explosion erupted from the ceiling and wall behind the throne, forcing Sienna and her guards to roll and evade the resulting debris that fell over. Sonic immediately rushed to Sienna, grabbed her, and pulled her towards Heibai and Wuchang, both had their weapons immediately drawn as everyone looked towards the large smoking hole that tore through half of the wall and ceiling, the debris having crushed the throne that Sienna previously sat on.

A pair of lights shined out onto them as a certain white and black transport that had flown all its way from Vacuo hovered in the large chamber, and a certain sword-wielding redheaded maniac stood on top of it.

"A bit messier than I would have liked, but I'll take it." Adam smirked.

"Adam!" Sienna exclaimed in anger with Sonic scowling.

"Sienna, good to see you again." Adam said with faux politeness. "Heibai, Wuchang, you two." He told the brothers, who pointed their weapons up at him.

"Traitor!" Heibai shouted.

"And you…" Adam found himself scowling at the blue Hedgehog who glared in his direction. "Must be the Sonic that I've heard so much about. A pleasure to finally meet you."

"Feeling ain't mutual buddy, especially from Eggman's latest lacky/sellout." Sonic told him.

"I'm nobody's lacky. And the only sellout is her." He pointed to Sienna.

"Adam, what have you done…?!" The tiger Faunus snarled.

"What needed to be done for our people." Adam began. "I do appreciate how you've wanted to help the Faunus to ascend to their rightful place, but you would have us stand as humanity's equal." He spat in disgust. "When in reality, we're the dominant species of this world. I'm doing what's necessary to see that our people get what they deserve."

"All you're doing is just having them trade one slaver for another." Sonic told him. "Eggman doesn't care about the Faunus… and I'm starting to think that you don't either."

Adam glared as he drew his sword and pointed it at Sonic. "Who are you to judge me, Golden Hero?!" He spat in disgust, causing Sienna to look in surprise as she gazed at Sonic. Golden Hero….? This blue Hedgehog is the same one who wiped out all the Grimm in Vale? "You've become a false idol for the Faunus to rally behind! To make them feel it's okay for them to stay where they are, complacent and under humanity's thumb! Well I'm about to show you just who…"

Before he even got a chance to finish, Sonic sped up to deliver a Homing Attack to the underbelly of the transport that Adam stood on top of, knocking him off and allowing for Sonic to strike him mid-air with a spindash and send him crashing into the wall, much to the further surprise of Sienna and everybody else as Sonic landed on the ground.

"Sorry, but you left yourself wide open." Sonic grinned before getting serious as he gestured for his enemy to come to him. "Get up, I'm not interested in one of your little long-winded speeches, Mr. Edgelord. You want me at your feet, you're going to have to do it by force."

Growling angrily, Adam pushed himself up from the wall. "Oh, trust me… we will!" He looked to the four Faunus guards and nodded to them. They nodded back as they immediately turned their spears towards Sienna, as well as Heibai and Wuchang, the two drawing their weapons as they stood close to Sienna.

"What…?! What is this…?!" Sienna questioned.

The door to the throne room suddenly broke open as Trifa, Yuma, Gui, and Bai, and over two dozen White Fang agents entered, all of whom had guns and blades. And the second those doors became open, Sienna caught the scent of blood. Focusing her own eyes, the tiger Faunus gasped as she looked outside to see the room behind littered with the bodies of several other White Fang agents.

Even Sonic saw that with a look of surprise as Adam smirked and resumed his speech. "It had to be done. We had to cut out the weak and complacent before their disease could spread to the rest of our kind."

"Adam…" Sienna shook, both with shock and rage. "You…"

"Traitors! All of you!" Heibai shouted to the treacherous Faunus.

Sonic then turned to Adam with a scowl of his own. "You are seriously messed up. For real."

"Make your little jokes, rat." Adam grinned.

"No joke. You're a legit psychopath, Adam." Sonic said. "And I'm gonna enjoy wiping the floor with you."

"You'll have to get past the Doctor's latest invention first." Adam pressed a button on his robotic arm, causing the still-hovering transport he arrived on to transform.

Everyone, even Adam's followers, looked in surprise to see the vessel change and shift, taking the form of twenty-foot-tall humanoid mechanical white tiger razor sharp teeth and claws, along with black stripes and the Eggman Empire logo embedded on its chest. It even gave a robotic roar that seemed like that of a digital tiger.

"The Egg-Byakko, I believe is what he called it." Adam introduced. "It will tear you apart, Sonic. A beautiful retribution for your assassination of Sienna Khan and attempted massacre of the White Fang." He pointed his glowing red blade forward. "Kill them all!"

---

Atlas – SDC Mining Facility

"…Alright, so in addition to the new plan for remodeling the obsolete AK Units into mining drones, we'll be working to establish better positions for the workers who chose to remain in the SDC, which includes higher pay obviously." Weiss summed everything up on the data she put on her scroll as she, Robyn, Hanlon, and Bran all sat around a table in a small building within the mining facility for a bit of extra warmth. It made more sense to talk and negotiate inside as opposed to just standing out in the cold.

Silver, Blaze, and Whitely stood on one side behind Weiss, not getting involved and just simply watched her work, while the Happy Huntresses did the same behind Robyn.

"Though depending on the job in question, they might need to receive training." Weiss said.

"Like combat? For security detail?" Robyn wondered.

"My first thought was that of pilots for transport, but security can also work if it's their choice." Weiss said. "Although if they want higher positions in the company, such as the work that involves at a desk with paper, they would need the proper training there too."

"You'd have to set up a lot of programs for that, and can't imagine a lot of the trainers would be very open minded." Hanlon commented.

"Some might." Weiss said. "Although you're not wrong, and such an overhaul in the company's policy will take time, which is unavoidable. And yes, Bran, I understand that Essen is in dire need of Dust, as are some of the outlining settlements, which is why I'll be ordering all the already-processed Dust to be transported there first before moving onto Mantle and later Atlas."

"That's all I ask.' Bran accepted.

"Wow, she's good." Silver whispered to Blaze. "Even though I didn't know half the stuff she was saying."

Blaze smiled humorously as she whispered back. "Don't worry, I'll explain it to you simply when we're done here."

Whitley said nothing but had listened to the entire negotiation process. As much as he hated to admit it, Weiss handled herself very well, a lot better than he probably would have, and he'd been working with his father on this type of negotiation-strategy ever since she left for Beacon. She clearly knew what she was doing, so maybe having her head the company wouldn't be totally disastrous. He'd have some points to give himself, but he doubted that she would really listen to him anyway. Their father was the only one in their family to ever really listen to him for anything after all.

*BOOM!*

A loud and thundering explosion could be heard from outside, shaking everyone inside the building as well as startling them all.

"What the hell was that?!" May exclaimed.

Weiss, Blaze, and Silver were the first to run outside with Whitley, the Happy Huntress, Bran, and Hanlon right behind them. Once outside, they and all the Faunus workers looked up in horror as they saw an enormous wave of snow and debris coming down the mountain's side and heading straight for them.

"AVALANCHE!" One Faunus protestor screamed as a panic already began to ensue, the people screaming and running in all directions.

"Wait… No…!" Fionna could only look in terror at the disaster that was unfolding.

"I'll stop it! You guys get everyone out of here!" Silver's body was coated in cyan energy as he flew straight up the mountain side, much to the surprise of most of the present group.

"Wait… did that guy just fly?!" Joanna questioned.

"No time to worry about that! Just focus on getting all these people to safety!" Blaze ordered.

"She's right! Let's go!" Bran ran to try and get some order in the panicking crowd. "Come on, everyone! Stick together! Move as far away from the mountain as possible!"

Hanlon, Blaze, and the Happy Huntresses were quick to join him to try and restore order… but Whitley couldn't help but look up at the incoming avalanche in terror, his body frozen with fear.

"Whitley!" Weiss grabbed him by the wrist, shaking him out of his stupor. "Come on! Stay close to me!" She pulled him away.

"R-Right…" He shakily replied as he tried to keep up with his sister.

Silver was only a third of his way up the mountain when he met the avalanche. With a mighty yell, Silver threw his hands outward to catch all the rocks and snowballs at the front of the avalanche and pushed back, halting its advance. But despite doing so, everything else that came down from behind began to pile on, making the avalanche that much heavier and harder for the futuristic Hedgehog to hold back.

"Come on Silver…!" He grunted, already starting to sweat. "You've held back much worse than this! Keep pushing! Don't let a single person below get killed!"

His efforts did not go unnoticed by the same hooded figure who was stalking the empty mines just moments ago, the same individual who had also put a bomb at the top of the mountain to start the ongoing avalanche in the first place. And from the safety of a cliffside a couple miles away via advanced technological binoculars, they watched as Silver continued to hold back the avalanche; while Blaze, Weiss, and everyone else tried to evacuate all the protestors. Already half of them had managed to escape from the permitter.

"Now for the rest." The figure held a trigger in his gloved hand and pressed the button.

Well underneath behind everyone's feet, all his pre-placed bombs went off in the empty Dust mines, triggering the veins in their respective locations and sending chaotic elemental exploding throughout various areas of the tunnels underneath, crippling the foundation.

This led to several large cracks forming on the ground throughout the facility outside, as well as the subsequent collapse of the ground caving in on itself. Multiple people screamed as they all fell into the newly formed pit.

This included Whitley as the ground underneath him sank and he ended up pulling Weiss down with him. Robyn fell too, along with May and even Hanlon at different spots. Blaze was outside the permitter, on more stable ground, looking in even greater terror as she saw the ground continue to give way. A high-pitched scream got her attention as she looked to see the same little girl she had seen before about to fall into the hole.

Acting on pure instinct, Blaze dashed forward, using flames from her feet to propel her at speeds to rival that of Sonic. She made it to the girl just as she fell and quickly wrapped her arms around the child as she too ended up falling into the pit.

"Robyn! May!" Fionna screamed as she, Joanna, Bran, and most of the protestors had managed to get away from the collapsing ground.

"NO!" Silver turned around to look in shock at the newly formed hole. This however distracted him from the growing avalanche, which caused his hold on it to weaken. Already he felt a huge strain as he tried to refocus and push it all back.

Only for what looked like an orange portal to appear in the air right by his side. "What…?" A bomb was thrown out to hit him point-blank, causing an explosion that ultimately broke his focus.

His powers disappeared and the avalanche suddenly came back down hard, catching Silver and sending him into the hole before all the rocks, snow, and debris fell in all around the area, creating a massive cloud of dust and snow. And when it all cleared, Fionna, Joanna, Bran, and all the other protestors could only look in shock and terror to see the facility was now completely gone. The ground that had caved way to form a hole was now entirely covered by everything that came down from the avalanche, more-or-less wiping the entire facility off the face of the mountain's base.

The only one who didn't appear in shock was the individual responsible for this mess, who continued to remain at his safe distance. The resulting shockwave blew his hood off to reveal his face.

The individual was neither human nor Faunus, but rather an anthropomorphic duck-billed platypus with white fur, a black bill, red eyes and yellow sclera. He also had three hair turfs on his head that were combed over to the right, with the front-most turf having a brown streak in it.

"Hmm, inelegant, but effective. Phase one, complete." The platypus said with a smile as he brandished his left gloved hand, which had an orange gemstone with a swirling pattern on it and used said stone to create a glowing orange portal by his side. "Time for the experiment to begin." He stepped into the portal, which promptly closed behind him, leaving no trace of his presence whatsoever.

Done.

Once again, we have yet another chapter that ended up being way longer than I thought. But I'm nonetheless satisfied with how it turned out. We've got quite a bit of interesting developments going on here.

We had the villains meet in Mistral and compare notes, where we also meet another member of Salem's Inner Circle, Vermillion Raddock, the main antagonist of the "Grimm Campaign" and Team SAFR's nemesis. And he has the idea of trying to make an army out of Mistral's entire criminal underworld (think like something similar to the Shadow Collective led by Darth Maul in the Star Wars Clone Wars series). We also get a glimpse of Lionheart's character to show that while he is still very clearly scared of Salem, he's reluctant to target Ruby or involve children in anyway. I said before how that I would expand on his character so that he's more than just a shallow coward and there's a reason behind his actions, as wrong as they are, and you'll see more of it as the story goes along.

Salem is also keeping her finding the red Chaos Emerald to herself, wanting to see how she can use it on her own and possibly not have to rely on Eggman anymore.

We also had a similar meeting with the heroes as they compare notes themselves and even managed to learn the general locations of the Chaos Emeralds, although not any specific coordinates, it's still something. But whether or not they actually acquire them is still up in the air. And it seems like we might see Penny again rather soon. Ruby is even able to work some things out with Yang, but she's still got a lot going on right now… and it's not helping her… infection.

Tails, Weiss, and Blake also have a bit of an outfit change. The two Huntresses' new attire is loosely based off the attire they are wearing in the ongoing fanon AU "RWBY Evermorrow", highly recommend you watch the series, if you don't already. It's incredible, especially for a fan project.

Sonic has also made his way to the White Fang headquarters in Mistal and met Sienna Khan. But Adam is there too with a new Dust-powered Badnik, the Egg-Byakko, and has kicked off his coup to take over the White Fang. In addition to the named Faunus of Yuma and Trifa, I've got a few OCs in here such as a bear Faunus named Gui (based off the Black Bear demon from "Journey to the West"), and a white snake woman Faunus named Bai (based off Bai Suzhen from "The Legend of the White Snake"), and even a pair of Faunus brothers, one being an ox and the other being an horse, named Heibai and Wuchang respectively (both based off Ox-Head and Horse Face from Chinese mythology) who still seem loyal to Sienna.

Yeah, as you can clearly see, I'm having fun with these OCs. :)

There also appeared to be an active protest at the SDC mines, in which Weiss had attempted to diffuse peacefully with Whitley, Silver, and Blaze right beside her; where we got to meet not only the Happy Huntresses, but also Bram Thornmane and Hanlon Fifestone, both from the video game "RWBY: Arrowfell".

The situation would have calmed down though, had it not been for a certain warping platypus causing them some serious trouble. Such as an avalanche and a cave in that now has Weiss, Blaze, Silver, Whitley, Robyn, May, and a great many people trapped and buried.

Yep, many of you had guessed it and now you know for sure: Doctor Starline is here and is currently in Atlas. But why? And what's this little experiment that he's got cooking up?

So much is happening here, and this is only Atlas and Mistral right now. We still got the rest of Remnant to see what's happening. And I can't wait for you to see it all.

Until then, stay safe and stay healthy out there. Love you.