GT: *wearing a desert traversing attire* Hello!

SZ: *walks in, wearing Alatreon armor* Greetings

GT: AH! GRIM REAPER! *pulls out a mallet*

SZ: Dude relax…*takes helmet off*It's me.

GT: Oh…*pulls out a bigger mallet* GOLDEN FREDDY! *gets tackled into a fight cloud that dissipated, revealing me tied up and gagged with Sonic wiping his hands*

Sonic: Okay, that joke is way past old.

SZ: Agreed…

Sonic: Alright, I'm going back to check on Roll and Antoine now. I don't think Roll's ever been in a desert before. *runs off*

SZ: Noted...ahem. We own nothing aside from original content, so let us begin.

"Atsui…" Roll whined, sweat falling off her as she trailed behind Antoine and Sonic.

"Eet iz your first time in ze desert?" Antoine asked, a white shawl over his head.

"Hai…" Roll replied, "It's really...hot…"

"Just be glad it ain't summer," Sonic stated, "That's the worst bit for Mobians who aren't raised in places like this." he ran over to her and pointed at a cactus nearby, "And do not drink any water from any cacti. Tails drank some the first time we were here and...well...I can't really explain since I promised, but it was really hilarious at first and then got weird and a bit worrying...okay, a lot worrying. ...Look, just don't drink the cactus water."

"...hai…" Roll sighed, digging into her tail and pulling out a canteen.

"Where did you get zat?" Antoine asked, raising a brow as she took a drink.

"I keep a lot of stuff in my tail, hair, and clothes," Roll replied before offering the canteen to the two.

'...I will not ask," Antoine muttered, taking the offered canteen before taking a drink, "Hm? Zere iz ze taste of...strawberry?"

"I put some slices of strawberries into the canteen before adding the water," Roll explained.

"Oh…why?"

"The Sakurai Clan loves strawberries," Roll explained, "We use it in a lot of recipes."

"Huh...Neat," Sonic noted as he looked around, "Alright, we're almost to the base Bunnie's uncle is in charge of. Hope you're ready for meeting your in-law, 'Twan."

"O-Oui…" Antoine gulped, now sweating a little under his shawl...and it wasn't from the heat of the desert.

"Just remember, w-" Sonic began before narrowly dodging a laser shot, "...ahh nertz."

"Yeehaw!" a group of Mobians laughed loudly as a large RV drove into the area, firing a few lasers at the group as it began to circle around them.

"Look at that! Sonic the Hedgehog has come back to our turf!"

"And he's got another Freedom Fighter with him..oh and a cute fox girl, too!"

"Wait...she's got quills...she's a mix!"

"Ahh….well she can still sell for a nice price at the boss' next auction!"

"...Sand-Blasters?" Roll asked, jumping over a shot.

"Yep!" Sonic replied, zipping around to dodge laser shots while Antoine was quick with his blade to deflect them with the flat sides, "Listen guys, we don't want any trouble a-"

"Oh you got trouble the moment you stepped into our desert!" the one driving the RV, an armadillo, laughed.

"As such, we the Sand Blaster Freedom Fighters declare your freedom-along with the coyote and the mixed gal-to be nonexistent...not like the gal had any to begin with since she's a mixed freak!" one of the ones firing laughed.

"..." Roll swung a hand out and the one that had laughed while firing yelped when his gun exploded.

"What was that?!" one panicked.

"Sonic-san, how fast can you make a smokescreen from the sand with my help?" Roll asked, putting on a pair of goggles she pulled out of her hair before tossing two more to the hedgehog and coyote.

"...Give me a few and I'll give ya the answer, "Sonic smirked as he slipped his goggles on.

"Oh mon due," Antoine whispered, putting his one in time as Sonic ran off in a blur, circling around them as the tailwind began to kick up the sand in the area, resulting in a large dust cloud.

"Wh-?! Hey! What's that idiot d-" one began before he was suddenly knocked off the RV, "GAH!"

"AAAUGH!" another wailed as he was pulled off and into the dust cloud around them.

"WILHELM!" the armadillo panicked, "Gh! I've gotta get outta he…" several pops went off as his RV shook, "...Those were the wheels, weren't they?"

"Hai," Roll replied, sitting beside him.

"?!" the armadillo barely held back a yelp before a shuriken was put against his neck while his eyesight was filled with cold jade eyes, "I give up! I give up!"

"Alright," Roll noted, putting it away.

"Phew…" the armadillo sighed in relief.

*THWACK!*

"Grgggl…" he groaned as he slumped in the seat as Antoine looked down at him with the butt of his blade behind where his head had been.

"Hmph. Cowards," Antoine snorted as the dust cloud died down to reveal the others had been tied up in their own tattered clothing, "Ze lot of them."

"Not too bad," Sonic noted as he walked over to the RV, "And pretty nice thinking with the goggles."

"It's something I've had a lot of practice with while growing up," Roll shrugged, "I am a kunoichi after all."

"Huh….neat."

"Also who do they think they are…?" Roll huffed, shooting the downed Sand-Blasters a glare, "Saying I'm not allowed to have freedom because I'm a Hedgefox…"

"Normally they target Robians or Mobians with robotic parts thinking they're part of Eggman's group," Sonic clarified before frowning, "Though it seems they're adding Mobians made up of two different species to their list of bigotry."

"Zey are not Freedom Fighters," Antoine frowned as he tied up the armadillo, "Zey are horrible!"

"Yeah. And me and Bunnie had to deal with these guys," Sonic added, "Twice in fact and only once was it at the same time."

"Oui. Bunnie told me about both her times and about ze Emp Beacons around ze city."

"You mean EMP?" Roll asked.

"Iz what I said. Emp. Why do you and Bunnie both have ze same expression of confusion when I say it right?"

"..." Roll just blinked at that.

"Point is, you can't get into the Sand Blasters' city without having any electronics on ya being shut off, comms and weapons included if it doesn't belong to them," Sonic stated.

"Soka...It'd be good...if it weren't for them doing despicable acts," Roll frowned.

"Agreed. But for now? Let's go watch Antoine be a nervous wreck as Bunnie's uncle 'talks' with him," Sonic snickered, making Antoine freeze and then give the hedgehog an annoyed look.

"And you did not panic when ze former king 'talked' with you before your year-long absence?" Antoine asked, making Sonic cringe.

"...Okay, fair enough," Sonic muttered, pouting a little while Roll giggled, "L-let's just resume walking…Knowing the Sand Blasters, more will be following behind."

"Oui/Hai," the two replied as they went off once more.

"Okay, we should be entering Beacon's airspace in a few minutes," Yang noted, looking over the trees below them on the screens, "Huh...I think that's the tree your vomit hit, Jaune."

"Hilarious…" Jaune muttered, a cup of ginger ale in hand, "And thanks for the nausea pills, Rotor."

"No prob," Rotor nodded before the Sky Patrol shook, "Oh what now?" he tapped on a few buttons on his chair before the screen changed to show a view of the bow of the ship, revealing a few VTOL tiltjet aircrafts that were primarily white with light-blue detailing lead by a sleeker ship with four long blue ribbons or banners are attached to each nacelle all with several guns aimed at the Sky Patrol, "Okay...We've got company."

"Those are Bullheads from the Atlas military," Weiss explained.

"...Oh, we're in deep doo doo, aren't we?" Nora asked.

=Attention unidentified vessel=

"...My sister's there…" Weiss whispered in worry, "...Yes…yes we are…"

=You are entering restricted flight territory. Please state your business or leave. If you do not comply, you will be forced to land and be boarded=

"Tails…" Rotor began.

"You're good," the fox replied, typing away on a computer and gave a thumbs up.

Rotor nodded, "This is Captain Rotor of the vessel The Sky Patrol. We are currently delivering eight Beacon students back to Beacon Academy as thanks for their assistance in several issues in our home and requesting an audience with Vale's council for important discussions. We are willing to accept being boarded to prove we mean no harm."

=...Very well. We will be boarding=

"We are opening our landing bay for you to board with an escort being made," Rotor replied as Tails pressed a set of buttons.

=Thank you for compliance, Captain Rotor=

'...Hoo boy,' Weiss nervously thought.

"You alright, Weiss?" Ruby softly asked before the communication ended.

"Yes….just….peachy," Weiss replied, trying to keep a normal expression.

"Translation: she's having an internal panic attack," Rotor noted, earning looks, "What? Sally has that same expression when things are not peachy with her."

"I do n…" Sally began.

"Three years back when Sonic learned what bagpipes were and wanted to use them to annoy Robotnik as a distraction for any missions that needed him to be the distraction," Rotor deadpanned.

"No...That was...peachy…" Sally replied, sporting the same expression Weiss was giving.

Rotor rolled his eyes before turning on the PA, "Larry, Mrs. Prower, please make your way to the landing bay along with Teams RWBY and JNPR. I repeat, please make your way to the landing bay."

"Larry?" Ruby asked.

"Trust me, he's a good luck charm at times," Rotor chuckled as he got the Sky Patrol to hover in place before getting up, "Well, shall we get going?"

"...y-yes….of course…" Weiss replied.

"Seriously, I've never seen Weiss this nervous before…" Ruby whispered as they began to walk out, "Just who are meeting to get her this nervous?"

The three machines floated into the landing bay. Instead of deploying wheels to land on, the engines rotated, revealing the fins on them to actually double as landing gear. They gently landed as the two Beacon teams were the first into the landing bay. The undersides of the three vehicles opened before lowering and extending out ramps.

'Be calm and collected, Weiss...Be calm, orderly...and collected,' Wess thought, making sure to stay calm and keep a neutral expression as some figures began to step out of the three vehicles.

While there were a few humans, all wearing black bodysuits with white/grey armor over their chests, shoulders, and heads that left only the mouth visible with large guns in hand, most of the figures were robots that were made primarily of white plating with black 'Y'-shaped visors. Leading them was a tall and fair-skinned young woman with slate-blue eyes. She wore her white hair tied up in a bun, high on the left side of the back of her head, while her bangs were shaped around the right side of her face, a small curled lock of hair reaching almost to her left shoulder. Her outfit consisted of a white long-sleeved coat with a single dark blue clasp around the centre waist holding it shut alongside a red jewelled brooch on the collar. The coat's length ran down to her ankles and the sleeves were split from shoulder to elbow. She wore a white pleated sleeveless blouse with a dark blue waistcoat. A pair of white trousers with dark blue garters alongside a pair of gray thigh boots with black detailing around the knees. She also wore a pair of black forearm length gloves with gray trimmed cuffs. What surprised most of them was the fact that...she looked like an older Weiss.

"..." the woman said nothing as she examined each of them before stopping on Weiss, "...Weiss."

"Winter," Weiss responded.

"I was unaware you were one of the eight students here…"

"It was a last moment mission we agreed to perform," Weiss informed as the doors to the landing bay opened once more, allowing Rotor, Rosemary, Sally, and Larry enter.

"Captain Rotor, reporting," Rotor informed, earning Winter's attention.

"...Are you...a Mobian?" Winter asked, earning surprised looks from them.

"Um, yes," Rotor replied, "How did you…?"

"We have had representatives from the United Federation at Beacon for a few days now," Winter informed, "They are being guarded by a Team Dark."

"That's a relief," Rosemary noted as she and Sally walked up to beside Rotor, both giving a bow, "Rosemary Prower of the Council for the Republic of Acorn."

"Princess Sally Alicia Acorn of the Royal House of Acorn for the Republic of Acorn," Sally introduced.

"A princess?" Winter blinked a bit before bowing, "Apologies. I was unaware there was royalty aboard this ship. I am Specialist Winter Schnee of the Atlas Military, whom are currently acting as security for the Vytal Festival in Vale in three days."

"It is quite alright," Sally replied, "With how rarely I use my title due to a decade-long war we had, we tend to not really say anything about it until introductions are made."

"...ahem. D-duly noted then, princess," Winter said, clearing her throat as she stood straight up.

"As Captain Rotor spoke, we are here to return these two teams to Beacon Academy as a way to thank them for their assistance in aiding us in several important moments this last week," Rosemary informed, "As well as to request an audience with those who are in charge of the kingdom of Vale for, more than likely, the same reasons representatives of our allied nation, the United Federation, are here for."

"I see," Winter noted before waving the back of her hand to the robots and troops, "Return to the Bullheads to prepare to escort this vessel to Beacon." as they left, she began looking over at Ruby, "So...You are the leader of the team my sister is in."

"You know me?" Ruby asked.

"Weiss has written about you in correspondence to me," Winter replied, "How appropriately... underwhelming."

"Uh...Thank you?" Ruby replied.

'Like water over a duck,' Sally thought with a sweatdrop.

"Greetings, Ruby Rose. I wish to thank you for taking an interest in my sister," Winter thanked.

"Oh! Uh, yes, of course!" Ruby replied, trying to salute and curtsy all at once, "The honor is in my... court!"

Rosemary and Sally shared looks before Sally spoke up, "Specialist Schnee, we're quite thankful for the escort you're offering. We'd like to offer you to stay on the Sky Patrol in order to help with easing any tensions that may or may not have developed during talks with the representatives of the United Federation." 'And to spend time with your sister.' went the unspoken addition.

"...Of course, your majesty. I would be honored," Winter replied with a formal bow.

"Right this way then," Rotor offered.

Winter nodded as she began to follow. Rosemary looked at Weiss and motioned her to go with them and then nodded to Sally. The princess nodded in return and went after Winter before Weiss followed, a small smile of her lips. Once they were gone, Larry sighed in relief, sliding down to the floor.

"Oh, I think my heart stopped when I saw those robots…" Larry noted, "And I swear that women's glare felt like a full force blizzard hit."

"Well considering her name is 'Winter'..." Yang began.

"No, do not go there," Blake deadpanned.

"Aw come on," Yang argued, "We already got the 'cold shoulder' from her aside from Ruby."

"Speaking of, Ms. Rose, I need to be blunt with you," Rosemary spoke, "That...That was incredibly awkward to anyone who has had to learn to speak eloquently."

"...Yeah…" Ruby slumped.

"Therefore, the remaining time until we arrive at your school, I would like to offer a few quick lessons so you are not completely thrown off by something like that again," Rosemary offered, "This also extends to the rest of you if any of you wish to learn even a little."

"...What?" Jaune asked, noticing the girls and Ren looking at him, "...What?!"

"Please come with me, Mr. Arc, Ms. Rose," Rosemary informed, "Ms. Belladona, would you kindly assist Larry to his shared room with Silver and the twins? I think he's lost all feeling in his legs."

"I have," Larry confirmed.

"Of course, Mrs. Prower," Blake nodded as she helped Larry up…

*SNAP*

...Before her Gambol Shroud clattered to the floor when her holster snapped without warning, "...?"

"I was wondering when my jinx power would go off…" Larry noted sheepishly.

"..."

"...Sorry…"

"Huh...That reminds me of Uncle Qrow's Semblance," Yang noted.

"I'm not surprised at the variety they offer," Rouge noted, sitting at a small table with Shadow and Omega in the school's cafeteria, a tray before her and a tray before Shadow, "It feels quite like the mess hall at GUN HQ only filled with teenagers that, instead of either having four or five fingers, it's them having animal bits or not. And the fact they're teenagers and not adults."

"It shows how much of a threat the Grimm are…" Shadow stated, "The fact they have schools to help train students to fight against them should be proof of that."

=...And of the ones with animal traits?= Omega asked.

"Same. Though…" Shadow paused, looking at a nearby table as a few students were taunting and picking on a female Faunus with rabbit ears, "It seems the humans have some form of prejudice against them."

=Is that not the one who was with the team who took us to our current resting point?= Omega pondered.

"I do believe it is," Rouge noted, her eyes narrowing.

"...tch...d-" Shadow began before moving his head to the side, dodging some food flung at him from the bullies.

"Ahh missed…" the lead one frowned

"Don't worry, Cardin. Just send another at the freak Faunus! They'll get the message soon enough!"

"..."

=Should I obliterate them when they leave?= Omega asked 'softly.'

"...No," Shadow replied.

=But they are practically asking for it=

"We are not engaging in any t-"

"Ow! That hurts!" the three turned to see Cardin pulling on the Rabbit Faunus' ears, "Stop it!

"Still real and sensitive I see!"

"Freak!" his three goons laughed.

=...Headshot. Just. one. headshot=

"...No," Shadow replied as he held up his left hand, the middle finger and thumb pressed together…

*SNAP*

"GWAH!" the four cried out as they were knocked away from the girl, who was just as startled at them.

"Do you not pay attention to your surroundings?" Shadow calmly questioned, standing beside the Faunus girl, "You are either guests to this school or students of it. It matters not since your actions reflect on either. To perform these actions only insults where you come from, it portrays that the education standards are rather low and that the staff are ill-equipped to handle correctional behavior."

"...You have a deathwish, rodent?" Cardin frowned as he got up, stomping up to Shadow and glaring down at him, "Do you know who I am? I'm Cardin Winchester...I could end your life here and now, but I don't wanna soil my hands on some Faunus f...no. You're not even a Faunus...you're even lesser than that, so be lucky I don't call my dad and have your entire race exterminated."

"..." Shadow chuckled, "Your father seems to have been rather pathetic if he could not instill manners upon you."

"Why you…!" Cardin snarled, swinging a fist at the black and red hedgehog.

The next thing Cardin knew was that he was embedded in the ground and Shadow's piercing red eyes glaring down at him, glowing ominously as everyone stepped back while a red aura began to come off him. The aura was chaotic, seemingly moving about randomly in various twists, jabs, and turns. Several Scrolls near them sparked as the energy seemed to fry their circuits.

"I will give you a single warning: I do not like racism. I do not like to see one harming another just because of who or what they are. If you assault Ms. Scarlatina either physically or mentally once more…" his eyes narrowed, "You will not like what I will do." the aura faded and he walked over to the Faunus and looked down at the dropped tray, "My apologies for the loss of your meal. I have yet to touch what I have, so please, accept eating with my team."

"...Th-Thanks," she whispered, her eyes still a bit wide in surprise after seeing that as he calmly led her over to sit with them.

"Well that was a bit of a surprise," Rouge noted, "You're not normally that polite."

"We're acting as representatives for the Mobians of the planet. I'd rather not cause bad tensions due to some misguided children that are attempting to become examples of those who swear to protect innocents," Shadow replied, giving his untouched plate to Ms. Scarlatina, "Furthermore, Ms. Scarlatina is someone who took time out of her day to assist us yesterday. It would be rude to not return that kindness."

"That was polite?" Ms. Scarlatina whispered to Omega.

=Affirmative. If Shadow wanted to be rude, they would be in the hospital on this campus with several mangled limbs, burns of several degrees, left with scars resembling the undersides of his shoes and his fists, and require surgery to remove several utensils from where they release excrements= Omega replied before putting a hand to the side on his head and the elbow on the table, his optics showing a fondness in them =That was a good Tuesday in Shamar for battle against a surprise attack from the Eggman Empire=

"So, seeing that your teammates aren't around, you have a seperate lunch schedule, Velvet?" Rouge guessed.

"Oh! Um, y-yeah. There was a small bug in the computer, so a few second years ended up having the same schedule as first years in terms of classes," Velvet replied.

"Ah…"

=If it is that same computers that made those inferior automatons, it is easy to see why it made an error in making a simple schedule= Omega stated.

"Omega, be nice," Rouge scolded.

"Um...Inferior?" Velvet asked.

"To those of Mobius, the robots that we've been seeing here have been...lackluster," Rouge replied, "You already know Omega..."

=And all my detachable guns that you have taken pictures of= Omega added, making Velvet sheepishly scratch her cheek with a finger and glance away from the robot.

"Even the robots that I was raised around over fifty years ago on the ARK were more advanced," Shadow continued.

"Fifty years ago?" Velvet repeated, looking at Shadow in surprise.

"Biologically, Shadow's in his sixties," Rouge whispered, "He was in stasis for fifty years until being let out about two years back."

"Oh~"

"Just stick with us and you'll find more things to go 'oh' at in time," Rouge giggled.

A yellow rabbit Mobian with blue/grey eyes sat behind a desk, going over several reports. He sighed as his robotic right arm moved up to pinch the bridge of his nose after reading one report. A knock made him look up from it at the door.

"Yes?" the rabbit asked before it opened, letting a female jackalope with a robotic right eye peek in.

"Um, Grandmaster Beauregard? We, uh...We have some people that were caught outside the base's limits requesting an audience with you," the jackalope noted.

"Oh?"

"Yes and, well...They're Freedom Fighters, Sonic the Hedgehog being one specifically," she informed, making him blink a few times in surprise.

"Ah expected him t' be showing up sooner or later," Beauregard noted, "Please, see them in. Ah have a good feeling what they're wanting t' talk about."

"Yes, sir," the jackalope nodded before leaving, letting him take out a radio.

"Lulumae, mah dear, Ah'll be making my way over soon with some guests," Beauregard informed, "Not sure how long they'll be here for, but it's safe t' say that we'll need t' have some tea ready."

=Of course, Sugah Beau= a voice on it replied.

"Thank ya kindly," Beauregard thanked before putting it away and cleaned his desk up to make sure things were presentable.

A few minutes passed before the door was knocked on once more. It opened to let the jackalope from before and a red snake Mobian with robotic legs escort in Antoine, Roll, and Sonic. Beauregard nodded to the two and they saluted before walking out, closing the door behind them.

"Well, Ah must admit that Ah was expectin' y'all t' show up sooner or later," Beauregard noted.

"Yeah, well we would've been here a bit sooner had the Sand Blasters not tried to jump us," Sonic stated, "Also heads up, they've added mixed-species Mobians ot their list of 'who gets freedom and who doesn't' and seems they've taken up the whole Black market type of deal."

"Yes, Ah've just finished reading a report of some we've liberated from a surprise attack with members who haven't Legionized due to those blasted EMP Beacons they're starting to put on their vehicles."

"I see…" Sonic noted, "...we have one more question...where's Bunnie?"

"She's safe," Beauregard replied, "She's family, after all. Speakin' of..." he frowned, "She told us her husband was hurt mighty bad protectin' th' royal family from an attack."

"Oui. I was," Antoine replied, "I just woke up a few days ago."

"...You're th' feller who done married mah niece?" Beauregard asked, looking him over.

"O-Oui, monsieur Rabbot," Antoine nodded.

"Y'all don't look like y'all were hurt," he noted.

"It iz because of ze Genesis Wave," Antoine explained, "It caused several changes."

"Bunnie told me 'bout that device th' doctor done made and th' light it makes," Beauregard noted, "Well, mah niece must see somethin' in y'all if'n she chose t' marry y'all." he grasped a metal cane and stood up, "Maybe y'all can talk some sense inta her." he looked at Roll, "Ah. Mah apologies. Beauregard Rabbot."

"Roll Sakurai," Roll bowed.

"..." Ozpin looked between his half-drunk mug of hot chocolate and then at the large circular ship being led by two Bullheads to the academy and then over to Ironwood, "One of yours, James?"

"No," the general replied as Atem chuckled, looking through a pair of binoculars.

"It's from the Republic of Acorn," Atem informed, "As always, they know how to go overboard when they want to."

The Bullheads landed as the colossal vehicle began to hover and deploy a ramp on its underside, revealing it to be an escalator of sorts when it started to move. Ironwood raised a brow when Winter emerged from it first and approached the two before saluting.

"Specialist Schnee," Ironwood greeted calmly as if not bothered by the giant ship she just emerged from.

"General Ironwood, I have escorted representatives from the Republic of Acorn who were escorting two teams from Beacon that aided their republic," Winter informed as the others started to come off the ship.

"Welcome back," Ozpin greeted as the two student teams approached, "You eight seem to have had quite the week, haven't you?"

"Um, yes sir," Ruby nodded.

"You have no idea," Jaune sighed.

"At the moment, not yet," Ozpin replied, "But I'll be looking forward to the reports you'll be writing out due to Ms. Goodwitch in the morning."

"Yes, sir," both replied, both cringing internally.

"So this entire place is a school…" Tails noted as he looked at the large building behind them, "It looks like a giant castle."

"Ah, Princess Acorn, it's wonderful to see you back to normal!" Takao greeted.

"Mr. Komua?" Sally asked as she saw the other representatives, "Seems you've thought the same as we did."

"Indeed," Takao chuckled as he looked at Ironwood and Ozpin, "General Ironwood, Headmaster Ozpin, this is Princess Sally Alicia Acorn of the Republic of Acorn. Princess Acorn, Headmaster of Beacon Ozpin and General James Ironwood."

"A pleasure," Sally greeted with a bow, "As Mr. Komua said, I am Princess Sally Alicia Acorn, but please, call me 'Sally.' With me are my fellow representatives for the Republic of Mobius and the Wolf Pack of Soumerca, Rosemary Prower, Larry Lynx, Silver the Hedgehog, Leeta and Lyco Wolf, Captain Rotor Walrus of the Sky Patrol, and Amy Rose. With us is the inventor of the Sky Patrol and member of Team Fighters, Tails Prower."

"You made this?" Ironwood asked, looking at Tails in surprise.

"Yep. I asked for help with attaching the wings to get it finished up for this," Tails replied, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"He once built a TV from just paperclips and reprogrammed a supercomputer with a toothpick and dishwashing detergent," Rotor chuckled, patting Tails' shoulder.

"It wasn't that hard…" Tails noted, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"I see," Ozpin noted, looking at the Sky Patrol once more, "Well, I'm glad we were about to begin talks when you arrived. Please, come this way to the meeting room."

"Of course," Sally nodded.

Beauregard opened a held up fabric acting as a door to one of the stone structures that acted as homes for the Grand Desert DEL, "Lulumae, mah dear, Ah'm back and we have th' guests I spoke of."

A Mobian rabbit with tan fur walked into the 'living room,' wearing a cloak for the Legion that was opened to reveal the blue one piece swimsuit-like outfit she wore beneath, while holding a tray with a pitcher of tea and several cups before speaking, "Howdy." she gasped on seeing Sonic, "Oh mah stars! You're…"

"Guests," Beauregard quickly informed, his eyes looking up at the ceiling and earning a subtle nod from Lulumae as she sat the tray on the table, "How's she doin', mah dear?"

"Ah'm startin' t' lose ways t' keep her from tryin' t' go through with it," Lulumae sighed, "If'n y'all hadn't radioed 'bout guests comin' on over, I might've caved."

"Well, we may not have t' worry as much as before," Beauregard chuckled, putting his non-robotic hand on Antoine's shoulder, "This here's th' feller we've done been hearin' 'bout."

"Ah beg yer pardon?" Lulumae asked with a surprised look.

"Somethin' our...ahem...leader...did ended up helpin' heal him up," Beauregard explained.

"Well, that explains why y'all are being curteous t' a feller y'all were mighty miffed with fer a while," Lulumae noted, "Even if'n he was right 'bout Eggman focusin' on him and no one gettin' inta trouble fer his actions."

"I still don't regret blowing up the oil refinery," Sonic stated.

"We've managed t' keep it from bein' rebuilt by statin' that it's because of them rascals th' Sand-Blasters fightin' with us," Lulumae noted with an amused smile.

"Lulumae, mah dear…" Beauregard sighed with a facepalm.

"Well, if'n th' two o' us haven't been able t' help, y'all done better get her Sugah up t' her, Sugah Beau," Lulumae ordered.

"Yes, mah dear," Beauregard replied with a small cringe.

"Now I am to be seeing where ma cherie gets her wonderful personality from," Antoine noted.

"It ain't th' only thing she got from her," Beauregard muttered, his organic hand going to his head as a phantom pain hit the back of it.

"While they done go handle things, why don't y'all done take a seat. Y'all look more tired than a three legged coyote in the middle of th' day in July," Lulumae noted to Sonic and Roll as Beauregard led Antoine away and up the stairs to the upstairs, ending at a door with a picture of a carrot stuck to it.

Beauregard knocked on it, "Bunnie? It's yer uncle."

"Uncle Beau?" a voice asked on the other side, "Y'all are back early?"

"Yes, and Ah brought someone y'all will want t' see," Beauregard informed, motioning for Antoine to stay quiet.

"...Is it th' feller in charge of givin' limbs?"

"..." Beauregard motioned at the door while giving an Antoine a 'you see what I mean' expression, who nodded, "No, but it's better in mah opinion."

"...Alright," the voice sighed before the door opened, revealing a yellow Mobian rabbit in a pink one-piece swimsuit-like outfit with her long blond hair a bit of a mess with bags under her eyes.

"Now this feller came all this way t' speak with y'all," Beauregard informed, his position hiding Antoine from the rabbit, "Came all th' way with that feller Sonic."

"Sonic's here?" Bunnie asked, cringing.

"Yes, but also someone more important in helpin' with mending things in our family," Beauregard replied before moving to the side and making her freeze.

"S...Sugah 'Twan?" Bunnie gasped out, her voice breaking a little with her eyes wide.

"Oui, ma cheri...it's me," Antoine smiled.

"..." Bunnie trembled before tackling him into a hug, his shirt helping to act as a muffler for her sobs as well as a sponge for the tears.

"...It is okay. I am here," Antoine whispered, holding her close in assurance as Beauregard watched silently and let them be themselves before walking back downstairs to give them a moment.

"...and so Ah had t' be th' big man and ask him t' marry me," Lulumae finished talking as Sonic was trying hard to not laugh.

"Oh dear," Roll noted.

"Lulumae, mah dear, please tell me y'all aren't tellin' them how we done got wed," Beauregard pleaded.

"Sorry, Sugah, but yes," Lulumae giggled, "How did she take it?"

"She needed him," Beauregard replied simply before Sonic walked up to him, "?"

"What do you need to get control of Sand Blast City and catch all the Sand-Blasters?" Sonic asked with a serious expression, making the rabbit look at him in surprise, "Even if Bunnie's your niece and you had all the reason to take her in, the fact you kept her from Legionizing herself and ending up with those bombs being in her and under service by Egghead was a big thing for me and her friends in New Mobotropolis. Add in what those Sand-Blasters tried to do to us earlier, especially to a new member of our team that we just rescued from the Battle Bird Armada not even a few days ago, just made me settle on it."

"Sonic, y'all are realizin' what yer saying, right?" Beauregard asked.

"I am," Sonic replied, "But to be blunt, they're not Freedom Fighters; they're terrorists."

"...If we do this, be aware that people may end up getting injured or worse in this battle."

"I'm used to it," Sonic replied.

"..." Beauregard sighed before adopting a stern look, "Alright. We've managed t' amass enough troops t' pull out a full assault on th' city, but th' issue is them EMP Beacons surroundin' th' city. They disable all tech unless there's a part added to them that their tech specialist Avery makes that blocks the EMP Beacons' pulses. If'n y'all can take 'em down, we can take them Sand-Blasters down."

"Heh...piece of cake," Sonic smirked.

"You'd think, but knowing that...ugh. 'Leader' of th' Sand Blasters, he ain't gonna leave them exposed so easily," Beauregard informed, "And any explosives may not go off since it may disable their triggers."

"Ano…" Roll spoke up before digging into her tail and pulled out some sticks of dynamite, "Maybe we could go 'low tech' then?"

"Land sakes! Where did y'all hide those?!" Lulumae gawked.

"She's a ninja," Sonic replied.

"Hmm...That could work," Beauregard noted, rubbing his chin, "Ah'll get th' troops rounded up and we'll get ready t' head in th' moment y'all knock out th' system."

"Gotcha," Sonic nodded, 'Hoo boy...Sal and the council are gonna kill me later, but the place will be better off with Beauregard in charge than those jerks.'

"It seems really nice here," Tails noted as he walked with Teams RWBY and JNPR, "Hard to imagine those Grimm are just down in the forest nearby when it seems peaceful here."

"Well, it's too tall for Grimm to climb and there are anti-air artillery set up in the cliffside for flying Grimm," Weiss replied before Tails' left tail began to shake, "Huh?"

"Oh!" Tails gasped as he reached into it and pulled out a blocky rectangular device.

"What's that?" Jaune asked.

"My own invention: the Miles Electric," Tails explained as he tapped on the screen, "It's linked to the Sky Patrol's systems and I had it set to go off if something changed." after a few more taps, he grinned, "Yes! They found her!" he held it up, showing a copy of the screen with the images of the Freedom Fighters on it, now showing Bunnie's face on one of the empty slots.

"Oh, that's great!" Ruby cheered, "And she looks so cool, too! Are those metal limbs?"

"It's the last picture I had of her," Tails explained, "She...doesn't have those anymore. Naugus' fault."

"Gotcha," Nora nodded.

"And it seems that they just made a new mission," Tails noted as he tapped on the screen and paused, "...Hoo boy…"

"What's wrong?" Nora asked.

"The new mission is 'Liberate Sand-Blast City from the Sand-Blasters,'" Tails read, "Looks like they just crossed a line with Sonic since, as the leader of Team Fighters, he's the only one allowed to make a mission for his team." he sighed, "Sally's going to kill him when she learns about this."

"When will she learn that?"

"Rotor has one with him," Tails replied, "So immediately after they're done with initial talks."

"I imagine that happens a lot," Weiss noted.

"Yep," Tails deadpanned.

"Of course…" Weiss deadpanned.

A snarling made Tails jump and spin around in time to see a portly older man with a large mustache pulling along a large iron cage on wheels. Inside of it was a Beowolf, snarling and ramming against the bars.

"Hey, hey, hey! None of that!" the man ordered before noticing the two teams, "Ah! Hello, students!"

"Hello Professor Port," most of them greeted.

"I hope your excursion last week was well," Port noted before seeing Tails, "Ah! You've run into a Mobian as well, I see!"

"You know about Mobians, sir?" Tails asked.

"Indeed I do! I'm actually bringing the last of a few Grimm I've managed to catch to my classroom to let Team Dark see them," Port replied.

"Team Dark?" Ruby, Tails, and Nora repeated.

"Indeed. They're a trio who are acting as security for our guests from the United Federation," Port explained, "Since there is no need for security at the moment since all that's being done are initial introductions, I offered to introduce them to some of the more common types of Grimm you'll find on the continents."

"That sounds interesting," Tails noted, "Oh! I'm Tails, by the way."

"Professor Port, at your service," Port introduced himself before looking at the team, "And perfect timing on your return! I'd like for some of you to fight these Grimm to show what Huntsmen and Huntresses-in-training are capable of!"

"Grimm?" Tails asked, "Y-You mean that thing?"

"Indeed! This is a Beowolf, one of the more common types in Vale," Port explained as he began to pull it along with him as they walked, "They tend to fight in packs of a minimum of five, so catching just one is always a thrilling challenge! You just have to remember to not try to go near the science wing otherwise the blasted thing snaps their own necks."

"Huh?!" Tails gawked.

"It seems to be an innate instinct to never let anyone study them outside of physical looks," Port explained, "When they die, they simply turn to ashes that can't be studied. Well...They can be, but it just reports that they're nothing but ashes from something that got burned away that can't be identified."

"Really? Strange…" Tails noted before hiding behind Nora when the Beowolf snarled and rammed that cage in his direction, 'This thing is crazy!'

"So why did we agree to this again?" Rouge asked, sitting behind a desk in a theater of sorts, the walls on the other side littered in various pages showing sketches of various Grimm.

"It's so GUN can be prepared for handling Grimm that manage to reach outside of the lands that make up Remnant," Shadow replied, sitting at another.

=These desks are as tiny as the ones in HQ= Omega noted, sitting between them =...I do not like these inferior desks=

"Do not break them," Rouge ordered, lightly slapping his arm.

=Nertz…=

Shadow rolled his eyes.

"Oh come now, Shadow. At least with this big festival they're having and this being the weekend, we're not sharing this room with a bunch of students," Rouge noted.

=When do we get to destroy the creatures in the cages?= Omega asked as he kept his optics on the several cages on the stage part of the theater-like classroom.

"Once the professor who offered to show them to us says it's fine," Rouge replied as the doors near the 'stage' swung open.

"So sorry for the wait! This last one was being quite bothersome in getting away from the pack," Port apologized as Tails, RWBY, and JNPR followed him in.

"Ah! Shadow and Rouge!" Tails yelped.

"Been a while," Rouge waved.

"Hmph. The Faker's not with you?" Shadow asked.

"No. He and Antoine are in the Great Desert to get a friend back," Tails replied.

"Oh wow!" Ruby awed, making Rouge jump when she realized Ruby was suddenly before Omega, stars in her eyes, "You look so cool!"

=Thank you. I have internal cooling systems to keep me at optimum temperature in any heated environments= Omega replied.

"My apologies, but I invited two of our student teams here to demonstrate some of what they've learned in Grimm combat," Port explained.

"It's not a bother, Professor," Shadow replied.

"Splendid! Please, take a seat everyone and we'll start. Ms. Rose, since you're quite chipper, shall we have you start us off?" Port asked.

"Hmm? Oh yeah sure!" Ruby nodded, pausing from looking at one of Omega's claws before zipping down to Port.

=She left rose petals that are dissipating= Omega noted before looking at Shadow =What you leave behind when you run doesn't do that until it burns away=

"Not surprised the Republic of Acorn got involved," Rouge noted as the others began to sit around them.

"Well when a new land or city pops up, our curiosity ends up piqued," Tails answered.

"Oh, I love your outfit!" Nora noted, "Hearts fit just about anything, don't they?"

"Heh. That they do," Rouge admitted, "Rouge the Bat."

"Nora!" Nora beamed.

"Ready for your opponent, Ms. Rose?" Port asked, standing beside a box.

"Ready!" Ruby beamed, Crescent Rose out and unfolded into its scythe mode.

"Then face your opponent!" Port declared as he opened it and hid behind the other side...before a large white 'wheel' shot out of it and at Ruby, who quickly move out of the way and let the 'wheel' unfold, revealing it to be a bulky Grimm resembling a boar with a bone 'mask' over its face that had four glowing red eyes.

"Boarbatusk," Weiss noted as Ruby fired two shots from her weapon that bounced off the bone plating on its body.

=That scythe doubles as a high impact sniper rifle?= Omega asked =I am intrigued=

"The armor on it seems highly durable," Shadow noted, looking at the Grimm as it tried to tackle over Ruby, "...The underside of it is the weak point, correct?"

"Yep," Yang replied as Ruby switched her ammunition clip and fired at the floor before the Boarbatusk, causing a sheet of ice to form where the shot hit and made the charging Grimm to slip and flip over onto its back, letting her jump and slash into its underside, causing it to squeal before collapse into ashes that quickly dissipated, "These guys are kinda common on Patch, the place me and Ruby grew up in, so we've got a lot of experience with them."

"Ahh…" Rouge noted.

"Excellent, Ms. Rose," Port noted before looking at the others, "Who's next?"

"Okay, from what your group's managed to figure out," Sonic noted as he looked at photos of a city made in a cliffside surrounded by a transparent dome with several towers along the cliffs surrounding most of the city hung on a board while standing with Beauregard and the members of Team Fighters in his office, "All those small towers around the city are just relay units that are meant to amplify the signal of those EMP Beacons. So all we need to do is find the main unit, blow it up, and that'll let you guys get in there and take the city."

"And considering his boys saw y'all earlier, Jack'll set up some snipers t' try and shoot y'all down," Beauregaurd added.

"Right," Sonic nodded.

"They tend t' have 'em set up on them cliffs," Bunnie noted, a brown open jacket and a stetson on her along with a brown leather belt with a gold star-shaped buckle, "We're gonna have t' be careful t' not get spotted."

"Pardon?" Antoine asked.

"Y'all ain't goin' there without some backup," Bunnie replied.

"...One moment, please," Antoine spoke as he motioned for Bunnie to away from them and began to whisper with her...both speaking French.

"Ah didn't know she learned another language," Beauregard noted quietly.

"Me neither. Guess Ant was teaching her," Sonic noted as he looked at the expressions they were giving as they talked, "Man, it seems to be heated."

"Bunnie-san is upset and worried that Antoine-san might end up in another coma or worse if he goes," Roll noted quietly to the two, earning surprised looks from the hedgehog and rabbit, "And Antoine-san is worried that Bunnie-san will get hurt because he noticed that she hasn't been fully taking care of herself."

"How did you…?" Sonic began to ask as Bunnie hugged Antoine, tears now in their eyes as he returned the embrace.

"My clan follows a strong philosophy when it comes to matters of the concept of love. The language they're using is also known as the 'Language of Love,'" Roll explained.

"Oh…I see," Sonic noted.

"And they seem to have come to an agreement," Roll noted before the two walked back over.

"Apologies all around. We, well, seemed to have forgotten something in our talkings earlier," Antoine explained.

"Right. We were just too happy to have each other back that we forgot," Bunnie agreed, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head.

"It's fine. A lot has happened since we last saw one another," Sonic nodded, "And right now we have one big change that needs to happen...booting the Sand Blasters out of the city and out of the Freedom Fighters." a siren began to go off, "Oh what now?"

"Sandstorm's coming in," Beauregard noted with a small cringe.

"Who is that?" Antoine asked.

"Sugah, a Sandstorm ain't a person," Bunnie explained, "It's a massive storm that's done blowing up tons of sand and dirt that gets everywhere and is just a big ol' pain in the backside for anyone who has robotics."

"Gets right into the joints and we have to take the limb apart to clean up everything," Beauregard added, "We had that siren set up for when one is coming over the area so that the members who are Legionized can get into bunkers and basements so we don't have to."

"...Let me guess; the Sand-Blasters took advantage of those from time to time?" Sonic asked.

"Only after the storm," Beauregard replied, "If they tried attacking while the storm was going on, their weapons would get jammed by the sand, too."

"...Ah! I got it!" Roll exclaimed, "We can use this!"

"What do you mean?" Bunnie asked.

"How big are these sandstorms normally?"

"Well, a single storm can normally cover a good hundred acres," Beauregard explained.

Roll dug into her hair and tail before pulling out thick strips of cloth and goggles, "And Sand Blast City is in that range, hai?"

"It is," Beauregard replied.

"Then that's how we'll get in without being spotted," Roll informed as she handed the goggles and cloth out to Sonic, Antoine, and Bunnie.

"Y'all are thinkin' of usin' th' sandstorm t' hide us from bein' spotted!" Bunnie realized.

"Hai."

"...Clever," Sonic grinned, "Jack and his goons like to pull surprise attacks...so let's see how they like it when they're the ones being jumped."

"Wait...so y'all are tellin' me that there was a mixed breed Mobian with Sonic?" A grey Mobian rabbit with a cybernetic eye asked as he looked at the Mobians that tried to jump Sonic and co earlier.

"Yeah boss…"

"...Was she half fox by any chance?"

"...Yes."

"...Y'all let a Sakurai escape?!" He snapped, making them flinch, "Do you know how much one goes in the slave market?! We would've had enough to live like kings, and gain weapons strong enough to take down both those traitor Mobians, Robians, and Sonic's goodie two-shoes group!"

"Hey, Jack," a green roadrunner in a purple shirt and orange bandages wrapped around his lower legs spoke, earning the rabbit's attention, "Mind filling in those who don't know what a Sakurai is?"

"Ninjas, Jolt," the rabbit replied, "Special ninjas that have green thumbs that are said to be able to make even the worst garden bloom into something spectacular. There's rumor that if you save one, they have to become your wife and can't leave ya for anything unless ya kick the bucket. Helps that a good chunk of 'em are...er, were mixed breed Mobians, so that shows how rare they are...but since they're practically an endangered species now since the Raju killed 'em with th' help of the Iron Dominion...imagine the amount of Platinum Rings we'll rake in when we sell her boys!"

"Only thing is that we don't know if they're staying in the desert or were just passing through," Jolt noted.

"Oh, they're gonna be stayin'," Jack replied as he motioned to the 'wall' of sand blowing by the window, "Not with this here sandstorm a-blowin'...and the moment it lightens up, we strike."

"...and what if they're with Sonic?"

"Well if she's bonded t' him...well...can't do much if he's dead. And if the other Freedom Fighters have a problem with that? We just throw some EMPs into the city and nix that AI b-" Jack began before an explosion went off, "?! What in tarnation'?!" he pulled out a Radio, "Avery, what's going on?!"

=It wasn't me, boss= a voice replied on the radio =More than likely, the sand got into one of the machines and clogged a pipe re…=

"I don't care for the 'how!' Just fix it!" Jack snapped as he reached into the drawer and pulled out a pair of goggles, "Everyone, get some goggles and masks on. We're checking it out."

"Got it, boss!" they saluted.

"I used too much gunpowder in that one…" Roll noted, the quartet hiding on a roof as the sandstorm raged around them, the sand colored by the light of the flames from several jeeps that had exploded.

"At least it's gonna be a good distraction," Sonic noted, "Now we just need to find the main tower and blow that up, too."

"Alright boys! If you see anyone suspicious...shoot on sight!" Jack's voice shouted, barely heard over the storm.

"...And Jack's already onto us," Sonic muttered, peeking out from their hiding spot as they saw the rabbit and his goons looking around the area.

"However...if that person is that Sakurai gal...do not shoot and go straight to capturing her!" Jack ordered, "If'n Ah see one burnt hair on her, it'll hurt her sales price and Ah'll be damned if you idjits ruin that money we'll rake in fer me!"

"..." Roll's ears flatted on her head as her eyes narrowed, "..." she shook her head and muttered to herself, "No, no. Wait for an opportunity after disabling their EMP Booster, Roll…"

"...If Jack's out here, then there's no one guardian' the main tower," Bunnie whispered.

"And from ze photos that were taken by ze DEL, ze tower is in ze center of ze city," Antoine recalled.

"Alright. It's jam and juice time," Sonic smirked.

"...Jam and juice time?" Roll repeated as Antoine and Bunnie facepalmed.

"What? I'm feeling nostalgic," Sonic defended himself as they quickly went off, jumping on the rooftops to avoid detection.

"It is amazing zat they do not notice us," Antoine noted.

"No one tends to look higher than a forty-five degree angle," Roll noted, "When will we know we're at the center of the city?"

"I know where it is," Sonic replied, "The first time I came here, they took me and Tails to the center to show off a statue of me they made."

"...Of course there would be a statue of you," Antoine rolled his eyes.

"I had to destroy it so me and Tails could get out of this place since they were keeping us in with the original force field they had that was keeping the Robians out that Eggman was controlling when he was still Robo-Robotnik," Sonic added.

"...And they're still in the Freedom Fighters why?" Roll asked.

"Eh. Been trying to discuss kicking them out for some time...but Naugus came along and botched that," Sonic explained, "Really glad for this sandstorm since some buildings are built on higher levels. Great idea, Roll."

"No problem," Roll replied, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head before her tail hooked around Bunnie's waist as she nearly fell off the edge, "Easy now, Bunnie-san."

"Mighty handy tail there," Bunnie noted as Roll pulled her fully onto the roof.

"I learned from a friend Haseo-chan and I made when we were travelling to New Mobotropolis," Roll explained.

"Huh...Neat," Sonic noted as he looked over the edge, "Okay, this is the center of the place and…" he frowned, seeing a statue of Jack standing over a beaten up statue of himself, "Oh real charming…"

"They really don't like you," Antoine noted.

"I'll say. They made my nose way too big," Sonic pointed out, earning an eye roll from Antoine, "And if anything, it's probably where the main tower's hidden."

"...Then let's force this statue down and get to th' main tower," Bunnie stated, "The sandstorm is startin' to lighten up."

"Right," the others agreed.

Roll dug into her hair and pulled out a stick of dynamite with a heart sticker on it before digging into her tail and pulling out a slingshot. She lit the dynamite's string and offered them to Bunnie, who took them and loaded the stick into the slingshot. She aimed at the statue before letting it fly. The dynamite sailed towards the statue...only for a barrier to pop up and bounce the dynamite off and back at them.

"Oh sh…!" Sonic began.

*BOOM!*

"?!" Jack tensed when he heard the explosion, "What in tarnation was that now?! It sounded like it came...from….MAH STATUE!" he turned to the now smoldering remains of the jeeps that his men had just managed to put out, "Hurry! We gotta get to th' center!" he pulled out his radio, "Shift, get to the center of the city and make sure to bring that. We're not taking any chances. If it's who we think it is, we're going to make him suffer before sending him back to New Mobotropolis piece by piece."

=Gotcha, boss=

"No got dang way am Ah gonna let those Robian freaks back into mah city…" Jack scowled.

"Ugh…" Antoine groaned, dazed from the explosion as his aura flickered, "Mon dieu, I hate ze kaboom when it's on me…" he shook his head and looked around, seeing the explosion had sent them falling off the now-wrecked building and onto the ground before the statue, "Oh, zis is…" his eyes widened on seeing Bunnie, still knocked out, "Ah! Mi amore!" he moved over and looked her over, cringing at a few open wounds made from the explosion, "Ah...Oh zis is…" he looked his his hands, seeing the aura still on them, "...Maybe…" he laid his hands on her forehead and above her chest and inhaled and exhaled slowly, "For it is in the realm of battle that we achieve our honor. Through this, we learn of our limits and how to surpass them in the protection of others and reach a place of honor in the life after. I release your soul and by my shoulder protect thee." he opened his eyes and sighed in relief, seeing Bunnie glowing with a light purple aura with her wounds healing up quickly, "Thank ze Source…"

"Ugh...Shoulda expected they'd make it better protected…" Sonic groaned as he began to get up.

"Ite…" Roll hissed before looking up, "Oh dear...The sandstorm's ended."

"...Crud," Sonic muttered before guns cocking made the three conscious members look over to see several Sand-Blasters all aiming blasters at them, "Double crud."

"Well well...Ah had a feeling you'd be here, Hedgehog…" Jack smirked as he stepped in front of his goons, "And you brought not only the Baron's Niece, but a Sakurai too? Heh...Oh today is mah lucky day indeed."

"Ugh...Mah head…" Bunnie mumbled as she began to awaken and noticed their current state, "Ah Sugah Honey Iced Tea…"

"You were tryin' ta break our EMP Beacons," Jack noted as some of the Sand-Blasters quickly restrained them, "Surprised about th' barrier? Avery and Shift were able t' salvage enough of th' pieces to make one just for th' statue. We didn't want a repeat of you wreckin' everythin' again, now do we?"

"..."

"But enough talk...let me get a good look at the goods," Jack said as he began to examine Roll, "Mmm….oh ho~She is definitely a mixed Mobian Sakurai...and quite th' beauty, too. She'll definately pay fer a pretty ring when we deliver her to th' black market fer all types of slavery."

Roll's eyes narrowed while her ears pressed down on her head.

"Oh ho! And she's a fighe too...makes it better t' break 'em in."

"Honerless cowards…" Antoine scowled.

"Hey. We still fight fer freedom...just it comes with a price now," Jack stated, "And we got a new motto; if yer not full Mobian-IE not a Robian or mix breed-then y'all don't deserve freedom at all, especially if they sell fer a pretty ring."

"Sounds like y'all are soundin' like Robotnik," Bunnie noted, earning a backhand from Jack.

"Shut it!" Jack growled as a brown-furred wolf with a piece of his left ear missing and a black leather jacker and a brown bear in a blue shirt and yellow scarf approached, pulling along a blue box-like machine, "Ah, good timing, boys."

"Eh?" Roll pondered as she noticed the way Sonic, Antoine, and Bunnie tensed.

"Oh? Don't know what this is?" Jack asked, "This here, little soon-t'-be-slave, is a Roboticizer, a little gadget made t' turn Mobians into Robians, ones stripped of all emotions and free will. Normally we wouldn't use this thing, but...thanks to mah sources, we heard Eggman used something called a Genesis Wave t' remove all immunity to Roboticization on Mobius. So we're gonna be usin' it t' round up any Robian and make their outsides look like their insides. And who better t' be th' first then..." he looked at Bunnie, "...You?"

"!?" Bunnie's eyes widened.

"Once yer turned, we'll blast ya apart and send th' pieces t' yer uncle," Jack smirked before looking at Sonic and Antoine, "Then we'll do th' same to the coyote and Sonic here, and send their pieces back t' New Mobotropolis as a message...that freedom has a whole new meaning now."

"It's primed for th' test," the bear informed.

"Nice, Avery," Jack smirked, "Jolt, Shift, get her loaded in."

'She will be alright…' Antoine thought as Bunnie struggled to get out of the grip of the wolf and roadrunner as they dragged her over to one part of the machine, 'The Power Ring will deploy...but...but what if it doesn't?' he began to shiver as Bunnie was thrown into it.

"Gah! Not again!" Bunnie yelped, managing to grab an end of it with her right hand.

"Come on! Get in there!" Shift growled as he started to push on her with Jolt.

"Gh! That's a...strong...grip she's got…" Jolt grunted.

"The machine will pull her in as it works," Avery snorted as he pulled a lever.

"Hope you'll enjoy th' show," Jack said to Roll, "They say Mobians break mentally when they see multiple people...especially friends and loved ones are Roboticized before them."

"Stop that."

"Hmm?"

"Your attempts to break me are pathetic," Roll stated, "And if anything, you're nothing but hypocrites. You say you fight for freedom, but all you're doing is performing acts of slavery. You use the name 'Freedom Fighter' yet...you use the opposite of what it was meant for. Instead of fighting for freedom, you fight freedom."

"Sugah…" Bunnie whimpered, looking at Antoine as the machine was pulling her in while her right arm was now struggling to keep her out.

"Ma cheri…" Antoine gulped, 'No...No...No, no, no...Why isn't the Power Ring deploying?! Is...Is there a malfunction?!' he struggled in the grip of the two Sand-Blasters holding him, 'I...I need to get to her...I...I can't let her be harmed again!' his eyes widened as Bunnie lost her grip and was pulled in with a scream, "BUNNIE!"

*SHINK!*

"?!" everyone froze as a cutlass seemingly made of a golden energy was stabbing into the Roboticizer, going all the way to the guard.

"Wh…" Avery began to ask before a gold glow shined from the area around the spot the cutlass was embedded into as it faded away before a purple, slender, robotic arm with the middle finger sporting a gold wedding ring ripped out and grabbed him by the neck, "HRK!"

The hand slammed him repeatedly into the side before it dropped him. The hand returned into it the hole before the entire side was kicked out by a purple metal leg. Bunnie stepped out and looked down with a smirk. Her legs and left arm were now made of a sleek purple metal while two sports on her back near the shoulders were now made of the same metal and seemed to look like something was meant to plug into them. Around her metal wrist was a Power Ring, glowing strong. She smirked as she knelt down, picked up her dropped stetson, and put it on her head.

"Well, Ah wasn't expectin' it like this, but Ah can't complain 'bout this," Bunnie smirked as she cracked her knuckles, "Hope y'all are ready…" she crouched down before shooting off in a jump, becoming a blur that slammed into the Sand-Blasters holding onto Antoine with a lariat with her robotic arm that had stretched out enough to snag both at once, "...'cause Bunnie Rabot is back in action!"

"She's moving?!" a Sand-Blaster exclaimed in shock.

"Wh-?! Impossible!" Jack exclaimed, "The EMP tower should've disabled her!"

"Oh, Ah'm not just movin'," Bunnie noted as she jumped over two that tried to tackle her and let them crash into one another before she delivered a punch to another, sending them over a building, "Ah'm also fightin' fer freedom!"

"I just love mi amore," Antoine sighed in content before picking up his sword, "Now then…" he jumped at the two holding Sonic and swung his cutlass at them, "...have at thee, slave traders!" he froze when they held Sonic up as a shield before they yelped and collapsed as two more of the energy cutlasses slashed them in their backs, "Sacre bleu cheese!"

"Whoa…" Sonic blinked twice as he looked at the floating blades before they flew over and circled Antoine, seeming ready to attack anyone around him, "Uh...Ant? I think these are coming from you."

"Excuse moi?" Antione blinked before raising his cutlass up, causing four more to appear, "..." he lowered it and the six blades vanished, "..." up and three appeared, "..." down and none remained, "..." he held it up high and all six appeared, clanging together and ready for battle, "Oh, I think you are right." he chuckled in amusement, "Ah, now zis is perfect! To arms!"

"Is that guy a wizard?!" a Sand-Blaster holding Roll panicked before something tapped his shoulder, "Huh?" he saw Roll's tail just before it poked him in the eyes, "Gah!" he moved back and screamed, falling over and grabbing his left foot, revealing small black balls covered in spikes were embedded into it, "EEYOW!"

"What the…" the other began to ask before Roll slammed her free fist into his solar plexus, making him gag and let her throw him over her and onto the other, "GUH!"

"They always forget the tail," Roll giggled before reaching into her hair and pulled out a katana, the hilt pink and black with the guard gold and shaped like a heart, "And I like the idea, Antoine-san."

"Merci, Madam Roll," Antoine noted as one of the cutlasses blocked a laser shot at him, "Ooh, zey even block lasers like a normal cutlass. I am liking this very much."

"Ah'll say," Bunnie agreed as she ended up with her back against his while punching another Sand-Blaster with an extendable arm, "That there blade jammed th' gears long enough fer me t' put this here Power RIng that popped outta that little badge on mah arm t' get mah joints movin'."

"Yahoo!" Sonic cheered as he zipped around, striking Sand-Blasters with his body curled up into a ball.

"Oh, you're…" Jolt began, about to run after the hedgehog when Roll slapped him, "...Did...Did you just slap me?!"

"Did I?" Roll asked, slapping him again.

"Oh, you…" Jolt snarled before Roll ran off, "Get back here!" he shot off as a green blur around the corner Roll took before screaming and falling over, grabbing his feet that sported the same spikey balls stuck in them, "AAARGH!"

"You really shouldn't mess with a kunoichi," Roll noted, sitting on a fire escape above him.

"Th...This can't be happenin'..." Jack whispered as he looked around, "First The Chaotix, and now this?! You…" he began to growl before aiming his laser at Sonic, who had his back turned as he struck another Sand Blaster, "DIE NOW, HEDGEHOG!"

He fired at Sonic only for Roll to jump before it, blocking the shot with her blade, "Now that's rude."

"GRAH!" Jack screamed as he kept shooting at her as she just approached, blocking the shots with her katana, "Damn it! Don't make me hurt you! Ah don't want to damage the g-" he cried out as his gun was sliced in half, "Gh!"

"Yeah, this is gonna blind you," Roll stated as she held up an egg with one end covered in a pink foil before slamming it into his face, sending a reddish dust into his face and eye.

"?!" Jack froze before collapsing, grabbing his face while screaming incoherently.

"...Oh Ah like her," Bunnie noted with a laugh as she flew by, having seen what just happened.

"Bunnie!" Sonic called, running under her, "The statue!"

"Right!" Bunnie agreed as she landed before it as the barrier appeared around it once more, "Well, since Ah can't blow ya up…" she rammed her metal fist into the ground before, with a grunt of effort, pulled it up...along with a large chunk of ground that included the statue, "...So may as well toss ya out!"

"T...toss?!" Jack repeated, trying to rub the dust out of his eyes.

"Hey, fellers! Catch~!" Bunnie called as she reeled her arm back and threw the statue at the Sand-Blasters.

"..." the other Sand-Blasters just gulped before hugging Jack out of fear.

"Hey! Let go of me, ya i-!" Jack began.

*CRASH!*

"...diots…" Jack groaned from beneath the rubble and broken machinery that they were now buried under.

"Aw, y'all done fergot t' catch," Bunnie tsked as the smaller towers around the city sparked and went out.

"And that's our cue," Sonic smirked as he pulled a communicator out of his quills and put on a nasally voice, "Hey, Mr. Rabbot? Towers are down and Jack and his goon squad are down for the count."

=Thank ya kindly, Nicky= Beauregard replied on the line =ETA five minutes=

"Glad to hear, Mr. Rabbot," Sonic replied before turning it off and putting it down by the rubble, "Alright. Cover story's been made so that the higher ups won't know we were involved in case Egghead recovers. So let's find Jack's office, raid it for anything that can help deal with the slave trade, and get outta here and back to New Mobotropolis."

"Sounds mighty fine," Bunnie agreed as the Power Ring on her wrist faded away.

"Are you sure you are fine with zis?" Antoine asked.

"Mostly," Bunnie replied as she looked at her metal arm, "It always felt like Ah was missin' a part of me after Naugus done turned 'em back into normal limbs. But Ah'll also miss havin' them be all not metal and…" she yelped, making everyone look at her to see her metal limbs take on a mercury-like state before shifting to resemble her original limbs, even taking on the color and texture, "Well Ah'll be…"

"That's new," Sonic noted as Bunnie held her arm out and it changed between the two.

"Y'all think it's because of th' Power Ring bein' in there while Ah was bein' Roboticized?" Bunnie asked.

"Maybe," Sonic replied, "Still, this is pretty cool. You can hide them whenever you want. Man, the looks on the bad guys' faces when they think you're not threatening and then-BAM!-robo-punch to the faces." he paused before chuckling, "Seriously, this almost feels like the old days back in Knothole."

"Oui...Ze only thing missing is Rotor, Tails, and Sally," Antoine added.

"Oh, right! Bunnie, we got great news," Sonic grinned, "We got Sally back!"

"Really?!" Bunnie gasped, "Oh that's great, Sugah Hog!"

"And it gets better...Naugus got the boot out of the throne too!" Sonic added.

"Oh, y'all are gonna have t' tell me everythin' on our way back," Bunnie noted as the four went off to find Jack's office, none of them noticing some of the mercury-like metal dripping into a puddle under the remains of the Roboticizer.

"So this is my ride," Yang noted as she and Tails stood in what looked like a large garage filled with several kinds of cars and bikes, the two standing before a sleek looking black and gold motorcycle, "I call her Bumblebee."

"This is pretty cool," Tails noted.

"Yep. Built her all by myself," Yang grinned, puffing her chest up a bit.

"Cool," Tails noted, "Hmm...Did you ever consider adding a hover feature to it just in case?"

"Pfft! If I had the money and parts yeah!" Yang laughed, "But seriously though, a hover bike would be awesome~" she tapped her cheek, "Hey, are there hover bikes on Mobius?"

"Yep," Tails replied, "And boards and skates and even larger vehicles, too. But the bikes, boards, and skates are more often EX Gear."

"Extra Gear?"

"No. It's short for 'Extreme Gear,'" Tails explained, "They use air as a power source and you can do tricks while you're riding them to refuel on the go."

"Really now? Seems pretty tricky," Yang noted, earning a chuckle from Tails.

"Yeah, they kinda are at times," Tails noted, "We have some EX Gear in the Sky Patrol if you want to try one. See if you want to add that to your bike."

"..." Yang just blinked before she rushed off in a blur of yellow.

"...Well...that was fast," Tails blinked slowly.

"THIS IS TH-WOAH! THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!" Yang's voice excitedly laughed.

"Oh what's she doing now…?" Weiss sighed, she and Ruby walking Zwei around the campus.

"Judging by the tone? She's testing something that is fast, dangerous, and exciting her a lot," Ruby noted, "...Did she convince Tails to upgrade Bumblebee with something?"

"Most l-"

"Hey Yang! Wh-IS THAT A HOVERBIKE?!" Nora's voice exclaimed, "AW NO FAIR~!"

"Hoverbike?!" Ruby repeated.

"Of course it'd be a bike…" Weiss sighed as Zwei covered his head with his front paws.

"Sounds like she's on an EX Gear," Rouge noted, making the two look up to see her lying on the nearby statue while looking at a sapphire, "They're becoming a bit popular on Mobius because of them being so environmentally friendly since they use air as the fuel source."

"Huh...Using air as a fuel source...interesting," Weiss noted, 'And I'm hoping my father doesn't learn of them and abuse them for his own gain.'

"Seems that they're done with the first talks," Rouge noted as she looked to see the Mobius natives heading for either the guest complex or to the Sky Patrol aside from Rosemary, who was looking around, "Hmm...Seems that Tails' mom is on the lookout for something. Maybe she wants a tour." she shrugged as she put the sapphire into her cleavage before spreading her wings and flew off, "Ah well. Bye~"

"That is so cool," Ruby awed.

"Well, might as well keep on being polite," Weiss noted as she looked over to see Rosemary, "Mrs. Prower!"

"Hm?" Rosemary looked over at them, "Oh, hello girls."

"Everything alright?" Ruby asked.

"Yes. Introductory talks were well," Rosemary replied.

"Well that's a relief," Ruby noted, "Did you want to look around Beacon?"

"A little, yes, but I'm looking for my son," Rosemary replied.

"Tails? Well, last I saw him, Yang was taking him to the vehicle bay where she keeps her bike Bumblebee," Ruby replied.

"Oh...I see," Rosemary noted, "I guess he's busy then."

"IMMA JUMPING!" Yang's voice whooped.

"AHH! YANG, NO! THAT'S NOT A FLY TYPE! THAT'S A…" Tails' voice panicked before they heard something be smashed, "...Power...Type…"

"Oops…"

"Amusing enough, Amadeus did the same thing when he first tried an EX Gear," Rosemary noted, "At least it gave us a valid reason to add that new room. Still, I may need to look and see how big the damage is considering the device used was made on Mobius."

"Of course," Weiss agreed, "Though you may not need to worry about paying for damages. Ms. Goodwitch's Semblance lets her repair a lot of damaged things."

"Yeah. We ended up wrecking the entire cafeteria, knocking down a few pillars and made holes in the ceiling-Yang and Nora's fault on those-, and she used her Semblance and everything was fixed up good as new," Ruby noted.

"You wrecked the entire cafeteria? For wh-" Rosemary began.

"Food War. And yes...that's what it escalated to," Weiss sighed.

"Food War?" Rosemary repeated.

"It started with grapes and then a pie to Yang's face," Ruby explained as they headed for where the smashing had been in time to see Tails frantically tapping on his blocky device as Yang sheepishly rubbed the back of her head as she leaned on a white and red bike of sorts without any wheels.

"Seriously, Tails, it's not a problem," Yang insisted.

"Not a problem? Of course it is. What if this does something to the talks and makes tensions increase?" Tails argued, "Ah...Why did no one take any photos of the right side of this statue?"

"Eh, people think it's bad luck," Yang replied.

"Yang, what did you do?" Ruby asked, "That was my favorite spot to sketch new ideas for weapons."

"Sorry. Was trying out one of the EX Gears in the ship and was having a blast," Yang answered, "Got so excited I thought I could fly over it...not through it."

"I tried to warn you it was a Power Type...not a Fly Type," Tails deadpanned.

"Fly Type? Power Type?" Ruby repeated.

"There are three kinds of Types for EX Gear. Speed Types which let you go super fast and grind on railing, Fly Types which can, well, fly for long distances, and Power Types which make a protective barrier that doubles as a battering ram to break through various things," Tails explained, still tapping away, "Ugh! Seriously, why is there no picture of the right side?"

"Ahem," Yang, Ruby, and Weiss froze before turning to see Ms. Goodwitch approach.

"Uh, h-hello, Ms. Goodwitch…" Ruby greeted.

"Why is it always this statue that's shattered?" Ms. Goodwitch sighed before pulling out her riding crop and snapped it at the remains...before they floated up and reformed the statue, "Who broke it this time?"

"She did it," Ruby and Weiss quickly replied, motioning to Yang.

"Aw come on," Yang frowned at the two.

"Ms. Xiao Long, you'll be receiving a warning for now. But if you do something like this again, I may request your team not be allowed to participate in the Vytal Festival," Goodwitch warned, making the trio flinch.

"Yes, Ms. Goodwitch," all three replied.

"And please, don't try to break anything else in front of our guests," she advised, motioning to Rosemary and a shocked Tails.

"We won't," Yang assured, earning a nod before Goodwitch left, making the trio sigh in relief.

"How did she do that?" Tails gawked.

"It's part of her Semblance," Ruby explained.

"So...sh-she can reform things as they were..as if nothing happened?" Tails asked.

"Yep," Yang replied, patting his head, "See? Like I said, no big worry about it." she looked over at Rosemary, "So...I'm gonna go put this back on the Sky Patrol. Ruby, Weiss, wanna come with?"

"Huh?" Ruby pondered before noticing the subtle glances Yang was making to Tails and Rosemary, "Ohh...Sure! I wanted to ask Rotor about some of the artillery on the ship!"

"I may as well follow so you don't break something on the ship," Weiss sighed as the trio left, leaving Tails and Rosemary alone.

"..."

"..."

"..." Tails put his hands behind his back while Rosemary scratched her cheek as neither could really look the other in the eye.

"..." Tails coughed into his hand as the awkward silence was getting a bit too awkward.

"...May...May we talk?" Rosemary asked.

"Yeah…" Tails nodded, wanting to break the awkward silence finally.

'Okay...So far, so good…Don't screw this up, Rosemary,' Rosemary thought in relief as they walked over to a stone bench and sat down on it, "I've...noticed lately that…"

"That I've been ignoring you?" Tails finished, making her flinch as he looked at his shoes, "I...I have been."

Rosemary nodded, "D…"

"I want to talk about it since someone gave me an idea why," Tails replied before taking in a breath, "Wh...Why did you agree to have Ixis Naugus to replace Elias? I told you about him, right? About what he's done?"

"...Yes. You have," Rosemary sighed, her ears lowering in shame, "The day before we left to come here, Geoffrey St. John told us everything about what he did to get the crown. Apparently, he was inhabiting Geoffrey's body in order to stabilize his own body that was breaking down due to the first Genesis Wave that stripped everyone of the Bem's cure for Roboticization; and because of that, it let Geoffrey 'see' his memories."

"He was what?" Tails gawked.

"Yes, it is as strange as it sounds," Rosemary noted, "But...he revealed to us that Naugus had been casting a powerful spell on the citizens of New Mobotropolis to increase the fear and distrust of Nicole due to what happened with the Iron Dominion into full blown paranoia and hate. That was so he could appear and claim to 'save' us from the 'threat' the Freedom Fighters have left lying around." her face scrunched up in anger, "It also turns out that he used that 'negative emotion' spell years ago in order to make the Great War happen because he was afraid that Nate Morgan's technology would make his magicks obsolete."

"...So then if you or any of the others in the Council went against him...?"

"He'd use that same spell to guide that hatred towards their family," Rosemary confirmed, "But he couldn't do it because of what happened with that first Genesis Wave. It caused his body to start mutating whenever he used too much magic at once. He had to resort to a ritual to try to enslave the minds of the Council to always agree with him, but it was stopped and the means to perform the ritual was destroyed."

"What?!" Tails gawked, "That's cra...no, no. Wait. This is Naugus we're talking about. Of course he would."

"But...That was just only part of the reason I voted to have him replace Elias," Rosemary sighed, shame evident on her face, "I…" she sighed again, clenching her hands on her formal attire, "I still have trouble with the Acorn family. While Amadeus has managed to settle down with our issues with them, I...I haven't been able to fully."

"The attempted revolution that changed the Kingdom into a Republic..." Tails recalled, making her nod, "I...I guess that spell Naugus used also boosted that enough in you, too."

"It's possible," Rosemary agreed before frowning, "But it still doesn't excuse that I still voted for Ixis Naugus."

"I...I guess so…" Tails noted, "And...And that spell could also help explain why you voted for Nicole to be exiled. The paranoia and hatred people had thanks to Naugus that was all directed at her..."

Rosemary nodded, "But...I also try to think that, deep inside, we voted for that so that she'd be safe as well."

"...Even Hamlin?" Tails asked with a raised brow.

"No. He outright wanted Nicole to be deleted. Apparently, he's still feeling the effects of the first spell," Rosemary noted, "St. John believed it to be that it's because Hamlin is easily susceptible to mental attacks."

"Yeah I can see that," Tails deadpanned before frowning, "..." he shook a little before hugging her, "I...I'm sorry!"

"It's alright," Rosemary assured, putting a hand on his head.

"N-No! It...It's not!" Tails argued, "I...When I heard that...that even you voted for Nicole to be exiled after just agreeing to have Naugus voted, I...I…" he hiccuped while hugging her tighter, "...I couldn't even try to call you 'mom' and I just didn't want to have anything to do with you anymore…"

"...I'm sorry, too…" Rosemary whispered as she hugged him back, tears in her eyes, "I'm sorry that I didn't hold you tighter when Robotnik performed his coup and that I've missed watching you grow up...that we tried to perform a revolution when we just barely got back and pulled you into it...and especially for everything that I've done on the council that's hurt you be it directly or indirectly." she held him closer as she shook, "I...I feel like I'm a terrible mother...I try to do good and make things better for you and it just seems to backfire on me and nearly caused me to lose you just when I got you back…I...I'm so sorry, my kit...Please, forgive me...I can't lose you, too..."

"What are you doing?" Rotor asked as he noticed the trio of girls standing at the entrance to the landing bay, Ruby's Crescent Rose in its sniper mode and said owner was looking through the scope on it.

"Watching something really sweet," Ruby replied, offering the scope to him.

"?" Rotor raised a brow and looked through it at the two foxes hugging each other, "...Phew. Really glad they're finally talking. Chuck and I were worried when Tails blatantly avoided speaking about his mom the entire time we worked on the Sky Patrol and brought her up."

"You knew he was acting like this?" Yang asked.

"Only fully realized it the day we spent working on finishing this ship up and we mentioned his mom and he just blew it off and when we tried to say something about his mom being amazed, he was glad we thought his dad would be," Rotor replied, "Chuck actually went over to their house and proposed that Rosemary came on this mission so that they could try to do what they're doing now."

"Well, seems that little mission is acco…" Ruby began.

"HE DID WHAT?!" Sally's voice snapped.

"Hoo boy...That's her 'Sonic-is-going-to-die-by-scolding' tone," Rotor cringed as he pulled out a similar device to the one Tails had and started tapping on it, "Just what did he do this time?"

"What is that anyway?" Weiss asked.

"Tails made these. They're called the Miles Electric," Rotor explained, "Right now, there's just two, but he's planning on making a lot more." he tapped a few more times on the screen, "Okay, bringing up the status of everyone and...Oh, nice! They found Bunnie! And since Sonic is the leader of Team Fighters, he's the one in charge of mission updates, so I'll just pull up the missions reports and...ohh..." he cringed again, "'Liberate Sand-Blast City from the Sand-Blasters. Mission: Complete.' Yeah...I'm not surprised Sally's mad."

"Um, Rotor?" Silver asked, poking his head in from the doorway to the inner parts of the Sky Patrol, "Sally wants to see you to ask how to contact someone with those clips."

"Did she say why?"

"She says that she wants to 'calmly tell Sonic that he is in big trouble,'" Silver replied.

"Right…'calmly,'" Rotor sighed, "Alright, alright. I'll head on over."

"You do realize ze princess is gonna be mad at you once she finds out, Sonic," Antoine started as he and Bunnie sat in the front seats of a swiped jeep.

"Yep. But she's not gonna find out until this is all way past over," Sonic noted, sitting in the back with Roll.

"Ano...Sonic-san, doesn't these give updates to the place Sally-hime is staying at?" Roll asked, holding up her glove where the device was clipped onto.

"Yeah. Why?" Sonic asked before it dawned on him, "..." he quickly pulled out a Miles Electric from his quills, "...oh yeah. She is livid if she wants to 'calmly' talk with me."

"What ez zat?" Antoine asked.

"Oh, Tails made it. He calls it the Miles Electric," Sonic replied, "I'm sorta his 'durability tester' for stuff like this, so I tend to get stuff first." his tracker began to buzz, "..."

"Hm?" Roll pondered before she poked his device, causing the red background to turn blue.

=SONIC MAURICE HEDGEHOG!=

"GYAH!" Sonic yelped, nearly tossing his Miles Electric up while frantically moving his arm with the tracker up to his face, "Uh h-hi th…"

=The moment you get back to New Mobotropolis and check in with the council, you are going straight to Angel Island and request Knuckles for the use of a Warp Ring to come to the Sky Patrol this instant= Sally ordered.

"Um…"

=The reason is because I know very well that you'll pretend to make static and hang up if I rant now, so I will be storing it for the moment you get here=

"...Okay. But...what if I told you it was for a good reason?" Sonic offered.

=You'll get the chance to defend your actions when you arrive= Sally stated =Oh, and is Bunnie there?=

"Right here, Sal Gal! Great t' hear yer voice!" Bunnie beamed.

=Glad to hear yours as well= Sally noted in relief =Hopefully, Antoine has informed you of everything going on at the moment=

"Oui, I have for ze most part," Antoine replied.

=Good. I've already made it your mission, so I'll see you all later= Sally noted =And Sonic…= the blue hedgehog shuddered at the tone before she hung up.

"...I was right. She is mad. No...like you said, livid at you," Antoine noted as he looked at Sonic.

"Oh, she hasn't done that tone since near the end of the war with Robotnik and got myself Roboticized and had the device we made to not end up without my free will fell out of my ear when Nack knocked me out," Sonic cringed.

"You were given ze cold shoulder for a month," Antoine noted, "Well, at least zis time you 'ave us to act as witnesses."

"He's right, Sugah Hog," Bunnie agreed, "Though just one question: What's this here Sky Patrol she talked about?"

"Well, we have time while I go ask Nicole where Angel Island is at the moment," Sonic noted, tapping on his Miles Electric, "Oh, and did you mention what Finitevus did and how we now have these freaky monsters that want to kill any living thing that acts like an Overlander or Mobian that can track people through negative emotions?"

"WHAT?!" Bunnie gawked.

"...No...I did not…" Antoine groaned.

"We were busy with planning and liberating a city," Roll concurred.

"Well, we've got the drive to tell her all about it," Sonic noted, "You especially, Ant, since you spent more time with them that I have."

"Oui," Antoine agreed.

"Ah feel like Ah've missed a ton," Bunnie noted with wide eyes.

"So this mercenary, Nicky, took a team of Non-Legionized members and managed to disable the EMP Beacons here?" Lien-Da summarized as she and Beauregard stood in the middle of Sand Blast City while the DEL were busy with putting the Sand-Blasters into restraints and cages to relocate them for processing.

"Yes. Paid out of mah own pocket fer his aide so it wouldn't mess with our budget," Beauregard replied.

"I see...Good. One less VERY annoying group, the better," Lien-Da stated.

"Grandmasters," a shapely Echidna with her hair pulled into a ponytail of sorts and a robotic eye spoke while walking up, wearing a yellow top and shorts with metal braces on her wrists.

"Report, Gae-Na," Lien-Da spoke.

"We found Jack's home and his private office," Gae-Na informed, "For the past year, the Sand-Blasters have been part of a ring of slave trading, focusing on only hybrid Mobians and former Robians."

"Seriously?" Lien-Da asked with a raised brow.

"Yes. There were also plans on working with other traders to assault Albion next month," Gae-Na informed, making Lien-Da narrow her eyes.

"Oh, they were, were they?" Lien-Da asked rhetorically, "Where's Jack?"

"Damn it! Let me go you freaks!" they turned to see Jack struggling to free himself, "No good Robian lovin' backstabbers!"

"Good work, Griffon! Yer lazy ass is too fat fer him t' pull!" Commander noted as Griffon was lying on the ropes Jack was tied to.

"Why is the sky brown and the ground blue?" Griffon slurred.

"Uh, Commander, I don't think he can hear you right now," Si-Mone noted, "He drank the cactus water."

"Dang it, Griffon! You were told not to drink the water here!" Commander snapped.

"Dang it let go! I gotta find and get that no good hedgehog!" Jack snapped, "No good bleedin' heart punk! Him and all those Robian and mixed freak lovers deserved to be destroyed by Eggman!"

"Commander, should we sedate him?" Si-Mone asked.

"Nah, let's jest keep watchin'," Commander chuckled, "He thinks he can pull Griffon. Stupid blue-wearin' bluetard."

"Ahem."

"Gah!" Commander yelped as he and Si-Mone saluted Lien-Da and Beauregard, "Grandmasters on site!"

"What is going on here?" Lien-Da questioned.

"Private Griffon drank the cactus water," Commander informed, "So while we're waitin' fer him t' get it through his systems, we're usin' him as a weight to keep this here feller contained fer yer orders of dealin' with him."

"You stay away from my chicken farm!" Griffon snapped, shaking a fist at a cloud shaped like an ant, "You no good swimming buzzard!"

"...Oh….kay…." Lien-Da muttered before looking down at Jack, "...So. Decided to go slave trader, huh?"

"Sh-shut up, freak!" Jack snapped, "We were weedin' out all th' non-pure blooded Mobians, and wanted to make some cash on th' side!"

"Riiight…" Lien-Da noted, "So let me understand this: your definition of 'impure' would be if they're of a mixed heritage or they have bits of machinery or were Roboticized, correct?"

"Yeah, that's right," Jack replied.

"Perfect," Lien-Da smirked before turning to Gae-Na with a scowl, "Get them prepped for Surgery. I want them all to be Legionized and being forced to dig their own graves in the sand before the day ends."

"Wh-what?!" Jack's eye widened.

"Except for Jack here," Lien-Da informed, her eyes glowing with electricity as she looked at him with a sneer, "Legionize him by replacing his arms and legs and then disable his new implants."

"What?!"

"Ironic, ain't it? You called those 'impurities' freaks...Now let's see how you like it…" Lien-Da spoke as her troops began to march the Sand-Blasters off.

"Alright. Come on now," Commander ordered before slamming his shotgun into Griffon like a golf club.

"GAH! What the heck?!" Griffon exclaimed as he was rolled off at the same time Si-Mone jabbed Jack with a taser, knocking him out.

"Si-Mone, drag him to th' nearest hose and spray him down. Ah'll be takin' this here bluetard t' be prepped fer his surgery," Commander ordered.

"Alright, find out who they were going to work with to attack Albion and do the same to them," Lien-Da ordered.

"Got it, ma'am!"

"We also found the remains of a Roboticizer," Gae-Na informed, leading them over to the rubble that had been Jack's statue, "Based on the damage being more interior outside of a single stab from what appears to have been a cutlass that blocked several key components in the process, there is currently a Mobian who is akin to Bunnie Rabbot prior to her limbs being turned to normal by Ixis Naugus out there."

"Great. Just what we need," Lien-Da rolled her eyes, "And they actually got a Roboticizer up and working? May need to change the order for the one who did that to make more, teach the techs to build them, and then dig their own grave."

"Of course, ma'am," Gae-Na nodded as Metal Sonic picked up the remains with one arm, "Gh!"

"..." Metal knelt down and dipped his free claws into the liquid metal underneath, "...Interesting."

"What is that?" Lien-Da pondered.

"Analyzing," Metal replied, "Composition is akin to the element Mercury at room temperature yet includes several different alloys, including titanium and iron. Molecular structure is best compared to the structure of an organic cell with transmitters and receivers for electrical impulses." several drops of the liquid metal landed on his head, making him look up at the broken Roboticizer, "Origin located."

"Wait...it came from the Roboticizer?" Lien-Da asked with a raised brow.

"Affirmative," Metal replied before holding his claw up to his optics...before tearing them out.

"?!" Lien-Da, Beauregard, and Gae-Na jumped back as Metal let the liquid metal drip onto his face before it rearranged and changed colors, becoming an exact duplicate of his optics, "The hell was that for?!"

"Testing," Metal replied as he brought the broken optics to his own...and pushed them into his new ones, "Material is capable of breaking down and converting non-organic material to create more of itself." his optics turned off and he dropped the broken Roboticizer before they turned back on, "Orders?"

"...Go to the Death Egg and wait for me to tell you what to do next," Lien-Da ordered.

"Affirmative," Metal Sonic replied before flying off.

"Gae-Na, collect all this liquid metal," Lien-Da ordered, "Well, this has been...enlightening, hasn't it, Beauregard?"

"It has been, Ah will admit," he nodded.

"Keep up the good work," Lien-Da spoke, "And excellent job on expanding our territory. Once we refuel the Death Egg, we'll be off to check on the next Grandmaster."

"Understood," Beauregard replied as he looked up at the direction Metal Sonic had flown off to with a worried look.

GT: Boy, this was a lot of effort to do.

SZ: Very much so...and we are running on fumes as is as we are both VERY sleepy as of writing this outro

GT: Eeyup. So until the next chapter, please Read and Review.