Roaming into a Nightmare
Bear watched from a near by hill as Juba continued to train himself to use the move that Scorch has; Heat Blade. Again and again he tried, and every time he failed.
Juba's determined, Bear thought, got to give him that. Of course he has always had that. Working to rebuild that city on Ele Mary, the time we went to bring down Thrash and his empire, then he went with Sonic and his friends to stop the Metarex, then. . .he came. Fury with not only Scorch but with Blade as well. He looked down at his hands. Blade had done some horrible things, and he thought he was gone for good.
"He shouldn't be back," Bear whispered to himself, "he shouldn't."
"Thinking about Blade coming back to life?" Sonic asked curiously. Bear turned around to see Sonic standing behind him.
"Was it that obvious?" he asked curiously. Sonic sat down next to him.
"Yup."
"I must have been in deep thought then if you could read me like that."
"What are you saying?"
"That you run by everything so darn fast that you don't notice anything," Bear said with a smile. Sonic pouted.
"Well excuse me for liking traveling at high speeds." Bear laughed. Soon afterwords, Sonic smiled.
"So," he said while looking down at Juba, "you think he'll learn that move?" Bear looked down at Juba as he failed another attempt to learn Heat Blade.
"I'm not sure Sonic," he replied after a brief silence, "I just don't know. I'm not even sure how Scorch learned it. So many possibilities of how he learned it."
"Have any idea which one it could be?"
"I just told you Sonic that I don't know."
"Sorry." They both stared at Juba without saying another word to one another.
"But you know," Bear said to break the long silence, "I think he will learn it." Sonic looked over at him.
"How though?"
"Asking such a question isn't like you Sonic," Bear said with a smile, "usually you just charge in to solve your problems."
"Well," Sonic replied seriously, "this isn't my problem. It's Juba's and he's special." Bear looked back at Juba and knew what Sonic was talking about.
"But to answer your question Sonic," he continued, "he will just learn it in time. So far, Juba has been quite gifted. Sure his start was horrible, but he has grown so much since then."
"Yeah," Sonic agreed, "even after Knuckles, Tails, Amy, and I were so mean to him."
"He told me about that. He also told me that he forgave all of you. Are you saying that you haven't let that go yet?"
"I'm sure all of us have. Including me. I'm just saying that it's amazing that he turned out the way he did." Bear started laughing. Sonic looked at him like he had gone mad. "What has gotten into you Bear?"
"I'm sorry," Bear said as he stopped laughing, "but you know what I just realized?"
"What?"
"We were talking about Juba as if we raised him ourselves. You know, like his two uncles who raised him." Sonic started laughing having realized that Bear was right.
"Yeah," he said after he stopped laughing, "but thankfully he has his own family now."
"Yup. A wonder mother and sister and two adorable children of his own with the woman that he loves. Juba has certainly been blessed."
"I just wish he could have some time to spend with his family." Bear looked at Sonic and then back at Juba. He stared at his shadow and could see Fury in it.
"So long as Fury is out there," he said seriously, "Juba will never truly know peace."
"I know," Sonic said sadly, "but-" Bear stood up quickly.
"Then say no more. What we can do is make sure that Juba has a clear shot at Fury." Bear held out his hand towards Sonic. He smiled and grabbed it firmly. Bear helped Sonic to his feet and they stared at each other with serious looks in his eyes.
"Right," Sonic agreed.
"Now go on your run," Bear ordered with a fake voice, "I'll make sure that Juba gets some time with his family." Sonic nodded his head and rushed off in an instant. Bear turned around to walk over to Juba to tell him to take a break, but he froze at what he saw. He saw that he was in the End of Time realm of Cenius.
What am I doing here? he thought in confusion. Suddenly, the area was engulfed in white light and he passed out. Bear wasn't sure how long he saw nothing but black; however, soon light was beaming down at him. He slowly opened his eyes to see that he was in a forest area.
"What is going on here?" he asked no one.
"That's what I would like to know," a familiar voice stated. Bear looked to his left to find none other than Lucy the Hedgehog sitting next to him.
"I remember you," Bear said as he sat up, "you are one of those beings from another dimension that I met when we went to rescue Juba on Ele Mary. It's Lucy right?"
"Yes," she replied, "and I remember you as Bear."
"Well good. At least we remember each other."
"Yeah but where are we?" Bear looked around. The area seemed like Mobius.
"I think Mobius."
"I agree," she agreed, "but why did we go through the End of Time."
"You went there before coming here as well?"
"Yes. I just assumed that the same happened to you."
"You assumed correctly Lucy. But why did this happen? And why are we on Mobius?"
"Those are two questions that I want answered as well." Suddenly, they heard the sound of marching footsteps. A lot of footsteps. Bear motioned Lucy to get low. She laid down on her belly and so did Bear. They crawled to a near by bush and looked through it without moving it. Visibility was crappy but they could see a platoon of machine soldiers marching by.
"Are those Eggman's?" she asked with a whisper.
"Not sure," he whispered back.
"Find them!" shouted a familiar voice. They looked around for the source through the bushes. Soon, they saw part of a large man.
Eggman, Bear and Lucy thought at the same time.
"Their majesties will be angered if we don't find those Rebels!" Eggman shouted. They couldn't really tell through the bushes, but what they could tell was that Eggman wasn't wearing his usual outfit. Lucy looked at Bear and he looked at her. Then they waited until the platoon left the area.
"That was close," Bear said with a relaxing sigh.
"I agree," Lucy said as she turned over on her back.
"So," he said seriously, "what we know from that little encounter is that Eggman is working for someone. And that he hasn't conquered Mobius."
"True," she replied with a slight nervous tone.
"But he called someone their majesties," he continued, "so a king a queen then."
"Yup," she said with a nervous voice.
"What's wrong?" he asked curiously, "we got away without being seen by that fat egg."
"But not by them," she replied. Bear rolled over on his back to see a skunk pointing a crossbow at them and wearing an ammo belt on his chest. With him was two bears pointing hunting rifles at them.
"Oh," Bear said nervously, "them."
"You have a few seconds to tell me who you are and how you got here," the skunk said seriously.
"I'm Bear," Bear said seriously, "and this is Lucy. As to how we got here, would you believe me if I told you that we got here by traveling through time and space across dimensions, and we were dropped off here by a mysterious force that we don't know and have no idea how to get back to our own world?" The three armed Mobians stared at them in confusion.
"What?" the skunk asked in confusion.
"He's telling you the truth," Lucy said seriously. The skunk looked at them seriously.
"I detect no lies," he replied, "yet I still don't trust you."
"Not surprising," Bear stated, "two strangers appear out of no where and tell you this strange story. I would act the same way if I was in your shoes. However, how about we talk about this in a safer location?" The skunk looked at him and nodded his head.
"Fine," he agreed, "however, if either of you try anything funny or stupid, we'll shoot you."
"Message received," Lucy replied. The skunk and the bears lowered their weapons. Bear and Lucy got to their feet.
"I'm Geoffrey," the skunk introduced himself, "general of the Rebels. Follow me." Geoffrey led them deeper into the forest. The two bears were walking behind them. "Can we ask where you are taking us?" Lucy asked curiously.
"You'll see soon enough," Geoffrey replied.
"Great," Lucy sighed. They continued to walk for about ten minutes and arrived at a collection of tents in a small clearing.
"Whoa," Bear said in awe.
"The Rebel Camp," Geoffrey said proudly, "to answer your question from earlier."
"The Rebel Camp?" Bear asked curiously.
"That's right," Geoffrey replied, "this is our camp's current location."
"Current?" Lucy asked curiously.
"Geoffrey!" shouted a voice. They all turned to the source to see a yellow mongoose dressed in a black tank top and shorts running towards them.
"What is it Mina?" Geoffrey asked curiously.
"Eggman is getting too close," the mongoose called Mina replied, "we need to move camp."
"We can't," Geoffrey argued, "the recon team's not back yet."
"But if he finds us then we are all dead," Mina argued.
"We are well protected here," Geoffrey protested.
"I agree," Bear threw himself into the argument, "it's deep in the jungle covered by think bushes and trees."
"Who are you?" Mina asked angrily.
"Not friends of the monarchy," Geoffrey replied, "that I'm certain. By their story, they are from a different dimension."
"A different dimension?" Mina asked in shock.
"I know it's hard to believe," Lucy said sincerely, "but it's true."
"If we were your enemies," Bear added, "we would have attacked already." Mina didn't looked convinced, but she turned her attention to Geoffrey.
"But we risk being discovered here if we stay," she continued to argue.
"Then what about those brave souls out there?" Geoffrey asked angrily, "how do you expect for Tails's team to find us when they are done with their mission?"
Tails is here too? Bear asked curiously, I wonder who else is here?
If Tails is here, Lucy thought, then others that I know could be here too. Although, they wouldn't know me since I'm not from this dimension.
"Who is on the team with Tails?" Bear asked curiously. Geoffrey and Mina looked at them with uncertainty in their eyes.
"Why do you need to know?" Mina asked angrily.
"We don't," Lucy replied, "we're just being curious."
"That can get you killed," Geoffrey stated.
"Hasn't killed me yet," Bear said with a smug tone.
"Same here," Lucy said with a smile. Geoffrey and Mina looked stunned at their behavior. They smiled almost without knowing it.
"Such enlightening attitudes," Geoffrey stated.
"But we still have plenty of questions that we would liked answered," Bear said seriously, "if you have the time for them."
"I suppose being from a different dimension you wouldn't know what's going on here," Geoffrey stated.
"Exactly," Lucy replied.
"I'm actually starting to believe your story," Mina said softly.
"So," Bear stated, "how about we go somewhere so that Lucy and I can get some answers." Geoffrey nodded and guided them to a large tent. Inside was a bed and a table with four seats. They all sat down together.
"So," Geoffrey stated, "where should we begin?"
"First off we want to know if this is Mobius," Bear asked curiously.
"It use to be," Mina said sadly.
"What do you mean?" Bear asked curiously.
"The Emperor changed the name when he took over," Geoffrey replied.
"So this has to do with the majesties that Eggman was talking about," Lucy stated.
"Yes," Geoffrey replied, "it is now known as Planet Scourge."
"That is such a dumb name," Bear sighed, "who would call it that?"
"Emperor Scourge," Mina said seriously.
"Well," Bear giggled, "someone likes himself a little too much."
"I agree," Lucy said with a giggle.
"Scourge rules this planet along the side of his empress, Fiona," Geoffrey explained, "and they don't rule it peacefully."
"If you cross them," Mina added, "getting thrown in prison for the rest of your life is the most merciful option he has."
"Ouch," Bear stated, "what's the worst?"
"That we don't know," Geoffrey replied, "who knows what Scourge could think of. Even Fiona can come up with some pretty nasty ideas."
"I'll take your word for it," Lucy said with a nervous tone.
"I think the worst so far is what he did to Sonic," Geoffrey said sadly. Bear's eye brow twitched.
Scourge caught Sonic? Bear thought seriously, that can't be right.
I'm as fast as Sonic, Lucy thought, what did Scourge do in order to catch him?
"I take it that you know who Sonic is," Geoffrey said to break the silence.
"What makes you say that?" Bear asked curiously.
"Your eye brow twitched a little," Geoffrey replied, "and Lucy seems to be really quiet over there."
"In my dimension," Bear stated, "there is a Sonic yes. I don't know about Lucy's dimension."
"There is a Sonic there too," she replied.
"Okay," Bear stated, "but going back on topic, what did he do to Sonic?"
"We don't know," Mina said with a frightening voice.
"What?" Lucy asked in confusion.
"It's like disappeared off of the face of Mobius," Geoffrey explained, "he's just gone. However, Scourge apparently has convinced Sally that Sonic is alive."
"Sally?" Bear asked curiously.
"Your Mobius doesn't have Sally Acorn?" Geoffrey asked curiously.
"No," Bear replied, "I've never heard of that name before. Who is she?"
"Neither have I," Lucy added.
"Sally is the princess of Mobius," Mina replied.
"However," Geoffrey said seriously, "now she is the personal slave of Scourge and Fiona."
"That doesn't sound fun," Bear said seriously, "but I can see how you would be afraid of him. Making Mobius like Sonic never even existed."
"Yes," Geoffrey said seriously.
"But what did you mean that Scourge convinced Sally that Sonic was alive?" Lucy asked curiously.
"In order to keep Sally from doing anything," Geoffrey said seriously, "he says that he'll make Sonic suffer greatly if she tries anything."
"But if Sonic is gone then how did he convince her?" Bear asked curiously.
"That is what we are trying to find out," Geoffrey said seriously, "trying to find Sonic and free him, or look for his body to bring Sally proof that he is dead."
"Well aren't you Mr. Positive," Bear said with a sigh.
"It's called being realistic," Geoffrey replied seriously.
"Look," Lucy said seriously, "it doesn't hurt to be optimistic you know."
"Could you stay optimistic after five years under Scourge's rule?" Mina asked seriously.
"I'm pretty sure it would be difficult," Bear replied, "but I think Lucy would be fine after that amount of time."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Lucy said with a smile.
"No problem," Bear stated.
"I can't believe how casual you two can be," Mina said with a sigh.
"How long have you two known each other?" Geoffrey asked curiously.
"I'd say about a week," Bear replied.
"A week and a half more like it," Lucy added.
"Oh right," Bear said while nodding his head.
"Yet you two seem very familiar for knowing each other for such a little amount of time," Geoffrey stated.
"A story for a different day," Bear replied, "but now we should move on to the topic of how Lucy and I can help you."
"Help us?" Mina asked in shock.
"Yeah," Lucy stated, "we're here. Might as well help out with what we can." Mina and Geoffrey looked confused and shocked at what they were saying.
"W-Well," Geoffrey stuttered, "maybe later. However, we have nothing right now until recon team gets back."
"Geoffrey!" shouted a unknown voice. A bear entered the tent.
"What is it?" Geoffrey asked curiously.
"The recon team is back," the bear replied. Geoffrey and Mina stood up.
"That's great news," Mina said seriously.
"I'm afraid there is some bad news," the bear said seriously, "Charmy didn't make it back. According to Tails and Amy, he's dead." Bear and Lucy stood up and stared at the bear.
Charmy? Bear thought, dead? Holy shit, this Scourge guy doesn't play around. I wonder if Espio and Vector are still alive.
Poor Charmy, Lucy thought, I can't believe how dark this world is.
"Damn it," Geoffrey cursed, "that means only Mighty is left of Team Chaotix."
Mighty? Bear and Lucy thought together. It was then that Tails and Amy walked into the tent. However, what Bear and Lucy saw made them gasp in shock. Tails had three scars on him: one on his left cheek, another on his chest, and the third one was on his right leg. The third scar looked the nastiest of the three, and it started from his waist and went all the way down to inside his shoe. Also, he had a robotic right arm.
Oh my god, Lucy thought, poor Tails. What shocked them about Amy was that she had lost her left eye. It had been replaced by a robotic one.
Holy shit again, Bear thought, what the hell got her?
"Charmy was killed by Predator Hawk," Tails said with a dark tone.
"He caught us by surprise," Amy said with no emotion in her voice.
"Damn it," Geoffrey cursed angrily, "he was so young."
"Now then," Tails said as he glanced over towards Bear and Lucy, "who are these two?"
"Friends," Mina replied.
"I'm Bear," Bear introduced himself.
"My name is Lucy," Lucy said with a smile on her face.
"Awfully cheery aren't you?" Tails asked with a dark tone, "after all, we just lost someone."
"Sorry about your loss," Bear said seriously.
"Yeah," Lucy said with a bow.
"These two are a little strange," Amy said with no emotion in her voice.
"They are from a different dimension," Geoffrey explained. Tails and Amy looked at him in shock.
"What?" Tails asked curiously.
"How did they get here?" Amy asked.
"Through time and space," Bear replied, "it wasn't an easy trip."
"Yeah," Lucy agreed.
"That's all well and good," Tails said with a dark tone, "however, we have no reason to trust you."
"That's fine," Lucy stated, "we understand."
"More importantly," Geoffrey stated, "did you find anything useful?"
"Of course we didn't," Tails said angrily, "just like all the other damn times we searched out for him. We've searched this entire planet over, and we still haven't found a trace of Sonic." Tails slammed his robotic arm on the table and shattered it instantly. His display of anger shook Lucy and Bear a little bit.
"So that's it then," Geoffrey said in depression as he sat down, "we have nothing. After five long years, we have nothing. No clue to where Sonic is; alive or dead."
"Yes," Amy said plainly.
"So," Mina said sadly, "Scourge has literally taken him off of the face of Mobius."
"Five years of searching for nothing," Geoffrey said with no hope in his voice. Lucy and Bear looked at each other.
"We'll give you guys some time," Lucy said kindly as the two of them left the tent. They walked away from the tent and looked around. Many of the Mobians there had scars like Tails and had robotic parts. They found a secluded spot in the camp and sat down.
"Talk about a grim world," Bear said seriously.
"I agree," Lucy stated, "besides, the situation we were in before isn't that different."
"True," he agreed, "however, this time it's just the two of us. I'm not sure how many Mobians here are going to want to fight after what has happened to them."
"I know," she said sadly, "but we have to try. I have a feeling that we were sent here to help them."
"You're getting that feeling too?" he asked curiously.
"Yeah Bear. I am."
"Well," he said with a sigh, "it would be easier if Cenius told us why he sent us here. Instead of just dropping us here with nothing."
"I know," she agreed, "but what can we do?"
"Follow our feelings," he replied, "if we feel like we were brought here to help these guys, then I say we stick to that. It's all we got to go on for now."
"That's true," she said with a smile, "and we should start with helping them find Sonic."
"I agree," he said proudly.
"But," she said sadly, "if they have searched the entire planet and haven't found him or any trace of him yet, then where does that leave us?"
"In a bad place," he said with a sigh.
"I know it's not easy to find someone who has been wiped off of the face of the planet, but there should be something left behind."
"Yup," he agreed, "there should be something even if-" Bear widened his eyes and he looked up into the sky.
That's it! he shouted in his mind. He stood up quickly and got Lucy to her feet.
"What is it Bear?" she asked nervously.
"You are a genius Lucy," he said happily and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. He then ran to the main tent. Lucy shook off the confusion and ran after him. As they entered, only Geoffrey was in the tent.
"What is it that you two want?" Geoffrey asked sadly.
"I know that you are hurting over the loss of your friend," Bear said seriously, "however, I think I have an idea where Sonic is." Lucy and Geoffrey looked at him in shock.
"What?" she asked curiously.
"How could you have any idea?" Geoffrey asked sadly, "neither of you have been in this dimension for a day. Now you say you think you know where Sonic is?"
"Yup," Bear said cheerfully. Geoffrey chuckles.
"Okay," he said like he didn't care, "I'll humor you. Where?"
"He's not anywhere on Mobius," Bear said with a smile.
"We already know that," Geoffrey said with the frustration building up, "this is no time for jokes."
"I know," Bear continued, "which is why I'm going to tell you that he is most likely in a space station of some kind orbiting the planet." Geoffrey and Lucy gasped in shock.
"What?" Geoffrey shouted, "that can't be!"
"It makes sense though," Lucy said after thinking about it, "it's the only place left really."
"But we don't know if Scourge has anything like that," Geoffrey argued.
"Are you saying that you only searched for data and stuff on Sonic and nothing else?" Bear asked curiously.
"Yes," Geoffrey replied, "after all, I didn't think Scourge would have something like that."
"Eggman works under him," Bear stated, "trust me, he has a space station at least. It's most likely under Scourge's control, and plus it would be the greatest insult to Sonic. Taking him away from the ground that he loves to run on." Lucy smiled and was sold. However, Geoffrey was still having doubts.
"I agree with Bear," she said firmly, "Sonic loves running and seeing new places. A space station would be the perfect place to hold him."
"Even if that is true," Geoffrey argued, "it's impossible to get up there."
"Why is that?" Bear asked curiously.
"We don't have a space craft," Geoffrey replied, "nor the means to build one."
"Then we go borrow one from the space port," Lucy suggested.
"Too heavily guarded," Geoffrey argued.
"He's right you know," Amy's voice came from outside. They looked back at the entrance to see her enter the tent. "It's well guarded. We'd never get close enough to get into one."
"Well look at the two negative people who gave up before trying," Lucy stated.
"We are being realistic," Geoffrey said seriously.
"So giving up before trying is being realistic?" Bear asked curiously.
"No!" Geoffrey shouted.
"I see," Bear said with a sigh, "so you don't know where the space port is then?"
"Of course we do!" Geoffrey shouted, "it's in the Grand City on the southeast side! The city is also to the southeast from here."
"Perfect," Bear said with a smile, "Lucy, let's go."
"Right," Lucy said with a nod of her head.
"What?" Geoffrey asked in shock.
"You two can't be serious?" Amy asked plainly.
"We are," Bear replied.
"Yeah," Lucy agreed, "after all, you guys are too afraid of doing anything."
"But there is no proof that Sonic is up there!" Geoffrey argued, "and there is no proof that there is even a space station up there!"
"We won't know until we look," Bear said seriously.
"Right," Lucy agreed, "I'm willing to take that chance."
"Same here," Bear said as he held out his hand for a high five. Lucy gave him a high five.
"Look," Geoffrey said seriously, "if you two want to die or get imprisoned, be my guest. However, we will not have any part of this. We will be moving soon anyway. Your only way to stay safe is to stay with us." Bear stared at Geoffrey and sighed.
"Being safe is important," he said seriously, "however, so is helping your friends." Bear left the tent with Lucy right behind him. They left the camp and headed to the southeast. Towards the space port and towards the first step they believe to saving Sonic and Sally.
End of Chapter
Bear and Lucy see each other again. However, they are thrown into a dimension ruled by Scourge and Sonic is captured.
Will they succeed in saving Sonic?
Or
Will they be caught?
Find out in the next chapter of. . . .
Across Dimensions
Please Review
Author's Note:I would like to thank Lucy the Hedgehog for letting me use her character, Lucy the Hedgehog. Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter.