PROLOGUE
The oddest group you could have ever, ever thought up was trapped together in a huge cell of some kind. The walls were stainless steel of some kind, yet were stronger than titanium. Their only way of escape was a charged, translucent wall of pulsing light blue energy that could only be opened from outside, and even then only by a specific energy signature…the energy signature that the creator of the cell possessed. The group itself was a ragtag group of…well, humanoid-like animals, "furries" you could say…with the exception of two robots, a strange watery creature and a fat, bald scientist with dark, high-tech goggles and a HUGE red mustache.
The first ones you saw were…well, the only way to describe them would be hedgehogs. The first one had the air of a take-control, "I can do anything" air around his blue form. His quills were thick and sharp hutting from down his head and his back, and he had bright green eyes and wore red and white shoes with white socks. He also had on white gloves and lacked his usual smirking grin. Beside him was another hedgehog, head buried in her own white gloved hands, her body pink, her quills hanging down from her head like thick locks, with green eyes and a very cute red dress. Sitting a little ways away from those two was a black hedgehog with spikes that tipped up slightly, with red streaks in them. He had a serious face that was looking even more serious thanks to the situation they were in. He also had red eyes, and was looking at the wall, unwilling to face anyone else.
The next few people you saw was a red and an orange being, the red one being an echidna of some kind, with thick "dreadlocks" falling down from his head and gloves that showed off one feature: spiked knuckles, and they looked sharp. He had purple eyes and was looking morose, though not nearly as morose as the orange, two-tailed fox next to him. The fox was a kid, anyone could see that, he had a youthful face and a three locks of orange hair stuck out over his head. His tails twitched sadly on the ground, and he had curled up, burying his face behind his knees.
A large, purple cat…and I mean large…was also in there. He wore light brown gloves and had a simple sort of look around him, as well as having large, pointy ears. But his normally sweet, jolly face was saddened as well, and he tried to comfort the crying little rabbit that had buried cute face into his thick, furry white chest. She had a light orangey blend of fur, and brown-tipped ears, with a pretty dark orange dress with big yellow buttons and brown/orange eyes that were filled with tears that splashed onto the cat's chest.
Across from the black hedgehog and the echidna was a white bat. She was obviously a bat, her black wings, fangs, dark blue eyes and slender finger marked her for a female fruit bat. She was sitting cross-legged next to a machine. It had a red and black torso, with four black vents on the front of its chest and giant, acylindrical arms, covered at the top by unwieldy black shoulderpads. He had four claw-like digits for hands that appeared quite sharp and could squash your head like a grape, and short legs with large black metal pads for feet. A symbol was upon the shoulder pads…the Greek letter for "Omega".
Next to THAT robot was a robot with a similar, yet different design. He had the insignia for "Gamma" upon his shoulder pad, and…well, "chicken legs" made of metal. He had three-digited metal hands and a red torso, a single white stripe running vertically up it. He had a small yellow/orange platform-like head with light green eyes and he was looking at the other robot, who simply stroked it's claws on the ground, a grim intent present in its eyes.
Across from THAT robot was another one, who closely resembled the blue hedgehog, complete with quills, shoes and a blue body. It had a thruster sticking from its back, sharp claws for fingers, a cape, curved shoes, and red, soulless eyes. It was glaring at the hedgehog. Needless to say, the hedgehog didn't even look up at the robot. Across from that machine was another echidna, which was a darker shade of peach in color and quite pretty and beautiful. She had blue eyes like the sky and a slightly bent, long tail. She wore a white, tank-top sort of garment and wore a tribal dress of green, red and beige triangle patterns. She wore white sandals and a golden necklace and a headband on her head and had blue bracelets on her wrist, and was hugging a creature for support.
This creature was…well, unusual. And made of water, from the looks of it. The occasional bubble floated around in it, and it had glowing, deeply entrancing green eyes. It's head had three protrusions of some kind, the first standing upright, the other two curving down like horns of a sort. The thing's hands had three long claws on its hands instead of fingers, and two claws on its feet. It also had what appeared to be a brain and a bream stem floating in the middle of its forehead. It held the female echidna and tried to comfort her by rubbing her back. Walking over from her was a small, bluish creature with a rounded body and a little yellow orb on top of its head. It had a red bowtie and tried to comfort the little rabbit across from it by chirping out "chao chao" in a comforting tone, but its efforts were in vain.
The next group of people were really weird: a flying squirrel, a crocodile, a bee, a chameleon, an armadillo, a duck and a polar bear. The young flying squirrel had black eyes, golden/yellow fur and red and white shoes. He wore a dark blue jacket as well and was quivering in fear. The crocodile had green scales and had red spikes running down his back. He also wore headphones on his head and a golden chain around his neck. He had black shoes and was very strong in appearance. The bee in comparison was quite weak-looking, and kind of dorky, wearing a black pilot's helmet with a vest of orange, with shoes to match. He was actually just a kid, younger than even the fox!
The chameleon was purple in color with a yellow horn and black spikes jutting from his back. He had a curly tail and vibrant yellow eyes. He had the air of stealth around him, but that air was barely lingering, he was looking quite defeated…as was the armadillo next to him. He had black fur and contoured red armor adorned the top of his scalp, forehead and entire back, going all the way to his rump. His black eyes glistened slightly, but they were preoccupied with looking around for an exit…a vain exercise.
The duck was green. Yes, green. He had a green feathered body and two large tufts on top of his head, with two long tufts on his butt as his tail. He wore a red bandanna around his neck and had black eyes, with red and white sneakers. Next to him was a large polar bear of thick white fur and three large tufts sticking out from his forehead. He wore a red winter cap and big, thick brown gloves that looked like boxing gloves. He also had on a green scarf and was fiddling with the end of it, sighing occasionally.
Away from them sat a purple weasel with a large fang sticking out from his upper lip. He had long, slanted ears and a long, durable tail that was bent in the middle. He had a pointed blue nose, saddle brown work gloves and boots, and a fedora hat to match. He was sitting next to another robot, black and gold in color. He looked quite impressive, with a "crown" of three golden horns, the middle one sticking up and being the largest. He had grey fingers and a smooth, rounded head, with blue eyes that shone. Three silver caps in the shape of a triangle decorated the front of his chest.
The blue hedgehog was named Sonic, the black one Shadow…and the pink one was called Amy Rose. The red echidna was Knuckles, with the female being named Tikal. The fox's full name was "Miles Prower", but everyone called him "Tails". The little rabbit and her strange blue pet that was trying to cheer her up were called Cream and Cheese the Chao. The fat human scientist with them was Dr. Ivo Robotnik, known as "Eggman". The bat was called Rouge and the weasel that tried to get a smile from her by a half-hearted tip of his hat (it failed) was called two things: his name, Nack the Weasel, or his title as "Fang the Sniper". The armadillo was called Mighty, the bee was called Charmy, the flying squirrel Ray and the crocodile and chameleon were Vector and Espio. The duck was known as Bean, the bear was called Bark. The robots with the insignias on their shoulders…well, the insignias gave their names away. "Chicken legs" was Gamma, and the one with claw-like fingers was Omega. The blue robot replica of Sonic was Metal Sonic, or simply "Metal", and the watery being that was trying to comfort Tikal was Chaos. The cat that Cream was crying into was called Big, the black and gold robot was known to them as Emerl, and all of them were depressed, saddened, defeated…alone. Trapped inside a terrible space station by one of the most psychopathic villains they'd ever met.
Finally Nack couldn't take it anymore.
"I can't take it no more!" He shouted, his distinct New York accent ripping the silence apart. They could never tell if it was Manhattan or Brooklyn…not that it mattered. "We've gotta get the hell outta here!" He shouted. "I don't care if I break nearly every bone in my body breaking down wuna these walls, but I'm gettin' outta this joint!"
"As much as I really would not like to say this in this sort of situation…" Metal Sonic remarked, his voice dripping with a mixture of dislike for the scumbag weasel and aggravated sorrow, "Resistance is futile."
"We can't break down the walls. They're too strong." Eggman told them all simply. "I should know, I designed these d—n cells and this space station…that d—nable hedgehog…that OTHER d—namble hedgehog…I can't believe he double-crossed me."
"Shoulda seen it comin." Nack groaned, sitting back down. "I mean, it's what I woulda done if I was workin' with you and felt you weren't payin' up enuff…but then again, I would never wanna do what this freak wants ta do! I mean, he's gonna actually destroy the whole d—n world and us right after it…"
"…I wish I'd been stronger…" Knuckles said suddenly. "I thought I wasn't holding back, but he somehow overpowered us…"
"No, it's MY fault!" Tails said, groaning as he stood up and went to the wall, banging his fist on the wall, shaking. "I wasn't smart enough…I should have figured out his plans, I'm supposed to have an IQ in the triple digits!"
"You and me both!" Eggman complained.
"It's MY fault!" Tikal sobbed. "I'm not strong…I'm a weakling…all my magic power didn't do anything to him…"
Chaos shook his head, trying to comfort her further. "No, no…" He said. "Please Tikal, don't cry…the fault is mine. I allowed the darkness in my heart to grow, I started this whole thing by allowing myself to be used for a cruel purpose…and I turned away too late…worse still, I was not strong enough to do anything to him, and I…I'm…" He couldn't even finish his sentence, but they knew what he was thinking. He was supposed to be a god, but he couldn't even beat down one evil hedgehog. He'd failed to protect the Master Emerald, his wonderful, wonderful friends…his chao…oh, the poor chao…
"No. It's OUR fault." The odd-looking group from before said at the same time. "We're the ones who fell for his request!"
"The blame lies with me." Omega said. "I allowed my hatred of Eggman to blind me to an evil far greater than he…"
"No, it is mine fault, brother in arms…" Gamma said suddenly. He stood up and looked down at his hands. "I wasn't strong enough to resist his influence and I allowed myself to steal that emerald…"
"Don't forget I helped you…" Emerl said, burying his face in his hands. "I thought I was over being used, but…"
"You were tricked, kid. It happens." Rouge said. "I don't blame you. I blame myself. I thought that he actually was one of the good guys…"
"No, it's MY faaault!" Cream sobbed. "I got kidnapped! If I'd been stronger in the beginning, I woulda beaten Chaos off and-and then none of this woulda happened!"
"But I still would have ended up bringing the chaos emerald to him…" Big mumbled sadly. "He tricked me too, Emerl…"
"I'm supposed to be the Ultimate Life Form, d—n it!" Shadow swore, punching the walls suddenly. "But I can't use chaos control, none of my powers work on our walls, and now I-I can't do anything to help the world. The worst part is…" He sighed. "I thought I'd put the past behind me, that Maria and Gerald would have wanted me to be happy…but I feel so awful knowing that I can't stop what's going to happen to our world…I've failed her…and here I thought I had gotten over her…"
"No."
Sonic's voice rang out and everyone turned to face him as he stood up, body quivering, fists clenched hard, speaking softly.
"It's my fault. I had all these chances and I thought I'd done enough. But I never looked closer, never did that extra mile, didn't FINISH things. I couldn't beat him. I always won before and this time I couldn't do anything. And for all I can do, I can't get us out of a stupid, stupid…" He began to punch the floor. "STUPID, STUPID cell! I'm USELESS! I'm…I'm no hero…"
Nobody had the heart to say anything.
And then someone spoke…
"I can't believe what I'm seeing. Are you for real!?"
They all turned to face this voice that was coming from the door far, far beyond energy field that blocked their way out, down the hallway…
And there, entering the hallway, walking towards their cell, was the speaker.
"Are you serious?...guys, guys…"
He shook his head, disappointed, and then stepped up to the energy shield, raising a fist, smiling triumphantly, knuckles cracking slightly as he made said fist. His hazel green eyes stared out from his face, and the human teenager spoke again. "I think you're forgetting who you are!"…
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG:
COURAGE
(Scene opens up with Sonic looking up at the moon from atop a hillside. His quills are blown slightly by the wind as Tails goes up to join him, standing next to him. Knuckles glides over to them to join them in watching the moon, and they stand there, unmoving.)
Into your head, into your mind
out of your soul, race through your veins
You can't escape, you can't escape…
(The scene shifts to the city. Amy stands out on top of a rooftop with Cream, Cheese and Emerl by her side. She holds her hands together and makes a silent wish, just as the scene cuts back to Sonic, Tails and Knuckles.)
Into your life, into your dreams,
Out of the dark, sunlight again.
You can't explain, you can't explain…
(Sonic then grins as the wind seems to pick up speed. He turns to the others, nodding. They nod as well…)
Can you feel it, can you feel it,
rushin' through your hair,
Rushin' through your head,
Can you feel it, can you feel it,
(They take off running through the hills as scenes of their past adventures pass overhead in the stars, ending with a camera shot of Amy back on the roof with Cream, Cheese and Emerl as a single lock of hair floats up thanks to the wind, blocking the view…which changes…)
Don't let nobody tell you, your life is over,
Be every color that you are,
Into the rush now,
You don't have to know how,
Know it all before you try.
(The scene now cuts to the Chaotix Detective Agency. They're all sitting around, and they raise respective drinks to each other. Then suddenly they stiffen, as if feeling something, and make for the door.)
Pulling you in, spinning you 'round,
Lifting your feet right off the ground,
You can't believe it's happening now.
(Scene cuts to the rooftops of the city. Rouge, Shadow and Omega all look at each other, then jump off, landing expertly on the ground.)
Can you feel it, can you feel it,
Rushin' through your hair,
Rushin' through your head,
Can you feel it, can you feel it!
(They run down the street, and are soon joined by the Chaotix. Shadow grins, and then they take off, leaving the city.)
Don't let nobody tell you, your life is over,
Be every color that you are,
Into the rush now,
You don't have to know how,
Know it all before you try.
(The scene now cuts to the Master Emerald Shrine. Tikal and Chaos are waiting patiently there while Big plays in the background with the chao and his friend Froggy. Then we cut to Nack, who's flying in on a plane, heading for Angel Island and the Master Emerald…)
It takes you to another place,
imagine everything you can.
All the colors start to blend,
Your system overloads again.
(What he doesn't see is there is a huge ship following far behind him…a flagship with Eggman's insignia on it. Eggman cackles at the controls as he raises a fist in triumph, and several robotic shapes appear behind him from the shadows. Then the scene cuts to the ocean, where a brown-haired human youth is looking up at Angel Island from afar on a grassy knoll nearby. He turns and faces the camera and speaks…)
"Can you feel it?"
(Now we see action poses of every single character)
Don't let nobody tell you, your life is over,
Be every color that you are,
Into the rush now,
You don't have to know how,
Know it all before you try.
Don't let nobody tell you,
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!
Don't let nobody tell you,
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!
(Now we see everyone on Angel Island, on a grassy hill overlooking the island. Sonic is in the front. He suddenly leaps up into the air, becoming Super Sonic and zooming up at the camera.)
Don't let nobody tell you, your life is over,
Be every color that you are,
Into the rush now,
You don't have to know how,
Know it all before you try!
(The youth from before joins them and salutes the camera with his middle and pointer finger as Sonic touches down next to him. The title appears above them all.)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah…
CHAPTER ONE
"Ninety nine bottles of pop on the wall, ninety nine bottles of poooopppp!"
Cream the Rabbit, accompanied by Cheese the Chao, skipped merrily to Station Square from her home just outside the city in the rural fields of green. She was planning on visiting the park first, then she'd go pick up an ice cream from the nearby store which made the LOVELIEST sundaes! Usually she would ask Emerl to come with her, but he was at Tails's place being repaired for the week.
Her ears flapping the wind, the first thing she noticed as she turned the corner and went onto the street which led to the park was that there was a HUGE new building which she had never seen before. It was about four stories high and had two sets of double doors. It was painted silver and green, with a big red sign on the front that read "Rhythmic Passage" on the front.
"Ooh…" Cream said, walking over the crosswalk. This store looked interesting! Cream hovered in the air, wings flapping lightly as he landed on Cream's shoulder. Pressing the button to cross over, Cream was rewarded instantly and skipped across, going through the double doors of the large building and discovering the moment that she stepped in what the building was…a superstore of epic proportions!
The aisles were spic and span clean, and you could see your own reflection in them. The lights high above gleamed down, not too bright to look at and each painted with different colors at the top. There were many streamers and balloons all around, and several of the balloons were in the shapes of…
"Hey, that's Sonic! Ooh, and there's Tails, and there's Amy, and that's Mr. Shadow and Ms. Rouge…"
"You like them?" A voice called out from her right. She looked in its direction and saw a human was there, a teenager. He had brown hair and hazel green eyes. He was wearing a green t-shirt with a blue vest and as he hopped over the counter he was standing behind and walked over to her, she saw he had on white sneakers. But what interested her was the mood necklace he wore: it was a blue orb and it seemed to draw your attention in…
"Welcome to Rhythmic Passage!" The kid said. He got down on one knee and held out his hand. "I'm the owner of this Station Square Superstore, you can call me Nick!"
"Hello!" Cream said, shaking his hand and then curtsying. "Nice to meet you Mr. Nick!"
"Please, just call me Nick. You're Cream, right? And your little Chao friend is Cheese, right?"
Cream blinked. "Oh! How did you know that?"
"I know pretty much everyone! In this business you kinda have to. Anyhow, do you like the balloons? I designed them myself." He stood up and smiled, brushing his hair's locks to the side slightly. "So what can I do for you, little lady?"
"Well, I…um…"
Hmm. She'd been so interested in seeing the inside of this place, but what did it sell? She didn't need to get any groceries, her mother Vanilla had already bought some yesterday.
"We don't just sell groceries here, if that's what you're thinking. Hey, since you're the first customer to enter the store, how about a tour?" The kid offered.
Cream rubbed the back of her neck. "Well…okay!" She said. Cheese let out a chirp on her shoulder and smacked his little stubby hands together in happiness.
The kid led Cream and Cheese to the first area. "This is where we keep all the food! The frozen food's in the back over there, and as for reaching the stuff on the top, well we have Ray!"
"Ray?"
"He's one of my employees! I'll introduce you both to all of them at the end of the tour." Moving along, he pointed into a region about a dozen feet away from the food section, into a semi-circular area that was filled to the brim. "This is where we keep the power tools!"
"Oooooh!" Cream said. "They look so fancy…" She walked up to the nearest rack of tools and reached up, taking one down. "What's this?"
"That is a caulking gun. Be careful it's-"
SPLOOOSH!
Cream put her hand to her mouth, as did Cheese. The kid was now covered in caulking material.
"…I'm…I'm okay. Uh, I'll go dry myself off at the next aisle…"
I don't actually mind this…it feels kinda like ice cream. I like ice cream…
"Oh, wow!" Cream shouted. "Look at all that beach stuff!"
Beach balls stacked high, fishing rods, sandals, sand-castle building materials and dozens of toys for beach use lined up and down this aisle. It even SMELLED of the ocean!
"How'd you get this scent?" Cream said, sniffing the air, head held up highly. "Mmm…"
"Special blend. Bean developed it. He's pretty smart!"
"Bean? Jumping, baked, jelly?" Cream asked. "I like jelly beans best."
The kid laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Er, no, no! Bean's another employee. He's good at mixing things up…here, this way!"
After leading Cream down past the electronics section, the toy aisles and a HUGE section devoted to clothes and shoes, the kid approached a door at the far end of the store. "Now THIS…this is the part of the store where it's only for the right kind of people. You have to be at least 18 and have ID to get into this part of the store, but I can show you a part of it since I know you're a trustworthy person, Cream." The kid said.
Cream nodded. "I promise not to tell!"
"Chao!"
"Cheese promises too." Cream said, and Cheese nodded.
The kid smiled, and led Cream inside, closing the door behind them. It was a HUGE stairway leading up, spiraling higher, higher. "Wanna go for a piggyback ride?" The kid offered.
…"Weeeeee!" Cream laughed as the kid came to a stop, letting her and Cheese hop off. "Thank you, thank you!" She said. The kid smiled happily and pointed at the door in front. "This is the fourth floor of our building, the only one I can show you. Now go on in!"
Cream nodded eagerly and pushed it open.
She gasped.
"Those…those are…"
Lining up and down large metallic stands with a small pillow placed to hold the stand's contents were…emeralds…chaos emeralds. A single, large, circular light glowed above, shining down. Each emerald caught the light, sparkling up the place and making it brighter and sunnier than Cream could have expected. The room had plush red carpeting and a large blue sign on the silver walls read "CHAOS EMERALDS: INQUIRE WITH OWNER ABOUT PRICE".
"Amazing, huh?" The kid said. "We gotta HUGE collection of chaos emeralds here!"
"H-how did…how did you do all this?" Cream asked.
"It's simple." The kid explained. "These Chaos emeralds are hand-made."
"They're-they're fake?"
"Yes and no. You see, there are assumed to be seven chaos emeralds…but in reality there were eight. If you have just that one emerald, you can replicate others from it. Basically Cream, that eighth emerald has enough power in it to make copies!" The kid explained, walking over to one of the chaos emeralds and picking it up in his hands from its plushy red pillow. It sparkled quite nicely and the kid tossed it up and down as he explained.
"It's simple, really. The eighth emerald, the golden emerald, has a unique energy signature…it gives off an aura, if you will. Only someone with a similar aura can track it down and use it. I happen to have been blessed with that aura and found it quite quickly…of course, my employees helped out a lot too!"
He grinned. "Now you see, the emeralds can transform thoughts into power if the will of a person is strong enough…and my will was! With the power I obtained, I was able to create copies of the chaos emeralds as long as I focused hard enough on it. Here…"
He handed it to her. "Think of something you really want. Imagine it in your head and then let your heart do the rest."
Cream was unsure if this would work, but…well, it wouldn't hurt to try. She pictured an ice cream sundae in her head, topped with a single cherry, with creamy vanilla and smooth chocolate ice cream, and whipped cream wrapped lovingly around it, all on a colorful blue plate just like they made at the ice cream store-
There was a "BOINK" and lo and behold, floating in front of her, surrounded by sparkling lights, was her sundae! Cream tossed the emerald in the air and grabbed the sundae, beaming. Cheese caught the emerald and began playing around with it.
"Amazing, huh? Now to tell the truth, the mere presence of these emeralds around you increase the power of your wishes. Using one emerald alone in your room to wish for something, well, you'd have to have a lot of will, or else you'd be waiting for a while, and even then these emeralds will promptly disappear into nothing after they're used three times."
"How come?" Cream asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, I had to think carefully. It's a sort of failsafe in case a bad guy tries to go after them, and this way the customers will come back for more of them! Thanks to these chaos emeralds, my store's business is going to be booming!"
He grinned. "We were able to actually provide all the things you saw downstairs thanks to them. And we'll be taking emeralds from her and opening up other stores across Earth so other people can be provided with the resources and supplies they need. I've already drawn up plans for stores in Africa…"
He suddenly snapped his fingers. "Oh, I almost forgot! You wanna meet my employees, right? Here, follow me downstairs…and don't forget your sundae!"
The employee lounge was located on the first floor, behind the service counter where the kid had come from. Opening up the door and letting Cream and het pet…and her sundae in…Cream was finally shown the employees of Rhythmic Passage. One was a green duck with a red bandanna on his neck, another was a yellow flying squirrel who was had hung his jacket away and was now drinking some apple juice, and the other one with them was an armadillo with a red shell and a black body. He put down the magazine he was reading and smiled at Cream.
"Hey! Nice to meet you." The armadillo said. His voice had a distinctive quality of an adventurer to it, with a subtle, deep undertone.
"Howdy little lady, gyuk-huk-huk!" The duck quacked out. It had a decidedly quirky sort of voice.
"Uh…um…hi…" The flying squirrel said, rubbing the back of his head. He looked nervous. "I'm-I'm Ray the Flying Squirrel, it's nice to meet you."
"Ray's shy, but don't worry, I balance it out with my EXPLOSIVE personality, hyuk-hyuk!" The duck laughed. "Get it, Mighty? EXPLOSIVE?"
"I get it, I get it. The crazy duck here is Bean the Dynamite, I'm Mighty the Armadillo. Bark's in the bathroom-oh wait, here he comes!"
The sound of running water followed by the "cruncha-crunch" of paper towel marked the exit of a white polar bear wearing a red winter cap from the bathroom. He had on brown boxer-style gloves and looked rather fierce and scary. He spoke suddenly. "Hey. Who's the kid and the blue thing with her?" He asked. His voice seemed low and there was a distinct Far North accent to it.
"This is Cream the Rabbit, and Cheese the Chao."
"Cream and Cheese? I don't like cheese."
"Blasphemy!" The kid remarked. "Anyhow, you'll have to excuse Bark, he's not very good with people…"
"This dude's so dumb, that if his brains were explosives, he wouldn't have enough to blow his nose! Za-ha-ha-ha!" Bean snickered.
Bark suddenly raised his arm. Then he held it out. "Watch." He said simply.
He flexed the arm's muscles. The bulge that resulted was bigger than the gloves. Bean shut his beak instantly.
"Bark, you're scarin' the girl!" Mighty said.
This was true, Cream had hidden behind the kid with Cheese and was quivering in fear, holding onto her sundae for dear life.
"Oh, hold on!" Bark remarked, going over to a nearby cabinet. He walked over to Cream and knelt down as the kid stepped away. "Here." He handed her a spoon. "You'll need this for that…right?" He asked.
Cream blinked, then took the spoon in one hand, sticking it in her sundae. "Th-thank you…" She said softly.
Bark grinned in a slightly stupid, yet happy fashion and suddenly Cream realized he wasn't quite as dangerous as he looked. Standing up, he rubbed the back of his head. "She's the first customer to actually go into the store, right?" He asked. "Well it is…nice meeting you…and…and I must get to work manning service counter…"
After Bark left the room, the kid turned to Cream.
"Bark's from above the Arctic circle, but he really wouldn't hurt a fly unless he sat on it."
"Or if it threw bombs at him. That's right. I went there. I went there, took some pictures and came back. Can I get a witness?" Mighty asked, grinning.
"Holla." The kid replied. "To tell the truth, we already had a big customer just one day ago who ordered something that we sent to him first thing this morning, I made the delivery myself, top priority!"
"What was it?" Cream asked, eyes wide with curiosity.
The kid raised his pointer finger and it went back and forth in the air. "That…is a secret! For now. So Cream, do you wanna eat your sundae here, or maybe in the park?"
"Oh, I wanna go to the park! Can you, uh, "escort" me? Mommy says that a gentlemen is supposed to escort a lady when she's got her hands full…"
"Of course!" The kid said. "You guys get ready, we're open for business and we need everyone manning their stations!"
"Man the flying saucers!" Beak barked out like an order, then he began snickering. Mighty rolled his eyes and Ray nodded. "We'll get right to it, sir!" He said.
As the kid led Cream and Cheese to the park, crossing over the road and going through the large, circular-shaped gate, they sat down at the nearest bench, which was across from a large lake with a fountain in it. As the water from the fountain sprayed up, it caught the light and glittered, and produced a rainbow all around itself. Little fishes swam around in the lake, occasionally one would come close to the surface and a glitter of color was seen beneath the depths before it retreated back down. The clouds slowly puffed by, white, bulgy and small, and a gentle wind blew. It was a calm day indeed.
"How do you like the sundae?" The kid asked.
"Mmmmmm!" Cream said, licking her lips as she finished up a few spoonfuls. "It's so yummy! Thank you again, Mr. Nick-I mean, Nick!"
The kid rubbed the back of his head. "Shucks, you're gonna make me blush!"
They sat there, with Cream and Cheese taking turns with the sundae while the kid looked up at the clouds, gazing intently. Finally Cream finished her sundae and let out a little "burp".
"Excuse me." She said, covering her mouth.
The kid smiled at her, then pointed up. "Look at that cloud. It looks like a flying dragon to me, do you see?"
"Ooh, yes, I see it!"
"Chao-chao!"
"Hmm, and…and what do you think that one looks like?"
He pointed to another one. Cream stared closely and then blinked. "Oh, I-I think it looks like a mother duck, with little ducklings following behind!"
"Aw, that's so cute!" The kid said. "Hmm. That one over there looks like Meryl Sheep riding on a herd of buffalo!"
"Wowwwww…"
"Chaaaaoooo…"
"What about that one?" Cream suddenly asked, pointing at a shape that was oddly-shaped.
"Hmm, that one looks like a sort of circular, single-engine hovercraft with smoking coming out of its-"
CA-CRASH!
SPLOOOSH!
Both of them were covered in water and rainbow-scaled fish as the fountain was reduced to rubble by an orb-like grey, black and red hovercraft. Stumbling out of it and swimming away from the wreckage onto the shore to lie panting on the ground was none other than a red-haired, goggle-wearing evil scientist with a moustache that seemed to defy reality.
"Dr. Eggman! You-you big meany!" Cream shouted. Cheese frowned and stuck out his tongue. "You ruined my dress!"
"I have fish in places that you're not supposed to be able to fit fish into." The kid remarked in a deadpan tone.
"Stupid machine! Stupid, stupid machine! I should have known that that stupid fox would sabotage my ride! Oh…it's you." He remarked, standing up and brushing some grass and dirt off. All of them were stills soaking wet though. "What do YOU want, little girl?"
The kid suddenly stood up and before Eggman knew it, he was grabbed by the front of his shirt and tugged down. "You…are going to apologize for ruining our clothes. Then you're going to buy the girl a new dress. And then you're going to come with me to City Hall and you'll pay them enough money to rebuild the fountain and if you're LUCKY, and your apology's REALLY NICE…I won't turn you into the police. Got it, doc?"
Eggman frowned. "I am not going to-"
Cream and Cheese suddenly glared at him.
"Okay I'm really really sorry and I'll pay for everything I promise cross my heart and hope to die!" He squeaked out. He was outnumbered and he knew perfectly well that Cheese the Chao could bite hard.
The kid nodded at Cream. "Let's get going, then! After you, Miss Cream!"
Cream giggled as she led the way, with Cheese floating behind and the kid tugging Eggman along by his collar.
SOON…
"Goodbye, thank you for the deposit into our city's funds!" The overly cheery secretary said, waving enthusiastically.
"She abuses waving." Eggman grumbled.
I am the Eggman…HO! He is the Eggman…
"You are the Walrus. Goo-goo-gachoo!" The kid said.
"…" Dr. Eggman's facial expression revealed a sudden urge to burst out into exasperated tears. "I thought I had heard the last of that back in '85…" He grumbled unhappily.
"Now then, get going." He pointed down the street. "It's a LONG walk back to whatever rock you crawled out from!"
Mumbling, Eggman walked down the steps of City Hall and headed for the nearest bus stop. The kid turned to Cream and Cheese.
"Well, I have to get back to the store. Be sure to tell your friends about it, er, uh, if you don't mind, that is." The kid said.
"Oh, I don't mind at all!" Cream said, twirling her new dress. It had a little polo player on the bottom of it made of gold. "Thanks for the new dress Mr- I mean Nick." She said. "I'll bring my other dress back home to dry off, it is my favorite." She said, holding up her other dress which was wrapped in a towel he'd let her take.
The kid rubbed the back of his neck and smiled warmly. "Take care, alright?" He said.
Cream nodded and hopped down the steps, with Cheese right behind. The kid smiled. "She's such a nice girl. I hope I get to see her again." He thought out loud.
With a cheerful smile, Cream waved goodbye, and Cheese bounded up and down on her shoulder as he waved goodbye as well. The two then turned a corner and were gone. Smiling, the kid walked down the steps and began walking back to his store.
Then he suddenly realized something.
"Wait…" He thought out loud. "Did Cheese put the emerald away or…oh dear, oh dear!" He gulped. "He didn't…he held onto it, he probably put it in Cream's dress pocket…"
Then he shrugged. "Ahh, it's only one. And I told her it vanishes after three times, so she has two uses left. No harm, no foul, no biggie…"
She's such a nice girl. I hope I get to see her around soon!
Back at her house, Cream unwrapped the towel and hung the dress up to dry in her bathroom, but something fell out of the pocket. She blinked and picked it up.
"Ooh, I almost forgot, the chaos emerald! I should return it to…"
Then suddenly she stopped herself.
"Then again, two wishes might come in handy…" She thought out loud. "It's only one chaos emerald, I'll pay him back later. You don't think he'll mind, do you Cheese?"
Cheese shook his head slowly. "Chaaaooo…"
And so she put the chaos emerald inside her room, underneath her socks in her sock drawer, closing it and leaving the room to go talk with her mother about what had happened to her.
The emerald, being inside the drawer, couldn't catch the light from the room or what was coming in from Cream's window, and therefore the shine that emitted from it now was faint, yet still steadily pulsing, a slow golden glow…
MEANWHILE…
Eggman grinned as he ducked into an alley and held up a small, rounded ball-like object. He tossed it against the wall nearby and a strange, swirling blue and white portal opened up. Going through it, he found himself back at his laboratory, with a metallic blue hedgehog waiting calmly next to a tank that was attached to several large machines.
"Is everything satisfactory now, master?" Metal Sonic asked.
Eggman grinned, tapping his goggles. "They detected chaos energy perfectly. There is an incredible amount of it on the fourth floor of the building I entered, and that girl is carrying a chaos emerald as well."
"So the chaos scanners were correct when they picked up the energy burst from Station Square." Metal said. "There are chaos emeralds on the fourth floor of that superstore."
"Yes, indeed. Now we can begin the next phase of the operation…activate the process, Metal."
Metal Sonic nodded and walked over to a console that was attached to the tank. He pressed a button and pulled down a lever, and the tank pulsed with bright blue energy. There came a loud scream, and then…
The tank burst open, and a muscular, almost demonic form was deposited on the floor. He stood up, looking at Eggman, then bowed.
"I... am." It asked in a low, almost growling tone.
"Good, it appears that my design was successful." Eggman laughed. "Now then, listen up. There are things you have to know about…"
OMAKE TIME! (Omake means bonus or extra)
Shadow the Hedgehog did some slow headbanging as he sat in a simple wooden chair, listening to "This Machine", one of his favorite songs. His black and red stereo blared away happily as it played his favorite CD.
"We all danced in fire…trapped in this machine! Don't know how long we've waited…as the Eggman…"
Then…
CLICK!
"Fly in the freedom, time never stops and waits for me! (Show the waaaay!) Looking for answers and looking for the clues!"
Shadow turned around to see Rouge the Bat by his stereo, having switched over to Track 2. She winked and gave him the "V for victory" sign.
Frowning slightly, Shadow raised his finger and tapped the "BACK" button, skipping back to Track 1.
"We all danced in fire…"
Rouge was now the one frowning. She pressed the "forward" button and went back to her song.
"Fly in the freedom!"
Annoyed, Shadow pressed the back button. But before so much as one sentence had gotten out of the stereo, Rouge switched it back.
Now Shadow and Rouge were getting pissed. They kept switching the songs back and forth, back and forth, click-click-click-click…
BA-BOOOOOOM!
…the stereo had exploded.
FIVE MINUTES LATER…
Sonic headbanged to "It Doesn't Matter" as he listened to his stylish blue stereo. Then suddenly…
CLICK!
"We all danced in fire…trapped in this machine!"
Sonic's eyes widened. What the?
He turned around and came face to face with Shadow holding a gun up to his face. Shadow's expression was one of "back off or die". Raising his hands, Sonic stepped back, then took off out the door. Sighing in relief, Shadow lowered his gun, not seeing the white, gloved, feminine hand that reached for the "track skip" button…
CLICK!
"Fly in the freedom!"
Shadow's eye twitched.
BANG!
Author's Note:
This story, in case you couldn't already tell, is going to include a lot of characters. So feel free to read and review! Stick around, everyone in the Sonic game canon...and perhaps then some...is going to make an appearance somehow!