Sonic's Gone… Scuba Diving?
"I can't believe I agreed to this," Sonic groaned as he unwillingly donned the wetsuit he was given. Tails and Sally had talked him into going to the Caribbean to attend Shadow and Amy's wedding. After much debate (and the promise of a giant platter of chilidogs), the blue hedgehog relented. What he did not know was that they were going to hang around for a few days afterward. Now here he stood, waiting to jump into probably shark-infested waters to either drown or be eaten. 'Or both,' the blue speedster mentally added.
Sally handed Sonic a pair of chain-mail gloves. "Put these on; you're going to need them." She grinned and pecked her azure lover on the cheek.
Sonic eyed the gloves nervously. "Why do I need them?"
"We're feeding the sharks," Tails said as he adjusted his mask and regulator.
Sonic felt his blood freeze; he remembered watching Jaws as a young boy, which was what initially started his fear of water. "Sh-sh-sharks?"
Tails laughed at the shade of white Sonic's face turned. "Don't worry, Sonic," he reassured, "Great whites are rare in this part of the world, trust me."
Sonic visibly relaxed. "So the odds of seeing a big shark are pretty low here?"
Sally pulled out Nicole, her personal A.I. which she kept in a device that looked like an old cellular phone. "Nicole, search 'Caribbean sharks', please."
"Acknowledged, Sally," a robotic voice relied from the device. A few moments later, a dinging noise was heard. "Many of the sharks found in the Caribbean include blacktip and grey reef sharks, lemon sharks, bull sharks, hammerhead sharks, and tiger sharks," Nicole reported in her electronic monotone.
Tails gave Sally an approving nod. "That would be about right. I suggest that we be careful around the bull and tiger sharks, as those are the most dangerous."
Sonic nearly fainted. "But it's unlikely we'll see either species," Tails quickly added. Once everyone finished suiting up, Tails jumped in, carrying a box of chopped-up raw fish to the bottom with him. Sally followed suit. Sonic, however, simply stood on the railing, looking at the far-off shapes that stealthily moved through the blue water. Just before placing the regulator in his mouth, he silently prayed to God that he would make it out alive. Then, mustering all his courage, he leapt into the air, allowing the ocean to swallow him whole as he landed.
Sonic opened his eyes and surveyed his environment: below him, Sally and Tails knelt on the sandy floor, waving around bits of fresh tuna and barracuda heads. Above him, he could see the underside of the boat and the sun that filtered through the crystal-clear water. All around him were schools of shining fish of all sizes, trying to get a bite to eat before the sharks arrived. As Sonic situated himself next to Tails on the sea floor, he could make out a dozen or so shapes circling around the trio's position. Tails placed a consoling hand on Sonic's shoulder as the forms came closer. Four of the shapes materialized into lemon sharks, two were hammerheads, one was a bull shark, and the rest were assorted reef sharks. Sally fed the predators from a metal stick with a handgrip, allowing her some distance from the great fish. Tails, however, fed them by hand, letting the bait go just before the jaws closed. The bull shark apparently enjoyed being hand-fed, as it kept coming back to Tails for more. During all this activity, Sonic just sat back and watched.
A few minutes later, more sharks were beginning to come in. Feeling slightly left out, Sonic grabbed a hunk of tuna from the bait box and held it out, imitating his little brother. A hammerhead immediately snatched it away. Sonic was initially scared half to death, but soon felt a feeling of exhilaration at feeding a shark and not having his hand removed. He laughed through his regulator and pulled another fish chunk from the box, hoping to prolong the feeling. This time, a lemon shark took the bait. He repeated these actions, not noticing that all the sharks were swimming around him while Sally and Tails watched proudly.
Suddenly, the sharks scattered, as if they were frightened of something. Confused, all three mobians looked around, searching for the source of the disturbance. The sun was blotted out for a moment, and returned. Sonic's heart was pounding as he whipped his head skyward; he saw the tail fin of a good-sized shark shrinking into the distance. Tails made a "let's get back to the boat" gesture and began to swim to the surface, but an enormous torpedo-shaped object cut him off. Tails swam back down to the sea floor, hoping that he was not its target. Sonic's regulator nearly dropped from his mouth as he clearly saw what the object really was: a twenty-foot long great white shark, cruising in lazy circles around the group. As it got to the farthest part of its "patrol" from the boat, Sonic, Sally, and Tails began swimming to the surface. As soon as they tried, though, the predator swam full-speed at them, forcing the trio to the ocean floor again.
Minutes passed, and the great white had not ceased its vigil. In fact, it began swimming in tighter circles, coming closer with each pass. Eyeing the bait box, Sonic had an idea. 'He just wants to be fed, that's all,' he thought as he pulled the biggest hunk of tuna he could find from the box and held it out. The shark circled around again and swam to the strange blue mammal that offered him food. Sonic immediately released the tuna from his grip as the great white opened its massive jaws and swallowed the chunk whole. Sonic pulled another chunk of bait from the box and held it out, same as before. The shark came around again and, almost gently, took the bait in its mouth. After several more feedings, the great white swam off, its belly satisfied for the moment. The three mobians swam towards the surface, filled with awe at the fact that they had seen Jaws himself and had not received a scratch. "Sally," Sonic said breathlessly, "would you like to do this for our honeymoon?"