I had planned to write a Christmas story, but I just couldn't think of any. Guess I'm not into the Christmas spirit, huh? Anyway, I decided to end the year with my novelization of Sonic Mania. Hopefully, I can do the game the justice it deserves. Please read, review, and enjoy.

Spoiler Warning: This story assumes you have played Sonic Mania, thus there will be major spoilers, especially regarding the true ending.

Just For Fun: Since Classic Sonic will talk in this fanfic, I recommend reading his lines in the voice of either Jaleel White (his voice actor from Sonic SatAM) or Martin Burke (his voice actor from Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie).

Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog is the property of SEGA and Sonic Team. I own nothing.

Sonic Mania: The Novelization

It was nighttime on Angel Island and all seemed calm and peaceful on the floating island. The Master Emerald was safe under the watchful eye of its guardian, Knuckles the Echidna, who managed to reclaim the Emerald back from the nefarious Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik. Ever since then, he's made sure to keep an even closer eye on it.

Everything seemed normal at first. But in a certain spot in the forest, the ground began to glow with an ominous purple light. Red electricity began to violently discharge from the ground. A second later, a wave of energy emerged from the ground and engulfed the entire island. The space around the island began to twist and distort as the island itself began to rumble. Angel Island slowly began to descend into the ocean like a meteor, the impact of the fall creating huge tidal waves.

The Next Day...

A red and white biplane flew over the ocean. Those who saw it would instantly recognize it as the Tornado. Standing on the top wing of the Tornado was none other than Sonic the Hedgehog, the fastest thing alive. The young hedgehog had been on a great many adventures in his life. He normally spends much of his time traveling the world, however, his strong sense of justice often had him locking horns with Dr. Eggman and thwarting his dastardly schemes.

And of course, no hero would be complete without a trusty partner. At the wheel of the Tornado was Tails the Fox. His full name is Miles "Tails" Prower, but everyone calls him Tails for short, so named for his twin tails which allowed him to fly. Being born with twin tails made him the target of many a bully. That all changed one day when he met Sonic. Inspired by his speed, Tails resolved to be as cool as Sonic and he followed him everywhere, eventually managing to match his speed. Sonic was so impressed that the two formed a deep bond, becoming the best of friends. The Tornado was actually Sonic's plane, but Tails had proven to be such a great pilot that Sonic pretty much let him keep it.

Now the question that's most likely on your mind is what are they doing here? Well, Tails had detected a unique energy signature on Angel Island and the two decided to investigate it. "We're almost at Angel Island!" Tails said.

"So Tails, what's so special about this energy signature?" Sonic asked.

"I dunno." Tails admitted. "But whatever it is, it's unlike anything I've seen before. According to my instruments, the energy output was even stronger than the Chaos Emeralds. That makes it worth investigating. Also, if we've detected it, then you know who else probably detected it too."

"Good point." Sonic said.

"There's Angel Island!" Tails said as they approached the island. But when they got close enough, they were stunned to see the island resting in the water. "What the heck happened?!" Sonic asked. "Angel Island's supposed to be floating!"

"It seems whatever caused that weird energy signature was strong enough to disable the Master Emeralds ability to keep Angel Island afloat!" Tails said. "This is really intriguing."

"I'll say." Sonic replied. "Anyway, see you on the island!" With that, Sonic jumped off the plane and sped towards the island. "Always on the move." Tails said. He set the plane on autopilot and input a command that ordered the Tornado to fly back to Tails' workshop. He then jumped out of the plane and began to fly to Sonic using his twin tails.

On the ground, Sonic raced onto the island, but quickly hid behind a bush. At that moment, Tails slowly descended near Sonic, but the blue hedgehog roughly pulled him to the ground. Tails was about to protest, but Sonic motioned him to silence. The two then peeked through the bushes and saw five Eggrobos gathered around a certain spot on the ground.

"Just like you said." Sonic whispered. "Looks like Robuttnik found that energy signature. I say we take them!"

"Wait a minute, Sonic." Tails said. "We don't even know what they're after. Let's see how this plays out."

"You know I don't like waiting." Sonic grumbled as the duo continued to observe the Eggrobos, who for the most part, were completely oblivious to their presence. The lead Eggrobo pulled out a communicator on its wrist. "Doctor, this is Heavy Leader." the robot said, its voice emotionless and mechanical. "We have located the energy signature. It is beneath the earth. Permission to commence excavation?"

"Permission granted, my Hard-Boiled Heavies." Eggman replied. "Let's see what this energy source is."

"Acknowledged. Commencing excavation." the Heavy Leader pressed a button on his wrist communicator and a large, metal claw descended from the airship above them. Digging into the ground, the claw reached in and yanked a piece of the earth out of the ground. Encrusted in the rock was a magenta-colored ruby with black markings on it.

"So that's the energy source, huh?" Sonic asked.

"Definitely." Tails replied as he looked at his Miles Electric. He had been attempting to scan the ruby, but all attempts had ended in failure as the computer's screen was completely scrambled with red static. "The energy this thing's giving off is completely off the charts. My Miles Electric can't get an accurate reading on it."

"Doctor, the energy source appears to be a ruby of some kind." the Heavy Leader said.

"A ruby buried under Angel Island? How interesting." Eggman said. "Retrieve the ruby and return to base. This calls for research!"

"Acknowledged. Retrieving ruby." the Heavy Leader reached out and grabbed the ruby, preparing to wrest it from the rock. The moment he touched it, however, the ruby began to discharge red electricity, striking all five Eggrobos. Then, a wave of energy began to expamd from the ruby, engulfing the Eggrobos and Sonic and Tails, who then began to levitate off the ground.

"Tails! What the heck's going on?!" Sonic asked.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it can't be good!" Tails shouted.

A short distance away, Knuckles the Echidna was taking a nap after a day of training when he was woken up by the commotion. "What's going on over there?" he asked. He got up and walked towards the source of the commotion, only to be caught in the ruby's energy field. "Hey, what's the big idea?!" he asked as he felt himself being lifted off the ground. The space around him began to twist and distort as everything went white.

When the effect cleared, Sonic and Tails looked to find themselves... in Green Hill? The duo looked on in amazement at the sudden change of scenery. And that wasn't the only change they saw. The Hard Boiled Heavies had received quite a makeover. The Heavy Leader now resembled a king and carried a scepter, another Eggrobo resembled a cop, another resembled a knight, another resembled a magician, and another resembled a ninja.

The new and improved Hard Boiled Heavies flew off with the ruby in tow. Knuckles attempted to attack them, but was knocked to the ground. "Knuckles?!" Sonic asked as he and Tails ran to his aid. "Long time no see, Knucklehead." Sonic said.

"Sonic? Tails? What are you doing here?" Knuckles asked. He then took a moment to observe his surroundings. "Come to think of it, where is here?" he asked.

"We're in Green Hill Zone." Tails said.

"But how did we get here?" Sonic asked. "Weren't we on Angel Island?"

"Yeah, we were." Tails said. "It seems that ruby they found transported us here. And it also changed those Eggman robots into... well, whatever they are now. If it can do that, then there's no telling what it can do in Eggman's hands! We gotta get that ruby back!"

"That's a no-brainer." Sonic said. "Knuckles, we could use your help."

"You guys are always dragging me into your crazy adventures." Knuckles grumbled. "Fine. I do owe you guys for helping me get the Master Emerald back. Let's go. The sooner we stop Eggman, the quicker I can get back to Angel Island. I don't like leaving the Master Emerald unguarded."

"Then it's settled." Sonic said. "Team Sonic is back in action! Let's move guys!"

With that, the trio sped off after the Hard Boiled Heavies, signifying the start of another new adventure.

Next Chapter Preview: Ruby Delusions. Next Time on Sonic Mania! Team Sonic continues to traverse Green Hill Zone in pursuit of the Hard Boiled Heavies and the ruby. However, Dr. Eggman arrives in a Death Egg Robot, determined to steal the ruby for his own sinister purposes.