Inferno Unleashed: Pt 1

It started at a single point. But once word got out to the public, it spread out like a wildfire. Many people have heard the news filled with joy and became eager for the day when it comes to pass. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles are sitting on a bench at Queen Nicole Memorial Park. They were talking about the events.

"I've heard the news about you and Amy." Tails stated. "Are they true, Sonic?"

"Yeah, little buddy." Sonic said, patting the little fox on the head. "The rumors are true."

"I'm glad that you and Amy are finally tying the knot." Knuckles answered. "I was wondering when it was going to happen, because the two of you are a nice fit."

"Thanks, Knucklehead." The blue blur commented.

"So, we both get spots as groomsmen right?" Tails asked.

"Of course, both of you are." Sonic replied. "Though I have yet to pick the third guy."

"Well, you have plenty of time between now and the wedding to decide." Knuckles answered.

"By the way, isn't today Amy's birthday?" Tails asked. Then, Sonic jumped up.

"Oh no, I need to find a present for her and quick." The blue blur stated. "I need to hurry."

"Alright." Tails said. "We'll be waiting here for you." Then, the blue blur zipped off to find a birthday present for his fiancée.

Sonic looked around the stores trying to find something. But so far, he after trying hard he wasn't able to find something.

"Why do I have to be so poor at trying to find gifts?" Sonic sighed. "I can't just walk up to her and just have her pick out the gift, I would like to surprise her with it." He pulled out his wrist communicator. "I guess I'll need some help." He dialed on his watch.

"Hello?" Sally asked.

"Hey, Sal." Sonic replied.

"Hello Sonic, congratulations on the wedding." The princess said.

"Thanks, but I'm asking for help." Sonic answered. "I don't know what to get Amy for her birthday this year."

"Well, she does like plushies." Sally noted. "Why not give her a plushie?"

"Why didn't I think of that? Thanks, Sal." The hedgehog commented.

"You're welcome." She said. "That all?"

"Yeah."

"So, I heard the news that you are to be married to Amy. I just want to congratulate you on your marriage." Sally explained. "And I hope that the two of you will have a happy life together."

"Thanks, Sal." Sonic replied. "And I hope that you are happy with Ray."

"Don't worry, Sonic." Sally replied. "We've been together for quite a while and it's been a very good marriage for the both of us." She paused. "You're not upset about it, are you?"

"No, I've let go of it a while back."The blue blur answered.

"I still wanted to make sure." Sally stated. "I mean, we can still be friends."

"True, very true." The blue blur replied.

"Well, I think I've kept you on the line long enough." The princess stated.

"I'll talk to you later, then." Sonic replied.

"Bye."

Sonic hung up the communicator. Then, he dashed towards the collectibles store. He looked around at the plushie section and saw there were barely any there. "Shoot, I lost to the fad followers." When he was about to leave, he noticed another plushie nearby that no one had picked up. It was a little mulberry-colored plushie, with white on its muzzle, tummy, hands, and feet. It had a fluffy tail and a whipped cream tuft of hair. It had little wings and a green gem on its chest. The plushie itself was in a sleeping posture.

After looking at it, the blue blur went over to the counter and asked the guy at the register.

"Excuse me," Sonic said. "I was wondering about a plushie."

"If you're talking about the moogle plushies, we're sold out." The mouse stated. "We'll get another shipment within three days."

"I'm not asking about those plushies." Sonic said.

"You're not?" He asked.

"I was wondering about that one." The blue blur answered, pointing towards the one he was referring to.

"Oh, that one." The shopkeeper said. "That one is the sleeping plushie."

"Do you know what it is?"

"I'm not entirely sure what it is. It's been passed down from holder to holder and it hasn't shown signs of wear and tear." The mouse explained. "But I really don't care much for it."

"So, how much for it?"

"Since you're the first one who has shown interest in the thing since I got it, you can have it for free." The shopkeeper said. "Just let me make the record."

"Thanks." Sonic said with a smirk. "Now, I just need to get it to Amy in one piece."

When he got back to Knothole, he found Amy there. He went up to her and she noticed Sonic coming her way.

"Hey Sonic." Amy said.

"Hey Ames." He answered. "I was able to find something for your birthday." He handed her a bag with a bow on it.

"Thanks, Sonic." She replied. "What's in it?" Amy reached inside the bag and got a hold of the plushie. Her eyes lit up when she got to look at it. "Oh Sonic, it's so cute. Thank you." She gave the blue blur a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks, Amy." He replied.

"Ugh… Can't eat another bite." A small voice said.

"Huh? Where is that voice coming from?" Sonic stated to himself. Then, he noticed that the eyes on the plushie were beginning to move. "Uh, Amy?"

"Yeah, Sonic?" She asked.

"I'm not sure if it's a good idea to snuggle the plushie like that." He said. Then, the thing opened its eyes with irises like amber gems.

"Don't be silly, Sonic. All plushies can be…" Amy said.

"AHH!" The creature screamed, leapt out of Amy's hands and ran behind a tree stump.

"Sonic…" The pink hedgehog stated in frustration.

"I didn't expect the thing to do that, I swear." Sonic replied in a panic.

"Please don't eat me, I taste bad." The creature answered. The two of them turned towards the thing and just looked at it as it peaked from around the stump.

"Are you okay?" Amy asked him.

"Yes, I'm fine." It said, flying up to the two of them. "Thanks for asking, whoever you are."

"I'm Amy and this is Sonic." The pink hedgehog said.

"Who are you?" Sonic asked him.

"I'm uh…" It said. Then, they heard a grumbling noise. "Ugh, I'm hungry." It fell to the ground.

"Well, let's get you something to eat." Amy said, catching the fairy.

Sonic and Amy went inside the bunker with the little guy. But then, the ground beneath them started to shake.

"What's going on?" Amy asked.

"An earthquake!?" Sonic asked. "Here!? Everyone out!" Sonic, Amy, and the fairy left the bunker. They saw a fissure that was a mile long form right through the Village of Knothole. During the immense shaking, geysers shot out lots of mushy sand onto the wrecked area covering some of the buildings entirely.

"Let's get out of here." The fairy answered.

"Ugh, the shaking is making it hard for me to use my super speed." The blue blur notced.

"The area… it's becoming drastically different." Amy commented, noting of the sand blows here and there. Sonic reached for his communicator.

"Tails? Are you there?" Sonic asked. "Tails!?" There was no reply and he turned to his girl and the fairy. "We need to get to Soleanna." Little lights flicker on and off on the rock below them as the rumbling stopped. The two hedgehogs headed towards the capital. They saw the water from the marshland near Soleanna rush out into the path in front of them. "What in the…?"

"The water is supposed to be stagnant, not moving." Amy said. Then, Sonic's wrist communicator went off. It was a call from Tails. Sonic activated the wrist talker.

"Tails, is that you?" Sonic asked.

"Glad you're okay?" Tails said. "Where are you?"

"Amy and I were trying to get to Soleanna." He said.

"Sally is calling an emergency meeting at her villa." Tails stated. "Or what's left of it." Amy Rose became worried.

"Is she okay?" Amy asked.

"Everyone's okay." Tails explained. "But the ceiling and roof caved in, we'll be meeting in her garden today using whatever equipment is salvageable. But first, we need to clear out some debris in the city."

"Roger that." Sonic answered. "We'll be there shortly." He hung up the communicator. "Let's go." They continued on their way to Soleanna. As they arrived, they had noticed that the structural integrity of most of the buildings was severely damaged. Fortunately, they still remain standing but in need of serious repairs. There were only a small number of buildings that completely collapsed. Many mobians were injured and some were bloodied, but fortunately there were no fatalities.

Bunny was digging through the rubble looking for anyone who was injured. Knuckles was clearing out the debris. Amy was making sure that the ones who were injured got some of the care needed. Tails was checking to see if the standing structures were safe to be inside as Sonic was making supply runs. The plushie ended up a water boy for the disaster relief teams. The five mobians met up with Sally after the clean up was finished, the princess was not happy with the recent events.

"I need answers." Sally demanded to Team Sonic. The plushie was eating a big sundae. "How can Soleanna be defended so well against outside forces and not take a lot of damage, yet be damaged so badly from an earthquake?" She paused. "Explain yourself."

"Calm down, Sally-girl." Bunny stated, putting her hand on her shoulder. "Nobody expected this to happen."

"Isn't there anybody that can predict such occurrences on West Side Island?" Sally added still upset about the situation.

"You mean seismologists?" Tails asked. "West Side Island isn't a place where tectonic activity happens. The closest place that they would be at is around Mount Marble."

"And where is that?" The princess asked.

"Mount Marble is an active volcano on South Island. The Marble Zone is named after it." Sonic explained. "It does create tremors now and then. But the lava itself is rather runny and the shaking isn't strong enough to affect any place other than South Island. The only way it could cause this is if the volcano itself exploded."

Meanwhile just outside of the Marble Zone, Silver was doing a year of atonement before trying to get back up on the throne. He went to the area with some seismologists, after the suburbs in that direction near Starlight City got a shower of pyroclastic rocks, the Spring Yard Zone nearly got leveled by those boulders, and the plantations in the Green Hill Zone were damaged as well. The sky above was a thick cloud of volcanic ash and smoke.

"Damn," one of the seismologists stated. "We can't get any farther towards the Marble Zone."

"Don't we have the ultra-heat resistant suits?" a second asked.

"Well, somebody only brought one." The first said.

"Don't look at me." The third yelled at them. "I didn't think we would be dealing with such an eruption."

"Whatever." The first answered. "This only means that one of us can go in there. We would become well-done without a UHR suit."

"I brought some salt." The second added. The first glared at him while the third one slapped him on the back of the head. "Ow."

"We need to focus on the task at hand." The first said. "We need to send someone in there to check out what is the matter." Silver stepped forward.

"I'll go in." The white hedgehog added.

"Your majesty, are you sure?" the first asked. "This is a very dangerous mission."

"I've been in countless battles in many locations, a few in which my life was in great peril." Silver noted. "Going through a volcanic waste will be child's play for me."

"As you wish." The first answered. "Just remember, the UHR suit can't protect you against direct contact with lava."

"I understand." The royal hedgehog replied. Thus, they put the UHR suit on him. They also put on an air mask to prevent any toxic gases from entering his respiratory system. After becoming dressed in the suit and grabbing a communicator, Silver headed into the Marble Zone.

He noticed that the area had a light coat of lava and pyroclastic material. He had levitated himself to avoid stepping in any of the molten rock and/or metal. He looked into the direction of Mount Marble.

"HOLY COW!" Silver stated.

"What is it?" one of the seismologists asked.

"Mount Marble is gone." The hedgehog replied.

"Are you kidding me!?" he asked.

"I'm not joking." Silver answered. "I'm going in to get a closer look." The white hedgehog levitated towards where the mountain used to be. He looked down and only found a crater full of lava.

"Your majesty, we are getting reports of the fault lines being very obvious." One of the seismologists stated. "What do you make of it?"

"I just don't know." Silver stated as he continued to look down. Then, he saw something gaze right back at him. He heard a loud roar from the crater that had struck fear into him. He saw six creatures crawl out of the lava. It was accompanied by thousands of continuous screams of the condemned, forcing Silver to float away. "My god…"

"What? What is it?" The guy on the communicator asked. Silver didn't answer as he looked back, he noticed a translucent dark purple arm rise from the lava and point outward. "Your majesty, what's going on?" Hundreds of dark spherical clouds shrieked as they scattered in all directions. The screams could be heard in the communication system as well.

Silver got back to the seismologists in terror swiftly and crash-landed. They ran over to him to take off his UHR suit. They were shocked to find blood coming out of his tear ducts, nose, and ears.

"Your majesty." One of them said. "What happened to you? Are you okay?"

"I should be fine." Silver stated.

"What happened out there?" Another asked.

"Gentlemen…" Silver replied. "I think all Hell broke loose… literally."