Tarmikos the Penguin was a busy, impatient male; soon, he hoped to run his unique entertainment business on the outskirts of the city of New Mobotropolis. All of the time-consuming preparations had to be done by next week, yet the pressure was stressful and exhilarating all the same. Tarmikos was a ring master, and his business was running a circus. This would be his fourth time supporting the circus this year! He always wanted to run his own circus, and, now that the fall season was coming up, he had to make the final debut within the year a smash hit. He knew he could do it with his newest, multi-talented starlet.
During the first season's run in Tobuchi Town, two of his acts had been down: no acrobats and no animal handlers. That wintry season was colder with less success starting out. Only 2,515 tickets were sold out of the ten thousand plus populace in Tobuchi Town, and 1,258 of those tickets were given back in refunds. However, once he found new performers, spring's debut on Christmas Island became well-known. Ticket sales doubled! The third season was his best yet. With new equipment and a new management team, the summer debut on South Island made his career colossal! He sold 6,288 tickets! His goal was to sell a thousand tickets in New Mobotropolis, a relatively smaller city and populace than Tobuchi Town, and publicity would certainly get that if he played the right cards.
Tarmikos took a deep breath, sighed, then scuttled hastily through the city of New Mobotropolis. The black penguin was about four feet tall, considerably tall for his race who reached no more than three feet. He wore a green mesh shirt and a tan Aegean wool Fiddler cap. The only other odd thing about the penguin was that he had a small sunburst nose ring and orange eyes. Not too many Marconi penguins wear body jewelry nowadays; it could be quite trendy if penguins had the ability to accept body jewelry on their person (namely, their beaks).
Tarmikos was looking for City Hall where he could possibly meet with King Max Acorn before going to the newspaper facilities and magazine companies. A kind stranger told him what street to take. Tarmikos only hoped that King Max was willing to cooperate with him about opening his rising circus.
"Man, this is getting boring!" Sonic complained, standing up.
Sonic was on South Island with his friend, Miles Prower. Tails sighed, trying not to frown at Sonic's restless mood. They were by the beach and sitting under palm trees. Earlier, Tails discovered two trains worth of equipment and people building something in an open field near New Mobotropolis. King Max and Princess Sally were speaking with one of the people, but their faces looked grim with worry. He thought the scene was suspicious and told Sonic that Doctor Robotnik a.k.a. "Eggman" might have been scheming to destroy everything again. Sonic the Hedgehog being Sonic the Hedgehog found it in himself to infiltrate the Eggman Empire's airship base to investigate. Except they discovered that Eggman wasn't even on the airship. Sonic threatened one of the guards, hoping Eggman wasn't already in space en route to another planet, and discovered that Eggman was on a water park resort in Emerald Town. Tails thought they should wait for Eggman to make a move first before going to disrupt the peace in the town's resort, but Sonic doesn't wait for evil to rise. Once they embarked to Emerald Town, Tails regreted ever assuming anything suspicious coming from the doctor.
"Hey, Eggman!" Sonic shouted, running up to the bikini-wearing doctor taking a snooze.
"Sonic, wait! I don't think he's - !" Tails tried.
"Aaaaaaaaack!" Eggman shouted, being hit multiple times by Sonic's homing attacks.
Sonic landed, grinning victoriously, then saluted Tails. "Hah, another evil plan foiled by yours truly! Maybe you should try destroying something more inhabitable and less vacation-y though, Eggster. This type of atmosphere isn't exactly your thing."
Eggman stood ominously above Sonic, eyes glowing with anger, "I don't have an evil plan for you to foil, you rat! Can't you tell when someone's on vacation? What the hell is your problem? I haven't created another plan to destroy this miserable planet and every rat-looking simpleton like you living on it in a full year! I took some well-needed advice for once and decided to rest for two weeks because I've been stressed, frustrated, and restless since winter!"
A whistle from a woman, interrupted Eggman's ranting. She was peeking at his butt protruding from his leopard-patterned bikini bottom. She said, "Nice cheeks, mister."
"What's the matter with all of you people?" Eggman shouted incredulously. "I'm ranting about how inconsiderate this blue rodent is being, and you're staring at my butt. Are you serious?"
"So uncute," the woman said, walking away with her friends.
"Sheesh, you're annoying when you haven't finished your nap," Sonic commented, shrugging.
"Listen, you incompetent little - !"
"We're sorry, Eggman," Tails said, pulling Sonic away. "We mistakened you for another enemy who we should probably be investigating right now because he has nothing to do with you obviously. Please enjoy your beverage and go back to sleep while we leave far away from this resort to find out about said new enemy who isn't with you and isn't in this resort and, more importantly, isn't you. Sonic if you don't hurry we might miss our chance to find out some information from King Max. So let's just leave Eggman, this resort, and this town quickly so we can take care of that new enemy before the planet goes kablooey. Bye, Eggman!"
"Later!" Sonic said, eventually leaving the resort in Emerald Town.
Now, to summarize the reason why Sonic and Tails are on South Island, they were recovering from some embarassment after falsely accusing Eggman of plotting to destroy the world again. They probably gave him all the reason he needed to destroy the universe after this morning. Who wants to be beaten up while taking a nap on a five-star resort during their two-week vacation? Then again, who wants to see Eggman in a bikini on a five-star resort during his vacation? Well, the woman who whistled at him might have wanted to see that, but the rest of the world would rather not. Sonic paced back and forth under the trees' shade that fine afternoon. Tails sighed and walked along the beach before Sonic called out to him.
"Hey, Tails, where ya goin'?" he asked.
"Wanna go train?" Tails suggested, knowing Sonic might approve.
"I'll do anything to get away from here," Sonic remarked, running ahead of Tails.
Honestly, Tails wouldn't have minded resting a bit more on the beach. The wind was cooler because of summer's end and fall's beginning, so the beach was certainly more enjoyable. However, he would have to enjoy the beach on his own time. Sonic was not a rest and relaxation kind of guy. Tails just hoped the mission simulator was working today. An angry Sonic was worse than an impatient one.
Tarmikos the Penguin was as happy as a camper could be. The circus would be opened for business in a few days if everything was timed just right! King Max approved of the new entertainment and allowed Tarmikos to build his carnival grounds in a vacant lot outside of town. He and his daughter, Sally, were worried that the circus animals would get loose in the city, especially the lions and tigers - no bears, but Tarmikos reassured them that nothing would happen. The lions and tigers were quite tame and trained. His only worry was them mating with each other again. The animal handler had to pay close attention to the new lion, tiger, and liger cubs, but they were almost ready to participate in the circus act too. They would be fully trained by the coming spring.
"Alright, guys, the trains are going to be in the small woods," Tarmikos announced to the train drivers. "Dressing rooms and all will be located back there. So let's go move 'em over there pronto! Tiln. Ian. Follow the trains and get the fencing done. I don't want any thieves stealing equipment or luggage. That includes our food. I need to call in for stock, and I want what I pay for to be safe."
"Yes, sir!" Ian the Lemur shouted, saluting. He looked at Tiln, another lemur, and said, "You cover the right side. I'll meet you in the middle."
"'Kay, bro," Tiln said, hopping to follow the right train while Ian followed the left one.
"Mace, I need the blueprints," Tarmikos said, looking out into the sky. The sun was beginning to set and dinner time would be soon. Hopefully, Ian and Tiln could finish the fencing in the woods. Papers were handed to Tarmikos with a grunt. He peered over them and said, "Thank you, Mace. Help Ian and Tiln with the fencing would you."
"Yes, sir," Mace the Spider Monkey said, running to the lemur brothers.
"Ravaaga," Tarmikos called, earning a hiss. "I need you to mark where the shops should be. Take this map and be sure to get the measuring devices from the blue train to help you. I need 7,468 square feet worth of souvenir shops. Once you're done marking where the shops will be, use the weed whacker to cut down some of the tall grass and we'll build from there. That'll be all for today. Tomorrow is where the work really kicks in. Is Maya still on the train?"
"She's by the lake," someone shouted from a distance.
"Of course," Tarmikos said, sighing.
Maya the Kangamouse (abbrev. of "kangaroo mouse") was always near water if there was some nearby. She has never told anyone why water was so precious to her. Tarmikos saw the kangaroo mouse seated on a large flat rock next to the creek, typing on her blue laptop. Fireflies were fluttering about as the sun was setting more. Tarmikos watched as her large ears flattened on the sides of her head.
"Figures you'd be here instead of by the trains," he said, standing beside her. "It's really beautiful, isn't it? The creek, I mean."
"I'd like to use it," Maya said quietly.
"How?"
"Gandola rides," she answered, dipping her foot into the creek. The ripples in the water were very serene and formed interesting crescents as they expanded across. A family of ducks swam across the creek, quacking in rhythmic song.
"How much?"
"Seven dollars maybe," she said, returning to her typing. "Not seven dollars a person, though. Just seven dollars for the ride. Our gandolas have a 1500 lbs capacity, and there's only two of them. If a family of six were to ride at seven dollars per person, then they would have to pay 42 dollars. That wouldn't be fair economically, and the creek isn't as large as a river or a molt. It's about as big as a pond or a small lake. Plus the children would be disappointed if they couldn't ride at the expense."
Tarmikos hummed in agreement then turned to the mouse. He said, "What have you been working on the past month?"
"A website for the circus," Maya answered, showing Tarmikos her detailed work. "It's almost done. I just need a few pictures. Since you busted my camera after having a world-class tantrum, I have to go out and buy a new one. I need the key to the bank car. About a hundred dollars is good for a cheap camera and its accessories. Depending on the cost of extra film, batteries, editing, and development, it may be about that much."
"Well, that's not too bad," Tarmikos said, digging in his hat for the keys. "I'll get extra change for you just to be safe. Wouldn't want you going on a spending spree."
"I don't shop for anything. Versha does," Maya remarked, typing again. "I either make my own clothes or receive them as a gift. Half the time I just pick up scraps of fabric off the floor and go buy supplies. Nothing resembling a spree."
"It's kinda sad," Tarmikos responded, sighing. "Cute as can be, yet you don't wanna look it. Only in show biz do you give off the cute. How ideal."
"Don't you have a bank car to unlock there, boss?" Maya questioned in a friendly banter and smirk. "Unless you don't want ticket sales to reach max distribution, I suggest you hop to it. I hear we've got a long day tomorrow."
"And we do," he said, raising his chest in pride. "Right now, we're just securing the lands we're using. Luckily, this creek is a part of the acres we're occupying. Consider yourself fortunate. I'll designate everyone's job for the next few days. For now, we should enjoy this August night. Tuesday 'til Friday will be the most strenuous."
"Will we be able to take a vacation in between setting up and training?" she asked, raising - what would be - an eyebrow.
"Yep. Three-day break, two-day training, and then the debut," Tarmikos joked, displaying interesting jazz hands and spirit fingers - that of which he doesn't have.
Amy Rose was tired of training with Julie-Su the Echidna. Nothing exciting was happening, and Sonic nearly killed Eggman for nothing last Monday! Today was a lovely, boring, unamusing, disgustingly sweaty Saturday in the first week of August. Summer hadn't left yet, and Julie-flippin'- Su wanted to train with Amy as much as she possibly could whenever there was free time. Problem is Amy had too much spare time this year. Chasing Sonic became a one-hour-a-day hobby. That's not normal! If something interesting didn't happen soon, Amy thought she was going to burst and just do what Sonic does half of his time: infiltrate Eggman Empire and break a few things. Julie-Su used to be a nice girl, but either something happened between Julie-Su and Knuckles the Echidna or her name was Alabaster Albatross...and it wasn't.
Amy was in her room playing a miniature Whack-O-Mole game on the carpet. She sighed, stood up, and walked over to her computer to play Purble Pairs. She pushed the power button on and waited for the CPU to load her desktop. As she went on the internet to search for Purble Pairs, a message beeped through the speakerphone and woke her curiosity. She opened another tab to view the message and saw that a circus was opening soon. Something interesting, finally! Amy observed the web page and noticed the background displaying a slideshow. A young woman was stretching her body in an uncomfortable-looking position. Her hands were on the ground, but her legs were straight and pointed above her upper torso; basically, she held her entire body up with just her flat hands. She had pretty, long, wavy blue hair though. Not like Sonic's but a gentler and lighter hue of blue. Her picture changed to stilt walkers and music faded in as it played. Amy clicked the "Acts & Performers" tab to see if the girl had another picture. Instead, a video played and showed short clips of interviews and performances. The biggest teaser the pink hedgehog would eye!
The circus looked fun, however. It was definitely new, and Amy wanted to see the acrobat with the blue hair in person. Certainly, she can't take an entire act of assumingly twenty minutes stretching like that picture. Most definitely not...right? Amy scrolled down the page to see a "Contact" and "Ticket Information" tab at the bottom. She clicked it and read about the order. There was a booth in City Hall that sold the tickets in a package for the circus! Visitors and/or participants get a bracelet for the rides and games, and if a person couldn't make it with the party then the money paid for that person could be exchanged for coins to get free food! Perfect!
"Forget training with Julie-Su!" Amy exclaimed, jumping out of her chair. "I'm getting tickets at lunchtime! I hope Sonic and Tails are up for the trip."
"I ain't goin' if it's just me," Sonic answered.
"Wha - ? But Sonic!" Tails said, pouting.
Amy had just come from her house to search for Sonic and Tails to invite them to see the circus, and Sonic was denying her. Tails was slightly disappointed and angry that Sonic didn't want to go. One of the reasons for being so was because he had been training with Tails's mission simulator since Monday morning after kicking Eggman's bikini-clad ass! Now, granted, they did travel to other islands and towns to use other mission simulators, but Tails had to find parts to fix some of the mission levels. The week was perfect for a barbeque, and he had to keep Sonic occupied! No, Sonic was going whether Sonic wanted to or not.
"Why not?" Amy asked, stomping her feet and puffing her little cheeks. "It'll beat training with a simulator for a week at least."
"Speaking of training, how does Julie-Su feel about you ditching classes?" Sonic asked, pointing at Amy nonchalantly.
"I'm not telling that slave driver anything," Amy said, turning her head to blow steam out of her ears. "If you don't tag along, I'll go by myself. I'd go any day to get away from training, playing video games, or cleaning the house. Plus, there's someone I want to see there. Be a lame, boring boyfriend all you want. I'm going to enjoy my weekend. Tails, you're welcome to join me or join this bozo!"
"Wait a minute!" Tails shouts, hoping to reconcile. "Sonic, you said you wouldn't go if it was just you, right?"
"Did I?" Sonic asked, trying to remember his own words.
"Yes, that's what you said," Tails responded, slapping his head after sighing. "Look. Why don't we invite some friends to join us? Like Knuckles or Julie-Su or even Vector."
"Let's not invite Julie-Su and say we did," Amy commented, folding her arms.
"If everyone agrees not to invite Julie-Su, then we won't ask Jule-Su. Does that mean you'd like for Knuckles to join?" Tails asked, smiling gently.
"That red bastard would do anything to avoid joining us for anything except stopping Eggman," Sonic remarked. "We'd have to drag him off his precious, floating time bomb of an ancient island if we want him to show him up. Unless you tell him his Master Emerald was replaced with a fake, he ain't movin' from its safehold."
Amy and Tails looked at Sonic, considering his thoughts, then looked at each other. Actually, Sonic's sarcastic and cold remarks made a decent plan. They could create a replica of the Master Emerald, say Eggman stole the real one while he and the other guardians were sleeping, and possibly lead him here. Then again, Knuckles would know a fake emerald from a real one. Plan B would be to say they were in trouble and drag him off his island. No, they needed something so ridiculously colossal that even Knuckles would be godsmacked or afraid and come to the rescue. Something too incredible, something bigger than Sonic's mishaps, something...only Sonic could do. Amy and Tails looked at Sonic again, smirked mischievously, and then tackled him down to tie him up.
Knuckles the Echidna went hunting for fruits through the trees after Vector the Crocodile agreed to guard the Master Emerald while he was away. To say Knuckles was as wild as Sonic was an insult, but to say he was innovative like him was more relative. Knuckles was surfing through the trees, taking mangos and peaches from their branches, and placed multiple findings into baskets positioned just below the trees burroughs. Creativity lessens the hardships of climbing up and down trees, squatting to pick them up, throwing beaten ones away, and punching hell out of the vegetation to activate the growth hormone. Why did it take an egotistical hedgehog to inspire such innovation? Knuckles jumped from the trees and sorted through the baskets. There were a lot of peaches this year. The basket was nearly filled to the top!
He lifted the basket of peaches onto a wagon and began doing the same for the other baskets. Suddenly, a shadow passed over Knuckles's head. He snapped his eyes up and saw the same shadow pass over again. Roaring echoed.
Eggman? Knuckles thought, narrowing his gaze.
It wasn't Eggman to Knuckles's relief but it was Tails and his Tornado jet. The chopper would have been easier to hear, but the jet was stealthily quiet and faster. Knuckles's looked at the filled wagon and flinched. Tails was about to land on it! He pulled the wagon as swiftly as he could then waited for Tails to jump out.
"Knuckles, I need your help!" Tails cried out, desperately. "Please!"
"What is it?" he asked.
"It's Sonic and Amy!" Tails replied. "Sonic went to go investigate another evil plan that Eggman created, and Amy and I went to help just to be safe. When we got to Eggman's base in Emerald Town, Eggman activated a weird device that captured Sonic. Amy went to save him, but a giant robot did something to her. It was like she was being controlled. I tried calling out to her, but she couldn't hear me. She attacked me and took the Chaos Emeralds from Sonic. I managed to break out of my cell and retrieve the Tornado, but I don't know what Eggman plans to do with them. Please, Knuckles, you've gotta help me stop Eggman!"
"Say no more, kid," Knuckles said, running to the Tornado. He hopped in it and held his hand out for Tails to board the jet. "Let's go!"
Wow, he really is gullible, Tails thought, mentally smirking. I didn't think this would work so easily, but Sonic was right. Now, to go meet Amy at the mission simulator.
"Here, you might need this," Tails said, handing Knuckles an earpiece and scanner. "It'll show the stats of an enemy and a map of the base in case you get lost."
"No, not that!" Sonic yelped in fear. "I'll do anything just don't torture me like this! Slap me, punch me, hell kick me even, but don't do that to me!"
"I'll only stop if you agree to take me to the circus as your real girlfriend, Sonic," Amy whispered, eerily seductively.
Sonic was locked in Tails's simulator chambers after agreeing to be in trouble for Knuckles to get off his red butt and come with them to the circus. He was up for it if he could get a few laughs out of the echidna. Now, Knuckles would never laugh at anything Sonic joked about per se, but Sonic could laugh at Knuckles any day.
"I'm going lower, boyfriend," Amy said, suggestively. "I'll make sure to give it to you fast and hard. You like going fast, don't you, Sonic?"
"Oh god, I'm gonna die!" he said, inching away from the pink hedgehog.
"It'll be fun, boyfriend," Amy purred. "I like it hard, and you like it fast. We'll both be satisfied."
"Amy, I don't think you have a clue as to what the hell you're doing right now," Sonic tried. "Have you ever used your skills on anyone else besides me?"
"Of course, Sonic, I'm not weak in that department. I've done it a bunch of times. My skills are second-to-none."
"For the love of everything on Mobius!"
"Either you take me out on our first date or I take you to the ends of the Earth and smash you to pieces!" Amy shouted, lifting her Piko Piko Hammer above her head.
Sonic screamed for his life, praying Tails and Knuckles would hurry up and rescue him. To his relief, they ran through the doors. He sighed, relaxed his body, and started tugging at his restraints for the added effect. Knuckles smashed the controls to free Sonic and tackled Amy to the ground. He started shaking her viciously, thinking a little violent tugging would work.
"Amy snap out of it!" Knuckles said, spittle dripping from his bottom lip. It landed on Amy's skirt. "Don't you recognize your own friends? You almost killed your boyfriend. You'd be single again if you did that, ya goof!"
"Kn-Kn-Knu..." Amy whispered, dizzy from the shaking but still in character. "Knuckles? Why are you here? Oh no, Sonic! Is he okay?"
"Just peachy," Sonic said, smirking wildly. "I like you better when you're not about to break my skull open."
And when you're not implying sexual things to the audience, Sonic thought. Someone could make a fan fiction about that.
"Where's Eggman?" Knuckles asked, standing to his feet.
"Who?" Sonic asked, terminating the scheme. Tails and Amy were frantically waving at Sonic to keep playing along but to no avail.
"Idiot, you're in Eggman's base," Knuckles said, folding his arms. "Amy was controlled by some robot, right? Eggman locked you up, so where's Eggman?"
"Sheesh, Eggman's in Emerald Town sippin' a wine cooler from a coconut probably. He hasn't been terrorizing anything for almost an entire ye - " Sonic stopped, realizing he told Knuckles about Eggman's vacation at the town's resort Monday night. Tails told him to act like he discovered something other than Eggman's love of bikinis while on the beach. Oops.
Knuckles gritted his teeth, growled, then punched the ground. The entire floor was shattered from where he punched it.
"Amy, gimme the hammer," Knuckles ordered.
"But Knuckles, we - "
"Give me the hammer!" Knuckles shouted, snatching the Piko Hammer from Amy's hand. He chased Sonic with it at an abnormal speed then stopped. He took a deep breath, placed the hammer down, and walked out of the simulator chamber. He said, "I'm going to eat something."
"Do you want me to come along, too?" Tails asked. Knuckles turned to him and roared fiercely, silencing everyone in the room. "Okay, never mind. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize to that crab, Tails," Sonic said, seriousness in his voice. "He's just mad 'cause he fell for your act. He says he doesn't like being away from his giant gem but he leaves to save us on your behalf. He thinks we abused his friendship for this running gag to show how gullible he is. I can't argue for him 'cause he's as gullible as they come. You did right to get him off his island to hang out with us. Just leave him to his fruit. He'll get fat, relieve his rotten mood, and go home to watch a glow-in-the-dark flashlight like the stiff that he is."
Knuckles looked at Sonic as he made his speech then continued to leave the simulator. He was already made a fool; he would not succumb to proving Sonic wrong this time. In fact, he was going to do what Sonic said: eat some palm tree dates, use Tails's scanner that he stole from him to search for grapes, gather the fruits, and catch a ride home. Screw this island and that mission simulator! Knuckles was under enough stress as of late with his fierce break-up with Julie-Su. He hadn't told anyone about it, and it had been a month since the split between them. They were practically inseparable starting out, but the feelings they had for each other changed. Neither of them knew why. Now, he was being toyed with by his own friends. What was next? Knuckles heard footsteps following him and prepared to roar at whoever it was. Roaring seemed to help lately.
"Knuckles, wait, please!" Amy called.
"What?" Knuckles questioned, glaring at the pink hedgehog.
"Knuckles, we never meant to make you angry. It's just that you normally would avoid hanging out with us unless the situation involved Eggman. I wanted to ask you to take a break and spend some time with us, but Sonic said you'd never agree to it. He knows you better than I do, so - "
"You thought you'd go with his plan and get Tails involved?" Knuckles finished, walking away from her. "Unbelievable!"
"Well, it's the truth!" Amy replied, stopping Knuckles from continuing his walk. "To be honest, I didn't think about asking anyone to come with me to hang out. I was gonna go to the outskirts of New Mobotropolis to see a circus this Wednesday. Sonic said he wouldn't go unless someone came, so I asked Tails. Tails wanted to come, but he didn't want to leave Sonic behind. No one was gonna go with me but me. Tails made the suggestion that we ask other friends and you came to mind. That's when the plan came about. I know it sounds wrong, but that's the whole truth."
"When Tails thought of me..." Knuckles started, holding his breath. "Did he think of Julie-Su, too?"
"Well, yeah, but I said not to ask her this time," Amy answered, surprising Knuckles. "She's really nice and all, but she's been too much lately. I can't go to sleep without her telling me to finish training."
"You said you were going Wednesday?" Knuckles asked, straightening his hunched posture. Amy nodded. He said, "I'll go...without Julie-Su. As far as we're concerned, between the two of us, she doesn't deserve to go until she apologizes for taking out her anger on you."
"She's been using me as a scapegoat?" Amy asked angrily, balling her hands into fists. "Why that pink, onery - oooo!"
"She's just upset because we broke up," Knuckles said quietly.
Amy gasped then said, "But...why did you two...? Wha - what happened?"
"Change of heart," Knuckles responded, walking towards a fruitful palm tree.