"Ohohoho!" the rotund man laughed, adjusting his glasses. He looked out from over the edge of his Eggmobile, down at the ground, strangely checkered with green. This whole island looked like something from Alice in Wonderland, and to compliment the well-decorated hills, staring back at him was a little blue hedgehog, wearing what appeared to be red sneakers and white gloves. He chuckled again at the thought of such absurdities. "And who are you, my little friend?" The hedgehog growled.
"My name's Sonic, and this is MY island! What do you think YOU'RE doing here?" he snarled, clenching his fists even harder. His quills stood on end, raising up to give the tiny animal a more menacing appearance, something that was almost impossible with his little round belly and noodle arms, culminating with big, black eyes that were simply bacon on the eggs. The mustachioed Doctor laughed.
"My! You're quite territorial for such a small hedgehog! You should learn some manners!" the man in red returned his glasses to their original position and sat back in his chair. "My name is Dr. Robotnik! I've come to find a set of artifacts. Perhaps you'd like to volunteer some information, my interesting little hedgehog friend?" The blue hedgehog growled, if for no other reason than being called small. THREE TIMES!
"O'course not! Now get outta here before I hafta force you out, Egghead!" The man laughed even harder, a bit miffed at the insult, then pressed a button on his Eggmobile. A click, then the light on the front of his vehicle flashed green for a moment. Following, a feminine voice responded.
"Life form scan complete, Doctor. Specimen is capable of unfeasibly high-speed movement and agility. Spines located on the back are hard enough, when tensed, to damage the Eggmobile's titanium alloy armor. Specimen's ability to get this far, past your Badnik guards, is testament to his skill. Engage with caution, if at all possible at a distance." The Doctor scoffed.
"Not a problem! I won't even switch modules…this wrecking ball should do the job," he snickered, rooting around for and pressing another button on the expansive control panel in front of him. As he did, the bottom of his craft opened up, releasing a large, checkered wrecking ball on a chain. The hedgehog took a stance, feet back and one hand to the ground, as if he was about to start a race, then suddenly tucked his head between his legs, forming a ball, and began to spin. Dr. Robotnik lurched the machine forward and slammed the massive steel ball into him at full force.
"Ohohoho! That was easy!" Suddenly, the craft began to shake violently. The Doctor looked down, noticing the wrecking ball was the culprit. Out of the top of it, with a loud grinding noise, popped the tiny hedgehog, still curled up in a ball. He hopped out of his new escape route, and stood atop the Doctor's weapon, dusting the dirt and ground-up stone off of his quill "hair".
"Now you've done it!" He curled into a ball again and jumped, then slammed down onto the hood of the Eggmobile bored into the machine itself. The Doctor quickly pulled up out of the ground and began to shake the vehicle wildly, finally shaking the rodent out. The critter landed on the ground, on his feet, smiling.
"Just who are you!" the yellow-and-red-clad Doctor yelled in anger. The hedgehog rubbed his tiny black nose with a single finger, then waggled it his spherical adversary.
"Sonic's the name, and speed's my game! I'm the fastest thing on South OR Christmas Island!" Sonic pointed past the man's vehicle. "Get back to wherever you came from, old man, because this is my turf!" The man harrumphed, flying his wreck of an Eggmobile into the sky, out of range of the hedgehog's painful spines. The oddly-pigmented animal looked after the mysterious interloper, putting his hands to his (nearly nonexistent) hips. "What a weird old man."
In the Doctor's direction, Sonic noticed a large, shining capsule. Although the sun was shining directly on it, there was something about it that seemed dull and lifeless. The diminutive creature sped up to the capsule and quickly smashed through the top of it, destroying the entire mechanism and releasing several of his tiny animal friends. They cheered and hopped away almost as soon as they were released, not even bothering to stop and ask questions, which admittedly annoyed the hedgehog, who needed answers. Sonic peered off in the direction of the Marble Ruins, where Dr. Robotnik had fled. It was dangerous out in that direction, much more dangerous than his newest hangout, Green Hill, but he felt as though the madman wasn't going to stop looking for whatever he was looking for just after one defeat. Sonic curled up again, blasting off in the direction of the Marble Ruins.
The Marble Ruins were dark and overgrown with foliage, long abandoned by the ancients who once called the place home, but the surface wasn't what Sonic had to be careful of. Deep below, lava flows from the island's volcanic origin settled into pools, leaving only a few pillars safe for travel. The blue hedgehog was confident in his ability to jump, but not in his ability to swim in lava.
He ran forward at full speed, dodging a few more of the robots that apparently belonged to that "Dr. Robotnik" fellow. They were rather easily destroyed by Sonic's quills, just like the ones in Green Hill, but the bee-looking ones shot things out of their stingers that didn't feel even a little pleasant. He was careful to avoid getting hurt, and quickly made his way to the entrance of the massive ruin with his Super-Mobius Strip-Peelout (patent pending). He looked up at the door, silently.
"Well, here goes nothin'…" he sighed, leaping through a crack in the wall. Immediately, once inside, a flock of both real and robotic bats swarmed the blue hedgehog, causing him to yelp in surprise. The real, organic bats flew away, off to find a new cave where hedgehogs or other speedy animals wouldn't bother them, but the robots were a little less hesitant to stick around to party. A few of them charged the hedgehog, tiny jet-engines propelling them forward at speeds that rivaled even Sonic's. He grinned, curled into a ball, and tensed his quills…
Cleaning the motor oil from his spines, Sonic came to a pool of the infamous lava. A few lone pillars jutted out of it, making them the only way across. He took a deep breath and swallowed hard: with a running start, he leapt for the first pillar, grabbing it narrowly and slinging himself to the next, then onto solid ground on the other side. Thank goodness. He looked back, grinning. "Ain't afraid of no lava!" he laughed to himself, then sped ahead.
More lava awaited the young hedgehog, making his journey more and more difficult, with less and less room for error at each pass. Inevitably, he came to a lava pit with no way of crossing whatsoever. He sighed heavily, disheartened but not foiled. "Now what…?" he groaned, looking off to one side. As his eyes scanned the ancient bricks, however, he noticed that a few were missing and others were crumbling. He nodded, curled up, and busted straight through the wall into a new room altogether. Inside were strange, spinning objects that looked like gleaming, golden donuts. He approached one slowly, reaching out at it.
"Now, what do we have here?" he said to himself, grinning, "It looks like this dude's hit the jackpot!" he grabbed the ring, and it promptly disappeared in a flash. The hedgehog grunted in discontent. "Laaaaaaaaaame." He, thoroughly let down, touched the rest of them, making them all disappear and leaving the room barren and boring once more. "What a gyp. Oh well, can't stick around, gotta keep moving on." The hedgehog dashed out of the room, smashed through more stone…and straight into a pool of lava. He disappeared quickly below its surface without even a scream.
Little Sonic was curled up, sure he was dead. He looked around, and all around him was bright lava, but he wasn't burning. He didn't even feel too warm. He burrowed his way through the molten rock and out of the fiery pool, and as soon as he touched the ground, the golden rings from before exploded out of him. He yelped in surprise, falling backwards onto one of them and making it stick to his behind for a second before disappearing once more. "What the…?" he mumbled, "Did those things…save me…?" The little hedgehog looked back at the lava, rubbing his chin curiously, then continued forward, finally out of the ancient ruins and into the warm sunlight. He was in the center courtyard of the temple, which, even though it was outside, had succumbed to the slowly emerging lava. Massive, crumbling stone statues of long-haired animal warriors stood up, out of reach on the surrounding temple walls, watching both the hedgehog and the other occupant of the courtyard.
There, standing on the grass, surrounded by pools of lava, was the Doctor. He turned, looking at the tiny hedgehog, and grinned, his mouth barely visible over his round belly and under his massive red moustache. "I should've known it wouldn't be so easy to get rid of you, little one," he sighed, adjusting his glasses and dabbing them with a handkerchief. "But it's too late, I've already got what I came for…" Dr. Robotnik pulled a shining green rock from his pocket, showing its weight and tossing it up and down. "Sonic, my friend, do you know what this is?" The blue hedgehog shook his head, about to fly off the handle at the fat man, impatient with his lecture. "This…is a Chaos Emerald," he said through his seemingly mad grin, "They're filled with endless power, but that power can only be unlocked when all seven are gathered together…" Dr. Robotnik suddenly looked discouraged, "Only six exist on this island. The seventh Chaos Emerald has been missing for a very long time…until now. On a nearby island known as West…" Sonic stopped him there.
"Listen up, you Eggman, if you found those on this island, you're taking MY property!" he snarled, "I don't know what those Power Amethysts or Super Rubies or whatever are, but they're MINE, you hear! I ain't lettin' you take them from this island, especially after you captured my friends!" The Doctor sighed, smiling.
"And you're not letting me go without a fight? Very well," he chuckled, leaping into a hole in the very center of the arena. Out exploded his Eggmobile, refitted with a tube of some sort on the bottom. The hedgehog readied himself again, then jumped toward the machine. However, as he did, the tube shot hot flames straight down at the ground, setting all the grass aflame. Sonic yelped, clawing at the bottom of the ship and finally falling to his fiery doom below. The Doctor smiled grimly. "Such a spunky little hedgehog…it's a shame he had to get roasted."
In the flames below, Sonic grinned, protected by his single ring. He jumped out of the fire, smashing into the fire tube at top speed and destroying it. The Doctor jumped in surprise, jolting his machine upward. He looked down at the little creature, who watched as his last ring bounced away. Sonic glared up at him, then leapt straight toward him. Dr. Robotnik winced as the hedgehog glanced off the front of his ship, landing near a pool of lava and grinning at him. The Doctor scratched his head, confused as to how he wasn't burning to death. He then snorted, lifting his machine up and out of the hedgehog's reach, then out of view.
However, he'd forgotten something in the battle: the green Chaos Emerald. The blue hedgehog stepped closer to it, braving the heat of the nearby flames, and quickly snatched it up. In his palm, the large gem glowed brightly, filling the hedgehog with wonder and curiosity. Dr. Robotnik said they were only powerful if they were all together…but only six where here on the island. Sonic waited for the encircling flames to die down, then sped ahead to the next capsule and busted it open, releasing even more of his captured friends.
"That's two, Eggman, and South Island's only so big," he mumbled under his breath, staring at his new Chaos Emerald, "I'm coming for you." Sonic ran ahead at top speed over the top of the temple as opposed to through it, then leaped off the other side. Finally glad to be rid of fire and lava, he sped over the grassy, ruin-speckled landscape until it slowly became more and more artificial. He was getting near the Spring Stadium (at least that's what the ancient, long useless signs called the area). Whatever used to live on this island sure loved springs, so much so that they'd built a massive, crimson steel structure that went on for miles that was full of them. Sonic was getting a bit worried; he'd never been this far from Green Hill…but…surely if he'd made it this far, he could make it a little further.
The hedgehog came to a sudden steep slant. It was ridiculously high, but Sonic wasn't one for safety, prompting the hedgehog to hop over the edge and curl into a ball. Once he reached the bottom, the massive U-pipe shot him straight back up. The blue mammal screamed in delight as he was launched into the air, into a massive group of golden rings. He reached out, touching as many as he could before plummeting back to the red metal floor. He landed on a large, yellow spring, bounced off, and landed with a twirl on his feet. He could imagine crowds cheering, lady-hogs flocking to him like birds to bread.
With growing courage, Sonic sped past massive steel spiked balls, bounced off giant pinball bumpers, and shot through giant tubes, finally making his way to the end of the giant, spring-filled structure. There, to no surprise on the part of the Doctor or the hedgehog, waited his new nemesis. Robotnik didn't even bother saying anything this time, just grinned as a massive spike jutted out from the bottom of his Eggmobile. The blue hedgehog swallowed hard, staying on his toes as the metallic monstrosity floated just out of reach.
"What're you doing with those Chaos Emeralds, Eggman?" Sonic shouted up to him, holding his own Chaos Emerald to taunt his adversary. Dr. Robotnik's eyes widened, then felt around his uniform; the Chaos Emerald was indeed gone. Enraged, his machine suddenly shot straight downward, sticking the spike in the ground. Sonic had just barely avoided being skewered, and stared the Doctor, who was now at eye-level, in his beady, glasses-shadowed eyes. "Well?" Dr. Robotnik scoffed in response, his moustache swaying as he spoke.
"Tell you what," he laughed, "If you can make it all the way to the Scrap Brain, I think you'll be able to see just what I'm working on." He was sure there was no way he could make it that far. The Eggmobile lifted up and out of the ground, carrying a stone block with it. Sonic looked up, the sun glaring past the Eggmobile, causing him to wince and look away. Suddenly, the block exploded, sending stone shrapnel in every direction. The blue hedgehog yelped as he took a few pieces to the face, causing his rings to fly out. He looked around, grabbing a few of them, then leapt into action. Dr. Robotnik lurched down again, but this time, Sonic was ready. He jumped onto the hood of the machine, threatening to jump on Dr. Robotnik himself. The Doctor shouted in surprise, shooing the hedgehog off his hood.
Sonic growled, curling into a ball and boring into the hull of the Eggmobile yet again. Dr. Robotnik seethed with anger and fear as he quickly lost control of his vehicle, the hedgehog 's razor-sharp spines destroying all manner of wiring and electrical work that took years to perfect. In an act of desperation, he leapt from the cockpit and landed in relative safety on the ground. The rotund man looked up after his Eggmobile, staring silently at it as the engines and navigational system finally malfunctioned and sent it flying, the blue hedgehog thrown out and clinging onto it for dear life. The Doctor pressed a button on his watch with a sigh, and awaited his spare vehicle.
Sonic screamed as the Doctor's now-useless vehicle sped out of control high above solid ground. He didn't recognize the area he was flying above at this point; he'd never even been to the Marble Ruins before, let alone whatever awaited after the Spring Stadium. After what seemed like hours, the Eggmobile's fuel cell went dry. The engines fell silent, and the ground started getting closer. He looked down, noticed the vehicle was starting to fall, and resumed screaming. Below were a few jagged cliffs, over an endless ocean. Lovely.
The Eggmobile hit the salty stone with a crunch that sounded more characteristic of cardboard than titanium, exploding a few seconds later. Sonic was thrown from the vehicle and into a deep ravine; he curled into a ball and bounced off the walls to slow his fall before hitting the bottom of the trench, and finally, he was done falling. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with a sigh, checking all of his limbs for breaks and his ego for dents, and none were to be found.
"That…was scary," he mumbled, glad Flicky and Plucky weren't around to hear him admit it, "But where am I?" Ahead of him, the jagged, brown stone turned into smooth, ornate blocks, gargoyles, and torches. The scent of saltwater was still strong in the air. He hopped forward, gaining more and more speed, but suddenly hit the brakes when he saw his mortal enemy: water. The hedgehog yelped, jumping back from the liquid, made inky black by the lack of light from below. He couldn't swim at all; his arms and legs were too skinny and his belly too round. He sunk like a rock in water, and he couldn't even hold his breath for very long.
"No way! I don't care what that Egghead's up to in his Crap Brain, I'm not going underwater in some ancient ruin to get to there," the hedgehog fumed. He then took a deep breath, held it for a second, then let go. "Well…I guess the island IS in trouble…" he sighed, "What's a hedgehog to do? Just let that fatty-fatty-boombolatty take his home over? I don't think so!" The tiny blue mammal flexed his spaghetti arms, posing heroically. "Yeah! I'm Sonic the Hedgehog! I can take some stagnant old water! C'mon! Yeah!"
Red-sneakered Sonic plunged into the water head first, instantly losing all confidence he'd gained from his personal pep rally. The young hero flailed his arms frantically, gaining absolutely no height whatsoever, then finally hit the ground with a quiet whump. He grunted, crossing his arms and surveying the underwater area. The water was surprisingly clear, so he could see far enough to keep going. He let out a breath in the form of a few bubbles, then jumped to his feet and skidded along the bottom of the pool. "Doin' good so far," he thought to himself, barely able to move. This was SLOW going. WAY too slow for Sonic the Hedgehog. Even curling up didn't help him move any faster.
Reality came crashing down like a ton of bricks when Sonic realized that he was running out of breath. He gripped his throat, which begged for just the tiniest bit of air. His rings had protected him from physical trauma, but would they fill his starving lungs with oxygen? The blue hedgehog wasn't going to wait around to find out. He rushed ahead, moving both his arms and legs to gain a bit of speed, and then the world ended.
Sonic tripped.
He fell face first to the ground, smacking his little black nose on the hard stone, which caused him to gasp in; but what the little hero got wasn't a lung-full of choking water, but oxygen-rich (albeit stale) air. Cracks in the floor of the ruin were filtering water into the areas below, causing air to bubble up from long-forgotten tombs, but it didn't matter where this air came from, it was AIR! The hedgehog stayed immobile for a moment, breathing in short gasps, then took one long, final drag and hopped back to his feet. Bubbles were showering up from below, something he could use as an indicator as to where he could get a fresh breath. It would be slow going, but the little hedgehog could eventually make his way through this ruin, and maybe even to the Scrap Brain.
And it WAS slow going. VERY slow going. But persistence pays off, and Sonic finally came to dry stone. A massive gasp of much fresher air greeted the silent ruin as the blue hedgehog breached the surface of the water, climbing desperately up onto the dry blocks. He shook himself dry, then stood up, panting.
"Never…again…" he groaned, finally gaining enough stamina to run forward and out of the sunken ruins. He smiled through the exhaustion, knowing that he was now a little closer to his goal and he was stronger because of it. Not even water could stop Sonic the Hedgehog now.
Exiting the Labyrinth tossed Sonic into a rather disorienting world. A large, shiny neon sign overhead read "Starlight Zone", which must've drawn inspiration from the endless simulated night sky above (even in the veritable Eden that was South Island, the stars weren't this bright and colorful). All around him, rollercoasters zoomed, rock n' roll music played, and lights flashed. It was paradise for a supersonic hedgehog of Sonic's interests. His eyes gleamed with curiosity and wonder, and he couldn't keep himself from taking off at full speed any longer. He ran alongside a rollercoaster for a few moments before veering off and enjoying some awesome music playing over a lit-up dance floor. That didn't hold his attention long, either, and he took off yet again, until he found something that really tested his mettle. A fan blew impossibly strong winds against the hedgehog, and just beyond it were tons and tons of rings. This was obviously a challenge.
First a jog, then a run, then a sprint, then rolling, and then the Super-Mobius Strip-Peelout (patent pending). He could outrun anything, even the wind, and he would prove that right here-…the fan suddenly switched off, launching the hedgehog forward like the world's fastest catapult.
The speedy little mammal dashed forward, screaming, and through the rings and onto a rollercoaster track of his own. First down, then the narrow catwalk leveled out, then suddenly a full loop (adrenaline!), then another (more adrenaline!), then more hills and loops and finally, a leap off into the air. Sonic managed to keep screaming the whole time, but it went from fear to excitement by the end of the first loop. The hedgehog landed, to his amazement, in a large arena where the crowd roared from every direction. He grinned from ear to ear, running the perimeter of the circle, near his adoring fans, who chanted his name in unison.
Then, suddenly, one of the members of the audience stood up and waved his hand. A quiet "twang" from behind was all that gave away the trap, but not even Sonic was fast enough to avoid it. A jolt of high-voltage electricity coursed through the nearly-invisible wire, shutting down the hedgehog's muscles and brain.
Dr. Robotnik laughed, giving the signal that the current could be cut with the same hand he'd triggered it with. Sonic the Hedgehog wouldn't be a threat any longer.
The faint beep of a heart monitor awoke Sonic the Hedgehog, who was now Dr. Robotnik's prisoner in the Scrap Brain, a massive complex of dangerous machinery and deadly traps, built specifically to keep the inhabitants of the island OUT of the Doctor's work.
Sonic squeaked as his eyes opened, as he was apparently locked in a tube facing some sort of awful funhouse mirror. The Sonic in the mirror's spines were sharper, his features more menacing, his eyes a cold, empty black. It took a few moments, but the captive hedgehog finally realized that he wasn't looking into a mirror, but another tube that held a very Sonic-esque robot. A low chuckle came from out of view.
"How do you like him, Sonic?" Dr. Robotnik asked, his voice full of more hatred and disdain than the hedgehog had heard yet. It sounded almost like a different person entirely. Sonic tried to respond with something witty and 90's, but he couldn't seem to open his mouth, or move any other part of him for that matter. "Don't bother trying to speak, the fluid you're suspended in disables all neurological functions; in essence, you're a vegetable. But enough about you, let's talk about my new friend here." The mad scientist stepped into view, putting one arm around the robot Sonic's tube and patting it lovingly. "I'm afraid we can't be friends anymore, my little blue pincushion. You see, Metal Sonic here is much obedient than you, not to mention faster and stronger."
Sonic's ego screamed at the thought of anyone being faster than him, and the Doctor could tell.
"Best of all, I'm going to use your brain as a central processing unit!" he laughed maniacally, glaring his newest nemesis in the eyes the entire time. Sonic attempted to shout some sort of objection, but all that came out was a few bubbles and a guttural groan. The Doctor laughed, stepping away to finish the procedure. For the first time in the blue hedgehog's life, he felt completely helpless, and it was all because of this bastard of a man, this Eggman, this Dr. Robotnik. He stared into the empty, inactive eyes of his robotic clone, Metal Sonic. Suddenly, the fluid regular Sonic was suspended in began to bubble, making his skin tingle and crawl. Without warning, a massive electrical pulse shot through the hedgehog's body, scanning his brain, thought patterns, and memories. Sonic wailed inside his tube, his body twitching helplessly as electricity coursed through him.
"Once we've transferred your brain's mapping into Metal's hard drive, you won't have the will to keep that Emerald cooped up inside you," the Doctor chuckled, watching the process from the other side of the room.
A siren roared into the air, the glass on the tube encasing the poor hedgehog cracking beyond repair. Sonic's body glowed a brilliant green, the Chaos Emerald that now rested as energy within his body objecting to the torture. The tube exploded outward, throwing Sonic out and onto the ground. Dr. Robotnik squealed in terror, quickly jumping into an emergency exit tube and disappearing with a suction sound. Sonic fell to his knees as the stasis liquid dripped off of him, slowly returning function to his body. He looked up at Metal Sonic, who still stood lifeless in his tube, and grinned.
"Looks like today's my lucky day, Metal," he said, coughing out the last of the liquid, "I get to keep my bestest friend." He grinned the grin of sweet revenge, then took off after the malevolent scientist. The hedgehog passed through a massive glass hallway, revealing what Dr. Robotnik was working on, just as he had promised back in the Spring Stadium.
A massive spherical vessel, bearing the Doctor's likeness on its hull, was being constructed below him. It looked nowhere near completion, but at its size, nothing Sonic could do could hamper its construction without getting him killed by the hundreds of Badniks working on it. The only thing he could do was to stop this awful carrier from launching was to stop the Eggman himself.
"Which I will enjoy," the enraged hedgehog said, completing his own thought. This went beyond Chaos Emeralds, his turf, or even his animal friends at this point. Now it was personal. However, the Doctor would not go easily, as the Scrap Brain was just as full of traps and deadly mechanisms as Sonic had expected. Massive pistons threatened to smash Sonic into a blue paste, broken vents spat scorching flames, and anodes shot lighting between one another. Some of the floors even had circular saws running through them. Worst of all, there were no rings here, so one mistake, and the hedgehog was done for.
After a million close calls, and a hundred closer ones, Sonic spotted the doctor standing at the end of a long hallway. "Found you!" he cried, speeding toward the mustachioed red-and-yellow ball of a man. As he got closer (long after it was too late), he realized the Eggman he was charging after was a piece of cardboard, sticking his tongue out at his nemesis. The intercom came on for a moment as the hedgehog inspected the fake.
"I do believe this is checkmate, Sonic," the Doctor laughed, "Ta-Ta." The floor beneath Sonic opened up, dropping him into a dank, disgusting place that could only be the sewers of the Scrap Brain. The spiny mammal landed face-first in some sort of awful-smelling water, quickly scrambling up the side of the pool to get out. He hacked out what little he'd swallowed and growled.
"If it's not one thing, it's ANOTHER!" he shouted at no one, revving up his legs like a set of wheels and taking off. The sewers smelled awful, but they were very similar in architecture to the Labyrinth he'd been in earlier. "Robotnik must've turned this place into his factory's toilet," he gagged, holding his nose, "No way he built this."
He had taken a few creative liberties with it, though. Steel spikes jutted out of the walls at regular intervals, threatening to skewer Sonic if he was too close. The Doctor didn't trust the hedgehog to just drown; this guy really WAS smart, Sonic had to give him that. In fact, if it weren't for those rings, he would've been toast by now. That wasn't helping him gain any courage though, so Sonic kept his mind blank and his mouth quiet for the rest of the dilapidated way.
At last, to his nose's delight, Sonic came to a ladder that went straight up. Climbing the ladder slowly and cautiously (he knew now that he couldn't trust anything in the Scrap Brain), the hedgehog made his way back into the main part of the facility and back on track. The end of the track, for that matter. Just a few yards ahead, waited the real, three dimensional Dr. Robotnik, standing in a booth of some sort. But this time, he wasn't smiling or laughing.
"You've come a long way, hedgehog," he snarled, tapping some buttons in his control booth. His chamber disappeared up into the ceiling, but he continued talking over the intercom. "You've freed all of your animal friends, you've destroyed my robots, and you've made it this far into my base," his voice roared from nowhere. A massive piston hissed above Sonic, giving him only a few moments to avoid being crushed. The surface of the piston was electrified, giving off sparks as it hit the metal floor. "I'm sure you saw my brainchild on the way over," the Doctor boomed again as the piston made its way back into the ceiling. This time, two panels on the floor rose up a bit, then crashed into the ceiling. Sonic bounded off of his, landing on the floor between the two. He spotted Dr. Robotnik in the second piston, facing the other direction and completely unaware of the hedgehog's presence. Sonic curled into a ball, charging into the Doctor's pod, throwing him off kilter. The electricity coursing through the shaft gave him a strong jolt, but Sonic's adrenaline wasn't going to let him stop now. The piston retreated into the floor, and the sound of clunking heavy machinery rumbled below.
"You STILL won't give up, will you?" he screamed from the speakers, "No matter what I've set in your way, you won't die! You won't give up! You persistent little NUISANCE!" His piston crashed down from the ceiling this time, prompting Sonic to dodge it and crash back into it with as much force as possible. The Doctor stopped speaking altogether, only snarling in rage at his foe. Lightning dropped from the anodes on the ceiling, giving Sonic yet another thing to worry about, but it didn't stop the now-silent hedgehog.
Another piston, another hit.
Sonic's quills were doing visible damage to the machine his nemesis was piloting, making it slower and less accurate each time. The Doctor was becoming more and more frustrated, making his machine lose even more of its deadly power with each passing moment. The two adversaries dueled in complete silence besides the roaring machinery. The fate of the island was hanging between the hedgehog and his nemesis.
Another piston, another hit.
This time, the Doctor's pod came smashing down from the ceiling, unable to retreat. Sonic grinned at him, tackling him out of the now-exposed booth and onto the ground behind it. The once-proud and evil Dr. Robotnik was instantly reduced to a sniveling coward in the face of real bodily harm.
"Th-Th-The rest of the Chaos Emeralds!" he cried, "T-Take them! Just don't hurt me, p-please!" His mustache drooped in fear, sweat rolling down his forehead and his glasses about to slide off his nose because of it. Sonic laughed, standing on the Doctor's massive belly. He pointed down at him, sticking his finger right on the tip of his sweaty, red nose.
"I'll take those Emeralds, and you're getting off my island! Got it? GOOD!" Sonic leaped off of the Doctor, causing him to flinch and stand up immediately. He scrambled to his parked Eggmobile, trying desperately not to fall down the whole time. Once inside, he flew out of the massive port behind the machine he was piloting earlier, with Sonic on his heels the whole time. The hedgehog stopped at the edge, staring out after Dr. Robotnik, who was disappearing over the horizon of the endless ocean. He smiled, turning back to collect his prize. There, floating over a pedestal, were five of the supposed seven Chaos Emeralds. They each shone a glorious color different from his own, giving off an otherworldly light.
Sonic approached the glowing crystals slowly; his one was obviously aware of the other five's presence, and glowed brighter than ever before. The blue hedgehog held his arms open, each of the Emeralds floating toward him and disappearing within him, becoming pure energy like the green one.
Within the blink of an eye, he was back in Green Hill. The sudden blast of fresh air made him smile involuntarily. He took off with his trademark speed, feeling the grass tickle his feet through his sneakers, the fresh wind blowing his quills back, and his animal friends returned to their joyous state: everything was just as it should be on South Island, which belonged to Sonic the Hedgehog once more.
TO BE CONTINUED IN SONIC CD
Sonic travels to Never Lake to see Little Planet in its yearly appearance, followed by his biggest fan, Amy Rose. However, not all is as it seems at Never Lake, where a giant chain holds Little Planet in place! This just REEKS of Robotnik's work!