SONIC: NIGHTMARISH CHAOS

by Black-Glove

Ever wanted to play a Sonic game trhat let you be ANY of the characters from the comics and/or TV-Shows? Well, here's ONE fan's idea for such a game, AND a story adaptation of the concept to go along with it!

NOTE FROM AUTHOR— To at least somewhat satisfy the reader, I've arranged the print in different ways*(*Much as I did for the "Help and Hope" saga): Bold print is for when the characters are actually talking, while Under-lined Bold print is for the more vital parts of the phrase and/or conversation; Italic Bold print is for when the characters are thinking; Under-lined Italic Bold print is for the more vital parts of whatever thought might be brewing in the character-in-question's head; Under-lined print is only used for the more vital parts of the Narrations; and just plain-old regular print, is of course, for everything else.

Hey there!

I am Patrick Hackleman! Hope you liked the "Help and Hope" saga! I really put my heart n' soul into it! This next story, is meant as a "Game Adaptation story", like I know that the "real" creators of Sonic the Hedgehog did for quite a few "actual" Sonic Games* (*Sonic Spinball, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Sonic 3-D Blast, and Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble)! I was really disappointed that they never put Sally, Bunnie, Rotor, Mina, Julie-Su, or Cream into a game. That being the case, I decided to come up with a Sonic game of my own! I don't know if it will ever make it onto the shelves of a video game store, but hey! At least I'm getting my ideas out there, and out into the open where at least somebody would take note of 'em! I've had this idea for a Sonic game brewing in my head, for at least half a decade now! It's kinda like the 1980s Nintendo game, Super Mario Bros. 2; in other words, a wide variety of characters to choose from and play as, each one with their own set of tricks! There would be two groups to choose from: You'd be able to play as either the Freedom Fighters, or as the Chaotix, and either way, there would be a very wide variety to choose from: If the Freedom Fighters are selected, you can play as Sonic, Sally, Tails, Amy Rose, Antoine, Bunnie, Rotor, Mina, Dulcy, or Cream; if the Chaotix are selected, you can play as Archimedes, Knuckles, Julie-Su, Mighty, Ray, Vector, Charmy, or Espio! Thing is: you start out as the main heroes*(* Sonic, Tails, and/or Knuckles); to gain additional character choices, you must first defeat the 'bot at the end of each of the first four levels; In Sonic's case: Dulcy and Antoine are rescued first, then Rotor and Bunnie, then Amy Rose and Cream, and then, finally, Sally and Mina are rescued last; in Knuckles' case, Vector and Espio are rescued first, then Mighty and Ray, then Charmy, and then, finally, Julie-Su and Archimedes. Once all of the characters are available to the player, that player now gets to play as his-or her-favorite character for another four levels! And the Bad Guys faced are not just Eggman or Robotnik, but Eggman and Robotnik! Robotnik's ever-infamous booby-traps harass you all through the game, and all the Badniks*(* several of each depending on which zone you land in) typical of a true-blue Sonic game are there to prevent you from passing through! And at the end of each zone, one of the evil doctors' more deadly robotic creeps moves in to try to destroy you; each of these guys take eight hits to terminate! After the second-to-last zone is completed, and if the right number of rings (No fewer, or more than 100) are gathered up, the character can now enter a warp-ring to gain access to the Special Zone that contains the "Seventh Chaos Emerald"! On the final level, the player must now take on both Robotnik, and Eggman; Robotnik is to be beaten to gain access to the room that Eggman's hiding in! Eggman and Robotnik each take eight hits to bring down, but you must first have the seventh Chaos Emerald, if you do not, you're dead meat*(*Kinda the same as the way it went Sonic the Hedgehog 2, in other words: you have to have all seven Chaos Emeralds to win the game!)! After the game is successfully completed, the usual, party-like jubilation with Sonic, Knuckles, and all of their friends, celebrating their victory takes place!

GAME PROPOSAL: SONIC & KNUCKLES: NIGHTMARISH CHAOS

By: PATRICK HACKLEMAN

DETAILS ON THE GAME—

If you choose to play as the Freedom Fighters, you have a choice of playing as Sonic, Tails, or both; as each of your friends are rescued*(* in order: Antoine and Dulcy are rescued at the end of Zone #1, Bunnie and Rotor are rescued at the end of Zone #2, Cream and Amy Rose are rescued at the end of Zone #3, and then, finally, Mina and Sally are rescued at the successful conclusion of Zone #4), you will gain a wider, and wider variety, of characters to play as; the character selection is an option at the start of each Zone! If you choose to play as the Chaotix, then you have no choice but to start off with Knuckles; the others are obtained in the following order: Vector and Espio are rescued at the end of Zone #1, Mighty and Ray are rescued upon successful completion of Zone #2, Charmy is rescued upon successful completion of Zone #3, and then, finally, Archimedes and Julie-Su are rescued upon successful completion of Zone #4. After everyone has been rescued, the player can now choose from either 10 Freedom Fighters if you choose Sonic and/or Tails as the first character you play as, or from 8 Chaotix if Knuckles is chosen. Which character you play as, will, of course, depend on the your own personal preference, but it is recommended, that the characters chosen, are to be the ones that have been known to do the best jobs in the environment of the Zones they are tossed into! And all through each Zone, Robotnik's dim-witted-but-dangerous "Badniks" surround the heroes at every turn! They include: Cluck (An average of about seven of these annoying chickens per-act), Grounder (At least eight of him in the Zones that involve Underground Warfare), Coconuts (Wherever there are trees, be careful! Coconuts could very well be hiding in at least six of them every act!), Caterkiller (Anywhere from four to seven of him per act; it all depends on where you wind up; the further underground you go, the more likely you are to run into him!), and the ever-dreaded Buzz Bomber (About four of him in each act that has the slightest bit of sky!)! And at the end of each Zone, one of the more deadly evil 'bots*(*Like Missile-Wrist, Octobot, Beta, Stealth-Bot, Dynamic, Beacon, the Doomsday Test-Pod, and then, finally, Robotnik and Eggman, both wearing their newest battle-suits) are there to try their luck at snuffing you out! Each of these dangerous fighting machines take eight hits to take down. And it isn't just Robotnik or Eggman who's controlling them, but Robotnik and Eggman! To help himself come up with a workable strategy, Eggman has resurrected Robotnik, and has promised to prolong the evil scientist's return when*(*Or more likely IF) they destroy both the Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix! Will the mad doctor keep his word? Hopefully the Freedom Fighters, and/or the Chaotix will stop them before anyone has to find out! Other obstacles include the ever-dreaded pop-out spikes and extending spears, All through the game, however, the power-up boxes*(*Each containing either ten rings, Speed-Sneakers, Energy Bubble, Extra Life, or Invincibility), are hidden all throughout the game on all stages to help these young but valiant creatures! And when the seventh Emerald is reached, and collected, the Nightmare Pirates are to split the Chaos Emeralds amongst their heroic allies: Sonic and the Freedom Fighters keep three of them, Knuckles and the Chaotix are granted custody of another three, while the Nightmare Pirates, reluctantly agree to hold onto the seventh for safe keeping. Will this three-way alliance work out? Well, it's worked out for everybody of pure-heart the first time they teamed up with the Nightmare Pirates! So, why not this time!? Well, here goes! The story adaptation of the idea for the fan-fiction Sonic game: "SONIC & KNUCKLES: NIGHTMARISH CHAOS"! As with the HELP & HOPE saga, I put a lotta heart n' soul into this story! And whether ya' like this story or not, be sure to write in and tell me whatcha thought of it; any advice would go a long way towards making my stories AT LEAST MORE "INTERESTING"! Anyway, HAVE FUN READING THE STORY, AND I'LL BE AT MY MAIL BOX WAITING FOR ANY COMMENTS YOU MAY HAVE FOR ME! ENJOY!

-Patrick Hackleman

ABILITIES AND POWERS OF CHARACTERS—

Again, as the game progresses you will have more, and more choices on who to play as. Each of the characters have their own set of tricks: Listed in Alphabetical order, their abilities are listed as follows:

Amy Rose: Hitting Power*(*let's not forget her infamous, over-sized hammer!)

Antoine: Sword-Slash

Archimedes: Sabotage*(*This move can be made right-in-between when you get passed everything in the Zone, and before the giant 'bot shows up, you hit the "Up", and "Down" Keys at the same time, then hold down "Left" key and press "Start", if the move is successfully completed, it will mean that for one full act, there will be nothing in your way during the first Act of the next zone, giving the character ample opportunity to explore the first Act of Each Zone after "Sabotage" is successfully executed), and Fire-Blast

Bunnie: Super Strength, Fire-Blast, Elevation*(*Ability to limitlessly extend legs to reach great heights), hover

Charmy: Shrink/Grow capabilities, Flight

Cream: Flight

Dulcy: Flight, Ice-beam, Zone-to-Zone transportation, and Fire-Blast

Espio: Invisibility, and Sabotage

Julie-Su: Triple-Spin, Sabotage, Tornado-Spin*(*Spinning around like a top), and Fire-Blast

Knuckles: Levitation, Triple-Spin, Gliding, can go Hyper when powered by the Chaos Emeralds

Mighty

: Super Strength, Hitting Power

Mina

: Super Speed, can go Ultra when powered by the Chaos Emeralds

Ray:

Flight

Rotor

: Sabotage

Sally

: Triple-Spin, Fire-Blast, Sabotage

Sonic

: Triple-Spin, Super Speed, can go Super when powered by the Chaos Emeralds

Tails: Flight, Sabotage, Super-Speed, can go Turbo when powered by the Chaos Emeralds

Vector

: Hitting power, and Ability to Swim at High-Speed

HOW TO BEAT THE GAME—

To complete each Act successfully, when you reach the ever-famous picket-sign at the end of each Act, you must have 100 rings, no more, no less. If too many rings are collected, it'll be just like having 100 rings in Sonic the Hedgehog for Game Gear; in other words, it'll put you right back to where you started! If too few rings are collected, then, the Act will not be completed, and you will have to go through the same Act all over again! The Badniks aren't any less vulnerable to getting hit, as the ones in "regular" Sonic games have been known to be, the Super-Robots at the end of each Zone, however, each take eight direct hits to terminate. In the Special Zone, you must collect 500 rings or more, to get to the "Seventh Chaos Emerald". You can play as any one of 8 Chaotix* (*Counting Knuckles), or 10 Freedom Fighters*(*Counting Sonic and Tails), all throughout Zones #5-7; when you get to the final level, however, you have only four characters to choose from to defeat Eggman, and win the game! Those "Four characters" are: Sonic, Knuckles, Mina, and Tails; the reason for this is: these are the only four characters known to be capable of achieving an "Ultimate form", which is needed to defeat Eggman, and win the game! Even in an Ultimate form, AND NO MATTER WHICH CHARACTER IS USED, it takes EIGHT direct hits to bring each of these fat sickos down. To destroy each of the Badniks that seem to infest every square inch of each Act, it only takes ONE direct hit. If you lose all your lives playing as one character, then you must return to the "selection board", and choose a new character to play as; it is only when you lose all of your lives with all of your options, does the screen post the ever-dreaded "GAME OVER" sign. Again, in the Special Zone, if you manage to collect 600 or more rings, you will gain a Continuation Token, giving you yet-another shot at the Zone where you were last-defeated. Use of a Continuation Token, means that all of the character options that you had collected, will all, once again, be available to you. Also, once Dulcy is freed at the end of the first Zone, you have the option, of traveling to any Zone that you wish; it doesn't matter how deep into the game you are for this. The only down-side to doing this, is that the characters that would have been freed in whatever Zone you skip, will not be available to you. Invincibility lasts about 10 seconds; Each "Ring Box" contains 10 rings; The effects of the "Super-Sneakers" box*(*For Sonic and Tails, of course), ALSO lasts about 10 seconds; The effects of the Force-Field Bubble ONLY protect you until you get hit; The "Extra Lives" each grant the character you're using one extra life-a-box; the Warp-Ring is only there to either take you to the Zone where the seventh Chaos Emerald can be found, OR to the next Zone. The Zone that contains the Seventh Chaos Emerald, by the way, is nothing unlike the most challenging Special Zone known to gamers who have played the FIRST, ORIGINAL, SONIC the HEDGEHOG game! And each Zone presents, at least SOMETHING of a challenge to pretty much ANY-one and EVERY-one who has ever played a Sonic the Hedgehog game. As far as how challenging that this game, which I, myself, have personally dubbed: "SONIC & KNUCKLES: NIGHTMARISH CHAOS", I am hoping that the game would be about as challenging as the first, original game that featured the ever-dreaded-by-all-evil-robotic-forces "BLUE BLUR", Sonic the Hedgehog. In other words, yes! I am not really expecting for anyone to call this game the best Sonic game ever devised, but I am hoping that at least somebody, preferably somebody who's really into video games*(*I'd really like it if the closest friend I have who's into video games at least calls the idea "interesting" like a friend of mine from my school-years always said every story that I wrote and gave to him to look at, always said that they were!) The following is a movie/comic book-style script of a story based on the Sonic game idea: SONIC & KNUCKLES: NIGHTMARISH CHAOS. And if this game idea o' mine does catch on, Sonic will finally be able to work alongside not just the three friends that you usually see with him in a game (Tails, Amy, and Knuckles), but the entire cast, of both Sonic, and Knuckles' friends, all right there for the player to choose from, and finally see what each one of them can do in a game! When the final stage is reached, however, you only have four characters to choose from: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Mina, because these are the only characters known to have an ultimate form, which is required to complete the game successfully! The reason for such a limited selection at the end is because these four are the only ones known to have taken on in Ultimate Form*(*Even though one of them, Mina, only had an Ultimate Form in the HELP & HOPE saga), and you pretty much need an Ultimate Form to beat the likes of BOTH Eggman AND Robotnik in ONE game, wouldn'tcha say!?

SONIC & KNUCKLES: NIGHTMARISH CHAOS

INTRODUCTION—

With DR EGGMAN well on his way to termination, the DESTRUCTIX on the run, DR FINITEVUS too scared out of his skull of the Good Guys to leave his place of hiding, MAMMOTH MOGUL retired from a life of thirst for conquest, the DARK EGG LEGION desperately looking for a way out of their alliance with Dr Eggman, and IXIS NAUGUS too scared of what the Good Guys could do to him if he tried to gain any more power than the Good Guys have let him gain, many assume that the FREEDOM FIGHTERS and the CHAOTIX may soon be out of a job; THEY WERE WRONG! Before the Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix, can declare absolute, and indefinite victory, the two teams of heroes must first make sure that their enemies never re-gain the power they need to strike back, and terminate both teams of heroes with unspeakable prejudice EVER AGAIN! Every year, starting on the 64th day of the Mobian year, and ending on the 95th, these heroic creatures have an extra ace in the hole: a dreaded, but noble group of warriors known as: The NIGHTMARE PIRATES! Their leader, an egoless and wild-hearted "'coon" of a software pirate known as ONE-EYED BLACK, and his computerized sidekick, CARRIE, have chosen to stay with the Freedom Fighters at least until all of their foes are gone and dust; as for the rest, while THEY can't stay the same as their leader can, every year, starting on the 64th of the year, and ending on the 95th, the rest of these cunning and menacing warriors get together to celebrate the birthdays of not just their leader, One-Eyed Black, but also those of his second-in-command, MAD MARC, and that of his front-line commando, AGENT L., as well! It has now been about 3 years since One-Eyed Black reappeared on Mobius and welcomed Dr Eggman to his "Nightmare"* (*No pun intended!)! Eggman has sent about half of the small army he has left, after the Chaos Emeralds, and even had the nerve to send a group after the Master Emerald, to terminate its bond that gives One-Eyed Black's Chaos Carriers their power. Bottom line: The Freedom Fighters, the Chaotix, and the Nightmare Pirates must now, once again, put their heads together, and once again, become the unstoppable force that scared so many of the Evil Ones on this planet, in this time, and in this plane of existence to pieces! It is later revealed, that the Nightmare Pirates have already collected SIX of these powerful gems, meaning: that once the last Chaos Emerald is in the Nightmare Pirates', the Chaotix's, and/or the Freedom Fighters' hot little hands, the Bad Guys aren't going to stand the lost soul of a chance! The problem is: under One-Eyed Black's leadership, the Nightmare Pirates have little desire, use, or need for power! One-Eyed Black feels that power THIS great, does NOT belong to him, but to the "real" heroes of Mobius, instead. A plan is devised, but is kept under wraps; even though the Nightmare/Acorn Agreement has been torn up, and blasted to powdered ash, the Nightmare Pirates are still iffy about telling their friends and allies, the Freedom Fighters, about a mission that they know that the overall leader of the Freedom Fighters, Princess Sally, would deem as too risky to even attempt. But finally, the Freedom Fighters are able to persuade these notorious allies of theirs to tell them what's going on; Sonic is the first to know, and is really excited about it! The last one to hear is Antoine, and HE is unbearably speechless! The Chaotix are also filled in! Knuckles is very excited for the chance of all seven of the Chaos Emeralds landing in safe, responsible, and noble-hearted hands; and NONE of his fellow Chaotix feel ANY different! Pretty-well everybody of good-heart who hears that the Nightmare Pirates were doing THIS for their thank-you-for-the-great-birthday-celebration-present, are either shocked as if by a level 5 lightning storm, struck chalked-full of hope that, at least for now, the seven major Chaos Emeralds were going to land in the hands of the Good Side, while everyone evil who hears about this, turns so white, they would make a blank piece of drawing paper look black as night!) At Sally's strong, and immobile recommendation, the Royal Council is told of this development; They are not really happy campers about being in the dark all through a mission to collect the Chaos Emeralds. Finally, at Sally's strong, and immobile recommendation, the Royal Council is told of this development; They are not really happy campers about being in the dark all through a mission to collect the Chaos Emeralds.)

CHAPTER #1: CHAOTIC KICK-OFF

(As they hear about everything One-Eyed Black and his men were up to this past-week-and-a-half, the Royal Council of New Mobotropolis has a good-many questions of their own for their ragged friend in black, about what type of plan might be formulating in the old rogue's, tortured, ragged, and somewhat twisted mind! The Royal Council's curiosity eventually escalates to the point where One-Eyed Black's birthday present turns out to be a subpoena to appear before the Royal Council, who, close to no doubt, will put the squeeze on the cantankerous software pirate, until they get the answers that they're seeking from him. As soon as his big birthday bash is over, and after he's able to catch at least some zees, One-Eyed Black heads right for the Courthouse soon after breakfast. They have been working together for a little bit over three years now, but still, not many within New Mobotropolis are 100% used to this fierce-and-dangerous-if-crossed software pirate walking freely amongst them; One-Eyed Black can see very well*(*Through his right eye, of course) that the Royal Council is desperate for answers!)

Dylan Look, 'Black! We all know thatcher way is to tell the warriors first, and the Councilmen last! But still: we would kinda like it if it was the other way around! But, just the same, by going to the Freedom Fighters first, and us last, you and the Freedom Fighters managed to pull off some pretty crazy stunts! And yer plans've, at least almost always proven to be the best way ta' go! I guess what I'm getting at, 'Black, is: what exactly have you and/or your friends been up to lately!?

One-Eyed Black I guess I can't keep this between myself and the Freedom Fighters any longer! When my friends and I got together for our usual one-month-long yearly reunion, starting only 11 days ago, just for a little bit o' fun, we decided to go after the Chaos Emeralds! And believe me, Councilmen, just getting our mitts on the first three of 'em, was nowhere near easy-street!

Tails' Mother you could've, and should've, at least asked for help from my son, Miles*(*aka Tails), and his friends, One-Eyed Black! I feel that that would've made obtaining the Chaos Emeralds much easier!

One-Eyed Black truth be-told: I was kinda hoping to save this as a surprise for both the Freedom Fighters, and the Chaotix! With the Ancient Walkers gone, and aside from Athair, the Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix, are the two groups of heroic warriors most-deserving of such power! My friends and I had started collecting the Chaos Emeralds, as of when my friends showed up here for their month-long-yearly visit to this dimension for this year!

Hamlin so, just how many o' those Emeralds do you n' yer buddies got so-far, Old Man!?

One-Eyed Black when Maja*(*aka Agent W.) returns, which should be any time now, and if her mission is successful, we will have obtained six Chaos Emeralds!

Penelope-so—you guys nearly have them all!?

One-Eyed Black (Nodding his head) Thing is: the seventh, and final, Emerald is gonna be really hard ta' get to! I say that, mainly 'cause Eggman got to it first, and now has it locked away in the highest-security vault that 'e has left! Bottom line: to get all seven of the Chaos Emeralds, it's gonna take a great deal of teamwork! That being the case, I request the assistance of both the Freedom Fighters, and the Chaotix!

Isabella (Mina's Mom)I know you will to get to it, One-Eyed Black! You've always pulled through in that department before! And I seriously doubt you're going to start now, are you!?

One-Eyed Black-chuckle-yer family knows me too well, Isabella!

Ixis Naugus-gasp-very well!-gasp-All those in favor-gasp-of the Freedom Fighters-gasp-aiding the Nightmare Pirates-gasp-in claiming the seventh Chaos Emerald-gasp-SPEAK UP NOW!

(The vote is a very unanimous "Yea!"! Everyone knows that this is a huge risk, but then again, both the Freedom Fighters, and the Chaotix, have built their lives around "huge risks"! After hearing that One-Eyed Black's proposed operation got the "OK" from the Council, Sally, Sonic, and Col. Stripe, brief the others on the situation, and on how the mission is to be carried out! After-which, Sally contacts the Chaotix, and tells THEM of the situation, as well!)

Knuckles (Still very much in shock) THE PIRATES NOW HAVE ALMOST ALL OF THE CHAOS EMERALDS!?

Sally (Nodding her head) It would appear that way, Knuckles! But, as usual, One-Eyed Black deems himself unworthy of such power! Since he meant to give the Emeralds to us, anyway, he's decided to make getting the seventh and final Chaos Emerald a group-effort!

Julie-SuTrust me, Princess! I always knew that the pirate was selfless! BUT NOT WANTING THE POWER OF THE CHAOS EMERALDS!?

Sally groan-That's always been One-Eyed Black's biggest problem, Julie-Su! He never gives himself any credit whatsoever, for being the hero, that we all know that he is!

Vector so, do the Emeralds go ta' whoever helps the ol' 'coon the most, or what's the deal, Princess!?

Sally according to Mad Marc, One-Eyed Black wants the Chaos Emeralds to be shared between the Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix! The way he wants it done: Is that until they are needed, three Emeralds are to go to you Chaotix, three to us Freedom Fighters, and the Nightmare Pirates will hold onto the Emerald that's left for safe keeping! Whichever team needs the Emeralds' power the most, and there is no other solution in sight, that's who will use the Emeralds to achieve whatever power is desired!

Julie-Su HMMM, sounds like a fair-'nuff deal!

Knuckles so, if this little expedition o' the pirates' is successful, we get three Emeralds, you guys get three Emeralds, and the pirates keep the other one!?

Sally (Nodding her head yet-again) if you're going to call the way that One-Eyed Black plans to split the Emeralds "Unjust", remember, Knuckles: The Nightmare Pirates only get one, the rest is to be split evenly between us!

Espio it seems that, as usual, the only creature of good-heart that One-Eyed Black is being unfair towards, is himself!

Knuckles (Thinking) Yup! That definitely sounds like the pirate I know, alright!

(The Chaotix huddle up and take their vote)

Vector A guy as creepy-lookin' as the Pahrate just givin' us the Chaos Emeralds!? Heh-Never woulda' guessed the ol' 'Coon cared so much!

Julie-Su well, I really don't think it's that bad a trade off, you guys! I mean: three Chaos Emeralds free of charge!? Not every day someone as creepy-looking as the Pirate offers THAT kinda stuff to ANYBODY on a silver platter!

Espio While that is true, I suggest we find out what our pirate friend's plan is first, Before we cast our final votes!

Julie-Su can you put the pirate on the line, Princess? The guys'd like to talk to him directly about this before we decide officially!

Sally I had a feeling, that since this is his plan, that you'd want to speak with him! He's right here! All you, now, One-Eyed Black!

(Sally switches the frequency of her communicator over to One-Eyed Black's)

One-Eyed Black One-Eyed Black here! What's on yer mind, 'Su?

CHAPTER #2: PREPARATIONS

Julie-Su Pirate, the Chaotix have just been told whatcher up to! And I gotta admit: whatcher planning to do for both the Freedom Fighters, and for us, is downright noble, and generous of you! Looks like Knuckles was in the right to assume, that Sonic became friends with you for a reason! Anyway, just calling to make sure there was no real-big catch!

One-Eyed Black I understand, 'Su! There are, unfortunately, still a lot o' creatures in this world who still aren't used to me!

Julie-Su If you really wanted to impress somebody, Pirate, I'd say you did an excellent job o' that, when you got the Princess back for the Freedom Fighters! And saving us, instead o' finishing the job on Eggman*(*See the fan-fiction story "The Return of Princess Sally" for the full scoop!)!? Nobody on this entire planet, could've expected any nobler a deed from you!

One-Eyed Black (Blushing slightly at Julie-Su's kind words) the answer you seek is a lot better than the one yer counterpart wants, 'Su! The only "catches" are simply these: You must ravage the same dangers that me n' the guys had to go through to get to the first Emerald, to get the seventh; In other words: 'Fraid not, you guys! I can't simply offer something like a Chaos Emerald on a silver platter! That kinda power, is something that must be earned! Also, if any of the Emeralds do get stolen, the parties involved in the deal under-which the Emeralds were distributed, are never to fight each other trying to gain another party's share of the power, that only something like the Chaos Emeralds are capable of! Keep in mind, Freedom Fighters and Chaotix: any heat that may cook up between you, should either party's share of the Emeralds disappear or gets stolen, would be exactly what yer enemies'd want! You are also to keep the emeralds as far out of the reach of evil hands as you can possibly manage!

Julie-SuMMM…sounds like a done deal ta' me, Pirate!

Sonic So, make sure we don't lose track of 'em? Keep 'em as far outta evil forces' reach as possible? Have some fun in the unpredictable world o' zones? Heh-Sounds like fun ta' me, 'Black!

(Both the Freedom Fighters, and the Chaotix, go through some "Bring-back-up-to-speed" battle training. Within a week, everyone on both teams is considered ready to take on anything that Eggman and whoever, and whatever turns out to be at the fat sicko's command! But then, something very strange, and downright terrifying happens: A mysterious marauder kidnaps Sally, Julie-Su, Bunnie, Vector, Antoine, Charmy, Mina, Espio, Rotor, Cream, Archimedes, and Amy Rose! This same stranger also tries to kidnap Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails, but they hear the kidnapper enter their home, and evade its grasp!)

CHAPTER #3: DANA'S MESSAGE

(As the mystery 'bot tries to kidnap Tails, One-Eyed Black finally catches up with it, and threatens its destruction if it does not leave peacefully! Just before the mystery 'bot disappears into the night, she throws a dagger with a message wrapped around it; the message is deciphered and read by Carrie the next Sonic, nor Tails get any more sleep that night, and they havetheir would've-been-kidnapper to thank for this insomnia-attack. One-Eyed Black spends the rest of the night making sure that the mystery 'bot doesn't try to kidnap Sonic and Tails again. Meanwhile, Sonic and Tails find that all of their best friends are missing! And they have a pretty good idea who took them, why, and how! While Carrie IDs the Kidnapper, she spends her night deciphering the message the kidnapper left for One-Eyed Black, Sonic, and Tails. Finally, at 0830 hours, the deciphered message is read aloud to the desperate-for-news Sonic, Tails, and Royal Council)

Carrie "One-Eyed Black, I see that you've met, my latest creation! She is known as, the Deadly Android Ninja, Assassin! Or "DANA" for short! I believe you have gotten, but a small taste of her, as she kidnapped, your friends, the Freedom Fighters! And if, you send, even one of your men or even one of the Colonel's men after them, and I will do, far worse, than Roboticize them! If you want to see your friends, alive, meet me at, the Control Room, in, Robotropolis, one month from, tonight, at 2400 hours sharp; come alone, on foot, and all weapons, disarmed (this means, of course, that your Phantom Dagger, is not to leave, its sheath), have a nice, night while, it lasts! –Dr. Eggman"

One-Eyed Black (Thinking) Alone? I might be able to manage that, but Sally made me promise never to enter battle without back-up! That promise proved vital, just prior to when we got 'Stripe back*(*See the fan fiction story "The Return of the Original Freedom Fighters")! And, if I go on foot, I might not reach the rendezvous point in time! and unarmed!?

(Unbeknownst to One-Eyed Black, Sonic is wearing a scouter, and staring One-Eyed Black directly in the eye!)

Sonic heh-I think Eggman should consider a career as a comedian!

One-Eyed Black Sonic! I commend you fer yer courage, but one slip-up, and yer friends're goners! And believe me, Sonic: getting your friends Roboticized is not why I came back here to help you!

Tails Sonic's right, 'Black! Plus: I really don't think, that me n' Sonic escaping DANA's grasp was part o' Eggman's plan!

(Soon, Knuckles is heard on Sonic's communicator)

Knuckles. FREEDOM FIGHTERS! DO YOU READ ME!? SONIC! SALLY! ANTOINE! ANYBODY! COME IN!

Sonic go 'head, Knux!

Knuckles SOME ROBOTIC NINJA BUILT COURTESY O' EGGMAN WAS HERE LAST NIGHT, AND IT KIDNAPPED ARCHIMEDES, JULIE-SU, VECTOR, ESPIO, AND CHARMY! AND I JUST RECEIVED WORD THAT THAT SAME 'BOT HAS KIDNAPPED MIGHTY AND RAY, AS WELL! I ALSO GOT A MESSAGE FROM EGGMAN TO THE PIRATE…

Sonic Lemme guess: Control Center in one month, no teleporting, no weapons, no assist!

Knuckles -groan-PLEASE don't tell me that that thing kidnapped the Freedom Fighters, too!

Sonic Got some bad news for ya', Knux! It did!

Knuckles WHAT!? So, what're we gonna do!? Eggman's gonna Roboticize 'em all, or worse if we don't do something!

Tails calm down, you guys! I think I got a plan! It may require us all putting our heads together, but I'm pretty sure that the plan I got in mind'll go off without that much of a hitch!

One-Eyed Black (Looking at Tails through his right eye) you always were the smart one in Sally's absence, Tails! You got a plan? Let's hear it!

Tails I really don't think that it was part o' Egg-Creep's plan for "DANA" to fail in kidnapping me, Sonic, or Knuckles! He was prob'ly aiming to kidnap everybody but the Nightmare Pirates and the O.F.F., making them the only warriors who could do much to save everyone's bacon! But I'm pretty sure, that any Freedom Fighters and/or Chaotix that DANA may've missed, would be totally unexpected by Eggman's goons!

Knuckles HMMM…I think you've got somethin' here, Kid!

One-Eyed Black (Finally realizing the full scope of what Tails has in mind) I see yer plan, Tails! And I like it! And, if Eggman really is just a Robotnik from another Zone, he prob'ly thinks a lot like the original article, as well! And so, he prob'ly hid your friends in a vast number o' places, that not even you three normally venture into, even to save your friends' bacon from the zone in-question! And, there are quite a few zones, in-between here, and Robotropolis…

(One-Eyed Black now activates his own, personal holographic map of the world)

One-Eyed Black (pointing to various spots on the map, all of them listed as remote, unforgiving, forbidding, and crawling with Eggman's goons)…these are the spots where Eggman most likely hid yer friends! I can have Carrie teleport you from zone-to-zone, but I'm afraid that she cannot teleport you straight to yer friends' location; if I do, then, Eggman could very easily Roboticize everyone else!

Knuckles well, knowing that fat sicko, he'd prob'ly Roboticize 'em anyway unless we do something fast, and I'm talkin' faster than Sonic can cover ten feet movin' as fast as his legs can carry 'im!

(Tails' plan is to brave the ravages of the zones where Eggman most likely hid their friends, destroy anything-and everything-that Eggman may put in the way of rescuing them, and all the while gaining access to the seventh Chaos Emerald, which he and his friends were readying themselves to go after, anyway! One-Eyed Black's teleportation equipment is to provide instant passage from one zone to the next, but the fear that Eggman could very easily Roboticize the friends not-yet rescued once the fat sicko realizes what's going on, is too great for the evil eyed software pirate to teleport them straight to where their friends are being held. One-Eyed Black and the Nightmare Pirates can, however, disable all surveillance linking Eggman's eyes and ears in each zone that the threesome assault, leaving Eggman totally clueless as to how his nemeses plan to approach, and the obstacles that Eggman, and every other single baddie on the face of Mobius may have laid out for them, will thus be totally unprepared for them. Sonic and Tails are to team up and go after the Freedom Fighters, while Knuckles sets out to liberate the Chaotix. The threesome are then, to team back up, and venture into the Special Zone together, and make collecting the seventh Chaos Emerald a joint-effort, just like it was originally planned to be! Anyone they rescued along the way, is to help them brave the ravages of these treacherous zones from the time each of them are rescued, to the very moment, that Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles team up and enter the Special Zone after the seventh Chaos Emerald!)

CHAPTER #4: RESCUE MISSION: FIRST ROUND
SONIC & TAILS: FOREST HILL

(Sonic and Tails form the usual dynamic duo that they almost always were since the two first met and gained each other's friendship. They had both braved, and conquered this zone numerous times, both individually, and as a team! It is also one of two zones where their least-favorite monkey, the Badnik known as Coconuts, likes to hang out, and in this zone, there have been known to be at least a dozen of him! Sonic and Tails both know they have to collect three-hundred rings to advance to the next zone, this means 100 rings a Zone-Section, no more, no less! Collecting more would put them right where they started, and having too few, has similar consequences. The Badniks known as Caterkiller* (*about 9 in this Zone), Crabmeat*(*about 12 in this Zone) and Buzz-Bomber*(*at least 12 in this Zone), have also been known to appear here! Both Tails, and Sonic, run into the "Invincibility" box at least once-each, and are each attacked by a total of 18 Hover Units, and 6-9 Stealth-Bots, all of which are scrap-metal in seconds each! And the 'bot they get to take down as they near the end of the Zone, is the Giant-Burrow-Bot*(*Shown in STH #3)! After eight direct hits, the Giant Burrow-Bot is overcome, confused by having to take on two beings coming at it in opposite directions, combat for which it was not designed for, and is almost instantly overwhelmed! Why they were attacked by one of the original Robotnik's more-inferior creations, was far-beyond both Sonic and Tails! And their first victory prize: the liberation of Dulcy, and Antoine!)

Sonic great ta' 'ave ya' back, Dulce! And Ant, for everything its worth, I'm glad to see that you're safe, too!

KNUCKLES: CARNIVAL ZONE

Meanwhile, on Angel Island…

(Knuckles finds his home, Angel Island, crawling with the Dark Egg Legion, to Knuckles, it's clear from the start, that wherever Eggman hid the Chaotix, he wanted to make certain that no one would be able to rescue them. Knuckles has just as interesting, and equally nowhere-near-boring a time as he knows Sonic and Tails must be having! The road towards his goal to free them, is loaded with danger, but Knuckles thrives on danger! And Knuckles refuses to rest until all of his friends, most of all, his one-and-only, Julie-Su, is back with him where he realized only recently they all belong! The Carnival Zone proves treacherous and loaded with its fair-share of unpleasant surprises, and, no real big surprise to Knuckles, when Renfield T. Rodent realized that Eggman was making business bad for him, the fraidy little rat made like a banana and split! Eggman giving Happyland a bad name was bad enough for Renfield, who also realized, that his amusement park being the center of a war-zone, would ruin him forever! As Knuckles passes through Happyland, he encounters at least 12 D.E.L.-Built drones, a good 9 Buzz-Bombers, 12 Clucks, 4 Stealth-Bots, and at least 6 Hover-Units! And the menace he gets to take down at the end of all of it? The Stealth-Bot! This menace lof the skies proves a tough nut to crack, but Knuckles eventually succeeds in taking it down! And Knuckles' prize for all this? The liberation of two of the Chaotix, more specifically, Vector and Espio!)

Vector 'Bout time someone saved my bacon! All these evil clowns were startin' ta' get really annoyin'!

Espio And they were also giving Vector the willies after the past hour-and-a-half!

Knuckles (Thinking)well, that's two down, and five ta' go!

Meanwhile, deep within the bowels of Robotropolis…

Dr Eggman heh, heh, heh, heh, heh!Well, I'm very certain that that conceitless cutthroat has tried to mount a rescue mission by now! And, as soon as that wild-eyed pirate shows his mutilated face, I'll Roboticize all of the hostages while he watches, only giving him ten seconds to say "Goodbye" to them! And the same thing will happen, if the Colonel interferes! In fact! I plan to do that, anyway! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

(As Eggman sits down in front of the monitors that connect his eyes and ears to the various zones in which he hid his bargaining chips, he soon discovers that all communications between him and all Zones are down! He very accurately assumes, that One-Eyed Black and Tig Stripe are trying to rescue Sonic and Knuckles' friends, but because all communications are down and out, he is not able to accurately anticipate, just how the Nightmare Pirates, or the O.F.F. for that matter, are going about rescuing the Freedom Fighters or the Chaotix! He now sees that all communications with all Zones are out! Eggman now realizes that he's flying blind, and thus cannot mount a very-well coordinated counter-offensive, or even inform the 'bots in the area, that the hostages are to be Roboticized the moment they see any of the Nightmare Pirates OR any of the O.F.F.! Another thing that Eggman did not take into consideration, was whether or not DANA missed any Freedom Fighters, or Chaotix! And because communications are down and out, he does not know who was taken hostage, or which hostage was taken to where!)

Dr. Eggman GRRRR….Why those blasted pirates!

(Snively and Lien-Da are in the Control Room with Eggman, and they're just as disappointed as their heavyweight master is about not getting to see the action, and the order they both know is soon in coming, is soon issued!)

Dr Eggman get all Surveillance Orbs out there, IMMEDIATELY! I MUST FIND OUT WHAT'S GOING ON IN THOSE ZONES!

(The order comes somewhat late; Knuckles has just succeeded in bailing Vector out of the Carnival Zone, and Sonic and Tails are just now exiting the Forest Hill Zone with Dulcy and Antoine! And by the time Eggman realizes all this, the Nightmare Pirates have officially disabled all communication frequencies between Robotropolis and the world around it! Now, Eggman can't even confer with his commanders about the progress they're making in taking over the entire planet! And the thing Eggman hates most about it: thanks to a Crash-Bug card*(*From One-Eyed Black's infamous bewitched collection of Duel Monsters cards), the Tech-Bots fear that it will take at least a week to fully de-virus all communications systems! And best of all for the Freedom Fighters, Agent W. is watching Eggman in his fits of frustration, wrath, and fear! She is also taping the evil doctor's fits of anger, fear, and frustration, so that when the Freedom Fighters are all free, they can watch the re-runs whenever they feel like it! In addition, neither Sonic, nor Knuckles, nor Tails will have to brave the ravages that stand in-between them and their captured comrades alone!)

Dulcy I'm asking ya' nicely, Sonic, please, let me n' Tony help ya' get the others back! I wanna roast the fat boy who kidnapped us!

Antoine oui, oui, und I know zat our ozier friends could use all ze help zat zey can get een fightink our vay to ze sevonth Kay-oss Emairald!

Meanwhile, just after Knuckles rescues Vector and Espio…

Vector C'mon, ol' Bud! Lemme help! Even if it is the Dark Babe that's bein' rescued here, nobody deserves what that Eggman bozo does with hostages!

Sonic and Knuckles both speaking at once Gotta admit: if we're gonna free the others, we're prob'ly gonna need all the help that we can get!

CHAPTER #5: RESCUE MISSION: SECOND ROUND—
TAILS: LABYRINTH

(Sonic,not being a very big fan of water, has dreaded this zone from the moment it occurred to him, that this was one of the zones that Eggman hid his friends in, and it's clear from the start: Eggman knew it! But Sonic also has a trump card: Tails' submarine, the Sea Fox! Sonic may not be at home in the water, but Tails is! The-at-least part-way re-assembled-team, therefore, elects that Tails should be the one to take on this part of the rescue operation. The Sea Fox is fitted with a teleportation gun, so that when he reaches his comrades, Tails can easily transport them out of danger! The really nasty 'bot that Tails remembers, hates, and knows he must watch out for, is Octobot; unfortunately, by this time, this robotic horror of the deep, has an army of the kind, that not even the Forty Fathoms Freedom Fighters could prevent him from obtaining, in the form of 20 Shark-Bots, and thirty brand, spanking-new Roboticizer victims. Fortunately, One-Eyed Black had given his teleportation gun two places to send their targets to: One setting is for transporting their captured comrades to safety, while the other setting, is for transporting any victims of the Roboticizer to the grotto beneath the wreckage of Knothole, where they are to be fitted with One-Eyed Black's Free-Will Restoration Circuit-Cards, and are then to be moved to a specially-made underwater De-Roboticizer. All thirty Robians are sent to the grotto, and all of them have their free-will back in a matter of days; One-Eyed Black estimates that, if all goes well, all of these Robians of the deep should be back to normal in little-less-than-a-month! And just as sweet a prize: Two more Freedom Fighters, Bunnie, and Rotor, re-join the fight! Both of which are most eager to get back in the game!)

Bunnie Ah don't cay-er how many 'bots Egg-Creep puts in ouah way, they're all gonna be scrap bah the tahm we're-all through with 'em!

Rotor and, 'Black! After all the training you put us all through, I ain't 'fraid o' no 'bots, either!

Sonic (Giving off his famous wink and thumbs up)heh-can't say I blame either one o' ya'!

KNUCKLES: MARBLE ZONE

(Why One-Eyed Black teleported him almost half-way across Angel Island is beyond Knuckles, but regardless, he is here to rescue his friends, not complain about how much distance he travels to do so. He also realizes that two of the Chaotix' homes are in the immediate area, and Knuckles now wonders about the identities of the next hostages to be rescued; if it does turn out to be whom Knuckles suspects, then, maybe the distance covered will be worth it, after-all! Along his way to find out, Knuckles encounters 12 D.E.L. drones, 6 Swat-Bots, 6 Buzz-Bombers, and 6 Grounders, all out to make certain that whoever they're guarding, never makes it out of the Zone a creature of flesh-and-blood! Knuckles is able to scrap them all in just a few seconds each, and as the 25th 'bot falls, Knuckles notices that the 'bot holds a key-card, and is full of hope that this key-card will gain him access to where another one-or better yet, two-of his friends are being held hostage; He tries to smash the answer he's searching for from the 'bot he got the key-card from, but before the 'bot can talk, it self-destructs! It is now clear to Knuckles: Eggman's goons would sooner be scrapped than squeal on where their master is keeping Sonic and Knuckles' captured friends! After pounding the rest of the "New" robotic population of his "Usual" stomping grounds, including the fearsome and near-indestructible Rumble-Bot, into scrap-metal, Knuckles finally locates the room where-not one-but two-of the Chaotix are being held captive, and they do turn out to be exactly the two Chaotix that Knuckles was expecting to find here: Ray the Flying Squirrel, and Mighty the Armadillo!)

With the 'bots guarding them mashed into strained baby food…

Knuckles this was almost too easy! I would've expected more trouble from that fat creep's goons!

Mighty hey! At least we made it outta here at all, Knuckles! Now, let's blow this popsicle stand and find out where Eggman's keepin' the others!

Ray Y-Y-Yeah! L-L-Let's get outta here before more o' t-t-those b-b-b-bots show up!

Knuckles I couldn't agree with either o' ya' more! Now, yes! Let's check outta this roach-motel!

Meanwhile, in the main lab in Robotropolis…

(Eggman and several of his top-technicians are hard at work on preparing all available Roboticizers to operate at maximum power; Eggman does not yet know how to over-power the effects of the nano-circuit upgrades to the Chaotix and Freedom Fighters' Neuro-Overrider Tattoos, but Eggman is desperately hoping that the news of the nano-circuit upgrades was just a very clever ruse to scare him away from Roboticizing any of the Freedom Fighters, or any of the Chaotix. All the same, he has all of his available Roboticizers' Brain-Burn-Through technology switched to maximum power, with the hopes that such a massive power-surge would cause a charge overload, that could potentially short out the nano-technology used to create the tattoos, making them useless. Carrie has warned the Freedom Fighters about this, and said that there was a 39% chance that Eggman could succeed in pulling this off, and as a result, has advised all Freedom Fighters and Chaotix not to let the Neuro-Overrider Tattoos make them too cocky about being in more danger, than they can usually expect to handle!)

Dr Eggman heh, heh, heh, heh, heh! I've got you this time, One-Eyed Black! I know you'll be mounting a rescue mission to save your pitiful friends, and I also know that you have nobody but those annoying has-beens, the Original Freedom Fighters, plus your own pathetic commandos, the Nightmare Pirates, to help you! And I also know that your Spirit Vision has probably shown you that I was dead-serious about what I said I will do to your good friends, the Freedom Fighters, AND the Chaotix! And if you really do try anything funny, my blimpless friend, I'll Roboticize the whole lot of 'em! In fact, I'm going to do it, anyway! Once all of my communications get back on line, I'm going to instruct my commanders to Roboticize them all! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!

(Little does Eggman realize, that one of the Nightmare Pirates is watching, and reporting on Eggman's activity! And that "one pirate" is none other, than the sneakiest, stealthiest, and most hated Nightmare Pirate in all of Robotropolis: Agent W.!)

Agent W. (Speaking mostly to herself, and softly, so that the monsters she's spying on don't catch onto her) Make it so our friends are gone for good!? Just like the Robotnik before you did Col. Stripe n' the guys*(*See STH #143)!? I don't think so! Not this time, Egg-Face!

(Through heavily coded communication, Agent W. fills One-Eyed Black in on what's going on, taking extra care not to let anyone on Eggman's side hear her)
When Agent W.'s message is fully decoded back at Freedom HQ…

One-Eyed Black (Speaking through a voice scrambler) Great work, Maja! And be sure to report in if ya' hear anything from Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, any two o' the above, or, if ya' can, all of the above!

Agent W. (also talking through a scrambler) Consider it a done deal, 'Black! And don't worry! I'll letcha know if I hear from even one of 'em on the latest!

CHAPTER #6: CONFRONTATION

Narrator (One-Eyed Black) Finally, at the very strong advice and demand of the O.F.F., whom Eggman didn't even bother to touch, but were warned NOT to interfere, otherwise running the risk of putting their future at far-greater risk than any one of them felt comfortable to, I finally told the Council what's going on, at last! And not a single one of them are very happy campers about not hearing a single syllable of what's going on around them!

Mina's Mom so, you just let Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles go to those treacherous places, ALONE!?

Hamlin YOU KNOW THAT'S SUICIDE, OLD MAN!

One-Eyed Black not if their mission continues to progress; for with each Freedom Fighter, and/or Chaotic rescued, both teams grow stronger, and stronger, and thus, will become greater, and greater menaces to whatever plan that may be cooking in Eggman's kitchen! If this rescue mission is successfully completed, which I have close-to-no doubt that it will, then, Eggman's not gonna like the taste of his own cookin' fer a full decade, at least!

Penelope and if it is not!?

Carrie probability: negative-68%! At any rate, the heroic trio are already well-on the path towards, succeeding! Four Freedom Fighters, and four Chaotix, have already been rescued, and have volunteered to assist, in rescuing, the rest!

Dylan so, who were they able to rescue so-far, Carrie!?

Carrie the Freedom Fighters so-far rescued, consist of Antoine, Dulcy, Rotor, and Bunnie! The rescued Chaotix, consist of Vector, Ray, Mighty, and Espio! All seven have agreed to assist Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, in rescuing, the others!

Col. Stripe Carrie! Are you positive that there is nothing else we can do!?

Carrie At the risk of Eggman finding out about this rescue mission, which is far-too likely to result in Eggman Roboticizing, and/or banishing those who've not yet been rescued, like the original Robotnik had done to you and your men, Colonel*(*See STH #143), I am afraid, not! I can, however, offer some good news!

Spot Long well, let's hear it, Carrie!

Carrie One-Eyed Black has equipped Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, with their Chaos Carriers! And just in case they might need the extra assist, and if those particular beings are successfully rescued, One-Eyed Black had also packed Sally's laser-swords, Bunnie's Strength Enhancement Gauntlets and Seismo Boots, as well as Mina's Chaos Carrier, and, everyone's Double-Trouble X-8 weapons! Also: if anyone is worried, about these strength-boosters, falling into evil hands, One-Eyed Black has activated, and provided Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, each, with this Duel Monsters card!

(The holographic image of another one of One-Eyed Black's ever-dreaded Duel Monsters cards, appears before the begging-for-news Council, and in front of anyone else concerned for these heroes' safety. Elias now reads the card aloud)

Dylan "Sentry Monitor; Spell/Trap Card; nobody touches the tools belonging to another, without suffering a very serious, life-threatening shock"

One-Eyed Black I managed to thwart several attempts by several beings trying to steal my deck, and/or my other weapons!

Hamlin and you didn't report these break-ins because…?

One-Eyed Black I felt that the nasty shock that they got outta the deal, was punishment enough!

Mina's Mom-chuckle-You always were quite the character, One-Eyed Black!

(One-Eyed Black blushes slightly, closes his eyes, and smiles)

Penelope so, where are Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, now!?

One-Eyed Black Sonic and Tails have, just-seconds-past, gone on Dulcy, bound for the Casino Night Zone! And Knuckles has just now entered the Mushroom Zone! The Solitary Confinement Facilities at Casino Night, is where Sonic and Tails will find the next two Freedom Fighters; The cave in which Sonic and Tails were first-confronted by Knuckles*(*See Sonic #13, or Super-Special "Sonic Firsts" for full details), located near-the-center of the Mushroom Zone, is where Knuckles will find at least one Chaotic! I really doubt it'll take any of the above, more than about an hour, to fight their way through the booby-traps that Eggman laid out for any and all rescuers, and rescue their friends!

Ixis Naugus-gasp-very well, Pirate-gasp-we will let you live, for now!-gasp-but mark my words:-gasp-if this rescue mission goes the slightest bit bust-gasp-….

One-Eyed Black y'ave my word, Council! Given how driven Sonic and Tails are in saving anyone's bacon from the likes o' Eggman, and given that Knuckles has a whole skeleton to pick with Eggman fer even laying a greasy finger, on ANYONE he cares about, I really don't think, that failure is an option, for Sonic, Tails, or Knuckles!

Penelope well, here's hoping thatcher right as usual, One-Eyed Black!

Meanwhile, in the Brotherhood's place of hiding…

Thunderhawk (Watching as Knuckles enters the Mushroom Zone) I really wish that there was something we could do!

Specter I understand your frustration, my descendant! Unfortunately, all we can do, that will both help Knuckles in his mission to liberate the Chaotix, and not cause harm to those around us, is to make sure that Eggman, does not catch onto One-Eyed Black's plan!

Sojourner well, we've got to do something! We all saw the look of disappointment on Knuckles' face, the last time he met up with us*(*See Help & Hope Vol. 2: S&K at the UGMC!) And-sigh-I'll admit it! One-Eyed Black was right! Except for Locke, who is unfortunately, no longer with us, we really are just as guilty, of abandoning our responsibilities, as we have always accused Athair of being!

(Just then, the entity of Athair now appears before the Brotherhood)

Athair I concur with your frustration, Ancestors! When I realized what torment One-Eyed Black went through to make amends with ME, I, too, wished there was some way that I could help him! But much as you wouldn't me, I did not have the heart to even look at him after what happened to my Crystal-La! Until I met One-Eyed Black, I never knew anyone, who could put himself, through the kind of torment, that the whole of his men, had so openly told me that their leader had gone through!

Sojourner If you have a plan, Grandson? Speak up! We will listen to it with wide-open ears!

CHAPTER #7: RESCUE MISSION: THIRD ROUND
SONIC, ROTOR, BUNNIE & TAILS: CASINO NIGHT

(This Zone means that whoever goes in there could end up with 10 x less, or 10 x more, in the form of rings, and other forms of protection, by the time the other side of the Zone is reached. Sonic and Tails both know this zone like the back of their hands, and Mina's feeling pretty lucky, as well! Rotor and Antoine have rarely been here, and both feel like a couple of pin-balls that bounced around so much, it makes their heads spin; Bunnie, with her strength-enhancers and other weapons made ready, feels about ready, to blast, and tear, anything and everything apart, that may threaten the existence of her friends! The final Game-Play is: Sonic and Tails are to go through this hellish pin-ball machine of a maze, and while they distract Eggman's goons, Rotor and Bunnie are to sneak into the Casino's main computer room, and disable the casino's primary defenses, thus giving Sonic and Tails an easier time liberating their friends that are being held hostage, in that nightmarish pin-ball machine-excuse for a Zone! And the 'bot that they have to get past, Pachinko-Bot, is no-where near a pushover, but is scrapped in under a minute, and Sonic and Tails end up leaving the casino with all the rings that they, and their comrades need to proceed to the next Zone; And there is an even greater prize than just these rings that these heroic creatures leave with: Two more members of their team: Cream, and Amy Rose! Amy Rose runs right for Sonic; she realizes that Sonic is among those that One-Eyed Black sent to save her; As for Cream, there's a certain little fox, who is just glad to see that she's safe!)

Sonic easy, Amy! I'm happy ta' see ya', too, just—Easy with the choke-hold, will ya'!?

Cream It was very nice of One-Eyed Black to send you to save us, Tails! And if not for you, Sonic would've far worse off!

Tails (Reaching behind himself, smiling and blushing) well, I helped Sonic with the rescuing! But, 'Black was the one who told us where to find ya'!

Cream One-Eyed Black may have been the one who sent you here, Tails! But if anyone deserves thanks for rescuing us, it is you, Sonic, Rotor, and Bunnie, Tails! Thank you for saving us!

(Cream gives Tails a small hug; and as Cream does this, Tails looks at Sonic, and Sonic smiles, and gives Tails a thumbs up for a job as well-done as Cream seems to believe it is! Sonic, Tails, Antoine, Bunnie, Rotor, Cream, Amy Rose, and Dulcy all gather to look at the map that One-Eyed Black provided Sonic and Tails with; after a quick roll-call, they all now realize that near-the-whole-gang is here, now! But they are still two men short, or in this case, two women short! And Sonic refuses to call off the rescue mission, until he is triply certain, that these two are safe!)

KNUCKLES: MUSHROOM ZONE
(Knuckles remembers this Zone oh! So very well, indeed! It was the zone deep inside of which, he first confronted Sonic and Tails! It may have been on far-less friendly terms than most would've liked, but it did give Knuckles a good, but bitter taste of the war-ruptured world beneath the clouds in which his home, Angel Island soars. No surprise: because this Zone is among those in which one-or more-of his friends are being held hostage, the Mushroom Zone has an unusually high population of Eggman's, and the D.E.L.'s, mindless, robotic minions, not since the liberation of Knothole*(*See STH #50 for the action) has Knuckles seen this many 'bots like he's been seeing all through this rescue mission, that he's well-aware, must be successfully completed! The fate of his friends, and Sonic's friends, depends on it! As Knuckles draws closer, and closer to where his friend, or friends, are being held, Knuckles runs into a grand total of 9 D.E.L. Drones, 15 Burrow-Bots, 6 Com-Bots, 18 Swat-Bots, and at least 12 Buzz-Bombers! Finally, deep within the bowels of the Mushroom Zone, in the very cave in which Knuckles first-confronted Sonic and Tails, Knuckles faces off with the 'Bot sent here to deal with anyone who dared to mess with Eggman: Missile-Wrist! The 'bot is decimated in under a minute, and Knuckles adds one more Chaotic, to his "safe now" list: Charmy the Bee! But even with his little, high-flying friend now out of danger, at last, Knuckles is well-aware, that his team is still not complete, he is still two Chaotix short, in one of which Knuckles found somebody to spend the rest of his life with, and made his life complete, and in a way he never before even dreamed possible, and the other, his ultimate path-finder and wisest mentor; only after these two vital-to-his-life beings are liberated, will Knuckles quit pounding away at Eggman's goons!)

Charmy so, Archimedes and Julie-Su still haven't been rescued yet!?

Knuckles-groan-'fraid not, Charmy! And I think I know why!

Vector 'cause the CiB*(*'Coon in Black) finally wised up, and finally admitted that the Dark Babe wunn't the best girl fer you, after all!?

Knuckles BITE YOUR TONGUE, VECTOR!

Espio My belief is, that the main reason One-Eyed Black had you rescue us in this particular order, was because he was aiming for a "save the best for last" strategy! Also, knowing One-Eyed Black, he probably saved rescuing Archimedes and Julie-Su for last, because, according to the map that One-Eyed Black has provided, this mission now kicks into overdrive, so-to-speak!

Knuckles (Nodding his head) One-Eyed Black prob'ly knew that Julie-Su, Archimedes, Mina and the Princess, are all being held in the same area! So he musta' wanted us to save them for last, so that when we got to them, we'd have everyone else in our corner there to help us get all three of 'em outta danger at once! The Pirate was obviously suggesting that the final phase o' this rescue mission, was gonna require me, Sonic, Tails, and everyone else we've rescued so far, putting our heads together, and thus becoming a force that likes o' Eggman wouldn't touch with a 20' pole!

A mysterious voice Couldn't agree with ya' more, Knux!

(The Chaotix all look directly behind them, only to see Sonic, Tails, and every freedom fighter that they've so-far rescued!)

Sonic 'Cause I think that we, and you guys, could use all the help from our friends that we can get!

All Chaotix present SONIC!?

Sonic I just heard from Carrie that the spot where Mina, Sal, 'Su, and Archimedes are being held at, is crawlin' with 'bots, all of 'em likin' nothin' more than to rip us apart, pound us into chili-sauce, or worse yet: Roboticize us along with the friends that we came so far ta' save!

Knuckles well, where's the Pirate gonna teleport us to, now!?

Sonic if I read 'W.'s last report from the battle-zone right, we should be able ta' find Mina, Sal, 'Su, and Archimedes either being held close by the Roboticizer, or about to be escorted to the Roboticizer!

Antoine-gulp-yu me-an…?

One-Eyed Black I'm afraid that that's exactly the case, French-Fry! If we don't move in, and faster than Sonic can cover this whole city, at top-speed, I'm afraid that this is one mission that might have to make way for casualties!

Sonic Hedgehog's honor, 'Black! THAT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN!

Knuckles Alright, you guys! Let's see if we can't come up with a plan, here! And Pirate! You're the guy who obviously knows where ta' find 'em, so, we're welcomin' you into the huddle, too, this time!

CHAPTER #8:
SALLY, MINA, JULIE-SU, AND ARCHIMEDES: WORDS OF THE CAPTIVES

Meanwhile, deep within the Robot City Zone…

Archimedes (Trying to burn his way out of his cage)-sigh-it's no use, sheilas! I've been tryin' ta' burn our way outta here, but no-go! These bars're made o' titanium alloy! There's no way through 'em!

Sally-groan-Keep trying, Archimedes! We've got to get out of here!

Julie-Su don't worry about a thing, Princess! I'm pretty sure that Knuckles, at least, will find his way out! AND TRUST ME, BOLT-BRAINS! ONCE KNUCKLES BREAKS OUT, YOU'RE ALL GONNA BE SCRAP-METAL! COUNT ON IT!

Swat-Bot #48 If-you-are-counting-on-your-boy-friends-to-bail-you-out, do-not-even-bother! DANA-has-undoubtedly-captured-them-all-by-now! The-Nightmare-Pirates-and-those washed-up-has-beens, the-"Original-Freedom-Fighters"-are-the-only-ones-with-the-power-to-save-you-now! And-Lord-Eggman-has-all-of-them-either-hammered-to-the-wall-or-all-scared-out-of-any-and-all-rescue-attempts! And-if-you-are-counting-on-that-blasted-Agent-W., you-will-soon-see, that-she-will-fail-to-save-you, just-like-she-failed-to-save-the-Colonel-and-his-men!

(Agent W. nearly loses her cool, and almost blows her cover after hearing this. Little do the Swat-Bots know, however, DANA has NOT succeeded, in capturing all of the ones she was sent after! DANA has tried several times to contact Eggman, and inform him, that the three most vital members of the Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix still run free, and are now liberating their captured comrades zone-by-zone! But Agent W. has been jamming her signal, and it will still take DANA several more hours to reach base, and warn Eggman of the very bitter-tasting knuckle-sandwich headed his way! And, unbeknownst to any of Eggman's surviving stooges, both groups of heroes are now, almost fully re-united, and nearly ready to make Eggman pay for even thinking of messing with them! But One-Eyed Black reminds her to keep her cool)

One-Eyed Black just remember, Maja: not saving the O.F.F. was no more your fault than Sonic's Uncle Chuck's! Remember: Robotnik was picking us off one by one back there, and it seemed that each time we fought 'im, Robotnik took more, and more of our friends away! That was my whole reason for coming back here! I just couldn't take all the hardship suffered by Sonic, and/or his friends sitting down anymore!

Agent W.-sigh-I get the message, 'Black! But still! –Sob-Losin' 'Stripe and 'is men…

One-Eyed Black Trust me, Maja! I'm very certain that all Freedom Fighters all over this world know exactly how ya' feel!

CHAPTER #9: RESCUE MISSION: FINAL ROUND
SONIC & KNUCKLES: ZONE #4: ROBOT CITY

(This zone is occupied all the way by the ever-dreaded capitol of the Eggman Empire, Robotropolis. This Zone, known as Robot City, is therefore, very well-named! Sonic and Tails know every nook and cranny of this overly polluted, forbidding and treacherous excuse for a city. Knuckles, on the other hand, has rarely visited this nightmarish junkyard, but always viewed it the very same way, as his main-land allies, the Freedom Fighters, do. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles decide to stick together; at first, the fearless trio wanted to go in alone, but the friends that they so-far rescued, just don't feel right, in letting their heroic rescuers, go into this heavy metal town without at least some form of back-up. And One-Eyed Black readily understands, and sympathizes with the "All for one, and one for all" concept, and therefore agrees that the 10 of them, should team up, and make the final stage of the rescue operation a joint-effort. The plan that's agreed upon by everyone in the group, calls for all of the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix so-far rescued, to form one, big, fierce, and unstoppable assembly line of destruction, and battle their way through Robotropolis, smashing apart any-and ALL-'bots that are not Robians that may stand in their way. The rescue mission is, at this current time, only a week or two old, so the primary strategists that are left declare that Eggman won't have the slightest clue what hit him, and that the dynamic trio, plus all of the friends who they had rescued along the way, will insure that the bad doctor's evil creations won't even have the lost soul of a chance! And it is obvious from the start, that Eggman definitely does not want anyone dead; he wants to leave that "honor" for the Roboticizer. Figuring that the Nightmare Pirates will try to destroy all Roboticizers before they can be used, Eggman has his guards on full-alert, and Mina, Sally, Julie-Su and Archimedes are moved at once to the newly rebuilt Master Roboticizer. Eggman also has another joker to play: Just months ago, Eggman got a-hold of some of the Nightmare Pirates' resurrection technology, and has used it to bring the original Robotnik back, for Eggman knew that his main-zone counterpart held secrets of Robotropolis that could be useful in terminating all three groups of heroes with unspeakable prejudice! The original Robotnik also saw the potential of his successor, and decides that a team-up is definitely in order, but both evil doctors secretly plot to eliminate the other, each with intention of hording all the power of the Eggman Empire for himself. There is also another huge defect in this plan: While Eggman and Robotnik have anticipated an assault-and-rescue operation coordinated by the Nightmare Pirates, but they did not take into consideration, that some of the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix, had escaped capture by D.A.N.A., OR that these escapees had liberated at least most of their other friends! Eggman was so busy preparing against the Nightmare Pirates, that he completely neglected, any need to prepare against an assault by even a few of the Freedom Fighters, or of the Chaotix! The Freedom Fighters, and the Chaotix, for at least most of the assault, go virtually unnoticed! And to further distract Eggman's forces, the Nightmare Pirates decide to give Eggman what he wants, and mount the full-scale assault that the evil doctors had prepared their troops against. But unlike both evil scientists had prepared against*(* Both Robotnik, and Eggman assumed that they had scared the Nightmare Pirates out of saving their Mobian friends with the threatening message left by DANA, which, as it was discovered later, was not much more than an empty shell, and that neither mad scientist had prepared against the possibility that the Nightmare Pirates knew this)! But whether the evil duo prepared against the Freedom Fighters, the Chaotix, or the Nightmare Pirates, they had each put their fair-share of 'bots in-between the hostages, and the heroes who came to rescue them. In all, Robotnik had put a grand total of 99 Swat-Bots, 21 Com-Bots, 12 Hover-Units, 3 Stealth-Bots, and 6 Dynamics; Eggman even threw in 24 Shadow-Bots, and 36 of his more deadly fighting robots for bad measures. Not a single one of them stand a chance! The mad scientists' joint-detachment of deadly fighting machines, is mowed down in minutes! Meanwhile, while Eggman and Robotnik's goons are so busy fighting Sonic, Knuckles, and the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix that they've rescued thus-far, that they don't even notice that the Nightmare Pirates have been locating, and destroying, every single Roboticizer in the wretched scrap-pile of a city! It is only after the destruction of the primary Roboticizer in Sector 7G, the fourth-to-last-one left, does Eggman, or Robotnik, realize what's going on! This is also the point, where DANA's transmission finally gets through!)

DANA I-am-sorry, Master! But-the-mission-to-kidnap-the-Freedom-Fighters-and-the-Chaotix, was-not-quite-as-successful-as-planned! The-hedgehog, the-guardian, and-Tails-are-still-on-the-loose!

Dr Eggman WHAT!?

DANA and-from-what-I-have-heard, the-trio-have-been-liberating-all-hostages! It-would-not-surprise-me, if-the-Freedom-Fighters-and-the-Chaotix, were-not-fully-re-united-by-now!

Robotnik Dr Eggman! I do believe we should beef up our defenses! If the hedgehog's friends have been successfully liberated, then I suggest we prepare against them!

Dr Eggman No need for that! I avoided getting squashed before! And I feel that if we manage to Roboticize the hostages we have left, then, this will finally be a battle, that the pirate cannot win!

Robotnik (Thinking) and this version of me destroyed the Hedgehog that existed in the Zone he came from? This guy couldn't swat a dead fly! I think its high-time that I take charge!

(Little does either mad scientist know: it's already far-too late to stop either group of heroes now! By now, almost half the 'bots that insidious duo put in-between our heroes, and the friends they came to rescue, have been reduced to scrap-metal, INCLUDING the 'bot that has been charged with enforcing both Evil scientists' hold on the immediate area: D.A.N.A.! And Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and ALL of their friends that they have so-far rescued, figure they have an entire skeleton to pick with this 'bot for even ATTEMPTING to kidnap them! Also by now, the Nightmare Pirates have located all known, existing Roboticizers, and by now, have destroyed all but one of them! This last Roboticizer is where Sally, Mina, Archimedes, and Julie-Su are all being moved to for mechanization. Sonic and Tails are the first to make it to the vicinity of this last Roboticizer, and just in time! The Roboticizer feed-tube is about come down upon the still-captured quartette!)

Snively Computer! Initiate Robotization sequence!

(Just then, a Korlonium grenade comes out of nowhere, and crashes into this last Roboticizer's controls; the entire control panel blows up right in Snively's face, guaranteeing "Eggman's Little Helper" another 3 weeks in the hospital, at least!)

Sonic Roboticize Ash's girl, my girl, Knux's girl, and Knux's mentor!? I don't think so, Stooge-ly!

Sally, and Julie-Su SONIC!

Sonic that's my name! Don't wear it out, girls! Now, c'mon, you four! Let's get outta here!

(Mina, Sally, Julie-Su, and Archimedes arebusted out-little difficulty! Some 'bots do try to block their exit, but it's still nothing that Sonic can't handle, especially with Tails and Knuckles, and all of the friends that he and his friends that Knuckles and Tails helped him rescue there to help him, could handle!)

After everyone's back together, and back at Freedom HQ...

(One-Eyed Black sees how happy his out-of-dimension friends, the Freedom Fighters, and the Chaotix, are to be back together again; he really doesn't want to ruin the moment for anyone, and so, he decides to just sit back and enjoy their victory over the majority of Eggman's army; all of them are very well-aware, however, that this string of battles isn't NEAR-over yet! And Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and all of their just-now rescued friends know it, as well! Based on their own, combined experience in fighting the both incarnations of the Big Round Guy, they all know that the damage caused by Sonic, Knuckles and Tails has slowed the evil two-creep union down, but are still a LONG ways from stopping them! Soon after the newly-returned heroes arrive home safely, and without much more than a few small scratches on them, One-Eyed Black calls Sonic, Knuckles, and their friends to the war room at Freedom HQ to go over the final revision of the agreed on battle-plan)

CHAPTER #10: NEXT BATTLE PLAN

One-Eyed Black Now that everyone's back together, and out of danger, we can now proceed with our original plan/objective: the Seventh Chaos Emerald!

(Even so, the Freedom Fighters feel that at least a SMALL celebration that they're all back together is in order FIRST; even though they do not have the seventh Chaos Emerald YET, the fact that Sonic, Knuckles and Tails were able to rescue all of their friends, even when faced with immeasurable odds, was DEFINITELY something to crow about! Even though the just-now-concluded rescue mission destroyed nearly an eighth of the Big Round Guys' armies, both Eggman, and Robotnik, are confident, that whatever the Freedom Fighters, the Chaotix, and/or the Nightmare Pirates can dish out, they can dish it right back out to them at least 6-fold! Thing is: While the Bad Guys have TWO evil geniuses spear-heading their forces, the Good Guys have five great, capable, and menacing-towards-any-enemy leaders*(*Sonic, Sally, Colonel Stripe, One-Eyed Black, and Knuckles), in charge of three strong, and near-unbeatable groups of heroes who all eat evil as an appetizer for breakfast! One of them, is the ever-dreaded-by-both-sides software pirate, who has been making all of the Freedom Fighters' most death-defying, and rewarding missions and victories possible: ONE-EYED BLACK! One-Eyed Black ALSO knows, and reminds both the Freedom Fighters, AND the Chaotix, that Eggman and Robotnik have the seventh Emerald; what he's not so sure about, is where the insidious duo hid it. Fortunately, Carrie is able to narrow down the search tremendously!)

Carrie (Showing everyone her holographic maps of the places held indefinitely by the big round guys) I have narrowed the search down, to these four Zones! It is my belief that any one of these Zones will be where we shall find, the seventh, and final, Chaos Emerald! The suggested plan of action: to strike at these installations on a one-at-a-time basis, and, if any of Eggman, or Robotnik's goons try to obstruct our path, too bad for them! Also, I must warn you of something else, Freedom Fighters; something that I should've mentioned far-earlier on, but failed to find a good time to pull anyone aside, and tell it to: Eggman has stolen the plans of One-Eyed Black's original spirit-resurrection device, and has duplicated it! And he has used it, to bring back his Main Zone counterpart, the original, Robotnik!

All Freedom Fighters and Chaotix WHAT!?

One-Eyed Black Eggman figured that two evil geniuses would be way worse news for this whole planet than one! There is good news, tho': the spirit resurrection device that Eggman stole from me was one o' the first prototypes, and that particular device's biggest defect is: it can only bring a deceased being back to the mortal plane, until the next Full Moon!

Sally so, in other words….

One-Eyed Black "In other words", unless the original Robotnik can capture the soul of a noble-hearted Freedom Fighter or Chaotic, when the next full moon comes up, he's dust! And this time, for keeps!

Sonic so, all we gotta do ta' make certain that the original Robuttnik's gone fer good, is make sure that the big round guys can't capture anyone n' roboticize 'em? Heh-sounds like business as usual ta' me, 'Black!

(One-Eyed Black looks at Sonic, closes his eyes, smiles, and nods his head)

CHAPTER #11: FREEDOM FIGHTERS & CHAOTIX: ZONE #5: FORBIDDEN ZONE

(It was no real big surprise to any of the Freedom Fighters that the Forbidden Zone was on their list of places to visit looking for the seventh Chaos Emerald; it is, after-all, the most treacherous place in all of Robotropolis*(*Not to mention the location of Sonic and company's big adventure in the main story of the Sonic the Hedgehog 48-Page Special: "SONIC: In Your Face", and where Sonic met Lazar in the ABC animated series episode: "SUPER SONIC"). Sonic, Sally, Bunnie, and the Nightmare Pirates are all well-aware that Lazar woke up a Good Guy, and they were able to tell others of this change of heart, and this alone, made the Forbidden Zone that much less terrifying! The Forbidden Zone is still not, however, considered a very friendly neighborhood. Both Eggman, and Robotnik, however, knew that the Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix would come here searching for "Their" Chaos Emerald, and have put a vast army of 'bots in charge of guarding each of the four places that both evil doctors know that the Freedom Fighters will infiltrate searching for this final Emerald; So as to confuse the Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix as to which installation to attack, the forces guarding each Zone, are of equal strengths. Guarding each high-security vault in these areas, are 60 Swat-Bots, 30 Com-Bots, 18 Shadow-Bots, 6 Stealth-Bots, 9 Buzz-Bombers, 12 Caterkillers, and 9 Grounders. Upon becoming aware of all this, the Freedom Fighters unanimously decide to let their predecessors, Col. Stripe and his men, into the huddle! The threat of Quadruple Trouble for the Bad Guys, is once again, reality! Col. Stripe and several of his men have heard of Lazar, but never would've figured in another thousand years that such a dangerous sorcerer would actually turn good!)

Sonic Be-lieve it, Tig! I got ta' know the guy personally!*(* See episode of "Sonic the Hedgehog", SUPER SONIC for complete details)

Spot Long well, a wizard as powerful as Lazar could be useful! Is there any way ta' reach 'im!?

Sonic I'm not so sure we can reach 'im, but I think, that for guys like 'Black n' 'is gang, it shouldn't be that big a prob! How 'bout it, 'Black!?

One-Eyed Black well, a special radio that'll allow communication between here n' Lazar's lair, has been conceived, but I never really had the time to build it or even test it!

Chuck -chuckle-That never stopped ya' before, 'Black!

One-Eyed Black (After about two minutes sifting through his memories to substantiate Chuck's words either way) you're right, Chuck! That kinda thing never stopped me! Carrie! Get me out the blue-prints of the communication device I came up with soon after realizing that Lazar's now a good guy!

Carrie already on it, One-Eyed Black! And yes! Like before, I can translate the schematics, needed to build the device, to enable the constructors of the device, to build it, using Mobian technology!

Rotor (After taking a long, hard look at the blue-prints in front of him) I'll get right on it, 'Black!

(The device only takes a day ½ to build, but it is also deemed by most of the technological experts in New Mobotropolis as a most experimental device; the ones building the device have some worries about it not working, even though One-Eyed Black told everyone that the only predicted side-effect is that whatever signal the device sends out, might not make it to the other end. With this assured, everyone realizes that, even if the device doesn't work, the only harm it'll do, is that the Freedom Fighters might have to go into Lazar's lair uninvited. The Freedom Fighters all cross their fingers as the device is activated. A holographic image of Lazar soon appears, and a holographic image of Sonic, appears before a very startled Lazar)

Lazar magic, what this is!?

Sonic Lazar! Dontcha' recognize me, the guy who gotcher computer back for ya'*(*See Episode "SUPER SONIC" of the ABC TV-Show)!?

Lazar Remember, I do! Sonic, you are!

Sonic Lazar! Ever heard o' the Chaos Emeralds?

Lazar (Nodding his head) Chaos Emeralds, I have heard of! Great power, they possess!

Sonic well, Lazar! Got some great news for ya'! My good friend, 'Black, came back! And ever since 'e re-entered our lives, he's been doin' favors for us left n' right! He even found us six o' the seven Chaos Emeralds!

Lazar your reason for calling, I see! The Forbidden Zone, where you believe the Chaos Emerald, you will find!

Sonic It is one o' the places 'Black pointed out!

Lazar so, my assistance, you desire!?

Sonic (Nodding his head) you guessed it, Lazar! We all know yer computer's bad news, but like 'Black says: It's not the type o' power that makes it good or bad, it's what's done with that power, that really counts! And I know that your computer'd be a big help, Lazar!Lazar my computer, I still cannot give you! Too great, is the fear, of the wrong hands, it falls into! But my assistance, you shall receive! Loan you my computer, I cannot, but use my computer to help you, I can!

Sonic-sigh-well, I guess a little help's better than none at all!

Sally so what did Lazar say, Sonic?

Sonic he can't loan us his computer, but he did say that he'd do what he can in helpin' us from the sidelines!

Sally -sigh-well, I guess that's better than Lazar siding with Eggman!

(Normally, neither Eggman, nor Robotnik would even touch the Forbidden Zone with a 50' pole, but they also know that if the planned deception is to be as effective as they both want, they should have all of their stockades heavily guarded so as to throw the Good Guys off the trail, as to which sector the seventh Emerald Eggman and Robotnik is hidden in. Sonic, Sally, and Bunnie, all of whom had been to Lazar's neighborhood before*(*See ABC Sonic the Hedgehog "SUPER SONIC" for full details), are chosen among the others to enter the Forbidden Zone, with Tails serving as last-resort back-up. In all, 39 Swat-Bots, 18 Com-Bots, 18 Shadow-Bots, 3 Stealth-Bots, 9 Buzz-Bombers, and 6 Hover units, and the primary enforcer in the Forbidden Zone, are all sent packing for the scrap-heap. The four of them also manage to collect the 100 rings apiece that they need to advance to the next Zone, and at the very end of the Zone, they are attacked by that high-flying Eggman-built terror of the skies, Beacon, which is lured to close-range with the ground, gets its wings clipped, and is scrapped in under two minutes, very little problem, but the seventh Chaos Emerald, is just simply not there!)

Sonic (Speaking to One-Eyed Black through his communicator) Well, no Chaos Emerald here, 'Black! Got a ton o' rings, tho', and we did get ta' have some fun with the original Big Round Guy, so I guess it wunn't a total loss!

CHAPTER #12:
FREEDOM FIGHTERS & CHAOTIX: ZONE #6: FLYING BATTERY

(This Flying Fortress is the most lethal, heavily guarded, and has the most 'bots in it, of any Flying Fortress before it; it contains, and is guarded by 12 Swat-Bots, 18 Clucks, 9 Com-Bots, 6 Shadow-Bots, and is escorted by a convoy consisting of 6 Stealth-Bots, 27 Buzz-Bombers, and 18 Hover units! And the group consists of Sonic, Sally, Amy Rose, Cream, Tails, and Knuckles. Tails, of course, flies his plane, the Tornado, as close to the Flying Battery as Possible; just close enough for the others to jump onto it; Knuckles and Cream are to continue gliding at about the same altitude as the Flying Battery, and are to help each other, and their friends in taking out as many of the air-born baddies escorting the Flying Battery as possible. Sonic and Sally are to go inside the Flying Battery, and try to dismantle it from the inside-out. Unlike with the Death Egg Mach-2, however, this time Sonic and Sally do not lose sight of each other* (*After what happened at the end of STH #230, I think anyone with half a heart would understand where at least Sonic is coming from). With Knuckles' hitting power, and with Cream armed with a Double-Trouble X-8 weapon, and both of them determined to find the seventh and last Chaos Emerald, the escorts don't take any more than double-digit seconds each, to destroy. And the destruction is so fast, effective, and sudden, that none of the escorts are given the time they need to react with a very effective counter-offensive. Once deep inside, Sonic and Sally both encounter trouble with a capitol "T-R-O-U-B-L-E": Sonic runs into the newest and deadliest version of Silver Sonic to-date almost straight away, and Sally has, at least, some difficulty hacking into the fortress' main-frame, but this time, just as promised when One-Eyed Black first brought her back to the Freedom Fighters*(*See Help and Hope saga for complete details), Sonic does not take his eyes off of Sally, and, in turn, Sally makes certain that not even she is lost, this time, either! Tails, meanwhile, decides to put the Tornado on Auto-Pilot, and help Cream and Knuckles in dusting the Flying Battery's escorts. It was revealed that, just minutes before the mission kicked off, One-Eyed Black had armed the Tornado with Korlonium torpedo-lasers. This was plenty of time for Sonic to learn about them, and on the way into the Flying Battery on their way into the fortress's "brain", Sally learned of this upgrade, as well! In record time, Sonic has not only defeated Silver Sonic, but he is now also wearing it like a giant E-Frame*(* much like he did in the comic book mini-series "Sonic Quest: The Death Egg Saga"!), and is now protecting Sally as she continues to sabotage the floating battleship! Cream single-handedly destroys 8 Clucks, 3 Swat-Bots, 5 Buzz-Bombers, 1 Shadow-Bot, two Stealth-Bots, and even a few Hover-Units! Knuckles has wasted over half of what's left, and the rest is obliterated by some deadly accurate fire from Tails, and the 'bots end up missing their targets, and ending up blasting each other apart instead of the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix attacking them! Sally now uploads the type of virus you would normally find in the most horrifying Sci-Fi movie imaginable into the Flying Battery's main-frame; Sonic, in his new Silver Sonic suit, has single-handedly scrapped anything and everything made of metal, that comes within 3 feet of Sally, and deals the 'bots unspeakably horrifying damage for even touching her! As the air-battleship bursts into flames and prepares to crash, Tails now moves in to pick up his friends, but soon realizes that his plane only has enough fuel left to make one more pass by the doomed air-fortress; this "One pass" turns out to be enough, for once Sonic and Sally realize this, they join hands, and jump off the doomed super-fortress both at once, both landing right where they wanted to land: Right onto the top-wing of the TORNADO. Even though the seventh Chaos Emerald wasn't here either, the destruction of the Flying Battery, is considered a tremendous victory for the Freedom Fighters, just the same!)

CHAPTER #13:
FREEDOM FIGHTERS & CHAOTIX: ZONE #7: DOOMSDAY ZONE

(The Doomsday Machine, as seen in the ABC TV Show version of the Sonic Story, is Robotnik's ultimate weapon of conquest, designed to cause destruction, pollution, and misery over every shred of the planet. The place is guarded by 60 Shadow-Bots, 100 Swat-Bots, 80 Com-Bots, 40 Caterkillers, and 36 Buzz-Bombers. It would be no big surprise to Sonic, Knuckles, or any of the others, for that matter, if they wouldn't find the seventh Chaos Emerald here! And not a single one of them are disappointed! For there is a Warp-Ring here, and if they collect enough rings*(*no more, or less, than 400), and go through this warp-ring after besting the Zone's primary defender*(* in this case, the Doomsday Test-Pod), they will find the seventh Chaos Emerald for sure! Sonic, Sally, Tails, and Amy Rose make up the spear-head of the Team for this time around, and have all vowed to tear anything and everything made of metal that is not a Robian apart with their bare hands. Amy Rose feels more than ready to impress Sonic by pounding any and every 'bot that she encounters here into scrap-metal; Sally refuses to leave Sonic's side again, and refuses to let Sonic go anywhere without her*(*Much the same way that Julie-Su feels about Knuckles); And finally, as for Tails, he almost never likes to be left out of the action*(* it was made perfectly clear, that treating Tails like a baby is a bridge-burning move; Sally thought that she was throwing water onto this inferno of anger by protecting Tails, when she was really throwing gasoline, and was only making it worse), after hearing Tails out in full, about his solo-adventure on Downunda*(*See "TAILS mini-series" for full details), the Freedom Fighters had no choice but to accept that Tails didn't want to take being left out of the action anymore! And Sonic was the very first of the Knothole Freedom Fighters to substantiate that! Sonic and Amy Rose succeed in ripping, pounding, buzz-sawing, and bashing ALL of the Defending 'bots to scrap-metal! Sally is able to alter the Doomsday Machine's programming to focus its destructive power on itself! And Tails manages to sabotage the machine's main power-supply with a Korlonium grenade! After collecting the rings they came for, and with just 45 seconds on the clock before the whole place goes KA-BOOM, Sonic goes through the Warp-Ring after the Chaos Emerald.)

Tails SALLY! THE WHOLE PLACE IS GONNA BLOW! WE GOTTA GET OUTTA HERE! NOW!

Sally BUT SONIC'S STILL IN THERE! WHAT IF HE DOESN'T MAKE IT OUT IN ONE PIECE!?

Amy Rose DON'T WORRY, SALLY! SONIC'LL BE JUST FINE! WHEN HAS 'E NEVER COME OUT OF A SITCH LIKE THIS WITH A MARK ON 'IM!?

Sally BUT… BUT… BUT…

Amy Rose NO BUTS, SALLY! NOW LET'S GET OUTTA HERE! WE ALREADY LOST YOU QUITE A FEW TIMES TA' THIS…AND IN HONOR OF SONIC'S FEELINGS FOR YA', WE AIN'T GONNA LOSE YA' AGAIN!

Sally (Looking back in despair) Sonic! If you don't make it out of there….

Tails CARRIE! GET US OUTTA HERE! NOW!

Carrie initiating teleportation sequence; destination: Freedom HQ War Room!

As they teleport back for Freedom HQ…

Sally SONIC! PLEASE MAKE IT BACK ALIVE!

CHAPTER #14:
SONIC the HEDGEHOG: SPECIAL ZONE

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Warp-Ring…

Sonic (Thinking) Well, I know that I definitely can't go back the way I came! So, if I want a round trip, this crazy place better take me some place safe!

Carrie (Appearing out of nowhere) do not worry, Sonic! If you manage to collect, and hold on, to 400 rings, or more, you will be transported to the next Zone on, the map! I will have your friends meet you there! And, if you collect, and hold on, to 500 rings, or more, the seventh Chaos Emerald, will be all, yours!

Sonic (Giving a very sly "This is gonna be a piece of cake" smile) So, Carrie! Can ya' map out where the obstacles are for me!?

Carrie I most certainly can, Sonic!

Meanwhile, back at Freedom HQ…

Sally (With eyes filled with rage, and tears streaming down her cheeks) ONE-EYED BLACK, IF SONIC DOESN'T MAKE IT OUT OF THERE ALIVE I'LL…

One-Eyed Black Kill me after it's seen whether or not Sonic leaves the Special Zone alive, Sally!

Sally (Showing equal parts wonder, relief, and shock)Sonic made it through to the Special Zone!?

Nicole he most certainly did, Sally! And at this very moment, Carrie is guiding him through it, every step of, the way!

Sally Nicole! I have to know! What're Sonic's chances of making it out of there in one piece with Carrie guiding him!?

Nicole With Carrie guiding him, Sonic should make it through the Special Zone, with very little difficulty! If Sonic collects 400 rings, he will be transported to the next, and final zone; and if Sonic collects 500 rings, or more, the seventh Chaos Emerald, will be obtained! Probability of Sonic being successful: 122%!

Knuckles so, if he collects enough rings, where's Sonic gonna come out!?

Nicole according to Carrie, Sonic will come out of the Special Zone, at the current location, of the Death Egg, Mach-3, which is also where this string of battles, will come to a close! And if Sonic is as successful at ring collecting, as One-Eyed Black has always admired him for being, Sonic will, succeed!

(While all of this is going on, Sonic collects a grand total of 673 rings, and manages to avoid any and all obstacles that both Robotnik, and Eggman laid out for him, and he does make it through to the Chaos Emerald! And soon enough, and sure enough, Sonic's homing beacon re-appears on the Freedom Fighters' radar! He has just reached the newly constructed Death Egg Mach-3, and he also has the seventh Chaos Emerald! Almost immediately, Sonic has the Chaos Emerald teleported over to Freedom HQ, and his friends are all teleported to Sonic's current location: Dr Eggman's newest, and most dangerous new toy, the Death Egg Mach-3!)

CHAPTER #15:
SONIC, KNUCKLES, TAILS & MINA:
ZONE #8: DEATH EGG ZONE

(The Death Egg is not an unfamiliar sight to the Freedom Fighters OR to the Chaotix; it also doesn't hold a lot of very good memories for either group! The Death Egg Mach-1 over-powered what held Angel Island in the clouds, and the Mach-2 took Sally away from them to the point where their most controversial ally, returned from not-even-Athair knows where, got Sally back for them, and vowed Eggman's total destruction! And now, all of those bad memories come back to haunt both teams, as all of these heroes are teleported to this newest incarnation, of this feared, hated, and dreaded menace of the skies; once teleported on board this terrifying, and despised, air-station, an all-too-familiar figure steps out of his place of hiding from Eggman's forces)

Sonic hey, Guys! Didn't think Doomsday's destruction could do me in that easy, didja!?

Sally (Running for Sonic and giving him multiple kisses on the cheek) SONIC! I'M SO GLAD THAT YOU MADE IT OUT OF THERE IN ONE PIECE!

Sonic (Giggling, AND feeling a LITTLE BIT overwhelmed) easy, Sal! I'm happy ta' see ya', too, just…easy, will ya'!?

One-Eyed Black alright, Sally! Is all of the Super Team here!?

Sonicready ta' go Super, and make the fat boys' goons wish that they were never assembled, 'Black!

Knuckles all set, n' ready ta' go Hyper, Pirate!

Tails ready ta' fire n' go Turbo when the time's right, 'Black!

Mina Once we go Ultra, those 'bots're gonna go down so quick, it'll prob'ly take 'em a good minute fer 'em ta' realize that they're dust, 'Black!

Sonic Yeah! Let's do it, to it, you guys!

(Sonic is now filled in on the game-plan: Rotor is to sabotage the surveillance systems and thus, make Eggman totally unprepared for the trouble coming his way! Sonic, Knuckles, Mina, and Tails are to go Super, Hyper, Ultra, and Turbo the minute they enter the main control room, where One-Eyed Black knows very well that Eggman will be waiting to do battle with them; while Mad Marc, Agent L., Agent V., MP Bones, Sir Peckers, Private Scales, Spot Long, Antoine, Bunnie, Julie-Su, Amy Rose, Vector, and Cream are to take care of whatever defenses were not weakened by Rotor blinding them; Espio, Charmy, and Agent W. are to spy on Eggman and keep the Freedom Fighters, the Chaotix, AND the Nightmare Pirates wise to ANY new trick that Eggman may have up his sleeve. Sally, Col. Stripe, Agent C. and One-Eyed Black spear-head the overall plan of attack, and provide any-and all-parts of the overall plan, with as much extra back-up as they can possibly provide! As expected, Eggman DOES still have a few tricks up his sleeve: Except for some Swat-, Com-, and Shadow-Bots, to act as supervisors, and as the primary defenses of this deadly, accursed sky-station, near-the-whole-crew are Robians! This, of course means, that the whole station will need to be evacuated before the "Fun" can start; fortunately, the Double-Trouble X-8 weapons wielded by Sally, Stripe, Spot Long, Bones, Peckers, Scales, Rotor, Espio, Vector, Charmy, Ray, and Cream, have all been fully charged just in case the situation did, indeed, call for at least near-the whole crew to be teleported out of this dreaded and despised sky-station if necessary. As he usually is for something even co-coordinated by One-Eyed Black, Eggman is near-totally oblivious to the danger that this powerful union of foes pose! Robotnik is NOT much different a story! But, Eggman and Robotnik DO have at least ONE ace in the hole: And this Ace that Eggman and Robotnik had waiting to strike down at their seemingly unstoppable nemeses with, is their newly-constructed Battle-suits! These new battle-suits, the Eggs-O-Skeleton Mach-3, and the Eggs-O-Skeleton Mach-5, were both designed to be just as durable, and as formidable, as the Swat-Bot-shell E-Frames used by the Nightmare Pirates after their resurrection; in fact, the Eggs-O-Skeleton was patterned after that basic design*(*I'm afraid so! The plans of the Nightmare Pirates' EE [Exo-Espionage]-Frames were among the blue-prints that Robotnik was able to get his slimy meat-hooks on!)! Fortunately, against Super Sonic, Hyper Knuckles, Turbo Tails, AND Ultra Mina TOGETHER, neither Robotniks stand a chance! After a volcano-heated, half-hour battle, Robotnik bites the dust, and turns to dust, and THIS time, hopefully, FOR GOOD! Eggman does not do much better; his Eggs-O-Skeleton Mach-5 is almost completely torn up, in tatters, and useless! Eggman barely escapes with his life, HIS E-frame damaged beyond repair and battered into useless shreds of scrap-metal! Eggman very narrowly escapes to fight these enforcers of freedom another day! The damage done to Eggman and his enforcers, however, is once again, enough to hospitalize a good solid chunk of the Big Round Guy's overall resources; INCLUDING the Big Round Guy himself! According to the Freedom Fighters' agents in Robotropolis, Eggman is very likely to be in the hospital for at least another year-and-a-half! Neither Snively, nor Lien-Da, get off any lighter! Lien-Da's body was seriously damaged, and the devious echidna is very likely, to spend at least two months in repair-bay after the damage that was done to her now-mostly-artificial body; Snively barely got passed the deadly union of "Furry trouble-makers" alive; by the time Snively finally makes it off the Death Egg Mach-3, nearly every square-inch of his body at least has a bruise on it, and half the bones in his body are either broken, or cracked! According to reports from the Freedom Fighters' Spy Network, Snively is very likely to spend at least a third of a year in the hospital! In the four days that pass after this intense and long-fought-for battle is over, before Mad Marc and Agents V., W., L., and C. have to head for home, are actually pretty happy times for several of the Freedom Fighters, at least most of the Chaotix, and a pretty memorable time for all of the Nightmare Pirates, as well! Two days before this deadly fivesome has to head for home, the Monthly New Mobotropolis Duel Monsters Tournament takes place, at last! Tails continues to reign supreme; Sonic peaks at 3rd-place; Sally manages at least one 2nd place win; Bunnie and Antoine each manage at least two 3rd-place wins; Julie-Su manages a couple of 2nd place wins; Knuckles manages 3rd place on his 4th match, and a 2nd place win on his last scheduled match; Vector, always underestimating the competition, manages one 4th place win, but the rest of the time, he ends up not placing at all; All seven of the Nightmare Pirates each manage to score some very impressive 3rd place wins, but then, they all forfeit "To let others have a shot at victory". And the prize for first-time winners: they get to go through all of the decks they used, select their best cards from them, and make for themselves the most versatile, powerful, and/or effective Duel Monsters card-deck that they can manage! And just before the Nightmare Pirates have to leave, they, the Freedom Fighters, and the Chaotix, throw one last celebration bash to congratulate each other for a job well-done! The Nightmare Pirates, as a whole, are most honored to receive such commendation for victory, and all of them promise to be at the Ultimate Game Masters' Competition, to introduce their Mobian friends to new friends that only an event like the Ultimate Game Masters' Competition can provide a meeting with! The next day, One-Eyed Black's crew are thanked far-more than in-full for all their help in making this tremendous victory possible; as One-Eyed Black's crew head through the portal back for home, they give one last nod of the head, and re-assure the Freedom Fighters that the next time that they are needed, they will always be there to help them!)

Sonic (Thinking as One-Eyed Black's crew heads for home) Guys! I dunno what we'd do withoutcha!

-THE END

WRITER'S NOTE
I always liked character games ever since I first-played Pac-Man when I was really little; I rarely beat a game after deciding to just see how far I can go on just one life*(* The pin-ball machines at the local arcade were a different story, of course!) My first Video-Game hero was—who else—but the ever-famous Pac-Man! And after I got into Mario later on, I played that game quite a bit; Super Marioland 1 for Game Boy was, and still is, one of my favorite video games! And eventually, I got into that rambunctious, wild-hearted speed-demon known as Sonic the Hedgehog, who became such a big game sensation, there have been four TV-Shows based on his adventures*(*"the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog", kind of a humor-filled, slapstick style show that brought a great deal of enjoyment to younger audiences who were just getting into the "Blue-Blur"; "Sonic the Hedgehog", an adventure-filled thrill-ride that was great for those who really wanted to know what the Sonic world is all about, not to mention provided the audience with other characters to cheer on besides just Sonic and his high-flying young friend, Tails; "Sonic Underground", an Adventure-loaded, and music-packed whole 'nother story, in which Sonic was in a three-hedgehog rock-band, that rocked out and, just like in "Sonic the Hedgehog", fought for the freedom of their world; and finally, there's "Sonic X", as with "Sonic the Hedgehog", this show provided a great deal of excitement and adventure, even though, I think it would've been nice if the creators of this series threw in at least a few of the supporting characters from the "Sonic the Hedgehog" show into the mix*(*I think Sonic was a lot happier being Princess Sally's boy friend, than he'll ever be being that of Amy Rose). There is also a comic book series based on the Sonic games; it seems to follow the story-line of the "Sonic the Hedgehog" TV Show story-line the closest. And I really liked the comic books! At least, that was until the creators decided to have Sally Roboticized*(*Technologically changed from a being of flesh-and-blood to a mindless robotic slave), and epoxy her to the Dark Side! Ever since I saw them together and learned how much they meant to each other, I wanted nothing more for Sonic and Sally than an action-packed and happy life together. When I learned that the creators apparently wanted otherwise, and that Sonic's other friends (Antoine, Bunnie, and Rotor), are getting weakened, pushed around, and/or sent to the hospital, I was not a happy camper! And I really do hope that the Sonic creators' game-plan is nothing like what the creators of "Transformers: Generation 1" had in mind*(*As in: kill off at least most of the existing characters just to make way for new ones!)! If that is what they're planning, I'm warning 'em directly: that's only gonna make a load o' fans mad atcha! After I saw Eggman about to "improve" Mecha-Sally at the conclusion of STH #232, apparently so he could keep 'er on his side, I decided that: I just didn't wanna take it sitting down, and helplessly watching and reading, anymore! Afraid of seeing more bad news, I stopped reading the comics*(*I still collect the comics, I just don't read 'em outta fear o' seeing Sonic and his friends in more trouble and pain than I can usually stand to see any favorite heroes of mine in!). Really upset at what was happening with Sonic n' the gang lately, I decided to write my own version of the Sonic story! The result of that effort to get Sonic's friends outta trouble, was a massive story known as "Sonic the Hedgehog: Help and Hope From an Unlikely Source". By now, I hope at least somebody who I gave the first, six-part version of that story to, will be shown a brighter future for Sonic and his friends that I'm very certain several die-hard Sonic fans really wanted for Sonic, especially if the fan(s) in-question, closely followed the series known simply as "Sonic the Hedgehog"! Also, both before, and after, the Help and Hope saga was written, I had some ideas for my own Sonic game, and the just-now concluded story, "Sonic & Knuckles: Nightmarish Chaos", was an adaptation of that game idea! I was really put out, when I learned that not a whole lot of the characters introduced in the TV Show "Sonic the Hedgehog", made it in as characters for any of the games; personally, I think it would've been really neat to at least see Sally, either as a 'bot-smashing partner for Sonic, or at least as one of those that Sonic frees from Robotnik at the end-phase of a Zone; I'll bet that some of the other characters only seen in "Sonic the Hedgehog"*(* prob'ly even Antoine) would make great game characters! As was well-seen, the whole ABC gang is here, and then some! I even included some characters that were only seen in the comics*(*like Archimedes, Mina the Mongoose, and Julie-Su)! I got the idea of "Character selection", after a few rounds of playing the 1980s game, Super Mario Bros. 2, and after hearing that the creators of the games had left Sally and possibly other characters from the comic book and ABC TV Show, out of the character line-up for the Sonic games, I did not really feel very good about other gamers not being able to play as at least some of these characters. Inspired largely by the 1980s version of Super Mario Bros. 2, I decided to come up with my own idea for a Sonic game. Although doubtful at best, that this game idea will ever even make it onto SEGA's drawing board, at least others now know about the idea! And in case anyone's wondering, yes! I am planning for some of these additional characters to be capable of Super-Spin just like Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, more specifically, Sally, and Julie-Su*(*I'm pretty sure that both Sonic and Knuckles'll really appreciate it if their girls have some powerful 'bot-smashing moves of their own!). I am also really hoping that what's been happening with, and to Sonic and his friends starting in STH #230, does not escalate into a massacre that claims the majority of these heroic creatures known as the Freedom Fighters! Seeing Sally turned into one of Eggman's evil robotic minions must've been absolutely heart-breaking for Sonic, especially considering, that just an issue or two prior, they finally got back together! I am really hoping that the robotization of Sally was not designed to make it so that Amy Rose would have Sonic all to herself! I know that the Sonic Team doesn't usually put fan ideas onto their storyboard, but it would be kinda nice if it doesn't take too many issues for Sonic to get Sally back! Soon after the Help and Hope saga was written and shipped on its merry way to a Fan-Fiction website for everyone who reads that kinda stuff to see and comment on it, I decided it might be nice to share my idea for a Sonic game with internet browsers, as well! And what better way to introduce something like this, than through a story-adaptation of the proposed game in-question!? As previously stated: The "True" creators of Sonic did just this with quite a few of the "Actual" Sonic games, so, I figured, that if I wanna get my ideas out there, where at least someone would notice them, and tell me what they thought of them, it would be at least kinda' worth it to hear what other Sonic fans think about my ideas. And by writing the Help and Hope saga, I showed everybody what at least one dedicated Sonic fan, would do to help Sonic if given the right motivation, tools, and enough guts! And now, I'm sharing this story, which shows how unbeatable that Sonic's team, and Knuckles' team, combined, can do when they're all working together! Not since STH #50 have even the Freedom Fighters alone set aside their differences and finally worked as the team that Sally tried her absolute hardest to make them all work as! And now, my stories are being sent out there to show what would happen in the Sonic Universe if that unity was kicked up yet-another few notches! In my stories, not only did the Freedom Fighters all work together, but the Chaotix also stepped in and offered their closest group of allies their full support, as well! As some of you Anime fans out there will prob'ly notice, I even threw a little bit of the "Yu-Gi-Oh!" saga into the mix, as well*(*That is where I got the idea for the use of "Life-Points" from, in case nobody's noticed! It's also where I got a lot of the ideas for the identities and powers of One-Eyed Black's now-bewitched-trading-card collection from!)! Other "Barrowed ideas" include: Korlonium crystal*(*that rare and deadly-to-'bots rock that detonates electronics on contact; also note: a lot of the weapons created by One-Eyed Black are powered by this explosive mineral, and/or use it as ammunition!); "Scouters"*(*Those head-sets used by Frieza's thugs to read their opponents' Power-Levels, thus, enabling themselves to be ready for anything and everything that the foe that they're directly looking at can dish out; gotta admit, tho': I tricked out these head-sets some to make them more effective, powerful, versatile, and efficient!); Teleportation came largely from the Power Rangers, while the idea for the "Communichips" was an improved copy of the translation technology wielded by the Star Fighters*(* From the movie, "The Last Star Fighter"), and the Nightmare Pirates' cloaking devices were based on similar devices, seen in the mid-stages of the "Star Trek" saga. Stuff like Spirit Vision, and the Homing device/Communicators*(* OR "Homing Coms" for short), however, were pretty-well my own ideas all the way through!

NIGHTMARISH CHAOS SOUNDTRACK

Just like I did for the Help and Hope saga, I've done what I can to come up with good songs for a "soundtrack" for this story! As with the Help and Hope saga, the songs that I'm about to mention and recommend for a story soundtrack are just ideas that I have; the readers can listen to whatever they like while they read the story; word of advice, tho': whatever you pick, make sure that it's a type of music that you like, that the words of the song tell a good enough message, and that the music you select describes the scene, battle, hero and/or villain to its fullest! Anyway, here're some ideas of what I think'd make a good soundtrack for this story:

The songs are listed as follows: "Title" (Artist/Album)reasons why this song is a goodchoice

"ABC 'Sonic the Hedgehog' theme" (Artist Unknown/Album Unknown) undoubtedly the best song to play for any version of the Sonic Universe

"'Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog' theme" (Artist Unknown/Album Unknown) another great song to play for any version of the Sonic Universe

"Only the Strong Survive" (Bryan Adams/Into the Fire) great theme song for Sonic

The music played during any-and all-"Sonic the Hedgehog" games (Sega-Game design Team (?)/Album Unknown) the perfect music to play for Sonic and company as they speed, and fight their way through each and every Zone

"Stir It Up" (Patti LaBelle/Beverly Hills Cop Soundtrack) the perfect song to play for anyone who's seen their friends getting needlessly wasted, and itching to get into the action themselves and teach their enemies a thing or two about messing with their friends

"The Touch" (Stan Bush/Transformers: The Movie Soundtrack) the best song to play for a good-hearted fighter who's out to terminate his-or her-enemies with unspeakable prejudice

"Never Surrender" (Stan Bush/Call to Action) the best song to play for a warrior who really needs some support to get through a fight, and to give the fight in-question their best shot

"Dare" (Stan Bush/Transformers: The Movie Soundtrack) Unquestionably the best song to play for someone who wants more than anything to follow his-or her-dreams

"Walk On Water" (Eddie Money/Best of Eddie Money) the perfect love-theme for the Nightmare Pirates

"Waiting For A Star To Fall" (Graham BLVD/Chartbusters 1989) the perfect song to describe how Sonic feels about Sally

Theme from the movie "Gotcha" (Artist Unknown/Gotcha Soundtrack) the best song to play for battle scenes where the Bad Guys are taken by surprise, and only notice their tormentor, when it's too late to stop him-or her!

"The Warrior" (Scandal with Patti Smyth/Warrior) Great song to describe anyone and everyone born to fight

"Danger Zone" (Kenny Loggins/Top Gun Soundtrack) Song that describes a warrior under pressure, which is exactly the kind of life that Sonic thrives in

"867-5309/Jenny" (Tommy Tutone/Album Unknown) Pretty good song to describe how Amy Rose feels about Sonic

"Breaking Out" (Laura Branigan/Self Control)Excellent Song to describe the feelings of Sonic and Knuckles' friends as they try to escape the Bad Guys' clutches

"Beat It" (Michael Jackson/Thriller) Pretty good song to describe how the Nightmare Pirates feel about the situation at-hand

"Satisfaction" (Laura Branigan/Self Control) pretty-well describes how Sally feels about all of the heroic friends around her

"Bad Boys (Theme from 'COPS')" (Inner Circle/Bad Boys) perfect song to play for the battles and sneak-attacks that a story like this specializes in

"Blind Ambition" (The Deleted/Yu-Gi-Oh!: Official Movie Soundtrack) good song to describe a hero who itches like crazy for a piece of the action

Keep in mind, though: the songs that I just-now listed are just what I came up with as my own soundtrack for this story! I'm almost for sure, that several others who read this story have their own ideas for what might make a good soundtrack, and have their own, personal recipe for a soundtrack of their own for "SONIC & KNUCKLES: Nightmarish Chaos!"! My only request, is that the reader only selects songs that he-or she-feels best-describes the character, situation, and/or feelings that the song is meant to represent. And if the reader finds songs that he-or she-just likes to listen to while imagining themselves being at Sonic's side, ready to help him give Robotnik, Eggman, Finitevus, or Athair-knows-whoever, the fight of their lives! And hey! If you, the reader have any ideas of your own on what'd make this story better, feel free ta' share 'em! And just like with the Help and Hope saga, if anyone good at drawing comics feels like illustrating this story comic-book style, I just got three words for ya': GO-RIGHT-AHEAD! And if you have any other ideas that might make this game idea, or the story I made out of this game idea better, more challenging, more like a "real" Sonic game, and/or more fun to read about, or play if this game idea ever makes it to the shelves of the local game store, I'd love to hear 'em! I'm not really looking to make money, I just wanna get my ideas out there. In my mind, if they make the stories more enjoyable, put the Good Guys in the winner-circle where they belong, and in the eyes of others that I've shown stories like this one, so far, more "interesting" as well, that's all that really matters to me! When I learned that Sally was going to stay on the Dark Side long-term, that made me see the light: If I have ideas for stories that at are at least "interesting", and if I wanna make a difference in the stories I cherish; and if I have the guts to at least get them down for all to see, I'd better say something while there's still light for my favorite heroes at the end of the long, nightmarish tunnel, that is the Villains that are making the hero-in-question's life absolutely miserable! I think that everyone very-well understands my reasons for choosing the Sonic game music, and for choosing the theme songs from the first two Sonic shows aired in the United States, for I, and prob'ly several others, as well, feel, that they describe Sonic to the letter! I chose the song "Stir It Up" by Patti LaBelle as the theme song for the hero(s) that I introduce to help tell my stories, because it's a song that describes somebody, who's been on the sidelines, helplessly watching his-or her-teammates get needlessly massacred, feeling powerless to make a real difference, and doesn't wanna take any of it sitting down, ANYMORE! "The Touch", "Never Surrender", and "Dare", all by Stan Bush, all tell pretty good messages on the prospects of being a hero*(*Which is, actually what a lot of the songs by this particular artist are all about, by the way!)! "Walk On Water" by Eddie Money, describes somebody who admits that he-or she-has a lot to prove, before a hopeful friendship, can even start to take place; I realized a very long time ago, that "Walk On Water" is the best song, to describe the friendships in my own life, that I really have to fight for, in order to keep! Sonic has probably been thinking something like this particular song describes, pretty well every time that Sally heckles him*(*Which, I've long-understood, is just the way they normally talk to each other: Sonic makes a wise-crack, and Sally tries to make that insult back-fire on him!) "Waiting For A Star To Fall", by Graham BLVD*(*Also performed by Boy Meets Girl), I think perfectly describes a private friendship, that both parties involved really want to admit is there, but are waiting for just the right time, to express their feelings, and finally admit to their admiration for each other! That song, I feel is the stuff that every single private love is made of, and it's probably, also, Sonic's code-of-honor, whenever he's with Sally, or some other girl that he really likes! My feelings are: Sonic will always choose Sally over any other girl, if given the choice! And the theme from the 1980s movie "GOTCHA!", I feel, is a pretty good song to play, for somebody just out having fun, and always looking to catch a possible friend by surprise, and admitting that they are friends, which, to my understanding, is exactly how Sonic and Sally first-came to know each other! "Nightmare", a song that I came up with myself, describes an intense, heated, and pretty-well one-sided battle, in which the one doing the slaughtering, is announcing to the one getting slaughtered, that he intends to show his opponent absolutely no mercy whatsoever! And that, is exactly how One-Eyed Black usually treats anyone he fights who's willingly, and 100% bad to the bone! Ever since I heard "The Warrior", I've used it to describe pretty-well any-and all-good-hearted, and capable fighters; the way I saw it, "The Warrior" describes just about anyone, or anything that can really lay it on their opponent in a major fight! "Danger Zone" has always been a huge favorite of mine, and a favorite of at least a few of my other friends, as well! Because of how hot, and fast-paced it is, combined with its blue-hot beat, and for the message you know it delivers once you get to know the song well-enough, this song, as far as I could tell from the way everyone around me always described it, is a huge favorite among rock enthusiasts! "867-5309/Jenny" tells a story about somebody who's really out to earn the affection of a certain someone that the person singing the song really wants in his-or her-life, and therefore, I feel a song like that would be perfect for describing how ever-so-very-badly Amy Rose wants Sonic. It describes a reluctant boy-friend-girl-friend relationship in the making, and that, I feel, is the perfect way to describe the relationship Amy Rose wants with all her heart and soul to have with Sonic! "Breaking Out", I feel, has always been a good song to play for any captured hero raring to make an unspeakably daring escape from his-or her-captors; I first-thought aloud of using the song to describe Orin and E-Lan's daring escape from the depths of the Mine-World for the paradise above ground, and later, I used it in my mind to describe Antoine and Bunnie's plan to escape the Downunda prison facility run by Robotnik's treacherous lieutenant, Crock-Bot*(*See STH #48-49, and Sonic Super-Special "Return of the King" for full details on how they got there, and what they did to get themselves out of that mess); I didn't tell very many about these particular ideas, but given what the song talks about, I felt it worked well-enough! I first-used the song "Beat It" to describe what Antoine keeps getting himself into, and to tell him what he should do to not get into that kinda' trouble again; this, of course, later evolved into telling all heroes basically what Sally always seems to be warning Sonic: to not take any bigger risks than you absolutely have to. Ever since hearing it, I have always used the song "Satisfaction"*(*Done by Laura Branigan for her 1984 album: "Self Control"), to describe how Sally feels about any, and all heroes that she knows are doing their best to save the day for her, or for someone she cares about, and knows that the hero in-question cares about, as well; and if you, the reader heard this song, I really doubt that you would think any different! And finally, I pretty-well always felt that the song "Bad Boys" was the perfect theme song to describe the Good Guys taking out the Bad Guys! As previously stated: these are just my ideas on what would make a good "Soundtrack" for "Nightmarish Chaos"; you, the reader, can listen to any song you like, just make sure that it perfectly suits the scene, character, and/or situation that you're playing the songs you choose for. Even though it is admitted that making this game idea into an actual Sonic Game seems a distant and over-optimistic dream, but, hopefully, what I provided the reader with should provide at least something of a feel for how I intended this very story

NIGHTMARISHLY CHAOTIC SURVEY

Now that you've read this story out in-full, and from cover-to-cover, I'd like to know what YOU, the reader thought about it! Fill out as much of the following survey as you can, I'm only asking you, the reader, to be as honest as you feel fit!

First Question:
On a scale of 1—10 ("10" being "Way-way-past excellent", and "One" being "Really stupid to even think about"), what did you think about the game idea that I based this story on?

Next Question:
On a scale of 1—10 ("Ten" being "100% excellent", and "One" being "A complete waste of thought, paper, ink, and time at the computer"), where would you say this story rates at?

Next Question:
What did you like most about the story?—(A) The Good Guys won even when the Bad Guys were at their absolute worst? (B) The game idea that it was based on, is an "Interesting at worst" concept; (C) The Nightmare Pirates wanted the power of the Chaos Emeralds for their friends, the Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix, and not so much for themselves? (D)The Zones all followed the usual set-up of a Sonic game well-enough? (E) The Game it was based on features not only Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy Rose, but also all of the rest of their friends*(*Sally, Bunnie, Mina, Dulcy, Rotor, Antoine, Mina, Julie-Su, Mighty, Espio, Charmy, Archimedes, and Vector), as well? (F) the story was based on a game that finally includes Sally? (G) If there's anything else that you liked about it, please list! (And yes! You can circle more than one if you feel like it!)

Next Question:
What did you think about this story taking place three Mobian years after the third volume of the Help and Hope saga concluded?

Next Question:
What did you think about the Nightmare Pirates, the Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix all working together as one big, and near-unbeatable team?

Next Question:
What did you think about the Freedom Fighters, the Chaotix, and the Nightmare Pirates taking on not just Robotnik or Eggman, but Robotnik and Eggman?

Next Question:
Do you think I kept everyone's personalities true to the "Actual" characters?

Final Question:
Do you think that this story would also make a good video game, TV-Show, Movie, Comic Book Mini-Series, or at least graphic novel? (If you like the idea of any of the above, PLEASE list the reasons for your answer)

FINAL WORDS FROM THE WRITER

Just like with the Help and Hope saga, I am not writing these stories to make money, I just want a bright future for the heroes in the comic book, TV-show, and/or movie, that I have good, everlasting memories of, and much to many a gamers' satisfaction, Sonic the Hedgehog just so-happens to be one of them! I've had this particular game idea in mind for a long time, dating back to several months before the comic book that is ever-dreaded and despised by all fans, STH #230, in which Sally was forced over to the Dark Side! I was not a happy camper as to how things looked the way they did, towards the end of STH #232, when it looked like Sally was gonna be epoxied to the Dark Side for quite a while, and I'm guessing, and dreading, that Sonic will spend just as many issues getting Sally back on his side where she belongs, as it took for Sonic and Sally to get back together, which I'm very certain, from what I read, must've been at least a good 50-something issues! I am really hoping that Sally doesn't do too much damage to those she once led in the meantime. And, message fer anyone, and everyone who wants ta' ask me if I was serious about comparing Sally's leadership skills ta' those of Optimus Prime: YOU BET I WAS SERIOUS ABOUT THAT! And again, if the creators of Sonic ever do decide to include the Nightmare Pirates, I request, and pretty-well demand, that they not replace anyone's spot in the line-up, but joins the Team that already exists, instead! And hopefully, together, Sonic and all of his friends, new and old, will crush Eggman like the overweight, corrupting, blood-sucking, heartless, insensitive, low-down, bottom-dwelling, scum-sucking cockroach that he is! And by the way, when it comes time for Sonic to choose someone to spend his life with, personally, I'm rooting for Sally, always have after I realized how much they meant to each other, I also know, however, that Amy Rose is as much after Sonic's heart, as Rebecca Hawkins was after Yugi's*(*See the hit-Anime series, the original "Yu-Gi-Oh!" series[more specifically, starting in the part of the series that featured Atlantis and the ever-dreaded and the evil power of the Orichalcos] for full details); the only big difference being: the feeling between Yugi and Rebecca, is a good percentage more mutual, than that between Sonic and Amy Rose! But whoever Sonic ends up spending his life with, I think that only Sonic himself, should be the one to decide that! Just do me, and your other fans a favor, Sonic: Choose the one who cares about you the most, respects you the most, understands the way your brain ticks best, and that you feel most comfortable in being with! But, message for whoever it turns out to be: do everyone a favor: keep Sonic outta trouble!

Hope ta' hear from you Sonic fans soon!

The writer of the Help and Hope saga:

Patrick Hackleman

E-Mail: blackglove54