Sonic continued to chase Eggman until he came upon a strange ruin. Eggman seemed to have entered the ruins so Sonic was quite eager to follow him. However, Sonic was attacked by one of Eggman's evil robots
"So, you wanna play?" Sonic chided as he jumped into the air and pounced the robot with his Spin Attack.
What shocked the hedgehog the most was the fact that out of the robot popped one of his feathered friends who weakly crawled to Sonic.
"Hey, you okay?" Sonic asked in a shaken tone, concerned for the bird. "I take it Eggman is behind this."
"Sonic...," the bird struggled to speak. "You have... to stop Eggman..."
"I know," Sonic assured the bird. "Don't worry about it, I've got this."
"Please... listen to me...," the bird cried. "The Chaos Emeralds... are an endless power source... Should that wretched man get his hands on them... It would be the end of South Island... No... the end of the world..."
Episode 2: Sonic vs. Eggman: Duel for the Second Emerald!
Sonic thought hard about his friend's ominous words as he raced through the magma-filled ruins. He wondered how a pile of rocks could spell the end of humanity, but decided not to think about it and focus on the task at hand: Stop Dr. Eggman.
Before long, Sonic reached a room with magma pouring from above and the only means of crossing being a small rock floating on the lava surface.
"Geez, Eggman," Sonic sighed while shaking his head. "Some like it hot, but I could fry an egg in this place! And, believe me, I intend to."
Sonic jumped across the lava pit down a hole into a dark corridor. He examined his surroundings before sighing.
"Man, I got out of the frying pan and into the oven. This place kinda burns me the wrong way."
Sonic felt things begin to warm up. Before pondering why, he noticed the room began to light up. Curious, he turned around to see the wall behind him melting into a stream of white-hot lava. Sonic ran his fastest, trying to escape the lava, but the path was filled with obstacles and booby traps.
"Man," Sonic huffed as he ran. "Somebody's really trying to protect this place. What's a guy gotta do to crack an egg in this place!?"
Sonic finally ran to safety but, the ground below him began to crumble, dropping him into an other lave pit room. Luckily, he landed safely on a floating rock.
"This place really does make you feel the burn!" Sonic heaved as he attempted to catch his breath. "I gotta catch that Eggman, or I'm as good as burnt toast!"
After escaping the second lava pit, Sonic finally surfaced outside the Ruins, where he saw Eggman extracting an Emerald from a lava pool.
"Eggman!" Sonic cried. "Oh no, I'm too late!"
"My, my, hedgehog," Eggman smirked. "I see you are as persistent as you are insolent. What exactly do you want, I'm on a tight schedule?"
"I want you to stop this!" Sonic replied. "Stop collecting the Emeralds!"
"What makes you think I'd do that?" Eggman cackled. "Hohohoho! There's only four of these precious stones left, and then Robotnikland will become a reality!"
"How about taking your Eggmanland and shoving it?" Sonic rebutted, taking his famous attack stance. "I'm tired of games, Eggman! Let's do this for real!"
"Hohohoho!" Eggman replied. "Aren't you cheeky? Fine, you can play with the Lav-O-Matic!"
Sonic then sighed and shook his head.
"Eggy, Eggy, Eggy," Sonic scolded. "Stop torturing yourself with your crackpot names. Why not call it the Super Sonic Lava Rover 1000!"
"You're one to talk," sweated Eggman. "Enough, feel my wrath!"
A stream of lava shot out of the bottom of the Eggmobile, forcing Sonic to jump.
"I doubt you can fly, hedgehog," Eggman explained. "With the ground covered in white-hot magma, there's nowhere for you to land! Hohohoho!"
"Oh yeah?"
Eggman turned around to see Sonic standing on the back of the Eggmobile. In shock, Eggman turned the Eggmobile, knocking Sonic to the lava below. Luckily, he landed on solid ground. However, Eggman wasn't ready to give up. He launched balls of fire at Sonic, who did his best to dodge each.
"How about you eat this, Sonic!?" Eggman cackled.
However, Sonic jumped behind the doctor and smiled.
"No, thanks!" Sonic replied as he curled into a ball. "My omelet just came out of the skillet! Spin Attack!"
Once again, Eggman's machine burst into flames, but was quickly repaired, allowing Eggman to get away once again.
"Damn," Sonic sighed. "It's two against nothing in the bottom of the third! I really gotta play catch up if I want to stop Eggman now."
As Sonic began to give pursuit to Eggman, he heard a familiar voice. He turned around to see that it was his friend he rescued earlier, only he looked a bit healthier this time.
"Hey, Sonic!" the bird chirped. "Looks like you got out of the Marble Ruins okay."
"You seem to be doing better yourself," Sonic replied warmly. "But, listen, I gotta go, can we do this later?"
"Hey, no need to rush, is there?" the bird chimed. "I have a very important favor to ask of you."
"Fine, but make it quick," Sonic sighed impatiently.
The bird then pointed to a metal capsule nearby.
"There's one!" he cried. "May I ask you to destroy any of those Egg Prisons thatyou come across?"
"This one?" Sonic asked as he lunged towards it with his Spin Attack. To his surprise, several of his friends popped out of the Egg Prison!
"I get it," Sonic said. "That rotten Eggman is imprisoning you guys in those Egg Prisons! Don't worry, I'll get him for sure, or my name's not Sonic the Hedgehog!"
Next Time:
With two Emeralds collected, Eggman searches for the third in Spring Yard, but Sonic isn't backing down! Don't miss High Stakes! The Battle Drags into Spring Yard!
C/C: Ugh, this abomination of a chapter is probably the weakest of the entire arc. I'm trying to make this is consistent as possible, so I have to drag this arc out a bit, since I intend to do the same with the more eventful arcs that come along later.
Yes, Sonic's jokes ARE bad, spare me the criticism. Product of late nights and Sonic Heroes xX. Third chapter should be slightly better, but Chapter 4's where things will pick up. :) Enjoy, or at least try to.
