Area 99 - Infiltrate the Government Headquarters‼
A/N: Welcome to Chapter 2! This is a rewrite of "Sonic to the Rescue", which is slightly heavier than the last chapter. The chapter name "Big Brother" is a double entendre. It can mean Sonic being a big brother to Chris, but it can also be the nickname given to the government.
Also, after only 125 views, I had nine follows, five favorites, and three reviews! Thank you to everyone who read and enjoyed this story!
Random thing: I imagine Station Square just north of Los Angeles, right near where Highway 101 is the closest to the Pacific Ocean.
Another random thing: I never saw the Metarex saga (STRANGE, ISN'T IT?!), but I'm preparing myself for it. I'm not really the biggest Cosmo fan, but I'd ship Tails with her over Cream. I'm looking forward to episodes like "A Revolutionary Tale" and "Teasing Time".
Also, my brother started cringewatching Sonic X (yes, cringewatching; it's like bingewatching but you're cringing the whole time), but finally had to stop after Episode 16, "Depths of Danger". Now even the mention of Sonic is too much for him. Poor guy. :)
Anyway, here's my rewrite of "Sonic to the Rescue"!
GuardianDragon98
Oh wow, this is awesome. Can't wait to see Sonic X in a new light.
And you shall. This is a long-awaited update to Sonic X, done correctly. There are other Sonic X rewrites, but none are as long or accurate as this one! Wait, I think my bragging meter went up to 11.
Anti-Mage
Pretty great story. Can't wait for the next chapter, but gotta ask, are you not including the avatar? I didn't see a statement about it, and I would like to know. I'm not asking for you to add him, that's your choice, and I will respect your decision.
Thanks! And no, unfortunately, the avatar, Gadget, whoever he's called, won't appear. He's too varying a character, and I don't see him working in this story. Classic Sonic won't appear either, though.
PhD Flopper
Holy crap, great job on this! A sonic x rewrite that's post sonic forces?! It's a nice change of pace around here I think. Hopefully we'll see Chris act more wary of this "alien" because that's the most rational to do but I can see his initial excitement. Wonder how he'll bring sonic up to his family. Now excuse me while I do the Mario!
Post-Forces Sonic X has never been done before, so brownie points for me! :D And yes, Chris will act wary of Sonic in this chapter. Could this be... character development? Also, Chris brought up Sonic and his friends to his family in "Party Hardly" *cringe title name cringe*, expect a similar situation in Chapter 7, but extended. *proceeds to join you in doing the Mario*
Disclaimer: I do not own any elements in this story except for my own characters. Sonic the Hedgehog is owned by SEGA, who does not endorse or affiliate itself with this work of fiction. Real world locations and organizations are used fictitiously. Real world people will be mentioned, but will not appear, in order to adhere with "Entries not allowed" Rule 4.
Gotta go faster, faster, faster, faster SONIC X!
Chris' POV.
Morning couldn't come fast enough. Or so I would have thought, had I not finally fallen asleep at around 5:30 AM. I was simply too excited. Having an alien fall into your pool would probably freak you out, but when I spoke with it, that's when everything changed.
I woke up as usual at eight in the morning. I was a little tired, which was to be expected when you've only gotten about seven hours of sleep. This was all on account of sheer excitement, comparable to Christmas morning. My wish had come true.
But there was one question still in my mind: Could Sonic really become my friend? Sure, he seemed to be friendly enough, but there was also a cocky demeanor to him, as if he was confident. He was also... unique. I mean, how many people can claim to run at the speed of sound?
I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and climbed out of bed. Then I remembered: the wet pajamas under my bed. Reaching down, I picked up the now-stiff PJs. They were only slightly wet, but I figured they would dry quickly, and Ella wouldn't know the difference.
I left my room and headed into the bathroom. Locking the door behind me, I immediately put the previously pool-soaked pajamas in the hamper before preparing to brush my teeth. Pool-soaked. Then I remembered Mom's rules.
Mom had said I was not allowed to swim at night under any circumstances, or swim without one of my guardians present. I had broken both rules. How could I possibly make this up to Mom? I knew that she didn't know, but as she's my mom, I knew she would eventually find out how. I needed to apologize at the next opportunity.
Minutes later, I finished brushing my teeth, washing my face, and doing my other morning duties. As I headed back to my room to change, I realized that it would be very difficult to apologize this time. I should just 'fess up. Nothing to it, right? Normally, that would be the case. But here we're dealing with an alien that could have drowned, and I couldn't just tell my mom that an alien fell in the pool. No way would she buy my story.
But then... then I thought of the prefect explanation. Why had I not thought of it before? I decided to put my plan into action the next time Mom called. But for now, it's time to start my day.
No wait... if Sonic was resting right above my room, why not say hi?
I picked up my iPhone 7 which was lying on the nightstand. I had received it for my tenth birthday, and it was one of my favorite birthday gifts ever. Since then, I had taken great care of it. Some of my favorite mobile games include Angry Birds and Candy Crush.
Anyway, I had pocketed my iPhone and opened the door to the balcony. Having a balcony right off my bedroom is pretty awesome. I looked up at the roof, and sure enough, there was the blue alien hedgehog reclining there.
"Good morning, Sonic," I greeted. "Did you sleep well?"
Sonic looked down at me. "Pretty well, all things considered."
I looked down at the vacant adult pool beneath the balcony. "You miss your home world, don't you?"
Sonic did a half-shrug. "A little. Could be worse." But I knew that, deep down, he missed his home planet. I wanted to help him safely get back home.
But how?
Just as I was about to ask how I could help him, my phone rang. I removed it from my pocket and saw who the caller was.
"It's Mom," I said to no one in particular. Time to face the music.
I pressed to button to answer the phone and held it up to my hear. "Hi, Mom!"
"Hello, Chris! It's so good to hear your voice again!" Mom replied. "I called to tell you I have good news and bad news."
Uh-oh.
"What's the bad news?" I asked, even though I had a feeling I knew what it was.
"You know my movie Valencia I'm shooting here in England? Well, we had a bit of a setback. A freak weather system dumped inches of rain on and off for the past four days. The weathermen say it won't let up until maybe Monday. Our outdoor shoots have been delayed as a result."
"Does this mean your coming is delayed as well?" I asked, hoping this was not the case.
"I'm sorry, dear," Mom replied regretfully. "Reschedule for next Friday?"
"...Yeah," I replied.
I was devastated again. Just last night, Dad said he couldn't come until later, and now Mom also had to be delayed. Sure, I put up with this for years, but life is just so unfair!
"On the bright side," Lindsey continued, "I've been able to spend this time to do a little shopping. I got you lots of gifts, including your favorite cotton candy." Chris beamed. "They'll arrive in two days' time by air."
"Thanks, Mom!"
Now was the moment of truth. Now was the time to apologize. I took a deep breath.
"Mom... I want to apologize for something I did last night."
Lindsey paused for a moment. I took it she was surprised. "Chris... what did you do?"
"I... was in the adult pool by myself last night."
Lindsey was quiet for a moment. I didn't know if this was a good thing or not, but it could mean trouble. Mom loves me very much, but what she says goes.
"Thank you for your honesty, Chris," Mom finally answered. "But whatever gave you the idea to swim at night?"
Now I knew I had to choose my words carefully. One small slip-up could result in disaster.
Speaking of disaster, Mr. Tanaka arrived to place my breakfast on the table outside. What's so bad about that? Well, for one thing, Ella knows I come down for breakfast first thing in the morning. She could get suspicious. For another, with Tanaka right there, I couldn't go on with my explanation, or he night get suspicious.
Fortunately, Tanaka left as quickly as he arrived. But this did not alleviate Mom's impatience.
"Chris? Are you still there?"
"Yeah, I was just... distracted. So, I woke up in the middle of the night just before I heard a splash in the pool. I looked out the window, and saw that it was a cat." I threw a nervous glance up at Sonic, who cringed a little.
"And you got it out," Mom finished the story.
"Yeah."
"Chris... you have a big heart, but next time, please call for Tanaka, and he can take care of things, okay?"
"Yes, Mom."
"Oh, hold on a minute," Lindsey said suddenly. After a moment's pause, she returned. "Dear, I must run. There was a change of plans, and the director needs me for an indoor scene right away. Kiss kiss," she said affectionately, and we made kissing sounds over the receiver; something we had done since I was little.
After Mom hung up, I sighed with relief. That was a close one. I know Sonic is, in no way, a cat, but I couldn't just not tell her; she would eventually find out. Hopefully my little story went well with her.
Actually, I should be thinking the same about Sonic, for he leaped down onto the railing next to me. He looked slightly irritated.
"Chris, that 'cat' you mentioned. That's me, right?" he asked.
"Yeah, sorry about that," I apologized, feeling a little guilty, "but Mom wouldn't understand if I told her I rescued a hedgehog, let alone one like you."
Sonic nodded. "This confirms my thoughts."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well, last night, when I was on the run from the cops, they called me an alien. I took it they never saw anyone like me on this planet before. I guess I really am an alien here."
"That's fascinating," I replied. But what the blue hedgehog said next blew me away.
"You know what else is fascinating? They've got Overlanders on my world, too."
I was confused by what he just said. "What are Overlanders?"
"Your species are Overlanders. Back home, they know me well, though we tend to go our separate ways."
"Huh," I replied. "So, basically, Overlanders are humans. Gotcha."
The phone rang again. Checking the caller, I saw that it was Dad. Oh no. The situation over there couldn't get much worse.
"Brace yourself for misunderstandings and explanations," I warned the hedgehog before taking the call.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Son!" Dad spoke. "You mom just called and told me about your emergency rescue last night."
I too needed to brace myself. The danger of Sonic's exposure was far from over.
"I'm proud of you, Chris," he continued, "but what you did was dangerous. This is exactly why we enforced the pool rules."
"Yeah, I'm sorry, Dad," I apologized. "It won't happen again."
"I hope not," Dad responded. "Y'know, if a stray cat can so easily enter the premises without so much as setting off the alarm, then I'll need to improve the security system."
No stray animal could enter our property, not with the fences and tall hedges. But I knew that Sonic had most likely fallen into the pool from directly above. He did say, after all, that he ran off a cliff at just under the speed of sound. That would account for his breaking and entering.
"Yeah, it could use an upgrade," I lied.
"Then I'll put that on my to-do list," Nelson reminded himself. "Did the cat attack you during your rescue?"
I didn't even need to look to sense a heavy cringe come from Sonic. "Uh, no Dad. It ran off as soon as it touched dry ground."
"Once again, Chris, you are very brave, but you really should tell your guardians about it next time something like that happens," Dad nearly echoed Mom's words. "Do you understand?"
"Yes, Dad."
"Oh, did you hear about the alien in Station Square last night?"
That hot me like a bombshell. I nearly paled. I didn't count on Sonic making such a big splash into the world, and I'm not talking about the pool. Social media. Why didn't I think of that. By now, he'd be all over the news.
"H-How do you know about it?" I asked, struggling to keep my voice level.
"It's trending on The Daily Mail. You haven't checked the news yet, have you?"
"No," I replied. I decided to turn the news on as soon as I went inside.
"Again, I'm sorry I'm not able to come. This new hard drive we're working on is pretty complex, and needs my personal supervision. Plus, we've got a tight deadline to meet. I will try to work things out with your mother so we can both come home in time for Matt's arrival."
"Matt's finished college already?" I asked. "I can't wait to see him again!" Matt was my older cousin; he's twenty-two years old, the son of Dad's older brother, and nearly finished his fourth year of college. Unfortunately, he doesn't live here at Thorndyke Mansion, but he lives out in Minneapolis instead.
"In the case we're not there then, please tell him we said hi," Dad requested. "Sorry, I need to go. I'm on a tight schedule, and our new AI products won't supervise themselves. Take care, Chris."
"Bye, Dad."
After I hung up the phone, I turned to Sonic. He was still cringing a little.
"Okay, it's done," I reassured him. "Sorry for the whole 'cat' thing."
The hedgehog shrugged. "It's fine," he said, to my relief. "You were just covering for me. Besides, this planet's never seen a Mobian before."
"Mobian?" That sounded all Greek to me. I assumed it has nothing to do with Moebius strips.
"That's what my species is called," he explained. "My friends are Mobians, too."
Just then Sonic's stomach rumbled. Oh no! I realized, he must not have eaten since he arrived! And since I had no clue what these "Mobians" eat, I was in trouble.
Or was I?
"Did you eat since arriving?" I asked.
"Nope. Not a bite since early last night." He jumped off of the railing. "You got any chili dogs?"
So Mobians eat human food. What a relief. "Yeah, as a matter of fact, we do."
"Yes!" Sonic almost shouted, before saying something about chili dogs being his favorite food of all time.
"Now, you gotta stay close, Sonic," I cautioned him. "I don't want to run any risks here, and if any of my guardians see you, I'll have quite a time trying to explain my way out of it."
"Okay."
I looked up and down the hallway. The coast was clear. So far, so good.
I stepped out into the hallway and motioned for Sonic to follow. Together we crept down the corridor. There was no one in sight.
"This feels like sneaking through one of Eggman's bases," remarked Sonic.
"Who's Eggman?" I asked just before hearing a sound come from the stairs. "Never mind!" I urgently whispered. "Into the guest room, quick!"
"You're not having any guests over, are you?" Sonic asked as he headed into the room.
"Other than you, no!" As soon as he was in, I shut the door behind him and continued walking as if nothing was amiss.
Then I saw the source of the noise: Ella was just reaching the top of the stairs with an empty basket of laundry.
"Well, good morning, Chris!" she greeted as we exchanged hugs. She was indeed like a second mother in a way. "I was going to do the laundry, and figured I would check up on you. It's not like you to wait in your room for so long before breakfast."
"Yeah, I know, but Mom and Dad called, so... yeah. Unfortunately Mom is delaying her visit too, but she and Dad are working on coming home in time for Matt's arrival."
Ella smiled. "Well, that's good to hear," she said. "Where are you off to?"
It only took a second to figure out what I wanted to do. "I think I'll join Grandpa in the lab."
"All right, Chris," Ella said before heading to the bathroom to collect the laundry. I headed toward the stairs so as not to arouse suspicion, but did not descend them. When Ella was out of sight, I ran back to the guest room and opened the door.
"Hurry!" I whispered. Sonic emerged from the room, and I made sure to close the door before heading for the stairs.
As we cautiously headed down the stairs, I looked around to see where Tanaka or Chuck might be. No sign of either of them. This was both a good thing and a bad thing.
"Not much further now," I told Sonic as we reached the bottom of the mansion's double staircase.
"Some place you have here," remarked Sonic as he looked around the house.
"Thanks," I said. "I'm proud to call this place home."
A few angsty moments later, we finally reached the kitchen. I opened the fridge, and there were the wrapped leftover chili dogs in a plastic container. We had had them for lunch two days ago.
"Y'know, it's a good thing you're able to eat the kind of food we do," I remarked.
"Why is that?" asked a curious Sonic.
"Earth hedgehogs generally eat cat food or crickets."
"Yikes," Sonic held back a shiver. "Then I guess I'm glad I'm not an Earth hedgehog. I take it Earth is the name of this planet?"
"You got it," I answered. "I think we should turn on the news; maybe they're talking about you."
"I did see a news helicopter during my chase last night, so yeah, I guess I'm on tape now," Sonic remarked as we headed to the living room. Good thing no one else was around to see Sonic. Ella was taking care of the laundry, Tanaka was in the backyard, watering the garden (last I saw him), and Chuck was in the lab (I assumed). So it was just me and Sonic as we sat on the couch. I turned on the giant, wide flat-screen TV (supplied by Starship Soft), and switched on Channel 4 News. They were on a commercial break. However, the commercials ended just then, and renowned local newscaster Scarlet Garcia appeared on screen. She was wearing orange as usual.
"One of the biggest headlines today, an extraterrestrial creature has appeared downtown last night, causing quite the commotion throughout the city."
To be honest, it felt strange seeing Sonic on TV, especially since he was sitting right next to me. But that wasn't all.
"Police were on the scene, but the alien managed to elude them. Even the SSPD's special High-Speed Division failed to catch the alien, which reportedly broke the sound barrier.
I was amazed at just how fast he could run, even though he told me just last night he could perform this seemingly impossible feat. "How... how is it even possible to run that fast? You're actually the first to get away from my uncle!"
Sonic's eyes went wide. "That Sam Speed guy's your uncle?!" he almost shouted at the coincidence, and I had to motion for him to quiet down.
"Yeah," I whispered, before admonishing him. "Not so loud. The others can't know about you yet."
"Sorry," Sonic replied, before we turned our attention back to the TV.
"Eyewitness reports claim that the alien is 'at least three and a half feet tall', 'hedgehog-like', and 'impossibly fast'. Police report that the alien successfully cleared a roadblock set up on Highway 1, as well as escaped from Sam Speed's S-Team. Joining me now is University of California Station Square biologist Dr. Kai Narasu. He has an interesting theory on this alien. So, Dr. Narasu, you say this extraterrestrial creature isn't alien to Earth?"
"That's right," Narasu responded. "It's impossible for any organic being to run in excess of even one hundred miles per hour. Even the cheetah can't run that quickly. So the most logical conclusion is that it must be some kind of government machine being test run on the streets without prior warning. Kind of like a UFO."
"Well... that's very... interesting," Scarlet replied.
The interview continued, but I was looking at Sonic incredulously. No way was he a machine. He's flesh and blood, just like me. I found out first-hand when I rescued him from that pool last night. Dr. Narasu was crazy.
"Is the guy crazy or what?" Sonic remarked upon hearing the interview.
"Yeah, right? But they don't really know much about you, so they're speculating at this point."
Just then I heard footsteps just outside the side door. Too late to tell Sonic to hide, for these footsteps were quick. The door was thrown in, and Grandpa came running in.
"Chris, are you watching the-"
He stopped dead in his tracks, gaze fixed on Sonic. This was really bad. My heart nearly skipped a beat. All I could do is hope that Chuck wouldn't call Tanaka and Ella down to see... that is, if they hadn't seen the news already. Sonic looked at me, as if asking if he should leave now. I shook my head. We were good and caught. All because I let my guard down.
Finally Grandpa regained his composure. Sort of. "Hi-him? Here? W-W-What's going on?"
"Grandpa, I can explain!" I tried to cover for him, even though I knew there was no explaining Sonic away this time. I was done for.
"Yes, you certainly have quite a bit of explaining to do," Grandpa said.
"Yeah, I'll explain, Grandpa; just don't tell Ella or Tanaka please!"
"Okay, fine," Grandpa said. I felt a little relief, but not much.
"Well, last night-"
"Guys, look at this!" came Sonic's voice from the couch. I darted over and rewound the TV to the part that Sonic saw.
"Also, we received this picture from an eyewitness last night showing what could be two other beings from the alien's planet. They are either alien, or machine as Dr. Narasu thought. Authorities, who have removed them from this billboard, declined to comment."
The picture showed a rabbit-like... Mobian, did he say he was?... as well as a blob-like being the Mobian was holding. The Mobian was female, and looked quite young and cute. The blob had a bow tie and a small yellow ball floating above it (do physics apply where they live?).
"Cream and Cheese..." Sonic whispered.
"Are they your friends?" I asked, to which Sonic solemnly replied "Yes." I had not seen him look this serious. "They're just kids..." he spoke softly. "They can't be taken by police like this..."
Chuck looked concerned. "I need to make a call," he announced before leaving the room. "I'll be back in a moment!"
As Grandpa left the room, Sonic turned to me. "What is it he does around here?" he asked.
"He's my Grandpa Chuck," I answered. "He's also a professor who likes tinkering with gadgets. He's even got his own private lab under the garage!"
"Sounds like he and Tails will get along really well," remarked Sonic. "So it's just you two and the guy who gave you your breakfast earlier?"
"You mean Mr. Tanaka? He's our butler who's got a black belt in karate. No, we also have Miss Ella, our maid. I think she has what it takes to beat Bobby Flay without even trying." Sonic gave me a confused glance. "He's a famous chef," I explained.
"So it's you, your grandpa, the butler, and the maid," he summed up, before looking at me with concern. "Where are your parents?"
My parents, as you may know, are a hard patch in my life. "They're... they're almost never here. They're always out doing their jobs, and they only come a couple times a year.
Sonic looked sympathetic. Not like the fake sympathy I receive at school. No, this was genuine. Sonic was the first person in my life outside my family to show true sympathy.
"Poor kid," he whispered. "It's been hard for you here, hasn't it?"
"Yeah," I said. "I've learned to adapt, though."
"So... What is it your parents do?" he asked, trying to lighten the subject a little.
"Well... Nelson, my dad, is a billionaire tycoon who owns Starship Soft, which I think is probably the world's biggest appliance company. My mom Lindsey is a famous Hollywood actress."
Sonic smirked. "You must be pretty lucky to be one of the richest kids on this planet."
I chuckled. "Yeah, it does have its advantages."
I was liking Sonic more and more. Not only was he special, he was sympathetic, too! Also, how many people do you know of who can run at the speed of sound?
Just then Grandpa returned. He was just finishing his call. and placing his phone in his labcoat pocket. "That was Professor Pell," he responded. To Sonic, he explained, "Alexander Pell is a professor and old college friend of mine. Anyway, I called about your friends we saw on TV. Alex has a link with the local news crew, and was told that they were tranquilized and quietly taken away in the middle of the night by the government. Most likely they were taken to Area 99."
I gasped.
"Area 99 What's that?" Sonic asked.
"Where do I begin..." Grandpa thought. "Area 99 is a top-secret military base located about one hundred miles east of here. That's where they test the latest government equipment. Anyone who found out too much about the government's project mysteriously disappeared."
An eerie silence filled the room. Sonic's friends were taken there? That sounded terrible. Anyone who entered Area 99 like that would most likely never come out again. What a ghastly way to go.
"Mondo creepy..." Sonic muttered.
"Follow me," Grandpa instructed. He headed to the side door and opened it for me and Sonic before following us. I knew we were heading for the garage, but what for? Was was Grandpa up to? Well, let's just say I did not like that glee in his eye.
"You never told me your name," Grandpa told Sonic.
"Sonic the Hedgehog," he replied.
"Hmm. Interesting name. I think your friends, Sonic, were taken to the research and development wing of Area 99, most likely because they're aliens."
"No problem. I can break in there, get them, and be back in less than hour. Just point the way," he offered.
"Sonic, that's hopelessly reckless!" I argued. He may run at the speed of the sound, but on top of that, he's cocky? No way am I going to let him break into a top-secret government base. But the other side of the equation posed a new question:
Don't you want Sonic to rescue his friends?
Yeah... I do...
"I'm the fastest thing alive," answered Sonic with a cocky grin that spelled trouble. "If anything, I'll give them a run for their money!"
"But still..." I trailed off as we entered the garage. Grandpa headed for one of the shelves.
"You can't go alone, Sonic..." he said. Glad to see someone's on my side. "...not without the right equipment." He pulled out a pair of devices. "We can stay in touch with these."
"A radio?" Sonic fingered the utensil Grandpa gave to him. "Looks like something Tails would make."
There, he mentioned Tails again. I took it he was another friend of Sonic's.
"It's also an infrared scope," Grandpa explained. "I've believed for years that Area 99 has infrared security lasers, and, since Area 99 has some of the tightest security in America, the scope will come in handy." Sonic slipped his headset on, and I couldn't help but notice just how much like Vegeta he looks. "Now I would highly discourage going in there guns ablaze, so try to find an air duct or something to get in."
"Shouldn't be a problem," Sonic nodded. "Can you give me an idea of what Area 99 looks like?"
"It's basically a pair of runways with several buildings here and there. Most of it's underground, from what I hear. Anyway, it's about a hundred miles east of here; you shouldn't have too much difficulty finding it."
"Gotcha," the hedgehog replied.
"Well, gotta juice. I'll keep in touch." With that, he bolted out of the garage, nearly blowing me over, but I caught myself just in time.
Off he ran, off to infiltrate a highly off-limits government base. And to think he would become a great friend. Here he is, throwing himself head-first into danger, even willing to break all the laws to get his friends out.
"He's going to break into Area 99, Grandpa! Why didn't you stop him?"
Grandpa sighed. "Would you rather his friends continue to be experimented on?"
I thought about it. "N-no," I spoke. "They look so young. They don't deserve this treatment."
"You're right," Grandpa said. "Which is why I'm glad we have someone who can rescue them on our side. If he is as confident as he says he is, then maybe he can get his friends out of Area 99."
"But..." I trailed off as Grandpa started to climb into the driver's seat of the car.
"Trust me, Chris," Grandpa urged. "I have confidence that Sonic will rescue his friends without being caught. Do you?"
I was speechless. Sonic was already a caring person, as I had seen earlier, and here he was thrusting himself into the depths of Area 99 to rescue his friends. But I was distracted as to why Grandpa was in the car.
"Are you going somewhere?"
"I thought we might want to go bowling together. You know, to take your mind off things. Besides, you've wanted to go one more time before school starts again."
While I couldn't guarantee the part where it could take my mind off of Sonic potentially breaking the law, I decided to take up his offer anyway. "All right," I accepted.
"Great. Let me just write this note letting Ella and Tanaka know we'll be away." He pulled out a memo and spent a few moments writing on it. Then he got out of the car and attached it to the outside of the small door next to the large garage door.
"Why not tell them in person?" I wondered.
"Because I don't want them coming in the garage and potentially seeing Sonic and his friends," he responded, "so I kept them out under the guise of a 'secret project'."
"Great idea," I approved.
"Now, are we ready to go?" he asked.
"Ready," I nodded as Grandpa climbed back into the car and started the motor. As we backed out of the driveway, I still couldn't shake the feeling that Sonic was going to get himself arrested or captured... or worse.
Third-person POV.
Having just come off his lunch break, Ray Browning strolled down the hallway that led to Sector D. Yesterday had been quite the day for him. In fact, he had only gotten about three hours of sleep last night. The reason was simple: extraterrestrial life.
The clean-shaven forty-something man would never in his wildest imagination have thought that alien life really actually existed. And yet there were reports of an alien in nearby Station Square just last night. The hedgehog-like one had evaded the police and even their special Speed Division branch, but that was not his responsibility. No, his responsibility was to oversee the collection of two possibly related alien species: one rabbit-like, and the other blob-like. When his team of government vehicles arrived to remove them from the GEICO billboard near Highway 101, they had no idea what to expect. Surely the aliens could attack them. But they didn't. In fact, the aliens sounded pitiful when they were carefully tranquilized, removed from the billboard, and loaded into the back of a government van. Even though Ray himself wasn't there to watch, when he received the report that his team had recovered the aliens, he felt nothing short of giddy. No way would he sleep tonight. He really wanted to see the aliens in person, but took nearly two hours for the van to arrive, and another two to set up the containment chamber that would store the aliens, and long before then he decided it was his bedtime. He would have stayed up to see the aliens, but thought it would take quite a while longer to prepare. No way would he sleep tonight. Good thing he had a Kindle.
Ray had only gotten three hours in. He was so excited that he had actually captured an extraterrestrial creature. Two of them actually. Were they intelligent? What were their capabilities? Where were they from? He would have to find out soon.
At last he decided he had enough with trying to get more sleep. As much as he wanted to see the aliens first, he had other priorities to do. He wasn't head of the Research and Development division of Area 99 for nothing.
Two hours and one lunch break later, it was finally time. Time to see the aliens. Time to learn something new.
Ray entered through an automatic sliding door that led to a side corridor and paused in front of the door to Room D-21. While he didn't particularly care for the new eye scanners that had been installed a few years ago, he figured it was for the best and beggars can't be choosers. He bent down and let the device scan his eye. F219563 had been his ID number for the eight years he was head of the Research and Development division. At last, the device gave a beep, a tiny LED light turned green, and the door unlocked. He tried to hold in his excitement as he entered the decidedly crowded room. A female scientist approached him.
"Sir, the specimens have regained consciousness just ten minutes ago and await testing," she reported.
"Thank you, Catherine," Ray responded. "How are their vital signs?"
"Stable," came the response.
Ray looked around for the two aliens. It didn't take him long to spot them. Sure enough, there were the rabbit-like and blob-like aliens. He had to admit, they looked... cute, but he reminded himself to stick to his job and not play with the animals.
"Okay," Ray instructed, "we will need to run several more scans and see how their immune, digestive and respiratory systems work. Especially the blue one. We'll start with a heat signature."
"Yes, sir!" several scientists responded as they headed to their various poss at the computers.
"Wh-wh-where are we?" came a strange high-pitched voice from the containment chamber. "Wh-what are you going to d-do with us?"
To say that everyone was taken aback was something of an understatement. No way would they have thought the rabbit-like alien could speak, let alone English.
"Chao chao!" the smaller alien responded.
"They're far more intelligent than we previously thought," one scientist whispered to Ray, "even to a human-like degree."
Ray nodded. This was starting to become a scientific breakthrough. He tried to hide his excitement.
"Please, could you please let us out," the rabbit-like alien pleaded. "We didn't do anything wrong!"
Ray cleared his throat and approached the containment chamber. "You can't be let out," he tried to say as evenly as he could.
It seemed that an air of depression was added to the alien's fear. "But why?" it asked.
As cute as the alien was, Ray did not want to hurt its feelings. Yet this was business, and he couldn't compromise work with sympathy. "We can't take any unnecessary risks. For one, we don't trust that you're not part of an attack on this planet or whatever, and for another, we're not done experimenting with you."
That seemed to strike a chord with the alien. "E-Experimenting?" she squeaked. "Wh-what kind of place is this?"
"I'm sorry, but that's classified," Ray responded curtly. He turned back just as one of the scientists reported: "Heat signature complete, sir."
"Let me see." Ray rushed over to the screen and studied the image generated. "Interesting," he mused as he saw the shades of colors that made up the aliens' heat signatures. "Pretty much what I expected it to be. Okay, now the respiratory system test."
"Respiratory system test starting in 3... 2..."
The scientist named Catherine approached the aliens. "I'm sorry you both have to be put through these tests," she said sympathetically. "I really am. But you see, we've never had anyone of your kind here before."
"You... haven't?"
Catherine didn't know how to answer that question. But before she could respond, Ray spoke up.
"We're not here to socialize, Catherine."
"Sorry!" the scientist responded before heading back to her post at one if the monitors. But the turned back to the aliens to say: "Don't worry. You two won't be here forever. Just hang in there, and you'll be out before you know it." She said this quietly so as not to make Ray think there was conspiracy going on. The rabbit-like alien cracked a small smile, as if it liked Catherine.
"Respiratory system test complete."
"Now on to the immune system test," Ray ordered.
"How long will we be here?" the alien asked, not sounding as scared as before thanks to Catherine.
"Oh, could be two or three months," Ray answered. "But until the government gives the order, you can't leave the facility."
Cream sat down and leaned against the wall. "Is Sonic here on this planet?" she spoke to no one in particular. "Will he come and rescue us?" Cheese hovered close to Cream, and they cuddled, waiting for their hedgehog in shining armor to rescue them from the frightful bowels of Area 99.
Sonic's POV.
I didn't think Area 99 would be this hard to find. Then again, desert for miles around seems to have that effect. Everything's harder to find in a desert.
I've been running for the past twenty or so minutes trying to find something that should be much larger than a needle in a haystack. I mean, how hard is it to find a giant military base in the middle of the desert? Then again, it is top secret. I just hoped I would find it before long...
So Cream and Cheese are getting experimented on in there, huh? Mondo uncool. They only just got here; they don't deserve this treatment. What kind of experiments were being done, I didn't want to think about, though it probably has to do with them being aliens to this planet. Yet I'm an alien, and they haven't experimented on me. I guess that's what the cops wanted me for last night, but I was too fast for 'em. Overlander enforcement is intelligent, but sometimes they're really shortsighted.
It's pretty lonely out here. Makes me wonder who lives all the way out here. I did see the occasional gas station, road, and signpost every now and then, but man, it's dead quiet out in the desert. And to think that Station Square's right at the edge of this desert. Well, this Station Square, anyway.
At last, I think I made a breakthrough. From the top of a nearby cliff, I saw some pretty ominous things right away.
A radio tower.
A runway.
Barbed wire fences.
I think I found what I've been looking for. Time to check in with the chief. Fortunately, the radio's wireless, so all I needed to do was speak.
"Yo Chuck, you there?"
A moment passed before I got a response. "Yes, Sonic. Did you find it?"
"Yeah," I responded, "and it sure does look ugly."
"Think you can vault the fence?" Chuck asked. "I know you cleared a police barricade last night, but this is different."
Sounds like a challenge. And you long-time Sonic fans probably know I never back away from a challenge. "Is the sky blue? Is water wet?" Probably shouldn't have picked that second comparison for obvious reasons, but what's done is done.
Chuck laughed a little. "I don't doubt you for a second," he responded. "Good luck in there."
I need more than luck to get these two out, I thought.
So I began running toward Area 99's fence at a reasonably quick speed. Closer and closer the fences got. I could do this. It's nothing I haven't done before. It was almost just like Eggman's base, but with Overlanders instead of robots. Not to mention I have to rescue Cream and Cheese again. It's just like last night, but this time, I'm on an alien world that is strangely similar to my own.
I reached the fence in about thirteen seconds flat, and prepared myself for the leap. Shame; there aren't any robots to trash around here. Oh well. I leaped over the barbed wire fence with the greatest of ease...
...only to suddenly find myself caught on closed-circuit surveillance. Too bad my one minute of fame didn't last long as I waved to the cameras and spin-dashed them to bits. Don't want any prying eyes to see me bust Cream out of there, now do we?
Good thing hardly anyone was out in the open. The only evidence they'd have of me being there was the broken cameras. Even then, it still wouldn't prove I broke them, unless they were smart enough to look at the surveillance videos. And they probably already saw me.
I shrugged off those thoughts as I saw a clear air duct entrance. Looking around to make sure I'm not a candid camera celebrity, I plunged into the ventilation shaft.
Way too often I leap before I look. And yet I'm careful enough to avoid certain doom. This is one of those situations, as I never accounted for the depth of the shaft. I judged it was about a good thirty feet deep as I slid to a stop. Hope my butt doesn't hurt too much in the morning...
My headset had nearly fallen off in the fall, so I repositioned it. They weren't the best fir, mostly because they were a little large, and they were made for Overlanders, not Mobians. Besides, I'm not used to running around with an infrared field in front of one eye. No sooner had I straightened them than Chuck radioed me.
"I'm hearing a lot of noise on your end," he said in a concerned tone. "Are you in?"
"Yeah," I replied. "But things look ugly up ahead."
"It's the infrared lasers, right?"
"Yup. Looks like those rumors you've been hearing are true. It's nothing I can't handle, though."
I looked ahead at the security laser. Okay, so maybe I exaggerated a little with Chuck. They obscured the entire path in front of me starting about fifteen feet away, which made me think I picked the wrong vent to jump in. I carefully started crawling down the shaft, trying not to make any noise.
Eleven feet, ten, nine... The security lasers grew ever closer, and I considered turning back and heading back up the shaft if my luck didn't change any time soon.
But wait...
I smiled when I heard a new sound underneath me. The sound of a grille. Perfect. Now I can enter Area 99.
"Found my way in," I reported. "Now it gets real."
"Excellent," responded Chuck. "Be careful in there."
"I'll make it through; don't worry," I reassured. "Listen, I won't be able to report my status for a while, since I don't want to give away my location."
"Okay, then," Chuck said. "Good luck."
I'm on my own now. In fact, this mission was all me since the beginning. Now to see what kind of security and secrets Area 99 has to offer...
I peeked through the slits in the grille, and saw almost exactly what I expected to see. I saw at least one camera swiveling back and forth, scanning the hallway for intruders. No way would the boys at Area 99 expect an intruder of my skill. But I figured that, where there was one camera, there were more. After all, Chuck did say Area 99 had some of the highest security in the world.
I examined the grille, checking to see if it was secured to the ceiling. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn't. There wasn't even so much as screws holding it in place. Smirking, I placed my hands on either side of the grille, and carefully, quietly, removed it from its place and leaned it against the metal wall. I then quickly and carefully looked down the hall. Sure enough, there were dozens of pivoting cameras lining the walls. I quickly pulled my head back up to avoid detection. Then I realized: they were studying the floor, not the ceiling. Maybe I could use this to my advantage...
I looked down the hall again, carefully studying the cameras, looking for a pattern to them. Normally, I wouldn't care about surveillance, but this isn't Eggman's base. Yet, it seemed very much like it, sans the robots. Both today and yesterday, Cream and Cheese were captured. I'd say today is more dangerous, since I've never been to Area 99 before.
At last, I noticed a pattern. For only a split second, all cameras pointed away from my location. I had to time it exactly right if I wanted to make it through this ordeal.
Every eleven and a half seconds, the cameras pointed away from me. I mentally counted to eleven and a half before leaping down and darting down the halls; although extremely carefully, as I wanted to avoid dealing with whatever Area 99 had to offer. Keeping an eye on the cameras can be pretty tricky when done quickly. Then again, "quick" is my middle name.
You thought my middle name was "The", right? What kind of cartoon has that?
At last, I reached the end of the hall and came to the next one, of course, it too had swiveling cameras. Time to pick up the pace.
It was a wonder I avoided detection at that intersection. I'm not gonna lie; dodging the cameras' lines of sight is far more taxing than I thought. And yet I was doing it. I'd say if Eggman and the Area 99 guys had a surveillance contest, the trophy goes to these guys hands-down.
I couldn't do this all day. I needed some time out of the limelight.
Then I had my lucky break.
A janitor's closet.
I made a beeline for that closet, and was relieved that there were no cameras directly in front of the closet. Even better, there was a map of the facility in front of the door. So I figured I could duck inside the closet and study the map, which is exactly what I did.
Now to find where Cream and Cheese are...
Chris' POV.
Grandpa removed his headset as I prepared to bowl again. "So I guess we just wait for now," he stated.
I released the ball and watched it roll down the lane. Unfortunately, it had too much of a spin, and clipped three of the pins on the left side.
"Not bad," Grandpa noted, "but try to have a little less of a spin on the ball next time."
"Okay," I answered, before my thoughts returned to Sonic.
"Grandpa... Does Sonic know he's probably breaking the law? I mean, I do want him to rescue his friends, but..."
Grandpa placed a hand on my shoulder. "Chris, I know where you're coming from. You just need to have a little faith in him. Besides, if Sonic is caught, and I doubt he will, maybe the punishment would be different with him, since he is not of this world."
I took the next ball, and bowled my second ball toward the pins. This time, I knocked down five pins, leaving only two standing.
"Your turn," I said, backing away as Grandpa took the next ball. The pin setter reset the pins. "I hope Sonic's friends are okay. What were their names again?"
"Cream and Cheese, if I'm right." The mention of their names reminded me of cream cheese, and I had to smile.
Just as Chuck's ball knocked down seven pins, Grandpa's headset crackled, prompting Chuck to place them back on. "Chuck, are you still there?"
"Just a moment," Grandpa spoke, before covering the mouthpiece. "I'll be right back. You can bowl my second ball," he told me before heading in the direction of the restroom.
As he left, I wondered what kind of update he would bring. Hopefully it was good news. I knew that Cream and Cheese were far too young to be experimented on or even held captive in a place like Area 99. I felt bad for them. But the one emotion that exceeded fear and concern for them was annoyance. Annoyance at Sonic for daring to break the American laws. But there was something else in there I seemed to be overlooking.
Love.
Sonic loved Cream and Cheese, enough to break the rules in order to save them. He would do anything to rescue his friends. That was true love. And for that, I was grateful.
I broke away from my thoughts to bowl Grandpa's second ball. Grandpa. How was it possible that he trusted Sonic so much where I couldn't? Maybe it was because he knew Sonic was not a machine? Or was it because he was just willing to help him?
Then I realized that the answer to this too was love. That same love was in Grandpa. He wanted to see Cream and Cheese free. He would support Sonic in doing whatever it took to free them from Area 99.
I released the ball and watched it sail down the lane. Closer and closer it got to the pins. It looked like a clean shot. Then it collided with the pins - a perfect spare.
"Nice shot," I heard Grandpa behind me as he returned from the restroom.
"Thanks," I responded as I picked up the next ball. "So what did Sonic say?"
"He found a map of Area 99, and I helped him to locate the research and development wing. Fortunately that's not far from where he is now."
"That's good," I responded as I prepared to bowl again. "Just hope Sonic frees his friends and gets out before the authorities catch him."
"You know they can't," Grandpa laughed. "Remember last night?"
"Yeah," I chimed in.
Grandpa became serious again. "You seem more confident," he said. "Is it a change of heart?"
"I guess you can say that," I responded. "I realized that, while Sonic could still be arrested... he's doing this out of love. And... and you also have that same love."
"I certainly do," Grandpa replied warmly. "I will always try to help those in need. Any friend of Sonic is a friend of mine."
"But you only just met him," I pointed out.
"I knew at first sight he was a special person," Chuck said. "In fact, I was getting bored of the same-old, same-old, you know? I actually wanted to see him in person at some point. But never in a thousand years would I have expected to see him with you in your living room. You still have to tell me how he got there."
I cleared my throat, and prepared to tell him that awesome, amazing, astonishing story of how Sonic ended up in my world.
Third-person POV.
Ella was dusting Chris' room upstairs. She had not seen him since they met in the hall earlier that morning. It wasn't like him to leave the house without saying where he was going. He did say, however, that he was joining Chuck in the lab, but there had been no sign of the scientist in about an hour. She was growing more and more curious of their whereabouts.
One she finished dusting in the bedroom, Ella left the bedroom and headed toward the stairs. "Tanaka!" she called. Promptly the Japanese butler appeared at the bottom of the staircase. "At your service, Miss Ella," he made himself available.
"Tanaka, could you please check to see if Chris and Chuck are still in the garage? They don't usually leave the house without telling us."
"Right away, Miss Ella," he answered before rushing out the front. Ella turned and headed back down the hall toward Lindsey's and Nelson's shared room to dust. Could they have gone shopping together? Chuck was always getting new parts for his projects. No, he almost never took Chris along; the young boy usually thought of it as boring. So she ruled out that possibility. Then she realized: Chris had been talking about going bowling for past two weeks now. Bingo. She was concerned over nothing large at all.
A minute later, Tanaka returned to the upstairs. "I found this note on the side door," he reported, before handing Ella the note. The maid unfolded it and read it.
"To Ella and Tanaka:
Chris and I are going to the bowling alley today. Also, please don't enter the garage for the next few days. I am working on a top-secret project. Hopefully by next week, I will be able to disclose it.
-Chuck"
"Huh," Ella said as she handed the note back to Tanaka. "Perhaps you should put this note back where you found it. I don't want Mr. Thorndyke thinking we saw his project."
"Very good, Miss Ella," Tanaka replied as he took the note and headed for the stairs. Just as he reached the bottom of the stairs, the doorbell rang, followed by "Police. Open up."
Now this was unexpected. Ella was both worried and curious as to what the officers wanted. Surely one of them wasn't in trouble? Ella knew this was the case, but she still wanted to know why the police were at the door.
"I will handle this," volunteered Tanaka as he walked briskly to the front door. Upon opening it, he saw four police officers standing on the porch.
"Good afternoon," the frontmost officer stated. His name tag suggested his surname was Rodham. "We've received eyewitness reports that an alien that appeared in town last night was last spotted here. We have been authorized to conduct a thorough search for the suspect in this house."
Tanaka wasn't surprised in the slightest. After all, he had seen the news that morning. "Very well," he consented, and stepped aside the let the officers in.
"Okay, spread out," instructed Officer Rodham. "You two, upstairs. Evans and I will take the first floor."
"Yes, sir!" the other two officers responded as they ascended the stairs. Ella headed back downstairs toward Tanaka.
"Tanaka..." Ella spoke, having not heard the officer speak to Tanaka. "What are they looking for?"
The butler chose his next words carefully. "They are... looking for... a very dangerous wanted criminal. Eyewitnesses said he was last spotted in this area."
"Oh?"
"Yes. The police have advised those living in this neighborhood to take extreme caution and remain indoors."
Ella wasn't sure what to say at that. "Thank you for telling me," she finally said.
"I would not be too concerned, Miss Ella," reassured Tanaka. "Mr. Thorndyke has ensured we have the highest standard in home security."
"And for that I am grateful," Ella added. "Remember that time a few years back when a couple thieves tried to break in?"
"Indeed. They could not even so much as clear the gate."
A few minutes later, the four officers gathered back in the foyer. "We've finished," Officer Rodham announced. "We apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused."
"That's quite alright," Tanaka said. "Did you find any evidence for the case."
"None. Our man must have left the premises. We'll keep listening for eyewitness reports. He can't have gone too far."
"I hope you find him," Tanaka said.
"Don't worry about a thing," Officer Rodham headed for the door. "Well, you two have a good day now."
As Tanaka shut the door behind the officers, he mentally released a big sigh. The alien was in this area, and the police were right in their house searching for it! Thank goodness the cops didn't say "alien" in front of Ella; he'd have quite the time trying to explain it.
However, the only clue that proved that Sonic the Hedgehog was ever there, the one clue the police overlooked, was an empty chili dog wrapper on the coffee table in the living room.
Sonic's POV.
Having hung up with Chuck, I took one last quick peek at the map - kinda hard to do with a red lens over one eye. If Chuck was right, then the R&D section only had a few rooms for organic lifeform research. According to the map, those rooms were D-20 through D-22. Since I knew Cream and Cheese were organic, they had to be in one of those rooms. Only thing is, there are still cameras everywhere. Dodging them was really taxing for me, which meant I had to do it again if I wanted to get the pair out of this place.
I carefully opened the closet door wider and looked to make sure the cameras weren't facing me. Some were just facing away when I looked, so I darted out of there. Only when I was far enough from the door did I realize I forgot to close it. Oh well. I knew the staff here couldn't catch me if they spotted me.
Two rights, a left, then the third hall on the left. Now that I was getting used to the layout of Area 99, I decided to pick up the pace a little.
The cameras seemed to have a set pattern to them, which allowed me to slip by them if I was fast enough. Then again, "fast enough" is normal for me, so who am I kidding?
Careful, Sonic, I chided myself. This is a rescue mission, not a break-in-and-kick-Eggman's-butt mission. Breaking in here is one thing, but this time I needed to break out with Cream in tow. And she's only a kid, I needed to put her safety above mine. I vowed to get her out of Area 99 as quickly as possible, no matter what it took.
At last I rounded the final corner and spin-dashed through the closed door to the sub-corridor. That was really risky, but I knew someone was bound to have seen me by now. Fortunately, I didn't care. The only thing that mattered was that Cream was going to see freedom today.
Three doors. Only three doors to choose from. Which one was Cream behind? Strangely, this small hallway was not guarded by any cameras, so there was that. I knew I didn;t have all day. And it was a wonder I didn't see anyone the whole time I was here. Perhaps Cream's being here was a bigger deal than I had thought.
Then I realized: this seemed foolhardy. Was Chris right to think I was throwing myself into the open arms of Big Brother? But I've gotten out of bigger pickles than the jar can hold. So I decided to examine the three doors.
D-20's light was off. Guess nobody was in there. D-21 seemed filled with activity. And D-22 had only a few people inside. Using my supersonic deduction skills, I concluded that D-21 was the room for me. Thus the light bulb had gone off in my head.
And the facility. Literally.
Yep, we're talking about a mondo major power outage here. It was pitch black. At least I knew where the door was before I threw it open. Sure, it had an eye scanner, but it also had an emergency disengage system. Inside the room, there were many confused Overlanders wandering about. Some were using their smartphones as makeshift flashlights. So those things do have a use besides encouraging couch potato living...
"Get some electricians to the grid on the double!" one of them yelled into a radio set.
Their phone lights not only helped them see where they were going, it helped me see as well. Miraculously, they didn't see me as I sneaked past them. Now, where in this massive room can Cream's containment chamber-
Bump.
Looks like I found it.
"W-What was that?" I heard a frightened Cream on the other side of the glass.
"Shh, it's just me," I said.
"Mr. Sonic?" Cream exclaimed with relief.
"Keep your voice down," I gently cautioned, "and stand back. I'm gonna break you out."
"Okay," Cream responded ans she stood back. I positioned myself so that most of the glass would not harm Cream or Cheese. Bracing myself, I leaped toward Cream's encasement, curled into a ball, and smashed through the glass on both sides of the containment chamber. As soon as I landed, Cream ran toward me and hugged me. Cheese followed suit.
"Thank you, Mr. Sonic!" she exclaimed gratefully.
"Sorry, no time," I told her as several heavy flashlights shone on us.
"Intruder!" someone shouted. "The test subject is loose!"
"W-What's going on?" Cream looked around, worried. I smirked. "We're gonna juice it loose."
Cream barely had any time to pick up Cheese before I broke into a run. Kinda hard to do in the dark, as you might imagine. It was a miracle I didn't run into anyone. We can't say the same for anything, though. I had nearly run into a wall trying to flee the room in the dark. Cautioning myself to be careful, I tried to move a little slower, but as quickly as I could in the dimly-lit, if at all, corridors. If only this infrared scope also had night vision...
"You okay back there, Cream?" I asked her once I set her down. No way could I carry her and run in the dark.
"Not yet," Cream nervously admitted. "How long has it been since we were sent here?"
I turned to face her - or rather, wherever her voice seemed to come from. "About fifteen hours," I responded grimly. "Too long to be in captivity for you."
"Fifteen hours?" Cream was surprised. "It felt like months in there!"
"Good thing I saw you on the news, or it certainly would have been months," I replied.
I had to use my instincts to guide myself through the corridors. Fortunately, I didn't have to worry about the cameras anymore; they were deactivated by the power outage. I also did not have to worry too much about the staff; they weren't headed my way.
"Do you know why the lights went out, Mr. Sonic?" Cream broke the silence.
"Sorry. Not a clue." I tried to smile, but no one could see it in the dark.
Just then the lights came back on. We shielded our eyes from the lights that blinded us after spending this long in the dark. "Backup generator," I mused. The power would surely be restored by the electricians soon, whatever happened.
Then things went from good to bad as the cameras swiveled in unison to the only things standing in the hallway.
Us.
Immediately an alarm began blaring, startling us. "Intruders detected in Sector D. Counteractive measurements are advised," droned a female robotic voice. This went from bad to mondo bad. How could this get any- no, I shouldn't jinx things. Oh wait, they did just get worse. The cameras weren't there for surveillance. I found this out first-hand as tiny capsules emerged from the tops of the cameras. Laser blasters. I thought Overlanders weren't capable of this technology? Then again, this is Area 99, one of the most secret and high-tech places in this world, according to Chuck.
"Hang tight," I told her as I picked her up bridal-style, being mindful that she was still carrying Cheese. Then, being as careful as I can, I tore off down the hall just as the lasers started firing. Strangely, these lasers weren't destructive. I took it they could only affect organic beings such as us, and not inanimate things like the walls and floor of the facility.
It was difficult to carry Cream and Cheese and dodge the lasers at the same time. But since I was running as quickly as I could in an enclosed corridor, they narrowly missed me by mere inches.
Just then my radio began crackling. Bad time, Chuck, bad time...
"Sonic, I'm hearing a lot of what sounds like laser fire on your end. What's the situation?"
"Just child's play. I do this all the time back home," I responded with a smirk.
"Who was that?" Cream asked.
"Someone you'll meet real soon if we get out of this alive," I responded as I dodged more lasers. Already this was getting old. This mission was harder than I thought it would be. And the lasers were more annoying than an actual threat. Time to do them in.
I gently set Cream down once we reached a relatively safe area. This took her by surprise. "What are you doing?" she asked.
I quickly turned to face her. "I'm going to take care of a few of those cameras. You need to run ahead of me."
"But..." she began to protest, but I was already on the task. Quickly spotting the first camera, I leaped on top of it. The other cameras turned toward me, but I noticed the cameras fired every two seconds, including my own. Hoping the other cameras wouldn't destroy mine, I carefully aimed my camera at the others, destroying them one by one. It was then that I saw that Cream was rooted in place in awe and terror, watching camera after camera go down.
"Go!" I ordered. This did the trick. It shook Cream from her trance, and I watched as she darted down the hall. I uprooted my camera, threw it to the ground, and stomped on it. Just then an awful reality came to be.
Doors started closing all through the facility.
That wasn't so bad, though. The bad thing about this lockdown was the fact that I abandoned Cream. I let my selfishness get ahead of me. I took off down the hall, only to see a door closing right between me and Cream. This is what I had been afraid of. I know never to separate myself from anyone I'm rescuing.
Fortunately this was a mild situation. A small door was no problem for me.
"Mr. Sonic!" Cream cried out in fright.
"A base lockdown hasn't stopped me before, right Cream?" I reassured her. "Stand back!"
I walked back about fifteen feet from the sealed door, then ran toward it before executing a spin-dash that ripped through the door like it was one of Eggman's robots. (For all I know, it could have been the same material.) Quickly spotting Cream, I scooped her up and continued running.
"Sorry about abandoning you back there," I apologized. "But those cameras are so annoying right now!" Sure enough, there were even more cameras here than the ones I destroyed. I just had to grin and bear it.
"It's okay, Mr. Sonic," replied Cream. "I know you'll get me and Cheese out of here safely."
"Yeah," I smiled, "I will."
Another hallway, another line of cameras. There was nothing but hallways and cameras out here. Strangely, I didn't see any guards anywhere. Then again, I'm too fast for them, I guess. And since there were walls everywhere, I had mo clue which wall was an exterior wall, and there was no time to go back and look at the map. Let's face it; I'm lost.
"Do you think you could leave the same way you came in, Mr. Sonic?" Cream asked, as if she could read my thoughts.
I grimaced. "Through a ventilation shaft guarded by invisible security lasers? Afraid not, Cream. We'll have to make our own way out."
Saying there were cameras everywhere was more of an understatement. They must have put cameras every six feet! Now that's surveillance. If only all these cameras would stop shooting lasers at me and just turn off...
And they did. Just like that.
The reason was quite simple, really. It came in the form of several small electronic devices that rounded the corner right in front of us and aimed themselves at the cameras. Upon collision, they shorted out the cameras one-by-one.
"Whoa!" I ducked underneath another half a dozen devices that continued down the hall and disabled some of the other cameras we passed. We stood still, not sure what to make of the situation.
"W-What's going on?" Cream wondered.
"Wish I knew," I responded. "But if I knew any better, I'm sure this must be the work of-"
Just then another device came into view. It looked slightly different than the others, and was unaccompanied. It seemed to hover there before floating down into my hand. Examining the device, I saw that it was shaped like a paper airplane, and had electronic symbols lining it. But the one symbol that stood out was an image of two tails.
I felt great relief. Tails had made it here to this world. He was the best friend I ever made. As our tech whiz, he helped us out of countless crises. He is an amazing little brother. When we reunited, I knew I had to introduce him to Chris.
"What is that?" Cream leaned toward me to look at the electronic plane. I lowered it for her to see.
"It's from Tails," I spoke gently. "Listen, we need to keep moving. We don't want to get caught, right?"
Cream nodded, and we started running toward who-knows-where. It was only then that I realized that the plane contained a small paper rolled up inside. I took it out and opened it. As I thought, it was a message from Tails. I read it to myself:
Sonic,
I don't know if you're going to receive this, but I learned of Cream's capture, and figured you would be here. I've provided you some backup in the form of EMP planes; they should take care of the surveillance. Make your exit at the northeast section. It's the one with the large dish-shaped roof. I'll be in the Tornado. Good luck.
Tails
"Guess I'll need the map again," I said to myself. To Cream I said, "Cream, let me know if you see a map somewhere."
"Okay, Mr. Sonic."
We kept running down the halls, the only sounds being our footsteps and the sparking electricity from the cameras, not to mention the sounds of shouting in the distance.
"Guards are coming," I warned the young rabbit. "Better pick up the pace."
"Wait!" Cream pulled on my arm while pointing to the wall. "There's a map here."
I stopped and looked at the map. "Let's see..." I mused. Locating the northeastern quadrant, I calculated that it wasn't far from where we were now.
"Intruders! Freeze!" came a shout from the distance. Okay, so maybe it was a little further away than I thought.
Just then they came into view. They were about a dozen Overlanders in military suits, all aiming their semi-automatic rifles at me. Heh, I'm sure Shadow's gonna love the guns they have here...
"Put your hands up! Both of you!" one of the soldiers ordered.
I shrugged. "Nah, I don't feel like it." Without wasting any more time, I picked up Cream (awkwardly, as I was in a hurry), and bolted past the guards at an insane speed. Well, insane for a closed indoor space. Quite normal for me otherwise.
In my hurry I nearly hit another wall. Believe me, I've done that before, but since I've been running supersonic for years, I'm quite used to indoor spaces. At least the cameras aren't a problem anymore. But now that I've got guards to deal with, this just became a mondo time crunch.
"Gonna need some concentration so I can get us out of here," I advised Cream. She nodded.
I loaded a mental image of the map into my mental file and tried to study it as hard as I could without losing speed as I ran. As there were no cameras, I didn't have to worry about the lasers as much, as most of them in this area were destroyed. But now I had to worry about guns and real bullets. The guards started shooting at us. I cradled Cream and Cheese closer as I got closer to the rendezvous point.
Two minutes later (it felt a lot longer), we arrived at the rendezvous point. It was a stairwell surrounding a missile silo. Fortunately, it was empty, so there were no missiles to worry about today. Just a staircase with no railing. Major safety hazard, I might add.
But the railing wasn't my only issue. Guards were descending the staircase. Of course, they were armed with more rifles. Note to self: if I ever get my hands on one of those, I'm gonna give it to Shadow next time I see him. Rumor has it he's got a collection going on.
"This is gonna be close," I said as I ran up the staircase. Not to engage the guards up there, but to avoid the ones that just came through the door I had entered through. I was trapped abone and below. This was bad. I only hoped Tails was still waiting outside for me.
Just then I heard an all-too-familiar droning noise. It could only be Tails' famous Tornado. The only hurdle left for me to leap over was my escape from Area 99. Not so bad.
"Is that the Tornado?" Cream asked once she heard the sound of the motor.
"You bet!" I confirmed. "Now hang on. Just hope you don't feel too dizzy once I'm done getting us out."
"What do you mean?" It didn't take her long to figure out my plan. "But... isn't there another way?"
"Trank the extraterrestrials!" ordered one of the guards.
"I guess the answer is no," I said grimly. "Hang on."
I leaped into the air, and willed myself to spin rapidly in place. The guards must have been astonished, as they seemed to do absolutely nothing. Either that, or time seemed to slow down. Anyway, when I reached peak spinning speed, I launched myself at the opposite wall and bounced off. I needed to reach a certain velocity, which meant I couldn't just crash through the wall without ricocheting myself around the room several times. Which is exactly what I did. I noticed the guards were starting to fire their tranquilizers at me, but all of them missed. I swear some of them even hit each other. That must have been a sight to see.
Once I bounced around about seven or eight times, I aimed myself at the exterior wall, and collided with it with ease. It stood no chance against me as we sailed through it. We were just above one of the stairs when we went through, which, unfortunately, meant the guards could poke their guns through and fire. Fortunately they didn't do that just yet.
Just then I caught a quick glance of the Tornado 2. Uncurling, I aimed myself at the right wing. Tails waved as he dipped the plane so I could easily land on the wing.
And land on the wing I did. Without much grace though, since I was still carrying my precious cargo.
"You made it!" congratulated the fox behind the controls.
"I don't let my friends down for anything in the world," I said as I gently set Cream down in the passenger's seat and buckled her in. She looked quite dizzy from all the spinning she had endured, but it worth the price of freedom.
"What's that you're wearing, Sonic?" Tails asked in curiosity.
"It's an infrared scope/radio combo," I answered. Just then I noticed the guards congregating around the hole I made.
"Tails, looks like the guards are going to-"
"I know! Just give me a moment."
The guards had just begun to open fire on the craft. No bullets hit the Tornado, and I held on as I felt it travelling faster. After a couple moments, the bullets stopped coming.
"So how'd you know I'd be here?" I asked. I know, I had the note, but I wanted to hear his side of the story.
"I'll explain once we land," Tails answered. "Speaking of, where are we landing?"
"I'm staying at one of the Overlanders' houses. We'll land there. I'll guide the way."
"Wait, you're living with Overlanders? Are you sure they won't turn you in or anything?"
"Oh, no, no, we're on good terms. That reminds me, I gotta check in."
Fortunately, my headset was still on; it never left my head during my breakout spin.
"Chuck, you still there?"
"Yes, Sonic. Did you make it out?"
"Sure did. Cream is safe with me, and we're on our way back. In short, mission accomplished."
"Excellent," Chuck praised. "We're on our way back now."
"Oh, and Chuck?"
"Yeah?"
"You got room in your driveway for a small biplane?"
Chris' POV.
Grandpa and I left the Arby's we went to right after the bowling alley. It was a close game, and even though I bowled a strike or two, Grandpa still came out on top. It's like he's an expert or something. Maybe someday I'll win.
Just before we left, Sonic told us he had succeeded, and met up with another friend who owned a biplane. All I can say is wow. How is Sonic's friend going to fit it in our driveway without arousing the suspicions of Ella and Tanaka? That would be super hard.
"How long have we been out today, Grandpa?" I asked as Grandpa remotely unlocked the car doors.
Grandpa glanced at his watch. "About three hours."
"Is that all?" I was surprised. "Time really flew for me!"
We climbed into the car, and Grandpa started the motor. "You think it's bad now; just wait until you get to my age." Was being old that bad? Does time fly that quickly with age? Well, I was still young, so I didn;t have to worry about that now.
We pulled out of the parking lot. Grandpa checked the rearview mirror for traffic.
Chuck smiled. "Are you excited to meet Sonic's friends, Chris?" I beamed. "I really am! Though, I hope they're not nearly as reckless as Sonic."
"You're still thinking about his recklessness," Chuck assumed, to which I shook my head. "No, I don't think you'll have to worry about them."
I nodded. "Cream. Wasn't that Sonic's friend's name?"
"That's right."
"She and Cheese must have been really scared in Area 99."
Chuck sadly nodded. "They were. No one deserves that treatment, especially anyone as young as they are."
"Yeah, I agree." Changing the subject, I asked, "How long will it take to get home from here?"
"Twenty minutes if we hurry."
And so we pulled out onto the road, homeward bound. Sonic wasn't just loving. He was a hero. And now I couldn't wait to meet his friends.
Sonic's POV.
"Right there," I pointed to the long driveway of Chris' house. It was lined with palm trees, and ended with the garage some distance away.
"Uh, it looks a little short for a plane, but I'll make do," judged Tails as the plane gradually descended. By now, Cream's light-headedness had gone away, and sleepiness took its place. She'll get some proper rest once we land.
A moment later, Tails made a perfect three-point landing in the driveway. We slowed down and stopped right before the garage door. Fortunately, Chuck left it open for us, so we could sit around inside and wait for Chuck and Chris to get back. Tails slowly and carefully turned the plane around in the driveway, so that it could be immediately ready for its next takeoff, before turning off the engine.
"So this is where you've been staying since you came here, Sonic?" wondered Tails.
I leaped out of the plane and onto the ground before looking over the house. "Yeah. Isn't it way past cool?"
After climbing down from the plane, Tails also examined the garage. I could see it in his eyes that he was already geeking out. "Way past! I mean, who lives here? Whoever he is, he must be an inventor or something!"
Cream unbuckled and, carrying Cheese, flapped her ears to disembark from the Tornado. She wandered over to a chair in the grage and sat down with Cheese in her lap.
After a moment of studying the garage, Tails turned back to me. "Do the people living here know you're staying here?"
"Oh yeah. I wouldn't be here otherwise," I answered. "Four people live here, but only two of them know about me."
"Why only two?"
"Well, strange as it is, this world's apparently never had Mobians before," I answered.
"Yeah, that is strange," mused Tails. "The way I see it, if we're in a world that has its own version of Overlanders and Station Square, then chances are we've been sent to a parallel universe."
"That's what I've been thinking too. At first I thought I was blown back in time, until I saw all the modern tech the Overlanders had," I responded.
"I've not seen much of this world's Overlander's technology yet," said Tails, "but I'm sure I'll get the opportunity to find out." Taking another look at the garage, and all the tools and machines arranged neatly within the space, he asked, "So how did you come to find this place?"
"It's quite a story, so I'll start right after the Chaos Control incident." I took a breath, ready to relate my story. "'K, so I woke up in the middle of town, surrounded by cars, people, and cops that showed up. I think they wanted to experiment on me like they did Cream-" Unfortunately, this garnered a small whimper from Cream. I patted the young rabbit's head. "Sorry, Cream. I know it was scary, but now you're sake and sound." Cream smiled at that.
"Okay, so I evaded the cops, got some time to think things over, and then some group of police Formula One racers who called themselves the S-Team ran me out of town... almost. I managed to evade them, but their leader - the Highway Star, is he called? - is probably more cocky than me even. Said he wants to be the fastest guy in this town."
"Sounds like you've got yourself a little competition," chuckled Tails.
"Oh, you should have seen his face when I pulled off a sonic boom right in front of him!" I chuckled at the memory, though I hadn't stuck around to see the guy's shock. "Anyway, once I shook off the S-Team, I decided to get a bird's-eye view of the city before moving on to other places. Good thing I didn't. I had leaped off a cliff to get one last view of the city, but, to my horror, found I was going to land in a pool." I shuddered. "I would have drowned had it not been for a young kid named Chris who lives here."
"Is he here?" Tails asked.
"Not yet," I answered. "He went out with his grandpa; bowling, I think. They'll be back in a few minutes, probably."
Cream, who had been silently listening, spoke up. "But Mr. Tails, how did you know we were in... in that place?"
"Oh, right, I still need to tell my part of the story!" the fox realized. "Okay, so I woke up in a farm somewhere. It was nighttime, just like back home, and I was pleasantly surprised to see the Tornado was with me. Unfortunately, it was pretty beat-up, having suffered engine damage during our battle last night. It took me most of the night, but I finally got it to fly."
"No wonder you look tired," I noted. "You should get some rest, buddy."
"Thanks. I'll definitely be needing it." He stifled a yawn. "When I woke up the next morning, I got out the Miles Electric too see if anything had changed, since, y'know, we're on another world. I was surprised to find I were picking up Overlander TV stations. I decided to do a little channel surfing, and I came to the news channel. That's how I found out about Cream and Cheese."
"What about the planes you sent in? Weren't those the ones you were going to send in before things went haywire?"
"They were," the fox responded. "Good thing I also had the message-delivering planes still lying around. Did you get my message?"
"I sure did!" I responded, giving my buddy a thumbs-up. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't." Glancing down at Cream, I saw that she was cuddling Cheese, who was fast asleep. Tails yawned. That Chao had some great ideas...
"So Cream," Tails spoke gently so as not to awaken Cheese, "are you okay with telling your side of the story?"
The young rabbit shuddered at the memory, as well she should, because no one should experiment on children.
"Um... Well, Cheese and I woke up in the night on top of a giant sign... Then bright lights flashed in our faces as a giant truck brought a ladder to me... Then... someone put cloths in our faces, and we fell asleep... Then we woke up in that horrible building... Um... How long was I there, Mr. Sonic?"
"I think it's been about fifteen hours," I responded.
"Fifteen hours?!" Tails almost shrieked. "Sonic, they experimented on her for fifteen hours?!"
I looked over to make sure Cheese was still asleep. "Well, given the time she woke up, it may have been only one or two hours," I admitted. "Cream did say she was surprised she was there for fifteen hours. At least they didn't experiment on her while she was out cold... that I know of."
"But still, no one should be experimented on like that!" I secretly hoped Cream would not have nightmares tonight.
"I know, bud, but these Overlanders are different than the ones back home. By the way, did they ever experiment on Mobians before?"
"Not at all. They've been living in harmony for centuries, even though it's not often they cross into each other's territory." I understood that it was rarer for an Overlander to be in Mobian territory than for a Mobian to be in Overlander territory. Rouge and Shadow still worked for GUN, which was comprised mainly of Overlanders.
"Oh, and Chris told me a couple things about this planet that are pretty different than Mobius."
"Oh yeah? Like what?"
"Well, for one, they call this planet Earth, and the Overlanders here are known as humans."
"Humans," Tails repeated.
"Yep!" I confirmed.
"So that's where phrases like 'only human' come from..." pondered the fox.
"Will we see Miss Amy again?" Cream's voice came from her spot in the chair.
I felt for her, I really did. She missed home as much as I did, and Cream had not seen her mother all day. But as for Amy... this was better news.
"I'm sure she made it here too. Same with Knuckles. They'll pop up soon, don't worry!" I winked. Then I noticed Tails take on a concerned expression. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked.
I nodded slowly. "Yup. He's here too." I don't even heed to say who "he" is, but I'll give you a hint: his name sounds like a breakfast food.
Chris' POV.
"Ready, Chris?" Grandpa asked as we pulled into the driveway.
"My body is ready," I joked.
Grandpa pulled up next to the biplane, and I must admit: the plane is a bit smaller than I thought it would be. From what I saw, it could seat two, and had the word "SONIC" printed on the side. Obviously its pilot was a big fan of Sonic.
Once Grandpa turned off the engine, we got out of the car and headed toward the garage. There they were: Sonic, Cream, Cheese, and what appeared to be... a Mobian fox? I would find out soon enough. I needed to tell myself to calm my heart rate.
Just then Sonic turned to us. "Hey, welcome back!" he greeted. He headed over to us, and the Mobian fox followed behind.
"I'm Chuck, and this is my grandson Chris," Grandpa introduced us.
"My name is Miles Prower, but everyone calls me Tails," the fox introduced. I could see why. Was it unusual for Mobians to have two tails? I would have to ask later.
"My name is Cream," introduced the young rabbit, "and this is my Chao friend Cheese."
"Chao?" I was confused.
"Chao are cute little creatures found on our world," Sonic explained. "They're pretty rare these days."
"Does he speak?" I asked Cream.
"Cheese doesn't speak," Cream said. "But he does speak in his own way, as all Chao do."
As if on cue, the Chao flew out of Cream's grasp, and greeted me with "Chao chao!", which startled me a little bit. Tails giggled at this.
"It's okay; he's friendly," he reassured. I smiled. They were definitely worthy friends of Sonic's, and I knew immediately they would be friends of mine.
Just then Grandpa returned from looking over the plane. Approaching Tails, he said with wonder, "So you're the pilot of the plane, Tails?"
"Yep!" he said proudly. "This is the Tornado, my pride and joy!"
"So you built it too?" Grandpa asked incredulously.
"I sure did!" Tails blushed a little.
There was a stunned pause.
"...How old are you?" Grandpa finally asked.
"I'm eight years old," the fox replied, mot missing a beat. I was a little surprised they measured age the same way we do.
"You guys have ages on your world?" I asked, even though I shouldn't really be surprised.
"We sure do!" Sonic answered. "I'm fifteen, and Cream here is six."
"Do you mind if I examine the controls?" Grandpa asked Tails.
"Not at all!" he permitted. "Just don't touch anything."
Grandpa climbed onto the wing very slowly - "My legs weren't what they used to be," he groaned - and peeked inside the plane. This left me to think about just how mature their ages are compared to us.
Whoa... Sonic is only a teenager. No one will believe me if I tell the people at school (which starts again in two days) that a teen risked his life to save a young child from the depths of the most secure government facility in the US. The only things our teens do is sit around on their phones all day, or maybe pop by the college safe room in more extreme cases (no offense, dear readers). Not to mention Tails is only eight, and he is capable of flying a plane all by himself, not to mention he built it himself. Just... wow.
Grandpa lifted a large, rough-looking bag from the back seat of the Tornado. "What's in here?" he asked.
"Inside the bag are several small airplane-like devices gapable of generating electromagnetic pulses," Tails replied, as if it were obvious. Heading over to Grandpa, Tails and I helped him down. The fox opened the bag and handed one of the devices to Grandpa. It was smaller than any paper airplane I could ever make. Grandpa was speechless in awe as he fingered the device.
"I made them myself," Tails spoke quietly.
"These... these are ingenious," Grandpa whispered. "How did you make them? This technology is not of this world."
"I made them back on my world. Besides, Mobians did always have more advanced technology than Overlanders. No offense, Chuck."
"None taken. Oh, what was the second species name you said?"
"Overlanders? They're what you call humans."
"Oh, okay."
While they were talking, I knew I had to bring up the issue about safety. Now that I knew it was all done in love, I was not as angry at him as I had been. But I still need to talk to him. But it turned out that Sonic noticed my expression first.
"What's wrong, Chris?" he asked. Hopefully Grandpa wouldn't overhear; he was involved in gearhead talk with Tails.
"Well... Do you know just how dangerous Area 99 really is?"
"Security cameras with laser turrets? Unexpected power outages? Guards with guns? Yeah, that's dangerous. Nothing compared to-"
"No, that's not what I meant. What I meant is that you could have thrown the whole country into turmoil, and later be executed for your crimes. But I'm not mad at you because you did it for a worthy cause. I learned that it was out of love that you rescued Cream."
Sonic just smiled. It was an understanding smile, one that you might give a friend of yours. He laid a caring hand on my shoulder (I wondered if it was difficult given he's about as tall as my chest).
"I wouldn't worry about it too much, Chris. If I'm caught, and believe me, that's not happening any time soon, then things will probably be different with me than with an Overlander. Besides, this is nothing I haven't done before. That reminds me, if I'm going to be staying here a while, I should probably tell you some of my adventures."
"Mr. Sonic has saved us more times than I can remember," piped up Cream as she stifled a yawn. If Sonic went on lots of adventures, then who needs storybooks and fairy tales when you've got a Mobian hedgehog who can run at the speed of sound?
"The Miles Electric can also translate languages, has its own radar, and can even pick up TV stations!" Tails was showing Grandpa a tablet unlike any I had ever seen.
"And you also built this yourself."
"From scratch," Tails answered.
"Incredible," Grandpa replied. "Well, did you know that I'm also an inventor? I should show you some of the things I've made."
He almost ran to the garage, and Tails followed behind him. I even thought I heard him laugh in his giddy excitement.
He picked up Sonic's headset he had left on one of the counters in the garage. "This is a headset I made last year," Grandpa said. "Not only does it have two-way radio, but it also has an infrared scope that can be swapped out for a night vision scope."
"Wow, that looks really neat!" Tails commented. "Were these the ones you used in the mission to rescue Cream and Cheese?"
"Indeed they were!" Grandpa beamed. "They really came in handy, especially since my theory on the infrared security sensors proved to be correct."
"You seem excited," Tails pointed out.
"Why shouldn't I be?" he nearly exclaimed. "It's a real joy to be able to work with a master scientist from another world!"
"Well, I'm not exactly a-"
"You really are from another world, aren't you?" Grandpa asked for confirmation.
"That's right. We come from a planet called Mobius."
"Hm. Where is it in relation to Earth?"
Tails thought for a moment. "I don't know... mostly because I've never heard of Earth before. However, I do know that there is a way we can get back home.
"How?"
"I spoke with Sonic earlier, and we agreed that all will be explained once our friends Amy and Knuckles get here."
"Did they make it here as well?"
"I strongly believe they did."
I had been listening to Tails and Grandpa this whole time while Sonic stood by. Cream had already fallen asleep. Then I remembered something: Had Ella and Tanaka heard the plane? It'd been a wonder they hadn't come out by now! What happened?
"What if Ella and Mr. Tanaka find out about the Mobians?" I presented to Grandpa as calmly as possible.
"Remember the note I left? It said for them to stay in the house for a few days while I work on a 'secret project.'"
"And what about the plane?"
"Oh, don't worry about that, my boy. They'll think it's just me playing with the generator again."
I chuckled. "That was really clever, Grandpa." To Sonic, I said, "If you want to go somewhere, could you please try not to be seen by the public, at least for now?"
The hedgehog shrugged. "I don't think I can guarantee that, Chris. But hey, I can roll around at the speed of sound. Nobody will know what it was that passed them by."
I sighed. I think his laid-back attitude was already starting to get to me. "Just... be careful, okay?" He rewarded me with a smirk. Me... no comment.
"Well, I'm going to prepare lunch for everyone," Grandpa announced as he turned toward the garage door. "Rest easy, Tails, and Chris, you can use this time to get to know your new friends better." (Yes, Grandpa can cook; he offered to fill in for Ella when she got a cold a month ago.)
As he left the garage, I thought of his words. He called us friends. I haven't even known Tails, Cream, and Cheese for ten minutes. Not only were they the right kind of friends for me, they were the best kind. We could go on all sorts of adventures. Now Grandpa even has a lab partner!
As I looked from Cream and Cheese, then to Tails, then to Sonic, I could not help but feel excitement for all the fun time we would have together. Not only had my wish been fulfilled, it had been fulfilled a hundredfold... and this gift would keep on giving for as long as they were here.
A/N: Shorter than the last chapter, but some of the best things come in small packages! Here are some of the key differences with the episode:
-There was absolutely no need for Chris and Chuck to drive all the way to Area 99 if Sonic could just run there.
-Added more fluff to the last scene. Also split it into two scenes.
-Merged the first three scenes.
-Replaced the destructive cameras with guards.
-Added character development! *angelic choir*
-Created an all-new scene with Ella and Tanaka.
-Created an all-new scene with Chris and Chuck going bowling.
-Removed the final Eggman scene. I'm merging that with the first scene of the next episode.
-Added a little doubt for Sonic in Area 99.
-Modern technology!
-Now without cat food!
-Instead of live footage during the day of Cream on the billboard, it's an eyewitness photo taken moments after the Chaos Control event.
I need constructive criticism for this one, especially since Chris is heavily used. Chris is a very toxic character in the fanbase, and I wanted to change that. I've always loved Chris, and wanted to spruce up his character. He's not whiny, he's just misunderstood.
If you see ways I can strengthen the writing, or if anyone is OOC, please let me know! Anything helps!
Until next time, do the... Sonic?
That didn't come out right...
