And this is where things start to get dicey, folks. My memory starts breaking up a bit here, and it's bound to show. In addition, there's more characters to introduce now since Rush Adventure has come out, among other things (Olympics, Riders, potentially Black Night, etc...). This is where the real test begins for how well the writing will hold up, and if you've read the original I'd really appreciate feedback for how I'm doing, both writing and story-wise.
As for things changed so far, I'd like to get some opinions. Do you think I should keep the intro paragraphs that are supposedly from Anne's report? Also, should I change to normal Story Breaks or keep the "Lets Play Sonic 2006" Storybreaks? If they're not that entertaining it may be easier to leave them out. Or if there's anything else that seems out of place or odd that's less obvious to me, you can say so too. Its my writing and you'll notice it if you want to.
Also, I wasn't really sure how I wanted to approach the Tails story, so let me know if you thought it was effective. It probably won't be the main format I tell stories in, unless they're typically non-funny ones such as when Sonic met Tails. I didn't really want to put it in dialogue format, although it sort of is anyway. Although it's only Sonic's dialogue you see, and you have to guess if or what Anne is saying. You'll see what I mean.
Get Edgy:
"Their cooperation happened again against a pirate named Whiskers, though he only appeared this one time. It was in the Southern Island Chain, and was also when my parents were first introduced to Marine, the acclaimed raccoon inventor and bounty hunter. At the time she was very young, but my father and his best friend had a very influencing legacy on the lone encounter. Her mechanical skills she picked up from Tails, and her resolve was from both of my parents. It wasn't always positive from Blaze, but she was 'out to prove herself,' according to my father, and 'annoying and reckless' according to my mother. The event paved the way for the South Oceanic Technology Collage that the island is now known for, as the vehicles Tails built were studied there as its first purpose. Apparently, rumor has it that they are still studying them. My mother and I were there for Marine's graduation, although we didn't stay long. Sonic was 'away on missions.' He's away a lot. A lot more could be said, but most of it comes from the 'tall tail' raccoon, who's age at the time brings her stories into question."
"...but I already told you about Angel Island." Sonic smiled, recalling his own adventures aboard the oversized hunk of junk he'd disposed of several times. It was ironic, how building large space stations in the shape of their egotistical maker's face ran in Eggman's family, even when villainy didn't. Unless you counted Gerald Robotnik going insane at the end of his life, but Sonic didn't hold it against the guy. A pair of legs basked in the sun, remaining a stillness rare of them so that even the hourly shadows moved faster. Not including his right foot's air tapping.
"Uh, dad?" Anne piped up.
"Yes, Pumpkin?" He turned to look at his daughter.
"You didn't mention anything about meeting Tails." Sonic was the picture of surprise, so caught up in himself having missed his little bro. He couldn't believe himself, but all that gave him away were a few precious blinks, something only family could pick up. And she laughed his laugh, all forgiven, while smiling inwardly to himself at the resemblance. Pride was not something the hedgehog felt often, as bloated as Blaze claimed his ego to be, but pride was what he felt here. Parental pride.
"Right, then, I must have skimmed over that part." Anne laughed, a form of family apology to her hardly humble dad. "Anyway, I'm pretty sure I said Tails was the one who fixed up the dings in the plane, right? Before departing again."
"Right. So what was it like meeting him?"
"Well, its important to note I wasn't actually looking for him. You see, on my second crash landing I saw a GUN base not far away, and took note at it's air strip. I tried to land there, It seemed like the best bet for a safe landing despite..."
Lets Play Sonic 2006: *when getting a B rank* "The designers understood.
Which is really not comforting."
Bullets shot past me as the Tornado descended more rapidly than I had intended, coming up short of the field. Holes dotted the wings of the craft, responsible for the deep decent, along with loss of the engine. Not that I knew it at the time. Or understood. In all honesty, the real damage was the engine, since it stopped mid-flight when I tried to land. I thought it had run out of gas again, although I learned later there was more to machinery than magical gears and weak armor. Still, the auto-land function moderately worked and set the plane down in a field not far from the base. I wasn't still on it at the time, though. A bit before it landed, I jumped out onto the ground to try and keep my quills straight this time.
GUN soldiers eventually came by, as I knew they would. Despite explaining my predicament, they didn't believe me. Nor did they believe I had fought, let alone beaten ol' Robotnik. Still, they took me into the base along with the Tornado where Tails first met the thing. They had him repair it as something to keep him occupied while his parents worked on a new jet engine design. When I heard a couple of human soldiers talking about them, I managed to obtain an introduction. Sure, it might have been that I was a 'furry,' as they called, but I firmly believe that if I hadn't put on a serious face, they wouldn't have let me. If you're wondering what face that would be now, Anne, It'd be close to the 'Shadow-frowney-face,' but more serious. Yes, that is possible, Anne.
Anyway, when I met them I was surprised to find that they were a pair of foxes, and not human researchers. Furthermore, since in my world, Humans are the 'superior species' or something, so it was a pleasant shock when I found out that the two were in charge of their research. Mrs. Prower was quite the nice lady, and Mr. Prower taught me a lot about what Tails hadn't fixed on my plane. That is, after I told them my story and demonstrated my speed. I spend a portion of the evening with Tails, playing tag across the base, then in the fields surrounding when the base commander kicked us out for the duration of our game.
The night didn't go so well for Tails, though. He got really tired out from flying around with his two tails to catch me, since I was slower back then and he could. I was ten, what'd you expect? I hadn't yet broken the sound barrier yet! Hey, hey, no laughing! Have you broken it yet, Anne? No, I didn't think so.
As I was saying, his parents worked into the night on the engine, getting quite tired I imagine. I donno if they were pushing a deadline or if it was just persistence, but their fatigue was fatal. The engine prototype exploded, killing both of them and a number of humans as well. Tails was devastated, and kind of became shy for a while of anything around him. It didn't help some of the things people said to him, either, like 'this base is a research facility not a petting zo-*cough* I mean daycare center. I felt sorry for him, and he took a liking cause I was his only friend there those first few days. Later, when he had finished up with the Tornado, he asked if he could tag along. I didn't see why not, and he even knew how to fly the thing better than I did! The rest is history...
Lets Play Sonic 2006: *asking townsfolk where Egg carrier went loading screen*
"Find out where that battleship went, will ya?"
"... As for why we call him Tails, I really shouldn't have to tell you that, should I?"
"Ha! I got that, dad. Its kind of obvious with a lot of your friends and their abilities." It was something Anne had noticed whenever her father mentioned most of his friends, and some of his other acquaintances as well. Still, those that she remembered easily were from multiple experiences, such as Egghead, Tails, Amy, and Cream. Blaze rarely let her travel to the otherworld with Sonic, so usually they would wind up coming here, either by choice, by event, or by Eggman's plans to defeat him.
"I suppose that's true isn't it," he replied, not caring. Everyone was entitled to their secrets, and one thing was real names. Although in his case he couldn't remember what it was. Although he had the sneaking suspicion he didn't like it. Seagulls flew above, his gaze resting on the chaotic formations darting above the beach. Anne watched too, never quite certain about what had captured his attention. In truth, nothing had caught his attention. He was simply too busy to be bothered by what the birds did in front of him, and the irrelevance made it easier to focus inward.
As far as his trance took him, he was not entirely oblivious to the change in scenery from harmless seagulls to a furry face of frustration. There was something she was unhappy about, for certain. Chances were it pertained to him, though.
"Hi, Mom," Anne replied cheerfully. "I though you had work to do?"
"I took a break." The monotone voice told Sonic it did indeed pertain to him. "Sonic, lets have a talk."
Called it.
"Sure, I can handle that. A nice, slow walk." Smiles were popping up often on his face today, and when they did leave, Anne usually managed to call them back quick if his own humor didn't. "Where 're we goin'? Or just having a parent to parent talk?" Blaze made a low growl, indicating to Sonic the latter.
"Anne, you just stay here and wait for us to get back, OK?" Blaze knew her daughter well, but out here there were no royal butlers, servants, guards, or other castle employees to keep an eye on the fast-paced princess.
"Sure mom, I can do that." Sonic caught the glint in her eye, and matching smile to one of his own. Or so Tails had told him, anyway. Blaze had mentioned it too, but it was more of an insult rather than any sort of potential praise for Anne's relationship with Daddy Hedgehog. Honestly, he wasn't sure about the danger level the cat had in store for him. Last thing he needed was an Alice in Wonderland reference, as this queen would definitely give him maximum punishment for anything so 'trivial' as painting the roses red.
Or saying they were red, anyway. After all, the only thing he'd done so far was talk. It wasn't like he told her about anything dangerous. Or, at least, too dangerous. Then again, his definition of 'mildly hazardous' was to her 'incredibly reckless.'
He wondered what Blaze would thing of the time he'd played around in time paradoxes. On second thought, he didn't want to know.
Lets Play Sonic 2006: "And you have to pursue the Egg Carrier."
"Is it a battleship or is it a carrier?" "Yes."
"You're making this take longer than it needs to." Even in her mind, it probably wasn't true. If anyone, it was Anne, but since she did happen to have part of his genetics. It was still more convenient to blame him than her daughter, though. Over the years she had developed an additional part of her brain specifically to this task, the 'Throttle Sonic' lobe. "What have you told her so far for her report?" She didn't let him rebuke her first comment, not that he particularly wanted to. Blaze's temper was incredible. He could think of three joke at any time about how bad it was, but now was not the time to say them.
"Well, I told her about when I met tails, as well as my time with Nack and when I headed out on my own for the first time." Her glare was back to 'sweltering foundry,' with a hint of accusation. She stopped walking, maintaining her potentially pyrotechnic glare. "Ok, maybe I accidentally mentioned a bit about Eggman since I met him in between my first flight and meeting Tails, but-"
"But nothing. The last thing I need is Anne wanting to go galloping around the world fighting as many bad guys as possible."
"I haven't taught Anne anything I wasn't supposed to. No need to get to get edgy. If she picks it up on her own, what am I supposed to do about it?" The sun's heat gave way to that coming from the cat, and unknowingly Sonic took a step back. A look of indifference was on his face as he continued. "Besides, she did ask me about how I met Tails. Backstory is necessary, you know."
"Well then, next time leave saving the world out of the backstory."
"Come on, it was just one island!" For once, he was annoyed. It was uncommon for him, but with accusations flying, Blaze wasn't the only one heated. "Its not my fault he keeps coming back and I keep saving the world."
"You could let someone else try for a change. What about that GUN group? And Shadow? Or any of your other friends, for that matter!"
"Well, actually Shadow works for GUN now, in case you forgot. And when I was younger there wasn't anyone else who was stepping up to the plate. Even now, I still have to get involved."
"You get involved because otherwise you'd have nothing else to do." It was spiteful, and it was correct. She had noticed this over and over, especially that whenever she did see him before Anne came along he was always saving the world. Sonic seemed confused, rather than upset, though.
"Of course. Not that I wouldn't mind doing nothing, but its who I am. Getting into dangerous spots is something I've been doing all my life. What's the problem of having fun if it benefits society?" She growled, teeth clenched. Sonic watched the ocean's tide, keeping Blaze in his peripheral vision. He didn't notice her face twisting back into the 'steel-melter,' and kept going. "Besides, you cant tell me you didn't have any fun when you met Cream and Marine while we were saving the Sol Emeralds."
A crackle caught his attention and Sonic glanced back at the pyro-powered feline. Step by step, snaps of flames like firecrackers erupted around her scowling, closed eyes. A hand was over her forhead as she focused, trying to stay in control. It wasn't like her to get pushed to her limits, but sonic was a button pusher. She guessed it was something about him. Knuckles had told her about all the people who Sonic has met that tried to kill Sonic, including himself. It was strange that no one ever succeeded, and how many became friends after. Even Eggman had allied himself with Sonic on several occasions. Sonic didn't just live on the edge, he lived past it in eternal freefall. And got away with it. That was his 'curse,' and he enjoyed every minute of it. Idiot. Complete chili-dog loving moron. Control, control, control...
"You..." She finally managed, opening her eyes as the crackling of flame subsided as she regained control. "You are impossible."
"Thanks," he grinned at her. "I try."
And his eternal humor. One of the things he had picked up from being in constant danger was laughing it off, along with enjoying it. It set people at ease with him, such as the royal guards. She had chastised them several times for being too lax while Sonic was around. It stood out among his qualities, she imagined. Not that she cared for any of them and-
"Blaze?"
"Huh?"
"You're smiling."
"What?" she immediately and intentionally grimaced at the revelation, forcing her features into a face that could be stretched by imagination into anything but a smile. Sonic, oddly and consciously, perisisted.
"You were smiling." The temperature went up a warning degree. "Okay, lets say you weren't." He decided to walk over to a nearby tree and sit down, when a rustle in a nearby bush behind Sonic caught Blaze's ear. It wasn't hard to figure out what caused it, and Sonic was apparently ignoring it, still smug about something.
"Ok Anne, come on out." Sonic watched with one eye closed, a peculiar habit of his when he was relaxing. Or at least Blaze thought so. More peculiar was how the pre-teen hedgecat hadn't caught the habit from him yet. Her face was somewhere between confusion and disappointment at being caught. "What have I told you about eavesdropping?"
"Hey, I can't help it if I got here before you guys decided to walk by."
"Anne!" Blaze sighed. This wasn't going anywhere. "Its inappropriate to listen to other people's conversations. Especially when they specifically say to stay where you are. Its impolite and unladylike..." Anne's face was devoid of emotion as her eyes focused on her mother. She was focused, just not on the lecture.
Anne had always enjoyed being with her parents, and especially both of them at the same time. It saddened her that Mother hated Dad, but there had been this flame burning since she first met Sonic that Blaze still did like him, even if she didn't show it. Over the years, the candle had begun to dim in the immense fury that surrounded it, but now there was evidence. Blaze had quite clearly smiled at Sonic's joke, and not even her mother's quick denial would have erased that from her memory. It only engrained it in the now well stoked flames of hope for her parents getting back together.
"... I'll decide punishment when we get back to the palace, though. So, Anne, you got that?"
"Yes, Mother," she sighed, not caring about the lecture, or the decision of punishment her thoughts had prevented her from hearing. Still, thinking hard, Anne took a seat next to her father on the sandy white beach. Waves came and went as the three stayed there, unmoving like statues. Sonic's left ear flicked twice, spontaneously, before Blaze had enough of the peace.
"So."
"So," Sonic echoed, "What?"
"Don't you have things to tell Anne? For her paper?" she was getting annoyed again, but not very. The tranquility had mostly calmed her, and if things were moving slow, it made her think of Sonic less. Slow wasn't Sonic's style, despite his resting here.
"Eh, why don't you tell her something? We've done things together. Or did you forget about all the parties and sports so soon?" He had a point. Those things had slipped her mind. She still had one of the hoverboards Tails had made for her. She used it now and then to help with collecting the Sol Emeralds. It let her cross vast distances quickly without a lot of effort, even if it was only about three quarters of her top speed. It was down in the basement with the Sol Emeralds themselves, a place she still wasn't letting Anne enter.
"Ok, how about your swimming events at the Olympic Games?" His eyes shot open in surprise. Anne's eyes pleaded for the story as Blaze sat down next to her. Anne, now between both her parents, awaited eagerly for her mother to begin. Sonic, on the other hand, gave in to his surprise and smiled. At least Anne would get a kick out of the whole ordeal.
Lets Play Sonic 2006: "What I don't get is why he doesn't just jump onto the ship right there."
"...hedgehog psychology. Its the chase that's valued." "Yea the chase is better than the catch."
It started when your father invited me to participate in a special variant of the Olympic Games with another 'friend' of his called Mario. Mario actually lives in a different dimension than your father or I do, Anne. Complete with villain, might I add. I got along pretty well with him and his princesses, actually. He and his brother actually both use fire attacks sometimes, so it's something we share, but enough about the red and blue plumber hero.
Your dad and he had a big rivalry before, and these Olympic Games were created to create a more friendly atmosphere between them. As I said Sonic invited me to participate, which surprised me. He didn't invite older friends like Rouge or Omega, although the latter was a robot. We had only met twice in two years, one of which was a month beforehand when he handed me the invite.
It was all very elaborate, with a lot of events, but there was one particular swimming disqualification story that to this day I get a kick out of. Yes, it is that one Sonic, and no I'm not stopping. You could use some more humility.
As I was saying, it was a swimming event. There were a total of eight participants, including Mario and his enemy, a couple of human princesses, your father, Eggman, Shadow, and myself. Now generally, there isn't much clothing changes between events. Unfortunately for your father, his non-existent swimming ability required him to have to wear a life jacket during the event! No, I'm being serious, or else this story didn't happen. Sonic, if you can swim lets see it. There's a beach right there.
I thought so.
So the event starts, and Mario is doing quite well. He's not far in first, but that's where he is. Now your dad isn't in last, but he's hardly doing well. I wasn't watching, but suddenly everyone stopped swimming when a bunch of water and waves made their way through the pool. They weren't the normal kind either. When I got my eyes clear I saw Mario swimming the other way, through several lanes over to where a whole bunch of splashes were occurring. A life jacked floated nearby, loose from the owner.
A lot of people assumed the worst when he went under, but Mario managed to pull both himself and Sonic onto the side of the pool. Eggman himself actually held up some of the lane dividers to assist him. I asked him about it later and, par for the course, he said he wanted to be responsible for Sonic's death. I think it was because if Sonic died at the Olympics from a fluke, it would make all his efforts to kill him look even more pathetic.
After that I focused on getting out, but when I got to where Sonic was he was coughing out water. His chest was red, and Eggman said that Mario had hit his chest in some special way to get the water out of his lungs. Apparently, he had a degree as a doctor he didn't use much. That was pretty funny, looking back, but it gets better Anne.
About two seconds after Sonic opened his eyes he starts trying to get back at Mario for making him drowned, before Mario's giant turtle enemy grabs him and tells him he just saved him. Eggman even has to ask for a replay before your dad actually believed it!
Lets Play Sonic 2006: "Oh a feather. If I eat this I'll gain her powers."
Tails: It looks like the princess was moved to another location. "Perhaps to another castle."
"I resent that story." Sonic didn't look too bothered anymore, but Anne was laughing hysterically at how helpless her father had been in the water. "You were biased, and I did not accuse Mario of drowning me.
"Oh, come on Sonic, you can't win them all." Blaze didn't realize that this statement stretched out to her as well, and for once the two exchanged grins, even if they weren't 'saintly-smiles.'
"Very true, Blaze. Hey, Anne, you remember the time we went to Twinkle Park, right?" She paused her laughter for a moment, then shrieked suddenly. Blaze's ears went back, first from the idea, then from the shrill from her own daughter.
"That was fun! I just wish I remembered more of it."
"Well, what do you remember?"
"I mainly remember being with Aunty Amy." Sonic and Blaze winced. Neither had fond memories of the girl, and how Anne was on good terms with her was beyond either of them. Blaze guessed it was because if she couldn't have Sonic, she'd just take the next best thing. The whole ordeal had been very... emotionally testing. Still, she couldn't fault Sonic for telling the story, there were some things she herself didn't remember either. But she hoped he wouldn't.
"You want a mind refresher?" Hope fleeted away from the quick-running hedgehog as fast as he could chase it. What goes around, comes around. If all else was turning sour, at least the Sol Emeralds were safe.
NOW LOADING...