Chapter 3

The scene opens up to Babylon Garden. The mongoose girl stared in horror as she saw the stadium become engulfed in the blue sphere.

"I don't know what that was but I know it ain't good!" she exclaimed. She then noticed a small speck flying away from it. All she could make out was a bit of metallic blue carrying a pink thing.

"I think it's high time I copy those guys and get outta here!" she cried. Turning tail, she began to make her way back to the other side of the garden. However, she had only stepped a couple of feet when she heard something. Turning, the mongoose saw the Black Comet ascending through the clouds until it was beginning to float above her. She stared with awe, unaware of the purple spheres it was dropping. It was only when they began to take form of the Nightmares that she noticed she was surrounded.

"Oh, so you want to play, huh? Fine!" The mongoose made a dash at the nearest one, slamming her heel into it. It was knocked across the ground but it got back up and threw a punch. But the mongoose was fast and jumped over it, allowing the Nightmare to hit one of its comrades. The two enraged monsters both charged at the mongoose who simply stood there. Both of them jumped but the girl fell on her back and kicked up, sending the monsters into the air. As they fell back down, she stood to the side and let them crash into the floor. They then dispersed as purple spheres.

"Heh. This is too easy" she mocked until she realised more of them were approaching. She sighed and took a fighting position. One made a jump but she slid under the attack and swiftly turned round, kicking the monster in the back. Another one came from behind and grabbed her but her arms were free and she slammed her fist into its face, causing it to lose grip so she could punch it in the gut, sending it into one of its comrades.

One Nightmare tried swinging its hands back and slam the girl between them but she easily flipped through the air to avoid it. She landed on its head and covered its eyes, preventing it from seeing. It began to shake itself, trying to throw the mongoose off.

"Woah, steady!" she yelled. "Sheesh, what are you? A rodeo bull?"

The Nightmare wasn't listening and was swinging its arms as the girl held on. The attacks ended up destroying a few of the other monsters but one jumped over them and attempted to slam itself on the mongoose. She saw it coming though and avoided the attack. The Nightmare she was riding wasn't as lucky. It was crushed by its partner. The mongoose couldn't help but snicker.

"You know, you're not very bright for… That's a point? What are you?" she asked.

"We are Nightmares and we serve the Twilight Emperor" the monster answered.

"The what-now?" the girl asked again but the monster wasn't listening. It raised its arms and more purple spheres into its body. Suddenly, to the mongoose's horror, the Nightmare's body began to change shape. It got taller and muscular. Its eyes became one big red one in the middle of its face. Its skin had gotten darker and it was now carrying a huge, wooden club. It was now a Titan.

"Just my luck" the mongoose cursed under her breath. The newly formed Titan let out a roar as it stomped, causing a shockwave that threw the mongoose across the ground. She wound up rolling off the track itself and into a forest-like area. Upon seeing where she was, she smirked.

"Guess my luck changed" she said to herself.

Upon hearing the sound of the Titan lumbering towards her, she quickly got up and placed her hand on a nearby tree. The monster slammed its club on her but; somehow, the girl formed some sort of armour that blocked the attack. However, she was still shaken by the hit and couldn't defend herself from the swipe the Titan made at her, knocking her away, as well as tearing down a few trees. The mongoose's armour vanished and she stared with horror as it began to lumber towards her. She quickly realised it was still standing on a patch of grass. She knew it was risky but it was all she had. She began to focus, trying to block out the Titan's roars.

Then, small weeds appeared from the grass, getting longer until they began to wrap around the monster's arms. It tried to fight it but they were getting tighter. More began to ensnare its legs so it couldn't walk either. Sighing with relief, the mongoose picked herself up.

"Now that that's done, I need to finish this thing off quick. Those things won't hold for long" she said to herself. And she was right. Already the weeds were getting thin from the monster's attempts of freeing itself. She was about to perform one last attack when something caught her eye.

Something small appeared in the air. She couldn't make out what it was until it got bigger. She then realised that it wasn't getting bigger but closer. Panicking, she rolled to the side to avoid the thing crashing into her. She looked at what it was and was met with a surprise. It was a trophy, depicting a blue hedgehog. She approached it slowly, not entirely sure what it was.

Who's this guy? she thought, staring at it. He's kinda cute. She smiled to herself but it disappeared when she heard the sound of snapping. Turning, she saw the Titan had freed itself and was advancing. As she backed away, she inadvertently touched the base. That's when the burst of light came out.

It blinded both mongoose and monster and when it vanished; Sonic was standing up, holding his head.

"Uh, where am I?" he asked no one but when he looked up and saw the Titan, he said "Uh, can't give a guy directions, can ya?"

The monster, unfazed by the newcomer's appearance, slammed its club down on where the blue hero was standing. The mongoose, who was standing nearby, gasped, thinking he had been crushed when she heard a whistle. The Titan turned round and saw Sonic standing there, tapping his foot.

"I'm waaaaaiiiiiting" he mocked, angering the monster. It roared, making another attempt at crushing Sonic but, with a cocky smile on his face, began to run circles round the beast. The mongoose was stunned at how fast he was going. All he left were traces of blue and was causing the wind to blow in her face. The Titan was getting confused as well, and was unaware of Sonic running up its back, flying up into the air and spinning into its head. The Titan reeled back towards the edge, roaring in pain as Sonic landed.

"Aw, is the big, bad monster hurt? Don't worry. I'll make the pain go away!" Sonic shouted, spinning on the spot before shooting off into the monster's legs, thus causing it to lose balance. The Titan was teetering at the edge until Sonic simply flicked it, causing it to fall over the edge.

Dusting his hands off, he said "Done and done." He then became aware of the mongoose's presence.

"Hey there. Who are you?" the hedgehog asked.

The girl was so dumbstruck; it took her a while to answer. "Um, I'm Mina. Mina the Mongoose."

"I see. I'm Sonic the Hedgehog. Do you know where I am?"

"You're on Babylon Garden" Mina answered. Sonic's eyes widened.

"Babylon Garden? But that means…" He ran to the edge and looked out, resting his eyes on where the Midair Stadium was.

"NO! Amy, Metal and Blaze were still on there! The bomb must've gone off!" Sonic cried in anguish.

Mina was confused and asked "What are you jabbering about?"

Sonic then explained what happened at the stadium, leaving no detail out. He talked about the Nightmares, the Ancient Minister and the Twilight Bomb.

"And the last thing I remember was getting hit by a spiked ball" Sonic finished.

Mina was shocked by this. This was a big deal, not just a few monsters. She noticed that Sonic was looking depressed and quickly remembered something.

"Hey, I saw something fly away from that stadium. I think you're friends might've escaped" she explained.

New hope glittered in the hedgehog's green eyes. "Really? Well, that's good to know. Did you see anything else?"

"Yeah, a huge black rock flew over a couple of minutes ago" the mongoose told him.

"A rock? Like a comet?" Sonic asked. Mina nodded.

"Where'd it go?"

Mina pointed. That way but why's it so…" Before she could answer, Sonic had picked her up and was beginning to run at high speeds. Mina was terrified by how fast they were going but, somehow it was quite invigorating. Sonic, meanwhile, was focused on where he was going. He ran all around the ancient track, jumping over any obstacles and running through loops.

The track soon came to an end and as Sonic put Mina down, he apologised.

"Sorry about that. Hope I didn't scare you."

Mina was still breathing heavily from the excitement and simply said "No. Not at all. Why'd you stop?"

Sonic pointed and Mina followed his finger. The Black Comet was already out of reach.

"Great. We've lost it. Now what?" Mina sighed.

Sonic was just as frustrated but then he saw a red biplane zoom by at high speeds. With a smirk on his face, he said "Don't worry. A friend of mine will handle it. Let's try and get back to solid ground. How'd you get up here?"

Mina realised that they were where she landed upon arriving and began to poke around in a nearby bush. She then pulled out what looked like a skateboard with no wheels. It was green with dark-yellow outlines and had a symbol of a leaf on it. Sonic seemed to recognise it.

"Extreme Gear?" he asked.

"Yep. I'm afraid this is the only one so you'll have to hang on" said Mina.

Sonic gave the traditional thumbs up. "No problem. Come on. Let's go!"

Once both hedgehog and mongoose were on board, they made a direct course for solid ground.


By the way, this Mina is property of Babylon Sky Hawk. I hope you enjoyed this and don't forget to review!