DIMENSION DOMINATE

A Sailor Moon/Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog Story
by cookirini

Sonic the Skeleton, Part III


"Come on. Get going."
"All of you. Inside. Now."
"Your temporary accommodations are in the fortress. Keep moving!"

The new edict of Robotnik's was being carried out with quick and brutal efficiency as the two hundred men and women were dragged out of the unmarked cars and vans by the roboticized humans. Though many, many changes had been made within a matter of days – indeed, no one on Earth, or for that matter, Mobius, was left unaffected by Robotnik's arrival on Earth – this edict from the new ruler was one of particular importance.

For nearly every one of the new prisoners were Earth scientists, just as Robotnik claimed to be, and they were the best and brightest in their fields. From atomic re-engineering and anatomic research to zoology, from Russia to San Marino, the computers had worked around the clock to select them. Once the list of potential workers was completed, the roboticized humans were put on the lookout – and had rounded them up those who had not resisted or gone into complete hiding within a mere two days.

"Hey...is that...!" From within the crowds, one female doctor could be heard to gasp. "Oh...him...!"
"What is it, Ariel?"
"That man." She pointed frantically to a mop of white hair, barely discernible from the rest of the pack. "It's...that guy! You know who I mean, Chandgupta."
"I.." Looking closer, the man gasped as he saw just a glimpse of the hair, and the sliched figure that it belonged to. "You're right! It is T-"
"Keep moving." The two were suddenly pushed back into the crowd by the robot troops. "In the name of the great Dr. Robotnik!"

At this, the group was forced into a single line, and all looked up warily at their new home. The Crystal Fortress glimmered in the sun, like a magnificent castle. Indeed, for those people not native to Tokyo, or to any city for that matter, the installation was so great that it almost made one dizzy trying to look up and spot the top spire of the tower.

But the scientists who were being ushered in – those who were forced into working in order to save family members or close friends from robotization or worse – knew better than to count their lucky stars. They knew better than to try to spot the top tier. They were going to have some gruesome work to do, and lots of it.

And they instinctively knew that their new ruler was going to make sure everyone got their share.

"Excellent!" Leering down at the long line at the entrance of the Crystal Fortress, Robotnik turned to his lackeys, a grin on his face as he twirled his mustache. "Almost every single important scientist of this world and of Mobius has been brought to me, just as I ordered. I must say, these roboticized humans are much better slaves than I thought – just like putty in my hands! Geheheheh!"
"Eheheheh!" Scratch nodded nervously, before holding up another paper. "I got the assignment sheet for you, Your Nastiness! All of the working groups have been assigned and categorized!"
"Good." Without a word of thanks, Robotnik grabbed it from the chicken. "Now, let me see here...Mmm..."

There was silence, save for the mmming and nodding of their boss's head as he looked over the list. Gleefully, Grounder and Scratch nodded to each other; everything was clearly going as the boss had wanted. They were almost ready to shake hands with one another at the success and genius of the operation.

They were after all, finally doing him proud.

"...You IDIOTS!!" Suddenly, Robotnik's angry face glowered over them, and steam came from his nostrils, ears and head simultaneously. "What in the name of evilness is THIS?!?!?"
"Aaaah-hah-haah!!" Both robots instinctively threw their hands up to protect themselves. "We didn't do it!!"
"Unacceptable!" Clenching his teeth, Robotnik ripped the paper in half. "I can't have it!!"
"H-have what," Grounder trembled, "Your Extreme Short-Temperedness?"
"Grrr..."

Both Scratch and Grounder noticed, with justifiable fear, that their master's angry reaction had also caused Sailor Moon and the Silver Crystal to react as well. It glowed brightly enough to illuminate the room with the reflection of rainbow sparkles, which, both of them knew, would only help to fuel their master's anger.

And unfortunately for them, they were the only two creatures in the room that the anger could be unleashed upon.

"...Anyhow." Suddenly, Robotnik calmed down, and the glow surrounding Sailor Moon disappeared. "What irks me is that the computer decided to put together Professor von Schlemmer, that disgusting professor, with the the two-tailed fox!"
"Woooah." Both robots managed a collective sigh of relief. "Ok...we see...why is that bad...?"
"It's baaad..." At this, Robotnik stomped his foot. "Because that bumbling professor will nevertheless allow the fox to rise from the depths of despair and give him hope because they were both friends of Sonic! And hope is the absolute last thing I want that brat – or any of my scientist slaves – to have!"
"Uh..." At this, Grounder scratched his head. "So how do we fix it?"
"Like this!"

Suddenly, Robotnik ripped the piece of paper in half, much to the robots' surprise. Then, taking another hard copy from his control panel, he scribbled on it, crumpled it up and threw it at Grounder like a baseball

"Find the person whose name has been circled," Grounder barely managed to catch it while his lard-inlaid overlord spoke, "And throw him in with Tails! I don't want any mess ups with this...I want to make sure the fox will work! Now, go!!"

--------------------

The ringing of the bells made Sonic's skeleton shake rather violently, and he could almost feel his ear bones explode. As best as he could, he covered his ears, but this caused his knees to knock together, much to his annoyance. Then he'd have to hold his knees, and the ringing – and the accompanying screams of the despots - would again threaten to crack his ears from the cleft.

"Aww, man!"

Finally, the hedgehog bent down, and grabbed a giant rock from the ground. He shoved it in between his knees, holding it in as best as he could. Satisfied that his knees didn't shake as much, Sonic simply covered his ears until the ringing finally stopped.

"Woah!" Sonic ignored the screams of agony from the evil, imprisoned souls as he slumped onto the ground, the chin of his skull resting in his hands. "That was really uncool. This is getting worse and worse by the minute. I have to do something...but what?"

He didn't need long to think about what he was going to do. In fact, it had been on his mind the whole time to do it.

"...That does it!" Sonic nodded in the affirmative, jumping up and pointing to his chest. "King or no king, I'm springing out of this joint. I'm tired of waiting around – I'm gonna get out and get my body back no matter what it takes!"
"You and me both, vermin."

Suddenly, Sonic was grabbed roughly around his wrist. Pulled into the shadows, he was once again face to face with red eyes, the partially disfigured face. Though he tried to pull away, her grip was just too strong.

"Hey!!"
"You think I'm going to let you go without taking me?" Beryl began to chuckle. "Think again."
"I'm not taking you!" Sonic tried to pull away. "You're a...tyrant just like...Buttnik!"
"No." Beryl pulled harder. "You're wrong. I'm someone you can trust."
"Oh yeah? Why should I trust someone as evil as you-waah?!"

There was a loud, ugly cracking sound at this, and suddenly, Sonic was on the ground, falling to his side. Above him, Beryl stood, his bony arm clenched in her hand.

"Because unlike you," Beryl pointed to the hedgehog with her free hand, "I've been down here long enough to know the dangers. And my magic affects the demons that creep in this place."
"Is that what that ineffective light show was?" Sonic wobbled as he stood up, unbalanced, and reached for his arm. "You could've fooled me."
"And who else," Beryl quickly yanked his arm out of reach, "do you think is going to help you? Moltaire? He won't help you out; he's an underling for the king of the underworld. He might even alert everyone to your escape!"
"I..."
"Besides, if you're going to get out, you'll need a guide to get you to the entrance of the underworld, as its the only way out." Beryl crossed her arms. "And I do also know all the secret passages and routes leading out of here. I also know how to get past the traps set for escaping spirits like...you..."

Those words caused Sonic to stop. It was part of his new strategy to escape the current situation he was in. Of course, the endgame of that strategy was to defeat Dr. Robotnik and save Mobius and Earth at the same time. Now here was a person actually offering to help him out and get his feet back on the ground.

On the other hand, his potential ally hadn't been very good company before, having attacked and insulted him when he arrived, and of course she was now taking ransom in a very cruel way. In the bone hog's mind, it was almost like making a deal with the bad yoke doctor himself, who was also a blackmailer and always wanted an extra – outrageous - something in return. The one noticeable difference was that the doctor wasn't a curvaceously crazed sorceress whose glory days had clearly passed her by like an exploding rocket.

It's never easy, is it? Sonic thought with a sigh.

"Fine!" At this, Sonic tapped his foot. "But no funny stuff. Got it?"
"Of course not." Her victory won, Beryl grinned maliciously as she turned away. "I wouldn't renege on an agreement with someone who will surely be helping me in turn. Not unless you did something horrible to me. Now, get me out of here."
"I thought you said you knew the way out!"
"I do. But you can't get past the Despot's Den if I'm chained here helpless, can you? Oh, and I think you can have this back, animal." The hedgehog barely caught his arm as Beryl threw it over her shoulder. "I think you'll need that to return intact, yes?"
"...Yeah. Thanks." It was little more than a mumble. "I'm turning into Grounder here..."

With that, Sonic popped his arm back into place, and tapped his foot, analyzing the situation before him – namely Beryl's shackles. With a shrug, he went into a Sonic Spin and went for the metal, which disintegrated at his touch. Soon, Beryl was free of all of her constraints.

"Heey!" At this sight, all of the other despots in the prison began to yell and curse loudly. "Get back here! Come on!"
"Free us too!"
"Come on!" As Beryl rubbed her wrists, someone grabbed her ankle. "No fair, you slimy-"

Beryl's response was to snap a blast of lightning at the offender, who squealed in pain at the impact and crawled back into the shadows. Satisfied, Beryl turned to Sonic, her hands on her hips.

"Well, creature?" She pointed to the staircase. "Let's go. What are you waiting for?"
"...Nothing!" With that, Sonic grabbed the queen's hand and began to rev up. "So we're up...over..."

At this, the hedgehog burst out of the chamber, leaving nothing but a cloud of smoke. Up the stairs he went, like a deranged bat, going so fast that he got to the top in three seconds, when most would have taken three minutes.

"...and..."

Suddenly, at the top step, he screeched to a grinding halt. If he had eyes, they would have bulged out of their sockets.

"...goWAAAAH!?"
"Hi there." Looking at them with no outward reaction, Moltaire's head, tucked under the arm, stared right at Sonic. "Leaving so soon? You just got here, you know."
"Ooooh boy..."
"A-HA!" Catching her breath, Beryl raised a hand. "At long last, I can have my way with you if I so choose to. Stand back, fool, or you will be begging for me to rip other b-"
"Really, Sage Beryl, you don't have to be so nice to me." At this, Moltaire's head let out an uninterested sigh. "Well, I suppose the place I got for you down here is useless, hedgehog. Oh well. You get those days."
"Great..." At this, Sonic scratched his head. "So, what now? You're gonna arrest me and punish me?"
"Why should I?" To the hedgehog's surprise, Moltaire shrugged. "What am I going to do, show you my head and scare you into behaving? Big deal. Besides, it's not my job to torture you, and even if it was, there's no point since you're more determined to get out than I am to keep you in."
"Well, uh.." At this, Sonic blinked in surprise. "Thanks!"
"Don't mention it." Moltaire waved his hand. "I'll see you in a little while after you've been recaptured anyways."
"I don't plan on getting recaptured." Sonic pointed to himself. "I'm getting out of here, I'm gonna save Earth and I'm gonna teach Blubberbuss a lesson doing it."
"With the new luggage you're carrying, I doubt it. Anyhoo..." At this, Moltaire took up another torch and sulked away. "Don't be a stranger and all that good stuff. Bye."

With that, the guide disappeared behind a stagamite, and Sonic looked over at his new luggage suspiciously. The luggage, meanwhile, gave him a toothy smile.

"Well," At this, Beryl bowed, motioning towards the direction she intended to lead her new friend. "After you, creature..."

Frowning, Sonic grabbed Beryl's hand again and revved up. Within seconds, he was speeding across the new landscape, as he always had. In his wake, bones rattled and the cave walls shook and echoed from the force.

"Time to race, Ace!"

--------------------

"Is it just me?"
"Hmm?"
"I know it can't just be me..."

The prisoner was dragged along, silent as the grave, as Grounder and Scratch walked down the crystalline halls of their new home. Scratch had the scientist by one arm; Grounder simply held onto the prisoner's shirt.

"Dr. Robotnik has been acting really weird since he got that crystal thingy with the girl trapped inside it." Grounder's treads squeaked and echoed in the hall as he spoke, wary even in his stupidity. "I mean, I know we hated the hedgehog and all, but...I think his reaction was a little bit strong..."
"D'oh!" Scratch clenched his teeth. "And why does it matter to you, dimbot? Sonic was always a pain in the neck. We should be glad that we don't have to deal with him anymore."
"Oh, no, it's not that I'm not glad!" Grounder's tone became defensive. "That's not it at all, Scratch, you recycled reject!"
"Then what is it, you lame excuse for a robot?"
"I just..." At this, Grounder gulped. "I'm just scared of the boss."
"And that's different from before...how?!"
"Because he's different from before, Scratch...!"

Scratch stopped at this and gave his partner a glare. It wasn't that he disagreed with Grounder; in fact, he himself had started to think the same thing. He had just didn't think the drillhead had the mental capacity to think that deeply, let alone say it so frankly.

With that in mind, the bird dropped the prisoner for a moment and smashed the green robot on the head as hard as he could with his fist. On impact, Grounder's nose flew off of his face and onto the ground.

"OW!!" Smarting with a pout on his face, Grounder rubbed his head. "What was that for, you dumb cluck?!"
"For saying things you shouldn't be saying, you idiot!"Grabbing the prisoner's arm again, Scratch began walking again, irregardless of his partner. "Now shut up and let's get going. And put your nose back on! We've got a fox to gloat at and a prisoner to transfer!"

The two robots resumed their walk again, not saying anything else to each other for the rest of the journey to the cell. Their prisoner, meanwhile, was completely silent, absorbing what was being said, analyzing it as he kept his head down. He wasn't shackled; he didn't need to be. The security was more than enough to insure that people like him didn't escape.

Finally, the three approached the cell, where Tails simply sat, dejected as he had been the first day, the pile still in front of him. His plate of food was mostly untouched, his water not touched at all.

At this sight, the robots' old bravado briefly returned, and they banged on the cell bars to get the fox's attention. The fox's head slowly turned, his eyes half open; he barely seemed to realize the robots were there, even though he was staring right at them.

"...Here you are, Tails!" Chortling as he opened the door, Scratch grabbed the prisoner from Grounder and threw him into the cell. "We found someone to keep you company! Have fun, you two! Haha ha haaa!!"

With that, the door quickly slammed and the robots left, leaving Tails with his new cell mate, who slowly stood with a moan. Taking off his glasses once he was steady, he wiped off the dirt that was on them before putting them back on his slightly bruised face. That was when he saw Tails, and he took a double take.

"An engineered fox...with two tails...?!" The man's grey eyes widened. "Utterly impossible...and yet...with what's been happening these past few days...I suppose nothing is impossible anymore."

Slowly, he began to approach the fox, holding out his hand. His white hair was standing up on end from being unable to comb it upon capture; his work pants and dark blue shirt were both torn in places. Nevertheless, he managed to cut an impressive figure when he stood, and as he came closer, he began to speak.

"Hello."

The fox didn't respond, having gone back to staring at the wall once the robots left. Wondering for a moment what to do, the man held out his hand.

"I am...Professor Tomoe." He cautiously let his hand out towards the animal, several inches away just in case. "It's a pleasure, or would be...in better...well, what it your name, little fellow?"

There was still no response, just a single sniffle. Realizing that proper introductions would have to wait until later, Professor Tomoe simply sat down on the floor of the cell and rubbed his head with a deep sigh.

...Hotaru.

No matter how temporary it was claimed to be, he knew he was going to be a staying at the Crystal Fortress for a long time indeed.

----------------------

The double door was made of an unknown substance, though its handles were clearly iron, and though it was in the darkest catacombs it still glimmered bright silver. It was almost thirty feet tall, with Corinthian columns lining it. On the doors were panels describing the phases of the moon, with the full moon being the brightest panel of all. It was a door that was many thousands of years old, yet it looked as if it had only been cast the day before, if not that very day.

"Here it is." Beryl motioned to the door as the two of them approached it. "The entrance to the Periphery Zone. This is the least guarded area of the entire domain of the underworld...and the most dangerous."
"Hmm." Sonic rubbed his nose. "This door looks just like the one I passed through to get here in the first place."
"The Time-Space Door?"
"Huh?"
"The gateway that allows one to travel anywhere in the universe, at anytime." At this, Beryl's eyes flashed. "Though I'm surprised you managed to find your way here."
"Uh huh." At this, Sonic pushed on the door. "Let's just get going. I've got things to do when I get back to Earth!"
"As do I, creature..." Beryl smirked as she, too, began to push. "As do I..."

It took some time for the doors to open; they were so heavy that Sonic felt like he was trying to push an elephant through the eye of a needle. He grunted and strained, and so did Beryl; soon, the bone hog became certain he was going to fall to pieces from the pressure.

Come on... As he struggled, thoughts of Robotnik, Sailor Moon, the crystal, and finally, Tails, came to his mind. Come on, you old hog...you...can...do it...!!
...Endymion...
It was the only word that Beryl thought of as she pushed. Oh, Endymion...Endy...mion...

Finally, the door gave way, and with a loud clang, they snapped open. Sonic fell to the ground with a grunt, and as he looked up, he could see the wide expanse of nothing that lay before him inside the zone. It was as if any light that came upon it would be absorbed and never seen again.

"...Woah." Sonic stared. "Mondo scary..."
"Well, what are you waiting for?!" Suddenly, a heel dug into his spine, and Sonic could barely suppress his yelp. "Let's get going. We have things to do."
"Ungh!" Sonic jumped up and brushed himself off with a frown. "Yeah...and you're welcome."

He got no reply on that.

----------------------

As Sonic and Beryl entered the Periphery Zone and closed the door behind them, the cadre of frogs suddenly appeared from nowhere. Lining up in groups of four, they began to sing as loud as they could as they pointed towards the doorway:

"Sonic's escaping through that door in the wall,
that door in the wall,
door in the wall!
Sonic's escaping through that door in the wall
With the evil Queen Beryl in tow!"

"They're gonna go through the Periphery,
Periphery,
Periphery!
They're gonna go through the Periphery!
We thought King Hades should know!

"Someone should really go stop them now,
stop them now,
STOP THEM NOW!
Someone should really go STOP THEM NOW
Before they cut loose and blow..."

Their plea was met with silence, the occasional shrug from one shade, and a boo from another. Several rocks were thrown at them, knocking Fred out.

"D'oh!" He fell to the ground. "Why is it always me..."

At this, the frogs began to revise their song. Standing in two rows, with one person taking out a portable keyboard, they began to mumble out some verses:

"Does...
ANYBODYYYY
LISTE-EE-EE-EN,
TO-OO-OO UUUUUUS
at all...?"

END OF EPISODE THREE