Chapter 10: Search for the Truth

Sonic and his friends thanked Topaz for her help. Then, they started running toward Metropolis. It was past midnight now, but Sonic was too determined to sleep. What kind of monster was Eggman talking about? Was the monster what killed him? Why did it want to destroy life as we know it, and why did the bad guys always want the Chaos Emeralds? These questions ran through Sonic's mind as he ran through the desert roads. He was darting toward Metropolis at full speed, holding Knuckles and Tails by the wrists. He'd find his answers at the clock tower.

They arrived in Metropolis, another bustling city after dark, but Sonic did not decrease his speed. The city's innumerable neon signs appeared only as blurs and lines of multicolored light when viewed by someone running at three hundred miles per hour. Sonic saw the clock tower, and he finally stopped upon reaching its base.

He released his friends' wrists, and the three looked up at the massive tower, its shorter hand perched between the one and the two, and its longer hand resting near the six. Sonic took a few steps back. Then he dashed at full speed and ran straight up the wall of the tower. Tails looked at Knuckles and held out his hand. "Grab on," the young fox instructed the sturdy echidna. Knuckles grabbed Tails's hand as Tails began flying toward the top of the tower with his twin tails. Sonic reached the top floor of the tower first, and he entered the building. He was surrounded by gears and mechanisms controlling the massive clock. He looked around for something unusual, and he found it in the form of a small metal box sitting in the middle of one of the horizontal cogs controlling the great clockwork. He leaped down across a few gears to the one holding the box. Knuckles and Tails entered afterword, and they leaped down to stand by Sonic. Knuckles said, "A box?"

Sonic shook his head. "I just get the feeling that this is what Eggman wanted us to find."

Knuckles stepped forward. "Leave it to me." Knuckles grabbed the box and tried to open it, but the box would not budge. After a few moments of failure, Knuckles began noticeably struggling to open the box, but it was to no avail. Knuckles shouted, "C'mon, you stupid box, open!" but it did not.

Sonic stepped up. "Let me give it a shot."

Knuckles set down the box and laughed. "Sonic, if I couldn't even open the thing, then what makes you think you stand a chance of opening it?"

Sonic grabbed the box. A robotic voice played from it, "Sonic the Hedgehog DNA identified." The box opened. Knuckles's jaw dropped.

Tails laughed, "I guess brute strength really won't solve everything."

Knuckles shouted at Tails, "Hey! Be quiet! How was I supposed to know that only Sonic could open it?"

Sonic looked at the box. "This is definitely what Eggman wanted us to find."

Then, another Eggman hologram came from the box. Sonic dropped the box in a startled motion. The hologram began to speak. "Sonic, I never thought I'd say this to you, but I am genuinely sorry. I never wanted it to come to this. All I wanted to do was take over the world and destroy you once and for all. My intentions were perfectly reasonable. However, from my ambition was born a great evil, a second ultimate life-form. This life-form was originally designed by my grandfather, Professor Gerald Robotnik, the one who created Shadow. I found an old book of his containing the plans to create this monster. I followed his instructions, but everything went wrong." Sounds of commotion could then be heard in the background of the message. The Eggman hologram grew frantic. "I don't have time to explain the rest, but your answers can probably be found in the recent pages of my research journal. I tore them out and stored them in the box from which this message is broadcasting. Read them and know the truth." Now, loud static could be heard in the background. "Good luck, Sonic, you're this world's last hope." The message ended.

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles all looked into the box with curiosity. Within it, they found several pages of notes with Dr. Eggman's writing on them. Sonic looked at them. "Alright, guys, let's get working on these notes."

Knuckles and Tails looked at Sonic. "Um, Sonic," Knuckles said.

Tails finished, "We're really sleepy. Vanilla and Cream are staying at their vacation home nearby. We should ask to stay the night at their place."

Sonic looked at them. "What? You guys wanna sleep? You've got to be kidding me!"

Tails yawned loudly, "I'm sorry, Sonic."

Sonic sighed, "Fine, we'll go to Cream's place and spend the night." The trio left the clock tower, and Tails directed them to Cream's new vacation home.

They arrived shortly, and Sonic knocked on the door. Vanilla answered. "Sonic! Well hello! How are you doing?"

Sonic answered, "We're sorry for disturbing you so late. We're trying to save the world from a horrible monster, nothing new, but right now, Tails and Knuckles are kind of tired, and we were wondering if we could spend the night here."

Vanilla responded, "Of course you can! Oh my gosh, wait a minute! Cream and Amy left looking to clear your name earlier today, but Vector went with them, so I'm not too worried, but nevertheless, you should go find them. Maybe Cream will come home if you tell them that you can handle it."

Sonic was shocked, "What? Amy's out there looking for me? Ugh, she's such a pain. Alright, I'll deal with it, ma'am. Count on me!" Sonic smiled and gave her a thumbs-up. After that, Vanilla's mind was more at ease. Sonic and his friends gladly slept. Regardless of whether Sonic admitted it, he was tired from a long night. He slept in the guest bedroom, while Tails took Cream's unoccupied bedroom and Knuckles slept on the couch. Tomorrow would be a big day.