"Oh boy oh boy oh BOY!" Charmy exclaimed in excitement as the group stepped out of Vector's van. They had reached the Metropolis Air Dome.
Vector groaned "Would ya calm down Charmy?"
"I've just never been on a plane before!"
"N-N-Neither have I…" Ray shuddered.
Mighty noticed the nerves of his friend and knelt down to console him. "Hey buddy, what's up? It's just a plane. It's no different to your flight." He said to him softly, resting a warm hand upon his shoulder.
"I-I-I know Mighty…I-I j-j-j-just feel so…"
"Hey Ray, don't sweat it. I'll be right with you the whole time." Ray then smiled in both joy and relief at Mighty's words.
Espio, meanwhile, noticed a mural of posters on a nearby wall and he went on to investigate. Charmy, curiously followed close behind.
"Wowww!" Charmy said. "Look at all the wanted posters!" There were wanted posters plastered across a great wall on the outside.
The rest of the group joined them. "Hmm. I guess it's a way for all the other Countries to tell others of their dangerous criminals." Vector said. "Wouldn't want them getting into other countries and causing trouble."
"Or getting back in if they had already left apparently." Mighty added, pulling down a poster featuring a violet-coloured Chameleon; Espio. Mighty began reading of its contents aloud. "Espio the Chameleon; wanted for serious crimes to his clan. Dead or Alive, award of ten thousand credits for he who brings him back."
"W-W-What does it mean?" Ray asked worriedly.
Mighty was confused. "Wait, you're a criminal?" He looked up towards Espio.
"I was framed." Espio replied.
Vector jumped in before he could continue. "And that's why I'm here – to figure out who, where and why."
"You've been playing too much Cluedo." Charmy said, but Vector just turned a dangerous glare – silencing him instantly.
Mighty's usual smile returned. "Well, in that case, let's go on – quickly."
"Wait…" Espio said. "I'm on wanted posters, with a price. It would be wise to seek some other options first, before going in there blind. We need some sort of plan."
"Let's just go in!" Charmy jumped in. "I can take 'em!" he went to dart into the airport but was caught by Vector just before he could. "Hey! Lemme go!" He struggled.
"Charmy you idiot!" Vector said "We can't do that! We'd get clobbered – there's too many people in there!"
"Innocent people too." Mighty added. "We cannot endanger them."
Espio turned to Vector. "What are your thoughts then Vector?"
Vector scratched his head and walked in a circle in thought. "Aha!" He finally said, turning back to Espio. "I've got an idea – come with me Espio." Espio knew he didn't have a choice and so, reluctantly, followed.
There was an uproar of laughter from the rest as Vector and Espio returned around ten minutes later.
"Explain to me again why this is necessary Vector..." Espio grumbled. He had been forcibly put into scruffy dog suit. He was not amused.
"Disguises Espio!" Vector exclaimed. "You're the ninja. You should know these things!"
"I'm a chameleon! I can bend the light around me! I do not need this!" He protested.
"You'd have to do that for the entire flight."
"I'm a ninja. I am patient."
"Standing up for the entire flight? You know you wouldn't be able to get a seat right?"
"Well, I wouldn't be able to when I'm dressed as a dog, either!"
"Oh yeah…" Vector said, nervously rubbing the back of his head. "About that… you're gonna have to ride in the carriage with all of your dog friends in there..."
"WHAT?!" Espio shrieked as Vector stuffed him into a small dog carrier. The group roared with laughter again. "This…is the most humiliating moment of my life…"
Charmy buzzed over to the glum chameleon. "Wow, I guess life really is ruff, huh Espio?" He snickered.
"Hilarious Charmy…"
Mighty recovered from his laughter. "Alright guys, I think we've wasted enough time out here. Shall we go on?"
The group all took a deep breath, before entering into the airport.
The Metropolis Air Dome was just as spectacular a building as the city itself. Tubes of 'liquid energy' flowed around supports and at the domed ceiling that alternated between an Orange and light blue colour. The floor and wall tiles were chrome and incredibly clean – easily capable of showing one's gleaming reflection when up close. Breaking up the silvers and blues however, were an assortment of, richly, green trees that were decorated throughout the building.
"W-wow Mighty." Ray exclaimed in awe. "It's so shiny here."
"Sure is Ray." Mighty said.
"Are all airports like this?"
"Well, this is the first one like it that I've ever seen."
"Wow – look at everything!" Charmy said, dashing left and right – looking at everything the building had to offer. "It's so much cleaner than my hive."
"That reminds me Charmy…" Mighty said. "Why is it that-"
But Vector interrupted them "C'mon ladies." He said. "We need to move if we're gonna get to the Dragon Lands on time."
"What's the rush?" Mighty said. "Are we on a time limit? I thought we already knew where those guys were going?"
"It's not like that. Creeps like those are never up to anything good in situations like these." Vector replied. "I'm also conscious about time zones. If we leave too late, we could lose a full night's worth of sleep and that could really mess us up."
"So what's the exact time difference between them then?"
"Wait…" Charmy said before Vector could answer. "Does that mean they're in the future?!"
Vector shook his head in irritation.
"M-Mighty, i-is this t-t-true?" Ray tugged on the armadillo's arm.
"Well, not exactly buddy." He smiled.
They reached the line. There were a lot of people.
"W-Wow. It sure is b-b-busy here." Ray said.
"Vector, what is your plan for when we reach the desk?" Espio said from his dog-carrier cage.
"What? I'm just gonna give them my credit card." He replied.
"No, I mean me – what're we going to be with me?"
"Oh don't worry about it – I'll improvise. It's what I do best."
"Oh that'll be fun to watch." Charmy teased.
"I'm not sure if I am comfortable with you 'improvising' Vector…" Espio said.
"Oh quiet you." Vector snapped. "Dog's cannot talk, well, pet dogs anyway…"
A while passed, the team were nearing the desk.
"I'm bored!" Charmy exclaimed.
Espio too was getting restless. "Errrr...I can't stay in here for the entire flight!"
"Sshhhh!" Vector hushed him. "Be quiet Espio – we can't be caught smuggling you in! What happened to that 'ninja patience' you were braggin' about before?"
"Even ninjas have their limits." He grumbled.
"Then keep it to yourself. Remember – you're a dog. Now be the dog."
"This is so humiliating..." He whimpered.
"I can give you a doggy treat if it makes you feel better." Charmy said.
"No Charmy, that doesn't make me feel better at all!"
"Bad dog!" Charmy shouted at him. "Be more dog-like!" He then chuckled to himself "This is fun."
"I-I think you m-m-made him angry." Ray said to him, noticing the exposed areas of the suit glowing red from Espio's scales.
"Um, Espio?" Mighty said, tapping on the cage. "I don't think dogs do that, so could you…?"
"I can't help it!" Espio snapped. "It's not like there's an off switch for it!"
"Guys! Will you shut up?" Vector grumbled. "We're next up." They approached the desk. "Here we go guys – act naturally, be yourselves." Vector muttered. "Except you Espio – you're a dog."
"Arf...Arf." Espio said with little enthusiasm.
"Good Afternoon sir, and welcome to Metropolis Airways. Where will you be flying to today?" The woman at the desk greeted Vector with quite a cheery smile.
"Why yes ma'am, yes you can." Vector began. He leaned on the desk; attempting to look as casual and relaxed as possible. "My pals and I would like four standard tickets to Toyazaki in the Dragon-lands." He looked back over to his companions "I'm actually taking Mighty here on a Bachelor Week with our two pals, before his big day."
The woman's eyes lit up with delight. "Oh! Congratulations!" She said, reaching out to a blushing Mighty.
"Oh, well, uh, thank you." Mighty said, nervously rubbing the back of his head. He cleared his throat "Truly, I am the luckiest man alive."
"Yeah, that Amelia Armadillo's somethin'." Vector chuckled, turning back to the desk lady. "He's lucky I didn't get to her first."
"How amazing fate can be though." Mighty concluded with a very convincing swooned smile upon his face.
"Oh yes – I know what you mean." She said, before typing the order of tickets on her computer. "Um, are those two part of your bachelor party group?" She asked pointing to the young bee and flying squirrel.
Mighty jumped in before Vector had a chance to take a breath "Well, she's having her party too, and some of her friends already have children, so we offered to help take 'em off their hands for the time."
"And a dog?"
"Amelia's beloved pet" Mighty said, lifting the cage for the lady to get a better look "Ralphie." Vector turned away, trying to conceal his laughter. Charmy and Ray too could barely hold theirs in. "I sorta, offered to help out with him too. I mean, it's like I have a piece of her with me whilst we're away. Sounds a little silly though doesn't it? I often wonder why she had said yes to someone like me – I guess I'm just lucky."
"It sounds like it's this Amelia that's the lucky one." She said, causing Mighty to blush slightly. "And your dog is very cute."
"Bark." Espio said.
"Huh?" She said.
"S-Something wrong?" Mighty said. He was beginning to get nervous, his hands were beginning to get sweaty.
"Did the dog just say bark?" She asked.
Vector laughed nervously. "I think all dogs bark, ma'am."
"No-no. He didn't bark, he said bark." She exclaimed.
Mighty jumped back in "Well, Amelia certainly didn't spare him, uh, with a good amount of…er…tricks!" He said, concluding with a nervous chuckle.
"Wait…" She said. "He kinda looks a little strange now too. His fur seems to be falling off in some places, and the skin underneath is…purple?!"
They were all worried now. "Well, poor little Ralphie here's got a bit of a c-condition – not a contagious one, but we do have t-to put him on the m-meds a bit and…"
"H-He's st…stuttering m-m-more than m-me now." Ray whispered anxiously.
"Sir." She said. "I'm going to have to look inside here. This is for your own safety, but a wanted criminal may have put himself in the place of your dog in order to smuggle himself into the Dragon Lands."
"W-Well...I would very much d-doubt that, heh." Mighty said. He was sweating profusely now.
"Are you denying me the ability to check your belongings sir?"
"Uh-uh...no ma'am. Not at all – go right ahead, but ol' Ralph ain't always too fond of strangers..."
Espio pressed himself as far back into the cage as possible. He fought to remain the same colour. Shutting his eyes, he braced himself for the capture.
She stopped. A scream was heard - a woman in terror. Everyone turned in the direction of the scream. Another scream joined her, silencing the hall as they all tried to see what was going on.
"W-W-What's happening?" Ray ran over to Mighty in fright; but he, like everyone else, continued to stare in the direction of the sounds.
More screams - different ages and genders joined in, followed by the stampeding sounds of the terrified people. People began to back tread as the sounds grew closer and closer.
The petrified crowd finally appeared around the corner – rushing towards the windows and doors. "What's going on?!" Vector exclaimed.
He was immediately answered as they heard booming footsteps entering the hall. Many joined the stampeding crowd. The group began to stagger back.
"W-What is it?" Charmy said, holding onto Vector's arm for protection. But Vector too was afraid.
Finally, around the corner, peaked the monstrous head of a Necrodragon. Vector's final attack had still not ceased their hunt and now they were larger and far more dangerous.
It growled loudly as it scanned the environment with its piercing, glowing red eyes.
"WHAAA!" Charmy yelled out, now taking shelter from behind Vector.
"Time to go guys!" Vector yelled, before taking off towards the nearest fire exit. Close behind him was the rest of the group and Espio, who quickly scrambled out of the cage that they had left behind.
The Necrodragon spotted him, giving out a deep, coyote-like cry to signal its comrade in. "We've been spotted!" Espio called out to them. The Necrodragon, now moving in a dinosaur-like posture, began sprinting towards them – its jaws agape!
"Don't lead to it to us!" Vector said.
"V-Vector..."Charmy whimpered. "Th-They're even bigger than before!"
The creature was slowly catching up.
"What are those things?" Mighty yelled.
Vector was aiming for the great steel door ahead of them "No time – just run!"
RRrrgggggggrRRRRRAAARrrggrrhhh! CLUNG!
They just made it to the other side and shut the steel door. Mighty held it closed whilst Vector piled on an amount of objects to keep it closed.
"I think that, should hold it." Mighty panted.
"I think you should've kept the disguise Espio." Vector said.
"W-what are we g-gonna d-d-do?" Ray cried.
"Look!" Charmy exclaimed, pointing through the window. "We can get our own plane."
"Nice find Charmy!" Vector said.
THUMP! THUMP! GRRRRAAAAARRRRGHHH!
"Let's get out of here quick!" Might said, running out of the building. Everyone else quickly followed. The door creaked and bent.
"Which one?" Espio asked as the group scrambled through the hangar.
They continued darting in and around the hangar. BANG! BANG!
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" Vector said as he rushed between planes.
BANG! BANG! "Th-th-they're getting closer…" Ray whimpered.
"Hey, that one looks fast!" Vector finally said.
BANG! CLANG! HIIIISSSSSS
"Not a moment too soon." Espio said, darting over to the shiny red plane.
Mighty stood with a worried expression on his face. "I-I don't like this. This is wrong." He said.
"Wha?" Vector choked. "What're you talkin' about?"
Mighty shook his head. "Nevermind – let's get outta here!" They saw the creatures coming through the barricade. They didn't have much time.
Vector leapt into the pilot's seat. "Now, how do you fly these things?" Vector scratched his head. "It's nothing like driving a car."
"Watch out Vector." Mighty said as he hurriedly pushed him into the passenger seat. "I can fly."
"Wait Mighty, there doesn't seem to be enough space for all of us here."
The creatures were getting closer, they could hear them clawing at the exit doors. "G-G-G-Guys..." Ray shuddered.
"I can stay on the wing of the plane – I can stick to surfaces." Espio said.
"That still leaves us with one person!" Vector replied.
The doors flew off the building.
"Okay, everyone just squish in then!" Vector exclaimed, closing the plane doors.
RRAAARRGH!
"They're coming!" Charmy screamed.
Mighty started the engine. "C'Mon! C'MON!"
They could see the creatures running towards them. "Hurry!" Espio shouted.
The plane finally started moving. "Fasten your seatbelts!"
They took off into the air.
CLAMP! One of them had gotten a hold of the plane! It slowly climbed up until it faced Espio.
"Haugh!" Espio knocked the creature off with his katana.
"Hold on up there Espio!" Mighty said as they darted the plane into a sharp turn. They shot past an outdoor restaurant on top of the Airport.
"S-S-S-Sonic!" A voice called out upon seeing the shiny red plane fly past. It was a young, twin-tailed, orange fox. "They took the plane!"
A blue hedgehog walked in after him. He shook his head saying "That's no good."
Back in the sky, Mighty was making last minute checks. Espio then knocked on the cockpit. "Uh, I don't think that this was a rental plane!" He said to them.
"It doesn't matter now." Vector replied. "Have we lost those things?"
Espio turned to look back towards the airport. "I-I'm not sure, but I think we have..." He replied.
Suddenly a great winged figure swooped out from the clouds, almost causing Espio to slip off! RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRROOOOOOOUUUUUUGGRRRHHHH!
"They've developed wings! They've entered their next phase!" Espio screamed.
They were much more dragon-like now, having discarded their bandaged appearance for a thicker hide, more powerful jaws, flame breath and larger claws and talons!
The creature began circling above the plane. Charmy and Ray gripped whatever was in front of them in terror.
"Mighty – how's your piloting skills?" Vector asked.
"Actually to be completely honest, I'm still kinda learning." Mighty replied, turning Vector very pale. "But I find myself to be pretty good at it despite that." Mighty sent the plane into a nose-dive - trying to escape the dragon.
"YYYAAAAAAAGHH!" Espio screamed as he tried to keep hold of the plane.
The dragon dove after them.
Without warning, the second dragon appeared below them, flying headlong towards them.
"YA-HAAAGH!" Vector screamed. "We can't die here! Not now!"
The plane barrel-rolled, causing the dragons to slam into one another.
"Phew. That was close." Exclaimed Charmy.
Mighty turned his head to the side "You alright there buddy?" He said.
"P-Please…" Ray replied. "N-No more spinning..."
"Guys!" Espio said. "They're still in pursuit." He tried throwing kunai knives at them – at the very least to slow them down.
"I sure wish we had weapons on this thing!" Vector cried out.
"Who'd you steal this thing from?" Mighty asked. "They seem to have some sort of laser turret system on board – heh, I guess we're in luck!"
Vector then proceeded to scream out to the heavens again "I sure wish I had a billion dollars!" He froze in that position shortly afterwards – waiting for something.
"Heheh, idiot." Charmy exclaimed, before being swatted by an angry Vector.
"It's good to know you've still gotta sense of humour during times of – WAGH!"
Mighty began firing ammo at the dragons, but they easily evaded them. One countered with a burst of fire towards them.
"M-M-M-Mighty! L-Look out!" Ray yelled.
"GAH!" Mighty exclaimed as the plane's turret systems were struck by the fire-ball. "Good-Grief!" He exhaled. "Now what?"
Espio then noticed the fuel tank on the plane. This plane has a fossil fuel tank, cheap and unclean – but the exact thing we need now! he thought.
"Hold on guys!" He said. "I've got an idea – just keep the fire away from me." He went on to open the fuel tank and leaked it onto some of his shuriken stars.
"Whatever it is you're doing, you might want to do it fast Espio!" Vector said. "Those guys look like they want to invite us to a Downunda Barbeque!"
One inhaled deeply, ready to blast another stream of flames at them. Now! Espio quickly flung several fuel-covered shuriken stars at their faces – igniting in a fiery explosion when the creature exhaled!
"Woah…" Charmy and Ray said.
"Are they gone?" Mighty asked. "Are we safe?"
"For now." Espio replied, giving a gentle sigh of relief, but he knew that they'd probably be back to haunt them again.
"Alright then!" Mighty smiled, tussling Ray's hair again. "Next stop – the Dragon Lands!"
Charmy yawned. "Are we there yet?" They had been flying for a couple of hours by that point.
Charmy's whining however, was the sweetest of music, compared to the high-pitched bleeping sound they have had to endure for some time.
"RRRR. Have you figured what that DANG sound is yet Mighty?" Vector growled.
Oh. Silly me." Mighty exclaimed. "It seems that all this time, it was our fuel level warning." His smile though, disappeared when the plane started to rock and rattle.
"Please tell me that's just turbulence..." Vector said with wide, nervous, eyes.
Mighty smiled back over to them. "Well the good news is that we're currently over the Dragon-Lands. But…er…the bad news is that we have a little, tiny, bit of a fuel probl-"
Charmy was quick to finish his sentence however, with a loud "WE'RE GONNA CRASH?!"
The plane began to spiral down towards the Earth below. All that could be heard was the rushing of the wind, the spluttering engine and the screaming of the group members...