Through The Monitor
Disclaimer: I don't own any character or place listed in this fic. They are owned by Sega,
DiC, Archie, Fleetway, Sunrise (I think), and 4Kids. Please don't sue.
Author's note: I wrote
this part alone.
--------
Chapter 26: Two Bean Salad
A small fighting arena on South Island. This location, surrounded by palm trees and part of
Emerald Ocean, was one of the eight locations of the World Tournament that took place a
while ago. Currently, a sparring match between a Polarbear and an Armadillo was being
fought here, with two spectators nearby - a duck and a fox.
"Come on, is that all you got, Armadillo?", Bark taunted. He was a large yellow polar bear
with a red hat and green scarf, brown boxing gloves, and brown boots. His cyan eyes looked at
his opponent...
The Armadillo in question was red with blue eyes wearing black fingerless motorcycle gloves,
and red and black sneakers. Known as the Strongest Thing Alive, Mighty the Armadillo.
"Is he always this obnoxious during battles, Bean?", Asked the fox. He was rather young, and
was a light blue color with a unique trait for male Foxes of having brown headfur. White it was common
for Males of other species, Foxes usually didn't have headfur that differred in color than their fur.
He wore a red T-Shirt with white sleeves and a yellow rectangle on the front. His eyes were blue,
and shining with intellegence. He wore unique looking blue and yellow shoes as well, and had on
two blue crystal rings as bracelets, that went around the wrists of his white gloves.
"Afraid so, Chris," The Duck, Bean the Dynamite, replied. Bean was a green duck with flat red
and white shoes covering his webbed
feet, and a red scarf around his neck, and dark orange eyes.
He
also wore white gloves.
Mighty smirked to himself. The Bear was just asking for it. He bounced backwards, and launched
himself off the ring ropes, into the sky. Before Bark could ponder what the heck the Armadillo
was doing, Mighty came rocketing down like a comet, right onto the Polarbear's head, knocking
him flat.
"Oww...", moaned Bark.
"...Ready to give up?", Mighty asked.
"Not even close," Shouted Bark.
Bark rushed forward and attempted to punch the Armadillo, who caught his hand effortlessly,
and sent him flying over the ring ropes...And into the nearby ocean.
Christopher Thorndyke couldn't help but laugh at the fool that Mighty made of Bark. He had thought up
the surname 'Foxx' to use as his surname at the new school he went to after being changed, as to
not draw attention. It was also the name Mighty used when introducing Bark and Bean to him.
The Polarbear got himself out of the ocean, dripping wet, "...Ugh... Okay, I give."
"Doesn't matter if you didn't, that was a Ringout, Bark," laughed Bean.
"...Grr... Stupid tournament rules," grumbled Bark. Not even against Sonic did he ever have such an
embarressing defeat. He had got in quite a few hits in on the Armadillo, but his shell seemed to make
him strong enough to withstand most of them.
Mighty chuckled to himself, "It was a good battle tho. I don't think anyone's got in that many hits on me...
or any that strong."
"...Thanks, I guess," Bark said.
A Few minutes later...
"You know, my old team could use people like you and Bean, now that me and Ray
quit," Mighty said, bringing up a new topic after a couple of minutes of silence.
"What team is that?", Bark asked.
"You mean you don't know? Mighty is one of the original Chaotix," Chris said.
"Chaotix?", Bean asked, "Sounds familiar, but I can't place it exactly..."
"Espio, one of the contestants in that tournament you fought was another member," Mighty stated.
Bean chuckled, as Bark looked worried... Oh he remembered Espio alright. Espio was the guy Bark
beat in the fight before he fought the match against Sonic... Would Espio even LET him ON the team?
"...What's wrong, Mr. Polarbear?", Chris asked.
"Just Bark. Calling me Mr. Polarbear makes me feel old."
"Well, what's wrong?", Chris prodded.
"N-Nothing. Nothing's wrong," Bark stated.
"I think he's scared Espio will still be sore at him for beating him in the tournament," Bean chuckled.
"I doubt it. Espio doesn't hold grudges. Not this long anyway," Mighty states.
That calmed Bark down.
"Okay, where are these friends of yours?", Asked Bean.
"Well, they should be in Central City...", Mighty said, trailing off.
"WHAT? But that's on Westside Island!", Bark shouted, obviously not happy about having to
traverse the Emerald Ocean to get there.
"Look, I'd give you a lift in my plane, but I don't think you two can both fit. And neither of you seem
to have the balance that Sonic, Knuckles, or Chris have."
"Besides, don't you two have cash anyway? You could just take a boat," Chris stated.
"...Yeah, I guess...", Bark stated.
If Bark would have known about Chris' original identity, he probably would have scammed some
money off of him for the boat ride. This is one of the reasons why Chris goes by Chris Foxx now,
rather than Chris Thorndyke. The other is because, he'd rather tell the Press himself, than have a
widespread rumor mill. Thus he can get the whole thing clarified to everyone at once.
"...I guess we'll be seeing you later," Bean stated. He and Bark soon left the area.
----
While travelling to the nearest dock, which was somewhere around Green Hill Zone, someone
knocked Bean over. From what they saw of the guy, he was a green hedgehog with a sidepack,
red vest, red and white tennis shoes, Spiked Bracelets, and Black fingerless gloves.
"Geeze, That guy was rude... You sure you still got everything Bean?", Asked Bark.
"My Money AND antique bomb are gone! I can't LIVE without my Bombs!", Bean whined.
Bark rolled his eyes.
"I don't know why you're so freakin obsessed with Bombs! Especially with that
one!", Bark said exasperated.
"...It's the only thing I have that remind me of my father..."
"Huh?"
"Let's get that thief, and then I'll explain it."
Bark sighed, "Fine. He's not fast, that's a good thing... Hey, SPIKE! Come back here with
my friends' stuff!"
Eventually, the two fighters chased the green theif to a dead-end. However, the thief didn't
look scared. In fact, the look in his brown eyes showed determination. He pulled out a familiar
looking pendant...
The pendant immedately lit up, and turned into-- a drumset?
"What are you gonna do? Rock n' Roll us to death?", Bark joked.
"Uh... Bark... Remember what Sonic could do with his?"
It took a moment before Bark realized what Bean meant, "Oh, Shit!"
The Thief struck his drums, and sent out a shockwave that caused loose rocks and such to
fly towards Bark and Bean. Bean easily evaded them, but Bark decided to hit them back at
his attacker.
With some of his large punches, the Polarbear was able to send them flying back, only to have
another shockwave shatter them.
"Manic! What have you gotten yourself into this time?", said a voice that came from above, and
then a magenta figure spun down to the ground, revealing a Hedgehog.
"Sis, I uh... I can explain...", the Thief, now revealed as Manic, tried to say.
"...Let me guess, you stole something from them didn't you?"
"But one of them had BOMBS, and I thought..."
"Yeah.. Right..."
"Actually, Bean here DID have bombs until he swiped them," Bark explained, "At least,
that antique one."
"You two look familiar... Hey wait, my brother told me about you two, you're those fighters he
beat in that fighting tournament," the female hedgehog said.
"YOU are Sonic's Sister?"
"Yes, I am PRINCESS Sonia Hedgehog, and this little pickpocket is my other brother, Manic," said
the girl. They could now get a better look at her. She was wearing a purple designer dress, with boots
that went up her legs, and gloves that went up her arms. Her eyes were violet.
Bean looked up with Tears streaking his face, "Can I have my bomb back now?"
"AND the Money we need to get a fare to Westside Island," Bark chimed in.
"That too."
Grudgingly, Manic handed over Bean's antique bomb and his cash.
"Thank you."
"Say, Princess, I have a question."
"Yes?"
"Why is it that a Prince like Manic would stoop to stealing things?"
-------
Ten Years Ago...
King Jules and Queen Bernie were on a boat, hurrying back to their home castle, with their three
children, Maurice, Sonia, and Manic, after they heard of Robotnik's betrayal.
Eggman was following them. He wasn't gonna be satsified with just taking down ONE of the
kingdoms of Mobius.
While Jules manned a turret-type machine, created by his brother, Sir Charles "Chuck" Bobowooski,
Bernie and her 5-year old triplets could do nothing but watch from the 'safety' of their cabin. One of
the blasts managed to jar the door open...
After Jules had gotten in a few good hits, Eggman was forced to retreat... But not before he
managed to blast a part of the boat, where Manic had wandered off to...
"Manic! No!", Shouted Bernie, as Eggman flew off.
-------
Manic ended up on Cocoa Island, an Island off of the coast of Westside.
There he was found and adopted by a band of thieves, who robbed and plundered a nearby town,
until the Battle Kukku Pirates arrived. At that point, some of the thieves were killed. However, that's
when Manic finally ran into his long lost brother, Maurice, who now went by 'Sonic'. After helping
saving the remaining members of Manic's old crew, and saving the town from the
Battle Kukku Pirates, Manic finally rejoined the rest of his family. However, he found it impossible
to break the habit of stealing things.
-------
"Wow... That's some story," Bean whistled.
"Yeah," Sonia said, "Sonic and I thought we'd never see Manic again after he was tossed
overboard."
"So, why is that bomb so important to you anyway?", Bark asked.
"It looks like it can't even be lit," Manic added.
"Well, it belonged to my father. And while I have it in my possesion, I can pull any type of explosive
I want to out of my Subspace pocket, rather than just bombs," explained Bean, "and have unlimited
of them."
"Wait... Your father... Your father was the legendary leader of the Dynamite Dux,
Bin the Dynamite, wasn't he?", Asked Manic.
"Yeah, that was my dad. He died during one of Eggman's attacks, as did his best friend,
Pin the Duck. Revenge was my main motivation to enter that tournament. It was also most likely
the reason I lost to Sonic."
"That doesn't explain your unhealthy obsession with bombs and explosions," Bark pointed out.
"Oh shut up. At least I HAVE something I value."
The two argued as the left the area, leaving the two hedgehogs confused.
-------
Finally they got to the docks that were built recently to get people from Green Hill to Capital City.
They approached the rabbit near a boat, and to their surprise he seemed to be expecting them.
The rabbit was gray, his eyes were
brown, and he had a red jacket and blue jeans, with a white shirt.
He
was carrying a metal staff, much like you'd see in an RPG, and did
not wear any shoes.
"Ah, so you're Bark and Bean, eh? I'm Johnny Lightfoot. Mighty told me to be expecting you.
He's paid for your tickets already," the rabbit explained.
"Ookay, that was unexpected," Bark stated.
Johnny chuckled, "Mighty may be a tough guy, but he's also a real softy at heart."
Bean noticed a fake smile on Johnny's face when he finished that sentance, but he decided not
to pry into Johnny's business.
Bark as usual, didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, and he had a goofy grin on his face,
"Well, if he bought our way, we might as well get going."
"Yeah, let's go," Bean added, knowing there's no way to stop Bark when he's in his gung-ho
mode.
-------
The boat ride was mercifully short, but it did get Bean to thinking. Why was Johnny forcing
himself like that? Had something gone on between Mighty and Johnny? Maybe he should ask
Sonic next time he runs into the blue speedster. After all, both of them are his best friends, from
what he could remember...
---Where did he hear that, anyway?
-------
The two fighters got off the boat at Capital City, the largest city on Westside Island. There were
trains to all other major cities of Westside Island here.
"Okay, the hard part will be locating the Train Station in this big place," Bark stated.
"Yeah... I don't think I've EVER been in a city this big," Bean added.
The duo searched the city for hours, and eventually found the train station. They were lucky
they had found it when they did, because they had just enough time to get tickets and ride the
train to Central City.
-------
A While Later, at Central City...
"Aw Man! They're not IN? You mean we came all the way here for NOTHING?", Whined Bean.
"Seems that way, little buddy."
"Don't call me THAT! You're starting to sound like that big purple cat, whatever his name is!"
"I'm just kiddin', pal."
"Riiiiight"
Suddenly, Bean felt something cold press against his neck.
"Hands where I can see them, duck," a feminine voice said, coldly.
In an instant, Bean hopped back and twisted around, pulling out a pair of
bombs, "Sorry, but following a lady's lead just isn't my style."
The offending girl was a Pink Echidna, with cybernetics at some locations, including
one of her dreads, white echidna-type gloves - without the knuckles on them, combat boots,
and a combat vest. She had violet eyes, much like Sonia's.
The two glared at each other, but Bark pushed them away from one another, "Hold it,
HOLD IT! We're looking for the Chaotix, have you seen them?"
"Who wants to know, you giant rug?"
"I'm Bark the Polarbear, and this is Bean the Dynamite."
"...The Names Julie-Su."
"That name sounds familiar... say, aren't you one of Knuckles' gi---", just then the
Polar Bear was jabbed in the stomach by the duck.
"What he means is, you know Knuckles, right?"
"...So what if I do?"
"I remember seeing him in that tournament, the one to see who'd battle Eggman in his
Death Egg II."
"We were referred by his friend Mighty to come and join the Chaotix," Bark added, "Since
he and the squirrel quit."
She slowly lowered her gun, "Alright. But don't think I trust you. I'm one of the Chaotix, but I
can't have you instated. You'll have to talk to Vector."
"And where is this Vector?", asked Bark.
"Vector, Charmy, and Espio headed to Emerald Town. Said something about wanting to check up
on some of their earliest friends before they started their next mission."
"Friends?"
"Something about asking Tails to fix a pair of robots from their past. I have no clue why."
"Thanks Julie," Bark responded.
"Wait... Bark the Polarbear?-- I heard that you kicked Espio's ass. He was ticked about that
for the longest time!"
"D'oh!"
"Don't worry, he's calmed down about it anyway."
As Bark walks off, Bean raises an eyebrow, "You sure about that?"
"Actually, no. I just wanted to get him in a false sense of security."
Bean's eyes widened in horror.
-------
Tails' Lab in Emerald Town...
Miles "Tails" Prower, known to a few as Kyle, and Rotor Walrus were working on a special
project for the Chaotix. Fixing and upgrading two refugee robots known as Bomb and Heavy.
Tails is a two tailed fox, orange in
coloration, with Light Blue eyes. He wears red and white shoes.
He
was wearing white gloves.
Rotor is a walrus with Gray Eyes, glasses, a yellow hat, and a brown jacket.
The Robots they were working on were in far too many peices to be able to accurately describe.
"Whew. Sonic really did a number on them when Eggman reprogrammed them, didn't
he?", Rotor asked.
"Yeah, sometimes, I wish he'd leave at least enough to salvage. I'm just glad he missed
messing up the memory circuits. Their personalities and memories of their teammates would
be impossible to perfectly replicate."
"They'll like this upgrade. The Chaotix haven't been the same without them, have they?"
Tails winced at the mention of the Chaotix, "Please, don't mention them. They busted up my
Tornado III, and Mighty had to pay for the damages. I'm surprised Mighty could stand being
around them. Especially Vector."
"Yeah. Vector is an oddball."
"And why doesn't Vector ever refer to Sonic by name? It's not like they never knew each
other. Vector and Sonic were friends back in their school days, alongside Johnny Lightfoot
and Mighty, according to everyone I asked. They even had a band."
"I think something happened at one point, that caused Vector to stop being friends with Sonic."
"But what could have happened that would cause a rift that big?"
"You'll understand when you're older, Tails."
Kyle fumed to himself. If only he could tell Rotor, but he'd think he was crazy. Maybe he should
work on something to fix people's
memories back to normal as well as keeping their
"character's"
memories. They know the identity of Rings,
Knuckles, Tiara, Manic, and Sonia, so one of them
could be his test subject.
Suddenly, there was a knock at Tails' Lab door. The Mini-Tail Robot, a small mobile robot fox
outfitted with a camera that Tails had
invented years before, was positioned near the entrance
so Tails
wouldn't have to go to the door to see who was at the door.
"Huh? Bark and Bean? What are they doing here?"
"Hey, it is them! I haven't seen them since they delievered those plans," Rotor said as he got up
from the work desk, and opening the front door.
"Hey, Bark!"
"Rotor? What are you doing here? I thought this was Tails' Lab."
"It is. Tails and I work together quite often on things. We're working on Bomb and Heavy, the
mechanical members of Chaotix right now. What can we do for you?"
"Umm... Julie-Su said that the other Chaotix were here, checking up on their robot
compadrés", Bean stated, "We were wondering if they're still here?"
"No, they left about an hour ago. They took a boat I built for them to
Station Square," explained Tails, "I'm never letting Vector on my aircraft ever again."
The Fighting duo groaned, "We just CAME from South Island. And now you're telling
me we have to go all the way back? Are you sure they won't leave on us?"
"They made reservations at the hotel there. I think they're planning on staying for a while."
"That's a relief. But how are we gonna get there? I don't want to have to take another
train ride," Bark whined.
"Heh. Don't worry. I can take you there in the X-Tornado. You can handle working on the
robots for now, right Rotor?"
"Of course," Rotor stated.
"Oooh. What's the name of this round robot again?", Bean asked.
"His name is Bomb," Tails said, slightly nervous.
"Cool! I like Bombs!"
"Yes, I know about your unhealthy obsession with explosives."
"Maybe when we become members of the Chaotix, and when Bomb's fixed, he can help me
with a bit of demolition. Heh heh."
The other three in the room paled.
-------
"There it is, guys," Tails spoke through the radios that allow him to communicate to the
passengers of the X-Tornado, "Station Square."
"Finally! I'm starting to get airsick, not to mention clastrophobia," Bark complained.
"...Is it even possible to get both of those at the same time?" Bean wondered aloud.
The Plane finally landed, and the fighting duo hopped out.
"Thanks for the lift, Tails," Bean said.
"No problem, Bean! Well, I better get back to my lab before Rotor activates
Bomb's explosive mechanism," Tails joked.
The X-Tornado took off, and returned from whence it came.
"Now, to find that Hotel," Bark said, while looking around.
"Uh... Bark..."
"Not NOW Bean, I'm looking for the---"
Bean interrupted Bark by turning him to face the opposite direction, where the Hotel Stood.
"Oh... Uh... I knew it was there the whole time! I was just testing you," The Bear feebly defended.
"Riiight," said the only surviving Dynamite Duck, sarcastically.
The not-so-dynamic duo went into the large hotel.
"Well, from what Mighty told us, chances are, we'll see the leader, Vector, out by the pool,
TRYING to pick up some girls... Huh. Reminds me of you," Bean said.
"Hey! I'm not THAT Bad!"
"Yeah yeah. Let's just go check."
Sure enough, the Leader of the Chaotix was trying to pick up some females. Human, Mobian,
to him it didn't matter. He wore black shoes and wristbands, and a golden chain around his neck.
His eyes were an reddish-orange color. He was green with yellow stomach scales. Like Most mobians
he wore white gloves.
Bark walked up to the Crocodile and tapped his shoulder, "Uhh... Hello?"
The Crocodile quickly turned around and glared, "What do you want?"
"Uhh... I'm Bark and this is Bean, Mighty said that you had some openings for new members of
your Detective Agency, since he and that little squirrel dude left."
"...Uh-huh... And why would Mighty send wimps like you?"
"HEY!", Both shouted offended.
Suddenly, a familiar purple chameleon phased in, sticking on the wall. He had on special ninjitsu
gloves that were black, purple, and white, and black sandals. His eyes shined a brilliant yellow
color, "Ah. Bark. Bean. It's been too long."
"Woah! When'd you change your duds?", Bark asked.
"...I'm a ninja now," Espio replied.
"You know them, Espio," the Crocodile asked.
"They fought in that tournament I told you about. I lost to the big one. And the Duck is skilled
with explosives."
"Uhh... No hard feelings about me defeating you right," Bark asked.
Suddenly, the Chameleon sent a whirlwind of leaves at Bark, sending him flying into the air and
landing on his head.
"We are now even," said the Ninja.
"Oww... Julie said you weren't mad."
"Ninja don't get mad. They get even."
"Anyway... Mighty tested out Bark's strength and everything. Bark actually managed to get in
a few hits - that actually hurt Mighty," Bean explained, concealing his smirk.
"COOL," a small bee shouted as he flew in. He wore a black and red helmet, black
bracelets, an orange jacket with a cartoon bee sewn on, and orange tennis shoes. He, too
wore white gloves.
"Who's THAT?"
"That's our 'mascot', Charmy," Vector explained.
"Hi!", the hyperactive little be said, as he started to look at the newcomers from all angles.
"So, can we join? You are missing four members," Bean said.
"I think they'd be a good help, Vec. Despite the Bear's sneak attacks he's not that
bad a fighter."
"Yeah, I guess... Say, can any of you sing?"
Charmy slapped his forehead, "I seriously doubt it."
"Ugh! Not every Chaotix member has to be part of the Band too, Vector!", Espio shouted.
"Well, it wouldn't hurt to ask!", Vector said.
"No, we can't...", Bark said.
"I could help with Pyrotechnis tho," Bean said, "I'm good with ANY explosive, not just bombs."
"Hey! That works!", Vector grinned, "Welcome to the team, boys!"
"Alright!", the new members chorused.
And so, the Chaotix had two more members. Bark the Polarbear and Bean the Dynamite had
finally found their place in the world... Would this alliance be helpful for the battle that would
soon come?
Fin