A/N: Happy Friday, everybody! Welcome to another chapter! Thanks to all of those who reviewed last chapter. So, the last time we met the Secret Strikers, they've gathered most of the materials they needed for the multiverse portal. All they need left is the Warp Ring from Freedom Heights, but they're not going after it in this chapter. Nope, as teased last time, Sonic, Amy, Clay, Skylar, and Lil' Blue are going on a triple date to the Mania Zone, but I know what you're thinking... there are five characters and Lil' Blue doesn't have a partner. How will this work? Well... let's just see where this goes.
Suggested Music:
(1) Studiopolis Act 1 - Sonic Mania OST
(2) Hard-Boiled Heavies - Sonic Mania OST
(3) Friends - Sonic Mania OST
Without further ado, enjoy the show!
Triple Date
Later that night on Angel Island, Sonic the Hedgehog got a chance to rest easy after a long day of fighting. He assisted the Rookies and Babylon Rogues in raiding the Arsenal Pyramid and he helped Knuckles and the others rescue Tikal from Dr. Eggman's clutches. So of course, all of that hard work paid off in the end because it meant the hedgehog would get some well-deserved rest. But in the morning, he knew he would have to explain to the other heroes what he was told about Infinite's origins.
Speaking of the jackal, there was another person who was well-aware of his backstory. That said person stood beside the sleeping hedgehog. Raising his boot, he gently kicked the hedgehog's back.
"Sonic?... Sonic, wake up."
Sonic moaned in his sleep, tossing and turning. "Five more minutes, Uncle Chuck."
The figure tenderly nudged the hedgehog again. "Sonic, wake up. This is important."
With his eyes partially open, Sonic mumbled, "Go away, Amy, I'm not in the mood."
Thankfully, Amy Rose was nowhere near the area to hear that comment. Instead, Sonic was face-to-face with a familiar sight: Zonic the Zone Cop. The green and red armored hedgehog folded his arms and waited for his Prime Zone counterpart to awaken. Sonic jumped up as soon as he saw the Zone Cop and quickly looked around his environment.
He was no longer inside his bedroom in Launch Base. Instead, he was in the middle of Mushroom Hill Zone. He wasn't sure what time it was, but from looking at the sky, he knew that the night was still young. Glancing down at the Zone Cop, he brushed his arms and let out a heavy yawn.
"Long time no see, Zonic," the hedgehog greeted. "Haven't seen you in a while. What have you been up to?"
"I've been keeping watch over the other Zones, making sure nothing else happens to them," Zonic replied, folding his arms. "You and I need to discuss something important."
"What a coincidence. I've been meaning to talk to you as well. Yesterday, a few friends and I infiltrated Dr. Eggman's base in Green Hill where I ran into Infinite. Before we fought, he told me some interesting things about his backstory. He knows you and he claims that you and the Zone Cops banished him and his friends into my Zone. Is that true?"
Zonic froze as soon as he heard that. His jaw partially dropped to the ground and his eyes widened. Shaking his head, he took a deep breath. "So, Zero's told you some stuff about himself, huh? I didn't think he'd so that. It's not really his style."
"So, you do know him?"
"Zero was a Zone Cop a while ago. He and I were close partners, we operated on the field together and apprehended criminals across the multiverse. He broke my trust in him when he tried to steal the Phantom Ruby."
"The Phantom Ruby is from your Zone, huh? You know, that could've been helpful moments ago. He also said that the reason he wants to destroy me is because he wants to lure you and the Zone Cops out. You guys abandoned him."
"We didn't abandon him, we rightfully punished him for his wrongdoings. He's the one who betrayed us! Zobotnik: The No Zone's Prison Warden, and his assistant: Znively created the Phantom Ruby as a quicker way of bypassing the Special Zone: which serves as a gateway to other dimensions. I invited Zero to test the Phantom Ruby with me… which was a mistake of mine. One that lead me to make a careless decision, which I plan to atone for."
Sonic smiled. "Well, that's good. You can explain to the Secret Strikers how you banished Zero to our zone, why you did it, and why he wanted the Phantom Ruby to begin with. In other words, you're totally gonna help us win this war!"
"Sorry… but I can't do that."
The blue hedgehog snarled. "Wrong answer, Zonic! You already kept Infinite's origin a secret, you're not turning your back on us now!"
"You weren't supposed to know Zero's origins. He's my problem. I'm the reason he's been in this Zone for a long time, so I came here to bring him back to the No Zone. There, he'll be held accountable for his actions while you guys deal with Dr. Eggman."
"Sorry, but Infinite's aligned himself with Egghead, meaning that he's gonna get a beating from me and the Secret Strikers. Well, once we awaken the Super Emeralds of course. You see, we have this plan-"
"-to travel across the multiverse and gather the Chaos Emeralds, correct?"
Sonic paused before he got excited. "Yes! You know of our plan?"
"The No Zone has a set of monitors that keep watch over everything that happens in each dimension. I know everything that happened in your dimension, Sonic. From the first time you've met the Freedom Fighters to the Shattered World Crisis, I've seen it all. My comrades and I overheard your plans to traverse through the multiverse. Which is why I came here to tell you guys to abort this mission."
"Oh, awesome, that's-" Sonic widened his eyes, registering what his No Zone counterpart just said. "Wait, what?"
"You and the Secret Strikers cannot travel through the multiverse."
"But why? The Chaos Emeralds from my world are there. We need them to activate the Super Emeralds. You see, Lil' Blue, who comes from the Mania Zone, told us that the Phantom Ruby nullifies the Chaos Emeralds' powers. So, we think that if we use the Super Emeralds, it can destroy the ruby."
"That sounds quite astute."
"Yeah, I'm totally… whatever you said."
Zonic raised an eyebrow.
Sonic shrugged his shoulders. "So, how come you don't want us going into the Special Zone? Does it need spring cleaning or something?"
"No, it's because I can't afford to have the Phantom Ruby destroyed. I need to take Zero and that ruby back to the No Zone where they belong. Once you guys stop Dr. Eggman's army, I'll step in, take Zero and the Phantom Ruby, and you'll never hear from me again. If you travel through the multiverse and collect those emeralds, that means the ruby's going to be destroyed."
"Again, wrong answer!" Sonic snarled, poking Zonic's chest. "You're seriously telling me you're taking that thing back to the No Zone? Don't you see what it's doing!? It's making the multiverse unstable with its constant energy pulses! If this keeps up, we're all gonna die! Doesn't that mean anything to you!?"
"Believe me, I don't want to do this because it sounds stupid. But I have direct orders from Warden Zobotnik to retrieve the Phantom Ruby and Zero."
"So, tell him to go suck a truck! We need to destroy that ruby! The Secret Strikers and I aren't cancelling this mission! We worked too hard to get this long!"
"I'm sorry, Sonic," Zonic sighed, as he took out a small Warp Ring and tossed it aside. It opened, revealing a new location. "But trust me when I say this… if you're smart and value the safety of your world, you'd tell the others to stop this plan as soon as possible. Defeat the Eggman Army as you normally would, leave Zero and the Phantom Ruby to me."
With those final words, Zonic stepped into the Warp Ring and disappeared.
Sonic folded his arms and tapped his toe, furious that this plan has a complication.
The next day in Launch Base Zone, Sonic woke up and ran inside the base to have breakfast with the rest of the resistance. Once they finished their meal, the cobalt hero got a chance to gather his friends together and tell them everything Zonic told him last night. He was expecting them to be as angry as he was, but instead, they were more shocked and confused than they were angry.
The Secret Strikers: Lil' Blue, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, the Chaotix, Silver, and Blaze exchanged curious glances as Sonic continued talking.
Relic, Fixit, Cream, Big, and Gemerl listened as well.
The four Rookies stood beside the Babylon Rogues.
And Uncle Chuck sat down, sipping a cup of coffee.
"And that's pretty much it," Sonic finished his story. "That's all Zonic told me."
"Let me get this straight," Knuckles chimed in. "Zonic wants us to cancel our mission because he doesn't want us to destroy the Phantom Ruby?"
"Yep."
"The nerve of that jerk!" Vector slammed his fist against the table. "It looks like we're doing all of this hard work for nothing then!"
"Oh, well, I'm out. I'm done with this garbage," Jet grabbed his Extreme Gear and walked towards the exit door. "Honestly, I'm not screwing around with anymore of this Phantom Ruby mumbo jumbo. Last time I messed with a fancy piece of tech; a DVD Rental Box spit a bunch of rings at me."
Wave raised an eyebrow. "That's because you kept putting your rings in the card reader."
"Then, they started pouring out of it! I almost drowned!"
"None of this makes sense," Espio stroked his chin. "If Zonic takes Infinite and the Phantom Ruby back to his world, who's to say that Infinite won't break out and steal the ruby again? If that happens, we'll have a repeat of what's happening now. There're no other options except to destroy the ruby for good."
"Espio's right," Amy nodded. "We've worked too hard to quit now; we're going to do this whether Zonic likes it or not."
"I'm glad you said that, Amy," Tails smiled. "Because today's the day we're going to get the Warp Ring from Freedom Heights, which is locked in a museum according to Clay. But we also need something else. Remember when I said that one of the Chaos Emeralds is in the Mania Zone? Well, I did a radar check this morning and I discovered that a Chaos Emerald is in a place called Studiopolis; it's right where Mobotropolis is located. Once we get these things and make sure Shadow has his emerald, we'll be all set to travel into the Special Zone."
Everyone nodded.
"But here's the catch," Tails continued. "With Dr. Eggman saying he has a plan occurring in what's now two days, we have to jump into the Special Zone by tonight and get the remaining emeralds as fast as possible. So we have to work fast!"
"Which is why we're going to split into teams again," Knuckles chimed in, folding his arms. "Clay and Skylar, I want you guys to go to Studiopolis with Sonic, Amy, and Lil' Blue. Everyone else is coming with us to Freedom Heights."
"May I help out, Mr. Knuckles?" Cream raised her hand. "I want to help out anyway I can."
"If you're mother's cool with it, sure," Knuckles replied. "But Gemerl, you're definitely coming with us."
"Understood," Gemerl nodded.
"Does everyone understand what we're doing?"
The Secret Strikers nodded in unison.
"Great! Let's get moving, everyone."
As everyone dispersed from the room, Lil' Blue was ready to head out before he slowly looked over his shoulder, glancing at Tails. The twin-tailed fox sat by the computer, loading up a map of Freedom Heights. Sonic noticed Lil' Blue's sorrowful expression. The little hedgehog raised his hand forward, trying to get the fox's attention, but he hesitated. He was worried he'd make another snarky comment that would offend the heroes.
So, Lil' Blue closed his eyes, shook his head, and jogged forward.
Clay and Skylar followed close behind.
"Looks like you're coming on a trip with The Mighty Clay," the rabbit smiled.
"Looking forward to it," Skylar rolled her eyes.
Sonic watched Lil' Blue leave before he approached Tails. "Hey, little buddy. Sorry to keep shoving this down your throat, but have you spoken to Lil' Blue at all last night? He looks like he wants to apologize."
"Every time he tries, he always comes across as a jerk again," Tails answered. "Why should I give him my time?"
"That's not what you said when you two took down the Egg Dragoon. He was telling me how awesome you two were."
"That was because… because…" the fox took a deep breath. "Because we were in a dire situation. I… maybe I'll talk to him later, but now's not the best time."
As Tails continued getting ready for battle, Sonic gave him one last nod before he caught up with his team. (1)
While Knuckles and the others make their way to Freedom Heights, Sonic and his team sat on the outskirts of the Mania Zone's second most popular landmark: Studiopolis. A highly populated, skyscraper infested city that resembled that of a movie studio. Everywhere residents looked, they saw bright neon lights with Dr. Robotnik's face all over different billboards and posters that advertised different genres of movies. Around the area, strange bug-like robots that are designed like a camera patrolled the city streets, making sure no one planned any rebellion against their creator's empire.
The team of heroes silently hopped across the rooftops and made their way down a black and white road. They jumped on top of a balcony and climbed up to another rooftop, hiding behind a ledge. They ducked down once they saw more of the Shutterbug robots passing by.
Once they were gone, Clay peeked upward and was amazed by the gorgeous scenery. As a former filmmaker, he appreciated all of the references he could find.
He secretly geeked out when he saw that one of the roads was made out of a clapperboard.
"Wow," Clay whispered. "This place looks so awesome."
"Yeah," Skylar smiled, which startled Clay. "I could see you opening up a studio here, Clay. Too bad this place belongs in another dimension."
"Yeah, but uh… The Mighty Clay has found a new hobby."
"Which stinks… because I really loved you when you liked your old hobby."
Clay widened his eyes, turning to Skylar.
"By love, I didn't mean love love," the bear nervously chuckled, tugging on her pink beanie. "I meant that I loved your old hobby and who you were before you became an ego maniac. I mean, not that I don't like you now, I just don't love you. Wait, I mean that I like you, I meant that-"
"It's okay, Skylar," Clay replied softly and with a low sigh. "I understand."
Noticing the gentle tone in her friend's voice, Skylar began to wonder if Clay was okay.
"You know your way around this place, Lil' Blue," Amy said. "Where's the Chaos Emerald?"
Lil' Blue whipped out the emerald tracker, pinpointing the emerald's location. "It should be somewhere down a pathway called Act 2. But we better hurry, the emerald looks like it's moving… fast."
"Lucky for us, we're faster," Sonic pointed to himself. "Come on, Secret Strikers! Let's go get that emerald!"
With that, everyone leaped over the rooftop and made their way down to the surface below. Landing a clapperboard-like road. The heroes took off down a long pathway at the speed of light. Of course, Sonic and Lil' Blue (being the fastest ones) ran ahead of everyone else. Amy was close to catching up to them. As with Skylar and Clay, they took some time to explore the scenery.
In the process, the two were intercepted by Badniks that resembled lightbulbs.
"Whoa, who turned on the lights!?" Clay gasped, as he slammed the robots with his hammer.
"Puns, really?" Skylar rolled her eyes.
"Sorry, that was unintentional, but I do not regret it."
Clay and Skylar continued running down the Zone until they came across a blue pathway that lead straight downward. Picking up the pace, the two descended at the speed of light. Their legs couldn't take this much speed, so the two of them toppled over and rolled down the rest of the road mimicking Sonic's Spin Dash. Eventually, they shot into the air and they landed in the back of a truck titled, "Hornet".
The truck transferred them to a satellite dish up above and they roamed around the rest of the zone until they appeared out of thin air as their normal selves. Gasping for dear life, the two of them felt dizzy before they watched the two Sonics and Amy run past them. The three hedgehogs landed inside a popcorn machine, which shot them into the air.
"This place is crazy!" Clay rolled his eyes, feeling dizzy. "It's giving me all sorts of mania!... Oh, now I see why this place is called the Mania Zone, ha-ha!"
Skylar, who though the joke was dumb, still have a secret chuckle. "I got a better idea. Grab on, Clay."
The rabbit grabbed onto his friend's hand, as she raised her Hover Wispon upward. She lifted herself and the rabbit off the ground. The two took to the skies, which made their journey more easier than having to travel on foot.
Of course, both Sonics and Amy thought differently.
The three spin dashed into a few Badniks before they ran down another pathway. Like Clay and Skylar, they went inside the back of the Hornet truck and suddenly appeared as satellite waves. They reverted back to normal once they reached the other side of the Zone.
Sonic and Lil' Blue fist-bumped before they continued.
The Prime Zone Blur looked over his shoulder and saw that Amy was admiring the scenery. He smiled and spoke to Lil' Blue. "Go on ahead, I'll catch up later."
The little hedgehog nodded as he took off running.
Sonic ran backward until he jogged beside Amy. "Hey, Ames, see something you like?"
"Even though this place isn't supposed to be here, it's so nice that it makes me wish it really was in our world," she replied happily. "It's so cool to know there are other worlds out there. Yeah, most of us know about Blaze's world, but that's only one piece of the puzzle. This is different… but again, it's a shame this happened that happened at a time of crisis."
"I hear ya, Amy," Sonic smiled. "If the multiverse wasn't in danger, I would totally explore all of these new landmarks. But hey, what are you gonna do?"
"Right."
Sonic and Amy continued looking at the colorful billboards that they ran past.
"Hey, Sonic," the pink hedgehog said with a sudden frown. "Can I ask you something?"
"What's up, Ames?" Sonic smiled.
"So… this may sound stupid, but… what if this plan doesn't work? I mean, the optimist in me thinks that the Super Emeralds will successfully thwart the Phantom Ruby and the day will be saved once again, but at the same time, the pessimist in me is saying that this isn't going to work. What if things end a similar way they did six months ago? Back when you… you… you…" Amy let out a low sigh, not wanting to finish her sentence.
Sonic looked at her and understood what she was asking. But he let out a tender smile, approached her, and wrapped his arm around her. "Hey, listen, Amy. I don't want to promise you that this will work, nor do I want to say that this won't work. All I can say is that we won't know until we try. If we don't take a chance, we'll live the rest of our lives regretting our lack of effort. But if we jump on this opportunity, we'll feel better knowing we took a chance regardless of the outcome… does that make sense?"
Amy mirrored Sonic's expression. "Yeah, it does… you always make me feel better."
"Likewise, Amy and so do you," Sonic smiled, shooting her a wink. Then, he softly chuckled. "Y'know, I find it hard to believe how much time has passed since our first meeting. I still remember the times you followed me around everywhere, clung onto me, and obsessed over me 24/7."
"Oh, gosh," Amy blushed, nervously chuckling. "My embarrassing years."
"Oh, come on, they weren't that bad."
"Team Rose nearly beat the snot out of you, Knuckles, and Tails because I wanted you to marry me."
"Well, nobody's perfect."
Both of them shared a laugh.
"In all seriousness," Sonic continued. "You've grown up so much, both physically and mentally. You've gotten so mature over the years, so levelheaded, independent, and responsible. And not only have we gotten closer as friends, but we've gotten closer as partners too. What I'm trying to say is… I'm glad I get to know the new Amy, the real Amy I see today."
The pink hedgehog was starstruck by everything she heard from the hedgehog's mouth. Her jaw nearly dropped, her heart almost stopped, and her eyes began to sparkle. As she gazed into Sonic's emerald green eyes, she smiled heavily and offered her fist.
Sonic fist-bumped his friend.
Clay and Skylar, who overheard the entire conversation, watched from above.
"Aww," the latter said. "I've always been more of a Sonally person, but that's cute."
Clay chuckled.
Suddenly, the four came to a stop once they saw Lil' Blue standing in the middle of the road. He stared into the emerald tracker's radar.
"Everything okay, Lil' Blue?" Amy inquired.
"I don't know if this thing's working right," Lil' Blue rubbed his head. "First, this thing says the Chaos Emerald's in front of us, not it's saying it's below-"
CRACK! BOOM! (1s) (2)
The ground below everyone's feet suddenly exploded, shooting everyone into the air. A large contraption came from below, followed by two large missiles. The contraption smacked the Secret Strikers to the side.
Skylar grabbed onto Clay and recovered herself using her Hover Wispon.
Lil' Blue landed against the wall.
And Sonic landed on his knees, catching Amy bridal style. "And for the catch of the day."
"Shut up," Amy moaned.
Glancing to the horizon, everyone saw that the contraption was something from Lil' Blue's dimension: a large silver, black, and gold helicopter that was piloted by four Egg Robos. Two of them hung onto the sides, one was in the cockpit, and the last one was in charge of defenses. Said last one was also the leader of this operation. Its appearance was different than the other Egg Robos, it was decorated to resemble a police officer. With a black and blue uniform, it had a white helmet and two gold stripes forming the shape of an X with a star-shaped badge in the middle.
"You've got to be kidding me," Lil' Blue moaned.
The name of the Egg Robo was the Heavy Gunner and in his hand was a bazooka.
He fired three rockets at the resistance.
"Move!" Lil' Blue called out, as everyone evaded in opposite directions.
Clay and Skylar landed on the road.
"Officer, this is a misunderstanding!" Clay pleaded. "We didn't do anything wrong!"
"That's not a real officer, you doof!" Skylar replied, loading her Hover Wispon. "That's an Egg Robo!"
"Oh, in that case, The Mighty Clay shall show you that he is the one who controls the law!"
Twirling his hammer, Clay leaped himself upward and grabbed onto the helicopter. He pulled his hammer back with hopes of knocking the vehicle off course, but the Heavy Gunner turned around, glared at the rabbit, and kicked him off. He then shot a deadly stare at his Mania Zone enemy, recognizing him instantly. He ordered the Egg Robos to charge for him and they obeyed.
Lil' Blue dodged the rockets that came for him and took off down the road. "Heavy Gunner, I should've known you'd come back for me. I assume you're just some illusion made by the Phantom Ruby? The Zone Cops' invention is a real pain in the neck!"
The Heavy Gunner shook his fist, as he continued firing at the hedgehog. He missed every shot.
"Oh, that's right, you can't talk," Lil' Blue folded his arms. He started running backwards, smirking at his enemies. "Which makes you no fun to mess with. But I think there's a reason why Robotnik doesn't make you talk. It's because he doesn't want you to get…"
Sonic and Amy homing attacked into both sides of the helicopter.
"Distracted," Lil' Blue finished his snarky remark. "Nice job, lovebirds."
Amy slammed her hammer into an Egg Robo's head before she aimed for the Heavy Gunner. But to her surprise, the officer grabbed her hammer and teleported behind her. He spun her around and chucked her over his shoulder.
"Amy!" Sonic shouted with concern.
"Not to worry!" Lil' Blue raced forward. "I'll catch-OUCH!"
Heavy Gunner shot Lil' Blue with an orange missile.
"No I won't!"
Clay stored his weapon away and opened his arms, trying to calculate Amy's position. But suddenly, he looked to the side and saw the same popcorn machine that helped the others navigate through the level. Snapping his fingers, he jumped inside, grabbed large chunks of popcorn and stuck them together. He placed the popcorn bed down and watched Amy safely fall on top of it.
"Thanks, Clay," she jumped up. "How'd you know what would work?"
"Just had to be creative on the spot, that's all," Clay saluted.
"Nice work. You and Skylar help Lil' Blue. I'll help Sonic and we'll take this thing down!"
"Yes, Ma'am!"
Clay twirled his hammer and grabbed onto Skylar's hand. The two Rookies raced forward and got the Heavy Gunner's attention. The evil officer came back to the helicopter and saw the Rookies sticking their tongues at him, which made him angry. Shaking his fist in anger, Heavy Gunner loaded his launcher and shot a series of missiles at them. One of the missiles was colored blue.
The orange missiles impacted the ground while Skylar pushed the blue one back with her weapon.
She excepted it to hit a random building, but no, it launched itself back to the helicopter, causing it to rumble back and forth.
Lil' Blue snapped his fingers. "Of course! I can't believe I forgot! Guys, when he shoots the blue missiles, hit those back at the helicopter! We'll do more damage that way!"
The Secret Strikers gave a thumbs up and they placed their plan in motion.
Heavy Gunner repeated the same process again. To which Sonic homing attacked a blue missile, causing another hit to land on the helicopter. Heavy Gunner did this again, but Amy was the one who fired the missile back this time.
After numerous attempts to hit the resistance, Heavy Gunner realized that his helicopter was falling towards the ground. The number of blows his vehicle took caused the systems to start malfunctioning, but there was still enough energy to keep it going. Heavy Gunner reached into his pocket and pulled out a purple-colored Chaos Emerald.
"Hey! He's got the emerald!" Amy pointed.
"Not for long!" Sonic called, as he boosted towards Heavy Gunner. (2s) (3)
But the officer shoved the Chaos Emerald into the side of his rocket launcher, which super charged his weapon with purple electricity. He aimed it at the hedgehog and shot him at point-blank distance. The blue hedgehog was hit by a massive blast of energy and he was flying backward through the air.
"Sonic!" Everyone exclaimed.
The wounded hedgehog freefell towards the ground, ready to become a hedgehog pancake.
When all of a sudden…
…he stopped a split second before he hit the ground.
Opening his eyes, the hedgehog he magically grew wings and had the ability to fly, but that wasn't the case. He turned around and saw a slightly well-known figure.
Miles "Tails" Prower. But it wasn't Tails from the Prime Zone, it was Tails from the Mania Zone.
"T-Tails?" Sonic gasped.
"Not exactly," the young fox winked, as he and the older hedgehog rushed back into battle. Everyone glanced up and saw the heroes rushing back into combat. Lil' Blue's jaw dropped to the ground and he cheered at the top of his lungs.
"TAILS! My little buddy! I thought I lost you!"
"What am I, chopped liver?" the voice of Classic Knuckles emerged from the sewers below the surface. He jumped up, clapped his fists, and landed an uppercut across Heavy Gunner's face. He slammed his fists across the robot's face and kicked him in the head.
The young echidna landed beside the hedgehog and the two fist-bumped.
"There's a tiny Knuckles and a tiny Tails?" Sonic laughed. "Okay, we need to give you two some nicknames! I'm thinking Mini Miles for you and Chuckles for that guy below!"
Mini Miles rubbed his head and chuckled. "I guess you can give us those names. But I don't think Knuckles would like this name… even if he does chuckle a lot!"
Chuckles did his namesake and clapped his fists together. He and Lil' Blue raced forward and dodged multiple shots of energy coming from Heavy Gunner. They both jumped up and bashed themselves into the side of the helicopter. They both landed on the top.
"So, let me ask you, Sonic," Chuckles said to his fellow Mania Zone resident. "What happened here? One moment, we were in our Zone and the next thing you know, we're transported here."
"I guess the multiverse collapse affected you guys too," Lil' Blue folded his arms.
"Multiverse collapse?"
"It's a long story, Knux. Wait… who's that over there?"
Lil' Blue pointed forward and saw a pink creature running towards the helicopter at full speed. For her attire, she had a green and white coat, an orange frilly skirt, white gloves, a red ribbon headband, and blue sneakers with orange shoelaces that had white tips and soles. She resembled another pink hedgehog, who was geeking out as soon as she saw the tiny hedgehog enter the battlefield.
Lil' Blue widened his black eyes. "Oh, no."
Classic Amy also known as Rosy the Rascal raced down the pathway with her Piko Piko Hammer in her hand. She jumped off of a building and ascended towards Heavy Gunner.
"Get away from my boyfriend, you piece of scrap!" she shouted, as she landed on top of Heavy Gunner and bashed him with her hammer. She covered his eyes and showed him no mercy, screaming at the top of her lungs.
Lil' Blue and Chuckles exchanged a glance.
Mini Miles and Sonic did the same thing.
Amy was awestruck by her Mania Zone counterpart. Beside her were Clay and Skylar, who were both confused.
"Aww, there's a tiny Amy!?" she smiled, cupping her hands together. "She's so cute!"
"Cute and ferocious," Clay gulped. "Even I wouldn't want to mess with her."
"Especially with that hammer," Skylar quipped.
"And we're gonna call her Rosy," Sonic smiled. "There, all of the Mania Zone counterparts have nicknames."
Rosy continued bashing her hammer into Heavy Gunner before the police officer grabbed her and held her over the edge of the vehicle. He had her dangling by one arm, and he released her without hesitation. Lil' Blue gasped and jumped over the side, leaving Chuckles to fend for himself.
"Guess it's just you and me now?" the young echidna asked, as he cracked his namesakes. "Come on!"
As Chuckles thrashed Heavy Gunner, Lil' Blue performed three front flips before he landed on the ground, catching Rosy bridal style. The pink hedgehog whimpered like a distressed puppy, covering her eyes with her gloves. She was worried that she was going to die, but luckily, a certain someone was there to reassure her.
"Rosy," Lil' Blue smiled. "Are you okay?"
Rosy opened her eyes and gazed at her crush. With a loud gasp, she wrapped her arms around him and tackled him into a hug. "Sonic the Hedgehog, you're alive! You're alive! You're alive! You're alive! I was so worried about you!"
Sonic and Mini Miles landed by the couple.
Chuckles did the same as well.
"Calm down, Rosy," Lil' Blue said, coughing for air. "I'm fine. I just caused some dimensional accident, that's all."
"You had us worried sick!" Chuckles grunted. "Tails, Rosy, and I spent all day looking for you! Then, we suddenly end up here! What happened to you, man?"
"And what's the deal with this Sonic?" Mini Miles pointed to the older hedgehog behind him.
Lil' Blue gently pushed Rosy off of him, jumped up, and explained. "This is Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog. He's from Mobius Prime, which is where we are right now. When my Super State collided with the Phantom Ruby, a wormhole appeared, and it transferred us and Robotnik to this dimension. But not only that, the Phantom Ruby's been making a mess out of the other universes as well."
"That would explain why we saw older counterparts of us on the television," Mini Miles stroked his chin. "Call me crazy, but is it true that Dr. Eggman took over this place?"
Both Sonics nodded.
"I'm so sorry," Rosy closed her eyes.
"We'll do whatever it takes to stop our Robotnik as well as yours," Chuckles clapped his namesakes again.
"Great!" Sonic winked. "We can start by taking that guy down! Lil' Blue, Mini Miles, you're with me! Chuckles, Rosy, you're with my Amy, Clay, and Skylar! Sound like a plan?"
"Wait?" the red echidna rubbed his head. "What did you call me?"
"Ready, set, go!"
With that, everyone took off at the speed of light.
Chuckles and Rosy raced by Amy, Clay, and Skylar. Together, they leaped off of a building, ran down a road, and climbed on top of the Heavy Gunner's helicopter. As they avoided laser shots like the plague, both pink hedgehogs looked at each other.
"Oh, my gosh!" Rosy smiled heavily. "Your dress is so cute!"
"Aww, thank you!" Amy replied. "And you look adorable!"
"Thank you!"
"Say the cutie talk for later, please," Chuckles grunted.
"Sorry," both hedgehogs chuckled nervously.
Suddenly, they both whipped out their hammers and bashed the sides of the helicopter. Clay and Chuckles shared a fist bump before they pounded their fists against Heavy Gunner's chest. This caused the purple Chaos Emerald to fall out of his weapon. The Super Badnik jumped off his vehicle to go fetch it, when suddenly, he glanced over and saw three projectiles heading his way.
Sonic had a giant blue and yellow ball in his hands.
"And he makes the first pitch!" the blue hedgehog shouted, as he chucked Lil' Blue and Mini Miles forward.
Heavy Gunner internally screamed before…
KRAKOOM!
…he was broken into a million pieces of scrap. (3s)
With his falling onto the floor, Lil' Blue caught the Chaos Emerald and hugged his best friend. Together, they regrouped with Chuckles and Rosy, celebrating their victory.
Thanks to Skylar, Clay and Amy got down safely. They joined with Sonic, as they watched the Mania Zone hedgehog joyfully reunite with his allies. All four of the Prime Zoners had the same smiles. They couldn't make out what the others were saying, but from the looks on their faces, they could tell they were more than happy to see each other again. Especially Rosy, who wouldn't let go of Lil' Blue.
"I wish our Tails was here to see this," Sonic motioned to Amy. "That way, he and Lil' Blue can start getting along."
"Yeah, but that's a story for another day," Amy nodded. "I'm glad Lil' Blue's back with his friends."
"I didn't think they'd be here," Skylar chimed in. "But it does make since considering the circumstances that've been occurring here."
"Do you think we'll see other people from the Mania Zone?" Clay inquired.
"Unless they have Mighty, Ray, and the Hooligans, I don't think so," Sonic quipped.
All four Mania Zoners regrouped with their Prime counterparts.
"Thanks for helping us out, guys," Clay winked. "You're pretty worthy in my book. By the way, I'm Clay the Rabbit. But you can call me The Mighty Clay. This here's my trusted sidekick, Skylar the Bear. My best friend, Buster's my real sidekick, but she's taking over for him while he's off on a mission."
The royal blue bear rolled her eyes.
Lil' Blue whispered the fact that Clay was an ego-maniac to his friends and they secretly laughed.
"So," Chuckles clapped his fists. "Now that we got the Chaos Emerald, what do we do next? Because from what I've seen on TV, you guys aren't the only members of this Secret Striker group I keep hearing about."
"The rest of us are in Freedom Heights: a city in Green Hill Zone," Amy answered. "They're looking for a Warp Ring for a plan we have. I'll explain on the way-"
VRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
The ground began to shake, and the loud sound of the Phantom Ruby's pulse came through.
Everyone began to lose their balance.
"W-what's going on!?" Mini Miles exclaimed.
"Oh, no!" Sonic gasped. "Not this again, YIKES!"
A chunk of Green Hill Zone popped out of the ground, nearly shooting the Blue Blur into the air. Sonic landed beside Amy and the two looked at the rising mountain. All of the Mania Zoners were almost hit by a pipe from Chemical Plant Zone. Everyone looked to the left and saw that more chunks from other Zones were clouding Studiopolis.
"Let's get out of here!" Skylar called, as she lifted herself into the air.
"You don't have to tell me twice!" Clay screamed, as he jumped into Skylar's arm and climbed up her legs. He wrapped his arms around her and shivered, as the multiverse quakes made ear-wrenching noises.
"Chill, Clay, we've dealt with this before."
"Yeah, but… look, just don't let me go, okay!?"
Hugging the blue bear, the rabbit shed a small tear and closed his eyes. Skylar was about to tease him, but she stopped once she saw the tear. Instead, she gave a gentle frown before she held onto the rabbit with her free hand. Smiling, she began to fly towards the city's exit. Behind her was Mini Miles, who had Lil' Blue in his hands, Chuckles, who had Rosy riding on his back, and Sonic, who carried Amy in his arms.
All of them ran towards the exit with the purple Chaos Emerald in their possession.
"Keep moving!" Sonic called.
Everyone ran down the city was caving down on top of them. They swerved left and right, not wanting to become pancakes in the road. Eventually, all of their hard work paid off once they reached the exit of the city. Running for their lives, they quickly jumped through the city's gate and ran down the luscious green grass of Royal Hills Zone: Mobotropolis' capital Zone. Once they ran a good distance away from the city, they turned around and saw that Studiopolis was no more.
Instead, it was a hodgepodge of different landmarks.
Skylar lowered herself to the ground, but Clay was still hugging her and shivering with fear.
Patting his head, the blue bear smiled. "Clay?"
Opening his eyes, the rabbit realized what he was doing and quickly released her. "S-sorry, Skylar."
"No worries. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine… but more importantly, are you okay?"
The bear was surprised to hear that. "Y-yes. Thank you."
Lil' Blue approached his modern counterpart and Amy with his arms folded. "And here I thought we were done with these earthquakes."
"Did Eggman do this?" Amy inquired.
"Actually," Clay nervously rubbed his ears. "I think this was my fault."
"Why do you say that?" Sonic asked.
Without a verbal response, the grey-furred rabbit whipped something out of his pocket…
…a prototype Phantom Ruby.
~Flashback
The twin-tailed kitsune scratched his head and nodded. "Thanks, guys. You always know what to say, Espio,"
"So do we," Vector pointed to Charmy and himself. "They don't call us Team Chaotix: Wisest Detective Agency for nothing."
"Nobody calls us that, Vector."
"Shut up, Espio, you're ruining my moment."
Through the hole in the ceiling, Dakota, Gadget, and Clay entered the room, ready to fight.
"The Mighty Clay is here for combat!" the rabbit exclaimed before he analyzed all of the damage that had been done. "Don't tell me I came at a bad time."
"How's the battle going?" Knuckles asked.
"We got them on the ropes," Dakota smiled. "Most of Eggman's army is retreating."
"That's all I needed to hear," Knuckles smiled. "Come on, everyone! Let's head back to the ship. Call everyone else, we'll be heading home for rest and relaxation."
As the Secret Strikers dashed out of the room, Clay stayed behind to kick the wall. He was annoyed that he didn't get a chance to fight with everyone else. Placing his hammer on his shoulder, he mumbled in anger and slowly followed the others…
…when suddenly.
A small ringing caught his attention.
"Hmm?"
Turning around, he noticed a small Phantom Ruby prototype on the floor.
"What's this?"
He approached the gemstone and picked it up. It was still glowing in his hands. Raising an eyebrow, he wondered what was making it glow like this. But suddenly, the ruby stopped glowing.
"Huh? Hey, why'd you stop glowing, little guy?"
Tapping the ruby with his finger, he shook it twice, but it wouldn't budge.
"Hmph! I better take you with me, little dude. Something tells me you'll be useful in the future."
The young rabbit walked down the laboratory, storing the Phantom Ruby away.
~Present Day
The depressed teenager finished his story. "I thought taking one of the prototypes with me could help us understand how the Phantom Ruby was built. Yeah, these shotty things were made by Eggman and the real one was made by the Zone Cops, but I thought it could help us out… sadly, it caused all of this to happen. I could've killed us if this happened before we got the emerald… I'm sorry, guys."
"There's no way a prototype Phantom Ruby did this," Amy analyzed Clay's ruby. "I don't think this was your fault, Clay,"
Sonic smiled. "Keep that thing with you, Clay. I'll have Tails and the other geeks study it later."
Clay chuckled at the hedgehog's remark, but part of him still felt guilty.
Suddenly, Sonic's wrist communicator went off. He answered it quickly. "Yo?"
"Sonic!"
"Hey, Knuckles. What's up?"
"Did you feel that too?"
"You mean the earth-shattering multiverse quakes? Yeah, we saw that."
"Are you guys okay?"
"We're fine. We got the Chaos Emerald from Studiopolis. We also found some of Lil' Blue's friends. They said they saw us on TV, and they want to help out."
"Sounds good to me. Unfortunately, we're not doing so well in Freedom Heights. Shadow's wiping out some of our troops!"
Everyone gasped.
"Shadow?" Sonic inquired. "What the heck!? He's on our side!"
"I know. But this Shadow's eyes were glowing purple. Something tells me it's a Phantom Ruby replica."
"Keep him occupied as long as you can, Knuckles. We'll be right there!" Hanging up the call, the blue hedgehog glanced at his team. "Come on, guys! Let's go show that Faker who's boss! Amy?"
Amy giggled and leaped into her crush's arms. Rosy did the same thing without Lil' Blue's consent. And Skylar offered her hand to Clay. The rabbit smiled underneath his mask, as he took her hand. Chuckles and Mini Miles shared a glance.
Soon, everyone was on the move.
END OF CHAPTER 23
Team Sonic has acquired the Chaos Emerald from the Mania Zone, but unfortunately, their mission went smoother than the mission in Freedom Heights. A fake Shadow the Hedgehog is bypassing through the Secret Strikers, which will hinder them from getting the Warp Ring. Will Team Sonic be able to make a difference in the Secret Strikers' invasion, or will Shadow vanquish them all? With new allies found within Mini Miles, Chuckles, and Rosy, things are looking good for the Resistance, but the battle to take back Mobius rages on. Tune in next time as the battle of Freedom Heights escalates in...
"Chapter 24: All Hail Shadow".
POST-A/N:
Obviously, the title for this chapter is a reference to the fact that Sonic and Amy are a thing as well as some subtle hints of Clay and Skylar's relationships. In case anyone is curious, I don't see Sonic and Amy dating each other. I see them as close friends. As for Sonic having a girlfriend, he's dated Sally Acorn, Mina Mongoose, and even Fiona Fox in the Archie Comics. I don't have a problem with Sonic having a girlfriend, but I like it better when he remains single. He's free like the wind, going wherever his heart goes, feeling that a relationship will hold him back. If Sonic and Amy were to date in the games, I'd be cool with it. But for me, I like seeing Sonic have female friends rather than a girlfriend. But I do like it whenever Sonic and Amy tease with each other in the comics.
The only exception I make to Sonic having a girlfriend was in Mobius: 30 Years Later (Sonic Universe Volume 2). In that story, Sonic and Sally are married and have two kids: a hedgehog son named Manik and a chipmunk daughter named Sonia. I think you know what those names are referencing. In that story, I liked the relationship between Sonic and Sally in that story.
Clay finding the Phantom Ruby was something I wanted to do in the previous chapter, but I figured it would take up a lot of space. So, I stuck it in here. Unlike the game, I'll have Clay utilize the prototype ruby. Let's hope to Mobius he won't get corrupted like Infinite and Dr. Eggman.
Heavy Gunner's one of my favorite bosses in Sonic Mania. I loved Studiopolis as a level and that boss is awesome. It was a nightmare on my first run, but over time, I got better at it. Although, there was one time I cheated that boss as Super Sonic.
Speaking of Sonic Mania, I think it's time I talk about Mini Miles, Chuckles, and Rosy aka Classic Tails, Classic Knuckles, and Classic Amy. They have been name-dropped by Lil' Blue a few times before, but now they're making an actual appearance in this story. I'll make sure to make good use of them for this tale. I would have brought Mighty and Ray, but I'm saving them for Sonic Heroes 2. But if you want to see Mighty, Ray, and the Hooligans in a Sonic story of mine, check out Awakened. That's a good read if you're a fan of Gemerl and Cream (bows head in shame for self-advertisement, lol!)
Response to Guest: No worries for taking a while. Life comes first before reading a chapter, my friend. I'm glad you loved the Secret Strikers storming Eggman's base. All they need is a Warp Ring and then it's off to the multiverse! Clay's backstory will be revealed along with Infinite's very soon. Thank you so much for reading!
Response to TheLostEternity: As promised by Infinite, he and Zomom got treated to some food. I loved writing that scene especially since Infinite takes a shot at his actual backstory in the game. My personal favorite Sonic characters are: 1) Knuckles. 2) Espio. 3) Gemerl. 4) Jet. and 5) Blaze. Those are my top five. The other five I have are Cream, Vector, Charmy, Bunnie Rabbot, and Antoine D'Coolette. I know this is an odd list, but I'm happy with it. Silver and Blaze are fun to write for and I really liked making the scene where they fight Metal Sonic with the Babylon Rogues. Thank you for understanding my lack of comments and stay safe my friend. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
That's all I have to say, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you once again for reading this chapter as always. Don't forget to R&R! I'm The Sensational SpiderDom321 and I'll see you next time! Peace out, web-heads!
~SD321 (SpiderDom321)
