Meanwhile, a certain trio of hooligans find a Chaos Emerald somewhere in Press Garden Zone.
Fang: Well well well! Looks like we're rich, gang!
Bean: Oooh... Shiny!
Fang: Come on, gang. Let's take this to the pawn shop and see what we can get out of it. Chaos Emeralds are definitely worth a lot.
Bark smiles at that. But suddenly, a certain Egg mobile appears alongside a certain pontifex.
Dr. Robotnik: Long time no see, Fang. Same goes for Bean and Bark.
Fang: What do you want, Eggman?
Dr. Robotnik: Why we've come to take that Chaos Emerald of course.
Bark: Hmph!
Fang: Well ya know what? We ain't givin it to ya.
Administrator: Quite rude for a refutation.
Fang: So who's the lady?
Dr. Robotnik: She's a new friend of the army. You probably wouldn't understand.
Bean: What army?
Dr. Robotnik: R.O.B squad! Deploy the bomb!
Two robots appear with a huge bomb and activate it. The timer starts counting down.
Bark: Huh?!
Fang: You're gonna blow the place up?!
Dr. Robotnik: Heh heh! Do me a favor, Administrator and take the emerald from them.
Administrator: With pleasure, Doctor.
The ex-Pontifex summons a sword, ready to strike them. With that, Fang takes out his gun, Bean prepares his bombs, and Bark gets into his fighting stance.
Fang: Listen here, lady. We ain't coughin this thing up. Don't think you can take us on by yourself.
Administrator: You shouldn't underestimate me. I was a pontifex of another world.
Fang: Uh huh. Sure. Let's get her, gang!
Bean: You got it!
Ten seconds later, they get wiped out by her.
Bean: Dang! How did she?!
Fang: Who the heck are ya?!
The Administrator takes the emerald.
Administrator: I would finish you off, but I have matters to attend to.
She and Eggman take off.
Fang: Darn. They got the emerald.
Bean: Aww man... But wait! The bomb!
Fang: Gah!
Just as the bomb was about to explode, an electric charge emanates around it, shutting it down along with the robots.
Bark: Huh?
Fang: What in the world?
?: Are you guys okay?
A girl with blonde hair and pigtails, wearing the same First High school uniform as Miyuki and her friends appears.
Fang: Who in the world are ya?
Blonde-Haired Girl: My name is Angelina Shields. But everyone calls me Lina.
Fang: Well thanks for savin us, Lina.
Lina: Of course.
Fang: That uniform you're wearin don't look like any school uniform I've ever seen.
Lina: Well, I'm actually from another dimension.
Bean: Woah! Really?!
Lina: Yeah. Strange that I'm talking to cartoon figures.
Fang: Hey! What's the matter with cartoon?
Lina: Oh nothing at all.
Bean: Well anyway, what exactly is going on?
Lina: I don't know. But I'm sure that my friends will know.
Meanwhile, in the rift corridor with Sonic's group...
Fox: You must have been through a lot in your world.
Queen: Your world sounds a lot like ours. But I think there are a lot more places than in ours.
Sonic: Can't lie about that.
Skull: But man, all the stuff you got. With that SAO game and VR? Those IS thingies? Transforming weapons? It all sounds intense.
Joker: You've all had quite the stories. Shiba's world also seems interesting.
Mona: With their magic, definitely.
Asuna: There's definitely something that makes our worlds unique alright. What about you? What do you do as the Phantom Thieves?
Mona: Well, as the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, we go around changing the hearts of all the rotten adults for the better of society, and make them confess for their crimes.
Ichika: And how do you do that?
Joker: There is a navigation app on our phones that takes us to a world known as the Metaverse. By entering the names of our targets plus their keywords, we can enter what is known as their palace.
Tails: Palace?
Mona: It is a cognitive world that exists inside their minds. From there, we search for the treasure inside the palace and steal it. Soon after that, the change of heart will take place and the palace will disappear.
Sonic: Pretty interesting. By the way, you said you guys know about me and Tails. Do we exist in your world?
Panther: Actually... Not entirely.
Oracle: You're really a video game.
Sonic: Oh. Yeah. There are video games about me in our world too. Also comics, movies, and TV shows.
Oracle: You wouldn't happen to have a Sega Mega Drive in your world, would you?
Sonic: Heh! We sure do!
Skull: Do you also have PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo?
Tails: Definitely!
Oracle: And you guys said you can play games on the cloud? That's something we don't have.
Ichika: Better make sure you have good Wifi.
Charlotte: What a nice atmosphere of geeks.
Houki: Haha! Definitely.
Miyuki: So these are what they call gamers.
Asuna: This would definitely be a great atmosphere for even Kirito and Ichika. Speaking of Kirito...
The dual-wielding boy in black is seen far ahead, with an unhappy face for sure.
Tatsuya: He's been silent ever since we went through the rift.
Charlotte: He definitely does not look happy either.
Joker: What's going on with him anyway?
Sonic: It's no surprise considering that Sugou is out of jail. Again.
Sophie: So what did this Nobuyuki Sugou even do to him?
Tatsuya: Yes. I don't think we know either.
Tails: Well... Uh... It's really complicated. Asuna. Are you okay if we tell them? They might understand better.
Asuna: Oh, it's fine.
Tails: What about you, Kirito?
Kirito: ...
Tails: Kirito?
Kirito: Do whatever you want. I don't care.
Tails: O-Okay...
Joker: Hmm?
Tails: Well, right when SAO was cleared, 300 players still haven't logged out of the NerveGear. That included Asuna.
Mona: 300? And Asuna was one of them?
Sonic: Intentionally, Sugou kidnapped all those players and tried experimenting on them, so he could take over their minds. But then we found out that Asuna was trapped in Alfheim Online, so me, Tails, and Kirito dove in to save her, and we exposed Sugou's plans.
Tails: He also tried to marry Asuna by force.
Fox: That's just despicable!
Skull: That punk!
Ichika: You can't be serious! I knew that he kidnapped all those players, but I didn't know he was trying to forcefully marry Asuna.
Asuna: Above all, he's done some nasty things to me in game, right in front of Kirito's face. Sonic and Tails were there to witness it too. I'm sure you understand what we're talking about.
Queen: That's just awful. That shows exactly what a disgusting man he is.
Miyuki: Just unforgivable.
Panther: Even Kamoshida can't compare to him. Sugou is just the scum of the earth. Kidnapping all those players and experimenting on them, and even taking advantage of Asuna. That's just unforgivable!
Noir: I think you and I can relate, Asuna.
Asuna: Noir?
Noir: Like you, I was born in a rich family, and my father tried to put me in an arranged marriage with someone I didn't want to be with. But the Phantom Thieves helped me, and now here I am. It's just like how Sonic, Tails, and Kirito saved you from Sugou.
Asuna: I see. I think I can agree with you right there. Aside from our voices being alike, we do have something in common.
Noir: Yeah.
Sonic: There was also a time a few months ago when he broke out of jail and kidnapped Yui.
Panther: Who's Yui?
Asuna: She's mine and Kirito's daughter.
Skull: DAUGHTER?!
Mona: You have a daughter at such a young age?!
Asuna: It's not what you think!
Tails: Yeah! You see, Yui was an AI in SAO. She was a Mental Health Counseling Program designed to monitor players mental stress levels.
Panther: An AI? Just like Sophie?
Sonic: Yep.
Asuna: That one day back in Aincrad, we found her on Floor 22, passed out. So we took her in, and the next day, we found that she had no memories. She ended up calling us Mommy and Daddy. It was strange, but something about her made our cabin feel more like home. She got her memories back when we were in the Black Iron Palace and we discovered that she wasn't a player, but an AI. She told us about the Cardinal System, the system that controls the world inside the NerveGear, and how she ended up traumatized by seeing all those players dying, but she found us because we were so happy together. So she wanted to stay with us, and her wish came true.
Tails: Just as she was getting deleted, me and Kirito saved her, and we saved her core programming into his NerveGear. And just a few months ago, I brought her to the real world using the replica program, which is a program that makes artificial copies of people. They're extremely realistic. So real that they're just like human beings. They can eat, sleep, and even age like them.
Oracle: Amazing...
Joker: So Yui is your daughter, even now?
Asuna: That's right. There's so much that we want to do together, both in this world and in the virtual world.
Skull: Man, that's really sweet.
Fox: There are some things in this world that we have to protect, whether they are real or not. But anyway, Sugou kidnapped Yui and...
Sonic: He tried to play unfair, so he and Kirito fought in the park, and then we ended up saving the day. Soon after that, he got arrested again and they all lived happily ever after.
Mona: So now he's out of jail once again... This time he's working for the Subspace Army?
Sonic: Looks like it.
Houki: Kirito looks like he's ready to kill him.
Kirito: Because I AM ready to kill him. All I want to do now is find him and get this over with.
Sonic: You're not thinking about going alone, are you?
Kirito: If I have to then I will.
Asuna: Kirito, stop this.
Kirito: Stop what?!
Asuna: You're scaring all of us. Just calm down.
Kirito: WHY SHOULD I?! AFTER EVERYTHING THAT PUNK DID, WHY SHOULD I CALM DOWN?! I HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE TICKED OFF NOW THAT HE'S OUT OF JAIL!
Everybody gasps at his angry reaction.
Ichika: Woah!
Asuna: K-Kirito...
With that, he quickly comes to his senses.
Kirito: I'm sorry, Asuna... Sorry, everyone...
Joker: We understand how you're feeling. There's no need to apologize.
Sonic: Yeah. To be honest, we wanna get back at him too.
Tails: Yeah. I'm right with you too, Kirito.
Charlotte: Let us help you. We want to make sure you don't have to worry about him again.
Skull: No way are we letting that guy get away with it again.
Miyuki: We'll help you as well.
Asuna: Wait. I think me and Kirito should handle Sugou.
Sonic: Huh? Are you sure?
Asuna: Sugou didn't just make it personal for Kirito, but me as well. That's why, I want to fight by his side. Kirito. When the time comes, let's take on Sugou together. Just me and you.
With that, the Black Swordsman smiles again.
Kirito: Okay. Let's fight him together, Asuna.
She nods her head. They reach the end of the rift corridor and arrive in Press Garden Zone, there seeing a group of familiar faces.
Fang: Well well well. If it ain't Mr. Blue Speedy Gonzalez and Smarty Fox.
Tails: What the heck?!
Sonic: Fang?! Bean and Bark too?!
Fang: Oh why don't you guys relax. We ain't here to start trouble with ya.
Kirito: You guys know them?
Sonic: They're just a gang of hooligans. And they should be in jail.
Bean: Well we're not right now.
Tails: You guys always have your ways of robbing banks. Not to mention you tried stealing the Chaos Emeralds so you could sell them for money.
Fang: Why don't we cut the friendly reunion talk and you guys tell us what's goin on? With that bomb that this friendly lady here deactivated after Eggman and some other lady tried to blow us up? And why they stole the Chaos Emerald we got? And who the heck are all these people?
Sonic: Eggman stole an emerald from you guys?
Fang: Ain't it obvious that he's addicted to those things?
Miyuki: Hold on. Lina, is that you?
Lina: Uh... Hi Miyuki. Hi Tatsuya.
Tatsuya: What are you doing here in this dimension?
Lina: Well, since you guys are deciding to have fun, I thought I'd come by and help you out with whatever it is you were doing.
Tails: She's wearing the same uniform as your school. You guys friends?
Tatsuya: Of course. Though, Miyuki and Lina seem to be rivals.
Charlotte: She looks just as pretty as Miyuki.
Fang: Alright alright! Somebody fill us in already!
Sonic: Okay, jeez! Okay. We'll tell you everything that's happened up to now.
They introduce themselves and head back to Emerald Hill Zone to meet back up with Chifuyu and Miss Yamada and explain to Lina and the hooligans everything that's happened from the incident with South Island, all the way up to now.
Lina: So Sonic, right? Tatsuya, Miyuki, and the others have been telling me all about you and Tails. That's why I came here.
Sonic: Well it's nice to have a friend of the Shiba's with us.
Fang: You guys seem to have your hands full with this Subspace Army and all. Don't seem like there are others here right now aside from all you guys.
Houki: I think they all went out to search for other recruits.
Mona: That makes sense. You guys just went out on your way to recruit us now.
Chifuyu: You all must be tired, so you should rest for now. Have the rest of the day to yourselves.
Sonic: Good riddance.
Ichika: It doesn't look like the others have returned yet.
Sonic: Wonder how they're all doing?