Chapter 18 - The Road to Minoc
Anthony woke up early, feeling strangely refreshed despite having to comfort two different
people last night, and quietly walked out of the hut to avoid waking Amy. After finding and
taking a shower, he put on an extra set of clothes he brought with him and made his way to the
mess tent. He saw Bunnie at one table and decided to join her.
"Well, good morning, sugah," Bunnie said, greeting Anthony. "Sleep well?"
"Quite well, Bunnie, even though I had to play the role of comforter for two different ladies."
"So I heard. Sally-girl was in here earlier and told me what you did for young Amy, and I
think that was just the sweetest thing I've evah heard!"
"Well, shoot...it was nothing. I'm sure anyone else there at the time would've done the same."
"Amy might think differently Monsieur Bault," Antoine said, coming out of the kitchen and
placing a mug of coffee in front of Anthony. "For you, something especial. My special 'ouse
latte, as Monsieur Kintobor would put eet."
"Hey, thanks, Ant," Anthony said, partaking of the coffee. "Smells awesome."
"Eet is nothing. You have performed ze ultimate act for ze house Acorn, and..."
"Sheesh, no need for the drama, Ant. You ALREADY saluted me when I entered Knothole, which I
still thought was a little much!"
"Very well zen, Gamemaster..."
"...and call me Anthony! We're all friends here!"
"Very well zen Antony. Now, if you vill excuse moi, I also have an especial omelet that I am
making that you should enjoy," Antoine said as he walked back toward the kitchen.
Anthony turned toward Bunnie and smiled. "He's the chef as well, huh? Well if his cooking is
as great as his coffee, we should eat well."
Amy walked in next, taking a seat next to Anthony. She was still a little sleepy and was lying
her head on the table while awaiting breakfast.
"Hey, Amy," Anthony said as she sat down. "You feeling alright now?"
"Yes, Anthony, thank you," Amy said. As Anthony turned back toward his coffee, Amy went up to
him planted another light kiss on his cheek.
Anthony nearly swallowed the coffee down his windpipe from the surprise of her doing that.
"What the...?" he said, then turned toward Amy. "For comforting you last night, I take it?"
Bunnie giggled at this. "You've DEFINITELY got a fan there, sugah!"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sonic came in just as Anthony was finishing his breakfast. "Yo Anth! Rotor and Sally have
that info you need!"
"Thanks Sonic, I'm almost done here! By the way, I'm planning on having you join me at each of
the portal locations, since I'm sure you want to see your heroic counterparts from the other
worlds!"
"Way past cool, Anth! By the way, what are these guys like? Are they as cool and styling as
me?"
"You'll see once you meet them, Sonic. But, I should warn you...the heroes of Neo-Earth are
robots and..."
"ROBOTS?!? Anth, PLEASE tell me you're kidding!"
"I'm not...and you have a problem with robot heroes? Am I going to have to talk to Chuck?"
"Ouch...point taken, Anth. I'll see you later when you're ready to leave," Sonic concluded
and then sped out the door.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"This armor you have is amazing, Anthony," Rotor said as Anthony was putting his armor on.
"The technology looks a lot more advanced than anything we've developed here on Mobius."
"Well, Rot, when I open the Neo-Earth portal I'll see if I can arrange for you to meet Dr.
Light, its creator. Speaking of which, I believe you have the portal locations?"
"Right here, Anthony," Sally said, handing him a map. "The Neo-Earth portal is located near
Minoc Grove, which is a place we use to pick up supplies. The Hylas portal is located in the
far northwest, in Sonic and Sonia's old kingdom. You may not know it, but Sonic is actually
royalty and..."
"Actually, that was shown in the cartoon Sonic Underground back on Earth. Sharpe gave me a
brief rundown on all the cartoon, game, and comic series prior to coming here. Don't they have
a brother called Manic as well?"
"Yes, in fact he's still there leading the freedom fight in that location. Now, for the
Gardenia portal, we may have a problem..."
"Why is that?"
"The land that the portal was located at became the Floating Island a long time ago. You may
have to ask Knuckles to move the island back to the original location to access the portal, and
I wouldn't recommend bringing Sonic on that trip since the two are still at ends with each
other."
"Typical...are those two EVER going to make up?"
Sally laughed and said, "You'd probably have better luck asking Sonic to give up chili dogs!
Knuckle's still sore at us for almost losing the chaos emeralds."
"Hmph...remind me to have a talk with him about the definition of obsession. The echidna needs
to lighten up!"
Anthony walked out with the portal locations and saw Sonic and Tails waiting for him. He also
saw Sir Kain and Ryan there as well.
Sally came out next and explained. "You may want to go to Minoc Grove first, since it's the
nearest portal. I'm having Sir Kain and Ryan do a courier run up at Minoc Grove to pick up
some supplies, so they can provide backup if needed. I was told that you were already going to
bring Sonic. Tails also said he wanted to go."
"Well, hopefully we won't run into any problems there, but I should have plenty of backup,"
Anthony said, looking at the group. "You guys ready?"
"Ready whenever you are, Anthony," Ryan said. "T-Bone even gave us the use of his Hummer to
pick up the supplies while he reported in to Sharpe."
"Is he en route now?"
"Yes, Davie's taking him there on his hoverbike," Tails said.
"Good, in that case, let us be off then!"
Sir Kain, Ryan, and Tails piled into the Hummer while Anthony activated his jet sled and Sonic
started revving up his legs. The five of them then headed toward Minoc Grove.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robotnik was still nursing a sore jaw from Anthony's attack yesterday. He watched a playback
of the Freedom Fighters' escape from holding and watched how even Packbell had some problems.
"Commander Packbell," said Robotnik, addressing the robot next to him, "you said that this,
individual, used psionics in his attacks. How is this possible?"
"Sir, you might find this hard to believe, but I believe this individual might be the next
Gamemaster."
"Should I know what this, Gamemaster, is?"
Packbell nodded towards Snively as Snively brought up a file from the computer's archives,
revealing an image of a knight. "This is Sir Eric of the Larson Clan," Snively said, pointing
at the figure. "One thousand years ago he was one of several 'Companions' who used a series of
portals to travel between this world, his world, and three other worlds. He sacrificed his
life to save his friends using a power called psionics, a power similar to magic but created
using internal powers rather than drawing on the inherent energies of the world. His title was
'Master of the Games', a title earned from a jousting tournament win. The one who attacked us
is probably a descendant of one of his children, and thus has the same powers."
"...and is now a Freedom Fighter. Commander, I want this individual stopped at all costs! I
do not need the descendant of a legend to interfere in my efforts to take over this planet!
It's bad enough I have to deal with that...HEDGEHOG!"
"Yes sir!" Packbell said. "I also have a score to settle with this Gamemaster."
The Priority One Hedgehog klaxons went off and an image of the Freedom Fighters appeared on the
screen. Robotnik seethed as he saw what Anthony looked like.
"There's your chance, Commander! I find it hard to believe an accountant has such power! Go
and deal with him!"
"Looks like a two for one deal, since I'll also be able to deal with that metamorphing human,
Ryan, as well! This should be fun!"
"Just deal with them, Commander! Bring several Swatbots to finish off the rest of them as
well, and bring the hedgehog to me!"
Packbell left with vengeance in his heart, if he had one. But one thought escaped his mind...
"Robotnik, you fool! Too bad that file is incomplete and didn't tell you the true extent of
Sir Eric's powers. I shall see just how good this descendant really is, and then, perhaps, sit
the rest of this conflict out. If Robotnik falls to him, I can then take over that much more
easily. Perhaps I should ready my little surprise..."
Anthony woke up early, feeling strangely refreshed despite having to comfort two different
people last night, and quietly walked out of the hut to avoid waking Amy. After finding and
taking a shower, he put on an extra set of clothes he brought with him and made his way to the
mess tent. He saw Bunnie at one table and decided to join her.
"Well, good morning, sugah," Bunnie said, greeting Anthony. "Sleep well?"
"Quite well, Bunnie, even though I had to play the role of comforter for two different ladies."
"So I heard. Sally-girl was in here earlier and told me what you did for young Amy, and I
think that was just the sweetest thing I've evah heard!"
"Well, shoot...it was nothing. I'm sure anyone else there at the time would've done the same."
"Amy might think differently Monsieur Bault," Antoine said, coming out of the kitchen and
placing a mug of coffee in front of Anthony. "For you, something especial. My special 'ouse
latte, as Monsieur Kintobor would put eet."
"Hey, thanks, Ant," Anthony said, partaking of the coffee. "Smells awesome."
"Eet is nothing. You have performed ze ultimate act for ze house Acorn, and..."
"Sheesh, no need for the drama, Ant. You ALREADY saluted me when I entered Knothole, which I
still thought was a little much!"
"Very well zen, Gamemaster..."
"...and call me Anthony! We're all friends here!"
"Very well zen Antony. Now, if you vill excuse moi, I also have an especial omelet that I am
making that you should enjoy," Antoine said as he walked back toward the kitchen.
Anthony turned toward Bunnie and smiled. "He's the chef as well, huh? Well if his cooking is
as great as his coffee, we should eat well."
Amy walked in next, taking a seat next to Anthony. She was still a little sleepy and was lying
her head on the table while awaiting breakfast.
"Hey, Amy," Anthony said as she sat down. "You feeling alright now?"
"Yes, Anthony, thank you," Amy said. As Anthony turned back toward his coffee, Amy went up to
him planted another light kiss on his cheek.
Anthony nearly swallowed the coffee down his windpipe from the surprise of her doing that.
"What the...?" he said, then turned toward Amy. "For comforting you last night, I take it?"
Bunnie giggled at this. "You've DEFINITELY got a fan there, sugah!"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sonic came in just as Anthony was finishing his breakfast. "Yo Anth! Rotor and Sally have
that info you need!"
"Thanks Sonic, I'm almost done here! By the way, I'm planning on having you join me at each of
the portal locations, since I'm sure you want to see your heroic counterparts from the other
worlds!"
"Way past cool, Anth! By the way, what are these guys like? Are they as cool and styling as
me?"
"You'll see once you meet them, Sonic. But, I should warn you...the heroes of Neo-Earth are
robots and..."
"ROBOTS?!? Anth, PLEASE tell me you're kidding!"
"I'm not...and you have a problem with robot heroes? Am I going to have to talk to Chuck?"
"Ouch...point taken, Anth. I'll see you later when you're ready to leave," Sonic concluded
and then sped out the door.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"This armor you have is amazing, Anthony," Rotor said as Anthony was putting his armor on.
"The technology looks a lot more advanced than anything we've developed here on Mobius."
"Well, Rot, when I open the Neo-Earth portal I'll see if I can arrange for you to meet Dr.
Light, its creator. Speaking of which, I believe you have the portal locations?"
"Right here, Anthony," Sally said, handing him a map. "The Neo-Earth portal is located near
Minoc Grove, which is a place we use to pick up supplies. The Hylas portal is located in the
far northwest, in Sonic and Sonia's old kingdom. You may not know it, but Sonic is actually
royalty and..."
"Actually, that was shown in the cartoon Sonic Underground back on Earth. Sharpe gave me a
brief rundown on all the cartoon, game, and comic series prior to coming here. Don't they have
a brother called Manic as well?"
"Yes, in fact he's still there leading the freedom fight in that location. Now, for the
Gardenia portal, we may have a problem..."
"Why is that?"
"The land that the portal was located at became the Floating Island a long time ago. You may
have to ask Knuckles to move the island back to the original location to access the portal, and
I wouldn't recommend bringing Sonic on that trip since the two are still at ends with each
other."
"Typical...are those two EVER going to make up?"
Sally laughed and said, "You'd probably have better luck asking Sonic to give up chili dogs!
Knuckle's still sore at us for almost losing the chaos emeralds."
"Hmph...remind me to have a talk with him about the definition of obsession. The echidna needs
to lighten up!"
Anthony walked out with the portal locations and saw Sonic and Tails waiting for him. He also
saw Sir Kain and Ryan there as well.
Sally came out next and explained. "You may want to go to Minoc Grove first, since it's the
nearest portal. I'm having Sir Kain and Ryan do a courier run up at Minoc Grove to pick up
some supplies, so they can provide backup if needed. I was told that you were already going to
bring Sonic. Tails also said he wanted to go."
"Well, hopefully we won't run into any problems there, but I should have plenty of backup,"
Anthony said, looking at the group. "You guys ready?"
"Ready whenever you are, Anthony," Ryan said. "T-Bone even gave us the use of his Hummer to
pick up the supplies while he reported in to Sharpe."
"Is he en route now?"
"Yes, Davie's taking him there on his hoverbike," Tails said.
"Good, in that case, let us be off then!"
Sir Kain, Ryan, and Tails piled into the Hummer while Anthony activated his jet sled and Sonic
started revving up his legs. The five of them then headed toward Minoc Grove.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robotnik was still nursing a sore jaw from Anthony's attack yesterday. He watched a playback
of the Freedom Fighters' escape from holding and watched how even Packbell had some problems.
"Commander Packbell," said Robotnik, addressing the robot next to him, "you said that this,
individual, used psionics in his attacks. How is this possible?"
"Sir, you might find this hard to believe, but I believe this individual might be the next
Gamemaster."
"Should I know what this, Gamemaster, is?"
Packbell nodded towards Snively as Snively brought up a file from the computer's archives,
revealing an image of a knight. "This is Sir Eric of the Larson Clan," Snively said, pointing
at the figure. "One thousand years ago he was one of several 'Companions' who used a series of
portals to travel between this world, his world, and three other worlds. He sacrificed his
life to save his friends using a power called psionics, a power similar to magic but created
using internal powers rather than drawing on the inherent energies of the world. His title was
'Master of the Games', a title earned from a jousting tournament win. The one who attacked us
is probably a descendant of one of his children, and thus has the same powers."
"...and is now a Freedom Fighter. Commander, I want this individual stopped at all costs! I
do not need the descendant of a legend to interfere in my efforts to take over this planet!
It's bad enough I have to deal with that...HEDGEHOG!"
"Yes sir!" Packbell said. "I also have a score to settle with this Gamemaster."
The Priority One Hedgehog klaxons went off and an image of the Freedom Fighters appeared on the
screen. Robotnik seethed as he saw what Anthony looked like.
"There's your chance, Commander! I find it hard to believe an accountant has such power! Go
and deal with him!"
"Looks like a two for one deal, since I'll also be able to deal with that metamorphing human,
Ryan, as well! This should be fun!"
"Just deal with them, Commander! Bring several Swatbots to finish off the rest of them as
well, and bring the hedgehog to me!"
Packbell left with vengeance in his heart, if he had one. But one thought escaped his mind...
"Robotnik, you fool! Too bad that file is incomplete and didn't tell you the true extent of
Sir Eric's powers. I shall see just how good this descendant really is, and then, perhaps, sit
the rest of this conflict out. If Robotnik falls to him, I can then take over that much more
easily. Perhaps I should ready my little surprise..."