Sonic Adventure 2: The Adaptation
Disclaimer: Sonic, Tails, Amy, Dr. Robotnik/Eggman, Shadow, Rouge, Knuckles, and Omochao are trademarks of Sonic Team and Sega. Yadda, yadda, yadda. Just keep reading.
Chapter 4: And away we go!
Knuckles materialized some where in the desert regions, cursing his luck because of how wayward the portals can be. A few years back, the portals would have taken a person to an alternate world to obtain the Chaos Emeralds, but since that option was no longer needed, Knuckles made them so they would be outlets to the main land. Of course, the portal arrangement wasn't perfected, and thus Knux was, stuck in the middle of seemingly no where.
"Huh, sand, sand, and yet more sand! Great!" he said sarcastically. "Luckily, I've had plenty of desert survival training in Sandopolis back home."
Knuckles knew one thing though, the Warp Rings served the purpose of what was in its user's mindset. Seemingly, it looked like that wherever the Master Emerald is located, this place was as good as any to start with.
"I REALLY am going to lay into this character! Whoever it is, they're making me 'Cita's World'!" Knux said as he looked at his watch.
* * *
Rouge's helicopter was running out of fuel, so she decided to make a quick stop by an old "friend" of hers that worked in the local jewelry store.
"Hey there, Nack," she cooed as she walked into the store.
"Well, uh, hello, Rouge! Long time, no see! Looks like my old rival is looking rather well, and as beautiful as ever," the weasel said.
"Flattery will CERTAINLY get you no where, Nack," Rouge replied. "So how's business?"
"It's a little on the boring side, no doubt there, but at least its safer!"
"Still can't believe you actually decided to stop being a treasure hunter! You were one of the greatest hunters, and my best rival," she added. "What made you quit?"
"It's really nothing, I just got bored of it," Nack said nonchalantly.
"You're lying through the skin of your teeth, which can't be easy with that big incisor of yours!" she chided.
"It's really nothing of your concern, I dropped out, and pretty much you're the last great one there is, except for…."
"What?! Are you saying that there's another great treasure hunter out there?!?" Rouge shouted.
"You said it, sweetie, not me! Now if you will kindly move along, I do still have customers that need to be served!" Nack said.
"And I do have business! Could you take a break and see what I have to show you?" Rouge said sweetly.
Nack looked around, and saw that the other vendors were taking care of pretty much all of the other customers.
"Alright, let's get this over with, before any recognizes that I'm gone!" Nack said quietly.
The two rushed out of the store, and Rouge led the way, up to the top of the store, where her helicopter was parked.
Upon seeing the Emerald, Nack's purple fur stood on end.
"FOR THE LUVVA OF PETE!! HOW DID YOU GET THIS GEM?!" shouted Nack.
"Ain't it a beaut? The only thing possibly more gorgeous in this view than myself!" Rouge said proudly.
"But still, where did you get it?" asked Nack again.
"Oh, don't tell any body this, but I got it off of that 'Floating Island' that some people spoke of. It was a simple matter of just taking it, it was lying right there in that placeholder for it," Rouge explained.
Nack's face and attitude, usually the epitome of the ultimate jokester, turned serious.
"Rouge, I am only doing this perhaps because of respect I have for you as my formal rival, so, if I were you, I'd put this Emerald back where I'd found it," he said sternly.
"Why should I, it's finders keepers!"
"And you might be the weeping loser! The Emerald is more trouble than its worth, Rouge, you mighty as well have found the Klodmond Diamond too!"
"Why is that?" she asked.
"I think it's time I told you why exactly why I got out of the Treasure Huntin' trade. A while back, I was like you, cocky, confident, and thought I was invincible. No jewel could escape my paws! Then, word of mouth went around that there existed a couple of really cool gems called the Chaos Emeralds! They said that these gems were really nice babies to have, if you could ever get a hold one of one of them, there was no doubt that the others would fall into place. Then all of my troubles began! It all started with a blue hedgehog and two-tailed fox duo. Some how they came to know that I was in possession with a good deal of the Emeralds, and wouldn't stop at nothing to get the Emeralds back for their cause to stop Robotnik. Those two literally put me through misery as they broke all of the gadgets I devised, but none could compare to that red echidna! He's the Guardian of all the Emeralds, and that includes the one you see before you!"
"Oh, really? So that's why you quit the business, eh? You got roughed-up by a guardian?" asked Rouge.
"He's dangerous I tell you! He'll dog you wherever you go, as long as you're endangering the safety of his Emeralds! You'd best take my advice!" said Nack.
"Well, then I guess you made the right choice, Nack, since you couldn't handle a guardian, you decided you couldn't hack it any more! Well, that's too bad, but it doesn't affect me! This Emerald is mine, and is going to stay mine!" she said emphatically.
"Don't say I didn't warn ya, Rouge, especially once the red echidna is gunning for you!"
"If, this supposed guardian is after me, let him come, I like to live dangerously!" she said with a smooth smile.
Suddenly, a button lit up on the console of her helicopter.
"Well, it's been nice chatting to you about old times, Nack, but I best get going, business as usual!"
"I see, well, take care and good luck, Rouge," Nack said as Rouge was lifting off. He waited until Rouge could not hear him any more until he said to himself, mostly:
"You'll need it."
* * *
All things are going according to plan, Robotnik thought. The Robots will keep those simple-minded fools busy, while I get to take a tour of my granpa's old work place. It's their fault they never had a "Take Your Child to Work Day" so he could've done it himself. Robotnik only snickered at his own joke.
Using his decoder, Robotnik was able to get past the security hold, and down to where the archived files of GUN's arsenal were located. Upon opening a few safes, Robotnik was able to get a hold of one of the Chaos Emeralds.
"Ha, ha, these little baubles are always handy to have around, their energy could help power up some of the new Atomic Weapon prototypes I've been working on! Wait a minute, what's this?"
Robotnik had eyed a small journal in the "Robotnik, Gerald" folder he picked up.
"Why it's grandpa's old notes! So much history I bet could be found here, let's check it out! Propulsion weapons? Been there. Atomic Weapons? Seen that. SECRET PROJECT? Hmm, this might be interesting…."
Robotnik flipped to that part of the journal, and inside, he found an entry from his grandfather.
This project is designated as being the penultimate in my research! This weapon will certainly outdo such out-dated things like bombs, lasers, and anything else man may have designed before. However, just upon the completion of the project, those fools shut down my research! My guess is that they feared the weapon's power, and thought I would use it against them. But they won't have it! I shut it down in the lower levels of my old lab, and no one can hope to access it unless they have the password! If the weapon were ever activated, I'm sure whoever sees it will truly see its power! Then there will only be one more step that lies between…
Robotnik couldn't read any more, the rest of the page was smeared, probably because the journal wasn't kept in a dry place. But he knew what he must do, if this secret weapon was all that his grandfather said in his entry, it must be his! Robotnik then pulled out his microphone, and spoke into to address new orders for his robots.
"Attention all E-2 series robots! There has been a change in plans! I want you to keep up with your current commands for another 20 minutes and buy me more time! I have found yet another intriguing tidbit that demands my attention!"
"But Master, we are starting to lose power, the military is starting to overwhelm us. E-203 and E-204 have already been destroyed. Any more time, and the last of us will be destroyed as well," E-201 replied.
"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR EXCUSES! YOU JUST STICK TO THE PLAN! YOU FIGHT ON UNTIL YOU'RE JOINTS ARE NO LONGER LUBRICATED, DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?!" shouted Robotnik.
"Yes, Master," the robot replied.
"This will not be easy, security down in the lower levels is bound to be tougher than out here! But then again, all of the best scientists love challenges! Time to take the Egg-o-matic's new feature for a spin! EGG-O-MATIC! Configure for battle mode!" shouted Robotnik.
Robotnik's favorite mode of transportation then changed its mode. From the hover-unit it once was, it now became a complex mobile assault unit, complete with propulsion jets, and loaded with a Vulcan Cannon and Missile Launcher.
"Let the games begin!" declared Robotnik as he rushed off to the lower levels.