Chapter 2 - Outset
The next day found a small group gathering at an airstrip near the outskirts of Mobotropolis...namely a human, two hedgehogs, a fox, and a squirrel. Amy had no problem convincing Anthony to go on this vacation. Apparently, the thought of getting away to a place where the Arcadia portals aren't located appealed to him.
"You'll like Station Square, Anth," Sonic said, getting the humans attention as he set down his suitcase. "The beaches, the restaurants...you might even have fun at the casino."
"They wouldn't let me IN to the casino due to my psionics, Sonic," Anthony said. "But you're right...maybe this vacation IS what I needed." He then turned towards Tails and Amy. "I am surprised at one thing though...why didn't Tails's and Amy's parents want to come?"
"Well...my parents are still busy taking care of my baby brother, and didn't think they could bring him on any trip," Tails remarked.
"...and I already have a guardian coming along," Amy said, looking up towards Anthony. "Isn't that right...'Dad'?"
Anthony giggled and placed an arm around Amy. As he did this, Sally asked, "Anthony...why are you wearing your armor? You don't need to bring that..."
"I know...but I'm just keeping up appearances," Anthony said. "Wouldn't do Arcadia any good if I looked as depressed as I feel. Besides...I was about to ask Amy the same thing."
"We have some friends down in Station Square," Amy said, "and I wanted to show them the armor as well as tell them I'm your apprentice. Teila is just going to freak!"
Anthony raised his eyebrows at the mention of that name. "Teila?!?" Before he could ask, the group noticed two others approaching...Knuckles and Julie-Su.
"What are you two doing here?" Sally asked.
"After I told Julie about this vacation, she INSISTED we should go too," Knuckles said.
"Well, you haven't had one since you were bedridden since the Dark Legion attacked," Julie-Su remarked.
"Yeah...speaking of this vacation, who's flying us?!?" Anthony said. "I originally thought Tails here was going to fly us, but he's waiting here as well."
"We have...special transportation picking us up, Anth," Sonic said. "A fellow Freedom Fighter is flying in to transport us to South Island." He then looked towards the sky and noticed a plane flying in. "Looks like he just arrived."
A large quad-propeller plane landed at the airstrip, and Anthony was surprised to see that it appeared to be what looked like a C-130 Hercules military transport plane with the words "Angel Island Air Force" written on the side. As soon as it finished taxiing into position, the back bay door opened and a black colored echidna with his dreads tied in a ponytail exited. He was wearing what appeared to be a Air Force uniform with two silver bars on his shoulders, which were Captain's stripes. The uniform also had a patch showing a sword and lightning bolts with text saying "Air Combat Command," as well as a black name tag with white lettering that said:
AIAF
CAPT PERREAULT R M
"BAT"
He walked up to Knuckles first. "Knux!" the echidna said, shaking Knuckles's paw warmly. "I had no idea you were going on this trip!"
"Neither did I...until Julie twisted my arm...literally!" Knuckles said. "How are you doing, Ryan?"
"Can't complain..." Ryan said. "Now that Buttnik is gone, I can fly my fighter around without worrying about getting shot at. Of course, if Buttnik was still here, I STILL won't be shot down."
Anthony wasn't listening to the conversation. He was still wide-eyed at seeing the name on the echidna's name tag. The echidna then walked up to Anthony, and said while extending his paw in friendship, "You must be the Gamemaster Knux told me about a while back. Captain Ryan Perreault, at your service. Call me 'Bat'."
"I am said Gamemaster, Ryan..." Anthony said, shaking Ryan's paw, "and I actually knew about you before today."
Now it was Ryan's turn to go wide-eyed. "How did you know?"
"Well, Ryan...you are what is called a SIFF," Anthony said.
"Wha? Him too, Anth?" Sonic said.
"What's a SIFF?" Ryan asked.
"I can explain on the plane," Anthony said, "since I'm sure there's room in the cockpit and since I'm sure the group wants to get moving."
"Alright...everyone get on board!" Ryan said, and the group filed on the plane carrying whatever luggage they brought.
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The inside of the military plane was modified slightly so the passengers inside could be comfortable. The usual troop carrier seats were modified to be more like passenger airplane seats, and, at present, the six passengers inside that area were sitting in comfort, and talking about their destination.
"It will be good to see Station Square again," Sally said. "I've been wondering how they've reacted to Robotnik's defeat."
"Probably dancing in the streets," Sonic said. "The Overlanders that lived there almost got a bad reputation because of Buttnik."
"I just wonder if Twinkle Park's having that cute couples deal again," Julie-Su said. "Might be just the thing for Knuckles and I to take advantage of." Knuckles blushed upon hearing this.
"I just can't wait to see our friends there!" Tails said. "Especially Tay! She seemed to like it when I gave her my old workshop there."
Amy took a look towards the cockpit and said, "I just hope Anthony will be alright..."
Tails placed a paw on Amy's shoulder and said, "I'm sure he will. He seemed to be just as excited as we were about this trip."
Amy nodded in understanding, propped her elbow on an armrest, and leaned her head on her paw as she started to fall asleep from the drone of the plane engines.
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"Fanfiction, huh?"
Anthony was explaining the concept of SIFF to Ryan. "Yeah. Basically the fanfiction author who wrote about you thought he was writing about himself as a Mobian, thus making you a SIFF. I derived the term SIFF from the phrase 'self-insertion fan fiction'. In fact, I happen to be a SIFF as well, since there is another Anthony Bault on Rift Earth who wrote about me, thinking he was writing self-insert fics."
"Weird..." Ryan said. "Meet any other SIFFs?"
"Yes," Anthony said. "On Ani-Earth there are these SIFFs named Merc, Angel, Ashura, and Sabian. On Rift Earth, there's one named Jeff. You wouldn't believe how many I've met when I first came to Mobius..."
"Wow...have any of them met their author selfs?" Ryan asked.
"Well, Ashura, Jeff, and Merc have, since they ARE their author selfs," Anthony said, then noticing Ryan's confused look. "Don't ask...too complicated."
"Alright," Ryan said. He then turned back towards his controls and asked, "So...how does it feel knowing Sonic isn't just a video game?"
Anthony frowned and said, "Sometimes, I wish it wasn't real..."
"Huh?" Ryan said, surprised. "You're friends with who are considered celebs on Earth...your family bloodline is considered one of the most famous around...you have powers that would make Kreskin jealous..."
"I know..." Anthony said, "...but if this world wasn't real, then the terrible things that happened to your people wouldn't have occured..."
Ryan nodded in understanding, and then noticed that a small tear ran down Anthony's cheek. "Gamemaster...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you..."
Anthony wiped his tears away and said, "It's alright. It's one of the reasons Sonic suggested this trip, so I could calm down from recent events. I'll be fine..."
Ryan returned his concentration to his controls, deciding not to press the issue any further. Anthony began to look out of the cockpit window, letting himself get lost in his own thoughts.
The next day found a small group gathering at an airstrip near the outskirts of Mobotropolis...namely a human, two hedgehogs, a fox, and a squirrel. Amy had no problem convincing Anthony to go on this vacation. Apparently, the thought of getting away to a place where the Arcadia portals aren't located appealed to him.
"You'll like Station Square, Anth," Sonic said, getting the humans attention as he set down his suitcase. "The beaches, the restaurants...you might even have fun at the casino."
"They wouldn't let me IN to the casino due to my psionics, Sonic," Anthony said. "But you're right...maybe this vacation IS what I needed." He then turned towards Tails and Amy. "I am surprised at one thing though...why didn't Tails's and Amy's parents want to come?"
"Well...my parents are still busy taking care of my baby brother, and didn't think they could bring him on any trip," Tails remarked.
"...and I already have a guardian coming along," Amy said, looking up towards Anthony. "Isn't that right...'Dad'?"
Anthony giggled and placed an arm around Amy. As he did this, Sally asked, "Anthony...why are you wearing your armor? You don't need to bring that..."
"I know...but I'm just keeping up appearances," Anthony said. "Wouldn't do Arcadia any good if I looked as depressed as I feel. Besides...I was about to ask Amy the same thing."
"We have some friends down in Station Square," Amy said, "and I wanted to show them the armor as well as tell them I'm your apprentice. Teila is just going to freak!"
Anthony raised his eyebrows at the mention of that name. "Teila?!?" Before he could ask, the group noticed two others approaching...Knuckles and Julie-Su.
"What are you two doing here?" Sally asked.
"After I told Julie about this vacation, she INSISTED we should go too," Knuckles said.
"Well, you haven't had one since you were bedridden since the Dark Legion attacked," Julie-Su remarked.
"Yeah...speaking of this vacation, who's flying us?!?" Anthony said. "I originally thought Tails here was going to fly us, but he's waiting here as well."
"We have...special transportation picking us up, Anth," Sonic said. "A fellow Freedom Fighter is flying in to transport us to South Island." He then looked towards the sky and noticed a plane flying in. "Looks like he just arrived."
A large quad-propeller plane landed at the airstrip, and Anthony was surprised to see that it appeared to be what looked like a C-130 Hercules military transport plane with the words "Angel Island Air Force" written on the side. As soon as it finished taxiing into position, the back bay door opened and a black colored echidna with his dreads tied in a ponytail exited. He was wearing what appeared to be a Air Force uniform with two silver bars on his shoulders, which were Captain's stripes. The uniform also had a patch showing a sword and lightning bolts with text saying "Air Combat Command," as well as a black name tag with white lettering that said:
AIAF
CAPT PERREAULT R M
"BAT"
He walked up to Knuckles first. "Knux!" the echidna said, shaking Knuckles's paw warmly. "I had no idea you were going on this trip!"
"Neither did I...until Julie twisted my arm...literally!" Knuckles said. "How are you doing, Ryan?"
"Can't complain..." Ryan said. "Now that Buttnik is gone, I can fly my fighter around without worrying about getting shot at. Of course, if Buttnik was still here, I STILL won't be shot down."
Anthony wasn't listening to the conversation. He was still wide-eyed at seeing the name on the echidna's name tag. The echidna then walked up to Anthony, and said while extending his paw in friendship, "You must be the Gamemaster Knux told me about a while back. Captain Ryan Perreault, at your service. Call me 'Bat'."
"I am said Gamemaster, Ryan..." Anthony said, shaking Ryan's paw, "and I actually knew about you before today."
Now it was Ryan's turn to go wide-eyed. "How did you know?"
"Well, Ryan...you are what is called a SIFF," Anthony said.
"Wha? Him too, Anth?" Sonic said.
"What's a SIFF?" Ryan asked.
"I can explain on the plane," Anthony said, "since I'm sure there's room in the cockpit and since I'm sure the group wants to get moving."
"Alright...everyone get on board!" Ryan said, and the group filed on the plane carrying whatever luggage they brought.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The inside of the military plane was modified slightly so the passengers inside could be comfortable. The usual troop carrier seats were modified to be more like passenger airplane seats, and, at present, the six passengers inside that area were sitting in comfort, and talking about their destination.
"It will be good to see Station Square again," Sally said. "I've been wondering how they've reacted to Robotnik's defeat."
"Probably dancing in the streets," Sonic said. "The Overlanders that lived there almost got a bad reputation because of Buttnik."
"I just wonder if Twinkle Park's having that cute couples deal again," Julie-Su said. "Might be just the thing for Knuckles and I to take advantage of." Knuckles blushed upon hearing this.
"I just can't wait to see our friends there!" Tails said. "Especially Tay! She seemed to like it when I gave her my old workshop there."
Amy took a look towards the cockpit and said, "I just hope Anthony will be alright..."
Tails placed a paw on Amy's shoulder and said, "I'm sure he will. He seemed to be just as excited as we were about this trip."
Amy nodded in understanding, propped her elbow on an armrest, and leaned her head on her paw as she started to fall asleep from the drone of the plane engines.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Fanfiction, huh?"
Anthony was explaining the concept of SIFF to Ryan. "Yeah. Basically the fanfiction author who wrote about you thought he was writing about himself as a Mobian, thus making you a SIFF. I derived the term SIFF from the phrase 'self-insertion fan fiction'. In fact, I happen to be a SIFF as well, since there is another Anthony Bault on Rift Earth who wrote about me, thinking he was writing self-insert fics."
"Weird..." Ryan said. "Meet any other SIFFs?"
"Yes," Anthony said. "On Ani-Earth there are these SIFFs named Merc, Angel, Ashura, and Sabian. On Rift Earth, there's one named Jeff. You wouldn't believe how many I've met when I first came to Mobius..."
"Wow...have any of them met their author selfs?" Ryan asked.
"Well, Ashura, Jeff, and Merc have, since they ARE their author selfs," Anthony said, then noticing Ryan's confused look. "Don't ask...too complicated."
"Alright," Ryan said. He then turned back towards his controls and asked, "So...how does it feel knowing Sonic isn't just a video game?"
Anthony frowned and said, "Sometimes, I wish it wasn't real..."
"Huh?" Ryan said, surprised. "You're friends with who are considered celebs on Earth...your family bloodline is considered one of the most famous around...you have powers that would make Kreskin jealous..."
"I know..." Anthony said, "...but if this world wasn't real, then the terrible things that happened to your people wouldn't have occured..."
Ryan nodded in understanding, and then noticed that a small tear ran down Anthony's cheek. "Gamemaster...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you..."
Anthony wiped his tears away and said, "It's alright. It's one of the reasons Sonic suggested this trip, so I could calm down from recent events. I'll be fine..."
Ryan returned his concentration to his controls, deciding not to press the issue any further. Anthony began to look out of the cockpit window, letting himself get lost in his own thoughts.