The Festival
Well, I know it's been a while since I updated, but I've had a lot going on with graduation and stuff. I just want to say that this version of Mobius is a crossover of the video games and the Archie comic book series. The thing that I'm leaving out though is the fact that Shadow died. That pissed me off, so he's alive and a Freedom Fighter! Also, I hate Rouge, so she doesn't even exist. Hey, I'm the SI here, I can do what I want! On with the next chapter.

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LOCATION: KNOTHOLE, MOBIUS
The sun was beating down upon the peaceful village of Knothole. A swift breeze blew through the courtyard as Sonic The Hedgehog is running at near light speed into Castle Acorn. Robotnik hadn't attacked for weeks, so King Max and Queen Alicia Acorn had named today a holiday. There was to be a festival, complete with games, prizes, food, music, and competitions for any of the Mobians who wanted to compete. Sonic bursts into the throne room where the king and queen are chatting together.
"Sorry to interrupt," Sonic said as he stopped in front of them, "but is it too late to sign up for the racing competition?"
Queen Alicia laughed and said, "Why my dear Sonic, it's never too late for the fastest Mobian to enter! It just wouldn't be the same without you!"
"Indeed," stated King Max. "Sonic, are you aware that there is only one other applicant for this race?"
"Nope, but that doesn't matter. It wouldn't matter if there was a million, I'm still way too past cool to lose this! But, if you don't mind me asking, who's this 'other applicant'?"
"Mina Mongoose. She said she was looking forward to racing against you. She signed up moments after we announced the festival," Queen Alicia said.
"Mina..." Sonic remembers the recent kiss the female Mobian gave him. Maybe there was something behind it? He shrugs it off and speeds out of the throne room.

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Later that day, all of Knothole was gathered in the area designated for the festival. Music was playing, and everyone was having a great time. Even Shadow was there, but he was keeping to himself, so it was no different than usual.
After everyone arrived, the competitions began. Princess Sally Acorn assumed the position of judge. The first event was a tug-of-war. Amy Rose and Tails were on one side, Antoine and Rotor on the other. It was pretty easy to see that this was a pretty outmatched competition.
Antoine and Rotor were ready to go, but Amy and Tails were huddled discussing what seemed to be a strategy. After a couple of minutes, they break and pick up their side of the rope. Sally blows a whistle and both teams start pulling.
"This should be a snap, Ant. We can't lose!" Rotor said.
"Yes. And maybe when we win, Sally will finally realize what a great man I am!" Antoine says.
"Yeah, whatever. Wait a second, why aren't we moving? I'm pulling as hard as I can!"
Sure enough, they had been pulling and pulling, but hadn't moved an inch. In a moment they noticed that Tails had stuck both of his tails into the ground as an anchor! Clearly upset, Antoine protested to Sally, "They are cheating! He cannot do that!"
"Sorry Antoine," Sally said "but Tails is using a part of his body, so it's perfectly legal."
"Okay, Tails!" Amy said. "You were right, they're distracted. NOW!"
Tails nods and both of them pull as hard as they can, taking the rope right out of Antoine and Rotor's unsuspecting paws. Sally runs over and holds up the paws of the two Mobian children. They were cheering at their victory, and all Antoine could do was weep in Rotor's arms.

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The next event was a test of strength. Knuckles was standing at a lineup of weights, waiting for his opponent. After a few minutes of waiting, he was beginning to get impatient. He didn't have to wait too much longer as the second contestant walked up: Shadow.
Knuckles starts to laugh under his breath and says, "No offense Shadow, but isn't your 'thing' speed? Shouldn't you be in the race?"
Shadow just looks straight into Knuckles' eyes and grins. "Maybe. Maybe not" is all the dark toned hedgehog says.
Sally walks over to the two and says, "Okay Knux, you're first."
Knuckles looks at each of the weights, starting at 50 pounds and moving up. After a moment, he skips the first few weights and stops at the 180 pound dumbbell. With nearly no straining at all, he lifts it over his head, holds it there for a few seconds, then sets it down. He then steps aside for Shadow to give it a try.
Shadow glares down at the dumbbell. He doesn't say any thing, he just glares. Knuckles says, "Hey, if you want to back down, just say so. Speed's your game, not strength."
Shadow, seemingly disgusted with the echidna's comments, bends over and grips the dumbbell in both hands, just like Knuckles had before him. Then, at the last moment, he takes his left hand off and lifts the weight into the air using only his right hand. He gives a slight smirk as he holds it there, then drops it nonchalantly. Knuckles, gives another laugh under his breath, clearly unimpressed. He skips another few weights and looks at the 300 pound dumbbell. With a grin on his face, he stares back over at Shadow.
"If you want to show off," Knuckles says as he lifts the weight up and twirls it around from his right to his left hand, then back again, "do it right!" All the Mobians watching are cheering at this feat. Even Shadow almost goes wide-eyed at the sight. Even though impressed, he still goes over to take his turn. He lifts it up, but strains slightly while doing so. Nobody seems to notice too much except for Knuckles. Seeing this, he decides to take it up a notch. Knuckles goes over to the last dumbbell, weighing a full 800 pounds! After quite a bit of straining, he finally lifts the weighty object over his head. Shadow actually gets a shocked look on his face, but it subsides, and he gets an evil looking grin on his face.
"Not bad, Guardian," Shadow says, still grinning.
Knuckles' eyes go wide and says, "You were straining with that last one! How could you possibly do better!?"
Shadow gestures over to Rotor and motions for him to sit on the 800 pound dumbbell. "Like this," Shadow says as Rotor nervously sits down on the bar. Shadow puts both hands under the large walrus, as Knuckles laughs at the hedgehog's overconfidence. Soon, many more of the Mobians are laughing along with him, even Rotor. After a few seconds of waiting for the laughter to die down, Shadow gives a loud yell as he vaults the dumbbell, along with Rotor, right into the air! Rotor screams as they disappear beyond the clouds. All the Mobians stare in awe and wonder at the sight.
Sally, shaking her head to regain her sense, looks over at Shadow and says, "I... guess that means... you win. But, when is he going to come down?"
Shadow holds out his arms, while screaming down comes Rotor. Shadow catches him, sets him down, and says to the princess, "Right about now."
As Rotor shudders on the ground, he looks up and sees the dumbbell plummeting down. He quickly stands up and runs out of the way screaming as the dumbbell hits the ground right where he was laying. Then he passes out.

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After Rotor is revived, the big race is set to begin. Mina hasn't arrived yet, and Sonic, as per usual, is getting quite impatient.
"I'm waiting!" Sonic says as he taps his foot in typical Sonic fashion. "Where's Mina? We've been waiting way too past long now!"
Sally laughs a little bit, and Uncle Chuck turns to her and asks, "May I ask why you are laughing my young Princess Sally?"
Sally turns to him and says, "Don't let Sonic know, but Mina is getting dressed. She's trying to look perfect, because this is to be such a special day for her."
Chuck seems a little puzzled. (Well, he can't exactly LOOK puzzled. He's roboticized, so his face always looks the same.) "I guess the race against my nephew would be considered..."
"No no no!" Sally cuts him off. "Although, it does have something to do with Sonic." She leans in a little closer to the elderly roboticized Mobian, "Don't let this get out, but Mina has always had a big crush on Sonic. She's been training night and day to be ready for this race, just so she can keep up with him to tell him how she feels. That's why she wants to look perfect! She's going to confess her love to Sonic! It's so romantic!"
Chuck's eyes widen a little and says, "Mina and Sonic? I never would have guessed. I always thought that YOU and Sonic would end up together."
"For a while, I almost thought the same thing. But then me and Mina talked, and she told me how she felt. She wants to know everything about Sonic, good and bad. She's so in love, that I don't think I stand a chance. Besides, it was really Sonic that liked me, not the other way around. Sure I like him, but just not that way." Sally stops talking and looks over Chuck's shoulder, "Hey, there she is now!"
Mina is running almost too fast to see about a half mile away. What Sally had said about Mina training was obviously not a lie, because she was moving almost as fast as Sonic at top speed! She comes to a screeching halt at the starting line, right next to Sonic.
Sonic's jaw dropped. Not only did she impress him with her speed, which is not easy to do, but it also had to do with how she looked. Mina wasn't wearing her usual black tank-top, tan shorts, and purple boots. She was wearing a tight black shirt that came down to around her bellybutton, a tan skirt, and purple sneakers resembling Sonic's. Also, she had her hair tied back, with her black headband replaced by a black hair-tie. Many of the male Mobians are whistling at the sight of her, with exception of Antoine, who's only interest is Sally. Even Tails gives a little whistle, but he is quickly silenced by Amy's Piko Piko hammer.
Sonic mumbles a little as he says, "Um, you look good, Mina."
Mina blushes and says in her cutest tone of voice possible, "Thanks, Sonic. Sorry I'm late."
"I... didn't notice."
"If you two lovebirds are finished," Sally interrupts, "can we get on with the race?"
Both Mina and Sonic face opposite directions quickly and start laughing a little embarrassed chuckle, both blushing a little bit. After a moment of regaining their senses, they both get down into a sprinting stance.
"On your marks, get set..." Sally says as she pulls out a small gun and fires into the air, "GO!"

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Sonic and Mina shoot out of the area, both leaving a cloud of dust in the air and a fire in their tracks. They were both moving so fast that this was going to prove to be a very short race. When they get outside the Knothole Village limits, Sonic is a few meters in the lead. For a few miles, Sonic is slowly gaining even more ground, while Mina is staying steadily at the same speed. When Sonic looks back at Mina and decides to speed up, Mina fires forward as well, coming right up next to him.
"Sonic," Mina says, "there's something I've been meaning to tell you."
"What?" Sonic says. "You want to go faster?" As if nothing had been said at all, Sonic speeds up so fast that he breaks the sound barrier, his top speed. Mina is left behind.
Sonic is now nearing Robotropolis, the former land that Mobotropolis sat, now belonging to Dr. Ivo Robotnik's vast city, complete with factories. Even though this was obviously not set on the course for the race, Sonic felt he could tempt Fate a little. Little did he know that something was being planned right at that moment...

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"Snively!" Robotnik yelled at the top of his lungs. He was watching the surveillance monitors and caught sight of Sonic running right near Robotropolis. Robotnik was grinning evilly as if the last part of some master plan had just fallen into place.
"Yes, sir." Snively, Robotnik's newly Roboticized nephew, walked into the room.
"It's the rodent. Just as I thought, he is being his usual dangerous self and straying from the path for his race and is just outside Robotropolis City limits. Ready the new weapon and the swat-bots! We will assault Knothole before he arrives back!"
Snively runs out of the room as his corpulent uncle descends through an opening in the floor to the hangar, cackling into the darkness.

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As Sonic gets back to the path, Mina is already only a mile away from the finish line at the edge of Knothole. He was really going to have to juice if he was going to make up for the lost time he had wasted on his side-trip. He speeds up so fast that he passes by her in seconds. Sonic thinks that he's lost her when she comes right up next to him.
"Sonic!" she says. "I still had something to tell you! You sped off before I could tell you. The only reason I entered this race was so I could tell you..."
A large explosion cuts her short in Knothole up ahead. Both Sonic and her speed up to see what happened. When they both cross what was supposed to be the finish line at the same time, they both catch sight of a horde of swat-bots burning down the forest and attacking Mobians. Then they see Robotnik in a large battleship/mech firing down upon the innocents below. Robotnik's familiar, evil voice echoes over a loudspeaker.
"You're too late, hedgehog! It was all too easy to take your pitiful home over!" Robotnik says up in his ship. "Say hello to the Eggnaut, my greatest invention yet!" With that, Robotnik fires down upon the Castle, taking down one of the towers in the process.
"There's no way you can win, Ro-'Butt'-Nik! Mina, can you put off telling me what you had to say until we can stop this goon?" Sonic said.
"Yeah, it's waited so long already, why not wait a little longer. I'll try looking for some of the other Freedom Fighters," Mina says as she speeds off.
"Right," Sonic says, "and I'll concentrate on taking down that 'Eggnut' or whatever he calls it." At that moment, he is swarmed by about ten swat-bots. "Just 10? That's all you're sending to protect your precious machine, fat-boy? Please!"
In a Sonic Spin, the blue hedgehog hero leaps high above the heads of the robotic soldiers. When he is about twenty feet up, Sonic stops the spin and comes crashing down with a fury of kicks to the heads of two of the bots. After a while, the neck joints give way and the heads of the two swat-bots fall to the ground. No sooner than they expire, Sonic sets his sights on the rest of the mechanic stooges. In another Sonic Spin, he jumps up about waist level of the swatbots and slices seven of the remaining bots in two. Ending the spin, he lands on the ground perfectly on both feet. His back is to the last of the swat-bots, which he has seemingly forgotten was there.
The bot brings up it's right arm, which has a dual barreled blaster rifle mounted on the wrist. Just as he is about to fire, a familiar set of white-gloved knuckles burst through the chest of the swat-bot.
Sonic, without even looking back, says, " I was wondering when Mina was going to come back with you guys. That almost took an entire minute! Oh well. Nice punch, Knux."
"Right," Knuckles responds. "Well, now that some of us are here, how are we going to get up there?"
Tails raises his hand and says, "I can bring each of you up one by one! Who do I bring up first?"
"Well," Sally says, "Shadow can use his Chaos Control to get up there, so you don't have to worry about him." She looks around at all else who are there. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Bunnie, Amy, Mina, and herself. "You should probably bring Bunnie up first. We'll need her strength right away."
"You can count on me, Princess," Bunnie Rabbot says as she grabs on to Tails' front paws and is carried up to the Eggnaut.

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After all the Freedom Fighters present have been carried up, they begin their exploration of the gigantic airship. Through a hole that Bunnie punched through a hole in the ship's side, Sally takes the first peek inside. A swat-bot, who looks like it may be patrolling, passes by. When it sees them, Amy KO's it with her hammer before it can sound an alarm.
"Got 'im!" Amy says as she smiles at a job well done.
"Nicole, do you think that the swat-bot was maybe heading back to Robotnik to report?" Sally asks.
Nicole, her computer companion, answers, "It is quite possible, Princess Sally. I suggest you all proceed in the direction he it was traveling. That is most likely the shortest path to Robotnik."
Shadow sneers towards Nicole, "I still don't like the idea of following the orders of a calculator."
Sonic puts his arm around the shoulder of his former nemesis and doppleganger Shadow and says, "Come on, Shadow! You're one of us now, so you do things the same way we do. Nicole solves problems better than any of us, so you should listen to her."
"Whatever."
"Are we going to go or not?!" Knuckles says impatiently.
Shadow brushes him aside and huffs off in the direction that Robotnik's cockpit allegedly presides. The rest of the Freedom Fighters followed, with Mina and Sally in the back of the line. Sally slows down and motions for Mina to move at a slower pace and talk for a second.
"So," Sally says when she is sure that they are far enough behind to be unheard, "how did it go with Sonic?"
Mina looks down in a disappointed fashion as she says in a sad tone, "Robotnik kinda interrupted. I was just about to tell him when we got sidetracked by this situation. I was so close to actually telling him!"
"Don't worry. You'll be able to tell him later."
Mina looks up into Sally's eyes to acknowledge that she heard, then she looks down at her clothes, and holds her carefully braided hair that she had done especially for this day. When she catches sight of her shoes, she looks back up at Sally with a smile and says, "Maybe you're right Princess."
"We talked about that. Call me Sally. Or have you already forgotten?"
"Sorry... thank you, Sally."
They both catch up with the rest of the group, and Shadow stops, both eyes closed as if in deep thought. Mina stops next to him and asks, "Why'd you stop? Did you realize something?"
"No," he says. He opens up his right eye to look at Mina and says, "I heard you and Sally talking."
"WHAT?! But how could you have..."
"I have great hearing. Remember, I am the Ultimate Lifeform."
"That's right," Mina says. She looks at him a little worried and says, "You aren't going to say anything, are you?"
Shadow gives a little smirk and says, "If you want to tell him yourself, I'm not going to stand in your way."
"Thanks. I owe you. Just make sure not to tell anybody."
Mina and Shadow run up to catch the others, since they fell quite a bit behind. When they find them, all of the Freedom Fighters are stopped right outside a room. The large metal door is open just enough for everybody to see in. Inside, Robotnik is sitting at the controls to the Eggnaut, talking to Snively about something.

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"This was pitiful. I expected a much better fight!" Robotnik says in despair.
Snively rolls his eyes, making sure that his evil uncle doesn't see. Turning back to him, he says, "At least it was a victory, sir."
"VICTORY?! Victory, Snively? The day is not won yet. The biggest thorn in my side hasn't come back yet, so we can't say we've won yet!"
"You mean Sonic The Hedgehog, don't you?" a mysterious, unknown voice says from behind him.
Robotnik turns around fast to see an old, balding man in a lab coat. Robotnik growls at him and says, "Who are you?! And how did you get in here?!"
"Well, to answer your first question, I am the great Doctor Wily, mad genius extraordinaire!" Wily says, devoid of all modesty as usual. In the rift behind him follows Riftman. "Which leads to your second question. This fantastic specimen of artificial intelligence is Riftman. He has the power to open 'rifts' between one point and another. Across planets, dimensions, and even time itself. I myself, came from another planet AND reality. I come from a reality where you are merely a fictional character in video games, comics, and television."
Robotnik looks at Snively, and Snively looks back, shrugging his shoulders after hearing what Wily was saying. Robotnik looks back at Wily and says, "Are you insane or something?"
"So I've been told. That aside, I came here to offer you something."
Robotnik presses a small button on the arm of the chair he is sitting in. From the ceiling, a large apparatus that looks like a laser of some type points directly at Wily and Riftman, "What are you selling, old man?!"
"We aren't selling anything, you pompous fool!" Riftman yells at Robotnik.
Wily holds up his hand to Riftman and says, "Now lets not get rash here, Riftman. Those lasers there seem to have us in check." Wily looks back towards Robotnik and says, "We mean no harm, at least not to you. You appear to be quite riled over Sonic The Hedgehog, correct? I can bring you and your beautiful Eggnaut here to my world to help me take over, rodent free."
Robotnik thinks for a moment and says with an evil grin, "Alright, I'll bite. But, may I ask why you need my help? I mean, you obviously have technological knowledge, so why do you need me?"
Wily's face gets an angry look on his face as he says, "I have some heroes in my world as well, which I have not been able to defeat. They are led by an inferior scientist named Dr. Light. With both of us working together, we can easily conquer Neo-Earth!"
Robotnik laughs, "So when do we leave?!"
Wily motions to Riftman and says, "Right about now!"
Riftman raises his left arm, which has a strange device in the center of his palm. The device is a satellite-like object, surrounded in the same energy that the rifts are made of. He types a few numbers in on the control panel on his wrist and fires a beam out the windshield of the Eggnaut, which creates large rift outside bigger than the Eggnaut itself.
Robotnik laughs and pulls the ship forward, "We're off! Neo-Earth, prepare to face the wrath of Dr. Ivo Robotnik!"
Snively leans over to his uncle and says, "This is quite sudden. Are you sure we can trust this old man, sir?"
Robotnik whispers back to Snively, "We don't need to worry about that. He's the one that needs to worry about us, because there is no way I'm going to share this new world with anyone."

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"Whoa! They're going to another dimension?!" Tails asks..
"Looks like it little bro," says Sonic.
Bunnie looks a little worried, "We gotta get outta here, sugah!"
Sonic looks at Bunnie and shoots back, "There's no way I'm going to let those guys take over a world, even if it is in another dimension. I'm staying on this ship, but if some of you guys want to back out, I won't feel any different about you."
Sally says, "Well, I can't abandon the people of Knothole, and Bunnie should probably stay too. We need to rebuild, and her strength is needed."
"Right," Knuckles says. "And maybe Tails and Amy should stay home, too."
"No way!" the two children say in unison.
"There's no time to argue!" Shadow says. He grabs Sally, Bunnie, Tails, and Amy, and runs out quickly. In a few seconds he is back. "They're gone."
Mina looks back through the door, "And so are we!"
The rift passes over them, and the four remaining Freedom Fighters go through the rift. Just as they pass through, Sonic says, "I hope that we can find those heroes that Dr. Wily guy mentioned. We can team up with them and take these guys down!"

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LOCATION: NEO-CHICAGO, NEO-EARTH
Vince was sitting on the table in Dr. Light's lab, waiting for him to get back with the results of the physical exam. Light thought it would be a good idea to check out Vince, seeing as how not only were his new wings obviously not normal for a human, but the Spirit power was not part of the prophecy of the Savior of Worlds. Nobody knew quite what to think, and even Satyr was beginning to seem concerned. Satyr, ever since getting to Neo-Earth, has pretty much stopped drinking. When she quit drinking alcohol almost completely, she became a much more sincere person, taking her position as Vince's partner fairy seriously. This came as a surprise even to Ruto, who knew her best. Dr. Light attributed it to a change in atmosphere. That and she discovered caffeine...
"You know, I can't believe that Speedway is still open after all these years," Vince says to Satyr, who is sitting atop her 64 ounce mug filled with cappuccino.
Satyr takes a sip from the straw sticking out the top, which is just about as big as her own fairy sized body, "And I'm kinda shocked that you actually know how to write poetry! You never wrote in Hyrule, so this is my first time actually reading your stuff," she says holding a small notebook. It was full of Vince's poems. Satyr enjoyed reading them, almost as much as Vince enjoyed writing them.
"Thanks. It means a lot to me to have a fan."
"This one is good, but you don't have a title for it. It says:"

Love is fleeting
Life, a short breath
A journey, forever
Even after death

Questing for acceptance
For friendship, for passion
You'll find that too much effort
Makes complicated relation

Trying too hard
Will end in Hell
So do yourself a favor
And just be yourself

"That was one of the last poems I wrote before I left. I never really had a chance to give it a title. Any suggestions?" Vince asks.
Satyr thinks for a minute and says, "How about 'Finding Yourself'?"
At this point Dr. Light walks in. Vince says, "That sounds great. Bass used to write poetry, and so did the doc. Maybe you might want to read some of theirs too?"
"No," Light says as he enters the chat, "mine weren't like yours, so they might turn her off to poetry altogether."
"You were good and you know it. So, what's the verdict on my physical?"
Dr. Light paces around a little, as if looking for the right words. Finally, he says, "I've never seen anything like this. In my professional opinion, I could swear you weren't human."
"Not human?! Bass yells as he, Ruto, Link, Zelda, and Megaman pass by the door.
"If Vince ain't human, what the heck is he?" Megaman asks.
"Can't be a Hylian. Lack of pointy ears," Ruto says. Link and Zelda look annoyed at that comment.
Zelda looks back towards Light and asks, "Do you have any idea what he might be?"
"No. Not a clue" he responds.
This whole time, Satyr is sitting on Vince's shoulder, talking to him. He had no idea how to react, so he started to shed a few tears. Link is the first to notice this scene, so he stops all the others and tells them. He sits next to Vince, and Ruto sits on the other side.
"I know how you feel, bud. When I found out I wasn't a Kokiri, I was just out of it!" Link says to his friend Vince.
"Vince," Ruto says, "you're thinking about your family, aren't you?"
"Yeah, he is," Satyr says.
Bass asks her, "He told you that?"
"No. Because I'm his fairy partner, we have some sort of mental link. We can tell what each other's thinking and feeling, as long as we want the other to know. All I know is that it didn't kick in till I stopped drinking. It might work with other people if we worked on it, but this is good for now."
Vince looks up from the floor and says, "I might not even be from Earth! My parents aren't even my real parents, and I don't know who I am!"
"On the upside," Megaman says, "at least you aren't related to your dad!"
"Rock!" Light yells, glaring at Megaman. "Although true, now is not the time!"
Roll walks in before Megaman can say anything back and says, "Dr. Light, there is... some 'people' here to see you..."
Before she can even finish, two hedgehogs, an echidna, and a mongoose come in. The blue hedgehog looks around and says, "I'm Sonic the Hedgehog. Which one of you is Doctor Light?"
Vince looks at them and says excitedly, "Holy crap! It's Sonic, Knuckles, Shadow, and Mina! How the hell...?"
Dr. Light steps towards them and says, "I am Dr. Light. If you hadn't noticed, your reputation precedes you all. You are all fictional characters in our world."
"Yeah, we found that out by eavesdropping on some crack-pot named Wily," Knuckles says.
"We came here through some sorta rift thingy or whatever," Mina says, answering Vince's question.
Shift walks in, followed by Protoman, and says, "We were listening in. You said you came through a rift? But how is that possible?! I didn't open a rift!"
"Some thing named Riftman. A bot," Shadow says.
"So Wily has rift technology now? This could be trouble," Protoman says.
An explosion is heard outside, followed by a tremor that rocks the entire place.
"Oh, forgot to mention he brought a friend from our world", Sonic says. "Since you know about us, maybe you've heard of him? His name's..."
"Robotnik!" Vince says, standing up so fast that Satyr almost falls off his shoulder.
Satyr steadies herself and says, "Looks like we're off to fight again! I'm ready!"
Megaman and Bass whistle for Rush and Treble. The two robodogs enter and go into jet mode. Megaman and Protoman get on Rush, and Bass and Shift get on Treble, and they zoom out of the lab. As they leave, Shift says something with an upset look on his face, but nobody hears him. All but Ruto, Roll, Zelda, and Light follow. Then, Ruto runs out and follows as well, even though Zelda, Roll, and Dr. Light try to stop her.
Roll sits down and says, "I hope she'll be okay."
"She'll be fine," Zelda says. "She's got ways of protecting herself, and Vince will look after her."
Light looks a little worried and says, "With Wily and Robotnik working together, I don't know if any of them will be safe."