Chapter Three: "The Ancient Ones"
From the journal of Miles "Tails" Prower, Entry 3:
Sonic and I just finished cleaning up the mess at the Chemical Plant Zone. We now have two Chaos Emeralds and there's been no sign of Dr. Eggman since we saw him fleeing from the Energy Man. We're now entering the Aquatic Ruins Zone, a sunken temple which is just southeast of the Mystic Ruins. I'm a big fan of history and science, so I can't wait to see this ancient area! Let's just hope that Eggman isn't lurking nearby.
End log.
Tails continued running across the green plains of the natural reserve, surrounded by ancient pillars and deteriorated walls. But he had no time to stop and admire the environment, as he was currently preoccupied with his usual task of catching up with Sonic. Tails spotted Sonic standing still and took it as a sign that he should follow suit. It was then that Tails noted no danger in sight. Sonic was simply standing along the edge of a deep lake which stretched as far as the eye could see. "What's up, Sonic?" Tails asked.
Sonic casually asked, "Hey Tails, you up for some flying practice? Just carry me from structure to structure until we reach the other side of the lake without me touching the water! Whadda you think of that?"
"Sure, Sonic! It sounds like fun!"
"Good!" Sonic winked. Tails then began spinning his namesake additional appendages, using them to propel himself through the air while he grabbed Sonic's hands and carried him over the water. Sonic stuttered, "Remember, Tails! Concentrate; don't even look at me while you're flying!"
"I'll try my best, Sonic!"
***Somewhere in the Aquatic Ruin Zone
"You chose a bad time to fall to pieces on me, Mettron you idiot!" Eggman muttered as he repaired his damaged mechanical lackey. "You just had to wander about the Chemical Plant Zone instead of waiting for me to return! And in the meantime, I could have been tracking down those furries and Chaos Emeralds!" Eggman adjusted one last bolt before he snapped Mettron's back panel shut. "Now this should work!"
"Mettron online and awaiting orders!" the robot spoke in a raspy voice. His face also looked noticeably different now. Formerly plain and more robot- like, Mettron's face now appeared to show emotion - anger in specific.
"Stand by until further notice!" Eggman commanded as he turned around and returned to examining the Egg-o-Matic hovercraft's insides. Meanwhile Mettron managed to activate his finger laser and aimed it right at Eggman's head. But before Mettron could carry out his planned assassination, Eggman, who had no clue that Mettron was doing anything other then standing around, pulled a Power Ring out from the machine, the machine's evil innards having ruined the gold tarnish. "This Ring's out of fuel, I guess I'll have to use a spare," the Eggman muttered as he tossed the Ring over his shoulder. It bounced off Mettron's head, causing his face to change - he was now the loyal robot subject that he was before the mysterious Chemical Plant Zone incident. Mettron deactivated the laser in confusion and returned to his about-face.
"Mettron online and awaiting orders!" Mettron introduced in his normal, buzzier-sounding voice.
"Yes, I know that!" Eggman grunted in irritation. "Due to your failure to help me defeat Sonic in the Chemical Plant Zone..." Eggman set up a small table, which floated above the ground. "I am relocating you to the Oil Ocean Zone. You will deliver these supplies," he signaled to a large pile of crates set up near the table, "to Octa King with the Hoverboard and remain on the barge until further notice."
"Your will is my will," Mettron stated as he silently went to work loading the crates onto the Hoverboard.
Eggman warned, "And don't mess up! I'll be tracking down the hedgehog in the meantime!"
***
Sonic appeared to be more frightened then any video game before has portrayed him. He was hanging from Tails's hands and had lifted his legs as high above the water as possible. And all the while Tails had a nary a clue in regards to his friend's plight, since he was too busy concentrating on safely delivering his cargo to the other end of the Aquatic Ruin Zone like Sonic instructed him. They were currently approaching the next small island, a grassy lump emerging from the water with one partially demolished totem set atop it. "Alright Tails, now get land carefully... carefully... good!"
Tails wiped the sweat off his forehead and asked his friend, "Man, these flying exercises are tiring me out. Can we do swimming exercises next so I can cool off?"
Sonic gulped, "Uhhh... but we're almost halfway across! C'mon Tails, feel the burn!"
"A-alright..." Tails muttered as he resumed carrying Sonic. It was then that they spotted it. It being a flying mechanical... fly with big red eyes. It was covered in yellow and blue armor and was the size of Sonic's foot. A small threat, but a threat nonetheless. "An Eggman robot!" Tails shouted in surprise. "Get 'im, Sonic!"
With no other means of defense, Tails flung Sonic into the air. Sonic nearly panicked before he remembered the flying Pun-pun robot, which was now darting towards Tails at a high speed, but Sonic rolled into Ball Mode. The fly crashed into the ball and exploded, freeing another Flicky, but Tails was unable to catch Sonic before he fell into the drink. Tails cheered, "Good job, Sonic! Now get out here so we can finish this place!" Receiving no response, Tails peered into the lake. "Sonic?" he asked in uncertainty. He still received no answer.
Finally Tails dove into the water, using his twin tails to help propel himself through the water until he saw Sonic. Sonic was struggling, flapping his arms in a vain attempt to swim as he was slowly sinking to the murky bottom of the underwater ruins. And it got worst very quickly as a deadly pair of hungry Piranha robots somehow smelt the hedgehog's distress and swam by for a free meal. But Tails burst in before the fish had any time to say grace. He grabbed one of them with each of his tails, then he squeezed as hard as he could until both piranhas shattered and freed Peckys, small penguin-like creatures with messy yellow hair. Tails then grabbed the suffocating Sonic and struggled as hard as he could to carry Sonic to the surface, which was difficult considering that Sonic outweighed Tails by about thirty pounds. But Tails spun his twin tails as fast as possible, and Sonic even kicked his legs every now and then in an effort to help propel himself and Tails while he was not too preoccupied fighting to stay awake. They were almost near the surface when Tails realized that he was still wearing his backpack containing the Chaos Emeralds and spare Power Rings, and that the bag was still open! He turned his head around quickly to check and noticed that one of the two Emeralds was missing and falling towards the lake's bottom. Tails was able to grab it, but not before he noticed that it was glowing even clearer as it fell. Tails resumed spinning his tails at top speed, and if they made it, it would be just barely and in some cliché way.
Finally they shattered the barrier of water, bathing in their first breaths since their cancelled trip to the locker of one Mr. Jones. Tails then resumed flying with Sonic as passenger until they arrived safely at the next landmass, the largest of the small islands they've encountered so far. "Thanks for the assist, Tails," Sonic acknowledged as the duo gave each other a high-five.
Tails pulled out the Chaos Emerald and examined it. "Hmmm... it's not glowing as much now as it did underwater... maybe the third Emerald is hidden underwater! Let's check it out!"
"No way, Tails!" Sonic replied. "You saw me down there. I don't swim, I sink! Me and water don't mix."
"But Sonic!" Tails replied. "If we don't get it, we might lose our edge against Eggman!"
"I'd rather blast through all of Eggbuttnik's lame inventions then go underwater in search of some ancient jewel!"
"Fine, then I'll go by myself!" Tails dared as he dove back into the lake without waiting for Sonic's comeback.
Sonic hesitated and finally mumbled, "That kid's so grounded," as he slowly waded into the water and sunk. This time he didn't struggle and reached the bottom fairly quickly. It was then hat he noticed the landmass he was standing on concealed a secret beneath the surface: a large temple of some sort, which was decorated with ancient carvings which were now undecipherable due to old age combined with the hundreds of years of water. Sonic also made another important discovery: he could walk on the lake floor! And his super speed allowed him to walk underwater at the same rate as an average person walking on solid ground! The water also helped to heighten his jumps.
Tired of testing out underwater skills (and water altogether), Sonic wandered into the temple and found that a pair of Handrills had backed Tails up against a corner. The Handrills were red and cucumber shaped, with drills for hands and a nose and treaded wheels for feet. Sonic leapt into the air and rocketed between the two Handrills. The Handrill closer to tails turned around to face Sonic. Sonic then leapt behind the second Handrill, shoving him from behind. The Handrill slid across the floor and towards the first Handrill so the second Handrill accidentally impaled the first Handrill's chest with its left drill at the same time that the first Handrill impaled the second's chest with its left drill. Both badniks flashed and exploded, freeing two Peckys.
Sonic then grabbed Tails and mouthed, "Now we're even," as they entered a tunnel which led them deeper into the ancient temple. Sonic smiled in joy when he realized that the tunnel was sloping up, meaning that the water was coming to the end. The furry pair finally emerged from the water and gasped for air once again.
They immediately set about investigating the room after regaining their senses. It was a dank and dark room, with a shrine at one end. The shrine was a statue of an odd-looking creature with dreadlocks of some sort who was holding the Dark Blue Chaos Emerald in his large, outstretched hands.
"Wassup wit dis funky dude?" Sonic wondered. "Maybe a member of some ancient civilization? Nah, too ugly. Let's just get that Emerald so we can put this underwater adventure behind us! (If I'm lucky I won't be seeing any more irritating underwater-themed zones ever again.)
Suddenly, Sonic and Tails flew to the side of the room as if a giant mallet, which weighed several tons, hit them, which it did. Eggman was back in his Egg-o-Matic hovercraft, now complete with the aforementioned giant mallet hanging from the bottom. "Haha, stupid furries! I'm sorry for not taking you down in the Chemical Plant Zone, but I had some business to attend to... uh... which had nothing to do with the giant monster that was chasing me! Now to make up for depriving you sixteen-bit rodents of a classic clash with me, I'll take this Chaos Emerald, finish you both off in no particular order, and then steal your Emeralds! Hahahahaha!" Eggman then walked up to the stone idol and snatched the Chaos Emerald right out of its hands. Eggman looked into it's shiny, dark blue surface. "It's... it's beautiful! What a wonderful jewel! I can just imagine all seven of them powering the Death Egg's cannon! No more furries to bother me!"
But it seems he was so absorbed by his own greed and self-confidence that Eggman didn't notice that the stone figure of the Ancient One was moving. And with one punch from its giant stone hand, Eggman's craft was sent spinning through the ceiling and into the sunset. The Dark Blue Chaos Emerald landed right I the statue's hands as Eggman's voice was heard yelling, "YOU STUPID ECHIDNA!"
Sonic and Tails were inexplicably observing this scene in silence. Tails pointed up to the newy-formed hole in the roof and exclaimed, "Sonic, there's a way out!"
Sonic siad, "You go ahead, tails. I'll take get the Emerald from ol' Stoneface over here and be right with ya!" Tails obliged and left, leaving Sonic only with the stone statue. Sonic pointed at it and asked, "Awright Dreadlocks, we can do this the easy way or the hard way, your choice!" The statue placed the Chaos Emerald on the ground before Sonic, sat down in its previous position and became lifeless. "That's a first, they never pick the easy way!" With that, Sonic collected the Emerald and met with Tails on the topside.
"Hey Tails, up for another training session?"
"Oh, you're gonna give me more flying tips? Hang on, Gimme a minute to catch my breath."
"No Tails, I think you should be the teacher this time. Up for some swimming lessons, Sensei Tails?"
"You bet, Pupil Sonic!"
To Be Continued in Chapter Four: "Casino Nights"
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Edition #3: Handrill
After a successful role in the Aquatic Ruin Zone of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Handrill underwent a makeover, changing his name to Grounder and dying his metal green, among other changes. He and mechanical rooster Cluck became a famous duo as they performed magic tricks in Las Vegas. But their partnership has been splintered recently, when Scratch was violently attacked by a Rhinobot who served as an extra in their tricks, who but Scratch's neck and nearly killed him. Details about whether or not Scratch and Grounder will reunite or even if they're gay remain sketchy.
From the journal of Miles "Tails" Prower, Entry 3:
Sonic and I just finished cleaning up the mess at the Chemical Plant Zone. We now have two Chaos Emeralds and there's been no sign of Dr. Eggman since we saw him fleeing from the Energy Man. We're now entering the Aquatic Ruins Zone, a sunken temple which is just southeast of the Mystic Ruins. I'm a big fan of history and science, so I can't wait to see this ancient area! Let's just hope that Eggman isn't lurking nearby.
End log.
Tails continued running across the green plains of the natural reserve, surrounded by ancient pillars and deteriorated walls. But he had no time to stop and admire the environment, as he was currently preoccupied with his usual task of catching up with Sonic. Tails spotted Sonic standing still and took it as a sign that he should follow suit. It was then that Tails noted no danger in sight. Sonic was simply standing along the edge of a deep lake which stretched as far as the eye could see. "What's up, Sonic?" Tails asked.
Sonic casually asked, "Hey Tails, you up for some flying practice? Just carry me from structure to structure until we reach the other side of the lake without me touching the water! Whadda you think of that?"
"Sure, Sonic! It sounds like fun!"
"Good!" Sonic winked. Tails then began spinning his namesake additional appendages, using them to propel himself through the air while he grabbed Sonic's hands and carried him over the water. Sonic stuttered, "Remember, Tails! Concentrate; don't even look at me while you're flying!"
"I'll try my best, Sonic!"
***Somewhere in the Aquatic Ruin Zone
"You chose a bad time to fall to pieces on me, Mettron you idiot!" Eggman muttered as he repaired his damaged mechanical lackey. "You just had to wander about the Chemical Plant Zone instead of waiting for me to return! And in the meantime, I could have been tracking down those furries and Chaos Emeralds!" Eggman adjusted one last bolt before he snapped Mettron's back panel shut. "Now this should work!"
"Mettron online and awaiting orders!" the robot spoke in a raspy voice. His face also looked noticeably different now. Formerly plain and more robot- like, Mettron's face now appeared to show emotion - anger in specific.
"Stand by until further notice!" Eggman commanded as he turned around and returned to examining the Egg-o-Matic hovercraft's insides. Meanwhile Mettron managed to activate his finger laser and aimed it right at Eggman's head. But before Mettron could carry out his planned assassination, Eggman, who had no clue that Mettron was doing anything other then standing around, pulled a Power Ring out from the machine, the machine's evil innards having ruined the gold tarnish. "This Ring's out of fuel, I guess I'll have to use a spare," the Eggman muttered as he tossed the Ring over his shoulder. It bounced off Mettron's head, causing his face to change - he was now the loyal robot subject that he was before the mysterious Chemical Plant Zone incident. Mettron deactivated the laser in confusion and returned to his about-face.
"Mettron online and awaiting orders!" Mettron introduced in his normal, buzzier-sounding voice.
"Yes, I know that!" Eggman grunted in irritation. "Due to your failure to help me defeat Sonic in the Chemical Plant Zone..." Eggman set up a small table, which floated above the ground. "I am relocating you to the Oil Ocean Zone. You will deliver these supplies," he signaled to a large pile of crates set up near the table, "to Octa King with the Hoverboard and remain on the barge until further notice."
"Your will is my will," Mettron stated as he silently went to work loading the crates onto the Hoverboard.
Eggman warned, "And don't mess up! I'll be tracking down the hedgehog in the meantime!"
***
Sonic appeared to be more frightened then any video game before has portrayed him. He was hanging from Tails's hands and had lifted his legs as high above the water as possible. And all the while Tails had a nary a clue in regards to his friend's plight, since he was too busy concentrating on safely delivering his cargo to the other end of the Aquatic Ruin Zone like Sonic instructed him. They were currently approaching the next small island, a grassy lump emerging from the water with one partially demolished totem set atop it. "Alright Tails, now get land carefully... carefully... good!"
Tails wiped the sweat off his forehead and asked his friend, "Man, these flying exercises are tiring me out. Can we do swimming exercises next so I can cool off?"
Sonic gulped, "Uhhh... but we're almost halfway across! C'mon Tails, feel the burn!"
"A-alright..." Tails muttered as he resumed carrying Sonic. It was then that they spotted it. It being a flying mechanical... fly with big red eyes. It was covered in yellow and blue armor and was the size of Sonic's foot. A small threat, but a threat nonetheless. "An Eggman robot!" Tails shouted in surprise. "Get 'im, Sonic!"
With no other means of defense, Tails flung Sonic into the air. Sonic nearly panicked before he remembered the flying Pun-pun robot, which was now darting towards Tails at a high speed, but Sonic rolled into Ball Mode. The fly crashed into the ball and exploded, freeing another Flicky, but Tails was unable to catch Sonic before he fell into the drink. Tails cheered, "Good job, Sonic! Now get out here so we can finish this place!" Receiving no response, Tails peered into the lake. "Sonic?" he asked in uncertainty. He still received no answer.
Finally Tails dove into the water, using his twin tails to help propel himself through the water until he saw Sonic. Sonic was struggling, flapping his arms in a vain attempt to swim as he was slowly sinking to the murky bottom of the underwater ruins. And it got worst very quickly as a deadly pair of hungry Piranha robots somehow smelt the hedgehog's distress and swam by for a free meal. But Tails burst in before the fish had any time to say grace. He grabbed one of them with each of his tails, then he squeezed as hard as he could until both piranhas shattered and freed Peckys, small penguin-like creatures with messy yellow hair. Tails then grabbed the suffocating Sonic and struggled as hard as he could to carry Sonic to the surface, which was difficult considering that Sonic outweighed Tails by about thirty pounds. But Tails spun his twin tails as fast as possible, and Sonic even kicked his legs every now and then in an effort to help propel himself and Tails while he was not too preoccupied fighting to stay awake. They were almost near the surface when Tails realized that he was still wearing his backpack containing the Chaos Emeralds and spare Power Rings, and that the bag was still open! He turned his head around quickly to check and noticed that one of the two Emeralds was missing and falling towards the lake's bottom. Tails was able to grab it, but not before he noticed that it was glowing even clearer as it fell. Tails resumed spinning his tails at top speed, and if they made it, it would be just barely and in some cliché way.
Finally they shattered the barrier of water, bathing in their first breaths since their cancelled trip to the locker of one Mr. Jones. Tails then resumed flying with Sonic as passenger until they arrived safely at the next landmass, the largest of the small islands they've encountered so far. "Thanks for the assist, Tails," Sonic acknowledged as the duo gave each other a high-five.
Tails pulled out the Chaos Emerald and examined it. "Hmmm... it's not glowing as much now as it did underwater... maybe the third Emerald is hidden underwater! Let's check it out!"
"No way, Tails!" Sonic replied. "You saw me down there. I don't swim, I sink! Me and water don't mix."
"But Sonic!" Tails replied. "If we don't get it, we might lose our edge against Eggman!"
"I'd rather blast through all of Eggbuttnik's lame inventions then go underwater in search of some ancient jewel!"
"Fine, then I'll go by myself!" Tails dared as he dove back into the lake without waiting for Sonic's comeback.
Sonic hesitated and finally mumbled, "That kid's so grounded," as he slowly waded into the water and sunk. This time he didn't struggle and reached the bottom fairly quickly. It was then hat he noticed the landmass he was standing on concealed a secret beneath the surface: a large temple of some sort, which was decorated with ancient carvings which were now undecipherable due to old age combined with the hundreds of years of water. Sonic also made another important discovery: he could walk on the lake floor! And his super speed allowed him to walk underwater at the same rate as an average person walking on solid ground! The water also helped to heighten his jumps.
Tired of testing out underwater skills (and water altogether), Sonic wandered into the temple and found that a pair of Handrills had backed Tails up against a corner. The Handrills were red and cucumber shaped, with drills for hands and a nose and treaded wheels for feet. Sonic leapt into the air and rocketed between the two Handrills. The Handrill closer to tails turned around to face Sonic. Sonic then leapt behind the second Handrill, shoving him from behind. The Handrill slid across the floor and towards the first Handrill so the second Handrill accidentally impaled the first Handrill's chest with its left drill at the same time that the first Handrill impaled the second's chest with its left drill. Both badniks flashed and exploded, freeing two Peckys.
Sonic then grabbed Tails and mouthed, "Now we're even," as they entered a tunnel which led them deeper into the ancient temple. Sonic smiled in joy when he realized that the tunnel was sloping up, meaning that the water was coming to the end. The furry pair finally emerged from the water and gasped for air once again.
They immediately set about investigating the room after regaining their senses. It was a dank and dark room, with a shrine at one end. The shrine was a statue of an odd-looking creature with dreadlocks of some sort who was holding the Dark Blue Chaos Emerald in his large, outstretched hands.
"Wassup wit dis funky dude?" Sonic wondered. "Maybe a member of some ancient civilization? Nah, too ugly. Let's just get that Emerald so we can put this underwater adventure behind us! (If I'm lucky I won't be seeing any more irritating underwater-themed zones ever again.)
Suddenly, Sonic and Tails flew to the side of the room as if a giant mallet, which weighed several tons, hit them, which it did. Eggman was back in his Egg-o-Matic hovercraft, now complete with the aforementioned giant mallet hanging from the bottom. "Haha, stupid furries! I'm sorry for not taking you down in the Chemical Plant Zone, but I had some business to attend to... uh... which had nothing to do with the giant monster that was chasing me! Now to make up for depriving you sixteen-bit rodents of a classic clash with me, I'll take this Chaos Emerald, finish you both off in no particular order, and then steal your Emeralds! Hahahahaha!" Eggman then walked up to the stone idol and snatched the Chaos Emerald right out of its hands. Eggman looked into it's shiny, dark blue surface. "It's... it's beautiful! What a wonderful jewel! I can just imagine all seven of them powering the Death Egg's cannon! No more furries to bother me!"
But it seems he was so absorbed by his own greed and self-confidence that Eggman didn't notice that the stone figure of the Ancient One was moving. And with one punch from its giant stone hand, Eggman's craft was sent spinning through the ceiling and into the sunset. The Dark Blue Chaos Emerald landed right I the statue's hands as Eggman's voice was heard yelling, "YOU STUPID ECHIDNA!"
Sonic and Tails were inexplicably observing this scene in silence. Tails pointed up to the newy-formed hole in the roof and exclaimed, "Sonic, there's a way out!"
Sonic siad, "You go ahead, tails. I'll take get the Emerald from ol' Stoneface over here and be right with ya!" Tails obliged and left, leaving Sonic only with the stone statue. Sonic pointed at it and asked, "Awright Dreadlocks, we can do this the easy way or the hard way, your choice!" The statue placed the Chaos Emerald on the ground before Sonic, sat down in its previous position and became lifeless. "That's a first, they never pick the easy way!" With that, Sonic collected the Emerald and met with Tails on the topside.
"Hey Tails, up for another training session?"
"Oh, you're gonna give me more flying tips? Hang on, Gimme a minute to catch my breath."
"No Tails, I think you should be the teacher this time. Up for some swimming lessons, Sensei Tails?"
"You bet, Pupil Sonic!"
To Be Continued in Chapter Four: "Casino Nights"
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Edition #3: Handrill
After a successful role in the Aquatic Ruin Zone of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Handrill underwent a makeover, changing his name to Grounder and dying his metal green, among other changes. He and mechanical rooster Cluck became a famous duo as they performed magic tricks in Las Vegas. But their partnership has been splintered recently, when Scratch was violently attacked by a Rhinobot who served as an extra in their tricks, who but Scratch's neck and nearly killed him. Details about whether or not Scratch and Grounder will reunite or even if they're gay remain sketchy.