Author's Note: As promised, the second part of the Sapphire Grand Blue Sea adventure has arrived. I am deeply sorry for not being able to make chapters as short as I wanted.
Anyway, let's continue onward!
I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog. All rights belong to Sega. I only own the OCs.
Episode 16: Dangers Under the Sea-Part 2.
Last time, Sonic and his friends have decided to take a bit of a break by going to the Sapphire Grand Blue Sea, otherwise known as the Sapphire Ocean.
But then they quickly discover there is a Chaos Emerald beneath the Sea, so Chris takes Sonic to buy some scuba gear to prepare for a search for it.
Meanwhile Dr. Robotnik is preparing to resurface and begin his revenge plot, while his brother Julius is launching another unsuspected attack to target our heroes as well as the Mermaid and the Merhog.
What will happen next?
After being thanked by the renting guy at the shop and told to be careful, Sonic and Chris returned to their friends and set out on the small boat in the middle of the ocean and stopped at the right spot where the cyan Chaos Emerald they brought with them indicated that it was close to where they were.
Yet before hand, Sonic had made a point that he didn't want Cream and Cheese anywhere near the deep ocean, so Chris, realizing his mistake, sheepishly returned two of the gears and tanks when it was agreed that Amy would stay behind with the five year old girl and the little Chao just to be on the safe side. So it left with Sonic, Tails and Chris going to search for the Chaos Emerald instead.
Even though he tried to hide it, Sonic couldn't help but gaze nervously at the water with a sweat drop.
'Why does it always have to be water? Why couldn't the Chaos Emeralds be in a desert or something?' Sonic thought hopelessly to himself, really not looking forward to this. Even though the scuba gear definitely beat the air-hose and the diving bell ideas, the teenage blue hedgehog was still terrified. His heart was hammering in his chest, his legs began to feel all twitchy and jelly, and he tried to remain calm even though he was really scared.
Still, he thought back to what the others told him back on the Beach.
Ten minutes ago...
"Sorry we took so long. I kinda made a mistake on the counting of the Air Tanks and Scuba Gear." Chris apologetically said, scratching the back of his head.
"What do you mean counting?" Amy asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Me, Tails and Chris will be going out to find the Chaos Emerald while you three stay here just to be safe." Sonic replied, as firmly but gently as possible.
"But I wanna help find the Chaos Emerald too." Cream softly protested.
"I know, Cream. It's that, I promised you wouldn't get into any sort of danger again, and I've been a pretty lousy friend lately." The fourteen year old admitted, gazing at his disappointed youngest friend. He then knelt to her height and added. "I know you wanna help, and you and Cheese had been a great big help. But it's gonna be really dangerous. Especially with the Iron Empire still out here."
When the five year old girl sighed, the fourteen year old blue hedgehog thought of an idea before suggesting. "As soon as we find your Mom and those big bullies are put into jail, we can all go on more adventures and we'll hang out more often. How's that sound?"
Knowing that Sonic just wanted to keep her safe, and that she felt guilty that he was feeling so terrible in inadvertently putting her and Cheese in danger the other day, plus the pressure he must be feeling in trying to locate her mother, Cream, while disappointed, knew that the blue hedgehog was right and he was trying to make her safe and feel better. So she just nodded.
"Okay. Please be careful, Mr. Sonic, Mr. Tails, and Mr. Chris." Cream finally replied. "Cheese and I will be good for Ms. Amy."
"Atta girl." Sonic smiled, though he was nervous about going to the ocean. "We'll be fine..."
"Don't worry, Sonic. I'll take care of Cream and Cheese, and Tails and Chris be with you in case you get into trouble." Amy reassured him, knowing his fear of water even though she knew her 'boyfriend' tried his best to hide it.
"That's right." Chris nodded.
"But we know you'll do great down there." Tails encouraged.
"Thanks, guys." The hero of Mobius responded, while gently rubbing Cream and Cheese's heads which made the two giggle.
Back in the Present:
"You'll be okay, Sonic. Don't worry." Chris spoke up, bringing Sonic out of his thoughts. Remember to take long deep breaths and you'll be fine."
"Right." The cobalt teenager nodded.
"Then let's go." Chris declared, before putting on his mask and dove underwater as he swam into the depths of the sea.
"You ready, Sonic?" Tails asked, making a silent oath to help his adoptive big brother knowing his fear of water, just as the blue hedgehog had always been there for him whenever there was a storm due to the young fox cub's fear of Thunder and Lightning.
"Yep." Sonic responded, even though he was once again nervous and began to sweat a little, but attempted to hold it in. "Let's dive."
Soon enough, the two Mobians put on their scuba gear and dove into the water with Tails holding Sonic's left hand, swimming after their human friend. Not aware that that Merna, and Marina had noticed their boat and even beneath the surface they could hear what they were talking about but kept their distance. The two girls, a mermaid and a merhog, gazed up while noticing Sonic, Tails and Chris.
"It's them. The land-dwellers." Marina muttered.
"Yes. They must be looking for the Emeralds and will use some help." Merna, responded with a nod.
"Do you think we really should reveal ourselves?" The Mermaid asked, hesitantly. "We could be discovered by the enemies or other land dwellers who could capture us."
"We will help...But only if we have to. We can't take the risk despite what Elder Oracle has told us." Said the young Merhog, and while she knew that it was a risk, they can only interact as much as possible but it was far too dangerous to actually greet them. "Come on, let's go."
Even though both knew it was a dangerous risk, the Mermaid knew that her friend was right, so she nodded and the two swam secretly after the three boys to secretly help them. All unaware of the dangers that waited for them.
Meanwhile, in another part of the ocean, the Egg Fortress, all fixed up enough to finally fly again, resurfaced with a loud splash and began to take off while being the new permanent flying base for Robotnik's evil plots.
"Alright you two, get to work!" Robotnik ordered, satisfied that his Egg Fort was finally back up and running. "The sooner we get rid of Sonic and foil Julius' insane deadly plots, the better!"
Decoe and Bocoe, who had been forced to work in the ocean, were soaking wet and unfortunately stiff from their ordeal. As they had know, they were already short-circuit and rusting.
"Oooh...Underwater repairs are the worst." Decoe grumbled, feeling like he won't be working properly without a repair himself, along with his shorter companion.
"My circuts got soaked." Bocoe complained.
As the two robots complained while the evil scientist got impatient, the latter had already turned the news on which had the SSTV reports with Scarlet reporting. "Now it's time for the SSTV Sonic news update. After defeating Dr. Robotnik, being currently known as Dr. Eggman, Sonic and his friends are taking a much deserved holiday."
"Grr...Great, now even the media have gotten into calling me-" Robotnik cut himself off from his grumbling as he and his robots quickly became furious and angry when they heard what else was heard. "HOLIDAY!? He gets a holiday!?"
"But Sonic is a goof off!" Bocoe exclaimed in fury and jealously. "We work harder than he does!"
"We have never had a day off since we were activated! This is unfair!" Decoe complained and ranted.
"Robots need vacations too!" The grey robot added.
Robotnik was enraged over this revelation. It was already bad enough that Sonic was worshiped by many across the globe, now the teenage Mobian was having some time off for defeating the mad doctor himself which was outrageous in his opinion. He refused to allow that to happen and let the blue hedgehog have some time to relax.
"I'll make Sonic pay...!" The evil scientist hissed darkly.
Back underwater with Sonic's group, the trio continued to make their way as Tails and Chris swam while Sonic walked alongside them.
"The Chaos Emerald's getting brighter, we must be getting closer." Tails remarked as he held the cyan emerald in his hand.
"We still have to be careful in case the creeps come out and play." Sonic muttered, gazing side to side for a moment as he tried to listen out for any signs of danger. While he was glad that he didn't take the girls and Cheese with, the blue hedgehog was still worried for their safety.
If the Iron Empire attacked the shoreline searching for Cream and Cheese, while Sonic's group were still in the ocean, that would only make things twice as bad and the fourteen year old wasn't there to even help. That still left the problem on where the organization's secret base was and it was very concerning.
"Hey, look!" Chris inadvertently cut Sonic's thoughts off, causing the blue hedgehog and Tails to look up and saw, to everyone's amazement, was a sunken ship that was surprisingly the very same one in the painting and model back at the rent shop. "Whoa! That must be the ship the guy in the diving shop told me about."
"It looks like that's where we'll find the Chaos Emerald too." Tails added with the Emerald in his hand still glowing brighter.
Despite that he wanted to learn more about the prophecy and if it was related to the whole situation, Sonic knew that the Chaos Emerald as well as Cream and Cheese's safeties came first. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go check it out!"
His two younger friends nodded, as they all went inside the large hole of the wreck to investigate, unaware that another fish robot belonging to the Iron Empire spotted them from a distance...meaning that an attack or two were about to begin.
Back on the beach, Amy, Cream and Cheese were keeping themselves distracted by collecting sea shells and adding some to the sand castles they made as they waited for Sonic, Tails and Chris to return with the Chaos Emerald.
"Do you think Mr. Sonic and the others will be okay?" Cream wondered, finding herself unable to stop thinking about their friends.
"I'm sure they'll be fine, Cream. After all, Sonic and Tails do this sort of thing all the time." Amy reassured, doing her very best to comfort the little girl who in a matter of short time had become like a little sister she never had.
Still, the eleven year old girl couldn't help but be worried herself, especially for the boys' safety. Yet the pink hedgehog had promised to keep Cream safe until they got back or until the girl's mother was found. For a few months now it's been such a struggle to even find Vanilla who was still in the clutches of the evil Iron Empire Organization and they were nowhere near closer in locating the secret base or even locating the Master Emerald. Their only luck so far was finding the Chaos Emeralds and keeping them out of the hands of Robotnik and his twice as evil brother.
"I hope you're right, Amy." The five year old rabbit girl sighed, pausing in making the sand castle. "I feel awful. Mr. Sonic is trying so hard to find my Mom, and I miss her so much, but I don't wanna make him feel bad or get tired."
Sensing that her friend was about to cry in guilt and sorrow, Amy sighed softly before she approached the distraught child, hugging her gently as she said. "Cream, let me tell you something about Sonic. He would've gone and went out even if you didn't ask, and he doesn't ask for anything much. That's just who he is."
"Really?" Cream asked, curiously.
"Yep." Amy confirmed. "He hates bullies and evil, and would want to do everything he can to help others. If anything, like me, Tails, Chris, Ella, Mr. Tanaka and Chuck, Sonic's worried about your happiness and safety, as well as Cheese's too. He won't stop even if you told him to."
Cream was stunned that Sonic would do anything no matter water, before she remembered what he had told her the other day, her eyes widening in surprise.
"Listen to me. It's not your fault. Julius is just a really big bully who doesn't even like his own family. I don't know why, but he's meaner than Eggman is. They just like to cause nothing but trouble for everybody because they don't care. They're the biggest bullies on the planet and they are the types of people that I really don't like, especially when they hurt others on purpose."
"You're the total opposite to those guys, Cream. One of the sweetest kids I've ever met. I'd do anything in my power to protect you, and make you happy. I wish there were more people like you and the others in the world. It's what Mobius really needs."
"Don't give up hope, okay? I promised to make you happy and take care of you and I never break my promises."
Realizing this and remembering what she told him despite that Sonic was still determined, Cream knew in that instant that he loved her as a friend...and even like he was a big brother she never had. Tails was lucky to have been adopted by the hero of Mobius out of compassion and deep love in a sibling bond relationship.
"You're right. I know Sonic will be okay." Cream smiled warmly, and returned the hug. "Thank you, Amy. I wish I had a big sister like you, and big brothers like Mr. Sonic, Mr. Tails and Mr. Chris."
"Chao, Chao, Chao!" Cheese chirped in agreement, joining in on the group hug which melted Amy's heart, so much so that the pink hedgehog felt tears began to form in her eyes.
"Oh, Cream, and Cheese...You're both so sweet. I've never had a little sister or brother before either." Amy replied, hugging her new sister-like friend so much. It was an absolute warm and loving feeling that while she was also close to Tails like Sonic was, she knew that the two boys were definitely brothers to each other.
Now the pink hedgehog felt the same bond with Cream, the two becoming very close like they were actual sisters.
Unfortunately the trio's moment of bonding was cut short when they heard the familiar child-like robotic laughter which brought the two girls and the little Chao back to reality. When they looked up, they saw Bokkun flying over towards them which made Cream gasp in fright, Cheese squeaking in dismay, and Amy, annoyed and shocked, to stand in front of them ready for an unexpected attack.
"Gotcha!" The little annoying robot declared, only to notice that Sonic, Tails and Chris were absent. "Huh? Aw, it's only Sonic's girlfriend, Cream and that little Cheese ball. Where's Sonic, Tails and that Chris kid?"
"They're not here and before you ask, there's no way we're telling you where they are." Amy said in anger, glaring at the little annoying message bot. "What does Eggman want through you this time, Bokkun?"
"Oh, nothing. It's just Dr. Robotnik wants to ruin Sonic's vacation after we heard on TV that you guys are having a holiday." Bokkun replied, then grumbled in demand. "So you'd better tell me where they are or you won't like the message I'll give ya' instead!"
That made the pink hedgehog even more angry as she hissed while trying not to frighten Cream and Cheese. "How about I smack you so hard you'll be taking a dip into the ocean?"
"Fine! Then I'll leave the message to you! That'll make Sonic's day even worse, not that he would wanna hang out with girls anyway. I don't think he even likes you." The small robot decided...which was his biggest mistake as the eleven year old girl, furious over the insult, summoned her hammer and held it up high above her head which made him flinch in fright. "AH!"
"Maybe I should leave YOU a message and you tell Eggman to leave us and MY friends alone! Especially Sonic!" Amy yelled, threatening to bash Bokkun to the moon.
"Wait, Amy!" Cream cried out, not wanting to see her friend to be angry even if it was Robotnik's robot, surprising her older friend and Cheese. The little five year old then stood very close to Amy's side while asking pleadingly to Bokkun. "Please don't hurt us, Mr. Bokkun. Can you not cause trouble and tell Dr. Robotnink that we don't want anything exploding on us? Please?"
Even though Bokkun was programmed to obey Robotnik, the small robot was also programmed to eat normal food to fuel up which meant that he was always hungry, like Decoe and Bocoe, he also had a strong A.I which meant he was capable of experiencing feelings and self-thoughts. So when the little robot released this was really the first time he's been this close to Cream, his robotic eyes widened in surprise and found that, despite being a five year old Mobian, she was actually very pretty...and the fact that she even asked so nicely made him act up a little.
Yet he wasn't sure why, but Bokkun suddenly a malfunction and a bit of conflict as he found he just couldn't say no. What can he do? Maybe he could just do this...but only this once. Besides, he still didn't know where Sonic, Tails and Chris were even though he had a fair idea, maybe he could just tell Robotnik that and leave the girls alone.
"Well, um...Okay, I guess I could do that. But just this one time." Bokkun hesitantly replied, which surprised Cream, Cheese and especially Amy, before the little robot began to cry. "Even Dr. Robotnik doesn't say please!"
With that, he then flew off, sulking and left the confused trio behind as they shared a glance.
"Cream, I'm really impressed how you managed to make him leave us alone." Amy remarked.
"Mama always told me that saying please is always a right thing to say when you want to ask for something, even though you can't always get what you want." Cream replied.
"That's...true. Even though Robotnik is never the type to even ask, let alone say please. He just attacks first as do his robots. This is the first time this has happened." The pink hedgehog admitted sheepishly, now feeling a little awful even if Bokkun was the evil scientist's robot.
Though neither of them knew that as Cheese gazed out of the ocean, the little Chao suddenly sensed that something was wrong and could only frown with worry as he hoped that Sonic, Tails and Chris would be alright.
"Perhaps it's best to go join them and wait for their return in a bigger boat." Tanaka suddenly appeared next to the two Mobian girls and suggested, which caused Amy, Cream and Cheese to cry out in fright and surprise as he had been following them, Sonic, Tails and Chris for the entire time.
"Mr. Tanaka?" Amy and Cream both blinked, not having expected the kindly butler to be here.
Meanwhile, flying in the air in the Egg Fort, Robotnik was on the deck lounging on a beach chair set up with a large umbrella over him, dressed in a red and white stripped bathing suit with Decoe and Bocoe fanning him, a glass of a nice cool tropical juice next to him with ice cubes and a little umbrella as the evil scientist decided to take some time off for a short while as well.
"While I'm waiting to catch Sonic, I'll catch a few rays too." Robotnik chuckled to himself, as he couldn't wait to hear the news of Sonic's humiliated ruined vacation, while also enjoying his own sun tan.
Though his little relaxation was interrupted when he heard the familiar annoying child laughter, prompting the evil scientist and the two robots to look up and saw Bokkun having returned.
"Love the bathing suit, doctor." Bokkun remarked as he landed on the end of the beach chair. "Did it get it from prison?"
"Well, Bokkun, I bet Sonic was feeling really blue after you gave him that message for me, wasn't he?" Robotnik questioned, ignoring the comment.
The little robot however shrugged as he explained the bad news, pulling out the message TV which began to give out the mad doctor's message. "Well..."
He turned it on and revealed Robotnik's message for Sonic. "Having a nice vacation, Sonic? I hope you are. I hope you forget your sunscreen and get burnt!"
"Wait." Robotnik began suspicious as he realized something was quite off about this. "This message was supposed to self-destruct after you played it for Sonic! Unless you never played it for him. You did play it for him, Bokkun, didn't you?"
Even though he felt awful for doing Cream a favor, Bokkun tried not to sound like he was lying as he didn't why he was helping her out even though he had really searched the ocean despite Sonic's fear of water and discovered the boat, yet it was empty and by the time he had gotten back to the beach, Amy, Cream and Cheese were somehow gone too, so it made this little white lie easier to handle.
"I tried, but nobody was on that boat or at the beach. Not even that little Cheese ball your scary brother wants." Bokkun responded in disappointment. "Not sure if that Cream girl, Sonic's girlfriend or that Chris kid are back on the mainland, but I'm pretty sure Sonic and Tails went diving even though Sonic hates water."
"And now here's a little souvenir to remember your vacation. Bye!" Robotnik's recording smirked, making the present-day Robotnik, Decoe and Bocoe sweat drop nervously as they all thought. 'Uh-oh...'
"You fool, get that thing away from me!" Robotnik cried out panicking.
But it was too late as the TV exploded as the trio all screamed and getting a taste of the doctor's own medicine. As the smoke cleared, Robotnik, Decoe and Bocoe were covered in soot as they coughed, which made the evil scientist even more angry that his own relaxation just got ruined!
"You won't wreck my plans again, Sonic! I'll wreck you!" Robotnik roared, before quickly commanding his minions. "Prepare to submerge! I'll bury him at sea!"
In retrospect, this was going to be yet another bad situation for Robotnik.
Back in the ocean unaware of the dangers, Sonic and his friends have entered the ship. They found, to their amazement, a huge treasure chest stuck on the floor, filled with glittering gold and other precious gem stones. The Mobians and the human boy were stunned by the sight.
"The legend really was true!" Chris remarked in awe.
If Amy and Cream had been there, they would think of this to be really beautiful and maybe the pink hedgehog might come up with an imagination of turning all of this gold and jewels into jewelry. But little did the boys know that watching them were Merna, and Marina who hidden themselves above the deck, having heard and saw this as well and were just as amazed.
"We are the first along with the land dwellers to have found this since it sank. Amazing." Marina gaped softly in awe.
"The treasure is beautiful." Merna whispered in agreement.
"This is growing at full prices now!" Tails remarked as the Chaos Emerald got the signal from within the treasure. "I bet the next Chaos Emerald is buried somewhere under all this gold. We'll have to dig through the treasure to find it."
"Right, but that could take us forever." Chris pointed out, only for him and the others to notice something moving within the pile of treasure. As they all wondered what it was, to their shock and disbelief, something glowing within it then strangely poked out, revealing that it was a crab...holding a blue Chaos Emearld in it's claw!
"Oh, no way!" Sonic exclaimed in disbelief, his eyes widening behind his goggles.
"You think he'll give it to us?" Tails wondered thoughtfully. Yet from he and his two friends saw, the crab didn't seem to be the kind of friendly type to just let them have it.
Seeing how the crab wouldn't budge and not wanting to be underwater anymore, Sonic decided he has had enough, having the imagination he thought of earlier come back with full force...especially the first one.
"Hold it right there!" Sonic snapped, leaning up straight at the crab(who jumped slightly, startled) with a threatening and angry glare. "We need that Chaos Emerald!"
The two had a glaring contest even though the Crab was quickly on the losing end, especially when the hero of Mobius had a vain squeezing on his forehead as he threatened. "Drop it, or I'll give you something to be crabby about."
That made the little crab sweat nervous, taking Sonic's threat seriously before it flung the Emerald and scattered away in fear, surprising the fourteen year old. The Chaos Emerald in the meantime then floated straight into Chris's hands, surprising him.
"Well, that was easy." Chris remarked, a bit startled.
"Now we just need to find three more and we'll be able to stop the Iron Empire." Tails said in relief.
Hearing this made Sonic mentally, lowering his gaze as he stood up straight. They were one stop closer in at least finding all of the Emeralds before Robotnik and the Iron Empire did...but the blue hedgehog felt his chest ache as he didn't feel like he was getting any closer in locating the secret base or finding Cream's mother. That made him feel very guilty and wished he had another clue in solving this mystery.
"Your vacation is over, Sonic!" A loud echoing voice shouted from outside of the ship, startling the blue hedgehog and the group who spun around and saw, to their shock and dismay, was the Egg Fort in it's Submarine form, with the evil scientist, having changed back into his normal clothes, back in the cockpit waiting for revenge, and speaking through the speakers.
"It's Eggman!" Chris exclaimed, shocked.
"Not again!" Sonic growled, clutching his fist.
The mermaid and the merhog, shocked that Robotnik's Egg Fort is here and sensing more danger, shared a horrified glance before quickly swimming as low as possible into the broken captain's quarters, hiding in the doorway while knowing that the situation as become more dire.
Robotnik snickered evilly. "He and his friends are going to wish they never saw the sea!"
Unfortunately, the situation just got worse as another familiar and haunting voice spoke through the ocean. "Now I got you all!"
When everyone on both sides turned to the same direction of another shocking arrival, the hearts of Sonic and his friends dropped into their stomachs as the Orca-Bot was now swimming towards them with Julius watching the whole thing within his secret base.
"THE IRON EMPIRE!" Sonic, Tails and Chris exclaimed in horror.
"Egad! No, not Julius again!" Robotnik shouted, just as horrified while his two robotnik minions began to panic upon seeing the large robot.
"And he's got an Orca whale robot that's the size of a Humpback!" Decoe exclaimed.
"With something like that, I don't think even we have a chance in beating that thing." Bocoe murmured worriedly and in full terror.
Inside the Base, Julius snickered as not only his Orca Robot, the Iron Navy, scanned the body heats of Sonic, his friends, and Robotnik, but also the body heats of the unsuspected mermaids within the ship above the three boys, hiding within the captain's room.
"I still may not have that little brat, the Chaos Emeralds and the other priceless treasure will be mine!" Julius declared, then commanded loudly. "Iron Navy, destroy them all! But bring me the two of them as well as Sonic's and Ivo Eggman's bodies and the Chaos Emerald!"
Back in the Egg Fort, Robotnik, while still terrified of his own brother, growled furiously. "You think you can get MY Chaos Emerald first, do you!? I'll show you, Julius and get rid of Sonic! Clurken, put the sting on them!"
Beneath the Egg Fort, Robotnik's own robot emerged and began to swim straight towards the ship, resembling to a giant Jelly Fish but with hose-like tentacles. It was his robot, Clurken.
"You guys get back to the boat." Sonic instructed firmly as he didn't want to put his younger friends into danger. "I can handle Eggman, his robots and the Iron Creep's giant whale."
"Alright, but be careful, Sonic." Chris nodded hesitantly, before he and a worried Tails quickly swam for the surface.
But as Sonic dodged the first attack and prepared to run, to his annoyance and dismay it was sluggish due to being underwater. He had a hard time even jumping. This gave Clurken a chance to attack as it's tentacles smashed against the rocks and part of the ship, sending the blue hedgehog whooshing as he cried out. He then gasped in horror when the Iron Navy swam towards him with it's mouth open, he held back the urge to scream before he made to use his Homing Attack. While he managed to hit it between the eyes and sent it backwards, Robotnik's robot made for another attack.
He was forced to jump back and narrowly avoided in getting hit.
"Running underwater is really a drag. It's impossible to move fast here." The hero of Mobius grunted, feeling like he was stuck and unable to do much. How was he going to defeat to robots in this situation?
"Ha ha! He should've known that water makes the perfect speed trap!" Robotnik laughed evilly. "This time he's all washed up!"
But just as the Clurken fired missiles at Sonic who attempted to leap away, the Iron Navy did the same which made the fourteen year old sweat drop nervously. Within the ship that was being destroyed and Merna, and Marina were forced to flee, they saw that the blue hedgehog was in danger and, hiding once more, shared a nod before holding out their hands and chanted an ancient language only they would know. While the two missiles were about to hit, the hero of Mobius unknowingly was covered in a blue aura, just as he leaped out of the way and made a run for it. To his surprise while the missiles hit and exploded, creating an underwater smoke, he was running really fast this time.
"Huh!? What's going on? I wasn't able to run fast a few minutes ago!" Sonic cried out, wondering what was happening, only to notice now that he was glowing and he didn't even have a Power Ring or even a Chaos Emerald.
"You meddling murderer! Your robot's missiles distracted mine and didn't even hit Sonic!" Robotnik shouted angrily as he glared at his brother's machine, hoping that Julius could hear him, which he could, because the Iron Empire Leader wasn't happy either.
"Me!? You're the one that got in the way, you second-rated buffoon!" Julius snapped back just as angrily.
"I got here first, so I get to destroy Sonic and claim the Chaos Emerald!" The evil scientist argued.
"You know as they say, Ivo! First losers are the worst!" The evil Iron Leader retorted.
Hearing the two argue made Sonic sweat drop with a deadpanned and annoyed expression before he sighed through his mask and decided to try and distract the two robots that were now hitting and bashing at each other while their creators argued like misbehaved small children. The blue hedgehog then raced over with his speed, unknowingly helped by the Mermaid and the Merhog who continued to use their magic to help him in his time of need. He leaped up and used a combination of Spin Dash and Homing Attack, first at the Clurken robot, then at the Iron Navy robot simultaneously, knocking the robots back just as they were about to open fire once more, but due to the teenager's own attack, both launches were cancelled.
Back up on the surface, Tails and Chris managed to climb back onboard with the latter asking. "You okay, Tails?"
"Of course I am!" The two-tailed fox replied, yet he was worried about Sonic knowing that his surrogate brother cannot fight underwater. To his and the twelve year old boy's surprise, a honking was heard which had the two boys look up to see a yacht drive up towards them.
"Mr. Tails! Mr. Chris!" Cream called up from the deck as she, Cheese and Amy were waving at them with Tanaka driving.
"Amy? Cream and Cheese?" Tails blinked, dumbfounded.
"Mr. Tanaka?" Chris asked, bewildered as the boat pulled to a stop next to the rent boat.
"We do not have much time. Both of you, get aboard quickly." The butler instructed.
"Hold on, what are you doing here?"
"Mr. Tanaka was following us since your Grandfather promised to take care of us in secret until Bokkun showed up earlier." Amy explained apologetically, still a little miffed about that as Tanaka had told her and Cream before coming here.
"As Ms. Amy says, I promised your grandfather I'd keep you out of trouble, and so I followed you all here. I saw you needed help and came faster than you can say 'dinner is served,' " The aforementioned man responded, only making Chris even more dumbfounded.
"Where's Mr. Sonic?" Cream asked, noticing the blue hedgehog was missing.
"He's fighting Eggman's robot and the Iron Empire's robot at the same time." Tails explained in concern, much to the two girls' and Cheese's horror as they gasped, wondering if Sonic was okay.
Back in the water, the Iron Navy attempted to chomp Sonic who leaped out of the way while also dodging the Clurken's tentacle which smacked Julius' robot back even further and crashed into the sea bed. With that and noticing the Orca Robot was malfunctioning due to the combined attacks of Sonic and the Jelly Fish robot, Clurken then opened fire once more which caused another massive explosion, which caused massive cloud of dust sent flying everywhere and Sonic struggled to stay where he was. With the Iron Empire's robot seemingly out of commission, the blue hedgehog turned his attention back to Robotnik's machine which now turned it's attention to him.
"Guess it's just you and me, Jelly Fish!" Sonic declared, ready to take out this robot as well.
Clurken responded by thrusting another tentacle at him, forcing the cobalt speedster to jump out of the way and he grasped it to hold on. Yet the robot began to swing him about before flinging him up to the surface as he cried out in alarm. Now being flown out of the water and into the air above the surface, Sonic removed his mask as he looked down to see what would happen. Maybe he should've kept it on.
Yet the giant robot reached for the surface and grasped him with two tentacles, causing him to scream before the blue hedgehog tried to pull himself out of the tightening grip. It then thrust him back into the air before bouncing him with all of it's tentacles, leaving Sonic helpless and unable to escape.
"Hey, get your tentacles off of me! Hey! Cut it out!" Sonic shouted, trying to figure out to get out of this.
"Sonic, no!" Amy cried out as she and the others saw what was happening.
"Please don't hurt him!" Cream pleaded, fearing for Sonic's safety, while Cheese squeaked in fear and anger.
"Put him down!" Chris exclaimed, just as he and everybody else heard another sound and turned to see someone approaching on a jet ski, much to their surprise. It was Sam Speed!
"Uncle Sam to the rescue!" Sam declared heroically.
"Uncle Sam!" The twelve year old boy cried out.
"I heard you were in a jam, so I sped right over!" The police officer/racer explained, speeding over and saw that Sonic was in trouble. Knowing that the teenage Mobian needed his help, the man quickly held out a handle with one hand and tossed it, calling out to his nephew's friend. "Grab this and you can ski your way free!"
Sonic saw this and, knowing that it was only way to escape, grabbed hold of the handle and yelped when he was pulled away. Landing in the water, the hero of Mobius quickly positioned himself and was now being dragged and water skiiing which was quickly turning out to be fun despite his aquaphobia. He grinned as the Clurken now had trouble even getting to him even as the robot opened fire.
"Come on, you can do better than that, Eggman!" Sonic taunted as Sam drove around the robot.
While this was happening, the Iron Navy, due to Julius' more advanced technology and designs, began to regenerate with the evil Iron Empire chuckling wickedly, again the body heats to the two Mermaids, who were unaware that they were now in mortal danger themselves, began to command the robot when there was a huge noise coming from beneath the ocean.
"Hm? Is that a whale I'm hearing?" Julius asked in confusion as the sounds echoed.
As Merna, and Marina saw that Sonic had things under control, wondering what was happening, the former turned to her right and gaped in shock and surprise. "Marina, look!"
"Huh?" The younger Mermaid turned and gasped softly as they saw the familiar giant whale swimming towards them.
"Children! We must make haste!" The Whale echoed through telepathy as he swam towards them and the regenerating robot.
"Elder Oracle!" Merna, and Marina exclaimed.
"Hide within me, and all will be alright. I will destroy that machine and erase the memories of the evil men's attempts to capture us all and have even seen you. The rest must be in the hands of Sonic the Hedgehog." Elder Oracle explained quickly.
Despite that the memory erasure spell was a rare thing to do these days, the Merhog and the Mermaid knew that the Sea-Sorcerer was right, so they nodded and swam up towards their friend who opened up his mouth. Once the two children of the sea were inside, he closed it shut but did not swallow them as they were his allies, friends and surrogate daughters.
This was seen by Julius and his men who gaped in shock and disbelief when they, and even Robotnik and his robots who, in their distraction trying to get rid of Sonic, saw the giant whale and even the two mermaids which the Iron Empire briefly saw but Robotnik and his robots didn't, horrified.
"AAH! A giant Humpback Whale!?" Robotnik exclaimed in disbelief, wondering if he was having some sort of dream. "This can't be! It should not be any longer than at least 18 meters and 60 feet long at the largest!"
"This one must be an average of 112 feet long!" Decoe cried out, unable to believe what he was seeing.
"I just hope that Whale doesn't have us for lunch!" Bocoe exclaimed fearfully.
"Fall back! We'll leave Clurken to finish off Sonic!" The evil scientist screamed, fearing that the grey robot's fears may come true.
"Aye aye, doctor!" The two lackies quickly got to work to steer the Egg Fort as it began to turn and flee, pretty much abandoning the Clurken robot to finish off Sonic and deciding to come back for the Chaos Emeralds for another time.
"THAT WHALE JUST SWALLOWED UP OUR CHANCES IN GAINING MORE POWER OF THE CHAO AND THE CHAOS EMERALDS!" Julius exclaimed in sheer disbelief and horror. He and his assistants all then flinched in fright when the Sea-Sorcerer's eyes then strangely glowed in blue and white when the whale turned it's face to the Iron Navy.
All who had seen this all gaped in surprise and confusion before their eyes and bodies all glowed for a few moments before stopping and they all slumped a little, falling asleep for a second. In a matter of hours, the memories of the mermaids and even Julius' research on the legend, which unbeknownst to everyone, in the computers and even written on paper and such that was discovered over the years, all vanished without a trace, never to seen or thought of ever again.
Those who didn't notice were spared from the spell, and as Robotnik and his robots, and Sonic and his friends didn't see the Merhog and the Mermaid, there was no need to erase their memories despite the risks that the evil scientist still posed, but he managed to escape before the giant Whale could even chase afer him.
Once this task was done, Elder Oracle, with Merna, and Marina still within his mouth for safety just in case, swam straight towards the still recovering Iron Navy and smashed it straight through, crushing it as well as the power core which exploded due to the heavy weight of the giant whale. Thus the Iron Empire robot was completely destroyed, never to be used again. Once this task was done, the Sea-Sorcerer opened up his mouth allowed his young friends to swim out.
"The task is done. These humans will no longer know of our existence." Said the giant whale as the young Merhog and the young Mermaid gazed up at him with relieved yet still concerned expressions on their faces.
"But what of the chosen ones?" Marina asked, worriedly.
"All more shall be revealed, child. You and Merna did what you could to aid the blue child of the surface world. Your presence shall remain a mystery and a secret. Give out hints to the descenend girl and the Chao reborn." Elder Oracle replied.
Once again the two girls shared a glance and then a nod, knowing that there was still one more thing they had to do.
"You're right. The rest is up to Sonic. He is the one to save the little ones and the world." Merna nodded in agreement.
Back up on the surface, Sonic and Sam were still speeding around Robotnik's robot while fully unaware of what was happening in the ocean. With advantage and finally seeing the weak spot, the blue hedgehog smirked then leaped up into the air and used his Homing Attack combined with his Speed Attack which shocked and amazed his human friend's uncle. The hero of Mobius then spun straight into the Clurken repeatedly before bashing his way straight through, causing it to be destroyed as it exploded before sinking into the sea, never to be seen again.
"Alright!" Chris cheered while the girls celebrated.
"Hooray!" Cream cried happily, bouncing up and down as she clasped hands with Amy who shared her happiness.
"Chao, Chao! Chao!" Cheese cheered on excitedly.
"Yeah, go Sonic!" Tails cheered on.
Sam, stunned as this was the first time he saw Sonic really in action, smirked as he gave the teenager a thumbs up and wink, which the blue hedgehog, who landed onto the yacht safely, returned it.
"Thanks, Sam!" Sonic called out, before turning to Cheese as he thought the little Chao somehow used his mysterious power and connection with the Chaos Emerald to help him out. "And Cheese, thanks for your help, whatever you did again."
"Chao?" Cheese blinked, as he and the others were now confused.
"Huh? What do you mean, Mr. Sonic?" Cream asked, puzzled.
"It's gonna sound crazy, but at first I couldn't run fast in the water, then I could when I was somehow glowing in blue aura and I wasn't even using a Power Ring or a Chaos Emerald. Cheese must've done that to help me out somehow." The blue hedgehog explained.
"But, Cheese didn't do anything." The little rabbit girl pointed out, and the little Chao nodded and chirped in agreement.
"Huh?" Sonic was now confused, before he fingered his chin dumbfounded. "Wait, so if it wasn't Cheese who helped me out, then how did I glow and run so fast under water?"
"That's really strange. This never happened before." Tails murmured as he and the others all wondered the same thing.
Just then as they were trying to figure out the mystery of all of this, they all heard a strange sound which echoed from beneath the surface which caused the Mobians, humans and the Chao to look out to the left side of the boat and all gasped in shock and some with fear when in the far distance, a massive white and blue 112 foot long giant Humpback Whale came splashing out of the water, the splash sparkling in the sunlight and making the Sapphire Ocean sparkle even more.
"WHOA!" Sonic exclaimed. "No way!"
"It's a giant humpback whale!" Tails cried out, his eyes widened in disbelief.
"Unbelievable!" Amy exclaimed, amazed yet afraid at the same time.
"But how can that be? Humpback Whales aren't that huge!" Chris cried out, wondering if he was dreaming.
"Man...You don't see that everyday." Sam blinked with a sweat drop.
"It's a magnificent sight." Tanaka murmured in awe.
"It's so big and a little scary." Cream remarked, hugging Cheese, before they both blinked as they saw two figures in the water, which only they noticed. As the little girl gasped, Merna, and Marina, thankful that Sonic, Tails, Amy, Chris, Tanaka, and Sam were too awestruck with the massive sea creature, softly smiled and both placed fingers over their lips with cute winks before quickly diving back into the sea to forever keep themselves hidden from the people of the land.
The whale in the meantime then splashed back into the water and creating smallish waves that gently rocked the two boats and the jet ski, but not enough to cause everyone to lose their balance as they watched the giant humpback briefly resurface again before diving back under, swimming away beneath the surface, with Merna and Marina swimming with it unseen by all except for the five year old Mobian girl and her Chao.
"Phew...I'm sure glad that whale didn't decide to come up and get us. Sure not all whales are that bad, but I'm not a fan of them. Especially Orcas and a giant humpback whale was amazing but terrifying." Sonic remarked, a little scaredly. For a moment, he'd been afraid that the giant whale would come up and eat them.
While he and the others continued to marvel the rare and spectular sight, Cream and Cheese both thought of the whale as well as the mermaids they were now positive they. Yet given the gentle gestures to be quiet with winks, they somehow understood that the mermaid and the merhog didn't want to be seen.
'Maybe it was the pretty mermaids that used their magic to help Sonic.' Cream realized, then smiled warmly as she realized that it was the merpeople who had helped out the hero of Mobius. 'Thank you. I promise that Cheese and I will never tell anybody about both of you. I hope we'll see each other again and maybe we can be friends.'
"Chao..." Cheese murmured in, yet the moment he saw those merpeople, a strange feeling flowed through his tiny body and blinked in confusion. Why did the mermaid and the merhog look somewhat familiar?
Back underwater, Merna, and Marina followed Elder Oracle to the more safer parts of the ocean, the two thinking about having fufilled their duties in helping Sonic the Hedgehog by lending him a little bit of their power by gifting him a temporary boost of his speed underwater.
"I wonder if the little girl and Chao will ever know we really do exist or even remember us?" Marina asked thoughtfully.
"Who knows? Perhaps they will, yet I can only hope they will keep us a secret. They saw us, yet only briefly." Merna replied, sighing. "It is for the best. A pity, though. Because Sonic is quite handsome for a Mobian Hedgehog, very brave, dashing and with a heart as precious as gold. I wish he were a merhog himself." She then blushed a little, apparently daydreaming. "That pink hedgehog girl is very lucky."
Her friend giggled as she found herself blushing as well. "I know what you mean. That human boy was quite cute too. If he were a merboy, I may have found my soulmate for life."
The two giggled, though as they swam away, both grew to be very concerned of what may come next, as did Elder Oracle who listened in to the conversation while left to his own thoughts, upon revealing himself to the land dwellers who remain unaware of who he really is.
'Sonic the Hedgehog. As the Chosen One of the Emeralds of Chaos, you must protect the descendent of the girl and the Chao reborn from the evil man who was reborn and will soon learn of his past. May the guidence of Chaos show you the way to the light, Blue Child of the surface world.' The giant whale thought to himself.
All was left to Sonic now as the day of the danger was dawning ever more closer.
Once Sonic's group got back to the mainland, they returned the gear back to the diving rent shop as Chris told the owner of the whole experience, including locating the legendary ship itself.
"Whoa, I can't believe it! The legend of the sunken ship is true!?" The owner exclaimed, amazed as his eyes widened.
"Yeah." Chris nodded to confirm it, before he apologetically added. "But Robotnik and the Iron Empire's robots came after us and wrecked the wreck. Whatever's left of that ship and the treasure got buried on the sea bottom."
Despite being disappointed, the fact that the twelve year old boy and his friends have actually seen the legendary ship and treasure itself was more than enough for the man.
"Ah, I see...but the ship really did exist. You saw it." The owner said, and as Chris nodded, the man gazed at the painting once again with a smile. "I tried to find that ship for years. Thanks to you, I finally have proof that it was real."
Even though it was gone for good along with the gold, the man was happy to finally know that it was real all this time.
A short time later at a hotel villa they were staying at, Sonic and his friends along with Tanaka were discussing their adventure today including the success of finding the fourth Chaos Emerald.
"...Then the guy at the diving shop told me the most amazing story of all. Turns out his great-grandfather was the captain of that sunken ship we found, and that he believed he was saved by a Mermaid with magical powers whom he fell in love with, but knew that they had to keep a secret, so I promised that we would all keep it a secret too, even though we haven't seen any mermaids today." Chris was explaining to Tails, Amy, Cream and Cheese who were amazed.
"Whoa, cool!" Tails exclaimed brightly.
Even though Amy now began to wonder if Cream really did see mermaids today, the latter was just gazing out at the ocean from the window as she said. "Wow, I'm sure glad we came here. I even saw pretty dolphins and we saw a giant humpback whale."
"Chao, Chao." Cheese agreed.
"Hmmm, yeah." Amy nodded, smiling as she thought that her friend did see dolphins and was glad that her new sister-like best friend believed that as well. "Now that Eggman and the Iron Empire are gone, we can enjoy our vacation."
Yet as the group talked, Sonic was sitting on the balcony's railing watching the sunset. But as beautiful as it was, his thoughts were onto the enemies who were still out there, and he knew that it would only be a matter of time before Robotnik and Julius would attack again. Yet he also listened into the conversation and began to wonder about how he managed to temporarely run fast underwater.
'Maybe merpeople really are real, and a mermaid used her magic to help me out when I was in trouble.' The blue hedgehog thought to himself, believing that it could be the more realistic realization. His eyes then widened as he softly gasped when he remembered the giant whale they saw today.
It was just like the one in the painting back at the diving shop!
'Whoa...That means the legend really is true. That was the same whale from the painting.' Sonic couldn't believe it, but then he sighed and softly smiled. While he may never get to see who the mermaid was or what she looked like, he was grateful that she had secretly helped him out, and so he decided to keep this adventure a secret as well. 'Thanks for helping me out, whoever you are. I'll never forget your kindness.'
While Sonic knew his adventures were far from over, and Robotnik and the Iron Empire would strike again, he would be ready for them. As for the giant whale, while the hero of Mobius was still nervous, maybe the reason why it showed up was because it was thanking him and his friends for saving the Sapphire Grand Blue Sea.
By giving out an amazing and rare show.
"How could that Ivo Eggman let Sonic and his brat cohorts get away!?" Julius, who had woken up along with his assistants, who, terrified, ran out of the room earlier as he smashed up his office yet again. "And that giant whale! Where did it come from!?"
The evil Iron Empire Leader panted and growled before he groaned, rubbing his head. "I know I ordered that robot to be sent in, but I'm getting a strange feeling that Sonic and his friends weren't the only priority. What could it be? And how is it that it was destroyed? I only remember the fight, and the whale, but why did I fall asleep?"
Pacing back and forth, Julius tried to remember and while he did remember the fight, there was a nagging feeling he lost several years worth of research on something really important, something related to what he has been searching for regards of Cream and Cheese as well as the Chaos Emeralds. But he couldn't for the life of him figure it out.
"I must have imagined it and overworked too hard. Perhaps I need some rest to come up with another plot to get that brat and little Chao." The Iron Empire Leader finally decided, before grumbling as he exited his smashed up office to get some much needed sleep.
His memories of his research of the Sea-Sorcerer and the Merpeople forever lost. But as he walked down the hallway to reach his sleeping quarters, Julius hissed darkly as this latest defeat made him even more furious.
"You may have defeated me again this time, Sonic, but soon you and Ivo Eggman will soon be destroyed. Enjoy your time off while you still can...!" The evil Iron Empire growled.
He will reach his goal. One way or another.
Robotnik in the meantime, having had his Egg Fort now flying once more after rising back to the surface, grumbled at yet another failure. "Grr...! Curse that Julius! If it weren't for him and his over-sized fish robot, I would've gotten rid of Sonic and got that Chaos Emerald! It didn't help that a giant whale appeared out of nowhere!"
"It is impossible for a Humpback Whale to be as big as 112 feet long." Decoe groaned, rubbing his head.
"It's amazing that it didn't come after us." Bocoe pointed out with a shrug.
"It is rare, yes, but Humpback Whales are prey to Orca Whales, not the other way around and they wouldn't feast even on other animals. They're intelligent creatures by nature." The evil scientist pointed out, as his mind felt foggy as well, unable to remember what else he saw.
"Maybe this one is a rare giant one nobody else noticed until now." Bokkun suggested, cluelessly.
"Hmmm...It is a more reasonable explanation." Robotnik agreed, his hand underneath his chin, before groaning. "Oh well."
He and the robots then turned their attention to the TV and, to their dismay, the News broke out over Sonic's latest victory as the battle was seen yet nobody saw any evidence of mermaids or merhogs nor would the evil people remember it.
"Dr. Eggman and the Iron Empire struck again today with new robots, but were quickly defeated by Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic went on to continue his vacation and-" The New report was cut short when Robotnik, in fury that he was now called Dr. Eggman by virtually everybody else, switched the TV off with the remote.
"Rest while you can, Sonic! You're going to need it." The evil scientist hissed darkly, vowing his next revenge, before ranting. "And I wish people would stop calling me Eggman!"
While Robotnik plotted his next evil scheme to get his revenge on Sonic, gain the Chaos Emeralds and defeat Julius and the Iron Empire, Bokkun found himself thinking about Cream and how sweet and cute she was. She even asked him so nicely even by saying please. Nobody else has done that to him before. Feeling himself heating up with a blushing forming on his metal face, it was then that the message bot somehow understood.
'Oooh! I think I really like Cream...!' He thought to himself, and while it as impossible, Bokkun found that he had just developed a crush on the five year old girl.
In his short existence since he was activated, Bokkun has developed feelings for Cream the Rabbit, while he, Robotnik, Decoe and Bocoe would never remember even briefly seeing Merna the Merhog or Marina the Mermaid.
But this battle between Sonic, Robotnik and the Iron Empire was far from over.
A/N: Not the greatest I admit, as I had to change how the rest of this part would several times before I was happy enough to post it, as I had to fix things up since Sonic became friends with the giant Whale in "Sonic and the Power of the Wisps" story.
I'll try and update this story again as soon as possible.
See you later!