Hi again, everybody! After much thinking and working, I have changed some of the things in this chapter. I thought twenty minutes was a bit too short for even Sonic, so I've changed it to an hour. Also, in the next few chapters, I will list how much time Sonic has left to save his friends for some suspense (I've made it similar to the TV series 24).


Chapter #2: The Search Begins

9:30 AM

Emerald Coast

The next morning, on a remote, well-hidden cove of Emerald Coast, Sonic the Hedgehog was sunning himself in a poolside chair, enjoying his small vacation. "Nuthin' like a day at the beach," he said to himself. "There's plenty of sand, sun, and…err…water…" He paused and then just shrugged. "Oh well, I'm fine if I avoid it."

Suddenly a bucket of water appeared out of nowhere and dumped its contents on his face. "Agh!" The hero jumped out of his chair, expecting to see someone like Amy standing in front of him, but instead it was a little black robot with a jetpack attached to his back. (Remember him from Sonic X?) He was holding a now empty bucket and was shrieking with laughter.

"Hehehehehe! You shoulda seen the look on your face!" he squealed in his high-pitched robotic voice.

"What the heck are you doin' here?" said Sonic angrily. He grabbed the robot by the throat and got ready to give him a knuckle sandwich.

The little imp showed pure terror on his face for a second, but then his face split into a sort of evil grin. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said.

Sonic turned to look behind his back and got a robotic fist in the face, sending him sprawling. Darn it. I forgot that robots always travel in groups, he thought as he spat out some gritty sand. Suddenly he felt a foot pinning him to the ground, and he struggled to turn on his back. In an instant a metallic hand had him by the throat, and Sonic found himself staring into the red eyes of Metal Sonic.

Uh oh.

The little robot hovered around and pumped his fists into the air, cheering for his savior, "Get 'im, Metal! Get 'im!"

Metal Sonic's red eyes gleamed, murder plainly written on them. He lifted his foot and slowly began to raise his enemy higher into the air, suffocating him further. But he never got any further than that.

"Release him, Metal Sonic," said a familiar voice. And who should come out from behind a boulder but Dr. Eggman in his Egg Mobile. Upon seeing his master, the One-That-Must-Always-Be-Obeyed, Metal released his prey, though reluctantly.

Sonic fell helplessly to the sand, coughing and rubbing his throttled neck. But he didn't stay defenseless; the instant Eggman moved closer he did an impressive backflip away from them, landing perfectly and with raised fists to boot. Acting as though he hadn't been nearly strangled to death moments before, he cracked his famous smirk, which almost always drove his enemy crazy. "Nobody told me you guys were having a party here," the hedgehog said.

Eggman smiled back, and that always meant that something was up. "You think you have the upper hand, don't you?"

"Well, one hedgehog against a mad scientist and two robots isn't what I call fair. But…" he spun around in circles, "my speed evens the odds."

"So you think! But I have an ace up my sleeve. Show him, Bokkun!"

The little robot grabbed a tiny yellow television set out of the Egg Mobile and showed it to Sonic. With the flick of a switch, the set turned on. Sonic stepped back in surprise at the image on the screen.

All four of his friends—Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Cream (with Cheese)—were locked in a cage.

The rabbit and the Chao were sitting in one corner, whimpering. Amy was trying to comfort them, but she met with little success. Knuckles was gripping two of the cage's bars and trying to either crush them or force them apart. Every so often he let go and started pounding them with his fists, yelling at the same time that he wanted out. Tails appeared to be testing the cage's lock and the strength of the bars.

The TV turned off, and Sonic found himself clenching his fists. "Where are they?" he said demandingly.

The doctor grinned; he had pushed the right button in his foe. "I've scattered them and set them in traps all over the city." He pulled out a remote with a single green button. "The traps are each set to start on a different time, since it will take different amounts of time for them to do their job. By the time the clock hits 0, all of your friends will be, well..." Eggman made a slashing movement across his throat with his finger.

The glare Sonic had on his face could've melted the North Pole. "You're twisted, Doc."

"Think of it more as a challenge to prove you really are the fastest living thing around. In fact, I'll give you a little hint: each of your friends has a Chaos Emerald."

Sonic relaxed a bit. I'll bet Egghead doesn't know I've got the dark blue Emerald in my shoe, he thought with a tiny smile. Out loud he said, "Thanks for the tip. This should be a piece of ca—yow!"

Something had stung him in the back of the neck…hard. The hedgehog reached back and pulled out something like a tranquilizer dart. "What was this for?"

Eggman chuckled. "I should have warned you there was a string attached. That was a little something to raise the stakes. Now you must not only save the others' lives," he pointed a finger at Sonic, "you must save yours."

"What are you talking about?"

"You have just been injected with a deadly poison. Gradually you will succumb to it if you don't find the antidote. I've hidden it in the jungle at the Echidnean ruins. You have no time to rescue all your friends and get the antidote; I tested it on a simulator. Now you must make a choice: save your friends…or save yourself."

Being his cocky self, the hero just smirked and said, "You think so, huh? Well, you just wait, Doc. I'll show you the meaning of speed!" With that, Sonic the Hedgehog sped away for Station Square. His search-and-rescue mission for his friends had begun.

As his arch-foe rocketed away down the beach, Eggman pressed down on the green button, and red digital letters appeared below it, starting at "1:00:00" (one hour) and slowly counting down the seconds and minutes. His gaze turned back to the blue blur zooming across the sandy beach.

For the first time Metal Sonic spoke. "Master, what if Sonic does succeed?"

The doctor glared at the robotic hedgehog. "He won't." Then his face creased into a wicked grin. "But it's good to have some insurance, isn't it? Metal, follow him and give him as hard a time as you can."

Metal's eyes glowed--another opportunity to get rid of his enemy once and for all! "Yes, Master." He rocketed away to the city, hot on the hero's heels.

In seconds, Sonic had changed from the hunter to the hunted.