Pre-chapter Conversation

"Here we are at the first chapter at long last!" I shouted happily. Izzy crossed his arms.

"Took ya long enough!" He sneered. "That intro was way too long!"

"Well, I had to tell who was playing as whom, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but you always have to make a big production out of everything!"

"Heh. What can I say? I'm proud of my art." I said with a shrug. I turned to the camera. "Anyway, it shouldn't have to be said, but this is going to be an AU fic. Most of the characters have already been transformed and given their roles. This story will be about twelve kids who find themselves in the ultimate struggle to save the one thing they cherish above all else: skate parks. There will be blood, sweat, tears, and one very mean robot, but that won't be til later.

"For the first chapter, we're going to introduce four of our heroes as they get ready to go through a normal day in their lives. Of course, they'll soon find themselves in possession of the most important weapon they'll need for their inevitable journey. How exactly will they gain this all important item? You'll just have to read to find out. Enjoy!" Izzy also faced the camera.

"Oh, by the way, aside from Clio, the boss's OOC warning applies to some other characters. Try to guess which ones!" He waved at the camera. "See ya later!"

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Rocket Heroes

Chapter One

A new pair of Skates

"Cock-a-doodle dooooooooo!!!!!!!"

The sun has risen on another beautiful day in peaceful Ocean Shores, California, extreme sport capitol of the world! You got an ocean for surfing, two skate parks for skating, one of said skate parks for snowboarding, and plenty of other places for action. It's a calm seaside town where a modest amount of people live and work.

Let's skip ahead a couple of hours and go to the cul-de-sac on the hill. Our story begins in the biggest house in the area; the one that has a ship's bow for a porch. A newspaper was thrown at the door. It landed on the welcome mat. You could clearly see the headline, which read, "DR. COCONUTMAN STRIKES AGAIN!!!" The door opened and a pair of blue sandals was seen. A gloved hand picked up the newspaper.

"Hmmmm… This Coconutman guy has been in the news a lot lately." A male voice mumbled. The sandals moved away and the door was closed.

At the second floor of the house, you could hear an alarm clock ringing. Inside the same room as the clock, a figure was shifting around in the nearby bed, which was shaped like a car.

"Mmmmmm… Thank you, thank you… It's an honor to win this surf trophy…" A young male mumbled. His voice was muffled by the sheets. He moved around a bit more before his eyes shot open.

"Aw man… Just a dream…" He yawned.

A gloved hand reached out from under the blankets and pressed a button on the clock, ending the annoying noise. He then grabbed a pair of green tinted sunglasses before returning his hand to the blankets. He stretched his limbs before getting up. Two feet adorned in white socks reached the floor and walked out of the room. The figure walked into the bathroom.

The first thing he did after using the toilet was open the medicine cabinet. He grabbed a tube of toothpaste and closed the cabinet. When he did so, the reflection of a red hedgehog was staring back at him. His head quills were arranged like dreadlocks. They were held up by a green headband. He was wearing the same sunglasses he grabbed earlier. The hedgehog applied the toothpaste to his toothbrush and brushed his teeth.

When he was done, he put the toothbrush and toothpaste away and moved to the shower. You could easily see the circle on his chest. Unlike the rest of his body, that area had reddish tanned skin. He stepped in the tub and closed the curtain behind him. He turned on the water and bathed himself. When he finished, he grabbed a towel and dried himself off. He walked into his room and grabbed a pair of white sneakers. After he put them on, he proceeded to go downstairs and into the kitchen.

"Morning, Otto." A female voice said to him. The hedgehog looked up and saw a bat sitting at the table, eating a bowl of cereal.

She was purple. She was taller than him. She was wearing a red-violet shirt with a rocket ship pictured on it and white gloves. She was also wearing a pair of camouflage pants and red sneakers. Lastly, she was wearing a pair of sunglasses in her hair.

"Mornin' Reggie…" Otto yawned again as he grabbed a bowl from the cupboard. He sat at the table and poured some cereal into the bowl. "So where're Noelani and Raymundo?"

"They already left to go to the Shack." Reggie replied as Otto poured milk into the bowl. "So what are we doing today?" She dug her spoon into the cereal.

"I guess we'll do some blading at Mad Town." Otto replied with a shrug. He started eating. After taking his first spoonful, he grabbed a remote and turned on the nearby TV. An anchorman appeared on screen.

"In other news, the mad scientist Dr. Coconutman attacked a city near Los Angeles." Otto and Reggie's heads shot up and turned to the screen. The image was staticy, but the two kids were able to see the destruction clearly.

Thousands of robots were shown shooting everything in their path with machine guns. Millions of people were seen fleeing for their lives. Huge smokestacks fell to the robots' assault. And floating among the chaos was a hovercraft. It was gray, round, and had a single headlight in the front. A mirror much like those on a car was seen on each side of it. Its pilot was shrouded in shadow.

"The citizens were able to evacuate successfully. No deaths or injuries were reported." The video ended and the camera went back to the anchorman. "This latest attack has military officials worried because the city is home to several power plants. In sports…" The siblings turned to each other.

"Man… L.A. That's pretty close to here." Otto said.

"Yeah. I heard Dr. Coconutman has a base near here." Reggie stated.

"I heard that too. He's also supposed to be some kind of genius."

"Yep." Reggie nodded. "They say he has an I.Q. of three hundred."

"Woah… Hope he doesn't attack Ocean Shores."

"What reason would he have to?" Reggie asked, dipping into her cereal.

"You never know." Otto shrugged. "Hey Reg, why do they call him Coconutman for?"

"He's got a body shaped like a coconut's?" The bat replied with a shrug of her own. "I don't have a clue why they call him that." The siblings were silent as they went back to eating.

Later…

At a garage across from the Rockets' home, you can hear a lot of noise, caused by metal clanging against metal. Inside, we see a biplane being worked on. It was mainly red with some yellow areas. On the sides of the plane, the word "Squid" was shown in white letters. On the ends of the wings was a symbol shaped like a squid. This symbol was also seen on both sides of the tail end of the plane. A yellow blur was zooming all over the vehicle.

"I can't believe you're working on this thing again." A voice said impatiently.

It belonged to an orange echidna. He was wearing a necklace that had a shark's tooth on it. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. You could see his fists. There were two spikes on each hand. A yellow and brown striped hat was on his head. A small amount of his quills went up the middle of his forehead. The blur went under the plane.

"There are just a few more adjustments to be made." Another voice said from under it. "Just you wait. Soon, the Twister will fly!" This was followed by an enthusiastic laugh.

"You've been saying that for months, Squid, and you haven't come close to finishing it." The echidna said, rolling his eyes. "And why did you name it after me, anyway?"

"I—Ugh!—didn't name it after you, Twister." The voice grunted as more clanging was heard. "I was stumped on what to call it and that—Ugh!—was the first thing that came to mind."

"Yeah right, Sam." Twister scoffed.

"I'm completely serious!" Sam grunted as he twisted another bolt. Seconds later, a splat was heard. "Aw yuck! Can you get me a can of oil, Twist?" The echidna uncrossed his arms.

"Sure. Where is it?" He asked as he walked towards a workbench.

"It's on top of the shelf." Twister looked up and saw the can of oil. He reached up to grab it, but he soon discovered it was too far.

"Man… I can't reach it."

"Do I have to do everything myself?" Sam grumbled as he crawled out from under the Twister. The echidna turned and broke out in laughter when he saw his friend.

Sam was a fox with yellow fur. He was smaller than his orange friend and kinda round. He was wearing a pair of glasses that had square-shaped lenses. He was also wearing a sports inhaler around his neck. The fur on the top of his head was arranged like a crew cut. He was different from most foxes because he had two tails instead of just one. The doctor that gave birth to him wasn't sure why he had the extra appendage. Because of the extra tail, he was teased and bullied in his hometown of Hutchinson, Kansas. Of course, all that ended when he moved to Ocean Shores.

Sam was a brilliant inventor. He has made plenty of things that help his mother around the house, as well as some other…less helpful things. For example, he's made a robot that does chores, but constantly breaks windows. He's also made some weapons, but we'll get to that later.

His current project was his biplane, the Twister. It's been close to a year since he started building it from the chassis of an old, beat-up plane, but it's almost completed. All he needs to do is connect the power supply to the engine and make a couple of adjustments to the various systems and it'll be done.

As for the reason Twister was laughing at him, he was covered with oil. One of his lenses was completely black, giving him the look of a pirate. His tails had some black spots too. Sam glared at him as he walked towards the workbench.

"Ha, ha. Very funny." He said sarcastically. "Now stand back so I get this can and get back to work."

"HAHAHAHAHA!!!! Alright, Sammy! HAHAHAHAHA!!!" Twister replied, moving back. He tripped and rolled along the floor while laughing. He pounded the floor as he tried to stop. Sam rolled his eyes before winding up his tails. When they were wound up completely, he let them go. The twin appendages spun like a helicopter's blades.

Sam kicked off the ground and floated in the air. He slowly ascended, being careful not to go too fast and hit the ceiling. When he was level with the can of oil, he grabbed it and descended. He landed and allowed his tails to stop spinning. He started walking back to the plane when he heard footsteps approaching. He looked towards the garage door. Twister finally stopped laughing and faced the door as well. The two saw Otto and Reggie coming.

"Hey guys. What's up?" The hedgehog asked. At the sight of the bat, Twister bolted up and got behind Sammy.

"S-s-stay away!" He yelled frightfully. Sam and Otto gave him a confused look before turning to Reggie, who shrugged.

"I went after his emerald yesterday." She simply said.

"Again!?" Sam and Otto slapped their heads.

"You know he's supposed to protect that thing." Otto scolded.

"It's his sacred duty." Sam added, nodding while crossing his arms.

"What? Can I help it if I want it?" The bat defended.

"I keep telling you. You can't have it!" Twister yelled.

Reggie was an experienced treasure hunter. She can find anything of value in Ocean Shores and make it hers, no matter what; even if she has to resort to stealing to do so. She has a soft spot for jewels of any kind. For the past few months, she has been going after one of Twister's most prized possessions, the Master Emerald, a huge jewel capable of near infinite power. The echidna has done all he could to protect the emerald. It was his sworn duty as its guardian.

And how did he get charged with such a task, you ask? Well, truth be told, Twister found the Master Emerald one day while biking out in the forest with his friends. He took a major wipe out and came across it at the bottom of a ditch. He was mesmerized by its mystical glow. Forgetting the pain caused by the fall, he crawled over to it and reached out. As soon as he laid his hands on the jewel, it shined brightly and the boy's eyes went out of focus as he saw a vision. A female echidna wearing ancient clothing came to him. He blushed as he laid eyes on the woman.

"Maurice Rodriguez," She said in a gentle tone. "You must guard the Master Emerald. Protect it from evil." Twister shook off the blush and gave her a questioning look.

"You want me to guard this thing?" He gestured to the jewel. The other echidna nodded.

"It is your heritage. Generations before you have guarded it and now it is your turn." She replied. Twister looked nervous at this. How could he possibly protect this gigantic rock!? It was more than twice his size!

"Woah! I can't do this, lady! Why don't you ask Lars?! He's older than me!" The ancient echidna glared at him.

"Are you crazy!?" She yelled bluntly. "He'll pawn it first chance he gets!"

"Hmmm… Good point." He said, holding his chin. "And what makes you think I won't do the same thing?"

"Because if you do, I'll haunt you til the day you die!" She yelled, shaking her fist. "I'll make sure you never get a date! Hell, girls won't even come near you!" Twister gulped.

"Well, since you put it so nicely, I'll gladly take care of this emerald." He said with a nervous grin.

"That's better. And if you lose it, I'll be coming back to kick your ass! I don't care if I am a ghost! You lose that rock and I'll have your head!!!" And with that, she disappeared, leaving a shaking Twister behind. A yellow puddle formed near his legs.

And so, he's guarded it with his life. He refused to let anybody have it. After his acquisition of the jewel, many people have come to his door, begging for it. People from museums, jewelry stores, and even the Smithsonian have come, offering millions for the emerald. To the great shock of his parents, he turned down every offer. It seemed that the ghost's threat was fresh in his memory.

Of course, he has told his friends about the vision when he found the Master Emerald. They only laughed in response, thinking that it was the concussion talking. While Otto and Sam didn't think too much about it, except that Twister was majorly lucky, Reggie had stars in her eyes as soon as she laid eyes on it. She licked her lips greedily as she planned on how to get it. So, for months she's tried everything she could think of to get Twister to fork it over. Tiger traps, nets, snares; you name it, she's done it. She's even tried fighting him for it! Of course, he's proved himself to be too strong for her. He didn't have those spikes on his fists for nothing!

And now back to our story.

"Are you gonna stop being afraid of me or what?!" The bat yelled impatiently.

"Only if you promise to stop trying to steal the Master Emerald!" The echidna barked. Reggie sighed.

"Alright, alright. I won't go after the emerald anymore." She said in an irritated tone. Twister didn't believe her one bit.

"Shake on it." He said with a glare. Reggie glared back as she walked forward. The echidna walked up to her and held out his hand. She pulled out her hand as well.

"Woogie, woogie, woogie, woogie!" They both said as they did their group's special handshake. Twister pulled back and sighed with relief.

"Finally. Now I won't have to stay up late guarding it anymore." There was a mischievous glint in Reggie's eyes after hearing that bit of information.

'Perfect. I know exactly when to strike.' She thought, rubbing her hands greedily. The others looked at her curiously. She noticed their stares and rubbed the back of her head nervously.

"Oh don't mind me! I was just thinking about something!" She chuckled. The guys shrugged before turning towards the Twister.

"So, working on this again, huh?" Otto asked.

"Of course! It's my masterpiece!" Sam said proudly. "Soon, it'll fly as high as the clouds. Just you wait!"

"Yeah, yeah." Otto rolled his eyes. "Come on! Get cleaned up so we can go to Mad Town!"

"Well, I do need a break…" Sam said before grinning. "Count me in! I'll be right back." He started moving towards his house.

"And don't forget to grab your blades!" Otto yelled after him.

Later…

Sam came out of his house, clean and dressed in his skating gear. He skated over to his friends, who were also in their safety gear and blades. They were standing in the middle of the cul-de-sac. Otto looked particularly impatient.

"Took ya long enough!" He shouted, crossing his arms. "We could've been shredding by now!"

"Well, you guys could've left without me." The fox retorted. The hedgehog sighed.

"Never mind. Let's get going." The group started skating down the hill.

"Hey guys, how about a race?" Twister asked a minute into their trip.

"Sure. I'm down for that." Reggie replied, smirking competitively.

"Alright. Last one to the Shack's a shoobie!" Otto yelled before speeding up ahead of the others. The other furries grinned at each other before accelerating as well.

The quartet barreled down the hill at near top speed. Otto dominated the race for a few seconds before reaching a ramp. He skated up it and jumped off. He grabbed his legs and spun in the air. When he reached the apex of his jump, Reggie flew past him. He gasped when he saw Twister glide past him as well.

"Hey! No fair!" The hedgehog protested.

"Tough luck, bro!" Reggie retorted as she landed. "You didn't say we couldn't fly! Bust!" She laughed as she continued skating. Twister glided a few more feet before landing and continuing on. Otto growled as he increased his speed. Sam was still in last place. The fox had a smirk on his face as he struggled to keep up.

"That's it. Just let them get a little further." He said to himself.

Back with the other three, Otto caught up to Reggie and Twister. They were now neck and neck. Not wanting to get showed up by her brother like so many times before, the elder Rocket moved her legs faster.

"There's no way you're gonna beat me, Rocket Boy!" She shouted as she pulled ahead. The trio soon reached another ramp and jumped off it. Like before, the bat and echidna soared ahead of the hedgehog, who smirked.

'Let's see you beat me after this.' He arched his body back and spun into a ball. Using his torque, he shot off like a cannonball past Reggie and Twister, who barely got out of the way.

"Watch it, Ottoman!" Twister yelled as he and the bat landed. Otto unrolled and landed as well. The trio was within striking distance of the pier. Sam was still a few yards behind.

"Ok! Time to use my secret weapon!" He yelled. He revved up his tails and let them spin like a propeller. He blazed ahead at an amazing speed. He got down from the hill and entered the pier in seconds flat. Otto, Reggie, and Twister were halfway down the straightaway when they noticed him. Sam zoomed past all three of them.

"No way!" Otto said in disbelief.

"Woah! How'd the Squid do that?!" Twister asked in the same tone.

"Sam, you're going too fast!" Reggie shouted urgently. Sam didn't seem to listen as he turned around and skated backwards while spinning his tails.

"So who's a shoobie now?!" He bragged, laughing heartily. He was about to turn around and end the race when suddenly, his tails got tangled up! Sam gasped. "What the—!?"

He was so preoccupied trying to untangle his tails that he didn't notice the approaching pothole. He ran over it and tripped, rolling into a ball. Otto and the others tried to stop, but they were going too fast. They too ran over the pothole and crashed into the fox. They rolled forward until they stopped in front of the Shack.

"Squid!!!" Otto, Reggie, and Twister yelled as they all sat up.

"Hey! Are you guys ok?" The voice of Ray was heard. The quartet turned and saw him, his wife Noelani, and Tito.

Like Otto, Ray was a hedgehog. His quills were a yellowish orange. He was wearing a green bucket hat. He was also wearing a white chef's jacket. Noelani and Tito were cats. The former was brown and slim. She had a long tail. She was wearing a light blue dress with floral patterns. She had a flower over her right ear. The latter was purple and big. He had a fluffy tail. Stripes that were a darker shade of purple decorated his body. He had bigger ears than his cousin. He was wearing a blue Hawaiian shirt. The fur on his head was tied into a ponytail. He also had a small goatee. The trio was wearing sandals.

"Yeah. We're fine, no thanks to Squid!" Otto shouted.

"What happened, little cuz?" Tito asked.

"We were racing and Sam got ahead of us…" Reggie trailed off. She turned to the fox in question. "How exactly did you get ahead of us, anyway?"

"Yeah! We were at least a mile ahead of you!" Twister added.

"Well, I recently discovered that, aside from flying, I can use my tails to increase my speed on the ground." Sam replied. "I guess I need a little more practice." He added sheepishly.

"I'll say." Otto grumbled, crossing his arms. The group got up, but quickly fell to the ground again.

"What the—?!" The crimson hedgehog lifted his feet. His eyes widened.

"Oh nice going, Squid! Because of you, our skates are busted!!!" The other three looked at their blades. They were totaled. The part that held the wheels together on each blade was torn off. Some were barely intact. The wheels on each one had fallen off.

"Aw man! There's no way my mom's gonna buy me a new pair!" Twister wailed.

"She would if you sold the Master Emerald." Reggie muttered. The echidna sent her a glare for that one.

"Don't start." He warned.

"Oh man… I'm sorry you guys." Sam said apologetically. "That pothole came out of nowhere."

"Great! Now the whole day's wasted! It'll take forever to go back and grab our boards!" Otto seethed. Sam hung his head low as they took off their blades and stood up.

"Not necessarily." Noelani offered. The kids looked at her curiously. She turned to Ray. "Remember that new shipment you got this morning?" The older hedgehog put a hand to his chin.

"New shipment…" His eyes lit up. "Oh! You mean that shipment!" His wife nodded. The group of four still looked confused.

"Uhhh… What shipment are you guys talking about?" Reggie asked. Ray turned to the quartet.

"We just got a shipment of some brand new skates and we need someone to endorse them." He said.

"Endorse, huh?" Otto asked, holding a hand to his chin.

"Yeah. We already got Keoni in on it." Tito spoke up.

"Keoni's here?" Twister asked in mild surprise. The cat nodded.

"He should be around here somewhere with his pet frog."

"So what kind of skates are we talking about?" Otto asked anxiously. It was clear he wanted to get back on wheels as soon as possible.

"Come on. I'll show you." Ray replied, walking down the ramp.

The others, except for Tito, who decided to watch the Shack, followed him into the rental shop. When they got inside, the taller hedgehog went into the back room. A minute or two passed before he emerged, carrying four shoe boxes. He set them down in front of the eager kids.

"These are the newest thing. They are just prototypes, but hopefully they'll work and become popular."

Otto and the others looked at each other before lifting the lids and taking out the boxes' contents. They were each holding a pair of what appeared to be sneakers. They were white on the front, black in the middle, and red on the back. There was a gold ring around a black & red flap where the feet go. The shoes had a red rim around the back & front halves. The bottom of each shoe had what seemed to be four mini rockets. The middle of each shoe was raised up to contain metal plates. There was a switch and a dial on the heel of each shoe. To each of the animals, they felt heavy, but strangely lighter than normal roller blades. They looked at the so-called "skates" with utmost curiosity.

"So what do you think? Ready to take them out for a spin?" Ray asked excitedly. The four looked up from the shoes. They still had that curious look on them.

"Uhhh… Raymundo?" Reggie asked after a minute of silence.

"Yes?"

"This may sound weird, but where are the wheels?"

"You don't need 'em." was the simple response.

"Huh!?" They all asked confusedly.

"These are called air skates." Ray explained. "You hover a few inches off the ground while skating. You can travel much faster than on normal roller blades."

"But what about grinding?" Twister asked. "There's no way we can use these shoes to slide down rails."

"That's what the plates are for. Come on. Let's go back up so you can test them out." Ray and Noelani left the shop. The others put on the air skates and followed. They were soon standing in front of the Shack. Otto, Reggie, Twister, and Sam were lined up side to side.

"So how do they work, Mr. Rocket?" The fox asked.

"First, before you even get started, flick the switches on each heel. This will activate them." Ray said. The kids did as they were told. A low hum was heard from each skate. "Next, turn the dials ONCE. This sets the speed you'll travel in. The first speed is a comfortable pace; much like when you go at a normal speed on regular skates." The group again reached down and turned each dial once.

"It's important that you never turn the dial too high." Ray continued. "If it's turned too high, you could wind up traveling at supersonic speeds." The kids gasped at that.

"I'm sorry. Did you just say, 'supersonic'?" Reggie asked in disbelief. Ray nodded.

"As in 'break the sound barrier' supersonic?" Sam asked in the same tone. There's no way these skates can enable someone to go that fast! To his surprise, Ray confirmed this with another nod.

"Of course, they're experimental, so we don't even know if they'll go that fast." Otto was speechless at this.

"Super-super-supersonic!? I can go supersonic with these!?!" He yelled when he got his voice back. "Oh yeah, baby! Now that's extreme!" He punched the air.

"Woah, woah, woah Rocket Boy! I don't want any of you turning the dial any higher than what's safe. If you go too fast, you may wind up crashing into a wall." All except for the smaller hedgehog were shaken up by this. Ray noticed their frightened looks.

"Now don't worry!" He chuckled. "As long as you don't set it too high, you're safe." He glared at Otto. "That goes double for you. Understand?"

"Yeah, yeah." The red hedgehog said, waving a dismissive hand. Ray rubbed his hand over his face and glared harder at his son.

"Who would send you something like this, anyway?" Twister asked.

"Yeah. Don't you think these skates are kinda—I don't know—dangerous?" Reggie added.

"After all, if they really do let a person travel at supersonic speeds, they must use rocket fuel, right?" Sam asked.

"Don't worry. They won't explode on you." Noelani reassured. "They're perfectly safe."

"And as for who sent it to us, it was the Umbrella Corporation." Ray added with a creepy laugh. Everybody else gave him a freaked out look. He chuckled. "Just kidding! They were sent by a new sporting goods manufacturer."

"Come on! Enough stalling! Let's get to it!" Otto yelled impatiently. Everybody else rolled their eyes and got back to the task at hand.

"Alright. Since you're so eager, Otto, you go first." Ray said.

"I thought you'd never ask." The younger hedgehog replied with a smirk. He was about to start moving when he gave his dad a curious glance. "Uhhh… How do I get started, anyway?"

"That's easy. Just pretend you're on normal roller blades." Otto gave the older hedgehog a weirded out look.

"Uhhh… Right. Just pretend." He said strangely. He took a deep breath and moved his feet as if he was on his blades. Almost instantly, the rockets at the bottom of each shoe started up.

"Woah!" Otto said in surprise. He hovered one or two inches off the ground. He found it difficult to maintain his balance.

"Just skate, Rocket Boy!" Ray shouted. Otto wobbled for a little bit before he moved his legs side to side. He glided forward.

"Hey! I think I'm getting used to this!" He grinned.

He leaned his body and blazed forward. It certainly felt a little easier than using his old blades. He increased his speed. He traveled a few more feet before he jumped and spun in the air. He landed and continued on when he discovered he was nearing the entrance to the pier. His eyes widened at the sight of the busy traffic ahead.

"Woah! How do I stop this thing!?" He yelled.

"Just stop moving your legs!" Ray replied, cupping his hands over his mouth. Otto did as he was told and stood straight up. He stopped moving and the skates deactivated. He lowered back onto the ground. "Ok, now come back."

"Alright Dad!" The young hedgehog skated back to his friends.

Everybody else had a turn to try out their skates. Reggie was able to adjust to the skates with ease. Twister had a little trouble, but soon, it was second nature to him. Sam, on the other hand, found it near impossible to skate for the first few minutes. Often, he wound up making the skates go in the different directions, causing a—shall we say—uncomfortable situation for him? After some much needed recuperation, he too mastered the air skates.

"So, you guys finally got the hang of it?" Noelani asked when they finished.

"Ohhhhh yeah! I'm about ready to tear up Mad Town!" Otto replied cheerfully. The others shouted with equal enthusiasm as they left the Shack.

"Don't forget to ask if anybody wants to endorse the air skates!" Ray yelled after them. "We got plenty left!"

"No prob, Dad!" Reggie replied, waving at him.

One by one, the quartet hopped on and grinded the nearby rail. Sparks were seen coming from their feet. Sam, of course, fell before he even got halfway down. He followed the others when he got up. When the other three members of the group reached the bottom of the ramp, they bolted into Mad Town, ready to give their new toys some much needed breaking in.

Unknown to them, however, they were being watched by Pi, Sputz, and Animal, flunkies of the notorious Lars Rodriguez. Pi was a human, Sputz was a pig, and Animal was a gorilla. They grinned evilly as they left the Shack.

"We better call Lars and tell him about this." Pi said. Animal gave no response while Sputz just mumbled something incoherent. The human rolled his eyes and made his way to the pay phone.

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Post-chapter Conversation

"And there you have it, folks!" I started. "Who is Dr. Coconutman? Will Reggie succeed in stealing the Master Emerald? What will Lars do when he hears about the air skates? Tune in next time!"

"Yo! Question." My partner said.

"What?"

"Why did you make Sputz a pig and Animal a gorilla?"

"Well, you could hardly understand a word Sputz says, right?"

"Yeah…" Izzy nodded.

"So I made him a pig because Porky Pig has somewhat of a speech impediment as well."

"Ohhh… And Animal?"

"Well, he's got muscles. That's why I made him a gorilla." I answered. Izzy shrugged.

"Heh. Works for me. Also, why was Tito purple?"

"Well, since I'm not having him play as Big, I decided to make him a living homage to that loveable ball of fluff."

"You are beyond weird." My partner said, raising an eyebrow at me.

"I know." I gave a childish grin. Izzy gave me a freaked out look before turning to the camera.

"See ya next chapter! And please review!"

"Hey! That's my line!" I protested.