Pre-chapter Conversation

"Ahhhhh…" I yawned as I stretched my arms. "It feels good to be writing an adventure story for a change."

"Yeah, at least you're not doing any gross pairings for once." Izzy agreed, sighing with relief. "You're just gonna do that whole one-sided thing between Otto and Clio, right?"

"Yeah…" I replied, glowering at him. "But seriously, it's great to not be doing a romance fic. I mean, how do other authors do it? Concentrate on emotions, I mean. It's crazy hard! I'm more of an action guy, so it's next to impossible for me to concentrate on emotions for a long time if at all. But other people can write paragraphs or even chapters on just one character's feelings!" I held a hand to my chin. "How on earth do they do it?"

"Worry about your shortcomings later!" My partner demanded. "We gotta get to business!" I rolled my eyes before turning to the camera.

"Welcome to chapter two! Before we begin, I just want to say that the characters will do animé actions in this fic."

"How come?" He asked. I turned to him.

"Well, we're doing a parody of a game, so I feel that it's quite alright to use animé stuff if the situation calls for it."

Izzy sweatdropped as I turned to the camera.

"Anyway, for this chapter, we're gonna introduce three more characters. You'll get to learn a little about them. How are they connected to this adventure? Read on to find out! Also, see what happens when Otto turns his air skates all the way up!" I winked. "And if you don't blink, you'll be able to see the villain of the story. Enjoy!"

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Rocket Heroes

Chapter Two

The Three Hedgehogs' Techniques

::Brrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnngggggggg!!!!!!!::

Inside one of the bedrooms in Twister's home, a body stirred under the covers after hearing the shrill noise. A gloved hand reached out and hovered over the alarm clock. The hand balled up into a fist and descended at an alarming rate. Just inches from the clock, the fist and its owner glowed a bright green. The person disappeared and reappeared outside the bed in mid-air. Before the figure knew it, they fell to the floor with a crash. The alarm clock fell off the dresser and landed on their head.

"OW!!!" A male voice yelled in pain. The alarm finally stopped and was placed on the dresser.

"Stupid alarm…" The figure muttered as he stood, rubbing his head. He walked over to the mirror on his dresser.

He stared into the reflection of a purple hedgehog. There were brown highlights in his head quills, which were sticking out in different directions. Two of them on each side of his head were protruding. They went up slightly at the tips. Three smaller quills, which were completely brown, were in front of his right eye. There was a patch of red hair on his chest. It was shaped like a star. He scowled at his reflection.

"Stupid bed head…"

He grabbed a gray cap and put it on. Now his quills were behind his head. Only the brown areas showed. He grabbed a pair of red shoes and put them on. He then walked out of the room. On his way to the kitchen, he passed Twister's room. The door was open. Sitting on the bed was the Master Emerald, which was glowing brightly. It's amazing that the bed was able to hold up that much weight. The hedgehog glared at the jewel.

"Stupid emerald…" He hissed coldly.

Ever since Twister brought home the Master Emerald, the hedgehog has been having strange experiences. For one, he would always disappear and reappear someplace else. Most of the time, he wound up in a different area of the house, but other times, he wound up in a whole other state! In other instances, time around him would freeze. The amount of time everything would be frozen was always different. It can either take a minute or even days. The hedgehog timed himself in one particular instance. Time was frozen for an entire year!

Every incident was random. He had no idea if he would teleport someplace or if time would freeze. He wouldn't have a clue where he would end up or how long time would be frozen. He hated the jewel with a passion. It was bad enough the echidna wouldn't sell the thing and make his family rich, but these weird things keep happening to him. It was torture!

He gave the emerald one last glare before moving on to the kitchen. There, he found his parents. Unlike him, both of them were echidnas like Twister. Raoul was black with a little red in some places while Sandy was a reddish brown. The female was wearing a blue dress. The hedgehog was always curious about why his parents and brother were echidnas, but never brought up the question.

"Good morning, Lars." Sandy said when she saw him. Raoul mumbled the same greeting from behind his newspaper.

"Mornin'." Lars replied as he sat at the table. Sandy placed a plate of eggs and bacon in front of him. The hedgehog grabbed his fork and started eating.

When he was halfway through his breakfast, he looked up at the newspaper. It had the same headline regarding the mysterious Dr. Coconutman, as well as a picture from the attack on the city near Los Angeles.

"Hmph. So, this Coconutman kook is still at it, huh?"

He received no answer.

"I said, 'this Coconutman kook is still at it, huh?'!" He repeated louder.

Still no answer.

"I said—!" He stopped himself and looked around.

Sandy was throwing away a couple of egg shells, but they were floating in mid-air. Raoul had dropped his coffee mug, but it still hasn't hit the floor yet. A couple of birds were flying past the window, but they never left his sight. The clock stopped at ten fifty-nine and fifty-nine seconds. Lars growled when he realized what happened.

"Time froze, AGAIN!!!" He cursed. "Why does this keep happening!? I've never even touched the stupid thing!!!" He sighed before he grabbed a strip of bacon.

"I wonder how long everything's frozen for this time." He grumbled sarcastically as he chomped into the piece of meat.

He finished off his food and put the dishes in the sink. He left the kitchen and sat on the couch, waiting for everything to go back to normal. He sighed again.

"Who am I kidding? Even when time unfreezes, things will never be normal. At least not until that dork gets rid of that emerald."

As soon as he said that, he heard a crash and his parents cursing. Lars held his head and shook it tiredly. A few moments passed before the phone rang.

"Hello?" Sandy answered. A few seconds passed before she walked into the living room. "Lars, it's your friend Pi."

"Finally, something interesting." Lars said as he reached for the phone. Sandy held it away from him.

"Just promise me you won't get into any trouble for once." The hedgehog rolled his eyes.

"Ok Mom. I promise." Sandy smiled and handed him the phone. Lars waited for her to leave before holding it to his ear. "So, anything good going on?"

"Ohhhh yeah." Pi replied. "Your dork brother and his friends got a new pair of skates." A flock of seagulls was heard in the background. Lars had a questioning look, though his flunky was unable to see it.

"Uhhh… Ok… And why exactly should I care?"

"Dude! They're awesome! Wait until you see 'em!" Pi yelled excitedly. Lars sweatdropped. His crony never got this excited about something dumb like what skates someone else was using. Still, maybe the dork patrol actually got some cool skates he could swipe.

"Alright. I'll be there in a few."

"Alright. We're at the pier."

"Duh! I guessed that when I heard the seagulls in the background!" Lars yelled before hanging up.

Sometimes he wondered why he hung around with such boneheads. Sure it was great to have people who will obey your every command, but you could never have an intelligent conversation. The hedgehog shook his head as he stood up.

"Oh well. Guess I better go see what he's so excited about."

He walked to his room and grabbed his backpack, blades, and safety gear. He put on the backpack and safety gear. He then moved into the living room.

"You're not going out, are you?" Sandy asked, walking in from the kitchen. Lars turned to her.

"Yeah. I got some stuff to do." He moved towards the door and got ready to put on his skates.

"Hang on. Your cousins are coming today." The hedgehog's eyes widened at that. He dropped the blades and faced his mother.

"Cousins?! They were supposed to come today!?" Lars and Sandy turned towards the door when they heard a couple of voices.

"Do you think they're home, Cousin Clio?" A young male voice asked.

"Of course they're home, Little Scottie!" A female voice replied. "You see Uncle Raoul's car there, don't you!?"

"They're here!" Sandy said gleefully, clapping her hands.

"They're here…" Lars groaned, slapping his forehead.

"What are you standing around for?! Go open the door!" Sandy ordered. Lars rolled his eyes before walking forward. He opened the door to find his cousins standing.

"Took ya long enough!" Clio shouted impatiently.

Like Lars, she was a hedgehog. Her quills were red-violet. They were a darker shade than Reggie's shirt. Her head quills reached halfway down her back. She was wearing a yellow-green shirt that, strangely, had Otto's face pictured on it. She was wearing a pair of red jeans and green sneakers. She was also wearing a green headband and silver earrings. She picked up a few suitcases.

"Here. Make yourself useful and carry these inside." She stuffed them into Lars' arms. He stumbled a bit before getting his footing back.

'Great. She hasn't even set foot in the house yet and already she's barking orders.' He thought as he grunted.

"What'd you pack in here, rocks!?!" He asked as he struggled under the heavy weight.

"Of course not!" Clio answered as she ran a hand through her quills. "I only brought the necessities."

"What, five months worth of make up?"

"Very funny." Clio said with a glare. "I brought enough clothes to last me a week." Lars started losing his balance again.

"Ugh! What else?!" He asked when he got everything under control.

"Let's see…" Clio started, bringing a finger to her chin. "I took five cases of my Otto Rocket brand shampoo, my Otto Rocket hair dryer, my Otto Rocket fax machine, my Otto Rocket microwave, my Otto Rocket cappuccino machine…" The hedgehog in the hat sweatdropped as his cousin counted off random items that had his rival's name on it.

Clio was a huge fan of Otto. She had just about everything the young hedgehog endorsed. There was just one tiny problem though. He didn't endorse anything!!! She just put a sticker bearing his face on everything she owned! The reason: she's in love with the scarlet hedgehog! Every time she sees Otto, she practically melts. She always tries to get him to go on dates with her. He always turns her down though. And for good reason too. He's only eleven, not to mention she's crazy!

"My Otto Rocket laptop, my Otto Rocket boom box, my Otto Rocket edition Gamecube, complete with the latest game, Super Otto Sunshine…" She continued.

"Ugh!" Lars groaned.

Every time she comes over, Clio chases Otto around town, begging him to marry her. It's amazing that she hasn't caught him yet. Like Reggie with trying to get the Master Emerald, she's tried everything in her disposal to catch the boy of her dreams. No amount of traps, snares, or even the strongest of nets was able to stop him. He just simply spun his way out of everything she threw at him. Needless to say, she hasn't given up on her quest for love and doesn't plan to anytime soon.

"Oh! Then there's my set of Otto Rocket beanie babies, my Otto Rocket plushies, my collection of Otto Rocketmon trading cards, my Otto Rocket—"

"Gee, why didn't you take your and Otto Rocket's love nest with you?" Lars mocked.

"Oh silly Lars." Clio admonished. "It would have been too heavy for me to carry." The hedgehog and Little Scottie fell over.

"I so walked into that one…" The older male grumbled as he got up and put the suitcases on the side of the door.

"Where's Cousin Twister!?" Little Scottie asked anxiously as he buzzed around. He was a bee. He was wearing a blue shirt. He was also wearing a pair of white sneakers and a backpack.

As long as Lars could remember, the energetic little bug has been nothing but trouble. He always wanted to hang around with all the older kids. Needless to say, it was an embarrassing situation whenever he came to visit. More often than not, he would get lost in the strangest of ways. For example, when he visited one time, a stray wind blew while he was at the park with Twister. Due to his light weight, he was blown a great distance. The echidna chased after him but quickly lost him to the winds.

In every instance, he came back home with barely a scratch and a story to tell, as well as a souvenir of some sort. In the above example, he came back with a miniature Statue of Liberty and a story about how he helped a sailor (who was a seagull) find his way back to his crew. While Sandy and Raoul would humor the child and inwardly thank God he was safe, Lars and/or Twister would be severely punished for losing him. Little Scottie was trouble, pure and simple.

"And where's Otto-wotto?" Clio asked with a sweet tone, causing Lars to sweatdrop.

'Please tell me I don't have to baby sit!' He prayed inwardly.

"I have no clue where the little twerps are." He lied, crossing his arms. He didn't need these two hanging around. Besides, he still had to get to the pier to see what Pi was going on about. Clio looked at him sternly.

"You better be telling the truth. Or else." She warned, causing the other hedgehog to smirk.

"Or else what?" He challenged.

"Or else I'll have to use my special hammer." Clio replied.

"Let me guess. Your Otto Rocket hammer? Pahahahahaha!!!"

"No… My Pika Pika Hammer!" Lars and Scottie gave her a strange look.

"Uhhh… Cousin Clio, don't you mean Piko Piko?" The bee whispered.

"No! I meant Pika Pika! Look!"

She reached behind her and took out a metallic mallet. On both sides of it was a pikachu's face. The center was red and the handle was yellow. It looked more like a little kid's toy than a weapon. Lars was beside himself with laughter.

"Oh yeah! I'm really scared now! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" He pointed at her and continued with his giggling fit. He soon fell as he continued laughing, holding his sides. Clio suddenly had fire in her eyes. She raised the hammer above her head. Scottie backed away frightfully.

"Uhhh… Cousin Lars?" He said timidly.

"Hahahahaha… Yeah? What is it?" Lars asked, getting up. The bee pointed at their cousin, who was about to let loose her fury. The male hedgehog shrank back under her glare. "Oh crap!"

"Now you'll know not to underestimate my power!" Clio roared as she swung the hammer. Lars put his arms in front of his face in an effort to defend himself.

Before his cousin was able to strike, however, he glowed green and disappeared. The hammer crashed into the floor, creating a hole in the shape of Pikachu's head. The female hedgehog and the bee gaped at the hole.

"Where'd he go!?!" They both yelled.

----------------------------

Inside the house, Lars rematerialized in his room. He was in the same position he was in before he disappeared. After about a minute of nothing happening, he put his arms down and looked around. He blinked in confusion before sighing with relief.

"The emerald must've teleported me." He smirked. "I guess that thing has some use after all."

He decided to play it safe and leave the house the back way. He grabbed a spare pair of skates and made his way to the pier.

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"Oh man! I couldn't test my hammer out!" Clio wailed, disappointed that she couldn't bash her older cousin's skull in. She smirked evilly as she turned towards Scottie, who was smelling a flower. "Then again… Oh Scottie." She said in a sing-song voice.

"Yes, Cousin Clio?" The bee asked as he turned towards her. He sweatdropped when he noticed she had the hammer drawn back.

"Could you do me a teensy-weensy favor?" She asked with a devilish glint in her eyes. Scottie gulped as he backed away.

"Wh-what?" As soon as the word left his mouth, Clio swung the hammer horizontally. The result was a mini-tornado that swept up the bee.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" He screamed as he was spun around and around at a high velocity. He tried to fly out of the vortex, but it was no use. He was just not strong enough. The hedgehog's attack continued for another minute or so before it spit out Scottie. He was propelled high into the air, screaming all the while.

"Wow. That was some distance." Clio commented as her cousin became a star. She giggled as she opened one of the suitcases and grabbed her skates and safety gear. She then put it all on. "Once I show that cutie Otto my new moves, he'll absolutely love me!" And with that, she skated down the hill.

Meanwhile, at Mad Town…

The crowd situated outside the skate park cheered and roared as the group of four tore it up on their air skates. Twister was at the blader bowl. He made a few laps around it, building up his speed. Soon, he was going so fast that the spectators were unable to keep up with him. He was just an orange blur. He went up the side of the bowl and launched himself into the air. He went higher than anybody can go on normal skates. He must've shot up twenty or thirty feet in the air!

The echidna hugged his legs and allowed gravity to spin him a little before straightening out and punching the air. His spun his body once more before pointing his body ahead of him. He held his fists in front of himself and glided through the air. He descended and landed in front of the tunnel connecting the two sides of the park. He skated into the other side of the park, going alongside the walls and even the ceiling.

Meanwhile, Reggie was blazing around one of the more narrow bowls with ease. She jumped and did a few flips. Afterwards, she gained speed and propelled herself into the air. She flapped her wings and ascended, kicking the air the whole time. Once the bat reached a sufficient height, she brought her legs together and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She then stopped flapping and allowed gravity to affect her.

As she fell, she spun around like a power drill. She just kept spinning and spinning until she became a blur of different colors. The crowd oohed and ahhed at the display. When she was about five feet from the ground, she got out of the spin, spread out her wings, and glided along the ground before skating up to the nearby rail. She jumped on it and grinded it to the other end. She then went up to the half pipe, where Otto, Twister, and Sam were standing.

"Man! These skates are all time!" The echidna exclaimed when the bat joined them.

"No kidding. These rock!" Reggie agreed.

"Hey, you guys, watch this." Sam said before he dropped in. His skates activated as he sped down the wall and up the other side. He went into the air and did a light spin before turning around. When he got back on the half pipe, he revved up his tails and increased his speed.

"Aw man! Not this again!" Twister groaned as Sam ascended. The fox stopped spinning his tails and swung them around before landing back on the half pipe and spinning them again.

"Don't you remember what happened not even an hour ago, Squid!?" Otto shouted as the fox grabbed the edge of the pipe.

"Don't worry! I got it under control this time!" Sam replied as he started coming back towards them. He reached the other end and went high into the air. He tried to do an Ollie, but he was unable to fully spin around before gravity took affect.

"Heh. Just as I thought." Otto scoffed as Sam panicked.

"Oh no! I'm gonna beef it badly!" He wailed. His fear-stricken expression turned into a small grin. "Then again…" And with that, he spun his twin appendages and took flight, just barely avoiding crashing.

"Squid!" The rest of the group groaned.

The fox has done this maneuver many times before. He would usually pretend to mess up a trick and fall, but would fly before he even hits the ground. Of course, he also uses this tactic whenever he really screws up a trick. Needless to say, the group didn't appreciate the ruse.

"Do you always have to do that?" Reggie asked with a hint of irritability.

"Yeah! It's no fun if you don't crash!" Twister added. The bat rolled her eyes at the immaturity present in that statement.

"It's practically cheating!" Otto protested. Sam flew up to them and gave a shrug.

"Hey, if you got something, use it. Bust!" He laughed at the others' glares.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever! Hurry up and land so I can have my turn!" The hedgehog ordered.

"What's the matter, jealous that you can't fly like me and Sammy?" Reggie teased. Otto scowled at her and Sam, who was still grinning.

"No! Unlike you, I don't need to fly to shred!"

"Ahhh. But what about when you beef it?" Sam asked, continuing their harassment. He landed alongside the bat.

"Yeah Ottoman. Not for nothing, but even I could glide if I mess up a trick." Twister offered. Otto crossed his arms and turned away in response. He looked over his shoulders.

"Oh yeah?" He challenged with a smirk. "I don't need anything special like flying or gliding to save myself from beefing it."

"Then prove it, Rocket Boy." Reggie dared. Otto kept his smirk as he got ready to drop in.

"Ok. You got it!"

And with those words, he jumped and moved his legs. When he was an inch away from the pipe, the rockets on his skates activated, propelling him forward. He launched off the other end of the pipe, grabbed his left foot, and spun around. He made two full rotations before straightening up and landing on the pipe. He sped along the wooden structure and up the wall. The others stepped back as he grinded the edge and went back down.

He got to the other end of the half pipe and jumped into the air. He grabbed both legs and flipped a couple of times before landing and skating backwards. When he reached the side his friends were on, he grabbed the edge and jumped off, righting himself in the process. When he reached the other side and went into the air, he crossed his arms and closed his eyes as he twirled around.

"Hey Otto! What happened to beefing it!?" Reggie reminded as the hedgehog returned to the half pipe.

"Let's see how you save yourself when you mess up!" Sam added.

"Come on, bro!" Twister encouraged. Otto put on a look of determination as he reached their end and soared into the air. He tried to land a really advanced trick, but screwed up his form and plummeted head first.

'Here goes nothing!' He thought as he arched his back. Like at the race earlier, he spun into a ball. He landed on the side of the pipe and rolled along it.

When he got to the other side, he flew up into the air. He stayed in a ball as he descended. He just kept rolling along the pipe, accelerating all the while. He soon went so fast that when he reached one end, he would use his momentum to land on the other side. Twister, Reggie, and Sam gaped at the scene. The crowd, meanwhile, roared at the spectacle. After about five rotations, Otto went up into the air and unrolled. He soon landed on the same side as his friends, who were cheering.

"Oh man… That was…tough…" He panted, leaning against the railing.

"Woah! That was intense, dude!" Twister shouted, giving his best bro a thumbs-up.

"I gotta admit. That was tight, little bro." Reggie agreed. Otto caught his breath and gave Sam a cheeky grin.

"So what do you have to say now, Squid!?" Sam sighed and gave his friend a smile.

"I guess you do have a method of protection after all." Otto grinned at the answer and stood proudly.

"Oh great! Now he's gonna get big headed." Reggie groaned. Twister and Sam laughed at that. Otto rolled his eyes.

"Hey, I don't get big headed!" He defended.

"Oh really?" Reggie challenged with a grin and her arms crossed. Otto groaned.

"Ok. I don't get big headed all the time." Sam and Twister offered the same look Reggie was giving him. Defeated, the hedgehog turned away with a huff.

"Forget about it! Let's shred!" Reggie said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Otto turned and gave a grin.

"Alright, but first I need to adjust these skates." He bent down and reached for one of the dials.

"Otto…" His sister warned.

"Dude! Don't you remember what Raymundo said!?" Twister added.

"Turn it too high and you'll wind up splattered against a wall!" Sam yelled frightfully, covering his eyes.

"I know what he said! I'm just…turning it up a little so that I'll get more air." Otto defended, standing up..

"I'll bet." Reggie crossed her arms. "Knowing you, you'd turn it up all the way." The hedgehog glowered.

"Look, I'm not gonna turn it too high." He started impatiently. He bent down again and reached for the dial on his right skate. "I'm just going to tweak it a little."

And true to his word, he did. He turned the dial up two notches. What he didn't notice though was that the skate was now set to "Crazy Fast." There were only three notches above that one. They were each marked, "Awesomely Fast," "Superman Fast," and "Supersonic." Next to the last marking was a picture of a skull and crossbones. Otto set the other skate the exact same way. Both of them gave a loud hum.

"Here goes!"

"Otto! Wait!" Reggie ordered, but it was too late. Her brother jumped off and activated the skates.

As soon as they started, Otto felt a great jolt from the skates. The rockets burned with a somewhat higher amount of energy. His speed increased dramatically. Everything around him was starting to blur slightly. Despite the high velocity, he got used to it pretty fast. After a few shaky moments, he was soon skating with ease again. The rest of the group was barely able to keep up with the young hedgehog, who went at least forty feet in the air. Everybody who was watching practically stretched their necks as they looked up. Those without sunglasses had to place their hands over their eyes to block out the sun.

Because he was so high, Otto was able to perform a multitude of tricks on his way down. He did a couple of 360s, some back flips, and a couple of spins, as well as some other tricks. To avoid going splat due to the high speed, he rolled into a ball just before reaching the half pipe. He rolled to the other end and shot up into the air. He unrolled and did a few more stunts before landing. He was just a crimson streak as he went back and forth. The flames of the skates' rockets flashed as he grinded the opposite edge of the pipe before returning to his friends.

"See, Reg? I told you it was alright!" Otto bragged to his sister, who looked the other way in response.

"You didn't say that at all." Sam corrected.

"Details." Otto waved a dismissive hand.

"Way to tear it up, O-man!" Twister cheered, giving his best friend their traditional handshake. "Too bad I didn't bring my camera though… I would've gotten mad footage."

"So go back to your house and get it." Otto offered. "All you gotta do is set your skates the way I set mine and you'll be back in no time."

"Oh no you don't!" Reggie interjected. "I'm not about to explain to Twist's mom why her son is a pancake!"

"I'm not a pancake!" The echidna in question protested. Otto rolled his eyes before turning to his sister.

"Do you always have to ruin everything?" He asked with a groan.

"I'm trying to save your life!" Reggie roared. "I'm older, so I'm responsible for you guys!"

"But—"

"That's ok, Ottoman. Little Scottie and Clio are supposed to come over today, anyway. I don't feel like dealing with my little cousin right now." Twister said. The rest of the group groaned.

"Talk about double the trouble." Sam said.

"Yeah." Otto agreed. "Between Little Scottie trying to hang with us and Clio going crazy over me, it's gonna be one hell of a…" He turned to Twister. "How long are they staying for?"

"I think my mom said a week." The echidna replied.

"It's gonna be one hell of week." The hedgehog groaned, slapping his head.

"Chill, Otto. At least Clio is fun to hang with." Reggie offered.

"When she's not trying to get Otto to marry her, you mean." Sam stated, causing Otto to shiver.

"Man… What is your cousin's deal, Twist?" He asked.

"Beats me." Twister shrugged.

"Well, as long as she doesn't try to hug me to death like some kind of stuffed toy, I'll be ok."

Nothing more was said as the group went back to skating around. After about an hour, the group was panting as they regrouped on the side of the pipe that had the stairway.

"I'm getting hungry…" Sam said, rubbing his growling stomach.

"Yeah… My legs are thrashed." Twister groaned, rubbing his sore limbs. "These new skates may be cool, but ya gotta keep moving your legs in order to make them work."

"You say that like it's a bad thing!" Otto laughed, stretching his legs.

"At least now we get more exercise." Reggie added.

"Like we need it?" Twister asked. "Well, besides Sam, I mean."

"Hey!" The fox yelled, glaring at him. The echidna raised his hands in defense.

"Sorry, sorry."

"Let's just go to the Shack and take a break." Otto said, moving towards the stairs. He grinded down the railing while the others simply walked down the stairs.

They were about to leave the park when Sam raised a very important question.

"Hey, if we were using skates that use rockets to propel us, why didn't the half pipe—"

"SQUID!!!" Everyone else roared. They then heard a crackling sound. Their eyes widened as they turned towards the half pipe, which was ablaze.

The flames rose at least ten feet in the air. Pillars of smoke emitted from it. The other skaters in the park and the spectators ran for their lives. Conroy panicked as he grabbed the phone and called the fire department. Otto, Twister, and Reggie glared at Sam.

"You just HAD to say something, didn't ya!?" Twister yelled.

"That's twice in one day you messed up, Squid! You're on a roll!" Otto added sarcastically.

"I didn't know that was going to happen, honest!" Sam defended.

"Never mind! Let's get outta here before the police arrive!" Reggie yelled. She, Twister, and Sam skated out of the pier. Otto stayed behind. He smirked evilly as he reached towards his skates.

"I should really thank Sam. This is the perfect distraction." He snickered as he reached the dials. "What they don't know won't hurt them." He turned both of them all the way up to "Supersonic." The hedgehog felt a strong vibration from the skates as he got into a starting position.

"Let's go!" He moved his legs forward.

As soon as the skates started, Otto was thrown towards the beach at an impossible speed. Everything around him slowed down to a snail's pace as he skated past the sand and along the surface of the water.

"Oh maaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!!" He screamed, trying to gain control. "I'm going way too fast!" Everything paused as he looked at the camera.

"Woah. Never thought I'd say that." Everything unpaused and he continued moving.

Towers of water rose as he blazed along the ocean. He was coming towards a school of dolphins that were jumping through the water. The hedgehog covered his eyes as he approached them. He sped by the group, tossing them into the air in the process. Otto put down his arms and noticed that he was out of danger. He wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"Whew! Now to turn around."

He started struggling to turn around when he noticed he was heading towards an oil tanker!!! His eyes grew as wide as saucers.

"Oh craaaaaaaaap!!!" He yelled as he shifted his weight to the left. He was able to go around the huge ship. He straightened up and was moving forward again.

"Ugh! I gotta control myself!" He grunted as he put all of his concentration into turning around.

Otto was about halfway to Hawaii when he finally turned his body towards where he thought Ocean Shores was. He sped off towards home. He soon got within ten miles of his hometown without incident. He grinned as he skated along a huge wave that was starting up. He went up and down with the greatest of ease. He swerved around surfers, who seemed to be going slower than a turtle. They didn't even notice him pass. The hedgehog's grin widened.

"Ha! I knew I'd get the hang of this!" He shouted joyfully as he turned towards shore. He blazed through the beach, spraying sand all over the place. He then proceeded to skate all over the town, working on his turning.

Otto breezed through the town with minimal difficulty. The vehicles, the people; hell, even the small, non-anthropomorphic animals were moving too slow for him. He laughed cheerfully as he bounced from building to building. He even skated up and down a few of them. Anybody who had a bird's eye view of the town could easily see a red blur zooming all over the place.

As a matter of fact, someone was watching the hedgehog's movements.

Flying high above the town was a small, gray, bird-like robot. It was the size of a pigeon. The cameras in its eyes constantly focused and unfocused. The footage was being transmitted to a screen in an undisclosed location.

"Excellent." A male voice was heard as a figure watched Otto speeding around. The image on screen changed to Lars skating towards the pier. Reggie, Sam, and Twister were also shown. The owner of the voice gave an evil laugh.

"Perfect. Once I get their life data, I will build the ultimate robot to help me conquer the world! MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

He turned towards a door. Pictured on it was a white outline of a face. It seemed to be wearing a pair of glasses and a hat. The door opened and two red dots were seen.

"It's time for a little field training." The figure said. "Search for those that have the same genetic information as the God of Destruction!"

"Yes Master." A cold, lifeless voice replied. It had a familiar tone; like it belonged to a certain skater. A red blur zoomed out of the room. The figure took a deep breath.

"MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA—::Cough:: ::Hack::—Can't…breathe! Need my…medication!"

----------------------------

Post-chapter Conversation

"Who was that figure?" I started. "Why was he watching Otto and the others? What was causing that blur (the second one)? Will Clio get with the boy of her dreams? Will Little Scottie ever get down? Find out next time!"

"Hey! How come Twister can make fat jokes while I can't!?!" Izzy protested. "I'm the one who hates Sam!!!"

"Don't worry." I said, turning to him with a smirk. "Twister will get his."

"Hmph!" He grunted, crossing his arms. "Whatever. And who the hell's playing as Robotnik!?!"

"You should already know who's playing as him." I chuckled. Izzy raised an eyebrow at me.

"Huh?"

"Just look at the symbol on that door in the last scene." I answered, turning to the camera. "See ya next time!"