Pre-chapter Conversation
"Heh. I loved that last review you sent me, Warior." I said, holding a piece of paper in my hands. "I always thought oil was a robot's blood, but eh. It was pretty funny." I shrugged before putting the paper in my pocket. "Anyway, I've been thinking."
"Oh no…" Izzy groaned. "What is it now?" I rolled my eyes at the hedgehog.
"This is my tenth RP fic." I answered. My partner scowled at me.
"Yeah. And…?!"
"I was thinking I should do something special to commemorate this momentous occasion."
"Here's an idea. How about we leave this dimension at long last?"
::WHAM!::
Izzy stumbled around while nursing his latest lump.
"It was just a suggestion…"
"Yeah well, it was a stupid one." I retorted, hanging my mallet over my shoulder. "Anyway, I still think I should do something special to celebrate. Something that no one has ever done!"
"What, invent another stupid slash coupling?" Izzy asked, rubbing his head. I got into a thinking pose.
"Hmmmm… That's not a bad idea." The hedgehog fell over. "But I think I'll save that for if I ever reach twenty fics."
"RP or overall?" My partner growled, getting up.
"Hmmmm…" I held my chin. "I'm three fics away from my twentieth overall, but ten away from my twentieth RP fic…" I shrugged. "I guess we'll see what happens."
Izzy immediately knelt and prayed that I don't do a slash fic for my twentieth fic, RP or otherwise.
"Oy…" I looked to the side with an exasperated look before turning back to Izzy. "No, I think for my tenth RP fic, I'll do the one thing that no RP author, at least as far as I know, has done."
"Well…?" The furry asked, getting up.
"I'm going to write a fic that contains over—" I held my pinky to my mouth as the camera did a close-up ala Dr. Evil. "—one hundred thousand words!" As soon as the number left my lips, Izzy was beside himself with laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHA—You!? Break a hundred thousand words!? HAHAHAHAHA!!!" He laughed some more. "There's no way that's ever gonna happen! You haven't even come close yet! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" I closed my eyes sadly.
"How nice to see so much confidence in my writing abilities." I opened my eyes and turned to the camera. "Anyway, as mentioned in the last chapter, we have officially started commentary for the game. Now, we'll get into the stages."
"Ha!" Izzy pointed at me. "Now I know there's no way you'll break a hundred thousand words!"
"Whaddya mean?" I asked curiously.
"Don't you remember The Substitute?" He started. "You skipped around so much that each game was completed in just one chapter! There's no way you'll hit a hundred thousand words skipping around!"
"Yeah, I know." I simply answered with a shrug.
"Huh?" He gaped at me. I crossed my arms.
"Duh! I skipped around that time because I had to cover commentary for each game within a chapter! If I did full commentary, the story would've been so long that nobody would've read it, let alone review it!"
Izzy blinked.
"So what're you doing this time around?"
"I'm doing full commentary for each stage." I replied, causing his eyes to widen.
"Buh!?!" I sighed.
"It's like this: Almost every chapter from here on out will be split into two parts, covering the various 'zones' of the game. Nearly every chapter will follow a different team in a rotation until we reach the final stage." I turned to the camera. "For the first part of this chapter, we're going to follow Team Rocket—"
Izzy growled at the possible joke, causing me to roll my eyes.
"—as they battle through the coastal area outside Ocean Shores. Can Otto, Twister, and Sam survive and get through the robot-infested Seaside Hill? Find out today!" I waved at the camera.
"Hmph." Izzy grunted, crossing his arms as he turned to the camera. "One more thing, don't forget that Fox Boy and his pals are still wearing their skating gear. After all, we gotta play by the rules of the show."
------------------------------
Rocket Heroes
Chapter Five
Team Rocket's Day at the Beach
Part One
Stage One: Seaside Hill
Mission: Get to the whale island!
"Woah! Look at those waves!" Otto exclaimed.
He, Sam, and Twister have recently arrived in an uninhabited beach area that was miles away from their homes in Ocean Shores. The area seemed to be full of old ruins. Many hills were also present. The sun was shining brightly upon them. Seagulls were flying through the air. The three were looking out at the ocean. The waves were positively huge! They were at least fifteen feet high. The water looked fresh and clean as the tubes broke against the shoreline.
The trio stared at the swell for a few minutes before turning to each other.
"Think we can catch a few sets?" Twister asked excitedly.
"No way! We gotta find Dr. Coconutman!" Otto replied, causing the echidna to sulk.
"Yeah. Besides, we don't have our boards." Sam pointed out.
"We can always rent one…" Twister sighed, pointing at a nearby shack. Over the entrance was a sign that read, "Surfboard Rentals."
"Hey, I thought this was an uninhabited area." The fox said as he looked up.
(Me: Boy, didn't you learn your lesson back at Mad Town? And about what you said, I guess I did embellish a little. Heh, heh.)
The trio sweatdropped.
"Anyway, forget it Twist." Otto started. "I won't rest until Coconutman is stopped, whoever he is." The echidna sighed.
"Alright…"
"Come on, you guys. We're wasting time!" Sam reminded. The best bros turned to him and nodded.
"Right! Let's get to business!" Otto shouted, skating forward. Sam and Twister followed right behind him.
They sped along the beach in a single file formation. Otto was first, Sam was second, and Twister was bringing up the rear.
(A/N: Speaking from a realistic viewpoint, I'm well aware that there is no way Sam would be behind Otto. He should be behind Twister. The thing is that's how the game works.)
As they neared a grassy area, they each skated across a small treadmill-like device. They got a momentary boost of speed.
"What was that?" Sam asked.
(Me: That would be a boost pad. They send you forward. You'll be seeing plenty of them on your journey.)
Moving on, they continued over a bridge towards a wall. They passed by a couple of floating monitors that had something orange pictured. The trio was going too fast to see what was displayed, however. They hit another boost pad when they noticed a red metal bar sitting against the wall. There were three lights on it.
"What the heck's that thing?" Twister asked.
"Don't know, don't care!" Otto replied.
They ran into the bar and bounced up as balls. At the apex of their jump, the leader noticed a trio of rainbow-colored rings that were suspended in the air. They looked bigger than each of the three animals.
"Hey you guys! Try to go through those loops!" He ordered. Everybody used their momentum to push themselves forward through the loops. The rings spun and propelled them forward.
"Alright!" Twister cheered as all three of them did a 360. They got out of it and landed firmly on a ridge. A few feet ahead of them was a strange, gate-like device. It was made up of two posts. An orange-ish light was coming from both of them. Floating above it was a monitor just like the one the trio passed. The screen was glowing orange and displaying the word "Power."
"Now what?" Otto asked impatiently. Sam put a hand to his chin.
"Hmmmm… Seems like a gate of some sort." The other two glowered at him. "What?!"
"Duh! We know it's a gate, Squid!" Otto started. "But we don't know what'll happen if we cross it."
"It doesn't seem harmful though…"
"Yeah right." The hedgehog scoffed. "This is probably a trap."
"Let's just go." Twister spoke up. "If it is a trap, I bet we can handle it!"
"Sounds good to me." Sam said.
"Alright. Let's go." Otto agreed, nodding.
And so, they went towards the gate. As soon as they passed it, everybody switch positions. Everybody was now skating sideways. Twister was standing in the middle, Otto was on his left, and Sam was on his right.
"So that's what happens…" Sam commented, nodding to himself.
"So much for it being a trap." Twister added.
"Good thing it wasn't." Otto said as they moved on.
They skated down the hill towards two devices that were lined up side by side. They were each sloping upwards and contained a treadmill.
"So what's—"
"Never mind, Squid! Just hit it!" Otto interrupted. They skated up to the devices and were propelled into the air over water. They landed on the other side of the chasm and stopped.
"So what was that, author dude?" Twister asked, looking up.
(Me: Those were jump pads, they'll send you soaring.)
"Guess we'll be seeing a lot more of those, huh?" Sam questioned.
(Me: Yep. Continue.)
The trio skated forward another few feet before stopping. Ahead of them were a holographic circle that had a question mark on it and another circle. This one was solid. It had a star in the center. It was also spinning.
"Are we gonna keep stopping every few seconds or what?" Otto asked impatiently.
(Me: Sorry, but since this is the first level, ya gotta know how things work. Now if you don't mind… Twister, touch the hint ring.)
"The what now?" The echidna asked, looking up with a questioning look.
(Me: ::Sighs:: The one with the question mark.)
"Ooooohhhhh…" Twister reached out towards the circle. It disappeared and a piece of paper floated into his hand. He then took a look at it. "It says, 'This is a checkpoint. The current leader will get a level-up when they pass through.'"
"Hey! Whaddya mean 'current leader!?' I'm the only leader around here!" Otto protested.
(Me: ::Chuckles:: Don't worry. You'll find out soon enough.)
The trio sweatdropped before continuing on. They passed through the checkpoint. The star circle disappeared and Twister glowed brightly for a couple of seconds.
"Hey Twist, you feel alright?" Otto asked worriedly.
"Yeah… But for some reason, I feel stronger." The echidna replied.
"I guess that means you got a level-up." Sam said.
"What? But how!?" Otto demanded. The others shrugged before continuing. They quickly skidded to a stop, again.
"Woooooooooaaaaaaaaaahhhhh…" They gasped in amazement at the sight before them.
They were standing in front of a huge loop-de-loop. It was split into three separate paths. Beyond it was a small incline. When they got over the sight of it, Sam gulped nervously.
"D-d-don't tell me w-we have to go over that."
"We don't have a choice, Sammy." Twister answered.
"But what if I don't make it?" The fox asked, shaking.
"Chill Squid. You got your air skates, remember? They'll pull ya through." Otto encouraged. The fox gulped again before nodding.
"I hope you're right."
"Then let's do this!" The hedgehog yelled. The others nodded before speeding forward towards the loop. The trio went up it. Sam gave a yelp of surprise as he saw the world spin upside down for a second before he found himself on solid ground again. The fox kneeled and panted.
"At least…it's over…"
(Me: ::Whistles innocently::)
"Oh God… What does that mean?" He asked fearfully.
(Me: Unfortunately for you, that was the first of many loops. And they'll only get bigger.)
Sam's eyes widened at that. He then turned to the hedgehog, who had his arms crossed.
"Otto, it's not too late to back out of this, is it?"
"Yep." Otto nodded. Sam groaned before looking up with a glare.
"Can I get an air sickness bag, at least!?"
(Me: Sure. Here ya go. ::Snaps my fingers::)
A blue paper bag appeared in Sam's hands.
(Me: Anymore complaints?)
"Nope. I'm cool." Sam replied.
"Finally! Let get going!" Twister shouted. The other two furries nodded and moved on. Sam put the bag away as they climbed a hill. When they reached the top, they went over a straightaway. They turned a corner and gasped.
Near another wall was a trio of robots. They were red, round, and small. They had glowing blue eyes. They seemed to have a grin on there faces. For the sake of argument, we'll call them coconut pawns. They seemed harmless, if you don't count the machine guns in their hands. Otto, Sam, and Twister quickly backed away behind the bend. They looked around the wall at the robots.
"Those must be Coconutman's robots." Sam commented.
"Yeah. What do we do, Ottoman?" Twister asked, turning to their leader.
"They don't look so tough. I think we can take them." Otto answered. "You with me?" The others nodded almost reluctantly.
"Yeah…"
"Then charge!" Otto shouted, turning around the corner, screaming like a maniac. Twister and Sam sweatdropped before shrugging. They too screamed as they ran around the corner.
A few seconds passed before gunshots were heard, followed by…
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!" Team Rocket screamed as they ran back around the corner, dodging the lethal spray. They leaned against the wall, panting.
"They don't look so tough, huh?!" Twister was the first to speak.
"'I think we can take them.'" Sam mocked Otto's voice. "Not!"
"Ok! So I got a little hasty!" Otto defended. "I still say we can take them!"
"How? We don't have guns like they do." Twister said. Otto put a hand to his chin and paced around, trying to think of a solution. He walked around, thinking for a few moments before snapping his fingers.
"Ok. First of all, we need a system for how we travel. Twist, when we passed by that gate back there, me and Sam wound up on either side of you, right?"
"Yeah…" The echidna replied with a nod.
"And you got those fists of yours… Ok! That'll be our power formation. Twist, you're the leader when we're set up like that, got it?"
"Yeah. No problem, Ottoman." Otto paced around again.
"And when we got started, I was in front while Sam was behind and Twister was in back…" He brought his head up. "Alright. Since I'm the fastest out of all of us, I'll be the leader when we're in speed formation, ok?"
"Right." The others replied, giving him a thumbs-up.
"What about me, Otto?" Sam asked.
"Since you could fly with those tails of yours, you'll be the leader when we're in flying formation." Otto replied. The fox gaped at him.
"You want me to carry you guys while flying?!"
"Don't worry, Squid. Didn't you grab that strength thingy before we left?" Twister reminded.
"Yes, but it hasn't even been tested yet."
"Then this'll be the perfect time to test it!" Otto said.
"But, but…" Sam sighed, giving up a losing battle. "Fine. I'll be the leader in flying formation…" He sighed again. "I wish Reggie was here. She could help with this part."
"Well, she's not, so we'll have to manage. Not that we need her, of course." The hedgehog said. "So let's try out those formations. First, we'll do speed."
"There's a surprise." Sam said, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah." Twister agreed. The hedgehog glowered at them.
"Just do it!"
The trio got into formation. Sam stood behind Otto while Twister got in back. They all practiced skating around, keeping in line with each other. They skated around the area, jumping at the same time for a little while before getting the hang of it.
"Ok. I think we got speed formation down." Otto said, nodding. "Now let's try flying formation. You're up Squid." The fox in question gulped and nodded.
"Ok. Here we go."
He spun his tails and jumped up, taking flight. Otto jumped up and grabbed his hands. Twister then jumped and grabbed onto Otto's feet. The jewel on Sam's strength intensifier glowed as they hovered a few inches off the ground. Sam didn't even feel his friends' weight. They moved around, jumping every so often. Whenever they jumped, they would each flip up. Before they landed on the ground, they would get out of their ball forms and grab onto each other again.
"Alright Squid!" Twister cheered.
"Now try flying!" Otto instructed.
"Ok!" Sam replied. He spun his tails faster and ascended into the air. The hedgehog and echidna swayed back and forth as the fox flew around. Soon, he panted and touched down. The others let go of him.
"Whew… It gets tiring after awhile."
"No prob, Squid. At least we know it works." Otto said, turning to Twister. "You ready for power formation, bro?"
"You know it!" The orange one replied, giving him a thumbs-up.
Like at the gate they passed earlier, Otto and Sam got on the left and right sides of Twister and moved around, making sure not to get too close to the other. Since they already experienced power formation before, they had no problem getting used to it.
"Ok. I think we're all set." Otto addressed his pals. "Let's do this!" His teammates nodded and ran around the wall to face the coconut pawns.
The trio of robots noticed the furries right away and opened fire. The animals skated around their attacks flawlessly as they got closer. Twister drew back a fist and drove it into the center pawn, damaging it a bit. The robot turned to him and readied its weapon. The echidna covered his arms in defense. Before the automaton can attack, Otto rolled into it, destroying it. Twister looked and grinned at the robot parts that littered the ground.
"Thanks a lot, Ottoman!"
"Anytime, bro. Anytime." Otto replied.
"Uhhh guys? Little help!?" Sam screamed, running away from the remaining two robots. His teammates turned and ran after the pawns. Before the robots knew it, Otto and Twister made the finishing blow, destroying them instantly. The fox turned and sighed with relief before walking back to them.
"Thanks for the assist." He said.
"No prob. We gotta look out for each other, Squid." Twister said, dusting off his hands.
"Yeah. It's only gonna get tougher from here on." Otto added. "Come on. Let's move."
"Hang on." Twister walked up to a piece of ruin. On top of it was a hint ring. "Better see what this one says." He touched it and a piece of paper appeared in his hand. He looked at it and gave a weirded out glance.
"Huh?"
"What's up?" Otto asked as he and Sam walked over. Twister turned and handed the hedgehog the paper.
"Here. I don't get what this is about."
Pictured on the paper was what seemed to be a comic. In the first panel was a crude stick figure drawing of the trio in power formation. They were each colored with a crayon in their respective colors. The second panel featured Twister holding a red ball in his left hand and a yellow ball in his right. The final panel had the echidna in the air. It seemed like he was throwing the red ball at a coconut pawn. Like the animals, it was a stick figure colored with crayon. There was an orange marking surrounding the ball that looked like fire. Underneath the comic were the words, "Fire Dunk."
"Freaky." Otto said, handing the paper to Sam.
"So what does it mean?" Twister asked as the fox read the comic. Sam looked through the comic several times before snapping his fingers.
"I got it! Twister, this is an attack you can use to fight." He started. "When we're in power formation, Otto and I can roll into balls and you carry us. When we're near robots, you jump up and throw us as fireballs at them." Twister gave him a curious look.
"Cool, but how can I lift you guys?" Sam slapped his head.
"Your flame ring also increases your strength, remember?"
"Oh yeah!" Twister replied happily. "…But wouldn't you guys get burned if I tried that move?" The others shrugged in response. "Guess we better test it out."
"No time! Let's move!" Otto ordered, skating forward. The fox and echidna shrugged before following in speed formation.
They got to a wall in the area they were in. On the left side, a power formation monitor was floating, as well as a stone block. On the right side was a floating monitor that had a yellow screen. On it was the word, "Fly."
"Guess I'm up." Sam said. They got into fly formation and ascended over the ridge. They were now in front of another stone block. Sam flew up again and got the team over the ledge. In front of them was a coconut pawn.
"I'll take care of 'em!" Twister said, taking the lead. "Let's try out that Fire Dunk move."
"Got it!" Otto said as he and Sam rolled into balls and got into Twister's hands. The echidna ran up to the robot and jumped. Before the robot can attack, he threw Otto towards it. The hedgehog was wrapped in fire as he collided into it, destroying it instantly. The fire around Otto disappeared as he landed.
"Alright! It works!" Twister cheered as he let go of Sam. The fox adjusted his glasses.
"Heh. Of course it works. I invented the flame ring, after all."
"Whatever, Squid." Otto said, rolling his eyes. "I'll take the lead now!"
The team went into speed formation again and sped down a hill. They skated down the decline, across a straightaway, and into a boost pad. The pad sent them up a semi-loop. They went upside down for a few seconds before hitting a spring that sent them towards another spring that knocked them to a ledge in front of a power formation gate. They went though it and switched to power formation. They walked up to a stone block.
"Hey Twist, I think you can break this." Sam said.
"Uhh… You sure about this?" Twister asked nervously.
"Sure bro! Go for it!" Otto shouted. The echidna gulped and turned towards the rock.
"Ok…" He took a deep breath and put up his fists. "Hee-yah!" He pushed his right fist forward and crashed it into the rock, breaking it with no problem. A spring bar was revealed. His teammates patted him on the shoulder.
"Good job, Twist!" Sam said.
"Yeah dude! You didn't have anything to worry about." Otto added.
"Thanks you guys! I—YEEEEEOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW!!!" Twister screamed, holding his throbbing hand. The others sweatdropped as he ran around in an attempt to soothe his fist. When the throbbing ended, he gave Sam a death glare.
"Squid…" He growled, shaking violently. He moved towards the other boy. "I'm gonna—"
"Woah! Hang on! I didn't know that was gonna happen!" Sam defended, backing away with his hands held up.
"Well now you're gonna know! The hard way!" Twister yelled, pulling back his fists. Before he could give his friend a black eye, Otto got in the way.
"Enough! He didn't know, so drop it!" Twister put his fist down and turned away with a huff.
"Fine. Let's just keep going." He said. Sam held his chest and sighed with relief.
The trio got back into formation as they approached the spring and bounced up. They landed on a higher area that had another spring bar at the end. They bounced off that one and reached an area that had four coconut pawns patrolling. Two of them had no weapons while the other two had guns. Twister made quick work of them with a couple of Fire Dunk attacks.
"Heh. Not bad." Otto commented. "You're getting better with that move, Twist."
"Thanks, Ottoman." Twister replied.
"Hey! What's that?" Sam asked, pointing at a red orb. It was lying on the ground.
"One of the robots must've dropped it." Otto said, walking up to it. He bent down and picked it up. It immediately disappeared and he glowed for a few seconds. He grinned when he felt a little faster. "Alright! I think I just got a level-up!"
"Cool, bro!" Twister cheered.
"So, there are other ways of getting level-ups." Sam said, holding a hand to his chin.
"We'll worry about it later." Otto said, skating forward. The other two followed, but quickly skidded to a stop when they noticed that a couple of blocks were in the way. "Ok Twist. You know what to do."
"Ohhhhh no! There's no way I'm bustin' my fist again!" Twister protested, crossing his arms. Otto groaned.
"Fine. I guess we're gonna have to fly over them, Squid."
"No problem." Sam said. The trio got into fly formation and flew over the blocks.
When they cleared the blocks, they switched back to speed formation and blazed down a steep hill. When they reached the bottom, they went through a small canyon and hit a checkpoint, allowing Otto to level-up again.
"Sweet!" The hedgehog cheered as they skated up to another loop. This one seemed much bigger than the first one they went through. Otto sniggered as he looked back. "Hey Squid, you better have that air sickness bag ready."
"I'm way ahead of you, Rocket Boy." Sam replied, taking out the bag. He took a deep breath as they approached the loop. He and Twister followed Otto up the center lane. They went upside down and down the other side before hitting a jump pad. As they flew towards an island, the team saw a truly remarkable sight.
"Killer whales?!" Twister exclaimed.
Two killer whales just jumped over them.
"I didn't even know killer whales were indigenous to these waters." Sam added with equal shock.
"Guess you learn something new everyday." Otto said.
The trio landed on the island, which had a trio of coconut pawns on it. Only one of them had a weapon. The others seemed to be scouts. In front of them was a hint ring. The robots charged towards the furries.
"Hurry up and grab it, Ottoman!" Twister said. Otto made a dive for the circle and grabbed it before skating away from the robots. A piece of paper appeared in his hand.
"Let's see what this is about!" He shouted while skating. He took one look at the paper and groaned. "Great! It's another comic! You take a look, Squid!" He reached back. Sam grabbed the paper and stopped to read it while Otto and Twister left to take care of the robots.
In the first panel was a stick figure drawing of the team in speed formation. The second panel showed each of them jumping towards a robot. The third panel showed Otto spinning around the robot. The fourth showed a reddish swirl of wind that threw the robot into the air. The words under the comic read, "Red Tornado."
"Otto! I think you can generate wind!" The fox said.
"Ugh! How!?" The hedgehog asked, dodging a blast from the center pawn.
"Jump up, spin into a ball and propel yourself around one of the robots!"
"Ok! Here goes!" Otto jumped up and arched his back. He rolled into a ball and went towards the nearest robot. "Take this!" He spun around the robot a couple of times, creating a tornado of red energy. The robot was thrown into the air. Otto landed and turned to Sam, who walked up.
"So what's that called?" He asked.
"It's called 'Red Tornado.'" The yellow one answered. The red one grimaced.
"'Red Tornado?' Man! Talk about a weak name!"
(Me: Then what would you call it, smart mouth!?)
Otto stood there, thinking. Meanwhile, the coconut pawn he tossed up landed and shot right up. He soon snapped his fingers.
"I'll call it 'Rocket Twister.'" Twister groaned at that.
"Man! What's with everybody naming everything after me?!" He yelled. Sam and Otto sweatdropped.
"Yah…" Sam said, turning to the leader. "So that's what you're calling it?"
"Yep." Otto nodded. The fox shrugged.
"Eh. Alright."
"Uhhh guys?" Twister said nervously.
"Yeah?" The other two asked, turning to him. They gasped when they noticed all three coconut pawns getting ready to pounce.
"I'll take care of them!" Otto proclaimed, jumping up.
He got into a ball and fired himself at one of the robots, destroying it once he made contact. He bounced off it and launched himself at the second robot, dispatching it and gaining an orange level-up orb for Twister. He landed and skated up to the last robot. He jumped and tossed himself at it, putting an end to its evil ways. He panted as the others ran up to him.
"Man! That move was all time!" Twister yelled. "I thought only Lars could do that." Otto chuckled as he stood straight up.
"What? The homing attack? I've been able to do that one for years!" He bragged, closing his eyes. His companions rolled their eyes and walked forward. Otto opened his eyes and ran after them.
"Come on! I'm serious!"
"Suuuuuuuuure you are." Twister humored. Sam chuckled in response.
"We better get back to business." He said before walking up to a cannon that was sitting on some blocks. A hint ring was nearby, so he activated it. A piece of paper floated into his hand. He took a look at it.
"Let's see… 'This cannon will send you forward. The target's direction depends on the formation. In power formation, you can decide the target or cancel the shot.'"
"But what about the other formations?" Otto asked.
"It doesn't say." Sam answered. "I guess the cannon just targets and shoots us automatically."
"Alright. To be on the safe side, we better go into speed formation."
"Right." Sam and Twister replied with a nod.
They got back into formation and jumped into the cannon. It moved by itself until it pointed straight ahead. It then fired our heroes high into the air. As they descended, some platforms rose out of the water, providing them with a safe landing spot.
"These ruins must move when we get close to them." Sam commented.
They went across the platforms when they saw a new type of robot. There were three of them. They were floating in the air. Like the coconut pawns, they were red and had grins on their faces. They also had small airplane wings on their sides. There was a jet engine on each of their backs. These robots were called flappers. Otto scoffed at them.
"This'll be no problem, right guys?"
"This is gonna be a piece of cake!" Twister replied.
"Let's just take care of them." Sam said. Otto nodded.
"Right! Just follow my lead!" He jumped up. Sam and Twister also jumped.
The hedgehog then used a homing attack on the nearest flapper. The fox and echidna shot forward too, destroying the robot. The trio bounced up and attacked the other two robots in a similar fashion. When they reached the last one, they noticed a red balloon with a star pictured on it. They hit it and Otto got another power core, giving him his third and final (for the moment) level-up. They landed on top of a small plateau that had a palm tree on it. On either side was a coconut pawn. The one on the right was carrying a lance, while the one on the left was carrying a gun.
"Twist, take care of 'em!" Otto ordered.
"Right bro!" Twister replied, taking the lead. He grabbed his friends and jumped to the right. Before he landed, he shot Otto at the robot, destroying it. He quickly skated over to the other pawn and punched it with the fist that still had Sam on it. The robot was taken care of.
"Ouch!" The fox shouted, jumping away from the echidna. "What was that about!?"
"Just getting you back for earlier. Bust!" Twister teased. Sam growled at him.
"Man! What's your beef today!?" Otto scolded both of them. "Hey, what's that?" He pointed at a yellow orb. Sam grinned.
"It's a level-up for me." He said happily, grabbing the ball. A bright energy glowed around him for a few seconds.
"So what do you say, Squid?" Twister asked with a smirk. The fox glared at him.
"Don't push it."
"Chill!" Otto yelled. "Let's get going."
"But where do we go from here?" Sam asked.
"Up." The leader simply replied, pointing ahead of them. There was a high cliff that seemed to go farther into the area. Ruins were in front of it. They were arranged like stairs. A couple of fly formation monitors were floating. The yellow one gulped.
"Oh… Up."
"Right. So take the lead." Twister said. Sam put on a determined expression.
"Ok! Grab on!"
The fox flew up, allowing the trio to get into fly formation. Sam flew up the ruins until they came up to a flapper. This one was green. It also had a gun on it underside. He grinned.
"Alright! Time to test out my Thunder Shoot attack!" His teammates looked at him funny before facing each other.
"'Thunder Shoot?'"
Sam brought his right foot back and kicked Otto. The hedgehog shot off towards the flapper as a ball. He was crackling with electricity as he collided with the robot. It was paralyzed as it fell into the water. Otto landed on one of the ruins and glared at Sam.
"Hey! Little warning next time!" He yelled, shaking a fist. The fox shrugged.
"Oops…" He said as he touched down, letting Twister go.
They moved on, switching to speed formation. They skated up a small hill and stopped when they noticed a strange-looking bobsled. It was red and had four wheels. It only had one seat, which was in the front. There was a small drill on the front as well. The sled also had a horizontal bar at the top and in the back near the ground. The trio looked up with a confused expression.
(Me: This bobsled will carry you onward for a bit. Twister, you get in the seat and handle driving. Sam, you grab on to the top bar and handle jumping. Lastly, Otto, you take the bar in the back and take care of accelerating.)
"Uhhh… Right." They all said. Twister jumped into the only seat, Sam flew up to the first bar and hung on while flying, and Otto grabbed on to the second bar.
"Now what?" The leader asked.
(Me: Roll into a ball.)
Sweatdropping, the hedgehog did as he was told. He rolled into a ball, causing the bobsled to start moving. Twister, shocked by the sudden burst of speed, clumsily steered the bobsled through the twists and turns of the gorge they were in. After a couple of turns, they cleared the gorge and sped down a small hill. They went over some sand before going up onto a grassy path and then some ruins. After a few more turns, during which the echidna managed to control it, they reached the end of the track. They crashed into a small wall, tossing all of them forward. Sam got a level-up in the process.
"Man! That was awesome!" The echidna cheered, giving his teammates, who were dizzy, a thumbs-up.
"Ugh… Whatever…" Otto groaned.
"Yeah… And why are there three of you?" Sam asked, stumbling around. The fox and the hedgehog shook their heads and got back to business. Ahead of them were a flapper and a couple of jump pads.
The team switched to fly formation and took care of the robot with Thunder Shoot. They then switched back to speed formation and skated up to the pads. They were propelled into the air. They flew through a trio of rainbow-colored rings that were lined up behind each other. The group was pushed ahead over a wide crevice.
"Alright!" Otto cheered as all three of them did an Ollie. His eyes widened when he noticed that they were heading towards a ridge that had a checkpoint on it. "Quick! Switch to power formation!"
As they landed, Twister took the lead and grabbed the checkpoint, giving him his third level-up.
"Yes! Good call, bro!" The echidna said.
"Thanks." Otto replied as he looked ahead. There was a spring bar right in front of them. "I'll take the lead now."
They went into speed formation and used their homing attack. They hit the spring and were sent upwards. They landed on another cliff. Ahead of them were a couple of coconut pawns and a fly monitor. The trio skated up to them and used a couple of homing attacks to destroy them. They then noticed that they had to go up.
"Looks like you're up, Squid." Twister said.
"Ok." Sam replied. They got into fly formation and flew up.
Before they reached the top of the cliff, they hit a spring, which sent them to another spring, which sent them into a couple of rings that were suspended in the air. Unlike the rainbow rings they just used, these were machine-like. We'll just call them air rings. The team hit the rings and was sent to another path. They skated around the bend to find a coconut pawn that had a lance. Behind it were three flappers. They were lined up diagonally facing left.
"Aw man!" Otto groaned, turning to Sam. "You better take care of them with Thunder Shoot."
"Why'd you groan for, bro?" Twister asked. Otto pointed at the fox.
"He's gotta kick me in order to use it, remember?"
"Oh yeah…" Twister nodded.
"So let's get into formation." Sam said. The others nodded and got into fly formation, again.
The fox reared back his foot and launched Otto towards the robots. He only got the coconut pawn and the lowest flying flapper. The hedgehog was still sailing through the air as Sam kicked Twister. The echidna screamed in pain as he crashed into the remaining flappers. Both furries returned to their original positions and glared at him. The kitsune gave them a confused look.
"What? You knew I was going to kick you!"
"Yeah! But you kick too hard!" Twister yelled, rubbing his sore bottom.
"And we get shocked too!" Otto added. Sam sweatdropped as he gave them a curious look.
"You do?" The other two nodded. He grinned sheepishly. "I guess I need to adjust the attachments a bit."
"Whatever." Otto sighed. "Just take us to those loops over there." He pointed towards three air rings that went to the left. They were suspended over a piece of ruin.
"Got it." Sam said as he flew over towards the platform.
As the team jumped on it, the ruins started falling!
"Woah!" Twister yelled.
"Hang on!" Sam spun his tails and ascended into the air. He flew into the air rings while leaning his body to the left. The loops propelled the trio towards an alcove. They landed and switched to speed formation. They looked ahead and noticed many coconut pawns ahead.
"There's gotta be a way around them…" Otto said, holding his chin. The others looked around for a way to get around the robots. Twister's eyes lit up were he saw a row of air rings floating. They seemed to lead to a part of the path that was beyond the robots.
"I think I found a shortcut, guys!" He announced, pointing at the loops.
"Alright Twist!" Otto complimented, turning to Sam. "Let's get into fly formation again."
"Right!" Sam replied. He took the lead and flew off the path and over to the rings. They were propelled over a beach to another stone path.
After fighting through a couple of robots, they hit another trio of air rings and found themselves in another canyon. They were currently in speed formation as they went up a hill. They reached the top and noticed an incoming checkpoint. They skidded to a stop.
"Ok. Who isn't fully powered up yet?" Otto asked.
"I know I am." Twister said confidently.
"I still need one more." Sam added.
"Alright Squid, you take the level-up." The leader said. The fox nodded and walked up to the checkpoint. He grabbed it and got his final level-up. They then continued with Otto in the lead.
The group skated down a steep hill made of stone. At the end of the path were two jump pads. They hit them, went through a trio of rainbow rings, and landed in front of some flappers. Everybody was now on ruins that were erected over the ocean.
"Up to you, Squid." Twister said.
"Boy, I sure seem to be needed a lot, huh?" Sam commented as they went into fly formation. He kicked Otto towards the robots, getting rid of them instantly.
"Don't flatter yourself. I'm sure you won't be needed too much for the rest of this little adventure." The hedgehog said when he came back. The fox smirked at him.
"We'll see about that."
"Can we get moving already? My arms are killing me!" Twister complained.
"Alright, alright." Sam said, moving forward.
Since they were by a wall, the fox flew the team up and over it. At the end of this ledge were five flappers. They were quickly taken care of. Staying in fly formation, the trio hit a spring bar, sending them up to another path. Directly ahead of them were three more flappers. Sam kicked both of his teammates at the trio, destroying them.
"Alright Squid!" Both the hedgehog and echidna cheered as they landed. Sam let go and landed beside them.
"Thanks, but it was nothing."
"Yeah, you're right." Otto said, causing Sam to fall over. "Let's go!" He skated away. Sam got up with a groan and followed with Twister right behind him.
The team barreled down the path. A killer whale jumped over the bridge as they reached a power gate. Twister became the leader as soon as they passed it. To Sam's dismay, they hit some boost pads, propelling them through another loop. They got past the obstacle and skidded to a stop. They were at an entrance to a tunnel, but it was blocked by giant stones.
"Ok Sam. Fly." Twister said.
"I can't. There's not enough space." The fox replied.
"Then how do we get through?! It hurts to punch those things!" The echidna protested. Otto held his chin.
"Maybe if you hold me and Squid as balls, you can punch through them and it won't hurt ya."
"You mean like boxing gloves?" Sam asked.
"Exactly!" Otto turned to his best friend. "So whaddya say?" The orange one shrugged.
"Worth a shot, I guess…"
"Then let's do this!"
Otto and Sam rolled into balls and jumped into Twister's hands. The echidna closed his eyes in concentration, trying to get his bearings straight. A few seconds passed before he opened his eyes and reared back his right fist. He slammed into the stones, making them crumble instantly. A long corridor full of stone blocks and coconut pawns were revealed.
"Alright, you bunch of toasters, I'm coming for ya!" Twister yelled as he skated forward.
He punched out a pawn that was on the left before hitting a boost pad. It propelled him to another pawn that was on the right. He destroyed it, skated past another boost pad, and punched through a wall of stone blocks, revealing a sharp decline. He skated down it through a straightaway and into a room. There was a cannon in the center. Sunlight was pouring in through the roof. Three more coconut pawns charged towards him with their lances drawn. Twister quickly jumped up and used Fire Dunk to wipe them out. He kneeled and panted as his teammates unrolled.
"Whew… What a rush…" He said, taking off his winged helmet. He then took out his hat and fanned himself with it.
"Come on, Twist! There's no time to rest!" Otto said. Twister scowled at him.
"Fine. You take the lead now." He said as he put his hat away and put his helmet back on.
"Alright." The hedgehog said with a shrug.
The trio switched to speed formation and jumped into the cannon. They were shot towards springs that sent them up the room. When they hit the last the last spring, they were propelled through five air rings that went over a chasm. They then skated along a short path that ended with a jump pad.
"Major air!" The hedgehog cheered as they flew through the air.
"Oh no! I'll fall!" Sam screamed.
"We'll make it!" Twister reassured.
He was right. They reached a huge piece of ruin that was suspended by great stone pillars. They landed and skated up to a bobsled. The team got on it and rode it down a hill. They went down an almost highway-like path, destroying more ruins. When they reached the end, they found themselves going towards another loop.
"Oh God! Not again!" Sam groaned, pulling out his air sickness bag. Otto and Twister snickered at him.
They went up the center path, which seemed to stretch for a mile or two above the bridge. Sam screamed in terror at the sheer length of the ascent. His wailing became high pitched on the way down. When they finally got through it, the trio went down the path until they hit a boost pad that sent them up a wall. They landed on a new ledge, which was inhabited by a few coconut pawns. Sam's eyes became two swirls as he plunged his head into his air sickness bag.
"Let Otto handle this." Twister said. Otto spun around.
"Oh screw that! You take care of 'em!" He shouted as Sam groaned and wiped his mouth.
"What?! No way! I don't wanna fight them!" Twister argued. Sam rolled his eyes as the two continued fighting. He let them fight for a few minutes before speaking up.
"Hey! I'll take care of them!" The other two blinked and turned to him. They then whispered to each other and nodded.
"Fine by us." They both said. Sam rolled his eyes again as they got into fly formation. He kicked both of them extra hard at the robots, shocking them to destruction. The duo came back to the fox. They got out of formation.
"There. Satisfied?" The yellow one said smugly. Otto and Twister glared at him before turning away.
"Come on. We're close to the whale island." The hedgehog said.
Ahead of them was a rock formation that was shaped like a whale.
"Finally." The fox and echidna said with a sigh. They started skating again.
"Oh, and Sammy?"
"Yeah?" Sam asked. Otto faced him with a scowl.
"Don't think I didn't feel that last kick."
"Yeah!" Twister added. Sam gulped.
Otto faced ahead as they continued down the path. They soon approached a loop. Unlike the others before it, it only had one path. Also, it seemed to be much bigger than the previous ones. It easily towered over the entire island. The fox closed his eyes and spun his tails as they went up the high ninety degree angle. His face turned green as they went upside down.
"Ugh… I think I'm gonna puke…again…" He groaned. Otto and Twister's eyes widened as they went down the loop.
"YOU BETTER HOLD IT!!!" They both roared.
They left the loop and skated into the whale island. They zoomed past some more robots at top speed. They then went up another wall. At the top, they hit a spring, propelling them into a balloon. A beeping sound was heard from Sam's watch as soon as they popped it. They landed on some ruins. Sam held his mouth as he ran around a wall. The hedgehog and echidna sweatdropped when they heard vomiting.
"What was that beeping?" Twister asked.
"Beats me." Otto said with a shrug. He then noticed a hint ring. "I wonder what this one's gonna say." He walked up to it and grabbed it. Unlike all the other ones, a piece of paper didn't appear in his hands. He looked up with a curious look.
"Huh?"
(Me: This is an audio hint. That beeping you just heard was your Team Blast meter. It was filled up.)
"Team Blast?" Twister asked.
(Me: Yep. Your Team Blast attack, 'Rocket Overdrive,' will wipe out any and all enemies that are nearby.)
"Sweet!" Otto cheered.
(Me: But wait, there's more! For the energy left in your gauge, Otto, you can use your light speed attack to deal with any enemies that survived the attack.)
"But how are we supposed to know how much longer it'll be before our meter is full?"
(Me: Ask Sam. His watch displays your meter.)
"Ugh… It's only the first level and already I hate this game…" Sam groaned, walking back to his teammates. "What'd I miss?"
"Oh nothing. Just the author explaining another aspect of game play." Otto answered. The fox sweatdropped to that.
"Right…"
"Hey Otto, there are some robots we can test out Rocket Overdrive on!" Twister exclaimed, pointing at some robots that were at the other end of the ruins. Sam gave Otto a questioning look.
"'Rocket Overdrive?'"
"You'll see." Otto said. "Come on! Let's get 'em!" He jumped down and skated towards the robots. Sam shrugged and followed with Twister. They skated up to the robots, which activated and charged at them.
"Ok you guys!" The hedgehog started. "Team Blast: Rocket Overdrive!"
Twister grabbed onto Sam's legs while the fox grabbed onto Otto's legs. The echidna spun them around and around before letting go. Sam also left go of Otto and brought his foot back.
"Blast off!" Otto yelled as he got kicked. He rolled into a ball as his body brimmed with energy. He zipped around the entire area, bouncing off and destroying all the robots instantly. Electrical energy followed him as he spiraled into the air and slammed down into the ground. When the attack ended, he bounced back and landed by his teammates.
"Woah! It works!" Twister shouted.
"What was that!?" Sam asked with shock.
"We'll tell ya later Squid." Otto replied. "Now come on! I see something at that shrine thingy!"
They skated ahead towards what looked like shrine. There was something big and shimmering there. Before they left the ruins, there were some flashes of light. When they dissipated, some coconut pawns appeared. Otto grinned.
"Time to use the light speed attack!"
"Wha???" Sam asked confusedly. Otto didn't answer though. Instead, he jumped up and shot all over the place, destroying the robots with leftover energy from their Team Blast. The fox gaped at him when it ended. "W-what the…?"
"Like I said, we'll tell ya later." The hedgehog said. The trio approached the shrine. In the middle of it was a giant, golden ring. In the middle of it was a star much like the checkpoints they used.
"So what's this?" Twister asked.
(Me: This is the goal ring. Touch it to end the stage and the first part of the chapter.)
The team sweatdropped before reaching out for the ring. It glowed brightly before disappearing. The trio turned to each other with wide grins.
"Woogie! Woogie! Woogie!" They cheered, doing their special handshake.
"We did it!" Otto yelled.
"Sure took long enough." Sam said, crossing his arms.
"It's too bad we're just getting started." Twister added.
"Yeah. Let's get going. We'll find Coconutman and stop him from destroying all the skate parks in the world!" The hedgehog announced, skating off. His teammates followed.
To be continued…
------------------------------
Mid-chapter Conversation
Part One
"Hey! What happened to the guy who's playing as Dr. Robotnik!?!" Izzy demanded. "He was supposed to show up in this chapter!"
"The chapter's not over yet, remember?" I said, winking at him. "There's still Part Two."
"How'd I know you were gonna pull something like that?" The hedgehog asked with a groan. I shrugged before turning to the camera.
"Anyway, Team Rocket has made it through the first stage! Will they be able to get through the next one? Will they find Dr. Coconutman? Will Sam stop complaining?"
"I hope not." Izzy said with a grin. "It's great to see him get tortured for a change!"
"Ugh…" I sighed, rolling my eyes. I then waved at the camera. "See ya next time!"