Mid-chapter Conversation
Part Two
The studio was decorated with black and white streamers. Balloons and banners that read, "Happy New Year!" were all over the place. Confetti also covered the walls and the floor. Tables filled with different assortments of food were stationed around the stage. I was walking around with a clipboard in my hand. I was wearing a top hat that had a strip around it that said, "Happy New Year!" I was also wearing a tuxedo.
"Hmmm… Balloons. Check. Banners. Check. Food. Check. Light bill paid, double check there. Ok, I think I'm ready for this year's party." I then turned to the camera. "Oh, hey there readers. I'm just getting set for my annual New Year's Eve update. We'll be all set to introduce the chapter just as soon as Izzy—"
::SLAM!::
The camera faced the studio's door, which was kicked open by an irate (there's a big surprise) Izzy. Cuts, bruises, and the occasional burn covered his body as he stomped up to me.
"—Shows up…" I finished.
"You…" He hissed.
"So, did ya enjoy your duel against Sam?" I asked, smirking. The hedgehog opened his mouth to curse me out when he stopped and relaxed.
"Ohhh no. I'm not giving you the satisfaction. Sorry." He shook his head as he crossed his arms. "Just know that before we leave this dimension—if we ever leave this dimension!—I will totally and utterly destroy Sam."
"So I take it you lost then?"
"Lost?! You know damn well that's what happened! If it wasn't for you taking the powers I had that time in the Sonic dimension, I would've crushed him!"
"Well sorry, but you're being punished for holding my mail from me for so long." I said. "I'll give you back your powers when I see fit. In the mean time, you'll do whatever chore I decide to make ya do."
Izzy snarled in response while I stuck my tongue out at him.
"In any case," I started, taking out a piece of paper. "I got a lovely little review to respond to." I read over it before grinning. "Actually, it's a really long one, so sit tight if you're waiting for the chapter to start.
"Now then, to Mythica Ruathahold, thanks for the comment about the fic being funny. That's what I'm going for, comedy. Then again, I always go for comedy… Anyway, in response to what ya said about Cheesy-cheese, I saw that episode of Sonic X too and I know she's a girl, but I'm going by the rules in the games when it comes to chao, meaning I gotta call her it since chao are supposed to be genderless.
"And about the casting…" I raised an eyebrow after looking at the paper. "People pair up Shadow and Knuckles in the Sonic fandom?"
"HUH?!" Izzy shouted in shock. "You wouldn't!"
"Keep your vest on." I rolled my eyes before turning to the camera. "Anyway, I'm not surprised something like this came up. In fact, I probably did a lot of hinting at other pairings with the rest of the cast without even knowing it."
'Yeah. Especially a certain couple of popular pairings…' Izzy thought, snickering.
"The only pairing that's being played with in the story is Otto/Clio (and maybe slight hintings of Sam/Reggie), but that'd be somewhat interesting, pairing up Lars and Twister…" I held my chin for a few seconds before shaking my head. "Don't count on me doing it though. I'd certainly read it if someone were to write a fic for a pairing like that, but I sure won't write an incest fic, at least not on purpose."
"Thank God." Izzy sighed with relief. I glowered at him before turning to the camera.
"What's next?" I looked at the paper before looking up. "Well, I'd love to do reviewer responses, really I would, but that's kind of hard when I only get like ONE review a chapter!" I cleared my throat. "But I digress… I did respond to a couple of reviews already. I just didn't do it every chapter.
"Oh! Speaking of which…" I pulled out another paper. "To Warior, you subscribe to Nintendo Power too? Cool! Did ya get the new issue with Link on the cover yet? I can't wait to get the new GBA Zelda game!"
"Can we get back on topic?" Izzy asked irritably.
"Oh alright." I said, looking at Mythica Ruathahold's review. "Before I continue, I'd like to say thanks a lot for the reviews you and Warior have sent me in the past, especially Warior. You've been sending me reviews for most of my stories since Dimension Hoppers 1. I'm glad you stuck with me for so long, even after the fools that run this site kicked me out. If it wasn't for you, I'd probably go stir crazy from the lack of reviews.
"Now then, back to business." I said, wiping my left eye, which was tearing up. "Man, Shadow's really mean to you, huh Mythica? Anyway, to answer his question, he and Sonic are rivals, so it's only right that Otto's rival plays as him.
"Hmmmmm… And about Iggy… Well, I only like to use him in my conversations if I'm planning to use him in the story." I answered, shrugging. "If ya really wanna see him, take a look at my other story, Otto's Christmas Quest. I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised.
"By the way," I said, turning to Izzy. "Who was your witness in that duel?"
"Huh?" The hedgehog asked. He then crossed his arms. "Ugh… Who else?"
"Man Izzy! Sam really got you that time!" A new voice shouted as someone entered the studio and walked up to us.
It was a hedgehog. He looked exactly like Izzy, except he was a couple of feet shorter. His quills were a lighter purple than Izzy's. Like the older hedgy, a circle on his chest was bare and his head quills were styled like Shadow's. There were black highlights in them. He was wearing a yellow vest and air skates.
"Hey Dad." He said to me when he reached us. I then turned to the camera.
"And there ya go, Mythica. Izzy's little brother, Iggy." I looked at the review again before crying out, "No way! I made Merv playing as Ivo too obvious!? I thought I had everybody guessing!" Tears fell out of my eyes like two tiny waterfalls, literally.
"Duh. Anybody can figure that one out in a heartbeat!" Izzy said, rolling his eyes.
"Come on Dad. It's ok." Iggy reassured, patting my shoulder. "You had me guessing."
"Newsflash: You weren't even gonna be put into this story." The taller violet hedgehog said. The younger furry glared at him as I stood up.
"Anyway, good luck finding the Chaotix, Mythica!" I waved at the camera. "And speaking of the Chaotix, this part of the chapter is gonna follow the trio playing as Team Chaotix."
"Huh!? What happened to Keoni and those three girls?!" Izzy demanded.
"Didn't I say I wasn't gonna pay attention to Cheese's gender? Anyway, if I don't mess with the rotation a little bit, I won't be able to do commentary on my favorite team in chapter eight."
"Duh, bro!" Iggy agreed. Izzy only shook a fist at him.
"Anyway!" I said, turning to the camera. "This part's also gonna be short. Enjoy!"
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Rocket Heroes
Chapter Six
A Trek through the City
Part Two
Meanwhile, at the other end of the city…
Stage Four: Power Plant
Mission: Search and destroy the three gold turtle bots!
"Man! I thought we'd never get here!" Trent said to his teammates.
He, Little Scottie, and Eddie were standing (flying in Scottie's case) on the roof of one of the city's many energy plants. All three of them were wearing a helmet and knee and elbow pads. Trent's helmet was blue and had New Zealand's flag on it. Eddie's was under his hood, so you couldn't see it. Little Scottie's helmet was red and had happy face stickers all over it.
"Yes. Not to mention the beach was littered with all those robot parts." Eddie added in his creepy voice.
"I know what ya mean, mate." The crocodile nodded. "I can't believe our client doubted our skills so much as to make us search both the beach and that weird palace for hermit crabs and a chao! We didn't even find hide or hair of Dr. Coconutman! Now, he sent us into the city that got taken over by the doc a few days ago!"
"We better get paid well for having to do such trivial things. This is not becoming of a ninja." The chameleon said, crossing his arms.
"Wow! What a cool view!" Scottie cheered, buzzing around animatedly. He looked around at all the tall buildings in amazement. It was clear that this was his first time in a city as huge as this. "Can we go on the guided tour!?" The crocodile and chameleon sweatdropped.
"Sorry. We got a job to do." Trent said.
"We have to wait for our client to contact us." Eddie agreed. The little bee's antenna drooped as he looked down.
"Ok…"
"Detectives, come in! Are you there?" The client's mysterious voice said.
"It's about time." Trent mumbled, pulling out the walkie talkie. "Yeah. We hear ya loud and clear, mate."
"Good. Now listen up. Your next mission is to go into this plant. Inside are three gold robots that are shaped like turtles. They control the system of the city. Find and destroy all of them. Good luck."
"Got it!" The croc said, putting the radio away. "Let's go guys!"
"Roger." Eddie said.
"Yeah! Let's go get those bad robots!" Scottie shouted.
The team dropped down a nearby hole in the roof. They went into speed formation when they landed. Eddie was first, Scottie was second, and Trent was last. They went straight up a small incline and found themselves in front of a turtle robot. It was guarding a couple of shield generators that was placed in front of a wall.
"I wonder what's so special about those machines…" The chameleon muttered.
"Never mind! Just take care of it!" Trent ordered.
"Right. My Leaf Whirl should take care of that automaton."
Eddie skated up to the robot and jumped over it. He then proceeded to use his technique. Dead leaves flew around him as he was surrounded by a whirlwind. He became invisible. The turtle robot was tossed up into the air. When it landed, it was lying on its shell. The chameleon used his homing attack and destroyed it along with the generators. The result was the wall lighting up with energy.
"Alright! We got the first one!" Scottie cheered.
"Didn't you hear the client?!" Trent started. "They have to be gold! That one was green."
"Oh. Oops!" The bee said with a sheepish grin and a shrug. The crocodile slapped his head.
"Let's go." He simply said.
"But how?" Scottie asked.
"My guess is we jump at the wall." Eddie answered as he became visible again.
"Then let's do it! We're wasting time!" Trent yelled.
The trio jumped at the wall. They got stuck to the energy and were sent upwards. They soon got over the top and found themselves in front of a green flapper. Unlike the ones the other teams dealt with, this one was shooting electricity at the floor. Behind it, against the wall, were three machines.
"Ok, maker of honey, take care of that robot." Eddie said.
"Got it!" Scottie said, flying up. The chameleon grabbed onto his tiny feet while the crocodile grabbed Eddie's feet.
The bee kicked Eddie at the robot. Due to the attachments on Scottie's feet, the chameleon crackled with electricity as he sailed towards the flapper as a ball. He crashed into it, paralyzing it. The robot fell to the floor. Eddie returned to Scottie and grabbed a shuriken from under his cloak. Before the flapper could recover, he tossed it. The ninja star connected, destroying the robot. The machines it was guarding exploded, causing three columns to rise up, providing stepping stones for the detectives.
"Alright Scottie! Now take us up there!" Trent said.
"Yes sir!" The bee replied. Thanks to his strength intensifier, he had no problem lifting his friends up the platforms.
When they reached the top, another lightning bolt-tossing flapper was waiting for them. Scottie again used Thunder Shoot to bring it down. The crocodile let go of Eddie's legs and delivered the final blow with a hard punch. The result was the robot getting scrapped and an energy wall appearing. Trent grabbed on to the chameleon again as Scottie flew over to the wall. They were lifted up over the wall and found themselves in front of a third flapper. It was guarding a deactivated energy path. After getting rid of it, the path was restored.
"I'll take the lead now." Eddie said, letting go and skating towards the path. Scottie flew after him while Trent skated.
The trio went across over the path for a few seconds before went up. It ended at an energy wall, which they all went up. When they landed, they were in a room that had a purple flower locked in a cage. Scottie gasped and flew over to it. He grabbed the bars.
"That bad man…" He sniffled, tears building up in his eyes. "Why would he lock up an innocent flower for?" Trent and Eddie sweatdropped at the boy's sudden mood change not to mention the cage itself.
"That is an interesting question. Why would Coconutman put a cage over a flower?" Trent asked, stroking his snout.
"Even more so, how is a flower growing in a place like this?" Eddie added. The trio stood thinking for a few moments before they all shook their heads.
"Forget about it, Scottie! We gotta complete the client's mission!" The crocodile said. With a final look at the flower, the bee flew back to the others.
"You're right…" He sniffled, wiping his eyes.
Eddie took the lead again as they skated ahead out of the room. In the next room were five flappers. Four of them were red while the middle one was green and shooting a lighting bolt. At the wall on the other end were a couple of machines.
"Guess you'll have to take care of this, Scottie." Trent said.
"Ok!" Scottie replied.
The trio switched to fly formation and used Thunder Shoot on the middle robot. The green flapper fell paralyzed. Trent quickly took the lead and jumped at it with his fists held together. He slammed his huge hands into it and destroyed it. A yellow power core fell out of it. Scottie grabbed it and got his first level-up. After taking care of the other robots in a similar fashion, a small platform rose out of the floor near the wall. Scottie flew Trent and Eddie up to it and grabbed an overhead hook. They were pulled up into the next area.
In this room, two green flappers shooting electricity at the floor were patrolling. Five machines were present. One was on the floor near the wall ahead, while two were on either side of it. The duo took care of the robots, allowing Eddie to get his first level-up from a red power core. Five platforms arose due to the robots' defeat. Scottie brought his teammates up the center platform. They rode an energy wall to the next section.
"Look! A gold robot!" The bee exclaimed cheerfully. In the center of the room was a giant cage that held the first gold turtle robot. Surrounding it were four flappers. A gun emerged out of the turtle's shell and started charging energy.
"It's about time!" Trent yelled.
"Yes. Let's take care of the sentries first." Eddie suggested. Scottie knocked two of the flappers down with Thunder Shoot before Trent took over.
In power formation, Eddie was on the crocodile's left and Scottie was on his right. Trent punched the robots to smithereens as the turtle fired a ring of green energy at the trio. The team dodged the attack and went back to fly formation. Scottie paralyzed the remaining flappers, allowing Trent to get rid of them. There was a problem though.
"What the—?! The cage didn't lower!" Trent shouted, dodging another attack from the turtle bot.
"There must be a switch or something for it somewhere!" Eddie suggested, jumping away from yet another energy ring.
"Let's find it!" Scottie said. The crocodile looked around the room. There were many metal crates placed next to the walls.
"It must be under one of those boxes!"
And so, the team searched around the room, dodging attacks all the while. Trent pounded all of the crates. Close to two minutes passed before they found the switch by the leftmost wall. They flipped it and the cage finally dropped. The turtle targeted the trio again and started charging energy.
"I got this!" Eddie yelled, skating towards it. He darted to the left to dodge the robots attack and jumped. He reached into his cloak and pulled out three shurikens. He tossed them all at it. They only got stuck in the shell, not damaging it at all.
"Use your Leaf Whirl!" Trent ordered. The caped ninja landed and jumped towards the robot.
He was directly over it when he flipped upside down, unleashing his tornado in a brilliant display of dead leaves. The chameleon became invisible as the turtle was thrown into the air. When the turtle landed on its shell, Trent and Little Scottie saw three ninja stars fly at it, ending one-third of their mission. Eddie panted as he became visible again.
"Man! That was so cool, Mr. Ninja Guy!" Scottie cheered, clasping his hands. The chameleon sweatdropped before scoffing.
"It was nothing." He muttered, pulling back his mask. He then grinned. "But seriously! It was great, wasn't it!?" Trent fell over.
"Uh-huh!" The bee replied with a huge grin, ignoring their leader's reaction. The crocodile groaned as he stood up.
"What possessed me to associate myself with these two?" He asked himself. He shook his head when he heard a low beeping. Scottie put on a curious look as he looked around.
"What's that?" He asked.
"It's our Team Blast meter." Eddie answered, showing his partners his watch. Its face displayed the Team Blast symbol. "It's fully charged." The bee grinned.
"Alright! I get to use my drums again!" They had already used their Team Blast once at the beach.
"And I get to sing too." Trent added. The other two's eyes widened and they cringed. Luckily, the bigger reptile didn't notice as he stepped towards the cage. A glowing orange power core was inside. He gave a toothy grin as he grabbed it and felt its energy surging through him.
"Level-up! Come on! We got two more to destroy!"
"Understood." Eddie said, putting his mask back on. He skated out of the room, followed by Scottie and Trent.
They skated/flew through a hall and found themselves outside. Ahead was a checkpoint, which the chameleon didn't hesitate to grab. He got his second level-up. In front of it was a weight. It lifted up, revealing an item bubble. The team grabbed it and three shields surrounded them. The road went right, so Trent and Scottie moved on, but Eddie stayed behind. The others stopped.
"Hey! Let's go already!" Trent ordered. The ninja in training didn't respond though, he was looking up towards the weight. He hummed when he noticed a hook.
"Hmmmmm…" He turned to the others and lifted his mask. "I think we should go up there."
"Why?" Scottie asked. The chameleon pulled down his mask and held his hands together in prayer.
"The ancient ninja spirits of the Netherworld tell me we might find something useful up there." The bee and crocodile sweatdropped and looked at each other. Trent shrugged and turned to Eddie.
"Ok… If you say so." He turned back to Scottie. "Fly us up there, will you?" The bee nodded.
"Ok."
They got into fly formation and waited for the weight to drop. When it did, they jumped on it and rode it up to a hook. Scottie grabbed on, allowing it to pull them up. When they reached the top, the bee and crocodile gasped.
"WOW! The second turtle!" They yelled happily. Inside a cage was the next gold turtle robot. Floating around the platform were several targets. They looked at Eddie, who pulled back his mask with a smug look.
"That's the last time I doubt the ninja spirits!" Trent shouted.
"Yeah! Those sprit thingies are smart!" Scottie agreed. He let go and the team landed in front of the cage.
"Of course they are." Eddie scoffed. "They look over everything. They know all." The turtle noticed them and got ready to attack.
"Man, I can't believe we found the next turtle so fast." The croc commented as they moved around the cage.
"Yes. It does seem pretty easy so far."
"But how do we open it?" The bee asked. They jumped over the turtle's energy ring.
"I guess we have to hit each of those targets until it opens." Eddie said, pointing at the targets.
"So let's get to it!" Trent ordered.
"Ok!" The others acknowledged.
They dodged one more attack before going into fly formation again. Scottie kicked them into each of the targets until the turtle was free to get attacked. Before the robot could attack again, Trent took the lead and pounded it to oblivion.
"Alright! Just one more to go!" The croc said, giving the other two a thumbs-up.
"Yay!" Scottie cheered. "Then we could go on the tour, right!?" Trent sweatdropped.
"Uhhh… Sure…" The little bee danced around at the answer. Eddie sighed and shook his head.
"We better continue." He said. Trent nodded and the two jumped down, leaving Scottie alone. The bee danced for a few more seconds before he stopped and looked around.
"Where'd everybody go?" He looked down and saw his partners skating away down an energy path. "Hey! Wait for me!" He flew after them. He soon caught up with the two reptiles and entered a dome-like structure. As balls, they rolled around in it for a few seconds before exiting through an air ring.
"Wow! That was fun!" Scottie yelled as the trio landed on solid ground. The others stumbled around dizzily.
"Says you…" Trent groaned.
"Let's not do that again…" Eddie added dazedly. They shook the dizziness out of their heads and looked around.
The path seemed to split in two. Ahead was an energy path that went down. Floating above it were three flappers. They were floating near an upper path. To the right, a flapper was floating by a wall. Underneath it was a round object. It seemed to be the top of a pole. Trent got into a thinking pose as he looked at the trio of floating robots.
"Hmmmm…" He turned to Eddie. "Think you can get us to those robots?" He pointed at the flappers ahead. The chameleon looked ahead and held a hand to his chin, trying to judge the distance. He soon turned to the leader and nodded.
"I believe I can make it to those metallic troublemakers." Trent gave him a toothy grin.
"Good! Let's get to it then." Eddie nodded again.
"Just follow my lead."
He backed up and skated towards the beginning of the energy path, followed by Scottie and Trent. Just before the path went down, they jumped and used the ninja's homing attack to bounce off the robots and get on the path.
"Level-up!" Scottie giggled as he glowed yellow for a few seconds.
"Whew!" Trent sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Good job, mate!"
"No problem." Eddie replied, crossing his arms. He started skating again. "Let's go!"
"Right!" The others replied, following him.
They went towards an energy path that was connected to the floor. They proceeded down it and then up an energy wall. In the next area were three flappers, two red and one green, which were floating in the middle. The green one was shooting electricity at a cage. In front of it was the top of a pole.
"Ok Scottie, take care of 'em!" Trent ordered.
"Okey dokey!" The bee shouted, getting into fly formation. He flew up a bit before kicking Eddie at the robots.
Due to his recent increase in strength, Scottie's attack was able to destroy all three robots. As the chameleon came back to the team, the cage lowered, revealing a switch. The two reptiles let go of the bee. The trio then walked towards the switch.
"What do you think this one does guys?" Trent asked. Eddie looked carefully at the floor in front of the switch.
"Hmmm… Who knows? I think I better take the lead."
"Go ahead." The crocodile said, nodding. The ninja walked over to the switch and flicked it. Instantly, a huge pole rose out of the floor. It went about twenty feet up, making it parallel to an alcove.
"If I use Leaf Whirl, we can get up with no problem." The caped one said, walking up to it.
"Hang on, mate!" Trent protested. "Don't you remember what happens when you use that move!?" Eddie turned to him.
"Yes. I become invisible. What's the problem?" The bigger reptile slapped his head.
"How are we supposed to go up if we can't see you!?" He asked, pointing at himself and Scottie. Eddie sweatdropped and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Oops… Forgot about that." He said, pulling back his mask. He crossed his arms and looked down, trying to think of a solution. Nothing would come up, however. Scottie sweatdropped as his fellow detectives tried to figure a way out of this situation.
"What if he becomes invisible first?" He spoke up. Startled by his young voice, they jumped up and faced him with a curious look. The bee pointed at Eddie. "If he becomes invisible and then walks up to the pole, he could become visible by doing that move again and take us up it." The other two looked at each other.
"That actually…makes sense." Trent said with wide eyes. Eddie nodded.
"Yeah…" They then turned to Scottie. "How did you figure that out?" The bee shrugged.
"How did I figure what out?" He then grinned. "Look at what I can do!" He flew up into the air and performed some loop-de-loops. Trent and Eddie fell over.
"Easy come, easy go." The crocodile sighed as he got up. The chameleon also stood up and adjusted his mask.
"Let's move on." He said, pulling it down again.
"Right. Come on Scottie!" Trent called. The bee flew towards him. He turned to Eddie. "You heard what he said. Go invisible." The black one nodded and used Leaf Whirl. He became invisible to Trent and Scottie, who looked around themselves.
"Hey! Where are you?" The bee asked. Trent rolled his eyes.
"I'm at the pole." The ninja's voice said. The other two walked/flew towards the pole…and tripped. "OW!!! GET OFFA ME!!!"
To anybody looking at them, it would look as if Scottie and Trent were floating a few inches off the ground. The bee and crocodile got up and bowed apologetically to the chameleon. Of course, they didn't know where he was, so they just bowed in every direction. Eddie sighed exasperatedly.
"Never mind. Just get ready to grab on."
"Ok!" The others said.
A gust of wind blew and Eddie reappeared, grabbing onto the pole. He started to go around and up it. Before he went too fast, Scottie grabbed on to his legs, while Trent grabbed on to the bee's. The trio spun up the pole. When they reached the top, they let go and wound up in a room that was occupied by a green turtle bot. It was guarding a couple of shield generators.
"I'll take care of this one, mates!" Trent said, darting towards it. He jumped and slammed his fists into the robot, destroying it and the generators. In the room beyond, parts of the wall jutted out in three places, creating ascending footholds for the detectives. Pure, red energy flowed within them.
"I'll take the lead!" Scottie said, flying forward. The trio got into fly formation as they left the room they were in.
The bee flew them over to the first foothold, followed by the second, which was next to it. Floating over the third platform, on either side of a hook, were two flappers. Scottie launched Eddie at the left robot and got rid of it. While the chameleon was coming back, he kicked Trent at the right one. The croc got his second level-up from the robot.
When their leader came back to them, Scottie flew his teammates over to the platform and grabbed the hook. It brought them to a fourth platform, which had a rail nearby. The trio hopped on the platform and then the rail. They switched to speed formation and grinded down it. When they were halfway through, something caught Little Scottie's interest.
"Wow! I think I just saw something shiny!" He exclaimed gleefully, looking down. The other two looked at him.
"It must be the last turtle!" Eddie said. They reached the end of the rail and landed on the ground.
"Quick Scottie! Where'd you see it?!" Trent asked. The bee flew overhead and pointed a few feet behind them.
"I think it was just under that wall!" He answered. He followed Trent and Eddie as they jumped down. Sure enough, the cage containing the final turtle was right in front of them.
"At long last. Let's finish this." Eddie said, taking out a shuriken.
"I have a better idea." Trent said, grabbing the weapon. Eddie growled at him, but he ignored it. "We'll do this with style."
"Oh? How so?" Eddie asked, still mad about his ninja star getting taken away. The crocodile grinned at him, showing his shiny teeth.
"Let's use our Team Blast."
"Alright!" Scottie cheered. "Time to bring out my drum!" He pulled out his drum set and hanged the drum from his neck.
"That's the spirit, mate!" Trent laughed, pulling out a microphone. Eddie pulled back his mask to reveal his face, which had a smirk on it.
"I've been meaning to get some practice in." He said, reaching into his cape. He pulled out a smoke bomb. He tossed it at the ground, shrouding himself in a cloud of green smoke. Trent and Scottie sweatdropped at the theatrics. When the smoke dissipated, a speaker was standing by him. In his hands was…an electric guitar!?!
(Me: What the hell!? Espio uses a lute! What are ya doing with a guitar!?!)
"I don't know how to play the lute!" Eddie yelled. "Besides, this was all the prop department had!"
(Me: ::Slaps my head:: That's the last time I spend most of the budget on robot parts. ::Sighs:: Continue.)
"Alright mates, this'll be our first single to give a message to Dr. Coconutman!" Trent yelled. "Team Blast: Sherlock Concert!" Scottie and Eddie sweatdropped.
"Couldn't you think of a better name?" Eddie asked.
"Yeah!" Scottie added. Trent glared at them.
"It was short notice! Deal with it!" He roared. "Now let's try this again. Team Blast: Sherlock Concert!"
Their team attack started off with Eddie playing a few riffs on his guitar, creating a fast jibe. Little Scottie followed up by pounding his drum with his sticks. Trent took a deep breath as he prepared to sing his solo. The bee and chameleon gulped nervously.
"NOBODY KNOWS THE TROUBLE I'VE SEEN!!! NOBODY KNOWS MY SORROW!!!" He sang. The others cringed as they continued playing. Trent's singing voice sounded worse than nails on a chalkboard. It was more horrible than Mackenzie's scream. It was more unbearable than a bullhorn's feedback. It was beyond torture, beyond torment, beyond—
"ALRIGHT! WE GOT IT!!!" The trio yelled.
Anyway, the entire plant started shaking to the band's song. Pieces of the ceiling started to fall all around them, but they kept playing. The gold turtle was crackling with electricity as the music fried its circuits. It soon exploded and the trio received five rings for their trouble.
"Mission complete!" The client's voice said. Trent pulled out the walkie talkie and gave it an odd look. He did he know they completed the task? "I knew I could count on you!"
"All in a day's work." Trent said.
"Well anyway, I'll contact you again when I have a new objective. Until then, you're free to roam around the city. Over and out." The radio clicked off.
"Did you hear that!? We get a break!" Scottie cheered. "Now we can go on a tour of the city!" Trent and Eddie groaned at that. They were all about to leave when something behind them glowed brightly.
"Huh?" The trio said, turning towards the cage that housed the turtle robot. It was lowered. A yellowish light was coming from it. The three detectives walked towards the light.
"Wow! What a pretty rock!" Scottie exclaimed, flying into the cage. He then reemerged, holding a yellow jewel, which was causing the glow. The trio stared in awe.
"I feel a strong energy coming from it." Eddie said, pulling down his mask.
"What's a diamond like this doing here?" Trent asked, ignoring his partner.
"Do you think the client wanted us to find it?" Scottie asked innocently. The leader rubbed his snout.
"Maybe. We better take it with us." He said, grabbing the jewel from the little kid. He then skated away.
"Hey!" The bee protested, flying after him. Eddie stood still with his arms crossed.
"I had a bad feeling about this case before we left. The presence of that jewel makes it even worse." He then skated after his comrades.
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Post-chapter Conversation
"Hey Izzy, if Iggy was your witness in that duel, who was Sam's?" I asked.
"Reggie, duh!" The hedgehog replied, crossing his arms.
"Ya shoulda been there, Dad!" Iggy shouted. "Reggie was like an entire cheering section at a football game or something!"
"Yeah right!" I said.
"I'm serious! She was waving squid banners and coming up with all sorts of cheers. She also danced a couple of times!"
"That doesn't sound like Reggie." I turned to Izzy. "Did she really do all that?"
"As much I as I hate to say it, yeah she did." The older furry answered, nodding. "It was hard to concentrate on fighting Sam with her going nuts every time Blondie or I made a hit." I raised an eyebrow at him.
"They really do make a cute couple, wouldn't you say?" Iggy asked.
"Yep. Definitely the best straight pairing for the show." I agreed.
"Eh. It's not too bad. Better than the other pairings at least." Izzy reluctantly said with a shrug.
"Anyway," I said, turning to the camera. "Team Sherlock has completed another mission for their mysterious client. Who is he and what is with the strange jewel they found? Nobody answered that!" I glared at the camera. "They're supposed to be stupid questions. And what about the other teams? Will they continue on, unaware of each other's presence, or will they cross paths? Tune in next time! Oh, and by the way…"
"Happy New Year!" Me, Izzy, and Iggy cheered, waving at the camera.