Pre-chapter Conversation
It was a lovely day outside the studio, which lay on the outskirts of Ocean Shores. The sun, if you can imagine it being visible, was shining, the birds were singing, the bees were buzzing. It was truly a fine day.
A mailman was heading towards the front door, where the mailbox was placed. The mailbox was a basic red one. A blue flag was on the side. The postal worker was humming a familiar tune.
"Oh we are riders on a mission… Do, do, do, dum…" He whistled as he reached into his bag. He pulled out some envelopes as he walked up to the mailbox. He stretched his hand out and opened the box.
"HI, MR. MAILMAN!!!" Iggy screamed, poking his head out of the box. The man's eyes widened in fright.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" He shrieked as he ran off, dropping the letters. The hedgehog blinked after him.
"Hmmm, wonder what's eating him."
With a shrug, he grabbed the sides of the mailbox and pushed himself out of it. He dusted himself off and grabbed the various letters. He looked over all the envelopes. He blinked before a wide grin appeared. He gave a giddy laugh before skating inside the front door. His air skates levitated him as he glided through the hall, which was filled with various statues and portraits. They each depicted something from my previous fics.
Most of the statues were of Izzy in a different role. One had him as the Digimon Emperor. Another portrayed him as his hedgehog self. The biggest statue in the room was of when he split in two back in Dimension Hoppers 4. It showed what seemed to be half of two Izzys coming apart from each other. They were both in excruciating pain. At the base was just one pair of legs, which they were trying to get out of. It always gave Iggy the creeps whenever he looked at it. He loved his big brother too much to see him in any pain.
The hedgehog shook his head and continued on. He then took notice of the portraits. Unlike the statues, these depicted scenes from past fics. The majority of them were fight scenes from The Runaway and Rocketmon. Of course, plenty of them were pictures of kissing scenes from my various slash fics. They involved Otto and either of the Rodriguez Brothers in a passionate lip lock. A couple also had Sam and Twister trading spit.
Strangely, the grandest picture in the hall was of Izzy and Keoni. The portrait of the two lovebirds sharing their first kiss was clearly bigger than the rest. It was surrounded in a beautiful golden frame. It was surrounded on all sides by lights, illuminating every single solitary detail. On the bottom of the picture was a plaque that had the words, "Izzy and Keoni forever" engraved into it. Two security guards were standing on either side of it. They were armed with guns, night sticks, and tazers.
The hedgehog sweatdropped.
"When is he gonna admit it?"
Shaking his head, he continued his trek towards the office, where he was sure to find me and Izzy. The reason why he was going to the office was because the main studio was being repaired following the little hedgehog's descent into hyperness. He passed the main studio's double doors behind which different noises can be heard. Banging, crashing, hammer pounds, and the occasional spatter of what Iggy thought was cement were heard. He skated past a few more portraits before reaching a wooden door that read, "Office" on a pane of glass.
On the other side of the door…
"Let's see…" I said, clicking on a computer on my desk. "If I put that building there and got rid of this—"
There was a knock on the door.
"Yeah?" I said, looking up. The door creaked open and Iggy entered. "Oh Iggy, hey. What's up?"
"Hmmm… I don't think I've ever been in here before…" The hedgehog said, looking around.
The room was very spacious. It was like being in a suite in a hotel. To Iggy's right was a big screen TV that had a Gamecube connected to it. A plush cream sofa was in front of it. To his left was a black leather sofa as well as a bookshelf. Potted palm trees were in every corner of the room. In front of him was the desk I was sitting behind. It was made from oak. On top of it was a black computer, as well as various knickknacks, all Sonic related. I was sitting in a comfortable office chair. In front of the desk was a pair of chairs. Next to the desk was a glass case containing the Chaos Emeralds from the Sonic dimension. A window was behind me, letting the sunlight in. A small chandelier was hanging above the center of the room.
"Yeah… I really should've showed you this room." I admitted, rubbing the back of my head.
"Hey, where's Izzy at?" Iggy asked as he walked up to the desk and placed the mail down.
"Oh, he's taking care of something I forgot to do earlier in the fic." I replied. Iggy gasped when he took another look at the emeralds.
"Hey! One of them's missing!"
He pointed at the case, which had all but the gray emerald inside.
"Don't worry about it." I said coolly. "Izzy's got it."
"By the way, why are the emeralds here in the first place?"
"I had to move them from the studio when the contractors came to repair it." I answered, going back to working on the computer. Iggy gave me a curious look.
"Hey, what are ya working on, Daddy?" He asked, walking around the desk.
"I'm working on an atlas."
I turned the monitor towards him, which displayed a map. On the right side was Ocean Shores while on the left was what looked like a small village. Various buildings and houses were placed randomly. Separating the village from the town was a tall mountain that had colossal statues of Otto, Twister, Reggie, and Sam built into the side facing the village. At the peak was what looked like a temple of sorts.
"Ummm… An atlas for what?" The hedgehog asked, keeping that perplexed look on him.
"I'll tell ya later. We better start the chapter." I said, turning to the camera. "For the first part of this chapter, we're finally gonna follow Team Lars as they enter my favorite stage in the game, Casino Park. I'm really gonna have fun doing this chapter because I get to play with Lars, who's playing as Shadow, so that's like portraying two of my favorite characters at once! Before we begin, I'd like to say that if you're a fan of Reggie, you may not like this chapter too much."
"Why?" Iggy asked.
"Well… I can't really explain. Just take a look at the chapter and you'll see what I mean." I smirked. "Also, this chapter will contain a major reference to one of the RP movies. Which one will it be and how will it be used? Can the trio get through the stage and win the jackpot without killing each other? Find out today!"
"Oh by the way, reviewer responses will be done at the end of the chapter." Iggy explained, waving at the camera.
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Rocket Heroes
Chapter Eight
Zorbing through the Casino
Part One
Stage Five: Casino Park
Mission: Play the giant slots while listening to the cool theme!
After speeding through the desert, Lars, Reggie, and Pi have reached the casino capitol of the country, Las Vegas, Nevada! They were walking around on one of the many rooftops in the city. They were miles above the neon metropolis. Looking over the edge, they noticed many light fixtures that were shaped like three sevens that were lined up side by side, roulette tables, dice, and slot machines. Surrounding them were neon fixtures of differing designs. They were bright and sported a flame pattern for the most part. Most of the buildings had giant slot machines built into them. Some of them had giant casino chips on their roofs. It was a clear, starry night.
"Hmph! I can't believe that little twerp is in on this too!" The hedgehog complained, clenching his fists. "My mom's gonna kill me when we get back home!" Reggie only rolled her eyes.
"That's the hundredth time you said that since we left that city!"
"So?!" Lars yelled, turning to her. "How could Little Scottie get roped into this chase!? Not to mention he's stuck with the dork in the mask and your boyfriend!" The bat blushed and glared at him.
"He is not my boyfriend!" She denied, turning away with her arms crossed. "The nerve! Him of all people! He has no respect for girls at all! He makes me sick!" The taller violet one smirked teasingly at her.
"I bet." was all he said before walking forward.
"I'm serious, Lars! He means nothing to me!" The bat roared, stomping her feet.
"Does it look like I care?!" Lars retorted.
If Pi was his human self again, he'd roll his eyes at their argument. Then again, if he was his human self again, he'd be as dumb as a post, so he probably wouldn't even understand what they were going on about.
They got a few steps forward when his head shot up.
"Enemies detected two hundred meters ahead! Prepare to initiate battle mode!"
"Finally! Time for some action!" The hedgehog shouted, skating forward. The robot ran after him.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Reggie yelled, skating after them.
As they skated/ran towards an alcove, a cheerful song started playing. As soon as the melody entered their minds, they felt more energetic. The fast beat gave them great energy. If it wasn't for their objective, they would've gladly danced.
"No I wouldn't!" Lars yelled.
(Me: Silence mortal!)
Where was I? Oh right! The harmonious song filled their souls with glee. Their current worries about finding Dr. Coconutman & more Chaos Emeralds were lost to the music. The song—
"ENOUGH!!!" The trio roared.
(Me: Alright, alright! Sheesh! Anyway, if ya couldn't tell, I LOVE the music for this stage!)
Now then, the trio entered the alcove, which had springs on the floor. Upon hitting them, they were sent up a shaft to a platform. The floor looked like the betting table for a casino game (maybe Blackjack or Craps). In front of them were a coconut pawn, a hint ring, and a cannon. The coconut pawn looked much different from the ones they've encountered so far. Instead of being red, it was gray. Its body was built to make it look like it was wearing a tuxedo. The bowtie on its chest was blinking yellow. Lars immediately took care of it with a couple of homing attacks. That was when the trio took a look at their surroundings.
"Woah! What's up with this!?" The leader shouted.
In front of them, across a wide gap, was a giant pinball table. Its frame was green and the top half of the interior was purple. The bottom half was transparent and had a design that was shaped like a flame. Among the designs on the table were cards and card suits. There were flippers and ball-shaped springs, as well as several neon panels. They were small, green, and had a star pictured on them.
"How are we supposed to get through that!?" Reggie added.
"Perhaps accessing the hint ring will guide us." Pi answered.
"Better see what it says. Bet it's another lame comic." Lars said, walking up to it. He held his hand out towards the ring, but nothing happened. No piece of paper fell into his hand. "What the—!?"
"Ugh! Finally! I thought nobody would ever get here!" A voice yelled. It came from…the hint ring? The trio backed away as the ring glowed with a blinding light. Reggie and Lars covered their eyes. When the light dissipated, the two furries put down their hands and gasped.
Standing before them was a hedgehog. Like Lars, he was purple and wearing a pair of air skates. He was as tall as the other boy. The quills on his head were sticking out in different directions. They also went up at the tips. There were black highlights in them. Like Otto, a circle of tanned skin was present on his chest. Finally, he was wearing a red vest. The trio blinked as the new furry stretched his legs.
"I can't believe the boss locked me in that thing!" He complained as he stretched his back. He shook his arms before turning to the others with a smirk. "Well, it looks like you're the first ones to get here!"
The threesome was still confused.
"Uhhh… Who are you?" Reggie asked.
"The name's Izzy." The hedgehog replied, bowing before her. He then crossed his arms. "Because of the boss's forgetfulness and all around stupidity, I gotta provide you with a tool to help ya get through that pinball table." He flicked a thumb at the obstacle ahead.
"Well, whatcha got?" Lars asked.
Izzy reached into a pocket of his vest and pulled out three bracelets. They were silver and had a blue jewel embedded in each of them. On the inside were some computer circuits. He handed them to the trio, who looked at them confusedly.
"Identify the purpose of these implements." Pi requested. Izzy again crossed his arms.
"Those machines will project an energy shield around you whenever you enter one of the many pinball tables in the city." He explained. "They'll allow you to roll around in them as balls."
"Why would we need these ugly things for?!" Lars demanded. "I'm a hedgehog, so I won't need it!" Izzy rolled his eyes and glared at him.
"Look! I'm not the one who wanted you guys to wear 'em!" He answered before turning to the pinball table. "Besides, you could be stuck in those tables for a long time." He looked back at them. "Look on the bright side. You won't have to worry about experiencing any back injuries."
"There's gotta be more to this than just avoiding injuring our backs." Reggie said suspiciously.
"Does everything always have to have a double meaning with you?" Izzy sighed. "Anyway, if you must know, this is supposed to have something to do with the whole extreme sport aspect of the show." The bat gave him a confused look.
"How?"
"Figure it out yourself! I already did my job, so I'm outta here!"
And with that, the hedgehog pulled out the gray Chaos Emerald, causing Lars to gasp.
"Hey! Gimme that emerald!" He ordered. Izzy smirked as he shook a condoling finger.
"Sorry. This emerald's being borrowed from another dimension."
Before Lars could strike, he tossed the emerald and caught it, giving it a tight squeeze.
"Chaos Control!" He disappeared in a flash of gray light. The other hedgehog stomped the ground.
"No! I missed getting another emerald!" He cursed.
(Me: Didn't you hear him?! That emerald didn't belong to your dimension! You still got the rest of the game to get through, so get moving!)
Lars sulked as he, Reggie, and Pi put the bracelets on their left wrists. The jewel on each one glowed for a bit before dimming again.
"I wonder how they work." The bat said, looking at hers.
"The surly life form said that we have to enter a pinball table." The robot answered.
"So let's go already!" Lars commanded, jumping into the cannon. Reggie and Pi followed suit. The cannon targeted the pinball table and fired the trio out as balls.
As the trio neared the table, the jewels on their bracelets glowed brightly. Seconds later, spherical barriers of differing colors surrounded them. Lars and Reggie's were purple while Pi's was blue. Instantly, the trio's arms and legs were bound by ropes that were attached to the corners of the spheres. Safety harnesses materialized and restrained their bodies. Joy sticks appeared by their hands.
They landed on the table and rolled around on it. They all separated due to their momentum. They all bounced around the table due to the bumpers.
"Hey! Get back in formation!" The hedgehog yelled. The others were able to hear his voice clearly, despite the noise caused by their rolling.
"We can't!" Reggie replied. "It's hard to control ourselves!" She then blinked. "Hard to control ourselves… That's it!"
"What's it?" Pi asked.
"I get what that guy was talking about before! I remember riding in something like this when Otto, Twist, Sam, and I were in New Zealand." The bat replied, causing Lars to growl.
"They always get lucky…" He grumbled.
"I heard that. Anyway, these are just like the zorbs we raced in!"
"That's all well and good, but how do we control these things!?!"
Just then, a holographic screen turned on in front of each of them. The picture was staticy for a few seconds before Izzy appeared on screen.
"Man! I knew I forgot to mention something!" He said, slapping his forehead. "In order to move around in the zorbs, you gotta lean your bodies in the direction you wanna go."
"Finally!" Lars shouted, leaning his body to the right. He hit a spring that propelled him higher on the board.
"But what's with the joy sticks?" Reggie asked as she and Pi followed suit.
"They control the flippers on the pinball tables." Izzy answered. "When you're near one, you press the corresponding button to make the flipper hit you. The left button controls the left flipper while the right button is for the right flipper."
"Duh!" Lars said. The hedgehog on screen sneered at him.
"But what if there is only one flipper?" Pi asked.
"Then either button will work." Izzy replied. "One more thing, you probably figured this out by now, but the zorbs have a built-in radio so you can keep constant contact."
"Again, duh!" Lars yelled. Izzy rolled his eyes as the transmission ended. The screen faded, allowing the trio to see the pinball table.
"Come on, you guys! Let's get outta here!" Reggie said to her partners. They were all nearing a flipper.
Since Lars was in front of Reggie and Pi, he hit one of the buttons, causing the flipper to slap all three of them upwards. They hit one of the bumpers and went towards another flipper. Lars again hit the button, forcing the flipper to smack them past the flippers. They rolled towards an alcove. There was a hole in the corner that had two red panels. They hit them once, causing them to disappear. They bounced off the panels towards a couple of springs. After hitting them, the group was able to get out of the table. They were approaching a platform that had a red carpet over a checkered floor. As they fell towards it, their zorbs disappeared, allowing them to straighten themselves out and land safely.
"Oh man… So dizzy…" Lars groaned as he stumbled around. Reggie held her head to stop the world from spinning.
"Ugh… Well, that was different from zorb racing…" She offered.
"Incoming resistance!" Pi announced. It seemed that he wasn't affected by the nauseating experience. The bat and hedgehog shook their heads and looked ahead.
In front of them were three coconut pawns that were in a triangle formation. Like the one they encountered earlier, the center one was gray, but the other two looked different than usual. They were pink and had bunny ears on their heads.
"Man, what's with these robots!?" Lars shouted.
"Guess it's to fit the theme." Reggie answered, giving the pink ones a weirded out look. "But that's going a bit too far. Deal with them, Pi!"
"Right." The robot complied, charging forward. He punched out the robots with minimal trouble. Lars took the lead and went up a small staircase, which had a green coconut pawn at the top. This one had a mohawk-like light fixture on its head. It was also holding a gun.
Shaking his head at the design of the robot, the hedgehog took care of it with a homing attack. A yellow power core fell out of it, giving Reggie her first level-up. The trio looked ahead. At the end of the hall was a path made up of the panels they saw at the pinball table. The path led straight ahead towards a platform. On the third panel was a coconut pawn.
"Doesn't look like we can move on." Reggie said. Lars rolled his eyes at her.
"Yeah right! Let's go!"
The trio skated/ran to the end of the hall and jumped. One by one, they landed on the first panel and bounced off it as balls. Lars allowed himself to move through the air a bit before launching himself at the coconut pawn. They continued bouncing off the panels until they reached the platform, where another of the pudgy robots was waiting. The hedgehog took care of it, allowing him and his teammates to land successfully. The team looked around themselves. There didn't seem to be any way to proceed.
"Well now what, Fearless Leader?" Reggie asked slyly, crossing her arms. Lars sneered at her.
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking!" He replied, holding a hand to his chin.
"Light speed dash required to move forward." Pi droned. The bat and hedgehog turned to him.
"The light speed dash?" Lars asked.
"How?" Reggie added. The robot simply pointed up. The two furries looked. Above them was a ball-shaped spring. Floating above that was a row of rings. They stretched out over the city below and towards an alcove. The animals turned to each other.
"Guess there is a way to continue, huh?" The hedgehog asked. The bat only scowled at him.
"Yeah… So let's go already!" She yelled, causing Lars to cover his ears.
"Alright! Sheesh!" He turned towards the obstacle. "Get ready!" Reggie and Pi stood behind him as he bent his legs, getting ready to jump.
They all jumped up and hit the spring, causing the hedgehog and his teammates to bounce off it as balls. When they were level with the row of rings, Lars used his light speed dash to skate through them and up to the platform. Thanks to his slipstream, the bat and robot were pulled along for the ride. They all made it to the alcove. Awaiting them were a turtle bot and two coconut pawns. As soon as they landed, the robots activated and made to attack.
"Pi! Attack them and make it quick!" Lars ordered.
"Affirmative." Pi replied, taking the lead. "Prepare for Fire Launcher." Lars and Reggie jumped into his hands and spun around.
The coconut pawns charged towards them while the turtle bot charged its cannon. The black and blue robot jumped and targeted the turtle first. He launched Lars at it. The hedgehog became engulfed in fire as he sailed through the air. He crashed into the robot, destroying it. A red power core fell out of it, giving him his first level-up. Before the coconut pawns can ram into Pi, he fired Reggie, taking care of them instantly.
"Threat neutralized."
"Well now what?" Lars asked, looking around. Ahead was a door that had a switch by it. "Guess we gotta push it." He walked over and grabbed it.
With a slight grunt, he pushed the switch into the wall, causing the door to open. Ahead of the team was a small hall that ended with a window. Under it, the floor was made of glass. Patrolling the room was a coconut pawn.
"Looks like we need ya again, Pi." Reggie said. The robot merely nodded and charged towards the pawn. Without warning, he punched out the offending automaton. The bat and hedgehog rejoined him and walked over to the glass-floor. They looked out the window and noticed the road ahead. It seemed that they had to go down a pinball table to get to an even bigger one.
"Ugh… We gotta get in those zorb things again?" Lars groaned.
"Looks like it." Reggie said, rolling her eyes. "But how do we even get on the table?"
"Leave it to me." Pi answered, winding up his fist. Lars and Reggie's eyes widened when they realized what he was about to do.
"Pi! Wait!" They both yelled, but it was too late.
::CRASH!::
The robot had slammed his fist into the floor and shattered it, causing all three of them to fall towards the table.
"What the hell?!" Lars demanded. The robot only shrugged.
"We needed to get down." He said.
"Not like this ya dork!" Reggie shouted.
As they neared the table, their bracelets activated, causing them to be surrounded in the zorbs. Their limbs and bodies were restrained again. They gripped the flipper controls tightly and got ready for another dizzying ride. They landed and rolled down the steep slope, hitting a few bumpers. The team traveled a little further when they hit some panels. Lars slipped through, but Reggie and Pi bounced off two of the panels, changing them from green to yellow. They hit them one more time, turning them red. One more hit cleared the way for them.
Meanwhile, the leader of the group reached another blockade. Three panels were blocking the routes to the other pinball table. Coconut pawns were stationed in front of them. Lars rammed his zorb into the one guarding the left panel and destroyed it. An orange power core fell out of it, but he had bounced away and concentrated on the middle lane. Pi saw the glowing sphere and rolled towards it. The core entered his zorb and increased his energy. He hit the panel, making it turn yellow. He bounced a short distance and leaned forward, making him hit it again. The panel turned red. The robot repeated the maneuver one more time and broke through.
"Follow me." He said to his teammates. Lars and Reggie did as they were told and followed him into the left lane. As the track winded right, the trio got a good look at the new pinball table.
It had several sections. The center had a giant slot machine and several flippers. An area above it had the path to the rest of the park. The left section had a slot machine that only had one reel in it, as well as several bumpers. The right side, which they were heading towards, also had a one-reel slot machine and more bumpers. Some of the bumpers on the board were ball-shaped. Others were shaped like triangles and placed on the sides of the table. Also present were several lanes and arrows, which pointed in random directions.
"Man, what a colorful board!" Reggie commented.
"Heh. It looks like we get to gamble!" Lars cheered.
"Please! They wouldn't allow kids to go into those things! I betcha they're blocked off or something."
"Yeah right!" The hedgehog scoffed. "If they didn't allow kids into those things, they wouldn't have even let us in here!"
"Approaching table," Pi started. "Plotting quickest route out…"
"Forget it Pi! I want some cash!"
"Don't you ever stop!?" Reggie started exasperatedly. "I swear you're worse than Otto!"
"DON'T YOU EVER COMPARE ME TO ROCKET DORK!!!" Lars roared. "I'm the leader and if I say we're gonna gamble, then we're gonna gamble! Got it!?!"
"Whatever." The bat answered, rolling her eyes.
"Don't forget the mission. We have to concentrate on finding Coconutman!" Pi reminded.
"I know! I don't need you to remind me!" Lars shouted. He then smirked. "But it couldn't hurt to get some spending cash first. We might even win the jackpot."
They were closing in on the table.
"Here we go!" Reggie shouted.
The trio landed on the right section of the table. Lars took the lead as he tried to pilot his zorb into the big slot machine. The team hit one of the arrows, which served as a boost pad. They were propelled into the center towards the slot machine. The group hit another arrow that was over the machine and was sent inside. The three reels started spinning.
Inside the machine, the group was let out of their zorbs. Three of the walls were green while the one in front of them had the reels. Under each one was a red square-shaped button, which was blinking. Nearby was a hint ring. Lars turned to Reggie.
"Hurry up and see what it says! I want some dinero!" He said, rubbing his thumb, pointing finger, and middle finger together. The female rolled her eyes and walked up to the ring. She grabbed the paper that materialized and took a look.
"It looks like instructions for the machine and a list of the prizes." She said. "'In order to stop the reels from spinning, hit each of the buttons. Depending on the arrangement of the panels, you'll win some rings. If there are multiple balls in the machine, the prizes are multiplied by the number.'"
"So what are the prizes?"
"I'm getting to that!" Reggie yelled.
On the paper below the instructions were different symbols. At the top were three speed formation symbols. In case you don't remember, the speed symbol is a red circle that has a gust of wind at the top of it. Next to the symbols was the number fifty. Underneath it were three power formation symbols. If you need a quick refresher, the power symbol is an orange circle that has fire at the top. There was a number thirty next to them. Next up was the fly formation symbols. That symbol is a yellow circle that has a bolt of lightning at the top. Next to them was the number twenty. Beneath them were three rings. Next to them was the number ten. Under them were three sevens. Next to them was the number one hundred. The next set of symbols was three Team Blast symbols. In parentheses was the word "wild" and next to that was the number two hundred.
"That must be the jackpot." Lars said. Reggie nodded.
"Also they're wild. So if two power symbols and one Team Blast symbol appear, we'll get thirty rings."
"Plus, because all three of us are inside, we'll get ninety rings." Pi added.
"Yeah, yeah! I got it! So let's go!" Lars shouted greedily.
"Hang on. There's one more thing" Reggie started, reading from the paper again. "'Beware of the Coconutman symbols. If the Coconutman symbols appear and match, you'll lose fifty rings.'" She gulped. "That means we'll lose a hundred fifty rings. We'll owe the casino if we screw up!"
"Chill, lame-o." Lars started, waving a dismissive hand. "I'm too lucky to mess up." He puffed out his chest, causing the bat to glare at him.
"Lars, shut up." She simply said. The hedgehog growled and shook his fist at her.
"Enough stalling! Let's get ready to hit those buttons!" He ordered, walking up to the leftmost button. Reggie went to the center and Pi took the rightmost one. "On the count of three. One…"
"Two…" Pi continued.
"Three!" Reggie finished.
The trio pushed the buttons at the same time, causing the reels to stop. A jingle played as a hundred fifty rings were dumped in front of them. However, none of them picked up the gold circles. Lars and Reggie gaped at the reels while Pi just looked at them. They stayed silent for a few more seconds before the hedgehog spoke.
"R-Reggie…?"
"Y-Yeah…?"
"Have you and your family come here before?"
They turned to each other.
"No…" The bat replied, shaking her head. Lars put on a calm look.
"Ok. Then tell me one little thing." He started nicely. "WHAT IS YOUR DORK BROTHER DOING ON THAT MACHINE!?!"
He pointed at the slots, which all had Otto's smirking face on it!
"How am I supposed to know!?" Reggie retorted.
"You're his sister!!! You're supposed to know these things!!!"
"I had no idea!"
They then started yelling at each other. Pi sweatdropped and got in between them to prevent them from getting physical.
"Perhaps asking the author will shed some light."
(Me: Do ya always have to bring me into it!? Anyway, it's like this: Otto's playing as Sonic. Sonic's face appears on the slots in this and the next stage. Do the math!)
"I don't believe this…" Lars grumbled, shaking his head as he looked up. "Do you mean to tell me I have to see his face for the rest of this stage?"
(Me: And the next one, yeah.)
"Ugh!" Both animals groaned, slapping their heads.
'Thank God Otto's not in on this.' Reggie thought. 'His head would swell a million times its normal size!'
"Come on. We better grab these rings and get outta here." Lars said. He grabbed the rings, causing Pi to react.
"Team Blast meter fully charged." He informed. The hedgehog snickered evilly.
"Guess Rocket Dork was worth something after all."
Just then, the floor opened up underneath them, allowing them to reenter the table.
Their bracelets reacted and encased the trio in the zorbs again. They bounced all over the table, hitting bumpers and any coconut pawns that were unlucky enough to be standing in the table.
"C'mon! Let's get outta here!" Lars yelled, surprising Reggie.
"What the matter," She started with a smirk. "Jealous that Otto's featured on the slots?" She snickered. The hedgehog went red with anger.
"Of course not! I just lost my interest in getting cash! Let's go!"
The group bounced around for a few more minutes before meeting in the center again. Since Pi was closest to a flipper, he pressed both buttons on his controls, causing all three of them to get launched into the upper area of the table. Aiming for the tunnel out of the area, Lars hit the right button, propelling him into the tunnel and out of the table.
While his teammates were busy trying to follow him, he landed on a platform. Ahead of him was the first checkpoint of the stage, as well as a wall. In an alcove, a coconut pawn was stationed with a gun in its hand. In front of the alcove was a red lift designed like a die. It stretched up and then back down every few seconds. A fly formation signal was floating nearby.
"Hmph! Guess I gotta wait for Rocket Dork's sister." He grumbled, crossing his arms. He activated the checkpoint and got his second level-up. He then stood there and waited for Reggie and Pi to join him. The bat and robot soon left the pinball table and joined the hedgehog. "Took ya long enough!"
"Shut up and let's go!" Reggie retorted. Lars muttered curses to himself as he skated ahead. He took care of the coconut pawn with a single homing attack.
"We must go up." Pi said, earning himself a glare from the others.
"Duh!" The bat yelled. That outburst earned herself Pi's gun barrel in her face. She scowled as she shoved it away from her. "Hang on!" The trio switched to fly formation. Lars held on to Reggie's feet while Pi held on to his.
When the die was at its lowest point again, the bat flapped her wings and flew over it. Pi planted his feet firmly. The lift stretched up, allowing them to enter the next room. In front of them were two turtle bots, who were charging energy. A third one, which was gold, was waiting atop a small flight of stairs.
"Woah!" Lars yelled as Reggie took flight, just barely avoiding the energy rings. He looked down at Pi. "Take care of those tin buckets!"
"Understood." The robot answered, letting go. He retracted his hands and shot his machine guns at the green turtle bots, destroying them. A yellow power core fell out of the second robot, allowing Reggie to get her second level-up. Pi charged up the stairs and punched the gold bot. However, he couldn't make a dent in it.
"Does not compute!" He said.
He continued punching in an attempt to destroy the robot, but he didn't make any progress. Meanwhile, the turtle bot targeted him and charged energy into its cannon. Before Pi knew it, he was blasted into the wall. Lars and Reggie cringed at the sight. The bat then smirked and crossed her arms.
"That's what you get! Don't you remember when we came across these things in that power plant?! Their shells are too strong until you fully level up!"
"Duh, you dork!" Lars added. "I'll take care of this!"
He skated up to the offending robot and used his Dark Twister attack. The purple tornado tossed the turtle up a short distance. It landed on its shell, allowing the hedgehog to deliver the final blow with a homing attack. With the robot out of the way, Reggie and Lars turned their attention to their teammate. They each grabbed a hand and pulled Pi out of the indent.
"Thank you." The robot said monotonously.
"Whatever." Lars replied, crossing his arms. "Let's move!"
They walked up to the end of the room. Ahead was a gong-like device. Nearby was a hint ring. Outside, across a chasm, was a roulette table that had several coconut pawns stationed around the center. In order to get inside, you have to go through a ramp that was high up.
"Great! How are we supposed to get up there!?" Reggie exclaimed. "There's no way I can lift the both of you over there, even with Sam's strength intensifier!"
"Perhaps hitting the—"
"Don't tell me," Lars started, interrupting Pi. "You want us to hit the hint ring, right?"
"Actually, I was going to say that I should hit that device while you two hang on to my fists to advance forward." The two animals fell over after hearing that one. They grumbled as they got up and gave him a glare. "…What?" The bat and hedgehog gave an exasperated sigh.
"Never mind." Reggie said, jumping into his right fist. Lars said nothing as he jumped into Pi's left fist.
The automaton stomped over to the gong and brought back his right fist. He then slammed it into the gong. It spun over the top and into him, propelling him and his teammates towards the ramp.
"Ok! Separate!" Lars ordered.
He and Reggie detached themselves from Pi. Doing so allowed their bracelets to activate and surround them in the zorbs.
Everybody then entered the ramp in a single file line. Lars entered first, Reggie followed, and Pi took the rear. The trio soon left the ramp and rolled around in the table. They leaned to the right as they traveled. They went past the coconut pawns and saw a small hole that led outside. They overshot it though.
"Aim for that hole!" Pi said.
The trio made one more rotation before getting into the hole.
As they traveled down this new path, they noticed that the road split in two directions. They also noticed that they were heading towards another pinball table. This one was more or less identical to the first one they came across. Soon, the group approached a jump. As they sailed through the air, the trio noticed the entrances to the two lanes.
"Take the left one!" Reggie shouted, leaning to the left. Lars and Pi followed suit.
They landed on the left path and rode it to the end. Hitting several boost arrows, they went through a building and went out the other side. The path curved a bit more before straightening out. The team headed towards the top of the pinball table. Lars looked back at the bat.
"I hate to say it, but that really helped us!" He said.
"Yes. This will certainly cut a few seconds off our time." Pi agreed. Reggie smirked.
"Heh. No prob guys."
They soon left the lane and landed on the pinball table. Using their momentum from speeding along the lane, they each hit a bumper, which sent them up the top of the table. Using several smaller bumpers that were along the wall, the trio bounced off the table and onto a platform that was occupied by a turtle robot. As soon as their mode of transport disappeared, Lars destroyed it with a combination of his Dark Twister and homing attacks.
With the robot taken care of, the team looked to their left, where the stage continued. In front of them was another pinball table. This one had two sections to it. The left section had a slot machine at the top. A coconut pawn was standing over the entrance. Underneath it were two walls that had bumpers on the sides. Two pairs of flippers (one at the bottom and one flipper was on the top of each wall) were present, as well as several ball-shaped bumpers.
On the right end was the exit to the rest of the stage. Also present was a one-reel slot machine. It was above the exit. Under the exit were a couple of flippers. Finally, ahead of the team were two ball-shaped springs that were floating in the air. Ahead of the springs was a die that kept rising and falling. Lars stroked his chin for a few moments before turning to Reggie.
"Alright. Let's get into fly formation and go into that slot machine." The bat gave him a confused look.
"I thought you didn't want to play the slots anymore."
"So they got Rocket Dork on them!" He said with a shrug. "Money's more important than who's on those slots! So let's go already!" Reggie gave him an indifferent shrug and flapped her wings. Lars grabbed onto her feet while Pi grabbed onto his.
The team jumped over to the first spring and bounced off it. Reggie quickly took flight and hit the second spring. Doing so allowed them to bounce onto the die. The bat used Thunder Shoot on the pawn and cleared the way. To Lars' fortune, a red power core appeared. The trio flew towards the slot machine. As they entered and started the machine, Lars grabbed the power core and got his final level-up for the stage. The machine's interior looked just like the first one they entered. The trio's zorbs disappeared.
"Ok. Let's see what we'll get this time." The hedgehog said, walking over to the leftmost button. Like last time, Reggie went to the center and Pi took the rightmost one. "One…"
"Two…" Pi continued.
"Three!" Reggie yelled.
All three of them stopped the reels to reveal…
"WHAT!?!" Lars roared as ninety rings were dumped in front of them. "What is he doing there!?"
Displayed on the reels were two Team Blast symbols…and Twister's face!
"I was so close to the jackpot!!!" The leader stomped the ground in fury. "The one time I don't want to see him and he shows up! What the hell is that twerp doing on the slots!?!"
"Let me guess," Reggie started, looking up. "Knuckles?"
(Me: ::Holds up my head with my left hand:: Uh-huh…)
"That would mean that Sam Dullard's face is also on the reels." Pi hypothesized.
"I'm possibly miles away from them…" Lars started, crying animé tears. "I shouldn't have to see any of them until I'm ready to beat them to a bloody pulp!!!"
"Hey!" Reggie protested. Lars ignored her and grabbed the rings. Their bracelets activated as they were dropped back onto the table.
"We must get out of this table." Pi told his teammates.
"Yeah, yeah…" Lars and Reggie replied, sighing.
The group bounced around the table a bit before rolling into the right section. One at a time, they made the left flipper hit them and propel them into the exit. The zorbs disappeared as they neared a platform that contained a spring bar. The trio bounced off the bar as balls. They were sent up to an alcove, where three turtle bots lay in wait. Two of them were green while the last one was gold.
"Ha! Take this!" The hedgehog yelled, using his Dark Twister on the gold robot. As it was tossed up, the other two robots charged up their cannons. "Pi! Take Rocket Dork's sister and deal with those two!"
"Affirmative." Pi said, grabbing Reggie.
"What the—?" She yelped as she was forced into the robot's right fist. Grumbling, she started spinning around.
While Lars used his homing attack on the gold robot he tossed up, Pi jumped and launched Reggie at the left turtle. The bat was engulfed in fire as she crashed into it. With that one taken care of, the blue robot set his sights on the other turtle. He retracted his hands and opened fire, destroying it instantly. Once business was taken care of, the robot and hedgehog looked around themselves. Ahead was a locked door. On either side of it was a switch. Unlike the one they found earlier, these switches were high up.
"Great… There's no way we can reach it." Lars muttered. He smirked evilly. "Unless…" He turned to Reggie. The bat was stumbling around from Pi's attack. She shook her head and glared at the robot.
"Pi, if you EVER do that again, I'll take you apart piece by piece!" She shouted, stomping the ground. "I don't care how many weapons you have! I'll do it! Mark my words!" Pi looked unnerved by her threat. She then felt eyes on her. Nervously, she turned towards Lars. She stepped back at the smirk on his face. Whatever he was thinking couldn't have been good.
"Wh-what are you looking at me for!?" The leader only kept up his smirk. It was then that she noticed the switches. She groaned and looked back at Lars, who was nodding. She glowered at him. "I hate you. You know that, right?" The hedgehog only grinned in response.
"Yep. So get moving!"
"Stupid idiot lame-o…" Reggie cursed to herself as she flew up to the left switch. She grabbed on and pushed it in with a grunt. She then pushed in the right switch. Doing so opened the door.
The room was just a small hall that had a glass floor at the end. Right in front of the trio was a hint ring. Floating over the glass was a new kind of robot. It was mainly black and blue. It was shaped like a jellyfish. It had two claws. It also had one eye in the middle of its body.
"Unknown opponent is blocking the way." Pi droned.
"Duh! I can see that!" Lars shouted at him.
"Maybe that hint ring will help us." Reggie said, walking forward. She held her hand out and a piece of paper appeared in her hand. She then proceeded to take a look at the hint, which was a comic.
In the first panel was a stick figure drawing of the bat. She had a happy, carefree expression on her face. In the second panel, the robot they were looking at floated towards her. In the last panel, the robot was directly over her. Reggie was trapped in a ring of energy. She was floating and there were Xs in her eyes.
The real Reggie ripped up the comic and looked up with an icy glare.
"Is this your idea of a joke!?!"
(Me: What?! It's a simple warning!)
"I meant that last panel! It's bad enough I get harassed by them!" She pointed at Lars and Pi. "But I gotta get dissed by you too!?!"
(Me: Hmph! You're not exactly my favorite character, ya know. I could always do worse to you, so you better watch yourself.)
Reggie gasped and covered her mouth. She then turned to her teammates with a forced smile.
"Well, c'mon! We gotta get rid of that robot and find Mr. Stimpleton, right?" Lars gave her a weirded out look.
"Uhh…right…" He turned to Pi. "Take the lead and deal with that thing." He pointed at the robot. Pi nodded.
"Understood." He said, charging towards the robot. Lars turned to Reggie.
"By the way, what did that comic say?"
"Comic?" The bat blinked. "Oh, that comic! Well, it was a warning about that robot. If we get caught by its tractor beam, we'll—"
"Danger!" Pi called out. Lars and Reggie turned towards him. He was trapped by a ring of energy that was created by the other robot. The hedgehog turned to the bat with a glare. She gulped.
"—be immobilized until it's destroyed." She chuckled nervously. Lars sighed tiredly and rubbed his temple.
"Whatever." He said before skating towards the robot. He jumped and delivered a massive kick, destroying it and freeing Pi.
"Thank you for the assistance."
"Yeah, yeah." The other male said, waving a dismissive hand. "Let's go already!"
Reggie rejoined the duo as Pi took the lead. He took both of the furries into his hands and busted through the glass floor, allowing them to fall towards a new area.
After taking care of a few coconut pawns and some more of those jellyfish-like robots, the trio switched to fly formation and went up to a platform that was above the area. They came across a checkpoint. Since Reggie was still the leader, she got her final level-up.
"It took long enough!" She exclaimed. Lars rolled his eyes as they got out of formation.
"Man, you complain too much! Of all the bats in Ocean Shores, I get stuck with you!"
"I complain too much!?" She roared, turning to him. "What about you?! You won't stop going on about Little Scottie!"
"That's different and you know it! My mom will go ballistic if I don't show up with that little brat!"
"Brat!? He's your cousin!"
"So?!"
And yet again, another argument started up between them. Pi shook his fists at them.
"QUIET!!!" He bellowed, ending the fight. The hedgehog and bat turned away from each other with their arms crossed.
"Hmph!" They both grunted.
If Pi had his human eyes again, he'd roll them. Instead, he pointed ahead at a row of rings that was floating from their current position over a chasm to what looked like part of a half pipe. Near the top of it was a platform.
"We must get out of here." The robot said.
"Whatever!" Lars yelled, walking up to the beginning of the golden path. "Get ready for the light speed dash." Reggie kept her arms crossed as she walked behind him. Pi followed and stood behind her.
Using the magnetic attachments made by Sam, the hedgehog sped along the rings. The bat and robot were carried along by his slipstream. The path twisted a bit, but Lars was able to take it. He glided along the trail perfectly before reaching the other side. The trio hit a boost pad and was sent up the wall. When they were near the top, they jumped off and twirled in the air for a few seconds before landing on the platform, which had a turtle robot on it. A gong was also present. Pi quickly took the lead and fell the reptilian wannabe. With the robot out of the way, the team looked ahead.
"Woah!" Reggie gasped.
"Double woah!" Lars added.
"Wow." Pi said. The two animals gave him a weirded out look. "…What?"
"Nothing." They both said, shaking their heads. The team again looked at what shocked them (or at least Lars and Reggie).
Before them was another pinball table. The difference from the others that they encountered so far was that it had two floors. The bottom floor was the bigger of the two, of course. It featured two slot machines and many flippers near the bottom while the top was littered with bumpers near the exits (this one had two on the right and left sides). The top floor was smaller and only had one slot machine. Surrounding it were a few ball-shaped springs. The top of it had a hole while the bottom part of it had three; one in the middle between two flippers and the others on the right and left sides under them. Access to the top board was granted via two ramps, one on each side of the bottom table. Lars was the first to get over his shock. He gave a smirk and clenched his fist.
"Let's get moving, Pi! I'm gonna win the jackpot this time!"
"Yeah right." Reggie muttered, rolling her eyes.
"Nobody asked you!" The hedgehog shouted, turning to her. The bat glared at him.
"Preparing to enter multi-story pinball table." Pi announced, preventing another round of insults. The others turned to him and jumped into his hands.
The robot then punched the gong, sending them towards the table. The robot continued to hold his teammates as they sailed towards the lower slot machine on the bottom table. Doing so allowed all three of them to enter the machine without being put into their zorbs. The reels started spinning.
"Alright Pi!" Lars commended.
"Yeah. I hate to say it, but that was a pretty smart move." Reggie added, nodding.
"Gratitude received and noted." Pi thanked, bowing. The other two sweatdropped.
"Right… Let's just hit the buttons…" Lars said weirdly.
The trio moved over to the reels. Like the last two times, they pressed the buttons at the same time. The first two reels stopped on Sam, but the last one stopped on Otto. A loud buzzer was heard before the team was dumped into the table.
"No fair!" The hedgehog exclaimed as they were placed in their zorbs. "That stupid dork stopped me from winning more cash! And he's not even here!!!"
"Oh give it a rest!" Reggie shouted as they rolled around.
Due to some bumpers, the team got separated. The bat concentrated on getting out and leaned forward, or at least what she thought was forward. She wound up using a flipper to get into the higher slot machine. Its reels started spinning as she was released form her zorb. Pi soon followed her into the machine.
"Alright, let's get some rings!" Reggie said to him. The robot nodded in response and moved to the left and center buttons. They both pressed them. The two corresponding reels stopped on Dr. Coconutman's face. The bat gulped while Pi shook a fist at the pictures.
"Oh crap… If he shows up one more time, will lose fifty rings!" She said fearfully.
"Actually, we'll lose one hundred because two of us are inside." Her partner corrected. Reggie glared at him.
"Oh yeah! That makes me feel much better!" She yelled sarcastically. She flicked a thumb at the last button. "Go push it and don't screw up!"
If he had eyebrows, the robot would glare at her. Instead, he settled for giving her an intense stare before doing what she said. He pushed the final button, causing the third reel to slow down. It slowly went through the different panels. Otto, Twister, Sam, ring, seven… Reggie took in a hushed breath when the Team Blast symbol passed by. Her eyes widened when the Coconutman panel appeared. She breathed a sigh of relief when it passed.
"Oh man, that was close." She said, wiping sweat off her head. The reel looked like it was about to land on a safe panel.
-------------------
Meanwhile, Lars was still rolling around the table.
"Man, I wonder what's that lame-o's problem, anyway." He said to himself. "She can't shut up for five seconds without screaming her head off!"
-------------------
"Achoo!!!" Reggie sneezed, causing the reel to land on Dr. Coconutman!!! She fell over when she noticed the results.
"Analysis failed…" Pi droned as they were let out of the machine.
"Duh! I know that!" The bat roared.
"Hey! I lost some of my rings!" Lars protested, passing them.
"That's because the female caused us to get three Coconutman symbols." Pi explained as he rolled towards the bumpers as the top of the table.
"Pfft! Figures."
"Hey! It wasn't my fault!" Reggie denied as she followed Pi towards the bumpers. "Something made me sneeze!"
They both hit coconut pawns that were stationed around the area. Before leaving the area and the table, they hit a switch…
"Always having to find excuses, huh?" Lars said, staying on the table.
"Shut the hell up!"
"Oooooohhhh! Feisty! Tchahahahahahaha!!!!"
"Lars! When this whole thing is over and done with, they won't even be able to identify the body! You hear me!?!"
"Yeah, yeah." The hedgehog continued with his teasing. "Just remember, for now we're teammates, so deal with it!" Reggie gave an irritated grunt in response.
With the matter settled, the leader continued trying to win big money. He soon hit an arrow, which sent him up the left ramp into the second floor of the table. He was sent towards the flippers. He leaned to the left and landed on the left flipper. Utilizing the controls equipped within his zorb, he launched himself towards the right side of the table. He hit an arrow and was sent up towards the top. He narrowly missed going into the hole. He sighed with relief as he went inside the center of the board. There were springs and coconut pawns present. After hitting a couple of the robots and bouncing around a bit, he finally entered the slot machine.
"Ok. Big money, big money! Come to papa!" He shouted as he pressed all of the buttons, one after the other.
To his dismay, Twister, a Team Blast symbol, and Otto appeared, resulting in him getting nothing.
"Damn it!" He cursed as he was let out into the board. "There's no way I'm giving up!"
And so, he got back into the machine. The result that time was the same as last time. The difference was that a ring, Sam, and Dr. Coconutman appeared. He was let out of the machine. That's how it went for a good twenty minutes. Lars would go into the machine, get nothing or lose rings, and narrowly avoid going down to the lower board just to get back and repeat the process all over again.
"Ugh! This cheap piece of junk!" He groaned after leaving the machine empty handed for the hundredth time. "It's impossible to win that jackpot, let alone anything! You'd have to be able to stop time to beat that thing!"
A few seconds passed before his eyes widened. If he was able to use his hands, he'd slap himself hard.
"Duh! I can just use Chaos Control!"
Grinning evilly, he navigated the board and returned to the slot machine. The reels started spinning as he entered. He reached behind him and pulled out the purple Chaos Emerald he found at Dr. Coconutman's base. He then turned his attention to the reels.
"Ok… Just gotta wait for the right moment."
He held the emerald tightly, getting ready to use his attack. He closed his eyes, waiting for the perfect moment, when one or more Team Blast symbol would appear. About five minutes passed when he finally opened his eyes, tightening his grip on the Chaos Emerald.
"Chaos Control!"
A brilliant flash came from the jewel. When the flash disappeared, the reels had stopped. To Lars' great fortune, two of them had the Team Blast symbol displayed. Chuckling mischievously, he pushed their corresponding buttons and snapped his fingers, unfreezing time. Both of the reels he pushed buttons for were stopped on the triad of circles. Now only one more remained before the hedgehog could claim his jackpot.
Clutching the emerald, he waited until he could see any part of the Team Blast symbol. It took him a few tries before he got it to show up. Congratulating himself for his plan, he punched the button and unfroze time. The reel stopped on the final Team Blast symbol, causing sirens and bells to go off. Confetti also flew around him.
"Yes!!! JACKPOT!!!" He cheered when two hundred rings were dumped in front of him.
Content with his acquisition, he left the pinball table and rejoined his fellow teammates. They were at a platform that had a checkpoint nearby. Beyond that was a die-shaped platform.
"Ya took long enough!" The bat complained. Lars only brushed her off. Not even her constant nagging could ruin his good mood. He may have cheated, but he got what he wanted.
"Let's go! I'm ready to go on a shopping spree!" He gave a hearty laugh as he walked forward. He allowed Pi to activate the checkpoint and get his second level-up.
The trio switched to fly formation and went up to the lift. They rode it to its highest point and grabbed a hook that overhead. They were lifted up into a room that was patrolled by several coconut pawns. In the middle of the room was a staircase.
"Multiple enemies detected! Deciding on course of action!" Pi announced. The other robots turned on them.
"Man, I've had enough of these stupid robots!" Reggie yelled, turning to Lars. "Let's use our Team Blast and wipe 'em out!" The hedgehog smirked at her.
"That's the smartest thing you've said all night." He said, taking out his Chaos Emerald. "Team Blast: Chaos Blaze!" The bat and robot got behind him as he tossed the emerald up.
"Chaos Control!" He roared as he grabbed it.
Time was frozen as Pi retracted his hands. He started charging energy as Reggie lifted him up by his head. The robot let loose a massive beam of purple energy and spun around, destroying all the robots in the room. When the dust cleared, not a single particle of the metal menaces was left. In the middle of the room was an orange power core. Pi grabbed it and got his final level-up.
"Hmmmm… I wonder where that staircase leads…" Reggie muttered, holding her chin.
"Only one way to find out!" Lars shouted, skating up the corridor. His teammates followed.
When they reached the top, a grand view was awaiting them. Across a very wide expanse was a whole new pinball table. It was gold and had three pinball machines. The middle one and the one on the right were the traditional three-reel machine, but the one on the left was a one-reel machine. All over the table were the letters, "VIP."
"Woah… The VIP table." The leader said in awe.
"That must be where the high rollers go to risk it all." Reggie added.
"Scan indicates that prizes are doubled on that table." Pi explained. The two animals grinned at him and then at each other.
"If we win the jackpot on that table while all three of us are in that machine, we'll be rich!" Lars exclaimed.
"Yes! I won't need Twister's emerald if we get lucky!" Reggie agreed. "I can buy an even bigger jewel than the Master Emerald!"
"Let's go already!" The hedgehog yelled greedily.
"There's just one problem." Pi started. "How do we get there?"
Lars and Reggie fell over.
"Crap! He's right! How do we get over there!?!" The former cried, holding his head.
"Chill! There has to be a way to get there." The younger one said, looking around. She grinned when she noticed a switch located near the ceiling. "Bingo."
She flew up and pushed it in. Doing so caused a row of rings to appear. It stretched all the way to a platform that was just in front of the table. Lars got of his melancholy position when he noticed the path of gold.
"Alright! Come to Daddy, you precious jackpot!" He yelled, using his light speed dash. He pulled the others over the gap to the platform, which contained a cannon. Wasting no time, they all jumped into it and were blasted onto the table. Their zorbs appeared, allowing them to roll around on the very shiny board.
"Concentrate on entering the middle or left machine at all costs." Pi said to his teammates.
"Right!" The others replied.
The trio fought long and hard against the forces of gravity. A few times, they almost fell off the board. After several close calls and winning some rings from the single-reel machine, they finally entered the middle machine and started the reels.
"Finally! The moment of truth!" Lars yelled, laughing evilly.
"Hang on. We still gotta get three Team Blast symbols, and you know they're gonna be hard to get." Reggie reminded. This only caused Lars to snicker.
"Not to worry! I figured out the secret to beating these machines." He said, puffing out his chest.
"Oh really?" She said skeptically. "And just what is your secret?" The hedgehog smirked as he took out his emerald.
"Watch and learn." He said, tossing it up. "Chaos Control!"
He caught it and time froze around the trio. They turned towards the reels to see that all three Team Blast symbols were displayed.
"Voila!" He said, gesturing towards the reels. "All we gotta do is press the buttons and we'll have all those beautiful rings." Reggie gave him a reproachful look.
"How did I know you were gonna find something illegal to do with that thing?"
"Uhhh… Where have you been?" He started. "I kinda hinted at it since we found it at Stimpledork's base!" The bat slapped her head.
"Whatever! You suck, ok!? Let's just get the stupid rings and finish this stage! I think I saw the goal ring on the way to this table."
"Good. This has taken long enough anyway."
The team walked up to each of the buttons and pressed them. Lars then unfroze time, causing the reels to stop on the symbols and give them a mountain of rings. It's amazing that they were even able to fit inside!
"Hey Pi?" Reggie asked.
"Yes?"
"How many rings do we get anyway?"
"Calculating…" Pi started. "Because all three of us are inside a slot machine that is on the VIP table, we earn twelve hundred rings." The bat and hedgehog cheered at the high number.
"Oh yeah! Who's yo daddy now!?" Lars gloated at the machine, causing the others to sweatdrop.
"Lars?" Reggie said.
"Yeah?"
"Don't do that again."
"Gotcha."
The team grabbed the many rings (how they were able to carry them is beyond me), left the machine, and allowed themselves to drop out of the table. They entered a glass tube that was glowing with a fluorescent orange light. They landed on a normal pinball table. At the bottom, the group noticed a lane that seemed to lead away from the table.
"Hey! I think that if we ride that lane, we'll reach the goal ring." The bat said.
"End of stage in sight!" The robot agreed.
"Finally! I could use a little break." The hedgehog sighed.
The trio relaxed and allowed themselves to fall down the drain. They rode the lane around the tower supporting the pinball table. They soon got out of it and landed on a small platform. On it were several metallic palm trees that had neon leaves in their branches. Atop a small staircase was the goal ring, shimmering brighter than a million normal rings. The team moved to grab the ring when some coconut pawns ambushed them!
"Ugh! I don't have time for this!" Lars yelled.
"I forgot to mention this, but our Team Blast meter was recharged when we got those rings earlier." Pi mentioned. The others glared at him coldly. "…What?"
"Ok! I'm sick of this gag already!" Reggie exclaimed. "Let's just end it right now!"
"You got it!" The leader said, tossing the emerald up.
After a quick Chaos Blaze attack, they were able to grab the goal ring with no trouble.
"At last! We could take a breather." The bat sighed, slumping on the ground.
"Hey! We don't have time! We gotta deal with the next part of the city!" Lars scolded. Reggie glared at him.
"You're the one who wanted to relax! Pick one already!"
"Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm in the mood for more money! So let's go!" He ordered, delivering his trademark laugh. Reggie sweatdropped as she and Pi followed him out of the area.
To be continued…
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Mid-chapter Conversation
Part One
The scene opened in the office, where Izzy, Iggy, and I were sitting behind the desk.
"Ouch… This chapter was lengthy." I whistled as I clicked around. "Will Lars, Reggie, and Pi survive the next stage? Tune in next week!"
"Hmph! Now there's no way anybody's gonna review this chapter." Izzy scoffed, crossing his arms. "They'll be way too tired after reading this one!"
"Hey, ya never know." I shrugged.
"Yeah! Ya never know!" Iggy repeated. His brother growled before turning to me.
"So what the hell are ya doing?" He sneered.
"Well, I figured that since we're probably not gonna leave this dimension any time soon, we might as well try to figure out a permanent place for us to live." I replied, turning the monitor towards my two fan characters. "That was when I got this idea."
"So what is it?" Both brothers asked.
"It's a fan village." I answered. Both hedgehogs gave me a curious look.
"'Fan village?'" They repeated.
"Yep." I nodded. "It's like this. I've always thought that every fandom has a place where the fans can live and coincide with each other. Depending on the popularity of the fandom, the fan village can either be as small as a couple of houses where everybody knows each other to a huge city where you have to strive to be known. In the case of the Rocket Power dimension's fan village, it's a small town where most people know each other.
"There are all the comforts of any normal city. Supermarkets, movie theatres, malls, etc." I then proceeded to point out the various buildings. "The movie theatres are where all the authors of the fandom showcase their fics. The museum is where the great artists put their fan art on display for all to see. The university is where everybody goes to exchange theories and brush up on writing skills and anything else they feel they might need help with. The playhouse is where role playing takes place. It's always a little hectic there because new people always come and get into the act. There are also houses and apartments for each fan to live in with any fan characters he or she may have created."
"But what's with the mountain?" Iggy asked.
"The mountain separates the village from Ocean Shores. It prevents the RP cast from entering the village and it prevents rabid fan girls, or boys, from going into Ocean Shores."
"Does this fandom even have rabid fans?" Izzy asked, giving me a weirded out look.
"Ya never know." I said with a shrug. "Anyway, you're only allowed on the other side of the mountain if you're going to write a fic. After all, you need the cast in order to do filming. Finally, on top of the mountain itself is a temple dedicated to those who have broken records in the fandom. From the best site to the most knowledgeable, those who have strived to be the best are honored here. And at the very end of the temple, under a statue of the stars of the show, are three thrones. Only the greatest authors may sit here.
"The first two thrones are for the authors that have accumulated the most chapters and words in a fic. And the third throne, which is placed higher than the other two, is reserved for the author that has acquired the most reviews in a fic. Only someone that is popular enough to reach this hallowed position can be considered the best of the best."
"Hmph. In other words, you'll never get to sit on that throne." Izzy remarked, snickering. "Let alone the other two."
"Hey! Daddy can make it!" Iggy defended, glaring at his older brother.
"Yeah right, squirt." The taller hedgehog sneered, crossing his arms. "The boss could never come close enough to ANY of those thrones. Not in a million years!"
"Yeah he could!" The younger furry shouted, flailing his arms. "He's gonna make it to the top!" He turned to me. "Why Dad!?"
"Heh, it's possible." I said with a shrug. "It would certainly be cool to get to sit on that last throne though."
"Pfft! Dream on! Nobody's gonna give ya enough reviews to hit the top!" Izzy yelled.
"Oh! Speaking of reviews, don't you have to answer those two, Dad?" Iggy asked.
"Oh yeah… I almost forgot…" I nodded, reaching into my pocket. I pulled out two pieces of paper and turned to the camera. "To Warior, I love it when someone, other than Izzy, tells me that! It's very flattering!" I grinned before looking at the other review. "And to Mythica, yeah. Go ahead and e-mail me a list of those fics. I'm kinda curious how Sonic slash fics work."
Izzy gagged in response to that while Iggy pumped one of his fists.
"Anyway, I wouldn't mind if you put a list in the review space. It'd make me happy to see a long review. Makes up for the small amount I get per week. Although, it might be better to just e-mail me the links to the fics. After all, there's always that possibility that someone will come along and get this fic deleted." I looked over the review again and gave the camera a thumbs-up. "That's cool that ya beat Tales of Symphonia! Congrats!" I read the review one more time before blinking. "That's a good question. Do I have insurance for rabid hedgehogs?"
Izzy sniggered while Iggy blushed. I opened a drawer in my desk and took out a massive stack of papers. I then looked through the first page.
"Let's see… Hmmmm… Ah here we go! It seems that I do have insurance for rabid hedgehogs after all." I read through it some more. "Hey, it seems that I also have insurance for wild elephant attacks." I blinked. "But elephants aren't indigenous to California. Talk about a useless—"
::CRASH!::
All three of us looked at each other and ran out the door. We ran towards the studio just in time to see an elephant trample through the doors and stomp through the hall, destroying many of the paintings and statues. Amazingly, the portrait of Izzy and Keoni making out was left intact. We sweatdropped before turning to the camera.
"Uhhhh… Yeah…" I said with an irritated look on my face. "Next time I'll keep my mouth shut."
"Anyway…" Izzy started.
"We'll see ya next time, folks!" Iggy cheered, waving.