Dimension Hoppers 7: Rocket Heroes

by Prince Izzy X

Using the power of their air skates, their special skills, and teamwork, Otto the Hedgehog, Twister the Echidna, and Sam the two-tailed Fox—as well as three other teams—must save all skate parks—and the world—from the evil Dr. Coconutman.

23. Team Tussle Two, Part 2, 2

Mid-chapter Conversation

Part Four

(A/N: It's long, folks!)

"Ugh! What a night…" A familiar voice grumbled in the back lot. All that can be seen of the irate person was a pair of dirty and ragged sneakers. "Maybe I should limit my brooding time to ten o'clock instead of midnight… I hardly got any rest, no thanks to the boss…" The shoes kicked dirt as their owner made his way towards the studio commissary.

"Force me to wear these tacky clothes and rebuild the studio, will they? I'll show them! The boss, Iggy and especially that two-tailed freak!" The voice seethed as the shoes dug into the concrete. The cafeteria was in sight as the tattered footwear stomped their way forward.

"Just wait until I find them! I'll destroy them! That dumb fox won't know what hit him! I'll crush him! Gwahahahaha! …Just as soon as I find him, of course… He's been gone for almost a week!"

The shoes finally stopped before the double doors that marked the entrance to the commissary. Pictured above the doorway was a hotdog decorated with ketchup, mustard, and relish. It was obviously installed to let people know what the building was for. One of the feet was lifted and pointed towards the door. The purple leg it belonged to bent backwards preparing its owner's entrance.

Meanwhile, inside the cafeteria…

"Ok, Izzy should be here to have his breakfast any minute now." I said. I was sitting at a table with Iggy next to me. Across from us were two shadows that just barely reached over the table. "Just follow my lead, alright? I want this to go over as smoothly as possible."

"Chirp, chirp!" The shadows replied as they nodded.

"Don't worry, daddy!" Iggy cheered. "They'll perform spectacularly!"

"Chiiiiiirp!" The shadows clapped encouragingly.

"I hope you're right." I sighed nervously as I fiddled with a briefcase containing many papers in an attempt to look busy.

°SLAM!°

"BOSS!"

"Boy, you'd think he'd at least have his usual bowl of Fruity Pebbles before he gets all grumpy." Iggy commented.

"Tell me about it…" I muttered in agreement.

"Chirp?" The shadows tilted their heads in confusion before all four of us turned towards the entrance.

Standing in the doorway, seething and panting angrily, was none other than Izzy (like ya didn't already guess that. XP). His eyes were flaring with more intensity than usual. His veins were pulsing in rage, causing them to be seen from a distance that shouldn't even be possible to see them from! Steam billowed out from his ears and nose, giving him the look of a mutated teapot. In other words, he was very, VERY mad!

The shadows that were sitting with Iggy and me were chirping excitedly and jumping in their seats as the irate hedgehog stomped towards us. They didn't seem to care at all about his volatile temper or what he would do once he reached us. In fact, it looked as if they wanted to play with the surly hedgehog! As Izzy approached, his shadow covered all of us. Iggy and I were shaking in our seats, but our guests were cheering and supposedly begging to be picked up by the evil one!

"Well?" The dark one hissed once he reached us.

"W-w-w-well wh-wh-what?" I stuttered in fright.

Izzy is truly a fearsome sight when he's this mad, especially in the morning. The corners of his eyes were crusted over from his slumber and there were dark circles under them, a sign that he's been having difficulty sleeping as of late. Despite those features, the veins in his bloodshot eyes were sinister and threatening to explode. Of course, we all knew the reason for his sleep (or lack thereof) related conditions… Hopefully, this plan will work.

"Where is that fox dork!?" He roared. "He's been gone for over a week!" I shuddered for another moment before I blinked and gave him a confused look.

"Sammy?" My expression turned into an exasperated one. "What'd he do this time?"

"You know exactly what he did!" Izzy then pointed at his clothes which were still the prison garb I forced him to wear. "If it wasn't for him interfering with my plans, I'd still have my mallet and battle chips and I wouldn't be wearing these horrible clothes or these uncomfortable shoes!"

"But I bought them especially for you…" Iggy pouted, pressing the tips of his pointing fingers together.

"Yeah, that's another thing!" Izzy rounded on his little brother. "You have absolutely ZERO taste in clothing! When I do get my mallet back, you're gonna—Huh?" He turned to his right when he heard some excited chirping. He put on a confused look before turning to me. "Hey boss, what are Tux and Edo doing here?"

The camera panned around to reveal our shadowed guests. They were two baby emperor penguins all the way from Antarctica. They were both about three months old. They barely stood up to Iggy's knees. Their black feathers had already grown in. The chick on the left was wearing a purple shirt that read, "You melt me!" He was also wearing a matching winter hat. The chick on the right was wearing a sky blue shirt that read, "Got ice?" He too was wearing a matching winter hat. Both penguins were sitting on top of phone books in order to see over the table. They had cheerful expressions on as they waved both flippers at Izzy.

The irate hedgehog was about to say something to me and Iggy when all of us froze and everything turned black and white. Footsteps were heard as someone walked inside the commissary. The camera, unaffected by the sudden time freeze, focused on a chipmunk. He was roughly the same size as Iggy. Like all chipmunks, he had brown fur. He was wearing a blue Hawaiian shirt decorated with white flowers and a pair of white sneakers that were covered in oil stains. Atop his head was a matching baseball cap that had the Los Angeles Dodgers' logo on it. He was holding a microphone in one of his gloved hands as he prepared to speak.

"Hiya! The name's Roderick Vandenack, but my friends call me Rod!" The furry introduced himself with an enthusiastic wave. "Today, we're gonna give our good pal Izzy the surprise of a lifetime!" He grinned in excitement. "This is gonna be soooo cool! I can't wait! See, Izzy was missing his best friend Sadie, a Meowth from the Pokémon Dimension. He was feeling lonely because he wasn't able to see her, so Prince Izzy decided to have the Wheel of Plotlines repaired so that we can bring her back and Izzy can be happy again…or at least less angry than usual…

"But before that, I gotta tell ya about those baby penguins that are sitting with the trio. The one on the left with the purple shirt and hat is Tux. The chick on the right with the blue shirt and hat is Edo. They're both really twins, but because Tux was born a few minutes before Edo, everyone says he's the older brother.

"As for how they found their way up here, it all started three months ago near the end of the summer. Iggy and Izzy were…erm…playing when…"

°°Flashback°°

"Owwww!" Iggy yelped as he skidded across the ground. He was covered in dirt and bruises. He coughed and moaned as he struggled to sit up.

"Get up already!" Izzy ordered. He was standing in a fighting pose, holding his hammer steady with his right hand. His left was holding a battle chip. He was also wearing a green backpack.

The siblings were standing near the water tower. They both had their hammers out. It looked as if they were having a fight over something. What could Izzy possibly be angry about now?

"C'mon Iggy, I don't have all day!" The dark one shouted, taking several practice swings. "If I'm ever gonna beat that idiotic fox, I gotta train! Now get up!"

"Alright, alright! Sheesh!" The shorter hedgehog shot back as he wobbled back to his feet. He then mumbled to himself, "I gotta do something to finish this! Bugs and Daffy comes on in five minutes!" He got into a thinking pose as he tried to figure out his next move. "Hmmm… I need a strong chip to beat him…"

"Ha! Even if I gave you a million years, you could never come up with a good plan!" The elder brother prepared to insert his chip as he ran head on. "Twister! Battle chip in! Download!"

As soon as the chip was put into the mallet, a swirl of wind surrounded it. Izzy then jumped and spun in midair, becoming a missile guided by an intense whirlwind. He resembled a power drill as he sailed dead on towards Iggy, who blinked with sudden inspiration.

"I got it!" He shouted with glee as he grabbed a battle chip out of his pouch. He held it above his head and called out, "Alpha Arm Omega! Battle chip in! Download!"

As the elder brother drew closer, the younger boy put the chip into his mallet, causing it to glow a bright white. The blinding aura made Izzy stop in his tracks and cover his eyes. He groaned in pain as he fought to see what was happening. Soon, the light disappeared, allowing Izzy to look up. He blinked when he saw that nothing had happened. Iggy was holding his hammer with both hands.

"Ha! What's the matter? Did your lousy attack fizzle out or something!? Pahahahahaha!" The dark one taunted as he laughed teasingly. "I bet your crummy mallet has a virus or something! Maybe you should start using it to play with your baby toys instead of fighting! Gwahahahaha!"

As he continued his laughing fit, the front end of Iggy's hammer opened and a HUGE warhead emerged from it. Smoke billowed from within the toy-like mallet as the missile prepared to launch. The little hedgehog's weapon began to shake as it got ready to fire.

"PULL!" He shouted. The missile blasted off seconds later and flew towards Izzy, who was still rolling with laughter!

"Bwahahahaha! There's nothing you can do! Hahahaha—WHAT THE!?" He shouted when he saw the lethal projectile. "His pupils shrunk to nothing as he turned to the camera and held up a sign that read, "I knew I shouldn't have gotten out of bed today…" before covering his head.

°KA-BOOOOOOOM!°

"GAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH AH, AH, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He screamed as the missile blasted him clear into the stratosphere and beyond.

As he became a star in the sky, Iggy, using his hand to block out the sun, looked up with worry.

"Woah… Awesome…" He said in awe. "I hope I didn't hit him too hard… It looks like I knocked him all the way to Antarctica!" He then grinned. "Good thing I had him put on that backpack before we started training! I made sure to pack his wilderness survival kit, including that book on how to take care of wild animals that I got him for his birthday." He put his hand on his chin. "Hmmm… I wonder if I should've packed some food too…" He shrugged. "Oh well! I'm sure he'll come back down eventually! I wonder what's Daddy doing!"

With that, he whistled a happy tune to himself as he skipped merrily in search of me.

Meanwhile…

A light snow began to fall as a star twinkled in the gray emotionless sky. It quickly disappeared as a faint screaming was heard. It grew louder as a violet body was seen flailing towards the ground.

"AaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

°CRASH!°

"Ugh…" Izzy groaned in pain. He had smashed face first into a humongous glacier. He slowly slid down the side of the ice before landing on the ground, which was also made from frozen water.

"Ouch…" He forced out hoarsely as he fell backwards. "What a flight… Omph… When I get back to the studio, that brother of mine is gonna get it…"

The hedgehog stood up and looked ahead. All in front of him was ice and a dreary sky as far as the eye can see. He then looked all around himself. Finding no signs of civilization, he tilted his head and scratched behind his left ear as a question came to mind.

"Where in the world did Iggy blast me to!?" His voice echoed in all directions.

The light flurry that began turned into a storm. Izzy shivered and hugged himself tight.

"Brrrrrr! If I knew I was gonna take a trip to some winter wasteland, I woulda packed a freaking coat!" His voice again bounced off the frozen walls of the tundra.

Rubbing his body for warmth, he walked forward in search of shelter, people, and most importantly, a clue where he was! The frigid wind blew fiercely as the boy trudged through the snow and ice.

"Yeowch!" Izzy yelped as he slipped and fell flat on his face.

Especially ice.

Soon, after being covered with enough fluff to be an official abominable snowhedgehog, the evil one came across a large twenty foot pole. It was red and white like a giant candy cane and had a wooden sign posted next to it. Izzy looked up and shook all the snow off. He's been out in this horrible weather so long, his quills turned a brilliant cobalt, making him almost look like Sonic in a poor attempt to look like Shadow. Shivering all the while, he read the sign.

"W-w-welcome to th-th-the S-S-South P-P-Pole… P-P-Population: A f-f-f-f-few th-th-thousand p-p-penguins, b-b-blue wh-wh-whales, s-s-s-seals—" He blinked. "H-h-hey, w-w-wait a minute! S-S-South P-P-Pole? D-d-does this m-m-mean…"

His eyes widened in pure fear as it sunk in.

"IGGY BLEW ME ALL THE WAY TO ANTARCTICA!" His enraged and frostbitten voice echoed for miles all around, causing a nearby glacier to crack and sink into the ocean.

"That idiot!" He roared, causing his body to turn an angry red now. "When I get back to the studio, he will know true pain! He will know true fear! He will know-know-know—AHHHHHHHHH CHOO!" He sniffled and rubbed his nose as he returned to his normal color. "I-I-I better look for someplace to stay… Hopefully some whalers will come. Then I can get on their ship and get home. Just gotta survive til then… ACHOO!"

With that, Izzy continued on his way through the frosty continent of ice. He would've used his air skates to find some place to hunker down, but he was way too cold to zoom ahead. Besides, the snow was beginning to grow brutal. He'd just wind up crashing into something. Sighing and sinking as far into his vest as possible, he kept walking trying to find a cave or something to huddle in.

After a good two hours of braving the horrid Antarctic weather without finding any bit of shelter, Izzy, snarling and well past the point of losing his cool, stopped and looked at the sky.

"What can't there be a stupid cave around here!?" He bellowed. "Is it so much to ask for one stupid, lousy hole in the wall to get some freakin' warmth!? I'm going nuts! When am I—"

Suddenly, a low growl was heard, forcing the hedgehog to cease his rant. He faced the camera with a desperate look.

"Oh no…" He moaned, gripping his belly. "My stomach… I haven't eaten since breakfast… I-I'm hungry…" His eyes turned a fiery red. "AND THERE'S NOTHING AROUND HERE FOR ME TO EAT! I'M GONNA BEAT IGGY TO A BLOODY PULP! I'LL—"

He was about to continue complaining about his hunger when he heard what sounded like a crowd of birds chirping and squawking. Looking around, Izzy noticed a nearby snow drift. He slowly tiptoed over and took a look.

Over the hill was an entire colony of emperor penguins. There had to be thousands if not millions of them! There were penguins of all ages. From young gray chicks to black and white adults, it was like looking at one of those old black and white silent movies! The birds were all huddled on the beach. Many of them were either getting in the water to hunt for food or getting out to feed their chicks or to give their mates a break from protecting their eggs. Others were sliding down sheets of ice on their bellies. And others still were looking for potential mates. Chicks were running around in groups in what seemed to be a kind of game.

Izzy's mouth watered as his stomach set up several probabilities for him.

"Hmmm… Fried penguin, penguin flambé, penguin noodle soup, penguin ala king! Auuugggghhhh…" He gargled ala Homer Simpson. He then shook his head as he stared more closely at the adults. "Woah… Those feathers must be soooo warm… I can make a coat out of them and be nice and toasty! Now the only question is do I feast first or try on the newest fashion? Decisions, decisions…"

A light bulb flashed above his head.

"Duh! I'm gonna eat first!" He held his chin. "I wonder what's the best way to cook a penguin…" He trailed off as something came to mind. His eyes widened just before he slapped his head.

"Idiot! There's no wood here! How am I gonna start a fire with no wood!?" He ran his hands through his iced over quills, trying to think of a solution. His eyes twinkled as a dastardly plan came to mind.

"I got it! If I snatch an egg, I can hatch it, then raise the bird inside until I can get outta here. By the time I get somewhere with a stove, it'll be fat enough to satisfy me til Thanksgiving! Muahahahaha!" He rubbed his frozen hands evilly. "Now to nab my future meal."

With his evil plan set, the hedgehog got on all fours and crawled over the snow drift towards the colony. He moved his fingers and feet as stealthily as he can through the ice. He slipped a few times when he couldn't get a grip on the slick surface. Miraculously, the penguins didn't even notice him. Wiping his sweaty head, he continued his wolf routine, sneaking ever closer to the beaked and feathered sheep.

He was a few feet away from the closest penguin parent when it turned towards him! Izzy's eyes widened and he stood completely still. Sweat fell down his face—and immediately froze—as he watched the bird, inwardly praying that it doesn't alert the others. Both animals stared into each other's eyes waiting for the other to make a move. After a tense few moments, the staring contest ended as the bird went back to tending its egg.

"Whew…" The hedgehog let out the breath he was holding. "That was too close. There's no way I'm gonna try to get it from that one."

He moved away from the penguin and moved along trying to find another one to steal from. Throughout his hunger-inspired caper, he got caught at least ten times. He managed to avoid the whole colony going after him, but he did get kicked and pecked by a couple of parents and trampled by some chicks. By the time he found an adult to take an egg from, he was covered in bruises and had a black eye.

"Ugh… One shouldn't have to go through this just to eat…" He groaned as he lay on the ice with a dazed look in his eyes.

He blinked when he heard an excited squawk. He looked up and saw an adult getting up and waddling to its mate. When the birds reached each other, they rubbed against each other lovingly. Izzy rolled his eyes and got back to the task at hand. His eyes went huge when he saw the package the nesting bird left behind. Two eggs were lying right there on the ice for the evil one to take! Izzy gave a strange look as he contemplated this.

"A penguin leaving behind its eggs? Talk about irresponsible, not to mention kinda stupid…" He shrugged as he crept over to the white ovals of goodness. "Oh well… It just makes things easier."

When he was close enough to the eggs, he reached out towards it slowly. Again, sweat poured down his face, stinging him as it froze on his cheeks. His fingers drew closer and closer to the first egg. He began to tremble with excitement as his digits brushed against the shell.

"Almost there…" He grunted as he wrapped his fingers around it. He quickly pulled it towards him and brought it against his chest. "Yes! I finally got one!" He cheered, holding up his prize triumphantly.

Suddenly, everything grew silent and the sky blackened. Noticing the suddenly change of background, Izzy gulped.

"S-s-s-say… Why is so quiet all of a sudden…?"

"SQWWWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!"

The hedgehog's quills went white as he looked all around him. His pupils went positively microscopic in fright when he noticed his now (much, much more) dire situation. Surrounding him on all sides was EVERY adult penguin in the colony! And they were BEYOND angry at the thief! They were liable to attack at any moment. They regurgitated whole fish and held them in their flippers like they were clubs. Most of them were even sharpening their beaks on large pieces of ice! In short, a certain hedgehog was in BIG trouble.

The color returned to Izzy as he shook and stuttered to find some way out of this.

"W-w-well you see…" He started with a nervous grin. "Th-th-this is a nice egg and I-I-I was just gonna… RUN AWAY!"

He frantically grabbed the other egg and bolted for freedom. The penguins blinked strangely, allowing the hungry hedgehog to break through the birds' right flank. When he was at least fifty feet away, the male penguins in the colony snapped out of it and pursued him, squawking and waving their partially digested fish in anger. The females stayed behind to keep their respective eggs warm.

"Oh crap! Oh crap! OH CRAP!" Izzy screamed as he climbed over the snow drift with one hand. Once he reached the top, he was panting. "Oh…man…I gotta find…some place to…hide!" A bitter wind blew as the angry cries of the birds grew louder. "Ugh! My hands are too cold to hold these things! I need something to hold them, not to mention keep 'em warm!"

He blinked when he remembered the bag he was wearing.

"How could I forget the bag that idiot brother of mine gave me!?" He took the backpack off and opened it. He then grumbled, "Oh yeah… Running for my life…" He placed the eggs inside and closed the flap.

Izzy gasped when he saw some black coming in over the horizon.

"Aw man! I have to get away from those dumb birds!" He smirked. "And I know the best way how."

With that, he reached down to his air skates and flipped the switches on them. The shoes hummed as Izzy turned to the approaching birds and stuck his tongue out at them.

"Nyah, nyah! Say good-bye to your eggs, boys! I'm gonna have me a delicious meal! Gwahahahaha!" He sneered as he turned and started skating.

The enraged penguins waddled after him at amazing speeds before jumping towards the ice.

"Ha! There's no way they'll catch me now!" He gloated as he gained a good distance over the colony. "I'd like to see them try to—AHHHHHHHHHH!" He screamed in terror as he looked back.

The penguins were sliding on their bellies at breakneck speeds! They were like feathered missiles or torpedoes! Izzy panicked and moved his arms and legs faster.

"Those penguins are crazy! Who knew they could chase you so fast!?"

He continued skating as fast as his frostbitten limbs could move him. Despite his best efforts to increase his speed, the torpedo-like birds caught up with minimum effort. A frozen sweatdrop fell down Izzy's face as he looked to the left, right, and behind him. He was surrounded again! It was a high speed squeeze!

"Oh you have GOT to be kidding me!" The hedgehog slapped his head.

The next few minutes were spent weaving and dodging the penguins' attacks. They took every opportunity to ram into Izzy or smack him upside the head with their rather stinky weapons. The frantic boy wound up either jumping over the irate birds or rolling to avoid being pounced on. He made sure to prevent them from hitting his backpack lest the precious eggs inside get smashed. In a few instances, the penguins with fish in their flippers rode by on the ones sliding in an attempt to bring him down! Luckily, he was able to duck or slow down just enough for the birds to pass and hit each other.

"Whew!" He wiped his forehead as the chase continued. "When are they gonna give it up!? Well, at least I'm warm from all this exercise! Hahahahahahaha—"

°WHAM!°

Without warning, a penguin rammed head first into his back! The sudden impact caused Izzy to wipe out. He rolled along the ice and snow as he tried to get back on his feet! It was no use though. He was moving way too fast to stop himself, let alone regain his footing! As the rolling continued, the flap on his backpack, having not been closed securely, flew open, allowing the eggs to rocket out of the bag and into the air!

The penguins squawked in horror as Izzy finally stopped rolling. His eyes spun dizzily as he wobbled to his feet.

"Don't worry… I'm ok…"

He shook his head as he heard a faint whistling sound. He looked around for the source, but couldn't find anything. That is, until he looked up.

"THE EGGS!" He gasped, running forward with his arms open. "I got 'em! I got 'em!"

He was tackled by some penguins that chirped urgently as they waddled as fast as their webbed feet can carry them. They held their flippers open as the unborn chicks plummeted towards their doom! But then they were tackled by Izzy, who was holding his mallet.

"Oh no ya don't!" He shouted to the struggling birds as he sat on top of them. "I stole those eggs fair and square! They're mine!"

He quickly jumped off them and made a run for the eggs. He was only about twenty feet away from the drop zone when…

°CRASH!°

"Ugh! Get offa me!" He roared to the gaggle of penguins that just landed on him in a devastating dog pile. They only laughed teasingly at him as he struggled to get his arms free.

He just barely got them out from under the bundle of feathers when he gasped. He noticed that the eggs were only mere feet from the ground—AND NO ONE WAS THERE TO CATCH THEM!

"Oh no!"

He reached towards the pouch containing his battle chips and grabbed whatever he could. He took a split second to look at his choice and grinned at his luck.

"YES! Area Steal! Battle chip in! Download!"

As soon as he jammed the chip into his hammer, he disappeared from under the penguins and reappeared in the air towards the eggs. Moving as fast as his hedgehog body would allow, he flipped towards the eggs and reached his hands out. He was just barely able to grab them before landing on his feet and skating off.

"That was WAY TOO CLOSE!" He screamed to the gray sky as he zoomed over past the sign marking the South Pole and towards the glacier he crashed into when he arrived here. He panted heavily and leaned against the ice wall as he tried to think of a plan.

"Gotta…find…shelter…FAST!"

He then looked down at the eggs he was holding. They were feeling almost frigid to the touch!

"Oh great! These chicks'll die if I don't do something!"

That was when he looked at the glacier and got an idea. He stepped back a few feet and took off his vest. He put it down on top of the snow and placed the eggs on it. He then closed the vest as he grabbed his mallet again.

"There. That should keep them warm until we get inside." He then pulled out another chip from the pouch at his waist. "Mega Cannon! Battle chip in! Download!"

The hammer became a red handheld cannon as soon as the chip was inserted. Realizing that the vest wouldn't keep those penguin eggs warm for long, he quickly aimed at the glacier and fired. A thick beam of orange light shot out of it and smashed right into the wall. Steam appeared as the ice was melted by the extreme heat. Once the cloud cleared, the entrance to a cavern could be seen. Sighing with relief, Izzy put away his weapon, which transformed back into a mallet, and picked up the eggs.

"I just don't get what the boss and Iggy see in penguins…" He commented with a sigh as he entered the newly made cave. He went as far as he could go before hitting the end of the cave; another ice wall. "They're nothing but major pains in the butt if ya ask me." He unwrapped his vest and looked at the prizes of his trek.

"Well, at least I'll have a meal eventually. I just gotta make sure I eat before I get back to the studio—if I make it back. Iggy and the boss would never let me eat these things… Idiots." He grumbled.

He set the vest on the ground, being careful not to break the eggs, and looked at the makeshift nest in confusion.

"…So, how am I supposed to incubate them?" He asked himself. He held his chin as he went over his options. "If don't exactly have an electric blanket or something with me… And I can't make fire, so frying them until they hatch is outta the question… The only other way I can think of is…"

His eyes widened in horror before drooping in an irritated, defeated expression.

"I…have to sit on them until they hatch…" He moaned. "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh! What would everybody say if they found out I had to sit on a couple of eggs like a bird!?"

Stomping the cave floor in frustration, he slowly turned and planted his purple bottom right on top of the eggs. He shivered as the cold shells brushed against his skin.

"Th-th-this is s-s-s-s-so embarrassing…" He shuddered as he wrapped his arms around himself. "I'd better see if there's anything useful in the backpack that little twerp made me put on before he blasted me."

He reached over and grabbed the bag, which he unceremoniously dropped when he reached the end of the cave. He stuck his hand inside and started pulling out the contents.

"Let's see… A first-aid kit… A tennis ball? What would I need a tennis ball for? A blanket! Finally!"

He wrapped the cloth, which had rubber duckies on it, around his body.

"A kid-sized fishing rod…" He sneered at the brightly colored object. "A kid-sized fishing rod? What do I look like, some little brat? …At least I got a way to catch food… And the last thing…"

He blinked.

"A book?" He read over the title. "'The Manly Man's Guide to Outdoor Survival and How to Care for Wild Animals?' Aw crap! This is the book Iggy got me for my birthday last year! A lot of use this'll give me!"

He was about to toss it over his head when he read over the title again.

"'Wild Animals?' Maybe this'll tell me how to deal with these eggs. Let's see…"

He opened the book and flipped through the pages until he found the chapter on egg raising.

"Ok now… Chickens…snakes…" He raised his eyebrows. "Echidnas? Ah! Here it is! Emperor Penguins!" He scanned the page for info.

"According to this, emperor penguin eggs take—" He put on a horrified look. "—SIXTY-THREE DAYS TO HATCH!? That's over TWO months!"

He looked down at the eggs and sighed.

"Ugh! Nothing I could do now… Maybe the parents got a head start before I stole 'em…" He grinned. "Yeah! I bet it'll only take a day or two to hatch 'em! Now, I guess I better get some rest and conserve my energy… I wonder if hedgehogs hibernate…"

He returned to the book and found his answer.

"Whew… We do, but I'll have to get up eventually for food. Blah… Whatever…"

He yawned and curled into a ball while keeping the blanket wrapped securely around himself. This gave him the look of a huge kid's ball decorated with little ducks. He was asleep in no time flat, starting the weirdest incubation period ever known to penguin kind.

°°End Flashback…for now°°

"Wow! What an awesome adventure, huh?" Rod spoke in the still-frozen commissary. "We'll be back with the conclusion of the story after this part of the chapter! So who's gonna win this fight, Otto's or Lars' team? Read to find out! See ya in a bit!"

The little chipmunk waved happily as the camera faded to white.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Rocket Heroes

Chapter Twelve

Team Tussle Two

Part Two-Two

TEAM BATTLE #4

TEAM LARS VS. TEAM ROCKET

When the two leaders were close enough to each other, Otto arched his back and spun into a ball, increasing his speed. Not even threatened by the incoming attack, Lars also rolled into a ball and used his torque to move faster. They rammed into each other in midair, creating sparks. Everyone but Pi shielded their eyes from the near blinding light. They seemed to be evenly matched. Both were struggling to push the other back, but neither one was making any progress.

Soon though, Lars, being the bigger and stronger of the two, began to gain the upper hand. He pushed Otto down towards the ground. Noticing that it was futile, the red hedgehog pushed his way out of the struggle, forcing his opponent to crash into the ground! Dust and dirt rose from the point of impact as Otto landed. He turned towards the cloud to see Lars glaring at him hatefully. The one in the sunglasses only smirked at him.

"Heh, what'd I tell you?" He scoffed. The older furry gritted his teeth and growled.

Giving his rival no time to relish in the success of his attack, he bolted forward and bashed him with his elbow. Shocked, Otto was thrown backwards. He flipped, allowing himself to land on his feet. He skidded backwards a few feet before stopping. Taking advantage of his rival's surprise, Lars lunged forward to ram him again. Thinking fast, Otto sidestepped to avoid the attack, throwing the violet hedgehog off guard. He quickly let loose a flurry of jabs, which Lars blocked by putting up his arms. The punches were lightning fast, but Lars wasn't about to let this little punk show him up!

The scarlet hedgehog made to give his adversary one final punch when Lars ducked and gave him a hard uppercut. Twister, Sam, and Reggie gasped as the smaller leader was thrown up into the air! Moving fast, the taller one bent his legs and jumped as high as he could. Thanks to his air skates, he passed Otto's limp form with ease. Smirking, he flipped and kicked his foe's stomach, knocking all the air out of him! Otto crashed into the ground the same way Lars did at the beginning of the fight. And the purple hedgehog wasn't done yet! He rolled into a ball and fell towards him in a hard homing attack!

"Ottoman!" Twister panicked.

He snatched Sam's satchel and pulled out a fake ring. Wasting no time, he tossed it at his older brother. It connected just before Lars could hit Otto!

"Yeow!" Lars shouted as the electricity shocked him.

"Ugh…" Otto groaned as he opened his eyes.

Noticing that Lars was right above him, he rolled out of the way and stood up. He waited for the electricity to fade before throwing him back with a homing attack of his own. The older furry was sent skidding along the ground. Once he stopped, he stood up and glared at the opposing team.

"So that's the way it's gonna be, huh!?" He turned to his teammates. "Pi, take care of the shrimp! And deal with Squid, ya kook!" He added to Reggie. "Rocket Dork's mine!"

"Understood!" Pi acknowledged, activating his rockets. "Initiating attack mode!"

He jetted towards Twister with a claw held out.

"Pi!? Woah!" The echidna yelped, dodging the robot's swipe.

He jumped away from Pi and skated to the left into the forest, the bot in high pursuit.

"Twist!" Otto called after them.

"Tchahahahaha!"

The red hedgehog turned and gulped at seeing Lars pounce on him! When his rival was close enough, he jumped backwards, avoiding Lars' initial punch. The purple one quickly followed with a rapid succession of punches, which Otto barely blocked as he continued to be pushed backwards. Like his own attack a few moments ago, Lars' fists moved like bullets, occasionally striking the shorter hedgehog. Because he was stronger than him, the punches hurt Otto even though he was holding his arms in front of him. He gritted his teeth as he took the pain and continued defending himself.

After a few moments of this high speed attack and defense, Otto jumped away from Lars, bounded off a nearby tree and skated into the forest in the opposite direction Pi and Twister went. Determined to destroy the opposing leader, Lars took off after him, leaving Sam and Reggie all alone.

Both the bat and fox stood there staring at the other, unsure of what action to take. Should they forget their two plus years of friendship and battle each other as per their leaders' orders? But how? They couldn't possibly just forget all the fun, excitement, and danger they went through together. It just wasn't right! You can't pit two friends against each other! Not in a million years!

"Erm…" Sam looked down and shuffled his feet around. "What are we supposed to do?"

Reggie shrugged and rubbed the back of her head confusedly. "I dunno…"

The fox looked up at her and tried to say something when he gasped and glared at her.

"Hold on! What are you doing with my inventions!?" He shouted, noticing that she was wearing his lightning attachments on the toes of her shoes, his strength intensifier on her right wrist, and a satchel of fake rings on her right arm. The bat gulped and stuttered.

"W-w-well, ya see…"

"Y-y-you went into my garage and stole my inventions…" Sam started, tears welling up in his eyes. "I worked so hard on them…"

Reggie sighed guiltily at him. "Sorry, Sammy… If it's any consolation, they work like a charm. And I like them."

"Really!?" The fox's eyes brightened as a small blush formed on his face. He blinked, shook his head, and glowered at her again. "Wait a minute! You took them from my lab before I could give 'em to you properly!"

"WHA?" The bat asked, blushing as well. Sam's own blush deepened as he turned away.

"Uhhh… Well…" He again shook it off. "I want 'em back!" The girl smirked at the command.

"Sorry handsome, but you're not getting 'em back without a fight!"

She winked at him before taking off into the canopy above. Steam came out of Sam's ears as he stomped the ground.

"If that's the way you want it, here I come!" He shouted as he wound up his tails and flew after her.

'Heh, well that was easy.' The bat thought as she flew away from the boy. 'Now I just have to figure out how to end this without hurting Sammy too much. I gotta look convincing in case Lars winds up watching us.'

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Meanwhile, Twister was skating around the trees as he tried to get away from Pi as fast as he could. The robot was gaining on him as he slashed tree after tree. The shorter one had a tough time dodging the huge lumber. The echidna managed to avoid him for the most part, but eventually, a tree landed right beside him, causing him to hop out of the way. Taking the opportunity, Pi lunged and punched him square across the jaw!

"Augh!" The furry got out as he bounced off the ground.

When he landed, he opened one eye and pushed himself up.

"Annihilate!" Pi droned, jumping towards him with his claw straightened out.

Eyes widening, Twister pushed off the ground and bounded backwards, allowing the robot to get his right claw stuck in the ground. Pi struggled to get it out, but it was stuck deep! Grinning, the echidna ran towards him with his fist reared back. The bot looked up and increased his efforts.

"Danger, danger!" He said right before Twister pounded his face in.

"Ha! Now we're even, ya bucket of bolts!" He shouted before pummeling him with even more jabs.

His spiked fists were a bunch of blurs as he laid the hurt on the automaton. Because of his thick armor, Pi didn't seem to be affected by the barrage. Something that he was actually thankful for ever since being turned into a robot. But even though he was feeling next to no damage from the young animal, he couldn't let him get away with this!

Twister jumped back and dashed forward to get in an uppercut when Pi activated his rockets. He was able to get his claw out and shot up into the air with a flip, throwing the echidna off guard!

"Woah!" Twister yelped, struggling to keep from tripping.

"You are powerless against me!"

"Oh yeah!?" Twister shouted as he regained his footing. He shook a fist at Pi. "I dare ya to come down here and say that!"

"As you wish!" The bot replied, blasting towards him with his fist held out. He wasn't about to leave himself open for attack again!

As the metallic one neared him, Twister stood his ground. He held up both fists, bracing for impact. Just when Pi was about to strike, the echidna ducked and went in for a swing. However, the robot doubled back, avoiding the attack. The furry's eyes widened when he noticed Pi activating his rockets again. He instinctively started skating backwards to evade whatever his opponent was planning. Pi blazed after him, leaving a trail of flames in his wake. They both took to fisticuffs again as they sped through the forest.

It was hard for Twister to avoid getting hit because he had to constantly look behind him to avoid crashing into a tree or tripping over a root. If Pi had a mouth, he would be smirking as he socked the animal every time he had to look. He struck the echidna several times in the chest and face as they continued. Twister nearly tripped many times but he didn't waver once! He too got his licks in. He actually started to dent the robot's plating as he fought back. This went on for a few moments before Pi's eyes glowed a dangerous red.

"Enough!" He roared, screeching to a halt as they entered a clearing.

Twister also stopped and took in a deep breath.

"Huff… Had…enough…yet!?" He panted, wiping his sweaty head.

"Negative. Switching to secondary tactic."

Twister gave him a curious look. "Huh?"

Pi didn't say anything as his claws retreated into his arms and were replaced by machine gun barrels! The boy's eyes went as wide as saucers as he sweatdropped. He gulped as the barrels started spinning!

"Oh crap!" He screamed, scrambling to get away.

He just started moving when Pi fired, unloading several bullets into the tree that Twister was standing in front of a few seconds prior. The shots caused an outline of the echidna to be made in the side of it.

Twister stopped to look at the design and whistled.

"Woah! Not bad dude!" He complimented, giving Pi a thumbs-up. "How'd you do that!?"

"That is one of the oldest cartoon tricks in the book." Came the response. A few seconds passed before the bot added, "Error!" and shot at Twister!

"Yipe!" He shouted, jumping out of the way and making his escape. Still firing, Pi activated his thrusters and gave chase.

Elsewhere…

Grunting and curses echoed all over as two blurs, one red, the other purple, sped through the forest. They crashed into each other every few seconds, never losing momentum as they dodged the trees. Every time they bumped into each other, they both increased their pace. It was almost as if they were testing their speed, pushing themselves to be faster than their opponent. The two were yelling insults to each other every time they rammed into each other.

"Twerp!" Lars shouted, elbowing the red blur.

"Kook!" Otto retorted, countering the purple blur's elbow with his own.

"Dork!" Another attack from the purple blur.

"Loser!" The red blur struck back.

The attacks and insults were thrown back and forth for a couple of seconds before Lars lunged, trying to tackle Otto. Otto was ready for that cheap tactic though. He did a baseball slide to not only stop himself, but also to allow the older hedgehog to sail clear over his head! Lars' eyes widened when he realized he was heading right for a tree!

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!"

°CRASH!°

The red hedgehog got up off the ground, dusted himself off, and turned towards his rival. He took a good long look at him, blinked a few times, snickered, bit his lips to hold back what was threatening to come out, failed, and promptly laughed his head off.

Lars' head was stuck in the trunk of the tree! His arms and legs were moving wildly in an attempt to free himself. He soon growled in annoyance and put his hands and feet against the tree. He pushed as hard as he could, but no matter what he did, he couldn't get his head out! And that little twerp's laughing wasn't helping one bit!

"Heh, I've heard of birds poking holes into trees for food, but hedgehogs!? Hahahahahahaha! BUST!" Otto teased, falling to the ground.

Lars' face turned a fiery red as steam came out of his helmet. He gritted his teeth as he reached into his pocket and pulled out one of his Chaos Emeralds.

"THAT DOES IT!" He roared. "CHAOS CONTROL!"

In a bright flash of light, Lars disappeared from the tree trunk. Otto was blissfully unaware of the incoming attack as he kept up his guffaws. He was soon cut short as Lars rematerialized and kicked him hard in the stomach, sending him spiraling towards another tree at an incredible velocity! His eyes were screwed shut and his teeth were clenched as he flew towards the hardwood. Aware of the danger, Otto quickly rolled into a ball to avoid the majority of the damage. Mere seconds later, he crashed into not just the tree he was heading for, but every other tree that was behind it! He flew like a cannonball through a good two miles of forest before finally colliding into the side of a cliff face. His eyes spinning just as fast as he was going, he unrolled and slumped down the side of the ridge until he landed on his head.

"Ohhhhh…" He moaned dizzily. "Thank goodness for safety helmets…"

It was then that he heard rapid footsteps that were getting louder with each passing second. Otto blinked and saw Lars running on the ceiling at nearly a hundred miles per hour! Each time he blinked, the purple hedgehog was bigger. He started out as a small speck before becoming as big as a garden gnome until he was his normal size, and still running! He was just a few feet away!

Eyes bulging to the point of breaking his sunglasses and a blaring alarm going off in his mind, Otto pushed up off the ground and righted himself in midair. The world was right side up again, but Lars was dangerously close! Glowering and ready to continue the battle, he again rolled into a ball to get ready for his homing attack. However, the violet hedgehog wasn't about to let himself be attacked so easily. While Otto was preoccupied with setting up his attack, Lars used his Chaos Emerald to disappear again.

"Huh?" The red one gasped, stopping his move. He blinked and held his chin. "What happened to Lars? He was standing right there a minute ago. Where'd—"

He was cut off as Lars pounded him right into the ground again! Otto crashed landed, kicking up a lot of dirt and dust.

"Ha! Gotcha!" The older furry gloated with a smirk. He then sneered. "Time to finish you off!"

He arched his back and got into the formation for his own homing attack. He propelled himself towards his rival when…

"Rocket Twister!" Otto's voice echoed as the dust cloud was parted by a great, red tornado!

Lars tried to get away from it, but his momentum was way too strong! The purple ball was sucked right into the tornado and spun around. He screamed and shouted for a good few seconds before Otto finally tossed him high into the air. Lars was beyond dizzy as he was sent far above the forest. Using the G-Forces of the funnel he created, Otto launched himself out of his attack and right towards his foe. It only took a few seconds for him to catch up to the other hedgehog. When he was close enough to Lars, he brought both fists together and raised them above his head. He allowed himself to fly a little longer before letting him have it!

°WHAM!°

"ARGH!" Lars grunted as he was sent crashing down to earth.

Otto waited until his enemy fell through the trees before pumping his fist.

"Heh, who's got who now!?"

As if to answer his question, Lars shot out of the trees as a ball and rammed right into him! Otto gave a shout of pain as he fell through the green blanket below. The violet hedgehog had struck him in the stomach again, knocking all the air out of him. Lars gave an evil sneer as he fell towards the forest. He covered his face as he fell through the leaves.

Once he passed them, he found Otto standing on a nearby branch. He was leaning against the tree as he fought to catch his breath. Lars let his teeth show as he landed on his own branch. He crossed his arms and looked at the younger kid with an air of superiority. Otto noticed the look and glared at him as he stood straight up.

"Go ahead and keep smiling, Lars!" He shouted. "It's gonna be that much sweeter when I wipe that grin off your face!"

"Pahahahahaha! Give it up, Rocket Dork!" Lars retorted, laughing in his usual teasing tone. "There's no way you're gonna beat me! I've been fighting ever since I was in diapers!"

"What, this morning?" Otto remarked, smirking at the deep glower the older furry sent him.

"You're gonna pay for that one, ya little twerp!"

"Bring it on, dork!"

They both jumped towards the other with their fists reared back. When they got close enough to each other, they brought them forward, connecting with each other's faces. They were both pushed backwards as they fell towards the ground. On the way down, they both fought with jabs, kicks, and head butts while pushing off the trees to slow their descent.

When they neared the bottom, they landed on the same branch, prepared to push their opponent off the edge. But to their immense surprise, the branch broke under their combined weight! Being caught off guard, both of them fell the remaining distance to the ground. They hit the hard forest floor with a resounding thud. In almost a flash, they darted up and traded blows, causing serious damage with their hardest punches and kicks. They kept this up for about a minute before facing ahead and racing through the woods.

"Like I said," Lars started, quickening his pace. "You're never gonna win!"

"Oh yeah!?" Otto challenged, matching his enemy's speed. "We'll just see about that!"

With that, the two hedgehogs continued their duel.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

High above the ground, the two flying members of the teams were playing a dangerous game of cat and mouse. They were going back and forth, trying to catch their opponent off guard as much as possible. They hid among the trees and moved around as much as possible to get the jump on each other. For the most part, they were unable to find each other. But whenever they did find their foe, they let him or her have it with a barrage of fake rings.

Of course, due to their speed, they were able to dodge the shocking projectiles with ease. Still, it unnerved them a little to know not only that they were caught so easily, but that they were best friends, fighting each other because, again, they were practically forced into it by Lars and Otto. As they abandoned their search and destroy strategy and went to fisticuffs in the air, guilt struck both of the fighters. But no matter what, they had to finish this fight lest they let their leaders do the job for them!

'I'm sorry, Reg…' Sam inwardly sighed as he tried to land a kick. 'But I'm not gonna let Otto or Twist hurt you!'

Reggie ascended out of the way. The fox kicked off a nearby tree and made to punch her.

'They'd be a whole lot tougher than me!'

"Woah!" Reggie yelped barely dodging the jab. She flew higher up and allowed gravity to affect her while rapidly kicking. 'Sorry, Sammy, but trust me, you don't want Lars or Pi going after you!'

Eyes widening at the incoming attack, Sam stopped spinning his tails and allowed himself to fall in an attempt to avoid the bat. Noticing this, Reggie ceased her kick and straightened out her body, causing her to catch up. When she got close enough to the fox, she began her barrage again. Sam had an incredibly tough time darting around the kicks while free falling to the ground below.

Reggie's foot soon grazed his side, causing him to wince and grit his teeth in pain. Putting on a determined look, he whipped his tails in front of his body to block the girl's kicks. Reggie blinked in surprise when she noticed that she wasn't doing anymore damage to her friend. Glowering, she increased her efforts by speeding up her kicks. Sam countered by whipping his tails harder. They were at a stalemate as they neared the forest floor!

'I gotta hurry and finish this before we both crash!' The kitsune thought urgently.

'C'mon Sammy!' The bat shouted inwardly. 'Pull up before we go splat!'

Reggie went for another kick when Sam saw his opening. He used both of his tails to knock her leg away. The sudden move surprised the older one, giving Sam plenty of time to make his move. He grabbed Reggie's other leg and swung her around as hard as he can! Normally, he'd barely be able to lift a huge stack of books, let alone his best friend. But the strength intensifier he was wearing really made it as easy as lifting a piece of paper.

The bat shouted dizzily as Sam continued to spin her around like a toy airplane. Regretting every second of this, the younger animal finally let go after a full minute of swinging. Reggie flew through the air a couple of feet before crashing into a tree. She was embedded in it as she kept her eyes shut and took in sharp gasps of air.

Cringing at the sight of the girl in pain, Sam wound up his tails and let them go, stopping his descent mere yards from the ground.

'I hope she's alright! I didn't mean to throw her that hard!' He thought as he floated up to Reggie.

When he was level with her, he gave her an apologetic look as he extended his hand. The bat regained her breath as she opened her eyes and stared into her best friend's. The boy's eyes seemed to be begging her for forgiveness while her own had guilt all over them.

"Are you ok, Reg?" The fox asked.

"Yeah…" Reggie answered, taking his hand.

Sam flew backwards, struggling as he pulled her out of the tree. When she was freed, they were both panting, trying to assess the other.

"What are you guys doing out here anyway?" She finally asked.

"I could ask you the same thing." Sam replied. He then gave her a strange look. "And what are you doing with Lars anyway?"

"Like I said before, it's a long story, Sammy."

The fox crossed his arms. "Well, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

The bat again sighed and slumped forward. "Alright, alright. Here's what happened…"

Meanwhile…

"Yeow!" Twister screamed, holding his butt as he ran at top speed. Pi was still chasing him through the forest, guns a blazing. He looked back and shouted, "Don't you ever run out of bullets!?"

"Negative." The robot answered. "I have many backup magazines. Running out of ammunition is a near impossibility."

The echidna sweatdropped.

"…Nice…" He moaned as he let go of his backside and skated, effectively increasing his speed.

He jumped to the right to dodge another stream of bullets as he shredded down the dirt path.

"Get back here, pathetic organic!"

'There's gotta be something I can do to get him off my back!' Twister thought frantically as he dodged more of the robot's shots. 'If only I had something I could shoot back at him. He'd have to back off.' He then blinked. '…And then…! I got it! I just gotta avoid him til I can find what I need!'

His expression hardening, he skated as fast as he can, looking all around for anything he could use. He wasn't having much luck as the robot increased his efforts. Pi never let his target out of his sight as he fired both of his guns at the echidna. Twister gritted his teeth as he abandoned skating and jumped from tree to tree. Lucky for him, it was much harder for Pi to hit him as he stayed at least twenty feet ahead of his opponent.

"Error! Stand still!" The robot ordered.

The bullets were getting closer and closer with each tree that Twister jumped off. They stuck themselves into the bark mere seconds after the echidna kicked off. Pretty soon, the gunfire was hitting the trees just as soon as Twister reached them.

'Man, I can't keep this up much longer!' He thought as he barely avoided the next barrage of shots. He looked at the trees around himself and grinned. 'Let's see him try and stop this!'

With that, he jumped towards the next tree and brought back his fist. When he was just a couple of feet away, he let his fist fly and punched the tree! The blow was strong enough to take out a huge chuck of the trunk, exactly as Twister planned. He landed on the ground and yelled, "Timber!" before starting off again.

Pi skidded to a stop and tilted his head in confusion. A loud creaking sound was heard seconds later. He turned to his right as a large shadow loomed over him.

"Danger!" He shouted as the tree crashed down upon him.

Hearing the sound, Twister skidded to a stop and turned towards it.

"Yes! I did it!" He cheered, pumping a fist.

"Not quite." The electronic voice said, causing the echidna to gasp.

"No way!"

He stood gaping as a metal claw stabbed the fallen tree and split it in two with little effort! His eyes stretched out of their sockets when he saw Pi stomp out between the halves of wood. The robot didn't have a single scratch on him! If he had the ability to display emotions, he would be extremely ticked off at poor Twister. He stepped forward another inch or two before raising his right arm. He retracted the claw, which was covered in sap from the tree, and brought out his machine gun again.

"Aw man! Don't you ever stay down!?" Twister complained, skating away again.

Pi didn't say a word as he activated his rockets and gave chase once more.

'Well, at least the tree gave me some time to relax!' The echidna thought as he darted out of the way of a deadly stream. 'So if I just punch out more, I'll be able to have plenty of time to find what I need to deal with those bullets!'

With his plan set, Twister used his powerful fists to knock any and all trees that were along the path. One by one, the grand towers of wood fell and blockaded the path behind the frantic furry. The logs didn't provide much of a safeguard against his enemy, but they did give him a decent amount of time to get away. He fell many trees to put as much distance as possible between him and the lethal automaton.

Soon though, the path widened out and trees stopped appearing. Strangely, this didn't bother Twister because he had reached his intended goal!

A huge cliffside?

The wall of stone went up at least fifty or sixty feet. There didn't seem to be any footholds to climb up it. There were plenty of rocks around, but zero cover from Pi. Aside from the two paths to the left and right of him, there was no escape.

The echidna took a deep breath and put up his fists. A determined glower crossed his features as Pi cut his way through the last defense.

"Ok, here goes nothing."

Canned evil laughter was heard as Pi walked into the clearing. His heavy metal feet caused the ground to tremor slightly as he approached Twister. He stopped a few feet away and aimed both gun barrels at him.

"Prepare to meet your end, organic." He droned as he cocked his guns.

"No way, ya bucket of bolts!" Twister retorted. He turned and made a run for the closest boulder.

Pi fired a lethal spray at him. Pulling off some sweet moves only the air skates could grant him, Twister narrowly avoided the bullets before reaching his target. He jumped and flipped in the air before pulling back a fist. With a shrill battle cry, he drove his fist into the large rock. The impact cracked the boulder and caused it to explode into hundreds of tiny pebbles. Every last piece of the rock was sent into the air.

While the rocks were still in the air, Twister focused his energy into his fists. He glared hotly at Pi and clenched his teeth as he willed his hands to get as hot as possible. Soon, the jewel on his flame ring glowed an angry red as fire engulfed both of his hands. Pi's eyes became bright as he assessed the situation.

"Scanning subject…" He announced to no one in particular. "Subject's body temperature is increasing at an exponential rate. Course of action: Attack!"

With that, the robot aimed his guns and prepared to fire. Fortunately, Twister was ready to start his own attack. The flames on his hands were constantly jumping and crackling. It was amazing the echidna's fists didn't burn! Pi's gun barrels began to spin as Twister jumped up into the air towards the pebbles he knocked skywards earlier (Don't ask me why they never fell!). Once he was level with them, he raised his right fist and prepared to strike. During those few seconds of air time, the two combatants stared at one another, willing the other to try his move first.

"Fire!" They both roared at one another.

Pi unloaded a great amount of bullets from his arms while Twister punched the rocks as fast as possible. Due to the speed, ferocity, and heat of his fists, the pebbles moved almost as fast as the robot's gunfire. The boy's hands were two flashes of light as he punched like his life depended on it. During the crossfire, most of the projectiles met each other in midair and fell harmlessly to the ground below. Several of them, however, sped past each other and towards the combatants.

Some of the bullets grazed Twister's side, causing him to wince in pain. He ignored the white hot burning and continued punching. Meanwhile, the flaming rocks that cleared the bullets struck Pi, denting his armor badly. He crossed his arms in front of his face to protect himself. He didn't notice, but several of the pebbles lodged themselves into his gun barrels.

When the barrage finally ended, Twister fell towards the ground. When he was close, he flipped and landed safely on his feet. He then kneeled and held his sides. He screwed his eyes shut as he felt the burns. When the pain subsided, he opened his eyes and looked down. He gasped when he noticed several drops of crimson on the ground. He was bleeding; it seemed that those bullets didn't just fly by him…

He didn't have much more time to assess his injury for he heard heavy stomping that got steadily louder. He looked up and glowered as Pi slowly approached him. The robot wasn't looking as good as the echidna was. Sparks were shooting out of cracks in his body where presumably Twister's rocks hit. Pi soon towered over him and pointed his guns at him. The echidna gulped and trembled as he stared into certain death.

"This ends now." The bot cocked his weapons. Twister screwed his eyes shut as the barrels spun and…

°KABOOM!°

"Argh!" Pi shouted, jumping away from Twister. "Ninety-five percent damage to both secondary hand units! Require emergency maintenance!"

"Huh?" The furry cracked open an eye and grinned.

Both of his opponent's wrists were on fire! Smoke was billowing out of them. Pi was too busy trying to put out the fires to notice the other combatant stand. Twister put up both fists and drew fire into them as his expression grew mischievous.

'Now's my chance!'

With that, he charged forward with his right fist drawn back. As he closed the distance between him and the metal one, he let out another battle cry. It wasn't until he was a few feet away that Pi noticed him. It was far too late though. Before the robot could do anything, Twister's fist collided with his face, sending him flying into the forest and knocking down some trees in the process!

The echidna skidded to a stop and allowed the fire to fade from his hands as he stood, watching for his foe. He kept both fists up in case Pi decided to try and catch him off guard. Luckily for him, that didn't happen. Instead, the robot stomped back into the clearing. The fires were put out and the totaled guns had retreated into his wrists. There was also one massive ding in his head from the boy's attack! Twister got into a defensive stance.

"You'll pay for that." Pi simply stated.

"Yeah right!" The animal scoffed. "Let's finish this!"

"Switching to third battle technique."

The bot pointed both arms at him and launched flames from his wrists!

"Yikes!" Twister hit the ground, barely avoiding the surprise attack.

The streams of fire hit the rock wall and melted it instantly! Eyes wide, the echidna stood and surveyed the area of impact.

"Oh man… I better not get hit by that unless I wanna be turned into echidna burgers!"

He wiped his sweaty head when a delicious fragrance wafted past his nose.

"Hmmm… Smells great!" He complimented, drool forming on his lips. "Smells like charbroiled echidna!"

He licked his lips and rubbed his now growling stomach. He then blinked and brought his hands to both cheeks.

"Echidna!?" He snapped his head towards his backside and felt his eyes go wide.

His tail was on FIRE!

"YEOWCH!" He screamed as he ran like a maniac towards the nearest source of water.

Sweatdropping, Pi took off after him.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"So that's the whole story, huh?" Sam asked. He and Reggie were still hovering high above the forest.

"Yeah." The bat nodded, her arms crossed. "Pi was turned into a robot and Lars found out he was a test tube baby. I decided to go along with them to get some treasure from Merv. Now we're on some wild goose chase that everybody else is involved in!"

The fox gave her a confused look before asking who else she encountered on her journey. After she told him about the battle against Trent's crew, he told her about the fight against Clio and her team.

"Some crazy road trip huh?" Reggie said when Sam finished.

"You could say that again." The boy answered with an exasperated sigh. "I just wanna get back to Ocean Shores and take a long, hot bath."

"You and me both, Sammy."

Silence, then the fox gave her a nervous look. "So erm…do we still have to…ya know?"

Reggie bit her lips guiltily. She wished he didn't remember the battle they were supposed to be fighting. "You know what'll happen if we don't…"

Sam looked down. "I don't want to hurt you…"

"Same here…" The older kid looked away.

A twinkle suddenly appeared in her left eye as she smirked.

'Maybe I don't have to hurt you after all…'

The kitsune took a deep breath and put up his fists. "Alright!" He gulped. "Here I come!" He propelled himself towards Reggie, ready to continue the battle! Reggie, meanwhile, batted her eyelashes at him.

'And here I come.' She snickered as she flapped her wings and charged straight for Sam.

The two weary battlers soared towards the other, intent on finishing this fight once and for all! Flames were burning in their eyes as they closed the distance. Sam's flames were full of strength and determination! He didn't want Twister and Otto to do the job for him. They'd be absolutely ruthless!

The strange thing about all this was Reggie's eyes. They weren't glowing with the heated fury a warrior would have for their foe… In fact, if Sam didn't know any better, he could've sworn the flames in her eyes were of…

"WHAT THE!?" He gasped when he realized what was happening.

He tried to stop himself in order to get away, but it was hopeless! He was going way too fast to stop! When Sam was within range, Reggie grabbed the fist that was held out and pulled him towards her. Sam's eyes went wide as the bat embraced him and pushed her lips to his! The poor fox tried to push away, but the older girl's grip was too strong. Besides, he was quickly submitting to the unexpected maneuver. Both of his tails went stiff as steam erupted from within his shark helmet. His eyes became two big hearts as he returned the hug. He pressed his lips against hers as his eyes went shut; a clear sign that he gave in to his hormones.

Just as quickly it began, it was over. Sam's entire body went numb in Reggie's arms as they broke the kiss. The fox's eyes fluttered open in bliss as he tried to recollect himself. Failing miserably and finding himself losing consciousness, he took one last breath and uttered these three words:

"What a kisser!"

He then fainted in the girl's arms with a strong blush that turned his muzzle completely red. Reggie suppressed the urge to giggle at the boy's naivety as she lowered herself and the fox down to the ground. When she touched down, she started walking, carrying him over her shoulders. She shuddered and felt herself go as red as an apple when she felt him snoring into her ear.

"Who knew it would've been so easy to fool Lars and kiss the boy of my dreams all in one day?" She asked herself with a chuckle. "Now I just hope Sammy will stay knocked out."

With that, she moved on, trying to find a suitable place to drop off Sam.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Mid-chapter Conversation

Part Five

"Woah…" Rod gaped at that last scene. "Who knew Sammy had it in him?"

He cleared his throat as he turned to the camera.

"Well, it looks like he's out of the fight! Will Otto and Twister pull a win from Lars' grip!? Find out next time! But for now, let's get back to Izzy's adventure! We last left him in an ice cave in the middle of Antarctica caring for Tux and Edo's eggs. Let's see what happened next!"

The grayish background of the time frozen cafeteria wiggled and swirled to launch the flashback already in progress.

°°Flashback°°

As it turned out, the original parents had only been incubating the eggs for a month. The near-frozen Izzy spent most of the remaining thirty to thirty-one days hibernating and staying on the eggs. During the few times he was awake, he attempted to leave the cave to fish. Unfortunately, there was always a raging blizzard outside the icy shelter preventing him from leaving. Besides, he couldn't even risk leaving the eggs behind lest they freeze to death.

So those long days were spent trying to stave off his building insanity by bouncing the tennis ball off the cave walls and humming to the tune of his growling stomach. He was even starting to get the theme song of each and every season of the Pokémon animé! By the time the month was up, he had lost about sixty to seventy percent of his body weight.

One day into the eggs' incubation period, Izzy awoke and stared ahead. He had lost so much weight that he resembled a skeleton with skin attached to it. His bloodshot lifeless eyes went far into his skull, his brittle quills lost their luster making him look a sickly grayish lavender, his hands resembled tiny, sharp claws, his belly and internal organs sunk into his body, and he had a rather scary-looking twitch. But he remained on the eggs nonetheless!

"J-j-j-just a l-l-l-little l-l-l-longer…" He shivered. "S-s-s-soon they'll h-h-h-hatch and I c-c-c-can e-e-eat…"

He blinked and grabbed his head in frustration.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHH! THAT'S IT!" He roared, getting to his feet. He turned to the eggs and pulled out a knife and fork. "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! I'M GONNA EAT THEM NOW!"

His mouth watered as he approached his defenseless prey with crazed eyes. He inched closer and closer to the eggs, preparing to chow down. He was centimeters away from them when he stopped and dropped the utensils. The resulting clang echoed throughout the cave.

"What am I doing!?" He shouted, grabbing his head again.

He stumbled away from the nest and banged his head against the ice wall.

"I can't do it! I can't do it!" He cried as he broke a gaping hole in the wall. "Look at them! They're innocent! I can't eat them!" He sobbed guiltily.

The poor hungry, thirsty, frigid, near insane hedgehog continued his fit for a good ten to fifteen minutes before finally returning to the nest. Thankfully, the eggs weren't too cold by the time he planted himself on them again. He sniffled and tried to compose himself as he sat thinking.

"How long has it been anyway? There wasn't any chalk in the bag so I couldn't mark the days… For all I know, it could be a day or a year that I've been laying on these things!" He flailed his arms and legs around. "How much longer do I have to—HUH?" He froze as he felt a vibration underneath him. "I-i-it can't b-b-be…!"

He jumped off the nest and looked in awe. Both of the eggs were shaking! They were about to hatch! He grinned in anticipation as he watched the miracle of nature. The egg on the right was the first to hatch. It cracked on all sides before a tiny, black beak poked out of the top. It retreated inside and repeatedly poked until the roof was broken. Chirping was heard from the inside.

Izzy shook his head and recovered from his shock. He walked over to the nest and picked up the broken egg. He looked inside and saw the small chick. It was covered in a thin film of liquid. Like the chicks he saw back at the colony, this penguin had a light plumage of gray feathers. The area around its head was black and white though. Its eyes were closed shut as it made squawks of hunger.

For once in the hedgehog's life, he put on a warm smile as he peeled away the newborn's former prison.

"Heh, for a baby, you're actually kinda cute." He commented when he freed the chick. It chirped slowly as he held it in the palm of his hand. "Here. Let's get ya cleaned up."

He wrapped the blanket around it and gently dried it off. Once he was done, the baby slowly opened its eyes. It blinked a few times before looking straight at Izzy's face. It tilted its head for a couple of seconds before chirping excitedly and rubbing itself against the boy's face. Izzy sweatdropped at the action and tried to pull the chick away with no avail.

"O-o-ok… That's nice and all, but could ya get back a bit? There's such a thing as personal space, ya know?"

He was about to try to pry the penguin away again when another cracking sound was heard. Izzy and the nuzzling chick turned towards the nest to see the second egg breaking. Unlike the first egg, this one's hatching was faster and more efficient. The chick inside burst out of it almost instantly, sending egg shards flying. The baby was sent flying a few inches into the air, did a flip, and then landed right back on the nest. It chirped happily for about a second before the biggest piece of the eggshell, the top one, landed on its head, creating a nice hat.

Izzy and the firstborn blinked strangely at the other bird before it chirped cheerfully and clapped its tiny flippers. The first chick went back to nuzzling against the sweatdropping hedgehog.

"…Well, that's one way to make an entrance…" He said with a sigh as he bent over.

He plucked the older chick off of him and gave it an irritated look. The baby tried its hardest to get back to his face, but Izzy's grip was too strong.

"Think you can give me a sec to clean up your little brother or sister?"

The chick tilted its head in confusion before looking down at the nest where its sibling was trying to look around, but couldn't due to the eggshell covering its eyes. It turned back to Izzy and chirped happily as it nodded.

"Thanks." The hedgehog said, putting it down in the nest.

He then picked up the younger chick, removed the over-sized "hat," and cleaned it with the blanket. Like its sibling, it blinked a few times and stared at Izzy for a few moments before unceremoniously attaching itself to his face and chirping joyfully. The hedgehog just stood still with his fists clenched as the bird rubbed lovingly against him. Taking advantage of his immobility, the older sibling waddled clumsily over and hugged Izzy's right leg. The spiny one faced the camera with the chick still nuzzling against him.

"This is as close to a penguin as I wanna get…" His voice was muffled.

The younger penguin laughed in response. Apparently, Izzy must've tickled the baby when he spoke.

He pulled both babies off of him and held them up to face level in each of his hands. He studied them as they tried to free themselves to rub against him some more. He tapped his foot as he tried to figure out a reason for their behavior.

"Ok…I get that you two wanna hug me til the cows come home." Both penguins chirped happily as they nodded enthusiastically. Izzy rolled his eyes. "I'll let you do it in a sec, but do you mind if I look at something real fast first?"

The siblings tilted their heads before facing each other. They squawked until they were able to come to an agreement before turning back to the hedgehog and nodding. Izzy sighed.

"Good. Now to see if that dumb book will tell me anything."

With that, he put the chicks in the nest and wrapped the blanket around them so that they won't succumb to the horrid cold. He then grabbed the guide to the outdoors Iggy gave him and opened it. He thumbed through until he reached the section he was at a month ago, the one explaining how long it was going to take to hatch the eggs. He read along while the babies watched as if it was story time.

"Let's see here… 'When penguins first hatch, their minds are imprinted with the image of the first thing they see, causing them to think that said thing is their…'"

He paled at the next word before facing the chicks with a gaping expression.

"'MOTHER!?' THEY THINK I'M THEIR MOTHER!?" He groaned painfully as he slammed the book shut.

"How lovely!" He roared sarcastically. "There's no way I can eat these chicks now! They'll wind up loving me so much that I can't have my meal without having to go through the extreme guilt and worrying about being a bigger jerk than usual!" He took in a sharp, irritated breath. "Fate hates me so much…"

"Cheep cheep?" Both penguins looked at their "mom" confusedly.

"This stupid, lousy…" Izzy grumbled as he made the wind up and tossed the book at the nearby wall (far from the babies, of course).

In an instance of classic comedy, it bounced off the wall and slammed square into his face! The chicks were beside themselves with laughter as they clapped and applauded their "mother's" show. The book slid off Izzy's face. He stumbled around dizzily as he recovered from the sudden hit.

"Ohhhhhh…!" He growled, shaking his fists.

He turned to the book and prepared to stomp on it when the sound of a trio of rumbling stomachs echoed all around the cave. All three of them held their stomachs and looked at one another.

"Heh, heh… Guess I forgot about food after you guys hatched…" The "mother" said with a nervous chuckle.

The babies looked at him with tears in their eyes. Their little beaks quivered, causing the hedgehog's eyes to widen.

"Oh no…"

"CHEEP! CHEEP, CHEEP, CHEEP!" Their little voices boomed.

The cave shook and trembled due to their high pitched squawks. Parts of the ceiling even started to cave in! Izzy covered his ears to drown out the massive noise as he dodged the chilly debris.

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! I'LL GET YOU SOME FOOD!" He shouted, hopping from side to side. Ice chunks landed on his left and right as he continued the strange dance routine. "JUST STOP CRYING! I'LL FEED YA! I'LL FEED YA! I'LL FEED—"

°WHAM!°

A particularly large ice rock landed on him. It cracked right down the middle and broke in half. He was knocked out cold shortly after.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Ok, now just stay here, ok?" Izzy told the chicks an hour later. He was wearing an ice pack atop his head. He was holding the fishing rod Iggy packed inside the backpack. "I should be back soon, assuming I don't freeze out there…"

"Chirp!" Both babies clapped their soft flippers eagerly. Izzy sighed.

"Yah… And stay under that blanket. Until your black feathers grow in, you're in danger of freezing too."

He adjusted the blanket so that only their heads could be seen. They nuzzled against their "mom's" face as he did so. The hedgehog chuckled.

"H-hey, cut it out!" He said, as strange as it sounds, good naturedly. He withdrew and pat them on the head. "You're so fuzzy!"

"Cheep!" They started to cry again.

"Ok, ok! I'm going! Be right back!" Izzy said as he ran out of the cave to forage for food.

When he reached the exit, he put a hand on his chin.

"Hmmm… They'll need some protection from predators while I'm gone…" He blinked and pulled out his pouch full of battle chips. He then rummaged through it. "Now I'm sure I got something here… Yes!" He shouted in triumph as he pulled out what he was looking for. He then pulled out his mallet.

"And now… Swordy! Virus chip in! Download!"

After putting in the chip, the hedgehog bashed the ground in front of him. Four puffs of smoke appeared as soon as he did that. When the clouds vanished, four of the viruses were standing before him. They all resembled knights except they didn't have any legs. Instead, their bodies were floating above the ground. In each of their right arms was a sword that was alight with strange flames. The one of the far left was gray. Its sword was glowing with purplish fire. The one next to it was a dark blue; the flame surrounding its sword was a lighter shade of blue. The third knight virus was gold; its flaming sword was a bright red. The final one on the far right was the most sinister of them all. Its armor was black as night. Its sword was a darker purple than the one belonging to the first knight.

Izzy slapped his head upon seeing the gold knight.

"You mean to tell me I had the ability to make fire at any time?" He grumbled before facing the viruses, who saluted him with their swords. "Alright you four, I want you to guard this cave! If anything but me tries to get in, destroy them immediately! Show no mercy!" Again, the viruses saluted to show their compliance with the order. "Good. I'll be back in a couple of hours."

With that, he skated away, leaving the viruses to stand guard. He soon reached a shore that was deserted of life, which he was pretty thankful for. After all, he didn't want to end up running into those penguins again. Bad enough he was the official parent of two chicks, he didn't need to top off his day with another chase scene. He sighed as he sat on the ice.

"Oh well…" He growled. "At least now I can finally get some food in my stomach."

With that, he lowered the rod's lure into the water.

Not even five seconds later, a huge fish shot out of the water and ate him whole! The fish dived back into the ocean. Things were calm for a few seconds before the water bubbled. Izzy soon emerged from the surface, struggling to keep his head above it! The fish kept trying to pull him back down until he pulled out his mallet.

"Down! Down I say!" He roared, bashing it on the head. "You stupid barracuda! Back!" He jumped back on the ice and prepared for the final strike. The fish lunged out of the water, ready to bring Izzy back in. "When I say down, I mean DOWN!"

He walloped the fish hard, knocking it out. It made no movement as it landed on the ice beside the wet and shivering hedgehog. Izzy's vest was torn in several places. He panted for a few moments before dragging the over-sized fish back to the cave. He kept his mallet ready in case it wanted a second round.

"Lousy thing messed up my favorite vest too…" He grumbled as he neared his home. "This better be big enough for those chicks…"

He soon made it back to the cave. He strolled past the sword-wielding viruses and walked through the hollowed hall until he reached the babies, who were softly crying out of hunger. They were huddling next to each other while holding their fuzzy tummies. As soon as they saw him, they jump out of the protection of the blanket and hugged him. Izzy cracked a small smile as he pet them.

"Ok you guys, your very first meal is served." He said, gesturing to his catch.

The chicks' eyes widened as they ran over to the massive fish. They immediately made to eat it when a discovery was made. Their tiny beaks were way too small to eat it whole! Try as they might, they couldn't even penetrate the scaly skin. Izzy watched them continue to try to tear off a piece of it before he decided to intervene. He pulled them away from the feast.

"Hang on you two." He started, holding them back as they struggled to get back to the delicious meal. "I gotta cut it up for ya first!" He sat them on his lap and held his chin. "Only question is how small should I make it? Better yet, how do you even feed a baby penguin?"

He blinked and looked down at the confused chicks. They simply shrugged at him. Rolling his eyes, Izzy reached over and grabbed his book. He turned it to the section on penguins and read.

"Let's see… 'Parent penguins feed their young by…'"

He turned stone white as he read over the next words.

"'REGURGITATING THE FISH THEY'VE HUNTED AND DIGESTED!?'"

With an expression of horror, he looked down at the babies, who were pointing at their open beaks. Izzy turned green as he stood and grabbed his mallet and a battle chip.

"I feel like I need to toss my cookies already…" He groaned.

After using his fire sword chip to cook the fish he caught ("Again, I had the ability to make fire all along!?" His voice echoed throughout the cave.), he ate a quarter of it and prepared himself for what had to come next. Nervously, he stuck a finger down his throat. Instantly, the fish came right back up, filling his cheeks! He hurriedly grabbed the older chick and…erm…fed him.

As fast as it started, the little bird's belly was full of vital nutrients. Izzy panted while the chick cooed and chirped contently. The hedgehog used his vest to wipe the vomit that was dribbling from its beak before putting it down and going back to feasting on the fish. After finishing half of it, he picked up the younger chick, who was crying from hunger, and fed it the same way as its sibling. The poor "mother" was beyond ill at this point. He cleaned up the happy chick and finished what was left of the fish. He moaned as he laid down on top of his vest and wrapped himself in the blanket.

"Ugh…" He gurgled, the color returning to his face. "I never wanna have to do that again…"

He blinked and moaned painfully when he realized that he had to do it at least twice every day if he expected the chicks to survive until they can hunt on their own.

"Oy… I just wanna sleep now…"

He was about to close his eyes when he noticed the chicks looking at him. He simply smiled and raised the blanket.

"Hmph, you two better get under here. Even with my fire sword providing warmth, it's still too cold. You'll freeze."

The chicks chirped and waddled over to the hedgehog. When they reached him, they nuzzled against him as he covered all of them with the blanket. He yawned as he ran his hand over their heads. In a rather cute display, they imitated him, opening their beaks in a tiny yawn. Izzy chuckled before looking towards the cave exit. A light snow started to fall outside.

"Ok, you two, time for bed. It'll be awhile before I could go out again…" He said, giving another yawn as he laid his head on his right arm.

He wrapped his left arm around the chicks and pulled them in close for maximum warmth. The babies closed their eyes and hugged their "mother's" arm with their tiny flippers. Izzy suppressed the urge to grin as he too succumbed to his fatigue. He was soon fast asleep.

And so, Izzy spent the next month raising the chicks. Everyday he would go out to his favorite fishing spot and catch many fish to feed them. Of course, he'd always be sick to his stomach afterwards… He eventually discovered that both chicks were boys. Soon, the babies' black feathers grew in, allowing them to go out into the frozen wasteland without getting chilly. The three of played in the snow and ice whenever it was clear. They'd belly slide across the tundra for hours. …Though Izzy would sometimes crash into a wall of ice.

He also attempted to teach the chicks how to swim. But that didn't work so well considering that the poor hedgehog would turn into a giant popsicle as soon as he jumped in. Luckily, the babies instinctively knew what to do and dived in. They grabbed the large ice block and swam to shore with it. Then they dragged him back to the cave where he defrosted while lying by the fire sword still stuck in the cave floor. He was more or less out of commission for the rest of that day.

Eventually, he started to become homesick. As much as he hated to admit it, he missed being back in Ocean Shores. He contemplated this one day while watching the chicks kick his tennis ball back and forth like they were playing soccer.

"Hum…" He sighed. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I wanna go back home. I miss the delicious food I used to eat, the peace and quiet I would sometimes get, and most importantly, the WARMTH!"

"Cheep?" The chicks faced their "mom" in confusion. Izzy continued without even acknowledging them.

"I miss the boss and Iggy as much as I loath them! I even miss that geeky little fox!" Tears came to his eyes as he clenched his fists. A small grin came to his face. "If I ever get outta here, I'll…I'll hug all three of them, even that fox-dork!

"But how do I get off this giant iceberg? There hasn't been a single ship here ever since I crash landed. Not even some crummy group of scientists." He sighed again as the babies went back to playing their game. "If only I had some mode of travel, something that'll let me go at the speed of sound. I could zoom across the ocean and right back to the studio. But what—" He blinked and looked down as he spoke. "—am I…gonna…use…?"

He stared at his fully-functioning air skates for about a minute before looking up with a sharp glare and facing the camera. He then pulled out a sign that read, "I KNOW! I KNOW! I'm just as confused as you folks!" He turned to the chicks and cleared his throat.

"Babies, we're going home."

"Chirp, chirp, chirp?" They tilted their heads.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

So after getting some fish for the road, Izzy picked up his belongings, burned the book Iggy gave him to a crisp, and put on his vest. He promptly guided the chicks out of the cave and destroyed the whole glacier with his strongest battle chip. He then melted the debris with his second strongest, leaving behind a large lake. The babies clapped in awe as he dusted off his hands and put the mallet away.

"And that, my dear chickies, is what I'm gonna do to your uncle when I see him." He said. He then opened the backpack's flap and made some space before bending down towards the chicks. "Ok, hop in and hang on tight. Things are gonna get a little rocky."

"Cheep! Cheep!" The little penguins cheered as they waddled over to the bag and climbed inside.

Once they were comfortably inside, the hedgehog lifted the backpack and slipped it on. Due to the added weight, he wound up wobbling all around, trying to regain his balance. The babies chirped and giggled as the ride continued. After a few moments, Izzy managed to fix his footing. He then faced the frozen, iceberg-filled ocean, getting ready for the trip.

"Take a good long look, guys!" He started, preparing to skate. "You won't see this place for a looooooooooong time!" He then added under his breath, "Thank goodness."

With that, he sped off towards the ocean. He quickly gained speed as he skated closer and closer to the water. The chicks chirped and waved their flippers in enjoyment as everything around them blurred and slowed to a crawl.

When he reached the closest beach, Izzy blazed onto the ocean, throwing up massive towers of water. His natural speed combined with the hovering capabilities of his skates allowed him to stay above the water's surface. Whole schools of fish flew onto the beach, creating a buffet for the nearby colonies of penguins. The hedgehog maneuvered around the numerous icebergs and pods of blue whales. The chicks waved as their "mom" sped by some adult penguins that were porpoising (jumping out of the water to breathe) as they hunted. Soon, the trio passed the icebergs and scores of aquatic life and reached the open ocean!

"Alright!" Izzy cheered. "I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner! We'll be home in no time as long as nothing happens!" He then looked behind him. "How are you two holding up!?"

"Cheep!" The babies shouted with glee.

And so, the trio journeyed clear across the ocean. Close to two hours into the daunting trek, the temperature rose sharply; something that Izzy was very thankful for. The hedgehog and chicks zoomed by the southern most tip of South America, breathing in the hot tropical air. The "mother" grinned as he realized this hot weather was only part of the experience he missed so much back home. Not to mention that he was no longer shivering. The babies, not being used to such intense conditions, retreated into the backpack for shade and protection from the sun.

Naturally, they occasionally popped their cute little heads out to see where they were. Of course, this led to far more trouble than the violet one experienced back in the chicks' homeland. In Antarctica, he had to fend off vicious skua, leopard seals, and killer whales to protect them. Once or twice, he even faced off against sharks! Out here in the warmer ocean, his troubles almost doubled. He faced various species of sharks, seagulls, and even had some trouble with a whale (the younger chick actually wound up playing on the colossal beast's teeth! Luckily, Izzy was able to get to him before it closed its huge mouth).

Despite the many marine animals that wanted to make lunch out of the babies, Izzy was able to keep them out of harm's way until they finally saw land. The hedgehog grinned when he saw the seaside amusement park and the other familiar buildings. He looked over his shoulder while continuing forward.

"Take a look, guys!" He shouted. The chicks poked their heads out of the bag and squawked at the sight of the town. "Welcome to your new home!"

"Chirp! Chirp!" The baby penguins exclaimed happily.

They both hugged Izzy in celebration. Unfortunately, the act of love blinded the "mother." Izzy began to swerve out of control!

"Ack! I can't see!" He screamed in fright as he tried to pull the penguins off him with little success. By the time he was able to get them off him…

°CRASH!°

He collided with one of the pier's pillars. The trio then fell into the water.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

After the chicks dragged Izzy to shore and slapped the water out of his lungs, the tired hedgehog got up and marched off towards the outskirts of Ocean Shores. The babies waddled after him. The now irate boy put on his best sneer as he traversed the steep hill towards the entrance to the RP fan village. He hadn't forgotten about the reason he wound up taking a flight to the South Pole. He gritted his teeth in bitter rage as thoughts about what he'll do to his brother when he reaches the No Worries studio buzzed through his mind. His fists were clenched tightly as sharp growls came from his throat.

After gaining entrance to the village through a large, golden gate, the trio walked through the city-like area amongst shocked gasps and disappointed groans from authors and fan characters that thought Izzy had finally disappeared. Among those sounds were cooing noises and cheers from the girls that saw them. It seemed as if they were reacting to the chicks, who stayed close to their "mother."

Soon they left the city and traveled down a road that had many studios on either side. The hedgehog continued stomping his way towards his temporary place of employment, followed by the relieved babies.

Meanwhile…

"Hey Iggy!" I called, walking towards the studio gates. I looked around for my partner's little brother. "Where are ya!?"

"Up here, Daddy!" Iggy waved from his high position.

He was inside a makeshift watchtower, wearing a pair of binoculars around his neck. It was made of wood, which easily clashed with the studio's brick wall.

"Still looking for him, huh?"

"Uh-huh!" The furry nodded. "I won't give up until he comes back!" He then blinked. "Hey daddy, why are you wearing that snazzy suit?"

In addition to my standard crown, cape, and dirty sneakers, I was wearing a black suit and tie, complete with monocle.

"Oh, you noticed?" I asked, flaunting around. "I'm going to the gala premiere of Chao in Space: Episode Three over at the Ortega. Wanna come with?"

"I can go!?" Iggy shouted with a huge grin. I nodded.

"Of course! Since Izzy's been gone, there's plenty of time for us to go to events like this."

That was when the little hedgehog's ears drooped. I slapped my hand over my mouth. I forgot that he's been depressed ever since he knocked his brother out of the country.

"Think he'll ever come back?" He asked.

"Sure he will!" I answered. "Besides, I could just bring him back here anytime I want. I am the author, after all."

Iggy looked at me strangely. "…Then why don't you?"

I shrugged. "Plot convenience. Not to mention it gave us a well deserved break."

"But—"

The then, the studio's steel gates were slammed open. The sudden crash caused Iggy's watchtower to collapse. The boy screamed as he fell. He landed with a thud. He got up and wobbled dizzily. He seemed fine…until the rest of the tower landed on him… I cringed at the wreck before looking back at the gates. Someone was approaching us. The figure was looking downwards, clenching its fists in an unimaginable rage. Behind them was a couple of smaller shapes, looking around the bigger figure's legs before retreating every few seconds. Iggy climbed out of the lumber and groaned in agony before turning towards the gates. He took a look at the figure as it stopped mere feet from us. We gasped at the sight of the being.

"Izzy!" We shouted, running over to him.

He was still in his enraged state as we approached.

"Bro! I missed ya so much!" Iggy shouted, hardly containing his excitement.

Izzy only growled in response.

"Heh, I knew you'd find your way back eventually." I said with a smirk. "Good to see ya again."

"Oh Izzy! I thought I'd never see ya again!" The younger hedgehog shouted, rubbing the tears out of his eyes.

"Iggy…" Izzy seethed.

Iggy paled at the tone in his voice. He knew that he was in trouble whenever his big brother spoke in that tone, which was just about every day.

"Y-yeah…?" He stuttered, taking a step backwards. His quills went white as snow when his brother raised his arms to attack.

And then he hugged him.

"WHA?" I gaped with wide eyes as I witnessed Izzy, the most evil character I've ever known, HUGGING his little brother! Not even LARS hugs his brother!

Iggy, just as surprised, tried to get out of the bone crushing embrace, but the older furry wasn't about to let go. The sound of bones breaking was heard at least ten times before he finally let go. He then rounded on me.

"Well boss, a promise is a promise. Come 'ere!" He advanced towards me.

I didn't know what promise he was talking about, but I did know that I didn't want to suffer the same fate as Iggy, who was lying on the ground with a dazed expression. So I did the only thing I knew to do.

°WHAM!°

"Whew…" I breathed a sigh of relief as Izzy backed away, holding his head in pain. "That was close…"

"So much for showing him how much I missed him…" He groaned as I brandished my mallet.

"Man Izzy, where were you all this time?"

"Believe me, it's a loooooong story." The hedgehog sighed.

"I bet." I said, crossing my arms.

I blinked when I heard chirping. I looked down and saw the two chicks. They squawked and dove behind Izzy. Raising an eyebrow, I looked at him.

"Ummm… What are those behind you?"

"What?" Izzy said, shaking his head. Then he too heard the penguins. He looked at them and then chuckled bashfully as he turned back to me. "These are—erm…—my chicks… I…hatched…them…"

"…" Again, I gaped at him. "Th-those chicks are yours…? As in they think you're their mother?"

Izzy simply nodded. I kept my shocked gaze on him for a few moments before shaking my head and holding it.

"Ok… Well what are their names?"

"Huh?"

"Whaddya mean 'huh!?'" I gave him a sharp glare. "They're your kids! Don't they have names?"

"Oh crap!" He blinked picking up the chicks, who nuzzled against him. "I forgot to name you two!"

Iggy, who recovered, and I turned white. Since when did he let small animals cuddle against him!?

"So what am I supposed to name them?" Izzy asked us.

"How should I know?" I shrugged. "They're your chicks!"

"Yeah, but you're their grandfather and uncle! Help me!" He roared.

"Ugh… It was strange and weird while it lasted…" I remarked before snapping at him. "Grandfather!? I'm too young to be a grandfather!"

"Aw!" Iggy squealed, clasping his hands. "I'm an uncle, and to a couple of cute penguins too!"

"Yah…" Izzy rolled his eyes. He blinked and looked me over. "Yo boss, what's with the penguin suit?"

"Hmmm? Oh! I'm wearing this tuxedo to go to a movie premiere." I explained, sighing. "It's been so quiet without ya around…"

He glared at me. "Oh I'll show ya quiet, you little—" His eyes brightened as an idea came up. "I got it! I'll name you—" He held up the older chick. "—Tux and you—" He held up the younger one. "—Edo! How do you like it?"

The chicks tilted their heads in thought before turning to each other. They then conversed in their language before turning back to their "mother" and nodding. For the second time that day, Iggy and I were beyond weirded out when we saw Izzy grin and hug the penguin chicks while they all cheered over the success of being named.

I sneered and turned to Iggy with my fists on my hips.

"You hit him so hard you gave him amnesia, didn't you?"

"Wha?" Iggy flinched at my glare. "No I didn't daddy! I only hit him hard enough to blow him away! Honest!"

"Then why isn't he trying to pound you into the earth!?"

"Oh don't worry." Izzy reassured, his voice venomous. "I will get my revenge for what Iggy did." The hedgehog in question gulped and shuddered. "But for now, I just wanna rest and take care of my babies. Isn't that right?" He added, tickling Tux and Edo's bellies. The little penguins laughed and flailed their flippers in a false attempt to get away.

Iggy and I simply held our heads and groaned.

"My head hurts…" The former said.

"You and me both…" I agreed.

That was when we heard voices. They became steadily louder as the speakers drew closer. We all turned and saw Sam, Otto, Twister, and Reggie discussing a new trick the scarlet hedgehog created. I grinned at the sight of the fox. If anything can bring the dark one back to his evil ways, it's his rival!

The quartet of furries soon reached us and an uncomfortable silence overtook all of us. Even Tux and Edo, who were being giddy only seconds prior, were now looking back and forth between their "mom" and the fox. Izzy and Sam stared each other in the eye for several minutes, during which Iggy managed to step in between them and scoop up the penguins. This allowed the older hedgehog to stand and regard his rival. Everyone waited with bated breath as they prepared to settle this!

"Fox-Dork." Izzy said.

"Y-yes…?" Sam maintained his courage.

Silence, then…

"I MISSED YA SO MUCH!" The hedgehog roared, lunging at the fox.

"Woah!" The kitsune yelped, jumping to the side.

Izzy wound up landing flat on his face. He slowly got back to his feet while keeping that extremely uncharacteristic grin on his face. Sam sweatdropped.

"C'mon! Lemme give ya a hug!"

"Run Sammy!" Otto shouted from the sidelines.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" The fox replied, scampering away.

Unfortunately, Izzy gave chase…with wide open arms!

"C'mon! Just one hug!" He pleaded.

"No way! Back off!" Sam screamed, increasing speed.

As we witnessed the chase, all of us except for the chicks, who were clapping their flippers and cheering for their "mother," were white with shock. Our mouths were hanging open and our eyes went completely white.

"It's so good to be home!" Izzy shouted, pouncing again.

Luckily, Sam dodged him again.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually miss the old Izzy!" He yelled.

All of us on the sidelines fell over as the hedgehog chased the fox into the sunset.

°°End Flashback°°

"Well, now that we're back to speed, let's see what happens to Izzy now!" Rod said excitably.

As soon as he spoke those words, everything turned from black and white back to their normal colors. Everyone in the commissary was able to move again. All of them were stretching and making noises of relief. Tux and Edo shook their bodies and waved their flippers.

"Ugh… That flashback took way too long…" I moaned, trying to relax.

"I thought I'd never be able to move again…" Iggy said dizzily.

"Why was there a flashback in the first place…?" Izzy groaned.

"Cheep, cheep." The chicks twittered.

"Where were we, anyway?" Izzy asked.

"And how much further do we have to go?" The younger sibling added.

"Let's see…" I muttered, pulling out the script. I flipped through a few pages before sweatdropping. "Oy… We actually have a long ways to go…"

"You and your crummy overwriting…" The older hedgehog grumbled. I sneered at him in response.

"Uh-oh… The babies are getting hungry." Iggy pointed out.

Izzy and I turned from our argument to face Tux and Edo. Both of them were holding their bellies and chirping weakly.

"Ok." I nodded. "We'll take an hour for lunch then start recording for the next update. Deal?"

"Deal!" Everyone in the cafeteria shouted.

The camera then faced Rod, who was scratching his head.

"Erm… I guess I better take a break too." He said before waving at the camera. "We'll see ya next time, folks for the end of this tale! Til next time!"

And the camera irised out with the words, "To be continued" shown in white.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A/N: It…was…too…freakin'…LONG! I mean the conversations COMBINED were longer than the actual chapter! X.X °Sighs° The price one must pay to have fun and convey emotion, comedy, action, and two incredibly cute penguins in one update… On the bright side though, this story finally broke TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND words! Yayness! I can't believe it's actually gotten this big!

Now time for reviewer responses!

Warior: The story keeps getting more and more interesting! If you guys haven't checked out the review board yet, do so now and read the side story!

Mythica: New Mexico, huh? Sounds fun! Yeah, I heard deserts are brutal at night and early in the morning. Are they worse than during the day? And yeah, that alligator was crazy hard to outrun, especially as Team Dark for some reason… And on a personal note, I don't really mind the new voices featured in Shadow's gem of a game. In fact, the only voices I ever really had a problem with in Sonic X were Dr. Robotnik's E-series robots, Gamma especially. °Shudders°

All that aside, see ya next update, folks!