Sonic X: Season 3: Shuffle Edition
Midgame (pt. 4)
Space. Our one true opponent in this universe. The one thing you can't beat no matter how far you travel in it. No amount of speed or time can be bested in space. Space flips time around on its head. It makes you feel...confused. Lost. Have we traveled for weeks? Or for months in space? No one really knows. Like time itself, it is a construct of our imagination. We can never tell when we'll reach the end of our journey, but we must press forward. We must get through the lost labyrinth of space and its confusing intersections...just like this Metarex fortress. It's so huge and strange that I doubt we will ever find the correct path to its-
"Sonic! Will you stop being melodramatic?! We've only been here in this fortress for about two minutes!" Knuckles yelled in frustration with a deep frown and with crossed arms as he glared at Sonic.
Curse that knucklehead. He is a fool to think that there is no reason to be dramatic. For we are in our enemies' base after all. It is another challenge that we must endure as we continue to play the board ga-
"And stop monologuing to yourself! I can hear you, you know!" Knuckles yelled again in frustration with a deep frown and with half-lidded eyes as he glared at Sonic.
Sonic then looked back at Knuckles with an annoyed frown on his face as muttered tiredly, "You're no fun".
"I'm not here to have fun, Sonic. I'm here to help you find the Chaos Emeralds," Knuckles replied calmly in annoyance with a solemn frown and with half-lidded eyes as he glared at Sonic.
"...By sitting in the backseat while doing nothing," Sonic added teasingly with a sly grin and with a raised eyebrow as he stared back at Knuckles.
"...Just keep your eyes on the road, hedgehog. Don't want you to hit anything," Knuckles replied calmly in annoyance with a deeper frown and with narrowed eyes as he stared back at Sonic.
"Thanks, buddy. Really appreciate your concern here," Sonic replied calmly yet sarcastically with a smirk and an eyeroll as he looked back ahead of himself and flew the X-Tornado a bit faster.
"Hmph. Don't mention it, pal," Knuckles replied calmly yet sarcastically with a solemn frown and with an eyeroll as he looked at his left while still having his arms crossed. The X-Tornado flew past many of the Metarex fortress's interconnected infrastructure. Following behind the X-Tornado was Amy's pink spaceship and Dr. Eggman's hovercraft. At the very least, Sonic and Knuckles are having a significant lead in the race.
"Okay. We're in the lead. Now what we need to do next is find the emeralds in this dang place. Knuckles? Got any idea as to where they are?" Sonic muttered calmly to himself with a bright smile as he glanced back at Knuckles.
"Oh, right. One second here...Hmmm..." Knuckles muttered calmly with a frown as he uncrossed his arms and pulled out the white Chaos Emerald to check. Once Knuckles had gotten a strong energy reading from the Chaos Emerald, he looked slightly surprised as he quickly thought. Ah! It's much closer than I thought!
"We're slightly off from its trail! Turn right so that we'll get right back on track!" Knuckles exclaimed in determination with a solemn frown as he looked up from the Chaos Emerald.
"Are you telling that to me or to the author here?" Sonic quipped playfully with a smirk and with a lowered eyelid as he stared at Knuckles.
"Just do it!" Knuckles exclaimed back in annoyance with a solemn frown and with lowered eyelids as he stared back at Sonic.
"Fine. Sheesh, trying to lighten the mood here. Geez," Sonic muttered calmly in annoyance with a little frown and with an eyeroll as he steered the plane a little towards the right.
"Not the time nor the place to be doing that, Sonic. Seriously, we're racing Eggman here," Knuckles replied in annoyance with a solemn look on his face as he glared at Sonic. Sonic kept flying towards the right and a bit upwards to stay on the Chaos Emeralds' path.
As Sonic kept flying the X-Tornado towards the right and a bit upwards, he replied calmly with a frown, "Oh, relax, Knuckles. As if he'll ever catch up".
As he said that, Amy's spaceship and Dr. Eggman's hovercraft followed his plane towards the right and upwards too. Knuckles looked a bit hesitant at that response, but he soon frowned solemnly again as he replied calmly, "I hope so. But anyways, keep going straight and head towards those doors".
"Easy peasy!" Sonic exclaimed brightly with a grin as he flew the plane towards the metal doors and went through them. Amy's spaceship and Dr. Eggman's hovercraft also followed the X-Tornado towards the metal doors and entered them too.
"Okay, now what? Where do go next?" Sonic asked calmly yet curiously with a little smile as he looked back at Knuckles.
"Again, just keep going straight. I'm sure that we'll reach the Chaos Emeralds in no time if we go all the way through this narrow section," Knuckles replied calmly with a little, confident smile and a nod as he stared at Sonic.
"Huh. It's a lot simpler than I had anticipated," Sonic replied calmly with a surprised look on his face as he stared back at Knuckles.
"Well, it's about time that we're getting something that is simple and easy. I'm just relieved that we don't have to deal with something stupid for once," Knuckles replied calmly with a huge smile and with closed eyes as he leaned back into his seat and put his arms behind his head while crossing one leg over the other.
DING!
As if a lightbulb went off in his head, Sonic smirked mischievously as he glanced back at the board game while repeating calmly, "'Something stupid' eh?".
"Yeah, like...I don't know...Having an inconvenient set-up thanks to some board ga-SONIC! NO!" Knuckles replied calmly with a content smile and with closed eyes before he opened them and shouted in alarm as he saw Sonic open the board game while steering the plane. ME AND MY BIG, FREAKING MOUTH! WHY DID I GIVE HIM THAT STUPID IDEA?! NOW EVERYHING IS GOING TO GO DOWNHILL! Knuckles brooded in alarm and in frustration as he looked both panicked and irritated.
"Oh, Knuckles. You know me. I hate when things are too easy. There's no adventure in easy situations such as these. So, let's spice things up a notch," Sonic replied calmly yet cockily with a mischievous smirk and with eager eyes as he casually opened up the board game while staring at Knuckles.
"Sonic! I swear! If you dare press that red button, I'm going to call on Tails and say that you're botching this mission!" Knuckles yelled back in irritation with gritted teeth and with furrowed eyebrows as he glared hard at Sonic.
"You call that a threat? At least try calling Amy and saying that to her. I'm sure that she'll love to know that you became a tattletale, knucklehead. It'll make her day," Sonic replied calmly yet a bit sarcastically in amusement with a smirk and with a raised eyebrow as he stared back at Knuckles while nonchalantly tapping onto the board game.
Knuckles narrowed his eyelids at Sonic since he's annoyed that Sonic is not fazed by this. But despite this, he yelled back in annoyance, "Okay, I will! Just you wait until she smashes you with her hammer! Then you'll be sorry!".
As Knuckles yelled that, he opened up his wrist communicator and started typing into it to contact Amy. Sonic casually shrugged at this as he replied calmly with a smile, "Yeah, but until then, it's time for some fun!".
Sonic then looked back and pushed the red button. The roulette wheel started spinning after it took in Sonic's push. Knuckles sighed tiredly with a frown as he waited for Amy to respond. This isn't going to end well. I just know it...Knuckles brooded in annoyance with a solemn frown and with narrowed eyelids as he stared at his wrist communicator.
"*KRRTZ*...Amy speaking here. What's the problem now, Knuckles?" Amy said calmly with a frown through her wrist communicator.
"Guess who's taking their turn now?" Knuckles asked calmly in annoyance with a solemn frown and with lowered eyelids as he stared back at Amy.
"Sonic! No! Don't you dare do-!" Amy exclaimed in alarm and in annoyance with a worried look on her face.
"Hold that thought, Amy!" Sonic exclaimed back with a grin and with a finger up as he kept staring at the roulette wheel. The wheel soon started to slow down and had stopped at the number 10.
"Woohoo! I got a whole freaking ten, baby! Alright! Onto space 50!" Sonic exclaimed in excitement with a huge grin and with a fist pump as he watched his blue spaceship move ten spaces forward.
"...(Sigh)...He took his turn, didn't he?" Amy asked tiredly in annoyance with a frown and with a deep sigh as she stared at Knuckles.
"Yeeeep," Knuckles answered calmly yet drawly with a solemn frown and with half-lidded eyes as he stared back at Amy in annoyance.
"We're doomed, aren't we?" Amy asked tiredly in annoyance with a frown and with half-lidded eyes as she stared back at Knuckles.
"Yeeeep," Knuckles answered calmly yet drawly again with a solemn frown and with half-lidded eyes while rolling them a little in annoyance.
"I'm going to whack him over the head with my hammer when this is over," Amy replied calmly in annoyance with a frown and with half-lidded eyes as she stared back at Knuckles.
"Please do that. I'll appreciate it very much if you do that...and while I'm there to see it," Knuckles replied calmly in annoyance with a solemn frown and with half-lidded eyes as he stared back at Amy.
"Very well then. Consider it done. Anyways, whatever card Sonic gets, let's just hope that it doesn't involve the X-Tornado blowing up suddenly. I think that we'd all have a problem if that happens," Amy replied calmly in annoyance with a frown and with half-lidded eyes as she slowly shook her head.
"Oh, I definitely will have a problem if THAT happens! I'm in the freaking thing for crying out loud!" Knuckles exclaimed in annoyance with a deeper frown and with furrowed eyebrows as he slightly glared at Amy.
Amy smirked a little in amusement as she replied calmly yet brightly, "Yeah, I'm aware of that. But with that said, good luck!".
"'Good luck'?! As if ANYTHING involving Sonic would be considered-!" Knuckles yelled back in irritation with gritted teeth and with furrowed eyebrows as he glared hard at Amy while having a vein bulging in his head.
*BTZZ!*
Knuckles saw that Amy ended the transmission before he could finish his sentence and had frowned even deeper in annoyance as he muttered tiredly, "...good luck...".
KACHING!
Knuckles' attention was drawn back to Sonic as he saw that he had grabbed the card from the card slot and read it out loud.
"'Closing in on your destination, treasure awaits you. But the grim reaper has his troops ready at the station and is ready to receive his due'...Heh...Sounds to me that Dark Oak is ready to throw a party for me once we reach the Chaos Emeralds! Now that's spicing things up!" Sonic read calmly with a smile before exclaimed in amusement with a cocky smirk as he stared at the card while steering the plane with one hand.
"Only you would interpret that as a good thing. We are screwed the moment we meet Dark Oak," Knuckles muttered tiredly in annoyance with a deep frown and with furrowed eyebrows as he glared at Sonic while having his arms crossed.
"Oh, don't be such a sourpuss, Knuckles! That just means you have a chance to beat the snot out of him!" Sonic exclaimed back in excitement with a grin and with amused eyes as he looked back at Knuckles.
"Sonic, I may like fighting, but even I pick my own battles sometimes! Confronting Dark Oak now while we still don't have all seven Chaos Emeralds is suicide! I'd like to live thank you very much!" Knuckles yelled back solemnly with a deep frown and with furrowed eyebrows as he glared at Sonic while having his arms crossed.
"Oh, well. More fighting for me then!" Sonic replied calmly yet brightly with a grin and with a casual shrug as he stared at Knuckles before looking back ahead of himself.
"Sonic...I...(Sigh)…(I worry about you sometimes)" Knuckles muttered tiredly with a frown and with a sigh before he looked away and mumbled to himself with a pout.
"What was that?" Sonic asked curiously with a little frown and with raised eyebrows as he glanced back at Knuckles.
"Never mind! Forget it!" Knuckles exclaimed back with a bigger pout and with closed eyes as he kept having his arms crossed. Sonic blinked a bit at Knuckles before he looked back ahead of himself and smiled calmly in amusement.
"Well, anyways, it seems that it's clear who we're going to face next. It seemed strange that we're confronting Dark Oak now of all times. I thought that we're going to face him at the end of the game. Not at the middle of it! Literally! I'm on space 50 right now! Talk about good luck!" Sonic replied calmly yet brightly with a huge smile and with amused eyes as he steered the plane with both hands now.
"More like insane luck if you ask me," Knuckles commented dryly with a frown and with an eyeroll as he kept looking away from Sonic.
Sonic ignored this as he continued with a bright smile, "Seriously though! We're more than halfway through the game! Maybe just a few more good rolls and we'll finish the game in no time! This is the best news ever!".
Knuckles was about to retort that with a dry quip, but he soon stopped and thought about it. If Sonic's crazy good luck continues like this, he'll head home in no time too. Which means that...this crazy journey will be over soon. Knuckles thought calmly with a hopeful smile and with widened eyes as he looked back at Sonic.
"Sonic...I can't believe that I'm saying this but...you're my hero right now. I completely agree with you on saying that this is the best news ever because my goodness I want to go home right now!" Knuckles replied calmly yet brightly with a huge smile and with wide, amused eyes as he stared at Sonic.
Sonic looked back at Knuckles with a smirk as he pondered in amusement. If only I had a camera to record him saying that because man, I'd love to mess with him by using that phrase "You're my hero". It would be hilarious to see his reactions months later down the line when I ask him for some favors.
"Heh. Me too, buddy. Me too. But hey, let's get back to focusing on the mission on hand and win this race!" Sonic replied calmly yet brightly with a grin and with determined eyes as he had a fist up.
"Definitely! Also, I'm rather surprised that the board game hadn't punished us immediately after playing it. That's happened like twice now," Knuckles replied calmly yet brightly with a grin and with a nod as he had his fist up too while staring at Sonic.
"True. Very true indeed. Heh. Maybe the game is finally taking some pity on us and is giving us a breather," Sonic replied calmly in amusement with a grin and with a shrug as he stared back at Knuckles.
"It's about time. I'd like to go on one roll where we don't get screwed over by that blasted ga-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame! Wooooooooaaaaaaaah! Sonic! What are you doing?! Steer safe! Steer safe!" Knuckles replied calmly with a relieved smile and with closed eyes before he quickly opened his eyes again and screamed in panic when he felt the plane shaking and turning quickly and abruptly.
"I can't! I've lost control over the plane!" Sonic yelled back in alarm while looking shocked as he looked back at the steering wheel and tried very hard to steer it correctly.
"Then put the plane into auto-pilot!" Knuckles yelled back in shock as he looked panicked while holding onto the sides of his seat very tightly.
"Okay! I'll try!" Sonic yelled back quickly in alarm while looking nervous as he tried switching on the auto-pilot function. He flipped it on, but he saw that the plane is still moving crazily on its own. So, out of desperation, he quickly flipped the switch on and off again until he accidentally broke it.
"Uhhh...Okaaay...I have bad news and even worse news...Which one do you want to hear first, Knuckles?" Sonic replied calmly yet awkwardly with a sheepish smile and with a sweat drop as he looked back at Knuckles.
"The one where we don't die!" Knuckles yelled back in shock while still panicking as he held onto his seat for dear life.
"Technically speaking...that would be the good news," Sonic replied calmly yet sheepishly with an awkward smile and with a lowered eyelid as he stared back at Knuckles with a sweat drop on his head.
"I don't care! Just tell me what's wrong!" Knuckles yelled back in shock and in irritation as he glared at Sonic while looking frustrated.
"Well...You see...I tried switching the auto-pilot on...and it didn't work...Not to mention that...I broke the switch," Sonic answered calmly yet awkwardly with a sheepish smile and with a lowered eyebrow as he stared back at the steering wheel while scratching his head.
"You what?! Wooooooaaaaaaaah! Sonic! I don't care what it takes to get you to stop this plane, but you got to find a way! Otherwise, we'll crash!" Knuckles yelled back in shock with an alarmed look on his face as he grabbed onto Sonic's seat with his arms once the plane's flying had gotten worse.
"That's easier said than done, Knuckles! I'd like to stop this, but I don't know how! I'm not Tails, you know!" Sonic yelled back in shock and in annoyance as he looked back at Knuckles with a frown and with a glare.
"Tails! That's it! Maybe he could tell us what's going on with the X-Tornado and help us find a way to stop it!" Knuckles yelled back in shock as he looked surprised then hopeful with a huge smile.
Sonic raised his eyebrows in surprise of Knuckles' idea and had grinned a lot in amusement as he replied calmly, "Knuckles...I can't believe that I'm saying this...but that might be the most brilliant thing I had ever heard you say".
"Ha! See?! Told you that I'm not stupid!" Knuckles exclaimed back confidently with a proud smile and with closed eyes as he crossed his arms.
"But you're still gullible, knucklehead," Sonic added teasingly with a smirk and with lowered eyelids as he stared at Knuckles.
"Yeah! That's right! I'm-Hey!" Knuckles exclaimed back proudly with a huge smile and with closed eyes before in annoyance with a deep frown and with furrowed eyebrows as he glared at Sonic. Before Sonic or Knuckles could add to that, they felt the plane rumble and shake some more in spastic directions.
As Sonic held onto the steering wheel for dear life, he yelled back in panic, "Anyways! We better find out what's wrong or else we're goners! Knuckles! Call Tails!".
"No need to tell me twice! I'm on it!" Knuckles yelled back in shock with a panicked look on his face as he quickly typed onto his wrist communicator and tried to contact Tails.
With gritted teeth and with furrowed eyebrows, Sonic yelled out in frustration, "Just how did this happen?! Who or what is behind this?!".
"It's Eggman. I'm calling it right now," Amy said calmly in annoyance with a frown and with lowered eyelids as she watched the X-Tornado freaking out in multiple directions.
"Huh?! How would you know?!" Cosmo exclaimed in shock and in confusion as she stared at Amy.
"Did you really think that I would be stupid enough to not see his robots planting that device on the X-Tornado? You have to be blind to not see that!" Amy replied calmly in annoyance with a frown and with furrowed eyebrows as she looked back at Cosmo.
"But why didn't you say anything about it? Why didn't you warn Sonic and Knuckles about the device?" Cosmo asked even more in confusion as she stared at Amy with a worried look on her face.
"Because I thought that it would be a dud. Eggman may be brilliant, but that doesn't mean that his inventions will always work. That's why I was being quiet about it since I figured that it will fail," Amy explained calmly with a frown and with a shrug as she stared back at Cosmo. Cosmo was about to comment on how irresponsible it is for Amy to do that, but then she thought about what it would be like in her shoes and realized how easy it is to make that assumption.
"...I...I see your point there...But still, how did Eggman take control over the X-Tornado in the first place?" Cosmo replied calmly with a sheepish frown and with upward eyebrows as she stared at Amy.
"With this baby of course! A classic remote-control module!" Dr. Eggman proudly answered with a devious grin as he watched the X-Tornado going haywire while playing on the remote control.
"Ohhh! So that's why you made us plant that device!" Decoe exclaimed in understanding with wide eyes as he stared at Dr. Eggman and pointed at him.
"So that you can control the plane with this!" Bocue added brightly in understanding with wide eyes as he stared at Dr. Eggman's remote control device and pointed at it.
"Exactly! And with the X-Tornado being in my control now, getting first place will be a cinch! But first, let's troll Sonic and Knuckles for a bit before we best them in this race!" Dr. Eggman exclaimed gleefully with a devious grin as he kept pushing buttons and flicking switches on the remote-control device. The X-Tornado's speed had gotten faster and more hazardous as it started to zig-zag a bit.
"Woooooaaaaaaaah! Aaaaaargh! The air-ride is getting too bumpy that I can't even type properly onto the wrist communicator! Aaaaaaah! Can this blasted thing slow down for one second?!" Knuckles screamed in shock as he panicked a bit before ducking and covering his head with his hands while sweating a lot.
"I don't think that it will! But let's have some fun with it at least!" Sonic exclaimed brightly with a grin and with determined eyes as he gripped hard onto the steering wheel and pulled it back since he had gotten over the shock of losing control of the plane.
"WHAT?! ARE YOU OUTTA YOUR MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIND?!" Knuckles shouted in shock before he screamed in panic as he felt his back being pushed against the seat since the X-Tornado went into turbo mode.
"Just go with the flow, Knuckles! Just go with the flow!" Sonic yelled back confidently as the X-Tornado shook even more violently since it's flying very fast.
"..." Knuckles didn't say anything since he felt too dizzy to even talk. His eyes are just a bunch of swirls right now. Amy saw that the X-Tornado had gotten much faster and had felt worried.
"Okay, this is turning from bad to worse very fast! I better warn Sonic and Knuckles now that Eggman is up to something before this gets way out of hand! Alright, time to speed things up! Hang onto something, Cosmo! Cause we're saving these boys Sonic style!" Amy exclaimed in worry before in determination with a solemn frown and with furrowed eyebrows as she pressed the booster button and held onto the steering wheel very tightly.
"Oh, boy! I'm not prepared to throw up!" Cosmo exclaimed in shock and in concern as she held onto her seat and onto her head since Amy's spaceship sped up very much.
"Sorry Cosmo! But sacrifices are necessary in order to save someone that you love!" Amy exclaimed back with a frown as she slowed down her spaceship briefly to look at Cosmo before speeding up again.
"Okay! Then I'll try to NOT throw up!" Cosmo exclaimed back with a pout as she tried to look serious while holding onto her seat for dear life.
"Now that's the spirit!" Amy exclaimed brightly with a grin and with a wink before she looked back ahead and pulled the steering wheel back to make her spaceship fly faster. Cosmo cringed a little in dizziness as she held onto her seat while trying hold back her nausea from creeping in. Uggh...The things I do for love...Cosmo thought in exhaustion with a serious yet sick expression on her face.
"Is Eggman still trailing behind us, Cosmo?" Amy asked calmly with a frown as she glanced at Cosmo.
"Uhhh...Unfortunately for us, yes," Cosmo answered calmly yet awkwardly with a frown and with upward eyebrows as she looked behind herself to see Dr. Eggman flying in his hovercraft.
"Well not for long! I'm going to make Eggbreath eat his own dust!" Amy exclaimed back with a solemn frown and with determined eyes as she kept flying in a fast but steadier pace. Dr. Eggman watched Amy's spaceship fly a little faster and had chuckled in amusement.
"Heheheheh! Awww, are the little pipsqueaks trying to outrace us? Don't you worry now. You'll get your chance to get screwed too!" Dr. Eggman replied calmly yet tauntingly with an evil smile and a devious chuckle as he stared at Amy's spaceship while getting out his second remote-control device.
"Wait. You have two of those things?" Decoe replied in confusion as he stared at Dr. Eggman with a raised eyebrow.
"Isn't that a little overboard?" Bocue added while also looking confused as he stared at Dr. Eggman.
"You can never have too many remote-control devices! Especially since they're fun to play around! See?! Like so!" Dr. Eggman exclaimed brightly with an evil grin and with a finger up as he stared at Decoe and Bocue before continuing to play on the first remote-control device. The X-Tornado then turned around in a horizontal loopdy-loop before it started shaking again.
"Wooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Sonic and Knuckles screamed in shock when they felt the plane turn upside down and shaking when they got back to normal.
"Argh! Are we really going to make it?!" Sonic yelled in frustration with a grimace and with a closed eye as he held onto the steering wheel very tightly.
"We're so close! Keep moving!" Knuckles yelled back with a solemn frown and with determined eyes as he held onto the white Chaos Emerald again while still hanging on to his seat.
"Are you sure that you can handle it?! We're still out of control, you know!" Sonic exclaimed back solemnly with a worried look on his face as he glanced back at Knuckles.
"It's either do or die at this rate, Sonic! And I'd rather NOT die! So just do your best to fly safeliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie!" Knuckles yelled back in determination with a deep frown and with furrowed eyebrows before he screamed in panic again as he looked surprised when he felt the plane turn upside down again.
"Heheh! I'll try! Hang on to your butts cause we're flying out from our seats! Literally!" Sonic exclaimed back confidently with a grin and with a chuckle as he looked back ahead and steered the plane at the best that he could do from this out-of-control state. He had managed to fly the plane through another gate while Amy's spaceship and Dr. Eggman's hovercraft are a bit behind. The lights above the gate beeped a bit since it recognized a flying ship going through its corridors but couldn't do anything about it since the internal defenses are still down. Somehow, Sonic got the plane moving in a steadier pace, but he still isn't sure whether it'll go haywire again.
"I think I got it...somehow..." Sonic muttered calmly yet nervously with a frown and with a sweat drop on his head as he had gotten a firmer grip onto the steering wheel. Cosmo saw that the X-Tornado is still flying faster than Amy's spaceship and had gotten worried.
"Amy, we'll never be able to warn them at this rate! I hate to say this but move faster!" Cosmo exclaimed in concern with a worried look on her face as she stared at Amy.
"That's exactly what I intend to do, Cosmo! Turbo power on!" Amy exclaimed back in determination with a frown and with furrowed eyebrows as she stared at her steering wheel before pressing the turbo booster button.
"Oh my!" Cosmo exclaimed in shock as she felt Amy's spaceship going much faster than before.
"Oh man! Now both Sonic's and Amy's vehicles are flying at turbo speeds!" Decoe exclaimed in shock and in disappointment as he pointed at Amy's spaceship for emphasis.
"I knew that we should've installed the turbo for Dr. Eggman's hovercraft! Think of how much faster we could be going right now!" Bocue added in slight frustration as he looked down while shaking his fist.
"Oh, relax, you two. This is precisely why I have made these remote-control devices. For sabotage!" Dr. Eggman replied calmly yet deviously with a frown as he pulled down a switch from his second remote-control device. The light inside the device lit up and started taking control of Amy's spaceship.
"What the-?!" Amy exclaimed in surprise when she felt her spaceship turn sideways beyond her control.
"Uhhh...Tell me that you had meant to do that?" Cosmo asked nervously with a worried look on her face as she stared at Amy.
"Nope! Nope! Not at all! This is completely beyond my control!" Amy exclaimed in shock and in worry with an alarmed look on her face as she glanced back at Cosmo.
"Wait! What?! What do you mean beyond your controoooooooooooooool?! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Cosmo yelled back in shock before she screamed in panic when she felt the spaceship fly in a horizontal loopdey-loop pattern.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Amy screamed too in panic when she felt her spaceship spinning in circles.
"Oooh hoo hoo hoo hoo! Looks like someone's having a fun time! Now let's catch up to our real competitors here!" Dr. Eggman exclaimed gleefully with an evil smile and with a chuckle as he pressed a button on his hovercraft to go much faster.
Meanwhile, Sonic had successfully flown the X-Tornado through another gate and went through another corridor. Amy's spaceship is still lagging behind as it flew in circles before readjusting itself in a more upright position. Any was both irritated and shocked that her spaceship was acting like this. So, she tried to fix it in her own special way.
"Grrrrrr! Work! Dang it! Work!" Amy growled and yelled in frustration with gritted teeth and with furrowed eyebrows as she pulled out her hammer and whacked the control panel a bit. Cosmo cringed in worry as she watched Amy whack the control panel a bit while pondering. Please don't break it. That'll be even worse.
Dr. Eggman soon flew his hovercraft next to Amy's spaceship while she started panting in exhaustion.
"Hello? Hello? Hello? Hello? Hellllllooooo?" Decoe asked repeatedly in an annoying way while knocking onto the glass window of Amy's spaceship. Amy grimaced in annoyance of this and had opened the window to yell at Decoe.
"Will you shut up?! Gosh, you're annoying!" Amy yelled in frustration with a grimace and with furrowed eyebrows as she glared at Decoe while having her fists at her sides.
"Not as annoying as this! Swipe it, Decoe!" Dr. Eggman yelled back in determination with an evil grin as he stared at Amy.
"Swipe!" Decoe exclaimed determinedly as he held back his fishing pole before he swiped it down onto Cosmo's lap. Cosmo felt alarmed since she was holding the green Chaos Emerald in her lap.
"Ah! Decoe! No swiping!" Cosmo exclaimed in shock when she saw the Chaos Emerald being swiped up by Decoe's fishing hook.
"Sorry, miss! But I'm a robot! Not a fox!" Decoe exclaimed back as he quickly pulled the emerald from the hook and put it down into Eggman's lap before sitting back down.
"Oh, come on! How did you get that so easily?!" Amy exclaimed in frustration with a pout and with furrowed eyebrows as she had her arms down in front of herself.
"Blame your teammate for that one, sister! Besides, I think that you two need to slow down a bit and take a breather! See you later when we win the race!" Dr. Eggman exclaimed back in amusement with a mischievous grin and with a mock salute before he flew past Amy's spaceship and had gotten a bit farther than her. Amy and Cosmo watched Dr. Eggman go with their jaws dropped and with eyes widened in shock. They can't believe that they had their Chaos Emerald stolen right before their very eyes and very easily as well! Because of this, Amy felt insulted.
"Oooooh! Why I outta smack that guy's smarmy face with my hammer because wow he's done it this time!" Amy yelled in frustration with gritted teeth and with furrowed eyebrows as she sat back down and pressed multiple buttons to try to regain control of her spaceship. Unfortunately, Dr. Eggman had already went past the gate as it was starting to close.
"Oh, Amy! I'm so sorry! I messed up! I messed up so bad! I didn't know what I was thinking putting the Chaos Emerald out there in the open! I thought that it was safe since no one could get inside the spaceship!" Cosmo exclaimed in worry with an apologetic look on her face as she stared at Amy while holding onto her seat.
"It's fine. I was an idiot as well for opening the dang window in the first place. Guess that we'll have to get our emerald back the hard way," Amy replied calmly with a frown and with determined eyes as she tried making the spaceship go faster but can't since it's slowing down to a screeching halt.
"You mean...?" Cosmo muttered quietly with a frown and with upward eyebrows as she looked up and watched the gate doors close completely.
"Yep...Finding an alternate route in this stupid fortress," Amy replied calmly yet tiredly with a frown and with lowered eyelids as she looked back up and watched the gate doors close too.
KA-SHUT!
"..." Both girls were silent after seeing the gate close completely on them.
Cosmo then looked at Amy as she asked calmly with a frown, "How are you willing to bet that Eggman planted a device on our ship too?".
"I'm betting a hundred," Amy replied calmly in annoyance with a deep frown and with lowered eyelids as she held onto her steering wheel.
-Meanwhile With Sonic And Knuckles-
Somehow, Sonic still managed to keep flying the X-Tornado in a not-so-hazardous fashion than before. He had even flown the plane through the last gate and flew it into a large, dark, open area. He was just surprised that he had managed to get through all the corridors of the fortress without crashing the plane yet.
"Isn't it a miracle that we're still alive in this flying deathtrap?" Sonic quipped playfully with a smirk and with a wink as he stared back at Knuckles while still trying to fly the plane straight.
"I'd believe in miracles if we DO manage to stay alive after this. But anyways, do you think that Amy and Cosmo are okay? I think that we've lost them the moment the X-Tornado started going haywire," Knuckles replied calmly yet solemnly with a frown on his concerned face as he looked out into the dark, open area.
"They'll be fine. Amy knows how to track me down better than any of Tails' GPS devices. But enough about that, where should we go now for the emeralds? It's so dark and big in here. I can't tell if there are any exits here aside from the one that we went through...Hmm...Maybe it's our turn to get lost," Sonic replied calmly with a frown on his solemn face as he looked back ahead of himself before glancing back at Knuckles on that last part.
"No. Way. I strongly refuse to get lost with you. So, we're using this Chaos Emerald to find our way out," Knuckles replied calmly yet curtly with a deep frown and with furrowed eyebrows as he glared at Sonic before taking the white Chaos Emerald out again.
"Awww, are you sure that you don't want to get lost with me?" Sonic asked teasingly with a grin as he looked back at Knuckles. Knuckles looked back up and narrowed his eyelids at Sonic while having the most disgruntled expression on his face.
"...Trust me...It will be my absolute nightmare..." Knuckles muttered calmly yet darkly with a deep frown and with narrowed eyelids as he glared coldly at Sonic while holding the Chaos Emerald in his hand. Sonic shrugged at that and looked back ahead of himself again. Knuckles sighed tiredly with a frown and looked down at the white emerald. He can feel it glow very strongly as it sends him energy signals from above.
"Ah! It's above us!" Knuckles exclaimed in shock as he looked surprised while staring at the white emerald.
"Got it!" Sonic exclaimed back with a frown as he quickly pulled the steering wheel up while the plane shook a little. We still have no idea what's causing this plane to malfunction a lot. Maybe it's best if we give calling Tails another try. Sonic pondered solemnly with a frown as he flew the plane upwards while it shook a bit.
"Knuckles, you should try calling Tails again. The shaking isn't as bad this time," Sonic replied calmly with a frown on his solemn face as he stared straight ahead at the top of the large, dark area.
"Right. I got it," Knuckles replied calmly with a solemn frown and a nod as he puts the Chaos Emerald back into his person before typing onto his wrist communicator again. While Sonic pilots the plane much higher into the air, he is being followed by Dr. Eggman since he reached the dark area too.
Suddenly! A group of Metarex Pteranodon birds came flying down towards the X-Tornado!
"Look, guys! Food!" one Metarex Pteranodon exclaimed in excitement as he flew down towards the plane.
"Food! Food! Food! Food! Food! Food! Food!" all Metarex Pteranodon birds cawed in unison as they flew down with their leader.
"Alright. Just a few more clicks and Tails will answer us in no ti-Ack! What the heck are those things doing here?!" Knuckles said calmly with a little smile before he yelled in shock as he looked back up in alarm of seeing dozens of Metarex robots flying towards the plane.
"Causing trouble that's what," Sonic answered calmly with a cocky smile as he stared at the flying Metarex robots.
"Well, don't just sit there doing nothing! Shoot them down! Shoot them down!" Knuckles exclaimed back in alarm while looking worried as he watched the flying robots getting closer to the plane.
"Yeah. Yeah. Piece of ca-Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Okay! We're doing this again!" Sonic replied calmly with a cocky smile and with an eyeroll before he screamed in surprise when he felt the plane spinning horizontally again. The light inside the device kept blipping red as it controls the plane yet again.
"No! Not again! Anything but again! Wooooooooaaaaaaaah!" Knuckles screamed in panic with an alarmed look on his face as he held onto his seat while the plane spun around and around. The plane soon spun so fast that it became like a top.
"Food! Food! Food! Food! Food! Food! Food! Food! Food!" all of the Metarex Pteranodon cawed in unison as they flew down at the plane together before they all got hit and blown up.
BOOOOM! BOOOOOM! KAAABOOOOM! BOOOOM! KAAABOOOM! KAAABOOOOM! BOOOOM!
Explosions and smoke were everywhere after the X-Tornado smashed the flying Metarex robots and destroyed them easily. Debris of robot parts fell into the dark abyss below while Dr. Eggman stared at the X-Tornado as he flew his hovercraft upwards.
"I don't want to know what's down there," Bocue commented in nervousness as he stared down at the dark abyss while looking worried with a sweat drop on his head.
"Maybe a black hole cause that's all I'm seeing. A black hole," Decoe added in nervousness as he stared down at the dark abyss too while also looking worried with a sweat drop on his head.
"Oh, cut it out, you two. You aren't falling down there and neither will I. Besides..." Dr. Eggman replied calmly with a frown and with a raised eyebrow as he stared down at the abyss too. After seeing the debris of robot parts, he looked back up at the X-Tornado and smirked as he finished with, "...there's only room for two...".
-Meanwhile With Chris, Shadow, and Rouge-
"RAWR! I'M YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD DINOSAUR! RAWR! PLEASED TO MEET Y-!" the large T-Rex Metarex robot shouted brightly as he ran towards Shadow.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
Shadow wasted no time into destroying another T-Rex Metarex robot as he boosted into him. As smoke was everywhere after destroying the robot, Shadow skated nonchalantly through the corridor while looking back at the smoke and debris of the destroyed Metarex robot.
"Hmph. I don't take kindly to greetings," Shadow muttered calmly in a monotone voice with a solemn frown and with a glare as he looked back ahead of himself.
"Boy, honey, you sure don't," Rouge commented casually with a smirk as she ran behind Shadow.
"Stop being edgy!" Chris exclaimed in frustration with a deep frown as he ran behind Rouge.
-Meanwhile With Sonic And-
"Wait! Wait! Wait! Hold up here! That's it?! That's our scene for this chapter?! You could've cut that part out, and the audience will be none the wiser!" Chris yelled out in frustration as he interrupted the author.
(Well, I mean. I could, but this is much funnier.)
"You mean that wasting my time is amusing to you?!" Chris yelled back in annoyance as he looked displeased.
(Maybe.)
"I want a better writer," Chris complained in annoyance with a deep frown.
(What's up with you?)
"I AM HAVING AN EXISTENTIAL CRISIS WHERE I HAVE WASTED MY LIFE BETTERING MYSELF FOR A HEDGEHOG WHO FORGOT THAT I EXIST! I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I'M FEELING SUPER TODAY!" Chris shouted in frustration while being a bit sarcastic with a grimace and with closed eyes as he clenched his fists.
(...Oh, yeah! That's what happened last chapter. Man, four months can make you forget.)
"YA THINK?!" Chris shouted in annoyance as he felt like pulling his hair out.
(...Right...Anyways, let's get back to telling the story.)
"I don't get paid enough to do this," Chris muttered tiredly in defeat.
-Meanwhile With Sonic And Knuckles-
"Hey, do you hear some internal screaming in the background?" Sonic asked curiously with a frown as he looked around a bit while flying the X-Tornado straight up after it had stopped spinning.
"Finally, for once, it's not me this time around-Errr...I mean...No, I don't...Hmm..." Knuckles muttered quietly to himself with a frown before he looked back at Sonic and answered him much more loudly.
"Well, anyways, the good news is that we've stopped spinning," Sonic replied calmly with a relieved smile as he looked back at Knuckles.
"Thank goodness. (Sigh)...I thought that I was going to hurl," Knuckles muttered tiredly in exhaustion with a little frown and with a deep sigh as he closed his eyes while having a sweat drop on his head.
"Yeah, thank goodness that didn't happen. But...the bad news is that there's more flying Metarex robots heading our way," Sonic replied calmly with a sheepish smile as he stared at Knuckles before looking back ahead of himself and seeing more Metarex Pteranodon robots.
CRACK!
Like a sound of a broken vase, Knuckles' eyes flung wide-open with red veins bulging out from them. He then quickly unbuckled his seatbelt, stood up, and opened the window while yelling in anger, "Ooooh no! You are NOT going to make me go through that AGAIN! No more spinning! Let's just punch things instead! Please!".
"Okay! Okay! Geez! It's not I was making you go through that or anything! I told you before! It's not in my control!" Sonic exclaimed back in alarm as he quickly lifted his hands up in mock surrender before grabbing onto the steering wheel again much more firmly this time.
"Well, keep it in control in just one freaking minute! Because I am through with this!" Knuckles yelled back in annoyance with gritted teeth and with furrowed eyebrows as he glared up at the flying Metarex robots while having his fists up.
Sonic shrugged casually while replying calmly with a smile, "Okay then. Here we go".
He then flew up much straighter while trying to balance the plane right so that Knuckles won't fall off from it. The Metarex Pteranodon robots dove down towards the X-Tornado as they were ready to attack it.
"Food! Food! Food! Food! Food! Food! Food! Food!" all of the Metarex Pteranodon robots cawed in unison as they flew down together.
"No food! No! Noooooooooaaaaaaarrrrrrggh!" Knuckles screamed in anger as he quickly punched through each of the Metarex Pteranodon robots.
POW! POW! POW! POW! POW! POW! POW!
BOOOOM! BOOOOOM! KAAABOOOOOM! KAAABOOOOM! BOOOOOM! BOOOOOOM! KAABOOOM!
Multiple explosions went by after Knuckles destroyed a lot of the flying Metarex robots. Smoke was everywhere after the robots were destroyed.
"Food! Food! Food! Food! Food! Food!" the rest of the Metarex Pteranodon robots cawed as they kept flying towards the plane.
"I said no more food! No more!" Knuckles yelled back in irritation with a fierce look on his face as kept punching more robots and destroying them.
POW! POW! POW! POW! POW! POW! POW!
BOOOM! KAABOOM! BOOOM! KAAABOOM! BOOOOM! KAAAABOOOOM! BOOOOOOOOM!
More explosions and smoke went by after Knuckles destroyed the rest of the robots. He stood tall in determination while having his fists up as he waited for more Metarex robots to fly by.
"Did I get them all?" Knuckles asked curiously while still looking fierce as he glared upwards.
"Sure, looks like it, and look, you've cleared the area so that we can fly towards the top. That is where the Chaos Emeralds are at," Dr. Eggman commented casually with a grin as he flew his hovercraft up next to the X-Tornado and pointed at the glowing area above.
"Well, look who had just caught up," Sonic quipped teasingly with a smirk as he looked at his right to see Dr. Eggman flying by.
"Yeah, hi, Eggman-Wait! Eggman?! Where did you come from?!" Knuckles muttered calmly with a frown and a wave before he looked shocked as he stared at Dr. Eggman while still standing up.
"From behind, dummy!" Dr. Eggman quipped teasingly with a smirk as he looked at Knuckles.
"Ah...Ack...How...But...Amy...Wasn't she...Isn't she..." Knuckles muttered in confusion while looking shocked and baffled as he stared back at Dr. Eggman.
Sonic ignored this as he replied calmly yet brightly in amusement with a smirk, "You may have come from behind, but let's see if you can get ahead me! Which is by the way impossible for you to do! See ya later, slowpoke! I'm winning this race!".
He then flew the plane much faster after saying that, and this action had caused Knuckles to fly off from the plane before he quickly grabbed onto the back of the glass window in a fight-or-flight response.
"Grrrrr! Sonic! I get that you love racing, but for crying out loud, DON'T KILL YOUR OWN TEAMMATES FOR IT!" Knuckles growled and yelled in irritation before he shouted in anger with a grimace and with a closed eyelid as held onto the glass window for dear life while having a sweat drop on his head and while his dreadlocks fluttered very fast. Sonic and Knuckles continued to argue a little while Dr. Eggman watched them from afar.
"Oh, come on now, knucklehead. I wasn't going to kill you-" Sonic argued nonchalantly in the distance.
"YES, YOU WERE! YOU WERE THREE SECONDS CLOSE TO FINISHING ME OFF!" Knuckles shouted back in anger while the X-Tornado flew farther away from Dr. Eggman.
"But that's still not fast enough. So, relax," Sonic calmly argued back in the distance.
"AHA! SO, YOU ADMIT IT! YOU DID WANT TO KILL ME, DIDN'T YOU?!" Knuckles shouted back in anger in the distance.
"Oh, pu-lease, Knuckles. If you had killed you, then I won't have someone to tease anymore. So, you're special," Sonic calmly argued back in the distance.
"THAT DOESN'T MAKE ME FEEL ANY BETTER!" Knuckles shouted back in frustration in the distance.
"But that does make us feel closer now, doesn't it?" Sonic argued back teasingly in the distance.
"SONIC, I HATE YOU SO MUCH RIGHT NOW!" Knuckles shouted back in frustration in the distance.
"See? Closer," Sonic replied calmly yet teasingly in the distance.
"GRRRRRRRRR!" Knuckles growled loudly in frustration in the distance.
"Hmph. Idiots," Dr. Eggman muttered calmly with an evil smirk as he held onto his remote-control module and pressed the red button to mess with the X-Tornado again.
Suddenly, the X-Tornado shook a little before it slowed down to an eventual stop.
"Sonic, what did you do?! Did you break another part of the plane or something?!" Knuckles exclaimed in shock and in irritation with a deep frown and with furrowed eyebrows as he glared at Sonic while feeling the plane come to an abrupt halt.
"No, I didn't! I swear! My hands were on the steering wheel the whole time!" Sonic exclaimed back in shock as he looked back at Knuckles while looking alarmed.
"You didn't press the brakes or something right?!" Knuckles exclaimed back in shock and in irritation with a grimace and with a raised eyebrow as he looked a bit confused.
"I didn't press them either! I just-Wooooaaaaaah! Oh no! The plane is malfunctioning again!" Sonic exclaimed in frustration before in shock as he felt the plane flying by itself. It flew in a zig-zag pattern before it made a U-Turn and flew downwards instead.
"Oh, you gotta be kidding me! Right now of all times?!" Knuckles yelled in shock and in frustration as he looked panicked with a sweat drop falling from his head.
"Argh! Just why is this happening?!" Sonic exclaimed in frustration with a deep frown and with furrowed eyebrows as he held onto the steering wheel tightly while having a sweat drop going down from his head. He then saw Dr. Eggman smirking deviously as he held the remote control in his hands.
Ah! No way! That's why the X-Tornado was being wonky the whole time! He's controlling it! Sonic thought in shock with a surprised look on his face.
"Grrrr! That dirty rat! He's cheating! Look!" Sonic growled and yelled out in frustration with gritted teeth and with furrowed eyebrows as he pointed at Dr. Eggman.
"What?!" Knuckles exclaimed in shock as he stared at Dr. Eggman with a surprised look on his face. He also saw the remote control in Dr. Eggman's hands and had yelled out in anger, "Eggman! You no-good cheater! Can't you just play fair for once?!".
"Hold it!" Dr. Eggman exclaimed back with a mischievous smile as he pulled onto a few switches to stop the plane mid-flight and tilted it side to side. He continued playing on the remote control while replying calmly yet brightly in amusement, "Now why would I do that? I would be in a severe disadvantage if I had played fair. You guys were using Chaos Emeralds to power up your vehicles, and yet, you still claim that I've cheated. Ha! Hypocrites! This shall teach you a lesson on the true meaning of fairness!".
"As if you know anything about fairness!" Sonic yelled back in frustration with a deep frown and with furrowed eyebrows as he quickly took off his seat belt and stood up to glare at Dr. Eggman.
"Yeah! The only two things that you know very well are deceit and trickery! The very two things that I hate!" Knuckles yelled back in anger as he jumped up and landed next to Sonic while glaring hard at Dr. Eggman with a deep frown and with furrowed eyebrows.
"Aww, come now, boys. Where's your sense of sportsmanship?" Dr. Eggman replied calmly yet tauntingly with a sheepish smile and with upward eyebrows as he stared at Sonic and Knuckles.
"Grrrrrrrr!" Sonic and Knuckles growled in anger as they both glared coldly at Dr. Eggman with gritted teeth.
"Hmm...You know, Knuckles...You did say that you hate Sonic earlier. So why are you-?" Dr. Eggman added calmly with a sheepish smile and with a raised eyebrow as he stared at Knuckles.
"I MAY HATE SONIC, BUT I HATE YOU MORE!" Knuckles shouted back in anger with barred teeth and with a vein popping in his head as he glared hard at Dr. Eggman and pointed at him.
"Awwww, now that's just plain mean," Dr. Eggman replied calmly in mock sadness with a frown and with upward eyebrows as he places a hand over his chest.
"YOU SHOW ME MEAN, AND I'LL SHOW YOU A FIST!" Knuckles shouted back in anger with gritted teeth and with a fist up for emphasis.
"Hmmm...Well, this is getting violent. Perhaps we should defuse the situation by leaving while taking our prizes with us," Dr. Eggman replied calmly with a frown and with a finger under his chin before he grinned evilly as he flew his hovercraft upwards.
"Huh? What 'prizes'?" Sonic asked in confusion with a surprised look on his face as he watched Dr. Eggman's hovercraft fly over the X-Tornado.
"These prizes!" Decoe exclaimed brightly as he flung his fishing rod down towards the blue Chaos Emerald in the X-Tornado's cockpit. The fishing hook snagged the emerald out from the cockpit and brought it back up to Dr. Eggman's hovercraft.
"No! The Chaos Emerald! Now that's really unfair!" Sonic exclaimed in shock and in annoyance with a surprised yet irritated look on his face as he glared up at Dr. Eggman's hovercraft while still having his back turned.
"Relax, Sonic. They only took one emerald. It's not like they know where the other one is at," Knuckles replied calmly with a frown as he stared up at Dr. Eggman's hovercraft before looking at Sonic and casually shrugged at him while smiling hugely and having his eyes closed.
"Oh, Knuckles!" Bocue exclaimed cheerfully in a sing-song tone.
"Eh?" Knuckles muttered in confusion with a little frown and with wide eyes after opening them again.
"I see your hideney! All white and shiny! I see your hideney! All white and shiny!" Bocue teased in a sing-song tone while he flung his fishing rod down towards Knuckles' tail and pilfered the white Chaos Emerald out from him.
"YOWOHOW!" Knuckles yelped loudly in pain after feeling the fishing hook snag a part of his skin along with the Chaos Emerald.
"Good work, Decoe and Bocue! Now let's high tail out of here and get the rest of the emeralds! Hahahahahaha!" Dr. Eggman exclaimed gleefully with a mischievous grin and with an evil laugh as he flew his hovercraft much higher up while Decoe and Bocue had the Chaos Emeralds on their fishing hooks.
"Oh, yeah! We struck gold!" Decoe exclaimed brightly in amusement as he stared down at Sonic and Knuckles.
"More like we struck emerald! Two of them in fact!" Bocue exclaimed proudly in amusement as he stared down at Sonic and Knuckles as well.
"Yeah...Doesn't have the same ring to it," Decoe commented sheepishly with a quirked eyebrow as he looked back at Bocue.
"Grrrrrrr..." Knuckles growled in frustration and in pain with a grimace and with a closed eye as the other eye had a tear in it while he rubbed his butt. Grrrrrrr...The one place that I thought it would be safe...Why of all times does it have to fail? And why do I have to be the one who messes things up? It feels like the universe is out to get me...Knuckles brooded in annoyance with a grimace and with a closed eye as he blushed a little in embarrassment.
"Could this get any worse?" Sonic asked tiredly with a sheepish look on his face as he stared up at Dr. Eggman's hovercraft while having a sweat drop on his head.
"Sonic, don't-" Knuckles muttered in annoyance through gritted teeth as he glared at Sonic.
"Whoopsie! Finger slipped!" Dr. Eggman exclaimed playfully in amusement as he flicked another switch on the remote-control device. This action resulted the X-Tornado falling backwards onto itself and heading straight down towards the abyss.
"SAY THAT! WOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Knuckles shouted in panic before he screamed loudly as he quickly grabbed onto the top part of his seat with both hands while the X-Tornado flips backwards and downwards into the abyss. Sonic screamed too in panic as he quickly grabbed onto the top part of his seat while the plane fell into the abyss. While this happens, the board game fell out from the cockpit.
"AH! THE BOARD GAME!" Sonic shouted in shock with a panicked look on his face as he watched the board game fall past him while having a hand out towards it.
"GOT IT!" Knuckles shouted back in determination with an alarmed look on his face as he quickly yet luckily caught the board game with one hand while holding onto his seat with the other. Sonic briefly sighed in relief before he looked worried again since he doesn't know when or where the X-Tornado will land.
Grrrr...Eggman really screwed us over by snatching those Chaos Emeralds...I bet that he's gloating about being the victor in this scenario right now...Sonic brooded in annoyance with a grimace and with furrowed eyebrows as he looked up while still falling down with the X-Tornado.
"Woohoohoohoo! Looks like it's game over for you, rodents! The last Chaos Emeralds are within my grasp, and your defeat will be so sweet once I acquire the emeralds and rule the universe with an iron fist! Hahahahahahahaha! Hohohohohoho!" Dr. Eggman exclaimed cheerfully with a devious smile while laughing a lot as he held the three Chaos Emeralds in his hands. He flew his hovercraft even higher into the air after saying that.
"Yep. Definitely gloating," Sonic muttered in annoyance with a frown and with lowered eyelids while having a sweat drop on his head.
"Sonic! We need to get those Chaos Emeralds back!" Knuckles exclaimed solemnly with a determined look on his face as he stared at Sonic while still hanging onto his seat with one hand.
"I would love to, but I can't since Dr. Eggman is flying further away from us!" Sonic exclaimed back with a gritted teeth and with furrowed eyebrows as he stared back at Knuckles.
"Just use your Super Spinball move to reach him!" Knuckles yelled back with gritted teeth and with furrowed eyebrows as he stared at Sonic.
"I would be a tad short from reaching him with that move! I need a boost!" Sonic yelled back with gritted teeth and with furrowed eyebrows as he sweated a bit.
"Then I'll throw you up halfway! You finish reaching him on your own with your Spinball move!" Knuckles yelled back in determination as he looked serious.
"But how?! The plane won't stop spinning!" Sonic yelled back in annoyance while the X-Tornado kept spinning backwards for emphasis. But suddenly, as if it was a cartoon, the plane quickly flipped back upside up and stopped spinning as it still fell towards the abyss. Sonic and Knuckles looked stunned as they stared blankly in the distance before at each other.
"...Huh...Well, that was convenient," Knuckles commented calmly with a stunned look on his face as he stared at Sonic while lifting himself up on his knees.
"And a bit anti-climactic..." Sonic added calmly with a stunned look on his face as he stared back at Knuckles while being on his knees and while he gripped onto the top part of his seat. After staring at each other in silence for a few seconds, they both smirked mischievously at each other.
"It's payback time!" Knuckles exclaimed in amusement with a mischievous smirk as he stared at Sonic.
"Now you're talking!" Sonic exclaimed back in amusement with a mischievous smirk as he stared at Knuckles. He then quickly jumped onto the back of the X-Tornado while helping Knuckles stand back up. Knuckles pushed the board game into his seat where it's safe before he stood back up while holding onto Sonic's hand.
"Thanks for the lift..." Knuckles thanked calmly with a huge smile as he stared at Sonic before he looked determined as he swung him around with both hands while yelling solemnly, "Now it's time for me to return the favor! Rrrrrraaaagh!".
He swung Sonic around and around before he finally threw him high into the air. He spun around a little while looking dizzy after doing that before he knelt back down and watched Sonic fly high into the air. Sonic grinned mischievously as he thought in amusement. Woohoo! I can fly!
Once he had reached the halfway point of Knuckles' throw, he held onto his Power Ring and spun all the way towards Dr. Eggman.
"Yes! I won the face! I won the race! I won! I won! I won the race! I don't care what I did! I won the race, and now, I'm happy!" Dr. Eggman exclaimed cheerfully with a huge smile while holding the Chaos Emeralds up in the air.
WHOOSH!
"I wish I can kiss the sky!" Sonic sang teasingly with a mischievous grin after snatching back the Chaos Emeralds.
"Huh?! What the-?! How could I lose them as quickly as I got them?!" Dr. Eggman exclaimed in shock and in confusion with a surprised look on his face while moving his fingers a lot.
"I think about it every Sunday and Thursday!" Sonic sang teasingly in the distance while he spun around in the air a bit before turning around towards Dr. Eggman again.
"Ooooh...Nooooo...It...can't...be..." Dr. Eggman groaned in agony with a huge frown and with a sweat drop on his head as his arms and his moustache drooped in disappointment.
CLANK!
"Gah!" Dr. Eggman, Decoe, and Bocue yelped in surprise when they felt Sonic landing hard onto the hovercraft.
"And I think about blowing Egghead away!" Sonic sang teasingly with a victorious grin as he stared at Dr. Eggman while holding all three Chaos Emeralds in his hands.
"Noooooooo!" Dr. Eggman, Decoe, and Bocue yelled in panic with frightened looks on their faces while staring at Sonic with sweat dripping from their faces. Sonic then boosted upwards into air, literally blowing Dr. Eggman and his hovercraft away in the process.
"I wish that I was a door! So that I can smash Eggman's face in more and more!" Sonic sang teasingly with a huge grin as he boosted up towards the bright light with all three Chaos Emeralds in his hands.
"When did this episode turn into a musical number?!" Dr. Eggman yelled in frustration while Decoe and Bocue screamed in panic as they all fall down into the abyss below. Luckily, Bocue saw some pipes connecting through the area, so, he quickly saved himself along with Decoe and Dr. Eggman by grabbing onto them with one hand while his arm is extending down until it stops. They panted a lot in relief that their long fall to the bottom had been stopped miraculously. Dr. Eggman held onto his robots for dear life while they held onto him.
"...Oh, boy...It's times like these where you really need to learn to count your blessings in life because I don't want to die like this!" Dr. Eggman exclaimed in sadness as he looked frightened with a sweat drop on his head.
"...(Pant Pant Pant)…(Sigh)…Well...At least, it couldn't get any worse than this..." Decoe commented calmly in relief as he panted a bit and sighed deeply while he looked at Dr. Eggman and Bocue.
"I wouldn't count on that if I were you," Knuckles commented cheekily in amusement in the distance.
"HUH?!" Decoe, Dr. Eggman, and Bocue shouted in shock and in confusion as they all looked down below. They saw Knuckles standing on the nose of the X-Tornado as it appears to have landed on the same pipeline that they are hanging off from.
"...You know...I never have time for the fun stuff," Knuckles commented playfully with a mischievous smirk as he cracks his own namesakes while staring up at Dr. Eggman.
"WHY DID YOU SAY THAT, DECOE?!" Dr. Eggman shouted in panic as he stared at Knuckles with a frightened look on his face.
"I DON'T KNOW! EVERYBODY SAYS THAT!" Decoe shouted in panic while he also stared at Knuckles with a frightened look on his face.
"WE JUST WANTED TO BE HOPEFUL!" Bocue shouted too in panic while he also stared at Knuckles with a frightened look on his face.
-Meanwhile With Sonic-
"Ahh! Well, that was a fun song to sing while I was flying freely through the fortress! I don't think that I'll ever have to do that again any time soon! Yep! Not very likely!" Sonic exclaimed brightly in amusement with a huge smile as he flew up to the top of the fortress and had landed onto the central base of the fortress. He had crouched the moment he had landed onto the ground. At the same time that he had landed, a loud crash was heard.
CRASH!
"The heck was that?!" Sonic exclaimed in shock as he looked to his left to see smoke coming from the destroyed wall. After the smoke had cleared up, he saw Amy's spaceship moving in and landing into the room while having its large hammer being out in the open. Sonic stood up while staring at the descending spaceship with a surprised yet baffled look on his face.
I...I should've figured that she'd be here by now. I can never escape from her, can I? Sigh...Sonic pondered calmly in exhaustion with a sheepish frown and with lowered eyelids as he sweated a little.
"Amy...I got to be honest with you...You're scary when you're driving like mad," Cosmo muttered sheepishly with a worried frown and with upward eyebrows as she grabbed Amy's seat and looked at her.
"Well, what do you expect?! When you've lost sight from the one you love, you're going to feel some sort of panic within you! So, some amount of pressure is expected in those situations!" Amy exclaimed back with a frown as she stared at Cosmo.
"But you didn't have to wreck tons of walls just to find what you're looking for! You could've brought the place down with your reckless swinging!" Cosmo exclaimed back in shock while looking alarmed as she stared back at Amy.
"Oh, please. Even I'm not that dumb to do that. Knuckles would've been the one to do that. Not me," Amy replied calmly yet casually with a smile and with a handwave as she closed her eyes.
"(Somehow, I doubt that)" Cosmo mumbled to herself with a sheepish frown on her face as she stared at Amy.
"What was that?" Amy asked warningly with a frown and with a raised eyebrow as she glared at Cosmo.
"Oh! Uhh...Look! There's Sonic!" Cosmo exclaimed quickly yet nervously with an awkward frown and with wide eyes as she pointed at Sonic.
"...! Sonic! I found you!" Amy exclaimed in joy with a huge smile and with a loud gasp as she quickly looked back and opened the window before she jumped out of spaceship and ran towards Sonic. With a worried look on her face and with her arms out, she yelled out in concern, "Don't worry, you sweet, baby boy! Mommy's coming!".
"Sweet, baby boy"? "Mommy's coming"? Oh, boy...This is an awkward reunion...Sonic and Cosmo thought at the same time in awkwardness while having embarrassed looks on their faces.
"Look...Amy...I get that you miss me...But..." Sonic muttered awkwardly with a sheepish smile and with a sweat drop on his head as he had his hands out and had tried to hold Amy off from him. However, Amy managed to throw his hands away and squeezed him very, very tightly in a huge hug.
As she did this with a huge smile, Sonic yelled out in frustration with a grimace and with closed eyes, "But I'm fine!".
"Oh, I know that you're fine! You're always fine even when we've been separated by unfortunate events! But now you're going to be extra fine since we're back together again!" Amy exclaimed brightly with a fond smile and with half-lidded eyes as she clasped her hands together and stared at Sonic before looking away in adoration. Sonic panted in exhaustion and held a hand on his stomach after Amy released him from her death hug.
"(Pant Pant Pant)...Your hugs...(Pant Pant Pant)...weren't always...(Pant Pant Pant)...this bad...(Pant Pant Pant)...What gives...(Pant Pant Pant)...Amy?" Sonic muttered breathlessly with his tongue out while panting a lot in exhaustion as he reeled back from that hug.
"Oh, that! That's for not accepting my hug earlier! If you refuse any more of my hugs, I'll squeeze you extra hard the next time I hug you! How's that for revenge?!" Amy exclaimed cheerfully in amusement with a huge smile as she looked back at Sonic with clasped hands.
"(Pant Pant Pant)...You're more diabolical than Eggman...(Pant Pant Pant)...and more successful at exacting revenge on me too...(Pant Pant Pant)...You're good," Sonic muttered tiredly in exhaustion with a frown and with upward eyebrows as he panted a little less while holding onto his stomach.
"Teehee! More like 'bad' if you know what I mean!" Amy exclaimed brightly in amusement with a little smile and a giggle as she had her fingers onto her mouth.
"Heh...Yeah...Even I can see that..." Sonic muttered calmly with a smirk and with a lowered eyebrow as he stared at Amy while straightening up a bit. Amy stared back at Sonic in amusement while looking fond at him. But before she could advance this romantic situation even further, Cosmo spoke up after getting out from the spaceship.
"Amy! Sonic! I can see the Chaos Emeralds in those water tubes!" Cosmo exclaimed solemnly with a determined look on her face as she pointed at the yellow Chaos Emerald after walking towards it.
"Oh, yeah! That's right! Thank you plot convenience!" Sonic exclaimed brightly with a grin as he looked back at Cosmo before walking quickly towards her. Amy looked at Sonic and pouted in annoyance that the romance is over.
Darn it, plot! Give me more time for romance! Amy thought in annoyance with a pout before she ran towards Sonic and Cosmo. Cosmo stared at the yellow Chaos Emerald in relief while having her hands clasped together.
Finally, hope at last...Cosmo thought calmly with a hopeful smile on her relieved face.
"Welp...That's the last of the emeralds...Still, to think that we'll get the last ones so easily is beyond me...Shouldn't the Metarex be trying to guard it at least?" Sonic muttered calmly with a frown on his curious face as he stood behind Cosmo and stared at the yellow Chaos Emerald too. Amy stood next to Sonic and looked around the area in confusion.
Sonic is right. Aren't there guards anywhere? ...Ah! What is that?! Amy pondered curiously in confusion as she looked around the room before looking surprised as she saw something above the glass tube.
"Who cares about that? We'll have a fighting chance once we have all seven of the emeralds. Let's take them before anyone notices that they're gone," Cosmo replied calmly with a gentle smile as she looked back at Sonic.
"Uh, I hate to interrupt our victory moment, but I have to ask...Does anybody know what that thing is?" Amy replied calmly with a frown as she grabbed Sonic's arm while looking up at ceiling and pointed at it with her thumb.
"Huh? What thing?" Sonic asked in confusion as he and Cosmo looked up at the ceiling.
"That thing!" Amy exclaimed back as she pointed at the huge, yellow, spiky gem above the Chaos Emerald.
"Ah! I recognize that thing! It's another Planet Egg! We got to get it out of that case now!" Cosmo exclaimed in surprise and in determination as she pointed at it too.
"Why? What's the rush?" Sonic asked in confusion as he stared at Cosmo with a worried look on his face.
"Because the egg is growing abnormally! Once it grows all the way to its max weight, it'll burst! And the planet that has that egg won't be able to return back to normal! It'll be dead forever!" Cosmo explained solemnly while looking concerned.
"Let me guess...That's what happened to that graveyard planet we've been on, isn't it? Their Planet Egg had been stolen and had exploded due to its abnormal growth spurt. I'm right, aren't I?" Sonic replied calmly yet solemnly with a frown and with determined eyes as he stared at Cosmo.
Cosmo frowned even deeper and nodded solemnly as she replied quietly in sadness, "...Yes...It is as you say...In fact, I-".
"That will be enough out of you, player's guide. You don't want to tell the players of the game all of our secrets now, do we?" an ominous voice said in the background. Cosmo gasped and slapped her hands over her mouth in fear while shivering in nervousness.
No...Not him...Anything but him...I...I can't do it...I'm too scared...Cosmo thought in fear while slowly looking back with a frightened look on her face.
"Huh?! Who's there?!" Amy exclaimed in confusion after looking up from her wrist communicator since she sent a video feed to Tails about the yellow Planet Egg.
"Ah! It's you! I had a feeling that you'll show up and crash our victory party!" Sonic exclaimed solemnly with a frown and with furrowed eyebrows as he looked ahead of himself.
"It's not a victory, player four. It is only a checkpoint. The question now is whether or not you'll die by my hands in our second battle together," Dark Oak replied calmly yet deviously as he stood across from Sonic, Amy, and Cosmo with his Metarex army in the background.
"Do you really think that I'll die to a poacher?! You haven't killed me in my Super Sonic Form! So what makes you think that you can kill me now?!" Sonic yelled back in determination with a solemn frown and with serious eyes as he glared at Dark Oak.
"Because you are weak without the Chaos Emeralds' power. I had deliberately forced you to scatter the emeralds yourself so that you'll be vulnerable when I fight you again. It was a tactical strategy that I had laid out in advance," Dark Oak answered calmly yet deviously as he stared back at Sonic.
"Grrrr...So that's your aim, huh? Strike at me in the most cowardly way possible?!" Sonic replied solemnly in frustration with a deep frown and with a growl as he glared at Dark Oak.
"It is not cowardly. It's an effective chess move," Dark Oak retorted calmly as he glared back at Sonic. Sonic only growled even more in annoyance as he realized just now that he literally had been played.
Aww, great! Now I'm like Knuckles! I should've known that was a trap at the beginning! If I had known, I would've tried a lot harder to beat this guy in my Super Form! Sonic brooded in annoyance with gritted teeth and with furrowed eyebrows as he glared hard at Dark Oak.
"Uh, Sonic, I know that you like glaring at the guy, but you could please explain to me what the heck is going on?!" Amy muttered calmly with a frown before she exclaimed in the end while pointing at Dark Oak as she stared at Sonic.
"Grrrr...This is our main poacher, Amy. Dark Oak. The one who's behind this whole mess...Grrr..." Sonic replied calmly yet solemnly with gritted teeth and with determined eyes as he kept glaring and growling at Dark Oak.
"R-Really? That guy? He looks like an anime version of Darth Vader. What's next? An anime version of Luke Skywalker? That would be plain silly at that point," Amy replied calmly with a frown on her confused face as she glanced at Dark Oak before looking back at Sonic.
Cosmo cringed in sheepishness and looked down at the floor while muttering quietly with a frown, "Y-Yeah...That would be way too silly at that point...".
"Enough jabbering. Player Four, our rematch had been postponed long enough. I have given you enough time to move far into my game before I hunt you down myself, and it seems that your time is now up. No more running. No more hiding. It's time to settle this once and for all," Dark Oak spoke calmly yet solemnly as he grabbed out his sword and readies it like a samurai would do.
Sonic readies his body into a battle position as he glared at Dark Oak and his army of Metarex robots. The tension in the room grew so thick that you could cut it with a knife.
"Suckers! Hahaha! I'd fooled you all! We had one more scene of us running around!" Shadow exclaimed in amusement with a laugh while running through another corridor in the fortress.
"WAIT! WHAT?!" Chris shouted in shock as he ran behind Rouge who was running behind Shadow.
Again...you could cut the tension with a knife.
"Alright, you poacher phonies. There is only one player here who could take you all out, and that player is me, Player Four! Also known as Sonic the Hedgehog!" Sonic replied calmly yet solemnly in determination with a frown and with lowered eyelids as he tapped his left palm with his Power Ring while staring at Dark Oak and his army before walking towards them.
"Oh, geez. Sonic has a ring. He's going to beat them all up with nothing but a ring," Amy muttered calmly in a monotone voice with a frown on her annoyed face while sending a live feed to Tails about this situation.
"Well, at least, the fight won't be too violent. Could you imagine the censorship this battle will follow if the Metarex was gushing blood everywhere?" Cosmo replied calmly with a frown on her worried face as stared at Sonic before she looked at Amy with an annoyed look on her face while raising her hand up.
"Yeah...The next episode wouldn't even come out to the rest of the world if that was the case," Amy replied calmly in a monotone voice as she stared at Cosmo in annoyance too.
"Okay, losers. Time to end this," Sonic added calmly yet solemnly with a frown and with lowered eyelids as he kept walking towards the middle of the bridge and stood there in another battle pose.
"Finally," Dark Oak muttered calmly in contentment as he readies his battle pose too. The whole Metarex army got into battle positions as they all glared at Sonic. Sonic glared back at the Metarex army as well as at Dark Oak while gritting his teeth. It was all as Dark Oak had said. No more running. No more hiding. It's time to fight not just for his friends nor for the whole universe but for his own life. Only one way to win this fight is to survive through it all, and that is what Sonic is going to find out next.
Could he survive this hunting game or not? Only time will tell.
To be continued...
Sonic: "Oooh! I hope I'll live!".
Well, would you look at that? I'm finally back after a four-month hiatus! Didn't mean to hold this off for this long. I was got busy with school and when I had finished school, I took a break for myself. Also, didn't help that I was preoccupied with my other story to try finishing this one. But luckily, I'm in a nice spot where I can work on both stories back to back again. So, luckily for you guys, the next story update won't be too long compared to the last one. Although, it would've been very funny to finish this episode four months ago just to have this long cliffhanger. But oh well, it'll still be funny regardless due to how quick I'll get the next chapter up. Also, references! References galore in this chapter! Good luck figuring out what references I've been cheekily conveying in this chapter! Some references are easy to get while others not so much unless you're as old as I am or had seen things on the internet. But anyways, I hope that you had enjoyed this chapter because episode 63 had finally been completed! Onwards to episode 64 and part 5 of the Midgame! See you all next time!