Sonic The Hedgehog & Lara Croft:
The Brave Blue Hedgehog and the British Tomb Raider
Chapter 2: Catching Wind –When Adventurers Get The News
Within the 96 hours that followed after Tendow and Solwors' broadcast from the ancient ruins, where Tendow took all the credit, the news began hitting global news papers, even appearing all over the internet along with the footage.
First it struck observation feeds, then on TrueTube followed by Flutter and Spacebook before making the news on TV in various nations all the way to America where 10 to 15 states were broadcasting.
As millions of people watched or listened in to the news all over the world, in every bar, sitting room, apartment or car, as broadcasters discussed the recent events, noting that Messers Tendow and Solwors had not left that area,.
With the news making its way all over, it was just a matter of timing as to when a certain individual and his friends would catch wind and that was world hero Sonic the Hedgehog and his buddy Miles Tails Prower.
It was a peaceful day in Grassy Meadow and Sonic, a muscular twenty one year old, was kicking back in Tails' house upon a comfy sofa, wearing green shorts, his usual shoes and gloves, a yellow T-shirt and a red vest, playing his rad red electric guitar.
Meanwhile, in the workshop, just down the hall, the blue blur's three year younger brother, wearing a grey t shirt and black shorts, was busy updating the Wi-Fi on his Miles Electric.
In the last year, the Miles Electric had become more than just a gadget, it was now one of Tails' personal handheld computers. With it, he could socialize and chat with people on Flutter and Spacebook, watch videos, etc.
He still intended on looking at his other computer, the laptop, which he'd used on countless occasions over the years following his first meeting with Sonic. Tails wasn't alone in the room, he had somebody to keep him company.
That somebody was Sarah Ann Vulpine, a voluptuous brown colored fox with peach-tan fur and long red hair, wearing a revealing sleeveless white dress, a blue hair band, yellow gloves and high heels, also eighteen like Tails.
Sarah and Tails fell for each other when they first met and they'd been going out together, Tails had every reason to have her as she was darn gorgeous and had a very lovely and sweet voice.
Tails was head over heels for this girl the minute he met her, just three months ago. Sarah found Tails to be handsome herself and began visiting him very frequently, much to Sonic's amazement.
"You hear that, Tails?" the blue hedgehog had exclaimed, "Sarah likes you, you're a chick magnet just like me."
Sarah and Tails discovered then they had a load in common such as their liking for the great outdoors as well as planes of different forms.
With the two foxes getting closer to each other and knowing one another, it was fitting that Sarah started to move in with Tails, becoming his assistant and taking care of him, none of that still changed that the two were in love.
Sonic, on the other hand, didn't have a girlfriend yet. One day, that would change when he met his dream girl, somebody adventurous just like him.
"You've canoodled with so many, Sonic." Tails told the hedgehog, "Any one of those girls you've met could be that girlfriend you're looking for. You've hardly been in contact with any of them, so phone one and ask anybody for a date."
However, the speedy adventurer had been dreaming of the day he would meet the most attractive girl of all, a human tomboy with a British accent...
"You and a human being instead of a humanoid animal just like you?" Tails commented sarcastically on the dream, "Oh, stop it. You've been canoodling with humans way too much."
Days later, Sonic was thinking it over, knowing the encounter would take place during a dangerous situation when he least expected it.
"So, what's for dinner tonight, Tails?" Sarah Ann asked Tails, snaking her arms right around his neck as the Wi-Fi update reached 90%, they'd been silent for the past hour, relaxing as they worked together in the room.
"I dunno." Tails replied, taking a nice breath of fresh summer air coming in through the window, he winked at Sarah, "Meat, I guess?"
Sarah smirked, "What kind?"
"I don't know, haven't decided. Something like… Stake?"
Sarah licked her lips, "Well, I think I know what we'll have for dessert."
The two foxes engaged in a kiss. Tails set down the Miles Electric and lifted Sarah off her feet, his hands upon her hips as she wrapped her legs around his waist, pressing her body against the two tailed fox's body.
Tails started pinning her against the wall when a certain someone spoke from behind them, tapping his feet, "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I just interrupt you two love bird foxes in the middle of something important?"
Both foxes stopped, their eyes wide with surprise. "Sonic!" Tails complained, "Don't do that, Sarah and I are busy. Can't a guy be romantic with the girl of his dreams and have a decent amount of intimacy without being interrupted?"
The blue hedgehog flashed a smirk, "Don't worry buddy, I promise not to do it again the next time. I was just checking on you two, making sure things are ok."
Tails set down his attractive girlfriend and went over to check on his Miles Electric as Sarah put her hands on her wide hips a. "Well, hedgehog." She said sarcastically, "Maybe next time, you wait until business is concluded?"
Sonic held up his hands, "Sorry, Ms. Vulpine."
"On the relationship side," Tails replied, "Pretty good, regardless if you just interrupted our fun. As for the Miles Electric's Wi-Fi update, we're all good."
A message had just popped up on the screen of his handheld gadget, it read; Software update complete, Wi-Fi V.2 ready. Now ready to use, have a nice day, SonicPal112192.
"You got some rad passcode choices, Tails." Sonic said as Tails pressed the 'OK got it' icon.
"Yeah, I know," Tails blushed, scratching the back of his head, "After all, I am a genius who is good with technological gadgets, Eggman isn't the only techno-genius in the world."
Beep beep beep! Tails' Miles Electric went crazy, a green light blinked on the screen as blue text popped up; Incoming News Story "Rad!" Sonic exclaimed, "I nearly forgot about that news report feature you installed into your device."
"First, I haven't received any news page updates in a while." Tails replied, elbowing Sonic in the arm. "Second, I've been reading those articles. Third, I silenced that notification sound effect feature."
The Miles Electric beeped again and a headline appeared on the screen, "Ancient Ratakyan Ruins in South America Located." Sonic's eyes widened.
"No way!" Tails looked at Sarah, "I almost thought that tribe was a myth, who could've known they were real this entire time with ancient ruins as absolute proof that they existed. I just wonder," He began scratching his chin, "Hmmmm. Does that mean their ancient treasures exist?"
Sonic punched the air, whooping excitedly, "Great hooba dooba. That would be an awesome adventure, visiting ruins, finding treasures and searching the world for more hidden Ratakyan treasures and finding their most prized possession that was thought to be lost forever for who knows how many years."
An idea clicked into Tails' mind, an imaginary light bulb above his head flashing into existence in his head. "Great Albert Edison, Sonic!" The fox exclaimed, "You're right, that would make a very interesting adventure, pursuing a long lost possession owned by the ancients before it vanished."
He glanced at the Miles Electric, "Scan the world for Ratakyan Ruins, computer."
"Scanning globe for Ratakyan Ruins location, going into satellite mode." The Miles Electric replied in a computerized monotone, the screen blinked and a map of the world appeared, showing all the continents.
Automatically, the screen zoomed in on South American, right on the exact area in question; Brazil. The Miles Electric beeped, "Location found. Brazilian Rainforest. Ratakyan architecture detected. Warning, may have decayed over the years be populated by ugly monsters."
"Populated by monsters, huh?" Sonic breathed in the fresh and breezy summer air coming through the open window from outside, smiling his most brash smile yet, "We'll take that risk! So, Tails. Shall we hop in the plane?"
Tails laughed and pounded his buddy on the back, "I'm always up for some adventure and facing danger." He looked at Sarah and held her hand, "Sarah, my dear, would you care to have the honors of piloting the Tornado?"
"I would be honored, my two-tailed sweet passion." Sarah replied, "You showed me the basics on how to fly the plane, you're incredible. I've watched you so many times. I'd be delighted to take over, I'm happy to tag along."
Sonic punched the air with excitement, "Then lets do it to it." The trio gathered any necessary belongings to take, from the Miles Electric to extra clothes, just in case if they would be staying in South America for a couple days.
With all of that taken care of, the trio dashed outside and climbed aboard the Tornado Mark II, which had undergone some major upgrades in the past year, it had gone from a small and slow blue biplane to a bigger and blue-red biplane big enough for multiple people to sit in.
Sonic still preferred to stand on the front wing or back wing of the plane other than sit in one of the seats most of the time.
Tails climbed into the backseat with the belongings at his side, Sarah took the pilot's seat and got comfortable before starting up the engines as Sonic jumped atop the left wing of the plane.
The propellers of the biplane came alive, spinning like wild and creating a strong and warm breeze as the Tornado took off down the road ahead.
"My pop was a pilot, Tails!" Sarah called to her boy friend sitting in the back, "So, when I'm flying planes, its like papa, like daughter. I'm following my family's shoes."
"I'M VERY HAPPY TO HELP YOU REALIZE YOUR DREAM OF BEING A PILOT, SARAH!" Tails called back, "WELCOME TO THE TEAM!"
Sarah laughed as her hair blew in the breeze and the vibrations make her body shake, "SPEAKING OF EXCELLENT SKILLS, I ALSO HAVE AN AWESOME SINGING VOICE, EXCELLENT COMBAT AND ACROBATIC SKILLS!"
The two foxes ceased chatting as the plane gained enough speed, which took to the sky perfectly without any issues, with Tails' workshop and Grassy Meadows got further away as the group flew on.
Sarah made sure to turn on the GPS so they could make it to South America. Sonic was the lookout, which made him to say Hooba dooba once again. A new adventure was out there and it had come to them.
Miles away across the Atlantic, in a mansion in the countryside outside London, 19 year old adventurer and archeologist Lara Croft was asleep in bed when the English broadcasting stations began covering the recent news.
The BBC was the one station to broadcast and cover the news the most, it had taken days for to reach the nation and now the news was finally coming in.
It was 3:00 A.M. the early hours of the morning, Lara's youthful and skinny assistant 18½ year old Oskar Bessington, who had black hair and green eyes, was wide awake after an intense dream and was in the sitting room.
He sat upon a white sofa, wearing a blue robe over Union Jack pajamas and working on math problems on his computer to calm himself before his cellphone rang, its ringtone being a British marching theme.
The house was quiet at night, even with birds chirping outside and a watchman far off hollering, "3:00 and all is well. Three o clock and all's well." The man's voice was loud and clear, like the big clock tower known as Big Ben that stood over the streets of London.
Opening the bright red cellphone casing up, Oskar was surprised to discover that his mum was calling, he hadn't seen her in ages. Especially not after last December when they got together on Chrismas, he'd been busy.
Tapping the "Answer the Call" option, Oskar put the phone up to his ear, "Hullo?" The crisp, Australian voice of Mrs. Marie Bessington spoke on the other end, "Hullo, Oskar. How's my son doing?"
"Hi, mum. I'm doing great. I'm honored to be friends with Lara Croft."
"Not every day when we're often on speaking terms, isn't it?"
"Mum, you're jokin'!"
"Are you treading carefully when it comes to dangerous situations?"
"Course I am, mum? So how's pop doing, is he right there?"
"We're both fine, Are you up early?"
"Uh, yes. I am, had a nasty nightmare. Wee shaken, I am."
"Any issues going back to bed and are you… diving into your tech stuff?"
"Yes, mummy."
"Well, I want you to turn on the TV right now. Your papa and I just read the paper and watched the news, some ancient ruins in South America were discovered. Apparently, they're Ratakyan ruins?"
Oskar grabbed the nearest remote and turned on the TV, shocked, "The Ratakya, I thought they were all just a big ancient myth made up by modern mythmakers for some odd reason." His mum sighed, "Well, turns out they aren't myths after all, are they?
"However, you could say that there's always the chance that either their golden deity was real the whole time or the Senga Yujunaka was the only piece of the Ratakya that was all a myth. Have you turned on the TV?"
"Yes, mum."
"What channel are you on?"
"I'm currently on the HD BBC movie channel 1121."
"Anything on?"
"Yes, the only film on the channel is that one movie based on a TV show about a British agent being unfrozen after being frozen for years."
"Well, blip to 1122, that's the BBC News Channel HD
Oskar punched in 1122 on the remote and the TV went to the BBC news channel where news hosts Michael Dagner and Teressa Hamplot were discussing the last bit of political British news before covering global news next with the first topic being; Ancient Ruins in South America Found.
"This is bloody amazing, spot on, am I right, Michael?" Teressa asked in her crisp accent after they viewed the footage done by Solwors and Tendow.
Michael nodded, replying in his Australian-like accent, "That's right, Teressa. The ultimate discovery of the modern age which would not be possible if we did not have our two pals Tendow and Solwors.
"The Tribe of Ratakya was real a long time ago and the only proof of their existence is none other than the ruins found in South America way deep within the ruins of the Brazilian rainforest seemingly long forgotten."
"Well?" Oskar's mum asked on the phone, "Are they talking about it?"
"Yeah, they are." Oskar replied, watching and listening at the very same time. "They're discussing how the news has hit all kinds of feeds and websites across the globe and people are watching it every day.
"Even a "Ratakya Ruins" video on TrueTube got a million views and a ten thousand likes in one day alone, the comments section on every article or video about it is being flooded with stuff like 'oh this is damn fake'. Lara should definitely hear about this one indeed, thanks, mum."
"Is your friend Lara sleeping right now?"
"Yes, mum. But is it a good time to wake her up...?"
"You could always wait until later, dear."
"No need." A crisp voice spoke from close by, "I'm already awake. Heard the phone and the TV!"
Oskar turned off the TV, saved his math lesson, shut down the computer and turned to find Lara Croft standing there, leaning against the wall, wearing a revealing white dress, barefoot, her long brown hair partially uncombed and arms crossed.
"Is that Lara on the other end who just spoke?" Mrs. Bessington asked, "Well, tell her that mum says hullo for me, Oskar. Have a good day."
"Bye mum."
Click! The call went blank and Oskar turned off the TV at the same second he "hung up" the phone, a nervous look upon his face.
"Y-You heard, Ms. Croft?" Oskar asked with a stutter, worried he might be in trouble, his heart pounding in his ribcage as the attractive adventurer made her way over.
"You don't turn the volume down on the ringtone and the TV is always loud." Lara replied, "Hel heck, the volume is always having issues. Nobody bothers to fix it, so what's all this about Ratakyan ruins? I'm always up for another adventure with you at my beck and call to help me out any time."
"Most of the time, I'm on the sidelines, guarding an airplane."
"No grumbling, Oskar. Now tell me about the Ratakyan ruins."
"A while back, these two guys in Brazil journeyed through a rainforest and found the ruins. One of them bragged about it and now the whole world is talking about it, there's a high chance a bunch of folks are gearing up to brave the ruins and retrieve the lost artifacts there by now."
"Oh, ok. Sounds brilliant!" Lara said, a look of full interest on her face as she hugged Oskar and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "Prepare the old Croft Enterprises while I go pack and get dressed, time for good ol' Lara Croft to go take care of the Ratakyan artifacts before 'er rivals do.
"Oskar Bessington, you get changed yourself, help me get together some stuff and go ask the butler to look after the house while we're away, eh?
"First off, while I'm changin', I better take a shower since I'm up early."
Oskar waited outside the house with his bag in hand next to the steps leading into the Croft Enterprises plane, which was a green-red striped B-23 Bomber, converted into a passenger plane, save for the fact it was still equipped with machine guns just in case if the plane were to engage in combat.
As for the chamber where the bombs were stored, it was still there, but given a makeover, converted into a secondary passenger area.
Oskar had changed into combat boots, green trousers and a black shirt with a green army jacket, a gun in his pocket. Lara had trained him in the arts of defense and combat, that included the use of guns, explosives and martial arts.
Rumor had it that she slept with a pistol under her pillow in case if anybody snuck in and tried to harm her during the night while she tried to sleep, people like burglars or mercenaries hired by Lara's rivals.
Several months back, after hanging out at a bar with some friends a party, Lara was woken up in the middle of the night when a group of burglars broke into the house, knocked out the butler and went after Lara.
Oskar had been half asleep when the attempted robbery unfolded and by the time he got out of bed and grabbed a baseball bat, Lara had already beaten them, in her nightdress, and had shot two of them.
But these burglars were not acting on their own, they'd been hired by none other than one of Lara's rivals, Australian billionaire Luke Crostatu, who wanted nothing more than to see her humiliated for various reasons.
In all the years Lara had made enemies, she'd made rivals in rich billionaires who were jealous of her fame, even as men in their teens and twenties went crazy over her beauty whenever she popped up.
Despite being "just friends" with Lara, Oskar, for a while, thought that he was the man of her dreams and she was the girl of his dreams. The two had talked about it recently and Lara had said, "Oskar, I don't know if that's going to work."
"You're right, Lara." Oskar had chuckled, "I'm sorry."
"Don't worry, lad. You'll find yourself the girl of your dreams one day just as I'll find the man of my dreams, the man I'll spend the rest of my life with, the one who I'd share all the adventures and all the love in the world with."
"When that happens," Oskar smiled, "I promise to be there on your big day."
All those days later, even as he stood guard by the Croft Enterprises plane, especially when it was just before sunrise during the waning night, the memory brought a smile and a chuckle to Oskar.
He still imagined being there the day Lara was swept off her feet by someone in a dashing suit, watching on with a smile, happy that his friend had gotten the man of her dreams who'd make all of her dreams come alive. What also warmed Oskar's heart was the thought of him being an uncle to Lara's kids.
"Everything good, Oskar?"
Lara was coming across the lawn, she'd finished her shower and getting everything together, having combed her hair, which was tied back in a ponytail, and had donned combat boots, sunglasses, denim shorts and a black tank top, in each pocket of her shorts, Lara carried two large pistols.
The nineteen-year-old was smiling brightly, the waning moonlight glowing upon her smooth skin, arms and legs.
"Yeah," Oskar replied, "All good. I got everything."
Lara ruffled the teen's hair, "Atta boy. Now lets go do some treasure huntin' and make sure we get all of the Ratakyans' possessions. Hopefully my enemies abroad haven't gotten wind yet, I just wanna nab some treasure without runnin' into any rival blokes for once."
Oskar pat Lara on the back as they boarded the plane, "Lara, you've pulled things off without interference before."
"Yeah," Ms. Croft replied sarcastically, scratched the back of her head, "Even though I did end up in a situation involving traps, got chased by boulders, shot at by arrows and darts and came under attack from bad guys.
"But, like we said, in the end, we always pull through and escape with our lives. How many times have I seen you in a scary situation, Oskar?"
Oskar chuckled nervously as he put aside the bag with Lara's possessions, "Well, I've been in a few. Half the time, I'm guarding your plane or talking with the locals, making friends and playing games. I even hang out with kids."
"Go make sure we're ready to take off."
"Sure thing, boss."
The main pilot of the plane was a man named Louis Parcivil, a French-British man who'd known the Croft family for a long time and had fought in the Second World War, taking part in bombing missions against the Third Reich.
Even in his nineties, despite his wrinkly skin and minor problems, Mr. Parcivil was still in good shape, including the fact he'd thrown coughing fits in recent days. He was still a capable pilot, heck, he'd flown this old plane back before Lara's family acquired it.
Louis had eyes of blue and a white moustache, even going as far as wearing his scarf and old pilot uniform as if he still fought against the odds, given the fact he'd been shot down once and had PTSD in the years following, like he expected to be shot down again and nearly be captured.
Luckily, Louis had escaped capture by the Gestapo thanks to the Underground, who managed to hide him until it was safe. Even on that day, Louis was still on high alert, even antsy at times.
It made perfect sense, once you experienced something terrible, it would be tough to forget it. Americans who'd fought in Vietnam had difficulties forgetting their horrible experiences, hence their nightmarish PTSD flashbacks.
Today, as he sat at the controls again and waited for takeoff, Louis couldn't help himself from getting nervous. All those times he'd flown Lara to every location, they all felt like the last time he would ever fly his plane.
This led to the feeling again, dreading the day he'd go down with his plane.
"Are we ready for take-off and are all systems activated, Louis?"
Hearing the Scottish-accented voice of Oskar Bessington, the old pilot turned from the window, from glancing at the photograph of his youthful self which lay against the window of the plane, the photo that a friend of Louis' had taken a month after the war had ended, shortly before he "temporarily" retired from piloting.
"Ah, young Oskar." Louis sighed with an elderly smile, "I'll never forget this day like all the other days, the day we took to the air again in pursuit of excitement and adventure and not war.
"I'm honored to be good friends with the Croft family and I am happy to serve Lara whenever she needs to travel someplace by air, I will never stop remembering the day when this plane fell under the ownership of good old Peter Croft."
Oskar sat next to the old man, "Not the time. We're going to Brazil."
"A time and a place for an old man's tales." Louis pat Oskar on the back as the engines geared up and the plane set down the field, gaining speed for take off, "Yes, indeed. We're going to Brazil, eh?
"Ah, yes. The lovely continent of South America with its resorts and jungles and attractions, I've visited that place so many times in my youth and its good to go back there. My dear Elina came from there, her mum was British and her pop was Mexican. My grandson joined the air force a few years ago, he's become quite a pilot."
"WHY IS IT THAT I'M LISTENING TO AN OLD MAN'S RAMBLING?" Lara shouted as the plane took to the sky over the British countryside, the mansion getting further and further away.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Louis chuckled, "I'm babbling again. Heh-heh-heh!" The floor and the walls vibrated to the engines rumbling as the Croft Enterprises plane flew over England before flying over the channel, followed by the Atlantic as Lara Croft headed for Brazil.