The next morning, Sonic woke up and climbed out of bed to get dressed and headed downstairs to get breakfast before finding Lara, Oskar, Tails and Sarah waiting for him outside near the Tornado.
"Morning, Sonic." Tails called as the blue hedgehog walked across the front lawn, "Lara was just telling us that you two are in love, is that true?" Sonic chuckled, "You bet your ass, Tails."
Lara gave the speedster a good morning kiss, "How are you, handsome?" The blue hedgehog fist bumped Lara. "That was one heck of a night."
"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." Lara smiled, "I did too. Anyway, I won't worry about the mansion and the Ratakyan treasures we have in our possession as Tom's armed and guarding the house while we're away so there's no need to fear if someone tried to break in and..."
Oskar raised his hand, "Whoa, time out. What did you two do last night that was 'fun', I know you two admitted your feelings for each other and slept together, but what happened between you two last night?"
Both hedgehog and archeologist looked at each other and shrugged before Sonic breathed in the fresh morning air and the scent of grass.
"That's a secret between me and Lara." The blue hedgehog replied.
Tails and Sarah giggled and looked at each other with smirks on their faces. I think we all know. The two love-foxes thought.
"What are we waiting for?" Sonic asked, climbing into the backseat of the plane with Lara beside him, "Let's get going, that Egypt Key and the Underwater Key aren't going to find themselves."
As Tails took the pilot's seat and started up the plane, Sonic asked Lara not to mention the underwater key, trying to avoid letting anybody know or remember that he had aqua phobia and couldn't swim.
Despite his efforts to avoid letting people know or be reminded, his request to not bring up the underwater key caused a suspicious look to cross Lara's face as she stared at the blue blur and raised an eye brow while furrowing another.
"I'm fine," Sonic said with annoyance, "I just want to focus on one thing at a time, not worry about anything else right now."
Lara sighed, "Ok, as long as you're being honest and not hiding anything."
"I am an honest person; I've hidden very little secrets about myself."
"Ha! Really? Is that so, Sonic?"
"Lets not get into a debate back there, lovebirds." Tails called, "I would appreciate silence and nothing more while we fly to Egypt, ok?" Oskar looked at Sonic and Lara, nodding with agreement, "Yeah, I do not want to see and hear any bickering between you two.
"While some couples have disagreements, it would be nice if they did not have any issues that could provide complications to their relationship."
Sonic grunted, "Lara and I weren't really arguing, Oskar. Thanks for your concern." As the plane flew over the English Channel and then the sea, bypassing the main European continent, England (as well as Lara's mansion) got further away, fading from sight.
It was at this point the blue blur started to fall asleep and began to dream…
He stood in the room, listening to the sounds of water dripping and animals sleeping soundly in the darkness. Small rays of light poured in from cracks in the ceiling, there weren't any traps so he could make it towards the artifact sitting on the dais at the far end.
The statue was waiting, after so much hard work, the intrepid adventurer had made it and was close to his goal.
All he had to do was grab the artifact and get out of here without something happening, whatever waited in the shadows to strike at him was of no significance, even if it could be defeated or escapable one way or another.
The brave hero walked forward, ignoring the shadows and cold chill traveling through his body as if he could sense something dangerous close by. Close by, ghostly voices whispered in the darkness in ancient languages, languages that could not be translated unless someone had a really advanced translator.
The hedgehog ignored the voices and kept walking towards his goal, just a few more steps and the statue would be all his. He hadn't come this far to leave the prize be, this artifact was a must-have and would not be kept away from those who sought it out.
Whatever happened next, this statue was a collector's item.
Just two feet from his goal, the hero heard it and stopped, somebody in the shadows chuckling, the voice echoing and causing dust to fall from the ceiling.
That chuckle became a soft laugh and the laugh became evil cackling as footsteps approached. The hedgehog turned to see the tall figure step out of the shadows, eyes covered by shiny glasses, he knew who it was too well.
How was this possible and how was HE here in the first place?
"Sonic the Hedgehog..." The figure declared, "Your adventuring nears its end, the time for your destruction by my hand at last. GYAH HA HA HA HA! PREPARE TO BE DESTROYED... BY ME!"
Sonic prepared himself as the figure reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun, but before the intrepid hero could act, the mad scientist pulled the trigger and the gun barrel exploded as the laser went straight for the brave hero...
Sonic awoke with a start and sat up in the seat of the Tornado, gasping and eyes widened before he realized the whole thing had been all just a dream. Looking at his surroundings, the hedgehog noticed that the plane had landed on solid ground, the journey was already over.
"You ok?" Sonic heard the crisp accent of his human girl-friend and looked behind him, Lara was still sitting in the plane, that's when he noticed that Tails, Sarah and Oskar had disembarked.
"Where are we?" Sonic asked, breathing in the fresh air and the scent of summer heat. "Egypt, of course." Lara giggled, "Look around ya."
Climbing out of the plane, the blue adventurer finally noticed that they'd landed in Egypt somewhere within the desert where civilization lay, he could see the pyramids in the distance.
The temperature was 80 degrees, thankfully the hedgehog and his friends had water with them. Sonic reached into his pocket, pulled out a bottle and drank a bit so he wouldn't pass out from the unbearable heat.
But looking at the Egyptian landscape, the hedgehog got a sense of déjà vu, having been here before.
Taking a good look at it all, the hedgehog recognized their current location and where they'd landed; The ancient Egyptian city of Baru Sawaki, Sonic had visited this place before, he'd been to Egypt a lot and had actually visited Cairo multiple times and seen all the pyramids of Egypt itself.
The city was bustling as merchants sold their items, people carried buckets of water and visitors from various countries wandered about, sight seeing. "Where's Tails, Sarah and Oskar?" The blue blur asked, tapping his foot.
Lara pecked him on the cheek, "They're looking about for clues that will lead us to the key."
"Well, if that's the case," Sonic gave a thumbs up, "We should do the same."
"I like your thinking, blue boy. Lets catch up with the others."
The two of them found Tails, Sarah and Oskar talking with two merchant shop owners by a fountain in the heart of town; The merchant in blue robes was white with a beard and grey eyes and the man in red was black and bald.
"Ah, Sonic the Hedgehog." The blue robed merchant exclaimed, his associate waving with him when they saw the blue hero and Lara Croft approaching, "Its an honor, we're intrigued by you, your heroics and your popularity among all the women of the world whom you've hung out with."
"Oh, hey you two!" Tails said happily when he saw Sonic and Lara, "We were just looking for clues and sight-seeing while we're at it." Sarah giggled excitedly like a school girl, "It was my idea, you know how much I enjoy sight-seeing."
Sonic fist-bumped Tails, "So, have we learned anything about the key?"
"We were just about to ask these fellas." Oskar replied, he turned to the merchants, "So before our friends here came along, we were about to ask ya somethin', do you happen to know the location of the Ratakyan Day Blue Key?"
The black man in red robes chuckled, "Of course me and my associate do, we're descendants of those from the ancient Ratakyan tribe." Lara was amazed, "Wow, who could've thought the Ratakyans had descendants across the globe?"
Sonic shrugged, "Well, whaddaya expect, the Ratakyans can't just let their secrets be unguarded for centuries, some had to live here and start families."
"That's right." Blue Robe nodded, "If our Ratakyan tribal ancestors just straight up left the key in its resting spot unprotected, that would probably be a disaster in the end.
"Who's to stop thieves and looters from going on in and taking it anyway? My associate Jakanda and me, Starasa, have been multitasking between being key guardians and being merchants."
Sarah giggled, "Me and my friends get the impression that you two are brothers." Starasa nodded, "That's because the two of us are brothers."
"Brothers, huh?" Sonic gave a thumbs up, "Pretty rad. So your Ratakyan ancestor was a guy who fell in love with an Egyptian gal? Also, hate to be rude, but how the heck is one of ya white and the other is black?"
Kalanda and Starasa looked at each other and shrugged. "Its probably nothing. Now, would you like us to guide you to the pyramid where the key is located?"
The five adventurers looked at each other and then back at the guardians, breathing in a breeze of fresh air that kept them cool from the intense desert heat. Both nodded in unison and Kalanda smiled, "Then follow us."