The next morning, Penny had taken bolt out for a walk, keeping the quill on her just in case she could find what it belonged to, when she saw military officials enter town. And then she saw what looked like a highly advanced truck following them with two SUV escorts. Bolt simply barked at the trucks, but penny calmed him down as she decided to follow them.
With Sonic, the blue hedgehog couldn't sleep thinking about what he did." This is bad, this is bad." He kept telling himself as speedy looked at him and actually looked as worried as a pet turtle could get. Sonic had barely noticed how much he stayed up until he stopped to look outside.
Back with Penny, she followed the truck to the baseball field to see the ditch and tents set up scanning the area." Does this involve the blackout? " She asked herself as she saw a man come out of the truck, from what she could see, it looked like he was taking charge of the operation. She decided to call her father, but when she called him there wasn't an answer.
She then looked over again and saw what looked like egg shaped drones flying out of the truck, freaking her out a bit." Cmon bolt, we're going home." She told her dog as they made tracks to their house.
Back with Sonic, he went out for fresh air, that's when he saw the drones and soldiers near his hideout and hid." Ok don't freak out….you played some baseball, got a little upset, lightning shot out of your butt and now their coming for you!." He told himself as he ran back to his hideout." Ok, earth isn't safe anymore, time for plan B, mushroom ville '' he added as he started packing, stuff like his toothbrush, nightlight, a half eaten cantaloupe, scented candle, comic books silly hat.``can a beanbag fit into a backpack? Of course not, thats stupid! " He debated with himself before remembering the most important item, his rings. before he threw it, he remembered Speedy, he then grabbed the turtle and headed towards the nearest lake." Ok buddy, time to head into the lake." He told his turtle as he set him down, however, speedy looked up at him.
Sonic sighed and kneeled." Listen….it's hard to explain...but I have to leave, and I can't take you with me… it's nothing but mushrooms there."he explained as he pet his turtle friend." If I come back...I'll find you, I promise." He added as speedy started treading to the water, Sonic smiled a bit but then looked down." Ok...mushroom planet...here I come"he says as he prepares to throw the ring but hears a couple of soldiers nearby. realizing he can't use the ring here,he goes to find another place.
Back with penny and bolt, as they neared the corner, she kept trying to call her dad, but it went straight to voicemail." Hey Dad, it's me,are you home yet?"she asked as she tried to call her father." Look, if your home, call me, we saw these military guys and I was wondering if you were-" she said before she heard something coming from her house, causing bolt to growl." Easy bolt, it's probably just a raccoon or something." She assured him as she went into the house.
Inside, the garage, Sonic accidentally knocked over one of the toolboxes in pennies home." Ok...you're in...with minimal damage to gymnast queens property." He assured himself as he jumped down and made sure no one was home before grabbing a ring." Ok, didn't work out on Earth but that's ok, you're going to a safe place filled with mushrooms, mushrooms that'll be your only friends ..." As he said this, he realized how awful it sounded, but he had no choice. He took a deep breath and prepared to throw it when he heard the door open.
"Dad? You home? I think a raccoon got into the-" penny was about to say until she froze when she saw Sonic holding the ring." Uh...meow?" He replied trying to pass off as a cat, this only caused penny to scream, making Sonic scream as well. Bolt saw this hedgehog as a threat and charged at him, hitting him into a wall." Ow!." He exclaimed, he then caught a glimpse of a map and saw the word Amazon jungle before dropping the ring.
Penny saw it roll on the ground before it became a portal to said jungle, Sonic looked at penny, and while she and the dog were distracted, prepared to jump through when he was hit in the head with a hammer that fell from the shelf, dropping his bag of rings into the portal. Penny was confused by all of this."no…" Sonic tried to cry out before he fell unconscious and the portal closed, leaving Penny in shock, both at the creature and how strong her dog was. Bolt barked at the intruder before Penny calmed him down.
Sometime later, Penny had put the unconscious creature into a dog cage. Bolt kept an eye on the hedgehog as Penny kept trying to call her father and started poking sonic with a stick. After failing to call him a third time, she noticed Sonic's quills and compared it to the one she found." It's you…" she realized as she saw the similarities, as she turned around, with bolt going over to her to make sure she was ok, Sonic started waking up, he opened the cage and limped out. Penny turned around and jumped in shock, bolt growled in defense.
" Gymnast queen?" Sonic asked, but Penny was only shocked." You can talk...you're not here to kill me, are you?" She asked, causing Bolt to get in front of her." Kill you? Hey, you abducted me!" He told her as he rubbed his head." What are you? Why were you in my garage?" She asked him.
" I needed somewhere safe, and you were the only person I could think of, gymnast queen! " Sonic explained.
" Why do you keep calling me gymnast queen?"
" Cuz you're on top of your game in Athletics, and general lightning here is always by your- wait a minute, where are the mushrooms? Am I still on Earth?" . He asked as he looked around." Your an alien?" She asked
" Oh no! I lost my rings!" He exclaimed before bolt started barking." Easy bolt!" Penny told her dog.``yeah general ligh- wait, his name is bolt?" Sonic asked before they heard something outside. Penny looked and saw the same truck from before, sonic did the same and screamed." they're coming for me!"he exclaimed.
"Whos coming for you, what's that have to do with me?!" she asked, hoping to get an answer, but sonic refused to explain." I don't have time to explain, but you have to help me!" he exclaimed.
"Why?" she asked.
"Well, my head, which usually is the part that helps me focus, feels lightheaded, and I dont wanna crash, please, its life or death." He explained while giving her puppy eyes, after thinking for a minute, she decided to help him." fine...cmon, we have to hide you." she told him as she started to head upstairs. Sonic was about to follow when he tripped." uh...little help?" he called out as Penny sighs and grabs him.
Penny then led sonic up to the attic." bolt, stay here with him." she told her dog as bolt stood guard." you stay here, I'll be back." she told sonic as she started to climb back down."that's a good idea, we're already working so well together, practically finishing each other's sentences!" he replied while smiling, but penny only felt a bit weirded out by this and closed the door, leaving sonic to himself and bolt.
Outside, the man with the drones was scanning a footprint left by sonic when penny walked out.`` Excuse me sir, can I help you?" she asked him. He then got up and walked to her porch.`` Good morning young lady, I'm from the uh...power company, I'm investigating the blackouts." the man told her, hoping he could find what he came for." oh, the power company? My friend's uncle works for them, I think it was...spencer?." she lied, hoping to catch him." ah yes, spencer...he's a good man, really good at tennis, now if you don't mind, i'd like to take some readings inside your house?" he asked, now penny knew he was lying" actually uh...my friend tells me he's more of a hockey man...and I'm pretty sure power companies take readings from the outside." she replied
The man realized his mistake, then quietly activated two drones."Alright, you got me, I'm looking into the blackout and I believe there is an alien here." he explained as penny chuckled a bit." first time I heard about it, mister uh…" she replied, hoping to get his name." dr….dr robotnik." he answered.
Inside the house, bolt had gone downstairs to defend the house, leaving sonic by himself. Sonic was about to follow when the drones appeared and started scanning the room, sonic tried his best to hide, even curling up into a ball and hiding with a few other balls.
Back outside, Penny heard bolt barking." sorry Dr, that's my dog, he's usually like this when someone he doesn't know is here." she explained." oh I'm sure that's true young lady, I used to walk by my neighbor's dog all the time...it didn't end well." he replied
." now, you wouldn't happen to know about any aliens, would you?" he asked as he got closer.
" nope...but...you should ask my dad, he's a scientist, he might know." Penny replied, starting to get a little nervous." I can give you his number." She added.
"Miss uh…"
"Penny….Penny forrester, but my doctor calls me yang, but uh...i've gotten so used to it that it'd be wrong to correct him."
Robotnik chuckled" well miss forrester, i'm not sure you know about me, but anything your father may know, i know twice as much." he explained as he actually started sounding menacing." and if you harbor a fugitive...I can put you away." This caused Penny to gulp.
Back upstairs, the drones were scanning the room." ok, im a ball, i'm a normal ball, shh, stop talking, be quiet sonic, you be quiet sonic!." sonic told himself as the drones started closing in on him.
"Don't freak out, don't freak out." he assured himself until the drones were inches away from him." I'M FREAKING OUT! " he exclaimed as he rolled from his hiding spot and rolled down the stairs." why!dont!you!have!your staircase!carpeted?!" he exclaimed as he hit the steps and rolled into the stove, causing bolt to bark.
Penny heard this, as well as robotnik."uh...bolt must have knocked down a pan or something." she told him." mmm...yeah, dogs are like that, nothing to see here!"robotnik replied he began to leave but then pushed penny out of the way, hoping to find proof, only to find bolt barking at one of the pans which fell to the ground." here's the thing...i'm never wrong." he explained.'' First time for everything, uh, sorry you couldn't find anything, can I get you a drink before you leave? We have soda, apple juice, milk." she replied, hoping to get him out of her house. As Robotnik turned to leave, however, he noticed the quill Penny had kept and picked it up," look at that...I was right." he smirked as he walked towards her again.
"Lets try this again." he told her as one of the drones came into the house."uh...ok, listen buddy, i can have you arrested for doing this." she threatened." i'm going to give you five seconds to tell me where it is." The scientist told her, ignoring her threat, unbeknownst to him, sonic was hiding under the table. Bolt started barking but Robotnik simply ignored him and started counting down, sonic realized that if he didnt act, penny might get killed, and he couldn't let that happen. So, out of fear, he revealed himself and held his hands up." Wait, don't hurt her!" he exclaimed, but robotnik screamed at the sight of sonic, giving penny a chance to hit him with a frying pan.
The drone took note of this and prepared to fire as penny grabbed bolt and sonic and hid under the table as it started firing.`` This feels excessive!"sonic exclaimed as the drone stopped firing to reload, as penny tried to think of a plan, sonic had snuck off and jumped on the drone." don't worry, i got em right where i want em!." he exclaimed as he rode it like a bull.`` Can you believe amazon's gonna deliver packages with these things?" he asked as it tried to shake him off.
Bolt started barking excessively, and escaped from penny's grasp and ran at the drone as it shook the hedgehog off and knocking him out. Then bolt's eyes glowed and shot a laser at the drone, shocking Penny in the process."bolt?!" she exclaimed as Bolt looked at her in confusion, but Penny didnt have time to ask as she grabbed sonic, who was very dizzy." oh don't tell me that's all you got, i'm just getting started, lemme know if you wanna go round two with the blue!" he yelled in his stated as penny put him into a basket on the back of her bike, with bolt sitting on his lap, then rode out of the garage away from the house.
Back inside the house, Robotnik had woken up, and his assistant, agent stone came in and checked on him." doctor! Are you ok? I saw a kid with a dog ride out of here and I thought-"he tried to explain until the doctor got close to his face." and you didn't think to go after them?" he asked, to which the agent only shook his head." it doesn't matter….whatever this creature is...ill find it...uncover the source of its power...and if it resists...take it apart….and see what makes it tick." he told him as he grabbed the quill." stone, call my old work partner...tell him I need more weapons, he should have plenty to spare." he ordered agent stone as they both left the house.
In a nearby park, sonic had woken up and had come face to face with an angry Penny." ok buddy, start talking, who are you, what are you?" she asked as Bolt growled. Sonic simply sighed." im a hedgehog, I feel like it's obvious." he explained.
"No way, hedgehogs are small and brown." she snapped back." well yeah, im a hedgehog….and im in big trouble." he explained." oh your in trouble? You're not the one with a dog who can knock people into walls and shoot lasers, not to mention you didn't punch a government wackjob." she told him, to which sonic got a little mad." Do you think you have problems? I lost my rings!" he exclaimed.
"Rings? What are you talking about?" she asked, wondering if this went back to the portal sonic opened." ok, advanced life 101, rings are how all advanced species travel, and now mine are stuck in some kind of jungle, who's name i've only seen on your wall." he explained as penny sighed." so, I need to get to the amazon jungle and get my rings, so I can use them to go to the mushroom planet." he added, to which penny felt like he was making this up." mushroom planet...giant blue hedgehog needs rings to get to a mushroom planet, you have to be dreaming penny." she told herself as she sat down on the bench trying to make sure she wasn't sleeping.
Bolt sensed her stress and did his best to comfort her." thanks boy…maybe we can get you to my dad...he might know how to fix this." she explained, then suddenly her phone rang and she answered after seeing the caller number." DAD?!" she exclaimed as she answered.`` What happened? I was trying to call you all day?!" she explained." penny, i don't have much time." her father told her, she noticed his voice seemed a little out of breath."hold on, is that science wizard?" sonic asked, but was shushed by her."Dad, are you ok?" she asked.
"Listen….somethings happened...and...i dont think...im gonna make it home…" her father explained,Penny started getting worried, and sonic knew that look all too well.`` Dad…I don't understand…" she replied, only to get these words." listen...I gave bolt special abilities to protect you… and someone will come after him if they find him, you have to run, you have to hide, do what you can to stay safe." the professor explained, sonic heard this and remembered what longclaw said to him, about people wanting his powers." dad? Dad?!" she tried to get him to answer but the line went dead." someones got him…" sonic assumed, and then he saw penny cry, he tried to comfort her but she moved away from him.
Sonic then looked down, realizing part of this was his fault and he looked away."...I know how hard it is to lose the person you care about…." he told her as he tried to empathize with her" running away from something you care about...has to be painful." he added, that's when penny snapped." what do you know about losing people?!" she asked him angrily, that's when she noticed the faint glowing in his quills." I was forced from my home because people wanted my powers…and I've been hiding here since" he explained as he looked down, Penny sighed." I'm sorry...it's just...my dads the only family I have along with bolt…" she replied.
Sonic then got an idea."ok...how about we make a deal...I help you find your dad...and you help me get my rings?" he offered. Penny thought about it a bit, if what sonic said about the rings were true, they could grab her father and use them to escape without the bad guys following." ok...it's a deal." she told him, sonic smiled at those words." it'll be an honor working with you Gymnast queen." he exclaimed." I have a name, it's Penny, and this is my dog, Bolt." she told him as she held her dog close, sonic grinned and got up." I'm sonic." he replied.
Penny smiled a bit, knowing she wasn't alone in this." ok sonic...let's get going...we're gonna need to get some equipment first." she explained." we're going back to the house, aren't we?"sonic asked, to which penny smirked a bit." my dad said i couldn't go back to the house...he didn't say you couldn't." she explained, to which the hedgehog realized what she meant, then he hopped into the basket of the bike and smiled." road trip! Woohoo!" he exclaimed as Penny giggled a bit and they started heading back.
Meanwhile, in a dark room, professor Richard Forrester, Penny's father was tied up." ah, professor, so good to see you again." a mysterious voice said to him." What do you want Calico?!" Richard demanded." It's very simple my dear friend...the power you gave that mutt of yours." the mysterious voice said." it seems one of my associates encountered a creature with similar powers." the voice explained as a slide showed up, showing something Richard had been studying, another blue quill. But he knew he wouldn't talk, and would only hope that penny listened to him and ran as far as she could.