In the wake of the attack on Robotnik Island, all of Station Square was going wild for Sonic. His name was on the headline of every paper, the top story of every news network, and the name on everyone's lips. The amount of adoration people were exhibiting for the blue blur was unparalleled. After a few days had passed and everything had been given a chance to settle down, the President got in front of everyone with a very important announcement.

"In gratitude for the part he played in the destruction of Dr. Robotnik's base, Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends will be granted complete citizenship. No longer will they be forced to hide themselves, for as of today, these heroes will be able to walk the streets without fear."

…

At the Kent house, everyone was gathered around the Kent Family car. Ella was dressed in some more casual clothes, helping Cream get buckled into a car seat. Knuckles was getting Helen's wheelchair into the trunk of Kat's truck as Amy and Tails were in the middle of a face off. They stared down one another, then slowly lifted up their fists, shouting in unison.

"Rock… Paper...SCISSORS!"

Tails produced a flat pal, symbolizing paper. Amy produced finger scissors, grinning from ear to ear.

"I win!" she cheered. "I get to ride in Ella's car!"

"Aw, come on! Two out of three?"

"Nope. I won fair and square."

"Come on Tails, my truck's not that bad!" Kat called from her truck. "Besides, it's not that long of a drive anyway!"

"Yeah, I know…" Tails replied, climbing into the truck.

He squeezed himself into the middle as Knuckles took his seat. Meanwhile, Keith and Sonic came walking out of the garage.

"Sure I can't convince you to come, Sonic?" Keith asked.

"Sorry, pal, but shopping isn't really my idea of fun."

"You could get some new sneakers."

"Hey, I've had these sneakers for years, and they've never let me down."

"Yeah, how is that by the way? I go through sneakers like crazy and I don't do even a fraction of the amount of stuff you do."

For a brief moment, Sonic's smile faltered, but he quickly caught himself.

"Eh, just lucky I guess. Love to stay, but I gotta run."

Sonic then zoomed off, leaving a trail of dust in his wake. Keith waved a hand in front of his face before sighing.

"Guess I should have seen that one coming."

…

Later, the two cars were driving into the city, with Keith's mind occupied with the conversation he had with Sonic.

"Is something wrong, Keith?" Cream asked.

"Sonic just seemed in a big hurry to leave after I brought up his sneakers. I was just trying to figure out why."

"It's because Sonic's uncle made them for him," Cream explained.

"Cream!" Amy exclaimed.

Cream instantly covered her mouth, looking ashamed.

"I'm sorry, Amy. I forgot."

"Sonic has an uncle?" Keith asked. "Why hasn't he mentioned him before?"

"None of your business, Keith," Amy snapped a little harshly before her face softened. "Sorry… just, don't mention Sonic's uncle in front of him, okay? It's a touchy subject."

"O… kay, I'll take your word for it."

He looked down as Amy turned to Cream, assuring her she wasn't mad.

…

Out in a vast meadow, Sonic was laying on his back, looking up at the clouds. He had one foot propped up on his knee, his foot kicking idly. His eyes glanced across the shoe, noting the worn red covering, the frayed strap, and the completely flat bottoms that were beginning to show his feet. While the shoes had been built to last, they were slowly running out of time.

"These guys have been through a lot… still, not about to trade 'em up now."

…

Meanwhile in the city, the gang arrived at the Station Square mall, with everyone spreading out to find everything they wanted. Helen and Cream were with Ella looking for new outfits, with Cheese bouncing on a pile of folded shirts. Amy was in a dressing room, trying on outfit after outfit. After about the fifth outfit, she noticed that she'd gathered quite the crowd of onlookers. They were all staring at her in disbelief and shock. With some embarrassment, she retreated back into the dressing room.

…

Meanwhile, Keith and Tails were in an electronics store, looking over different computers, phones, pads, and other tech. Keith was going over the video game section, trying to see if there were any he didn't have. As he looked though, Tails came over to him, looking sheepish.

"Hey… Keith?"

"Yeah?"

Keith looked over to see the dozens of people staring at them intently. He tensed, setting down the game.

"Come on, let's go."

Just as they tried to make their escape, a little boy came up and grabbed Tails' twin tails. The fox suddenly froze, his fur sticking up straight. The boy didn't mean any harm, being no older than three or four. Luckily, the boy's mother quickly came and grabbed her son, rushing away in a hurry.

"So sorry!" she called out.

Keith noticed the serious fear on Tails' face and waved a hand in front of his eyes.

"Tails?" he called.

"Let's just go..." Tails begged.

…

Meanwhile, Kat and Knuckles were in a sporting goods store, where Kat was looking through the various bats on sale. She grabbed a metal softball bat, testing the weight and giving it a small swing. She then shook her head and tried another. This one seemed a better fit and she smirked, hefting it onto her shoulder.

"Hey Knux, think Tails can do anything cool to this baby?"

"Knowing Tails, I'd count on that."

The two then began heading for the counter, Knuckles looking around as everyone stared. He got more and more uncomfortable by the minutes.

"Don't look now, but we're drawing a crowd."

Kat glanced around, her mood souring.

"I hate lookie-lous..." she muttered as they made it to the counter, setting the bat in front of the cashier. "Ring me up please."

The cashier looked at her, then down at Knuckles. His eyes went wide as he leaned over the counter.

"You're one of those talking animals! One of Sonic's friends! Which one are you?"

Knuckles growled before slamming his hands on the counter, startling the cashier.

"Just sell us the bat!"

…

A little bit later, everyone gathered in the food court. They all tried to enjoy their meal, which was proving difficult with everyone staring at all sat around a table, each and every one of them feeling uncomfortable.

"I'll just say it," Amy spoke up. "This is very weird."

"I'm scared," Cream let out, holding Cheese right.

"I hate that everyone's staring..." Tails muttered, rubbing his Tails nervously. "I thought things would be better now that we could go out in public."

"But you are all heroes, niños," Ella pointed out. "Ever since you stopped that horrible Eggman."

"We did that because it was right, not so we could be famous or anything," Amy replied. "Of course, if they ask me to appear on TV or magazine covers, I won't turn them down."

"Nice to see you're approaching the situation reasonably," Knuckles remarked.

"This coming from the Echidna who smashed up the sporting goods checkout counter," Kat retorted.

"The guy kept pestering me," Knuckles replied.

Suddenly, there was a camera flash. Everyone blinked away spots from their vision as more flashes went off.

"Ok, time to go!" Keith declared, motioning everyone up. "Sorry about this guys. I kinda have to deal with this a lot."

"Is there anywhere we can go that's private?" Amy requested?

"There's a restaurant not far from here with a VIP section," Ella offered.

"Let's go!" Everyone shouted.

…

Within a few minutes, the group made its way to the restaurant. The waiter was a bit put off by everyone's casual attire, but once he saw all the Mobians, as well as heard Keith's last name, he was more than happy to lead them to a private table. As Amy brought up the rear, she looked back at all the curious onlookers still staring at them. She just turned towards them and gave them a face until Knuckles came up behind her and grabbed her by the collar of her dress, pulling her along.

As they walked to their table, other members of the VIP club watched them, muttering to themselves.

"Would you look at that," one woman said softly to her friend.

"I heard the Kent boy was living with strange creatures. I guess it's true," her friend replied.

The group sat down at the table as the waiter left to get their menus. Kat glanced around, rubbing the back of her neck.

"I feel like a rabbit that's been thrown in the wolf's den."

Cream looked at Kat in fear, who instantly winced.

"Sorry Cream. Slip of the tongue."

"Kat, relax," Keith insisted. "This is a private, members only club. No one will hassle us here."

Keith was proven instantly wrong however, as the group was suddenly swarmed by the patrons of the restaurant.

"I saw how brave your friends were on TV!" One woman gushed. "Could we get their autographs? Or would it be pawprints in their case?"

"It's adorable!" another woman proclaimed, rubbing Cheese's head.

Cheese yelped as Cream clutched her Chao, Helen pulling her into her lap. This seemed to set off the woman, who just kept gushing even more.

"What cuties!"

"I'm gonna bring 'em home!"

"Let me take a look!"

Everyone kept crowding around them until Amy and Kat got to their feet. Amy summoned her hammer and Kat grabbed her bat from off the ground.

"Everyone get back, or we start swinging!" Amy warned.

"Can't anybody enjoy lunch in peace around here?!" Kat let out.

…

Meanwhile at the ruins of Dr. Robotnik's base, salvage crews began going through the wreckage for anything worth repurposing. They were also trying to find the mad doctor, or at the very least, his body. As the crews continued working, they came across something that didn't appear in the schematics they had.

"That doesn't appear on the plans…" the foreman noted.

As he bent down to examine it, the ground began shaking before it began opening up, revealing something massive underneath. Everything began to cave in, workers all running for their lives as a massive ship with a drill for a head rose from the ground. Once it was free, the drill began rising off the ground, revealing it was attached to a massive battleship.

"Oh no..." the foreman let out. "Robotnik's still alive!"

"Did you fools truly believe you could defeat me so easily?!" Robotnik boasted over a P.A. system. "I was all too prepared when your President ordered his attack on my base, so I constructed my latest creation, the Egg Fort. With this flying fortress, I am capable of launching a counterattack anywhere at my leisure, and this time no one, not even that meddlesome hedgehog, Sonic can stop me this time!"

"Wow doctor!" Cubot's voice came over the PA. "You sure thought of everything!"

"For once," Orbot remarked "now if only he could actually follow through on his threats from time to time."

"Quit chattering you two!" Robotnik threatened. "We've got work to do! To Station Square"

The ship then took off, leaving only a cloud of dust in its wake. The foreman and his workers were all shaking in their boots as he slowly reached for his phone to call for help.

…

Back in Station Square, the mayor was getting a phone call about the approaching battleship.

"What?" He let out. "A huge warship is heading this way? Are you sure? Well, can you send the air force to intercept this?"

One of the mayor's aides then rushed up to him, a look of panic on his face.

"Sir, look!"

The two looked out the window and saw the approaching battleship closing in on the city.

…

Meanwhile, the gang finally managed to find a secluded area to hide out in. Everyone slumped into large, overstuffed armchairs as they let out exhausted breaths.

"So far, this shopping spree has been a complete flop," Amy commented.

"Flop?" Kat snorted. "Try nightmare. And I thought school was bad..."

"Maybe things will die down once people get used to you guys being around," Keith offered.

"But there's no telling how long that will take," Tails responded.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I think I'll just stick to the woods from now on," Knuckles decided.

"Uh, guys…" Keith let out in a much more nervous tone.

"What is it?" Kat asked as Keith pointed outside.

Everyone looked out the window, gasping in horror when they saw The Egg Fort closing in on the city. Down below, they could see countless citizens watching in horror as its massive shadow overtook everything.

"Eggman…" Keith let out.

"Heh, he didn't waste anytime," Knuckles remarked.

"Guess it was too much to hope he went down in that explosion," Kat muttered. "You Mobians really are tough."

"Unfortunately, he's tougher than most," Amy remarked.

From the Egg Fort, the PTA systems fired up again, broadcasting Eggman's voice across the city.

"You losers are about to learn that you can never defeat me. I'm like a rubber ball! Every time you try to slap me down, I just keep bouncing back! Since your government attacked me and destroyed my base, I'm going to destroy your city and rebuild my headquarters right here!

Suddenly, several robots began dropping out from the Egg Fort, each one equipped with checkered wrecking balls. They instantly got to work wrecking the city, smashing cars, buildings, and anything else in their way. The gang instantly made its way out into the city, Ella pushing Helen with Cream and Cheese in the girl's lap. The rest were getting ready to fight, Keith sliding his glasses off and putting on his goggles.

"Keith, call Sonic!" Knuckles shouted. "We're gonna need his help if we're gonna stop this demolition derby."

"On it!" Keith replied, fishing out his phone and calling Sonic. "Sonic, Eggman's back! He's attacking the city! We need you here, now!"

"I'm on my way!"

"There're our cars!" Kat shouted, pointing up ahead. "If we hurry, maybe we can lure some of these destructo-bots away from-!"

Suddenly, one of the robots wrecking balls smashed into Kat's truck, as well as the Kent family car.

"Oh, come on!" Kat shouted. "That was my truck!"

"I think we have bigger problems!" Amy cried out.

Sure enough, about three of the wrecker bots had the group surrounded.

"Terrific," Knuckles replied, readying his fists. "Well, bring it on!"

Just before the robots could make their move, a blue blur shot right through them, destroying them instantly.

"Move, move, move!" Tails warned.

Everyone scrambled to get away as the bots crashed into each other, the blue blur smashing every bot down the street. The blur then sped his way up the side of a building before coming to a stop, revealing itself to be Sonic.

"Sonic!" Keith cheered. "Perfect timing!"

"Showoff," Knuckles grumbled.

"So glad you decided to show up!" Eggman called out via PTA. "I've been looking forward to destroying you the way you destroyed my robots!"

"Bring it on, Egghead!" Sonic challenged.

The Egg Fort launched five missiles at Sonic, who promptly ran down the skyscraper he was perched on and underneath the legs of another wrecker bot. Two of the missiles collided with it as Sonic circled another bot and stood atop it. He then leapt off as the remaining three missiles struck home.

"I've heard of a sonic boom, but this is ridiculous," Orbot commented.

Sonic destroyed some more of the wrecker bots, then ran back up the skyscraper and leapt off it toward the Egg Fort. Unfortunately, he had misjudged the distance by several feet, meaning he was on a one way trip back down to the ground. Luckily, he managed to land on one of the trees dotting the sidewalk, snapping through the branches before landing on the ground. He got to his feet, scowling as the others rushed over to him.

"Darn, I can't reach the ship from here," he growled.

"And I don't think I have the strength to fly you up myself," Tails added. "The only chance we have now is the Tornado II."

"Well unfortunate, SOMEONE TRASHED OUR RIDES!" Kat screamed, shooting death glares at the Egg Fort.

"Anyone else have any ideas?" Amy asked.

As they said this, a large van came pulling up to the scene. It had the letters SSPD on it, and a familiar face in the driver's seat.

"Hey little bro!" Sam called out. "Sorry I'm late. Had to find a vehicle with enough space for all of you."

"Sam!" Keith let out as everyone piled in. "Man, am I glad to see you."

"Glad I could help." Sam turned to Sonic, giving him a thumbs up. "You deal with that Robotnik creep. I'll get everyone back to the house so they can get that plane of yours."

"Thanks," Sonic replied, giving him a thumbs up in return.

The van peeled off down the street as Sonic sped off to deal with Robotnik's robots. As he started moving, several bird shaped robots descended and opened fire on him.

He darted around a corner to try and avoid them, and for a brief moment, it worked. However, they quickly turned and followed him. With a grunt, Sonic swerved through several curves, then ducked into an alley. Even so, the flyers still managed to find him, forcing him from his hiding spot.

"What's with these things? I can't shake them!"

Up on the Egg Fort, Robotnik just laughed maniacally.

"My E-43 all come with speed-seeking detectors. Sonic's running to his own demise!"

Sonic continued running, trying to think of a way to beat these metal birds. Finally, an idea came to him. He reduced his speed until he was alongside one of the Falcons, leaping onto it and riding it up towards the Egg Fort. Robotnik noticed this and instantly got pissed.

"Oh no you don't! You're not hitchhiking on my Falcons! Orbot! Cubot! Order the bots to self-destruct! Now!"

As Sonic continued riding the Falcon, it's eye started blinking. Sonic quickly leapt off, just as the robot exploded. The resulting shockwave sent Sonic flying back until he landed on a neary rooftop. He got back up, rubbing his tail.

"Well, Eggman certainly isn't making it easy for me."

"Finish him off!" Robotnik declared.

Robotnik then pressed a button and several green spheres descended from the Egg Fort, all surrounding Sonic. Instantly, they all fired lasers at Sonic, who easily leapt out of the way.

…

Meanwhile, Sam continued driving everyone through the streets of the city, Ella in the passenger seat of the van as the others were seated in the back. As they all clung to the seats, Keith looked out the back window to see some of the green spheres chasing after them.

"Sam, look out!" he warned.

"Hold on tight!" Sam told them.

Sam swerved the truck around the approaching spheres. As he did, one of the sphere's collided with the wheel, causing the truck to spin off the road. As the truck came to a stop, the spheres started closing in on them. e spheres began to surround them, charging up their lasers. All of a sudden, Mr. Stewart came out of nowhere, a small hand mirror in his grasp. Using the reflective surface, he bounced the lasers back at the sphere's destroying them.

"Mr. Teacher spy!" Kat called out, opening the back doors. "Where did you come from?"

"I was in the neighborhood," he answered. "When I saw the van being chased, I assumed one or more of you must be in it."

"Well, hop on in," Sam offered. "Now that you've helped us, those orbs will be gunning for you."

"I won't argue with you on that," Mr. Stewart replied, leaping inside.

Once Mr. Stewart was in, the truck sped off. As they turned onto the highway, three more of the orbs came over and surrounded them.

"Sam, speed up!" Keith shouted.

"I'm trying, but this baby wasn't meant for speed!" Sam retorted.

"And I can't get a good angle on them with my mirror from here!" Mr. Stewart added.

"That's it!" Knuckles let out. "Let me out of here! I'll handle em!"

He opened up the back doors, climbing up onto the roof. He quickly started punching the spheres as they came in close, taking several of them out. As he managed to destroy the last of them, he slipped back inside, slamming the doors.

"Now step on it! Sonic won't last much longer!"

"Right!" Sam replied, flooring it.

…

Not too much later, the group made it back to the Kent house, with Tails making a beeline for the garage. He opened the doors, Mr. Stewart gasping when he saw the Tornado II. Sam let out a whistle at the sight as well.

"Nice plane," Sam remarked, "How fast is its top speed?"

"Mach 7," Tails replied, climbing into the cockpit.

Knuckles leapt onto the side as Kat and Keith got into the passenger seats. Amy climbed behind Tails as Ella, Helen, Cream and Cheese waved them off.

"Good luck you guys!" Helen shouted.

"Be careful!" Cream insisted.

"Chao chao!" Cheese chirped.

"We will!" Amy promised.

The plane then took off into the sky, heading back for town.

…

Meanwhile, Sonic kept running across the rooftops, desperate to avoid the pursuing spheres as they opened fire on him. He was starting to become more than a little irritated by the minute. However, that's when he heard the familiar sounds of the Tornado II's engines. He looked up and saw the Tornado II flying towards him, opening fire on the spheres.

"You gonna just keep running or are you gonna hop on?" Knuckles called out, offering Sonic a hand.

Sonic quickly took it, allowing Knuckles to pull him onto the plane as they flew up towards the Egg Fort. Inside, Robotnik was fuming.

"Shoot them down! Hurry!"

The Egg Fort's turrets opened fire, prompting the Tornado II to take evasive action. From his office, the Mayor was watching the battle unfold, forced to duck down when a spray of fire nearly hit him.

"Hey!" Keith shouted. "We need to lure Eggman away from the city! I don't know how much more punishment the city can take!"

"Leave it to me!" Sonic reassured. "Tails, get me in close!"

"You got it!" Tails replied.

The Tornado II then swooped in close, dodging the constant fire of the turrets before coming right up in front of the main deck. Sonic pulled on his eyelid, sticking out his tongue before turning around and swatting his own butt. Tails stretched out his mouth in either direction, crossing his eyes and sticking out his tongue. Knuckles scowled, giving Robotnik double thumbs down. Keith made a face while having his hand to his nose and wiggling his fingers. Kat just stuck both hands in the air, giving him twin gestures with a single finger raised.

"You brats!" Robotnik let out as the plane flew away. "Move it! Turn the ship around and go after them!"

"Think we got a chance to beat them this time?" Cubot asked.

"I estimate our chances at zero point zero zero zero zero zero… one," Orbot answered.

"Hey, that's better than usual."

"Just move it already!" Robotnik ordered.

The two robots obliged as the Egg Fort followed the Tornado II out towards the ocean. Amy smirked at the plane hot on their trail.

"Looks like it worked Tails!" she called out.

"Now we just need to stay alive!" Keith let out as they dodged the Egg Fort's turrets.

"Charge up the blaster cannon!" Robotnik ordered.

A massive light began gathering on the side of the Egg Fort, the light so bright that it almost obscured a good portion of the fort itself.

"We've got trouble!" Kat shrieked.

"FIRE!" Robotnik ordered.

The Egg Fort then fired a massive energy beam, prompting the Tornado II to try and move out of the way. The beam just barely missed the plane, hitting the water instead. Still, the controls started to spark, alarms blaring as everything began shaking.

"Hey, what's going on in there?!" Knuckles shouted.

"The energy circuit got fried!" Tails answered. "We've only got a few more minutes of power before we're sitting ducks!"

"What?!" Amy let out.

…

"I won't miss this time!" Robotnik declared. "Prepare to fire again!"

Orbot and Cubot instantly got to work preparing the systems for another blast. . Once they were finished, both bots sagged to the ground, their flight thrusters shutting down.

"All of these details are incredibly taxing on our systems," Orbot remarked.

"Yeah, and they're hard work too," Cubot agreed. "I wish someone would show that much care to us..."

"Stop complaining and get ready!" Robotnik ordered.

…

"So, you can only fly a full speed for a few seconds?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah, if we're lucky," Tails confirmed.

"Ok then. Fly at the bridge at full speed!"

"Sonic, are you crazy?!" Keith let out.

"Yeah, do we look like we're kamikaze?!" Kat screamed.

"Just trust me!" Sonic told them.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Knuckles muttered.

Sonic shot them a thumbs up as they flew in close.

…

"Is the blaster cannon powered up yet?" Robotnik demanded.

"Nearly there," Orbot answered.

"Uh, boss…" Cubot let out. "We've got company!"

Robotnik looked outside and saw the Tornado II flying towards them.

"The fools. They're playing right into our hands. Prepare to blow them away!"

Knuckles then grabbed Sonic by the arm, spinning him around and around until he was a red blur holding a spin dashing blue ball. Finally, Tails darted forward, just as Knuckles tossed Sonic at the bridge. The second he did, two rockets fired out from the Tornado II, following close behind.

"Oh no!" Robotnik let out in a panic.

Sonic then sliced through the bottom of the bridge, coming out the other side as the missiles flew in, exploding and causing severe damage to the inside.

"Primary controls lost, Doctor!" Orbot shouted.

"We're doomed!" Cubot screamed, flying in a circle."Every bot for themselves!"

"This isn't over, hedgehog! You'll pay for this!"

…

From a battleship in the water, the heroes watched as the Egg Fort began exploding and crashing into the ocean below.

"Didn't I tell ya my plan would work?" Sonic asked.

"I'll give you that one Sonic," Keith relented. "That was a good plan."

"You are one gutsy hedgehog, Sonic," Kat told him.

"I'm just glad you showed up when you did," Amy declared. "You're my hero, Sonic!"

Sonic just rolled his eyes smiling as his gaze returned to the sinking Egg Fort.

"You guys know he'll be back, right?" Sonic informed.

"Definitely," Knuckles agreed. "That slimeball doesn't know when to quit."

"Who knows what other tricks he's got up his sleeve," Tails added. "This is only the beginning."