Cross Collision

AN: Hey guys, long time no update! Sorry to keep you hanging on this, I had meant to update far earlier but you know, life and such happen :) I have the next several chapters written already so I'll try update faster for a while (they still need editing which is why I haven't updated them too). I will finish this story eventually, thanks for sticking with me for so long! :3 Without more delay, let's get on with this little bit of a calm(ish) chapter before the action gets going!

Part 8: Reopening

The group stood before the towering fence that surrounded the factory before them, having stopped on Sonic's suggestion. The humans stared through the links in the wire mesh at the shining towers and buildings before them, which almost resembled a city themselves. Clearly Eggman was very fond of the maintenance of his machinery, and, though the building stuck out from the green lands around it like a sore thumb, in a way the factory itself held its own beauty. It just did not blend in with the land surrounding it particularly well. Tucker tried to point that out to Sam, who was wrinkling her nose in disgust at the smell of oil in the air. Tails saw the pair about to start arguing, and stepped between them, trying to point out both sides of view to them both; the factory was some of the more advanced technology in their world, yet it was draining the life from the land around it, showing in the dull grass closest to the perimeter and the clouds of smoke twisting into the air. Tucker and Sam looked at each other, but nodded in agreement.

Sonic, meanwhile, was focused on the patrolling robots inside the gate, and Danny took the decision to stand near him, tapping a finger on his chin. The hedgehog gave him nothing more than a sideways glance and a smile, before pointing at one of the vaguely humanoid robots nearby. Danny looked at the machine as it paced its short, set path, meeting another of its kind at each end of the line. It resembled some bizarre dance routine. He smirked at it, vaguely debating turning the floor intangible and letting it fall through to ruin the motions of its patrol, but ultimately deciding against it.

"I'm gonna smash it."

"What?" the half-ghost turned his attention back to Sonic, whose face was now wearing a devious grin.

"I am going to smash it. I'm gonna vault the fence and bounce off that one's head, then that one over there," he moved his pointing finger to a flying one a bit further on, "then from him I'll hit the next dude along, and so on, 'til I reach the door!"

"Sounds... Uh, like a plan, but wouldn't being sneaky be a bit better?"

"Oh sure, but nowhere near as fun!" Sonic chuckled lightly and gave him a thumbs up. "Be right back, Danny! If old eggy shows up, let Tails handle him."

With that, Sonic jumped high into the air and bounded over the fence easily, triggering a loud siren in the process. He laughed and rand towards the nearest robot in a blur, beginning the little sequence of smashing that he'd just described, vanishing in clouds of dust and scrap metal. Tucker gave a bored sigh and looked to Danny, who shook his head. His friend wanted him to fly them over so they could join in, but Danny didn't want to show his power just yet, still unsure of how wise doing so would be. Sam walked over to him, followed by Tails and Tucker, the latter of which was still pouting. Tails grinned up at the humans.

"He'll be back in a second. He-" an explosion sounded from somewhere within the factory, and the fox paused as he rubbed his ear to clear the noise from it, "... ow. As I was saying, he's probably just making a mess while he's at it."

"Why? It's pretty pointless..."

"I dunno, it sounds like he's having fun." Danny smirked at Sam, who sighed and shook her head.

"Yeah, and if there's some weapon in there he could probably smash it before this Eggman dude uses it." Tucker nodded and folded his arms. "No point wasting the opportunity, right?"

"Heh, well actually that explosion was more likely Sonic just set off one of the traps in Eggman's office. Close quarters aren't his speciality." Tails laughed lightly at the humans' expressions. "But don't worry, he'll be fine, his reaction times are incredible, not a lot gets past him!"

"Really? He seems kinda... scatterbrained." Sam pointed out, but Tails simply smiled.

"I know, but you haven't seen him when he's serious." the fox shook his head. "Normally that's only in an end of the world kinda scenario, so if you saw him serious I'd suggest running the other direction."

"But that's won't happen today, will it, little bro?"

"Ah, Sonic! When did you get back?"

"About two seconds ago, you were all talking so I went the long way round." Sonic laughed at his friend's startled expression, then held a hand out holding a glowing glass tube to Danny. "Here, this is what we were looking for. Now, I think I may have upset the guards a little bit, so who's up for a brisk jog?"

To illustrate his comment, loud, disharmonious clanking announced the arrival of several more of the round robots, accompanied by a few insect like ones flying above them. They crossed the factory grounds towards the fence, and the small group looked at each other, before turning on their heels and running away. Sonic led them through the fairly open fields towards a dense woodland, and once they were certain they weren't being followed, they slowed to a halt, hidden within the tightly packed trees. Tucker dramatically dropped to the floor, acting as if all the running was a deadly poison. Sonic gave a quiet snort of amusement at the unfit human, and glanced at the other two, Sam and Danny seemed to be faring fairly well, if slightly out of breath, as they leaned against the trunk of a nearby tree.

"I guess you guys don't do a lot of running in your world then." the hedgehog chuckled, clearly amused.

"Only when we have to. Like gym class. Or ghost attacks." Sam responded, and Danny nodded in agreement.

"Eh, I don't understand humans. None of you like to run. No wonder no one thinks they can!"

"Hey, we can run, we just don't need to normally. That's what bikes, or scooters, or cars are for, man." Tucker groaned as he finally sat up again, shaking his head. "Too much running isn't good for your health."

"I dunno, sometimes you can run pretty dang fast when the mystery meat special's on in the cafeteria." Danny piped up with a smirk on his face, and Tucker shrugged.

"Food is an entirely reasonable excuse to run, Danny."

"I have to agree with Tucker on that one." Tails chuckled, and Sonic nodded too.

"Well, if food's a good excuse for running, who wants to race to the next village and get something?"

"Sonic, no way can these guys race you, no offence."

"None taken, you're right." Sam nodded to the animals. "But I don't mind a walk, how far is it?"

"Hmm. Probably about ten seconds away..."

"Lemme rephrase, how far is it for people who can't run like you?"

"Oh. Uhm." Sonic looked thoughtful for a moment, trying to consider the distance, before glancing at Tails in a plea for help. The fox laughed again.

"It's about a mile away." He said, with a smile. "There's a clearing in this woodland where there's a small village, we hang out here fairly often when around here."

"Ah, cool. Lead the way then, I guess." Danny smiled at their furry escorts, and together they walked casually along the well trodden path between the trees.

"Ahahah! It worked!"

"...You doubted that it would?"

"Maybe a little." Eggman grinned across the computer's display, now undistorted by static. "But only because the art of dimensional science is not an exact... well... science."

"So what exactly is it going to do?" Vlad frowned at the screen, his dour expression a stark contrast to the pleased Eggman's.

"To put it simply, it will merge your... 'ghost zone', with our special zone, temporarily. As such, we'll be able to traverse it reliably and more importantly, fix this ridiculous damage your creatures are causing over here. There's only room for one world dictator and that's me."

"Oh getting rid of the ghosts is simple, you merely have to prove you're stronger. Now as for these horrid robotic insects you left over here..."

"Ah, so that's where that flight of buzzers went! No matter, they'll try return after they reach their pre-programmed route. They don't have recognition for locations, so they won't realise they're in another world."

"They are shooting at bystanders and I cannot allow this, they may harm people."

"Eh, maybe a few minor burns, they can't really aim well so I wouldn't worry. They're more a deterrent than anything."

"I would still feel more comfortable with a way to shut them down."

"Oh you're such a spoil sport." Eggman brushed his moustache. "Unfortunately, they're not easy to shut down, but I'll send you a command to relay to them that'll make them come back to this portal of yours, if that'll make you happy."

"Marginally."

"Fine," Vlad watched as the scientist diverted his attention elsewhere for a moment, the faint sounds of clicking keys coming through the speakers, before the moustached face turned back to look at him again, "there, you just need to get in range of them and wirelessly transmit it, the leader is the only one that needs to pick it up."

"Very well."

As Vlad set about downloading the details on one side of the portal, Eggman stood up to walk over to his own workstations and look at his sketched out maps and blueprints. He frowned slightly as he looked through the hastily scribbled notes; yes, this Vlad Masters was not an expert on dimensional mechanics, but it was hardly his own speciality either. Toying with it on occasion had never really ended well, the only reason they'd set up a stable, if temporary, connection between their worlds was because of accidents in the first place. However, Eggman was not one to waste an opportunity.

If he could just divert Vlad's attention with the wayward humans that Sonic as escorting, he would have ample time to send a small robotic force through the portals to take over that world. The little code he'd sent Vlad would bring his buzzers back, and that would serve as a test to find out just how stable the portal was, as well as the opportunity to remotely survey the chaotic realm between their worlds for potential dangers. Well, dangers to himself anyway, this other human was useful, but not so useful that Eggman cared what he would do to guard himself against chaos.

"Now, my good doctor, I have one more question for you, and I expect you to be honest."

"Oh?" Vlad's voice drew Eggman's attention back to their call. "What would that be?"

"Why did you want to set up this portal diversion?" Vlad nodded on his end of the signal. "You see, if you're planning to attack my world with your little robots, I'm afraid I'll have to shut the gateway down."

"Now why would I ever do that?"

"Hmm, one can wonder. Not that world domination isn't an admirable goal, of course. Nothing like a little ambition."

"Please, Masters, you underestimate me! I'm not a simple minded cartoon villain, I assure you. In fact, you're more than welcome to tail my robots back here and see for yourself. In any case, I think you may want those kids back on your side, right?" Eggman smirked. "Well, we need this portal running for that."

"True, I suppose." Vlad tapped his chin thoughtfully for a moment. "I shall set about sending your robots back to you, so if you could perhaps locate those children?"

"I am already observing them. Unfortunately, they're with a rather pesky rodent who is a large thorn in my side, so I have to wait for a sufficient opportunity to get in touch with them directly."

"Hm. Well, regardless we need to wait for the dimension crash to stabilise before we can do anything else, correct?"

"Yes."

"In that case I shall return shortly."

Leaving Eggman to his own work, Vlad whirled away from the screen, carrying the disc with the code for the buzzers on it with him and grabbing a small transmitter from the table as he went. With an irritated huff, he stepped out of his lab and shouted down his ghost servants, waiting for one to appear. As the green butler phased his way up through the floor, Vlad passed him the device he held, commanding him to locate the robot insects and press the button near them. It'd be far easier to let the ghost handle it for him than to try and look for the robots himself; he didn't entirely trust Eggman to not send anything dangerous through the portal to him. The scientist didn't know his new contact's power, but he'd be sure to find out if he tried anything funny.

"Jazzypants, we're home! Hey! Jazz?"

"What's wrong dear?"

"Maddie, have you seen Jazz? She was here when we were chasing those bugs but now she's not."

"Hmm. She probably went to find Danny and make sure he's alright." Maddie smiled at Jack as they entered their home. "You know how much she worries about her little brother."

"Yeah, good point! Where is that boy anyway? He's got chores to do."

"Probably just round Sam or Tucker's house. Those three are inseparable."

Jack grinned back at his wife as she stopped in the kitchen for a drink, while he headed down the stairs to the lab. The anti ghost rifle; which they'd given up using once they discovered the robotic bugs were indeed just robots and woefully unaffected by it; dropped to his side as he stared in surprise at the space in front of the portal. He quickly raised the gun and took aim once more, as he called for Maddie, slowly and low at first but quickly getting louder until she came down the stairs to join him.

At her first view being her husband pointing a gun at something, while illuminated by green somewhere off to the side, she pulled her utility staff from her belt and extended it, jumping into the lab to stand beside Jack and his stern expression. Her orange jump-suited husband bellowed at the creature before them, who simply scowled back.

"Who are you and how did you get into our house?!"

"Tch. Put those things away before you hurt yourselves, humans."

"I don't think so. You're in our home, and if you're smart you'll go straight back into the Ghost Zone or we'll be examining your molecules, ectoplasmic fiend."

"You'll have a hard time trying." The creature before them glared angrily at their weapons. "Either put those away or I'll disable them." It chuckled, red eyes moving to each of their faces in turn. "This is hardly the way to greet a guest, after all."

"We did not invite you, you are not a guest in our house. Leave!"

"Rest assured, I shall. I was simply gathering my bearings, and I followed some robots to an exit, but it closed, then this one opened." The creature brushed a gloved hand through it's spikes and turned away from them, clearly not bothered by their weaponry at all. "But since I've been met with nothing but hostility I shall take my leave."

"... Wait." Maddie blinked through her red goggles at Jack as the large man spoke, lowering the tip of his gun ever so slightly. "You look way too solid to be a ghost."

"A ghost? Ha!" It turned around and bared its teeth in what appeared to be a grin at them. "Are all humans this superstitious? Do I honestly look like anything dead?"

"Well, I guess not... But you're still pretty weird, are you like, an alien or something?"

"Jack, really? You aren't going to believe this creature, right?"

"Well, to you I may as well be. I'm certainly not from this world, the humans on mine are far shorter." He glanced at the guns. "And more inclined to much more efficient weapons. You couldn't fire those things very fast in a pinch, I expect. They look like they use a lot of energy, Jack, was it?"

"Yeah, they do, but ectoplasm is a pretty good at holding its charge and I- wait." Jack frowned at the spiky creature. "Wait, I am not wasting my time explaining my weapons to you, get back in there!"

"Of course, but if I may, have you seen those robots around? I feel they may be important."

"Uh... Yeah but..."

"You will direct me to them, correct?"

"Wait a minute, I want to ask you something."

Maddie raised a sceptical eyebrow at the black and red furred creature in front of her, before slowly lowering her staff as Jack spoke, his own weapon hanging loosely by his side again. The creature smirked as it listened, watching the much larger man with interest.

"Heh, well, I suppose I could help you out a little with those buzzers. Point me the direction they've gone, and I'll catch up with them in a flash."

"I don't see how, they're fast."

"You shall see." The creature nodded at Maddie. "Ma'am, I owe you an apology for showing up unannounced, but I shall be departing shortly." He held a hand out towards her, and she frowned down at it.

"We are not friends."

"Of course not, we're not introduced. My name is Shadow the Hedgehog, and if your name is 'Fenton' as it says, so blatantly emblazoned on that staff of yours, I may have something far more interesting than the robots to discuss with you."

"... What?"

"Is your son named 'Danny'?" Shadow held his hands up, chuckling as the staff pressed swiftly under his chin once more. Any pretence of friendliness Maddie had shown towards him before was gone. "Ah, I seem to have touched a nerve."

"Why do you know my son?!"

"Where is he? You better not have hurt him, Shadow." Jack had lifted his gun again and the hedgehog shook his head.

"He's fine, he's with an... ally of mine. Unfortunately there is a less than savoury fellow tracking his every movement in my world."

"Your... World? How did he get into the Ghost Zone with the portal shut?!"

"I don't know, I wasn't there, was I? Oh come now, put those down, I already told you I wasn't going to cause any trouble. I have other places to be." Shadow pushed the weapon tips aside casually, moving them with ease even against Jack's strength and Maddie's anger. "You have several options here. Either you let me chase the robots and find the other route through, likely the one that your son went through. You let me travel back through this portal here. Or Danny and his friends end up stuck in my world."

"And what if we chose to travel through ourselves?"

"You'd never find the way. I can explain why, but there isn't any telling how long it'll be before these gateways shut again."

The hedgehog smiled, watching the humans before him as they contemplated his offer. It was one sided, sure, but it was their only chance and they knew it. He knew they could always take the option to not believe him, and he knew if any human came to him with the same offer, he'd refuse to believe them too. But he currently considered himself lucky that they didn't seem too interested in trying to dismember him before finding out if he was already dead or not; acting nonchalant about weapons being pointed in his face was one thing, but he wasn't sure what kinds of weapon they were exactly, so he'd rather not be left on the business end. It didn't take long before Maddie slammed the tip of her staff on the ground, scowling down at him.

"Tell us what you know."

"Very well."

TBC