Sonic the Hedgehog ran across an open field, heading for a distant speck on the horizon. Boosting until he reached the speed of sound, he made short work of the distance and stopped directly in front of the door to a massive structure.

Tails landed next to him. "Whew... It took me a while to catch up with you there. I wish we still had the Tornado..."

"Don't tell me... they took that, too?"

Tails hopped out of the biplane, landing on the packed earth. "Yep. They took everything. Why are you going after Eggman all of a sudden?"

"Well, I saw something the other day that had his name written all over it. Literally. Ready to go?"

Tails nodded. Sonic ran up the sides of the building, and tore across the roof. He spotted an enormous skylight and decided it a good place to do some spying.

Peering over the edge of it, he was able to see that Eggman was sitting on a chair of some sort, surrounded by attentive robots. One of them handed a list of papers to him.

"Oh ho ho ho ho! It seems like my little plan worked out after all! Initiate Phase Two!" he announced to a random robot.

Sonic jumped through an open pane, landing in a crouch on the floor. Tails dropped in behind him. "Give up, Eggman! I heard all of your plans!"

Eggman's face contorted with fury upon the sight of the blue hedgehog, but his anger was quickly replaced by a forced smile.

"Ah. Glad to see you were able to make it, Sonic."

Sonic looked at him, shocked. "Isn't this usually the part where you shout my name, then reveal all of your plans to me?"

"Usually, yes. Then I realized how horribly cliché that was of me. Do come in." he said, gesturing to a waiting area.

Skeptical, Sonic examined his nemesis. "Are you feeling okay, doc? Usually by this time…"

Eggman interrupted him. "Yes, I know. I'm usually fighting you in some ill-conceived giant contraption. Follow me; we have more pressing matters to attend to."

Eggman began waddling down a long hallway carpeted in red. Pictures lined both of the walls, creating the impression of an opulent room. Sonic hesitated for a second before he and Tails began to follow Eggman.

Easily matching the fatter man's pace, Sonic said "You, doc, have stooped. You've come up with some insane schemes in the past, but 'Eggman Mart'? Don't you know how tacky that sounds?"

Eggman smiled broadly. "Yes, Eggman Mart! With prices so low they're criminal! True, it does sound tacky, but the public thinks the contrary. Stock prices have never been higher, as you can see." He handed Sonic a sheet of paper.

"So, it's the old 'turn-good' scheme, where you pretend to have reformed and then go back to evil once our backs are turned? You've already tried that- remember that amusement park where you had to enslave those aliens? "

Eggman's face darkened briefly, but he kept up his cheerful demeanor. "No, Sonic, I've reformed for real this time. You see, after our last… encounter, I found myself stranded in a time rift. With literally an infinite amount of time to think things over, I came to a conclusion."

He stopped at the end of the hall, pushing open a door to reveal a conference room.

"I realized that I could gain a lot more money by actually selling things legitimately. That way, I can still 'roll in the dough', as they say, and you'll have no reason to stop me."

Sonic glared at the doctor, but realized that he had a point. He really couldn't do anything to 'Eggman Mart', as cheesy as it was, until Eggman actually committed a crime.

"All right, doc… just make sure that nothing else is illegal. Why have you brought me here?"

Eggman sat down in one of the larger chairs. "It has come to my attention that the public holds extremely high opinions of you and could, in time, react well to seeing 'Sonic endorsed' products. Seeing as how you're so famous, I don't see how you can refuse. Especially since you might get a sizable portion."

"What the heck are you talking about, Eggman? What 'can't I refuse'?"

Eggman chuckled. "It's very simple. I'm asking if you will allow Eggman Industries to use your name and image on its products. In short, merchandising."

"Are you INSANE? No way will I ever sign anything over to you! I'll never have anything to do with 'Eggman Mart' or Eggman industries, and I'm sure that Tails feels the same way!"

Tails remained silent; not wanting to admit that he bought an Eggman Industries nuclear-powered toaster the other day (and was enjoying its increased efficiently greatly).

"Very well. I'll leave you time to think about it." He handed Sonic a business card. If you ever change your mind, you know where to find me. Might I add that the same offer also extends to your two-tailed friend here?"

"Look, Eggman, I already said that I—"

Sonic was cut off as the front wall to the room ceased to exist. An enormous explosion sprayed the room with rubble, upsetting most of the pictures on the walls outside.

All three pairs of eyes turned to look at the person responsible.

A black hedgehog with a patch of gray on his upper spines stood in the doorway. He would have looked completely ordinary, if it weren't for his lack of mouth.

Somehow, the creature managed to speak anyway. "Ah ha ha ha! It is I, your greatest foe! I desire revenge after our last encounter, hedgehog!"

Sonic stared at him blankly, and then turned to Tails. "Have you ever seen this guy before?" Both he and Eggman shook their heads.

The figure seemed flustered. "Great, I forgot that…wait…" His form shifted slightly, and then seemed to glow with light. A huge purple mass took the place of the hedgehog.

"Mwahaha! I have just FOOLED YOU with this brilliant disguise! Now, hedgehog, face your old enemy and the wrath of DARK GAIA!"

"Funny, I don't ever remember Dark Gaia talking the last time we met."

"Oh, for the love of… well, ONCE AGAIN, I have TRICKED YOU! You never knew that I could speak, so it must come as a surprise to you, now!"

Sonic rolled his eyes before crouching into a fighting pose. "Talking or not, you're still going down!"

"I think not, hedgehog. If it's battle that you want, there will come a time when we will meet again, like dueling banjos...er...forget it."

"Dark Gaia" made a motion with his face, causing the room to flood with purple smoke. Sonic, Tails, and Eggman all fell to the ground, choking. Before the world went black, Sonic was sure that he could see a ripple in the air.