Sonic Universe: Tales of Mobius
SEASON 1: THE EGGMAN WAR (3230-3239)
CHAPTER 7: THE VOLCANIC VAULT
Knothole
"Where is he? Shouldn't he be back by now?"
"Calm down, Tails. It's Sonic, so don't worry about him".
"But Sally-"
"Tails, I said it once".
Tails sighed as he dropped down in defeat. Sonic had been gone for over an hour and the fox was starting to get worried. Sally however didn't seem worried at all. She knew her mentor could handle himself. He had even taught her not to worry to much. Sally closed her eyes and went back to meditating.
"Hmph. You're not the one worried here", Tails grumbled crossing his arms. Sally sighed. She loved Tails as a brother, but Tails was sometimes very annoying.
"Tails, Antoine and Bunnie have gone to investigate. You don't have to worry", Sally assured. Tails sighed in defeat.
"Fine", he said. Sally opened an eye and looked at the fox. He looked pretty down in the dumps. Sally knew Tails was very close to Sonic and would freak out if something happened to him.
"Look, Sonic will be fine. Trust me, I know. He's the one who trains me every day", Sally said. Tails looked at her.
"Yeah about that... you two are very close nowadays if you ask me", Tails said. Sally immediatly blushed, which Tails caught sight of.
"Uh, what are you talking about? Me, like Sonic-haha! That's so random!" Sally exclaimed rather quickly.
"Yeah right. I can see it all over your face! Plus, you stuttered and said that last line way to quickly!" Tails said, his face growing into a smirk. Sally mentally slapped herself. She should have known better. Tails was the smartest out of anyone here and he could easily tell whenever someone is lying.
Accepting defeat, Sally spoke. "Fine! I do like him, okay? Just don't tell anyone!" Sally said. Tails malicously grinned.
"Okay, Sally", he said. Sally glared at him.
"I'm serious. Mutter a squeak about it and you'll have my blades through your twins!" Sally threatened poking Tails' namesakes with her blade causing the fox to yelp.
"Geez, chill. It's not like I actually would", Tails said. Sally rolled her eyes.
"It's nothing to joke about. I'm waiting for the right time to confess and in the meantime, I can't act like an idiot!" Sally said. Tails just crossed his arms and grumbled something about not taking a joke. Sally smiled and closed her eyes again and continued meditating.
It was then after a while that Tails spoke.
"Say, I think I may have accidentally shouted a little too loud". Sally's face flushed when Tails said that.
"Tails!"
Somewhere in a dark rusty cell
Sonic groaned as he felt his head. It felt like he had been hit by a truck dead on. Heck, he didn't even know what it him! All he could remember was defeating the Hooligans and turning around only to see something brown rush towards his face and then he blacked out and woke up here.
Shaking his head from the pain, Sonic shakily stood up. He took a moment to take into his surroundings. Apparently, he was in a dirty cell that looked like it hadn't been cleaned for weaks. Sonic smirked.
"Cell? Please, I could just Spindash the bars out!" Sonic exclaimed as he curled himself into a ball and shot himself at the bars. What he didn't expect was a loud clang and the sharp stinging in his head as he flew back and landed on the ground hard.
"Oww!" Sonic cried out clutching his head in pain. He could feel liquid on his hands and looked to see there was a little blood. Sonic groaned. Great, now I got blood on me. Could this day get any worse?
"Whoa man, are you alright?" a voice called out making the hedgehog jump. Sonic frantically looked around for the source of the voice but couldn't see since the cell was so dark.
"Over here", the voice called out. Sonic turned around and saw a yellow figure standing there.
"Tails?" Sonic asked before he got a closer look and saw it wasn't his friend at all. This guy was a yellow colored squirrel who looked about Tails' age. He had a tuft og yellow hair sticking out and was wearing a blue jacket and blue shoes. The squirrel smiled.
"Hey, there! The name's Ray and I'm a flying squirrel!" the squirrel exclaimed.
"I'm Sonic, Sonic the hedgehog! Do you know by any chance where we are?" Sonic asked. Ray nodded.
"Yup! This is a high tech prison known as the Volcanic Vault. This fat guy whose name was Egg something owns it", Ray explained. Of course it was Eggman! Sonic angrily thought, knowing he had let the doctor easily ambush him behind his back.
"Hello? You there?" Ray asked waving a hand in front of Sonic's face, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Huh, yeah! Anyway, this fat guy is someone I know!" Sonic said. Ray looked at him with a confused expression.
"You do?" he asked. Sonic nodded.
"He's my nemesis Dr. Eggman, the same guy who took over my home kingdom Mobotropolis!" Sonic explained. Ray's eyes widened in shock.
"What! You mean, that's the same guy who was also responsible for the tragedy in the Green Hill Kingdom!"
Hearing Ray say that gave Sonic the creeps. He always got goosebumps when he heard Green Hill Kingdom. He didn't know why.
"So how long have you been here?" Sonic asked.
"For a week. I was captured along with my older brother!" Ray said.
"Where's your home?" Sonic asked. Ray twiddled with his thumbs.
"A place called Angel Island". Sonic noticed Ray hesitate when he said those words.
"Anyway, me and my brother were captured and we also made a new friend too. She's pretty beautiful if you ask me", Ray said. Sonic looked around.
"Well, where are they?" the hedgehog asked. Ray sighed sadly.
"Not here. After a few days of our capture, Eggman ordered his robots to separate us by putting each other in different cells just to mock us. Since then, I've been feeling scared here ever since, but now that you're here I don't feel that scared anymore!" Ray exclaimed. Sonic smiled.
"Well tell you what, we're going to get out of here, no matter what. Then, you and your brother can go lead your old lives again", Sonic said. Ray's eyes lit up.
"Really? And you're going to help us?" Ray asked. Sonic nodded.
"Yup! And you also remind me of someone. Someone very close", Sonic said as a young ten year old Tails came into his mind. Ray cheered and hugged Sonic, much to the hedgehog's surprise.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are a great guy!" Ray exclaimed. Sonic laughed and hugged the kid back.
I can't believe Eggman would do this to a kid this young. Does that man have no sense of humanity? Sonic thought. Suddenly, a loud metallic noise nearly made the two jump. They both turned around to see three robots opening their cell door. They looked like Egg Pawns, but they were a little taller and had larger arms and legs. They were all colored grey instead of orange.
"SONIC THE HEDGEHOG AND RAY THE FLYING SQUIRREL. MASTER EGGMAN HAS ORDERED FOR YOU TO BE MOVED TO A DIFFERENT CELL!" the lead Egg Pawn spoke. Sonic immediatly stood in front of Ray with his arms spread out, as if he were acting as a shield.
"You're not touching me or Ray, you bucket of bolts!" Sonic exclaimed. The lead Egg Pawn just pointed at him.
"SEIZE THEM!". The order was said and two of the Egg Pawns marched forward. One of them reached out to grab Sonic's arm, but the hedgehog grabbed the robot's arm and flipped it over his back, making the droid land on its back. Sonic then harshy kicked the Egg Pawn into the wall, where it made a loud metallic bang.
The other Egg Pawn tackled Sonic to the ground and the two wrestled with each other before the Egg Pawn that had hit the wall got up and joined in the tussle. Soon, the two robots had forced Sonic to the ground and pinned him down. The hedgehog cried out and thrashed madly, trying to break free. However, these Egg Pawns were much stronger unlike their old models. They held Sonic to the ground stiffly, not moving a muscle.
"YOU'RE COMING WITH US!" the lead Egg Pawn said as it marched towards Ray and grabbed both of the squirrel's arms.
"No! Let him go!" Ray screamed trying to break free but it was no use. The Egg Pawns dragged the two Mobians out of the cell and into the hallway. The hallway was plain dark grey with no design at all. It also looked very old as well. Sonic scrunched up his nose as the foul smell of oil filled his nostrils. The Egg Pawns dragged the two to another hallway, this one being much darker to the point where the Mobians could barely see.
"How's it going, my fellow prisoners?" Eggman's voice cackled over the loudspeaker making Sonic grit his teeth.
"I hope you enjoy your stay at one of Eggman's finest and most exotic places in the world! Don't worry, you won't be leaving anytime soon, so you can have endless fun!" the doctor exclaimed. Fun?! Sonic thought. The Egg Pawns opened up a door and shoved the two Mobians in another, but darker cell. The door slammed closed with a bang and Ray immediatly began whimpering.
"Shh, it's gonna be alright Ray. I promise we'll get through this", Sonic comforted.
"Ray?!" a voice called out. The two turned around, trying to find the source.
"You're okay!" another voice called out, this one belonging to a female. Sonic and Ray turned around to see a male armadillo and a female fox walk up to them. The armadillo had a red colored shell with red shoes while the red vixen had an orange jumpsuit and curly hair.
"Mighty, Fiona!" Ray exclaimed running up to the two and hugging them. Mighty and Fiona hugged him back, tears in Fiona's eyes. Sonic sighed relief, knowing there were more people here and those were Ray's friends.
"So, who are you?" Mighty asked.
"I'm Sonic the Hedgehog. Nice to meet you", Sonic said.
"I'm Mighty the Armadillo and that's Fiona Fox. Thanks for looking out for Ray", Mighty said.
"Nice to meet you", Fiona said smiling at Sonic, who slightly blushed. Man, Ray was right. She is pretty hot! Sonic thought.
"So those robots moved you guys here, huh?" Mighty asked.
"Ugh, yeah. Talk about rude", Sonic muttered.
"How long have you been here?" Fiona asked.
"I dunno. I just recently woke up here. Ray probably knows", Sonic said.
"Yeah. He was dropped in my cell a few hours earlier and he woke up right before we were dragged in here", Ray said. Mighty and Fiona nodded in understanding.
"So, how did you get captured?" Fiona asked. Sonic chuckled and scratched his head uneasily. This is gonna be embarassing.
"I, um, well I was just finishing beating up these three gangsters and then I turned around only to be hit in the face with a hard metal thingy", Sonic said. Ray and Fiona gasped knowing how that would hurt. Mighty however was trying his best to surpress the laughter that was rapidly building up.
Man, he got hit in the face? That's just plain weak! Mighty thought snickering.
"So how'd you guys get captured?" Sonic asked, not aware of Mighty.
"I'll start. All three of us are orphans first of all", Fiona said. Sonic grit his teeth. He couldn't imagine what he would do if his parents Bernie, Jules and Charles weren't there.
"So I'm just walking around my home Emerald Hill when suddenly the bozo Eggman attacks my village and captures the villagers including me. I have some combat experience but not that much so I was captured pretty easily", Fiona said.
"Oh okay. I'm sorry to hear that", Sonic said. Fiona smiled at him and shook her head, telling it was okay.
"Aight, I'll go. So, me and Ray live together on Angel Island with our friends. We have our own Freedom Fighting team and life is awesome. Or was awesome until me and Ray went exploring the Mystic Caves for treasure and we were attacked by Eggman's robots. See, me and Ray do have alot of combat experience so we were able to hold off on our own. But then after a long time, we were getting overwhelmed and I was hit on the back of my head and those robots dog piled on me, knocking me out. With me down, Ray couldn't defeat those robots on his own so we were both captured and brought here", Mighty explained.
"Damn, that doesn't sound good", Sonic said.
"It definitly wasn't!" Ray exclaimed. Sonic then snickered.
"Well, I know what its like. I've been fighting Eggman for months now with my own Freedom Fighters in Knothole!" Sonic said.
"You know he's from Mobotropolis?" Ray exclaimed. Mighty and Fiona's eyes went wide.
"Really? So you're one of the people who rose against this guy and fought back from the shadows?" Fiona asked.
"Um yeah that's about it", Sonic said.
"You must feel really bad about losing your home", Mighty said. Sonic shook his head.
"Nah, not much now. I mean, I still do but I've gotten used to it. Mobotropolis will be free one day, that's a promise", Sonic said. Mighty, Ray and Fiona nodded.
"Don't count on it hedgehog", a cold piercing voice said. Sonic sucked in his breath. Why did that voice sound so familiar? And why was it giving off bad vibes?
"Gaah!" Ray screamed and pointed outside of the cell. The four turned around and peered outside in the dark, gloomy hallway. Standing in front of the cell, was a figure. Nothing could be seen except for two red eyes that seemed to bore into Sonic only. The hedgehog cringed when he saw the eyes.
"So, it's true... you have returned Maurice, my loathesome copy", the figure said. Sonic frowned. Again with Maurice.
"Who are you and why are you calling me that?" Sonic said. The figure didn't say anything and chuckled before disappearing in the darkness. Sonic frantically looked around for it, but couldn't see anything.
"You good?" Mighty asked putting a hand on Sonic's shoulder. The hedgehog flinched but nodded. Mighty nodded and turned to Ray, who was being comforted by Fiona.
"That was creepy. Why did he call you Maurice?" Fiona asked. Sonic shrugged.
"I don't really know. Eggman also called me that the first time we met, but stopped it", Sonic said. The four then fell into dead silence until Mighty broke it.
"So, wanna play the old knock the stone down?" the armadillo said pointing to a bunch of stones lying around. Sonic, Ray and Fiona looked at each other before shrugging.
"Sure".
Back at Knothole
"Come on Tails, you can do it!"
"It's going in, in, IN!"
"GOAL!"
Mina and Sally scooped Tails up and crushed him in a massive bear hug. Geoffrey, Ash and Honey groaned.
"We were so close too", Geoffrey muttered. Mina and Sally let go and smirked at Geoffrey.
"Pay up, we won", Mina remarked. Geoffrey and Ash groaned and took out their wallets before handing the girls Fifty Mobucks. Tails laughed knowing he was still the king of soccer.
"See Tails, I told you a little game of soccer would cheer you up!" Sally exclaimed. Tails smiled.
"Yeah, I guess you are right. I do feel alot better", Tails said.
"Well, let's celebrate our victory!" Sally exclaimed.
"Come on, I'll buy you some candy!" Mina exclaimed. Tails looked at her strangely.
"What am I, eight that I need candy?" Tails said smirking. Mina shrugged.
"Well I don't know!" the mongoose exclaimed.
"Give him a good ol hug again!" Geoffrey said snickering when he had seen Tails gasping for breath due to Mina and Sally hugging him. The fox yelped.
"Sally, Sally!"
The victory was short lived though as Rotor and Antoine came running back. Sally knew something was wrong when she saw the worried looks on their faces. Rotor and Antoine stopped in front of her.
"Princess!... huff huff! So..son..." Antoine exclaimed.
"Calm down Antoine! Rotor, what happened?" Sally asked.
"Hey is everything alright here?" Bunnie asked walking over to the group with Nicole following behind.
"What's going on?" Nicole asked. Rotor gulped. He held a piece of paper in his hand.
"We found this at the border", Rotor said. Sally took the paper and read it. Her eyes went wide with fear and the others noticed this.
"Sally girl, what's wrong?" Bunnie asked. Sally didn't answer. She was breathing in rapidly.
"No..." she whispered. Nicole took the paper and gasped.
"Oh my god!" the lynx exclaimed.
"What? What is it?!" Tails exclaimed.
"It's Sonic! This note says he's been kidnapped!" Nicole exclaimed. Tails took it and he nearly passed out.
"Rotor... where and when did you find this?" Sally asked shakily.
"Um, right now. Me and Antoine were just looking around and this dart comes flying out of nowhere with this note attached", the walrus explained.
"So Vanilla and Cream were kidnapped and Sonic went to go look for them, but he instead was lured into a trap and captured?" Nicole said.
"Yup, that's about it", Rotor replied. Sally fell to her knees.
"This is horrible", Sally said tears in her eyes. Tails grabbed her by the shoulders and frantically shook her.
"Sally! This is NOT the time to be crying! We have to go to Hill Top and find Sonic, Vanilla and Cream! Now get up and let's go!" Tails exclaimed. Sally knew he was right. They would save Sonic, Vanilla and Cream no matter what is took. Wiping the remaining tear away and being helped up by Bunnie, Sally straightened her face and growled.
"Freedom Fighter, let's move out! We've got a job to do!" Sally ordered. The Freedom Fighters all nodded. Rotor ran to his garage which was right next door and brought out their vehicle, the Mobo Cruiser, which was sometimes used when fighting Eggman.
"Let's go!" Rotor exclaimed. The Freedom Fighters all piled up in the massive cruiser and Rotor drove off to Hill Top to save their friends. The others waved bye and good luck on their mission. Mina turned towards Geoffrey who was standing there with his arms crossed.
"Why didn't we go with them? We could've helped them out!" Mina asked. Geoffrey shook his head.
"This is their fight. We are not to get involved. Sides, we have other business to attend to", Geoffrey said turning around and walking away. Mina, Ash and Honey looked at each other and frowned before following their leader.
Back inside the Volcanic Vault
"No way! That's what happened?" Mighty exclaimed when Sonic told him the whole story of the Rabbits being abducted and how he came to save them. Sonic nodded.
"Yeah and I know for a fact that they're in here! I hope they're alright", Sonic said.
"Well, we have to find them!" Fiona said. "And how do we do that?" Ray asked.
"We need to think of a plan to get out of here first", Sonic said. Mighty, Ray and Fiona nodded.
"What do you have in mind?" Fiona asked. Sonic thought for a minute and then an idea came in his mind.
"Alright listen up. This is very risky, but it should work", Sonic began.
"Should work? Man, I don't like where this is going", Mighty groaned. Sonic ignored him and continued.
"At some point the guard robots are going to come check on us. When they come, Fiona, you surrender yourself and say you want to be Roboticized and join the Eggman Empire", Sonic said.
"What! I'm not surrending myself to that fat ass!" Fiona snapped.
"Language, girl. There's kids here", Mighty scolded motioning to Ray.
"I'm not that young", Ray grumbled.
"Listen to me! You're not actually surrendering yourself! It's just pretending. Anyway, the robots will probably call their master and he'll be optimistic to let you go. When the robots open the door, Fiona you grab one of them and pull it inside. The others will try to restrain you and that's when me, Mighty and Ray will jump in and help you destroy the bots. And then, we walk out of the cell and lock it so Eggman can't find out. Then, we'll look for the Rabbits, free them and be on our way!" Sonic explained.
For a moment, the other three Mobians didn't say a word and Sonic thought he had messed up. Suddenly, he was crushed in a massive bear hug from the three, Mighty hurting the most.
"You are a genius! Thank you thank you thank you!" Fiona exclaimed hugging Sonic, making him blush.
"Yay! We can finally get out of here!" Ray exclaimed. Mighty grinned at Sonic.
"Not a bad idea. Now we have to pull it off", the armadillo said. Sonic nodded.
"Alright guys, now just act natural. Ray, you stay by the cell and look out. If you see robots, call for them and then we can begin our plan", Sonic explained. Everyone took their positions, with Ray at the cell, Fiona next to him and Mighty and Sonic hiding in the darkness.
Soon, after a half hour, a trio of guard robots marched down the hallway. These were the same ones who had dragged Sonic and Ray into the cell. Ray, seeing the enemy, quickly whispered to the other three.
"I see them. The robots that dragged us in here Sonic!" Ray exclaimed. Sonic grinned.
"Perfect. This will be more fun", the hedgehog grinned. Ray ran to the other side of the cell and Fiona started banging on the door, as per their plan.
"Yo guards! Let me out, right now!" Fiona shouted. The guard robots heard her and walked over to her.
"CEASE MAKING NOISE OR YOU WILL BE TERMINATED!" the lead Egg Pawn stated. Fiona smirked.
"Really? Eggman would smoke someone who wants to join in his fun?" the vixen asked. Sonic whistled. She was really cunning.
"MASTER EGGMAN, WE HAVE A PRISONER WHO WISHES TO SURRENDER! IS THAT OKAY?" the Egg Pawn asked.
"Yes, yes! Please do escort them to the Roboticization chamber!" Eggman's voice rang on the other end.
"UNDERSTOOD SIR. COMMENCING ORDER AT ONCE!" the Egg Pawn said. One of the Egg Pawns opened the door and proceeded to grab Fiona's hand. She was about to take it but at the last second, the vixen grabbed it and shoved the robot into the cell. She began to advance on the Egg Pawn while the other two rushed at her.
"RESTRAIN PRISONER AT ONC-" the Egg Pawn couldn't finish its sentence because Sonic, Mighty and Ray had leapt out from the shadows and struck the robots. Sonic was quick to Spindash the first one down and Ray added injury by kicking it and smashing it with his tail. Mighty had grabbed the second one and immediatly took it out with a massive blow to the head. Fiona didn't even need help as she easily evaded the Egg Pawn's punch, then grabbed its hand and put her leg on its torso before pushing it, ripping its arm off. Before the Egg Pawn could do anything, Fiona smashed its arm into its face, destroying the Egg Pawn.
With the three robots down, the four Mobians dusted themselves off before grinning at each other.
"It worked!" Ray exclaimed.
"Wow, not bad", Fiona commented. Mighty smirked at Sonic.
"Now what?" he asked. Sonic smirked before walking out the door with his friends and locking it behind.
"Now, we find the Rabbits, say hi to Egghead and book it!" Sonic exclaimed and the four took off to find Vanilla and Cream.
With three new friends at his side, Sonic has managed to escape the cell. All that's left is to find Vanilla and Cream and escape the Volcanic Vault. However, it may not seem easy as it sounds. And the Freedom Fighters have left to find their friend. They must succeed...
TO BE CONTINUED
Author's note: What a twist! Not really but still, you get what I mean. We get three new characters this chapter and they are Mighty the Armadillo, Ray the Flying Squirrel and Fiona Fox! With the help of these guys, will Sonic find the Rabbits and make it out of the Volcanic Vault alive? Or will it be too late? Find out next time!
And for todays question of the day: What is your favorite classic Sonic game? Mine is Sonic 3 and Knuckles, although Sonic 2 and 1 were my childhood! Segasonic the Hedgehog isn't bad in my opinion, but it could have done better.
EPIC Out!