I don't own Sonic or Sega.
17. Preperations
Sonic Underground was talking to Ryko when Sadie got to the back.
"You're a great singer, dude. I could tell you were havin' a little fun, too." said Sonia.
"Oh yea. We coulda used Sonia, but…"
"MY VOICE ISN'T THAT COUNTRY!"
"Yea, it is."
"Shut up, Manic. The point is, he did great."
"He sure did. Way to tear it up out there." said an emerging Sadie.
"Really think so?"
"Half the girls in the country now think so."
"Excellent. Guys, this is Sadie."
"Girlfriend?" asked Sonia.
"Yea."
"Well, not a bad choice, if you ask me. Anyways, join us again any other time! The Royal Rumble is tomorrow."
"We got invites."
"No way!" shouted Ryko, a smile on his face. The Royal Rumble was part of the MWF, the Mobius Wrestling Federation, and any Mobian they thought capable was invited. It was 15 entries. Three were just confirmed.
"Oh, so that's what these are for." said Sadie, pulling out two of the invitations, one with her name and one with Ryko's.
"Oh, you're all goin down!" said Ryko.
"Nah, I'm coming out on top this time, guys." said the instantaneously recognizable voice. Sally Acorn was holding up an invitation.
A portal of fire and a portal of darkness appeared and out came Anubis and Hades.
"Ryko, what are these?" asked Hades, holding two invitations. Ryko explained.
"So we get to fight worthy opponents! I like it." said Anubis. They both left.
"Well well well! Let's check out the instructions. We need theme songs. We also need wrestling gear, nothing else is allowed."
"What does that mean?" asked Sally.
"Well, normal boots must be wrestling boots."
"Ah."
"Well, that settles it. We gotta go down to the arena and see the GM for this year's rumble and submit everything. I wonder if Laoch got an invitation."
On The Road to the Mobian Palace, 2:30 PM
Sadie and Ryko were driving in the Cobra to their destination when Sadie asked a question.
"What do you really think of Sally?" Ryko hesitated then spoke.
"She's like the sister I never really had, you know? Nikki betrayed us, and she was the only family I had left… I just feel an urge to protect her and to watch out, because I don't want to lose another family member again. My mom is dead too, you know. I'm the technical definition of an orphan. She died last year, but… I just don't have a lot left, Sadie. I'm losing people to fight for." Sadie regretted asking the question. They were silent the whole way there.
On The Road to the Mobian Palace, 2:30 PM
Sonic and Sally were also driving in a car, this one a Bugatti Veyron. Sonic just had to go fast.
"So… what exactly to you think of Ryko?" said Sonic.
"He's like a brother to me. Elias just doesn't fit the bill. He's got my personality, where Elias is just… whatever. He's outgoing and wisecracking and he knows when to get the job done. That's someone who could be related to me. I just don't want to see him get hurt and I'm a little concerned about him sometimes."
"I see. Well, here's the Mobian Palace. I remember my win at the Acorn Stakes…"
Ryko met everybody at the gate and they went inside. They went to the GM's office and who was in it stunned them all.
"LAOCH?" they asked simultaneously. Laoch smiled.
"Of course! Why do you think I invited you! Anyways, just so you know, I've mixed it up a bit. There will be no gender separation this year; you will all be in the Rumble together." Murmurs swept through the crowd.
"Alright, now I need theme songs. Ryko."
They all told him what their selected theme was.
"Great. See you tomorrow for our extra-long special chapter!"
They were walking back to their cars when Sally asked a question.
"The Royal Rumble was in January… why would Bucc pick this now?"
"I don't know… that question remains unanswered. Let's go."
Ryko's House, 3:00 PM
"So, were at my house. What do you wanna…" The doorbell rang. at the door was Mina Mongoose.
"Hi Ryko."
"You know my name?"
"Half the girls in the country know your name. Anyways, I just wanted to congratulate you on your performance."
"I've been to like ten of your concerts, you guys ain't that bad either. Now, what's the real reason you're here?"
"Have you seen Ash lately?"
"No, I haven't. What happened?"
"I don't know where he is. Oh well. See ya." she left.
"Who was that?" asked Sadie.
"Mina. She was looking for Ash."
"Ah. Well, the film adaptation of And Then There Were None is out. Wanna go see that?"
"Sure."
Movie Theater, 6:00 PM
Ryko got called by Sally in the middle of the movie. Ryko got out of the theater and answered.
"This is Ryko."
"Hi."
"Laoch? What up?"
"Listen, don't tell anybody else, but I got a feeling that something is up."
"What?"
"Well, I had 3 people come to me who didn't get invites. Also, someone got attacked as they were walking out the door."
"Who?"
"Nice try. You don't get to know the contestants until they come out. You already know a few, though, huh?"
"Sally, Manic, Sonia, Sonic, Sadie, Hades, Anubis, Sadie and myself."
"You know more than half the contestants. Well, I just wanted to confirm my suspicions. What do you think?"
"I say keep a look out. You have to watch the match, don't you?" Ryko could feel Laoch's smile through the phone.
"I'm doing more than watching the match. See you tomorrow, Ryko. Good luck."
Ryko had a feeling he knew yet another contestant. He went back into the movie theater.
"What happened?" he asked Sadie.
"Vera just shot Lombard. Who was that on the phone?"
"Laoch. He had a feeling something was up."
"Well, if you leave again I'm gonna be the one killing you."
"The new Mrs. (This last name has been censored in the case of someone not reading the book or in the middle of it), Huh?"
"If you don't sit down."