Episode 15 - Chapter Fifthteen: A Mobian Christmas (Part One)

Snow had started to fall outside Freedom HQ as the days since Eggman's last scheme had gotten cooler, and Sonic had decided to play catch-up.
"So Shahra..." Sonic said to the spirit that now shared Amy's body. "...how do you know so much about us?"
"Since Amy placed this ring on her finger..." Shahra said while holding up the same hand that Amy put the ring on. "...her mind and my own have been linked."
"Gotcha." Said Sonic before turning to Tails' new friend. "And you're from another world, right Cosmo?"
"Yes. However, I don't know how long I have been in stasis for..." The Mobian-like plant replied.
"Right." Said Sonic, before turning to Nicole. "And you've made a friend with one of Eggman's robot's, Nicole?"
"Not nessecerily a friend, Sonic." Nicole replied, referring to Alicia (the robot that resembles Sally.). "She's more of an ally that I am keeping track of."
"Fine with me." Sonic said as he stood up. "I've got my list of people to get presents for!"
"You haven't done your shopping yet, Sonic?" Sally asked him, shocked as ever.
"Sonic likes to wait until the last minute to go shopping." Tails replied. After he said that, Nicole, Cosmo and Shahra looked at him, not sure what he was talking about.
"What, you three never heard of Christmas?" The three still stared up at Sonic. That is, until Shahra looked in Amy's mind, then she understood what it was about.
"Christmas... I am familiar with the term, but I'm not sure why..." Nicole stated.
"Christmas is a holiday that celebrates the joy of giving." Tails explained.
"The Overlanders have been celebrating it for hunderds of years." Added Amy after she was back in control.
"Yeah, but us Mobians only started celebrating it about ten years ago." Sonic pointed out.
"My Chaos, I can still remember my first Christmas..." Said Sally. "...a large pine tree in the living room, stockings over the fireplace, presents around the tree for me and my brother, Elias..."
"Yeah... even though I was raised in an orphanage, Christmas was still a great time for me..." TodStar said, reminicing about his Christmases... "It was the one time of year that all of the kids there got along with Vector and me."
"Man, do you guys remember our first Christmas?" Sonic asked Tails and Amy.
"I sure do, Sonic." Tails replied, before pointing at his own forehead. "That was the day you gave me these goggles!"
"Heh. I also remember someone following me with a mistletoe all day..." Said Sonic while smirking at Amy, who giggled.
"Well, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to finally kiss you, Sonic." She told him.
"Amy, you're dreamin'." TodStar pointed out.
"You just wait. I'll get a kiss from you this year, Sonic!" Amy proclaimed.
"Yeah, good luck with that." Sonic said while wrapping a scarf around his neck. "I'm goin' shopping." Sonic then raced out of Freedom HQ, creating a brief blizzard for everyone inside. Before anyone got too cold, TodStar used his already flaming hand to relight the fireplace.
"That bloke's gotta be more careful with his speed during the holidays..." He said to himself.

Meanwhile, Shadow and his new allies -Rouge the Bat and E-123 Omega- had decided to remain in Mercia until Christmas had ended.
"Hmph. I still don't understand why people exchange gifts like this every year..." Shadow said while looking at people walking around, carrying presents great and small. "It makes no sense to me."
"AGREED." Added Omega. "THE MOBIANS AND OVERLANDERS ALL SEEM TO EXCHANGE GIFTS AT THIS TIME OF YEAR. ILLOGICAL."
"*sigh* Haven't you two ever noticed how good they all feel when they give each other presents?" Rouge asked them. Omega responded by shaking his head.
"I've noticed how they feel when they open the presents..." Shadow stated.
"Hmph. You two seem like you are not of this world..." Said a voice similar to Shadow's.
"Who's there? Are why do you sound like me?" Shadow asked. Then, a hedgehog that looked like Shadow with armor jumped down in front of them.
"I am Lancelot, Knight of Never Lake." The armored hedgehog replied. "And I was about to ask you the same thing. However, I will ask of your name, instead."
"My name is Shadow." Said the Ultimate Lifeform. "I am the Ultimate Lifeform. If you're looking for fight with me, you'll regret it."
"Hmph. Is that so? Well then, I challenge you to a duel!" Yelled Lancelot as he pulled out a sword that had gold markings on it.
"Hmph. I won't need a sword to defeat you, faker!" Said Shadow, not threatened by Lancelot at all.
"You will be sorry you met me, knave." Warned Lancelot.
"LET'S GO!" Shadow and Lancelot yelled as they leapt at each other.
"Ugh. Another pointless fight..." Said Rouge as the Ultimate Lifeform and the Ultimate Knight began their battle...

While Sonic was in Station Square (the main Overlander settlement), TodStar and Shahra (& Amy) were taking a little walk in the Great Forest.
"So Shahra, what kind of magic can you do?" He asked her.
"Hmm... It's kind of hard to describe..." She replied. "But here is an example of my power." Shahra then formed a small orb in between her hands, then shoved it into TodStar's body!
"OooAAGH! Grrr..." He groaned.
"Just relax, TodStar. This will help you." Said Shahra, still keeping her hand on TodStar's chest.
"Grr...*pant pant* I taste mint for some reason..." Said TodStar as the pain within him vanished.
"*giggle* That means it worked, TodStar."
"What worked? What'd you do to me?"
"Because of that spell, you no longer feel that pain when you come in close proximity of a Chaos Emerald."
"Really? Sweet!"
"This is not permanent, however. I will need to do this to you on a regular basis."
"Oh. It's not gonna hurt like that again, is it?"
"*giggle* No. Now that you're body has absorbed my magic at least once, it will be used to it so it won't hurt as much from now on."
"Well, if it isn't my old boyfriend and seldom-seen cousin." Said a voice from a distance that made TodStar and Shahra jump.
"Who is that, TodStar?" Asked Shahra.
"Dunno, but she sounds familiar..." TodStar replied. Before he knew it, a light blue Spin Dash was heading TodStar's way! Fortunately, he warped out of the way before it connected.
"Was that Sonic?" Asked Shahra.
"No way!" Said Amy, who was talking to Shahra in their shared mind. "Sonic would never attack us. At least, not willingly."
"Nah, I don't reckon it's Sonic." TodStar replied. "In fact I know who it is... Oi, Lily! Why're you attacking me after all these years?" The only answer that TodStar got was another Spin Dash, that he reflected with his Chaos Wave technique.
"Brr... TodStar, could you not do that near me?" Asked Shahra, who was right below the Chaos Wave and felt a chill.

At that moment, Knuckles was walking around Angel Island, searching for something...
"Grr, come on! There has to be some fruit here!" He said, getting desperate. "I need it for my dinner with Julie-Su tonight."
Suddenly, Knuckles spied a bunch of grapes.
"(Ahh... perfect.)" He thought. But as he was about to reach for the grapes, a sword of some sort came from some trees and sliced the grapes off of the branch. Before Knuckles could grab the grapes again, the sword went spinning back the way it came. "Whoa!"
"At last, some juicy gra- What in the Realm of Iblis?" Said an echidna that looked like Knuckles with armor on.
"You'd better not be dressin' up as me, pal..." Knuckles pointed out. "...for one thing, you're covering up too much to look like me!"
"Ho! You dare mock Sir Gawain, Knight of Mobian Sun?" The armored echidna replied. "An act most unwise, my friend."
"You tryin' to pick a fight with me?"
"You would be better off not making me mad, impostor."
"Well I say it's too late for that!"
"I agree."
"BRING IT ON!" Both Knuckles and Gawain yelled as they leapt at each other, and began their battle...

Back in Station Square, Sonic had a couple of bags full of wrapped presents for his family and friends.
"Well, that's my friends and family covered." He pointed out. "Though I wonder why some of the Overlanders've been givin' me the stink eye... Weren't they the ones who called a truce with us Mobians?"
"There are still a lot of humans in this world who aren't exactly fond of you..." Said a young female voice.
"Huh? Who said that? What the-?" Sonic asked before he felt some bags leave his hands. When Sonic turned around, an Overlander girl, slightly taller than Sonic was carrying them.
"Need a hand? Or two? *giggle*" She asked before giggling.
"Uhh... yeah, thanks. Who are you?" Sonic asked again.
"Oh! Sorry. My name's Hope. Hope Kintobor." Said the girl, realizing that she hadn't introduced herself to Sonic. "Nice to meet you, Sonic."
"Yeah. Likewise. So Hope, whereabouts do you live around here?"
"I don't live in Station Square..."
"Why not? Apart from a lot of people glaring at me, I think it's a pretty cool place to live."
"Maybe if you're relative was banished from this place, you'd wish for better treatment too."
"Oh. Wait, did you say you're last name was Kintorbor?"
"Y-yeah."
"No way. You're related to- mmph!" Sonic's mouth was covered by one of Hope's hands.
"Shh! No one can know that I'm related to the guy that helped you Mobians in the Great War." She whispered. Sonic then nodded.
"Well, think you can help me get all of this back to Freedom HQ?" Sonic asked Hope.
"Sure, why not?" She replied. But before they could walk any further, a familiar looking ship was seen flying above Station Square.
"Eggman!" Sonic growled as Hope gasped.
"Seasons Greetings, citizens of Station Square!" Eggman said to Mobians and Overlander alike via loudspeaker.
"Heh. More like 'Seasons Warnings'." Sonic whispered, which made Hope giggle.
"I sure hope you all are having a pleasent holiday..." Eggman pointed out as a hatch door opened. "...because I'm going to make sure it ends UN-pleasently! Gah hahaha!" As Eggman cackled, a robot no bigger then an adult Overlander fell from the Egg Carrier and landed in the middle of the street. It had a red hat, similar to what everyone else was wearing on their heads, a red jacket with fluffy white ends and big, black boots.
"And what're you up to THIS time, Eggman?" Asked Sonic, not impressed nor feared by the robot.
"Ah, Sonic. I didn't see you down there." Eggman replied. "(Blast! No matter...) Why that is my latest creation. I call it: Egg Santa!"
"Oh yeah, real clever." Sonic said sarcastically, which made Hope laugh a little harder.
"Oh, you think this is funny, little girl?" Eggman asked Hope, who was enraged by her laughing. "Maybe you'll think this is funny!" After he said that, a claw came down from the hatch, grabbed Hope and retracted.
"Sonic!" She cried while reaching out to him.
"Hope!" Shouted Sonic while reaching out to her.
"Uh-uh-uh, Sonic." Said Eggman. "Once again, you have a choice: Either help Station Square and defeat my Egg Santa, or you can try to rescue you friend."
"Grr. I'll come get you, Hope. I promise." Sonic told her, holding up his pinky.
"Sonic..." Hope quietly said, holding up her pinky aswell as the Egg Carrier headed back for Robotropolis.
"Now Sonic, let me show you the power of my latest, greatest creation!" Eggman said as Egg Santa activated.

END OF CHAPTER

Emerald Count:
Metal Sonic - Purple Chaos Emerald
Sonic - Blue Chaos Emerald
Omega - Yellow Chaos Emerald
Shadow - Green Chaos Emerald
Cosmo - Grey Chaos Emerald
TOTAL - 5 Chaos Emeralds