The Werehog Returns!
Sonic took a good look at himself and felt depressed. He turned into a form he thought he lost after the Dark Gaia incident. He was even more depressed when he looked at Blaze. "Sonic…" she began, but Sonic turned his head, ashamed of having her and the Freedom Fighters see him like this. "…if you're afraid of what I think about you, then you have nothing to worry about. I can tell that, despite your current state, you're still the same old Sonic." Sonic slowly looked at her, unsure if she meant what she said.
"Do you…really think that?" he asked. She nodded before hugging him, something they never thought would happen. "How did I get this form back anyway? I can't even run very fast in it."
"You know, it might have happened when you saved me from Inky, Blinky, and Clyde," said Tails.
"What are you saying, Tails?"
"Well, Sonic, ever since the incident with Dark Gaia, you must've had some of its residual energy hidden inside of you all this time. The light from the Chaos Emeralds must've kept it at bay, no matter how many times you ran fast, jumped in the air, or did your 'Homing Attack' and 'Sonic Cyclone' moves."
Sonic pondered on this for a bit before finishing Tails' explanation. "So what you're saying is that I reawakened this form when I did the 'Sonic Cyclone' on the Ghost Gang?" he asked.
"Except for Pinky. The cyclone must've absorbed some of the aura from them as well. According to these charts on the 'Miles Electric', Sonic the Werehog was already able to physically touch ghosts thanks to the Dark Gaia energy. The aura from Inky, Blinky, and Clyde might've allowed Sonic the Hedgehog to do the same," Tails finished. Sonic looked at the Freedom Fighters and saw that Sally and Antoine were the most scared. In Sally's case, it was because, while she did love Sonic, she had no idea he transformed into something resembling a monster. For Antoine, it was no surprise; he was a scaredy-cat anyway.
"Is there anyone else who knows about this form as well, Sonic?" Blaze asked.
"Just Professor Pickle, Amy, Eggman, and Knuckles, but that's because Tails and I told him."
"You forgot Chip," Tails chuckled out as he remembered their old friend. Sonic smiled at the memory of the little guy. He even remembered that his favorite food was chocolate. Not surprising, Antoine fainted when he saw Sonic's sharp teeth.
"S-Sonic, m-m-maybe y-you better n-not show your t-teeth. T-They're p-pretty s-scary," a frightened Sally said. Bunnie was the first to recover from her shock and smiled warmly at the Werehog, taking in Blaze's point that it was indeed her favorite 'Sugar-hog'.
"Aw, you ain't got nothing to worry about, Sally-girl. It's still him. Besides, I'm certain that he's just a giant teddy bear," she said affectionately, which did not sit well for Blaze. Tails knew about the secret attraction both speedsters had for each other and even tried a few times (with Cream's help, of course) to get them together. Thanks to Knuckles and Amy ruining the moment, though, he had no luck.
Sonic was definitely uncomfortable with Bunnie holding him like the 'teddy bear' she mentioned. "Uh, Bunnie, could you let go of me? I don't exactly have the best temper in this form and it's uncomfortable to begin with, mostly because of your left arm! No offense," he said.
"None taken, Sugar-hog." That made Sonic a little more uncomfortable and Sally and Blaze a little angrier. It wasn't that Bunnie was ugly. She was very beautiful, even with the robotized arm and legs. There was a time when Sonic wouldn't have to think twice before dating her after he and Sally decided to remain as friends. Now that he met Blaze, though, Bunnie's affection toward him made him slightly nervous. However, he still had no idea that Blaze felt the same way for him.
Blaze was growing furious because she now realized that she had two rivals to compete for Sonic's affection: Bunnie Rabbot and Rouge the Bat. She didn't have to worry about Amy because, no matter what she would do, Sonic would never go out with her. As far as Rouge went, though, Blaze was trying to save Sonic from getting hurt. "Can we just focus on the task at hand?!" she exclaimed as she, Rotor, and Tails. "We still have to find Knuckles, Amy, and Silver," she finished as they broke Sonic free of Bunnie's grasp. Sonic checked himself to make sure he didn't lose any fur. He was happy that he didn't.
"Sorry, Fire-cat, but I just can't help it when it comes to Sonic. No matter what form he's in, I just want to hold him tight. I can't ever seem to do that when he's Super Sonic, though," she said.
"Unfortunately, we have to find another way to restore the Chaos and Sol Emeralds. Pac-World doesn't have any Temples of Gaia, so we're out of luck there," Tails said.
"Yeah, and the Master Emerald won't be of any help either. It's still on Mobius," said a familiar voice. They looked up and saw a not-so-happy Knuckles with Amy, who was unconscious. He saw the only monster in the group and noticed that it looked like his missing friend. "So I take it that's your Werehog form, Sonic?"
"I'm afraid so, Knuckles."
"How effective is it?" Sonic looked over at Antoine, who was still unconscious, with Knuckles following suit.
"Well, it got Antoine to shut up, so it's not all that bad." Sonic, Blaze, and Tails looked at the horizon and saw that the sun was coming up. Sonic's body restored back to its natural state, as did his shoes, teeth, and gloves. He was Sonic the Hedgehog once again. "Well that's better. At least I got my speed back," he said. Bunnie hugged him from behind, catching him off guard again. This time, it was Knuckles who pried Bunnie off of the poor hedgehog.
"How about we go see what Pacster and the others are doing," Blaze suggested, getting a nod from Sonic and Tails.
The three went back to Maze City, bringing Knuckles with them this time. They spotted Skeebo pestering Pacster again. "Let me handle this guy," said the red echidna. While he was walking up to the bully, he heard him call Pacster names like 'Lemon Boy'. Knuckles tapped Skeebo on the shoulder and the bully turned around. He took one good look at Knuckles and laughed.
"I don't know who you are, but you don't exactly look very tough. What's your name, you red mutt?" Skeebo asked. Knuckles got mad at the insult like he did when Wave the Swallow called him that.
"I don't see how it's any of your business, but my name's Knuckles. I believe you met my blue friend over there," Knuckles said, pointing at Sonic. All the cockiness that Skeebo had had vanished away as soon as he saw the blue hedgehog. The bully decided that running away was the best option for him at this point, so he ran back to his room and shut the window blinds. Sonic, Tails, and Blaze rejoined with Knuckles and Pacster, joining the two for a laugh. "Did you see the look on his face when he saw you guys? He must've run into Sonic before!"
"Yeah in this form. I wonder what it'll look like in my nighttime state," stated Sonic. "Knuckles, this is Pacster or 'Pac-Man' as everyone calls him. Pac, this is my buddy Knuckles the Echidna."
"Nice to meet you, kid."
"Same with you, Knuckles," said Pacster.
"Hey, Pacster, where are Cyli and Spiral?" Tails asked.
"Spiral's sick and Cyli said she'd be here by now." They spotted Cyli waving at them and running toward them. Sonic introduced her and Knuckles. The Mobians informed the two Pac-Worlders of their current situation, including the part where they had to find Silver (but not mentioning Sonic's Werehog form). Pac and Cyli thought about it before coming up with the same idea. "Maybe Sir Cumference can help. He and Tails could build you guys a ship to get you back to Mobius. You should be able to find your friend Silver by that time."
"It all depends on where Mobius is from here. On top of that, there could've been more than us, Silver, Amy, and the Freedom Fighters caught in the Chaos Control wave," Knuckles said.
"Knuckles is right. If the Emeralds weren't drained, I could find Silver, and maybe my rival Shadow the Hedgehog, in a heartbeat, since we can all use the Chaos Emeralds. Of course, that's given if Shadow got caught in the wave," said Sonic. Cyli pondered a while on it.
"Maybe…perhaps Sir Cumference and Tails can work on finding Mobius before they come up with blueprints, and while they're doing that, you three can look for your friends."
"Good idea, Cyli. I'll see the professor right away," said Tails.
"Okay, good. Knuckles, I'm afraid you're going to have to go back to the camp in case Eggman shows up. Blaze and I can handle finding Silver," Sonic said, getting a nod from Knuckles.
"Pacster, I think we need to get to class. The teacher's going to have our hides if we don't hurry."
"Okay, Cyli, you got it. See you later, Sonic," said Pacster. Sonic turned to Blaze and nodded. They went deep in the woods to search for their white friend.
Tails made it to Sir Cumference's lab and found the professor sleeping. He also saw the assistant robot and decided to have a little fun. "Computer: change to 'Alarm mode'. Activate in 10 seconds." The robot did as it was told. It walked over to Sir Cumference and sounded the alarm in Tails' designated time. The old man jumped up after the alarm rang, hitting the ceiling before falling back down on the floor, landing on his butt in the process. 'That was fun, but Cream would kill me if she found out about this,' Tails thought.
"Why you old bucket of bolts! What'd you go and do that for?" said Sir Cumference. The robot pointed at Tails. "Oh, Tails. I didn't see you there. What can I do for you?"
"Well, Sir Cumference, I need your help in finding Mobius on your galactic map. We discussed building a spaceship, but I need your help in both the construction and the blueprints. Plus, as it turns out, there are more of us that arrived here. Sorry," Tails explained.
"It's quite alright, Tails. Have you ever worked with a fellow scientist before?"
"Yes, but unfortunately, that scientist was mine and Sonic's worst enemy. His name is Dr. Ivo Robotnik, but we often call him 'Eggman'. We had to work together during this one mission that I won't go into detail on. Needless to say, I never want to work with him again," Tails said, remembering the fiasco with the Deadly Six.
"Well it sounds to me that this 'Robotnik' fellow is a mad scientist of sorts. Judging from his name, he must specialize in killer robots." Tails nodded. "Luckily, he isn't here, or we'd be in deep trouble of sorts."
"You said it," the fox chuckled out.
Sonic and Blaze went deep in the forest to search for Silver. Sonic managed to find a red-and-black metal ball. He picked it up, knowing full well it was Orbot, one of Eggman's assistants. Blaze managed to find Cubot, so she picked him up. The robots woke up and jumped out of the arms of both speedsters, making them jump in the process. "I'm never going to get used to that," said Sonic.
"Me neither," Blaze remarked. The dimwitted duo shook their heads and looked around until they saw the two speedsters.
"Ah, Sonic, it's nice to see you again. You too, Blaze," Orbot said.
"Hey, where's your buddy?" asked Cubot.
"Is Eggman around?"
"Why yes he is," answered Orbot.
"Then I ain't telling you. I know you remember the last time we worked with your boss, Orbot," Sonic said.
"You've got that right. I don't think Tails would want a repeat of what happened on the Lost Hex. The boss is this way if you're looking for him."
"Actually, Orbot, we were looking for a white hedgehog named Silver. We don't have time to look for Eggman," said Blaze.
"I know you guys think I'm an idiot, but I've got a smart idea: why don't you talk with Eggman and tell him about the situation," Cubot suggested.
"That is actually a good idea, pal."
"Okay, if it'll help us any in finding Silver and maybe a few others," said Sonic begrudgingly. The robots took Sonic and Blaze to Eggman's camp where he was working on some blueprints for something.
"Hey, boss, look who we found," said Cubot. Eggman turned around and saw his and his counterpart's most hated enemies at his campground.
"Sonic, Blaze, what brings you here? Besides my dimwitted assistants of course?" he asked.
"We've got a problem," Sonic said. They explained everything, including the Werehog form, but excluding Tails working on an idea.
"So what you're saying is that you've lost Silver in the Chaos Control wave and you still can't find him?" They nodded. "Then it looks like we need to work together. Eggman Nega sent us here like an idiot, so until we find a way to get back home and stop him, we need to work together. I'm sure Tails is working on something as we speak." Sonic and Blaze were shocked that Eggman was right. "I wouldn't be surprised if he was. While Orbot and Cubot were sleeping, I did run into an old friend of ours. He should be in the trees right now," Eggman finished.
Sonic looked up and saw the 'old friend' Eggman mentioned. Sure enough, it was Shadow the Hedgehog. "The doctor told me about that Werehog form of yours, Sonic. We'll get rid of it soon enough, don't worry," he said. Sonic looked at the sun.
"Well, Shadow, it looks like you'll be able to see it in a few hours. When the sun goes down, that's when I'm in that state," he explained. "The lead mastermind here is a ghost named Betrayus, who lives in the underworld. He often sends his ghosts to do his dirty work of taking over Pac-World. Because I did the 'Sonic Cyclone' on three of them, I can harm the ghosts in both forms."
"You're not alone, Sonic. Since I've got the blood of the Black Arms coursing through my veins, I can harm them as well."
"Which leaves Amy, Silver, and Sonic's uncle, Sir Charles, the odd hedgehogs out," said Blaze. Shadow and Sonic nodded.
"Our first priority is to find Silver. I know the Chaos Emeralds are drained, so it would make things even more difficult," said Shadow. Sonic looked down a cliff and saw what looked like a white hedgehog passed out on the ground.
"I don't think that's going to be a problem. Silver's right down there," he said. Shadow and Blaze looked down and saw the same thing Sonic did. The blue blur jumped down from the cliff and landed right by his friend. He got the restrictor collar off of him and put him on his shoulders to carry him up the cliff. Sonic ran up the wall to rejoin Shadow and Blaze.
"Is he going to be alright?" asked Blaze, concerned about their friend.
"He'll be fine, but we need to get him back to camp. Shadow, if there are any tracers on you, then you're going to have to remove them. We've got to take him to the Freedom Fighters' camp," Sonic said as Shadow checked for tracers. He found none.
The three of them went back to the Freedom Fighters. They saw that Amy and Antoine woke up from being passed out.
"Sonic, Blaze, welcome back. I can see you brought Shadow with you," Sally said. Amy noticed the out-cold hedgehog on Sonic's shoulders.
"Silver! What happened to him?" she asked frantically.
"He's been passed out since I found him and Blaze at Eggman Nega's base. We just found him again a while ago." Sonic looked at the sun, which went down. Amy was about to ask why, but figured it out as he turned into Sonic the Werehog again. Having seen this form before, she wasn't scared, but surprised. This was because Amy thought Sonic got rid of this form after his battle with Dark Gaia.
"You know, Sonic, I don't know which looks better: this form or your normal one," Shadow joked, earning a fierce Werehog glare.
"I'd say it's my hedgehog form, Shadow." The campers heard some groaning, so they turned to Silver, who was waking up. He looked around and noted the Freedom Fighters, Shadow, Amy, Knuckles, and a furry monster that looked just like Sonic. "How are you feeling, Silver?" asked Sonic.
"I-I'm fine. What happened to you, Sonic?" the psychokinetic hedgehog asked.
CHAPTER 3 END
Sonic has had a long day on account of his Werehog form. Also, since they found Shadow, they know that at least a few others got caught in the Chaos Control wave. What will happen next? That's for me to know and you to find out.