Chapter 1: Find The Chaos Radar
Somewhere on Westside Island, a mass of land in the expansive Agate Archipelago, there stands a high-tech base, run by the most dedicated of operators. Within the heart of this structure is a powerful machine unlike any other. The base's security guards vehemently protect this device from everyone they can catch. The sun has risen, and it's time for another day of duty. We join two anthro-type Mobians outside the front gate.
"Gosh, if only work was a little faster. I gotta get some action today, Frank." said a male anthro wolf, feeling bored with his job.
"Dude, when you signed on to this job, what did you expect? Suck it up, Carl. Easy." retorted a male anthro turtle beside the wolf.
"I knew what I was getting into." the wolf, named Carl, said back. "But knowing what could come after us is making me restless."
"There's alot you need to learn about the value of patience and diligence." the turtle, named Frank, remarked. "Wise men say: slow and steady wins the race."
"Buddy, we're just standing." Carl snarked.
Frank rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. At that moment, small black and red orbs were rolling around the gates, surrounding the two anthro-types. The two didn't notice them at first, in the midst of their conversation. When Frank observed these orbs, he began to suspect something was odd. Carl, anxious to do something, decided to play with the orbs.
"Hey, how about a game of Bootball?" Carl said, playfully.
Frank ignored Carl's clownish request, picked up a radio out of his pocket and called up somebody on the other side of a communication line.
"Calling Multinational Elite Guardians of Agate." said Frank, on the radio. "Something has shown up. I'm set to fire at the first sign of-" his sentence was interrupted by the sound of a low-pitched beeping sound. It played again, and again, getting faster each time. "Carl?"
"Easy, Frank?" Carl sarcastically echoed to his partner.
"GET AWAY!" Frank yelled, tackling the canine guard. They barely managed to get away from the orbs as they lit up, slightly grew in size, and... BOOM! The front gate was devastated by a gigantic explosion, creating a plume of fire and kicking up a cloud of dust. As the dust cleared, a giant opening was revealed where the front gate used to be. Alarms went off in the distance.
"By Angel!" Frank screamed. "Somebody's trying to break in! Protect the base!"
Just then, a giant, rolling metal ball emerged from the ground in front of the turtle and wolf anthros, looking nothing like the exploding orbs, aside from being round. It moved towards the base.
Meanwhile, inside, operators are sitting at the control center.
"Red alert! The front gate has been breached!" said a light human-type Mobian. "All armed men, move out! Protect this M.E.G.A. base and the Chaos Radar at all costs!"
"Sir, yes sir!" said a group of armed soldiers, consisting of both anthro-types and human-types.
The soldiers marched down the hallways of the base. The Multinational Elite Guardians of Agate, or M.E.G.A., for short, were in charge of defending the device, called the Chaos Radar, from the oncoming threat. Whatever could they need it for? Soon, the soldiers saw a pack of large, googly-eyed robots approaching them. Most of them looked like insects, lizards and aquatic creatures. Two bee-like robots shot at the soldiers. They reacted in self-defense, firing their machine guns at them. The bee-bots were taken down, revealing tiny things in small, spherical capsules in the process, but more took their place, and the soldiers were left vulnerable to being rammed by ladybug-bots.
Back in the control center, the one in charge was observing from the surrounding monitors all the chaos going down in the corridors.
"Carl, Frank, you had one job!" said the commanding human, aggravated by the turtle and wolf's failure. "These devils will never reach that radar!" He rushed towards a door to the right of the command center's supercomputer, trying to get somewhere before the invading robots did. He went down an empty hallway, went straight ahead at a point when he needed to choose a direction, when down a flight of stairs, took a left and then a right, until he got on an elevator, hoping to ride it up. He got At the end of his lift, he got off at a chamber with a containment system holding a glowing device. Right next to the system were four tough looking guards, standing at the ready.
"Don't worry, sir." said one of the tough, self-assured guards, looking like a man made of copper. "If they want a fight, we'll give them a good one. Besides, our technology will block off any tracking devices they have. They can forget reaching this room."
Back in the hallways, the soldiers were trying their best to keep the creature-like robots at bay, but they kept on coming. It was a metallic swarm. They were drawing the soldiers back, as their ammo diminished more and more by the second. Before too long, most of the soldiers were taken out, and the others were trapped in one of the base's larger rooms, which looked like a training room. As they tried to calm down and think of the way out of this jam, the giant ball that Carl and Frank saw earlier smashed it's way into the room. A soldier carrying a bazooka fired upon it, but the resulting blast had no effect. Then, it began to uncurl. It was a large, robotic pig.
"You know what?" said a cat soldier. "I have a feeling this is one of... Robotnik's creations."
"OK, time to break some bones!" the pig robot yelled. It's chest and stomach opened up, revealing large holes. Out of those holes fired pineapple-like objects. Upon reaching the soldiers, they exploded, blowing the soldiers away. The mechanical swine charged through the downed men in it's ball form.
Soldiers retreated to the control center, where the non-combatants were monitoring everything.
"Put the entire building on lockdown!" said one of the operators. "We'll need all the defense we need to fend off these guys!"
"The lockdown system isn't working!" another operator remarked, panicking.
"What?" the first operator shouted, in disbelief.
"Uh, sir?" said a rabbit soldier, pointing at a robotic turtle near the supercomputer. "We've got a sneaky one." He fired his gun at the turtle robot, but the bullet was deflected into his stomach.
"You like it?" said a calm voice on the supercomputer. "You guys at M.E.G.A. really thought ahead of time, creating a sophisticated machine that could block off the radar's signal. But by inserting my A.I. into this computer, I can see and do everything. I've crippled your pre-installed security weapons, disabled the lockdown and tracked the location of the room we need to reach."
"Who are you?" the second operator inquired.
"A friendly visitor to responsible military men." said the voice.
All of a sudden, the robot pig broke in. It grunted, releasing a wave of steam. It hurt to be around it. The soldiers fell on to their backs from the force of the steam, completely unable to fight anymore.
"You fleshy twerps thought you had good old Ball Hog outnumbered, but you were sadly mistaken." it said, revealing it's name. "Ball Hog is always number 1! Turbo, where's that radar?"
"Just take that doorway over by the computer, go straight ahead until you reach some stairs, go down them, make a left turn later, then a right, and take the elevator up to the highest floor." Turbo explained. "But not you, pork rind. It's the only elevator that'll get there." In moments, Turbo had left the computer and moved his A.I. into his robotic turtle body. Once in his true, physical form, he made a blue square appear from his eyes. "This is Turbo. I'm relaying you the information on the radar's location. It's all yours, boss."
"Excellent work!" said a low, growly voice on the other end of the communciation line Turbo was using. "Their reinforcements are depleting fast. Keep the Badnik Army active until there's nothing left of this M.E.G.A. base to stand in my way."
"Affirmative!" Turbo said, enthusiastically. He deployed wings from his shell, ready to move out.
"Armed men, defend the elevator!" the first operator ordered on a radio.
Ball Hog and Turbo headed towards the hallway leading to that elevator. Soldiers caught up to them, hoping to defeat them before they could the deed they came to do. They opened fire, but the two Badniks bounced back without any issues. Ball Hog shot grenades from his body, and Turbo could transform his hands into guns of his own. In the middle of this fight, a thundercloud appeared behind the soldiers, roasting them with lightning. Out from the cloud appeared a big, mechanical hen. It stood by Ball Hog and Turbo's side.
"Hey boys!" the hen Badnik called. "Give me a cut of the action!"
"Clucker!" Ball Hog yelled to his avian ally, exhilarated. "By all means!"
Right from the behind the Badniks came more soldiers. They had heavy weaponry, ready to unload on these intruders. Turbo and Ball Hog fired bullets and grenades at the soldiers before they could get the chance. Clucker showed the ability to fire high-voltage beams from her beak. Their opposition was rapidly decreasing. As things grew desperate, some soldiers in red uniforms came, armed with sharp and blunt melee weapons.
"Oh, this is classic." Turbo said, playfully. He transformed his guns into tether-like weapons. Ball Hog pulled out a spiky, flaming axe from a compartment on his waist, while Clucker plucked a feather from her own mechanical body, revealing it to be an electrified, iron club.
The red-clad soldiers fought hard, seemingly fighting on even grounds with the three bad robots at first, but they soon realized how outmatched they really. The autonomous trio blocked their every swing and managed to break their weapons. Clucker bludgeoned the defenseless Mobians, Ball Hog sliced them apart horizontally and Turbo squeezed them to death with his tether-like limbs. Eventually, every single fighter in the Badniks' way had turned into a heap on the floor.
"Glad to know the Robotnik Regime is still going strong. By Angel, i'm good." said that growly voice from Turbo's radio call. It's owner manifested itself next to the dead soldiers. It happens to be a tall, rotund, broad, imposing light human-type Mobian with a red jacket, black pants, green boots, white gloves, a bracelet on his right arm with a button, a green and yellow cape, grey shoulderpads, eyes with black sclera and red irises, a pink nose and a moustache exceeding the width of his head. "I may not have initially accounted for the technology M.E.G.A. deployed to protect their precious treasure, but with all the time in the world for me to spend strategizing, it was nothing I couldn't trounce."
"L-L-Lord Robotnik!" Turbo, Ball Hog and Clucker yelled, in unison. They kneeled before their leader.
"You know how much I enjoy serving you, boss." Turbo said.
"When we return to Metropolis, i'll treat us all to four-cheese hotpie." Robotnik declared, with a very smug expression. "Victory, come to papa!"
"You've done your part, machines. You can retreat." said a low, snake-like voice right beside Robotnik. It belonged to a brown anthro velociraptor-type Mobian with a black suit, black claws, a slightly-bloodshot left eye, a black ring on his left ring finger, red and yellow shoes and a bunch of yellow feathers on his head. "Lord Robotnik and I will be doing the honours."
"Yeah, yeah, Commander Rockbottom." Turbo murmured, disdainful of the lizard. "Just don't hit your head on the resistance you may face up above."
"Master Badniks, send yourselves and the Badnik Army back to headquarters!" Robotnik ordered, emphatically. "Me and Commander Rockbottom will be the ones to let them know the time has come!"
As Doctor Robotnik and Rockbottom walked off, seeking the elevator, the three Master Badniks stood there.
"My woman." said Ball Hog, trading elbow nudges with Clucker.
"My man." said Clucker, while she and her partners nudged one another.
"You know, guys?" Turbo thought out loud. "I've always hated Rockbottom Raptor. I never liked how spiteful and quiet that guy is. I wonder if he even has Lord Robotnik's best interests at heart?"
"Here's my question." Ball Hog started, changing the subject. "Has anyone seen Phage?" Turbo and Clucker shrugged in response.
Up above, on the base's highest level, the head honcho and the tough guards are still standing by the machine containing the Chaos Radar. The guards have their, well, guard up, waiting for the leader's command. They were eyeing the elevator in anticipation. They didn't know what kinds of robotic enemies were going to come out of those doors; it could be anything, and they would have to bring it down. As tension built up in these fine Mobians, the elevator made a 'ding' sound, signifying the approach of danger. The doors opened, revealing none other than Doctor Robotnik. He stepped out, as the silhouette of Rockbottom dashed up to the ceiling. The four guards, the copperman, a polar bear, a bull and an alligator pointed their weapons at the large man.
"So, you've come alone, Robotnik." said the copperman. "If you were feeling lucky up to this point, i'm afraid it's run out. You have one chance to cease your attack and get lost!"
"Hold on, dear boy." Robotnik laughed. "I'm not here to put up a fight. I'm just here for a little negotiation. Which is to say there won't be much of a fight at all."
"Not walking, huh?" the polar bear remarked.
"All of you, attack!" the human leader yelled, pointing at the big old man.
The alligator pulled out a large assault rifle, firing it upon Robotnik. The doctor covered himself up in his cape. All the bullets bounced off the cape, as if it was made of a highly strong substance. The bull took out a rocket launcher and shot it at the doctor while he was busy blocking the bullets from the alligator. Robotnik moved to the right a bit and grabbed the rocket, spun around and flung it towards the alligator. The alligator barely dodged, but his assault rifle was knocked out of his hand and destroyed by the rocket's explosion. The polar bear took his spear and tried to stab Robotnik, but the despotic scientist grabbed the front of it. The polar bear turned on the spear's electrification feature, but not before Robotnik bent it towards the weapon's owner and released it. He punched the spear into the polar bear chest and gave him a nasty shock, sending him down to the floor. While Robotnik was distracted, the copperman attempted to smash him with his mace. Robotnik clasped his hands together, stopping the mace. Using the situation to his advantage, he mustered lots of strength, lifting the copperman off and ground and throwing him across the room. The mad genius made his way to the containment system and started typing on the buttons.
"You're good, Robotnik." said the leader, begrudgingly. "But you won't beat these guys so easily. Especially not alone."
"Oh, sure. The world's greatest scientific genius is all alone." Robotnik sarcastically retorted, typing away. "You know what they say about assuming, young man."
"Well, I don't have to assume your downfall. You can fail right here." the leader stated, in a matter-of-fact tone. "And fail, you will." All the tough guards were ready for another round. The bull was ready to fire off his rocket launcher once more, when... STAB! A seething hot sword penetrated the bull's armor and body, causing the life in him to ebb almost instantly. The sword pulled back from the bull's body, and he fell to the ground. Rockbottom had shown himself.
"Should've seen something coming." Rockbottom remarked, devilishly.
"Rockbottom Raptor!" the alligator yelled, recognizing the lizard. He then began to chuckle. "The former prince of the criminal underworld, still working for a man like this. Where did you sink so low?"
"Where did you fall so hard to work for a delicate, obscure organization?" Rockbottom fired back. "There's a society filled with child warriors that is taken more seriously than you."
"HOW DARE YOU!" the alligator shrieked, pulling out two revolvers. He fired both of them, only to see Rockbottom slice apart both of the bullets with a single swing, then the revolvers themselves, then the alligator's hands, before kicking him to the ground, finishing him off by spitting saliva on him. The saliva was poisonous, and thus left the alligator in excruciating pain, unable to get up.
The polar bear, having fixed his spear, charged into Rockbottom from the back, actually managing to stab him. However, the raptor pulls away from the tip and jumps at the polar bear, clawing him in the face. When he got behind the polar bear, who was blinded by the slash, he decides to let him strike at him fruitlessly. Just then, the copperman came at him, trying to hit the raptor with that big mace. Rockbottom tricks the sightless polar bear into striking the copperman with the spear and electrocuting him. This provokes the copperman into hitting the polar bear with the mace, taking him out. The leader is watching all this with absolute shock and horror.
"ARGH!" the copperman yelled. "Rockbottom! I'll end you!"
"You mean like you did with your friend?" Rockbottom asked, fiendishly. "That's the reality of unrealistic hopes. They're only meant to be dashed."
"DIE!" the copperman shrieked, at the very top of his lungs, preparing to smash the raptor with his blunt, spiky weapon.
The battle continued. Rockbottom swiftly dashed towards the copperman and scratched up his chest with those two sets of sharp, black claws. Every scratch hurt. As the copperman put his hands on his chest, Rockbottom slide underneath him and bit him on back, driving those sharp teeth into his copper flesh. Not only that, but he mixed that with his poisonous saliva, dealing horrible damage to the copperman. The once proud guard was losing energy. But, he still wanted to go out fighting. As his vision blurred, he pointed his head straight at Rockbottom.
"Die, raptor." the copperman said, weakly, holding up his mace one more time.
"Don't plan to." Rockbottom noted, sword in hand. "My thermal dragon fang can rip you apart." he continued, in a matter-of-fact voice. "And rip you apart, it will."
With nothing left to say, the copperman stumbled furiously towards Rockbottom, ready for another swing of his mace. Rockbottom ran towards him, preparing to swing the thermal dragon fang for what seemed like the finishing blow. They clashed, and weapons clanged. They were beside each other with their weapons on the ground. Rockbottom felt a sudden, sharp pain in his shoulder that made him breathe heavily. As for the copperman, his entire torso slid off his lower body and hit the floor with a loud bang. His lower body collapsed, afterwards. With that, the last of the Chaos Radar's mighty guardians was soundly defeated. The leader wanted to scream, but could only emit the slightest gagging sound.
"Not exactly a platinum 'S' performance, but that was worth an 'A+', commander." said Doctor Robotnik on his subordinate's fight, while still typing on the containment system's keyboard.
"What is a grade to a master of slaughter?" Rockbottom coldly cracked.
"There, all done." Robotnik confirmed, successfully unlocking the containment system. "At long last, the Chaos Radar is MINE!"
"Yes it is, Lord Robotnik." said Rockbottom, without a hint of venom in his tone.
The containment system opened up, revealing the radiant, technological beauty of the Chaos Radar. Robotnik removes it from the system and holds in his hands. He pushes a button on the radar, activating a homing device. A large map projects out of the radar, showing places where Chaos Emeralds can be found.
"YES!" Robotnik yipped. "With this radar, our search for the Chaos Emeralds will be easier than ever before. Those miracle gems have slipped away from our hands for too long, and now we have the tool to solve all of our problems. A tool that even I had trouble replicating. But, it gets better." Robotnik pushed a button on the side of the radar, revealing a white gemstone inside. "This elusive piece of tech was built AROUND a Chaos Emerald. The Chaos Quartz." suddenly, he erupted into a raucous fit of laughter.
"One down, six to go." said Rockbottom, feeling accomplished. "Just going to have to avoid the Fighters' Fellowship out there while we're looking. If those hopeless worms want to find us, interfere with our work, I promise they'll end up like these four buffoons. If it's a fight they want, i'll give them a good one."
"Well, i'd love to see them try." Robotnik chortled. "Let's go. Ooh, yeah! I got it! I'm awesome! Yohoho!" he danced and laughed over his victory as he and his reptilian commander headed for the elevator back down the building. "By the way, big cheese. You're not on our hotpie!" he called out to the base's leader, who could only sit there, terrified. Eventually, the figure of authority fainted, unable to take anymore.
As the battle for the Chaos Radar inside the M.E.G.A. base comes to it's conclusion, let's cut over to another part of Westside Island. It's still morning, the grass is looking vividly green, the water is a glistering blue, and the sun is smiling on checkered hills. The calm of these hills is broken by a blazing, blue streak speeding by, way too fast for the naked eye. The one moving at this speed is a blue hedgehog boy, wearing two white gloves, a pair of red, buckled shoes, and a tracksuit made up of greens, reds and yellows. He whizzes past lakes, runs through a loop, like what you see on a roller coaster, jumps around pointy rocks and rolls down a slope to build enough speed to run up a plateau. After one last backwards flip, he sticks the landing.
"Ah, the sweet smell of freedom!" remarked the boy, joyfully. "And gosh, I love this tracksuit! It's way past sturdy, just like my sneakers!"
"Sonic!" called a young sounding voice. The owner is a male, two-tailed, orange fox cub, who's flying towards the position of the hedgehog, named Sonic, with the uncanny ability to twist his tails around like a helicopter rotor, making a slight breeze. The fox cub is wearing gear you would expect from a biplane pilot. "I see you got your exercise?"
"Oh yeah, Tails!" Sonic replied, with absolute delight in his voice. "I feel like i've been reborn! Finally, my legs have all the room to stretch!"
"I'm happy for you, big bro. But, I think you forgot something." Tails pointed out, eyeing the area that Sonic just went through. Sonic looked back to see what he left behind. Over in the distance were three, anthro-type Mobians, slowly approaching the place where Sonic and Tails are standing.
"Oh." said Sonic, chuckling. "Well, I did challenge them to keep up. Contrary to common belief, slow and steady DOESN'T win the race." Tails gave his hedgehog brother an elbow on the arm, as they both began to walk down the plateau and towards the nearby lake.
"Well, you know it's common for a reason." Tails remarked.
"Just because it's common, doesn't mean it's a guarantee, little bro." Sonic responded. "Being common just means it's a popular idea tossed around like trading cards."
"But it's not entirely about the abundancy. What really counts is the principle." explained Tails. "It encourages methods towards success, showing the value of patience and diligence."
"Perhaps so, but I know a way that works for me." Sonic added. "No time to think about what I have to do, I just have to do it."
"Right." said Tails. "That has been you, for many years now. Oh, look." the fox cub noticed three golden rings hanging in a row between two palm trees. He went up to them and picked each one off. "Let's split these. You can hold this one." Tails gave one of the golden rings to Sonic. Sonic held the ring in his hands, looking down on it with a smile. "It's a sign of however far apart we get, we'll get back together, no matter the pace."
"A fast pace is always nice." Sonic joked.
"I'll hold this one, as my sign of gratitude to our team." Tails declared. "It shows that i'll always be thankful for finding a family in you, in Uncle Chuck, and even better, making some great friends. Tiara, Jun, Flex, you guys have been cool. Nothing has been able to break our bond to this very day."
Sonic scratched the back of his head, smiling and blushing a bit. He had been with his little fox brother for a very long time at this point in time, raising him to be part of their team, but he was glowing red from the sound of Tails expressing such affection. There was only one ring left.
"This last one can go to the others, and together, we can point it towards the stars this Herigreen." Tails decided.
"Oh, you." said Sonic, red-faced. "I can barely stand this sentimentality- look out!" Sonic pushed Tails out of the way and got bumped by a ladybug-like Badnik. It was one of the Badniks that attacked the M.E.G.A. base on the other side of the island. The three rings scattered. "Hey, buddy! You mind watching where you're going?" he shouted, annoyed. Sonic then got a good look at this sudden troublemaker. "Huh, figures. You're one of that Robotnik dude's clunkers. Never seen any like you before."
The ladybug Badnik turned around to face Sonic, glaring with it's googly-eyes, intent on ramming the hedgehog. It dashed toward the blue boy, but the latter effortlessly dodged. With every attack it tried, Sonic sidestepped or jumped to avoid it. Then it tried to confuse Sonic by dashing around him in a circle, but the needlemouse was not going to fall for this. Sonic hit the Badnik with a breakdance kick, causing it to veer out of control. When it was vulnerable, the hedgehog jumped in the air, curled up into a ball, spun around vertically and dropped on the Badnik. He bounced off it's back and landed perfectly on the ground next to it. Right at that moment, the ladybug-bot menace exploded into motionless scrap. When the smoke cleared, a ball capsule emerged from the wreckage, carrying a tiny, blue, avian creature. Sonic and Tails recognized it.
"A flicky." said Sonic.
"Oh, that poor thing." said Tails, worried about the flicky's health. He picked up the capsule carrying the frightened creature. "This is a very tough containment unit. The explosion didn't damage it at all. What is this made of?"
"That's curious." Sonic remarked. "I'm used to these guys being fueled by things like flower seeds, or strange chemicals, or even sticks of light. Why fauna, all of a sudden?"
"Well, whatever the case, we've got more company." Tails commented, pointing out the arrival of more Badniks. A bunch of bee-bots were there, along with crab-bots. "Still need a workout?"
"Pretty much all the time, bro!" Sonic replied, with utmost certainty. He immediately sped towards the Badniks, taking out a bunch of bee-bots with his Spin Attack. He spun into crab-bots, destroying them, as well. More tiny creatures in ball capsules came out with every Badnik defeated. While Sonic was spinning along, some bee-bots at a higher altitude began firing heir stinger guns on him. He skillfully dodged the assault of bullets until Tails flew up to them and smashed each one with his twirling tails. Sonic gave his little brother a thumbs up for the assist.
"Watch out, Sonic!" Tails called out, alerting his big brother to what was behind him. It was a bunch of crab-bots, aiming their wide-open claws, ready to fire off a barrage of missiles. They shot at the hedgehog with extreme prejudice. The blasts of these projectiles weren't the biggest, but they were deadly all the same. Sonic was kept on his toes. Tails flew behind the crab-bots and broke them easily with his namesakes. When two of them pointed their missile claws at him, he flew up as they fired, causing them to hit themselves. The fox cub joined up with the blue hedgehog, as the Badniks kept on coming their way. More ladybug-bots joined the bee-bots and crab-bots.
"So, that bug wasn't alone." Sonic stated.
"No kidding, they've got us surrounded." said Tails, nervous.
"Good thing there's something I always adhere to." Sonic began to point out. "Never giving up. Tails, grab me." He held out his hand to Tails, and the fox nodded, giving him a lift into the air. Tails moved away from the Badniks quickly, as they opened fire on him. He got into position, making sure he was seeing the Badniks in a straight row. He then spun around to build up force and flung the hedgehog forward as hard as he could. Sonic entered his ball form, charging at the Badniks like a high-speed racing vehicle. His impact with the ladybug-bots and crab-bots caused them all to break apart and launch into the air, tearing up the airborne bee-bots, too. The entire row was cleared out. Sonic and Tails had won this fight. "Woo! That was tight!" the hedgehog hollered. "Though, I hate to admit I do have a few scratches."
All the small creatures trapped inside those robotic shells were freed. However, they were still crammed inside the ball capsules. Neither Sonic nor Tails had any idea how to break these things, when nothing, not even that final Spin Attack was able to bust the little ones out. Whatever it was that Robotnik made to contain the fauna of Mobius, it was some of the toughest material on the planet. They took a closer look at the ball capsule, looking for something they could touch to free the creatures inside.
"Is there anything?" Sonic asked. "A label? A button? Nah, probably no button. But, maybe some kind of thing you can push or pull?"
"Oh, I found something." Tails responded, realizing something. "I bet if I push this peculiar round spot here..." He had found a spot on one of the ball capsules that looked like a lid. Pushing it, he managed to make it come off, making an opening. The flicky inside instantly went outside the ball capsule, happy to be free. "This is it!"
"Neat!" Sonic yipped.
Together, they went through all the ball capsules they managed to free from their Badnik prisons, pushing all the lids and freeing every single small creature, including a bunch of sea creatures, and other kinds of avian creatures, and some land creatures. Once they freed the last little creature, they were really feeling like they got a workout.
"Hoo boy, I am just aching... for a chili dog with cheese and onions." said Sonic, hungry. "Probably should've had old uncle Chuck pack me some before we took off."
"Well, no use dwelling on missed opportunities." Tails remarked. "Hopefully, our friends will be catching up soon."
They walked around the grass-covered path until they reached a bridge. They crossed but, when out of the water below, a piranha Badnik jumped out and tried to bite them. Sonic, with his quick reflexes, noticed and kicked it away, destroying it and releasing another flicky by pressing the ball capsule's lid with his right index finger. It was very precise, like Sonic just knew where he had to tap it as it came out of the Badnik.
"Geez, what a persistent bunch." Sonic scoffed. He and Tails walked to the other side of the bridge, without any other difficulties. "I really like Emerald Hill. It's my kind of place to relax and explore."
"I've always wanted to study the legends behind this place." Tails added. "Did you know this place has been referred to as The Illusionary Island?"
"Is that a fact?" Sonic asked, intrigued.
"Yeah, it received that name because of a stone." Tails began. "A stone that basically ran an entire civilization back in ancient times. This stone was said to have granted all wishes, by taking a person's illusions and constructing a new reality for them based on their ideas. It was brought to the mortal plane by gods, hoping to bring happiness to this civilization. However, everything fell apart when the people went to war with another clan. There was ravenous hunger for the stone's limitless power, and when their desires got out of hand, the stone went out of control, bringing about an age of darkness. Because of this, the stone had to be sealed away in another realm, never to be used by any mortal being again. Along with that stone, all the realized illusions were taken away. Before you ask, I read this in a history book once."
"Wow, that's quite a hefty story." Sonic commented. "This stone kind of sounds like the Chaos Emeralds."
"Well, the Chaos Emeralds are mainly known to power things up." Tails noted. "Their purpose is to supply infinite energy enriched by people's thoughts. They can't bring your fantasies to life."
Just then, a lizard Badnik appears on a palm tree, like a chameleon, ready to shoot a mouth blast at the duo. Suddenly, it's destroyed by a ring-like weapon, which floats back to whoever threw it. It's a manx cat girl in a sporty red and green ensemble, with a grey harness on her torso and a yellow sash wrapped around her midsection. Her hair is wrapped up in a ponytail with a big, yellow bow on top and a couple of small bows of the same colour on the sides of her head. Sonic and Tails turn their head towards this character.
"Tiara!" Tails called out to the girl.
"Next time, pick a challenge that's feasible." Tiara, the manx, said, walking towards her allies. "You get too eager too easily, Sonic."
"Well, sorry, you're too slow." Sonic quipped.
"Well, sorry, you're too FAST." Tiara retaliated.
"She's got you there, blue." said a deep voice coming from the bridge. It was a big armadillo with a stern face and a pair of green and yellow shorts.
"If it's any compensation, I didn't ask to be so awesome, Flex." said Sonic, jokingly.
"It isn't." said the armadillo, named Flex.
A monkey approached Sonic, wearing a green and yellow martial artist uniform and carrying a triple staff.
"Hey, Jun." Sonic greeted.
"No offense, Sonic, but you need to be a little more considerate of the team." the monkey, Jun, advised. "I respect that you love all the freedom to wander the world we have now. Just try not to do anything else that could cause friction. We've always needed each other before, and I think we still do now."
"You're right." Sonic admitted. "But, looking at that horizon, I just want to really roam free, take it at my own pace, and not have to share the glory."
"Well, i'm certain you'll find it more fulfilling to experience the glory with us." said Tiara, confidently. "Now, as team leader, i'm going to make sure that the organization and cooperation of this group stays strong."
"Remind me." Sonic objected. "Why do you call yourself "team leader" again?"
"Who's the one who taught you guys the importance of attacking as a team rather than just one-by-one?" Tiara asked. "Who's the one who helped organize that strategic attack on those vigilant SWATbots? Who's the one who pulled our whole group together when we were seeking out that enemy hideout? And lastly, who's the one that thought to use all matter of objects in the vicinity, including some random rings, to jam an energy weapon?"
"You." Sonic answered. "I get it, but that all pretty much came down to pointing at things and telling us what to do."
"And i've always made it work, pal." said Tiara, so self-assured. "Only I have the responsibility of a team leader, and I don't plan to disappoint anyone."
"Hey Tia." said Tails. "Do you think you'll plan to join the Fighters' Fellowship?"
"Nah." Tiara replied, uninterested in the idea. "Too many politics involved. Boring! I'd rather we do things our way. Our own way."
"That I can definitely agree upon." Sonic agreed, nodding his head up and down. "Well guys, it looks like the pages of a new chapter are turning. It's a brand new day, with a brand new adventure for Sonic the Hedgehog."
Sonic, Tails, Tiara, Jun and Flex marched forward through Emerald Hill. What adventures lie ahead for them? How much closer will Doctor Ivo Robotnik get to his goals with the Chaos Radar in hand? Can the heroes get to the Chaos Emeralds first? What other people are fighting the Robotnik Regime and the Badnik Army out there? Find out next time on...
Sonic Synthesis