Sonic Haven Season 2 – Episode 8
Author's Note: I want to thank everyone who's ever reviewed a chapter. It means a lot to me that you do that. I also appreciate it when you tell me what you like the most and what you think I should work on. I know that I have struggled with setting up a scene in the past and it's something that I still need to work on. If you have advice, particularly if you have writing experience, then please let me know. And again, thank you for the reviews, it keeps me writing.
Scourge tapped his foot in annoyance. How long had it been now? They'd been waiting outside of Robotnik's base for what felt like forever! If it went on any longer he was pretty sure he'd snap!
The plan was that they would split up and one group would head up onto the roof to take care of the generator that was creating the barrier around the city. The other group, meanwhile, would wait for them to get in position, then slip into the building and get to the room where the generator was in an attempt to get access back to Scourge's dimension.
Scourge, since he knew both where the portal was and what it was like on the other side, had been put on team Rescue, albeit against his will. He wanted action! If he had it his way he'd go and take care of the S.W.A.T. Bots on the roof all by himself. He knew he could take 'em! I mean, come on! They couldn't be any tougher than the Guardians he'd faced back in his home dimension, could they?
Nevertheless, here he was, standing beside a couple of nerds, one of which was considerably overweight, the other far too weak to do anything himself, all of them waiting for a signal from the other group that would be completely lost without them. Oh, and there was the other green hedgehog too. What was his name again? Tyler right? Meh, it didn't really matter.
Finally, as if they'd had their fill of his misery, the other team sent the signal to move in. And so, not wasting any time, Scourge grabbed the other two who were standing right beside him and drug them inside at an impressive speed that probably would've clocked in at just under Mach one! Then he dropped them off, dashed back outside, grabbed Tyler, then dashed back inside at the same insane speed.
"So what now?" Scourge asked impatiently.
"Now we try to open the portal." Tails said as he motioned his head to the side to indicate what looked like a giant ring. "I take it that's the portal over there?"
"Yeah, that's it." Scourge said.
"Hang on, let me see if I can help." Tyler said, focusing on the Chaos Emerald in the chamber to their left. He jumped into the computer that was connected to the device and got to work trying to start up the dimensional portal.
Rotor ran over to the portal while Tails started examining the Chaos Emerald chamber and the computer systems that were hooked up to it in an effort to understand what exactly was going on. Rotor simply scratched his head in confusion. "I have no idea how this works. I think maybe quantum science is beyond me."
"Really..." Scourge said mockingly. "Maybe inter-dimensional travel is beyond a mechanic after all."
"Oh come on," Rotor complained, "I thought it would be mostly automated!"
Just then, Tyler jumped back out of the computer and landed right next to Rotor. "It kinda is." He said. "The switch is just not as obvious as you might think."
"Wait, you figured that out in the five seconds you were inside that thing?" Scourge asked as he shook his head in disbelief.
Tyler nodded. "Yep. It has to do with Supercomputers and the perception of time and reality while inside them... long story." He waved his hands to indicate he wasn't able to explain it at the time.
"Well, you're the one that seems to know about how this machine works," Tails started to say, "How do we get Sonic back?"
Tyler traced his eyes along the side of the machine and over to a console not too far from where Scourge was leaning against the wall. He pointed to the terminal. "There, on that console. It's a small blue lever that says 'engage' right below it."
Scourge leaned over slightly and examined the console, finally finding the lever that Tyler indicated to him. "Seems too easy..." He said skeptically. Nevertheless, he pulled the lever and waited.
Slowly, the disc in front of them started to spin and several lights came on around it to indicate that it was operational. Tyler moved in front of the disc and waited for the portal to open, mentally counting down the seconds until it opened. Just as it started to glow, he could feel the Chaos Energy flowing through the room and directly into the machine to power the inter-dimensional portal.
The feeling that surrounded him was intimidating; so much power coming from one small gem! He now realized that he didn't really know the limits of the Chaos Emerald's power after all. It was certainly more than he used when he jumped back and forth between the virtual world and the real one!
As the device reached top speed, Tyler realized that only moments had passed, though it felt like a couple of minutes. He paused; the device seemed like it was spinning slower than it had been. Odd... NO, wait! The Chaos Energy was manipulating time and space around him! Time was being stretched and space was being compressed to create a bridge between two worlds! Incredible!
The portal opened in front of him, revealing a devastated world on the other side. It seemed like the portal was about fifteen or twenty feet deep, even though the wall was right behind it; another illusion created by the bending of space, he thought. And there, standing on the other side of the portal, was a glowing yellow Sonic! He was right there!
"Sonic!" Tails yelled at normal speed. It was because of Tails' exclamation that Tyler realized time had returned to normal.
The yellow Sonic turned to face them, a purple cat held in his grasp. Scourge recognized his former teammate and dashed into action immediately!
He sprinted forward, dashing through the portal and tackling the yellow hedgehog without a second thought. But, as he landed atop the other, he was thrown to the side and into the wall with enough force to knock the wind out of him! He not only realized it wasn't Sonic, in spite of never having seen him, he knew who it was. A being made out of pure Anarchy Energy, another one of the seven Sons of Anarchy.
"Well well, looks like the two of us have something in common eh?" Scourge said as he took a deep breath. "This outta be fun!" He taunted with his right hand. "Come and get me."
"Be careful Scourge," Blaze coughed out of her sore throat, "He's more powerful than he looks..."
"Yeah yeah, I got it. Ok?" Scourge said sarcastically. Then he dashed out of the front door of the shop and out into the streets, slaloming between falling drops of acid rain as he sprinted through the city. Fleetway wasted no time, giving chase immediately.
Blaze turned and looked through the tunnel at the two individuals standing on the other side. "Can you hear me?" She asked in a near-shout.
"Yeah." Tails shouted back. "I'm Tails, this is Rotor." He paused, then got straight to the point. "Do you know where Sonic is?" He asked.
Blaze nodded. "Yes, he went to turn off a weather machine in an attempt to keep it from raining on us. He's in a factory not far from here."
Tails excitedly flew through the portal and landed next to Blaze only a moment later. "Where's the factory?" He asked excitedly.
Blaze stood up from her hiding spot and pointed out through the glass doors and to a factory over in the distance. "He was headed over there."
Tails opened his mouth to speak, then noticed the rain eating small holes in the various metal statues around town. He closed his mouth to think, then asked a question. "That's acid rain isn't it?"
Blaze nodded again. "Yes, we've had acid rain here for the last few years." She turned back to Tails to ask him a question in turn. "Is that a portal back to Sonic's dimension then?"
Tails smiled and replied: "Yeah, we opened it to get Sonic back home. We really need his help!"
"Yes, he told me what was going on over there, it doesn't sound good." She said.
Knack walked over to Tails and shook his hand. "Nice to meet ya mate. Name's Knack. Any chance can go back through the' and stay with you guys? Not much left he'." Knack said in his slightly broken English.
"Well, I guess we could use your help too." Tails said. "Head through the portal and talk to Rotor, he's the walrus with the backwards ball cap. He could probably use your help."
Knack nodded his head. "Roight."
Tails watched Knack jump through the portal, then turned back to Blaze. "So what needs to be done over here then?"
"Well, Sonic is turning off the weather machine." Blaze said. "Other than getting him, Tiara and Scourge to come back through the portal with us, nothing really."
Tails was taken aback. "You mean you don't need help stopping the acid rain problem or finding the other members of society to take to safety or make sure that they'll be safe here?"
"Nope." Blaze dropped her head. "This world is lost, it has been for years." Her tone was very solemn. She looked at Tails as she held back tears. "The longer we stay here, the more risk we run of losing someone else."
Tails could tell that she was thinking of something specific, so he tried his best to change her thoughts. "Hey, where's Tiara anyway?" He asked.
Blaze lifted her head, her thoughts clearing as she tried to focus. "Mighty." She called out.
Tails looked off to his right where he saw a red and black armadillo come into view. He had a very serious expression on his face.
"I haven't seen her since we ran in here to get out of the rain. I have no idea where she is." He said.
Blaze frowned. The Guardians hadn't come into the building, and it didn't seem like Fleetway had a chance to drag her away somewhere. Her eyes grew wide with realization. She ran over to the glass doors in the front of the store and peered out through the glass and beyond the rain to see Tiara running through the rain and holding a piece of metal shelving from inside the store over her head.
"I found her." Blaze said as she pointed out the door at the small figure running off into the distance toward the water vapor spewing factory.