Chapter 45: Lucky

In Casino Park, which was a special city where gambling was legal in the United Federation, Sonny Miles and Chuck were walking down an empty street with neon signs and buildings flashing all around them while a night sky was barely visible.

"Ugh, I can't believe I had to fight Amy over some stupid misunderstanding," Sonny groaned.

"But at least we won the battle," Chuck said patting Sonny's back.

"And they believe we didn't steal their friends so they'll probably stop following us," Miles added.

"Yeah, but I feel terrible," Sonny sighed.

"Maybe a little gambling will cheer you up," Chuck responded waving his hand over all the buildings before them. "We've got this whole place to explore and who knows? Maybe you'll get lucky."

"Chuck, we don't have time for that," Miles said irritably. "At this rate, we've only got one more day before Dr. Eggman unleashes his Ultimate Weapon onto the world."

"Wait a second," Sonny said abruptly. "Doesn't it seem odd to you that we're the only people walking about?"

"Maybe everyone's inside the casinos and hotels," Chuck said shrugging his shoulders.

"Let's investigate," Miles said and walked into the nearest building that said 'Bingo Highway' with Sonny and Chuck behind him.

###

"Are you sure this is good idea, Amelia?" Crème said nervously. "My mom won't like it if I told her we went to Casino Park."

"Then she doesn't have to know," Amelia said. "Amy told Sonic she believed him so he'd be satisfied, but we're both still suspicious."

"I want to go to Bingo Highway," Biggs said, pointing up at the sign to a nearby building. "That looks fun."

"Yes, it does," Crème said, then she noticed three familiar figures walking in. "And I think I saw Sonny walk in with his friends."

"Really? Then let's go!" Amelia said and led the charge.

###

"Amazing," Shawn muttered, looking at all the neon-signs. "I never knew Mobius had such spectacular places. If only my sister were here to see this."

Rouge Baxter suddenly chuckled. "Don't tell me you were raised onboard the Space Colony ARK for the majority of your life?"

"I was, since I was four," Shawn replied hesitantly.

"No way," Rouge responded as her eyes widened. "It must've been lonely and boring up there."

"Not entirely," Shawn answered. "I had my sister, my grandfather, and a boy who used to play with us."

"What was the boy's name?"

"I can't remember, but I think his last name was…Baxter, or something like that."

"Did this boy happened to have albino hair with one red eye while the other was blue?"

"Yeah," Shawn said looking at Rouge. "How did you know?"

"He's my father."

"Oh, uh, I see." Shawn turned away and blushed slightly. "It's funny how I'm not only a guy from a different time but also a freak with weird powers."

"Hey, you're not a freak," Rouge said putting a hand on Shawn's shoulder.

In response, Shawn sighed. "That's what my grandfather used to say to cheer me up, even though my parents feared me when they found out."

"That's harsh."

"It also didn't help that I was…adopted."

After a brief pause, Rouge said, "So your sister wasn't related to you?"

Shawn shook his head. "My parents adopted me when I was an infant because they wanted a kid without having to necessarily…make love. But four years later my ability to warp to different places manifested, which frightened them immensely and so they had Marie, my sister by adoption. They'd hoped she would be their 'normal' child, but they were wrong. She was diagnosed with NIDS after she had been born. Then my adopted mother died of birth complications, and my adopted father was killed in a car accident, which led to Professor Gerard taking me and Marie up to the ARK where we were raised in isolation from the world below us."

"Well, that's certainly more tragic than my childhood," Rouge responded awkwardly. "My mother died when I was really young, and so my dad raised me. He was very strict, overprotective, and extremely pushy. He's lightened up over the years, but I still feel like he doesn't trust me and keeps his secrets to himself. It was only recently that I learned about his involvement with the ARK, which was tragic in of itself, but it made me question his moral standards and so I ran away."

"What happened?"

Before Rouge could answer, Omega flew down from the skies and landed in the middle of the empty road with a loud boom.

"Geez, Omega, couldn't you have made your entrance a little quieter?" Rouge said sarcastically. "You could've woken up the whole town."

"We must make our way to Bingo Highway at once," Omega said pointing to a building with a large pinball-shaped track on top of it. "I saw Dr. Eggman's robots up there when I was searching the skies, and so it is only logical to assume that Dr. Eggman is there as well."

"All right, then let's get going," Rouge said as she changed into Rouge the Bat once more. "By the way, why are you calling your creator by the name of the spirit that possesses him instead of his actual name which is Dr. Robotnik?"

"That was the name he told me to call him by," Omega answered as he took off into the sky.

"I see," Rouge said, picking up Shawn and following Omega.

###

"Eggman has to be here," Espen said, looking at the buildings suspiciously. "There aren't any people walking about, and all the hotels and restaurants we've passed appear to be empty."

"But we haven't tried Bingo Highway yet," Charles said, pointing to the building. "Wanna check it out?"

"Sure," Victor said, taking the Yellow Chaos Emerald he had found at Seaside Hill out of his sweatshirt pocket. "I'm feeling lucky tonight."

"If we are going to gamble, Victor, don't wager the Chaos Emerald," Espen scolded. "It's too valuable to give away for multiple reasons."

"Then we'll just use it as a last resort," Charles said. "Now let's get in before the slot machines close."

As Charles led the way, Victor followed behind while Espen took up the rear.

###

"I should've known you would be here, Eggman," Sonic said standing on a neon-blue platform with Tails and Knuckles on either side of him. "Running away to a town full of gamblers sounds just like you."

Up above, Eggman laughed inside his floating Egg Mobile. "Well, now that you've found me, you'll have to die of course!"

With a wave of Eggman's right hand, dozens of robots appeared out of thin air and surrounded Sonic and the boys on all three sides.

In response, Sonic smirked. "Nice trick, Eggman. You should teach me that after the show."

"I'm afraid the show's not going to end till you've dropped, boys," Eggman responded. "Now dance for me!"

The robots immediately started firing their guns and lasers, but Sonic and the boys quickly dodged them and tore their way through until every single robot was nothing but a pile of scrap metal. However, Eggman just waved his hand again and more robots appeared. This continued several more times till Sonic and the others had demolished every single robot Eggman threw at them.

Curling his hand into a fist, Eggman flew off in his Egg Mobile saying, "You may have won this time, but I've still got the upper-hand. Midnight has passed, so you only have one more day to stop me from unleashing my Ultimate Weapon!"

As Eggman turned his back to them, Tails flew up in the air and threw something at the bottom of the Egg Mobile.

"What did you do, Tails?" Knuckles asked.

"I planted a tracking device on the Egg Mobile," Tails answered, taking out a small device with a beeping dot in the center of it. "Now we can follow Dr. Eggman to the location of his Ultimate Weapon more easily."

"Good job, Tails," Sonic said excitedly. "Now let's get moving!"

To be continued…