As the sun rose, the ship was anchored out at sea. Chris and his friends and family, minus Sonic, were celebrating New Year's Day.
"Just a few minutes to go." Chuck said.
"This is the perfect way to start the new year!" Amy said.
"Yeah, much better than celebrating at midnight." Cream said.
"Celebrating the first sunrise of the new year - great idea, Mr. Tanaka." Ella said and gently elbowed him.
"Thank you." Chuck said.
"Get ready, guys. As soon as the sun comes up, we use our noisemakers." Chris said and removed a party popper from a box he was holding.
Everyone gathered round Chris to take party poppers except Cream and Cheese.
"Hold on, Chris! I think we should just wait for the sun instead because if we make too much noise, we might scare the sun away!" Cream said.
"Chaaaoo!" Cheese said.
"The sun isn't gonna get scared away, Cream." Chris said.
"Don't you worry one bit, dear. The sun will be happy to get such a nice welcome!" Vanilla said.
"Okay then. I'll take one." Cream said and headed over to Chris and claimed a party popper for herself.
"Sonic needs one too." Chris said and looked around. "Huh?" he said but Sonic was nowhere to be found.
"Try that way." Tails said and motioned to the sky.
There, sitting at the top of the ship, was Sonic herself. Obviously something is bugging her.
Meanwhile as the sunrise continued, Topaz was on an island relaxing on a beach chair at the beach on the phone with Rouge.
"I'm about to catch the first rays of the new year, Rouge." she said on the phone.
"Yuck. When I go on vacation, I'll pick someplace nice, like a dark cave." Rouge said over the phone.
"That doesn't sound very appealing to me."
At the White House Rouge had her feet up on the President's desk.
"I'm a bat. For me, a cave's the perfect place to hang out and chill." Rouge said on the radio.
"Well, hanging out in a hole is just plain depressing. Now I see why your social life's so dull." Topaz said over the phone and Rouge frowned.
Back on the cruise ship Tanaka held up his own party popper.
"Okay, let's get ready!" he said and everyone held up their party poppers. "You will pull the strings all together. I will give you a signal as soon as the sun comes over the horizon. A few seconds more..."
Back at the island Topaz slipped on her shades and prepared to watch the sunrise.
Back on the cruise ship.
"The sky is getting lighter... lighter... It's almost here..." Tanaka said and the sun started to rise. "Get ready... Go!"
In space the moon moved in front of the sun, creating an unprecedented solar eclipse.
On the island.
As the sky darkened, a surprised Topaz sat up in her beach chair.
On the cruise ship everyone sweatdrops.
"No way!" Chris said.
"What's that?" Amy asked.
They could see the moon obscuring the sun.
"What's going on?" Chris said.
"That doesn't look like the sun." Cream said.
"Chao-chao chao chao!" Cheese said.
Sonic sat up.
"What did he do?" she said.
"It looks like a solar eclipse." a scientist said.
At an observatory.
"Something's wrong. There isn't supposed to be an eclipse." the scientist said.
"That's the Egg Moon, sir!" another scientist said.
"Contact the President immediately!"
"Right!"
At the White House the President was seated at his desk, flanked by Christina and several agents. He was making a video call with an official.
"It's the Egg Moon?" the president said.
"Yes, sir. Dr. Eggman changed its orbit. He's created an artificial eclipse." the official said.
"I want to speak to that lunatic immediately!"
Then the door opened. Standing in the doorway were Eggman, Bocoe, and Decoe.
"Have no fear, Eggman's here!" Eggman said and all eyes turned to them.
"How did you pass security?!" Christina asked.
"I pretended I was a bar of soap and gave them all the slip." he said and they entered the office.
One agent picked up his radio.
"This is a Code Red alert." he said on the radio.
The other agent grabbed their guns and surrounded them.
"Freeze!" an agent said.
"Now hold on! I came here peacefully." Eggman said.
"Wait, men! Let's hear what he has to say." the president said.
The agents stood down, allowed Eggman to approach the President's desk.
"Mr. President, please believe me. I didn't move the Egg Moon on purpose." Eggman said.
"You mean you moved it accidentally."
"A solar storm affected the Egg Moon's control system. The Egg Moon went into a new orbit by mistake. I give you my solid word that this eclipse wasn't caused by me!"
"I don't believe you."
"Please, sir, I beg you to believe me! For I have a plan to make the sunshine return!"
"Well, we do need light desperately..."
"And I'm the man to deliver it, sir! If I don't, lock me away!"
"What should we do, sir?" Christina asked.
The President took a moment to think about it, while Eggman held his hands together and put on his most innocent-looking face.
"All right, I'll give you one chance." the president said and Eggman spread forth his hands.
"You won't regret this, Mr. President! My sunshine plan will leave you beaming!" Eggman said.
Later, the President and Eggman shook hands in front of the podium as the journalists took pictures.
On the island Topaz was packing up to leave the beach back on the phone with Rouge.
"My vacation's been totally ruined now!" she said on the phone.
"It's a good thing you're a hothead. You don't need the sun to keep you warm." Rouge said over the phone.
Elsewhere, Rouge was flying freely through the air.
"What could be better for a bat than a planet that's dark every day? This'll do wonders for my night life. Girlfriend, I'm flying high!" she said on the phone.
On the cruise ship Cream and Cheese were crying.
"I told you we shouldn't make all that noise! The sun did get scared and now it's hiding!" Cream said.
"Please don't cry, Cream dear. I'm sure the sun will come back soon. This eclipse surely won't last long." Vanilla said.
Sonic watched the eclipse with a grim expression.
'He's doing something.' she thought.
On the White House Eggman was hosting a press conference with three other men.
"We want some answers!" Journalist 1 said.
"How long will it take you to correct the Egg Moon's orbit and end the eclipse?" Journalist 2 asked.
"I have bad news for you. The damage to the Egg Moon will be difficult to repair. For the moment, it will be impossible to move the Egg Moon." Eggman said.
"Are you telling us this eclipse will continue indefinitely?" a journalist asked and Eggman twiddled his fingers.
"I'm sure I'll come up with a solution eventually, but I'm afraid it's going to take time. I'll have to write new software and run tests. Where I to act in haste, the consequences could be catastrophic."
"But without sunshine, the planet will freeze!"
Eggman stood up.
"I won't let it freeze! I can provide you with plenty of heat and light because I've invented an artificial form of sunshine!"
"Artificial sunshine?"
"Just you wait and see. This is my brightest idea ever."
A rocket launch site.
An Eggman-themed rocket is being prepared to launch. Decoe and Bocoe are standing among the personnel.
"All systems are go." Navigator 1 said.
"Roger!" Decoe said.
"We're alls set for launch." Navigater 2 said.
"Prepare for countdown!" Bocoe said.
"Hold it! You can't start yet!" someone said.
Bokkun flew in with his TV.
"This better be important, Bokkun." Bocoe said.
"I've got a message for ya! Dr. Eggman has something personal to say!" Bokkun said.
Eggman appeared on the screen.
"I have faith in you two." Eggman said.
"Thank you!" they said together.
"Why would he have faith in you two? You mess up every time!" Bokkun said.
"But mess up this time, and I'll dismantle you both with my bare hands and sell you piece by piece on the Internet!" Eggman said.
"He certainly has a unique management style." Bocoe said.
"Yes. If his workers fail, he destroys them." Decoe said.
"Do you really think he'll get rid of us?"
"Only if he felt like it."
"We will not fail!"
"Is that actually a possibility?"
"Attention launch groups!"
"Proceed with countdown!" Decoe said. "Five!"
"Four!"
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
"Lift off!" they said together and the rocket took off and entered the upper atmosphere of Earth.
Once there, it ejects its primary thrusters and extends four small fins around its secondary thrusters before continuing on its trajectory toward the moon. Soon, it arrives.
The rocket's forward thrusters allow it to slow to a complete stop.
An umbrella-like part at the front of the rocket opens and begins to expand.
The rocket, now a satellite, tilted until it reflected the sun's light toward the earth. The satellite's cone channeled the sun's light toward the earth. The light beam started to power a tower that had been set up. A technician started reading the power level.
"The system's power storage is now at 10% of full capacity and rising steadily." the technician said.
Across Station Square, people watched the coverage of the eclipse.
At Chuck's lab Chris and his family and friends were watching the news as well.
"For several days now, the endless eclipse has blocked all sunlight from reaching our planet. But thanks to the work of Dr. Eggman, our world will soon be bathed in a new form of light." Scarlet said then was handed a paper. "And now a brief message from our sponsor."
The TV cut to a commercial, showing the words "Eggman TV Shopping".
"Are you feeling bad because it's always night? Eggman TV Shopping helps you see the light!" Decoe and Bocoe said.
The commercial then showed Eggman, Bocoe, and Decoe in a sunny environment.
"Living in the dark is not only depressing and a public safety hazard, but is bad for your lawn too! The solution..." Eggman said then left the screen and Bocoe and Decoe pulled the cover off of an object, revealing a spherical object on a pole.
"Ta-daa!" they said and Eggman returned to the screen.
"It's the Sunshine Ball! Thanks to my new invention, even the dingiest darkness can now be filled with luscious luminosity." Eggman said as Chris appeared surprised, but Sonic impassively looked on.
"If you call within the next twenty minutes, you can take advantage of our special offer. New customers are eligible for free delivery, and installation is half-price." Bocoe said.
"I wish I could offer installation for free also, but the robot union won't let me." Eggman said and bowed. "Sorry about that." he said and Decoe and Bocoe waved.
"Hey! We robots have to pay for oil, you know!" Decoe said.
"Call to order your Sunshine Ball today." Bocoe said.
"Our operators are standing by."
In Station Square Eggman was flooded with callers from all over the city.
Meanwhile at Chuck's lab.
"You better call soon." Decoe said on TV.
"The Sunshine Ball is selling out." Bocoe said on the TV.
"What'll we do?" Chris asked.
"Well, I miss the sun." Chuck said.
"I ironed out the laundry days ago, and it still isn't dry. A Sunshine Ball will sure be handy." Ella said and Tanaka nodded.
"I agree." Tanaka said.
"We should call for one right away." Chuck said.
'I know what he's doing.' Sonic thought then got up and started to leave the lab.
"Hey, Sonic..." Chris said but she left without saying a word.
"Sonic isn't sure this is a good idea. I don't think she trusts Dr. Eggman very much." Tails said.
"If we don't trust Dr. Eggman, we may have to live in the dark forever." Amy said.
"Maybe so, but how do we know Eggman is telling us the truth?" Chris said.
"He sounds like he's sincere to me."
"Who else would he make Sunshine Balls?" Tails said.
"I guess you're right..." Chris said and looked up to the screen, where he saw Eggman, Decoe, and Bocoe swamped with callers.
"Yes sir, your Sunshine Ball will be delivered to you right away. Tired of the dark? Then let the Sunshine Ball light up your day!" Eggman said.
Meanwhile Sonic was running through a field, clearly determined to do something.
"I have the powers Shadow has now. If I have to I'll use those." she said.
At Helen's house Decoe and Bocoe were installing a Sunshine Ball on top of the house. They soon finished screwing the device into place.
"Steady now..." Bocoe said.
"It is wobbly." Decoe said.
"We have to attach it to the base."
"Roger."
"Turn it clockwise... Keep going... A few more turns and we will be done."
"This certainly is hard work."
"We should ask for a raise. ... Your Sunshine Ball is all set!"
"We are ready to test it out now."
The Sunshine Ball started to glow brightly, bathing the area in a day-like warmth and glow, aweing Helen and her parents.
"It feels so warm. And best of all, the light is almost as bright as real sunshine." Helen said.
Meanwhile, Knuckles watched from a nearby cliff.
"It seems like Robotnik is trying to help everybody. Can he really be trusted? I guess we don't have a choice?" he said to himself.
All across Station Square, Sunshine Balls illuminate the otherwise darkened city. Bocoe and Decoe have gotten down from the roof of Helen's house.
"Everybody should have a Sunshine Ball. Thank you!" Helen said.
"Sounds like another glowing recommendation!" Decoe said.
They glanced at each other while beaming and laughing. Soon, they drove away.
"You know, it feels wonderful to help others. My circuits are filled with positively-charged energy!" Bocoe said.
"We should do this all the time!" Decoe said.
At the Mayor's office protesters had gathered in the Mayor's office appearing to be led by Jerome.
"I represent people on the west side of the city. Why don't we have Sunshine Balls yet?" Jermone asked.
"It'll take time to light the whole city." the Mayor said.
"Do you expect us to live in the dark forever? We demand our Sunshine Balls now!"
The protesters crosstalk.
"Let's discuss this calmly."
"If we don't get Sunshine Balls in the next twenty-four hours, we'll march to the east side and take 'em!" Jerome said.
Soon the decision was brought before the Senate.
"Mr. Speaker, my constituents demand their Sunshine Balls immediately!" Senator said. "Now hold on! The big cities have to be taken care of before any rural area."
"Quiet, please. Order, everybody." Chairman said and banged his gavel.
In Eggman's new base, built into the side of a mountain, Bokkun was answering several phones at once.
"Hello? ... Please hold! ... Yes? ... One moment... We're a little backed up right now! We'll get there as soon as we can! Thanks for calling!" he said and dropped the phones. "Hey! Dr. Eggman!"
"Consumer demand is greater than I expected. We'll need another mirror tower to produce more artificial sunshine." Eggman said.
"Maybe the President can help us out!"
So Eggman dialed the President's number.
"Yes? This is the President speaking." the president said over the phone.
"It's Dr. Eggman calling, Mr. President. Can the government get me some free land to build another Mirror Tower? With all the demand for Sunshine Balls, our business is blazing!" Eggman said on the phone.
"Of course, Doctor! Whatever you need."
"All I can say is "Hail to the Chief!"." he said and laughed.
At Station Square Jerome and the protesters had gathered around a Sunshine Ball set up in the park.
"Ah... We don't have to live in the dark anymore!" Jerome said.
"It's not as bright as real sunlight..." grandpa said.
"...but it sure beats not being able to see when you go outside." grandma said.
Back at Eggman's base.
"You don't say." Eggman said on the phone.
"A major crisis has been averted thanks to you, Doctor. You're truly a hero!" the president said over the radio.
"A hero? You mean just like Sonic?"
"That's right."
Bokkun was surprised.
"I've never been a hero before. Having a squeaky clean image could help me get a lot of dirty work done." Eggman said to himself.
Meanwhile several more Mirror Towers have been built around the vicinity of the first one. Sonic watched them.
"You may have everybody else fooled, Buttnik, but not me. You say you've built these towers to make sunshine, but you're keeping everybody in the dark about your real plan. But I know what you're up to." she said and ran toward one of the Mirror Towers, then executed a spin-dash, destroying it. "And I'll do whatever it takes to stop you."
At Helen's house Helen and her mother were planting flowers under the heat and light of the Sunshine Ball.
"Don't forget to water them." her mom said.
Suddenly, the Sunshine Ball turned off.
"Our Sunshine Ball went out. What do we do now?" Helen asked.
Meanwhile all over Station Square, Sunshine Balls turned off, plunging the city into darkness once again. Knuckles was in the city when this happened.
"What's wrong?" he said. "Hmmm. Maybe Sonic is doing something to them?"
He knew Sonic didn't trust him and Knuckles would be by her side in a heartbeat but also knew this was the best they had.
Outside Thorndyke Manor Ella had been hanging her laundry.
"Without those Sunshine Balls, we're all washed up!" she said.
In Chuck's lab Chris, Chuck, Amy, Tails, Cream, and Cheese were watching the latest report.
"I'm coming to you live from Eggman's emergency press conference. The doctor has prepared a statement on the blackout." Scarlet said.
Eggman was being publicly interviewed.
"Today a Mirror Tower collapsed, which overloaded the power grid and caused the system to shut down. We are doing everything we can to repair the damage quickly, and we hope to turn the lights back on in a few more hours." he said.
"Do you know why the Mirror Tower collapsed?"
"We are investigating now."
"Sonic..." Chris said.
"What did you say?" Tails asked.
"Oh, it was nothing... Nothing much..." Chris said. "She'd never do something like that... would she?" he said to himself.
At the White House.
"I don't believe it!" the president said.
The President, Christina, Topaz, Rouge, and a few aides were watching footage of Sonic's rampage.
"Are you sure that this isn't a mistake?" he asked.
Rouge was thinking about Sonic and Eggman's history and wondering if she knew something they didn't.
"We're positive, sir. I'll zoom in for a close-up." Aide said and zoomed into Sonic.
"It is Sonic. How could she?!"
"Sonic can be wild sometimes, but committing sabotage isn't in her character." Christina said.
"But Sonic can't stand Dr. Eggman. They have a bit of a history from who knows how long or where it came from. I'd bet my wings that she knocked down that Mirror Tower out of jealousy." Rouge said.
"What are you talking about?" Topaz asked.
"We have all the proof that we need right on that video. Eggman is trying to help us, but Sonic still thinks of him as the enemy. She resents that we're working with Eggman." Rouge said. "I heard that only five people know about their history. But we only know Sonic and Eggman know. We don't know who the other three are or how they know."
"That's ridiculous!"
"You're suggesting Sonic caused a worldwide blackout because Eggman's on our side now?" the president said.
"Who knows." Rouge said.
"We should release the tape now, sir. The public must be informed that Sonic is a danger!" Christina said.
The President buried his face in his hands. Then the Third Aide took a phone call.
"Hello, this is the President's office..." P.T.A. said on the phone. "Sir, we have an emergency! We just lost another Mirror Tower!" he said shocked off the phone.
"We have to do something!" the president said.
"Do you want me to inform the media, sir?" Christina asked.
"Yes. Give them the tape."
At Station Square the video was shown to the public.
"There's been a late-breaking development in the Mirror Tower case. A video tape just released by the government shows the towers being destroyed by Sonic the Hedgehog!" Scarlet said.
Back in Chuck's lab.
"What? No way!" Chris said and stood up.
"Sonic doesn't do things like that! It has to be a mistake!" Cream said.
"Yeah, I'd bet ya that video is a fake." Tails said.
Then Tanaka appeared in the entrance.
"An unruly mob is gathering outside the mansion!" Tanaka said.
"Wonderful." Chuck said.
Meanwhile Jerome and the protesters were gathered outside the gates.
"We want Sonic! We want Sonic! We want Sonic! We want Sonic!" protesters said.
Chris and the others were gathered just outside their door to watch.
"What'll we do? It sounds like they're really angry with Sonic. What made Sonic do something so crazy?" Chris said.
"Sonic got pretty upset when she saw Eggman on TV." Tails said.
"So you think she did it just because she didn't want Dr. Eggman to be a hero? That's an awful thing to say!" Amy said.
"But what other explanation could there be?"
"I'm sure he had a good reason." Chris said.
"Then why didn't she tell anybody?"
"They're breaking through!" Ella said.
The protesters were already climbing the gates. Amy raced toward them, hammer drawn.
"Don't worry! Nobody's gonna get past me!" she said.
"Come back! You're only gonna make the situation worse if they see you're attacking!" Chuck said and she stopped.
"What else can we do?" she asked and he raced toward the protesters.
"Let me try to resolve this peacefully!"
"Grandpa!" Chris said and started after him.
With one mighty push, the protesters broke the gate down and stormed toward the mansion.
"Get Sonic now!" they said.
"Can't we talk about this?!" Chuck asked and he and Amy were caught up in the stampede.
Tanaka raced toward them.
"Leave them alone or you will face me!" he said but was trampled too.
"Calm down, everybody!" Chris shouted out.
At the Mirror Towers the police were set up around the Mirror Towers as Sonic ran toward one of them.
"Sonic is charging the tower! What are we supposed to do, pull her over for speeding?" an officer said on the radio.
"Do whatever it takes to stop her." officer said over the radio.
"But how? Sonic is too fast for us!" the other officer said then Sonic leapt clear over the officers and destroyed the Mirror Tower anyway, covering the officers in ashes. "Uh... My kids all look up to Sonic. How in the world am I gonna explain to them that she's become a bad guy now?"
Outside Thorndyke Manor Chuck, Chris, Amy, and Tanaka were being trampled by the protesters.
At Eggman's base.
"After all these years Sonic's finally showing her true colors." Eggman said. "This will be fun."
Bocoe and Decoe entered carrying something covered in a red sheet.
"Doctor, now that you're the hero..." Decoe said.
"...it's time to make a change." Bocoe said and Eggman leaned forward expectantly as his hench-bots removed the cover.
"Ta-daa!" Bocoe and Decoe said.
"I love it!" Eggman said. "Join us next time on Eggman X when the universe's greatest super genius finally put the brakes on that spineless speedster Sonic the scuzbag!" he said and laughed heartily.