Aleena and Sonic both stood together in their battle stance as they began to strike Robotnik. The scientist dodged and countered with a punch to the back of the blue hedgehog's head and an elbow to the queen's back. The queen and crowned prince made another run but it was useless as he had superior skills in fighting. After time however, they began to understand his movement. Few attacks were able to hit but so did their opponent. Robotnik was able to land a strong hit onto Sonic's weak shoulder joint which did more damage, but was still operational. Sonic was able to get a lucky punch to the gut and pushed him away to gain some ground. Aleena was able to kick him backward and further weaken him. Robotnik growled in response,
"You meddling hedgehogs! Don't you realize that children destroy toys like us? We'll all be ruined and forgotten!"
"It's over, Robotnik." Aleena said in a serious tone.
"Yeah, sounds like you need to learn the true meaning of Playtime!" Sonic added.
"The same could be said to your mother, she never even reached the shelves before she was recalled!"
The two hedgehogs froze the moment this revelation was revealed. Sonic looked back to his mother as he saw the sadness start to show on her face. Never reached the shelves… recalled?… what actually happen-
"Sonic! Look out!" Aleena shouted to bring her son out of his daze. But it was too late, before Sonic realized he was still in a battle, a strong punch to his face caused him to lose his balance. He flung backwards and flipped as he hit the wall over the ledge just like Tails!
"SONIC!" Aleena shouted.
She rushed to the barrier and tried to look for her son, but stopped abruptly when a red model biplane flew upward with the same fox and pink hedgehog she saw before at the apartment controlling it. A smile appeared on her face as she saw Sonic safe and sound on one of the wings of the plane.
"Thanks for the save, little buddy!" He said to his fox pilot.
Tails nodded, "Now let's get this bully!"
Sonic nodded back and jumped down onto the conveyor. He slowly approached Robotnik with a serious glare which sent a slight chill down his spine. In response, he slowly moved a few steps back while trying to keep his composure. Then, he felt himself bump into something, or someone. He turned around and caught a glimpse of a taller black hedgehog before a punch was thrown into his face which sent him spinning the other direction before falling onto the ground unconscious.
"Ha ha! Nice shot, Shadow!" Sonic cheered.
He ran to rival and saw the others show up as well. Tails landed the biplane on stationary ground at the end of the belt and rushed to the front as they all cheered as they were able to save their friend, but Sonic realized that there was something he still needed to do.
"Hey, guys. How about we show Ro-butt-nik what it's actually like to be a toy?"
This question confused some of the others but they soon got the picture. They carried the unconscious dictator to a nearby pink bag that was about to be unloaded back at the terminal. Soon after it did, Robotnik slowly woke up and realized where he was. He went stiff as he saw a little girl getting close and picked up the bag.
"Look! A big ugly man toy! I think he needs a makeover!" She spoke and placed a girl doll next to him.
The little girl placed the bag on her back and started walking. Robotnik began to panic as his only escape had now been lost.
"Hey, you'll love Sarah," she turned her head which revealed all kinds of drawings or makeup on the other side of her face. Robotnik gasped at the horrors of it all.
"She's an artist." The doll smiled.
Robotnik decided to show his upset feelings and began to cry as he was being taken away by a young child. Sonic and Aleena saw the whole exchange as they laughed at his defeat.
"Sayonara Buttnik!" He mocked.
"Sonic!" Amy called out.
"Help us out here!" Knuckles scolded.
They both turn around and see the two holding the case open while Blaze and Silver were helping Sleet and Dingo out. Manic was peeking out and trying to break free.
"Oh no, Sibs!" Sonic yelled.
He ran as fast as he could to the case with Aleena close behind. He makes it to help his younger green brother out, but he hasn't calmed down just yet.
"Sonia! She's stuck under all the foam!" he cried.
Aleena quickly spun around and jumped into the mess of foam insulation.
"Mom!" They both screamed.
After Aleena dug deep into the mess, they were about to follow her in while others started to take out the foam themselves. But then, a purple gloved hand breached the top trying to reach for something above. Sonic immediately grabbed her hand and with the help of his brother, he was able to pull their sister free from her cage and Aleena soon followed. Sonia was on the ground trying to catch her breath like she had been choking on air. Her two brothers were next to her just giving comfort. Aleena was still in the case holding it open while everyone else just watched, not knowing how to help them.
"I… I couldn't get out… I-" She stuttered.
"Shh… It's ok, sis. You're safe." Manic soothed.
After a few moments of silence, Tails looked behind them all and saw the end of the conveyor belt with a wide open chute to the outside. In a slight hurry, he approached the triplets to give them the warning.
"Um, guys? I think we should get out of here, we're near the end of the belt."
"Right, it's all over now." Sonic sighed. "Come on, everyone. Let's go home…"
After helping Sonia back to her feet. Sonic and Manic lead the entire group towards the front in order to get back home. Aleena was the last to follow as she had slight difficulty in all the foam. But as soon as she jumped out of the case, nothing was holding the lid open and slammed shut on her cape attachment and locked itself! She tried to reach the locks herself but her limited range prevented her from reaching it.
"Wait! Help, I'm stuck!" She cried.
All eyes snapped to her and Sonic acted almost on complete instinct as he darted past his friends and tried to free his mother. Because of his instinct, he just tried to pull her free instead of unlocking the case. Even if he tried to unlock the case, there wasn't enough time to do so.
"Sonic! Watch out!" Amy yelled.
The case was just about to drop down the chute, but Sonic didn't listen. Aleena did however and at the last second, she pushed her son into his best friend next to the red biplane on solid ground to save him from the fall as she faced it herself.
"NO!" He screamed.
The case slid down the angled chute and landed on rollers to the very end where a baggage handler was placing luggage away on his vehicle. Aleena noticed him approaching and went stiff in place as the man unlocked the case and threw her inside and relocked the case! Everyone stood in shock and horror, even the triplets couldn't believe what they had just seen.
"Mother… No…" Sonia whispered. She clung onto Manic as she started to cry. Manic tried to stay strong, but his own feelings started to break through.
"I- I don't believe it… It's just like the show all over again…"
Sonic only stood there looking down with wide eyes as the case carrying his mother was being placed on a carrier about to be taken to the plane.
"Mom…" he whispered.
Was he too late? Did he not try hard enough to save everyone? Was he… Too slow? How is he going to save his own mother now? There's no way he could get to them fast enough before the luggage arrives at the plane. Unless…
Sonic's eyes changed to a determined expression as he set aside his shock and ran to the biplane. Tails and the others were confused on what he was doing until he jumped onto the left wing.
"Come on, Tails!" He gestured to the pilot seat and Tails immediately caught on.
"But Sonic, I don't have any runway for the plane to take off!" He argued.
Sonic pointed down the angled chute as he countered that point, "Yeah we do!"
"That's crazy, Sonic! You could get hurt!" Amy scolded.
Sonic growled in frustration and was tired of delaying, "We don't have time for this! I need to save her! But I need your help, please! Are you with me?"
He held out his hand to extend his plea, hoping they would agree and help. Tails was hesitant but when he saw the cart start to move, he looked back at his best friend with a smirk and jumped in. He started the propeller and nodded to Sonic to indicate he's ready.
"Hold on!" Amy ordered.
Both were confused as they saw their pink friend climb on the opposite wing and readied herself.
"You're gonna need someone on the other side to balance the plane out. Are we ready?"
Sonic smirked and wiped his nose just like his modern self and chuckled.
"Alright, Let's juice!"
Tails started the plane forward as it moved onto the conveyor then the drop. The plane began to increase speed but was not ready to fly just yet. The rollers at the bottom were getting closer, a bit too close for comfort.
"Any time, Tails!" Amy rushed.
"Hang on!" Tails yelled as he lifted the controls hard.
Just as they were about to reach the bottom, the wheels began to float above the ramp. A second later, they were airborne and flying steadily. The others cheered from behind as they flew before they couldn't be heard any more. Sonic smirked and pointed onward.
"Now let's catch up to that carrier!"
"Aye, sir!"
Tails flew the plane closer and closer but he had to keep it low so as to not blow their cover to anyone else nearby. He reached the far end of the trailers and Sonic took this opportunity to hitch a ride.
"Tails, get me closer!"
Tails agreed and got close to one of the suitcases next to them. Sonic hesitated but one final breath later, he jumped and latched onto a tag off of one of the handles. Because of the sudden jump, it caused an imbalance of the wings and Tails lost control!
"WOAH!" he screamed.
Amy wasn't better, she was left hanging for dear life as the plane made a very sharp right turn.
"GUYS!" Sonic yelled.
"SONIC!" Amy cried back.
Still hanging onto the tag, he saw them slowly fly away from him. He wanted to help, but he mustn't forget the task at hand. He quickly grabbed onto the handle and began to climb upward to the roof of the carrier. Once at the top, he saw a clear view of his surroundings and saw his target. The case was sitting on top of all the luggage waiting to be taken. He got on his feet and started running towards the front. A sizable gap approached in his path, so he jumped over it and landed a bit hard on the roof of the next car. Once again, he got up and did it again. This time, he stayed on his feet.
He was running out of time as the airliner to Tokyo got closer, they were almost next to it! He made one last jump into the heap of baggage and was just inches from reaching Aleena. However, the cars stopped abruptly and the case was taken away from him just as his hands reached the locks. He risked a glance above the surface and saw the baggage handler place it on another conveyor to the cargo hold of the plane.
"Here's the rest!" He yelled into his headset.
Sonic panicked, he looked around for anything he could use to get inside. He gasped as he saw a slightly open zipper pocket in someone's bag. He climbed inside and sealed himself in. Then, he felt the bag being taken on board. With a hard swing, he was thrown inside. The impact damaged his shoulder even more, soon it won't do him any good. He unzipped the pocket and got out. He looked all around for his goal and found it just several feet away. He jumped to his feet with a jolt and ran to unlock it one more time.
Once the locks were clear he was able to lift the cover off and see his mother lying down before her eyes opened and widened in confusion when she saw her son!
"Excuse me, M'lady. But what is a queen like you doing on a commoner's flight?"
"Sonic!" Aleena cheered as she got up and hugged Sonic with relief.
"Come on, mom. It's time to go home." The blue hedgehog soothed.
"But…" Aleena paused, letting go of him for just a moment. "What if Scott doesn't accept me?"
"Nonsense! He'll love you! Besides," He smirked, "You think he's not gonna have the mother of his favorite hedgehog?" He extended his hand towards his mother for her to take.
Aleena giggled for a moment at the question, "Fair point."
She took his hand and Sonic guided her past all the boxes and suitcases towards the door. They hid behind another case as one of the workers stopped and waved down others as he walked down.
"Hold it! We have a few more bags from the terminal!" He shouted.
"Ok, mom. On three… one… two-"
Just before he could get out to freedom, the hatch to the hold shut tight right in front of them! After that, the sound of a large engine starting pierced their plastic ears as the lights died out entirely. Sonic began to panic, how are they going to escape a plane that is sealed air tight?
"This is bad…"
"How are we going to get out of here now?" Aleena feared.
He tried to think of something and fast, but nothing came to mind. His ears took him out of thinking when he heard something other than the engines of the plane. A new light source appeared and caught his attention as well. It seemed to be originating near the front, next to the case he just freed his mother from.
"Over there, come on!" Sonic rushed.
They both arrived at a hatch and its window showed the landing gear… and the moving ground.
They were moving! They must be reaching a runway soon. The hatch had a lever below the window and Sonic pulled it up and tried to twist it with the help of Aleena. Once it was open with a click, it rose up and they both looked down. Aleena realized what they were going to do, she looked back at her son and questioned him.
"Are you sure about this?" She screamed over the loud ambience.
"Nope! Let's go!" He screamed back.
Sonic dropped onto the metal rod and helped Aleena down as well. Then, he carefully walked over to another set of rods which he grabbed onto for support on the way down. The metal rods were in a zigzag formation and he reached one end and had to turn around to go down even more. Aleena slowly followed close behind, still unsure of what to do next. Sonic was halfway down the line when all of a sudden, his feet lost traction and slipped off!
"AHH!"
"SONIC!"
At the last moment, Aleena dropped down and caught his hand. She held tightly on the beam as her son dangled on his bad arm. Sonic looked below and saw nothing but the tires threatening his life. He returned his glance back to his mother with utter fear in his eyes.
"Mom!"
"Hold on, Sonic!"
He tried to hold on, but the sound of his shoulder joint giving in and the pain it responded with made him worry even more. He tried to grab hold of his arm with his free hand and his medallion's string broke loose from the wind and went into a free fall. Both watched as the medallion was about to reach to the ground when a hand reached out and grabbed it. When Sonic saw who saved it, his fear diminished instantaneously and a smile grew.
"What's a royal without his medallion?"
"Tails!"
Sonic looked back to his mother who was showing the same smile as him. They made it! They've caught up to the plane! Now all they have to do is somehow get off the plane safely. Unfortunately, the plane reached its designated runway and made a sharp turn as the engines started to speed up!
Sonic looked all around for something he could possibly do, but there was none. It was only a matter of time before the plane started to lift off the ground. He climbed back onto the beam with Aleena's help and discovered that his arm could no longer be used. His shoulder joint gave in, but it was still attached to his body. He looked down at the red biplane and thought of a plan, but Aleena may not like it. He grabbed one of her hands and she locked eyes on him.
"Mom, we have to jump!" He blurted out.
"That's crazy, Sonic!" She responded.
"Just pretend it's the final episode of Sonic Underground!" He motivated.
"But the show was canceled! We never knew if we were reunited!"
"Well, then let's find out together!"
Aleena hesitated, she was unsure of how the outcome would turn out. But now, they have run out of time. The plane started to ascend as they had waited too long to take action!
"SONIC!" Tails shouted.
"TAILS!"
There was no time for thinking. Aleena quickly latched herself onto Sonic much to his confusion and jumped off the beam towards the biplane. Moments turned to hours as they flew above, but Aleena noticed a horrible error… She jumped too low… They wouldn't make it with the small distance they had left. At the last moment, she tugged her son tighter for just one last second…
"I'm sorry…"
"Mom? What are you dooOOING?!"
Aleena quickly shifted her body to spin to gain the extra momentum and threw Sonic further at the plane. Amy quickly caught Sonic's good arm and hoisted him on the wing.
"MOM!" He shouted.
He looked all around to find her, he couldn't believe after all that had happened, she still put him in front of herself when she needed help. The plane successfully took off, leaving the runway empty. Tails turned the biplane around and slowly flew close to the ground in a search pattern. All three looked long and hard to find a purple hedgehog figure on dark asphalt in the dark. Moments turned into minutes as they were unsuccessful…
"Look!" Amy announced.
Both eyes looked at her, then to where she was pointing. On the ground, there was a figure laying down, possibly damaged. Sonic's eyes widened in fear and when Tails got close enough, he jumped off the plane. Tails had to give extra power in balance until Amy moved to the center. Sonic landed on the ground and ran to his mother.
"Mom!"
He dropped to his knees and used his good hand to move Aleena on her back. She was in bad condition… She had cuts and scrapes on her plastic parts and the pain was scratched as well. He looked at her parts and joints to make sure nothing else was damaged. But unfortunately, he found something horrific. It seemed that the impact of the fall damaged one of her legs and the joint on her foot was completely snapped. She can no longer walk on that leg…
"Mom…" Sonic whispered.
At the sound of her son's call, she struggled to open her eyes. She saw Sonic looking down at her with a sad frown and she raised her hand to touch the side of his cheek.
"Sonic… I'm- I'm sorry…"
"Why did you do that?" he questioned.
"To make sure you survive. I've done it before and I would do it again." Aleena smiled.
Tails and Amy both arrived after landing the plane and ran to them. Amy gasped and covered her mouth with both hands. Tails almost went stiff when he saw the horrifying sight.
Only silence remained as there were no more words to be said. After another moment, Sonic carefully lifted Aleena off her back. But with only one arm, he couldn't fully lift her. So, Amy ran up to him and carried Aleena for him.
"Let's go home, guys…" Sonic whispered.
And with that, Sonic and Amy both walked on both sides of the biplane as Tails used little power to make the vehicle move and not take off while having Aleena in a smaller second seat so she could rest.
How was he going to explain this to the others? Or worse… his siblings…
