Commission for TheMaskedTime on DeviantArt. I do not own Sonic The Hedgehog or The Mask.

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"What's the big rush, Tails?"

World-renowned hero Sonic the Hedgehog had been enjoying a pleasant afternoon in the Green Hills, his favorite playground in a world that was filled with them. It had all been quite peaceful - no Badniks, no Eggman, just him and the beautiful palm trees, the cliffs to bounce off, and the many loops he tore through at fantastic speeds.

But this peace had been interrupted unexpectedly. His good friend Tails had shown up, saying that he and Amy needed advice on a rather pressing manner, although Sonic could only understand it was about some ancient artifact. For the fastest creature alive, even he was surprised by the urgency and anxiety Tails was exhibiting, a rare sight from his rather cheerful friend. What had they gotten themselves into?

As the plane finally came to a stop outside Tails' workshop, the two got out, making their way to the front door.

"Sonic, I identified some strange object Eggman was after, and I need your advice on what - oh no. OH NOOOO!!!!!"

Seeing the front door, Tails immediately took sight of the gaping hole in the front door, looking like a twister had smashed. Hurriedly opening its remains, he noted the house was quiet - too quiet.

"We have to get down to the workshop - now!!!"

A check of the workshop confirmed Tails' worst fears. The wooden mask was gone, and there was no sign of Amy. Judging by the dents in the walls and the tossed about lab equipment, he knew she had put it on - and somewhere on Mobius, an out of control green hedgehog was causing chaos.

"Man Tails, I thought you kept your place cleaner than this."

"I do, Sonic. Right now is not the time for jokes. We need to find Amy before she goes completely nuts. I'll explain everything."

Meanwhile…

"Mmmrf…where am I?"

Slowly coming out of her slumber, Amy was struggling to recognize her surroundings. Her memories all jumbled up, she tried to put the pieces together as best she could. She remembered stopping by Tails' house, checking out that strange mask he had found, bringing it to her nose. Everything else was just a blur, foggy thoughts of a jewelry store visit and fighting Eggman-

Wait.

Her eyesight coming back into focus, Amy's stomach dropped as she realized her fate - thick metal bars trapping her in, she was stuck in a cage, locked up by Eggman once again.

"Hey, let me out!!!" Rattling the bars of the cage, she could hear footsteps approaching, as a familiar shadow entered the containment area.

"Well, hello there." Eggman grinned, twisted smile crossing his face. "I heard your pathetic pleas, such feeble creatures you Mobians are. You will make a fine candidate for robotization - but first, I must ask you a question."

Bending down, he got right up into the scared hedgehog's face, snarling his query.

"WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY PRECIOUS MASK?!?!?!?!?!"

"I…I don't know!!!!"

It may have been the truthful answer, as Amy's last ditch toss of the mask was as much of a survival instinct as a conscious decision. But it mattered little to Eggman - pressing a switch, the floor under Amy began to spark with electricity, and she moaned and screamed from the sudden pain until she was out cold.

"I will not accept such insolence from a puny little girl! I'll come back for you soon enough - you will answer my question, and you will help me get back my mask!!!"

Storming out, Eggman left his prey alone to rest - his search robots were in hot pursuit of the mask, and his attention was needed on that task. If only that pesky blue hedgehog didn't mess up his plans.

Hundreds of feet below, Sonic and Tails were hard at work, trying to find some clues of Amy's whereabouts in the great vastness of the Mystic Ruins forest. From the air, Tails had noted a streak of trees that appeared to have been brought down by a small twister, the only sign of the mask's powers being used. After finding a place to land, the two had split up to cover more ground. With Sonic's speed and Tails' aerial abilities, they hoped to find a trace of Amy very soon.

"Man, I could go for a chili dog right now."

A thick forest was hardly the best place for Sonic to explore, the thick vegetation and lack of trails prohibiting him from moving as fast as he could. Finding an apparently psychotic Amy was the last thing in his plans today, but being a hero required he help his friends at a moment's notice, even if it did make him very hungry and bored.

Clearing his way through another bush, Sonic heard something falling from its branches - was this a clue. Looking down at his feet, he was intrigued by what had landed there.

It was an old wooden mask, faded green in color and with crudely cut eye and mouth holes. A shiny silver bar with four rivers formed as the bridge of the nose, and a smooth wooden surface greeted him as he turned it over.

"Whoa, what's this?"

Sonic had gotten an explanation from Tails of the great powers confined within the magical mask - but in all the rush, he realized he had never gotten a physical description of the thing. He needed to get back to Tails. Even if this was sheer coincidence, it might be the first clue to finding Amy.

Some time later…

"Hey Tails! Take a look at what I found!"

The young fox looked up hearing his friend's voice, grateful he had brought him along in this great search. He was so grateful to know Sonic, the search would have been fruitless without him.

"Hey Sonic! What did you - OH MY!!!"

In Sonic's hands was the last thing Tails was expecting - a familiar wooden mask, identical to the one in his lab mere hours before. It did lead to questions about how Amy had lost it - but for now…

"Where did you find that?!?!?"

"In a bush somewhere. Is there anything special to it?"

"Anything special?!?!? Sonic, that's the mask! That's what I've been trying to find!!!"

Sonic raised an eye ridge. "Really? Doesn't look like much to me."

"Trust me Sonic - this is a huge deal! But what about Amy? How did she lose it?"

"I don't know, Tails. Where do you suggest we go?"

"Well…"

As Tails began to run through his ideas, Sonic was starting to get bored, hardly paying attention to his friend's monologue. Looking down at the mask, he could have sworn he saw a green flash of light in it. Why did he want to put it on now? Without thinking further, he brought his hands closer…

"…I think our best option is to check out Final Egg, that's our nearest landmark. What do you-"

BOOM!!!!

A sudden crash of thunder, and Tails jumped in fright. When he landed, he was greeted with a sight of pure horror - the mask was on Sonic's face, and it was rapidly engulfing his head!

"Sonic, no!!!"

Green smoke engulfing his friend, Tails stared in wonder as more loud booms crashed around the blue hedgehog, unnatural sounds emerging from his mouth. Before Tails could get any closer, Sonic was swept off in a green and blue tornado, huge gusts of winds swirling around as it dashed across the forest like a spinning top.

Struggling to stay upright, Tails was relieved when the twister came to a halt, a loud screech of tires announcing its end. He looked up, scared to see what that mask had done to his friend.

"Sonic?!?!? Is…is that you?????"