At Tails's house the trio of Sonia, Skye and Lara were seen taking sips of Chaos Cola, Cream having taken some out of the fridge and giving them to the kids.
"I love this stuff," Sonia said, placing it on the table.
"Sonia, coaster," Amy pointed out. "You'll leave a ring on the table."
"I thought we liked rings?" Sonia teased, earning a glare from her mother. "Alright fine."
"Gotta love that snarky attitude," Knuckles said. "Reminds me of Sonic."
"When have I ever been snarky?" Sonic asked.
"To me, all the time!" Knuckles said.
"You got me all wrong Knux, it's just how I talk to my greatest buddy from Angel Island," Sonic said, smirking at his hot-headed rival.
"Heh, real funny," Knuckles said. "At least when Sonia does it, it's cute and adorable."
"I am indeed very cute and adorable, hardly a competition," Sonia said, then rubbed Skye's head. "Except maybe from this handsome little guy."
"S-sonia!" a now embarrassed Skye said, much to Sonia's amusement.
"At least she's not too prideful," Lara said.
"I don't even know where she gets it from, and Knuckles, don't you dare say 'Sonic'," Amy warned.
"Who else could he have got it from? You?" Knuckles asked.
"If you ask Sally, she'd say Sonic," Rouge pointed out.
"Uh, Rouge...maybe don't say that out loud like that," Tails stated in a hushed tone.
"It's fine bud," Sonic said. "And hey, Sonia's just having a bit of fun. We're all friends and family here, good to mess around a bit."
"As long as it's done respectfully," Amy said.
"I'm with you there Ames," Sonic said.
"Well anyway, let's move on with the story," Sonia said. "What happened the night after Chaos got released?"
"If memory serves me right...I was chilling at the Emerald Coast Hotel the following day," Sonic said.
"Boring," Sonia said.
"Ha," Knuckles taunted, much to Sonic's annoyance.
"Oh, by the way," Sonia turned to the sole Bat in the room. "Aunt Rouge, were you around for any of this?"
"No dear, this was before I met your father and his friends," Rouge said. "But it was around the time I got warped over."
"Warped?" Sonia asked.
"You know how Angel Island got warped over in a delayed effect?" Sonic asked. "Well it happened to a few other Mobians, like Rouge."
"Ooooh, neat," Sonia said. "So Aunt Rouge got warped around this time, or a bit later."
"Yes, I did make some interesting friends however, but I'll wait until we get to my part of the story, don't want to skip ahead too much," Rouge said.
"Alright, now where was I?" Sonic said, trying to remember. "Oh right, it had been the night after I had my first encounter with Chaos."
Flashback again to the Emerald Coast Hotel, Sonic was seen laying on a chair by the pool, taking a moment to recollect himself from the recent excitement. Even beyond the monster he encountered the previous night, he had a lot to take in after arriving in this new land.
California definitely had its differences from Japan, between the scenery, the decorations, and its own architecture. He noticed people were much more energetic and quite a few had unique slang and accents. While he preferred how reserved the citizens of Yokohana were, he did admire how outgoing and fun loving the Station Square citizens appeared to be.
"Something about some of these people remind me of when I was a kid, I remember the weird slang I used to say, and how I used to have a unique idea of style," Sonic chuckled to himself. "Imagine if Tails or Amy saw me like that. Thinking about it, I haven't seen them in a few days, I probably should have checked up on them before coming here. But they'll be fine, Tails is smart enough to keep himself out of danger, and Amy can handle herself, for the most part at least. Worst comes to worse, Tails or Knuckles will be there."
Near Sonic was a woman in a blue bikini, taking in the rays herself. She occasionally glanced at Sonic, finding his presence almost unusual. Most animal types she saw still had normal human bodies, this one looked like an actual giant hedgehog.
"Hey Sarah, we gotta get going soon," came the voice of her older brother.
"I'm coming, Jacky," Sarah said, sitting up on her chair. "Kind of wish I could stay here a bit longer."
"Same, but you got a martial arts finals to finish, and I gotta hit the racetrack," Jacky said. "We'll come back here later, maybe I can try that casino."
"Don't gamble too much," Sarah said.
"You know I wouldn't do that," Jacky said. "But I'll try to be careful."
"I'll be there to check on you," Sarah said.
"Oh, don't forget that soon, we gotta make a trip to Japan," Jacky said. "Akira needs a bit of help prepping his dojo, and he wants to demonstrate for some of his students."
"Of course, I'm all for that" Sarah said. "Let's get going."
"I'll start the...is that a plane?" Jacky asked, gesturing to the sky.
Sonic overheard and saw a nearby plane, and immediately recognized the pilot. "Tails?" Indeed it was, Tails was spiraling out of control on his mini plane. "Tails! Watch out! You're gonna crash!"
"Ah! I'm out of control! Mayday! Mayday!" Tails shouted as he plummeted toward the edge of Emerald Coast, just a few miles south of where Sonic was.
"Tails!" Sonic let out a small sigh. He knows Tails is tough enough to endure a crash but he still worried about his friend. "I should go help him."
Within seconds, he dashed off, leaving both Jacky and Sarah impressed by the blue hedgehog's speed.
"Whoa...did you see that, sis?" Jacky asked.
"Yeah, he must have a speed quirk or something," Sarah said. "He could probably run circles around your car. Ironically enough, he's blue, might go after your 'Blue Flash' title."
"I'm not giving that up without a fight," Jacky said. "Still, hope to see that little hedgehog again."
"I think you might," Sarah said. "Well we should go before we're late."
"Yeah," Jacky said, the two Bryant siblings making their exit.
It wasn't long before Sonic had found Tails, and brought him back to the beach resort hotel, the boy having shaken off whatever injuries he may have had.
"Long time no see, Sonic," Tails said.
"Yeah, I'm glad you're okay," Sonic said. "What happened though? You're way too good of a pilot to just crash like that."
"I was testing out a new Prototype Propulsion System, but the results are still buggy," Tails said.
"You know you could always use the Tornado, not like I'm flying it much these days," Sonic said.
"I know, but you gotta see my new Power Supply," Tails said, pulling out the Purple Chaos Emerald.
"Whoa! You found a Chaos Emerald!?" Sonic asked in disbelief.
"Lucky me, I happened to come across it during one of my test flights," Tails said. "I know we need them to get home but I couldn't help but wonder how well they could power a plane. I mean, these things do have unlimited power, maybe once we get back home, I can hold onto one to power my plane."
"You never cease to amaze me, Tails," Sonic said.
"You should come by my workshop, I got something to show you," Tails said.
"Right behind you," Sonic said, though just as he was about to move, he noticed something in the corner of his eye. "Huh?"
"What's wrong?" Tails asked.
"Uh...nothing, thought I saw something sparkling, must have been my imagination," Sonic said. "Let's go."
As Sonic followed Tails, a pink orb was seen not too far away, keeping track over Sonic and Tails as it began to follow the two.
Before long, both Sonic and Tails had arrived at the Mystic Ruins, making their way up the outdoor stairs leading towards Tails's workshop.
"So, is Amy around?" Sonic asked.
"No, I think she went shopping," Tails said. "She seemed really bored without you around, and I was always working in my lab or doing a test flight, so I didn't have time to help keep her entertained."
"At least she's keeping herself occupied, hope she wasn't too worried about me," Sonic said.
"If anyone has faith in you to be safe, it's Amy," Tails said. "Of course, I do as well but Amy's confidence puts mine to shame."
"That girl is the definition of optimism," Sonic said.
As the two reached the top, they heard the familiar maniacal laugh of their greatest foe, "Well now, if it isn't Sonic and Tails!"
"Well now, if it isn't a giant talking egg," Sonic taunted.
"Oh real funny," Eggman said. "You should be cowering in fear over me, the greatest scientific genius, Doctor Robotnik!"
"Whatever you say, Eggman," Sonic again taunted.
"He's never gonna call you by actual your name, is he?" Cubot asked.
"You are forever Eggman to him," Orbot said.
"Fine by me, either way it's all the same," Eggman said, focusing on Sonic and Tailsk. "I've got big plans ahead, and I need to make sure neither of you get involved."
"What are you up to this time, Eggman?" Tails asked.
"I want the Chaos Emeralds for myself!" Eggman said. "I know you recently found one. Now hand it over, or else!"
"Or else what!?" Sonic shouted.
"I'll take them from you by force!" Eggman said, readying his hovercraft for combat. "Behold my newest creation, The Egg Hornet!"
"This is part of the reason he calls you 'Eggman' by the way, you name everything after eggs," Cubot said.
"Oh be quiet," Eggman said.
"Looks like we got a fight on our hands," Sonic said. "Ready Tails?"
"Ready Sonic," Tails said.
"Take this!" Eggman shouted, sending some missiles at the two, both of them easily dodging the attacks.
"Way too easy," Sonic taunted. "Come on Doc, I expect more of a challenge from you."
"Think you're clever, do you?" Eggman asked.
"Well clever or not, they're both pretty fast," Cubot said.
"Quite so," Orbot said. "It might be tricky catching them."
"Put a sock in it," Eggman said, sending more missiles at the two that they effortlessly dodged. Once he locked on to Tails, he attempted to attack with some drills. Unfortunately for him, the young fox moved out the way in time, allowing Sonic to dash in and hit some homing attacks, destroying the Egg Hornet within seconds. "No!"
"Saw that coming," Orbot stated.
"That wasn't too hard," Tails said, checking his body for any sign of injury. It was then he realized. "Wait, where's the Emerald?"
"Aha!" Eggman spotted the Emerald on the ground and snatched it with the machine's claw, finally having it in his grasp.
"No! The Emerald!" Tails shouted.
"Mwahahaha! Time to eat Chaos!" Eggman said.
"Chaos!?" Sonic asked, then noticed the same blue creature from before emerging from the ground. "It's that monster I fought last night!"
"Monster!?" Tails asked. "You fought a monster!?"
Eggman tossed an emerald to the monster, allowing it to grow in size. "Ah, just as the stone tablets predicted! His strength increases each time he is fed a Chaos Emerald! Brilliant!"
"Eggman wait! We need those emeralds to get back home!" Tails warned. "Do you really want to stay stranded here!?"
"Pfft, all I care about is starting my new Eggman Empire, be it on our planet, or this one!" Eggman said.
"We already tried talking him out of staying, it didn't work," Cubot said.
"Be quiet!" Eggman said. "Let's go Chaos, we'll go find more Emeralds!"
With a flash, both Chaos and Eggman disappeared, leaving Sonic and Tails confused for a moment.
"Great, looks like we have a problem here," Sonic said.
"Looks like we're gonna have to double time on getting the Chaos Emeralds," Tails said. "Not only to get home, but to prevent Eggman from completing that monster."
"Do we even know where to start?" Sonic asked.
"I might have an idea," Tails said. "While I had that Chaos Emerald, I managed to run some tests on it, including its properties and the energy it emits. I was able to perfect my Emerald Radar, so it should locate some other emeralds, and as luck would have it, a few of them are nearby. But there's also some robots in that direction too."
"I'm not worried about Eggman's robots," Sonic said, ready to go. "We've got no time to lose then, let's hurry!"
"Wait for me!" Tails said, following his friend in the direction of Windy Valley, ready to trash some robots and find the Emerald.
While Sonic and Tails were off looking for the Chaos Emeralds, Knuckles was currently looking for the pieces of the Master Emerald, having just finished searching Speed Highway.
"So far so good," Knuckles then noticed the sunset. "It's gotten pretty late, but I can't stop now. I have to restore the Master Emerald." As Knuckles began sensing the other pieces, he spotted a trio of teenagers heading toward the Emerald Coast Hotel. "Those three look familiar somehow...especially that girl. Her hair's unique compared to the other residents of this planet. But, I can't focus on that now, I have to find the other pieces."
The trio were the UA students, Peter Parker, Johnny Storm and Rainbow Dash. They had gone through the hotel, stopping short of the casino.
"Why are we here? We're too young to gamble," Peter said.
"I'm not gonna gamble, we're just gonna grab a drink," Johnny said.
"We're too young to do that too," Peter reminded.
"I meant soda dude, stop being such a parent," Johnny said. "We're a bit jet lagged, so we need to wind down a bit."
"We took a portal that Twilight made," Peter said.
"Fine, we're portal lagged," Johnny said.
"That's not even a thing!" Peter shouted. "Seriously, we shouldn't be here! We have a job to do!"
"Dude, we've been searching this city for hours looking for any sign of that floating island that doesn't seem to exist," Rainbow Dash said. "Most we ended up having to do was smash some robots in the forest."
"Yeah, we're heroes, and we earned a small break," Johnny said.
"You two do what you want, I'm not comfortable taking a break just yet, besides it wouldn't look well for any of us to be in a casino at our age," Peter said.
"Suit yourself, Dash and I will have a good time by ourselves," Johnny said.
"Maybe you two can get a room in that hotel if you're so eager for a good time," Peter said, thwipping off.
"I'd get more action than you anyway!" Johnny shouted at his departing friend. He turned his attention to the confused Rainbow Dash. "What?"
"More action?" Rainbow Dash said.
"Hey I wasn't gonna let him act all superior to me," Johnny said. "Not like you and I need to have sex. Unless you want to."
"Wow dude, most guys at least get a girl some flowers and chocolate before trying to get that girl in bed," Rainbow Dash said. "Seriously, we're not even dating."
"Not yet," Johnny said. "How about tonight being our first date? Does that sound good to you?"
"I hope you're not just doing this just so you can have the chance to sleep with me" Rainbow Dash said. "I have standards you know."
"I know, and I have nothing but respect for you," Johnny said. "I do think you're an attractive girl and I want to try my chance with you."
"Save your money, Johnny," Rainbow Dash said. "You're a good friend but I'm not ready to call you my boyfriend. I got a lot I want to do before I settle into a relationship."
Johnny looked down in disappointment, but brushed it off, "That's fine. Still could use that drink, maybe some chips if they have any."
"Alright, let's-" Rainbow Dash tried opening the door, but it seemed stuck. "What the heck? I thought this place was open!"
"It should be" Johnny looked around, spotting a nearby sign. "Welcome to Casinopolis, but the only way inside is closed, sorry."
"...Closed!?" Rainbow Dash asked. "How can it be closed if this place is open!? Who designed this casino!?"
"Let's go inside and complain," Johnny said, before realizing that statement. "Oh wait..."
Suddenly the door opened, to the confusion of the two teens as Knuckles landed down beside them. "Button was up there."
Knuckles went into the casino, leaving the two heroes in training dumbfounded.
"This place is weird," Johnny commented.
It didn't take too long for Knuckles to find the pieces of the Master Emerald, unaware that Sonic and Tails were nearby, the two finding their own Chaos Emerald in the sewers of the building.
"Why are there so many robots down here?" Sonic asked, using his homing attack to take down a few. "Eggman's really searching high and low."
"We're almost at the Emerald, keep going!" Tails said, flying ahead.
"Wait up, Tails!" Sonic said, trashing one more robot and speeding on.
Observing nearby was Jacky, amazed to see yet another creature similar to Sonic, "Yo sis."
"I see him too," Sarah said. "He's got really big fists."
"Think he knows how to fight?" Jacky asked. "I bet if Akira were here, he'd want to see for himself."
"Yeah, but he looks busy, let's not bother him," Sarah said.
Also nearby was the duo of Johnny and Rainbow Dash, the two amazed to see Jacky and Sarah.
"Celebrities in a California resort, seems fitting," Johnny said.
"I heard Jacky Bryant is super-fast in his car, rumor is he could put The Wonderbolts to shame," Rainbow Dash said.
"Oh really? Try racing him some time," Johnny said.
"How am I gonna convince someone like that to race me?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Get famous first, then race," Johnny said. "It'll happen, I got a good feeling about it."
After finding the last piece of the Emerald near some machines, Knuckles, despite wondering how they got here in the first place, seemed to be relieved at a job well done.
"Alright, that's a few more pieces, gotta keep searching," Knuckles said. Suddenly he found himself engulfed by a strange light emanating from a pink orb. "What in the world!?"
Within seconds, Knuckles found himself no longer in the casino, but rather outside during the day. From what he could gather, he appeared to be near an old temple.
"Where am I? Is this Earth, or Mobius?" Knuckles wondered. "Actually, something about this place feels strangely familiar."
"Father, please don't!" came the voice of a nearby girl.
"Wait, are those echidnas?" Knuckles asked in disbelief.
"Tikal, those emeralds are essential to our survival," stated the girl's father, Pachacamac. "It's for the good of all of our tribe."
"How could it be good?" Tikal asked. "Waging war against other countries, leading to death and theft, how can that be the path to peace!? No one has the right to use their holy ground for their own advantage! Please father, reconsider your plans!"
"Hey, you two," Knuckles said, trying to get their attention. "What's going-"
It didn't take long for Knuckles to be warped away. No longer was he at the temple, rather he was in front of Casinopolis. "Huh? Back here again? What's going on!?"
"Geez, what could have happened here?" came the nearby voice of Peter. He turned to see him near the unconscious bodies of Sonic and Tails. "They don't look hurt, but why are they sleeping in the middle of the street? I don't think this is normal for regular foxes and...is this a porcupine or...?"
"Hedgehog," Knuckles said, startling Peter. "That's a hedgehog, his name is Sonic. His friend's name is Tails."
"Geez dude, don't startle me like that," Peter said. "Wait hold on, you're not human either."
"That's obvious, I'm an echidna," Knuckles said.
"Echidna? Aren't you supposed to be in Australia?" Peter jokingly asked.
"Where?" Knuckles seriously asked.
"Never mind," Peter said. "You seem to know them; are they friends of yours?"
"Not exactly, we just come from the same planet," Knuckles said.
"You're aliens?" Peter asked. "Wait, do you have anything to do with the strange stuff here? Like that floating island we can't seem to find?"
"That island is no longer floating, it lost its power source," Knuckles said. "You see...wait, why am I telling you anything? You can be an enemy for all I know."
"Not an enemy, I just want to help," Peter said. "Can you trust me?"
"...You don't seem evil, but I really can't take any chances right now," Knuckles said. "If you want to help Sonic and Tails, be my guest. I have a mission to complete."
"You're not planning on taking over our planet, are you?" Peter asked.
"Huh? Of course not, we're not invaders, we came here by accident, and now we're trying to find our way back home," Knuckles said.
"Then let us help, I know astronauts, furthermore I know a sorcerer with powerful magic," Peter said.
"Sorry, I don't trust strange magic," Knuckles said. "We'll get back on our own. But fair warning, if you want to worry about invaders from our world, keep a lookout for a guy named Doctor Robotnik, or Eggman as we call him. Red coat with a brown mustache."
"Wait, I saw that guy in Japan, what's he doing here?" Peter asked.
"Same reason we are," Knuckles said. "Just stay out of trouble."
With that, Knuckles left, leaving Peter confused. "So that scientist with the robots is here now. Guess these two want to stop him but I feel like there's more to their story. Anyway, I should get them into a hotel room."
Knuckles had gone inside the hotel, spotting a familiar but unpleasant face, "How about that, Eggman is here too, along with those dimwitted robots. I'll pay him back kindly for deceiving me the other day. Wait, is that..." He could spot Eggman holding something. "Is that the Master Emerald?"
Eggman had gone into an elevator with Orbot and Cubot, Knuckles following in one next to it.
At the top floor, while Eggman is seen preparing for something, Knuckles came up from behind and got his attention. "Eggman! Give me back the Master Emerald!"
"Knuckles?" Eggman asked.
"Hey it's that echidna guy you tricked the other day," Cubot said.
"You, be quiet!" Knuckles warned, focusing back on Eggman. "Hand over the emerald, I won't tell you again!"
"This isn't what you're after," Eggman said, showing off the Grey Chaos Emerald.
"Huh? A Chaos Emerald?" Knuckles asked. "It may not be the Master Emerald, but we do need those to go home. I'm still taking it from you regardless."
"Sorry, that won't be happening," Eggman said." Chaos, come forth!"
"Chaos?" Knuckles said in confusion, then noticed the watery God emerging from the ground. "It's that monster from Angel Island!"
"Here you go," Eggman said, feeding him an emerald, causing the monster to change shape.
"You think that will be enough to scare me away?" Knuckles asked. "I'll take all of you down, right now."
"You know, I'm not the only one you should be worried about," Eggman said. "After all, Sonic seems to be after the Master Emerald pieces too."
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Knuckles asked.
"I'd tell you, but that would ruin the fun, gyahaha!" Eggman said, and then disappeared in a flash with Chaos and his robots.
"What was that all about?" Knuckles wondered, then rubbed his eyes. "I'll worry about it in the morning, I should find somewhere to sleep, but I will see Sonic first thing after I wake up."
Knuckles quickly made his leave, opting to take shelter in a nearby forest.
The next morning, Sonic slowly woke up, the young hedgehog rubbing his head a second, still feeling the effects of the previous night.
"What happened?" Sonic wondered. "Last thing I remember was some strange mist and...wait, where am I? How did I get here?"
From what Sonic could see, he was sleeping on a couch inside a hotel room.
"This is so weird, last thing I remember was seeing Eggman in front of the casino," Sonic said, then noticed someone sleeping on the other side of the couch. "Tails?"
"Huh?" the young fox boy began to awaken. "Sonic?"
"Tails, do you know how we got here?" Sonic asked.
"Got where?" Tails wondered, looking around. "Wait, are we in the hotel?"
"Oh, you're awake?" Came Johnny's voice. "Had a nice sleep?"
"Sort of," Sonic said. "Wait, who are you? Did you bring us here?"
"Technically my buddy Peter did, he found you two sleeping outside the casino," Johnny explained. "Real strange too. You didn't have too much to drink, did you?"
"Drink?" Sonic asked. "Wait, you mean like alcohol? I don't drink that stuff."
"Same, too young anyway," Tails said.
"Well you look and sound like a kid," Johnny said.
"I am only eight," Tails explained.
"Eight? And you were out late at a casino? Do your parents know where you are?" Johnny asked. "Either of you?"
"Honestly, I don't even remember my parents," Tails said. "Closest I had to a caretaker was a nice lady named Rozie, I visited her house once in a while but that's about it."
"Same, no parents, just me on my own," Sonic said.
"Oh...sorry to hear," Johnny said, the hero feeling sympathetic. "My parents are gone too, so I know the feeling."
"Not one I want to share, but I appreciate your empathy," Sonic said. "Still, seems like we're in dept to your friend Peter."
"Is he around?" Tails asked.
"He went to grab something to eat," Johnny said. "Then he's going on patrol to find someone called 'Eggman'."
"Eggman? Oh that's right!" Sonic said, checking his body. "Damn, one of the emeralds are gone."
"Oh no, did Eggman take it when he knocked us out?" Tails asked.
"Whoa, hold on, Emerald?" Johnny asked. "Does this have to do with that giant emerald on that floating island?"
"Sort of, that's the Master Emerald," Sonic said. "It guards the Seven Chaos Emeralds."
"A Chaos Emerald?" Johnny asked, pulling something out of his pocket. "You mean like this?"
In his hand was the Green Chaos Emerald, it's sudden appearance surprising both Sonic and Tails.
"You found one?" Tails asked.
"Yeah, I was checking a snowy region because robots were spotted there, apparently they were after it," Johnny said.
"Oh yeah, I went by the other day, nearly got crushed by an avalanche," Sonic recalled. "Good thing I found something to help me snowboard out the way, it was kind of fun."
"Sounds like you enjoy a thrill," Johnny said. "What is this thing anyway?"
"We're not entirely sure, they're still a mystery to us," Tails said. "But they're very powerful, just one is enough to garner a lot of energy put off. All seven together create a miracle."
"Kind of reminds me of The Infinity Stones, or the Elements of Harmony," Johnny said, handing the Emerald over. "You seem to know it better than I do, so you hold onto it."
"Thanks," Tails said, taking the emerald. "We need to get going Sonic, otherwise we'll be in trouble. Eggman already has two of the Emeralds it looks like, if he gets the rest, he could destroy the world."
"Can you explain who Eggman is exactly?" Johnny asked.
"A mad scientist, wants to transform the world into his own image," Sonic said.
"...Sounds like Doctor Doom," Johnny said.
"Who?" Tails asked.
"A villain who lives in a country where he's it's powerful ruler," Johnny said. "He wants to take over this planet."
"Geez, another evil doctor? I thought they were supposed to be good," Sonic quipped.
"Some of them use their PhD for evil," Johnny said. "Oh, damn, never introduced myself. The name's Johnny Storm, but most people call me, The Human Torch."
"Why do they call you that?" Tails asked.
"FLAME ON!" Johnny's entire body generated into fire, startling Sonic and Tails.
"Whoa! How'd you do that!?" Sonic asked. "That's not a normal human thing, is it?"
"No, I just have a gift," Johnny said, flaming off.
"Wait, is this what Ryo called a quirk?" Tails asked.
"I don't know who Ryo is, but yes, this is my quirk," Johnny said. "It's a thing we have on Earth."
"That's fascinating, I'd like to learn more," the young fox said. "My name is Miles Prower by the way, but you can call me Tails."
"Tails? Because of your two tails?" Johnny asked.
"Yeah," Tails said, using them to demonstrate his helicopter ability. "I'm pretty unique myself, no one on my planet has an appearance like this, at least that I know of."
"Seems like quirks exist in your world too, just like Reed theorized," Johnny said.
"Reed?" Tails asked.
"My sister's husband," Johnny explained. "He's a scientist, a good one."
"Does he have a quirk too? Or your sister?" Tails asked.
"Yeah, Reed can stretch his limbs really far," Johnny explained. "My sister Sue can turn completely invisible and put up forcefields. Also we have a friend named Ben, his skin is made out of rock."
"Must be strong," Sonic said.
Johnny turned to the speedster, "What about you? What's your name? And do you have a quirk too?"
"I'm Sonic the Hedgehog," the blue blur said. "I have what you would probably call a 'speed' quirk."
"Speed, just like my friend, Rainbow Dash," Johnny said. "She can also fly."
"Cool," Sonic said. "Is she here?"
"She's still asleep," Johnny said. "She likes to sleep in."
"Not this time..." Came Rainbow Dash's voice, the girl stepping out of the room, still in her pajamas and rubbing her eyes. "Sounds like you already got to speak to our friends here."
"Their names are Sonic and Tails," Johnny said.
"Sonic and Tails?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Unique names, but I know I shouldn't talk, my country has unique names too."
"You must be Rainbow Dash, it's nice to meet you," Tails said.
"You too little guy," Rainbow Dash said.
"Peter mentioned a red creature with large fists," Johnny said. "Do you know him?"
"Sounds like he met Knuckles," Sonic said. "Those fists aren't just for show, he punches hard, like really hard."
"With a name like Knuckles, I bet he does," Johnny said.
"Well thanks for helping us out, it's a really nice thing to do for someone you just met," Tails said.
"Technically, this is not the first time I've seen you," Johnny said. "I remember you from back in Japan."
"Wait, you saw us in Japan?" Tails asked.
"You fought that robot with the Missile Fists," Johnny said. "Peter actually went to stop that robot, but he took a punch after meeting some pink girl."
"Sounds like Amy," Sonic said. "Wait, that means Peter is the nice boy she was talking about."
"That also means this Eggman guy is the one I heard about in Japan too then," Johnny said. "You mentioned he's in the city."
"Yeah, who knows what he's doing," Sonic said. "Tails and I gotta stop him."
"We can help too," Rainbow Dash said. "Just let me get dressed."
"Thanks, but we have no time to lose, come on Tails," Sonic said and sped off.
"Thank you for the hospitality," Tails said, flying away as well.
"Whoa! I gotta go and check on them," Rainbow Dash said, speeding away and getting dressed. "Alright, let's go!"
"Wait, Peter's on his way up with breakfast," Johnny said.
"That can wait, come on," Rainbow Dash said, speeding off.
Johnny shrugged and left a note for Peter before flying away himself.
Sonic and Tails both sped back to the Mystic Ruins, Tails thinking of a way to stop Eggman.
"We'll place the Emeralds in the workshop for safe keeping," Tails said. "You still have both, right?"
"Sure do," Sonic said, holding them up. "Not losing track of these."
"That's good," Tails said. "Now let's-"
"Hold it right there!" Knuckles shouted.
"Huh? Knuckles? What's up?" Sonic asked, quickly dodging out of the way of a punch. "H-hey, what are you doing!?"
"Knuckles, what's going on!?" Tails asked, just as confused.
"Hand over the emerald right now, Sonic!" Knuckles warned.
"What!? In your dreams," Sonic said, placing it away.
"Sonic, Knuckles, don't fight!" Tails pleaded.
"Stay out of it Tails," Knuckles said, dashing over to attack Sonic, the hedgehog dodging out the way.
"Seriously Knuckles? You really want to do this again?" Sonic asked. "Not gonna lie, it's kind of getting on my nerves a bit."
"Just fight me, Sonic!" Knuckles shouted.
"Really don't want to waste time fighting you, but I guess I don't have much of a choice!" Sonic said, the two clashing. In the process, both were knocked back, Sonic dropping valuable items. "No! The Chaos Emeralds!"
"I'll be taking those!" Came Eggman's voice as the evil scientist took the Emeralds. "All too easy!"
"Eggman!?" Knuckles said, getting a better look at the emeralds. "Wait, those aren't pieces of the Master Emerald!"
"That's right you fool!" Eggman said. "You made this all too easy for me!"
"Wait, what do you mean he made it easy?" Sonic frustratingly turned to his companion. "Knuckles, don't tell me Eggman tricked you again!"
"Sh-shut up!" Knuckles said.
"Smooth move, Knucklehead!" Sonic scolded.
"Guys, focus, we need to stop Eggman!" Tails said.
"They tend to not be much of a cohesive unit," Orbot said.
"Yeah, and they don't work well together either," Cubot added.
"Oh Chaos!" Eggman called, the monster appearing by his side. "These are for you my friend!" Eggman tossed the emeralds to the monster, it once again changing shape.
"It transformed again!" Tails shouted in worry.
"Man, this guy does not take a break," Sonic lamented.
"Now Chaos, destroy them!" Eggman instructed. Before the monster could attack, it took a huge fireball blast, seemingly destroying it. "What in the world!?"
"Where did that come from!?" Knuckles wondered. From the air he spotted Johnny Storm alongside Rainbow Dash. "It's those two from the casino."
"Wait, I didn't know humans could fly," Orbot said.
"Those aren't ordinary humans, that's for sure," Eggman said.
"Hey guys, hope I didn't steal your thunder," Johnny joked, landing on the ground with his friend, the two facing off against the mad scientist. "You must be Eggman."
"Yes, I am Doctor Robotnik, but call me 'Eggman' if you wish, it's all the same in the end," the scientist said.
"Robotnik, Eggman, you're right, it is all the same because we're taking you in," Johnny said.
"You think you're any match for us?" Eggman asked. "Fool, you will never stop me, or Chaos."
"Chaos? You mean that monster I just flew up?" Johnny asked.
"Dude, you lost, just give up," Rainbow Dash said, then noticed the monster starting to reform. "Wait, what's going on?"
"It will take much more than that to defeat Chaos," Eggman said.
"Tch, fine by me, I'll just blow it up again," Johnny said, aiming his fire.
"Be careful, it has four of the Chaos Emeralds," Tails said.
"Don't worry, I'll stop this thing and...huh?" Johnny saw a giant shadow cast over the land. "What's going on?"
"Mwahahahahaha!" Eggman boasted. "Behold, my floating masterpiece, The Egg Carrier!"
Flying in the skies above, Eggman's ship had formed a shadow over Station Square, startling everyone below. Two such people amazed by the sight were Jacky and Sarah.
"What do you suppose this is?" Jacky asked.
"Not sure, but this could be trouble," Sarah said. "I heard rumors of robots in the area, it might be a villain."
"I know this is something to leave to a pro hero but, kind of hate the idea of doing nothing," Jacky said.
"Not much we can do, we don't know the whole story," Sarah said.
"Let's just keep an eye out, just in case," Jacky said. "Besides, it could be risky flying back to Japan while something like this is going on."
Back with Sonic and company, everyone was still amazed by the sight of the Egg Carrier.
"Where did you get something like this!? "Rainbow Dash asked.
"For real, it's the size of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, maybe even bigger," Johnny said.
"It's something I created myself with my own two hands," Eggman said to the surprise of Johnny and Rainbow Dash.
"You made something that big!?" Johnny asked.
"I'm not surprised, you should have seen the Death Egg," Sonic said. "That place is huge too."
"Death Egg? Something tells me Peter would find several things to say about that," Johnny said.
"You fools have not yet seen the true power of Chaos," Eggman said as the beam came down on him. "Adieu, until we meet again!"
"Hey wait!" Johnny was about to dash in, but the light had taken Eggman up and dissipated. "Beamed up...feels like Peter would have another joke."
"We gotta stop him!" Tails said. "Sonic, let's use the Tornado."
"Sounds good to me," Sonic said, then turned to Johnny and Rainbow Dash. "You two game?"
"Sure, but what's a Tornado?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Come with me and I'll show you," Tails said.
"You can all go on ahead, I got some unfinished business to take care of down here," Knuckles said.
"Fine with us," Sonic said.
"If you see Peter, let him know what's going on," Johnny said. "He's the boy you met last night."
"The one with the spider on his shirt, got it," Knuckles said. "If I run into him, I'll keep him updated."
"Do the same if you see Amy, make sure she's alright," Sonic said. "Let's go everyone."
While Knuckles went to do his own thing, everyone had arrived at Tails's workshop, the boy making his way inside. "Wait here for a second."
As Tails did his thing, Johnny was busy examining the building. "So, does he live here?"
"For now," Sonic said.
"I feel kind of bad that he's on his own, is he really alright that way?" Johnny asked.
"If you're stranded here, we can totally hook you up with a place to stay and make sure you're watched over," Rainbow Dash said.
"We have a home in Japan, but thanks," Sonic said, then heard some rumbling. "Whoa, Tails is up to something big."
The land nearby began turning into a runway, much to the amazement of the trio, especially Johnny and Rainbow Dash.
"How did...when did?" Rainbow Dash was almost speechless.
"Must be a secret base or something," Johnny said.
"No, Tails probably built this himself," Sonic said.
"...By himself? The eight-year-old kid?" Johnny asked.
"Tails is a genius prodigy," Sonic said.
"Reed would love this kid, hell Peter would love him too," Johnny said.
"Hey everyone," Tails said, riding the Tornado onto the runway. "You ready?"
"Wait, you're a pilot?" Johnny asked.
"Yeah, Sonic's got piloting skills too, this is his plane after all," Tails said.
"I prefer running, but it's a good plane to have if I need to get somewhere that running won't easily get me," Sonic said.
"You two are freaking amazing. Tails is eight and he can pilot a plane. Sonic even said you're a genius," Johnny said.
"I don't like to brag," Tails said.
"No dude, brag, you deserve to!" Rainbow Dash said. "Everyone should know how awesome you are!"
"Thanks," Tails said, blushing a bit. "But it's fine, really."
"No time to waste, let's fly!" Sonic said, leaping onto the top of the plane while it took off, with Johnny and Rainbow Dash flying right beside them.
"Whooo!" Johnny shouted, taking to the skies. "Awesome!"
"Way awesome!" Rainbow Dash said. "Hey, let's race to find Eggman!"
"Let's save that for another time, don't want to lose focus!" Sonic said.
"Sonic's right, find villain first, race later," Johnny said. "Let's get to it!"
Meanwhile down below, Amy was seen with a bag of groceries as she traveled through Station Square.
"I am so bored..." Amy lamented. "Sonic's been off the past few days, and even Tails is too busy now. He didn't even come to the workshop last night, probably out exploring as well. Those boys really are peas in a pod, but I'm no different. My first time meeting Sonic was a big adventure, ever since our first meeting on Little Planet, and the time he saved me from Metal Sonic."
As Amy reminisced the old days, this was when the Egg Carrier had eclipsed the sun, casting a giant shadow over the city.
"Huh? What's that?" Amy looked up to spot the giant fortress, dropping her groceries in surprise. "Eggman!? I should have known that he'd-OW!"
Suddenly she got knocked over by a little Flicky, the girl rubbing her head in pain, glaring at the creature in annoyance. "Geez, watch where you're flying!"
She then immediately noticed that the bird wasn't moving, Amy feeling concerned for the Little Creature.
"Oh no, you're not hurt are you? Do you need me to take you to a vet?" The ground started to shake as a green robot appeared not too far away from Amy. "What's that?"
The robot began making its way over to Amy, startling the girl as she backed away. The robot attempted to grab her, and she quickly sidestepped.
"You nearly ran me over you creep!" Amy scolded. The robot turned to make its way after her, Amy making a run for it. "Quick! Let's get out of here!"
As the robot got close, Amy was suddenly whisked into the air, away from the robot. Of course this startled the girl as she didn't know what was happening.
"Ah! What grabbed me!? Put me down, right now!" Amy shouted, struggling a bit.
"Hey, knock it off! Stop moving so much!" Came the voice of her rescuer as he landed on a nearby roof, putting Amy down. "Geez, didn't anyone tell you not to struggle when you're being rescued?"
"Rescued?" Amy turned her attention to the boy in a red and blue, spider-themed costume. "Oh, you saved me?"
"Yeah, I saw you in danger and...wait you look really familiar," this boy of course was Peter Parker, fully dressed in his Spider-Man costume as he quickly scanned Amy. "Wait, were you ever in Japan?"
"Yeah, how did you know?" Amy asked.
"Then you are her," Peter took his mask off, revealing his face to the girl. "The little hedgehog girl I rescued from that Missile Fist robot."
Amy of course immediately recognized the hero of course, relieved to see him after all this time. "Oh yeah! You're the nice boy who rescued me the other day. I'm so glad you're alright, after you got hurt, me and my friends had to leave. I wish I could have stayed to check up on you."
"It's fine, it'll take more than a missile powered punch to take me out," Peter said. "I'm a little surprised though, Japan is like thousands of miles away, what brings you to California?"
"It's a long story," Amy said. "Question, are you what they call a Pro Hero?"
"Technically, granted I'm not supposed to really be doing this since I'm not properly licensed, but my friend Johnny managed to pull some strings," Peter said. "Not that I care, nothing's gonna stop me from saving a life."
"You certainly sound like a hero," Amy said. "Since you're a hero, maybe you can help me and this little flicky."
"Flicky?" Peter looked down at the aviated creature. "Never seen a bird like this before."
"He must have been warped here from my planet," Amy said. "Or is it she? Hard to tell sometimes."
"Hold on, did you say planet?" Peter asked. "Actually, that makes sense. I remember that one guy with the giant fists said you were aliens, just like a fox and hedgehog I saw last night."
"Fox and Hedgehog? Giant fists?" Amy asked. "You saw my friends!?"
"Yeah, two of them were unconscious, the fox and hedgehog I mean," Peter said. "My friends took them to their hotel room."
"Unconscious? What happened? Are Tails and Sonic alright?" Amy asked.
"Yeah, they're both fine, so is that Echidna," Peter said.
"His name is Knuckles, he's really nice but a bit aggressive at times," Amy said.
"Reminds me of my buddy Wolverine," Peter said. "But your friends Sonic and Tails seem to be on the move again. Johnny left me a note this morning saying they went to the Mystic Ruins."
"That's my Sonic, always ready to go on the move," Amy said. "He must be after Doctor Eggman."
"Eggman? The guy with the giant mustache, right?" Peter asked.
"That's him, we should probably try to find Sonic, and keep this little guy safe," Amy said.
"What would Eggman want with him?" Peter asked.
"Eggman captures little creatures like this flicky to put inside his robots," Amy said. "It lets him create an army using their life force as a battery."
"Wow, that's just messed up," Peter said. "I'll help you find Sonic, just stay close to me in case that robot comes back."
"Sure thing," the young girl said. "Oh, I should introduce myself. My name is Amy Rose."
"Cute name," the hero said. "I'm Peter Parker. Most folks call me 'Spider-Man', but you can just call me 'Peter'."
"Alright then Peter, let's go find Sonic," Amy said.
Up in the air, Tails and Sonic were seen flying on the Tornado with Johnny and Rainbow Dash each beside them, hoping to board the Egg Carrier. Unfortunately, the flying fortress had good defenses as some robots came out to attack.
"I got them!" Tails said, using the turrets on the tornado to take down some robots and some oncoming missiles. Sonic remained in position, knocking away any missile that got too close, or any robot that tried to attack.
"Man, this guy's defenses are something else," Johnny said, blasting some missiles from the sky.
"Got that right, weird how someone goofy enough to have a name like 'Eggman' could be so dangerous!" Rainbow Dash noted, knocking some robots away.
"We're getting closer, hang on!" Tails said, opening fire on the engine of the fortress.
Suddenly a large beam connected with Rainbow Dash, blasting her out of the sky and hurdling towards the ground.
"No! Dashie!" Johnny flew down to get the girl, leaving Sonic and Tails desperately trying to stay up as well.
"Should we go and save her!?" Tails asked.
"Yeah, she might need...Watch out!" Sonic called as Tornado took a really bad hit, sending the two of them crashing down, Sonic and Tails each getting separated in the process.
Inside the Egg Carrier, Bocoe and Decoe were busy assisting the new line of E-100 series of robots by setting up their practice routes.
"Looks like E-101 is doing well," Bocoe said, observing the robot's practice routes.
"And with all that ruckus outside too," Decoe said. "Looks like Doctor Eggman really got one over on Sonic."
Seconds later, Eggman had made his way into the control room alongside Orbot and Cubot, "Bocoe, Decoe, any sign of the S.S.S.S.S. Squad?"
"I think they're still on their way to this location," Decoe said. "At least according to a video Bokkun sent."
"Those guys should not have gone on their own," Orbot said.
"Can't be helped," Eggman said. "Now, to check on my newest creation."
Pressing a button, Eggman activated a nearby red robot as Bocoe and Decoe overlooked the set up.
"Excellent. All systems, full power!" Eggman said, focusing on his newly activated robot. "Look at me my creation, I am your brilliant creator. Doctor Robotnik. Or Doctor Eggman as you will soon know me as."
"Doctor...Robotnik," Gamma said.
"Eh, give him time, he'll resort to Eggman like everyone else," Cubot said.
"Put a cork in it, will you!?" Eggman scolded, focusing on Gamma. "You my friend are the second of my E-100 model machines. E-102, Codename: Gamma."
"Gamma."
"That's right, you will now only obey me," Eggman said. "Now, this way, your training begins!"
Gamma followed Eggman to where the training was set to begin, to the curiosity of the other robots.
"Think he'll do well?" Decoe asked.
"Time will tell my friend," Orbot said. "Of course, Gamma has a lot to live up to if he wants to surpass Beta."
"Think he'll join us on game night?" Cubot asked.
"Couldn't hurt to ask later, if he can keep it under wraps from Doctor Eggman," Orbot said.
On the beach area below, Rainbow Dash is seen trying to stand after taking that hit. Johnny quickly flew down beside her, checking her injuries.
"Dash, how are you feeling?" Johnny asked.
"I'm fine, gonna take more than that to keep me down," Rainbow Dash said. "Where are Sonic and Tails?"
"Not sure, last I remember they were flying towards the Egg Carrier," Johnny said.
"We gotta hurry after them," Rainbow Dash said. "Let's go and…huh?"
Johnny turned to see what Rainbow Dash was looking at, and spotted yet another of Mobius's residents, Big the Cat.
"Have either of you two seen Froggy?" Big asked.
"…No," Johnny said.
"Oh, that's too bad, I'll keep looking," Big said, making his way past the two.
"...Uh, that's one big cat, isn't it?" Rainbow Dash said.
"Yeah…anyway let's get movie," Johnny said, flying off with Rainbow Dash.
Not too far away, Sonic had landed on the beach, the hedgehog out of it for a moment, trying to shake off what happened to him. "Tails?" The only thing around seemed to be a little girl who stared in confusion. "Oh, you're not the one I'm looking for." Sonic quickly ran off, "I hope he's okay. Same with Johnny and Rainbow Dash."
Sonic dashed through the hotel, first checking near the casino area to see if anyone landed nearby.
Nearby Amy was seen looking around with Peter, the two having stopped by the hotel to see if anyone's returned.
"The attendant said my friends haven't returned," Peter said, passing by some cute girls, one sporting an orange bathing suit that really got Peter's attention. "But wow, sometimes I love California."
"Let's try to stay focused on what we're doing now, but later I can give you some tips if you want to talk to girls," Amy said.
"All the tips in the world won't work on me," Peter said.
"You just need a bit of confidence, now..." Amy immediately caught sight of something pleasant. "Sonic!"
"Sonic?" Peter turned to see the hedgehog. "Wow, there he is."
"Yaaaaay!" Amy said, dashing off to the hedgehog.
"I think my heart melted a little," Peter said, following the girl.
"Hey! Sonic!" Amy said, getting the hedgehog's attention. "Long time no see!"
"Amy?" Sonic said. "I guess it has been a while. Good news, I found some Chaos Emeralds...but I lost them."
"How did that happen?" Amy asked. "Well never mind it right now, there's a bigger emergency."
"What is it?" Sonic asked. "Is there trouble somewhere?"
"There is. This little flicky seems to be in trouble," Amy said, holding out the bird. "I need you to be his bodyguard."
"Eh?" Sonic replied. "Bodyguard?"
"Even if you say 'no', we're still gonna tag along," Amy warned, Sonic eventually relenting.
"...I guess I have no choice," Sonic said, then noticed a person behind her. "It's you."
"Hi, you must be Sonic," the hero said. "I'm Spider-Man, but you can call me 'Peter'."
"This is the nice boy who saved me in Japan," Amy said. "Isn't it lucky that he's here in Station Square with us?"
"Glad I ran into you Peter, your friends are in danger," Sonic said.
"Danger? What's wrong?" Peter asked. "Does this have to do with that Robotnik guy?"
"Yeah, me, my buddy Tails along with your friends Johnny Storm and Rainbow Dash were trying to follow him onto his Egg Carrier," Sonic explained.
"You mean that giant fortress thing?" Amy asked.
"Yeah, but we got knocked out of the air," Sonic said. "Rainbow Dash took a bad hit and Johnny went after her. Tails crashed landed somewhere else."
"Tails is in danger!?" Amy shouted in worry. "Geez, you boys always give me reason to make me worry. What if Tails is hurt?"
"Amy, I think he's aware of that possibility," Peter said.
Taking a quick breath, Amy nodded in agreement, "You're right Peter. Sorry for reacting like that Sonic, I got worried when Tails didn't come back. Then hearing about you two getting knocked out, and now getting blasted out of the sky. I just don't want anything bad happening to either of you."
"I'm sorry I made you worry," Sonic said. "But I'm fine, and if I know Tails, he's fine too. He's a tough little guy after all."
"Yeah, Tails is a clever boy, he probably prepared for this," Amy said. "We should go find him, same with Peter's friends."
"Rainbow Dash is a tough girl, I know she'll be fine," Peter said. "But I am still worried about her, let's double time it."
"Right!" Sonic dashed off, leaving both Peter and Amy behind, much to the girl's annoyance.
"Sonic! Come back!" Amy quickly chased after her friend. "Geez, the moment I'm not careful I get left behind."
"He's probably just worried, let's hurry after him," Peter said running off as well.
"Peter, wait up!" Amy said, chasing after both boys.
During this time In the Mystic Ruins, Tails was laying on the ground, memories flashing through his mind, dreams of the time he first met Sonic, how since then he's felt more confident in himself.
As he laid on the ground, he could hear a voice calling out to him. "Little boy..." Tails slowly opened his eyes, "Hey, are you still with me?"
"Huh?" Tails fully opened his eyes to see what appeared to be a chipmunk girl in a blue vest.
"You're awake, good, I was worried about you."
Tails immediately began to blush, this girl was very beautiful, and she was close to him. "Whoa!" Tails immediately got back on his feet, still blushing from the sight.
"Uh, are you alright?"
"Y-yeah..." Tails said. "She's so pretty! Be cool Tails, try not to look like an idiot." Tails cleared his throat, trying to show more confidence. "Yeah, I'm fine, nothing I can't handle."
"Are you sure? I mean, I just found you lying here, you had some soot on you," the girl gestured to some marks.
"It's nothing, I'm covered in this a lot, I'm a mechanic," Tails brushed it off. "Wait, are you from Mobius?"
"Yeah, I am, I'm kind of the Princess," the girl said. "Do you recognize me?"
"Princess? Of Mobius?" Tails squinted his eyes. "You wouldn't happen to be Princess Sally Acorn, would you?"
"I would be actually," Sally said. "May I ask who you are?"
"Miles Prower," the boy said. "Uh, but you can call me 'Tails'."
"Well I can see how you got your nickname," Sally said. "Somehow though, I feel like I've heard about you."
"Me? Was it someone from my old village?" Tails asked. "These tails aren't weird to you, are they?"
"Oh no, not at all," Sally said. "I think they're cute."
"She thinks I'm cute! Or rather my tails!" the boy tried playing it cool, though remembered why he was here. "Oh right, I'd love to talk to you more Princess Sally-"
"Just 'Sally' is fine," the girl said.
"Right, Sally...you have such a pretty name," Tails said. "Why did I say that out loud!?"
Sally chuckled to herself, "Thank you, that was really nice of you to say."
"Uh sure...hehehe," Tails bashfully rubbed his head. "But anyway, I need to go and help my friend Sonic and some others."
"Sonic?" Sally asked. "As in Sonic the Hedgehog?"
"Oh, you've heard of him?" Tails asked.
"He's a childhood friend of mine," Sally said.
"Really? He never told me he's friends with a Princess," Tails said.
"He never mentioned me?" Sally asked, very confused. "That's weird, why wouldn't he? Did he forget about me?"
"Well to be fair, I never really asked him," Tails said. "I never would have guessed he knew Royalty."
"Still, that's odd," Sally said.
"I'd love to help you, but I need to work on something, and fast," Tails said. "I have a workshop around here if you want to stay. Or you can go check out Station Square by train. Gotta run!"
"Huh? Hey wait up!" Sally said, too late as the boy was gone. "That was so weird. But if Sonic's around, I should go and find him. Now, where is this train that boy mentioned?" Sally looked back, "I don't like the idea of that boy being on his own though, he could get hurt. But there isn't much I can do now, I gotta get moving and fast."
Tails continued flying on his own, still amazed by what he had just seen, "The actual Princess of Mobius. She's so pretty up close. To think Sonic's her friend, I gotta ask him about her." He continued to fly, "Still, first thing's first. I need to finish my prototype plane. The Tornado won't be powerful enough to reach The Egg Carrier, so I gotta find a Chaos Emerald to power the new plane!"
Back in the present, Sonia seemed to be snickering out loud, much to Tails's confusion.
"Hey, what's so funny?"
"Sounded like you had a big crush on Aunt Sal," Sonia said, earning a blush out of Tails.
"It wasn't that big, I just thought she was pretty, that's all," Tails said. "Not like it matters, I'm happily married to Cream."
"Still, given how she treats you like a little brother, I would never have imagined a crush," Sonia said.
"Tch, beyond that, she absolutely babied him." Knuckles said. "She was Tails's 'Aunt Sally' before you came along kid."
"Did you actually call her that?" Sonia asked.
"No way!" Tails said. "Well, maybe once or twice, but nowadays I just called her 'Sally'."
"Sonia, that's enough, don't be mean to Tails just because he was enamored by Sally," Amy said. "I mean any boy would be enamored by the Princess of Mobius."
"Even Big Blue over here," Rouge said, gesturing to Sonic.
"Rouge, really?" Sonic said.
"Were you actually in love with Princess Sally?" Lara asked. "I heard a rumor that your marriage was arranged or something."
"Ignore those," Sonic said.
"You girls are so curious about Sally," Skye said. "Meanwhile we're seeing just how our parents met Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends."
"Man, Johnny hated that saying, he insists it's The Human Torch and his Fantastic Friends," Sonic said.
"Sounds like Johnny and Rainbow Dash liked you right away," Sonia said.
"Well we got along pretty quickly," Sonic said. "Wish it could have lasted."
"Also, technically I was wondering how you knew about the parts with Doctor Eggman," Lara said.
"I got some information second hand, not sure how accurate it is but we got some glimpses of Eggman's past and I'm just relaying what I know," Tails said. "Same with certain other parts of the story regarding our friends."
"Kind of want to ask Aunt Sally for her point of view," Sonia said. "Wonder how she's doing now?
Near the edge of Mobotropolis, Sally had reunited with her team of Freedom Fighters.
"So, what's the situation?" Sally asked.
"Nagus escaped," Rotor confirmed. "We completely lost track of him."
"But we managed to destroy all of Eggman's robots," Tangle said. "So that's a big win for us."
"Hardly, it's just delaying the inevitable," Sally said. "After all, he can always just make more."
"If Eggman wants to waste his resources on robots for us to trash, I say let him," Fiona said. "Works to our advantage anyway."
"I don't suppose anyone at least got some useful intel?" Sally said.
"Sorry, didn't spot nothin'," Bunnie said.
"Oui, I had little luck myself," Antoine said.
"Great...so we're completely in the dark," Sally said.
"Actually, maybe not," Mina said. "While I was looking around, I saw a couple of Eggman's robots. The red and yellow ones."
"Orbot and Cubot?" Sally asked.
"Apparently they were sneaking into town to buy some drinks," Mina said. "One of them said something about getting some nice beverages for the Bounty Hunters, because he had to."
"Bounty Hunters?" Sally asked. "Could they mean Sleet and Dingo?"
"Haven't heard from them in years," Bunnie said. "Also, they went to town to buy drinks? Ah mean, did Robotnik send them or did they go on their own?"
"Did they actually purchase anything?" Tangle asked.
"I don't know, when I went to follow them, I got blocked by some badniks," Mina said. "I trashed them but lost track of Orbot and Cubot."
"They might still be in town, everyone send the alert," Sally said.
"Dang, ah know those two robots ain't the brightest that Robotnik has but this is just next level dumb," Bunnie said.
"Eh, don't count on that, you know how sneaky Robotnik can be," Rotor said. "This could be a trap."
"Yeah, that means everyone needs to exercise extreme caution," Sally said. "Don't do anything reckless."
"Speaking of reckless, think we should call Sonic this time?" Fiona asked. "Especially now that you know both Eggman and Nagus are behind this?"
"For goodness sake, Fiona! Did you really need to lead with that 'reckless' line?" Bunnie said.
"I call it like I see it," Fiona said.
"Can we please not get into this?" Sally said. "To answer your question Fiona, we really don't need to involve Sonic in this."
"Uh, you don't want to call Sonic to trash Eggman?" Fiona asked. "You know, the one thing he's good for."
"Now see here!" Bunnie began.
"What? It's an honest compliment," Fiona insisted, a bit of snark in her voice.
"Fiona, don't you have anything better to do than annoy everyone?" Rotor asked.
"Don't you have anything better to do period?" Fiona asked. "Like what do you even do?"
"Fiona, need I remind you zat we are all on ze same side?" Antoine asked. "Please be more courteous to your teammates, zey could end up saving your life."
"Please Fi, I don't need more headaches," Sally said.
Shrugging it off, Fiona relented, "Whatever you want, Sal."
"Well with that settled," Tangle began. "Sally, any reason you don't want Sonic's help?"
"I just don't want to bother him unless I need to," Sally said. "Sonic is not obligated to fight for Mobotropolis, this is our responsibility."
"But Sally, if Robotnik is planning something big, we might need Sonic by our side," Mina said. "He's already got Nagus on his side, and it sounds like he might have gotten Sleet and Dingo."
"There's no actual proof that it's them," Sally said. "Even there was...it's Sleet and Dingo, they're not that much of a threat to us."
"What if Robotnik is planning to get more?" Antoine asked. "What if he gets ze Deadly Six? I mean if he could work with Nagus, he could work with them too!"
"There's also The Metarex," Bunnie said. "May not be a lot of them these days but the ones left still pack quite a punch."
"What about Scourge?" Tangle asked, this piquing Fiona's interest. "His Zone is still a threat to us."
"You leave anything Scourge related to me," Fiona said.
"Just make sure you don't switch sides on us again," Mina said, earning an eyebrow raise from Fiona.
"Mina, not helping," Sally said, Mina folding her arms in annoyance.
"If you insist on not getting Sonic, perhaps you can instead recruit the assistance of The Chaotix," Whisper said.
"You can even call up Lanolin," Tangle said. "Oh, and maybe contact Blaze, she can bring Marine and Julie-Su."
"Do not have her bring Marine here!" Fiona said. "That girl is super hyper with a really annoying accent."
"Hey! Don't say that about Marine!" Tangle scolded.
"If we're gonna call for allies, get someone useful, like Shadow," Fiona said.
"I can't see Shadow helping us," Sally said. "Still, let's not get carried away with this. I'm all for calling Lanolin and The Chaotix since this is their specialty. But Sonic is not part of this in any way. For all intents and purposes, he's a civilian."
"Isn't his wife considered a hero though?" Rotor asked.
"Rotor, you could at least call her by name," Antoine said.
"It's fine, Antoine," Sally said. "Amy is a hero, but it's mostly an Earth thing than it is here, not that she isn't allowed to be one here. Point is, just leave Sonic and his friends out of this if we can help it, focus on those whose job it is to do this."
"It's your call," Rotor said. "At the very least the Chaotix will be able to help, they've got good abilities."
"Think they'll charge much?" Mina asked.
"I can afford to pay them," Sally said.
"Hey you can save money by cooking for Mighty," Fiona said. "He's the only one willing to eat your food after all."
Sally huffed in annoyance, "Do you enjoy ticking me off?"
"At least I didn't mention Ray," Fiona said. "Think he still has a crush on you, might agree to help if you take him on a date."
"I will punch you," Sally warned, holding out her fist.
"Promise it'll be a hard one?" Fiona asked, freaking Sally out, along with everyone else present. "Geez, none of you have the tiniest sense of humor."
Sally groaned in annoyance, "If it's not one thing it's another. Bunnie, Mina, do one more circle around the Kingdom. Tangle, Whisper, try to find those robots. Antoine, Rotor, get into contact with The Chaotix. Fiona...just go do something."
"What will you do?" Bunnie asked.
Sally looked toward her castle, "I need to have a word with my son."
Inside his room, Manik shamefully laid on his bed, still feeling bitter about what happened.
"Manik?" Came Nicole's voice, popping up nearby. "Can I get you anything?"
"No," Manik said. "Just don't bother me."
"...You know your mother was just worried about you, don't you?" Nicole said.
"Yeah, sure," Manik said, just going along with it.
Nicole knew talking more wouldn't matter much, she was not the one he needed to talk to, "Well, I'm here if you need anything. Just say the word."
"I know, just go away already, I don't want to be bothered," Manik said. Without another word, Nicole made her leave as Antoine looked at his sword. "My sister is born with power, all I have is a sword, abilities my own mother doesn't have faith in. What a joke, easier to see why my father didn't think I was worth sticking around for."
Manik angrily tossed his sword aside, trying to suppress a tear that came from his eye. He didn't want to cry, he deemed himself too strong for that, but his emotions would prove to be a tough challenge.
Suddenly there was a knock on his door, and a voice belonging to his mother "Manik? Can I come in?"
"Yeah, sure," Manik said, wiping his eye. Sally opened the bedroom door, seeing her son laying on the bed. "Here to yell at me some more?"
"No sweetheart, I just want to talk," Sally said. This Queen has a lot of tough jobs, but if asked, she will always say there's one job harder than the rest.
Being a mother.