Back at Tails's house, Sonia was seen running laps outside. Sitting down for too long was eating at her, so she needed to exert some extra energy.
"So, suppose she has coffee," Rouge said. "How would she-"
"I...don't even want to imagine it," Sonic said.
"I honestly doubt it would even have an effect," Amy said.
"Yeah, she has pretty fast metabolism," Tails said. "The caffeine wouldn't even get to her."
"Still, she doesn't seem to like sitting still very long," Rouge said.
"Do any of us?" Sonic asked. "I mean, yeah we can chill once in a while but none of us can stay in one place too long."
"Always looking for your next adventure?" Rouge asked. "I can relate, I still hunt for treasure in my spare time."
"Which is pretty much always," Knuckles said.
"Hey you know you're more than welcome to come," Rouge said. "Lara too."
"You've gone treasure hunting with your mom before, haven't you Lara?" Sonic asked.
"Yeah, a couple of times, it's fun," Lara said. "But it can get a little dangerous."
"Hey, you haven't been searching any booby-trapped places, have you?" Knuckles asked.
"Even if we do, I always check first, I wouldn't risk sending my daughter somewhere dangerous," Rouge said.
"Why do you need to leave Angel Island anyway? There are still some old places there you can explore," Knuckles said.
"It gets boring after a while, I mean you said it yourself, it's basically the same thing every day," Rouge said.
"Yeah, same excitement," Knuckles said.
"Well I need to spread my wings," Rouge said. "So does Lara."
"She's an echidna, she doesn't have wings!" Knuckles said.
"Doesn't she glide?" Skye asked.
"Yeah but it's not a wing thing since my dad does it, it's just an echidna thing," Lara said.
"I've actually thought about bringing Sonia to Angel Island sometimes," Sonic said. "Think that'd be cool with you, Knux?"
"Hey I'm all for it, she can explore there to her heart's content," Knuckles said.
"You think it's safe for her?" Amy asked.
"We'll be there to watch over her," Knuckles said.
"I'll personally keep an eye on your daughter, Amy," Lara said, then rubbed Skye's head. "Wanna join us little man?"
"Yeah, sure," Skye said.
"Sweet, seems like we have our next adventure planned out, now let's..." Suddenly the house started lifting off the ground. "Oh boy."
Amy looked outside to see that Sonia ran fast enough to cause a tornado, "SONIA! Stop running this instant!"
"Miles, you know what to do," Cream said.
"Sure thing," Tails said, activating a button that shot some claws from the bottom and attached to the ground, keeping the house anchored.
"What is that buddy?" Sonic asked.
"A little something I made just in case something like this happened," Tails said. "I call it my anti Sonic Speed Tornado security. Should keep the house stabalized long enough for Sonia to stop running."
Within seconds, Sonia was back in the house, sitting in front of her family, "Alright, so what's next?"
"Sonia!" Amy scolded. "Don't you have something to say to Tails and Cream first?"
"Hm?" Sonia asked. "Oh, right. Sorry for lifting your house off the ground, but you had it under control, so it's all good."
Amy furrowed her brow in annoyance, "This girl, I swear..."
"It's fine Amy, no harm done," Tails said. "When you're friends with Sonic, you get used to this type of stuff."
"Sonia, cool tornado, but maybe next time it'd be better to do that a little further away," Sonic said. "Or at least monitor the speed. Last time you ran this fast, you caused a sonic boom that resulted in a blackout for a lot of cities, including Mobotropolis."
"Sally was not happy about that," Amy said. "None of her friends were."
"I'm not worried about Aunt Sally, all I have to do is give her my 'I'm cute and adorable' eyes and she immediately slows her roll," Sonia said.
"Don't rely on that too much, Sally loves you but if you wear out her patience, you won't like it," Amy said.
"Speaking of Sally, the story ended with Tails crushing on her, what happened after that?" Sonia asked.
"Sonia, please don't say that so casually," Amy said.
"It's alright Amy, it happened a long time ago, now it's an old memory we can laugh at," Tails said. "Anyway, if I recall, I was searching the desert area and ended up boarding down the sands."
Back in the past, Tails had made his way down a large sandy hill, having just caught a frog with a tail, when a bright orb surrounded him. Next thing he knew, he was in a different location, with architecture like the ones he saw at the Mystic Ruins.
"Weird, wasn't I just in the desert?" Tails asked aloud. The boy began to explore his surroundings, making his way near what appeared to be a giant altar. Tails took a moment to examine this new piece of architecture, "Almost reminds me of the shrine where The Master Emerald is guarded."
"The Servers are the seven Chaos Emeralds," He heard a voice say. He turned to see Tikal praying to the altar. She however took notice of Tails, turning to face the boy. "Hello there friend, how are you?"
"Uh hi. Question. What was it you were just saying before?" Tails asked.
"Ah, you mean my prayer?" Tikal asked. "It's something I learned from my grandmother, she told me it was an old legend, and something I should never forget. 'The Servers are the Seven Chaos Emeralds. Chaos is Power. Power enriched by the Heart. The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos."
"That's interesting," Tails said.
"It really is," Tikal said. "Though I'm afraid that I do not know entirely what it means. I am caught up in the number seven however, as that's how many Chaos Emeralds there are."
"Emeralds..." Tails repeated, having a bit on his mind.
"Forgive me, but I don't think we've met before," the girl said. "My name is Tikal, what's your name?"
Before Tails could answer, he was teleported back into the Mystic Ruins, the boy looking disappointed. "Aw, I didn't get to introduce myself. She looked really nice too."
Suddenly he heard some loud thumps, and could spot Big the Cat running towards him. Though on the way over, the plus sized feline had tripped, startling Froggy out of Tails's hands, the amphibious creature hopping away and Big giving chase.
"Wait for me!"
Tails scratched his head in confusion, "Weird...what was that about?" He looked down to his newly acquired emerald. "I'll worry about that later, I have a job to do. This Chaos Emerald should get my Tornado 2 up and raring to go."
He had made his way to his workshop, uncovering his Tornado 2 plane. "The time has come, hopefully the problems should be ironed out. Here I come, Sonic!"
Tails had attached the Emerald to his plane, quickly entering the cockpit and readying for flight as the takeoff lane had opened. "Tornado 2, ready for takeoff!"
The plane had successfully taken to the skies, the takeoff being a success. So far no problems, "I'll do some quick test flights first, then I'll find Sonic. Alright, let's do this!"
Meanwhile Sonic had made his way past the Emerald Coast Hotel, arriving near Twinkle Park, with Peter swinging right beside him.
"The announcer lady just said that the trains aren't running," Peter said. "Got another way to The Mystic Ruins?"
"Shouldn't be hard, just stick with me," Sonic said.
"Sonic! Wait up!" Amy said, running over. "You're way too fast sometimes."
"Sorry," Sonic said.
"As for you Peter, what's the big idea leaving me behind as well?" Amy asked.
"I'm really sorry about that, urgency took over, I'll stick closer to you," Peter said.
"Good, now let's all try to stay together before...oh no!" Amy shouted, pointing to the distance. "Eggman's robot!"
On the way over was the green robot, Zero. This robot was on a mission and ready to fulfil its orders.
"Leave it to me," Sonic said, ready to fight. Suddenly he heard Amy screaming again, the hedgehog quickly turning his attention to her. "What's wrong now!?"
"Sonic look!" Amy said, gesturing to a sign. "It says 'Cute Couples get in for Free'!"
"What defines a 'cute couple' though?" Peter wondered.
"Sonic, you and I should go in!" Amy said, entering the building. "Come on!"
"Huh? Amy! W-w-w-wait!" Sonic called. Too late as Amy was already deep inside the park. "Great."
"Is she serious right now?" Peter asked.
"Eh, Amy's just like that, at least she's not scared," Sonic said. "Still, I gotta go after her and make sure she doesn't get hurt."
"What about me? You two are the couple, I don't have anyone," Peter said.
"Uh, we're not a couple," Sonic said, sheepishly rubbing his head. "Still, gotta head inside."
"I'll keep that robot distracted," Peter said. "Go save Amy."
"I owe ya," Sonic said as he made his way inside the building.
Within seconds, more robots arrived, Peter turning his attention to the new enemies. "Guess he had backup. This shouldn't take too long."
The robots charged at Peter, the hero taking down each of them swiftly. He then heard some civilians screaming for help, noticing that some robots had a family surrounded.
"I'm coming!" Peter went to dismantle the robots while Zero went inside Twinkle Park.
Amy looked around Twinkle Park, seeing the lovely sight of the castle area. "Wow, so pretty. Walking through the castle makes me feel like a real Princess, and Sonic is my prince. Isn't that right little Flicky?"
She then heard some strange noises. Coming in from behind was the robot Zero, the machine making its way toward the young, pink hedgehog.
"Not good, I gotta run!" Amy said, doing her best to avoid the machine's sight. "I thought Sonic was gonna destroy that thing! Peter too! Where did they go!?"
While Amy was running through the castle area, Sonic was speeding around the race area, "I thought Amy would be around here. Geez how big is this place? I hope she's alright."
Some of Eggman's robots began to surround Sonic, the blue hedgehog not looking impressed. Without another word, he immediately dispatched them, dusting his hands off afterwards.
"Not even theme parks are safe from Eggman's machines," Sonic said. "Speaking of robots, I don't see that green one, hopefully Peter destroyed it."
Meanwhile Big the Cat was seen fishing off Emerald Coast, trying his hardest to find his friend Froggy. Suddenly his line began to tug, Big immediately pulling, "Is that you Froggy?" He pulled the line hard enough so that his little frog friend was pulled out of the water.
However, instead of it landing in Big's safe hands, it instead landed in the clutches of E-102 Gamma.
"Uh-oh," Big said as Gamma made a run for it. "Hey! Give me back my friend! Please, I'm begging ya! Give him back!"
Outside of Twinkle Park, Peter had destroyed all the robots in the area, and was assisting some of the families and some other civilians in getting to safety.
"It's dangerous right now, be careful when out in the streets, especially in the late hours," Peter said.
"We will, thank you," a father said as he escorted his wife and children away.
"Glad they're safe..." Peter looked around, recalling there was one other robot. "But what about that big, green machine? Did it go after Amy? Eh, maybe Sonic put a stop to it, not that it alleviates my worries."
"Sonic?" Came Sally's voice, the Princess having just arrived out of the nearby train station. "Did you say 'Sonic'?"
"Yeah, you know him?" Peter asked. "Given that you're a furry little creature, I take it you're from whatever world he's from."
"My name is Sally," the princess corrected. "I'd rather not be called a 'Furry Little Creature'."
"Sorry, didn't know what else to call you," Peter said. "Are you a gopher?"
"I'm a chipmunk," Sally said.
"Really? Figured your voice would be high pitched or something," Peter said.
Sally rolled her eyes in annoyance, "Whatever, you mentioned something about Sonic. Do you know where he went?"
"He went to save some hedgehog girl from a robot," Peter said. "Some guy called Eggman is trying to take over this place, Sonic went to stop him and his robots."
"Eggman?" Sally asked. "Well anyway, not surprised Sonic is out being the hero, that's always been his goal after all. Do you know which direction he went?"
"There," Peter said, gesturing to Twinkle Park. "Problem is, you can't get in unless you have a date. I can get you inside if you-"
"You're not my type," Sally interrupted, making her way over to the park. "I can find my way around, wasn't too hard finding that train."
"...It's always a girl named Sally," Peter lamented. "Still, I hate to break the rules but I need to make sure Amy's safe. Plus I'm already deep in this vigilante stuff so why stop now?"
Suddenly he found himself surrounded by Tikal's orb, the hero being transported to the distance past.
"Huh? What's going on?" Peter wondered, looking around. "Is this some weird magic or something?"
He walked around a bit until he spotted a group of chao making their way towards him. The little creatures were trying to climb up his leg, and while Peter was confused, he didn't seem against this. He even seemed a bit flattered.
"Cute little creatures," Peter said.
"They seem rather fond of you," Tikal said, getting Peter's attention.
"Oh hey, are these your pets?" Peter asked.
"No, they don't belong to me, or anyone for that matter," Tikal said. "They're friends to all those who welcome these creatures into their hearts."
"Well, honestly, I wouldn't mind taking one home with me," Peter said. "Then again, my aunt doesn't even want me to have a dog, let alone these creatures."
"I must say, I don't think I've ever seen anything like you," Tikal said.
"This is new to me too, see I..." Peter remembered something. "My friends, how do I get to my friends?"
"Follow your heart, it will show you the way," Tikal said.
"Huh? What does that even..." Suddenly Peter was thrown back to his time. "Uh...was I just dreaming? While awake? Geez, I like to daydream sometimes but that was ridiculous."
Meanwhile Sonic had gotten out of Twinkle Park, the speedster looking very annoyed, "Ugh, I couldn't find Amy, and no sign of that robot either. They might have gotten out already. Man, I'm really worried about her, we should have left her with Ryo." Sonic shook it off, "No time to worry, I gotta run!"
At this time, Sally was walking atop the tunnel to Twinkle Park, trying to find a way inside, "Sneaking in here might not be as simple as I thought. Maybe I should have let that oddly dressed boy help me."
As she looked around, she spotted Sonic leaving Twinkle Park and heading elsewhere in a hurry.
"There he is!" Just as she planned to follow, she spotted a pair of flying robots heading towards her. Sally leapt overhead, allowing the robots to crash as she went in pursuit of her childhood friend.
Sonic had entered Speed Highway, running around the place at high speeds, keeping a close eye out for anything of interest.
"No sign of Amy or that robot," Sonic said. "I don't see a lot of Eggman's robots either. Maybe I left that park too soon, she could still be there for all I know."
He continued running through the highway at high speeds, stopping every few seconds to catch his bearings and make sure he didn't miss anything. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen Tails since the Tornado got shot out of the sky. I hope Johnny and Rainbow Dash are okay too."
Feeling unsatisfied, Sonic decided to head back toward the Central Part of Station Square, "Maybe she's still at the park then, I'll search one more time. If I can't find her, I'll find Tails and see if maybe he knows where to go."
Just as he was about to leave, he heard some police sirens heading his way. "Huh? Is that the local authorities?" As they got closer, he could see that they were robots heading his way alongside some of Eggman's spinner robots. "I don't know if they're real cops but anything with Eggman's robots is bound to be trouble."
He immediately took the robots out, speeding around and destroying everything around, hoping to rid this place of Eggman's presence. One robot tried attacking from behind, but before Sonic could destroy it, an incoming Sally landed on the robot, placing a little bomb on it and kicking it away, sending it crashing into some other robots before a massive explosion.
Sally dusted her arms off and straightened out her hair a bit after it got messy from catching a ride on a speeding car while hoping to find Sonic, the explosion certainly didn't help.
"Whoa..." Sonic said, amazed by the skills of his newfound ally. "Hey thanks, appreciate the help."
Turning around, Sally came face to face with Sonic, the Princess laying eyes on him again for the first time in so long. "Sonic? Wow...it's really you."
"Hm? Wait..." Sonic squinted his eyes at the girl. "Is that you Sally?"
"Oh Sonic!" Sally shouted, hugging the hedgehog. "It's been so long, I've missed you so much!"
"Uh..." Sonic began feeling very awkward and embarrassed, not sure how to react to this. "Yeah...wow, it's been a long time, hasn't it?"
Sally had released her hug, taking in the sight before her, "Yeah, I haven't seen you in five years. Boy when you said you wanted to explore, I didn't think it'd take you this long, especially with your speed. You even found yourself on another planet."
"I've been having fun," Sonic said. "Still, really nice to see you. Sorry I haven't been around, I went back to my old place of birth, and then from there I've been on a weird adventure, taking me to South Island, West Island, Angel Island, even Little Planet."
"You've been quite busy," Sally said. "I hope it's been fun for you."
"Yeah, really fun, I met some new friends, I think you might like them," Sonic said.
"I met one actually, a young fox boy called Tails," Sally said.
"You met Tails? When? Is he alright?" Sonic asked.
"Yeah, he's fine...though I did find him unconcious somewhere," Sally said. "What's going on? Does this have to do with that Eggman fellow I heard about?"
"Yeah, Eggman's behind this," Sonic said. "You know him too, it's Doctor Robotnik."
"Robotnik?" Sally asked. "Wait, he's back?"
"He never left," Sonic said. "When I went to South Island, I found him using the Little Creatures to create new robots he calls Badniks. He's been desperately trying to rebuild ever since we sent him packing out of the Crown City. I've been spending the last couple of years trying to stop his schemes."
"You were in trouble?" Sally asked. "Why didn't you come back to Mobotropolis? We could have helped you."
"I had it under control, plus I didn't want anyone to worry," Sonic said. "Sounds like he was finally leaving your Kingdom alone and giving you peace of mind."
"That must be why you never came back..." Sally said, then brought Sonic in for another hug. "I'm so sorry you went through that alone."
"Hey, it's all good," Sonic said, nervously backing away, much to Sally's confusion. "Like I said, I made some new friends, and they've been great help."
"I suppose so," Sally said. "Sonic's acting a bit different, he doesn't' think he's too cool for my attention, does he?"
"Hey, I'd like to chat more, but I need to run," Sonic said. "My friend's in danger."
"Friend? The hedgehog girl that boy mentioned?" Sally asked.
"What boy?" Sonic asked. "Wait, did he have a red and blue suit?"
"With a spider design? Yes," Sally said.
"That's Peter, we just met and he's already a cool guy in my book," Sonic said. "But yeah, a little hedgehog girl named Amy Rose. She's being chased by one of Eggman's robots."
"Maybe I can help then," Sally said.
"It's fine, I can handle this alone, but maybe someone else needs your help," Sonic said, about to leave. "Catch you later Sally!"
"But wait!" Sonic had already dashed off, much to Sally's annoyance. "All these years and he's still just as impatient as ever. Still, I should check in on this, make sure this Amy girl is alright."
Moments later, she spotted Peter swinging around, the hero landing near the Princess, "Hey, Sally right? Any luck finding Sonic?"
"You just missed him, he's off looking for a girl named Amy Rose," Sally said.
"Yeah, I still can't find them," Peter said. "I won't' stop trying though."
"Hey, I just saw you swinging, are you particularly fast at that?" Sally asked.
"Uh yeah, why?" Peter asked, then found Sally climbing on his back. "Uh, you know I'm not a taxi service, right?"
"Look, I need to catch up to Sonic and you need to find Amy Rose, let's try to cooperate," Sally said.
"Sure, right..." Peter said. "Not like I didn't suggest it before, but whatever."
"Get going!" Sally ordered.
"Don't boss me around," Peter said, swinging away. "And hold on tight before you fall!"
Not too long later, Amy had finally gotten out of Twinkle Park, the girl taking a quick look around, "At least we lost that robot, but we also lost track of Sonic, and Peter too." She walked off with the bird, "Maybe I should head to Tails's lab, he's probably back there waiting for me, and probably worried too."
As she walked, a dark shadow was cast over her. She turned around to see that Zero had followed her out of the park.
"Not you again!" Amy tried to run but she was grabbed by the sinister robot, along with the flicky as it began to leave. "Put us down you bucket of bolts! Someone help!"
Sonic was down below, keeping an eye out for Amy once again, "Where could she be?"
Suddenly, he heard Amy calling for help, the young hedgehog girl calling for help. "Sonic! Help!"
"No!" Sonic shouted in worry. "I gotta go after them!"
He immediately sped after the robot and Amy, though the trip wasn't easy at first when it came to getting past the train. Soon enough Zero arrived at The Mystic Ruins, Amy still in tow.
"Put me down you hunk of junk!" Amy shouted. "When Sonic finds you, he's gonna kick your sorry butt!"
"Hey you!" Sonic called, landing before the robot. "Hand Amy over before I trash you!"
"Sonic! You came!" A very happy Amy declared.
Suddenly a large shade was cast over, confusing Sonic, "What's happening!?" He looked up and spotted the Egg Carrier, a beam shooting down and taking up Amy and Zero. "Wait, stop!"
Sonic tried to use the beam too, but it dissipated before he had the chance.
"Sonic! Help me!" Amy called.
"Dammit! I gotta reach that thing!" Sonic said, speeding off toward Red Mountain.
Meanwhile Knuckles had found the next few bits of Master Emerald shards in a mountain region, "Alright, that might be it, now I just gotta-" Suddenly he was once again engulfed in Tikal's light, being transported to the ancient past. "This again? What's going on?"
He ventured ahead until he spotted Tikal near the Master Emerald.
"I beg of you, hear me now," Tikal said. "My father is on his way now; you must take everyone away from here!"
"What is she talking about?" Knuckles wondered.
"So...you're saying you can't take leave this place?" Tikal asked, listening for an answer. "I understand, I will try talking to my father again. If only there was a better way to do this." She turned around and faced the nearby Chao. "I won't let you down my friends. I must act quickly!"
Knuckles was then teleported back to the Mystic Ruins, surprising him once again, "I'm back at the altar. This is so weird..." Knuckles began thinking things over. "No time to dawdle, I have to restore the Master Emerald."
He placed the pieces back on the Master Emerald, the rock reforming into place.
"Damn, it's still incomplete," Knuckles said, then noticed a vision in the incomplete emerald. "Is that...Eggman's flying fortress? That might be where the remaining pieces are."
Knuckles began making his way back to the mainland, thinking over his next course of action. "Wait, where am I going to find that ship?" Suddenly he spotted Gamma landing nearby and trying to go somewhere. "That must be one of Eggman's robots! I should follow it, and find Eggman's base that way."
Without hesitation, Knuckles began to follow Gamma, believing the robot could lead him to where he needed to go.
Later on the Egg Carrier, Gamma and the other E-Series robots were all gathered in a room, each one possessing a frog and presenting it to Eggman.
Gamma looked like he had come out of something strange, the robot returning from a strange area shortly after acquiring a frog, recalling only Chao and a friendly Echidna. Despite that, he had his goals, present the frog to his master.
"Didn't Doctor Eggman only want one frog?" Bocoe asked.
"Guess these elite robots aren't as well functioning as we thought," Decoe said.
"And they're not very smart either," Cubot said.
"The boss is coming," Orbot said, gesturing to Eggman as he made his way over to the robots, the doctor looking displeased.
"You fools! You absolute fools!" Eggman berated. "Not one of you got the correct frog!"
"Oh boy, he's definitely not happy," Cubot said.
"I sent you to find a frog with Chaos's tail! The frog itself should have a long tail!" Eggman said. "He also is in possession of a Chaos Emerald too, making him doubly important!"
"Excuse me boss," Orbot said. "You said the frog must have a tail, correct?"
"Yes, what about it?" Eggman asked.
"It seems Model Gamma has a frog with a tail," Orbot pointed out.
"Huh?" Eggman turned his attention to the robot holding Froggy, "You're right! Gamma does have the correct frog! Haha! I knew you'd be of use to me Gamma, I am very proud of you!"
"Doctor Eggman never says he's proud of us," Cubot said.
"Are you even surprised?" Bocoe asked.
"Still, kind of unfair the new guy gets this type of attention," Cubot said.
"All you worthless hunks of junk, begone!" Eggman said, sending away his other robots, E-103 Delta in particular nervously glancing at Gamma before disappearing.
"...Suddenly not feeling so jealous anymore," Cubot said.
Eggman took Froggy in his hands, "I have a new assignment for you Gamma. In that back room, there's a girl with a bird. Get me that bird."
"Yes sir," Gamma said, making his leave.
"Say boss, what's gonna happen with those other robots?" Cubot asked.
"I need to fix them before I send them back out there," Eggman said. "Meanwhile I need to attend to some business regarding Chaos. Keep an eye out for any sign of Chaos Emerald data, or Sonic's location."
"Sure thing boss," Cubot said. "...We should get to work before we get those 'upgrades'."
"I agree," Orbot said, then noticed something concerning. "Gamma wait! Not that door!"
Upon going through, Gamma spotted Beta being redesigned, the robot looking to be in pain as it was given its fixes.
"Beta?" Gamma asked.
Orbot came through the door, a little unnerved by the sight of Beta, but composed enough to speak," Gamma, the room is this way, come with me."
"Okay..." Gamma said, still registering what he just saw.
Orbot led him to the correct door, gesturing down the hall, "Your assignment is down there. Hurry."
"Affirmative," Gamma said.
"Also..." Orbot began, feeling awkward. "What you saw in that other room, just keep up the good work and you never have to worry about that."
"...Yes," Gamma said, heading down the correct hall.
Orbot awkwardly made his leave, "Sometimes Eggman can be quite cruel with his robots. But it is not my place to speak."
At the end of the hall, Amy was seen affectionately petting the flicky on its head, "Don't worry, we'll be fine. Sonic will find us, maybe he'll bring Peter with him." Suddenly she spotted Gamma outside her cell. "What do you want? Go away!"
"Give me the bird," Gamma said.
Amy shook her head. "No!"
"Resistance is futile, hand over the bird," Gamma warned.
"I'm not doing that! Take a hike!" Amy said.
"Why won't you comply?" Gamma asked.
"How about you tell me why you want this bird!" Amy demanded.
"Data unavailable," Gamma said.
"You don't even know why?" Amy asked, approaching the cell bars. "Do you even know what Eggman wants to do?"
"That is irrelevant to my mission," Gamma said.
"Geez, sometimes I forget you robots are basically his slaves, you probably don't even understand the terrible things that Eggman makes you do," Amy said. "Listen, you don't have to be mean, why not help out me and this little bird?"
"Does not compute, why help that which is useless to you?" Gamma asked. "It is illogical."
"You poor thing, if only Eggman gave you the ability to love, then you'd understand," Amy said. "Listen...I know you're just doing your job but, it would be a really great thing if you could free us."
Suddenly the bird flew from Amy's hands, getting in close to Gamma, confusing the robot. After a few seconds, it activated a lock-release. "Escape, quickly!"
"Wait, really?" Amy asked.
"Go, it is dangerous here," Gamma said. "We will be approaching the Mystic Ruins base shortly. That is your chance to leave."
"Wow, that's really nice of you," Amy said, taking the bird back in her hands. "So you can show feelings of your own, I'm glad at least one of Eggman's robots can change for the better. Maybe the others can too."
"Change?" Gamma asked.
"Tell you later," Amy said, making her leave. "Thank you so much!"
Amy made her way towards the Hot Shelter part of the ship while Gamma took some time to think things over.
Meanwhile Sonic had reached the top of Red Mountain, the Egg Carrier still far from sight. "Gotta figure something out."
"Sonic!" Tails called, the fox flying over with his Tornado 2.
"Tails!? No way! You got it flying!?" Sonic asked.
"Hurry, hop on!" Tails said.
"No need to tell me twice!" Sonic said, landing on the plane. "Let's fly!"
As they flew toward the Egg Carrier, Peter and Sally arrived atop the mountain as well, spotting the two flying off.
"I see Sonic and his friend!" Sally said. "Quick, figure out a way to get to them!"
"You're really bossy, you know that?" Peter said.
"Stop whining and do what I tell you, this is a life or death situation," Sally said.
"Fine, hang on tight then!" Peter said, using his web to latch onto the plane, taking off with Sonic and Tails.
"Ah! What are you doing!? This is dangerous!" Sally shouted.
"Hey you're the one who wanted to keep up!" Peter said.
"Not like...AH! Watch out!" Sally shouted.
Peter looked ahead to see some missiles heading their way. Fortunately Tails was able to transform the plane into a battle mode and shoot them down, then zipped around everything else.
"Neat transformation," Sonic said. "You really went all out, buddy."
"Thanks, now hang on tight," Tails said, flying faster, to the worry of the Princess the boy was currently unaware of.
"This is so dangerous," Sally lamented. "Get us to the cockpit!"
"You know this plane is kind of small, I doubt we're gonna fit," Peter said.
"Then WHY did you latch onto the plane!?" Sally shouted.
"Because you wanted to catch up to your friends!" Peter retorted.
"You could have taken a smarter approach!" Sally said.
"Maybe don't sass the guy who's keeping you alive," Peter said.
"Hey! Are you threatening to drop me!?" Sally shouted.
"Never said that!" Peter shouted. "Geez lady, is it your time of the month!?"
Sally's face turned bright red, "I can't believe you said that! Didn't your mother teach you any manners?"
"No but my aunt did, unfortunately for you I'm a teenager, so I'm a bit rebellious," Peter sassed.
"Why you...AH!" Sally screamed in worry again, fortunately Tails was able to take down more oncoming missiles.
"The pilot here's amazing," Peter said.
"Yeah, it's a young boy too," Sally said. "That kind of has me worried."
"Hey he's clearly doing a great job, so you don't need to worry," Peter said.
Tails continued flying closer with Sonic fiercely determined as to what was coming next. Suddenly a laser came out and began to charge up. "I think Eggman's going to try and blast us out of the sky again, get ready."
"Hang on tight," Tails said. "I'm going maneuver around and-"
Suddenly a ball of fire hit the laser beam before it could fire. Sonic and Tails turned to the side, spotting Johnny and Rainbow Dash.
"Sup!?" Johnny shouted.
"We're glad you two are okay!" Sonic said.
"It's gonna take more than a cheap shot to keep us down!" Rainbow Dash said. "Also, not sure if you noticed, but you have some stowaways!"
"Huh?" Sonic looked around and spotted the two extra guests dangling from a web. "Peter!? Sally!?"
"Sally!?" Tails asked, turning quickly to see the Princess. "Wait, she's here!? Also who's that guy?"
"That's Peter Parker, a friend of Johnny and Rainbow Dash," Sonic said, then noticed that everyone was getting close. "There's the Egg Carrier, Tails get ready to land."
"Uh, one problem, this mode doesn't have landing gear," Tails said.
"Seriously!?" Sonic asked, then turned to the stowaways. "Brace yourself for impact!"
"Dash, let's help them land," Johnny said, Rainbow Dash complying by assisting Peter while Johnny helped guide the plane to safely land.
"Thanks for that," Sonic said, hopping off.
"Appreciate that," Sally said, getting off Peter. "Geez, I thought I was going to die."
"Good thing Tails is such a good pilot," Rainbow Dash said. "Not to mention you had Peter to protect you."
"Protect me? He's the reason I nearly died!" Sally said.
"Well excuse me, Princess," Peter sarcastically commented.
"Hey! Who told you I was a princess?" Sally asked.
"...No one, I was making a...wait, are you seriously a Princess?" Peter asked.
"She is," Sonic confirmed, approaching the girl. "What are you doing up here Sally?"
"I came to find you, make sure you stay out of danger," Sally said.
"I'm fine, you're the one who's in danger now though," Sonic said.
"I can take care of myself," Sally said.
"Sure you can," Peter sarcastically quipped, further annoying Sally.
"Princess Sally," Tails said, approaching her as well.
"You don't need to call me 'Princess', just 'Sally' is fine," the girl said. "Wow, you really are a great pilot, I can't believe how well you flew that plane."
"Thanks, I've been flying for a really long time," Tails said. "Ever since Sonic gave me his plane."
A now confused Sally turned her attention to Sonic, "You had a plane?"
"Yeah, it helped me travel the islands," Sonic said. "Of course I prefer running so Tails handles more of the flying."
"Still, you look a little young," Sally said.
"Well he is eight years old," Rainbow Dash said.
"Only eight!?" Sally shouted. "That's WAY too young."
"It's fine Sally, I can totally handle it," Tails said. "Anyway, we're wasing time here."
"Right, we gotta find Amy," Sonic said. "That robot captured her and brought her to this terrible place."
"Should we split up?" Peter asked.
"That might be faster," Sally said. "Alright Sonic and Peter can search north. Peter's friends can search west. Tails can come east with me."
"Don't we get a say in this?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Yeah, just because you're a princess doesn't mean we're just gonna do what you say," Johnny said. "Not like you have any jurisdiction."
"Plus we don't know this place well," Sonic said. "It's smarter to stay together. Not to mention Amy's likely in the bridge."
"But we don't know for sure, plus this way we at least have a partner with us," Sally said.
"I don't mind going alone with Sally," Tails said.
"At least one of you has a brain," Sally said.
Peter furrowed his brow, "You wanna know something lady? You can be really-"
"Fools!" Eggman shouted over the loudspeaker. "Don't think your plan will be that easy! You haven't seen what my masterpiece is fully capable of!"
Suddenly the Egg Carrier began to change form before their very eyes, taking the group by surprise.
"Oh wow, it changed shape, did you see that?" Tails asked, Sonic glancing in bemusement while everyone raised their eyebrow.
"How are we gonna get to the bridge now?" Sonic wondered.
"I hate when he doesn't listen to me," Tails said.
"Annoying, isn't it?" Sally said.
"He literally just pointed out the obvious, what was Sonic expected to say?" Peter thought to himself.
"You weren't expecting that were you?" Eggman said. "To get to me, you'll need to take the Sky Deck, good luck getting across!"
"I'm going on ahead!" Sonic said, dashing off and leaving everyone behind.
"Ugh, Sonic!" Sally shouted in annoyance.
"Don't worry, we can catch up," Tails said. "I can fly you if you'd like."
"Would your plane be able to navigate?" Sally asked.
"Not with my plane, with my tails," Miles used his twin tails to levitate. "See?"
"Whoa! Your butt turned into a helicopter," Peter said.
"Peter!" Sally scolded. "Don't say something so crude! Suppose you hurt his feelings?"
"It's fine, I've gotten that before," Tails said. "Even Sonic's made a joke like that."
"Of course he did..." Sally lamented. "Well, can you keep up?"
"Totally," Tails said, lifting Sally into his arms. "She's so close! And she smells so nice. Wow, is that weird to think? That might be weird."
"Johnny, Dash, let's go," Peter said, leading the way with his own friends.
"Hang on tight, Sally," Tails said, flying the Princess toward the Sky Deck.
Meanwhile Amy had made her way through the Hot Shelter, the girl looking almost out of breath.
"That stupid robot came after us again..." Amy lamented. "Getting out of here's gonna be hard. I need to..." Suddenly Tikal's light began surrounding her. "Huh? What's going on?" Not too long later, she arrived at the old Echidna temple, looking confused. "What's this place?"
After some exploring, she came across Tikal, the young Echidna looking over some Chao.
"Don't be afraid little ones, you're safe with me," Tikal said.
"Wow, little chaos, they remind me of Cheese," Amy said. "Wonder how he and Cream are doing?"
Moments later, a creature began to emerge from the water, but before anything, Amy was whisked back to the Egg Carrier.
"That was strange..." Amy remembered her goal. "Right, I gotta get out of here, come on birdie."
Amy took the Flicky outside to the deck of the ship, looking for a way off. From what she could see, there weren't many easy escape routes.
"Where do you think you're going, Amy?" Eggman asked, the villain flying in on his pod.
"Get away from me, Eggman!" Amy warned.
"Amy!" Sonic called, the hedgehog emerging from the bridge.
"Sonic! You're here!" Amy said in relief.
"Not alone," Sonic said, gesturing to his friends arriving one by one.
"Tails and Peter are here too!" Amy said.
"What do we have here? Some wannabe heroes?" Eggman asked, taking note of the sole chipmunk of the group. "Ah...Princess Sally Acorn. It's been years since I've seen you."
"Robotnik, you haven't changed much, have you?" Sally asked.
"Princess?" Amy did recall that the Acorn Family ruled over Mobius, but she hadn't seen any of them up close.
"Hey Eggman, get away from that girl!" Peter warned.
"First thing's first," Eggman said, using his claw to snatch the flicky away.
"No! Not him!" Amy said in worry.
Moments later, Eggman released the creature, holding the Cyan Chaos Emerald in his hand, "Ah, this is what I needed."
"A Chaos Emerald?" Tails said.
"Wait, that bird was carrying it?" Johnny asked. "Where though?"
"Begone, all of you! I have what I need!" Eggman said. "Gamma!"
Seconds later, Gamma emerged from the bridge. "Master Robotnik."
"Another robot?" Johnny asked.
"Get rid of these pests!" Eggman said.
"Aye-aye sir," Gamma said.
"I've got other things to do, do not disappoint me!" Eggman said, flying off.
"You two!" Sally gestured to Johnny and Rainbow Dash. "Follow him!"
"Can you not boss us around?" Johnny said.
"We should go after him though," Rainbow Dash said, though before she moved, Gamma began firing at her, nearly blasting the Pegasus winged girl. "Bro!"
"I'll take this hunk of junk out!" Sonic said, immediately spin-dashing into it, knocking it back against a wall.
"Way to go Sonic!" Sally said. "Finish it off and head after Robotnik!"
"Sonic wait! Don't!" Amy said, standing in the middle of the path.
"Huh!?" Sonic stopped short of the hedgehog girl. "Amy, it's dangerous, move out of the way!"
"But this robot is my friend, he helped me escape!" Amy said. "Please don't hurt him!"
"Is this girl serious?" Sally asked. "Sonic, it's one of Robotnik's robots! If you spare it, then it's just gonna hurt someone else later!"
"No, you're wrong!" Amy said. "You have to believe me!"
"Sonic, stop wasting time and destroy that machine!" Sally ordered.
"Please Sonic..." Amy said.
After contemplation from both Amy's story and Sally's, Sonic relented on the situation. "Alright Amy, I trust your judgement."
"Sonic!" Sally scolded. "Ugh, this is not a good idea. That girl doesn't know what she's doing!"
"Amy's a really good judge of character," Tails said. "If she says that robot's good, then that's enough for me too."
"Thanks Tails," Amy said, suddenly the ship began shaking.
"What's going on?" Sally asked.
"The ship is losing altitude!" Tails said.
"Guess messing with those controls worked out, I think," Johnny said.
"Tails, take Amy off this thing!" Sonic said. "I'm going after Eggman!"
"Wait, not alone, right?" Sally asked. "It's dangerous!"
"I'll be fine," Sonic said, then sped off. "The rest of you figure things out, I gotta go!"
"Thanks again Sonic, you're my hero!" Amy called.
Sally turned her attention to Amy, "How did you manage to convince Sonic the Hedgehog to listen to you?"
"It's not hard, he's a friend after all," Amy said, the girl blushing a bit. "And hopefully something more one day."
"Ah I get it, you have a crush on him," Johnny said. "Well I guess that proves you're not his sister."
Peter raised his eyebrow in confusion, "Seriously?"
"How ridiculous," Sally said. "Tails, do what Sonic said, get that little girl as far away from here as possible."
"I'm not a little girl, my name is Amy," the pink hedgehog said, then turned to Gamma. "Hey, are you doing alright? It's dangerous here, you should leave too. Actually, you should join our side!"
"Why do you assist me?" Gamma asked.
"Because we're friends, even this little flicky wants the best for you," Amy said. "You're better off without Eggman."
"That girl is so deluded," Sally said.
"She's just friendly, that's a good thing," Peter said. "Right Dash?"
"Yeah, as long as she's smart about it," Rainbow Dash said.
"Hopefully that robot's not stringing her along," Johnny said. "She seems like a nice girl but, I wouldn't be surprised if she's a little naive, she looks pretty young."
"You know I can hear you, right?" Amy said, turning to Johnny. "Seriously, I'm twelve."
"Huh, I would have thought you were eight like Tails," Johnny said. "Still, you're pretty young yourself, once Tails gets you out of here, go find someplace safe, this is not something little kids should do."
"I told you...ugh, never mind," Amy turned back to Gamma. "I hope that you take our side. I promise that we'll treat you better than Eggman has."
"Amy, I hate to rush you, but we really need to go," Tails said.
"Of course," Amy said, making her way over to Tails as he lifted her up into his arms.
"Are you comfortable?" Tails asked.
"I'm fine, let's get going," Amy said, turning to Gamma. "Bye Mr. Robot!"
Tails quickly flew Amy off the Egg Carrier as Gamma himself began adjusting his rockets.
Sally suspiciously glanced at Gamma, looking to grab a grenade from her jacket when Peter got her attention. "Do not hurt that robot!"
Sally glanced at the boy, "You can't be serious, it's one of Robotnik's robots."
"Amy says he's good, I trust her," Peter said. "She's a good lady, sees the best in others."
"...Fine, but if that robot causes mayhem, it's on you," Sally said, making her leave. "I gotta find Sonic."
Peter shook his head in annoyance, "That girl's such a brat."
"Still, what if she's right about that Eggman robot?" Johnny asked. "I still say that Amy girl seemed too naive."
"You don't even know her, don't make early judgements," Peter said. "Just have some faith in her, that robot honestly wasn't too dangerous in the end anyway."
"Fine, if you think so," Johnny said. "Let's just see if we can help Sonic."
Meanwhile Sonic was running along, having found a switch on the bridge, "This should turn the ship back to its original form!" After activating it, the Egg Carrier returned to normal, much to Sonic's relief. "This should make it easier to find Eggman."
Sonic emerged from the bridge of the ship, going toward the front of the Egg Carrier. He wasn't alone, Sally wasn't too far behind along with the three heroes.
"Sonic wait up!" Sally called.
As they got close, Chaos Emerged from the ground in his sixth form, taking everybody by surprise.
"Chaos!? Again?" Sonic asked. "Is this really that same monster!?"
"Oh my gosh!" Sally shouted in worry. "A monster!"
"What is that thing?" Peter asked.
"Some monster Eggman's using to take over the world," Rainbow Dash said. "Except it's a lot bigger than last time."
"Pfft, just because it's bigger doesn't mean it's better," Johnny said, aiming his fire. "I can take it down."
"Froggy!" Came the voice of Big, the cat running by everyone.
"Huh? It's that cat dude again," Rainbow Dash said.
"Froggy's in there!" Big said, gesturing to the little frog inside of Chaos.
"If that's your friend, I'll get him out," Sonic said. "Leave it to me!"
"As if any of you are a match for Chaos. Even if he's not complete yet he will destroy you!" Eggman said. "Now Chaos, attack!"
As this was happening, Knuckles had finally found the remaining pieces of the Master Emerald, "Finally, that's the last bit. I just have to head back to Angel Island and-" Seconds later, Tikal's orb began to surround Knuckles. "Not again!"
Within seconds, Knuckles was teleported to the distant past, looking ahead at the Angel Island shrine, only this time, there was a worrying red glow. "What's the meaning of this?"
Knuckles ran ahead and saw that the place was on fire. He didn't know why but it was obvious this was troubling, "This isn't good! I wonder if that girl's alright. Wait, I see her!" He ran over to Tikal, the Echidna hurt on the ground, "Hey, what happened here!"
"I couldn't stop them," Tikal said. "They came...and my father...I had no idea this could end up so badly!"
Knuckles noticed something strange ahead, "The emerald!" Tikal wasted no time getting to it, "Wait!"
Within seconds, Knuckles was back in his timeline, the echidna as confused as ever, "Is this a dream, or a nightmare?" He then heard some fighting nearby, "Now what?"
On the deck of the Egg Carrier, Sonic was homing in and striking Chaos with help from Rainbow Dash and Peter.
"They're weakening him but it's not going fast enough!" Sally said. "Fire guy!"
"Johnny," the Human Torch said.
"Uh, Johnny, can you dehydrate it?" Sally asked.
"I would but that cat's pet frog is there, I could end up hurting it," Johnny said. "Though, it looks like he has the situation under control."
"Huh?" Sally could see that Big had a fishing rod and was trying to fish Froggy out of Chaos 6. "Is he crazy!? Geez I feel like I'm surrounded by idiots today."
"Kind of harsh," Johnny said, then saw Knuckles flying over. "Hey it's that big fist guy."
"Huh?" Sally took note of Knuckles, "An Echidna? Is that..."
"Sonic!" Knuckles called.
"Oh, hey Knuckles, you're here too huh?" Sonic asked.
"Great, more of you," Eggman said. "Destroy them Chaos!"
"I don't think so!" Knuckles charged himself with electricity and rushed in to punch Chaos hard. The force was enough to dissipate the monster into nothing, much to Eggman's frustrations.
"No! Curses!" Eggman shouted. "I hate you!"
"Froggy," Big said, taking his friend and making his leave.
"Boss!" Orbot called, making his way over with his allies. "The ship is about to crash!"
"I will return!" Eggman said, allowing his robots to board his Eggmobile as he flew away.
"Get back here!" Sonic shouted, running after Eggman and jumping off the Egg Carrier.
"SONIC!" Sally shouted in annoyance. "Ugh, how stupid can he get!?"
"We gotta go," Johnny said, feeling the ship losing altitude. "Dash, grab Sally. I got Peter!"
"Got it!" Rainbow Dash said, picking Sally up and heading down with Johnny.
Knuckles jumped off the Egg Carrier as well, gliding down to safety, back to Angel Island.
Nearby Big had spotted the Tornado 2. "An airplane. I don't know the first thing about flying it, but I don't have much choice here. Hang on tight, Froggy."
Big placed the frog inside the plane as he began to fly off of the Egg Carrier just as it lost altitude and began to crash.
Sonic landed hard on the ground below, the hedgehog shaking off the effects of the fall. "What a pain, sometimes I just hate Eggman." He began to speed off. "I hope everyone's alright, right now I gotta end this, fast!"
Meanwhile with Tails, the boy had landed safely in Station Square, letting Amy off of his arms, "There you go."
"Thanks Tails, you're the best," Amy said, giving the boy a quick kiss on the cheek.
"It's nothing," Tails bashfully stated as he rubbed his head. "You should hurry back to my workshop, I'm gonna go see if I can find Sonic."
Tails immediately took off, Amy waving good-bye and walking off with the flicky, "I feel lucky to have so many caring friends, don't you think so little Flicky?" The bird chirped for a second. "Yeah, I figured. Still, Sonic is always rescuing me, and I get the feeling I worry him a lot. I should really try to be more independent and get stronger on my own, so that way I'm not a burden to my friends."
Amy checked the pendant on the little flicky, seeing a picture inside. "I still can't believe you had a Chaos Emerald in here, that would explain why Eggman was after you. Still, it's really pretty and has a nice picture of your family. Wait, does Eggman have them captive?"
The flicky nodded its head, Amy feeling sympathy for the creature, "I know Tails said to go back to the workshop, but this is important, I'm gonna help you find your family. That nice robot said that Doctor Eggman had a base in the Mystic Ruins, let's go check it out!"
While Tails was flying, he spotted Eggman in his Egg Mobile. "Great...my plans have failed, and Chaos has been defeated."
"What do we do now boss?" Cubot asked.
"I am not giving up, I'll take one final act of revenge, by destroying Station Square!" Eggman said.
"He's going to what!?" Tails shouted in disbelief as Eggman fired a missile overhead into the nearby city. This took all the citizens by surprise, namely two in general that were driving along.
"Jacky! Is that a missile!?" Sarah asked.
"Holy shit, where did that come from!?" Jacky asked.
"It might be related to those robots, it's about to land!" Sarah shouted.
"Brace yourselves!" Jacky said.
Tails was also braced for the impact of the explosion, but after a few seconds, nothing happened. "Huh? What's going on?"
"A dud!? Oh come on!" Eggman shouted in annoyance. "Orbot, I told you to check the missile's."
"I was but then you told me never mind and to focus on the E-Series robots," Orbot said. "You were so confident in them that-"
"Enough!" Eggman said. "I'll just detonate it myself."
"I can't let him do that!" Tails said, following Eggman, the two making their way through Speed Highway.
The Bryant Siblings were also speeding through the highway, both wanting to check on that missile themselves when they spotted Tails flying past them.
"It's that fox from before," Sarah said.
"Wow, he can really go," Jacky said.
"I gotta get to that missile before Eggman does," Tails said. "Wow, usually Sonic is the big hero, but he can't be here right now. I have to be the one that saves Station Square."
Meanwhile Eggman was trying to get to the missile as well, "Go faster you hunk of junk! Bocoe! Did you calibrate my Egg Mobile's engines?"
"I thought that was Decoe's job?" Bocoe said.
"No it wasn't!" Decoe said.
"Oh put a cork in it!" Eggman said, trying to go faster.
Tails eventually arrived at the sight of the missile before Eggman, quickly working his skills on the dud ammunition. "I can fix this so that it won't explode, I just have to move fast!"
"You!" Eggman shouted, getting closer.
"Uh-oh," Tails continued to work on the missile.
"I'm not gonna let you-OW!" Eggman felt something thrown at his head. "A water bottle!?"
"Hey you mad scientist!" Sarah shouted from her brother's car, tossing another water bottle at him.
"Nice shot sis," Jacky said. "Hey fox boy, we got this goon distracted!"
"Thanks!" Tails said, working faster. "Those two are pretty brave, wonder if they're friends of Johnny and Rainbow Dash?"
"Oh, I won't let you get away with this!" Eggman said, flying away quickly.
"Yeah, you better run!" Jacky taunted.
"I did it!" Tails said. "The bomb won't be going off; this city is safe!"
"Awesome work kid!" Jacky said, everyone about to congratulate Tails when Eggman showed up in his Egg Walker, the machine towering over everyone.
"Run, RUN!" a woman shouted as everyone began trying to escape.
"Run all you'd like, it won't matter in the end!" Eggman said, then noticed Tails standing on the ground before him. "You little fool! Begone! Before I make mincemeat out of you!"
"You don't scare me!" Tails shouted.
"Don't say I didn't warn you!" Eggman shouted, stomping hard on the ground.
"Kid! Be careful!" Jacky shouted.
"I'll be fine! Keep everyone safe!" Tails said.
Sarah looked to see that some robots were on their way to the civilians, "Jacky, let's hurry."
"Right," Jacky said, heading after the robots to fight them off with his sister.
Tails flew around the Egg Walker, quickly damaging the legs of the giant machine.
"You little brat!" Eggman tried stomping again, but Tails proved to be too fast as he was quick to attack the legs.
"The joints are pretty weak, I just have to keep it up and..." Tails took a kick from the robot, sending him against a nearby building.
"Had enough, Tails!?" Eggman taunted.
Tails dusted himself off, glaring at Eggman, "Not even close!" He then began to charge up, electricity running through his body as he flew in for several strikes against the joints, ending in one more whack to bring the machine down to his level, Tails flying in and kicking the cockpit area, damaging it enough to render the machine useless.
"No way, I can't believe this!" Eggman shouted as he flew away from the machine. "This isn't over you little brat!"
"I...I did it," Tails said. "I did it all by myself!"
"Hey he did it!" Jacky shouted. "Great job kid!"
"Thanks sir!" Tails said, as the crowd began cheering him, the boy bashfully rubbing his head.
"He saved us!"
"He's a hero!"
"He's adorable too!"
Sarah walked over, wiping some dust off his head, "That was really brave, you got a name kid?"
"My name is Miles Prower," the boy said. "You can call me Tails."
Not too far off in some older ruins, Sonic had found a mural, depicting Perfect Chaos. "What is this? Could this be related to what Eggman wanted?" As he examined, he found himself surrounded by light, "This again?"
Within seconds, Sonic found himself in the distant past, spotting an injured Chao on the ground as Tikal tended to its injuries.
"Why? Why did this have to happen?" Tikal lamented. "I have to stop this at once!"
"Hey, what's going on?" Sonic asked. Before he could get answers, he was again teleported back to the present. "Oh geez, this is really getting confusing."
"Sonic!" Came Sally's voice as Rainbow Dash flew her over. "Sonic the Hedgehog, are you out of your mind!? You could have gotten hurt!"
"I'm alright, just a bit dizzy," Sonic said. "No time to waste, I gotta find Eggman and-"
"Do NOT run off again!" Sally warned. "I am going with you this time."
Sonic shrugged it off, "Alright fine, if you think you can watch over yourself."
"I'll be fine, it's you I'm worried about," Sally said. "I'm worried you'll get hurt out there."
"You don't need to worry about me, Sally," Sonic said. "But if tagging along helps you feel better then that's cool with me."
"We'll stick with you too," Rainbow Dash said. "Wait, where are we going though?"
Johnny spotted a familiar sight, "There's Eggman."
Sonic turned to see the Doctor, "Wonder what he's up to this time? No matter, we'll put a stop to it! Let's go!"
Shortly afterward, Amy herself had arrived at the entrance of the base. "This must be the place, let's hurry through!"
Once across, Amy took a look everywhere, trying to figure out her surroundings, and keeping an eye out for the flickies. "I wonder where..." Suddenly Zero had appeared, going after Amy. "Not you again!"
Amy made a run for it along with the Flicky, trying to escape the sight of that robot. It didn't take her long before she managed to put some distance between it and her.
"That was close, stupid robot," Amy said. "Come on Flicky, we're almost done here."
Meanwhile Peter was swinging around the base, the hero looking annoyed, "I turn my back one second and I lose them. We should have brought some walkie-talkies."
"This way Flicky!" Amy called, Peter's ears perking.
"Is that..." Peter called out. "Amy!"
"Huh? Peter!?" Amy called. Within seconds, she had spotted the hero, a big smile etched across her face. "Peter! There you are!"
"Amy!" Peter ran over to hug her, "Glad you're safe."
"I'm fine, thanks to Tails flying me off the Egg Carrier," Amy said. "I think this Flicky's family is nearby."
"Right, figures Eggman would have taken more," Peter said. "Hop on my back, I'll help you out."
"Thanks Peter, you're the best," Amy said as Peter ran off.
While this was happening, Gamma was searching the remains of the Egg Carrier. The robot had been freeing all the Little Creatures from the badniks, including having fought his old E-Series Robot allies.
As he explored the Egg Carrier, he came across his older brother, that being E-101 Beta MK II. "Must rescue friends. Sorry Beta, I have a new mission."
Peter and Amy swung around together, checking the remains of the Egg Carrier.
"No sign of the flickies, I hope they're around," Amy said.
"Don't give up," Peter said, then spotted something in the distance. "Hey, isn't that the robot you were friends with?"
"Huh?" Amy looked to the distance. "Oh yeah, Eggman called him Gamma."
"He seems to be fighting another robot, should we help?" Peter asked.
"Yeah, let's check it out," Amy said, Peter swinging over.
Gamma had blasted Beta a few times, weakening the machine, the older series robot falling apart and falling to the ground.
"Has he fallen?" Gamma went to check on Beta, but in the last second, Beta blasted Gamma, critically injuring the fellow robot just before it exploded.
"Gamma!" Amy called, Peter landing near the wounded robot as she checked on him. "Gamma, are you alright?"
"...Is the Flicky safe?" Gamma asked.
"Huh?" Amy turned to see a white flicky emerging from where Beta was. "It is...it's part of this little flicky's family!"
"Then...my mission is complete..." Gamma said. "No...one flicky remains."
"One flicky?" Amy asked, a terrible realization dawning on her. "Wait, you can't mean..."
"Thank you, Amy Rose..." Gamma said, as the robot began to fall apart. "Good-bye, my friend..."
Just as Gamma released the pink flicky, he succumbed to his injuries, falling lifeless on the ground as a minor explosion finished off what was left of this robot.
"Gamma..." Amy fell to her knees, tears coming out of her eyes. "But, we were gonna be friends...you were gonna join us."
"Amy..." Peter knelt beside the girl.
"We weren't fast enough to save him..." Amy said.
"This had to happen...he wanted to free the Flickies, and unfortunately, he seemed to be powered by one," Peter said.
"But Tails could have done something! Not all of Eggman's robots need Little Creatures in them! Do they!?" Amy asked, tears streaming down her eyes. "Why did we have to lose Gamma!?"
Peter brought the girl in for a hug, affectionately stroking her head. Despite how little time she knew this robot, seeing a friend dying hurt Amy's heart. Peter did his best to cheer her up, "Amy, I know this is sad. But remember, you helped this robot. If it wasn't for you, it would have likely just been destroyed by Sonic like another piece of scrap metal. I know he's gone now, but he died with a soul, something you helped give him. You gave him a much better purpose than Eggman ever could."
Amy pulled away, still wiping some tears from her eyes, "I'm happy he got to be free, even if for a little bit. I just wish-" Suddenly the blue flicky was knocked out of the air, courtesy of Zero. "NO!"
"This thing again!?" Peter said, ready to fight. "Alright, I'm taking you down for good this time!"
"No...let me," Amy said, a hint of anger in her voice. The young hedgehog glared at the robot, "I'll make you regret what you just did!"
"Amy?" Peter asked.
"Promise you won't get in my way Peter," Amy said, pulling out her Piko-Piko hammer.
"Yeah, alright, you got this Amy," Peter said, taking a step back. "You hear that robot!? She's gonna mess you up!"
"You're going to get it now! Take this!" Amy shouted, running in and whacking the robot against some electricity, dealing great damage to the robot.
Still huffing in anger, Amy jumped up and slammed her hammer down, completely destroying the robot, finally freeing her and the flickies from its constant pursuit.
"Whoa! That was awesome Amy!" Peter said. "You did it!"
"Is the flicky alright?" Amy asked.
"Oh yeah, let me see," Peter knelt beside the bird. "Yeah, he's good, he's flying."
The little Flicky joined the pink and white flicky as all three flew away together, finally reunited.
"They're a family again..." Amy said, the girl feeling happiness in her heart. Despite still feeling grief for Gamma, she was at least happy this family was safe.
"You did it Amy, you're a hero," Peter said.
"Aw thanks, but you helped too, thanks Peter," Amy said.
"You did damage with that hammer, you have a lot of potential as a fighter," Peter said.
"Yeah, I guess I do," Amy said. "Just watch, I'm going to show Sonic I can keep up with him too!"
"Wait, Sonic, wonder if he and the others are alright?" Peter asked.
At this point however, Sonic and his team came face to face with Eggman once again.
"Sonic my old pal, I see you've made it this far," Eggman said, activating his Egg Viper machine. "But it's all for naught, soon you will finally be destroyed you pesky hedgehog!"
"Don't count on it!" Sonic said. "Everyone, stand back, I got this!"
"Now isn't the time to show off, Sonic!" Sally shouted. "We need to work together."
"Uh, Sally, I think he's got this," Rainbow Dash said.
"Get a load of this!" Eggman shouted, sending some lasers at Sonic, which he easily dodged and jumped to do a homing attack on the Egg Viper.
"Don't think it will be that easy, Sonic!" Eggman said, attacking once again with his lasers.
Sally stood around in worry, "Ugh, one of you two should do something!"
"Come on Sally, get a look at him," Johnny said as Sonic ran around. "He's got this in the bag, and he's having fun."
"Let him enjoy himself a bit," Rainbow Dash said.
"But..." Sally still looked concerned for her friend. "This is so dangerous!"
"Let's see you get through here, Sonic!" Eggman said, sending some flying discs at the hedgehog, Sonic kicking them back toward Eggman and hitting some homing attacks on the mad scientist.
"He's not going to get away with this!" Eggman shouted, sending more lasers that Sonic backflipped away.
Suddenly he began sparking with blue electricity and dashed at Eggman, critically damaging his machine.
"No!" Eggman shouted as his machine went out of control. "I'm not giving up just yet!"
Eggman tried to crash his machine onto Sonic, but Johnny quickly blasted him away with his fire.
"Yeah, that part was cheating so...I evened the odds," Johnny said.
"Thanks Johnny," Sonic said, checking where the Egg Viper landed. "Wonder if that finished him off for good?" Sonic shook his head. "Not likely, I doubt Eggman would fall that easily."
"Sonic, you did it!" Sally said, hugging Sonic. "You're crazy and reckless but you still did great!" She then left a kiss on his cheek, taking him by surprise.
"Whoa there!" Sonic said, backing up a bit. "It's no big deal, really!"
"Huh? Are you shying away from gratitude?" Sally asked. "You never do that."
"It was a team effort, let's leave it at that," Sonic said. "Look, I'm worried about Tails and Amy, let's get out of here."
Everyone made their exit, Sally looking confused, "This is so unlike Sonic."
Time passed, Sonic and his team reunited with Amy and Peter, and later they met up with Tails, who was still being celebrated as the hero of Station Square.
All the while Big was happy to have Froggy back and was celebrating with his friend.
Meanwhile Knuckles had returned to Angel Island with not only the final pieces of the Master Emerald, but six of the Seven Chaos Emeralds as well.
"Finally, it's complete," Knuckles said, the emerald pieces fully restored. Within moments the Emerald had been complete, and Angel Island was lifted above the ground and back into the air where it belonged. "Finally...I feel at peace once more."
Back in the present, Sonia looked a bit displeased, "Aw, is the story over?"
"Not yet, there's still more," Sonic said, then noticed Amy wiping her eyes. He gently caressed her back, "Hey, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, thinking about Gamma makes me sad sometimes," Amy said. "It's been years but I still wish he could have joined us." She composed herself, "I'm fine, it's just an old memory."
"Hey, Amy," Sonic said, getting her attention. "It's alright to be sad, even if it was from a long time ago. What you did for Gamma, it was really great. It's a reminder of how much love you have in your heart."
"Thanks Sonic," Amy said, kissing her blue lover on the cheek.
"Well I want to hear more, but I need to pee," Sonia said, getting onto her feet. "All that cola is trying to leave my body."
"Sonia, please don't speak so crudely," Amy said.
"Fine mom..." Sonia said, making her leave.
"And we thought Sally could barely control Manik," Knuckles said.
"Wonder how she's doing?" Sonic wondered.
Back at the castle, Sally sat on a chair besides Manik's bed, trying to find the proper words needed here. "Manik...I know you're disappointed right now, and I'm sorry I came off so harshly. But you need to understand why what you did wasn't a good idea."
"All I wanted to do was help," Manik said. "I'm the Crown Prince of Mobius, I can't sit around doing nothing."
"Manik, it's because you're the Crown Prince that you have to be mindful of your actions," Sally said. "But, I suppose you get this sense of justice from your father."
"Pfft, I'm nothing like that old fool," Manik said.
"Now Manik, that's not the proper way to address him," Sally said.
"Why do you even care about the hedgehog that abandoned us?" Manik asked.
"Sonic didn't abandon us!" Sally sternly stated. "Things just didn't work out so we made the adult choice to call our marriage off."
"Why didn't he like being with us anyway?" Manik asked. "What makes Amy Rose so special?"
"Manik, I don't want to get into this," Sally said. "Sonic cares about us, that's why he makes the effort to come and visit. You need to accept him back into your life."
"How? He clearly sees me as the inferior child," Manik said. "Why stick around for me when he has Sonia?"
"You mean the same Sonia who loves you like the world?" Sally asked. "You have something special with Sonic and I know he wants to be around more. Believe it or not, he didn't want to leave at first because we had you. You would have been the main reason he stayed. I'm the one who told him to be free because I wanted him to be happy too."
"It's all about his happiness, screw the rest of us," Manik said.
"Manik honey, I wish I could make you see reason," Sally said. "Maybe you're still too young to understand."
"Pfft, whatever," Manik said.
Sally shook her head, still feeling frustrated, "I guess I shouldn't have mentioned Sonic in the first place, that's not what this is about. This is about you not sneaking off to fight. I told Whisper to get you to safety because I didn't want you getting hurt."
"I can take care of myself," Manik said.
"If it wasn't for Bunnie you could have gotten hurt, or worse!" Sally said. "Just, please be careful. You mean everything to me. The only thing worth more to me than my crown is you Manik. I love you more than the world itself."
"...Love you too..." Manik said.
"I know you do," Sally said, kissing her son on the head. "Please, stay alive, for me."
"...Okay," Manik said.
"I'll leave you to yourself, just please stay in this room for now," Sally said. "Robotnik could be around somewhere, and he has a lot of back-up. Stay safe."
Sally left her son's room, hoping he would drop the stubbornness and listen to what she had to say, but she knows he's got a bit of a rebellious streak.
Inside, Manik looked to his sword again, feeling a sense of frustration. He considered reaching for it when a voice called out.
"Manik, please listen to your mother," Nicole said, the Holo-Lynx appearing nearby. "Let her handle this."
"Ugh...fine," Manik said.
"...If it is any consolation, I myself care deeply about you," Nicole said. "Sally is my best friend, almost like a sister. So that would make me your aunt. And as your aunt, I want nothing but the best for you."
"Yeah, yeah..." Manik said.
"Perhaps I can find Melody to keep you company, would that be nice?" Nicole asked.
"I guess..." Manik said.
"I will be back shortly, "Nicole said, making her leave.
Manik stared out the window, knowing full well his enemies were out there. Even further beyond, his father was too, and the boy wondered how long before he too would get pulled into this.