Off at Emerald Hill, a bunch of Little Creatures were running away in fear, trying to distance themselves from the area or hide from the trouble.

Nearby Scourge and Surge had rounded a few up, the two glaring down at the terrified creatures as both bore sadistic grins.

"Aw, what's wrong? You don't seem happy to see us," Scourge taunted, picking up a Ricky. "You know, something about you reminds me of Princess Sally. Kind of pisses me off." Scourge then kicked the creature away. "Whoooa! That got some distance!"

"Please, I can do better," Surge said, grabbing a Pocky and tossing it up and down. "Hey little guy, try not to bite the dust." She then threw it yards away. "Boom! How about that!?"

"Not bad, watch me get a bunch at once," Scourge said, creating a little tornado round a bunch up and sent the tornado towards a lake where all the animals fell in. "Did I get them all?"

"Missed a couple," Surge said, kicking them both away.

"Kind of bored, let's knock some trees down," Scourge said, using a spin dash to take down several at once. "Bet you can't do that!"

"Don't need to," Surge said, generating some electricity and smashing into a large rock, sending it flying toward larger rocks.

"Not bad," Scourge said. "You got some real power. Surprised you ain't ruling anything yet."

"I'm too busy having fun," Surge said. "Sometimes a little anarchy goes a long way."

"I get you there, but I like the idea of people worshiping me," Scourge said. "I was a great King, really struck fear into others. Until Sonic screwed that up for me. Punk threw me in jail, cost me everything."

"How did you escape?" Surge asked.

"Rosy and Alicia busted me out," Scourge said. "The two started a riot and gave me the chance to escape. I was hoping to see Fiona, but by then she had already gone back to the Free-dumb Fighters."

"That must suck," Surge said.

"Hey, what can you do?" Scourge said, grabbing a rock. "Lost a great lady, but who needs her, eh?" He then threw the rock hard into a tree, knocking it over and scaring some flickies.

"If she didn't want to come back, she's not worth it," Surge said, tossing a log at some peckies.

"Man, picking on these cutesy little pests is getting boring," Scourge said. "I think I saw some chao a while back, wanna go mess with a few? See which one cries first?"

"That sounds fun," Surge said, then suddenly took a kick from Metal Sonic, knocking her against a rock.

Scourge glared at the metal creature, "Where the fuck did you come from!?" Metal went to attack but Scourge blocked, "You trying to piss me off or something!?"

"Metal bastard," Surge said, stomping over. "When I get my hands on you-"

Sage appeared in front of her, "That is quite enough."

"...Oh, it's you, Eggman's little girl," Surge said.

"Father forbade both of you from venturing off on your own, yet you did so anyway," Sage said. "Such disobedience is frowned upon."

"Hey, I do whatever the hell I want, so does Scourge!" Surge said. "Now if you don't mind-"

Metal broke away from Scourge and grabbed Surge by the neck.

"The hell!?" Scourge stomped over but Sage stood in front of him.

"Stand down, this instant," Sage warned.

"...Fine, whatever," Scourge said. "Hey you blue jackass, put the chick down!"

Metal glared at Scourge, but fortunately Sage had calmed the situation. "Release her Metal."

Obeying Sage, Metal dropped Surge, the Tenrec looking irritated. "Crap..."

"Let's go," Sage said, instructing the two to follow her and Metal, both reluctantly doing so.

"At least Rosy didn't come too," Scourge said.

"At least I hope she didn't," Surge said.

In the cafeteria of Acorn Castle, Manik and Melody had gotten their food, which was a plate of curry.

"Wow, this looks really tasty," Melody said.

"It's curry, mom had some when she was in Japan, and seemed to enjoy it," Manik said. "She employed a lot of Earth's cooking in our menu. Like the time she got some lasagna from Italy, or croissants from France. She really enjoyed Hot Dogs from New York."

"Seems like your mom is quite the traveler," Melody said.

"Actually, dad did most of the traveling, mom went with him from time to time, not as much as Miles Prower or Amy Rose, but still tagged along when she could," Manik said.

"Well it's really good," Melody said, trying it out.

"Yeah...I guess," Manik said.

"What's wrong?" A worried Melody asked.

"Kind of hate how busy my mom is sometimes" Manik said. "I know she's Queen and it's important but, I'd like to have had a meal cooked by her."

"Uh...isn't she like, a really bad cook?" Melody asked. "That's what my mom says, only Mighty likes her food."

"She can cook simple stuff, she makes a great salad at least," Manik said.

"But I take it you just want to spend time with her," Melody said.

"Maybe..." Manik said. "Look, don't laugh, but even I wish I could spend time with my mom once in a while."

"I'm not gonna laugh, I think it's cute," Melody said.

"Ugh, don't call it 'cute'," Manik said. "I'm not some little boy who wants his mommy or anything, I'm a grown man. I just want to show my mom how cool I can be. But she almost never gives me a chance, she thinks I'll get hurt."

"Manik, she's your mom, she's gonna be protective of you," Melody said. "You're all she has after all."

"It really ticks me off that my father left, now my mom has all this responsibility shoved on her," Manik said. "My mom lost her mother when she was young, that stress really got to my grandfather and it strained his relationship with my mom. Now my mom is miserable because she doesn't have a husband and I can just tell it's going to affect her relationship with me. I don't want that, my mom...she means a lot to me, even when she annoys me or bonks my head because I upset her, I still want to have her around. I think she's really cool, she's a badass Queen after all. I want to be great like she is."

"Hey, I totally get it," Melody said. "You hate that your mom's going through this. But I don't think it's really Sonic's fault. My mom says he's a nice guy."

"Your mom's just being nice," Manik said. "Honestly, you're luckier than me. At least your mom spends time with you. I know your dad's not around but Mina more than makes up for it."

"My mom is great, but she gets lonely too without a husband," Melody said.

"So that's it, we each have single moms that don't feel loved by a man," Manik said.

"Would you want your mom to remarry?" Melody asked.

"Honestly, no, I can't call someone my father at this point," Manik said. "But, if it makes my mom happy, then maybe I'll suck it up. So long as she's not into some loser."

"Too bad she's not into girls, I feel like she's got a few crushing on her right now," Melody said. "You could have two moms."

"Uh...yeah, I can't see that happening," Manik said. "Bad enough someone started a stupid rumor about her and Nicole."

"Nicole? The AI? The girl who's not actually a girl but a computer?" Melody asked. "Why though?"

"I don't freaking know," Manik said. "Anyway, I'm done. You want the rest of mine?"

"You barely ate any," Melody said.

"I don't feel like eating," Manik said, getting up. "I'm gonna go play a video game or something."

"Wait, I'll join you," Melody said, grabbing the two plates of curry. "Let's play one of those side scrolling platformers."

"Oh yeah, those are classics," Manik said.

Meanwhile, Sonia was understandably engrossed in this story so far. Hearing about her family's daring escapades was undoubtedly a treat.

"So, you actually busted dad out of jail, awesome!" Sonia said. "But one thing I don't get about you mom."

"What is it?" Amy asked.

"How did you mistake Shadow for dad?" Sonia asked. "Do they really look that much alike?"

Amy groaned in annoyance, "I get asked this a lot, it even got to a point that Johnny said I had poor eyesight and needed glasses."

"Amy's not even the only one who made that mistake," Tails said. "Yeah, Sonic and Shadow do look different and have different characteristics, but from a distance, or through some dark lighting on cameras, it's still an easy mistake to make."

"Yeah, I guess so," Sonia said. "Shadow almost looks like dad in some ways. It's not like mistaking Silver for dad."

"I can honestly say, it never happened at any point in our time," Amy said.

"...Sounds vague, but I'll save that mystery for later," Sonia said. "So what else happened?"

"So after I was freed from my cell, I went to look for Shadow," Sonic said. "I was lucky to run into him when I did, but at the same time, not so lucky."

"Around that time, Eggman, Shadow and I were launching our plan," Rouge said. "I went to the island to get some Chaos Emeralds. G.U.N. had been collecting them and storing them in a base, probably for their own gain. So I made a plan."

Back on Prison Island in the past, an irritated Eggman is questioning some of Rouge's plans.

"This place isn't my ideal vacation, how can you tell the Chaos Emeralds are even here?" Eggman asked. "Are you positive your reports are correct?"

"Believe what you want to believe," Rouge said.

"With all due respect, that's not very reassuring," Orbot said. "This is quite a gamble, many of G.U.N.'s units are out and about."

"Need I remind you that I am a treasure hunter?" Rouge asked.

"I...uh, fine then," Orbot said.

"Very well, let us discuss how we are going to do this," Eggman said. "I will go in first and distract the military groups, allowing you to sneak into the base undetected. Then Shadow will enter the armory where he will set the timer on the dynamite packs. Once that's done, we will blow up the whole island and get away before anyone will have the chance to know what hit them. This should give Rouge plenty of time to sneak into the cargo bay and get the Chaos Emeralds. That's no challenge for you, is it bat girl?"

"No challenge at all," Rouge said, confidently winking.

"We have thirty minutes to pull this mission off, and we won't get any second chances," Eggman said. "So don't fail me."

Eggman's plan proceeded accordingly, aside from the unexpected appearance from Amy and Tails. While that distracted Eggman, the fight did not last long as both called a draw, with Eggman making his retreat.

"I'm in position, Doctor," Shadow said. "Tell me when."

"There's been an unexpected delay on my end, so there's no more time to waste," Eggman said into a radio. "Rouge, set the timer for 15 minutes!"

"All I need is five minutes in here," Rouge said as she searched the Security Hall for the Chaos Emeralds.

Within the five minutes, she had successfully found the Red, Purple and Cyan Chaos Emeralds, the girl proud of her swiftness and agility.

"That was perfect, just like me," Rouge boasted. "Now, I just need to meet up with Shadow and Eggman. Now that I've proven myself, I might be able to get some further answers from them." Rouge tapped her chin, "Still, who was that pink hedgehog outside? She mentioned Sonic, just like those G.U.N. agents, and I did hear about Sonic being arrested for stealing an emerald. I wonder if..."

"Intruder alert!" Came a voice, a robot flying down while the alarms were going off. "Flying Dog to HQ, I have engaged the intruder in Security Hall."

"Don't tell me I messed something up!" Rouge lamented. "Looks like things were more complicated than I expected, I need to take this pilot down to maintain trust with Eggman. I just hope a certain someone won't be too mad."

The mech was not hard for Rouge to defeat, however in the middle of the fighting, the safe had been locked, leaving Rouge trapped inside.

All the while, Shadow was making his way through the forest on the outside of the base, having just planted his bomb.

"This is Rouge, I have a small problem," Shadow answered the radio as Rouge continued explaining the situation. "I'm trapped inside a locked safe with the Chaos Emeralds! Kind of hard to call myself a treasure hunter now."

"Trapped?" Shadow asked himself. This wasn't the plan, Rouge was supposed to get the Emeralds, and he was to complete his goal. Somehow that wasn't the concern on Shadow's mind. Rouge being trapped and likely in danger, it gave Shadow flashbacks to his friend Maria. After some internal struggling, Shadow gave in, heading back to the vault. "Must I do everything!?"

Shadow dashed through the White Jungle, hoping to reach Rouge and fast. As he sped through, he came across some trouble.

"Hey that's..." Sonic took note of Shadow.

"It's that blue hedgehog, such bad timing," Shadow said.

"I found you, faker!" Sonic shouted.

"Faker? I think you're the fake hedgehog around here," Shadow said. "You're comparing yourself to me? As if you're even good enough to be my fake!"

"I'll make you eat those words!" Sonic said, clashing against his newfound rival.

"I don't have time to play games with you, I'll end this quick," Shadow said.

Sonic clashed against Shadow, the two attempting to overpower one another.

"Who are you anyway!? Why are you trying to impersonate me!?" Sonic asked.

"That wasn't my goal, you were just unlucky," Shadow said.

Sonic leapt back, trying to hit a homing attack that Shadow blocked. He kicked Sonic away, the blue speedster recovering into a spindash that knocked Shadow back.

"You're stronger than you look," Shadow said, zipping around in an attempt to confuse Sonic, then landed a kick to his back, knocking him forward.

"Not bad yourself!" Sonic charged up with electricity and dashed in to kick Shadow against a tree, stunning The Ultimate Lifeform for a quick second.

"Cute trick," Shadow charged up some chaos power and dashed in to ram Sonic in the stomach, knocking the air out of his opponent.

"Wow he's strong, guess he can back up his claims," Sonic got back into stance. "I'm not done with you yet!"

"Shadow! What are you doing!?" Eggman said, his voice coming from the radio. "Hurry back here right now before the island blows up with you on it!"

"Blows up!?" Sonic shouted in disbelief. Shadow quickly made his leave, with Sonic doing the same. "I gotta get out of here and warn my friends right away!"

Sonic dashed through the Green Forest, keeping a close eye out for the others. Things weren't easy with some G.U.N. robots patrolling parts of the forest.

"I don't have time for this!" Sonic activated his Light Speed and dashed all the way through.

At the base of G.U.N. HQ near the Metal Harbor, the heroes were all still fighting off G.U.N. units, reducing their numbers.

"These things just keep coming," Johnny said, blasting some robots.

"Yeah...say this isn't going to hurt our hero career, is it?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Attacking a government base."

"Hey we won't tell anyone," Tails said, blasting some robots away.

"Besides, we don't know how legit G.U.N. is," Jacky said. "May not be true government, could be frauds."

"Still, it is a little concerning, but they did attack first," Johnny said.

"We gotta go!" Came Sonic's voice.

"Here comes Sonic," Rainbow Dash said. "About time!"

"Sonic! You're back!" Amy gleefully said.

"We gotta leave the island! It's gonna explode!" Sonic warned.

"Did he say 'explode'?" Johnny asked.

"Let's bail! Quick!" Sonic called.

"Quick! Hop on my plane!" Tails said, pressing a button to turn his Cyclone back into flying mode. Sonic and Amy each leapt on a wing while Johnny grabbed Jacky's hand and Rainbow Dash grabbed Sarah, all of them flying off the island just before it exploded.

The shockwaves of the blast sent a large tidal wave their way, which Tails, Johnny and Rainbow Dash were fortunate enough to avoid.

"Whoa!" Amy shouted, the girl nearly losing her balance on the tornado.

"I gotcha!" Sonic called, grabbing Amy before she fell.

"Thanks Sonic," Amy said, looking back at the remains of Prison Island.

"Shit, that was close!" Johnny said, glancing back as well.

"Way too close for comfort," Sonic said.

"What happened anyway? Security measures?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Not sure, but I do know Eggman that had something to do with it," Sonic said.

"Figures," Rainbow Dash said. "What about that faker guy? Did you find him?"

"Yeah, but he got away before I could get any answers from him," Sonic said. "I do know that he at least wasn't actually trying to frame me. Still kind of ticked off about him."

"Wonder if he got off the island too?" Johnny said.

"I wouldn't doubt it," Sonic replied.

Meanwhile in the Security Hall, Shadow had arrived just in time to grab Rouge, "Chaos Control!" With that, he got himself and the bat girl out of harm's way, and away from the island.

In the meanwhile, Knuckles was on his way to Pumpkin Hill, the Echidna feeling very uneasy about his environment. "This place is giving me the creeps, but I have my duty to perform."

He ventured into the valley, undeterred by what was to come.

Back with Shadow, the rush of adrenaline nearly incapacitated Shadow, the hedgehog getting a quick glimpse of his past, and his time with Maria.

"Shadow, what do you think it's like on Earth?" Maria asked.

"The professor said his life's work is dedicated to all those who live down there," Shadow explained. "He even once said that the reason for his existence was to make people happy through the power of science."

"Wow..." Maria replied.

"Truthfully Maria, I don't know anything anymore," Shadow said. "I don't know why I was created, or what my purpose is. If I go down there, maybe I'll find some answers."

Back in his present, Shadow was glaring down at Earth, still feeling pain in his heart related to the girl he cared about.

"Why so gloomy?" Rouge asked, the bat girl making her way over.

"It's nothing," Shadow insisted.

Rouge stood by his side, trying to figure out the hedgehog, "I gotta say, I was surprised you came back to rescue me. Your Chaos Control really comes in handy."

"Who says I went back to rescue you?" Shadow said. "I went to save the Chaos Emeralds."

"Yeah, sure," Rouge replied, not fully believing him. "That's not the whole story, is it?"

"Hey, tell me this," Shadow said. "You, that hedgehog, his friends...are you from Earth?"

"Hm? No, we're from Planet Mobius," Rouge said. "You know about it, don't you? After all, you resemble a Mobian."

"Far as I know, I was created here," Shadow said. "I don't know what Mobius is, but I have heard of it once or twice. If you're not from Earth, why are you here?"

"I'm not sure, something to do with Eggman's machine," Rouge said.

"Ahem..." Eggman said, making his way over with Orbot and Cubot.

"Like a genie out of a lamp," Rouge said.

"If I recall, it was Shadow who promised to be my genie," Eggman said.

"Is he really a genie? If so can he grant me a wish?" Cubot asked.

"What could you have to wish for?" Eggman said, brushing Cubot's hopes aside. "Anyway, just here to say that everything is ready to go."

"Are you sure? We don't have all of the Chaos Emeralds yet," Rouge pointed out.

"That's more than enough for a demonstration," Shadow said, walking past Eggman. "Let's get this show on the road!"

"Whoa, he's fired up," Orbot said.

"Ha, perfect, good to have a little initiative," Eggman said.

"Doctor, what about the last few emeralds?" Rouge asked.

"I sent Scratch, Grounder and Coconuts to get them," Eggman said. "A simple task even they can't screw up."

"Uh...are you quite sure about that?" Orbot asked.

"Worse comes to worse, I'll send Bocoe and Decoe instead, but right now they're maintaining my machines down in the pyramid base," Eggman said.

Down on Earth below, while everyone was doing their own thing, the monitors started getting hijacked, the Eggman insignia appearing on the screens. Within seconds, Eggman himself appeared, boasting his message.

"Mwahahaha! Listen up citizens of Earth, I am the great Doctor Ivo Robotnik, but you may call me, Doctor Eggman," the scientist introduced. "I am the World's Greatest Scientist, and soon, the ruler of your planet!"

This broadcast was immediately known to everyone, including Japan as Cream and Ryo watched from their Miles Electric pad, along with shops in Tokyo viewed by Beat and his Graffiti Gang. Akira Yuki saw everything from his dojo as well, wondering how his friends were holding up.

This was also broadcast in Station Square, especially in the Thorndyke Mansion where a young boy was watching in worry alongside his grandfather, butler and maid.

Within the country of Latveria, residing in the castle known as Doomstadt, the sinister ruler also had his eyes glued to the TV, curious as to what this scientist was planning.

In late night Times Square, the TV monitors had Eggman's face everywhere, to the concern of the many heroes patrolling that section of the city, including a muscular man with a yellow shirt as well as a green suit martial artist with a yellow bandana.

Wood Oak City was no exception, the broadcast hitting all the TVs, gaining the attention of the working citizens as well as the street punks. This included three former police officers curious by Doctor Eggman's appearance.

Members of S.H.I.E.L.D., including Nick Fury also had full view of this broadcast in the Helicarrier. The broadcast also hit Stark Industries, with its CEO curiously stroking his chin at the sight of Eggman.

"I have a little message that I want to share with everyone, if you could be so kind to turn your attention to my laser," Eggman said. The Eclipse Cannon began to charge up, and within seconds fired across the skies. The target was the Moon orbiting the Earth, as half of the satellite was destroyed by the laser's power, bringing a sense of worry and despair to the people of Earth.

Nick Fury could not believe his eyes, the man immediately grabbing the phone, "Stark! Did you-"

"Yeah, I saw it," Tony Stark said, looking out the window. "Seems like this guy's not messing around."

"I want him found!" Fury said. "Start looking for leads!"

"I suggest starting with San Francisco," Tony said. "If I recall, a hedgehog got arrested for stealing an emerald...I can't believe I just said that out loud." Tony cleared his throat, "Point is some strange stuff involving this Eggman guy's been going on in California, and I think that hedgehog might have something to do with it."

"I'll set out at once, I'll try to blend in to see if I can get any information," Fury said. "You just suit up and get your ass over to California."

"What? No 'please'?" Tony said.

"Not in the mood, Stark!" Fury shouted.

"Fine, what about Steve? Are you sending him too?" Tony asked.

"He's looking into some other trouble, right now it's just you, but if worse comes to worse, I can send more," Fury said. "Though, if memory serves me correctly, Richards mentioned his brother-in-law's out there, along with that Rainbow girl."

"Johnny Storm and Rainbow Dash, they have experience regarding Eggman, this could work well to our favor," Tony said, activating a button to bring up some suits. "Alright, I'm off."

Also in San Francisco, a terrified Sally stood in awe near a park, having seen part of the moon blow up terrified her. "Peter..."

"That lunatic..." Peter said. "How did he get that type of power? Was it the Chaos Emeralds?"

"I wish I knew," Sally said, then heard some rustling. "Hey, who's there?"

Peter looked around in concern, "Sally, stay behind me."

"I can take care of myself," Sally insisted, the girl getting into a battle stance. "Whoever's there, show yourself!"

"Whoa! I come in peace!" Came a voice familiar to Sally. Stepping out of the shadows looked to be a Walrus with a red hat. "Sally? Is that you?"

Sally squinted her eyes, "No way...Rotor!?"

"Rotor?" Peter asked.

Sally excitedly ran over to the Walrus, "Rotor! You're here! On Earth! How!? When!?"

"Regarding the 'how', I guess whatever brought you here too," Rotor said. "As for when...a few days ago. I've been pretty lost here."

"Days? I'm so sorry Rotor, I wish I knew!" Sally said.

"Hey it's fine," Rotor insisted. "I wasn't alone, I had company."

"Company? Is Bunnie here? What about Antoine?" Sally asked.

"I haven't seen Bunnie or Antoine," Rotor said, pulling out a watch. "But I did have her."

"Nicole?" Sally said, taking the watch. "Nicole!?"

A few seconds later, a voice was heard, "Hello Sally."

"Oh Nicole! It really is you!" A relieved Sally said, hugging the watch. "I was so worried. I never should have taken you off."

"You kind of had to, she was a little damaged, remember?" Rotor said. "You asked me to fix her."

"Yes, then all this happened," Sally said. "Look, I'd love to savor this reunion, but we have a problem."

"Tell me about it, half of this planet's moon is gone," Rotor said. "Also, was that Robotnik?"

"I'm afraid so, he's been trying to conquer this planet as of late," Sally said.

"Geez, we've spent so much time trying to get him off of Mobius, I never expected he'd try to conquer another planet," Rotor said.

"It's alright, Sonic's here too," Sally said.

Rotor's eyes widened in disbelief, "Wait, Sonic's here!? Like for real!?"

"For real Rotor, he got warped here a few weeks ago after a fight with Robotnik, he and some friends of his," Sally said. "Turns out he's been fighting Robotnik for the last few years, even here they're still fighting."

"Wow, Sonic's a real hero," Rotor said. "Glad he's still doing his thing."

"Ahem..." Peter said, getting their attention. "Did I just fade into the background or something?"

"Oh yeah, there's a human with you," Rotor said.

"That's Peter Parker, a local superhero," Sally said. "Peter, this is my friend Rotor." She showed off her watch, "And this is my A.I., Nicole."

"Hello Peter," Rotor said.

"Greetings," Nicole said.

"Uh...hi?" Peter replied. "Hey, why don't we crash someplace for the night while I try to contact Johnny."

"Peter, we have to find Sonic and Robotnik," Sally reminded.

"It's late though, plus aren't you feeling wonky? Traveling from Japan to California isn't easy, even with something as fast as Tails's plane," Peter said.

"Who's Tails?" Rotor asked.

"A bright young boy," Sally said, a hint of pride in her voice. That however, soon turned to anger. "Who's in SO much trouble when I find him!"

"I'm gonna need a recap," Rotor said.

"I can help with that," Peter said. "Come on."

This sight of course was noticed by Sonic and his friends, all of them either terrified or just concerned.

"Half of the moon is gone!" Amy pointed out.

"Oh man, Luna's not gonna like this," Rainbow Dash said.

"Who's Luna?" Amy asked.

"Moon Goddess, long story," Rainbow Dash said. "She can probably have the moon fixed since it's been blown up before. But I doubt she could fix the Earth if that happened here, and even so, I doubt it'd bring back anyone who bit the dust because of that laser."

"That creep Eggman never gives up," Sonic said.

"How did he manage to harness so much energy?" Tails asked aloud.

"It might be from the Chaos Emeralds," Sonic said. "That would explain why they wanted it's power."

"Chaos Emerald?" Jacky asked.

"Remember those gems that Chaos absorbed?" Sonic asked.

Jacky scratched his head a second before remembering everything. "Right...those things that helped you transform."

"How powerful are those Emeralds exactly?" Sarah asked.

"Far as we know, they have unlimited energy," Sonic said.

"Think Eggman has them all?" Jacky asked.

"No, I have one here," Tails said, holding out the yellow emerald.

"Oh right, you were given that Emerald as a prize for saving Station Square," Amy pointed out.

"A prize? It's not even anyone's to give," Rainbow Dash said. "If anything, Sally would rightfully own them since they came from the Planet she rules over."

"Not exactly," Amy said. "Sally doesn't own them either."

"You know what I mean, Rose," Rainbow Dash said. "Point is they don't belong to Earth, Tails having this Emerald is a right, not something he needed to earn."

"I do agree in theory Rainbow Dash, for now at least this can work to our advantage," Tails said. "The Chaos Emeralds are like magnets to each other. I can use this to find out where Eggman is. Or at least any of the other Emeralds before he can get his hands on them."

Suddenly the group was blasted by sirens, "The seven of you, freeze! Hands in the air and on the ground!"

"Here comes the fuzz," Jacky said.

"Wait, they want to arrest all of us?" Amy asked.

"Duh, they said 'seven'," Rainbow Dash said. "Still, this is going to be troubling for us."

"Yo! Do you not know who I am!?" Johnny called. "I'm Johnny Storm! You know! Baxter Building!? Fantastic Four!? UA Student!? I know S.H.I.E.L.D. and Nick Fury!"

"I said on the ground!" the cop ordered.

"Ugh, really don't want to go against the police," Johnny said.

"We gotta make a run for it," Rainbow Dash said. "I just hope this doesn't screw up our hero career."

"Eh, Peter's survived slander, plus one phone call to Jen and we can get this settled," Johnny said.

"I'll distract the police," Sonic said. "Tails, you look for Eggman."

"Johnny and I will go with Sonic," Rainbow Dash said.

"Sarah and I will keep an eye on Tails," Jacky said.

"Let's move!" Tails said, everyone making a run for it.

"H-hey! What about me!?" Amy called. "Sonic! And...he already left. Tails, don't leave me behind!"

Sarah looked back toward Amy, "Looks like we have a fourth member."

"Back seat, Amy," Jacky said, strapping in. "Alright, ready to go?"

"I have my Emerald out and ready," Tails said.

"Hey Tails, where did your plane go?" Amy asked.

"I have it stationed somewhere, I can summon it with the press of a button," Tails said, showing it off. "It will autopilot to me in an instant."

"You're one smart kid," Sarah said, then heard some sirens. "Looks like Sonic couldn't distract all the cops."

"Let them try to catch me," Jacky said, revving his engines. "Tails, Amy, buckle up! This is gonna be fast!"

With one loud vroom, Jacky sped off, leaving the other cops in the dust as he drove through Mission Street. Jacky maneuvered around any oncoming G.U.N. robots that tried to intercept, evading any oncoming missiles that came his way.

It proved to be challenging, the streets ahead started to crumble, especially as he approached a highway leading towards the water.

"G.U.N. is not messing around," Sarah said.

"Don't worry, I should probably lose them by the time we reach the Golden Gate Bridge," Jacky insisted.

"I hope so," Sarah said.

Jacky had come to a quick stop, examining his surroundings before continuing. From what he could see, things were gonna get a bit bumpier, but he was ready.

While Jacky planned out his next moves, Sarah noticed something troubling nearby. "Um...Tails?"

"What is it?" Tails asked, then saw Sarah gesturing to a sign. "Miles Tails Prower...$1,000,000...Wanted!?"

"You're worth one million dollars?" Jacky asked. "Dang, I could get a lot of nice cars with that type of money."

"Jacky!" Sarah scolded.

"I'm joking, you know I would never sell out a friend, nor trust the government for a damn thing," Jacky said. "Plus, you and I probably have bounties as well."

"I don't doubt that, wouldn't be surprised if Judgement 6 tried using this to their advantage," Sarah said.

"Which means we gotta be extra careful around G.U.N." Jacky said, revving his engine. "I'm about to drive through, hang tight!"

Jacky sped through the next part of the road, dodging or ramming any barricade he came across, some effortlessly, some with a struggle.

"I was better off sticking to my tornado," Tails said, getting a bit woozy.

"Why are there pillars in the middle of the damn road!?" Jacky shouted,

"I got this," Amy said, tossing her hammer like a ricochet boomerang, knocking the pillars out of the way, making it easier for Jacky to navigate.

"Awesome, thanks Amy," Jacky said, Amy responding with a peace sign and grin.

"Won't be long before the home stretch," Sarah said. "Get ready to kick it into high gear."

"Don't gotta tell me twice," Jacky said.

Jacky sped again, hitting a turbo boost that really sent the car moving. Sarah was nearly taken back by the speed, though Tails and Amy seemed to be fine, both looking back to ensure that the enemy was far away.

"Looks like we're losing them," Amy said. "Still, gotta say, this car's pretty fast. Fitting for someone who calls himself the 'Blue Flash'."

"Got that right, though I'm gonna need to do a touch up on this car later, it took a bit of damage," Jacky said. "Plus it's gone through a lot today."

"We all have, I could use a nap," Amy said. "What about you Tails?"

"Yeah, that sounds nice," Tails said.

"It is late, once everything's settled, we'll drive to a hotel or something," Sarah said. "It may not be a good idea to go home."

"Yeah, you're right," Amy said, looking to the night sky. "That poor moon though..."

"Eggman means business," Jacky said. "Wonder if Akira's seen it by now?"

"I wouldn't be surprised," Sarah said. "When we pull over, we should call."

"What time is it?" Jacky asked.

"It's almost eight," Sarah said.

"That means it should be close to 2:00pm in Japan," Jacky said. "We'll settle first before calling."

"Alright," Sarah said.

"Speaking of call," Tails checked his radio. "Sonic?"

"Yeah buddy?" Sonic replied.

"Hey, how are things with you?" Tails asked.

"Coast is clear, for now," Sonic said. "What about you?"

"Jacky managed to get us away from G.U.N., we're heading to a hotel," Tails said.

"Good call, Johnny, Dash and I are gonna do the same elsewhere, see you tomorrow," Sonic said.

"Yeah, see you," Tails said, hanging up. "Glad he's alright."

"Thank goodness," Amy said. "Alright, let's hit that hotel."

A couple of hours later, the Bryants along with Tails and Amy were settled in a hotel room. Fortunately they were well disguised enough so that the tenants didn't recognize them.

Once upstairs, Jacky had gotten Akira on the phone, trying to see his side of what had happened. "Yeah, it was pretty wild huh? Half the moon getting destroyed."

"And this is related to that evil scientist from Station Square, is that right?" Akira asked.

"Yeah, he's at it again," Jacky said. "He's really made his mark on this world in such a short time, wouldn't be surprised if this got the attention of The Avengers or The Justice League."

"What of that hedgehog?" Akira asked. "I heard he was arrested."

"You mean Sonic? Wow, news travels fast," Jacky said. "He was but turned out he was framed by another hedgehog. So Sarah and I helped his friends bust him out of jail."

"You did what!?" Akira asked.

"Oh what? You act like we've never done crazy shit in the past," Jacky said. "Look, don't worry about us, we're just making sure you're alright."

"I am...but citizens here are very concerned," Akira said.

"I get that," Jacky replied.

As he was on the phone, Tails was speaking to Cream on the Miles Electronic, "How are things with Ryo?"

"Everything's fine, but what happened to the moon really had him worried," Cream said. "He's off speaking with Miss Nozomi about it. What about you? Did you rescue Mr. Sonic?"

"Yeah, Amy and I got him out of jail, thanks to the help of some friends," Tails said. "By the way...where's Sally?"

"Oh...she and Mr. Peter on their way over to where you are," Cream said. "She was a little mad that you left."

"Yeah, figured she'd be," Tails worried. "But I had to do something."

"I understand, I think she does too, she just worries," Cream said, then heard something outside. "Huh?"

"What's wrong?" Tails asked.

"I thought I heard something break," Cream said, looking out the window. "I see a black car."

"Oh boy...I hope it's not some local agent asking about Sonic," Tails said.

Cream kept looking, seeing some men in suits stepping out, joined a second later by a man in a green cloak with a dragon design. "I don't know if they're agents or not."

"Cream!" Came Iwao's voice. "A word please."

"Mr. Hazuki needs to tell me something, I'll talk to you later Tails," Cream said.

"Bye Cream, be safe," Tails pleaded.

"Aw, she's done already? I kind of wanted to talk to her," Amy said, the girl laying in bed.

"Seems like something is happening," Tails said. "Oh, but we do know that Sally and Peter are coming...and Sally isn't happy."

"Well yeah, we knew she wouldn't be happy," Amy said. "But we had to do something for Sonic."

"I know, it was the right call," Tails said, then looked around. "Where's Sarah?"

"She should still be bathing," Amy said. "The bath here is amazing, I feel all clean."

"Wonder if they have any good shampoo?" Tails said. "My fur could really use some good cleaning."

"They do, you should give it a try Tails," Amy said.

"Kid, don't ask about shampoo, it's not manly," Jacky said.

"Hey! There's nothing wrong with Tails wanting to stay well groomed," Amy said. "He's a handsome young boy after all."

"Amy..." Tails said, the boy blushing a bit.

"Oh don't be so bashful Tails, a face like yours can really turn heads," Amy said. "So it's good to keep yourself in tip top shape. Oh, maybe you can join me for a pedicure one day, make you really pretty."

"Kid, don't, guys don't need that crap," Jacky said. "Women like men because they're tough, not pampered."

"Hey come on, you have a sister, doesn't she prefer well-groomed guys?" Amy asked. "What's her type?"

"Well she seems to like my buddy Akira, even if she won't admit it," Jacky said. "He sure as hell isn't the well-groomed type. He's a bit like that echidna guy. Rugged and ready for battle."

"Hey, Knuckles isn't all rugged, he can be sweet when he wants to be as well," Amy said, concern welling in her eyes. "Speaking of Knuckles, I hope he's alright. I haven't seen him in a long time. I hope he's alright."

"He's survived on his own for years, he should be fine," Tails said.

"Still, I'll feel better if I see him with my own eyes," Amy said. "Hopefully we can check on Sonic soon as well."

"Hey Tails, anything on those emeralds?" Jacky asked.

"Not yet," Tails said. "I just sent my Cyclone to scan outside the state, hopefully the country too. Though I can't imagine the Chaos Emeralds would have spread that far after the fight with Chaos."

"This is really troubling," Amy said.

Sarah peeked her head through the door, "Hey I just finished in the shower, does anyone else need it?"

"Tails does," Amy said. "And he is going to use the nice shampoo, because it's normal for guys to want to be well groomed."

"Worked for Lion, even if he is a little shit sometimes," Sarah said.

"Who's Lion?" Amy asked.

"Some punk kid from France who thinks he's better than he is," Jacky said. "He's good with that Praying Mantis style I'll admit but I do not care much for stuck up puny rich brats. And that's coming from a guy who's also from a wealthy family."

"Guess he's your opposite," Amy said. "Just like Shadow is to Sonic."

"Wonder if Sally's been a brat?" Tails said to himself, then shook it off. "I doubt it, I bet the Acorn lineage is full of humility."

Back in the present.

"Well, that didn't age well," Sonia commented.

"To be fair, Manik's brattiness is less Sally and more...other things," Tails said.

"No, it was definitely Sally spoiling him," Sonic said. "When he was a year old, she threw him a party that spanned across all of Mobotropolis."

"That was quite the festivity," Bunnie said, looking back. "Hope she's handling things well in the throne room."

"She's got it under control," Rouge said.

In the main throne room, Sally had finished explaining everything she needed to tell to Blaze.

"Alright, I think I understand," Blaze said. "I will assist you however I can."

"I really appreciate it Blaze, I owe you big time," Sally said.

"You don't need to, consider this a favor from friends," Blaze said.

"Righty-O!" Marine said. "Any friend of Sonic is a friend of ours!"

"You are too kind," Sally said. "Right now things are calm, but Robotnik isn't one to be quiet for too long."

"He is full of himself," Tangle said. "He'll come barging in soon, especially with his goons."

"No sign of him right now?" Julie-Su asked.

"None," Sally said. "Which is why we need to do a few patrols."

"I can handle that," Julie-Su said.

"Whisper and I can join you!" Tangle said.

"How about me and the boys just do one more sweep," Vector said. "See what we can pick up."

"Alright, Vector, take Charmy and Espio to explore," Sally said.

"I'll go with them," Julie-Su said, readying her gun. "Come on boys."

"Right behind you," Charmy said.

"Wait, can I go too!?" Marine asked.

"The more the merrier," Vector said.

"Please never say that again," Espio said.

"Huh? What's wrong with it?" Vector asked.

"Just...don't," Espio ordered.

The Chaotix left with Marine and Julie-Su ready to explore some more.

"What about the rest of us?" Tangle asked.

"Give me a second to think of the best effective strategy," Sally said. "Fiona, Lanolin, could you two come with me?"

"Yes Queen," Lanolin said.

"Right behind you, Sal," Fiona said.

"Antoine, mind keeping an eye on things in the meantime?" Sally asked.

"Of course, Sally," Antoine said.

"Sally, can I come with you?" Tangle asked.

"No Tangle, stay with Antoine," Sally said.

"Aw...that's boring," Tangle said.

"Tangle, please obey Sally," Whisper said. "Let her do what she must."

"Alright then," Tangle said, then turned to Mighty and Ray. "So...you two wanna play Ping Pong with me and Whisper?"

"Ping Pong?" Ray asked.

"Oh totally," Mighty said.

"Ugh...you are so full of energy," Whisper said.

During this, Sonia anticipated more of the story. "So...what next!?"

"Well, the next day..." Amy continued.

Back in the past.

Atop the ARK, Eggman was angrily kicking his machine, to the concern of his robots.

"The boss seems rather infuriated, doesn't he?" Orbot asked.

"Yeah, and he's really mad too," Cubot confirmed.

"What's with you?" Rouge asked, getting Eggman's attention. "At the very least, you managed to cause a ruckus. Does this mean the planet is now ours to rule?"

"At this rate, the cannon will need time to charge up again," Shadow said. "We still need all seven Chaos Emeralds to unleash its full potential."

Eggman turned to Rouge, "Where in the world have you been!?"

"Is something wrong?" Rouge asked.

"Our threat has fallen on deaf ears," Shadow said. "The Planet seems to believe this 'Avengers' group can stop us."

"I've heard of them, they're said to be really tough," Rouge said. "Still, throwing a tantrum over something like this? How sad."

"Real funny!" Eggman said. "What about our end of the bargain? My robots haven't found the last Emerald yet, put those treasure hunting skills of yours to work!"

"I already have," Rouge said, showing off a newspaper.

"What's that thing?" Cubot asked.

"Something I picked up earlier, could be very relevant," Rouge said.

"Show me," Eggman said, grabbing the newspaper. "Station Square saved from a life-threatening missile attack. The city has awarded a top prize to the city's savior, Miles Tails Prower."

"Wait, Tails is his middle name?" Cubot asked.

"Shush," Orbot scolded.

"It says he was given a Chaos Emerald by the city," Eggman said. "So that makes things a lot easier. Rouge, go back to Earth and get that Emerald. I'm going to make further preparations. Orbot, Cubot, with me!"

Rouge turned her attention to Shadow, "Did you get all that?"

"Yes..." Shadow said, making his exit.

As the two left, Rouge grabbed her radio and started speaking, "Topaz, are you there?"

Down below, Topaz was listening in on her radio, "I'm here, do you have anything important to report? Any information about Shadow?"

"Sorry hon, I haven't been able to confirm if he actually is this Ultimate Lifeform, I will keep up my research," Rouge said.

"Alright, just be ready to have a follow up report soon, and detail everything," Topaz said. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is getting involved and the situation's getting much more hectic."

"Just a reminder, don't forget about my jewels," Rouge said.

"Yeah, yeah, you'll get your jewels when you do what you need to do," Topaz said.

Elsewhere, Tails and Amy were gathered together near a bench in the middle of town with Jacky and Sarah, the four hoping to reunite with Sonic. Unfortunately things were held up on his end.

"These cops are everywhere," Sonic said. "Tails, any news about the Emeralds yet?"

"I'm not getting any signal at all from the remaining Chaos Emeralds," Tails said. "Chances are Eggman took the Emeralds into outer space."

"Outer space!?" Amy asked in disbelief.

"I don't suppose you have a rocket ship you can use?" Jacky asked.

"Sorry, no," Tails said, then heard some thumping near the manhole cover.

"Stay back," Jacky said, getting into stance.

Fortunately for them, it wasn't an enemy, rather it was Knuckles coming up from the manhole. "Wonder where I am?" He turned around to spot his friends, the Echidna surprised by the encounter, "Hey, long time no see."

"Knuckles! You're alright!" Amy shouted in relief. "I've been so worried about you!"

"You know better than to worry," Knuckles said.

"What brings you all the way out here?" Tails asked.

"I'm looking for the Master Emerald pieces," Knuckles said. "It got shattered after Eggman and some bat girl tried to steal it."

"Eggman? And a bat girl?" Amy asked. "I saw them on Prison Island, with Shadow."

"Who?" Knuckles asked. "What's going on?"

"Long story," Amy said, then started pulling the Echidna out. "But now that you're here, you can help us!"

"Hey easy! Stop pulling!" Knuckles ordered.

"Hey, I just found some transcripts between Eggman and a place known as S.H.I.E.L.D." Tails said. "I'm going to see if I can catch up with a guy named Nick Fury, he should be in town."

"Did you say 'S.H.I.E.L.D.'?" Jacky asked. "Wow, Eggman really did attract some attention."

"I'm amazed you were able to hack something like that," Sarah said. "Smart boy."

"I'm going to go follow their limo," Tails said, readying his engine. "From there, we might be able to trace the call to find Eggman."

"Alright, we'll meet up there!" Sonic said.

"Amy, Jacky, Sarah, you all stay here," Tails instructed.

"Hey, I wanna come too!" Amy said.

"Amy, I need my Cyclone for this to track where this Nick Fury guy is, there's no way for you to comfortably sit while in this form," Tails said.

"Sure there is," Amy said, climbing on board and sitting directly behind Tails. "See, this seat can fit us both."

"Amy..." Tails grumbled. "Fine, but hold on tight. This might be even faster than Jacky's car."

"Hey!" A displeased Jacky said as Tails drove off.

"I'm surprised she didn't just run, but she's still working on her speed so it makes sense," Knuckles said.

"Well now that you're here, do you wanna help us with this issue?" Jacky asked.

"I suppose I should," Knuckles said. "First, would you mind explaining what's going on?"

"Right, I'll fill you in," Jacky said.

Off at Route 101, Fury was sitting in his limo, in a video chat with Doctor Eggman.

"Just spare me the details, what the hell do you want with this country?" Fury asked.

"My demands are simple, Colonel Fury," Eggman said. "Tell your Avenger buddies, along with the President of this country to surrender to the Eggman Empire. Otherwise, I will personally ensure the destruction of your country."

"You think you're so tough? You ain't the only megalomaniac we've had to deal with," Fury said.

"Maybe so, but remember, I have the power to destroy your nation in an instant," Eggman said. "Can any of your precious Avengers get to me before I wipe the United States of America off the face of the Earth?"

"You won't get away with this, you son of a bitch!" Fury shouted.

"Careful now, mean words could hurt my feelings," Eggman taunted, keeping his hands near a button. "It would be a shame if my finger slipped."

"I don't think so!" Came Sonic's voice as he dropped through the moon screen of the limo.

"Sonic!?" Eggman shouted.

"What the hell!?" Fury asked. "Where did you...wait, you're Sonic, aren't you?"

"Sure is," Johnny said, flying in with Rainbow Dash and Tails. "Sup Fury?"

"Ugh, Johnny Storm, I heard you and your Rainbow pal were around here," Fury said, then gestured to Tails. "Who is he?"

"Miles Prower, boy genius, gonna do his thing now," Johnny said as Tails began hacking.

"Wait, what are you...how did you?" Fury asked in confusion.

"Sir, seems like we've suffered a breach in our security," Came the voice of Maria Hill from an intercom.

"That might have been me," Tails said. "We needed to track down Eggman."

"YOU hacked into MY security!?" Fury shouted. "Torch! What the hell is going on!?"

"Explain later," Johnny said. "Yo Tails, got what we need?"

"Sure do," Tails said, holding a disk. "Eggman is transmitting from Space Colony ARK!"

"ARK? That place is shut down!" Fury said.

"Well I guess Eggman made his home there," Johnny said.

"Then there's no time to waste, let's go!" Sonic said, making his leave alongside Tails and Rainbow Dash.

"Hey Fury, let Cap and the crew know that Sonic and I have this under control," Johnny said, then flew off himself.

Fury was completely dumbfounded, anger beginning to rise within, "Stark! You there!?"

"Yeah, I'm here," Tony said, the hero flying around in his Iron Man suit. "Any word on that Eggman guy?"

"We got more problems, that blue rodent that G.U.N. nabbed recently just busted into my limo!" Fury said.

"You're in a limo? Since when do you ride in limos?" Tony joked. "Is your fancy jet in the shop?"

"Real cute, Stark!" Fury shouted.

"Easy there, eyepatch. What's this about..." Tony looked up in surprise when he noticed the X-Tornado.

"Stark, you there?" Fury asked.

"I just saw something suspicious," Tony said, floating in the air. "Give me a few minutes, I'm gonna check this out."

Tony flew in the direction of the X-Tornado, hoping to get some answers.

Back with Knuckles, he had been given the full story by Jacky and Sarah, the echidna amazed by everything, "So, Sonic's gotten into another mess then, huh? Typical Sonic."

"It sure hasn't been easy," Jacky said. "But hopefully we can get everything cleared up."

"Seems like all Tails needs to do is get that information he needs," Knuckles said.

Jacky looked to the side, "I think he has it."

"Right, here they come," Sarah said.

Before long, everyone was gathered by Knuckles, Tails showing off his disc. "I have what I need. We need to go to outer space to find Eggman."

"Space?" Knuckles asked.

"Wow, space huh?" Jacky asked. "Do you have a way of getting there?"

"I could call Reed, see if he has a rocket ship," Johnny said.

"You say that so casually," Sarah said.

"Well I have been to space," Johnny said.

"You're seventeen, when did you go to space?" Sarah asked.

"You're looking at one of this world's youngest astronauts," Johnny boasted.

"Even so Johnny, getting to space isn't easy," Rainbow Dash said. "Even if we could, we don't know exactly where Space Colony ARK is."

"Oh yeah, don't wanna get lost in space, that would suck," Johnny said.

"We could try using Eggman's coordinates," Knuckles said.

"How though?" Tails asked.

"We'll need to check some pyramids," Knuckles said.

"Pyramids? Like in Egypt?" Johnny asked.

"I don't know what Egypt is, but I can take you where it is," Knuckles said. "It might be far for Jacky and Sarah though."

"I'm the Blue Flash, speed is not an issue for me," Jacky bragged.

"Knock it off, Jacky," Sarah scolded, then focused back on Knuckles. "So what should we-"

"Hold it right there!" Came Sally's voice, startling everyone. They turned to see Sally flying over on the X-Tornado. "I don't want any of you to move!"

"Sally!?" Amy asked in worry.

"Oh no..." Tails lamented.

"Hey it's that bossy chipmunk," Jacky said.

Sally leapt out of the plane, a fury in her eyes striking fear into everyone, "You all have some explaining to do."

Peter stepped out the plane as well, "Hey everyone, nice day huh?"

"Peter...hi..." Amy awkwardly greeted. "So glad to see that you made it."

"So...who wants to go first!?" Sally shouted, once again startling everyone.

"Uh...sorry Sal, gotta run," Sonic said, dashing off.

"Wait for us!" Johnny said. "Dash, help me take Jacky! Knuckles you get Sarah!"

"Take me h-" Jacky was grabbed by both wrists as Johnny and Rainbow Dash flew off.

"Let's go!" Knuckles got Sarah on his back as he sped off himself.

Tails looked pretty nervous, suddenly it was just him and Amy. He looked toward Sally's direction, still seeing the very angry princess. He looked toward where Sonic ran, the blue blur was gone.

"Tails..." Sally warned.

Tails looked back to Sally, and then looked away again.

"Tails! Don't get any funny ideas!" Sally further warned.

"Uh..." Tails was confused, and from what he could see, Amy looked just as worried, but despite that, she was using her thumb to gesture toward Sonic's direction.

"Come on Tails, Sonic's waiting. Don't let Sally intimidate you..." Amy mentally hoped.

"Tails! You march over here right now, young man!" Sally warned, pointing to the ground next to her. "I'm not going to tell you again."

Tails nervously stepped toward his tornado.

"Tails! I swear...if you get in that plane," Sally warned.

Tails slowly lifted his hand, placing it on the plane as Peter seemed to reach into his suit for something.

"Miles Prower! Get your butt over here, NOW!" Sally demanded.

While for a moment Tails seemed just about ready to obey Sally, he instead pulled Amy onto the Cyclone with him and sped away just as something latched on. "Forgive me!"

Sally stood in disbelief as Tails actually blatantly disobeyed her, just like everyone else had. "I...am going to give that boy such a spanking later!"

"You know you're not his mom, right?" Peter reminded.

"Given that he doesn't have parents, I might as well be a mom to him," Sally said.

"Wait, he's an orphan?" Peter asked.

"They all are, that's why I need to be more of a leader, someone needs to keep those kids in line," Sally said.

"Dang, didn't know that Tails, Amy and Sonic didn't have parents," Peter said. "I feel so bad now. Wonder if Aunt May's willing to adopt any of them? It'd be nice having another little sister."

"If your aunt's adopting, wouldn't that girl be a cousin? Not a sister?" Rotor asked.

"Right, she would," Peter said. "My aunt raised me since my parents died too, she adopted a little girl once and even though she's my cousin, since we were raised by the same parents, I consider her a sister."

Sally's ear twitched, "Oh, I didn't know you lost your parents too. I'm sorry to hear that, Peter."

"Well I have my aunt," Peter said. "I also had an uncle who raised me well too."

"Had?" Rotor asked.

"Uh...wow, didn't expect to get this personal," Peter said. "Never mind what I said."

"Peter...how much have you lost in life?" Sally wondered, then saw Tony flying in. "Who in the world?"

Peter turned his attention to The Avenger, "Tony?"

"Hey kid," Tony greeted, then took note of the Mobians. "More of you?"

"Peter, who is this?" Sally asked.

"Tony Stark, my mentor," Peter introduced. "Tony, these are some friends. Rotor the Walrus, and Princess Sally Acorn."

"Ahem..." Came a computer voice.

"Oh, and Nicole, she's an A.I.," Peter explained.

"A.I.? Impressive," Tony said, focusing on the chipmunk. "I think I caught your name was Sally, and that you're a princess of sorts?"

"Yes, I am a princess back on my home planet," Sally explained.

"And you built an A.I.?" Tony asked.

"No, Nicole was a gift to me by my father," Sally said. "She's my personal assistant, and one of my closest friends."

"Well I'm glad you value your Artificial Intelligence," Tony said. "But I need to ask you something about a blue creature of sorts."

"You mean Sonic?" Peter asked.

"Yes, apparently he was broken out of jail by some friends, who then hacked into a conversation Nick Fury was having with Doctor Eggman," Tony explained.

"Whoa, they hacked S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Peter asked. "Bet it was Tails, he's a smart kid."

"Well Fury's not happy, curiously Johnny Storm and Rainbow Dash were with them," Tony said.

"Yeah, it's a long story," Peter said. "Right now we gotta catch up to Sonic."

"Too bad he bolted," Sally said.

"Don't worry, I placed a tracker on Tails's plane," Peter said. "My suit has a built-in radar, I can lead us to Sonic and his buddies."

"Wow, really? Gotta say, you're a lot more clever than you act," Sally said.

"...Are you insulting me or complimenting me?" Peter asked.

"Not important, for now, lead us to Sonic," Sally said, pointing to the distance. "Onward!"

Peter turned to Rotor, "Has she always been like this?"

"Well she is a princess, it's only natural that she's a little bossy," Rotor said.

"I heard that!" Sally shouted as Rouge sped past all of them.

"Someone just broke the speed limit," Peter said.

The person driving was Rouge, the bat girl driving to catch up to the heroes.

"You're not getting away so easily," Rouge commented, then contacted her teammate. "Shadow, I'm in pursuit of our allies. There's a fox boy piloting a blue plane, keep an eye out for it."

"Roger," Shadow said, making his move.

Off in the dessert, Knuckles had led everyone to their next goal.

"So, this is where you saw Eggman?" Sonic asked.

"I saw him go into that pyramid, along with that bat girl," Knuckles explained.

"Bat girl? I don't suppose you saw Batman too, did you?" Johnny joked.

"Excuse me?" Knuckles asked.

"Never mind," Johnny said.

"All that matters is getting into space," Sonic said. "I don't know what this whole Space Colony is, but we'll find and destroy that cannon, and put a stop to Eggman."

"I'll clear a path," Tails said, using his Cyclone to blast some robots guarding the door.

"Intruders!" Came the voice of Bokkun, the little robot flying overhead. "Hey you jerks! This is our base! Take a hike!"

"It's that annoying robot again," Knuckles said.

"I got him," Johnny said, flying over to Bokkun, freaking the robot out. "Hey you!"

"Uh...you're on fire!?" Bokkun shouted. "How!? Humans aren't supposed to handle being on fire!"

"I'm no normal human," Johnny said, getting in the little robot's face. "I'm Fantastic!"

Bokkun's eyes began to water, fear overtaking him as he flew away in a panic, "Someone save me from that scary human!"

Johnny scratched his head in confusion, "Uh...okay, that's a first. Never been called 'scary'."

"To be fair..." Rainbow Dash flew beside him. "You're a human whose body catches on fire, and you do look a little scary when you talk like that."

"Wow...how about that," Johnny said.

"Entrance is all clear!" Tails said.

"Alright, I'll lead the way!" Sonic said, heading through the Pyramid Cave entrance.

"Everyone, with Sonic!" Johnny said, flying through the cave as well.

Approaching from the distance, the X-Tornado was nearing the pyramid, Sally spotting everyone through some binoculars. "There you all are..."

"Seems like they're already taking action," Peter said. "Should we get their attention?"

"Not yet, soon though," Sally said.

Inside the Pyramid, thanks to Sonic, everyone had gotten far enough inside to explore the base.

"I think we're near the center," Tails said.

"Eggman sure loves his mechanical stuff," Sonic said. "I bet he has a rocket or two laying around somewhere."

Tails checked the door in front of them, "Ugh, it's locked. We're gonna need a key."

"Or, I can just blow a hole through it," Johnny said, readying his fire.

"Whoa there hot shot, you don't know what that will do," Sarah said. "Let's play it safe for now."

"Where are we gonna find the keys though?" Johnny asked.

"Knuckles will know what to do," Sonic said.

"Huh? Why me!?" Knuckles asked.

"Well you are the World's Best Treasure Hunter," Sonic said. "If anyone can find those keys, it's you."

"Sonic's right, you got this, Knuckles!" Amy cheered.

"We believe in you, Knux," Rainbow Dash said.

Knuckles sighed in annoyance, "Alright fine, shouldn't be too hard."

"We're right behind you," Rainbow Dash said.

"What the...a ghost?" Knuckles asked.

Appearing before everyone was King Boom Boo, the King of the Ghosts.

"GAAAAAAAAH!" Rainbow Dash freaked. "Gh-gh-gh-GHOST!"

"You gotta be freaking kidding!" Johnny said, stepping back as the ghost got closer.

"First that creepy valley and now this...I really hate ghosts," Knuckles lamented.

Tails himself seemed to be shaking, uncomfortable at the sight of the creature before him. "Uh, what should we do?"

As the creature got close, Johnny immediately flamed on and started throwing fire, "Back off!"

The ghost seemed to wince back in pain, Knuckles immediately taking note of the weakness, "Torch, make your fire as bright as possible."

"Sure thing," Johnny said, brightening up the room and further causing grief for the ghost as it shrank down to a miniature size.

King Boom Boo was now trembling before the heroes, Rainbow Dash herself grinning all confidently, "Ha, he's not so tough after all."

"Aw, he looks kind of scared," Amy said. "Maybe we should let him-"

Knuckles punched the King away, dusting his hands off. "What a hassle. Glad that's over."

"Kind of harsh, I mean this is that ghost's home," Amy said.

"Who cares, let's just get out of here," Rainbow Dash said.

Amy shrugged it off and followed her friends.

Not too long later, the locked door had opened, revealing a new path for the heroes.

"Door's open," Jacky commented. "Great work Knuckles."

"It was a hassle but at least it's done," Knuckles said.

"Sure is, let's go," Tails said.

"You little thieves!" Came Eggman's voice. "Did you really expect to make it out alive?"

"Who's he calling a 'thief'?" Jacky said.

Emerging from a nearby Door was Eggman in his mech.

"Looks like Eggman wants to play," Sonic said, the hedgehog getting into a fighting stance. "Come on, let's make this fun."

"I will take the Chaos Emeralds, and your lives!" Eggman warned. "Come on out my servant!"

Emerging from a nearby hole was the Egg Golem, its sudden appearance surprising the group of heroes.

"Figures Eggman had a trap waiting," Rainbow Dash said. "Yo Sonic, lets trash this thing!"

The Golem tried crushing the group, each of them scampering out of the way.

"Nice try, bro!" Johnny said, readying fire and blasting the golem in the chest.

Rainbow Dash flew in and kicked the monster in the face a few times.

"I got this one!" Sonic leapt up some platforms, sending a flying kick toward the creature's head. "Teriaaaaa!"

The kick was strong enough to cause the Golem to go haywire.

"Nice kick Sonic!" Tails said. "Come on! Let's hurry out of here!"

"What!? No!" Eggman shouted, glaring at his malfunctioning servant. "Sonic's strike must have destroyed the restraining mechanism! Piece of junk!"

The Golem focused its attention on Eggman, the scientist now having a fight on his hands.

"I better make this quick, good-bye to useless trash!" Eggman said, firing away at his former tool of destruction.

Sonic and his friends made a quick dash for the nearby rocket, just as it was blasting off into space. Thankfully each of them got in just before the countdown hit zero.

As the rocket was propelling, Peter arrived with Sally, Rotor and Tony.

"Oh no, the rocket's leaving!" Sally said.

"Tony, grab Rotor," Peter said as he picked up Sally. "Hang on tight.

"Peter, wait, do-AAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Sally shouted as Peter latched onto the rocket with his webs, the two propelling upwards. "IIIIIII HAAAAATE YOOOOOOU!"

"Tell me something I don't know," Peter sassed.

The next part of the adventure was off in the deep riches of space, where Eggman's countdown continued. Right now, it was up to these heroes to save the world.