A/N: Hey everybody! I know it's been a while, but here's the fourth episode of Sonic Journeys! If you haven't done so already, read the pilot episode, Sonic Chaos and Sonic Restoration. If you have, then read on as Sonic and Tails venture beyond the borders of the Kingdom of Mobius and on into a new, dangerous adventure!

It was a bright, sunny day in the Kingdom of Mobius. Birds chirped, rodents squeaked, and overall, liveliness was in the air. Looking at the country, one would've been quite hard-pressed to tell that it had been the victim of an invasion by a mad scientist, the only signs being that major population centers were still undergoing reconstruction.

Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, however, knew all too well about this invasion, for he was the one who initiated it. Seemingly coming out of nowhere one day, he appeared to have the upper hand on the Mobian population. Unfortunately for him, his efforts came crashing down, and now, he was in his hideout in Hang Castle – located in the Badlands of Mobius – lamenting his failure.

"Hedgehog!" Robotnik threw his arms up as he paced about in the throne room, now his office. "HEDGEHOG! I hate that hedgehog so much! One day, I have this blasted country in the grip of my iron fist, and then that blue ball of needles comes along and ruins it! As if that weren't enough, he also has the audacity to make friends and turn them against me! How can I possibly hope to compete against those ninnyheads!? Oh, if Gerald could only…"

Robotnik froze when he thought back to his grandfather, Professor Gerald Robotnik.

"That's it!" Robotnik raised his index finger. "Perhaps there's something in Gerald's files that could very well be the key to defeating that blasted Sonic and his equally worthless friends!"

Robotnik sat down in a swivelling office chair and activated a large computer terminal. With that, he began poring through whatever files of Gerald's were in his possession or at least could be accessed through various computer networks. At first, he couldn't find anything useful, mainly various term papers and dissertations, plus research into a disease known as Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome, or NIDS for short. However, it was this research on NIDS that led Robotnik to something useful…

"That's it!"

Having found what he was looking for, Robotnik hopped into his Eggmobile and flew halfway across the globe, over the Occidental Ocean and to an island off the coast of the city of Station Square known as Prison Island. In recent decades, it was used by the government of the Federal Republic of Columbia for housing the most dangerous inmates, and if Robotnik was correct, there was one in particular that was said to be housed here. While the island was heavily defended, the Doctor managed to avoid detection thanks to a special radar jamming system he'd installed in the Eggmobile. He landed it on the northern end of the island, and equipping an EEA-6 blaster rifle – the same model that his SWATbots used – he attempted to sneak into the prison via a large air duct. However, an alarm told him that he'd somehow been discovered.

"Intruder alert! Intruder alert! Security breach at Gate 3!" said a woman's voice over the PA system. "Intruder has been located in the north quadrant, and is moving in the direction of the underground base. All units prepare to engage: basic emergency battle formations. Standard battle formations initiated. Locate and stop intruder from reaching the security area. This is not a drill. Repeat; this is not a drill."

Undeterred, Robotnik proceeded forth, laughing evilly.

"That was all too easy!" said Robotnik. "Now, let's take a look at what my grandfather was working on: a top-secret military weapon. The military shut down the research because they feared it! I, however, will readily embrace it!"

Robotnik climbed down a ladder into the underground base and proceeded forth. Already, he ran into a problem, for a few mechs were waiting for him in the first hallway. Ordinarily, the Doctor would've failed horribly because he received his weapons training at the Imperial Marksmanship Academy. However, the story dictated that he needed to be a good shot here, so he managed to dispatch them without too much trouble, also taking out a security camera. Shortly thereafter, he came upon a security door, but he simply shot the locks off and kept going.

"Level One Security Door breached," said a female voice. "Emergency formation. Intercept intruder."

Despite a few more mechs coming at Robotnik, he managed to stop them and move on, taking an elevator to a higher level. Along the way, he dispatched some more mechs and security cameras. Soon enough, he reached another security door, which was child's play for him to open.

"Level Two Security Door breached," said the same female voice. "Level Two Security Door breached."

Next, Robotnik came to a slow-moving elevator. While going down, a bunch of hovering drones attempted to come at him, but he found these far easier to dispatch than the usual mechs that had been coming after him. Once the elevator stopped, he blasted open another door and kept going. After taking out some more security cameras, he came upon another security door and blasted it open.

"Level Three Security Door breached," said the same female voice. "Intruder has breached Sectors Three through Eight. Get him."

Despite more mechs and drones coming at Robotnik, he made quick work of them as he ran across a catwalk, down another shaft and into another large room.

"Too easy!" said Robotnik. "I thought the government would put up more of a fight!"

After blasting a couple more mechs, Robotnik blew open another security door.

"Level Four Security Door breached," said the same female voice.

Robotnik came to another slow elevator, where more drones were awaiting him. Once again, though, they fell like dominos before him, and he was able to continue down another hallway, blowing open another security door in the process.

"Level Five Security Door breached," said the same female voice. "Switch to emergency attack mode. Lock down final security door."

Despite base security's best attempts to lock down Robotnik and squash him with more mechs, he blasted his way through them and knocked down even more security doors. However, he came upon a door that seemed to be really fortified.

"Fortunately, I came prepared for this!"

Robotnik planted a Semtex charge on the door, stood back and detonated it. The door gave way, and he came upon one last security door, which he was able to hack into using a password-cracking mine. Then, he found what he was looking for…

"Oh ho! So this is the military's top-secret weapon? It's a lot smaller than I expected." Robotnik looked at a nearby terminal. "Enter user data…aha…enter password…password is M-A-R-I-A. Maria! Now all I have to do is place the Chaos Emerald into this console!"

Yes, unbeknownst to many, Robotnik had gotten his hands on the gray Chaos Emerald, which he put into a nearby console on the terminal. Then, a containment unit raised up from the floor.

"Oh ho!"

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.