Chapter 40: It All Starts with This…
"Mr. President," Jerome called as he knocked on the door to the Oval Office. "Your guests have arrived."
"You may bring them in," Michael replied, sitting at his desk as he studied a large television on the wall. He straightened his tie in preparation for the visitors.
Jerome opened the door, allowing Sonic and friends to fill the large, oval-shaped room.
"I never thought I'd get to come here in person," Helen said, looking around mesmerized.
"It's nothing special." Rouge replied with a shrug. "As long as there are gems for me to ste—" Rouge peered up at Topaz, who was giving her a menacing stare, "ste-steer clear from, yes, that's what I was going to say, totally." The jewel thief proceeded to chuckle nervously.
Jerome and other suited presidential staffers brought in enough chairs for each of the guests. Helen rolled next to Tails' chair, with Sonic on his opposite side and Amy next to him. Knuckles pressed his back against a corner wall with his arms folded. Chuck, Vanilla, and Bokkun took their seats as well, with Cheese resting on Cream's lap.
"Thank you all for coming by on such short notice," President Michael K. greeted. "Your swift assistance in putting down the dastardly appliances has certainly saved lives and put an end to yet another chapter in the nightmare caused by Eggman and his antics."
"All in a day's work, chief," Sonic replied. "I was gettin' pretty bored anyway with the whole peace and tranquility thing."
"The task before us now," Michael said, sternly staring back at him, "will all but ensure you'll be preoccupied for the foreseeable future."
"Rouge gave us the news," Tails said, "about how Eggman has escaped from Prison Island."
Michael turned his attention to the television, which displayed security footage of Eggman's jailhouse workstation. "At this point, we have pieced together how Eggman was able to escape: he played the long game." The President pressed the play button on his remote, allowing the party to watch the footage of Eggman tinkering with a washing machine. "From the beginning, Eggman was able to fix these appliances fast enough to also install custom hardware whipped up during his stay in prison. This hardware allowed him to control these appliances remotely while granting a basic level of artificial intelligence. He was even able to let the machines upgrade themselves with whatever they could find."
The party watched the enhanced, black and white footage of Eggman soldering in a chip on the machine's motherboard as he laughed maniacally.
"Unfortunately," Michael continued, "our prison staff weren't keeping close enough tabs on his work, but quite frankly, even if they were, Robotnik would've likely kept his upgrades discreet enough to fool the workers. I don't blame them one bit, although perhaps it was foolish in hindsight to force Eggman to perform prison labor fixing machines that he could easily use to his advantage."
"Fixing and upgrading thousands of appliances in a matter of months, though," Chuck replied. "That's still quite impressive. It's a feat I never thought possible."
"This feat," Michael concluded, "not only allowed him to cause havoc across Station Square, but also let him take total control of Prison Island, freeing the other prisoners before ultimately making his escape."
"One piece of the puzzle we have not been able to decipher," Topaz said, "is this." Taking the remote from the President, she flipped to footage taken right outside the prison between the rocky shore and the building itself. Dozens of soldiers were on the ground unconscious. "Even if all the prisoners teamed up to attack the soldiers, it is highly unlikely they would've been able to overpower our armed forces. In fact, many were killed, and the surviving soldiers could only describe what transpired as a brief blur. All relevant security camera footage of Eggman's breakout has been corrupted too."
"I bet this is another one of Eggman's tricks," Knuckles replied as he bashed his fists together.
"No duh," Sonic replied with a grin. "We all know he's the ultimate trickster. Heck, you've been bamboozled by him more times than you can count."
"You lookin' to start a fight, hedgehog?" Knuckles pried himself from the wall and spun Sonic's chair around.
"Woah, easy there, Knucklehead," Sonic Replied with a grin, extending his arms out with palms open. "I'd love to duke it out with ya, but perhaps we should wait until the meeting's over?"
"I don't think it'd be very nice to fight in the President's office," Cream commented. "Isn't that right, Bokky?" The small rabbit turned to her robotic companion.
"Yeah, that'd be rude and destructive," Bokkun replied as he raised a single finger to the air with eyes closed. "I'm sure they'd cause much more damage than my television bombs ever could."
"Go on then," Sonic said with a grin, "I'll play with you some other time, but for now, let's not keep the President waiting." Knuckles grumbled under his breath as he got even closer to the azure hedgehog, his nose nearly touching his as a vein across his forehead started to grow.
"All right boys, control yourselves," Rouge ordered as she wedged herself between the two friendly rivals, slowly pushing the angry echidna away with her palms.
"Back to business, then," Michael said as he pulled out a cigar. Jerome was on hand to light it. The President sat back in his chair, blowing a few smoke rings. "So, we have a troubling situation. Not only is Eggman on the loose once more, but he was able to effortlessly take down America's finest soldiers without his arsenal to back him up."
"So, we track him down and put a stop to whatever scheme he's concocting," Sonic replied, excitement starting to grow inside him.
"It's not that simple, Sonic," Tails replied. "At this point, Eggman is probably off hiding, recovering from his escape while plotting his next course of action. As far as we know, he has no other base to return to. Plus, it will take him time to plot his next move and make his appearance obvious enough for us to track him down."
"Then how should we proceed?" Helen asked. "Surely we don't want to simply wait it out until Eggman makes the first move?"
"Not at all," Tails replied as he pulled out the yellow Chaos Emerald from his namesakes. "We could use my Chaos Emerald tracker to locate the remaining emeralds to prevent Eggman from getting his hands on them."
"Yeah, that's right," Knuckles said. "We left them scattered around the Earth after Eggman was arrested because nobody else posed any real threat."
"Precisely," Tails replied. "I have this one for research purposes, but our plan of attack now should be to gather the remaining emeralds so Eggman doesn't find them first. Surely that will be his primary objective moving forward."
"Very good," Michael pushed his cigar into his ashtray. "It sounds like you guys have everything covered. To aid in your mission, we just need to know your base of operations."
"Our base of operations?" Helen asked. "Like where we'll be gathering?"
"Effectively the best place where we can reach the entire group," Topaz replied. "I would recommend picking a central location so you can all coordinate collaboratively."
Tails folded his arms before ultimately deciding what he thought would be the best place for everyone to meet. "How about my new workshop on Angel Island?"
"Yeah, that's a great idea!" Helen replied. "Cream and I will already be staying there anyway because the appliances at home caused a big mess, and plus Knuckles would be close by too!"
Everybody nodded in agreement.
"It'll be like a sleepover!" Cream declared.
"Chao, chao!" Cheese added.
"So, meet up at your place?" Sonic asked.
"Yep!" Tails replied, his namesakes fluttering from behind, excited to spend more time with his friends. "I have plenty of popcorn and a new surround system too! Let's plan our initial steps and then hang out for the rest of the night."
"Sounds good to me!" Helen replied giddily.
"Count me in," Sonic replied with a thumbs up.
"I'll be there," Knuckles said.
"I'll come too," Amy said. "The bakery will be closed for the next few weeks to fix the damage caused by the appliances, so I'll be out of a job until then anyway."
So it was decided: Helen, Tails, Sonic, Knuckles, Cream, Cheese, Bokkun, and Amy would be heading to the workshop. Chuck still had to fix up Helen's place after the destruction caused by Eggman's appliances, and Vanilla decided to stay behind to help Chuck and Helen's parents clean up the house. Rouge and Topaz would be working elsewhere, agreeing to communicate with the group as necessary.
"Plus, sleepovers aren't really my thing," Rouge added. "After all, I'd rather spend the evening with a certain workplace colleague." Topaz exhaled her tea through her nostrils as a blush appeared across her face, earning a laugh from her batlike companion.
"Now that we have a plan," Michael concluded as he pulled himself out of his chair, walked around his desk, and extended his arm out, "we'll see to it that any intel on our end will be delivered promptly to aid in your search."
"Thanks!" Tails replied as he accepted the gesture, giving the President a handshake. This was followed by most of the rest of the group, save for Knuckles who wasn't into the pleasantries.
Swinging the doors open, Jerome escorted the visitors out of the Oval Office. As soon as the door closed, the President sat back down in his chair, slouching as he stared at the television screen once more, a freeze frame of Eggman's wicked smirk as he hacked into a laundry machine on display.
"Out of all the presidents this could've happened to, it just had to be me." Shaking his head, the president clicked the television off and pulled a bottle of brandy and a form marked "TOP SECRET" from the drawer of his desk. Taking a big swig, he studied the document.
Sweat dripped down Michael's face, and his hands shook, as he reached for his presidential pen. Taking another gulp of booze, the President signed his name at the bottom before pressing a call button on his desk.
"Jerome, it is done."
"Very good, Mr. President," he replied. "I will inform the Defense Secretary at once."
Sighing once more, Michael leaned back in his chair and downed the rest of the brandy, dropping the empty bottle on the floor.
"It has to be done," he reassured himself. "The evidence is indisputable."
"It must be done."
Slowly awakening from his slumber, the blue hedgehog opened his eyes to find a dark, open living room, much bigger than his own back at the apartment he shares with Amy. He was covered in a blue blanket, and a single leg was draped over the sofa cushion.
Pushing himself into a sitting position, he peered up at the digital clock above the large television showing 6 AM. Just below, the TV flickered with a map of the entire world, with various pins showing the locations of the Chaos Emeralds.
Sonic grinned as he grabbed the remote on the arm rest nearby to turn off the television. He was excited to go off on another adventure, traversing the globe in search of the Chaos Emeralds before the evil Doctor Eggman could get his hands on them for his nefarious purposes. Truly a nostalgic feeling for the blue blur, harkening back to a simpler time when they weren't stranded on an alien world for months upon months.
The blue hedgehog pulled himself up and quietly tiptoed around the various sleeping bags scattered around the living room where his companions slept, save for Helen, who was sleeping in a spare bed in the corner of the room.
Might as well get a good mornin' run in before breakfast.
With one final stretch, Sonic opened the front door, stepping onto the porch and closing softly as to not disturb his friends. Before he could spindash off the porch, he noticed an unexpected, albeit welcoming sight before him.
"What's this?" Sonic bent his knees to observe the plate of freshly prepared chili dogs. "Chili dogs? At this time of day?" The blue hedgehog brought a finger to his chin in thought. "Seems legit." He grabbed one of the hotdogs, but just before he was about to take a bite, he paused. "Wait a minute…who would make chili dogs and leave them out here like this? Surely this must be a trap." Peering around, Sonic was unable to detect any intruders; all he knew was that there was a plate of delicious chili dogs with his name on it.
"Eh, probably just an adoring fan who'd know I would be up this early…but how would they know I crashed at Tails' place? And how would they have even gotten up here in the first place?" Sonic pondered these questions a bit further before ultimately shrugging his shoulders and taking a bite out of one of the hotdogs.
"Ewww, gross," Sonic nearly gagged. "Whoever made these did a terrible job!" He took another bite. "Seriously, I could make a better chili sauce blindfolded!" He swallowed the rest of the first hotdog whole. "Whoever made this batch should be barred from the kitchen for life!" Sonic took a large bite of the second chili dog. "Absolutely disgusting." To finish off his meal, the blue hedgehog tilted the plate above his head and allowed the hotdogs to slide into his mouth. Chewing loudly, his swallow was followed by a burp that echoed across the island.
"Welp, that was somethin'," Sonic concluded as he threw the plate behind his shoulder. "Time to burn off those calories!" Blasting off from Tails' porch, the blue hedgehog's legs locked up after only a couple dozen yards, causing him to fall flat on his face.
"Owww, wh-what?" Sonic opened his eyes and tried pulling himself up, but a wave of exhaustion took hold. "Wait, wha-what's go-going…on…"
Moments after the blue hedgehog drifted off to sleep, a team of camouflaged soldiers emerged from the trees and bushes. They tied ropes around his arms and legs and carried him down the wooded path.
Observing the row of soldiers carrying Sonic away, Rouge was dangling upside down from a tree branch while Topaz was directly underneath.
"See?" Rouge said. "It worked like a charm, just like I said."
"I'll give you credit for the unorthodox plan," Topaz replied. "I never knew Sonic would be gullible enough to fall for a random plate of food like a wild animal."
"When it comes to chili dogs," Rouge said with a smirk, "he is definitely a wild animal." The jewel thief dropped to the ground, and the two started following the soldiers.
"Do you think this is the right thing to do?" Topaz asked.
"Wait, you're coming to me, of all people, for moral advice?"
"Well, yeah," Topaz replied, "seeing as how we're dating, why wouldn't I come to you for support?"
"Because I'm a bad influence, remember?" Rouge replied, her grin ever widening.
"Even you must have some qualms with taking Sonic into custody, though, right?" Topaz asked.
"The way I see it," Rouge replied, "is that the accusations being made against Sonic are serious enough to warrant this kidnapping. We have a warrant, so it's not really kidnapping either. I may have a shoddy history with the law, but at least I understand it." The jewel thief studied the clearing up ahead, where a helicopter was awaiting the package. "Do I think Sonic helped Eggman escape from Prison Island? It's unlike him to help Eggman, but…"
"But what?" Topaz asked, peering down at the Mobian bat.
"Well, Sonic relishes the challenge of a good fight. He indicated multiple times he was bored because Eggman was in jail. And besides, doesn't it seem convenient that Eggman was able to acquire enough spare parts to turn all those refurbished appliances into his own deadly robots, and who else could've swiftly taken out an entire squad of soldiers like that?" Rouge sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Don't get me wrong: Sonic knows Eggman's a bad guy, but there's a reason why Eggman has been able to roam free for years, both on Mobius and Earth."
"Without Eggman," Rouge concluded as the helicopter took off, "Sonic has nobody to play with."
"Ohhh…my head…'s spinning…"
Sonic slowly opened his eyes to find himself sitting against the metallic wall of a flying vessel.
"Hey, how did you wake up so soon!?"
Sonic peered over at the soldier sitting directly across from him.
"W-what?" The blue hedgehog's senses slowly returned. "You're with the military?" Sonic tried to get up, but his arms and legs were tied down. "Why was I kidnapped?"
"You know what you did, hedgehog," the soldier to his left replied.
"Yeah, no use playing dumb," the one to his right added.
"I have no idea what you guys are talking about," Sonic replied, "but I won't be havin' it."
"Oh yeah?" The soldier sitting across from him grinned as he rubbed the stubble on his chin. "What are you gonna do about it?"
Sonic grinned as well. "Oh, I have some ideas." The blue hedgehog entered a spindash, instantaneously breaking free from the rope.
"Get that hedgehog!" He shouted. Unfortunately for him, however, his soldiers were too slow to catch the speedy blue blur; with each lung and grab, Sonic simply dodged, jumped, or dove out of the way until he eventually reached the metal door.
"Don't you dare try to escape!" The commander raised his fist. "The consequences will be severe."
"Want to know what I think of your consequences?" The blue hedgehog pulled his lower eyelid down with his middle finger as he stuck his tongue out. "Sayonara!" He kicked down the metal door, causing it to fly off. He then jumped out and landed on a small wing protruding from the helicopter's side. The soldiers watched in awe, not daring to try chasing after the blue daredevil.
"Talk about low budget flights! No food or movies…" He shook his head disapprovingly before peering down at the wing, noticing one of its metal panels was just loose enough to be removed by hand. "I'm outta here!" With a pull, the blue hedgehog ripped the panel from the wing and jumped off the plane, his feet planted on the panel like a snowboard.
"Heh, this is pretty radical!" Sonic grinned excitedly as he performed various air tricks, acrobatic feats that would have surely earned him millions of points in one of Helen's skateboarding videogames. "Woohoooo!" He spun like an airborne top as he approached the streets below.
"Let's see if this neat idea pans out," Sonic said to himself as he stopped spinning, his feet planted on the board with his knees bent. Finally, he landed on the metallic corner of a semitruck, grinding as it drove down the steep roads of West Station Square.
"Sorry, I would exchange insurance," Sonic called to the driver as he ollied off the side of the truck, the downward slope of the road keeping him moving, "but I'm a hedgehog!" He sped forward, the driver left in a state of confusion and awe.
"Hedgehog comin' through!" Sonic called to the pedestrians a block away who were crossing the street. Thankfully, they saw the blue blur coming and quickly made space for him. "Thanks!" Sonic called as he passed them by, waving back before refocusing his attention on the road ahead.
Sonic knew these roads like the back of his hand, and while he had never thought to try boarding through the city, he was aware of nearly every parkour opportunity it had to offer. Not feeling rushed to hide from the military, he decided to use this chance to grind on all the rails he could, and jump over several vehicles, stunning the various pedestrians who witnessed Sonic's reckless activities. Of course, before they could process what they were seeing, the blue blur had vanished, leaving many that day wondering if they saw anything at all.
"Maybe I should call Tails and let him know what happened." He reached for his wristwatch communicator and placed the call.
"Sonic, where are you?" Tails asked. "I've been trying to call you for over an hour."
"Sorry Tails," Sonic replied as he ollied on another rail, "kinda let my guard down. I was taken in by G.U.N."
"By G.U.N.?!" Tails exclaimed. "What did you do?!"
"Nothing!" Sonic replied. "Honest! I was gonna go on my run, but they captured me after luring me with chili dogs."
"Chili dogs?" Tails asked, tilting his head in disbelief.
"Hey, you know I can't resist a good ol' plate of chili dogs!" Tails was stone faced and unamused. "Anyway, I escaped from their helicopter and currently making my way through the city as we speak."
"What a mess…" Tails brought a finger to his chin in thought. "Well…at least you're okay now. I should ask Rouge what the heck is going on."
"You do that, buddy," Sonic replied. "I'm gonn—". Just as he was about to finish his thought, Sonic heard a loud vehicle rapidly approaching him from behind. Peering back, he saw a large, unmanned G.U.N. labeled semitruck making chase, crashing into several vehicles in the process, with the primary objective of capturing its blue Mobian target. "Looks like they found me. Talk later!" Ending the call, Sonic kicked forward, increasing his speed.
Woooosh!
Sonic was in awe as a missile flew over his head, colliding with a nearby car. The blue hedgehog barely managed to escape the resulting explosion.
"Okay, just what is the military up to?" Sonic asked himself. "Why are they putting civilians in harm's way just to capture me?" Before the blue hedgehog could question any further, he peered back to find a large, circular saw blade retracted from the side of the semi, its metallic arm swinging in front of the vehicle as it got dangerously close to the blue hedgehog.
"Yikes!" Sonic jumped off the board, took a sharp right, and ran up a tall building. Breathing a sigh of relief while running up the structure, thinking he had gotten away, the roaring engine of the semi grew louder. "Oh no…" Peering over his shoulders once more, he found the G.U.N. truck flying up 90 degrees as well, chasing Sonic using the launchers affixed to the rear of the vehicle. "Okay, I'm no expert, but that must not have been cheap to build."
Reaching the rooftop, Sonic charged his spindash, and just as the truck flew up like a dolphin jumping out of the ocean waters for a brief spell, the blue hedgehog launched himself right at its engine. He pierced the heart of the truck, cutting through to the other side, allowing himself to free fall as the military vehicle exploded above him.
Sonic came to a safe landing on the street, entering spherical form just as he collided with the pavement.
"Okay, just what is going on here?" The blue hedgehog peered around. The streets were deserted, and only the sound of the smoldering shrapnel could be heard. "Seriously, why is the military after me? I didn't even do anything wrong!"
Boom!
Sonic braced himself as the bulk of the truck he destroyed fell to the street. When the dust settled, Sonic gasped at the sight of a hedgehog-like silhouette within the blaze.
"What?" Sonic stepped forward. "It can't be…"
"It all starts with this," said the voice through the smoke, which faded away with the glimmering light emanating from the green Chaos Emerald. She studied the mystical gem, allowing its mysterious energy to further fuel her determination to fulfill the wishes of her long-lost friend.
The ebony hedgehog raised the Chaos Emerald to the sky, peering up at it with a sinister grin.
"A jewel containing the ultimate power…"