Sonic and the Freedom Fighters: Parallel Dimensions
Chapter 2: Alliance
DISCLAIMER: The following is a non-profit, fan-based work of fiction. All characters portrayed in this story, unless specified otherwise, belong to SEGA.
-Sol Dimension, The Metal Marauder-
"Is everyone okay?" Blaze asked as she hovered back onto the deck of the ship, her allies all recovering from the recent assault from the mech. Her mission to recover the Sol Emeralds had taken an unexpected turn now that they had been stolen once again, and now that the thief had escaped to parts unknown, her home dimension was at risk.
"More or less." Silver replied as he sat on the deck, his hand rubbing over his wounds. "I'm sorry. I could barely do anything to stop her. All I did was stall her."
"No, the fault is mine." Cinder responded. "If only I was stronger, I would have been able to-"
"Stop! This is no one's fault." Blaze interjected. "We managed to buy some time, and we were lucky it happened away from the kingdom. We just need to find out where she went before..." She continued before a distant crash of thunder emphasised her point. Silver took a second to think before speaking up.
"Hmm... well, now that I think about it, her armour seemed to be fire-resistant." He noted.
"True. And fireproof metal isn't exactly easy to come by or to make. You don't suppose she planned for this, do you?" Cinder wondered.
"If she did, then she'll need to have a base somewhere." Silver answered. Blaze considered this for a moment before turning to the back of the ship. Leaning against one of the walls was a robotic pirate bound in chains, his upper torso designed to mimic a pirate's coat and his left eye and the left half of his head covered by a steel plate, with the remainder of his head a cobalt blue with a glowing red right eye. His right arm was replaced with a blunderbuss equipped with a razor-sharp bayonet, his left leg was a metallic peg, and a steel hat was perched on his head. Blaze marched over to the pirate captain and glared at him.
"You! Where did she want you to take them?!" She growled, her hands clenched and generating small embers.
"Ye'll never get answers from me, lass! There's not a thing ye can do to me that'll make me talk!" The robot, known as Captain Metal, replied defiantly. Blaze kept glaring before firing a powerful flame at the mast of the ship, making her intentions clear if he did not answer. Silver and the others kept their distance and prepared to leave if Blaze gave the signal. The robotic captain stared in shock as the flames spread around the mast before eventually, he relented.
"Fine, I yield!" He yelled, Blaze dispelling the flames with a flick of her hand. "That woman asked us to loot the Sol Emeralds fer her. Somethin' about a machine o' some sort." He said.
"Where?!" The princess growled.
"A few miles south o' here. Coordinates're in the ship's logs." Captain Metal replied. Blaze held out a hand and created a small flame.
"If I find out you're lying, then your galleon becomes a fireship!" She warned, the flame growing a bit to emphasise her point.
"Believe me, lass, I'd swear on me life were I flesh n' blood." Metal assured her. Blaze turned to the others.
"You guys, get the civilians back to Laevatein and toss these pirates in a cell the first chance you get. I'm going to find the Emeralds." She stated, grabbing Captain Metal and dragging him along the deck.
"Hold on!" Silver answered, stopping her in her tracks. "I'm coming with you."
"Silver, I-" She was about to answer, before stopping herself and calming herself down. "I appreciate the offer, but if something goes wrong on the way back-"
"Then me and Marine can handle it." Cinder interrupted, smiling.
"Yeah! Don't worry, Blaze! We'll take care of these rustbuckets for ya!" Marine cheered. Blaze smiled at her enthusiasm.
"Thank you. All of you." She said gratefully before the group made their preparations. She was determined to find out who had taken the Sol Emeralds, and more importantly, where to...
-Sonic's Dimension, Tails's House-
Meanwhile, in Sonic's dimension, most of the Freedom Fighters had returned home after helping the town residents clean up and repair the damages caused by Eggman's attack. The only ones who hadn't returned to the house were Sonic, who was helping the townspeople get to where they needed to be, and Antoine and Bunnie, who offered to help out with the vehicle disruptions. As Sally stretched to relieve her exhaustion, she heard a knock on the door and swiftly opened it to reveal Amy standing patiently.
"Hi, Sally!" Amy replied cheerfully.
"Oh, hello, Amy. If you're looking for Sonic, he's still in the city helping civilians out. He'll be back in a few minutes." The princess replied, stepping outside.
"Ah, well, actually, I kinda wanted to talk to you first." The pink hedgehog admitted.
"Me? What for?" Sally asked. In response, Amy pulled out a sheet of paper with an insignia drawn on it. The drawing in question consisted of two stylized blue 'F's, designed in a way to faintly resemble wings, while the background of the insignia was sky blue that transitioned into white near the bottom.
"Ta-da! What do you think?" Amy asked. "I took the 'FF' sign on the door over there and just prettied it up a little." The pink hedgehog pointed towards the door of the Freedom Fighter barracks, with Sally looking back and forth between the door and the drawing.
"Oh. Well, we didn't really see having a personalized emblem as a high priority. That said, it is a very nice design. Good job!" She said with a smile.
"Aw, thanks!" Amy replied, beaming. Sally looked down and noticed a badge on her dress, with a design that looked suspiciously similar to a certain blue hedgehog.
"Say, Amy? If you don't mind me asking, what's the badge for?" She asked, pointing at the badge in question.
"Oh, this? It's my official 'Sonic The Hedgehog Fan Club' badge." She answered with a noticeable amount of pride. "I wanted to see if anyone here was interested in joining-"
"Wait, back up a bit. You're saying that you want to give Sonic, the most arrogant and egocentric guy we know other than Eggman, even MORE of an ego boost?" Sally interjected, holding back a laugh.
"Sorry, Sal, what was that? I couldn't hear you over the sounds of my adoring fan." Sonic suddenly replied, having just returned from the town and heard the recent conversation between Sally and Amy. Amy looked at him with adoration while Sally just gave an amused smirk.
"'Fan'? Singular?" She snarked. "So, one girl singing your praises is enough to give you an ego the size of Yurashia?"
"You're just jealous that I have a fan club and you don't." Sonic retorted, the banter between them interrupted by the appearance of a Warp Ring, through which Knuckles appeared. "Ah, Knux! How would you like to be 'Sonic Fan Number 2'?" He asked.
"Not on your life." Knuckles replied curtly, before looking over to the auburn-haired chipmunk. "Actually, I'm here for Sally. There's something I wanna discuss with her."
-Eggman's Lair-
"...And that, in turn, led me here." Venom said, having wrapped up an elaborate explanation of why she was currently standing in front of Eggman. Her briefcase was currently placed on a nearby table.
"Well, thank you for the history lesson I neither wanted nor asked for, but what exactly does this have to do with me?" Eggman asked.
"Simple. You're the only one that has both the vision and the ability to help me." She replied. "I've read quite a lot about you, Dr Robotnik. Your feats in mechanical engineering are very impressive. I think the Roboticizer project is my favourite." Eggman looked at her in shock after she revealed that.
"The- You know about that?" He gasped.
"I like doing my research." She responded with a shrug. "And that kind of technological breakthrough is exactly what I need. So, I honestly believe we can help each other."
"I... I didn't design that, actually." The doctor admitted.
"But you still perfected it. You took the base design and made it the perfect method of instilling order." She replied. She seemed to be praising the Roboticizer as the greatest invention ever, and it made the doctor ponder as to why she was so enamoured with it.
"And... you want me to give it to you?" He asked in a somewhat incredulous tone.
"I want you to help me build something that can turn an entire planet into metal. Something that can be repaired. Fixed." She explained before opening the briefcase beside her, revealing that the Sol Emeralds were stored within. "And I think you'll find these to be helpful."
"The Sol Emeralds?!" He gasped in surprise.
"Correct. I was able to take them from their guardian before arriving here. I think you will find the power they provide to be sufficient for your little... nuisances." She replied. Eggman stared at the Emeralds for a bit before turning back to her.
"You know that by bringing them here, we only have a limited time before our dimensions collide with each other, right?" He warned, remembering the last time he attempted to harness the power of the Sol Emeralds.
"Yes, I am aware of certain risks. If we work fast enough, that will be rendered a non-issue." She answered. Clearly, she had given this endeavour considerable thought. "So... do we have a deal?" The viper asked, holding out her hand. Eggman considered the offer briefly before reciprocating, shaking the Mobian's hand as their alliance was now formed...
-Sol Dimension, The Metal Marauder-
Back in the Sol Dimension, Blaze and Silver were approaching the coordinates that Captain Metal gave them, with Blaze on the steering wheel. The area they entered was shrouded in a heavy fog, obscuring the surroundings.
"Well, the map says we should be closing in on wherever we're headed. But this fog really isn't helping." Silver noted, trying to see anything through the fog. "Are you sure we can trust what Captain Metal said?"
"Marine told me that a captain values their ship over their own life. So, if he values his ship as much as he claims to, he'll have told us the truth. And if not..." She replied, forming a flame in her hand to emphasize her point. Silver nodded and moved to the bow of the ship, where he eventually noticed a silhouette of a large structure.
"Hey, I see something!" He shouted. As they approached, they were able to see it clearly. The structure was built upon a small rock spire and resembled a cluster of large metallic towers, each with a pointed roof at the top and coloured in alternating patterns of dark grey and red. "What the... What is this?" he asked, astonished by the sheer size of the structure.
"Something that someone wanted to keep hidden." Blaze answered as she sailed towards it. She was certain of it - whoever stole the Sol Emeralds, this had to have been their base. And that meant the answers to the rest of her questions were inside...
Author's Note: Cinder the Cat and Venom the Viper belong to me. All other characters belong to SEGA.