-Chapter 83-

Fun and Games


Spring Stadium Zone

The Freedom Fighters left the Rusty Ruins behind, soon coming across a massive, colorful funhouse. A sign outside read "Spring Stadium".

"Of course," Sonic sighed. "Wherever Eggman goes, he just has to set up some kinda amusement park to rob innocent people of their Mobiums."

"Betcha Brutus is in charge again," Tails theorized.

"Brutus?" Knuckles asked.

"One of Eggman's Troopers," Sonic explained. "Used to be his golden boy until Metal Sonic came along. Now, it seems his only real job is running different money-making Zones for the doc."

"And rigging the rides with booby traps," Sally added.

"Remember the missile-go-round?" Tails asked.

"Or the Hell House Ride," Sonic included.

"Ah, yes," Knuckles recalled. "That gaudy Carnival Night Zone he set up on Angel Island. Some of the Echidnas have been talking about refurbishing it and turning it into an actual amusement park."

"Sounds like fun," Amy admitted.

"Hopefully," Knuckles agreed. "Maybe once it opens, you guys can come check it out."

"For now, let's see what attractions of doom Eggman's whipped up this time," Sonic decided.

The five approached the gate, where they were almost immediately greeted by a cartoony version of Robotnik (1). He didn't look at all intimidating, and actually appeared softer and almost huggable.

"He's even got a cute little mascot," Sonic remarked. "Going all in, I see."

"Welcome, guests, to the Spring Stadium!" the mascot greeted. "Are you ready for the most fun you'll ever have?"

Both Sonic and Tails blinked.

"Hang on... Brutus?" Tails let out. "Is that you under there?"

The mascot stiffened, before sighing. "Laugh, and I'll kill you."

Sonic had a hand over his mouth, stifling a snicker.

"I'm guessing Eggman ain't too happy with what went down on the E.G.G. Station," he remarked.

Brutus growled.

"You reduced me to this, Sonic," he spat. "'Step right up! See the dancing Badnik! Pay five Mobiums!' I was once the doctor's commander. Now I'm an Aurora-damned tourist attraction! A joke!"

"Could be worse," Knuckles pointed out. "You could be scrap metal."

"Believe me, that would be preferable," Brutus snapped. "It's just not fair! When Metal gets punished, he becomes the lab assistant to Robotnik's niece. When I get punished, I'm made a laughingstock!"

"Oh, boo hoo," Tails taunted. "Let me play a sad song for you on the world's smallest violin."

He started moving his fingers, music playing. Everyone looked at him, surprised.

"Do you… really have the world's smallest violin?" Amy questioned.

"Of course not. That's silly," Tails showed them a little MP3 player. "It's a little music player with violin music."

"If my weapons hadn't been disabled, you would all be ash," Brutus spat.

"Suuuure we would," Sonic retorted.

"Well, if you're not in charge, who is?" Sally asked.

"Us!"

The group looked up at the voice to see three figures Sonic recognized exit the gate.

"Oh, great…" he sighed.

"Who are those guys?" Amy asked.

"Are they human?" Knuckles added. "Because they don't look like any humans I've ever seen."

"The Marxio Brothers," Sonic explained. "They were in charge of the Spring Yard Zone during the South Island incident."

"Well, someone's gotta manage this place," Grouchio pointed out. "It's just good business."

"Oh yeah?" Sonic retorted. "Well we're here to shut you down and free any Flickies you may have in this place."

"Hey, we need this job!" Chicio objected. "The money the doc's paying us will be perfect for our next endeavor. A game series about us! Super Marxio Bros. It'll fly off the shelves?"

"Seriously?" Sonic scoffed. "Who cares about the adventures of three electricians?"

Harpio tooted his horn in offense.

"Are we done here?" Knuckles questioned. "We have a job to do."

"Yes, of course," Grouchio said. "Please come in. Enjoy the festivities."

"They're to die for!" Chicio chuckled evilly, which turned to a pained yelp when Grouchio stamped on his toes.

"I say we divide and conquer," Sally decided. "Amy, Knuckles, you two hit the games. Your strength should be able to tear through them with ease. Tails, Sonic and I will deal with the rides."

"Bust out any Flickies you see on your end," Sonic added. "We'll do the same on ours."

-X-

They entered, going their separate ways while the Marxios headed back to the control room. Seeing where Sonic, Tails, and Sally were heading, Grouchio lit a cigar, grinning.

"Activate the springs," he ordered.

Harpio honked his horn, hitting a big red button…

-X-

As Sonic, Sally, and Tails went along, several red and blue springs with yellow stars suddenly popped out of the ground. Before he could stop, Sonic stepped on one, and was launched into the air right into another one.

"Sonic!" Sally screamed.

Sonic was bounced all over the place by the springs as a pit opened up where he was about to land. He landed heavily, numerous colored balls flying into the air as he did. After a few minutes, his head broke the surface. Sonic looked around, rolling his eyes.

"A ball pit?" he deadpanned. "What is this, the play area at Blumpy's Pizza Palace (2)?"

That was when he realized he was sinking into the balls. "Uh-oh."

He started scrambling to get out as Grouchio let out a laugh.

"How do you like our Ball Pit of Doom?"

"Everyone's just dying for a chance to swim in it!" Chicio cackled before getting smacked and yelping in pain.

"Enjoy your last minutes of fun, Sonic!" Grouchio taunted. "But don't worry. As the hero, you'll go out with a big bang!"

That was when Sonic realized the balls were all ticking.

"Bombs?!" he exclaimed.

Tails and Sally hurried over just in time to see Sonic go under. His hand popped out, desperately grasping for anything, but before it could sink, Tails grabbed him.

"Hang on, buddy!" the fox shouted.

Twirling his tails, Tails pulled Sonic from the pit and all three jumped clear just as the entire pit exploded.

"Whew…" Sonic sighed. "Close one."

Sally slashed through the spring on one of the traps, looking it over.

"Impressive design. Hey Tails, what do you think?"

Tails approached, looking over the spring himself.

"Interesting," he mused. "Wonder if I could make these portable. Would make cliff jumping easier."

"Pocket-sized springboards?" Sonic pondered. "Clever."

-X-

Meanwhile, Knuckles and Amy were looking around the games, seeing Harpio standing there.

"Harpio," Amy greeted. "Makes sense you'd be the one in charge of the games."

"Where are all the prizes?" Knuckles asked.

Harpio honked his horn, and a bunch of birdcages dropped down, containing Flickies.

"Flickies…" Amy noted.

"So if we win, we get the Flickies?" Knuckles questioned, getting a nod.

"I'll do the strength test," Amy decided.

"Milk bottles are mine then," Knuckles said.

He held out a fist and Amy gave him a careful fist bump. With that, they got to work. Amy approached the strength test, a tall wooden beam with a bell at the top.

"Piece of cake," she bragged, rolling her shoulder before drawing the Piko Piko Hammer. She squared up, readying the hammer with a smirk. When she brought the hammer down, the weight went flying, knocking the bell clean off the board and up into the sky, out of sight.

"I win," she bragged.

Harpio let out a small squeak of shock as Amy held out her hands. "My prizes?"

After a moment of hesitation, Harpio handed over a Flicky cage. Amy took it, walking off with it.. Meanwhile, Knuckles sized up the milk bottle game. He picked up the balls, giving them a feel.

"This'll be easy," he declared.

He began walking all along the game, lobbing the balls as hard as he could. He smashed the bottles, the base they were on, and the backrest as well. He did this for each and every table. With that done, he approached Harpio, hands out.

"Looks like I win," he said.

Harpio looked at the destroyed milk bottle game, watching as the entire thing collapsed. He then handed over the cage without so much as a honk of his horn. Knuckles took the cage and departed.

-X-

Meanwhile, Sonic, Tails, and Sally had left the ball pit behind, and now found themselves standing before a House of Mirrors.

"I remember the last one of these we were in," Tails recalled.

"Oh, yeah," Sonic nodded. "Maybe we should get Amy and her hammer."

"We'll just have to make do," Sally said.

They entered the house, and immediately had to duck as a bladed pendulum swung down.

"A pendulum, huh?" Sonic noted. "Not what I was expecting."

"Me neither," Tails agreed.

"Keep your eyes peeled," Sally warned. "Who knows what we'll find here."

They went on, walking slowly and carefully. They heard a flitting sound, and Sonic immediately yanked Sally to the side, he and Tails hugging the walls as a hailstorm of arrows flew in.

"Close one," Tails sighed. "We were almost pincushions."

"The Marxio Brothers may be ridiculous, but they know their way around a booby trap," Sonic remarked. "No wonder Eggman outsourced to them."

"We need to get out of this maze, and fast," Tails insisted.

They continued, soon finding an ominous shadow before them.

"Gee, I wonder what this could be?" Sonic said flatly.

He casually strolled into the shadow, and immediately darted back as a massive weight with spikes on the bottom came crashing down.

"Spike trap. Of course."

"Can't beat the classics, I guess," Tails remarked.

"It worries me how nonchalant you are about all this," Sally noted.

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Sal, have you seen what we deal with on a regular basis?"

"Fair point, but still…"

Sonic just grabbed onto both of them and ran through the shadows, spike traps and massive black slabs falling and hitting the ground behind him. Finally, the exit was in sight. He sped up to it, only for a massive wall to cut him off before he could. Another wall slammed down behind them, trapping them.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say this is the classic 'walls close in and squash you flat' trap," Sonic theorized.

Spikes came out of the adjoining walls, which then began to close in on them.

"With a spiked twist. Great."

"What do we do?!" Sally demanded.

"Bust through the wall," Sonic said simply.

He closed his eyes, taking slow deep breaths as he began to spark. He cracked an eye open, relieved to see the lightning was a brilliant blue. A determined grin on his face, he charged at the wall, curling into a Spin Dash. He plowed clean through the wall, leaving a perfect hole which Sally and Tails quickly ran out of just as the spiked walls slammed shut.

"Thanks, Sonic," Sally sighed. "You saved us."

Sonic just looked at the blue sparks dancing on his body, letting out a relieved sigh. "I'm just glad I didn't go dark. This is the first time I've used lightning since... you know."

Sally took his hand. "That's in the past now. And it's never gonna happen again."

They heard some footsteps, and turned to see the Marxios making off with a large sack of money.

"Had enough?" Tails asked.

"Your friends demolished our games, and you survived the House of Mirrors," Grouchio said matter-of-factly. "We Marxios know when we're beat."

"WHAT?!" Brutus shrieked, waddling over. "You're just giving up?! Just like that?!"

"Quitters never win, winners never quit, but those who never win and never quit are idiots," Chicio replied. "With the money the doc paid us in advance, we're set anyway."

"Dr. Robotnik will not stand for this!" Brutus shouted.

"Well, he can take a long walk off a short cliff for all we care," Grouchio retorted. "Sonic, friends, we bid thee adieu."

They departed, leaving Brutus to shout at them.

"You'll pay for this, you cowards! You don't just hand in your resignation to Dr. Robotnik! Once you agree, you serve the Robotnik Empire until the day you die!" His voice then became a bit more casual. "Or the doctor grows tired of you. It's the same thing in the end."

-X-

As Brutus ranted and raved, Sonic, Tails, and Sally took the opportunity to slip away and meet back up with Amy and Knuckles. The two were surrounded by bird cages, Knuckles ripping them apart as Amy gathered up all the Flickies. The birds were perched on their heads and the broken cages, singing happily and gratefully.

"I see you guys have been productive," Sonic mused.

"Harpio eventually just gave us all the cages after the fifth game we broke," Knuckles explained.

"He and his brothers decided to cut and run after we got out of their House of Mirrors death trap," Tails noted. "Judging by Brutus, though, Eggman isn't gonna take that lying down."

"Well, that's their problem, not ours," Amy retorted.

She turned to the Flickies, whistling in Tweet for a minute or two. One Flicky nodded, flying away and returning with the yellow Chaos Emerald.

"Three down," Sonic declared as he pocketed the Emerald.

"Where to now?" Knuckles asked.

The Flickies chirped and whistled, and Amy nodded.

"The Diamond Dust Zone," she translated. "A snowy mountain range."

"And us without our winter gear," Sally sighed.

"Like you said, Sal," Sonic recalled, "we'll just have to make do."


Panic Puppet Zone

As the Flickies were being placed in Badniks, Robotnik scrolled through his computer, coming across several playlists of music. He cycled through them until he came across one labeled "Tunes of Anarchy". He hit play, and the song "Where Evil Grows" began to play. He continued his work with the Flickies, bobbing along to the music. Before long, he stood up and began dancing, moving quite fluidly for his physique. As he did so, he turned on a projection screen, displaying a snowy mountain range, upon which he acted like he was sliding on skis, then making as if running for his life when the projection of a Tyrannosaurus appeared.

He then just began dancing wildly, hopping around and swinging his arms. He was unaware that Grimer had come up behind him, a coffee cup in hand as he bobbed to the music as well. The doctor turned around to see him, and leapt into the air with a surprised scream. Snively held out his arms as if to catch him as he fell down... only to pull them back so Robotnik crashed into the ground with a loud thud.

"Whoopsie, sir," Snively jeered. "Butter fingers."

Robotnik stood up, dusting himself off and giving Snively a dirty look before turning back to Grimer.

"I just came to see if you wanted a latte with steamed Eurishan goat milk," Grimer explained, holding out the coffee cup.

"What do I look like, an imbecile?" Robotnik let out, taking the cup. "Of course I want a latte. I love the way you make them, Grimer."

"Excellent," Grimer said with a smile. "Now, with the latte comes a spot of bad news. Snively, please tell him."

"Why do I have to tell him?" Snively demanded. "You tell him!"

"Seniority," Grimer claimed. "You tell him."

"Fine," Snively sighed. "Sonic and his friends made it through the Spring Stadium."

"What?!" Robotnik demanded. "I hired those Marxio Brothers because they were supposed to be the best!"

"Snively left out the worst part," Grimer pointed out. "Go on, Snively."

Snively glared at Grimer before doing so. "They decided to cut their losses and leave... with the money you paid them in advance."

Grimer slowly backed out of the room at that.

"I'll get you for this, Grimer!" Snively roared.

But his anger quickly turned to fear as Robotnik set his latte down and advanced on him.

"Snively…" he began, "pin yourself to the wall."

Snively sighed, putting a hand on his chest and backing into the wall. Robotnik promptly got in his face.

"I blame myself," the doctor hissed. "I should have known better than to put trust in the Marxios. Human beings and Mobians alike are are stupid and unreliable, and I care very little about them. My machines, however, are diligent and relentless. They're everything to me!"

"And yet your precious machines haven't done much to stop Sonic either," Snively argued. "Are they really so worthy of your praise and adoration? I mean, even Metal Sonic, your supposed 'greatest creation', has continued to fail you."

"Snively, I suggest you hold your tongue, unless you want a broken nose."

"Please, we both know you're just gonna break it anyway."

"Oh, I think I have a far worse punishment in mind."

Robotnik looked at the few strands of hair Snively had left, and Snively's eyes widened.

"No... no, no, no, please, anything but that! Please!"

"I thought so," Robotnik said as he backed off. "You're taking hair loss far too seriously, nephew. Bald is beautiful."

Snively just covered his hairs, cowering slightly before fleeing the room, the door slamming shut behind him. With that done, Robotnik went back to his music.

"Such fuss over male pattern baldness. And they say I'm egomaniacal."


Author's Note:

(1): Classic Eggman, basically.

(2): Think like a Mobian Chuck E. Cheese's.

Well, that's done and over with.

Blumpy, as mentioned by Sonic, is the name used for the Next mascot character in Sonic X in Author of the Insane and Writing Avenger 2016's fic Sonic Adventures. In this version, he's basically a blue Next, and an animatronic pizza mascot.

Next chapter, things start to get chilly for Sonic and co. at Diamond Dust.

Please R&R. Until next time!