Season 1, Saga 2: Chaos Emerald, Chapter 11: How to Catch a Hedgehog
(Scene: A ranch)
(Sonic is defending Amy from Dr. Eggman and his robot, E-88 Lightning Bird. Lightning Bird thunders towards Sonic and Amy, then flashes a blinding light at them.)
"Soniiic!" Amy shouted
(As soon as Sonic is able to see again, he sees that Amy has been captured by Lightning Bird which is flying back to Eggman.)
"Bring her back!" Sonic shouted
(Eggman laughs.)
"If you want her, come save her!" Dr. Eggman said
(Even though Amy is caught in Lightning Bird's beak, she still tries to attack it with her hammer. However, this act causes her dress to rip slightly. She cries out.)
"Heeeeelp! Hey, that's a brand new dress, buddy!" Amy shouted
"Amy, you just hang on tight!" Sonic shouted
(Eggman, General Rainbow and Lightning Bird fly away.)
(As the villains disappear with Amy, the X-Tornado arrives.)
"Sonic, here comes the ring!" Tails shouted
"Okay!" Sonic shouted
(The X-Tornado fires a Power Ring to Sonic, who catches it.)
"Got it!" Sonic said
(Using the power of the ring, Sonic leaps up and smashes Lightning Bird with a headbutt, causing him to drop Amy. Unknown to him, a tiny chip falls out of Lightning Bird and lands in his ear. Sonic reaches the same altitude as Eggman and General Rainbow. He kicks them both away, then dives after the falling Amy. Amy screams as she falls, then stops screaming as Sonic catches her.)
"Don't worry, Amy, I gotcha." Sonic said
(Amy smiles and blushes.)
"You're my hero!" (They land in a haystack. Soon they are relaxing on top of the haystack together.) "Isn't this just beautiful? I wish we could just stay here for days and listen to the wind. Wouldn't that be... romantic?" (She looks over at Sonic, who is digging in his ear.) "Have you been listening?" Amy asked
"Say what?" Sonic asked (He gently hits the other side of his head, but that causes the chip to fall in deeper.)
"Ohhh, you men!" Amy said (She shuns him.)
"Uh..." (Shrugs) "What's wrong?" Sonic asked
(Scene Change: Thorndyke Mansion - Driveway.)
(Mister Tanaka is cleaning the car, and Sonic is on the roof of the garage, still digging in his ear. Amy is shouting at him from the ground.)
"You're impossible! You never hear a thing I say!" Amy shouted
(True, Chris and Tails approach.)
"Hey, Amy. What's all the shouting about?" True asked
"Your friend Sonic's acting weirder than ever!" Amy said
"What do you mean, 'he's acting weird'?" Tails asked
"He's off in his own little world!" Amy said
"That's not weird, Amy. That's Sonic." Chris said
"He's worse than ever! He hasn't listened to a single word I said all day!" Amy said
"Well, maybe he's got something on his mind." Chris said
"I should've known you wouldn't understand!" (notices True holding one of the rings in her hands and panics.) "True! What are you doing holding a ring in your hands!? It's gonna make your rage go up!" Amy shouted
"Don't worry, Amy. Chuck and I made a pair of gloves that can block the ring's energy from connecting with her. But it doesn't work for a Chaos Emerald." Tails said
"They even made them for me to use the ring's energy to power up my rage for emergencies only. Mainly with Eggman's robots." True said
"That's a relief. But that's not getting my mind off of why Sonic's not listening to me!" Amy said
(Tanaka presses a button, which inadvertently triggers something in the chip. An LED light begins flashing on it. Sonic lets out a shriek, then leaps off the roof and runs away.)
"He does seem stressed." True said
"He thinks he's stressed?! Try being me!" Amy shouted
"That'd be horri..." Chris didn't finish (gets kicked in the ankle by True, causing him to stop what he was saying and hold it in pain.)
(Annoyed) "What was that?!" Amy asked in anger
(Hesitates and talks to Tails) "The only way to find out what is really going on with Sonic is to follow him in the X-Tornado." Chris said
(Tails nods in agreement.)
"Let's hope he's okay." True said
(Scene Change: Station Square)
(Sonic is running on the road and avoiding the traffic.)
"I don't get it! I can't stop my feet!" (A car begins to skid.) "Heheh, sorry!" Sonic shouted
(Further down the road, Sam Speed is speaking to a criminal with a mohawk.)
"Listen, punk, your car may be cool, but if you don't wear seat belts, you're a fool." (Sonic races by.) "Huh? That was Sonic!" (To the criminal) "Thanks to him, you're not getting a ticket today! Now go get a haircut!" (He pushes the criminal aside, runs to his car, and hops in.) "I gotcha now, Sonic!" (He revs the motor and speeds off after Sonic, weaving through traffic as he does so. On Radio) "This is S-Team leader to base. In hot pursuit of high-speed hedgehog going south on Broad Street. Over." Sam said
"I can't stop!" Sonic shouted
(Scene Change: X-Tornado)
(Tails, Amy, and Chris are in hot pursuit of Sonic with True following on Cumulo.)
"There's Uncle Sam." Chris said
"Looks like he's trying to catch up with Sonic." Tails said
"I'm gonna radio him." (On radio) "Hey Uncle Sam, this is Chris." Chris said
(Over radio) "When you're on this frequency, it's S-Team Leader, got it? Besides, I can't chit-chat right now; I'm on a mission." Sam said
(On radio) "Sorry, but I need to talk to you about Sonic." Chris said
(Over radio) "If you're calling to ask me to take it easy on him, forget it!" Sam said
(On radio) "But he's acting really strange today. We're worried that there might be something really wrong with him." Chris said
(Over radio) "There must be if he thinks he can beat me. Hahahahaha!" Sam said (He increases his speed.)
"He acts weirder than Sonic." Chris said
(Scene Change: Station Square)
(Sam catches up to Sonic.)
"I got him now." Sam said
(Sonic involuntarily increases his speed.)
"What's going on?!" Sonic asked in fright
"All right..." (He guns the motor, but slows down instead.) "Huh? Out of gas!" (His car slows to a stop in the middle of the road.) "That little hedgehog may have outrun me this time, but there's always next time. I'll get him." Sam said
(Sonic shrugs. He runs past a newspaper stand, blowing over most of the papers. He then dodges an incoming bus.)
"Oops!" (He enters the subway runs down and escalator and onto the tracks. He narrowly avoids two trains. He runs along the top of the second train, then leaps off of it once he reaches the other side.) "I hope there's a light at the end of this thing!" Sonic shouted
(Above ground, Cumulo and the X-Tornado circle once as Sonic leaves the subway.)
"There he is." Chris said
"He's heading for the desert." Tails said
"Oh boy." True said
"I wonder why he's going there." Amy said
(The sun sets as Cumulo and the X-Tornado is pursuing Sonic through the desert.)
"He's still running." Amy said
(Sonic increases his speed again.)
"Now he's speeding up again. But why?" Amy asked
(Sonic begins digging in his ear again. There is a flashback of the chip falling into Sonic's ear.)
"Maybe something happened to Sonic while he was battling that robot. That could be why he's acting this way." Amy said
"What could it be?" True asked
"I don't know." Amy said
"Let's go talk with my grandpa. He might be able to figure out what's wrong." Chris said
"I hope so. Because if something's wrong with Sonic, it's becasue he saved me." Amy said
(Sonic is still digging in his ear.)
"Please be okay, Sonic." Amy said
(Scene Change: The Egg Fort II)
"Doctor, here is something I think you will enjoy." Decoe said
(A screen activates, showing Sonic running across the desert.)
"Hehehe... Well, well... Looks like Sonic is working up quite a sweat!" Dr. Eggman said
"How can you tell?" General Rainbow asked
"Perhaps you might want to do the same, Doctor. You have been getting a bit round around the waist lately." Bocoe said
"What?! Cut the wisecracks or I'll 'waste' you, you imputent trash can!" (He turns back to the screen.) "Sonic must be up to something, but what could it be?" Dr. Eggman asked
(Scene Change: Chuck's underground lab.)
(True, Zee, the Thorndykes and Sonic's friends are gathered in the lab.)
"He doesn't stop, Grandpa. He just keeps on running." Chris said
"We just have to figure out what's wrong with him." Amy said
"The only way to do that is to examine him. But first we have to catch him, and that's not going to be easy." Chuck said
(Cream and Cheese watch him think. At last Chuck pounds his fist into his palm.)
"I think I may know a way." Chuck said
(Scene Change: Thorndyke Mansion)
(Amy is standing out on the balcony, watching Tails and Chuck hard at work in the lab. Chuck yawns. Amy looks at the moon.)
"What's wrong, Sonic? Where are you?" Amy asked
(Scene Change: The desert)
(Sonic is wide awake and still running.)
"Almost there! Almost there! Where am I going anyway?!" Sonic asked in panic
(Scene Change: The Egg Fort II)
(Eggman, Bocoe, and Decoe are asleep while General Rainbow was keeping watch on Sonic from the computer.)
"How anyone can sleep through something questionable like this is beyond me." General Rainbow said
(Scene Change: The mission room)
(Chuck has set up a mission room in the desert. The Thorndykes and Sonic's friends are gathered there.)
"With the help of Tails, I have devised a plan that I believe will work. It's actually quite simple. Step one: we locate Sonic from the X-Tornado. Step two: we launch a specially-designed bubble bomb which will hold him securely and lift him off the ground." (A diagram shows the X-Tornado firing a balloon bomb at Sonic that, upon impact, forms a balloon that carries Sonic into the air.) "And once Sonic is off his feet, we can discover what's been causing him to run amok!" Chuck said
(Everyone but Amy fist pumps.)
(Scene Change: The desert)
(The X-Tornado flies directly above Sonic.)
"I've got company!" Sonic shouted
(On radio) "Target spotted, Chuck." Amy said
(Over radio) "Roger. Stay alert. Don't let him out of your sight." Chuck said
(On radio) "I'll stay on him." Amy said
(Scene Change: The mission room)
(Chuck is watching the radar.)
"Get ready." Chuck said
(Scene Change: The desert)
(Amy has prepared a bazooka ready to fire the bomb.)
(Over radio) "Fire!" Chuck shouted
(Amy fires the bazooka, and the bomb flies down and hits Sonic.)
"Yeow!" Sonic shouted
(Sonic slows to a stop in front of the mission room as the balloon begins to inflate.)
"It really worked!" Amy said
"Look guys, I'm flying!" (But the balloon floats too high, and he begins to drifts away.) "Hey, get me down! I'm floating away!" Sonic shouted
"I think you used too much helium." Zee said
"Perhaps I did." Chuck said
(Sonic begins to float over a fast-moving river.)
"Aaaahhhh! Help me! Somebody get this thing off of me!" Sonic shouted
(Grizelda and Knuckles are watching from a nearby rock.)
"What now?" Knuckles asked
"What is he doing?" Grizelda asked
"Hey! Knuckles!! Help me! Help me!" Sonic shouted
(Knuckles throws a small stone at the balloon, causing it to burst. Sonic lands in the water, but immediately begins running on the surface of the water towards Grizelda and Knuckles. He deposits a fish in Grizelda's hands as he runs by.)
"What the...?" Knuckles asked (He looks down at the fish in Grizelda's hands.)
"Ew! It's slimy!" Grizelda shouted (pushes the fish into Knuckles' hands and wipes the water off her hands on her pants.)
"Guess I have another item on the list to train you with." Knuckles said
(Scene Change: The mission room)
"Now what do we do?" Tanaka asked
"Do you think he'll come back?" Chris asked
"I'm worried..." Cream said
"It's all my fault." Amy said
"Just too much helium." Chuck said
(Grizelda and Knuckles approach, with Knuckles holding the still-wriggling fish.)
"Well. Sonic just tried to run us over." Knuckles said
"Great! Did you stop him?" Amy asked
(As Ella prepares stew, Grizelda and Knuckles hold up their fists.)
"He missed us, heheh..." Grizelda said
(Amy pulls out her hammer, causing Grizelda to jump into Knuckles' arms in fright.)
"Well, I'm not gonna miss ya!" Amy said
"What's the big deal? All we did was step aside." Knuckles said
"It isn't their fault, Amy." Cream said
"Chao..." Cheese said
(Ella holds up the stew.)
"Cheese is right. I'd bet you could come up with a new way to help Sonic after you've had a nice hot lunch." Ella said
(Scene Change: The desert)
(Everyone is sitting on a picnic blanket, eating the stew that Ella made.)
"I bet poor Sonic must be starving by now." Amy said
"I'm sure he's fine, Amy." True said
(A tumbleweed envelopes Tails and carries him away.)
"That game looks like a lot of fun, Tails." Cream said
"Chao-chao!" Cheese said
(Stands up in excitement) "That's it!" (A diagram displays his next plan.) "Knuckles and Grizelda will wait at the top of a hill with a specially-engineered wheel trap. As Sonic approaches, we'll give the signal, and Knuckles and Grizelda will roll the wheel down the hill, trapping Sonic inside. He'll be like a hamster in a cage!" Chuck said
(Everyone fist pumps. Sonic is running through the desert. An arrow directs him to turn left, which he does. A second arrow points right, and he follows it as well.)
"All right, Tanaka, he's almost in position." Chuck said
"Right." Tanaka said
(Sonic gradually approaches the mountain.)
"Roll it!" Chuck shouted
(Tanaka signals to Grizelda and Knuckles with two flags. The duo pushes the cage down the mountain. The moment it reaches Sonic, Chuck presses a button that locks the cage in place, and Sonic within the cage. As the cage resembles a hamster wheel, he is now running on the wheel.)
"Hey Grandpa, it works!" Chris said
"Of course it does." Chuck said
(A tray extends out of the cage. it contains a chili dog and a glass of water.)
"I thought you might be hungry after all this running." Amy said
(Sonic takes a bite of the chili dog.)
"Pretty tasty." Sonic said
(Moments later, he is finished. Sonic yawns.)
"He looks like he's falling asleep!" Zee said
"That's good. If he falls asleep, he'll have to stop running." Chuck said
"Maybe I can help, Sonic! Want me to read you a bedtime story?" Amy asked
"No, thank you, Amy." Sonic said
(Scene Change: The Egg Fort II)
"That looks like fun! Exercising, I mean. I'm going to start!" Dr. Eggman said
"You should!" Decoe and Bocoe said
"Tomorrow." Dr. Eggman said (He begins eating.)
"But Doctor, tomorrow never comes!" General Rainbow said
(Scene Change: The desert)
(Sonic is still running inside the wheel.)
"Looks like Sonic's nap isn't slowing him down at all. He's going even faster." Chris said
"I've never seen anything like it. His energy is positively boundless." Chuck said
"Sonic has more power than Ella's food processor." True said
"You can say that again." Ella said
"Sonic, that wheel wasn't built to withstand this intensity!" Chuck said
(Strain starts to build on the wheel.)
"Knuckles, look out!" Tails shouted
(Suddenly the wheel breaks loose from its frame and rolls towards Knuckles, flattening him. Then the wheel falls on its side. With Sonic still running on the wheel, it begins to drill through the earth. Everyone looks in the resulting hole.)
"Run!" Chuck shouted
(Just then a wall of water pushes Sonic out of the hole.)
"Well, that was a washout." Chuck said
(Scene Change: The mission room, sunset)
"So far your plans haven't worked, have they?" Grizelda asked
(Arms crossed) "Not quite, but I'm confident that if we just keep trying, we'll eventually come up with a plan that will work." (He glances at Ella, who is applying cream to the injured Knuckles' back.) "I've got it!" (The others look at him in disbelief.) "In fact, it's the best plan I've had all day. We just need a little help from a friend. Mm-hm." Chuck said
(He nods for emphasis. That night, Sonic is sleeping while running through the desert.)
(Scene Change: The Egg Fort II)
"Sonic is running himself ragged. He must feel as worn out as an old sneaker. This would be a perfect time to launch a sneak attack against him! Ready?" Dr. Eggman asked
(Nod) "Aye-aye!" Decoe, Bocoe and General Rainbow said
"I'll destroy him right after my nap." Dr. Eggman said (falls asleep as the lights dim)
"Nap!?" General Rainbow asked
"Please, Doctor!" Bocoe said
"Now is not the time for snoozing!" Decoe said
(Scene Change: The mission room, morning)
(Chuck looks at his watch.)
"Right on time." Chuck said
(Just then, Sam Speed rolls into the desert, parking right in front of the others. He climbs out of his car.)
"I would've been here sooner, but I stopped for donuts." Sam said
"I appreciate you coming to help us out, Sam." Chuck said
"You can always count on the Speed King to put the rubber to the road when a friend needs help." Sam said
(Nods) "Well then, let me bring you up to date on our plan." Chuck said
(The diagram to Chuck's next plan is shown.)
"Now we all know Sonic has quite a competitive streak, just like you do, Sam." Chuck said
"It's Speed King, Chuck." Sam said
"Sorry. Speed King. The plan is to have Speed King challenge Sonic to a test of speed. But unbeknownst to Sonic, a trap will be set at the end of the finish line. Speed King will get on Sonic's right side in lane two. Sonic will be forced to race in lane one beside him, and that will lead him straight into our trap. Then Sonic will be out of the running!" (The diagram shows Sonic stuck in the mud behind the first panel.) "Now let's get ready for the race, shall we?" Chuck asked
(Everyone fist pumps. With the plan underway, Cumulo and the X-Tornado are tailing Sonic. True and Amy have a radio with them.)
(On radio) "Stand by. He's almost there." Amy said
(Sam is sitting in his car, waiting for his cue.)
"Roger. I'm ready." Sam said
(Over radio) "Go!" True said
(Sam takes off, and soon Sonic is running alongside him. Sonic stumbles over a stone and falls behind.)
"What's the matter, slowpoke? Can't you do better than that?" Sam asked
(Sonic tries to pass Sam, but the latter cuts him off.)
(On radio) "What are you doing? This isn't supposed to be a real race! You're supposed to be a decoy!" Amy said
(Over radio) "Guess again, sweetheart. He beat me once. It's not gonna happen twice." Sam said
(Amy shrugs while Sam pulls ahead of Sonic once again.)
"Oh yeah?" Sonic asked
(Scene Change: The mission room)
(Zee and Chuck are listening to the transmission.)
"They're getting close to the finish." Chuck said
"Is it gonna work?" Zee asked
(Over radio) "Remember, Speed King, whatever you do, keep Sonic in the right lane!" Amy said
(Over radio) "Right lane? I thought I'm in the right lane!" Sam said
(Scene Change: Desert)
(On radio) "That's right! Just stay in lane two. Remember, Sonic has to stay in lane one. That's where the trap is!" True said
(On radio) "aw man. Can't believe I'm doing this." (speeds up to get ahead of Sonic and in front of him only for Sonic to start speeding up and block the way.) "Ah! He's speeding up!" Sam shouted
(He drives through the number one panel and gets stuck in the mud while Sonic runs through the number two panel and starts running in circles.)
"That didn't work out too well." Amy said
(On radio) "Hey Chuck, I'm picking up something weird on my scopes. Do you see it down there too?" Tails said
(Over radio) "Yes, I've noticed it myself, Tails." Chuck said
(On radio) "I recorded the wave patterns. Maybe you can analyze and figure out what it is." Tails said
(Scene: The mission room)
"It must be what's causing Sonic to act like that." Zee said
"From what I can gather, it's some kind of strange magnetic force field. It appears to be eminating from that ranch up ahead." Chuck said
(Scene: The ranch)
(A newly-repaired Lightning Bird is being pursued by a cow as Cumulo and the X-Tornado arrive.)
"Ready up there, Tails?" Amy asked
"I'm ready when you are!" Tails said
(They locate Lightning Bird.)
"Okay, Tails. Keep it as steady as you can." Amy said
"Just be careful, Amy." True said
(Amy climbs out onto the wing, and is about to smash Lightning Bird with her hammer, but the latter fires an electric net at her. Amy cries out, but the electricy backfires on Lightning Bird. Sonic runs in.)
"Amy!" Sonic shouted (He kicks Lightning Bird into the air, causing it to explode. As he does so, the chip falls out of his ear. He runs into a haystack.)
"Soooniiiic!" (She leaps off the X-Tornado's wing and into the haystack. They both surface.) "Sonic, I was so worried." (But Sonic digs in his ear again.) "Now what's the matter?" Amy asked
"Something's in my ear again." (Amy blows some straw out of his ear.) "Yeah, that feels much better. Thanks." Sonic said
(Sonic lies back, and he and Amy enjoy each other's company.)
(Scene Change: The Egg Fort II)
"I can't believe he managed to take E-88 down so fast. We almost had him!" Dr. Eggman shouted
"I'm sure you'll find a way to defeat Sonic once and for all, Doctor." Decoe said
"Yeah, even Sonic needs a rest at times." Bocoe said
"Don't forget that he needs something healthy every now and then, I want something to eat that isn't full of sugar." General Rainbow said (grabs a soda can, opens it and starts sipping the soda in it.)
"Not to mention high in fat." a voice said
(does a spit take at Decoe and Bocoe in shock and then turns around to see Rainbow King behind him, now wearing a cape longer than his.) "Sire!" General Rainbow shouted
"Ah, welcome back. I see you got a new cape, looks good on you." Dr. Eggman said
"I agree, is it for when you get back to your world?" Decoe asked
"I'm guessing it's to cover his left hand." Bocoe said
(Bonks Bocoe on the head with his scepter in his right hand.) "Don't say anything about my hand!" Rainbow King shouted
"Sorry." Bocoe said
"Don't be, he's probably keeping it a secret for when the time is right." Dr. Eggman said
"That I am, for when the Chaos Emeralds come together." Rainbow King said