- Chapter 40 -
Timey Wimey Stuff
Palmtree Panic Zone
Sonic arrived on the surface of the Little Planet, and winced at the sight of the Palmtree Panic Zone. The area had been completely mechanized. The palm trees and flowers were mechanical, but were also broken down, rusty and featured an ominous red light glowing in each center. The air had been polluted by smog just as the waters had been by oil.
"Well…" he began, "now I have a basic idea of what Mobius will look like if Eggman wins."
He coughed, finding it hard to breathe in the smog, only to hear more coughing behind him. He turned, seeing Amy standing there, struggling to breathe.
"Amy?!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing here?!"
"I came to help you," Amy said, pulling her blouse over her nose and mouth. "Though I'm starting to wish I'd thought to bring some sort of face mask."
"It's too dangerous," Sonic insisted.
"I can handle myself," Amy shot back. "Like you said."
Sonic blinked. "You were listening in on us that whole time?"
Amy nodded.
"Look, I even brought my war hammer!" she hoisted it up with one hand. "I can help!"
Before Sonic could retort, they heard a jet engine, and looked up to see the Freedom Fighter Special coming in for a landing.
"Oh good, they brought the Special," Sonic remarked. "They can send you home."
"But I can help!" Amy pleaded.
"This is too big for a trainee," Sonic shot back.
The plane landed, the others disembarking. They took in the sights in silent shock.
"Oh, Aurora…" Sally let out.
"This is horrible…" Rotor said softly.
Tails coughed on the horrible air.
"Oh man... How can Eggman stand this?"
"I'm more concerned with how he did all this so fast," Porker insisted. "The Little Planet's barely been over Never Lake for a day."
"He had plenty of time on his hands, that's how!"
The group stiffened, looking around for the source of the voice.
"What was that?" Amy lifted her warhammer, looking around.
"We are Robotnik's latest and greatest creations!" the voice replied. "The Super Special Sonic Search and Smash Squad!"
"Try saying that three times fast," Sonic whispered to Tails.
"Not even gonna try," the fox replied.
"Show yourselves!" Bunnie ordered.
"If you insist. Sonic, prepare to meet your doom!"
From a hidden panel in the ground nearby, out jumped the members of the S.S.S.S.S. Squad, who stood before the Freedom Fighters menacingly. A dead silence followed as the group took in the sights, before they just cracked up laughing. Sonic straight up fell on the ground, holding his gut.
"Oh man, this is too much!" Sonic guffawed. "Look at these clowns!"
"I've seen kids' toys more intimidating than you!" Shortfuse laughed.
"Hey!" Grounder shouted. "Stop laughing!"
"Yeah!" Scratch added. "We're gonna slap some hedgehog!"
At that, he started making different martial arts poses, along with funny Bruce Lee whoops and yells. That just set off another round of laughter.
"Oh, no!" Tails exclaimed in mock horror. "Look out, Sonic! The kung fu chicken's gonna get ya!"
Sonic laughed so hard he was crying. "Stop it! I'm gonna pee!"
"You'll be peeing your pants in horror soon enough!"
At the new voice, Sonic quickly sobered. Metal Sonic flew in, landing before him.
"Metal?!" he exclaimed. "I left you in the scrap heap!"
"Indeed you did," Metal confirmed. "The Doctor was kind enough to repair me and give me a second chance. One I do not intend to waste."
The Freedom Fighters were immediately on edge at the sight of Metal.
"What have you done to ze Little Planet?!" Antoine demanded.
"Isn't it nice?" Cubot asked. "Smell the fresh air!"
He took a deep breath before breaking into a coughing fit, collapsing.
"Hey…" he wheezed, "does anybody have any cough syrup?"
Orbot pulled him to his feet. "We're robots, you idiot. We don't even breathe."
"Oh, yeah!" Cubot perked. "Thanks for reminding me, Orbot."
Metal just facepalmed. "I'm surrounded by idiots…"
"You sure this is a second chance?" Sonic asked. "Maybe you're being punished. Then again, Eggman's not known for repairing his robots. Now, back to Ant's question. What'd you do to the planet?"
"Please," Coconuts scoffed. "You think we're gonna tell you that Dr. Robotnik found two of the Time Stones, and we used them to conquer the Little Planet in the past so we rule it now?"
His eyes widened as he realized he literally did just that. "Crap!"
"The Time Stones?!" Amy gasped. "Oh, no!"
"Mind filling the rest of us in?" Johnny asked.
"The Time Stones are seven gems that rest on the Little Planet," Amy explained. "Just one can enable whoever uses them to travel back and forth through time. All seven would enable the user complete control over time itself."
They let that sink in before Sticks piped up, "Why're things like that always in sevens?"
"...I have no idea." Amy admitted.
Sticks scratched the side of her head with her boomerang. "Y'know, that's just gonna bug me for the rest of the day."
"So, it seems one of you might be of some use to us," Metal theorized. "Grab the girl. She'll lead us to the other five stones."
"What?!" Amy shrieked.
Sally quickly pulled Amy behind her as Sonic stood before Metal and the Squad.
"So that's it," the Blue Blur realized. "Eggman used the Time Stones to change history! Take over the Little Planet and chain it to Mobius!"
"And once we find the remaining five, time itself will be his to command and rule," Metal gloated. "Today, the Little Planet is subjugated by the Robotnik Empire. Tomorrow, Mobius itself!"
"Not while I have a say in it!" Sonic shouted, charging right at Metal, the two grappling.
"You only defeated me last time because I was careless with the V. Maximum Overdrive Attack, and battle-damaged on top of it," Metal informed him. "You won't get lucky twice, Sonic."
"Who said I need luck?" Sonic shot back. "I have something even better!"
Antoine promptly hit Metal with his Spin Blade Ball Attack.
"Friends,." the coyote informed him.
Seeing he was vastly outnumbered, Metal took a few steps back.
"Perhaps a tactical retreat is in order," he mused before turning to the rest of the Squad. "Get back to work finding the Time Stones." He turned back to Sonic. "We'll see just how tough you are next time we meet, without your little friends backing you up."
With that, the Badniks made their escape as Sonic turned to Antoine.
"Thanks for the assist," he said gratefully.
Antoine sheathed his sword. "Anything for you, mon ami (1)."
"This is bad," Sally realized. "If Robotnik gets all seven Time Stones…"
"We won't let him!" Amy insisted. "We'll get the stones before he does!"
"Amy, you should leave," Rotor told her. "Metal Sonic will be after you now. Go back to Rob."
"No way!" Amy declared. "I didn't come all this way to be sidelined! If I'm gonna prove I'm cut out to be a Freedom Fighter, I gotta get my hands dirty."
"These guys are professionals working for Eggman!" Sonic insisted before thinking. "Well, not the Clown Squad Metal has with him, but that's not the point. You're gonna get yourself killed!"
Amy scowled. "First you say I'm not trained enough, then you say I have potential, and now you're sidelining me?! Am I good enough to be a Freedom Fighter or not?!"
The Freedom Fighters genuinely found themselves unable to respond.
"Well?!" Amy demanded.
"Amy… we do think you have potential-" Sonic began.
"Then I'm going!" Amy cut him off.
Sonic sighed in resignation. "There's no way we can convince you to just go home and wait for another opportunity, is there?"
"Nope!" Amy replied. "I'm here now. Besides, you don't even know what the Time Stones look like, or what they can do." She gave a smug grin. "You need me."
"She's got us there," Shortfuse admitted.
"Alright, fine," Sonic turned to Sally. "What's the plan, Sal?"
"We'll cover more ground if we split up," Sally decided. "Sonic, you and Tails go after Metal Sonic. See if he can lead you to Robotnik."
"Good idea," Sonic nodded. "Amy, you're with us."
"Rotor, take Johnny and Porker and get the lay of the land," Sally went on. "See if you can work out something that'll help us find the Time Stones."
"You got it!" Rotor agreed, giving a thumbs up.
"Bunnie, you go with Antoine and Shorty," Sally ordered. "Any Badnik you see, get rid of them. And Sticks, you're with me."
"You sure you wanna partner with the crazy, uncivilized badger?" Sticks asked.
Sally sighed. "You're not gonna let me live that down, are you?"
"Not sure yet," Sticks admitted.
"C'mon, let's move!" Sonic ordered.
The groups all split up.
Collision Chaos Zone
Sonic, Tails, and Amy soon arrived in the next Zone, in which an ancient, rusted down casino sat. The area showed a darkened sky at dusk adorned with red clouds, and seemed to be haunted with gray machines. No plants were present here aside from dead orange grass, and neon signs were illegible but functional. The lake was tinted a reddish-orange, seemingly polluted.
"The Collision Chaos Zone, according to the stories I've heard at home," Amy explained. "Whoever used to inhabit the Little Planet established a casino here, but they're long gone."
"Was that before or after Eggman took over?" Tails asked.
"Doesn't matter," Sonic replied. "Let's just find that stone."
As they went, they talked.
"So, what exactly do the Time Stones look like?" Sonic asked.
"Little hexagon-shaped gems, according to the books," Amy replied. "Colored blue, green, cyan, orange, purple, yellow and red."
"The same colors as the Chaos Emeralds," Tails pondered. "Think there's a connection?"
"It's possible," Amy admitted. "But the Time Stones can't manipulate space like the Chaos Emeralds can. Basically, they enable the user to desync themselves from the timestream. In addition to time travel, the user will be unaffected by any alterations in history. They'll remember how it was before, even if no one else does."
"So he could change history, and we'd never know," Sonic perked. "But... we could fix things too. We could stop the ROCC accident from happening, stop Eggman from ever coming into existence."
"NO!" Amy cried. "Tampering with time is forbidden!"
"Amy's right, Sonic," Tails added. "Ever hear of the butterfly effect? Changing any small thing in the past could catastrophically alter the future in ways we can't predict. Even if we get rid of Eggman, we might be saddled with someone even worse."
"Right," Sonic nodded. "Seen it happen all the time in movies. Sci-fi rule number one: you start messing with the past, you end up with monkeys or something like that ruling the future."
"Then we're in agreement," Tails said. "We find the Time Stones and return them."
"What about using them to go back and at least stop Eggman from taking over the Little Planet?" Sonic asked. "I mean, he tampered with time first. We'd just be fixing what he broke."
"Well, yeah," Amy confirmed. "That's just righting the passage of time. That's okay. But nothing more than that."
Sonic nodded. "You got it."
Before they could continue, a familiar metallic hand suddenly burst through the wall behind them and grabbed Amy, yanking her through it. Sonic and Tails jumped through it to see Metal hovering overhead, holding Amy by the scruff of her neck.
"Drop her, Metal!" Sonic ordered. "Now!"
"I'd rethink that request if I were you," Metal warned. "Besides, I need her."
"This is between you and us!" Tails shouted. "Let go of Amy!"
"Correction, fox boy," Metal said, holding up a finger. "This is between me and Sonic. And if you're so concerned about her, then here's the deal: find the other five Time Stones and bring them to the Stardust Speedway Zone. Otherwise, you'll never see little Amy Rose again. At least, not as a Mobian."
Amy's eyes widened before she tried to hit Metal with her warhammer. He casually blocked it with one hand, tossing it aside.
"It's up to you, Sonic."
With that, he flew away with a writhing Amy in his clutches. Sonic let out a frustrated growl.
"Now what do we do?" Tails asked.
"We do what he says, for now," Sonic replied, grabbing the hammer. "If the Time Stones are like the Chaos Emeralds, you think you can get a reading on the radar?"
"I can try," Tails raised the Miles Electric, bringing up the Emerald Radar. The signal was faint, but he got something.
"Bingo!" he declared. "It's not as strong as a Chaos Emerald, but it works."
"I'll take what I can get," Sonic decided.
With that, they headed off. They headed into the casino, the signal soon leading them to a giant pinball table.
"The stone's in the pinball machine, isn't it?" Sonic asked.
"Looks like," Tails nodded. "I'll man the panels."
"I get to be the ball again," Sonic sighed. "Great… the things a guy does to be a hero."
Nonetheless, he dropped into the machine, and Tails launched him into the game. Sonic bounced around, searching for the stone as Tails looked over the machine, seeing a counter reading "High Score: 50,000 points" on the bottom, and it hit him.
"Sonic, I've got it!" he exclaimed. "We gotta beat the high score to get the stone! At least fifty thousand points!"
"On it!" Sonic declared.
The two began working in almost perfect sync, racking up the points like crazy.
"Just a little more…" Tails said. "Come on…"
In record time, the score reached one hundred thousand, and a neon sign flashed the words "YOU WIN!", followed by a fanfare as Sonic was spat out of the machine. As he came out, a compartment opened, revealing the green Time Stone.
"Yes!" Tails cheered. "Way to go, Sonic!"
"Hey, you helped," Sonic pointed out. "Don't sell yourself short."
He grabbed the stone, putting it in his pocket.
"C'mon," Tails urged. "Let's see if we can find any more."
Tidal Tempest Zone
Meanwhile, Rotor, Porker, and Johnny had arrived in an aquatic area with more than a passing resemblance to the Labyrinth Zone, except it had been transformed into an over-industrialized, non-functional and corroded water plant. Broken-down machines dotted the landscape, as well as ruined stone pillars depicting Robotnik's face, and the water had a reddish tint, no doubt from years of pollution.
"This is Eggman's idea of an empire?" Porker demanded. "He's turned the Little Planet into a complete craphole!"
"Sounds like him," Johnny mused. "All he cares about is himself. Even if the entire planet around him is sinking and wasting away, he's just fine with it as long as he's in charge."
"We have to stop him," Rotor insisted. "No matter what. Keep your eyes peeled for that stone."
They went along for a while, before Johnny pulled the two brainiacs aside, having seen something. Putting a finger to his lips to shush them, he pointed ahead to show a horde of Badniks standing before a bizarre machine that resembled a cracked-open egg. It was mostly black with both ends of its "shell" parts being silver. These "shells" also appeared to have yellow, black and red stripes, and were divided by three columns of electricity.
"What in the…?" Porker let out under his breath.
"Either of you brainiacs know what this is?" Johnny asked. "Because I sure don't."
"Some kind of Badnik factory?" Rotor pondered.
The machine suddenly sparked, lightning arcing more and more before it opened a swirling portal, which the Badniks began to jump through.
"It's some kinda teleporter," Porker realized.
"Or perhaps… a time machine," Rotor deduced. "Sending these Badniks back into the past."
Johnny got it at that. "So Eggman can completely take over!"
"Or to bolster his forces to make sure no one overthrows him then," Porker theorized.
Johnny rubbed his head, sighing. "Time travel makes my head hurt."
"Then how about I make it simple?" Rotor offered. "We gotta destroy the portal."
Johnny gave a thumbs up at that. Before more than a few Badniks could get in, the rabbit charged in with his staff and got to work smashing them. Rotor and Porker did the same, Rotor using his walrus bulk and strength to their fullest. As they smashed them, small orbs of light fell out of them, sprouting into full-grown flowers when they hit the ground.
"Wait…" Johnny said. "These bots are powered by flowers?"
"Impressive," Rotor mused. "Most impressive."
"They must be created from the Little Planet's energy," Porker theorized. "That's all I can think of."
"You can look at the flowers later." Johnny told him. "I need help!"
"Oh, right!" Rotor and Porker said at the same time before jumping back into the fray.
Once all the Badniks were smashed, Johnny turned his attention to the machine.
"Time to stop the clock!" he declared before utterly demolishing it. As he did, the entire area began to shift.
"Whoa…" Porker managed. "What's going on?"
Their surroundings changed, turning into an ancient ruin-like area with more rocky and weathered surroundings. Robotnik's face on the pillars disappeared, and the water level lowered as it cleared up.
"Did…" Rotor began, "did we just… fix time?"
"Part of it at least," Porker deduced. "Without this transporter, Badniks couldn't swarm this Zone in the past."
"That's all well and good, but what about the Time Stone?" Johnny asked.
At that moment, they heard a cocky laugh sounding like a chicken crowing. They headed in the direction of the laugh, seeing Grounder withdraw his drills from a wall, Scratch and Coconuts with him. Scratch eagerly reached into the wall, pulling out the yellow Time Stone.
"Yes!" the chicken Badnik crowed. "We found a Time Stone! Dr. Robotnik will love me once I turn it over to him!"
"Excuse you?" Coconuts demanded. "I'm the one who figured out it was underground!"
"After I led us to its signal!" Scratch shot back.
"Yeah, but I'm the one that dug it up!" Grounder pointed out. "I don't recall either of you lifting a servo to help me!"
"Yeah, well I'm the brains of this outfit!" Scratch retorted. "I led us here, I get the credit!"
"I don't think so!" Grounder yelled.
He stabbed his drill-nose right into Scratch's butt. Letting out a pained yelp, Scratch tossed the stone into the air. It landed some distance away as Scratch whirled on his partner. As the three bots argued, Johnny walked over and picked up the stone. He then returned to Rotor and Porker.
"We got the stone," he said. "What say we just let the Three Stooges here fight it out and split?"
They nodded, and the three Freedom Fighters departed. As they left, Porker looked over his shoulder at the still-bickering Badniks.
"Gotta wonder why Eggman made them so dumb," he pondered.
"My guess?" Rotor offered. "Cannon fodder."
Quartz Quadrant Zone
Around that time, Antoine, Bunnie, and Shortfuse had arrived at what appeared to be a quartz mine, which was now an over-mechanized rusted mess with most of the quartz mined out. A river of melted quartz ran through the bottom of the zone, and a factory-like dystopia stretched for miles under a fiery sky.
"Sacre bleu…" Antoine let out.
"You said it, sugar," Bunnie added.
"To think this is the kinda world Robotnik wants to make," Shortfuse muttered. "Makes me sick to my stomach."
"I'd try not to follow through on that," Antoine warned. "You don't exactly have anywhere to let loose."
"Right," Shortfuse nodded. "Let's just find the Time Stone and get outta here."
As they went along, Antoine decided to make some small talk with Bunnie.
"Judging by your accent, I assume you're from the Southern Baronies?" he asked.
"Born there just before the Great War broke out," Bunnie confirmed. "My folks went off to fight and didn't make it back, so I was raised by my Uncle Beauregard and Aunt Lulumae."
"I see," Antoine mused. "Well, I am sorry for your loss, mon cherie (2)."
"Thanks, hun," Bunnie smiled. "What about you?"
"I was born in Mercia before the war was declared," Antoine replied. "We moved to Mobotropolis when I was still young. My father joined the Royal Army and trained me as a cadet."
"Certainly explains the posh accent," Bunnie said.
"I grew up with Sonic and Princess Sally," Antoine went on before wincing. "I am loath to admit it, but I wasn't always the confident stallion I am today."
"Oh, boy…" Shortfuse sighed. "Are we just gonna be swapping backstories here?"
"It's called socializing, Shorty," Bunnie shot back. "Nothing wrong with that."
"We are on a mission right now, in case you've forgotten," Shortfuse deadpanned.
"And we are doing it," Antoine assured. "Can we not multitask?"
Shortfuse sighed. "Alright, fine. Carry on."
With that, they went back to their discussion.
"I remember Sonic and Sally mentioning that," Bunnie recalled. "More than once, Sonic called you a 'chicken wuss.'"
"Of course he would," Antoine grumbled, annoyed.
"But hey, Sonic teases everyone," Bunnie pointed out. "He still calls Sally 'Your Highness' whenever he feels like getting under her skin."
"True," Antoine confessed. "Anyway, I wanted to make my father proud. So I focused on building up my confidence, overcoming my fears."
"That why you copied Sonic's Spin moves?" Bunnie asked.
"Improved, not copied," Antoine clarified. "Besides, Tails uses his Spin Attack as well. I'm hardly the first one to 'copy' him, as you put it."
"Alright, alright," Bunnie gave in. "Ya made your point."
She looked over her arm, sighing. "I wonder... what would my aunt and uncle think if they could see me now?"
"We will find a way to restore your body, Bunnie," Antoine assured, taking her metal hand in his. "We're working on it."
"I know," Bunnie looked at Shortfuse. "But sometimes I feel guilty worrying about this. I got off much easier than Shorty did."
"Hey, don't start a pity party on my account," Shortfuse told them. "Last thing I need, want, or desire. Yeah, what happened to me sucks. But so does what happened to you. And look at the positives. We can use these metal bodies to make Eggman pay."
Bunnie nodded. "True that, sugar."
Before long, they heard a boring sound. With a hand on his sword, Antoine crept over, motioning for Shortfuse and Bunnie to come over as they looked. Decoe and Bocoe were managing a mining drill, digging away at the floor nearby.
"It's two of the Seven Stooges," Bunnie whispered.
After a moment, Decoe held up a hand, and Bocoe stopped the drill. Decoe rummaged around in the hole for a bit, before pulling out the blue Time Stone.
"We found it, Bocoe!" he declared.
Bunnie held out her hand, concentrating. Her arm extended, reaching out and snatching the Time Stone right out of Decoe's hand.
"Hey!" Decoe objected as Bunnie retracted her arm.
"Yes!" she cheered. "It works!"
"Impressive, mon cherie," Antoine complimented.
Bunnie grinned. "Thanks, sugar."
"Ugh…" Shortfuse just rolled his eyes.
Decoe and Bocoe turned, seeing them there.
"In the name of Dr. Robotnik, I order you to hand over the Time Stone!" Bocoe demanded.
"Or else what?" Shortfuse asked rhetorically.
That gave Bocoe pause. "Um… I haven't figured that part out yet."
"Let us know when you do," Bunnie stuffed the stone into her shirt. "Till then, we'll just hold onto this."
"So... what should we do, Bocoe?" Decoe asked.
"Isn't it obvious? Fight 'em!"
They got into fighting positions, while the trio just looked at them blankly.
"You guys are about as intimidating as a marshmallow bunny," Shortfuse snarked. "Do you know that?"
"We'll show you how terrifying we are!" Decoe declared.
Antoine drew his sword. "Your move."
The two looked at each other and nodded before charging at the trio. Decoe ran up to Antoine, who charged at him in turn, his sword slicing through the air. He slashed and hacked at the Badnik, who was able to block his strikes with his arms.
"So it seems you're not a complete laughingstock," Antoine noted.
"We downloaded multiple fighting styles into our hard drives," Decoe replied.
"Not all of us are total morons," Bocoe added.
Bocoe faced Shortfuse, pulling off several fancy poses before throwing a few punches and kicks in the air. Unimpressed, Shortfuse calmly raised his right arm, firing a laser bolt right into his shoulder.
"Hey!" Bocoe yelped. "No fair!"
"You really are dumb," Shortfuse remarked. "In a real fight, there's no such thing as fair or foul. There's only the fight and who's left standing."
He then turned on Decoe, firing as well.
"Bye, y'all!" Bunnie waved as they departed.
Wacky Workbench Zone
Sally and Sticks had arrived at a massive weapons warehouse in a canyon. Unlike most of the other Zones on the planet, this area was rather clean and renovated. There were many abstract mechanisms present, such as hovering platforms, grounded police sirens, a checkered floor, and atom-like structures that were constantly generating wires of electrical energy. Sticks took in all the technology, visibly unnerved.
"I've died and gone to Hell, haven't I?" she asked.
"C'mon, Sticks," Sally insisted. "We've got a job to do."
"Well, excuse me for not liking all the freaky tech all around, Your Highness," Sticks snapped. "I guess all you 'civilized' folks are used to it."
"Will you just drop that already?" Sally demanded, annoyed. "Just because I'm a princess doesn't mean I automatically assume you're inferior!"
"Coulda fooled me," Sticks scoffed. "'Sticks, stop laying traps along the perimeter of Knothole. Sticks, stop going through the garbage looking for scraps. Sticks, why can't you act like a civilized person for once?'"
"Okay, seriously," Sally cut in. "You're taking everything I've done to try to help you and twisting it around to make me look like a complete bitch!"
"Help me?" Sticks repeated. "How exactly are you helping me? Do I look like a charity case, Princess?"
"That's not what I-" Sally began.
"I learned proper society behavior and chose to leave it, and you keep trying to drag me back into it," Sticks cut her off. "It's my life, Princess! I don't wanna be civilized. I don't wanna be proper. I'm Sticks the Badger, trapper of the Wood Zone! So stop trying to make me something I don't wanna be!"
Sally took that in silently.
"Seriously, why are you picking on me?" Sticks ranted. "Sonic's just as bad as I am, and I don't see you getting on his case every time he does something 'uncivilized' or 'improper'! What, does he get a free pass 'cause he's your boyfriend?!"
"No!" Sally snapped. "I-"
She took a deep breath to calm down before sighing. "I'm sorry."
That took Sticks by surprise.
"I just... I guess you're a bit... much for me," Sally went on. "I'm still not used to you, and what I'm not used to, I try to change. You don't deserve that, and it's clear that you won't. I will... make an effort to back off, if you promise to at least bathe every now and then and keep the dumpster diving to a minimum. Seriously, if you want scrap metal, just ask."
Sticks thought it over, nodding. "Alright, I can live with that."
Sally held out a hand, which Sticks shook.
"So what now?" the princess asked.
"Now we find the Time Stone doohickey and smash every metal man we see," Sticks replied. "Except Shorty."
"Sounds like a plan," Sally agreed. "And one more thing. Just call me Sally."
Sticks grinned. "Got it, Sally."
As they went along, Sticks suddenly ducked behind a wall, yanking Sally behind. She went to protest, but the badger quickly slapped a hand over her mouth, shushing her and gesturing around the corner. Sally took a look, spotting Orbot and Cubot looking around a storage room.
"You sure this is where the signal came from?" Cubot asked. "Seems kinda out there to think that Dr. Robotnik built this place without knowing there was a Time Stone right under his nose."
"My scanners are infallible," Orbot insisted. "The stone is here, so keep looking."
Eventually, Cubot emerged, holding the cyan Time Stone in his hand.
"Well, whaddaya know?" he declared.
He and Orbot turned to leave the room, but that's when Sally and Sticks rounded the corner, blocking the path. Sally summoned her Ring-Blades on her wrists as Sticks drew one of her boomerangs. The two bots looked at the girls, exchanged looks, then promptly retreated into their normal shapes, the Time Stone landing on the ground in front of them.
"Here you are," Orbot said quickly. "Have a nice day!"
With that, the two rolled off. The girls just looked at the retreating shapes.
"How's the cube rolling?" Sticks asked.
Sally just shrugged, pocketing the stone. "Robotnik must really be hurting for help."
"Yeah," Sticks agreed. "I've seen rocks smarter than them. Well, at least smarter than the cube. The ball seemed to have a bit more to work with."
Stardust Speedway Zone
After leaving the Collision Chaos Zone, Sonic and Tails eventually found themselves on a massive highway adorned with what looked like musical instruments. It floated above a corrupted, polluted dystopian city underneath a large electrical storm with a completed statue of Dr. Robotnik in the center. In the gaps between the clouds, small twinkling stars could be seen.
"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say this is the Stardust Speedway Zone Metal mentioned," Sonic mused.
"Makes sense to me," said Tails. "Now we just need to find Metal and Amy."
"No need. I found you!"
Metal suddenly charged at them from behind, the duo quickly dodging as he skidded to a stop.
"Where's Amy?!" Sonic demanded.
"Safe at the end of the highway," Metal replied. "For the moment."
"I want to see her," Sonic ordered. "Alive and organic. Otherwise, you'll never see the Time Stones."
"And so you shall," Metal said. "But first, Sonic, you owe me a rematch."
"Rematch, huh?" Sonic questioned. "Still sore about me scrapping you?"
"You humiliated me, hedgehog," Metal shot back. "I merely seek to return the favor."
With that, he got to business. "It's quite simple. A race to the end. Amy Rose is waiting at the finish line." He crossed his arms; if he had a visible mouth, he'd be smirking. "But you won't beat me this time, Sonic. It is utterly impossible. You cannot do it. I have won already. I will mock your attempt to win this race. I will stand triumphant over your broken, bloodied corpse. And as the dim light fades for good in your pathetic meatsack of a brain, your final thought will be the realization that I, Metal Sonic, am better than you."
Sonic let out a big, exaggerated yawn. "You done monologuing yet?"
"As a matter of fact, I am," Metal confirmed.
"Finally." Sonic deadpanned.
With that, the two stood side-by-side, Sonic getting down into a runner's stance.
"On your marks…" Metal began, "get set… GO!"
Sonic took off running. As he went, Metal charged up, unleashing a Ring Spark Field directly at the road. The street began to collapse behind him, and Sonic gasped as he started to plummet. Recovering quickly as Metal came flying, Sonic hopped off his head before using the falling debris as stepping stones to get back on the street, running with all his might to keep ahead of the still-crumbling road.
"Nice try, but you're gonna have to do better than that!" Sonic taunted.
As the race went on, Tails took flight.
"Something's not right…" he mused before flying to the end as fast as his tails could carry him.
-X-
At the end of the road, Amy was tied to a post, while Robotnik was lurking above the archway that represented the finish line.
"What's your big scheme, Eggman?" Amy questioned. "No faith in your metal faker?"
"First, you will address me as Dr. Robotnik," Robotnik said sharply. "Second, of course I do. I'm just having a little... insurance."
At his direction, Amy looks up, seeing the ceiling of the archway was rigged with spikes.
"Yes, the finish line is booby-trapped with a crushing mechanism," Robotnik confirmed. "If Sonic does manage to beat Metal here, I'll simply press this little red button, and…" He clapped his hands together for emphasis. "SPLAT!"
"What makes you think your trap will even be fast enough to catch Sonic?" Amy asked. "And what if Metal gets caught in it too?"
"I can always rebuild him," Robotnik said flippantly. "Waste not, want not."
He turned to face the road, stroking his mustache in thought. "My victory is at hand. It's bittersweet, though. With Sonic dead, where am I going to find an adversary so close to my own level?"
"Try the local sewer," Amy spat.
Robotnik glared at her with a growl, while Amy just stuck her tongue out at him.
-X-
On the final stretch, Metal flew off to the side, snapping streetlights off of the road and tossing them at Sonic as he went. He ducked and vaulted over them.
"This is your idea of a race?" he demanded.
"I make the rules, Sonic!" Metal shot back. "And change them!"
"Well, even with all your dirty cheating, you're still gonna lose!" Sonic retorted. "And I doubt the doc will give you a third chance!"
With the two neck-in-neck, Sonic decided it was time to end it. Focusing his power into his legs once again, he unleashed the Figure-Eight Peel Out and charged ahead. Robotnik waited in bated breath, button at the ready, and as Sonic neared, he pressed it. The mechanism dropped heavily, and he heard a sickening crunch. At that, he grinned, dancing in jubilation.
"YES!" he cheered. "It's finally over! What do you think of that, Sonic?! This is my perfect victory! That's right! I WIN!"
He laughed maniacally, ecstatic that he finally achieved victory over his nemesis.
"Really? Glad you enjoyed the race."
That put an end to the laughter immediately. Robotnik whirled around, turning to see Sonic casually standing beside the freed Amy, one hand on his hip as he tapped his foot and checked an imaginary watch.
"About twenty seconds of uninterrupted monologuing," he noted. "I gotta know, do you do it because you just like hearing yourself talk?"
Robotnik looked at Sonic, then at the trap. He looked back and forth about three times before lifting the trap. He recoiled at the sight of Metal impaled on the spikes, some of his limbs having been severed. The bot slid off the spikes, landing with a metallic thud on the ground. He looked up at Robotnik, cracked optics flickering in resignation.
"Forgive me…. Doctor…. I have… failed... yooooo….."
His eyes flickered out and his head fell. Robotnik approached him, placing a hand on the bot's head as if mourning him. He then whirled on Sonic, his face a mask of fury. Sonic blinked in shock, instinctively putting Amy behind him.
"You look pissed, doc," he quipped, trying to sound brave. "Something bothering you?"
"You tricked me into destroying my finest creation!" Robotnik howled. "You've cost me too much already, Sonic, and I'm gonna take the payment out of your furry blue hide!"
"Hang on… you actually care about that fake me? Whoa, talk about strange obsessions."
"Don't judge me!"
"I very much am."
At that moment, Tails stepped in, ready to fight. Seeing this, Robotnik grabbed Metal's remains before jumping off the edge of the speedway, activating a jet pack.
"This isn't the end, Sonic! I'll rebuild Metal as many times as it takes! Make him faster, stronger, more powerful! Eventually, he will beat you!"
"A copy's a copy no matter what," Sonic retorted. "He'll never be a match for the real deal, original Sonic!"
"We'll see about that!"
And with that, Robotnik was gone. Amy promptly ran at Sonic, giving him a bone-crushing hug. Sonic's eyes widened as the air was squeezed out of his lungs; he could have sworn he felt something pop inside of him.
"Oh Sonic, I was so scared!" she exclaimed. "Is there anything I can do to repay you?"
"Stop trying to break me in half?" Sonic wheezed out.
Amy released him, smiling happily. "You're my hero, Sonic! Thank you so much!"
-X-
Some time later, the Freedom Fighters met up, revealing that each group had found a Time Stone.
"There's only four," Sonic noted. "Metal said there were five more out there."
Amy perked.
"Oh, right!" she walked forward, revealing the purple Time Stone in her hand. "I found it on the ground when Metal dragged me here."
"How'd you keep it hidden from Eggman?" Tails asked.
Amy smirked. "Girls have more hiding places than boys, Tails."
"Then we have all five," Sally said. "All we need are the ones Eggman has."
"Those are built into an old owl mask," Amy provided. "The Keeper of the Time Stones gives that to those he deems worthy."
"How would Eggman prove worthy of 'em?" Sticks questioned.
"According to legend, the Keeper has those who come searching fight his guardians, make it through his labyrinth, and solve his riddle," Amy explained. "He's only obligated to give the mask to whoever gets through all those. Those who aren't pure of heart have to find the other five on their own."
"Guessin' the robots weren't worthy," Sticks muttered. "Lousy scrap heaps."
"Standing right here," Shortfuse reminded her.
"Present company excluded," Sticks amended.
Shortfuse nodded. "Thank you."
"We just need that mask," Sonic cut in. "Then we can use the stones to put Little Planet back the way it was."
They all began turning to where Robotnik had gone. Lightning flashed ominously up ahead, as if promising a harrowing fight.
Author's Note:
(1): "My friend" in French.
(2): "My dear" or "sweetheart" in French.
There you have it. Most of Sonic CD compressed into a single chapter, and all members of the Freedom Fighters got some time to shine.
Next up is the final stretch. Sonic and the Freedom Fighters engage Robotnik in the final showdown for the fate of the Little Planet. Will they succeed, and undo the future that is the Robotnik Empire?
Please R&R. Until next time!