SIDE-STORY: MANIA ADVENTURES

In another time…

In another place…

In another zone…

MANIA/CLASSIC ZONE

Sonic the Hedgehog loved his life.

He was twelve years old, but he'd done more than a bunch of kids his age could only ever dream of. Sonic had managed to defeat that jerk Dr. Eggman and his literal army of robots with the help of his best bud Tails the Fox. He'd been to space, a flying island, and even the future where he met his cool older self!

He could run at near supersonic speeds and travel the world in a matter of hours, and often used this to his advantage in various ways. Like eating all the chili dogs across the globe and finding new adventures where he could kick the butt of a jerk or two.

But he also liked to chill out every now and again. To just rest under the shade of a tree and take a nap. A lazy Sunday was something everyone needed. Not in a care in the world as the bees buzzed and the Flickies chirped…

"Sonic!"

"So much for that, I guess."

Sonic opened his eyes and saw two of his friends running towards him. Well, one was running and the other was using his twin tails to fly. Amy Rose, that girl he saved from Eggman and that Metal Sonic he made, and Tails. Amy was in her familiar green shirt with a white color and orange skirt, and she was waving both of her hands frantically.

"Sonic! It's terrible! Very terrible!" Amy skid to a halt in front of the formerly napping Sonic, her eyes wide and scared. "Eggman's kidnapping poor animals again!"

"…So it's business as usual for him." Sonic leapt to his feet and began to stretch. "I mean, I'm all for kicking Eggman's butt again but how's this any different?"

"It's not just animals, though!" Tails added as he landed next to the pink hedgehog. "It's people too!"

Sonic's eyes narrowed. "Alright, yeah that's different."

Eggman wasn't above kidnapping people for whatever hairbrained scheme he came up with. Amy was an example of that. But hearing that the mad scientist was now going after a bunch of people and kidnapping them was mega-bad.

"Okay then…" Sonic's legs were now a blur as he began to build up speed. "Think you can lead me to him, buddy?"

"You bet, Sonic!" Tails' own tails began to spin.

"Hey! Wait!" Amy began to turn. "You're not leaving me again! I'm tired of being left behind!"

The hedgehog couldn't help but laugh. "Then try to keep up!"

And with that, he shot off.

The wind was rushing past his face as the familiar green and brown hues of Green Hill Zone began to pass him by. He loved this feeling. The speed that he had been born with encapsulated in this exact second. Nothing was holding him back as the earth was trodden underneath his feet.

Oh, and the colors were pretty too.

A quick glance behind confirmed that Tails was keeping up with him with only a slight difference in distance. Amy was further behind with her Piko Piko Hammer in hand, but to his surprise she was actually kind of keeping up!

"Man, I guess I'll have to train harder! Otherwise these two will actually match me!"

"It's up ahead, Sonic!" Tails pointed out while holding a tracker. "I'm getting a signal from a capsule!"

"Right!" He could already see the Badniks. A bunch of Moto Bugs and Crabmeats. "Let's wreck these bots, guys!"

Sonic jumped and curled himself into a ball, crashing into the body of one Moto Bug before using it as a springboard to destroy another. "Alright!" He grinned while uncurling himself to turn and watch how Tails and Amy were holding up.

Tails had followed his lead on one of the Crabmeats before using a Spin Dash to smash through a Moto Bug.

Amy, meanwhile, just used her Piko Piko Hammer to smash a Crabmeat with an overhead swing.

"Yikes… That's some scary strength!" Sonic landed on the ground. "I remember when she could barely hurt Bark!"

Well, at least it meant that Eggman would probably have a tougher time ever catching her again.

"Impressed, Sonic?" Amy giggled when she noticed the blue hedgehog was staring at her, blushing shyly while fluttering her eyelashes.

He grinned. "Nah! I thought you could do that much!"

Amy's cheeks puffed out. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

Tails just raised an eyebrow at their antics. "Uh, guys? The mission?"

"Okay! Right!" Sonic pointed behind him. "Let's go and help those people!"

They continued on their way, smashing Badniks and running loops through Green Hill Zone. It was familiar to all of them, almost as easy as breathing. It honestly made Sonic question why Eggman always tried stuff on their home turf.

Maybe he just wanted to invite Sonic to a new round of butt kicking?

He spotted the capsule at the end of path and leapt up. Smashing both of his feet on the switch, the walls around the metal prison exploded and the animals flooded out, jumping around happily at their freedom from Eggman's prison.

But there were something different.

Sonic watched as a big head with short red hair poked itself out and looked around. Raising an eyebrow, Sonic beans down to see what it was.

To his surprise it was a chipmunk girl.

"Oh!" The girl shouted. "A-Are you the one who freed us?"

"Yup! That's right!" Sonic leapt down and turned around, scratching his nose with a smug grin. "Sonic T. Hedgehog, resident Egg-Butt Kicker and defender of the innocent, at your service!"

He looked the girl up and down. It was definitely a chipmunk, wearing a sleeveless light blue vest that was open to show a black shirt with a white neckline. She also wore black shorts with a white band around the hems, and a golden belt buckle. Her boots were also light blue, matching the vest perfectly.

Behind her were two guys. A brown furred and blond-haired coyote wearing a red boots and arm cuffs. He also wore a red and white belt with a grey buckle and a sheathed sword on his right side. Another was a big purple walrus wearing a green utility belt across his shoulder and yellow goggles on top of his head.

"Well, thank you so much for your help!" The chipmunk girl took his hand and shook it. "We were blindsided by Eggman and ended up being trapped in his terrible capsule!"

The coyote looked around. "Please tell me zat ze horrible bald man is gone."

The walrus rolled his eyes. "Some royal guard you are, Antoine."

Sonic blinked. Royal Guard?

"Guys! Come on!" The girl smiled nervously. "Sorry about that. My name's Sally. These two are my friends, Antoine D'Coolette and Rotor The Walrus. We were trying to find Eggman and find a way to stop him, but ended up being caught by him instead."

"Hey, it's no problem! At least more people are standing up to that jerk rather than taking his stuff lying down!"

"Sonic!" Tails came to a stop beside him and looked at Sally. "Oh! You made some new friends?"

"Just some guys I saved." Sonic put his hands on his hips. "Where's Amy?"

"She's still catching up. Had to take a breather."

"Yeah, figures." He looked at Tails. "So, where does the tracker say we should go next?"

Tails looked at his device and frowned. "Uh… it looks like something's interfering with it. I can't get a clear location…"

"We noticed that too." Rotor nodded. "Eggman's been using some new tech to make it harder to track him. I think he had to bail early when he heard you were coming."

"Man, just like him to make this harder…" Sonic kicked at the ground. "Couldn't he just be a good mad scientist and make a giant sign that points to his capsules?"

Sally smirked and put her hands on her hips. "Well, lucky for you we were doing some reconnaissance before getting captured! We know where Eggman's keeping the other animals and people, and can lead you right to them!"

"Really?" Well, Sonic wasn't opposed to having others join in his adventures. And if they can make the job easier then he'll gladly let these guys tag along! "Sweet! Then lets g-!"

"S-Sonic…!" Came a tired gasp from behind. He turned to see Amy with her hands on her knees taking in deep breaths. "Can't you be a bit more considerate? I'm trying to…" She looked up and her eyes focused on Sally. "OHMYGOSH! IT'S PRINCESS SALLY!" Somehow, Amy suddenly gained speeds comparable to Sonic's own and rushed forward. She took Sally's hand and began shaking it. "I'm a huge fan! I read all the articles that Little Princess Monthly puts out about you! You look so pretty in those dresses and those exercise sections are a huge help! Without them I would've never been able to catch up to Sonic!"

"Wait, Princess?" Sonic looked at Sally, who was blushing in embarrassment. "You're a princess?"

"Indeed!" Antoine stood tall and drew his sword, pointing it up. "Zis is Princess Sally Alicia Acorn, ze first daughter of King Nigel Acorn of ze Kingdom of Acorn! Fairest in ze land and…"

Rotor bopped the coyote on the head.

Sally coughed. "Y-Yes. I am a princess. But…" She looked at Sonic and smiled. "I've read about your adventures, Sonic. And knowing you were out there stopping Eggman… I couldn't sit by and let him continue his evil deeds. I want to stop him too, and free my people from their fear of him."

Well, not like Sonic could argue against that!

"If you wanna help stop Eggman…" Sonic grinned and pointed at himself. "Then you're going to have to point me in the right direction!"

The princess blinked before smiling. "Right!" She pointed and began to run. "His next capsule is this way!"

"Alright!" Sonic began to run. "You better keep up! I ain't slowing down for you guys!"

"Wouldn't dream of it, Blue!"

Sonic laughed. "Hey, if you're gonna call me Blue then I'm gonna call you Sal!"

"H-How dare you!" Antoine shouted. "You should call ze Princess by her proper title!"

"I told you she doesn't care, man." Rotor muttered as he ran beside the coyote.

"Are you an inventor too?!" Tails asked as he trailed behind Rotor. "That's so cool! Do you mind if we exchange schematics or…?"

"I'm going on an adventure with Sonic and THE Princess Sally Acorn!" Amy giggled. "It's like a dream come true!"

Sonic grinned.

This was shaping up to be a fun adventure!

To Be Continued…?

Note: Yes, this is indeed canon and takes place in the Mania Zone!

Wanted to give you something for the new year!

Hope you enjoyed! Regular chapters will return soon.

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