Sonic the Hedgehog in The Birds of the Ocean by Blue9Tiger

The crystal waters glimmered in the afternoon sun. Nothing could be heard except the playful calls of young whales, who were frolicking in the calm waves. They chased one another and pretended to be attacking the other. Their delight did not last long, however. They spied a gray hulk in the distance, recognized it, emmitted a cry of alarm, and swam frantically away, their figures melting into the blue sky.

Deep on the ocean floor rested 50 hungry sharks. Their eyes focused on the surface. The sharks carefully watched the surface, thinking that the small whales were still present. The largest one signaled to the rest, as if saying,

" They are intruders, and our next dinner ! "

Suddenly, the mass of creatures hurtled toward the surface, as one shark, aiming for their victims. All were zealous, but one young shark was even more anxious for the meal. A naughty and reckless creature, he didn't wait for the other ones.

He increased his speed, and broke the surface of the water alone. He searched around him. The whales were nowhere to be seen. He raised a fin to tell the others that the whales left, but he never was able to. For at that moment, a steel net was cast over him, and maniacal laughter was instantly heard.

" What th'---?! Who's there?!" The frightened shark struggled to break free, but he couldn't bite through the restricting net. The next second, he was hauled into a giant box and towed away. The youth would never taste a whale again.

Pretty soon, the other sharks burst through the sparkling surface. They realized that something was wrong. One sniffed the air, and sadly confirmed,

" Robotnik has claimed Bald-Head." He frowned, but it changed into a snarl. " That is the last kelp! Our clan has suffered far too long. Even the survivors are being subdued! We need a leader, someone that will convert this sniveling clan into a strong defensive army!" All the other sharks laughed,

" Who, you ?! "

" No, of course not! We must find someone leaderlike. So let's return to the sub, and go out and find a worthy shark!" The others lowered their heads, and disappeared into the water.

Meanwhile, on the beach, Sonic the Hedgehog and Tails Prower were roasting chili-dogs. They saw Sally, who was studying shells and crabs scattered on it. Sonic blasted toward her and asked,

" Want a chili-dog, Sal?" The princess frowned and replied,

" Sonic, you know that we're on a field study, not a picnic. Help me gather shells, crabs, any kind of living or dead animal."

" That ain't fun. "

" I want to preserve every organism possible on this beach before it's captured by Robotnik. There have been more and more attacks on the beach lately. Robotnik seems to be looking for something, and I'm going to comb every inch of this stretch of sand to make sure that he doesn't find it." The hedgehog asked,

" How 'bout in the water? Me and Tails could look there. Maybe the thing he's looking for is in there." She frowned.

" You can't swim!"

" Tails brought the "Sea Fox!" She sighed and nodded.

" Go ahead." Sonic sprang to his feet and took off to the miniature submarine.

" Later Sal!" He called.

The sub was already filled with oil and running. The hedgehog hopped into the extra seat and he and Tails started off.

It was a beautiful view. The same sparkling water and brilliant sun were present, and the same young whales were playing. One significant difference was black oil enveloping the water. Both spied the mess and knew who entered the waters before them. Sonic angrily exclaimed,

" Robuttnik! And 'cause the oil spill leads to Robotropolis, he must've busted a Mobian!"

Tails turned on his tracking device on the dashboard.

" Look, Sonic! "

" Yeah. Not everyone here's been captured! (phew) Let's get down there and see what's up!" At the command, the Sea Fox floated downwards into the dark depths of an alien world.

At every foot, it grew darker and more fish appeared. Some were small and swam in gigantic schools. The larger ones chased them, picked the weakest, and scattered the school. Sonic watched in interest. He thought, Wow. that's just like the war. The big fish getting the weak ones. Too bad they don't have any Freedom Fighters to help them.

Little did either of them know that they were being watched by more things besides the schools of fish. They seemed like shadows flitting by a rock. Their faces were hidden from view. They watched Sonic and Tails with suspicious eyes. Then they

arranged themselves so that they were like one solid, deadly torpedo. The figures looked menacing enough, though there were only three.

Sonic was interrupted from his earlier thoughts when three slender sharks suddenly hurtled toward them at an alarming speed. Tails' eyes enlargened and almost blasted from his head. Though sunlight hardly penetrated, he recognized their shape.

" Sharks! Full reverse!" He slammed the brake and started backwards. Unfortunately, the two-tailed fox could only concentrate on the torpedos that were about to make contact, so he failed to notice what was behind him.

" Lil' buddy! Forget the sharks and watch out for that rock ! "

" What ?!"

The sub met the obstructing stone, and exploded, ejecting the injured passengers. Before they could collide into the stone or ground, the attacking fishes secured and hauled them off to the east. They moved swiftly, hoping that their prisoners wouldn't drown. The three sharks finally arrived at a full-sized submarine, and entered.

Sonic woke up in a small musty room, directly across a slender brown shark. He had yellow, narrow eyes, and he was awaiting the awakening of his prisoners. Soon Tails woke, and immediately asked,

" Where are we ?" Sonic answered,

" I don't know, but I'm gonna find out! Yo, Fish-Breath! Where are we and what's the big idea?!" The brown shape quietly replied,

" You are aboard the Ocean Falcon. The big idea is that you have trespassed in our territory, namely, 40 knots of the entire sea. If we let you go, you could be potential harm to us. So, you will take a life-long journey in our humble abode, unless you can help us." Both were shocked and angry.

" You do that, and......wait a sec! You're sharks, but we're outta water! And you aren't dead! "

" Exactly, Land-Dwellers. In fact, that is why we are known as the Oceanic Birds." Sonic groaned, but Tails grew excited.

" Tell us why!" The shark frowned.

" We're not ones to divulge secrets." Sonic pointed out,

" Well, whaddya call the name of your group, a surprise?"

" You do have an argument, there. All right. But don't complain if you get bored.

Years ago, we were a numerous clan. Sharks were everywhere. We ruled the sea. However, different species were against each other. We had numerous skirmishes and battles, but eventually, the tyrants arrived. This happening, our population bombed, nearly to the point of extinction. We came to a conclusion, to disrupt the balance of nature, and join the many separate species into one large clan. Doing this, we promised to protect each other from outsiders. Many years after, the clan was destroyed again because of an underwater volcano, which killed many of the sharks and their quarters. So we decided to find someplace we could all live in. After a few months, this abandoned submarine was discovered, and the Ocean Falcon became our home. Needless to say that we broke the windows to let water in. Many years after that, a few of us saw birds flying overheard. Of course the pang of hunger attacked us, and when one touched the surface, we struck. No teeth sank into him, though, for the bird pleaded, " Please! If you spare me, you won't regret it." We obeyed, and he dropped a blue diamond into the water, one he called the Fowl Diamond, and shattered into 567 pieces, meant for us. We held them, and noticed a change. I stuck my gills out of water and didn't drown. The diamond gave us the power to breathe through both gills and lungs. When this was discovered, we named ourselves the Oceanic Birds, because I felt that we now owed our undying respect to them. In fact, some of our sharks took the names of them. To this day we do not hunt them. " Unfortunately, with this power came a responsibility", the bird told us. That responsibility was to guard this part of the ocean from outsiders. But of course, continue the balance of nature, which includes hunting. We have to make sure outsiders don't hunt the sea creatures. Sort of like that echidna who guards the Floating Island,

or like those Forty Fathoms Freedom Fighters that fight for the other part of the ocean. We did an exceptional job at this until Dr. Robotnik came. Pathetically, we can't even protect ourselves from him! Now mind you, just him. Other enemies we have can be driven off easily. There is something about him we are not strong enough to deal with. Currently, we are looking for a suitable shark to lead us, for another one of us, Bald-Head, was captured. This cannot go on."

Sonic agreed,

" No it can't....uh,....um..."

" Crescent."

" Yeah, you're right, Crescent, it can't go on. But it's been goin' on for more than

9 years now. But we fight back!"

" Likewise with us, hedgehog, but unlike you, we have no mechanical weapons. Just our teeth and tails. Plus, we are not organized. That is why we need a leader. We try and protect ourselves, but sooner or later, someone is caught. We can handle others, but Robotnik subdues us repetitively. The Oceanic Birds are helpless creatures against that overstuffed couch."

Sonic and Tails winked at each other, replying in unison,

" Not anymore you're not!" Crescent was startled.

" Why? Do you know of a shark that will...."

" We're gonna teach you how to be lean, mean, and how to kick 'Buttnik's butt! And ya don't need a leader to do that!"

" Oh? Who says?"

The other replied triumphantly,

" Sonic the Hedgehog!"

" And Tails Prower! Of the Knothole Freedom Fighters!"

The shark gazed, his eyes laughing. He was quite reluctant, but then finally agreed,

" Do with us what you will."

That was pretty much it. For the next few weeks, the Freedom Fighters intensely trained the fishes, using information acquired from being what they were, and their own special talents. This was accomplished in lectures, battlefields, and obstacle courses. Yet not one shark improved.

" One of the most important things in dealing with Robuttnik is to never go near his bots, unless you got the juice to : A. tear it apart. Or

B. run away.

Always keep your eye out for danger, and don't daydream. When deactivating something, don't touch the wires. And.........Guys? YO!"

The sharks stood at attention. " Thanks. Now............."

" All right, sharks. When I say "go", swim to that big metal scrap and knock it off it's place. That will simulate attacking a Swatbot," Tails ordered. They rushed at the piece of iron, and made it tip. Tails sighed and commanded the weak creatures to try again, berating them with insults.

At Knothole, Sally was in a panic.

" Where could have they gone? They haven't been back for weeks!" Bunnie tried to act calm, but she was also bursting with anxiety.

" Don't worry, Sally-Girl! They prob'ly'll come back soon. Ah hope so, anyway."

" What could they be doing, now? They might have been captured! We have to do something! And quick!"

" Like what, Sally-Girl?" The squirrel pulled out her computer.

" Nicole, find Sonic and Tails' current location."

" ACCESSING, SALLY. (BEEEP......HMMMM......) FOUND. 100 FEET BELOW SURFACE OF WATER. ENCLOSED IN A GIANT STRUCTURE : A SUBMARINE. NO OTHER DATA, SALLY."

" Well, at least we know that they're alive. But when that hedgehog comes back,

he'd better be able to do 2 weeks of explaining!"

One disadvantage of this training session was that the Oceanic Birds constantly percieved Sonic and Tails as their next meal. Any opportunity that opened they would hungrily grab it. One night, they nearly succeeded.

The tired trainers slept early that night. They were so tired that they forgot to lock the door. A burly shark crept inside, his jaws stretched. He inched toward Sonic's bed.

Suddenly, Tails sprang out of his bed onto the attacker. He grabbed the diamond piece from his gill. Instantly, the shark fell onto the ground, gasping for air. The mystical jewel taken away, he was an ordinary, water-dwelling fish. Crescent heard the commotion and saw his dying comrade.

" Tails! What happened?"

" He tried to eat Sonic! I took away his diamond thingy by mistake! I didn't mean to hurt him!" The slender shark eyed the shape on the floor, and hotly replied,

" He has no right to harm the hedgehog. He already had 300 tons of plankton. Besides, you're our trainers, not prisoners. Let him die."

Tails obeyed, and resumed sleeping, with a lead weight of guilt. The next morning, when Sonic woke up and saw the dead fish, he didn't bother to ask about it. Besides, they had a lot of work to do.

Day by day, the Oceanic Birds

trained. They were not fit to defend a tuna fish from Robotnik. They were as weak as baby turkeys when it came to metal.

Their muscles were not used to fighting creatures that were heavily armored. Both trainers realized this. To get the sharks used to this war, they would have put them in the real situation, to make them kick in their instinct for survival, because they didn't do too well with simulation. Also, they had to start with the basics of the robotic wars, and that included a brief history of Robotropolis.

Sonic started,

" There was once a city called Mobotropolis. It was nice and clean, and ruled by King Acorn. One day, one of his royal guys, Julian, got rid of the King and took over. He renamed the city Robotropolis and roboticized anything he can find. That's prob'ly what happened to Bald-Head. All of Robotropolis is made of metal, so if you wanna keep 'Buttnik outta here, you're gonna have to learn to deal with mondo uncool high-tech stuff. So we're gonna start in the real thing."

Tails added,

" Any volunteers?" The sharks were silent. Tails asked again, " Any volunteers?"

Finally, Crescent raised a fin. Three others followed his example. Both were satisfied. " All right. Now have the sub park here, and we'll go ashore."

The hulking machine rose to the surface. Sonic, Tails, and the would-be guardians of the ocean climbed out. They had many supplies, which included : 8 Power Rings, a first-aid kit, a flashlight, 8 feet of rope, 46 chili-dogs, 87 pieces of fish, 2 bombs, tangled coils of wire, a map, and 5 radios. Sonic and Tails rode on top of the sharks. They

navigated.

The trip was basically silent, to avoid drawing attention to their location. When it was dark, they used the flashlight. It was a long journey, for they were a long way from shore. Sometimes they would become excited and claim to see their destination, but then their zeal faded when all there was to see was a rock jutting out of the water.

Few days passed when the sharks grew impatient and nervous. Crescent complained,

" How come we couldn't use our submarine?" Sonic explained,

" If the sub is parked 100 miles near Robotropolis, the rest of your group can get busted."

Finally, they arrived at the desolate shore. Traversing this and the land beyond it was difficult, for the sharks were graceful birds in the sea, but awkward snails on the soil. They literally dragged themselves across the ground, while Sonic and Tails jogged with ease. But being the cocky showoff that he is, Sonic blasted of in a blur, which impressed the fish greatly. Eventually, travel was so slow that the hog and fox roped them like a dog on a leash and dragged them across the ground. That was much easier to run across great forests, jagged mountains, and vast expanses of dry deserts.

A few hundred miles more and they beheld the ominous city. Crescent and his fish companions gazed in horror at the gigantic buildings, the polluted air, and the flying machines. They never saw such a terror in their slice of the sea. In there, everything was calm and tranquil, yet to be touched by Dr. Robotnik's robotic hand.

" Let's do it to it," Sonic excitedly said to his comrades. They entered the city. Tails whispered,

" Here we are in Robotropolis, trying to train the most pathetic bunch of fish. They're going to be roboticized before you can say, " I need oil ". However, Sonic was confident.

" When they see a bot, they're gonna rip it like it was paper!" Tails still doubted, but forgot the subject. The 6 Mobians gathered together. Sonic explained the mission.

" Okay, guys! Tails, you take Peregrine and Monkey-Eater, and I'll take Crescent and Sunspotter. You know what to do, everyone, so let's juice!" They departed for their destinations, Tails' group to West Robotropolis, Sonic's to Central.

The hedgehog looked around and saw two Swatbots.

" INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! "

" Allrighty, then. Fight!" The sharks tried to oblige as best as they were able. Crescent opened his jaws and buried them into the attacking robot. Sunspotter copied the movement to the other one, and whacked it with his tail. Sonic encouraged,

" Great, dudes! Now finish them off!" Just then, another Swatbot approached the hedgehog, and fired at him from behind. Sonic was stunned, but slowly curled into his Super Spin and charged at his attacker. It took all his strength to knock it over, so he let the others finish the work with their teeth. When all was left of the Swatbots a heaping garbage pile, Sonic's group exchanged high-fives.

" I can't believe we did it! When I saw that machine, I thought we were doomed!" Crescent exclaimed.

Unfortunately, their worries were far from over. The Swatbot attack was really an alarm. Soon, a whole platoon of the creaking, clanging, hulking automations surrounded them. Sonic ordered,

" Keep cool, sharks!" The rodent suddenly disappeared from view. The whole platoon followed him. They shook their heads and wondered what that hedgehog would do next.

Sonic headed for a deep, muddy pool near the main generator. He made sure that the robots were pursuing, then he leaped across the gaping hole. The Swatbots failed to sense the upcoming danger, and almost in unison, fell into the trap.

The hedgehog returned to his comrades. Sunspotter excitedly inquired,

" Where are all the Swatbots?" The other grinned and replied,

" All washed up!" All was safe once more, and they continued their walk to a large factory.

Tails' group was having no such luck. Minus one, they were a sorry sight. Tails and Peregrine were grievously wounded and being chased by three hover-units. The tireless machines continuously fired. The fox was still dragging the fish by a rope, because they had to move and couldn't waste their time moving separately. The frightened Freedom Fighter scanned the area for someplace to hide and hopefully, recover. Then salvation came, in the form of a old abandoned storeroom. They rushed in, Tails bolted the door, and, exhausted of all energy, collapsed on the floor. He took out some bandages and covered his and Peregrine's wounds. The two-tailed fox removed his radio from his backpack.

" Sonic, Sonic, do you read me?" There was some static, and then the blue blur's voice was heard loud and clear.

" Check, Big Guy. What's up?"

" We're in a storeroom. Monkey-Eater was captured."

" What?! OK, stay there. We're gone."

The three were off to the Detention Building, hoping that the Roboticizer was inactive, for the time being.

They stepped inside the dark, silent structure. All the cells were empty.

Sonic sighed and shook his head.

" Maybe it crashed. Let's juice 'n' jam! And I MEAN juice and jam." He roped the two sharks, and blasted off to the main center.

Dr. Robotnik ordered,

" Activate it, Snively."

" Yes, Sir."

The machine activated, Robotnik would gain another slave, and the Oceanic Birds would lose another clan member.

Sonic burst into the room. He swung the roped fish toward Snively, and the sharks buried their fangs into him.

" OOWWW!!!!!! Stop it, you maniacal seafood !" He struggled to heave the attackers off his arm, but they held fast and refused to let the prey loose. Robotnik waddled over and slammed his fist into Sunspotter's gills, knocking the precious diamond out of his posession. Meanwhile, Snively accomplished his earlier order, and the fatal countdown proceeded, while Crescent still gripped the small man.

Swifter than a cheetah, Sonic grabbed the diamond and stuffed it into the gills of Sunspotter, then bombed to the Roboticizer and deactivated it. By this time though, Monkey-Eater was already roboticized enough so that his alliance was toward Robotnik. Sonic slapped a hand over his face. He failed, in more ways than one. He wrestled Crescent off Snively's arm, collected Sunspotter, took one last look at the enslaved shark, and escaped the building.

" Tails, come in."

" Read you."

" Where's the storeroom?"

" Behind the plant where the backup generator is."

Pretty soon, the two groups met. Sonic was faintly angry at Tails for losing Monkey-Eater in the first place.

" What happened, Tails?"

" Well, we, uh, we were walking to....and uh, some hover-units foumd us, and uh.....they fried us, and then they caught Monkey-Eater, and took him away, and, uh......that's it. I'm sorry, Sonic. " He sighed heavily.

" Don't sweat it, Big Guy."

Then he turned to the sharks.

" Ditto for you, dudes. I tried." Peregrine shook his head.

" That's okay. It's our fault. We'll never be able to fight Robotnik. He's just too tough. Thank you for your help, Freedom Fighters, but let's face it. We sharks belong in the water, and are best suited to fight things built of flesh, not of steel. In other words, I think we'll return the diamond to that bird and revert to our original structures."

Tails and Sonic argued,

" No way! You can't give up now!"

" The other fish are countin' on you! You've made it this far, why not go on? Look, you guys. Ya trashed Swatbots, Snively, and spent an hour in this uncool city. For first-timers, that's a way past cool thing!" The distressed sharks' faces brightened.

" Do you think so?"

" If you're not almost ready to take on Funky-Chunky, then I'm an echidna!"

Tails piped in,

" You can defend yourselves, then you can defend your ocean. But," he added, " you could use a lot of help in escaping from things. At least on land."

Peregrine nodded,

" I can vouch for that. But we won't be on land."

" For the next three days you will. So we gotta find a way for you to roll---that's it! " He gleefully snapped his fingers. "Crescent, lay down and bite your tail. Yeah, like that. Now, roll."

He commenced. He rolled so fast that he slammed into the wall. Sonic smiled. Now the sharks wouldn't have to be dragged across the ground. With that accomplished, the tired Mobians settled to sleep.

Once again, Robotnik was seated in his large green chair, thinking. He swiveled the

object around to face Snively, with a long bandage around his bloody arm.

" The rodent has brought some friends, Snively. Did you notice how strange they are?"

" Do you mean how they breathe with lungs? And their gills are filled with a jewel? Yes I do, Sir. "

" I'm going to find the whole populace. For if there's 2, there might be more. Perhaps the two aquatic units I have in my posession are one of those strange Mobians. Prepare the pod, Snively. We're going...fishing. Heh, heh, heh. "

It was early morning. All was still except for the usual amount of patrolling robots. Sonic woke and quietly opened the door. The polluted sky was dark, he wasn't sure if it was morning or night. However, all thoughts were shoved from his mind when a

large machine intruded the sky, heading for the coastline. Sonic's half-shut eyes burst open. He quickly woke the others and pointed at the pod. No words were needed. The 5 started off at full speed.

Sally was closely monitoring Sonic and Tails' location by use of Nicole. She found herself checking their position everyday. She wondered what they were up to.

What they were up to was bigger than she could imagine. The Freedom Fighters were trying their hardest to reach Ocean Falcon before Robotnik did. Luckily, they had gotten a head start, but knew that the round guy would be on their tails very soon.

That happened before they expected. The desolate expanse of desert was occupied by the would-be heroes. There was no shade to be offered, and they had been running continuously for hours. Sonic sat down.

" Let's break, dudes." Everyone was gladdened when this was said, and quickly obliged. Unfortunately, the rest was short-lived, for the pod's shadow was cast over the ground behind them. The hedgehog ordered,

" Let's break the break!" They packed up swiftly and continued on. This was in vain, for Robotnik increased speed. He watched them and menacingly chuckled.

" So, the hedgehog wants a race, eh? I'll oblige him. Snively, launch the missiles."

" With pleasure, Sir."

One by one, the streaming projectiles flew from the pod. They formed gaping craters. Sonic and company dodged back and forth, but sooner or later, the deadly weapons would make contact.

" Jelly and jam time!" Sonic yelled, as he once again roped the 3 sharks. " Jump onto them, Bro!" Tails did as he was instructed, and the hedgehog pulled out a Power

Ring, and blasted a good distance from his adversary. Robotnik saw this and released his roaring rage on his assistant.

" SNIVELY !!!"

" Uh,mm,uh,eep!" He stammered.

Sonic and Tails were extremely confident that they would reach the submarine in time. They were miles ahead of Robotnik now. However, they couldn't afford to sleep. They were now in a race, and the finish line was within their grasp. Of course, complaints often arose, usually from Sunspotter.

" How many (gasp) more miles, Sonic?(wheeeeeeeze) My fins are(hff,pff, pant, pant) tired. " Then the other would answer,

" Soon, Spotty. We gotta keep movin'."

Unfortunately for them, the large chain of mountains they had earlier passed on the way to the city now presented themselves, just at the time when no one could walk or roll themselves another step. Even the tireless blue hedgehog was seeking rest.

This was the issue that Sonic and Tails debated on.

" But Sonic! We've got to(wheeze) rest! No one (gasp) can move anymore, not even you."

" Tails, Robuttnik's close. We gotta keep on juicin' until the end. 'Sides, once the sharks are in the water it'll be smooth sailin'."

" But there's got to be an easier way! Hey! I could fly us over them."

" Good thinkin', Big Guy!"

The flight saved many valuable hours. Tails never seemed to tire. When he did, they were back in the air after 10 minutes. Thankfully, the mountains ended the land journey, and just as Sonic predicted, the sharks recovered their energy in the sparkling water, where they were truly the birds of the ocean.

It was a starry sky. The black blanket enveloped the continent. Everything was perfect once more. With the exception of Dr. Robotnik approaching, of course.

Sonic built a fire and roasted chili-dogs and fish, their first feast in days.

" See, I said we could do it," he told Tails with a full mouth. " Ol' Flabby is only a little annoyance."

" Yeah, but he's still dangerous. "

" Whoa! I didn't say he wasn't. I'm just sayin' that we'll make it to the sub, and then we can go back to Knothole and (gulp) explain....to...." His voice trailed off.

" Oh, man! She'll kill us! We've been gone for.....2 weeks?"

" Who's going to explain? I'm not! "

Sonic winced. He could vividly feel Sally's wrath. The troubled hog soon fell asleep, but when he woke up, he wished he was asleep once more. Robotnik's large pod was in front of them.

" Put more juice into it, guys! C'mon! "

" We're trying, Sonic! " Then something happened that made them halt. Sunspotter looked straight ahead. " Holy......" Lasers were flying backward from the pod toward them. Without warning, the three sharks dove underwater, streaking through the blue. The lasers hit the water, fizzling and disappearing. The hedgehog and fox suffered terribly. They held their breath for what seemed like eternity, holding on for dear life to the sharks' soft backs. Finally, Tails ran out of breath. He leaped up out of the water, a laser catching him in the chest. He plunged beneath the waves, twisting in pain. Sonic saw this and grabbed another Power Ring. This giving him an extra boost, he ran toward the falling fox, his own lungs about to burst. He grasped his hand, and continued to run foward. Then came the tricky part. He would have to make a turn without losing any speed. If he did slow down, he and Tails would sink to the ocean floor, that being the last time. When Sonic was going fast enough, he executed a sharp turn. He knew he had only one chance to catch up to the speeding sharks. The hedgehog leaped out of the water, spinning, streched out, and grabbed the tail fin of one of his comrades, climbed onto Crescent's back, and sighed.

Peregrine realized that Robotnik would reach the submarine before them. He signaled to the others, and took off after the looming pod. He streaked through the waves, and to attain a better speed, he leaped out of the water, sometimes meeting the lasers.

" Hmm. This isn't working very well. But I have to try and keep up. If somehow, I could signal the others at the sub, they could escape. But I'm still too far away. Oh, well. I'll just chase them."

Robotnik watched his tracking machine. He remarked,

" Hmmm. The source of those strange fish is near, Snively. Prepare the nets." He stroked his mustache. The other replied,

" Yes, Sir. You are sure they're not ordinary fish, Sir?"

" Even if they are, Snively, they're flesh and blood. Potential victims of my Roboticizer."

" Yes, Sir."

Tails had now regained consciousness and watched the endless expanse of sea. He

lifted his nose up to breathe, so as not to endanger himself anymore. Sonic looked at the lasers fleeting overhead. They flew like birds. Birds. If there was one word Sonic would never want to hear again, that was the word.

The shapes under him quickened their pace. They seemed to grow excited. Wihout warning once more, they dove deep into the depths of their dark aquatic world, and entered the Ocean Falcon.

Peregrine was already there. He instructed the rest,

" Prepare to fight a war, everyone."

" Where's Robuttnik?"

" Approaching. Catch your breath, then," He smiled," let's juice." All sharks bombed out of the door. Sonic and Tails leaped aboard the last shark exiting. All 48 broke the surface of the now oil-drenched water. They spied incoming airborne Swatbots. Sonic held a Power Ring as he sped across the water, ripping through one of the flying junkpiles. Tails used his fuzzy appendages as helicopter blades, cutting another one's arm off. The sharks hurled themselves at the Swatbots, basically obliterating them. It was an oily, one-sided melee, with Swatbots being decapitated and sinking below the surface to join the coral. Well, I shouldn't say it was all one-sided. Sonic was blasted in the chest by a few lasers, but quickly retaliated.

" That'll teach ya to mess with the hedgehog!" He yelled as he knocked the machine into the beckoning waves. Tails was surrounded by 6 Swatbots, but then grabbed Crescent by the tail, swung him around, let him fly, and the bots were knocked out.

Finally, Robotnik revealed the white flag when he recalled his machines and left, bound for Robotropolis.

A general cheer was heard, followed by grateful thanks. Crescent replied,

" Thank you, FFs. You've proved to us that we can fight Robotnik. That it's not impossible."

" You got that right, Crescent! And no prob'! "

" You've also proved to us that you can be trusted, and you have our permission to leave our home. We'll take care of your submarine, and follow your advice. And you have permission to come aboard the Ocean Falcon whenver you desire."

" Thanks, Crescent! We'll come soon, but not too soon," Tails replied.

The Sea Fox was rebuilt, and the two FFs quickly returned to Knothole, with a long but interesting story to explain to Sally.

The End

Okay, that was a bad one. The worst fanfic around. Oh, well.

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