The Game Game fanfic by Holly Clark NOTE: To have a better understanding of this story, it helps if you know a wide variety of Sega video games. It especially helps if you know plenty of Genesis and Saturn games. If any of these games seem foreign to you, e-mail your questions to me and I’ll be obliged to answer them for you. Chapter 1: A child’s excitement. “C’mon! Let’s go!” “Sonic! Sonic! Please play a game with me!” It always brought a smile to Sonic’s face when Tails was this excited about playing a game with him. Despite the fact that Tails wished people wouldn’t treat him like a small child, there was that occasional moment when his true age of ten years would show through his seriousness. Those moments were some of Sonic’s favorites. “Sure, big guy. What game do you want to play?” “I don’t know. What do you want to play?” It’s so easy to read him when he acts this way Sonic thought to himself. He knew what game Tails wanted to play. He’d known from the moment the small fox had call his name. “Oh, I don’t know,” Sonic said. “You wouldn’t, by any chance, want to play the Game game, would you?” “Please?!” Tails begged. “Pleeeeeeeeeease?!” “Ok.” “Yay!” Tails cheered, jumping in the air. “C’mon! Let’s go!” He suddenly raced off. “Right behind ya, big guy!” Sonic called as he followed him into the Great Forest. The two friends soon made their way to a very special tree. “After you, Tails,” Sonic said as he pulled away the bark, revealing a secret door. The young boy quickly jumped inside, his older friend following closely. Within the walls of the tree, the two made their way down a flight of stairs. At the bottom were a series of doors, each marked with a different label. “So,” Sonic said, placing his hands on Tails’ shoulders. “Where to?” “Uhhhhh...” Tails mumbled, trying to decide. “Hey! How about Sonic 2?” “Great idea! I love relieving the first game you were ever in.” He opened the door, revealing a snowy TV screen. “C’mon, Tails,” Sonic said, “Let’s go!” The hedgehog and the fox disappeared into the snowy screen. The title screen of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 filled sky before them. “Hooray!” Tails cheered. “We’re here!” “We sure are, big guy!” Sonic replied. “So. What level do you want to start on?” “Can we start on Metropolis?” That response was surprising. “Metropolis? Who are you and what have you done with Tails? You’ve never wanted to start from there before.” “I know. But this time I just really want to start from there.” Sonic shrugged. “Ok. If that’s what you want.” Chapter 2: Tails’ Fear “This is your game.” Tails had never really liked the Metropolis Zone; he always feared he would be crushed between the giant gears. But, as he told Sonic, eventually everybody had to face their fears. Right now, Tails was willing to face his own. “I admire your courage,” Sonic said, stepping aside, “but you lead the way. The only way you’re going to conquer this zone will be if I’m not protecting you.” Tails gulped. “Are you sure?” “Absolutely, lil’ bro. This is your game.” Taking a deep breath, he said, “Ok, I’m up to it.” Stepping past Sonic, he took the lead. Oh no, lava! Normally, the lava wouldn’t have bothered him as much, but this time the only way across was a series of gears, and he didn’t want to chicken out by flying over them. He approached the lava bank. Sweat poured down the sides of his face. Tails couldn’t tell if it was from the heat or his nervousness. He turned, looking back to Sonic for help. But the only response he got was a shaking head. Sonic was really serious. He would not coddle him this time. This time, Tails was on his own. He returned his attention to the gears in front of him. How steadily they turned, just waiting for an unlucky soul to fall between them. Tails could only hear one thing: his heart pounding in his chest. It seemed so loud! So loud he was sure Sonic could hear it. Well, let’s get this over with he thought with a sigh. He took a few steps back, ran, and jumped. Making it over the lava was the easy part; it was negotiating the gears that was causing his breaths to come in ragged gasps. Yikes! These gears were moving way too fast for him to maneuver through. With horror, Tails realized that the teeth of the gear were soon about to swallow him up. Without even thinking he jumped, just happening to land on the next gear. Now he was moving on pure adrenaline. Tails suddenly started running and jumping, not taking a bit of caution, from one gear to the next. Before he knew it, he was on the other side. “Sonic! I made it! I actually made it! I made it over the gears!!!” “Great job, Tails!” Sonic shouted to him. Then, he got a running start and also made his way beyond the four gears that stood in his path. He gave Tails a high-five. “I’m really proud of you, big guy! Are you willing to finish the rest of this zone? It’s three acts instead of two, y’know.” “You bet, Sonic! I’ve never had that kind of energy before, and I want to do it again!” “Ah, yes, that’d be the adrenaline rush. I feel that every time I go into a new game, or even just a new zone.” “Cool!” Tails said, excited. “C’mon, let’s finish the zone! I wanna lead!” “Be my guest, lil’ bud.” Chapter 3: The Strange New Door “No matter what happens, do not follow me in.” Sonic and Tails were having a blast in the Metropolis Zone, now that Tails was no longer afraid of the giant gears. The two were acting very playful, racing each other to the top of screws, bouncing and rebouncing on the bumpers, but also engaging in rather dangerous activities; Tails suggested seeing how close they could run to the spikes without getting stabbed, while Sonic thought it might be fun to see how much time could be spent above and below the pistons without getting crushed. Luckily, Tails had more sense than to try that one. However, they did discover an activity that was just as much fun with less danger: finding hidden rooms and passageways. Most were just a shortcut to the end of the act, or a small room providing two or three power-ups, but one in particular caught Sonic’s interest. Tails was racing ahead of him to the top of the next ledge. Annoyed, Sonic called, “Tails, bring that nut back down here! How’m I supposed to get up?” “Sorry, Sonic.” Tails stopped and began running the other way, forcing the screw to reverse its direction. When he finally got within Sonic’s jump range, Tails took off, flying ahead without Sonic. “Meet ya at the top, lil’ buddy,” Sonic announced, hopping onto the screw. He started running to the left, the direction that forces the nut to go up. On the way up, there was something about the wall infront of him that was strangely intriguing. It just didn’t look right, but still looked solid. Sonic said, “Hey Tails, c’mere.” The two-tailed fox landed next to him on the screw. “What?” “Check this.” Sonic ran his hand against the steel wall. Suddenly, his hand went right through. It was a hologram! Unfortunately for Sonic, you can’t lean on a hologram. With nothing to support his weight, he began to fall, but was lucky enough to snag the ledge of the wall, crawling beyond the hologram. “C’mon Tails.” The space in the wall was extremely narrow, making it difficult for either of them to get through. Surprisingly, at the other end, they found another screw. Unlike the other, this one was very close to the ceiling. If someone were to start running in the wrong direction they’d be squashed in an instant. Looking down, one would see no floor, but instead a pool of boiling lava. Dangerous indeed. “Stay here, Tails,” Sonic commanded. “I’m gonna check this out.” “No,” he responded. “I wanna go, too.” “It’s too dangerous, Tails.” “It’s more dangerous to you than it is to me,” he pointed out, indignant. “If I fall, I can fly. If you fall, there’s nothing you can do.” “Well,” Sonic said, “you do have a point.” “So can I go with you?” After a speechless pause, he finally gave in to Tails’ pleas. “Ok, I guess you can come.” The two friends climbed onto the screw. Just before they started to run, Sonic said, “Wait a minute.” “What is it, Sonic?” “This screw spirals in the opposite direction. If we run right on this one, we’ll go up, and we’ll be crushed. We have to run left this time.” Tails looked confused. “Are you sure?” He nodded. “Yes. Look at the direction of the spiral. See how it moves up the farther right it goes? It works the same way for the nut. If we run right, we’ll go up.” “And we’ll get squashed.” Sonic nodded again. “Exactly. We have to move left.” In agreement, he and Tails began running to the left. It was a long way down. Eventually they made it to the bottom... sort of. Sure, it was the bottom of the screw, but not exactly on the ground. More like 25 feet above the ground. Above the pool of lava. “Now what, Sonic?” He had been thinking that himself. “Well,” he said, “the space in here is too narrow for you to just fly through. So having you fly us to safety is out of the question.” Sonic studied the nut on which he stood. It still looked brand new, which was odd, since all that heat was constantly rising up. “Say, Tails,” he said. “Notice anything interesting about this nut?” “Actually, I do,” he replied. “Why does it look so new?” “I’m not sure, Tails, but I have a hunch. I need you to hover for a minute. I can’t have you very close for what I’m doing. Too dangerous.” As soon as Tails began hovering, Sonic ran the nut the rest of the way off the screw, causing it to plummet to the lava below. Tails gasped. “SONIC!!!” The nut fell frighteningly fast. And away from Sonic. The hedgehog suddenly feared he would miss the nut completely. But luck was with him. He managed to land on the side. Sonic let out a sigh of relief, especially when he found that his guess had been correct. This nut was lava resistant. It was floating. “Don’t worry, Tails!” he shouted up to his friend. “I’m Ok!” Tails let out the breath he had been holding. “What a relief.” He swooped down and picked Sonic up, flying him to safe, lava-free land. “Whoa. What’s that, Sonic?” “I don’t know, big guy,” Sonic said. In front of them was another snowy TV screen. “Where could it have come from?” “Do you think it’s an early exit?” Tails asked with questioning eyes. “Act’s end?” “I doubt it, Tails,” he said. “I don’t think it takes us back to the beginning, either.” Sonic was approaching it slowly. He put his hand to it, just as he had done to the hologram. It went through the same way. With his hand still in the snowy screen, Sonic turned back to Tails, saying, “Tails, listen, and listen close. Go back to Knothole. Get Sal trackin’ me. I’m going in this thing.” “No, Sonic! Not unless I’m coming too!” “Do it, Tails,” Sonic said firmly. “Go. Do it now. But most importantly, Tails,” he said, looking him straight in the eyes, “I need you to promise that you won’t follow me.” “No!” “Promise me,” he repeated. “No matter what happens, do not follow me in.” “I promise, Sonic,” Tails woefully swore. “Good. Now get going. Now!” Tails turned and ran back the way they came, flew up the screw passage, crawled through the tunnel, and exited the game. As soon as Tails was safely out of the way, Sonic stepped through the snowy screen. Chapter 4: Big Jim “How did you get here?” He hit the ground hard, landing on his stomach with a forcefulness that knocked the wind out of him. As he struggled to regain his breath, Sonic started to look around. He seemed to be in the middle of a huge junkyard. Everywhere he looked there were stacks of tires and old equipment. Before he could react, a small digital timer appeared before his face, reading ten minutes. Then it disappeared. “This is too strange,” he said. “Where on Mobius am I?” Suddenly Sonic heard a shout in the distance. “Plasma!” “Plasma?” he muttered to himself. “What’s a plasma?” A figure jumped down behind him. “It’s ammunition for my plasma blaster.” Sonic slowly turned around. A huge worm in a giant mechanical suit stood before him. Sonic’s face paled. This guy was at least three feet taller than him, and appeared much more powerful. But, to Sonic’s surprise, he held out his hand. “Hi. Earthworm Jim. Your name would be?” “Uhhh, Sonic,” he said, awkwardly shaking Jim’s hand. “Would you happen to know, uh, where we are?” “New Junk City. Why, where are you from?” “Mobotropolis...” “Where?!” Jim asked, bewildered. “Just how far from here is that?” “I don’t know!” Sonic said, beginning to pace. “What planet is this?!” Jim was dumbfounded by the question. “Earth, of course!” Sonic stopped dead in his tracks. “NOOOOOOO!!!” “What is it?” Jim was asking. “What’s wrong?” “Don’t you get it?!” Sonic was yelling, facing away. “I’m in the wrong video game!!!” “The wrong game?” Jim said. “How did you get here?” “It must’ve been that screen,” Sonic muttered to himself. Turning back to Jim, he said, “Do snowy TV screens ever appear here? That’s how I got here, and I think that’s the only way I’m going to get back.” “None that I know of,” Jim replied. “But I could help you look.” “Great,” Sonic said. “Oh, and about that clock...” “What clock?” “When I got here, this little clock came out of nowhere. It said ten minutes on it.” “Maybe that’s how much time you have before your TV screen comes back.” “Or before it disappears. I’m willing to bet it’s still here, just in a different place, and I have ten minutes before I’m stuck here.” “How long have you been here so far?” Jim asked. “Probably about two or three minutes.” Jim looked alarmed. “Then we’d better hurry up and find your screen! You don’t have much time left.” Sonic smiled. “Wanna know why I’m called ‘Sonic’?” “Sure.” Just to give him an idea, Sonic did a few laps around the junkyard, traveling at double-light speed. In less than three seconds, Sonic had made more than 147 laps around the dump. Jim smiled. “Groovy!” Sonic grinned. “‘Groovy’?” Jim shrugged, then suddenly whipped out his plasma blaster and shot a blast that came within less than an inch of Sonic’s shoulder. His pulse started skyrocketing. “Jim! What’d ya do that for?!” “Sorry,” he appologized, “but I figured you didn’t want to get mangled by those crows that were stalking you.” Turning, Sonic saw some burn marks and a few charred feathers. “I see. But they’re just crows, Jim.” “This isn’t Mobius, Sonic,” Earthworm Jim replied seriously. “Crows here are dangerous.” After a moment of speechlessness, Sonic suddenly said, “Well come on! We’ve gotta find that TV screen!” “Yeah! Let’s go!” Jim and Sonic spent the last six minutes searching for the screen. Suddenly Jim called out, “Found it!” “Thanks for all your help, Jim,” Sonic said, shaking his hand. “Maybe I’ll see around, sometime.” “I doubt it, but maybe. Bye, Sonic.” “See ya, Jim!” he shouted as he jumped through the screen. After watching him go, Earthworm Jim resumed his mission of rescuing Princess What’s-Her-Name. Chapter 5: Tracking Troubles “C’mon, stupid thing.” “...and then Sonic made me promise him I wouldn’t follow him but I didn’t want to but he made me so I did and then he made me leave and come and tell you to track him and then I left so I guess he went inside and I don’t know if he’s ever come out yet or if he’s ever gonna or nothin’ so...” “Calm down, Tails!” Princess Sally said, trying to ease away the young fox’s panic. “I’m sure he’s alright.” “Well hurry and track him ’cause I wanna know that he is ’cause I’m afraid he won’t be and be hurt and... and...” “Shhhhhh...” Sally whispered, still trying to get him to calm down. “Don’t worry, Tails. Let’s just turn on the tracking device. That chip Rotor and Uncle Chuck installed in his sneakers will tell us exactly where he is,” she told him, flicking the switch to ‘On’. The screen flashed to life, but was not tracking anything. “C’mon, stupid thing,” Sally said, lightly smacking the monitor on the side. But nothing changed. It was the same as it had been before. A map without anything to track. Sonic was gone. Chapter 6: Twinkling Little Star “My legs are just to short.” Sonic was thrown to the ground like a rag doll. Again, the wind was forced from his body when he landed. While struggling to stand and breathe at the same time, Sonic tried to figure out where he was now. Where ever he was, it sure was lush. Bright, colorful plants were everywhere he looked. Bunnie would’ve loved it here Sonic thought to himself, recalling that she was a very botanic person. There was a rustling in the foliage to the right. Maybe it’s the character of this game Sonic hoped. His hope was wrong. A strange (and ugly) rabbit-like creature hopped out of the bushes, obviously making its way toward Sonic. Then suddenly, two large white hands grabbed it, holding it in place so the their owner could head-butt the creature into nothingness. Sonic saw that it was a star, a small star with big hands and a big heart. “Hi,” it said. “My name’s Ristar.” “Ummm, hi. I’m Sonic.” Looking around once more, he asked, “What planet is this?” “Why, Planet Flora, of course.” “Great,” Sonic said. “I’m still in the wrong game. I’m not even on my own planet!” “Where are you from, Sonic?” “Mobius. Look, I need you to help me find a snowy TV screen so I can get out of here, and I only have ten minutes.” “Sure,” Ristar agreed. “I’ll help. Let’s go looking.” Leading Sonic deeper into his game, the little star began to hunt for his new friend’s screen. Except that there was one problem. “Hey, uh, Ristar...” “Yes?” “Pick up the pace, WILL YA?!” “Oh, sorry.” Yet, despite his efforts to quicken his speed, Ristar was still moving at a devastatingly slow rate. And he knew it. “I’m really sorry, Sonic,” he said, “but I’m basically all arms and body. My legs are just too short. All I’m really built for,” he said, grappling a nearby tree, “is THIS.” Suddenly Ristar’s body came rushing forward, barreling into the tree. There were a few snaps and cracks before it came tumbling down to the ground. “Holy chili dog!” Sonic said in complete astonishment. “That was past cool!” “Thank you for your kind words, but you don’t have the time. We need to find that screen or whatever.” “Right.” “I would normally suggest we spread out, but you don’t know the terrain. Stay close. I don’t want to lose track of you... no offense to your skills, of course...” Sonic shook his head. “None taken. I understand.” Ristar lead him through the game, jumping all the way -- he discovered he could move faster that way. Some of the beatings this guy takes are incredible Sonic thought to himself as Ristar repeatedly head-butted a wall, slowly moving up the side. It’s a wonder he doesn’t get a concussion. Sonic quickly ran up the side of the wall and joined him on the ledge above. “Is that it over there?” Ristar asked. “YES!!!” Sonic cried. “THAT’S IT!!! ...But it’s all the way across that ravine. I can’t jump that far!” “Well,” his diminutive friend said, “I could use my ‘past cool’ talent to assist you.” Hopping as quickly as he could, Ristar made his way toward another tree. He gripped it in his enormous hands, and gave it a head-butt that was more forceful than usual. The tree just barely spanned the ravine. “Cool!” Sonic said. “Thanks for all your help, Ristar.” “My pleasure, Sonic,” he replied. “Maybe someday we’ll meet again.” He shrugged. “Not likely, but it’s possible.” “Right. Well, you’ve gotta go.” “Yep. See ya, man.” “Bye.” Sonic crossed the ravine and disappeared into the TV screen. “Godspeed, my friend,” Ristar muttered as he returned his attention to saving his planet and rescuing his father. Chapter 7: Rotor’s Exasperation “Space Age piece of junk.” “You have got to he kidding me.” Sally had never seen Rotor this upset with a machine before. He was usually so calm, so understanding about the problem. But by now, Rotor was about ready to take his baseball bat to the thing. “Rotor, please try to keep your cool. You know from experience that getting angry doesn’t help fix a computer.” “Yes, Princess, I know.” He sat down, trying to gather his thoughts. “I just don’t get it, Sally. This tracking device has never failed before. Why is it acting up now?” “Probably because we really need it,” Tails said. “I doubt it, Tails,” Rotor said with an edge to his voice. “Although it does seem that way.” Sally just shook her head. “I think we’re really going to have to hunt to find the bugs this time. This machine has never had a problem prior to today, so we have no lead. The pixels in the screen could be malfunctioning, there could have been a short in the memory banks, it could even be that Sonic’s wearing thick socks.” “You’re right,” Rotor agreed, still irritated. “Those theories don’t seem likely, but they’re still possible. I know that the memory banks are fine, I just checked them. The thickness of Sonic’s socks shouldn’t be a problem, but could be. The pixels would have to have a strange bug not to pick up the signals.” Tails said, “What about the antenna? Maybe it’s just not receiving the signals in the first place.” “It’s worth a try,” Rotor bitterly admitted. He sighed. On his way out to inspect the tower he pushed the keyboard off the desk. “Space Age piece of junk.” Chapter 8: Funky Friends “Another wrong-gamer.” By now Sonic was becoming accustomed to having any wind his body owned forced from it upon landing. Not struggling as much to breathe after his routine greeting with the ground, Sonic knew from the moment he looked up that he was definitely not on Mobius. It was a nice suburban setting, with strange (at least, to him they were strange) trees and plants lining the streets. And anyways, the creatures that lived there were obviously not Mobian. Of course, they probably saw that he was obviously not whatever-ian. But, as he soon realized, this game was very different from the others he’d previously been in. The inhabitants were so very friendly. Sure they were different colors and shapes and whatnot from him, but weren’t at all intimidating. They gave him nothing to fear. Sonic looked down at the sound of an insistent yipping. What appeared to be this planet’s version of a dog smiled up at him. It was actually kind of cute, despite the fact that was a various number of shades of red and had three eyes. Smiling, he reached down and patted it on its head. Its tails began to wag. “Hey, ’sup, man? You ain’t from around here, are ya?” Sonic looked up to see one of the people sauntering up to him. He was aslo red, with only two eyes, but three legs. His antennae-eyes balanced his back-turned hat. Surprising himself, Sonic found himself making the first move in introducing himself. “Hi. Name’s Sonic.” “ToeJam,” his new friend replied. “Call me T.J.” “Cool,” Sonic said. “You’re right, I’m not from here. What planet is this?” “You’re in the wrong game, aren’t you?” He smiled. “Yeah, you’re right again. Anyway, I’m supposed to be on Mobius. Where’s here?” “Funkotron.” T.J. gestured to Sonic to walk with him down the street. He happily obliged. “I think I’ve heard of you before, Sonic.” “Heard of me? I’ve never even heard of this planet ’till a couple seconds ago. How did my rep make it here?” “Rumors,” T.J. said casually. “Nothing more. People speculate about a blue dude named Sonic, calling him Sega’s mascot, saying you’re the reason the company even has a name.” “Me? All that? I think you were right, T.J.,” Sonic said, a bit overwhelmed by this discovery, “it’s all a rumor, and nothing more.” “’Xactly. But anyway, I know your problem. This has happened a couple of times before. Let me guess: snowy TV screen, ten minutes, maze of different games?” “That’s exactly my problem.” “Figured. Ever heard of Aero the Acrobat? He had the same dilemma two or three years ago. And Vectorman the year before that.” “I know someone named Vector, but I’ve never heard of Vectorman.” T.J. shrugged. “Doesn’t surprise me anyway. Guess Mobuis just doesn’t pay attention to other games. But don’t worry, the screen’s always in the same spot. I know where to take ya.” Then, from behind, someone shouted, “’Ey, T.J.! Dude, who’s yer new homie?” “Hi, Earl. This is Sonic. Another wrong-gamer.” “What be up, Sonic man? I’m Earl, T.J.’s best buddy.” “Yeah,” ToeJam said, switching on his music, “Earl’s my boy. Not only that, we know how ’da get down!” Sonic could easily tell by watching them that they were probably as close to each other as he was to Tails. In fact, they looked like a semi-typical best-bud pair. Earl was at least a foot taller than T.J., with about the same fashion sense. Their sneakers matched, as did their dance moves. Earl’s enormous gut sagged over his blue and red polka-dotted shorts, his eyes hiding behind his shades. Even his orange skin seemed to go perfectly with T.J.’s red. It was clear that the two were inseparable. One could even get an idea of their personalities just from the first look. T.J. must’ve been a fast talker, while it could also be assumed that Earl was a little more laid back, or more ‘mellow’, as he put it. But then again, it was also completely obvious that they were both smooth talking ladies men who were constantly getting into trouble. Suddenly their dancing in the street came to a screeching halt as they simultaneously whipped out glass jars and began hurling them rapidly through the air. Sonic hit the dirt. When the two finally stopped he heard a clanking behind him. Turning, he found a some unidentifiable creature stuffed inside a jar. “Uhhhhh...? T.J. ...?” “I guess I shoulda told ya,” he said, picking up the jar. “Earl and I are in some hot water. We accidentally brought a truck load of humans back with us from Earth. Now we have to catch ’em all an’ take ’em back.” He tapped the side of the jar. “These things hold ’em.” “Uh-huh,” Earl agreed. “Then maybe I should go right now,” Sonic suggested. “So you guys can get back to your Human Hunt or whatever.” “Good idea. Here’s what you do: Go down Funk Street for about three blocks, and then turn left at Hip Hop Avenue. Go into the backyard of the second house on the right. Can’t miss it.” “Uh-huh,” Earl agreed. “Thanks. Bye T.J.! Bye Earl!” Sonic called as he exited the game. “Y’know, he was a great guy,” ToeJam said, chucking a jar. “Maybe we’ll see him again someday.” “Uh-huh,” Earl agreed, picking up the Earthling. Chapter 9: Nicole’s Data “Negative target acquisition.” “Guys, this is bad...” Sally miserably announced. Rotor had concluded that if something was wrong with the machine, he wasn’t able to find it. So, Sally had had Tails fetch Nicole. “What is it, Princess?” Rotor asked. “Nicole can’t find anything wrong with this thing either. It’s not malfunctioning.” Rotor curiously asked, “Nicole doesn’t have a bug, does she?” “No, Rotor,” Nicole replied. “I do not. All systems functional.” Tails said, “Can you track Sonic, Nicole?” “Insufficient data.” The young fox snatched the portable computer from Sally’s hands. “What’s insufficient about the data?” “Negative target acquisition.” “What does THAT mean?!” Tails shouted, shaking Nicole wildly. “WARNING! IMPROPER MANIPULATION OF THIS UNIT MAY CAUSE EXTENSIVE CIRCUITRY DAMAGE!” “Talk in ENGLISH!” “TAILS: DO NOT SHAKE ME!” As soon as he stopped, Nicole continued, “I have negative target acquisition. I cannot find Sonic at this time. Insufficient data. I cannot track him. I am not getting a signal from the chip in his shoe.” “Then what should we do, Nicole?” Sally asked. “Any advice?” “Wait.” Chapter 10: An Ally’s Pursuit “What’s he doing here?” To his utter amazement, Sonic’s fall was cushioned. None of the wind was forced from his body at all. He stood and looked around. I don’t know where I am... he thought to himself, but for some reason this place seems... kinda... familiar... It almost seemed like Deja Vu, but wasn’t quite the same. His setting seemed to ring a bell in his head, as though to urge him to remember, but he just couldn’t. He could tell something was about to happen, but what and why were just beyond his reach. He knew this from somewhere... He knew the soft grass that cradled his decent. He knew the bright plants surrounding him on all sides. He knew the light breeze that filled the air. Even that was familiar. Could he possibly be back on Mobius? He couldn’t tell. He just couldn’t tell. Sonic sighed. “Might as well find the screen.” As he began to search, the feeling of someone watching him grew stronger and stronger. This also was familiar. But from where? Where?! Sonic shook the thought from his head. There wasn’t time to ponder these things. He had to find his screen. It was confusingly frustrating. Everything was so familiar. Everything. But the source of it all was on the tip of Sonic’s tongue. It was like struggling to remember a dream. If only he knew. Sonic had known this place once. He had rolled in the very grass on which he now stood. He had hidden in the bright plants on his every side. He had felt the light breeze that tickled his neck. He had been to this place before. But more importantly, Sonic was being watched. Knuckles the Echidna slowly followed him through the underbrush. “What’s he doing here? And why does he look so confused?” Of course, Knuckles was a bit confused himself. There wasn’t any reason for Sonic to be here. So why was he? Knuckles longed to emerge from the foliage and say hello, but his instincts, which he never disobeyed, told him to wait. Not now. First, find out what your friend is after, then show yourself. His biggest shock came when he discovered what Sonic had been searching for. He squinted. “Is that a TV screen?” Before entering the screen, Sonic gave the place one last look... disappointedly. I don’t know why I know this place he thought, but I would’ve like to have found out... or at least to have met someone from this game. Never been in one without characters before. Sadly, Sonic stepped through the snow-filled screen. “Hey, Sonic! Wait!” Knuckles called, jumping from the bushes and running after him. Without even thinking of what could become of his actions, he followed Sonic into the screen. Chapter 11: Help From Chuck “I think the problem is obvious.” “Thank you so much for coming on such short notice!” “Princess, he’s my nephew,” Uncle Chuck said with a smile. “Of course I’m going to help look for him. And anyways, why wouldn’t I help?” “I don’t know,” Sally sighed. “Guess my brain’s a little fried.” “That’s understandable.” Sally and Uncle Chuck entered the equipment room. “Ok, I’ll need this... and this... two of these... oh, and one of those...” Gradually, Uncle Chuck gathered the parts he needed to for what he was about to build. “C’mon, Sally,” he said when he was finally finished. “Let’s get moving. I want to get get this built A.S.A.P.” As much as she tried to assist him, Sally saw that she was basically unneeded by Uncle Chuck. His brilliance in computer technology was unparalleled. He didn’t really need her help, but tried to find jobs for her nonetheless. “Hand me that wrench, would ya?” Tails and Rotor walked in on them just as Uncle Chuck and Sally were putting the finishing touches on their invention. “Whaddaya call that thing?” Tails asked. “A multi-game tracker enhancer. I think the problem is obvious. There’s no problem with your machine, or with the chip in Sonic’s shoe. The problem is simply that he’s out of range.” “How can that be?” Rotor asked Uncle Chuck. “Our equipment covers an eighteen mile radius, and all games and zones are within a fifteen mile radius. That leaves a three mile margin of error.” “It’s like this, Rotor,” he answered. “I’ve heard stories of things like this happening before. Everything here is fine. But the thing is, Sonic is not here. The systems work perfectly, assuming you’re within its range. But Sonic is not. That screen Tails told us about is the key to it all. Just as the screens lead Sonic to his own games, they can also lead him to others. I’m guessing at this point that the Metropolis Zone had a temporary virus that is probably gone by now. That virus probably opened a door from game to game. And he went through that door. Your equipment works perfectly fine. Sonic is just in the wrong video game. That’s what this is for. We hook this up to your current tracking device, and turn them both on. It’ll work just like it did before, except now it covers more ground.” With that, Uncle Chuck turned the two machines on as the four of them anxiously watched the tracker’s monitor, waiting for Sonic’s position to appear. Chapter 12: Hornet “Sonic, don’t go in the road.” As Sonic hit the ground, he was surprise to hear another thump following his own. Looking to his right he realized that he was no longer alone. “Knuckles?! What are you doing here?! How did you get here?!” Knuckles, who was trying with all of his strength to regain his missing breath, choked out, “What do you mean, how did I get here? I just followed you.” “But, like, how did you get where I was?” Knuckles, who was irritated by his harsh landing, growled, “Maybe because I live there, genius. All I wanna know is why you were in Chaotix. You don’t even have a game for 32X.” “I WAS WHERE?!” “On my Island. In Chaotix.” “NO!” Sonic shouted to himself. “How could I be so STUPID?! No wonder everything seemed familiar.” “What is wrong with you, Sonic? You look like you’re having a nervous breakdown.” “I think I am,” he admitted. “Ok, Knux, you’re gonna need to know this. As of right now, you are also lost in a maze of video games. I don’t know how long it’s going to be before we get back, but until we do, we have ten minutes in every game to find the TV screen that takes us out of here. If we don’t get to it, we’re stuck.” “Oh great,” Knuckles muttered. He sighed. “So where are we now?” “I’m not sure,” Sonic said, looking around. They seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. All there was was a road. Suddenly Knuckles perked up. “Do you hear that?” “No.” Rising to his feet, Knuckles continued, “Well I do. And I know it’s coming from the road.” “I have no idea what you’re listening to, Knux, but I for one would like to check this place out.” “Sonic, don’t go in the road.” “Awe, come on, Knux. I’m a big boy. Don’t worry, I promise to look both ways.” “Sonic, don’t go in the road.” But his words were too late. Sonic was already standing in the middle of the road before he finally heard the sound that Knuckles had picked up so much earlier. It was a steady, humming, buzz-like sound. The sound of NASCARs. Sonic let out a yelp as the dozens and dozens of speeding cars came rushing toward him. Fearfully, he hopped and jumped all over, desperately trying not to get hit. Then suddenly one car stopped inches away from his quivering body. From that point, it never moved. It gunned its engine once, but that was it. The rest of the cars filed off the the left and right, not paying any mind at all to the two in the middle. “I told you not to go in the road,” Knuckles smirked when the rest of the cars where gone. “Oh shut-up.” Sonic began to look more closely at the motionless car before him. Just like the previous game, this car seemed oddly familiar. Only this time, Sonic was able to figure it out. “Hey Knux,” he said. “I know this car.” “Do you?” “Yes,” he said. “Car 41. Hornet. You were in Fighter’s Megamix. Bark and Bean told me about you. I hear you’re a good fighter.” Hornet gunned his engine again. “Say, Hornet,” Sonic began, “you know anyplace that Knux and I could find a snowy TV screen?” Hornet beep his horn a couple of times, followed by briefly flashing his brights. “I’ve got an idea, 41,” Knuckles said. “Horn means yes, engine means no. Now answer Sonic’s question. Know where we can find that thing?” Hornet beeped his horn. “Well, lead the way,” said Sonic. “Don’t worry, we can keep up.” Hornet revved his engine. For reasons known only to him, 41 began flashing his brights again and slamming his doors. “No? What do you mean no?” Sonic asked. “How else are you gonna show us where to go?” 41 slammed his doors even harder. Every slam was accompanied be a beep or two. “He wants us to notice his doors, Sonic.” Hornet beeped. “Ok, what about your doors?” Sonic asked. “Is there something special about them?” Engine. “Nothing, special, eh?” “Hornet,” Knuckles said, “do you, by any chance, want to give us a ride?” 41 beeped and flashed his brights. “Alrighty then!” Sonic said, hopping on the roof with Knuckles close behind him. “Let’s go, Hornet!” The NASCAR peeled out, tearing across the terrain at over 200 mph. It seemed like hardly any time had passed at all before the car slowed to a stop to drop off his passengers. “Thanks, Hornet,” Sonic said. “That’s the fastest I’ve ever gotten through any game!” 41 flashed his brights again. “Well, bye Hornet!” Sonic called out before jumping through the screen. “See ya, 41!” Knuckles shouted, doing the same. The car did combination of the four techniques he used for communication, then rejoined his fellow NASCARs in the Daytona 500. Chapter 13: Two for the Price of One “It’s like he just disappeared.” “There he is!” Tails cried as a small flashing dot appeared on the screen, showing Sonic’s position. “It works, Uncle Chuck!” Rotor said with excitement. Sally gave her robotic friend a hug. “Thank you so much for all your help Uncle Chuck! I feel so much better!” “Don’t celebrate just yet, princess,” Uncle Chuck replied. “Sure we know that he’s Ok, but we don’t know he hasn’t gotten stuck, or that he won’t. All we can really do is hope for him.” “I just feel better knowing where he is,” Tails said. “Speaking of where he is, this bigger search grid isn’t labeled, Uncle Chuck. How do we know what game he’s in?” “Hmmm... You’re right, Rotor. I completely overlooked that part.” Uncle Chuck tried to think for a moment before resting his eyes on Nicole. “Ahhh... My dear, sweet Nicole. You wouldn’t be willing to help an old uncle out, would ya?” “What do you request, Sir Charles?” “You know all of the new landscape that I’ve hooked up to the tracker, right?” “Yes.” “Well,” he said, looking sly, “could you program the names into grid?” “Certainly, Sir Charles.” Sally brought out Nicole’s hook-up cord, and connected her to the computer. Nicole’s screen began to fill with commands, numbers, and figures. Rapidly, names began to appear on the grid’s screen. Only about ten seconds had passed before she announced, “Task complete.” “Good,” Sally said. “Now let’s see... Says here he’s in Daytona USA. What’s that?” “Racing game,” Tails answered. “One of Sega’s best selling racers.” “Sounds like a perfect setting for Sonic,” Rotor said with a smile. “He may not want to leave.” “I’m sure he will, Rotor,” Uncle Chuck said. “I know him too well. He’ll have a little bit of fun, but he’s not going to give up coming home.” “I know,” he replied. “But I’m willing to bet he could have a hard time turning his back on that game.” Just then the phone rang. “I’ll get it,” Sally said, answering the phone. “Hello? Oh, hi Julie-Su... No, no, we haven’t seen him... Are you sure? I’m sure he would have said something to you... Hang on a minute, I’ll ask the others.” Sally cupped her hand over the phone and asked, “Have any of you guys seen Knuckles? Julie-Su says nobody on the Island can find him. It’s like he just disappeared.” Tails, Rotor, and Uncle Chuck exchanged a series of surprised and unknowing glances. “I haven’t seen in about a month,” Uncle Chuck said. “Me too,” Rotor agreed. “I haven’t seen him since last week,” Tails admitted. “You guys...” Sally said, not completing her sentence and gazing at the tracker. “You dont’ suppose...?” “I hope not,” Uncle Chuck said, quickly typing commands into the re-hooked up keyboard. “What’re ya doing?” Tails asked. “I’m tracking down the previous games Sonic was in, in the order that he went through them.” “Can you do that?” Rotor asked with curiosity. “Yes, Rotor.” “One more minute, Julie-Su,” Sally reassured her friend. “None of the others have seen him, but I think they’re on to something. Hang on again.” Sally cupped her hand over the receiver once more. “Hurry up, you guys. She sounds a little bit panicked.” “Right,” Uncle Chuck acknowledged. Just then a file was brought up on the monitor, slightly covering the map. It listed every game Sonic had been through that day. “Let’s see,” Uncle Chuck muttered as he scanned the list. “Earthworm Jim...Ristar...ToeJam and Earl 2... No, Sonic! Tell me you didn’t!” “What is it, Uncle Chuck?” Sally said. “You know what it is,” he mumbled. “Sonic was in the 32X realm, and passed through Knuckles’ Chaotix. If I didn’t know better, I’d say Knuckles followed him. Odds are, he’s with Sonic.” “Do you really think I should tell her?” Sally uncertainly asked. “I don’t want anyone over there to panic, especially Julie-Su.” “Just tell her we know where he is and we’ll try to get him home as soon as we can,” Rotor advised. “Good idea,” Sally said. She quickly gave the message to Julie-Su. “Ok, bye.” Sally looked back to the others and gave a thumbs-up. “She bought it. No questions asked.” “Cool,” Tails said. “But we’re in the same position we were in before. We can’t really do anything except wait.” Uncle Chuck leaned back in his chair. “Then that’s just what we’ll have to do.” Chapter 14: An Old Friend “We were made by the same team.” Sonic and Knuckles hit the ground hard, since they fell from a greater height. Maybe too high. When Sonic made it to the bottom, the wind was knocked from him, as usual, but Knuckles didn’t fair quite as nicely. He was falling with is feet below him. When he finally hit the ground, a searing pain shot throughout his body, generating from his left ankle. “AAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!” Sonic, frantically trying to breathe, stumbled over too his friend’s side. “Knux, are you Ok?” “NO!” he snarled. “I sprained my ankle!” “Awe, MAN!” Sonic shouted in frustration. “How’re we gonna get you outta here now?” “You’re not,” Knuckles said flatly. “What do you mean I’m not?” “I mean that you’re going to leave me here and get yourself home.” “Bull. Knuckles, you’re my friend. Furthermore, you have an Island to protect.” “Better one of us gets outta here than neither. Besides, the Chaotix can watch my Island until you guys figure out how to get me out.” “Knuckles, nobody knows how. That’s why I’m still here, and why you’re here in the first place.” “Sonic,” Knuckles said, trying to persuade him to leave, “I’m not going to allow myself to tie you down.” “No matter what you say, Knuckles, I’m not going to leave you.” Then there was silence. Neither one of them made a sound. But then the silence was broken. “Sonic? Is that you?” It wasn’t until he heard the voice that it occurred to him to look around. Sonic suddenly realized that he knew where he was. He turned to the direction of the voice. “Hey, NiGHTS,” he said. “Long time, no see?” “I’ll say,” his old friend replied. He gave a jump and floated into the air, spinning and twirling before landing next to Sonic. “Hey,” he said, “who’s your friend?” “Oh, duh! I’m sorry. NiGHTS, this is Knuckles. Knuckles, this is NiGHTS.” Knuckles just sat in pained bewilderment. “How do you two know each other?” “We were made by the same team,” Sonic said. Knuckles raised a questioning eyebrow to NiGHTS. “You were made by the Sonic Team?” “Yep. And besides that, Sonic made a cameo appearance on my Christmas Sampler.” Knuckles smacked Sonic in the side of the head. “How come you never told me that?!” “Never thought about it, I guess.” Sonic shook the conversation from his head. “We don’t have time for small talk! NiGHTS, Knuckles’ ankle is sprained, and we have less than six minutes to find this TV screen that takes us outta here.” “No problem,” NiGHTS said. “I’ll fly up and look for it, and Claris and Elliot can help you get Knuckles on his feet.” “Perfect,” Sonic said as NiGHTS took off. “C’mon, let’s get you up.” “Thanks,” he said, leaning on Sonic’s shoulder. Then he said, “Ummm... Sonic?” “Yes?” “Where are we?” “Nightopia,” he said. “It’s where we come when we’re asleep. We act out our dreams here. There’s seven parts to this place. Right now we’re in Spring Valley.” “Ah.” Just then, two kids came running over the side of the hill. “Hi,” said the girl. “I’m Claris.” “And I’m Elliot,” said the boy. “Need some help?” “A little,” Knuckles said. “I sprained my ankle.” “That doesn’t make sense,” Claris said. “You don’t really get hurt or feel pain in a dream.” Sonic said, “We’re not asleep, we’re just in the wrong game.” “Alright, then,” Elliot said. “Let’s get you guys going.” But suddenly Elliot seemed to become transparent. “Uh-oh,” he said. “I’m waking up.” “Don’t worry about them,” Claris told him. “I’m still here to help.” Knuckles smirked. “You guys talk about us like we’re not here.” “Sorry,” Claris said. “Here, Knuckles, lean on my shoulder, too. Keep the weight off that ankle.” “Thanks.” Just then NiGHTS returned. “You guys aren’t going to believe how lucky you are. The screen’s right on the other side of this hill. What’s even better, Sonic, is that Bug! is the next game.” “You’re kidding,” Sonic said. “Uh-uh. And he knows how to manipulate those screens. He can send you to where ever you want to go.” Suddenly a sly grin spread across Sonic’s face. “Perfect.” Slowly, Sonic and Claris helped Knuckles make it around the side of the hill. “Don’t worry, Knux,” Sonic was saying to him. “I know we’re going to get out of here.” “Why do you sound so sure?” “You shouldn’t think so negatively, Knuckles.” “She’s right, man. And anyways, I have a plan.” Just then they reached the screen. “Thanks for helping me walk,” Knuckles said to Claris. She shrugged. “No problem.” “See ya, NiGHTS. Maybe you should cameo in one of my games!” “Maybe I’ll do that, Sonic. See ya ’round!” Sonic and Knuckles were just about to go through the screen when a few angel-like creatures flew past. “Sonic...?” “Nightopians,” he replied. “Don’t even worry about ’em.” Which reminded him to say to NiGHTS, “Hope you guys defeat Wizeman!” The two friends stepped into the snow-filled screen. Chapter 15: What If “All of this just makes me so scared.” “Waaaaaaait a minute,” Tails said when Sonic’s position appeared on a new part of the map. “Why isn’t he moving?” “I don’t know, Tails,” Sally said. “We’ll just have to watch what he does.” Five minutes went by. Still no movement. “Please tell me this isn’t happening,” Rotor said. “Please tell me he’s not hurt.” Suddenly Sonic’s position began to change. He was moving... slowly. “He’s hurt,” Rotor stated flatly. “Then how’s he gonna get out?” Tails choked out as tears streamed down the sides of his face. “Rotor!” Sally hissed. “Don’t say things like that in front of Tails!” “Tails,” said Uncle Chuck, “why don’t you go on outside and play?” The child sniffed. “’Kay.” When Tails had left the room, Sally said, “And anyways, Rotor, you don’t know that it’s not Knuckles.” She sighed. “What game are they in now?” “NiGHTS into Dreams,” Rotor said. “Never heard of it.” “I have,” Uncle Chuck said. “You have?” “Yes, Princess. NiGHTS was made by the Sonic Team. He and Sonic are old friends.” “How ’bout that,” Rotor said with a smile. “You do realize the advantage that gives him, don’t you?” Uncle Chuck asked. Sally and Rotor exchanged glances. “No...” “If Sonic has a friend with him, he’ll have help. And besides, we’re assuming Knuckles is with him, too.” “I hope Knux is with him,” Sally said worriedly. “Because if he’s not, and no one on the Island can find him, who knows where he’d be?” “We’ll worry about that later, if we find out that Knuckles isn’t with Sonic. For now, we just have to wait and see what happens.” “I know,” Sally said. “All of this just makes me so scared. What if one of them is hurt? What if Knuckles is missing? What if they don’t make it to the screen in time? What if something awful awful happens to them?” Rotor hated to see his friend this frightened. “Just try not to think about it, Sally. All we can do is hope for him, and that’s always helped him get out of tough spots before. And besides, you know he’s going to fight as hard as he can just to come home to you.” Sally smiled through her fear. “I know, Rotor. I know.” Chapter 16: Racers’ Reunion “It’s my antennae.” Sonic prayed as hard as any hedgehog could pray that the other side of the screen would not be very far from the ground at all. He didn’t want his friend’s ankle to get any worse. Even though he was unsure whether his prayers had been answered or if it was just good luck, either way he was grateful. The screen was less than six inches from the ground. “Ok, Knux, sit here a minute,” Sonic said, resting Knuckles’ body against a rock. “I’m going to look for Bug.” “Gladly,” Knuckles said as he stretched his right leg and relaxed. “My leg is getting tired.” Sonic ran off, not entirely sure where to find his insect pal. Bug! wasn’t a game made by the Sonic Team, so Bug wasn’t a very close friend. Sonic only knew him because he’d made a cameo in this game also. Sonic ran to the top of a block of land. It had always seemed to him that the land came in blocks. The graphics in this game had always intrigued him. It was like they were smooth and rough at the same time. None of the land had any kind of curve to it. It always had a square end. Ramps were used to get from one level to another. This level gives you a pretty good look-out point Sonic thought, scanning the land for his friend. When he didn’t see him, Sonic decided to use vocals. “BUUUUUUUUG!!!” “What?” Sonic turned around. Bug was behind him, currently in the process of getting rid of an enemy insect. After jumping up and stinging it, Bug shouted, “See ya!” “Hey, Bug! Over here!” Sonic called, giving a wave. “’Member me?” Bug approached him and looked him over. “Yeah, I remember you...just not your name...” “It’s me, Sonic.” “DUH! That’s it! I remember you!” Bug rolled his eyes. “You always beat me in that race.” “Hey,” Sonic said with a shrug, “it’s my job.” “So what’re you doing here?” “I’m stuck in the wrong video game and have a friend with a sprained ankle.” “Ooooooh, Ok,” Bug said. “Can’t help your friend, but I can take ya where ever you want to go.” “Yeah,” said Sonic, “NiGHTS said you know how to manipulate those screens.” “Sure do.” “How?” Bug tapped the top of his head. “It’s my antennae. I’m not really sure how I do it, but I do it.” “Cool,” Sonic said. “C’mon, we’ve only got a few minutes left.” Sonic lead him back to where Knuckles was waiting. “I’m back, Knux. This is Bug.” “Hi, nice to meet ya,” Bug said, shaking Knuckles’ hand. “The pleasure’s mine,” he replied. “Ok, Sonic,” Bug said, turning to him. “Where do you want to go?” “One of my games.” “What platform?” “This one,” he said. “Saturn.” Bug stirred a little electricity in his antennae. “Ok. What game?” “Sonic Jam.” “Comin’ right up!” Bug said. After a little more electricity filled his antennae, it shot out in two streams. The bolts of electricity formed the shape of a rectangle. Then it began to fill with TV snow. “There ya go,” he said. “There’s your ticket outta here.” “Thanks Bug,” Sonic said. Then that sly grin appeared on his face again. “Y’know, we still have a few more minutes... Wanna race?” “Sure,” Bug said. “But I know you’re gonna beat me again.” “Aaaah, details!” Sonic said, waving the fact off with his hand. “Do it right here,” Knuckles said. “I’ll referee.” “Ok,” they both agreed. They ran back a few yards, then counted off together. “On your mark... Get set... GO!” Bug and Sonic took off, surprisingly very close. Knuckles knew it would be difficult to make the call. The two flew past in a blur, then came running back. “So,” Bug said, “who won?” “Uhhhh... Bug?” Both mouths dropped open. “Are you sure?” Bug asked. “No.” “Hey, let’s give ya the win anyway,” Sonic said. “It’s about time you won a race.” “Thanks,” Bug said. “Hope I see ya again sometime.” “Yeah,” Sonic said. “Me too.” He helped Knuckles to his feet. “Cool meetin’ ya, Bug,” Knuckles said, leaning on Sonic’s shoulder. “See you guys later!” Bug called as the two stepped through the screen. As soon as they were gone, he resumed his mission of saving his family. Chapter 17: The Finish Line’s in Sight “Bring him home!” “Whoa!” Rotor yelled, genuinely startled. “Guess he’s not hurt after all!” Sonic’s position was moving very, very quickly. “Otherwise, I doubt he’d be able to do that!” “What is it?!” Tails shouted, running into the room. “What’s going on?!” “Nothing, Tails!” Sally said, giving him a hug. “We just know that Sonic’s Ok.” “How?” “See for yourself,” Uncle Chuck said. “Look how fast he’s moving.” “Yay!” “Y’know, Tails,” Rotor said with a smile, “if you were outside playing, how could you hear us so clearly?” “Oh, I wasn’t playing, Rotor. I was just sitting on the doorstep.” Rotor tousled his hair. “Eavesdropper.” Tails shrugged. “So. Anything new on how to get him back? All I could hear was really loud talking.” “Nope,” Uncle Chuck said. “Same as before. All we can do is wait.” Then suddenly Sonic’s position changed again. “Look!” Tails said, pointing at the screen. “Look! Sonic’s in one of his own games! We can go get him now!” “Yes!” Sally shouted, jumping in the air. “Yes! Yes! Yes! Go get him, Tails! Bring him home!” “Yes, ma’am!” Tails yelled, jumping up. “I’ll be there and back before you know I’m even gone!” As Tails ran out of the room, Rotor grinned at Uncle Chuck. “That boy gets more and more like your nephew by the day.” “Yes Rotor,” Uncle Chuck smiled. “He does.” Chapter 18: Homecoming “It’s great to be back home.” Sonic felt as though he’d never been happier when he stepped into his game, Sonic Jam. From that moment he knew that he would get home. And he knew that Knuckles would too. Wait a minute... he thought. No, no, I’m not going to do that too him. Sonic’s original plan was to come to this game because they could, through the four games within it, get to both the Great Forest and the Floating Island. Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 provided routes to Sonic’s home, while Sonic 3 and Sonic 4 (Sonic and Knuckles) gave paths to Knuckles’. But Sonic began to have second thoughts when he realized just how much Knuckles was depending on him to walk. If he left Knuckles to try and find someone on his own when he got back to the Island, who knows how long it would take before he finally found help? Sonic wouldn’t allow it. “Knux, you’re coming home with me.” To Sonic’s relief, his friend didn’t argue. He only grunted his acknowledgment. Slowly, Sonic and Knuckles made their way to the huge “Exit” door. That was one of the things Sonic loved about the “SonicWorld” part of the game; you could leave whenever you wanted to. Before the two of them could make it to the exit, the door burst open on its own, and in came running Tails. “Sonic! Sonic! We were so worried about you!” Then Tails seemed to realize that they were not alone. “Hey, what happened to Knuckles?” “Spained my ankle,” he gruffly admitted. “I’m bringing him back to Knothole with us,” Sonic said. “He can’t even walk by himself.” “Here, Knuckles, let me help you walk,” Tails said, rushing to Knux’s other side. “Thanks.” He sighed. “You guys are too good to me.” “We’re just doing what any other friend would do, Knuckles,” Sonic said. From that point until they got to Knothole, there was no more conversation. None of them knew why, yet none of them could bring themselves to break the silence. After all, it was broken for them when they arrived in Knothole. All any of them could hear were shouts and cheers as the trio was welcomed home. Knuckles was immediately taken to the Knothole Infirmary. There it was confirmed that he did indeed have a minor sprain, but would need an ankle brace for at least two weeks. Knuckles waited until he was alone to talk to Sonic. “Hey, uh, thanks for, you know...” “Not giving up on you?” “...Yeah.” “Knuckles,” Sonic said, looking him in the eye, “I would never -- never -- leave an injured friend behind for my own benefit. Especially when it’s someone as close to me as you.” “I know,” Knuckles said, breaking eye contact. “It’s just that... well... I felt like I was going to ruin things for you. Y’know? I was afraid that’d you’d get stuck there because I got hurt.” “Knux, it wasn’t your fault. Don’t feel guilty because you had one bad fall. It could’ve been worse.” “How?” “We could’ve gotten stuck in that game Ecco the Dolphin.” “Ahhh,” Knuckles said with a nod. “And neither one of us can swim.” Sonic grinned. “Exactly. Can you imagine having Ecco pulling us around on his dorsal fin?” “No.” The two laughed for a moment. Then Knuckles said, “Well, I’ve gotta go. My Island’s waiting for me.” Sonic smirked. “So’s Juie-Su.” Knuckles blushed. “Is she?” He shrugged. “Sally said she was a little hysterical.” “Then I’d better get home. Who knows what kind of chaos she’s raised while I was gone.” “Right,” Sonic said. “You know where that tree is, don’tcha? ’Cause you can just go straight to the Island from there.” “Ok,” he said. “See ya, Sonic. Thanks for all your help.” “Bye.” As Knuckles was leaving, Sonic got to thinking more deeply about what Knuckles said. ‘Neither one of us can swim.’ Then he put that together with what Tails had said earlier that day. ‘Eventually everybody has to face their fears.’ “Hmmm. Maybe now’s my time.” Sonic ran off, trying to find Tails. He found him in his hut. Knocking on the door, Sonic said, “Tails? Can I come in?” “Sure Sonic. Door’s open.” As Sonic entered his hut, Tails asked, “So. Glad to be back?” “You bet, big guy. It’s great to be back home. But I came for a different reason.” “What’s that?” “Well, I was thinking about what you said in the Metropolis Zone today, about how you said everybody, at some point, has to face their fears. I think it’s my turn now.” “What do you mean?” Sonic took a deep breath. “I want you to teach me how to swim.” “Really?!” Tails said in excited disbelief. “You want me to teach you how to swim?!” “Yes, Tails. Will you?” “Of course! No problem! When do you want to start?” “How ’bout right now?” “Sure!” Tails spent the rest of the day teaching Sonic how to swim. Epilogue Later that night, Sonic went to bed with a bit of satisfactory. He at least knew how to do the doggy-paddle, which was something Tails specialized in. Thinking about the events of the day, Sonic was just about to doze off when he heard some sort of noise near his door. Getting up, he saw that it was an envelope. He turned on the lights. Nothing was on it at all, not even his name. Sonic peeked his head out the door, trying to catch who’d slipped it in. But there was no one there. Everyone was asleep in their huts. Sonic opened the envelope and found a letter. It read: Sonic-- Your actions today have inspired many. With every game you entered, another life was touched. As a result of your courage and determination, Earthworm Jim rescued Princess What’s-Her-Name, Ristar defeated the evil tyrant overrunning the land and saved his father, ToeJam and Earl gathered every Earthling from Funkotron and delivered them back to Earth, Hornet came in first place in the Daytona 500, NiGHTS, Claris, and Elliot defeated Wizeman the Wicked, Bug saved every member of his family from Queen Cadavra, and Knuckles found out just how much his friends care about him. THIS was the reason you were sent on the mission you took on today. THIS was why you were tangled in the web of video games. To make a difference. You’ve always talked about wishing you could really have an impact on people, wishing you could change lives. You did that today, Sonic. Think about that tonight as you sleep. Think about that tomorrow when you awaken. Think about it now, tomorrow, and everyday thereafter. Remember this day. You may never get the chance to change lives like the one you took today, so never, ever forget what happened today. Never forget the people you met, as they will never, in their entire lives, ever forget you. You are very special, Sonic. Take advantage of it. -- Your watcher Sonic felt a shiver run down his back. His watcher? What does that mean? It was kind of creepy. Who was this watcher? Then Sonic decided to look on the bright side. Maybe this watcher is like an angel he thought. ’Cause I never told anyone about all that other stuff. Smiling, Sonic shut off the lights and got back into bed. Hiding in the dark shelter of the forest, Uncle Chuck watched the silhouette of his nephew through the window. When he saw Sonic go back to bed, he decided to head back to Robotropolis before someone noticed he was gone. All the way back to the city, Uncle Chuck could only think about one thing: Looks like that extra command I programmed into the chip in Sonic’s shoe worked perfectly. I could hear every word. My “glitches” in the games worked perfectly, too. They really thought those were authentic TV screens that would disappear in ten minutes. And no one suspects it was me. THE END