In a dark, cold alley late at night, a newspaper flew over to a certain echidna. He picked it up and saw Sonic's face in it. Grumbling in annoyance, he crumbled the paper and tossed it aside.
He missed his home in Mobius, and back in Angel Island, where he alone was guarding the Master Emerald, where everything was peaceful and quiet.
He was angry at Sonic and Silver.
He was so focused on his anger, that he didn't see a dark shadow of someone looming overhead.
Knuckles got into a fighting mode when he saw Eggman standing in front of him.
"What do you want, Eggman?" Knuckles growled.
But to his surprise, the mad doctor burst into tears.
"Please help me, Knuckles!" The doctor "pleaded." He reached out and grasped Knuckles' hands. "If we don't do something fast, Sonic and Silver could make us prisoner on this planet forever!"
Knuckles glanced at Eggman in confusion. "Huh?"
"If we could gather all seven Chaos Emeralds, there's a fighting chance we can somehow reverse the affect that sent us to this world and return to where we came from!"
Knuckle's eyes widened with curiosity as the doctor continued.
"Sonic and Silver knew that they could use the Chaos Emeralds to wrap themselves through time and space. That's the reason they attacked Chaos Control! They found out that I'd collected all the Chaos Emeralds to keep them out of their grasp! You know how reckless those hedgehogs are. I was afraid of what they might do once they get their hands on those Chaos Emeralds, so I set up a defense, but there was no stopping Sonic and Silver. They were so determined to push their selfish search for thrills all the way this time, no matter who got hurt. Finally, Sonic and Silver invaded Chaos Control, and to my horror, they finally achieved their goal. They destroyed Chaos Control and sent us here, just for the fun of it!"
Eggman burst into tears.
Knuckles angrily narrowed his eyes. "Sonic. Silver. They're crazy!"
"I've changed my ways and want to live in peace, but they won't let me!" Eggman continued to blubber. What Knuckles didn't know, though, was that behind his handkerchief, Eggman smirked. He continued his little act.
"What else can I do?" He cried. "They won't let me have a chance to fix things! I want to get us back, but when I found one of the chaos emeralds, you know what happened? Sonic snatched it from me! He told me he and Silver would plan to stay as long as they please."
"THOSE SELFISH HOGS!" Knuckles growled.
"They said we don't get to leave until they say so! They think this world is a lot more fun than ours, and if we don't agree, it's our tough luck."
Knuckles was struggling to keep his anger in as Eggman continued. "You think they'd be more concerned about their buddy."
"I AIN'T THEIR BUDDY!" Knuckles roared. "I'm sick and tired of those two thinking that this is all just some big game! Either those two are going to give us that emerald, or I'm going to have to take it from them!"
"Be careful. Sonic and Silver both said they'll crash anybody who gets in their way!" Eggman whimpered, wringing his hankie.
"So then, it will be a battle to the bitter end." Knuckles growled, raising his fist. But he didn't notice Dr. Eggman's smirk.
"My chronic Sonic and Silver troubles are over." Eggman thought, hiding his smirk behind his hankie.
....................................................................................................
Tails, Blaze, and Penny stared at the green emerald inside the experiment case that Chuck owned for experiments.
"So, a Chaos Emerald!" Penny smiled. "Does anyone know where they came from or how they work?"
Tails shook his head. "No one knows much except that they're really powerful."
"That's true." Blaze smiled.
"I hope my analysis reveals something about its makeup." Grandpa said.
Footsteps were heard from downstairs. Then, banging on the entrance of Grandpa's room.
"I know you're in there!" Ella's voice came up. "You haven't let me clean this thing up for so long, I'm issuing a dirt alert!"
"It's Ella! Blaze, Tails, hide!" Penny cried.
Blaze and Tails quickly looked around, panicking. Then they plopped on the couch and acted like stuffed animals. "Good. Now stay there!" Penny thought as Ella opened the latch door to the bedroom.
"I'd thought I'd find you here, Penelope." Ella said, one hand holding the vacuum, the other hand on her hip.
"Where's Christopher?" Ella asked suddenly.
"Uh... he's playing with his friend?..." Penny gulped nervously. That was true. Danny had asked Chris to spend the day with him, and Chris happily went over.
Ella looked around, and started vacuuming. "Keeping this room dust free is losing a battle." Ella grumbled. "Not that I'm complaining, but it's like trying to vacuum a dirt road. I..."
She paused and turned towards Tails and Blaze.
She brightened, but didn't notice that Chuck and Penny had horrified expressions.
"They're so precious." Ella commented. "Are they your toys?"
Unsure of what to say, Penny muttered, "I'm taking care of them...."
"Ah! They almost look real to me!" Ella looked back at Tails and Blaze. Blaze moved her tail by accident and Tails moved his eyes towards Ella. "Oh!" She exclaimed.
Penny grabbed Blaze and Tails in her arms, and Chuck relieved Penny of Blaze. "I think I'll go outside and play!" She smiled nervously.
"Uh, me too!" Chuck followed her outside.
"Tails, Blaze, that was a close call!" Penny giggled.
"We sure fooled her!" Chuck grinned.
Sonic looked down at them from the pavilion from up above. "Can't I nap in peace?" He complained.
Penny continued laughing, with Tails on her shoulders, when she bumped into someone.
Mr. Tanaka.
"Miss Penny, what, may I ask, is going on?" Tanaka asked his charge. She gulped, and Tails and Blaze quickly flopped down as dolls. They were already running, so it already looked like they were toys being flopped around. So, hopefully that would pass....
"Uh, we were just playing, "Capture the Stuffed Animal!" Penny started laughing. With Tails still on the girl's shoulders, she turned around. "Eh... bye...."
Chuck, who was trying not to laugh, walked forward towards the door. "I think I'll...."
"Sir. While I recommend your desire to stay fit, I would stick to adult sports like bowling." The butler said, stopping Chuck from going anywhere.
Chuck humped, handing Blaze to his granddaughter. "You can't tell me what to do. I'll play ring around the rosy if I..."
Mr. Tanaka stood in his way again. "Perhaps you should slow down. Rest is important. I believe it's time for your nap." The butler twisted Chuck around and pushed him towards the house, despite Chuck's protests.
"I don't need to nap."
"You could play later."
"I have work to do!"
"Come along, Mr. Thorndyke!"
Tails, Blaze, and Penny watched the whole thing. Tails was confused, Blaze looked amused, but Penny just sighed with relief.
That's when Amy knocked into them. The four toppled to the ground when Amy collided with them. The female hedgehog whimpered in pain.
"Amy?!" Penny asked. "What are you doing? You know it's dangerous to be out by yourself!"
"Chris and I just heard a news report!" She gasped. "It looks like they've found another Chaos Emerald!"
"Really?!" Penny quickly ran in to see Chris, watching the news. Penny grinned at him. "Hey, Chris, how was your time with Danny?"
"Fine!" Chris smiled, but turned serious. "Shhh!"
"The strange energy spikes which seem to be coming from Silver Lake Valley area have played havoc with computers and machinery across the entire region. Investigators are looking for..."
"I bet it's another Chaos emerald." Blaze gasped.
"You know, Silver Valley isn't far from here." Chris pointed out to his older sister. "Let's check it out!"
Amy ran to tell Sonic the news. "Hey, Sonic, did you hear the news?"
Sonic stared at her.
"We're going along to Silver Valley! Come along and we'll have a picnic there." Amy smiled at him.
"But we're going for the Emeralds." Penny pointed out.
Sonic looked uninterested. "Nah. I've been there before."
"HUH! You went without ME?! Let me guess: you passed it on one of your runs, didn't you?"
"Yup, you guessed it!"
"Fine, Sonic!" Amy said angrily. "Come on, we'll have more fun without him, anyhow."
"Where's Silver and Cloud?" Penny asked suddenly.
"They're out looking for Chaos Emeralds and keeping an eye out on Dr. Eggman." Blaze said.
"Oh."
"How can we get there without a car?" Chris asked. "You can't drive, our grandfather's resting, and we can't ask Mr. Tanaka to take us!"
"If I drive, I'm going to get spotted." Tails pointed out.
"We have a problem here, do we?" Penny mused.
Blaze seemed deep in thought. "I know!" She gasped, possibly remembering the doll trick from earlier.
"Blaze, it's brilliant!" Penny grinned.
Soon, Chris, Penny, Tails, Blaze, and Amy were on the train, headed for Silver Valley. Chris and Penny sat next to each other, while Blaze and Amy were either on their laps or sides, and Tails sat on the other side of Chris.
"Those stuffed animals are cute." One girl commented.
"Thanks." Penny blushed nervously.
"Aren't they a little too old for those toys?" Another woman gossiped.
"They're starring at us." Chris muttered.
"It's ok, guys, we're almost at our stop!" Tails smiled.
"Don't talk, they'll hear!" Penny warned.
"Penny, I need to blink. What do I-" Amy grunted in pain as a girl sitting next to her started to pull on her ear. "Hey, Mom, can I get one of these? Wake up, mommy! Look-it! Oh, please can I have one? Please, Mommy, please. You said I could have a toy if I was good! I want it....AAAA!"
Amy had had enough, so she pushed the little girl quickly with her foot, and the girl hit the exit sign, was startled for a second, and began wailing, shedding anime tears.
Amy smiled confidently to herself. Blaze practically sighed dramatically.
"Seriously, Amy?" Penny muttered.
"Now, if only I can think, everything could be perfect." Amy thought.
..............................................................................................................
Back at home, Sonic opened his eyes to see Bokkun standing at his feet, pulling out a TV screen. "Message for you!" The little robot smiled. He pressed play and hid behind the TV. "Here you go!"
The messenger on the screen was Knuckles, and boy did he look angry.
"Sonic, Silver, I am sick and tired of all your selfish stunts. This time you've gone too far. I'm challenging you two to a showdown. Meet me at Silver Valley in one hour, and don't be late."
Eggman's voice then entered through the screen. "This message was bought to you through Eggman Empire. Which is not responsible for its content, except this part."
The whole TV exploded, leaving Sonic in dust.
Bokkun laughed cheekily as he flew away.
"Sonic, are you all right?" Silver came dashing out to the pavilion, and was surprised to see Sonic in smoke.
Sonic responded by coughing out some of the smoke and glaring at the audience. "Man, Knuckles is going to regret that!" He muttered, while Silver looked confused on what was going on.
...................................................................................................................................
Soon, the group of friends began enjoying their time at Silver Valley, eating their picnic lunch which Amy actually bought along.
"This picnic is a super idea, Amy!" Blaze smiled as she took a bite of her sandwich.
"It was worth the trip even if there is no emerald!" Chris smiled.
"Mm-hmm!" Penny agreed. She giggled. "Hey, isn't it funny how Silver has a whole valley named after himself? He should be king here!"
Blaze giggled. "Hah! We should tell him when we get back, he'll be flattered."
"For sure!"
"Shouldn't there be a lot of people here if they found an emerald?" Amy asked.
"Maybe something else caused the Energy sparks," Tails said.
"Maybe it was just a mistake." Blaze said. "But now that we're talking about it, something seems fishy about this..."
The others continued to plan as if they didn't hear her.
"We can still have some fun around here!" Penny smiled.
"We could take a hike in the mountains, or go swimming in the lake!" Tails suggested.
Suddenly, a huge gush of water sprouted out, and the group screamed. A huge robot appeared, and before they could run off, it grabbed them and tossed them into its cage. Penny and the others landed on the floor of the cage with a grunt.
"Are you ok, Penny?" Blaze asked.
"I'm fine. How's everyone else?" Penny asked, fright in her voice.
A snickering sound suddenly came closer, and they looked up.
"Eggman!" Tails exclaimed while Penny shuddered in fright.
"You rat!" Chris snarled. He realized something. "You tricked 'em into broadcasting that news story."
"Uh-uh-uh!" Eggman sneered. "I generated artificial energy spikes just like the ones made by Chaos Emeralds. It's not my fault that those new hounds barked up the wrong tree."
Tails looked embarrassed. "I hate to admit it, Eggman even had me outfoxed!"
"It's ok, Tails." Penny patted his back reassuringly. "It happens to all of us."
Amy smirked. "Well, his plan failed because we're outta hear!" Amy smashed her hammer a couple of times on the glass, but it didn't break. She gasped in exhaustion.
"You can't leave." Eggman smirked. "I need you in case my first plan to beat Sonic and Silver fails."
"Sonic and Silver aren't here." Blaze said sternly.
"Oh, they will be." He moved his mobile to reveal Knuckles, to their surprise, was standing on the edge of a cliff up ahead.
"What now?" Penny thought.
....................................................................................................
"Where's Sonic and Silver?" Knuckles frowned angrily. "They should've been here by now."
Knuckles opened his eyes just in time to see Sonic and Silver come in, striking a pose. "Hey there, Knuckles!" Sonic smirked.
"You're late, slow pokes," Knuckles growled.
"Yeah, well, we stopped to enjoy the scenery." Silver smirked.
Sonic had a flower in his hand. "This planet is pretty cool." He added. He sniffed the flower. "It's nice here."
"Yeah, you would like this place too, if you weren't such a party pooper." Silver smirked.
"Enough talk, let's go!" Knuckles growled.
"Ah, relax, will ya?" Sonic asked, getting mischievous. "We have all afternoon to duck it out, buddy-boy."
"I'm not your buddy, and don't forget it, smart alack. Now put them up! I didn't come here to sniff them flowers!"
"That's too bad," Silver smirked.
"You're missing out," Sonic added. "But, if you want to be clobbered by us.."
That only got Knuckles angrier. "SHUT UP!" He yelled. "Give me the emeralds you stole, or else!..."
"Oh. Your brain's slower than your feet!" Sonic smirked. Silver laughed.
Knuckles got so mad, he got into a fighting stance. Sonic tossed his flower away and Knuckles dodged at them. Punch after punch, though, Knuckles couldn't get to Sonic and Silver.
Sonic gave Knuckles a disappointing look.
They continued to fight. Silver and Sonic vs. Knuckles. They kept missing each other, however. They sped through a forest and continued to race each other up the mountain. The two hedgehogs ran up a tall tree, and they smirked and looked toward the view ahead of them.
"Nice view!" Sonic smirked, and Silver chuckled. They nearly fell off the tree, though, for Knuckles, having strong muscles, began to toss the tree forward, causing the hedgehogs to fall and land flat on their feet. Knuckles began doing dominoes with the rest of the trees, trying to crush the hedgehogs. They continue to taunt Knuckles, and Knuckles was so angry, he was thrashing around.
A spinning dash from Sonic and a kick from Silver caused them to land in the river. Silver didn't mind being wet, he just got out easily. Sonic, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. He screamed as he landed in the water.
"SOMEONE HELP ME!" He continued to wail around until he noticed something. The pool wasn't deep!
"It's lucky I fell in the kiddy pool." He smirked. Silver crossed his arms and laughed at Sonic's joke.
"Let's end this now!" Knuckles growled.
"Go Knuckles!" Eggman was cheering. "Don't let them keep us here! Our only hope is to trounce those tyrants!"
"Sonic..." Penny whined, her eyes wide.
"Do they have to fight now?" Amy asked. "Can they free us first?"
Tails suddenly pipped up. "There."
They turned around in surprise.
"How..?" Penny muttered.
"I used my screwdriver." Tails said nervously.
"You're pretty handy, aren't you?" Chris asked.
Tails smiled. "Now I just have to figure out how this thing is wired,"
Amy snarled, really impatient. "We don't have time for this, Tails!" She complained. She raised her hammer, and through protests, she smashed the machine.
They screamed as it crashed to the ground. Smoke flew from the machine as it crashed. Hearing the sound, Sonic and Silver turned around to see smoke coming from a nearby rock on the far side of the lake. Knuckles took his moment to punch Sonic and Silver, and they were forced in the air by the powerful blow.
From their view in the air, they saw a familiar shape in the air by the explosion. Eggman was in his mobile, chanting, "GO GET THEM, KNUCKLES!!"
Sonic frowned. "Eggman!"
Sonic and Silver landed on the ground and zoomed over to the scene.
"GET BACK HERE!" Knuckles yelled angrily. He dashed after the hedgehogs. "You QUITTERS!"
"We'll settle this later." Sonic said. "Agreed." Silver nodded.
...........................................................................................................................
In the robot, they were finally free. Well, almost. Amy had managed to get a crack in the window for damaging the computer of the robot, but they were still trapped.
"Hey! Get us down from here!" Amy cried.
"Look what you've done!" Eggman growled at Amy. "You've wrecked my robot, and it isn't even insured!"
Something blue and silver swept around the robot, smashing its legs. Soon, the robot, with its prisoners inside, fell to the ground, screaming.
Their rescuers skidded to a stop in front of them. "Hey, what's up?" Sonic smiled.
"Are you guys ok?" Silver asked.
"Sonic! Silver!" Penny smiled happily.
"Perfect timing." Blaze grinned.
"It's not over, Sonic and Silver! My robot may be down, but it certainly isn't out!" Eggman growled angrily.
Penny and the others shrieked as the robot moved himself to his feet. It suddenly started to shoot lasers at Sonic and Silver.
"SONIC, SILVER, LOOK OUT!" Penny cried.
The hedgehogs heard her shout, and dodged out of the way as the lasers started attacking them. To Penny's surprise, Knuckles dashed up and smashed the lasers' holder on the robot.
"This is a battle between Sonic, Silver, and me!" Knuckles crowded. "I'll fight my way."
"Fight your way?!" Eggman snarled angrily. "If you're going to insist on fighting a clean fight, then I'm going to start playing dirty."
He snapped his fingers, and Penny felt wobbling around her. She clung to Chris and the two siblings screamed along with Tails, Blaze, and Amy as the robot landed on the other side of the lake.
"So, now we'll have to go to plan B." Eggman smirked. "Bring me that Chaos Emerald, or you'll never see your friends again!"
"Sonic..." Penny muttered fearfully.
"What's this?" Knuckles growled. "Eggman swore to me that he wanted to live in peace."
"He sure is tricky, isn't he?" Sonic smirked.
"That swindler, he lied!" Knuckles growled.
"You're catching on, pal." Silver smiled. "He's got you wrapped around his finger."
"Sonic!" Eggman turned to the blue hedgehog. Silver glared at Eggman.
"We all know that your weak spot is water, so I stuck your friends and your girlfriend over there where you can't save them without treading H2O." Eggman paused and looked at Silver. "Well, I guess he could."
"Yeah, that's what you think." Sonic smirked as he and Silver ran across the lake to the other side. They sped right past the robot, causing their friends to scream once again and fall to the ground.
"Show off." Eggman growled.
Sonic grabbed Penny's hand and pulled her out. Silver did the same to Chris. "Are you ok?" Sonic asked Penny worriedly, checking his young friend for injuries.
"Thanks, Sonic." Penny smiled.
Sonic turned to the others, and Amy jumped right onto him, crying. "I just knew you'd come and save me!" She cried.
Penny frowned in annoyance.
"Take it easy, Amy." Sonic said.
The machine started to wobble. Sonic ran over and grabbed Penny, and Silver grabbed Amy. Blaze, Tails and Chris followed, screaming.
"I'm not calling it quits yet!" Eggman sneered. "You only had a preview of this robot's power! You and your friends, are through!"
Penny shrieked as the lasers shot around them, clinging to Sonic.
"No!" Amy cried as well.
Knuckles jumped in front of them. "I'll take care of Eggman," he volunteered.
"Be our guest." Silver said.
The group watched as Knuckles fought his way up the robot, smashing it. He made his way up to Eggman, yelling,
"YOU. LIAR!"
He punched Eggman into the sky, and landed on top of the robot. He smashed it, causing it to crack and explode.
"KNUCKLES!" Penny screamed. Without thinking, the girl dashed from the rock. "Penny! NO!" Sonic yelled, and dashed after her.
Penny lunged forward and grabbed Knuckles' wrist, but strained when she realized how strong he was, and how weak she was. Knuckles looked up in surprise to see the young girl. Before Penny could lose her grip on the tree, Sonic grabbed her in his arms. She clung to him, and Sonic grabbed Knuckle's hand. The trio held on for dear life until it was over.
When it was over, they let go of each other and the tree and fell to the ground.
"Don't do that again!" Sonic scolded, shaking Penny's shoulders. "You could've gotten yourself killed! AGAIN!"
Penny stuttered nervously, a little scared on how mad Sonic was. Thankfully, Knuckles stepped in and helped her out. "She did me a save," Knuckles said. He looked up at Penny and took her hand. "Thank you."
Penny smiled. "I wanted to thank you, for saving me from Missile Wrist." She explained. "That's why I did it."
..................................................................................................................
"Penny..." Blaze whispered, a tear streaming down her cheek.
To their relief, they jumped down in front of them.
"PENNY!" Chris, Amy, Tails, Blaze, and Silver tackled the girl in hugs.
Sonic, Silver, and Knuckles stared at each other for a long time. Soon, they smiled. Amy jumped in and hugged Sonic.
"Knuckles, Silver, Penny, and I had it all under control." Sonic said.
Penny looked at him in surprise. "Me?"
"Sure!" Sonic smiled. "You did great today!"
Penny smiled back.
Knuckles smirked, and walked off.
"Hu? Knuckles!" Penny reached out to the red echidna.
Amy ran after Knuckles.
"I bet you want to apologize to Sonic and Silver for believing the lies the man told you." Amy began. "And you probably want to say thank you to Penny for risking her life to save you. And you probably want to thank Sonic and Silver, too, only you're too proud."
Knuckles looked angrily at Amy. "ZIP IT!"
Knuckles turned back to them, though, and walked off. "Later."