Few locals caught sight or sound of the incident, and at scene they called for the nearest coast guard or medical services. Eventually a medic arrived with a stretcher and was assisted by the town's half-genie Shantae in getting the blue guy to a place where he could be taken care of.
"...Tech mu hum," Sonic mumbled, "...Sun yaw on drum..." turning his head left and right, possibly seeing light from under his eyes in his daze of drowsiness. "Oh, just hang in there, spiny guy," Shantae sighed worriedly, "we're almost there. Just stay calm!" Her tone was hopeful, and thankfully soothed him. And soon enough they were in town at the medical center where he was set on a raised bed, given an ice pack for his head and was accompanied by the heroine while the staff kept his vital signs in check.
"Oh my," sighed Sonic, now waking, "Where did I end up now..?" Shantae was relieved at the sound of him finally speaking and knowing she wasn't too late to save him. "Good morning, blue stranger," Shantae said, "you ended up landing here in Scuttle Town. Currently you're in the town medical center, being treated for your head injury." "Huh..?" Sonic said, looking around and taking in what had happened, where he was lying and the nurse treating him.
"Who are you?" Sonic asked. "I'm Shantae," she answered, "the town's genie – er, half-genie and one of the people who-" "Oh great, genies again." Sonic interrupted with a roll of his eyes. "Look, if you meet some djinn around here looking for a guy named Sonic; forget we ever interacted, alright?" Shantae was confused. "Umm... I don't know who that is." She admitted. "Wow, really?" Sonic remarked. "Well then, I guess I'm a little safe."
"Who are you?" Shantae asked. "I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog." He answered. "Has the patient told you anything he needs at the moment, half-genie?" the nurse asked Shantae. "Well, I could use a little something to pep me up." Sonic said, "Know somewhere I could get some caffeine in me?" Shantae thought. "Yeah, I know a shop. Is that okay now that he's well?" she asked, now turned to the nurse.
The nurse checked in with the staff and front desk, and eventually they allowed Sonic to be discharged from the room. Following right after the two's departure from the medical center was a trip to the local café for refreshment and conversation on the matter of Sonic's abrupt appearance. "So," Said Sonic, "if you're a half-genie, but you're the town genie, does that mean you can only work half-time?" "Yep..." Shantae replied, "It's a tough gig, my dude." The two were now walking into the café to order.
"Hello, customer...and Shantae," Greeted Bolo at the counter, "What'll you two be ordering today?" Sonic let Shantae order first while he read the menu. "I'll have my usual, just to keep from taking awhile." Shantae ordered. "Okay then. And you there?" Bolo asked, addressing Sonic. "Yeah, I'll have me a small, medium house blend with cane sugar and vanilla almond milk, two spoonfuls each." Sonic ordered. "Advanced taste" Bolo muttered under his breath while writing the order. Shantae paid for their order and took a receipt with their number to a table beside a window.
"Hey," Sonic asked, "so about that guy, is he normally a fox or am I just seeing things?" "Oh, you mean Bolo?" Shantae said. "No. He's human." Sonic nodded unhappily. "Man, either I hit my head a bit too hard or something to do with my missing emerald is causing this."
"Missing emerald..?" Shantae asked, slightly tilting her head. "Yeah, that's right." Sonic said aggressively, "The reason I ended up here is because I was chasing the crook that took my emerald in the Special Zone, and the portal taking them out of there led me here!" "Hmm..." Shantae thought. They then heard the call for their order number and went to get it.
Shantae took a sip of tea when back at the table. "So that's how you ended up here?" She asked, "But what was that about seeing things?" "Oh, how the cashier looks?" Sonic asked, "Just hear me out; that stuff is normal whenever I end up somewhere I didn't come from." Oddly enough this statement was true. In the past when Sonic found himself inserted within worlds he believed to be fantasy, he found he was mentally affected in a way that the first person he befriends leaves an impression within his mind that makes him view the folk familiar to his new ally in an appearance akin to that of friends from his own world.
"Now what did the thief look like?" Shantae asked slowly, leaning in with her hands clenched together on the table and her eyes tight on Sonic's own. "Hmm..." Sonic pondered, "Well, they wore a bandana, had some gear on a belt, I think they looked sort of lavender-"
"AHA!" Shantae shouted, snapping her fingers into a point at Sonic, "that sea bound scumbag is at it again!" Sonic was scooted a way's back into his chair. "Wh-Who..?" Sonic nervously asked. Shantae looked to her rather ignorant friend in confusion. "Huh? Oh, sorry there," She said, "You see now, there's this supposed "Pirate Queen" from here in my world, and her name is Risky Boots. Or at least, that's what I know her by." Sonic thought to remember it. "Okay. So what's it going to take to get my emerald back from her?" Sonic asked.
The two sipped their drinks of tea and coffee and pondered the challenge that was now before them. "What direction did you see her go while you fell?" Shantae asked Sonic. "Eh, might have been somewhere north, quite a way's off from town." Sonic answered. "That sounds like Mermaid Falls." Shantae said, "So how about looking there for a lead?" She asked, while finishing her tea.
"Well..." Sonic said, finishing his coffee, "It wouldn't be too much a hassle if we can get there easy." "All right then," Shantae said, "I know a certain someone who can fly us there." "Flying friend, huh?" Sonic wondered, "That makes me think of what my bud Tails is doing now."
Speaking of whom, cutting back to Tails, we'd find that he's still doing just as he was when we were last with him. Still on the hunt for that fabled statue he still believes to be somewhere in those woods. Though, he is quite upset at the sudden absence of Sonic, believing him to have run off to find something else to do instead of statue hunt with him.
Sonic followed the half-genie to her humble abode where she packed up some tools she felt would be of use on their venture to the aquatic caverns. Sonic waited patiently by the nightstand as she ran, leapt and swung across snagging a handy array of items she dropped beside her lamp.
"We're really going to need all of this?" Sonic asked impatiently. "If this is Risky we're taking about, heck yeah!" Shantae answered. Sonic rolled his eyes. "And how exactly will we carry this stuff?" he questioned. "Like this." Shantae said, tapping a bottle of hair cream on the lid of her lamp, and just like magic the pile at her nightstand started to glow a translucent lavender aura and absorbed itself into it.
"Wow!" Sonic exclaimed, "That was awesome! How'd you do that?" "Magic, of course. I am half genie." Shantae explained, "But what'll I do with you?" she pondered, rubber her chin and looking on Sonic with a raised brow. "What?" Sonic asked, "Does your friend's ride not have room for three?" "Well.., no..." Shantae admitted. "Try this out," Sonic said, handing her his buddy ring, "Tails gave this to me so we could hear each other while in the woods. Maybe you can enchant it so it could hold me, and then you could wear it like a wristband!" Shantae nodded in agreement. "Hey, that's not a bad idea. Let's see if that'll do the trick." She said. Shantae then proceeded to do a little dance to make the ring slowly spin in the air and make the magic flow from the lamp and into the ring wherein it would bless it with abilities similar to that of the lamp.
And just like that the ring was made magical. Shantae clicked the button and Sonic was pulled right in. "Hey look at that, it worked!" Sonic shouted from the speaker, "Little dark in here, though." "Woo, yeah!" Shantae cheered, with a joyful jump with ring in hand. "Now, let's get a move on and find that gem!"
She then slid on the ring, slung the lamp over her shoulder using a strap and headed to Sky's place to hitch a ride with her off to Mermaid Falls. Meanwhile with Risky, she had already been investigating the mysterious properties of the supernatural stone of which she now held.
"My, what an incredible find!" Risky remarked, "But what did it mean by "power so bold" exactly?" This puzzled the Queen, and so she set forth to an archaeologist living in the high rain forests of the falls. Through the thick leaves and swinging vines, soon enough Risky had chopped her way deep enough to find a smooth dirt path, which eventually led to a gravel one, which later on finally crawled up to a walkway of stones that led to the door that was of the old hermit's humble abode.
"Well, he sure makes good use of his skills to hide in the middle of nowhere." Risky murmured. She then proceeded to use the crab shell door knocker hanging below the window. "Ahoy, my good sir," Risky shouted, "I request of your services in identifying an ancient artifact I have discovered!" Faintly she heard the man saying "Coming, coming...", and so she waited. After a few seconds the door was opened by a man just slightly shorter than her wearing a fishing cap and brown vest.
"Greetings, traveler," welcomed the professor, "However may I help you?" "This." Risky said, shoving a pouch containing the emerald in the face of the old man. "Oh! In a rush, are we?" he questioned. "Look, I just need me a little info on this 'ere jewel," She requested, "Give it a gander, will ya?" The professor checked his watch, and looked back to his guest. "I suppose now's a time I could," he said, "come, bring it to my study and I'll have a close look at it."
The Queen then stepped inside and followed the professor into the study of which had walls lined with bookcase after bookcase, tables with vast maps spread over and a wide, floor to ceiling window for adequate lighting.
The man led the way to an examination table in the middle of the side of the room where the window was. The table of which had an adjustable clamp for holding relics, and a long looking scope pointed at said clamp for close, clear examination. Risky handed the gem to him, and he put it in the clamp to look at it closer.
"Hmm..." The professor said, examining it, "My, oh my! Why, I haven't seen an emerald of this cut and size in decades!" "So," Risky asked, "You believe this be something of a special sort of gem?" The professor then proceeded to look through a shelf of books pertaining to ancient artifacts. "This just may be something incredible you have discovered!" He announced, whilst pulling from a shelf a book titled Encyclopedia of Gems & Jewels of Myth and Legend.
Risky looked excited. "Aighty, tell me, what's this thing?" She asked, while smiling and rubbing her hands. The man scanned through the book in search of the gem it fits the bill of, all the while murmuring all sorts of gemstone names. "...magic Lapis..?...nope...Crystal Gem of the Aether..?...right size, but wrong shape...Chaos Emerald...Chaos Emerald?!" The professor's eyes widened and he started shouting, "Yes! It is real! The legendary Chaos Emerald of myth! You've just about done it, you lucky lady, you! You have a Chaos Emerald!"
"Hohohohoho! Brilliant!" Risky shouted, "Now what do you know of this thing?" The man was staring at it through the looking scope again. "The lucky few over the millennia who wrote of their encounter with this legendary gemstone say it emits "infinite power"." Risky nodded understanding. "And how do they say this power is harnessed?" The professor slowly shook his head. "I'm afraid this power is one I've never seen controlled by an individual. All I know on the matter of using its power is this verse." The professor took a breath to recite it.
"The servers are the Seven Chaos.
Chaos is power. Power enriched by the heart.
The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos."
The Queen stood and closed her eyes, taking in the new information she has heard. "What to do with this newfound knowledge on this precious relic is your sole responsibility, lady," the man told Risky, nodding, "but if I had been the soul to have found it, I would wish only for it to be on display in the world's most secure of museums for all of future history to know the truth of its existence."
A crude smile grew upon Risky's face. "Using this sole jewel, do you believe it may be possible to seek the other Seven Chaos, thence unifying it?" the Queen asked him. The professor wiped his handkerchief on his now sweating forehead. "That... may be possible... O-Only assuming the way b-back to whence it came is one it seeks to g-get to."
Risky slipped a hush giggle under her breath and took the gem back. "Well. I thank you for lending me some time of yours to learn of this treasure," the Queen assured the man, "but I really must be off now. I've got to meet up with a certain Baron I know with knowledge of the technical sort. Farewell, my good sir!" and then she was off, back to set sail on the high seas in search of Techno Baron, in an attempt to engineer a machine that of which could utilize the emerald's power in any sort of way Risky could take advantage of, in order to achieve domination of all oceans the world over.
Meanwhile back with Shantae and the Blue Blur, they were already making progress on their way hot on the trail of Risky Boots. "Wow, cool!" Sonic said, running in arches and slant pillars across the Mediterranean metropolis, all the while carrying the lamp containing Shantae slung over his shoulder, "This place reminds me of the palace on Whale Island, back in my world!" "Gee, there's a place like this in your world?" Shantae remarked, peeping out of the lamp in mouse form.
"You know it!" Sonic said, "Or, at least I do. Maybe you could come see it some day!" Sonic eventually found his way into an abandoned factory a little way's off from the arcade of parkour from before. "Sheesh," Sonic said, plugging his nose, "Who stunk up this joint?" "Oh brother, I remember this place." Shantae said, nodding her head. "This one time some guy was kidnapping girls and making them into bootleg mermaids as filler for his monster food." "Good grief, that's morbid!" Sonic exclaimed as he grinded rails, hopped across conveyors and dodged claws in the old factory.
Shortly after the two found the way out, the coast was where they were headed next to confront the thief of Sonic's emerald. Sonic sped to and fro across the beach for a glimpse of a boat on the horizon, while Shantae flew as a bird in the air looking out to the waters for the mast of which she knew all too infamously.
"Sonic!" Shantae called, "I've caught eye of her ship! It looks to be headed westbound!" "Roger that," Sonic replied, "Click the ring when you're ready to tell me how we're doing this!" "On it!" she replied. Then after she glided over the sea of which Risky was sailing, observing and plotting out the confrontation.
Shantae took notice that Risky was sailing a route used by Techno Baron, and feared the worse that the Queen was already making an effort to use the emerald for her own devious misdeeds. Assuming she was headed for his place in search of aide in creating something to exploit the gem, there wasn't a minute to waste in the moment. Shantae flew back and landed on the coast where she then pulled off and clicked the ring which summoned Sonic.
"OK, so? What's the deal?" Sonic asked. "I think I know where she's going," Shantae said, "she looks to be en route to Techno Baron, someone who she'll probably use to abuse the emerald's power!" Sonic nodded. "I see. This is just like the kind of stuff that'd happen back in my world. But how are we getting onboard without looking suspicious?" Sonic asked. "I've got a plan," Shantae said with focus in her voice, "you keep the lamp and get back into the ring. I'll transform into a mermaid and wear the ring. I'll swim to the ship port side, and when the time is right, I'll pounce right onto that dirty deck, change back to normal, let you out and give that mother of evil a piece of my mind!"
"Alright, sounds like a plan!" Sonic said with a nod. Shantae returned the nod, and clicked the ring to reabsorb him. She then threw the ring high in the air, performed her mermaid transformation dance, and finished it with a jump hand-first into the airborne ring, and splashing into the water head-on into a swim at full speed headed for Risky's ship.
"Oh, damn it all!" Risky cursed aloud, "This here compass be broken, or that emerald power or whatever is throwin' it off!" she then looked through her telescope again, keeping sure she was still headed in the right direction to reach the Baron, seeing as their meeting point was just barely in view across the horizon as from what could be seen from the crow's nest.
And it was just then that Shantae, swimming just out of view under the waves, snuck up and sprung on deck out of the blue. She then transformed back into her normal form, threw out the ring for Sonic to come back out of, and made quick work of knocking out any of the Queen's crew that tried to attack them.
"Alright Risky Boots, your time with his emerald is up!" Shantae announced. "Yeah, that's right," Sonic said with a clenched fist, "now hand it over nice and easy so we can get off of this dirty ship sooner than later!" "Arrgh! I'll never hand it to a lad who insults a lass' ship!" Risky declared, now throwing down her hat and pulling her blade, "That be worse than insult'n they're own mother!" "No, wait," Sonic recalled, "I-I think it actually was your mother Shantae called dirty!" "Look out, Sonic!" Shantae called, jumping in the way of Risky charging with her scimitar just soon enough so Sonic could move out of range to not get hit, but not soon enough to go unscathed herself, ending up with a long cut in her arm.
"Oh no, Shantae!" Sonic exclaimed, "I'll show her what for!" he yelled, then charging Risky with a running kick to her upper back and a stomp in her lower spine. "Shantae, quick, captain's quarters while she's still pinned!" Sonic called while crushing the Queen against the deck. Shantae nodded, ran in and snatched the pouch on the desk that held the luminous green gem.
Risky had finally got a grip on Sonic's right ankle at this point, but she was all too late in stopping the duo in their incredible heist, for just then Sonic had been sucked back into the ring that Shantae had on whilst flying in the air. "NO!!!" Risky called in anger, "I'll hunt you down for that jewel, you half-blooded bastard, you!"
Shortly after Shantae dropped out of flight and into the water in mermaid form, and eventually washing up on shore back to normal form out of exhaust of her magic, scarred and all. With weakness in her breath she called Sonic's name, hoping to hear response from the ring to know which arm it was on. When she did hear, she immediately hit the button to get him and the lamp out from it.
"Sonic..." Shantae said, weakly but urgent as ever, seeing the hedgehog out again. "Oh no, you're injured!" Sonic said, "I'm sorry, really, I should've watched your back and-" "No, no... It's fine." Shantae told Sonic, "Just pass the lamp. I put first aid in it." Sonic nodded and pulled the lamp off his shoulder and passed it to her. Then Shantae with much effort put her bloodied hand covered in a mix of mercury-looking fluid and grains of sand from the beach onto the lamp, and then her hand phased into it for a moment before she pulled it back out with the aforementioned first aid kit.
She dropped it beside her, and right away Sonic took to the kit to open it and help her get a bandage over the wound on her arm. "Thanks, Sonic!" Shantae told him. "Hey it's the least I could do for you after helping me get this back!" Sonic said, showing the emerald. "Yeah, I guess you're right." Shantae agreed, nodding. "But where to now? Do you know the way home to your world?"
This question Sonic thought on a moment. "I may have an idea." Sonic eventually said, "But I need a good mechanic to do it. Know one?" Shantae thought for a second or two. "Well.., I think my uncle might be able to help." She said, "Let's ask him." And now they were headed back to Scuttle Town with emerald in tow, but Risky now on the hunt for them.