It was now the day after the retrieval of Sonic's emerald, and the two were at Uncle Mimic's place awaiting his presence so that Sonic could tell him the plan on how he wants to try to get back home. At this time, Shantae's uncle was showering. Sonic sat at a desk with random writings of contraptions and whatnot, and Shantae just loitered around nearby. Eventually Sonic grew bored and started stretch-flinging the tail of Shantae's hair at papers for entertainment.
"Hey, cut it out!" Shantae said, now slightly annoyed after he flung her hair a fifth time. "I'm sorry!" Sonic giggled, "It's just so fun to watch hair behave like a rubber band!" Shantae pulled her hair away. Shantae's uncle then emerged. "OK, Shantae and company," he announced, "Now what exactly is it that you wish to discuss?" Sonic waved. "Yes, hello there... Uncle..?" Sonic greeted. He was rather surprised at the sight of the man. In his sight he looked just like his own uncle Chuck from back home!
Sonic turned to Shantae. "Uh, hey," Sonic whispered, "this may sound kind of crazy, but...this guy looks just like my uncle, but tall." "No way," Shantae giggled, "really?" "Now, now," Uncle Mimic interjected, "less fooling around, more getting to business matters. What do you need to be made?" "Oh, right," Sonic said, "I've got this here emerald that emits energy. Can you craft a chamber that can hold this emerald and highlight the point where it's most concentrated at?"
Shantae's uncle thought for a moment, squinting at the emerald to get an idea of its dimensions. "I'll see what I can do." He answered. He then searched and found a secure metal safe he could keep the gem inside of while he studied the properties of it, and furthermore how to create what Sonic needs made in order to find his way back home.
While he was busy doing that, Shantae was chatting with Sonic about the practicalities of using the emerald to find his way back home. "Alright now Sonic," she asked the hedgehog, "so about the plan; how will this emerald get you home?" Sonic nodded. "Tails used to talk to me about how the emeralds are like magnets to each other." He told her, "Knowing that, if we can find a way to use this emerald like a compass, it just may lead to the Special Zone where the emeralds come from, and from there I can finally get back home!" Shantae nodded thoughtfully. "Hmm. Yeah that might actually work!" She realized.
Shantae went to the nearby garbage can to tear off and discard the bandage that was covering her arm. "Your arm healed now?" Sonic asked. "Like magic." Shantae answered. Sonic gave a thumb's up. "So about that friend of yours, Tails," Shantae asked, "what's he like?" "Like how he looks?" Sonic asked. "He's a two-tailed fox, a little shorter than me." Shantae then transformed into just that, a fox with two tails, except in a palette similar to her own. "Like this?" Shantae asked in the new shape. Sonic looked at the new form with unease on his face. "No.., not like that," he said, "he's like me, with big eyes, two arms, wears gloves, and a pair of sneakers!"
The next minutes that followed consisted of Shantae gradually tweaking the form to get closer and closer to the one Sonic was describing. "If only I had something that could let you see what I see." Sonic pondered. And then a thought struck him. "Wait just there Shantae, I need to get the emerald." He told her. And just like that Sonic dashed back to the work desk where the emerald was, got it out and brought it over in three seconds flat.
"Gee, no wonder they call you the fastest thing alive, huh?" Shantae remarked, watching him get the emerald so quick. "OK Shantae," Sonic told her while holding the emerald, "rest your hand on the top of the emerald." Shantae put her palm on the jewel. "Now close your eyes." Sonic said. "If a fox-looking guy pops up in your head, try your best to transform into him. Got it?" Shantae nodded. Sonic thought about Tails, and his size in reference to the ring he wore on his wrist to keep in contact with Sonic. And in just about a minute or so a bright flash burst from between the two of them and the emerald, and it finally happened.
"Haha! Bingo!" Sonic shouted when he opened his eyes again, "You look like my little buddy Tails!" Shantae slowly opened her eyes and looked at her new transformation, taking in the new look. "Hey, it worked!" She remarked, "How'd you know to do that?!" Sonic looked at the jewel and back to Shantae. "I think that may have been Chaos Control you just experienced. I knew to try that because when I used the Chaos Emeralds in the past, they could turn thoughts into power, if in the right hands."
Shantae was taken aback at the realization of what she had just witnessed. With eyes, and jaw wide open, she was in shock of this supernatural phenomenon so greatly that she no longer held her Tails form and fell out of it, back to her normal self.
"Hey! Shantae!" Sonic called to her, now stumbled on the floor, "You okay? Also, you can still do that form, right?" Shantae nodded, and held out her hand so Sonic could pull her off of the floor. It was now that Shantae's uncle came to the two of them requesting for the emerald back. Sonic returned it, and he along with Shantae followed back to see how the progress was on the compass.
"This just may be it!" Uncle Mimic said, "If the emerald's power output acts in the same way that a high voltage electrical charge mounted in the central cavity does, this square chamber just may be the sort of three-dimensional compass you're in need of!" Sonic slowly nodded, trying to give the impression that he knew what the guy was talking about. Then the test began; the test to see if the emerald would act as needed.
"Alright everybody, do we all have our eye gear on?" Shantae's uncle asked. He and Shantae did, but Sonic didn't. He advised Sonic to turn around so the flash of the device wouldn't burn out his retinas. The cube then flashed ever so brightly as it did briefly, and after a momentary pause started to glow on one of its sides just slightly towards a corner of the box.
"Yes!" The mechanic cheered, "I knew it would work!" Sonic and Shantae's cheers followed. "So where is it pointing? Like, what direction?" Sonic asked. Uncle Mimic squinted at the top to see the indentures marking the direction of the light. "It looks to be pointed to the northeast. If that's where you need to go to make it back home, I suggest you two take this here marvelous gadget and bring it with you off to where its light is pointing. Soon enough it will lead you to where you once came, maybe."
"Gee, thanks, doc!" Sonic said. "So," Sonic asked Shantae, "know how we'll lug this thing over to who knows where it's pointing?" Shantae thought for a moment. "There's a ship rental place on the coast south of town... But I think I've only got enough money to take out a motorboat for a day or two with their rates." Sonic laughed. "That's more than enough time needed when you've got someone with a pair of legs as powerful as a rocket engine!" Shantae laughed confusedly. "I don't get it." She replied. Sonic rolled his eyes. "What I'm saying is when the thing runs outta fuel I can just spin my legs at the rear of it like a supersonic turbine to get us to where we gotta go."
Shantae now realized what he was talking about, and now they were readying for their sail on the high seas toward what was hopefully going to be Sonic's return to home, at last. But little to their suspicion, Risky had planned for if they were to take a boat from the coast of Scuttle Town to elsewhere, and in the off chance of the happening had a telegram Tinkerbat hide amongst the common folk working at the docks so they could alert her of the sighting of the two and their projected whereabouts.
This alone was all the more better for the Queen and all the more worse for Sonic and Shantae, for if Risky knew even a general sense of where they were headed it was only a matter of time before she had them captured, and the emerald along with. So it was that the two had to make haste in their quest if they were to be successful.
"I've got the handlebar Shantae, you bringing the compass?" Sonic asked, already sitting in the boat she rented. "Yeah," Shantae panted, pushing it across the pier, "coming, coming. Phew!" After much struggle, she then laid the large cubical compass in the middle of the boat. "You sure you know... how to drive this thing?" Shantae asked, catching her breath. "Well I've got a plane back at home I can fly with ease, what's there much different to learn with this thing?" Sonic asked. Shantae nodded her head in disagreement. "You're gonna have a bad time, dude." She told him.
Sonic eventually figured out how to turn the boat on, and onward had as uneasy a time as expected. Fidgeting with knobs and levers, tossing and turning every other which way the waves threw them, throttling the engine until Shantae yelled to him to let her take control. And so they switched duties, with Sonic keeping an eye on the direction of the compass-box, and Shantae driving the motorboat out in the water.
It was at this point that Risky's reconnaissance Tinkerbats at various hideouts along the sailing route they were on had telegraphed the general direction the duo appeared to be headed in, and when word would have finally reached Her Majesty that night, she would've had already assembled a group of her men best skilled in capturing hostages to come along on her ship in order to arrange a kidnapping of Sonic or Shantae, whom she believe to be the key to regaining the elusive Chaos Emerald she still wants back.
So the two were now out on the sea headed for the northeast to which the compass was pointing, and as the day grew older they started to feel weary as well. "Ah..." Sonic moaned, "Food.., water.., atmosphere..!" he cried out, as the high noon sun beating down on his blue dome and burning life preserver started to get to him.
Shantae sighed. "Fine. Let me get the lunch out." She said as she slowed the boat down and laid her hand onto her lamp. Eventually a cube of ethereal matter started flowing from the lamp and forming onto the deck of the boat, and just as soon the matter materialized into a cooler full of pre-cooked smoked hams, glass bottles of chilled water and plastic containers of baked beans and pulled pork sandwiches.
Sonic opened the container as soon as he could muster the strength to and was grateful as ever for the delivery. "Finally..." He said, smiling and reaching for the food. "Hey, don't forget me, pass some over!" Shantae requested. Sonic nodded, and pushed the container to her after getting out one of each item for himself. "And keep that big eye of yours on the compass." She asked.
"Gee, if this is what you folk pack in your lunch boxes," Sonic said, whilst chewing and swallowing a bite of food, "I can't even begin to imagine what kind of dinner feasts rich people of this world eat!" Shantae nodded, smiling. "Trust me Sonic," She told him, "these things come a dime a dozen compared to something like a Gator Steak."
Sonic finished his lunch, which gave him a set of open arms to take control of the boat while Shantae ate hers over at the compass. And it was at this point that Risky's eye in the sky at the crow's nest of her ship had finally caught glimpse of their target and their trajectory through the mounted telescope. From the looks of it, they seemed to be headed somewhere around Tan-Line Island, so the Queen set sail to a secret outpost of her own off a less populous coast of the locale in order for herself and the crew to get on some fit camouflage and proper equipment for the stakeout.
Meanwhile, Sonic and Shantae were now discussing the use of their newly acquired power they discovered back at Mimic's lab. "Hey Shantae," Sonic asked, "I don't suppose you wouldn't mind doing the Tails form again, would you?" Shantae thought. "You mean this one, right?" she asked after transforming into the form again. "Yeah, yeah," Sonic replied, looking at her and then back to the bow, "when you're in that form, you should be able to spin your tails around like a propeller!"
Shantae stood to up in order to try. The first few times she kept getting her tails twisted together, but after a while she finally nailed it and was able to keep a steady spin. "Hey," Shantae said, "I think I'm getting the hang of it!" Sonic clapped for a second. "Yeah, sweet! Now you could try using that move whenever we get stuck in a ditch or-" and just then Sonic was interrupted by the sound of the now empty tank of the boat. "..Or to... propel this thing to dry land..?" Sonic asked nervously.
Shantae was upset at their now problematic situation. But nonetheless she went to the rear of the boat and spun her tails fast enough to get it moving at a well enough rate, albeit slower than the motor before. And it wasn't long after that she eventually got worn out from it, and hit the deck back in normal form out of exhaust.
"Hey..," Shantae panted, "Didn't you say...you've got legs...like a rocket engine..?" "So?" Sonic asked, with arms behind his head, sunglasses on his face and legs kicked up on the dashboard. "Well in that case..." Shantae demanded, "Get them over here... And finish the job!" "Oh, alright..!" Sonic sighed, stirring out of his seat and walking to the back of the ship. He then got out of the boat and hung onto the rear with legs in the water and swimming vest keeping him afloat, and began running his feet in the water so fast that, from a distance you'd swear that they had just not only refueled their tank, but attached another propeller to the engine!
The sudden burst of speed scared poor Shantae lying on the deck, and she had to hold onto the quarter-ton compass she pushed to the front to counterbalance Sonic's speed. "Slow it down, Sonic!!!" Shantae cried, "I see land!!!" Sonic's ears pricked up. "Wait, what?! There's an ice cream man?! Shoot, better stop moving!!!" He shouted. And so he did just that; and just in time, too. If he'd not stopped any sooner, he would've hit a palm tree and Shantae would've lost her security deposit on the boat. But gladly that wasn't the case. Instead they just grazed across the coastline of none other than Tan-Line Island.
Shantae was curled in a ball around the compass on the floor of the boat with arms over her head when they hit the sand, and checked her vital signs to make sure the crash didn't kill her. As soon as she knew she was still alive and well she let out a sigh of relief, and crawled out of the vehicle relatively unharmed.
"Thank goodness we're still alive." She told Sonic, "And it looks like from how bright the compass is, we're almost there." Sonic was raising his hand out from the sand dune he drove his heels into, and Shantae pulled out the rest of him.
"Hey." Shantae told Sonic, "I'm sorry about being so rude to you today. I just couldn't, with all the pressure of having to do all of this with you." Sonic nodded a no. "No need to apologize..." the hedgehog said, "Being buried in the sand had me realize I should've been a bit more responsible, and less lazy and entitled." Shantae had a sad look on her face. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Sonic. From here on out, how about we go about this as less of a "you or me" operation, and more of an "us" job?"
Sonic's grumpy frown then slowly grew into a sincere smile. "Good idea." He eventually said. And then the two of them came back to the boat lying in the sand, got their things out and headed onward, both carrying the compass leading them to their soon to be met destination.
As for Risky's crew, they had come ashore a good hour or so ahead of their adversaries. When there, Her Majesty directed the leaders of her groups to bring one of a set of hunting scopes stowed aboard the ship amongst their hunting parties in order to keep an eye on the whereabouts of Sonic and Shantae, therefore when they've found the two whilst creeping about, camouflaged in the dunes, forest or palace, they could execute a coordinated capture of one or both of them and make whichever one of them who has the gem give it to Risky.
Meanwhile, Sonic and Shantae were on their way inland to a vast stretch of sandy desert that the compass was pointing towards. To carry the compass easier, Shantae transformed into her elephant form with the compass on her back, and Sonic climbed atop to watch for the direction of the glow.
"Ah geez, this heat," Sonic said, "This place is scorching! You don't suppose you have anything for shade in that lamp of yours?" Shantae thought for a moment. "Maybe not shade, but I've got this fan I can wave." She said, using her trunk to magically pull it out from her lamp slung around her neck. She then proceeded to wave it to cool Sonic and her down.
"This place brings back bad memories." Sonic said. "What kind?" Shantae asked. "Memories of when I trudged through Sandopolis back when Eggman made another giant satellite." Shantae nodded. "I can relate." She said, "I once got kidnapped here back when my magic got stolen." Sonic was now lying on his stomach.
"If I had one..." Sonic gasped, "...I could cook an egg... on the top of the compass." Shantae stuck her trunk into the lamp. "Knock yourself out, bud." She said as she pulled a monster egg out and gave it to Sonic. He then proceeded to pick the egg off of his back quills, cracked it on the compass' corner using the same hand, poured it onto the compass and dropped the shell as his arm fell back down.
As expected, the egg began to sizzle when it hit the scorching metal. As soon as Shantae could smell that it was done, she took it with her trunk and stuffed it into her mouth. "Shantae..!" Sonic moaned. "Hey, it was my egg." Shantae said. "No, not that..," Sonic said, "you're going the wrong way... Go left." Shantae turned her eyes and saw some sign of a dry jungle just a short while off from where they were at, and proceeded heading leftward.
It was at this point that dusk had started to fall, and thankfully the temperature, too. Shantae had long since put away her fan seeing as they would get some shade from the trees over in the jungle they were headed to. But little to their knowledge they were also headed for danger too, for the Queen's followers were creeping about in the thick of the jungle woods just ahead.
Now in the dense green marsh, Shantae told Sonic to hold onto a handle of the compass while she held the other and transformed back into her normal self. This way both of them could get between the bushes, grasses and tight trees of the jungle as they followed the direction of the glow on the box into the evening hours.
The glow of which did prove itself to be useful, too; at points within the tropical forest in which one of them may have had their foot stuck, had to fight off a night crawling predator, or were obstructed by any other means, they could use it to see what exactly was inconveniencing them and solve the issue. But little to their suspicion, this feature of their tool would come to be as much a curse as a blessing, for the Queen's recon Tinkerbats crawling in the large herbs and spying from the high trees would find this light to be a beacon guiding them to the prey they've been on the hunt for all day.
When a telegram from the party that had first pinpointed the two's location had finally reached Risky Boots, she along with her gang headed to the area, taking along with them a proper trap and a telescope to keep an eye out for the luminescent box they were told would lead them to the emerald.
After scouring much of the island, the parties had finally come together to meet at an oasis where one group would idle beneath the waters in order to catch sight of if the two would separate or the emerald was to be seen, in which case they would pull the lilies floating in the pond to signal Risky and her group to launch the trap, in the hope she catches the jewel along with a magical, or supernatural victim.
And unluckily enough, this oasis was just where the way back home for Sonic just so happened to be. "Huh..." Sonic murmured, drowsy from sleeplessness, "This looks like a Chao garden..." Shantae looked down with now widening to see the compass glow the brightest she's seen yet. "Look at it, Sonic!" She said in a hoarse whisper, "The compass!" Sonic turned his head right to see Shantae's lashes glisten like butterflies, and down to a burning glow of greenish white illuminating from the box and was startled momentarily. "We're finally here!" Sonic said, spreading his arms out, "but where's the starpost..?" Sonic looked around curiously, and nudged the compass in the direction he wanted to check at to alarm Shantae to follow.
They then walked around the sand, toward each and every tree or bush to see if the compass would glow any more or less brighter as to indicate their distance from the post that would be Sonic's way back home. Soon enough they found the compass glowing its brightest at the palm grown front and center of the oasis, and then Sonic investigated it to understand what it really was.
"Hmm..." Sonic hummed, rubbing his chin, "If this is what the emerald is pointing to... this thing may not even be a tree at all." Shantae looked at the plant thoughtfully. "Do you think this might be something from your world, hence why the compass led us to it?" She asked. Sonic started knocking the back of his hand on the roots of the tree and did the same up the trunk, all the while listening to its sound.
Soon he heard a sound that made his ear prick up; the sound of a hollow chamber on the inside of the tree. "Hey, I know what this is!" He said excitedly, "This is a starpost, just like back home! Whoever put this one here just made it look like a palm tree!" Shantae had a look of surprise and joy on her face. "Oh, sweet," Shantae said, "now how will this thing get you back home?" Sonic looked and felt over the tree until he found a loose chunk of bark to tear off to reveal the metal body of the starpost.
"This is how." Sonic said, pulling open a hatch on the front of the starpost revealing the same small, shiny cavity on the inside of the post Risky found. "Now where are my rings..?" Sonic asked. "Aw shoot, that's right! They're back in my world!" He said, rubbing his eyes. "What's the matter, Sonic?" Shantae asked him. "These things run on like, over 3 pounds of gold a trip, and I left my rings back at home!" Sonic moaned. "Don't worry, bud," Shantae assured him sincerely, "I've got some on me you can use!"
She then took off her headband and used it to comb out her hair, which spilled out roughly a dozen gold coins for Sonic to use. Sonic poured them into the chamber. "Still not heavy enough," Sonic said, nodding disagreeably at the chamber of glowing coins. "Why don't you pass that headband too? That's gotta be weighing on your melon." He asked, holding his hand out while reading the scale's number. Shantae was holding her hair up with one hand and the headband in the other. "Uh... I kinda need this thing." She answered.
"Well, what other gold you've got on we can use?" Sonic asked irritably. Shantae pulled off her cuffs. "Try these." She asked. Sonic put them into the chamber and the scale weighed to the 40's in ounces... But it still came out just an ounce short.
"Uh... You got just one more ounce you could pass..?" Sonic asked nervously. "Oh, come on!" Shantae cried, "I don't want to get rid of anything else!" Sonic exhaled loudly. "Look, maybe just those earrings will do, why don't you pass those?" He begged. Shantae looked upon the hedgehog with pity, knowing this may be his only way back from whence he came.
"Oh, all right." Shantae eventually said, looking down and taking off her earrings for him to use. She then handed them to him and Sonic put them into the glowing chamber. And just as hoped for, the post opened up a ring of stars floating in a circle overhead, ready to absorb whoever jumped into it.
"Well," Sonic said, "I guess this is where we part ways. Thanks for everything!" Shantae saluted and handed him his emerald from the compass. "Heh. No chance I'll ever forget you, no matter what world you're in!" She replied. "Gee, really?" Sonic asked, "That's real sw-" "No, seriously," Shantae interjected, "you owe me new cuffs and the fee on losing that rental boat back on the beach if you ever end up here again."
Sonic broke a sweat and his pupils dilated. "Well then. See ya, soul sister!" Sonic said as he jumped into the star ring above. "Catch ya on the flip side, brother from another mother!" Shantae called back. And all's well that ends well for the dynamic duo that was Shantae and The Blue Blur.
And just like that Sonic was back in the Special Zone, now on the path leading him back to his own world. This stage was not one that gave emeralds, but rather the chance at huge payouts of rings. If the one traveling through this tube makes it to the end within a set time, they could get a good load of them. And it was just that certain objective Sonic set his mind to as soon as he found himself in the Zone.
"Aha," Sonic said, running through the orb-filled strip of ever changing track, "here's where I gotta be! The one with the bonus rings!" And so he began his speeding through the path snagging the spheres for the extra boost and steering clear of the bombs that could slow him down. "Woo, yeah!" Sonic exclaimed, "Love these ones!" But just then the pipe sloped downward and Sonic's speed dropped somewhat as he stuck to the ceiling.
"Ah, shoot!" Sonic muttered, "Not getting speed up here, no orbs up on this part of the track!" and so he gravitated back down to where the spheres were to add to his boost. And not a moment too late, either; it was now the part of the stage where the Chao come riding in on a hot air balloon, dropping orbs along the way. And so Sonic went about his way dashing down the middle of the path, grabbing what spheres fell in his way.
He grabbed the reds ones with the stars to start, but got thrown off from the toss out of the bomb. Luckily it didn't slow him down too bad, because he was just fast enough to catch back up and grab the blue orb just before the Chao left. And it was then and there his run had come to a finish, where he reached the stopped off part of the tube to vacuum him up and back into his world after tallying his time.
"All right, now let's see how good I did!" Sonic anticipated. Overhead he could see numbers just outside of the transparent tube totaling up his bonus. When this process had finished the tally looked as so.
STAGE CLEARED
ORBS: 358
TIME: 2:04:24
HITS: 4
|OUTPUT|
YOU WON 162 RINGS
Sonic raised his fist and nodded triumphantly. "Nice! That's some gold in my wallet!" he exclaimed. And soon enough he found every last bit of being in sight fading away into white light, and he briefly woke up in a cold sweat on top of his sleeping mat and bag, next to the electricity socket at the camp spot. Sonic tossed and turned a bit in his sleeping spot, trying to get comfy again.
"No..," Sonic sleepily moaned, "...I wanna play again..." and he eventually felt his way back into his sleeping bag and got back into a cozy feel. "Ouch..." Sonic said, pulling something round but sharp out from under his back, "...Stay there... You money clam..." He then shoved it to the bottom of his sleeping bag. And in the short minutes following he was fast asleep again.