the only actual humans out of my fankids

Heather, Valentine and Victor!!

Val and Heather grew up incredibly close (bcs Mario and Luigi are very close) so they're essentially siblings. They also grew up with Niko and Nina (bcs Sonic is close with the brothers too (the hc that hes their third brother,,,,,, why does no one use it))

Heather technically has 4 parents. Luigi and Daisy thought it would be fun to be parents together, and they thought reaallly long and hard about it, and they went for it. The two of them are like ... super best friends. Daisy is with Rosalina (which Heather represents by the star earring) and Luigi is with Bowser (represented by the spike and also Bowser badge she wears). She's very bubbly and optimistic, like Daisy, and she's not much of a fighter, like Luigi.

Valentine is the youngest son of Peach and Mario. Since he was young, he LOVED the idea of being a ruler like Peach. He's a little bit sassy, and is incredibly capable of becoming a ruler some day (His oldest sister Clementine is happy being the beautiful daughter who's got an uncanny resemblance to Peach, and middle sister Florentine likes doing various business aspects of the kingdom) due to his strong head and determination.

until.

Victor Robotnik is the protege of Eggman, and also his son. As the new local menace, hes incredibly good at leading a Badnik army. Hes just absolutely ass at making robots... hes like a kid with crayons. Eggman officially takes the role of inventor and builder, while Victor is manager and battle field leader. Hes actually rather successful in his duty of... causing as much damage as possible really.

Valentine and Victor develop... an odd relationship. They are weirdly very into eachother??? but Valentine uses the logical part of his brain and thinks 'hey maybe i shouldn't date my uncles arch nemesis's son' and tries to avoid him the best he can. But its really reaaaaally hard to do that when your cousin is up in his business the moment he steps foot in Central City. (Spoiler; this logic does not last long)

deeeets:

Niko and Vic have a very similar dynamic to Eggman and Sonic from the Fandubs. Vic goes on a tangent and Niko basically tells him to shut up and then beats up his new weapons and leaves.

Victor sees the relation Heather has to Bowser, and he thinks he can get her to join him, but she just laughs at him.

Valentine and Niko made a truce, "I wont tell anyone about Victor, and you dont tell anyone about-" "wait who are YOU WITH??"

Victor really looks upto Eggman and Bowser, but when he learns Bowser doesn't do the villain thing anymore he's a bit disappointed

I think the pairing of Heather and another character is oddly sweet and equally hilarious but i think im gonna do a big post probably named Partner Reveal (mainly because i dont have a reference for Heathers partner yet)

When the four were young, Heather and Niko are the cousins that roll around in the mud together, and if any went on Val he would cry. (he still would)

okay thats all I'll be posting more soon teehee

I think people usually confuse delving into darker subjects in writing as the same thing as making a story more mature, when there's actually a difference between the two. You can introduce darker elements into a story, or have it shift to a darker tone. But it's not going to be effective if you don't have enough of an understanding of what makes what you're trying to tackle is so fucked up in the first place, or why the introduction of it is significant and carries so much weight. Without tackling it with finesse, it will come off as immature if anything, like a kid who just discovered curse words.

Every time IDW tries to do this it feels more like it's more for shock value. Another thing it seems to be falling into that over half of the pre-reboot run of the Archie comics did. But at least with Archie there was the spectacle of it having some of the most certifiably insane shit happen.

Friendly reminder that when Flynn got sick of the criticism against the way he wrote the moral dilemma in #50, he justified himself with "it's a children's fantasy, if you adult want something deeper go read something else".

Which says a lot about how much he cares about the stuff he wrote.

My man. No one forced you to write everyone getting pissed at Sonic for not killing Mr. Tinker and whether or not it would be justified to murder a man who doesn't remember his own war crimes. No one forced you to write gruesome scenes such as Vector trapping an infected woman TWD-style, or everything happening to Cream. No one forced you to come up with Surge and Kit and their horrifying nature of being brainwashed into being caricatures, with Surge being forced to feel homicidial hatred for someone he doesn't know and Kit being forced to be an extension of Surge herself. No one forced you to "explore" Sonic's supposed "principle" of giving everyone freedom. You want a dark story? Commit. Children cartoons have done it. Just to make one famous example, AtLA's whole backdrop revolves around exploring the consequences of war and imperialism.

Hell what about Sonic himself? The Storybook games? One with an abusive relationship, and the other brushing over the fear of death? They might not go very deep into these topics, but it doesn't come off as haphazard either!

The MV arc simply didn't matter in the long run! The only consequence of it is that Starline decided to show Eggman who's the better evil scientist by creating Surge and Kit, but there was zero need for all that drawn out angst. Cream herself is completely fine and happy after watching her mother die! Surge and Kit will come back in a few months so we'll see what happens with them, but the story barely explored their fucked up nature, and it only highlighted what a piece of shit IDW Sonic is by being so callous towards both of them. And by giving random angst to Surge via Starline hallucinations that, once again, did not matter at all - Stanley simply really wanted to draw Surge scared and crying.

It's amateurish. I have no other word for it.

War of Shadow Realm ~ Origins of the Ink Demon Chapter 4 Pt.12 ~

[Final Fortress/Eggman Fleet Core]

Ashley : So much getting through. This must be our luck!

Kimial Diehl : No idea! I think we're in the core of the armada, or we're still on the flagship, Metal Sonic did had some power to control the storms.

Ashley : I hope there's only a minute to spare.

Kimial Diehl : Good thinking! Then let's hope to it!

Eggman : (piloting the Egg Emperor) : I wouldn't think so!

Kimial Diehl : Oh no!

[Break You Down - Yutaka Minobe]

Ashley : You must be the mad scientist that blew up Prison Island, right? Wait a sec, you're decoy sent by Neo Metal, aren't you?

Kimial Diehl : What a worthless sucker you are.

Jacqueline O'Lantern Dupre : Oh, I find very intriguing that a maniac that blew up an island that imprisoned Shadow 50 years ago. It happened back then during the incident and after the Black Arms Invasion, The Time Eater is sending a decoy that distracted the four teams to think they won. But more importantly, Neo Metal has been using these vehicles to manipulate the heroes in order to collect data.

Ashley : You're willingly to forget all the things you did back on the island that you blew up! As much of Neo Metal's influence being the overlord himself, I am going to put up that nuisance of yours and it will be your lasts!

Sonic : Not so fast, Eggman!

[Sonic Appears - Takahito Eguchi]

Ashley : Huh?

Knuckles : We won't let you ruin the fun!

Ashley : That must be the blue blur himself!

Jacqueline O'Lantern Dupre : And brought some friends on his journey!

Sonic : Hey, I've known you guys before, you were those detectives that took the baddies and even that worm from MMORPG, if you don't mind. You're Ashley, the Ashley?

Ashley : Yeah, and you are?

Sonic : I'm Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog.

Ashley : So, I've come to apprehrend that the video game rival to the plumber has arrived to join the fight, and is also another of the Smash Fighters. Very well, we'll be useful if we stick together and defeat this monstrosity!

[Egg Emperor by Jun Senoue Plays]

Sonic : Ready for another round in that robot you're controlling!

Kimial Diehl : Time to give up your wicked ways!

Ashley : I'm putting a stop to this once and for all!

Eggman : Is that so? Hmph! Enough of this! Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Detectives! Time to meet your maker!

Jacqueline O'Lantern Dupre : Let's do this!

Eggman : I'll show you what real evil is!

Ashley : So, you're lucky that we're able to fight a decoy inside that mech!

Sonic: Of course!

Ashley : Guess we sure know how to stop this mad genius! There's gotta be some kind of fire power that needs to be taken down! (The robot's fire missiles) Missiles incoming!

Tails : Let me try to deflect them! (Thundershoots Sonic and Knucles to deflect the missiles) Lucky for me that Fly-types are the only things that can take a machine down! Quick he's heading for the center!

Jacqueline O'Lantern Dupre : We'll use the power of team blast to finish him off!

"Meanwhile..."

Maka Albarn : It's so quiet over here. Nothing much that Makoto decided to help me out.

[Event : Sonic vs Shadow - Fumie Kumatani]

Spartoi Maka : Well, well, well. I'd never actually admit it that you would be sent in by the Mobian Death God, Grim. Congratulations on making it this far. I wouldn't believe that you the real one who was falsely accused of one's actions against humanity.

Maka Albarn : Right! Which is why I am needed for the real world to have a true hero like me. Born on the Planet Jupiter, I was saved by someone that I even truly met as a kid. The boy who was part human, and part Phantom, Makoto Asagiri!

Spartoi Maka : And he is the one that saved your life? That could be possibly true! I understand that this was all part of your plan to avenge the inhabitants of Earth who were attacked by Inky Albarn, the demon queen that plans on conquering the Real World. Now that I have your attention, of being so surreal, how would you even on saving your life, fates can be real challenging! So who are you, the girl who wanted to save humanity from the faces of True evil?

Maka Albarn : The girl who is going to kick their butts! I'm the one and only Maka Albarn, there is! And you will never change that fact! Time to give the Real World my courage! And I do adventures for fun!

Spartoi Maka: Wow, aren't you the girl that knows adventures that much? I see then, (the two starts sprinting) If you're really that clever for a hero that was mistaken by the likes of that imposter, I suggest that we should settle this! But in terms of this battle, the fates of your world will be their in hands, or your adventuring days are coming to an end!

Maka Albarn : Right back at ya, android! I will the avenge the people of Earth and my family as well! (scene cuts pitch black)

Maka & Makoto : (voices heard) Let the fated battle begins.

~ Sixty-Third Scene : The Final Rivalry ~

“[The Sonic Movie] was always one of my dreams”, Takashi Iizuka and Sonic Movie staff reveal new details

The Sonic Movie release in Japan is very close, and in order to celebrate, 4Gamer has done an interview with Takashi Iizuka (Head of Sonic Team),  Nakahara Toru ( Senior Executive Officer of SEGA SAMMY, and also SEGA’s Lawyer), Jeff Fowler (director of the Sonic Movie) and Toby Ascher (Sonic Movie Producer), and in it, they gave us some details about the movie and what the experience was like.

Remember that the translation isn’t 1:1, but it gets the point across.

Q: What advice did Sega give to the movie staff in the making of the Sonic movie? Iizuka: Advices related to Sonic in various situations, such as how he looks and moves, and his character, as in "Sonic would never say that". Sega has some guidelines for giving advice to people who do not know Sonic, but it is not a comprehensive guide, so I commented a lot during production. Toby: Mr. Iizuka's advices on Sonic's personality and design were very helpful. I wanted to make Sonic the correct Sonic that fans know. Iizuka: Since this work is a hybrid movie that combines live-action and animation, there are many scenes where actual actors and Sonic are involved. The movie isn’t set in Sonic’s World,  so I proceeded to think on how he would react to all of it.  The biggest challenge for us this time was that we had to think about Sonic from a completely different perspective when compared to the games.

Q: What did you pay most attention to not betray your fans? Toby: I was under pressure because I knew that the expectations of fans were very high because we are from a generation that played Sonic games when we were kids. But at the same time, I also wanted to make a movie that a newcomer to the series could also enjoy. I was very concerned about that balance. I wanted to make it possible for people who don't know Sonic to enjoy the world of Sonic, while putting in a lot of material that fans can still enjoy. Nakahara: That was the mission behind this movie. To please our generation raised in Sonic and children who have little experience playing with Sonic. I hope this movie will create a new generation of fans.

Q: Are there any differences between the Sonic from the games and the one from the movie? Jeff: This is the first time we're introducing Sonic's backstory! Iizuka: Baby Sonic is a young Sonic that hasn't appeared in games. In the movie, it’s shown how his experiences as a baby changed him, and how his personality was formed. The games feature an already grown up Sonic, so it's good that the story up to that point wasn’t very clear [in the games, allowing the movie team to be creative with Sonic’s backstory].

Nakahara: Baby Sonic is being compared to Baby Yoda's in Star Wars. They’ve become big rivals. Jeff: Let me tell you, Baby Sonic is an idea that we came up with before Baby Yoda was revealed (laughs). It takes time to make characters and CG... Nakahara: Baby Sonic’s design was created under the supervision of Mr. Iizuka, but the actual CG animation was created by Marza Animation Planet Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the SEGA SAMMY Group. Hollywood companies are included in the special visual effects of this movie, but Japanese companies such as Marza and Sega played a central role in the animation of Baby Sonic and Sonic. Toby: That's one of the great things about this film. As a fan of Japanese animation, a collaboration between Japan and the United States made me very happy.

Q: When you hear that it's a joint production movie between Hollywood and Japan, there are some movies that didn’t succeed, but this time it seems different. Nakahara: Most of the Japan-US collaboration in movies so far involved only the Japanese content holders signing IP licenses. So Japan doesn't get involved with the production, and they don't pay much for the production. As a lawyer, I've seen many contracts where you only get a license fee. That's not really the case. However, this time, we have invested in the production costs for Sonic, and we are on an equal footing with Original Film, the company that has produced the blockbuster movie series, Fast and the Furious, the director of "Deadpool," and Paramount Film Company. There was also a big discussion, "Can you do a movie with an equal partner with so many different creative visions?" That's a big risk. But in the end, including the terms of the deal, the decisive factor that brought all of us together was that Sonic needed to be a movie star. Sonic is a big star in America. Because of that background, we joined hands in conditions that everyone was satisfied with. As SEGA, they jumped over the license agreement and suddenly became an equal partner, and there was a mix of expectations and anxiety. As a lawyer, I've been involved in a variety of works, but I was able to establish a relationship of trust that surprised me, "How can we collaborate so well?". Of course, small issues have come up every day, but I feel that we have been able to overcome them comfortably throughout.

Q: Weren't you able to make a case against Hollywood because you Nakahara-san, are a certified American lawyer? Nakahara: I may not be the one to say it, but this all truly is Sonic. Everybody loves Sonic. Whenever some big development occurs, a lot of it can be attributed to Sonic. Sonic is like Tom Cruise in the way that he has this presence of greatness that makes him feel like a star from throughout the years. Q: Is there any reason for making it a hybrid movie? Jeff: I thought it would be more fun and more enjoyable for the audience to get into Sonic's sense of speed when it gets put into the live-action world. From Sonic's point of view, the world is always slow, but from a human perspective, he is always moving at super-fast speed. The important thing was to express the power and speed of Sonic in a fun way. The baseball scene in the trailer is my favorite, and he uses his speed to enjoy baseball alone. From a child's perspective, if you were to move at that speed, you would want to play all the positions yourself, right? Q: Sonic has established a star position in the West, but what do you think was the reason why Sonic is particularly popular with Westerners? Iizuka: Sonic is a character born in Japan, but from the beginning we were aware of the West. With a Californian image of the blue sky, blue sea, and palm trees, we added a sense of speed with a deep blue appearance. Sonic’s character of strongly sticking to his morals and to his justice without ever being affected by anything else was also a characteristic of Western characters. And also, Sonic’s World doesn’t take much elements from Japan, or Japanese culture. In fact, Sonic’s World is more Western, and the coolness of the Western people we always see around have been incorporated into Sonic's world, so it has been accepted by Westerners and supported so far. Sonic has always been western in nature, so our goal in a way has always been making Western-style games, create characters with Western-ness, and that eventually landed us a Hollywood movie... so I feel like I've finally arrived there in the 27th year.

Q: Please tell me about the character that Jim Carrey plays. Iizuka: Dr. Robotnik, the villain in the movie is called Dr. Eggman in the games, but in them, he has a round body and thin legs, and a figure that can’t be seen in a live-action human being. So if we wanted someone actually human, we had to create a new Doctor Robotnik look. Should Dr. Robotnik in the movie resemble Dr. Eggman from the games? Would they talk in a similar way? Jim Carrey splendidly created a new Doctor Robotnik! Dr. Robotnik always was a crazy scientist, but Jim Carrey's Dr. Robotnik is crazy, unlike anything we had imagined. That's very interesting. Did Jim Carrey bring half the fun for the movie? I think he played a really good Dr. Robotnik. Nakahara: Jim feels like a gentleman and a calm philosopher during the breaks. But once the camera turns, he becomes a different person and a lot of energy comes out. 

Q: What are the highlights of this work? Jeff: Jim Carrey and James Marsden, of course, but the star of this film, Sonic, is definitely the highlight. Laughs, charming, confident and laid back. Fans will definitely enjoy it. There are many easter eggs. If you send me a list of how many you have found, I will tell you that there are still some that have not been found yet (laughs). Toby: It's a movie designed to be enjoyed over and over again, so every time you watch it, you'll discover something new. Also, Dr. Robotnik's dance! It's great!!

Q: Please tell us about your future plans for Sonic. Iizuka: This year, we finally made a movie about Sonic. That was one of my dreams, and since we are about to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Sonic next year, many people will have been brought in by the movie, and then they’ll have more opportunities to come into contact with the series through the [30th Anniversary] game. I hope we can get you a better game. Sonic is evolving with the evolution of game technology, so I hope we can continue to release surprising game titles.

SPECIAL thanks to @dizzydennis​ for helping in the translation in some parts.

Source

Sonic getting winter clothes for the first tome with Maddie because she isn’t going to let him freeze.

@picklesrgreat22

I’m going to be combining these two asks together since they both take place in winter anyway.

Ok Hoo boy this took a looong time to write. But i hope you guys enjoy it! I'm gonna make this one a sequel to the previous prompt I did since that took place in the fall and this one in the winter~.

This Definitely Beats the Cave.

=======

Cold......

I feel so cold.....

Why is it so cold.....?

I haven’t felt cold this intense since.....

The cave.

The cave was always this cold during this time of year.

But I’m not in the cave anymore....

Right?

Feeling a brisk chill in the room woke Sonic from his dreamless sleep, looking around squinting at the light peeking through his curtains.

“Oh, I’m in my room.” He assured himself as he suddenly shivered as curled his body in.

“Why is it so cold in here?” He thought as he tried to find a warm spot under the covers.

He pulled the thick covers closer to his head and curled up underneath to hide away from the cold and try to go back to sleep until he heard the faint voices of Tom and Maddie coming from the kitchen downstairs.

“Typical Saturday” he thought as he slowly woke from his drowsy state. Tom usually had Saturday’s off while Maddie had to work at the veterinary. Since she was still here, she must’ve taken off as well.

“Tom always makes pancakes his ‘famous’ banana pancakes on Saturday.” He smiled slightly as his ear flicked towards the sound of sizzling from the frying pan downstairs.

It’s weird to think that only 7 months ago, he had his heroic battle with the eccentric scientist, Dr. Eggman or more formally known as Dr. Robotnik, but also with it being 6 1/2 months since the day he was taken in by the Wachowski’s, becoming an official member of their family.

Groaning, Sonic pushed the comforter off him as he quickly grabbed a smaller blanket from the corner of his bed and wrapped it around his tiny body. Making his way to the headboard of his race car bed, he wiped away the fog in his window to look outside.

As he went to look, he squinted his eyes against the morning rays coming through his window.

“Geez why is it so bright out today? It’s only 7:15.”

Rubbing his eyes, he looked out again to see frost patterns on the window and snow.....falling?

“It’s snowing?”

Sonic’s face lit up with excitement as he felt his little tails wag back and forth. Actual snow!

It’s been so long since he’s seen this much snow in Green Hills, during this time of year, it was just freezing outside but this year must be different. It must be a new-

His train of thought stopped as he suddenly realized what month it was. The young hedgehog jumped off his bed and zoomed over to his calendar to where the date was circled and words were in red ink.

Christmas Eve

“Oh my gosh” he said shocked as he went to put on his slippers and open the attic door. “I can’t believe I forgot what today is!” As he open up the door, he quickly rolled down the steps in his ball form to the first floor.

Once he got to the bottom, he uncurled and rubbed his head in annoyance. “We really need to get those stairs carpeted.”

Standing up to find his slipper, which had fallen off when he rolled down the stairs, he heard someone calling from the kitchen.

“Sonic?” Maddie called over the volume of the radio. “You okay sweetie?”

“Yeah I’m ok! You gotta tell Tom that he really needs to make these stairs carpeted!”

Tom’s voice cuts in immediately afterwards. “I kept telling you not to roll down them like that Sonic! They’re not designed for stuff like that.”

“Well someone needs to change that rule.” Grudgingly he sprinted over to the table where Maddie was sitting, who was writing out an email for work while Tom was flipping the pancakes on the stove, humming along to the Christmas music on the radio. The newly decorated tree tucked in the corner of the living room, filled with ornaments and family trinkets as the lights dimly glowed.

Maddie smiled and rubbed his head as he sat down next to him before going back to her computer, continuing to talk as she typed.

“So how you feeling knowing what today is?”

Swinging his legs, he looked at her with excitement. “It’s pretty exciting! I’ve never celebrated a holiday like this before.” Pausing as he petted Ozzie’s head as he made his way over to the table.

“I mean yeah I’ve heard about it so many times before from overhearing other people but actually getting that chance to celebrate it? I’m all for it!”

Maddie smiled as she continued to listen to the young teen’s ramblings of how the kids at the school told him about the traditions they’re families do to leaving out milk and cookies for an elderly man that breaks into your house through the chimney to leave presents underneath your tree.

“I mean I don’t get why he comes into people’s house while they’re sleeping, gives us so much gifts but instead of maybe, I don’t know ARREST HIM? all we give him in return is milk and cookies?”

As Maddie went to answer, but Tom beat her to it as he entered the room carry a plate full of banana pancakes and a pitcher of orange juice.

“I mean I guess that’s why he wears a red suit all the time.” He pauses as he sets the food down on the table. “Once he’s caught, he’ll be caught red handed.”

Pausing from her typing, Maddie looked up with a smile and shook her head while Sonic just looked on with a disgusted look straight at Tom.

“Why? Why must you always be so into the puns?”

Pouring the orange juice into Sonic’s cup, he simply shrugged. “I don’t know, I guess I’m just a real punny guy.” He replied as he looked up with sly grin.

Sonic threw back his head, grabbing his ears as he groaned. “UGH MADDIE PLEASE MAKE HIM STOP!”

Tom cracked up with laughter at Sonic’s reaction while Maddie placed her head in her hands, her head shaking but laughing silently as well.

Ozzie looked on at them from the corner of the room, tilting his head in curiosity.

=======

Once the dishes were cleaned up, Tom and Maddie went back upstairs while Sonic zipped over towards the window as he dried his still damp hands, watching the snow falling gently outside. “Man i can’t wait to get out there.” he said quietly as he placed his hand under his chin, arm resting on the windowsill.

“I know what you’re thinking but you’re not going outside just yet.” Maddie’s voice coming from behind him, sounding stern.

Turning around, he saw her with her kneeling against the counter, hands behind her back but her face was filled with seriousness.

“Aww why not yet? I helped clean up and i did my chores yesterday so I didn’t have to do them today!” He pressed, walking towards her.

She tapped her fingers against the counter, tilting her head in surprise at his outburst. “Well probably it’s because you don’t have a warm coat on?”

He went to respond back, but paused in realizing that she was right. Other than that nice red scarf he got back in the fall from his cousin Jojo, he didn’t have any actual winter wear for the snow.

Going outside during this time of year was always difficult when he lived in his cave, but due to his speed, he was always in and out before the cold would really get to him. Even when the cave was colder than usual, he would simply roll in a ball and burrow into layers of clothes that he found during he year until the morning.

Looking up at Maddie, he sighed in defeat. “Ok yeah I don’t have any warm clothes, it just never seemed like an issue until now.“ He mumbled as he stared down at the floor, crossing his arms and rubbing them with his hands.

Maddie, kneeling down placed and hand on his shoulder, the other hand still behind her back. “Well we can start now.” She said with a smile as she revealed a neatly wrapped package from behind her back.

Sonic looked on in shock at the package, taking gently from her hands, sitting down and eagerly ripping into the paper.

Once he opened it, what he saw brought the biggest smile on his face. Inside was a zippered lavender puffer with dark orange snow pants that was just about his size. He quickly grabbed the coat and zipped it up around his body while struggling to put on the pants and walk at the same time.

Moving his arms around, he looked at himself in the reflection of the hallway mirror, marveling at the warmth he was feeling from the material of the outfit.

In the reflection, he could see Maddie smiling at him and he turned around, grinning at her.

“I love it! It’s so warm makes funny noises when I move my arms!” He says as he demonstrates with said promised noise.

Laughing softly, she kneels down to his height and adjusts his coat.

“That’s good to hear. You can consider this an early Christmas present since you can’t wait to get outside.” She looked down at the box on the floor.

“Oh! You almost forgot about this.” She reaches inside to pull out a dark blue beanie winter hat.

“I wanted to get you a hat that’ll stay on your head when you run and due to the quills on your head being really big.” She jokingly said as she snapped the buckle under his chin.

Noticing his silence, she glances at his face, seeing his eyes well up before he quickly wipes them away to smile at her again. “Thank you” his voice cracked with emotion. Maddie smiled as she placed a hand on his cheek caressing it, causing him to close his eyes as he leans into her gentle touch.

“It’s no problem, sweetie.”

Hearing footsteps coming down the stairs, the two looked up to see Tom in full snow gear complete with goggles and mask.

“Alright!” His voice muffled by the scarf around his face. “Let’s brave this weather!”

=======

Clapping his hands together, Tom walked down the driveway with Sonic and Maddie close behind him while Ozzie was jumping around in the blankets of snow on the lawn.

Other than the sound of their feet crunching against the snow, the whole woods felt so quiet. Barely any birds chirping, no sounds of cars driving on the roads in the distance, heck they wasn’t even any snow tracks of the raccoons near the garbage cans.

Turing around to face the two, Tom slapped his arms to his side, putting on a goofy sergeant-esque voice. “All right troopers, our main objective right now is to clear this driveway till there’s no more speck on snow on it. Do I make myself clear?”

Maddie looked at him with one eyebrow raised, hands on her hips while Sonic wasn’t paying him no mind, staring up at the sky and trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue.

Clearing his throat, he repeated it again but this time raising his voice louder.

“I SAID DO I MAKE MYSELF CLE-“

“Yes Thomas!” “Geez we heard you donut lord!”

“Good, now let’s get to work soldiers!” Watching him as he marched towards the end of the driveway, Maddie turned to see Sonic kneeling down near a fresh pile of snow.

He seemed to be placing handprints in the snow, making each one till they all formed a circle with the palms facing the center and the fingers facing outward.

Walking over and kneeling down, she watched as he then drew a circle in the center and used his pointer finger to place holes in the center of it.

Once he finished his new art piece, he kneeled back on his knees smiling fondly at it before his face dropped and his mouth became a tight line. Maddie, noticing this placed a hand on his back.

“You ok?”

He looked up, face never changing as he gazed out onto the snow covered lawn.

“I....used to do this during the winters when I lived in my cave, before I met you and Tom.” He let out a heavy sigh as he looked down at the hand prints. “It would remind me of the flowers that grew in my old home.” He paused, making his hands on his knees into fists, a few blue sparks started flickering from his hat. “They remind me of the flower I last gave to....her.” Maddie felt her heart skip a beat as she well knew who he was talking about.

After Sonic came to live with them. She quickly learned from Tom of the other world where the young teen had originally came from, why he had to leave and who he had to leave behind in order to be safe from harm.

Pulling him into a side hug, she heard Tom’s footsteps crunching against the snow before feeling his arm wrap around her back and seeing him kneel next to Sonic. He lifted his chin to meet Sonic’s eye. “I know Longcalw would be happy for where you are now bud. I sure know we both are.”

Sonic gave a small grin as closed his eyes and melted into their embrace, the sparks quickly fading away.

The three stayed in silence for awhile before the sound of Ozzie’s barking caught they’re attention, as he was trying to chase a squirrel up a tree but only to end up on his back in the snow.

Shaking his head at the dog, Tom stood up to go back shoveling the driveway when he looked down at the hand prints again.

After a second, a thought popped into his mind. “Hey Sonic? You still up on adding something to your bucket list?”

Sonic perked up looking up at him with interest. “You know I’m always up for that challenge.”

Nodding in agreement, he walked out into the part of the lawn where no prints were visible with Sonic walking a foot behind him. Maddie brushing off the snow from her pants and headed back inside the house, calling Ozzie to come inside.

“Ok so this is something I used to do with all the kids when it would snow.”

Crossing his arms, Sonic looked on in confusion as Tom raised his arms....onlu to fall straight back in the snow.

Alarmed he quickly ran to his side, only to see that he started to move his arms and legs back and forth. “We call these snow angels!” He yelled over the sound of his coat against the snow.

Intrigued, he began to sit in the snow, copying Tom’s movements and staring up in the cloudy sky.

“Ok we’re done, here what do you think?” He helped Sonic to his feet as they looked down at the new creations.

“Hmm, It’s fine I guess.” He backed up slightly to get a better angle. “They do kinda look like angels.”

Tilting his head to see the size difference. “Mines looks so small compared to yours”

“Well you are a small fry”

He snapped his head, looking offended “Ok first of all, I’m not that small from before! Second of all, I’m only fourteen so I’m not fully grown yet and Maddie said I’m gonna have a growth spurt soon anyway!”

“Yeah more like fourteen inches.” Tom mumbled under his breath. Unfortunately Sonic had heard that comment and bent down silently to grab a handful of snow.

“Hey Tom?”

“Wh-” *SPLAT*

Tom staggered back as he got a face full of snow, spluttering as he wiped it off his face.

Sonic fell onto his back, holding his stomach as he laughed at the man’s reaction.

“HAHAHA! Oh my god your face was so priceless! Oh man I wish I had a camera.”

Wiping the last of the snow off his face, he looked down at the laughing hedgehog. “Yeah yeah laugh it up, you think you’re so hilarious don’t you?”

He sat up, rubbing tears from his eyes. “I know I’m hilarious” he said with a sly grin.

Tom stared at him with a blank face before an evil grin appeared on his face. “Oh ok.” He said as he started to approach him.

“Uhhh why are you looking at me like th-AUUGH!” He yelped in surprise as Tom grabbed both his legs and swung him over his shoulder, dangling him upside down on the human’s back

“AAAH TOM STOP IT! PUT ME DOWN!”

“Not by a long shot, you caught me off guard so I’m simply returning the favor.” He replied as he started to purposely move his body, causing the hedgehog’s body to move back and forth.

“Ok you can stop now, you’re making me sick.” He tried to sound annoyed but was failing as a few giggles slipped out.

“Well whose fault is that?” He chuckled as he started to gallop his legs, earning more laughs out of Sonic. Hearing the sound of the front door opening (Still at an upside down perspective), he turned his head to see Maddie standing on the porch.

“Maddie! Help! He won’t put me down!”

Kneeling over the railing, she laughed at the sight of her boys playing in the yard. “Thomas Wachowski put him down now before you make him sick!”

“He assaulted a sheriff officer! He made the crime he’s doing the time for it!” He yelled as he continued to run around the yard with Sonic hanging off his back.

Rolling her eyes, she looked at her husband as face became serious.

“Thomas....”

Knowing better than to ignore his wife’s orders a second time, he swung Sonic around and placed him right side up with a look of satisfaction.

With wobbly legs, Sonic struggled to keep his balance, giggling slightly while trying to his distance from Tom just in case he tried to grab him again.

“Ok boys time to come in! It’s getting cold and I got another surprise waiting for you!”

Sonic, shaking off the last of the dizziness, zoomed up the stairs past Maddie into the house while Tom collected the shovels and looked back at the still snow covered driveway. “I guess there’s always tomorrow.”

=======

After hanging up his wet clothes and hat, Sonic took off his shoes and headed towards the couch in the living room where on the coffee table, where 3 large mugs filled with a dark liquid, steam slowly rising from each of them.

“Hey Maddie? Why’d you make us coffee this late? I thought I wasn’t allowed to drink that anymore?”

“Oh you most definitely aren’t allowed to drink it.” Sitting down next to him and opening a bag of marshmallows, putting two in each cup. “And it’s not coffee, this is called hot chocolate”

Watching as she shook a can of whipped cream, Tom entered the room with Ozzie following close behind, finding a spot on the couch next to Sonic to sit. “You guys really love spoiling me don’t you?”

“Don’t get used to it” Tom grunted as he sat in his arm chair, clutching his cup. “By tomorrow morning, things will be hectic again. It’s rare that it’s this quiet.”

Passing a cup to Sonic, Maddie scoffed as she made her cup. “Uh what about the times from before when you’d randomly invite Wade over and watch all those crazy Christmas movies with the volume blaring through the house?”

“Hey How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a classic! It deserves to be watched in its original sound ratio. I’m just ashamed that he doesn’t feel the same way.”

“It’s probably because of how the actor is”

“What’s wrong with the actor?”

“He’s too...eccentric.”

“How is that a bad thing Maddie? It brings more comedic effect.”

“But he kinda goes overboard at times.”

“Hmm why does the sound similar to eggman?” He thought as the two continued their ‘discussion’ about certain actors who are still beloved for being ‘too eccentric.’

The young hedgehog sipped his warm drink as he watched them talk, petting Ozzie on the back as he took a breath, turning around to look out the window into the yard and up to the clear night sky.

He smiled as he took another sip before sitting back down on the couch laying up against the dog, no longer full of doubt.

“I gotta say, This definitely beats the cave”

So this is a post about what I think might happen during the sequel to the Sonic Movie.

This started out as a few thoughts , turned into a lot of ideas, and eventually manifested into… whatever this is.

Look, I have exactly zero self-control, and hyperfixation is an absolute monster at this time of all the time. So like… oops, I guess? Enjoy? Maybe? I dunno. Just gonna yeet this out there and scoot.

Warning: This is a really long friggin’ post. How long? Nearly 3,000 words of pure hyperfocused writing long. I would say I’m sorry, but I don’t think you’d believe me if I did.

I know everyone is freakin’ hyped that Sonic is going to have a pal for the sequel. If past incarnations tell us anything, it’s that Sonic and Tails are 100% going to click, no problem. And I don’t doubt that is exactly what’s gonna happen this round too.

But here’s the thing. The premise for pretty much all of Sonic and Tails’ meeting before now has been Tails looking up to Sonic and Sonic deciding he’s gonna look out for Tails. They see each other as total equals, of course, but a lot of it stems from Sonic’s confidence in his abilities. Tails admires him for it, and Sonic knows he can keep Tails safe because of it. It gives Tails more confidence in himself. And that gives Sonic more confidence in Tails. They give each other the confidence and reassurance that they need.

This Sonic? This Sonic is a child. And he’s pretty much always been a child, a teen of fifteen in most cases, but we rarely see any incarnation of Sonic acting like a child. He’s usually just saving the world, and when he’s not doing that, he’s saving the world again. But the Sonic in the movie genuinely loves being a kid. And confidence in his abilities? Not so much. He used them once on purpose, and only after he had nearly died.

He’s not the usual thrill-seeking, needs to constantly be on the move, adrenaline junkie that we’re used to. He lives in house. In a small town. With friendly people and no one to fight (anymore). And he likes it that way.

Because of this, the set-up for Tails and Sonic’s relationship is going to have to be different. It’s most likely going to rely a lot on Sonic just being excited to see someone from his home planet. He might not question how Tails knows him. He might not question how Tails found him. He might not question anything at all.

The first movie taught Sonic that he absolutely does not have to be alone in life. It is, in fact, the worst way to live your life. He learns that it’s okay to rely on people, and he didn’t have to do this alone. The first movie taught him trust.

Sonic relied on blind trust in the first movie and it worked out. He trusted Tom. And in true Donut Lord fashion, Tom not only helped, but he and Maddie had pretty much adopted Sonic by the end of the movie.

Tails comes along. A resident of Sonic’s old home. Tails is nice, crazy smart, seems super interested in his powers, and also doesn’t want to kill his parents. Great! Immediate trust for Tails, too.

Now like I mentioned it before in another post, but I’m willing to bet that Tails found out about Sonic through the Echidnas. Though I’m also willing to bet that it was one specific Echidna that told him.

Gonna intervene on the Sonic/Tails analysis to bring you some unscheduled Knuckles. In all of Knuckles’ lore, he is the last known Echidna. Now they might throw that specific part of his history out for this incarnation, but it’d be interesting if they kept it.

Super Sonic was nearly a part of the movie, but they decided the main focus of the movie should be Sonic the character, not Sonic the classic hero archetype. That doesn’t mean Super Sonic will never be introduced, it could still happen. The thing is, that requires Chaos Emeralds. And who was known for his connection to those? Exactly.

Y’all wanna see somethin’ neat?

We gotta map with eight planets on it and something that looks nearly identical to a Chaos Emerald in the corner. Rings are used by advanced civilizations, and Earth ain’t one of them. Ta-da. Seven planets. Seven Chaos Emeralds. And that that circle in the middle looks like a great place for a Master Emerald, doesn’t it?

‘Wait a minute’, I hear you protest, ‘the mushroom planet is uninhabited! Why would a Chaos Emerald be there?’

Sure it’s uninhabited. You know, unless it isn’t. What proof do we have that it is? Because Sonic said it was? Because he opened up a portal, looked through it, and saw nothing?

Look, Robotnik is a brilliant scientist, I’ll give him that, but no way in New Heckistan is he going to find a way to find a way home with mushrooms alone.

But say he stumbles across a poor soul who’s trying to protect one of the seven most powerful gems in existence. Say he steals that gem and uses it to find a way back (as a mad scientist do). Maybe he even stole the set of rings that the poor unfortunate soul had. After all, there were six more gems to find. Why settle for 1/7 of the power when you could have it all?

How long has Sonic been with Tom and Maddie now? Long enough for him to be enrolled in school? Long enough for them to fix the house and start repainting? Long enough, perhaps, for a mad scientist to start fixing the remnants of his busted ship and power it with an alien source? I mean, probably. He is pretty smart.

Actually, hang on. Maybe the planet is uninhabited as far as living creatures go, but isn’t Eggman (Robotnik’s nickname from Sonic) known for having two robot assitants? That’d be an interesting way to introduce them. And they’d know the other planets, and could open the portals.

So perhaps Robotnik finds a planet with another Chaos Emerald ripe for the picking. It’s protected by, oh let’s say… a tribe of Echidnas? All sworn to protect one thing. The thing he wants. They put up a fight, of course they do, but they don’t know who they’re up against.

But maybe, just maybe, there’s one left behind. Knuckles. Who had heard tales of a being that could harness the power of the Chaos Emeralds. His tribe had tried hunting him down years ago in fear that he might steal the power for evil. They had failed. Thankfully. Because it looked that being they tried to hunt down was going to be their only chance of stopping the psycho with the mustache.

So Knuckles confides in a local inventor that he knows. A clever little Fox named Miles Prower. He tells Miles that there is someone that could help them, but it was going to be difficult to find them.

If I’m right, and Tails did find out about Sonic through Knuckles, that explains his timing. If he was just tracking Sonic’s power, he could have found Sonic after the incident at the baseball field. But he needed a reason to find Sonic, and a scientist destroying a tribe of people for a gem seems like a good reason. Might also explain why he’s hoping he’s not too late. Who knows how long it would take Robotnik to find the other Chaos Emeralds? They had to get to them first.

Sonic meets Miles, nicknames him Tails, and they hit it off immediately. Sonic is more than willing to help Tails track down the rest of these things. No way in hell Tom and Maddie are letting him go alone, so they’re coming too.

Tails doesn’t think to mention that it was an Echidna that told him about Sonic. Tom and Maddie are kind of suspicious about it at first (I thought no one else knew about him? Who is this guy and how does he know?) but Tails seems like a good kid and Sonic trusts him.

They find the first Chaos Emerald (there are probably many shenanigans that ensue, but I don’t know what the other planets are like so I can’t predict them). No one really knows what they should do with it. Keep it with them? But what if they’re confronted by Robotnik and he takes it somehow?

So Tails tell them that a friend of his back on the island that could watch over it. Robotnik wouldn’t think to go back there because he already attacked it once. That seems like a solid plan, so they go back. Sonic is thrilled to be back. Everything looks the same as it did. Except for… that part. That part looks like a warzone.

Now, why is Knuckles not part of this mission too? Not sure. Maybe he’s injured after the fight. It’s very probable that he would be. So he’s injured, grieving, worried sick about the eight year old he just sent looking for the one person that can stop Robotnik.

He’s relieved when he sees Tails with a hedgehog, who he correctly assumes is the being who can control the Emeralds’ power. He’s even relieved to see the two humans. At least someone is looking out for the kid since he’s not able to.

You know who’s not thrilled? I’ll give you three guesses, and the first two don’t count.

The phrase ‘eyes glowing with rage’ is all too literal when it comes to Sonic. And he looks ready to explode on the spot. He immediately accuses Tails of betraying him, leading him to the people that killed the only person on the island that cared about him. He even throws in a spiteful ‘Miles’ because the name ‘Tails’ was only for friends.

Tails and Knuckles don’t have time to explain before Sonic takes off like a bullet. He’s out of sight in milliseconds, but you could hear the electric energy from a mile away.

Tom and Maddie decide to hear them out, because they obviously did need their help with Robotnik on the loose. Tails explains that Knuckles is the last of his kind and really isn’t much older than Sonic. He had nothing to do with what happened to Longclaw.

So Tom offers to go talk to Sonic (huzzah for fatherly life lessons), and Maddie offers to help fix up Knuckles as best as she can. Being a vet paid off in the weirdest ways sometimes.

While Tom explains what actually happened and that no one betrayed anyone, Knuckles and Tails have reluctantly opened up to Maddie.

Knuckles has been trying to keep up that rough and tumble attitude we know and love, but it’s kinda breaking down with this nice human  wrapping his arm with the bandages she brought (because of course she brought bandages, she’s a vet and a mother) and asking if he was okay. He was not okay.

And Tails… well, where was Tails’ family? Did they know where he was? Any friends he could think of that might be able to help them? That ends in a solemn silence. Tails is family-less too, and his inventions aren’t always well received on an island that is almost completely organic. There was a very kind Rabbit mother and daughter that checked on him from time to time, but other than that? He was on his own.

Maddie makes a mental note to tell Tom that they’re adopting two more alien children and no it’s not up for discussion, they’re doing it (not that Tom would have argued with her anyway).

Tom returns with Sonic, who apologizes for accusing them of betrayal and murder. That’s when he and Knuckles finally realize they’re about the same age. (I’m gonna guesstimate Knuckles’ age at around 15/16). It’s baffling to the both of them.

When Knuckles heard about the powerful being his people had hunted, he had expected… not a teenager. And worse, it happened a decade ago.His people had hunted down a toddler and, apparently, killed his parent. He was a little more understanding of Sonic’s anger.

As for Sonic, Echidnas were pretty much cold-blooded murderers to him. He had never stopped to consider that there were also, you know, kids. And this kid had just lost… everything. He instantly feels terrible about his outburst. This guy didn’t even know who Longclaw was, much less what had happened to her.

But, emotional breakthroughs aside, they still have a huge problem and his name is Eggman. Or Robotnik. It really depended on who you asked. Either way, they needed to figure out which planet Robotnik was going to be at next. They decide to just collect the Chaos Emeralds they could and worry about Robotnik later.

Sonic gives Knuckles his set of rings, just in case. They have Tails’ so they should be fine. Off to the next planet to find an Emerald. It becomes clear that they’re gonna need a more efficient way of doing this, so Tails modifies the tracker he made for Sonic to track the Emerald’s energy instead.

It works, obviously, because Tails is a precious little genius. But no one stopped to consider how the mad scientist was finding the Chaos Emeralds. It makes sense that he would find a way to track their energy by using the one he found on the mushroom planet, but nobody thinks about that until Tails finds a way to do it.

Then they remember they just left Knuckles alone with a Chaos Emerald. They open up a portal to get him, but Robotnik is already there with a monologue about how how stupid they all were for assuming he wouldn’t return to this planet, he was the smartest individual, not just on Earth, but in the entire universe, and blah blah blah, psycho scientist banter, he’s Jim Carey and his blood is made of cocaine, you get the picture.

Cue rescue sequence for the resident Echidna of the group. They manage to get Knuckles and the Emerald away from the crazy doc, maybe even steal the ones that Robotnik has, Perhaps we even get a heartfelt response from Sonic because ‘you idiot why didn’t use the rings to escape, I told you to use them, we are not losing anyone else to this fight’.

And not to bring us to an abrupt halt right there, but as I’ve said earlier, we’ve got no idea what the other planets are like, so I can’t make any solid predictions. Though I guess you can’t call anything about this solid. It’s literally all speculation.

But, you know, they get the seven Emeralds somehow because teamwork. There’s probably a bunch of cool aliens to meet, some Chao maybe? That’d be rad. And, of course, tons of fight scenes because that’s what the Eggman vs. Sonic thing is all about. Who wins: A ex-government hired genius fueled by spite and pure rage or one Spikey Child and his Fam?

I’m thinking the final fight would have to take place one that circle in the middle, which I’ve already speculated could be a possible location for the Master Emerald. And that fight would. be. dope. I mean, it’s Super Sonic, for cryin’ out sideways!

Since the good guys always win the fights, Sonic and crew win. They probably wouldn’t kill him. Why would they? They’re the good guys. Knuckles very seriously considers it though. Like, Tom kinda puts a hand on his shoulder just to make sure he doesn’t because homeboy looks like he wants to shank the local nutcase, not that anyone blames him.

(this also serves a purpose for something else that always bugs me about Knuckles’ character, which is that he is very gullible when it come to Eggman, we see it all over the place with him. a scenario like this? eradicates that odd quirk in his personality without erasing any of his other good qualities. harmless pranks? sure, gullible as all get out. Tails and Sonic could even prank him at the end of the movie, and that’d be just the sweetest thing. but when it comes to Eggman? hell nah. nah nah nah, get that outta here.)

So they beat Eggman, maybe yeet him back to mushroom planet again–this time without any kind of tech. No ship for you, Eggy-Boy.

Then it’s time to go home. Here’s where it could go two different ways. Tails is going with Sonic, that seems pretty obvious at this point, and Knuckles could go back to Earth with them too if he wanted.

I don’t think he would, though. Being Guardian of the Master Emerald is an integral part to Knuckles’ character. And while, yes I would love to see him hanging out with Sonic and Tails more, I think this is something that will have to stay part of his history.

But if you think they aren’t inviting him over for Movie Night you are mistaken, sir. Knuckles is always invited to Movie Night. He doesn’t always accept, and that’s okay. They visit him too, just to see how he’s doing.

Sonic taught Knuckles and Tails to floss and that is a vital part of the sequel, shut up, yes it is.

And viola! Sequel! Oh, but of course we need a post-credit scene, don’t we? See Sonic being around the age of thirteen does have its benefits.

Because you see, that means we can give him two years of peace with Tails and his parents before before he’s fifteen, the age most Sonic incarnations seem to stick with.

Fifteen is old enough for a rival, right? Teenagers, you know what I mean.

And I’m not saying that Robotnik had the technology to replicate DNA and modify it, but I am saying… that he probably has that kind of tech laying around somewhere.

The government seems to fund the science department pretty well. And there’s a certain individual who followed Dr Robotnik around for a while, learning all his tricks. Mmmmmmmmmm-hmmmm. Agent Stone.

And I’m not saying Agent Stone is evil….

I’m saying:

What if Agent Stone created Shadow?

*aaaaaaand fade to black*

Now, if you made it this far… wow. Thank you! Like, seriously, holy shit. This was so long. I appreciate you for sticking it out with me. It took… a while to write. I don’t wanna admit the actual amount of time it took. But really, thank you for giving this a read.

65. Special - Sonic Live!

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The Last Game Cartridge Hero

Writer/Pencils: Ken Penders Colors: Karl Bollers

*deep breath* …oh boy.

So this issue is kind of infamous for being, well, terrible. At least, this first story is. Even I, usually being willing to put up with a lot of crap from Penders, think this story is just a royal mess. You'll see what I mean in a second.

Anyway, the customary intro page of this issue makes some kind of allusion to Sonic being about to enter some strange other zone that's unlike anything he's ever experienced before. Indeed, the beginning shows Sonic rushing to try to rescue Sally, who's been captured by Robotnik, only to be blasted by energy bolts from behind - which, as we all know from when this exact thing happened to Robotnik in StH#21, just means he'll be catapulted into another reality instead of killed. Which reality is that, you ask?

Ha. Haaaaaa.

Oh yeah. That's right, folks. It's one of these. Kenders actually recruited both his real life son and niece to be photographed and placed into the story of the Sonic comics as actual characters. Luckily this only lasts for this one issue, and they weren't made recurring characters or something, but like, damn. These children are grown-ass adults right now. I wonder what they think of this? What they think of their father/uncle respectively? If they cringe looking back at this, or look back on fondly as a cool thing they got to experience as kids? Side note as well, as I've mentioned before Ken had never played a Sonic game while he worked on the comics, nor did he own a Sega console. That's why, when Steve "dies" in the game the screen simply appears to turn off, and, if you look closely, he's not holding a game controller, but rather holding a regular TV remote sideways. Oh, Ken. Why this? Why?

Well, anyway, Sonic finds himself floating in a strange void seemingly unable to move or see anything, until the faces of these kids start looming in his face and talk about seeing him in the TV as they try to turn on their game. Sonic, worried they're going to try to turn off the TV and I guess strand him in there for longer, somehow reaches out and pulls them in instead.

Great going, Sonic! Now these two kids who have no superpowers of their own are stuck in a dangerous war zone with you. Indeed, this goes as well as you might expect. He and the two kids are able to breach back into Sonic's home zone, where Robotnik has captured the rest of the Freedom Fighters and is planning to launch missiles into space to create… some kind of doomsday device? It's not really explained well beyond "killer satellites," but either way, Sonic doesn't like the idea of this, and so he starts beating up the swatbots in his way. This stops briefly when Robotnik decides to take his villainy to the next level and threaten to shoot the two random innocent kids just because they happen to be with Sonic.

Of course, the swatbots aren't as fast as Sonic, which begs the question of how they even managed to blast him at the beginning of this story in the first place, and he beats the rest of them up and escapes with the kids. He takes them to the control center to shut down the missile launch, which has begun its countdown due to Sonic accidentally knocking Robotnik down onto his launch remote. Great job, buddy!

They manage to shut down the missiles, but just as they do, Robotnik, Snively, Sonic, and the two kids are all pulled into a strange beam of light. Once Sonic and the kids get their bearings, Robotnik begins gloating, since apparently, during the split second between when he entered and when Sonic entered, he contacted a bunch of alternate universe copies of himself and got them to build him a big mech suit shaped like himself. Apparently, they're in yet another strange zone, and Robotnik realizes he can conquer the whole multiverse from here, not just his own version of Mobius. At least… I think that's what he's implying. Honestly, it's so unclear and all the dialogue so scattered, it's hard to even properly tell. Anyway, Robotnik throws Sonic and the kids in a prison cell with several other… humans?

While Robotnik suddenly finds himself threatened by the other versions of himself, not content to be used for slave labor, Sonic has a chat with these people. Apparently, this isn't just any old zone - it's the kids' home zone, AKA, Earth! Now, this definitely isn't our Earth. These guys claim to be the designers of the Sonic games, but for one, they're decidedly not Japanese, and two, there's no mention of Sega at all. Apparently, the concept art for Sonic the Hedgehog in this world was created when they received strange interdimensional transmissions showing images of him, and they decided to make a game out of it. Not only that, but now these video game designers slash scientists have apparently created a weird prototype device that was responsible for sucking Sonic and co. into this world through a strange dimensional link. Yyyyyeah. Go ahead and try to make any sense out of this crap.

Well, anyway, Sonic and the kids notice Robotnik and Snively about to be vaporized by the angry other-Robotniks, and decide to step in and save them from certain death, or maybe just another instance of zone-hopping. Come on Sonic, this is what, the third or fourth time you had an opportunity to let this guy die and have all your problems be solved? How many other people have died in this war because you refuse to let Robotnik be killed by his own hubris? Of course, the swatbots and other Robotniks don’t like this, and so to save themselves, Sonic and the kids need to shut down the prototype linking them to this world. Turns out the way they do this… is through Sonic game cheat codes!

The code recited by little Steve here is actually a real code, something I'm mildly surprised about given Ken's weird disdain for the Sonic video games. It's the level select code for the original Sonic the Hedgehog game on Genesis (non-Japanese version). If you've got a Genesis and a copy of the first game, try it yourself and see. In this world, however, it's apparently the shutdown code for the swatbots, and thus everyone is saved. The game designer scientist guys use the prototype's dimensional link to send Sonic, Robotnik and Snively back to their own zone, and Sonic has a happy reunion with his friends, who have been mysteriously freed from captivity in the meantime.

Oh, boy. Someone needs to tell Kenders that the Sonic games don't actually depict Sonic from the comics. These kids aren't gonna have any idea what the Sonic they were traveling with is up to, because all they'll be doing is playing as a different, more turquoise-colored Sonic, battling some weird dude called "Eggman" and collecting seven multicolored Chaos Emeralds to save a planet that definitely isn't called Mobius. Shame.

The Substitute Freedom Fighters

Writer: Rich Koslowski Pencils: Art Mawhinney Colors: Karl Bollers

So you may be wondering. How exactly did the Freedom Fighters even get captured in the first place, and how did they escape while Sonic and the others were stuck in the "real world"? This story is here to answer our questions! Apparently, while Sonic is just off derping around somewhere else, the others are watching Rotor create a new micro-cam that he can attach to his bandolier, working kind of like a body cam so they can review footage of battles after the fact and learn from them. Fortunately for them, some swatbots immediately show up to let them test out their new invention. Unfortunately for them, they get overwhelmed and dragged back to Robotnik.

Hey, look who it is! Larry Lynx has made his comeback, and he's noticed everyone's disappearance… as well as the ongoing live feed from Rotor's micro-cam. Realizing everyone is in danger, he rallies the first people he sees training - Cyril Eagle, and Sally's old recruits. They team up and fight their way into Robotropolis, Larry using his famous bad luck to make sure the swatbots lose every time, and they're able to eventually find the captured Freedom Fighters and liberate them. After finding Sonic as well, they head back to Knothole, where Sally forms the six of them into a new team, the Substitute Legion of Freedom Fighters, as a backup squad that can continue the fight against Robotnik if the Freedom Fighters are unable to.

This is cute, but it does bring up an interesting point. Clearly, the Freedom Fighters are not always able to win their battles, and it's dire enough that Sally's started forming backup teams. It's not said directly that it's in case the main team dies or is roboticized or something, but we know that's a very real possibility in this war. Makes you wonder how this war was even fought when they were all tiny kids, and if something like this has ever happened before…

Knuckles Quest 2

Writer: Kent Taylor Pencils/Colors: Pat Spaziante

Well, no need to worry about that. Knuckles is at it again! This time, he's found his way to a strange cottage in the forest, and is set upon by a bunch of vicious mythical creatures, most of which he names off and mentions hearing in fairy tales. It's interesting, because as far as I'm aware, none of these are real-life mythical creatures, which means we're getting a tiny bit of lore and worldbuilding regarding the kinds of mythical creatures Mobian children are told about in this world.

Anyway, Knuckles is totally confused about why he's fighting all these creatures that are supposed to not even exist, but eventually reasons that they indeed can't be real, and are magical projections. Once he announces this, they dissipate and he finds himself talking to an old fox wizard, who directs him to continue his search elsewhere. He then reveals that he used to serve the king in his youth, and that his name is…

…Merlin Prower? Any Sonic fan worth their salt knows that Tails' real name is Miles Prower and that "Tails" is just a nickname, indicating that this strange wizard may be somehow related to Tails. Hmm, wonder if we'll ever hear any more of him…?

Hyper Madness PT 5

As the battle commenced their other almost fully robotized friend saw someone on top of a building with a cat. Rozenn instantly saw something was wrong with the order. Their eyes were an unnatural color.

Zapper quickly lunged towards the person as he got flung away midair. Zapper gets flung back so hard by the person that he goes through several buildings and becomes unconscious." Discussing performance, you shouldn't play the hero here and just flee with your tail between your legs like the dog you are".

Team X and their forces showed up in the nick of time as the person floated into the air with his accomplice. Clare had rounded up the red and pink Guardians while Flame gathered the rest as the Special X Teams took them back to base for questioning.

"Welcome Heros I have made this racket to inform you of the destruction to come" the person said. He continued saying "In four years a person from another planet will come here to mobious and wreck havoc here". The person's accomplice added" Also it won't be Eggman's doing". 

Zapper looked at them as he nodded. "They're not lying but we should most likely keep this info under wraps from sonic and his friends" Zapper said as he got up. "Also, the order has that virus from the Outlands" the person said as he took out a bag.

"The names Zex The Wolf and you should beware of me in the near future" Zex said as he laughed. "Simply an illusion we are" Zex said as he and his accomplice vanished.

Cypher grunted as he took out the pink elemental diamond and gathered The Super Optic Diamonds."Everyone get near the diamonds" Cypher said he balled his left hand into a fist."We need to save those kids and fast" Cypher said as his fur became pink.

The rest of Team X and Team Tomorrow quickly gathered near the Super Diamonds as Cypher teleported The Super Optic Diamonds to the holding area where the Green Guardians were."As protectors of the people, we must find them and give the Culprit what they deserve!" as Cypher said that a pink ora surrounded Cypher.

Cypher teleported everyone to the forbidden Forest near Xenon City."His base should be around here" Cypher said as his fur turned back to normal. Zapper and Flame saw the base or what they think is the base. So they went ahead of the others to open the hatch that was on the medium-sized rock.

When they opened it there was latter leading down to the base. The others soon followed as they were confident they had found the culprits base. When they all reached the bottom they were surprised with what they saw.

Down under the hatch were test tubes with children in them ranging from ages 3 to 10. Their conditions were not great at all. All except one 10 year old would make a full recovery.

She was a white wolf and her state was critical half her body was covered in some type of Black Ora. She had deep cuts and slashes all over her body. Team X Quickly called for back up at the base. They got all the unconscious kids out of the base as they felt shaking from the base.

As they came back down they saw a blue Bird Holding some type of device." Glad that you could make it for this is all part of his plan" the bird said as he showed both of his hands.

"NOW PREPARE FOR DESTRUCTION!" as the bird said that he lunged towards them and let out an energy blast at them." HOWS THAT FOR EASY!". Zaid blocked the energy blast with his Nero shield and kicked the bird in the stomach.

The bird flew back as he crashes into a control panel causing the base to go into lockdown mode. The hatch was permanently shut and there were robots everywhere. Zapper Grabbed the bird as he started to go deeper Into the base.

The others followed Zapper destroying robots that were in his way. Soon they came across an underground launchpad that was slowly closing due to the lockdown. Team X quickly ran up the launchpad as Zapper used his speed and agility to jump on and run up the wall of the underground launchpad.

Flame, Clare, and Rozen all followed Zapper. Suddenly the bird started to turn to ash but Zapper kept his cool as he barely made it out. Everyone else was already out of the launch pad and back to the forbidden forest.

Zapper then took out a button as he started to run towards Xenon City."YOU GUYS MIGHT WANT TO RUUUNN!!" Zapper said as he pressed the button. Zaid quickly grabbed everyone and turned on his hydro booster as the base was beginning to explode.

They all safely made it back to Xenon City as all the citizens cheered. Cypher jumped off of Zaid as he announced "Everyone your kids will make a full recovery but one child is in serious condition so I and my team will treat and heal her to the best of our ability" Cypher said as Zaid put the others down and asked for blood samples.

Cypher took out the pink elemental diamond as his fur turned pink."WE WILL MAKE THIS WORLD A SAVE PLACE!!" Cypher said as the citizen's cheered. Cypher then teleported everyone to HQ.

Team X and the others came back to chaos. The subject that they caught was attempting to escape as well as the order. The forces trying to stop them were no match for them.

It seemed like his hand was forced to use the diamonds. He shook his head as he pulls out an airsoft gun. "Remember we need them alive" Cypher said as he gave his team airsoft guns.

Meanwhile, Vex was Protecting his sister and the fox in the midst of all the chaos. Team Tomorrow went to go protect the diamonds with the green guardians. As this is all happening Team Chaos Brakes in style with Storms Optic Shadow.

Storm, Fang, and Gash all go looking for the Optic Diamonds as Rex goes to deal with Zaid since he can sense thermal energy. Cypher takes out the pink optic diamond as he said "TEMPEST TIME". As he said that everything except him stopped.

Cypher walked to the guardians and tied them up as he walked to the subject. He grabbed her as he walked back to his team. He then said "RETURN" as everything went back to normal.

His team instantly knew what to do. They grabbed the guardians and chained them to the wall as they did the same to the subject. Meanwhile, Team Chaos is slightly shocked but Storm Randomly decides to run full force to Cypher.

Cypher sensing his presence was preparing for a kick when out of nowhere Zaid and Rex came between Storm and Cypher."Enough Fighting" Said Zaid and Rex. The others looked in shock as they continue "Even us robots gets tired of fighting" they said as Rex walked over to Storm.

Rex then said "I can't fight my fellow Zigoid because if I and Zaid even tried to fight we...will self destruct". Zaid then said "Our creator didn't want conflict even amongst our own people so he did that to make others in the Zigoid Empire Deter violence amongst ourselves". Rex added " Any attempt to remove the Self-destruction program will end in the permanent shutdown of the Zigoid" Rex Said as he looked at Zaid.

"They're right we have more important things to worry about like her" Cypher said as he pointed at the white wolf on the floor. Vex came running into the Main room as he looked at the white wolf on the floor."Is That..." Vex said as he looked at her condition.

He balled his fist up as he slowly looked at Cypher and the others. "This...wouldn't have happened if you were stronger, faster, and had more experience instead of just recruiting random people in the middle of a fight" Vex said as his eyes glow a bright orange. "All of you here right now will help from here on out I don't care if you don't want to" Vex said as he screamed "VOX INDEX OPEN BOND".

Vex's eyes we're completely glowing orange as everyone except the Zigoids and Team X started floating. A short while later a mark appeared on there cheeks as they were dropped. "Thats the mark of destiny it will always lead you to your place" Vex said as his eyes turned back to normal.

Vex turned to the white wolf as he put his hands on her forehead. Suddenly black marks start appearing all over his body as he grinds his teeth together. Storm smirks as he looks at Vex.

"Sure I'll agree but I'll be making my own faction as well as future boy over here". Vex quickly yelled "SHUT UP FOR ONE SECOND YOU DUNCE!!" as he released the black ooze into a container. He quickly stands up as he stares at Storm.

"If you beat Team X and Zapper beats me then you guys can" Vex said as he turned back around to check on the white wolf. "It will take place two weeks from now and it will be held in the training terminal facility" Vex said. The white wolf started to wake up as she immediately recognizes Vex her cousin.

"Thank goodness you're Alive" Vex said as Team Chaos had  a secret meeting. "Wheres Bell And Blake?" Vex asked as he picked her up. "They're with some team called Team Zave and they should be here any minute" Lilly said as Cypher and his team started to get their forces back up and running.

"I suggest that all the girls go deal with that one she has a distinct hatred for guys?" Cypher said confusingly. The girls went along as Cypher started to investigate The Order. "So...wait they don't look good we need to see what's in their blood". 

"I don't think it's safe to go to the scientists I've got something that might help" Mercia said shaking a bit as she reached in her bag and pulled out a small glass bottle with a red liquid. "Keep in mind that this is not a cure for what they have" Mercia said as she put the liquid in the eyes of The Order. They all came to as they all began to panic.

"We're so very sorry we don't deserve to be called the order nor guardians" they all said with tears in their eyes. Cypher got down to their level and smiled "It's not your fault don't guilt trip over it" Cypher said as he patted every member of The Orders head. "Now, who did that to you?" Cypher asked.

A red Sparrow shaking with fear said "He said we couldn't say".

Ka’rta Tor

Chapter 3

 In another time and place, a much more peaceful planet enjoyed a brief moment of respite between the forces of good and evil. Birds chirped and flowers were in bloom in the spring breeze. On the plains beyond the nearby city, a blue wind blazed across the land. It was the hero of this planet, a beacon of hope during its darkest hour. Sonic the Hedgehog ran with the breeze, feeling the wind on his face as he zoomed across the Kingdom of Acorn, a place where the free people of this world lived in harmony. It came under attack many times by the villainous robotic forces of a roboticist that goes by the name of Dr. Ivo Robotnik.

       Sonic came to a stop from his immense speed before allowing himself to fall backwards onto the grass, looking up at the blue sky and sparse white clouds. He could lay here forever, or at least until he got bored and started running again. For now, he was just enjoying the peace and quiet. It felt like a few hours before he heard the crunching of the grass nearby. The blue hedgehog turned his head to see the chipmunk that had showed up.      She certainly didn’t look regal, but she was the princess of the kingdom, Sally Acorn. She was tapping her foot, but her face held a smile. “Well, if it isn’t Lazy the Hedgehog.” She said teasingly to the resting hedgehog. He smiled and hopped onto his feet. “Hey, what about all those times I beat up robots for you? Don’t those count?”          “It doesn’t outweigh the number of times I could’ve used your help surveying the area around New Mobotropolis. After all the times we’ve been attacked, we have to make sure that there aren’t any surprises in store for us in the near future.” She was referring to the capital of the kingdom that her brother ruled. The city was the first line of defense against Robotnik alongside Sonic the Hedgehog. The people of the kingdom, mutated animals called mobians, were made up of a diverse group of creatures that came together under the rule of the Acorn monarchy, who led them into times of prosperity over the course of generations.            Sonic chuckled and nudged Sally’s shoulder. They’d all come a long way since they were younger, fighting what seemed to be a hopeless fight against Robotnik’s Empire. Who would have thought that a speed demon and a princess would’ve grown as close as they did, and that their little group would become celebrities and heroes in their own right for the world at large. Now, thanks to their actions, the world was rebuilding. Sure, the threats weren’t gone, but they were at a much better point in their lives now.           Sally seemed to get an idea of where Sonic’s train of thought had gone. “It’s pretty amazing, isn’t it? The work’s never done, but you can’t stop the Freedom Fighters that easily.” She assured Sonic, maybe more for herself. “Evil Scientists, Vicious Wizards, Ancient Masterminds, Crazy Mirror Alternates. It’s hard to believe that this has been our life. It sounds like it comes straight out of a TV show.”           “Well it wouldn’t be an adventure if it was mundane, Sal.” Sonic responded. They both nodded in agreement as they continued towards the city itself. The high wall gave way to a sprawling city with simple buildings towards the outside and grew more diverse and complex towards the center, where Castle Acorn stood proud and tall over the subjects, acting as the heart of New Mobotropolis.           “I need to talk to Elias about the places the Royal Guard has already checked out, and you can pick up where they left off.” Sally explained, heading to the castle by herself, leaving Sonic to his devices. He shrugged and went to his Uncle’s restaurant, where he could grab a snack while he waited. He wouldn’t have to wait for long as his friend, a two-tailed fox named Tails, found him in the establishment.            “Hi Sonic. How’s it going?” He asked his blue friend. Sonic scarfed down the remainder of his chili dog in order to answer. “It’s been chill. Not much going on around here. Sally wants me to check out some places around the country for signs of Eggman, but I’ll be done with that in a flash. You wanna race when I get back?” Sonic challenged. Tails couldn’t help the smile that grew on his face. “You bet! I’ll beat you this time, Sonic!”            Sonic ruffled the kid’s fur playfully. The two had become close brothers, going on adventures together all the time. There was not a way in the world you could possibly separate the two. They were a package deal, and they were among the best of the best.          Almost as if on cue, Tails’ communicator rang. It was the princess. She probably expected the two to be together. “Tails, if Sonic is there, tell him that there was something suspicious going on in the western sector. The Royal Guard said they saw some weird robots, but there were none on the sensors. Nicole is doing a scan for whatever might be out there, just in case its trying to cloak itself, but you’re the fastest thing alive. If anyone can find it and stop it, it’s you.”           Sonic couldn’t help but smile. He loved action, and chances like this were growing rarer and rarer. He hopped off of his stool, Tails following his lead. “I’m on it, Sally. I’ll meet you there! Just try to keep up!” He and his friend hurried back out to the outskirts of the city. He moved swiftly across the rolling fields and the trees. There wasn’t even a sign of footprints. They could’ve been buzzbombers, but they’re loud. They would’ve heard them if it was those badniks. Something was out of place here. He settled beneath a tree next to Tails and started tapping his foot as his eyes scanned around, waiting for Sally to arrive.        The chipmunk wouldn’t keep them waiting for too long, as she arrived with Amy, another of their friends and fellow Freedom Fighter in tow. They all seemed to be perplexed by the lack of any hostile presence. “It’s not like the Royal Guard to jump at shadows. If they saw something, it’s still nearby.” Sally mused. Amy took a peek at the console that Sally had, which also housed the AI Nicole. It seemed like the Ai was processing information from the surroundings.          Sonic huffed. “Look, there’s nothing here. I’ve checked. The guards must’ve been daydreaming or something.” He concluded. The three looked at him with a stern look. “....What?” Sonic responded to the gesture. Amy saw something of note. “Hey, Nicole? What was that spike you just showed on the screen.” The AI moved back to it and revealed a holographic form of a lynx. “Hmm, I saw it earlier but I dismissed it as an error in the reading. I can take a closer look at it though, if you think it’s not just something random.”         “That would help. Thank’s Amy. Maybe that’ll be our key to solving what’s going on here.” Sally spoke up. “Tails, what about you? Did you notice anything strange since you got here?” In response, he seemed to hum as he looked over his own console screen. While Sonic was running around, he’d been searching for traces of power sources. Anything from electrical discharge, diesel, or otherwise.        Then, both Tails and Nicole piped up. “Chaos Control.” They spoke at the same time. The lynx spoke first. “You were right. The outlier actually had a frequency that we have on record. It was Chaos Control, similar to what Shadow’s used. It caused a slight space-time blip. The guards probably saw a vision of badniks. Though the source of the phenomenon seems to elude my sensors.”         Tails continued. “It’s possible that it came from the future. It’s not as strong as the Time Stones, but Chaos Emeralds HAVE shown some amount of temporal flux capabilities. Maybe someone was trying to time travel.” He elaborated on the possibilities that surrounded the mysterious circumstances. The group of five looked to each other with concern.         “So, do you think there’s going to be an invasion anytime soon? From the future or just plain from Eggman?” Sonic asked.          “It’s entirely possible. Chaos Energy is unpredictable, and just with what we’ve heard and found here, it’s not exactly enough for us to plan for. The best we can do is keep an eye out for any more phenomenons.” Tails answered. Sally and Amy both nodded. They were about to return when a burst of light struck, giving the five a vision of a far off place; A Temple, where two factions were fighting. The vision disappeared as soon as it came, barely giving them any insight on what they saw.           Nicole was the first to say something. “That was another blip. It...It might be Chaos Control...but...I’m not so sure anymore.”         “You’re right. I’ve never seen Chaos Control do that. Usually it just teleports, transports, or freezes time. Unless Shadow’s done something like that, I have a hard time believing this was just plain Chaos Control.” Sonic said sourly. Things were getting more confusing by the second...