Author's Note: Ok like the previous times there are a few things I need to say before we start. First off, I don't own Sega or any of their characters. Also these books are based on the events/levels of the Sonic Sega games meaning that there will or may be Spoilers for those games. I say will or may because it depends on your definition of a Spoiler. Yes, in the Stories there will be mentions of the Zones from that particular game. Plus depending on the Game or story there may be some storyline spoilers. Now I know that some of the earlier games don't have much of a Storyline but this is a just-in-case sort of thing. Also this story may be shorter than the other two. It's how I intended it and it's not because I'm slowly decreasing the length of these books. Anyways, thank you for reading this and now enjoy Legend of the Blue Blur 2.5: Solo Stories... small note this name may change depending on what I'm going to add.

Chapter 1 Four more to go.

There's a small patch of woods right outside a small village. On any other day this patch of wood would be insignificant but on this particular day it's got the interest of a few. For inside this small patch of woods is a red metal pole with a blue orb on top. The Blue Orb was glowing for it contained an item of great power that one had to make it through a special test or a special zone just to obtain this item. The item is none other than one of the legendary Chaos Emeralds, a gem that is told to hold Ultimate Power.

The glow in the orb of the Star Post began to flicker. Then, in a flash of light, a figure emerged from it. This figure wore a brown cloak and a green backpack. The figure's hood was up so others could not see his face but for those who knew him, they would know who he was even without him taking it down. This figure went by two names. For those who have only heard of his legend they know him as the legendary Blue Blur. Those who are closer to him know him by his true name: Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic placed the Yellow Chaos Emerald into the backpack he was carrying.

"Four more to go,” Sonic said to himself.

Sonic reached into his pocket and pulled out a plastic bag. He then pulled out a pen and what looked like a folded piece of paper from inside the bag. He knelt down and unfolded the paper which turned out to be a map. Sonic placed the map on the ground and spread it out. On the map were three circles. Two of which he had placed an X through. He then took out his pen and put an X through the third circle. He folded the map back up then placed it and the pen into the plastic bag. After that he placed the bag back into his cloak.

Now to find the other four, Sonic thought to himself then he took off.

***

Sonic's travels brought him to a city. There Sonic proceeded to walk through it. Normally, Sonic would be a little extra cautious when walking through the city. Not that he was paranoid but he enjoyed his solitude and some might find it a little strange for a Mobian out in a cloak since most Mobians only wear shoes and gloves. But in this case, it was a little different. Sonic still preferred his solitude but his two adventures with a female fox by the name of Tails, as started to have an affect on his normal attempts to keep himself in isolation. This fact wouldn't really keep him from sticking out with his cloak but the fact that it was raining did help keep him from sticking out as much.

Sonic didn't really like rain or even water for that matter, not drinking water or bath water but more of bodies of water like ponds, lakes, and oceans. This was due to Sonic not knowing how to swim. When it came to it Sonic could ran fast enough so he could travel over the water but it didn't help as much if he fell into it. The reason why he disliked rain was not for fear of drowning however. No, it was more of the fact that the patches of water here and there sometimes cause Sonic to make a splash while running. Due to this it made it even harder for Sonic to go by unnoticed.

So Sonic walked. As he walked he listened. He was listening to the conversation of others passing by hoping to see if he could find any information on the Chaos Emeralds whereabouts. Of course Sonic was having little luck due to the rain. You see the rain helped mask the conversations of those around him. However, Sonic had trained his hearing and other senses to pick up even the tiniest details so if someone was talking close by he could hear them rain or not. Sonic biggest problem was that not many people were out in the rain talking as they were more in a rush to get to their destination as quickly as possible so they could get out of the rain.

Sonic sighed. He'd probably have to wait for the rain to pass. Sonic then noticed a shopping center to his right. Sonic entered seeing as there might be people inside there he could listen too.

Inside Sonic walked around training his hearing on those he passed by. Most people were talking about the bad weather and gave very little information of active star posts.

"Looking for a Chaos Emerald?" a voice said.

Sonic turned and saw that the voice was coming from a TV. It was showing a commercial.

"Then look no further than Casino Street," the announcer said.

Sonic watched as it showed an image of an active star post in the middle of a walkway.

"We've got not one, not two, but four active star posts." As he said it, it showed an image of the locations of the Star posts in a grid, "So come on down to Casino Street where we've got Rides, games, and now Chaos Emeralds."

The TV showed a picture of the Casino Street Park entrance then the commercial fades as another replaces it.

Strange, Sonic thought to himself. It would be rare for all the active star posts to appear so close together and on a theme park for that matter. But it was the only lead he had. So Sonic left the store and headed out of the city. Once outside he took off in a splash of rain water.

***

Casino Street and its near-by water Park, Splash Hill, were on an island known as South Island. It got its name merely because it was in the southern side of the Sega Kingdom.

One of Casino Street's famous roller coasters was called House of Cards. Here the coaster took the riders through a track of loops, drops and twirls, but one of it's more interesting features are large playing cards that stood up. The car would run through these and the riders or spectators could see these cards spinning in place. This made the ride even more fun as spectators could place bets on the cards that shown. This feature wouldn't work as well if each card was static but each had a special screen so that every time through the cards would change.

Sadly, this ride was closed at the moment. The problem was a minor one but the park owners knew that if left uncheck, it could become fatal to the riders.

One of the Guardians on South Island walked up to the mechanic. The mechanic looked a little strange as he wore a full heat proof suit with black goggles for him to see out of.

"About done, Steven?" The guardian asked as he neared.

"Oh, just about, "Said Steven with his deep voice, "Just need to make one final adjustment."

Steven tightened the screw in an open fuse box.

"There,” Steven said. He then closed the fuse box and replaced the lock, "Good as new."

"That's good,” the Guardian replied, "I've already placed my bet on the next run."

"I see,” Steven replied as he placed his screw driver back into his tool belt, "May I ask what you bet?"

"Pair of Aces,” the guardian said, "I've got this gut feeling that it's going to show."

"I see,” Steven said, "Well, good luck with that. I've got to head out."

Steven started walking towards the exit.

"Hey,” the guardian called out and Steven stopped, "You going to leave that suit on?"

"Yeah,” Steven replied, "All this work as given me a bad smell. Wouldn't want others to smell it too?"

"I guess not,” the guardian said, "Well, see you later Steven."

Steven raised his hand in a good bye gesture as he continued towards the exit.

After Steven left the House of Cards coaster, he made his way to the employee area. Once inside he went to a back exit and went through it. As he exited he checked his surroundings to make sure he wasn't being followed. He saw no one so he continued on his way down an old path. This path led to an old abandoned factory. Above the entrance of this factory was a sign that read: "Mad Gear Incorporation."

Steven entered the building. Once he had he closed the door behind him and made one last look to check to see if he was being followed. No one was there. So Steven took off the helmet part of his suit and it was reveled that Steven wasn't Steven after all. He wasn't even a Mobian. He was a Human. He had no hair except for his rather large mustache. For Steven, was Dr. Ivo Robotnik.

Chapter 2 Four down, Three to go

Sonic made his way to Metropolis. For he knew of a prior there that'd take Mobians to Casino Street Zone. So Sonic made his way down to the prior. There he saw a group of Mobians as they waited to board the ship, the SS Casino. Sonic made his way down to the group.

Normally, Sonic would have just traveled over the water by himself but Sonic didn't know the exact location of South Island so he had to take the SS casino.

It didn't take long as the SS Casino pulled up to the dock. It let down a draw bridge and a group of people got off. After that group left the group on Sonic was in then boarded. Sonic followed as he did his best to stay unnoticeable as any Mobian, who was wearing a cloak, could.

"That's unusual attire,” a voice said.

Sonic turned around to see who was talking to him. In fact, three Mobians were now walking up. The one who spoke was a green crocodile who wore a pair of head phones as well as a gold chain around his neck. The second was a purple chameleon wore some kind of extension on his gloves. The third wasn't actually walking up for he was a Mobian Bee that was wearing a helmet.

"Well?” The crocodile asked, "It's strange for someone to go to a theme park and wear a cloak when it's not raining and there's no forecast for it either."

"Didn't know it was against the law to wear a cloak just to wear a cloak,” Sonic said.

"No, it's not, "The crocodile said, "But it makes you suspicious. So why don't you take down that hood and let us know who you are, unless you've something to hide?"

"I don't have to show you anything," Sonic told them.

"Oh, I think you do,” the crocodile said. He turned his chain around to revile a badge. This badge was different from the Guardian badges. It was a Bounty Hunter Badge. A Bounty Hunter work for those who will hire them and they normally are very good detectives.

"So you're a bounty hunter,” Sonic said, "But that still doesn't mean I'm going to take down my hood."

"You won't eh?" The crocodile looks at the chameleon, "Espio."

Suddenly the chameleon vanishes. Suddenly, something begins to tug on Sonic's hood. However, Sonic swipes the invisible hand off of his cloak. Then Sonic vanishes as he uses his super speed to take him to another part of the ship.

"Did you see that, Vector?" The bee asked in surprise.

"Yeah,” The crocodile responded as Espio returned to the visible spectrum, "There's only one Mobian who can move that fast."

Espio nodded he knew exactly who Vector was referring to.

***

The rest of the boat ride went smoothly for Sonic. He had found a nice spot to stay out of other people’s way. So when the boat arrived Sonic quickly got off as his speed kept people from seeing him. Sonic passed under the park's huge opening sign. As Sonic continued through he noticed a few signs that showed the locations of the active star posts.

The signs said that three of them where in the main part of the park right by each other. The fourth was said to be in Splash Hill Zone, the park's water park.

Sonic changed his course to head to Splash Hill zone. Sonic made it to Splash Hill Zone's entrance in no time at all. He then began to follow the signs that lead to the active Star Post. Eventually, Sonic made it to the active star post. However, there was a big crowd. But Sonic didn't let that stop him as he just ran through the crowed. There were a few shouts and complaints but they couldn't see him anyways. He then reached the Star Post and grabbed the orb on top with both hands. There was a flash and Sonic found himself in the special Zone.

So it really was an active Star Post, Sonic thought to himself.

Sonic got onto the moving orange half pipe and proceeded down it. He ran down it as he began to collect the necessary rings. Three gates and a hundred and forty rings later, Sonic made it to the duel wall at the end of the moving half pipe. To save more time Sonic spun strait into the middle of the double wall as the panels flashed through it's assortment of colors before disappearing all together.

Once through Sonic grabbed the green Chaos Emerald that awaited him. Then, in a flash, Sonic was transported back outside of the special Zone, right next to the now inactive Star post.

There was a slight mummer as the crowd who came to see the active Star Post. Sonic even thought he heard someone gripe about not getting their money's worth.

Sonic didn't wait for the crowd to start closing in on him, as he dashed through them. There were a few more complaints but Sonic couldn’t help but noticed a few people in awe.

That's four down, Sonic thought to himself, three more to go.

In truth, Sonic thought that it was a little too easy. It wasn't really the easiness of the Special Zones because Sonic has gone through them so many times is not even a challenge any more. True each Special Zone had a different amount of Rings that had to be collected. Plus the placement of them and the Spike balls were never the same. But still, Sonic just didn't find them challenging anymore.

The thing that really struck Sonic as being to easy was the fact that there were 4 Active Start posts so close together. Of course, it was also possible that it was just a gimmick to lure in Mobians to the Theme Park. But even that wasn't the real strangeness for Sonic. You see both of the other times Sonic went after the Chaos Emeralds there was always something he had to deal with. Of course, it was the same human, Robotnik. Of course, Sonic knew that Robotnik was gone. Unless, he some how managed to escape the Death Egg before it exploded but Sonic didn't notice anything come out of the Death Egg.

Sonic shook his head. It was not his concern rather the doctor lived or not, as long as he didn't mess with him collecting the Chaos Emeralds again. So Sonic put Robotnik out of his mind and continued with his quest.

***

Meanwhile, back in the docks, The Chaotix, Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon, and Charmy the Bee, were the last ones to get off the ship for they had been looking for any signs of the cloaked Mobian they had seen.

"Didn't think he'd stay,” Vector said as him and his team headed for the front gate of Casino Night Zone, "But I wonder, what's the Blue Blur doing here anyways?"

"Maybe he needs a vacation,” Charmy suggested with a smile.

"Well..." Vector began but never got to finish has an Explosion went off not far behind them. The Chaotix then turned to see burning wreckage where the SS Casino once was.

The Chaotix watched as a group of paramedics rushed to the scene.

"The captain of the ship was the only one left on board,” Vector told them as they went by.

One of the Paramedics nodded to vector. The paramedics then went to the side of a building where a hose was attached curled around a metal wheel. They unwrapped, the hose, from the wheel. They brought the one end of the hose towards the burning wreckage as one stayed behind. Once they were close enough they signaled the Mobian by the pump and he turned it on. White foam began to spray out of the hose and the Paramedics began to spray the fire with the foam. In no time at all the fire was put out.

Then the lead paramedic walked up to vector.

"Did you see what happened?" He asked.

"No sir,” Vector said, "We were heading into the park when it suddenly exploded."

"I see,” The paramedic said, and then he noticed the badge on Vector's chain, "You're a Bounty Hunter, Correct?"

"Yes we are,” Vector said as he indicated his team.

"Well, We won't be needing your help right now,” The paramedic said and he went back to his team.

Vector turned towards Espio and Charmy.

"You know boys,” Vector said, "Something tells me that this is just the beginning."

"Why do you say that Vector?" Charmy asked.

"Just a hunch,” Vector said, "But if my hunch is correct, the next place we should go talk to is the Mad Gear Corporation.”

So Vector set off as Espio followed. Charmy just floated there and sighed.

"So much for our vacation,” He said then caught up with the other two.

Chapter 3 The Show

Sonic made his way through Casino Steet Zone. With all the signs and stuff it wasn't hard to get lost. Eventually, Sonic came to a large area. Many Mobians were crowded around a raised platform. On it Sonic could see three Active Star Posts. Sonic immediately realized something was up when he saw them. For starters there have been no records at all of Star posts being so close together that they were side by side, let alone three. But on the platform Sonic saw two Mobians. One was a Mobian Rabbit that wore a red jacket and a pair of blue jeans. The other was a Mobian Pig that wore a Black Jacket and blue jeans. On the back of both jackets Sonic could make out the words, "Mad Gear Corporation.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, may I have you're attention please, " The Mobian Pig said.

Sonic was curious to see what they planned to do so he goes within a good seeing range and watched.

"You all know me as Porker Lewis,” The Mobian Pig continued, "And this here's my good friend Johnny Lightfoot."

Johnny, the Mobian Rabbit, raised his fist to the applause that broke out over the crowd. Once the crowd cheer died down Johnny lowered his hand.

"Now today you're in for a special treat, "Porker Lewis continued, "You get to witness Johnny as he goes to collect one of the three emeralds here."

Johnny reached down onto the floor and picked up a kind of small camera with head straps. Johnny then strapped the camera to his head and pressed a button on it. Then the wall Sonic had mistaken as a wall came to life with the image from Johnny’s camera. There were a couple of oohs and awws from the crowd.

"Are you ready, everybody?" Porker Lewis said to the crowd and they all responded with a yeah. He then turned to Johnny, "Are you ready, Johnny?"

"Ready," Johnny responded.

"Now, please begin,” Porker Lewis told him.

Johnny walked up to the Star post on the left and placed his hands on it. There was then a bright flash, but strangely it seemed to last longer than Sonic remembered. Of course, Sonic hadn't witnessed many others going into the special zone so for all he knew the flash could last longer.

The Crowd then turned to the screen as they saw a live footage of the special zone and once again Sonic couldn't help get the feeling that something was wrong. Then again it was possible it was all just the camera.

So Sonic watched as Johnny proceeded through the special zone but the authenticity of it was still bugging him. It seemed real enough but there was just something about it that Sonic just couldn't place his finger on.

Johnny made it through the first gate and braced himself for the next challenge. Soon Johnny was dodging Spike balls while collecting rings. Despite, Sonic's skepticism the rest of the crowd couldn't get enough of it as they cheered Johnny through it and gasped at all of his close calls. Finally, Johnny made it to the last gate with more than enough rings to spare. The half pipe carried Johnny to the platform and Johnny hopped off. Now Johnny was at the double wall. He then pressed his hands on the wall and it began to flash through the assortment of colors till they disappeared entirely. Johnny proceeded to clear the parts of the wall till he had an enough space to reach the emerald. Then Sonic noticed something that erased all doubts on rather what he was seeing was real or not.

Johnny grabbed the Chaos Emerald and then there was a flash... both on screen and from the Star post. The flash faded and Johnny was seen standing before them holding the Chaos Emerald he just got.

The Crowd erupted into applause as Johnny danced around the Stage holding up the Emerald. Finally, the crowd settled down.

"Well, done Johnny, "Porker Lewis said allowed while patting Johnny on the back, "This is by far a great achievement."

Porker Lewis then turned to the audience, "Does anyone have any questions, for my talented friend here?"

With that just about every hand in the audience shot up. Sonic however, stepped forward.

"I have one,” Sonic said and all eyes from the audience and on the stage fell on him.

"What is it?" Porker Lewis asked.

"Who do you expect to fool with that fake Emerald?" Sonic asked bluntly.

That got the crowd going as they protested against what Sonic just said.

"How can you say that?" Porker Lewis said.

"Yeah,” Johnny said, "Did you not just see on screen how I made it through the Special Zone?"

"I watched you're film,” Sonic said, "But there's just one problem with it."

Sonic swung over his backpack and took out the Yellow Chaos Emerald. Everyone in the audience was shocked as it was the same color as the one in Johnny's hand now.

The look on Johnny and Porker Lewis told the crowd all they needed to know. They were just conned. Most of the Crowd said a few boos and walked off while the others just shrugged it off as another gimmick but still left. Once the crowd was gone, Porker Lewis and Johnny got down from the stage and walked up to Sonic.

"Do you see what you've done?" Porker Lewis said, "You've ruined our show."

"Not my problem,” Sonic said as he crossed his arms.

"Not you're problem?” Porker Lewis said, "Of course it's you're problem you know how long it took me to make that video."

"No, Nor do I care, " Sonic said plainly.

At that Porker Lewis became mad and was about to attack Sonic when Johnny held out a hand in front of him.

"Chill out man, "Johnny said, "There's no need to attack him over it."

Porker Lewis looked at his friend then sighed as he let his anger go, "You're right."

"Tell me,” Sonic said, "Is any of those Star Posts real?"

"The middle one is,” Johnny told Sonic, "The other two were just put there for our show."

"Are there any other real ones?" Sonic asked.

"The one in Splash Hill Zone,” Johnny told him.

"I got that one all ready,” Sonic said.

"Oh?" Johnny said a little impressed, "So you're collecting the Chaos Emeralds?"

Sonic just stood there, not responding. Then Johnny realized he wasn't going to tell him.

"Well, anyways, "Johnny said, "there are two others. That's why we had two extras here."

Johnny turned to Porker Lewis.

"Where were they now?"

Porker sighed. He didn't really feel like helping out this guy who just ruined their show, "One's in the Lost Labyrinth Zone while the other's in the old Mad Gear Factory."

"Lost Labyrinth Zone?" Sonic asked.

"It's a cave south from the park,” Porker Lewis said, "It's filled with a giant maze of underground caverns."

"And the Factory?" Sonic asked.

"South east of here,” Johnny told him.

Sonic then nodded then in a flash he was gone.

The two friends just stood there.

"Was that?" Porker Lewis asked stunned.

"I think so,” Johnny said coming to the same conclusion.

Chapter 4 The Demand

There is a building on South Island, a little ways from the park. This building is the Mad Gear office building. In this building, many plans are made for new ideas for park gimmicks and attractions. Once a week, the board of the Mad Gear Corporation holds a meeting to discuss the different park activities. This just happened to be that day, as the board was once again in the conference room discussing matters. However, this meeting seemed to have one thing on they're minds.

"We've got to stop him from collecting any more Chaos Emeralds,” Said one of the board members.

The Board had just gotten word that a cloaked figure had not only collected the Chaos Emerald from Splash Hill Zone but also ruined Porker Lewis' and Johnny Lightfoot's side show by revealing to the crowd that it was a fake. They heard that he vanished at a great speed.

"But did he take the one from park?" Asked another board member, "The real one?"

The first board member nodded.

"Porker Lewis said he came back not long after he left and took the emerald from the only active star post there."

"Do you really, think it's who they said it was?" asked another board member.

"What, the Blue Blur?" said one of them with a sort of laugh, "What would he want with the Chaos Emeralds?"

"Not sure,” Replied the board member, "However, I've heard a few rumors that he was collecting them during Robotnik’s attack on Metropolis."

"But they're just rumors...."

The president of the Mad Gear Corporation taped her hand on the table to get the others attention and it did the trick as all eyes were now on her.

"If the Blue Blur is after the Chaos Emeralds then there's not much we can do about it, "She said, "What we need to do is focus on something new."

"I have an idea,” Said one of the board members.

"Go ahead then,” the President, who was a Mobian Cat with pink fur, said.

Before the Mobian could say anything a TV monitor that was on the wall of the Conference room crackled to life. On screen was Dr. Robotnik.

"Oh what a lovely bunch this is,” The doctor said with a smile.

There was a gasp from the board members as they recognized the human.

"Y-you're, Robotnik,” Stammered one of the board members.

"That's Dr. Robotnik," Robotnik replied.

"But I thought you were killed?" asked another one.

"Awe, but the truth is, I'm not, "Robotnik said, "Now if you don't mind I'd like to get down to business."

"What kind of Business?" Ask the president.

"Oh, just a simple exchange, " Robotnik said, "I would like 100 Golden Rings."

"And in return?"

"I don't activate the bomb I've placed in you're amusement park, " Robotnik said simply.

That got another gasp from the board members.

"A bomb?!?" One cried out.

"Yes,” Dr. Robotnik replied, "I've already given you a small taste earlier today when I blew up the SS Casino."

"You were the cause of that?!?" the president said, "We lost the captain thanks to you."

"Just goes to show you of how series I am, "Robotnik said, "Oh, and one more thing. If you alert the authorities in any way I will be forced to detonate the bomb sooner."

"We understand, "the president said, "Where should we drop of the rings?"

"Bring them to the abandoned, Mad Gear factory,” Robotnik said, "I want you to bring them, alone."

"Will, do,” The president replied.

"You have four hours,” Robotnik said then the monitor went blank.

There was a stunned silence in the room, till someone finally spoke.

"What do you think we should do, Mina?"

But before President Mina could respond, the door to the room opened up and three Mobians entered.

"I'll tell you what you should do,” said one of the new comers, a green crocodile.

"Vector?" Mina asked.

"Hello, Mina,” Vector said, "Long time no see."

"True,” Mina said as a small smile spread on her face.

"How's your sister?" Vector asked.

"Oh, she's still working at the Emerald Hill Zone Spa, "Mina said, "I've told her that she should get some rest after what she went through but she's refuses to let her Spa just go without her for a little bit."

"She is a workaholic,” Vector replied, "Just like her sister."

"True,” Mina replied.

"Ummm... could someone please let the rest of us know what's going on here, " Said one of the board members.

"Oh sorry, "Mina said, "This is Vector, he and his team are bounty hunters."

"Bounty hunters?" asked one of them, "Isn't it strange how they just now showed up?"

"You implying something?" Vector said his tone of voice saying he was not someone he should be messing with.

"Well, " The board member said not really phased, "I just find it odd that you too just happen to show up right after Robotnik gave his demands."

"We were headed here to talk with you guys about the exploding ship, " Vector said, "But when we arrived we heard you guys talking with the human so we listened and waited for him to leave."

"A Likely story," The board member replied.

"That's enough Herald,” Mina snapped, "Vector is someone I know very well and we are going to believe him. Now Vector what was it you said we should do."

"Well, you guys need to get together that hundred rings, "Vector said, "Then while you're delivering them, Espio here will follow and get inside. We will then proceed to capturing Robotnik."

"That's foolish, "Herald said, "After all, what if you're friend there is caught, Huh? Then Robotnik will detonate the bomb and kill many innocent people."

"Oh, he won't be able to spot him,” Vector then nodded at Espio who nodded back. Then suddenly Espio vanished. This got a few gasps from the board members.

"As you can see,” Vector said, "Espio will be much harder to find this way."

Vector nodded towards Espio then he reappeared.

"We'll put your plan into action, Vector,” Mina said she then turned towards one of the board members, "Bring in the Golden Rings."


The Board member nodded and he left to go get them.

"One more thing, "Vector said, "We have reason to believe that the Blue Blur is somewhere in your theme park."

"We know,” Mina said, "For he's been collecting the Chaos Emeralds."

"Really now?" Vector said completely amused, "That's interesting."

"Tell me about it,” Mina said, "He's already collected the one from Splash Hill and the real one in the main park."

"Hmmm..." Vector said obviously deep in thought, "Seems the Blue Blur might have a different reason for being here than I originally thought."

And how right he was.

Chapter 5 Boom!!

Things were going quiet well for Sonic as he headed outside of the theme park and made his way south. He had only two Chaos Emeralds left to collect and so far he hadn't run into any trouble. The two entertainers, Porker Lewis and Johnny Lightfoot, did provide a small distraction and he now realized that by voicing his mind would only lead the park to know that he was there but he didn't care. There wasn't anything they could do to stop him. After all the final two emeralds are not even in their theme park.

So Sonic continued south as he kept his eyes open for the Lost Labyrinth Zone cave. The scenery was actually pretty nice to look at and he was glad that the park didn't ruin it. Not long afterwards, Sonic entered a forest. He continued on his straight path dodging any trees that were in his way. Soon Sonic noticed a cave to his right. He stopped and examined a sign next to the opening.

"Lost Labyrinth Zone, Enter at your own risk." It read.

This must be the place, Sonic thought. He looked into the cave and noticed the absence of a light source. So Sonic reached into his backpack and pulled out a circular light that was powered by a Golden Ring. He turned it on and proceeded into the cave.

As Sonic walked he began to notice a few things along the walls. Most of it looked like old mining equipment which included shovels, picks, and gun powder.

So this place use to be a mine, Sonic thought to himself, but I wonder why they stopped?

Sonic made his way through the cave as he followed a set of mine cart tracks. Sonic did come across a few forks in the tunnel and he proceeded through them always taking the opposite path he took the first time.

Suddenly, Sonic's light began to flicker. Sonic tapped the light with his hand only to make it wink out.

"Knew I should have got a better flash light," Sonic said to no one in particular.

Now it was pitch black. So sonic felt his way to the wall where he had noticed that a string of unlit torches were on the wall. Sonic figured that he could use one of them. He made it to the wall and sure enough he found one of the torches. He dug into his backpack and pulled out some matches that he had in a plastic bag. He pulled one out and quickly lit it. He squinted his eyes a second as they grew used to the new light source.

Sonic then placed the match on the torch and instantly it lit it. Sonic let the match fall to the ground as he took the torch out of the bracket. However, the match hit a line of gun powder and instantly began to follow the line. The lined moved fast as it traveled the line eventually running up the wall. That's when Sonic saw something he didn't like and instantly took off down the cave, for the line lead to a stick of dynamite that the miners had left.

No sooner had Sonic cleared the area when the fire hit the dynamite and it ignited. The explosion was loud as it blew a whole in the wall. But it wasn't finished as it began to hit other pockets of gun powder and causing a new explosion.

Sonic was able to stay ahead of the on coming blast as his speed carried him deeper and deeper into the Cave. Eventually, the explosion died out but not before doing one final thing. It unleashed a large round boulder from its place. The boulder dropped to the ground; however, since the ground had enough downward slop the boulder began to roll, straight for Sonic.

What are the odds of that? Sonic thought to himself as he kept running.

The boulder began to increase in speed as it continued to give chase to Sonic. Sonic ran and ran easily matching the boulders speed but the tunnel he was in seemed to be straight with out any turns for Sonic to step out of the boulders way. Sonic wasn't sure of how long the tunnel would last so he began to take off his backpack and cloak. He placed the cloak in with his backpack and quickly increased in speed to put some distance between him and the boulder. After he was far enough away he placed his backpack down and began to spin in place in preparation for a Spin Dash. When the boulder came close he charged at in a full spin.

SLAM!!!

The boulder was cut in half as it the power behind Sonic's spin dash also stopped the boulder from proceeding any farther.

Sonic walked over to his backpack and took his cloak out of it. After he put it back on he then put his back pack on and proceeded down the tunnel.

It wasn't long after that, Sonic began to see a glow up ahead. Sonic caught up to it and noticed that the tunnel came to a wide open cavern. Sonic saw that there seemed to be other tunnels that branched off of the room but Sonic's main focus was on the cause of the light, an active Starpost. Sonic reached out his hands and placed them on the orb on top of the Starpost and in a flash; he was transported to the Special Zone.

After the warm up with the boulder, Sonic didn't take long to collect the necessary rings and get to the end of the Special Zone. Once again he spun right into the dual wall and the colors flashed through their cycle eventually disappearing all together giving Sonic an opening. Inside was the purple Chaos Emerald. Sonic quickly grabbed it and he was warped back out of the Special Zone.

Now to get out of here, Sonic thought as he picked up his torch and carefully lit it. He made extra care to extinguish the match before dropping it to the floor.

After his light source was good he proceeded to find an exit to the cave.

***

President Mina was headed towards a place she never expected to visit, at least not until Mad Gear Corporation decided that it was time to demolish their old factory.

Mina was pushing a crate on a hover trolley. Inside the crate were one hundred Golden Rings. Mina was nervous despite having one of Vector's teammates close by. Of course, being as he was invisible didn't help calm her. She trusted Vector and knew that the plan would work so she continued to push the trolley.

It didn't take long and she could already see the old factory and not long after that she was pushing the trolley up the steps. She then knocked on the doors.

Suddenly a speaker came to life.

"Yes," Came Robotnik's voice.

"It's Mina,” Mina told him, "I've come to deliver the Golden Rings."

The doors swung open but Robotnik was not in the door way as the doors were automatic if need be.

"Do come in,” Robotnik said through the speakers.

Mina walked into the door but no sooner had she entered, the door closed.

Mina looked to the doors in alarm. Did Espio have enough time to get in?

Suddenly, Robotnik came down a flight of stairs.

"Sorry to alarm you with the doors,” Robotnik said, "But I had to keep your Chameleon friend from entering."

"What?!?" Mina said totally shocked, "But how'd you...?"

"Inferred cameras at the door, "Robotnik replied calmly, "I had to make sure you didn't try and pull any tricks on me."

Robotnik walked over to the crate.

"Now, open it,” Robotnik said.

Mina lifted the lid off the box. Robotnik took a look at the contents.

"You take me for a fool?" Robotnik said.

"What do you mean?" Mina asked.

"Those aren't Golden Rings, "Robotnik said, "That's your currency."

"You're..." Mina looked into the crate as well and sure enough there was one hundred rings made out of gold, the Mobian currency, "I had no idea."

"Doesn't matter now,” Robotnik said, "You leave me no choice but to keep you as my hostage until youfools can bring me the hundred Golden Rings like I asked."

"So you're not going to blow up the bomb?" Mina asked.

"All most forgot,” Robotnik said and pulled out a small device with a single button on it.

Mina placed her hands on her mouth as she realized that she just caused the deaths of who knows how many Mobians. She quickly ran towards Robotnik but he simply pulled out a gun and pointed it at her.

"Now you be a good hostage,” Robotnik said as he pushed the button.

Mina sank to her knees in despair.

"Oh don't worry,” Robotnik said, "I had to design a specific bomb so it would go unnoticed in the system. I placed the trigger on a certain hand to come up on the House of Cards. Two Aces and three Kings as a matter of fact. All I did was set it in motion so you have about thirty minutes then the car will go through one last ride revealing the numbers. Then, boom."

Mina looked up.

"So there's still hope?" She said.

"Only if they find it before then,” Robotnik said and grinned.

What Robotnik didn't know was that espio was still outside listening to Robotnik's conversation but the time for that was up as he quickly left to go warn Vector about the bomb.

Chapter 6 Simpler


It didn't take Sonic long to get out of the cave as the explosion he set off opened a hole in the ceiling. So Sonic made is way to the next destination, the old Mad Gear Factory.

Sonic was wasting no time as he continued through the island in search of the old factory.

"Are you sure Espio?"

Sonic heard the voice and suddenly stopped. He recognized it from the three Bounty Hunters on the SS Casino. The name Espio also rang a bell as it was the name of the chameleon of the group.

So Sonic looked around but couldn't see any signs of either of them. They had to be around here somewhere.

Suddenly, Espio the Chameleon appeared in front of him. He had some kind of walkie talkie in his hands.

"The Blue Blur?" vector's asked through the walkie Talkie.

Sonic didn't see any point in denying it.

"You want something?" Sonic asked, "Because I'm a little busy here."

"The collecting of the Chaos Emeralds can wait,” Vector replied, "Right now we have a serious situation on our hands."

"Your hands, not mine," Sonic told him plainly.

"No this affects you too," Vector said, "Seeing how Robotnik's using the old Mad Gear Factory as his base of operations."

"That's not possible," Sonic told him, "Robotnik's dead."

"He's alive all right,” Vector said, "Besides what would I have to gain by lying to you?"

"Perhaps you're trying to keep me from going after that last Emerald in the factory," Sonic replied.

"Listen you stubborn-headed dolt," Vector said getting angry, "I don't care about you collecting the Chaos Emeralds. For all I care you can get the Chaos Emerald right now, but if you don't help a bomb is going to explode in the theme park and kill many innocent Mobians."

Sonic sighed. Sonic never wanted to be the hero but it just seemed the he kept on getting put into these situations but he knew he had to do it. Not for the sake of the Mobians but for his own. To keep him from becoming what he hated most.

"What do you need me to do?" Sonic asked relentlessly.

"I need you to go into the factory and find any information on the bomb,” Vector told him, "Espio will go with you to help you."

"Fine," Sonic said.

"One more thing," Vector told him, "Robotnik has a hostage. Her name is Mina and she's the president of Mad Gear."

"Whatever," Sonic said, "Can I go now?"

"You have less than thirty minutes," Vector replied, "So get on it fast."

Sonic took off towards the old factory. Espio also headed towards the old factory but he was unable to go as fast as Sonic was.

It didn't take Sonic long and he could already see the factory. Sonic's speed got him to the front doors quickly and he didn't hesitate for a second as he slammed through them. Inside Sonic saw the hover trolley that Mina had brought but there wasn't any sign of either Robotnik or Mina. So Sonic dashed up the stairs as he searched for the two.

Eventually, Sonic came to the main assembly area. There Sonic could see a Mobian cat chained to one of the pillars. Also down there Robotnik was standing next to a strange machine.

"Ah, Sonic, I was wondering when you'd show up," Robotnik said as he saw Sonic.

"Tell me how to stop the bomb," sonic told him, "Or I'll cut off your other arm."

"The bombs simplicity in itself,” Robotnik said, "However, now that you're here it makes things much simpler."

"How's that?" Sonic asked but no sooner had he said that a beam of concentrated light shot up from the floor trapping sonic with in it. However, Sonic was standing close enough to the edge that the light cut Sonic's backpack off it's straps thus making it so that the backpack was on the outside of the field.

"Because,” Robotnik said as he saw the surprised look on Sonic's face, "Now that you've given me the Chaos Emeralds I don't need to wait on the hundred rings."

"Don't you dare touch them," Sonic said.

"And what are you going to do about it?" Robotnik asked as he calmly walked over to where the backpack laid, "Last I checked you were trapped in that force field."

Sonic knew Robotnik was right and he hated it. So he watched helplessly as Robotnik picked up the backpack filled with the 6 Chaos Emeralds Sonic had worked so hard to find.

"What do you plan on doing with them?" Sonic asked.

"I'm going home," Robotnik said as he went over to the machine Sonic had seen earlier. The machine had a circular metal ring and it was big enough to have someone walk through it.

"That's a portal to your world?" Sonic asked.

"Yes," Robotnik said, "But don't get any ideas of trying to chase me after I'm gone for after I'm through, it will self-destruct, leaving you here to get caught in the explosion."

Robotnik opened a compartment on the machine and he placed the 6 Chaos Emerald into it. Robotnik then went to the control panel and pressed a few buttons. Suddenly a portal opened in the middle of the metal ring.

"Good bye Sonic the Hedgehog, " Robotnik said as he stepped up to the portal, "I'd say it's been nice knowing you...but it hasn't."

Robotnik stepped into the portal and disappeared. The portal closed.

"10 seconds till Self Destruct!" An electronic voice called from the machine.

Suddenly the field around Sonic dropped Sonic turned to see Espio holding some kind of remote. Sonic also saw that Mina was released from her chain. Sonic quickly dashed to the both of them and grabbed their arms. Then he took off outside pulling both of them along with him.

"3, 2, 1"

The machine went off as it self-destructed in a huge explosion. However, Sonic, Mina, and Espio were safely on the outside of the factory when it went off.

Now what? Just then Espio's radio crackled to life.

"We stopped the bomb,” Vector said, "So what's happening there?"

"He's gone,” Sonic said a small hint of despair, "Back to his world."

"What?!?" Vector said, "So is that what he wanted the Golden Rings for."

"Yes," Sonic replied, "He built a portal back to his world. Afterwards, it exploded."

"Exploded?" Vector said, "Is everyone All right?"

"We all made it out,” Sonic replied.

"Good,” Vector replied, "By the way how'd he get his machine to work when he didn't have the Golden Rings?"

"He took my Chaos Emeralds," Sonic replied and he could tell that thinking about it was making Sonic mad.

"Oh, Well sorry to hear about that, "Vector said, "Well, Come on back Espio and bring Mina back too."

Mina walked over to Sonic.

"Thank you for rescuing us," Mina said.

Sonic just looked at her. Then he turned and started walking towards the ruined factory.

"Where you going?" Mina asked.

"To collect the Chaos Emerald,” Sonic said.

So Sonic went down to the ruins of the old Mad Gear Factory as Espio and Mina headed back to the Casino Street Zone. As Sonic walked his mood was getting worse as he knew what he had to do.

Finally, he found the Active StarPost that was in the Factory. He sighed as he reached for the orb at the top thinking how he will have to start his search all over again.

"Here I go again,” Sonic said and he grabbed the orb.