Virtual Sonic by Jabari Roberts

PART 1

Right now, Sonic is in Robotropolis. He is being chased by one of the devious Dr. Robotnik's creations. Tails, Antoine (who, by the way, botched up this mission that Sonic's uncle, Charles, asked for), and Sally are running, as usual, not-so-close behind.

"Antoine!! This is all your fault!!" said Sonic, as he dodged Robotnik's new machine. It was the usual glass bowl that the Doc flies in, only this time there are claws attached to the fast ship.

"Weel, maybe I just got a little afraid." said Antoine in his Antoine-ese.

"A LITTLE afraid?! Your screaming could scare Casper the Ghost! Well, I know how I can beat this tin-can troublemaker." Sonic immediately ran to a very narrow alley.

"HA-HA-HA! I have you now, hedgehog!" said Robotnik. However, he couldn't see when he laughed, because he crashed right through the alley! He did several somersaults in the air before he crashed into the garbage dump.

"Oh, that will ruin his weekend" was all that Sonic had to say. Then Sally and the rest of the crew came, gave Sonic his commendations, and dashed back to Knothole.

A few minutes later, Robotnik comes out of a pile of scrap metal. "Ugh!! That hedgehog always gets on my nerves, but I got surprise for him that he is never going to forget! HA-HA-HA!"

In Knothole, Rotor called Sonic to come over to his lab.

"Sonic! I have a surprise for you-and me!" said Rotor. Sally and the rest of the Freedom Fighters were there too.

"It's a strange package, Sonic," said Sally. It was a gigantic package, almost 5 feet high and 15 feet wide. Sally, with caution, opens the package. Then suddenly, there is a flash of light and almost magically, a large computer appeared!

The computer then came on, and then said, "SIT DOWN IN THE SEATS. I HAVE SOMETHING TO SHOW YOU. COME ON, DON'T BE AFRAID." Sonic was the only volunteer. He sat down in the chair provided in the box put on the helmet that was attached, and then...POOF! he disappeared! Then a familiar face came on the screen,and said, HA-HA-HA!

PART 2

The familiar face was Robotnik!

"What did you do with Sonic?!" Sally said angrily.

"Oh, I just put him inside a game," Robotnik said.

"You mean-" said Sally, pointing to a certain game machine...

"No, not THAT type of game!"

"Well, what game did you put him in!?"

"Oh, a game that a certain person is playing right now."

"Well, who is it!?"

"Oh, let's just say it's a person Sonic is jealous of."

With a worried face, Sally says "OH NO!"

Tails asks, "Who is it, `Aunt' Sally?" Sally whispers the answer in Tails' ear. Then he says, "Oh-Oh!"

"What's wrong, Tails?"

"We're using too many `oh's' in this story! Oh yeah, and the person's name makes me worried, too!" After realizing his mistake, Tails says "Oh no!-wait, Oh great!-Oh, rats! I used 4 "oh's" already! Arrgh! I said it again!..." And Tails went off, saying "oh's" in different sentence fragments all the way.

Meanwhile, in Cyberspace...

"Where am I? Something tells me I'm not in Kansas, or Mobius, anymore..." says a lone Sonic. Then he comes to a directory, which says, YOU ARE HERE...AND I CAN'T TELL YOU WHERE YOU ARE ANYWAY! HA-HA! Then suddenly, TV screens showing Robotnik appears all around Sonic in place of the directory. "HA-HA-HA! I got you now, hedgehog! You and your friends have freed my trap from the box! And tell them what comes with this prize, Johnny!"

"Right you are, Robotnik!" says Johnny Kat, the famous Mobius game show host, on one of the TVs. "Oh no, I'm in a game show!" says a bewildered Sonic.

"Just temporarily. Now, this VERY (for Virtual Enhanced RealitY) comes with you, cyberspace, Dr. Robotnik, the Galaxy's Galactic Gladiator Game, and the Mysterious Gamer."

"It comes with the Galaxy Galactic Whatzit?!"

"Never mind. Take it away, Robotnik!"

"Thank you, Johnny. Now, on with the Game!" Robotnik shoots a laser beam at Sonic, which de-materialized him and warped him directly into the Game. "And now, on with the broadcast!" says Robotnik, which now broadcasted on the huge screen Sally and her friends opened.

PART 3

Meanwhile, on the floating island just off to the west...

"Now, you may be wondering, "What does the Floating Island have to do with this?!" Well, you'll find out...and here comes that wily echidna, Knuckles!" Applause from the game show sounded.

Knuckles caught sight of his own computer. What was strange about this was that there was a game show on his computer. What was even stranger, though, was that he didn't even turn it on!

Meanwhile, Johnny Kat kept on babbling about what was going on (and after that, Knuckles still didn't know what was going on. After staring at the screen for 3 1/2 minutes, he even said, "What is going on?").

"Oh, you'll find out, echidna." And suddenly, Knuckles got sucked into his own computer!

Then, the Game came up on screen. "Okay, Sonic, here are your instructions. There are 7 levels in this game, with a boss at the end of each level. Each level has at least 3 sub-levels each, where each one you'll be piloting a ship. You'll have 4 ships per game..."

"Oh, skip the briefing Robotnik, let's get to the game!!" said Sonic. Sally, Rotor, Tails, and the rest of the Freedom Fighters, who each was eating popcorn, applauded. But Robotnik said, "The faster you get destroyed, the better. And speaking of better, you had better finish this game in 30 minutes, or I get to Roboticize you, but this time, PERMANENTLY!"

Sonic started playing the game. But he got shot down by one of the badniks 47 seconds later. "Oh Sonic, this is going to be a good day...for ME! HA-HA-HA!" bellowed Robotnik. "Oh Sonic, and did I say there are no continues..." But before the Doc could finish his sentence, Sonic got through a level and defeated a boss! (It turned out that the ship Sonic was flying was shot down by the badnik before the boss.)

Applause came from the Freedom Fighters, and boos came from Robotnik's robot flunkies that were in the game show audience.

"Well, let's make this harder!" said Robotnik. "And here comes...(sarcastically) gosh, who is he!"

"It's the Mysterious Gamer!"

Johnny Kat was right. This person WAS mysterious.

Antoine asked, "Why ees there a Mysterious Gamer?"

"Because every game has an opposite to the good guy, and this is it, you idiot!" said Johnny Kat (and some of the robots joined in the jeering).

The Mysterious Gamer was in a black robe that concealed most of his face. In fact, the only area which people could see him was his mouth!

"I'm ready to shoot Sonic down," said the Gamer. "That hedgehog will wish that he'd never tangled with me!"

After coming out of her daze watching Sonic try to beat Robotnik, Sally realized that this voice of the Gamer was different, but somehow familiar.

When Sonic got close to the 3rd boss, the Gamer said, "Brace yourself, Sonic! Here I come!" And when Sonic bashed and shot his way through the level and met the boss, Sonic couldn't believe what he had seen.

PART 4

It was a huge ship. A REALLY huge ship. It was about 10 times as high and 25 times as long as Sonic's ship.

A noise came from the small (compared to this ship's size) loudspeaker. It was the Mysterious Gamer (called the Dark Gamer by Johnny Kat & Robotnik. And they're not kidding; who can see out of that robe?!). He said, "Surrender or be annihilated!"

"How do you spell that?" replied Sonic.

"T-H-A-T. Now I'm going to shoot you down!"

"Very funny. And who's going to shoot who down?"

"Quit stalling, hedgehog! Give me your best shot!" So Sonic did exactly that. And after what had happened, it looked as if the Doc was going to have a heart attack.

"You idiot!! Why did you say that, stupid?!"

"Uh, we were having a war of cliches?" meekly replied the Gamer.

"You-you-YOU"

"Don't worry; it won't happen again. And besides, that hedgehog has only 13:34 in terms of time."

So Sonic continued his way through the levels, until he had come to the last level. It had 10 sub-levels and Sonic has only 7:54 remaining!

"Doctor Robotnik," said Robotnik's sort-of-sidekick, Snively. "We have terrible news. Princess Sally and a walrus named Rotor are attempting to hack into the system!"

And the Doc responded in his usual way.

"What!?!"

"I said"

"I heard what you said! Now what are you standing here for? Go and stop them! Go-Go-GO!"

"Wait-this message just in!"

"What's the message?"

Snively gulped when he said the distressing news to the Doc: "Too late."

Sally, with the help of scientific genius Rotor and Sally's hand-held computer, Nicole, have figured out who the Mysterious Gamer is.

It was Knuckles the Echidna!

Strapped to the same chair which Sonic sat on, he was strapped in such a way that it looked like Knuckles was having his brain drained.

"Don't worry, Knuckles," Sally said. We'll get you out-I hope."

"That's the best news I heard all day," replied Knuckles, but he was cut off the link that Nicole had on him.

"OH NO YOU DON'T" was inscribed on the screen. Even more alarming was the fact that Sally and Rotor were sucked into the machine!

PART 5

There's good news, bad news, and ugly news.

The good news is that Knuckles managed to break free of the mind link and is busy getting himself out of cyberspace.

The bad news is, Sally and Rotor has been taken hostage by Dr. Robotnik. And the ugly news is, Sonic has 3 acts to go with 2:42 remaining, and if he runs out of time, he will be Roboticised! And how is he going to do this while his friends are captured? Will he choose between his own self or his friends? Stay tuned...

...if you can avoid the electronic waves! The Doc has been sending electronic waves to all of the Freedom Fighters in case they get any ideas. But one person still has an idea...

"What happened to the Mysterious Gamer?" the Doc bellowed.

"Uh, he got away," Snively said.

Again the Doc responded in his usual way.

"What!?!"

"Well, I didn't mean to-"

"You didn't mean to what?"

"Nothing, sir-oh wait!"

"What?"

"Sonic beat the game," chattering as Snively said the words.

He did. Sonic managed to beat the game-with 4 seconds to spare.

"That's it! I'm taking matters in my own hands. I'm not finished yet!"

And Johnny Kat said, as a hush over the audience came:

"What's Robotnik going to do?"

PART 6

"Yeah. What IS Robotnik going to do?" said Knuckles.

Yes, Knuckles managed to get out of his electronic prison. (It was really very simple. Nicole, on her own, managed to find in cyberspace where Knuckles was and brought him back to the real world.)

"Hello, anyone?"

It was no use. When Knuckles came into the same room where Sonic, Sally, and Rotor have been abducted, he came

into a room full of TV zombies due to the electronic waves. In fact, Tails said, "Hey! Down in front!"

"Well," Knuckles thought, "I'll just have to wait, but I can input information back on my home computer! Nicole, keep in touch!" Knuckles glided off.

During this time, Robotnik has been using his brain to make a new game to challenge Sonic. Hooked up the same way that Knuckles was, he sent Sonic into Robotnik's own game. It was a game that Sonic had never played (which is rare). Meanwhile, Sally and Rotor were tied up in the audience seats of the game show, surrounded by most of Robotnik's near-best robots.

"Attention, everyone! Johnny, give me the mike. You are going to witness the destruction of very dangerous rebel- Sonic the Hedgehog! In a game made by me, I will personally use the brainwaves of three of the smartest "freedom fighters": Princess Sally, Rotor Walrus, and Knuckles the Echidna!"

"Oh, yeah? Well, I can take you on if you have all of the brains of Mobius combined!"

"What theit's you! But how"

It was Knuckles. He had managed to hack into the system, so he would be displayed on a TV.

"You're too late, Echidna! I took Sonic to another site in cyberspace, so not even you with your computer expertise can find me! HA-HA-HA!"

"Well, it ain't over `till the fat lady sings."

"I think I can hear her saying a verse..."

"I'll find you, Robotnik, if I have to comb all through cyberspace!"

"Well, I have this to say. Let the games begin!"

PART 7

While Knuckles was busy hunting for Sonic, Robotnik was running amok all through the game. He gave Sonic every challenge he could possibly think of, from a hopping from platform to platform to going against Metal Sonic. But Sonic mastered all of the challenges...except one.

It was a stage involving Knuckles. Robotnik gave Sonic a last challenge before he is totally weakened from Sonic beating him: a virtual image of Dr. Robotnik with one twist, they involve Knuckles' fists, which are twice as big as

Sonic. And Dr. Robotnik shot out decoys of himself, spiked diamonds, and worst of all, a huge energy ball aimed directly at Sonic to Roboticise him.

Knuckles had finally found Sonic on Robotnik's master computer of Robotropolis, which meant that is Sonic destroyed the evil Doc, it would destroy the master computer.

"Knux, where are you? I need help!" said a worried Sonic.

"I'm at my computer!"

"You can't save your friend, echidna. I have your brainwaves, and know your every move!!" said Dr. Robotnik. "Snively, pump in more power through the master computer!"

"But Dr. Robotnik, the circuits will overload..."

"Like the commercial says, just do it!"

"Yes, your powerfulness."

More power surged in, which knocked out power to some towns on Mobius.

"Yes!! Now I can Roboticise Sonic right here, and he will be like that forever!"

Knuckles barged in on Robotnik's triumph. "Sonic, catch!"

He tossed into the cyberspace a power ring. "I thought you might need this, so I took one from the power ring grotto," said Knuckles.

"Thanks, Knux! Now I can go after Robotnik!"

"And aim for the hands!"

"I'm way ahead of you, Knux. I'm going for the hands now. Prepare for some major damage, Robotnik!"

Robotnik crowed, "Like that's going to save youwhat's happening!?!"

Robotnik and the main computer was gradually getting destroyed.

"The energy ball is coming, hedgehog!" Robotnik sent as a last-ditch attempt.

"Oh no you don't!" Knuckles, quickly imputing some code, sent the energy ball backstraight at Robotnikand it hits!

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Robotnik said as the main computer was destroyed as the energy ball hit and Sonic destroyed both hands, which were the Doc's other source of energy.

Everything was blasted away in the computer trap that Robotnik sent. The Doc's own cyberspace exploded. There also was a gigantic explosion at Robotropolis, and all of the Freedom Fighters came back. It was as if the VERY trap never happened.

"Oh man. I felt like I've been flattened by a truck," Sonic said. Knuckles glided down from the Floating Island.

"That was an excellent job you did with Robotnik," Knuckles said.

"Well, I'll admit that without you, we would be toast," Sonic replied.

"Sonic, what do you have to say about that crazy trip?" Sally asked.

"Could we go again?"

Everybody fainted when they heard that remark.

The End? Not quite...

Snively!!

"Yes?"

"YOU IDIOT!"

"What did I do?"

"You're the who gave me this idea in the first place!!"

"But sir, you had that idea"

"Oh shut up! I HATE THAT HEDGEHOG!"

Fin! (The end)