Roleplay:New Year Madness

My first roleplay: New Year Madness (Free to join)
Welcome to a roleplay I made (no duh). It's my first so please have faith. My goal is to get a lot of people to know me and to see how this roleplaying thing works. Happy holidays to everyone, though they ended, but I digress. Try to be nice and follow my policies, 'OR ELSE YOU WILL DIE!!! 'That is if you know what I mean. Please join and help a newcomer out. Thank you and have a nice day.

Premise
Sparky the Hedgehog is getting ready for a New Years celebration. He is inviting everyone he can to join the insanity. This roleplay doesn't have a set plot, but has several mis-advantures going on, such as Tails having to buy all of the supplies at the mall (which, mind you, is not a good experience at this time of year), and insane snowball fights among fan-characters. Even though this roleplay wasn't complete by New Years, this year is still a big one (even though I don't believe in the end-of-the-world stuff), so please join either way.

Notifications/Status
Put up your current status here so no-one is left behind and people know what's going on.

Leader/Creator: SuperSonic096: Online

Second in Command: Maryxgil: Online

Basic Talk
If you want to talk to other users normally, such as discussing Sonic related stuff, use this section. You can also discuss how the story should go and so on and so forth.

Rules
This is set to be like a fan-fiction, having well written descriptions like a story that can be easily read. If you don't know what I mean, look at [http://sonicfanon.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:Smash_The_Echidna/A_guide_to_Fan_Characters_and_Roleplaying. Smash the Echidna's Guide to Fan-Characters and Roleplaying]. No swearing, no sexuality, no god-modding, all of the basic rules (again, look at Smash's roleplaying guide for help). I'd like to thank Smash for the guide and for his kindness to help us. Merry Christmas, and a happy New Year!! YEAH!!!!!!!! Sorry. Couldn't resist. Moving on.... this story won't be completed anytime soon. It'll take awhile, but as long as we're having a nice time, I don't care. This is a big year, so please join and have fun!

Character Registration (Small picture of character recommended)
PLEASE NOTE: Anyone who has first registered and has not been in activity since then, their character in the registration will be deleted as it is thought that you will not be participating, and you have to sign up for a second time and each time after that. Thank you and have a nice day.

example: character with a link to that character's page (person playing that character)

Sparky the Hedgehog (SuperSonic096)



Sonic the Hedgehog (SuperSonic096)

Tails (SuperSonic096)

Knuckles the Echidna (SuperSonic096)

Dr. Eggman (SuperSonic096)

Klinx the Weasel (Maryxgil)

Slash the Cat (Maryxgil)

Macro the Giant Hedgehog (Maryxgil)

Ditzy the Weasel (Maryxgil)

Rapid the Hedgehog (RTH) - Go to link to see pic

Kyros the Hedgehog (RTH) - No pic

Zparky the Zone Cop (SuperSonic096)

Zappy the Evil Hedgehog (SuperSonic096)

Nerin the Cat (Maryxgil)

Slish the Cat (Maryxgil)

X-Nad the Robian (Maryxgil)

Metal Sonic (SuperSonic096)

Chapter 1: 8 days left
It's a calm winter's night, and Sparky was paying a visit to Sonic's house. Snow was lightly falling, but the air was dry and frigid. Sparky was wearing his scarf, a hand-knitted one at that. Sparky made small sparks that kept his energy going. Knocking on the door, Sparky hoped to get Sonic's attention. In no time, Sonic rushed to the door.

"Sparky? What's going on?", Sonic said, looking a bit annoyed. "Why are you so mad?", Sparky quickly replied. "I was having a nice time playing 'Sonic 3 and Knuckles' with Tails!", Sonic snapped. Sparky smirked and made a facepalm. "Haven't you beaten that game, say, 600 times already?" "Yeah, so?", Sonic glanced. "Ah, forget it. I'm here to invite you, Tails, and Knuckles to my week long New Years party!", Sparky quickly said. "That sounds great! Tails can do some shopping for us!", said Sonic. "Huh? Oh, no! You know what happened last time!", Tails blurted from the living room. "Don't worry, I'm sure someone can help you. Besides, you can go to the mall. That has lots of flying space.", Sonic assured. Tails let out a big sigh and reluctantly said "Fine, but if I get mauled by crazy shoppers, I'm blaming you!". "Hey, where do I get in the action?", Knuckles implied. Sparky said "Simple, you get at my house early in the morning and help me make the food and decorate the place." "Sounds good!", Knuckles said with a thumbs-up. "Thank you, see you tomorrow, guys!", Sparky said as he close the door and walked back to his house.

Chapter 2: 7 days left
Later the next morning, Knuckles has already showed up and Sparky was already setting up decorations, hoping someone found the flyers he put up across town.

A black weasel holding a flyer approached Sparky. With him was an annoyed looking red cat and a twenty foot tall green hedgehog. "Excuse me sir, we found your flyer." said the weasel in a gentlemanly tone.

Sparky's jaw quickly dropped at the sight of the green giant. "Er..., I did expect guests, but not ones who had a giant hedgehog for a friend. I mean, my God, why is he so huge?!?"

Macro, the hedgehog, shuffled his foot nervously. "Well.. you see.." he started, then the weasel, Klinx broke in, "Let's just say he's not from around here. Another zone to be precise."

"Ah. Something tells me that it's a long story. Anyway, thanks for showing up", Sparky said, still having his mouth wide open. "I'm Sparky the Hedgehog. I'd normally say 'come in' but how is this guy going to get in", Sparky said as he nervously pointed at Macro.

"My name is Klinx the Weasel, this is Slash the Cat, and this is Macro" said Klinx, gesturing towards both Slash and Macro as he introduced them. Macro smiled. "Nice to meet you. I can probably just crawl in, that usually works." He said, still sounding a little nervous.

Knuckles walked toward Sparky. "Hey, who are these....WHOA!!!!", Knuckles yelled as he saw Marco. Sparky quickly said "It's okay, they're here for the party." He asked the three "So.....wanna help us out?".

"Sure!" Macro said. "We would love to, right?" Klinx said, then elbowed Slash. "Fine." Was her simple response.

"Thank you. I hope you guys are good cooks, because we have some breakfast to prepare!", Sparky said cheerfully. Knuckles was still in slight shock after seeing Marco. Sparky glanced at Knuckles. "Okay, You can stop that now." Knuckles shook his head and said "I must be going crazy....."

"We can certainly try." said Klinx, walking towards the house. "What are we making?" asked Macro, who was finally sounding more comfortable.

"Well, because we have a big day ahead of us, we can make some bacon, eggs, maybe some waffles while we're at it." Sparky said, somewhat regretting asking them. Knuckles bumped in. "This party is also a half-Christmas party, so we can celebrate Christmas today and tomorrow as well as the New Year."

Klinx smiled, "Excellent. Eggs are my favorite. Christmas is tomorrow, so we best get going!" he said as he walked into the house. Slash followed him with her arms crossed, she said nothing. Macro waited for everyone else to go in before crawling through the door.

Sparky let the trio through. Marco had a hard time squeezing through, but he managed. As they walked in, Sparky noticed Slash's angry expression. He whispered to Klinx "What's with her?"

Klinx glanced at Slash. "She's just serious all the time. She comes off as cold, but she really does care." he whispered back to Sparky, reassuringly.

Sparky nodded and led them to the kitchen. Knuckles has already set up the supplies to make breakfast. Sparky heard knocking on the door and went to see who it was. He opened the door, and Tails came in, looking both angry and scared at the same time. "Did you get anyone to help me go shopping?" Tails asked, looking as if he was scared for life by something crazy. Sparky scratched his head, he quickly asked Klinx and the others "Does anyone want to help my friend Tails go shopping at the Station Square Mall?".

The three of them all look at each other. "I'll go." Slash said definitively, then walked over to Tails.

Tails shook when he saw Slash's menacing appearance, but it also assured him he would be safe. He nervously asked "So.....are you ready to go?".

"Yes." she said simply with no apparent display of emotion.

Tails and Slash walked out the door, leaving Sparky wondering what will happen.

Chapter 2.5: Tails and the shopping mall madness
Tails and Slash went through the door leading to the mall. The glass glistened and large crowds gathered around the various stores. Tails looked at the list. "Okay, so we need some flour and frosting for the cake, some party poppers, among other things. Lets look around."

Slash had a determined look on her face as she walked through the mall. They had a mission, and she was determined to carry it out. "We'll look at the directory." she said then proceeded to shove her way through a crowd to get to it.

Many people got angry, but the guards ensured nothing got out of control. Tails walked up the the directory man, who looked very nervous after looking at Slash. He gulped and said "How can I help you two." "We need to know were the party store is.", Tails answered. The man, still looking nervous, quickly answered "You need to ride the elevator to the 5th floor. The store is the 3rd to the right. Though plenty of people are already there, I'm sure you'll manage." Tails nodded and thanked the man. The two walked into to the elevator, being forced to squish in with the other people.

Slash grumbled a little at having to be crammed in the elevator with so many people. She tried to just ignore it though and reached over to press the 5 on the elevator.

It was painful for the both of them, but they managed to get out. Tails took in a big sigh of relief. "There it is!", Tails yelled as he pointed towards the store. The store was crammed and had big signs that said "CRA-Z New Years sale! Everything must go! 50% off!!!". Tails heard a familiar voice that said "What do you mean that you're sold out! Do you know who I am?!?" coming from the store. Tails and Slash ran to the store.

The entrance to the store was completely packed with people. "We're going in" Slash said, then she grabbed Tails' wrist and began plowing shoulder first through all of the people.

Tails couldn't believe it. Dr. Eggman was the one arguing. Eggman pounded on the cashier's desk. "I wait in line for about an hour, hoping to give my minions a small party at my base, and your saying your all out of party hats?!?!?", the scientist screamed at the clerk. The clerk didn't look fazed, simply replying "I'm sorry sir, but a new shipment should be here in two weeks." Eggman's face boiled with rage. "That's during the middle of January! How can I celebrate New Years if it's already the new year?!?"

The sight of Eggman automatically made Slash growl. She still hated him for tricking her. But then she realized he was there shopping just like they were and her expression softened from a snarl to just annoyance. "I didn't think that man would throw a party." she said, still showing a trace of disgust.

"Well, if he didn't learn his lesson from last time, I'm going to jump off a cliff.", Tails added, wondering how in God's name he got out of the White World from last time. Eggman swung around, looking very shocked. "Tails, how did you..... and Slash too?!? What's going on here?!?"

Slash took a step forward. "We should be asking you that! We're just here shopping!" She said defensively, almost as if she expected some sort of fight.

Eggman looked nervous, but he pointed at Slash. "For your information, you foolish feline, I found a door leading out of the White World I was stuck in. After talking to my former self, I figured if I'm going to get my butt kicked by Sonic day in and day out, I should just stop." Eggman stroked his mustache, but he looked earnest. "I figured I'd live a life of privacy and content, without the worry of attempting to crush you or Sonic." Tails raised his eyebrow, looking very suspicious. "How do we know your not lying?" Eggman laughed his usual laugh and emptied his pockets. "No radios. No switches. No weapons. No evil." The clerk looked at Eggman, still not looking worried. "Sir, your holding up the line."

Slash crossed her arms, her defensive posture was relaxed somewhat but now she looked suspicious. "I'll believe that when I see it." she said bluntly. "However, we have work to do here so finish your business and leave, Eggman."

Eggman glared at Slash. "Fine then, I already have the other things I need." He walked away with a huge garbage bag full of party supplies. Tails glanced at Slash. "That was pretty weird. I just hope he was saying the truth or else..." Suddenly, a large voice boomed from the loudspeakers. It was Eggman who was talking. "Attention everyone! A special sale is happening at all of the stores right now! Everything is 99.9% off!!!" Tails' eye twitched, remembering the last time something like this happened. Large amounts of yelling came from everywhere, and people were punching and fighting over the items there were.

"If he thinks that's gonna stop us..." Slash muttered. "Get ready, Tails. We're getting that stuff." She grabbed Tails' wrist and once again began shoving through people. It was more difficult this time since the crowds were getting violent. Slash began actually having to punch and kick people who were trying to mob them. As they went she caught a bag of party poppers that had been thrown up into the air. She handed it to Tails. "What else?"

Tails flew above the crowd and yelled down below "We need some confetti, ribbons, and balloons! And we need to get some flour and frosting from the bakery to make the cake!".

Slash nodded. She began grabbing packages and running, carrying them as if she had a football. After she had gathered all of the supplies she charged for the check out counter and actually jumped on top of it and gave the stuff to the cashier. Some indignant cries came up from the people in line but Slash ignored them.

The cashier waved at them as they dashed out the store. "Have a nice day. WAGH!!!!", he shouted as mobs of people ran him over. The two dashed out the mall, as they saw police coming into the mall, hoping to stop the madness. Tails shook his head. "Man, was that a close one. I knew Eggman wouldn't give up, even if he attempted to get revenge without using his robots. I wonder what the others are up to..."

Chapter 2.7: Setting things up
It was already noon, and Sparky and company was decorating the place for the party. Sparky looked at Marco and said "It's a good thing you're so tall, or else we would never be able to put up the ornaments on the tree."

"I'm just glad I could help." said Macro as he put the last ornaments up. Klinx was over at the fire place pinning up stockings. "I do believe we've made good progress." he commented.

"I just hope Slash and Tails get back soon.", Sparky sighed. "They've been gone for a while." Sparky also hoped that other people have found the flyers he posted.

"Yeah, hopefully they didn't get into any trouble." Macro said. Klinx snickered. "You know Slash, I'm sure they're fine."

"Yeah, I guess so." Sparky felt happy that he had some friends to keep him company, as it's very rare for something like this to happen. Just then Tails bursted through the door as Klinx put up the last stocking. "You. Won't. Believe. What. I've. Been Through!", Tails panted as Slash walked in with him.

"We got the stuff." Slash said flatly. "How'd it go?" asked Macro. "No worse than you'd expect." Slash said in a tone that implied she didn't want to go into it.

Tails was grinding his teeth with annoyance quietly saying to himself "I can't believe after all of that, he had to go and stop us. That lousy...." Sparky looked at Tails. "You're not usually like this, Tails." Tails looked up. "Sorry. Holiday stress." Sparky looked at Slash. "So, what do you think of the decorations?", he asked as he gestured to the tree, wreaths, and other decorations around the house.

Slash looked around at all the various holiday decorations throughout the house. "They're fine."

"I think they're great!", Tails exclaimed. Sparky took the supplies from Slash and starting putting them up. Marco put up the banners, Klinx blew the balloons and tied them up, while Slash set the party poppers on the table for people to get. By the end, the house looked, indeed, like a party.

Klinx looked over the house proudly. "Well gentlemen... and lady," he began, earning a look from Slash. "This may be the best decorated New Years party around."

Sparky smiled at the group. Knuckles remembered that smile. "I know what you're thinking.", Knuckles said. "Yes you do...", Sparky smirked crazily. "I say we actually PARTY LIKE NUTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!", Sparky yelled as he grabbed one of the poppers and made it spray confetti all over the place. "Let's have some fun!"

"Yeah!" Macro shouted excitedly. Klinx grinned and Slash actually looked happier for once. Klinx then walked over and turned on some peppy music.

Sparky laughed like a total nut-job, doing crazy back-flips and break-dancing moves that would give Sonic a run for his money. Just then, Sonic came in, seeing all of the decorations and hearing the music. He spotted the gang dancing, and he wasn't even being shocked by Marco's height. Sonic dashed in, break-dancing with Sparky. "I hope you don't mind I join the party!", Sonic said over the music. "Go ahead! I don't care!", Sparky yelled back. Soon, the two were in deep competition, dancing so much their faces became blue. When the song ended, Sparky laughed and feel on his butt from being too dizzy.

Klinx was dancing during the song, although nothing like Sonic and Sparky were. Macro was dancing too, but he was trying to be careful so he wouldn't accidently break any of Sparky's stuff. Slash was tapping her foot to the music. After Sparky and Sonic finished dancing all three of them applauded them. "That was awesome" said Macro, laughing.

Sonic got up and bowed. Sparky was very dizzy, spinning and walking around mindlessly. He said in a weird tone "Thank you, you're too kind. I will be here next thursday. Good morning!" Sparky landed on the couch, still laughing.

Klinx watched Sparky and laughed. "Somehow I have a feeling Sparky can't do anymore dancing just yet." he teased.

"Yeah, you think?", Sonic added while giggling at Sparky's expression. Sparky got himself together and said "Lets just have some food and relax right now, please?". Knuckles had already set up the food and drinks, which consisted of chili dogs, cheeseburgers, potato chips, soda, and various other foods. "Don't worry about that, Sparky.", Knuckles said.

"Excellent." Klinx said, licking his lips as he looked at all the food. He got a plate and put a chili dog and some chips on it. Slash and Macro both got burgers, Macro getting more than one. All three of them got their favorite drink, Dr. Pepper.

Sparky talked to the group, explaining where he was from and how he got his powers. He even showed them his lucky Time Stone, which shone brighter than ever. Soon, the night ended. "Thanks for showing up. I don't think we've had this much fun in a while!", Sparky said to Klinx and the others.

"I definately agree," said Klinx. "And we certainly appreciate you having us." Macro chimed in, "Yeah, that party was great!" Slash nodded. "By the way, Tails, you are an effecient shopper." she said.

Tails scratched his head and sheepishly said "Ah...it was nothing." Sparky thanked them, as they all left the house. Sparky hoped the next day would be like this. Maybe even better.

As the trio began the walk back to their apartment they were talking about the party along with the rest of the day. "No way, Eggman?" Macro was saying. Slash nodded in response. "Wow. Well I can't wait for tomorrow." Macro said.

Chapter 3: Christmas Day; 6 Days Left; The Snowball Fight to End All Snowball Fights
It snowed heavily that night. The next morning when Sparky went to get the mail, he saw about two feet of snow on the ground. Sparky knew the others would show up for the next part of the party, and he knew what to do.

Klinx, Slash, and Macro were walking back to Sparky's hosue, all bundled up in coats and scarves. Klinx was riding on top of Macro's head to keep himself out of the deep snow that probably would've gone up to his neck. Slash was still trudging through in her boots.

"Hello, guys. Merry Christmas!", Sparky said as he greeted them. He was bundled in his snow boots and his scarf. Sparky looked cold, but he didn't mind. "I bet you guys are wondering what we're going to be doing today", he said as he smiled similarly to the previous night, but with more control.

Klinx grinned. "Indeed! We're anxious to see how you'll top last night." he said as Macro took him off his head and gentlely set him down on the ground.

Sparky saw that Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails were walking toward his house. Sparky thought fast and and started making a snowball. Sonic saw Sparky. "Hey, dude! What are you doing?", Sonic asked. Sparky smirked his trademark smirk, and answered calmly "Oh, nothing, I was wondering if we could, you know, because of the snow, have a snowball fight." Tails chimed in. "That sounds pretty cool! We can join." Sparky got his snowball and put it behind his back. "Oh, okay. Just wanted to know if you would say yes....THINK FAST!", Sparky yelled as he launched a snowball at Tails. It missed and slammed into Knuckles' face. Knuckles got up, looking very crazy. "Oh you asked for it." "Yes, I did!", Sparky said proudly. Just then another snowball flew, this time into Sparky. Sonic laughed as he saw his snowball hit Sparky.

Klinx and Macro started laughing a little, and as they watched the situation their laughter continued to build until it was hysterical. Then Klinx felt a cold wet splat on top of his head. He looked up to see Macro grinning at him. "Oh I see how it is." said Klinx as he quickly put together a snowball and threw it. It went right between Macro's legs and hit Slash in the back. She whirled around with a look of anger that looked like it could melt the snow. Macro quickly pointed at Klinx who grinned sheepishly. "You're in trouble now." she said. Macro and Klinx imediately dashed off with Slash in hot pursuit.

"It's ON!!!!!!!", Sparky yelled. He reved up his feet and preformed the first move Sonic taught him: the Super-Peel-Out. The movement made the snow fly and build up into a small wall. Sonic quickly joined Sparky as they made a snow fort. Tails looked at Team Weasel as they ran from Slash. He made a snowball and threw it with great accuracy as it landed on Slash's head. Knuckles looked at Slash. Knowing what was to happen, he quickly made snowballs as Sparky and Sonic built the wall.

Slash turned again, she instantly forgot about Klinx and Macro as she aquired a new target. She put made a bunch of snowballs and started flinging them wildly at Tails. Taking the opportunity of Slash being distracted, Macro raked together a large pile of snow as a fort and both him and Klinx started building up a supply of snowballs.

"DUCK!", Knuckles yelled as the snowballs flew. Sonic got out some snowballs and ran around Slash, tossing snowballs as fast as bullets at her. Sparky cheered Sonic on. "Go, Sonic! GO!" Tails flew above Klinx and Marco and bombarded them with snowballs. Sparky was laughing like a lunatic. He felt a snowball get shoved in his face. Knuckles smiled, whistling like nothing happened. "TRAITOR!", Sparky yelled as he made a Super Peel-Out that caused a mountain of snow slam into Knuckles.

Slash groweled as Sonic bombarded her with snowballs, all she could see was a faint blue blur and a flurry of snow. She was trying to shield herself against the onslaught, and eventually extended her blade-like claws and began slicing through the snowballs to lessen the impact. "Aerial assault!" yelled Macro as he and Klinx were hit by Tails. They tried throwing snowballs back up at him but the problem was any that missed fell right back down around them.

One of the snowballs hit Tails, and he fell back into his fort. Sparky was chasing Knuckles like a madman. Knuckles dug into the snow and into the ground. Sparky figured what he would do. A moment later, Knuckles pooped out and snow plowed into Sparky. "I see you use that skill for once.", Sparky said. Knuckles grinned. "Better now than never." Tails had an idea. He packed and rolled a large snowball, but it was still small enough for him to carry. Sonic stopped and saw Slash, who looked very furious, covered with snow. Sonic shrugged and said "What? Am I too fast for you?" with more confidence than you can think of.

"I think Tails is coming back." said Macro when he saw him putting together his snowball. He looked down at Klinx and then looked bewildered as he saw Klinx casually walk around the fort and walk right up to Tails. He had his hands open to show that he was unarmed. Slash was pratically steaming by this point. As Sonic gloated she picked up some snow, packed it very tight, and threw it right at Sonic as hard as she could, which was pretty hard.

The snowball hit Sonic's face and he fell to the ground. "I guess I'm not...", he said. Tails was ready for his master plan to start. Step 1: Build a large snowball. Step 2: Fly over Marco. Step 3: Drop it on his head (which shouldn't cause to much pain, as he was very large). Tails noticed Klinx as he walked up to him. "I thought I was fighting against you.", Tails said in confusion, noticing Klinx was unarmed.

Slash said nothing but simply walked away. "I have come to help you." Klinx said to Tails. "Clearly your tactics are superior to ours, how can I compete with that? And I have an idea for a very good use of that snowball you have there..."

Tails felt a bit calmer, but he was still suspicious. "What are you saying?", Tails said as he raised his eyebrow. Sparky stopped dead in his tracks. Knuckles stopped with him. Both were staring at Klinx.

Noticing Tails' suspicion Klinx tried to appear as amiable as possible. "All I'm saying is, if you let me help you, you can be sure the work you've put into that snowball doesn't go to waste." While he was talking he glanced at Sparky and Knuckles.

Sparky noticed that Klinx was looking at him. He looked at Tails. Suspecting something to happen, Sparky packed a snowball. Tails glanced at Klinx. "What's your 'plan'?", he asked. Noticing this question, Sparky panicked and was ready to toss his snowball.

Klinx glanced at Sparky again. "Ok I'll explain my plan. First, stand right here." Klinx said as he pulled Tails over so he was between him and Sparky. "Now you see here we have a good shot of Macro's fort. We'll move in closer, then you act like you're going to throw the ball but instead you pass it to me and I'll surprise him from behind."

Noticing Tails was between him and Klinx, he revved up a Super Peel-Out, ready to charge at any moment. Tails, not noticing Sparky, looked at his snow-bolder and Klinx. "You sure you can toss this at Marco. It's pretty big."

"Sure I can! I assure you, this plan is fool proof." he said, still periodically glancing at Sparky.

Sparky had enough at this point. "DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!", Sparky screamed as he used his Super Peel-Out to dash into Klinx. Tails gasped and flew out of the way, carrying his snowball with him. Sparky had a look that said "insane" on his face as he broke through the fort and slammed Klinx with a flurry of snow.

Klinx's calm demeanor instantly shattered the second Tails moved and left him in Sparky's path. He took on a deer-in-the-headlights look as Sparky dashed for him. Then to top it off the crazed look on Sparky's face after the attack had him genuinely scared so that he was shaking as much from the cold as he was from fear.

Sparky, still looking crazy, was breathing heavily from his attack. He had never done such a powerful Peel-Out in his life under normal circumstances. "Did...I...just.....do..that?!?", Sparky asked himself. Knuckles' jaw hit the ground. Sonic got up and saw the damage. He was shocked more than the time the chili dog stand down the road almost closed. Tails' eyes were wide open. "Yes. I think you just did.", he answered for him. Sparky looked up at Tails. "Note to self: Do not go this crazy in a snowball fight.", he said. Tails looked down at Klinx, who was still shaking. He felt sorry for him. He dropped his snowball and flew down to help Klinx up. "Um....sorry about that. I'm not that good of a sport, you see. I could do anything just to win.", Sparky said as he helped brush the snow off of Klinx.

Klinx shook his head to reorient himself. "It's q-quite alright. I certainly know what you mean by doing anything to win." he said, holding onto Tails as he got up. Macro was over to them in an instant, his eyes wide. "Oh good Klinx you're ok!"

Sparky felt very stupid as he said "I can't say sorry enough. Let's just go inside and, you know, have lunch?" Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles looked at Sparky. "It's okay. And I thought I was reckless.", Knuckles said. Sparky let out a big sigh. "Yeah. I've certainly changed.", he said in a sad tone. Sonic patted Sparky on the back. "Don't sweat it. We can go in and watch TV or something, or at least do something in the snow that isn't as crazy as this."

"Yeah, you just got caught up in the game is all." said Macro, not wanting Sparky to feel so bad. Then he stopped and thought for a minute. "I have an idea! Why don't we get some hot chocolate, that'll make everyone feel better."

Sparky sniffled and cried a little bit. "Thank you guys. Merry Christmas." Sparky got up and led the others into his house, where they made some hot chocolate and sat by the fire trying to dry off from all of the snow. Sparky sipped his hot chocolate and looked at the others. "So, anything in particular you want to do inside?", he asked.

Klinx was sitting on the couch, wrapped in a warm towel, and feeling much better. "That, my friend, is a good question." Slash was standing by the fire, periodically kindling it to keep it going.

Sparky paced around the room, thinking of what to do. He scratched his head and thought. Sparky snapped his fingers and said "I got it!". He opened the cabinet under the TV and dug through a pile of DVDs and video games. "We could play a video game, maybe watch a movie. Anything you guys want? I might have it.", Sparky said with his head inside the cabinet.

"Video games, awesome!" said Macro. "Do you have Mario and Sonic at the Olympics? That's a good party game." He bent down and trying to look in the cabinet.

"I have all three of them.", Sparky said. "Which one do you want? The Winter Olympics? 2012?"

"I'd say the winter one seems the most appropriate, don't you think?" commented Klinx.

"Heh. You're right.", Sparky said. He looked through his games and found the box. He took it out, put it in his Nintendo Wii and turned on the TV.

Klinx counted everyone in the room. "There are seven of us, and four Wii controllers. I propose that first four of us play, and the winner will play the remaining three."

"Good thinking, Klinx.", Sparky said as he tossed a controller to Slash, Marco, and Klinx. "Don't even think of beating me in figure skating, snowboarding, and ice hockey.", Sparky said with confidence.

"We'll see about that." Macro said and smirked playfully. "Well none of you will be beating my timing on the ski jump," said Klinx as he put the wrist strap on.

Sparky turned on the Wii and they started playing. The events Sparky chose were the snowboard cross, ice hockey, ski jump, and figure skating.

"Just nobody throw the remote through the TV." Klinx said as they started playing. While Klinx and Macro got a little more in to actually playing, tilting their bodies with the remote, Slash played with no more movement than was strictly necessary. Little more than her wrist actually moved.

Durring the ice hockey match, Sparky knew they had to be put in teams. He picked Klinx to join him, while Slash and Marco where on the other team. The match was fast and furious, with great passes made by Sparky and Klinx.

"Pass it to me!" Slash barked. "Ok ok." responded Macro, he lined up the shot and attempted to pass it but Klinx intercepted it. "Thank you very much." he said. Macro looked disappointed. "Aw man." Klinx then passed the puck to Sparky.

Sparky then made a quick shot, scoring them the point to win the game. Team Sonic watched on the other couch, as if it was a real sport they were watching. "Yeah! Sometimes working together is better than going against each other.", he said to Klinx. "High Five!"

Klinx high fived Sparky. "Excellent work." Slash crossed her arms. "Hmph, I'll get you next time."

"Ah, it's just a game.", Sparky said to Slash. The day went on as they played some more. They even watched a few Christmas movies. By the end of the last movie. Sparky fell on the couch and let out a big sigh. "Ah...now what?", he asked. Sonic shrugged. "No clue." The rest of Team Sonic shrugged too.

"Hmm," said Macro who was sitting Indian style on the floor. "Maybe we should get something to eat."

Sparky thought for a moment. "Good idea", he said as his stomach growled. "But where should we go?"

"Do you know of any good places nearby?" asked Macro. Klinx and Slash were already getting up, ready to go.

"Hey, I was asking you.", Sparky said, still thinking of what to do. Tails bumped in and said "Well, it depends on what you want. We could go someplace fancy, fast-food, chinese-" Sparky quickly got up to Tails. "You're a genius, Tails! We can get chinese food!"

"Works for me!" said Macro, he looked over at Klinx and Slash who both nodded in agreement.

"What are we waiting for? Lets go!", Sonic said. Sparky led them out the house and went to the nearest chinese restaurant. When they got there, the cashier looked scared (mainly because of Marco's height), but they ordered their food. Sparky got fortune cookies, bread, teriyaki sticks, and lots of ramen noodles and rice. Team Sonic got the same.

Klinx, Slash, and Macro got pork and chicken fried rice. After they had all sat down to eat Macro said "I wonder what my fortune says." "It's just a piece of paper, it doesn't mean anything." said Slash. Macro looked down at his food. "I know, but it's still fun." he said. Klinx was struggling with a package of soy sauce. Slash grabbed it from him and sliced it open with her claws.

Taking advantage of the peacefulness, Sparky, who's mouth was shoved with rice, asked Team Weasel "So, what do you guys do as a Team? Any crazy adventures you want to talk about?".

Klinx swallowed a mouthful of rice before saying "Ah yes, we originally formed with the intent of taking down Eggman, but as of late we've been more occupied with another group called "The Cat Squad". Slash's face turned to a scowl at the mention of her most hated enemies.

Knuckles looked at Slash and noticed her anger. "Something tells me Slash hates them.", he said with some teriyaki in his mouth. Sonic looked interested. "I had a similar problem. These extreme gear riders, Team Babylon, caused us trouble when we were trying to stop Eggman. Trust me, it's not easy hoverboarding and fighting at the same time." Sparky swallowed his rice. "Who's the Cat Squad?", he asked.

"Nerin, Slish, and X-Nad. X-Nad was roboticized and decided he liked it, while Nerin and Slish are both from the Anti-Mobius. Lots of evil that place is. Slish is the anti counterpart to Slash, as a matter of fact." Klinx explained. Slash banged her fist on the table. "Slish is nothing but a touchy-feely ninny! She knows nothing of real fighting!"

Sonic spoke up. "I have a counterpart on Anti-Mobius too! His name is Scourge. Man, it's a good thing he's in the Zone Jail." Sparky thought for a second. "Because everything is reversed in that Zone, that means Slish must be, as Slash said, the total opposite of her. I hope there's no evil clone of me.", he said in a worried voice. "Who's Nerin a counterpart of?", Tails asked. "Is there an Anti-Klinx and Macro, too? What are they like?", Knuckles asked.

"There's supposed to be a counterpart to everyone there, so there may very well be an Anti-Sparky. As for Nerin... her counterpart here's name is Teneko, I believe." Klinx explained. "We've never actually been to that zone so we've never seen the Anti Klinx or Marco. But I shudder to think what they're like." Macro said.

"Brrr.... I don't want to find out how crazy my counterpart might be. And something tells me the Anti-Marco is violent, unlike the kind and cautious Marco we have here, but he might as well be very tiny.", Sparky said. Tails nodded and said "Trust me. My anti-counterpart is not a nice guy either." Sonic looked even more interested than before. "What does the Cat Squad do to you guys, anyway?", he asked.

"Oh man, all kinds of crazy things. This one time, they used a bunch of holographic technology to make us believe we were actually in 19th century Oregon so that Nerin could continue her plans and we'd have no idea about it." said Macro between bites of rice.

"Geez. I wonder how they got THAT to happen.", Sparky said in astonishment, almost spitting out his ramen. "What are their plans anyway? We can help you guys.", Sonic said as he finished eating his rice.

"When Slish and Nerin got stuck here from their zone, Nerin decided she wanted to dominate it. She wants to be mistress of the world or something." Macro said. "Not on my watch..." Slash mumbled.

"Heck, Sonic and us beat Eggman and other things all the time! We can help the next time they show up! I'll give Slish a zap to the butt if I have to!", Sparky said while making small sparks from his hand to show off his powers. Knuckles pounded his fists together and said "I can smack those guys right in the face for you guys!" proudly.

Macro smiled, "Thanks guys!" "Indeed, it's certainly nice to have friends you can count on." said Klinx. "I propose a toast." he said as he held up his glass.

"A merry Christmas to everyone!", Tails said as he held up his glass. Sonic and Knuckles did the same. "God bless us, except Eggman and every other bad-guy out there!", Sparky said as he held up his glass.

Macro laughed, and he and Slash both held up their glasses as well. Everyone lightly touched their glasses together making a tink sound.

They eventually finished eating. Marco had to eat about three servings of everything, but it was fine by Sparky. They left the restaurant and said goodbye. Sparky walked back to his house and said to himself "Boy, I can't wait to see what happens on New Years!" Indeed, God bless us, except the villains.

Chapter 4: 5 Days Left: Road Trip Insanity!
Sparky woke up happy and content. He saw that the snow was still outside. He didn't really know what to do. Whatever the case, he went downstairs and hoped for the best.

Team Weasel arrived at Sparky's house nice and early. They approached the house and Klinx stepped up and rang the door bell.

Sparky was in his pajamas and socks, so he slipped and fell on the floor. He shook his head and dashed to the door. When he opened it, he saw Team Weasel. "Well, this is a bit weird.", Sparky said cautiously.

Klinx held back a snicker at Sparky's confused state. "I apologize if this is a bad time." he said. "We simply couldn't wait to get over here."

"Well, I like it how you guys are so excited to see me. It's alright.", Sparky said. "To be very honest, I don't have a clue what we should do today. We had an insane snowball fight (I'm still sorry, Klinx), had a Christmas party, and got chinese food.", he said with worry.

"There's endless possibilties!" Klinx said positively. "All that's required is to think outside the box a little." Macro put his hand on his chin, thinking.

Sparky tapped his foot and thought. "Well, around this time it's called Christmas vacation. And when I hear the word vacation, I think of the times my Uncle Hoot made small road trips and we saw the sights during the holidays."

"Interesting you should mention that." said Klinx. "I was just thinking about the fact that we didn't necessarily have to do things at your house."

"Why not we go and take a trip across some areas around here and see what people are doing for New Years. No harm done if we do some good deeds!", Sparky said.

Macro nodded. "That sounds like a great idea! And it does fit with the holiday season."

"I have just the idea to get around!", Sparky said. He dashed into the house. A minute later, the garage door opened and out came a large van. It had Tails' invention symbol on it (a picture of his tails) and had plenty of space for Macro to fit in. "Say hello to the M.I.N.I (MOTOR-VEHICLE that IS NORMAL looking but is INDESCRIBABLY big) van! Tails made it for me!"

Team Weasel watched in awe as the van came out of the garage. After it had, Klinx went over to it and ran his hand down the side. "Isn't that something." he said.

"Yep. It's custom made for me. Electric powered so I can recharge it anytime I want, High Quality SurroundSound Audio, can pick up radio transmissions either from us or elsewhere, MP3 player plug-in, electronic device recharging system, HD DVD player, GPS System, and cooling and heating. Tails said he wanted it to be like his Tornado Biplane, but it's a car. I helped make it, so he gave it to me on my 13th birthday! I still help him with other things to this day trying to repay him for his work. It's almost TO perfect.", Sparky said as he smiled at the van.

"Well it certainly is a beaute'" Klinx said, still admiring it. Slash tapped her foot, she was starting to get impatient with just looking at the van. "If it runs, let's get going!" she said.

"Sure thing! Hop in and lets pick up Sonic and the others!", Sparky said as he jumped in the driver's seat and started the engine. "This thing is an eight seater, not counting the two seats up front. Jump in and lets go! It's ROAD TRIP TIME!!!"

Klinx got into the front seat, while Slash took the one closest to the door. She liked to be able to get out quickly, ready for action. The van shifted a little when Macro got in, but he made it and sat in some clear space in the back. "Let's go get Team Sonic!" he said.

Sparky stepped on the gas and the van started moving. Within a minute they got to Sonic's house. Sparky honked the horn, which made the "SEGA!" logo chime from the old Sonic games. In no time flat, Team Sonic bursted out the door and saw the van. Tails smiled. "You're finally using that thing?", he asked. Sparky opened the window. "Yep. Hop in! We're going on a small road trip!" The Team quickly got in the van and sat in the seats next to Slash. "Let's hit the road!", Sparky said. The van started again and they were off. "Where do you want to go, guys?", he asked Team Weasel.

Slash was silently staring out the window, seemingly deep in thought. Klinx had been messing with all the various electronics that were loaded on the van. "Maybe we should just drive and see what happens." suggested Macro.

"Alright.", Sparky said. Sonic looked at Slash. "You okay there, Slash?"

"I'm fine." Slash said roughly, not taking her eyes off of the window. Klinx turned around in his chair and looked at her. "Surely we won't have to take this whole trip with that attitude." he said. Slash simply responded, "Hmph."

"She'll cheer up somehow.", Sparky said with hope. Sonic's stomach growled. "I didn't even have breakfast. Any place we can go in order to get some chow?", he asked. Sparky looked at Team Weasel. "You're our guests of honor. You decide where to go."

Klinx laughed. "I feel special now." "As long as we go somewhere with meat." Slash spoke up. "Well how about Cracker Barrel?" Klinx said.

"Got it.", Sparky said as he drove off to Station Square. They stopped at the nearest Cracker Barrel. Some people looked shocked looking at them, but Sparky just smiled and waved. Tails turned to Klinx and asked "What is the Cracker Barrel anyway?".

"It's an old timey style restaurant. They've got country ham, chicken, anything you can think of really. There's also breakfast all day long." Klinx explained.

"I hope they have pancakes.", Sparky said as they walked inside.

"Not to worry, they do." Klinx said. He walked to the server and said "Table for seven, my good man." The server then led them to a table and gave them some menus.

Sparky ordered some pancakes, eggs, and bacon in no time flat, and Team Sonic got the same. While eating, Sparky asked "Do you have any ideas where we should go?".

Klinx was eating eggs, Slash was eating bacon, and Macro was eating a country ham sandwhich. "Where do people usually go on these kinds of trips?" asked Macro.

"On road trips, people usually have a place to go to, but they can go to other areas on the way. For example, you might want to go to a park, but you can see other places such as a large mall on your way there.", Tails said in between bites of bacon. "My problem is I don't really have any plans at all.", Sparky said with eggs in his mouth.

"That is a problem." said Macro as he took a drink of his water. "What we need, is a destination that really accomplishes something." Klinx said, holding a forkful of eggs.

"Yeah, but where?", Sparky said as he scratched his head, thinking of someplace special they could go to.

"Unfortunately I just don't know." said Klinx. Macro was messing with his food trying to think.

"Hmm.....look! Brochures!", Sparky said as he got up and picked one up in a rack full of them. "Huh. Let's see....New Years celebration in New Station City. West of Station Square. Parties, food, rides, and fun for the whole family. What do you say, guys?"

Klinx looked over Sparky's shoulder at the brochure. "Now that sounds like an idea!" he said.

"All right, then. Lets go!", Sparky said as he finished eating. Knuckles gulped down his last blueberry pancake, Tails finished his last strip of bacon, and Sonic wiped his mouth with his napkin. Sparky and Team Sonic walked out the restaurant and got back in the van.

Team Weasel followed them back out, after Klinx grabbed a few mints from the check out counter. Then they all piled back into the van and into their respective seats. "Alright let's go!" said Macro.

Sparky stepped on the gas and they were off. Sparky turned on the GPS system. "Okay, it should take us an hour to get there if we take the road on Route 999.", Sparky said. "Anything you want to do until then?"

"It wouldn't be a road trip if we didn't make a few stops." Klinx said, fumbling around with a rather large road map.

"Well, yeah. Any ideas?", Sparky asked Klinx. Sonic spoke up and said "How about until we find a place to see we listen to some tunes?". "Okay. Anything you want in particular?", Sparky asked.

"Well let's see what's on." Klinx started flipping through the radio. It scrolled past all kinds of stations including Mexican music and talk shows. Eventually he settled on a station playing 'Life is a Highway'. "This seems appropriate." he commented.

Sparky laughed at the joke Klinx made. They drove across the highway with the music playing across the van. Sparky turned to Klinx. "Anywhere you want to stop at? Your the one looking at the GPS map."

Klinx scanned through the map. "Well, assuming Tails isn't still traumatized by the party shopping, there's a very nice mall coming up."

Tails shook in fear and pulled out a slingshot. "Why bring that?", Sonic asked. "In case something happens.", Tails said with fear in his voice. Knuckles turned to Tails. "Trust me. We've got a 20 foot tall giant, a slick weasel, a warrior cat, and us by your side. What could go wrong?" "That's what I'm worrying about.", Tails said. Sparky took a turn and they parked near the mall. "Everyone out. Let's see if there's anything we can find.", Sparky said.

Klinx, Slash, and Macro all climbed out of the van. "There are supposed to be very good deals after Christmas." Klinx said as they went in.

They all walked inside the mall. Tails was shaking and was ready to fire his slingshot at any moment. "Any stores you want to go to?", Sparky asked.

"Perhaps we should check a department store. The snow has made it rather cold." Klinx suggested. Macro looked at Tails, "Uh, Tails, do they even allow weapons in here?" he asked, concerned.

"All I want to do is live!", Tails said. The group walked into the department store, and Sparky 'wow'ed as they saw the various items across the store.

Macro stopped. "That is a lot of stuff." he said. Klinx leaned against Macro's leg, "Indeed it is. Where to start?" Slash let out an exasperated sigh, "This is what I hate about shopping. You have to look through all this pointless stuff to get to what you need."

"That's kinda the fun in shopping. You never know if you'll come across something good!", Sparky said cheerfully. "I feel like looking in the clothes section for some reason.", Sonic said. "I might as well wear something aside from these shoes."

Macro laughed, "Wow, Sonic wearing clothes. Who'd of thought?" "Oh you're one to talk." Klinx teased. Macro looked at himself, "I wear a vest, that's gotta count for something." Slash started walking away. "I could use some new boots." she said.

"Alright then. Lets split up. Sonic, Slash, and I will go to the clothing section. Klinx, Macro, Knuckles, and Tails will go wherever else they want.", Sparky said. "Lets move out!" Sonic, Sparky, and Slash walked to the clothing section, leaving the others to decide where to go.

"So where should we go?" asked Macro as the four of them were left standing there near the store entrance. People around were taking the long way to get out of the store giving sideways glances to the very tall hedgehog and the crazy, sling-shot wielding fox.

"Any place that doesn't have too many people.", Tails said, still having his slingshot ready.

"The cookware section...?" Macro said, trying hard to come up with the part of the store people would be the least interested in.

"Yes. That's a good idea. You never know if we can get a nice pan, or something like that.", Knuckles said. The group headed to the cookware section.

Meanwhile, with Sparky and co....
Sparky was already trying on some shirts. One of them was orange had a thunderbolt picture on it. "How do I look?", Sparky asked Slash.

Slash was standing there with her arms crossed. "Fine." she said, the same response she had given to the last several shirts he had tried on.

"Ah. Lighten up, Slash.", Sonic said. He found a blue shirt with, what else, him on it. The words on it said "Either I'm too fast or you're too slow". Sparky looked at Sonic. "That's perfect! That totally suits you." "Thanks.", Sonic said as he put his shirt in his shopping bag. Sparky saw that Slash was simply looking at the boots. "Ever thought of finding other clothes?", Sparky asked.

"What for?" she said, still focused on the boots. She opened a box and pulled out a high heeled boot, then grimaced and put it back.

"Well, sometimes it's not about having a mission or doing jobs all the time. You've got to open your heart to other things and have time to enjoy things, not just do them. Lighten up. Have fun. Look cool. I'm sure you'd look nice in some normal clothing instead of that black jumpsuit of yours.", Sparky said as he smiled at her.

Slash looked at Sparky, but it wasn't with a look of anger or annoyance. It was softer than that, although it still wasn't a smile. "What exactly are you thinking of?"

"Well, I figured you need to have fun in you're life for once. Try new things, and stop being so serious over everything. If this was a huge mission, fine. Be serious. But this is a VACATION. It's a time when others get to relax and just have fun with what they have. You didn't see me being serious over that hockey match when we played 'Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympics' yesterday, right?", Sparky said.

Slash sighed and looked up at the ceiling for a minute. "Fine." she said finally. "Whatever you have in mind for me... let's try it."

"You're the one who should learn to have fun, so you should be the one to find some nice clothes for yourself.", Sparky said to Slash, being thankful Slash didn't attack him.

"Alright, fine." Slash said, slightly annoyed. She then trudged over to the women's section.

Sparky didn't want to follow her into that section, as he knew it would be a bit rude. He smiled as he saw Slash walk away. "Man. I'd never thought she would listen to that.", Sonic said in awe. Sparky grinned. "Don't worry. She might have a change of heart because of me. Who knows?"

Slash spent several minutes browsing through the clothes. Most of it she rejected as too frilly or otherwise. Eventually she settled on something and came back over to where Sparky and Sonic were. She was wearing black pants, a white shirt with a vine-like design on it, and a new belt. "Well?"

Sparky thought for a moment. "Perfect. I love it! It shows that you have some hope left in you!", Sparky said. Sonic nodded.

"Thanks, I suppose." Slash said as she went to change back into her normal clothes so they could pay for the new ones.

Sparky suddenly had an idea. He grinned a crazy grin. "Uh...what are you thinking?", Sonic said with worry. "Don't you get it?!? If we can get Slash to put on normal clothes, we can actually teach her to have fun! What can possibly go wrong?", Sparky said to Sonic. Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Okay. What's your plan?", he asked. "Here's the plan.", Sparky said to Sonic. He then whispered his plan to Sonic. Sonic got worried. "Are you sure?" "Yes, I am!", Sparky said proudly.

After changing Slash came back to where Sonic and Sparky were, holding the new clothes on hangers. She looked suspiciously at the excited look on Sparky's face. "What?"

Sparky got nervous. "NOTHING! Nothing is wrong. Absolutely nothing!", Sparky said while Sonic was whistling.

"Hmm, well if you two are done here, maybe we should find the others." Slash said.

Sparky was ready for phase one. "I was wondering if we could get some ice cream at the food court if you want to, later. After we get the others.", Sparky said in a nervous tone. Sonic was getting very shaky just thinking of the results.

"Fine." said Slash, then she started walking off to find the others.

Meanwhile, with Tails and the others.....
Tails was feeling calmer inside the cookware section. He looked at the various pots and pans on sale. Knuckles started scratching his head. "This is getting us nowhere. I think we should convince Tails to go to another section. This is even more boring than my job guarding the Master Emerald.", Knuckles said to Klinx.

Klinx nodded. "Yes, I have a feeling Tails isn't all that interested in pans either." he commented. Macro was trying to fix a pot display he had bumped into earlier. "But what would get him out of here? He's pretty shook up over the Christmas stuff." he said.

"That's what I was asking you.", Knuckles said. He paced back and forth while Tails mindlessly stared at the forks. Knuckles thought "What is something Tails is very interested in?". He found the answer: Machines. Tails would never fail to go see some mechanical things. "I think I've got it! We need to go someplace that has lots of machines!", Knuckles said to the others.

"Sears or maybe the Apple Store." Macro suggested. He looked over at Tails, "And we better hurry, I think he's brain washing himself with forks." Distracted by Tails, Macro accidently knocked down the pots again. One of the sales clerks rushed over and said, "Don't worry about it. Please."

Tails was now drooling looking at the spoons. Knuckles was getting worried and clapped his hands in front of Tails. "Huzza, what?", Tails said oddly. "We're going to find the others and go to the Apple store.", Knuckles said quickly. Tails snapped out of his trance faster than you can say 'Sonic'. "Oh boy! I love that store! I always love trying out those new Mac computers!", Tails said happily. "It's settled. We'll go to the entrance and find the others.", Knuckles said.

"Great." said Klinx and he wrapped his arm Tails' shoulders and led him to the entrance. It was partially to make sure he wouldn't change his mind. Macro got up and carefully manuevered past all the displays, the sales clerk watching nervously and cringing anytime he came near one.

Eventually, everyone found each other at the entrance to the store. Sparky was looking anxious. "Good. Everyone is here. Why not we get some ice cream, yes?", he said in a crazy tone. Sonic's eye twitched and Tails took notice of it. "Sonic? You okay there?" Sonic whispered what the plan Sparky had to Tails. "Man! Are you sure this is going to work?" Sonic shook his head. "That's what I'm wondering.", he said nervously.

"Awesome! Ice cream! Okay. After that, Tails wants to go to the Apple Store." said Macro. Klinx gave a weird look to Sparky, "It doesn't appear that shopping brings out the best in Sparky here." he said.

"Whatareyousaying?", Sparky asked crazily to Klinx. Sonic attempted to act casual.

"Nevermind, but I'm not so sure you need any ice cream..." Klinx said, a little freaked out.

"Ishallexplainlaterfornowweneedicecream!!!!", Sparky said like a total lunatic. He dashed up to Klinx and whispered "It's because I want to teach Slash how to be happy." Sparky jumped back and looked at the group. "Are we ready?"

Klinx looked at Sparky like he was even crazier than he had when he was talking strange. But then Klinx decided he would play along anyway to see what would happen. "Yes we are." Then the group headed off in the direction of the food court.

As they walked to the 'Ben and Jerry's' ice cream stand, Sparky was twitching his head; he was that crazy. Tails didn't know what to think of it as he got a headache thinking about what chaos would happen. Sonic looked at Klinx. "I don't know if this will work.", he said to Klinx.

"Can't say as we've gotten it to work. Well, with the exception of the fact that Slash would never play video games before she met Macro and I." Klinx said. When they went to order the ice cream, Klinx got chocolate, Macro got mint, and Slash got vanilla.

Sparky got soft serve vanilla while Sonic got chocolate, Tails got mint, and Knuckles got strawberry. They all sat down and ate their ice cream. "You enjoying the ice cream, Slash?", Sparky asked her.

Slash simply nodded. Klinx was eating his ice cream then stopped. "Agh, that's some brain freeze" he said, wrinkling his nose. Slash snorted at his predicament.

Sparky turned over to Klinx. "Any ideas on how to get on Slash's good side?", he whispered.

After ridding himself of his brain freeze, Klinx turned to Sparky. "Ah, she's a tough nut to crack. I can tell you plenty of things not to do. But you should know you're doing pretty well already. She hated me when we first met."

"Okay. So what shouldn't I do?", Sparky asked as he finished his ice cream.

"Well, don't try to hard to be funny, don't act like a mime, don't suggest we play truth or dare, and no matter what you do don't ever, ever sing Row, Row, Row Your Boat." Klinx explained.

"What's wrong with 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat'? I know it's a stupid song but she must HATE it if that's the case. And also, I don't like mimes either, but why should she despise them?", Sparky asked, now getting cautious.

Klinx looked up remembering quite a few messes they'd been in over that stuff. "I don't know why, but she hates that song with a passion. Last person to sing it almost got strangled. And the mimes just bug her on many levels including the fact that they're not accomplishing anything."

"Geez. I will attempt to avoid those things at any cost.", Sparky said to Klinx. He turned to Slash again. "Is there anything you're interested in?", he asked her.

"Sparring. My bounty hunting." Slash said, still eating her ice cream. "And target practice."

"Sparring? As in fighting for the heck of it?", Sparky asked, getting a bit worried.

Slash nodded. "But it is controlled with no intent to actually hurt your opponent."

"Is that the cause of your scar?", Sparky said pointing at Slash's scar.

Slash looked away when he said that. "No." she said. She hesitated for a minute before explaining. "This scar came from when I was a kitten and my father was training me. It only happened once, because it taught me to never let my guard down."

Sparky felt a bit sorry for her. "I'm sure you've learned your lesson that time. Besides. Even though it must be a bit painful, it makes you look pretty cool. It looks like you can survive anything.", Sparky said, trying to make her feel better.

Slash actually smiled a little at that. After she had thrown away her ice cream cup she asked, "So where did you say we were going next?"

"The Apple electronics store. We're trying to get Tails to stop acting so crazy.", Sparky explained.

"Yep, he loves electronics so if we show him something good about the mall, he should like it better." said Macro. "Good luck with that." said Slash. "He saw things when we were party shopping."

"That's why we're trying.", Sparky said. They all finished their ice cream and headed for the Apple store.

They got to the store and it does have quite a few people looking at all the sales, although they're not acting crazy. "Let's hope this works." said Macro.

Tails looked at several iPads and Mac laptops. "Cool! This one is running on a 50 Gigabyte engine!", he said as he examined a Mac computer. Sonic looked at Macro. "Yep. It's working." Tails went on to babble to the cashier about what Apple should do in order to make the iPad 3 prototype have better functions. "Look, kid. I don't make these things.", the cashier said in anger. Tails walked away and said "Sheesh. I was attempting to make conversation."

Klinx chuckled, "I'd say he's much more comfortable." He then decided to go around and look at some of the devices himself.

Tails pointed at a MacBook Pro. "I designed your laptop off of this.", he said to Sparky. Sparky looked impressed as he looked though the similar features that it had compared to his laptop. He looked at Slash. "Do you want any of these. You might as well get an iPhone to keep track of everything you do, like missions.", he suggested.

"Hmm." Slash considered the idea. She went over to the iPhones and began critically inspecting them.

"You can also keep in contact with us; it IS a phone, after all.", Sparky said to Slash.

Slash wasn't exactly sure about the idea. "It seems like a liability. What if someone takes it and then sees everywhere I'm going to be..."

"You can lock those things with passwords. No one is going to be able to get in thanks to passwords.", Sparky said hopefully.

Slash said nothing but looked back down at the iPhone. She touched it again and it started playing music. "How do you make this stop?" she groweled, rapidly pressing the screen.

"Relax, Slash.", Tails said. "When playing music, there's a pause button on the application. Here it is.", he said as he managed to stop the music from playing. Sparky turned to Klinx. "Does she hate music in general, or something?"

"No, she doesn't hate music. If I had to guess I'd say it's simply more a matter of the iPhone doing something she didn't want it too." Klinx said. Slash cut her eyes over at him.

"Any music she likes? She can download it and stuff.", Sparky asked Klinx.

"It all really depends on how much patience it takes to use it. She's also not wild about spending too much money what with how much we paid for our rather over-sized apartment." Klinx said. "Hey! I can't help it." Macro said defensively.

"Heh. Don't worry about it, Macro. You need the space, anyway. Where else would you live; the streets?", Sparky said to Macro. Tails came back after showing Slash how to use the iPhone and all of its functions. "I think we should go somewhere else. We need to see some other sights around the city.", he said. "Then let's go! I can't wait to see what else there is!", Knuckles said excitedly. Sparky turned to Team Weasel. "You ready to leave?"

All three of them nodded. Then they all walked out of the store, Slash carrying a bag with the clothes she had bought.

They all got back in the van. Sparky started the car while Macro squished in the back. "Where, else should we go?", Sparky asked as the got on the road.

"We're near Station Square, correct? One of the main attractions there is the Twinkle Park amusement park." said Klinx as he was buckling his seatbelt.

Sonic was about to scream "No!", but Tails covered his mouth and said "The robots and traps Eggman placed were removed when we defeated him and Chaos, remember?". Sonic sighed with relief. "Whew. Thank goodness." "Okay! Next stop: Twinkle Park!", Sparky said as he made a turn down the road.

After they had been driving for a few minutes Macro said, "So you guys have actually been here before. Could you tell how it was? Or did Eggman mess it up too much."

"Yeah. Eggman highjacked the park at one point. He made the roller coasters incomplete, made the race track have bottomless pits, and spread the place with spikes and badniks.", Tails explained. "It wasn't very fun for any of us when we got there. But once it got fixed, it's pretty cool."

"Cool, sounds like it'll be fun then. Since I doubt Eggman will be doing anything now." said Macro. "Hmph, especially if he was telling the truth when we saw him shopping." muttered Slash.

"I hope he meant to do that just to bother us.", Tails replied. The van eventually stopped in the parking lot near the entrance to Twinkle Park. "Let's go.", Sparky said as he hopped out of the van. Team Sonic went up and saw the sign. "Cute Couples get in free. Brrr.....I remember when Amy dragged me in there just because of that deal.", Sonic said in slight fear.

Klinx chuckled. "You don't have to worry, Sonic. We won't be getting that deal. We only have one girl with us and she isn't exactly cute." he said. At that Slash punched him in the arm. "My point." Klinx squeaked in pain.

"I bet she doesn't care if she's cute; she must care about looking tough.", Sparky said. They all went inside the entrance. There were doors leading to different areas: the Raceway, the Roller-coasters, the House of Mirrors, and the Sparkle Castle.

"So where do we go first?" asked Macro. Klinx looked over at Sonic and Tails. "You two have been here, what would you suggest?"

"Well, I think we should save the exciting stuff for last. Let's go to the House of Mirrors, then the Castle, then the Roller-Coasters, then the Raceway.", Tails said. Sonic didn't know what the House of Mirrors had, but he looked like he wanted to find out. Sparky looked excited and paid for the tickets as soon as he could. He gave the group the tickets and went through the hall to the House of Mirrors. The House had mirrors all over the place. Some were bended and some were long and large. One section had mirrors on both sides, giving refections of the reflections, making a very confusing scene.

Macro looked at the reflections going every which way. "Whoa. I'm everywhere!" Klinx walked down a row of distorted mirrors, the shape of his reflection changing as he went. He couldn't help but chuckle at some of the absurd images. Slash wasn't all that thrilled, she just stood there with her arms crossed, glancing around.

"Blegh. This is making me dizzy.", Knuckles said as he saw an infinite amount of reflections of himself. Tails held back a giggle as he saw Slash in front of a mirror that made her look fat. Sonic was looking at the same mirror, checking to see if he was that fat again. Sparky looked at a mirror that made him look like he had huge muscles. "To be honest, I prefer being thin.", he said as he looked at the mirror.

"Hopefully we won't get lost in here. Mirror houses are infamous for that." Macro said, now looking at a mirror that made his head look really small.

Sparky nodded as he laughed at Macro's reflection. Sonic looked at Klinx, who was in front of a mirror that made his body looked bended and crazy. "Pfft.", Sonic said as he attempted to hold back some laughter.

Klinx looked over at Sonic with a mock-serious look that dared him to laugh. Then he saw the mirror Sonic was in front of that made the top half of his head look huge like some kind of alien and he burst out laughing.

Sonic looked back and started laughing at himself. Sparky couldn't help but laugh as well. Tails was getting dizzy from all of the reflections. "Let's go to the castle, okay?", he said while mindlessly walking in all directions.

"Sounds good, let's go." said Macro. He then started walking, intending to head for the exit, but ended up face to face with a mirror. "Wait..."

Sparky started walking slowly through the room and found the exit, which had a mirror on it. "What is it?", he asked Macro.

Macro walked over to Sparky. "Oh I thought I was lost for a second." Klinx walked to the exit. "Not to worry, that just happens on TV."

Sparky and the others managed to get out, and Knuckles made a great sigh of relief. "That was confusing and cool at the same time.", he said. Sparky nodded as they went toward the entrance to the Castle. "You're the one that's telling me." When they got in, the Castle had sections that were connected to the Roller Coasters. The lights shined bright, and despite being inside, the place had a natural feeling and look of nighttime.

Klinx looked around. "They really went all out with this place." he said. "It's big too, I can stand straight up in here." Macro commented. "It's ok." was all Slash had to say about it.

Sparky sighed at the calm atmosphere, looking at the beautiful lights and decorations.

Slash crossed her arms. "So what exactly do we do here?"

"Well, this is an attraction that's meant to be admired and looked at. We might as well look around.", Tails said as he flew around the 'courtyard'.

Macro looked genuinely interested as they walked around. Slash on the other hand, didn't. "This is pointless." she muttered.

Sparky walked towards the actual castle and a robotic princess appeared out of nowhere. "WAGH!", Sparky yelled in shock as he fell over. "Hel*bzt*lo good person. Do you want to take tour of the magical Sparkle *creak* Castle?", the robot asked Sparky. Shaking his head form the shock, he simply said "No." "Good!", the robot said with a few 'bzt's and 'clinks'. "Lets go in!", the robot said as it wheeled off into the castle. Sparky, now very curious, followed it to investigate.

Macro, Klinx, and Slash all followed Sparky in. Slash was muttering incoherently.

Sparky followed the robot in as it went into the direction of the throne room. He skidded to a halt as he saw the others follow him. "It's okay. You don't have to follow me.", he said.

Klinx shrugged. "What else do we have to do?"

"That is a very good point.", Sparky said. Hearing the robot's automated voice, he rushed to the throne room. "As you see here, the throne is where the princess sits to rule the magical land.", the robot said as Sparky groaned at the stupidity. At the same time, he giggled at how dumb it was. Team Sonic caught up with Sparky. "How is it?", Sonic asked. "So bad it's admirable.", Sparky said with his hand on his face.

"Pfft. Princess." said Slash, actually almost enjoying the stupidity of the tour, despite the fact that it was pointless.

Sparky actually began to notice the nice work put into the castle itself. Knuckles was gawking over the stained glass. "Let us *bzt* conTINue.", the robot said as it skidded off to the next room. Tails was scratching his head. "I think that thing has a few bugs and glitches."

"You know I kinda get the impression that no one's been in this castle lately." said Macro, noticing some dust as well as the unkempt state of the robot.

"Meh.", Sparky shrugged as they went to the next part. It was the ball room, and it was massive and pretty beautiful. Huge lights were hanged up on the celling.

"Cool! It looks like in Beauty and the Beast." said Macro as he was looking at the lights. However, while he was distracted by that he slipped and landed on the floor with a loud thud. "Ow... apparently they clean this part of the castle..."

"Yeah. I love that movie...", Sparky said wistfully. He shook his head and looked around. Suddenly, a robot Prince came in, ballroom music started playing, and it started dancing with the robot princess. Their dancing was strange and crazy, and sometimes when they were supposed to be together at one part, they weren't. Sonic looked at robots and started laughing. "This is so bad it's funny!", he said pointing at the robots.

Macro put his hand over his mouth, laughing. He then winced as the princess robot almost fell because the prince didn't catch her when he was supposed to. "They're not exactly what I would call graceful." commented Klinx.

The robots eventually bowed, but the princess' head bonked the prince's head, knocking it over with a satisfying 'bang' and 'clonk'. By that point Team Sonic and Sparky were rolling on the floor laughing. Sparky got up, still giggling, and brushed off the dust. "Bavo, I say! Bravo!", he said sarcastically while clapping his hands.

Klinx chuckled, "I believe you lost your head, good sir!" Macro was still laughing too hard to say anything.

The prince's body skidded away, leaving the head on the floor. Sparky kicked the head into the body, knocking it over. Team Sonic couldn't help but laugh at the physical humor. "He is such a dashing prince.", the princess robot said. The robot moved to a room that looked like a nursery. "Now, kids. Let's sing!", it said. Sparky shook his head. "This better be good.", he said. The robot whirled and paused for a moment. It suddenly starting singing. "Row, row, row your boat...", it began. Sparky's smile dropped to a frown of worry. He rushed to the robot, covering the speakers, but the robot's sudden movements knocked him away with brute force.

Upon hearing that most hated song, Slash's ear twitched and her face turned to a crazed rage. She extended her claws and lunged at the robot, tearing it apart relentlessly.

Durring Slash's rage, the robot's head rolled off the body. Before Slash could have a chance to react, a metal wall dropped between the head and the group. The singing was still going very strong, and Knuckles pounded the wall. He groaned and rubbed his hands in pain. "This is like titanium!", he said in shock. "It IS titanium.", a booming voice over the loudspeaker said. The doors and windows closed tight, leaving them trapped. "Eggman?!", Tails yelled in shock. "That's right!", Eggman said. "Because of Slash's serious reputation, I assumed one of her weaknesses would involve something very childish and stupid, but I didn't expect this reaction."

"Eggman! Okay, so maybe I was wrong about him not doing anything else here." said Macro. The song was bugging Slash so much that she couldn't think straight. She just sat there slashing the wall but was only making minor scratches on the wall that did nothing more than make it not look as nice.

"Have a Happy New Year! OH HO HO HO HO!!!", Eggman laughed as trap doors opened under everyone except Slash. Sparky quickly yelled to Slash "Think!" as he fell below. Before Tails could fly up, the doors closed on him.

Slash gripped her ears. That song was like nails on a chalkboard to her. But she knew if she didn't focus that it would never stop. She began looking around on the stage where the princess was, looking for something, anything that would help. She decided to attempt overloading the system. She reactivated the princess, who preceeded to start slamming into the wall as it was blocking her programmed path. Then Slash went around turning on all the singing robots.

The robots started singing songs ranging from 'It's a Small World' to the alphabet. The songs got glitchier and glitchier, and started becoming just 'bleeps' and static. "Wait. What's going on?!", Eggman asked in horror.

Slash kept turning things on. She turned on all the various lights on the stage which started flickering. All the while trying to resist the very strong urge to cover her ears due to all the noise.

"STOP! You'll overload the system!", Eggman yelled as the lights flickered on and off. The lights eventually shut down, the doors opened, the robots stopped singing, and the wall was lifted. "NOOOoooooo...", Eggman yelled as the power went off. The head of the princess was still singing "Row, row, row your boat."

When the wall raised up Slash walked over and crushed the head with her foot. "Hmph." she said. Macro stuck his head out of the now open trap door. "Is it over?" he asked.

"Looks like it.", Sparky said as he popped his head out of the trap door. Everyone else climbed out. "You did it!", Tails said happily. Knuckles was impressed. "I was always told to use my head and not brute force. Looks like you applied that rule pretty well.", he said to Slash.

"Thanks. I knew there was no way Eggman really changed." said Slash crossing her arms. "Yes, but what did he wish to accomplish here? Besides driving us all insane." Klinx said, rubbing his ear after all the noise.

"I think that's it!", Sparky said as he snapped his fingers. "He just wants us to go nuts before some bigger plan he has." "My guess is that he must have plans for New Years' Eve!", Sonic said.

"You know what, if that's the case. Then we do have a purpose for this trip." said Klinx. "Yeah! We'll figure out what Eggman's up to and he won't ruin New Year's Eve." Macro said.

"The problem is that the New Year isn't for a few days, but we should investigate the site to make sure things are okay.", Tails said. Sonic nodded with determination and said "Well, let's go and see what we can do!" "Yeah, let's go!", Sparky said, suddenly getting serious. "You can get serious now, Slash.", he said to Slash.

"I was already there." said Slash as they all began walking again.

Eventually the group got out of the park and got into the van. "Let's forget about the stuff in the park and focus and beating Eggman.", Sparky said as he started up the van angrily. Sonic noticed Sparky's serious behavior. "What's going on?", he asked as the van moved. "Nothing. I want to smash Eggman.", Sparky said quickly.

"Is that all?" Klinx asked, raising an eyebrow. He was sitting in the passengers seat again. Slash had resumed her staring out the window, but this time it was partially to see if there was anything suspicious going on.

"Remember when I told you where I was from? The Little Planet?", Sparky asked Klinx. "Eggman almost took it over and threatened my world. You'd be pretty mad to if someone made you fall off of a high mountain and into another planet, right?"

"Ah. I see. This is personal for you." said Klinx.

"Isn't that the same for you guys?", Sparky asked them.

"I suppose. But being tricked isn't exactly the same has having your world conquered. Well Slash was tricked, I was threatened and dragged along to find a giant hedgehog as a result of that tricking." Klinx said. "Hey look at it this way, if it wasn't for Eggman we wouldn't have met." said Macro.

"That's only one of two things I will thank Eggman for; meeting you and his laser to give me my powers.", Sparky said as he looked at his Time Stone. He sighed and started moving again.

"Well we're gonna stop whatever Eggman's planning this time so he doesn't give anyone else problems." said Macro, who was trying to get a drink out of the sink in the back of the van.

As they went down Route 999, Sonic was getting a bit bored waiting to arrive. "You want to do something while waiting?", he asked Team Weasel.

"Maybe we should watch a movie or something." suggested Macro.

"What do you think we should watch?", Tails asked. "How about an animated Disney movie?", Sparky calmly asked, remembering what Macro said back at the Castle.

"Yeah sure." said Macro. "Yes, a feel-good movie is probably a good idea." Klinx added.

Sparky thought while focusing on the road. He thought that maybe he could pull out a heart-felt Disney movie? A funny one? Both? Then, he came to a conclusion. "What about 'Aladdin'?", he asked the group.

"Sounds good." said Macro. Klinx got out of the passengers seat and sat in the row behind Slash so he could watch.

Sparky slowed down the van and selected the movie and played it on the HD VCR. When the movie started playing, Sparky was already humming to the tune of the opening theme.

"Arabian Nights!" sung Macro. Klinx laughed. Slash turned back around to them and said, "Be quiet I'm trying to watch it."

When the song ended, Team Sonic ended up giggling at the merchant's performance. "It will not break. Will not-" Then the object he was holding sprung apart. "It broke.", the merchant said as he tossed it aside.

Team Weasel were all watching the movie with interest, making various comments as it went. "Jasmine's dad is just being ridiculous." Macro said at one point. "I could take those thieves." Slash said at another.

Once the movie started really rolling, they got to the part when Aladdin rubs the magic lamp for the first time and meets the Genie. Sparky could help but smirk at some lines the Genie made, and even hummed to "You Never Had a Friend Like Me".

Macro and Klinx couldn't help but laugh at the Genie's antics. The movie went on and got more intense with Aladdin and Jasmine's love story and the activity of the villains. At one point Macro found himself hugging Klinx like a stuffed animal. "Excuse me?" said Klinx.

Sonic looked back and attempted to hold back a laugh. Sparky smiled at the fact that everyone was having fun.

After Macro put him down Klinx went to the kitchen area and decided to make some popcorn. "Alright, who all wants some?" he asked.

"Me!", all of Team Sonic said. "I'm driving, so save some for me.", Sparky said. "This thing has an auto-pilot, you know.", Tails pointed out. "Oh, okay.", Sparky said as he found the button, pressed it, and jumped to the back.

Klinx kept putting bags of popcorn in the microwave until he had made enough for everyone. He then started passing the bags around. "Enjoy," he said then took one for himself and went back to his seat.

Sparky and Team Sonic each got a bag. Sparky smelled the wonderful scent of the butter popcorn and began munching down.

Team Weasel ate the popcorn as they returned their attention to actively watching the movie. "Come on, Aladdin, you can do it!" said Macro between bites.

Sparky was eating his popcorn quickly and excitedly. By the end of the movie, Sparky and Team Sonic was all smiles. "You liked the movie?", he asked Team Weasel.

"Yeah!" said Macro, still somewhat excited. "Indeed." Klinx said. Even Slash nodded in agreement. "Hey we're probably almost there by now, aren't we?" Macro asked.

"Oh, yeah!", Sparky said as he jumped to the front and took control of the van. In a minute, they arrived at New Station City. Similar to New York, buildings were large, and there was a large plaza in the middle.

"Ah, the big city. I've done some good business here." Klinx said, looking at all the buildings out the window of the van. "If Eggman plans on doing something, this is the place to do it."

"Yeah, it's pretty dumb, if you ask me.", Sonic said as Sparky parked the van near the plaza.

Klinx smirked, "You were expecting Eggman to do something smart?" he said as he got out of the van.

When they got to the plaza, there was a large tower being constructed. It counted down the days, hours, minutes, seconds, and milliseconds left until New Year's Day.

"That is cool." said Macro, looking at the tower. "It probably involves Eggman..." Slash muttered. "Don't be so paranoid, Slash!" Klinx said and started to put his arm around her shoulders but she quickly shoved him away.

"Well, maybe Eggman might do something to it once New Year comes around.", Sparky suggested.

"We'd better keep an eye on it." Slash said, then continued walking through the city.

Tails flew to the tower and examined it. There were no mines, no robots, not even a loose wire. He flew back down and informed the others. "Looks like your theory is correct, Sparky."

"It is the obvious choice for an attack." Klinx observed, "But there's always the possibility of Eggman doing something sneaky."

"Lets continue looking.", Sparky said as he ran around the plaza. Sonic was following him, and soon they were competing who could find anything first.

Although they were falling behind the racing Sonic and Sparky, Team Weasel were actively looking as well. The longer they looked, it was hard not to imagine every harmless object being used by Eggman in some evil way.

Tails looked high, Knuckles looked low, and Sparky and Sonic looked across the plaza, but nothing dangerous was in sight.

Macro was now breathing heavy from running around the whole plaza looking. "You know, maybe Eggman's not doing anything." he said. "Wishful thinking. It's Eggman, how could he not?" Slash said.

Sparky was starting to get tired and screeched to a halt and caught his breath. "Dang. We'll never find out what Eggman's up to. See anything?", he asked Team Weasel.

All three of them shook their heads. "Well, unless you count this." Klinx said as he held up a formidable amount of change he had found on the ground.

"Tell me: is it a habit of yours to find free things such as money", Sparky asked Klinx with his arms crossed and eyebrow raised.

Klinx pulled the change back to himself, protectively and grinned sheepishly. "I take opportunities." he said, simply.

Sparky sighed and continued looking. Soon, Sparky was being driven crazy because of the lack of information. "What. Is. Eggman's. Plan?!?", Sparky asked as he was walking with his arms limp. Team Sonic was still looking for anything suspicious.

After they had been looking for a little while longer, Slash eventually said "We're accomplishing nothing like this!"

"Something tells me Eggman wants to execute the plan on New Year's Eve, so we might have to go back home and see what we can do.", Sonic said as the rest of Team Sonic regrouped.

Macro nodded. "He's probably going to keep it pretty well hidden until then."

Sparky nodded in agreement. "Let's just get back to the van and go.", he said, tired as is he just ran across the globe. They walked back the van and Sparky set it on auto pilot. "You want to watch another movie?", Sparky asked.

"Yeah, ok." said Macro, settling back into the van. "What other movies do you have?"

"Well, we have more Disney movies, but I'm sure that we have other stuff. What do you want?", Sparky asked Macro as the van started to go down the road.

"Hmm, what about a cool super hero movie?" Macro suggested.

"Sure! Any movie you want? I might have it in the built-in selection.", Sparky said as he went through the TV menu screen.

Macro thought for a minute and shrugged, "I don't know, what about Spider-Man or something."

"Okay.", Sparky said as he found the first Spider-Man movie and began playing it. Sonic went and made some popcorn and got some Dr. Pepper for everyone to enjoy the movie.

"Awesome!" said Macro as he took some popcorn and Dr. Pepper. Slash didn't want any popcorn this time around, but she couldn't refuse the Dr. Pepper. "Let the show begin!" said Klinx, leaning back in his seat.

Everyone sat back and enjoyed the movie. At various points, Sparky was impressed by the special effects they had at the time. Eventually, the van stopped and they had arrived home. "Thanks for showing up, guys.", Sparky said cheerfully. "You want me to bring you back home?", he asked Team Weasel.

"That's quite alright, I believe we'll make it." said Klinx as he, Slash, and Macro got out of the van. "That was a great roadtrip." Macro said, "We'll see you guys tomorrow!" With that Team Weasel started on their way home.

Team Sonic waved goodbye as Sparky smiled in the sunset.

Chapter 5: 4 Days Left: Getting a little 'Ditzy'
Sparky woke up the next morning happy. The sun shined bright and he jumped out of bed and drove to Sonic's house. When he was about to knock the door, the garage opened and out came a massive present. Tails was dragging it out, looking as if he didn't sleep a wink. "Dude, you okay?", Sparky asked, looking at the present that was big enough for Marco to hold in his hands perfectly. "It's something for Macro.", Tails said, grunting as he dragged it out. Knuckles and Sonic were holding much smaller presents. "These are for the others.", Knuckles said. Sparky nodded and helped drag the presents in the van and drove to the apartment building Team Weasel lived in. They got out of the van and looked up at the building.

Klinx, Slash, and Macro were in their apartment getting ready when they heard a knock on the door. "I'll get it." said Macro as he finished putting his boots on. He opened the door and looked down to see a lazy-eyed grey weasel smiling at him. "Howdy neighbor!" said the weasel. "Uh, hi Ditzy." said Macro. For a long minute Ditzy stood there just staring at him. "Was there something you needed...?" asked Macro. Ditzy thought for a minute. "I just wanted to return your rake." "Thanks, but I didn't know you-" Macro started, looking confused. Ditzy interrupted him by cheerfully saying, "Here you go!" as he handed Macro a rake then ran off.

"HELLLLLLOOOOOOOO?!?!?", Sparky yelled up to the apartment. Sonic sighed. "I'm getting bored, I don't know about you but I'm going inside.", he said as he dashed inside the apartment building. As he ran up the stairs he ran into Ditzy in the hallway. "Ouch...sorry I ran into you....what the heck?", he said as he looked at Ditzy's weird eyes.

"Hiya!" said Ditzy, acting like nothing had happened. "Are you new to the building?"

"No. I was looking for the apartment where Team Weasel lives.", Sonic said, very confused.

"Oh! I know where they live! They're my neighbors." Ditzy said excitedly. Then he grabbed Sonic's hand and started leading him down the hall.

Sparky was starting to get a bit worried where Sonic went. "HELLO?!? TEAM WEASEL?", Sparky yelled up to the apartment.

Slash heard the shouting and went over to open the window. She looked out and saw Sparky, Tails, and Knuckles. She turned around and yelled, "They're here!" to Klinx and Macro then turned her attention back to the window. "We'll be right down."

"Okay!", Sparky yelled back as he looked back at Tails. He looked stressed, as if he had been up all night making something. "Why's Tails tired?", Sparky asked Knuckles. "He was working all night on something.", he said, as if it was a huge secret.

Team Weasel made their way down stairs and eventually out the door to where the others were. Klinx looked at the three of them, noticing something was off, then asked, "Where did Sonic get off to?"

"He was looking for you.", Sparky said. Tails pointed at his presents. "We can't give you the presents until Sonic's here.", he said. Meanwhile with Sonic, Ditzy was bringing him closer to Team Weasel's apartment. "Hey, this door is open.", Sonic said as he saw the door Team Weasel left open.

"Oh, I better close it! That's the neighborly thing to do." Ditzy said. Then he pulled the door shut. "Now that that's done we can go in." After saying this Ditzy walked forward and smacked right into the door.

Sonic attempted to hold back laughter at Ditzy's stupidity, but he realized the Team was downstairs, looking for Sparky. He forgot about Ditzy and dashed down the stairs in a blur.

Ditzy shook his head and looked around. "Hey wait a minute." he said, realizing Sonic was gone. Back outside Team Weasel was still wondering where Sonic was. "Hopefully he didn't get lost." said Macro.

Sonic screeched to a halt when he found the Team. "Hey guys! You have some weird neighbors in this place.", Sonic said to Klinx.

"Indeed we do." said Klinx, thinking specifically of the same one Sonic was referring to. Macro said, "Ok, so now that Sonic's here we can-" "Howdy neighbor!" Ditzy suddenly said. Macro literally screamed at Ditzy's sudden appearance.

"Let's go up to your apartment, okay?", Sparky said, getting very worried about Ditzy's appearance.

"Good idea! Gotta go, Ditzy, see you later!" Macro said quickly then he got back inside the building as fast as he could.

"Okay!", Tails said as he and Knuckles dragged the massive present and Sonic took hold of the small ones. Sparky distracted Ditzy by making a small static spark on Ditzy's back while the rest of Team Weasel went inside.

The static shock caused Ditzy to start spinning around in circles trying to rub his back. With Ditzy distracted Team Weasel led the others up to their apartment. Klinx took out a key and unlocked the door. "And here we are."

Sparky smiled as Tails, Knuckles, and Sonic gave their presents to Macro, Slash, and Klinx.

"Aw, you shouldn't have!" said Macro. "Speak for yourself." said Klinx, inspecting his present. Slash took out her claws and made short work of the wrapping paper on hers.

Inside the gifts were several things. Each of them received a Nintendo 3DS; Klinx's being black, Slash's being red, and Macro's custom mega-sized one was green. The only thing not enlarged on Macro's 3DS was the game slot. Klinx got Sonic Chronicles, Slash got Super Street Fighter 4: 3D Edition, and Macro got the 3DS version of Sonic Generations. Other things included the X-Box 360 version of Sonic Generations, Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, and Rayman Origins. Sparky handed them an entire collection of the 'Animaniacs' TV series DVDs. "Well?", Tails asked them.

"This is just plain awesome!" said Macro, excitedly. "Indeed." added Klinx. Even Slash looked geniuinely impressed with the gifts. All three of them gratefully thanked them.

"You're very welcome.", Sonic said, bowing to Team Weasel. "So THAT'S what you were working on.", Sparky said, turning to Tails. "Trust me, it wasn't very easy to make that mega 3DS.", Tails said, scratching his head.

"It's great Tails!" said Macro looking at the 3DS. Slash already had her's on, beating up virtual people.

"Try to jump-kick him!", Knuckles advised Slash as she was playing Street Fighter. Tails flew up to Macro and showed him some features he built in the 3DS. Sparky was already showing Klinx some 'Animaniacs' episodes, and in the process, Sonic was laughing like a lunatic.

Slash was button mashing like crazy. Macro was impressed with all the features Tails had put into the 3DS, but he was also a little overwhelmed at times when Tails would go into a bunch of technical speech.

"So, who the heck was that other weasel a few minutes ago?", Sparky asked Klinx as Sonic was still laughing at the cartoons.

Klinx put his hand on his forehead. "That was our neighbor Ditzy. He's not too bright... And please, don't ask about his eyes because I don't know." he explained.

"I saw what you mean that Ditzy isn't too bright. He closed the door you left open and slammed into it face-first!", Sonic quickly pointed out as he resumed watching the cartoons.

Klinx nodded. "Sounds like him." he said, fiddling with his 3DS. Slash looked up, "Someone left the door open?" Macro looked guilty, "Oops."

"I can't believe you have a neighbor that's that stupid.", Sparky said as he got himself some Dr. Pepper. "Hope you don't mind if I help myself to a glass of this.", he said to Klinx.

"Not a problem. Really, it's the least we could do after the hospitality you've shown us." said Klinx.

Sparky poured a glass and drank a little bit before going over to the couch and sitting down to watch the cartoons.

Klinx sat down as well. Along with Slash who was still playing Street Fighter. Macro sat down in his over-sized chair.

As episodes continued playing, Sonic was laughing so hard that his sides were hurting. Sparky eventually went to the kitchen and saw if there was any popcorn. "Where is the popcorn?; I can make some.", Sparky said to the group.

"It's on the second shelf of the pantry." Macro called to him. Then just as he finished saying that burst into laughter at the cartoon.

Sparky quickly found the popcorn and put it in the microwave. He went back to wait for the popcorn to be done. Just as the cartoon had finished, Sparky said "You want to play Rayman Origins? The graphics are like an HD cartoon, so you should like it."

"Yeah, sure." said Macro. Klinx went over behind the TV to hook up the Xbox 360.

Sparky put in the disc and allowed the game to load. The first thing Team Sonic noticed was the animated intro that looked like a silent cartoon. Sparky was already smirking at the animation style.

"Cool!" said Macro. He let the into finish and the pressed the start button on one of the controllers. "Ok, so I've never played this game before." he said, looking at the main menu.

"It's an award winning game. It's won prizes such as 'Best Platformer', 'Best Graphics', 'Best Multiplayer Game', and 'Best Overall Game of the Year'. Think of it as a 2D Mario or Sonic game, only a cartoon.", Sparky said as he handed controllers to Team Weasel.

"I see. Well how about we find out what makes it the best multiplayer game?" Klinx said.

"Great!", Sparky said as he created a file. Everyone had to choose a character. Because he was the leader, Sparky chose to play as Rayman himself. As they selected their characters, Sparky giggled at the Bubble Dreamer's weird behavior observing them, such as acting like a chicken, and removing his head for a short time. Team Sonic laughed as they were eating the popcorn Sparky had made.

Team Weasel caught on to the gameplay pretty quickly. Macro had chose to play as Globox, and all the while was grinning at the antics in the game. Slash, in her usual fashion, didn't pay attention to those things but rather focused on just playing well.

Sparky got an idea as soon as they gained the skill to attack. Sparky proceeded to make Rayman pound Globox right on the head and face. He laughed at some of the expressions that came out of Globox. Team Sonic couldn't help but smile at the craziness.

"Hey, stop that!" Macro said jokingly between laughs at Globox's objections.

"Ah, fine.", Sparky said as he quickly hit a switch to get to the next section.

Klinx chuckled. Slash was still as focused as ever. "Watch your six." she muttered as an enemy came up behind Klinx. He was able to beat it, but not without taking a few hits.

The next room had several enemies they had to beat to open the cage holding the Electoons and end the stage. Sparky stopped for a moment and saw one of the hunter enemies rubbing a Lum under his armpit and using it as a basketball. "Oh, they are so dead.", Sparky muttered as he quickly pounded most of the enemies with a satisfying punch.

"They didn't stand a chance." commented Slash as they beat all the enemies and finished the stage.

When the level ended and the Lums were counted up, Sparky couldn't help but laugh at the silly end-of-level photo shot that their characters had to partake in.

"Quite an entertaining game, isn't it?" commented Klinx when the picture came up. Macro was over in his chair giggling at it.

Sparky smiled as the game went on. Eventually, they came to a 'Moskito' flying section. Sparky laughed at the fact one of the Moskitos had to ride Globox, and Globox had to flap his feet to get off of the ground. It made no sense, and he loved it.

Macro kept laughing at what Globox was doing. While Slash still had her sharp focus picking up as many Lums as possible. By the end of the stage, she ranked on getting the highest amount of Lums.

When they finished the first world, Sparky looked over to Team Weasel. "You know, maybe we should get more company. You know anyone who can drop by?", he asked them.

"I could think of a few." Klinx said as he got up and walked over towards the phone.

Sparky paused the game and wondered what Klinx had in mind. He looked over at Slash and said "You're very good at playing this game. You got the most Lums in every level we went through so far, and collected several Death Medallions on your own. With you on our side, I'm sure we can complete this game and unlock all of the extra things!".

Klinx was flipping thourgh an address book. Slash looked at Sparky. "I simply like to complete missions." she said.

"You'll find plenty of that in this game.", Sparky said as he continued admiring the game's cartoonish art style. Sonic looked over at Tails. "Let me tell ya bud, you've really outdone yourself making and getting these gifts.", he said to him. "Ah, you know me.", Tails said sheepishly.

"Sonic's right, Tails." Macro said. "You put all kinds of work into this and it was really thoughtful."

"Thanks, Macro.", Tails said to him. Knuckles finished drinking the grape juice he found and turned to Klinx. "Who's going to show up, Klinx?", he asked him.

Klinx hung up the phone. "I left messages with several people. We'll see how many show up."

Sparky shrugged and started the game again. The next world was an instrument filled place in the sky. Team Sonic liked how that the drums were used as trampolines. When they gained the skill to hover, Sparky smirked at Globox's attempt to hover by flapping his arms.

Klinx came over and sat back down. He picked up his controller again just in time to keep from getting hit by an enemy.

The game went on as Sparky laughed more and more at the craziness. Eventually, Sparky turned to Klinx and asked "Who are some of the friends you invited?".

A knock was heard on the door. "We're two of them!" A voice cried out.

Sparky jumped and went to the door. "Who are you?", he asked them.

A green hedgehog tried not to laugh. "I'm Rapid. This *cough* idiot *cough* is Kyros." Rapid said. Kyros elbowed Rapid. "Shut it, greenie!", Kyros said.

"Hey, hey, hey. Last thing I need are some unhappy guests.", Sparky said to them. "Come on in.", Sonic said from the couch.

Rapid and Kyros thanked Sparky and Sonic. Rapid's watch beeped. "Aw man! Now what?!" Rapid yelled.

"Agent RTH, you're needed in Sector XYZ to defeat a robotic flying lizard creature." A voice said from the watch.

Rapid snapped. "YOU KNOW WHAT?!?! YOU GET YOUR OWN PERSON TODAY! GET SOMEONE ELSE!"

Sparky said nothing as he saw Rapid yelling. "Dude, calm down. Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, or something?", he asked him cautiously.

"Rapid, Kyros, good to see you!" Klinx said from the couch, not really acknowledging Rapid's frenzied state.

"Anything you want to do?", Sparky asked Team Weasel as he went back to the couch.

Macro sat down his controller and thought. "That's a good question. It's gonna be hard to top the other stuff we've done."

"You're the one that's telling me.", Sparky said. He tapped his foot and thought for a bit. "How about we try to prank Ditzy?", Sonic suggested. "From what I can tell, he won't really mind, since he isn't that bright."

"Knowing him he might even like it." said Macro, thinking about some of the crazy things Ditzy considered "neighborly."

"Then it's settled; We try to mess with Ditzy. But the question is, what do we do?", Sparky said.

Klinx walked over to a drawer. "Well I do have a key to his apartment. It should prove useful." he said.

Knuckles scratched his head. "You have the key to his apartment? How'd you get that?", he asked.

"I know what you're thinking. But he gave it to us. So we could be neighborly and watch his apartment when he was gone." Klinx explained.

"Dang. This guy must have an IQ of -10.", Sparky said as the group walked out of the apartment and into the hallway. "Lead the way.", Tails said to Klinx.

Klinx led them across the hall and two doors down. He put the key in the door and opened it slowly. Taking a quick glance around he found that, fortunately, Ditzy wasn't there.

Sparky noticed how oddly designed that Ditzy's apartment was. "So, what's the plan?", Sonic asked Team Weasel.

"Yeah now that we're here I really don't know where to start." Macro said. He looked over at Klinx who was already nosily looking through Ditzy's stuff.

Sparky noticed the rug near the entrance. He crouched down to it and started charging electricity into it. "This should be quite 'shocking' to Ditzy when he gets back.", he said.

"Indeed." Klinx said, still focused on one of Ditzy's drawers. "Come on, Klinx. We gotta go before he gets back!" said Macro.

"Maybe we can fit one more prank right now.", Sparky said when he finished charging the rug. Knuckles tapped his foot and got an idea. "I'll wait outside and distract him for as long as I can if he shows up.", he said as he went to the front door, stepping over the rug.

"What did you have in mind?" asked Klinx. Macro went over and grabbed Klinx to move him back over to where the others were just before he started looking through Ditzy's medicine cabinet.

"That's what I'm asking you.", Sparky said as Tails inspected Ditzy's TV and Sonic was looking under a couch.

Klinx put his hand on his chin and thought. "I know it's simple but with someone like Ditzy it may be entertaining. What if we glued a quarter or some other shiny object to the floor?"

"You think that will work?", Sonic asked as Tails flew every which way to see if there was anything useful.

"You've seen this guy. You don't think he would spend hours trying to pick it up?" said Klinx.

"Well, if he can slam into a door after closing it, you must be right.", Sonic said as he took out a 10 Ring ring and Tails found some glue on top of the refrigerator for some reason.

"It would appear we're all set." Klinx said. Then he heard some noises outside the door. "And not a moment too soon."

Knuckles rushed inside, jumping over the rug and said "Everyone hide!" as he ducked into a closet. Team Sonic and Sparky did the same.

Klinx and Slash hid behind the couch and Macro hid in the bathroom, hoping Ditzy wouldn't go in there. Just as everyone finished hiding Ditzy came into the apartment. As expected the first thing he did was step on the rug. It sent an electric shock through him "Ow! That kind tickles. He he he. Ow! He he he, ow!" Eventually he stepped off the rug, his fur now standing on end. Then he noticed the ring. "Ooh, money! I can buy tacos with that." He went over to pick it up but it wouldn't budge. He tried harder but it still wouldn't. He pulled even harder until he fell over.

Team Sonic and Sparky smiled like nutcase's, attempting to hold back laughter from the scene.

"Hmm." Ditzy put his eye right up against the 10 Ring ring, thinking about how to pick it up. He ran into the other room and came back with a plunger. Strangely, and fortunately for Macro, the plunger wasn't in the bathroom. Ditzy then began pushing with the plunger on the ring.

"This is so funny!", Tails whispered as he saw that Ditzy was using a plunger to get the ring.

"What'd I tell you?" Klinx whispered back. The couch he was behind was right up against the wall of Team Sonic's closet. Ditzy was still trying with the plunger, but it wasn't working. He ran off again and this time came back with a shovel.

"Oh my God!", Sparky whispered excitedly as he saw Ditzy with the shovel.

Ditzy first tried to push the shovel up against the ring to pry it off. But when that didn't work he started just hitting the shovel on the ring, which clearly wasn't going to do anything.

"Pffffft. Heh heh heh heh...​", Knuckles said as he attempted to hold back some laughter.

Ditzy tried many more crazy things on the ring including a can opener, and trying to slide it off with a stick of butter. Eventually he fell asleep right there on it.

Team Sonic and Sparky were smiling like they inhaled some laugh gas. "Shhh.", Sparky said to them as they sneaked past Ditzy and they were outside the apartment.

Once they were safely outside the apartment and away from Ditzy's door, Macro and Klinx let out their laughter. "That was great!" Macro said.

Sparky was still smiling and said from the side of his mouth "Now." to Team Sonic. They suddenly burst into laughter. Sparky was pounding on the floor, Sonic fell backwards laughing, Tails put his hand on his face, and Knuckles' sides were hurting. "That. Was. Amazing!", Sonic said as he was laughing.

"Did you see the "concentration" on his face?" Macro asked, still laughing. "With any luck that ring will keep him out of our hair a little while longer." Slash added.

Rapid walked outside Ditzy's door. "I'm not goin' in there." Rapid said. Kyros laughed. "Don't be a baby! Let's go!" Kyros said. Kyros grabbed Rapid's arm and laughed. "Wait! Kyros! No-" Rapid was cut off when Kyros ran and barged into Ditzy's apartment.

"That is far enough.", a voice that sounded just like Sparky's serious tone said. When the door opened, a blue barrier was made and the two slammed into it. When the barrier lifted, a hedgehog in futuristic armor and uniform walked over them. Sonic was confused. "Zonic?", he asked. "Close.", the hedgehog said. He lifted up his visor and it showed what looked just like Sparky, save a few scrapes and bruises on his eyes and face. "I am a Zone Cop, like Zonic, but...", he paused as he looked at the now stunned Sparky. "I'm Zparky. I'm you're No Zone counterpart.", Zparky said to Sparky in a very serious tone that implied he was in a bit of a hurry.

Team Weasel stared at Zparky, dumbfounded. Then Klinx spoke up. "Excuse me, officer. But may I inquire as to what's going on that deservers the attention of a Zone Cop?" he asked, politely.

"I've been chasing after the Anti-version of Sparky. He's been violating the Zone Lockdown rules and has escaped Moebius.", Zparky said. Sparky almost passed out after hearing there was an Anti-version of him, but Knuckles caught him before he fell over. Zparky pulled out a poster with Anti-Sparky on it. Anti-Sparky had sharp fangs and blue fur. He looked very cocky and crazy. "He has a bounty on his head. About 100 grand, I think.", Zparky said.

Slash's ears perked up at the word bounty. She didn't say anything, but you could tell what was going on in her head. Klinx and Macro were looking at the poster. "He does bear a certain resemblance to Sparky." Klinx said. "Yeah, except creepier." Macro added.

"This guy doesn't rob banks or anything. He DESTROYS them just for the sake of destroying things.", Zparky said as he put back the poster. He walked into Ditzy's apartment and turned the television on. Seeing that the channel was on a Spanish talk-show, Zparky angrily changed it to the news channel. "Breaking news! Police reports say that renowned hero-for-hire, Sparky the Hedgehog, is now a convict on the run. These are some security tapes found at the local grocery store.", the news woman said as a static-y video played, showing the Anti-Sparky destroying several isles and electrocuting clerks and standbys. He cackled evilly and messily ate some tomatoes and jelly doughnuts. Sparky felt like he was going to vomit at the scene.

Seeing Zappy only served to fuel Slash more. "His head is mine." she groweled. Ditzy, who was still asleep on the ring woke up and saw all the people in his living room. "I didn't know I was having a party! I'll get some snacks!" he said excitedly as he ran to the kitchen.

"What's worse, at least for you," Zparky said as he looked at Team Weasel, "He has ties to the Cat Squad. He's planning on joining Nerin and her group and causing some havoc. Our info leads up to that they are teaming with this world's Robotnik for some unknown plan." The footage was still playing, and the Anti-Sparky dashed up to the camera and said "I'll be waiting for you, you stupid, pathetic, spiny daffodil." in a dark, evil tone. The video suddenly ended and turned to static. Sparky was behind the couch, cowering in fear.

"So that's what Eggman's up to!" exclaimed Macro. Slash gritted her teeth, she was becoming angrier by the second. She snatched the remote out of Zparky's hand and rewound it, studying the footage.

The footage continued playing, and Sparky saw every last detail. All of the destruction, and all of the people running in total fear. Sonic was getting worried. "What about Scourge?", he asked Zparky. "He escaped jail and went to his home Zone, we think.", Zparky answered. Sonic pounded the couch. "DARN IT!", he yelled. Sparky was now crying in fear, and he curled into a ball in typical hedgehog form.

Slash was still studying the footage, making mental notes about location, fighting tactics, etc. Macro heard the noises Sparky was making from behind the couch and went and knelt behind it. "Sparky, are you ok?" he asked.

"I have an insane counterpart whose framing me right this minute!", Sparky said, still in spin-ball form. Tails looked behind the couch and patted Sparky on the head. "Calm down. We've been through worse.", he said, attempting to make him feel better. Sparky was still shivering and crying.

"Hey, look at it this way. Since he's the opposite of you, that means the worse he is, the awesomer you are." Macro said, trying to think of something to cheer Sparky up.

Sparky uncurled just enough to show his eyes and mouth. "Thanks, but what I'm concerned about his getting him out of this Zone. You sure I can beat this guy?", he asked in a scared and sad tone.

"Sure you can." said Macro reassuringly. "Anti-counterparts are physically just like us so he can't do anything you can't do."

Sparky completely uncurled and sat on the couch. "Thanks, Macro.", he said as he smiled at Macro and looked angry at the footage. "I'll be waiting for you, you stupid, pathetic, spiny daffodil.", the recording repeated. Sparky turned off the TV and said "I'll show him!" with pure determination.

"Good. You show him. Then I'm turning him in." said Slash, who was already tightening her boots in preparation. Ditzy came back from the kitchen with a container of cheese balls. "Let's get this party started!" he said. Slash chucked the remote at him and he fell over, the cheese balls container lodging itself on his head. "Mmm cheesey." he said.

Zparky nodded. "I'll assist you. He is VERY violent, so you need backup.", he said as he got his inhibitor gun ready. Sparky smiled and clapped his hands and made some static. Team Sonic got up. "Alright! Some action!", Knuckles said excitedly.

Slash cracked her knuckles. "Let's go." she said and then walked out the door to the apartment. Klinx and Macro followed her.

The group all walked outside the building. "According to his behaviors, Zappy was a habit of going to large places that have many people to create havoc.", Zparky said as he checked his gun. Suddenly, an explosion was heard from the mall. "I think that's what you mean.", Sonic said to Zparky.

"More problems at the mall. Figures. Let's go." Slash said before taking off running in the direction of the mall.

Everyone else followed Slash. When they arrived, the only store that looked damaged was the clothing store. "Dang it, lady! Tell me where Nerin is, NOW!", Zappy said from inside the store. Sparky sneaked closer and saw through the window that Zappy was yelling at a cat who looked just like Slash, except she had a dress and some high heels.

The cat was Slish, who was standing in the store holding a bunch of clothes she "got" there. "You didn't say please!" she whined in a high pitched voice.

Zappy gritted his teeth and held Slish against a wall. "Look, kid. I don't say 'please', so tell me were the heck your leader is, or I'm going to electrocute you so bad that you'll have burning fur and black skin for the rest of your days!", he yelled right at Slish.

Slish had an indignant look on her face, but caring too much about her appearance she gave in. "Fine. I'll take you to her, meanie." she said.

Zappy growled angrily, as he was hoping to personally hurt someone, but he let go of Slish, and stepped back. "Where is Nerin?", he asked slightly calmer than before.

"She's back at base." Slish said. "But I can't tell you where that is, I have to take you there."

Zappy growled again. "Do you have a faster way of getting there, aside from WALKING?!", he yelled at Slish.

Slish tilted her head, thinking. "We could take that pretty car I saw in the parking lot! The silly person left the keys in it."

"Fine, lets go, NOW!", Zappy yelled. He ran out the store, grabbing Slish as the got out. When they got out, they saw the gang, ready for a fight. "Oh, boy. Looks like you got my message, weakling.", Zappy said to Sparky. Sparky growled, but before he could lunge at Zappy, Zparky came in front and said "You're under arrest for multi-Zone destruction and Zone Lockdown law breaking. Put, your hands in the air!" as he held his inhibitor gun at Zappy.

"Well that's not very nice." said Slish. She then extended her claws and slashed at Zparky.

"I love this kid! Cute, yet deadly!", Zappy cackled as Zparky's armor was cut and scraped. Zparky grunted as he attempted to shoot Slish and Zappy with the inhibitor gun, but Zappy ran across the ceiling and escaped the blasts.

Slash couldn't stand by and watch this. She rushed forward, engaging Slish. "Oh hi, Slashy!" Slish said, perkily. They began exchanging blows but were evenly matched.

Sparky peeled-out right into Zappy as he landed from the ceiling, pounding him right against the wall. "Who's the weak one now, sucker?", Sparky said as he was still running in place to keep Zappy back. Zparky attempted to shoot Zappy, but from afar, Zappy zapped the gun, causing an explosion that sent Zparky right into the glass and smashed his helmet.

As Slash was fighting Slish and Sparky was fighting Zappy, Kinx and Macro realized they should help to shift the balance. Macro went over to help Sparky and Klinx went over to Slash and Slish. "Good day, Slish." Klinx said. "Hiya. Me and Slashy are busy right now!" Slish said. "I can see that. But I just wanted to let you know that a girl is taking the clothes you got from that store." Klinx replied. Slish turned around. "Oh, no, she didn't!" she said. Slash took advantage of the distraction to hit Slish right in the face.

Sparky was fighting hand-to-hand with Zappy. "You can't win. I can't lose!", Zappy said as Sparky dodged his punches. Sparky performed a spin kick upwards, and Zappy slammed into the wall. Zparky got up and saw the commotion. Too tired to fight, he tried to get up but fell over and onto the floor. "Help...", he said as he tried to drag himself across the ground.

Knowing that Slash could handle Slish for the time being, Klinx ran over to Zparky. He put his arms around him to help him up. "It's probably best we get you away from here, yes?"

Zparky was limp and had several cuts on his face. His armor was breaking and scarred from the slashes he took. "I agree....", Zparky said as he finally passed out.

"He had to pass out..." Klinx muttered as he slowly dragged Zparky into a nearby luggage store. Those stores were always empty. Macro did a slide kick at Zappy as he was getting ready to attack Sparky again.

Zappy flew into the wall at high velocity after getting kicked. He groaned in pain. "I expected as much from someone your size, but it will BE YOUR DOWNFALL!", he screamed as he got back up and shot a thunderbolt at Macro, right before Sparky spin-dashed right into Zappy's stomach.

Having no room to dodge, Macro was hit with the thunderbolt. It pushed him backwards and he crashed right through a T-shirt stand.

Zappy cackled like a monster right before Sparky jumped and kicked him in the head. Team Sonic was dealing with Slish, and Knuckles punched her in the face after Tails flew him over her. Sonic dashed to Macro. "You okay, big guy?"

Knuckles' punch caused Slish to stop fighting and she started crying. "You're mean!" she exclaimed. Slash snarled, Slish's behaviour never ceased to disgust her. Macro rubbed his head. "Yeah I think so." he said to Sonic.

"Told you I would pound them in the face!", Knuckles said to Slash as he and Tails held down Slish so she wouldn't attack anymore. Sonic helped Macro up with all of his might, then he quickly dashed into Zappy and performed a spin kick on Zappy, flinging the villain backwards.

Macro looked over at Zappy, "Is he down...?" he asked. Slash approached where Zappy had been flung.

Zappy groaned in agony, but he got up abruptly and rammed into Tails and Knuckles. He grabbed Slish and ran into the parking lot. "I don't have time! JUST GET ME OUT!", he screamed at Slish.

"Come over here!" Slish said. She grabbed Zappy's hand and led him to a pink corvette. "This is the pretty car I saw earlier."

Zappy snatched the keys out of her hands and unlocked the car. He opened it, threw Slish into the driver's seat, and jumped inside. "DRIVE!!!", Zappy yelled as he saw the gang find him and the car.

Slish started the car, she could see the group running towards them through the rear-view mirror, Slash looking particularly furious. Slish wheeled out of the parking lot and sped away. As she went she turned on the radio to a peppy station.

Zappy was growing agitated; being what Sparky isn't, he despises music. Zappy knew if he didn't cooperate, he would never get to Nerin. He plugged his ears and curled into a ball. Sparky and the gang, still in the lot, lost track of the car. Sparky pounded his head against the wall while saying "I'm an idiot!" over and over again.

"Nonsense! This isn't your fault!" Klinx said. Macro was holding Zparky who wasn't in a condition to run. While Slash was staring into the distance growling.

Zparky was starting to wake up. "I'm...sorry...Zonic...I...know..I...shouldn't....have...gone...alone....", he groaned as he dozed off again. Sparky sighed at Klinx. "I let my own anti get away.", he said sadly. Sonic went up to him. "Hey, the same thing happened to me, remember?", he said to Sparky.

"The same thing just happened to Slash." Macro commented. Fortunately, Slash was too preoccupied to hear it.

"Guess we all have something in common.", Sparky said, hoping Zappy wasn't doing anything big.

Meanwhile, with Zappy and Slish...
Zappy was slamming his head against the seat, plugging his ears with anything he could find to block off the music. "ARGH!!!! ARE WE BLIPPING THERE YET?!?!?", Zappy screamed in pure rage and pain.

"Wait for it..." Slish started. Then she pulled the car up next to entrance to an underground bunker, which was pretty much in the middle of nowhere. "Now we are!" she said, cheerily as she turned off the car.

Zappy unplugged his ears from the feathers and pieces of candy he found on the ground. He sighed "Ahhh...At last." He got out of the car and walked to the entrance of the bunker.

Slish knocked on the door to the bunker. "It's meee!" she sang. "And I brought a guest!" Some shuffling was heard and then the door opened. A golden colored, mismatched robot was standing in the doorway. He had an unenthused look on his face as he looked over Zappy. "Who's this?" he asked. "This is Zappy! He wants to see Nerin. Zappy, this is X-Nad." Slish said.

"Ah. A robot slave, you have.", Zappy said as he bowed respectfully at X-Nad. "A pleasure to meet someone who can be as powerful as I am."

X-Nad raised an eyebrow. "Just know I'm nobody's slave." he said. Slish led Zappy to a room where a green cat with blonde hair was sitting in a chair, completely focused on writing something.

"We meet at last, Nerin.", Zappy said to the green cat. "It is rare for a Moebian like me to be happy, but I'm beyond glad that I can meet one like you."

Nerin looked up from her writing and smiled. "Flattering. Who might you be?"

"I am an enemy of a friend of your enemies. I am Zappy the Hedgehog. Sparky is my Prime counterpart here. He's such a little annoyance, and I was hoping if I could join your group to destroy our enemies. We have something on common; we hate our Prime counterparts. I also heard you're with Eggman, the mad genius of this world.", Zappy said in a dignified manner that very much contrasted his usual angry behavior.

Nerin listened with interest, she was pleased with Zappy's attitude. "We could work something out. What skills do you have to offer?"

"Electrical manipulation and creation. I am fast and powerful. Using pure force, I can get rid of anyone.", Zappy said. He looked for a target to destroy, and he eventually settled on a test-dummy that was lying around. Zappy shrouded himself in electricity and shot a massive thunderbolt at the dummy, causing it to explode and leaving the remains to burn.

"Good. We'll work with you." said Nerin. Slish, who was still standing nearby, got excited. "That means we can be bestest friends!" she said. Nerin simply rolled her eyes.

Zappy grinned like a lunatic. Just then, the large monitor in front of them turned on. Eggman was on it. "Hello, Nerin...IS THAT SPARKY WITH YOU?!?", he asked in fear. Zappy shook his head. "I'm his anti!", he said. Eggman sighed. "Fine then. How is the Egg Emperor 2.0 and the Egg Clock Tower coming along, Nerin? I need it ready by New Years.", he asked Nerin angrily.

Nerin looked annoyed. "I told you we're working on it! Besides, we've got Zappy now. This is going to work." she said crossing her arms.

"Good. I know that Sonic and his friends will get suspicious about this. I've tried to get rid of them twice now, but it's not working.", Eggman said. Zappy shrugged. "Egg Clock Tower? What kind of a dumb machine is that?" Eggman became furious. "It's a robot disguised as a clock tower! That tower being made at New Station City is actually the machine! It's set to activate on New Year's Eve!" Zappy smiled. "Did you know a Zone Cop is chasing after me, and is soon to arrest all of us?", he said to the Cat Squad.

"He wears a silly uniform!" Slish added. X-Nad scoffed. "A cop? Why should he be of any concern?" he said. "Zone Cops are nuisances. But we can handle him." said Nerin.

"Heck. I'm sure we can. I smashed him into some glass, and he couldn't get up! What happened to strength in numbers?", Zappy said while laughing. Eggman sighed. "It's a good thing you're here to support me after my several and expensive defeats.", he said. "Expensive?", Zappy asked. "Don't ask.", Eggman said angrily.

"That's your problem. But this plan is going to work." said Nerin. She didn't intend to be beaten by a group of random heroes like last time.

Chapter 6: 3 Days Remaining: Cat Fight!
It was the next day. Sparky was up all night long, worrying about Zappy. Zparky was in the guest room recovering. Sparky got up and checked on him. He was getting better, but not by that much. Sparky got in his pajamas and went out to get the mail.

As Sparky went out Klinx and Macro were approaching his house. "Sparky! Have you seen Slash?" called Macro.

Sparky shook his head. "I didn't see her. I just got up. How long has she been gone?", he asked. Team Sonic was running to Sparky's house. Tails was carrying Zparky's armor and inhibitor gun. "I fixed these for Zparky!", Tails panted.

"She was gone when we got up." Macro said, he looked concerned. When Tails came up Klinx said, "How is Zparky doing?"

"He's still recover-", Sparky said right before Zparky walked towards them. He had several bandages on every part of his body. "I'll....take...that.", he groaned as walked over, still limp, and took the inhibitor gun and armor from Tails.

"He looks better. But what are we going to do now?" said Macro. Klinx was thinking. "I'd be willing to bet Slash went off to find Zappy herself."

Zparky got in his armor and readied his gun. "I say we...ugh...", he said as he almost fell over. Knuckles caught him. "I think you need more rest.", he said. Zparky nodded and went inside. "So, lets go find Slash!", Sonic said.

Klinx watched Zparky as he went inside. "That Zappy did quite a number on him." he said. "Yeah, so we gotta find Slash before something bad happens!" said Macro.

At Nerin's base...
Zappy was running around the entire base. He examined rooms, checked machines, and looked at weapons. He stopped when he found Nerin's room. He looked around and saw a journal. He looked around to see if anyone was there, and opened it.

Nerin's journal was filled schemes and her dreams of world domination. It also expressed her annoyances with her team-mates, and more secretly, her infatuation with Scourge.

Zappy snapped his fingers and cussed at himself. "I thought I would also win something else in this world.", he said, slamming the book shut.

Just then, Slish ran into the room. "There you are Zappy! Come look at the monitor, I think Slashy is looking for us!"

Zappy turned around abruptly. "I WASN'T...oh. It's you. I'll look at the monitor.", he said as he dashed out. He skidded to a halt when he found X-Nad and Nerin looking at the monitor. Zappy hesitated and slightly blushed, but he asked Nerin "What's going on? That stupid red-fur wants to fight you?"

"That and I think she wants the bounty on your head." said Nerin, who was looking at Slash critically. "This won't be a problem. She's alone." X-Nad commented.

"Eesh. I forgot about my bounty. I've caused so much damage that they want me arrested, no matter what. I love being evil!", Zappy laughed, but his laughter died out when he saw that Slash was getting closer to the base.

"We don't need her in here. Someone needs to draw her away from the base." Nerin said, looking over the assembled villains.

Before Nerin could finish her sentence, Zappy rushed outside the base saying "I'm going out for you!" to Nerin. Zappy covered himself with electricity and rushed at Slash. "You looking for me, lady?!?", he yelled.

Slash growled. "Yes." No sooner had she said this she then extended her claws and slashed at Zappy.

Zappy side-stepped the attack, but didn't bother to attack back. He ran a short distance and smacked his rear end. "Come and get me, sucker! A million bucks, standing right here!", he taunted.

Slash was mad. "I expected a real fight out of you!" she said, running towards him.

Zappy was dancing an Irish jig as Slash ran towards him. He dashed again when she got too close and made a stupid looking face. "Come on? You're supposed to be a pro bounty hunter? What a joke!", he said.

Slash stopped for a minute, narrowing her eyes. Then she spun around in a claw tornado and began moving towards Zappy.

Zappy got nervous, but he knew the farther away she was from the base, the better. Zappy came closer and jumped over Slash. "You must be pretty dizzy doing that!", he said while laughing.

Slash stopped spinning. She was still stable and not dizzy at all. She was beginning to sense that something was up, Zappy wasn't as oncoming as he was earlier. She slashed at him again.

Zappy dodged again and ran another distance. He was getting tired. "Dang! I hope Nerin has something up right now! This show isn't exactly what I want to do all day!", Zappy thought to himself.

Slash kept attacking. Back in the base the Cat Squad was watching them on screen. "Slash isn't going to give up until someone loses." X-Nad said. "Then we'll just have to make sure it's her." Nerin said, then she nodded at Slish who turned and ran out of the base.

Zappy breathed heavily after several dashes and dodges. He turned and saw Slish. Zappy coughed at Slash and pointed at Slish.

Slish smiled and waved, earning a scowl from Slash. They both charged forward and attacked.

Zappy took the distraction as an advantage and threw a thunderbolt at Slash. At the base, Eggman was on one half of the monitor; the other half focusing on Slash. "I wanted to check on you this morning. Things are going fine, I expect?", he asked Nerin.

Having some difficulty focusing on both opponents, Slash was grazed by the shot. Back at the base, Nerin looked at Eggman on the screen. "We've just run into one minor thing we need to take care of." she said, waving him off.

"Ah, but I have a gift for you. I hope it will be of use!", Eggman said as he went off screen. Outside the base, something that sounded like a rocket was heard. Zappy looked up. "THAT looks so cool!", he said as a Sonic-shaped robot landed in front of them. "PRIMARY TARGET: SLASH THE CAT", the robot said.

The Search for Slash
Sparky was pacing back and forth while Zparky was on the couch. Team Sonic was also in deep thought. "If we need to find Slash, then we need a search party. Know anyone who can help?", Zparky asked Klinx.

Klinx ran his hand through his hair. "A good question. If all else fails we could ask Ditzy, he's eerily good at finding us..." he said. Macro's eyes widened at that, he was worried if they asked Ditzy for help he'd never leave. "Uh... well maybe Mom and Dad can help!" he said.

"What if she's in trouble with the Cat Squad? What if we have to fight? Do you have any friends that can help in that case?", Zparky asked.

"I'm honestly not sure who we could get." Klinx admitted.

Sparky sighed and said "Well, lets get some people to look around town. I bet Slash is outside of town, but you never know. Let's go to the outskirts of the city and see if we find any-" Just then, Zparky turned that TV on, and it showed Metal Sonic flying west of Station Square on the news.

Macro leaned his head down and looked at the TV. "Hey Sonic, that robot looks like you." he said. "That most certainly can not be good." said Klinx.

"Remember when I said that Eggman was with the Cat Squad? This is our ticket to Slash!", Zparky said as he got up. Sonic looked pretty shocked. "How many times is that bugger going to come back?!", he said as he rallied Team Sonic and Sparky got up. "We need to head west!", Sparky said without question.

"Can't argue with that." said Klinx. Macro stood up, "We'd better hurry." he said.

Sparky jumped up and ran out the door, Team Sonic following. The rest of the group followed them as they headed west.

Klinx got onto Macro's shoulder as they ran. They were looking around for any sign of Metal Sonic, The Cat Squad, Zappy, or Slash. "It's possible they're at the Cat Squad's base, which it occurs to me we've never been able to find!" Klinx said, loud enough for everyone to hear as they ran.

"Well, I think that Metal is heading for the Cat Squad. Maybe Slash is already there!", Sparky said as legs ran in a figure-eight. "Obviously.", Zparky said as he ran in a similar fashion.

"This may be our chance to finally find them then." said Klinx. "Yeah, as soon as we find Metal Sonic." Macro added, running fast to keep up with Zparky, Sparky, and the others.

At Nerin's Base.....again...
Zappy was smiling at Slash's reactions to "Row, row, row your boat" in her cell. Metal Sonic had several scratches on his new paint job, but it didn't matter. Zappy turned to Nerin. "So, you think we got it covered, or what?", he asked smugly.

Slish was over by Slash's cell dancing and singing whenever the song would start playing, This only served to make it that much worse for Slash who was clawing at everything within reach and even slamming her shoulder against the cell door, causing it to shake. Nerin thought for a minute at Zappy's question. "How many did you say were after you at the mall?"

"Ah...let's see. There was these nuts called Team Sonic; a fox, echidna, and hedgehog. Then there was your enemies; Klinx, Slash, and Macro. Then there was Sparky and the Zone Cop. So.....seven, if you don't count Slash.", Zappy said, counting them up with his fingers. "LIFE FORM DATA: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, MILES "TAILS" PROWER, AND KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA. ALL PART OF TEAM SONIC", Metal Sonic said.

"Based on what I've heard those three shouldn't be taken lightly." X-Nad said, he was leaning against a nearby wall. "I know Klinx and Macro will be here to save their friend. Probably with those others. So what we need now is a trap." Nerin said as he thoughtful expression changed into a malicious smirk.

Zappy grinned just like Sparky does, except evil. "So....got anything up your sleeve? I heard you went to the trouble to make holographic tech to trick everyone into thinking they were in Oregon, so you must have something!", he said, remembering one of the entries in Nerin's journal.

"I might have a few ideas..." Nerin said as she walked over to the nearest monitor and dialed Eggman's frequency.

Eggman came on screen. He was singing rather horribly to "E.G.G.M.A.N.". "I AM THE EGGMAAAaa....", Eggman sang before he stopped and turned off the music. "Ah.....hello.....um......do you like Metal Sonic?", he asked.

"Yes, yes, he's nice but I was wondering if you could send us some more robots? Ones that can do hard work?" Nerin asked.

"Well, I still have some left over construction Egg Pawns from the time I captured Planet Wisp. All of my Egg Pawns perform work well.", Eggman said as he showed one of the robots walking around mindlessly. "GET ME A DRINK AND CHEESE SANDWICH!", Eggman bellowed at it. As soon as he said it, the Pawn came back with a latte' and grilled cheese sandwich. "Trust me, he can do more than that. I'm just hungry.", Eggman said with his mouth full of the sandwich.

"Good. I need some to help me make a trap." Nerin said, rolling her eyes as Eggman ate the sandwich.

"Okay. I'll send a shipment to you right now.", Eggman said as he went off screen. Within an hour, a mechanical truck appeared and about a hundred Egg Pawns walked in the base. One was holding various sandwiches and drinks. "THE MASTER SAID YOU MIGHT BE HUNGRY", the Pawn said to Nerin.

"Eeee! We can have a tea party!" said Slish excitedly as she ran up to the pawn that was holding the sandwiches. "Can you cut them into little triangles?" she asked it. Nerin sighed then turned her attention to the other pawns. "I need fifteen of you to help reconfigure the base's defenses and the rest of you start digging a moat."

"YES MADAM", the Egg Pawns said as they got to work. The sandwich pawn cut the sandwiches in triangles with his own fingers. Zappy nabbed one of the sandwiches with ham and lettuce (something Sparky hates). "CARE FOR ONE?", the Pawn asked Nerin and the others.

"No." said Nerin as she walked off to go direct the pawns modifying the defenses. X-Nad went out to the ones digging the moat. Slish grabbed the sandwich pawn by the arm and pulled him into her room. She placed a large brimmed hat on his head. "Okey dokey! Now make some tea!"

"..............DOES NOT COMPUTE.......", the pawn said as he went to pour some tea he brought. Metal Sonic actually made some noises that sounded like laughing. "Did you just laugh?", Zappy asked Metal. "NEGATIVE!!!", Metal Sonic shouted.

Slish was arranging the tea and sandwiches on the table. She looked at Zappy and Metal Sonic. "Are you two here for the tea party?" she asked.

"Ah......", Zappy said, a bit startled. Even Metal Sonic remained silent. Zappy was about to say no, but the Pawn dragged him to the table. Metal Sonic reluctantly followed him.

"Here are your hats!" Slish said, handing Zappy a fedora type hat with a large feather in it and Metal Sonic a top hat. She then took her cup of tea and drank it, pinky extended.

Metal Sonic was about to rip off the hat, but Zappy stopped him. "Dude. They're going to help us, so we might as well return the favor.", Zappy whispered to Metal. "AFFIRMATIVE", Metal said quietly as they sat down and Zappy ate another sandwich that the pawn gave him.

Slish suddenly stood up. "Oh! I'm going to bring some tea to Slashy!" she said, picking up a plate with a sandwich and a tea cup. Slish knew full well that Slash wouldn't like her doing this, which was part of the reason she was doing it.

Metal Sonic was attempting to compute this, but Zappy tried to calm him down. The Pawn walked over to Slish. "NEED MORE?", he asked.

"Not right now." Slish said. She then walked out of the room and into the room where Slash's cell was. Some yelling was heard then it became muffled. Slish came back, she had a mess of tea and mayonnaise in her fur but was smiling nonetheless. "She ate it all in one bite!" she said cheerily.

"Pffffffffffffffft...", Zappy said. Metal Sonic stared at Slish. "ANALYSIS CONFIRMS YOU WERE ATTACKED BY SLASH THE CAT", he said to Slish.

"Well she was reluctant to try it but I insisted." Slish said as she was cleaning her fur. There was a hint of an evil gleam in her eye. Just then Nerin came back. She looked very focused and ignored the people at the 'tea party'. She grabbed her notebook and several electronic parts.

"Oh, boy! Some plans! Now we can get the show rolling!", Zappy said as he threw off his hat and Metal Sonic grabbed it and his and tossed it at the Egg Pawn, knocking it over.

Slish forgot about the Egg Pawn and went over to Nerin as well. Nerin didn't say anything but walked outside and they followed her. Outside the other Egg Pawns were still digging the moat. It was very large reaching all the way up to the base and it was too wide to jump. At the bottom of the moat there was a metal floor.

"Yeah, it's pretty big, but what about that flying fox and giant hedgehog?; they can easily carry the others across.", Zappy said, looking down at the moat. "METAL FLOOR'S PURPOSE UNKNOWN", Metal said.

"The moat will be covered so they won't even know it's there. But if they do make it..." Nerin gestured to some laser net cannons that were now mounted on the outside of the base.

"Cool! Let's see what this stuff can do!", Zappy said.

In the outskirts of town...
Sparky and the gang heard some construction noises coming from somewhere. "Do you hear that?", Knuckles asked.

Macro stopped. "Yeah... what is it?" "Clearly we're close to something." said Klinx.

"Let's go!", Sonic said as they dashed off. Back at the base, Metal Sonic was scanning for the group. "LIFE FROMS DETECTED. EVASIVE ACTION!", he said as he gestured the Egg Pawns to get inside.

Everyone quickly finished up and ran inside. The moat had been covered with some very convincing looking fake grass.

Sparky drifted across the trees and corners and skidded to a halt when he found the base. Team Sonic stopped with him. "Hi? Are they just begging for us to clobber them?", Sonic said as Zparky readied his gun.

Klinx looked around. "So this is it? It's quiet." he said.

They walked a bit closer. Sparky looked across the area. Nothing was seen. "Why does whenever things like this happen, I feel like my stomach hits the floor?", Sparky said, very suspicious.

"I know it's almost creepy. I was expected us to get attacked as soon as we got here." said Macro, who was slowly moving closer to the base.

"Let's see what happens.", Tails said as he went closer to the base.

Macro took a few more steps forward when suddenly the ground gave way beneath one of his feet. His one foot went straight into the moat which left him in an awkward position about to fall all the way in.

The group rushed to Macro and lifted him back up. "I knew this was a trap!", Zparky said as he got his gun ready to blast anything around him.

The moat being stepped on triggered the base's defenses which started shooting at them. First with lasers then with laser nets. "Oh man." said Macro as he rolled over to avoid a laser blast.

Sonic was trapped inside one of the nets. Knuckles threw Tails and Sparky. In a union attack, Tails carried Sparky over one of the turrets and Sparky used a homing attack on it. Zparky used his gun to blast the net Sonic was in.

Klinx was good at dodging the blasts, but Macro was having difficulty. Klinx had Macro throw him across the moat to the base. He landed on the roof and began disconnecting wires on the blasters.

Sparky was jabbing at the wires and was tearing them apart. Sonic jumped over the moat and Tails caught him. Knuckles glided to the turrets and punched them as hard as he could.

Macro backed up and then took a running jump over the moat. He joined the others in breaking the blasters.

Sparky had an idea. He closed his eyes and raised his hands. The electricity from the blasters was draining now that they were damaged. Sparky attracted the electricity and it made a light show. Once the electricity was absorbed, Sparky jumped down and shot a massive thunderbolt at the door, obliterating it and causing a massive explosion.

"Impressive." said Klinx. They then all ran for the door. Back inside the Cat Squad was scrambling to meet them. "I knew that wasn't going to work." said X-Nad. "Shut up." replied Nerin, agitated.

"Well, it's a pity that your pal is locked up. Heck, she was forced to eat a sandwich.", Zappy said. "Good guys always win, so don't try to stop me from clobbering you.", Sparky said. "TARGET: SPARKY THE HEDGEHOG", Metal Sonic said as he dashed towards the group.

Nerin, Slish, and X-Nad were all standing there ready to fight. Macro and Klinx readied themselves. "This is more like what I was imagining..." said Macro.

The group side-stepped Metal Sonic, and the real Sonic started fighting him. Sparky engaged Zappy, throwing blasts and running across the ceilings. Knuckles distracted The Cat Squad and pounded each of them as Tails flew over them and headed for Slash's cell.

Slish attempted to slash at Macro but he kicked her away. Nerin was trying to defend herself against Knuckles and X-Nad had grabbed Klinx who was trying to talk him into letting go of him.

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