Let's see. Editor's notes:
I don't own Sonic, Tails, the Eggman, or any Beatles reference I care to make.
I also do not own the Rainbow Brite characters. I'm just borrowing them for a while, and they'll be returned intact (in a happy ending, anyway. No guarantees, really.).
I also know Sonic lives on Morbius, not Earth. Work with me, people.
This fiction is dedicated to whoever wrote the extremely nifty 80'sish music from the Sonic Adventure Battles series. They were my inspiration. Follow me, and we'll escape from the City.
With that settled.
Chapter 1
A Darkness Rising
The Pits:
"Another day, another failed plan," groused Murky. Another marvelous plan ruined by his browned furred strongman, Lurky. To be honest, he wasn't sure this one would have succeeded anyway.
Still, the fact that Lurky had remarked, "Gee, Murky, may-be you're not smart en-uff," had really gotten under his skin. He turned over in his bed, discarding scheme after scheme. Have you ever had that moment when you sat in bed and realized the answer to the problem of the day? That's what this flash of inspiration was like, causing him to sit up (and narrowly miss hitting his head on the low ceiling of the cave). "If I'm not smart enough, or even though I am... perhaps it's time to recruit a genius. And I know just the megalomaniac, if these papers I've filched from that meddler Brian are true..."
Lurky awoke that morning to the sound of a hammer pounding on metal. He tripped down the stairs of the Pits, narrowly catching himself on the banister. "Wha-cha workin on now, Murky?"
"A transporter. I can't get to Earth on the Rainbow Bridge without Brat Brite's belt. So, I had to develop my own way. This doorway will take us anywhere on Earth, as long as we set the coordinates."
"It's bigger than even me, Lurky! You going to bring an Oli-phant through?"
Murky thought about that for a second, he *did* admire those large Grey beasts. Then he had a mental image of their large ivory tusks, and discarded the idea. "No way, manure-mouth," he cackled. "I'm going to recruit a genius to help me catch Rainbow Brite. I'm lucky that he's got such a small confined area to move around in. I don't have to even search for him! Tah-HEE-hee."
Earth. A jail cell in Washington DC:
Dr. Eggman Robotnik, scientist extrordinare, did not like being in prison. He did, after all, help save the world from his grandfather's Ultimate Lifeform.
On the other hand, he set it loose, too.
Then, lest he forget, there was all the damage he and Shadow caused just getting up to the station. Not that Shadow survived his trip; one of the few losses Robotnik actually mourned.
He could settle for jail a little longer, anyway. Besides, if his calculations were correct, he had only forty hours until his emergency robot came looking for him. He could wait that long.
As it turned out, he didn't have to.
A grey portal opened up within the cell, and a short grey little man in helmet in cape with an odd design on his shirt came out. Robotnik was impressed with that. He was less impressed with the projectile weapon pointed at his stomach. "You, Eggman!" he said impatiently. "Get in there!" He pointed with his gun at the portal.
"No one tells me what to do, short stuff..." he said warningly.
His assailant didn't prattle. He simply fired a cloud of black smoke. Robotnik was stunned. The guards watching his cell were more stunned to see a brown furry hand reach through the portal, dragging the immense Dr. Robotnik back with it. The intruder cackled in triumph, then walked back the way he entered.
A moment later, the alarm sounded. Other than the cell (which seemed to have had its dark blue paint faded to grey), nothing seemed out of place. There was no trace of the dark doctor. The breakout, which happened during the early evening, did not make the evening news. The film at eleven was not seen by anyone of importance to this story.
Back in the Pits:
Dr Robotnik was livid. His beautiful red jacket was now a pale shade of grey. Brown beady eyes glared at Murky Dismal. Murky, as per usual, was unapologetic. "LOOK what you did to my jacket, you little beast."
"So, this is the Eggman, goo goo g'joob!" cried Lurky. The two antagonists took a moment to stare at the warped sprite. Then went back to looking at each other.
"My apologies, Master Robotnik," Murky said, bowing and rubbing his hands together. Getting his ego stroked plainly relaxed the recently rescued Robotnik, so Murky pressed his luck. "I wanted to break you out, because you're the only one who can help me with a problem I have. In exchange, I will help you capture the hedgehog himself."
Robotnik's breath caught short. This man was good enough to build a gateway, and he was offering to help him with his rodent problem? His super sized rodent problem? Too good to be true. What was the catch? He wanted a favor. "What is this problem?" he asked, cautiously.
"The one I need you to capture is Rainbow Brite. With her out of the way, I can turn the whole of Rainbow Land to a grey darkness, and move on to Earth!" Murky cackled, growing excited a dangerous glint in his eye.
"Now wait a minute!" said Robotnik, putting his hands in front of his face. "I want to rule the world, not destroy it! I have to keep telling you people that! A grey world would be worthless to rule!"
Murky lowered his gloom gun again. "You didn't get a full blast of this before," he said darkly, "You can agree now, or you won't care to disagree later.
"Nothing doing, runt. I call my own shots, and I want to rule a world I can live in."
Murky raised his shoulder a fraction of an inch. It passed as shrug. He fired a second shot of Gloom. The color drained from Robotnik's body. Normally, this leaves one a pale shadow of one's former self. Robotnik's strong personality, however, still showed through. His eyes gleamed with a new insanity.
"Right... I'll help you, then. Tell me about this girl, and any powers that she and any friends she has may possess. I hate surprises."
"Awww, no surprise parties?" asked Lurky.
"Shut UP, furbrain!" he told Lurky, and told Robotnik all about his trials, tribulations of trying to take Rainbow's color belt. He had it once... a glorious once.
"Can that machine of yours take me to anywhere on Earth?" he asked, rubbing his hands together. Murky nodded. "Then I have work to do. The first step in this plan will be capturing Sonic, anyway..."
Green Hill: The Next Morning
Even heroes read the newspaper. Especially Sonic, he could never sit around and just watch the TV, hoping something interesting would eventually come up. That and the channel was switched on the first sign of a commercial anyway. The blue blur walked, for a change, outside to get his paper after the *thwap* indicated the paperboy had not landed it in the squirrel's nest. That had only happened once, but once was enough. He had a firm talking to him after that, even if the kid was suffering from being light in the head, something about being colorless. Sonic shook his head.
He had barely grabbed his paper when he heard Miles Prower, his good fox friend Tails, yelling toward him. He was brandishing his own copy of the paper.
"Sonic! Eggman's escaped again!"
Sonic groaned. He had guessed it would happen sooner or later, but this was sooner. He speed-read the article. "Not much we can do it now, Tails. It'll be a month or four, but we'll have to stop him again, I'm sure."
"Look closer, Sonic! Something strange about it, this time. There were no robots involved," Tails pointed out, tapping the picture.
Sonic did, in fact, look closer. "Look at the expression on his face. He wasn't expecting that, he almost looks scared... or as scared I've ever seen him look. Usually, he's just upset."
The paperboy was only a little ways down the road. Tails shouting had caused him had caused him to almost crash his bike. While he was stopped, he took a look at the papers he was delivering. It wasn't Robotnik who captured his eye. It was the fact he recognized the one capturing him. If Murky Dismal had his grubby paws on Robotnik, that meant Rainbowland was in danger. He thanked every color, God, and alternative power he could think of that it was Saturday, finished the last two stops on his route, and ran to his room. He had to warn her.
Sonic finished discussing the pros and cons of a permanent Evil-Genius disposer with Tails (much more in favor of the idea than Sonic was), and returned to his home to finish his breakfast. He was surprised to find a very colorless Robotnik standing between him and his scrambled eggs.
"I'd say I have you, my friend Sonic. Chaos control won't save you now."
Knuckles had the gems anyway. Sonic turned on his heel, racing towards the door. He hadn't made it up to full speed before he hit full tilt into a large padded object. Both Lurky and Sonic fell backwards, to Sonic's credit. Murky was there with his gloom gun to take advantage. Sonic was gloomed in short order, his blue fur fading much as Robotnik's jacket had the previous day. Only a tint of blue remained in Sonic's eyes, a testament to the hedgehog's willpower. Lurky dragged the senseless hero back through the portal to the Pits.
Seconds later, Tails opened a now grey door into Sonic's home. "You ok, Sonic? I thought I heard a crash. That's not like you."
A silent wind dispersed the last of the murky gloom into the morning air. Sonic's grey house creaked in a colorless pain.
"Sonic? SONIC!!!"
End Chapter 1.
E-Mail [email protected].
Editior wanted.
I don't own Sonic, Tails, the Eggman, or any Beatles reference I care to make.
I also do not own the Rainbow Brite characters. I'm just borrowing them for a while, and they'll be returned intact (in a happy ending, anyway. No guarantees, really.).
I also know Sonic lives on Morbius, not Earth. Work with me, people.
This fiction is dedicated to whoever wrote the extremely nifty 80'sish music from the Sonic Adventure Battles series. They were my inspiration. Follow me, and we'll escape from the City.
With that settled.
Chapter 1
A Darkness Rising
The Pits:
"Another day, another failed plan," groused Murky. Another marvelous plan ruined by his browned furred strongman, Lurky. To be honest, he wasn't sure this one would have succeeded anyway.
Still, the fact that Lurky had remarked, "Gee, Murky, may-be you're not smart en-uff," had really gotten under his skin. He turned over in his bed, discarding scheme after scheme. Have you ever had that moment when you sat in bed and realized the answer to the problem of the day? That's what this flash of inspiration was like, causing him to sit up (and narrowly miss hitting his head on the low ceiling of the cave). "If I'm not smart enough, or even though I am... perhaps it's time to recruit a genius. And I know just the megalomaniac, if these papers I've filched from that meddler Brian are true..."
Lurky awoke that morning to the sound of a hammer pounding on metal. He tripped down the stairs of the Pits, narrowly catching himself on the banister. "Wha-cha workin on now, Murky?"
"A transporter. I can't get to Earth on the Rainbow Bridge without Brat Brite's belt. So, I had to develop my own way. This doorway will take us anywhere on Earth, as long as we set the coordinates."
"It's bigger than even me, Lurky! You going to bring an Oli-phant through?"
Murky thought about that for a second, he *did* admire those large Grey beasts. Then he had a mental image of their large ivory tusks, and discarded the idea. "No way, manure-mouth," he cackled. "I'm going to recruit a genius to help me catch Rainbow Brite. I'm lucky that he's got such a small confined area to move around in. I don't have to even search for him! Tah-HEE-hee."
Earth. A jail cell in Washington DC:
Dr. Eggman Robotnik, scientist extrordinare, did not like being in prison. He did, after all, help save the world from his grandfather's Ultimate Lifeform.
On the other hand, he set it loose, too.
Then, lest he forget, there was all the damage he and Shadow caused just getting up to the station. Not that Shadow survived his trip; one of the few losses Robotnik actually mourned.
He could settle for jail a little longer, anyway. Besides, if his calculations were correct, he had only forty hours until his emergency robot came looking for him. He could wait that long.
As it turned out, he didn't have to.
A grey portal opened up within the cell, and a short grey little man in helmet in cape with an odd design on his shirt came out. Robotnik was impressed with that. He was less impressed with the projectile weapon pointed at his stomach. "You, Eggman!" he said impatiently. "Get in there!" He pointed with his gun at the portal.
"No one tells me what to do, short stuff..." he said warningly.
His assailant didn't prattle. He simply fired a cloud of black smoke. Robotnik was stunned. The guards watching his cell were more stunned to see a brown furry hand reach through the portal, dragging the immense Dr. Robotnik back with it. The intruder cackled in triumph, then walked back the way he entered.
A moment later, the alarm sounded. Other than the cell (which seemed to have had its dark blue paint faded to grey), nothing seemed out of place. There was no trace of the dark doctor. The breakout, which happened during the early evening, did not make the evening news. The film at eleven was not seen by anyone of importance to this story.
Back in the Pits:
Dr Robotnik was livid. His beautiful red jacket was now a pale shade of grey. Brown beady eyes glared at Murky Dismal. Murky, as per usual, was unapologetic. "LOOK what you did to my jacket, you little beast."
"So, this is the Eggman, goo goo g'joob!" cried Lurky. The two antagonists took a moment to stare at the warped sprite. Then went back to looking at each other.
"My apologies, Master Robotnik," Murky said, bowing and rubbing his hands together. Getting his ego stroked plainly relaxed the recently rescued Robotnik, so Murky pressed his luck. "I wanted to break you out, because you're the only one who can help me with a problem I have. In exchange, I will help you capture the hedgehog himself."
Robotnik's breath caught short. This man was good enough to build a gateway, and he was offering to help him with his rodent problem? His super sized rodent problem? Too good to be true. What was the catch? He wanted a favor. "What is this problem?" he asked, cautiously.
"The one I need you to capture is Rainbow Brite. With her out of the way, I can turn the whole of Rainbow Land to a grey darkness, and move on to Earth!" Murky cackled, growing excited a dangerous glint in his eye.
"Now wait a minute!" said Robotnik, putting his hands in front of his face. "I want to rule the world, not destroy it! I have to keep telling you people that! A grey world would be worthless to rule!"
Murky lowered his gloom gun again. "You didn't get a full blast of this before," he said darkly, "You can agree now, or you won't care to disagree later.
"Nothing doing, runt. I call my own shots, and I want to rule a world I can live in."
Murky raised his shoulder a fraction of an inch. It passed as shrug. He fired a second shot of Gloom. The color drained from Robotnik's body. Normally, this leaves one a pale shadow of one's former self. Robotnik's strong personality, however, still showed through. His eyes gleamed with a new insanity.
"Right... I'll help you, then. Tell me about this girl, and any powers that she and any friends she has may possess. I hate surprises."
"Awww, no surprise parties?" asked Lurky.
"Shut UP, furbrain!" he told Lurky, and told Robotnik all about his trials, tribulations of trying to take Rainbow's color belt. He had it once... a glorious once.
"Can that machine of yours take me to anywhere on Earth?" he asked, rubbing his hands together. Murky nodded. "Then I have work to do. The first step in this plan will be capturing Sonic, anyway..."
Green Hill: The Next Morning
Even heroes read the newspaper. Especially Sonic, he could never sit around and just watch the TV, hoping something interesting would eventually come up. That and the channel was switched on the first sign of a commercial anyway. The blue blur walked, for a change, outside to get his paper after the *thwap* indicated the paperboy had not landed it in the squirrel's nest. That had only happened once, but once was enough. He had a firm talking to him after that, even if the kid was suffering from being light in the head, something about being colorless. Sonic shook his head.
He had barely grabbed his paper when he heard Miles Prower, his good fox friend Tails, yelling toward him. He was brandishing his own copy of the paper.
"Sonic! Eggman's escaped again!"
Sonic groaned. He had guessed it would happen sooner or later, but this was sooner. He speed-read the article. "Not much we can do it now, Tails. It'll be a month or four, but we'll have to stop him again, I'm sure."
"Look closer, Sonic! Something strange about it, this time. There were no robots involved," Tails pointed out, tapping the picture.
Sonic did, in fact, look closer. "Look at the expression on his face. He wasn't expecting that, he almost looks scared... or as scared I've ever seen him look. Usually, he's just upset."
The paperboy was only a little ways down the road. Tails shouting had caused him had caused him to almost crash his bike. While he was stopped, he took a look at the papers he was delivering. It wasn't Robotnik who captured his eye. It was the fact he recognized the one capturing him. If Murky Dismal had his grubby paws on Robotnik, that meant Rainbowland was in danger. He thanked every color, God, and alternative power he could think of that it was Saturday, finished the last two stops on his route, and ran to his room. He had to warn her.
Sonic finished discussing the pros and cons of a permanent Evil-Genius disposer with Tails (much more in favor of the idea than Sonic was), and returned to his home to finish his breakfast. He was surprised to find a very colorless Robotnik standing between him and his scrambled eggs.
"I'd say I have you, my friend Sonic. Chaos control won't save you now."
Knuckles had the gems anyway. Sonic turned on his heel, racing towards the door. He hadn't made it up to full speed before he hit full tilt into a large padded object. Both Lurky and Sonic fell backwards, to Sonic's credit. Murky was there with his gloom gun to take advantage. Sonic was gloomed in short order, his blue fur fading much as Robotnik's jacket had the previous day. Only a tint of blue remained in Sonic's eyes, a testament to the hedgehog's willpower. Lurky dragged the senseless hero back through the portal to the Pits.
Seconds later, Tails opened a now grey door into Sonic's home. "You ok, Sonic? I thought I heard a crash. That's not like you."
A silent wind dispersed the last of the murky gloom into the morning air. Sonic's grey house creaked in a colorless pain.
"Sonic? SONIC!!!"
End Chapter 1.
E-Mail [email protected].
Editior wanted.