by Jake Black
“I’ve completed the first phase of the plan: blasting sound waves that made Sonic unable to stay awake,” Dr. Eggman said, laughing creepily and spinning another dial.
“And now I’ve developed the proper frequency that only Sonic can hear, which will allow me to take over his mind and place him under my control!”
Dr. Eggman pressed a couple of buttons and tapped on a touch screen, verifying the frequency setting of the device. Tiny sound waves shot out of a very advanced-looking speaker, vibrated for miles through the air, and somehow headed directly toward sleeping Sonic.
In his bed, Sonic snored slightly, muttering something about victory over Dr. Eggman. The sound waves from Eggman’s machine moved through the window and penetrated Sonic’s ear. They vibrated with a piercing frequency that forced Sonic to wake with a jump.
“What’s that noise?” he shrieked, covering his ears. But it was too late. The sound waves had connected with his brain.
He heard a voice in his head. “Sonic . . .”
“Dr. Eggman?” Sonic asked, recognizing the voice as his archenemy’s.
“Sonic . . . You are now under my control . . .” Eggman’s voice echoed in Sonic’s head.
Sonic was trying to fight off the voice and its powerful suggestions, but he couldn’t. Within seconds, the pain subsided and he relaxed his will—completely under Dr. Eggman’s influence.
“Yes, master,” Sonic said weakly.
“Sonic. Come to my lair. It’s time to begin your training,” Eggman ordered.
Sonic raced out of his home, running at top speed toward Dr. Eggman’s evil laboratory.
* * *
Seconds later, he arrived. Dr. Eggman was waiting for him on the grass outside his hideout. Dr. Eggman motioned for Sonic to follow him inside. Sonic’s lips curled into an evil grin. He was ready to learn the ways of world domination from his new master.
Inside the lair, Sonic saw hundreds, maybe even thousands, of robots. They were all different and served different purposes. He began to realize these were Dr. Eggman’s soldiers who would carry out the mad scientist’s nefarious plans. And he was expecting Sonic to act as their general, leading them into war against the world, until the entire planet was ruled by Dr. Eggman.
As Sonic saw the robots, he felt a sense of anger toward them. He was having flashes of memories of him fighting Eggman and these robots, but the memories felt wrong, like he’d joined the wrong side all along. He was happy Dr. Eggman had set him free from his good ways of the past.
“Sonic, your first attack will be on the beachfront, just outside of the city. I want you to take twenty robots and destroy all the buildings along the boardwalk. This won’t take over the world, but it will send a message to everyone that they better get out of our way!” Eggman said.
Sonic sneered confidently. This wouldn’t be a problem. In fact, he thought, it would be fun.
* * *
Hours later, Knuckles and Amy Rose burst into Tails’ lab.
“The beachfront is under attack by Eggman’s robots!” Amy Rose said with a high level of concern in her voice.
“And we can’t find Sonic,” Knuckles said gruffly.
The team nodded at each other. They knew what they had to do. They raced to Tails’ plane and soared toward the beach.
From the air, they could see the chaos of the robots smashing buildings and people running from the beach toward safety. The robots were terrorizing countless innocents and destroying everything in their path.
Tails swooped his plane downward, weaving around the robots and blasting them with laser cannons. Amy Rose and Knuckles leaped from the plane and began manually battling the robots in hand-to-hand combat.
As Knuckles threw punch after punch at robot after robot, he saw a familiar blue blur from the corner of his eye.
“You guys! Sonic’s here!” Knuckles cheered. But the team’s relief and celebrations would be brief. No sooner had Knuckles declared Sonic’s presence than the blue hedgehog attacked his friends. Running at full speed, Sonic jumped into the air, landing on the nose of Tails’ plane. Sonic grabbed the controls from Tails and forced the plane into a nosedive.
“Sonic! No!” Amy Rose screamed. For a moment, Sonic seemed to break from his trance and released the controls.
Sonic jumped off the plane and ran away, leading the handful of robots his friends hadn’t destroyed in the retreat to safety.
Tails pulled the nose of his plane upward enough at the last minute to land the plane safely Knuckles and Amy Rose approached the plane.
“What just happened?” Amy Rose asked, tears filling her eyes.
Knuckles punched the plane and growled in frustration. “Sonic’s betrayed all of us!” he said.
Tails stared off into the distance where Sonic and the robots had gone. He’d never seen Sonic like this. Something was very wrong.
“When he jumped on the plane, I looked into his eyes. It’s like he was Sonic, but wasn’t Sonic at the same time. He was . . . different . . . ,” Tails said.
“Yeah, evil,” Knuckles said, unable to hide his bitterness.
“What are we going to do? There has to be some way we can help him. Some way we can get the old Sonic back!” Amy Rose pleaded.
Tails rubed his chin as he thought.
“I have an idea,” Tails said. “If we’re going to save ‘Evil Sonic’ and make him good again, we need to understand how he’s thinking. And there is only one person in the world who can teach us . . .”
* * *
Shadow the Hedgehog was alone in his home, lost in his own thoughts. He was so deep in thought, Shadow was almost oblivious to Tails and Knuckles approaching him.
“Shadow . . . ,” Tails said.
“What?” Shadow replied coldly.
“We need your help. We think Sonic’s been captured and turned evil by Dr. Eggman.”
Shadow didn’t care—at all. And he made that clear to Tails. “So? How does that affect me?”
“I guess it doesn’t, really. But we were hoping you’d help us figure out a way to get Sonic back from the dark side,” Tails said.
“Not interested,” Shadow replied.
Knuckles moved past Tails. “Listen, buster. Sonic is evil. You’re kind of like Evil Sonic. You understand what he’s thinking. If you don’t help us figure it out and stop him, Sonic and Eggman are going to take over the world. And do you really want Sonic to be the one who helps Eggman rule the planet?”
Shadow wasn’t evil, but he didn’t like being compared to Sonic in any way. That made him mad—really mad. However, deep down, Shadow respected Sonic, and if Eggman had turned Sonic evil, that had to be corrected.
“All right. Fine. I’ll help,” Shadow said.
* * *
Shadow showed up in Tails’ lab only a few moments later.
“So, what’s the plan?” Shadow asked. Amy Rose and Knuckles looked blankly at each other.
“I thought you were going to tell us,” Amy Rose said.
Shadow rolled his eyes, “I’m only here to tell you what’s in Sonic’s head. I’m not going to make your battle plans.”
Knuckles stood up and moved uncomfortably close to Shadow. “Your intel is going to make the plan. We’re going to rescue him, and you’re going to tell us how. Got it?”
Shadow pushed past Knuckles, ignoring the warning. He walked toward one of Tails’ computers.
“So, genius-fox, how did Eggman turn Sonic toward the dark side in the first place?” Shadow asked.
“Well, I checked out Sonic’s bedroom and found nothing out of place; there were no signs of a struggle,” Tails said. “So how does one get inside of a person’s head to turn him evil without a fight?” he asked them.
They all glanced around with blank looks on their faces.
Tails sighed. “I think Eggman may have used some
kind of sound-wave device that vibrated at a frequency only Sonic could hear,” he said. “Those sound waves could have easily carried subliminal messages into Sonic’s brain, basically re-wiring him.”
“So, like a ‘hedgehog whistle’?” Shadow said. “You want to know what’s in his head? Whatever Eggman’s telling him. And based on the attack on the beachfront, it looks like he’s telling him to burn the world down.”
“I have an invention that will blast sound waves of the opposite frequency at Sonic. Using the principle of destructive interference, it should cancel out Eggman’s ‘Sonic whistle,’” Tails said, holding up a small box roughly the size of a cell phone. “The problem is, it’s got a very limited range. It basically has to be within a couple of inches of Sonic. And you’re the only person I know who might be able to run fast enough to get close enough to him.”
This caught Shadow’s attention. “Might be?” he asked.
“Well, yeah. He’s pretty fast. Faster than you, I think,” Tails said.
In less than a blink of an eye, Shadow zipped around Tails, snatching the sound device from his hand.
“Not. Faster. Than. Me,” Shadow said defiantly.
Suddenly an alarm sounded in Tails’ lab, echoing throughout his house. Another attack was underway. This time in the heart of the city. Sonic was leading dozens of robots, and there was no one standing in their way.
Shadow said nothing, but sped away to the battlefront in a black blur.
Knuckles leaned into Tails. “Why didn’t you tell us about your little destructive interference invention in the first place?”
“Do you really think Shadow would’ve come all this way just for that?” Tails smiled.
“Probably not,” Knuckles said.
“Probably not,” Tails agreed.
* * *
Sonic could still hear the piercing sound that Eggman was using to control him, but he didn’t care. It no longer hurt or bothered him. As long as he could take over the world, that was enough. And it was beginning in the city. Sonic led the robots into the middle of the city, and they were driving the citizens and residents into the streets. It was chaotic.
But chaos wouldn’t bother Shadow, who sped into town from the city’s other end. He was carrying the disruptive interference device and was poised to use it on Sonic as soon as he got close.
“Hey! Sonic! Think you can outrun me?” Shadow said.
Sonic shot Shadow a passing glance but paid him little heed. Shadow raced toward Sonic, but Sonic dashed out of the way, weaving his way through the destructive robots. Shadow was trying to navigate the obstacle course of the battle, but was finding it hard as the robots kept interfering.
* * *
Shadow shoved one robot out of the way as he ran past; another he used as a springboard, leaping into the air to try to make up ground.
Just as he was about to reach Sonic, Shadow felt something hard hit his ankle. One of the robots tripped Shadow. The interference device flew from Shadow’s hand into the rubble and chaos in the city streets.
He couldn’t even see it.
“Great,” Shadow whispered to himself.
Shadow searched through the rubble. He couldn’t find the device anywhere. Without it, he knew it would be almost impossible to defeat Sonic. Or free him from Eggman’s control. And then Sonic would be in charge. Not. Cool.
Overhead, Shadow saw Tails’ plane joining the fight. Amy Rose and Knuckles were battling robots on the ground. Shadow grew more frantic, searching for the interference device.
“Looking for this?”
Shadow spun around to see Sonic standing on a pile of rubble, holding the interference device.
“Give it back!” Shadow said through gritted teeth.
Sonic examined the box in his hands. “What is it? A weapon?”
Shadow glared at Sonic, determined to get the device back. “Something like that. It’s a device that makes me even faster than you . . . not that I need it.”
“Well, let’s give it a try,” Sonic said as he pushed a flashing button on the device. Suddenly, the interference sound waves blasted from the box through Sonic’s ears and into his brain. The sound waves clashed with the sound waves coming from Eggman’s machine that was controlling Sonic. Within seconds, both waves had canceled each other out.
Sonic fell to the ground, holding his head. Shadow took a step toward Sonic.
“You okay, Sonic?” Shadow asked.
Sonic looked up, angry. “Yeah. Bit of a headache is all. Well, that, and a whole lot of mad at Eggman!”
Shadow smiled. Sonic smiled, too.
“Tails, Knuckles, and Amy can finish this up,” Sonic said. “Let’s go destroy Eggman’s mind-control machine.”
Sonic was about to speed to the villain’s hideout when he noticed Shadow wasn’t joining him.
“Hey, I was just here to help you get free. Now that that’s done—good job freeing yourself, by the way—I’m out,” Shadow said.
“Shadow, if Eggman did it to me, he can do it to you, too,” Sonic said.
Shadow opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it. He realized Sonic was right. “Let’s destroy that machine!” Shadow said.
Sonic and Shadow raced at full speed to Eggman’s hideout.
* * *
Eggman didn’t realize Sonic had been freed from the mind-control device. If he had, maybe he could’ve prepared his defenses for Sonic and Shadow’s arrival. The two hedgehogs burst into Eggman’s lab and in a blur dismantled the mind-control device right before Eggman’s eyes. Eggman barely had time to say anything before the machine was completely destroyed.
“My perfect creation!” Eggman yelled, falling to the floor with the millions of pieces of his sound-wave machine. “I’ll get you for this! Both of you!”
“You’ll have to catch us first,” Sonic said with a sneer.
Sonic and Shadow ran out of the lair side by side.
“So, think you can keep up?” Sonic said.
“Do you?” Shadow asked.
The rivals picked up speed. The race was on. The blue and black blurs sped away, moving toward the horizon at an immeasurable pace. Sonic was free from Eggman’s grasp and deep down was grateful for Shadow’s help.
But he’d never let him know that.
DOPPELGÄNGER
Tails was working in the lab, assisted by Amy Rose and Knuckles, building a massive vehicle. No one really knew exactly what it would do, but Tails was just happy to be working together with his friends. He often did this—started building something without knowing what it would become. It made him feel like an artist. As Amy Rose handed him a wrench and he tightened a bolt joining two large pieces of metal together, Tails smiled, knowing something awesome would be the end result.
“Do you know what this is going to be yet, Tails?” Amy Rose asked.
“Whatever it is, it’ll probably break down on its first use,” Knuckles joked.
Tails smiled, and said, “Not yet. It’s a type of ground vehicle; sort of like a solar-powered tank, but faster. I want to add massive tank-like treads to the bottom for sure.”
From behind them, Sonic said, “That sounds amazing!” They all turned to face their friend, shocked by what they saw.
“S-Sonic?” Amy Rose asked.
The hedgehog entering the lab looked like Sonic, but older. His blue fur was tinted with grey, and his face seemed a little worn.
“Who are you?” Knuckles asked, tensing.
“Relax, Knuckles. I’m Sonic. I’m just Sonic from the future,” Future Sonic said.
Tails wasn’t convinced. “Time travel’s impossible. How’d you get here?”
Future Sonic strode around the room, in awe of the tech filling Tails’ lab, and seemingly ignoring the question.
“Can you believe we used all this stuff? Talk abou
t the dark ages!” Future Sonic said.
Just then, Sonic—the real Sonic—entered the lab and stopped cold in his tracks.
“Who are you?” Sonic asked Future Sonic.
Future Sonic sped next to Sonic. “I’m you. Or us. Or something. I’m from the future, anyway. Tails built a time machine, and I traveled back in time today!”
Sonic was annoyed and suspicious. First of all, he didn’t like having a look-alike hanging around. And second, there’s no way this guy could be him from the future.
“I built a time machine?” Tails whispered to himself, impressed.
“Why today?” Sonic asked.
Future Sonic continued exploring the lab, staring at the many inventions and almost-inventions that cluttered the space.
“Because two days from now, Team Sonic defeats Dr. Eggman once and for all! It’s the most glorious victory in the history of all victories. And believe me, I know. Because I’m from the future!” Future Sonic said.
This piqued everyone’s interest. Everyone, that is, except the real Sonic. Tails, Knuckles, and Amy Rose gathered around Future Sonic. Sonic stood off to the side, watching his friends grow more and more interested in the impostor.
“Greatest victory, huh? How’d we do that?” Knuckles asked.
“Oh, I can’t tell you that, Knuckles,” Future Sonic said. “But I’ll help you guys prepare over the next couple of days.”
“I can’t get over the fact that I built . . . or am building . . . a time machine! How does it work? When do I build it?” Tails asked excitedly.
“Ummmm, Sonic, what happens to me—to us—in the future?” Amy Rose asked.