9 Circus of Plunders
"Knuckles, flank left!" Amy cried as she ran.
"I don't take orders from you!" Knuckles growled at Amy. "You flank left!"
"Why do we have to have this discussion every single time?" Amy asked as they ran. Hearing a crash, the three stopped, and stared at Eggman's new robot.
"Behold!" Eggman exclaimed. "The awesome power of octopus bot!"
Penny watched form a nearby boulder as Sonic left her side and up to the bot. He smirked as he ran up to the robot and shook one of its tentacles. "Nice to meet ya!" He smiled in greeting, and dashed around it, managing to tie its legs together. This gave Amy the opportunity to fight, and she managed to dodge the arms pretty well, and managed to smash one of the arms. Eggman growled, then darted after Sticks, who managed to get an arm inside the top of Eggman's bot.
"You know, this will all be easier if you will all stop moving around." Eggman growled as he struggled with the controls.
"Sorry, can't hear you!" Sonic smirked as he spun around the bot. He stopped for a moment, but kept dodging the bots so he could annoy Eggman. "Too busy running around in circles in your Squid Bot!"
"It's not a squid, it's an octopus!" Eggman growled in annoyance. "Can't you tell by the size of the tentacles in relation to the head?!"
"Sonic!" Tails called through his mic. "My laser-guided Unbolterizer is ready to go! I've got a clean shot at Spider Bot!"
"It's an OCTOPUS!!" Eggman growled in annoyance. "AN OCTOPUS!!"
"Tails, have you even tested it yet?" Sonic asked.
"Don't worry, it'll work!" Tails promised. He took aim at the bot...
....and missed it. The laser hit a huge mountain of loose rocks, and the rocks came tumbling towards his group of friends.
"That's not good!" Tails gulped.
Sticks yelped and managed to dodge the boulders. "I should've taken my lawn mowing class!" She told herself as she balanced on one of the rocks.
Knuckles grunted as he kicked a bunch of the rocks out of the way with his fists and his feet. "Keep 'em coming!" He laughed. "I could do this all day!" He was about to put a punch on a rock when it randomly ran over him.
"I could use a breather!" He gasped weakly.
Eggman managed to wack Tails out of the sky with one of his tentacles. "Tails!!" Penny cried from her boulder, and instantly ran over to him.
"How the tide has turned!" Eggman smirked. "That's a nautical reference, 'cause it's a squid... I-I mean, OCTOPUS!!" Eggman growled in annoyance. "Now you have me doing it!"
Sonic jumped on the back of the octopus, and managed to pull the wires apart. Immediately, the octopus fell right on the ground, defeated once again by the blue hedgehog. When the machine hit the ground, black ink spilled from underneath it.
Sticks, Amy, and Penny all cringed in disgust.
"Next time, study your cephalopods before your next battle!"
And he flew off.
Tails hopped out of the plane and walked over to us. "Guys, I don't know what happened!" The fox said.
"I'LL tell you what happened." Amy snapped, walking up to the fox. "Your laser almost turned us into robot fish food!"
"Yeah!" Knuckles said, glaring at Tails. "And not the delicious flaky kind!"
"I'm sorry." Tails said defensively. "It malfunctioned!"
"Maybe it didn't malfunction!" Sticks said, narrowing her eyes. "Maybe, this isn't even Tails! What if it's one of those secret agents. pretending to be a fox! A fox mold!" And with that, Sticks darted over to poor Tails and started pulling at his face as if it was a mask.
"OW!" Tails cried. "QUIT IT!"
"Leave him alone!" Penny exclaimed, darting over to Tails's side.
"Yeah, guys," Sonic said, standing by the girl's side. "He just..."
"No, Sonic, Penny, they're right! Well... except for Sticks and that 'fox mold' thing." The fox looked down, looking like he failed. "I put all of you in danger." He looked at his friends, then turned around and walked away. "I need to go."
"Tails?" Sonic tried, watching as his sidekick ran to his plane. "Wait!"
Penny watched as Sonic tried calling Tails through the communicator watches. "Tails? You okay, buddy? Tails?"
.......................
Tails took off his headset, and a look of determination took over his face. "I'm not coming back until I fix my Unbolterizer."
And he flew off.
......................
Sonic and Penny watched Tails's plane, unsure of what to say at the moment. However, there were people who needed to be pulled to their senses.
"Hey, guys." Sonic said. "Go easy on Tails. So he made a mistake! Haven't you ever...."
He was interrupted by the sound of a truck coming straight for us. Penny yelped as it almost ran them over. When it stopped, a wolf wearing a black top hat and a circus suit came out.
"I'm so sorry if I scared you folks!" He began. "Please! Except my most humble apologies."
"You almost made us roadkill, pal!" Sonic frowned, his hands on his hips.
"A thousand pardons." The wolf said. "Allow me to introduce myself...." He took off his top hat and bowed in front of Penny. "T. W. Barker. Entrepreneur, owner and ringmaster of T. W. Barker's Circus of Wonders!" He smiled as he motioned his hand to his purple-and-green three trailer truck.
"A circus, hu?" Knuckles asked. "Like, with clowns?"
"And elephants?" Amy asked excitedly.
"And art made from corn husks?" Sticks asked.
Penny blankly stared at her.
"Penny, I have no idea what a circus is!" Sticks said defensively.
"Alas, I have none of those." T. W. Barker said, disappointment in his voice. "For you see, my performers ate some bad sushi in the last town and have fallen gravely ill. All I have are my two stunt bears..." He pointed over to two weird looking bears. One of them was dressed in red, purple, and yellow suits with a matching yellow helmet. The other wore a suit of purple, blue, and pink. His helmet was purple. And they appeared to be slumping a little on their roller blades.
"So," Penny heard Amy ask. "How are you going to put up a show?"
"I won't be able to." Mr. Barker said. "The children will be so disappointed...."
Amy gasped, her eyes widening. "Not the children!"
"YES the children!" Mr. Barker told Amy in annoyance. He looked up. "If only I could find someone with...kind hearted souls to help me keep the magic of the circus alive!"
Amy smiled excitedly. "Mr. Barker, you're in luck! We will be proud to volunteer in your circus!"
Sticks and Knuckles nodded in agreement.
"Speak for yourself, Amy. Who thinks Penny and I want to perform like a trained animal?" Sonic asked.
"Thank you, Sonic." Penny said. Sonic smirked back down at the girl. He thought for a moment, and looked over at the bears. "No offence," He said.
The bears just shrugged.
"Yes, yes." Mr. Barker said. "I understand. The training is quite rigorous. It's okay if you're not capable!"
To Penny's surprise, Sonic started spinning around and around Mr. Barker. When Sonic stopped, he smirked at Mr. Barker. Soon, he stood next to the group of Mobians. "Capable is my middle name!" He smirked.
"I thought your middle name was 'the'." Knuckles pointed out, which caused Penny to laugh.
"Look," Sonic said. "I just hope your circus can keep up with me! I'm in!"
Everyone looked at Penny.
The young girl sighed. "Fiiinnne." She moaned. "Just once."
"Wonderful!!" Mr. Barker said in excitement. He pressed a button on a remote of some sort, and out popped a purple and white stripped circus tent. Mr. Barker turned to us and took off his top hat. "I'm delighted to have all of you!"
"Oh, wait." Sonic said. "There's one more!" He pressed his communicator watch, and tried to communicate Tails.
"Tails, come in!" Sonic said in excitement. "We're joining the circus!"
When no one replied, Sonic's smile faded. "Tails?"
.....................
"That should do it." Tails said as he added the finishing touches to his machine. He fired a laser at an clock, and the laser bounced right off it and smashed into Eggman's remote.
"Oh, come on!!" Eggman complained when it broke in half. "Stupid piece of junk!"
.......................
Tails sighed in annoyance. He placed the machine back down on the desk and continued to work with it.
.......................
"Welcome to the circus!" Mr. Barker smiled as he led Sonic's team through the tent. "Where your unique abilities will be put on display for the children of the world! Sonic." He turned to the blue hedgehog, placing his hands on Sonic's shoulders. "There's only one creature fast enough to master...." Mr. Barker walked over to a sheet and pulled it off, reveling a spherical cage. Mr. Barker smiled. "The Sphere of Fear! A circulous cage with no beginning or end, allowing you to reach unparalleled speeds, all without leaving the center ring!"
"Wicked!" Sonic smirked, and with that, he left Penny's side and dodged into the Sphere of Fear, circling around in incredible speed in a ball of blue.
Mr. Barker walked over to Knuckles, who was punching his fists in a punching bag. "You, my muscular friend, are formidable with your fists. But have you ever thought of using your head?"
Penny winced as she watched Knuckles get shot out of a circus canon, and smacked right into a target on the ceiling. He grunted as he smacked to the ground. Even though he was dizzy, Knuckles still had the senses to say, "Ha! Using my head! I get it!" That was when the target got loose, and fell right on Knuckles, knocking him out.
"Oh, me! What about me?!" Amy squealed excitedly, running up to Mr. Barker. "What am I gonna be?! An acrobat?! A lion tamer? A magician that performs illusions the likes of which nobody has ever seen?!"
"You'll be a sad clown." Mr. Barker said, causing Penny to snicker to herself. Mr. Barker slapped a hat on Amy's head.
"SAD CLOWN?!" Amy asked as if that was the most ridiculous thing she's ever heard. "I see what's going on here. You're giving me the lame job because I'm the girl!"
Sticks suddenly grabbed Penny's hand and pulled her to the trapeze. "Penny and I are ready for the trapeze, boss!" She said, saluting.
"I guess I could give it a try..." Penny said shyly. Sticks did a small victory dance.
Amy growled in annoyance.
..........................
Later....
"Welcome to T. W. Barker's Circus of Wonders!" Mr. Barker announced.
The crowd laughed as Knuckles bonked his head on the target.
The crowd cheered as Sticks and Penny performed their trapeze art work.
The crowd laughed at Amy as she tripped during her own act. Frustrated, she yelled at the crowd: "It's not funny, it's sad! You're supposed to sympathize the sad clown!"
That only made the audience laugh harder.
"Behold! The Sphere of Fear!" Mr. Barker announced. Finally, Sonic's turn! I turned to him and watched as he spun around.
............................
Finally, it was over.
Penny sighed in relief as she sat down on the bleachers, cooling off after the show. She watched as Sonic stretched in the Sphere of Fear.
"What time does the show start?" Knuckles asked, and Penny winced at the slightest bump on the echidna's head.
"Great job, everybody!" Amy smiled.
"That was a blast!" Sonic told Mr. Barker. "We should do it again some time!"
"Yes, you should!" Mr. Barker said, suddenly smirking. "And you will."
Penny's eyes widened as Mr. Barker locked Sonic in the Sphere of Fear.
"Hey, what's the big idea?!" Sonic snarled.
"Well, you see, my performers aren't exactly sick. They escaped!" Mr. Barker smirked. "So when I heard about your crew, I simply set up this brilliant trap, and your marks walked right into it!" He motioned towards the gang, where they were being thrown in cages... first Knuckles, Sticks, then Penny.
Mr. Barker then explained on how he had ordered the Sphere of Fear from Eggman, which surprised (and didn't) the young human girl.
"You forgot one thing, Barker!" Amy snarled. "ME!"
"Did I?" Mr. Barker asked. "Sweet, compassionate Amy Rose, think of the children!"
"The children...." Amy began sadly, then remembered that he was the enemy. "Waaiit. That's not gonna work on me this time!"
That's when she realized that she was in the cage as well. "So is this an original tour, or..." She asked.
"So, in case you manage to escape, I ordered some of these as well." Mr. Barker pressed a button, and to Penny's horror, Eggman's bots rolled over to each cage, circling us.
Penny whimpered a little and tried to keep herself away from the bots. "Tails, where are you!?" She panicked.
..........................
"Guys, I fixed the Unbolterizer! It really works now!" Tails cried in excitement as he ran back into Sonic's shack. He was quite surprised to find no one there.
"Where is everyone?" Tails asked.
............................
Sonic had been trying to bust his way out of the Sphere, when suddenly Tails's voice appeared in his communicator watch.
"Sonic, are you there?!"
"Tails! Man, am I glad to hear from you! That circus creep captured us! We need your help, buddy."
"Ten four, blue leader. Help is on the way!"
Soon, the tent was pulled up, and the gang cheered. "Tails!"
"Get me out of this thing!" Sonic called.
Tails shot with his finally fixed weapon, and it went off course.
"Great, that thing still doesn't work!" Knuckles complained.
However, thanks to that bolt of laser, it did manage to free them from the cages. Sonic smirked as the sphere went loose, and the speedster ran inside it. "Now, this is wicked!" The hedgehog smirked.
"Bears, Bug-bots, attack!" Mr. Barker ordered, and at his cue, the bots and bears started straight for the group.
Luckily, the team had their circus skills.
Sonic rolled over bug-bots.
Knuckles smashed into some of the attackers by shooting himself out of the cannon.
Amy did her juggling act as she smashed a bot.
Sticks and Penny knocked out a bear together by doing trapeze...
........................
Tails saw Mr. Barker running away, escaping into the woods.
"Sonic, he's getting away!" Tails cried.
Sonic's glare darkened, and he darted in the Fear of Sphere and managed to hop out of it, trapping Mr. Barker in the process.
"Get me out of this infernal cage!!" Mr. Barker snarled at Sonic.
Sonic payed no attention to Mr. Barker as Penny ran over to him, giving him a huge hug, squeezing her eyes shut.
"At least you're safe." Sonic said to the girl, hugging her back.
"Guys, Penny, are you okay?!" Tails asked, quickly jumping off the plane and running towards us. Penny nodded in response, smiling at the young fox. "Thanks for coming to our rescue, Tails!" Penny grinned, ruffling his fur.
Sonic smiled at Tails. "That was pretty sweet flying, buddy!"
"Yeah, you did good!" Knuckles said.
"Sorry for saying you were a double agent." Sticks sheepishly apologized. "I didn't realize you were a triple agent!"
"Yeah." Amy smiled. "Thanks Tails!"
"Well, I'm just happy I could help." Tails smiled. "Now, let's get out of here!"
They smiled as they walked home, leaving Mr. Barker trapped in the Sphere of Fear.
"Wait!!" Mr. Barker cried, banging on the cage. "You can't leave me here! Come back! COME BACK!"
..........................
At Eggman's layer...
Eggman finally finished the broken remote that Tails had smashed by accident with his laser a few times.
"Finally, I can turn off this trash!" Eggman grumbled as he turned the TV off.
