Chapter 59

As they got closer to the lights, Sonic saw what they were. It was a carnival! A large one too. Merry-go-rounds, cotton candy and popcorn machines, big tents... this must have been a big attraction when this place was still populated. But something was still bugging him. He had never seen any of this stuff on South Island. The closest thing he ever saw to a carnival was Spring Yard Zone, and even then... it was nothing like this.

Sonic jumped out of Tails' hands once they were close enough to the ground. He landed safely. Everyone landed, and caught up with Sonic. He was looking around the carnival from the forested outskirts. "Wow..." He said, simply. He was at a loss for words. This was better than anything he'd seen from even the likes of Carnival Night, (but not Starlight Carnival!) And even better, Eggman wasn't behind it. It was just a carnival. A fun, flashy carnival with no death traps or wicked robots as far as the eye could see.

The storm loomed overhead though, as rain fell from it. Reminding Sonic and his friends that there was no time for games. Sooner or later, the storm would suck up all of Mobius. "Waidaminnit..." Sonic blurted. "I'm getting a call on the Miles Electric! We've found it! Wi-Fi!"

Sonic accepted the call. It was from Amy Rose! The last time he had seen her was during the Great Eggman War. He used to be scared of her and her unrelenting passion. But she had apparently matured a lot when he was brought aboard the Death Egg Zone and believed to be dead for six months.

Sonic didn't want to think about the war anymore. But as he snapped out of his own thoughts and looked at the Miles Electric, he saw static. Amy's call wasn't going through. But then, he started hearing a voice on the other side of the receiver.

"Sonic? Sonic!" Amy called. Her face showed up on the screen through the static. "What happened to you? You look... different."

"Time travel shenanigans. You know how it is," Sonic explained, remembering their adventure involving the Time Eater, amongst others.

"Oookaaay... Sonic, something really horrible is going on here..." Amy mumbled. She looked worried.

"Sorry, I can't come over to kick some ro-butt," Sonic apologized. "I'm in the middle of something."

"Sonic, who's this?" Sonja asked, looking over Sonic's shoulder.

"Uhh... wow, this suddenly feels very weird..." Sonic mumbled. He didn't expect Sonja to meet one of his friends like this. "I mean... Sonja, Amy. Amy, Sonja!" Amy waved her hand, almost dismissively. Buck backed away from Sonic as he used the Miles Electric, while Tails looked over Sonic's shoulder in curiosity. Pico was curiously trying to push the big light blue button in the center of the d-pad. But Sonja wasn't letting him do that.

"Oh... I know you!" Sonja exclaimed. "Sonic mentioned you when he met Nimue, lady of the lake! Apparently you two look alike."

"Ugh... he told you that stupid story too?" Amy asked. She shook her head side to side. Sonja looked almost offended. "Anyways, it's not robots! Look!" Amy took her Miles Electric so that it was focused on the window and not her face. Outside, the storm covered the sky, swallowing up any kind of the sky's blue. Like the Egg Moon, but worse.

"Whoa... the storm!" Sonic exclaimed. "How is it spreading so fast? And why aren't you at Resistance HQ?"

"Resistance HQ got completely destroyed! All of it got swept up in the storm!" Amy shouted, putting the Miles Electric's camera back to her face. "Where even are you where you wouldn't hear about this? Do you know why Knuckles isn't returning my calls?"

A pit formed in Sonic's stomach. Knuckles. "Okay. Long story short, Tails told me about this storm in Green Hill Zone that was sweeping up animals, ground, and people. I went to investigate and found Knuckles there. When we get there, we see all this weird stuff. Mutant animals, giant cockroaches... an hourglass that travels through time... I also met Sonja here, who was trapped inside the mansion. But before that, Knuckles went missing... yeah, pretty important."

"Did you find him?!" Amy asked.

"Not yet, but maybe we'll find him here," Sonic said. "Anyways, uh, stay safe... stay inside, don't climb into washing machines... and, I'll update you if I can when we find Knuckles. The connection is pretty wonky 'round these parts." Amy nodded, and ended the call. Sonic put the Miles Electric back in his bag.

Walking through to the carnival, Sonic saw all the rides and attractions. They looked like they hadn't been operated in years. Walking past the merry-go-round, the paint was starting to peel off of the whimsical cartoon horses with big black dots for eyes. Sonic looked into the eyes, and saw nothing but sadness. He looked away, not wanting to stare at the horses anymore.

Sonic walked past a fortune teller machine. It had a rusty, robotic old wizard in it. He too, looked like nobody had put a quarter in him in ages. All the while, there was an eerie wind flowing through and rain drizzling from the storm. Then, the wizard began to move! "IIII AM IIIVah the greeeeeeaaaa..." Sonic jumped, but it seemed that the rain had just short-circuited the robotic wizard. The head burst off from a spring, as electrical sparks flowed out of the wires near the wizard's neck like blood from veins. Buck laughed, and Pico trumpeted towards the robot.

Passing through the carnival, Sonic felt it again. That feeling of being watched. The girl from before had told him to run away in this instance, but he wasn't going to do that. "Does anyone else get the feeling someone's following us?" Sonic asked. Everyone shook their heads. "Oh. Okay, great." Sonic kept walking. Out of his field of vision, a lanky, humanoid figure scurried across the tops of the rides and tents.

Sonic continued to walk with the others. Until, out of somewhere between a kid's rollercoaster and a tent, what appeared to be a jack in the box... but with no jack and instead the head of a horrific red demon with yellow eyes and purple pupils jumped out at Sonic, startling him.

"AAAH!" Sonic yelled. He put up his arms in defense. Pico woke up from what was supposed to be a nap and started crying.

"Shhh..." Sonja whispered. She looked at Sonic, smiling and raising an eyebrow. Sonic felt embarrassment wash over him like a tidal wave. In his defense, that devil in a box did resemble someone he does not associate with the best things. Buck walked by and pushed him aside with a laugh.

To tell him off, go to Chapter 60

To ask for respect, go to Chapter 61