Head Games

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Synopsis: As Sonic begins to chow chili dogs for a snack, he finds a message in the sack from his mother and father urging him to head to Speedster Island. When he, Manic and Sonia arrive, what they encounter is an ancient sanctuary that is about to be overrun by Robotnik and sold off bit by bit. The hedgehogs must persuade Bartleby to end his deal to build a resort on the beautiful island and save the people of the village from becoming slaves of Dr. Robotnik.

 

Chapter 1—Summoned to Speedster Island

            Outside a big city venue, the siblings packed up their gear from a charity concert made to garner more fighters for the resistance and continue boosting morale.   While putting up their expensive woofers and tweeters, Sonic’s stomach rumbled.

            ‘Woah !  My tummy’s rumbling like one of Manic’s drum solos !’, Sonic remarked. 

            ‘Not before you help us out first.’, Sonia said, with some irritation.    Sonic promised he would assist them as soon as he got a dozen chili dogs from his favorite vendor, a pig named Frank, who was the absolute best hot dog vendor in all of Mobius.    Little did he know that Aleena had slipped in with an aide from Jules, completely covert, with a message written on a coconut that she had Frank put in a bag, knowing Sonic would unwrap soon.    Giggling with glee, Aleena and Jules sped away on a hover speeder before they were seen or discovered.  

            Upon returning, Sonia asked why Sonic had taken so long.        

            ‘You can’t rush perfection !   Frank’s dogs are the best in Mobotropolis.   Slow cooked to perfection, smothered with sweet, tangy chili sauce !’, Sonic said, eating contently.  He burped rudely, grossing his sister out.

            ‘Are you done yet ?’, she asked, becoming annoyed.

            ‘Just one left.’, Sonic said, fishing for the last chili dog at the bottom of the greasy brown paper bag.  

            In some palm leaves, tied neatly with nylon rope was a coconut.   Written on the drupe was a note from the queen herself.

            ‘Come to Speedster Island, QA.’, Manic read.    The three concluded that could be none other than their mom.  

            ‘But Speedster Island is surrounded by water !’, Sonic cringed, becoming uneasy.

            ‘Relax, bro.  I can turn the van into a pontoon.’, he reassured him.

            ‘Even so, it’s too much sea…’, Sonic bellyached.      Before they had a chance to react, Swat Bots had infiltrated their campsite and begun firing on them.   Reacting quickly, Sonic’s crystal glowed and retaliated, materializing his guitar.    Swiftly, he made spare parts of the small troop of bots that had been sent by Robotnik to derail their mission.

            ‘Not today, bots !’, Sonia said, impressed with her brother’s sharpshooting prowess.

            ‘You go, bro !’, Manic congratulated.     They sped through some straggling Swatbots that were no match for the amphibious van.

            ‘On second thought, a cruise sounds perfect right about now.   It was getting too hot here.’, Sonic quipped, as the van motored away into the sunset.  

 

 

Chapter 2—Bartleby’s Proposition

            A native chief and his son, Mantou, stood at the precipice of a cliff, catching fish as they usually did. 

            ‘The old ways have always suited us, father.   We are surviving, nay, even thriving.’, the brave stated, plainly.   Drawing up a net that was empty once again, the chief scowled.

            ‘The ancient ways are useless.  Unless we adapt, we have no guarantee of survival.’, he stated with morose.   Just then, a ship approached the mainland to visit the island and its islanders.     

            Once the conveyor stairs descended from the craft, Sleet, Dingo, and Bartleby lowered to the ground.   Bartleby took a deep breath of the island air, remarking on how quaint the island was and how it would be perfect for a Robotropolian resort.  

            ‘Even if it is a bit gauche, it can do with a bit of sprucing up.’, Bartleby stated.    He spoke to the chief of the land but heard how much difficulty he had experienced feeding himself and others due to the lagoons beginning to dry up and fish starting to die as a result. 

            ‘I suppose we have no other choice but to sell the island.’, the chief responded to Bartleby’s generous offer.  

            ‘Father, no !’, Mantou exclaimed, tears starting to well in his eyes.

            ‘Mantou, I’m sorry.  We have no choice, son.’, the chief stated.    Mantou, overwhelmed with sadness, ran off, crying. 

            ‘Moving is always hard on children.’, Dingo said, cozying up to the chief, placing his arm around him.  

            In a clearing, Mantou pleaded to the three stone guardians that protected the land.  

            ‘Why did my dad sell out ?  It doesn’t make any sense !’, Mantou grumbled, his eyes burning with irate tears.   He looked at the stone guardians that had protected the land for ages and scoffed.  He had prayed to these guardians before, but just like everything else, he was convinced they were just part of the Speedsterian’s fables and nothing more. 

 

Chapter 3—Face to Face with Destiny

            On the Island, Sonic and his siblings felt compelled to sing a bit, since it was such a pleasant day and they hadn’t run into the monuments of themselves yet, they felt the present was a great time to test out the island’s natural acoustic capabilities.

You have to learn to take a chance

You never know whatcha might be missing in life

Could be something you really like

You must learn to take a chance

When you try to look at something new

You might win, or you might lose

Might turn out good, or it could be bad

Might be the best time you’ve ever had…

 

Out of hiding came Mantou.   The siblings could easily see the resemblance between themselves, and the massive stone heads carved in their likenesses.  

‘You’re the Guardians !  I had been praying for your help, and now you’re here !’, Mantou replied, elated.    He had prostrated himself in front of them, hands in front of his head, not even looking at the triplets in the eye.  

            ‘There’s no need for that, now…’, Sonia said, helping the young brave to his feet.

            ‘Yeah, we’re not the Guardians, but we are here to help out.’, Sonic said.  

 

 

Chapter 4—Paying a Visit to Bartleby

 

            Mantou quickly told them about the deal that Sleet, Dingo and Robotnick had made with the islanders with the hoity toity ‘fancifully dressed’ Anglican mink that had come with them.  

            ‘They haven’t signed off on the deal yet, but I’m afraid that soon the island will belong to Robotnick if you don’t hurry.’, Mantou said, his tone worrisome. 

            Manic decided to stay behind and see if the stone guardians held any secrets, because by the way they were built, they were hiding something within plain sight.   As someone who was deft with puzzles, he knew he would discover the solution soon enough.    Far as Bartleby was concerned though, he was Sonic and Sonia’s problem.

 

            All the while Robotnick gloated.   He had Sleet and Dingo sent to lay in wait while Sonic and Sonia infiltrated Bartleby’s 5-star Airbnb.    Robotnick couldn’t help laughing maniacally to himself at how devilishly devious his plan had been.   Sleet and Dingo had done well in scaring the fish away and starving the Speedsterians.  If Bartleby had gotten word of that, he would most likely abandon the project for how inhumane it was.    Bartleby might have been a today for Ivo, but he wasn’t an abysmal monster like his boss was.  

           

            Bartleby was coming home to the hotel, kvetching about how rustic and unsophisticated it was.   At least at Airbnb, he would be attended to by the shiniest, newest robots in existence to do just about everything for him except earn a paycheck. 

            Inside his self-dressing closet, Sonic and Sonia had been waiting.   Sonia had quite the bone to pick with him and she was clearly peeved.   Bartleby was shocked that Sonia had followed him thus far and felt a little guilty cornering she and her brother.    It was a low-down, dirty trick, but better their hide than his. 

 

 

Chapter 5—Regaining the Upper Hand

           

            Just then, Dingo grasped Sonic and Sleet hailed Swatbots to surround Sonia.   The two used their agility and impressive martial art skill to defeat everything that Dingo and Sleet could throw at them.   Before long, the two were getting away and Sleet could hear Robotnick barking angrily at him over his Bluetooth device.  

            ‘Get them !  Get the hedgehogs !’, he commanded, irately.   

           

            They were followed back to the clearing where the temple of the guardians lay.   Manic explained that the guardians responded when three notes were played.   They came to life as soon as he hammered out a killer drum solo.    Robotnick and his armada were no match for the guardians.

            Seeing that they were beaten, Sleet, Dingo and Bartleby ran as quickly as they could but found a downed palm tree and no paddle to row with.    Sleet took his morphing gun and transformed Dingo into an oar.  Sputtering the whole way, the defeated enemies made it back to Robotnick who took his defeat by retreating, never to return to Speedster Island ever again.

 

Epilogue

            With Robotnick having left the island, the hedgehogs and their new friends celebrated their victory.   There was dancing, feasting, laughing and more joviality than you could shake a stick at.    The van, however, would need some retuning before it got back on the road, but luckily, the triplets fished it out of the water with the use of the guardians.   Having realized their duty was done for the day, they resituated themselves in the garden.

            ‘Just remember, when you need them, all you have to do is play these three notes.’, Manic explained.   Luckily, the Speedsterians understood music theory fundamentals, but they knew they never had to worry about Robotnick, his Swatbots or any other villains that would want to do them harm.

           

            Quickly, the van was tuned up and the three said goodbye to their friends.   They had found where the fish had been stored and could start releasing them into their brooks, streams, and ponds again.    They would live off coconut and other flora and fauna as they waited for the fish population to explode.   They owed everything to the hedgehogs and thanked them before they departed.   They would never forget this day, not for as long as they lived, thrived, and survived. 

 

To Be Continued...