Chapter Text
Chapter 1
(The story takes place after issue #166, after the finale of the Shanazar Story)
All around the world, news was spreading of the recent evil atrocities of Robotnik and the success of Sonic winning the fight once more. Only a few days ago, no one had ever even heard of the planet of Shanazar and now, it was open to Mobius; as well as other planets and even Earth! Portals were appearing out of nowhere and the citizens wanted to see them for themselves.
It was reported on every newspaper, television; even Sally Acorn reported it on the radio. But it was mainly the same questions;
Will it be safe to go there? What new animals and creatures will they meet? And more importantly, what was Sonic doing about all of this? Well, that answer was simple enough; taking care of it.
Sonic wasn’t a fool. After the explanation from the blue hedgehog of their mad adventure together, seemed like Sonic and Amy had one crazy time. The pink hedgehog was only able to assist the blue blur, with the help of the eternity ring. Meanwhile Tekno returned back to her workshop, to see what she could do to help out. Johnny and the other freedom fighters, were tasked to investigate the portals and report back to the Zone leaders, if they were a threat to Mobius.
And that was the task of one freedom fighter, as Johnny Lightfoot stepped off the train, heading straight towards Metropolis City. And as always, the capital of Mobius was nothing sure of Chaotic. Even the radio was jammed full of unique different stations from across the new worlds. The rabbit could hear the faint music of EarthFM, a new radio station that was picked up from planet Earth that Mobius, simply had to get into the action.
Collecting the data he needed for his mission however, Sonic was adamant for him to take caution, as he mainly described it as “one hot hell!”. Then Johnny wondered, was it as bad as this heatwave? As he looked above the high rising sun and wiping the sweat from his brow.
Shanazar was a planet, mainly full of dessert and from the intelligence Amy gave to him, it was crawling with magic; something Sonic very much hated and avoided. Well, if you going somewhere, where magic is paramount, who better to take with you, then an expert?
The rabbit looked both ways as he ran across the street, heading towards the neighbourhood, when he suddenly heard his phone ringing. He smiled to see Cream’s and Vanillas face lit up on the home screen.
“Hello! Enjoying this lovely weather?” Johnny smiled as he passed more Mobians down the street.
“We are indeed. Cream is outside playing with the paddling pool and I’m helping myself to a nice cool fruit punch.” Vanilla spoke in delight.
“Don’t blame you, it is a bank holiday after all.” He replied, as he nodded his head to a few Mobians who spotted him, waving him away.
“So, will you be showing your presence later today? Cream wants to try out these new water pistols and honestly; I need someone to tag because she’s becoming quite a pro with it.” His sister joked.
“Well, got one big job to do and then I’ll come straight to you.”
“You “hoping” to one of the new zones?” Vanilla asked, with Johnny sniggering at the pun she landed there.
“Indeed, I am; heck, maybe I’ll come back and bring Cream a souvenir?” Johnny replied, as he wiped more sweat from his brow.
“Make sure it’s something good and not that cheap tack; don’t get haggled by those alien markets.”
“Will do, right I’ll see you two later.”
“Ok Johnny, say goodbye to your uncle Johnny!” Vanilla shouted away from the phone.
Clutching the device to his ear, he could hear the faint shout from Cream. Johnny laughed and ended the chat.
He then scrolled down the messages that were waiting for him; with one particular animal catching his attention as he read through the texts. The messages were short and sweet, but made the rabbit wonder how this soon to be arrangement, will conclude?
Looking back up in the sun, he took shelter on the streets to avoid being melted alive. He wondered if the Groovy Train had come up with their new flavour of milkshakes yet, as he certainly could do with one…
Johnny welcomed the cool breeze as he entered the Groovy train. To his luck, the café had opened their windows and let out the full blast of the cooler system. The customers felt relaxed and enjoyed their delicious drinks and food; inside as well as outside in the baking sun. Serving the customers was Ebony, as she carefully placed the smoothies onto the table. The customers smiled as they took their drinks, then she waved to Johnny as he stepped inside.
“Wow, sure you can afford the cooler?” Johnny asked, passing the customers.
“Well, a bit of magic does go far.” She replied, wiping her head with one of the handkerchiefs off from the table.
“So, are you ready to go?” Johnny asked, as he quickly looked to see the menu.
Ebony smiled, knowing all too well what he was more interested with.
“Just need to get Super and then we are good to go. Don’t worry; we can take a drink for the journey. I’ll just go get him!” She went in a rush, suddenly taking off her apron and rushing towards the staff room.
Smiling towards to Pyjamas at the counter, she didn’t have to read his mind to see a carrot Milkshake had already had his name on it. But as he sipped away on his refreshing drink, there was a sinking feeling as he watched Ebony headed upstairs, knowing all too well, this wasn’t going to go smoothly…
Walking up quickly upstairs, Ebony was overwhelmed with excitement. Today, she finally had the chance to go and see it for herself; the planet filled to the brim with Magic and knowledge. She wondered what she could possible discover? A new spell? A new book? She couldn’t shake off the smile of her face as she approached the door and gave a knock.
“Just me; coming in!” She shouted as she opened the door.
Inside Super Sonic’s room, was quite small. Only holding a small single bed, it was littered with equipment and tools from the café. In the beginning, it was originally a storage room. But she had been impressed; the way it was tidy and organised (not much to say about her own room, she thought to herself) Nearby the small window was open fully wide, with a small breeze coming through but alas, the curtains were drawn closed. The yellow hedgehog didn’t even look up as he was glued to the small screen in front of him. Sitting down on the floor, at the edge of the bed, he was fully concentrated on the video game he was playing, smashing constantly on the buttons of the control pad.
To Ebony’s annoyance, she wished she didn’t buy the console for him, as he made any excuse to run back to his room and play it. His mood had changed as well recently, being quiet, and at some times, snappy. She was worried that soon, he would snap out on one of the customers. So maybe a trip out will lift his spirits?
“Johnny’s downstairs. So, you better save or whatever you do on this thing.” She replied, waving her hand to the console.
“I’m not going.” He boldly stated, never leaving his spiral eyes off the small screen.
The feline then tried a different tactic.
“Look, it’s lovely outside. Maybe a trip will get you some fresh air, you can’t be stuck in this room all the time.”
“No thanks, I’m good.” He replied back quickly, only just moving his head slightly to reply to her.
Still the constant pushing of the buttons on the control pad was starting to push her own buttons as her tail swished with frustration.
“Look, I’ve been wanting to go on this trip, since they announced the new zones. I’m not missing it.”
“Then Go! You don’t need me to be there, so just take Johnny and go!” Super shouted back.
Ebony was taken a bit back there. In that moment, Super only just realised what he did and sighed, shaking his head. He continued on playing the game, till he quietly spoke.
“You’ll have fun, so just go.”
“I just thought you might like it; heck even enjoy it! Come on Super, just one day out” She quietly spoke out.
“You don’t need to keep tabs on me all the time!” Super rose his voice again at her.
Placing her hands in front of her in defence, she nodded her head as she clearly wasn’t going to get a yes from him.
“Alright, alright; I’ll leave you be. Do you need another drink or anything?”
Annoyed, the hedgehog simply shook his head and continued playing. Disappointed and slightly hurt, Ebony closed the door with a sigh and headed back down alone….
Back in the room, Super Sonic paused the game. Looking towards the now closed door, he clutched his head and groaned. A pit in his stomach showed just how guilty he felt right then. Wiping off the sweat off his head, he moved forwards to grab his water. Gulping down the drink till empty, he turned towards the open window. Carefully he placed his hand outside to the heat through the curtain and instantly drew it back in panic. Checking his hand, he felt the sudden rush of Chaos Energy surging through his veins. Trying to keep calm, he moved back onto the bed where the control pad was. Playing the game again, he hoped it would distract him and keep him calm.
Did he want to tell her truth? The real reason why he wouldn’t go? Hopefully he wouldn’t have to, once this heat wave, finally moved on….
“He’s not coming.” Ebony stated as she grabbed her bag from the office.
Johnny watched her as he sipped on his carrot milkshake. Both Johnny and Pyjamas looked at each other as they clearly saw that the feline was upset. Moments later, she returned and looked at the rabbit.
“How come?” Pyjamas asked.
“Says he doesn’t want to come, so it will be just me and you Johnny.” She replied, bringing back her smile on her face.
This kind of put Johnny on the spot as from sitting down relaxing, he was almost dragged off his chair, heading towards the exit. Johnny joked, saying there was no need to rush as they headed outside. But then just before they left through the double doors, Johnny caught Super peeping his head through the staff door looking at him.
As they got outside in the heat, a text message reached Johnny. It was none other than Super Sonic.
“I couldn’t tell her. Make sure she doesn’t get you into any trouble.”
Smiling, the rabbit listened to Ebony as she explained what she found about Shanazar from her books. He then texted him back.
“Don’t worry, I’ll look after the boss.”
Meanwhile, back at the Groovy train, Pyjamas sighed that she was one person down, but knew this is what her best friend, really wanted. Her gaze darted towards the stairs, as the clogs in her mind started to turn. Clearly, there was something up and of course, she will find out….
Later that day, the Groovy train continued on its duties, as customers came to enjoy their day off from work. The whole place was buzzing as they enjoyed their refreshing and cool drinks; enjoying the bank holiday in full. Pyjamas watched as the yellow hedgehog returned to work, after his break. But his mood wasn’t getting any better. He apologised to a few customers for the wrong orders and had accidently mixed a few drinks. He made constant pit stops to drink water and then back to his duties.
Observing her friend, he looked startled and worried, almost making her more anxious just watching him. He was trying his best to keep calm, but she could feel the tension rising, especially when it came to serving customers away from the chilled cooling system. Because of the heat, Ebony thought it would be a good idea to open a little venue at the front of the café, great for customers to sit outside. The problem was, Super kept rushing to get back inside, even accidently knocking his serving plate towards walking customers, as the dog could hear the clang of the plate outside falling to the ground. However, what Pyjamas didn’t anticipate, was the angry customer having a go at the hedgehog, appalled that his shirt was covered in ice tea that he just bought.
A large tall Giraffe, looked down at his blue shirt, now stained. Super apologised straight away as he slightly bowed down to clean up the mess. Adjusting his sunglasses, the Giraffe looked down at the hedgehog with disgust and with a sour taste in his mouth;
“Do you know how much this shirt cost me? You couldn’t even afford something like this, with the pennies you get!” He coldly joked at him. This remark caused other customers to stop and watch.
“And why would I buy such a tacky shirt like that? For someone who doesn’t wear clothes, at least I have better taste” The hedgehog snarled back at him.
Suddenly, the tension suddenly skyrocketed as the Giraffe looked down at him with a death stare; the problem was, Super Sonic was doing the same as he looked up. The other customers could feel it too, as they felt something was going to happen very quickly.
And the dog certainly knew the daft tall animal, was way out of his league. Pyjamas ran outside and stood in front of Super Sonic, splitting the two apart.
“I’m so terribly sorry about that, please let me get you another ice tea on the house.” Pyjamas replied with her sweet smile, gesturing her hand to make the animal turn back inside and wiping away the tea of his clothes.
“Well of course you should, but I shall be defiantly be leaving a negative review on your “customer service”” He replied, scorning the hedgehog before he strolled back inside.
Politely waiting, she didn’t have to look behind her to feel the hedgehog’s agitation. She stepped back and whispered to him.
“You better call it a day today, or I’ll be getting more complaints.”
Instead of replying back or even apologising, the hedgehog simply moved away, picked up the serving plate from the floor and stormed back inside. As Pyjamas walked back inside the café from the cleaning, she just saw the staff door closed with a slam and the vacant apron, resting on the hook. As she looked elsewhere, the Giraffe was clearing over exaggerating the whole scenario as he sipped on his new ice tea to his colleagues. The other staff members, ignored his banter as he finally made their exit soon after. Pyjamas sighed and continued back to the work, hopefully with no more disturbances….
Finally saying goodbye to the customers, Pyjamas was finally relived that closing time was early, thanks to the bank holiday. Finally locking the door and pulling down the shutters, the dog said her goodbyes to the other staff. Some of the staff had to ask what happened that afternoon, the dog simply explained that a customer got a bit rowdy and nothing to worry about. Knowing all was well, the staff took their leave.
With the café now empty, the dog was finally able to relax as she had just finished the sorting for the next day. Now there was just one thing she needed to tackle; a very angry hedgehog with a bad tantrum…
TO BE CONTINUED IN THE NEXT PART “The Trip to Shanazar”