Directly after Eggman got back to the workshop, with the new Chaos Emerald in his hands, he continued working on his destroyed robots, trying to repair them better than before. He had replaced all of the damaged cores from his robots with new ones, and had set up a new robot - a small one, with a camera. The whole time, Eggman was grinning, possibly thinking about new ways to destroy Takeru and conquer the world.
Just a few hours passed, and he was finished. AND fully satisfied at that. He decided to have another go, with the repaired robots. But right before he did that, he took the Chaos Emerald and built it into Z.E.T.A.'s core. Eggman then powered on Z.E.T.A., but something was different. Rather than the usual power on, Z.E.T.A.'s eyes immediately flashed multiple colors AND his engine began to power on. Z.E.T.A. left afterwards, leaving Eggman alone with his creations.
Hydrocity Zone - 12N (12 at Noon)
Elsewhere, three figures, one tall and slightly bulky, one that was short and flying around, and another bearing the average height of a hedgehog (though clearly wasn't one) ran into Hydrocity Zone. The zone had some areas submerged in water, and even if one were to look closely, there were Badniks in place of the usual residents.
It seemed clear that they were here because of an unknown disturbance. Someone had called to report the issue to them beforehand.
???: This must be where the reported disturbance was...
One of the figures broke away from the rest, to look around the zone for anything suspicious. Another one of them crossed his arms in impatience; the third figure flew around to pass the time.
???: *Espio!* Did you find anything related to it yet?!
Espio: ...Not yet. This suspect is a sneaky one...
???: Um, so tell me again... why are we here?
???: *Charmy.* Are you being serious? We're here because someone told us there was an anomaly here. We came here to see what it was, since that was the first location our client had told us. It's also our time to shine, since that client also told us we're gonna get some BIG money out of this request!
Espio: *Vector,* please focus on the task at hand. We aren't taking every mission we get for the money.
Charmy: I kinda thought we were...? Hasn't that been the same reason we always accepted missions?
Espio: It's been the reason one of them ended up turning into something else entirely.
Vector: It's searching time! Let's split up and see if we can find anything relating to the problem!
Charmy took to the skies to search for clues, while Vector stayed grounded. Espio's path was a mixture of both, but all three found hints running around the zone. There were a few Badniks in the way, but there weren't much and all three dealt with theirs in different ways, what with Charmy using his stinger (at the cost of harming himself), Vector "singing" his into destruction, and Espio using his training as a "ninja" to deal with his. They then met up at the rendezvous point at the end of the zone, about where the signpost would be if they went here in the past.
Vector: Got anything yet?
Espio: There's a foot trail here. If we follow it, we may be able to get somewhere.
Vector: Great! Let's follow it - we might be able to find the person this way!
They then started to follow that same foot trail, entering a room that somehow crossed all three's minds, despite the fact that the lot had all followed three separate paths, each with their own rooms and what all clues could be found. This was, in essence, "something that went unseen yet can also be seen".
Vector: What's this...?!
Espio: This must be where the reported disturbance was...
Charmy: Really? All that work for this? So boring...
In front of them was a machine, pumping out black smoke from what appears to be it's chimney. In mere seconds, the machine's smoke seemed to engulf the entire room, blocking off the Chaotix's view for a brief amount of time.
Vector: What's going on here?!
Espio: Stay on guard. This may be the very disturbance that was reported.
Charmy: I'm scared...!
The smoke then seemed to gather into one place; its shape now seemed to resemble a large sphere. Espio, having a feeling he knew what was going to happen next, took out a shuriken and prepared himself.
The Chaotix were about to come face-to-face with creatures made of smoke...
YOU ARE READING
Sonic ZQ, Volume 2: A New Friend
ActionWARNING: If it wasn't obvious yet, please read the first volume before reading this one. Takeru's adventures continue! Watch him zoom past obstacles, defeat his foes, and meet a new friend that will stick with him wherever he goes! Things are only g...
