Ivo the Genius

Green Hill Zone. Sonic's stomping grounds had seen better days. The orange and brown checkered cliffsides were crumbling and sprayed in graffiti. The beachside was covered in garbage; old broken-down item monitors, spikes, and other assorted junk littered the once-pristine sands. Billowing smoke was visible on the horizon, likely from a small wildfire. “Sheesh, what a dump,” Ivo said. “Y-Yeah...” Motey sighed, “It wasn't always this way... I grew up here, y'know. Used to be a beautiful little seaside village... But people started moving to the city, the economy dried up, and then the Road Rollers took over.” “They certainly let this place go,” Ivo said, looking over the destructive wasteland, “And if Sonic gets his hands on all the Chaos Emeralds... Well, we can't let that happen!” “Oh, it's gonna happen alright,” a squeaky voice taunted. “Heh heh! Yeah! We'll make sure of it!” said another one. Ivo and Motey glanced behind them, and there stood Sonic's goons, Ricky the Squirrel and Pocky the Rabbit. “Bah, you guys again?” Ivo sighed, “Can't we just skip this part and go straight to your boss?” “Rrr... Quit underestimatin' us, 'stache!” Ricky stepped forward, swinging around a long metal chain – which occasionally hit the ground with a loud 'clang.' “The boss is well on his way to gettin' the last Chaos Emerald!” “Heh heh!” Pocky made a fist, showing off his shiny new brass knuckles, “Whether we win or lose, as long as we buy him a little time, his plans'll go off without a hitch! So prepare yourselves for a long, difficult battle as we- OWWW!” “YOWCH!” Ricky shouted just as suddenly as Pocky had, dropping his weapon. “Nice shot, Doc!” Motey said. Ivo sighed, blowing a quick puff of air against the barrel of his laser blaster – which didn't make a lot of sense, as lasers don't smoke like guns do, so the good doctor looked rather silly. “Where's Sonic?” Ivo asked sternly. Since Ivo didn't have any Chaos Emeralds on hand, thanks to Sonic stealing them all back in Marble Zone, he couldn't rely on their energy signal to find the next one. “Eesh, c-calm down!” Ricky stammered, “Eugh, put that thing away! Sonic headed east!” “Toward the green plateau!” Pocky nodded, “Bah! C'mon, Ricky! The boss doesn't pay us enough for this! Let's get outta here!” The two crooks ran off, leaving their weapons behind. Ivo reached down and examined the brass knuckles and metallic chains. “Hm,” Ivo pondered, “I guess this could be useful for parts. May as well take it with me. Anyway, what was that they were saying about the a green plateau?” “It's deep in the middle of Green Hill Zone,” Motey said, “Full of steep cliffs, rocks, and unsteady terrain. Sonic's faster than us, but I know a shortcut. Maybe we can get there before him!” “Right! Let's go!” Ivo said.

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Motey led Ivo through an underground passageway. The caverns were partially flooded, so it made sense that Sonic – with his aversion to water – wouldn't have come this way. When they emerged on the other side, they were at the plateau the Road Rollers had told them about. And there floated the giant golden ring. “Motey, there it is!” Ivo shouted, running forward. “Yeah!” Motey rolled along, “Hurry! Let's get to it before- AGGGH!” Something smacked into Motey. Something fast. “Mo-” before Ivo could say anything, the same high-speed force knocked him over. “I dunno how you slow-mos got here before me,” Sonic said, confidently grinning down at his two foes, “But that Emerald is mine.” “Sonic...” Ivo coughed. He'd caught him off-guard. But Ivo was just going to do the same thing he had with the hedgehog's minions earlier. Quickly, in one swift motion, he yanked old his laser blaster, and fired! “Take this!” ...and missed. “Idiot.” Sonic sneered. Ivo looked up and saw Sonic above him. He'd jumped out of the way so quickly, he didn't even see the motion of him jumping. And now he was descending – right toward Ivo's face, where he landed with a crunch! “Gaaah!” “I-Ivo!” Motey called out. “I'm faster than you by myself. But with five Emeralds? You couldn't hope to keep up with me!” Sonic said, strolling over to Motey, who stood between him and the giant ring, “ Of course, it's soon to be six Emeralds.” “S-stay back!” Motey shouted. “Out of my way, Flicky!” Sonic shouted, kicking Motey aside, “Pathetic, both of you. Heh heh... Anyway...” “Eugh...” Ivo groaned, looking up to see Sonic standing before the giant ring. “Don't go anywhere,” Sonic grinned, “I'll be right back.” And in a flash, he was gone. Ivo and Motey looked at each other worryingly. They knew that in mere moments, Sonic would emerge with six Chaos Emeralds. “Motey...” Ivo said, readying his blaster, “Once Sonic reemerges, I'm gonna try giving him everything I've got. If you want to get away while you can-” “Not a chance, Doc,” Motey said, readying her jabbing blades, “We've come this far together. Let's win this thing.” Ivo smiled. “Right.” A bright light enveloped the area, and Sonic once again stood where he had vanished before. Now six Chaos Emeralds were in his possession – and they began to swirl around him, orbiting him strangely. “Whoa...” Sonic said, as crackles of loose energy began to resonate around his entire body, “I feel... really charged up.” “Now!” Ivo shouted, firing his blaster rapidly. “Aaaaaah!” Motey charged forward herself, swinging wildly at Sonic – but he wasn't there anymore...? “No...!” Motey turned around. Already, Sonic was behind Ivo. He'd moved so quickly that she didn't even see it. “Ivo, look out!” “Grah!” Sonic smacked into Ivo, then leapt away. Now he was in a tree. Now he was leaping back toward Ivo and – smack! - knocked him down again, bouncing off toward a checkered cliffside. Back to Ivo with another high-speed impact, knocking him off balance. Ivo just couldn't keep up with him at all, and it seemed like every second, the hedgehog was back to deal even more damage as he tried in vain to track his movements. If he didn't find a way to hit Sonic – and fast – he was done for. “Come out and-” Smack! “- face me, you-” Smack! “-coward!” Ivo shouted, at this point firing his laser blaster off in random directions, having long given up on following Sonic with his eyes. “Doc!” Motey shouted, before Sonic smashed into her as well, sending her flying into a nearby wall, before leaping up to another hillside. “Oh man...” Sonic said, taking a moment to relish in his newfound power, “I really am unstoppable! With these Emeralds, I can do anything I want... I can make the world do anything I want... I'm the strongest!” Sonic leaped from the checkered cliffside, using so much sheer force from his jump that it eroded the rocks, sending a bunch of checkered boulders tumbling down toward Ivo. Though the heavy rocks rolled toward him quickly, they were much slower than Sonic was – and Ivo was able to sidestep them. Good thing, because these rocks were huge. If the rocks had been faster, though... “Wait.” Ivo thought for a second. These boulders. If they could be propelled quickly around the whole area... “Augh!” Ivo's thoughts were interrupted as Sonic slammed into him again. There was no way that he could concentrate in this state. “Hey, Motey!” “Y-Yeah, Doc?” Motey asked. “Do you think you can distract Sonic for just a minute?” Ivo asked. “You can count on me,” Motey nodded, before rolling away to put some distance between her and Ivo, “Hey! Sonic!” Motey looked around nervously. She knew Ivo had been Sonic's main target so far. And those times Sonic had attacked her... well, that hurt. But... “What do you want?” Sonic laughed, crashing down into Motey – who activated her shell shield just in time – and Sonic still managed to damage her. She shuddered to think how bad it would have been if she hadn't put up her defenses. Motey had been pushed around by Sonic for too long already. As one of the Road Rollers, she let Sonic walk all over her. But now, she was finally standing up to him. “I'm gonna beat you, Sonic the Hedgehog,” receding from her shell, Motey swung her scythes at Sonic, who of course dodged each swing effortlessly – but now his attention was fully on her, just as she'd planned. She just had to keep this up for a little longer. “Heh heh!” Sonic gave Motey a dismissive kick, “You never were cut out for my gang. You were always too soft!” “Ha... You're right...” Motey said, “I'm not cut out to work for you, Sonic...” “Huh?” Sonic looked at her questioningly. “I'm better than that,” Motey grinned. “Rrr...” Sonic glared at her, “Time for me to remind you of how weak you are, Flicky.” Motey glanced back at Ivo, who was giving her a thumbs-up. Whatever he was planning, he was ready now. “Ha! You'll have to catch me first!” Motey said, racing off toward Ivo. “Catch you?” Sonic asked, incredulous, “I'm Sonic the Hedgehog! I'm the fastest thing alive! Of course I can- What is that?” In Ivo's hands was the one end of the long, metallic chain he'd taken from Ricky. Attached to the other end of that chain was one of Pocky's brass knuckles – which were firmly wedged into the checkered boulder, creating a makeshift flail from the gigantic rock. “You may be faster than me... You're even faster than this weapon I've cobbled together,” Ivo shouted, as he put his back into spinning the huge boulder around him, “But if I sweep the whole area with something this massive, not even you can dodge it!” “What?!” Sonic grimaced, running as fast as he could – his legs turning into a colored blur as he tried to outrun the gargantuan boulder that was quickly circling around the entire arena. “Take this!” Ivo yelled, “CHECKER... WRECKER!!!” “No way!” If Sonic could just get a little further, he could get toward the center and out of its range- CRASH! Sonic fell – and the six Chaos Emeralds, along with a bunch of rings, tumbled out of his grasp. “N-no...” Sonic gasped, trying to reach for one of the Emeralds, “My power...” “Not anymore,” Ivo grinned, wagging his finger at the defeated hedgehog. He picked up the Chaos Emeralds, noting to himself that he'd have to make sure the gems were put to proper use, where no one like Sonic could get misuse them again. “Motey,” Ivo smiled, taking a sigh a relief, “How are you holding up?” “A little scuffed up,” Motey said, “But it's nothing you can't fix once we get back to the lab.” “Alright then!” Ivo said, “Motey, let's go home!” Ivo and Motey set out. It would be a long walk back to Scrap Brain Zone, so the two adventures would have plenty of time to talk and reminisce about their journey. Of course, they'd have to let Sara know about their victory as well. But that would come later. For now, Dr. Ivo Robotnik had won.