Sonic wasn’t all that apprehensive about approaching Sally on the back of a dragon. After getting over his initial fear, he realized that anyone who could trash Robotnik like that was definitely a good guy, and Aris had a charisma that only the supremely cool could have. Besides, a dragon this big could freak out Antoine. Way past.
"$$$$," swore Aris, who had been craning her neck around for the last five minutes.
"What Aris?"
"I can’t find this clearing of yours. It should be around here."
"Hmm. I’ll get off and check around. We’re pretty close, I can hear-"
"All right, stop right there. We’ve got our weapons trained on you."
"Sally!" Sonic slid down Aris’ side and sped towards the voice as fast as he could. Breaking into the clearing, he faced the prototype missile launcher and a catapult, and Sally in her vest and boots.
"Sonic!" Yelled Sally, running towards him. Everyone knew that Sally loved Sonic(mostly)3, and Sonic and Antoine were both in love with Sally. So this display (Sally running up to Sonic and hugging and kissing him) was almost commonplace.
Sonic accepted Sally’s attentions with due modesty and then addressed the problem.
"Sonic, What in hell do you think that you were doing?" Yelled Sally.
"What is it Sal?" Asked Sonic, trying to calm her down and not succeeding.
"A dragon. A big dragon, suddenly appears out of nowhere and squashes Robotnik flat. What if this is a setup?"
"Sal, how could this be a setup? She’s too big--ah, I’ll show you. Get Antoine." He smirked. A chance like this to embarrass Antoine while proving to Sally he was serious was too good for even a slow-witted fast-footed hedgehog to miss. He ran to get Aris.
"Hey, Aris," he said when he found her, "They’re right that way." He pointed behind him. "Could ya maybe grow to full size to impress them?"
"Shure. I like impressing people." Aris had a wicked grin on as she started to grow into her normal size. Sonic grabbed her claw and she lifted him up to the top of her head. Then she peered down at Sally and Antoine.
Sonic could hear Antoine yelling. "Aaii! Prinzess, you mahst run from this monstair! I, I will defend you! I think." (Even freaked, Antoine kept his irritating French accent.)
Sonic hopped down, off of Aris’ head. "Yo, Ant," he said, "You don’t have to defend anyone. This is Aris, the dragon I told Sally about."
Sally stared. "Jeez, Aris! How did you get so, so, big?!"
"I grow on you. Hey, who’s this?" She peered at Antoine. He yelped.
"You’re right, Sonic. This can’t be a setup, but what are we going to do?"
"A setup?!" yelled Aris, "I am accused of a setup? I must assure you NOT!"
"We believe you Aris! Calm down!" Sally did her best to sound rational. "We know it’s not a setup!"
"Us galactic dragons never side against good guys." Said Aris, a little peeved. "Besides, you’re friends of my friends. Friends don’t fight friends of friends."
"Oh? Who do you mean?" Asked Sally.
"Nobody important." Aris waved it off.
"Hmm." Said Sally, thinking ahead. "Aris? How much of our history do you know?"
"Little to none. All I know is that you’re the good guys and you’re workin’ against the fat guy that I hurled into orbit."
"Aha! Sally, can you and Nicole figure out what Aris can do and fill her in? I’ve got some crusin’ to do in cybertown!" Nicole was Sally’s handheld computer, capable of doing almost anything.
"Sure Son- hey, what do you want to do in Robotropolis?" Sally glared at her blue boyfriend.
Sonic grinned. "Well, first I want to find out if ‘buttnik survived that crash." Sonic crossed his arms and smirked. "If he didn’t, I want to freak the heck out of Snotley. And if he did, I want to see what he’s up to."
"Waitaminutewaitaminutehere." Aris took a deep breath and let it out, blowing Antoine’s perfectly coifed toupee into a disarray and causing him to yelp. "Robuttnik and Snotley are..." It was impossible to tell expressions on a fifty foot tall dragon, but from her tone of voice she was confused.
"Robuttnik, or Ivo Robotnik as he calls himself, is the $$- er, guy who has been trashing this planet for the last decade, and Snivley is his nephew." Sonic dismissed them with a wave of his hand, but there was a hard tone to his voice as he thought of all that Robotnik had done. He hoped that Ivo had survived the crash, so that he could give the creep a free lyposuction treatment, sonic-style.
"So that’s who Tanasha4 was talking about!" Aris looked and sounded extremely smug. "She didn’t mention very many names, but she gave good descriptions. You’re Sonic," she said, pointing to the aforementioned blue hedgehog, "and the lady is Princess Sally. But she said that you didn’t like to be called ‘Princess.’"
Sally actually blushed, but nobody could see it under her fur. "Yes, and this is Antoine. Rotor," she called to the walrus who was gawking along with the other weapon crews. "Pack up the stuff and ship it back to Knothole. I’ll stay here with Aris." Rotor and the others (Including Antoine) closed their mouths and did as she asked. She then focused a glare on Sonic. "You are not going into Robotropolis without backup."
"But Sally," he said in a pathetic tone of voice, wearing his most imploring look, "HOW am I going to get backup this soon? I can’t take Ant, I don’t want to have to pop back to knothole, and there’s nobody there except Tails anyway, and you won’t let him go on a mission. Unless you’d go." A look stilled that notion. "So I have to go alone. C’mon Sal, this is too good of an opportunity to miss! I’d need someone like Knuckles for backup, and he’s-"
"Uh, mon, I know that you don’t want Knothole to be easily accessible," called a voice from the other side of Aris’s huge form, "but I never heard of you puttin’ big blue scaly walls around!"
"Well, speak of the devil." Remarked Sally as she watched a red form climb over Aris and then glide to a landing three feet in front of her. "Too weird." Sonic, however, was jubilant.
"Hey, Knuckles! I was just wishin’ that you were here! Aris, the dragon that you were just climbing on, threw ‘buttnik over the skyline! I was just wanting to zoom over to Roboville and see if he’s still alive, and see if anything else is up. Wanna come and be my backup?"
"Wait, mon. This is too much. Aris is the dragon?"
"Yeah, so-"
"And she’s on your side?"
"Mmm-hmm. So if-"
"And she trashed Robotnik?"
"Yeeess."
"And you want me to come to Robotropolis with you?"
"Yeeup."
"Uh, sure mon, but-"
Sonic didn’t wait for the ‘but’. He grabbed Knuckles’ arm, and with a yell of "Sonic express, aaallllll abooooord!" He was off towards the great plains, ignoring Knuckles’ faint protests that he could run, too.
Sally sighed. Two strange visitors in one day. *I don’t trust this,* she thought. *What if it’s just a big plan to get Sonic captured?* She shook her head and turned to the huge dragon. Sonic could take care of himself. "Okay, Aris, time for your history lesson." *Sonic can take care of himself.*
*I hope.*
Author's notes:
3. At least, Sally loves him in this fanfic. Mostly. Oh, come on, this isn't a love story. Mostly.<
4. Well, there's the Gargoyles story about Tanasha that I'm still writing, but the StH one will just have to wait.<