Chemical Plant - A Return to Normalcy?

[Tony]

A cold, wintry breeze blew across the desolate remains of what had used to be an active base of operations for the infamous Dr. Eggman. Piles of rubble seemed to reach towering heights for miles, as steel towers lay still in their final resting places following the doctor's subsequent defeat in years past. While patches of smog, and the faint scent of chemicals continued to haunt the hallowed grounds, no harmful substances had truly remained, broken down tanks and containers filled only with messy, algae-filled rainwater that seeped through the cracks in the damaged structures. It was truly the kind of graveyard only an Eggman could have provided, remains of old badniks strewn about the seemingly endless sea of junk.

And it was upon one of these many piles that a certain blue hedgehog stood tail, arms folded across one another as he looked over a place most nostalgic.

It was all pretty crazy, really. Just a single week before, he had revisited this place, except in a strange turn of events, directly within the timespan of which it was at its prime - where chemicals boiled and flowed through pipes as churning rivers of toxic waste, pipes and boilers hissed with steam, and crimson-red clouds rumbled ominously throughout the sky. A lot had happened last week - a lot that had involved quite a bit of time travel. He had relived several events, both good and bad, and he had hardly been gone but a few seconds in realtime.

And one week after his return to the present, here he was, touching upon old grounds once again.

There had been no sign of the doctor since the latest wacky attempt to conquer the world using time itself. Wherever he and his past self had ended up, it certainly wasn't back home. As such... things had remained pretty calm for the most part. ... A fact that Sonic was steadily growing weary of. It wasn't exactly very exciting lounging around waiting for something to happen.

He kinda hated waiting.

Thus, for now, he stood atop the tallest stacks of scrap amidst the ruins of the old Chemical Plant, overseeing an area where time had only passed about a week from his own perspective. It was a bit enchanting, really.

Time travel. S'pretty crazy stuff.

[Dr. Mechano]

@eggman@

"Gweh heh heh heh heh! Of all the diabolically devious luck! That horrid hedgehog, and here, of all places!"

The doctor watched from a short distance away, chuckling under his breath.

Like Sonic, Eggman had been on a wild trip through time, teaming up with his younger self in an attempt to undo his previous defeats and destroy his nemesis. ...It didn't work. The resulting defeat left Dr. Eggman and his past counterpart stranded in a formless, timeless void.

After wandering for who-knows-how-long, Eggman finally escaped. How, even he wasn't quite sure. But he'd reappeared in the now-abandoned Chemical Plant on Westside Island. Initially searching for a way to contact his robots, Eggman now had his sights set on Sonic instead.

"I may have been unable to alter my past, but at least I can change Sonic's future - permanently! Ooh hoo hoo hoo hoo! ...oh wait, I don't have anything to hit him with."

The sinister scientist looked around a bit, before dashing toward a pile of scrap metal and old machine parts. What did Eggman have up his sleeve this time?

[Tony]

Sonic quirked a brow as he examined the landscape before him. Was that...?

He didn't leap into action quite yet. More to the point, he was actually really curious about what the egg-shaped doctor planned to even do out here, with no robos, no weapons, no egg-o-matics and no emeralds. As Eggman fled towards a rather generous mountain of scrap, Sonic simply hopped from his little overlook and jogged quietly towards his wacky nemesis.

"Welcome back home, Doc. Wasn't quite the same without ya. Want me to call you a cab?"

Oh, so serious was he.