It is nighttime. The Croc Canteen is the Chaotix' detective office converted into a canteen. Aliens of all kinds are seated at various tables with drinks. Charmy flies by with several drinks.

"Welcome to Vector's Juice Bar! We put the squeeze on your thirst!"

Espio is washing glasses, while Vector is playing the piano. He turned to the readers.

"I bet you didn't know I'm such a musical maestro, didn't ya? You shouldn't be surprised. I'm more than just a pretty face. As a croc, I'm naturally swamped with talent! But you're probably wonderin' why I'm playin piano instead of doin' detective work. It all started after the boys and me said adios to the crew of the Blue Typhoon..."

~FLASHBACK~

The spaceship is cruising through space. Espio is reading directions.

"Okay, Vector, make a right just before the next star system."

They drive past a traffic light in space.

"Space travel sure can be boring. Somebody oughta build a rest stop in this part of the galaxy so you can get out and stretch your legs." Vector complained.

"Oh boy! I wish we could stop and grab a bite to eat!" Charmy clarified.

"There aren't any rest stops listed here." Espio sighed out.

"Let's see... Hm..."

Vector sees a wormhole up ahead. This is the Galaxy Corridor.

"Maybe we'll find one over there."

Espio looks at the map again.

"I don't see that place on the map."

"Let's check it out!" Charmy enthusiastically pointed forward.

"All rightie! After all, investigating unknown mysteries is part of a detective's job!" Vector nodded.

"Go for it, Vector!"

They feel the warping effects of the entrance to the Galaxy Corridor.

"What the...?"

"It's some kind of gravity field." Espio said.

"Boy, is it totally cool!" Charmy smiled.

~FLASHBACK END~

"So, we ended up crach-landing on this planet. Huh?"

Vector sees Charmy talking with a customer.

"Send me a bill and I'll pay it next month."

"Well, I, uh..." Charmy stuttered.

"Somethin' wrong?" Vector asked, walking in.

The customer blushes.

"This clown says he's gonna pay us later."

"Later?"

"Next week, maybe." Cutsomer shrugged.

Vector wraps his arm around the customer.

"Listen, pal, the policy in this establishment is when you pig out, you have to pay up!"

"What are you gonna do, Vector?" Charmy asked.

"Let's see... I could try to squeeze the money out of him..."

"I know! What if I pay you tomorrow?"

"No way! It's cash or bash if you get my drift!"

Later, the customer finally pays Charmy.

"That's everything I owe."

He leaves embarrassed.

"Come back soon!" Charmy waved.

"We won't be getting rich at this rate, Vector." Espio sighed, cleaning the glass.

"We just need to earn enough dough to pay for ship repairs. Then we can be on our way."

They hear the door open.

"Hi! What can we get ya?" Charmy greeted.

They see Eggman, Decoe, and Bocoe standing in the doorway. Decoe and Bocoe are holding posters.

"It's Eggman!" Vector exclaimed.

"Is that you, Vector?" Eggman narrowed his eyes.

"What are you doin' here?"

"I'm looking for someone."

"Oh yeah?"

From out of nowhere, Vector pulls out a desk, a paper, a pen, and a pair of reading glasses.

"Now, I'll need a name or alias, so you'll have to give me a description, too."

Eggman snaps his fingers, and Decoe unrolls a poster. To Vector's shock, it is a wanted poster for Chris, Cosmo, Amy, Cream, Knuckles, Tails, Y/N, and Sonic. Espio is also shock to see Y/N in a wanted poster.

"Huh? How come you're lookin' for Sonic and Y/N?"

"The Metarex would like to ask you a few questions." Eggman said.

Decoe lifts the poster.

"They want to have a friendly chat, huh?"

Vector puts away his gear.

"Forget it, Eggman! You'd have to be a low-life to work for the Metarex!"

"Check this out!"

Eggman reaches into his coat and pulls out a picture, which appears to be a cross between a spider, a skull, and a bomb.

"You wanna play cards?"

"This happens to be my new business card. I guess you haven't heard the Metarex made me one of their top four commanders! What a simpleton. Hurry and get all those posters plastered up!"

"Sure thing, Doctor!" Bocoe nodded.

"Hm... This looks like a good spot."

Decoe and Bocoe get to work putting the posters up. Vector waves his hands.

"Now hold on a second! I don't want my walls covered in wanted posters! Find someplace where they ain't gonna be an eyesore!"

"If you say so." Bocoe said.

Decoe crawls under a table.

"With all the chewing gum under this table, I do not even need tape."

As Decoe plasters the poster to the underside of the table, Eggman sits at the counter.

"I'll have an ice-cold refreshing glass of water."

Espio is still washing the dishes.

"I said water!"

Espio turns off the water.

"Too late, Eggman. We just ran out."

"So that's how you're going to treat me. I wish you would dry up."

"We are done putting up the posters, Doctor." Decoe and Bocoe said.

Eggman stands up from his seat.

"If you do see Sonic, Y/N, and their friends, contact me right away. Understand?"

"Sorry, Eggman, but I happen to be a crocodile, not a stool pigeon." Vector glared.

"Let's ditch this dump." Eggman scoffed.

"Yes, Doctor!"

"Where will we go next?"

The Chaotix watch them go.

"What are you gonna do, Vector? Will you let Sonic and Y/N know about this?" Charmy asked.

"You betcha." Vector nodded with a smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Chaotix are upstairs with the Blue Typhoon's crew. Only Tails and Cosmo are absent. Sonic, Y/N, and Knuckles are at a table, eating.

"Eggman's putting up wanted posters?!" Knuckles exclaimed.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Y/N growled, standing up from her seat after finishing her food and drink.

"He's hunting us down like we're criminals!"

"This is bad news. If the Metarex find out we're hiding on this planet, they'll send a fleet after us. We won't have a chance." Chris said.

"Chao chao." Cheese agreed.

"We need to fix our ship and get out of here." Amy said.

"You guys can't go outside! One of the locals might turn you all in!" Vector said.

"Then I'll make sure none of 'em see me!" Sonic grinned.

A shot is shown of Sonic running around outside. The Metarex Troopers stationed outside glance at each other, confused.

"We need parts. Tails and Cosmo are waiting at the ship for them." Knuckles said.

"I'll just dash to the store and buy the parts we need."

"Bro, you do realize you're going to pay at the register." Y/N deadpanned.

"Yeah, when you pay at the register, they'll see your face!" Vector added.

"Okay, you're right. I can't do any shopping." Sonic said.

"What are we gonna do? Without those parts, we'll be stuck here." Chris asked.

The group spends a little time thinking.

"Why don't you let me buy the parts for ya?" Vector suggested.

Chris, Amy, and Cream look surprised.

"Would you really?"

"Sure, I run errands all the time when I'm doin' undercover work."

He pulls out a picture of himself shopping and walking a dog.

"As you can see, I don't just collar crooks."

"Uh... Sorry, but we've only got enough cash for the parts." Sonic said.

"Are you sure about it? We don't want to burden you." Y/N asked.

"Aw, don't worry about my salary. I think you guys are A-okay, so I'll take an IOU."

"Then it's settled!" Charmy declared, flying over to them.

"Alright, then. Here's your shopping list."

Amy pulls out a paper and a money purse.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vector is shopping alone in the store. He glances at his list before seeing an item on the shelf.

"This is one of the parts I need for my ship. I'm shoppin' for Sonic and Y/N! I ain't no crooked croc!"

He instead selects a few other items, and soon arrives at the checkout.

"One power module, one gravity stabilizer, two quantum flux capacitors, one hyper hammer, three laser fusion units, one air pressure..."  Cashier listed out.

Unbeknownst to him, a Metarex Trooper is spying on him.

"Calling Bayleaf."

"So, my instincts were correct. Sonic is hiding on that planet. When he fixes his ship and returns to space, I'll be waiting for him!"

His right eye twinkles.

Back to the Canteen, everyone were just waiting for Vector to come back while being on a lookout. Espio turns to Y/N who's tapping her finger against the table she's leaning on. He walks over to her, making her turn to him.

"Hey, what's up...?" he greeted nervously.

"Been doing fine. A lot of things have been happening a lot lately, but most of all I've had some fun. I never knew going into space to different planets will be interesting and so mystery."

Espio smiled.

"Yeah. This is my first time going into space too. I get to see a lot of stars in the galaxy."

"Like your eyes, Y/N..."

Y/N smiled back at him who blushes in response. Sonic suddenly taps Y/N on the shoulder and she turned to see him pointing at something outside. Her and Sonic cautiously watches as Eggman, Decoe, and Bocoe stop outside the canteen.

"We've put up wanted posters all around town." Decoe complained.

"It was exhausing..." Bocoe agreed.

Eggman stares intently at the window.

"Is there something wrong, Doctor?"

"It's none of your business. Let's go!"

"Roger!"

"Whatever."

They are about to leave, but Eggman stops and stares at the window for a long period of time before leaving. Sonic wipes his brow while Y/N sighs in relief.

"For a second there, I thought he saw us."

They hear voices downstairs.

"Welcome back, Vector." Espio greeted.

"How'd it go, Vector?" Charmy asked.

"No problem." Vector said.

The others crawl out from under the table.

"Alright, let's go help Vector unload the parts." Knuckles said.

Chris nods.

"Chao!" Cheese agreed.

At the Blue Typhoon, Tails and Cosmo are getting worried about their friends.

"Sonic and the others are late. Maybe they did run into trouble."

"It must be the Metarex."

Back at the Croc Canteen, the others are carrying parts upstairs.

"These... parts are heavy!" Knuckles wheezed.

"Look out!" Chris warned.

"Chao!"

There is a huge thump as all the parts are put on the floor upstairs. Chris helps to bring the last part upstairs.

"This is the last part."

"Let's call Tails to pick this up in the X-Tornado."

"Chao."

Amy opens her comlink, but Chris stops her.

"Amy! They could be monitoring our communications."

"Huh? What are you saying? You expect us to carry the parts there?"

Vector crawls up top.

"I can take you guys over."

"Oh, really?" Sonic asked.

"Sure! I'm a warm-hearted reptile!"

The Croc Canteen is marked closed. Everyone is inside the Chaotix' spaceship.

"Okay, hang on, everybody!" Vector said.

"Vector, I'm in your restaurant. We need to talk." Eggman called over the radio.

"That figures." Chris commented.

"Great..." Y/N sarcastically said, rolling her eyes.

"What's Eggman doing here?" Amy shook her fist. "I'd like to give him a piece of my mind and fist!"

"Yeah!" Y/N nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry; I'll go show Dr. Egghead the exit!"

Vector stands up.

"Be right back."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vector finds Eggman sitting alone inside the canteen.

"Didn't you see the sign outside? I already told you I'm not gonna help ya, Eggman!"

"If you're this rude to all your customers, it's no wonder this place is empty." Eggman retorted.

"How rude! What does he want, anyway?" Amy pouted.

"Eggman's a pain." Chris said.

"Tell me about it." Y/N said.

"We're closed up for the night! Leave now." Vector demanded.

"I'm not leaving this stool."

"Oh, really?"

"I came here to celebrate, and that's exactly what I'm going to do, Vector."

"Celebrate what?"

"Before this night is over, I'm going to be rid of Sonic and Y/N the Hedgehog once and for all. The Metarex sent me to track down the siblings, and now I've figured out exactly where they're hiding."

Eggman chuckles.

"Sonic and Y/N doesn't suspect anything, so they won't stand a chance when the Metarex attack."

"How dare he talk like that!" Knuckles growled.

"This is bad! What do we do, Sonic and Y/N?" Cream looked on worriedly.

Sonic grins a toothy grin while Y/N just gave it a hum with a small smile, confusing the others. After a moment's hesitation, seeing Eggman is not about to leave, Vector pours a drink for Eggman.

"How about some juice?"

Eggman grins.

"Huh? No way!" Amy huffed out.

Knuckles places his hands on his hips.

"Vector was supposed to get rid of Eggman!"

"Yeah, what's he letting him hang around for?" Chris questioned.

"Dr. Eggman doesn't get to defeat us very often," Sonic pointed out. "so he really deserves to enjoy it this time!"

The others are astonished at Sonic's behavior and turned to Y/N who just sigh.

"You'll see what he mean."

Eggman sips his beverage.

"Let me tell you, those Metarex aren't kidding around. They've had enough of Sonic, Y/N, and their friends, and this time they're planning to pull out all the stops to make sure he's destroyed once and for all."

"Really? What are they gonna do?" Vector asked.

"It's a secret. Let's just say it'll involve a whole fleet of ships attacking the Blue Typhoon. I almost wish I could give Sonic and Y/N some kind of warning. I'm sure they're much rather be beaten by me than by those miserable Metarex." Eggman laughed.

"Eggman's got some ego!"

"I wish I could go in there and tell him off!"

Sonic and Y/N relishes the conversation, not able to get enough. Eggman stands up.

"I'll be shoving off now."

"I don't ever wanna see you in here again, Eggman!" Vector yelled.

"That's the best news I've had all day."

He leaves. But as he nears the door, he receives a radio call.

"Come in, Doctor!" Bokkun called.

"What now?"

"I thought you should know I just spotted Bayleaf's fleet!"

"Alright. Keep me posted."

Eggman turns off the radio.

"Oh well. I guess Sonic and Y/N are a goner. That fleet will stay in orbit around the planet waiting for the Blue Typhoon to take off so they can destroy it. Yes, the second the Metarex spot that ship, it will be blown into a billion bits! There won't be any escape for Sonic and Y/N the Hedgehog this time!"

He leaves.

"Huh. He could use an acting coach." Vector smirked from behind the counter.

"We can't leave the planet now even if we fixed the ship!" Chris frowned.

"But if we stay here, sooner or later they'll track us down and attack us anyway." Amy shrugged.

Knuckles grimaced.

"We're trapped... and we can't put up a fight! Our laser cannons aren't powerful enough to take on an entire fleet!"

Sonic turned to Y/N grinning who nodded at him.

"Thanks for the tipoff, Eggman."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Chaotix' spaceship is parked next to the Typhoon.

"Do you know how many ships the Metarex have in their fleet?" Cosmo curiously asked.

"'Fraid not." Knuckles said.

"Sorry, we don't know." Y/N said.

Amy waves her arms to get attention.

"Why don't you just use the scopes?"

"They're not working. I just disconnected all the scopes to make repairs, and it'll take hours to reconnect them." Tails said.

"What are the options?" Cosmo asked.

"We have to repair our ship and take on that fleet."

Sonic turned to the Chaotix.

"You wanna join us?"

They wave their hands in protest.

"No offense, Sonic, but we'd rather play it safe than be sorry." Vector declined politely.

On Bayleaf's battleship, Bayleaf is playing chess with a robot. A Metarex Trooper approaches.

"Sir, a ship has just left the planet."

"Put it up on the viewscreen." Bayleaf ordered.

"Roger."

As the chess-playing robot rolls away, Bayleaf studies the screen to see that the Blue Typhoon is leaving the planet. He stands up.

"That's the Blue Typhoon! ... Deploy cannons!"

The ship's cannons are trained on the Typhoon.

"Fire!!"

The battleship fires at the Typhoon. Meanwhile, the Chaotix' spaceship is rolling along the moon's surface. An explosion bursts far above it.

"I've done it! I've defeated Sonic and Y/N the Hedgehog! We must leave immediately to deliver the good news to Dark Oak in person!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The canteen is open. Charmy flies by with more beverages.

"Comin' right up!"

It is business as usual, with Espio washing glasses and Vector playing the piano. Eggman enters. He appears beaten up, and his right arm is in a sling. Vector sweatdrops when he sees him.

"Play it again, Vector."

"I thought I told you to never come back here."

"Believe me, I didn't want to come back, but I didn't have anyplace else to go."

Eggman sits at the counter.

"I'll have a prune juice and a soft-boiled egg."

"Well, Vector?" Espio asked.

Vector looks up briefly before returning to his piano playing.

"Give him what he wants."

"Are you sure?"

Espio gets out a bottle and a glass.

"Yeah, and it's all on the house, too."

Espio shrugs and pours Eggman's beverage, also setting a whole, uncracked egg before him. Eggman cracks the egg into the beverage.

"Here's to my best enemies."

He downs the drink.

The Typhoon is damaged on the planet's surface. The ground opens up to reveal the Crimson Egg. Decoe, Bocoe, and Bokkun are making repairs on it.

"Why did we have to protect Sonic and Y/N?" Bocoe questioned.

"Yeah, I thought Dr. Eggman wanted to see them destroyed." Decoe said.

"If you ask me, the doc's startin' to go soft... in the head." Bokkun said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Blue Typhoon flies freely into space. It was never destroyed.

"I thought there was supposed to be a Metarex fleet waiting for us! But there isn't even a single ship here!" Knuckles said.

"We should have suspected all along it was a lie. I guess Eggman was just trying to psych us out." Amy said.

"I'm glad he lied. If there was a fleet here, we'd be in trouble. Wouldn't we, Sonic and Y/N?" Chris smiled.

Sonic and Y/N does not respond, but they instead look out the window.

"Thanks, Doctor. You're not such a bad egg after all."

"You may have helped us, but you're still our enemy."

https://youtu.be/rvqqp8vH0ok