Team Chaotix in: "The Creepy Cribbed Confectionary Caper!"note
| Written by: | Mark Bouchard |
| Year: | Six |
| Release Date: | October 11, 2023 |
| Story Count: | 1 |
It's Halloween in Seaside City, where Vector the Crocodile and Espio the Chameleon were planning on a grand night out trick-or-treating with Charmy the Bee. Trouble is afoot however, where a young girl arrives to the Chaotix Detective Agency, filing a report for missing candy! She tells of a young boy named Herschel, who took them into the forest, promising a house filled with full-sized candy bars, only to be met with a giant mechanical monster who stole their loot.
With the help of Sonic and Tails, Team Chaotix are on the case to solve this mystery, hopefully with enough time to go trick-or-treating.
The one-shot contains examples of:
- Aerith and Bob: Asides from the usual game cast suspects, between the four kids, there's a bat named Herschel, a mouse named Brady, and a racoon named Rowdy (the last of the four kids doesn't have a name).
- Artificial Limbs: The "monster" that the Chaotix contend with has two mechanical Doctor Octopus-like arms, which were built by one of the kids, Rowdy. Resident Gadgeteer Genius Tails is so impressed that he wants to compare specs with him.
- Covers Always Lie: Covers A, B, and RI all feature the Chaotix (with Sonic and Tails being present on the A and B covers). The RI (25) cover however has Dr. Eggman, Cubot, and Orbot, with the latter two playing a prank on the doctor. Eggman and his cronies don't appear in this one-shot at all, and aren't even tangentially related to the plot.
- A Day in the Limelight: Team Chaotix are the stars of this one-shot, with special focus being given on Charmy the Bee and Vector the Crocodile. Sonic and Tails do show up, but they play support to the detectives.
- Don't Go in the Woods: The Chaotix's client who reports how their candy was stolen said that she and her friends didn't want to go in the forest, fearing they'd get lost. Herschel however tells them a shortcut through said woods would get them to a house full of full-sized candy bars, but they, and several others, get spooked by the "monster" that is in there.
- Good Feels Good: The four kids apologize to the Chaotix about terrorizing the other civilians, noting they got carried away with their trickery. Sonic, Tails, and Charmy manage to convince them to give all the candy the stole back, with Sonic citing how he helps out just cause it feels good. The skeleton-dressed mouse named Brady notes that giving away the candy felt awesome, not knowing how good it felt to help people.
- Halloween Episode: Well, obviously. It's in the title, all the characters (sans Sonic) are all costumed up, and the plot revolves around Team Chaotix looking to get back candy that was stolen from innocent trick-or-treaters.
- Halloween Trickery:
- The plot is kicked off when a "monster" is going around and stealing candy from civilians who were trick-or-treating by a kid who was leading them into the forest. The true nature of this monster is a bunch of kids in a costume, with one of them having built mechanical arms to pilfer the candy once they Jump Scare other trick-or-treaters.
- Played for Laughs on the RI (25) cover, where Dr. Eggman gets scared while eating his candy by Orbot and Cubot wearing Sonic and Tails masks.
- Just a Kid: This insult comes from Herschel when confronted by Tails, who is likely not that much older than the fox himself. He quickly comes to regret it when Tails lassoes him with his cowboy costume's rope.
- Mythology Gag:
- Espio's costume in this special is the exact same "Mummy" costume he can wear in Sonic Rivals 2.
- The Online Exclusive cover
features Sonic in the same costume he first wore in a 2009 Sonic Channel Wallpaper and is occasionally used for the holiday.
- Noodle Incident: Apparently the Chaotix took on a similar late-night case after they hear a scream in the forest. Espio and Vector mention how they'll run it like "last time," though Tails has already pinpointed the direction the scream came from before they could implement their plan.
- Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: Tails' response to the aforementioned Just a Kid jab.Tails: Correction. Tonight, I am a cowboy. And I'm going yeehaw mode.
- Riddle for the Ages: One of the candies the Chaotix find among the stolen stash is a giant piece of rock candy that is the size of a heavy gem. Other than it coming from a kid that the four first spooked, no explanation is given for why the candy is so big, what it was going to be used for, and who ended up getting it by the end of the one-shot.
- Schmuck Bait: Herschel promises he knows a shortcut through the woods that will go to a house that gives out full-sized candy bars. This is tempting enough for a bunch of kids to follow him to an isolated spot in a dark forest so they'll be scared and have their candy stolen by a "monster" that they designed.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When Herschel gets spotted by Charmy Bee, he tries booking it, only to get cornered by Sonic and Espio. When Vector manages to uncover their masquerade, he retreats into the forest, but is quickly stopped by Tails.
- Too Old to Trick-or-Treat: Vector of all people tells Charmy to hurry up or they'll miss all the trick-or-treating fun, with Espio admonishing him since they're taking the bee for it, not the other way around. When Vector remarks that they deserve a commission, he quickly backpedals after getting glared at by Espio. Vector then mutters under his breath that he really wants some candy, and later screams out how much he loves Halloween as an attack.Vector: Is it so wrong for a guy to get his hands greased with a little bit o' nougat? It is Halloween after all.
- Trail of Bread Crumbs: Sonic manages to find a clue to help the Chaotix on the right track, where a ripped open trick-or-treat bag has left a trail for them to follow. They don't pursue it for long, as Charmy overhears Herschel nearby, the very kid who keeps luring the other children to the monster in the woods.
- Villains Want Mercy: When the kids realize they're busted, Rowdy tries to negotiate their way out, proposing they split the candy 30-70. Espio refuses, citing since the candy was stolen, they don't have the right to barter with it. When Rowdy begins crying about how they spent the year perfecting the robot arms to pull off their candy heist, Sonic clarifies they weren't going to hoard all the treats for themselves and give them back to everyone, much to the kids' confusion. When they sincerely apologize for the trouble they caused, Sonic, Tails, and the Chaotix let them go and help hand out candy to the kids in Seaside City.
