When Something's Broken, Fix It…

Prologue

By: Soniclover28

Tails sat in the living room on the couch, staring at the T.V. that had a news reporter talking glumly on it. Tails' eyes were red from lack of sleep, and his white muzzle was damp from the tears that had recently rolled down his face. Three months… It'd been three months since his best friend, his brother, had gone missing, and Dr. Eggman had been a pain in a butt lately. He always waited on the patio every day, hoping that a speedy blue hedgehog would come speeding by. "He'll turn up soon, I'm sure of it!" Chris would encourage.

Although almost the entire world knew, and loved, Sonic and his friends, some still couldn't accept them, and wanted them gone. Tails was afraid… He was afraid that those humans had finally caught him, and he was afraid of what they might be doing to him.

He clicked the button on his T.V. remote to turn it off, and was about to go to the garage when something, or someone, suddenly burst through the door. "Tails!" the figure shouted. The two-tailed fox looked at the figure and scolded, "You scared the fur off of me, Knuckles!"

"Sorry, but I have something important that you might want to hear!" the echidna exclaimed.

"I don't wanna hear it…" Tails sighed, as he turned to go to the garage.

"Tails, I know where Sonic is…"

Tails' eyes widened and he grabbed Knuckles by the shoulders and yelled, "Where?!Where is he!?"

"I'll show you, but I have to warn you, he-"

"I don't care! Take me to him!" Tails interrupted, as tears stung his eyes.

Knuckles sighed and said, "Fine… But first, you have to put this on." He then handed Tails a black hood, as he put one on himself.

"Why do we have to wear these?" Tails asked. Knuckles was about to answer, when Chris, Cream, Cheese, Chuck, Ella and Amy ran downstairs.

"I thought I heard yelling down here, is everything alright?" Chuck asked.

"Knuckles said that he knows where Sonic is!" Tails exclaimed excitedly.

"Really? Where is he?" Chris asked.

Knuckles sighed as he looked at the floor and told them, "Only three of you can come, I only have four hoods…"

"Why do we have to wear hoods?" Chuck questioned.

"The humans can't know that our kind is there, or we'll end up being-" Knuckles stopped as he glanced at Cream and Cheese.

Understanding why Knuckles wouldn't talk, Ella suddenly said, "Cream, Cheese, why don't you help me bake a cake for when Sonic comes back home? I'm sure his tummy will be very hungry!"

"Yeah! Let's go, Cheese!" Cream smiled, as she ran off towards the kitchen.

Once they were out of earshot, Chuck asked, "So, why can't they know you're there?"

"It's too hard to explain, but I'll tell you now, it's not very pretty…" The echidna sighed.

"Can we just please go already?!" Tails asked impatiently.

"Wait, one of us has to stay, who'll it be?" Chuck asked.

"I will… I think you and Amy would be more helpful…" Chris sighed.

"Thanks, Chris…" Amy smiled. "Okay, that's decided, so let's go!" Tails exclaimed, as he slipped his hood on and headed towards the door.

"Wait, Tails. If we just go into this place, and if we DO find him, how're we gonna get him out?" Chuck questioned him.

Tails froze, and looked down in dismay, "You're right… We need a plan…"

"Okay then, let's go to my lab and find a way to get Sonic!" Chuck exclaimed, as he marched to his garage.


"Sonic is where?" Tails asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"You heard me… He's at James's House of Madness…" Knuckles told them.

"What's that?" Amy asked.

"It's a place where illegal animal fights are held… They're using Sonic in those fights, and the bad part is he doesn't even know what he's doing…" Knuckles explained.

"What do you mean?" Chuck asked.

"They're doing something to the animals they use there… I don't know what it is, but I noticed that all of them seem a little… out of it…" The echidna said.

"Where did you find this place, Knuckles?" Chuck suddenly asked.

"In the middle of a desert halfway across the country…" He answered.

"No wonder the police can't do anything about this…" The old man muttered.

"It's hidden in a canyon, I barely spotted the entrance to it, and I thought it looked pretty suspicious. So, naturally, I went inside, but I got chased as soon as I was spotted… I ran back out of the place and hid underground until they were gone. Then I found these hoods, and I put one on. I stood in the crowd and watched multiple animals fight against their will… It was awful… But when Sonic came out… He just-… I dunno how to explain it…" Knuckles told them.

"I think we'll have to go take a look around this place before we try getting him out of it. If we know where they're keeping him when he's not in one of those fights, then we could bust him outta there," Tails suggested.

"Good idea, Tails. But first, let's bring some things we've made for backup," Chuck then walked over to the wall in the back of the workshop, and pulled a lever. The wall lifted up to reveal multiple shelves lined with all kinds of gadgets.

"Wow…" Amy gaped.

"Everyone gets a communicator watch and a small weapon of your choice," Chuck told them, as he passed out the communicators. Tails walked up to the wall and picked out a dart gun, Amy picked up a tube of laser lipstick, and Chuck chose a ray gun.

"What about you, Knuckles?" Amy asked.

"I'm using my own weapons…" He smirked, as he pulled out his shovel claws. Tails and Chuck rolled their eyes, while Amy cocked an eyebrow at him.

"We can take the X-Tornado, I just have to put some more fuel in it and we can go," Tails said.

"Right, let's hurry. We need to get Sonic outta there before anything happens," Knuckles told them.


Once Tails got the X-Tornado up and running, they set off towards the desert. A few quiet hours passed by, until Amy mustered up the courage to ask, "Hey, Knuckles, How many different animals are there?"

"Well… I think just about every kind you can think of…" He replied.

"Rabbits?" She pressed.

"Yep."

"Deer?"

"Yes."

"Gorillas?"

"Yes…"

"Elephants?"

"I think so…"

"Ducks?"

"Amy, all the animals you are about to say are there!" Knuckles burst.

"Even chupacabras?" Amy asked, crossing her arms.

"I've never even heard of those!" Knuckles snapped.

"Amy, how'd you know about those? Are they on your planet?" Chuck suddenly asked.

"No, but I was watching an animal show the other day, and it talked about them. They sound like vampire dogs, if ya ask me…" Amy replied.

"Well actually, they're-"

"Hey, Knuckles, is this the canyon you were talking about?" Tails suddenly interrupted.

The echidna looked out of the glass covering to see a wide and long canyon that had a small river flowing in the middle of it. "Yup, that's it… I found that place at the very center of it," Knuckles explained.

"This isn't just any canyon, Knuckles…" Chuck suddenly said, "This is the Grand Canyon!"

"What's so grand about it?" Amy asked.

"Just look at it! It's a famous place for tourists, too," Chuck told her.

"But, there are canyons bigger than this on Mobius… Probably twice as big, actually…" Amy replied.

"Y'know, it's not nice to brag…" Chuck retorted, a little jealous.

Tails smirked at that comment, but his attention was brought to his plane as he prepared to land inside the canyon. Once on the ground, Knuckles hopped off of the aircraft, and studied his surroundings. "This is definitely the place…" He muttered.

Once everyone else was on the ground, Knuckles asked, "Everyone have their hoods?"

"Yes," They all replied.

"Good, put them on," He ordered. After that was done, Tails turned around and opened a panel in his X-Tornado. He typed in a few numbers and the plane suddenly disappeared into thin air.

"Tails, I didn't know it could do that!" Chuck exclaimed.

"It's a cloaking device; I installed it a few days before Sonic went missing," Tails explained sheepishly.

"Great job, Tails," Chuck smiled at him. "Let's get going, we don't have long until the tournaments start…" Knuckles suddenly told them, as he started walking alongside the river.

After about ten minutes of walking, they came to a giant boulder sitting on the side of a canyon. "Here it is…" Knuckles mumbled.

"This? We have to move this?" Amy exclaimed.

"Shut it, 'hog! If they hear you, it won't be good…" Knuckles whispered.

"How're we supposed to get in, though?" Tails asked.

"Go put your hand on that rock, Tails," Knuckles chuckled. The fox walked up to the boulder, and placed his hand on it. He was startled when his hand when right through it, and he toppled over onto his muzzle.

"Ow…" he muttered.

"A hologram? Clever…" Chuck muttered, as he pulled a notepad out of nowhere and wrote in it with a pen. Tails got up, as he dusted the sand out of his fur, and turned back to Knuckles.

"Let's go, just try to lay low and don't talk unless you see something important…" Knuckles told them, as he walked inside the rock.

The others followed him, and their jaws dropped when they studied the size of the place. There was a tunnel-like entrance in front of them with neon letters that read, "James's House of Madness!" They walked through the entrance and was met by a bulky dog, that sniffed them up and down.

A bulky man then walked over beside the dog and asked the group, "New here?"

"Yeah," Knuckles replied in a deep voice.

"Do you have an animal you would like to enter in the tournament?" He asked.

"No, we're here just to watch…" Knuckles replied.

"Right this way," The man then took them deeper into the main room after collecting a small stack of cash from the echidna, and they looked around in both horror and awe.

On the walls hung multiple animal heads on plaques. On the floor of the fighting arena there was blood splattered in multiple places. There were bleachers in the place that was already filling with anxious people. The arena where the fights were held was about the size of a large living room, and it had metal poles surrounding it to stop any animals that would try to escape. There were also multiple dogs sitting in different places around the giant room. They sat stiff still, and would only move if they spotted someone that was coming near them.

The man took them to some open seats that were closest to the arena and told them, "Don't worry about the animals attacking you. They're all wearing shock collars that will prevent them from leaving the arena."

"Thank you," Knuckles told him, as he sat down. The man then nodded to him, and walked off, as the lights started to dim. Tails jumped when he heard a booming voice sound out of the speakers that surrounded the entire place.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen!" It exclaimed, "Tonight we have a real treat for you! In this tournament, we will be using our rarest contestant yet! So sit back, enjoy the rock music, and relax! I will go ahead and warn you though, if we have small children here, which I know we don't, you might want to cover their eyes in some parts of the show. Blood will be shed tonight and you will see the deaths of many animals here, so if you're an easy crier, I suggest you get the tissues ready!"

Amy and Tails cast each other a worried glance before turning their attention back to the announcer. "Now, without further ado, I present Round 1 of our tournament! Tonight we have a male German Sheppard named Sparky, and his owner, Kayla!" Some cheers erupted from the crowd, along with some boos, and a German Sheppard sulked through the aisles while being guided by two men wearing identical uniforms. The dog had a thick, metal collar latched around his neck, and he swayed from side to side, as if he were dizzy. He entered the arena, and as he went in between the metal poles, a light on his collar turned on.

"And his opponent, James's very own Pit-bull, Raptor!"

A white dog then burst from the gates from the back of the place, and ran straight into the arena without hesitation. It lunged at Sparky, snarling, as drool dripped from its mouth. Raptor then snapped at Sparky's throat, but the German Sheppard bit down on his leg, causing him to shoot off of him. Raptor then tackled Sparky again, but this time, he made it to his throat… Sparky yelped in pain as he lay on the ground, with blood running from his throat. Tails couldn't bear to look as Raptor went and tore the poor dog to pieces. "And the winner is Raptor!" the announcer exclaimed. Raptor was taken back through the gates as two men removed the dead animal in the arena.

After witnessing many animals fall, Chuck, Tails, and Amy were feeling sick to their stomachs. Tails was about to ask Knuckles something, when the announcer cut in and exclaimed, "Now, it's time for the moment you've all been waiting for! The final fight of our tournament! First up, we have an actual lion fighting tonight!" Everyone jumped when a roaring was heard, and they all looked to the gates to see a male lion spring out of them, and run into the arena. It was wearing a collar also, just like all the other animals that had fought in the tournament. It walked right beside the poles of the arena, it's tail flicking from time to time as it eyed everyone in the audience.

"And finally… the creature that came from an entirely different planet… James's newest capture… Sonic the Hedgehog!" The announcer shouted. Chuck, Tails and Amy's eyes widened when they heard their beloved friend's name. They suddenly caught the sound of feral snarling, and they looked to see the blue hedgehog himself, walking on all fours out of the gates. There were shackles on his ankles and wrists; they were all connected to each other, and they were rather short, forcing Sonic to walk on all fours. Sonic glared at everyone he passed, and occasionally snarled when someone threw something at him.

Just like all the other animals there, he too was wearing a thick metal collar, and he looked rather dazed, yet angry at the same time. Cuts and bruises covered his entire body, his gloves and shoes had been removed, and his fur was dull, and looked like it hadn't been taken care of. Long claws could be seen from his hands, and they looked sharp enough to cause serious damage. One of the hedgehog's ears was partially ripped off, and he had a long cut running across his muzzle.

Sonic stared straight at the lion, and froze in mid-step. "Okay, everyone! Time for the countdown!" The announcer suddenly exclaimed.

"'Countdown'?" Tails repeated to Knuckles.

The echidna sighed and told him, "Just watch…"

"5…4…3…2…1!" The crowd shouted. Sonic then shot like a bullet towards the lion, and snarled as his claws flashed in the light. He landed on top of the big cat, and started raking his claws down its back. The lion roared in pain, as it tried shaking Sonic off, but he only dug his claws deeper into its flesh. Sonic then suddenly jumped off of the lion, and slid underneath it to slash open its stomach. Tails gasp as he watched what was happening, and tears stung his eyes as Sonic delivered the final blow to the throat, and the poor lion fell to the ground, as its last breath escaped its mouth.

Cheers then erupted from the crowd of people, but Knuckles, Amy, Chuck, and Tails were quiet.

"And the winner of tonight's tournament it Sonic!" The announcer roared. A very built, and muscular man then came out into the arena, and he bowed to the audience as Sonic walked over to him.

The man then took out a microphone and said, "Thank you all for coming to tonight's show! My pet here is surely something that puts any other animal to shame!" The man then motioned to Sonic, whom was licking the blood off his hands.

'Pet?!' Tails thought angrily.

"I hope you come back next week! I'm James Dock, and I wish you all a good night!" The man then bowed once more, as he walked towards the back gates, with Sonic right at his side. Tails turned to Knuckles as crowds of people started to leave the bleachers and out of the building. "He-… he killed…" Tails whispered.

"I know, but did you see how… off he looked?" Knuckles replied lowly.

"Yes, I noticed that in all the animals… These people are either drugging them, or they're doing something to break their spirit…" Chuck told them.

"We have to do something… and fast," Amy chimed in.

"I agree… we'll camp out a little ways from this place and think of something later…" Knuckles said.

"Right, let's get out of here…" Tails then made it out of the building, and headed towards his plane, with thoughts whirring in his head.

'I can't believe he actually killed that lion… He did look really woozy though… I just wonder how they caught him in the first place. Tranquilizers, maybe…

I just hope he's okay...'

To be continued...