Chapter 4: Fire in the Valley

Topps and Knuckles were glaring at each other. Topps wanted to make sure that the others don't waste the remaining water but Topps was becoming too bossy. Knuckles yelled at Topps for pushing others around. Knuckles and Topps growled at each other.

"I don't think that this is fair for everyone" groaned Knuckles.

"I'm gonna make sure that there is enough water for everybody" stated Topps.

"This is going too far!" exclaimed Knuckles.

"I'm doing what's best for everyone! And if you don't like it, you little freak? Tough!" yelled Topps.

Knuckles went wide-eyed then glared fiercely at Topps. Sonic and Tails went wide-eyed as well. They both knew that Topps just crossed the line and that WASN'T good. Knuckles gritted his teeth and growled at Topps.

"Freak? FREAK!? THAT DOES IT!" yelled Knuckles. The red echidna put his fists up. Topps snarled at Knuckles and got ready to charge. The Mobians, Littlefoot, and his grandparents all had shocked expressions. Some other dinosaurs were also watching. Even Cera watched in horror. She hoped that Knuckles won't hurt her dad.

Sonic was about to try and reason with Knuckles but he knew that all words would fall on deaf ears when Knuckles was outraged, so he kept quiet.

Topps was the first to attack. Topps charged but Knuckles used both of his hands and held Topps' horn. They both had each other in a standstill. Then Knuckles pushed Topps back with his strength. Topps was surprised that Knuckles was stronger but he wouldn't believe it. Topps pushed some dirt aside and charged with great strength. Knuckles reared one of fists back and got ready. When Topps came close, Knuckles punched Topps' horn hard. Topps was pushed back a few feet and he groaned in pain. Everyone gasped at what Knuckles did. They couldn't believe that Knuckles was stronger than an adult Three-Horn. Sonic, Tails, and Cera ran over to Knuckles. Littlefoot and his grandparents had sad expressions. Cera was very upset at what Knuckles did. Even though Cera's father was being bossy, Cera believed that Knuckles didn't have to punch her father.

"Why did you do that?!" exclaimed Cera as she glared at Knuckles.

Knuckles glared back. "Well, he started it. What he's doing is wrong."

"We know that Knuckles" said Sonic. "But you didn't have to punch him like that."

Knuckles then glared at Sonic. "Then what would you do? You know that he's going too far" said Knuckles.

"We're trying to keep things peaceful. Not start fights" said Tails. Knuckles hmphed and crossed his arms.

Topps got back up and glared at Knuckles. He had had it with this so called 'Digger'.

"That's it! You are not welcome in the Great Valley anymore!" yelled Topps. Sonic and Tails silently gasped. Knuckles stood his ground and glared at Topps. Even Littlefoot and his grandparents silently gasped.

"Well, YOU wanted this fight! Not me!" exclaimed Knuckles. "And nobody tells me what to do!"

"I'm warning you, you odd-looking thing!" growled Topps.

Knuckles and Topps snarled at each other. But then Sonic got between Knuckles and Topps.

"That's enough Knuckles!" said Sonic. "You need to stop!"

"You hurt my dad! You're not my friend anymore!" yelled Cera.

Knuckles glared at Cera. "FINE! I didn't want to be friends with you or your dad! I didn't want to come here in the first place!" yelled Knuckles. The red echidna hmphed and started walking away. Some of the dinosaurs were amazed at Knuckles' strength. No one that little has EVER stood up to a Three-Horn before! Littlefoot and his grandparents were sad to see that Knuckles was no longer welcome in their home.

Sonic tried to calm things down. "We're sorry about Knuckles. He can get mad easily sometimes" said Sonic.

Topp just frowned at Sonic. "Why did you have to bring that friend of yours here anyways? He hurt me" said Topps.

"Well, you kind of pushed him too far" said Sonic.

"And you were being too bossy" added Tails.

Topps now got angry at Sonic and Tails. "You're defending him?! You two are not welcome here as well!" said Topps. Littlefoot, his grandparents, and Cera gasped at what Topps said.

"But daddy! It wasn't their fault!" exclaimed Cera.

"They're friends with that Digger, so they are not welcome here anymore" stated Topps.

Littlefoot's grandparents were about to try to reason with Topps but Sonic stopped them.

"It's okay guys. Maybe he's right. We should've stopped Knuckles before it happened" said Sonic.

Sonic looked at Tails and said "Come on. Let's go." Tails sighed in defeat and nodded. Both Mobians started walking away. Topps hmphed and turned his back on the Mobians. Littlefoot's grandparents tried to reason with Topps but the stubborn Three-Horn stood his ground about the water. Littlefoot and Cera ran over to Sonic and Tails. Sonic assured them that they will be back. They are going to try and fix the water problem. Littlefoot and Cera nodded at what Sonic said. Littlefoot then said that they will try to find some more water to get the grown ups to stop fighting.

So the 2 dino kids went to go tell the other kids about their plan.

Meanwhile, Eggman watched Knuckles walk farther away from Sonic and the others through his spybot. Eggman also heard about Sonic's plan. The evil genius smiled evilly.

"Since we don't have to worry about Knuckles, it's about time to put the plan in motion" said Eggman. "Even Sonic won't be able to stop the Valley from burning up." Eggman then chuckled wickedly.

"Who's Knuckles?" said Strut as he overheard at what Eggman said. Ozzy also didn't know who Knuckles was. Eggman groaned in annoyance. He forgot that the Claw Heads didn't know about Tails and Knuckles. So Eggman began to explain to the Claw Heads about Sonic's friends. They couldn't believe that Knuckles was stronger than a Three-Horn and how Tails could fly with his tails. But Eggman assured them that they won't have to worry about Sonic's friends. Nothing will stop their plan to burn down the Great Valley.

Littlefoot and Cera went to tell the other dino kids the plan to find more water. They had a little trouble trying to awake up Spike but it didn't take too long. They all walked through the woods and used their noses to try to find the water as it was close to nightfall. Sonic and Tails went to search for the source of the water problem. Both Mobians followed to where the waterfall flowed. It lead to somewhere in the Mysterious Beyond. They saw that the meteors blocked up the water.

Hours later, the sun started rising. Knuckles was walking alone in the forest. He was still mad at Topps. He stopped walking when he saw a stegosaur from afar walking over to some water. The stegosaur believed that he was alone. The stegosaur started drinking some water. Knuckles smirked a little. Seeing that Topps must have not seen this dinosaur breaking the water rule. But then suddenly, Knuckles heard growling sounds and someone running to the stegosaur. Knuckles glared when he saw that it was Topps. The big Three-Horn then scared off the stegosaur, saying that it wasn't the stegosaur's turn. The stegosaur moaned sadly as it walked away. Topps hmphed and walked the other way. Knuckles gritted his teeth. He was about to teach Topps a lesson but then he remembered that he made his friends upset about the fight that happened, so he stayed put. The red echidna walked away from Topps. "I really HATE Three-Horns" Knuckles thought angrily.

Littlefoot and the dino kids managed to find a little waterhole. They drank some of it because they were very thirsty. Unfortunately, the 3 bullies found them. The bullies believed that they won't have any trouble with the Mobians because Hyp heard that Topps banished them. The bullies told the kids that they were claiming the waterhole for themselves and warned the kids not to tell the parents. But the kids wouldn't listen, so they ran off to go tell the parents. The bullies tried to catch them but the kids managed lose them. Then Mutt accidentally called a wasp a 'dummy' when the 3 bullies argued about where the kids went. The bullies ran far away screaming as the wasp chased them.

Littlefoot and the others found an opening leading to the Mysterious Beyond. They saw that the meteors really did block up the water. They decided to go tell the grown ups. They didn't see that Sonic and Tails were trying to unblock the water. Both Mobians knew that they would need more help.

"Now I wish Knuckles was with us. This would have been a lot easier" thought Sonic as he spindashed through some rocks. Sonic then saw that a little thunderstorm started forming but he ignored it.

Lightning struck a tree and set it on fire near Littlefoot and the kids. They started running as fast as they could away from the fire. The fire started spreading quickly, setting more trees and other things on fire.

Unknown to the kids, 3 robots flew by. It was Eggman and the Egg Nappers. Eggman was piloting a hovercraft that had lasers and missiles while the Egg Nappers piloted their machines. The Egg Nappers' suits could also fly like Eggman's machines. The evil genius grinned a terrible grin as he watched the fire spread.

Sonic and Tails stopped moving the rocks when they saw smoke rising. Both Mobians went wide-eyed. They believed their friends were in great danger. Sonic zoomed to where the smoke was rising with Tails following behind. Sonic saw the fire spreading very quickly. The blue hedgehog started to run around the blaze, trying to put out the fire with a tornado. The fire started to die down and Sonic stopped running. But then suddenly, a missile hit a tree and exploded, setting it on fire. Sonic and Tails looked up and saw Eggman. The evil genius started firing missiles at random places, causing more fires to spread. Sonic glared at Eggman. Sonic then saw 2 other raptor-like robots flying around some more trees. They started firing lasers and causing more fires. Sonic then knew that the fire will spread too fast for him to put it out. Eggman hovered near Sonic and Tails.

The evil genius grinned wickedly at the 2 Mobians. "Try putting them out now Sonic. Ha Ha Ha, farewell!" said Eggman. Eggman and the 2 raptor bots flew far away. Sonic heard the evil genius laugh wickedly as he flew away from the 2 Mobians.

Sonic looked at Tails with determination and courage. "We gotta help our friends get to safety!" said Sonic. Tails nodded in agreement. Both Mobians rushed back into the Great Valley.

"I hope that Knuckles will be okay" thought Sonic.

Littlefoot and the kids told their parents and other adults about the fire. Some of the adults started to panic as they knew that the fire wasn't too far away. Grandpa Longneck tried to calm everyone down. Sonic and Tails made their way to Littlefoot and the others. Sonic told them that Eggman was causing more fires and that they need to get to safety. Grandpa Longneck then said that he'll help lead them away from the fire but then Topps said that he would lead others to safety. He started going the other way. Grandpa Longneck then tried to reason with Topps.

"But you're heading downwind" said Grandpa Longneck.

"The fire will spread down that way. You'll trap yourself within the fire" said Tails.

"We have to go upwind" said Grandpa Longneck. But Topps wouldn't listen.

"Do as you want Longneck! But Cera and I are going this way!" exclaimed Topps.

"But you can't…" started Sonic. But Topps rudely interrupted him.

"I've heard enough Runner! Let's go Cera!" yelled Topps.

Cera wanted to stay with the others but Topps then said that she will do as she is told. Cera sighed in defeat and followed her father. Grandpa Longneck then decided to go after them while Grandma Longneck will lead the others to safety. Sonic and Tails followed them. Sonic then wondered what those 2 raptor robots were and why they helped Eggman.

End of Chapter 4