A/N: Thanks to Kitsune Prower, Angelus-alvus, and everyone else who has reviewed.
WARNING: This chapter contains some violence.
Chapter 4
Sonic had come to subdue and destroy the Freedom Fighters, but things took an unexpected turn when Rotor defeated the Metal Sonic for good. Bunnie just woke up from an earlier injury, and she's more than a little cranky. Antoine has also just arrived on the scene, and he's not too happy either.
"Now guys, I know you're upset but let me explain!" pleaded Sonic. "This was all just... a joke! Yeah, that's it! Gotcha, didn't I?
The Freedom Fighters inch closer towards Sonic. They're not buying Sonic's lame story.
"It was all a joke," Sonic continues. "so there's no need for anybody to get a butt whoopin' today, right? ...Um, guys? Where'd you get those clubs and chains fro– AHH!"
Now a big cloud of dust can be seen in the middle of the hut as fists fly, and Sonic is being pounded into the dirt floor by his former friends!
"Take this!"
WHAM! Bunnie knocks him over the head.
"And zat!"
WACK! Antoine gets a lick in.
"I'm on a roll today!"
POW! Rotor lets him have it.
A hidden onlooker peeks from around the corner to observe the beating.
"They're really messin' him up in there!" said Nack. "I can't watch this."
Nack the Weasel! What's he doing here? At the moment, he's hiding an item in a crate that Sonic is about to be thrown into. He does it without being seen.
CRASH!
Sonic is hurled into the crate! But the Freedom Fighters aren't done with him yet! Bunnie, Rotor and Antoine are all shouting at once:
"Come out–..."
"...–and fight–..."
"...–zoward!"
"Okay, you asked for it!" Sonic called out from inside the crate.
Sonic leaps up from the crate with a giant gun in his hand!
"Sur-prise!" said Sonic, with a big grin.
ZAP!
They jump out of the way of the blast just in time!
"Ah!"
"Whoa!"
"Zeek!"
They all scream and run for their lives.
"Good thing that gun just happened to be in the crate they threw me in," said Sonic. "I wonder who put that in there?"
"It was me: Nack the Weasel!"
"Yikes!" yelped Sonic. "You startled me."
"I'm the one who you owe your life to," said Nack.
"Why'd you help me?" asked Sonic. "I was just about to wipe the floor with those guys."
"Ha! You came up in here acting all tough with yer bad-boy robot, and the two of you couldn't even handle these wimps!" said Nack. "I had to save you 'cuz I couldn't stand to see such a pathetic failure!"
"What do you want from me anyway?" Sonic demanded.
"I need a hand with a job I'm planning" explained Nack. "If you help me out I'll find us some real power, and we can both get pumped up buddy!"
"Buddy?" said Sonic, warming up to the idea. "Sure, I'll help ya out buddy. And I know just where we can get some more backup."
"No way! We can't bring Robotnik in on this!" insisted Nack.
"Why not?" asked Sonic.
"Simple: 'cuz I don't want to!" said Nack. "Mission begins day after tomorrow. Meet me at the location on this piece of paper. In the meantime, I have to go and get me prepared," chuckled Nack.
"Deal," agreed Sonic. "Catch ya later Nack."
Nack leaves.
"I guess I'll take this job with Nack," thought Sonic. "...but first I'll stop off at Robotropolis," he decided.
Later: in Robotnik's chambers
"Hey. What up, Eggman?" greets Sonic.
Robotnik angrily grabs hold of him!
"Whoa! Ungh! What's the prob?" grunts Sonic.
"Let me explain this simply for you hedgehog!" snapped Robotnik. "Metal Sonic has been destroyed. I hate that! Come up with something to make me happy or else"
"Chill out! I've got a tip on a job that might interest you," replied Sonic, calmly. "But you gotta lay low for now."
Robotnik finally releases his grasp on Sonic.
"This had better be good!" said Robotnik.
Later; on the day of the mission
"Here I am," Sonic said to himself. "This is the address Nack gave me to meet up with him. ...Wait a sec! It's a bar?"
Sonic goes in and finds Nack sprawled out on a table; drunk.
"(hiccup!) hey lil' buddy! whadsup?" sputtered Nack.
"What the–?! I thought you'd be training for the mission or getting new supplies!" yelled Sonic.
"I got 'prepared'," said Nack. "(hic!) Let's go!"
Sonic manages to fire up the old bi-plane and flies to the location indicated on Nack's treasure map. Following the directions, he eventually crash-lands on a mysterious, Floating Island (in this story, Sonic has never been there before). Sonic drags Nack around the island, trying to find the treasure cave listed on their map.
"If I had known you do all your missions intoxicated, I would've never agreed to this!" complained Sonic. "You're just dead weight!"
"Whu?" groaned Nack. "Hm mmm" he grunted.
As they're running along, the barely conscious Nack's foot accidentally uncovers a secret switch, hidden under a fake grass covering.
"A switch!" Sonic exclaimed.
Sonic hits the switch, which moves a rock wall, revealing a dark passage into a deep cave.
"Wake up Nack!" said Sonic. "I found a secret passage!"
"Ugh, help me up, you BLEEP! BLEEP!" muttered Nack.
A little later...
After traveling through the cave, Sonic & Nack reach a sparkling chamber full of huge gems.
"Yes! The Chaos Chamber!" exclaimed Nack, rejuvinated by the presence of treasure.
"Wow! I've never seen anything like this before," said Sonic. "They must be worth a fortune!"
"Not just that," said Nack. "With these emeralds I..."
"Nack! Look out!" screamed Sonic.
"Huh?"
Nack quickly glances behind himself and sees a huge ax falling down towards him!
"Nooooo!" he screams
"Run Nack! Run!" yelled Sonic.
CHOP!
"?!hgghffgllauff! Uuuuurrrrrrgggghhhhh..."
Nack was slashed right in the head by the ax, and he let out a distorted groan. Sonic looked up near the high ceiling, at the echidna statues that lined the side of each shadowy wall.
"It looked like the ax fell from somewhere up there!" Sonic thought out loud. "...did one of those statues move?!" he wondered. "I don't think I wanna be here anymore!"
Sonic walks towards the exit tunnel. There's a shadowy figure amongst the echidna statues that follows him from above...
"Darn! He's about to get away," whispered the shadowy figure.
"Forget the treasure!" said Sonic. "Robotnik can come get it if he wants to. I'm getting outta here!"
"Not so fast Blue Boy," thought the shadowy figure. "Umph!"
The Shadowy Figure shoves a huge stone down where Sonic is standing! It's headed right towards him...!
"On second thought, there's something I'd better do before I leave," Sonic said to himself, as he dashed back to the chaos chamber.
ZOOM!
CRASH!
The stone just barely missed Sonic! Although he never even noticed it.
"Hm?! This guy is fast!" said the shadowy figure.
Sonic stands over the body of his fallen comrade Nack the Weasel. Perhaps Sonic intends to take the corpse with him, to give Nack a proper burial.
"Let's see what we got here," said Sonic, examining the gory scene.
Sonic looks down at the body with disgruntled indifference. The ax is still on top of Nack's head. Blood oozes out from under his famous Stetson hat.
"Such a nice hat..." said Sonic. "...it'd be a waste to leave it behind on this ol' carcass!"
Sonic removed the hat, ignoring the broken metal plate that fell out of it, as he picked it up and tried it on.
"Cool! The slice from the ax made an opening for my quill to go through. It's a perfect fit!" said Sonic. "The belt, gloves and boots look pretty good too. Better take 'em home and wash the weasel germs off of 'em."
Oh no he didn't! This mug just stole a dead man's clothes right off his back! That's pretty low-class Sonic.
"Better get goin'!" Sonic decided.
ZOOM!
The shadowy figure notices that Sonic is on the move again.
"Nobody trespasses onto the Floating Island and gets away with it!" declared the shadowy figure. "I'll hunt him down for sure. Or my name isn't–"
He steps out of the shadows...
"–Knuckles the Echidna!"
(Big surprise.)
TBC
I've always loved the classic Sonic VS Knuckles conflicts. The more senseless, the better. Things will intensify in the next chapter.