Chapter Four

"Gah!" Tails leapt out of the way of Sonic, narrowly avoiding his spin attack. "What's your problem?!" The fox asked as Sonic stood upright again.

"Our problem is that you kidnapped Bunnie and Sally." Sonic answered defiantly. "Now give them back, or else!"

"Shut up!" Krystal spat. "We didn't steal your precious Sally, or Bunnie. You're an idiot! What business would we have stealing them?"

Rotor responded by angrily chucking a motorized something at the Liberators. "Tails had a grudge against us, so you stole two of our most prized members!"

Robbie caught the ball, but dropped it immediately, realizing it was a bomb. "Tails, deactivate it, it's gonna blow!" As Tails hopped to the ground to work, Antoine waved his cutlass in Krystal's face.

"Zo," he said in his French accent. "Where ahr ze princess and Bunnie?" Krystal kick-flipped the sword, so it fell to the ground.

"Listen, if you must know, Geo and Blue have been kidnapped as well."

"A likely story!"

Suddenly, Stripe shoved her way to Antoine and faced him defiantly, drawing her dagger.

"So, ye like to sword-play, do ye?" she asked. "Well, taste the wrath of me hurricane sword!"

As the two dueled it out, Tails smashed the bomb with his foot. "All done," he confirmed to Robbie. Suddenly, Sonic came flying past the fox again, shaving off some arm fur with his sharp spines.

"I should have never trusted you!" he cried, charging back again in his ball. "I can't trust you to tell the truth, I couldn't trust you to go on a mission…"

Tails wound up his tails and started charging toward his former friend. "Idiot!" Tails spat. "I KNEW there was a reason why I was always left out. I thought that it was because I was too young…but you didn't TRUST me!!" The two collided, each flying back a couple of feet but recovering quickly.

"Bring it!" Sonic demanded. "I know that you're lying, Tails. Now be a good little boy and tell the truth!"

"I'm not little!!" Tails flashed angrily. "There you go, treating me like a baby. I should have never trusted YOU!!"

As the two carried on, Krystal faced off with Rotor. "Well well," she said. "The handyman. The handyman who likes to play dirty." Robbie leapt behind the slow walruses and kicked him.

"Don't EVER play dirty with me!" he hollered. "You do NOT wanna tick me off right now!" Krystal smiled at the young raccoon's might as Rotor fell to the ground.

"Finishing blow!" Krystal yowled as she stomped on the back to Rotor's head, piling it into the ground as he begged for mercy.

"I'm not done yet," he said, rising. "I've still got a trick up my sleeve!" Krystal and Robbie exchanged glances as the purple walruses removed a cherry bomb from under his cap.

"RUN!!!" the two cried as Rotor was about to press the button. The walruses chuckled as he placed the cherry bomb under his cap, glad he scared away the two Liberators.

"Yah! Me cutlass!" Stripe cried as Antoine finally swiped his blade and made Stripe's dagger fall to the ground.

"Zo, how do you like me nahw?" he asked cunningly. Stripe ducked under the coyote's dagger and ran off, grabbing her own.

"All crew, report to the poop deck, away!" That left only Tails and Sonic.

The fox and hedgehog faced each other off, each of their sides heaving heavily. After breathing a bit, Tails dashed forth as Sonic, with the hedgehog doing to same. They each skittered back, dust following them.

"Sonic," Tails panted. "I used to trust you. You were my friend. Now I've realized…" Tails leapt up and kicked Sonic.

"…what a big jerk you are!" Sonic coughed and glanced up, fury burning his gaze.

"You're the jerk!" he hollered. "We hung out lots of times, and this is the thanks I get!" Tails let out a battle cry as he sped toward Sonic.

"I…hate…YOU!!!!!!" Tails finally rammed into Sonic, sending him flying. The blue hedgehog looked up desperately as Tails puffed and finally collapsed from exhaustion.

Luckily, Robbie was watching nearby, and ran out to retrieve the fox. "I'm glad I'm not a Freedom Fighter, and that I'm a Liberator!" he spat at Rotor and Antoine. "Because true friends like Tails don't care how old you are or how dangerous the mission is; if you wanna go, then he'll let you!" Sonic stood up and dusted himself off. He walked over to his teammates.

"Are you OK?" Rotor asked as a tear formed in the hedgehog's eye. He angrily wiped it away.

"Peachy," he replied.

Robotnik cackled uncontrollably as his probe spied the battle nearby. He grinned menacingly at Blue, Geo, Sally and Bunnie, who were tied in electronic shackles. Blue barred her teeth at Robotnik.

"You won't win," she growled. "Tails will put a stop to you!"

"No, Sonic will!" Sally argued. The female feline hissed at the squirrel. Robotnik laughed.

"But don't you see, Princess?" he asked. "Those two teams are so against each other that they would never work together." He swiveled his chair around at the giant army of SwatBots who were standing by.

"Get me the location of the Freedom Fighters and Liberator's base--NOW!" Bunnie gasped.

"Sugah-hog won't be able to take on that many SwatBots!"

"Nor will Tails!" Geo sighed.

Robotnik's eyes twinkled menacingly as he looked at the four heroes.

"Exactly," he replied.