Wow I seem to have updated quicker this time. HAHA. Now I would like to say this has been great having you good folks review me, and to you non reviers, I would certainly appreciate . Well If not I at least hope you enjoy it. To my faithful reviers HalfWright, CLoakedViper, The Forgery of cow 71, Tamara the Hybridian, and HealingHearts24 a massive thank you. Also If you have constructive criticism I would like to hear it, because I have reread this chapter a few time and I want to here your opinionof it, but It will hopefully hold up with the others. I don't own Sonic or Sega and let the show begin. :)
The engines roar was fierce as the red biplane cut through a cloudless sky, as if a knife through crystalline waters, the massive chunk of rock stood ahead, the hedgehog's destination. Pushing the throttle he soared towards the floating island, the sheer immensity of it causing him to whistle in appreciation. Sonic looked over the many zones that separated the island, and finding the one he was looking for, the Mushroom Hill zone started to tilt the plane's nose to begin his descent. Sonic's thoughts travelled back to Stoat, something was off about him, something felt familiar and yet he was certain he had never before seen him or heard the name. Maybe it was the kick he had given to Sonic that made him suspicious because, thinking back to it, it hadn't been as hard as it should have been, was he holding back? If he was holding back why, what would Fang have to do with him, he had heard him say he was his half brother, so why no appearance until now, something was off and Sonic hoped the Chaotix would be able to shed some light on it. Thinking about Stoat he recalled the metal contraption on his neck, what was it? Question followed question in the hedgehogs mind until he decided it was best to push them all aside until he got to the Chaotix and engaging the landing gear Sonic brought the plane down for a landing in a spacious field. The landing was bumpy, and Sonic found himself bouncing rapidly as the plane rolled to a stop, the rough landing reminded him of how smooth his landing normally were, but that had been because he wasn't the pilot those times. A sorrowful expression went across Sonic's face as he remembered Tail's and his final words to continue fighting, he tried not to dwell on it but nightly he found himself racing the hangman and always falling a few seconds short. He shook the thoughts off and proceeded to move towards the house he knew to belong to the Chaotix and moving at his current speed he should be there shortly.
Tail's swallowed hard, he was nervous, he'd seen Knuckles plenty of times but he couldn't remember him ever being this intimidating. Fang stood at his side and had a calm expression on that belied the racing heart that threatened to burst out of his chest, if he could convince Knuckles the others would be easy, but it was a mighty big if. Knuckles stood with crossed arms as he stared down the two before him, he recognized Fang, but the one with snow white fur was a mystery to him, he gave a smirk as he called out voice loud and menacing. "So Fang, you finally came home I see. Robotnik kick you out of Robotropolis and you thought you could just come back? Ha, I'll through you and your little friend off the island and straight back to whatever hole you crawled out of!" Knuckles flew at them in a quick dash fist held forward ready to impact Fang's face when a swift quick to his gut sent him off course, though he quickly regained his footing, he saw the one with white fur leg still outstretched. Knuckles was shocked, he was definitely fast, but Knuckles was confident, then when the voice of the other called out Knuckles listened for some sign of who he was. "Knuckles we don't want to fight. Mighty is in danger and we have something here to help him! Trust us we don't want to hurt the island." Knuckles scoffed, Fang helping Mighty, he was a traitor to all of them and he was about to get a very rude answer as to what happened to traitors when Fang did something unexpected, he tossed his gun to the ground. Tails looked at Fang with a questioning eyebrow for a moment before tossing his own gun down, Knuckles looked confused and his confusion only deepened when Fang next spoke. "Knuckles you have no reason to trust me. The backpack I'm carrying has a device for blocking signals and I want you to give it to Mighty, whether or not we do it doesn't matter. But if you don't do it there's a good chance Mighty will die! You can look the device over yourself, but get it to Mighty as soon as possible!" With the words out Fang tossed the backpack straight at Knuckles who caught it, he had half expected it to explode and when it didn't he looked back but both Fang and the accomplice had fled, along with the weapons which had been picked off the ground.
Sonic watched the exchange and when Fang and Stoat fled into the woods Sonic followed in a blue streak and quickly moved to intercept them. Pushing through the woods in a hurry towards where Fang had parked the Marvelous Queen, Tails began asking the question that was also plaguing Fang's mind. "Do you think Knuckles will give it to Mighty?" Fang hoped so, he knew Knuckles, or at least had known him, the Knuckles he knew would have done it, he just hoped he hadn't changed too much. With a final push both Fang and Stoat entered the clearing where the Marvelous Queen was parked, but just in front of it stood a blue hedgehog tapping his foot impatiently. "Hey Fang fancy meeting you here. You to Stoat, now if you two don't mind how about you give up and come with me, I've got some questions and you're both needed to answer them." Sonic disappeared in a blur and Fang quickly looked around while Stoat jumped into the air and performed a quick kick at the open air. Sonic skidded back to avoid the kick, his jaw was almost on the floor, this Stoat actually guessed where he was going to attack from? It was impossible, no one could tell where he had ever been going to strike before, chalking it up to luck Sonic decided to try again and another kick was leveled at where his head was about to be, Sonic skidded to a stop face to face with Stoat and called out, voice clearly agitated. "Who are you?! How do you know where I'm going to be huh!? Your hiding something and I want to know what it is!" Sonic charged more ferocious this time, Fang used his tail to catapult himself towards the marvelous queen as Stoat leveled a kick this time connecting it straight with the side of Sonic's head sending him into a roll which he quickly collected himself from. Stoat called out, a smug grin fakely plastered on his face. "It's your feet! You point in the direction you're going to attack from before you move. Now, Sonic it's time for you to disappear!" The gun appeared in his hand quickly and Sonic started zigging and zagging wildly to try and avoid the bullets which now fired at him. Tails was careful and so nervous he was sweating, if he shot Sonic he would feel terrible, but he had to keep up the act. Sonic focused on Stoat and leapt into the air and leveled a homing attack at him only to be blocked by the Marvelous queen now fully in the air. Giving an impressive leap Tails launched himself at the craft and only was just short of the rim when Fangs hand snatched around his wrist and kept him attached. As the Marvelous Queen gained altitude Sonic watched angrily as they left and tried to follow but soon found himself at the islands edge with only open air in front of him, he watched as Stoat was pulled into the craft and for a fraction of a second he thought he was saw a flash of orange on him, but he quickly dismissed to only being a reflection of the sun. Turning back and grumbling to himself he set himself towards the original point to his visit, the Chaotix.
Knuckles had gone insane, that was the general conclusion of the Chaotix as they heard his story of Fang and the white furred stranger. The backpack lay on the table in their office and none of them were keen to open it and find an explosive as they all expected. Vector was the first to speak. "So Knux you saying Fang just showed up with some helper no one's ever heard of before, gave you a backpack and said it was supposed to block some sort of signal, and for what we have no idea. Then Fang, Fang the same guy who betrayed all of us for cash said if it didn't get to Mighty he would die. Knux I think you have been tricked again and we should toss whatever's in the pack out to sea before it blows a chunk out of the island." Knuckles was about to agree when Espio voiced his point of view in the calm manner that was natural to him. "Vector I think you are incorrect. If Fang wanted to harm us he wouldn't send a package of this sort where we knew it was from him because he would have known it was unlikely for us to trust it. The reason for his doing so is quite unclear, but I feel it is unlikely to be of a harmful nature. We should open it immediately and ensure it is a signal jammer with haste." Charmy was left scratching his head which left only Mighty with which the whole problem was centered around, his mind was a mess. Fang had been like a brother, the betrayal was brutal and left Mighty in great pain, so why now should Fang try to help him, it made no sense to him. Giving out a loud sigh Mighty took the pack and unfastened the straps without another thought and pulled the metallic object out. A note fell out along with the device and Mighty quickly flipped it over and read it aloud.
"To Mighty and the Chaotix. Mighty I had hoped to deliver this message in person, but was, as I had suspected I might be, forced to face Knuckles. I can only hope he brought you the signal jammer. Mighty, Robotnik planted a bomb under your shell some time ago, and has used it as leverage to force me to do his jobs. I tried to do something, but the threat of your death constantly stayed my hand. I was under his control, until a while ago I met someone who put together the jamming device, I can only hope it will work. I'm going to fight Robotnik now, no more hiding and no more lying. Caotix every second I spent apart from you was a form of torture; you were and are my one true family. I hope one day we can look back as what has happened, as we all sit together and discuss our lives, but I fear that this mission I'm going to embark on will likely be my last. My partner, Stoat will be in grave danger until Robotnik is destroyed, and so fearing for his safety, after knocking him unconscious I circled back and dropped him off at the old clubhouse, please take care of him and whatever you do don't let anyone know about this letter or that Stoat is with you. Now a couple words for each of you. Charmy you crazy bee, did you finally manage to annoy Vector to death? Hope your still as good as I remember you being and remember, size is no problem, just means people will have a harder time catching you. Espio, remember that keeping a calm attitude is important but if you don't show emotion now and then you'll only regret it when you no longer have a chance. Also I would like to mention that during our last sparing match, I let you beat me. HA! I leave with an undefeated record. Vector, your taste in music is abysmal, and it's just another reason I like you the way you are. I enjoyed the times we stayed up and listened to music together until the morning, I just wish you had had a better playlist. Knuckles, you are a hardass. It's what makes you such a good guardian and I'm sure wherever your family might be watching from they are proud. Mighty, you were a brother, I can't express how much I owed you, I hope when you think of me you attempt to do so in a positive light. Goodbye, and I'm sorry. Nack. T. Weasel. PS. Burn after reading" Mighty was shocked and the room was silent as the grave when Vector picked up the note and with a quick puff incinerated it as had been asked, the flames flickered as ash rained down on the table. Charmy was blubbering up above and even Espio wiped across his face, the Chaotix along with Knuckles stood and made their way towards the old clubhouse, Mighty carrying the backpack and jammer with him.
Tails head felt groggy, he felt as if he was in six places at once, and when he called out to Sonic then remembering, Fang, he was met only with a dull echo as he stood and heard the approaching footsteps of the Chaotix, plus one very stunned hedgehog who had met them on the way and heard a mind blowing tale. Yet far off in Fangs base, the solitary purple wolf weasel, tightened the straps on his boots, attached a knife to its side as he prepared. He slung the sniper rifle over his should and his magnum was freshly polished, he gave a hearty sigh and with racing heart took off towards Robotropolis assured of one fact, one way or another it was going to end. With Sonic again facing Stoat face to face he was about to renew their battle, and Stoat had already taken up a fighting position, when the Chaotix stepped between them and an explained what Fang had said in the note. Stoat's eyes went huge as he yelled out loud. "We have to go after him, he's going to get himself killed! Come on we can't let him die!" Knuckles already placed a hand on his shoulder silence him before saying in a far less menacing voice than before. "We already decided your right. If Fang thinks he can run off and play hero without the rest of us then he's crazier than I thought!" With that the entire group rushed to catch up with Fang. The entire time Tails couldn't help but think how nice it was to be close to Sonic again, even if he didn't know who he was, still he had to focus, because it seemed, the final assault on Robotroppolis had begun.
