Sonic and the Freedom Fighters
Chapter 7: An Old Foe

Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based work of fiction. All characters portrayed in this story, unless specified otherwise, belong to SEGA.

-Emerald Town-

Sonic and Sally were walking through the streets of Emerald Town. However, during their walk Sally started to feel insecure. She began to worry that she was slowing Sonic down.

"Sonic?" She asked nervously, getting his attention. "Do you ever... worry about me slowing you down?"

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I mean how you always have to carry me everywhere when there's an emergency. Doesn't that get annoying or tedious?"

"Not really." He replied after a few seconds of thought. "Why? Has someone been saying something?"

"No I... I know you said that you would slow down for me, but I can't help but think about it. I mean, what if you were captured or something?"

"Sal, you do know that's probably not gonna happen, right?"

"Sonic, just because it's unlikely to happen doesn't mean it won't happen."

"Sorry, I just didn't think that would be something you'd worry about." Sonic replied. "Now that you mention it, though, Tails said that he wanted to work on Extreme Gear for you and the others."

"Extreme Gear? What's that?"

"Uh... Well, Tails can explain it better than I can, but they're basically high speed hoverboards. They're mostly used for racing, but they can be used for moving quickly from A to B." This piqued Sally's interest. "So, if you are worried about it, we can easily go over and see him."

"Of course." Sally replied as they started to walk back, before giggling slightly to herself. "Is it just me, or does Tails have a habit of coming up with ideas exactly when we need them?"

Later...
-Tails's House-

Sonic and Sally were outside Tails' workshop. Sally had explained her problem to Tails and he went into his workshop to get something, so the two waited for him to come back. After countless minutes had passed, he came back through holding a dark yellow and grey board-like device.

"Wait, you built it already?" Sally asked, surprised.

"Not yet, this is just a training model." Tails explained. "This will allow me to analyse your performance so I can determine what type of frame you would be most suited to, as well as customise the board to adjust it to your riding style."

"Right. So basically, you want me to practice on this board, and then you can build a new one based on my performance." She summarised.

"Essentially, yes. But it'll take a while to get used to, so I'll only start analysing once you're comfortable." He placed the training board on the ground. Sally stepped onto it and the board started to levitate, causing Sally to nearly lose her balance.

However, she leaned a little bit too forward, making the board accelerate and causing her to crash right into the wall. Sonic and Tails both winced in sympathy as she collapsed onto the ground.

"This might take a while..." She groaned.

-Eggman's Base-

Meanwhile, inside Eggman's base, Eggman was fixing his Egg Mobile from his last scuffle with Sonic and his friends when Orbot floated into the room.

"Sir, I believe the mercenary has arrived." He informed his creator.

"Perfect! Bring him in." Eggman replied as he stood up. A purple weasel clad in a brown hat, brown gloves with metal pads on the backs and brown and white boots entered the room.

"You must be Nack the Weasel." Eggman said as he walked towards him and extended his hand out to Nack.

"Pleasure to meet you, Doctor." Nack said, taking Eggman's hand and shaking it.

"Now then, let's get down to business." Eggman proposed. "It's about Sonic the Hedgehog. I've had that rodent foiling me at every turn for far too long."

"Trust me, I've had more than my fair share of trouble with that blue pest." Nack replied. It didn't take much to convince Nack; just the mere mention of Sonic's name was enough.

"Usually, I'm not one to ask for outside assistance, but in this case I'm willing to make an exception." Eggman continued. "So what I want you to do is capture Sonic and bring him to me."

"I can assure you, you won't be disappointed." Nack said as he turned around and left.

"For your sake, I hope not." Eggman muttered.

A few hours later...
-Emerald Town-

Sonic was currently running a few quick laps around Emerald Town to pass time. He had left Sally to practice riding the Extreme Gear by herself at her request. He hoped that it would help her. After all, she did have a point.

While lost in thought, he noticed a familiar pink hedgehog in the path. He managed to screech to a halt, stopping mere inches away from crashing into her. Amy, on the other hand, didn't even flinch, instead smiling widely seeing her 'boyfriend' again.

"Sonic! Perfect timing." Amy said cheerfully

"Hey, Amy." He said before she suddenly grabbed Sonic's arm and started pulling him.

"Come on, we're going to be late." Amy cheered.

"Late for what?" Sonic asked, completely confused.

"For our date, silly!"

"Wha- DATE?!" Sonic shouted, incredulous. Amy stopped dead in her tracks, let go of Sonic's arm and turned round to face him with her hands of her hips.

"Come on, Sonic. When was the last time we had a date?" She asked sternly.

"We've never had one." He reminded flatly.

"My point exactly!" Amy replied.

"Amy, we're not-" Sonic started before he heard something behind him.

"Hold on. Did you hear that?" He asked Amy, who just kept her arms folded.

"Nice try, Sonic. I'm not falling for that." She told him.

"Amy, I'm being serious." He replied, turning his head back round to face her. As he did so, Nack leaped out of the alleyway on his airbike and, before Sonic had any time to react, trapped him in a containment capsule, knocking Amy back in the process. He then drove away as quickly as he appeared before Amy got back on her feet and ran after the weasel.

"Sonic!" Amy shouted as she chased them, taking out her Miles Electric with one hand.

-Tails's House-

After spending about two hours on the training board, Sally was waiting for Tails to make her custom Extreme Gear. While she still needed some more practice, she had at least become competent enough to manoeuvre without hitting something or losing her balance.

"Okay, all done!" She heard Tails call out from the workshop.

The main body was a light blue colour with two dark grey marks at the front and back. The front half of the board was hexagonal in shape, while the back half resembled a rounded rectangle. The sides were mostly grey apart from two light blue streaks across the top and bottom, and there were two small diamond shaped vent-like holes surrounded by light blue lining on either side of the board.

"Here you go. Your very own Extreme Gear." Tails cheered as he handed her the board.

"Thanks." Sally gratefully said, before she realised something. "But won't I have to practice to get used to this board as well? I mean, since it's different from the training one."

"Not at all. In fact, it should actually be easier." He replied. Suddenly, Tails heard his Miles Electric communicator ringing. He took it out and tapped his finger on the screen to accept the call. "Hello?"

"Tails! Sonic's been captured!" Amy's panicked voice shouted from the communicator.

"What?!" Sally and Tails simultaneously yelled.

"We were just talking then all of a sudden, some creep jumped out of an alleyway, captured him, and drove off!"

"Where are you now?" Sally asked.

"They were heading towards the forest. I'm on my way there now!" Amy responded.

"Alright, I'll meet you there." Sally told her.

"Please hurry!" Was the last thing Amy said before the line was disconnected. Sally quickly activated the Extreme Gear and jumped onto it, racing to the forest.

-Emerald Forest-

Amy ran as fast as she could to the Emerald Forest, mentally kicking herself for not believing Sonic.

However, when she got there, she noticed Sally was already waiting.

"Woah! H-how did you get here so fast?" She asked before she noticed the Extreme Gear in her arm. "Where did you-"

"We can discuss it later." Sally interrupted. "Whoever kidnapped Sonic went through here, right?" She asked. Amy replied with a nod. "Well, if he has his Miles Electric, I think I can get Nicole to trace its location." Sally explained as she pressed some buttons on Nicole. On the screen, a map appeared showing where Sonic was.

"Here. I need you to hold Nicole." Sally said as she handed Nicole to Amy.

Meanwhile, in a clearing inside the Emerald Forest, Sonic was still trapped in the containment capsule. For some reason, the vehicle had stopped in the clearing, He eventually heard the footsteps of his captor before he walked in front of the capsule, revealing himself to be Nack the Weasel.

"It's been a long time, Sonic." Nack sneered.

"Nack? Hey, nice to see you out of the shadows for once." Sonic replied casually, as if he were talking to an old friend.

"I have to say, capturing you was easier than I thought it would be." Nack commented.

"Let's see who's laughing once I bust outta here!" He exclaimed before curling up and Spin Dashing into the glass to try and break it, only to bounce harmlessly off it and slam into the back of the capsule, leaving him a bit dazed for a second. After recovering, he looked at the glass in a mixture of shock and surprise. It didn't even crack.

"I wouldn't bother if I were you." Nack commented. "That glass is specially designed to absorb high amounts of impact. Your Spin Dash won't even leave a scratch."

"OK, let me guess. Eggman set you up to kidnap me and take me to his lair." Sonic said.

"You catch on fast." Nack replied. As he was about to continue, Nack heard a strange low humming sound. "What's that noise?" He asked while looking around hearing the noise get louder. Suddenly, something burst out from the side of the clearing, prompting Nack to duck down to avoid getting hit. When he got back up, he saw Sally and Amy on an Extreme Gear.

"Amy! Sal! Boy, aren't you girls a sight for sore eyes." Sonic said.

"Let him go!" Sally demanded while activating her Ring Blade and pointing it at Nack. In response, Nack simply jumped back onto his airbike.

"Sorry, but my client needs him more than you." He said as he drove off deeper into the forest, with Sally pursuing him, having to avoid trees in the path while trying to keep up with Nack.

Realising that Sally needed help catching up to Nack, Sonic used his Homing Attack technique to crash into the sides of the containment capsule, causing the Marvellous Queen to lose control of direction and forcing Nack to slow down slightly.

"Hey, knock it off back there!" Nack yelled. Sally was able to use the momentary distraction and catch up with Nack. She reached out and held onto the metal arm that was keeping the capsule attached to the Marvellous Queen, then turned back to Amy.

"Amy, I need you to jump off." She said.

Amy was briefly confused by Sally's request, but then immediately realised what Sally was about to do. Nodding in understanding, she jumped off the Extreme Gear and landed safely on the ground, then started to follow them on foot. Sally, meanwhile, swung onto the back of the airbike while holding onto her Extreme Gear.

"Hey! What do you think you're-" Nack said as he tried to grab Sally, only to be interrupted by her kicking his arm away.

"Eyes on the road." Sally remarked sarcastically as she activated one of her Ring Blades and cut off the metal arm, causing the containment capsule to fall to the ground.

"You little-" Nack snarled as Sally jumped off the back of the airbike. Nack stopped his airbike and glared at Sally as the princess activated her Ring Blades, while Amy had caught up to them and had her hammer at the ready. Knowing he was outmatched, Nack growled in frustration as he started his airbike up.

"I'll get you next time!" Nack said as he retreated. After he left, Sally and Amy ran over to the containment capsule to check on Sonic.

"Are you OK?" Sally asked.

"Not that I'm not grateful or anything, but could you be a little gentler next time you're saving me?" Sonic asked while rubbing the back of his head.

"Sorry." Sally sheepishly replied before examining the top of the containment capsule. "By the way, hope you don't mind being saved by a girl." She said jokingly, causing Sonic to reply with a sarcastic laugh.

"Why don't you just break out?" Amy asked, confused as to why he wasn't already free from the capsule.

"Can't. The glass absorbs shock. Found that out the hard way." Sonic replied.

"Well, this shouldn't be too hard to fix." Sally said as she attached a cable between the capsule and Nicole. "Nicole, can you open the lock on this-" Before she could even finish, the top of the capsule opened and Sonic quickly climbed out. "That was fast." She remarked as the newly-freed Sonic started stretching his limbs.

"Compared to Eggman's technology, this was practically child's play." Nicole explained.

"Who was that guy, anyway?" Sally asked.

"It's a long story..." Sonic replied.

"Won't be the first one I've heard lately." Sally then joked.

-Eggman's Base-

"What do you mean, you blew it?!" Eggman roared at the monitor. Nack had decided to call him rather than face his wrath in person.

"Just a mishap in bringing the hedgehog." Nack's voice replied from the other side.

"'Just a mishap?!' I gave you one simple job, and-" Eggman stopped himself before he could get too enraged. "Never mind, I've got a new job for you. I need you to find the Chaos Emeralds and bring them to me."

"Chaos Emeralds, huh? Well, I'd usually have to charge extra for that, but I'll do it for free. Lucky you. I'll need to deal with a few things first, though."

"And what would that be?" Eggman growled.

"In case I need to deal with his annoying friends, I'll need some backup of my own."

"Fine. Just get it done." Eggman replied as he disconnected the line, rubbing the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

"So, your plan is to wait for Nack to return with his allies?" Orbot asked.

"Don't be ridiculous! I already have someone much more competent on standby." Eggman replied. Meanwhile, in a dark room in another part of the fortress, a pair of deep red eyes pierced through the darkness...