Version 2 Author's Notes:

I don't know if anyone noticed, but I fixed up the "Sonic's death" scene in the previous chapter. Patrick's silly outburst was badly timed, so I took it out and added more angst to it. I hope my readers think that it turned out better.

Chapter #20: Leave No Comrade Behind

The gang froze, and SpongeBob gasped. In the town square, the robots moved a bit more, and they could now see perfectly.

It was Sonic. He was dripping wet and had his hands cuffed behind his back. Two robots had a good grip on his arms so he wouldn't get away. He probably wouldn't try anyway; he looked worn out. But there was defiance in his emerald green eyes.

At first, Tails was stiff from this second shock of the day, but then he slumped against a tree behind him in relief. Clank got off his partner and patted the fox's arm (as he couldn't reach much higher). "He is all right," he said to assure him.

"If you call half-drowned, soaked to the bone, freezing cold, and under arrest all right," Ratchet muttered. But inwardly he felt like a big load had been lifted off his shoulders; at least Sonic was alive.

Copper scratched his head in puzzlement. "But why did that 'bot call him 'Imperial Enemy #1'? Tortimer is Big Boss's worst enemy."

"Looks like things have changed," said a voice, and everyone whirled to see Tortimer standing behind them.

"Mr. Mayor!" the police dog exclaimed.

"What do you mean, sir?" asked Clank.

"Resetti knows all 'bout Sonic, doesn't he?" the old tortoise pointed out. "He probably told The Boss, so now Big Boss has him labeled the most dangerous rebel. Now let's hush up an' keep watchin'." They followed his suggestion and returned their gazes to the scene in the Pine Ridge plaza.

The Secret Police Chief took a few steps closer to Sonic, who tensed and glared at him.

"For such a running legend as yourself, you were very easy to capture," the cloaked figure sneered.

The hedgehog curled his lip and retorted, "You're just lucky I almost drowned in the river or I would've given you the fight of your life." But then he let out a sneeze and shivered; the river had been cold, and the night wind and cool temperatures weren't helping any.

The wolf snarled, "So full of yourself, eh? Well, some jail time in Big Boss's dungeon ought to cure that."

The Chief held up a hand to silence him, and then told Sonic, "I might ask The Boss to take it easy on you if you tell me the names of your friends and where they are. I offer this only to a special few, so consider yourself lucky."

But Sonic only put on a blank look. "What friends?"

The wolf angrily gave him a kick in the stomach, causing the hedgehog to groan loudly in pain and fall to his knees. In the rest of the gang's hiding place, Tails cringed and made a move forward, but Ratchet held him still by the shoulders.

"You were seen with several other foreigners, rat!" the wolf barked, sharp teeth showing. "Don't play stupid with us!"

Once again the Chief interrupted him. "This is your last chance, hedgehog. Tell me who your friends are and I'll tell the interrogators back home to take it easy on you."

Sonic glared fiercely at him, then, gathering up some nerve, he spat at the cloaked leader's feet as a reply. His reward was more kicks in the gut from the wolf.

"…Fine then," the Chief said, disgust and contempt evident in his voice. "You'll have to go the hard way. I'll make sure my friends have no mercy when you're brought in for questioning. Officers, load him onto the train."

The robots half-dragged Sonic, who struggled every inch of the way, into the cargo car with the rest of the frightened animals. Then, on the Chief's signal, the Secret Police train, with a few cargo cars from Porter's train attached to it, pulled out of the station. With the invaders gone, the town was very still and silent. The heroes, Copper, and Tortimer crept out of the bushes to the train station and watched the shadow of the train disappear into the night. But then they heard voices, and saw Tom Nook, Spike, Jimmy, and Booker (whom they had found hiding) come out of a small shed.

"We saw them loading up Sonic," the older human said, his fists clenched. "Those hunks of junk…"

"How about you? Did you find everyone?" asked Copper.

"We found Booker, as you can see," he replied. "But…we couldn't find the Nooklings." He gestured to Nook, whose head was as low as his chest. Everyone felt sympathy for him.

"So what do we do now?" Jimmy asked. "Go after Sonic?"

Tortimer shook his head. "It's too dangerous. All the animals that go to The Boss's outpost in Tombstone are never seen again."

"I can't help but think that the town's cemetery has some new tombstones," muttered Copper, and the mayor elbowed him in his side. "Ow! I was just thinking!"

Ever since the train had left, Tails had been silent. He still stared after the train, which was now long gone. Then he turned to the others with a determined look in his eyes.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to rescue Sonic."

"I hate to say it, son," said Tom Nook, "but Tortimer is right; it's too risky."

"Well, I'm not going to hide somewhere and let them hurt him! I know they will."

Ratchet stepped up next to the fox. "I'm with Tails. One rule of being a commando is to leave no comrade behind. I'm not about to go back on that rule."

Clank also nodded. "It is cowardly and selfish to not aid someone in need when you are able to, even if it is risky. We should at least try."

Spike shrugged helplessly. "Copper has a point too. We can't just waltz up to the base, knock on the door, and say, 'We want Sonic back'!"

Suddenly a new voice cut in sharply, "Of course you can't, kid." The speaker came out of the shadows to their left, and they saw a lavender pelican wearing heavy makeup and a dark purple vest. The animals recognized her in an instant.

"Phyllis!?" Nook and Copper exclaimed in unison. Then the latter added, "What are you doing here?!"

Spike recalled their interrogation of Resetti, and pulled out his Stun Club. "She works for Big Boss!" he declared. The other heroes also faced her in attack poses.

Tortimer's face fell, and he asked calmly, "Is this true, Phyllis?"

The pelican sighed, and it was a frustrated and maybe even sad sigh. "Partially. I work for the Secret Police, or at least used to."

Copper's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I was getting paid to work for them, and I was fine with it until they took my sister." The sad look returned to her face for a split second, and then she shook her head. "Anyway, I changed my mind and unofficially became a double agent. I write some anonymous notes and mix up ACSP papers on occasion. While I was doing this, I discovered many of Big Boss's secrets."

"Like what?" the police dog asked.

Phyllis snapped at him, "Quit interrupting and I'll tell you!" He folded his arms and was quiet, so she continued, "One thing I heard The Boss say was that he had built a secret passage into his fortress just in case the place was attacked. He wants to have an escape route if his empire is overthrown. But I have no idea where the passage is hidden. But I do know of someone who does: Big Boss's most trusted animal spy, Crazy Redd."

Tom Nook's eyes widened. "My rival?! A spy for Big Boss?!"

Copper rolled his eyes. "It doesn't surprise me."

"Redd knows where the passage is and where the most important prisoners are held," Phyllis said, "so you might be able to get info on where they're keeping your friend. I heard the Chief say Redd is meeting with one of The Boss's advisors tonight in the town of Boston; it's a bit of long walk there, though. You can catch him if you're really careful; he's a sly character. Of course, you already know that."

Ratchet grinned and tucked his Omniwrench into one pocket of his suit. "Well, now it looks like we have a way to rescue Sonic. We've just gotta find Crazy Redd, find the passage, infiltrate Big Boss's fortress, release Sonic, and get outta there!"

"It's still a tall order," Copper pointed out.

Patrick cocked his head. "Like twenty feet tall?"

"But perhaps not impossible," said Clank.

Tortimer tapped his cane on the ground (wow, he still has that thing?) in approval. "It's settled; we're gonna help 'im. He's done a lot for the Alliance, and we owe it to him to set him free." Nook nodded his head, Copper and Booker saluted, and Phyllis only rolled her eyes.

Jimmy thrust his Stun Club into the air and whooped, "Yeah! Let's do it!"

"Yay!" SpongeBob shouted, doing a happy dance.

"Alpacas!" his starfish friend joined in.

Tails smiled as he watched his teammates accepting their new mission, and then looked toward the west—the direction where the train had gone for Tombstone.

Hang on, Sonic. We're coming, he thought. …All of us.

The ACSP train, with the cargo car from Porter's train attached to it, rumbled across the countryside. Inside one car, the crowded and terrified animals lay in almost complete darkness; the only light was a small window high up in a corner of the car. But no one tried to move toward the window for two reasons: the car was tightly packed, and a lone prisoner occupied the place directly under it, and no one wanted to disturb him.

Sonic was glad nobody bothered him, because he didn't feel like talking to anyone at the moment. He was busy wondering where his friends (especially Tails) were, how they were doing, and if they knew he was alive but in the clutches of the Secret Police. He tried to sleep, but disturbing thoughts, a hard floor, and a bad cold kept him awake.

As he lay curled up in a ball in the car's corner, Sonic felt two small pairs of hands shaking him. Then two frightened voices whispered to him.

"Mr. Sonic, sir?"

"Sir?"

The hedgehog uncurled and found himself face to face with Timmy and Tommy Nookling. He gave a start and sat up, and they scrambled forward and hugged him tightly. "What the…what are you guys doing here?" he exclaimed, shifting into a more comfortable position.

Tommy looked up at him, eyes shining with tears, and whimpered, "W-we got separated from Papa and…and got caught."

"…C-caught," echoed Timmy in a cracked voice. Then he burst into tears. His twin sniffed, ready to follow suit.

Sonic's facial expression softened, as did his voice, and he held the pair closer to him. "Hey now, don't cry. It's gonna be okay. You've got me; nobody's gonna hurt you."

The raccoons stopped crying, but were still scared. They continued to whimper, shiver, and hold on to him. For a moment he struggled to think of something to do, and all he could come up with was to tell them what had happened to him.

After going over the waterfall, Sonic had somehow dragged himself to shore and had lain there for what seemed like hours, too exhausted to move. It had taken a little while for someone to find him. He had seen a fox and a weasel scouting the area, and had called out to them. The minute he had told them who he was, they had cuffed him and called for a robot squad.

"I shouldn't have been so stupid," he muttered to himself, but suddenly he let out a loud sneeze. It startled the Nooklings, but they found it funny and laughed. He smiled, glad that they were in higher spirits, and began to join in. But when he laughed too hard, he went into a nasty coughing fit. This time the coons were serious.

"Are you okay, Mr. Sonic? Do you have a cold?" Timmy asked.

He frowned and bit his lip; the last thing he needed was a cold. "I dunno…I might." But he smiled at them. "But I can handle it. What's important right now is that you two stick with me, okay? I won't let any 'bots hurt you."

Both of them smiled and nodded their heads at the same time. Satisfied, Sonic lay against the wall of the train car and closed his eyes. Both Timmy and Tommy curled up next to him on opposite sides, not minding that his fur was still a bit damp. Soon all three of them were fast asleep.

And the train chugged on into the night, taking them to a far worse prison…