Arc 12: The Water Panther Plunder

Takes place during Sonic the Hedgehog: Heroes of Mobius Stories 95-97

Part 3: The Thief Revealed

Princess Matilda and the two water panthers Ruben and Hydra continued running away from the Yīnyǐng Mao clan's temple. Matilda had just broken into the temple and saved the two water panthers from the grasp of the shadowy ninja cats and now they were all fleeing from the temple. The three had run a considerably good distance away before they finally came to a halt in a thickly grown bamboo forest in the middle of nowhere. The forest would hide them well from anyone looking for them due to how thick it was, not that they were hiding anyway. Now they had stopped, they settled down to rest and Matilda decided to have a talk with the water panthers. They all settled down against a bamboo tree and rested for a minute.

"Thanks for saving our skins in there princess." said Ruben gratefully.

"You're welcome Ruben." said Matilda brightly "You don't have to call me princess all the time by the way, you can just call me Matilda."

"OK." said Ruben "It's so good to see you again though Matilda."

"It's good to see you too Ruben." said Matilda happily "So how's life with the legendary Sonic the Hedgehog been for you?"

"It's been great." said Ruben "I get to use my water powers to help fight Dr. Eggman and I've been on many adventures with Sonic. One of the most honouree things that's happened to me though was when I helped Sonic, Tails and Bunnie de-roboticize everybody after Eggman roboticized all of Mobius*."

"I still remember that day." said Matilda with a shudder "All of Chun-Nan were robots, me included and my mind heaves just thinking about it. The moment we were all de-roboticized, the first thing I thought was "I bet the heroes from the west did this" and since you've confirmed it to me, it turns out I was right."

"Just the fact I was responsible for the saving of the entire planet is more then honouree enough for me." said Ruben "I don't think I'll ever do something so honouree again although time will tell when that might happen again."

"You're right on that Ruben." said Matilda agreeably "My master always said to me "Time is the most unpredictable force of nature as it can throw things at you at the most unexpected moments and whether they are good or bad depends on the moods of time". So, what were you two doing that ended up getting you captured by those awful shadow cats?" she asked.

"We were looking for the aqua-collar thief toots." said Hydra.

"Aqua-collar thief?" said Matilda "Oh yeah, I know what you mean. Someone's been swiping the water panther's aqua-collars and leaving them unable to use their trademark water powers. I can't begin to tell you how horrible I think this is. Stealing aqua-collars from the water panthers before they can be blessed with permanent powers by their leaders so now they have no water powers. Dad's been hoping dearly that the thief will be found. He's doing the best he can but unfortunately, we're not getting any results."

"This thief really must be sneaky then." muttered Hydra "Anyhow, we met up with your friend Li Moon and she reckons she saw the thief only she couldn't quite make it out so her guesses are as good as ours and then two Yīnyǐng Mao ninjas come out of nowhere and kidnap us! That's how we got caught by the way and now you've saved us, we can get back to the search."

"On your search before you got kidnapped, did you find anything out?" wondered Matilda.

"Well Li Moon thinks the thief is vaguely cat like." explained Ruben "And the Yīnyǐng Mao clan told us themselves they're not responsible for the theft of the aqua-collars, they're trying to break Fong Zarr out of prison so the collars aren't going to be of interest to them."

"Well this is unusual, the Yīnyǐng Mao clan are innocent for once." said Matilda in surprise "But that still doesn't excuse them for trying to use you two for ransom. No doubt that now I've saved you both they'll be making a change of plan and if they are then I'll be ready to ruin it again."

"I bet you are." said Ruben "But the Yīnyǐng Mao clan isn't of our concern right now. The aqua-collar thief is. Now we're free, we can rule the Yīnyǐng Mao clan out as innocent and get back to our search for the thief."

"You know what Ruben? To provide extra help for you and to make sure you don't get captured again," suggested Matilda "I think I'll join in on this search. My dad's striving to find out who the thief is and if I help you two find the thief, I'll be honouring my dad as well as the water panther race."

Ruben and Hydra looked at each other and thought over this tempting offer. Matilda was stronger then both of them put together and she was a kung-fu warrior somewhere between master and expert stage so she was going to provide great protection for them on this search. There was no reason why the princess shouldn't join in on this mission of theirs at all.

"Matilda, we think that's a swell idea." said Hydra "You're coming with us princess."

"Thank you." said Matilda with a happy smile "I'm glad you're letting me join you on this."

"Think of it as a token of our gratitude your grace." said Ruben politely "Now, were do we start? The village didn't seem to be giving us much help and the help we did get was vague at best. What direction should we possibly go in from here?"

"Beats me Rubes." said Hydra, shrugging his arms "I have no idea where to go either."

"I have a suggestion." Matilda said suddenly "Maybe we could ask any of the water panther clans and see if they can give us any clues on who the thief is. I'm sure at least one of the clans has seen the thief in action."

"Don't ask my clan your royal highness." said Hydra quickly "They haven't seen the thief in action, me included. We were robbed in our sleep, all of us."

"OK, I won't ask the Zhangcháo clan then." said Matilda "I know one clan that's near here though. The Tsunami Clan. We'll go to them first as they're the closest water panther clan to us. I hope they can give us some clues on the thief's identity."

"Hydra's clan may have been robbed in their sleep but that doesn't mean the other water panthers were." added Ruben agreeably "There are thirteen water panther clans that have all been robber, I bet at least one member from any of the water panther clans must have seen the thief in action. If not then we're really stuck on the thief's identity."

"Well let's not waste anymore time." said Matilda, standing up and straightening her radiant purple dress out "Let's go and visit the Tsunami clan and see if they know anything about the thief's identity."

Ruben was up and eager to go as he was desperate to catch the thief and return all the aqua-collars back to the water panthers. He got up onto his feet and so did Hydra. The three Mobians all left the bamboo forest and headed off to meet the Tsunami clan, a clan of water panthers that shared the same lifestyle as the Zhangcháo clan, a peace gathering group although they were a little harsher then the Zhangcháo clan in behaviour and reputation. Matilda knew where that clan was stationed so she led the way with Ruben and Hydra following. Ruben knew about the Tsunami clan in reputation but he had never met the clan in person so this visit was going to be interesting to him. Hopefully when they met the clan, the clan would know something about the thief and the clan would be able to give them so ideas on who to look for on this imperative search…

An hour passed since the trek to the Tsunami clan's territory had begun and the three Mobians were almost there. They had to cross through a large barren wasteland of plain grounds and surrounding giant rocks and they would be there at last. The wasteland was littered with skeletons, bones and rotting carcasses of unfortunate Mobians who have either been killed by something that lives here or of malnutrition. The very sight of these made Ruben shudder and feel uneasy all over. He hated the sight of death, just seeing bones made him feel sick or frightened and this wasteland was not a flattering sight to him at all. But his ambition to find the thief was too great for his hatred of dead bodies to get in the way. Ruben decided to just ignore the carcasses that littered the wasteland. Matilda didn't seem that flattered by the sight of death either but she didn't let it bother her as she was a dedicated woman who didn't let anything bother her during missions. It was going to take more then a carcass to bother her. As for Hydra, he wasn't bothered by the bones all over the wasteland at all. The only thing he was bothered about was the fact his feet were killing him. They had been walking for an hour non-stop and Hydra didn't know martial arts of any kind and knowing martial arts gave you much more stamina and you can go for much longer without getting tired so Hydra wasn't as durable as Matilda and Ruben. Those two could go on for a while but not him. He needed a rest and he needed it now.

"Hey princess, hey Ruben." moaned Hydra "We've been wondering about for hours. How about resting the legs?"

"But Hydra, we're almost there according to Matilda." said Ruben "Can't you keep it up for a little while longer?"

"We've been bloomin' walking for a whole hour without stopping for crying out loud!" shrieked Hydra angrily "And I'm not as durable as you two because I don't known martial arts so I can't go as long as you two can!"

"I can see you're tired Hydra but surely you can keep it up for a little longer." said Ruben "We might only be ten minutes at most."

"Ruben, poor Hydra's pooped." said Matilda affectionately "He can't keep it up much longer. I have a solution that'll please us all though."

With that said, Matilda bent down and held her arms out backwards. Hydra could see what Matilda was thinking so he climbed onto Matilda's back and gripped her shoulders. Matilda wrapped her arms around Hydra's legs and she stood up with the water panther clinging onto her back. Matilda was giving Hydra a piggyback ride. Hydra could rest his legs and she and Ruben wouldn't have to stop and wait for him to rest up. Now they could go on through the wasteland and onto the Tsunami clan's territory without a stop.

"Aw sweet!" cried Hydra "I get a piggyback ride on the world's most awesome woman! Can this day get any better?"

Matilda blushed at Hydra's remark, clearly flattered at the fact the young water panther though so highly of her.

"Hydra please…I'm not that awesome…" said Matilda modestly "I mean, I know that I'm a kung-fu warrior but I don't think that makes me the world's most awesome woman. I'm sure there have been other women who know kung-fu and are better then me."

"Not in my eyes." said Hydra "I think you're the world's most awesome woman."

Matilda just blushed even harder. Who knew such a young water panther could be so charming? Even though it was clear he was just trying to get into her good books because she was a princess, Matilda still couldn't help but be flattered by the water panther's comments.

"I like your idea Matilda." said Ruben "Hydra gets to rest and we don't have to rest. Good thinking Matilda."

"Thanks Ruben." said Matilda graciously "I'll be glad when we get out of this wasteland though, this place is giving me the creeps. The sight of death everywhere is unsettling to me."

"Same here." said Ruben as he walked past what appeared to be a bird's skull "I'm beginning to wonder what happened to all these people who went through here? Did something kill them or did they just die of thirst or hunger? And if they were killed by something then what possibly lives here?"

"I dunno." said Hydra "I don't think many things live in a wasteland so maybe they weren't killed by something, maybe it was just the weather that got the best of them."

"Maybe it was." said Matilda "Funny enough though, I have a feeling I know this place. There's something familiar about it…but I can't quite put my finger on it."

"Well since you've met the Tsunami clan, you will have been through here before." noted Ruben "So the wasteland will look familiar to you."

"I know." said Matilda "But there's something else that's familiar to me but I can't quite work out what it is."

Just as she finished her sentence though, the sound of rocks moving rung out suddenly from the sides of the wasteland. Matilda and Ruben stopped dead in their tracks and they looked around wondering what the noise was and where it came from.

"What's up?" asked Hydra "You're both getting tired now?"

"I heard something." said Ruben "It sounded like rocks moving and I'm wondering what it was."

"Maybe it was just some loose rocks falling down the bigger rocks." suggested Matilda.

Then suddenly, another strange noise was heard and that made Ruben and Matilda stand up straight. It was the sound of something pushing through rocks and plodding through the rocky scenery around them. There was definitely something in this wasteland and it was on the prowl for something. Matilda put Hydra down and took a nervous look around for any sign of danger. Her stomach was beginning to tighten in worry.

"I don't think we're alone here." said Matilda quietly.

"It sounds like there's something else around here." said Ruben "Is it an enemy ninja that's stalking us? Or maybe the Yīnyǐng Mao clan have followed us here and are attempting to recapture me and Hydra?"

"Whatever it is, I don't know but I am going to find out." said Matilda "Wait here while I investigate."

She slunk off and headed towards the surrounding rock hills on the sides of the wasteland. Ruben and Hydra stayed put and they waited to see what was going to happen next and what Matilda was going to find. Matilda crept nervously over to the rock hills and she began to scan the terrain. Everything seemed clear so far. There didn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary. Maybe the Mobians were just hearing things or it was a hiker trekking through the rock hills. Matilda looked around and deduced that everything was fine and there was nothing to worry about. Then suddenly, a large rock that sat inside a large crevasse shifted position and rolled down the hill. Matilda watched the rolling rock and knew that there was definitely something here. Matilda began to climb up the rocks and she peered into a large crevasse in the rock.

"Hello?" she asked "Is somebody in there? Hello? Please come out if there's anybody in there. It's not safe to play in crevasses."

She received no reply. There didn't seem to be anybody about. If that was the case then what was moving the rocks? Something did not add up here. Matilda peeked even closer into the crevasse. Then suddenly, something lunged out at her and whacked her in the face. Matilda was sent hurling backwards from the crevasse and she came crashing down onto her back. She skidded across the ground and came to a halt a good few feet away from the rock hill. Ruben and Hydra both stared in horror at Matilda and they ran over to help her up. Matilda rubbed her throbbing face and she picked herself up just as the water panthers ran up to her. The poor mongoose felt like she'd been battered by a nunchaku after that attack.

"Ouch!" she winced "What was that that just hit me?"

"I dunno but it packs quite a punch!" cried Hydra "There must be some martial arts person hiding in there!"

But it wasn't a martial arts person of any kind. The thing that had just attacked Matilda came out of the darkness of the crevasse and into the bright sunlight of the outside world, snarling menacingly. The thing that had attacked Matilda was a Mobian panda. Mobian pandas were just like Earth pandas, big round bears with black and white fur, but they wore gold and red armour pieces around their torsos that gleamed in the sunlight. The panda's eyes were plain yellow in colour and had no pupils at all. It was huge and looked very savage. Mobian pandas were savage animals that killed anything they could get their massive paws on and this panda looked especially grumpy to have intruders in its territory. It bared its ferocious teeth and growled menacingly at the Mobians. Matilda, Ruben and Hydra all jumped in alarm and they stepped back from the snarling beast.

"A panda!" shrieked Ruben "A real live panda! I can't believe my eyes!"

"Neither can I!" exclaimed Hydra "How unlucky are we to come across a blinkin' panda? These guys are the most savage monsters in all of Chun-Nan!"

"I think I know where we are now!" blurted Matilda "This is the Land of the Pandas! A forbidden land where nobody who walks through it makes it out alive!"

"Then how come you did?" asked Hydra "You've met the Tsunami clan before and gone through here to see them and yet no panda's ripped you apart!"

"I must have been lucky I guess." muttered Matilda "The pandas must have been sleeping the time I've walked through this wasteland. When I first arrived at the Tsunami clan's territory, they were quick to inform me that this is panda territory and you have to go around the wasteland, not through it, in order to avoid them. I can't believe I ended up forgetting that though."

"We all make mistakes Matilda, even the greatest of kung-fu warriors." said Ruben "Now let's scraper before that thing kills us!"

The panda roared at the top of its voice and it lumbered over to the Mobians with its teeth bared and saliva streaming out of its gaping jaws. Pandas were fast creatures but no quite fast enough to catch a kung-fu warrior so Matilda could get away from it easily. The panda lunged forward with a terrific punch but Matilda, Ruben and Hydra jumped out of its way, leaving it to punch the ground instead. Instead of running for her life though, Matilda ran back over to the panda and began holding her arms out. The panda glowered at her and reared up on its back legs to its full height while roaring menacingly. Matilda didn't let that bother her and she began trying to tame the panda.

"Whoa, whoa there boy. Easy, easy, steady boy!" cried Matilda, trying to get the panda to calm down "Take it easy there little panda, we mean you no harm!"

But Mobian Pandas were not creatures that could be reasoned with. They only had one thing on their minds: kill anything that invades their territory. Matilda's efforts to tame the beast were all in vain. The panda bellowed at Matilda and swatted her with an enormous arm. The kung-fu princess was sent hurling across the wasteland like a rag doll and she landed painfully on her shoulder. She winced in pain and clutched her throbbing arm. Mobian Pandas were not only extremely savage but they were also very strong too. Their strength rivalled that of even a kung-fu master although they were not skilled in kung-fu themselves so they had strength but no skill so the kung-fu masters were better off then they were. Matilda was just about to get back up until the panda pounced on her and began to viciously attack her. It had its enormous canines bared and its claws were unsheathed. It tried to rip Matilda apart but the terrified mongoose was squirming like crazy under the huge bulk of the panda so the panda couldn't get a very clear shot of her. She also pressed her hands against the panda's arms to keep its claws away from her but the panda was not giving up so easily. It was going to have a mongoose snack and nothing was going to make it back down. The panda snapped its ferocious jaws at Matilda and tried to bite her face. Matilda just kept up keeping the panda's killer tools away from her. Her heart was pounding so furiously she though it was going to burst as the panda tried and tried it's hardest to get her.

"You're not having me for lunch!" screamed Matilda as the panda snapped its jaws at her again "Now please get off me!"

The panda refused to move. It just kept trying and trying to get the squirming mongoose and kill her. Matilda could see that this panda was not going to back down anytime soon so she had no choice but to fight the savage monster. Matilda rose her legs up into the panda's stomach and then, using the strength invested in her as a kung-fu warrior, she pushed the mighty panda off herself. The panda was knocked off of Matilda and sent sprawling onto its back. Matilda picked herself up and dusted herself off. The panda picked itself back up and lumbered towards Matilda again but Ruben and Hydra both let the panda have it with an enormous jet of water. The panda was quickly drenched by their attacks and the power of their water jets knocked it onto its side. Ruben and Hydra stopped squirting the panda and they stood by as the beast picked itself up and shook itself dry.

"Dare touch the princess and you get a water panther style thrashing!" yelled Ruben bravely.

"I second that!" said Hydra.

The panda just glowered at the water panthers with its blank yellow eyes. But it didn't launch another attack. It reared up onto its hind legs, looked up at the sky and roared a powerful, mighty roar that echoed around the wasteland. The Mobians braced themselves, wondering what was happening.

"What's it doing?" asked Ruben "Is it just getting mad at us?"

"No." said Matilda, panting heavily "I think…that's its call for help. It's calling its friends out to come and get us!"

Unfortunately, Matilda was right. The panda's roar was a signal for the other pandas to come out of hiding and help it kill the intruders. The panda they were fighting was the ring leader and he was always the first one out when it came to a kill. It mostly called its friends out when they were eating a kill but in desperate situations, it called its friends out to help it with the killing. No sooner had the giant beast roared up to the sky; more pandas came out of their hiding places and lumbered down to the wasteland to deal with the intruders. All these pandas wore armoured pieces around their torsos but it wasn't as bright and shiny as the lead panda's and they all looked equally as vicious. Some pandas had battle scars on their faces and snouts and some had ripped ears or were missing an eye. It's quite clear that these pandas had been in many conflicts and the victors had always been them thanks to their brutality and savage nature. The lead panda's lips curled up into what looked like an evil smirk as if to say "Think you can take on all of us?" and it commanded the other pandas to surround the Mobians with a wave of the paw and a grunt that sounded like a command of some kind. The pandas understood what he meant and they formed a circle around Matilda, Ruben and Hydra. They all unsheathed their claws, gnashed their teeth and made them tremble with an ominous growl. Matilda just bent down in a battle ready stance and prepared to fight. Ruben and Hydra could see they were needing to fight too so they prepared to battle along with Matilda.

"I'm sorry that I'm going to have to do this pandas." said Matilda in a stern tone "But you're leaving me with no choice. You'll only end up wishing you hadn't decided to attack the Princess of Chun-Nan."

The lead panda just snorted at her and ordered it's minions to attack. The pandas all closed in on the Mobians but Matilda grabbed the water panthers and did an amazing somersault into the air out of the circle of pandas and onto the ground a few feet away from them. She put the water panthers down and ran forward to attack the lead panda. The lead panda reared up and swatted the princess in the face, knocking her down onto her side again. Getting hit like a panda was like getting hit by a big heavy chain. Matilda clutched her face and grimaced in pain. The lead panda ordered two other pandas to come with it and the three pandas lumbered towards Matilda. Matilda picked herself up and gave one of the pandas a terrific uppercut that sent it hurling through the air and crashing heavily down on the ground. The lead panda swiped at her but Matilda bent over backwards and dodged the attack. She then swung herself forward and head butted the panda in the face. The lead panda staggered backwards and clutched its throbbing nose. Matilda didn't stop there though as when fighting a panda, you must never give it chance to fight back or it will kill you. She leaped in and kung-fu kicked the panda in the gut. Then she roundhouse punched it in the jaws, face and cranium. She clasped her fists together and fist-slammed the panda on the head, knocking it down onto its stomach and then she kicked the panda as hard as she could, sending it rolling across the ground. The lead panda groaned a low growl of pain as it wondered what had just hit it. Matilda was about to finish it off until one of its helpers sneaked up behind her and walloped her in the back of her head with a vicious backhand. Matilda was thrown down onto her hands and knees and her head was aching like mad from that attack. She felt like her head was going to explode. She staggered wobbly back onto her feet but the panda roundhouse punched her and sent her staggering. Then it gave her an uppercut to the chin and a gut punch to the stomach. Matilda double over, wheezing in pain and the panda then backhanded her across the wasteland. The kung-fu princess landed with awkwardly on an old skeleton and she crushed it after landing on it. Matilda winced in pain and tried to fight the pain in her body. She had no idea that pandas could be so strong. They were definitely more of a challenge then the Yīnyǐng Mao clan that's for sure! In fact, she begin betting to herself that if the Yīnyǐng Mao clan fought these pandas, the pandas would probably win, provided they didn't get killed by their katanas or other sharp weapons that is. If only she had a weapon of some kind on her and maybe she could make the pandas back off with it. But unfortunately, there was just her and she had to beat the pandas into submission. The lead panda and its two helpers advanced on Matilda with saliva dripping down their lips and their teeth bared. The lead panda reared up and roared at the top of its voice, giving Matilda the perfect opportunity to leap up and kick it in the gut and send it flying backwards across the wasteland. The other two pandas were livid and they lunged for Matilda but Matilda leaped up and split-kicked them both in the face. The pandas clutched their throbbing faces and Matilda grabbed one of them by its thick fur. She then proceeded to hoist the panda off the ground and above her head with ease and then slam it down on the other panda. The two pandas lay on top of one another and Matilda punched them both, sending them hurling backwards and rolling over one another. The lead panda charged back into the fight and tried to punch Matilda but Matilda leaped out of its way and dropkicked it in the shoulder. Then Matilda pounced on the panda and pinned it down but the panda threw her off itself and picked itself up. It lunged at Matilda with a powerful punch and Matilda lunged back at it with another powerful punch. Their fists hit each other but not one punch was stronger then the other. Their punches were evenly matched so they would have to attack again, this time with a different attack to see if they could gain the upper hand on one another.

As for Ruben and Hydra, they were more having a water fight with the savage pandas then actually fighting them. Whenever the pandas got too close to them, the water panthers squirted them away with a jet of water that sent them sprawling across the landscape. Their water powers were strong after all and big lumbering pandas were no problem for them. One panda ran up behind Ruben and tried to attack him but Ruben turned around and let the panda have it directly in the face with a jet of water. This panda wasn't very fond of getting wet so after getting drenched by Ruben, it ran off as quickly as it could. Ruben laughed at the fleeing panda but his victory was short-lived as another panda ran up behind Ruben and clouted him as hard as it could. Ruben was sent hurling across the wasteland and he crashed down awkwardly on his face. Ruben winced and grunted as he felt pain flood through his face and he tried to pick himself up. The attack had left him a little shaken so he was finding it hard to do so. The panda lumbered hungrily towards Ruben, eager to rip him apart and eat him for supper but Hydra let the panda have it with a huge jet of water that sent the panda flying across the wasteland. The panda landed on its side and bounced off the ground as if it was some giant fury beach ball. It landed on its side and bounced again and again until it came to a stop on its stomach, groaning in pain and wondering what had hit it. Hydra ran over to Ruben and helped him up onto his feet.

"Thanks for the save Hydra." said Ruben, dusting himself off.

"No probs Ruben." said Hydra "I'm not letting one of my little buddies become panda chow. Let's keep up the water squirting, they'll give up eventually."

Hydra was right on that one, pandas did give up eventually once they learnt their attacks were too powerful but you had to keep your fight up for a while before they would retreat. Two pandas came charging up to Ruben and Hydra but the two water panthers both stood together side by side and blasted them with a jet of water that soaked the pandas and knocked them down onto the ground. The two water panthers laughed at the pandas.

"It's a good thing the aqua-collar thief didn't steal our collars!" chuckled Ruben "Or we would be dead out here!"

"We sure would be!" agreed Hydra as he blasted another panda away with his powers "Proves how lucky we are!"

Ruben nodded agreeably and he and Hydra continued to squirt the pandas with water and knock them down. Any pandas that didn't like water instantly retreated after being soaked whereas the others just played harder to beat and kept going but Ruben and Hydra were determined to bring the pandas down so they could escape this barren wasteland with their lives.

As for Matilda and the three pandas she was engaged with, she was beginning to gain an edge on the attacking panda bears. True they managed to get some hard shots on her but her attacks were harder and stronger due to the fact she was almost at the expert stage and she knew martial arts whereas the pandas only knew brute strength so she was the better fighter. The lead panda socked Matilda in the face with a powerful punch but Matilda socked it back in the gut. The panda doubled over and made a growling wheezy sound. Matilda then proceeded to grab the panda by its arm and flip it over onto its back, making sure that the slam was good and hard to add insult to injury. However, one of the lead panda's helpers grabbed Matilda and hoisted her above his head. It was about to slam Matilda down onto the ground until Matilda kicked it on the nose and made the panda drop her. The panda dropped Matilda and the kung-fu princess rammed it as hard as she could with her shoulder. The other panda helper struck Matilda from behind with a clawed paw and left some heavy scratches on Matilda's back. Matilda screamed in pain and the other panda batted her across the face. Then before Matilda could even fight back, the two panda helpers piled on top of her and pinned her down onto the ground. Matilda squirmed furiously underneath them as they tried to keep her down so they could kill her. The pandas opened the jaws and prepared to bite Matilda but Matilda managed to wrestle her arms free from their paws and she socked them both in the chins. She then managed to wrestle herself out from under the pandas and she bashed their heads together. The two pandas lay on the ground dazed and confused from that attack. Now those two were dealt with, Matilda could deal with just the lead panda. The lead panda pounced on Matilda and grasped the mongoose in a big bear hug in an attempt to suffocate her. If it squeezed hard enough, Matilda's breath would give out and she'd be dead. Matilda choked and spluttered as she felt the air in her lungs depleting and she wrestled her way out of the grasp of the panda. She rammed it in the gut and then gave it an uppercut to the chin. The lead panda's response was to elbow her in the gut and roundhouse punch her in the face. It then slashed Matilda across the face, leaving some rather large, bloody cuts on her beautiful face. Matilda screamed in pain and began to wipe the blood away. This gave the panda more then enough time to elbow thrust Matilda as hard as it could and send her flying into the rocky hills around the wasteland. Matilda hit the hard rock and gasped as she felt her spine crack in several places. If she wasn't a kung-fu warrior, that attack would have hurt so much more. When you know martial arts, you deal with pain a lot better. Matilda staggered away from the rocky hills and ran back into the battle. The panda swiped at her but Matilda leaped over it in one big graceful leap. She dropkicked it in the head as she sailed over and then added another kick just after she landed on her feet behind the panda. The panda was knocked down onto its stomach and Matilda then wrapped her arms around its big, bulky neck. The panda roared furiously and began to flail about madly while Matilda fought hard against the panda and held on tight. It was going to be hard for even a panda to make Matilda let go. The panda furiously flailed about and rammed itself against the wall in a vain attempt to get Matilda off. Matilda fought the pain in her back and held on ever tighter. She then wrestled the panda around and rammed its face into the wall. The panda roared in agony and Matilda began to tighten her grip. The panda began to pull on tighter while roaring viciously but Matilda kept hold of its neck and then, using all the strength she had left, she yanked the panda's head backwards very sharply and a sickening crack sound was heard. Matilda had just broken the panda's neck. The leader of the pandas was dead. Matilda let go of the panda and the panda slumped down on the ground, dead as a doornail. Matilda gasped and panted, clearly worn out from the fight but she was triumphant at least.

"I'm so sorry for this." she said to the dead panda, wiping away some blood that trickled down the cuts on her face "But you brought this on yourself. It was a case of "kill or be killed" and had you listened to me, you could have avoided this unnecessary death that you've brought upon yourself."

As you can see, Matilda was not fond of killing and she wasn't pleased that she had to resort to slaughtering a panda just to save herself. But it had to be done and Matilda knew that very well so she didn't let it get to her. Not to mention that she was a princess and next in line to the throne of Chun-Nan and if she got killed, she wouldn't get a chance to rule in her father's stead and there would have to be a replacement for her when Tai's time was up so she had to kill the panda to save herself. As for the other pandas, they had heard the crack sound and looked at their leader in horror. Their leader was dead and Matilda had killed him. That meant she was too dangerous for them and in order to save their big bulky hides, they had to retreat and let her live. Despite their savage nature, pandas respected those who could beat them and should they see Matilda again, they'll remember that she'd killed their leader and they will never bother her again. The pandas all fled for their lives, desperate to get away from the killer mongoose that had just killed their leader. They all disappeared into the deep dark crevasses in the rocky hills around the wastelands. They were going to lay low and wait until there was someone else to kill. Ruben and Hydra smirked at the retreating pandas and Hydra began taunting them.

"Ha, ha, ha! Nyah, Nyah! Go run away and hide in your stink holes you stupid, cowardly beasts!" jeered Hydra "You must be right scardey cats if you're afraid of two measly water panthers!"

"They're not afraid of us Hydra you nelly!" snapped Ruben "They're scared of Matilda! She's just killed their leader!"

"She bloomin' what?" shrieked Hydra.

The two water panthers ran over to meet Matilda, who was struggling to remain standing and was panting heavily while rubbing her arms better. Ruben and Hydra observed the dead panda leader and it didn't take them long to figure out how exactly Matilda had managed to kill the panda.

"Holy waterfalls!" cried Hydra "You broke the panda's neck! Now that officially means you're the most awesome woman in the world!"

"Killing a panda does not make me awesome Hydra." muttered Matilda "It makes me a horrible little brute. And I'm not pleased with myself for having to kill the poor creature. I only did it because I had to."

"Well at least we're safe now." said Ruben "Now can we go on to the Tsunami clan?"

"Yes Ruben." said Matilda, staggering slightly "We can go over to…the…Tsunami…"

Then suddenly, Matilda fell down onto her knees and fainted! Her injuries from the battle with the panda were too great and she couldn't stay awake any longer. Ruben gasped in horror and he knelt down by the princess's side.

"Matilda! Matilda!" cried Ruben, shaking Matilda's unconscious body "Are you alright? Please, speak to me!"

"She's only unconscious buddy." said Hydra "She'll live. And you're going to be unconscious with her."

"Huh?" said Ruben.

Then suddenly, Hydra grabbed Ruben by the shoulders and stared into his eyes. He had a strange look on his eyes. A look of…regret for some reason. Like he was going to do something he was going to regret.

"I'm sorry Ruben, I'm really, really sorry for what I'm about to do now." said Hydra with a sad expression on his face.

"You're sorry? For what?" asked Ruben worriedly.

"This." said Hydra with a pained look in his eyes.

Then, Hydra suddenly head butted Ruben in the face and knocked him clean out! Ruben fell on top of Matilda and he lay there unconscious on the passed out princess. Hydra just stared at Ruben's body, clearly wanting to stab himself for doing this to his friend. He then reached down and unclipped Ruben's aqua-collar and removed it from around his neck. He took the aqua-collar from Ruben and clipped it around his wrist. He looked at Ruben with tears in his eyes and then turned and ran as fast as he could out of the barren, panda inhabited wasteland.

"I'm sorry Ruben! I'm so, so sorry!" wailed Hydra as he abandoned his knocked out friend "But I have no choice! She'll kill me otherwise! I hope you can understand once you find out that I'm the thief!"

Hydra ran out the wasteland and then started to run off in a certain direction. He was heading off home to a place that Ruben had been to before…the temple of the Raiju Clan…

Hydra ran all the way through the safe route to the Raiju clan's temple so he wouldn't have to go through the tests and booby traps that normal travellers had to take when wanting to meet them, and he ran into the enormous fortress as quick as he could. He darted through the corridors as fast as he could and he ran to the throne room where the clan's bride resided. He screeched to a halt outside the door and he banged on it furiously.

"Conquering Storm! Conquering Storm!" he cried as he pounded on the door.

Conquering Storm was the leader of the Raiju clan and she was not a woman to be messed with. Highly cold, blunt, straightforward and ruthless, Conquering Storm was one of the deadliest ninja brides alive. She had helped Sonic and friends take down Zira the Ruthless** but that was only so her clan had no challenges or obstacles in their way as they plotted their take over of Chun-Nan. She was secretly evil and Chun-Nan was in for a shock when she took it over and ruled it with an iron fist. Right now she was meditating and she was not pleased to have someone banging on the door and making a terrible racket while she was enjoying the peace. Conquering Storm leaped onto her feet and barked at the door sharply.

"What is it?" she barked "You'd better have a good reason for interrupting my meditation whoever it is at the door!"

Hydra gulped nervously and he opened the door to the throne room. He let himself in and walked up to the lynx in the coolie hat and iron-toed boots as slowly as he possibly could. Conquering Storm glowered at him and she folded her arms.

"Well? What is the reason for your presence here then Hydra?" she snapped.

"I…gulp!...I have another…aqua-collar for you…Conquering Storm…Ma'Am…" stammered Hydra, handing Conquering Storm Ruben's aqua-collar.

Conquering Storm took the aqua-collar and observed it with delight. A thin smile spread out on her evil lips. The acquisition of yet another aqua-collar seemed to bring Conquering Storm some delight.

"Well done agent." she said, throwing the aqua-collar into a crate full of stolen water panther's aqua-collars that sat on the other side of the room "You have served me well. It sure was delightful of you to aid the Raiju clan in its path to conquest. Have you stolen all the water panther's aqua-collars now?"

"I have." said Hydra grimly "That one I've just stolen belonged to Ruben, the last of the Hailàng clan and one of my best buddies. He was the only one left as he doesn't live in Chun-Nan anymore."

That bit of revelation brought an even bigger smile on Conquering Storm's face. Her steely orange eyes narrowed down to evil slits of pure evil.

"So now the last of the Hailàng clan is merely just a panther now?" she crooned "That makes it even better. I can just imagine the hedgehog's reaction when he finds out his water panther friend no longer has his powers!"

"You know what Conquering Storm, if it wasn't for the fact you've rigged me with an exploding speaker device that allows you to hear my every word," said Hydra, rolling his glove up and showing a bomb device with a speaker that was clamped tightly around his wrist "I'd love to have called Matilda to help defeat you and save me from your evil! But since you've rigged me with one, I'm forced to serve your every will just to save myself from getting blown up! Now that I've done what you've asked me, can you please, please let me go now?"

"Hydra my foolish little child, how stupid do you think I am?" snorted Conquering Storm "If I release you now, you'll run crying to the kung-fu warriors and get them to terminate me and my clan! You will never get your freedom Hydra!"

"But-but-but you promised me I could go free when I've done my task!" shrieked Hydra "You gave your word of honour!"

"Word of honour indeed!" snapped Conquering Storm "We're the Raiju clan, only through strength and might do you earn anything around here! Now get out of my throne room, I do not wish to see you anymore."

"Yes Conquering Storm." said Hydra miserably.

Hydra knew that arguing with Conquering Storm was pretty much signing your own death warrant so he left Conquering Storm's throne room and slunk outside. However, the moment he left, Conquering Storm whipped a remote device off her belt and pressed a button on it. The moment she pressed the button, the bomb on Hydra's wrists went off and exploded, killing Hydra in the blink of an eye. A terrible explosion and Hydra's death screams rang out from outside the throne room and then the thunk of a dead body falling down onto the floor was heard afterwards. Hydra was dead and his exploded remains littered the floor outside Conquering Storm's throne room. The evil lynx grinned wickedly to herself and she threw the remote away. She wandered over to her throne and spoke into a phone device built into the wall she used for communication purposes around the temple without having to leave the room.

"Dàfēng Rai!" she barked into the device "There's a rather nasty mess outside my throne room. I am giving you the task of cleaning it up."

"Yes Conquering Storm." came the voice of her head ninja Dàfēng Rai, the best of the Raiju clan next to Conquering Storm.

Now that business was sorted, Conquering Storm sat down on her throne and sighed happily to herself.

"It was a good idea of mine, kidnapping an innocent water panther and forcing him to steal all the water panther's aqua-collars and relinquish the pesky panthers of their water powers." she purred to herself "Now those water panthers will be easier to take down and the Raiju clan's quest for glory will be complete. My good masters always told me that the Raiju clan was destined for greatness and conquering the country will be more then enough greatness for this mighty clan! I can almost picture the emperor's face when he realizes one of Chun-Nan's saviours actually intends to harm the country worse then what Zira the Ruthless already has in her failed attempts."

She finished off her little gloat with a soft, evil chuckle. The Raiju clan was getting ever closer to glory, so close in fact that Conquering Storm could almost taste it and she looked forward to when the Raiju clan conquered Chun-Nan at last…

Back at the Land of the Pandas, Ruben finally came to after Hydra had knocked him out. He rubbed his throbbing head and he sat up straight, stretching and wondering what had just happened. He winced as his head began to throb.

"Ow! My head!" he muttered "What did I just get hit by again?"

Just as Ruben had finished waking up, Matilda began to come to as well. She was feeling a little crummy from the fight with the pandas but she was OK enough to get back up. She sat up on her knees and she began to rub herself all over. Ruben noticed that Matilda was awake and his face brightened.

"Matilda, you're up." he said "How do you feel?"

"Not my best really." said Matilda weakly "That panda fight really wore me down. I'll be fine though, my wounds will heal. How are you?"

"I'm fine." said Ruben "Although my head hurts for some reason." he added, rubbing it slightly "And my neck feels funny. I can feel the breeze on it for some…reason…" his voice slowed down as he suddenly realized what was going on.

His hands suddenly lunged up and closed quickly around his throat and he noticed that the terrible of all terrible things had just happened to him. His aqua-collar was gone! It had been stolen and Ruben had a good idea on who it was that had stolen it. Ruben couldn't believe what had just happened.

"My aqua-collar!" shrieked Ruben "No! No please no! It can't be! My aqua-collar's gone!"

"Oh no!" exclaimed Matilda "You've been robbed Ruben! The thief must have struck while I was asleep! But where's Hydra? He's gone too."

"I think I know where he is." muttered Ruben "Run off somewhere and he has my aqua-collar!"

"He has your…? Don't be ridiculous Ruben, Hydra wouldn't steal your aqua-collar." said Matilda "He's helping us find the thief."

"No Matilda, I think he IS the thief." said Ruben "While you were out of it, he suddenly grabbed me and knocked me out with a head butt. And then I wake up minus Hydra and my aqua-collar so that clearly means the thief is Hydra!"

"Oh my gosh…that's terrible! Absolutely terrible!" cried Matilda in horror "He…How could he do this to his own kind? Hydra's betrayed the water-panthers and has robbed every single water-panther of their collar! That's just horrible! How could he do that?"

"I dunno but once I get my hands on that dirty traitor I will make him squeal if it's the last thing I do!" yelled Ruben, pounding his hand with his fist "How dare he betray the water panthers and steal their collars! I hope he was a good explanation for this or I will personally take it upon myself to kill that subversive fiend!"

"Ruben, killing him is not going to solve anything." said Matilda sternly "We find Hydra and we question him on his treachery, we will not harm him in anyway."

"Yes, we'll do that." said Ruben, claming down a little "I'm sorry I got carried away in my anger Matilda."

"I forgive you." said Matilda "I understand your anger. Hydra's one of your best friends and he's stealing aqua-collars so I can easily see why you're so mad about it."

"I'm more then just mad about it." said Ruben grimly "I'm downright upset about it too! I thought Hydra was my friend and then he goes and steals my aqua-collar and leaves me out here alone! Although he seemed to have great regret in doing so. Before knocking me out, he acted all apologetic to me and then he just knocked me out. Maybe someone's forcing him to do this or something."

"Maybe." said Matilda agreeably "If he was regretful about having to steal your collar then he must have been blackmailed into stealing all the aqua-collars. Well we must find Hydra and find out everything about what's going on with him and the aqua-collar thefts."

"I agree, let's go Matilda." said Ruben "But where do we go from here?"

"We'll go home to the Pagoda of Prosperity and break the news to my dad." said Matilda "Then we'll think about our next step."

So Matilda and Ruben got up onto their feet and they left the Land of the Pandas behind and headed off to the Pagoda of Prosperity to tell Emperor Tai what they had just found out today. Unfortunately, they were coming home to something much worse then the thieving of aqua-collars. Something much, MUCH worse…

Footnotes:

*See Sonic the Hedgehog: Heroes of Mobius Story 83

** See Sonic the Hedgehog: Heroes of Mobius Story 56

Bet none of you saw THAT coming did you? Hydra being the thief! Just a darn pity he's dead now so Ruben will never get to ask him! Oh well, so what's going to happen next? Tune in next time for the exciting finale to this arc! Reviews are welcome. No flames.

Bet you'll never see pandas the same way again after this will you? XD