Sonic's Chaos

Chapter 4: Fang's Job


Sonic came to, looking up at the metal roof above him. He noticed pressure around his wrists; looking down, he saw a pair of metal bracelets. He was unsure what these were intended for. It seemed that his captor knew he was awake.

"Take a look, Sonic," Robotnik said, bringing his attention to a large screen. "Come and look at your friends."

Sonic got to his feet and looked at the screen. He saw the Freedom Fighters; Sally, Tails, Espio, Mighty and more, fighting off a group of Badniks. At first he felt concern, but he saw his friends holding pretty well. Just as it seemed that the Badniks were about to be destroyed, something crashed into the ground. When the dust cleared, Sonic saw another blue hedgehog, identical in all ways except its robotic features. He could see the look of confusion on the faces of his friends.

"Behold, my latest invention," Robotnik exclaimed before taking on a mocking tone. "You think your friends just happened to stumble across those robot generators? I planted those there because I knew it would lure you out!"

"I don't understand..." Sonic said, still looking at the screen. "What is that thing?"

Robotnik chuckled. "While you were busy playing with my robot generators, I issued a small robot to take a sample of your DNA – and what a success! What you're looking at is a biological clone of you, which I have enhanced technologically. I name him Metal Sonic, and rest assured, he is faster, stronger and smarter than you will ever be!"

Sonic continued staring, dumbfounded. His friends seemed reluctant to fight the clone, which Metal used to its advantage; it made quick work of the Freedom Fighters before fleeing. Sonic felt anger wash over him. He tried breaking through the bars, but he was zapped; it seemed the bars were electrified.

"Why would you do something like this?!" Sonic yelled. "What is it you want?"

Robotnik merely cackled. "Oh, Sonic – not so nice now the tables are turned, eh? You see, the Freedom Fighters have been a slight nuisance for months before you arrived. But now that they've seen you, their beacon of hope, seemingly roboticized and working for me, they will lose all hope!"

Sonic could barely contain his anger. "They won't give up! They're stronger than you think!"

The mad doctor sneered at him. "Maybe not, but they'll certainly be demoralized." He marched towards Sonic's cage, bending over so he was eye-level with Sonic. "Now, time for business; I know your band of freaks has two of the Chaos Emeralds hidden somewhere. Why don't you tell me where?"

Sonic scowled. "I'll never tell you!"

Robotnik straightened himself. "Hmm... very well. With or without your help, all seven Emeralds will be mine eventually." He marched away, sitting in his throne. All Sonic could do was slump back against the wall. For the first time, Robotnik got the upper hand.


At Knothole, the Freedom Fighters recovered from their battle, patching themselves and each other up. None of them could quite come to terms with what they saw. Ray decided to address the elephant in the room.

"So, is that it?" he asked weakly. "Sonic's working for Robotnik now?"

The room was silent. "It would seem that way," Espio answered, waiting a couple of seconds. "He gave himself up so we could get out with the Emerald."

Tails was desperate to come to a resolution, an answer that meant they could get Sonic back. An idea crossed his mind. "He might not be a lost cause, you know..."

A couple of people looked up at him.

"Take Bunnie, for example. We were able to save her from being completely roboticized. When we saw Sonic, there were still biological features left; only some parts were replaced by technology."

Sally addressed him. "So what you're saying is we could save him from being fully converted?"

Tails nodded. "The only problem is, how? None of us can match him in speed or strength."

The room fell silent once again until another thought crossed Tails' mind.

"...unless, we snatch him while he's deactivated."

"Where would we find him?" Mighty asked.

"It's likely he's in Robotnik Tower," Tails deduced. "At this point, Sonic is Robotnik's strongest asset. He'd want to keep him close."

"So you're saying we should go back to that place again?" Sally said, not at all happy with the idea. "After we nearly got killed last time?"

"I'm not saying all of us should go..." Tails reasoned. "I mean, there is one person here who can turn invisible..."

Espio looked up. "You want me to go there alone?"

Tails shook his head, frustrated. "No, no... I don't know. But we stand a way better chance if we get Sonic back."


In Robotropolis Casino, Fang sat slumped over the bar, groaning. "Ugh... that diamond... they stole that diamond..."

Suddenly, he felt a tap on the shoulder. Slowly turning around, he saw a small, bald man in green uniform. "You must be Fang the Sniper."

Fang rotated in his seat. "What's it t'you, huh?"

Snively cleared his throat. "I understand that you've had something stolen from you lately. My employer has information that may help you recover it."

Fang perked up, nodding his head and straightening his hat.

Snively led Fang through Robotnik Tower to Robotnik's Throne Room. The doctor spun round in his chair to meet Fang, analysing him through his aviators.

"Fang the Sniper," Robotnik said, addressing the weasel. "You've had something stolen from you lately, from a group that associates with this pest..." He motioned to Sonic's cage, where Sonic lay down, a mixture of boredom and frustration on his face.

"Darn right," Fang said. "I'd have made millions from that diamond, let me tell ya..."

Robotnik cut him off. "You'd make much more if you knew what it really was, Fang. That 'diamond' was a powerful gem called a Chaos Emerald."

Fang's ears perked up. "Yer kiddin'! Ya gotta help me find that thing!"

Robotnik smirked. "I will, Fang – in fact, if you bring it back here, I'll pay you handsomely. How's 20 million?"

The weasel's eyes lit up. "Deal, Doctor!"

"Good!" Robotnik grinned, "The Emerald is somewhere in the village of Knothole. Another Emerald is located there. If you bring them both back, that's 20 million each."

Fang was beaming. "Yes, sir! I'll find 'em quick enough!" He practically skipped out the room, overjoyed at the prospect of earning so much money. When he left, Sonic piped up.

"And how exactly is he gonna find the Emeralds?"

Robotnik turned to the hedgehog. "Don't let that simpleton fool you; his sense of smell is excellent. How do you think he became a treasure hunter in the first place?"

Sonic was still confident in his friends. "And you think my friends will give them up so easily? No chance!"

Robotnik grimaced. "We'll see, rodent. We'll see..."


Fang snuck into Knothole that night. It seemed fairly quiet there; there were signs of battle. To any other treasure hunter, this sight may discourage them from looking further, but Fang's sharp sense of smell soon picked up the scent of a Chaos Emerald. He stealthily stepped around, sniffing the air. His nose led him to a workshop. Fang's nose alerted him to the presence of someone inside; a young fox, more than a match. Fang kicked the door down, raising his revolver at the fox.

"I know you got those Chaos Emeralds here," Fang said quietly, smirking. "No one has to get hurt if you just show me where."

Tails' fear was quickly replaced with resilience. "I don't think so!" Swinging his tails, he knocked the gun out of his opponent's hand before punching the thief in the mouth. Fang fell back as Tails sounded an alarm. The weasel quickly got to his feet, swinging at Tails and knocking him to the floor. Fang stepped over Tails, who was holding where Fang punched him, and sniffed out the Emeralds. This led him to the outline of something covered by a sheet. When Fang pulled the sheet off, he saw it – a box of some kind with the two Emeralds inside.

As he reached to grab it, he felt something grab him, turning to see Mighty the Armadillo. Mighty tossed Fang away from the Emeralds. "We have an intruder!" he yelled. "Protect the Emeralds!"

Fang picked up his revolver, prompting Mighty to roll into a ball. Fang opened fire, but the bullets bounced off of Mighty's sturdy shell. When the round was empty, Mighty spin-dashed into Fang, knocking him down again. Fang was taking a beating, but he wouldn't go down this easy. When Mighty unrolled from his ball, Fang sweep-kicked him, knocking him face first onto the ground. The armadillo got back onto his feet and threw some punches at Fang, but the weasel was too quick for him.

"So these are who the Chaotix are taking on nowadays?" Fang taunted as he dodged Mighty's attacks before punching him in the gut, making Mighty keel over. Fang scoffed. "Pathetic."

"He's not alone," a familiar voice said. Turning around, he saw Espio the Chameleon. Fang scowled.

"Thought yer'd show up," Fang snarled. "Ya won't be getting in the way of my plans this time, ya hear me?!"

Fang charged at Espio, who slid out of the way. The two started brawling, their past encounters seeming to all lead up to this. By now, a crowd was forming as the other Freedom Fighters heard the alarm. From the corner of his eye, Fang noticed a chipmunk heading into the workshop. He quickly drew his revolver and fired a couple of shots her way, forcing her to turn around and take cover. Espio took advantage of this distraction, kicking Fang to the ground, but Fang was still armed. He opened fire on Espio, the shot hitting him in the arm. Espio slumped to the floor, breathing heavily, as Fang stood up.

"You know," Fang said in a snarky tone, kicking a shuriken out of Espio's reach, "You should never bring a knife to a gun fight."

Fang headed inside, holding his gun up, threatening anyone who dared approach him. As he entered the workshop, he found Tails blocking the way to the Emeralds, grimacing.

"No..." Tails growled. "I won't let you have them!"

As Fang raised his gun, he heard a whooshing sound, like a jet engine flying through the air. All of a sudden, the roof above him collapsed. Tails looked to see it, his worst nightmare; Metal Sonic. Tails tried to fight it; he threw a punch, but Metal simply grabbed his hand and tossed him behind. Tails looked up as Metal picked up the Emerald Container.

"No..." Tails whimpered. "Stop it... Sonic!"

Metal flew into the air, container in hand. It was too late now.

Fang woke up, tied to a chair by rope, his hands behind his back. His vision was blurry at first, but he soon recognised the people surrounding him. His old rival, Espio the Chameleon, bandage wrapped around the wound on his arm. Along with him was a bruised Mighty the Armadillo, as well as who he recognised to be the former princess, Sally Acorn. Alongside them was a pink hedgehog wielding a hammer.

"Wha' the hell..?" Fang muttered as he started coming to. He struggled in the binds. "Let me outta this thing!"

"We will, if you're willing to co-operate," Sally reasoned. "We have a couple of questions for you."

Espio stood in front of Fang, who grimaced at him. "Thought I'd finally got ya this time..." Fang snarled. Espio merely chuckled.

"We'd like to know what led you to Knothole," Espio questioned. "Someone must have given you pointers."

Fang sighed, regretful to be working with Espio. "Some dwarf in a green suit came up to me at the Casino, not longer after you stole my Emerald! Anyway, he took me into this tower. There was a guy there; fat, bald, mustache. Told me he'd pay me handsomely if I gave 'im both the Emeralds."

His four interrogators looked at each other, the description provided by Fang producing the same image of Robotnik in their minds.

"What?" Fang asked. "Sound familiar to ya?"

Espio continued. "If Robotnik already sent you to get the Emeralds, why would he send Sonic?"

Fang looked confused. "What, that robot guy?"

"He's our friend," Amy said. "He was captured and roboticized."

Fang shook his head. "Weird, the guy was normal when I talked to Robotnik."

Mighty, Amy, Espio and Sally paused. "What do you mean, 'he was normal'?" Sally asked.

"Well," Fang explained, "When the green guy took me to Robotnik, there was a blue hedgehog caged up in the corner of 'is room. He looked perfectly normal to me."

"Does this mean Sonic's still alive?" Amy asked Sally excitedly.

"If Sonic's alive," Espio thought out loud, "What was the thing that stole the Emeralds?" Espio's mind turned to finding a way to get Sonic out. "Look, Fang, don't you think that you showing up to Knothole just for Robotnik to send a robot is a bit suspicious?"

Fang thought about the situation, looking down for a second to process it before looking back up in anger. "He conned me! He used me!"

Espio grinned a little. "Exactly; Robotnik used you to scout out where exactly the Emeralds were, then when you found them, he sent his robot to grab them so he wouldn't have to pay you."

Fang spat. "Why, that fat, lying little..."

"So," Espio interrupted. "Your employer has stabbed you in the back. I say you help us get one back on him."

Fang squinted at Espio. "Me? Work with the Chaotix? After all the trouble ya give me?!"

Espio spoke convincingly. "Trust us, Fang. Robotnik betrayed you. We won't."

Fang grunted. "Hmph... fine. I'll help you boys out."

Espio smiled. "Well done, Fang. Stay here for the night."

Mighty spoke up. "Maybe you should apologise to the kid you beat up," referring to Tails.

"Fine, fine... just let me outta this thing, wouldja?" Fang huffed.


Back at Robotnik Tower, Sonic heard the marching of heavy feet coming down the hallway. Seconds later, he looked up as he heard the sound of the doors opening. That's when he saw himself; Metal Sonic, carrying the Chaos Emerald Container. Robotnik swivelled around in his chair and let out a laugh upon seeing the Emeralds.

"Well done, Metal!" he exclaimed gleefully. "Now, how do we open this device?"

The answer seemed unclear. Robotnik turned to Sonic. "Tell us, rodent! How does this box open?"

Sonic laughed. "Like I'm gonna tell you that! Good luck, Ro-butt-nik!"

The doctor growled before looking back at Metal Sonic. He smirked. Pressing a button on his chair, the bars on Sonic's cage opened. Sonic eyes lit up; he sped out of the room, heading through the door when suddenly he received an electric shock. He fell back into Robotnik's lair, realising the purpose of the metal bracelets; to keep him inside that room. Sonic turned, hearing the sound of Robotnik's deep laugh, before he sprung into monologue.

"Well, Sonic," he announced, "If you won't tell us how to open the box, I'm sure your superior counterpart will be able to beat it out of you!"

Metal Sonic rotated, stomping to face Sonic. Red dots glowed red in his black eyes. Sonic scowled.

"Last chance, Sonic!" Robotnik said, voice rising in pitch as if to mock him. "Tell us how to open it, or meet your end!"

Sonic grimaced before grinning cockily. "Hah!" he laughed, "You think this wannabe is a match for me? Bring it on!"

The two hedgehogs faced each other in a standoff, both ready to charge. Robotnik looked down over his aviators, eyes glowing with excitement.