Chapter 15: One-Sided Negotiations

September 3rd, 2316 – 11:50 AM – Whisper Valley, Cictra

For the fifth time in the last minute, Sonic blew a breath of warm air across his chest. He would have tried cupping his hands or curling up into a ball to get warmer, if only he wasn't held fast to the bars of his cage by chains. The arrangement gave him almost no wiggle room. So, he was forced to constantly maintain a sitting position with his arms fully spread out to the sides and his legs stuck out straight as a ruler. It didn't help that this metal cage he was locked up in was absorbing the cold from the surrounding area, and then transferring it to his body as he sat on the metal. All the while, he wished deeply he could just smash out of his prison, but even if he wasn't chained up, the bars were constructed of a special alloy that was impervious to his spin dashes.

Outside of his cage, a light snow trickled past from the cloudy sky overhead, making a thin white blanket on the ground. On three sides of the cage, he was surrounded by large, rough rocks, which were also getting covered in snow. On the last side he was facing, there was a steep drop off where the cliff was, and in the distance he could see the distant peaks of other mountains.

This was the direction he glared in, as he looked angrily at one of his two kidnappers. She'd called herself Canma, and right now she was dressed in a very comfortable-looking winter coat. As if looking at her all nice and warm wasn't bad enough, he could clearly see the key to his cage hanging from her belt.

Unfortunately, she was too far out of reach, as she sat on a nearby rock sharpening her sword with a smaller stone. The "shing shing" of the blade being carved against the rock was really starting to get to Sonic, especially with the way it echoed back to them from the valley. That made it sound like some sort of god was sharpening it instead of her, with how loud it was. Canma had told him that she'd start amputation his fingers, arms, and then his legs if Tails and Knuckles didn't get here by noon, and it was getting very close to that deadline.

Sonic turned his head, and rotated his arm as much as he could so he could see his watch. He gulped a little, as he realized it was now 11:55 am. If his friends didn't show up in the next five minutes, he'd have only four fingers on his right hand. Canma seemed to realize the deadline was closing in as well, as she slowly sat up from the rock to examine her handiwork. Satisfied, the vixen slowly approached the cage with the sharpened sword in hand, smiling unnervingly at Sonic with every step. Meanwhile, Sonic tensed up harder with every step she took, and began to try to free himself from his restraints as she opened the cage door with the key. All he managed to do was make a huge rattling racket, and nothing else.

"Please! Don't do this to me!" Sonic begged. "I'll do anything for you if you just give my friends some more time! What's it gonna take? Huh?"

Sonic vehemently hated begging, since it made him look so weak. However, the situation was getting so desperate that he was willing to try anything. Unfortunately, Canma didn't appear to react in any way to his pleads. She had finally reached him, and was now reaching for his right hand. All the while she had that same eerie smile on her face. However, as she started to extend his pinky out and place her sword against it, the smile extended into a devilish grin which displayed her sharp teeth. Sonic could feel the colt steel of the blade against his finger, as she gently pressed it against the fabric of the glove.

Before she went any further though, she froze in that position, and then turned to face Sonic.

"Time's up, I'm afraid," she said coolly. "It's time to punish your friends for their tardiness."

Sonic's eyes widened in terror. Meanwhile, Canma returned to her task nonchalantly, as if she were just sewing. Sonic closed his eyes and prepared for the horrifying pain.

However, before she could do it, a beeping noise sounded from the radio that Canma was wearing on her belt. While Sonic breathed a sigh of relief and opened his eyes, the vixen unclipped the radio from her belt and spoke into it.

"What is it? Are the other two here?" she said. She sounded annoyed, as if she'd just been interrupted during dinner.

"Yeah...they're here," Nack said on the other end, his voice distorted by the static. "Look to the north."

Canma turned around and stepped out of the cage. Once she was clear, she pulled out a pair of binoculars and looked up to the sky. While Sonic couldn't see anything, he could audibly hear the sound of a plane engine approaching. He could tell just by the sound that it was the Tornado 2, since he'd ridden in it so much.

Sonic smiled a little, but then his grin quickly faded away. He was happy, now that his friends were here. That meant he'd been momentarily spared from Canma's sword. However...he was unsure of what would happen now. A storm of questions ran through his head. Did they have a plan to free him? Would there be any other rescue attempts if Tails and Knuckles failed? Who was this client and what would he do with the three of them once they were delivered to him? What motive would he have for wanting them captured?

Sonic's thinking was interrupted as Canma turned back to look at him. "You're one lucky hedgehog. Looks like I won't need to cut you up, for now at least. It's a shame for me though... I was so looking forward to this."

"You poor girl..." Sonic said sarcastically.

"Don't start feeling sorry for me yet," Canma said, approaching the cage again. "If your friends try anything funny while Nack is collecting them, or if you try to yell for help, my orders are to begin the torture again. I just wish I could start right now though, since I've always wanted to do this..."

"What's your problem with me anyway?" Sonic said. "What did I do to you to make you like doing this to me?"

"Because you work directly for the human government, and thus you are a human lover," Canma said, hardening her gaze. "You are a traitor to the Freedomian race for allying yourself with those wretched furless monkeys, and for that I believe you should be punished. This planet was such a better place before they came here. Look at everything that Robotnik has done. If humans hadn't come here, we would have never suffered from his wrath! How can I love a race that could produce someone so evil?"

"But...even if I do work for humans, I'm only doing it to defeat Robotnik. I mean, if you hate him so much, why not just let me keep doing my job then? I know I'll get him eventually."

Canma got right in Sonic's face, and started yelling.

"So what if you're fighting against one human? You're still working in favor of all the others! Besides, if they're capable of producing one monster, they can make another one! The only answer to this problem is to get rid of them completely! As long as you and your friends are still free, you will continue to help them to flourish! I can't allow that!"

She stood up and strode back over to the cliff, looking down with her binoculars, while Sonic watched her in stony silence. It looked like Canma had more than one reason for going after the bounties. Sonic couldn't help but wonder what had made her hate humans so much.

In the valley below...

Amidst a few evergreen trees, Nack stood in the boot-high snow with his arms crossed, a thin smile on his face. He watched as the Tornado 2 did another flyover, apparently looking for a place to land. Wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible, Nack decided to help them out in their search. He pulled out his radio and tuned it in to the frequency of the Tornado 2's radio. Once he was done, he began to speak into it.

"Hello, you two!" Nack said cheerfully. "Glad to see you've found us in time. We were starting to get worried that you might have gotten lost..."

"Cut the crap Nack!" Tails shouted back over the radio. "If you've laid a finger on Sonic—"

"Don't worry, little fox," Nack said reassuringly. "We haven't done anything yet, and we won't do anything at all if you'll just follow my instructions. Now, I'm sure you're searching for a place to land, right?"

"Uh...yeah?" Tails replied.

"There's an old decommissioned air strip just south of here. Once you're on the ground, head north into the valley to meet me. Got it?"

"Roger..." Tails said unenthusiastically.

The plane started heading south, and was soon out of sight due to the cloudy weather. Even the engine noise had faded away. Nack retuned his radio to the frequency of Canma's radio, and waited. Tails and Knuckles were quite punctual, arriving to meet Nack within just several minutes. As they both stormed towards him though, they looked like they were ready to tear him limb from limb. Fortunately, Nack and Canma had planned ahead for this.

Talking quickly, before one of them decided to rush him, Nack said, "If you're thinking of trying to attack me, you should think again. My partner Canma is watching us right now with binoculars, and if you come at me she'll start cutting up Sonic like a loaf of bread."

Giving a low grumble, Knuckles stopped in his tracks and folded up his arms. Tails stopped beside him. The two of them started to look around, apparently searching for Canma. Rolling his eyes, Nack pulled out his radio.

"Stop looking for her," Nack ordered. "Or I'll tell her to start slicing right now."

Once again, Knuckles gave a little growl at Nack, while baring his teeth. Tails spit at Nack's feet, and folded his arms. If looks could kill, Nack would be instantly vaporized into a pile of ashes between Sonic's two friends.

Yeah... Well too bad for them. We've got Sonic, and they can't do shit as long as we do.

"Let's go for a little stroll," Nack said, turning his back on them and walking through the valley to the north. "Remember: don't attack me unless you want Sonic to be brought back to you in pieces."

He heard footsteps behind him, signaling they were complying with his instructions. Everything was going according to plan. As long as they didn't know where Sonic was, Nack was in control. It was such a powerful feeling, to know that these guys could defeat him in an instant, but they were powerless with their friend's life at stake.

That's why I don't have any friends. They'll just weigh you down and paralyze you with their own problems.

The three of them walked past a small brook that drifted through the snow, and beneath some trees that swayed in a gentle breeze. Snowflakes wafted around all of them, giving the place a very peaceful and mystical feeling. Nack grinned, imagining that the beautiful environment probably felt like a mockery of the situation Sonic and his friends were in right now.

Oh well... They won't have to think about it much longer.

Nack led them through another group of evergreen trees, and stopped once he reached the other side of the thicket. Tails and Knuckles stopped too, apparently puzzled by Nack suddenly coming to a halt. They didn't have long to wonder about it though, as Nack pulled out a remote control and pressed a red button on it.

Suddenly, the snow beneath Tails and Knuckles exploded upward, as a rope net flew up from underneath the white. Before Tails and Knuckles could blink, the net wrapped around the two of them and entangled them. They were then pulled up high into the trees by ropes attached to the net, as they shouted for help that wouldn't be coming. Nack walked underneath the net as it swayed in the air and laughed. He pressed a purple button on his remote.

Purple Sconocea gas appeared from canisters he had hidden in the trees, and Knuckles and Tails were quickly concealed in the mist. Nack could hear some more yelling, but he didn't really care what they were saying at all. They'd finally done it; they'd captured all three bounties! Quickly, the shouting died away, and silence took its place again. After the gas faded, Nack pressed the red button again. The net descended back down to the ground, landing with a thump next to Nack.

He laughed, enjoying his triumph, before raising Canma on the radio.

"Mission complete, Canma! Tails and Knuckles have been caught. I'll be up there shortly. Pack our stuff up and get ready to leave."

"Good work Nack," Canma said. "I never imagined you'd come this far when I first met you."

"Yeah yeah, thanks," Nack said dismissively. "Save it for after we get our paychecks."

Nack turned off the radio and hurried towards the nearby thicket where he'd hidden his hover bike. He was going to hook up the net to his bike in order to airlift Knuckles and Tails up to the cage they had Sonic in. It was finally time to wrap up the mission and go collect the fruits of his labor.