Several hours ago

"You want the truth?" Tied up to a tall rock deep in a cave of the Emerald Canyon, Heavy Magician looks up to meet Amy's eyes. "Here's the truth. The Boss don't want me. And I don't want him, neither. I'm done with the Empire. I'm done with the Heavies. I get more respect as y'all's prisoner than I ever got as their ally."

Amy crosses her arms. "I asked you about Big. What does that have to do with him?"

"Ya mean your boss didn't tell ya?"

"Tell me what?"

"That I'm the reason your fat friend's free."

"And how do you figure that?"

"Simple transmission. I warned the old man that y'all were headed for Genocide City. Told 'em to divert the troops that were guardin' Big's cell. How else would he've made it out?"

"And why should I believe that?"

"I'm sure the fox kid could figure out how to access my transmission logs. You'll see I'm telling the truth."

"Tails isn't back yet. But that's not what I'm asking about. I'm supposed to believe that you intentionally freed the person you were impersonating?"

"Look, I don't like gettin' all touchy-feely. But…I…"

"You what?"

"I was him. For three months. And the way y'all treated me–treated…him…the way y'all welcomed him, appreciated him no matter how much of an idiot he was…it made me feel…something."

"Guilt, maybe?"

"Yeah, that must be it. Guilt. Because I was gettin' it when it was meant for him. But there's somethin' else, too. It made me feel good. I ain't never been appreciated like that before. And I knew it wouldn't be long before I had to give that up. I knew I needed to do somethin' about it. All of it. Had to cut the trick short. Change the rules. Bring the real Big back."

"You really did it on purpose?"

"To tell the truth…I was hopin' the Boss would prove me wrong. Get me out of there inside of a day. Prove that he does appreciate me. I was just tryin' to play a trick on myself, I suppose. He doesn't. He never did." She tips her mechanical eyes down towards the ground. But then she looks back up to meet Amy's eyes. "I wanna be a Rebel. I wanna fight those no-goods who don't care about no one but themselves. I wanna…have friends. I…wanna be like Big. For real."

"You…" Amy stares intently back into the Magician's eyes. "…you really mean it, don't you?"

"Don't get me wrong, I still hate fishing."

Amy's eyes narrow. "And you've told all this to Sonic?"

"Not…in so many words. But he knows. I get the feelin'…that your heart's a little more open than his."

"I think that he and I need to have a talk."

Sonic the Hedgehog: The Chaos Project

Season 1, Episode 16

Maggie Magician and the Magic MacGuffin

Written by ChaosProjectAuthor

Daily Log, November 8th, 0 A.E. Sonic the Hedgehog reporting.

So today's been…eventful. I…told something to Amy that I…probably shouldn't have. And that's not even our biggest issue. Somehow…she convinced me to set our prisoner free. Heavy Magician claims that she's defecting. That she's joining our side. Obviously, I'm…pretty skeptical. A trickster, claiming that she's switching sides? It's got to be some kind of ruse, right? Why wouldn't it be?

Still…I can't ignore this. Someone's asking for our help. What kind of heroes would we be to say no? Thankfully, it isn't all-or-nothing. In case we needed to negotiate with her, Tails prepared a little device for me. Remote control off switch. Put it on, kept some collateral, and asked her to prove herself. She extracted Shadow and Tails from their mission, and brought them right back. Is that enough to trust her by? I…don't know. I don't think this is a decision I can make myself. One thing's for sure. We're in for a weird day.

—–—

Emerald Canyon – The Rebellion Base

Quite a stir has been caused in the center of the Rebel camp. Nearly every member stands circled around, all whispering quietly to one another, as Heavy Magician floats in the middle glancing expectantly from one to the next. "Come on, don't y'all tell me you don't have use for a shapeshifter! I can be anyone you want me to be! In fact, I don't want to look like Eggman no more!" She reaches up to the brim of her top hat. It suddenly grows to a massive size, large enough to cover her completely as she pulls it down over herself. After the floating hat rattles for a moment, it explodes in a puff of sparkling smoke.

Revealed through the cloud of smoke is a silhouette that at first appears nearly the same. "Just call me…" It quickly becomes clear that her form is no longer that of a robot, but of an animoid, a large Cat with proportions not dissimilar to Big. She still wears her top hat and tailed yellow tuxedo with excessively large red bowtie, sleeveless, revealing silver and black fur underneath. "…Maggie the Cat!" Holding her arms out wide in showmanship, she glances at the crowd around her, waiting for some sort of response. She is met with confused and suspicious stares in all directions.

For a moment, she glances over at Big. "Okay, in hindsight, given what I did, I can see why this mighta been a bad idea. New plan." She quickly pulls down her hat, transforming inside of it once again. "Say hello to…" The smoke puffs outwards. "…Maggie the Hedgehog!" This time, she's taken on a more standard slender body shape, still with the same outfit. She whispers aside to no one in particular, "Original character, do not steal."

The confusion among her audience only grows. "Not your pace? Let me keep tryin', I'll get it!" She begins her transformation sequence again. This time, she reappears in the form of a female Echidna. She looks straight to Knuckles. "Whaddaya think? Last of your kind, no more." She leans in close to him, nudging his side with her elbow. "Like what you see, tough guy?" She gives him a wink.

Knuckles clenches a fist with a growl. Sonic has to put a hand on his shoulder to hold him back.

Heavy Magician's transformations become more rapid fire as she suddenly appears behind Tails in a new form. "You like tails? I got more of 'em." She points a thumb back towards her nine long fox tails.

She returns to the center of the circle in another new form, this time disguising herself entirely as the immediately recognizable form of Classic Sonic. Her voice continues out of his mouth, "And it don't stop there! I can be anything!"

She transforms into a large yellow Polar Bear. "I can be strong!" She slams a fist into the ground, causing it to shake.

Another transformation, a green Duck with a red neckerchief. She holds up a cartoonish black bomb. "I can be crafty!"

A familiar fanged Weasel in a brown hat. This time, she takes on his voice as she declares, "I can fool your enemies!"

An unusual feline animoid, a Manx, with a ponytail of brown hair. "I can be speedy!"

This seems to inspire her next transformation, a white Rooster in a green flight jacket and helmet, with a rocket strapped to his back. "I can fly!"

Regaining her original outfit, she becomes a tall, slender human woman with short blond hair and a thick coat of red lipstick. "I can blend in. Who'd think twice about a plain old regular human stage magician?" She leans in towards Cream, motioning towards the inside of her hat. "Wanna be my assistant, Rabbit? Kids love that trick." Amy steps protectively in front of Cream. "Okay, I see your point. Too flashy." With another puff of smoke, the tuxedo becomes a simple red dress that would still stand out in any crowd. This time, she leans towards Sonic, voicing a bit more quietly, "I can be the perfect girl for you." Her wand poofs into a microphone. "How about a duet, true blue? You can open your heart to me."

Somehow, Amy appears in front of Sonic even faster than she did in front of Cream, this time with a hammer at the ready.

Magician backs off a step. "And you know what else?" This time, as she pulls down her hat, the transformation sequence lasts much longer, accompanied by a drumroll from nowhere. At the drumroll's crescendo, the smoke billows outwards, revealing the startling form of none other than Emperor Eggman. With a voice to match, he finishes, "I can go anywhere. I can order anyone to do anything, no questions asked." He puts his fingertips together as he leans towards Sonic. "So what do you think, Hedgehog?"

Sonic steps out from the crowd, meeting the false Eggman face to face. He crosses his arms. "I think we've seen enough. Drop the disguise, Heavy–"

In her own voice, strange out of Eggman's mouth, she objects, "I told y'all to call me Maggie!"

Sonic corrects with a strong edge of irritation, "Drop the disguise, Maggie."

Eggman's voice picks up, "You people are no fun." With another quick pull, the ordinary form of Heavy Magician returns.

Sonic spends several more moments looking her over. He breathes a brief sigh through his nose. "You've made your point." He looks back to the crowd. "Tails, Knuckles, Amy, with me. Shadow, keep an eye on her. Everyone else, back to work. We still have a war to fight."

—–—

"So do you trust her?"

Sonic shakes his head to Knuckles. "Not for a second."

Tails notes, "She made some valid points. There's no question, she'd be a big help to us."

Knuckles adds, "If she's telling the truth."

Amy suggests, "She's alone, and she's asking for our help. Like her or not, what reason do we have to say no to that?"

Sonic answers, "'She' is an Eggman robot."

Tails counters, "So is Omega. Why can we trust him, but not her?"

Knuckles responds, "She even calls herself a trickster. That makes her inherently untrustworthy, Eggman robot or not."

Amy objects, "That's all the more encouragement for her to stick with us. Why would she pass up the chance to pull this trick on Eggman, the Heavies, the people who mistreated her? Besides, she's not even from this dimension. She's stranded here. She doesn't have any loyalty to our Eggman."

Sonic quiets everyone with a sigh. "There are more loops in this argument than there are in all of Green Hill Zone. On one hand, I can't trust her, on the other, I'm obligated to. We just…don't have enough to go on. How can we get her to prove whose side she's on?"

The question puts everyone through several moments of silent thought. Finally, Tails answers, "Well…how did we come to trust Omega so much?"

Knuckles answers, "I think Omega made his intentions pretty clear from the beginning."

Amy counters, "And Maggie isn't?"

Knuckles mutters, "You're actually calling her that?"

Tails continues, "We need to send her on a mission. A real one. One where she'll have to fight other Eggman robots, one where she knows she'll be helping our cause in some measurable way."

Knuckles counters, "You really think it's a good idea to put something that important on someone who's probably going to betray us?"

Sonic holds up a finger. "Hold on…Tails is on to something. But…she doesn't have to know that she's helping us…she only has to believe that she is."

Amy can't help but smirk. "It sounds like you have a plan."

Sonic nods. "We're going to trick the trickster."

A loud explosion shakes the ground outside. The four look to each other, all realizing at once, "Omega."

—–—

Heavy Magician scrambles wildly with flailing arms to avoid the volley of missiles being fired by Omega. Omega shouts as he fires off one after another, "I will eradicate all Eggman robots! You will not fool me!"

Heavy Magician suddenly freezes in place, somehow in the perfect position not to be hit as she says to herself, "What am I doing? This is so undignified." With an elegant motion, she whips off her hat, holding it out in front of her to catch the next oncoming missile inside. Holding the hat with just one hand, she quickly swings it from place to place, perfectly catching each missile instead of avoiding them. Once she has all of them, she flips the hat around to show off the inside, demonstrating that it appears to be empty. Finally, she points the hat straight upwards, and all of the missiles she caught fire off in unison, launching into the air and somehow exploding into an impressive fireworks display.

Done with her trick, Magician turns to Shadow, who's been watching with an amused expression the entire time. "Could you control your…robot?"

"Don't worry." Shadow puts on an uncharacteristic smirk. "He'll warm up to you."

Omega switches his missile launcher for a flamethrower.

Before the battle can resume, Sonic runs in, yelling, "Hey, hey, stand down, Omega!"

Omega lowers his weapon with an exaggerated slowness. "You are being deceived. This Eggman robot is attempting to infiltrate your ranks."

"We're going to figure that out. You aren't in charge here. And if we decide that we want to work with her, you will have to get used to working with her, too. Do you understand?"

Omega answers after a slight pause, "That remains to be seen."

Sonic cautiously turns away from Omega, towards Heavy Magician. She questions hesitantly, "Does that mean…y'all are lettin' me join?"

"Look…Maggie…around here, we're all–…err…we all make an effort to be honest. So I have to be honest with you now. We still don't trust you. Yet. But that can change. There's something we need you to do. And if you can do it…it'll go a long way."

"Just say the word! No task is too menial for me!"

"Oh, this is…a little more than menial. Trust me."

—–—

Sonic has escorted Heavy Magician into his tent. He turns his TAL device around to show her the screen. It displays a bright red gemstone of a familiar shape. "This is a Spacial Ruby."

Magician scrutinizes the image closely. "You mean the Phantom Ruby?"

"Huh? No, it's–" Sonic turns the device back to take another look for himself. On closer inspection, its shape is slightly different from the Phantom Ruby, with a greater number of facets, but the resemblance is clear. "Okay, I can see why that might be confusing. This is a different thing…we think. We don't actually know much about it. But we believe that Eggman might have it."

"Retrieval mission, eh? Need to grab this Ruby from under his hairy nose? Sounds like a pretty important job to be handin' off to someone y'all don't trust."

"No, no retrieval, we don't even know where it is. But, if you can use your clearance to get into Eggman's database, you might be able to find out. Take that information back to us, and we can decide what to do with it."

Magician throws up a salute. "You can count on me, New Boss!"

Sonic holds up a hand. "Hold on. Before you do anything, there's a few other things we need to talk about."

"Like what?"

"Like this. Being a member of this team is about a lot more than just sticking it to Eggman. It requires a certain…respect. For all living things. We're not here because we don't like him, we're here to protect the life that he threatens. That means we don't kill. Ever. You have to agree to that."

"Yeah, I get it, totally, no killing. But, like, I have to respect all living things? Even the really dumb ones?"

Sonic answers sternly, "Yes. Even the ones that can't think at all."

"Okay, but, seriously, how do y'all get away with eatin' fish stew and chilli dogs if y'all're supposed to respect the animals?"

"That's–…" Sonic pauses for a few moments with a finger still in the air. Finally, he finishes, "…not the point." He clears his throat. "Moving on, when you're out there, eventually, you're going to have to fight. And that means destroying other Eggman robots. Are you comfortable with that?"

"What, so I gotta respect all organic life, but artificial life is just worthless to y'all? What does that make me?"

"Very few robots have your level of intelligence or individuality."

"Didn't ya say even the dumb ones count?"

"Look, if it makes you feel any better, you don't have to aim for the head. Leave the brains intact, and they, unlike living creatures, can be rebuilt, good as new. Problem is, that's not going to happen. Eggman isn't going to waste time fixing those mass-produced drones when he can just keep building new ones. What does that tell you about his respect for artificial life?"

This actually gives Magician pause. "Huh. Never thought about it that way."

"There's something else. That little device I put on you earlier?"

Heavy Magician scratches at the small circular black device attached to her midsection, as if it could somehow itch. "What about it?"

"It stays on. For now. You understand why, I'm sure?"

"Of course. Emperor Eggy did the same thing when he first put us to work. He took it off soon enough. I'm sure y'all'll come around the same."

Sonic seems a bit surprised by the comparison. "Oh…okay. Well, anyways, that brings me to one last thing. We don't tend to run solo missions around here."

"You comin' with?"

"Not me. Big."

"Big!? Why does it gotta be him!?"

"Because he's the only one you're actually afraid of. I trust him to keep you in line. He's already waiting for you, whenever you're ready to go."

She mutters to herself, "Ah, blast it. Fine."

"Oh, and one other thing. Sometimes these missions require a certain…adaptability. Circumstances change, and you may need to change with them. Do what it takes to bring everyone home safely."

"Please." She finishes as she bows out of the tent, "Adaptin' to a rough crowd is one of my specialties."

After a moment to make sure she's gone, Sonic lets his forehead fall onto the edge of his desk, letting out a long, muffled groan of exhaustion.

"Sounds like that went pretty well." Tails enters the tent with a smile.

Sonic lifts his head back up. "I could run a hundred miles and be less exhausted than I am after one conversation with her. Are we sure we want to keep her around?"

"Everyone's trusting your judgement. If you say no, we back you up all the way. And…it's possible that she could be just the thing we need."

"Mission debrief?"

Tails closes his eyes with a sigh. "Discord was patrolling the waters. We weren't prepared. Never even made it close. Shadow picked up a new trick, though. It was pretty awesome."

"A trick that can beat Discord?"

"…Probably not."

"And the Tornado?"

Tails shakes his head. "Another one bites the dust."

Sonic leans back in his chair with a sigh of his own. "You can say that again." He rubs his forehead with two fingers, as if suppressing a headache. "I want to put you and Knuckles on the Discord problem. If we can't find a more permanent way to shut him down, this is going to keep happening. And next time, we may not be as lucky as you and Shadow were."

"Permanent? You mean…like…?"

"You know how I feel about killing. I don't want it to come to that. But I was thinking. Thousands of years ago, Tikal sealed Perfect Chaos in the Master Emerald. Which means that Discord can be contained."

Tails notes, "At the cost of another life. Tikal had to seal herself, too. Are you saying that Knuckles should–"

"No, that's why I want you on this too. Knuckles knows the Master Emerald, and you know the science behind it, better than anyone. Find a way around it. Make a device that can do what the Master Emerald does, if that's what it takes. Just find a way."

"Heavy Magician could be the way. If she can shapeshift into a form like Discord's, she could be an even match for it."

"Then if she sticks around, you can train her as you see fit. Whatever it takes."

"Got it." Tails thinks for a moment. "So…what exactly did you send her to do?"

"Oh, what was it I said? I sent her to find information on the…uh…'Spacial Ruby'." He chuckles a bit at the name.

"And you just made that up on the spot?"

"Technically, you made it up. Haven't you been theorizing that the Temporal Sapphires have some sort of balancing force?"

"Well, I doubt it's that simple, but…yeah. For all I know, there could be a real Spacial Ruby. So…what happens when she realizes that you made it up?"

"I'm hoping…that she'll appreciate a good prank and carry out her orders anyways. If she does, that should be a pretty good sign that we can trust her."

"And…what if it somehow turns out to be real?"

"Then she'll be bringing back some very important information."

"Sounds like you've got this all figured out."

"Well, that, or I'm willingly sending one of our only advantages against Eggman right back to him. Sometimes it bites, being the good guy."

Tails jokes, "Don't go all evil on us, Sonic. We like you just the way you are."

Sonic laughs. "Wouldn't dream of it."

"Oh, and, uh, Sonic…I hope you don't mind, but Shadow and I…well…we…"

Sonic appears confused. "Shadow and you, what?"

"Well, we…we're…pretty good friends now. We're hanging out later."

Sonic raises his eyebrows. "Really? You and Shadow? Are we talking about the same guy here?"

Tails laughs. "Yeah, I know, it's…pretty weird."

Sonic folds his hands on his desk. "Tails, I don't ever want you to think that I would be upset at you for making friends and having fun. And if you can connect with Shadow in a way that I couldn't, then I'm happy for him, too. You got that?"

Tails puts on a beaming smile with another laugh. "Yes, sir."

Sonic waves a farewell. "Then get out of here."

As Tails turns to leave, he comments, "You know, Sonic? You're still pretty cool."

Sonic clicks his tongue twice as he points back to Tails with a wink. "You know it." Only after Tails is gone does Sonic realize, "Wait a minute…whaddaya mean, 'still cool'? Of course I'm still cool, why wouldn't I be cool anymore?" With rapidly increasing paranoia, he continues to babble, "I'm still cool, who's cooler than me? No one's cooler than me, you think someone's cooler than me! Tails? TAILS!?" He gets up as if to chase after him.

—–—

Big's fishing bobber teeters dangerously close to the edge of the waterfall that tumbles down into the canyon. Sitting on the wooden bridge stretched over the stream, he has an impressive view over the Emerald Hills.

"I always did like this spot."

Big looks over to Heavy Magician standing beside him.

"I hated every minute of the fishing. But up here, with this view…it was almost tolerable. Almost."

Big looks back to his fishing. "I like it here, too."

Beside him, Froggy agrees, "Ribbit!"

"Well, if y'all're ready to go, it's time we talk about disguises."

Big cocks his head to the side. "Disguises?"

"Well it's a stealth mission, ain't it? Unless y'all wanna waltz into Eggman's facility as yourselves."

Big reels in his fishing line as he rises to his feet. "What should we look like?"

"Oh, I think I got that part covered. Just hold still for a sec, would ya?" She raises her wand into the air, holding it above her head for a few moments. "Presto!" She flicks the wand downwards, and Big and Froggy are both completely covered by a dense cloud of sparkling smoke. Big can be heard coughing through it.

When the smoke clears, little appears to have changed. Big now wears a silly looking fake plastic nose and flimsy paper mustache, clearly meant to resemble Eggman, attached to his head by a stretchy black cord. The fake mustache on Froggy looks even more ridiculous. Big starts to tug on his mustache in curiosity.

Heavy Magician takes a moment to examine her handiwork. "Hmm…no, I don't think that'll quite cut it. Lemme try again. Let's see here, what blends in? Robots, obviously. Pair of robots. Shouldn't be too hard." Skipping some of the theatrics, she flicks her wand again.

This time, the smoke clears to reveal a complete transformation, into the pair of Orbot and Cubot. 'Orbot' feels awkwardly around the space where Big's body should be. Cubot makes a few odd hopping motions in place.

"Ehh…that'll probably get us into trouble. Actually…" She seems to ponder changing her mind for a moment. "Nah, risk ain't worth the prank." She tries again with another flick.

This time, Big is transformed into an abnormally tall Cluck Badnik, and Froggy into a green painted Grounder.

"Mmm…too retro."

The next attempt turns Big into a tall gold humanoid robot with one silver leg, and Froggy into a short white and blue one with a rounded head. It makes a few whistles and beeping sounds as it swivels its head from side to side. Big answers with an unusual mechanical accent, "Oh dear."

"Wait, wrong universe." Heavy Magician puts a hand to her chin. "Come on, think, Maggie, think! What would be ignored by everyone who has the choice?" Suddenly, she holds her wand straight up, and the tip lights up as if it were a lightbulb above her head. "Got it!" She puts an extra dramatic flair into the swishing of her wand.

This transformation leaves Froggy as a small, familiar Chao-shaped robot with a propellor on its head. The new Omochao looks to the side at Big, who has undergone a similar transformation into Omochao. Only ten times as large.

Magician stares at the enormous Omochao for a moment. "Okay, quick correction." Another puff of smoke, this time just around Big, transforms him into a perfectly ordinary Egg Pawn. "There, we, go!" She puts out her fingers as if to enclose the two of them in a picture frame. "Absolutely perfect, no one'll notice the two of y'all for one second."

Omochao and the Egg Pawn look to each other. The Egg Pawn declares in a monotone robotic voice, "My face itches."

Omochao responds with the spoken word, "Ribbit."

Magician points to the Egg Pawn. "You, don't scratch your face, it'll look fishy." She turns to Omochao. "And you…actually, keep doing that. No one listens to what Omochao says anyways."

The Egg Pawn questions, "What about your disguise, Miss Maggie?"
"Disguise? Ha! I'm a General of the Eggman Army! They'll have to let me in anywhere!"

—––

"We have standing orders not to allow you in." Two Elite Pawns stands guard in front of a tall metal door somewhere in the heart of an unknown city, staring down the odd trio of Heavy Magician, an Egg Pawn, and Omochao.

Magician shouts, "Treason! I am Heavy Magician, General of the Eggman Army, and you will let us through this instant!"

The guards don't budge. "We will contact Central Command to alert them of your arrival."

"Not if you want to keep your heads, you won't! This is a covert operation, and the Rebels can't know that I'm here! I demand to speak to whoever is in charge of this facility!"

The two guards turn their heads to look at each other for a moment. "You will be escorted inside."

As the door opens, Magician whispers to her teammates, "Just keep it cool, it's all goin' according to plan."

—–—

The one in charge of the facility sits in a high backed swiveling chair, facing away from the entrance as the trio is escorted inside. A stern voice in the chair promptly declares, "Leave us."

The guard robots turn to each other once again. Once again, they agree, "Yes, sir." They exit the room as ordered.

Once the door has closed, the chair begins to turn, revealing its occupant. Far too short for the large chair, Cubot locks eyes with Heavy Magician. "H…h…h…h…hiiiiiiiiii…"

Magician doesn't appear too surprised by Cubot's presence. "Your voice chip is malfunctioning. Might want to get that looked at."

Cubot clasps a hand over his chest. "Oh, it is not my voice chip, but my heart that malfunctions at the sight of you. I knew you would come to find me someday, my love."

"Yeah, definitely get that looked at."

Even the Egg Pawn comments, "This is getting awkward."

Omochao agrees, "Ribbit!"

Magician spits, "No one asked you!" She quickly looks back to Cubot again. "Look, uh, uh…what was your name again? Qbert?"

"You can call me whatever you'd like, my lovely."

"Cool. Qbert. Now, I like bein' admired as much as the next gal, but I'm here on business. I need access to the Central Database. Can you help me?"

"Anything for you, my darling."

"And this is all covert. No questions, no reports to nobody. Got it?"

"But what about–"

"I said no questions!"

Cubot obediently shuts up.

"Good. Now take me where I need to be."

"Right away, my sweet."

"And stop doin' that!"

—–—

"We have arrived, my dear. This terminal will give you access–" Cubot stops talking as he realizes how intensely Heavy Magician is glaring at him. "Shutting up now, my princess."

Magician groans, "Good enough." She approaches the terminal that Cubot indicated. Rather than working with the keyboard, she unfolds a small hatch in her side, pulling out a thin black wire which she is able to plug right into the machine, interfacing directly. Screens full of files and data rapidly begin to pop up on the terminal's display. While she works, she questions, "Hey, Qbert? What happened to that round fellow you usually hang around? Why ain't he here?"

"Oh, Orbot. He…uh…had to go in for some…emergency repairs…"

"What did you do to him?"

"I sort of…accidentally…"

Magician holds up a hand. "You know what? Nevermind. Leave it to our imaginations."

The Egg Pawn questions, "Miss Maggie?"

"Whaddaya want?"

"You said I would be fishy. But I still don't see any fish."

"Wha–!? You–!? I said that an hour ago! Why are you asking me now!?

Cubot perks up. "Is someone bringing fish? Boy, I'm starved, I could sure use some of that."

Magician complains, "For the love of–! You're a robot! You don't eat!"

"Oh, yeah. I forgot."

Magician shakes her head with a mechanical sigh. "This might just be the greatest concentration of stupidity the world has ever seen…"

"Don't worry." Cubot pats Heavy Magician on the back. "You're among friends."

"Hey Qbert?"

"Yes, my angel?"

Her wand suddenly appears pressed against his chin. "How'd you like to be turned into a frog?"

Cubot makes a mechanical gulp.

Omochao declares, "Ribbit!"

Magician turns to Omochao angrily. "Not you!"

Cubot questions, "Hey, how come Omochao keeps ribbiting?"

"Uhh…" Magician turns back to the screen, finishing, "Malfunctioning voice chip."

"Well no wonder." Cubot pats Omochao on the head. "Don't worry, buddy. Happens to all of us. You'll get through it."

Omochao answers, "Ribbit!"

Cubot agrees, "Ribbit ribbit."

Ignoring them, Magician mutters to herself, "Bah. There ain't nothin' in here about no Spacial Ruby."

Cubot overhears. "Spacial Ruby? Well why didn't you just say so? You need a special password to get into that data." He quickly reaches over to type something on the keyboard, and a new screen of information pops up, depicting data including an image of three gemstones of varying shades of red.

"You mean it's real!?"

"Of course it's real. You've used one before, haven't you?" He points to gem in the center, violet colored. "That one's the Phantom Ruby, see?"

"So it is a Phantom Ruby."

"Actually, more like, the Phantom Ruby is one of them. There's three Spacial Rubies, and the Phantom Ruby was destroyed, but there's still two left."

"Who'da guessed? Qbert actually knows somethin' useful."

Cubot scratches at the back of his head, somehow almost seeming to blush.

"Gimme a sec, I need to process all this."

Cubot continues reciting from his surprising knowledge, "Doctor Eggman thinks that the Rubies are spread between the dimensions. Or at least, that's what he was told by–"

A deep echoing voice finishes, "Me." The startled group turns to see Infinite as he descends to the ground behind them. Cubot flees to hide behind the computer desk. Infinite begins to step towards them. "So, the traitor has returned. I suppose it was only a matter of time."

Magician objects angrily, "Traitor! How dare you!? I am a General of the–"

Infinite looks straight to Omochao and the Egg Pawn. "Do you think that I can't see through your feeble illusions?"

The Egg Pawn answers, "Hello again, funny man."

Magician puts a hand up to her chin. "Interstin'… I think that the two of us have a few things in common, Infie."

Infinite draws his blade, pointing it straight at her. "The last person to call me that is dead. Would you like to be the next?"

Magician holds up her hands in surrender. "Whoa, careful with all that edginess, friend. You might just cut someone."

Infinite presses the tip of his blade directly against her throat. "And why shouldn't I? Or do I need to remind you what happened the last time you stood in my way?"

Her hands almost involuntarily move to protect her hat. "No, no, that won't be necessary."

Infinite increases the pressure. "And why not?"

"Because I get the feelin' that you're here for the same reason I am. I get the feelin' that the special lockouts around this data were meant to keep you out. Which means that I now have some information you may find interestin'." With one hand, she is able to lower the blade, as she leans in to whisper something into his ear. Whatever it is that she says, it takes quite some time.

Finally, Infinite backs away a step. "Interesting… The Doctor has been hiding things from me. Not that I should be surprised by now." He looks for a moment to the display on the screen as he pushes up on the front of his mask. "I'll be keeping an eye on you, Magician." Without another word, he turns around and steps out of the room.

The Egg Pawn declares, "He's so funny."

Omochao agrees, "Ribbit!"

Cubot peeks out from his hiding place. "Is he gone?"

Magician removes her plug from the terminal. "Oh yeah. He's gone. Oh, and uh…about that thing he said…"

Cubot cocks his head to the side. "What did he say? I couldn't hear it over the sound of my joints rattling."

"In that case, nothin' at all. That guy's all talk. What's important is what I'm about to say to y'all." She waves a hand over the display, indicating for them to look. It appears to show a live image, of a bright red gem encased in glass capsule. "Eggman has the Ruby alright. And it's in this facility."

—–—

The four misfit robots creep quietly down a mechanical hallway, as if their subtlety would actually make any difference.

Cubot whispers, "So…why are we stealing the Ruby again?"

Magician whispers back, "Because, if we don't grab it now, then that Infinite's gonna steal it for himself. And we don't want that, now do we?"

Cubot scratches his head. "Uhh…I guess not."

Magician looks to the Egg Pawn. "We're just doin' a little…improvising. Adaptin'. Nothin' wrong with that, right?"

The Egg Pawn agrees loudly, "Okey dokey."

Magician shushes him.

Omochao declares, "Ribbit!"

Magician shushes him as well. They have arrived at a tall metal door. Magician presses a panel on the side, and the door slides open. The Spacial Ruby waits in a lone capsule on the other side of the room. Magician looks to Cubot. "Alright, Qbert. Your codes should open it right up. Go get 'em, tiger."

Cubot excitedly enters the room. "As you wish, my lamb."

As she follows him in, she mutters, "Don't try to be clever. You're terrible at it."

Cubot enters a code at the base of the capsule, and the glass rises up, leaving the gem floating in space. He stares at it with wonder.

"Go on," Magician urges. "Grab it."

Cubot slowly reaches out for the gem, finally clasping both hands around it. "I got it." He triumphantly holds it up above his head. "I got it!" The room is bathed in a red light as an alarm siren blares. A swarm of Elite Pawns file in through the open door behind them. "Uh oh."

Magician shouts angrily, "That blasted Infinite musta called the guards on us! That snake!" The Egg Pawn and Omochao take up a supportive position beside her. "We ain't gettin' outta this one without a fight." She looks to other side. "You with us, Cubot?"

Still holding the Ruby above his head, Cubot marvels up at her. "You got my name right…" Slowly, he looks from her, to the swarm of robots, and back to her again. "Nope, I'm out!" He flings the Ruby into the air and flees towards the door, arms flailing through the air as he screams in panic. "I want my momma!" The guards let him pass without resistance of any kind.

Magician catches the Ruby in her free hand, shouting after him, "You're a robot, you don't have a–…ah, forget it. Who needs you anyways?" She takes off her hat, and drops the Ruby inside for safekeeping as she looks across the swarm of guard robots. "Alright, boys. We gonna do this the easy way?" She flips the hat back onto her head, pulling the brim down over her eyes. "Or the hard way?"

The guards silently keep their weapons pointed at them.

"Hard way it is."

With a tone that can easily be imagined as an actual hint, Omochao declares, "Ribbit ribbit, ribbit ribbit ribbit ribbit!"

Magician responds, "Lovely idea!" She suddenly waves her wand over the Egg Pawn beside her, casting a haze of smoke over him, which is immediately followed by a blinding flash of light.

When the light clears, the Egg Pawn is still growing to massive proportions, only stopping when his head finally bumps against the ceiling. "Owie." He rubs the bumped spot on his head.

The guards open fire, but the hailstorm of blasts all dispel harmlessly against the giant Egg Pawn's thickened exterior.

Magician hops up, hanging onto his back by clinging a hand to his shoulder. "Alright, Mr. Bigger! Clear us a path!"

"Okey dokey!" The giant Egg Pawn begins to stomp forwards at a pace made sluggish by his size. The guards continue to uselessly fire their weapons as he begins to stomp over them, crushing some beneath his feet and knocking aside others. The door much too small, he crashes straight through the wall instead.

As they make their escape, Heavy Magician looks back to the crumpled heaps of robots left in their wake, staring at them for a long time.

—–—

Emerald Canyon

Sonic and Tails wait as Big, Heavy Magician, and Froggy approach from the entrance to the canyon. Sonic crosses his arms. "Alright, Big. Let's hear it. How'd she do?"

Big cocks his head to the side. "Big? I'm not Big." In a puff of smoke, he transforms into Heavy Magician. The two Magicians look to each other with mirrored movements. Sonic doesn't look particularly amused. The new Magician looks down at herself. "Wait, that is incorrect as well." This time, her form changes not in a sparkling smoke, but in a haze of crimson particles. The mask of Infinite stares out through the fading haze. "You thought that you could steal from me? It was a mistake you won't be repeating." He draws his blade with an exaggerated flourish.

This time, Sonic reacts, waving Tails backwards. "Stay behind me."

Infinite throws back his head in maniacal laughter. He collapses to his knees, pounding a fist against the ground in complete hysteria. His voice quickly dissolves back into Heavy Magician's. "Y'all should see the look on your faces! Ha ha! Hilarious!" In a puff of smoke, she returns to her correct form, as the fake Magician beside her is similarly transformed back into Big.

Sonic scowls towards Big. "Did she put you up to this?"

Big shrugs.

Magician waves it off. "Aw, it was just a little joke."

Sonic is even less amused than before. "Ha ha. Very funny. Now let's hear your report. Did you get the data?"

"Oh, I did better than that." She tips off her hat and flicks up her wand, drawing the gem out from inside. "Say hello to your Spacial Ruby."

Sonic and Tails look to each other with gaping expressions. They respond at once, "You mean it's real!?"

"Course it's real." One of her eyes flicks off and back on again in a robotic approximation of a wink. "Why wouldn't it be?" Taking the gem in her hand, she overdramatically presents it to Sonic.

Cautiously, Sonic takes it from her. He turns it around in his hand a few times, staring into its faceted surface.

Tails looks to him questioningly. "Well…?"

Sonic seems deep in thought. "It feels…like a Phantom Ruby. I think. It's…been a while." He looks up to Heavy Magician. "What did you have to do to get this?"

"Well…that joke wasn't all joke. Had to throw that Infinite guy off our tail. He was after it too. Figured you'd want to get it first."

"You risked a confrontation with Infinite over this? Is that true, Big?"

Big nods his head. "Yup."

Sonic has to blink a few times to take that in. "You risked your life for this…for us. You…you're really serious about this. About working with us."

Magician gives a humble bow. "You know me. Seriously serious. Seriously."

"Tails…take off the device."

Tails seems hesitant. "Are you sure, Sonic? We still don't–"

Sonic cuts him off. "I'm sure. We need to have faith. We need to trust. If we don't, then no one will."

"Okay…" Cautiously, Tails steps towards Heavy Magician. "Uhh…may I…?"

Magician complains, "Oh, skip the politeness, just get the darned thing off already."

With a tool already prepared, Tails carefully wedges it underneath the small black device attached to her midsection. It detaches with a faint pop. "There it is. You're free."

Sonic offers out his free hand. "I think it's time to officially welcome you into the Rebellion…Maggie."

The Magician looks to Sonic's hand for a moment. "Cool. I have a better idea." She readjusts her hat on her head, and readies her wand. "Later." With a wink, she disappears in a puff of smoke.

Sonic and Tails looks around in confusion to see where she went. There doesn't seem to be any sign of her. Tails voices, "Did she…just…?"

Sonic looks down to the Ruby in his hand. In a similar puff of smoke, its shape transforms. Left in his hand is what appears to be a rubber ball of about the same size, imprinted a symbol of Eggman's face, letting out a looping recording of a high-pitched laugh. Sonic stares at the laughing ball with a completely blank expression.

Tails looks from the ball to Sonic's face with worry. "Sonic…you okay?"

Sonic doesn't answer, continuing to stare blankly at the ball. In a sudden fit of rage, he hurls it away. A moment later, it bounces back, striking him directly in the face and knocking him to the ground. As he clutches his face on the floor, the ball comes to a stop right next to him, continuing to laugh at him. His shoulders heave as if he were crying.

"Sonic…?"

Sonic removes his hands from his face to reveal that he is not crying, but laughing. Hysterically. He clutches at his chest, gasping for breath as he fails to control his laughter.

Tails can't help but join in, laughing right along with him.

Sonic finally manages to calm himself, choosing to remain laying back in the grass. He lets out a long sigh. "She really got us good. And I fell for it. Every last word was an act." He closes his eyes. "I'm going to lose my mind if this keeps happening."

Tails questions, "Why did she go through so much trouble?"

"She had to go above and beyond to get that device removed. And she had to keep
Big convinced…although that effort was probably only necessary for her own amusement."

"Hey…where is Big?"

Sonic sits up and looks around. Big is nowhere to be seen.

—–—

Heavy Magician stands on the edge of the canyon, able to just barely see Sonic laughing on the ground far below.

"Did you come for one last look?"

Startled, she turns sharply to face Big's voice. "Wha– How did–?!" She fumbles for her wand, pointing it threateningly towards him once she finally gets a grip. "Surrender, Rebel scum! I am no longer your prisoner!"

Big sits down on the wooden bridge, readying his fishing rod. "That's okay. I won't tell anyone."

Magician stares at him warily. But slowly, she lowers her wand. "What are you?"

Big casts his line out into the water. "I'm Big. You should know what that means."

"You almost sound bitter. But that wouldn't be very Big-like, now would it?"

"We could be friends."

Magician looks out over the sunset-lit hills. "It was never gonna happen. I may not care much for Eggman, but I'm a Hard Boiled Heavy through and through. I ain't givin' up on that."

"Maybe we could all be friends."

"Ha! Wouldn't that be somethin'? The whole lot of the Heavies, best pals with Sonic and friends?"

"You should have this."

Magician turns to him with confusion. "Huh?"

Big holds out his fishing rod to her. "You'll need it if you want to go fishing."

"You're givin' me a fishing pole? I hate fishing."

"You'll miss it soon."

She stares at him silently for several moments. But finally, she takes the pole in her hand. "You're an idiot."

"I'll miss you, too."

She tips off her hat, and effortlessly stuffs the pole inside as if the hat had ten times its actual depth. "Then you'll be wastin' your time." She tips her hat down on her head in a nod of farewell. "Don't expect a friendly hello next time we meet, Cat." With a familiar puff of smoke, she disappears.

Big looks down into the water. A small fish swims around in circles just beneath the surface. But, as if noticing that it is being watched, it suddenly darts away, swimming beneath the bridge that he sits on. "You can expect one from me."

—–—

Angel Island – The Hidden Facility

Heavy Magician bows formally at the feet of Heavy King. "Eggman never had a Spacial Ruby, of course. Made that part up. Simple bit of illusion magic took care of the rest. It was Infinite that gave me the idea, actually. I told him my whole plan back there. He didn't wannna help me, of course, wasn't interested in my problems. But he backed off long enough for me to do my thing. It wasn't easy, Boss. But I made it."

"As I knew you would." The King tips down his long staff, placing it beneath her chin to turn her gaze up to him. "That's what I like about you, Heavy Magician. You can worm your way out of any situation, no matter how dire."

Magician seems quite nervous. "B-boss…?"

King questions sternly, "Is something the matter?"

"N-no, Boss, it's…just…I wanna know what we're buildin' here. What was I tryin' to keep them away from?"

"Secrets are dangerous, Magician. You know that."

"It's too late for them to do anything now, ain't it!? It's almost time, ain't it!? What's the hurt in knowin' now? I gotta know. It's personal."

King stares at her for several moments. "Very well." He turns to the computer console beside them. It only takes the press of a single button to display the holographic schematics of the facility. The shape is unmistakable. It is, indeed, a Death Egg.

Magician steps back with a mechanical gasp.

King continues to glare at her. "Is there a problem?"

Magician looks down to her hand as it slowly resolves into a fist. "Not this time, Boss. I'm gonna protect it. No matter what it takes."

"No. You won't."

"Say what?"

King takes a step towards her. "I have something else in mind for you. Your report…brought something important to my attention. This…Infinite…" He slowly draws a finger across the scar-like weld line slashed across his own chest plate. "He is dangerous. He doesn't serve the interests of the Empire. A rogue element. I fear that he may attempt to interfere with the launch. You will ensure that he doesn't."

"And…if he doesn't attempt to interfere?"

"Then he will never know that you were there. Do you understand?"

"Perfectly, Boss. Your wish is my command."

They both turn to the holographic Death Egg. "We're in the endgame, now. Nothing will interfere. Come the year's end, the planet will be ours. And the Rebellion will be no more."

To be continued…