Chapter #10: The Secret Police

Tails was the first one to wake up from his nap. When he looked at his watch, he realized that he still had 15 minutes of his break left. The fox decided to check on his plane, the Tornado, which he had landed outside the town gate. He got up and left a note on his bed so the others wouldn't worry. Then he quietly crept out of the house and away into the forest.

I'll just check on it and see if it's OK, he thought. It was there last night. I just hope nobody hauled it off. When he crossed the bridge and walked into the clearing where he had parked the biplane, he discovered that his worst fears had come true.

The Tornado was gone!

"Aw, man," Tails groaned. "I knew I shouldn't have left it out here!"

He ran over to where the plane had been and discovered two sets of tire tracks that didn't belong to the plane. They led to the fence bordering the train tracks. The fox's eyes widened when he saw that a portion of the fence had been sawed off…big enough for a huge tow truck to go through. He started to follow the tracks when he noticed a strange footprint by the tire marks. He placed one foot in it; it was almost twice as big. What kind of animal had made that print? With these clues cemented in his mind, Tails ran back to the house. He intentionally slammed the front door with a loud bang.

For the second time that day, Spike and Jimmy leaped out of their beds, startled by the noise. When he saw Tails, Spike groaned. "Did we fall for a prank again?!" he asked.

"I'm not playing a prank on you!" Tails told them. "I need everybody to wake up! My plane's been stolen!"

A few minutes later, everyone was outside in the clearing, examining the scene of the crime. Tails showed Sonic, Spike and Ratchet the mysterious footprint he had found.

"What creature could make a print that big?" wondered Spike with a scratch of his head.

"Well, because of the tire tracks," Ratchet deducted, "we can rule out every animal that can carry a plane, like Snagglebeasts."

"Snagglewhats?!" Jimmy yelped.

"Ratchet, this is not the Solana Galaxy," Clank pointed out.

The Lombax held his hands up in apology. "Sorry, I was just thinkin'."

As he bent down and studied the footprint, Sonic said, "Well, I know one thing for sure…"

Everybody turned to him.

The hedgehog stood up with a playful smirk. "It can't be Bigfoot. He doesn't wear shoes."

Everybody groaned at the bad joke. "Sonic, get serious," Spike told him. "Don't you wanna find that plane?"

"Of course! I was just making a joke."

While the others were talking, Clank was studying the print. He suddenly got an idea. "I believe I know whose footprint this could be," he said.

Everybody turned to him. "It had better not be Bigfoot," said Spike.

"I assure you, it is not. From the size, shape, and mold of the print, I have been able to deduct a hypothesis."

Jimmy was totally confused. "A hypotha-what?"

"Hypothesis," Tails pronounced the word for them. "An explanation for certain observations. It's a scientific term."

"Wow, and I thought Clank was a walking dictionary," Ratchet exclaimed.

"So what is your…uh…hypotha-thing?" Spike asked Clank.

"It is not someone, but something that made this print," replied the robot. "I believe a robot to be the prime suspect."

Sonic slapped his forehead; that answer had been right under their noses! "Duh! Robots hauled the Tornado! It makes sense to me!"

"That means Big Boss probably has it now," Jimmy pointed out.

Tails' face turned white, and he gulped. "Uh oh. That means he could find out that we're here helping the animals." Then he shook his head. "This is all my fault."

Ratchet placed a hand on the fox's shoulder. "We're not angry about it, so don't kick yourself."

"Don't worry, Tails, we'll find the plane," Sonic said with a smile. Instantly Tails cheered up; his best friend had a way of lifting someone's spirits when they were low.

SpongeBob and Patrick had been quiet for some time now, partially due to the fact that the starfish had knocked himself out by ramming into more trees. But SpongeBob got an idea and said to them, "Why don't we go find Tortimer and Tom Nook? Maybe they can help us!"

"For the first time, SpongeNerd has a good idea!" Ratchet exclaimed.

The yellow sponge folded his arms, a frown on his face. "My name is SpongeBob, not SpongeNerd!" he complained.

Jimmy looked at his cousin's watch. "It's time for us to get back to work anyway. Let's go!" He darted off for Nookington's, with the others following behind.

When the eight heroes reached the shop, they only found the Nooklings playing NES games in their bedroom. They told them that their father was going to the Museum for some kind of meeting. Timmy and Tommy joined them in their search, and they raced to the stone building. Sonic, of course, was in the lead, so he got a glimpse of the museum's entrance first. He quickly screeched to a halt, and the others bumped into him.

"Ow! What did ya do that for?!" yelled Spike, who had rammed right into Sonic's quills (ouch!).

The hedgehog put a finger to his lips. "Shhhh! Something's going on over there," he whispered. "I saw robots guarding the entrance."

SpongeBob became afraid at the mention of robots. He stammered, "Y-you don't th-think they c-c-caught the others, d-do you?"

Sonic shook his head, worry etched onto his face. "I dunno…but I think I know a way to find out." He pointed to a tall tree that stood next to one of the museum's windows. The limbs reached high enough for someone to peek into the window. "One of us has gotta climb that tree and peek inside."

"Let me do it!" Jimmy volunteered, and ran to the tree. But when he tried climbing it, he found it impossible; the trunk wasn't right for it, and there weren't any lower branches to serve as handholds or footholds. He slid right back down and muttered, "Rats."

"Here, I can make it up!" Tails suddenly said. He backed up a few steps and began to twirl his tails rapidly in circles. They soon acted like the rotor blades on a helicopter and lifted him off the ground. The fox was able to steer himself onto one of the tree's highest, strongest limbs, and he sat down on it and peered into the window.

The others (minus Sonic) stared in shock as he did this, and Clank said, "An unusual ability…but useful."

Ratchet gave a low whistle. "Not bad for a little guy."

Sonic grinned, proud of his buddy. "Yup, and he's only eight."

Spike's eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. "Eight?!" he shouted. Jimmy quickly shushed him.

Ignoring the noise the others made, Tails silently watched the scene in the insect section of the museum. What he saw shocked him, and he reported it to his friends. "Tortimer and Nook are with Blathers. But some robots have got Copper and Booker in cuffs!"

"In cuffs?!" SpongeBob said, his face pale.

Spike groaned, "They've been found out."

Ratchet pulled his Dual Vipers out of their holsters and cocked them. "We've gotta help them!" he said, and he ran toward the entrance.

Sonic stopped Ratchet before he rounded the corner. "No!" he said, pinning the Lombax to the stone wall. "If we charge in there, they'll get us too!"

"Sonic is right, Ratchet," Clank said to his partner. "It would be best to remain here and think through the correct course of action."

Reluctantly, Ratchet lowered his weapons. "Okay then," he mumbled, casting a glance toward the entrance of the museum.

Tails called down to them in a low voice, "The robots are leading the dogs out of the room. They must be leaving!"

The gang flattened themselves against the wall and sidestepped toward the corner close to the entrance. Sonic, who was closest, halted them once more and peeked around the corner, watching the entrance. Moments later, six robots emerged from the building, with their captives in the middle of them, guarded on all sides. Each robot was dark gray and almost twice Sonic's height, with a dangerous blaster mounted on one of their arms. On their heads where eyes would be there was a tube with a moving laser inside. In long strides they went towards the gang, and the eight flattened harder to avoid detection. Not noticing them at all, the eight robots marched away to the police station.

Sonic was considering chasing after them when Tortimer, Tom Nook, and Blathers appeared. Chase became impossible, because Timmy and Tommy, who had been silent throughout the adventure, rushed out toward their father, calling for him loud enough for the robots to detect it. "Daddy! You're OK!" Timmy cried.

Nook embraced them, a puzzled look on his face. "Timmy and Tommy? What are you two doing here? I told you to stay home this time." Then he spotted the heroes walking toward them. "Oh. They came with you. What brings you here?"

"My plane was stolen," Tails replied. "Clank says that robots probably took it."

"Oh dear," said Blathers. "Porter told me that the robots cut down part of the town's fence to haul an unidentified biplane to their base in Tombstone. My apologies, Tails. We didn't realize it was yours until it was too late."

"We'll try to get it back for ya," Tortimer added.

Sonic asked Tortimer, "What was with those robots arresting Copper and Booker? Were they found out?"

The mayor sighed. "I'm guessin' you boys were watchin' the show. Yep, Copper and Booker were found out. I dunno how, but they got caught. May luck be with them, 'cause they're gonna need it."

"But what bothers me," Blathers said, "is that those weren't the usual robots."

Spike's eyebrows rose. "They weren't? Then who were they?"

The owl looked down at his feet (err, talons). "I…I'm afraid I don't know for sure."

Then a voice startled them. "I do." Everyone turned around and saw a white dog with a guitar under one arm, leaning against the Museum wall.

"K.K. Slider!" Tortimer cried in surprise. "What are ya doin' here?"

K.K. replied, "I came to warn you, but it looks like I'm too late. They've already bagged themselves Copper an' Booker, I see."

"You mean the robots?" Ratchet asked.

He nodded. "I heard they were coming here, and that they knew whom two of our agents were."

"Who…scratch that…what are they?"

Slider looked around at the forest nervously. "Not out here. It's safer to tell inside."

Everyone ducked inside the Museum and went into the secret basement. Once they were all seated, K.K began.

"They are the Animal Crossing Secret Police, or ACSP for short. They were created by Big Boss and programmed to hunt down anyone labeled as a 'threat to the peace'."

Ratchet quickly caught on. "Spies and terrorists."

"In other words, us," Tortimer added grimly.

"Exactly right," said K.K. "They've gone through every town under Big Boss's reign and turned them upside down, capturing Allies the whole way. Most of our guys positioned in those towns are either classified as missing-in-action or captured-in-action."

"And now Copper and Booker are part of the latter," Tom said angrily.

Jimmy asked, "Can't we do anything to help them?"

K.K. shook his head sadly. "There's nuthin' we can do, kid. Nobody has any idea where they're taken."

Sonic became confused. "I saw them take Rover into the police station."

"That's the mysterious thing about 'em. I've checked all the police stations, and the prisoners are never there. They just…vanished."

Tortimer's eyes widened; this information was new to him. "Vanished?!"

"Then we just have to hope that they can escape without our help," Nook said with a resigned tone of voice.

Slider sighed. "Sorry, Nookmeister, but that ain't gonna happen either. Once you're caught by the ACSP, you're never gonna escape from them. Even if you do, they'll shoot you rather than take you back." Many of the group shivered at the idea. The dog nodded his head in agreement to their thoughts.

"May I inquire on how you acquired this information?" Clank asked.

Slider cocked his head—a dog's way of showing confusion. "What was that, little dude?"

"He's wondering how you found out about the ACSP," Tails explained to K.K.

"Oh. It was simple: I just sneaked into a secret meeting of robots and learned about how they were sending in the Secret Police to get rid of the Animal Alliance. Some hooded guy in black was leading them; I couldn't get a look at his face. I think he's the Police Chief. Stay away from him at all costs; some of my troops say that anyone who sees the face of the Secret Police Chief is captured and never comes back."

Spike shuddered. "Don't worry, we will."

The talk about the Secret Police Chief reminded Blathers of something. "This isn't the first time we've heard of the Secret Police," he told his friends and the heroes. "There have been reports of this person and the robots that took Copper and Booker. We've just never been able to prove their existence for sure."

"Anything else we should know?" Tortimer asked K.K.

"Yup, one other thing. Before The Boss sends in the Police, he appoints one of his spies to seek out the identities of some of our agents. He sent Mr. Resetti into AnimaCity."

"Resetti, eh?"

Blathers wasn't surprised. "Hmph. I knew to never trust that sorry excuse for a mole. Insectivores are so untrustworthy!"

Someone cleared his throat, taking offense at the comment. "Ahem!"

Blathers realized that someone had been offended and immediately rephrased his words. "Some of them can be, that is. You certainly aren't like that, Sonic."

The hedgehog grinned. "Thanks, Blathers."

Tortimer turned to the hero gang and said, "Well, fellers, it looks like I've got a new job for you."

"You want us to find Mr. Resetti," Ratchet guessed.

"Ya got it, Lombax. Keep yer eyes peeled for that scoundrel and capture 'im if ya can! Lemme know when you've got some info on 'im or when you have 'im."

Sonic stood up and saluted smartly. "Aye aye, Tortimer! We're on it!"

Jimmy also leaped up from his seat. "Let's do it!" he cried with a fist in the air.

"Yippee!" SpongeBob exclaimed eagerly.

Patrick yelled, "Cheesecake!", which earned glares from Ratchet and Spike and annoyed, deadpan looks from everyone else.

And so began the heroes' second mission…