Mobian Legends
Story is (c) 2004-2008 John CoonFox, SethLeopard, and SallyGirl
SatAM Sonic characters are (c) 1992-1994 DiC Entertainment
Archie characters are (c) 1993-2008 Archie Comics Publications
Sonic The Hedgehog is (c) Sega/Sonic Team 1990-2007
Snively Fox is (c) "Spug" ("spug at dirtybaka dot com")
Bookshire Stormfire Draftwood is (c) 1994-2008 "Serinthia and Bookshire Draftwood" ("serinthia at foxcoon dot com")
SatAM Research and story: SallyGirl
Chief Writer: MetaLeopard
Writer: John CoonFox
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Timeline: May 12, 3241 - After Tails' Adventure (Reign of the False King)
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Chapter 6 - The False King
A few hours later, the enslaved Robotnik is seeing working at a special workstation, a few mobian-sized capsules around him One is broken, the glass shattered that held the occupant, the second is empty, but third has what appears to be a black-furred fox suspended in fluid and wired up to life support.
Suddenly an image of Naugus appears just behind the doctor, his voice speaking echoing forth.
"Julian, what is the status on your latest projects." The familiar voice echoes out.
Robotnik turns and half-bows.
"Master Naugus, I am proud to report that my new cyborg implementations are almost done." He adds as he looks down to the image.
"Excellent... as i'm sure you know by now, your previous project failed... and so has my Tadashi." The wizard speaks with a distateful tone.
"Yes master, however the data collection module on Sakura transmitted some rather interesting data. Thanks to the new information, my latest work is already holding three times more power than Sakura."
"Very good, round one... and what of the project I ordered from you?" The demeanor of the wizard taking on more of a grin.
"I am working on it at this very moment, your excellency." He offers with a bow of his head.
"Continue working on it. For now, prepare Onyx for release." The wizard orders.
Robotnik gives another half-bow before replying.
"Consider it done." The doctor mutters.
Meanwhile in the void Naugus and Snively set their own next plan into action.
"Sir, I thought you wanted the emerald. It could be used as an infinte power source." Snively says, closely looking over the crystalline statue of Tadashi the Jackal.
"Snively. The emerald will possess anyone who intends to use it for evil purposes. I will use that weasel-wolf as a puppet, so I won't be affected. He will do my bidding, and once he overthrows Mobotropolis, we can finally escape this void, and return to Mobius." He explains.
"Now, watch my new minion, Snively." He says, looking into the special mirror.
"Nack! Wake up!" He sends telepathically.
Nack wakes up, shaking his head.
"Who? What?" He mutters.
"I am Ixis Naugus. Do you have the emerald?"
"Yeah, maybe I do. What's it to ya?" He asks.
"How would you like to become extremely rich and extremely powerful?"
"I'd like that a lot. What do I have to do?" The weasel-wolf asks, very eager to make his move.
"Overthrow the King. I'll guide you." He says.
"Overthrow the-- wait..." Nack says, but is interrupted as Ixis takes control of the chip attatched to Nack's ear.
The Weasel obeys Ixis' orders as he packs up, getting the emerald, walking towards Knothole Village.
"Alright, ya mangy furballs, get up!" Nack yells into his hangout as he walks through the door.
Konor wakes up and falls off the couch he's sleeping on.
"W-w-what's goin' on, boss?" The grey weasel asks as he gets up, grabbing his hat.
Jeff and Karl wake up in their bunks, with Karl on the top bunk, and Jeff on the bottom.
"What's the big deal, Nack? It's the middle of the night!" Karl says, somewhat annoyed of being woken up with the moon high in the sky.
"Boys, we've been thinkin' too small all this time. All this time, we've been trying to get rich by robbin' banks, and stealin' from people as they walk by. Well, those days are long gone." He snickers.
The three other weasel brothers are confused from what their sibling is talking about.
"Uh, bro... you feelin' alright?" Konor asks Nack, noticing he looks somewhat different.
"Yeah. What's it to ya?" He snaps back. "Now, get your stuff together we're gonna overthrow King Acorn, and make Mobius *ours*."
The weasel begins packing a backpack of goods.
Jeff and Konor look at each other as they gather their goods.
"I think Nack here's gone off the deep end." Konor whispers to Jeff.
"You're right. But still, when's the last time we did something this fun?" The bearded weasel says to his twin brother.
Karl gets his black handguns ready.
"How do you expect us to overthrow the King? He probably has those Freedom Fighters guarding him." The red-furred weasel asks.
"Simple, Karl. With this..." he says, reaching into his backpack, showing them the large Master Emerald.
"Oh my god! How'd you get THAT???" Jeff and Karl ask.
Konor simply stares at it in amazement, surprised Nack was able to get it.
"That's my little secret." Nack grins.
"If you boys help me, I'll split the profits I make on this with ya." He continues, grinning.
His fangs are visible, gleaming in the dim moonlight.
"Count us in!" Konor says, getting his backpack on.
"Then let's go! Time's our ally, but we dont' have much of it." Nack says, walking out of their hangout with his three brothers, and into the Great Forest.
"Look out, King Acorn, 'cause here we come." He chuckles, whispering to himself.
Knuckles closes his eyes, trying to sense the emerald. He can see the forest in his mind, he can also see the Master Emerald in his mind.
"Where are you? Who has taken you?" He thinks to himself.
He sees flashes of Nack running through the forest with his brothers, carrying the emerald in their backpack. Knuckles sits down into a meditating position, with his palms together, eyes still closed.
"The forest... headed towards a small village..." He says to himself, opening his eyes again.
"Time to stop these jewel thieves." He punches one fist into his other palm.
He gets up and takes off, heading off in the direction of the emerald.
Sakura suddenly stirs as she opens her eyes, the cybernetic parts coming online as well.
She sits up and looks around, see the rather cozy yet simple den of Genra.
"Where am I?" She asks, feeling a bit dazed.
She clambers to her feet and walks around a bit, looking for some sign of another around.
"Hello? Any one here?" She calls out, beginning to walk to the door as a voice suddenly replies.
"What's the hurry?" A masculine voice calls behind her. Belonging to none other than Wesely.
The half-robotic fox turns around to see the source, before speaking.
"Oh, who are you?" She asks.
"I am Wesley Prower, older brother to Miles Prower, who is the one referred to as Tails... you can call me Wes." He adds before taking a seat onto the floor in front of a short table.
"It's nice to see you about, I was starting to worry." He adds.
Sakura shakes her head. "How long was I out?" She asks.
"A little over a week, in Mobian time." "What? A week!?" She calls out in suprise.
The two looks to each other in a moment of awkward silence before it's broken once again.
"Well, this just means I need to get going... I've got to find out what's going on out there now." She adds turning toward the door again.
Wesley nods and sips on a cup of tea.
"Well I can tell you the gist of it. Tadashi showed back up yesterday and challenged Tails to a duel." The kitsune adds.
Sakura perks her ears and looks back to him.
"Is Tails alright?" She asks with a bit of concern.
"He is, he won the duel... now he is headed back to his homeland as we speak." He adds, noticing her apparent concern.
She turns around again and asks. "Where is that?"
Wesley ponders a moment, knowing that he can't really just say where the Knothole is, nor does he actually know which place his brother is going.
"Honestly, I don't know specifically... but if anything, its the Great Forest." He replies.
Sakura nods and turns back to the door, opening it and giving one last statement before closing it behind her.
"Thank you, Wes."
Antoine is asleep at the guard post, but the sounds of footsteps awaken him. He looks down from the gate, seeing a weasel approaching.
"Halt! Who are you? What do you want in Knothole?" Antoine asks, holding his rapier.
"Heh. Relax. I'm a freedom fighter. I even brought a little gift for Princess Sally and Sonic." the hypnotized Nack replies, completely beyond his own control, but having a bad feeling over what is about to happen.
"Un moment, please." Antoine says as he walks back towards the gate.
The french coyote walks the short distance back into Knothole Village and knocks on Sonic's hut.
"Soneek! We have a visitaire." He says, in his traditionally heavy French accent.
Sonic wakes up, as it's now twilight, almost morning.
"Ant, this had better be good." Sonic replies as he walks out of the hut, rubbing an eye from fatigue.
"Someone is at the gates, saying zey have brought a gift for you, and for ze freedom fighters." He explains.
"Hmm. I don't trust this." Sonic says, walking with Antoine.
They approach the gate, seeing the weasel-wolf sitting against the tree.
"Heya, the name's Nack the Weasel, but my brothers call me 'Fang the Sniper'." He grins, holding out his hand to shake Sonic's.
The hedgehog is very suspicious, and thinks this could be a trap.
"Sorry if I'm not that open, man, but I'm not your bro, and neither is Antoine." He tells the weasel-wolf.
"Fair enough, because these guys are." Nack laughs as his weasel brothers jump down from the trees.
Sonic and Antoine stand back-to-back to defend each other.
"Zees weasels... zey have guns, Soneek. We are outgunned. Should we surrender?" Antoine asks.
"I can handle a handgun, Antoine." Sonic smirks.
"Now, y'all can just surrender, or, I can let my weasel brothers take care of ya." He says, but then pauses.
"Wait, where are my manners?" He asks himself, taking off his Stetson hat. "Let me introduce my brothers." He says, standing aside.
"We're the Fanged Felons. Jeff, Konor, and Karl." Nack introduces his family.
"Thanks, but we don't intend on staying at this family reunion." Sonic replies, kicking Konor's gun out of his hand.
However, Konor is quickly on his tail and pins sonic to the ground, picking up the gun and placing it agianst his head.
"Boy, you just don't learn, now do ya?" The grey-furred weasel-wolf taunts sonic.
"Wh-wh-what do you want?" Antoine asks Jeff, who has cornered him with Nack, both facing him.
"We want in to Knothole Village." Konor says, taking Antoine's rapier from his hands, examining it.
"Say, this is pretty nice. I bet I could pawn it for a mint." The grey-furred weasel chuckles.
"Excuse-moi, but zat is my sword. It was given to me by ze military." Antoine says.
"Well, then, the military will give you another one as soon as you march us to Knothole, army-boy." Konor tells the French coyote as he pushes the gun into Antoine's back.
"MARCH!" He growls, as Nack and Karl force Sonic to his feet.
"All the speed in the world can't save you now, little boy blue." Nack says to him, as they walk into Knothole Village.
They soon stop in the meadow in the center of the village.
"Alright, people. wake up!" Nack yells.
Bunnie wakes up, somewhat annoyed.
"What on earth is goin' on out there?" She asks herself as she looks out the door.
"Somethin' yer gonna get used to awful fast." Karl says, holding a gun in his hand. "Now, get yer friends up. Let 'em know the Fanged Felons have arrived."
"Why, what awful, rude manners y'all have!" Bunnie says, not amused from the laughing weasel.
She transforms her hand into a blaster to defend herself. The grey-furred weasel grasps Bunnie's robotic hand.
"Don't make me hurt you, beautiful. 'Cause I hope I don't have to." He mocks her, keeping his gun aimed at her.
"Alright, don't get your fur ruffled..." Bunnie mutters, following the weasel, now as a prisoner-of-war.
"I swear, if you hurt Bunnie, I'll... I'll... I don't even know what i'll do...." Antoine snarls at Nack and his weasel brothers.
"Relax, Frenchie. We're not gonna hurt your girl." He snickers.
Karl brings Bunnie to his partners-in-crime.
Sally and Rotor are in the walrus' workship, studying the plans for Mobotropolis.
"You know, Sally... It's very quiet out there." He says, looking out over his shoulder, towards the window.
"Too quiet." She finishes his sentance.
"Sonic and Antoine have been gone for a very long time, too. I think something's happened." She says.
"Something *has* happened." A voice says.
Rotor looks around with Sally for a second, then they find the source of the voice, standing at the door. It's Jeff.
"Now, why don't you two come with me? I have someone who wants to meet ya." He says. Rotor goes into a defensive stance to defend himself.
"What do you want? How did you get here? Who are you?" He asks.
The weasel starts to walk closer.
"Well, tusky, I'm Jeff the Weasel, of the Fanged Felons. My boss wants me to bring you and princess buttercup here, to 'im." He holds his gun closely on his belt. "And your boss is...?" Rotor asks.
"The craftiest son-of-a-gun in the Great Forest, of course. Oh, and your new King." Jeff replies.
"You wish." Sally replies, taking NICOLE out of her pocket. "NICOLE, defense mode." She says.
"So you have a nice little computer. I bet Nack ought to enjoy playing Solitaire on that thing..." He grins, reaching for it.
"Touch it, and you'll wish you didn't." Sally says to him.
"Ooooh. I'm afraid of a princess and her PDA..." He laughs, before grasping it, and getting a nasty electrical shock.
His grey fur frizzes and stands on end. He coughs once.
"No more of that. GET OUT NOW!" Jeff snarls, taking out his gun, aiming it at Rotor. "Don't make me shoot you."
"Let's not be hasty --" Sally speaks, but is cut off.
"Man you two are disobediant!" He turns his head to Sally as he speaks, pulling the trigger, shooting the ceiling.
This startles Sally and Rotor.
"Do I really hafta try that again?" Jeff asks them.
They shake their heads.
"Good. Now walk." the weasel orders, guiding them into the prison.
"Alright, that's the last of the furs in Knothole Village, Nack. All are accounted for, including His Higness himself, King Maximillian Acorn." Konor says, checking off the list of "prisoners", while walking down the jail block at the small Knothole Jail, where the cells are full of occupants.
"Let us out of here at ONCE, you barbarians!" King Max snarls, holding the bars firmly in his grasp.
"Old man, you don't frighten me. I even gave your valuable Sword of Acorns to Nack as a gift. Spoils go to the victors, ya know?" Karl says to the growling monarch.
"You'll hang for treason." He speaks calmly as the weasel then turns to Nack.
"Yeah, maybe... if you ever get outta here, that is..." Karl replies, before bumping into Nack.
"Watch where you're going, Karl. And have you seen Jeff?" He asks.
"Nah. He went to get the Princess and that fat guy, but he hasn't returned yet. I checked 'em off becuase I thought that would count." He shrugs.
"You moron. Only check off the people that are in the cells!" Nack says.
They hear a gunshot piercing the silence of the small forest community.
"Great! Jeff! I'm comin'!" Nack says, running out the door of the Jail.
He runs quickly across the clearing in the village towards Rotor's workshop, seeing Rotor cluching his hat, with Sally trying to help him, and Jeff holding the smoking gun towards the ground, but facing them, with a smirk.
"Do I really hafta try that again?" He asks.
"No, but you had better work on rounding up prisoners." Nack says as he walks in.
"YOU! I should have known!" Sally says, standing up with Rotor.
"Listen here, princess. You're not royalty no more. I am. Your daddy's in jail, and you're gonna be, too. Now, march or you'll wind up with a couple bullet holes in ya." Nack explains, walking them out the door with Jeff.
They walk into the Knothole Jail, and they place Rotor and Sally in the same cell as Sonic and Antoine.
"Sonic! You're safe!" Sally says, hugging her hero.
"I'd never let them hurt you, or me, Sal. Don't worry." He replies.
"Awww, ain't that nice?" Konor snickers as he paces the hallway.
Sonic growls and tries to buzz-saw his way out of the cell, but the bars don't even bend or cut.
"Go ahead and try to escape. You can't." He watches, laughing as Sonic exhausts himself on his futile escape attempts. The blue hedgehog pants, on his hands and knees, sweating somewhat.
"I'm gonna escape, weaselboy. You watch." He pants. Sally and Bunnie help the blue-furred hedgehog up.
"Sonic, are they going to execute us?" She asks him.
He leans against the wall. "I doubt it. These guys are just petty thugs. At least, they used to be..."
Bunnie walks up to the bars.
"Whut do y'all call yerselves?" Bunnie asks.
Konor turns around and faces Bunnie, very confused from her question. "You want to know our names?"
"Yeah... but ah also wanna know what you call yourselves as a gang." She replies.
The weasel nods.
"We're the Fanged Felons." He smirks, leaning against the bars of King Acorn's cell. The weasel then laughs "I'm Connor... and Maxie here is gonna be our personal servant."
Sally whispers to NICOLE "do a scan on the Fanged Felons."
"Scanning, Sally." The computerized assistant replies. "The Fanged Felons are a gang of thugs from the west side of Mobotropolis. Led by their oldest brother, Nackery Weasel, commonly known as Nack, or Fang the Sniper, they try to further their goals and dreams of becoming rich by robbing banks and people as they walk down paths. Nack is a very skilled thief and gunman, and his brothers, when all together, are a force to be reckoned with, much like their occasional allies, the Nasty Hyenas."
"Thanks, NICOLE. However, this does not explain why these gang members would suddenly want to imprison the king." Sally says.
"Perhaps zees weasels are just puppets on ze string, no?" Antoine shrugs, sitting across the hall from them in the cell with King Max.
"Antoine, don't be silly. These guys are reckless and dangerous. You'd need to be extremely brave, skilled, and powerful to use these guys as pawns." Bunnie replies.
Sonic simply thinks this over as he listens.
"Well, we haven't heard from Snively or Robotnik in what? 8 years? those guys are probably dead and gone, so it can't be them." Rotor tells Antoine and sally from his cell.
Konor starts to sweat from overhearing the conversation. He fears that they may learn the secret of what's going on, and he's particularly afraid of the wrath of Nack coming down on him for letting them find out.
"Alright, you guys, be quiet! Stop talkin'!" He yells, not wanting them to figure out who's in charge of this master plan.
"What do you intend to do to us, weasel? We're already imprisoned." King max says calmly.
"I'll get my boss. Unlike me, he doesn't listen to reason." Konor says, walking off.
"Ixis." Sonic says to himself, barely audible.
"Say that again, Sonic." Sally asks.
"It's Ixis Naugus. He's the one pulling all the strings here." Sonic says.
"But how?" Bunnie asks.
"He's doing it through others he's possessing from the Void. He instructs them through dreams, or outright possesses them. It's the only way he can have any influence from the Void. It's like he's using people as radio-controlled servants. He said that he would eventually gain this capability." King Max replies.
"Boss, what's gotten into ya? Lately, you've been acting really strange..." Jeff asks Nack, who has been acting somewhat unusual.
"Whaddaya mean? Thinkin' big's against the law now?" He growls as he sits on the royal throne. "Maybe you should be in the jail along with those Freedom fighters for treason. I don't want anyone interfering with Ix-- er, MY plans."
"Look at his eyes... they're very blood-shot... and what's with that thing on his ear? This isn't the Nack I know. He's just a small-time petty thug... not a rebel against the crown..." Jeff thinks to himself.
"Ya have somethin' on yer ear..." Jeff says, and goes to dust it off with his hand, when Nack pushes his hand away in anger.
"Don't you dare touch me again. If you do, I will throw you into the Void myself. Do you understand?" He growls, pulling his knife out, pressing it against his brother's throat.
"Y-yes, boss..." Jeff says, slightly surprised from Nack's increasingly erratic behaviour, and deathly afraid of the Void. He backs away slowly, now knowing something's up. Nack quickly regains his senses.
"Jeff, ya look like you've seen a ghost. What's wrong with ya?" He asks, somewhat suspicious, and completely unknowing of his actions a second ago.
"I'm only shaken from ya pullin' yer knife on me! You wanna toss me into the Void? Bro, what are you even talking about?" He asks.
"Nah, but maybe this was too big of a job for us to handle. It's probably stress..." He shrugs.
"Stress? Yeah, well, get yourself back under control." He says, walking out of the building, leaving a very confused Nackery standing there, scratching his head.
Dawn breaks over the Great Forest, eliminating the last traces of darkness and twilight that may still linger. However, the forest is silent, aside from the rustling of leaves in the trees. That silence is broken soon enough by the droning of an engine. An engine that powers a biplane.
The biplane hums well over the tree tops as the Knothole Village comes into view. Tails giving a smile as a feeling of relief washes over him.
"Home sweet home, I can't wait to see my friends again!" He adds before finding the clearing he had made to land the plane just outside of the village. He brings the plane down, touching down onto the grass and bringing the vehicle to a halt.
He shuts down the plane, grabs his backpack of things and walks toward the village, just to soon pause and look around around.
"Something doesn't seem right here, I know it's early but they had to have heard the plane... yet it's so quiet." He mumbles to himself before feeling something in his senses.
"I feel it now, there's something evil at work here." He blinks a bit as he hears a few others coming. He decides that it's not worth taking the chance and powers up slightly, making a quick sprint to the far side of a hut, still able to see his plane.
He sees two weasels with guns come up to the plane, looking around suspiciously.
"Hmm, as much as I should try to lay low, i've gotta find out what's going on here." He lets the power within fade again so as to appear normal.
He walks up slowly ending up just behind the weasels as they speculate who just flew in.
"Looking for someone?" Tails calls out from behind them.
The weasel brother are a bit startled as they turn around quickly, guns in hand.
"Hey, looks we have a stray." Jeff says with a smirk.
"Alright kiddo, time for you to rejoin your friends in the slammer." Karl points the gun at Tails.
Tails just looks to them with a confident smirk, his tails twiching about behind him as he plots a plan.
He gives a mock sigh of defeat and nods.
"Alright, i'll go." He says, dropping his backpack from his shoulders.
The brothers blinks and look to each other in suprise before chuckling.
"Finally, someone with enough sense around here to cooperate... MARCH!" Jeff says with gun pointed, leading Tails toward the jail, Karl just behind.
The weasels march Tails to the prison, where they meet up with Connor who's been watching over the inmates to ensure nothing problematic happens.
"Here's another one, this one just flew in on some kind of plane." Karl explains.
Connor looks down at the list and then to Tails.
"Ah, perfect... that's all of them boys. Looks like we'll be celebrating heartily tonight." Connor says with a snicker.
Jeff takes Tails' arm and opens an empty jail cell, next to the one that holds Sonic and Sally, pushing him in before crashing the cell door shut.
"Alright, get back to your posts and watch for any intruders... we certainly don't want Nack angry... not with the way he's been acting lately." Connor adds, waving the other two off which turn and head outside.
The four in the next cell talk amoungst themselves before Sonic comes up to the bars, whispering over to the other cell.
"Tails, is that you bro?" Sonic calls out quietly, catching the foxes attention.
"Yeah, it's me... I cut my voyage short, there's trouble brewing, as you can tell." He replies.
"Man, we gotta break out of this place... but the bars are so tough I can't even spin through them." He says, tapping his foot as he thinks.
"Don't worry, Sonic. Even though I wasn't gone long, a lot happened... I've learned a few new things that will get out out of here no problem." He speaks quietly, which catches Connor's attention.
"Hey, shut up over there! Your schemeing won't do a thing, you're prisoners here as long as Nack says you are." He calls out.
Tails steps back a bit and begins to charge himself up again, pointing a finger at the locking mechanism of the door and letting loose an explosive charge which proceeds to shatter the lock to pieces.
"What was that?" Connor turns and sees the glowing fox stepping free from the cell.
"Don't move! I don't know how you did that but i'm going fill you full of holes if you take another step!" He clenches his teeth holding the gun towards the fox.
Tails looks the weasel in the eyes before giving a bit of a grin. The weasel quirking his brow just before Tails makes a sonic dash, barrying his fist into the gut of Connor.
The weasel crys out and doubles over in pain. Tails does similar charged blast to the locks of the two other jail doors, the freedom fighters quickly moving out of the cells.
"Way past cool, bro!" Sonic calls out and gives him him hi-five.
"Vat in zee world jest happened?" Antoine asks, scratching his head in confusion.
"I wish I knew, but whatever he did, we're free now." Sally replies.
King Acorn steps out and gives Sally a hug before looking to Tails.
"My gratitude, young Tails." He offers with a nod of head.
Tails glances outside as he speaks.
"No time for that now... we still have a throne hijacker and his petty thugs to deal with." He calls out, as he silently feels out with his sense, noticing some kind of significant power source coming from the makeshift throne room.
"Yeah, time to give them a thing or two." Sonic says, gesturing confidently.
Before Sonic has a chance to run off, Tails speaks up again.
"You guys will have to deal with the other two, meet up with me in the throne room... I have a bone to pick with the false king." He says says darkly before opening the door and bolting out of the jail with enhanced speed.
"Hey, wait just a--" Sally says before getting cut off by Tails sudden leave.
"Well, he shore does seem to have everythin' unda control, sugah." Bunnie comments softly, as shocked as the rest of them with the twin-tailed ones enthusiasm.
"Don't worry about him, Sal. He knows what he's doing... I hope." Sonic replies before spinning up and shooting out of the jail, the others running out afterward.
The figure sits on the throne as if he was born for it. He sits in the shadows, with only his outline, eyes, and nose visible.
Nack blinks as he hears some noise outside of the throne room and stands up, just in time to hear a loud crash, the large doors to the room opening, leaving Tails visible in the doorway as he slowly walks inward.
"What, who let you out of your cell?" Nack calls out in anger.
"I did, it's kind of stuffy in there... so I figure i'd take a walk." Tails says mockingly as he stops a few feet from the weasel.
"Don't bullshit me, kid. With an attitude like that the only thing you're goign to walk into is a casket." He places his paw on the holster of his gun.
Just as he does so, he can hear Ixis in his head.
"Don't bother with the gun, you can't beat him that way... you must use the emerald." The wizards voices echoes from within.
"What, why not?" Nack says aloud, Tails quirking a brow as he speaks to no one in particular.
The weasel removes his hand from the holster and looks over to his napsack near the throne before picking it up with a paw.
"The wizard seems to think you're some kind of super mobian, so, let me introduce you to something." Nack hisses out.
Tails crosses his arms as Nack talks and reaching in, pulling out a very large gem.
"What? That's a chaos emerald... No, it's the master emerald! How in the world did you get that!?" Tails calls out in shock.
Nack laughs as he clutches the faintly glowing rock.
"That guardian was quite a pushover, one bullet and he falls to the ground like a baby." Nack stares into the gem.
"Impossible... but, it must be true if you have that." Tails frowns deeply as he stands.
An awkward silence falls over the room before Nack gives an insidious laughter.
"Listen you, i'm only giving you one chance... hand over the crown peacefully to it's rightful owner and nobody gets hurt." Tails calls out.
"Idiot, you're in no position to threaten me!" Nack suddenly grasps the emerald a bit harder, feeling the power begin to soar through his body.
"Naugus has really gotten you in a heap of trouble, if you even try to tap the power of that emerald, it would destroy your body." Tails points out with a smirk.
"Heh heh, I don't need all of it, just a sip to take care of you and your friends." He reaches up, taking off his stetson and resting it on the arm of the chair before focuses on the emerald, beginning to unlock the power.
The walls around them shake, Nack giving a maniacal laughter as the power explodes within him, evolving him into a super form.
Sonic suddenly bolts in and skids to a stop, looking to Tails and then marveling at the happenings near the throne.
"Man, what's going on... I felt the whole place shake." Sonic says in confusion.
"This is going to get really ugly Sonic, that weasel has the master emerald." Tails says, looking to him from the corner of his eyes.
"What, no way!!" Sonic nearly jumps in fright.
The weasel grins at them as he steps down from the throne, encompassed in a brightly glowing aura.
"Master emerald or not, you're going down fang face!" Sonic says as he spins up for a dash.
"No, Sonic, don't!" Tails calls out to late as the spinning ball of hedgehog hurls himself toward the glowing weasel, who merely swats him away, launching him through one of the big windows with a crash.
"Sonic!!" Tails clenches his teeth and begins to power up.
"You are so going to pay for that... you may be strong with that emerald in your paw, but mark my words, it's not going to be in your grasp much longer." Tails as well explodes in a furious aura as he too becomes super form.
Tails makes a sonic dash toward Nack with a punch, which Nack successfuly blocks. He throwing several more within a second, all of which he blocks, grabbing Tails fist with his last attempt, which startles Tails just long enough for Nack to get a powerful jab out across Tails muzzle.
Tails attempts to pull the captive paw free before giving another punch to the face of Nack in which he also captures the fist.
"I've got you now." Nack speaks with a grin.
"No you don't!" Tails growls back, using the leverage caused by the captive paws to pull his feet out from under him, supporting his weight with his tails as he delivers a bone shattering double kick to Nack's gut.
"Gaaahhh!!" Nack crys out as he's pushed back by the kick.
The fox quickly regains his composure as he careful watches the weasel, who quickly regains his foot and returns a stare of his own.
The two stare each other down for a moment, the glowing figures glistening faintly off of the walls of the highly decorated room.
Outside Sally runs over, seeing Sonic down on the ground. She kneels down beside the hedgehog who sits up with a slight groan, cut in several place from the contact with the glass.
"Sonic, are you okay?" She says with great concern. Sonic stands up slowly.
"I think so... but I can't believe that just happened. I think we're in real trouble Sal." He says, looking up to the broken window.
Suddenly several loud crashes happens above, this time the glowing weasel flys out of the window and into a cluster of trees with a loud crash and cloud of dust.
"Woah, was that Tails!?" Sonic looks over.
"No, that was that weasel!" Sally corrects, looking over as well as Tails suddenly lands next to them, still glowing vividly in super form.
"Sonic, you okay?" Tails says, glancing over to the two.
"I think so, but man, my entire body hurts." Sonic, wincing a bit from the pain.
"I'll take him to get some first aid, I hope you'll be alright Tails." She says before taking Sonic along, limping slowly.
"Now, where did emerald snatcher go?" Tails speaks to himself as he walks into the trees.
Tails carefully surveys around him as he walks amoungst the tall trees of where the weasel landed.
"Come out, come out wherever you are... you can't hide forever, Nack." He calls out.
He takes a few more steps, noting some damaged trees before the weasel suddenly jumps up behind him, pouncing him and knocking him harshly into the dirt.
Nack cradles his head in a sleeper hold, the foxes arms held under the weasels knees as he puts on the pressure. Tails cringing in pain as the weasel holds the tight hold.
"Lets see you get out of this one, mister magic fox." Tails struggles a bit more and suddenly gets an idea, he lifts his tails and clasps them around the weasel's throat.
The applied pressure upon the other's neck gradually loosening his grip. It's not that he realises the arm holding his head in the paw in which the emerald is held. He uses the distraction as a chance to work his muzzle loose and give a firm chomp into the weasel's arm.
Nack yelps and suddenly releases the emerald almost instinctly, the large gem landing firmly on the ground.
The fox begins to spin his twin tails and the weasel along with it, spinning him at an incredible rate of speed before launching him back toward the castle, where he impacts into the wall with a crash, dislodging several of the bricks and effectively knocking him unconcious without the power boost from the emerald, the weasels glow fading away as his senses do.
Tails breathes a sigh of relief and stands up, brushing the dirt from his clothing before he reaches down, taking the gem into his gloved paw.
He admires it for a moment before letting his own aura fade turning, walking back to the castle wall and picking up the downed weasel by the collar, soon walking off to the center of the village, gem and weasel in hand.
In the center of the village Rotor, Antoine and Bunnie are gathered withthe three other fanged felons who are also unconcious and tied up.
"Here's the last one of the collection." Tails says as he tosses the weasel down next to the others.
"Tha's great, sugah! We'll tie 'em up good an' let the king decide what we'll do with 'em." Bunnie says as she picks up the body from the ground.
"Hey, what's that thing?" Rotor suddenly mentions, pointing out some kind of strange device on Nack's right ear. Tails moves over and dislodges it from the ear, looking at it and then handing it over to Rotor.
"Interesting." The walrus says as he looks over it.
"He mentioned something about 'the wizard', this likely Nagus' doing." He says as he sits down, brushing a bit of hair from his eyes.
"Oh mah stars, why would that ol' wizard want to do such a thing?" Bunnie says in suprise.
"I'm not certain, Bunnie... and furthermore, how is he able to do these things from inside the void?" Tails mentions, pondering the possibilities.
"Then there's this thing, Naugus primarily uses magic, but this thing is electronic." He pauses a moment before lowering the device and looking down to the others.
"You don't think... that 'HE'... had something to do with this." Rotor asks, a bit puzzled.
"I sure hope not, it's been years since that ol' fatty disappered." Bunnie says, looking thoughful.
"It doesn't necessarily have to be Robotnik. We know for certain that Snively had survived Doomsday, perhaps he is working with the wizard as well." Tails mentions before standing again.
"Where are you goin' sugah? You're lookin' pretty tired hun." Bunnie walks up to Tails.
"Yeah, you're right Bunnie, the journey and the fight have taken quite a bit out of me... i'll get some rest." Tails turns and begins walking off toward his hut.
"My, that boy sure has changed, Rotor." Bunnie says softly as Tails disappers into the hut.
"Yeah, I know Bunnie. I never thought i'd see him so brave and confident, let alone so mysteriously strong... whatever happened to him in Downunda must have been one heck of an experience."
The robotic-appendaged rabbit nods in agreement.
Ixis is watching everything from the Void, and he is furious.
"How dare that little two-tailed twerp foil my plans again! This is REALLY starting to anger me!" He tells his lackey.
Snively squeeks a bit and steps back.
"W-what do you intend to do next, sir?"
"The fat one has the new machine mutant I ordered him to create ready but I can not trust his creations to do my bidding. ...I have no choice, it's time to set the master plan into action."
"The invasion, sir?" Snively clarifies.
"Yes. Go tell the others that we are ready." He replies.
"Very well, sir." Snively says as he walks out of their crystalline command center.
An hour later the weasels are untied within the confines of the jail, all now concious and hurting, in more than one way.
"Alright, Sonic, throw them in." Max says as Sonic closes a fixed and newly reinforced cell door on Nack, Konor, Karl, and Jeff, the infamous "Fanged Felons".
"You are hereby charged with high treason and multiple counts of attempted murder." Max tells the weasels.
"What's gonna happen to us?" Nack asks.
"We'll see at your trial, Mister Weasel. We may send you to the Devil's Gulag when you are found guilty." The king replies.
"You can't do this! I was under Ixis Naugus' mind control. That no-good wizard betrayed me." Nack says.
"That is what you get for dealing with his kind." King Max says as he walks out of the jail.
"BUT WE WERE USED!" Nack yells as the king walks out, but his pleas fall on deaf ears.
On to the next morning, the echinda guardian plots his way to the Knothole Village, following the path he sees in his visions.
"The village should be just above this small hill..." The echinda mumbles to himself.
As he walks to the top of the hill, all he can see is the Great Oak Slide.
"Hmm, odd, the village has got to be around here somewhere." Knuckles crosses his arms as he ponders.
Suddenly he hears a sudden rustle of activity behind him, which he immediately spins around to face, spiked knuckles up.
"Alright, come out! I know you're there!" He calls out aggressively.
The being steps out into the light, none other than the half-robotic Sakura fox, Sakura.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Knuckles demands.
"No need to be defensive, I may look like a foe... but I have no intention of causing anyone harm." She says.
"Hmm, I see... I don't trust you but I'll take your word... for now." He says, lowering his knuckles somewhat.
"What brings you to this place?" Sakura asks the other, who notably looks lost.
"Something of great value was stolen from me... and I have traced it to this very area. However, I don't see anyway to progress from here."
Sakura hmms to herself and activates a scan with her robotic sensors. She glances around in all direction before finding two large energy signatures, one she recognizes, Tails... and the other, much bigger and seeming to be inanimate.
"I believe I may have found what you're looking for." Sakura says to him.
"What? Where?" Knuckles asks with great anticipation. Sakura then points to the slide itself.
"It's coming from through there, not far below our current altitude." She adds.
The echidna looks into it, and listens.
"It doesn't seem dangerous. I'll go first." He says, jumping into it and sliding through, down the slide and landing on the pile of hay at the bottom, followed by Sakura.
As they sit up, they see Knothole Village, along a small stream in the heart of the Great Forest, with huts even in the trees.
"Wow... this place is nice! Why have I never heard of it?" He says.
"I wonder who lives here." Knuckles mumbles aloud before suddenly being answered.
"We do." Sonic says, standing in the field in front of them.
"I'm Knuckles the Echidna, and this is... er... I never did ask for your name."
"I am Sakura." She replies.
"And you are?" He looks to the blue hedgehog.
"Sonic the Hedgehog, leader of the Knothole Freedom Fighters, and I protect my village. It's my home." He adds before eyeing Sakura's cybernetic parts.
"And, just what do *you* want?" Sonic asks accusingly.
"I've come because I've defected, my benefactor has betrayed me and I despise him greatly. I wish to join the Freedom Fighters so that I can give him just what he deserves."
"...And I have come to retrieve the master emerald that was stolen from Angel Island. I am it's guardian and rightful protector, and no petty thief will stop me from getting it back."
They both speak with conviction of their purpose, though Sonic isn't quite convinced.
"Hmmm, Knuckles, you must mean that big gem that that dirty weasel gang used to rampage our village. I'm sure we'd all be happy to give it back to you."
"As for you, sorry if I don't believe you, but this seems a bit odd." He says to Silver.
"That's understandable, Sonic, but I am willing to do whatever it is required of me to hold your trust." She adds with a respectful bow of her waist.
"Alright. Come with me." Sonic says, leading the two newcomers towards Freedom Headquarters.
Inside Freedom HQ, King Max, and the Freedom Fighters are discussing what to do regarding Nack the Weasel and the Fanged Felons.
"Sire, I think we need everyone we can get. They said they're only after fame and fortune. Why not just pay them to be our hired guns?" Bunnie asks.
"No no, bunnie. If we release and then arm them, they could turn on us. I feel a prison sentance is in order. They did try to overthrow the kingdom, after all." Rotor counters.
"That was 'cause they were under Ixis' spell. Remember the thing Rotor found on Nack's ear?" She replies.
"Really... I'd like to see it and study it." Rotor says. Tails hands him the high-frequency brainwave disruptor that was attatched to Nack's ear. Rotor gets his laptop going and scans it.
"This may take a while..." He says, as his comptuer scans it.
"Not if we do it together." Princess Sally says, handing him NICOLE.
"NICOLE, scan the disruptor. How does it work?" Sally asks.
"Analyzing and scanning, Sally..." She says as she scans it, taking some of the load off of Rotor's computer as they work in tandem.
Within a few seconds, they get an answer.
"Scan completed. This high-frequency brainwave disruptor is a variation on a soundcard chip, which emits supersonic soundwaves at over 10 megahertz, well above the hearing capabilities of nearly all mammals. It acts to disrupt the Alpha and Beta brainwaves, therefore, allowing someone to basically hypnotize and mind-control the victim. Its radius is very limited, due to its high frequncy, so that's why it has to be placed very close to the brain, such as on the ear." The handheld computer explains.
"I think that's settled. I feel a trial is in order." King Max says.
"I'd say they're more innocent than guilty if you mean overthrowing King Acorn." Sonic says, standing in the doorway."
"Sonic! Where were you? How long have you been there?"
"Sal, I heard everything. I only left because two newcomers entered Knothole through the Great Oak Slide." He says, stepping inside, introducing them to Sakura, and Knuckles.
"Ah, well, look who's here." Tails says as he jumps to his feet, looking over to Sakura.
"Tails, I want you to know something. My body may be about half robotic, but I am not powered by AI, I have my flesh brain and make my own decision. As you know I was promised to be returned to my full mobian state, but his terms are unacceptable. I'm sorry for what happened, it would not have happened if I had known." She says, looking down and giving a sigh.
"Wait a minute, he who?" Sally looks to Sakura along with everyone else.
"I was sincerely hoping for a better time to tell you all... but it is true. Robotnik did survive Doomsday... I don't know where he's been all these years, but he's back." Tails admits.
The others look wide eyed, mumbling amoungst themselves as the king stands silent.
"This is a discussion for another time, we must continue with the task at hand." King Max speaks up.
"Who iz zee other fellow?" Antoine asks, having remained a silent observer throughout most of the meeting.
"This is Knuckles, and he claims to be the--" Sonic says when he is interrupted by the King himself.
"Knuckles the Echidna. Guardian of the Master Emerald, and protector of Angel Island." Max says.
"You know him?" Sonic asks.
"Yes. I also knew his father, Locke. The Echidnas are one of Knothole's stedfast allies, both in times of peace, and in crisis." He says.
"I see. How come we've never heard of 'em all before?" Bunnie asks.
"We tend to keep to ourselves and not draw any unwanted attention. You mind your business, we mind ours, and everyone's happy. It's how we think, anyway." Knuckles says.
"Has Robotnik trashed your island, too?" Tails asks.
"Thankfully, no. He's tried, though." Knuckles says.
The room falls silent for a second, before the furs remember about the felons.
"What shall we do with Nack the Weasel and his Fanged Felons?" Sally asks.
"Bring them to me. We'll try them in a court of justice." The King replies.
The weasel brothers stir in their jail cell as the quarrel amoungst themselves of their future fate.
"Man, we're gonna be locked-up in the Devil's Gulag... We'll all be handed life sentances." Konor says, looking at the ground.
"Yeah, and it's all YOUR FAULT, NACKERY!" Karl growls, walking towards a slightly nervous Nack, who ends up backing himself into a corner.
"N-now fellahs, you saw I wasn't myself. I'm into bank robberies, not revolutions." He says, trying to place his paws between himself and a very angry Karl.
"Lay offa him, Karl. He's right. Perhaps this is what we deserve for the things we've done. They haven't exactly been nice things, ya know." Jeff says as he looks at his face in a mirror, noticing it's been a while since his last shave.
"Bah. We're weasels, Jeff. It's our nature to be sneaky, to steal stuff, and lie." Karl says, briefly looking at Jeff, before turning back to his other brother. "We just screwed-up BIG TIME... that's all."
The doors to the jail swing open, with the Freedom Fighters walking down the hallway towards the weasels.
"Alright, 'Fanged Felons', now it's time to answer for all zee terrible things you've done." Antoine says, unlocking the cell door.
The weasels stand still.
"Fanged Felons... you have a choice." King Max says to them.
"You can either go to a trial, or you can listen to my offer." He continues.
"What's the offer?" Nack asks.
"You will become my hired guns, and work only for me. You will be paid quite a handsome salary each. Should you try to overthrow the kingdom again, or murder the royal family, you will be executed at the Devil's Gulag." Max says.
"Uhhh... let's think it over for a sec." Nack says, hudding his brothers together.
The weasels look at each other and discuss it amongst themselves.
"Maybe it's time we went straight, guys. I wanna stay alive." Konor tells his brothers.
"How much will he pay us, though?" Karl asks.
King max overhears that question, and raises an eyebrow. "If you're curious to the amount I'm willing to pay you....It is to the tune of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars per year, a piece. Half in cash, and half .
Nack grins, and he looks like he's just hit the jackpot, his eyes even seeing dollar-signs briefly.
"Boys, we'd be suckers not to accept." Nack says.
"And if we refuse your offer?" Karl inquires.
"You will be sentanced to life in prison in the Devil's Gulag for your crimes." King Max replies.
Nack gulps and sweats a bit as his three brothers look angrily at him.
"I don't think Nack likes that idea." Sonic chuckles.
"'Course I don't, ya blue-furred meatball. I dont' want these morons killing me in prison." Nack snaps back.
"I'm in." Jeff replies.
"So are we." Karl and Connor say.
"Wait wait wait... you're actually going to HIRE these criminals?" Sonic asks.
King Max simply turns to Sonic.
"I'm giving them a chance to go legitimate. In return, I'll pardon them and forgive their crimes." He says.
"Father, what's going to stop them from attacking you?" Sally asks.
"I'm glad you asked. I have more guards than just these four. They will simply be my special hired guns. They'll act as my spies." King Max says, staring Nack right in the eyes.
"We'll be like you're secret agents, right?" Karl asks.
"Exactly, I have already appointed the leader of the unit, under whom you shall serve." King Max replies.
"How long will we have to do this?" Connor asks from the other side of the bars.
"Let's just get the Kingdom rebuilt, first. Once my country has been restored, then we'll see if you continue your service, or if that is all." King Max explains.
"Alright, yer majesty. We accept your offer." Nack says, shaking the King's hand.