Chapter 6

And so the plan was set into motion. The following day, Sir Charles called a town meeting, introducing the idea of the publicity stunt. Naturally, the more rural community frowned upon the modern gimmick, but what still owned businesses had grown rather desperate to keep their investments. Thus the "Royal Pixie Hunt" began. To make things easier, as well as add possible revenue, Rosie sewed up a number of dolls in the shape of the would-be pixies: four good and three bad. This way people knew what they were looking for and what specifically to post to the website Tom and Maddie constructed. In time, red, blue, yellow, and tan blurs were spotted numerously through town, and there was much excitement.

Save, rather, for the pixies themselves.

"All those years I spent staying off the radar," Sonic mused from their little hiding spot behind the water tower, "and now I want people to see me. Kinda makes me wonder if it was worth it."

"To be fair." Tails piped in. "They're not seeing us so much as our shadows, brief images of our profiles, and maybe a splash of color."

He was inspecting the sightings website currently on his Miles Electric, a doll resembling him in his lap.

"Gotta say, Rosie has an eye for detail. These dolls look pretty darn close to the genuine articles. If those three troublemakers poof in again, we'll be able to work out in real time where they are and what they might be planning."

"True save for the authenticity." Knuckle grumbled, holding up the doll resembling him, which hung limply in his fingers. "This makes me look soft and plushie. It holds no semblance of my immense physique and combative skills. Even the knuck-claws are soft."

"Kinda the point, knucklehead." Sonic chirped. "I mean, who wants to snuggle up against someone abrasive and ugly."

"I am not abrasive!" Knuckles snapped.

Sonic started to speak, but then stopped himself. That would be the lowest hanging fruit imaginable. Instead, he turned his attention to their new not-friend Sally, who was looking out through a telescope.

"Take a picture. It'll last longer."

Sally put down her telescope, and she shot him a glare.

"Says the blue slob who would rather laze about than actually look for our foe. Plus, I don't think that's how that line is used. Don't forget that we still have to find the villains."

At the mention of blue slob, Sonic looked down at his stomach, something Knuckles noticed.

"Maddie has been telling you to lay off the chili dogs." He said with a chuckle.

Sonic shot him a glare, and he looked back to Sally.

"Anyone tell you that you're uptight? We've already got a plan to ferret out the skunks. The minute Tails gets a hit, I can just speed on down to where they are and hit them hard."

"Is that so?" Sally replied with a quirked brow. "That's quite the smarm from someone I had knocked flat on their back despite their so called speed."

Sonic grounded his teeth, and he got just a little closer to her.

"For your information, princess, I was holding back. Blinded or not, I would've finished you off in a Sonic second."

"Sonic second?" Sally retorted with a dry laugh. "Do you even hear yourself? Your brain clearly doesn't run as fast as your feet."

"Oh yeah?!" Sonic growled. "Well red hair clashes with tan fuzz, princess."

"Oh, now you want to make it about my hair? How many hedgehogs do you know of that're blue?"

"What kind of a name is Acorn Kingdom? What are you all nuts?"

"Says the reprobate that lived like a savage for ten years!"

Both Knuckles and Tails quickly grabbed the two from behind and pulled them back, the prior grabbing Sonic and the latter grabbing Sally.

"Ok, maybe it's time to split up and search for clues." Tails offered.

"Motion seconded and hedgehog carried." Knuckles said.

While Knuckles jumped down with Sonic under his arm, Tails spun his namesakes and took to the sky with Sally in tow. The princess struggled for a moment, but she inevitably gave up with a sour sulk. Tails gave it a couple of minutes of flying before stirring up the conversation once more.

"Sonic's really not as bad as his attitude suggests." He offered placatingly. "He's a real hero, and I know because I've seen him in action. I think you just stung his pride a little the other day."

"Like I care." Sally humphed. "He's a chaos freak, anyway, so what would I have to do with him?"

Tails frowned.

"Come on, that ain't nice. I mean, Sonic, Knuckles and I are supposed to be on vacation, so we're really not under any obligation to help try and save this town."

Sally took in a deep breath, and then she let it out slowly.

"I suppose you're right. I'm not really acting like a proper princess, aren't I? I just don't think I could trust him or the echidna. They both wreak of chaos magic."

"Makes sense." Tails mused. "We did find the Master Emerald after all."

"YOU WHAT?!"

Tails nearly lost his grip as Sally's sudden gyration, and he had to quickly set down before someone saw more of them than needed. Once settled and out of sight, Tails looked to Sally, who had a rather incredulous look on her face.

"The Master Emerald?" she entreated. "You're telling me you guys found the ultimate source of evil in the multiverse and are apparently harboring? Why didn't you bring this up before?"

Tails frowned.

"Evil? I mean, yeah, the Master Emerald is incredibly powerful and can certainly do some bad things, but I wouldn't really call it evil."

He cocked his head and studied her.

"Sally, I hate to fact check, but where do you get the idea that the Master Emerald is evil?"

Sally took a seat on a nearby trash can, and she sighed.

"You remember my story, right? About how Charlemagne attacked our home?"

Tails nodded.

"Well there's a tidbit more, namely how Charlemagne got his power. Despite my youth, my father would allow me to sit in on war room talks and discuss intel concerning our enemies. The reports were certainly dubious, but there was much talk that Pachamac, one of the great chieftains of the echidna civilization, had joined forces with his side. The exact details of their union never came to light, but it was said that he gave Charlamagne a fragment of the Master Emerald that, when infused to his flesh, granted him untold amounts of power. It was that selfsame power that destroyed our home and made us all orphans and strays. So, yes, the Master Emerald is evil. The epitome of evil I'd even say. If you truly have the gem, then we must seize it and destroy it. Or, if not, dispose of it in a manner that it cannot be used again."

Tails' ears flattened.

"Yeah, that's not happening."

Sally glared at him.

"Why?"

"Because Knuckles is personally protecting it. I'm not sure if you're aware of this, Sally, but he's been called the most powerful warrior in the galaxy. Even Sonic has yet to fully beat him in a straight fight, and Sonic is darn near unstoppable."

"I stopped him pretty well." Sally said.

"Trust me when I say, Sonic wasn't trying. I'm serious, Sally, you don't want to go up against either of them. It won't end well, and I'd honestly like it better if we could all just get along. It's like you said before; there's not too many mobians left these days. Shouldn't we be pulling together for the greater good?"

Sally did not reply, her angry expression remaining.

………………………………………………………………………………….

Sonic was throwing rocks at the billboard holding the faces of their plush selves, specifically that of Sally's. Knuckles, having known a thing or two about letting out stress through acts of violence, gladly stood to the side so he could steam.

"Smug!"

BANG!

"Smart-alecky!"

Bang!

"Know it all!"

Bang!

"Busybody, better than you, fem-Shepherd knock off!"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

He had ran out of rocks by this point, and he resolved to run up to the billboard to kick it. He was quite agitated, and Knuckles couldn't help but be impressed. Until now, he had yet to see anything get under the hedgehog's skin so easily. Even he himself had been unable to break his unflappable stride. But something about this girl had really kicked Sonic's hornets nest. After a few moments of consideration, he adopted a large grin.

"Oh, I see it now."

Sonic stopped kicking, and he looked to Knuckles.

"See what, exactly?"

"She has become your groin."

Sonic balked at him for a moment, but then he quickly realized what Knuckles was talking about.

"Wait! You mean like I was with Eggman? Uh uh! No way!"

"She got the drop on you." Knuckles said matter-of-factly. "Without any special gifts and powers, she managed to best you and your magnificent speed. She is a warrior in the truest way. In other words, every way you are not."

Sonic scowled at him.

"She got lucky, and I was careless. If we went again, I'd have her down in less than an instant. No! I'd do it even faster than that!"

"Faster than instantaneous?" Knuckles asked with a skeptical look. "Even you are too slow for that. Just as you were too slow to fight off a powerless chipmunk girl. It's not something to be ashamed of, though. I lost to you, did I not, and I have accepted defeat gracefully."

"Taking cheap shots at me around wall corners and every time I come out of the shower is not what I would call losing with grace. I swear, I heard the Psycho violin that one time."

"Nor is throwing rocks at the princess' face." Knuckles retorted.

Sonic took a deep breath, and then he let it out before shaking his head.

"I swear, this vacation totally tanks. One star on yelp. I mean, it's just one thing after another. Why can't we just go somewhere for once without some sort of disaster causing us trouble?"

Knuckles had to agree. While relaxation was not something that came easy to him, but even he felt a bit overwhelmed by all this.

"Clearly our only recourse is to capture the fiends and put an end to this sabotage business, and…the train…business, too, I suppose."

An idea then hit him.

"In fact, I just thought of a way to make this vacation the fun again. A race!"

Sonic looked at Knuckles, and he cocked his head curiously.

"Uh, Knux, no offense buddy by I'm faster than you in light every way imaginable."

Knuckles shook his head.

"Not a foot race. A capture-the-criminals race. We've already broken up into teams."

Sonic quickly caught on, and then he grinned.

"Hey, yeah! I smell what you're cooking! See which of us can find the bad guys first. With my speed and your muscle, we could flawlessly catch those three no-good-nicks and be back before you can say baggers and mash."

"Not sure what baggers are," Knuckles chirped, "but I'm always up for a good mashing. Especially if it's of grapes."

"Not what I meant, but loving your enthusiasm, buddy. Let's boogie!"

The two took off quickly, vanishing into the city in search of the three thugs.

…………………………………………………………………………………

Speaking of said thugs, Bearenger, Falk, and Carrotia had been licking their wounds ever since Sally had gotten the drop on them. Bearenger's attitude was at an all new high whilst Carrotia had become just a bit more cautious, and more than once Bearenger had caught her jumping at shadows. As for Falk, the idiot was no less lost in his blissful ignorance as always. Bearenger found he envied people of such low intelligence. It was like they lived in a completely different world, and it sure beat the one they lived in. For example: Bearenger had a witch to deal with.

How Wendy Witchcart found them in the first place after they randomly warped here via ring still boggled his mind, but her promise to send them all home was too much of an opportunity to ignore. She had such an encyclopedic knowledge of the zones beyond Earth, so surely she knew how to send Bearenger and the rest of them back to their home zone and families. Bearenger's first thoughts were on his cubs. The oldest had to be a man by now, no doubt taking care of his siblings and mother provided he hadn't found a wife of his own by now. Carrotia's mind no doubt lingered on her fiancé, and on occasion he would see her toy with the engagement ring just beneath her glove. As for Falk, Bearenger wasn't really sure where he came from or if he had a family. Sure, he was annoying and insane six ways to Sunday, but the little maniac still needed a home and someone to look after him. So yes, they took her deal and were all too happy to cause as much wanton mayhem as possible to earn their ticket home.

Enter the other night. It had been the first time any of them had been seen, much less put down. Sure, the barn had burned as planned, but now they knew that there were those more than capable of standing in their way and opposing them. A bunch of backwards, superstitious bumpkins was one thing, but warrior women and flying foxes stretched just a bit beyond their usual wheelhouse. In short, Miss Witchcart was going to be very cross with them. Even as they trekked to the usual meeting place just outside of the city limits, Bearenger could just imagine the angry glare on the woman's face, made only worse by those dolls that had started popping up that perfectly reflecting their appearances.

"I still can't believe how fat they made me look." He heard Carrotia whine, holding up the doll that supposedly depicted her with an, admittedly, wider paunch. "I'm a strict carrot diet. I worked hard to look this good!"

Bearenger entertained the notion of telling her that carrots actually had a larger amount of sugar than celery and other such vegetables, but he was already going to get a lecture as it was. As for Falk, he had the doll of him clenched in his teeth, and he shook his head violently like a dog, though Bearenger supposed he was one. Just then, the telltale limousine of Wendy Witchcart came trundling up the road and kicking up dust. It slowed to a stop, and then the back door opened, revealing Wendy Witchcart in the full and looking quite cross indeed.

"Get in."

They obeyed, all three clambering inside as Carrotia closed the door, and the limousine took off. All around them were a number of screens, which typically showed the weather, various forms of stock market pricing, and news shows about business. However, this time they were all showing the same thing: a website depicting Knothole and its pixie hunting game, inviting folks to the grand Arthur Day festival. There were a also a number of posted videos and pictures showing clippings of clearly animalistic characters darting in and out of shadows for an unclear look. Bearenger could all but hear Witchcart's blood pressure rising, and he took a deep breath.

"Ok, I can tell you're angry…" he started.

"Oh, that is definitely a word for it." Wendy growled through her teeth. "Silent as death. Practically invisible. Were those not the exact promises you made to me when I put you on this job? When I asked you of your capabilities? Now here we are, just days away from the big event, and now people are coming in droves to this little spit of dirt I've been trying to bulldoze for decades. In one night, you idiots have fouled up everything!"

"Hey now, woah!" Bearenger snapped. "Make no mistake, we screwed up, but that was only because we thought we were fighting bums with pitchforks and bad breath. What we ran into was just a hair more tougher than we were expecting. We're ready for those twerps, now."

"More like they're ready for you." Witchcart said. "The entire town is now on high alert. Which means, I can no longer count on just the bank foreclosing on the bigger properties, which means I'm going to have to take more drastic measures to get what I want. This is fortune for you, as it provides a chance for redemption."

It occurred to Bearenger that they were not the only ones in the car. Besides Wendy and the driver, there was a third human in the vehicle. He was small and stubby while wearing a three piece suit. He also had a bald head and a long pointy nose, giving the impression of some sort of goblin or imp.

"Snively, darling," Wendy said, suddenly sweet, "as my longstanding mole in the Wachowski residence, I take you found something interesting?"

Snively chuckled a nasally laugh, and he reached into his coat pocket and took out a photo, holding it out so that Bearenger, Carrotia, and Falk could look upon. All three mobians looked on in awed wonder.

"Oooo, big shiny." Falk gasped.

"That ain't no ordinary shiny, Falky boy." Carrotia said. "But…but that can't be what I think it is. I mean, it looks like it's just sitting in a wall."

"It was sitting in a wall." Snively said. "And it was very heavy. Hence why I didn't bring it with me. I was barely able to hide it back after I discovered it. After what those rodents did to my freshly cleaned bathroom, I dare not think what they could do to me."

"Gross." Bearenger grumbled. "I take it you're referring to those other two critters they made dolls of?"

"I met them all the other night." Snively said. "Under my cover, of course. They came here from america with Sir Charles' nephew. Their names are Sonic the hedgehog, Tails, and Knuckles the echidna."

"So it is Knuckles." Carrotia said. "Hoo boy, glad it wasn't him we ran into. Word is he's the strongest guy in the galaxy. I don't know if that's actually true, but I'd really rather not find out."

"You might have to." Wendy said. "On account I want you to bring him to me."

"Say what?!" the trio exclaimed in perfect unison.

Even Falk and his lower intelligence knew what suicide sounded like.

"With all due respect, Miss Witchcart," Bearenger said, suddenly humble, "echidna are revered far and wide amongst our people and the most powerful warriors ever. Even the armadillos won't tangle with them, and those guys' shells are impervious to all forms of damage."

"All the more reason to get him on my side." Wendy said as she admired the ruby ring on her finger. "It wouldn't be the first time his people saw things my people's way."

"Ma'am?" Bearenger inquired curiously.

"Never you mind." Wendy replied dismissively. "Your next mission is clear. Draw out and capture this Knuckles the echidna and bring him to me. With a little luck, we can convince him to submit the Master Emerald to me for our purposes. Either way, it is imperative any potential threat to the plan be removed and swiftly, but no less quietly."

"Which reminds me." Carrotia piped in. "Just what is this plan you're cooking up? I thought you just wanted to build a railway. Now you're talking about secret spies and knowledge about artifacts of great power? Also, what was that bit about your people and the echidnas?"

"None of your business." Wendy replied coldly. "For your own sakes, you had best concern yourselves with your own goals. Namely, this."

She reached into her purse, and she took out a small, gold ring. It was everything the three of them could do not to jump her for it, thoughts of home filling the three's thoughts. But Wendy was no fool, and no doubt she had a contingency to put them out of commission the second they tried to attack her. By then, the limo had stopped, and the three of them were let out. With a squeal of tires, the car took off and kicked up a cloud of smoke, no doubt intentionally. Bearenger coughed and hacked and Carrotia lamented her ruined makeup. Meanwhile, Falk just rolled around in the dirt and chased the remnants of the dust cloud.

"I knew this was a bad idea from the start." Bearenger coughed as he wafted the last of the dust away. "Woman is crazy!"

"Crazy," Carrotia wheezed, "but no less right. If we can get the echidna on our side, then this whole thing is gonna be a breeze. According to my sources, this guy is supposed to be as dumb as a sack of rocks."

Bearenger shot her a look, and he pointed at Falk.

"Hey, I never said stupid wasn't dangerous." Carrotia said with a shrug. "Still, given we can make Falk do a flip just by snapping her fingers, surely if we put our heads together we can think of a way to trick the echidna to our cause."

Bearenger reserved judgment, but at the same time he wasn't in a position to argue. There was only one path home, and it was through Wendy Witchcart. Thus, the three made their way back into the thicket to plan their next move. All the while, Wendy Witchcart was watching their receding forms through the rear view cam on her console. She then reshifted her attention to another doll, this one depicting Sally. She toyed with the hair a bit before plucking it out. She brushed her thumb against it, and then she sniffed at it.

"Real hair. So she is alive. One of those Acorn rats is actually alive and kicking. Heavens to Betsy, they're worse than cockroaches. Your brother blows up a planet, and one of them still sticks around."

She twined the thread of hair around a finger like a ring.

"Still, might as well keep a close eye on her. She could be useful. Very useful indeed."