Chapter 3: TTTriple TTTrouble!

Kicks the Echidna, while not the sole resident of the Floating Island, is the only guardian of the Floating Island. And though she's lived a fairly simple life, her world turned upside down when she came into contact with one Sonic the Hedgehog. But that's not all; another mystery had cropped up after this encounter. A mysterious intruder on her island, having appeared out of literal thin air though their identity remains anonymous. Kicks aims to figure out who this intruder is, one step at a time.

Starring:

Kicks the Echidna - Sole Guardian

Sonic the Hedgehog - Hero of Mobius

Nack the Weasel - Hired Mercenary

Mysterious Intruder

*At Red Mountain, a local crocodile was listening to some tunes on his headphones. The fairly big green reptile seemed oblivious to himself, stepping too close to the mountain's open lava pool, dancing and singing away to the beat of his music. But the side of the lip of the mountain collapses, causing the crocodile to start falling. As he fell, Kicks flies in and catches him by the foot, though the force almost makes the crocodile drop his headphones.*

Kicks: "Vector, I swear you will be the end of me if you don't be careful!"

Vector: "Hey, don't look at me; I was just jamming to my tunes!"

*Kicks flies Vector away from the mountain and drops him off at the foot.*

Kicks: "Yeah well, make sure you zag before you zig. You dig?"

Vector: "I dig, I dig. I'll look where I'm goin' next time."

*Vector walks off, jamming to his music again as Kicks just sighs. She walks in the other direction. As she walks off, her senses tingled as she hears a low sound. Following it closely, she finds a rock with writing on it. Freshly welded into the stone as well.*

Kicks: "'Archimedes'? Who's that? Aside from likely the guy who wrote his name into the stone."

*She notices an arrow pointing a certain direction. She follows the arrow, heading into the Mushroom Hill Zone. Once there, she looked around for any kind of a clue, but… came out frustrated instead.*

Kicks: "Followed that arrow all the way here, only to find nothing but mushrooms. Sorry, 'Archimedes', but I'm not into that."

*She then hears the sounds of fire being blasted in her direction, causing her to jump out of the way. She looks up and sees a round robot, the same one Sonic and Tails fought before.*

Kicks: "Oh of all days to be under attack, why did it have to be today?"

*She hears something else behind her and ducks just in time for an ax to swing over her head, taking off some of the fur from her ponytail.*

Kicks: "Hey! Watch it, robo-jerk! You're gonna hurt someone with that ax! …Namely me!"

*She sees the other robot approach, causing her to back away quickly as it blasts more fire at her direction.*

Kicks: "Great… Two on one? A bit unfair, don't you think? 'Course… You probably aren't programmed to play by the rules!"

*Kicks avoids a swing of the ax from the ax wielding robot before kicking the fire blasting robot, sending its aim into the sky. She spin kicks it down to the ground, destroying it. With one down, she focuses on the other robot, though barely avoiding another swing at her neck.*

Kicks: "I dunno how you two got fixed up, but I ain't having you cause me or my island any trouble!"

*She then kicks the ax, breaking the head off of the stick. She then slams both her feet into the robot, destroying it instantly.*

Kicks: "Hehe. That four to zero, Robotnik. Try your luck with me again, I dare you."

*As Kicks dusts herself off, she falls through a hidden trap, dropping her into the Chaos Chamber with an 'oof'.*

Voice: "My, you are a tenacious one for handling those robots I reprogrammed. Though I guess I shouldn't have believed you would lose to such inferior creations."

Kicks: "That voice… That's not Robotnik… He is way more bombastic than that… Who are you?"

Voice: "You saw my name on the stone. There is only one Archimedes, and I am he."

*Kicks stands up, now on guard as she looks around, but sees nothing but her reflection. As she looks around, the voice continues to speak.*

Archimedes: "You will not find me here. But I am somewhere. Where? That is part of the lesson. Only when you can find me will we know that you are capable of seeing the answer within the question."

Kicks: "Quit messing with me! Show yourself!"

Archimedes: "One day, my dear guardian. Until then, reflect on your actions as you move forward."

*The voice then fades away, leading Kicks to find the exit out of the Chaos Chamber, only to find no one there.*

Kicks: "Archimedes! Come out, you coward! Face me!"

*When the echidna got no response, she let out a frustrated sigh, kicking a nearby mushroom until it toppled down.*

*Some time passes as her mind wanders about this latest encounter with 'Archimedes'. She at least had a name now, but no face. And his cryptic message haunted her. But as she ponded on the meaning of this message, she's alerted by the area becoming green, even the sky.*

Kicks: "Oh now what… If this is another one of Archimedes' tricks, I'm gonna-"

*Kicks is interrupted by a flying object crashing into the side of Red Mountain, burrowing a hole into it.*

Kicks: "What the…? That wasn't Archimedes… Or at least I hope not… But if it's Robotnik, oh I will not hesitate in tearing down that 'Robotropolis' place, building by building."

*Kicks takes a running start before jumping and flying off towards Red Mountain, clinging to the side as she climbs to investigate the hole.*

Kicks: "Okay… What crashed in-"

*Kicks peeks inside the hole and finds half a Chaos Emerald. And not just it, but what it was doing; burrowing through the mountain.*

Kicks: "Half a Chaos Emerald? What's it doing? Or rather… Where is it going?"

*She then feels the mountain start to shake. She kicks off the side and tries to jump to safety, but a rock hits her on the head, knocking her unconscious, plummeting headfirst to possible death.*

*Meanwhile, Sonic is seen speeding off towards a new Zone that opened up as a result of an earlier incident involving the other half of the Chaos Emerald.*

Sonic: "Looks like I'm right on time. Rotor detected a strange energy reading, which turned out to be a Chaos Emerald landing here. Of course, I suspect Robotnik caused this whole mess in the first place. In any case, I'm running solo this time with the intent on getting the Chaos Emerald and leaving!"

*As Sonic runs into the new Zone, a sharp fanged figure stands from a distance with his hovercraft, contacting Robotnik through a communicator.*

Fanged Figure: "The hedgehog's entering the Zone."

Robotnik: "Well, follow him! If he survives, he'll recover the Emerald Shard! You must prevent this! Only I must possess-"

Fanged Figure: "Alright, already!"

*The fanged figure mutes Robotnik as he starts to rant on. Once the dictator notices, he forcefully cuts connection until after his hired mercenary has succeeded in his mission.*

Fanged Figure: "Don't get your chins in a knot. The computer in my sky cycle is programmed to mimic Sonic's every move. When he gets the Emerald, I get him."

*Sonic manages to get through the various levels inside the Zone, bouncing off every threat until he reaches the end. With barely enough time, he pulls a level to switch the Zone off and allows Sonic to claim his prize.*

Sonic: "Whew. Just made it with my Super Peel Out maneuver! Now to see why this Zone was so crazy."

*Sonic picks up the Chaos Emerald, discovering it to be only half of a whole.*

Sonic: "Well no wonder the energy signature was so out of whack! It's because this is only half an Emerald!"

*As Sonic gazes at the gem, he's shot in the back by a blast, knocking him unconscious. The fanged figure walks from the entrance with a blaster unholstered, smiling as he looks down at the hedgehog.*

Fanged Figure: "Very observant. That blindside blast from my neural disruptor knocked him out! The green gem now belongs to… Nack the Weasel!"

*Back with Kicks, the young echidna awakens in a daze, sitting up as she feels the spot where the rock landed, rubbing it softly.*

Kicks: "Ah, my head hurts… How long was I out?"

*She looks around her surroundings before seeing three figures approach her from the shadows. Each one had a tribal mask on and appeared to be some kind of reptile, though one of them had wings for flight. Kicks was shocked by who it was.*

Kicks: "No way! You- You're the ones from the Book of Myths! The Ancient Walkers, beings who have existed since time immemorial!"

*One of the Ancient Walkers seems to be stirring some kind of bowl as another approaches, pointing to cave drawings on a wall behind where they stood. Kicks stands up and approaches the wall.*

Kicks: "Huh? Cave drawings? They seem to be… telling me something… The Floating Island… My home… A Chaos Emerald? Is this related to what I saw earlier? Wait! That's the half of the Chaos Emerald I saw before! It is… being magnetized somewhere… To the whole one in the Chaos Chamber? And if they connect… The entire island will… explode!?"

*Kicks immediately turns to the Ancient Walkers, now in a panic.*

Kicks: "I need to get back to the island right away and stop that half before it's too late!"

*The Ancient Walkers look at each other and nod before the small one approaches with the bowl in their hands, offering some kind of… meal?*

Kicks: "Huh? Uh… No disrespect, but I'm not… hun…gr…y…"

*The potent smell of the bowl's contents force Kicks asleep as she drops to the floor, unconscious. But when she awakens, she finds herself back on the island.*

Kicks: "Wha? I'm back? …Well no use complaining about a free trip home. But I've gotta stop that green gem from fusing with the whole Chaos Emerald!"

*As Kicks looks around, she sees Nack the Weasel in his hovercraft, coming in her direction. She hops into some nearby brushes as she glares.*

Kicks: "More intruders? Sorry, but this island's no resort. Time to take care of this guy quick…"

*As Nack drives in close, Kicks jumps out and lands an ax kick to his head.*

Kicks: "Hey! Have a boot to the head, on the house!"

*This forces Nack's sky cycle to come to a dead stop as Sonic is sent flying into a nearby pond. Kicks only caught a glimpse of him flying out, but as she was about to go get him, Sonic wakes up and jumped out of the water.*

Sonic: "Hey! What's the big idea almost drowning me!?"

Kicks: "Sonic!? Grrr… I told you to keep your little war off my island! I've got enough problems without dealing with your mess!"

Sonic: "You know what? I need to blow off some steam! So how about a Sonic Spin!?"

*Sonic rolls into a buzzsaw and charges at Kicks, but is kicked away like a soccer ball by the echidna.*

Kicks: "How cute. But tricks like that aren't very good against my Heavy Dive!"

*Kicks jumps up and flies down with her foot extended, Sonic narrowly dodging as a small crater is left from the impact. He charges up a Peel Out and runs at Kicks with a barrage of punches. She retaliates with a punch under Sonic's chin before aiming a kick to his gut. Sonic dodges the kick before grabbing Kicks by her ponytail and slams her to the floor. But as the two fought, the suddenly hear the voice of Robotnik.*

Robotnik: "Calling Nack the Weasel! Come in!"

Sonic & Kicks: "Huh?"

Kicks: "Gh… It's Robotnik on that guy's wrist thing…"

Sonic: "Let's put a pin on this tussle, muscle girl."

Robotnik: "Your report is overdue, Nack! Are you there!? NACK!"

Kicks: "Any ideas, blue scout?"

Sonic: "Yeah. We operate this guy like a puppet."

*Kicks gets behind Nack and sits him up while Sonic lifted his arm up so Robotnik could see the weasel.*

Robotnik: "Ah! There you are! Have you located the other half of the Emerald?"

Sonic: "Nod his head."

*Kicks starts making nodding motions with Nack.*

Robotnik: "Excellent! Bring me both pieces along with Sonic's head A.S.A.P.! Robotnik out!"

*Sonic looks at Nack's bag and finds the half of the Chaos Emerald he snagged earlier.*

Sonic: "Ah hah! Here's the half I tried getting earlier!"

Kicks: "And the other half is getting closer to the Chaos Chamber! C'mon, Sonic! If we don't hurry, this entire island will explode when that half a Chaos Emerald connects with the whole one here!"

*Sonic picks up Kicks and carries her to the Mushroom Hill Zone and to the secret Chaos Chamber cave entrance. Heading inside the chamber, the duo see smoking coming from the ceiling.*

Kicks: "We're almost out of time!"

Sonic: "Quick! Help me hold on to this half! If we can slam the two halves back together, we might be able to stop anything bad happening!"

Kicks: "Guess it's all or nothing!"

*Kicks and Sonic get ready as the half bursts out through the ceiling, flying toward the whole Chaos Emerald. Sonic and Kicks jump in and slam their half into the rogue half, causing a green light to blind them before it vanishes into thin air. And not only that, the duo was just suddenly back on the surface.*

Kicks: "The Chaos Emerald!"

Sonic: "It's gone!"

*The two start judging each other for the disappearance of the Chaos Emerald before things finally calm down.*

Sonic: "Ah well, I guess it worked out. Anyway, sorry about the misunderstanding."

Kicks: "Eh. I was having a bad day so… It was my fault for lashing out. What are you going to do about him?"

*Kicks points to the still knocked out Nack. Sonic approaches him and looks on his wrist communicator, pressing a button to call the sky cycle.*

Sonic: "I'm taking this jerk back to Knothole Village. Hope he likes prison time."

*Sonic ties up Nack before loading him on the back of the sky cycle. The two bid each other farewell as Kicks just shakes her head.*

Kicks: "What a pain that guy is…"

*Later that night, Kicks sits at the edge of the island, staring off at the moon as she thinks about the recent events that transpired. As she does, she hears music behind her; it was Vector, the crocodile she saved earlier that morning.*

Vector: "Yo, Kicks! Whatcha doin' out here!?"

Kicks: "Thinking."

Vector: "...And?"

Kicks: "Ugh… Let's just say thinking too much hurts…"

*Vector sits down next to Kicks, curious as to what was on her mind that she's thinking so much at all.*

Vector: "Well, spill! What's on your mind?"

Kicks: "A lot. This guy, Archimedes, left me with a very cryptic message. One that's left me a bit restless. And that's on top of Sonic dragging his spiny butt up here and causing a mess of things when I don't need them…"

Vector: "Sounds like a lot of heavy stuff. What you need, dog, is to go with the flow! Why don't you listen to some tunes?"

Kicks: "Heh, then I'd be shirking my duties as guardian. Sorry, but no thanks, Vector."

*Kicks then stands back up and turns to leave.*

Kicks: "I'm heading to bed. You have a good night, Vector."

*As Kicks waves at Vector, who waves back, her expression turned to seriousness as she had to ready herself for whatever Archimedes threw at her. And how best to deal with it.*

The mystery thickens for Kicks as she has her closest encounter with Archimedes yet! Can she find out the identity of this mysterious voice? What new trials will he toss her way? And will she have another intrusive meeting with Sonic the Hedgehog? Find out next time… on Chao-Kicks Chaotix!