Chapter 6

Who is Maurice?

Sally Acorn walked around Knothole once more. Nothing had changed, she knew, but it was all she could do. She'd been in charge of watching to see if Sonny had come out. Unfortunately, he hadn't for a few weeks. She sighed, watching Rotor flirt with Millie. That walrus had the biggest crush on Miles' twin. As she walked past the twins' lab, Miles' girlfriend joined her. The little girl was very cute. She was from another planet, and had arrived eight years ago in a spaceship.

"Hello, Cosmo," Sally greeted. Cosmo nodded in response.

"Hey, Sally. Is Sonic doing alright?" she seemed to giggle as she spoke, as if the idea entertained her. A grown man hiding away from the world. But in truth, Sally knew the young girl was trying her best to keep the situation from being awkward. It wasn't out of spite or anything.

"No, not really," Sally replied, "I hope to get him outside, today. Find out just who that Maurice character is."

"Yeah, Miles has been wondering about that," Cosmo replied, "He's been all bent out of shape."

"So am I," Sally frowned, stopping in front of Sonny's house, "I mean, he never told me anything about this guy." She sighed, looking in through the window. She could just see one of her boyfriend's quills off to the side. "I just wish he'd talk to us."

"Don't worry about him," Cosmo said, resting a hand on the squirrel's shoulder, "Right now we should be concerned on finding out where Mina's scouting party went."

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Sally exclaimed, taking off running towards the center of Knothole. On the way, she passed a few houses and businesses, including Sonia's and Manic's houses. In the middle was her house, which branched off into her personal lab, if you could call it that. It was only a tech center. A base. The headquarters for the Freedom Fighters. It was shaped like a turtle shall, but painted like a giant boulder. That made it harder for Robotnik to home in on them from above. Inside, Ray and Mighty were fiddling with Nicole. She could see their feet underneath the giant computer. On one side was Nicole's handheld device. Sally usually carried the device around with her, but in case of the tuneup, she left Nicole here so the old friends of Sonny could work on her. Behind her, Cosmo had caught up, and was leaning at the doorway.

"Hey, hand me that wrench," Sally could hear Ray, "Maybe if we configure the memory drive, we could allow Nicole here to more easily hack into Robotnik's airwaves." She heard the clanging of small nuts and bolts hitting the concrete floor.

"Ray, could you finish up, soon?" Sally asked, "We need to check Mina's coordinates."

"Mina… Mongoose?" Mighty rolled out from under the machine, "The girl who's been hitting on Sonny, recently?"

"Yes, that girl…" Sally mumbled, trying to not lose her temper. She liked her boyfriend's old friends, but they sure did get on her nerves. "She, Antoine, Bunnie and Honey haven't been seen in hours."

"I thought they went on a scouting patrol along with Tiara," Ray said from under Nicole. He grunted as he presumably worked. "Well, at least that's what Tiara had been saying, earlier."

"You spoke to that girl?" Mighty laughed, "I'm surprised you didn't get bombarded with questions about Sonny. Jeez, he gets all the girls…"

"Enough, guys," Sally said, "Look, are you two finished yet, or not?" Ray rolled out from under Nicole, a wrench in hand and his face covered in oil. The nineteen year old almost reminded her of Miles. And Mighty… Well, she figured he was the brawn. She'd never seen his strength in action, but she'd heard stories.

"Ray?" Cosmo spoke up, "Could I ask you something?"

"Sure, anything," the flying squirrel blushed. Miles didn't know it, but Ray had a crush on Cosmo.

"Do you know anything about Maurice?" Ray's face darkened. So had Mighty's. They glanced at each other, than nodded.

"Time to tell." Mighty said, "Find Mina and the others, and then gather everyone out front. If Sonny won't tell you, then I guess we'll have to." The old pair left the HQ, and Sally rushed to the computer.

"Nicole, can you find Mina's signal?"

"Yes, Sally," she responded, "I heard everything. Shall I issue them to return?"

"Yeah," she said, "Get them back, a.s.a.p."

Miles sat hand-in-hand with Cosmo. They'd set up chairs, and Mighty stood up front. Everyone was here. Everyone wanted to know who this 'Maurice' was. Behind him, Miles knew Sonic was peaking at them all from his house. Whoever that rabbit had been, Miles would make him pay for causing Sonic to hole himself up.

"Maurice," Mighty said loudly. There came a quick silence from his crowd. There was a long pause before the armadillo spoke again. "He and Sonny go way back. Way before Ray and I." It was clear to Miles that Mighty was having a hard time talking. "I'll be straight. Maurice used to be Sonny's best friend." A soft murmur could be heard. Miles and Cosmo stayed silent, intensely listening for the next words. Sonic had a best friend before any of them? How was that possible? He'd have to be one or two. Ray picked up where Mighty had left off.

"The rabbit was born in the same town as Sonny. A year before our friend. Maurice was jumpy, quick, and was like a brother to Sonny. And he was just as quick. The two always loved to race. I even met the guy. Boy, was he fast! Maybe… Maybe faster than our Blue Blur, himself…"

"No way!" Miles burst, standing. All eyes were on him. "Nobody's faster than Sonic! Nobody!"

"Let Ray finish, dear," Cosmo pulled her boyfriend back in his seat, "Please, let's not make a scene. Not here…" Ray cleared his throat.

"Do you remember when Ivo took over Mobotropolis?" he asked. There was an uneasy silence. He didn't know about anyone else, but his eyes were glued to Sally Acorn. She stared at the ground, trying not to tear up. Her fists were clenched. "When Sonny, Mighty and me started the Freedom Fighters?" He shook his head, "That was Maurice's birthday. When we had to escape that… Island…" The two up front shivered.

"We think Maurice felt abandoned when Sonny didn't show up for his party that day," Mighty said, turning to Miles, "And that's why you might have seen him with Robotnik. Revenge. Ray thinks that Maurice joined Robotnik to get back at Sonny."

"He always was a vengeful fellow," the flying squirrel added quickly.

"As I was saying," Mighty continued, "We have a problem. Maurice beat Sonny as a kid. Races. Fights. You name it. And as an adult…"

"He could be a superweapon," Sally finished. She was still staring at the floor. "I see. So… We're doomed… Sonny won't come out. His equal is against us. We have no hope!"

"Don't be so sure, cutie," a voice called from the back. Everyone turned to face it. Behind the black cat was the sunset, the shadows on her face hid her features, but it was easy to tell she had red highlights. "I know someone who could help. He's my little brother, Terios!" Her head bobbed up, and a cute grin was on the girl's face.

"Shadia," Ray muttered, "What a surprise."