A Guilty Conscience: Pt 2
"I have great news, Charles." The queen told him as the two walked through the royal gardens. "Parliament has agreed to hear your plea for the tax repeal at tomorrow's session. I just couldn't wait to tell you the great news."
"Thank you, Aleema. You don't know how much this means to me." Chuck looked up at the clouds rolling on by. "Finally, after all this time, I can undo the horrible mistake I brought on the common people of South Island."
"But Uncle Charles, if you hate the tax you passed so much, why didn't you just get rid of it once and for all. Grandpa died and you inherited the throne." Sonia asked him, fanning herself from the warm sun.
"Because Sonia, I was much younger and much more naïve than I am now." He shook his head. "During my brief reign, I was too proud to see the consequences of what I had done. It was only after I abdicated in favor of your father that I began to see the suffering of the people."
"Gee, I'm kinda surprised, Unc." A voice from the edge of the garden called out as a familiar green form stepped through the entrance archway. "It's not often that a hedgehog born with a silver spoon in his mouth admits he made a royal mistake."
"What a sec, Manic is that you?" Sonia asked, her eyes going wide in disbelief. "I can't believe you're here at the castle for once."
"Oh Manic," Aleema cried out, running up and giving her wayward son a hug. "I'm so happy that you came back. Why don't you come in and have a bite to eat?"
"Hey, mom." The green hedgehog smiled, hugging her back. "It's good to see you again too."
"Well, well, well, the prodigal jerk returns." Sonic grumbled walking in from the other side of the gardens and rubbing his nose with his finger. "I thought I smelled your rotten hide when I came downstairs. The only thing that smells worse is the Knothole bathroom after Knuckles has had two or three spicy chili dogs."
"Oh, if it isn't his royal hero hein-ness. If I knew you were here, I would have practiced my curtsey." Manic answered back, pulling his lower right eye lid down and sticking his tongue out. "What's the matter, not enough West Siders asking for your autograph? Too quiet in Soleanna, so you had to come home and bum off of mom?"
"I don't know, leech-hog. That seems more your style." Sonic growled getting up in his brother's face. "Did you come back to ask mom for some more money? I know it probably costs more than your allowance to get shot up on a good hit."
"Hey you jerk, I don't take that stuff." Manic spat back through clenched teeth. "If you have to know, I just came back to cheer Uncle Chuck on with his attempt to change the law." Manic looked over the rest of his family. "It's actually nice to see somebody in the royal household doing something to help our subjects rather than sitting on their royal butts and enjoying luxury."
"Both of you, please stop it." Queen Aleema order her two sons walking up behind them and smacking them on the back of their heads. "Would the two of you please stop acting like spoiled infants fighting over a toy and try to behave like gentlemen in front of your sister and I?"
"Sorry, mom. I know I should stop in and say 'hi' more often." Manic told her, a smile on his face. Walking over, he gave Sonia a hug as well. "It's very good to see you too, sis."
"Hey, at least you're not trying to steal the contents of my purse this time." Sonia said with a laugh as she embraced her brother.
"Manic, I trust you about as far as I can throw Big the Cat and he's the fattest mobian I know." Sonic pointed a finger right in his male sibling's face. "I won't say anything for mom's sake, but if you so much as blink the wrong way at her, me, Sonia, or Uncle Chuck; I'll twist that ugly head of yours around so far, you'll have to walk and eat backwards."
"Geez, give me a break Sonic." Manic replied, angrily as he stormed out of the garden. "You make it sound like I would sell my own family down the river for five thousand mobiums." He disappeared out of the garden gate. "If anybody needs me, I'll be in my old room listening to Skynyrd and reading my old PlayMobian magazines."
"My oh my, that lad will never grow up, will he?" Sir Charles asked, watching his youngest nephew go.
"Oh Charles, you need to be patient with him." Aleema replied, sadly. Looking away from the spot where her angriest child had been standing. "Manic has had a much rougher life than either of his siblings. I am just happy sometimes that he managed to survive and come home at all."
"So let me get this straight," a fat man on the monitor asked him. "You managed to get that green brat to sell out his family for twenty thousand mobiums?"
"That is correct, Doctor." Bartleby stated smugly, leaning back in his chair. "And once Sir Charles meets with an unfortunate accident right before the hearing tomorrow, the Parliament members will, of course, want to beef up security and restrictions against the lower classes civil rights."
"And that means, they'll need security and defense contracts. Contracts that shall be provided by Robotnik Industries, of course." Eggman replied. "With the support of you and the other nobles, I shall restore my family's power in South Island to what it was during my uncle's regime." Eggman stroked his mustache. "But are you certain that Manic will turn on his beloved uncle?"
"Oh, I'm pretty sure he's going to try to distract his uncle from the hearing without killing him." Bartleby offhandedly, filing his nails as he looked bored. "And if he fails or loses his nerve, I always have a backup plan."
"See, that you do, Bartleby." Eggman's tone grew darker. "Because if you fail me, I believe I can manage to get my Julian's robotisizer to work one more time."
"A-as you wish, sir." Bartleby replied, his whole body shaking in fear. "Don't worry, Old man Hedgehog will be grounded up quills by tomorrow morning. You can be sure of that."
The Grand Council chamber of South Island was a magnificent sight. A large columned building with a central dome. The magnificent structure was decorated with painting and frecoes depicting the history of South Island. In the Parliament Hall, a statue of Amunrapi, the founder of the Hedgehog Dynasty, presided over the center of the chamber between the two seating areas. From the two houses of Parliament on either side shouts and catcalls carried across the room at both angry factions.
"You spoiled nobles just want to tax us to death. If you want to increase revenue, why don't you take the money out of your own pockets!?"
"BAH! You merchants are far too greedy and corrupt. Our fortunes go into the charities that feed the poor and hungry and we maintain the great museums, hospitals, schools, and temples that all South Islanders may visit for free."
"You don't want to pay any taxes and leave the burden on the workers who slave away in your stores and factories."
"You filthy rich nobles are standing in the way of progress. Taxes on our industry would only hurt business growth."
As both sides continued to argue back and forth, an aged hedgehog with a mustache stepped into the center of the Parliament Hall floor and raised both his arms.
"Enough!" He roared. "This foolish bickering has gotten us nowhere. I've come back home to South Island to write an old wrong I started here. If you will only lend me your ears, I shall tell you all of the suffering and plight of our people."
Up in the royal box, Queen Aleema watched the proceedings from her throne while Sonia sat on a cushioned seat beside her.
"Look at them all arguing, mother. Like a bunch of spoiled children." Sonia stated, shaking her head. "Do you really think Uncle Charles will be able to get through to them?"
"If he has enough time to speak, Charles will be able to convince them to do anything." Aleema put her hand on her chin thoughtfully. "I only hope that Sonic is able to keep your youngest brother distracted until Charles is done speaking."
Far away in a tavern on the west side of Starlight City, two hedgehogs sat down at a table and ordered two chili dogs.
"All right, bro. I appreciate you buying me lunch and all, but I still wanna know why you brought me here." Manic asked drumming his fingers on the table. "What is it that you wanted to talk about so badly?"
"Oh, you know… I just wanted to catch up with my little brother and make up for lost time." Sonic patted him on the back. "It must have been really hard growing up on the street with nothing but thieves and crooks as your friends."
"Those thieves and crooks were the ones who kept me alive when mom threw me in the trash." Manic growled. "Feral was like a dad to me during Julian's rule. If it weren't for him teaching me how to steal my supper, I would have been left to starve to death."
"Mom never intended for you to get kidnapped from that banker's doorstep by a street rat and sold to a criminal underboss." Sonic stated. "You were sent away to keep you safe from Robuttnik just like the rest of us. Feral wasn't supposed to get his buggy hands on you."
"That may be so, but growing up on the street let me see how the poorest of our subjects live. I gotta stay out there and try to help them."
"So that's why you haven't come home to live with mom like Sonia did. Why don't you just donate your time and money to helping the poor out like the other nobles do?"
"Because I can't stand to see all of those people starving and sleeping in ditches while I'm living in a castle and eating three course meals." Manic stated aloud. "Somebody from the top has got to keep their eye on what's going on at the bottom."
"But that's why Uncle Chuck wants to change the laws to make life better for those on the bottom." Sonic stated.
"Speaking of which, isn't it about time to head back so we don't miss Uncle Chuck's speech?" Manic asked looking on the clock on the wall. "He set to start talking in about an hour." Sonic stammered.
"I… uh… that is…"
"Wait, don't tell me that it already started!" Seeing the look on Sonic's face, the other hedgehog jumped up from the table angerly. "YOU DIRTBAG, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT THE SPEECH'S TIME HAD BEEN CHANGED?!"
"I have a buddy named Espio from West Side Island, he's very good at turning invisible and following people." Sonic said with a smirk, nodding over to the corner at the café where a purple chameleon flickered into vision for a few second before disappearing again. "How could you do it, Manic? Selling your own family down the river for whatever Bartleby promised you."
"YOU BIG JERK!" Manic rushed him, slamming into Sonic and smashing him out the backdoor of the café into the alley. "HOW DARE YOU JUDGE ME!? YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME OR HOW I GREW UP!" Catching the blue hedgehog by surprise, Manic dropped low and slammed several punches into Sonic's midsection. The blue blur collapsed to the ground as his brother jumped on him and continued to throw punches. "HOW DARE YOU TRICK ME! I KNOW YOU AND SONIA ARE MAKING FUN OF ME BEHIND MY BACK!" The green hedgehog wailed.
"Oh see, our poor little homeless brother." Manic stated mockingly. "We grew up in nice safe homes while he slept in an old oil drum and ate what he could dig out of the garbage."
"MANIC, IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" Sonic yelled pushing his brother off of him. "WE DIDN'T KNOW YOU WERE GROWING UP ON THE STREET!" The blue blur suddenly disappeared leaving Manic looking around frantically in the alleyway. Then, a blue wind raced back and forth past Manic several supersonic punches landing on his face and chest at near blinding speed.
"I don't want to hurt you, little bro." Sonic warned. "But I'm not going to let you interrupt Uncle Chuck's speech."
"Don't worry, Sonic. I'm not the one whose going to get hurt here." The bruised green hedgehog reached into his vest pocket wrapping his fingers around a set of brass knuckles. "Anywhere else and you'd kick my tail in, Mister Hero. But these streets are my turf, and you're playing by my rules down here." Felling the breeze coming towards him again, Manic swung with his right hook slamming the brass knuckles into Sonic's face. The blue hedgehog dropped like a stone falling unconscious at his brother's feet.
"Damn, I always wanted to do that." Manic gasped out a small amount of blood coming out of his mouth. "I didn't actually think I could do it." Taking a few steps, Manic collapsed to the ground, sitting up he dragged himself and Sonic over to the nearby wall propping both of them up against it. "Well Sonic, even though I won, it looks like you achieved your goal." He gasped out. "I'm too weak from the beating you gave me to go and stop Uncle Chuck from speaking." Pulling himself back to his feet, Manic limped out of the alleyway and tried to flag down the nearest hover taxi.
"And so my fellow mobians, the great task of repairing the damage to our society must be done today. And if you are the peers and lords who pass this bill into law, history will remember you as the saviors of South Island." Charles proclaimed. The entire audience sat in silence for a moment before standing and bursting into wild applause. Everyone in both houses of Parliament seemed to cheer on Charles' noble ideals, though many in the gallery could have sworn that the delegates in the common house were somewhat faking their enthusiasm.
In one of those Parliament seats in the upper area, Lord Bartleby kept his eyes focused on the overhead skylight on the stain glass dome. He was the only one who noticed a medium sized mobian standing quietly at the edge of the dome outside loading a rifle and pointing it towards Sir Charles' head.
"Well, Sir Charles. I'm afraid this will be your last heartfelt speech before Parliament." Bartleby thought to himself. "It's too bad you chose not to remain on West Side in exile."
On the roof above them, a purple weasel with long eyelashes wearing kahkai shorts and a tan shirt grinned as she pointed the muzzle of her gun down at the dome.
"End of the road for you, Chuckleboy." A feminine voice declared. "Give my regards to the ancient walkers."
"HEY SCUZZBALL! GET AWAY FROM MY UNCLE!" A green hedgehog screamed barreling straight towards the surprised weasel.
"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL…!?" She shouted, barely having time as the green hedgehog tackled into her. Suddenly, the skylight imploded from above sending glass shards showering down on the terrified audience. The two mobians tumbled downward landing right in the center of the Parliament Hall floor.
"EVERYONE MAKE FOR THE EXIT QUICKLY! SHE HAS A GUN! RUN FOR IT!" someone shouted.
"Stay calm, everyone." Queen Aleema commanded in a loud voice. "GUARDS, SURROUND THE ATTEMPTED ASSASSINS AND MAKE SURE THEY'RE SUBDUED!" The royal guards moved in quickly but were surprised by the sight that met their eyes.
"Hey, look at this… it's Prince Manic." One of them declared. "He must have been trying to stop the assassin."
"I know this one." Another stated. "It's Nac the Weasel from Team Hooligan."
"You better check that again, buddy." A female guard checked the weasel over. "This Nac has breasts."
"Hold on, everyone. I recognize our would-be assassin from the UF wanted posters." Argus the Captain of the Guard declared. "That's Nic the Weasel, Nac's sister. She's sometimes stands in for her screwy brother."
"PUT HER IN IRONS AT ONCE!" Aleema ordered. "And have my son taken to the royal dispensary." It was only a short time later, when the chaos in the Parliament Hall finally died down.
The first thing Manic heard as he came to was the beeping of the heart monitor attached to the band on his arm.
"Whoa, what a bad trip." He said, shaking the wooziness from his head. "Anybody get the number of that big rig that ran me over?"
"Manic, you're okay." Sonia declared throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing tightly. "I was so afraid we lost you."
"I won't be okay for much longer if you don't let go." Manic grumbled; his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
"That was certainly a brave thing you did back there, Sonny." Uncle Chuck told him, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Thanks to your bravery, Parliament was so moved that they quickly reconvened in a side chamber and passed the bill repeal in less than an hour. For all intents and purposes, the merchants of South Island are finished."
"Oh my son, I am so happy that you are safe." Aleema sobbed, hugging her youngest son gently. "Thanks to you, the corporations of the island will soon dissolve and the guild masters will return to economic power once more. And the burden had been lifted from our people forever."
"You mean, I actually made a difference?" Manic asked dumbfoundly. "I guess Sonic and his heroics actually do mean something after all."
"Speaking of Sonic, where is our big brother?" Sonia asked, looking around the room.
"I don't know," Manic replied. "I left him unconscious in the alley where his ninja buddy can find him."
"Oh, I have a feeling we'll be seeing your big brother soon." Uncle Chuck said with a knowing smile, scratching the bottom of his nose with his finger. "I heard he has some business to close with your ex-fiance."
In the darkness of the night, Bartleby's mansion roared with flames as the city's firefighters desperately tried to put the blaze out. Lord Bartleby was running terrified through the streets trying to get away from his pursuers.
"Going somewhere, Bartlebutts?" A spine-covered hedgehog asked appearing in front of Bartleby and knocking him down. "I'm surprised you managed to get away from the flames I started in your mansion."
"Look, Sonic. I'm sorry I tried to hurt your family." Bartleby pleaded, getting on his knees in front of the hedgehog. "Perhaps, I could make it up to you somehow. Maybe start dating your sister again?"
"Oh, my good Bartleby, you made one terrible mistake in your pleading." The hedgehog whispered tossing a chaos emerald up and down. "You see, I'm not Sonic." The black and red hedgehog stepped into view. "That fake hedgehog simply told me where to find you."
"What… wait… who are you?" The nobleman's eyes went wide. "What do you want with me?"
"My bosses in GUN are very unhappy with the shoddy arms that you've been selling us for the past few years, especially since you were saving all your best stuff to sell to the Doctor." He answered. "Now let us see how GUN's other black market contractors take the message when I spread your innards all over the streets of Starlight City."
"No, please!" Bartleby pleaded. "Can't we make a deal?"
"Let me think about it." Shadow stated. "No." Putting a hand on Bartleby's forehead, he held the chaos emerald up in his other head. "CHAOS CONTROL!"