"The Secret of Knothole"
Naugus is in front of a large computer console, typing away, until he looks ahead.
"Finally! I've finally found it!" Naugus calls out.
A door slides open, with Snively entering, "What is this all about?"
"I found my former apprentice's files on the Secret Scrolls of Maga!" Naugus calls out again.
"Those dusty manuscripts?" Snively approaches Naugus. "The Freedom Fighters had it for months. And my 'dear' uncle never even saw them."
"What?!" Naugus spins around, grabs Snively with his claw hand and lifts him high up. "Why have you never told me!"
"Y-You never told me what you wanted," Snively tells him. "Besides, w-why does it matter?"
Naugus scoffs, before letting Snively go, with him falling to the ground.
"The Secret Scrolls of Maga could be the key to everything I have always seeked," Naugus says, as Snively returns to his feet. "The reason why I served the King, and took on Robotnik as an apprentice when you and he had nowhere else to go." He turns away. "I won't be stopped or distracted from my goal."
Snively dusts himself off, "Hmm, Robotnik spent years searching for the Freedom Fighters' base. And he never found it."
Naugus starts to walk away, "I'm not Robotnik."
Sonic speeds to a stop at the outskirts of Knothole Village, where he sees Tails is boxing a pillow tied to a tree. Sonic smirks, before starting to walk over.
"Hey slugger," Sonic says, waving a hand, with Tails stopping and looking at him. "Sally's searching for you."
"Aunt Sally?" Tails says, before looking to the side. "Maybe I'm getting a new mission."
Tails then quickly flies off, past Sonic, who takes a look at the pillow tied to the tree, before speeding off after Tails.
Sally is standing in the middle of Knothole village, holding a clipboard, as she flips through some papers and looks around. Antoine is dragging a log past her, with him struggling with each step.
"Mon don't understand what we doing…" Antoine as he continues to drag the log. "These… defensive shoring is… unnecessary." Antoine falls down as he drops the log. "Who idea is this, anyway?"
"We are shoring up our defenses because of Snively's new Swat-bots," Sally says, with her hands on her hips. "And it was my idea, Ant."
Rotor picks up one end of the log with both hands, as Antoine immediately jumps to his feet.
"Oh and what a wonderful idea it is," Antoine says, rubbing his hands together, with Rotor rolling his eyes. "Simply the most wonderful of wonderful ideas." Antoine notices Rotor, before pointing ahead. "And what are mon waiting for? We got a lot of defensive shoring to do."
"Yes, Ant," Rotor starts to drag away the log. "Whatever you said, Ant."
"Aunt Sally," Tails says, as he flies to Sally, before landing, with Sonic coming to a stop behind him. "You were looking for me?"
"Yes, Tail," Sally says. "Everyone's so busy, can you go and get Dulcy?"
"You want us to go on a mission together?" Tails asks, excited.
"No, I need Dulcy to act as an aerial lookout," Sally says, before looking away. "I just hope she doesn't crash into Knothole."
"What about me?" Tails asks.
Sally smiles, "You'll be free to play afterward."
"I don't want to play," Tails complains. "I want to go on a mission."
"You're still too young," Sally knees to Tails.
"I helped get the Deep Power Stones before Robotnik could," Tails says.
"I know…" Sally starts.
"And I was the same age when we stormed Robotropolis," Tails adds.
Sally sighs, "Tails, I'm sorry, but Naugus is a lot more powerful and dangerous than Robotnik ever was. It's just not safe."
Sally stands up and turns away, with Tails looking away, disappointment.
Sonic places a Tails' shoulder, "Hey, cheer up, lil man…"
"Sonic, I need your help with something," Sally looks over her shoulder at Sonic and Tails, before turning back.
"Check up with ya' later," Sonic says to Tails, as he walks past him.
Tails continues to look down.
Snively approaches Naugus, as he stands in the center of a large room.
"So tell me, oh great Naugus, how exactly are you gonna find the Freedom Fighters' little hiding hole?" Snively asks.
"With this," Naugus holds his hands apart, as green energy shoots from them and collides, before a green, ghostly fireball forms and flies around him and Snively.
"Eh, magic," Snively watches as the fireball flies around. "How… reliable…"
"Now go my little will-o-wisp, find the Freedom Fighters wherever they might be," Naugus says, before the fireball flies away and out the door.
"Mmhm, those nuisances might've wrecked my factory, but the underground facilities allowed me to complete three of my new Swat-Bots," Snively says, before starting to walk away. "I will prepare them, in case your little magic trick works."
Naugus scoffs, "If you must."
Tails enters a hut to find Dulcy is sleeping in her hammock, snoring loudly.
Tails holds a hand to an ear, as he uses his free hand to rub Dulcy's shoulder, "Hey, Dulcy. Dulcy, wake up. Dulcy!"
"Ah!" Dulcy suddenly wakes up and falls out of her hammock, with Tails flies back slightly and lands. "Oh, Tails, good morning."
"Good morning, Dulcy," Tails says, lowering his hands, as he looks down.
As Dulcy puts on her knee pads, she looks at Tails, "Is something wrong?"
"It's just, no matter what I've done, Aunt Sally keeps on treating me like a kid," Tails says.
Dulcy finishes putting on her knee pads, "What's wrong about being treated like a kid. Growing up just means responsibility."
Tails sighs, "You better hurry up, Dulcy."
"Right," Dulcy starts to leave her hut, then she brings her head back in, "Hum, what am I supposed to do?"
The will-o-wisp flies through the Great Forest, swerving around trees.
At the edge of the village, Rotor is tying the end of a rope to a tree branch, as Antoine is throwing piles of leaves onto a net lying on the ground.
The will-o-wisp then flies over to them, circling around Antoine, who attempts to wave it away.
"Pesty firefly, shoo shoo," Antoine continues to try and wave away the will-o-wisp, as he turns and steps back.
Suddenly, the net flies up, trapping Antoine, hanging him by the rope tied to the tree, as the will-o-wisp flies away.
Rotor watches Antoine, crossing his arms, "You know, Ant, we didn't need to test it."
"Mmhm," Antoine responds.
Inside her hut, Sally holds up a rolled up scroll, glancing at it for a moment, before placing it into a small box and closes the box, flipping a lock down.
Sonic enters Sally's hut, with her turning to him.
"What ya got there? The scroll of megu?" Sonic asks.
"The Secret Scrolls of Maga," Sally corrects him, before looking back at the box. "I know I'm being paranoid. But with how much power Naugus used after he absorbed the Deep Power Stones, it better we put away any and all things that could add to his power."
"There's you go, again, worrying," Sonic approaches.
"How could I not worry?" Sally asks.
"Everything's gonna be okay, Sal," Sonic tells her. "It might take some time, but we'll win."
"Where do you get all this… positivity?" Sally asks.
"What can I say," Sonic shrugs his shoulders. "It's easy to be positive, when you're as cool as me."
Sally snickers slightly, with Sonic smiling.
At that moment, Tails looks into the hut, before turning away.
Tails is walking through the center of Knothole Village, when he sees the will-o-wisp flies around him, "What's the…?"
Tails then watches as the will-o-wisp flies straight up.
Dulcy is sitting on a large tree branch, yawning, when she sees the will-o-wisp fly up.
The will-o-wisp stops in midair, before starting to glow brightly with a loud ringing sound.
Everyone, including Sonic and Sally, come out of huts or to the center of the village, covering their ears.
"Please, don't tell me Ant is trying to learn a musical instrument?!" Sonic complains about the noise.
Naugus' eyes glow, as he grins, "Yes! My will-o-wisp had found the Freedom Fighters!"
Snively approaches, with three Swat-Bots 2.0, "What?! Where are they?"
"I can't tell where the will-o-wisp went, but I can still go there," Naugus says, before he waves his claw hand.
Naugus' hand glows with energy, before it swirls around him and the three Swat-Bots, then all four disappear in a bright flash, as Snively watches, shocked.
The will-o-wisp flies straight down, slams into the ground, and explodes as a bright light. As the light faded, Naugus and the three Swat-Bots appeared.
"No…" Sally says.
The three Swat-Bots each aim an arm, with a small blaster pops out of their arms, before they start to fire, as people start to run and the Swat-Bots scatter.
Snively sits down at a computer, starts typing, "Naugus' little glow-ball might can't tell where the Freedom Fighters' base is, but my Swat-Bots can." A horizontal bar appears on the screen, as it starts to slowly fill in. "I just need to sync up their global position system."
The Swat-Bots continue to spread out, as Mobians are taking cover from their firing.
Rotor and Antoine arrive at the area, with Antoine immediately looking terrified.
"I thought we destroyed the assembly line," Rotor says.
Sonic and Sally stand several feet away from Naugus.
"I don't know what you're doing here, Nut-gus," Sonic starts.
"Then let me enlighten you," Naugus interrupts. "I'm looking for something in particular. A scroll, in fact."
Sally's eyes widened.
Naugus grins, "And from your expression, princess, you know exactly what I'm talking about."
Tails flies up to Dulcy, still on her tree branch, "Dulcy, Knothole Village is under attack."
"What can we do to help?" Dulcy asks.
Tails looks aside for a moment, before he snaps his fingers, "I know. We use the village's defenses. We just turn them inward."
"Inward?" Dulcy asks, scratching her head.
"Yeah, just do this…" Tail starts, before he whispers in Dulcy's ear.
"Huh-huh, huh-huh, okay, huh-huh," Dulcy nods her head, as Tails continues to whisper.
A Swat-Bot is chasing a pig Mobian, when it is hit by an apple in the head. The Swat-Bot stops and turns to see Tails stands on a hut's roof, holding an apple. Tails grins.
The Swat-Bot starts to aim its arm.
"You know, that's perfect, just stay right there," Tails juggles the apple.
Higher up, Dulcy is turning a log, hanged by vines, "Almost… there…" Dulcy finishes turning the log, then letting go, allowing the log to swing down, before it slams against the Swat-Bot, knocking it apart.
Tails catches the apple, takes a bite, and then flies off.
Tails is slowly pushing a large catapult, full of rocks, "C'mon, c'mon."
A Swat-Bot is slowly approaching a squirrel Mobian, who is cowering in fear.
Tails stops pushing the catapult, before he pulls a lever, "And now!"
The catapult launches the rocks, blowing over the Swat-Bot, with the squirrel Mobian looking up, confused.
"Alright, rock n' roll!" Tails pumps a fist.
"You want the scroll, Nut-gus," Sonic starts to run in place. "Come and get them!"
Sonic speeds ahead, rolling into a ball.
Naugus holds out his regular hand, with green energy surrounding Sonic, stopping him in midair, still in a ball, "Very well." Naugus bounces Sonic like a basketball, "If you insist."
Naugus then launches Sonic through the air and into Sally's hut, knocking over a table, slamming the small box onto the ground, breaking it open, with the scroll rolling out.
Naugus grins, "What we got here."
"Excellent!" Snively calls out, as he watches the computer, with the bar nearly full. "Any moment now, I will have the exact location of the Freedom Fighters' base."
"Come and get me," Tails is flying, with the last Swat-Bot chasing after him, firing its blaster.
Suddenly, a net is brought up under the Swat-Bot, causing it to hang in the air.
"Now!" Tails calls out.
Rotor and Antoine each pull on a rope, with two logs swing through the air and slam against either side of the hanging Swat-Bot, crushing it.
"Yes, three for three!" Tails cheer, midair.
Seconds away from the bar getting completely filled, it stops and replaces with the words "All Units Destroyed".
"No!" Snively yells. "I was so closed! So closed! I was so closed!" Snively holds his head.
The scroll, surrounded by green energy, floats over to Naugus, who catches it with his regular hand.
"Hey, this isn't 'finder's keeper', Nut-gus," Sonic says, as he exits Sally's hut. "And you surely aren't leaving with that!"
Sonic speeds ahead.
"Oh, but I am," Naugus says, before he starts to laugh and disappears in a bright flash.
Sonic speeds past the spot where Naugus was, before coming to a stop and turns back, "Nuts, Nut-gus got away."
Sally sighs, "At least no one appeared harmed."
"We got Tails to thank for that," Rotor walks over, with Tails next to him. "If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be able to handle the Swat-Bots."
Sally knees down to Tails, "I'm really proud of you, Tails. I guess you are growing up."
Sally kisses Tails' nose, but he backs off and wipes his nose, "Don't do that, Aunt Sally."
"Oh, okay…" Sally says, before looking down. "I guess you are growing up…"
Naugus reappears in the building, several feet behind Snively, who turns away from the computer.
"Yes! I've succeeded!" Naugus says, holding up the scroll. "As if there was any doubt."
Snively approaches him, "Succeeded? We still have no idea where the Freedom Fighters' base is. And that could've been our best chance to get it."
"It's not important," Naugus tells him. "I won't be like your uncle, Robotnik." He starts to walk away. "And I won't get distracted by inconsequential nuisances."
All throughout Knothole Village, different Mobians are helping to clean up the village, including Tails, Rotor, and Antoine.
Sally is exiting her hut, holding the damage box, as Sonic approaches.
"How are you doing, Sal?" Sonic asks.
"As good as can be expected," Sally admits. "Fortunately, NICOLE had copied the entire scroll, and I got her back to try and decode it."
"It will be fine," Sonic tells her, taking the box from her.
"I don't know anymore, Sonic," Sally starts. "If Naugus is seeking what the scroll contains, then we must hurry and figure it out on our own, and before him." She turns to look over the entire village. "Naugus just once again proves how much more dangerous he is than Robotnik, after all, he'd never invaded Knothole Village."