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Chapter Two

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Spy Network Headquarters, Robotropolis, The Following Morning

Their meeting place hidden under a trashy area of Robotropolis, the city that was once Mobotropolis, the Robotropolis Spy Network was put together from Knothole Villagers volunteering to take down Doctor Robotnik's dictatorship under his very nose. Wearing carefully crafted armor modeled after the grey and white SWATBots that made up the despot's army in order to blend in better, each member did what they could to send messages to the Knothole Freedom Fighters in the form of graffiti, and under the leadership of the lone roboticized Mobian in their ranks, the Network made good progress in less than one year.

'I just wish he was in a better mood, though,' a certain spy, Sir Kicks-a-Lot, thought as he heard their group's leader rant in a recorded message that the Robian hedgehog planned on sending to Knothole once it concluded. While there was a potential risk that Robotnik would trace the signal back to the village, the Robian, Sir Charles Hedgehog, had taken care to ensuring his message would be on a frequency that only Princess Sally Acorn's artificially intelligent computer, Nicole, would pick up on.

An orange Mobian dog with pointy ears and a nose that was as blue as his eyes, Kicks had known Charles, or Chuck as his close friends and family called him, since the closing years of the Great War, in which both were knighted by King Maximillian Acorn for their good service to their country on and off the battlefield, and while he did feel a mounting fear for what the future might hold for the Network once Chuck resigned in complaint, Kicks honestly could not blame his old comrade for wanting to leave.

'If a kid in my family was in Sonic's shoes, I'd do the same.'

Turning his gaze from Chuck's ranting, Kicks saw that his fellows in the Network were either as uncomfortable as he was or had a more calculative look in the case of his partner, Sleuth Dawg, a browner, blue-eyed dog that just so happened to have been the reason that the Network finally learned about the Mecha Sonic incident from a few days ago and what it entailed back in Knothole. While Kicks could only wonder how Sleuth gained the info from Robotnik's headquarters by himself, or similarly get the news of Sonic's trial for treason, his concern was more for Chuck moving forward.

Speaking of whom, Chuck had finally concluded his protest and electronically messaged it on the right frequency. Exhaling, the grey mustached hedgehog with a lighter blue color than his well-regarded nephew, and who was a robotic version of the flesh and blood lifeform he once was, could only cover his eyes tiredly on instinct. To his left, the metallic Mobini dog that Chuck and Sonic took in as their pet when he was organic, Muttski, sadly placed his head on the middle-aged hedgehog's leg for support.

Braving forward, Kicks said to Chuck, "You have the right to choose, old friend, but are you sure you're going to be alright with this?"

Turning his appreciative gaze from Muttski to Kicks, Chuck replied, "Maybe I am being reckless with this, Kicks, but I've already sacrificed too much for the old kingdom. And now with Sonic, I just can't continue anymore." Reflexing his mechanical joints, Chuck then turned to Sleuth and showed an approving nod, saying, "Thankfully, Doggy will take care of you all while Muttski and I go for a family reunion."

Showing a semi-humble look that Kicks felt somewhat suspicious of for whatever reason while he and their comrades applauded respectfully, Sleuth said in response to Chuck's words, "Don't worry, Sir Charles, I have everything under control already."

Despite being tight with the onetime Royal Secret Service intelligence agent, Kicks really could not help but feel that Sleuth had grown too ominous lately.

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Nic's Aircraft in Midair

Over the landscape of Northamer, a shuttle-like air vehicle that had a white exterior with black areas and a stylized "W" on both sides sped from the Badlands to its destination hundreds of miles from the Bottom of the Barrel Bar and Grill. In the vessel's pilot seat, Nic was doing the flying while Bean sat on her right and Sonic on her left. Bark and Fiona were seated in the back, respectively right and left, and Sonic could tell that the fox had been eying him like a predator since they went liftoff.

Eager to make light of the new circumstances and take his mind off his recent career change, Sonic decided to comment on Nic's means for travel. "Nice set of wings. Does it have a name?"

Nic snorted as she replied, "We argue on what to call this baby all the time. Sometimes I wonder if those blokes at the Five and Gemstone are just so eager to sell their merchandise that they don't bother with the fitting names themselves."

Interested, Sonic asked, "That's the store you got this from? The Five and Gemstone?"

Bean took the opportunity to speak next. "That's right! Good luck finding it on a legal map, though."

Fiona responded in good humor at Bean's joke, saying, "That's the Mobius Underworld for you," and then changed topics, saying, "I take it you didn't have anything this nice in Knothole, blue boy?"

A bit optimistic that Fiona was not hostile yet, Sonic answered, "We had some means for air and even underwater travel, but they're either do-it-yourselves, or antiques. This turbo flyer, though, is state of the art."

Bean laughed loudly to himself before saying, "Trust me, Spike, I know a real state of the art flying machine that puts everything else Mobius has to offer to shame."

"You still haven't shown us this ship, Bean," Nic dryly pointed out. "Is it even functional beyond looks? Or better yet, exist?"

With his arms folded, Bean made a seemingly offended look as he turned away from facing Nic. "I'm saving it for a special occasion, babe. We talked about this."

"Don't call me, babe. We discussed that, too."

Sonic could not resist the grin on his face seeing how Bean and Nic bantered. It reminded him of similar moments between him and his old friends. Even if some were more enjoyable than others. Feeling a bit uncomfortable with the sudden nostalgia, the blue hedgehog then opted to zone out from the conversation as he and his new gang were heading to an old location of Robotnik's, where he was sure Fiona would not be happy seeing again any more than he would be happy.

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Abandoned Robotnik Prison Camp

While Nic and Bean's occasional back and forth made good comedy for Fiona, Bark, and apparently, Sonic, it was not long until the aircraft landed right outside the destination that Sonic provided from his own memories, notwithstanding the passing of four years. In a very dead forest, was a long-deserted facility that had the basic appearance of a prison that Nic believed held some good bounty in its walls.

Nonetheless, Fiona knew all too well what the place represented for her, considering she was an inmate here under Robotnik's cruel reign when she was but a ten-year-old girl. Having been taken from her parents by force, Fiona eventually found herself working in Robotnik's mines before she was then relocated to serve as the template for a robotic infiltrator. After finally escaping from another prison camp after two hard years of effort and immediately meeting Nic, who pretty much introduced her to the world of crime, Fiona really hoped to never return to where her suffering began.

"You okay, Fiona," a concerned voice asked, even though the fourteen-year-old fox really did not want that kind of help from him of all people.

Fiona's despondent gazing of her surroundings shifted to one of defensive anger as she turned to Sonic and curtly answered, "I survived, Sonic, so leave it there," before turning away from him. While she was willing to go easy on him for his skills at the very least, that did not mean Fiona was interested in forgiving Sonic, Mighty, or the concept of heroes in general for what she went through.

Marching off to the main building where Nic was already leading the others inside, Fiona saw that the four of them, shortly joined by Sonic as well, were in a room that had three deactivated robots that Fiona herself recognized as familiar yet different at the same time. One was the spitting image of Sonic, another was a youthful fox boy with two tails of all things, and the last one, a brown chipmunk girl with red hair who only wore a blue vest and pair of boots that looked exactly like what Robotnik's propaganda described as Princess Sally Acorn.

"More Auto Automatons," Fiona let out her breath, and then added in sarcasm, "Great."

"Who's the kid here with the twin tails," Bean asked with his finger pointed at the exact robot.

Sonic showed a small smile before answering Bean's question. "That's my best bed and little bro in all but blood. Miles Prower. But we came to call him Tails for short."

Nic hummed in thought before saying aloud, "I remember some books written by Rosemary Prower and some bigshot soldier in the Great War named Amadeus Prower. Is your friend related to them?"

Sonic's look dampened, but he replied regardless. "He happens to be their son. They disappeared the day he was born, though. The day Ivo Robotnik became a name no less."

Fiona could not restrain a groan of discomfort at the implications. "That kid must have some serious bad luck, or something."

Sonic's expression was an odd mix of sympathy and begging as he turned to Fiona and said, "Please go easy on him should you meet, Fiona. He ran into your own robot duplicate not so long ago, and, well, his heart grew and broke in just one afternoon."

Not understanding Sonic's words any more than Fiona did, Bean showed a teasing smile as he asked, "What do you mean? Was it a case of fatal attraction?"

At Sonic's unimpressed frown, the silence continued until even Bean realized he was more correct than he knew.

"Awkward," Bark summarized in one perfect word.

Sighing with the same feeling, Fiona then asked Sonic, "Do I dare ask what happened?"

Showing the palms of his hands, Sonic replied, "I wasn't exactly there when it happened, but Tails was romantically hoodwinked by the Auto-Fiona into one of Robotnik's traps and then she rusted and was left on the island Tails first found her, which, last I checked, got tidal waved some time later. I didn't really know how to tell him that there was a real Fiona Fox when even I didn't know what happened to her."

Humming in thought, Fiona exhaled once more before telling Sonic, "Okay, if I meet this kid, I'll try to lay it gently, but don't blame me if he can't take rejection."

Sonic showed a small, appreciative smile. "I get it. Besides, it would be more Robotnik's fault than yours, anyway."

"Well, duh," Fiona remarked nonchalantly, but found herself sharing a light smile with the hedgehog, regardless.

Putting memory lane on the side, the five bounty hunters soon found a tightly locked, vault door that seemed like a good place for Robotnik to store treasure in. With Nic giving a permitting nod to Bark, the polar bear grabbed the sides of the vault with both of his hands, and with barely a grunt, pulled it off from the wall, revealing a blinding green on the other side in the hands of someone Fiona and Sonic could not believe they were seeing.

"Ray," the two found themselves exclaiming in unison at the sight of the yellow-furred flying squirrel with a long, bushy tail, wearing only white gloves and red shoes with a white buckle-strap, who was floating in midair with a green gemstone in his arms.

Ray the Flying Squirrel was a fellow prisoner of Fiona's back when the camp was operating. When Fiona was being removed under Robotnik's own supervision, Ray and another inmate, Mighty the Armadillo, were aiding Sonic in trying to rescue her, even though all three were unable in preventing Robotnik's getaway while she was still in his custody.

"Well, well," Nic was the first to comment on the situation as she eyed the mineral in Ray's arms, "looks your old acquaintance grabbed a Power Gem that had its own side effect on him."

While Fiona was internally recognizing the Power Gems as one of the rarer, yet mysteriously powerful, resources Mobius had aside from the legendary Chaos Emeralds, Ray seemed to just notice the quintet and attempted to talk to them. "Hey, Sonic, Fiona. Better four hours late than never, right?"

"Four hours," Bean repeated in shock. "Kiddo, last I checked, you were last seen four years ago!"

"Bean," Fiona could not help but snap at the birdbrain's lack of tact.

Sonic, meanwhile, focused his attention on the flying squirrel. "Hang on, buddy," he said reassuringly, "I'm getting you out of that mess!"

"You sure about that," Nic voiced the skepticism everyone else was thinking in their heads. "Somehow, I think a real scientific opinion is needed on how to get that kid out of dodge and keep our treasure unbroken at the same time."

The blue hedgehog held his hands up in a relaxed manner, saying, "If I can turn into Super Sonic with seven Chaos Emeralds, I should be able to handle a lone Power Gem."

"That's a thing," Bean asked, curious about the probable details, but Sonic paid him no heed as he turned straight to Ray and the Power Gem.

Standing up straight with arms extended out towards the Power Gem, Sonic slowly flexed his hands twice as if uncertain of his own confidence until he finally let out, "Oh, to Heck with it," and immediately placed his hands on the Power Gem. Surprisingly enough, the light it emitted dimmed, which gave Sonic the inciting boost to pull it and Ray out of the vault, followed by removing the Gem from the squirrel's touch, and finally placing it on the ground out of his own hands.

After a long wait in expectation that something crazy would happen, Fiona, Nic, and Bark were able to sigh in relief while Sonic and Ray chuckled about their good fortune. Bean, on the other hand, had a look that said mixed feelings.

"Shouldn't there be a loud kaboom to have gone with that," the self-proclaimed Dynamite Duck asked aloud. "I mean, not dying is great, but a healthy explosion is a must."

"Explosions are supposed to be healthy experiences," Ray asked with pure confusion etched on his furred face.

"You're probably wondering what happened to him," Fiona dryly made her own question to Ray and Sonic.

Nic quickly interjected, saying, "Fair warning, Beam likes changing the story every time someone who hasn't completely earned his trust asks him about it."

Bark could only nod in confirmation.

Sonic then inputted, "Uh, odd life stories aside, I think you're actually onto something, Bean."

"He is," everyone but the bird himself wondered in surprise.

In contrast, Bean folded his arms with a confident look as he said, "Naturally, bluey!"

Showing a devilish smirk, the hedgehog explained, "I'm sure Fiona and Ray here can speak for everyone on Mobius on what should happen to this cesspool of a prison."

"I just want to know if Mighty is okay, Sonic," Ray voiced, clearly uncomfortable with remaining in the prison any longer, especially after learning how long exactly he had been there.

Fiona showed a scowl as she said, "I'd gladly destroy this worthless dump and be done with it, but-," her words quickly died in her throat upon seeing what Sonic was inferring. Trading glances with a similarly thinking Ray, the two former inmates showed eager grins that even Bean recognized as evidenced by him pulling out a bomb for each of them to carry.

"You have my blessing, good people," Bean told them as Nic and Bark showed approving nods to Sonic.

"Let's exit the place first, kids," the experienced Nic advised before showing a savage grin, "and then we'll bombard it!"

Fiona could not restrain the thankful look she showed in Nic's direction, exclaiming, "Works for me as I'm completely sure that Ivo Robotnik sucks eggs!"

Everybody laughed at the joke as they all headed out at top speed. Once out of the prison camp's courtyard, Fiona and Ray then threw the bombs straight at the place, which brought the external walls down to the ground. Sharing their eagerness, Bean quickly made more bombs for the two to throw at the barracks, then at the towers, again for the fourth time in a row, and finally, a fifth until there was absolutely nothing left of the whole facility.

All panted from either throwing bombs or cheering in the sidelines, and then Fiona turned to Ray until she found her voice, saying, "I'm all up for reuniting you with Mighty, but is there anyone else you're thinking about, Ray?"

"You mean like my family," Ray asked for confirmation. Upon receiving Fiona's nod for confirmation, he then said sadly, "As far as I know, I don't have any family out there. Not unless Mighty is included in a foster brother kind of way. You?"

Unsettled by the question, yet more comfortable telling Ray than Sonic, Fiona replied, "I've traveled with Nic all over the fringes of society for two years and never found my parents, Ray." Sighing, she added, "They're either dead, or I'm dead to them."

The fox was then surprised to feel Ray hug her around the waist as he said, "At least you've got friends. It really does help."

Taking a quick, if uncertain, look at her fellow bounty hunters, including even Sonic, who were all lost in their excitement of the property damage to notice what Fiona and Ray were talking about, the former forced herself to push such wishful optimism aside, and consider the immediate future. First, their group would drop Ray off to Mighty, wherever he was on the planet, and then find a buyer for the Power Gem.

'So long as it's not Robotnik, I'll go for any reasonable price,' Fiona thought to herself with a frown while thinking of her past tormentor, the one she hated and wanted gone above all else. 'Maybe with Sonic around for a change, I can finally even that score.'

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Sorry that I have been slow in my writing. My best cat friend passed away on September 22nd, 2023, so I am struggling in getting my mood back.

I am pleased that I was finally able to update Fresh Bounty Hunters, though. I considered Uncle Chuck personally scolding the Knothole Freedom Fighters for not trusting and supporting Sonic better which would just be the start to a huge reprimand, yet I decided to have him send a pre-recorded reprimand instead to save better time in-universe and in the real world. I intend to get into the proper contents another time.