-Chapter 302-

Royal Drama


Party Barge

"Oh great…" Sonic let out with exasperation. "It's these two."

"You know these guys, Sonic?" Tangle asked.

"Unfortunately…guys, meet Queen Angelica and King Puff. Rulers of Meropis. Deena's parents. And the biggest royal pains I've ever met," he tacked on quietly.

"I heard that!" Puff shouted, causing Sonic to flinch.

"Puffy, calm down," Angelica soothed, her attention turning to Pearly. The little manta ducked behind Tangle fearfully as the queen narrowed her eyes at her, as if saying 'I will deal with you later' before turning back to the others.

"Tch! I see your tongue remains as insolent as ever," Angelica said with a sneer. "Honestly, what Undina sees in you I will never understand."

"Probably because she doesn't have coral wedged into her frontal lobe like you do, Your-"

Before Sonic could finish, Sally slapped him upside the head.

"Ow!"

"Apologies, Your Highnesses," she apologized. "Sonic's a little stressed out, so…"

"Quiet, squirrel!" the queen snapped, her lure briefly flashing.

"Wh-What?" Sally let out, confused and shocked at the sudden outburst.

"You will speak when we tell you to and not a moment before! Honestly, you should be grateful that we just didn't have our soldiers–"

Just then, Puff let out a furious roar and lunged at Sonic, pinning to the ground as he began strangling him, to the shock of everyone - even his wife.

"Puffy!" the queen exclaimed. "What in Neptune's name do you think you're doing!?"

"Don't stop me, Angelica!" Puff shouted back. "This little, blue bastard needs to pay for what he's done! You hear me!? PAY!"

As Puff choked out Sonic, his body began to rapidly inflate (complete with stretching balloon sound). His frame grew chubbier and rounder as his spines stuck out. A sight Sonic and the others couldn't help but chuckle at.

"Oh gosh..." Sonic let out, desperately trying not to laugh.

"Sonic...don't," Sally warned, stifling her own laughter.

"I can't help it! Look at him!"

"Silence!" Puff ordered as he redoubled his grip, slamming Sonic's head against the deck. "The only thing I want to hear from you is the sound of you begging for mercy, you impudent, incorrigible, perfidious, lying…!"

"Sire, that's enough!" Striker shouted as he pulled his king off Sonic, prompting the hedgehog to scramble back to his friends.

"Sonic, are you alright?" Sally asked.

"I just got grabbed and smashed into the deck by a crazy fish-guy, Sal. Does it look like I'm alright?" Sonic replied heatedly.

"Dammit, Striker, let me go!" Puff demanded as he flailed and thrashed about. "I must have justice! The honor of House Merrowyn must be avenged!"

"And it will, but only if we do it right." The guard captain's eye narrowed. "Otherwise its honor will plunge even further."

Puff's thrashing stopped, his limbs going still as he angrily glared at Sonic. He took several, sharp breaths, each one growing slower as his body deflated and he began to settle down.

"Very well…" he let out, prompting Striker to release him.

The little king brushed himself off before adjusting his cape and crown.

"Wow…" Tangle whispered. "That is one mad, little fishy."

"No kidding," Hope added.

Just then, Puff cleared his throat.

"Sonic the Hedgehog!" he declared. "By the power invested in me by the laws of the Great Blue Realm, I place you and your companions under arrest for crimes of chicanery, defamation of character, and conspiracy against the kingdom of Meropis and the Royal Family!"

The Freedom Fighters stood in shock, unable to believe what they had just heard.

"I'm sorry…What!?" Sonic shouted.

"Don't you 'What!?' me, hedgehog!" Puff shouted, his hands trembling in rage, to the worry of his subjects. "You and your friends in the kingdom of Acorn have made complete and utter fools of me and my family name! Disgraced it! Defiled it! Dragged it through the mud! And worst of all you…you…"

"Your Majesties!"

A figure lept out of the water, flipping through the air before landing superhero-style on the deck.

"Ahhh, Hibiki," Angelica greeted. "Good of you to finally join us."

Hibiki stood up, putting her hands together and bowing. "Apologies, My Queen. I would've arrived sooner, but…"

"No worries." Angelica waved her hand dismissively. "In fact, your timing couldn't have been better."

"Is that…a ninja?" Sonic asked in disbelief.

"Holy crap! It is a ninja!" Tangle chimed in. "A dolphin ninja! Ooh! A finja !"

While everyone looked over the "finja" in awe, Sally looked at the "finja" carefully. Something about her seemed…familiar.

"Hibiki!" Puff shouted, cutting off Sally's train of thought. "Was your mission successful?"

"Yes, My King," she replied. "We've successfully apprehended the fugitives."

"EEEExcellent…" Puff grinned eagerly. "Now, where are they?"

Suddenly, a large, brown glob of sludge fell onto the deck with a GLORP!, splattering everything - and everyone - in the area with little bits of it.

"I had to ask," Puff snarled.

"Aww, gross!" Keith cried out.

"What the heck is this stuff?" Tangle asked, trying to shake some out of her fur.

"It kinda looks like peanut butter," Hope said.

"It's not peanut butter!" a young, male voice shouted out angrily.

All eyes looked upward, toward the source of the voice, and were surprised to see a lone figure clinging to the wall of the ship. The figure leapt off the wall, waving their arms around in circles in an attempt to steady themselves before finally landing on their feet…only to let out a pained wince as their knees wobbled.

"Agh! Cod-dammit, that hurt!"

The figure slowly stood up, revealing a strange-looking Mobian with mottled skin. He was mostly bright, strawberry red, but most of his left leg, right arm, along with half his torso, face, and head were covered in light brown blotches. He had a white muzzle and striking purple eyes, as well as long, wavy red hair and a red bowler derby hat.

"Okay, okay…" he grit out as he slowly stood up. "Botched the landing, but I'm okay. I can do this…"

He turned around, cleared his throat, and then…

"HAHAHAHA! Greetings, villains!" the Mobian greeted bombastically. "I see you've found yourselves in a sticky situ-"

"Tails! Chris!" Sonic shouted, noticing a familiar pair of tails and a pale arm amid the "peanut butter".

"Hey!" the Mobian snapped, waving his arms around. "I'm monologuing here! Wait your turn, you lousy–!"

"Raspberyl!" Hibiki and Striker shouted, shutting the newcomer up and grabbing his attention.

"Captain Striker! Hibiki!" the newly identified Raspberyl saluted. "Sir! I-I mean ma'am! I mean…"

"What do you think you're doing?" Striker demanded. "What did I tell you about this 'superhero' crap?"

"Oh come on, you let Hibiki get away with her ninja thing!"

"Because I'm not a guardsman, Raz," the dolphin explained.

While all this was going on, Sonic did his best to pull his friends out of the gunk, aided by Tangle and Keith.

"Ugh… my head…" Tails moaned.

"Tails, Chris, are you okay?" Sonic asked, snapping the two out of it.

"Sonic!" Tails replied. "You gotta listen, we're under attack!"

"Yeah, we know, Meropis," Sonic interrupted. "Seriously, what happened to you guys?"

"We were trying to fix the propellers," Chris began. "When we found they were covered in this sludgey gunk. Next thing we know, that crazy jellyfish attacked us."

"Jellyfish?"

Sonic turned to Raspberyl and noticed that his hat was actually part of his body, his hair being a set of tentacles.

"Huh, he is a jellyfish."

"Why's he covered in peanut butter?" Tangle asked.

"It's not peanut butter!" Raspberyl shouted. "It's jelly ! Jel-ly ! Get it right, ya–!"

Before Striker could continue berating Raspberyl, something shot out of the water with a loud whistle. An orange streak flew through the air and crashed into the haul before landing with a squish.

"What the…?" Keith let out. "Is that a giant clam?"

Just then, the clam suddenly flipped open.

"Captain Striker! Miss Hibiki!" Aegis shouted as she ran over. "I am so sorry I'm late! The human I caught escaped, so I went to look for her, but I couldn't find her, and then…"

"Aegis, calm down!" Hibiki shouted as she grabbed her by the shoulders.

"B-But I…"

"It's okay. Calm down. And breeeeathe."

Aegis did as she was told, taking slow, deep breaths.

"There, feel better?"

Aegis nodded. "Yes, much better."

"Good. Now, why don't you get your shell off of Raz before he goos everywhere?"

"Raz?" Aegis looked down and discovered that her shell had landed directly on top of Raspberyl. "Ohno, Raz!"

The clam Mobian frantically shoved her shell aside, revealing the prone, discombobulated form of her companion, a pool of red and brown jelly forming underneath him.

"Raz, are you okay!? Say something!"

"HHHHeeeeey Aegis," Raz greeted blearily. "Whuzzap?"

"Oh thank Neptune, you're okay!" Aegis declared as she peeled Raz off the deck, hugging him. "Raz, I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going and I…"

"It's fine…" Raz grit out. "Just let me go, please. You're squeezing my jelly out."

At that, Raz passed out, more jelly squirting out his tentacles.

"Eeek! Raz, wake up! Raz!"

Freedom Fighter and Meropian alike watched as Aegis frantically attempted to awaken Raz, with varying degrees of confusion and embarrassment.

"Okay, what are we watching?" Sonic asked.

"I have no idea," Sally replied.

"Raz! Aegis!" Puff shouted, waking up the former and startling the latter.

"King Puff! Queen Angelica!" they shouted, frantically pulling themselves together.

"Guardsman Cadet Raz the Jellyfish!" Raz declared, suddenly waking up.

"And Guardsman Cadet Aegis the Clam!" declared Aegis.

"Reporting for duty!" they both declared, standing at attention and saluting…both still dripping with jelly.

Puff's eye twitched as Angelica massaged her temples, Captain Striker shook his head, and Hibiki facepalmed in annoyance.

"These are the dullards we chose as Meropis' defenders?" Angelica groaned.

"I didn't choose them," Puff growled. "That belligerent, trap-jawed delinquent did!"

"Rhetorical question, dear." Just then, Angelica perked. "Wait, where are Shroud and Fluke?"

Suddenly, for the third time that day, the boat began to rock and shake.

"Aww man, not again!" Chris let out.

"What's happening!?" Sally cried out.

"Look!"

Hope pointed to the ocean, the surface bending and foaming as something began to breach… something big.

"By Aurora…" Hope whispered.

"No way…" Keith added.

"It's huge!" Tails said.

"It's gigantic!" Chris shouted.

"It's a whale!" Tangle screamed, pointing at the Mobian whale towering over them.

The whale was positively gargantuan, easily breaking the hundred feet mark (at least). He was so huge, his entire upper half was clearly visible. In fact, from the lack of bobbing and swaying, he appeared to be tall enough to touch the seabed! His eyes shone turquoise, while his skin was a bright blue and covered in mostly faded scars, the most prominent being an ugly looking slash along the pleated front of his lighter colored torso. He wore a golden shoulder guard over his left shoulder and matching breastplate over his left pectoral muscle, which was held in place by three-belt baldric, which also held a large, brown, burlap sack and a - oddly enough - a whaling harpoon. Around his waist was a white belt with a circular, golden buckle, which had a smaller, green satchel tied to it.

"By Aurora…" Sally whispered as she stared at the whale.

"That's…that's the biggest Mobian I've seen in my life…" Sonic let out. "Akhlut…Tundra…this guy could scarf them down like sardines!"

Just then, the whale slowly leaned down; the seas below churning about as he did. He leaned until he was level with the deck, his massive, turquoise eyes looking right at Sonic and his friends. The Freedom Fighters watched with bated breath as the titan just stared at them. Studying them. Gauging them. Judging them. His mouth opened up, curving into a smile, revealing a large set of baleen filters. Sonic and the others braced themselves for whatever terrible fate the behemoth had in store for them…

"Hello."

…only to blink dumbly when he simply greeted them in a deep, booming, yet jovial voice.

"Uhhhh…hello?" Sonic greeted back.

"You must be Sonic the Hedgehog and the Freedom Fighters," the whale continued. "My name's Fluke, good to meet you."

"Heh…likewise," Sonic chuckled nervously.

"Is something wrong?" Fluke asked, his smile faltering. "You look scared." The whale perked as he looked down at his body. "Oh right, I'm still big. Hold on…"

Fluke closed his eyes and relaxed his posture. As he did, a loud, hissing noise filled the air, followed by a large discharge of watery, blue energy from the top of his blowhole.

"Chaos Energy?" Sonic let out.

"Sonic, look!" Tails called out. "He's shrinking!"

Everyone watched as Fluke's body began to rapidly grow smaller. Within seconds, the titan had vanished from the ocean and reappeared in midair before landing on the deck with thud. Fluke was still large, standing roughly twelve feet tall, but was much more reasonably sized.

"There. Is that better?" he asked.

"Uhhh…" Sonic nodded. "Yeah, thanks."

"Fluke!"

Fluke looked down to see Puff fuming at him.

"Ahh, hello there, Puff." he greeted politely. "I see you finally made it."

"That's King Puff to you! And what do you think you're doing, fraternizing with the enemy!?"

"Hmmm? Enemy?"

"The enemy! The ones who sullied my family's honor and...and...!"

"Oh right… That." Fluke walked over to Sonic and the others. "So, you're the fugitives we were sent out to get?"

He looked over them before turning back to Puff. "Hmmmm... Are you sure? They don't look like the kind of people who'd do something like this."

"What are you, dense!? Of course they are, you great, blue twit!"

"Hey now, no need for name-calling." Fluke objected.

"Enough!" Angelica cut in. "Fluke, where are Shroud and the other captives?"

"Hmmmm…" Fluke scratched his chin in thought. "I'm not sure where Shroud is, but if you're wondering about the others…"

He grabbed the sack off his back and proceeded to empty it out, causing Knuckles, Tanaka, Amy, and Cream to tumble out.

"I found the two girls in one of Hibiki's water prisons and I snatched up the other two while they were fishing." He let out a hearty laugh. "You shoulda seen the looks on their faces."

"Knuckles! Amy!" Sonic shouted.

"Cream!" Sally let out.

"Mr. Tanaka!" Chris called.

"Sonic!?" Knuckles shouted.

"Mr. Sonic!" Cream called out.

"Sally!?" Amy shouted.

"Master Chris!" Tanaka screamed.

"What's going on?!" Cream asked. "What are all these soldiers doing here!?"

"Hibiki?!" Pearly shouted, finally stepping forward, causing the dolphin to freeze.

"P-Pearly!? What are you–!?"

"Is what Fluke said true?! You captured Cream with your ninpo?!"

"Don't worry," the dolphin assured. "It was just a bubble. They're fine."

"That's not the point!" Pearly shrieked. "You promised me! You swore on Aquarius' name you and Shroud would leave Cream alone! She's just a little girl!"

Hibiki winced as Pearly glared at her, the ray's eyes watering with sadness and betrayal.

"Enough of this!" Puff snapped. "We've wasted enough time!"

"Agreed," Angelica raised a hand. "Soldiers! Round up the fugitives and load them on the ship! It's time for them to face their punishment!"

"But, Your Majesty!" Striker objected.

"That's an order, Striker," Angelica snapped, glaring at him. "You'd best follow it."

Striker grimaced at the command, sighing in resignation. "Yes, My Queen. Soldiers!"

At Striker's command, everyone moved to apprehend the Freedom Fighters.

"What the hell!? You can't do this! We haven't done anything!" Sonic shouted.

"Sorry Sonic, nothing personal," Fluke told them. "We haven't forgotten you saving Meropis from the Egg Carrier. But King Puff's orders are absolute."

"Speak for yourself," Hibiki said, her voice cold as ice. She performed some hand gestures, summoning a pair of blades made of water in her hands. "I'm going to enjoy this."

"Not good…" Sally let out. "Not good at all."

"Now then…" Hibiki rushed at the Freedom Fighters, blades poised to strike. "Feel the ocean's fury and repent!"


Author's Note:

Wow, Deena's parents are mad.

Please R&R. Until next time!