-Chapter 219-

The Orca, the Egg, and the Dingo

Great Swamp

A bit of time had passed since Akhlut dealt with the hikers searching out the ghost springs. He'd long since left the area, making his way to the most recent secluded cabin he'd claimed as his home. At the moment, he was just finishing up a post-workout shower, grabbing a towel before picking up his phone.

"Better send in my progress report," he remarked as he turned on the screen. Almost immediately, he saw that he had several messages from Eggatha, all of them dated back several days. "Crap…"

Figuring it was better late than never, the orca began getting dressed, scrolling through the texts.

"Just finished building my new Pinball Fortress, check it out!" one said, immediately followed by "Gonna use it on Sonic and his friends. Wish me luck! ^w^"

From there, the messages consisted of several photos of the Pinball Fortress itself, as well as some shots and GIFs of Team Sonic fighting for their lives. He scrolled idly through him as he adjusted his shorts, chuckling at some of the expressions and poses left by the three Freedom Fighters.

"Good job brat," he commended as he smiled fondly. "Good job."

Just then, a new message popped up at the bottom. "Check out Flickee, #GlacialGod. It's crazy popular." He shrugged and opened up the app.

"It's probably another stupid cat thing or-WHAT THE HELL!?"

The second Flickee booted up, Akhlut was greeted by a picture of him showering, clearly taken a few minutes ago; his bare body glistening with sweat and water from the falls. He sputtered in shock.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?"

He scrolled down, finding more and more pictures of him training, showering, and resting at different locations. The more he scrolled, the more mortified and furious he became.

"How did they get these!? How did they find me!? Who posted these pictures!?" He squinted at the page. "Wait a second…" It was then he noticed the username: OmelettaRobo. He scowled in anger. "Agatha…"

"That's me!"

Akhlut looked up to see an Egg Mobile descending from the sky, appearing just outside of the cabin window. In it was Eggatha, who happily opened a window to wave. With a growl, Akhlut stepped out to meet her.

"Hi Akhlut!" Eggatha greeted cheerily as the orca slammed the door to the cabin shut, still clad in only his shorts with his tower draped over his shoulders. "Did you miss me?"

With a bellow of outrage, Akhlut immediately punched Eggatha's Egg Mobile, only to have the attack blocked by a force field.

"Wow…" Eggatha deadpanned, "You're really lucky Uncle Ivo isn't here, or your brains would be hamburger meat right now."

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Akhlut growled as he held his phone up. "You posted my nudes on Flickee!"

Agatha gave a smug grin. "Consider it payback for leaving and not calling back every now and then." She put on a visible pout, leaning on the Egg mobile as she blinked cutely behind her glasses. "You didn't even say goodbye, big meanie…"

"Oh no, how horrible," Akhlut said sarcastically, his expression never changing. "What kind of monster am I? Oh wait, I am a monster!"

"Sure are!"

"And what's stopping me from being a monster and snapping your tiny body in half, like a twig?"

Eggatha began counting the reasons on her fingers. "Well, aside from this indestructible force shield, the miniature explosive in your head, and the fact that you owe me for convincing Uncle Ivo to give you a second chance after the Meropis incident…" she stopped to give him the biggest, cutesiest grin she could muster, "it's because you love me!"

Akhlut tsked, his head turned to the side. "No, I do not."

"Oh don't try to deny it." Eggatha hovered around to face the orca. "You look and act all big and scary, but you're all soft and squishy on the inside."

"It's called blubber," Akhlut defended. "It keeps me warm in the frigid wastes of Artika."

"In your birthday suit?"

"Yes…" Akhlut perked. "Wait, I…!"

"Ha! I gotcha! Speaking of…" she cringed awkwardly. "Would you hurry up and get dressed already? I know you're in shorts, but still."

Akhlut just sighed in annoyance.

-X-

After Eggatha had her fun, Akhlut finished drying off and gathered the rest of his clothes. He returned to his room to get dressed, Eggatha waiting just outside the door.

"Sooooo, how's your little training pilgrimage been?" she asked, kicking her feet slightly.

"Very rewarding." Akhlut smiled, flexing an arm in the mirror for a brief moment. "It's been years since I've felt these kinds of aches. The only other times I got this much of a workout was with Sherman Walrus."

"That's what she said!" Eggatha quipped.

The door opened briefly, and Eggatha ended up with a face full of towel.

"Quiet, you..." Akhlut grumbled as he began putting on his jumpsuit. "Honestly, you're worse than those idiot hikers."

"Hikers?" Eggatha folded the towel, setting it aside. "Since when have they been a problem?"

Akhlut finished getting his legs in and started getting an arm into the sleeve. "They were looking for ghosts or some other nonsense and stumbled upon my training grounds." He he put his other arm in before zipping up his suit. "Seventh group this month alone."

"Sounds annoying."

"Almost as annoying as you."

Eggatha stuck her tongue out, blowing a raspberry as Akhlut growled in response, grabbing his vest.

"Drylander guardsmen on patrol. Hikers looking for big feet and 'yoo-foes'. Teenagers sneaking off to mate or steal my clothes." He cringed as he stepped out of his room, grabbing his boots from over by the door. "There was one female who thought I was some sort of 'sparkling, vampire fish Mobian' and begged me to ravage her. Disgusting."

As Akhlut sat down to put his boots on, Eggatha came over, looking mildly concerned. "Did you?"

"Of course not!" Akhlut insisted, nearly dropping his boot at the accusation. "Why would I do something like that?!"

"I thought you loved the 'lamentations of women'?"

"As in their wails of grief and anguish at the demise of their husbands, fathers, and sons! I'm bloodthirsty, not sick!" He grimaced as he resumed donning his boots. "Don't confuse me with the dragon, the way he treats women is repugnant."

Agatha gave a sly, but approving smirk. "Well whadya know, 'Black Ice' Akhlut the Orca, Beast of the Boreal and Commander of the Northern Oceans Egg Navy, is a feminist."

Akhlut pulled on his gloves. "I'll have you know my people are primarily matriarchal. Most of the Pod's greatest warchiefs were women, including my mother." He closed his eyes and shook his head solemnly. "Asgard, rest her soul."

"And a momma's boy."

"Should you really be making that joke, you little hellspawn?" Akhlut shot back, only to get his towel thrown back at him. "Gah! Why you-!" Akhlut froze as he saw Eggatha glaring at him with cold fury, and winced as he realized what he just said. "Forgive me, that was uncalled for."

"Yeah, it was…" she replied with more than a little venom in her tone. She then took a breath as Akhlut walked over to where she was sitting, joining her. "So, what happens if someone walks in on you?"

"Zap their memories and swim to the next landmass."

"Oh…" Eggatha stressed the syllable for a couple seconds. "So that's why all those hikers and campers kept passing out and rambling about 'ghost springs'."

"Yes..."

Eggatha turned to Akhlut. "Y'know, the Citadel has a gym. You could train there."

"Not the same." Akhlut shook his head. "I gained my strength and fortitude from braving the wrath of the oceans and the might of nature in all its savage glory, mere machines can never recreate that."

"Least you don't have to worry 'bout people seeing you in all your savage glory."

Akhlut promptly gave her the finger, getting a giggle out of the girl.

"So, what's this all about?" he growled, desperate for a change of subject before he did something ill-advised. "I doubt you came all the way out here just to irritate me."

"Well…not just that." Eggatha handed Akhlut a slip of paper. "Here, I think you might enjoy this. Hopefully, this will make up for the pictures."

Akhlut examined it, then smiled evilly, chuckling under his breath.

"You know, I think this does." He promptly incinerated the paper with his mind.

"This is gonna be big," Eggatha pressed. "So make sure you get plenty of rest and eat lots of fish before you head out, understand?"

Akhlut bowed. "Understood, Miss Eggatha."

"Good! See you at the Citadel!"

Eggatha boarded the Egg Mobile and took off. As she did, she contacted someone else.

"It's me. Akhlut has been given his orders. The plan's about to begin."

The person on the other line growled in annoyance. "What took so long? It feels like we've been waiting for years."

"Relax. Trust me when I say this will all be worth the wait."

Knothole

The next day, at Freedom HQ, Sonic arrived from a run just in time to see the others gathered around the computer terminal laughing their heads off.

"Hey guys," Sonic greeted, looking confused and a little bit wary as he went to join them. "What's so funny?"

"Oh! H-Hey there, Sonic." Tails replied, the fox was on the verge of tears, he was laughing so hard. "Hope was showing us this new meme on Flickee."

"It's called 'GlacialGod' and it's hilarious!" Knuckles added. "Seriously, check this out."

"GlacialGooooooh my god!"

Sonic looked at the screen and immediately went bug-eyed at the sight of an entire slideshow of pictures of Akhlut at various lakes and beaches throughout Mobius, all of him in some state of undress.

"What the heck?" Sonic sputtered. "Isn't that the orca guy who works for Eggman?"

"It is," Hope explained. "Apparently, Aggie decided to have a drone tail him and take photos. Eggman's been selling them online!"

"Seriously?" Sonic said in disbelief. "Okay, I get Eggman making one of his goons into a centerfold is kinda funny, but…"

"It's not the pictures, it's the comments," Kat explained as she clicked a pic and opened the reflicks. "Here, look at this."

Sonic took a look at the comments and his laughter redoubled. "'All hail Akhlut the Swolefather, Patron Saint of Protein and TTLY RIPPD Abs' What the heck!?"

"Keep reading," Kat said. "It gets better!" And Sonic did just that.

Join the Eggman Empire and you too can look like this!

If he ever gets tired of working for Eggman, Honey should hire him.

Oh sexy orca-daddy I want to have your orca-babies!

Do mobian orcas have blowholes, because…

"Okay, that's enough!" Sally interrupted, reaching to turn off the computer. However, just as she went to close the browser, an incoming video call popped up, causing her to open it up, revealing a familiar – and fortunately friendly – face.

"Hey guys!" Princess Undina greeted cheerfully.

"Deena! Haven't seen you in ages!" Sonic looked around when he noticed someone was missing. "Where's Echo? Isn't she with you?"

"She's in the shower," Deena explained. "We were having dinner when we saw the GlacialGod pics," she winced nervously. "And I…may have accidentally spilled my drink all over her."

"I'm still upset with you, Princess!" a voice shouted from off-screen, causing Deena to wince.

"I said I was sorry!" The Freedom Fighters chuckled fondly as Deena regained her composure. "I see you discovered them too."

"Yeah," Sonic said, shaking his head. "I don't know what's harder to believe, that Eggman actually did this or that he's actually popular."

"Well, he was nominated Meropis' Most Attractive Man for nearly twenty-five years straight." Deena said. The Freedom Fighters froze at that.

"Wait, twenty-five years?" Sally said in confusion.

"Yeah," Deena confirmed. "Believe it or not, Akhlut's forty-six!"

"Forty-six!?"

The Freedom Fighters quickly turned toward Amy and Tekno, who were currently staring ahead in jaw-dropping shock.

"F-F-Forty six y-y-years old!?" Amy sputtered.

"Th-That's almost half a century!" Tekno rambled. "That's as many as four tens! Four tens and half a dozen!"

"He has aged phenomenally," Chris said breathlessly.

"Any idea how he does it?" Keith asked before blushing furiously. "I-I'm asking for… scientific reasons."

"I know how he does it."

Everyone turned to the back of the group. Sticks had stood up, arms at her side and a grim look in her eyes.

"There's only one possible way someone like that can look that young after so many years." Everyone leaned closer in anticipation, eager to hear the answer or just morbidly curious.

"Akhlut the Orca…is a vampire!" Sticks shouted, hands raised like claws as she hissed. For a brief moment, everyone imagined Akhlut dressed like a stereotypical Sylvanian Count, mirroring Sticks' motions, only to look at her like she was insane seconds later.

"Vampires?" Kat deadpanned. "Really, Sticks?"

"Don't give me that look, Winters!" the badger argued. "I know an evil, bloodsucking spawn of Ixis when I see it, and Akhlut ticks every box!" She pulled out a print of one of the GlacialGod pics they were looking at earlier and began pointing at it. "Sharp, dagger-like teeth. Psychic powers. Supernaturally handsome to the point that even enemies and other men fall for him! Sparkles and shines in the sun! For Aurora's sake, his eyes are black!"

"Sticks," Johnny explained as he pinched his forehead, "he's an orca. Orcas have sharp teeth and shiny, black skin."

"And most Mobians have some kind of special ability," Porker added. "Psychic power aren't that much of a stretch."

"And his ability to be unfathomably handsome?"

"I dunno, Chaos energy?" Knuckles added. "Maybe that gem in his head is a shard."

"Also, where did you get that print?" Kat asked, a single eyebrow raised.

"Ummmmm…nowhere," Sticks said as she hid the picture behind her back.

"Soooo, Deena!" Sonic interrupted. "What's going on in your neck of the woods? Err, ocean."

"Oh yeah, that's right!" Deena took a moment to pull herself together. "I got some big news, guys. I'm going to start my own travel blog!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! I wanna teach my people more about the Drylands so they'll open up more."

"That sounds awesome!" Kat said.

"I can get behind that," Sonic seconded. "Hopefully, it'll help get your parents' heads out of their asses."

"Sonic!" Sally admonished.

"They were willing to let their subjects be poisoned because they didn't want surface-walkers helping them, Sal, and only gave in because of Drake," Sonic said with a bit of heat. "Everyone's thinking it, I'm just saying it."

"Still…" Sally muttered, unable to argue with him.

"It's alright, Sally," Deena assured the irate squirrel. "Mama and Daddy can be…" she sighed, shaking her head, "they are extremely stubborn and thick-headed. But I swear, they're good people and they only want what's best for Meropis."

"I guess…" Sonic mused, not entirely convinced. Before they could get into the matter further, Sally decided to change the subject.

"That reminds me." Sally turned to Deena. "Deena, what can you tell us about Akhlut? He works for Eggman and used to serve in your kingdom's Royal Guard, but is there anything else you can tell us?"

The ocean princess' expression quickly turned grim. "I don't know much beyond what Captain Striker told me. I know he's originally from Artika, making him one of the few non-native Meropians to ever get into the guard, and that he attacked Iceborough, but that's about it."

Hope and Rotor stepped in at that.

"We can help with that," Hope said. "Ever since we found out he attacked Rotor's hometown, we've been doing research."

"Akhlut is the Warchief of the Orca Pod, longtime enemies of the Walrus Herd," Rotor continued. "He's also a pirate and raider famous for his savagery, ruthlessness, and ability to strike when you least expect it, earning him titles like the 'Beast of the Boreal', 'The Northern Devil, and his most famous epithet, 'Black Ice'. His biggest claim to fame were his battles with my dad, the only person to ever match him in strength and ferocity…" He winced before going on. "And ultimately resulted in his and my mother's death during the Iceborough raid."

The mood turned solemn, until Sonic, Tails, and Bunnie perked at that.

"Your dad was Sherman Walrus…" Sonic recalled before snapping his fingers in recognition. "Hold on, he was one of my dad's old war buddies on Squad Saturn!"

"Mine too!" Tails realized.

"Same here!" Bunnie added. "Uncle Beau used to talk about yer pa whenever he showed me his old photos!"

"Wait, really?" Rotor asked, surprised. "Huh, small world."

"Still, this is really troubling," Tails said. "Dad always described Sherman as a walking tank, and if Akhlut could beat him…"

"Eh, nothing to worry about," Sonic said with a shrug. "We beat him before, we can do it again."

"I'm open to suggestions," Rotor replied.

"Easy, he's a marine Mobian," Sonic explained. "You saw how he was when we faced him the first time. As long as we keep him out of the water, we have an advantage."

"That's still no excuse not to take him seriously," Sally pointed out.

"Sally's right, Sonic," Undina cut in. "Akhlut may be a bloodthirsty killer, but he's a bloodthirsty killer with a brain. He won't fall for the same tricks twice and-"

Sonic scoffed, rolling his eyes. "He's an overgrown robo-tuna with a fancy, green rock. What's the worst he could do?"

Station Square

Meanwhile, Tom Wachowski was going about his day. He had just finished lunch and decided to stop by the bakery to grab some donuts.

"Here you are, Sheriff," the clerk said as she handed him the box and a couple bills in change.

"Thank you very much," Tom replied with a smile.

With his precious rings in hand, Tom began making his way back to the station. He was about halfway when something caught his eye. Something that made him nervous.

"Crap." He pulled out his phone and began making a call. A few seconds later he received an answer.

"Hello?" a female voice asked.

"Hey Maddie, it's me."

"Hey babe, you doing alright?" Maddie asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Tom said unconvincingly, unable to keep the unease out of his voice. "I just wanna let you know that I'm gonna be working late tonight."

Maddie paused. Though Tom couldn't see her, he could feel the concern and worry.

"This has to do with what's going on, isn't it?" she asked.

"Yeah," Tom confirmed. "It does."

"I see. Don't push yourself too hard, alright Donut Lord?"

"Is that an order, Lady of the Pretzel?" Tom joked back, the two sharing a much-needed laugh. "Well, I gotta go. Hopefully, I'll see you soon."

"Alright, I love you."

"Love you too."

Once Tom hung up, he turned to what had grabbed his attention in the first place. A section of one of the buildings had been covered in posters, all with photographs of different people, mostly mobians, and all with the same word at the very top:

MISSING

"I've got a bad feeling about this," he said, if only to get it out of his system. "A really bad feeling."

With that, he resumed his return trip to the station. Little did he realize, from the moment he had exited the bakery to his phone call with Maddie, he was being watched. A lone figure had been observing him from a nearby alleyway, his appearance obscured by the shadows of the buildings and a brown, hooded cloak.

"This is Red Alert calling the Doctor," the figure said. "Come in, Doctor."

"This is the Doctor speaking," Robotnik's voice replied via communicator. "Have you located Wachowski?"

"Affirmative. My troops are surrounding the area and my weapons are fully loaded." Red Alert grinned maliciously as he felt his left arm. "Shall we start the attack?"

"Negative," Robotnik chided. "You and your forces will maintain your positions until Code Yellow has completed his objective."

"Are you freaking serious!?" Red Alert shouted. "Wachowski's right there! We get him now, the Freedom Fighters will come running to us! And then-!"

"And the rest of the SSPD will be there to back them up!"

"But-!"

"But nothing!" Robotnik snapped, causing Red Alert to wince and spark with crimson electricity. "You're to maintain your position until Yellow gives you the signal, not one second before. Understand?"

Red Alert growled, but didn't press the issue. "Yes sir."

"That's what I thought," Robotnik said, menacingly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some orders I need to fill out."

With that, he hung up. Red Alert took a deep breath, regaining his composure and steeling his nerves.

"Soon," he said, his voice dripping with cold fury. "I just need to wait a little longer, and vengeance will be mine."

-X-

Station Square Police Department

It was a busy day for the Station Square Police Force. Detectives typed away at their case reports. CSIs went over evidence in the labs. Patrolmen stopped by to turn in the occasional perp and troublemaker for questioning. And Officer Wade Whipple was looking over a large stack of documents, a troubled look on his face.

"Hey there, Wade!"

Wade looked up from his papers to see Tom walking in with a box of donuts. "Hey Tom. How was lunch?"

"Pretty good," Tom said as he set the donuts on his desk. "Looks like things picked up while I was out."

"You don't know the half of it," Wade said as he filed away one of the papers. "We just got over a dozen missing persons calls in the last hour alone!"

"Had a feeling," Tom said grimly. "I saw the collage outside."

"Forget that, there's an entire wall of the city covered in Missing posters! It's crazy!"

Tom paused for a moment before giving Wade a deadpan stare. "Really? I hadn't noticed."

"Well, it's there," Wade said, not picking up on Tom's snark. Tom shook his head fondly as Wade got back to work. As he did, he noticed the stack of papers on Wade's desk. He picked up the top one and gave it a lookover. It was a picture of a Mobian orca with a metallic dorsal fin and a green gemstone in his forehead leaping at the camera man like a psychotic dolphin, jaws wide open and arms primed to grab him.

"Whoa! He looks scary."

"He is," Wade agreed. "Akhlut the Orca. Former Second-In-Command of the Meropis Royal Guard and one of Dr. Robotnik's generals."

"Yeah, Sonic mentioned fighting him in Meropis shortly after the Chaos Incident," Tom recalled, then chuckled as he remembered the GlacialGod photos. "I hear he's become somewhat popular on Flickee."

"I wouldn't be laughing if I were you, Tom." Wade shook his head as he opened the file on his desk. "Take a look at this."

The file was filled with pictures of Akhlut. Some of them were GlacialGod photos he'd seen on Flickee, but there were some of Akhlut fleeing from and battling GUN soldiers…and winning.

"Dang."

"Yeah." Wade pointed to the photo that had initially grabbed Tom's attention. "That photo you got there? It was taken by a GUN patrol unit responding to a Badnik sighting off the coast of Leonus. The crazy whale leapt onto the boat, tackled the camera man, and tore the guy's throat out with his teeth before turning half the crew into chum!"

"Seriously!?" Tom exclaimed.

"Yeah." Wade sagged in his chair and massaged his temples. "Not gonna lie Tom, between everything that's going on and knowing this guy's on the loose, I…"

"Hey, none of that Wade," Tom lightly chided. "We're cops for the SSPD. People see us panicking and breaking down, they'll start breaking down too." He smiled. "Besides, Sonic kicked his blubbery butt, and he's faced worse than him."

Wade smiled at that. "Yeah, that's a good point."

"Trust me, if anyone can beat a guy like that, it's the kid. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

Tom grabbed himself a cup of coffee as he headed back to his desk. After getting himself situated, he grabbed a donut from his box and took another look at the picture of Akhlut. He stared at it for a few minutes, examining the orca's expression. It was savage. Vicious. Primal. Definitely worthy of a killer whale, and not someone he wanted to meet in person.

"Sheriff Tom Wachowski?"

"Yes, how can I help… you…?" Tom lowered the paper, beginning to sweat at the sight of Akhlut smiling back at him.

"Oh Aurora…" he thought nervously.

As an officer of the law, Tom was no stranger to facing down men bigger and stronger than him; but Akhlut was enormous. The orca stood at nearly seven feet tall, dorsal fin not included, and though not particularly bulky, was very well muscled, as evidenced by his broad shoulders and barreled chest. His arms were nearly twice as thick as Tom's, with hands big enough to grab his head and crush it like a grape. But the thing that grabbed his attention the most were his eyes. Akhlut's jet black sclera and green pupils made him bestial and animalistic in photographs. But in person? They shone with a cold, calculating intelligence that, combined with his razor-like teeth, made him look positively demonic.

"Good day, officer," Akhlut greeted politely as he reached into a pocket on his yellow vest. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm new in town and I was hoping you could tell me where I can find this guy."

He pulled out a photograph and handed it to Tom. It was a picture of Sonic battling a giant, scorpion-like robot with Robotnik's face on it. Tom looked over the photo nervously and, recalling what Sonic and his friends told him about the orca, quickly figured out what he was up to. Realizing he had no chance against Akhlut in a straight fight, he began a plan to stall for time.

"Yeesh," Tom said with a chuckle. "That is one ugly robot."

To his surprise, Akhlut was laughing with him, though that did little to calm his nerves.

"No, no, not him," Akhlut corrected before pointing to Sonic. "Him."

"Sonic the Hedgehog?"

"Yes. I have… important business with him." Akhlut grinned maliciously, giving Wachowski a full view of his pearly, white bear-trap of a maw.

Tom swallowed, but kept his cool. He looked Akhlut dead in the eye, keeping the orca's attention as he slowly reached for the secret button under his desk.

"Well, I'm sorry sir, but I'm afraid I can't help you there," Tom explained. "We don't keep tabs on Sonic, and he only shows up when there's trouble."

"I see…" With lightning speed, Akhlut grabbed Tom's wrist, crushing it and getting a pained yell out of the sheriff. He held him up by that arm, grinning maliciously. "I can do trouble."

Wade immediately drew his gun, the others following suit and aiming.

"Freeze!" he shouted. "Drop the sheriff and put your hands behind your head, or we'll-!"

Akhlut's jewel glowed, knocking everyone in the room out and away with a wave of psychic energy. He then casually threw Tom aside and strolled over to his desk, where he pressed the secret button.

Knothole

Back at Knothole, an alarm went off. The group hurried to the computer, checking it.

"Distress signal!" Amy reported. "Coming from the… Station Square PD!"

"Oh, no…" Sonic already had a Warp Ring in hand. "Donut Lord!"

"Sonic, wait!" Sally called out, but before anyone could stop him, he threw the ring and jumped in.

Station Square

The ring deposited Sonic right outside the police station, where he immediately ran inside.

"Tom! Wade!" he called out. "Are you guys okay!? Are you-!?"

Sonic stopped dead in his tracks, his face going pale. The department had been ransacked. Papers were strewn about the floor, desks were overturned, and people were lying on the ground, motionless.

"What happened here?" Sonic asked himself as he looked around.

"There you are!"

Sonic turned, and was shocked to see Akhlut sitting at Tom's desk, casually eating coffee and donuts with a bored expression.

"You know, for somebody who claims to be the 'Fastest Thing Alive', you certainly took your time getting here," he mused, sticking a whole donut in his mouth.

"Akhlut…" Sonic scowled. "Funny, we were just talking about you."

"Were you, now?" the orca said as he poured himself a cup of coffee. "Wondering just what I've been up to these past several months?" He blew on his drink before taking a sip.

"Kinda figured you took up modeling, Mr. GlacialGod," Sonic quipped, making Akhlut stop mid-swig of his drink. "Honey's looking for someone for her new line of men's swimwear, and you'd be perfect."

"I'm sure," Akhlut replied, visibly annoyed as he crushed the mug in his hand.

"Speaking of, you really shouldn't be eating those. They'll ruin your figure."

"And because they're the 'Donut Lord's'? I'm sure he wouldn't mind sharing... wouldn't you, Tom?"

Sonic's smug countenance faded to shock and horror as Akhlut casually pulled a battered Tom out from behind his desk.

"Sorry, Sonic," the man wheezed, "he got us…" and he passed out.

"What the hell did you do!?" Sonic demanded

"Nobody's dead, if that's what you're worried about." Akhlut popped another donut in his mouth, then reclined in the chair and put his feet on the desk. "I've been given explicit orders not to kill any unauthorized targets. And considering Wachowski is like an uncle to you…" Akhlut paused for a moment as he swallowed. "Yeah, I think I've replaced enough of my flesh with metal, thank you very much."

Sonic simply scowled in rage.

"You think this is just some big game, Akhlut?!" he shouted. "I'm gonna chop you into blubber nuggets for putting your flippers on the Donut Lord!"

He immediately launched into a Spin Dash. However, Akhlut merely held out a hand and grabbed him mid-dash, much to his shock.

"Same tired-ass moves." His hand began to glow green, as did his gem. "Find some new material, eh?"

-X-

Outside the Station, several ring portals opened up, the rest of the Freedom Fighters emerging.

"Darn it, Sonic!" Sally huffed as the portal closed behind her. "What is he thinking, just charging off like that?"

"Sal, this is Sonic we're talking about," Bunnie reminded her. "You know how he gets when trouble starts; 'specially when it involves people he cares about."

"I know, Bunnie. I just-"

Before Sally could finish, the station's front window was smashed open, Sonic flying out in a mess of broken glass and landing heavily at her feet.

"Sonic!" she ran over to check on him.

"Uuuuuugh…heeeey Sal, whuzzup?" the hedgehog said groggily.

"Sonic, are you okay?" Tails asked. "What happened in there?"

"Uhhh Tails?" Porker said nervously as he pointed to the station. "I think he happened."

The Freedom Fighters followed Porker's finger to find Akhlut casually exiting the station.

"Ah, so you all came," he mused as he looked over the group. "Not that it'll make any difference."

"Akhlut," Knuckles let out as he and Kat readied their weapons.

"Bastard!" Rotor yelled. "You've got a lot of nerve showing your face around us again!"

"Someone better call the Ocean Shepherds (1)," Kat snarled, her hair flaring with chaos power. "Cuz there's gonna be some whaling today!"

Akhlut waved a hand in dismissal. "I'm only here for the hedgehog. I have no interest in the rest of you." He looked right into Rotor's eyes. "Especially not Sherman Walrus' cowardly excuse of a son."

Rotor charged at him in a rage, but Akhlut merely scoffed, landing a casual backhand that laid the walrus out flat. The others immediately jumped into the fray, only for Akhlut to effortlessly wade through them and knock them aside, either blocking or dodging all of their blows while projectile attacks like the Omochao Gun didn't even faze him. Seeing his chance, Sonic plowed into him from behind, backing him into a corner.

"I've got you now!" he shouted.

Akhlut smirked. "Do you really?"

The orca punched out the wall, revealing the ocean behind him.

"Red Alert! They're all yours!" he shouted before diving inside, a flash of psychic energy preventing the others from giving chase. Sonic shook his head, clearing it, before turning to Tails.

"Track him!" he ordered. "Where's he going?"

Tails pulled out the Miles Electric, looking it over. "He's headed for Emerald Coast!"

"Then let's get going," Sally decided.

But as they prepared to head out, a blaster shot hit the ground before their feet, stopping them. Sounds of panic reached their ears, and to their shock, the city was now swarming with men in blue and red military-style uniforms; all armed with blasters and other high-tech weaponry, and all aimed at them.

"What the hell?" Johnny exclaimed in disbelief, "Where'd all these guys come from?"

"Never mind where they came from!" Tekno shouted. "Who are they?"

"I think I have an idea." Hope said softly. "Look at their bodies."

The others took a closer look at the soldiers and true enough, all of the soldiers present had some form of cybernetic implants. From robotic limbs and mechanical eyes to subtle details like glowing circuitry glowing underneath their skin.

"By Aurora," Knuckles gasped. "They've all been Cyberized! These guys work for Robotnik!"

"Good eye, echidna!"

The Freedom Fighters watched as some of the soldiers stepped aside, allowing a figure in a hooded cloak to pass through.

"I've been waiting a long time to see you all again," he growled, looking at Kat and Knuckles in particular. "Especially you, Son of Locke."

Knuckles perked, his eyes widening in shock. "That voice… it can't be!"

"It is!" the leader declared as he cast off his cloak, revealing his true appearance: a dingo clad in a dark blue uniform similar to those of the soldiers, with red gloves, boots, belt, and shoulder pads, while his right arm had been replaced with a robotic claw.

"It's you!" Kat exclaimed.

"Kage Von Stryker," Knuckles glowered.

"That's right, you red, dreaded bastard!" the dingo proclaimed. "I've returned!"

"You son of a bitch!" Kat exclaimed. "You… you joined the Egg Army?!"

"Damn right, I did!" Kage growled. "You filthy Echidnas and your pet human got me cast out of the Dingo Regime! Did you think I wasn't gonna do anything about it? That I wouldn't make you PAY?!"

"Honestly, we were kinda hoping you'd end up in a ditch somewhere," Knuckles admitted bluntly.

"But you came back like dime store sushi…" Kat snarled. "Then again, what can you expect from the Dingo who refuses to take any blame for himself?"

"Your exile was your own fault, Kage!" Sally snapped. "You brought it on yourself!"

"Shut up!" Kage snapped. "I've been waiting months for the doc to call this plan, and now, I'm getting the payback I deserve! But first…" he turned to Sonic. "Hedgehog! You go right ahead and go for Akhlut. He wants to deal with you personally, which I can relate to."

Sonic looked between the ocean and Kage, clearly torn. Knuckles turned to Sonic, just nodding.

"Go. This is our fight, and Akhlut is yours."

Sonic nodded, hurrying for the Emerald Coast.

"Now that that's out of the way…" Kage gestured to the remaining Freedom Fighters. "KILL 'EM!"

The Egg Soldiers charged, and thus, the Freedom Fighters' biggest battle yet began...

Author's Note:

(1): Mobian Sea Shepards. An anti-whaling group.

And so it begins. What will happen now?

A big thank you to WindstarOsprey for helping me work out the details of this arc, and the general outline.