-Chapter 262-

Blackjack

Castle Acorn - Grand Hall

Everyone was still reeling in shock from Geoffrey's discovery.

"No way...an imposter!?"

"I hate to admit it, but Geoffrey's right," Sonic muttered. "Someone ratted us out…"

"Question is, who?" Knuckles asked, unleashing a flurry of accusations across the room.

"It was you!" Hershey pointed right at Drago.

"Me!?"

"Who else could it have been but you, Drago!?"

"Please do not point fingers without evidence," Lupe pleaded.

"That's right!" Lyco interjected. "You have no proof!"

"For all we know, you're the traitor trying to pin the blame on the guy you hate," Leeta retorted.

"Excuse me!?" Hershey shrieked.

"Hershey is a soldier of the Kingdom of Acorn and a trusted ally of King Maximillian himself!" Geoffrey insisted, putting himself between the Wolf Pack and Hershey.

"Yeah, that don't mean jack shit to us," Dirk said simply, crossing his arms.

"I dunno, Dirk," Bumper remarked, looking skeptical. "She seems legit."

"Bumper, we don't know anyone here, and someone clearly betrayed us."

"It was probably the birdbrains!" Piper accused, pointing to the Babylon Rogues.

"What!?" Jet exclaimed, looking more than a little miffed by the accusation. "Did your hair gel seep into your brain, lady!?"

"You're all criminals and you clearly don't want to be here," Piper snapped back. "Maybe you took the chance to get out."

"That doesn't mean we were gonna sell everyone out to Eggman to do it!"

"The guy works with Kukku!" Storm shouted. "And that guy's a capital G jackass!"

"There's no G in…" Wave paused, then shook her head. "Oh forget it."

Arguments sprouted up everywhere with everyone pointing fingers and shouting accusations. This went on for a good minute or so before a gunshot went off. Everyone jumped, falling silent as they turned to see Hope had her now-smoking gun aimed at the ceiling. Once all eyes were on her, she lowered the gun and holstered it.

"Are we done?" she asked in a bored tone. "Can we talk like civilized creatures now?"

"Indeed," Kordon agreed. "If there is a spy attempting to sabotage this alliance, this is exactly what he or she wants."

Begrudgingly, everyone sat down.

"Thanks," Sally whispered to Hope.

"Send the bill for repairs to GUN," Hope replied, glancing up at the bullet now lodged in the ceiling. "I'll have them take it out of my paycheck."

Sally nodded as Elias cleared his throat.

"In the meantime, we need to make sure there are no more Auto Automata. Agent St. John, Agent Hershey."

Geoffrey clicked his heels together, saluting. "Your Highness?"

"I want the whole castle on lockdown. Nobody leaves or enters without my say-so." He then turned to Sticks. "Miss Badger, would you aid him in locating any more?"

"You got it, Boss-man!" Sticks loudly proclaimed, clearly happy to be of use.

Sonic grinned widely. "Have fun, Sticks! Make sure you find all of them. And whatever you do, don't split up. The bad guys get you when you split up."

"Just like in the movies." Sticks nodded. "You got it!"

Geoffrey grimaced, feeling dread crawl up his spine. "Why do I feel like I'm about to regret being born?"

"Regret later!" Sticks shouted. "We got creeps to find!"

Sticks grabbed Geoffrey and ran off with him, Hershey in hot pursuit behind them. The cat took one last moment to glare at Drago. She hissed at him before leaving, making the wolf shrink into his seat.

Later that evening, all the delegates had all gone to their rooms for the night while the Freedom Fighters held an emergency meeting.

"Well, this is a fine mess we've found ourselves in," Elias sighed.

"An imposter... " Sally buried her face in her hands. "Where do we even begin to investigate this?"

Elias reached over, gently rubbing his sister's back. "Easy there, Sally. We'll find them."

"Not exactly easy," Knuckles pointed out, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. "I can't tell who's sus and who's not. On top of that, we can't afford to be seen as biased towards our own allies."

"Man, Kat picked a fine time to get sick," Keith muttered. "We could really use that hyper-intuition of hers."

"Well, Kat's not here," Sonic declared, "So, we'll have to make do."

"Right then." Rotor straightened up, lacing his fingers together and placing his chin on them. "We should probably start with the prime suspects: the Babylon Rogues, and Drago."

"I don't think it's Jet's crew," Sonic spoke up with a slight shake of his head. "He doesn't seem like the type."

"Plus, they helped us stop Eggman during the Grand Prix," Keith pointed out. "It doesn't make sense for them to work with him. Drago, on the other hand..."

"Yeah, this guy..." Hope whistled.

"Now hold yer pashas," Bunnie cut in. "We can't just point fingers because ah someone's past. Ta me, he seems like someone who made mistakes and is tryin' ta be better."

"Bunnie, have you seen the ink on this guy?" Hope held up Omochao, who immediately began spouting off the wolf's rap sheet.

"Drago Wolf. Born March 4, 3213. Served five years in Everhold Prison for domestic and psychological abuse, assault, battery, driving under the influence, theft, and possession of drugs."

Everyone winced a bit at the list.

"Even so I... have to agree with Bunnie on this one," Porker spoke up almost sheepishly. "We don't know his full story. I... don't think we should judge him because of a record."

"Besides, he's too obvious a choice," Sonic added. "It's never the most obvious guy. And given what the perp's done already, they're smart. Would a thug and ex-junkie be capable of all that?"

"Either way, we should still explore other avenues," Johnny argued. "What about someone from the Engine Corps?"

"Yeah, the zebra-lady was giving us all the stink-eye," Tangle recalled. "And did you hear what she whispered to Sally? Yandere much?"

"Actually, I was talking about Clove and Axel," Johnny interjected. "They've played the traitor card before, back during that whole mess with the Warp Topaz."

"No," Hope shook her head. "That was out of desperation to save Cassia. There's no way in hell they'd side with Eggman. Clove may get tunnel-vision when it comes to Cass' well-being, but not even she's dumb enough to make a deal with that kind of devil."

Tails groaned, face planting on the table. "This is getting us nowhere. Without evidence, we can't prove anything."

"Then let's stop talking and start figuring out who the bad guy is," Sonic insisted.

"And how do you plan to do that?" Geoffrey questioned, stepping into the room with Sticks in tow.

"We found all the robots!" the badger happily declared. "Turns out those were the only ones."

"She was shockingly thorough," Geoffrey remarked, sounding surprised and a bit happy. "I approve."

Sonic clicked his tongue, turning away in disappointment. "Damn it…"

The skunk side-eyed him for a moment before choosing to ignore him. "Now then… Back to the matter at hand. Tell me, Mr. Hedgehog, how do you plan on tracking down this spy?"

"I…" Sonic grimaced, "Don't know. Hell, I don't even know where to begin."

"Exactly. You're fighting a ghost."

"A ghost!?" Sticks dropped a bag of exorcist-related items. "Good thing I brought my Sticks' Anti-Spook Kit!"

"Down, Sticks." Sonic put a hand on her head.

"Wrong kind of ghost, Miss Badger," Geoffrey gently corrected. "This kind of ghost means a person we know nothing about. Not their identity or motive. They are a non-entity to us, or a ghost."

Sticks let out a long, drawn out "Oh," before taking her spook kit and tossing it out the window. There was a crash, followed by a cat's yowl, then Hershey stuck her head through the window.

"Watch where you're throwing!"

"Sorry!" Sticks hurriedly apologized as Hershey climbed up through the window.

"You alright, Hershey?" Geoffrey asked, helping her steady herself once she was inside.

"Yeah, I'm good," she nodded, rubbing the back of her head. "Spooked me more than anything."

"Where have you been?" Tangle questioned.

"Calling for back-up," was the answer.

"We're going up against a secret enemy, and the only way to defeat a secret enemy..." Geoffrey smirked, "Is a team of secret Freedom Fighters."

He pulled out a communicator. "This is Ace. Is everyone in position?"

There was silence for a moment, then he grinned. "Excellent. Cut the cards."

Suddenly, the power went out.

"Hey, what the-?" Sonic exclaimed.

"What's going on?" Knuckles demanded.

"I can't see! I'm blind!" Sticks stumbled around.

"Ow!" Tangle yelped. "That's my tail!"

"Sorry!"

After more stumbling, they heard a pained yelp from Tails. "Ow! That's my tail!"

"Sorry!" came Vector's voice, much to their surprise.

"What the…" Keith let out. "VECTOR!?"

"The heck?" Knuckles said. "The Chaotix are here?"

"Nice to see you too, Knuckles," said Espio.

"We are present as well," came Omega's voice.

"Omega?" Hope let out. "Then... Shadow?"

"Hope?" Shadow replied. "When and how did you get here?!"

"Where even is here?" Rouge demanded.

"Of for the love of…" Sally sighed. "Would somebody please turn on the lights?!"

Sonic charged his hand with Chaos lightning, brightening the room a bit.

"Thank you, Sonic."

"Anytime."

Sonic looked around. They were all present, alongside the Chaotix and Team Dark. All but two.

"Hey, where'd Geoffrey and Hershey go?" Rotor asked.

"And where are we?" Charmy questioned.

"This does not look like Castle Acorn," Antoine said.

"Oh, it is." The room suddenly lit up, allowing them to see they were in a high-tech base of some kind. A chair spun around, revealing Elias. "We're just not in the Grand Hall."

"Elias?" Sally questioned. "What is this? How did we get here?"

"That, dear sister, is top secret information, even to you. As for how, well, my team and I brought you here."

"But why?" Sonic asked

Sally blinked. "Hold on, what's this about a team?"

"Yeah…" Vector picked up a red and black ball he found on a nearby desk. "And how the heck did you manage to get us all the way from Angel Island to..."

"Beep."

"Eh?" Vector squinted at the ball, shaking it slightly… and it suddenly grew an arm before punching him in the face. "Ow!"

"Beep." The ball grew metal arms and legs ending with yellow gloves and red and white shoes. A fuse-like antenna grew from its head. "Beep."

"It's a bomb!" Vector cried.

"It's a Robo-bomb!" Sticks grabbed Amy's hammer. "I got this!"

"Sticks, wait!" Elias cried. "He's on our side!"

Sticks screamed, only to trip and fall as Amy recalled her hammer. The bomb looked at Sticks, confused. "Beep."

"Owww..." Sticks groaned. "What the heck just happened!?"

"Look! Sticks' shadow!" Tangle pointed to see a kunai stuck in the floor, impaling Sticks' shadow.

"The heck...?" Sticks wondered. "What is this, some kind of weird Chun-ese butter knife?"

Sticks tried to get up, but fell to the floor, like her shadow was chaining her down.

"It's a kunai knife," Knuckles clarified. "And it's from the Dragon Kingdom, not Chun-nan."

"Well, whatever it is...it won't let me get up!"

"Kagenui… (1)" Espio realized. "A shadow bind."

"Is that one of your fancy ninja skills, Espio?" Charmy asked.

"Yes."

"Why the hell did you stop her then!?"

"I didn't!"

"I did." The air shimmered, revealing a blue Mobian chameleon with matching eyes, dressed similarly to Geoffrey and Hershey with a matching beret.

"A blue Espio!" Tangle gasped.

"S-Senpai!" Espio bowed.

The chameleon chuckled. "Rise, my friend. No need for formalities. You aren't my understudy anymore." His expression turned stern. "That being said, you're getting sloppy. You should've been able to sense me as soon as I snuck into the crocodile's office."

Espio nodded, getting up. "Yes...my apologies, Valdez."

"Hold on…" Vector interjected, holding up both his hands before pinching the bridge of his snout. "Did you drag us all the way out here!?"

"You're the detective," Valdez replied with a small smirk. "You tell me."

"We weren't dragged," Shadow spoke up, shaking his head slightly. "I believe we were transported, almost instantaneously."

"Oh good, you're all awake!"

This new voice came from a new robot walking in. It was a clunky, silver bot with red oven mitts for hands and a gray/black body which resembled a coffee kettle. It had long, flat, rectangular feet and springs for legs.

"Terribly sorry for dropping in unannounced and absconding you from your home, but it was a matter of utmost importance and there was no time to explain."

"Heavy," Omega greeted, narrowing his eyes. "I remember you. Eggman created you as a worker-bot for the Badnik Army Repair Functionaries."

"The what now?" Amy asked.

"The division who repairs the Badniks we keep smashing up." Tekno clarified.

Sonic snorted. "B.A.R.F.? Really?"

"Yeah…" Tekno scratched the side of her head. "Their leader was never good at naming things."

Omega scanned the robot curiously. "Query: you are not a Badnik."

"Indeed. The doctor didn't anticipate giving me a Power Gem core would allow me to grow a conscious mind. Now, I am what the kids would call a 'Goodnik', much like yourself, Omega. In fact, Bomb and I are both Goodniks." The Goodnik looked around. "Speaking of which, where is… Ahh! There you are!"

"Beep." Bomb ran over to the other robot, who scooped him up in his mitts. Everyone was staring.

"...this just keeps getting weirder and weirder," Porker lamented.

"You're telling me," Geoffrey replied as he and Hershey entered. "And we found the little bastard."

"Ahh, Captain St. John, Lieutenant Hershey!" the silver robot greeted enthusiastically.

"Good evening, Heavy," Hershey replied, smiling at the robot. "I see your mission was successful."

"That it was."

"Okay, I'm sorry…" Sonic rubbed his face, completely lost. "What the heck is going on here? "What is this place? Who are these guys? And why do you have a literal bomb?!"

"Beep."

"I'm getting there," Geoffrey groused. "Just be patient."

"You abducted us all to Aurora-Knows-Where, Stinkbrain! We want answers now!"

"I wasn't talking to you. Now then..." Geoffrey stepped forward to join Elias. "Everyone, allow me to introduce you to my team. Task Force Blackjack."

Everyone stared.

"Task..." Sonic let out

"Force..." Sally muttered.

"Black..." Shadow remarked.

"Jack?" Knuckles questioned.

"I had the group formed after the incident with Naugus," Elias explained. "It was an eye opener to the fact that your team, while good, can't do everything on their own. Thus, Team Blackjack was formed as a way to support you from the shadows."

"You...formed an entire team of Freedom Fighters without us even knowing!?" Sally exclaimed.

"Like I said, support from the shadows. Not all of Mobius' demons make grandiose spectacles and big speeches. Now then, let me introduce you to everyone..."

Elias turned to the Goodniks.

"Meet Heavy, our fix-it man. Demolitions, communications, new technology. Heavy here..."

"Umm sir..." Heavy interjected, pointing down at Bomb and making Elias chuckle.

"Ah yes, we mustn't forget his little friend. My apologies, Heavy." Elias picked up the Bomb. "And this is Heavy's partner: Bomb. He's the muscle, and also very handy at dismantling traps."

"Beep."

Elias laughed. "But not at all humble are you, you little imp? He's always going on like that."

"Sally, I think your brother's lost it," Sticks muttered.

"Incorrect," Omega informed the badger. "That Bomb is a smug little git."

"Man, come on, Babble Node." Sonic flicked his ear. "Translate."

Bomb turned to Sonic.

"Beep."

"Oh hey, it works! Hi to you too."

"Beep."

"Yeah, I'm Sally's friend. Nice to meet you."

"Beep."

Sonic turned bright red as Heavy let out a sound akin to a gasp.

"BOMB!" he reprimanded his companion, who just beeped at him in what anyone could tell was an unapologetic manner.

"Omega, what did he say?" Rouge questioned.

"You do not want to know," the Goodnik replied simply.

Elias cleared his throat.

"Moving on..." He gestured to the chameleon. "Over here we have our team's resident Shadowman."

"Valdez the Chameleon." Valdez bowed politely. "I look forward to working with you."

"Shadowman?" Tails repeated questioningly.

"What's that?" Charmy asked, turning to Espio.

"It's a blanket term for those who work in the shadows. Spies, thieves, assassins, ninja…"

"Sounds like my kind of people," Rouge quipped.

Valdez turned to Rouge as his eyes narrowed. She took notice, quirking a single eyebrow.

"Yes?"

Valdez was silent for a moment, then turned away. "Nothing, nevermind."

Rouge blinked, then snorted before shaking her head. "...what was that all about?"

"Maybe he just doesn't like thieves," Shadow suggested.

"Either that or he's staring at your ample bosom," Geoffrey suggested.

Valdez turned red, choking on air as he began sweating profusely, all while never turning to face Rouge. She laughed at that.

"Yeah, I get that reaction a lot."

Valdez slowly turned to Geoffrey, who just shrugged. "What? It's not like you were doing a good job hiding it."

"I… hate… yoooou..."

Valdez stomped off as Elias sighed.

"Right… Moving on, you've already met Geoffrey and Hershey."

"Great, now we've all met," Sonic interjected, sounding annoyed. "So, why drag us down here?"

"I believe that's obvious, is it not? We're here to help you find your little mole."

"Beep."

Elias blushed, then shook his head. "No, not that mole. I meant the spy."

"You have a plan?" Sally asked.

"I do. We were able to speak with Lupe's group, and she provided us with an ideal new location for the meeting. We'll explain everything in the morning. In the meantime, you all had better get your rest."

"I'm guessing going back home isn't an option with the lockdown," Knuckles lamented.

"Sorry, but no," Geoffrey replied. "Guest rooms will be prepared for everyone."

"Pleasant dreams," Hershey called out as she clapped her hands, killing the power once more.

"Aww not again!" Sonic exclaimed.

"Seriously!?" Vector shouted.

"This is getting old," Shadow groused.

"Yeah, I know," Tangle agreed. "It's- AHH!"

"Tangle?" Sonic listened, but didn't hear her again. "Tangle, you alright!?"

A scream from Tails had Sonic truly panicking, then he felt the world shift. With a yelp, he handed on his face with a thud. When he picked himself up, he found himself in a guest room in the castle. His bags were waiting for him, and there was even a mint on the pillow.

"What the..." he groaned and shuffled over to the bed, flicking the mint off the pillow before flopping face first onto it. "I'm gonna skin that skunk one of these days."

Meanwhile, Sally was in her own room, looking out over the gardens beyond her balcony.

"I can't believe it..." she whispered.

"Indeed..." Nicole materialized next to her, manifesting so she was leaning on the balcony as well. "I've scanned the castle multiple times and I can't find a single trace of that room."

"Not that, Nicole."

"Oh." Nicole turned to look out at the garden. "You're referring to the imposter."

Sally nodded, lowering her head until her forehead was pressed against the cool, smooth stone of the railing. "How do I even begin to address this? This was supposed to be a time for us to come together, and now… now we're at each other's throats and we don't know who we can and can't trust…"

"I wish I could-" Nicole's words were cut off suddenly.

"Nicole?" Sally lifted her head just in time to see Nicole's physical form completely fizzle out, the screen on her handheld growing dim.

"Sorry, but couldn't risk her recording this," a voice called out from behind her.

Sally immediately turned around, spotting a lone figure standing on the balcony rail. They were wrapped in a thick cloak that completely obscured their face and body.

"You!" Sally slid back, summoning her Ring-Blades. "What have you done to Nicole!? Who are you!?"

The figure remained silent for a moment, then lowered the hood they were wearing. Sally's eyes widened in shock, the blades vanishing.

"Someone you really want to hear out."

Author's Note:

(1): Shadow binding.

Well, things are heating up, aren't they? But who could this mysterious figure who approached Sally be, and who's the rat?

Voice cast for this chapter:

* Valdez- Dave Wittenberg (Kakashi Hatake in Naruto, Trigger Happy in Skylanders, Michael Lee in Witch Hunter Robin, Bash Johnson in Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja, Lang Rangler in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean, Time Baby in Gravity Falls, Henry Wong in Digimon Tamers)

* Heavy- David Tennant (The Tenth and Fourteenth Doctor in Doctor Who, Barty Crouch Jr. in Harry Potter, Peter Vincent in Fright Night, Spitelout in How to Train Your Dragon, Scrooge McDuck in DuckTales 2017, Professor Honeycutt in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012)

Please R&R. Until next time!