The Arrival
It was an average meeting of the Island Freedom Fighters.
Everyone was talking about important things like the safety of the
island and when dinner was going to be ready. Sparx spoke up above
the clatter trying to get everyone's attention.
"Uhhh, guys..." she began. No one even stopped the
conversation to look at her. "GUYS??" she was getting a tad
frustrated. "HEY, PEOPLES!!!! I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY!!!"
The room quieted down quickly. Cerebral fished in his pocket for
something. He pulled out a pin, and dropped it. It hit the ground
with a small ping. "Cer, why did you do that??" Sparx
asked.
"Just wanted to know if it was quiet enough to hear a pin
drop, that's all," came the reply.
"Oh, ha ha. So very funny," Sparx commented dryly.
"So, anyways, back to business. I have realized that I'm the
leader.." she began.
"It took ya this long to find out, chicken??"
interrupted Ava. The room burst into laughter, except for Sparx, who
was becoming cross.
"Can the comedy, please, and let me finish," Sparx
glared around the room. "As I was saying..." she continued.
"I'm the leader, but, if I happen to be captured or something
else happens to me, there's no one to assume command. That's why I
call for a vote to see who will become the vice president, or
second-in-command, of our motley little band of Freedom Fighters. Who
wants to run for the position?"
"I do!" said Utah who stepped forward.
"Anyone else?" asked Sparx.
"Well, maybe..." began Cerebral. Roxy nudged him.
"OK, OK, I'll give 'er a shot. I'm in." he said.
"Is that all?" questioned Sparx. No one else
volunteered. "Well, then, let's vote then. All for Utah, raise
your hands." Utah put his hand up eagerly and looked around. He
soon realized that he was the only one with his hand pointing to the
ceiling, and quickly lowered it again. He patted Cer on the back.
"Tough crowd," he whispered to Cerebral, "good luck
getting any votes."
"Uhhh, Utah," Cerebral began. "I'm the only other
candidate left. That means I win by default."
"Wishful thinker, aren't ya?" Utah replied as he sat
down. Cer rolled his eyes.
"Well, Cerebral, I guess that means you are now the
second-in-command of the IFF!" Sparx said with a flair.
"Ahh, shoot! I lost!" moaned Utah.
Roxy chuckled. "I've always liked a man who's going
places," she said as she wrapped her tails around Cer.
"Heh heh, yup, that's me! The big man!" he joked as he
snuggled close. "So, Sparx," he said as he put his arm over
Roxy's shoulder, "What do we do now?"
"Well, I'm going to bed," Snowy put in. "It's
pretty late, and I need to get up early in the morning so I can get to
the game on time." Snowy was going with Utah to a big Basketball
game at 8:30 the next day.
"Yeah, I guess I should too..." added Utah. "Don't
wanna miss that game! Hey, Snowy, can I bunk with ya? I don't trust
myself to get up on time." Utah said. Snowy quickly agreed.
"Well, then, I declare this meeting officially over!"
Sparx said. "Goodnight, everyone!"
As everyone was leaving, Roxy asked Cerebral: "Well, since
Utah is taking up my bed tonight, can I sleep over at your
place?"
"Sure, why not?" Cer agreed, smiling. He and Rox left
together, hand-in-hand towards Cer's house.
Later, as Sparx was just getting ready for bed, she thought to
herself, "Well, I'm glad that someone can lead this group in my
absence. That takes a load off my shoulders." As she climbed
beneath the sheets, she failed to notice a small plastic pipe enter
the room through her window. It began pumping sleeping gas into the
room. Sparx felt her eyelids getting heavy. "Hmmmm," she
whispered, "I know I was tired, but I didn't think I was that
tire----" She was unable to complete her sentence before she fell
into a deep sleep. A voice from beyond her window whispered, "One
down, five to go."
The next afternoon, Cer and Roxy came loudly bursting in Sparx's
hut. Utah and Snowy were already sitting at the table, downing some
java. "Hey, guys! Either of you see Sparx today?? She wasn't
around when we got up." Utah asked the couple.
"Well, no, I haven't," spoke Roxy. "I thought
she'd be here..."
"It's not like Sparx to just leave and not tell us about
it," said Snowy. "Generally, she'd give us advance warning
before she'd go anywhere."
"Yeah," agreed Cerebral, "that is pretty funky.
Are you sure she didn't leave a note anywhere, guys? Maybe we should
look around."
"Good idea, Cer," approved Roxy. "Me and Cer will
take the upstairs, Snowy and Utah take the main floor. Let's go,
people!" The search was underway. Everyone was scampering around
the house looking for anything resembling a note from Sparx. After
about a half hour of searching, the group reassembled in the kitchen.
"Cer and I didn't find anything." reported Roxy.
"Well, I found this," Utah said, and handed a piece of
paper to Cerebral.
"Utah, this is Sparx's shopping list!" Cer laughed.
"Uh, well, it looked important..." Utah muttered.
"Hey, where'd Snowy go?? Last I saw him, he was searching
Sparx's bedroom." Everyone was silent, listening for any sounds
Snowy might make.
Suddenly, a yell pierced the silence. "HEY, GUYS!! GET IN
HERE, NOW!!" Snowy yelled from Sparx's room. Everyone dashed to
Sparx's bedroom, where they found Snowy sitting on the bed waiting for
them. He passed a piece of paper to Cer. "Check this out!"
was all he had to say about it.
Cer read it aloud:
Dear IFF,We have taken your beloved leader and are now keeping her
hostage!!
If you fail to meet our demands, she will be killed! Further
instructions to
follow.Sincerely,
K'Yan weh & Darkstar
"Whoa!!" said Utah. "This sucks! The two main
enemies in our lives team up!" Suddenly, Ava burst into the room.
"Guys, I think I saw someone sneaking around outside my
house! Has anything strange been going on lately?" Ava asked.
"Well, no..." began Snowy. Ava breathed a sigh of
relief. "...unless you count the fact that Sparx has been
kidnapped."
"WHAT??" Ava screeched. "You call that NOT
strange?!?!?"
"What did the person look like that you saw, Av?" asked
Roxy.
"Ummm, well, it sorta looked like a white echidna," Ava
recalled.
"Sounds like Darkstar!" exclaimed Cerebral. "He
was probably going after you, but you saw him in the act, so he had to
leave so he wouldn't be recognized!"
"Well," said Roxy, "Let me go upstairs to get
something and I'll be right back down." Roxy dashed up the stairs
and was soon out of sight. The rest were talking about what to do,
when Cerebral heard a scuffle upstairs.
"Roxy?? You OK??" Cer called up. Suddenly, there was a
thud as someone fell on the floor. "ROXY!!!" Cer cried as
he flew up the stairs. He arrived at the top just as Darkstar jumped
out the window, with an unconscious Roxy over his shoulder. Cer ran
and jumped headfirst out the window, using his telekinesis to slow his
fall. As soon as he hit the ground, he was off running. He heard
encouragement from behind him as the remaining IFF stared out the
window and cheered him on. He ran faster than he ever knew he could.
He was just within reach of Darkstar, and was about to tackle him,
when he disappeared out of thin air. Cer's only reward for his
efforts was a mouth full of dirt and a deep worry for Roxy.
Back in K'Yan's lab, Darkstar reappeared, carrying Roxy.
"Thanks for the assist, K'Yan."
"You simpleton!!" K'Yan yelled back. "If it weren't
for your clumsy methods I wouldn't have had to use my power in the
first place! Your non-existent finesse also cost us the one called
Ava Cross!" Darkstar cowered. "Put her with the other
one!" K'Yan ordered.
As Darkstar placed Roxy in a stasis tube next to Sparx, he thought
to himself, "Some partnership. I do all the work and she gets
ticked off at me! One of these days I'll get her back..."
K'Yan weh snickered. "That's two.....now to get the second in
command...he'll be mentally weakened by the loss."
"But, K'Yan..." Darkstar began, "Won't that just
make him more furious??"
"SHUT UP!!" K'Yan hollered. "I know what I'm
doing..."
As Cerebral re-entered Sparx's hut, full of concern, Snowy
presented him with a note. "I found this upstairs. Just after
you leapt out the window." Cer took the note and studied it.
Dear IFF,We now have two of your ranks. We demand that you disband
your group so we can easily take over the world. If you comply with
us, we will return your other members and leave you in peace. If you
fail to comply, then your group is DOOMED!Sincerely,
K'Yan weh & Darkstar
"Well, I can say that we're not going to comply, it's obvious
that it's a trap of some sort." Cer said. "But what if they
think that we are..."
"YEAH!" Ava agreed. "We could fool them into a
false sense of security!"
"OK, then, here's the plan..." Cer huddled the group
together and explained everything.
Later that day, Cerebral slowly stepped out of Sparx's hut and
looked toward the sky. "K'YAN WEH!!" he yelled. "I
KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME!! SHOW YOURSELF!!" In a flash, K'Yan weh
appeared before the startled fox. "I have a proposition for you,
K'Yan..." he gestured toward the house, and the remaining IFF
came creeping out. "If you will leave us alone, we agree to let
you rule the world." Cer said sullenly.
"Wonderful!" K'Yan rubbed her hands.
"DARKSTAR!" she yelled to her cohort. "Get the other
two Freedom Fighters and bring them here!" Darkstar soon
returned with the unconscious females. "Throw them with the
others." she commanded. Sparx and Roxy were promptly placed in
front of Cerebral, and Ava immediately rushed to try to awaken them.
K'Yan whispered to Darkstar, "Now to cast the spell that traps
them in another dimension!"
"Why couldn't you just cast it before and avoid all this
trouble?" Darkstar questioned.
"Idiot!" K'Yan whispered back. "I've told you this
before!! The spell will not work without complete willingness of the
subjects!" She raised her hands and began a chat in a different
language. Before long her hands were glowing. Just as a beam of
magical energy began to shoot from her hands, she was rammed from
behind and fell to the ground. "WHAT??" she screeched. The
IFF was equally confused.
"That's not the way I planned it..." Cerebral muttered.
As the dust lifted, the small group of furries were able to vaguely
see what had struck K'Yan down. It had a shiny metal hull, and looked
remotely like a spacecraft.
"Oh, too cool." Utah muttered under his breath. The
metal capsule creaked, and began to open. An echidna stood up,
silhouetted against the thick cloud which the spaceship had kicked
up. He looked around, trying to assess the situation.
"Hello?" he said. "Where am I??" Darkstar
took this opportunity to use his wits.
"You're on Mobius," he answered the new figure,
"and me and my friend over there", he motioned toward K'Yan,
who was just getting up, "need your help! We were attacked by
this band of evil criminals!" he said while pointing to the IFF.
"Oh? Were you??" the echidna asked, while turning
toward the IFF. "You all had better scram, NOW, before I see to
it that you will never walk again!"
"You've got this all wrong!" Ava, who had finally
revived Sparx and Roxy, tried to reason with the echidna. "We're
not criminals!!"
"Enough talk from you, woman!" the echidna called.
"Now LEAVE!!!"
"What?? You're blowing me off?? NO ONE blows me off!!"
Ava lunged at the echidna, who simply flicked his wrist at her. Ava
was lifted off the ground, and flew back into the rest of the IFF.
Everyone fell down.
"Guys, maybe we should retreat," Snowy suggested. Soon
the entire IFF was out of sight and the echidna, with his new found
friends, also disappeared.
In K'Yan weh's lab, the echidna introduced himself. "My name
is Ace, and I guess it's good that I landed where I did."
"Yes, it is.." K'Yan said, distractedly, hardly
acknowledging the new-found furry. She was obviously thinking up a
plan. Suddenly, her eyes brightened up. She hurriedly turned to the
echidna and spoke in a defeated tone. "Well, thanks for your
help, but we still have to contend with the ringleaders of that group
of criminals." she sighed, acting her part out perfectly.
"Could you help us defeat...The Chaotix?"
"As long as it's a worthy cause.." Ace muttered. He
turned to K'Yan and stuck out his hand. "It's a deal!" He
exclaimed. K'Yan and Ace shook hands, closing the deal, and thanks to
K'Yan's magic, they were all quickly in the midst of the Chaotix. The
group was stunned.
"K'Yan weh!! Darkstar!! And ... uhhhh ... some other
echidna!!!" announced Mighty, who was standing the closest to the
evil group. Knuckles stood up and faced the trio.
"So, K'Yan weh, what are you gonna pull on us this time?
That is, if we give you the chance!" Knux shouted, "Guys,
attack!!" and the fray was started. Knux lunged at K'Yan and
fully intended to pound her face to a pulp. he was about one
centimetre from doing so, before Ace began to act. He pointed his
finger at Knux, who stopped in mid-air. Ace then spun his finger
around, and Knux followed the path, smashing into anything that got
into his way. "I'll ..... get .... you ... for ... this ...
stranger!" Knuckles muttered in between crashes. Mighty jumped
up and socked Ace on the chin. Ace flew back and landed on Darkstar.
Knux immediately fell on Charmy, who just happened to be standing
below him when the magic spell was broken. The two were knocked
unconscious. Ace got up, hate and vengence in his eyes. He lunged at
Mighty, who thought he was ready for anything. Ace's fists glowed and
he hit Mighty so hard in the gut that he doubled over and fell to the
floor, unable to get up. Espio, meanwhile, in 'camouflage' mode,
snuck up on K'Yan weh and grabbed her in a chokehold. K'Yah gasped,
unable to see the force that interrupted her breathing. Ace turned
around, and just watched, unable to make head or tail of what was
happening. While he was distracted, Vector, who had been off to the
side watching when the battle commenced, took this oppertunity to
sneak up on Ace and nail him many times in the back of the head. Ace
fell down, severely dazed. Suddenly, Vector gasped in surprise and
fell forward on top of Ace. Darkstar had just delivered a K.O. blow
to Vector. Darkstar pushed Vector off of Ace and turned to help
K'Yan. He had a vague idea of what was happening, but he wasn't too
sure, so he walked slowly and calmly to K'Yan. When he came within
five feet, an invisible fist made contact with his nose. Darkstar
swayed back and forth, comlpetely out of it. Espio flicked Darkstar's
forehead and he collapsed.
"TIMBER!" Espio couldn't help having a little fun here,
as he figured he was winning. K'Yan slumped in his arms, unconscious
from the lack of air. Espio came out of hiding then, figuring that he
had single-handedly won the battle. Too late he realized that Ace was
still conscious, and that was his last thought before Ace knocked him
silly. Ace then picked up his fallen comerades, and disappeared.
When K'Yan woke up, she immeiately realized she was back in her
lab, and assumed the worst. "We lost, didn't we?" she
moaned.
"No," Ace replied. "I was able to finish them off.
I do not let rest those who commit injustices toward me or any other
innocent creature."
"You hardly seen innocent to me," Darkstar, who had
revived in time to catch that last sentance, said. "It sure
seemed that we couldn't have done that without you, pal."
"Yes," said K'Yan, "and I want to thank you for
helping us defeat the Island Freedom Fighters!!" Ace was
confused.
"Freedom Fighters??" he asked. "Aren't they the
good guys on Mobius??" Darkstar nodded. "But....that
means....."
"Yes," K'Yan cackled, "Ava was right. You DO have
it all wrong! Darkstar!! Seize him!" Darkstar ran towards Ace
preparing to tackle him down. Ace evaded Darkstar as easily as he had
gotten rid of Ava. "Ahhh, fool! Do I have to do everything
around here??" K'Yan cast a spell and a stream of fire shot out
at Ace. Ace quickly turned and pointed his hand, out of which a
lightning bold flew. The two magic forces collided and K'Yan and Ace
were in a power struggle. Ace crouched and put both his hands into
the blast, effectively doubling it's strength. K'Yan tried to adjust
her force, but was too late as the lightning pushed back her fire and
zapped her. She lay on the floor, her clothes singed and smoking. Ace
turned toward Darkstar.
"You still wanna try to 'sieze me', buddy boy?" Ace
mocked Darkstar. Darkstar took a few steps toward Ace.
"Sure, Ace, try me." Darkstar sneered. Ace lifted his
finger and electricity crackled around it. That was enough for
Darkstar, who turned and fled as fast as his scrawny legs could take
him. Ace grinned in victory, and turned to leave, when he was grabbed
from behind by K'Yan.
"I'm not so easy to get rid of, magician." K'Yan chuckled
as she tightened her grip around Ace's throat.
"Let go." Ace said as loudly as possible, which was
barely a gasp due to K'Yan weh's steely grasp. K'Yan snickered, and
only tightened her grip. Suddenly, Ace grabbed K'Yan's wrists and
shot a jolt of magic energy through them. K'Yan was magically forced
to let go. Ace quickly turned around and kicked K'Yan in the gut.
"You're not so hard to beat, sorceress!" he mocked as she
doubled over in pain. Ace took this opportunity, and started to run.
K'Yan was not beat yet. She straightened, and spoke in a different
tongue. Ace was suddenly trapped in a blue sphere, that was rapidly
shrinking in size. He was about to be crushed!! Ace realized the
danger of the situation and instantly started to radiate a bright red
light. Immediately, the blue sphere shattered into a million pieces,
many of which struck and gashed K'Yan weh. Ace made a swift motion
with his hand, and was suddenly gone.
"NOOOOOO!!" K'Yan weh screamed in pain and sheer anger.
"It's that idiot, Darkstar's fault! I'm never teaming up with
that clot again!"
Ace reappeared nearly 10 feet from Sparx's hut. "Perfect
aiming," he said to himself. "Hoooo, boy, do I have some
explaining to do with these guys..." He slowly and carefully
approached the hut. Looking form his right to his left, to see if
anyone was outside, he discovered that he was alone. He knocked on
the door. Someone from the inside scuffled and moved toward the door.
Meanwhile, inside, the entire IFF were sitting at the kitchen
table discussing their new foe and what to do about him. There was a
sharp knock at the door. Sparx got up to answer it. "Who is
it??" she asked. No answer. "I said, WHO IS IT??"
she repeated in a louder tone. Still no response from the caller,
just another rap at the door. "Listen, I don't know who's out
there, but if you won't tell me who you are, then I can't let you in.
I'm busy at the moment and don't have the time." With that she
turned away from the door. She had taken a single step before Ace
suddenly appeared before her.
"I believe you'll have time for what I have to say,
ma'am." he said, as kindly and courteously as possible. Sparx,
in shock, was only able to mumble out a few unintelligible syllables.
Ace snapped his fingers, and everyone in the IFF were sitting on the
couch. This little magic act didn't help Sparx's state of stupor.
Now she couldn't even mumble at all. Ace, without waiting for anyone
to make a move, began explaining. "Listen," he began,
"I'll make this short. I originated from this planet, but, for
some reason or another, I was flown off in a spaceship. Now I'm back
to find my biological parents, and I just landed at a bad time. Your
enemies have been punished for their maltreatment to me." All
the IFF could do is stare.
"Uhh, how can we be sure you're on OUR side now?" Ava
asked with a hint of caution to her voice. "I mean, you are the
one who sent me flying into my buds, and although it didn't hurt me,
it certainly hurt your reputation among us." With a slow sweep
of his hand, Ace caused a little window to appear out of thin air and
in it was displayed K'Yan weh in her battered state. "Whoa. I
guess that's enough proof for me. She looks mutilated!" Ava
gawked.
"Well, people, let's say we call a truce with this estranged
echidna, shall we?" Cer suggested.
"I'm for it." said Sparx, who had regained her voice.
"Well, since the two leaders in our group are OK with this
guy, who are we to oppose them?" Roxy pointed out. Everyone
agreed, and the echidna was readily accepted as a friend.
"Well, now that that's settled, why don't we go down to the
arcade, guys? I hear they got a new machine!" Snowy exclaimed.
As they left, Ace lagged a bit.
"Uhhh, Sparx..." he began.
"Yes, Ace, what is it?" Sparx questioned.
"I just wanted to say I'm sorry for my behavior earlier on,
and that I'd like to show it in some way..." Ace stuttered.
"You just have fun, Ace. No need for apologies." Sparx
said, then ran to catch up with the group.
"Well, with these guys helping me, I may find my parents
sooner than I think!" Ace thought, then he disappeared to rejoin
the rest of the furries in their mad dash toward the Arcade.
The Arrival
