This work is copyright Jeremy Harper, and any reproductions without my consent are punishable by law. However, You may copy this text, as long as you DON'T CHANGE *ANYTHING* And DO NOT TRY TO SELL THIS (unless you E-Mail me at JerSurf@aol.com, get my permission, I get my DAD'S permission, and if I get some money {pretty complicated, huh?}.... :-))Thank you! First off, special thanks to Daniel J. Drazen for some "Editing" in the beginning of my story. Also, thanks to Alessandro Sanasi (the master of constructive criticism) and Jeff Read for their various suggestions, as well as to the rest of the Sonic the Hedgehog list. Sonic the hedgehog and all related characters (unless otherwise noted) are copyright Sega of America and Archie Comics. The Holodeck is copyright to Paramount Enterprises. Bookshire and Cmdr. Packbell are copyright David Pistone, who had recently changed his name to his trademark's, Bookshire Stormforest Draftwood. Jonathan Starwolf, Katrina Rosseti, and J. P. Anderson are copyright Jeremy Harper Publications, Inc. Any thing in my story that does not comply with any other publications of Sonic the Hedgehog, Be they video games, Fan Fiction, Comics or any "Official Sonic Stories", will be in one of those alternate realities, accessible by the Void or Cosmic Highway. Any names of people, places, things, furrys, etc., are coincidental, and no or little relationship to the earth equivalents. Except for a major plot item that is an object, not a person. Whew! Nice to get through that legal mumbo-jumbo. Now on to my (First completed) Sonic Story. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Drug Prower Part One written by Jeremy Harper ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Before Doomsday ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- KA-BOOM! Robotropolis, not known for frantic activity since its takeover by Dr. Robotnik, suddenly sprang to life. Crews of SWATbots and maintenance bots crisscrossed its lifeless streets. It was obvious what had happened: A laser had hit a SWAT-bot production center. The materials in the building had caught fire and it threatened to spread. While the fire suppression system sent clouds of foam onto the flames, several SWAT-bots were attempting to get a single figure running in the night in their sights. Safe in his headquarters, Dr. Robotnik watched the fire being extinguished on one monitor, repeated and repeated the few seconds of film from a surveillance bot actually showing the laser hitting the building with deadly accuracy on another monitor, and waited to receive the inevitable report that this latest act of sabotage had been the work of freedom fighters, more than likely of Sonic the Hedgehog. But the figure who fled the scene wasn't Sonic. He ran as fast as possible, eyes darting as he looked for a way of escape. He dived into a garbage pile, scrambling out the other side just before blaster fire from the pursuing SWATbots ignited the trash sending yet another column of flames into the night sky. "Calling Robotnik," the leader of the SWAT-bots said in its monotone voice. Robotnik's side screen flickered, then an image of the SWAT-bot appeared. "SWAT- BOT 64723-ALPHA. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED." "Did you get the saboteur?" "AFFIRMATIVE. NO LIFE SIGNS RECORDED." "Can you confirm that it was the hedgehog?" "INSUFFICIENT DATA, SIR." "BLAST!" Robotnik brought his fists down on the console, causing the image to flutter. In an instant, he composed himself. Robotnik got out of his chair. "Good work Alpha. Return to headquarters." "One can always hope. Perhaps that good-for-nothing rodent is finally gone." The shadow was just leaving the city. The dark form snuck through the forest, looking for a certain tree stump. Once he found it, he pulled a vine, causing the stump to pop open. Then sliding in the smooth tunnel, he emerged seconds later in Knothole village. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The light in Knothole being sufficent to see, he walked through the small town, looking for a hut with some members of the freedom fighters, especially the princess. His dark fur blended with the dark side roads easily. He ducked at the side of a hut listening in on the Freedom Fighters' plans. "... Rotor will set off the bombs in this pattern, clearing a large area for our attack. The laser traps are in this shape, and this reflector will be destroyed. The Weapons developing plant is a good diversion, and the SWATbots will be there. We will be at the prisoner detention center, where we will use Rotor's new machine to stop the electro-bars, and we will take the prisoners to Knothole, via Dulcy. We will meet at the west edge of Robotropolis at 2000 hours. Any questions? No? Good!" The shadow then walked to the front door, and opened it. An audible squeak was heard as the door opened. A series of turning heads greeted him. He spoke in a late teen voice, "You really ought to get that door fixed." Silence was his reply as he was looked over by the Freedom Fighters. He was a wolf, about 5 feet tall at full height, standing on his rear legs, had gray fur with light shades of golden brown in it, dark brown eyes. His fur right near his eyes were light gray, and his fur on his hands white. A small smile was on his face, as usual... in normal circumstances. He was wearing full black clothes: a tee shirt, some Jean shorts. "What? Was it something I said?" He asked, perhaps jokingly. It was impossible to tell. Sally was the next to speak. "No... It's just that I've never seen you before, and you look familiar..." "Why shouldn't I? You've seen me before, just not directly. I'm usually with the rest of the Wolf Pack." "Okay... What's your name?" "My name is Jonathan Starwolf." "What are you doing here?" "A couple of reasons. First, I thought I'd drop by and let you know who's been arranging a few 'Accidents.'" "Such as?" Jonathan rolled his eyes. "Nicole, replay mission file for 04363445.8.03." "Accessing." A video clip shone on the wall, as Nicole narrated. "04363445.8.03: Mission type: Laser Development plant destruction." Jonathan interrupted, "Skip to trap accident" "As Sonic was running through the plant, a laser trap went inactive for no apparent reason. The trap would have killed Sonic, had he hit it." "End playback." Sally asked, "So you're saying YOU deactivated it?" "Uh-huh." "Okay... How did you sabotage the laser system?" "Let me show you." He took a mini-computer out of a bag that few of the Freedom Fighters had noticed. It was black, with a black leather strap, a silver plated adjuster on the strap. The bag itself had a fire colored circle with a anti- Robotnik symbol on it. "Play laser sabotage video, Chris." he addressed his computer. "Acknowledged." Jonathan dropped the computer on the table as if it were on fire. The computer began to glow. Then light shot out, enveloping the entire room in color. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back at Knothole, the computer's light dimmed, then shut off completely. Jonathan grabbed his computer as soon as the light was off. "Whoa," was all Sonic could say. "How did you DO that?" Rotor asked. The "that" which they were referring to was a simulation which showed exactly how Jonathan had sabotaged the laser traps. He had noticed schematics on the Robotropolis computer net, and had had Chris scan them, looking for problems, as Robotnik's works were frequently filled with flaws. Chris found a power routing flaw, which Jonathan exploited, using Chris to design them. The sim was in VR, although different, in that it "dropped" the Freedom Fighters in the video. It put holograms on the walls and used force beams to simulate pressure. "A few op-chips here, force-field generators there. Some fancy programming and a few hijacked spy-globes." "Where did you get it?" "uh... my mom and Sir Charles Hedgehog worked on it." "What happened to your mom?" Sally asked. "She was, uh..., killed in the original takeover." "I'm...sorry." Rotor changed the subject. He remarked, "I have GOT to get the plans for those." Jonathan regained his composure. "I'll get them to ya some time. Right now, we have a problem." Sally spoke up, "Such as?" "There is a large amount toxic gases in the area you wanted to enter." Sonic replied, "So what's new?" "The toxins include several thousand viruses of assorted types, which are air transportable. "THAT'S what's new." Sally asked, "How do we fix it?" "I'm not sure. Might want to check with Bookshire. I downloaded all the information on the Robotropolis computer." "And that arouses a problem. We need to develop something to fight it by tomorrow, or all the captured citizens will be roboticized." "Great." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Still too young, still too young." Tails thought. "I never hear anything other than that when I try ANYTHING. AARRRGH!! They never consider I MIGHT be capable of doing SOMETHING!! Fifteen versus nine and a half. I get dropped into a world of a bunch of FREAKS. Sonic, Sally, Robotnik, Rotor, and ESPECIALLY Antoine. How can I escape it?! It's like I can't do a thing because," Tails spat in disgust "I'm too young." Tails earlier asked if he could go on the to-be mission. The answer: "Sorry, Tails. You're still too young." Tails was kicking a rock, going no place in particular. Now he was stewing. Tails flew up in a tree to sit and pout. From there he saw a muscular fox, about six years older than himself, looking for somebody. Tails ears picked up a faint sound of his muttering. "Where is he? With a little work, that two tailed fox might be..." Tails dropped down from the tree behind him. "Might be what?" The fox jumped and turned around. "There you are. Might be cool. Like me." "Then who are you?" "The name's J. P Anderson." "Okay, J. P. What did you mean 'cool'?" "Cool. As in muscular. As in fast. Other stuff too, you'll see!" "Sonic is fastest. And by 'little work'?" "A little work. I have a neat little center where you can really get strong, man!" "Where?" "It's about half a mile from here. In a concealed area, and it looks like an old log cabin. I can meet you here tomorrow about one o'clock? "Sure!" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The knob turned, and they could all see the single doctor in all of Knothole, Bookshire Draftwood. He was working on a computer link from his equipment and his terminal. It had screwed up and gave a fox a 0 pulse and a 500 heart rate. "Hey, Book!" Bookshire turned in his chair. "Yeah, Sonic?" "We got a little problem. Jonathan?" Jonathan walked to the computer station and plugged it in a free port. Then he pressed the "Upload" button. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- CREEEAAAK! The door to the exercise center in the near-edge of the forest definently needed oiling. The rest of the center was very well cleaned though. There were glistening weights, sparkling exercise bikes, and many other pieces of fine equipment. "How do I start?" Tails asked, in awe. "Well first, you might want to get a drink. If you are gonna get muscle, you gotta SWEAT!" "Sure." He walked to a counter with a pair of glasses on it. "One of these?" "Yeah. They're both water." Tails took a sip. He had not forgotten about the anger in his heart for his always being left out, but after he finished his water, he had lost its feeling. He didn't feel sadness, or his frustration. "Ready?" J. P. asked. "As I'll ever be!" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- After several hours of looking over the chemical and biological formulas for the viruses Bookshire came to a conclusion about the gasses. "The only way to get into Robotropolis is by some other route." Sally sighed, "Well, I guess we'll have to. NICOLE, load up Robotropolis map. And show areas with the virus assortment." "<>" A few moments later a map appeared with a smoky red color on certain areas. "I don't see any other way in!" Sonic cried. "I do!" Sally pointed to a section of the map. "Nicole, zoom in on sector C-5." "Oh. I see. Let's get ready to go!" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sally snuck through the recently ravaged section of Robotropolis. She hid in a small pile of ruined SWATbot. Rotor hid behind some fire protection foam. Sonic was in a second story window of the crumbling SWATbot factory. Bunnie hid in a pile of still usable SWATbot parts. Jonathan was hidden in a pile of incinerated garbage. And Uncle Chuck was acting as maintenance bot to clean up the mess. Finally, Sally gave the signal. Jonathan pressed a button on Chris, and foam trapped several SWATbots around the area. Rotor, Sally, and Bunnie ran toward the detention center, while Uncle Chuck, Sonic, and Jonathan ran towards the Weapons Development plant. Sonic ran around the plant, looking for a decent entrance. In the process, he aroused the attention of a band of SWATbots. They said their classic line: "STOP HEDGEHOG! PRIORITY ONE APPREHEND!" "Gimmie a break. Here we go again." Sonic groaned, running between two SWATbots trying to grab him. They crashed into each other. Sonic jumped high into the air, and pulled out a power ring. A gigantic flash of light engulfed the sector. Sonic ran in circles, building speed until he began to spin and hit each SWATbot's midsection. Jonathan and Uncle Chuck were busy at setting of detonation charges, causing parts of the wall to break with combined fire and fire protection foam. Jonathan pressed a couple of buttons on Chris, and the lasers under testing turned on the stands and pointed at the Robotropolis Command Center. "I wonder how far these things shoot. Okay. Chris! All weapons fire!" Inside the center, the commander of Robotropolis was looking on a screen seeing laser blasters preparing to hit the tower. He pressed a button, and the tower was in a vibrating, shimmering light. When the lasers blasted the tower, there was a feeling like a minor earthquake. "Snively! Damage report!" "N-n-n-no real d-d-d-damage s-s-sir." "What do you mean, no real damage!?" "There is a slight structural crack in the tower, but the repair bots are working on it." "Excellent." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Whew! This is pretty tough!" Tails remarked as his sweat began to drench him. "Yeah, but not really once you get used to it," J.P. replied. "You got used to this?" Tails asked, between his panting. "'Course! Well, that's about it. In just a little bit we'll be done." "How long?" "Maybe, oh, ten minutes." "Okay." There was a silence for the ten minutes, except for the panting. Then J.P. called "And stop!" "How long have we been doing this?" Tails asked "About three hours. You probably want some more water, I'll assume?" "Oh, yeah." J.P. pulled a couple of water bottles out of the refrigerator. That was all that was in there, except for some low calorie food-stuffs. Tails almost inhaled the water, allowing it to spill on his body and in his very dry mouth. His fur was the more soaked by the water. "When do you want to do this again?" J.P. asked Tails. "How about three days?" "Sure!" "And do me a little favor, would 'ya?" "Like what?" "Keep this place a secret. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bunnie's laser blasted several bars on the force field surrounding the prisoners. Rotor place some bombs in strategic locations, blowing open holes in the bars. Sally helped them to hide in different locations near where Sonic was to rondavous with them and help carry them to Knothole. "Just ah few moh to go." "Right," Sally replied. As the last prisoner was hidden, she pressed a button on Nicole. A signal hit a receiver in Sonic's glove. "Alright guys, we're outta here!" Sonic grabbed Jonathan and began to run in place. Then he hit sound level, and a sonic boom filled a sector of Robotropolis. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The ex-prisoners rode on a large sled-like walled pad, as Sonic pulled them to Knothole. When they reached the stump, they passed it in to a secret entrance, which landed them all by Bookshire's clinic. The prisoners that were hurt were brought in the clinic, and the rest were put in some vacant huts. It was usually Tails' job to close the secret entrance by flying and pushing the false ceiling to the village into place. When Sally walked out of the hut, and saw the false forest floor still open, she asked Sonic if he knew where Tails was. "Sorry Sal. I haven't seen him since he went out of the planning hut." Sally pulled out Nicole. "Nicole, where is Tails?" "UNKNOWN. HE IS NOT IN KNOTHOLE." Jonathan walked out of Bookshire's clinic. "What about Tails?" "We don't know where he is." Sally's voice nearly squeaked with worry. Just then Tails came into the path, with sweat and water still somewhat soaking his body. "Where were you?" "Just having some fun with a new friend." "But where?" "About half a mile away." "Okay. But why are you so wet?" "Got pretty hot." "Alright," Sonic said. "We were just wondering, since you didn't close the secret entrance." "Oh yeah. I'll go do that." He quickly ran and flew the fake floor into place, tails sputtering. Then he landed by the threesome. "I need some rest." "Go ahead." Tails walked to his hut, and plopped himself down on his bed. He fell asleep a few seconds later. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tails woke up the next morning with a pounding headache. He also fell as if he would throw up. He walked slowly to Bookshire's hut, looking for some pain reliever. When he got to Bookshire's hut, he saw that the red numbers on the clock read 5:14. He rummaged through Bookshire's drawer, finding some aspirin, and headed back to his hut. He fell asleep, trying to stop the pain. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Later, he started feeling better. The headache became mild, and his nausea had lessened. He looked at his clock, which read 8:45. He got up to have breakfast. As he walked into the Cafe, he saw everything was a little blurred, but he blinked it away. He ordered an egg sandwich, with scrambled eggs on it. He got up after eating and walked to Sonic's hut, looking for him. He found Sonic, running around trying to work some energy out of his system. Tails called to Sonic, "Do you know where that wolf guy went?" "You mean Jonathan? He left last night. When we went to meet up with Sally, he told me to go to a garbage pile, where he fished out a nice looking jet pack. When it was time for him to go he just took the pack, set it on its side, stepped on it, and -WHUMP- he flew off like it was a skateboard that could fly. Why?" "Just wondering. I hadn't met him yet, and I wanted to know him." "I guess so." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Two days later they did another workout. Within the next two days, they did another. This they did for about a month, then Tails wanted to do it every day. After a little while, Sonic and Sally were wondering where the two- tailed companion was spending three hours every day, and returning so tired. Sally and Sonic agreed that Sonic should find out. So when Tails went out of his hut at the time he always did, Sonic was waiting. "Where you going?" Sonic asked "I am going to have some fun with a friend, alright?" "Hey, hey, don't get so touchy! I was just wondering what it was that made you come out so frequently." "Just some workouts at a place near the east side of the Great Forest." "Alright. Well, mind if I come?" "Yeah. DON'T" "Why not?" "Just because" "Some logic. Why do you like it so much?" "It's fun. Besides, J.P. is fun to be with." "More fun than me?" "Maybe, maybe not." "So I'll go to see how cool he is?" "Thanks, but no thanks. Like you've told me, 'I can't have a tag-along today,'" "Oh. I guess I'll see you later, huh?" "Yeah. But don't you dare follow me." "Whatever." Sonic walked toward Sally, as Tails walked eastward. "He's gotten touchy. And he goes to the east side of the forest everyday for a workout with someone named J.P." "Hmm. Sound kinda weird." "Yeah. And he 'doesn't want a tagalong.' So what do we do about it?" "I don't know yet." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This workout procedure went on for some time, til it was near the Christmas celebration. The general populace went to the above ground Knothole for the celebration. They cut down a good, large Christmas tree. Tails didn't go to the workouts for a while, since J.P. had insisted that he spend Christmas with his friends. The reason Tails was happy still was that J.P. had given him a gift, to open on Christmas. Tails grabbed a string of garland, which he circled the tree with by flying in circles. Sally put up some fresh holly on her door, and Sonic ran and cleared snow from the streets. Bunnie decorated her house with pictures of the Freedom Fighters, and some pictures of previous holidays. Rotor... well... Rotor was building a "Mistle-toe Detector," to avoid, well...uh... you know. This was the Freedom Fighters' favorite time of year, but not so for Robotnik. In this time, the word best describing his mood during this time would be boredom. However he kept himself busy with the duties of being an overlord of Mobius. Mainly, repairing things freedom fighters had damaged. Snow had dumped through the atmospheric shield, and snow had "gummed up" some equipment. The main heaters were damaged, so he had to rely on a portable space heater, which was positioned at his feet. He had on a heavy coat on, and was trying to program his weapons. Packbell was using his internal heating device, so he could function normally. He was working on a roboticizer software update. But first, he had to thaw out the computer. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- After all the hustle and bustle of the Christmas morning (including, for Sonic, turkey in chili on his Chili-dogs), Tails went into his hut. He ripped open paper on his present from J.P. In the box, there were about 6 of what looked like chocolate candies. There was a note on top. Tails read the note: Tails, This is a very special candy. Take one, and bite down, hard, on the candy. Inside there is a soft, sweet mixture inside. Go ahead, try it! J.P. Anderson He pulled out a piece. He chomped down hard. As the caramel-like substance coated his tongue, he thought "MORE! I MUST HAVE MORE!" He did so again, and he saw a beautiful beach, like he was on an island. He slid down a hill, landing in the water, which was warm. He swam for a while in the emerald colored water. Then he let the current sweep him away. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sonic walked into Tail's hut. He was looking for a teammate for a two on two game of basketball. He called, "Hey, Tails! Come on, let's go play some Basketball!" When Tails didn't answer, Sonic got a bit worried. "Tails? What's wrong?" He didn't respond. Sonic waved his hand in front Tails eyes. Tails blinked. He saw Sonic again, and the rest of the normal things. Though there were some oddities. "uh...yeah...okay. Well, I guess I could." "Yeah, Tails. Come on!" said a very relieved Sonic. When they got out to the basketball court, Tails looked at the ball. He saw a ball of jelly. He asked the obvious question. "A ball of jelly? This is a basket ball!" Tails blinked, and saw it morph into a basket ball. "I see. Let's play." Sonic shook his head. "Okay Tails. You and me versus Sally and Bunnie." They took their places on the court. Antoine acted as referee, and threw the ball between them. Not, of course, without falling backwards. Tails played, and it seemed as though a tree was giving him basketball tips. The basket seemed elongated as though it was touching the ground. He had a bad headache. The pain increased until he finally fainted. "TAILS?!" Sonic shouted. He grabbed Tails and raced to Bookshire's hut. "Gotta go guys! Good Game!" was all the other team heard. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- When he got there, he told Bookshire about Tails. Both ran to Tails' hut. Bookshire pulled out a medical portable computer, and began scan Tails. "Well, Book?" "Everything seems normal, but there seems to be something wrong..." "I could notice that already! WHAT'S wrong?" "It's like, he's in a trance state." "Huh?" "In other words, he's," he paused, "in a coma." "WHAT! Why?" "In pain until his body took over and knocked him out. We may have a problem." "Duh. Should I tell Sally?" "Okay. Your funeral." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sonic walked up to Sally at an uncharacteristically slow pace. She was reading a magazine, and didn't notice his coming. "Sal?" Sally jumped and landed back in her lawn chair which tipped over, causing her to land in a ball position, head up. "Yes?" she asked, teeth clenched. Her blanket had covered her face, with nothing but her eyes showing. Sonic attempted to turn his head upside down, as to see her head right side up. "I think you better see Tails..." Sally flipped the chair into a low tree branch. She dusted herself off, and then followed Sonic. When they reached Tail's hut, Sally was a bit suspicious. "Sonic, what is going on?" "Well, you better see..." Sally turned around and stopped Sonic. "WHAT IS GOING ON?" "Uh...Tail's is being seen by Bookshire, and he's in...in...a...co-" Sally had by this time raced into the hut. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sally's voice echoed through the forest. "WHHAAAAAATTT!?!?!?!!" "He's in a coma. We have to wait till he gets back to find out. In the meantime, we can keep him in my clinic." Sally breathed deeply. "I'll be back in a while. She walked out of the room and into Tails' hut. "NICOLE. Anything in here that could have caused this?" "<>" "<>" "It must have missed SOMETHING!" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jonathan touched a few keys on his computer, Chris. "<>" A few seconds passed. "<>" "Disengage from Robotropolis computer. Load NICOLE." "<>" A second passed. "<>" "Load Diary 12-26-3045.txt." "<>" A text file appeared on Jonathan's' screen. "I'm so worried about Tails! He doesn't respond to us, and we know that he's in a coma. I don't know. Tail's hasn't ever done anything like this before! I didn't think he had something, a disease, anything, that would have caused this!" The computer displayed more, but Jonathan had what he needed. He grabbed his jet pack and Chris, and walked outside. He was walking to the edge of the Wolfpack village, and felt something. It was as if someone was following him. He made a detour to an open clearing and then quickly jumped and turned around. He found a female wolf trying to quickly hide. "Hiya, Katrina. Why are you following me?" "Why do you think?" "You like following me?" "Part of it... "You want to see Knothole Village?" "Part two..." "And you want to see Sonic?" "Got it!" Jonathan looked Katrina over. She had white fur around her mouth, which had a small gray streak. Her headfur was light gray, while her arms and legs faded from gray to brown. "As long as you bring your own jet pack." "I've got it right here. Let's go." They both stepped on the back of the packs and launched toward Knothole. They used wrist controls to fly toward a certain stump. They jumped off the packs and controlled them to fly back to them and made them drop into a bush. Jonathan swung on the vine, and jumped in, followed by Katrina. They snuck through a back alley to Bookshire's hut, and snuck in the back door. "At least that one is well oiled." "Huh?" "Never mind. Now, let's see, Tail's room is," He clicked a button on Chris, "133." "Okay." They walked down a hallway, stopping at room 133. They stepped in, and looked at Tails. Katrina sighed. "Looks like a nice kid. What happened to him?" "A coma. It's been about," he glanced at his watch, "20 minutes." Katrina shook her head. "Why? From what you've told me, he's pretty smart, and healthy. What could have triggered this?!" "The question of the hour!" "Uuuuh." "What was that?" Jonathan asked quickly. "UUuuh. Ooo boy." "TAILS!" "Oh. What?" Tails groaned. "Katrina! Go get Sonic and Sally." "Right!" Katrina ran out to alley, and ran to Sally's hut. Sonic was there with her. "SALLY! SONIC!" They both jumped out of an embrace. "What?" they asked in unison. "It's Tails! He's coming out of it!" "WHAT! Let's go!" Sally exclaimed. As they ran to the clinic, Sonic asked who Katrina was. "Friend of Jonathan's. I understand you've met him?" "Yeah!" They ran to room 133, where Jonathan was asking Tails what happened. "It was great, like I was on an Island, near an Emerald Sea. I snapped out of it to play basketball, and then I fainted after a while." "But how did you get there?" Sonic spoke, "Yeah." Tails glanced up, and then looked back down, because of the now enhanced light behind him. "I got a little candy from a friend." "Friend?" Jonathan asked. "Yeah, J.P." "AGAIN! Well, well. Now, I will get him. He has gone TOO FAR!" Sonic screamed. "AAaa! Not so loud!" Tails said. "I don't know of a J.P. Can someone tell me about him?" "Sure." Tails growled for a second, because of a pain in his neck, and then continued. "J.P. is about 4 feet high, a red fox, male, with dark blue eyes. I work out with him almost every day." "Really. Oh. Well, would you take me there?" "Who ARE you?" "Jonathan Starwolf. I was here about a month ago." "Oh yeah." Sonic interrupted, "YEAH. Now, will you take us there?" "No. He wanted me to keep his place a secret!" "OH YES YOU WILL TELL US-" "Sally?" "WHAT!" "Leave him alone. Would you come out side with me for a sec?" "Alright." Outside Jonathan whispered into Sally's ear his plan. She giggled, and then nodded. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tails walked out of his hut, about 7:30, and headed west. He didn't know that he was being followed by a dark form, almost like a shadow. It was on a silent JetPack. Jonathan pulled out a black pair of binoculars. He looked and saw Tails, going full speed towards a clearing. He clicked off his jetpack and headed into the clearing. He saw what looked like a log cabin. He heard a CREAK as Tails entered. Jonathan snuck to the window, and looked in. In the workout lodge Tails was warming up with a red fox. Soon they got on a pair of treadmills. Then they went to weights. After a workout, they pulled out what looked like some water from a refrigerator. "Chris, is there ANYTHING wrong with this picture?" "<>" "Do a passive scan on J.P., to find out historical info on him." "<>" "<>" "What is on his record?" "<>" "And this is one of Tails' best friends." "<>" "Okay. We'd better get back to Knothole." Jonathan clicked his remote control and shot back through the forest to Knothole Village. He dropped by Sally's hut. He silently opened the door, and saw Sally working on Nicole. He startled her by tapping on her right shoulder. "You have a knack for that don't you?" "Maybe. I have info on J.P. Anderson." "And?" "And he has a criminal record, with four drug dealing charges and a murder charge. As well as three armed robberies." "Not good. Tails is spending time with a drug dealer, robber, and murderer." "So what do we do?" "I was going to ask you." "I think maybe search Tails' room." "Okay." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jonathan walked into Tails' room, and clicked open Chris. "Look for any drugs in here, especially Trigamistamine." "<>" "<>" Chris shone a green light on the jar that held the candy. "Looks like chocolate candy," Jonathan remarked. "<>" "I'd better get this to Bookshire, at least a sample." Jonathan pulled out one of the candies, and brought it to Bookshire's clinic. "Book? You in here?" "In the office, Jon!" Jonathan walked into the office, and placed the candy on Bookshire's desk. "It seems to be what caused that incident last night." "A piece of candy?" "Yeah. Trigamistamine, according to my computer." "I'm not very fluent in drug languages. Can you give me some info on it?" "Chris?" "<>." "Ooh. Not good. So what do we do?" "I think I'll have a little talk with J.P. Anderson, tonight." Bookshire let out a low whistle. "Well, hope he doesn't murder you." "Sally told you?" "News travels fast in Knothole." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the dark of night, Jonathan snuck into the clearing where the workout center was. He glanced into the darkened center, and saw nothing. He pushed open the door and began to search the workout center. Though he did notice a foreign object in the water, he did not see a shadow moving from behind a weightlifting machine. The shadow snuck to the light switch, and clicked them on. Jonathan jumped, as his eyes adjusted to the light. He turned around, and saw J.P. "So. We meet again," Jonathan remarked. "Yes." "What are you DOING here?" "Trying to live a normal life. With a good friend I believe you know. He's told me a lot about you." "He doesn't know much. But stop the charade. I can tell. I've known you for a long time. I even know you managed to rack up a criminal record." "Did I? My, my, my! You'll have to excuse me." "Right," he sarcastically. Jonathan glanced around. "How did you build this place without the Knothole freedom fighters knowing?" "I borrowed a holographic generator from a friend. It set up light images, so no one could see. Besides, most freedom fighters don't go this way, but stick to main trails." "Interesting. But now, what was the point of giving Tails a dose of trigger?" "Trigger. An interesting name. No, I never gave Tails that." "Then what do you call it?" "Optimum. Your pathetic computer, (Chris wasn't it?) could not tell you the name of a candy." Jonathan walked closer. "It did. But you have given a friend of mine a dangerous drug. Now, tell me why." "Okay. Money. It always happens." "REALLY? So. What good does money do you in a world like this?" "It will get me what I need from Nack." "The weasel?" "That's the one. He has a nice couple of replicator cards, which would be VERY helpful to my survival." "Survival? You could have gone to Knothole, or another village. Why depend on crime?" "I am an outcast. My family deserted me when I was an infant, and now, I can barely even live a day without crime for survival. Not even Sally could accept me. You have the Wolf Pack, but me. I'm a fox. I don't belong there." Jonathan receded a little. "Alright. But keep in mind. If you hurt anyone in my friends, I will be back. And I will do more than just talk. Which means I will remove the rest of the drug from Tail's room tonight." "Go ahead. He's already hooked." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jonathan stepped out of the center. "Get it Chris?" "<>" "Good." He tapped his Jet control, and jumped on the JetPack. "Now, we'll get this to Sally." By the time they got to Sally's hut, it was about 10:00 PM. He glanced in the window, and saw her sitting on a couch with Sonic, watching a video in Nicole's databanks. He tapped softly on the door. "Come in," Sally's voice sounded. Jonathan opened the door. He walked in and sat on a stool by her desk. "Well, I just got back from J.P.'s workout center." "And?" Sonic asked. "Listen." Jonathan pressed a button on Chris, and played the tape. Sally sighed. "Already?" "Yes, I'm afraid so. And if the trigamistamine dose was enough to addict him, it will be hard to even convince him that he needs to quit." "Great. So how do we get him off?" "You heard the tape. I'm taking the candy away. I'll hide it somewhere safe." "Okay. You can take care of it." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jonathan clicked open the window of Tail's hut. He slipped his hand in and grabbed the box, and shut the window again. He went to the edge of Knothole, and jetted toward the Floating Island. He landed with a thump. "Knuckles? You out here?" "Who are YOU, mon?" "A friend. Tails has gotten something that I need to hide, and this is the best place." "Tails? De short mon, two tails?" "That's him." "What did de mon get?" "A drug, which we have to get him off." "A drug? Okay. Just give it to me, I'll take care of it." "And don't burn it. The vapor good get you on it." "Gottcha mon." "Kay. I'm headin' home!" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- When Jonathan got home, he could barely sleep. He kept thinking about J.P., and Tails. He rubbed his headfur. He opened the door and walked out into the starlit plain. The walkways shone like silver, and the trees seemed like shadows. The homes were mostly dark, except for one or two. It provided a nice rustic touch, but nothing to soothe his mind. Jonathan heard a slight crunch as Katrina walked on the sand. "Hi, Katrina." "Jonathan? What are you doing up?" "I can't get to sleep. I keep thinking about Tails and J.P." "Oh. Nether can I. It keeps getting back to my mind. I've heard about Tails, and you would think he wouldn't of gotten the drugs." They approached a clearing, with a single tree. They both leaned up against it. Katrina started to sing a short tune, well known to most wolves. It acted as a sedative, and he went to sleep. ------------------------------End of Story---------------------------------- J.D. Harper is beginning author, and has finished this first part of my story. He is toying with the idea of making people pay to get the second part of his story...