Back to Chapter 69

Human culture was viewed as fascinating by many Mobians. Having spread much of human science, philosophy and beyond to the people of the world, Doctor Kintobor’s influence had been far reaching. But he couldn’t have banked on some Mobians being interested the entertainment industry. In a way, it probably made sense- where there was money to be made, there would always be people who wanted to make more of it than everyone else. But the founders of the city-sized Casino Night Zone didn’t want to run a business, they wanted to run an enterprise.

In no time at all, they’d created an entertainment district that would put Las Vegas to shame. Live music, dancers, bright lights and, of course, the casinos. It hadn’t taken Robotnik long to install some of his lieutenants in the Zone in order to rack up the dough from unsuspecting punters. Because in Doctor Robotnik’s casinos, the house always won.

The Freedom Fighters did their best to keep to the back alleys. The crowded streets would hopefully provide the perfect cover for them to avoid any Badniks Robotnik had planted in the Zone. Two such Badniks- which Sonic overheard were designated Crawl- stood either side of the entrance to one casino that the heroes passed by. They could pass for animatronic robots to most people that way and raise as little suspicion as possible.

Porker stared at the read-out on his watch, “Sonic, something’s unusual. I’m picking up some kind of energy waves”

“Energy waves?” Sonic repeated, “You’re gonna have to be a bit more specific than that, Lewis”

“Well, I’m not entirely sure but judging by the patterns I’m looking at here, I’d say they’re hypnosis waves”

“That sounds like Robotnik’s doing,” Sonic rubbed his chin, “But what would he want to hypnotise the people in this Zone for? That’s not normally his style”

A dejected voice moaned out in sorrow, “I can’t believe it. Everything… I’ve lost everything! What am I going to do?”

Sonic peered out from cover and spotted the source of the voice. A downtrodden-looking dog in pink shorts and… well, nothing else. Sonic called over to him, “Hey, bud! Psst! Come here!”

The dog turned to Sonic, “How’d you know my name?”

Sonic tilted his head, “Huh?”

“Bud, that’s me. Oh, you probably didn’t mean it like… well, never mind”

Sonic rolled his eyes and shook his head, “What’s going on? Why the long face, pal?”

“It’s the slot machines. I kept losing every time I played them. Every single time- I mean, you expect to lose a few, or even most times, don’t you? But every time? No return whatsoever? The machines were rigged, they had to be. But the thing is, I couldn’t stop myself. I kept putting in more and more money. Before I knew it, I’d offered up the deed to my house. I even lost the shirt off my back…”

“I can see that”

“That has to be it,” Porker snapped his fingers, “The hypnosis waves, they’re turning everyone who plays in this casino into a compulsive gambler! And Robotnik reaps the rewards off his rigged machines, sucking dry everyone’s wallets!”

“Porker, you’re brilliant,” Sally commended her friend for figuring it out, “We need to figure out where those waves are coming from and put a stop to them”

“Well the first part is easy. The data says they’re coming from up high- if I had to guess, I’d say they were coming from… that statue there!” Right in the middle of the casino was a hundred-foot-tall statue of a muscled, handsome bald man with a moustache. Presumably just how Robotnik viewed himself. “As for the second, well, I can probably do it with a signal jammer- I brought one with me just in case we needed to stop any tricky Badniks but this seems like a better use for it.” Porker rummaged around in his pockets and pulled out what looked like a small remote control with a button on it, “Of course, I’ll need to get closer to the source in order to pull that off”

Sonic grabbed the remote, “Then there’s no time like the present. Tails, Lightfoot, you two come with me. The rest of you, stay hidden”

“Sonic, wait a second—” Porker called out. It was too late, the others had gone. “Shoot! I’ve got to follow!”

Sonic, Tails and Johnny entered the front door of the casino. They hoped not to engage with the Crawl Badniks as there was no time to waste- but it made little difference. The Badniks sent an electronic signal to alert their master to Sonic’s presence. It was only a matter of time now before trouble found the hedgehog and his friends.

The casino really was a lavish affair. There was no way of knowing if Robotnik had built this particular casino himself or just bribed the original owner but it was pretty spectacular either way. An old-fashioned wooden rollercoaster looped in and out of the building, a fountain sprayed water high into the air in the lobby, a jazz band played a catchy tune and dozens upon dozens upon dozens of slot machines lined the floor.

“We’d better keep away from the slots, guys,” Sonic advised his friends, “We’re probably already under the influence of the hypnosis waves, if we get too close to the machines, we’re liable to sit down and start playing”

“I don’t have any cash on me,” Tails shrugged.

“Yeah, well, you saw Bud out there, you’d probably end up betting your shoes and socks”

“Maybe we should look for a way deeper into the building,” Johnny suggested, “Like access to a technical administration room or something?”

“Good idea, Lightfoot. That sliding door over there looks promising, let’s give it a go”

The three friends walked through the open door and were surprised when it slid shut behind them with a loud slam. A shrill laugh pealed out, “Come into my parlour, said the spider to the fly!”

Sonic shuddered. Not more spiders, surely?

Revealing himself, Snively floated down from above in his Egg-O-Matic. It was bedecked with all manner of neon lights, “How do you like the aesthetic, rodents? I thought I’d make an effort to blend in with the Zone”

Sonic would have almost preferred a spider to the gaudy sight before him. He spotted a pair of claws on the base of the Egg-O-Matic. They were charged with electricity and anyone unlucky enough to be caught between them would be in for a nasty shock. A hatch slid open on the underside and a glowing red energy ball dropped out.

“Move!” Sonic yelled, shoving Tails to safety as he and Johnny dived. The energy ball hit the ground and exploded

“Thanks, Sonic,” Tails said.

“Thank me later, Tails! We need to stop Snively right now!”

Snively cackled, “Fat chance! This giant pinball machine Doctor Robotnik himself designed will be your doom!”

It was only now Sonic and the other noticed the pinball flippers and bumpers above them. A truly strange design for a death machine. Sonic spotted a curved ramp flush with the wall, “Maybe if I can hit that ramp with enough speed I can get high enough up to hit him…”

“Can I make a suggestion?” Tails offered.

“Okay, but make it quick…”

“Well, I’ve been practicing something to help me keep up with you, Sonic…” Tails crouched on the ground and curled himself into a ball. Suddenly, to Sonic and Johnny’s surprise, the balled Tails started spinning forward in place on the ground. He somehow managed to do this without moving ahead- until his feet kicked into the floor and he shot forward at astonishing pace, rocketing him towards the ramp and up the wall, where he kicked off and leapt into flight, swooping down at Snively to punch him squarely in the face.

“Yow! You little pest!” Snively waved his arms at Tails, “You’ll pay for that”

Tails landed with a smile, “What do you think?”

Sonic was impressed, “What do you call it?”

“The Spin Dash”

“Then, buddy, let’s see how this pinball machine handles a little multi-ball action. Think you can work that control panel, Lightfoot?”

“I’ll give it a go,” Johnny smiled.

Sonic and Tails stood back to back, crouched and charged up a Spin Dash, launching themselves up the wall. They kicked off and started firing into the Egg-O-Matic. Any time they came close to landing in the gutter of the pinball machine, Johnny flicked the controls and flipped the two friends back upwards with the flippers. Snively screeched and flailed as the fox and hedgehog slammed repeatedly into the Egg-O-Matic. Sonic smashed through some of the neon lights, which sparked and shorted and started a fire, in turn causing a chain reaction of explosions about his dashboard.

“Yeargh!” Snively yelped, “Emergency escape! Door override, now, now, NOW!!!”

The doors opened and Snively whisked the Egg-O-Matic through the way Sonic and his friends had entered, out of sight.

“You’d have to be deaf, dumb and blind to not enjoy that,” Sonic smirked.

The door on the opposite end led to a familiar sight- a Prison Egg Capsule.

“Tails, pal,” Sonic smiled, “this one’s all yours”

Tails’ face lit up like Snively’s Egg-O-Matic and he hopped up to free the Mobians trapped inside who rushed towards the exit and freedom.

“Score another one for the good guys,” Johnny smiled.

“Yeah. Now that Sniv-features is out of the way, we need to find the source of those hypnosis waves”

Without warning, the floor beneath Sonic and his friends opened up and the three of them fell into a dimly-lit cold, metallic control room.

“Hey, whadda ya know, boss! Looks like Robotnik was-a right about-a the hedge-a-hog!” a heavily accented voice filled the silence.

“Of course he was right, dummy,” a voice with a different accent entirely responded, “Now are you gonna stand there gawping in the dark or are you gonna do something about it?”

“Oh, right!”

With a press of a button the room lit up. Four figures came into view.

“Allow us to introduce ourselves, Sonic,” the first figure, a human with a large nose and impressive moustache to match his curly hair stated. He flicked his cigar and continued, “The name’s Grouchio. I’d say don’t forget it but we’ll be killing you soon so don’t worry yourself”

“I’m-a Chicio!” the second man responded. He was a little chubbier in the face and wore a red backwards baseball cap. His moustache was also less impressive. “And-a this is our other brother, he’s-a Harpio!”

Harpio, the third man, was clean shaven with an impressive head of blonde curls under a green hat. He actually looked quite friendly with a genial smile. He gave a little parp on a car horn. Chicio shrugged, “He’s-a not so much of a talker”

“I wish I could say the same about you!” Grouchio glared. “All you would-be heroes need to know is that we three humble electricians from the terrifying Marxio World… are the Marxio Brothers!”

“Oh brother…” Sonic sighed. Three grown men in dungarees, just what he needed.

“I assume you don’t need introducing to this gentleman?”

Indeed not, as Grouchio indicated the fourth figure: Porker Lewis, tied up in thick ropes, “S-sorry, Sonic”

“Nice job, Lewis. All you had to do was stay hidden”

Grouchio glared at Sonic, “Now, unless you want something really awful to happen to your friend here, you’re going to do exactly as we say, got it?”

***

Five minutes later, Sonic, Porker, Tails and Johnny found themselves side by side.

“I really am sorry, Sonic…” Porker repeated.

“It’s a little late for that, Lewis,” Sonic glanced at Porker.

The four friends were tied up in knots in ropes and had been placed on the tracks of the rollercoaster. Worse than that, the cart was fast approaching.

“S-Sonic… what are we going to do?” Porker was sweating in fear.

“I’m working on it!” Sonic fired back.

Down below, the Marxios looked up and admired their handiwork. Chicio beamed with pride, “Whoda thought it, boss? That we three Marxio Bros. woulda been the ones to polish off-a Sonic the Hedgehog!”

Grouchio took a drag on his cigar, “With my brains, how could we lose?”

“Whattayou mean?! This trap, she was-a my idea!” Chicio protested.

“Oh, trying to take all the credit for yourself, eh? We’ll discuss this later!”

Up on the tracks, the rollercoaster cart was drawing near. Porker shook with nervousness, “Well, er… Sonic, how’s that plan coming along?”

Sonic furrowed his brow, “Afraid I don’t have one, Porker. This is it for us. Sorry ‘bout that”

Porker trembled and tears began to stream down his face. He let out a cry of terrified anguish, “This is it! We’re doomed! I can’t stand it! I can’t stand it!”

“Hey, chill out, Lewis, I don’t wanna die embarrassed…”

“Oh, pardon me, Mister Cool!” Porker blurted, “It’s not every day I’m splattered by a rollercoaster cart!!”

“Hey,” Sonic leaned in with a smile, “I was just kidding”

“…what?”

“I was kidding. Of course I have a plan”

Porker’s expression became one of dryness, “Has anyone told you that you have a very strange sense of humour?”

“All I gotta do is apply a little super speed…” Sonic started vibrating his hands rapidly, “And the ropes should loosen. There! Easy when you know how!”

“Sonic, please hurry!”

The rollercoaster cart roared past just as Sonic shoved Porker to safety. In the space of less than a second, he’d moved fast enough to free himself, untie his friends, push Porker off the tracks and leap onto the front of the cart as Tails carried Johnny through the air.

“You know, Chicio,” Grouchio shot his brother an unimpressed look, “this idea of yours was really dumb”

“Oh, so it’s-a my idea again, is it?!” The Marxios fled as they found Sonic, Johnny and Tails chasing them down. Running down a corridor marked ‘NO ADMITTANCE TO PUBLIC’ the brothers feet poundedon the ground. Chicio was jubilant, “Hah! He can’t-a follow us now, it’s-a off limits!”

Grouchio held back a ground, “Chicio, if we survive this remind me to kill you”

Sonic bore down on the three brothers, “You clowns can’t escape me!”

“Yeah, but you can’t blame us for trying!” Grouchio called back.

Sonic, Tails and Johnny followed the Marxios through an access tunnel back into the underground control room. There, the brothers met the three heroes, armed and ready for a fight with a metal pugil stick apiece.

“Tell me, hedgehog,” Grouchio enquired, holding up Porker’s remote, “this device we took off you- I’m guessing that’s why you were so desperate to come back here- what is it anyway?”

“I’ll tell you, you fashion disaster,” Sonic leapt at Grouchio with a punch but narrowly avoided a swing from his pugil stick, “It’s a signal jammer. It’ll re-program your master computer so the slots will pay out every single time and bankrupt this operation!”

Chicio swung at Tails with his stick, giving Tails a glancing blow to the arm, “Not-a with how I programmed those machines! They’ll-a never pay out!”

“Then will when I press that button!” Sonic called out.

“This big button on the front here?” Grouchio asked. He dropped the remote. With a single blow, he shattered it with his pugil stick, “Oops! How careless of me!”

Sonic stopped in his tracks and smiled, “Hey, that’s cool, I don’t need it now. Come on, guys!”

“You what?” Grouchio was stunned.

“I was only playing for time!” Sonic laughed.

Harpio silently swung his double-ended pugil stick at Johnny, who deftly sidestepped it before throwing a kick to Harpio’s gut, causing him to drop the stick. Johnny picked up the stick and looked at it with love, “Oh, baby, where have you been all my life?”

Sonic called back, “Come on, Lightfoot, you can bring your new girlfriend with you if you like!” Johnny and Tails followed Sonic back through the access tunnel.

The Marxios pursued and Grouchio yelled out, “Hey! What’re you talking about?!”

“Yeah! What’s-a the big idea, spike-a-ball?!” Chicio added.

“Oh, come on, guys, if a big brain like Porker Lewis can create a signal jammer, I’m sure he can reprogram your systems manually!”

Sonic led everyone outside, where the patrons of the Zone cheered as they walked away with armfuls of cash, “Jackpot!” one cried out. “I won!” another elated patron yelled. “All this money! I can’t believe it!” shouted a third. Bud was dancing in a pile of money as notes rained down on him, “It’s all going to be alright after all!”

“Oh, look at that,” Sonic smiled, “While we were keeping you lot busy, that’s just what Porker did”

Porker walked up to join his friends, “How did I do?”

“I’ll admit it, Porker- I’m impressed!”

“Then you’ll really like this part,” Porker grinned as he looked down at his watch, “A-three… two… one…” With an ear splitting ka-boom, the head of the Robotnik statue exploded and shot skyward, careening away. “Zero”

The Marxios gasped. In the confusion everyone turned in the direction of the explosion. “Everyone link arms,” Sonic told his friends, “We’re out of here- FAST!” With a burst of super speed, Sonic pulled his friends along in a chain behind him as they made good their escape.

Grouchio turned and spotted the heroes fleeing, “Hey! Wait!”

“Are you kidding?!” Sonic scoffed as he and a trail of his friends disappeared out of sight.

***

Rejoining the other Freedom Fighters, Sonic was met first by Sally, “Sonic, are you alright?!”

“Alright? Tails helped defeat Snively’s latest machine, Porker just took out Robonik’s scheme in this Zone—”

“And I got a big stick to hit Badniks with!” Johnny announced.

Sonic laughed, “Looks like on this occasion in this casino, everyone’s a winner!”

On to Chapter 71