TCT MOBIUS UNIVERSE - PART SIX
“HIDDEN ASSASSIN”
WRITTEN BY: CHRISTIAN RICE

MINERAL MUSEUM. SPIRAL HILL VILLAGE.

Kris sits around the Mineral Museum, Jewel filing papers into a file cabinet. The lynx taps his finger on a nearby desk, and has an annoyed look on his face. “Damn…!” he mutters, “Why do I have to stay here?! It’s so BORING around here!”

Jewel looks at Kris, annoyed by that comment. He notices this and gulps. “S-Sorry, no offense, Jewel…,” he mutters.

“ None taken…”

Kris stands up, and rubs his hair. “It’s just… Whisper is out there, all alone, exploring the village, and I’m stuck in here… doing nothing,” he explains.

“ I know, Kris, but with an assassin out there, you’re in danger,” she replies, “And Whisper is just worried about you.”

“ But, why did Tangle get to go with her?!” he asks.

“ Because, Tangle can handle herself,” Jewel says, and then mutters, “And she’s too stubborn for Whisper to convince otherwise.”

IN THE VILLAGE.

Tangle follows behind Whisper, who looks around, nervous and on edge. “So, Whisper, how long have you and Kris known each other?” the lemur asks, and Whisper says, “For a month or so. Why?”

“ You two seem to be very close for having just met,” the lemur comments, “Are you sure you two aren’t dating?”

Whisper whips her head around, her eyes openly piercing. Tangle jumps back, frozen in shock. “Kris and I are NOT dating!” she spouts, “And this is the last time I will explain that!”

She turns away from Tangle, and walks away, muttering to herself. “Why did she have to come along?!” the wolf thinks to herself, “I have to find that asshole while I still can!”

Tangle, meanwhile, is thinking to herself. “She is really defensive about that. Maybe I’m just imagining it?”

At that point, Whisper puts her arm out in front of Tangle, stopping the lemur on the spot. “What’s up?” she asks, and Whisper says, “He’s here.”

“ Who?! The assassin?!!” Tangle asks, and Whisper nods, confirming this.

She pulls out her Wispon, and points it up, looking around. At that moment, a shot is fired, and Tangle pushes Whisper out of the way, yelling, “Watch out!!”

The shot hits the ground, causing a small explosion. Whisper and Tangle stand up, and Whisper mutters, “Th-Thank you…”

“ No problem,” Tangle says, “I think Kris would be sad if something happened to you.”

Whisper turns away, her cheeks red. “I… I doubt he’d care that much…”

Tangle smiles, and thinks, “Yeah, she likes him. I can tell…”

“ I’m surprised that you survived my trap all those months ago, … Whisper,” a mysterious voice mutters.

Whisper turns in the direction of the voice, and growls. “I… KNEW… it was you…,” she says.

A hooded figure walks into view, the same hooded figure who attacked Kris and Whisper before. The figure reaches for their hood, and removes it, revealing a mysterious man. He is a mimic octopus, with purple and grey skin. His eyes are white, with black sclera. He has an evil smile on his face. “Mimic…,” Whisper growls, aiming at him.

“ Though, to be fair, I was a little sloppy,” the octopus says, “I really should have checked to make sure you were there… and dead.”

The octopus, Mimic, chuckles. “However, the others… Well…”

Whisper lunges at Mimic, but she is kicked away by him. She lands next to Tangle, who helps her up. “I won’t let you get away!” she cries, and charges at him once again.

However, Whisper cries out suddenly, and Tangle notices a shine of metal. Mimic has stabbed Whisper in the arm with a knife, and blood trickles down her arm. Mimic smiles, and mutters, “Get off my blade…”

He then pulls it out, and punches her, knocking her down. “You bastard!” Tangle cries out.

She runs at Mimic, and swings her tail at the octopus like a fist. However, he grabs the lemur’s tail, and pulls her towards him. He then swings her around, and she slams her around into a building. “Sorry to leave like this, Whisper, but I have a little kitty to skin.”

He runs off, laughing evilly. Tangle rises to her feet, holding her head, groaning in pain. “Man,... that was… unpleasant,” she groans.

She then gasps, and yells out Whisper’s name, running to the wolf. She notices her bandaging up her wound, and she groans.

“Are you okay, WhIsper?” she asks.

Whisper wipes her mouth with her hand, revealing a mark of blood. “I’m fine,” she responds, “I’ve dealt with worse…”

Whisper clenches her fists, growling in anger. “ I almost had him!” Whisper thinks to herself.

But then, a thought comes to her. “He said he had a ‘little kitty to skin’...,” she thinks, “He didn’t mean…”

“ OH SHIT!!!”

“ What?” Tangle asks, but Whisper ignores her, and starts running away.

“ W-Wait!” Tangle calls out, running after her.

MINERAL MUSEUM. TEN MINUTES LATER.

Kris is still waiting around at the museum, even more impatient. “Hrgh, I can’t stand it!” he shouts, standing up, “I’m going to look for Whisper, whether she wants me to or not…!”

At that moment, the doorbell rings, and Kris turns to the door. “Huh,” he mutters, “That might be her. I’ll get it!”

Kris runs up, opening the door. However, his jaw drops when he sees who’s waiting there. Standing before him is the legendary Hero of Mobius, Sonic the Hedgehog! Kris’ face is bright red, and he stutters, “S-S-Sonic the Hedgehog?! Oh my god! I’m such a big fan!”

The blue hedgehog chuckles, and says, “I heard about how you helped out the Restoration from my friend Amy. I wanted to thank you, Kris.”

“ R-Really?!” Kris asks, and Sonic nods in confirmation.

“ Yes, I have a gift for you,” Sonic replies, and Kris responds, “Really? I accept it! No matter what!”

Kris closes his eyes, and thinks, “What is it? It can’t be… Will Sonic reward me?! Like… romantically…? He is very attractive…”

However, Kris is unprepared for the seething pain that enters his shoulder. Opening his eyes, he sees Sonic has stabbed a dagger into his shoulder, which horrifies him. “Wh-What the hell?!”

“ S-Sonic?!” he mutters, “B-But,... why…?”

“ Because you and that bitch of yours have been getting in the way of the Doctor!” he says, “And I’ve been meaning to get that wolf for a while now!”

Sonic pulls the dagger out, and Kris stumbles back. “Kris, who’s at the door?” Jewel asks, only to be horrified at what she sees.

“ What the hell is going on?!” Jewel asks, “Why is Sonic here? What happened?”

“ I don’t know!” Kris responds, “Sonic offered to reward me and he stabbed me with a dagger!”

“ And I’m gonna end you two before taking out Whisper and that lemur,” Sonic adds.

Sonic is preparing with the dagger, but then…

LASER!

A Cyan Laser shot is fired, hitting Sonic in the back. He turns around, growling in frustration. There, staring down at them from a rooftop, is Whisper and Tangle. They hover down with the Green Wisp, and Whisper says, “Get the hell away from him!”

Sonic’s appearance is then warped, and his eyes are black sclera and white pupils. He has odd wrinkles on his muzzle. And there are suction cups on his hands. Kris is confused by this. “I’ll be back for you two later,” the warped hero says, before dashing away.

The four just stand there, and then, Jewel screams, “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!!”

TWENTY MINUTES LATER.

Kris winces in pain, as Whisper bandages up the shoulder wound left on him by “Sonic”. “Ouch!” he says, and Whisper says, “You shouldn’t have opened the door!”

“ I thought it was you at first,” he says, “But, then, I saw it was Sonic…”

“ Well, it wasn’t…”

“ Then, who was it?”

Whisper looks away, and says, “He’s an octopus named Mimic. As his name implies, he can take on the appearance of anyone…”

“ What?!” he mutters, “Someone like that exists?”

Whisper gives him a “Really?” look. “Sonic can run at super speeds, and his best friend has two tails! Why are you surprised?”

Kris thinks about it for a second, and then, responds, “Good point.”

Whisper finishes bandaging up the wound, and Kris stands up. “But, why is he attacking us?” Kris asks.

“ It doesn’t matter,” the sniper says, “What does matter is taking him down.”

The wolf stands and grabs her Wispon, walking towards the door. "Great!" Kris says, "Let’s go!"

" No, I'm taking him on alone," she responds, "He's way too dangerous for you to fight."

" But, I can handle myself! With OmegAlph, I can fight. And together, we're unstoppable!"

" Look how well you did against him a few minutes ago," she says, "You could've been killed. I won't let him kill anyone!"

"You say that, but I see the wound on your arm. You're no different!"

"I'm a mercenary," she replies, "You're staying, and that's final."

Whisper leaves the museum, and shuts the door, leaving Kris speechless. He clenches his fist, and punches the chair, grunting angrily. Tangle and Jewel watch him, and the lemur says, "Don't fret about it, dude. She just worries about you."

" Yeah, but she's so stubborn! Why won't she let anyone help her?!"

" I don't know," Jewel says, "But, just calm down and relax. She seems to know what she's up against, and what she's doing."

Kris stands there, thinking to himself. "I can't sit around and let Whisper go off to die! That's what… caused Dad to…"

" No," the lynx says, surprising Jewel.

" But-!"

" I won't sit around and let another person I care about die!" Kris says, "Even if I have to sneak behind her, I'm gonna help her!"

Tangle smiles hearing this. She chuckles, walking up to him. She holds out her tail like a fist waiting for a fist bump. "Good on you, then," she says, "That's a heroic thing to do. Go help your girl!"

Kris blushes at this comment. "We're… We're not-!"

" Sure thing," Tangle says, "Just go help her!"

Kris nods in agreement, and fist bumps Tangle's tail. He then runs out, a brave smile on his face. Jewel sighs, saying, "I hope he knows what he's doing."

" Of course he does," Tangle responds.

OUTSIDE.

Kris quietly  watches Whisper run out of Spiral Hill. He follows behind her a few seconds later,  thinking, "I can't believe I'm doing this. But, there's no other choice. Whisper, forgive me. But, I can't lose you…"

The wolf, and unknown to her, the lynx, make their way to fight the deadly Mimic.

HIDDEN ASSASSIN- END.