| abstract | - Sonic and Tails, accompanied by Walt Wallaby and Barby Koala of the Downunda Freedom Fighters, are surrounded by a force of Platypi with Guru Emu and Wombat Stu in cages overhead. The quartet proceed to dispatch their foes, with Barby complimenting Tails on his efforts; Walt then assists Sonic by throwing him into the air so that he can use his Spin-Dash to free the two trapped Freedom Fighters. The two parties begin speaking, asking each other plenty of questions, but Walt calls a halt to the whole thing and suggests that they go back to their last known contact with the Knothole Freedom Fighters and work forward from there. The four Downunda heroes take turns explaining how they defeated their arch-enemy, Crocbot, and what happened afterwards. They explain that they were ridding the Great Crater of the ruins of Crocbot's prison camp when their missing teammate, Duck "Bill" Platypus, went rogue. He subsequently returned at the head of an army of his own people, attacking the reconstruction site and forcing the Freedom Fighters to close it down after their volunteers started quitting. Bill then sent an invitation to Guru and Stu, asking them to meet with him and work out a truce, only to capture them when they arrived. Barby and Walt had been preparing to go after them when Sonic and Tails arrived in the Winged Victory, still in pursuit of Ixis Naugus. Having been appointed by the Mobotropolis Council to check on the situation in Downunda, the pair agreed to help Barby and Walt, earning Tails an affectionate kiss from the Koala before the group set out. In the present, the group decides to locate Bill, though Walt and Sonic immediately begin clashing over the chain of command. The hostilities continue as they travel by raft on a nearby river, until Barby is forced to intervene after hearing a suspicious noise. The group are then attacked by Platypi riding Mobini Crocodiles, but manage to beat them off and then escape when Tails and Sonic use their special abilities to propel the raft forward at high speed and protect the vessel from any further Crocodile attacks. The group spots a hut just off the river with a dock nearby, and realize that it must be Bill's headquarters. They approach the structure and hear Bill inside, apparently talking to himself about the current situation. Breaking into the room, they confront Bill only for him to faint from exhaustion, and then hear strange noises coming from beneath the floor. Finding a trapdoor, they open it to reveal none other than Crocbot-or at least, his limbless torso. The robot then explains his role in recent happenings: having planted a post-hypnotic chip on Bill while the Platypus was his prisoner, he used him to gather an army of Platypi. With the materials gathered by them, he intended to have a Combot constructed to repair him so that he could take his revenge. However, even with this plan thwarted, he starts to warn them about a so-called Bunyip when Sonic pulls his plug, much to Walt's irritation. Sonic responds that he's been given authorization to deactivate hostile machines like Crocbot, and Barby reaffirms that they are likewise subjects of King Acorn. Soon afterwards, Sonic and Tails take off with Crocbot stowed away in their plane, bidding goodbye to the Freedom Fighters. The Downunda Freedom Fighters then contemplate Crocbot's words about the Bunyip, which Barby recognizes as a mythological creature, leading the group to assume that Crocbot was just muttering nonsense in his damaged state. Up in the plane, Sonic comments on how jealous Walt was of the attention Barby was giving Tails, whom Sonic thinks likes his friend, and Tails responds that he'd like to see her again too.
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