Team Chaotix - The Case of The Missing Dogs

Chapter 10

Wednesday, 11:20 PM; 10 hours left to pay electric bill;

As Team Chaotix was slowly getting corned by the group of the very dogs that they promised to bring back, which now saw them as dog food, it was seeming with every passing second that it was becoming the end of the detective agency. There was no escape, they are stuck in this makeshift ring like sardines in a can.

Eggman was safely on the outside of the ring, cheering on the dogs with a fist in the air, and eating the cookies he baked for this very moment.

"HAHAHA! Go get them! Eat well!!" He cheered.

"Oh, boss, can I have a cook-" Tumble was midway reaching for a cookie when Eggman slapped his hand. 

"NO! These are my cookies! Get your own!" He snarled.

Vector was lost with what to do. He knew this was not normal behavior for them to be this aggressive. Something is wrong with them, but what? He looked to Espio for an idea and Espio unfortunately shook his head no. They're attention focused to Charmy, who was at this point whimpering.

"Charmy?" Gently asked Espio.

"The dogs are acting mean. I'm scared." He replied shakily.

"It's ok," Vector soothed. "This is not how dogs is supposed to act. We'll figure a way out of this. We always do." But again, he wasn't sure how.

They were now pressed against a corner and the dogs stopped, at any second Vector knew they'll strike at his team, and he had to think of a plan, and fast.

He then noticed one dog closest to his left stopped and stared him down angrily. It was a lab mix, and Vector had a gut feeling about the growling dog that was strange. His gut feeling trained his eyes on something that was on the dog's neck, a collar. 

Despite it being hours ago, Vector recalled seeing something similar to that collar before. There was plenty of them in a box that Charmy accidently fell over and they spilled out on the ground. He didn't get a good look of them because they got caught by Rough and Tumble. Now, in the ring, he can get a clearer look. It was shiny, black, and incredibly thick. He remembered seeing a mini wifi tower looking thing and saw it, it was clipped on above the neck and had a blinking light on the bottom on the collar. 

Suddenly, he noticed that the lab mix wasn't the only dog wearing it, all the remaining 32 dogs were. At that moment, Vector now knew exactly was going on, and immediately came up with a plan.

"Team! Take a good look at what they're wearing!" He commanded.

"Collars?" Questioned Espio.

"Right. But not just any collars, I believe they're mind controlling collars! There must be some kind of wave frequency that's agitating the dogs, and making them act this way. If I'm right, then we gotta work to getting them off!"

"But how?!" Asked Charmy. "We won't be able to get near them, they're all scary!"

"Not if we're quick and unpredictable with our movements. Remember team, we were tasked to find the 33 dogs, and here they are. We're ssooo close to getting them back to the shelter safe and sound. They're counting on us, and as stated in our policy: "We won't stop our investigations until they're solved!"

Feeling how their leader and great friend was so confident in their bleak situation, Espio and Charmy smiled.

"Yea, until they're solved!" Repeated Charmy.

"Now team, we gotta be quick. Espio, if I'm correct about the wave frequency, turn invisible and cut the collars off with a kunai knife. Charmy, there is some room for you to fly around, so you'll have to divert the dog's attention from me. As you two do that, I'm going to break down a wall by using my "special surprise.""