A Rogue's Burden Written by: Adrian Tymes [Legal disclaimer: This story is based on characters created by SEGA and DiC Productions, and Commander Packbell by David Pistone. Permission is granted to freely distribute this story, so long as: a: no recompense of financial value is received or given by the person who distributes the story, and b: the distributed copy is identical to the story as originally authored. In other words, don't sell it, and don't alter it. Copyright (c) 1996, all rights reserved, et cetera.] ****** Time: Sometime after "Vengance Denied" ****** The Great Forest had been named for its two most significant features. It was of great size, and it was a great place. This forest had been the largest unbroken expanse of trees, in the long since passed age when Mobians were still naming their surroundings. Robotnik's eleven years of devastation paled in comparison to the centuries of deforestation that Mobotropolis's founding and expansion had caused. In addition, many of the Mobians who lived in this area had genes derived from forest creatures. They felt an ancestral link to the woods, a link which compelled them to keep the appearance of nature near their homes, even when those homes were citadels of artifice and technology. This was also why so much of the forest survived to Robotnik's time. But for one griffin, the forest was not so great. From his sad, downcast eyes, to his resigned expression, and to his trudging, monotonous march, his entire body sent messages of regretful finality. He did not know how long he had been walking, nor did he care. Half his mind, incensed by the number of friends he was leaving behind, railed against the other half, which steadfastly clung to the logic behind his actions. "Yo, Kenal." Sonic appeared out of nowhere, skidded past Kenal, and stopped directly in the griffin's path. "Where're you going with all that stuff?" Kenal was wearing a belly pack about as large as his torso. His eyes watched the ground, while his wingtips and tail left three parallel lines in the dirt behind him. He did not even raise his head as he stepped around Sonic. "I asked you a question." Sonic placed himself in front of Kenal again. Kenal looked up, sighed, returned his eyes to the ground, and kept walking. "I'm leaving." "I can see that. You going back to Home?" "I can't." "Say what?" Sonic fell in step with Kenal, foregoing his usual complaints about walking. "How come? I mean, Rikal would welcome you back, and she's your Queen, isn't she?" "It's not that simple. Without the crown, it will take a long time to change the griffins' attitudes. They have hidden from dragons for ten centuries, but I'm friends with one. Rikal would grant me hospitality, but those who still fear from our past would overthrow her just to get at me. I must go elsewhere. Maybe I'll live on the floating island." "Knuckles' place?" "No. The other floating island. The one where you and Sally found a pair of Time Stones." "Oh, yeah. Wait...what're you going to do up there? That place is abandoned." "Any idea how long?" "I dunno. The legends about it date back..." "...for at least a millenia. I know. Guess who created it?" "How would I know?" "You can figure it out. What greeted you when you got there?" "No one. The only guards were a couple of stone...griffins..." Sonic's eyes widened as he compared his mental image of the guards with the physical image of Kenal. "You mean, your ancestors built it?" "Yes. Before the dragons greatly reduced our numbers, we were all over the place. Many of our ruins still stand, and we had supply caches in most of them. They were sealed by magic; any that haven't been looted will have food as edible as the day it was stored. You fought Robotnik near a back entrance to Home, once. We closed it off before either of you could find us. I think Robotnik called the place...Labrynth?" "So, why were they all abandoned with the caches intact?" "The dragons only attacked griffins, not their habitats. They couldn't have cared less about our buildings, unless they hindered or helped the fight." "That reminds me. You know how Dulcy's feeling right now?" "Upset. I'm truly sorry, but I have no choice." "Upset? Upset?!? She freaked out when she saw that message you left for her. You are coming back, right?" "Wrong." "What? Why?" "Because I am no longer welcome here." "Sure you are." "Oh, yeah? Tell that to Bunnie." Sonic remembered the rabbit's frequent irritation with the griffin. He especially remembered how Bunnie had never fully forgiven Kenal for his prior misadventures, despite Sally's prodding. "Uh-oh. What happened now?" "She asked me about the codes, and would not stop even when I asked her to." "Codes? What codes?" "The security codes I used on our raid a couple days ago. I remembered them from when I was a workerbot. They got us through Robotropolis undetected." "So? There's nothing wrong with that." "She didn't think so. She thought I knew too many." "How many do you know?" "I lost count after a few thousand. Most of them were outdated." Sonic furrowed his brow. "How can you remember that many?" Kenal raised his head to meet Sonic's stare, then returned his gaze to the dirt. "Goodbye, Sonic." Sonic gripped Kenal by the shoulders and halted. "Uh-uh. Something's not right here, and you ain't leaving until you tell me what." "That's exactly what Bunnie said." A deep growl eminated from the back of Kenal's throat as he spoke. "If you wish to remain my friend, please let me go." "You heard him," a voice spoke from nowhere. "Let Kenal go." "Sandra?" Sonic removed his hands, but stood ready to catch Kenal if he made a break for it. Sandra's black fur separated from the shade of a nearby tree. "Hello, Sonic. I have some information you might be interested in." "I'm listening." She snickered. "I won't just give this one away. I want something in exchange." "What's your price, and what's it about?" "You have nothing I'm interested in right now, Sonic. But I do require Kenal's assistance for a bit. The information is about..." She paused, acting on a momentary whim for drama. "...a working deroboticizer." "You mean..." "Yes. Someone's built one, tested it, and has been using it for some time. I'll tell you who, if Kenal agrees to help me." Kenal looked up, and saw the expected expression on Sonic's face. "I know what this means to you, Sonic. Whatever it is she wants, I'll do it." Sandra narrowed her eyes. "Anything I want? You know what a griffin's promise means. Or have you abandoned honor along with Home?" The griffin returned Sandra's stare. "Not a chance. My life is forfeit should I break my vow, and my vow has been given." "Smart move." Sandra flicked her wrist, pulling two small pictures out of a well concealed hiding place, and extended them towards Sonic. "I'm sure you recognize this place. You've been here before." Sonic took the proffered pics. "Yeah. This does look familiar, but I can't remember where. That's the deroboticizer in the center?" "Correct." She pointed to a label in the foreground of one of the pictures. "Does this jog your memory?" He squinted at the blurred label, then slowly read it. "Property of...F...S..." He paled. "Whoa! Them?!?" Sandra nodded. "And they still feel the same way about your friends." "That's gonna change. Right now." Sonic sped off, everything else forgotten. Kenal watched him go, sighed, and looked to Sandra. "So, what do you want?" She grinned. "Just a few things. First, you will stay at Knothole. You're more useful to me, and to yourself, here. Second..." ****** Bunnie looked up as Sally stormed into their hut, dripping wet. "What's up, Sally-girl? You goin' hedgehog hunting?" Sally's voice complimented the angry vibes her face put out. "Why that irresponsible, self-centerd, unconcerned little...OOH! Sometimes that hedgehog makes me so mad." "I guess not. What happened?" "I was working on the north bridge with Tails when Sonic ran by. He snatched Tails without even asking, and dropped a note in his place." She tossed a wet piece of parchment on the floor. "To top it off, the bridge collapsed after he ran over it, with me on top." "Ah'm sure sugar-hog had his reasons." Bunnie picked up the parchment. "He wouldn't be in such a hurry...if..." Sally seemed to notice Bunnie for the first time. "What is it, Sonic's laundry list?" Bunnie read aloud, "Dear Sal: Tails and I will be gone for a week. Everything's cool, don't worry. I need him to help me check out a lead on a deroboticizer. Trash a bot for me, ok? Sonic. P.S.: Don't try to follow us. Where we're going, you don't want to be. Will explain when we get back." "A deroboticizer? Yeah, right. By the way, what do you mean, hedgehog hunt- EEK!" She looked at her front, and noticed that all of her fur had been plastered to her skin by water. It looked like her swim had taken away all of her fur, leaving behind only a fur colored covering. A sudden breeze sent chills down her spine; she saw the resulting goosebumps all the way down to her feet. Dashing towards the nearest towel, she dried off while trying to suppress the red color that infused her cheeks. "Bunnie, could you check to see if anyone saw me like that?" Bunnie walked to the hut's front window and looked around. The only one in sight was Antoine, who stared slack-jawed at their front door. "No one you need to worry about." "What, now I'm harmless?" "Who said that?" Bunnie quickly looked around, but saw no one. "Whoever it is, come on out." "Over here." Kenal dropped his head below the top of the doorway he was hiding behind. His body was carefully arranged on top of the door behind the portal. "Kenal, y'all been spyin' on us again?" "Of course not. I came back to talk to Sally..." He shot Bunnie a look of mixed hatred, annoyance, and fear. "...alone." Sally sighed into her towel. "You two will stop fighting right now. I don't know what your quarrel is, nor do I care. Just stop it." The griffin and the rabbit looked at each other. "It won't be that easy," they echoed in unison. Sally threw her towel onto its holding bar on the wall in frustration. "I'd like to know why." She turned to Kenal. "You wanted to talk to me anyway, so let's start with you." Sally marched through the door that Kenal was standing on. She closed it after he jumped off. Bunnie was left with Sonic's note. "Hmm...I wonder where he's off to this time? And why'd he need Tails?" Her train of thought was derailed by a heavy impact from Sally's room. Dropping the note, she cautiously snuck over to the door, and listened to the conversation inside. "What was that stuff you hit her with, anyway?" "Sleeping powder. She'll be out long enough for us to get her out of Knothole." "Out of...no. You can't. I won't let you." "You have no choice, Kenal. Remember-" Bunnie gasped as she recognized the second voice. She threw open the door, only to be blinded by a sudden puff of dust. The rabbit tried to cough it out and rub her eyes, but numbness quickly spread through her body from where the dust had entered her system. Unable to see at the moment, she was unable to block the fist that punched through the cloud to her forehead. Bunnie was unconcious before she landed, sprawled on the floor. ****** She awoke to the face of a slightly chubby, multiheaded blue angel, and a pounding headache. "Ohhh, mah stars...I wasn't hit that hard, was I?" "Hard enough," the angel replied. "This ain't at all what I thought the afterlife would be like." She tried to focus her eyes, with no effect. "At least th' help's kinda cute." "Afterlife?" Bunnie kissed the angel on its middle head's mouth. "She's delirious." Rotor peeled Bunnie off of his nose. "Snap out of it and tell us what happened." "Par'aps zome smelling salts?" Antoine, who stood over Rotor as Rotor held Bunnie in his arms, started to dig around in his pockets. "Nah. I got something better." Rotor leaned forwards, and placed his mouth on Bunnie's. Her eyes grew wide. "Sacre bleu! Do not be telling me zat you and Bunnie have been practicing ze kissing. Zonic and Zally are being bad enough without encouragement." Bunnie pulled herself off of Rotor and coughed. "Mah stars, Roty, how many fish you got decayin' in there, anyhow? Hoo-whee!" She fanned her nose with her hand to move the scent of her mate's breath away, as her vision sharpened to resolve his single head. Rotor chuckled. "Ok, ok, I'll brush my teeth before I kiss you again." "Ah sure hope so, else ah maight just suffocate." "Now, what happened here? Antoine saw you flying backwards, and it looks like there was a scuffle in Sally's room. You were out cold when we got here." "Where's Sally? She was talkin' with Kenal..." "There was no one else here. She must've gone out." "No. Ah remember, she was knocked out, too. Kenal and...and..." Bunnie held her head. "...someone were kidnappin' her." "Kenal and who?" "Ah don't know. I knew her voice, but ah cain't remember - OW!" Her hand jerked away from a sensitive spot on her forehead. "Whatever hit you, it must've scrambled your memory. Don't worry, it'll pass, but you really should get that forehead looked at. I can see the bruise through your fur." Bunnie leapt to her feet. "No way. Sally's in trouble. Ah've got to help her. Besides, ah'd like to see you try and stop me." Rotor patted Bunnie's bruise with a carefully measured slap. She immediately fell to her knees and clutched her forehead. "Owowowohhgeezroty ahcaintbelieveyoujustdidthat..." "There. You're stopped. Now get to the medical hut." "Okokokowww..." She pulled herself back to her feet and ran out the door. Antoine brought a hand to his chin. "Rotor, I am thinking." "My condolences. Does it hurt?" The fox folded his arms, turned his face away from Rotor, and regared him through the corner of his eyes. "Ha, ha. Very funny." His tone of voice added an unspoken 'not' to his words. "Now, my thought is, why would Kenal be kidnapping Sally? And where would he take her? Certainly his loyaties no longer lie in Robotropolis, oui?" "Oui, er, yes." Rotor motioned to the entrance. "C'mon, we'll need some help to find them. We'd better hurry, too. Whoever was with Kenal probably forced him into this. And if he was forced, he could be in just as much danger as Sally." ****** "That was cold," Sally spat as she looked at Kenal's limp form on the ground, just outside of Knothole. "What do you mean? I needed him to distract you while I knocked you out, but now, his usefulness is at an end. I didn't want him tagging along, for the same reason I don't want any of your other friends to accompany us." Sandra adjusted a metal collar on Sally's neck, picked up the princess, and walked off. "The least you could do is let me walk. What did you do to my body?" She tapped Sally's collar. "A neural restraint. It stops all commands to your larger muscles - arms, legs, and so forth - while allowing your heart to keep beating, and leaving you enough breath to speak. I wouldn't advise resisting. The harder you try to move something, the more it has to supress. If you try hard enough, it will practically break your spinal cord, and you will die within 30 seconds. Be glad I set it to minimum. At maximum response, it would kill if you tried to breathe. I've seen it happen" "Let me guess, that's what you did to Kenal." Sandra jerked Sally's head to her eye level, scowled, and looked into Sally's eyes. "I am not a murderer," she hissed. "I lost a very good accomplice that way, once." She stared daggers deep into Sally's soul. "Make another remark like that, and I may let you experience her final moments." "I thought you said you weren't a murderer." "I haven't had a reason to be one. Yet." She returned Sally to her chest, repositioned her arms, and walked off. "But, what about Kenal? If he's helping you anyway..." "The one who asked me to bring you did not ask me to bring anyone else. Besides, it will take some time to get to him, and if your friends are busy with Kenal, they won't be chasing me." "Who are you working for? Packbell?" "I said him, not it. Besides, Packbell almost never pays me." "Snively?" "I said him, not it. Even before Snively turned into a pile of ash..." Despite the circumstances, a short giggle escaped Sally's lips. "While we walk, I have some questions for you about Sonic." "Why should I tell you anything?" "Let's just say that, if you do, you may talk to your father again soon." "Daddy?" Sally remembered Sonic's ability to rescue King Acorn from the Void. Her father would crystallize if he tried to stay outside the Void for long, but perhaps Sandra had found a way around that. She also remembered who she was dealing with. "What do you want to know, and why?" "My reasons are my own. Let's just say I'm...interested in him." ****** "Alright, Kenal, 'fess up. Where's Sally?" Kenal was once again in Bunnie's robot grip. Rotor had taken him to the medical hut after finding him lying on the ground. Bunnie had taken an immediate interest in the griffin. An ice pack on Bunnie's bruise amplified her headache, which, combined with her recent suspicions of Kenal, drove her to squeeze him a bit harder than was necessary. "Let up, Bunnie," Rotor spoke while trying to pry open her hand. "At least let him get some air in his lungs." "Ok." She dropped Kenal, who landed on the ground like a wet towel. Rotor immediately check the griffin's vital signs. "I hope you didn't...you know..." "Ah didn't try an' crush him, if that's what you mean. But he was associatin' with a kidnapper. Maybe he was bumped off?" "No, he's still alive" Rotor carefully checked Kenal's fur. "He's wearing traces of the same powder I found at Sally's. Whoever kidnapped her probably knocked him out to keep him from following." "Hey, cut it out." Kenal batted a paw at Rotor as he suppressed a laughing fit. "That tickles." He slowly opened his eyes, then leapt back in surprise when he saw Bunnie towering over him. "I-I didn't want to help her! I swear!" "Oh, really?" Bunnie smiled as she placed a metal finger underneath his chin. "And just who're yuh talking about?" "Sandra Nightweaver. She tricked me into promising to help her." "Should've known. What did you do to Sally?" "I just distracted her while Sandra knocked her out. Sandra took her." Bunnie leaned closer, until her head and hand was all that Kenal could see. "Where?" Kenal tried to back off, only to discover that he was in a corner of the room. "I don't know. She said something about seeing King Acorn." "King Acorn?" Rotor's eyes bugged out. "But he's in the Void. I'll see if I can detect any portals. If any are open, it's a good bet that that's where they're headed." He ran off to his hut. "So why did you help?" "I...I had to." Kenal looked at his reflection in Bunnie's palm. "I promised her I'd help, if she told Sonic about the deroboticizer." "Oh, yeah? What'd she tell ol' sugar-hog?" "I don't know. Something about the FS. She said to tell you, if you asked, that it is in a place as hostile to you as Robotropolis is." "You'll tell me more than that, you..." "Bunnie! Kenal!" Rotor ran back in, interrupting Bunnie. "A portal's opening at the edge of the Great Forest. We'd better get over there now." ****** "Ok, trip's over." Sandra kneeled, set Sally down, and fiddled with her collar. "You're just letting me go?" A small, steady breeze ruffled their fur. "I don't think you'll be leaving soon. The restraint has no lasting effects, but..." "Sally? Bean, are you there?" "DADDY?" Sally made no effort to move as Sandra removed the collar. "Right on time." Sandra folded the restraint until it fit in her palm, tucked it away in the place where she had hid the pictures for Sonic, and stood up. "As you requested, sire." "You have my gratitude, Sandra. Do you require any other payment?" "No, your majesty. The two pictures will suffice." "You asked Sandra to kidnap me?" As if in a trance, Sally stood up and slowly walked with the breeze. "Why?" "She kidnapped you? I only asked her to bring you." Sandra grinned. "Yes, but this was more entertaining. Besides, I wanted to talk with her by myself. If I'd just told her, she would have brought her friends." "Entertaining?" The wind itself seemed to sigh in resignation. "Old habits die hard, it seems. If my daughter can forgive you, so shall I. If not..." Sally turned to Sandra, and smiled. "You're forgiven. Now, if we could have some time alone? And tell the others. They'll be worried." Sandra nodded. "Yes, your highness." She left. Sally looked back to the source of the breeze, and saw a point of light nestled in the rock. It was sucking air in, but due to its small size, the wind it generated could barely move a leaf. "Father? Is this...?" "Yes, my child. It is a Void portal. Nagus has found a way for our voices to escape the Void, even though our bodies remain. Packbell should not detect this portal until it closes, but it can not be moved. If Nagus had opened a portal in Knothole, it would close there - he can not hold it open forever - and Packbell would find your base. It strained Nagus to make this portal appear in the same place as the one we used earlier. When that one opened, Sandra was the only one nearby. My dearest wish was to talk with you once again. She agreed to make it happen." "How long can Nagus keep this portal open?" "A few hours, no longer. And we have much to discuss." "Yes, daddy." Sally sat down on a nearby rock, and hugged the small boulder on which the portal had appeared. ****** "You mean, all this trouble was 'cause she wanted to have some fun?" Bunnie frowned as she regarded the place where a portal had recently closed. "I forgave her, Bunnie, just like I forgave Kenal. And just as with him, I am the one who forgives." Sally leaned back on her rock, resting her neck on another rock behind her. "If you say so. But I still don't trust either of them. Ah mean, first Sandra gets rid of Sonic an' Tails, so we've got no one who can stop her before she gets heah. At the same time, she dupes Kenal into helpin' her, an' then leaves him to take the blame. And there's the matter of the codes..." "Give it a rest!" Sally looked at Bunnie through the corner of her half-closed eyes. "I'm sure there's a good reason for everything that's happened. Even Sonic's departure. And no, Bunnie, we will not be going after him. From what my father told me, we do not want to." "Will someone please clue me in heah? Where did Sonic go, anyway?" "To the F.S.M." "The who?" "Southern Continent. They fight Packbell, but they're not our allies." She smiled. "That's going to change. Right now." Sally stood up, dusted herself off, and walked back to the forest. "I'll tell you more when Sonic gets back. But they really do have a working deroboticizer. You might have your own arm and legs back before long, for good." "Mah..." Bunnie stared at her metal hand in disbelief. She imagined what it would look like as flesh. And seriously began to think.