Immortality is Forever By JM Stalker (jmstalker@hotmail.com) The wind howled through the streets of Robotropolis, singing a wordless funeral dirge. However, the wind was not the only sound in the alleys. Lasers were being fired gleefully as a group of rebels neared the completion of their sabotage mission. A hedgehog raced around inside a building, eluding several robots twice as large as he was. The robots shot at random, hoping for a hit. However, they were unsuccessful in meeting the target. The hedgehog came to a catwalk across two buildings. On the other side was a brown ground squirrel with a tuft of red hair. She was counting down on her watch. "Come on, Sonic.....you can do it!!!" she shouted to the hedgehog, hoping that she would be heard. Sonic put on the speed as he reached the pass. He knew that the guards were too big to cross, but he was just small enough to make it. There were fence s on the sides, but they were rusted to the breaking point. Below was a large hole for draining sewage. "15...14....13..." the squirrel counted down on her watch. "...12....11....10..." The hedgehog was halfway across. "...9....8......7...." The squirrel looked up from her watch and the color drained from her face. To her utter horror, the hedgehog had slipped. It appeared there was an oil leakage on the catwalk, because he slipped and scrambled for balance. That was when a laser went straight down the passageway and towards his head. On an impulse, he jumped. "SONIC!!!!!!" The ground squirrel screamed as she ran over to help, but she was forced to dive to the floor and scramble around to avoid being hit by the lasers. The hedgehog was hanging onto the fence. However, being very old, it could only hold for so long. He tried to pull himself up, but the fence was too old to take the strain any longer. It broke. "Saaaaaaallyyyyyyyyyy......" The hedgehog screamed as he plummeted downward. The squirrel lay there, frozen with shock. He looked up at her with innocent eyes as he fell into the sewer. "The Hedgehog is disposed of!" The Swat-bots droned as they turned around and headed back into the building. They were never to speak again, as at that moment the sound of an explosion filled the air and the building fell apart. The squirrel, Sally, took one look at the remains of the building, and at the now-blocked sewage drain, and ran. She ran through the building, knocking down all obstacles. She ignored the laser fire, just running, until she was out of the building. Then she ran through the streets and out of the city, and then past her friends, who looked at her quizzically, their celebration interrupted. They turned around and followed her, but she was already far ahead. Tears leaked from her eyes freely. She ignored the pain in her chest and continued running. By the time she reached Knothole Village, deep in the forest, she was spent. She reached her room, dived on her bed, and cried herself to sleep. Sally looked around. She was back in Robotropolis, on top of the building. She saw Sonic, running across the catwalk, laughing hysterically. Then she saw him slip and jump over the edge, eventually falling into the sewer. The seconds passed like hours, and his innocent, pleading look said one thing: Save me. But when she tried to move, she couldn't. She looked down to see that her skin was metallic. She tried to scream when she realized that, instead, she was droning the same accursed command over and over..... "Hedgehog, Priority One - Destroy at all costs. Hedgehog, Priority One - Destroy at all costs. Hedgehog, Priority One - Destroy at all costs. Hedgehog, Priority One - Destroy at all costs...." Sally woke up, breathing heavily. Her pillow was soaked, and her face and neck stained with tears. Then she looked and saw the silhouette of a rabbit with three oversized - they looked metallic - limbs in the doorway. "Sally-Girl, are you alright? You were screaming, and...." "Leave me alone, Bunnie!" "Why?" The Princess was silent for a minute. "Because.....because.....WAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!! SONIC'S DEAD!!!!!!" Bunnie cringed. "Sugarhog...dead? I thought he was just out for a run...." "No, he's dead!!! I saw him fall into the sewage pipe..." "He could still survive!" Sally became silent again. "Maybe...but....after that.....the pipe was blocked! He might float around forever, and die from accidentally drinking some of that......" "He's a survivor, you know that!" "Well....maybe......I hope you're right, Bunnie.....now, GO! ROYAL ORDERS!!" Bunnie quickly slipped out of the hut, closing the door behind her. Sally turned around and cried herself to sleep again. And this time, all she saw was a tombstone. ONE WEEK LATER All the Knothole Freedom Fighters, and some scattered members of other groups, were gathered around a tombstone. It was a cloudy day, and it had been threatening to rain for the past hour. However, it hadn't yet, and the congregation doubted it would. They didn't have the body of the one who the funeral was for, so they buried a picture. All around, people were mourning. Lupe had her head bowed, whispering an old Wolf Pack prayer of intercession for one who had died. Ari was there, too, saying his goodbyes. Tails was crying on Bunnie's shoulder, Rotor held his hat to his heart, and Antoine was wailing in his usual accent. Princess Sally Alicia Acorn stood in front of the grave, dressed completely in black. She had battled for an hour to keep a straight face as the eulogies were read, but she couldn't take it any longer and burst into tears at the end. Slowly, the crowd dispersed, saying goodbyes to each other as they left to their homes and groups. Only Sally stayed, staring at the grave and crying even as the sun set. "Sonic.....if only there was a way to keep you from dying...." she mumbled to herself idly. "Oh, but there was." A male voice said behind her. She spun around quickly to find a cloaked figure, with its face hidden, standing right behind her. "Who are you?! What are you doing here?!" She nearly shouted. "Ah, no need for those questions," He, or possibly it, waved off those questions. "I'll tell you who I am. My name is Morris, and I'm an immortal." "WHAT?!?! YOU'RE INSANE!!!!" Again he waved her off. "No, no, I'm not. You see, I used to be a regular animal, like you or that poor cove that just died." "His NAME is SONIC!" "...It is?" "Yes!" "You really....cared about him, didn't you?" "Yes, I even loved.....STOP ASKING THESE QUESTIONS!!! Why do you care?" "Well, I had a lover once, her name was Alicia - She's gone now." "That's my middle name!" "Ah, sweet coincidence. Well, anyway, I'm here to tell you I have a potion that grants immortality. No questions yet. It's made of Moonflower, which grows only once every hundred years. You mash it up and mix it, and it'll let you live forever. I was the one who discovered this, by sheer coincidence. The next day, I was bitten by a cobra, and I survived! I also never aged again, so every hundred years I make one of these and sell them to the highest bidder." He pulled out a bottle containing a cloudy liquid and showed it to Sally. "Want it?" The core Freedom Fighters had gathered for a secret meeting in the War Room. It was late at night, but that was exactly the reason they had gathered. They were holding an interrogation. "Who are you?" Sally, the one doing the questioning, asked. "Morris, you know that already." "What are you doing here?" "I'm peddling my immortality potion, you know that already, too!" "Are you a spy for Robotnik?" "No, I'm not." "Are you really immortal?" "Yes." "Are you lying?" "Do you think I'm lying?" "Yes." "Well, I'm not." "What's your asking price?" "Whatever I decide it to be." "How'd you know where Knothole was?" "You'd be surprised at the things I know." "Based on that, what was the full title of the first King of Mobotropolis?" "Acorn." "Where's the royal treasury?" "Behind the King's throne." Sally shuddered. He had answered those two questions correctly. She turned to her friends that were standing behind her. "What should we do?" she whispered. "Sac me bleur! He really eez eemmortal!" Antoine forced out, shaking in his boots. "Don't be silly, you know he's not!" Rotor shook his head. "But I am, Rotor Walrus." Morris spoke up. "H-How'd you know my name?" "I told you, I'm immortal. I know anything and everything because I've had the time and safety to travel the world." Rotor gulped as a bead of sweat trailed down his forehead. "Oh-oh, well, uhh....I'm s-s-sorry I d-d-doubted you, Mister...." "Morris. Apology accepted." "Now then, as I was saying..." Sally began again. "Aunt Sally, he's scary!" Tails whispered. "I know, Tails. We'll just have to deal with it." "Well, ah think that we-all'll have to believe him..." "Of course, he could always be a spy for Robotnik..." "But he knows where zee treasury is!" Antoine's teeth chattered. "You're right. He's definately not working for Robotnik. We'll just have to believe him." Sally turned to Morris. "Mr..." "I heard it all. I'll be staying in Sonic's hut tonight..." he waved off any protests. "And I don't care if he's dead or alive, it's vacant, and I can handle any mess there is." He trundled off to Sonic's hut. "Aunt Sally, why can't we see his face?" Tails asked after the figure had left the room. "That's for him to know and us to find out. Well, then, it's time for you to go to bed!" Sally shooed the fox off to his hut. But before he went there, he took one look inside Sonic's hut. Morris was snoring heavily, and his hood was back. However, Tails still couldn't distinguish a face, as a black mask covered any way to recognize him. Sighing heavily, he turned towards his hut. "YES!! THE HEDGEHOG IS FINALLY GONE!!!! YES!!!!! YES!!! YES!!!!!!" Robotnik was delirious. Ever since he saw Sonic fall into the hole, he had been celebrating at random. His stomach jiggled as he laughed and danced. Snively had been forced to take cover in his room, because Robotnik was flying across the floor, dancing as much as his form would allow him to. He had even sung, a sound which brought pain to Snively's ears. "Stupid fool," he muttered to himself. "Doesn't he know that he has no proof of the hedgehog's.." "Aren't you happy, Snively?" Robotnik shouted. "The hedgehog's dead!" "Oh, I'm VERY happy, sir!" Snively called back as he made a face. "Good! Because without him, we'll CRUSH those Freedom Fighters!" "Oh, will you?" A cloaked figure appeared behind him. "WHAT?! Who are you?! How'd you get here?!" "Had you been paying attention to your monitors, you'd have seen me. My name is Morris, and I'm immortal." "Impossible!" Robotnik shouted. This even caused Snively to come into the room. "Oh, but it's not. You see, one day I came upon a Moonflower...." Morris started weaving his yarn as Robotnik and Snively listened, intrigued. Sally came out of her hut early the next morning. There was dew everywhere, but she ignored that. She was already dressed, and decided to check up on the newcomer. She walked over to Sonic's hut and opened the door. Surprisingly, he was not there. She looked around everywhere for a trace of him, but found none. She looked around the entire village, but couldn't find him anywhere. "Oh well, he's gone. That's ok, he's probably off doing his immortal work...." "Not exactly, Princess." Sally spun around. "Will you stop doing that? It gives me the chills." "Oh, sorry about that. Well, I've advertised to Robotnik and his little nephew, and they're interested. We'll be having an auction as soon as I've seen the Wolf Pack and we've got a time set for the auction." "Auction?" "Of course! I'm auctioning this potion off to the highest bidder! Then I'll be off again, to wander Mobius and collect information, possibly meeting some of my immortal friends. Well then, got any breakfast?" "Err, not yet." "Oh, that's ok, I'll make a few chili dogs." "You like chili dogs?" "Love 'em!" "I don't know what you males see in those things....but go ahead." "Thank you, Princess." Morris walked towards the kitchens. Sally sighed and wiped a tear from her eye, remembering how Sonic loved chili dogs. Then her eyebrows wrinkled as she thought of something. "How did he know where they were...?" "Sir, I've checked all Mobotropolis records. There's only one record of anyone at all named 'Morris'." Snively looked up from his terminal. "Really? And who was that?" Robotnik asked him. "He was a legendary thief. For ten years he evaded the Police while stealing from commoners. They never found his hideout, either. However, their problems were over when one day he mysteriously disappeared and was never seen again." "Hmmm....supposing he found the Moonflower and disappeared......yes, it all fits together. Our little 'visitor' is actually a thief from 1,500 years ago! Snively, do you realize what this means?" "Er, a treasure trove?" "Well....sort of! We'll bring a squadron of Swat-bots to this little 'auction', and then we'll capture him and extract all of his secrets! And we'll have his potion, too! It's perfect!" Robotnik was in another of his happy moods. Snively sighed. The doctor hadn't been being himself ever since the hedgehog died. He hoped the old one would come back soon, even if it meant Sonic's return. It wasn't good to have a happy dictator. In fact, it was actually rather boring. However, he didn't say any of this, he just turned back to his terminal and started typing again. "Who do you think he really is?" One of the wolves asked Lupe after Morris had left. "I have no clue. But if anything, I don't think he is what we think he is. There's something different, something I felt in only one other creature. It's extremely rare these days." "What is it?" "I don't know.....bravado? Bravery? I can't really describe it." "And who was the other person you saw it in?" "It was, surprisingly, the...." "Really? Him?" "Yes, I think so." "Ah well, we'll just have to wait and see during this little 'auction' of his..." "Yes, Bruno, only time will tell." Four people met in Robotropolis the next day. They were all surprised that Morris had chosen this particular place for the auction, but they couldn't, and wouldn't, ask why. They just knew that they were there to buy a potion. Each had brought with them a slip of paper that had a number, meaning the amount of money they had to bid. While one of them, Robotnik, had a higher total than either of the Freedom Fighter leaders, they had a great amount of relics that were ready for the selling. However, they were still surprised at the location. It was a place that none expected. They were in Uncle Chuck's old house. They didn't have time for thinking, though, because Morris was already there, tapping his foot impatiently. "Oh, good, you're finally here. I thought you were gone taking a shower or something...." "Shut up and get to business, immortal!" Robotnik demanded. Morris waved him off, as was his style. "All in good time, my friend. You all know what you're bidding for, right? A simple immortality potion. I suggest none of you come to blows over it, or none of you get it. This is an auction, highest bidder wins, but I advise you not to go over your limit. If that would happen, you'd be in debt to me for the rest of your life. It's enough of a dosage for only one person. Use it wisely, and don't drop it. If you want to make your own, good luck, the next Moonflower is due in 98 years." "Hurry up!" Robotnik said again. Morris glared through his mask. "I'm about to disqualify you, Julian." "How'd you know my name?!" "I'm an immortal. I know everything. I also know you've got a squadron of Swat-Bots around the perimeter." "How...?" Robotnik was surprised. "I know everything, of course!" "Whatever." "Julian, one more move...." "Ok, ok!" "Good, you understand me. Now then, let's begin. Do I hear 100 Mobiums?" "200!" Sally shouted. "300!" Lupe said. "500!" Robotnik boomed. "600!" "700!" "1,000!" Robotnik shouted again. "Going once....going twice...." "1,001!" "1,250!" "2,000!" Robotnik grinned. He thought he had this in the bag. "2,222!" Robotnik cursed. "2,500!" "2,750!" "3,000!" "3,500!" "5,000!" Morris looked at his paper. "You're at your limit, Princess. Going once....going twice.." "10,000!" Robotnik shouted. "10,001!" Lupe said. "20,000!" "20,002!" "I grow tired of this, wolf. 100,000 Mobians!" "Going once.....going twice.....sold to the fat man!" Morris pulled out the potion and slammed it on the ground. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, MORRIS?!?!" Sally, Lupe and Robotnik shouted at the same time. "Outta here, wolf!" Morris shouted, and Lupe promptly jumped out the window. She knew this would eventually happen. Quickly, Morris reached in his cloak again and pulled out a laser blaster, which he tossed to Sally. "Blow the house down, Sal!" Sally nodded dazedly as she began to shoot the foundations. "SWAT-BOT UNIT ALPHA, GET IN HERE!!!!" Robotnik shouted frantically. However, he was too late. The building was already shaking and was about to fall down. He scurried up the stairs as fast and far as his bloated body would allow him before he was buried in rubble. Morris ripped off his mask, grabbed Sally, and rushed out the door. He ran through the streets, evading laser fire as the house fell down and crushed the Swat-bots inside. Lupe watched the scene grimly from behind the ruins. She nodded. "I was right the whole time. It really was him." She casually walked out of the city and towards her home. All of the Freedom Fighters gathered around the town square anxiously. They were waiting for their Princess. She was back much later than they expected, so they worried she, too, was gone. That is, until they heard a familiar sonic boom..... "SONIC!!!" They all shouted before he even reached the village. "That's right, guys, the hedgehog is back!" Instantly he was beset by Freedom Fighters, some hugging, some crying, some patting on the back. He waved them off. "The only thing you need to know is that I'm back. You can dig up that picture....yes, I know about that. Why? Because I'm immortal, of course!" he laughed hysterically right before he and Sally engaged in a deep kiss. "Zat hedgehog, always showing off..." Antoine rolled his eyes and muttered to himself. "Allright, meeting....errrrr....now......" Sally said after they had parted. Sonic picked her up and ran off, and the others followed. A few minutes later, they were all settled in their seats and Sonic began his tale. "When I hit the water, I blacked out. I must've been out a long time, because when I woke up I was in a secret cavern! I don't know how I reached there, but it saved my life. I found a discarded cloak and a book written by someone named 'Morris'. There was lots of equipment in the room, and I decided I'd use it later. I came to the surface to find myself in the middle of the Great Unknown! So, I spent a long time looking for food, and found an oasis. I fed my face and went back in the cavern. Two days later, I was ready to go. I used a voice alterator, a mask, and the cloak. So I decided that if everyone thought I was dead, I could probably pull off some stuff and kill Robotnik, thus I did that Morris stunt. And if you're wondering what t hat Moonflower stuff was, it's actually a bottle of water with some stuff sprinkled in it. And, now I'm back. And Robotnik's dead." There was a temporary silence. "And....uhhh.....that's that! Meeting adjourned!" Everyone left, save Sonic and Sally. "Well, Sonic, I'm glad you're back.." "You proved that to me already." Sally blushed. "And I have one thing to say." Sonic leaned forward. "And what's that?" Sally leaned forward, as if to whisper something in his ear. "NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!!!!!" Sonic fell out of his chair as Sally giggled. "Ouch! You're gonna ruin a hedgehog's hearing!" "As if your brain isn't already damaged..." "My brain? Damaged? I knocked Robotnik off!" "Sure, whatever...." The two friends (and lovers) walked around the village, talking, chatting, and arguing until the early morning. And, after that, things went back to normal. THE END It was early morning, and there was fog in the air. The old house where the auction was the previous day now was just a pile of ruins. Suddenly, a metallic hand reached out of the rubble and, slowly but surely, pulled itself out. A rotund figure came up. Its red eyes glowed evilly. "I.....hate......that......hedgehog!!!!" THE END......?