Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie Chapter 1 Planet Mobius. In the vastness of the cosmos, it was a tiny, insignificant dot against the black veil of inky space. At a distance glance, one could not see the horrors evil beings had wrought against this little world. Even if we were to zoom in closer we could not tell that the planet had once been on the brink of total devastation. Only a few small groups of warriors had saved this planet from becoming a technological nightmare. And only after that, had the planet itself been transformed back to an idyllic world thanks to the efforts of a few inhabitants. No, Mobius itself had finally been freed of it's horror, the only scars left were in the minds of the people of Mobius themselves. * * * A small yellow, battered hovercar skimmed high above the trees. The sun glinted harshly off of the tinted windshield as it dipped and swerved in the air currents. The motor made irregular noises as it tried valiantly to keep the air car afloat. Inside, the lone occupant calmly watched the scenery float by. He adjusted his rimless glasses on his wrinkled nose as he perused the trees and small lakes as they moved underneath him. Has it really been ten years? Thought Rotor the Walrus. I've been gone too long. He adjusted the speed of his air car and touched a control button that retracted the roof, allowing the fresh air to permeate the interior. He marvelled at the changes the planet had went through in the past ten years. Robotropolis had been totally dismantled and the materials were used to create the kingdom of New Mobotropolis. It had taken quite a few years, but judging from the pictures he had seen of the city, it was a splendid job. The palace had been completely restored on the hill , as well as the palace fountain and the large statue of King Acorn, who was now retired. The new palace resembled the old one, right down to the waterfalls cascading down the sides to the trees and bushes that grew out of the wallside gardens. Behind the waterfalls were several dozen shield generators that linked up into one giant shield that surrounded the palace. It could be raised or lowered in an instant to repel attacks from the outside. It was a higly effective piece of defensive weaponry proudly designed by Uncle Chuck. The city had been restored using the original blueprints, with some minor adjustments. Although Uncle Chuck was not hesitant to employ the use of machines, the horrors the other Mobians had seen of Robotniks technology had scared the people into accepting a more humble lifestyle, using water and air power instead of the oil and gas power that had polluted the planet for so long. But with the humble lifestyle came the realization that protection was necessary and other attacks on them inevitable. That is why the Mobian Army was created, and some technology such as laser weaponry were kept. Rotor thought again about Uncle Chuck, and his inventions on pollution control. The brilliant Hedgehog had churned out device after device of pollution preventing gadgets, and was even rumored to be working on an invention to restore part of the ozone layer over New Mobotropolis. Rotor patted another of Uncle Chucks inventions that sat beside him. The hand held de- roboticizer. A small gadget that incorporated the technology of the original roboticizer into a smaller unit. It also functioned the exact same way. Point and shoot basically. The portable de-roboticizer (or po-ro) as Rotor was fond of calling it, had saved his life more times than he cared to admit. As for the people who had been roboticized, thanks again to Uncle Chuck and some small help from Rotor at first, they had been rounded up and de-roboticized. It had been easy. With noone left controlling them, the robots simply wandered around confusedly until they were picked up, de-roboticized, and returned to the palace. Unfortunately there were still some roboticized people and to a smaller extent, some of Robotniks creations left around, and people would still have to be careful if they happened to meet one of them. Nevertheless, the planet had enjoyed peace and prosperity for more than ten years. Rotor shook his head, to clear his thoughts. His eyes wandered to his dashboard. Several dozen small pictures were taped all over it. They were pictures of all his friends. His eyes locked with the first one, it was a picture of Sonic, Sally, and their two children. Rotor marvelled at how much alike parents and children looked, and hoped they were happy. Next to that picture was a shot of Tails, all grown up now. Rotor figured he was about twenty years old, and was even rumoured to have a girlfriend. Tails smiled and waved to the camera. Beside that was a picture of Antoine, proud and tall in his Captain's uniform. His grin was so wide Rotor swore he saw the outline of the camera's flash as it took his picture. Bunnie's picture was beside his. She sat in a seductive pose, one hand on her hip and another in her hair. Her smile and wink spoke volumes to the lonely walrus. There were other pictures beside hers, and he glanced at each one fondly. He would meet them all again soon enough, for he was fast approaching the palace. He could see the upper portions just over the horizon, the sun glinting off the waterfalls reminding Rotor of a blazing jewel. He couldn't wait to see them, especially Bunnie and Antoine, the former having been rid of the curse of roboticization and the latter finally realizing his dream of becoming Captain of the Royal Guards. Rotor wondered if Antoine still harbored some resentment at Sonic for taking away his only love. Bunnie he knew was doing extremely well, having adopted a little baby girl rabbit. Rotor could still remember the letter she had written several years ago. He had brought Bunnie and her daughter a small gift from his travels, as well as small gifts and several interesting gadgets from his world oddessy. Just then, he slapped his head. He forgot all about Sally's and Sonic's wedding present! He was extrememly unhappy that he had not been able to attend their wedding several years ago, and had swore to make up for it, for he had heard that it was a bonne soiree indeed. The party had lasted for days, Tails had wrote in his letter, the celebrations did not seem to want to end. He had also confided to Rotor that he was happy that the two had finally tied the knot after several years. This caused Rotor to pause in thought for a moment. He had been close to marrying too, there once was someone special in his life, a number of years ago, but they had parted, and had not kept in touch. Rotor wondered what she was doing now. All in all, he was satisfied that the planet had successfully been able to shake off the tragedies it had endured in the ten or so years of Robotniks so called rule, and was finally happy to be home. His onboard computer registered the fact that he had just passed a perimeter marking. His radio immediately crackled to life. "Attention, unidentified air car. This is Palace Air Command. Please state your ID code and destination." Rotor pressed a few buttons. "This is Rotor, access code four-one-oh-one on route to Acorn Palace." There was a pause on the other end. "Your ID code is ten years out of date, four-one-oh-one, but checks out under central registry. Shall I alert the Queen as to your arrival?" "I'd like to make my visit a surprise, if you don't mind." Said Rotor, again adjusting his glasses. "Acknowledged. The palace shields have been lowered. Have a safe landing, Sir Rotor." The radio clicked off. Rotor nodded. He didn't want to try to land with the palace shields still up! They would fry him instantly, they were so powerful. He turned his attention back to his controls, preparing for his landing. Chapter 2 Queen Sally Alicia Acorn-Hedgehog reclined on a large cotton blanket in the middle of a vast field of golden grain. She had taken time out from her Royal Duties to catch up on some quiet time. She had left Nicole and her tiara back at the palace, and had grabbed her favorite book and comfy blanket and had hidden out behind the palace in the grain field. The wind from the nearby ocean, tasting faintly of salt, gently blew the grain back and forth as Sally sank down to the blanket. The only sounds she could hear was the wind whispering over the field and the occasional song of a bird. Sometimes she could hear the crickets chirping, but they never came too close. She still wore her usual attire of vest and boots, not seeing the need for any extra clothing. Her father, the once-King of Mobius, had tried to get her to at least wear a cloak, to symbolize her royal status. But Sally would have none of it, stating she was quite happy with the attire she had. She finally acquiesed though, to change the color of her clothes from blue to Royal purple, the Acorn's Official Family Color. Sally wondered how her father was doing. He was over in the northern part of the continent, on some trade mission acting as an intermediate between two clans who could not seem to get along. She had also grown her hair a bit longer, so now it curled around her ears and hung down to her shoulders. It was still the same dark red as always, and in the same hairstyle she wore over ten years ago. Even at her wedding, she would not adorn herself with any of the royal rainments, she was much too modest for that. Better not to show off too much, she said, than to show off. Finally her father had given up, stating that she was like her mother, very stubborn. Today though, she felt she needed some time away from the busy world, and had retired to the fields, one of her favorite places to relax. She had only started reading her fourth page when she thought she heard a rustle in the field. She frowned and put down her book, scanning the area. The sound did not repeat itself, so Sally mentally shrugged and went back to her reading. A few seconds later, there was another rustle, this time a little closer, and a little louder. She again put her book down and raised herself to her knees. "Who's there?" She asked, trying to see throught the dense field of wheat. No one had answered, but the rustling sounds grew more frequent and louder. The first noise was then joined by a second. "Who's out there? Hello?" Asked Sally, her body braced for any trouble. Suddenly a tan hand reached out from behind her and grabbed her shoulder, and pulled her backwards. Surprised, she landed on her back, with a tiny "oof". Then a small blue figure jumped out from the grain and landed on her stomach. The blue figure was joined by an equally small brown figure, and all three tumbled around in a jumble of arms and legs. After a few minutes of this wrestling, breathless, Sally raised her hands up in the air. "All right, you two. I give in. Now help your Mother up." She said. The two small children lifted their mother up with exaggerated grunts. She pulled both of them onto her lap. One was her son, a small blue Hedgehog, who looked exactly like Sonic, complete down to the little red and white sneakers. The other, a small female squirrel, looked up at her mother and giggled at the joke the two had played. She looked exactly like Sally did, brown fur and dark red hair in Sally's hairstyle. "Did we surprise you, Mom?" Asked the small Hedgehog. Sally nodded her head. "You sure did, Honey." He nodded his head. "See, I told you so." He said to his sister. "Momma, how come you're sitting out here?" Said the small girl. Sally sat them on the blanket. "Well, sometimes Mommy needs to get away from things for awhile, to relax." She frowned during her talk because the boy had gotten up and had started throwing around his toy glider. The girl was watching him intently. "Just like your father. Such a large span of attention." Said Sally, crossing her arms, and smiling faintly. The girl turned around to look at Sally. "Momma, when is Daddy coming home?" Sally sighed. "Well, Honey, Daddy will be gone for a long time. He and Uncle Tails have gone out into the ocean and far away to help Uncle Chuck with an invention." The boy sat down. "Hey Mom, tell us another story when you were a Freedom Fighter, and Dad too." He said, bouncing up and down. "Haven't you heard enough stories about that?" Sally asked, incredulously. She told them a different tale each night before bed. "No!" They both said, and then laughed after saying it. So Sally sighed, and had them both pay attention while she told them a story. * * * Way back when, when the Freedom Fighters were still living in Knothole, Sonic came screeching down the main route to Sally's hut. Rotor, Bunnie and Antoine were already there, sitting at the large oval table in Sally's kitchen. Sonic raced through the door and sidled up to Sally. He placed a large sheet of paper on the table in front of her. Sally picked it up and started to read. "Who is the most skilled fighter on Mobius? Find out tomorrow at the Tournament of Champions. Come out and show off your fighting skills. Trophy and prize to the winner. Where did you get this, Sonic?" "It was taped to some old tree at the edge of the Great Forest." Said Sonic. Rotor pointed to the sign. "But who wrote it?" "I dunno. So where is this Tournament?" Asked Sonic Sally looked at the sign. "It says: At the abandoned village of Pinewood. That's twenty miles northwest of here." "No prob." Said Sonic, with a sweeping gesture of his hand. "I'll win that contest, hands down." "Sonic, this is obviously a trap. Don't tell me you're going to walk right into it." Said Sally, frowning. "Hey, there's not a trap made that can hold this Hedgehog." He said, pointing to himself. Bunnie shook her head, her long ears flapping with the motion. "C'mon sugar hog, you can't think this l'il ol' tournament thing is real?" "So what? I'm still gonna win." He said, folding his arms. Sally sighed. "You're missing the point, Sonic. Very well, we'll go check this out. But we won't go in without a power ring. If this is a trap, I want every possible precaution taken. Bunnie, you, I and Sonic will go. The rest of you will stay here and guard Knothole. If this is a trap there is no need to expose more people to it." "All right Sal!" Exclaimed Sonic, giving her the thumbs up. "I already have a spot in my trophy case reserved for it." "Uh-huh. And what makes you think you're going to win, Mr. Big Shot?" Asked Sally. Sonic frowned. "What do you mean?" He asked. "I'm going to fight in the tournament too. Might as well keep in shape." She said. Bunnie joined in. "Ah think ah will fight too. Been too long without any action." Sonic backed up. "Whoa guys. Is that a good idea, I mean..." Sally raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What's the matter Sonic? Afraid one of us might beat you?" She chuckled. "Oh no, Sal. You know I wouldn't fight a girl, I mean.." He gulped. Sally folded her arms. "I see, Sonic. You mean us girls aren't good enough to fight?" "Uh, uh. I mean...Hey! I think I hear Tails calling! Gotta juice!" And with that he rocketed out the door. Sally and Bunnie laughed to each other. Rotor just shook his head. Antoine just sat with a confused expression on his face. "We'll show Sonic who's a good fighter." Said Sally. Bunnie put a hand on Sally's shoulder. "You said it, Sally girl." * * * The next day found Sonic, Sally and Bunnie high-tailing it to the deserted village of Pinewood. It once was a stronghold for a group of Freedom Fighters, but they had been captured and roboticized years ago, and now only the huts still stood. Someone though had built a large square ring in the center of the village. It was about thirty feet square, with tall posts in each corner and rubberized ropes encircling it. People were emerging from the forest all over to converge on the arena. Sally counted a total of thirty people. A large kangaroo type creature bounded into the ring and addressed the crowd. "Welcome ladies and gentlecreatures to the Tournament of Champions." He paused, as if expecting some applause. "I am Mr. Hopper. I arranged this little get together to determine the most skillful fighter on Mobius. There will be a trophy and special prize to the winner. How we determine who fights who is easy. Each one of you is now being given a small ball." He paused, as several Koala's handed each of the contestants a small black colored ball with red numbering. Hopper continued. "Each ball is numbered. We have the same small balls in this basket. We will pick two balls, and those whose numbers match will fight. Let me remind you that this is full contact fighting with no padding, but this is not a fight to the death! Oh no! Each clean hit will be awarded a point. The fighter who earns three points, or knocks out their opponent, wins. Is everyone clear on the details?" He looked around his captive audience, and found that there were none, so he hopped out of the ring to a small table on the side. "Very well then. Let's begin. Numbers ten and twenty eight" He said, drawing the balls. The first two fighters were a small racoon and a small bear. They both entered the ring on opposite sides. When Mr. Hopper yelled "Fight", they converged on each other. Each eyed the other warily, looking for an opening. They circled round and round. Suddenly, the bear opened with a spinning back kick, and the racoon barely ducked in time. The foot sailed overhead and the racoon countered with a hard fist to the stomach. The bear went down, out of breath. "One point to the racoon." Crowed Hopper. The fight did not take long, with the racoon coming out as the winner. This fighting went on all morning, with half of the contestants being disqualified. Instead of being let go, they were told to sit in the grandstand until the fighting was over. Noone complained, everyone was getting into the spirit of the fighting. Bunnie was called next and she was paired up against a large crocodile creature. Bunnie cracked her knuckles as she prepared to fight. The croc pounced on her, hoping to trap her between his arms. "Why sugar, are you tryin' to be fresh with l'il ol' me?" Asked Bunnie coyly, fluttering her eyelids. She worked her robot arm loose and grabbed the crocs arm. She flipped him on his back easily. She then picked up the croc and tossed him out of the ring, and he landed on the ground hard. He was disqualified for leaving the ring. Four more pairs fought, and all ended in quick results. The day was getting on, and they were allowed to break for lunch. Sally, Sonic and Bunnie sat on a blanket together and discussed the days events. "I can't put my finger on it, but something is funny here." Said Sally. Sonic frowned. "You said it, Sal. This egg sandwich tastes funny." "Sonic! I was talking about this tournament." Sonic shook his head. "Sal, you always think that. Why can't you relax?" "Why can't you use your brain?" She said, pointing to her head. Sonic talked between mouthfuls. "Hurts too much." He said. Sally rolled her eyes at Sonic and looked around the fairground. Everything seemed in place, and yet not. She glanced around at the combatants. She noticed that there seemed to be more koala bears around than any other specie of animal. She frowned to herself. * * * After lunch the tournament resumed. Bunnie had forgone her next fight, so she had been disqualified. Sonic drew a lot against a large fox. It was totally red- furred, and did not look happy. It had won it's two previous fights, while this was Sonic's first. They charged each other, and entered into a strength contest. They locked hands, each pushing against the other. Sonic gritted his teeth and pushed hard, as did the fox. They seemed pretty evenly matched, for neither backed down. "Alley oop!" Said Sonic, falling back, taking the fox with him. When Sonic was down on his back, he kicked the fox in the chest, causing him to sail up and over him. The fox landed hard on it's back, but it quickly got up and charged. "You're pretty quick. But I'm faster!" Said Sonic, his feet whirling. He ducked under the fox's arm as it swung to punch him. Sonic ran around and around the fox, faster and faster, until the fox was dizzy from trying to watch him. The fox staggered around as it tried to get it's bearing, but Sonic was there. "Nighty night, bozo." He said, as he socked the fox. The fox went down and did not get back up. Sonic won his fight easily with the fox, and now it was Sally's turn. She had drawn against a large porcupine. She wasted no time. She wanted to show Sonic she could fight as well as he. She kicked the porcupine in the chest and then followed with a straight arm sweep, knocking the porcupine senseless. She then flipped it over her shoulder. The porcupine skittered away. "She's too dangerous! I forfeit this fight!" He whimpered. Mr. Hopper did not look amused. "There are no forfeitures in this tournament." He snapped. The porcupine turned around but was caught on the chin by Sally with a flying kick. The porcupine fell to the mat, unconscious. Two koalas dragged him away. Hopper bounded into the ring. "Now it's time for our semi final match! We have three finalists, and the fighter with the most points wins a bye for this round. So the fighters are numbers four and twenty-six" Sally and Sonic gaped. They were to fight each other! "I won't do it." Said Sonic firmly. "I won't fight Sally." Hopper came bounding up. "Look boy, you can't quit. If you do, then you're disqualified, and she will have to fight the champion." He pointed over to a corner. There stood an immense lion. He was over seven feet tall and very muscular. His golden fur seemed almost to glow. Sonic swallowed hard. "All right. I'll fight, but I won't like it." He said sadly. Sally was actually glad for this opportunity to show Sonic how good a fighter she was. He never took her seriously when it came to fighting, and now she would show him. Of course, she would put on a show and then jump out of the ring, to disqualify herself. They stood apart, and at Hoppers command, circled each other. "I won't hurt you, Sal." Whispered Sonic. Sally aimed a low kick at Sonic's knees, which he barely avoided. She immediately followed with an uppercut punch, catching Sonic square on the jaw. He staggered back, fingering his jaw muscles. He moved back just as Sally performed a jumping roundhouse kick that swished by him. She then jumped over him, and as Sonic ducked, she landed on her hands behind him and mule kicked him in the back. He flew against the ropes and bounced off, stunned. "That's two points for number twenty six." Said Hopper. Sonic was angry now. He had been holding back, for Sally's sake, but it appeared that she wasn't holding back at all. He gritted his teeth as he turned around. Sally was already flying towards him, her left foot aimed at his head. He reached up quickly and grabbed her foot, throwing her to the mat. She landed with a small `oof'. Sonic stalked into the middle of the ring as Sally flipped herself up. She jumped again at Sonic and Sonic, startled, raised his right leg for a side kick. He caught her hard, right in the breadbasket, knocking the wind out of her. Sally went down to the mat, moaning and coughing. "That's two points apiece." Said Hopper. "Sal!" Exclaimed Sonic rushing to her side. "I'm sorry, Sal. I never meant to hurt you." Wheezing, Sally looked at him. "It's ok. At least now I owe you THIS!" She said, and punched Sonic full in the face, knocking him out. They dragged Sonic away. Hopper jumped up to Sally. "Now my dear, I hope you can handle yourself against the champion. Bring out Liongold!" The large lion pranced to the ring. Sally stared at this huge creature. She had not meant to win her match, but her punch at Sonic had been in anger, and she did not mean to knock him out, but she would show everyone that she was not a quitter. She faced the lion bravely. "Fight!" Yelled Hopper. And the lion advanced. He held his claws straight out, as to rip Sally to shreds. He raised them over his head, still advancing. He roared a challenge, and Sally jumped up, and delivered the hardest kick she had ever made smack at his nose. A large CRACK was heard. Sally landed on her side and rolled away. The lion stood still for a moment, then tilted forward. It's head bounced off the mat twice as it fell, and was still. The crowd cheered wildly, unbelieving that Sally had beaten the giant lion. Even Hopper was impressed. "You have won. Truly, you are the most skilled fighter on Mobius. And now, here is your special prize." Two of his koalas had rolled out a large object under a tarpaulin. When the object stopped, one lifted it up, revealing a portable roboticizer! Hopper grabbed her by the arm. "Your prize is to be roboticized and to serve our master, Dr. Robotnik!" He growled, his eyes glowing red now. The koalas had shed their fur revealing themselves to be small robots. They levelled their laser guns at the crowd of now panicking Mobians. Only Sonic wasn't panicking, he was still trying to shake the cobwebs out of his brain. Bunnie helped him sit up. "Sugarhog, if'n there ever was a time that we needed you, it's now!" She said. Sonic raised himself unsteadily. "Man, that's the last time I fight with Sal." "She sure rung your southern belle." Said Bunnie. She handed Sonic the golden power ring she took out of Sonic's pack, which she was holding. He grabbed it and raised it high. Golden energy swirled around him. "Juice time!" Sonic zipped off towards Hopper and Sally. He was trying to push her into the roboticizer, and Sally was doing everything she could to stop him. Sonic buzzed through his arm, releasing Sally. His arm fell to the ground, sparking. Hopper tried to raise a gun to Sonic, but Sonic had pushed him into the roboticizer, and turned it on. The roboticizer tried to make the robot Hopper into a robot again, and both machines exploded. Sonic dropped Sally at the other side of the ring. The koala robots, now confused that their leader was gone, were easy targets for the other Mobians. Fresh from fighting, they made short work of the robots. When they were done, Sally made them scatter back to their villages. Soon only Sally, Bunnie and Sonic were left. "I'm sorry I hit you, Sonic. Where does it hurt?" Apologized Sally. Sonic pointed to his head. "Right here." He said. Sally kissed the spot. "Anywhere else?" "Well, right here." He touched his nose. After Sally kissed his nose, she said. "All right?" "Well, you kinda bruised me right here." Sonic said, touching his lip. Sally smiled and kissed Sonic, who grabbed her and kissed her hard. At that time Bunnie noticed some interesting cloud formations, and went to study them. She hoped they would be finished by the time it got dark. Presently Sally and Sonic walked up to her, hand in hand. "Let's go home, Bunnie." Said Sally. Bunnie noticed their hands. "Ever'thing all right now?" "Always has been." Snickered Sonic. * * * Sally leaned back, tired from telling her story. "That was cool mom!" Said the boy. "Lotsa fighting and stuff!" The girl put her hands behind her head. "I like the romance." He made a face. "Yuck!" He said, sticking his tongue out. "But there was a lesson to be learned from that story kids. And that is: Everything is not always as it seems." Said Sally. "Huh?" They said in unison. Sally laughed. "Sometimes what you see is not always what you get." She said. "It was still a cool story." Said the boy. Sally stood up. "Well children. While I was telling you that story I noticed an air car had landed at the castle. Would you like to go see who it is?" She asked. "Yeah!" They both yelled. Sally pointed to her belongings. "Well then. If one of you would carry my book, and the other my blanket, we'll go see, OK?" They took Sallys things and starting walking. "Mom, will Dad come home soon?" Asked the girl. "I hope so, Honey. I really hope so." She sighed, looking at the clouds. * * * Rotor approached the landing pad that jutted out from the middle levels of the castle. He carefully adjusted his vernier jets as he landed his craft. He let the air jets cycle off before descending from the cabin. He smoothed his robes around him as he walked off the pad. The double doors leading into the palace opened at his prescence, and then quickly closed behind him. The air inside was cool and fresh, not oppressive as it was outside. Apparently the air cooling/circulating vents were working full time. Relying on his memory, he quickly turned a corner and headed towards Uncle Chuck's lab. The door opened obediently for him. He saw Uncle Chuck at the far end of the lab, with his back turned towards him. Computers flashed data on monitors all around him, and there was a definite smell of burnt silicon in the air. Uncle Chuck wielded a small welder that made tiny flashes in the air. "You know, you really should use an energy inhibitor with that." Said Rotor, placing his hands behind his back. "Eh?" Said Uncle Chuck, swiveling his head to see who was there. He flipped up the visor he was wearing over his eyes. "Rotor! What a pleasant surprise!" He shut off the welder and placed it on his workbench, along with his visor. They walked towards each other and clasped hands. Rotor notice that Uncle Chuck had not changed too much since he last seen him. His mustache and eyebrows were still grey but a bit bushier, and of course there were a few more wrinkles under his eyes, but Rotor could see that they were laugh lines. "It's good to see you again, Sir Charles." Said Rotor, pumping his hand. Uncle Chuck laughed. "It's good to see you too. How long has it been? Eight years?" "Ten, I think. So Sir Charles, how have you been keeping?" Asked Rotor, letting his eyes roam around the lab. "It seems you've been very busy these last few years." Uncle Chuck put his arm around Rotor, and steered him across the room. "Well, Rotor. Keeping the pollution levels down has been a lot of work. Even after ten years there is still a lot of pollution and junk in the upper atmosphere, and it's wreaking havoc with our weather patterns. I've been trying to come up with something that will clean it up, but it hasn't been easy." Rotor looked over the computer monitors. "Maybe I can help." Uncle Chuck put his hands on his hips. "I was hoping that you would say that, Rotor. I can sure use the extra hands." "Let's see what we can do." Said Rotor, moving towards a computer console. Chapter 3 Sonic Hedgehog was atop the cabin roof of his boat, the Princess Sally. He was playing air guitar to a wailing song on his portable radio. The rock music wafted loudly over the waves as he pranced and strutted around. His arms flailed along with the lead guitar as he jumped and spun in place. The song ended on a high downbeat as Sonic leaped up and spun around again, landing on his knees. He got up and clicked off his radio, a wild grin on his face. He turned to look at the water, his left hand over his eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of land. He snapped his head to the left, and then to the right and back again. Seeing nothing but water all around, he folded his arms and tapped his foot impatiently. He then ran his hand through his quills, marvelling at himself. Still looking good, he thought. He wore the same sneakers he always did, even if they were getting a bit ratty, and he was still a deep blue, not having lost his colour to age yet. Although he had not even touched a power ring in over eight years, he was still an impatient adventurer, prefering action to standing still. Even on this trip, he preferred to go alone with Tails instead of with a full complement of palace guards. He felt they cramped his style, anyway. It was a clear sunny day, with a strong wind that insisted on whipping the hood of his windbreaker into his face. He jumped off the roof, down to the main deck. He walked to the mast, and checked the sail. After pulling the mainline taut, he zipped over to the wheel. He disconnected the auto pilot and steered the boat himself. The sun was not yet high up in the sky and was casting long morning shadows. One floated over him and he looked up into it. Silhouetted against the sun was an irregular shape. His eyes drifted to the taut line that was tied to the end of the boat and rose up out of sight into the shadow. Sonic reached over and placed a communication's headset over his ears, and adjusted the microphone. "Yo, Tails. See anything yet?" He asked, a small crackle of static followed his question. High above the boat, tied to the line by the waist, flew Tails. He used his tails as propellors to keep him aloft. He was a lot bigger now, his tails longer. No longer a kid, he was always in the thick of things. He lowered his binoculars and adjusted his microphone. "Nothing yet, Sonic. All clear." He said. "Yeah, well the sooner we get to this island and pick up Uncle Chuck's part, the sooner we can juice back home. I miss Sally and the kids." Said Sonic, pacing up and down the boat. "And I miss Tara." Said Tails, pulling out a picture of his girlfriend. She was a golden brown furred fox, like himself, and twenty, exactly his age. She had a long golden tail that she would wrap around him,and then she would... He smiled warmly at the thought, hoping he would get back to her soon. Sonic drummed his fingers on the wheel. "How much further is this island? We've been out here for days." He complained. When his question went unreplied, he looked up at Tails. He floated there, slack, with a goofy lovesick expression on his face Sonic had seen many times. He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Hello? Loverboy? Hey Tails!" He finally yelled into his microphone. Tails was startled back to reality. "Huh? What?" Tails pulled a map out of his windbreaker pocket. "According to the map, we have another twenty or so miles to go." "Twenty miles?" Squawked Sonic. "We should be able to see this island at that distance." Tails thought for a minute. "Not necessarily. This island isn't very big. Only ten or so miles across." Suddenly, a movement off to Tail's left caught his eye, and he raised his binoculars. "Sonic, I see a sharkbot. Three miles off your port." Sonic turned his head to the left. Sure enough, a large metal fin was sticking out of the water, and it was streaking right towards him! "Better cut yourself loose, Big Guy. It's gonna get rough down here." Said Sonic, pulling the wheel to the right. The metal fin was close enough to see the rivets. He reached down and picked up a small wire- guided harpoon gun. Behind him, he heard a wet splat as the tow line hit the water. Tails was flying down towards the boat to aid Sonic. Sonic raised the gun's sight to his eyes, and aiming down it, squeezed the trigger that released the harpoon. It sailed off with a muffled `bang' and lodged itself deep in the sharkbot's side. The `bot reeled back in pain, then shot forward and slammed into the side of the boat, knocking Sonic to the deck. The gun went flying out of his hand and landed on the cabin roof. Sonic had to get to the gun to activate the lethal electrical charge to fry the `bot before the `bot destroyed the boat. He leapt onto the roof, landing on his stomach. The gun's wire had spooled out though, and the gun went skittering across the roof and onto the deck. The sharkbot rammed into the boat again, this time shattering the forward hull. Again the sharkbot swam away, to get distance in order to ram the boat again. This time Sonic jumped to his feet and rocketed fullt tilt towards the gun, now sliding across the deck. Unfortunately, Tails had the same idea and they both slammed into each other and fell to the deck, just shy of their target. Sonic pushed Tails off of him and jumped on the gun. He turned it over and slapped the big red button, delivering the lethal charge, but it was too late. The sharkbot had gathered enough momentum to jump over the boat and was doing so when Sonic activated the charge. Deactivated, the sharkbot came down and crashed through the center of the boat, breaking it in half. The boat, sharkbot and Sonic sank underwater. Tails was able to pull up in time and was hovering over the crash site, looking for Sonic. He scanned the water for several minutes but he did not surface. "Sonic..." He moaned. Meanwhile, Sonic was underwater fighting to free himself from his windbreaker. The flimsy material was tangling him up. Finally he managed to shake himself free of it as he watched his boat, several pieces of debris, and the sharkbot sink by him. The `bots eyes were glazed over and lifeless, which suited Sonic just fine. Now free of his jacket, he quickly swam up towards the surface, gasping for air as he broke through. A pair of hands grabbed him under his arms and lifted him out of the water. "Tails!" Exclaimed Sonic. "Am I glad to see you, bud." Tails grinned. "Same here. I thought you were a goner." "Likewise, l'il bro. Well, so much for our boat. Think you're up for a flight?" Asked Sonic, raising his eyes at Tails. "Do I have a choice?" Chuckled Tails, as he flew them away. * * * Rotor was still conversing with Uncle Chuck when suddenly he was surrounded by two very fast blurs. They ran round and round him, faster and faster until the blurs too were lost in the incredible speed. Suddenly they stopped with the screech of rubber soles, and both looked up to Rotor curiously. "Who're you?" Asked the small Hedgehog boy. Just then Sally came running into the lab. "Rotor!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around him and hugging him tightly. "You came back! Is everything all right?" Rotor squeezed her back. "I'm all right, your Highness. Really. Boy, you haven't changed a bit." He said, as Sally blushed a bright red. He looked down at the two children. "I don't think we have been formally introduced." "I'm Scooter." Said the boy, jerking a thumb to his chest. The girl performed a small curtsey. "I'm Sarah. Princess Sarah." She emphasized with a bit of pride. She brushed her long dark red hair from her eyes, a gesture she copied from her mother. Scooter stood off to the side, arms folded and foot tapping, like another Hedgehog Rotor was fond of. "And this is your Uncle Rotor. He's been gone away for a very long time, but now he's home to stay?" She glanced at Rotor, questioningly. Rotor nodded. "Yes, I am. I'm happy to say my journey is finally over, and I've come back to live with my friends again." "Uncle Rotor?" Asked Scooter, scrunching up his face. "He's a walrus!" Sally smiled down at him. "Well honey, we all come from a much bigger family." Just then Antoine came running up, his sword crashing against his side. He had seen the two fireballs rocketing down the hallway and had come chasing after them. "What ees thees commotions all about?" He asked in his heavy French accent. He gasped as he saw Rotor. "Sacre Blue Cheese! Rotair! What a pleasant surprise! Mon Dieu, eet `as been a long time, n'est-ce pas?" "Hey Antoine," Winked Rotor. "Looking good." Antoine's uniform was all gold braid and ribbons, with a shiny silver sword at his waist, a long royal blue coat and shiny brown boots. He looked like an overblown christmas tree. "But of course, Naturellement, for ze Captain of ze Guards." He said, straightening his back with exaggerated pride. Rotor turned back to Sally. "So where's Bunnie?" He asked. "She's in class with Catelyn, I believe. Oh Rotor you have to see her, she is such a little darling!" Exclaimed Sally, clapping her hands together. "Bunnie will especially be very happy to see you!" Uncle Chuck broke into the conversation. "You know, now that you're all here, I might as well show you my newest invention, a sort of work in progress. I was going to save this for later, when Sonic and Tails came back." He winked at them, as he walked over to a blank section of wall. He pushed a single red button and the wall panel raised up and out of sight. When the panel had slid up, a transparent glass case on a tall pedestal came rolling out. Inside the glass case was a dull metal ring. On closer inspection the dull metal was actually a combination of wires and small microchips that were bonded to the ring. "A metal ring?" Asked Sally. Uncle Chuck laughed. "Not just an ordinary ring, Queen Sally. A power ring, a MegaPower ring!" He said with a flourish of hands. "A MegaPower ring?" Asked Rotor. "Yes! A few months ago, the power ring pool in Knothole gave up this ring. It didn't dissolve back into the water, and it didn't dissapear after twenty four hours like it was supposed to. I took it back here and did numerous tests on it. This ring is actually ten thousand times more powerful than a normal power ring!" He exulted. "Ten thousand times?" Asked Sally, wide eyed. "How is that possible?" Uncle Chuck shrugged. "I don't know. I can't explain why. But I can tell you that this ring is dangerous. If this ring fell into the wrong hands, it could cause a lot of damage. For this reason alone is why the ring is wrapped several times with conductive wire and microchips. The chips are actually control modules that modulate the energy passing through the ring at any given time." Antoine had pointed to a section of the ring that was not covered with the wire. The spot glowed an intense gold. "Umm, Uncle Shuck, why is dis area `ere not covered?" He said, squinting into the golden light. "That's the spot where the command control module, or CCM would sit, but the one I had built wasn't strong enough to handle all the current, and it burned out. Without the CCM, the ring's energy would become unstable and would probably explode. I had been in contact for some time with another scientist named Doctor Edward Rose, who lives far south of here on the Isle of Mern. With his help we had managed to construct another, more powerful command module. I sent Sonic and Tails there earlier this week to bring it here." "So then, can anybody use this ring?" Asked Sally, hands on hips. "Yes and no." Said Uncle Chuck. He saw the look on Sally's face. "Let me explain. First of all, no matter how powerful it is, it is still a power ring, and only Sonic can utilize them. But, this unique ring is also an unlimited power source, and could be tapped for any type of purpose. This is why I have hidden it away from prying eyes. If the secret of this ring were to ever get out, who knows what might happen if say some other faction decided they wanted to take over Mobius. I don't want this to fall into the wrong hands." Said Uncle Chuck, with finality. "Good idea." Said Sally, turning to her two children who were sitting in the corner, playing quietly. "Come on, you two, let's go for lunch." Scooter jumped up. "All right! Chili dogs!" He yelled. Sarah made a disgusted face. "You had chili dogs for breakfast." Sally led them out of the lab. Antoine followed suit, bowing and turning smartly and marching out the door. Uncle Chuck returned the ring to it's small alcove. "Well, Rotor. What do you think of my new invention?" "It's very interesting, Sir Charles." "Are you coming for lunch? I'm sure Rosie has whipped up something delicious this time!" Asked Uncle Chuck. "Uhh..I'm not very hungry." Said Rotor. "I had eaten on the flight in. Maybe I'll go and try to find Bunnie." He turned around and walked away. Uncle Chuck was about to leave when he noticed one of his earlier inventions lying on the bench. He couldn't leave an unfinished invention lying around, so he turned around and picked it up, deciding lunch could wait for awhile. * * * Bunnie stood outside of the castle with another female and a horde of children. This was school time, and Bunnie was here as a teacher's aide. The main teacher, Mrs. Thorn, had her hands full dealing with thirty children at once, so Bunnie volunteered her time to help her, which was gratefully accepted. Bunnie's adopted daughter, Catelyn, was in this class, another reason why Bunnie wanted to help. She would help out with lessons and other activities, as well as lunches, naptimes, and homework. Today, they were standing in the fields behind the enormous castle as a part of afternoon play. Mrs. Thorn thought it would be a good idea to spend play time outdoors, since it was such a beautiful day. The children romped around, talking, laughing and squealing, and Mrs. Thorn and Bunnie sat together on a bench, quietly chatting, or trying to over the children's noises. Bunnie wore a flattering set of overalls that were cut off mid-thigh, with a thin white top. She was very proud of the fact that she finally had her own body back, and never wasted an opportunity to show it off, having been half-roboticized for many years. Her daughter wore a print summer dress, and had pink bows on the tips of her ears. Bunnie watched her play, marvelling at how much energy she had. Mrs. Thorn noticed Bunnie watching the children and commented. "Quite a riotous bunch, are they not?" Bunnie laughed. "I'll say! Makes me tired just watchin' `em." Catelyn and a few other children had moved beside the castle wall, and Bunnie noticed and called out. "Catelyn, honey, c'mon back over here so I can see y'all." She stood up, and waved over to her. The children could not hear her over the amount of noise they were making, so Bunnie called louder. Above the children, high up on one of the castle's many floors, some debris, wood and rock from previous construction, started moving. All at once, the debris fell to the ground, hitting and completely covered the playing children. Both Mrs. Thorn and Bunnie screamed, and stood up totally shocked. Bunnie ran towards the crying children as Mrs. Thorn ran to get help. Bunnie ran up to the debris, tears flowing from her eyes. She surveyed the area quickly and tried to lift the stones free, but they were too heavy. She pulled and pulled, sweat pouring from her brow, but she couldn't raise the heavy stones. She started to cry, and shake from the effort, every moment getting more and more frantic and frustrated. She cried out, and exerted as much force as she could, and then something happened. A small electrical field suddenly surrounded Bunnie, crackling around her. She did not notice it, however, she did notice her body started to feel funny. She grew a few inches taller and heard her overalls and shirt rip at the legs and her left arm. Then she found herself easily lifting the stone debris and throwing it far away, then rushing to the children's sides. She lifted them up, frantically checking for any injuries. Luckily, the debris had fallen mostly around the children, and not directly on top of them, so they only suffered minor cuts and bruises. Bunnie held Catelyn tight to her, but Catelyn pushed her away. "Mommy, what happened to you?" Catelyn asked, her eyes wide. Bunnie looked puzzled. "Whatever do you mean, honey?" She reached up with her left hand to wipe the sweat from her brow, then recoiled in horror. Her arm was mechanical again! She looked to her legs, sure enough, they had reverted back to their old mechanical form! She scrabbled away from Catelyn in shock, not wanting to believe the sight. She broke down, and cried into her hands. Just then, Mrs. Thorn, Rotor and Uncle Chuck came running up with a small team of doctors from the infirmary. The doctors tended to the children while the rest crowded around Bunnie. "Go away! Don't look at me." She sobbed, pushing them away. She realized that Rotor was there, looking at her with deep concern. "Rotor! Oh, I don't want you to see me like this!" She tried to hide herself, shocked, horrified and embarassed all at the same time. Uncle Chuck regarded Bunnie with scientific curiosity. "How did this happen? I thought we permanently de- mechanized you." He pulled out a small gadget from his pouch, and ran it over Bunnie. "I-I don't know." Sniffled Bunnie, trying to gather her torn clothes around her. "I was tryin' to pull the debris off of the kids and all of a sudden I'm back to my old self agin." She wiped away her tears. Uncle Chuck regarded his gadget. "According to this, your body's molecules are in a state of flux, they can't decide whether to stay biological or mechanical. Your straining with the debris must have triggered this change in you. Your adrenaline levels are way up, they probably have something to do with it." He pointed to Rotor. "Rotor, you still have the po-ro on you, right?" Rotor pulled out the hand-held portable de-roboticizer from his robes. "Right here." He pointed it at Bunnie and pressed the big red button. A beam of energy emanated from the crystal and Bunnie was covered in a greenish glow. The po-ro did its job and Bunnie was once again whole flesh. She looked at herself, hope replacing the despair on her face. "Yuh did it! I'm me again!" She squealed, and hugged Rotor. Uncle Chuck regarded the gadget again. "Yes, for now. But I'm afraid that your body is still in a confused state. You can become mechanized again if your adrenaline levels go up." "But how? Why is this happening to me?" Asked Bunnie. Uncle Chuck shook his head. "It must be because of your interrupted roboticization. We know for a fact that fully robotocized people can be fully restored with no after effects, but you Bunnie, are a bit of an enigma. You're the only being we know who has only been half roboticized, and because of that, the derobotization didn't affect you fully. It's very puzzling." "Can't yuh fix me up?" She asked, hope radiating from her eyes. Uncle Chuck shrugged. "I don't know. I'll sure try though." Mrs. Thorn gathered up the rest of the children, and walked up to Bunnie. "Thank goodness they only have small cuts and bruises! Bunnie, you should be happy you were able to help, or who knows what might have happened." She looked down at the remaining children, the others having been taken to the infirmary by the medics. "Come class, we've had enough excitement for one day." They walked back into the castle, leaving Bunnie, Rotor and Uncle Chuck in the field, still puzzling over Bunnie's predicament. Chapter 4 Tails flew low over the ocean, dragging Sonic along by the arms. He had flown for several hours now, and was getting extremely tired. He had been dipping lower and lower to the water, another inch and Sonic's sneakers would be getting wet. "I don't think..I'm going..to make..it." Panted Tails, struggling to keep in flight. Sonic was getting worried. They still had a long way to go, and Sonic really didn't feel like going for a swim, but suddenly he and Tails dropped into the water with a large splash. He broke the surface, and grabbed Tails by his windbreaker. "Hang on kid." He said, splashing around. "Sorry Sonic." Mumbled Tails, exhausted. Sonic looked around, trying to keep the both of them above water. "Don't sweat it, kid." A few hundred meters away, he spotted a long dark shape floating in the water. He dragged Tails along, struggling to get to the object. He at last saw what it was: a log. He threw Tails on top of it, landing him on his stomach. "Hang on, Big guy. It's time to do a little motoring." Tails didn't answer, he was still trying to get his breath back, his back heaving back and forth. Sonic grabbed the end of the log, and by kicking his feet like he was running, was able to act like an outboard motor. The log sliced through the water. The cool breeze helped Tails recover, and presently he sat up. "Glad to see you're feeling better, Tails." Said Sonic over the noise of his kicking feet. Tails nodded at Sonic and pulled out the map. After perusing it for a few seconds, turned back. "Angle over to the left a bit, Sonic. We should be getting close to the island." Sonic pushed the log over and paddled for another ten minutes. "I think I see the island." He pointed. Sure enough, a small land mass was becoming visible over the horizon. "That's gotta be the Isle of Mern!" Said Tails, excitedly. Sonic grinned. "Hang on, Tails. I'm gonna kick this baby into overdrive!" He said, as he put more effort into his kicking. The log roared across the water, and in a few minutes was scraping the beach sand. "Way past cool, Sonic!" Said Tails, giving Sonic a high five. "Serious cool!" Replied Sonic. * * * At the far end of the beach, a small girl watched them. She was a very young, pink furred Hedgehog. She had pink upswept hair which was held in place by a pink headband. She wore a white shortsleeved shirt and a pink pleated skirt, and white sneakers with pink socks and pink laces. She looked back down to her sand castle when she noticed Sonic and Tails approaching her. "Hey kid." Said Sonic, stopping at her castle. "Can you tell us where Oakdale Village is?" She looked up at him again, and Sonic could see tear tracks down her cheeks. She didn't speak to him but pointed down a path behind her. Sonic looked at Tails who merely shrugged. "Uhh..thanks." He said, as they turned down the path. The Hedgehog girl watched them go, and then stood up and brushed the sand from her pink knees. She then turned around and walked up the path. * * * Sonic and Tails soon approached the small village. Several huts were lined in a semicircle defining the perimeter. They passed between two huts and approached the village center. Many people were milling about, talking, or going about their business. Everything looked bright and cheerful, but Sonic thought he could feel some kind of nervousness in the air. He shook it off, looking for the village elder. Presently, an older lion creature walked out from a hut followed by a warthog creature. They wore loose fitting robes that reached down to their ankles. The lions was a red and gold robe with gold trim, the warthogs was a blue with silver trim. They both wore sandals on their feet. They both strolled up to Sonic. "Ah King Sonic, what a pleasant surprise! Welcome to the Village of Oakdale. I am Cedrik Edgewater, Clan leader. This is Stepford, my chief assistant." Handshakes were exchanged. "Glad to meet you, Cedrik. This is Tails. Nice village you have here." Said Sonic, looking around. Cedrik smiled. "Why thank you, your Majesty. Have you eaten yet? It is near our lunch time and I would be honored if you would join me for dinner." Asked Cedrik. Sonic looked at Tails. "After what we've been through, we could eat a shark! Right, Tails?" Tails merely frowned while Sonic laughed. Cedrik raised an eyebrow. "Well then, right this way." Said Cedrik, leading them to a large hut. After a sumptious meal, Sonic and Tails sat back in their chairs and wiped their hands. "Mondo excellent chow, Cedrik. You guys sure know how to make a good chili dog!" Said Sonic, clearly impressed. "We have excellent cooks." Replied Cedrik. "Now your Majesty, if I may ask, what brings you here from New Mobotropolis?" Sonic snapped his fingers. "Oh right. Well, we have come here to look up a Doctor Rose and get some sort of part from him for my Uncle Chuck. It's for some invention or something." Cedrik looked at Stepford, and back to Sonic. He was suddenly downcast. "Oh. Well, I'm afraid that's going to be a bit difficult. You see, Dr. Rose has somehow...vanished." Sonic and Tails stared at him wide eyed. * * * Later that evening, out in the ocean, a large cruiser was slicing through the waters. It was a ship from the Mobian Ocean Guard, out on a routine patrol. The Captain was just about to sit down to dinner when a crewman came rushing in. "Sir! Sir!" Said the ferret. "We've come across some debris, sir." The Captain, a large cat, bristled his whiskers. "Debris? What kind of debris?" "Definitely from another boat, Sir." Replied the creman. The Captain put down his utensils and grabbed his hat. "All right then, let's have a look see." They exited his cabin and ran down the deck to the bow. Several crewmen were using a large crane and hoist with a net to raise the debris from the water to the deck. The hoist let down a load, water and wooden pieces sloshed everywhere. "Captain Pelletier, Sir." Said the senior deckman, saluting. "We are raising the debris now. It seems to be from some type of sailboat." Pelletier bent down to the debris, as well as several of the crewmen. "Hmm..well let's see what we have here." He sifted through the wreckage, and brought up a piece of wood. "The serial number on this piece seems intact." He handed it to a crewman. "Take this to the computer room and run a check on it." The crewman departed, wood in hand. They continued searching. Presently the crewman returned. "Captain, Sir. This boat checks out to be owned by the King and Queen of the Kingdom of New Mobotropolis, Sir. Registered in King Sonic's name!" The Captain started. "King Sonic?" He gasped. A crewman behind him cleared his throat, and Pelletier turned to him. "Sir, I've found this." He held up a piece of fabric. When Pelletier shook it out, it turned out to be a windbreaker. He turned it over. Emblazoned on the pocket was the name `Sonic'. "Oh dear." Said Pelletier, chewing the inside of his cheek. He turned to the crewman who came from the computer room. "What was the destination logged as?" The crewman stiffened. "Sir, according to the Mobian Royal Port, the destination was logged as the Isle of Mern. Approximately sixty kilometers southwest from this position." Pelletier thought for a moment. Just because they had wreckage of a ship did not necessarily mean the occupants had drowned with it. He also knew of Sonic, and knew that the Hedgehog would not go down easily. He made his decision. "Set course for the Isle of Mern. We will see if King Sonic had reached his destination. I will contact Her Majesty and inform her of our findings." He turned smartly on his heels and marched away. The crewmen continued their work on the wreckage. * * * "What do you mean, vanished?" Exploded Sonic. Cedrik looked at him. "Well, it happened last week. Dr. Rose was working late in his laboratory, and by morning he was gone. No one has seen him since. It is very puzzling." Stepford whispered in his ear. "Oh, quite right. His daughter, Amy, was staying over at a friends at the time of his dissapearance, and has been staying with me ever since." He pointed down the table. "Here she comes now." The little girl from the beach walked in slowly. Never taking her eyes of Sonic, she came up beside Cedrik. She clutched the sleeve of his robe protectively, still staring at Sonic. "This is Amy Rose, the daughter of Dr. Edward Rose. Amy, this is King Sonic and Tails." He motioned with his head. Amy did not speak, nor even smile. "She is still upset over the dissapearance of her father." Apologized Cedrik. Sonic motioned to Cedrik. "We really need that part. May we go look at his lab? Maybe we can find it somewhere." "Certainly." Said Cedrik, raising himself from his chair. "We shall go immediately. Everything is still there, the lab hasn't been touched since Dr. Rose's dissapearance." * * * Two figures crouched high up in the shadows of a giant tree by the path Sonic, Tails, Cedrik and Amy were taking. They were hidden from sight from the ground, but could see everything perfectly. They kept to the cool shadows, whispering to one another. "How long do we gotta stay in this tree?" Asked one in a low rough whisper. The other figure adjusted it's position. "Until we find out what's going on. First those `bots came, and trashed Dr. Rose's lab, and now he's here. Something interesting is definitely going on. Have patience." She said, in a high voice. "Patients are for hospital." Whispered the first, cracking a wide grin. "Still, it's good to see him again, after all these years." His foot started tapping on the branch. "Quit that." She said, glaring at him. "Look, they're headed towards the lab. Let's follow them." * * * The lab was off in the forest past the hut perimeter. It was a large building about fifty feet long by thirty feet wide standing in a clearing. It was a simple affair, rustic with a thatch roof and small chimney. The door swung open obediently for them. It was dark, but Cedrik felt along the wall and flipped on the light switch. The room brightened, illuminating several counters and tables littered with gadgets, tools and small objects, a larger table with a running chemical experiment, several computer screens, tons of paper, desks and filing cabinets. "Oh man! How are we ever going to find it in this junk?" Wailed Sonic. Tails sunk to his knees. "Well, we better start somewhere." He said, picking up and discarding a piece of paper. They searched for most of the afternoon, but could not come up with the missing part. "What are we going to tell Uncle Chuck?" Asked Tails. Sonic shook his head. "I don't know, big guy." He moved over to a wall, and leaned against it. He let his gaze drift down to the opposite wall. He frowned as his eyes passed over something. He left the wall and approached the opposite one. He put out his hand and ran it over a burn mark. The mark had a small scoring in the middle of it. "Definitely not a burn mark." Mumbled Sonic. He walked out the door. He walked all around the building, then came back inside. "What's the matter?" Asked Cedrik, with Amy still in front of him, clutching his robe. Sonic shook his head again. "Nothing. I guess it's time we headed back. Cedrik, would you have a spare boat to lend us? Ours was smashed up by a sharkbot on our way in." Cedrik looked at Sonic curiously. "Of course. At the harbor, there are many boats to choose from. Come, I will take you to it." They left the lab and walked down another path cut in the forest. The two figures overhead jumped from tree to tree following them. A little while later they came upon the harbour. It was a large dock area with several boats tied to the piers, and a small shop in the middle. They approached the shop and went inside. There, Cedrik lent Sonic his small sailboat, the Village Charm. They walked out along the pier until they came to it. It was a twenty foot sailboat, smaller than Sonic's own, but looked seaworthy. They jumped down onto the deck. "Well, Cedrik. Thanks for everything. Look me up the next time you're in New Mobotropolis." Said Sonic, undoing the lines that held the boat to the pier. "Your welcome, your Majesty. Have a safe journey." He started to wave but Amy tugged on his robe. He bent down and she whispered in his ear. He asked. "Are you sure?" and she nodded vigourously. He straightened up. "Your Majesty, would you mind taking little Amy along with you? She has no family here and no one to take care of her." Said Cedrik. "I dunno. I already have two kids..." He said. He noticed Amy was starting to cry. He rolled his eyes. "All right, she can come." She squealed and jumped down into the boat and Sonic pushed it away from the pier. Tails lifted the sails and it picked up speed. "So long Cedrik!" Yelled Sonic. Cedrik waved to them till they were out of sight. When they were, he let out a large sigh of relief. Stepford walked up to him. "Is she safely away?" He asked. Cedrik nodded. "Yes. Amy is safe at last." "Shouldn't we have told them of..." Started Stepford. Cedrik held up a hand, stopping him. "She is safe now, and that is all that matters. Come Stepford, we have much work to do." He said, turning away from the docks. Stepford sighed, taking one last look at the diminishing shape of the boat, and turned to follow Cedrik. Up in another tree, the two figures looked at each other, then departed. * * * Sally was walking down the hallways of the expansive castle when a wall computer called for her attention. "Yes?" She asked. "What is it?" The computer answered. "Incoming call for you, your Highness, origin: Mobius Ocean." Sally was elated. She had wondered when Sonic was going to call her. "Please send it through." The screen showed a bit of static and then cleared to show the image of Captain Pelletier. "Yes? What can I do for you?" She asked, clearly puzzled. Pelletier cleared his throat. "Sorry to disturb you, your Highness. I am Captain Pelletier, commander of the Mobian Ocean Guard Cutter AEGIS. I regret to inform you as of seventeen hundred hours today, we had taken aboard wreckage from the sailboat registered as the Princess Sally. No survivors were found." "Oh no!" Sally groaned. Tears began to well up in her eyes. Pelletier quickly took his hat off, and held it in front of him. "Your Majesty, I stress to you that we have not found any bodies, so there is a good chance the occupants are still alive. We are proceeding on course to the Isle of Mern, to check if Sonic made it. Don't worry, your Highness. We will find him and bring him back to you. Pelletier out." He quickly broke the connection. Sally slumped to the floor, crying into her hands. Sonic gone? She could hardly believe it! Bunnie was walking down the hall and had seen Sally fall. She ran over to her. "Sally girl! What's the matter?" She asked, holding her by the shoulders. Sally blinked her eyes several times, to clear them. She looked up at her friend. "Oh Bunnie! Sonic's gone! His boat was found smashed!" Tears began to form in Bunnie's eyes. "Tails too?" She asked, and Sally nodded. "Oh mah stars.." She began, and started to cry too. She wiped the tears from her eyes. "What are we gonna do?" She asked, her voice quavering "I don't know. The Ocean Guard is out looking for him. They say he may have survived, but I don't know... Oh Bunnie!" She cried into Bunnie's shoulder, and she held her tight, tears falling freely from her eyes. * * * Many many miles west of the Isle of Mern, and several dozen metres underground, a tall cloaked figure lounged in a giant throne-like chair. The chair itself was anchored to a dias in the middle of a busy bridge area. Several small robots were busy with the controls, and did not pay their master much attention. He would have been surprised if they did, since they were merely automatons, brainless workers who carried out his every command. All that could be discerned from the figure was the long, dark colored cloak that surrounded him. Huge metal clad fists protruded from the cloaks sleeves, as well as equally huge, well muscled calves and feet, also clad in metal. Two red eyes glowed ominously from the hood. He had been down on this planet, buried underground for several weeks now, and he had not accomplished his mission. It was fairly simple: Locate the agent known as Robotnik, and extrapolate information. The agent had not communicated with the home planet for several years, and this had his masters worried. Robotnik's mission was to conquer Mobius for the Masters, and turn it into a machine planet. Mobius was rich in several minerals, and was in an excellent strategic location in space. His masters had given Robotnik the technology and resources years ago in order to overthrow the monarchy and establish himself as ruler, and they did not want their investment to go to waste. Obviously that fool has failed in his mission. Mused the cloaked figure. For nowhere did he see any tall factories producing machinery nor any robots for that matter. The surface was still pristine, and worse of all, where Robotnik's fortress was supposed to be a tall gleaming castle now stood. "The fool was defeated long ago." Muttered the tall being under his breath. He had learned a great deal of past history from one of his prisoners. Oh that had been a lucky break. He had been ready to level the castle out of frustration when a stroke of luck flew above him. He recognized the former Freedom Fighter from data files that Robotnik had sent back to Machina, years ago. He had given chase but the creature had eluded him. He then had scoured the planet looking for this particular creature and eventually did find him again. He took him and his unfortunate friend prisoner. He rarely took prisoners, but these two were invaluable sources of information. This thought pleased him, and he rose from his chair, and in a swirl of cloaks departed the bridge. His metallic feet boomed against the steel floor as he approached the cell where his two prisoners hung in shadows. They were bound to the wall, wrists and ankles by energy bonds, in the shadows of the large cage. He looked his captives over before speaking. "It seems my plan already bears fruit." He rasped, his voice hoarse and at the same time loud. The prisoner on his left raised his head from his chest to regard the cloaked figure. The creature's whiskers bristled. "You won't get away with this!" He croaked. The figure waved his comment away. "Please, please. We have gone through this before. Not only will I `get away' with this, I will have that wonderful MegaPower ring in my hands soon! Do you not agree?" "Mechanix, y-you're an evil, inhuman monster!" Said the prisoner on his left, voice cracking with the strain. Mechanix growled. "You dare impose your Mobian moralities on me? Good and evil do not apply, I simply follow the orders my masters give to me. Evil is not something tangible, but a combination of hate and ego, each working to satisfy the other. I neither hate nor do I have an ego. I simply exist." He calmed down and gestured. "Even now, my agent, on my signal, will lower the shields that defend the castle and we shall invade. I will have that ring!" He clenched his fists. The prisoner's head sunk back to his chest. "Yes," continued Mechanix, "thanks to all the information you have volunteered about the castle and your friends, it will be a simple matter indeed to destroy them all! And thanks to your information on this wonderful MegaPower ring, this planet will fall into my hands, and there is no one to stop me!" "Sonic will stop you!" Yelled the prisoner, defiantly. Mechanix regarded his captive. "Yes, your Hedgehog friend. You tell me that he is the fastest being on Mobius. He is no matter. I will deal with him the same way I deal with all my enemies. Still," He thought, bringing a hand up to his hidden chin. "a being as fast as he may be able to foil my plans. I must think of a plan, to defeat this Hedgehog and get me that ring!" He whirled away in a swirl of cloaks, leaving the two prisoners alone. The prisoner Mechanix was speaking to turned his head and regarded his friend. "How are you doing, Edward?" The other prisoner painfully lifted his head. He could not turn it to look at his friend, but he managed a meagre smile. "Could be better." He said, voice cracking with the strain. His head slumped back onto his chest. "Don't worry, Sonic WILL stop him." He muttered. * * * The small sailboat sailed majestically out into the open water. Sonic unfurled the sail and the brisk wind caught it, rapidly carrying the boat with it. Sonic then went and stood by the wheel, while Tails stood in the middle and Amy sat at the bow, her feet dangling over the edge. Sonic did not know how to break the news of the missing scientist to his Uncle. He shook his head clear and concentrated on his sailing. It was getting darker, the sun was nearly to the horizon, and Sonic had to squint to look ahead. Tails had his binoculars out and was scanning the water. Amy sat over the bows edge kicking her feet on the hull and letting the wind blow through her hair. She sighed, thinking about where her father might be. She missed him very much, and she hoped desperately that Sonic and Tails could help her find him again. She looked back at Sonic, her expression softening a bit. She really hoped he could help her. She looked back over the water again, as if the sight of the softly churning waves could help her. The wind felt good in her face and hair, and the occasional spray from the waves hitting the boat lightly misted her, cooling her off. She closed her eyes as a spray hit her, then opened them again. Amy's scream brought Sonic out of his little daydream, he felt entirely relaxed at the wheel, and the noise jolted him back to reality. He bounded to the front of the boat, holding Amy as she scrabbled back frantically from the bow's edge. "What is it? What's wrong?" He asked, trying to disengage the clutching girl from him. She trembled and pointed out in the water. Sonic followed her finger, squinting into the bright setting sun. Sure enough, he saw the light glint off of a metal fin that was rapidly approaching them. "Aw no, not again!" He said, pulling Amy back towards the middle of the boat. Tails jumped down to the deck. Offering Sonic a bundle. "Here, Sonic. I found this!" He said. Sonic passed Amy to Tails, and took the bundle, unwrapped it and held it up. "Great, Tails. This harpoon gun will come in handy." He said. The gun was a duplicate to the one Sonic had used earlier. He didn't hesitate. He sighted down the gun and pulled the trigger. The harpoon whistled out and struck the side of the approaching sharkbot. He pressed the button, and nothing happened. Startled, Sonic checked the power gauge: zero. He threw the gun down and zipped to Tails. "Get airborne, pal! That gun didn't have a charge!" Tails grabbed Amy under the arms and pulled up. "What about you, Sonic?" Sonic jumped up to the deck railing, grabbing a coil of rope there. "I'm gonna try and deal with this guy." He dove off into the icy cold water. He swam deep, the sharkbot passing over top of him. Sonic surfaced behind the `bot and looped the rope around it's tail several times. This was difficult because the sharkbot's tail was thrashing wildly, and Sonic could not quite get a good grip on the slippery metal. The sharkbot rammed into the boat, splintering the hull amidships. Sonic had finally gotten the rope around it's tail, and holding it tight, started to run. His feet slapped the water fast pulling the sharkbot behind him. The sharkbot's small brain registered the change in direction, and turned around to face Sonic, but Sonic was already running the other way, causing the `bot to swim around in fast circles. A low loud horn sounded off in the distance, and they all looked up. An Ocean Guard ship was fast approaching. Tails pointed at it to Amy. They heard a muffled `boom' and something zipped past Sonic and embedded itself deep in the `bots side. Sonic dropped his rope quickly as the electrical charge fried the `bot, and it sank. The ship coasted to a stop beside the trio and their sinking boat, as Tails landed aboard it and a ladder was lowered to Sonic. He climbed up and the crewmen there wrapped him with towels. A tall feline in an officer's uniform walked up to him. "I am Captain Pelletier. Welcome aboard the AEGIS." He said, shaking Sonic's hand. "We've been out searching for you for some time now." Sonic shivered, wiping himself dry. "We ran into some small problems along the way." He said nonchalantly. "Well, lucky for you we were in the neighborhood, eh?" Pelletier laughed, slapping Sonic's back. "I don't know, I've lost two boats today, yours could be the third." Sonic said, smirking. The humour was not lost on Pelletier. "Well then, I guess we'll all be swimming home." He laughed uproariously, joined by several of the crewmen. "But seriously, I do believe that there's a little lady who would be quite interested in talking to you." He confided. Sonic looked startled. "Sal! Oh my gosh, she's probably worried sick about me!" He said, and grabbing Pelletier by the arm, peeled away. "Where's your radio room?" Captain Pelletier had to hold onto his hat to avoid getting it blown off his head. "You just passed it." He said. Sonic did an about face and ran through the door he passed. Pelletier straightened out his uniform jacket. "Comtech, raise the palace at New Mobotropolis at once." He commanded. Chapter 5 Sally, Bunnie, and Tails' girlfriend Tara were all waiting at the docks for the AEGIS to return. Sally had her hands clasped in front of her while Bunnie held her and Tara paced impatiently. "It's all right, Sally girl. They're safe an' sound now." Said Bunnie, trying to comfort Sally. "I-I know, Bunnie." Said Sally, looking up at her friend. "It's just that I've been so worried." Tara pointed out to sea. "Look! There they are!" She squealed. The ship smoothly pulled into the small harbour, and in a few minutes had pulled up to the dock. Crewmen on both pier and ship were tossing lines to one another, tieing the ship down and securing it. A loading ramp rolled out to the ship and connected with a small thump. Sonic, Tails, and Amy offloaded, with Captain Pelletier behind them. Sonic ran up to Sally and lifted her up, swinging her around and hugging her tight. Tails and Tara were wrapped up in each other, snuggling fondly. Bunnie also hugged Sonic when Sally had finally let go. "It's good to see you again, sugarhog!" Exclaimed Bunny. Sonic shook his head. "Well, we had quite an adventure." He turned around to Amy, who was standing off to the side. "This is Amy Rose, daughter of Dr. Ed Rose, the guy we were going to see." Sally regarded the small pink Hedgehog. "Why did you bring her with you?" Sonic took Sally aside. "Listen, her dad's dissapeared, and she's very upset over it. Dr. Rose was the guy working on the MegaPower ring. The two might be connected." He whispered. Sally ohed and walked up to the little girl. "Hello there, Amy. My name is Sally. You're welcome to stay with us as long as you like." She smiled down at her. Amy did not say anything or even look at her, but trotted over to Sonic and clutched at him as if searching for protection. "Hey, kid. It's ok. Sal's my gal. We'll take care of you until we can find your dad." He smiled at her. "You wanna ride to the castle?" He motioned to her to sit on his back. She scrabbled up onto his shoulders, and smiling at Sally, rocketed off towards the castle. Sally looked after him shocked, until he ran back up, laughing. He scooped up Sally in his arms and raced off again. Captain Pelletier was about to turn around and board his ship when a firm hand stopped him. He turned to find himself looking down into Bunnie's soft smiling face. "Listen, sugar. Ah just want to thank yuh personally for rescuin' Tails an' Sonic." She said, pulling him down and kissing him on the cheek. Pelletier blushed at the contact, and bowed to Bunnie as she left with Tails and Tara, all waving back to him. * * * Later that night, in Sonic's and Sally's room, Sally stood looking out the window at the moon, whose light was being diffused by the light rainfall. Sonic was talking to Uncle Chuck on the bedside computer. "Listen Unc, I didn't get the part you wanted. The guy you sent us to see is gone." He said. "What do you mean, he's gone? This is bad, Sonic. I needed that part for the MegaPower ring. Without it, the ring can't be used." Said Uncle Chuck, his face looking both upset and worried. "What's so special about this gizmo anyway? Can't you build another?" He asked. Uncle Chuck shook his head. "No, Sonic. Without the CCM the ring's energy can't be controlled. The ring would probably explode, or worse. I don't have the resources to build another module that powerful." "Well, I'm sorry, Unc." Apologized Sonic. Uncle Chucks face softened. "Don't worry, Sonic. You did the best you could. Talk to you tomorrow. Uncle Chuck out." The screen darkened, and Sonic pushed the terminal away on it's swing arm. He moved over to the side of the bed, trying to remove his sneakers. "Darn sneaks. They're ruined..." He moaned, finally removing his sneaker and looking at them forlornly. The sole was starting to come away from the tops, and the material was looking very ragged. "My swims in the water must have damaged them." Mumbled Sonic, throwing the sneaker into a corner. It sogged down the wall and made a wet, messy pile. His other shoe joined the first, after he was finished moaning over that one too. Sally turned her head slightly. "I've never been so scared of losing you as I was today." She said sadly. Sonic stood up, and walked up beside her, also leaning on the sill. "Aw, Sal. You know I'll never leave you." He said softly, regarding the night sky. "That's not what I meant!" She said, turning her head away. "This was the first time ever that I was afraid you weren't coming back to me. When I heard your boat was smashed in the water and they couldn't find you..." She broke down, quietly sobbing. Sonic put an arm around her and held her tight. "Oh Sonic!" She cried, looking up at him. He looked down into her wet, glistening eyes. He couldn't find anything to say to her, so he started lightly scritching her neck. Sally's crying became softer as Sonic worked his fingers into her fur. She sighed softly, and leaned her head against Sonic's shoulder as he moved his hands under her purple vest and rubbed her back, ruffling the fur there. She moaned, and looked up at Sonic again. He looked down and kissed her, then hugged her hard. He could still feel her trembling against him so he gently picked her up in his arms and moved away from the window, shutting the light as he did so. * * * Meanwhile, a few floors down, another couple were talking quietly. Tails and Tara sat on his bed, discussing the adventure he had had. Tara had thrown her arms around Tails, refusing to let him go. "Oh Tails, I missed you so much!" She said, her voice muffled by his neck. Tails tried to loosen her arms, so he could breathe. "You worry about me too much, you know." He gasped, finally extricating himself from her firm grip. He put his arm around her, and held her paw. "Nothing on Mobius would keep me from coming back to you." He said, looking down at her hand. Tara blushed, and turned away, her golden cheeks turning red. "Oh Tails, you always know what to say to me..." She turned back to him. "..but you really shouldn't be taking all these chances like this. What would happen if you never came back to me?" Tails waved her worries away. "That won't happen. Sonic will see to that." Tara frowned. "There you go again! You always expect Sonic to come around and rescue you, save you from yourself. You've been so reckless lately, Tails, I'm worried about you." Tails got angry. "Hey! For years they treated me like a kid, a baby. Now I'm older, and can do what I want. You know, I rarely ever got to go on any adventures with Sonic and the others when we were battling Robotnik, and now that I'm older, I can! I need to show them that I can take care of myself, and Sonic helps out with that." "I think they realize that now, Tails." Whispered Tara, "You don't have to prove anything to them, or to me. I know the real Tails, loving, kind, responsible, a fox any girl would want." She laid her hand on his chest, and then her head. "A fox I want." They stood like that for several seconds, Tara's head on Tails's chest, he looking down at her, stroking her golden hair. He sighed lightly, then reached down and grasped her hand. "You know, this hand looks kinda...bare. I think I have something that might remedy that." He walked over to the dresser, leaving Tara standing looking confused, and pulled open a drawer. He came back to her. "I think that this looks quite nice." He said, slipping a golden ring onto her finger. Tara gasped at it, then looked at him. "Tara McKIlborn," He said, grasping both her hands in his and staring deep into her eyes. "Will you marry me?" Tara swallowed twice, trying to make her voice work. Tears came to her eyes as she flung her arms again around Tails. "Yes, yes I will!" She said excitedly. "O I love you, Tails!" Tails lifted her chin. "And I love you, always." He said, and kissed her. * * * Bunnie was in the childrens sleeping room reading a bedtime story to Scooter, Sarah, Catelyn and Amy. They each wore warm fuzzy pyjamas that covered them from toe to neck, and each was a different color. Scooter wore blue, Sarah wore brown, Catelyn wore white and Amy wore pink. Bunnie thought this was very amusing when she was dressing them for bed. Bunnie herself wore a pink robe over her pyjamas, with bunny head slippers. "An' the prince took the princess home, an' they lived happily ever after!" She said with a flourish, and closed the book quietly. She placed it on the nightstand and stood up. She crossed over to the window, shutting it and drawing the curtains. "Looks like a big ol' storm tonight!" She said, turning to the children. "Now y'all shut your eyes an' go to sleep." She tucked in all of them and gave them kisses on their foreheads. When the kids had snuggled down into the covers, she went to the door and dimmed the lights. "Li'l darlin's, good night." She whispered, and quietly closed the door. When he was sure Bunnie was gone, Scooter sat up in the darkness. Sarah and Catelyn did as well. "She din't sing us a lul'bye tonight." Said Catelyn, a hurt tone in her voice. Scooter nodded his head. "Yeah. I wonder why?" Sarah turned to her friend. "Catelyn, didn't your Mom have to rescue you today?" She said, half excitedly. "Yeah!" Exclaimed Catelyn. "Some stuff fell on me and Carl and Bess and Momma came and rescued us. Only half of her turn't into some kinda robot, or sumpin." "Cool!" Said Scooter, catching himself afterward. "Oop, gotta keep quiet!" He whispered. "Mom and Dad were always rescuing each other, in the old days." Said Sarah. Scooter turned to Amy. "How about your Dad, Amy? Did he ever rescue you from anything?" Amy raised her head from the pillow, her hair spilling into her face. She sat up and brushed it away. "Well, " She said, in a soft voice. "My Dad once rescued me a long time ago, from a bad person." Scooter frowned. "Was he an evil wizard?" He asked. Amy shook her head, her hair flopping around. "No, he was a bad man, who wanted to take me away from my Dad, because he felt my Dad couldn't take care of me anymore, cause my Mom left us." "So what happened?" Asked Sarah. "Well, my Dad took me and we ran away to the island, and we hid from the bad person. My Dad was able to work on his inventions there and look after me." "Boy, I hope my Mom doesn't leave." Said Scooter. Catelyn nodded in agreement, her bunny ears waggling. "Me too, who would sing me lul'byes?" Amy turned to Catelyn. "My Dad always used to sing me lullabyes." She said, sadly. "Could you sing us one?" Asked Scooter. "Please?" Amy nodded. "Ok. I can sing one my Dad always sang to me. It's called `Secret Friend'." The other children snuggled into their beds while Amy sat up in her's, and she sang: "You may think there's no light at the end of the tunnel, and you may think that things look grim. You may think you can't keep your head `bove water, and you may think the odds are slim. You may think the world is coming to an end, and life may be getting you down. But let me tell you, you've got a secret friend, all you gotta do is look all around. For when your at your wit's end, just call out for me. Cause I'm your secret friend, and I will set you free. A friend for you golden, and as bright as the sun. A friend to fill you with power, for the day to be won, Yeah, for the day to be won. For when your at your wit's end, just call out for me. Cause I'm your secret friend, and I'll set us both free." Amy finished her song softly, noticing the other children were fast asleep. She turned her head and gazed out the window, into the rain soaked night. She wondered where her father was, and hoped he was allright. Chapter 6 Uncle Chuck was up early and working in his lab. He had many inventions he wanted to finish and did not want to put them off any longer. He finished one very important invention late last night, and was currently working on another. He was so involved in his work that he did not notice Antoine stroll in. "Ah, Bonjour Uncle Shuck. Eet ees a, `ow you say, beautiful morning, n'est-ce pas?" Said Antoine, gazing out of a giant polarized window. "Hmm?" Asked Uncle Chuck. He turned around. "Oh, Antoine! Sorry, didn't hear you come in. Yes, yes it is." Antoine casually walked around the room. "You have been working very strong on your inventions lately, no? Isn't eet time for a break?" He passed a monstrous looking piece of machinery, it was black, and over nine feet high. He had no idea what it was, and didn't ask. Uncle Chuck regarded Antoine. "You like it?" He grinned. "Oh, oui, oui. I do. Umm, what is it?" Antoine asked, shrugging. Uncle Chuck laughed. "It's my newest invention. A pollution control satellite." Antoine looked at the machine again. "Ah oui, very good." "I intend to launch this satellite into a low orbit around Mobius. It should be able to neutralize some of the poisonous gases in the upper atmosphere, and allow the ozone layer to regenerate. At least that's the theory." Said Uncle Chuck. Suddenly an alarm rang out on one of the computer consoles. The two stared at each other, then ran for the computer. Uncle Chuck reached it first, and flicked some switches. "This is Castle Control, what's wrong?" He said into the omnidirectional microphone. The screen lit up to show a member of the Mobian Army, who were now stationed in Knothole. When the previous villagers left to live in the city, Sally had decreed the army live there to guard the power ring pool. "This is Captain Leonid of the Mobian Army Force. We've recieved a distress call from a village just north of here. They say they've been attacked by robots!" The feline face showed doubt. "I wanted to coordinate with you before I sent in somebody to look at this." Uncle Chuck nodded at the screen. "All right, check into it, and report back, but do not send in your entire force, just use a few scouts, no need to leave Knothole undefended." He said. In Knothole, Captain Leonid heard different instructions. "All right, check into it, and report back. Use your entire force." Said the voice of Uncle Chuck. They saw Leonid nod. "Understood sir. Knothole out." The screen went dark. Uncle Chuck turned to Antoine. "That was certainly strange. First time I've seen that happen." He mused. "What, what `appened?" Asked Antoine. "The guard. That's the first time the army has called us before on something as trivial as a robot sighting." He said, hand on chin. "Maybe they are just nervous." Said Antoine. Uncle Chuck shook his head. "Maybe..." * * * On Mechanix's ship, Vulpa and his master stood behind Hardcore and watched him. He manipulated the data streams on the communications between the army captain and Uncle Chuck, changing, deleting and adding data where necessary to confuse the transmission. The silver android looked up at Mechanix as if waiting for some kind of praise. His other lieutenant, Vulpa, a half- wolf, half-mechanical being looked on. Vulpa's left side was organic, while his right side was gleaming metal, all due to a horrific accident suffered years ago. Mechanix stood behind the two surrounded by his impenetrable cloaks. "Excellent." Rasped Mechanix. "The trap has been set. Vulpa, initiate phase one of my plan." Vulpa turned to Mechanix and saluted him, his hand thumping his chest. "Yes, my Lord. It shall be done." He boomed in a loud voice, turned and stalked off the bridge. Soon after several small silver ships took off from the mother ship and hurried off into the forest. "When we receive our preliminary report from Vulpa, you shall initiate phase two." Said Mechanix, looking down at his metal minion. "Yes, sir." Said Hardcore, in a light, mechanical voice. Mechanix clenched a fist. "It has begun! The MegaPower ring will be mine!" * * * Vulpa's group of silver ships swooped low over the forest, blasting it with their lasers. Their target was a small village just far enough away from Knothole to cause a diversion. They landed their ships and emerged, a dozen Omnibots and Vulpa. His booming voice sounded like a megaphone. "Secure this village! And remember the plan!" He said, gesturing with his mechanical hand. His `bots fanned out, and began firing on the huts. The villagers panicked, trying to escape. Vulpa's mechanical ear twitched. He could hear the approach of the army in the distance. He turned to his troops. "The army approaches!" He bellowed in a raspy sounding voice. The `bots turned their attentions on the Mobian Army, who had just broken through the village perimeter. Captain Leonid led the way in his air car, and several dozen troop transports followed him. The soldiers disembarked, and on Leonid's order, began attacking the `bots. Small arms laser fire mixed in with the `bots rifles, and soon the air was filled with the smell and crackle of ozone. Vulpa contacted Mechanix. "Lord Mechanix! The army has been engaged. Proceed with Phase two!" He yelled over the sound of firing rifles. Mechanix's voice sounded over his wrist communicator. "Excellent Vulpa! When you have defeated the pitiful creatures, join us at the castle!" "Yes, my Lord." Said Vulpa, signing off. Bolstered by his master's confidence in him, Vulpa urged his forces on. "Destroy them! Leave no creature standing!" He yelled, firing his own rifle. * * * Mechanix turned to his mechanical minion, standing beside him. "It is time for you to proceed with phase two." He pointed at Hardcore, who bowed low. "Yes, Lord." He said in his soft, mechanical voice. "However, logically judging the battle that Vulpa has engaged in, I can estimate that there is a sixty-seven percent chance that he will be defeated." Mechanix waved the comment away. "It makes no matter. My plan will still prevail, even without Vulpa. He is expendable." "As am I, Lord?" Asked Hardcore. "Everyone is expendable, as long as I attain the main goal." Rasped Mechanix, turning away. "Now go!" Hardcore bowed again and left, pondering Mechanix's statement in his mechanical brain. * * * Captain Leonid had seen the renewed confidence of the attacking robots and had ordered his troops to a full frontal attack. As heavily armed as the robots were, they had no real battle tactics, and Leonid's forces were actually repelling the tall `bots. A Corporal ran up to Leonid. "Sir." He panted. "The robot forces have been diminished significantly. Only a few remain, plus their leader." Leonid nodded. "Where are they situated now?" He asked. The Corporal handed Leonid a pair of macrobinoculars. "Over in that clearing sir, standing back to back." Leonid looked. Sure enough, Vulpa and four of his `bots were all that's left. Then suddenly, Leonid saw a very strange sight, one that would cause him to think for months. Vulpa stood with his `bots in the clearing. They were cut off from their ships, and could not escape. It never occurred to him that he could lose, and yet, only he and four Omnibots remained. He growled low, about to issue a command, when suddenly he felt more than saw a blur to his right. He shifted over, and the Omnibot to his right fell, a huge gash in it's now smoking chest. Another blur, and the `bot to his left fell, without even having given off a shot. Then the `bot behind Vulpa was destroyed, it's pieces clattering on the grass, and then only Vulpa remained. Leonid gulped when he saw the blurs destroy the `bots. The Corporal behind him said. "Should we send in the remainder of our forces, sir?" Leonid shook his head. "No, have the troops initiate clean up and retrieval of the villagers, and any wounded." The Corporal nodded, and left. Leonid continued to stare through the binoculars. * * * Vulpa squared off against the black Hedgehog, who smiled at him casually. "Are ya ready to give up yet?" He asked, folding his arms. Vulpa growled. "Who are you, that moves so fast?" He held up his rifle. "I'm Scorch Hedgehog, pal, and if you think you're going to shoot me with that, you're a bit mistaken." He said, pointing at the rifle. "You're not faster than a laser beam." Said Vulpa, raising the rifle higher. Scorch laughed. "We'll see." Vulpa frowned and sighted down his rifle. He squeezed the trigger and a lethal beam of laser light spewed forth, and hit the dirt. Scorch had already jumped up, and was doing a spin into the rifle, shattering it, and up Vulpa's arm, and into Vulpa's chest, and through. Scorch landed on his feet behind Vulpa as he convulsed and collasped in a pile. "I told ya." He said, as he rocketed back into forest. Just before his computer brain ceased to operate, Vulpa wondered how he could have been such a fool. On board his ship, Mechanix roared in rage, having seen everything on his monitor. "That fool!" He rumbled. He pressed his communicator. "Hardcore, there has been a change in plans! Get me a power ring! This time we will destroy the mammal creatures!" Hardcore replied back, in his soft voice. "Understood, Lord." He clicked off. * * * Sally blinked sleepily in the morning sun. She untangled herself from Sonic's arms and legs and sat up. She smiled at Sonic, thinking about the previous night. She removed the sheets from her and smoothed her fur down as the sunlight glinted off her golden brown fur. Her body fur was still matted with sweat, so she hopped out and took a quick shower. She emerged, dried off, and slipped her vest and boots on. She sat at her night table and brushed her hair, humming softly to herself. The communicator beside the bed chimed softly. Sally finished her brushing, padded quietly over to it, and pressed the button. "Yes, Uncle Chuck?" She asked, whispering quietly. Uncle Chuck's face looked back at her. "Sorry to disturb you, Sally, but we have a problem." Sally frowned. "Problem? What type of problem?" "You'd better come down to the lab, Sally." Said Uncle Chuck after a few seconds. "All right, I'm on my way." Said Sally, turning off the monitor, and trotting out of the room. * * * "I came as fast as I could. What's wrong?" She asked, brushing the hair from her eyes. Uncle Chuck turned to her. "Knothole is under attack." He said. "Several small ships appeared over the village and started firing on it. Soon after that several dozen robots emerged from these ships to initiate ground combat. Here, look at this." He replayed a tape made by the Knothole surveillance cameras, they showed six silver ships swooping over the village, firing down deadly lasers at the buildings, destroying them. Then the ships landed, and tall silver robots emerged, firing laser rifles. "Where is the Army?" Asked Sally. "I don't know. We recieved a call earlier from the base commander about robots attacking a village north of there. I told him not to send his entire force, and he agreed." He shook his head. "I don't know what's going on over there, I can't raise anybody." "Why would the base commander be calling us over something like that? We have no direct jurisdiction over them." Wondered Sally. "I thought the same thing myself. It must have been a feint. The real attack was on Knothole, and we were led to believe otherwise." Sally's eyes grew wide. "But who? Who would be attacking us? And with robots yet?" "R-R-Robotneek?" Asked Antoine, his knees suddenly shaking at the cold thought. Sally shook her head. "No. Robotnik is stil trapped in the Void, and will be for a long, long time." Antoine wiped the sudden sweat off of his brow. "Ah, good." He breathed. "But if it's not Robotnik, then who?" Asked Sally. Uncle Chuck pressed some more buttons on his keyboard. "The important thing now is to protect Knothole. We have to assume they are there to damage or destroy the power ring pool. It's the only valuable thing in Knothole. We have to get an attack force there immediately." "When is the next power ring due?" Asked Sally. "According to the computer, thirty minutes." Said Uncle Chuck, turning to her. Sally pulled out NICOLE, her small hand held computer. "Nicole, can we transport an attack force from here to Knothole in less than thirty minutes?" She asked. The lights on Nicole's face blinked. "Negative Sally. It would take over two hours to ready and transport such a force to Knothole, although there is another option." Uncle Chuck, Antoine, and Sally all looked at each other and blurted out the answer. "SONIC!" * * * The sun shone brightly through the windows of the castle, illuminating the form of the still sleeping Hedgehog. He rolled over onto his side and put his arm out, fully expecting to feel Sally's warm body beside him, but instead he felt the coolness of the bedsheets. He opened his eyes sleepily, and squinted. Sure enough, Sally was up already. He put his arm across his eyes and fully intended to go back to sleep when Sally burst into the room, computer NICOLE in her hand. "Sonic, get up. We have a problem!" Sonic raised his head and blinked at her sleepily. "W- what?" "Knothole is under attack. By robots, Sonic." She said, straining to pull him out of bed. "Robots?" Asked Sonic, sleepily. He sank back to his pillow. Sally stamped her foot. "Ooo, Sonic, get up! You have to save the power ring pool!" Sonic bolted out of bed. "The power ring pool! Why didn't you say so?" He ran over to his shoes, and picked them up. "Oh man! Look at these things, they're ruined!" He moaned. The shoes were now red sloppy messes. The sea water had eaten away the material over the night, and now were just mangled. "I can't run in my bare feet! And I have no other pair of sneaks!" He said, slipping the shoes on. His toes squished inside. "Yuck! Ok Sal, come on!" He grabbed her by the arm and rocketed out of the bedroom, and down the hall to Uncle Chuck's lab. Uncle Chuck and Antoine met them. "Sonic! You've got to get to Knothole right away!" Said Uncle Chuck. He strapped a small device on his arm. "What's this? Looks like a watch." Asked Sonic, holding up his arm. Uncle Chuck pointed at the device. "This is a communicator, Sonic. Press it once to talk, and once again to turn it off. It will allow you to keep in contact with us. We need to know who it is that's attacking Knothole." "No prob, Unc. I gotta motor! Later!" He revved up and stormed down the hallway, leaving the three others to grab something to avoid being blown away. Uncle Chuck turned to his monitors. "I can monitor the airspace from here, Sally, and you can talk to Sonic from that terminal, over there." He pointed to his left, and Sally sat down in the small chair, and put on the headset on that she found. * * * Sonic was almost to the main doors when he passed something golden brown. He screeched to a halt, and grabbed Tails by the arm. "C'mon, L'il Bro. I need your help!" He raced off again, pulling the confused fox behind him. Sonic raced through the forest at super speed, not wasting a second. Unfortunately his shoes slowed him down a bit. He had to stop several times to adjust them, they would bind into his toes or at his ankle. Soon he could see a pillar of smoke rising above the trees where Knothole was, and he took off again. He cleared the trees, and beheld the village. Several tall silver-colored robots were busy setting fire to the huts. The robots looked vaguely like the old Swatbots that Robotnik used, although these were bigger, and had metallic like skull-heads, with burning red eyes. The robots were bipedal with two arms, each carrying a laser like weapon which fired with incredible accuracy. There were several wounded soldiers on the ground, but no fatalities as Sonic could see. He took all of this in in a second, then ducked behind a tree and activated his communicator. "Sonic to Sally. There's a bunch of dopey looking robots laying waste to the village. I don't think they know about the pool." He whispered into the built in microphone. The reply was instantaneous. "Nevertheless, the protection of the pool is our number one priority, Sonic. You have twenty minutes before a ring materializes." Said Sally. "Gotcha! Those `bots won't know what hit `em. Out." He pressed the watch again, watching the LED dim. He turned to Tails. "You know the plan, Big Guy?" He asked. Tails gave him a thumbs up. "Let's do it to it, Sonic!" He rotated his twin tails and soared above the trees leaving Sonic on the ground. He checked around the tree, and zipped away down a path towards the ring pool. Unfortunately, several dozen `bots and a larger one were already there, watching it intently. Cursing, he zipped down to the pool level. "Hey bolt brains, whattaya think you're doing?" He asked, pointing at them. The robots, taken by surprised, all turned at once to regard the intrusion. Several laser rifles came to bear on him. "Destroy the intruder." The tall one said simply, in a soft metallic voice. Several guns fired, all missing the speeding Hedgehog. He zipped in and out of the line of fire, jumping on and kicking several of the `bots over. Tails flew overhead, dropping large rocks on the `bot's heads, putting them out of commssion. Sonic came face to face with the lead robot. "Very impressive, mammal creature, but I believe you are outclassed here." Said the robot. Sonic folded his arms. "Obviously you're not an ordinary robot. So I'll give you two seconds of my time. Who are you and what do you want?" The robot made a metallic smirking noise. "I am Hardcore. Second Lieutenant of Lord Mechanix, from the planet Machina. I am here to procure a power ring specimen for my master." "In your dreams, pal." Said Sonic, tightening up his stance. Hardcore shook his metal head. "I do not dream. And your logic is improper. You are aware that you are surrounded by several of my Omnibots, don't you?" He pointed behind Sonic, who slowly turned around. He and the pool were flanked by many Omnibots who stood on the banks, all had laser rifles pointed at him. He turned back to Hardcore. "I'm faster than any laser, pal. I'll get to you before they get to me." He said, clenching his fists. "Maybe so, if that was the intention." Said Hardcore, igniting his jetpack and soaring straight up. The `bots immediately opened fire on Sonic, who dodged and ducked the bolts. "Excellent. The Omnibots will keep the mammal creature busy until the ring emerges from the pool." Hardcore said, looking at a wrist chronometer. "Exactly six point two minutes from now." Sonic weaved in and out of the robots, trying to attack them, or make them fire on themselves. They were a lot smarter and tougher than the `bots he was used to fighting, and soon was wondering if he was indeed outclassed. He fought on though, determined to come out on top. "Three minutes, exactly." Said Hardcore in a soft voice. Tails came in from a power dive, his left fist in front of him, directly at Hardcore, but the android spotted him, and backhanded the fox away. Tails fell into a tree, dazed. Sonic looked up to see Hardcore hovering overhead. He wondered why. Then it hit him! The `bots were a diversion, to keep him busy while that pile of bolts made off with the ring! Sonic was determined not to let that happen. He went into a Sonic Spin and knocked several of the `bots into the pool. But more and more kept coming. Sonic was again surrounded by a circle of Omnibots. He stood his ground, peering into the metallic skull like faces of the `bots. * * * A few miles away, an overjoyed Mechanix watched the fight on his viewscreen. "Excellent! The time has come! The ring will appear, and with it, I will use it against the monarchy and conquer this pitiful planet!" He slammed a metal fist on the armrest of his chair. "Helm control! It's time we introduced ourselves. Raise this ship from the ground immediately!" He barked. The massive ship shivered as power was fed to it's engines, and it rose out of the ground slowly, displacing hundreds of tons of dirt and debris, until finally it was free. It was circular, and almost a mile in diameter. The black metal absorbed the sun's rays, making it look like a shadow. The massive engines roared, heating up the sky and vaporizing low flying clouds. Massive laser ports extruded from the skin of the ship like pointing fingers. The ship shuddered and lumbered forward, it's engines roaring across the forest. * * * "As you can see, mammal creature. You have been beaten." Said Hardcore, looking again at his wrist. As he did so, he almost missed an incredible sight. The robots around Sonic were being demolished by a black blur, and another figure he couldn't make out. The creature was still standing in the centre, looking confused as the robots continued to be destroyed. Sonic couldn't believe it either. The black blur buzzsawed it's way past and through many of the robots, totally demolishing them or knocking them into the pool. Another figure moved in quickly as well, a long sword slashing away at the bots. Soon, all the bots around Sonic had been cleared away, and Sonic came face to face with someone he thought he'd never see again. "S-Scorch!" He sputtered, shock and joy on his face. Scorch was Sonic's imperfect clone, created ten years ago by Dr. Robotnik in a bid to destroy the Freedom Fighters. Scorch had shaken off his programming and had helped Sonic rescue his friends in the end. He was jet black, with flesh colored arms and legs, and wore similar sneakers to Sonics. He was also as fast as Sonic, and was able to use power rings as well. Scorch smiled at his `brother'. "Hello, Sonic. It's been a long time." The female deer Scorch was with also smiled. "Indeed. Do you remember me? Ami Chobei?" Sonic nodded. "You almost took my head off last time we fought." He said, remembering back to the night in question. Ami Chobei, daughter of the late Governor Arkh Chobei of the Southern Province had been captured by Robotnik and been enslaved to follow his bidding. Thanks to Scorch, his power over her had been broken. She stood before him, older, her hair still black, and her fur still brownish-gray. She wore a red sleeveless t-shirt, knee length blue skirt, and red sneakers. She wore a necklace with an odd jewel in it, which helped the battle computer in Ami's sword partially control her movements. Her sword was holstered across her back in it's sheathe. "I thought you all perished in the fire!" He said, still unbelieving. Scorch shook his head. "No, I was able to dig my way out. We both survived, as you can see." Suddenly a long tongue of flame appeared overhead, and they had to duck. "I am sorry to interrupt this get- together, but you stand in my way of the procurement of a power ring for Lord Mechanix." "Who?" Asked Sonic. Scorch turned to Sonic. "Mechanix is an alien from space, he was at the island of Mern before you came, and trashed the place looking for..." "Enough!" Barked the Android. "Mechanix approaches." He turned his head and regarded a growing black dot. It grew and grew until they could see that it was a very large spacecraft. Below, the water in the pool started churning and frothing, as a power ring was generated, and behind them, a new crop of Omnibots rushed them. They turned to fight. "We can't let him get that power ring!" Yelled Sonic over the noise of the approaching spacecraft. Scorch shook his head. "We'll have to dust these `bots first!" He also yelled, the engines roar getting louder by the second. Sonic nodded, and started his buzzsaw spinning, Scorch doing the same. They whipped around the `bots, while Ami used her sword to finish the ones that rushed her. She flipped over the group, and did a backslash swing that decapitated three of them. The pool started churning harder, and a whirlpool of water jumped up, throwing a power ring up with it. Hardcore jetted after it. "No!" Ami yelled, and hurled her sword at the rushing Android. It caught him in the back, cutting through the jetpack and out through his stomach. He halted momentarily, and fell back to the ground, exploding when his damaged jetpack struck a sharp rock. Metal pieces flew everywhere. The ring dropped down to the ground, and Ami caught it. "Yes!" Cheered Scorch. "That's my gal!" Ami smiled, hefting the ring. Suddenly her hand started tingling. She looked at the ring, watching as it dissapeared from her grasp. "What the..." Said Sonic. A holographic image appeared in front of them. His cloaks swirled around him, hiding his features from all who dared to look. "I am Lord Mechanix, General of the armies of Machina, Commander of the First Fleet and Lord over the realm, and I thank you for the ring, Sonic Hedgehog." Said the figure in a deep, rasping voice. Sonic went into a spin and spun right through the holo, landing on the other side. "This is a projection of my image to you from my ship. You cannot harm it." It said. Sonic frowned. "So you're Mechanix, huh? What do you want?" "Why, nothing more than to conquer this world, once and for all. That fool Robotnik obviously couldn't handle it, so I have come to finish the job." "Yeah right. Robotnik was a chump and so are you. Mobius will never fall to anyone, especially an ugly creep like you." Sonic said, unaware that the massive ship was moving on. Mechanix growled low in his throat. "You will pay for that comment, mammal." He held up the power ring. "You see your precious ring? I can utilize it for energy!" His cloaks parted, showing his gleaming metal chest. A small port opened up, showing a lump of rock or something resting on a stand. Mechanix removed the rock and replaced it with the ring, and closed the port. "I can use the energy the ring produces in my body. Observe." Mechanix raised a hand, and golden energy spewed from it, obliterating one of his bridge robots. He raised his smoking hand to the cloak's face. "I will use this energy to wipe out the monarchy and take over this world. Already I am underway to your castle, and when I am there, I will destroy it!" The holo dissapeared, laughter echoing throughout the forest. "That's Mechanix." Said Scorch, folding his arms. "One bad dude." Sonic raised his wrist. "Sal, you heard?" "Yes Sonic. Thanks for leaving your com open. We are preparing a welcoming party for our `guest'. Better return soonest." Came the electronic reply of Sally. Sonic jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "I'll grab Tails. You guys juice for the castle." Scorch nodded and picked up Ami, his feet revving, and took off. * * * Meanwhile, in another part of the castle, a very anxious Hare sat on a cool bench in one of the hallways, trying not to fidget. She had dressed herself in a very nice loose fitting dress and had been sitting on the bench for the past few minutes, waiting. Ah've waited ten years. Thought Bunnie, I won't wait any longer. She was bound and determined to talk to Rotor, to tell him her pent up feelings for him. She did not realize at the time when Rotor left for his journey just how much the walrus meant to her. It was only after he was gone did Bunnie realize what the pain in her heart was. Maybe there was still time to make things right, she thought, and this time she was going to tell him. She had waited here in this hall by Rotor's room, too shy to knock on his door. Presently, Rotor emerged, and was walking towards her. Bunnie stood up and waved at him. "Rotor, over here!" She said, her face beaming. Rotor walked up to her. "Oh, Bunnie. What can I do for you?" He asked, his eyes focusing down the hallway. "Could yuh sit for a minute, so ah can talk to yuh?" Asked Bunnie, sitting and patting the bench beside her. Rotor frowned. "I really don't have time..." Bunnie's ear twitched. "Please?" Rotor sighed and sat down beside her. Bunnie looked away, shy at first, but then turned back. "Rotor, um, do y'all remember ten years ago when yuh first left? That little talk we had an' all?" She said, looking down at her hands. "Yes?" Said Rotor, a bit impatiently. Bunnie tried not to notice. "Um, well, you know, I was kinda thinkin'.." She stammered, and grabbed his paw. She felt that it was ice cold. "Bunnie, I'm in a bit of a rush, what are you trying to tell me?" Said Rotor, taking his paw back. Bunnie raised her eyes to Rotor's face. She saw that he was angry with her, and this caused her to stammer more in frustration. "Well, I...uh.." Rotor stood up quickly. "I really have to go, Bunnie." He said, striding away. Bunnie stood up, shocked. "Rotor! Could we talk later?" "I doubt it." He stated, and dissapeared around a corner. Bunnie sat back on the bench, stunned, her face red and hot with embarassment. * * * Uncle Chuck whirled away from his computer console. "Sally, you've got to get the kids to a safe place immediately!" He said. Sally nodded. "I'm on it." She said, runnning out of the room, leaving Uncle Chuck and Antoine alone. "Antoine, better rally the palace guards for the attack." He said, turning back to his console. "I'm going to raise the shields." He played his hands across the keyboard, as Antoine left the lab. "Attention." He said into a microphone, that amplified throughout the castle and the surrounding area around it. "The palace shields will be raised in thirty seconds." Guards outside managed to guide the people outside to the castle grounds, with surprisingly very little effort. When Uncle Chuck, viewing the grounds via several wall mounted cameras, was satisfied everybody was away from the shield generators, activated the castle's shield system. A series of yellow lights cycled up, and outside, the waterfalls that cascaded unceasingly down the sides stopped flowing, revealing large silver plates behind them. Unseen energy hummed through them, and on the computer board inside the lab, a computerized schematic of the castle showed on a small monitor, and a glowing outline surrounded it. Satisfied, Uncle Chuck turned to another monitor. He never noticed a large shadow that had crept up behind him. Chapter 7 Sally raced down the hallways, lightly sweating, not from exhaustion, but of worry. She could not locate the kids, and was growing more anxious. She ran past the Main Throne Room and stopped, then backed up. Bunnie was in here with Tara and the other children. Sally ran into the room, her vest fluttering behind her. "Tara, please take the kids into the basement." She said, trying to keep the worry from her voice, although she couldn't contain it from her eyes. Tara saw this and nodded immediately. "Come on, kids. Let's go to the basement and play there." She said, trying to herd them out. Scooter ran to Sally. "Aww, Mom. Do we have to?" He asked, clutching her leg. Sally looked down, then crouched to him and hugged him hard. "Yes, honey. Go with Tara to the basement, Ok?" The little Hedgehog kicked the ground. "Aw...Ok." He said, running back to Tara. They left the room together. Bunnie, who was watching this in silence, ran over to Sally. Sally noticed she had dressed herself in a loose fitting dress, one that wouldn't tear if she happened to transform again. "What's goin' on, Sally girl?" Asked Bunnie. Suddenly a very large roaring noise filled the room. They looked out of the large plateglass window at the immense black ship approaching. "We're under attack, Bunnie." Said Sally, with unnatural calm that frightened Bunnie more than anything else. The ship grew and grew in the window, blocking out the sun, casting a shadow over the entire castle. "Will our shields hold out against that?" Asked Bunnie, wide-eyed and pointing at the approaching ship. "I don't know Bunnie." Said Sally. They turned their heads at the approaching footsteps. Antoine's guards rushed into the room, dressed in their battle armor. They were wearing strap on leg guards, arm guards, helmets and breastplates. They carried large plexiglass shields and wielded small laser pistols. Sally hated the pistols, even though she knew that sometimes they were necessary. They lined up on each side of the wall, standing or crouching defensively. "Zee guards are all in the positions, My Queen." Antoine said to Sally. Sally nodded her head. "Thank you, Antoine." She turned her head back to the window, the ship still advancing steadily. "Now all we can do is wait." * * * Uncle Chuck kept his eyes glued to the monitor showing the advancing ship. He did not see the figure creep up behind him and knock him out with a blunt object. It bounced off of his head and Uncle Chuck slumped to the floor. The figure dragged him across the floor and tied him up tightly with some wire. The figure approached the shield controls, and proceeded to lower them. When the yellow lights went out, the figure pulled out a small laser pistol and demolished the console. When this was done, it pulled a small communicator from his robes. "Rotor to Mechanix. The shields are down, Master." He said, checking to see that Uncle Chuck was tied tightly, a twinge of regret bounced through his mind, but was quickly gone. The reply was instantaneous. "Excellent, my mechanical minion. Proceed to Phase two." "Acknowledged, Lord Mechanix." * * * Scorch and Sonic tore through the forest, racing towards the castle. Mechanix's ship was well ahead of them, and they had to catch up. The ship loomed large over the horizon, it's engines flaming through the sky. Sonic had Tails draped over his shoulder while Scorch carried Ami in his arms. The trees around them were blurs as they raced down the trail. Sonic turned to regard his twin. "Scorch, I gotta ask, what happened to you all these years?" His voice almost a whisper. "Well, you remember fifteen years ago when we parted? You thought I was trapped inside that burning building with Ami and died when it blew up. Well, just before that I was able to tunnel under the building to escape. Unfortunately I had to go slow since I had Ami with me, and only dug about twenty feet when it blew. There was a rush of superheated air down the hole, which I blocked with my back, to protect Ami. I was severly burned. After that we managed to escape to the southern provinces, where Ami nursed me back to health. That's when we fell in love." He gave Ami a squeeze. "Anyways, " He frowned. "After that we concentrated on fighting Robotnik's forces in the southern regions. After we learned that Robotnik was finally defeated, we wandered to the Isle of Mern where we met Doctor Rose. He told us of the project he was working on with your Uncle. Soon after that, we saw Rotor come to the island. He stayed with Dr. Rose for a month, helping him with the project. Then Mechanix came." "Tell me about him, he is one bad dude." Said Sonic, frowining. Scorch nodded. "The worst. He came down with an army of what he calls Omnibots and took Rotor and Dr. Rose captive. I don't think he knew about the MegaPower ring, but I'm sure he does now. At any rate, we couldn't stop them." Sonic blinked. "So that's what all those burn marks were, and those heavy footsteps...Waitaminnit! I thought Rotor was at the castle..." "It's more than likely it's a mechanical duplicate of Rotor." Said Scorch. "Cause he's still on the ship, as far as we know. Your friends are in grave danger, Sonic." "We gotta rescue them!" Exclaimed Sonic. Scorch nodded. "Agreed. Ami here will do that. You and I will take on Mechanix at the castle. I've been waiting a long time for a rematch." He grinned. Sonic grinned back. "I like the way you think." "Of course you do, " Said Scorch, "I'm you, aren't I?" They both laughed. They fell silent when they got closer to the ship. The engines roaring drowned out any chance of conversation. Suddenly the large ship opened fire of the castle, knocking large chunks of rock and plaster from it. The trio dove into a set of bushes to wait. The ship fired again, this time rocking the castle on it's foundations. "They're firing on the castle" Hissed Ami. "The shields are down..." Said Sonic, a sad look in his eyes. They were in the shadow of the giant ship and went unnoticed. Then a hatch opened up on the side of the ship, and several dozen Omibots jumped down, fully armed. They approached the castle doors and destroyed them, clearing their entry. They dissapeared inside and Sonic could barely here weapons fire inside. "We gotta help them!" Said Sonic, straining to leap up. Scorch restrained him. "Too many. We have to wait." Up above, another dozen Omnibots leaped off the ship to the upper levels, dissapearing inside. Scorch turned to Ami. "How many did you count?" He asked. "Three dozen, exactly. The same as the first time, on the island." She replied. Scorch nodded. "Good, then there should only be a few left in the ship." He turned to Sonic. "Ok bro, it's showtime." "Yeah!" Said Sonic, clenching his fists. He and Scorch revved up, and rocketed off, and up the side of the castle. "C'mon, I know a good vantage point!" Yelled Sonic. Scorch nodded and followed him. On Sonic's shoulder, Tails stirred. "Hoo-ha...huh?" He said dizzily. He saw Sonic below him, but he was the wrong color. "Take it easy, kid. You're going for a little ride. Fun, huh?" Scorch smiled. Tails smiled back weakly, "Yeah...f-fun.." * * * Ami watched the two hedgehogs race up the unbroken side of the castle. She was secretly happy that they had found each other, after so many years, but sad in the fact that she could not find her own father. Undaunted though, she carried on, in the manner she hoped he would approve of, battling evil. She looked up at the frighteningly large ship. She scanned it's underside looking for..ah she found it. A small hatch in the left hand corner. She moved back to the trees, and pulled down what she hoped was a strong vine. When she had enough, she used her sword to cut it, then tied the end of the vine to the handle of the sword. She tightened it, then walked into the clearing. Hoping the blade was strong enough, she hurled it upwards, and it struck into the hull beside the hatch with a dull thunk. She tested the vine and hopped on it, shimmying upwards. She climbed up to the hatch, and turned the small wheel she found there. The hatch cycled open. Ami carefully peered inside and when she saw it was clear, used both hands to flip herself up and inside, landing on her haunches, her skirt billowing out around her. She removed the sword from the hull and released the vine, watching it drop to the ground below. She shut the hatch and trotted off down the hallway, holstering her sword. She wandered down the clean, machinelike hallway. It was covered floor to ceiling in solid steel, with no breaks whatsoever. There were no decorations, no markings except for small red circles on the wall every hundred feet. Her shoes made small noises on the steel floor as she walked down them, looking for the prisoner's chamber, or brig, or whereever Rotor and Dr. Rose might be. She was surprised at the lack of activity on board, for she saw no one. The engine's hum drowned out any sound that they would make anyway. She rounded a corner, and turned back quickly. Two `bots were walking down the hallway, side by side, carrying large rifles. Ami hoped that they weren't stupid enough to actually fire them in the ship, and quietly padded off behind them. Unknown to her, Mechanix had given these two express orders to terminate the prisoners, as they had outlived their usefulness. They entered through a door which quickly closed behind them, leaving Ami out in the hall. She pressed an ear to the door, and heard quiet murmurs, then the name "Rose." Satisfied she had the right door, she reached back to free her sword. "Halt, intruder." A mechanical voice said behind her. The battle computer on Ami's sword reacted, and sent Ami down into a low backwards foot sweep, which knocked the `bots legs out from under it. It crashed to the floor, and instantly Ami was on her feet again. The robot tried to raise it's rifle to shoot, but Ami had drawn her sword, and sliced the rifle in half. She finished it with a hard low kick to the head, which permanently scrambled it's circuits. The door behind her opened, and Ami twirled, her sword slashing into the two guards, destroying them. They fell to the ground, smoking and sparking, and she leapt over them. Inside the room were Rotor and Dr. Rose, hanging off the wall, held by some type of energy bond. Rotor raised his head from his chest. "W-who..are you?" He croaked. "A friend." She said. She went over to him, and tried to tug the bonds free, to no effect. "The switch..." Rotor pointed with his head. Ami turned and leapt over to it, pushing it in. `NO!" Yelled Rotor, as the bonds released the two, and they fell to the floor with a crash. Ami ran over to help them up. "Sorry." She said, sheepishly. Rotor rubbed his wrists. "It's ok. Where are we, anyway?" He asked, his voice getting stronger. "We're over Castle Acorn, in New Mobotropolis." She said. "Dr. Rose, your daughter is there as well." "Amy? She's at the castle?" Dr. Rose said incredulously. Ami nodded. Dr. Rose shook Rotor by his robes. "Then we still have a chance!" He turned to Ami, "Did Mechanix get the MegaPower Ring yet?" He asked, breathless. Ami thought. "He has A power ring, but it's not the MegaPower ring." She said after a moment. "Then we haven't a moment to lose!" Said Rotor. "We must get to it before Mechanix does." Ami led the way out of the room. She made sure the hallway was clear before they proceeded. * * * Mechanix surveyed the castle through his viewscreen. It sat there, pratically begging him to destroy it. He chuckled softly. "And so it ends." He raised his voice. "Gunnery! Commence firing on primary target!" He barked. The small robot there activated his console. Outside the surface of the ship, many large laser ports activated. The forward guns started firing, throwing deadly bolts against the unprotected surface of the castle. The walls shook as debris rained down. Loose items fell to the floor, people were shaken off their feet, and the walls started caving in. Mechanix regarded the smoking castle. "Again!" He barked. The robot obeyed. The now-smoking laser cannons belched forth their destruction again, the bolts disintigrating rock and brick as the castle shook once more. "The shields are down!" Someone yelled. Guards rushed around, panicking, not knowing where to direct themselves. Sally whipped her head around. "Down? How can they be down?" She asked, dodging falling debris. A guardsman ran in, sweating, face streaked with dirt, his armor scorch-marked. "We've been breached! Robot's in the the lower levels!" He panted, tail swishing nervously. Suddenly the outer wall blew inwards, the occupants inside ducking under the flying debris. Bunnie had been standing by the wall and was completely buried in the rubble. Several robots leaped down from Mechanix's ship that had been hovering outside, and started firing their weapons. The guardsmen fired back, and the battle was joined. Laser bolts soared everywhere, chipping rock and leaving an ozone smell. "Bunnie!" Sally yelled, trying to dig her friend out, but was prevented by the invading robots. She gritted her teeth, and jumpkicked the nearest one, causing it to stagger backwards. Another one came at her, and she kicked that one in the chest, caving in it's chest plate and making it spark. She managed to roll out of the way of a firing robot, until a guardsman cut it down. "Guard zee Queen! I will see what ees wrong with zee shields!" Yelled Antoine over the noise of battle. The guard he had been talking to nodded his feline head, then moved closer to Sally. Antoine ducked out of the room, and ran down the hallway to the lab. The fighting had not reached that level yet, so he made his way unimpeded. When he reached the lab he pushed the doors open, and found Uncle Chuck lying on the floor, trying to undo himself from the tight wires he was bound with. Antoine threw down his shield and pistol, and knelt by him to help. As he removed the wires, Uncle Chuck cursed. "Who deed thees to you?" Asked Antoine, as he removed the last wire. Uncle Chuck stood up quickly and rubbed his arms and wrists. "I don't know, but the shields have been knocked out, I could see it from the floor. We have to fix them immediately!" He rushed over to the still smoking console, trying to wave the smoke away to see the damage. "There ees already fighting in zee castle." Pointed out Antoine. Uncle Chuck activated the monitors. "I see. Well I can activate the Castle Interior Defenses from here." He said, moving to another computer. Antoine knelt by a computer console. "I weel see if I can get zee shields back on-line." He said, ripping open a panel and peering inside. Uncle Chuck activated a monitor. "I see the Main Throne Room has been invaded already. We don't have much time." The fighting was still going on in the throne room. No other robots jumped down from the ship hovering outside, which was good since they had all they could handle at the moment. Sally was busy dodging laser bolts, and the guardsmen had their hands full as well. Sally had jumpkicked a robot and flipped up behind the throne when a robot fired, singeing her leg. Sally went down with a short cry, holding her burnt leg. Suddenly, the pile of rubble that Bunnie was under began to move. Unseen by all, an electrical field was being generated inside. Bunnie grew taller, her arm and legs expanding to their mechanical sizes, and she strained to push the debris off of her. Finally the debris pile exploded outwards, and Bunnie jumped clear. "All right darlins' it's time to kick some `bot butt!" She said, launching herself at the nearest `bot. She punched it with her metal arm, decaptiating it. She turned around, and kicked out at the `bot behind her, shattering it's leg. It was robot against cyborg, and Bunnie was winning. Her legs shifted, and she jumped up and out of the way of a charging `bot, causing it to stumble and fall out the hole in the wall. She landed on the opposite side of the room with a small thump. Sally was still beside the throne when a hand came out of the darkness behind her and grabbed her in an unbreakable choke hold. She gritted her teeth against the pain and tried to remove the arm, but it wouldn't budge. A familiar voice growled in her ear. "Just hold still." Said Rotor, pulling Sally close. He removed a small laser pistol from his robes, and raised his voice. "All right everyone! I have your Queen! Put down your weapons and surrender or I will kill her!" The guards turned slowly, and realized that he was talking to them. Stunned, they threw down their weapons with a crash, standing dully in a semi-circle. Bunnie relaxed her fighting stance, and her grip on a `bots neck. Soon after, other `bots who were attacking other parts of the castle came in with their prisoners. Rotor spoke into his arm. "I have the Queen, Master. The castle is secured." "Excellent!" Came the mechanical reply. "I will be there immediately." Sally tried to turn her head. "Who..." Rotor smiled. "You are about to meet Lord Mechanix." A dark shape materialized in the smoke by the hole in the wall. It sauntered in, walking like someone who was in full command of any situation. He was seven feet tall, and his silver armor gleamed under his cloak, and his red eyes glowed from the impenetrable hood. "You have done well, Rotor." The figure rasped in a deep voice. "Your Highness. I am Lord Mechanix, from the planet Machina. I have come to conquer your world and claim it for my masters. And now that I have you, my mission is complete." "Go to hell." Growled Sally. Mechanix laughed. "It is a pity really that this world wasn't much of a challenge. I would have enjoyed at least a little resistance. Ah well, as it is, there is no one to stop me now." "How did you coerce Rotor to help with this scheme?" Asked Sally, struggling in Rotor's grip. Mechanix chuckled. "This is a mechanical duplicate of the good walrus, Your Highness. I have the real Rotor captive in my ship. I have him, and now I have you. It is over." "IT AIN'T OVER TILL THE FAT BOT SINGS, MECHANIX!" Mechanix looked around. "Who dares..." High up above on the trellises that bordered the ceiling, Sonic, Tails, and Scorch stood. They looked down at him in absolute anger. "Didja miss me?" Asked Sonic. "Thought you left me behind? You forget pal, I'm the fastest thing alive on Mobius." Mechanix twirled around to regard the three heroes, and turned back again. "You forget, mammal, that I have your Queen. Surrender, and you'll have my word she won't be harmed!" He snarled, pointing at Sally. Sonic hesistated, looking to Scorch for help. Scorch looked back at him dubiously, not even sure if he could make it down there in time. Mechanix did not wait, he whirled back to Rotor. "Kill her, now!" Rotor immediately ground the barrel of the pistol in Sally's ear. He was about to pull the trigger when something stopped him. He tried to move his finger, but couldn't. He started to sweat from the exertion. "Master...I...." He said, sweat pouring from his brow. Mechanix fixed him with a cold glare. "Well, what are you waiting for? Kill her!" He commanded. But Rotor couldn't. When Mechanix had built him, he had transferred a copy of the original Rotor's mind to him. All of Rotor's thoughts, feelings, and emotions had also been transferred, and he found that he couldn't kill Sally. Sally his friend, Sally his confidant, Sally, his Queen. Not now, or ever. He yelled in frustration and tossed her aside and pointed the pistol at Mechanix. Shaking, he fired on his former master, the bolts piercing the cloak but causing no other damage. Mechanix nodded sadly. "I see where I have made my first error." He said, pointing his finger at Rotor. "I made you too well. This shall be corrected immediately". A burst of golden energy erupted from his finger, and Rotor blew apart, fake skin and mechanical insides flying everywhere. Bunnie screamed. "You monster!" She yelled, throwing herself at him. He caught her easily and flung her against the wall, where she dropped to the floor, stunned. He whirled to his Omnibots. "Attack! Reduce this place to molten ash!" He yelled. Up above, no longer stunned by the events, Sonic and Scorch went into spins and raced down to the floor, cutting through the attacking `bots. Tails flew down to protect Sally. The two Hedgehogs made quick work of the Omnibots, reducing them to shattered pieces. Soon they faced Mechanix. "Give it up, metalhead. It's over. You lose." Said Sonic. Mechanix laughed, a deep, rasping chuckle. "I think not." He raised his hand, and golden bolts of energy lashed out. Sonic was too quick though, and easily dodged the golden storm. Scorch likewise took off, racing the opposite way of Sonic. The two Hedgehogs raced around Mechanix, and up the walls. Mechanix tried to follow them, lashing out with the bolts, entirely missing them, pockmarking the walls, ceiling, and floor. "Stand still, rodents." He growled. Sonic and Scorch screeched to a halt beside each other, arm in arm. "Is this good enough?" Scorch asked. Mechanix smiled behind his cloak. "Perfect." He said, unleashing a giant blast, but Scorch and Sonic had moved apart, and the wall behind them blew apart. Mechanix roared. "Blast you Hedgehogs!" He backed up against the wall where his ship hovered. "What does it take to destroy you!?" Sonic shook his head. `More than what you got, chump." Mechanix ground his teeth, ready to unleash another blast, when the world fell on top of him. * * * Ami, Dr. Rose and Rotor ran down a metal hallway. They met noone, or thing on the way. Rotor led the way, obviously on the lookout for something. "We passed by it on the way to our cell, Edward. I know it's around here somewhere." He said, casting worried glances left and right. Dr. Rose pointed to a hallway on the left. "Try down there." He said. Rotor turned down the hall, and stopped in front of a computer terminal. "Here it is!" He cried triumphantly. He accessed it, glad there were no codes needed. He worked on it for a minute, then turned back to them. "I've generated a program to overload the engines in twenty seconds." He said. "It will destroy the ship." "That's amazing!" Exclaimed Ami, "how could you know how to do that?" Rotor grinned. "One of the tricks I picked up on my travels around the globe. I've also found out where an escape pod is. We have to get to it in a hurry." He took off, Dr. Rose and Ami following behind him. Almost immediately they came upon a small escape pod. Rotor ushered them inside. "Hurry, we have to squeeze in!" He said, diving in after them. It was a tight fit, but Rotor managed to push the disengage button, which jettisoned the pod. For none to soon, the engines overloaded and exploded. A giant fireball erupted over the rear of the ship, shooting debris for miles. More smaller explosions sounded around the ship, and it started falling towards the castle. Uncle Chuck stared at the monitor wide eyed. He turned quickly to Antoine. "Antoine! Raise those shields, immediately!" He yelled. Antoine taped a connection and quickly rose to the panel. He swiped at the controls, and the telltale lights winked on. Triumphant, he turned to smile at Uncle Chuck when the ship slammed into the castle. The areas on the ship closest to the castle had been caught in the shields, and had exploded, and the bulk of the ship slammed into the shields, and also exploded. The castle shook violently, debris raining down everywhere. Huge towers fell to the ground, walls caved in, rock and mortar falling everywhere. Uncle Chuck and Antoine were knocked off their feet, and several objects dropped to the floor. "Mon Dieu! What `as happened?" Asked Antoine several seconds later, looking around. Uncle Chuck crawled back to his monitor. Most of them were out, all that showed on their screens was static. Many computer terminals were on fire, and smoke filled the room. The emergency fire prevention equipment mads short work of it. "The ship outside slammed into the castle. Some of the ship was caught in the shields, which caused a minor failure, but the rest of the ship was outside the shields, thank goodness. We sustained some major damage, I'm afraid." He accessed the throne room. "Looks like quite a mess, but I see Sally and Bunnie are all right." He pressed the intercom. "Queen Sally, gather everyone and come to the lab please." He called. * * * A large explosion sounded behind Mechanix and he whirled to regard the source. Incredulous, his ship was plummeting towards him, several explosions ringing out behind it. He had no chance to move as the ship plowed into the castle, burying him in metal and stone debris. The wall buckled in noisily, and a wall of fire blasted into the throne room. Scorch and Sonic picked up as many people as they could and high-tailed it out of the throne room. Tails picked up Sally and quickly flew her out. They all stood there, breathless, panting. The throne room was totally demolished, the outer wall having caved in on Mechanix. The other walls and most of the floor were cracked, plaster and concrete debris littered the floor as well. The Acorn crest had fallen from the ceiling and lay in pieces, and the purple curtains and the throne lay in tatters, covered in debris and dust. "Is it over?" Asked Bunnie, brushing herself off. Scorch nodded his head. "Not by a long shot. He won't be down for long." He turned to Sonic. "Only that MegaPower Ring can save us now." He said. "But we don't have the CCM part!" Said Sonic, frustrated. "Then we are in very big trouble." Said Scorch, looking at the pile of debris Mechanix was under. * * * Ami, Dr. Rose and Rotor emerged from the capsule, and regarded the mess. Mechanix's ship lay sprawled on the side of the castle, burning. The side of the castle was totally destroyed, there was debris everywhere. "Wow..." Said Ami. Rotor and Dr. Rose were already running up the stairs. "We have to get to the lab!" Said Rotor. Ami leaped over them, landing light as a cat in front of them. "I'll lead the way." She said, running inside the castle, drawing her sword. She kicked the front doors open, motioning them inside. They ran down the extensive hallways that were severly damaged by the fighting. Only two Omnibots confronted them, but Ami dispatched them with her sword. As they were running, they came across a frightened Tara and the children. Tara was crying, not knowing where to go. The children held on to her, frightened. A glimmer of recognition lit in Amy's eyes as she beheld a familiar face. "Father!" She cried, breaking away and running towards him. Dr. Rose scooped her up in his arms, holding her tight. "Amy! Oh my daughter, I'm so happy to see you!" They both cried, hugging each other tight. Rotor placed a hand on Dr. Rose's shoulder tenderly. "I hate to break this up, but now that we have Amy..." Dr. Rose nodded. "Yes, you're right. Come on Amy, we need you." He put her down, and with Tara and the children, all ran down the hallway. They ran up several flights of stairs, until they reached the level the throne room and the lab were on. They ran down the hall, seeing Sonic, Scorch, Sally, Bunnie and the remaining guards. Rotor had caught Scorch's last statement. "No! We have the CCM!" He shouted. They all turned, shocked to see the running figures. They all greeted each other with surprise and warmth. Behind them, the pile of debris started to move. They all regarded it, fear in their eyes. "To the lab, quickly!" Sally shouted. They all ran as fast as they could to Uncle Chuck's lab. Antoine held the door open, motioning them inside. When they all entered, Antoine closed and bolted the door. "Rotor! Dr. Rose!" Exclaimed Uncle Chuck. "I'm happy to see you|" He clasped hands with Dr. Rose. "We could have really used that CCM but..." "Amy has it." Said Rotor. Everyone except Dr. Rose turned to Rotor. "Say what?" Asked Sonic. "When we went to the island, we couldn't find it. Dr. Rose's lab had been trashed." Rotor pointed to Amy. "That's because before Mechanix attacked us, we had dismantled the CCM and built it into Amy's clothing. Even she doesn't know about it. Her belt, hairband and bow contain the parts to the Command Control Module." As he was speaking, Dr. Rose had removed the articles of clothing from Amy, and removed the small microcircuits hidden inside. He then proceeded the rebuild the module while Rotor was talking. "We needed someplace to hide it where Mechanix would never think of looking." Said Rotor, beaming. Sonic shook his head, laughing. "Rote, you are a genius." He smiled. Uncle Chuck had removed the ring from the pedastel, and approached Dr. Rose with it. "Edward, if you will do the honors." Dr. Rose held up the small microcomputer, and clipped it to the ring. At once the rings outer casing started to glow golden. The wiring around it absorbed the energy and held it in check. Uncle Chuck removed his hand from behind his back, revealing to Sonic a new pair of sneakers. "Here, Sonic. You'll need to wear these special shoes to use the ring. You're old ones would burn up." Sonic smiled and kicked his old, wet sneaks off, and put on the new ones. They were red like his old ones, but these had gold stripes where his old ones had white. "Cool, Unc." He said. Uncle Chuck tossed the MegaPower ring to Sonic. "Catch." He said. Sonic caught the ring in mid-air, and held it up. Instead of the usual flashing of energy, two golden beams raced forth from it, circling the room and exploding on Sonic. He closed his eyes as the energy bolts raced around him, the energy lifting him off the floor. The beams crossed him many times, each time turning his fur from blue to gold. Soon he hovered off of the floor, totally golden in color. He opened his eyes, and regarded his friends. His golden energy beamed from their awestruck faces. "How do you feel, Sonic?" Asked Sally. Sonic smiled. "Super...like a Super Sonic." He said, he voice oddly deep. He floated to the ground. "Remember Sonic." Warned Uncle Chuck. "You have to keep hold of the ring, or else you'll lose the power." Sonic nodded, just before the walls reverbrated with a mechanical yell. "SONICCCCCC!!!!" * * * The debris pile moved, quivered, and exploded outward as Mechanix pushed the tons of debris from him. His cloak had been torn from him, and he was covered in small scratches and dents. He stood to the world, a total mechanical being. His red electric eyes burned with intense hatred, and his mouth forever frozen in a grimace of anger. He clenched his fists, and raised his head up, bellowing out the name of his enemy. He stepped from the pile, and slowly walked out of the throne room, in search of Sonic. * * * Sally turned worriedly to Sonic. "He's coming!" She said. Sonic looked at her with an expression of calm. "No prob, Sal. Super Sonic is up and on the job." Holding the ring high, Sonic started moving his feet. They increased in speed, and he found himself being enveloped in an golden ball of energy. Soon he was running in place so fast that he turned into a golden fireball. He was entirely opaque, but gave off no heat at all. He took off, and streaked through the doors, destroying them. He rocketed down the hallways, towards the throne room. Mechanix was there, walking with murderous purpose towards him. Sonic poured on the speed and smashed into Mechanix, lifting him off his feet. Sonic carried him through two interior walls, and then through the three foot thick outer walls. He soared like a golden comet over the fields surrounding the castle, and out into the forest. Sonic zoomed toward the ground, Mechanix still in front of him. He hit the ground at subsonic speed, carving a mile long trench in the ground. Sonic flew straight up, leaving a smoking, sparking Mechanix lying semi-conscious in the trench. Mechanix lifted himself from the trench, his body smouldering from the impact. He clenched his fist and regarded Sonic, unleashing several golden blasts at him. Two bolts bounced harmlessly off of the golden energy field surrounding him, the other being absorbed by it. "Try some of mine, Mechanix!" Said Sonic. He held his hands in front of him, and fired several large golden fireballs at Mechanix, which exploded and sent him flying, crashing into a grove of trees. After a few seconds, Mechanix was again lifting himself up, though rather unsteadily. Sonic cursed and launched himself at Mechanix, using his entire body as a weapon. He struck him one, two, three times, the third time sending Mechanix flying into another stand of trees, where he lay, deathly still. Sonic flew down to the now silent area of destroyed trees, his golden energy shield dissolving. He approached the unmoving form of Mechanix carefully. "Now to take that ring back." He said. He looked over Mechanix to find his chest casing. As he did so, Mechanix's eyes lit brightly and grabbed Sonic by the neck, squeezing hard. Mechanix stood up, holding the gasping Hedgehog in his hand. Sonic tried to pry the arm loose, but couldn't with only one hand. Mechanix's eye's glittered. He reared back with one hand and smashed it across Sonic's face. He growled and smacked him again, knocking Sonic unconscious. He tore the ring out of Sonic's grasp and watched as his fur changed back to blue. He shook Sonic roughly and Sonic came to, his vision blurred. "Now you will watch as I use the power of this ring to destroy your world!" Mechanix rasped. He opened his chest casing, revealing the first power ring. Seeing as how he had his hands full, he tossed Sonic aside, knocking him into a tree. Mechanix removed the ring, and tossed it far from him and Sonic, and replaced it with the MegaPower ring. Almost immediately Mechanix began to glow, his metal skin turning yellow. "Yes!" He bellowed. "I feel it! Feel the awesome power to destroy!" He yelled, triumphant. Sonic lifted his head painfully from the ground where he lay, and grinned at Mechanix. "You...forgot one...thing..Mechanix." He said. He opened his hand, and the CCM module fell out, and into the dirt. Sonic made a fist, and brought it down on it, destroying the computer module. Suddenly, Mechanix's face went strange. "Noooo..." He howled. "Too much..I can't control it!." His arms flailed around, swinging through the air. The ring inside Mechanix started to go wild without the module. The wiring broke off, and energy beams shot off inside him. Back at the castle, Uncle Chuck turned from him monitors to the small group behind him. "That ring is going to blow any second!" He said, face worried. Scorch did not have to think. "Outa here!" He said, racing out the window and down the castle wall. He hit the ground and stormed into the forest. He rocketed along, past the trees and brush, until he could just see Mechanix stumbling around. "Noooo..." He yelled, trying to claw the ring from his chest. He grabbed it and yanked hard, but the ring had fused itself to him, and refused to budge. He staggered around, golden beams shooting from his eyes and mouth, and it looked to Scorch as if his metal shell was starting to crack. A low pitched whine started to sound from Mechanix, getting louder and higher by the second. He didn't think he could make it to Sonic in time, but then he spied the first power ring just to his left. He angled over, grabbed it, and held it high. "Bailin' warp ten!" He yelled. The ring exploded it's energy over him, and it sped him along at super speed. He became a blur as he raced past Sonic, grabbing him by one arm and pulling him along. He ran a few short miles when Mechanix exploded like a mini nuclear blast, rocking the forest. Scorch and Sonic tumbled headlong into the ground, knocked off their feet by the blast of air. A huge fireball reached high up into the sky, and leaves, branches and several pieces of broken rock and dirt fell around them. When the fireball subsided, Scorch and Sonic looked up. Where Mechanix once stood was now a deep crater, and patches of fused earth around it. Scorch helped Sonic to his feet and together they walked over to the crater. Sonic looked around it. He bent down and picked up a black, irregular shaped object. "Well, so much for the MegaPower ring." He said sadly. Scorch nodded. "It's better this way. It was too dangerous anyway. His own greed destroyed him. Sooner or later someone else would have tried to possess it, with the same result." Sonic looked up at Scorch. "You're right. Look what the ring has done already. Endangered my family and friends, caused a lot of damage and ruined my home, and I'll make sure this ring can never harm anyone again!" He grabbed the ruined ring in both hands, and pulled. It came apart easily, and Sonic broke it into many pieces. They fell to the ground, making small holes in the dirt. Scorch jerked his head towards the castle. "C'mon, Sonic. Let's get you home." * * * The inhabitants of Castle Acorn, led by Sally, met Sonic and Scorch in the rubble infested courtyard just outside. Sally ran up to Sonic and kissed him hard, holding him tight. Amy bounced over to Scorch, who grabbed her hands in his. Tails, with Tara in arm, and all the kids behind them, came out next, followed by Uncle Chuck, Antoine, and the palace guards, all looking worn and haggard. "You did it, Sonic!" Said Sally, holding him. Sonic shook his head. "I didn't do it. His own greed got him. He couldn't control the ring, not without the module." He said. "But at least this battle proved one thing..." Uncle Chuck piped in. "What was that, Sonic?" "By working together, we can defeat anybody who threatens us." Sonic said, casting a glance out to the crater. Sally smiled. "Oh? Mr. "I have to grab the spotlight", working together with someone? That's a first." "Well, there's something I'd like to do, which involves just myself." Said Sonic. "Oh?" Sally asked. "What's that?" Sonic rubbed his stomach. "Eat. I'm hungry!" He laughed while everyone swatted at him and grumbled. He held his hands up. "What'd I say?" He asked. Epilogue The next few weeks saw to the rebuilding of the castle, and the restoration to the land around it. Sonic stood outside with a construction crew, holding up a set of blueprints in his hands. He nodded satisfactorily at the repairs. A soft hand fell on his shoulder and when he turned to look, he saw Sally standing beside him, wearing her tiara in her hair. She smiled at him, and he smiled back. "The castle should be finished by the end of the week, Sal." He said soflty. Sally nodded, and held him tight, resting her head on his shoulder. Sonic put an arm around her, holding her and letting the blueprints fall to the ground. The watched the construction crew for a few minutes. "Sonic, the boat is about to leave." Reminded Sally softly, looking at her watch. Sonic sighed sadly, and nodded. He picked up Sally and together they ran to the docks, where Captain Pelletier's cruiser AEGIS waited. He screeched to a halt beside it. Uncle Chuck, Bunnie, Rotor, Dr. Rose and his daughter, Scorch and Ami Chobei stood by the gangplank. "We almost left without being able to say goodbye to you, Sonic." Said Dr. Rose. He held his daughter to him. "We owe you a great debt. Without your help, I don't think Amy and I would have been reunited." He smiled. Sonic shook his head. "Thank Ami and Scorch. If it wasn't for him.." "Oh come on, Sonic. We did it together." Scorch said, clasping Sonic's wrist. Sonic smiled, returning the clasp. "Together. Do you really have to leave?" He asked. "There's still work to be done out there, brother. Maybe one day, we'll be able to settle down. And when we do, we'll come back here. Deal?" Said Scorch, raising an eyebrow. "Deal." Said Sonic, smiling. Amy Rose had walked up to Ami and was tugging on her skirt. She looked down at the small pink Hedgehog. "Thank you for saving my father." She said in a small, quiet voice. She turned to Sonic. He bent down to her. "And thank you too, Sonic." She said, and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Sonic blushed. Captain Pelletier called down from the deck. "All aboard!" Dr. Rose said his last goodbyes to all, and with his daughter, boarded the ship. They waved from the top deck. "Keep in touch, Edward!" yelled Uncle Chuck. Dr. Rose smiled. "We will, Sir Charles!" He yelled back. Scorch and Ami walked up the gangplank. Ami walked up and out of their sight, and when Scorch reached the top, he smiled down at Sonic, and gave him a thumbs-up and a wink. Sonic copied the gesture, and Scorch walked up to the deck. The boat's whistle gave a loud hoot and the ship disengaged from the dock and sailed slowly away. Everyone waved to each other, until the ship dissapeared over the horizon. Sonic hugged Sally to him, smiling at her. "At least this time I know that he's coming back." He said. Bunnie looked over at Rotor. "I'm glad that you're the real you." She said, hugging him tight. Rotor smiled at her over his rimless glasses. "So am I." He whispered, and leaned down to kiss her cheek. Bunnie blushed a deep red. They started walking away from the dock and back towards the castle. "You know, Sal, I watched you fight at the castle. You've really improved, you know." Sonic said. "Why thank you, Sonic." Replied Sally, beaming. "But you know, I'm still the best." He joked. Sally frowned. "Oh really? Have you forgotten Pinewood? Would you like me to prove it again? Or wasn't the first time enough?" Sonic shook his head. "No need, Sal. My head is still ringing." They all shared a laugh as they approached the castle. THE END -------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------- Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie Written by: Produced by: Jason B. Northage Directed by: etc..... Voices Sonic Hedgehog Bruce Willis Sally Demi Moore Bunnie Park Overall Rotor Colm Meany Antoine Dave Thomas Tails David Schwimmer Tara Julia Roberts Uncle Chuck Ray Walston Dr. Edward Rose Robert Stack Amy Rose Mara Wilson Scorch Hedgehog Paul Reiser Ami Chobei Julia Dreyfuss Scooter Jaleel White Sarah Kath Soucie Mechanix Christopher Lloyd Captain Pelletier Patrick Stewart Also Starring Vulpa Leonard Nimoy Hardcore Dan Castellanetta Hopper Dennis Hopper Cedrik Edgewater Anthony Hopkins Soundtrack Available on Mauser Records Songs Sonic Opening Theme "No One Like You" sung by: Scorpions Sonic Radio "I Like To Rock" sung by: April Wine Sonic & Sally Love Theme "How Deep Is Your Love" sung by: The Bee Gees Tails & Tara Love Theme "Power of Love" sung by: Peter Cetera Amy's Lullabye "Secret Friend" sung by: Mara Wilson written by: Jason Northage Super Sonic Transformation "You Can Do Anything" sung by:Casey Rankin, James Micheal Spawn Steve Ray Burton and Keiko Utoku "You Are the Light" sung by: Harlequin "You and I" sung by: Scorpions Sonic & Mechanix Fight Scene "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" sung by: Pat Benetar Sonic Ending Theme "Sonic the Hedgehog" sung by: Noisy Neighbors