The Dead Spy
By Witchwood
Chapter One
"You know, Sonic, if this works, Robotnick is going to be vulnerable to any other attacks we dish out." Sally commented as she zipped up Sonic's backpack.
"I know this is going to work!" Sonic replied. "Nothing can go wrong." He picked up his backpack and put it on.
"Just don't get yourself killed. If you do, I won't have anyone to show off my new lingerie to tonight. Maybe except for Antoine, but that's up to you."
"Don't even joke about that." Sally opened the door to let Sonic out. But he only stood in front of her. "I'll be back before you know it." Sonic grabbed her hands and gave her a kiss.
"Save it for when you get back. And I meant what I said."
"So did I."
"I have plans for you tonight. I don't want to worry about you while you're gone."
"Don't even think about that. I've never let you down before, and I don't plan on starting."
"Especially tonight."
"The sooner I leave, the sooner I get back."
"Then hurry up before I change my mind."
"I wouldn't want that to happen. I'll be back soon." Sonic closed his hood and walked away. Sally closed the door and began to prepare for that evening.
As Sonic quietly jogged out of Knothole, Tails saw him from his bedroom window and stopped him.
"Sonic! Where are you going?" Tails asked as he paused his flight simulator video game on his computer and jumped onto his bed to lean out of the window.
"What are you doing up? You should be asleep." Sonic whispered as he took his hood down.
"I'm not tired." Tails said as he tried to cover a yawn.
"You've been playing that game ever since I got it for you last week! If I didn't know better, I'd say you have some sort of fascination for flying, or something." Tails didn't get it.
"What are you doing up if it's so late then?"
"I'm just dropping off a Christmas present for our round friend in Robotropolis."
"In April?" Tails asked, thinking Sonic was serious.
"Just get to bed, I'll be right back."
"I am in bed."
"I know you're in bed, just get to sleep."
"Why aren't you in bed?"
Sonic smiled. "Oh, I will be later. That's for sure." Sonic started walking away.
"Hey, Sonic?" Tails called again.
"I'm leaving…" Sonic waved his hand. Tails rested his chin on the windowsill as he noticed that Sonic was wearing the backpack that he usually stowed him away in on their trips to the big city. Sonic never really used it for anything else, and Tails wondered why he wasn't going with him.
Tails flew out of his hut and began following him. He kept his distance as he sailed about a hundred feet behind, hoping Sonic wouldn't notice him. He was surprised that Sonic wasn't running as fast as he normally did. He usually digs a path in the dirt he runs on. Tails figured he was just being quiet so he wouldn't wake everyone up on his way out.
It wasn't too long before they both reached the city. Sonic still didn't know Tails was trailing behind him and Tails knew he would be in real trouble if Sonic found out he was with him, but he wanted to know what he was doing with the backpack. Sonic knew that he was probably being watched, but not by Tails. He quietly raced across the streets as Tails followed directly above him on the rooftops. When Sonic stopped by one of the buildings, Tails landed on the edge of the wall on the roof to see where he was going. Sonic walked in through an unlocked door. Tails was curious as to what he wanted to do in there, but instead of following Sonic through the door, he made his was inside through a ventilation duct. After a moment of navigating through the dark maze, Tails finally found where Sonic was. He quietly looked through the grating in the wall and watched Sonic set the backpack down next to a stack of computers.
Tails heard a few quiet beeps coming from the bag as Sonic did something to it. After another few quiet beeps, Sonic slipped the backpack behind the stack of computers and moved some of them over to completely cover it. After the backpack was completely concealed, Sonic closed his hood and quietly ran out of the room.
When Tails knew that Sonic was gone, he pushed the vent open and climbed out. While dusting himself off, he walked over to the stack of computers and moved them out of the way. And by the weight of the backpack, Tails realized why Sonic wasn't running as fast as he usually did.
Tails opened the flap on the top and saw that the content of the backpack was covered in duct tape. Rather than taking the box out of the backpack, he took the backpack out from around the box.
But as soon as he saw the red digital display counting down on the side, he realized that he should have taken Sonic's advice and stayed in bed.
Across the city in the old castle, Snively was just falling asleep as he was shaken out of his bed by an explosion. Only a few things fell off the walls, but everything was still in tact. While he looked around the room to gather his senses, Dr. Robotnick flashed onto his computer screen.
"Snively! Get down to block 15-B and investigate that explosion! I'll be there shortly."
"Right away, sir." He replied with trained obedience as he grabbed his gun and flashlight.
Bots and floodlights already covered the site by the time he arrived.
"What happened here?" Snively asked.
"An explosion, Sir." One of the bots replied.
"I know that, you idiot! What caused it?"
"We are currently retrieving the surveillance video to determine the cause." Snively crossed his arms and looked at the leveled building.
"Why couldn't those rodents do this during the day when I'm awake?"
"Strategic timing, Sir." One of the other bots replied.
"I wasn't asking you!"
"Sir, life signs detected." The robot droned as it pointed its gun at the ground. Snively walked over and kicked away a piece of debris to reveal furry fingers covered in blood.
"Not for long." Snively pulled out his gun and aimed it at Tails.
"I think it would be best if you put that gun away." Robotnick said as he approached from behind. "He may prove to be of some value to us." Snively turned the safety back on and put his gun back into its holster. "See to it that he gets cleaned up and receives proper medical attention."
When Robotnick received the surveillance video from the explosion, he watched it and realized how much value it was to him and how much power it gave him over his enemy. After he finished watching it, he began to modify the timeline and made it look like Tails was still in the room when the bomb went off. He smiled an evil smile as he broadcasted the video to all known channels used by the Freedom Fighters and went to bed with expectations of a happy morning.
Sonic returned home with expectations of a happy evening, but he stopped in his tracks when he saw Sally curled up in her robe in the corner of her room and her computer displaying a still frame of a distorted video image. He ran to her and looked at her wet face.
"Tails is dead! He followed you to Robotropolis and was killed by the explosion!" Sonic fell on his tail and leaned up against the wall mumbling something as he grabbed his head.
Morning arrived bringing painful sadness among the residence of Knothole Village. Everyone there was now aware of the occurrence of the previous evening and was sick at the thought of anything happening to such a young child, especially being killed by one of their own. Nobody blamed Sonic but himself. He saw him just minutes before the explosion.
Bunnie, Antoine and Uncle Chuck were in his room going through some of his things, remembering the times when he was still around. Rotor was going over the video that was sent to them the night of the explosion to see if there was anything else they could learn about his death that they didn't already know, but was just as hard to watch no matter how many times they saw it. Almost everybody mourned his death together, but Sonic was alone as he stood on the small bridge over the stream just outside the village. He looked at his distorted reflection in the slowly moving water below wishing he could see Tails next to him.
But during this time, Tails was in a hospital room in Robotropolis just beginning to regain consciousness. His eyes opened halfway while all he could see was a fuzzy spinning room. He knew he was lying down, but it was no reassurance to him that he wasn't going to fall down. His dizziness made his head hurt, and his sore head just made him dizzier. Either way, he didn't notice the restraints on his body and the tubes running down his throat.
He lost consciousness again as Robotnick and Snively stood outside the force field door to his room.
"I really think that if you aren't going to kill him, you should at least consider roboticizing him." Snively said.
"That sounds like a good idea. But first, let's give you a concussion and throw you into that machine and see how you turn out." Snively began to sweat.
"I see your point, sir." He said in a shaky voice.
"I don't like him being here as much as you do. But when it comes to war, prisoners can become hostages."
"What do you plan on getting from the Freedom Fighters for his safe return?"
"I don't know, but I highly doubt he's going to have a very safe return."
Sonic continued to gaze into the water below him as he thought about Tails' death. Sonic felt so empty without him around. He meant everything to him. Tails was like a brother to him, and sometimes felt like a son to him, but they were never anything less than best friends. He wiped his eyes as he picked up the gun from the railing of the bridge and placed a single bullet into its chamber.
Everything seemed quiet to Sonic now, not like it mattered to him. But he wondered if a person reaches a certain awareness of his surroundings when one is about to take his own life.
Whether it did or didn't, he held the gun up to his temple and pulled the hammer back with this thumb. Tears of sadness and despair blurred his vision as he looked straight down. He didn't bother wiping them away; it wasn't going to really matter in a moment anyway, as with many other things.
"Sonic!" Sally yelled in horror! Sonic jumped back and dropped the gun, which fired on impact of the ground and struck her in the lower part of her right forearm.
Sonic stood speechless, as did Sally. She looked at her bloody arm and back at Sonic with sudden anger.
"How can you be so weak and selfish?" Sally asked as she kept a tight fist. Sonic dared not answer. "Your problems are nothing compared to mine or anybody else's in this world! And if you think that killing yourself is going to take them away, it's just going to make ours worse!" Sally kept a perfect, but angry composure as she looked at Sonic. "All my life I've wanted to follow in my father's footsteps and make this world a better place to live, but I've had nothing but setbacks. And although what happened to Tails was another major setback, it was only an accident. But now that I know your true integrity…" Sally said as she began to feel weak and loose her balance from the loss of blood. "Maybe you should just… do us all a favor, and…" She finally fell to her knees and lost focus on Sonic and her thoughts.
Sonic ran to her and caught her before she fell completely to the ground.
"Don't say that! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" He picked her up and headed back to the village.
During the short trip that seemed to take forever, Sally only looked at his face. And when he looked back at her, he felt like her stare was just amplifying his fear and regrets. He tried looking away, but his love for her forced him to keep looking back at her to make sure she was still conscious.
When they returned, Sonic ran straight into Bookshire's hut and placed her on his bed.
"Book! She's been shot!" Bookshire got up from his computer desk and grabbed some bandages on his way across the room.
"Where?"
"Her arm! She's loosing a lot of blood!" Sonic then turned around and ran away.
"Sonic! Where are you going!" Bookshire yelled, and realized that he wasn't coming back. "Princess, what happened?" Sally didn't answer. "Can you hear me?"
"Yes."
"What happened?"
"I don't want to talk about it." Bookshire was at a loss for words, but only stopped momentarily before he continued to treat her wounds.
Sonic still had her blood over parts of his body as he cried on a random tree deep in the forest. Sally may have saved his life, but made him feel much worse than before. His only wish was for all of this to never have happened, but was unknowingly going to come true.
Although he didn't remember it, Tails felt a little better than he did before when he opened his eyes again. His vision was still blurry, but he noticed that tubes running into his mouth were doing his breathing for him. When he tried to breathe on his own, he felt a sharp intense pain in his chest.
"I don't like him any more than you do, sir. But I really don't see why you have to let him go without an anesthetic." Snively said as they both watched Tails from a console in another part of the building.
"Do you not approve of my judgment?" Robotnick asked as he continued to watch the fox.
"I have no problem with your judgment, sir. But with all due respect, you did say you wanted him to 'receive proper medical attention'." Robotnick turned his chair towards Snively and gave him a very cold look.
"I have every intension of giving him an anesthetic, but you fail to realize that I'm recording the video for the possibility of ransom!"
"I see."
"Besides, he did sustain some moderate head injuries. I doubt he would remember any of this anyway."
Tails began to sweat heavily as the pain in his chest and body continued to torture him. Even if he weren't held down by restraints, his injuries wouldn't let him up anyway. He had a cast over his left leg and his left arm was mostly covered in cloth bandages but also had a cast over his wrist.
Snively finally entered the room with a hypodermic needle and a small glass bottle. Tails only noticed his presence when he pulled the foot-long plastic tube out of his throat followed by the slight urge to vomit.
"Oh, look at that! You can breathe on your own." Snively said as he filled the needle with the contents of the bottle.
Tails took a couple of slow, deep breaths and tried to calm down now that he could breathe at his own pace. Snively carelessly slammed the needle in his arm and pushed down with his thumb. But the pain was nothing compared to what he was already experiencing.
"So how's it feel to be a prisoner?" Tails looked at his face and took another deep breath.
"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." He said before he turned his head and fell asleep.
Nightfall came to the village of Knothole again, only to add another day of sorrow to the Freedom Fighters. Sonic snuck back into the village and to the outside of Bookshire's hut. It was quiet inside, so it seemed that they could have been gone or just asleep. Sonic stood in the shadows for another few minutes to make sure that his presence was still unknown to everyone and to see if the princess was alone.
He was relieved to see Bookshire in Rotor's hut about a hundred feet away running the video through their computers to try to obtain any more information than they already had, so he snuck in and saw Sally laying quietly in the darkness.
As he silently approached her, he saw a cast on her arm. And at the sight of it, his heart began to hurt again just like it did that morning. The fur around her eyes looked like they had been wet a few hours before like she had cried herself to sleep. He slowly and lightly touched the side of her face and felt that she was very warm, like she had a fever.
She opened her eyes and took a moment to see who was there, but when she realized that it was Sonic, she took her plaster fist and slugged him in the face.
Sonic fell to the ground with a bloody nose and a cut lip. Sally sat up and turned on the small light next to her cot.
"What the hell are you doing here!" Sally yelled.
"I deserved that." Sonic said as he tried to keep his blood from making a mess everywhere. Sally grabbed one of Bookshire's canes and broke it over his head. Sonic was very disorientated as he stood up and tried to keep Sally from attacking him. But Sally was just as dizzy as he was from exerting as much energy as she did just after waking up, especially with a fever she acquired due to the stress and the loss of blood during the day.
She dropped what was left of the cane and fell into Sonic's arms started crying.
"Why did he have to die!" Sally cried. "He was too young! He never understood war!"
"I'm so sorry I did this to you."
"It's not your fault."
"Then why do I blame myself?"
"I don't blame you."
"Thank you, that means so much to me!" Sonic embraced Sally with a loving hug and didn't let go. "Your forgiveness is all I ask."
"I forgive you…" Sally quietly cried.
Tails woke again to the faint ambient humming of various pieces of equipment in the room. He reached to rub his eyes, but stopped as he saw the cast on his left wrist. He tried to gauge the extent of the injury by gently moving his fingers, but was struck by a sharp, intense pain in his entire hand. At that moment, he realized that every bone in his hand must have been broken.
While he rested his broken hand on his chest, he used the other to rub his eyes.
"Can you hear me?" A robotic voice said. Tails moved his hand away from his face and looked to the left side of the bed. "Try not to move. Do you know where you are?" It was a very slender and simple docbot responding to his increased blood pressure.
"No." Tails said in a raspy voice.
"Do you know what happened to you?" Tails lay silent as he tried to recall why he was there. "Can you move your toes?"
Tails slowly moved all his toes, hoping he wouldn't get the same reaction from his hand, but his right foot was just sore.
"Are you having any difficulties breathing?"
"A little." The docbot produced an oxygen mask and placed it over his muzzle, instantly making Tails feel more relaxed.
"Do you have any allergies or are on any medications?"
"I don't think so."
"You have sustained many serious injuries. You have a moderate concussion, six broken bones in your left hand, a fractured thumb, two broken fingers and another break in your forearm. Three of your lower-left ribs have been broken and one of them punctured the lower portion of your lung. There was a compound fracture three inches below your left knee leaving nine stitches down the left side of your leg. Numerous pieces of concrete, glass and wood were removed from your body as a result of the explosion. So far, none of your injuries seem to be life threatening, but your vital signs will be monitored during most of your recovery. You have also been given a substantial amount of oxygloben to replace blood lost from your injuries. It is an artificial blood substitute that accommodates your body's need for oxygen, but lacks the ability to fight infections and doesn't allow your body to heal as quickly from injuries so you will be placed on antibiotics until your normal blood supply can return to normal."
"How did all this happen?"
"I have no information about the incident."
Sonic was still asleep in a chair next to Sally when she woke up. His head was resting on her left hand. She took her other hand and placed it on his shoulder waking him up.
"Did I wake you?" Bookshire asked from the kitchen. Neither of them answered. "I'm sorry if I did. Breakfast is ready if you want." Sonic sat up in his chair and rubbed his eyes. "Now maybe you guys can tell me what happened." Sonic was about to confess to her injury, but Sally spoke up first.
"Sonic and I were gathering weapons for a surprise assault on Robotropolis, but I dropped one of the guns and it discharged." Sonic turned his head and gave her a look of a million thanks.
"Why did you leave then, Sonic?"
"I guess he just couldn't stand anyone seeing him cry." Those words brought tears to both of their eyes.
"Well, that explains a lot. But then where did you get those cuts on your face, and why is my cane broken?"
"Um… I guess when I came in last night… I… tripped over it and hit your desk. I'll get you a new cane if you want." Sally gave the same look of a million thanks to Sonic for taking the blame for his injuries.
"Well, I hope both of you are okay. How are you feeling, princess?"
"It really hurts when I try to move it."
"Then don't move it." Bookshire brought the two a bowl of hot oatmeal, toast and orange juice. "Can I get both of you anything? Butter? Coffee? Morphine?"
"No, thank you." Sally answered.
"You know, it's a good thing you didn't loose any more blood than you did. Bunnie is the only one in the village with your blood type. With her low real body weight, she wasn't able to give you a lot of blood. And speaking of which, I'd better go check on her. I'll be back in a few minutes." Bookshire grabbed another one of his canes and left his hut.
"I can't thank you enough, for both your forgiveness and understanding." Sally turned her head and looked at her broken arm. "Is there something wrong?"
"I've never told anyone about this…" Sally began, "when my father was cast into the Void, I thought he was dead and I was never going to see him again. I was so close to him, he was my only family. I became so lonely and depressed, and my life felt so empty without him. I stopped eating, and I got sick from it for a couple of days. I actually tried to kill myself by overdosing… on grape cough syrup."
"What?" Sonic laughed. "How do you overdose on grape cough syrup?"
"Don't laugh," Sally also smiled a little. "I was only seven. And a whole bottle was a lot for my size. I was found on the bathroom floor with purple lips and the empty cough syrup bottle lying by my hand. I was told I was out cold for about nineteen hours. I couldn't remember much of it since the cough syrup consisted mostly of alcohol. I couldn't get the purple stain around from my mouth off for about three days. But I was actually serious… If that was as poisonous as I thought it was, I would be dead." They both sat silent for a moment. "Dead…" Sally quietly said as her eyes began to water again. "Just like Tails."
"Can I sit up?" Tails asked.
"The bed position control is located just to your right." Tails grabbed the control and pushed the button to sit up. The bed slowly bent to allow him to sit up, and also discover most of the locations of the rest of his injuries.
When he was at about a forty-five degree angle, he began to feel very light-headed. His ears rang, his vision became distorted and his head pounded with every heartbeat.
A few seconds later, he found himself lying flat again with the docbot standing by his bed.
"Perhaps it would be best if you didn't do that for a while." And the docbot rolled out of the room.
He really didn't want to lay flat, so he only lifted the bed only a little. He didn't feel as lightheaded as before, but he did begin to get a headache. Although it was uncomfortable, it wasn't as uncomfortable as laying flat.
"Good morning, young man." Robotnick said as he walked inside with Snively. "How are you feeling today?" He pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed.
"Sick." Tails replied.
"How unfortunate. But it's a good thing you're still alive. Can you tell me if you remember what happened?"
"I really don't think I can remember anything."
"Do you even know your name?"
"I… no, I don't remember. It's really hard to think straight right now."
"That's too bad. I was hoping you could help me find out about the person who did this to you."
"I'm sorry, I don't think I can help. I don't know what happened."
"I want to show you some pictures of someone." Robotnick displayed various pictures of Sonic destroying robots and equipment.
"I've heard of people coloring their hair before, but this porcupine needs to learn how to control himself."
"We were able to retrieve the surveillance video of the explosion."
"The what?" Tails asked. Snively pushed a button on the video console on the wall and played the video that was given to the Freedom Fighters. Tails watched with uninterrupted curiosity as he watched himself enter the room right after the hedgehog left. But was stunned and terrified as he saw himself in the violent explosion. He turned his head and closed his eyes, but couldn't get the vision of flying debris out of his head.
"I'm sorry I had to show that to you. But you must understand, we need your help in capturing him. Ever since your father fired him from his job, this porcupine has always wanted to get back at him, and you're his primary target."
"What am I going to do?"
"For now, nothing." Robotnick walked towards the door. "He probably thinks you're dead."
By Witchwood
Chapter One
"You know, Sonic, if this works, Robotnick is going to be vulnerable to any other attacks we dish out." Sally commented as she zipped up Sonic's backpack.
"I know this is going to work!" Sonic replied. "Nothing can go wrong." He picked up his backpack and put it on.
"Just don't get yourself killed. If you do, I won't have anyone to show off my new lingerie to tonight. Maybe except for Antoine, but that's up to you."
"Don't even joke about that." Sally opened the door to let Sonic out. But he only stood in front of her. "I'll be back before you know it." Sonic grabbed her hands and gave her a kiss.
"Save it for when you get back. And I meant what I said."
"So did I."
"I have plans for you tonight. I don't want to worry about you while you're gone."
"Don't even think about that. I've never let you down before, and I don't plan on starting."
"Especially tonight."
"The sooner I leave, the sooner I get back."
"Then hurry up before I change my mind."
"I wouldn't want that to happen. I'll be back soon." Sonic closed his hood and walked away. Sally closed the door and began to prepare for that evening.
As Sonic quietly jogged out of Knothole, Tails saw him from his bedroom window and stopped him.
"Sonic! Where are you going?" Tails asked as he paused his flight simulator video game on his computer and jumped onto his bed to lean out of the window.
"What are you doing up? You should be asleep." Sonic whispered as he took his hood down.
"I'm not tired." Tails said as he tried to cover a yawn.
"You've been playing that game ever since I got it for you last week! If I didn't know better, I'd say you have some sort of fascination for flying, or something." Tails didn't get it.
"What are you doing up if it's so late then?"
"I'm just dropping off a Christmas present for our round friend in Robotropolis."
"In April?" Tails asked, thinking Sonic was serious.
"Just get to bed, I'll be right back."
"I am in bed."
"I know you're in bed, just get to sleep."
"Why aren't you in bed?"
Sonic smiled. "Oh, I will be later. That's for sure." Sonic started walking away.
"Hey, Sonic?" Tails called again.
"I'm leaving…" Sonic waved his hand. Tails rested his chin on the windowsill as he noticed that Sonic was wearing the backpack that he usually stowed him away in on their trips to the big city. Sonic never really used it for anything else, and Tails wondered why he wasn't going with him.
Tails flew out of his hut and began following him. He kept his distance as he sailed about a hundred feet behind, hoping Sonic wouldn't notice him. He was surprised that Sonic wasn't running as fast as he normally did. He usually digs a path in the dirt he runs on. Tails figured he was just being quiet so he wouldn't wake everyone up on his way out.
It wasn't too long before they both reached the city. Sonic still didn't know Tails was trailing behind him and Tails knew he would be in real trouble if Sonic found out he was with him, but he wanted to know what he was doing with the backpack. Sonic knew that he was probably being watched, but not by Tails. He quietly raced across the streets as Tails followed directly above him on the rooftops. When Sonic stopped by one of the buildings, Tails landed on the edge of the wall on the roof to see where he was going. Sonic walked in through an unlocked door. Tails was curious as to what he wanted to do in there, but instead of following Sonic through the door, he made his was inside through a ventilation duct. After a moment of navigating through the dark maze, Tails finally found where Sonic was. He quietly looked through the grating in the wall and watched Sonic set the backpack down next to a stack of computers.
Tails heard a few quiet beeps coming from the bag as Sonic did something to it. After another few quiet beeps, Sonic slipped the backpack behind the stack of computers and moved some of them over to completely cover it. After the backpack was completely concealed, Sonic closed his hood and quietly ran out of the room.
When Tails knew that Sonic was gone, he pushed the vent open and climbed out. While dusting himself off, he walked over to the stack of computers and moved them out of the way. And by the weight of the backpack, Tails realized why Sonic wasn't running as fast as he usually did.
Tails opened the flap on the top and saw that the content of the backpack was covered in duct tape. Rather than taking the box out of the backpack, he took the backpack out from around the box.
But as soon as he saw the red digital display counting down on the side, he realized that he should have taken Sonic's advice and stayed in bed.
Across the city in the old castle, Snively was just falling asleep as he was shaken out of his bed by an explosion. Only a few things fell off the walls, but everything was still in tact. While he looked around the room to gather his senses, Dr. Robotnick flashed onto his computer screen.
"Snively! Get down to block 15-B and investigate that explosion! I'll be there shortly."
"Right away, sir." He replied with trained obedience as he grabbed his gun and flashlight.
Bots and floodlights already covered the site by the time he arrived.
"What happened here?" Snively asked.
"An explosion, Sir." One of the bots replied.
"I know that, you idiot! What caused it?"
"We are currently retrieving the surveillance video to determine the cause." Snively crossed his arms and looked at the leveled building.
"Why couldn't those rodents do this during the day when I'm awake?"
"Strategic timing, Sir." One of the other bots replied.
"I wasn't asking you!"
"Sir, life signs detected." The robot droned as it pointed its gun at the ground. Snively walked over and kicked away a piece of debris to reveal furry fingers covered in blood.
"Not for long." Snively pulled out his gun and aimed it at Tails.
"I think it would be best if you put that gun away." Robotnick said as he approached from behind. "He may prove to be of some value to us." Snively turned the safety back on and put his gun back into its holster. "See to it that he gets cleaned up and receives proper medical attention."
When Robotnick received the surveillance video from the explosion, he watched it and realized how much value it was to him and how much power it gave him over his enemy. After he finished watching it, he began to modify the timeline and made it look like Tails was still in the room when the bomb went off. He smiled an evil smile as he broadcasted the video to all known channels used by the Freedom Fighters and went to bed with expectations of a happy morning.
Sonic returned home with expectations of a happy evening, but he stopped in his tracks when he saw Sally curled up in her robe in the corner of her room and her computer displaying a still frame of a distorted video image. He ran to her and looked at her wet face.
"Tails is dead! He followed you to Robotropolis and was killed by the explosion!" Sonic fell on his tail and leaned up against the wall mumbling something as he grabbed his head.
Morning arrived bringing painful sadness among the residence of Knothole Village. Everyone there was now aware of the occurrence of the previous evening and was sick at the thought of anything happening to such a young child, especially being killed by one of their own. Nobody blamed Sonic but himself. He saw him just minutes before the explosion.
Bunnie, Antoine and Uncle Chuck were in his room going through some of his things, remembering the times when he was still around. Rotor was going over the video that was sent to them the night of the explosion to see if there was anything else they could learn about his death that they didn't already know, but was just as hard to watch no matter how many times they saw it. Almost everybody mourned his death together, but Sonic was alone as he stood on the small bridge over the stream just outside the village. He looked at his distorted reflection in the slowly moving water below wishing he could see Tails next to him.
But during this time, Tails was in a hospital room in Robotropolis just beginning to regain consciousness. His eyes opened halfway while all he could see was a fuzzy spinning room. He knew he was lying down, but it was no reassurance to him that he wasn't going to fall down. His dizziness made his head hurt, and his sore head just made him dizzier. Either way, he didn't notice the restraints on his body and the tubes running down his throat.
He lost consciousness again as Robotnick and Snively stood outside the force field door to his room.
"I really think that if you aren't going to kill him, you should at least consider roboticizing him." Snively said.
"That sounds like a good idea. But first, let's give you a concussion and throw you into that machine and see how you turn out." Snively began to sweat.
"I see your point, sir." He said in a shaky voice.
"I don't like him being here as much as you do. But when it comes to war, prisoners can become hostages."
"What do you plan on getting from the Freedom Fighters for his safe return?"
"I don't know, but I highly doubt he's going to have a very safe return."
Sonic continued to gaze into the water below him as he thought about Tails' death. Sonic felt so empty without him around. He meant everything to him. Tails was like a brother to him, and sometimes felt like a son to him, but they were never anything less than best friends. He wiped his eyes as he picked up the gun from the railing of the bridge and placed a single bullet into its chamber.
Everything seemed quiet to Sonic now, not like it mattered to him. But he wondered if a person reaches a certain awareness of his surroundings when one is about to take his own life.
Whether it did or didn't, he held the gun up to his temple and pulled the hammer back with this thumb. Tears of sadness and despair blurred his vision as he looked straight down. He didn't bother wiping them away; it wasn't going to really matter in a moment anyway, as with many other things.
"Sonic!" Sally yelled in horror! Sonic jumped back and dropped the gun, which fired on impact of the ground and struck her in the lower part of her right forearm.
Sonic stood speechless, as did Sally. She looked at her bloody arm and back at Sonic with sudden anger.
"How can you be so weak and selfish?" Sally asked as she kept a tight fist. Sonic dared not answer. "Your problems are nothing compared to mine or anybody else's in this world! And if you think that killing yourself is going to take them away, it's just going to make ours worse!" Sally kept a perfect, but angry composure as she looked at Sonic. "All my life I've wanted to follow in my father's footsteps and make this world a better place to live, but I've had nothing but setbacks. And although what happened to Tails was another major setback, it was only an accident. But now that I know your true integrity…" Sally said as she began to feel weak and loose her balance from the loss of blood. "Maybe you should just… do us all a favor, and…" She finally fell to her knees and lost focus on Sonic and her thoughts.
Sonic ran to her and caught her before she fell completely to the ground.
"Don't say that! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" He picked her up and headed back to the village.
During the short trip that seemed to take forever, Sally only looked at his face. And when he looked back at her, he felt like her stare was just amplifying his fear and regrets. He tried looking away, but his love for her forced him to keep looking back at her to make sure she was still conscious.
When they returned, Sonic ran straight into Bookshire's hut and placed her on his bed.
"Book! She's been shot!" Bookshire got up from his computer desk and grabbed some bandages on his way across the room.
"Where?"
"Her arm! She's loosing a lot of blood!" Sonic then turned around and ran away.
"Sonic! Where are you going!" Bookshire yelled, and realized that he wasn't coming back. "Princess, what happened?" Sally didn't answer. "Can you hear me?"
"Yes."
"What happened?"
"I don't want to talk about it." Bookshire was at a loss for words, but only stopped momentarily before he continued to treat her wounds.
Sonic still had her blood over parts of his body as he cried on a random tree deep in the forest. Sally may have saved his life, but made him feel much worse than before. His only wish was for all of this to never have happened, but was unknowingly going to come true.
Although he didn't remember it, Tails felt a little better than he did before when he opened his eyes again. His vision was still blurry, but he noticed that tubes running into his mouth were doing his breathing for him. When he tried to breathe on his own, he felt a sharp intense pain in his chest.
"I don't like him any more than you do, sir. But I really don't see why you have to let him go without an anesthetic." Snively said as they both watched Tails from a console in another part of the building.
"Do you not approve of my judgment?" Robotnick asked as he continued to watch the fox.
"I have no problem with your judgment, sir. But with all due respect, you did say you wanted him to 'receive proper medical attention'." Robotnick turned his chair towards Snively and gave him a very cold look.
"I have every intension of giving him an anesthetic, but you fail to realize that I'm recording the video for the possibility of ransom!"
"I see."
"Besides, he did sustain some moderate head injuries. I doubt he would remember any of this anyway."
Tails began to sweat heavily as the pain in his chest and body continued to torture him. Even if he weren't held down by restraints, his injuries wouldn't let him up anyway. He had a cast over his left leg and his left arm was mostly covered in cloth bandages but also had a cast over his wrist.
Snively finally entered the room with a hypodermic needle and a small glass bottle. Tails only noticed his presence when he pulled the foot-long plastic tube out of his throat followed by the slight urge to vomit.
"Oh, look at that! You can breathe on your own." Snively said as he filled the needle with the contents of the bottle.
Tails took a couple of slow, deep breaths and tried to calm down now that he could breathe at his own pace. Snively carelessly slammed the needle in his arm and pushed down with his thumb. But the pain was nothing compared to what he was already experiencing.
"So how's it feel to be a prisoner?" Tails looked at his face and took another deep breath.
"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." He said before he turned his head and fell asleep.
Nightfall came to the village of Knothole again, only to add another day of sorrow to the Freedom Fighters. Sonic snuck back into the village and to the outside of Bookshire's hut. It was quiet inside, so it seemed that they could have been gone or just asleep. Sonic stood in the shadows for another few minutes to make sure that his presence was still unknown to everyone and to see if the princess was alone.
He was relieved to see Bookshire in Rotor's hut about a hundred feet away running the video through their computers to try to obtain any more information than they already had, so he snuck in and saw Sally laying quietly in the darkness.
As he silently approached her, he saw a cast on her arm. And at the sight of it, his heart began to hurt again just like it did that morning. The fur around her eyes looked like they had been wet a few hours before like she had cried herself to sleep. He slowly and lightly touched the side of her face and felt that she was very warm, like she had a fever.
She opened her eyes and took a moment to see who was there, but when she realized that it was Sonic, she took her plaster fist and slugged him in the face.
Sonic fell to the ground with a bloody nose and a cut lip. Sally sat up and turned on the small light next to her cot.
"What the hell are you doing here!" Sally yelled.
"I deserved that." Sonic said as he tried to keep his blood from making a mess everywhere. Sally grabbed one of Bookshire's canes and broke it over his head. Sonic was very disorientated as he stood up and tried to keep Sally from attacking him. But Sally was just as dizzy as he was from exerting as much energy as she did just after waking up, especially with a fever she acquired due to the stress and the loss of blood during the day.
She dropped what was left of the cane and fell into Sonic's arms started crying.
"Why did he have to die!" Sally cried. "He was too young! He never understood war!"
"I'm so sorry I did this to you."
"It's not your fault."
"Then why do I blame myself?"
"I don't blame you."
"Thank you, that means so much to me!" Sonic embraced Sally with a loving hug and didn't let go. "Your forgiveness is all I ask."
"I forgive you…" Sally quietly cried.
Tails woke again to the faint ambient humming of various pieces of equipment in the room. He reached to rub his eyes, but stopped as he saw the cast on his left wrist. He tried to gauge the extent of the injury by gently moving his fingers, but was struck by a sharp, intense pain in his entire hand. At that moment, he realized that every bone in his hand must have been broken.
While he rested his broken hand on his chest, he used the other to rub his eyes.
"Can you hear me?" A robotic voice said. Tails moved his hand away from his face and looked to the left side of the bed. "Try not to move. Do you know where you are?" It was a very slender and simple docbot responding to his increased blood pressure.
"No." Tails said in a raspy voice.
"Do you know what happened to you?" Tails lay silent as he tried to recall why he was there. "Can you move your toes?"
Tails slowly moved all his toes, hoping he wouldn't get the same reaction from his hand, but his right foot was just sore.
"Are you having any difficulties breathing?"
"A little." The docbot produced an oxygen mask and placed it over his muzzle, instantly making Tails feel more relaxed.
"Do you have any allergies or are on any medications?"
"I don't think so."
"You have sustained many serious injuries. You have a moderate concussion, six broken bones in your left hand, a fractured thumb, two broken fingers and another break in your forearm. Three of your lower-left ribs have been broken and one of them punctured the lower portion of your lung. There was a compound fracture three inches below your left knee leaving nine stitches down the left side of your leg. Numerous pieces of concrete, glass and wood were removed from your body as a result of the explosion. So far, none of your injuries seem to be life threatening, but your vital signs will be monitored during most of your recovery. You have also been given a substantial amount of oxygloben to replace blood lost from your injuries. It is an artificial blood substitute that accommodates your body's need for oxygen, but lacks the ability to fight infections and doesn't allow your body to heal as quickly from injuries so you will be placed on antibiotics until your normal blood supply can return to normal."
"How did all this happen?"
"I have no information about the incident."
Sonic was still asleep in a chair next to Sally when she woke up. His head was resting on her left hand. She took her other hand and placed it on his shoulder waking him up.
"Did I wake you?" Bookshire asked from the kitchen. Neither of them answered. "I'm sorry if I did. Breakfast is ready if you want." Sonic sat up in his chair and rubbed his eyes. "Now maybe you guys can tell me what happened." Sonic was about to confess to her injury, but Sally spoke up first.
"Sonic and I were gathering weapons for a surprise assault on Robotropolis, but I dropped one of the guns and it discharged." Sonic turned his head and gave her a look of a million thanks.
"Why did you leave then, Sonic?"
"I guess he just couldn't stand anyone seeing him cry." Those words brought tears to both of their eyes.
"Well, that explains a lot. But then where did you get those cuts on your face, and why is my cane broken?"
"Um… I guess when I came in last night… I… tripped over it and hit your desk. I'll get you a new cane if you want." Sally gave the same look of a million thanks to Sonic for taking the blame for his injuries.
"Well, I hope both of you are okay. How are you feeling, princess?"
"It really hurts when I try to move it."
"Then don't move it." Bookshire brought the two a bowl of hot oatmeal, toast and orange juice. "Can I get both of you anything? Butter? Coffee? Morphine?"
"No, thank you." Sally answered.
"You know, it's a good thing you didn't loose any more blood than you did. Bunnie is the only one in the village with your blood type. With her low real body weight, she wasn't able to give you a lot of blood. And speaking of which, I'd better go check on her. I'll be back in a few minutes." Bookshire grabbed another one of his canes and left his hut.
"I can't thank you enough, for both your forgiveness and understanding." Sally turned her head and looked at her broken arm. "Is there something wrong?"
"I've never told anyone about this…" Sally began, "when my father was cast into the Void, I thought he was dead and I was never going to see him again. I was so close to him, he was my only family. I became so lonely and depressed, and my life felt so empty without him. I stopped eating, and I got sick from it for a couple of days. I actually tried to kill myself by overdosing… on grape cough syrup."
"What?" Sonic laughed. "How do you overdose on grape cough syrup?"
"Don't laugh," Sally also smiled a little. "I was only seven. And a whole bottle was a lot for my size. I was found on the bathroom floor with purple lips and the empty cough syrup bottle lying by my hand. I was told I was out cold for about nineteen hours. I couldn't remember much of it since the cough syrup consisted mostly of alcohol. I couldn't get the purple stain around from my mouth off for about three days. But I was actually serious… If that was as poisonous as I thought it was, I would be dead." They both sat silent for a moment. "Dead…" Sally quietly said as her eyes began to water again. "Just like Tails."
"Can I sit up?" Tails asked.
"The bed position control is located just to your right." Tails grabbed the control and pushed the button to sit up. The bed slowly bent to allow him to sit up, and also discover most of the locations of the rest of his injuries.
When he was at about a forty-five degree angle, he began to feel very light-headed. His ears rang, his vision became distorted and his head pounded with every heartbeat.
A few seconds later, he found himself lying flat again with the docbot standing by his bed.
"Perhaps it would be best if you didn't do that for a while." And the docbot rolled out of the room.
He really didn't want to lay flat, so he only lifted the bed only a little. He didn't feel as lightheaded as before, but he did begin to get a headache. Although it was uncomfortable, it wasn't as uncomfortable as laying flat.
"Good morning, young man." Robotnick said as he walked inside with Snively. "How are you feeling today?" He pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed.
"Sick." Tails replied.
"How unfortunate. But it's a good thing you're still alive. Can you tell me if you remember what happened?"
"I really don't think I can remember anything."
"Do you even know your name?"
"I… no, I don't remember. It's really hard to think straight right now."
"That's too bad. I was hoping you could help me find out about the person who did this to you."
"I'm sorry, I don't think I can help. I don't know what happened."
"I want to show you some pictures of someone." Robotnick displayed various pictures of Sonic destroying robots and equipment.
"I've heard of people coloring their hair before, but this porcupine needs to learn how to control himself."
"We were able to retrieve the surveillance video of the explosion."
"The what?" Tails asked. Snively pushed a button on the video console on the wall and played the video that was given to the Freedom Fighters. Tails watched with uninterrupted curiosity as he watched himself enter the room right after the hedgehog left. But was stunned and terrified as he saw himself in the violent explosion. He turned his head and closed his eyes, but couldn't get the vision of flying debris out of his head.
"I'm sorry I had to show that to you. But you must understand, we need your help in capturing him. Ever since your father fired him from his job, this porcupine has always wanted to get back at him, and you're his primary target."
"What am I going to do?"
"For now, nothing." Robotnick walked towards the door. "He probably thinks you're dead."