Written by KeiLionheart98
Based on an unused comic book storyline written by Karl Bollers for Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog published by Archie Comics.
This re-write is intended for entertainment purposes and is also intended for those who feel the original story was lackluster and could have been better. No offence is intended for anyone who enjoyed the original story.
Note: This would be my first ever fan-fic that I have published, but my first, so please go easy on me.
Black Hog Down - Part 1
It's a quiet day in Knothole. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the citizens go about their daily business. That includes Hope Kintobor, who chooses to just kick back and relax by a tree with a book or two this fine afternoon. Not that the subject of matter is everyone's cup of tea, but young Hope is unaware that she's being watched from the shadows by a black hedgehog named Shadow.
Shadow is the Ultimate Lifeform, created by the great Gerald Robotnik 50 years ago. The moment he first saw Hope, he can't take his eyes off of her, Hope looks like Maria to him. He knew that Maria had died when his birthplace, the ARK got shut down, but he couldn't help but think that Maria is right there.
Suddenly, as Hope was just about to leave, she hears a noise and goes over to the field investigate. Meanwhile, Shadow hears bushes moving and sees a cloaked figure coming out of nowhere. It was Robotnik, lurking around the outer areas of Knothole. Shadow sees him and hides up the tree as it looks around the area. It was tall with a round, egg-shaped man in a cloak. Shadow is struck with a feeling of concern.
"Hmm? Isn't that… Robotnik?" Shadow asks himself, seeing the cloaked figure nearby. The man has his computer round his hand, looking around the area. The screen is green with a picture of Hope Kintobor on it.
"Hope Kintobor is approximately 10 – 15 yards away. Excellent!" The egg-shaped obese man said.
Shadow was shocked, after hearing what he has heard from the trees.
"He's after Hope?" He questions himself. "What does he want with her?"
But before Shadow could do anything, Hope enters the area where Shadow and Robotnik are, unaware of the danger that she is about to endure. He catches her going into the field where Robotnik is waiting.
"Hello? Is anyone here?" Hope continues to walk through the field until…
"Hope, get outta there!" cried out Shadow. "Robotnik is after you!"
Hope hears the voice from above her, but before she could react after hearing a voice, Robotnik appears in front of the young overlander girl.
"Hello, my dear!" Robotnik greeted. "Did you miss me?"
"R-R-R-Ro…botnik!" Hope shuttered. She tries to run back to Knothole but Robotnik stops her in her tracks. Shadow jumps from the tree and confronts Robotnik.
"Hope, run!" he tells Hope. She nods and turns to run out of the way. He attacks Robotnik, but Robotnik had predicted Shadow's movements, and counters them with a blue energy field.
"Ha! Is that the best you can do?" taunts Robotnik. Shadow tries to hit Robotnik once more, this time, fueled fury, however, Robotnik blocks off Shadow's punch with his own hand. He grabs Shadow by the wrist and throwns him into the bushes, knocking him out.
Meanwhile, Hope is running and wandering in the field, trying to get away from Robotnik. However, she finds herself lost and unable to find Knothole. She slows down from running due to fatigue and stops to catch her breath. She breathed slowly, trying to regain her strength. But before it could all come back, four small lights surrounding Hope in a box flicker and walls slowly lifts up from the grass. The capsule walls come together, trapping Hope inside. Hope bangs on the walls, crying for help, but no body near could hear. Worse still, a tranquilizer gas comes out from the ceiling and fills the room with gas. Hope holds her nose, trying not to inhale it. However, she was already weakened from fleeing, losing her grip on the nose and falls to the ground.
After Hope was knocked out, the capsule unwinds itself, and behind the girl, a silhouette of Robotnik appears with a white, sinister grin.
Back at the fields, after a few seconds, Shadow gets back up, but Robotnik are already gone. He looks around, left and right.
"Hope? Hope!?" he calls out, but there was no one. He nearly falls due to a bad knee and clutches on to his left upper arm. He continues to the field, looking for Hope, until he sees Robotnik on his mobile and discovers Hope is inside. Shadow is horrified that Hope has been captured by Robotnik despite his attempts of saving her. He starts to go after them in-spite of his injured knee.
Young Miles Prower, a.k.a. Tails is heading for the Knothole Orphanage to meet with Hope. They were both reading the same book; "The Mysterious Pre-Mobian History". Tails arrives at the ronde au, but Hope is nowhere to be seen. Rosie is here, with the other orphans, however, so he flies up to her.
"Hey, Rosie." greeted Tails.
"Good morning, Miles." greeted Rosie.
"Has Hope came by?" asked Tails.
"Oh, no, Miles, I haven't seen her since breakfast." explained Rosie. "She said she'll be reading by the trees."
"Oh… ok. It's just that I'm supposed to meet up with her and talk about the book that was found in the old Mobotropolis library."
"I let you know if I see her." Rosie assures Tails as he leaves.
"Thanks Rosie. I'll see you later." Tails walks out of the orphanage and begins to look for his overlander friend.
"Hope?" Tails calls out, as he flies around Knothole. "Hope?" As his search begins to look grim, Tails finds a beaten Shadow coming out from the bushes. Shortly after arriving, Shadow collapses on his knees.
"Shadow!" He cried, seeing Shadow in a terrible state. The fox boy runs up to him, checking if he's alright. "What happened?!"
"Ho... Hope..." muttered Shadow, weakly.
"Huh?" Tails was muddled when Shadow muttered out Hope's name.
"He...took...Hope..." Shadow said.
"Who? Who took Hope?" He asks Shadow but he doesn't answer. "C'mon, lemme help you up!" Tails helps Shadow up and tries to take him to Freedom HQ.
"Ro... bot... nik...must...stop...him..." Shadow muttered.
"Hang on, I'm going to take you to Rotor right now!" assured Tails.
"He… must...pay..." Shadow muttered again.
"Huh?" Tails says as Shadow's begins to regain consciousness more and more, and his emotion is turning into anger. Tails is beginning to become concerned as he witnesses this.
"Ro… botnik… must pay… for taking Hope from me."
"Wha-" A shocked Tails says. Before Tails does anything, Shadow pushes Tails aside. "Shadow! You don't have to do this-!"
"You stay out of this! I will have my revenge!" Shadow teleports away.
Tails is in a state of shock. He's never seen Shadow like this before, and the last time he saw him, the world is under threat by the Xorda. Now, he's going after Robotnik with the possibility of committing murder.
"Oh man! I gonna warn the others!" Tails runs off to find the others and warn them about Shadow.
The young overlander girl wakes up inside a chamber. The room has a sci-fi atmosphere. There were keyboards, and computer screens, and wires connecting to the wall back wall. She looks around, still whizzing from the hit she endured from the Shadowbot. "W-where am I?" she asked so anxiously.
"You're in Megaopolis, my dear!" said a voice. Hope gasps from shock. Coming out from the shadows is none other than the egg-shaped man with the master plan, Dr. Robotnik. The girl backs away, cowering in fear, seeing her diabolical uncle. He laughs evily. "Ho ho ho ho ho!"
"R-R-R-Ro-botnik!" shuddered Hope, seeing Robotnik coming out.
"Please darling," says Robotnik. "call my uncle Ivo! We're family after all."
"N-No!" cried Hope. "You're not even my biological uncle! We're step-relatives, remember?"
"Now, now, sweetie! Just because we're not related though blood doesn't mean we're not family! Especially since you my last known family member, around."
"We are not a family! Not after what you did to my step-dad and grandma!"
"Let by-gones be by-gones, shall we? You can be my new toady. Since my last was a… disappointment. He wasn't what I'd hoped he be when we came face-to-face with those Xorda creatures, so I let him to rot."
"I'll never work for you, even if you're the last scientist on Mobius!"
"As I expect you to be stubborn. Fine! Be an ungrateful brat all you want; you are never leaving this place. Take her away!" A couple of Shadowbots arrive to take Hope and drag her to the prison cells, and Robotnik leaves the room and heads to another room.
Robotnik enters the main control room of his fortress and sits down by his chair near the monitors, when the AI A.D.A.M. detects the presence within the area.
"Father, an intruder has been detected outside the fortress." Said A.D.A.M.
"Show the surveillance!" ordered Robotnik, and A.D.A.M. switches to the surveillance and Robotnik finds Shadow breaking into the fortress. He's spun attacked through the metallic door, leaving dents. "Well, well… Didn't think that sneaky rodent had it in him, huh?!"
After entering the fortress, Shadow looks at the surveillance camera and runs over to it. "Come out, Robotnik, you coward!" Shadow says angrily to the surveillance camera
"Shall I call the Shadowbot-Squad and send them to eliminate Shadow?" asked A.D.A.M.
"No!" Robotnik tells his AI son. "Let him roam free. This will be far more entertaining."
Tails runs into Freedom HQ, "Sonic, there you are!" he says as he finds Sonic inside, sitting on the couch.
Sonic hears Tails coming in and gets up from the couch. "Tails!" Sonic exclaims as he sees him come in "Where've you been? I knocked on your door earlier and nobody answered!"
"I'm afraid I don't have good news, Sonic! I just found Shadow in the bushes. He said that Robotnik has kidnapped Hope, and now he's in pursuit of him!"
"What?!" says Sonic in shock.
"It gets worse. I saw the anger on Shadow's face. I think he's planning on doing something murderous if we don't stop him!"
"Hang on, lil bud, I'll call the rest of the gang, you go and tell Rotor and make reservations."
"You got it!"
Sonic and Tails run out of Freedom HQ and race to Rotor's Lab to tell Rotor and his partner Tommy about Shadow and his dangerous intentions.
Tails arrives at Rotor's Lab and knocks on the door. "Come in!" says the voice of Tommy from behind the door, and Tails opens the door of the lab, finding Rotor, sitting on his chair, and Tommy with paperwork in his hands.
"Hello, Miles!" greeted Tommy.
"Hey, Tommy!" greeted Tails, before turning to Rotor. "Rote! Got a minute?"
"Sure! What's the problem?" asks Rotor.
"I want to request that the KSFT go and follow Shadow.
"What?!" exclaimed Rotor with surprise. "How come?"
"I just saw Shadow a few minutes ago, he came by with bruises on his arms and legs. I tried to get him to you but he pushed me away, and he looked angry when he refused my help. He said that Robotnik has kidnapped Hope!"
Rotor is shocked, hearing Tails' explanation, as did Tommy, putting his hand on his mouth.
"The young overlander girl at the orphanage?" asked Tommy with concern.
"Yes! We need to go after him before he goes on a murderous rampage!"
"Tails, have you lost your mind?! Shadow is one of the most powerful Chaos beings we've ever seen. And like how you said that he'll refuse any of our help; If we get in his way, he will attack us! And his power is too much for us to withstand. Not to mention that Robotnik is dangerous than ever since the second war with him began. Don't you remember when we were in Megaopolis? He had his Shadowbots cornering us, we barely escaped!"
"We've faced him and his 'bots countless times before. What happened back then was nothing!"
"The Shadowbots were highly advanced then the SWATbots from before. They were smarter and stronger!"
"But we gotta do something! I thought we were the Freedom Fighters!"
"We are, Tails, but we were nearly killed that day, and we're not the ones who lead the charge. We're… the brains of the team. We're the ones who provide the logistical and tactical support to the first team. Sonic, Amy, Bunnie and Fiona are the ones that provide for the team with their combat skills. And then there's the princess, who's neither support nor combat. She's leadership without which none of us could function."
The emotion on Tails' face has turned to sadness and worry.
"But… Rotor…" he says.
"If anything had happened to any of us, not only would the team be lost, but all of Mobius could be doomed. It's not worth it."
"Please, Rotor. Think of what Robotnik could do to Hope."
The room was silent; Rotor sat on his chair as he thought what Tails has said. He was a Freedom Fighter, and the Freedom Fighters had never backed down from danger, even if it's Robotnik's robots. And while the Shadowbots were more powerful and dangerous than the SWATbots from the past, that didn't stop Sonic from rescuing his long-lost friend, Tommy, and now, he's living in Knothole, working alongside Rotor in his lab. Hope is also a resident of Knothole, ever since Robotnik had roboticized her family. Though she was discriminated by the rest of Knothole for being an Overlander since settling in, the Freedom Fighters still saw her as an ally and a person.
Tails did bring up a good point; with Hope in Robotnik's custody, he could do terrible things to her, he did after all destroy her family by roboticizing her father and grandmother. He probably wouldn't do the same to her since he lost that ability, but he would treat her like a punching bag like he did to Snively. He hadn't been seen since the Xorda attack the previous year.
After a nearly a minute, Rotor takes a deep breath and looks up to Tails' face.
"Alright." Said Rotor. "I'll see what I can do, for Hope."
Tails' emotion changes; his sadness and hopelessness turns into hope.
"You will?" Tails asks with a tearful smile.
"Yes." Rotor nods. "I'm calling the princess right now."
Tails is relieved, happy that Rotor is going to request a mission into Megaopolis to save Hope and stop Shadow before he goes on a violent rampage.
"Thanks, Rote." Tails says.
Meanwhile, Shadow arrives in-front of a metallic door. Shadow wrecks the door. However, the room was empty, nothing but blank screens and monitors. He enters the empty room. He steps in the center of the room and, just then…
WHAM!
A glass tube falls down on Shadow, trapping him. Shadows bangs his fists at the glass. He is now trapped. Above the door is a widescreen monitor. It switches on and Robotnik appears on the screen with an evil grin on his face.
"Greetings! It's been a long time, Shadow the Hedgehog! How are you enjoying your visit?"
"Robotnik!" screams Shadow. After seeing Robotnik coming out to reveal himself, Shadow's anger rises and viciously starts spin attacking the glass, desperately trying to break the glass tube. "You took Hope away from me! And then you put me in this glass prison! Let me out of here and bring her back! Now! Or else!"
"Or else what? You kill me?!" threatened Robotnik and lets out another evil laugh. "If you want her back so bad, see if you can try and can break down this glass! Good luck! It's made from diamond! It'll take hours to break it down! Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho hooo!"
The monitor goes off and the tube starts spaying gas. Shadow covers his mouth and nose, trying not to inhale the gas. But with the tight space of his glass tube prison, he is unable to hold his breath or grip and Shadow begins to feel woozy, he struggles to keep himself standing. Unable to withstand the gas anymore, Shadow collapse on the ground and blacks out…
Later on, Sonic, Tails, and the rest of the Knothole Special Forces Team are preparing for their mission; to go into Megaopolis to rescue Hope and stop Shadow from doing anything violent.
"Hey, guys! Are we ready to go?" Sonic says, arriving at the Freedom One.
"Just about, Sonic!" said Tails." The guys are finishing loading the remaining equipment!"
Upon arriving, he notices that his ex-girlfriend Sally is by the air craft. Sonic was put in an awkward disposition. He takes a deep breath, and walks up to say hi, acting like nothing is wrong.
"Sally! What a nice surprise-" greeted Sonic.
"I came to wish you well!" explained Sally.
"Don't worry! We'll be fine!" Sonic insures Sally.
"You'd say that no matter what!" she says with a somber look on her face.
Seeing the look on her face, knowing that he's going on a mission that could go bad for him, Sonic tries to make the conversation, with a friendly smile. "You know, if you wanna tag along-"
"I can't!" says Sally, not-so-harshly, but is concerned. "I have my royal duties! You and the others just go find Hope and bring her back safely!"
"Sonic! It's time to go!" called Tails.
"I'll be my usual cautious self!" Sonic says as he heads for the Freedom One with a friendly wave and his usual happy-go-lucky look.
"Oh, sure! Good luck! All of you!" The Acorn Princess tells her team. She watches as her blue hero enters the Air Craft before the air craft door closes behind him. Tails sits down at the pilot's chair and starts up the engines, preparing for take-off. The craft sets off, and flies away. "Sonic..."
While on the craft, heading for New Megaopolis, Sonic was leading back on his seat. He was looking a bit down, after seeing his old friend since the break-up. Tails notices Sonic's down demeaner. "Anything wrong, Sonic?" asks Tails.
"Nah!" Just thinking…" He tells Tails, and as he lays back on his chair, relaxing as the Freedom One heads for a new destination, he begins to think about Sally. "Sal, what has become of you during that my year in space…?"
Hope was inside the prison cells, all alone, cold and scared. She curls up, holding on to herself, praying for someone to come and rescue her. A single tear falls from her eye, muttering "Help… me…"