The One-Thousand Year Gate

Chapter 1: Vortex in the Great Unknown

It was a warm summer day in Knothole. On a day like that, the Freedom Fighters would normally be relaxing in the warm sun. However, more serious matters had brought Sonic, Sally, and Bunnie to the War Alcove where Grif from Lower Mobius visited them. In his hands was the second half of the power stone that Sonic gave him to power Lower Mobius. He placed the power stone next to the second half that was originally in the ring grotto. Both of the halves lay on the table no longer glowing. They sat there, inert.

"I was afraid this might happen," said Grif.

"I didn't think power stones can run out of energy," said Sonic. "I thought they just created energy like a mini power plant."

"Sonic, it doesn't create energy, it stores it," said Sally.

"In that case, is there any way of recharging the stones?" asked Bunnie.

Sally removed Nicole from her boot and opened her up. "Nicole, what do you know about power stones?"

Nicole buzzed and beeped as she checked her memory banks. "Power stones are rare minerals that can absorb and store ambient energy that radiates from the ground. Mobius's molten core emits an energy which courses throughout the planet, and the power stones are the only known materials that can absorb this power when buried underground."

"Cool, that means all we have to do bury the stones and everything will be fine," said Sonic.

"I'm sorry, Sonic, but it is not that simple," said Nicole. "The stones absorb energy at a very slow rate."

"Exactly how slow, Nicole?"

"Let me put it this way: If you need the power stone to provide enough energy to power Lower Mobius for an entire day, then you would need to leave the stone underground for at least one year."

Sonic stood up in his chair. "Say what! It takes that long to absorb energy?"

"Nicole, is it possible to find a replacement power stone?" asked Sally.

"That's unlikely. Power stones are a very rare mineral and even if you were to find one, the stone might not have enough power either because it hasn't been underground long enough or its power had already been drained."

Sally sighed in frustration. "This is bad. We don't have enough power to run Lower Mobius or the ring grotto, and I can't see how we can obtain enough energy to power both without the aid of a power stone. Grif, how much longer will Lower Mobius last?"

"We're currently running on reserve power. It will last us three days at the most."

"And what're we going to do about the power rings?" asked Sonic. "Without them, there's no way we can defeat Ro-butt-nik, and I only have one ring left."

"I don't know, Sonic, I just don't know," said Sally, forlorn.

"I'll leave the power stones here with you guys," said Grif. "I need to return to Lower Mobius to plan out how we're going to evacuate if we do run out of power. Good luck, you guys." Grif waved good-bye as he left for the tunnel to Lower Mobius.

"We should take these to Uncle Chuck," said Sonic as he stuffed the power stones into his backpack. "He would know what to do."

"I'm coming along, too," said Sally.

"And I want to tag along too in case you want some extra help dealing with the SWATbots," said Bunnie.

"Then you better hold on tight, girls." Sally and Bunnie held onto Sonic's arms as he raced off into the forest, sending out a shockwave in the air.

#

In Robotropolis, they met Uncle Chuck at his hidden headquarters. He examined the power stones, one held in each hand, his glowing red eyes looking forlorn at the stones.

"I'm sorry, but there's no way I can recharge or replacement them. I got the power stones from a rock collector, paid for with funds given to me by the King for scientific research." He put the power stones back in Sonic's backpack. "I doubt I can find someone who isn't roboticised that happens to have some."

"Isn't there something you can do, Unc?" asked Sonic.

"Well, it's a shot in the dark, but I think there is a way you can find an alternative power source. Sally, does Nicole have any information on the One-Thousand Year Gate?"

"The One-Thousand Year Gate?" exclaimed Bunnie. "Where'd y'all hear that from?"

"Robotnik has developed an interest in it, recently. He's been reading about the gate through books he found in the royal library."

Sally pulled out Nicole. "Nicole, what do you have on the One-Thousand Year Gate?"

"The One-Thousand Year Gate is a magical portal located in the Great Unknown. Its name comes from the stories that the portal allegedly opens for exactly 12 hours once every one thousand years. There are few written accounts of the gate. In fact, it is frequently disregarded as a legend. However, there does persist stories of people who had entered the gate and found people on the other side."

"People?' said Bunnie. "What kind of people?"

"There is insufficient data. It seems that all written accounts of those going through the gate tend to conflict with one another."

"If there are people on the other side of the portal, then they might have an alternate source of power we can use," said Sally. "Nicole, is there anything else you can tell us?"

"No, all other information on the gate is in the royal library."

"If Robotnik is after the gate, he must already know what's on the other side of the portal and when it will open," said Sally.

"That's right," said Uncle Chuck. "He's even got his robots in the Great Unknown already."

"Then we better get there before the portal opens," said Sonic as he picked up his backpack.

"Be careful, Sonic," said Uncle Chuck. "We don't know what's on the other side of that portal. Good luck out there."

"Thanks, Unc." With Bunnie and Sally in tow, Sonic ran off in a loud sonic boom.

#

Sonic sprinted to the Great Unknown, and stopped at the top of a rocky cliff. Sonic used one hand to shield his eyes from the sun as he looked out upon the barren wasteland, and he saw a large mass of metal in the distance. Sally pulled out a pair of binoculars from Sonic's backpack and looked out into the distance.

"What do you see, Sally-girl?"

"It's certainly Robotnik's robots alright. There must be at least 20 SWATbots and STEALTHbots gathered around there." Sally peered at the robots with her binoculars to see Robotnik and Snively standing off to the side directing them. "I see Robotnik."

"What're they doing?" asked Sonic.

"They're just standing there in the—wait, something's happening."

Through the binoculars, Sally saw a soft blue light materialize in front of Robotnik. The light expanded and solidified into a swirling blue funnel. It reminded Sally of the Void, except it did not appear to be sucking in air.

"What's happening, sugah?"

"It's The One-Thousand Year Gate. It's open, just like Uncle Chuck said it would be." Sally watched as Robotnik guided his robots into the portal single file. "They're entering the portal."

"Cool, now let's juice." Sonic was charged up to start running, but Sally grabbed him by the arm.

"We can't go just yet."

"Why not?"

"Sonic, will you use your head. There are too many robots to take down all by ourselves. We need to wait until they all enter the portal. That way, we are less likely to be seen."

"What? But we don't know what's on the other side of that portal. It could get mondo ugly."

Ignoring Sonic, Sally watched as the last of the SWATbots went into the portal. "Now's our chance."

"Hang on, girls, 'cause I'm gonna motor." Sonic held onto to Sally and Bunnie, dragging them along as he ran for the portal.

In no time at all, they reached the portal and was sucked inside with a loud whooshing sound. They found themselves tumbling and spinning through the portal, a swirling mesh of blues and greens swirled around them like they were being sucked down a Technicolor drain.