Tales of Mobius Prime

A Sonic the Hedgehog Fan Fiction Series

by Chronos the Cat

Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters © SEGA. This story contains references to and scenes from issues of Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comic books, written by Michael Gallagher, Angelo Decesare, Mike Kanterovich, and Ken Penders.

This chapter contains scenes from and references to "Don't Cry For Me, Mobius" by Michael Gallagher (published in Sonic the Hedgehog Mini-Series #0), "Run, Sally, Run!" by Michael Gallagher (published in Sonic the Hedgehog Mini-Series #1), and "My Special Friend" by Ken Penders (published in Knuckles the Echidna #29). It also contains minor references to other issues.

Author's Notes: This story is something a little different for me. Usually, my fanfictions are explicitly Alternate Histories or Alternate Universes. However, for once I have decided to tell a story (or rather, a series of connected short stories) set within the continuity of an ongoing series (Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comics & spin-offs).

This chapter is my interpretation of events referenced in flashback in Knuckles 29. This chapter starts prior to Sonic the Hedgehog Mini Series issue #0.

With all the changes SEGA, DiC, and Archie have made to the characters over the years, not to mention the differences between the various Sonic "universes", I felt there might be confusion as to the intended appearance of certain characters and locations in this story. As such I have included short descriptions of them, despite how familiar these characters and locations likely are to the majority of my readers.

Part One:
Sally's Makeover
(The Chemical Plant Incident)

Robotropolis, Robotnik Empire, Planet Mobius. Mobian Year 3234.

Thick clouds of smoke billowed from the smoke-stacks of a factory on the outskirts of the industrial city known as Robotropolis, joining the oppressive cloud of smoke that always hung over the metropolis. The only thing to distinguish this factory from any other were the big red letters on the side of the building saying "ROBOTNIK INC." Yet this factory was not just another of Robotnik's factories – it was also Robotnik's secondary headquarters.

Deep within this factory in a large office, an Overlander sat behind a desk in a large cushioned chair, reading some reports. The nameplate on the desk proclaimed him, "Dr. Ivo Robotnik: Supreme Dictator, CEO, Majority Stockholder, & Chief Engineer." He was bald and obese, with a thin orange mustache that stuck out a good six inches to either side of his face. He had black mechanical eyes with red glowing irises, metal plates instead of ears, and his left arm was a polished silver-white metal. He wore a tight (on him) jumpsuit with huge pointed shoulder-pads; the jumpsuit was mostly red, with gray legs and a set of two orange stripes that formed a circle where they met - one stripe running down the center of his body and the other following his waist. He also wore a yellow cape, gray gloves, and gray boots with red toes.

The room was sparsely decorated – there were no plants, shelves, or filing cabinets, and the only decorations on the walls were a list of "Robotnik's Laws" and a diploma from the "Mojo Kubert Institute". One corner of the room was dominated by a large computer housed in a case similar to that of an arcade machine; this computer was attended by a four-foot-tall (at the eyes) "Crabmeat" robot that could barely reach the controls.

A sudden beeping from the computer caused the Crabmeat to quickly press several buttons in search of the problem. It then turned to Robotnik. "Sir! Intruder alert in Sector 'Z'-seven-alpha. It's the Freedom Fighters!"

Robotnik put down his papers and glanced at the screen in interest. "I assume they're heading to the Chemical Plant?"

Crabmeat double-checked, then replied with a touch of surprise, "Yes, sir. How did you know?"

Robotnik folded his hands together and grinned. "Because I was expecting them, of course! It's amazing what a well-placed rumor can do! Inform the Swat-Bot contingent stationed in the Plant they can expect visitors soon..."

Meanwhile, in Sector Z7-Alpha...

Four figures made their way stealthily through the back-alleys of Robotropolis, unaware they had been detected, or that they were walking into a trap. Leading them was Olgilvie Maurice "Sonic" Hedgehog, a blue-quilled, brown-eyed hedgehog wearing red track-shoes (each with a single white stripe), white socks, white gloves, and a brown pack. Next was Princess Sally Alicia of the House of Acorn, a short-tailed squirrel/chipmunk with blue eyes, fur in shades of brown, and shoulder-length red-brown hair on her head; she wore plain blue boots, and a pack just like Sonic's. Rotor "Boomer" Walrus, kept up with the other despite his bulk; he had purple and tan skin, and wore a yellow cap (backwards), an aqua-colored tool "belt" slung over one shoulder, and a brown pack. Taking up the rear was Antoine De'Coolette, a short-tailed canine with light-brown and tan fur; he wore brown boots, a blue formal military jacket, a short rapier in a sheath, and a fancy blond toupee; like the others he carried a pack on his back, but he kept glancing back at his nervously.

"There it is," Sally said, pointing, "the Chemical Plant where Robotnik is producing his new defoliant. If he produces enough of it, he could destroy the entire great forest! We need to destroy the Plant before that happens. Remember, we need to set the bombs so they'll collapse the building, without sending any of the chemicals into the atmosphere."

Sonic asked, "What does it matter if Robotropolis ends up a little more polluted?"

Sally scowled. "If it becomes too polluted, we won't be able to safely come in here on missions. Besides, if there's enough chemicals in the plant, it could create a toxic cloud large enough to drift out of Robotropolis, and possibly harm some other area – maybe even the Great Forest."

"Oh, right. So we only put the bombs around the edge of the building. No prob."

"You know it's not that simple, Sonic." Sally looked at the Plant intently. It was five stories tall, but more than a city-block wide. By the nearest entrance, a pair of Swat-bots stood guard. They were Robotnik's standard model of Swat-bots: six-feet-tall with the proportions of an average Overlander, colored gray and white, with a dome-shaped head and a red visor instead of eyes, and a laser gun built into the right arm. "Without a blueprint, we'll need to get inside to determine the best locations to place the bombs; it's likely those would be inside anyway. Sonic, can you distract the guards?"

"No sweat!" Without waiting for further instructions, Sonic raced over to the guard. "Yo, Swat-bots! Fancy meeting you here!"

"Priority-One: Hedgehog! Exterminate-with-extreme-prejudice!"

"Yeah, it's great seeing you guys too! Gotta run!" Sonic raced off, the Swat-bots in pursuit.

Sally, Boomer, and Antoine ran over to the door. Sally tried it, but found it locked. She glanced around, and spotted a keypad off to the left of the door. "Boomer?"

Boomer went over to the keypad, and examined it. He then took out a screwdriver, and unscrewed the casing. He fiddled with the wires a bit, then the doors opened with a "swoosh". Sally and Antoine jumped to the right-hand side of the door as it opened, to avoid being seen by anyone inside.

When they heard no sounds of alarm, the three stuck their heads beyond the edge of the door to peek inside. The room was four stories tall, and stretched on for quite a distance, though it didn't take up the entire building. Nearby, roboticized Mobians attended to various tasks, unconcerned by the open door. Beyond the those robots' work-stations, huge vats of chemicals dominated the room. There were no signs of further guards.

Sally straightened up. "Looks like we're in luck – only worker-bots, and they seem to be ordered to focus on their work to the exclusion of all else. Let's go." Sally calmly walked into the Plant, followed by Boomer and a far more nervous Antoine.

In the center of the eastern half of the room, a large structure seemed to "hang" from the ceiling down to the third floor, with only girders under it to support the weight. Several catwalks met at it, and a metal staircase led up to it. It had several large windows, as well as doors leading to the catwalks and stairs. Looking up at it, Sally said, "That looks like it might be a control-room of some sort. Let's head in that general direction; if we can't find a map down here we might be able to find one there."

While the group was able to find several unoccupied computer terminals on their way, all of them were devoted to specific tasks. Finally, they made it to the stairs up to the "control room". They made their way up, and to the nearest door, which happened to be on the south side of the structure. The door had a window on it, and glancing in, they saw a line of control panels being attended to by a wheeled cylindrical Science-Bot. Beyond it was another door, apparently leading into another part of the "hanging" structure.

Sally bit her lip in thought. "Science-bots have pretty sophisticated AI – it might report us if it sees us. Maybe we should come back here later?" However, even as she said that, the Science-Bot left the room by the other door. "Never mind. Boomer, let's see if we can access a map of the Plant from in there."

Boomer nodded, and the three of them headed in. While Sally and Boomer looked over the control panels for one that they might be able to access a map from, Sally said, "Antoine, you keep an eye out for that any 'bots coming our way."

Meanwhile, at Robotnik Inc...

Crabmeat turned partially towards Robotnik, and said, "Master, the Freedom Fighters have now entered the South-Eastern Production Room's Control Tower."

Robotnik looked up from his work again, and said, "Put it on-screen."

Crabmeat turned a dial, and the computer view changed to show Sally and Boomer working at one of the control-panels in the room they had entered.

"Crabmeat, have the Swat-bots get in position. When the Freedom Fighters leave that room... they're in for an unpleasant surprise."

"But... I thought you wanted to capture them before the Hedgehog got back."

"I do... but I also want them to get their hopes up before..." he slowly made a fist as he finished dramatically, "I crush them!"

Back in the Plant...

"...and there," Sally said, making a mark on one of the maps they had printed out.

Boomer nodded. "That ought to work."

Sally handed one map to Antoine. Boomer also took one, while she put the remaining two in her pack. "We each have a set of bombs, and each map has a set of locations to place them. We'll split up and each set up our bombs, then meet up at the usual spot. If Sonic finds you before you've left, send him to me; I have his map. ...Any questions?"

Boomer took off his hat, and began wringing it nervously.

"What is it, Boomer?" Sally asked.

"Well, it's just all the worker bots... Shouldn't we find a way to get them out of here first?"

Sally put her right hand on her hip. "Do you have any suggestions how?"

"Not really..."

Sally shook her head. "Look, we've been through this before. If we can avoid destroying worker-bots that's great, but we can't let Robotnik win because he's using them as hostages."

Boomer gulped, and said "Right."

Antoine, currently looking out the window of the door but not seeing anything suspicious, turned and added, "Do not forget, as Colonel Stripes once said, 'Better to die a free Mobian, than live forever as a robotic slave of Robotnik!'"

Boomer scowled. "No one is going to be a robot forever – we're going to beat Robotnik one day and turn everyone back!"

Sally said impatiently, "We're wasting time. We have no idea how long things will stay this quiet – we have to act now, while we have the chance."

Sally turned and strode to the south door, not waiting to see if Boomer followed. Boomer hurriedly put his cap back on, and caught up with Antoine before Antoine made it out the door.

Sally scanned the Production Room, then said, "The catwalks seem the fastest way across the room, and the least likely to get us spotted. Let's use them to get to the walls, then go down to ground level from there." She glanced at Antoine and Boomer, who nodded. They then each headed out across a different catwalk towards the first locations for them to set their explosives. Antoine headed east towards the wall closest to the control room, Sally west towards the far wall. Boomer headed north, along the outside of the control room.

All of them were still making their way across the catwalks to their first locations when suddenly alarm klaxons began blaring. Over a dozen Swat-bots stepped out of hiding places across the room, while dozens more began swarming in from other parts of the factory. A chorus of Swat-bot voices called out, "Surrender-in-the-name-of-Robotnik-and-prepare-to-submit-to-complete-roboticization," even as all of the Swat-bots took aim with their arm-cannons, not being programmed to expect anyone to actually surrender.

Sally's eyes widened for a moment as she realized they'd fallen into a trap. Deciding she was still closer to the control-room side of the catwalk than the wall side, she began dashing back towards the control-room, calling out to the others as she went, "Get to cover!"

Moments later, the Swat-bots began firing lethal (but badly aimed) laser blasts at them.

Antoine sped up and quickly reached the wall. He then slid down the railing of the stairway to the ground floor, landing rather ungracefully. He picking himself up off the floor and dashed behind some equipment.

Boomer spotted a door ahead of him next to the catwalk, back into the Observation Tower. He ducked and rolled under the incoming laser blasts, straightened up and pulled open the door. Finding no robots on the other side, he then ducked inside.

Sally ducked and weaved between the laser blasts as she ran, thankful for the Swat-bots' bad aim. Some of the blasts hit the catwalk or its railing, causing them to glow red in places; however most of the blasts passed between the bars of the catwalk harmlessly (these blasts eventually reached the ceiling or walls at reduced levels of intensity).

Meanwhile...

Sonic heard the sound of laser blasts as he approached the Chemical Plant, having ditched the Swat-bot guards that had been following him. "Uh-oh. Sounds like Robotnik decided to throw a party for us – and everyone started without me! Better pour on the juice!" He pushed himself faster, racing into the Plant a moment later.

Sonic knocked over Swat-bots with the force of his passing as he circled the room getting an idea of the situation. Swat-bots were scattered around the room, firing at the other Freedom Fighters and slowly closing in on them. Boomer was watching things from a doorway in a structure hanging from the ceiling and connected to catwalks, ducking into it when Swat-bots fired at him. Antoine was pinned down behind some equipment near the east wall. And Sally was closing in on the structure Boomer was in as she ran down a catwalk, dodging lasers surprisingly well considering she couldn't run as fast as Sonic.

Unfortunately, several Swat-bots had made their way up onto the catwalk system, which would make aiming at Sally easier for them and might allow them to surround her. Sonic raced up a set of stairs onto a catwalk near Sally's, intent on playing with some of those Swat-bots before they could cause Sally any further trouble.

However, before Sonic could make his move against the Swat-bots, one of the Swat-bots on that catwalk fired at Sally. The blast missed Sally, but hit a section of the catwalk just behind her that had been weakened by earlier misses. The metal tore apart, splitting the catwalk in two and causing the halves to bend downward and away from each other under their own weight. Before Sally knew what was happening, she had been dumped off the catwalk.

Sonic watched in horror as Sally fell towards an open vat of some bubbling green substance. Without thinking, he dashed forward at a speed he would normally need a Power Ring for, pushing the Swat-bots in his way off the catwalk as he passed. As he neared the vat Sally was falling towards, he leaped, aiming to land on the rim of the vat (said rim being a good ten inches thick).

Sally hit the bubbling green goop with a splash. She instinctively closed her eyes and her mouth, and was thankful for this as as soon as the liquid made contact with her nose, ears, and other sensitive parts those parts began to sting; even her eyes hurt, despite her eyes being closed. She swam up to the surface, shook her head to get off the worst of the liquid, and opened her eyes to see if she'd be able to climb out of the vat.

She immediately regretted opening her eyes, as the liquid dripped down into them from her hair, causing her eyes to burn. Before her eyes watered up so much she couldn't see, she made out that she'd be able to make it out easily, and that Sonic was standing on the rim looking at her in concern. Closing her eyes, she swam towards him.

In Robotnik's Office...

Robotnik and Crabmeat watched as the green-goop-covered Sally swam towards the edge of the vat.

Crabmeat commented excitedly, "Ooh! Sally fell in a big vat of chemicals! Is she going to be dissolved by a powerful acid? Or mutated into some rampaging monster?"

"That's a good question, Crabmeat. Which vat did she fall in?"

Crabmeat studied the screen. "It looks like vat number three-hundred seventy-seven."

Robotnik scowled at Crabmeat. "Do you think I have every vat in that plant memorized by number?! You're the one at the computer; look it up!"

"Oh! Right!" Crabmeat began fiddling with the controls to find out what had been in the vat.

Back at the Chemical Plant...

Sonic looked around and saw that a handful of Swat-bots had a clear line-of-sight of him and were now aiming at him. He tapped his foot and gave a mock yawn. "Well, are you guys going to shoot, or what?"

They obliged him, but he simply ran around the rim of the vat to avoid the blasts, stopping back where he started just as Sally began to climb out. He helped her out, then grabbed her and jumped off the rim of the vat to the floor as the Swat-bots sent out another wave of laser-blasts.

Sonic quickly set her down on her feet, then used clean parts of his gloves to wipe away a few drops of the green slime that had dripped onto the bare skin of his arms and chest. "Ow! That stuff hurts! What the heck is it?!"

"I don't know, but I have it all over me!" It was true; Sally was so thoroughly coated in the stuff Sonic couldn't see even a patch of her fur. Her eyes still closed and watering profusely, she complained, "And it's even staring to get through my fur. Can you move away so I can shake some of this stuff off of me?"

"Sure thing." Sonic ran over to the Swat-bots nearby who had been starting to take aim at them, and began running between them, causing them to blast each-other.

At the Observation Tower...

Boomer had seen Sally fall into chemical vat, and Sonic help her out. However, once they jumped off the rim of the vat, Boomer had lost sight of them. "I'd better see if I can find out what that stuff was," Boomer thought, heading into the Observation Tower to try to find a computer terminal that he could access such information from.

He had only been searching for a minute when he opened a door and found the Science Bot from before behind it in another room full of computers. Spotting Boomer, the Science Bot called out, ":Bzzt: Intruder-alert!"

"Yeah, I think the Swat-bots already know that," Boomer said sarcastically. "Now let me by!"

Back on the floor of the Production Room...

As Sally started to shake the slimy green stuff out of her fur she heard a sloshing in her pack. Remembering she still had explosives in the pack, she pulled it off and set it down carefully. She then shook herself again, more thoroughly. She wrung the slime out of her hair, and began wiping the rest of her body off as best she could with her hands, even as she opened her eyes again and tried to blink them clear.

When she could see again (though her eyes were still watering a little), Sally crouched down by her pack. It was coated in green slime on all sides but where it had rested against her back, and even there it was damp and stained green. She opened the pack and carefully poured out the slime that had made its' way inside the pack. Looking over the damp explosive devices in the pack, she wondered whether they would still work. She also noticed that the maps they had printed out were ruined.

Behind her, she heard Sonic's distinctive "zoom" approaching. "So I got rid of the butt-bots; we still gonna blow this place or – S-Sally?!"

Still crouching, Sally turned to look at Sonic, who was staring at her in shock. "What?"

"Y-your fur! And hair!"

Sally blinked in confusion, then looked down at her fur. What she saw shocked her – where she had gotten the green slime out of her fur, her fur was stained orange! It wasn't all one shade, either – where her fur had been brown before it was now red-orange, while where it had been light brown it was now pale orange. She grabbed a lock of her hair and held it in front of her face; instead of reddish brown it was now a bright yellow that Sally didn't think was in the range of what one could honestly call "blonde". Sally let go of her hair and commented, "Well, this is different."

Sonic said, "How can you be so calm? If some chemical had changed my colors --" He glanced down at where the slime had splashed his skin. "Oh no! I'm turning red where that stuff got on me!" He rubbed at his arm, trying to get one of the red spots off. "Ow! Okay, maybe it's just red 'cause it's irritated."

Sally rolled her eyes and explained, "Some of us aren't as obsessed with our appearance as you are."

She picked up her pack by the straps, and stood up. "Before we do anything else, we should make sure Antoine and Boomer are safe. After that, if we can we should try to blow this place up. Even though this turned out to be a trap, Robotnik may still have that defoliant." She frowned. "I don't know if my bombs will still work, so we'll need to put them in less critical areas; also the map I had printed out for you is ruined, so I'll need to come with you to point out where to put the bombs."

Sonic shook his head. "No way. You're going back to Knothole with Boomer, so he can figure out what that stuff is and if you're all right."

Sally rolled her eyes. "All it did was change my hair and fur color. I feel fine." She started scratching her side, then realized what she was doing. "Okay, maybe I'm a little itchy. But I'll survive."

Sonic scowled. "This slime is something 'Butnik cooked up – it can't possibly be good for you. I'm not going to believe you're safe until Boomer says so."

Sally sighed. "Fine. Let's just get moving."

In Robotnik's Office...

Robotnik scanned down the list of chemicals in the vat. "Oh. That vat. Bah, nothing particularly interesting in there, just your average toxins..." He snickered, and added, "Although I do wonder if the Princess likes her new colors..." He sighed and said, "...If only that Swat-bot had shot the catwalk out from under her when there wasn't a vat of chemicals below her to catch her fall..."

"I don't think the Swat-bot broke the catwalk on purpose, Master." Crabmeat pointed out.

Robotnik tossed his nameplate at Crabmeat; it bounced of Crabmeat's head with a metallic "ding". "I know that, you idiot!" He scowled. "One of these days I simply must improve the Swat-bots' aiming algorithms..."

In the Observation Tower...

Boomer and the Science 'Bot were in a shoving match at the door to the computer room, when three Swat-bots entered the hall. As the Swat-bots shot at Boomer, he said, "Make yourself useful!" and pulled the Science Bot into the hall. Boomer ducked behind the Science Bot, causing the Swat-bot's lasers to hit the Science Bot instead. Smoke rose from the Science bot, and it shut down.

Boomer dashed through the doorway into the computer room, shutting the door behind him. The Swat-bots rushed to the door and opened it again. Seeing no sign of Boomer, the first Swat-bot stepped into the room to perform a more thorough search. However, Boomer had been standing just to the side of the door, and before the Swat-Bot could react, smashed a hammer into the Swat-bot's eye-plate.

"Warning! Optics-compromised!" the Swat-bot said as it began wandering around the room.

The two Swat-bots outside the door looked at each other.

"After-you."

"No, after-you."

Meanwhile, between some equipment and the east wall of the Production Room...

Antoine trembled in fear as Swat-bots closed in from both sides, gun-arms raised but not firing.

"Surrender-Freedom-Fighter-and-prepare-for-roboticization."

Antoine scowled, and said in a voice barely above a whisper, "Nefair!" He pulled out his rapier and charged one of the Swat-bots, cutting off its' gun-arm at the elbow before it could react. The other Swat-bots began firing at him, but by ducking between the Swat-bots he was able to keep them from hitting them (and cause a few to be hit by stray shots). Even as some of the Swat-bots tried to grab him, Antoine continued to swing at the necks and joints of the Swat-bots, cutting off heads and parts of limbs. However, he was badly outnumbered, and it would only be a matter of time before he was overwhelmed.

Just then an orange-furred girl was literally thrown into the fight, hitting a Swat-bot in the head with her feet and taking said head off. Even as the girl did a flip and landed gracefully, a blue buzz-saw tore through several more Swat-bots, before uncurling to reveal Sonic. "Need any help, 'Twan?" Sonic asked.

"From you? Do not be absurd! However, zis beauty, on zee other hand, I would not mind working alongside. Tell me what is your name, mademoiselle?"

Sally rolled her eyes. "It's just me, Antoine."

Antoine recognized the voice, and his eyes bulged and jaw dropped in shock. "M-my Princess? But... how?"

Spotting two Swat-bots trying to grab them, Sally used a judo-throw to smash one into the other. As she continued fighting the Swat-bots, she explained, "I fell in a vat of chemicals. Thankfully, changing the color of my fur and hair seems to be the only thing it did."

As he ran between several Swat-bots so fast it sent them spinning, Sonic quipped, "It was probably Robotnik's mustache dye. I mean, as old as he is, its' gotta be naturally white by now!"

Cutting up some more Swat-bots, Antoine commented, "Well, it suits you, my Princess."

"Er... Thanks..." Sally said without a lot of sincerity.

Back in the Observation Tower...

Boomer stepped between the blind Swat-bot and the door, facing the Swat-bot. "Hey, Swat-bot, I'm right over here!"

"Audio-lock-acquired!" The Swat-bot fired at Boomer, but he had stepped out of the way even before the Swat-bot raised it's arm. The blast continued out the door, taking out one of the arguing Swat-bots outside.

Boomer and the remaining fully-functional Swat-bot stared at each other through the doorway. Boomer swung his hammer around. "Care to try your luck?"

The Swat-bot hesitated, then said, "Priority-one: capture-Freedom-Fighters". It stepped into the room and began firing indiscriminately.

Boomer dove to the floor. "Hey, you'll ruin the computers!" Meanwhile, a stray blast hit the blind Swat-bot, taking the bot out.

The active Swat-bot began to aim at Boomer, but Boomer tossed his hammer at the 'bot's head. The bot blocked the hammer with one of its' arms, but that gave Boomer the time to scramble over to the first Swat-bot he had damaged, now lying on the floor. Studying deactivated Swat-bots in the past he had been surprised to discover that they had a manual-fire button on their arm-guns. Seeing this one was no different, he aimed the arm at the active Swat-bot.

Noticing this action, the active Swat-bot protested, "Error! Mobians-do-not-use-guns!"

"That's right, we don't," Boomer agreed as he pressed the trigger, blasting the active Swat-bot and causing it to join its' fellows on the floor inactive.

Boomer got up, brushed himself off, and walked over to one of the still active computers. Cracking his knuckles, he thought, "Now, lets see if we can get any information from here."

On the floor of the Production Room...

Ruined Swat-bots littered the floor around Sonic, Sally, and Antoine. Sonic took the last of the bombs from Sally and Antoine and put them in his backpack, while Sally marked all the spots to put the bombs on the map that had been Antoine's.

As Sally handed Sonic the map, Sonic said, "You two head to the meeting spot. I'll go meet up with Boomer and send him to join you; then all three of you can head back to Knothole."

Sally nodded. "Right. Be careful."

"Careful? Me? Since when have I needed to be careful? Anyway, see you back in Knothole!" And with that he zoomed off.

Up above...

Boomer stuffed some papers into his backpack, and headed out of the damaged computer-room. He made his way through the Observation Tower carefully, keeping an eye out for robots. Finally he reached the room they had been in earlier. He made his way over to the south door and looked out the window. Most of the Swat-bots seemed to have returned to the floor, and weren't looking in the direction of the Observation Tower, so he took the chance of stepping out and rushing to the stairs. He had made it halfway down the stairs when he was spotted, and laser blasts started coming his way.

Luckily, a blue blur soon began blasting through the Swat-bots' locations, destroying them in various creative ways.

Boomer reached the bottom of the stairs just as Sonic finished with the Swat-bots and raced over to the base of the stairs.

"New plan," Sonic told Boomer. "I'll set up all the bombs, you go meet with Sal and Ant at the usual spot, then hightail it back to Knothole. Oh, and you need to figure out what the heck that chemical she fell into was."

"Already did," Boomer told Sonic as he took off his pack and began handing Sonic explosives. "Actually it's a mixture of several different chemicals. The mixture is toxic, but so long as she didn't ingest large amounts of it, she'll live."

"That's good to hear."

"It's going to be difficult to get it out of her fur, though... Also, I'm going to have to discuss with Doctor Quack what effects it might have on her health – the information I got didn't go into a lot of details about that sort of thing."

"Whatever you need to do," Sonic said, putting the last of the explosives in his pack (it was stuffed rather full at this point).

Noticing the green stains on Sonic's gloves, Boomer asked, "Did you get some of those chemicals on your gloves?"

"Yeah... Why?"

"I just thought I'd point out that you should be careful not to touch yourself with them, or you could get the toxins on you. Also, when you get back to Knothole you'll need to have the gloves decontaminated if you want to keep them."

"Um, right. No touching, and clean or get rid of 'em ASAP. Got it," Sonic said, tapping his foot. (He decided not to mention that he already had touched himself with his gloves, if only where the chemicals had gotten on his skin.) "Anyhow, I've gotta juice. Later!"

Back at Robotnik Inc...

Crabmeat turned to Robotnik, and said nervously, "All of the Swat-bots at the Chemical Plant have been destroyed."

Robotnik slammed a fist down on his desk. "Blasted!"

Crabmeat added, "Also, it seems all the Freedom Fighters but Sonic are leaving... At least, I think that's Sally..." It cued up a shot of Boomer, Antoine, and the orange-and-yellow Sally heading towards the exit to the Chemical Plant.

Robotnik raised an eyebrow. "Now why would they...?" Robotnik shook his head. "Bah, if doesn't matter – it's the Hedgehog I want. Crabmeat! Call in more Swat-bots, and send in any Badniks in the area! ...Oh, and have my new mini hover-pod with the mega-muck cannon prepared for launch – it looks like I might have to get involved personally..."

The meeting spot...

Boomer stared at Sally. "Sonic didn't tell me the chemicals changed the color of your hair and fur!"

Sally shook her head. "I don't care about that. I only need to know if it's dangerous to my health."

"Well it is toxic." When Sally shot him a curious look, he explained, "I took the time to look it up."

"Ah," Sally said with a slight nod. "You can fill me in on the way back to Knothole; this is no place to chat."

"Right."

The Chemical Plant...

Sonic leaped out of the way as a "Splats" rabbit-robot sprang at him. He then curled into a ball and cut through a "Moto Bug". "Come on guys, can't I set up my explosives in peace!"

A drill-nosed "Burrobot" tried to drill through him, forcing Sonic to leap over the robot. "I guess that's a no."

Later, at Freedom Fighters Headquarters, Knothole Village, the Great Forest...

"Welcome back, Antoine and Boomer!" The nine-year old Miles "Tails" Prower said as Sally, Antoine, and Boomer walked into the underground Freedom Fighters HQ. "Where are Sonic and Sally, and who's this?"

Sally shook her head and said in an exasperated tone, "First Antoine, now you. ...It's me, Sally."

"Sally?! It can't be. You're colored completely differently!"

"I feel in some chemicals, and they changed the color of my fur and hair," she explained again.

"Really?" Tails said sceptically. He looked to Boomer and Antoine for conformation. When they nodded, he said, "Cool! Can I have some of that stuff? I want to be blue, like Sonic."

Sally rolled her eyes. "I don't think the chemicals work that way. Besides, they're toxic – I didn't exactly fall in on purpose." Turning to Antoine and Boomer she said, "Speaking of Sonic, I wonder what's keeping him? I expected him to catch up with us before we reached Knothole. All he had to do was set a few bombs."

Boomer shrugged. "He probably ran into some more Swat-bots or something."

Sally said, "That's what I'm afraid of."

"He'll handle it. He always does."

Tails chimed in, "Yeah, that's right! Sonic always wins!"

Though she didn't sound very convinced, Sally conceded, "I suppose you're right." Noticing she was scratching her arms, she said, "Well, if you'll excuse me, I need to go take a bath and wash these chemicals out of my fur."

Boomer warned, "That's a good start, but you're not going to be able to get all of the chemicals off of you with just soap and water. Some of them bind to hair and skin, while others just aren't water-soluble. I think I can come up with a cleaning solution to get the rest of the chemicals out, but it could take a few days."

Continuing to scratch herself, Sally said, "For now, I'll be satisfied if I can stop itching."

Boomer shrugged. "I don't know which chemicals are causing that, so I don't know if it'll work; for your sake I hope it does."

Sally looked down at her boots. In addition to being soaked, they were starting to change color in a few places, to a disgusting shade of brown. "I don't think I'll want to wear these again after my bath. Could someone go get another pair of my boots for me? I'm really anxious to take that bath..."

Boomer opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, the ever eager to please Tails said "I'll get them!" and raced off to Sally's hut.

Boomer paused a moment, then said, "I was going to say that those boots you wanted me to make you are ready. I finished them yesterday, but didn't have time to bring it up, what with preparing for this mission..."

"Really! That's great! Why don't you go get them – I think my other pairs of boots are a bit more worn-out than I'd like."

Antoine looked confused. "Since when have you been making shoes, Boomer?"

Sally gave Boomer a warning look.

Boomer said nervously, "Um... these are the first ones, and I didn't exactly make them from scratch. It's a long story, I'll explain later..."

Scratching another itch, Sally said impatiently, "Well, I'll see you guys in a little bit," and headed over to the FFHQ bathroom.

Although Mobians had no nudity taboo, they did consider bathing a private affair, so Sally put up an "Occupied" sign and closed the door behind her. While they had internal plumbing in Knothole, they were limited in resources; thus it was a wooden tub she set to filling. As it filled, she walked over to a full-length mirror set up there, and got her first good look at herself. "Well... I suppose it could have been worse..."

Robotropolis Sector Z7-Alpha...

Sonic zoomed up a rusty fire-escape (presumably built pre-coup) to the rooftop of a building overlooking the Chemical Plant. He tapped his foot impatiently for a moment, then smiled as a series of explosions rocked the Plant and the Plant collapsed in on itself. Some smoke and dust rose out of the rubble into the sky, but not enough to be a major environmental concern.

"Mission accomplished," he said with a smirk.

"Since you like playing with chemicals so much, perhaps you'll appreciate this!" Robotnik said from behind him. Sonic turned and dodged to the side just in time to avoid being sprayed with a gray sludge that fired from a cannon attached to the bottom of Robotnik's mini hover-pod.

"I don't know. It looks kind of drab..." Sonic commented.

"Ah, but appearances can be deceiving. Touch it and see what happened – I dare you!"

Sonic pretended to think about it. "Hmm... No."

"Oh, but I insist!" Robotnik fired several more volleys at Sonic. Sonic dodged them, but found himself quickly running out of clear roof-space.

"Look, I'd love to stay and play 'dodge the sludge' with you, but... well, actually I wouldn't. Smell ya later!" He ran down the fire-escape, jumped to the street, and raced away towards the city limits.

"You're not getting away that easily, Hedgehog!" Robotnik snarled, setting his hover-pod to its' highest speed as he set off in pursuit.

Freedom Fighters Headquarters

Since Boomer's workshop was in Freedom Fighters Headquarters, he was able to get the boots he made for Sally before Tails got back.

Boomer was walking down the corridor toward the bathroom when Tails came dashing in.

Tails slowed down to say hello to Boomer, and saw the boots in Boomer's hand. "Hey, are those boots for Sally too?"

"Yeah. After you left, she remembered that all her old boots are nearly worn out. Luckily, I had these I was going to give her anyway."

Tails looked down at the boots he had in his hands. Now that he thought about it, they did look a little beat-up. Tails sighed. "I guess I gotta go bring these back now."

"Sorry," Boomer said with a shrug. "You left before we could discuss things..."

"I was just trying to be like Sonic. Whenever he decides to help someone out, he's done the moment they're finished asking!"

Boomer chuckled. "Well, you succeeded – a little too well. I know it's hard to believe, but sometimes even Sonic is too fast for his own good..."

"Really?"

"Yup. Ask him about it sometime – or if he doesn't want to share, ask me later. In the mean time, I have some boots to deliver."

Tails nodded, and headed back to Sally's hut, while Boomer walked the rest of the way to the bathroom, and knocked at the door.

"Who is it?"

"It's me," Boomer called out. "I have your new boots; I'll just put them outside the door."

"Okay."

"Oh, and don't forget, when you get done with your bath you should go see Dr. Quack. I'm going to go bring the information I printed out to him so he'll know what we're dealing with."

"Alright."

"Well... that's it, so... enjoy your bath." Boomer put the boots by the door, and headed off to Dr. Quack's.

The Great Meadow, between Robotropolis and the Great Forest...

"You're used to going everywhere fast, Hedgehog, but once I spray you with this Mega-Muck, you'll be going nowhere fast!" Robotnik proclaimed as he shot another load of the stuff at Sonic.

"You gotta hit me with it first, 'Butnik!" Sonic retorted, not even needing to change speed or direction to avoid the muck.

"And so I shall! I've gaged your speed, and now... Hey! No fair jumping!"

As Sonic leaped over the better aimed blast, Sonic commented, "All's fair in love and war, doc – and this ain't love!"

"Aaarrgh!!" Robotnik cried, shaking his fists in anger.

Sonic added, "Then again, maybe it is! I do loveto drive him crazy!"

As the two of them approached the Great Forest, Sonic said, "Well, that's enough for today... I'd better head back to--" Suddenly he was forced to come to a stop as he found a purple multi-section "caterpillar" robot about five feet long rearing up in his path. "Whoah! Roadblock!"

"Please! Call me Caterkiller!"

Catching up with Sonic, Robotnik gloated, "Haw haw! Now you're trapped, Hedgehog! You will tell me the location of Knothole Village or I will encase you in Mega-Muck forever!"

"Let you capture my friends and turn them into robots? No way, tubby!"

Caterkiller commented, "Then prepare to perish, Sonic!"

Pulling the lever to spray more Mega-Muck, Robotnik said gleefully, "I've been waiting for this moment!"

Sonic leaped into the air and curled into a spinning ball. "Well, you'll have to keep waiting, 'cause a Sonic Spin is gonna keep that Mega-Muck off me!" The stream of sludge was cut in half as it hit the "blade" of his spin, and a moment later his jump took him up above the sludge, which continued on to hit Caterkiller. The Mega-Muck hit with enough force that Caterkiller's orb-like sections were blown apart to land separately in the pile of Mega-Muck.

Robotnik stared at the mess in shock. "Egad! It splattered all over my Caterkiller!"

Sonic smirked. "Ain't that just too bad."

Robotnik pointed dramatically at Sonic. "You're responsible for this, you... you... you..."

"Your needle's stuck, chubby..." Revving up his legs, Sonic said, "I'd love to stick around, but I've gotta juice!" Sonic did a sharp circle around Robotnik and the Mega-Muck pile as he accelerated, then zoomed by them fast enough to send Robotnik's hover-pod tumbling and several Caterkiller sections flying. Caterkiller's head landed on top of Robotnik's, and Robotnik was lightly splattered with loose Mega-Muck.

"Catch ya later, metal mouth!" Sonic taunted as he ran off into the Great Forest.

"I'll get that Hedgehog if it's the last thing I do!" Robotnik vowed as he headed back to Robotropolis to clean off.

The bathroom of Freedom Fighters Headquarters...

Sally toweled herself dry in front of the mirror. Although enough of the chemicals had came out of her fur to stain the water green, her fur was mostly the same color it had been right after her dip in the chemical vat – her hair was still yellow, her darker body-fur was still red-orange, and facial fur was still orange. However, for some reason her chest-fur had come out a lighter shade, almost tan. The most important thing to her, though, was that the soap and water had gotten enough of the chemicals out from between her fur and skin that she no longer felt itchy.

Looking down at her feet, she noted that they were slightly closer to her natural fur shade than the rest of her fur. This was probably because thanks to her boots her feet had never been coated in the chemical – on the other hand, they had soaked in the small amount that had made it into her boots for much longer, which explained why they were still close to the red-orange shade of the rest of her body. Looking over her shoulder, her back seemed to be the same shade as the rest of her fur – presumably whatever protection her backpack had given had been counteracted by having chemical drip out of her hair onto her back after she took the pack off... There also weren't any marks where the straps of the pack had rested against her fur; she wasn't sure if the chemicals had made it through the straps or if she had accidentally wiped some of the chemicals onto those spots when she was trying to wipe the chemicals off of her.

Sally would never admit it in public, but she actually did care about how she looked. While she was not happy about having her fur and hair colors altered, she was relieved the chemical had colored her mostly evenly – if it had colored her unevenly she would have looked far worse.

She opened the door, picked up the boots Boomer had brought her, and took them back into the bathroom with her. While the same shade of blue as her previous boots, these had white trim at the top, and a white stripe running down the front a short ways. If you looked carefully, you could see signs of some of the sensors and other equipment Boomer had installed in the soles, but it wasn't obvious.

After putting the boots on, she looked herself over in the mirror again. Deciding that if she was changing her look she might as well experiment, she found a spare elastic and pulled her hair into a loose ponytail. Satisfied with her look for the moment, she headed out to go see Dr. Quack.

As she neared Freedom Fighters Headquarters' slide-entrance, she heard Sonic call out, ""I'm baaaaaaack!" and went to go say hello to him.

Tails made it into the room first "Sonic! My hero! Were you battling dozens of Robotnik's evil androids again?"

"Well, I hat to brag, Tails, but..."

Walking up, Boomer interjected, "But he will. give him a chance!"

Sally joined them next. "Bragging's one thing, Boomer... Leaving a trail for Robotnik to follow is another!"

"Princess Sally!" Sonic said, still surprised by her new look (especially as it was a little different from the way she'd looked in the factory). Zooming over to her side, he said confidently, "Have no fear, your royal worry-wart! I took off at Warp-Sonic Speed! My feet never touched the ground!"

"Hmmph."

Tails said excitedly, "Oh boy! I know just how he did it! ...I've been practicing the same move myself! Watch me, everybody!" Tails spun one foot rapidly in preparation for his stunt.

"Careful, Tails!" Boomer warned.

"Here I go – oof!" Tails proclaimed, tripping over a rock and falling flat on his face.

Sally said in an amused tone, "Aw, isn't it sweet the way he idolizes you, Sonic? ...Like we all do!"

Sonic's head spun in her direction, and he stared at her.

Sally laughed nervously. "Err... I mean all the residents of Knothole! Heh heh... Not me, of course! Imagine that... me idolizing you!!!" Sally laughed louder, though this time it sounded forced. Sonic did his best to laugh along with her, to cover for her.

A bit later, at the Knothole Clinic...

Dr. Horatio Quentin Quack, Sally, and Boomer sat around a table, the information Boomer had printed out on the table before them along with some open medical books of Dr. Quack's.

Dr. Quack folded his hands in front of him. "While many of the chemicals in the mixture you fell into have industrial uses, I must say that I can't imagine what Doctor Robotnik thought he could accomplish by combining them. At any rate, most of the chemicals were either harmless, or you managed to wash off in your bath, Sally. However, there are four chemicals in that mixture that concern me.

"Potentially the most dangerous of the chemicals in that mixture is, in my opinion, monobitrisarium. It is an oil, resistant to both soap and water, which can have harmful effects on a variety of different organs and bodily systems. Luckily it does not enter the body easily – consumption or direct blood contact are pretty much the only means. Since you have no open wounds and did not ingest any of the chemical, it is unlikely you've been effected by this chemical yet. However, it is imperative we remove it from your fur and skin before it has a chance to enter your body – or that of anyone else in the village, for that matter.

"The next most disturbing chemical in that mixture is rhenobiphosphate. In addition to being mildly toxic on its' own, it can also bond with other chemicals, greatly increasing their toxicity in the process. It can be absorbed by hair and the outer layers of skin, meaning that even without the monobitrisarium your hair and skin would be toxic right now. Once it's been absorbed by hair or skin it does not come out easily; while this makes removing it difficult, it also means that simply touching you should not have adverse reactions for others. Until the chemical has been properly removed you should dispose of any fur or hair you shed like it were toxic waste; the same can be said of any dandruff you might develop.

"The third chemical we need to be concerned about is annotriglyon. This is easily absorbed by skin and mucous membranes, and lowers the body's resistance to other toxins. I can give you some medications to boost your resistance, but until most of the annotriglyon is out of your system, I suggest you keep exposure to environmental toxins to a minimum – that means no missions to Robotropolis unless absolutely necessary, by the way. Unfortunately, annotriglyon can linger in a body for quite some time; I suspect with the amount you were exposed to it could take several months before you stop feeling the effects.

"Finally, we have diaminobenzene, a contact allergen which one can become sensitized to through long-term exposure. Skin and eye contact are among the methods of exposure, and my primary concern in your case; inhalation and ingestion are also possible methods of exposure. Should you develop an allergic reaction to it, your symptoms could include throat irritation, bronchial asthma, and dermatitis. Not everyone is allergic to it; in fact Overlanders often use it in hair dyes – I suspect this may have been a component in your fur discoloration."

Sally started to put her elbows on the table, but thought better of it (considering she still had that toxic oil on her) and instead crossed her arms. She was feeling a bit overwhelmed by everything Dr. Quack had told her, but none of that showed in her voice as she asked in a firm voice, "So, what do we do?"

Boomer said, "Well, I can't do anything about the annotriglyon, but I think I can come up with a chemical to remove the rhenobiphosphate and diaminobenzene. I already have some chemicals in my lab that will work on the monobitrisarium; the trick will be lowering their potency enough to be safe for Mobian use while still breaking up the oil..."

Dr. Quack said, "I would like to run some tests on you, to see how your body is handling the toxins; then presuming your system can handle it, I'll write up a prescription for some zenoflaxellon to help deal with the effects of the annotriglyon. If that does its' job, then after the decontamination you should be out of danger." Quack paused, then added, "Of course, there's still the issue of your discoloration..."

Sally shook her head. "This color doesn't bother me. I don't mind waiting until my fur to grows out to get back my normal color."

Boomer cautioned, "Wait until after your decontamination before you say that. I'm not sure, but I suspect it may end up changing your color again."

Sally thought about that, then decided, "Well, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." She turned to Dr. Quack. "I do have a couple more questions."

"Oh?"

"First of all, we Freedom Fighters were going to plant some saplings later today, to replace some of the trees Robotnik recently bulldozed searching for Knothole. Would the toxins in my fur be a danger to the saplings?"

"As long as you don't bury large amounts of your fur or hair with them, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Also, Sonic got some drops of the chemicals I fell in on his skin. Considering how dangerous these chemicals are, I take it we should get him in to see you, and he should go through the same decontamination procedures I am?"

"Only a few drops you say? He shouldn't feel any ill effects from the annotriglyon with such a small exposure, so his regular physician should be able to handle it. As for the decontamination, that would be a good idea, but it only needs to be on those areas the chemicals got on."

"Alright. Boomer, why don't you let Sonic know, then start in on those decontaminants while Dr. Quack gives me those tests he mentioned." Sally stood up from the table, followed shortly by Boomer and Quack.

Boomer nodded and picked up his papers. "Sure thing. Good luck."

A few hours later...

Dr. Quack walked into the examination room, where Sally had been waiting for him. "Well, the blood-tests will take a few days, but everything else looks good. For someone who just fell in a vat of toxic chemicals, you're in remarkable health."

Sally wasn't quite sure how to respond to that last comment. After a brief hesitation, she replied in a neutral tone, "Thanks."

"Now we just have to make sure you stay healthy." He handed her a sheet of paper with nearly illegible writing on it. "Give this to the pharmacist, and he'll prepare you some zenoflaxellon. I want you to take it twice a day, in the morning and in the evening..." Quack droned on for a while longer about how to use the drug, and what to expect from it.

A few days later, in Freedom Fighters Headquarters...

"Here you go, Sally," Boomer said, handing her a jar filled with a light green liquid. "Mix this in with your bath-water, and it should get the chemicals out of your fur. A word of warning – it will change your fur color again, and not back to it's natural shade."

"Any idea what color?"

"Sorry, too many variables to say."

Sally shrugged. "So long as my fur isn't toxic any more, I'll be happy."

Boomer nodded. "Well, I'll let you go try it out; meanwhile I've got to convince Sonic to use this on his rashes," he said, holding up a smaller container of the same liquid.

"Good luck with that."

Sally read the instructions on the jar as she headed to the bathroom. Apparently, she had to use the entire container; if it didn't do the job she'd have to go back to Boomer for more. Stepping into the bathroom, she set the tub filling, and poured in the cleansing liquid. She then pulled off her boots, took the elastic out of her hair, and began gathering her bathing supplies.

When she returned to the tub, she was surprised by the amount of bubbles produced – the tub was almost overflowing with bubbles, and it wasn't even full of water yet. "Boomer didn't say anything about this being a bubble-bath! I hope he didn't put the wrong liquid in the container by accident!" Of course, most bubble-bath mixes don't produce pale-green bubbles...

Sally waited until the tub was as full as it she dared let it get, then climbed in. As she began scrubbing her fur, she was amazed by how quickly her fur started changing color – though she was also a little disturbed to realize the color it was turning was pink.

A half an hour later, Sally once more looked in the mirror at an unfamiliar sight. Her chest fur and facial fur were a pale pink, while the rest of her fur was a more classic pink. However, what really annoyed her was her hair, which was a bright neon-pink.

"There is no way I'm letting anyone see me like this. No way." She fingered her hair. "I don't think my normal hair dye will be able to cover this. Maybe a darker color, instead? I have always wanted to know what I'd look like as a brunette..."

...A couple hours later, in Knothole village...

Sonic rubbed his bandaged forearm as he strolled through the village at a rate decidedly slow for him (though most would have had to break into a jog to keep up comfortably). "'It can't hurt,' Boomer says. Shows what he knows."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a pink girl with black hair walking towards him. He looked up, and did a double-take. "Sally?!"

Sally sighed. "Yeah, that's right. Boomer's cleaning agent changed my fur color again." She held her arms out to the sides. "What do you think?"

"Er... You... look good?"

Sally let her arms drop. "Don't lie to me. I look horrible, don't I."

"Okay, yeah, you look horrible." In his mind, he added, "Though that black hair would have gone good with your normal fur color."

Sally shook her head. "Anyway, I'm off to Boomer's lab so he can test my fur to see if I got all the toxins out of it."

"Okay. Good luck with that."

"Thanks."

A few hours later...

Sally was in her hut doing some paperwork at the table, when there was a knock on the door. "It's open!"

Boomer walked in. Sally looked up at him, to see him frowning. Hesitantly, he said, "I've got your test results... We got all of the monobitrisarium out your fur, but there's still enough rhenobiphosphate and diaminobenzene to be dangerous. You'll need at least one more treatment."

Sally sighed. "At least tell me this isn't going to change my fur color again. I'm getting tired of people staring at me in shock because I'm colored differently than they expect."

"Don't worry, this time your color should stay the same."

"That's a relief." She put aside some of the papers on the table, gave one a quick scan, then turned her full attention back to Boomer. "So. I have the new boots you designed... The worst of the chemicals are out of my fur, and we don't have anything pressing going on..." She smirked, and asked, "What do you say we begin 'Operation: Cinderella'?"

Interlude One:

Scenes from "Operation: Cinderella"

A day or so later...

A Buzzbomber (Mobian sized yellow-and-gray robotic bee) hovered lazily by the side of a hill near the Great Forest.

When a pink-furred Mobian with black hair walked out of the forest up to it, the Buzzbomber told her, "Buzz off! I'm waiting for Princess Sally!"

The Mobian put her hand on her hip, and tapped her foot. "I am Princess Sally!"

The Buzzbomber squinted at her. "Size and shape match..." Its' eyes widened. "It is you! Robotnik told me you might be orange, he didn't say anything about pink!" The Buzzbomber began to guffaw loudly.

Sally scowled and grit her teeth.

A few minutes later...

Sally slid roughly out of a chute into a large room with complex machinery along its' walls, inside Robotnik Inc.

Robotnik was standing there, waiting for her. "Well, well! If it isn't silly little Sally! I see you didn't like the colors my chemical vat gave you? I must say, your new choice isn't an improvement."

Sally ignored the insult, and instead said angrily, "Robotnik, this isn't how we agreed to meet!"

An hour or so later...

Sally stormed into her room at Freedom Fighters Headquarters, slamming the door shut behind her. "Useless boots!" she thought, kicking them off and leaving them where they landed.

"So much for Operation: Cinderella!" Sally began pacing the room, going over in her head how the mission had went wrong. It took her a good fifteen minutes for her anger to cool, at which point it switched to depression. After another twenty minutes of thought, her depression turned to resignation as she decided that the only thing she really could have done differently was inform her entire team of her plans.

She walked over to the beat-up old couch she kept in the room (the furniture in her hut was much nicer) and plopped down on it. She stared up at the stalactites on the ceiling for a while, then turned her eyes to the boots lying on the floor. "What am I going to do with those now?"

After a moment's thought, she decided, "I guess I might as well keep wearing them – it's not like I have any other good boots right now."

In Future Chapters: Bunnie's origin retold, the final assault on the Veg-O-Fortress, and Sally's natural colors return! All this and more in upcoming "Tales of Mobius Prime"!

Final Notes: Diaminobenzene is an (official) alternate name for paraphenylenediamine (PPD), a chemical actually used in most commercial hair-dyes – and as Dr. Quack mentioned, it is an allergen. The rest of the chemicals (and the drug) mentioned in this chapter I made up. (Incidentally, I'd be willing to listen to suggestions for alternate names for the made up chemicals, or even real chemicals I might put in there instead.)