Chapter One
Geo, the green cat, struggled to get out of the machine he was strapped to. Blue, his sister, sighed lifelessly.
"Don't bother with it, Geo," she said. "We're kinda trapped here." She flailed her legs frustratingly. "And stupid Robotnik is gonna turn us into robots!"
Geo shot her a glance. "We might not be able to get outta here ourselves," he conceived. "But Tails and the other Liberators might be able to."
Sally Acorn and Bunnie Rabbot, who were also strapped to similar machines nearby, shot the two a glance. "You two saw that giant lot of robots," Sally sighed. "Neither Sonic OR Tails could get past it."
"Ah'm afraid you're right, Sal-gal," Bunnie said in her southern accent. "Ah…ah guess Robotnik's finally gonna turn alla me into a robot." Geo struggled again, but he soon stopped, gasping from fatigue.
"Stop it," Blue told her brother. "You'll only tire yourself out." Geo glared at her.
"Yeah, I'm gonna need all my strength when I'm a ROBOT!" He looked up at the ceiling of Robotnik's lair.
"Hurry, Tails…I know you can make it…"
Sonic whirled up his feet and readied to take off. "C'mon, guys, let's go save our friends!" Tails hurriedly grabbed his spine to stop him.
"Slow down," he advised. "We have no idea what we're getting ourselves into."
Sonic, Rotor and Antoine, the remaining Freedom Fighters, and Tails, Krystal, Robbie and Stripe, the remaining Liberators, stood around the pile of busted-up SwatBots. Sonic tapped his foot.
"Yeah, but Sal and Bunnie are just waiting to be turned into robots! We don't have any time to spare." Tails pondered for a moment. He then blinked and turned to the two waiting teams.
"Somebody needs to go down to the Freedom Fighters base and make sure that Uncle Chuck and Dulcy are OK," he said. "Then another squad needs to head down to Robotropolis. However, we need to go in squads of about three."
Rotor bowed his head. "I'm sure that Tails is just as capable as deactivating a robotizer than I am." He looked up at Sonic. "I'll go down and help with Freedom HQ." Sonic cocked his head.
"Are you sure, Rot? I mean, Unc and Dulcy can pretty well fend for themselves…" Rotor shook his head.
"It's OK. I'll just slow everyone down." He started down toward the Great Oak slide. "Just promise that you'll bring Bunnie and Sally back." Sonic smiled and gave him a thumbs-up.
"Will do, buddy. Now, are we ready to do this thing, or what?" Stripe tapped her foot.
"Maybe we should get ourselves a game plan, eh mates?" Tails nodded.
"Stripe's right. We still don't have a clue as to what we're going to be facing in Robotnik's lair." Krystal looked down.
"Then again…who do we know who WOULD know?" Sonic smirked and he thumbed his chest.
"I've been there loads of times, bro. I know that scrap of metal inside and out." Tails nodded.
"Well, that'll have to do for now. We'd better get moving…" he looked up at the setting sun. "Before we lose our light and it's too late."
Tails reached into his backpack and parted with a pencil and a piece of paper. "Alright, Sonic, since you know the area better than the rest of us, will you draw us a map of the region?" Sonic stared blankly at the paper.
"I don't know if I can do this," he replied. Krystal cocked her head.
"Well why not?" she demanded. Sonic shrugged.
"I…just know the place by running through it! I can't draw a map of any sorts…"
"Allow moi."
Everyone turned their head to Antoine, who grabbed the paper. "Ye know the area, ye blubber-headed scallywag?" Stripe asked. Robbie pulled on her tail.
"C'mon, Stripe, we've established a truce with the Freedom Fighters. Be nice." Stripe jerked her head around to the young raccoon.
"I'll be nice to yer tail if ye don't remove yer paw from it this instant!" she warned. Tails swished his tails at them.
"Quiet, you two," he muttered. Then he turned back to Antoine. "What were you saying?" Antoine bowed and bent down to draw on the paper.
"I've been to zis area just as many timez as Sonic has," he informed. "And, I might add, zhat I 'ave INCREDIBLE drawing skillz." Sonic rolled his eyes, but was surprised as Ant began to belt out a very detailed map of the area.
"Impressive!" Krystal whispered to herself. When Antoine was finished, Tails took the map and studied it.
"This is perfect." He turned to Sonic. "OK, now there are motion-sensor traps here…" he pointed to the location on Antoine's sketch. "…here, and here. We'll set off all of 'em if we go together into groups."
Tails turned to the rest of the group. "Robbie, Stripe, and Antoine…you guys will be our first cell. You go in and distract the robots and cameras." Krystal blinked warily.
"Yeah, but won't Robotnik suspect something if only three of us-members from two different teams-go in?" Tails smiled.
"That's exactly what I want him to do. Because then, after that, he'll stay in his little hide-away…and wait." Sonic punched his fists together.
"Yeah, and he'll get exactly what he's waiting for!" Tails shook his head.
"No, he won't. He'll wait for something that will never come." Robbie looked puzzled.
"You aren't making any sense, Tails. What do you mean he'll wait for nothing?" Tails glanced at Sonic.
"Because Sonic is going to go and grab our friends in the robotizer room while we mess with Robo-butt…subtlety." Krystal snapped her fingers.
"Of course!" she said with realization. "You and I can put bugs into Robotnik's computers. And while that's all happening, the other three will be un-knowingly destroying SwatBots…he won't be able to see because of our viruses attacking his monitors." Tails gave Krystal a thumbs-up.
"That's EXACTLY what I mean."
Sonic smiled inwardly at Tails. Thinking about how much he had grown up and matured since he left the Freedom Fighters almost brought a tear to his eye. Maybe he WAS better off running his own team. If anything, he was most certainly capable of doing so.
"OK, we don't have much time," Tails reported. "I predict that Robotnik will attempt to robotize Geo, Blue, Sally and Bunnie in about ten minutes. He's most likely already aware of our presence, so let's go." He pointed out to the horizon, where Robotnik's horrid lair wait as the small band of friends plotted the rescue.
"Cell one, move out!"
