Disclaimer: All the characters in this fanfic are copyrighted of Sega and DIC
Episode 2: Episode 2: New Recruits?
On a hilltop near Robotropolis, Sonic and the Freedom Fighters were ready to attempt another shot at uploading the Cyrus' virus onto Robotnik's main frame computer. It had been a week since Sonic was reunited with his siblings. Now he strongly hoped this time they would not only free their parents as well, but those lost from the previous mission.
"Man, my shoes are itching to hit the old road." The blue hedgehog commented fired up.
"Just chill, Sonic." Sally instructed, while scoping the area with her infrared binoculars. "You'll get your chance soon enough."
A minute later, Sonic asked her after putting them away, "So, how's it look out there?"
"Well, it's not pretty to say the least." Sally commented sighing. "Good thing we brought most of the team and have a full arsenal of weapons."
Seconds later, she signaled for the team to huddle up. One by one, she gave them their instructions.
"Ok, guys, here's the plan." She announced. "Bunnie, you along with Antoine and Tails take the west perimeter of Robotropolis main building. Manic, you and Sonia fly overhead and head for the roof. Sonic and I will head for the entrance to attempt the plant the virus after heading inside. Dulcy, I'll need you to start sniping at the Swatbots from a secure location, allowing us access to the main building. Everyone got their assignment down?"
"You bet, Sal!" Sonic answered, giving her a thumb's up.
"It's too bad we couldn't have brought Uncle Chuck or Rotor along with us." the ground squirrel commented sadly. "I could use some more help on the technical side of this assignment."
"He can't because of old needle nose's wave machine." Sonic replied frowning. "Plus, someone's gotta stay to keep an eye on Knothole."
"No matter..." Sally commented, quickly composing herself. "Once we plant the virus, we'll destroy that horrid device and free the other roboticized citizens from Snively's hold as well."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Sonia said impatiently.
And with that statement, the team put their right hand on top of each other's, one after the other, declaring boldly in unison, "Let's do it to it!"
Seconds later, Sally said, getting her infrared binoculars out again "Ok, Dulcy, you're on."
"Right."
Instantly the green dragon flew to a nearby junk pile and began sniping Swatbots while in midair with her ice breath, including the red and white ones in hover units in the air. One by one, they began to fall to the green dragon's attacks, dropping to the ground frozen solid.
Sally then said after twenty five seconds into her assault, "Ok, she's cleared a big enough path for us to mount an attack. Charge!"
The Freedom Fighters did just that, running towards Snively's main headquarters at a full head of steam. Unfortunately though, another dozen of his robotic soldiers from the main area saw them coming, and shouted while pointing their laser guns, "Halt, don't move!"
The Freedom Fighters though didn't pay any attention to their warnings, as the team grabbed several highly explosive pipe bombs from the backpacks and heaved it directly at their foes.
Within seconds, the Swatbots in front of them were blasted to bits in front of them, now reduced to a pile of scrap metal.
"This is almost too easy." The blue hedgehog commented with a grin while running
"Don't get overconfident, Sonic." Sally reminded him. "The battle's just begun."
"Yea, let's toast these suckers!" the blue hedgehog said firmly
With the front now cleared for the time being, the Freedom Fighters quickly split up into three groups, heading to their designated areas. However, as Sally headed for the front door, three more Swatbots approached them from right corners of the main building, quickly pointing their laser guns at their heads.
"Surrender, Freedom Fighters!" they ordered.
"I don't think so!" Sonic answered boldly.
Moments later, the blue hedgehog quickly charged in, performing a moderate sized tornado attack around, quickly gulfing them inside. Instantly, they began to spin violently around inside of it.
Sonic though still wasn't done. The split second he stopped performing this special attack, he grabbed three grenades from his backpack and heaved them inside the still spinning cyclone, causing the explosives to spin inside as well.
As planned, the grenades soon blasted all of Snively's robots on contact, putting them out of commission on the spot. On top of that, the tornado made by the blue hedgehog's quickly died down a few seconds later, dropping them to the ground, dead as a doornail.
However during this assault, two red and white Swatbots in a hover unit came flying in out of nowhere and abruptly grabbed Sally from behind, with each one restraining one of her arms.
"Sonic, help me!" she screamed, struggling to get free.
"Oh no you don't!" he declared boldly, chasing after it once it took off.
Thankfully though, Sonic didn't need to run for long. His siblings finally came their aid. Manic then swooped in, using the bottom end of his hoverboard to heavily ram against their metal heads, this move of his paid off well, as it heavily jarred them in the process to cause each to abruptly drop the squirrel Princess.
Sonic, to no one's surprise, was right on top of things, firmly catching Sally in his arms within seconds.
After he landed on the ground, Sonic waved to his Manic and Sonia above, saying loudly while giving them a thumbs up, "Nice job, guys!"
Moments later, Sonic asked Sally, "You all right?"
Sally though didn't answer him. Instead, she let out a gasp, quickly turning her eyes towards the same Swatbots that had taken her prisoner, now coming after her again, as well as the blue hedgehog.
Sonic soon saw them approaching himself, muttering with a frown, "I guess I'll have to hit them with a triple spin to take em out this time!"
But again, Sonic's siblings took care of these pesky aerial Swatbots. Manic then flew closer to get a better shot while Sonia heaved two of her pipe bombs; one aimed each at their metal chests, blasting them instantly to metal bits upon impact.
Sally now showed her gratitude for their efforts as well, saying to the two hedgehogs with a smile, "Well done. We can handle it from here."
Manic gave her a slight nod in response and quickly flew off.
"Ok, let's bust inside!" the blue hedgehog said firmly
Sally quickly retrieved her portable computer from her boot, saying once it was firmly in her hands, "Nicole, find us the access password to the door."
"Searching, Sally… "
Meanwhile, the other two teams were now at their destination. Near the top of the roof, Manic threw another pipe bomb at the air vent, blasting a big enough of a hole for them to access.
"All right, sis, let's get inside."
Sonia slightly nodded her head in response, commenting, "Hopefully after we install the virus, we'll be reunited with our Mom and Dad."
On the west side, Bunnie blasted the door in front of them of its hinges by heaving two move pipe bombs at its metal structure, causing it to slowly fall to the floor with a loud thud.
"Time we to kick that little weirdo out of power." She said boldly to her comrades after the smoke cleared from the explosion.
After the cyborg rabbit ran inside, Tails soon followed suit while flying with his two tails. Antoine on the other hands was starting to have second thoughts.
"Um, are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked, biting his fingernails
"Ant, sometimes I wonder why Sally girl even puts you on the front lines." Bunnie commented, shaking her head at him with a frown. "You're just too chicken."
"I am not chicken!" he protested with great indignation, adding while pointing his right thumb at his chest, "I am Antoine, Freedom Fighter exrtod...
Bunnie however wouldn't let him finish his line, as she abruptly yanked him inside by the neck of his uniform.
Elsewhere, Nicole finally broke the code on the door.
"Yes, we're in!" Sally exclaimed happily soon after.
Unfortunately, there were three Swatbots standing in front of them once the doors opened.
Sonic though didn't even give them a chance to say their repetitious line, as he them slammed to the ground with a well timed spin dash. He then finished each Swatbot off, hitting both with a grenade to their metal visors, causing their CPU vision to soon short in and out due to it now being heavily damaged.
"Nice work, Sonic." Sally said
"Anytime, Sal." He replied with a cocky smile
The two of them then ran inside and began to search for the computer room.
To no one's surprise, Snively had been monitoring the whole thing from his lair thanks to several of his stealth spy orbs watching their every movement in well hidden locations.
He soon commented at the current situation with a sly grin on his face, saying, "So, they're at it again, eh? Trying to install that rotten virus onto my hard drive for a second time no doubt… Well, I've got a little surprise for them this time, and it won't be pretty. That much is certain. Heh heh…!"
Instantly, he now saw where the Freedom Fighters were on the video monitors and ordered three teams of Swatbots to incarcerate them.
"If those buffoons mess up, there's always Plan B." Snively stated with a smirk.
Plan B, not surprisingly, was none other than using Sonic's family and friends as a buffer.
Meanwhile elsewhere in the main building, Sonic and Sally continued to sneak inside while trying to avoid detection. However, they now noticed the inside layout was a bit different than the last time.
"That's odd." Sally commented, putting a hand under her chin to think. "I can't seem to locate the computer room."
"I gotta strong feeling Snobley here probably did a little redecorating to confuse us."
"You might be right, Sonic."
"As always…" he bragged.
Sally soon let out a soft groan of frustration, saying to her portable computer, "Nicole, try and find the computer room for us."
"Searching…"
Unfortunately, not even two seconds passed before four Swatbots came running in and surrounded them from all sides.
"Raise your hands, prisoners!" they ordered, aiming their weapons at them.
"Doh, man. Not again!" The blue hedgehog muttered. He then attempted to grab more explosives from his backpack, adding, "Let's trash these metal tin heads."
"Sonic, wait!"
"What, Sal?"
"Trying to fight them now might damage Nicole in the process." She explained.
Sadly, he knew she had a point. With the Swatbots less than five feet in front of them, and the current room they were in was a bit narrow, the odds of Nicole being hit by any of his bombs or even getting zapped by the Swatbot lasers were too great of a risk to gamble with now.
That and the fact she was the one carrying the Freedom Fighter virus on her hard drive.
Sonic sighed heavily and asked after conceding to her idea, "So, what do we do then?"
"Let's get out of this tight corridor for now." The squirrel princess concluded. "We can get them later."
"Right. Adios, Swatbutts!"
Instantly, he grabbed Sally tightly with both hands and blasted off. The Swatbots though soon fired their lasers the split second he took off, quickly giving chase.
While this was going on, Manic and Sonia continued to crawl inside the ceiling vents. Unfortunately, to their surprise, they saw all the rooms through the holes in the vents around them were heavily guarded by Snively's forces.
"That needle nose sure isn't making it easy." Manic commented softly with a frown
"Duh." She replied with a frown. "You thought this was gonna be a cakewalk?"
"No, of course not, Sonia. I just thought Snively would be more of a pushover than his uncle Robotnik. Looks like he's better than we give him credit for."
"Never mind that, Manic. Let's just try to find a way out of here."
"Right, sis."
Back in the west side of the building, Bunnie, Tails, and Antoine continued to make their way inside. Seconds later, the cyborg rabbit peeked around a corner and saw a half a dozen Swatbots roaming the area in front of them.
"This is gonna be tricky." She commented to herself. She then turned her head back towards Antoine and Tails, telling them firmly while looking both in the eye, "Ok, y'all, I'll throw a couple of grenades to stun them. Then you both swoop in to finish em off with…"
Unfortunately, Bunnie couldn't finish her line, as another six Swatbots came running in from behind and pointed their weapons at them. To matters worse, the others from around the corner also showed up seconds after, now fully aware of their new intruders.
"Surrender!" They ordered
"Oh great, just our luck…" Bunnie groaned.
Antoine immediately started to panic inside, but she looked at him and Tails, ordering loudly, "Follow my lead, guys!"
Instantly, she threw a smoke bomb on the ground to blind the dozen Swatbots.
"This way!" Bunnie shouted, running for it.
The smoke sadly only bought them a few seconds, as the Swatbots soon gave chase after it dissipated, firing their lasers at them in rapid succession.
Twenty seconds into this pursuit however, the cyborg rabbit quickly realized there were too many to keep eluding on foot without risking seriously injury, especially since there was no air vents nearby for them to hide in for cover.
And so, she came to an abrupt stop.
"What's wrong?" Tails asked concerned, stopping as well.
"Well, honey, I hate to admit it, but we're just not fast enough to keep eluding these goons."
"We are giving up?" Antoine asked, quivering in fear
"NO! We are not giving up!" she replied, glaring at the French coyote. "We're gonna trash em right here and now!"
Two seconds later, the Swatbots finally cornered them from behind, again ordering, "Don't move!"
"Now, guys!" Bunnie ordered loudly. Instantly, she tossed two pipe bombs into the crowd of Swatbots from her backpack. As before, it blasted four of them to metal pieces on contact.
Tails soon followed suit, heaving a handful of grenades at them, moderately damaging another four in the head. Antoine meanwhile now had another pipe bomb firmly in his hand and hesitated to throw it at the Swatbots.
"Antoine, throw it!" the cyborg rabbit yelled.
Bunnie's words finally gave him the necessary jolt he needed, as he heaved it with all his strength. Luckily for him, it was an accurate throw, blasting two more to pieces while heavily damaging another two in the process.
"Nice job, Ant." She commented, giving a playful tap on his shoulder with her nonmetal hand.
"Aw, it was nothing." He replied with a humble smile.
However, his little pat on the back would have to wait momentarily. Within seconds, the remaining four Swatbots who had been damaged from before again tried to shoot them in spite of the fact their metal heads were now sparking like crazy.
Bunnie though put an end to that threat right then and there, as she grabbed one of the heavily damaged robots by its metal arm with her robotic arm and then quickly used the Swatbot in her possession as a club to smash the remaining three and put them out of commission.
Her plan worked better than expected. Thanks to her robotic strength, Bunnie clobbered all four of them ease, reducing Snively's robots to pieces of scrap metal
While the cyborg looked on at her efforts with pride, Tails said after a brief pause, "C'mon, we better keep moving."
"Right." Bunnie commented.
As for Manic and Sonia, they continued to roam around inside the vents. Within a minute, both hedgehogs finally found one that led to an empty room.
"Let's go, sis."
However, the minute they stepped inside the room, five Swatbots quickly came running in, weapons drawn and aimed at their foreheads.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Sonia stated in disgust. "Now they come in?"
"Freeze, Freedom Fighters!" they ordered.
"No way, bozo!" the female hedgehog retorted boldly.
Instantly, she ran up to one and knocked it the ground with a sharp karate kick to its chest. Sonia then tripped one next to it with a low kick, taking it down as well.
Manic soon joined in on the fight, tossing several grenades at three of the Swatbots' metal visors, causing their CPU vision to heavily short in and out.
This attack in effect heavily reduced their lethalness as Snively's enforcers. They now could barely see their targets and deal with them in the room as a result of this.
Sonia's luck though sadly ran out, as she was now apprehended by a Swatbot from behind that wasn't hit by any of Manic's grenades two seconds later, holding her up high by the neck of her shirt.
"Manic, help me!" she said, struggling to get free.
"Hang on, sis."
The green hedgehog quickly pulled out another two grenades and heaved it at the knees of the Swatbot holding Sonia, with one hitting each knee, allowing her to momentarily escape after it was knocked off balance from the explosions.
Moments later, the female hedgehog put the robot away for good after landing on the ground, grabbing the robot by its weakened metal knees, strongly heaving it into the remaining unaffected Swatbot on the east side of the room that was about to open fire on her.
Within seconds, both of these robots crashed into a wall behind them, now heavily stunned.
"That takes care of them." Sonia commented with a firm expression on her face, dusting her hands in the process.
Moments later however, the three Swatbots with their heavily damaged CPU vision tried again to aim their weapons and again shoot the two hedgehogs in the room.
The green hedgehog then said to her sister, "Let's go, Sonia. Time's a wasting."
"Right…"
The two hedgehogs then quickly ran out of the room while the heavily damaged Swatbots fired their lasers erratically from behind.
"How did they know we were in there?" Manic asked, while running. "It's like those metal heads were waiting for us."
"I gotta feeling Snively's been watching our every move." Sonia replied in disgust.
Indeed he was. Within seconds, another five Swatbots came out of nowhere blocked the path in front of them, pointing the laser weapons at their heads.
"Man, this mission just gets more frustrating with every passing second." Manic commented with a frown.
With now only three weapons left in their arsenal, a pipe bomb and two smoke bombs, they now had to be wise on how they chose to use the last bit of their ammo.
"Don't move!" The Swatbots ordered
Sonia then knocked one down that was directly in front of the open door with another sharp flying karate kick to the chest, shouting to her brother after tossing a smoke bomb onto the ground, "Run for it, bro."
Manic didn't have to be told twice. He did just that, taking off for cover with Sonia soon following closely behind. Not surprisingly the five Swatbots they left in the wake soon gave chase after the smoke cleared, now in hot pursuit yet again.
"Got any ideas, sis?" the green hedgehog inquired as he ran.
"We might no choice but to hide in the vents again." Sonia replied. "No point in wasting the last of our ammo just yet."
While that was going on, Sonic continued to elude the Swatbots chasing him from behind.
Just then, Sally said while in his arms, "Sonic, wait!"
"What's up, Sal?" he asked, coming to a halt.
"Nicole's found the computer room."
"Really? Where?" he asked.
"Past this door." Sally replied.
"Cool, I'll blast it down."
Sonic however never got the chance, as the Swatbots finally caught up with him.
"Surrender!" they ordered.
"Take a hike, Swatbutts!" Sonic said boldly, now running towards them.
The blue hedgehog then attacked Snively's robots with a strong triple spin buzz saw attack, cutting right through the chest of two of them while knocking the other two to the ground in a heap.
"Quick, take out the remaining metal heads before they come to, Sal." Sonic told her.
Sally did just that, as she grabbed her final pipe bomb from her backpack and heaved it at them once Sonic was standing next to her.
Like the others, they too bit the dust, now reduced to nothing more than scrap metal.
Sonic and Sally quickly gave each other a high five soon after, with the squirrel princess commenting, "Well done, Sonic. We took them out successfully without harming Nicole."
"Yep, piece of cake…" Sonic replied, giving her a smug grin in response. "Those bots never had a chance."
"Can you take out the door?"
"No prob, Sal."
Sonic then pulled out his last pipe bomb and heaved it at the center of the door. Within moments, it exploded on contact, making a big enough hole for them to enter inside.
"Let's go!" Sally said, heading inside.
Snively meanwhile saw what all three Freedom Fighters teams were doing, and he was not happy about it one bit. "Those metallic morons always let me down!" he said, banging his arm rest. "Why do I even bother putting using them?"
Moments later, the small dictator calmed down, saying with a grin, "But, no matter. When they see the surprise I have in store for them, I'll be the one who has the last laugh."
Now inside the main computer room, Sally said firmly, "Ok, let's fry this system!"
However, not even three seconds later, they heard a voice that shouted, "Halt, intruders!"
It was none other than Big, Cream's adopted brother. Seeing him again put a look of horror on both of their face, not to mention it threw a wrench into their plans.
"Ah, great…" Sonic muttered. "I wasn't expecting this… now what?"
"We don't have any weapons left except for two smoke bombs. I guess we're just gonna have to hold him down and restrain him if necessary."
Moments later, Big then charged both of them, saying in his monotoned robotic voice while raising his arms up high, "Capture Freedom Fighters, by order of Snively the great!"
The blue hedgehog ran towards him to take him down in response to this, as Sally instructed loudly while running for cover, "Be gentle, Sonic. Don't damage his metal body."
While Big took a couple of swings at him, Sonic retorted with a frown, "Easier said then done with him trying to pound me now with those mondo fists of his."
"Just do the best you can." Sally replied, now on the west side of the room. "We have to try at least for the sake of Cream…"
Sonic knew she had a point. And so, he vowed on the spot to do just enough to take him down without causing any repercussions.
"And how do you suggest we do that?" the blue hedgehog asked while eluding his shots.
"Um…" Unfortunately for Sally, she didn't have a clue. Big then put them in very a tough spot, as he soon picked up a small metal table in the room near the main computer and attempted to clobber the blue hedgehog with it.
A few seconds later however, Sally snapped her fingers. "I've got it!"
"What's the plan?" Sonic asked, now keeping a firm eye on the roboticized cat.
"Keep him busy." She instructed. "I'll need about ten to fifteen seconds here."
Sonic did just that. Using his high agility, he easily evaded the table swings that came his way. He jumped over the low swings, ducked underneath the high ones, even jumped from side to side when Big tried to use the metal like a club.
Sally meanwhile finally snuck up from behind while the blue hedgehog kept him busy, where she then jumped onto the back of Big, trying to get his attention.
"Now, Sonic!" she ordered a split second later, trying to hang onto him tightly.
Big during this time dropped the table and tried to yank Sally off, attempting to use his large hands in an attempt to firmly grab her
The blue hedgehog though finally sprung into action before he could, as he then performed a triple spin attack aimed at his legs, instantly taking them out from underneath him, causing the large white and purple cat to hit the floor face first stunned.
He had been able to pull this off thankfully without any repercussions, as Sally jumped off of him a split second before he attacked.
She then connected some wires attached to her A.I best friend and told her, "Nicole, activate sleep mode on him."
"Activating, Sally…"
Within two seconds, Big's roboticized body's stopped moving in the least, as he now was comatose.
"Nice job, Sal. How long will he be out?"
"Only for five minutes." She explained. "That's the best Nicole can do on a roboticized citizen for the now since this is only a new ability Uncle Chuck gave her."
"No prob, that's more than enough time to get the job done." Sonic stated boldly.
Sally then hooked up Nicole to the main database and started the transfer of the virus to the main hard drive. Strangely, the main database was not responding to it at all. In fact, the screen even shut off. Instead, all it did was begin to beep.
"What in Mobius is going on here?" Sonic asked, arching an eyebrow. "I may not know computers that well, but even I know this is not normal behavior."
"Nicole, can you figure out what the problem is?"
"Scanning database, Sally."
However, while Nicole was trying to decipher the problem, the beeping instead only got louder, even to the point of becoming more frequent.
"What is up with this system?" Sally asked, getting frustrated. "Did Snively put a new encryption program on it?"
Just then, a paralyzing fear came over Sonic. He recognized the style of beeps.
"Get down, Sal!" he shouted, tackling her to the ground out harm's way.
"Sonic, what are you…" Sally couldn't even finish her sentence, as the computer exploded with intensity just two seconds later, spraying metal debris all over the room.
"I knew it!" the blue hedgehog shouted angrily. "This computer is a fake!"
"Nice detective work there, blue boy." A voice said from a short distance. "I guess you're smarter than I thought."
Sonic then turned around and there he saw who spoke to him… none other than the small dictator himself.
"You! How'd you get here so fast?" Sonic demanded, now standing up
"Easy, hedgehog, I've been watching your every move." Snively explained with a sly grin. "You're pretty clever to take down this big buffoon of a cat so easily. No matter, I've still got an ace in the hole."
Sonic instantly gritted his teeth at the small tyrant. "I'm gonna triple spin you, needle nose, if you don't shut your trap!"
Instantly, he went to attack him, only to hear before he could take a step, "I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Snively proclaimed boldly
"And why not?" Sally inquired with arched eyebrows.
"Because," he said, now holding up a tied up Tails in his right hand by his two tails. "I'll inject your little buddy here with cyanide if you don't cooperate!"
Sonic and Sally gasped in disbelief. What neither of them realized, while they were taking down Big, Tails had unfortunately been captured by a cleverly planned ambush by Snively and his army.
Luckily though, Bunnie and Antoine were able to escape the trap and fled from the building, only to soon discover the two tailed fox was no longer behind them anymore.
They wanted to go back in and free him, but they were only down to only one pipe bomb left. It would take more than that to just get through the front door again.
"There's gotta be something we can do to help." Bunnie commented angrily, peeking behind a junk pile. "We can't just abandon Tails with that maniac!"
"But what can we do?" Antoine reasoned. "We don't have enough ammo!"
The cyborg rabbit began to think and then said with a snap of the fingers, "Of course, let's go find Dulcy."
"What for?" the French coyote inquired. "She is too big to help us inside zee building."
"I know that, silly…" Bunnie replied with a frown. "But I have another idea in mind."
"Like what?" Antoine asked further.
Bunnie though didn't want to waste anymore time talking, as she then grabbed him by the collar of his solider outfit and dragged him along from behind, answering, "I'll explain later. Right now, let's find Dulcy and fast!"
While they looked for the green dragon, Manic and Sonia were still inside the building now hiding in a vent. However, with all sides heavily guarded by Swatbots, making any false movement was now suicidal.
Seconds later, the two hedgehogs saw through the vent on the right side that their brother, along with Sally and Tails were being taken to a prison cell to await roboticization.
"This is not good at all…" Manic commented with a whisper. "We gotta free them before it's too late."
"Yea, but how?" Sonia inquired, also whispering. "There's nowhere for us to go without being spotted."
A minute later, Sonic, Sally, and Tails were taken the prison room and incarcerated.
"You know," Snively said to them gleefully, "I usually roboticize rebels like you right away, but I want to savor this moment. I'll let you tremble in great fear for thirty minutes, while you wait your horrible fate, losing every bit of courage left in you. Heh heh!"
"Save your breath, Snobley!" Sonic declared loudly, pointing a finger at him. "I'll cut through those bars in a sonic second."
"Not this time you won't, rodent!" the small dictator shot back. "Watch this!"
Snively then pulled out a remote from his pocket and pressed the button. Instantly, many sparks began to circulate around the bars, making the three Freedom Fighters gasp.
"If you touch those bars, you'll be barbequed with over 10,000 volts of electricity." Snively said with an evil grin.
"You dirty snake!" Sally shouted, glaring at him. "You really are quite the psychotic mastermind, aren't you?"
"Why thank you, Princess. It feels good to hear you acknowledge my brilliance." He then stated after a brief pause with dry sarcasm while holding up a familiar explosive, "Anyway, thank you so kindly for allowing me to have the rest of your pathetic weapons from your bags. I'm sure I'll find some kind of use for them."
As it turned it, the small dictator had confiscated the remaining two smoke bombs from their bags as a security precaution, as well as a means of plunder.
Sonic meanwhile was tempted to lash at him, but held his tongue, as he didn't want to give the small dictator that satisfaction.
Snively soon added a few seconds later, "I would have taken your bags too, but since you'll be roboticized within the hour, I might as well let you keep them. After all, I'm sure they'll make excellent containers to carry important metal parts when you become my robot slaves."
The small dictator again chuckled at them, trying to rile his foes up more. However, when they didn't bite, he said with a frown, "Anyway, enjoy your little time of squirming around in fear. I'll check up on you later. Ta ta."
And with that statement, he left the room.
After Snively was out of sight, Sonic said somberly to the others, "I think it's safe to say we're in big trouble."
"Ya think?" Sally remarked with arched eyebrows.
Once Snively left the prison chamber, he ordered his robot soldiers around the building, "Keep a sharp eye out for the other intruders. I'm sure their little rodent friends will be trying to break them out eventually, knowing my luck..."
Twenty minutes later, the dumb bots came walking by to do their usual clean up duty. However, when they saw who was in one of the cells, they couldn't help but taunt them to the fullest.
"Well, well, well, lookie what we have here…" Scratch cackled, "Three furballs trapped in Snively's new cage. Isn't that a sight to behold, eh, guys?"
Not surprisingly, neither of the Freedom Fighters responded to this bantering.
"What's the matter, Swatbot got your tongue?" Grounder asked with a smirk.
When they didn't still didn't respond, Coconuts added laughing, "I guess finally getting caught made them speechless!"
Sonic finally spoke up and said, "Sorry to disappoint you, bolt heads, but we don't speak idiot."
Usually the dumb bots would retaliate to such insults, but this time they just grinned at them mischievously.
"Oh, is that so…?" Scratch commented, eyeing them intently from behind the bars. "Well, maybe you'll want to learn it if we tell you about what we did to one of your little friends."
That indeed got their intention, as Sally quickly asked with her hands at her waist, "What are you morons babbling about anyway?"
"Oh, I'm sorry…" Grounder replied, now speaking up. "But I thought you said you don't speak idiot."
"Stop playing mind games with us!" Sonic shouted, now losing his cool. "Answer the question if you know what's good for you!"
Scratch though just cackled at the blue hedgehog's demand, answering, "You are in no position to tell us what to do, because if you try anything, you'll become a hedgehog shish kabob."
That statement only angered Sonic even further. Even Sally was starting to glare at them too.
"Are you sure you want us to tell you?" Coconuts inquired with a vile mocking tone of voice. "After all, I'm sure it'll make you furballs pretty mad. Heh heh!"
"You know what, forget it…" Sally shot back with a frown. "We have more important things to worry about now than to care about this silly game of yours."
"Oh, I'll say you do all right…" Grounded chimed in. "You'll all soon become slaves of Snively the great, and that is a sight we cannot wait to witness up close and personal."
Again, neither Sally, nor Sonic bit on their words, as they were now ignoring them. After another few retorts fell on deaf ears, the metal chicken decided to slowly drop the bomb on them to rile them up again.
"Fine, don't respond." Scratch said with rolled eyes. "I guess you guys are too serious to have any fun with. C'mon, let's get back to work, guys."
And with that statement, they did just that, now moping up the floor in another part of the prison.
Scratch finally spoke up to rile them up, commenting loudly to the Freedom Fighters as he worked, "Look on the bright side at least, rodents. At least you'll be reunited with that big dumb cat who stupidly tried to play hero."
That statement instantly got their attention, as Sonic inquired, "And what would you know about that exactly, dumb bot?"
"Oh, nothing…" Scratch answered nonchalantly. "Just talking is all."
He then began to whistle, but Sally quickly spoke, saying firmly, "You might as well spill the beans. It's obvious you're trying to give us some information you think we have to hear."
Again, Scratch played dumb, replying with a shrug, "I don't know what you're talking about. You must be hearing things."
By this point, both Sonic and Sally were losing all of their patience over his mind games, as his bantering was start to wear on their emotional state.
After thirty seconds, the metal chicken finally spoke up, saying, "Maybe if you would learn to speak idiot, I'd tell you everything. But, since you don't, I'd only be wasting my breath, or battery power I should say that is in my case…"
"Whatever." Sally muttered, trying to fire back at him. "We're just dropping IQ points talking to a metal dunce like yourself anyhow."
Scratch then said angrily in response, "Go ahead and make light of our intelligence! At least we're not in jail!"
When neither of them shot back again at his wisecrack, the metal chicken wasted no more dragging it out, as he soon added to blow the whistle out of the blue, "Not to mention we're not so dumb to use a roboticizer either."
The second those words fell from his metal beak, Sonic, along with Sally and Tails let out a horrifying gasp. They now knew what he was driving at.
"You mean to tell me you're the ones responsible for what happened to Big?" Sally demanded.
"Maybe…" Scratch replied with a sly grin on his face, though neither of the Freedom Fighters in the jail could see due to him being in another room.
Sonic instantly lost his cool after hearing this, soon muttering with a hiss, "Why you lowdown, despicable…"
"Aw, what's the matter, hedgehog?" Grounded inquired, interrupting him, now speaking up again. "Does it really pain you to hear this news? It's your own fault you left him all alone to fend for himself. I guess that really was a dumb move on your part. Heh heh!"
Grounder had put a lot of emphasis on the word dumb to clearly rub it in their faces.
Sally by this point was also seething inside. To hear these three dumb bots had craftfully taken Big away from Vanilla and Cream was more than she could stand.
Sensing their anger, Scratch, along with Grounder and Coconuts walked back to their cell, with the metal chicken saying with a sneer, "I bet you really want to hurt us now, don't you?"
Scratch then added with a hearty cackle before either of them spoke up, "Too bad you can't! You're clearly trapped inside that cell with no way out! Ah ha ha ha!"
Moments later, all three dumb bots heartlessly laughed at them, sticking their metal tongues at the three Freedom Fighters, saying eventually with a jeering taunt while their hands were by their cheeks, "Na na, n-na na!"
And with those words, the three of them left, laughing heartily at their foe's fate.
Sonic then turned to Sally and said with gritted teeth, "When I escape from this cell, I swear I'm going to cut them to ribbons."
"And just how do you plan to do when we can't even escape?" Sally inquired frustrated. "The bars are electrified and the ground is solid concrete. There's not even a window in the back. Face it, there's no way out!"
"You mean we're… doomed?" Tails asked, with tears coming down his cheeks. Tails during this time had been very quiet due to being a bit traumatized about having Snively holding a lethal syringe over him.
Sally felt guilty for her last statement since it upset Tails. So she told him putting an arm on his shoulder, "No, we're not doomed, not yet anyway, honey. Our comrades are still out there. Perhaps they'll find out where we are and rescue us."
Sonic however knew better. The chances of any of them being able to blast through and free them were a 1,000 to 1. He then put a hand over his chin and began to think long and hard.
Sally was tempted to make a joke about it, but this was no time to make light of a situation. So she asked instead, "What's on your mind, Sonic?"
"I'm trying to come up with a plan to escape, Sal. But you're right about one thing. We can't cut through the bars, can't dig our way out, and we certainly can't blast a hole in the wall. It seems the only way out is if someone…"
Just then, a big grin came over Sonic's face. So much in fact it made Sally arch an eyebrow.
"Ok, mind telling me why you're grinning like that?" she inquired with deep curiosity.
"Simple, Sal. I know how we can get out of here."
"How?" Tails asked puzzled
"There's no way out on our own, right?"
"Right." Sally and Tails replied simultaneously.
"So, the only way is if someone from the outside opens the door for us."
"And just who do you expect to do that, Sonic?" Sally asked. "Snively sure won't, and neither will the Swatbots."
"No, but how about one the dumb bots?"
Sally immediately began to frown. "Are you suggesting we get them to open the door for us? Not even they are that stupid."
"No, but what if we trick into thinking they'll be in trouble if they don't?"
"Sonic, either you're sitting on one very hot poker hand, or you've got to be the biggest bluffer I've ever seen."
The blue hedgehog quickly flashed a grin at her, replying, "Oh, I've got a sweet hand all right."
"Ok, now you've got me really curious." Sally said with a frown. "Mind telling me what you got cooked up?"
Sonic then whispered in her ear, making Sally eventually smile big within seconds.
"Am I genius or what?" the blue hedgehog inquired with a boast.
"What can I say; you really are one smart hedgehog." She said with flirtatious smile. "This time anyway…
"I know, I know…"
"What are you guys talking about?" Tails asked curious
"Just play along, big guy." Sonic told him. "We'll explain later."
While Tails was trying to figure it out, Sonic got into position. Sally then shouted, "Hey dumb bots, Come quick!"
Surprisingly, they came running up with Scratch demanding, "What do you want, Princess? A last request?"
"No, I know you're too cruel to do something that generous." She replied nonchalantly.
"Then why did you yell for us?" Grounder asked. "I'll bet it's a trap!"
"Of course it is!" Scratch said, smacking him upside the head. "Why else are they trying to get our attention? They're obviously planning something to try and retaliate for what we just told them earlier. C'mon, let's get back to work."
However, before they could leave, Sally said to them in a mocking tone of voice, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
"Oh yea, and why not?" Coconuts demanded, looking at the squirrel princes intently.
"Because, you'll be in trouble with the boss."
Scratch then looked Sally in the eye and said, "Stop trying to bait us! We're not gonna fall for your dumb trap."
"You're right; you're too smart for us." Sally commented with a smirk.
Unfortunately, that smirk made Scratch walk up to the bars, demanding with a metal finger pointed at her from his right hands. "What are you up to? Tell us or else!"
"Or else what? You gonna get us roboticized? In case you haven't realized, we're already getting that fate."
The metal chicken was now tired of her mind games, so he told the others, "We're wasting our time here, let's go!"
As they turned to leave, she added, "Ok then. I guess you won't mind having to answer to Snively for your carelessness then."
That little verbal jab made them stop in their tracks again and head back. "What do you mean by that?" Grounder demanded.
"Haven't you noticed something?" Sally said smugly.
"What?" Coconuts inquired, still clueless.
"Maybe you should take a closer look inside the cell." The squirrel princess remarked.
They finally did so, and there they saw what she was driving at… Sonic was nowhere in sight."
"Hey, where did he go?" Scratch asked, now in shock. "You better tell us, Princess!"
"Ok, I'll tell you." She replied with a smug look on her face. "He escaped."
"WHAT?" the three of them shouted that at the same time.
"That's impossible!" Coconuts argued, rubbing his forehead. "This cell is sealed tight."
"Normally, yes… but you guys seriously underestimated Sonic this time." Sally said.
"How so?" Grounder demanded
"After you guys left, he found a hole in the ground and is now digging a tunnel for our escape."
"You're bluffing!" Scratch yelled at her.
"Ok then, I guess Snively won't mind having you three for paper weights." Sally commented
Finally, Tails was starting to figure out what they were up to. Being idiots, most of the dumb bots were now starting to believe her story.
But Scratch said, still not buying it, "Nice try, but you're not gonna bait me into some crazy scheme."
"Then tell me, if I'm lying, where is Sonic?" Sally asked with a smirk
"Uh, well, he's probably hiding somewhere in this cell." The metal chicken explained.
"Uh huh. You sure you want to risk your lives on that conclusion?"
Unfortunately for the dumb bots, Snively had indeed threatened to turn them into paper weights if they didn't shape up, making even Scratch start to believe it somewhat.
"Doh, fine! We'll take a look inside the cell! But don't you dare make a false move, or we'll have the Swatbots zap you!" Scratch threatened.
Scratch then turned off the electricity and opened the cell, but with extreme caution.
The three dumb bots then looked almost everywhere, but Sonic was nowhere in sight, making them panic.
"Where did he go?" Scratch demanded
"He went through this hole." Tails replied
However, the hole was so small, not even the three dumb bots believed it.
"Yea right." Grounder said with a frown "You're bluffing."
"Boy, are you guys in trouble now." Sally said, in a tattling tone of voice. "Wait till Snively sees what you did."
"Stop lying! We're not falling for this!" Scratch yelled
Grounder though was starting to tremble. "But Scratch, if they're lying, how did Sonic escape?"
"How should I know?" the metal chicken replied "Besides, how do we even know he did escape?"
"If you'll look in this hole," Tails said, now joining in. "You'll see it expands when you press against it."
"What? That's crazy talk!" Coconuts shouted
"Suit yourself." Sally said nonchalantly
Finally, they couldn't stand it anymore, and now kneeled down to test this theory
"Hey! This doesn't expand when you press against it!" Scratch protested.
The split second he made that statement, the trap was instantly sprung, as Sally quickly yelled, "Now, Sonic!"
Before they could even turn their heads, Sonic came out of nowhere and nailed the three dumb bots flat onto the ground, leveling them to the ground after performing three successive spin dashes from three different directions after landing, seriously damaging them in the process.
What neither of the dumb bots realized, Sonic was hiding directly on top in the center of the ceiling, using his spikes to keep him in place It was the only spot of the jail they failed to examine closely in the entire cell.
The blue hedgehog would have attacked them further due to his anger against them, but Sally finally spoke up, saying firmly, "That's enough, Sonic. We don't have time to destroy these stupid bots. We need to escape and now!"
Realizing she was right, Sonic reluctantly agreed, saying to the dumb bots before exiting the cell, "Nice to see you're still as gullible as ever. I'll deal with you morons next time. Gotta juice…"
And with that statement, they ran out of the cell as fast they could.
"I knew it was a trap!" Scratch yelled angrily, getting up slowly from the damage Sonic did to his metal body. "C'mon, we gotta stop them before Snively the great finds out!"
Unfortunately for them, the small dictator would indeed find about this, and a lot sooner than he thought. Snively by this time had arrived in the prison with three Swatbots armed with electronic shackle guns behind to prepare for the roboticization of his enemies.
However, he didn't get the chance. Snively soon saw them trying to make a run for it in front of his eyes, making his jaw almost drop. He then ordered his robotic soldiers in a fit of rage, "Incarcerate those wretched rodents, now!"
But again, the blue hedgehog beat Snively's robots to the punch, as he quickly knocked them to the ground with a precise and on target triple spin to their metal chests before they could fire, sending two Swatbots crashing to the floor back first with a loud thud, now heavily stunned.
As for the third, it soon pointed its electronic shackle gun at Sonic and attempted to open fire.
Sonic though made quick work of this remaining robot still standing, attacking it with another triple spin, this time at its metal legs, sending it flying several feet forwards into the air.
Snively ironically would also be affected of Sonic's attack, though only moderately hindered, as the Swatbot soon crashed on top of him in a sprawled position, trapping him underneath it unharmed.
Sonic then whistled at Sally and Tails and motioned for them to run on by. Once they did, the blue hedgehog soon saw Snively's new predicament, now tempted to finish him off where he now laid.
However, the other two Swatbots soon sat up, again pointing the same guns at him from before.
"Forget it, Sonic!" Sally shouted at him from a short distance ahead of him. "We don't have the proper weapons to deal with this many now."
Sadly, the blue hedgehog knew she had a point. Before he knew it, the dumb bots by this time had also gotten back on their feet and prepared to give their boss a hand in an attempt to smooth over the rough spots of their previous mistake.
Sonic then gritted his teeth in disgust, replying with a deep breath, "Very well… let's go."
His timing couldn't have been better. The split second he took off to escape with them, the same two Swatbots from before opened fire at him to try and take the blue hedgehog out, but missed by a long shot.
Several seconds later, the three dumb bots ran towards their boss from under the Swatbot sprawled on top of him, saying with a tug of his right sleeve, "Don't worry sir, we'll get you out of there."
Once he was free, Snively did not thank them. Instead, he demanded to the three dumb bots in a rage, "How did those wretched rodents escape my impenetrable cell? Who's responsible for letting them get out? Answer me!"
Not surprisingly, neither of these bots wanted to answer that. They knew Snively would deal with them severely if he discovered the truth.
When he saw they were clamming up and looking on with guilt, stammering to say one sentence, he had a strong inkling what had just happened. Nevertheless, due to the current situation, he muttered with a fierce glare towards them, "Never mind… I'll deal with you nincombots later."
And with that statement, the small dictator activated the code red alarm button in the prison room on the wall nearby, as it now blared loudly in the entire building, putting all the Swatbots inside of it on full alert.
While this was happening, Manic and Sonia soon saw the Swatbots near the vents, guarding their room leave abruptly.
"What's going on?" Manic asked
"I think our bro might have pulled off a brilliant escape." Sonia replied. "C'mon, let's give them a hand!"
As for Sonic and the others, the blue hedgehog muttered at Sally as they ran, "I could have taken Snively out, Sal. Why didn't you let me do it?"
"Sonic, use your head." Sally shot back, looking at him. "He was heavily trapped underneath a Swatbot. For you to have been able to attack that creep successfully, you would've had to pry that bot off first to do any major damage." She then added firmly, "There was no time for you to do that with two more Swatbots nearby and the dumb bots chasing us down from behind."
"What about my sonic tornado attack?" Sonic inquired with a frown. "I could have sent him spinning inside with that bot on top of him and then finished off needle nose with ease with seconds."
"Even if you did use that attack," Sally shot back, "you still haven't factored in that one of the dumb bots could have pressed the code red alarm button while you sent him spinning inside, thus amplifying our problems a hundred fold."
"What are you talking about, Sal?" Sonic asked.
"Think for a second, Sonic!" Sally scolded. "What would you have done if a swarm of Swatbots quickly came rushing in and took us prisoner before you could deal with that maniac appropriately?"
Sonic sadly hadn't thought of that, though blew it off, saying, "Ah, you worry too much, Sal. I doubt that many Swatbutts would've showed up that soon."
Ironically though, the blue hedgehog would soon eat those words. Within three seconds, a dozen Swatbots surrounded them from all angles once they arrived in a room a few rooms from the exit, with their guns aimed at their heads.
"You were saying, Sonic hedgehog?" Sally muttered with a frown.
"Doh, man…" Sonic moaned with a hand on his forehead. "I hate it when you're right."
"Surrender!" They ordered
The blue hedgehog didn't even answer them, as he attacked quickly with back to back triple spin attacks to knock five to the ground, where he then made a Sonic tornado a split second later, engulfing another four from within.
Once he did that, Sonic said to his comrades after landing on the ground, "Hop on, guys. I'm getting us out of here, pronto!"
Before Sally could ask him what he meant by that, the blue hedgehog grabbed her firmly in his arms, ordering T2 a split second later, "Jump into my backpack, now!"
With three Swatbots about to open fire on them, the two tailed fox didn't have to be told twice. The split second he climbed inside of it, Sonic said with firm vigor while revving up his legs, "Let's race, ace!"
And race they did, as Sonic blasted off, leaving them in the dust.
While they ran for it, Snively finally made his way to his main quarters to keep a close eye on his foes.
He then commented, brooding with rage while banging on the dash of his chair several times with his right hand, "I cannot believe those wretched rodents outwitted me again. I should have known better than to send those stupid robots to clean up the prison room before they were sentenced. I'm almost certain they had something to do with their escape!"
Ten seconds later, Sonic and others were again surrounded by five Swatbots two rooms later. Seeing only one way of escape, the blue hedgehog then ran towards them as they went to open fire, jumping high into the air to leap over Snively's robots, as well as the lasers that came his way
Once the blue hedgehog landed on the ground, he soon took off again after landing past them, saying with a taunting jab, "Better luck next time, metal heads."
Ironically, they would indeed have better luck the next encounter against him. The following room, another five blocked the next door near the exit. However, unlike the last encounter, Snively had his robots adjust to Sonic's latest evasive maneuver trick, where two of them now stood directly underneath the open door to put him in a bind.
Sonic quickly discovered this, making him stop in his tracks.
"Doh, man!" he muttered. "How am I going to get out of this?"
With him currently carrying his friends, any triple spin or tornado attacks were out of the question. Ironically though, that would be the least of his concerns. The Swatbots from behind he had out leaped earlier soon caught up to him, and there they, along with three from front opened fire.
Sonic then jumped high into the air to evade the oncoming lasers, not realizing this evasive tactic was playing right into Snively's hands. Once he was high enough, Snively had one of the Swatbots that were standing underneath the door way fire Snively's new weapon again at the blue hedgehog's legs, rending them immobile.
"Hey, I can't move my feet!" Sonic said, struggling to move
"Don't bother, hedgehog!" Snively said over a video screen a split second later. "That is one of my latest weapons developed against you, the electronic shackle blaster."
Sonic still tried to get free from its effects, but it was all for naught. Snively's new weapon had put a tight electric field around the blue hedgehog's legs.
The small dictator then spoke up a second later, saying, "You know, I'm still very tempted to have you roboticized after your little stunt here, but like my rotten Uncle, I changed my mind."
A split second later, he ordered his robotic soldiers with a vile smug grin on his face, "Blast them!"
However, like his Uncle Julian from before, he would too fail at taking him out. Before the Swatbots could even take one shot, a big explosion came in from behind and wiped out two Swatbots standing in front of the door. Sonic and the others looked ahead and saw it was Sonia and Manic, using their last pipe bomb.
"You again? Stop them!" Snively ordered.
Sonia though picked up one of the shackle guns from a nearby destroyed Swatbot and fired it at their comrades, setting them free. Manic meanwhile tossed their last smoke bomb to blind the Swatbots standing behind Sonic and the others.
To make matters worse for Snively, Sonia then fired three beams at the remaining robotic soldiers of Snively's, now rending them immobile.
"Let's get outta here, everyone!" Manic shouted, motioning towards the exit with his right hand.
And with that statement, they made a run for it while they had the chance.
Snively by this time became completely unglued after seeing Sonic's siblings bail them out, shouting with another series of bangs on his armrest, "NO! NO! NO! Are you kidding me? They outwitted my trap again?"
The small dictator then let out a very enraged grunt while gritting his teeth, "I'll get those vermin if it's the last thing I do!"
The five Freedom Fighters then ran for the exit, but Snively had one last trick up his sleeve. He said, pressing a button, "Let's see them get out of this! I will not be made a fool of again!"
As they now headed outside, the five of them were instantly greeted by Snively's last gasp effort to apprehend them, none other than twenty five Swatbots standing in their path the second they exited the main building.
Instantly, they all stopped in their tracks horrified.
"Uh oh… This ain't good." Sonic commented
"There's nowhere to run this time, you miserable pests!" Snively taunted. "You're finished. Surrender if you know what's good for you."
"Never!" Sonia yelled, pointing the shackle gun at them to shoot. However to everyone's great shock, the gun now short circuited, eventually fizzling out. As it turned out, the pipe bomb they had used to take out several Swatbots heavily damaged its circuits in the process.
"Now what? "Tails asked, starting to panic.
Snively began to laugh heartily at them over the video screen. "Game over, Freedom Fighters! You're finally through! Prepare to die"
Things looked now hopeless for them, but again, the small tyrant's apparent victory went abruptly south. Out of nowhere, his army was hit by multiple ice beams from above, freezing them right and left.
"What's going on here?" Snively demanded
"Look, it's Dulcy!" Sally said, pointing overhead.
Indeed it was, as she was now carrying Bunnie and Antoine on her back, fully armed again.
After seeing the green dragon himself on his monitors, Snively then ordered his army, "Destroy her!"
However, before they could take one shot, the rest of them began to get hit by multiple pipe bombs being tossed at them, blasting Snively's metal soliders to metal pieces.
"No! This can't be happening!" the small tyrant yelled, putting both hands on his head in horror as he watched.
But indeed it was. Before the small dictator could even comprehend what had just took place, his twenty five Swatbot army had received heavy casualties, taking out over 80% within seconds.
"Next time, don't count your chickens before they hatch!" Bunnie yelled, heaving several more bombs from above. Within ten seconds, the entire Swatbot army that stood near the building had been completely eradicated, reduced to nothing more than metal popsicles and a pile busted scrap metal.
Sonic and the others quickly made a run for it with the path now cleared.
By this time, it was all Snively could do to remain composed, shouting while raising his hands in a tantrum, "I hate you, wretched rodents! I HATE YOU BAD!"
Sonic just smirked and said to him on the video screen gloating before taking off, "You messed with the bull, so you got the horns! Until next time, Snobley!"
And with those words, all the Freedom Fighters ran from Robotropolis and headed back to Knothole.
Ten minutes later, they arrived back at their home exhausted. It had been a very grueling battle to say the least.
"Well, at least it wasn't a total loss." Sonic commented, trying to put a positive spin on their latest mission.
"Not exactly." Sally said somberly. "We failed again to install the virus and almost got roboticized."
"I know," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "But don't give up hope. We'll get it done next time."
Sally though was beginning to wonder if they would ever successfully plant the virus onto Robotnik's main hard drive.
She then turned to her best friend and told her with a smile, "Thanks for bailing us out back there. Your timing couldn't have been better."
"No problem, Sally girl…" Bunnie replied, giving her a smile back. "Happy to help out."
"Where did you get those extra explosives anyway?" Sonic inquired.
"I had Dulcy fly us back to Knothole as fast as she could and get Chuck and Sugar Rot to build us some more on the double." The cyborg rabbit explained. "To be honest, I didn't even know you guys had been taken prisoner. Ant and I were actually going back in rescue Tails." She then added with a shrug, "I guess you could say we were at the right place at the right time."
"So that's why you were riding her…" Sally concluded.
After a long pause, the squirrel princess said composing herself, "Let's call it a night, everyone. Tomorrow's another big day for us. First thing in the morning, I'm gonna start strategizing for our next mission."
The others agreed as they nodded their heads and headed for their huts, as they were indeed beat.
Meanwhile in Snively's main quarters, he now got a full inquire of what went wrong.
"Who's responsible for letting those three Freedom Fighters escape?" he demanded of a Swatbot on a video screen.
"It is none other than your custodian bots, sir." The Swatbot replied.
"WHAT? Are you telling me those idiots let Sonic and his friends escape?"
"Affirmative." It answered again. "They opened the cell and then were ambushed."
Snively was now so angry inside, steam was starting to come out of his ears.
"Shall I have them junked for their blunders?" the Swatbot inquired
The small dictator was about to give that order, when another Swatbot then came on screen, announcing after the change in video feed, "Snively the Great, We have captured several unknown Mobian citizens near the city limits."
"What? What do you mean unknown?" Snively demanded with arched eyebrows.
"See for yourself, sir."
Instantly, the video screen changed, and there he saw three Mobians he had never seen before being escorted to the roboticizer room.
"Are they Freedom Fighters?" the small dictator interrogated.
"That is currently unknown, sir." The same Swatbot answered after the video footage changed back to his image on screen.
"Run a full background check on them at once." Snively ordered. "I want to know if these three have anything useful we can use against the scum rodent rebellion."
Within ten minutes, he received the report. Not surprisingly, they had no connections to any of the current Freedom Fighter teams, or network for that matter.
"So, they're just a bunch of low life rodents…" the small dictator commented with arched eyebrows. "I guess I might as well roboticize them and get new workers at least."
However, as he read their bio further, something caught his eye, making him furrow his brow even more, saying, "Hmmm… so they actually do have a checkered past, quite a substantial one too…"
Just then, a smirk came over his face. He had now come up with a brilliant idea.
"Well, since they're very skilled in this one particular area, I might be able to use it my advantage." He commented.
"Shall we start the roboticizing process, sir?" the same Swatbot on screen ordered.
"Not yet…" Snively instructed. "Send them to my main quarters for now. I want to interrogate them first."
"As you wish, Snively the great." It replied.
After the screen cut out, the small dictator rubbed his hands together, stating with a vile chuckle on his face, "This maybe just what I need to turn the tide against these wretched rodents…"
To be continued...
