Sonic
the Hedgehog: Ill Will
by
Serinthia Draftwood
The
author of this work will accept questions and comments via E-mail at any
of the
following addresses:
serinthia@draftwood.com
based on characters created by Service and
Games (SEGA) and
on characters created by Archie Comic
Publications
This work is protected under copyright
law. The author grants his
permission for free, unaltered
distribution of this work. Any other
use is prohibited.
It was raining. It had been raining hard for several days, and
there
was no sign that it would let up any time soon. Deep in the Great
Forest
at Knothole Village, there was little or no activity. Most of the
creatures
stayed indoors and out of the rain. Tails lay in bed. The
coldness
and dampness had gotten him a small cold. Consequently, he was
under
Sally's orders to stay in bed and rest. Fortunately, he seemed to be
getting
better, and soon he would be well again.
Deep in Robotnik's territory, at the
capital of Robotropolis, all
operations
had slowed to a crawl. Due to some
crafty sabotage on the part
of the
Freedom Fighters, Robotnik's main rain shields were disabled and much
of his
city was shut down. At the main control
center in the middle of the
city,
Dr. Robotnik sat in his large chair gazing at the status screens on
the
wall. What he saw was not good. If something wasn't done soon, the
entire
city would be completely malfunctioning. As he sat watching the
screens,
a short, nervous looking man entered the room.
"Dr. Robotnik," he said.
Robotnik's chair turned around so he could
face the small man.
"Report, Snively," said Robotnik
"The repairs on the rain shield are
nearly completed," said Snively
"We
should have them fixed within the hour."
"Excellent," replied Robotnik
"How long before Robotropolis is up
and
running?"
"We should be back to full
operational status within three days."
Robotnik turned back to the screens and
was silent for some time
before
continuing.
"Tell me again Snively," he said
"How is it that Sonic was able to
disable
our shields?"
Snively shuffled his feet nervously.
"Didn't you say something about weak
security?" said Robotnik in a
strangely
calm voice.
"Yes sir," replied Snively.
"There must be some way to neutralize
that pesky hedgehog!" said
Robotnik.
"If I may offer a suggestion
sir," said Snively as he walked over
to the
main control panels. He typed in a few
commands and the pictures of
two
individuals appeared on the screen, Princess Sally and Tails.
"Unlike us," said Snively
"the hedgehog has people that he cares
for. If we could get our hands on either of them,
we could use them to
keep
the hedgehog at bay."
Robotnik was not impressed.
"Tell me Snively," said Robotnik
"how do you propose to do that?
Princess
Sally is not easily caught off guard when she comes here to sabotage
my
city, and the small fox hasn't even been seen outside The Great Forest."
"We could send spies into the Great
Forest and catch them when and
where
they least suspect."
Robotnik thought about this for a
moment. Then, an evil smile came
across
his face.
"Excellent!" he exclaimed
"Dispatch the Stealth-bots immediately!"
Back at Knothole Village, the rain was
beginning to subside. Tails,
who had
been feeling better as of late, was sitting in bed trying to
convince
Sally to let him go out and play.
"I feel fine Sally," Tails was
saying "honest."
Sally, who was sitting beside his bed
wasn't buying it.
"You may only think you're feeling
better," she said "but you
haven't
fully recovered."
"Yes I have," said Tails.
Sally thought for a moment.
"All right," she said "If
you feel as good tomorrow morning, then
you can
go outside."
Tails hugged her "Thank you Aunt
Sally!" he exclaimed.
"Now I think you better get some more
rest," she said "If you're
going
to be well enough to go out tomorrow, you'll need rest."
Tails laid down and closed his eyes. Within minutes, he was
sleeping
peacefully.
Sally got up carefully and left the
room. As she walked down the
hall,
she met Sonic who was going to see Tails.
"How's the big guy doing?" he
asked.
"He's feeling better," Sally
said "He thinks he's well enough to go
outside,
but I told him to wait until tomorrow. He's sleeping right now so
don't
bother him."
"All right," replied Sonic
"I'm sure he'll be all right tomorrow."
As Sonic was speaking, three Stealth-bots,
Robotnik's silent robotic
aircraft,
were cruising at a low altitude over The Great Forest scanning for
Tails
and Sally.
The next morning, as Tails thought, he was
feeling better, and Sally
gave
her grudging permission for him to go outside. As she watched Tails
run out
into the surrounding forest, Bunny Rabbot came up beside her.
"Do you think he'll be all
right?" Bunny asked.
"I hope so," replied Sally
"Still, I think I'll ask Sonic to keep an
eye on
him today."
"That would be a good idea,"
Bunny said "In fact, there he is now."
Sonic was walking toward them while talking
with Rotor.
"Hey, Sonic," Sally called.
"Good morning ladies," replied
Sonic.
"Good morning," replied Rotor.
"Sonic," said Sally "could
you do me a favor and watch Tails today
and
make sure he's all right."
"Sure thing," answered Sonic.
"Good," said Sally "If his
cold acts up again, I'd like someone
watching
him."
Suddenly, a scream split the air. All present recognized Tails'
voice
screaming for help. Immediately, they
rushed off to the direction of
the
screams. They soon arrived at a
clearing where they saw a Stealth-bot
carrying
off Tails in one of it's robotic arms. Sonic was the first to race
after
it, and the others followed. Suddenly,
another Stealth-bot swooped
down
from the sky toward the group, dividing them in all directions.
Meanwhile,
Sonic, who had been racing after the first Stealth-bot, was
almost
in range of jumping up and catching the Stealth-bot. However, he
wasn't
looking where he was going and crashed into a tree.
Back at the clearing Bunny, Rotor, and
Sally were trying to regroup
and
retreat, but, before anyone knew what happened, a Stealth-bot sped down
out of
the air and caught Sally in it's robotic arm. Sally struggled to
get
free, but the Stealth-bot was to strong. All of the Stealth-bots, with
Tails
and Sally in their custody, sped back to Robotropolis with all speed.
Bunny and Rotor caught up to where Sonic
was recovering with his
encounter
with a tree. Sonic was sitting next to
the tree holding his head.
He
looked up as the others approached and asked them what happened.
"The Stealth-bots got Tails and
Sally!" exclaimed Rotor "They've
taken
them back to Robotropolis."
Sonic jumped up in alarm and made ready to
race after them, but
Rotor
held him back.
"You know you can't go to
Robotropolis," said Rotor.
"And why not?" snapped Sonic
"They just ran off with two of our
best
friends!"
"You need a power ring first,"
answered Bunny.
Sonic knew she was right, but he still
grumbled about it as they
walked
back to Knothole to break the news to the rest of the Freedom
Fighters.
Dr. Ivo Robotnik was sitting in his big
chair in the main command
center
looking quite pleased with himself. Snively had just brought him
the
news that Tails and Sally had been captured and had just arrived at
Robotropolis. He was looking out the window at what he
called a wonderfully
polluted
city. He was trying to think of all the ways he would be able to
control
Sonic now that two of Sonic's friends were now in his possession.
The
door to the command room opened. Robotnik turned to face who he knew
was
coming.
Sally and Tails were being carried into
the control room. Each one
was in
the tight grip of a Swat-bot. Tails was
near petrified with fear.
Sally,
who usually kept a cool head, was looking about her to try to find a
way to
escape. As soon as she saw Robotnik,
she did not hesitate to protest.
"You'll never get away with this
Robotnik!" she exclaimed "If you
think
for one instant that whatever plan you have will work, you are sorely
mistaken!"
"I think not my dear girl,"
Robotnik said "This time, I shall see to
it that
Sonic never finds you. Surely you know
that, as long as I have you
two as
prisoners, Sonic will have to do everything I say."
"The least you could do is let him
go," said Sally, indicating Tails
"He's
just a child!"
"All the more reason for me to keep
him," said Robotnik as he walked
over to
the petrified Tails and patted him on the head "I know how much this
young
one's life means to Sonic."
"If you hurt that fox," Sally
warned "so help me I'll see to it that
you
severely regret it!"
Robotnik turned towards Sally.
"You are hardly in a position to make
threats of any kind."
He looked up at the Swat-bots.
"Take these two to the transport
shuttle," ordered Robotnik "I'll be
there
shortly."
The two Swat-bots carried Sally and Tails
from the room. As they
were
leaving, Sally heard Robotnik say "We'll see what some time in Ironlock
prison
does to them."
Robotnik's mad laughter could be heard
throughout the entire
building.
The Power Ring were probably the most
unusual thing to be invented.
Sonic's
uncle, Professor Charles Hedgehog, had developed the technology
shortly
before Robotnik's invasion. A few
months before the invasion,
Charles
placed a device that automatically constructed power rings at the
bottom
of a small, deep pool of water near Knothole Village.
Sonic was now pacing back and forth next
to that same pool, waiting
for a
ring. Ring construction was extensive
and the device could only turn
out one
ring every eight to twelve hours. Strangely enough Sonic was the
only
creature that could use the power in a ring. When he held one, he was
able to
run at just over Mach one. Normally his
top running speed was only
two
hundred and fifty MPH.
The pool suddenly started to glow. Sonic
stopped pacing and waited.
A large
glowing ring levitated up out of the pool and hung in mid air.
Sonic
grabbed it quickly. He could feel it's
immense power rushing through
him. Not one to waste time, he quickly charged
off to Robotropolis. He
exceeded
Mach one in less than ten seconds.
Sonic arrived at Robotropolis in three
minutes, and forty-five
seconds. Sneaking into the prison block was not going
to be easy. Sonic
stealthily
sneaked through the city. As he
approached the prison block, he
heard a
shuttle taking off and looked up. A
large subtle was taking off
from
the main control center. Sonic dismissed
it as another transport ship
off to
mind it's own business. Sonic continued
his search for Sally and
Tails. The shuttle coasted through the air.
On board the shuttle, Robotnik was
gloating to Snively about how
well
his plan was succeeding. In the back of
the shuttle was a small cell
in
which was Sally and Tails. Tails was
beginning to come out of his
fearful
trance and was now trembling uncontrollably. Sally held him close
to her,
trying to comfort him. After a time, he
slowly calmed down and
stopped
trembling. Sally found that he had
fallen asleep. Sally carefully
laid
him down on the bench she was sitting on and rested his head on her
leg. As she sat there listening to the soft roar
of the shuttle engines,
she wondered
how Robotnik could be cruel enough to make a child go through
this. She looked down at Tails and saw him cough
in his sleep. She
dismissed
it as the result of all the pollution in the air, but something in
the
back of here mind vaguely suggested that it might be something more.
The shuttle continued its journey toward
Ironlock Prison.
Back at Knothole Village, Sonic had just
come back from Robotropolis.
He was
quite upset that he hadn't found any sign of Sally or Tails. Sonic
decided
that his next move should be to go ask Bookshire if he knew where
the
pair might be.
Bookshire was an unusual person. He lived near the northern most
edge of
Knothole Village. His main interests
were in computer and medical
technology. The thing that made him such an asset to the
rebellion against
Robotnik
was that he had established a link between his computer and the
Robotropolis
Main Computer Core. This provided much
information about
almost
any aspect of Robotnik's operations. Sonic, along with Bunny and
Rotor
arrived shortly at Bookshire's residence. The middle-aged raccoon
welcomed
them and asked what he could do for them.
"Sally and Tails have been kidnapped
by Robotnik," said Sonic "We
want
you to find out where he's taken them."
"Come in then," said Bookshire
"I'll see what I can do.
He led the three down into his home which
he had constructed just
under
the surface. They went into his
computer room where Bookshire sat
down in
front of the computer and turned it on. After some initial button
pushing,
Bookshire switched the computer into voice activation mode so he
could
speak directly to it.
"Computer," he said "access
Robotropolis Main Computer Core using
Cryptosmasher
software."
The computer contacted the RMCC and
quickly broke through the
encryption
security lockouts. It then displayed
The RMCC main menu of
operations.
"Computer, determine security level
for information regarding the
location
of prisoners."
"Access to Robotropolis Prisoner
Status Files requires Level One
Priority
Clearance," said the computer.
"Can such clearance be forged through
the use of any code-breaking
software
in your memory?" asked Bookshire.
"Affirmative," replied the
computer "with a probability of being
discovered
of sixty-eight percent."
"What does that mean?" asked
Bunny.
"It means that we need to fake and
access code to get into these
files,"
said Bookshire "and there's a sixty-eight percent chance that
Robotnik's
security programs will catch us and lock up the system."
"Well I think that that's a risk we
have to take," said Sonic.
"You're right," said Bookshire
"Computer, attempt access of said
files. Upon access, search for information
regarding Princess Sally and
Tails."
The computer screen was suddenly filled
with incomprehensible data
as the
computer attempted access. Shortly, the
main menu for the prisoner
status
files appeared. The computer then
searched for the requested
information.
"There are no files on record for
Princess Sally or Tails," said
the
computer.
"Great," said Sonic, annoyed
"What do we do now?"
"Well," said Bookshire
"apparently they're not being kept in
Robotropolis. What we have to do now is figure out where
they could have
been
taken."
"And how are we supposed to do
that?" asked Rotor.
Bookshire thought for a moment.
"Computer," he said "exit
Prisoner Status Files and access records
for all
transports departing Robotropolis in the last twenty-four hours."
The computer quickly carried out the
command.
"There have been 297 recorded
departures from Robotropolis."
"Which transports were transporting
prisoners?" asked Bookshire
"No transports were reported with
prisoners."
"That would make sense,"
remarked Bookshire "I guess Robotnik didn't
want
anyone to know where they were taken."
Suddenly, Sonic got an idea.
"Maybe we could find out if any of
the transports were destined for
other
prisons," he said.
"Great idea!" exclaimed
Bookshire "Computer, how many of the
previously
mentioned transports were destined for any known prison?"
"Transport NO. 14578-K5-78598-B
departed Robotropolis Main Control
Center
at 1100 hours today. Reported destination: Ironlock Prison, Pilot:
Swat-Bot
#457-S, Passengers: 3.S
"Ironlock Prison!" exclaimed
everyone.
"Well," said Bookshire "Now
you know where they are. Perhaps it
would
be in everyone's best interests if you were to go get them. Now!"
This broke the others from their stunned
trance. They thanked
Bookshire
and immediately raced off to Ironlock prison.
Ironlock Prison was one of the oldest
structures on the planet. It
had
been built in 1593 near the very heart of the Dark Swamp. It was used
for
over 300 years until it was abandoned in 1894. Now, the old building
was
crumbling, but there were still some parts that were still intact. One
of
these parts was a small cell block on the fifth level that was, at that
moment,
being guarded by ten Swat-bots. In one
of the cells was Princess
Sally
and Tails.
Tails was lying, trembling on what was
left of the bed. He was
getting
sick again. Sally had done just about
all she could think of to
comfort
him. She had covered him with an old
blanket she found in the cell,
but it
was getting colder and colder as night started to set in. Being
unable
to think of much else to do, she sat down next to him and started
singing
something soothing. She had been
singing to Tails for some time
before
she was interrupted when she noticed Robotnik standing at the bars.
"What a lovely singing voice you have
Princess," remarked Robotnik,
smiling
"Perhaps you would be good enough to sing for me once."
Sally was appalled at the mere thought.
"In your dreams, Doctor,"
snapped Sally.
"Too bad," replied Robotnik
"I just stopped by to see if you are
enjoying
your new home."
"I'd rather see you behind bars
Robotnik," said Sally "How
can you
be so
cruel as to lock up a sick child!"
Robotnik smiled.
"Just another part of my wonderful
personality I guess," he said.
"When Sonic finds us, he'll make you
regret the day you were born!"
exclaimed
Sally.
"I think not my dear girl," said
Robotnik "He has no idea where you
are,
and even if he did, my Swat-bots will handle him. In the meantime,
enjoy
your stay."
Robotnik chuckled to himself as he walked
away. Sally turned back
to the
sleeping fox and felt his forehead. It
was extremely hot. Sally was
getting
more and more worried that, if help didn't come soon, it would come
too
late. She began to sing to Tails again
as night fell into place.
Sonic, Bunny, and Rotor arrived outside
the main gate of Ironlock
Prison
shortly after eight o'clock. It wasn't
going to be easy getting in
there. Carefully secluded behind some trees, the
three planned their next
move.
"There are four Swat-bots guarding
the main gate," said Bunny "How
are we
going to get past them?"
"Maybe we won't have to," said
Rotor "If any of the stories I've
heard
about this place are true, there are at least three secret entrances
to this
place."
The trio moved silently through the
surrounding swamp until they
arrive
at a small pond.
"I think there should be a tunnel
into the prison at the bottom of
this
pond," said Rotor.
"I'll go down and have a look,"
replied Sonic.
Sonic dove into the murky water. Although he could barely see, he
was
able to make out a dark tunnel near the bottom. He swam back to the
surface.
"I found it," he told the others
"let's go."
Bunny and Rotor dove in and followed Sonic
down through the water
and
into the tunnel. Just as they were
about to run out of air, they
surfaced
in a dark cavern. As they climbed out
of the water Rotor pulled
out his
flashlight.
"I don't think any living thing has
been in here for ages," remarked
Bunny.
"You're probably right," said
Sonic "Let's get going."
The three proceeded down the dark
cavern. It was some time before
the
cavern opened out into an abandoned corridor somewhere deep inside
Ironlock.
Rotor pulled out a scanner he had brought
with him and swept the
area.
"I think I have something," he
said "I'm reading two life forms
about
five floors above and to the northwest of us."
"Then let's get going," said
Sonic impatiently.
The three moved up the prison as fast as
they could go. When they
reached
the fifth level, it was crawling with Swat-bots. They moved
silently
down a corridor and peeked around the corner. One of the cells
down
the next corridor was guarded by a bunch of Swat-bots.
"That's gotta be where they
are," whispered Sonic "you guys wait
here,
and I'll handle the Swat-bots."
Sonic raced out of hiding, and, before the
Swat-bots could react,
he
leaped into a Sonic-spin and tore through each and every one of them.
When he
finished they were nothing more than piles of metal. Rotor and
Bunny
came out of hiding as Sonic opened the cell door.
"Sonic!" exclaimed Sally
"Am I ever glad to see you. Tails
got
sick
again and its even worse than before! We've got to get him out of
here!"
Bunny came in a gently picked up the still
trembling fox in her arms.
"Alright," said Sonic "we
gotta find a quick way out of here."
I think I saw a patrol craft in the
courtyard as we came up," said
Rotor.
"Great, "said Sally "If
it's still there then we're in business."
They ran down to the courtyard as fast as
they could. As they ran
out
into the yard, a loud alarm sounded. The were momentarily startled,
but
they quickly snapped out of it as the yard began to fill with Swat-bots. Sonic ran ahead and destroyed the two bots
guarding the craft. the group barely
made it inside when the bots opened fire on the craft.
Bunny laid Tails down on one of the
benches as Rotor began to try
the
controls.
"You do know how to fly one of these
don't you, Rotor," asked Sally.
"Uh...I think so," said Rotor as
he flipped various switches.
"HEDGEHOG!" bellowed a deep
voice from somewhere outside.
"You'd do extremely well to surrender
now, hedgehog," said Robotnik
"we
have you completely surrounded."
"In your dreams, Robuttnik!"
yelled back Sonic.
Just then, Rotor hit the vertical
thrusters and the craft shot
straight
up for over a mile. Suddenly it
stopped.
"Well," said Rotor, visibly
shaken "I think I got it."
The trip home was somewhat shaky, but
everyone survived. After an
examination,
Bookshire reported that they got Tails home in time and he
would
be okay. Three weeks later, Tails and
Sally were back having the
same
conversation.
"I feel fine Sally," Tails was
saying "honest."
Sally, who was sitting beside his bed
wasn't buying it.
"You may only think you're feeling
better," she said "but you
haven't
fully recovered."
"Yes I have," said Tails.
Sally thought for a moment.
"Not this time, Tails," said
Sally "Now I think you should get some
sleep."
"Aw, Aunt Sally, "began Tails.
"Come on, Tails" said Sonic from
the doorway " if you go to sleep
now,
when you're well, you can go on a race with me through the forest."
Tails didn't need a second
invitation. He laid down in his bed and
went to
sleep.
After Sally and Sonic had left the room,
Sally turned to him.
"You definitely seem to have a way
with children," said Sally.
"Yeah, I understand children
real well," Sonic boasted.
"Takes one to know one, right,"
said Sally.
"Right," said Sonic"...hey,
wait a minute!"
Sally burst out laughing.
"That's not funny, Sal," said
Sonic.
"Sure it is," replied Sally.
Sonic was about to say something else, but
he started laughing too.
The pair walked through Knothole playfully
making fun of each other
as
night once again closed in on the Great Forest.
THE END
