Authors Notes: Special Thanks to Uncle Ben from the FUS forums for the idea for this story.
Chapter 1
The smog filled bluish skies above Robotropolis were nothing new to Tristina the hedgehog, even if they did leave a metallic taste in her mouth. The taste was nothing compared to the smell, Which was due to the pollutants hurdled into the air by Robotniks factories.
The disabled hedgehog mentioned none of this as she wheeled down the hall behind Sonic the hedgehog and Princess Sally Acorn. Breathing hard, Tristina, Sonic, and Sally stopped short of a small cover with a almost alien glowing script engraved into the metallic blue cover.
"That's it," said Sally as the three gathered around the door. "Section two module fourteen."
Sonic silently grabbed the deep gray handle at the bottom of the cover and opened it, before turning to Sally and Tristina. "Lets do it to it." the blue hedgehog quipped, holding out his opposite fist to the Princess and his friend.
The three smiled and tapped index fingers, hooked pinkies, and bopped fists in the secret handshake. Sonic then held the cover open for Sally and looked expectantly at Tristina.
"Go on, blue. you know morphing only takes a second." said Tristina, tapping a key of spider legs on her wheelchair. Holding the cover open with one hand, Tristina looked down as several long spindly legs sprouted from the sides of her wheelchair seat.
the wheels, meanwhile, shifted to the back and underneath her seat as Sonic began to disappear into the depths of the air duct. Tristina lowered her bristled light blue head as her converted chair now climbed into the duct with relative ease.
It was a tight squeeze, to be sure. The burnt orange walls of the air duct were littered with moss green cables that carried various amounts of data from one part of Robotropolis to another.
Unlike most people, Tristina was a Mikanuean, which meant she could 'read' bytes and bits of data inside these thick cable wires as easily as a average mobian could read a book. Most of the 'data' was minor tweaks to daily operations, so Tristina ignored it.
As Tristina inched closer and closer to the hunched figures of Sally and Sonic, one bit of data flowing caught her attention. Looking at the cable in question, Tristina frowned at the contents as it flowed past her.
"Whats up, Tiff?" Sonic whispered, kneeling with Sally near a open hatch. "Nothing..." Tristina whispered back, her eyes fading back to a silvery brown.
She didn't want to alert Sonic to this discovery. At least, not yet.
"I'll tell you later." Tristina promised, glancing over Sallys shoulder at the opened hatch in question. Below the trio, a small nasally voiced human paced below them, checking a clipboard positioned in his hands.
Tristina frowned at Snivley as he spoke to himself and, albeit unknowingly, them. "Maximum thorax field. 95.7 % Robotization factor."
"Which one of these control the 'ol Roboticizer?" Asked Sonic, looking around at the cables snaking along the walls. "First, we shut down the alarm" said Tristina, her pupiless glowing ivory eyes scanning the cables.
Tristina then tapped Sallys shoulder and pointed to a light green cable in particular. "Thanks Tiff." said Sally as the hedgehogs eyes faded back to normal. Sally then grabbed both ends of a jointed piece of cable and tugged.
there was a slight crackle of electricity as Sally separated the two ends. "That should do it." Sally reported with a grunt, gingerly setting the cable back down.
"'Should'?" Sonic asked, concerned. "He could have a backup alarm, blue." Tristina explained, peering back down at the roboticizer below them.
"No prob. we can handle it." said Sonic, grinning. "The difficult part will be getting into the roboticizers software, so we can deactivate it." continued Sally, frowning.
"Leave that to me, Princess." said Tristina, smiling. "Come on, ladies." said Sonic in a smooth voice. "With my looks, your brains, and Tiff's hacking ability we're unstoppable."
Tristina smirked as Sally frowned and her eyebrows furrowed. "Your...partly right." said Sally with a hint of sarcasm. "which part?" Sonic asked, confusion flooding over his face. Tristina snickered as Sally sarcastically replied "guess."
"Huh, the handsome good looks part, right?" Sonic asked, grinning. "Your dreaming again, blue." said Tristina, sighing through her nose. Sonic reached into the brown knapsack on his back and pulled out a red rimmed mirror.
"that" said Sonic, pushing back his quills with one hand while holding the mirror with the other. "Is no dream, that is one hedgehog hunk."
As Tristina rolled her eyes to the ceiling, Sally slapped the mirror out of Sonics hand. "Sonic, will you get serious?" Sally hissed as Tristina raised one hand and closed her eyes.
a light blue mini keyboard appeared at her palm. As Tristina began to press keys on the keyboard, Tristina opened her eyes to reveal two white pupiless orbs. "Beginning infiltration of Roboticizers software, Princess." Tristina whispered.
"Yo! I am serious!" Sonic protested as Sally placed a disc in computer slot above her. Inserting the disc, Sally then flipped two small silver switches above her.
Doctor Ivo Robotnik was not having a good day. a large obese man with very little neck, the only hair that could be seen was the well groomed mustache sitting just below Robotniks chiseled nose.
Robotniks black and red eyes scanned the security screens around him, having received a report that a hover pad had gone missing. Shortly afterwards, the early morning swatbot patrol reported signs of intruders had breached the southern parts of Robotropolis.
then two false sightings (each) of The Hedgehog, The Princess, and The Hacker.
leaning back in his chair, Robotnik closed his eyes to rest them when a beeping caught his attention. grumbling to himself for sending his nephew, Snivley, to the Roboticizer to do maintenance.
Doctor Robotnik rose from his seat and pressed the flashing button to read the report.
"Snivley." Robotnik growled in his usual deep metallic poisonous tone. "The Roboticizer is in sabotage mode." "I'll check it sir." came the nasally whine of a reply, and Robotnik leaned his head against the metal frame to rest.
pressing a few buttons on the control panel, Snivley turned to see a small camera like device come up from the floor and began to scan the ceiling. As the heat sensor picked up three forms in the air duct.
"The hedgehogs." Snivley muttered, before coming over the intercom. "Swatbots, sector six red corridor." Nodding a job well done, Snivley jogged over to where the beam was pointing to view his enemies.
Tristina had warned Sonic and Sally when she picked up Snivley scanning for them.
Sonic, cockily, had suggested that they have some fun with Snivley as the heat sensor penetrated the air vent. "Excuse me is this where we catch the monorail for Knothole?" Sonic asked in a fake British accent.
"Go ahead and joke hedgehog but this time we've got you." said Snivley, pointing his finger at Sonic.
"What you've got Snivley is a big fat zip-o!" said Tristina.
"guess again, rodent." said Snivley, walking back to the keyboard. "What I have is your worthless hides."
Tristina gasped and began to cough. "the fire extinguishers!" Sally cried as Tristina began to make her way to the exit.
coughing violently behind Sonic and Sally, Tristina turned her wheelchair around and quietly clinked behind Sonic as he said "What, you cant take a joke?"
arriving a magenta and light pink air vent Sonic and Sally pushed lightly then looked to Tristina.
"Move aside guys." Tristina said, backing up slightly. Tristina twitched the wheelchair forward slightly, which caused the front spider legs to climb up onto the wall.
"Hurry Trish!" Sonic coughed. gritting her teeth in anticipation, Tristina slammed the joystick forward. the bottom of Tristina's wheelchair slammed through the air grate.
"Woah!" Tristina cried, her wheelchair nearly following the grate on its long journey down to the ground.
"Start hovering, Trish!" Sonic cried as he and Sally struggled to keep their grips on the light blue hedgehogs wheelchair.
Hands sweating with fear, Tristina slammed her first, middle, and pinky down on the button with wings on it. as Tristina felt her wheelchair wheels snap into place and begin to act as fans, she called "Let go!"
Sonic and Sally released the hedgehog as she began to float infront of them. Foam had already spilled onto the narrow catwalk below them as Sonic grabbed Sallys wrist, placing one foot on the edge of the foaming air duct.
"Hang tight, Sal!" Sonic called, prepairing to jump. "Sonic, watch it!" Tristina called, having a better vantage point than Sonic. Sally yelped as a laser blast barely nicked her ear, then looked up to see the swatbots on the catwalk above them.
Tristina gasped as two hover units approached her.
Tristina growled as her pupils faded to a flat white. pointing her palm at the first hover unit, Tristina's hand began to glow until a shot from the swatbot on the catwalk grazed the back of her hand.
crying out, Tristina clutched her right hand to her chest while buckling over to protect it.
Hearing Sonic and Sally cry out, Tristina looked to see Sonic grab Sallys hand and jump from the air duct.
"Are you guys okay?" Tristina called, hovering closer to the catwalk as Sonic pulled Sally from the foam.
"Past cool!" Sonic replied, running with Sally. "Now lets just hope the hoverpad is still where we've left it."
Tristina turned around mid hover as Sonic and Sally raced onto a large hovering disc, then took control of it and flew off.
