"You're still helping us, even now dad. Thanks." Sally said to herself as she was studying the device her father had previously given to her when she last met him in the void*. The device contained valuable information about other Freedom Fighter groups around the world opposed to Dr. Robotnik, but it also contained coordinates of places of interest, one of them being the secret treasury. Sally was typing on a computer terminal she had hooked up to her handheld computer Nicole, she groaned in frustration as she was unfortunately not able to find much useful information on the object the team had discovered.
"I can't find anything on how this thing works, Nicole. So far all I've been able to find are museum entires with little information and crackpot theories written by nutbars!" Sally said, groaning and leaning back in her chair, staring at the ceiling.
"All articles contain conflicting and highly theoretical information, I will extrapolate common information. Most commonly cited: Object is of ancient, pre-Mobian origin. There are seven objects in total. Object is a vast power source. Object appeared most recently 50 years ago and was studied by Professor Gerald Robotnik of the United Federation." Nicole said, listing the various pieces of useful information she was able to find.
"Did you say Robotnik?" Sally asked, sitting up in her chair.
"Correct, Prof. Gerald Robotnik. Age 65 at time of death, he was a scientist working for the United Federation and studied the Chaos Emeralds. He was executed 50 years ago due to negligence causing mass death via firing squad. No other information available." Nicole said.
"Mass Death sounds pretty par for the course for Robotnik." Sally said, Sally leaned back again in her chair and sighed.
"Well, I wish Sonic would get back with that thing so that we could finally know what exactly we're dealing with." Sally said. Just as she finished her sentence, a loud sonic boom was heard outside, followed by a loud gust of wind.
"Speak of the devil." She said to herself as she got up and went outside of her house where she saw Sonic and Tails arrive on her front lawn. Sonic leaned against a wooden post with his hands behind his back and smiling.
"Hey Sal, special delivery!" Sonic said, tossing the Chaos Emerald to Sally the Squirrel which she caught. She looked at the emerald, which was red in color and sparkled like a dancing flame when the sunlight bounced off of it.
"Wow, this thing is really something. Thanks Sonic!" Sally said as she took the emerald back inside, gesturing the others to come in.
"Hey Sally, who was that weasel guy anyway?" Tails asked as he walked into Sally's house. Sally put the Chaos Emerald into a scanning device attached to Nicole so that her computer could continue studying it.
"Nack? He's just another bounty hunter working for Robotnik, instead of doing what's right and fighting against him." Sally said as she sat back down on her chair.
"A lousy one too! No matter how many times he tries to pull one over on us we always come out on top. I think I'll call him "Slack" the weasel from now on." Sonic said, causing Tails to laugh.
"So Sal, what is this thing anyway? And since when was El Tubbo so into jewellery? Sonic asked, referring to Dr. Robotnik's constant sending of Nack to steal the Chaos Emerald from the Freedom Fighters since the mad scientist discovered it's existance.
"That's what we're trying to find out. But if what I've discovered so far holds true, we might have something very big and dangerous on our hands." Sally said as Nicole continued to scan the red Chaos Emerald.
Meanwhile, Nack had returned to Robotropolis, the base of operations of Dr. Robotnik and capital of his robotic empire which ruled the majority of the planet. As he rode into the city on the Marvelous Queen, who's skies were blackened by smog, he coughed a little and looked up at the massive, mechanical, cone shaped tower which served as Robotnik's command center, his "Royal Palace" as it were. When Nack arrived at his destination, he dismounted his dented hovercycle and tried to enter the building only to be stopped by two SWATbots.
"Halt! Intruder! You are under ar..." The SWATbot attempted to say in it's monotone, mechanical voice before it's head exploded into shrapnel from a single bullet fired by Nack's gun. The weasel blew smoke from the barrel and then pointed it at the other SWATbot guarding the entrance.
"The doc sent for me, and in case you can't already tell you bloody knob, I'm having a bugger of a day! Now get out of my way!" Nack said angrily, the SWATbot complied and stepped aside.
"Welcome to Robotropolis, and have a great day." The SWATbot said in a deep, greeting voice.
"Piss off! Nack said as he entered the building. Nack made his way down the labyrinthine tunnels and corridors of Robotnik's command center, passing by the occasional SWATbot or Robian* doing routine errands around the city. Nack approached a pair of large, mechanical doors with Robotnik's logo on the front, which were protected by another pair of elite guard robots, the weapons they wielded being a cross between a spear and a laser blaster. The two robots, unlike the SWATbots on the outside, moved aside and quietly allowed Nack to pass through on Robotnik's orders. Nack approached the doors and they slid open with a mechanical buzz, revealing a room full of monitors and controls, seperated from the outside by a long bridge which was suspended over a huge pit into darkness. From his command center, Robotnik was able to monitor every sector of Robotropolis and the areas surrounding it, or so he thought. In the center of the room, facing away from Nack and sitting on a rotating mechanical chair waited none other than Dr. Julian Robotnik, ruler of Mobius.
"G'day doc." Nack said.
"Well, you actually made it here on time. I hope you know that SWATbot you destroyed is coming out of your pay." Said Robotnik, his dark voice echoing throughout the room.
"Hey, it's not my fault that bodgy rust bucket thought I was someone else! I saved you the trouble of having to destroy it yourself!" Nack said.
Robotnik's chair spun around swiftly, revealing the large, fat, bald human who had a large orange mustache and red cybernetic eyes, cybernetic ears and a mechanical arm. He was clad in a red uniform with large shoulders, black pants, and a yellow cape.
"Don't talk back to me you idiot! You've failed again! What do I pay you for!?" Robotnik said angrily.
"In case you haven't noticed, with that freak of nature Sonic running around my job has suddenly become a lot more difficult, so cut me some slack." Nack responded. Robotnik stood up from his chair and approached Nack the Weasel.
"Have you at least found the location of their secret base?" Robotnik asked.
"The only thing I know is that it's in the Great Forest. I've never been there myself, when I stole the Emerald I nabbed it from the squirrel as she was on her way back." Nack said, this however was a lie as Nack had stolen the emerald directly from the village. Robotnik responded by grabbing Nack by the throat and lifting him off the ground, bringing him face to face with him.
"I already knew that you imbecile! I meant specifics, coordinate!" Robotnik yelled as Nack struggled to prevent the doctor from crushing his throat with his mechanical arm.
"Come on doc... I could... get it! Give me another... chance!" Nack managed to say as Robotnik strangled him. The doctor then released him, dropping Nack to the ground, who slowly stood up and caught his breath.
"You have only one more chance bounty hunter. You WILL get me that Chaos Emerald and the location of the Freedom Fighters' base of operations or I will crush your weasel head like a ripe melon in my hand until... pop goes the weasel." Robotnik said, clenching his hand into a fist and emphasisizing his last line coldly before finally sitting back down on his command chair. Nack got up and headed out the door.
"I can do this doc!" Nack said before he left.
"I hope for your sake you're right, bounty hunter." Robotnik said, the doors shutting behind Nack as he left the room. Suddenly, his balding, pointy nosed nephew and second in command Snively appeared on one of the many monitors in the room.
"D... Dr. Robotnik suh. The new bounty hunter has arrived." The little human said nervously, Robotnik grinned.
"Put him on." Robotnik said. The screen became static and a tall, mobian figure then appeared on the screen, shrouded in the darkness of Robotropolis. He wore a wide brimmed hat and his most prominent feature were yellow, glowing eyes with eliptical pupils.
"Howdy." The figure said in a raspy voice with a strong Texan accent.
"I have a mission for you, Mr. Sever." Robotnik said, tapping his fingers against the armpiece of his command chair.
*SatAM Season 2, Episode 8 "The Void".
*Roboticized Mobian. Mobians who are captured by Robotnik are usually turned to robots using a device called the Roboticizer.