Okay this where the story gets kind of odd. Please don't mistake the Sally
in this chapter for Princess Sally. She's actually just supposed to be the
original Sally Acorn from the SoA promotional comic strip and the earlier
issues of Sonic The Comic and she's not royalty of any sort. I suppose you
could say she's a combination of Sally's.
1 Chapter 10 Sonic's Old Friend
In Station Square's military airport, Pegasus One was being loaded up for launch with a cargo that Charles had never expected: military grade weapons. Sonic stood by with Tails and Amy as the heavy artillery was piled into the cargo hold. The President walked out towards them.
"Okay," said an angry Sonic. "You said it was either me and my friends or GUN, not both. I'm not working with those idiots!"
"No," said the President, "you're not. It just so happens that GUN produce the best military grade weapons available and something like that will come in handy, won't it? You're not working with them, I know you wouldn't co-operate, so instead you're going to be working with them!"
He turned and cast out his arm towards three people dressed in black coats, each wearing dark sunglasses. One was a purple weasel with a battered brown hat on his head, the next was a female red squirrel and the third was…
"Rouge!" cried Sonic, Tails and Amy all together.
The white female bat removed her glasses revealing her aqua green eyes a smiled; her white fangs clear in the bright sunlight. "Hi, guys," she said. "Nice to see you again. Pity we couldn't get hold of Knuckles for this job, does he have no radio or anything? I'd have liked to have seen him again."
"You've met Rouge, I know," interrupted the President. "Well may I introduce the Mobotropolis Secret Service. These three are some of the service's finest agents. Rouge the Bat, an expert in stealth and theft, Nack the Weasel, our munitions expert, and Sally Acorn, our finest expert in computer programming."
Sonic was shocked and amazed, surprisingly by the last two names especially. Nack the Weasel had been hired by Eggman a couple of years ago to capture Sonic and he had succeeded. The hedgehog found it hard to believe that a criminal bounty hunter like Nack had actually signed on to the Secret Service, and named by the President himself to be one of the finest agents in the service. But he was still more surprised to hear a name he had not heard since he had left South Island over two years ago, when the Death Egg had been destroyed. Sally Acorn had been Sonic's best friend ever since his first days of school. Their last encounter was in tears, for Sonic was going all the way to Station Square, over two thousand kilometres away from South Island across open sea and it was unlikely that they would ever meet again. While Sonic was horribly shocked to find he was working with an old enemy, he was pleasantly surprised now to discover he was working with an old friend. Sonic was amazed by the agents he was working with as were his companions and so it was that they all failed to notice a figure creep stealthily into the shuttle.
"Sally!" he cried with joy. Unable to contain himself, he burst forward and embraced the squirrel, so happy to see her. "Wow! I never thought I'd see you again!"
"Same here," said Sally removing her sunglasses. She had brilliant blue eyes and long wavy red hair that hung down in front of her face in several thick bangs and was tied in a ponytail behind her head. "Of course I've seen you all over the TV and newspapers but you know what I mean. So how have you been?"
"Pretty good, Sal," said Sonic happily. "How about you?
"All right, you two!" said Charles coming out to the shuttle from the. "I knew you two would be pleased, but believe me, the Space Colony ARK's position right now in orbit will give us at least a good five hours before arriving so you'll have all that time to do all the catching up you like on the way. Let's go!"
The last munitions crate was secured on board and the seven passengers were strapped safely in lift off seats ready to go. The engines began to hum. The jet intake vents drew in air and the outside-mirrored glass of the cockpit window glimmered in the sunlight as Pegasus One trundled around and onto the runway of the military airport.
"Goodbye," said the President who had gone up into the control tower. "And good luck!"
The shuttle raced along the runway and lifted into the air, climbing fast. It reached its optimal height of four thousand metres above sea level and the jets cut, the rockets took over and Pegasus One was soon in space again.
It was a long way from here to the ARK as it orbited the Earth like a second moon but much faster. It also orbited from east to west, against the Earth's rotation; it also followed a set course about the equator and did not move up and down like the Moon. Unfortunately the ARK was currently on the other side of the world, so to get to it the fastest, the shuttle was now on an orbital path from west to east to intercept the ARK with all speed.
Still there was as Charles had said a good five hours to go so the crew had to find something to occupy them for now. Charles sat with Tails on the flight deck and discussed the many possibilities now open thanks to this new shuttle and many other things. Nack, Rouge and Sally were going through the crates in the cargo hold, deciding what to arm themselves with once they reached the ARK, of which I might say Nack was extremely enthusiastic about, being a lover of guns and weapons of all kinds. Sonic sat in the dining room with Amy (not his first choice for company however) and they talked on random topics, particularly how much Sonic did not trust Nack.
Nack drew a magnum from the holster at his side.
"See that gal?" he said to Rouge. "It was me dad's. Been in the family since… erm… since me old man bought it. Anyways, he 'anded it down to me."
"Did he die?" asked Rouge who was studying a crate of automatic weapons.
"Dunno," said Nack. "I ain't seen him since I was sixteen! The old tosspot kicked me out 'cause he says I was too big for 'im to handle. I got even though and nicked off with 'is pride 'n' joy." He stroked the well- polished gun. "Rough 'n' tough out there in the outback I can tell ya."
"Hmmm," Rouge mused. "I'm not a fan of the big loud and clear type of approach, I prefer to be more subtle, that's what made me a professional treasure hunter. Any gun I've ever carried had a silencer. I suppose I'll make an exception just this once." She armed herself with a pair of uzis.
Nack holstered his gun and picked up a nine-millimetre automatic, a shotgun and a long combat knife with a serrated edge. All these he attached to himself with a series of gun belts and holsters. Finally he opened a large crate and took out a huge automatic assault rifle and slung it over his shoulder with its strap.
"You got quite enough?" asked Sally. "You look like you're going to war."
"D'ya know 'ow many robots we'll be up against?" asked Nack. "Probably a few million, y'know. Gotta be ready."
"Now that's what I call trigger-happy!" asked Rouge.
"Nothin' like a nice gun," grinned the weasel, arming himself with spare ammunition for each gun and a belt of grenades.
Sally got up and left the cargo hold, she wanted to talk to Sonic.
Sonic was getting bored now. Amy was talking about all sorts of things that didn't interest him in the least and he was just staying there to be polite. At length he heard Amy say; "Well anyway, I think I'll go and have a bit of a sleep now, we've still got four and a half hours at least before we get to the ARK." He looked up and saw her cross the corridor from the dining room to the staircase down into the living quarters below the flight deck. He gave a sigh of relief and decided to find Sally, but there was no need for even as he made to get up she came through the doorway.
"I'm sorry," said Sonic. "We said we'd stay in touch."
"We didn't though, did we?" said Sally. "I'm sorry too. It's as much my fault as it is yours. I've missed you."
"I've missed you too," said Sonic. "You've grown up to be really beautiful, Sal. I always thought you were pretty y'know but you've really got… well… stunning."
Sally blushed. "Thanks," she said. "You're still as cute as ever. You haven't changed at all in two years."
"Not much," said Sonic. "So where are you living now?"
"South Island still," said Sally. "When I'm on leave that is. I usually am you see, that's the good thing about this job, lots of free time and brilliant pay. When I'm working I usually get an apartment wherever I'm assigned and that can be anywhere in the world. I've got enough money to move to Station Square though, and I think I will."
"Why not move straight in at my uncle's?" asked Sonic. "You can stay with us 'til you find yourself a place."
"I might just do that."
Sonic and Sally sat together in the dining room for quite a while. All was quiet save the low murmur of the engines feeding the shuttle with power. They sat very close together and soon Sonic had his arm around Sally. She made no objection.
"Kiss me," she said and Sonic obliged.
Tails walked passed the dining room entrance on the way back to the flight deck having gone to get a snack from the kitchen. He glanced in and saw Sonic and Sally in each other's arms kissing. Tails had known that Sonic and Sally had been great friends, maybe greater friends than himself and Sonic, but he'd never thought it could go this far. He returned to the flight deck rather flustered.
"What's wrong?" asked Charles. "Eat something spicy?"
"No," said Tails. "Did Sonic ever go out with Sally?"
"All the time!" said Charles. "They were best friends. They did just about everything together."
"No, I mean go out as in on a date?"
"Erm… Not that I know of, Tails. They were best friends of course but I never saw it going further than that."
"Well it's just that they're making out in the dining room, and it's not because they're happy to see each other. I think Sonic's in love." He sniggered.
"Good for him," Charles didn't even raise his head in surprise. "I'll remember to snigger when you get a girlfriend Mister Prower."
That shut Tails up. He wanted to go and see if Sonic and Sally were still at it but Charles wouldn't have it.
"You just stay here," he said. "It's none of your business is Sonic's love-life (if he actually has one, maybe he's too cool for it). Anyway, I need two sets of eyes up here at least to make sure we're flying straight and on course."
"Yeah, whatever," laughed Tails, as the shuttle hurtled onwards towards its destination.
1 Chapter 10 Sonic's Old Friend
In Station Square's military airport, Pegasus One was being loaded up for launch with a cargo that Charles had never expected: military grade weapons. Sonic stood by with Tails and Amy as the heavy artillery was piled into the cargo hold. The President walked out towards them.
"Okay," said an angry Sonic. "You said it was either me and my friends or GUN, not both. I'm not working with those idiots!"
"No," said the President, "you're not. It just so happens that GUN produce the best military grade weapons available and something like that will come in handy, won't it? You're not working with them, I know you wouldn't co-operate, so instead you're going to be working with them!"
He turned and cast out his arm towards three people dressed in black coats, each wearing dark sunglasses. One was a purple weasel with a battered brown hat on his head, the next was a female red squirrel and the third was…
"Rouge!" cried Sonic, Tails and Amy all together.
The white female bat removed her glasses revealing her aqua green eyes a smiled; her white fangs clear in the bright sunlight. "Hi, guys," she said. "Nice to see you again. Pity we couldn't get hold of Knuckles for this job, does he have no radio or anything? I'd have liked to have seen him again."
"You've met Rouge, I know," interrupted the President. "Well may I introduce the Mobotropolis Secret Service. These three are some of the service's finest agents. Rouge the Bat, an expert in stealth and theft, Nack the Weasel, our munitions expert, and Sally Acorn, our finest expert in computer programming."
Sonic was shocked and amazed, surprisingly by the last two names especially. Nack the Weasel had been hired by Eggman a couple of years ago to capture Sonic and he had succeeded. The hedgehog found it hard to believe that a criminal bounty hunter like Nack had actually signed on to the Secret Service, and named by the President himself to be one of the finest agents in the service. But he was still more surprised to hear a name he had not heard since he had left South Island over two years ago, when the Death Egg had been destroyed. Sally Acorn had been Sonic's best friend ever since his first days of school. Their last encounter was in tears, for Sonic was going all the way to Station Square, over two thousand kilometres away from South Island across open sea and it was unlikely that they would ever meet again. While Sonic was horribly shocked to find he was working with an old enemy, he was pleasantly surprised now to discover he was working with an old friend. Sonic was amazed by the agents he was working with as were his companions and so it was that they all failed to notice a figure creep stealthily into the shuttle.
"Sally!" he cried with joy. Unable to contain himself, he burst forward and embraced the squirrel, so happy to see her. "Wow! I never thought I'd see you again!"
"Same here," said Sally removing her sunglasses. She had brilliant blue eyes and long wavy red hair that hung down in front of her face in several thick bangs and was tied in a ponytail behind her head. "Of course I've seen you all over the TV and newspapers but you know what I mean. So how have you been?"
"Pretty good, Sal," said Sonic happily. "How about you?
"All right, you two!" said Charles coming out to the shuttle from the. "I knew you two would be pleased, but believe me, the Space Colony ARK's position right now in orbit will give us at least a good five hours before arriving so you'll have all that time to do all the catching up you like on the way. Let's go!"
The last munitions crate was secured on board and the seven passengers were strapped safely in lift off seats ready to go. The engines began to hum. The jet intake vents drew in air and the outside-mirrored glass of the cockpit window glimmered in the sunlight as Pegasus One trundled around and onto the runway of the military airport.
"Goodbye," said the President who had gone up into the control tower. "And good luck!"
The shuttle raced along the runway and lifted into the air, climbing fast. It reached its optimal height of four thousand metres above sea level and the jets cut, the rockets took over and Pegasus One was soon in space again.
It was a long way from here to the ARK as it orbited the Earth like a second moon but much faster. It also orbited from east to west, against the Earth's rotation; it also followed a set course about the equator and did not move up and down like the Moon. Unfortunately the ARK was currently on the other side of the world, so to get to it the fastest, the shuttle was now on an orbital path from west to east to intercept the ARK with all speed.
Still there was as Charles had said a good five hours to go so the crew had to find something to occupy them for now. Charles sat with Tails on the flight deck and discussed the many possibilities now open thanks to this new shuttle and many other things. Nack, Rouge and Sally were going through the crates in the cargo hold, deciding what to arm themselves with once they reached the ARK, of which I might say Nack was extremely enthusiastic about, being a lover of guns and weapons of all kinds. Sonic sat in the dining room with Amy (not his first choice for company however) and they talked on random topics, particularly how much Sonic did not trust Nack.
Nack drew a magnum from the holster at his side.
"See that gal?" he said to Rouge. "It was me dad's. Been in the family since… erm… since me old man bought it. Anyways, he 'anded it down to me."
"Did he die?" asked Rouge who was studying a crate of automatic weapons.
"Dunno," said Nack. "I ain't seen him since I was sixteen! The old tosspot kicked me out 'cause he says I was too big for 'im to handle. I got even though and nicked off with 'is pride 'n' joy." He stroked the well- polished gun. "Rough 'n' tough out there in the outback I can tell ya."
"Hmmm," Rouge mused. "I'm not a fan of the big loud and clear type of approach, I prefer to be more subtle, that's what made me a professional treasure hunter. Any gun I've ever carried had a silencer. I suppose I'll make an exception just this once." She armed herself with a pair of uzis.
Nack holstered his gun and picked up a nine-millimetre automatic, a shotgun and a long combat knife with a serrated edge. All these he attached to himself with a series of gun belts and holsters. Finally he opened a large crate and took out a huge automatic assault rifle and slung it over his shoulder with its strap.
"You got quite enough?" asked Sally. "You look like you're going to war."
"D'ya know 'ow many robots we'll be up against?" asked Nack. "Probably a few million, y'know. Gotta be ready."
"Now that's what I call trigger-happy!" asked Rouge.
"Nothin' like a nice gun," grinned the weasel, arming himself with spare ammunition for each gun and a belt of grenades.
Sally got up and left the cargo hold, she wanted to talk to Sonic.
Sonic was getting bored now. Amy was talking about all sorts of things that didn't interest him in the least and he was just staying there to be polite. At length he heard Amy say; "Well anyway, I think I'll go and have a bit of a sleep now, we've still got four and a half hours at least before we get to the ARK." He looked up and saw her cross the corridor from the dining room to the staircase down into the living quarters below the flight deck. He gave a sigh of relief and decided to find Sally, but there was no need for even as he made to get up she came through the doorway.
"I'm sorry," said Sonic. "We said we'd stay in touch."
"We didn't though, did we?" said Sally. "I'm sorry too. It's as much my fault as it is yours. I've missed you."
"I've missed you too," said Sonic. "You've grown up to be really beautiful, Sal. I always thought you were pretty y'know but you've really got… well… stunning."
Sally blushed. "Thanks," she said. "You're still as cute as ever. You haven't changed at all in two years."
"Not much," said Sonic. "So where are you living now?"
"South Island still," said Sally. "When I'm on leave that is. I usually am you see, that's the good thing about this job, lots of free time and brilliant pay. When I'm working I usually get an apartment wherever I'm assigned and that can be anywhere in the world. I've got enough money to move to Station Square though, and I think I will."
"Why not move straight in at my uncle's?" asked Sonic. "You can stay with us 'til you find yourself a place."
"I might just do that."
Sonic and Sally sat together in the dining room for quite a while. All was quiet save the low murmur of the engines feeding the shuttle with power. They sat very close together and soon Sonic had his arm around Sally. She made no objection.
"Kiss me," she said and Sonic obliged.
Tails walked passed the dining room entrance on the way back to the flight deck having gone to get a snack from the kitchen. He glanced in and saw Sonic and Sally in each other's arms kissing. Tails had known that Sonic and Sally had been great friends, maybe greater friends than himself and Sonic, but he'd never thought it could go this far. He returned to the flight deck rather flustered.
"What's wrong?" asked Charles. "Eat something spicy?"
"No," said Tails. "Did Sonic ever go out with Sally?"
"All the time!" said Charles. "They were best friends. They did just about everything together."
"No, I mean go out as in on a date?"
"Erm… Not that I know of, Tails. They were best friends of course but I never saw it going further than that."
"Well it's just that they're making out in the dining room, and it's not because they're happy to see each other. I think Sonic's in love." He sniggered.
"Good for him," Charles didn't even raise his head in surprise. "I'll remember to snigger when you get a girlfriend Mister Prower."
That shut Tails up. He wanted to go and see if Sonic and Sally were still at it but Charles wouldn't have it.
"You just stay here," he said. "It's none of your business is Sonic's love-life (if he actually has one, maybe he's too cool for it). Anyway, I need two sets of eyes up here at least to make sure we're flying straight and on course."
"Yeah, whatever," laughed Tails, as the shuttle hurtled onwards towards its destination.