Authoress' Note: Perhaps you've noticed something different about every chapter in this story. Want to know what it is? No review responses! Being the law-abiding and careful citizen I am (you should see me when I'm driving) and in light of the new feature which allows you to respond to reviews via e-mail, I decided to get rid of the review responses in the previous chapters. But that doesn't mean I still won't answer them! On with the show!

Chapter 10: Breaking the Fast

The light of the newly-risen sun shone down on the campsite of the Freedom Fighters, illuminating the forms of tents and eight dead-to-the-world hedgehogs and one sleeping fox under a tree. The entire camp was positioned as close to Robotnik's fortress as possible without being detected. A few stars continued to twinkle in the portion of sky that was still dark and the muted sounds of crickets and the occasional owl could still be heard.

Twweeeeet!

The shrill sound of a whistle shattered the relative silence, followed closely by a gruff voice barking, "Rise and shine, rookies!"

A few heads poked sleepily out of their tents to glare at a large, muscular, brown dog in a greenish-grey army uniform.

A kangaroo named MacHopper took note of the position of the sun in the sky and yawned. "It's only six o'clock in the morning, mate."

"Exactly, young man!" yelled Sergeant Doberman. "I've already let you all sleep in a whole half-hour! Now fall in!"

But they all withdrew back into their tents.

"Forget it."

"Go away."

"And pipe down."

Sergeant Doberman growled. "Now listen here, you lazy civilians! I'll have you all know that being retired doesn't stop me from getting up at five hundred hours sharp every morning! And, furthermore, all the robots are up too, making breakfast!"

"That's because robots don't need sleep, you big, silly pooch," yawned Hodgepodge, a brown hare.

Sergeant Doberman turned irately to the tent where the voice had come from. "Hey, you! That's no way to speak to your commanding officer! Get out here and give me ten thou…"

"Honey!" a high-pitched voice called out. "I've lost my glasses!"

"Coming, dear!" With that, Sergeant Doberman hurried off to the makeshift artillery range where his wife was practicing.

"Good, he's gone. Now let's get some shuteye."

"…"

"…Hey, wait a minute. Didn't he say the robots are cooking breakfast?"

"…!"

Sergeant Doberman lifted his face out of the dirt from which it had been trampled into, spat out a few broken teeth and shouted, "Now that's more… Hey!"

Everyone had sat themselves down at a bunch of picnic tables. Nearby, various robots were preparing food on several barbecue grills.

Sergeant Doberman shakily stood up, hollering, "Get away from there! No rations until I've seen you march!"

"And get a stomach ache? I don't think so, palsy!" retorted Wes Weasley, a tall weasel in a door-to-door salesman's suit. "Although then I'd probably be able to sell these new ultra-deluxe Topep-Molbis pills: guaranteed to take care of your stomach ills!"

"Well then, Weasley. If you're so keen…"

"Darling! Get over here and help me find my specs!"

"Yes, sweetheart!" And off he went again.

"Nnnnooooooooooooooo!" Erik fearfully got down on his knees and clasped his hands in a begging gesture. "Please, your honour! Have mercy! Anything but that!"

The judge looked coolly down on the grovelling boy. "Forget it, Erik. You're going to stay in the Neutral Zone for a week, whether you like it or not. Of course, there's no 'whether' about it."

"I'm innocent, I tell you. Innocent!"

The judge's frown transformed into a glare. "In case you haven't been paying attention this whole trial, over two dozen people saw you pull that not-so-funny stunt."

Erik tried a different approach. "I'll do anything…else! Feed the greenhouse's Piranha Plants, go to Cool, Cool Mountain in nothing but my underwear, I'll even let myself come down with Bean Fever and turn into a bean, just don't, please don't, by all that is good and holy, send me to live among those…those…those bloodthirsty barbarians for a whole week! I won't last seven seconds, let alone seven days!"

"Sorry, Erik, but the decision stands." The judge slammed his mallet down. "Take him away!"

A couple of guards marched up to Erik, lifted him up bodily by his arms and frogmarched him, kicking and screaming, out the door.

"It was really nice knowing you, Erik," a friend of his said as he walked by, taking off his cap and placing it near his chest while another asked, "Can I have your card collection?" In addition, someone in the courtroom started whistling 'Taps.'

"That guy is so officially doomed," uttered a male member of the jury as everybody started leaving.

"Yeah," agreed another. "Those savages will use any excuse for a fight. Especially a Fan of any other culture."

"You know what they fight about the most? The perfect girlfriend for Sonic."

"Yeah! Unlike them, we Mario Fans all agree that Peach belongs with Mario and Daisy belongs with Luigi. Ow!"

A young woman angrily pulled on his ear. "'Belongs?' Are you saying that women are men's property to use as they choose? Then our date is off, Darrel!" She marched off.

Darrel desperately chased after her. "No, wait, Patricia! That's not what I meant at all! Come back! Please forgive me! Does this mean marriage is totally out of the question? Hey, wait a second, isn't that the bouquet of Fire Flowers I… Yyyeeeeooowwwwwcchh! Hot, hot, hot! Help!"

"Oh Sonic," called Miss Possum. "The chili dogs are ready."

Immediately, Fleetway Sonic, SEGA Sonic, AoStH Sonic, SatAM Sonic, SU Sonic, Archie Sonic and Tails woke up and zoomed to one of several picnic tables, big grins on their faces.

"Yum!" commented Tails. He was about to take a bite of one when he noticed something.

"Sonic, those three Sonics are still asleep!" He pointed towards Anime Sonic and Sonic X .

Fleetway Sonic walked over and shook Anime Sonic. "Come on, lazybones, wake up. Time for breakfast."

Anime Sonic responded by rolling over.

"Yo, slowmoes!" called SatAM Sonic. "They're serving chili dogs!"

Still no response.

SEGA Sonic scratched his head in bewilderment. "They must be really tired if even chili dogs can't wake them up."

Princess Sally looked over at a nearby radio sitting on a table and got an idea. Smirking sneakily, she picked it up, brought the radio over to the two hedgehogs' ears as close as possible, turned the volume up and switched it on.

A song started playing full blast and Anime Sonic and Sonic X instantly sat bolt upright yet it wasn't the loudness of the song that woke them so much as the lyrics.

"Sonic the Hedgehog!

"You can't catch what you can't see.

"Sonic the Hedgehog!

"He's gonna make Mobius free!

"He's a teenage fugitive on the run

"Eating chili dogs by the ton!

"No matter how fast the chase becomes,

"There's always time to have some fun!"

Sonic X grinned and did a thumbs-up. "Great song!"

"'Mobius'?" repeated Anime Sonic in confusion. "What's that? A grand city?"

Everyone stared at him for a moment before AoStH Sonic answered, "It's the name of the planet I live on. Where we are right now, of course."

"What?" shouted Anime Sonic in incredulity. "What kind of name is that for a planet?"

"Well, what's the name of yours?" queried Fleetway Sonic in a rude tone.

"Planet Freedom."

SatAM Sonic cocked an eyebrow. "I take it Robuttnik hasn't conquered your world."

"Nah. Just the inner dimension."

"The what?"

"You know, the… Oh wait, don't tell me; this planet's just like the others in my universe's solar system. One dimension only."

"What are you talking about?" enquired a confounded SU Sonic.

"Planet Freedom is made of two dimensions:" explained Anime Sonic, "the Land of Darkness, which is the inner dimension, and the Land of the Sky, which is the outer dimension."

"What are they like?" asked Archie Sonic curiously.

"Well, the Land of Darkness is usually dark, hence the name, because the Land of the Sky above blocks out most sunlight. Nothing lives there except Dr. Robotnik and several plants which had adapted to their dark habitats. The Land of the Sky is, as you might have guessed, in the sky, composed of several floating islands. I live there, along with most of the planet's inhabitants."

"Wow."

"I was wondering earlier," continued Anime Sonic, "how there could be such a big ocean in the outer dimension of this world since, in my world, the biggest sea is in the Land of Darkness. I should have figured this planet wasn't like mine."

"And speaking of oceans," Archie Sonic turned to AoStH Sonic, "mind telling us how you knew Merna was in trouble?"

AoStH Sonic grinned with embarrassment. "Heh heh, I kind of don't know myself. It was just a feeling I got. I think Merna was telling me with her mind that she was in danger."

"That's something like how I did it." A large aquarium the size of a tank on wheels came over with Merna's head sticking out. "I'd explain more but it's forbidden. If we merhogs tell outsiders all of our secrets, we'd lose our heritage."

"Really."

At that moment, Coconuts, Scratch and Grounder strolled by, talking amongst themselves.

"It's about time someone realized what geniuses we really are," discussed Scratch happily.

"Yeah," agreed Grounder, "but I'd never thought that any Sonic would admit it. He's too stupid to understand just how bright we are."

"You mean stubborn," corrected Coconuts.

AoStH Sonic rolled his eyes then said to SEGA Sonic, "You really shouldn't have told them they're smart."

"Well…" stalled SEGA Sonic, trying to think up a way to explain, "they are…at least, compared to the robots in my universe."

The three Badniks stopped and listened with interest. Tails' eyes widened. "You mean there're actually robots that are even more stupid than those three dumbots?

"They'd have to be pretty brain-dead," quipped AoStH Sonic.

"Well, the robots in my dimension talk like this." SEGA Sonic cleared his throat and said, in a monotone, "I – only – serve – my – master."

Nearly everyone within hearing range gasped and Coconuts remarked, "Yikes! The robots in that Sonic's world are so unintelligent, they don't even know how to talk right!"

Robot, looking offended, rolled up to the monkeybot and said a series of bleeps and clicks that were intelligible only to robots.

"I didn't mean it that way, Robot," clarified Coconuts, "You talk normal."

Robot seemed satisfied. Then he turned around and saw Metal Knuckles stalking towards him, a malevolent grin plastered on his face. He gave a squeal of terror and hid behind his 'parents,' (or, at least, the people who had created him) Scratch and Grounder.

Scratch glowered at the robotic echidna. "Hey! Get away from our Schnookums!"

"Yeah! Or else!" added Grounder.

Metal Knuckles scoffed. "Or else what?"

"Or else you'll have to contend with me."

Metal Knuckles turned around and saw Metal Sonic in a fighting pose.

The robotic hedgehog moved closer. "Don't make another move."

Metal Knuckles rolled his eyes. "Metal Sonic, what did Breezie guarantee you this occasion?" Metal Sonic was a lot smarter than Coconuts, Scratch and Grounder combined but when it came to romance, he could sometimes be just as gullible. The fact that Breezie could be quite seductive and manipulative didn't help matters either.

"A kiss in trade for keeping you from injuring that automaton."

Metal Knuckles stomped up to him. "When are you going to discover that that daft female will not, does not, shall not and cannot feel affection for you?"

Metal Sonic's eyes widened then furrowed into a glare as he screamed, "You have the effrontery to affront my treasured Breezie?!" He pounced and so began an all-out brawl.

Some people cheered them on while others laughed. Robotnik Junior was one of the latter. "That was great, Breezie!" he remarked to his wife.

"Works every time," she stated with a smug grin.