The Knothole Freedom Fighters
Even more time has passed since we last saw the small rebel band of Mobians, as we cast our gaze back into their direction we can see many things have indeed changed.
As the children of Knothole grew older their determination to defeat the one who had destroyed their pasts increased. In the past it used to be only Sir Charles and Rosy that would venture into Robotropolis because they knew the shadow of a once great city like the back of their paws, but as time went on the children would accompany them and help them gather supplies for the thriving village. Now, 11 years after the coup the once oblivious and vulnerable children have grown into a quartet of healthy 16 year olds. Sir Charles and Rosy don't even risk a trip into the smog ridden wastelands that is Robotropolis anymore, instead Sally insisted they could get injured or worse and should stay put within the safety that the Great Forest had to offer. At first of course the two elderly Mobians were having none of it and demanded they should still take routine trips into the city but after many years, time took its toll on the pair and they couldn't keep up with Sally or any of the others. So after much need of convincing Sir Charles and Rosy reluctantly agreed.
Now going back a few years Sally and Bunnie found a small Mobian kit named Miles, since then the boy has grown into a six year old small light brown fox. Because Sally and Bunnie found the boy Sir Charles volunteered to take care of him and that Sally and Bunnie should help out in any way they can. The boy has stayed in Sir Charles' hut ever since and over the years Sir Charles began calling the boy by his namesakes, his two twin tails. And Tails began calling Sir Charles, Sally and Bunnie his Uncle and two Aunts. Sir Charles helped the young fox discover a talent when he was around the age of four; he discovered that he could spin his tails around like a propeller which would enable the small bundle of brown fur to fly. Sir Charles even gave Tails a pair of his nephews old sneakers, he changed the design on the new pair of sneakers having the color scheme still red and white but having the white on the front half of the sneaker and red on the heel half. Tails had really become part of their little family, Sir Charles and Sally even read to him at night but apparently he preferred his Aunt Sally because she could do 'good voices'. Sir Charles told only told Tails about his nephew and how fast he could run, Tails would always get excited and ask where Sir Charles' nephew was. He didn't like to talk about it but he believed Sonic to be dead, everyone else just forgot about him. With age Sally and the rest of the teenagers had forgot who he even was, if you asked they wouldn't even remember his name or what he looked like. Even the pale blue scientist had lost all hope. Sally however would read books to him, that she and her fellow band of Mobians had stolen from Robotropolis.
Now for a long time Tails was the youngest in the village of Knothole and would often have to play on his own, but only a few months ago a small rabbit had come to Knothole. Tails had found her in a meadow while she was unconscious near the oak slide; he pulled her sleeping form over his small shoulder and proceeded onward towards Knothole. When she woke up she revealed that another one of Robotnik's onslaughts had occurred and swept through her small town, the small six year old had witnessed her own Mother crushed by falling debris and her Father cornered by a group of SWATbots. Although she didn't hear him scream, she heard the laser blasts and his dead body hit the ground with a loud thud. She then told everyone that her name was Cream the Rabbit and when she had reached the forest she just continued running for hours until she passed out, and that's when Tails had found her. Upon hearing her story Vanilla decided she should take care of the young orphan, Bunnie also welcomed the idea. The two children have been great friends ever since and haven't spent one single day apart. When Tails would be asked if he liked Cream, he would spit out his tongue and try to avoid the subject. The women of Knothole found it incredibly cute, including Sally and Bunnie.
Now the size and development isn't the only thing that has changed among the small band of teenagers, other significant changes such as responsibilities and priorities have also dramatically changed. As the young children grew older they grew more able physically and emotionally. While Bunnie and Sally are trained to peak physical perfection, Rotor has fine-tuned his mind under the guidance of Sir Charles Hedgehog. With Rotor having such mental capabilities, he was able to build four bionic limbs from spare parts collected form routine raids over the years. The limbs are slim and stylized to fit over the organic limbs of the wearer, Rotor asked for a volunteer and said they'd boost they're physical strength tenfold. Sally passed on the opportunity saying she'd rather be agile and silent but Bunnie agreed and has wore them whenever the team would venture into Robotropolis ever since. They've been a big help to Bunnie and the team over the years, enabling Bunnie to easily dispatch any SWATbot that she faced. The best part about it though is the fact that she can take them off whenever she wants and put them back on whenever trouble shows up. Antoine has been taught in the way of the sword and has sworn to protect Sally, what with him being the only male with a military connection. The connection being his deceased Father he thought he was more than capable of being responsible for her, although I think she can handle herself. Sally is now the leader of the only team that goes into Robotropolis, the team would raid Robotnik's scrap yards for spare parts and sneak into his city for supplies. Sally also hacks into his computer systems using her portable computer named Nicole, Sir Charles gave it to her some time back when she was 12 and told her that her Father would have wanted her to have it. Sir Charles said nothing else on the matter, he mainly used the parts Sally and her team brought back from the ghost town that is Robotropolis. He was and is still to this day working on a machine that can counter the effects of Robotnik's dreaded Roboticizer. He named the project the 'De-Roboticizer'.
Since Sally lead a team she felt it was time for a team name and so named her team after their village and their cause. And so the Knothole Freedom Fighters were born.
Now getting back to the present day, Sally Acorn had been up all night looking over some files on her trusty handheld device Nicole. She had been investigating why Robotnik disappeared every half a year or so and then returned only a few weeks after his departure, and to add insult to injury Sally discovered that Robotnik had been working on some brand new SWATbot designs he codenamed 'STEALTHbot'. She didn't need to look into it too much as the clue is in the name, but why was he building upgraded soldiers? Sally was eager to find out, her and Bunnie had also took out one of Robotnik's surveillance orbs that hovered around his city hoping to catch a glimpse of any intruder that dared to disturb his fortress of evil. She had used Nicole to download its images and the results were surprising to say the least, she had discovered a weird anomaly in each of the pictures. She needed to see what this thing was and decided to discuss it with her fellow Freedom Fighters.
Sally got out of her seat and stepped away from her desk walking into the bathroom. She freshened up and emerged several minutes later in a denim blue vest covering a white tank top, a pair of denim blue shorts and wore a pair of knee high blue boots. She liked the outfit because it matched her eyes; she then opened the door to her hut and caught the sight of Bunnie when she stepped outside into the warm summer air. Summer was a glorious time of year, Bunnie waltzed over to Sally and the two began conversing.
"Hey Sally-girl", Bunnie said whilst wearing a smile.
"Hey Bunnie, how've you been getting on with Cream?". Sally asked greeting her friend back.
"It's been pretty fun, I mean I've always wanted a lil' sister. It's just been my Mom and me for so many years now and you gotta admit she's as cute as a button", Bunnie commented warmly on the sudden change in her life.
"Yeah I felt the same way about Tails, the day he started calling me Aunt Sally my heart just melted". Sally said sincerely.
"Yeah. So anyway Sally-girl, you got any plans for tomorrow?". Bunnie questioned her friend.
"Well no but that reminds me, I need you to get Rotor and Antoine to meet me in Freedom HQ at seven sharp". Sally said as her voice took on a serious tone.
"Oh, okay. But didn't Antoine ask you out on a date tomorrow?", Bunnie casually teased.
"Bunnie, I don't know how many times I need to spell it out for you. I'm not interested in Antoine, I never have been. Not even when I was a little girl, besides I didn't even say yes to his invite". Sally wasn't particularly happy, she was furious.
"Okay okay Sally, geez don't bite my head off. So anyway, why we meeting? I thought we got enough stuff during last week's raids", Bunnie said slightly confused.
"Yes we did but something important has come up and needs some looking into", Sally told her friend.
Bunnie nodded before saluting Sally and then walked off in search of her team members. Sally watched as her friend left before turning around and headed back to her hut, she was blocked by a small brown fox hovering right in front of her face.
"Tails!", Sally said in complete shock.
"Hey Aunt Sally, oh I'm sorry. Did I scare ya?", the young fox kit asked with an apologetic look etched onto his face.
"No it's fine Tails, I was just a little surprised that's all. Are you on your own, where's Cream?". Sally asked her nephew as she breathed in a sigh of relief recovering from the sudden and unexpected shock.
"Here I am!", a young feminine voice called out from behind the stationary princess which made her jump into the air. Cream was stood directly behind her.
"Ahh! Oh Cream, you startled me". Sally said recovering from a second batch of shock today.
"I'm sorry if I scared you Miss Sally, honest". The adorable young rabbit couldn't apologize enough.
"It's okay Cream, and I told you none of this 'Miss Sally' business. Just call me Sally honey", Sally expressed whilst smiling down upon the young rabbit.
Cream gave a huge smile before she ran off with Tails. Sally waved the two children off before she retired to her own hut, she sat at her desk and shuffling through countless sheets of paper before she remembered. She didn't leave Nicole on the desk, she was clipped to her right boot the entire time.
"Nicole, there you are". Sally said opening the small device.
"Where else would I be Sally?", the portable computer answered back in a somewhat sarcastic tone.
Nicole seemed to speak in a tone slightly similar to Sally's own voice, although it had a robotic tint to it.
"Jokes aside Nicole, did you store my presentation for today's meeting?". Sally questioned, being up all night she had completely forgotten whether she had saved it or not.
"Affirmative Sally, shall I process it for viewing?". Nicole asked her owner.
"Go for it Nicole", Sally stated.
While Nicole prepared the file for viewing Sally's mind couldn't help but drift off towards other things. She had begun to think about a weird dream that had been plaguing her for months now, but she had no idea why. She knew what the dream itself was about but not the message it had to offer, the dream was about the coup 11 years ago. An image played back in her mind over and over again, the image itself was incredibly blurry but she could see what was happening all around her. The terror and carnage she had experienced had emotionally and mentally scared her for life, it had scared everyone. Sally chose to forget the events that occurred that night but what she struggled to see each and every time she closed her eyes was a blacked out image. A swift and spikey shape that didn't stand still for a second if she could describe it. She had consulted with Rotor, Bunnie and Antoine many times over about that night but none of them remembered anything. They just chose to forget.
A small beep snapped Sally back to reality and she remembered that she was in her hut.
"File processed and ready for viewing Sally", Nicole reminded Sally in her monotone voice.
"Thanks Nicole, what's the time please?". Sally asked remembering she was pressed for time.
"07:10 pm Sally", Nicole answered.
"What! I've been asleep for hours, I must have dozed off. I'm ten minutes late, come on Nicole". Sally said grabbing her pocket sized super computer and clipping it back on her right boot.
Sally then opened the door to her hut and set off towards the biggest structure in Knothole, the white dome centered in the village known as Freedom HQ.
The view changes from the great outdoors to the interior of a quaint little hut, this particular hut was insanely tidy but contained countless machines and metallic contraptions littered about the place. Two Mobians stood beside a small wooden table that housed a cup of black coffee, Sir Charles Hedgehog and Vanilla Rabboh were chatting about the new addition to their village. Cream the Rabbit.
"So have you gotten used to having little Cream around yet?". Sir Charles asked Vanilla, the current Mobian responsible for Cream's safety.
"Oh definitely, it's just like when my Bunnie was her age. Although she's much shyer than Bunnie ever was, even when I think back though I've always wanted two daughters. What about you Sir Charles? Didn't you ever think about having kids?", Vanilla asked the elder hedgehog wondering why he didn't have any.
"Well I mean when I was young starting a family was the only thing I could think about. But then the Great War happened, I got lost in my work and well... Before I knew it I was way too old to start one. But being an Uncle was enough for me, I can't forget about the day Sonny boy came home from the hospital. You should have seen him, so tiny and fragile but he held a huge smile on his little blue face and he just couldn't stay still for a second. When he grabbed my finger though I just... Well I just don't know how to describe the feeling, by the Goddess he was one in a million". Sir Charles finished picking up the cup of coffee from the table and taking a huge gulp.
Vanilla couldn't even remember whether Sir Charles had a nephew. Side stepping the subject, she continued. "I felt the same way about Bunnie, her long floppy ears were drooped down over her face as though she was hiding. But when I saw those big green doe eyes I just started balling my eyes out".
Whilst reminiscing about their loved ones, another Mobian walked in on the pair. A very high ranking Mobian.
"You're Majesty", Sir Charles and Vanilla both said in unison.
"Please I've told you once I don't want to have to remind you, just call me Alicia. None of this 'You're Majesty' nonsense out here", the Queen of Mobius said.
"Sorry Alicia, old habits die hard". Sir Charles apologized for his mistake.
"I hope I'm not disturbing anything important?", Queen Alicia said to the pair of conversing Mobians.
"No not at all, I and Sir Charles here were just thinking of days gone by. Our children mainly", Vanilla spoke to the female monarch.
"Ah yes, they grow up so fast don't they? I remember as though it was yesterday when I would bounce Sally on my knee, now look at her. She's just as big as me", Queen Alicia said whilst thinking about her daughter.
"She's grown into a beautiful young woman Alicia, and so has young Bunnie. Any man would be lucky to have either of them", Sir Charles said complementing the women's daughters.
Vanilla and Queen Alicia both gave the scientist a small smile.
"Speaking of Sally and Bunnie, I wonder where those two are". Vanilla said to the other two Mobians occupying the room.
Rotor, Antoine and Bunnie were all sat underneath the white dome around a small wooden oak table. They were still waiting for Sally who had been late for just over ten minutes now, and Antoine was feeling a little protective.
"Where is she? She should have having been here minutes ago! I should go look for her, maybe she is being in trouble no?". Antoine said clearly worried about Sally's absence.
"She's only ten minutes late 'Twan, just calm down sugah". Bunnie said a little agitated by Antoine's constant need to save the Princess.
"Bunnie's right Antoine, but he does have a point. Maybe one of us should go and try to look for her". Rotor interjected joining the conversation.
"That won't be necessary Rotor", Sally said surprising everyone with her entrance into Freedom HQ.
"Ma Princess!", Antoine exclaimed in pure joy clearly happy about Sally's arrival.
"Hey Sally-girl, what kept ya?". Bunnie questioned feeling a little something was off.
"I just got lost in my thoughts Bunnie, that's all". Sally explained trying her best to fool her friends with a false smile.
Bunnie nodded but assumed something was troubling her friend. Unlike Antoine and Rotor, Bunnie couldn't be fooled so easily. She knew Sally too well to have the wool pulled over her dark green eyes, but it would have to wait after the meeting. Sally had a look of urgency displayed on her face.
"Was there something you wanted to discuss with us Sally?", Rotor questioned her as she sat down at the wooden table.
"Oh right yes, of course. Nicole open the file and display", Sally issued the command to her computer after unclipping it from her right boot and placing it in the center of the wooden table.
"Affirmative Sally", Nicole said relaying a holographic image. It looked as though it was recorded by one of Robotnik's surveillance orbs.
"This is the variable, right here". Sally said pointing to a blurred blue streak spanning across the entire image.
"It's been ruining Robotnik's side projects for years now, destroying his plans in a matter of weeks or sometimes even days". Sally said looking across the table to Rotor and Bunnie, Antoine didn't really look interested in the image or the meeting. He never really was, he would always shout some unknown French outburst when he disagreed with one of Sally's plans. Sally would just tell him to trust her or Bunnie would tell him to keep his mouth shut, either method to silence the coyote always seemed to work.
"What in the hoo-hah is that Sally-girl?", Bunnie said completely unsure of what she was staring at.
"What Bunnie said Sally, do you have any idea what that thing is?". Rotor said taking a closer look at the image, unfortunately it didn't help him see it any better.
"Not a clue Rotor, whatever it is though it's moving too fast to be seen by the naked eye. The unbelievable thing is though is that if you look at the top right corner of the screen, you can see that at the time this image was taken the surveillance orb just barely managed to record this things speed". Sally said pointing to the place she had referenced.
"2,102 mph! That's impossible! Nothing can move that fast!", Rotor was baffled at how this thing could be travelling that fast.
"Tell me about it, when I first saw it I couldn't believe my own eyes. But if we switch to the next shot and so on, we can see that this thing gets faster and faster as the years go by. From some ancient temple in the sky to a giant amusement park hanging in space, its like this things growing until it reaches its maximum speed. But even on the first image you can clearly see that it's moving a heck of a lot faster than the speed of sound". Sally concluded, but still couldn't believe what she was saying.
"How can anything move that fast? And what do you mean that it's growing, do you think it's organic?". Rotor asked whilst rubbing his eyes, still unable to believe the information he was receiving.
"I haven't the slightest idea, I don't know what this thing is". Sally said still studying the blue streak.
"So there could be a chance it's one of Robotnik's trinkets?". Bunnie asked with her eyes locked onto the unusual blue wonder.
"I don't know whether it's Mobian or robotic but the fastest thing Robotnik has at his disposal are his new STEALTHbots, and they can only reach 100- 120 mph whilst in flight. And nothing Mobian can move this fast, not even a cheetah and they're said to be the fastest animals on the entire planet". Sally evaluated the possibilities only to dismiss each one.
"True Sally but you said that it ruined all of Robotnik's side projects, that it destroyed everything. Correct?", Rotor said rubbing his chin. Maybe he was getting at something.
"Yeah, so?". Sally wondered what the walrus was building up to.
"Well then it doesn't matter what it is, if it's against Robotnik then that automatically means it's on our side. Right?", Rotor said thinking of the possibilities of having this speed machine on their team.
"Maybe Rotor, but it's hardly ever that simple". Sally said thinking realistically.
"So what are you getting at ma Princess? Do you want to recruit zis zing? Zat might be Robotnik's plan, he could have set zis whole zing up to trap us". Antoine said finally joining the debate, and he actually had a pretty good point.
"Good point Antoine, but I highly doubt that. We only have snapshots of this thing when it's travelling. Maybe if we can infiltrate Robotropolis and get into Robotnik's systems, we can see if he has a file on this thing. I mean he's bound to of had some form of contact with this thing, it's been chasing him for years". Sally said to the rest of the team.
"That's a mighty fine idea Sally, maybe if this things a good guy we can get it ta join our cause". Bunnie said enthusiastically.
"Maybe, but we'll have to see how things go first. What's say we do it tomorrow, we get in and get out. Okay?", Sally clipping Nicole back on her right boot.
"Okay then, I'll go and prepare some supplies. This is gonna be great!", Rotor said getting up and out of his chair, he was about to run for his hut until he noticed Bunnie staring at him. He turned to her to see what she wanted and she glanced at Antoine and then to Sally, Rotor knew what she wanted him to do and grabbed Antoine by the arm and dragged him off and into his hut. He'd let him help out with gathering some supplies.
With Rotor and Antoine gone Bunnie figured she could have another talk with Sally.
"Sally, what's wrong?". Bunnie said walking over to her friend.
"What? What do you mean? I'm fine", Sally said hoping Bunnie would buy her lie.
"I'm no moron Sally, I know when you're down in the dumps. What's on your mind Sally-girl?", Bunnie asked seeing through Sally's rouse.
"... Fine, I'm just a little tired that's all. I've been having this weird dream about... Well you know". Sally finally revealed.
"Oh, it's the dream again. Well Sally we've already talked about this, there just ghosts from the past. Nothing important", Bunnie tried to reason with Sally.
"But it feels important, like it's trying to tell me something". Sally said, clearly letting the loss of sleep and weird dream get to her.
"Okay Sally, okay. Maybe you just need some sleep Sally-girl, I mean you look terrible". Bunnie said only just noticing how drained Sally's face looked.
"Alright Bunnie, I have been up all night working on some plans. Thanks", Sally said taking her friends advice.
Bunnie hugged her friend and then walked out of Freedom HQ, she felt she too should get some sleep. After all they were heading into the city tomorrow.
Sally was about to head to her hut and try to get a good night's sleep but then remembered. "That's right; I've got a date with my favorite nephew for a bedtime story". Sally then ran out of Freedom HQ, her blue boots echoing through the now silent village. She waltzed into Sir Charles' hut and was instantly greeted by the scientist.
"Good evening Sally, is it time for young Tails' bedtime story already?". Sir Charles asked the Princess sporting a wide and friendly grin.
"Yeah, time flies when you're planning a trip to Robotropolis". Sally said sarcastically before asking him a question, "Is he in his room?".
"Ready and waiting Sally, just be careful tomorrow". The concerned scientist said whilst giving Sally a small hug.
"Alright Sir Charles, I will do. I'll see you in the morning", Sally said hugging back.
"Of course Sally", Sir Charles said watching her enter Tails' room.
He then sat down on his couch and before he knew it he was sleeping like a baby. Sally closed the door behind her and sat beside Tails on his bed.
"Hey honey, which book is it gonna be tonight?". Sally asked the tired young kit, he looked as though all of today's playing may have exhausted him. Sally felt the same way, exhausted.
"Errm... That one!", Tails said pointing to a book on his small set of shelves Rotor had built for him, obviously excited about the story his Aunt would read to him.
Sally followed the fox's gloved finger to an old worn dusty book; she walked over to the shelf housing the old book and pulled it out of its place. Sally then tried to read the title of the book but was unable due to a thick layer of dust; it had built up over the years which suggested it hadn't been read for quite some time. With a small blow leaving Sally's lips she successfully blew the dust off of the front cover, she then read the title out loud to Tails whilst walking back over to his bedside.
"The Knight of the Wind".
"Oh boy, this is gonna be great!". Tails shouted gleefully.
Sally placed the book on Tails' bedside table for a moment before making sure Tails was tucked in tightly and securely. She then picked the book back up and turned to the first page.
"In a time of witches and demons, sorcerers and dragons there lived a King. A true and just King who did what was right and best for the people of his Kingdom. He was loved throughout the Kingdom and with the legendary sword of Excalibur by his side he came to be the greatest ruler the land had ever seen. Any evil that would dare threaten his people or his Kingdom was quickly destroyed his sword Excalibur, it was said that the sword was the blade of evils bane". Sally read drawing Tails into the story.
"Then what happened Aunt Sally? Did something happen to the King?", Tails asked eager for an answer.
"You'll find out soon enough honey", Sally said whilst smiling. She then looked back down at the book and continued reading.
"But one day an evil presence possessed the King, it changed everything about him and transformed into creature made of pure darkness. A creature the people called the Black Knight. The Black Knight's evil forces spread throughout the land enveloping it in a shadow of everlasting darkness. The people of the Kingdom shook in fear and day by day they gradually began to lose hope fearing that no one was coming to rescue them. Until another knight emerged. No one knew where the knight came from and it is said that he fell straight from the sky, the people of the land described the knight as being covered in blue armor and carrying a sword crafted from pure lightning with feet swifter than the wind. The blue knight swept throughout the land vanquishing all evil that dared get in his way until he confronted the Black Knight himself for an epic battle". Sally read, she herself wondering what was going to happen next.
"Then what happened? Did the blue knight win?", Tails asked shaking with excitement and wonder.
"Let me read on and you'll find out Tails", Sally smiled before she continued reading the book that had even grabbed her attention.
"Steel clashed with steel as the two knights dueled to the finish, shaking the very heavens as they did so. But the blue knight knew that the Black Knight's power was too great even for him to defeat on his own, but instead of giving up it is said that some kind of ancient magic gave the blue knight an incredible burst of power and speed. The divine magic transformed the knight's armor changing it into a blinding gold; the knight himself used the magic to weave an almighty blade from pure gold. And they continued to battle. But although the Black Knight's power was great, the newly transformed gold knight's power was even greater and he proved too fast for the Black Knight to handle. The gold knight defeated the Black Knight and then changed back into his normal self, but chose not to slay the Black Knight. Upon defeating the Black Knight the spell was broken and the Black Knight changed back into the great King. The King then hosted a celebration in honor of the blue knight who had saved his Kingdom when it most needed a hero, but the blue knight had mysteriously disappeared. No one knows what happened to the blue knight, some say they saw him run off into his next quest while others say that he returned to his home world in seek of more adventures to be had and more evil to slay. The people of the land gave the noble blue knight a title; they dubbed him the Knight of the Wind. The End", Sally finished as she closed the book. Even she had to admit that was a pretty good story.
She then turned her head and looked over to Tails to see the tuckered out fox fast asleep with his thumb in his mouth. Sally pouted and leaned over to the fox where she then planted a kiss on his forehead.
"Goodnight honey", Sally whispered to the sleeping fox. She then got up off of Tails' bed and walked over to the bedroom door; upon opening it she walked through the doorway and closed the door gently behind her hoping not to disturb the slumbering fox. When she walked into the living room she discovered that Sir Charles was much like young Tails fast asleep and snoring away on the couch.
"It's about time I went to bed too", Sally said as she walked out of Sir Charles' hut closing the door behind her.
Sally made her way through the silent village not even noticing how eerily quiet it gone when it was night. She walked up to her hut and opened the door, closing it once she was inside. She placed Nicole on her nightstand and walked into her bathroom to prepare for bed. She emerged from her bathroom several minutes later wearing a light blue night gown that her Mother had made for her, after all blue is her favorite color. After getting into her own bed she pulled the covers over her and shut her light brown delicate eye lids waiting for sleep to take her. Sally then thought about the mission tomorrow and hoped it would be a success; they needed all the help they could get in defeating Robotnik.
