Sally Says: The Missing Year – Pt 1
Water, cool clear water, she always felt refreshed and purified when she was immersed in it; though she preferred the pure streams and lakes of the Wood Zone rather than an artificial chlorine filled pool like this one. The water left her fur feeling fresh and clean, purified of the stink of daily mobian politics and the shady deals that were made in backrooms behind the Senate chamber. She was diving down to the bottom of the pool once again when she heard a voice call out to her from the surface.
"Princess Sally." The orange female fox called out. "Princess, the Down Unda Press is ready to speak with you now." The vixen looked down at her clipboard. "And you have a reservation in the royal box at the Symphonia Operahouse at 7:30. Prince Ray will meet you there."
"Thank you, for that Lady Cylie." Sally said, climbing out of the water. "By the ancient walkers, these good will tours sure take a lot out of you, don't they." The Princess gasped. Her chest heaving up and down as she took heavy breathes from all her exercise. "What else is on the list for today?"
As the lithe princess climbed up the ladder, the eye of every noble and wealth mobian in and around the pool turned to stare at the athletic frame covered only by a yellow bikini. Many of them watched her dripping wet form walk towards the locker room and wrap a towel around her waist: The women with envy and the men with desire. The younger fox girl followed closely behind her flipping the pages around on her already stuffed schelude.
"Well, let's see here. You have a tennis match with Princess Blaze tomorrow and the proceeds go to the Orphans of Julian's War Benefit. After that you have a martial arts tournament you will be hosting that the Chun-nin King, Monkey Khan, will be competing in." Cylie raised an eyebrow. "Oh, and there is a little matter of the hotel you and Ray are staying in wanting to charge the royal treasure extra for something about a destroyed mattress and bed springs."
"That will be all, Lady Cylie." Sally replied, turning away to cover the red marks on her cheeks. "Now, if you will go ahead and inform the Lord Mare of Symphonia that I will be a few minutes late." Sally narrowed her eyes. "Oh and be sure to tell the other ladies in waiting not to wear dresses that reveal their bare midsections. We are members of a royal court, not exotic dancers at sleazy nightclub."
"Yes, Princess." The young fox shook her head. "By the way, I'll be wearing my red Amy Rose dress. You know, the one designed by fashionista, Honey the Cat, for her Dreamcast line." With a sigh, Sally went back to her locker and changed from her bikini back to her usual white gown and tiara.
"I can't believe how tightly Cylie packed my schedule." Sally grumbled, sliding her tiara into place and putting on her high-heeled glass slippers. "I'm going to have to get her to cut down on the number of charity events I attend when I go to South Island next month." The princess walked towards the door of the athletic complex and took a deep breath. "Okay, here we go."
Pushing the two doors open, she found herself face-to-face with hundreds of mobians of every size and color carrying flash cameras and notepads. As she waded out into the swarm, several voices called out as she pushed her way through the crowd.
"Princess Sally, can I have a word." A voice shouted. "Sketch Notepad, Starlight City Tattler. Is there any truth to the rumor that you are secretly funding the rebellion going on in Chun-nin?"
"Miss Acorn, Kitty Katswell, Melbourne Gazette. What is the story on this alledged alien invasion affecting South Island? What about a royal cover-up rumored to link the mysterious black arms commander to the South Island royal family?"
"I'm sorry by I have no comment on either at this time." Sally lowered her head, trying desperately to push her way through the crowd. "Now, if you excuse me, I really have to…"
"Princess Acorn, a moment of your time." A battle bird reporter blocked her path. The foul stink of his greasy cologne. "Throbin Screech, Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous, do you have any comment on the compromising photos taken by a photographer that snuck into the royal palace." He flashed her a gold tooth smile. "You know the ones where you are taking Prince Ray's royal…" A suddenly, a white fisted glove smashed across the dirty bird's face, knocking out all of his teeth and smashing him to the ground. The reporters all took a step back as a young human woman wearing the same dress and clothing as Princess Sally stood beside her.
"If you filthy creeps are quite done with you interrogation, I need to get Princess Sally to her royal charity event." The woman with the gold laurel crown on her head growled. "And the next one of you who asks Sally about Ray's unmentionables gets a royal kick in his walnuts from me." The tall human woman grabbed Sally by the wrist and pulled her into a waiting armored limo with bulletproof windows. "Jeffery, take us to the opera house at once." The human princess commanded the driver. "Step on it."
"As you wish, my lady." The mobian skunk replied, pulling his sunglasses down and gripping the stirring wheel. "Annoying reporter road pizza, coming right up." The chauffeur pushed a button on the dashboard and a set of iron spikes popped out of the limo's grill. Every reporter and photographer jumped out of the car's way as it sped through the streets of the city.
"Just look at them run." Sally said with a laugh. "Like a bunch of skunks with their tails between their legs." The driver spun around and lowered his sunglasses looking at Sally.
"Excuse me…"
"Sorry, just a figure of speech." She replied. "No offense intended."
"None taken." Jeffery replied, turning back around to watch the road.
"Sally, are you alright?" Elise asked, brushing the dirt off her friend's white gown. "Those reporters back there looked like they were ready to eat you alive."
"I'll be okay. Thank you, Elise." Sally sighed, shaking her head. "It's always good to have another princess who understands the day to day hell I go through."
"Well, of course. What are best friends for?" Elise squealed picking up Sally off the seat beside her and hugging her like a giant stuffed doll. "I would like never leave you to get torn apart by those wolves."
"Now, Elise, not all of them are wolves." Sally corrected in a sarcastic tone. "There were also buzzards, leeches, and various other vermin scatter among them."
"That's what I love about you Sally." Elise said with a smile. "Your screw-ball sense of humor."
"I just wish things weren't so crazy in a princess' life." The chipmunk replied with a sigh. "Do you know some of the insanity I have to put up with on a daily basis?" She reclined in her limo seat. "First, we had two assassination attempts last week. One by a human supremacy group, then another one by the supporters of the Robotnik Movement." Sally closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. "Then, I had a swarm of royal groupies chase me from one end of Soleanna to the other. I had to put on sunglasses and a trench coat and hide in a McMally's burger to escape." She covered her face with her hands. "And lastly, I had a weirdo break-in to my room and steal all of my undergarments from my dresser. My security forces found the pervert selling them on the black market for a fortune. Boy, do I miss the glory days of the Knothole Freedom Fighters. Always off on some wacky adventure with the gang, staying ahead of Julian and always one step away from being robotisized."
"You mean, all that crawling through a bug-filled forest and sleeping on the dirt with rats and other creepy-crawlies? Like Eww." Elise shivered at the thought. "Why in the world would you want to go back to that?"
"Well, I hate to say it, Elise. But there were some good times back there along with the bad." Sally sighed. "And some of it sure beat being chased by the media and weirdos while being mistaken for a mini clone of you."
"Ouch, that hurt, Sal." Elise protested. "I thought you liked having your whole wardrobe being a miniature version of mine."
"Oh, I do. It's just I hate the way I get swarmed all the time." Sally closed her eyes. "And I miss the old days with Antione and Bunny and Rotor and…"
"You're thinking about him, aren't you." Elise smirked. "So, you're still carrying a torch for that little spiky fuzzball."
"What!? No. I'm over my feelings for Sonic." Sally replied. "But I do sometimes miss going on adventures with him. I don't miss being his romantic love interest, but I do miss being his friend."
"Say you never did tell me about the time after you beat Julian and Sonic took off." Elise noted. "What was it like for you, then?"
"A lot of mixed emotions and feelings, Elise." Sadness began to fill the chipmunk's voice. "And some things I just wish I could forget…"
(Day of Julian's Fall – Two Years Earlier)
The celebration lasted well into the night. Hundreds of mobian freedom fighters danced around the many campfires in Knothole while similar celebrations were held at resistance bases all over the island. Fireworks lit up the night sky over the Great Forest as the sound of music and dancing could be heard on West Side Island for the first time in over a decade. This was a time to be happy and joyous, to forget the horrors that engulfed a generation and look ahead to all the good times to come.
"Can you believe it, Rotor? We're finally rid of Dr. Robotnik." Ari declared, downing another glass of rum. "This is cause for a party. Why don't you join me in going to talk to those beautiful ewes over there?"
"No thanks, man. I'm allergic to social interaction." The walrus answered, cleaning one of histusks with a toothpick. "Besides, I need to get to bed early. I want to help Sir Charles with his secret project tomorrow."
"Well, if you tell me about it, I won't be a secret anymore now will it." The ram laughed. "Go on, kid. Get some shut eye."
On the other side of Knothole, two canines were busy talking to each other.
"Can you believe how out of control this party is getting?" Antione shook his head, downing another bottle of fine wine. "I cannot believe ze princess is allowing zis kind of drunken revelry. *hic*"
"You're one to talk, coyote boy. Cause you're already drunk." Lupe replied, downing her seventh bottle of fire water and stumbling around. "You're so drunk there's four of you now."
"Zat is not a sign of me drunk, zat is you being drunk. *hic*" Antione tried to stand but couldn't. "Besides, zere are four of you which means you are even more drunk."
"Ah, this is no fun. This is the celebration of our freedom. We should be doing crazy stuff we'll either regret or won't remember." She looked at Antione for a moment, before flashing a very drunk smile. "Come here, cutie. Let's make puppies."
A few minutes later, Sally saw Antione's uniform and Lupe's dress go flying up in the air above the party. Shaking her head, she walked back to Sonic.
"I think this party is getting a little too wild." She chuckled at the thought. "I think it's time for us to call it a night."
"Ah, come on, Sal. It's only four in the morning." Sonic complained. "This party's just getting started."
"Sonic, we've been celebrating since 9 PM last night." Sally protested. "There's a time to party and a time to be responsible."
"SALLY! Don't you realize what's happened?" Sonic asked, incredulously. "We just defeated a madman and saved all of Mobius. These poor freedom fighters have been working most of their lives to win this battle, let them have a little fun for pity's sake."
"Sonic, we need to start planning for tomorrow." Sally replied, trying to keep her cool. "Many badniks are still out there and our spy reports tell us Snively has vanished without a trace. Julian Robotnik might been gone, but the freedom fighter's mission remains unchanged." In a burst of anger, Sonic slammed his fist against a tree.
"GET REAL, SAL. THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS ARE FINISHED! We're the protectors of West Side Island now, time to shift from rebels to defenders." The blue blur scolded at her. "We did what we set out to do. There is a little time for fun and friends. We're still going to rebuild all of the island and create a new kingdom, but there will be plenty of time for that another day."
"That's your problem, Sonic, you always want to put off for tomorrow what you could do today." Sally snapped at him. As she and Sonic argued, Sally noticed Sonic drinking a yellow liquid out of a glass mug. "Sonic, is that beer?" The princess asked in disbelief. "You know you're too young to drink that. We all are. Why the hell are you downing alcohol?!"
"Ah, come on girl. It's only for tonight." Sonic stumbled around, letting the glass drop to the ground and shatter. "Come on, Sal. Why don't we forget about all your worrying and go back to your hut and…"
"SONIC! WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU THINKING?!" Sally screamed, her voice getting more hysterical as she yelled. "YOU ARE ACTING LIKE AN IRRESPONSIBLE AND IMMATURE BRAT!"
"OH, GO JUMP INTO A ROBOTISIZER, SAL!" Sonic screamed back. His voice ripe with the stench of five glasses of beer. "YOU ONLY WANNA STOP THIS PARTY BECAUSE YOU'RE TOO STUCK UP TO HAVE ANY FUN AND YOU'RE MISERABLE WHEN YOU THINK EVERYBODY ELSE IS HAVING A GOOD TIME!"
"ALL YOU CARE ABOUT IS A GOOD TIME!" Sally shrieked back. "I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY I THOUGHT I WAS IN LOVE WITH YOU!"
"I CAN'T BELIEVE I WASTED MY EMOTIONS ON YOU EITHER!" Sonic replied. "WHAT'S THE STICK UP YOUR REAR ANYWAY?! ARE YOU ALLERGIC TO FUN?! OH, I KNOW YOU'RE TRYING TO COMPENSATE FOR YOUR GUILT BECAUSE DEAR OLD DADDY IS A CRYSTAL POPSICLE INSTEAD OF BEING HERE TO PAT YOU ON THE HEAD EVERY TIME YOU DO SOMETHING GOOD!" Sonic got up in her face. "Aw, poor wittle baby, can't live without king gee-I'm-so-stupid I can't see the bad guy is gonna stab me in the back. Honestly, how moronic would you have to be to trust a jerk like Ro-" SLAP!
Sonic felt her hand strike him across the face leaving a stinging red mark that still burned there several minutes later.
"Don't you ever talk about my father that way again." Sally snarled, tears streaming down her face. "Get out. Get out of here. Get out of Knothole. And I don't ever want to see your ugly blue face again." Sonic stared at her for a moment, before turning away and crossed his arms over his chest.
"That's fine by me." Sonic replied, coldly. "Just let me say by good-byes to Tails and the others. Then, it's up over and gone." The blue blur raced away from the spot where Sally stood leaving a sobbing princess on the ground behind him.
(Back in the Present)
"Oh my gosh; that's how you broke up?" Elise asked with sympathy. "You poor girl, no wonder you were a wreck when I first met you."
"It was quite a blow to lose the hedgehog of my dreams just after we defeated the tyrant who enslaved my world." Sally shook her head. "But the worst was yet to come, Elise. I was going to learn the pain that comes with being a princess during peace time."
(Back in the Past)
The following week after the party, three of the four leaders of the Mobian Resistance met in the central command hut of Knothole Village. They were awaiting the arrival of the Princess of Acorn Kingdom before they started.
"What do you think is taking her so long?" Ari grumbled, drumming his fingers on the table, with an annoyed look. "You'd think one of the heroes who took down Julian Robotnik would want to be here for this very crucial meeting."
"Relax, Ari. You're starting to sound as impatient as Sonic." Lupe laughed, putting her feet up on the table.
"Speaking of which, where is that blue hedgehog?" Grif asked, arms crossed over his chest angrily. "You'd think the hero of all West Side Island would want to be here for this discussion."
"I don't think he's going to play much of a part in the reconstruction, old friend." Lupe shook her head. "Two of my pack spies saw him say good-bye to young Miles Prower before racing out of the Great Forest. Last my scouts heard of him, he had hopped a freighter on the coast heading for South Island."
"Huh, looks like the kid's going home." Ari shook his head. "After all he's been through, helping us foreigners out, can't say I really blame him for wanting to return to his family."
"I just wish Princess Sally would join us soon." Grif grumbled, scratching his horns with a nail file. "At this rate, we'll still be planning how to rebuild when the next wanna-be tyrant comes rolling along."
On the other side of Knothole, Bunny Rabbot was desperately searching for the missing princess.
"Sally girl, y'all in here?" Bunny asked running from hut to hut. "Sally, the other leaders are waiting for y'all." Then, the rabbit heard loud sobbing coming out of what used to be Sonic's hut. Going inside, Bunny found the sobbing chipmunk laying on the floor.
"Sally girl, what y'all doing here?" She asked in surprise. "Everybody's waitin' for ya."
"He's gone, Bunny." Sally choked out, pulling herself back up to her knees. "He left without even saying good-bye. It's like the past year and a half didn't even mean anything to him. How could he just run out on me — I mean, us."
"That's what this is about? Y'all cryin' like some emo schoolgirl on a Chun-nin anime over a boy?" The rabbit suddenly, became angry. "Pull yourself together, Sally girl. Y'all are the princess of West Side Island. Ya have to be strong for your people. Leave the girly bawling over not having a boyfriend to me."
"I wish there was someone who understood how I felt right now." Sally sobbed, standing up and rubbing the tears from her eyes. "I just feels so lonely being the princess."
It was at that point that a voice came from the television over by Sonic's bed caught the two girls' attention.
"It's not easy being a princess with all the pressure on you and the strain with friends and family." A human woman on the screen announced. "But it's a job I have come to embrace as my people need me. Being the princess of Apatos has given me an inner strength I would not have otherwise had. And it is with that strength that I, Princess Elise DeMarco, serve my people unto my dying breath."
"Who… who is that making that speech on television?" Sally asked staring at the human princess in wonder.
"Oh that? That's Princess Elise." Bunny replied. "She's recently taken over the kingdom of Apatos after her father passed away. Didn't you hear she was addressing the United Federation council today?" Staring at the woman on TV for a few minutes, Sally began to slowly smile.
"If she can do it, then so can I." The princess turned back to the rabbit. "Bunny, go tell Rosie to make me a perfect copy of Princess Elise's wardrobe from her gloves to her dress to her glass shoes to her leggings and undergarments."
"Whoa, Sally girl. That last bit sounds a little creepy." Bunny shivered. "But I think we can get the garment types and measurements out of Elise's article she did for Royal Weekly. But what do y'all want me to tell the council?"
"Tell them, I will be about a half hour late." Sally told her running out of the room. "But tell then, it will not be Sally Acorn the Freedom Fighter who greets them. It will be Princess Sally of West Side Island who attends this meeting."
Back in the meeting room, Grif and Ari were about to get up and leave when they heard the sound of a glass slipper clink on the stone floor.
"Well, it's about time that you…" Grif's jaw nearly hit the floor. "Oh my ancient walkers."
She was like something out of an ancient renaissance painting. Her dress and hair sparkling like fresh spring water in the sunlight, she ran her pure white gloved fingers along the table as she confidently walked over and got ready to sit down. Before she could even lay a hand on the chair, Ari and Grif were fighting over the privilege of pulling her chair out for her.
"My lady, you look radiant." Ari stuttered.
"We are pleased to have you here, my princess." Grif agreed as both of them bowed.
"Hmm, well played Sally." Lupe smiled admiringly. "I'll have to dig out my Pocahontas dress and feathers and play the princess card next time."
"Well, now that the formalities are out of the way. Shall we begin?" Sally asked, sitting down at the head of the table.
"Well, our first matter of business is mopping up the remainder of Robotnik's forces and destroying all of the remaining badniks and robians on the island." Ari explained.
"Now, wait a second." Lupe protested, slamming her fist on the table. "I'm all for nuking the badniks and SWAT bots but those robians they are our fellow West Siders, enslaved to Robotnik's will and made to serve him."
"You mean they WERE our fellow West Siders." Grif interjected. "Now, they're nothing but mindless hunks of scrap. We need to destroy them before they pose a threat to those of us who are still flesh and blood."
"Oh really, destroy all the robians?" Lupe asked, angrily. "Does that include Sir Charles?"
"Sir Charles Hedgehog has shown to be still in control of his own mind. An exception to the rule with these monsters." Ari snapped back. "We cannot allow any of Robotnik's machines to continue operating on West Side Island, if we and our families are to be safe."
"I've already given that some thought, Ari." Sally replied. "As of now, Sir Charles has been working with Rotor on a virus of sorts which we will infect Robotnik's computer network with. It should free the minds of all robians on the island and shut down all of Robotnik's outposts, SWAT bots, and badnik patrols making them easy to scrap and destroy."
"A wise decision, Sally." Lupe agreed. "But will this affect the systems in Robotropolis?"
"Unfortunately, no." Sally replied, sadly. "Julian's capital is on a separate computer grid from the rest of his systems. And he encrypted it with a security program that not even Chuck and Rotor can get through."
Sally closed her eyes and shook her head. "I recommend that we seal off Robotropolis and the surrounding area, henceforth to be referred to as the Metropolis Zone. Until such time, that the power sources on all the remaining robots and security systems run out."
"But that can take a century!" Grif yelled in anger. "Maybe more!"
"We can live without one small chunk of the island for a few generations." Lupe added. "Right now, we have to worry about resettling the survivors from each of our four communities into the abandoned countryside."
"I agree." Grif replied. "My people are tired of living in an underground bunker. We want to go home."
"We're going to need a new capital, if we are not going to retake Mobotropolis." Ari sighed. "We need to give the people the feeling that life is going to return to normal, now that Robotnik is gone."
"But what about Snively?" Grif asked. "No one's seen him since the Doomsday fiasco about a week ago and he could still be a potential threat."
"I somewhat agree." Lupe added. "My scouts were unable to find Julian's nephew anywhere, nor pick up any rumors to his whereabouts."
"Bah, you fools spend too much time worrying about that sniveling little coward." A frustrated Ari complained. "He's probably either dead or in hiding. In any case, he's no longer a threat to us."
"We'll worry about Snively when the time comes." Sally replied, getting up out of her chair. "Right now, we need to get to work on rebuilding West Side, otherwise one of the other Mobian kingdoms or the humans might decide to take advantage of our current weakness." The Princess walked over to the window. The soft sound of her nylons rubbing up against each other filling the ears of those present. "I've decided that what we need is a symbol of strength from the past to be a sign of our future." Sally looked out the window to the South. "I've made my decision to make one of the old Mobian cities our new capital, instead of founding a new one."
"But my princess." Ari protested. "Robotnik destroyed every city from before the war, unless you mean to go out into the desert wastes or turn Ironlock Prison into your new fortress."
"No, Ari. I intend to reach much farther into our proud past than that." Sally replied. "Back to before the Great War. The ruins that were so old, Julain never even damaged them."
"You don't mean, the old capital." Grif asked; his eyes going wide. "Princess, those ruins are a sacred place to all West Siders and your reviving them as a capital could be taken as a sign by the royalists of a possible reunification with South Island."
"That's also what I've been afraid of with your relationship with Sonic." Ari grumbled. "We often forgot during the Freedom Fighter days that he is the crown prince of South Island; and with you being the heir to the West Side throne, there has been a fear that the old royalists would use this as an opportunity to undo the independence Acorn kingdom won at the beginning of the Great War."
"Let me ask you two a question. What Royalists?" Lupe asked the two men. "All of the old political parties and grudges have been swept away by Julain's genocide. "We are a band of survivors who have to start anew."
"Then, it is decided." Princess Sally declared, turning to face the others again. "We shall build our new capital, Soleanna, on the ruins of the old."