.
25: "The Tale of a Tail"
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Robotropolis, six months earlier.
This was her first month outside of her kingdom, and already Princess Sally was in over her head.
Her faction of Freedom Fighters hailed in Knothole Village, a hideout hidden within the deep temperate forests of Acorn Kingdom. But that didn't stop Robotnik's forces from sniffing them out, and eventually a small group of Freedom Fighters were captured, taken to Robotropolis for questioning and ultimately for "Roboticizing."
The princess would not take this sitting down.
She rounded up her best and most trusted team members: Antoine D'Coolette, her personal bodyguard and skilled swordsman; Rotor Walrus, her team's engineer; Nicole the Lynx, her best friend and gifted mage; Rob O' the Hedge, a talented archer; and Hamlin the Pig, who proved to be quite the muscleman.
Together, they would execute a go-for-broke rescue mission by infiltrating one of the main robotic factories of Robotropolis, and sneak in undetected. For this sneaky operation, Nicole and Rotor came most handy. Rotor provided the team with vehicles that fit perfectly with the Badniks, while Nicole used the magic given to her by the mystical All-Seeing Eye to warp the frequencies of spy cameras and patrol-bots. Rob also provided the team with dark hooded cloaks to use as cover for when they were on foot.
All went according to plan… except one major flaw: none of them knew their way around the city, let alone the factories. Saving their captive friends was like finding a needle in a giant metallic haystack. Nicole was the only one with a map of the city, locked in her compact computer; for this reason, Sally was always by her side to direct the rest of the team. They were all equipped with radio headphones to stay connected in case they were separated, which would be frequent due to their constant running about. All in all, it was quite the workout just to get to the factory where their friends were suspected to be kept prisoner in.
Hamlin pried the main gate open with his bare hands, and once it cracked Rob shot down the spy cameras dangling from the ceilings. The team then whisked down the halls like shadows in the night, careful not to let any Badnik or SWATbot see them despite their black cloaks.
They stopped at a corner where an elevator door was located within the next hall. Sally paused to tuck in her long bushy tail, the one thing that her cloak couldn't hide.
"I've located the main rooms of the Roboticizers," whispered Nicole. "They're three levels below us."
"Below?" questioned Sally softly. "I thought they'd be at the top somewhere. And we're still on the ground level."
Nicole nodded, "I'm guessing Robotnik is keeping those rooms top secret, even to his own… But here's the big problem, Sally: there's a lot of power generating from those rooms. I suspect it's a security system, one too powerful for me to crack."
"Then let's bust it wide open," suggested Hamlin. "Rotor, you got those grenades handy?"
"Check," replied the walrus in the back of the line.
"Hold on," whispered the princess. "We should only use those for a last resort; we've come this far without causing much fuss."
"No, but we did come 'ere to cause a fuss though, did we not?" asked Rob in his thick English accent.
"Rob's right," nodded Hamlin, "I think now's the time we take this mission to the next level."
"…Alright," said Sally hesitantly. "Rob, you lead us in; Hamlin, you follow him, and Antoine you cover them."
"Oui, princess."
"Nicole, you and me will cover the back."
"Yes, Sally."
"Okay… We're going in."
.
Hamlin pried open an elevator door, at a time when the actual elevator chamber was settled on a higher level of the building. One by one, the animals grabbed ahold of the cable wire and scaled downward toward the lowest level of the shaft. Once they hit rock bottom, Rotor and Hamlin pried open the gate together, letting the others through before closing the doors behind them.
The hallway was very dark and blue in tone, much like most of the factory's interior. The sound of clanging footsteps caused the team to duck into a corner. There they waited for the SWATbot patrollers to walk past them. Then they heard the sound of a door cracking open in the distance, followed by a feminine voice screaming:
"Please! …I know nothing about any resistance! I'm just a common mongoose, I swear! …No, no please, I beg you! Don't! Do-o-on't…!"
Silence fell as the distant doorway fell shut. The group paused to collect their thoughts.
"I take it the Roboticizer's that a-way," guessed Rob as he pointed to the direction in which the screams came.
Sally tucked her large squirrely tail under her black garment while saying, "We may have just one shot at this. Nicole, I want you to sneak up there and try your magic on that door lock. Hamlin, you go with her, and if she can't open it…"
"Right, we blow it up. After you, Nicole."
The lynx and the pig crawled against the wall to avoid detection, while the rest of the team waited in hiding. Rob looked left and right, up and down for any spy cameras, and was surprised to find none.
"I don't like this," whispered the teal hedgehog.
"What don't you like," asked Antoine, "the fact zat we're in ze heart of Robotropolis, or ze fact zat we're in a foot of a Roboticizer?"
"It just seems too easy. Like they're expecting us to-"
BOOM!
"There goes Hamlin," muttered Sally. She jumped to her feet. "Let's go! Now!"
The heroes dashed down the hall and through a hole in the wall courtesy of Hamlin's grenade. They met up with the pig who seemed proud of himself, while a dazed Nicole looked on. "Couldn't help yourself, could you?" she frowned at him, dusting ash from her purple dress.
Sally and the others took a moment to stare at the room which they would forever remember as a place of death. There were three glass chambers in the center of the room, one of which was occupied by a female mongoose, now completely robotic. Standing in front of her were two echidnas- Legionnaires- who forced the girl into her chamber just moments ago.
One of the hooded echidnas opened the hatch of the mongoose girl's chamber and seemed to pat the back of her head before he was blindsided by Rotor's fist. As the echidna fell unconscious, Rotor cradled the mongoose's body in his bulky blue arms.
"Sally… Do you know this girl?"
The princess stared at the lifeless creature. "No, but she's probably from our kingdom. We'll take her back to Knothole to see if we can somehow undo the spell. But we need to keep looking for the others!"
"Sally, look." Nicole urged the princess to come running to the computer monitors on the leftmost wall. The lynx pointed to a small icon on the computer. "This is where we are… And there are two other rooms that look just like this one. The one in the center looks occupied."
"That's it then. Come on, team! And hurry, they're probably onto us now!"
As the team fled the room, the two echidnas were quick to regain consciousness. One of them pulled out a gun, when the other said, "Don't bother. I put a tracking device on the mongoose girl. Even if they get as far as Acorn Kingdom, we can track them down."
.
Rob shot down SWATbots that were running down the hall, while Antoine cut through those that came from behind the team. As the heroes ran closer and closer to their destination, they almost slowed to a complete halt when their eyes caught a glimpse of another hallway, one that clearly had barred doors.
"Guys!" gasped Sally as she switched her direction to the dungeon-like hall. She was elated to see that some of her captive friends were still alive, and still flesh and blood, waiting for their turn to be Roboticized. As she passed their barred gates, she greeted them with hugs: "Penelope Platypus! Arlo Armadillo! Larry Lynx!"
Then the she-squirrel found a cell containing the eldest of prisoners. "…Rosie, thank God you're alive!"
The elderly woodchuck clasped Sally's hand. "My dear Sally, you've grown so much since I last saw you."
"Where are Tommy Turtle? Mr. Cat? Fiona Fox?"
"…I'm sorry Sally, they've been taken away. …Bunnie too; they just took her."
"Where? Which way did they go?"
"That way," Rosie pointed left, toward the eastern hallway. "Sally dear, it's too dangerous for you to-"
"It's okay Rosie, I know what I'm doing… Rob!"
"Princess."
"Use your dagger to pick these locks. Rotor, you can help with your buzz-saw."
"As you like it."
The two hired hands worked their way through the bars while the rest of the team raced on toward the second robot room.
.
"You won't get away with this, y'all hear me?" roared a defiant Bunnie Rabbot, as the glass casing of the Roboticizer descended upon her. Observing her transformation were two more Legionnaires, who ignored her rants.
Even as her voice was blocked off by the glass case, Bunnie kept on ranting as she tried punching the thick glass. "Jest wait 'till mah friends git here, y'all be sorry!"
"Blah-blah-blah, 'you fiends,' blah-blah," mocked one hooded echidna as he flicked a switch.
From the heart of Robotnik's main lair, the red Sol Emerald warmed up in a halo of crimson light. This activated the Roboticizer in which Bunnie was cased. A dark energy surrounded her, scaring her stiff. As her body froze, she felt the warmth of her legs and arms leave her.
But then, BOOM!
The doors were busted wide open by an explosion, startling the Legionnaires. As the heroes charged in, Nicole once again criticized Hamlin; "You could at least wait for me to cover my ears before you blow a door down."
Sally gasped at the sight of the functioning machine. "…Antoine! Hit it!"
"As you wish, mon princess!" The coyote leaped forward, swinging his cutlass, and chopped the glass casing to ribbon. Meanwhile, Hamlin and Sally drop-kicked the Legionnaires before they had a chance to retaliate.
The Roboticizer short-circuited, as electric bolts shot through the air and steam poured out of the interior. Antoine fanned the steam away from his face before venturing inside the machine, and was surprised to find a Bunnie with metallic legs and left arm.
"Mon dior…" he muttered; he had never seen such a sight, a half-robotic woman. He was also overpowered by her beauty, for this was the first time he had actually seen Sally's out-of-palace friend. "Um… uh… Ma'am moiselle?" he chirped.
Bunnie, shocked by the incident, had closed her eyes and was seemingly knocked unconscious. But once she heard Antoine's voice, her right ear perked up and her eyes fluttered open. Her left ear, however, remained drooped; perhaps it was a result of her trauma.
"Ugh… huh? …W-where am Ah?" She went to feel her forehead with her left hand, only to feel cold steel. Seeing her new clawed paw, she let out a loud gasp, "Augh!"
"Augh!" echoed Antoine in surprise. "Is okay, is okay! I'm a friend! My name is Antoine D'Coolette; I believe you know ze princess Sally, yes?"
"…Oh, mah stars!" Bunnie suddenly chirped, instantly taken by his French accent. She then gave him a warm smile; "Did you jest save mah life?"
"Uh, well… I cannot take all ze credit."
"Bless yer lil' heart!" she flung both her arms around him and gave him a small peck on the cheek. "Mah hero!"
"Ehh..heh-heh-heh," he giggled, blushing fiercely. It was safe to say that his long-time crush on Princess Sally was now officially over.
"Bunnie? Is that you?" gasped Sally as she approached the Roboticizer chamber.
As Antoine helped her out of the chamber, Bunnie replied, "Ah guess so. Y'all came a lil' late, but Ah knew you'd come."
"Don't worry," promised a frowning Sally, "I'll get you back to normal as soon as-"
"Ah know, Sally, Ah know. We gotta skidaddle." Bunnie took one step, and already she started to wobble, unsure of her new feet.
Antoine took Bunnie's flurry hand and said, "You look tired. May I escort you, mon cherie?"
"Oh mah," blushed the yellow rabbit. "Ah do believe you n' me are gonna git along jest fahn."
.
The team reunited with Rob, Rotor and the new escapees, and together they all ran like crazy down the hallway. Hamlin scooped up the lifeless Metal-Mina and fell to the back of the line, while Rob stayed in the back just to shoot down SWATbots that were coming from behind.
Alarms were ringing throughout the factory, and every Badnik and SWATbot present was alerted to the escapees. Soon enough, they were coming from all sides. Luckily, Sally had her own laser gun handy for just this kind of situation, and shot down one robot guard after another. Nicole stunned oncoming guards with just a wave of her magic hand, and even escapees Arlo and Penelope took up arms by picking up dropped lasers from SWATbots and fired away at Badniks.
"The elevator shaft! Hurry!" commanded Sally.
As the team raced toward the elevator, the princess felt a sharp pain in her tail. A SWATbot's laser hit it, stinging her. "Augh, dang it!" she cursed, shooting back at the robot.
A Motorbug came speeding toward Antoine, but as he was preparing to swipe it, Bunnie punched it with her new metallic fist. It was flattened instantly. "Wow!" cheered the rabbit as she flexed her new muscles, "Ah think Ah like this!"
"Nicole, the elevator!" Sally barked as the team made it to their escape route.
The mystic lynx put her paw on the elevator's control panel, but then frowned, "It's jammed Sally. They must have shut it down."
"There should be a fire escape somewhere," alerted Rotor.
"Hold on, let me check the map," replied Nicole as she whipped out her compact computer.
Lasers came shooting at them; as Sally and Rob fired back, the teal hedgehog insisted, "Check it a bit faster, will you?"
"This way, left!" pointed Nicole, and off they ran.
Down the hallway, Rosie was starting to slow down. Sally grabbed her arm and pulled her forward. "Come on, Rosie, I'm not losing you again!"
"Sally dear, save yourself," panted the old woodchuck.
"Never."
As Rob ran out of arrows to shoot, he resorted to using his bow as a staff and swatted two Buzz Bombers out of the air.
Nicole then noticed that the hallway was starting to shrink; doors were sliding from the walls and shutting together quickly. "They're locking the hall down. Faster, everyone!"
Bunnie was now running wildly on her new legs; she grabbed onto Antoine, and with Arlo (rolled up in a ball), took off in a flash through the shutting doors. Hamlin and Rotor were slow, but were pulled along by Rob and Penelope. Larry was so frightened by the event that he was running on sheer adrenalin, almost keeping up with the fleet-footed escapees.
Last in line were Sally and Rosie; Sally could have easily cleared the hallway but was careful not to let go of her elderly friend. As the last set of doors came sliding from the walls, Sally scooped up the woodchuck and made a daring leap for safety.
-SLAM!-
.
The room fell silent shortly after the gates slammed shut; the team was lying on its sides, clearly winded. Sally was sitting up with her back against the closed doors, also weakened. But then she tried to get up.
"Oof!" she yelped, feeling a sudden pull on her back as she fell back onto her rear. That's when the pain finally hit, like a bolt of lightning up her spine. "…aaaAAAAAUUUUUGH!"
"P-princess!" gasped a horrified Antoine, who quickly ran to her side. "Princess Sally? What is wrong!"
Her hand brushed her backside, and could feel the steel of the door. "ugh…. my tail… my damned tail…!" was all she could muster as tears flooded her eyes.
Antoine and Nicole both looked behind her, and were stunned to see that the princess' long bushy tail had been caught within the door's clasp. The bone in her tail was severed, though there was no blood- not yet, anyway. It all happened so fat that she didn't even feel the impact of the gate's slam. But there it was, her tail completely sealed within the gate. She was helplessly pinned to it.
"Mon dior… Mon dior!" panicked Antoine. "What do we do? Nicole? What do we-"
"Antoine, calm down!" Nicole said sternly. She then knelt down beside Sally, who was looking pale in the face. "Sally… Don't worry, we can fix this. Give me your Sol Emerald; I can heal the wound."
"No… It's too late," Sally gulped weakly. "…Those soldiers will be here soon; you all need to run."
"Not without you," the she- lynx insisted.
Sally looked up into her friend's warm green eyes, and nodded. "…Antoine. Cut it off."
"Wh-wh-what!" jumped the coyote in surprise.
"Hurry," replied Sally, her eyes pleading along with her voice. "Just take your sword and… ch-chop it off. Real quickly." There was a long pause before she started to plea: "I'm begging you, Antoine! Please… cut it off!"
"I… I cannot." He shook his head rapidly. "Please, mon princess, don't make me."
Tears were now pouring from her eyes. "Please… It hurts so much. Do it… DO IT!"
"I'll do it," Hamlin insisted, while still holding the fully-metal body of Mina. "Gimmie that sword."
"No," said Rob, "I can do it. I'll make it quick and clean-like. Give it here, Sir Antoine."
"Someone better do it," growled Sally, clearly losing her cool as her boot tapped the floor.
"…Alright, alright. Huph… I'll do it," gulped a nervous Antoine.
Bunnie couldn't watch; she buried her face in Rotor's chest. The escapees also looked away, as did Rob out of respect for the pained princess.
Sally passed on her purple Sol emerald from her chest to Nicole's hands, as she rolled up part of her vest into her mouth to bite down on it. She then bowed her head, Nicole cradled it, and pinched her eyes shut as she braced for the worst.
Antoine lined up his cutlass to the spot of Sally's tail that was best fit to cut through. He took a few deep breaths… then…
Swipe!
"Uuuugh!" cringed the princess, grinding her teeth into her cloth.
"In the name of balance and chaos, HEAL!" shouted Nicole quickly.
A small purple light flared from the emerald, and in that flash, Sally's tail wound was sealed. With the pain lifted, Sally opened her eyes and looked behind her shoulder, as far back as she could. She brushed her hand down her back, and knew that her tail was now a fluffy stump.
She sighed deeply. "…Thanks, you two."
Nicole smiled, "Thank Antoine later; he just fainted."
The girls giggled softly at Antoine's sleeping body, while Hamlin made a face. "I'm not carrying him."
.
"…Sol Emerald detected," purred the deep voice of Robotnik's main computer, dubbed A.D.A.M.
Great. Not only was the factory on lockdown, but now the robot patrol teams were aware of the presence of another Sol Emerald. The Freedom Fighters were starting to feel defeated, even though they were in the room which had the fire escape.
Sally was given a few minutes to recover from her shock, as well as adjust to standing upright without the support of a large tail. Seeing that she was visibly shaking, Rob picked her up and cradled her. "I think it's best you give your legs a rest, princess," he insisted.
"I can still run," she replied with a softened tone of defiance. But she was at a loss as the hedgehog carried her to the stairway.
Hamlin kicked the door open, still cradling Metal-Mina. Rotor carried Rosie in his own arms, while the rest of the team (save Sally) was settled on climbing the staircase on foot. Nicole waved her arms to block the doorways which SWATbots were trying to break through as they ran up and up the winding staircase.
Upon reaching the ground level's door, Arlo and Penelope were ready with their "borrowed" laser guns. They kicked the door open and fired away at SWATbots and Badniks awaiting them on the other side of the door. The green armadillo then suddenly took a hit in the chest by a laser, followed by Penelope receiving a similar wound on her hip.
As they fell, Sally jumped to her feet and sprayed lasers from her gun more furiously than ever. Larry carefully pulled Penelope and Arlo back into the stairwell before he and Hamlin pulled the door shut.
"We're trapped," panted Larry. "They've got us surrounded out there, and we're running out of ammo."
Nicole, meanwhile, was tending to the wounds of her fallen friends by the power of her Sol Emerald. She then turned to Sally with a frown; "They know we have this emerald, Sally, and they'll kill us if it means getting to it." Penelope and Arlo were then healed, but also looked as dismayed as Nicole.
The she-squirrel paused to collect her thoughts, while Hamlin stated, "We still have some small grenades left. We can use them as a cover while we make it to the front door."
"…No. Maybe if I surrender myself, they'll let the rest of you go."
"Sally," frowned Nicole, "you're not thinking clearly."
"But if I barter the emerald-"
"You'll do no such thing, my friend." Nicole then picked up Sally and put her back into Rob's arms. She then told the hedgehog firmly, "Make sure nothing happens to her." She then placed the emerald into Sally's chest, where it would remain safely hidden. She also handed her compact computer over to Rotor; "Use this to find your escape pods."
"Nicole, what are you doing?" questioned the confused princess. "…Nicole?"
The she- lynx then pushed the door wide open, and summoned a barrage of electric energy from her paws, stunning the robots that were ready to shoot their lasers.
"Now, everyone! Head for the garage where Rotor's vehicles are! I'll handle these robots."
"Nicole, don't!" pleaded Sally. "We need to stick together!"
Nicole quietly looked to Rob, who gave her a knowing nod.
"Come with me, princess," said the teal hedgehog softly as he led the team down the narrow hall.
"No… No, I'm not leaving her! Nicole!" Sally desperately called out, but by then the she-lynx was already making a b-line to a different hallway, one where she coaxed the robot patrol team to follow while they were still under her spell.
Bunnie took a flying leap and kicked down the main door of the factory, with the rest of the team following close behind. Only Sally looked back, hoping against hope that Nicole could still be saved.
.
Minutes later, the team found the garage in which their Badnik-shaped vehicles were parked. This was mostly thanks to Rotor's use of Nicole's computer map. Unfortunately, they were pursued mercilessly by Badniks and SWATbots alike. But a third party was flying their way also; they appeared to be Robians, fully-metallic versions of animals after being Roboticized. But if one were to look at them more closely, it would have been clear that these were not Robians at all; they were robotic Doppelgangers, designed by Robotnik as part of his most top secret plan against his greatest enemies. He wasn't planning on letting them loose so soon, but with a Sol Emerald to be captured, he wasn't going to take any chances.
"Everybody in?" asked Rotor, while the others climbed aboard his false Badnik tank.
"Oui! Gun it!" shouted Antoine.
The psuedo-Motorbug burned rubber on its way out of the garage, but the Doppelgangers were coming at them like jet-powered rockets.
Now was the time for Hamlin to unleash the last of his grenades. As he lit them up, he huffed, "This one's for Nicole." Then they were thrown.
BA-BOOM!
Rotor's Motorbug-tank left fire and shredded metal in its wake, like a bat out of hell. At full throttle, it was hopeless for any of Robotnik's scouts to keep up with; the team was safe.
While it should have been a time for the heroes to relax and be thankful for their success, Sally buried her head on Rob's chest while he cradled her in his lap. She was truly shaken at this point: first, her once long and bushy tail was no more; secondly, she had just left a dear friend behind. And third, she now had a lifeless Metal-Mina and a cyborg Bunnie, both of whom were in need of a Healer's touch.
"…Princess? Are you alright?" asked Rob softly.
She sighed, "I just wish she were with us…"
"We'll get her back, and soon. We'll come up with a new plan."
"We need more than that," she whispered as she started to let her fatigue get the better of her. "…We need more warriors. We need the Felidae Kingdom, Canus, Avian, all of them on our side. …I'll search the ends of the world if I have to, but as long as we get all the help we can get, then we might have some hope left."
"Sounds like a plan… Why don't you get a bit of rest first? You look like you're in need of it."
Sally's eyes drifted, gazing upon the faces of her fellow rescuers and her grateful allies. Their pleasant faces made her heart light up with joy, if only for a few short seconds. Then the fatigue took over, and she bowed her head. A single tear fell from her eye as she drifted off to sleep.
.
"…The next thing I remember," said Sally as she concluded her story in the present time, "I was back in Knothole."
It was evening in the Dingo Regime camp; Sally was sitting by a campfire with her new allies the Dingoes, as well as her friends Bunnie, Julie-Su, Am Rose, and now Shadow and Knuckles who had been freed from their prison. They were all awed by the story; even Bunnie, who was Sally's one and only witness to the tale.
"Wow," awed Amy. "What a story. That explains Mina, Bunnie, and how Nicole became enslaved."
"Yes," nodded Julie-Su, who had also just heard the tale for the first time. "But whatever became of Hamlin, Rob and the others?"
Sally explained, "They stayed in Knothole for a while, but then they felt it was best to report most of our tale to the king and queen. Only then did my parents send our reinforcements for our rebels. And if I remember correctly, both Hamlin and Rob were promoted to knighthood in the royal court. And Larry, Penelope and Arlo became royal advisors."
"Good for them," nodded Amy.
"Yeah," sighed Sally, "but our adventuring days were far from over. It was only when things started to look really bad that I decided to use m Sol emerald to call out for help. That's when you guys showed up."
"Still," frowned Bunnie, "it is a shame about that tail o' yours, Sally girl. Too bad we'll never see it again."
Sally's eyes sunk, as she remembered what Kage said about the Dark Legion keeping it as a souvenir. "I honestly hope you're right," she whispered.
.
Onyx Temple Zone, same time.
Ixus Mammoth was up to his neck in a steaming hot spring, still recovering from being frozen for centuries and looking very relaxed. He was now fully conscious, and quickly becoming aware of his whereabouts and new allies. As Lien-Da walked into his room, she saw that he wasn't alone; young Rutan was with him, using his clear Sol Emerald as a toy.
The mammoth chuckled while the youngster turned steam bubbles into snowflakes. "Heh-heh-heh… Very good, you're a fast learner young one. Now, try to imagine something else."
Rutan closed his eyes, and suddenly one steam bubble morphed into a small rainbow before it faded away.
"Excellent," nodded the mammoth, before noticing Line-Da's presence. "Ah, you must be Mistress Lien-Da. Pleasure meeting you, m'lady."
"Forgive me sire," she smiled, "I hope I didn't disturb you."
"Not at all; I was just getting acquainted with this youngster here. I've not seen so much potential in a long time. He would make a fine pupil."
Lien-Da smiled proudly. "That's my boy. I always knew he was special."
Ixus Mammoth then said, "I've already met your partner, Finitevus. He tells me that he has taken a great interest in the Sol Emeralds and wants me to help him better understand them."
"Of course; who better to ask advice from than the one who mastered their power a millennia ago?"
"Hmm… And yet, something tells me that there's more to it than that," smirked the ultra-smart mammoth. "I'm sure you're aware of m history; how I wasn't exactly… popular in my day."
"Believe me sir, we echidnas can relate. Our people have been outcasts for as long as I can remember. We're due for some justice."
"I see… Well then, I shall be expecting my own profit from this venture; knowledge like mine shouldn't come cheap."
Lien-Da grinned. "I think we can arrange something for you, sire… There's this great kingdom near ours called Robotropolis. It's nowhere as big as your former kingdom, but I promise you it's the richest in the world."
"And you have no interest in it yourself?"
"Hardly; all I want is for my son to be ruler of all echidna-kind. And for our people to live in peace, of course."
"Of course," echoed the ancient one, sensing her sarcasm. He then requested, "Tell me more about this Robotropolis."
"The ruler there is an ally of ours, but he's hardly tolerable. We only need him for a short while, until we can get his Sol Emerald. Once we overthrow him, his kingdom is all yours."
"Hmm," purred Ixus again, smiling contently. "It will be nice to be back in power again, just like the good old days… However."
"Sire?"
"I'm not sure I'm quite ready for the outside world just yet. So much has changed; I need to learn more about modern society, how to fit in. I may even have to change my style altogether. You understand, yes?"
"Oh, absolutely. By all means, do as you will my liege."
"Yes… So, where is this Finitevus of yours?"
"In his new lab, studying his latest project…"
.
While Kage Von Stryker was resting within a green liquid-filled capsule, his master, Dr. Finitevus, watched his progress. He was about to insert more robotic parts to the dingo traitor, when a computer monitor flashed on nearby.
"Finitevus," said the voice of Robotnik, as his face appeared on screen.
Taken by surprise, the albino echidna gasped. "M-Master Robotnik! I… I wasn't expecting you at such a late hour, sire."
"Indeed. I'm well aware of your latest failure." As he said this, Robotnik's red eyes glanced at the sleeping Kage.
"Ah, but he did succeed in capturing two soldiers of the Acorn Army, my lord. They are yours to do with as you please."
"Already done. But Stryker failed to kidnap the princess, and she's far more valuable."
Finitevus assured him, "I'm glad to see how concerned you are, Master. Please, allow me to add his newest installments, then he should-"
"No. Allow me to improve him for you."
Suddenly, a blue light came upon Kage as he slept. Finitevus was helpless in stopping Robotnik's teleportation device from making Kage disappear completely from sight. The albino knew what this meant, for he had seen it before: Kage was on his way to be fully Roboticized.
"Master Robotnik!" he protested, showing anger for once. "He was my test subject; I was about to see how far I could go with his cyberization without breaking his free will."
"Aww, poor Finitevus. I'll make sure you don't get stuck with the bill." With that, Robotnik's transmission shut off.
Finitevus wasn't one to lose his temper, but this seemed to be the last straw; in his rage, he pounded his mummified hands onto the computer keyboard, to no effect.
In reaction, the computer screen switched on, this time with Lien-Da on the receiving end. "Fin? What's wrong? I heard a noise."
The echidna's fangs bared, his hands quivering, while his back was turned to her. As he replied, he forced a wiry smile. "…It's nothing, my love. Just a minor setback, that's all."
"Very well then, I'll check in later." The computer switched off again.
"Grrr," went Finitevus in a low tone. "…Just you wait, Robotnik. Just you wait… I still have one wild card in my deck. And once I unleash him, you'll be sorry you ever crossed Doctor Finitevus."
.
SAVING PROGRESS
.
-CONTINUE STORY MODE-
NEXT: ONYX TEMPLE ZONE
.
-TEAM SELECTION-
One Team, Both Acts
Two Teams, One Act Each
.
For Act 1,
-SELECT (UP TO TWO) WARRIORS-
Sally Acorn, Shadow Hedgehog, Julie-Su Echidna, Knuckles Echidna, Bunnie, Rabbot, Amy Rose
YOU'VE SELECTED:
NEW TEAM!
G.U.N.S FOR HIRE: Shadow (Stealth) and Julie-Su (Stealth)
-BONUS!-
You've just unlocked "I Am (All of Me)" by Crush 40!
.
For Act 2,
-SELECT (UP TO TWO) WARRIORS-
Sally Acorn, Knuckles Echidna, Bunnie Rabbot, Amy Rose
YOU'VE SELECTED:
ROSE RED: Knuckles (Power) and Amy (Heal)
.
LOADING ZONE…