SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN: THE DEVIL'S GULAG, PART I
Downunda, the Mobian Australia if you will. The center of Eggman's Downunda chapter of his empire lied in the Devil's Gulag, from which his Sub-Boss Crocbot operated. But it's also where another Freedom Fighter group was located. A koala girl, a huge purple Tasmanian Devil, a wallaby, a wombat and a platypus were watching the complex from a distance.
"This is Bill, Guru, what can you say about the security?" the platypus asked over the communicator, to their coordinator Guru Emu.
The latter disliked violence but having a sense of justice and not standing for Eggman's evil, he helped in his own way, and the job as coordinator suited him best. "Security has not dropped since the big guy himself has hit the soil. Still as dangerous as ever." Emu replied.
"We are going in. With Eggman gone, we might use Crocbot's overconfidence to our advantage and free the prisoners. Now Eggman is gone, the people should be free." The koala girl said.
"Barby's right. We do this for the people. And now we'll move out. Okay, Barby, you, me and Trash take the west side. Stu, Walt, you take the east. Guru, count on you to guide us through this." Bill the Platypus said to his team. They all nodded as they split up.
Barby, the koala girl and the Tazmanian devil, Trash snuck with Bill around the west side of the building, staying clear of some Egg Pawns that had a crocodile motive, inspired by their boss Crocbot, the Croc Pawns. Barby snuck up on a few of them and bashed their heads together, scrapping them. She gave a thumbs up to her friends before they moved on. They came across an entrance, but it was locked.
"Allow me!" Trash said as he cracked his fingers and pulled the door from the hinges using his great strength. "Whoa, some muscle…" Barby said with a dreamy look on her face. "After you!" Trash said politely as he bowed and let Barby go first. "Such a gentleman." She said as she moved inside, Trash and Bill behind her.
On the other side, Walt the Wallaby and Stu the Wombat also came across some Croc Pawns as well, Walt grabbing some boomerangs and tossing them at the Pawns, which embedded themselves in their heads and shut them down. They then moved towards a door, Stu picking the lock before they went inside.
The two groups snuck around and regrouped on the inside before they went deeper inside the complex. "Help, somebody help us, I wanna get out!" a voice shouted. "That have to be the prisoners. Let's go get them!" Bill said as he led his team down the corridor.
There, they found a trio of possums in a holding cell, having shouted for help for a while. "Don't worry, we'll get you out. Lemme see, I think I can pick this lock…" Stu said as he took a look at it, but Trash just pulled the cell door open. "Show-off!" Stu muttered. The three possums were relieved and thanked our heroes, muttering "Thank you!" over and over again.
"You're welcome, now let's find the remaining prisoners and get you out of here." Barby stated, but then the possums started to grin evilly as they put their hands on the Downunda Freedom fighters and shocked them. As they slowly lost consciousness, Barby noticed their faces open up and reveal machinery. "Automatons…" she noted before she fainted.
"Dudes? Dudette? Answer me?" Guru's voice said from over the communicator, but the communicator gets crushed under a robotic reptilian foot. It belonged to a huge robotic crocodile: Crocbot. "Welcome to the Devil's Gulag, Freedom Fighters. Though don't let the name deceive you, you'd wish the devil was the warden when I'm through with you!"
One week later, Emu Guru had been left on his own since then, and he couldn't release his friends alone. That's where the Freedom Fighters came in. Bunnie, Antoine and Muttski, with Nicole's handheld with them, had come to his aid. "And then the signal went dead. They are in there." he said panicky.
"Then eet eez up to us to get them out, non? Monsieur Guru, you and us are going in ze Gulag!" Antoine said determined. "I have to go in there, into the fray?" Emu asked. "I 'ave been told you do not like ze fighting, but we need all ze help we can get to get your friends liberté back!" Antoine stated.
"Is Muttski the only one who thinks it's ironic we break into jail instead of out?" Muttski asked. No one replied, as they saw how intensely Bunnie was staring out the window. She had a serious look on her face and she didn't sport the kind warm eyes she normally had.
"Is something up with Bunnie?" Muttski asked. "Ah've got a lot of bad memories about the Devil's gulag. Ah've spent my childhood there trapped between the four walls and inside the fighting tournaments between prisoners Crocbot organized to amuse himself." Bunnie answered.
"You knew we were going in ze Devil's gulag, and you still went along? Mais, mon chèrie, you cannot to zis to yourself. You are strong, non, but why going back to zis place willingly?" Antoine asked.
"Ah've conquered one fear already, it's time to conquer this one as well. Ah'm no scared little girl anymore." Bunnie said seriously.
"Nicole was also in the Devil's gulag, wasn't Nicole? What does Nicole have to say about it?" Muttski asked, turning to the handheld in Bunnie's hand.
"Like her, I got bad memories of this place. But since I have no longer a physical body or a Mobian mind, after facing the two Death Egg Programs, being a being driven mostly by logic now and being digital, I got less to fear of this place then Bunnie." Nicole replied.
"Nicole sure? Nicole is still Mobian at heart after all. It's okay for Nicole and Bunnie to feel fear, maybe Muttski and Antoine should take Emu while Bunnie and Nicole coordinate?" Muttski asked worried.
"No, you'll need me for this one! Those are some very advanced defenses, which only got upgraded after the trap sprang for the Downunda Freedom Fighters, so you'll need me to bypass them." Nicole replied.
"And ya fellas need ma strength, as only yer swords and yer feathers ain't gonna cut it. The others are busy with their own missions, there ain't no time to get replacements, so we're goin'!" Bunnie added.
"I 'ave a terrible feeling about zis, but she is right, we do not have ze temps, we need to move quickly." Antoine said. "I'm not very good out in the field, but the dudes and dudettes trapped in there are my pals, I guess I need to go too." Guru added.
"Glad ya're all into this. Cuz it's gonna get hard!" Bunnie said as she looked back through the window outside.
FLASHBACK
A young Bunnie was in her cell, holding a crying young Nicole, who was still organic. "Why are we in prison? We're no bad girls…" Nicole cried violently. "Don't cry, sugah! Ah'll protect ya! Ah won't let them hurt ya…" Bunnie said. Poor Nicole was not a very confident person, and being put in a position like this was especially hard for her. "I can't do it, Bunnie. I'm not strong like you!" Nicole cried. "Guess ah have to be strong for the both of us then!" Bunnie stated.
Much later we cut to a fighting ring in the courtyard of the prison, where Nicole was huddled up in a corner, as Bunnie stood in front of her, protecting her from the Egg Pawns that were swarming in on them. Despite having little fighting experience, Bunnie has exploited her natural abilities as a rabbit and use her jumping and kicking abilities to knock the Egg Pawns away. The last one was knocked down, and Crocbot (being the one who overlooked it all) clapped. "Well done, not bad for some kids. I sense potential in you. You go back to your cells to recover, you're going to put up a show for me in later fights."
Later on, the two girls were seen at the cafeteria, with the other prisoners. "You put up a great fight for such young ladies." A stranger said to them. The girls looked next to them, seeing an aged white furred bat woman. "I'm Ruby by the way. Ruby Bat." She stated. "A-a-ahm Bunnie, and this is Nicole." Bunnie introduced them.
"You got spunk, protecting your friend like that, even if it's in a fight where it's about survival of the fittest. You are strong. But you lack skill and technique. I can help you survive. If you last, you'll get the chance to escape this dump someday." Ruby stated. "Ya can? Please teach us?" Bunnie asked.
"I can, but only if you promise me two things." Ruby said. "Sure, anythin'!" Bunnie replied. "One: once you get out, please find my daughter, and tell her I love her and I'm sorry I'll never be able to see her again. And second, if you ever do escape, don't bother with me…I'm old and I had my life. But you're young. You deserve a chance to be free." She asked. Bunnie was skeptical. "Do it for Nicole." Ruby stated. Bunnie swallowed her pride and nodded: "Ah'll do it!"
The next few days, weeks, months, when they were allowed out on the courtyard, Ruby had taught Bunnie and Nicole some fighting moves, and ever since then the two girls managed to beat themselves through every battle they were forced in by Crocbot. The fights could be long, grueling and harsh, but the two fought on…but while there was no doubt it wasn't easy, it was harder than one could think.
Bunnie had been tearing Egg Pawns apart and knocking out other prisoners, fighting harshly against the odds, keeping fighting, never stopping getting high on the adrenaline and the feeling of power. She heard someone sneaking up behind her and turned around and punch, only to stop in her tracks as she realized, she nearly had punched Nicole, the latter looking at her baffled. "Oh, I'm so sorry Nicole…ah don't know what came over me…ah nearly punched ya…" she said.
The match had ended shortly after that incident, and Bunnie had talked to Ruby about what happened: "…ah couldn't stop, ah had to keep fightin', there was no good and bad, only fightin' and I became one with it…and the scary part about it was that ah kind of liked it…" she said, close to tears.
Ruby hugged the young Bunnie: "I know…I went there. It's easy to lose yourself, after all this time in here, it's hard to not let things go to your head. But you were strong Bunnie, you held back in time…keep that strength, don't let go of it, you'll need it, Nicole needs it."
"Ah…ah need to keep strong. I can't become weak now…ah must protect Nicole, ah promised her…" Bunnie muttered.
Bunnie then remembered the day she had a chance to escape. One prisoner had managed to make a an explosive using only a fork and a piece of scrap from the battlefield. There was a mass outbreak that day. There was this hole in the wall, the girls ready to step through. Ruby had stayed behind to give them more time, feeling like she at her age wouldn't be able to make a quick escape. But Bunnie stopped in her tracks. "Nicole, ya go ahead, ah'll catch up with ya later! Okay?" Bunnie asked Nicole. Nicole nodded, knowing Bunnie keeps her promises.
Bunnie ran back to Ruby, who barely managed to fend off the Croc Pawns. But Bunnie came in and started kicking and punching around. "What? Bunnie! You promised me that…" Ruby ranted. "Ah promised that, but ah promised to be strong too! Ah've been strong for two, now it's time ah'm strong for three." Bunnie said as she grabbed Ruby's wrist and dragged her along, away from the scrapped Egg Pawns.
However, a single Pawn, legless and broken, but still active, managed to use its last strength to aim it's blaster at the two and fire before it shut down. Ruby saw this and jumped in front of Bunnie, taking the blast, before she fell down in Bunnie's arms. "No! Ah tried to protect you…ah'm sorry I broke ma promise but ah…" Bunnie said sadly. "It's all right…in your place I'd have done the same. But don't go after lost causes Bunnie…go to Nicole, and protect her…and tell my daughter…that I…" and with that, Ruby went limp. Bunnie closed her eyes as she let the body drop.
"Nicole!" Bunnie realized as she went after her old friend. But when she stepped outside the hole blown in the prison walls, she found Nicole to be unconscious, and dragged away by her arms by some Croc Pawns. "No! Nicole!" she shouted as she went after them, only to feel a bump in the back of her head and fall down on all fours. "You've been very naughty girls…you shall be punished…I know how, Eggman needs some 'volunteers for his experiments with cybernetics…" Crocbot said softly before Bunnie lost consciousness…
END FLASHBACK
The foursome, consisting of Bunnie, Muttski, Antoine and Guru (not counting Nicole here) they stuck around the prison. Bunnie held Nicole's handheld up and with a wireless signal, Nicole shut down some basic defenses like searchlights and some electric fences. Bunnie then handed Nicole to Muttski: "Hold her…ah'm at my strongest when I have ma hands free." Bunnie said firmly.
Muttski agreed to hold Nicole, but to himself, Muttski was saying: "Now Bunnie kind of scares me." Bunnie has never been like this before. Bunnie tore open the de-electrified fence and the four stepped through. From the corner of her eye, and to none of the others' awareness, Bunnie saw a glimpse that looked familiar: big, green and metallic. "Ya all go ahead, Guru and Nicole do some hackin', Sugah-Twan and Muttski cover the front, ah'll cover yer backs!" Bunnie instructed.
The trio nodded as they went ahead, and Bunnie at first pretended to follow them, but really she cut back and ran in the direction Crocbot was going. "Now ah'm goin' to get ya!" she thought to herself. It was because of Crocbot she lost everything: her limbs, Ruby and in a way, Nicole…she silently sneaked behind the robotic crocodile, waiting for the right moment.
As the others snuck down the hallways, Muttski couldn't help but to ask Nicole: "Muttski feels there is more to this place then Nicole and Bunnie let on. Muttski knows it were bad times, but Muttski can't understand your pain, cause Muttski wasn't there." he said to Nicole.
"No, you can't Muttski, though you try…it were horrible times. But Bunnie kept strong during all this time. It's something she's known for, it's something she takes pride in: being strong, in every sense of the word. But there are lives at stake, lives that can't be ruined like mine. And that's why I in return have to be strong now, because Bunnie has been strong for me…" Nicole replied.
Muttski then tilted his ears. "Muttski doesn't hear Bunnie's footsteps anymore." Muttski noted. Muttski was wacky, but he wasn't stupid. "Bunnie didn't…Antoine! Take Nicole, Muttski has something to do!" Muttski said as he handed Nicole to the coyote and left.
"Exactly what is going on maintenant?" Antoine asked. "Muttski is preventing Bunnie from making a huge mistake…Listen, I'll tell you the details on the way to the control room, just keep going, but for now let's just say that Bunnie is been chasing some demons from the past."
Bunnie had followed Crocbot, staying clear of his attention and luckily, also from some Croc Pawns, and she had followed him to a final room, where Crocbot stepped through. "He's all alone, and now he's mine!" she thought. She then moved towards the door and kicked it in, and rushed in, aiming her blaster and said: "Come on out ya slimy piece of reptilian…"
But she cut herself off as she noticed she wasn't inside any room, she was in an arena. The door behind her had shut again, only this time it locked itself into place better. In the tribunals around the arena sat countless Croc Pawns and other robotic minions like Wing Dingoes, Kama-Kama's and Saruders.
Crocbot sat on a throne at the top, while a single Croc Pawn with a microphone started speaking: "Welcome ladies and gentlebots! Welcome to the Devil's Gulag's very first special version of the arena tournament, the event known as…CYBERBRAWL!" the robots in the seats cheered.
"Ah don't have time for this!" Bunnie rushed at Crocbot, but an invisible force field had erected above the arena, separating her from the attendants and Crocbot.
"And our first contestant, back into the ring for the first time since long…now stronger and better than ever, Bunnie 'Strongarm' Rabboh…or should we say Rabbot now?" the announcer continued. The crowd cheered again. "And tonight, she'll fight for your amusement against our foulest prisoners, our strongest robots, our most beloved champions. Does she still have what it takes? We'll find out soon enough. Let the battle begin!"
TO BE CONTINUED