Sonic was practicing sparring with Sally a few months after the passing of Julayla Chipmunk. Sally was dressed in her sparring armor, but seemed distracted. "Heads up, intruder! I'm springing ahead…" Sonic called as he came from behind. "…and you're going to be falling backward!" He adjusted himself with a flip at the last second. "Hey! Look out!" He realized Sally wasn't even thinking about the practice!
"Wha…" Sally ducked down just as Sonic landed.
"I almost took your head off! Are you fighting or sleeping?"
"Huh?" Oh! Sorry, Sonic!" Sally sighed as she took off her face mask. "It's just… my thoughts have been elsewhere… Collin gave me a device and I've been negligent to even think about using it… and then… Julayla…" Sally let out a few tears from her blue eyes.
"Speaking of Julayla, m'lady…" came the sweet voice of Rosie, the princess' old nanny and cousin of Julayla. "There be matters which require your personal attention!"
"Oh? But of course, Rosie." Sally took off the rest of her armor and made her way along the halls of Knothole cavern.
"You're mentor has been most explicit about the division of her estate." Rosie explained with a chuckle. She opened up the cavern door that led to Julayla's old room. Collin had packaged everything up after Julayla had been put to rest in a nearby hillside. "All that she owned, save for one small box for Collin, she left to you." Rosie explained. "Collin has already received his box, so the rest here is for you."
"Thank you, Rosie!" Sally was shocked. "I'll be here if anyone needs me." Sally started to look through as Rosie left the room. "Amazing… that a person could gather so many material goods in a lifetime…" Sally then spotted a large purple chest. "Oh my. Julayla's Hope Chest. She meant for me to have it on my wedding day." Sally slowly opened it. "What a handsome vest!" She exclaimed, pulling out a like blue vest that matched her eyes. "I always wanted pockets." She chuckled. "I wonder what other treasures are inside?" She looked and found a picture of her and her father. "Oh, Father… those were good times… before you were taken from us." Sally then found a scroll. "A map? With instructiosn to be followed if… if… this is all too much for one day! I'll finish tomorrow!"
That night…
Sally found that she couldn't sleep. She felt like someone was calling her. She made her way to where Collin's underground lab was, only to find the young man asleep at his desk again, with the small hand computer he had given her next to him. It seems he had been writing down something about it.
The computer acknowledged Sally's precense. "Hello, Sally… Careful not to wake Collin… he needs more rest."
"To that we can agree…" The princess whispered as she came closer, curious about the device now.
"My name… is Nicole."
"That tells me who you are… but not what you are…" Sally grimaced.
"I would be your friend… but that is only a choice you can make." Nicole pointed out. Her voice sounded similar to a stereotypical female android voice, but there was something about it that seemed more alive…
"Hmm." Sally thought about it as she picked up the cellular like device, properly opening it and looking it over. "You remind me very much of someone else who always encouraged me to make my own decisions." She gave a small glance over at Collin and sighed at the thought of Julayla. Both always encouraged her to do so.
"Thank you. A higher compliment I could scarcely imagine."
"Mmmph…" Collin started to stir. "Princess?" Collin looked up at her with Nicole. "Did you need something?"
"I… What can you tell me about Nicole?"
Collin yawned and stretched himself before standing up and smiling. "She's called Nicole, is she? That's nice. Nicole, are you aware of me?" Apparently, Nicole had yet to introduce herself to the young overlander.
"Yes. You are Dr. Collin Hedgehog." This response got both teens to go a little wide eyed. No one addressed Collin like that before. "You came up with my design and asked Dr. Ellidy to help make me. He finished making me just before his death." Collin sighed at that. He had liked Dr. Ellidy. "I was designed to help Princess Sally and be her friend if she ever needed help."
"Pretty much, yes." Collin grimaced.
"You mean…"
"Yes, Nicole is to help you where I cannot, or where Sonic can't. Some journeys you must face without us, and Nicole will be able to help you do so." Collin smiled.
Sally hugged him. "Thank you, Uncle Collin!"
Sunset, the following day…
Sally was prepping herself to go on a mission, donning her new vest and some of her personal combat gear, including her blue headband and slingshot. "Julayla's final testament claimed that all I need to attain oneness of the soul is locked within the Darkness of the Forbidden Zone…" Sally took a glance at the setting sun. She had recently moved into a house above ground along with most of the village. Only Collin truly remained underground now. "A place where even Doctor Robotnik fears to tread." Sally sighed as she thought about her task at hand. "I could never ask the other Freedom Fighters to accompany me on what could prove to be such a dangerous and personal mission." She pocketed her slingshot and Nicole in her new vest. "So… except for you, Nicole… I'll have to go it alone!"
As she stepped outside though, it became apparent that Collin was either a snitch, or her friends were more perceptive than she had thought, because Sonic, Bunnie, Tails, Rotor, and Antoine were all waiting for her outside her house with a plane!
"Going somewhere, Princess?" Sonic asked, leaning up against the plane. "Weren't thinking of hogging all the glory for yourself, were you?"
Sally scowled. "Guys, I appreciate the support, but this could be dangerous! Besides, it's something I need to do on my own!"
Bunnie raised a brow. "Sez who?"
Sonic nodded. "Everyone needs a friend, Sal…"
"And danger is our business!" Tails finished with a grin.
Sally sighed as she joined her friends on the plane. "I can see it's pointless to argue…" They all climbed on the wings while Rotor took up the pilot's position with Antoine in the second seat. "I just hope everyone knows what we're getting ourselves into!"
Soon the plane was near the Forbidden Zone. Sonic passed out the parachutes that Collin had given him. "We're over the drop site now, Princess!" Rotor called over the sound of the plane.
"Roger, Rotor!"
"Good luck!" He called as Sally and the others prepared to jump.
"Everyone, together on my mark…" Sally then jumped. "GERONIMOOOOOOOO!"
Antione gulped as they fell. "Oh my…" He was surprisingly calm as they started to descend. "I have conveniently forgotten my fear of zee heights!" Which was his way of saying he was terrified despite also being a pilot.
The group let out their parachutes as they started their descent. Sally and Sonic were the first to land, with Bunnie and Antione being the last. Tails used his own flying abilities to fly on down. They all managed to land behind a large pile of rocks.
"Quickly!" Sally whispered to her friends. "Bury your chutes and move out! We mustn't let Robotnik's border patrol spot us till we're over the wall!" She started burying her chute in the mound of dirt in front of her.
"What's to worry, Sal?" Sonic asked as he did the same. "Even if the Swatbots spot us…" He snickered as he peeked over the rocks. "Those tin cans couldn't hit the broad side of a barn!"
It was at this point that a bot spotted them. "Intruder… alert! Response mode… initiated! Ready… Aim…" Sally blinded the bot with a paint pellet from her slingshot. "Visual Status… non-existent!"
"They've spotted us, but these concentrated paint balls will blind them!" Sally muttered as her team started moving for a crack in the walls. Sonic distracted the bots and cut them down where he could. Once the rest of the team were on the other side of the wall and in the "Forbidden Zone", Sonic zoomed in after them. The Forbidden Zone was so dangerous that not even the robots went there. The bots stopped just at the sign that said no return and went back to patrolling, satisfied that the Freedom Fighters wouldn't make it back alive.
Once the Freedom Fighters were on the other side, they entered a nearby cave. "We're in!" Sonic exclaimed as the group dusted themselves off. "Now what?"
Sally looked at the scroll in hand from Julayla. "The map says we head thataway! It also says there are a few obstacles in our path." Sally explains, entering the cave and going deeper in.
"Oh, like what?"
"…Like that!" Sally pointed to a large mechanical looking beast with one eye as it entered the chamber and glared at them.
"Mon dieu!" Antoine exclaimed, recognizing the creature from his books on mythology and history. "It ees zee cyclops!"
Sonic wasn't as well versed in history or myths. He gulped. "Looks more like a one-eyed monster to me!" Sonic started moving as the machine attacked. He tried punching it as he zoomed around it. "Stand back, gang… Tall, dark and gruesome is all mine!" Unfortunately, the robot was stronger than what Robotnik made, so it knocked Sonic down to the ground. "Big palooka doesn't know when to quit!" Sonic was huffing and puffing as he got back to his feet. "How are we supposed to get past him… I mean it?!"
"I couldn't say, Sonic… but I know someone who might!" Sally pulled Nicole from her vest pocket. "Nicole?"
"The Mechanoid's sensors have been keyed to detect motion, Sally."
"Motion?" Sonic thought about it. "That's it!" He stood up and stood still. "Everyone, follow my lead!"
"But…" Sally was confused at first. Sonic rarely ever stood still. He couldn't help it. Collin had mentioned it was because he thought Sonic was ADHD, whatever that meant. "What are you doing?"
"Exactly what it looks like… NOTHING!"
After a few seconds of nothing moving, the machine shut down. "Whew! I thought so. Without a target to track…" Sonic grinned, "he went back into Stand-by mode." Sonic chuckled. "and not a moment too soon! Patience has never been my strong suit!"
"No kidding?" Sally chuckled as they made their way past the sleeping bot. "We're getting warmer now! I can feel it…" Suddenly a stream of fire landed in front of them, and Sonic and Sally just barely missed being BBQ! "And see it!"
Sonic gasped. "A fire-breathing Griffin!"
"We'd better fall back and…" Sally started but Tails zoomed off. "TAILS!" Antione held her back from trying to jump after him. "Where are you going?"
"I'm the only one who can fly, Princess! With any luck, maybe I can knock it out of the sky before…" With a mighty smack of the griffin's tail, Tails fell to the ground. He landed with a "WHUMP!" next to a pedestal that held a sword. Tails groaned as he got up. "That Griffin's tough! If only I had some sort of…" He spotted the sword. "Weapon?"
"Whosoever pulls the sword from the stone shall best the Beast" was what the plaque said.
Tails noticed the others trying to dodge the flames as Sonic tried to distract the Griffon. "Uh-oh! For Sonic's Sake I hope that plague isn't someone's idea of a bad joke! Better pull the sword out pronto!" Tails jumped on the stone and started to pull on the handle of the sword. "But it's stuck tight! Mustn't… give… up…" Tails groaned as he pulled. "Gotta-keep-pulling until… until…" THWOK! The sword came out, and the Griffon crashed.
Sonic just barely managed to avoid being smashed under it. He looked at the Griffon with confusion. "Uh, Excuse me, but what just happened here?"
Nicole answered the question. "By freeing the sword from the stone… Tails broke the circuit which granted the Griffin its mobility."
"That was very brave, Tails!" Sally smiled, looking at the young fox, "But next time, promise me you'll look before you leap!" Sally hugged Tails, relieved he was okay.
"Yes, Ma'am." Tails grimaced.
They started down the tunnel again. "According to the map, we're almost there. I just hope we don't run into any more… trouble." Sally and the gang were now facing a large two headed dragon.
Its green scales were dominating, and it sat much like a dog would on all four. Its yellow eyes had red irises that glared at the group. It had yellow horns and sharp white fangs.
Sonic groaned. "Aw, no! Not again!" Sonic gulped. "Zowee! This one's bigger than the others put together! If we have to fight it… er… them…" Antoine was close to Bunnie at the rear of the party with Tails while Sonic and Sally had been in the lead. (Roll initiative!)
"Maybe we don't." Sally looked to Nicole once more. "What can you tell us about that thing, Nicole?"
Nicole scanned the beast in front of them. "The creature before you is the legendary Polysaurus Rex. Long thought to be extinct, this two-headed, two-faced biomechanical watchdog is a walking contradiction in terms. One head always tells the truth, while the other always lies… and no one can ever be quite sure which head is which. Beyond it lie two doors. One leads to your quest's end… the other leads toward certain doom. Choose your words with care, Sally."
"Choose my… you mean I have to ask it a question?"
The heads leaned down at this point and looked only at the princess now. "One question, and only one!" said the first head.
"Pick a head… and take your best shot!" answered the other.
Sally nodded and thought of this. "Very well… You… on the left!" The left head raised a brow. "Which door would the other head claim leads to Quest's End?"
The two heads looked at each other for a moment and then burst out laughing. Then the left head finally answered. "Truly, you are wise beyond your years, little princess. My brethren would council you to use the door on your left."
"That's it, then!" Sonic smiled. "Let's juice!"
"No, Sonic…" Sally shook her head and held a hand out to stop him. "We're taking the door on the right!"
"What? But he just said…"
"That's right!" Sally smiled. "Think about it… if he was the head that tells the truth, he would have told us truthfully that the other head would have lied. On the other hand, if he lies… then obviously it would still be the door on the right!" Sonic was confused but let it be as they entered the door.
"Well, since we aren't pushing up daisies, I guess you made the right choice. But that still doesn't tell me which head was which!"
Sally grimaced, "For what it's worth, I don't know either. But none of that matters now! We've arrived at… Quest's End!"
"Wow… look at that!" Sonic pointed out the small pedestal in the middle of the room. The room was ancient looking with gargoyles and marble tiling everywhere.
"I see it, Sonic!" Sally's attention was more focused on the small chest on the pedestal. It looked exactly like Julayla's hope chest, only smaller. "A miniature version of Julayla's hope chest!"
"This must be what we came for!"
"I wonder what's…" The chest opened with a pop as the princess approached. "Inside?!"
The two looked inside while Bunnie and Antoine tried to figure out how they were going to get back home. Sonic was confused about the contents of the box. "A scroll! I don't get it! I mean, what's so important about a lousy scrap of paper?"
Sally unrolled the scroll and read it aloud softly, "To Thine Own Self Be True." Sally grimaced as she placed said scroll in her vest pocket. "We should get going. We can figure it out when we're safe in Knothole."
"What, your adventure over already?" The group turned to see Collin Hedgehog stepping out of the darkened corners and into the light. "I thought you'd be held up by the mechanical cyclops for another five minutes, but meh." The small overlander chuckled.
"HOW DID YOU GET HERE!" Sonic's eyes went wide with shock.
Collin rolled his eyes and frowned. "You told Rotor where to drop you off, but you didn't tell him where to pick you up. He was getting worried so I finally told him I'd get you if he told me where he dropped you off. When he said you were landing near the Forbidden Zone, it made me remember this chamber. I figured I'd check here first."
"…YOU KNEW OF THIS PLACE!"
Collin walked up to Sonic and ruffled his quills. "Of course I know this place. I'm an Undergrounder! If there's a tunnel, I likely know it." He smirked. "Find what you were looking for, Princess?"
"I think so…" Sally grimaced as she showed the scroll to Collin.
Collin looked it over. "Heh, truer words were never spoken." He shook his head and handed it back. "That's something for you to think on, but not right now. Let's get home."
"Right…"
"How!?" Was Antoine's question as he looked exasperated.
Collin snickered. "Well, the way you came from is clear up until you hit that Swatbot patrol at the wall, but how about we take the tunnels home? I've got one that leads up to the surface from here and then we can simply walk back to the forest."
"Is it far?" Tails asked as they started off.
"Not really, Tails. Least, not the way we're going. Just an hour or two." Collin led them through the tunnel and they emerged on the other side of not only the wall, but a couple of miles from the forest. Everyone could see the forest and Robotropolis from where they had emerged. "Come along, children. It's almost sunrise." He pointed to the far horizon where the sun was indeed starting to peek over.
Rotor was relieved when they all showed up. He had stayed up all night worrying about them. Collin made sure to let the adults know to let them sleep for a bit due to their late night adventure, and went to bed himself. He needed a nap at least.