Sonic and the Freedom Fighters
Chapter 8: Upgrade Part 1
Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based work of fiction. All characters portrayed in this story, unless specified otherwise, belong to SEGA.
-Emerald Town-
Sonic raced through an unoccupied pathway on the outskirts of Emerald Town, followed closely by Sally, who was on her Extreme Gear, the two moving at speeds nearly too fast to follow.
Sally was starting to feel more confident when riding her Extreme Gear. She had been practicing over the past few days, with Sonic and Tails helping her throughout, to improve her maneuverability and balance on the gear so she could avoid obstacles while riding it, and so far, she was making very decent progress.
Deciding to put her newfound skills to the test, the two moved off the pathway and headed towards a forest path with fallen tree trunks and low-hanging branches, which Sonic found to be a great obstacle course.
Racing ahead into the forest path, Sally showed exactly how much she had learnt by expertly dodging every obstacle in the path, at one point even jumping over a partially fallen trunk while her Extreme Gear continued under it, and landing perfectly on the board on the other side. Behind her, Sonic watched her with an impressed smile in his face.
"Sally, incoming call from Rotor." Nicole said suddenly. Hearing this, Sally slowed down and jumped off her Extreme Gear before opening the handheld computer.
"Hello?" She answered as Rotor's face appeared on the screen.
"Sally, I've got something to show you! Meet me back at Tails's garage. And bring Nicole with you too." Rotor said, an enthusiastic expression on his face, before the communication link was suddenly severed before Sally could even react.
"Wow, you're really gettin' the hang of that thing." Sonic commented as he walked up to Sally, before noticing that Sally wasn't paying attention, and was instead looking at Nicole with a confused expression. "Yo, Sal. What's up?" He asked, getting her attention.
"Rotor wants me to see him back at Tails's garage." She replied. "He sounded rather excited."
"Aw, and we were having so much fun too." He lamented.
"Sorry, it sounds urgent." She said, clipping Nicole onto her belt. "Besides, I'm sure you can survive a few minutes without me. You were gone for three years, after all." She then teased.
"Okay, okay. Catch you later." He said before speeding off the opposite direction, while Sally mounted her Extreme Gear again and raced towards Tails's house.
-Tails's House-
Back at Tails's house, Rotor, who had recently made a huge discovery regarding Nicole and called Sally over to tell her about it, was alternating between pacing the floor of the garage and looking over the blueprints laid out on the table. He was still unsure if what he was trying to accomplish was even physically possible, or if he had simply lost his mind. He was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the door open, looking up to see Sally walk in.
"Hey, Rotor. So, what's the big news?" She asked as she entered.
"You remember that hologram projector I designed for Nicole, right?" He asked excitedly. Sally nodded in response.
"Well, this is just a theory, but I think that if I can charge the device with enough energy, then the hologram should be able to manifest as a physical form. I would basically be able to give Nicole a new body." This news caught Sally by complete surprise.
"That's... incredible!" She muttered.
"There is one problem, though." He continued, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "The only way I can safely provide enough energy is by linking a Power Ring to Nicole's handheld computer."
"I see. Then I guess it's a good thing I took one with me just in case."
"That's only half the problem, though. Without the Lake of Rings nearby, we don't have a way of recharging the Power Ring when it runs out." He explained before thinking for a moment. "I guess I could create a device capable of recharging it, but I'd need some water from the Lake of Rings."
"That's no problem at all. Sonic could go to the Lake, get some water, and be back in no time flat." Sally suggested. "I'll go find him and ask." She said as she ran back towards the door, before stopping in front of it and turning her head back to look at Rotor.
"Oh, and Rotor? Thanks." She whispered, a single tear rolling down her cheek, before opening the door and exiting the garage.
-Eggman's Base-
Meanwhile, Eggman was sitting in his chair in front of a large monitor, staring intently as it displayed a fast-moving aerial view of Emerald Town. Behind him, Orbot and Cubot approached him, confused.
"Sir, may I ask what exactly you're next plan is?" Orbot inquired.
"I've sent Metal Sonic to bring me any Chaos Emerald he can find." Eggman replied, not taking his eyes off the monitor.
"So, why are you looking for these Chaos Emerald things anyways?" Cubot then asked. In response, Eggman turned around in his chair to face the two.
"I've decided to rebuild one of my more effective creations; a weaponized flying fortress called the Death Egg." He explained. "In order to bring it to full power, I need a power source capable of outputting tremendous amounts of energy. Originally, I intended to use the Master Emerald, but after that little... mishap, I decided to use the next best thing; the Chaos Emeralds." Once he had finished his speech, a series of loud beeps sounded from the monitor. Eggman quickly turned back to see the words "CHAOS EMERALD DETECTED" displayed on the screen, and a mark indicating the Emerald's position appeared, which was moving towards the outskirts of Emerald Town.
"Ah, speaking of which, it looks like Metal Sonic has found one." He commented sinisterly.
-Tails's House-
Back in Tails's workshop, Tails and Rotor were making the final adjustments to the holographic projector, which was now built into Nicole's computer.
"Okay, the projector's set and ready to go." Tails enthusiastically cheered as they finished the projector.
"Great. We're almost ready." Rotor said. "Now, before I can activate the projector, Nicole, I'll need you to create an avatar of what you want to look like."
"I've already created one." Nicole immediately replied, surprising Rotor for a second.
"Okay then. Initiating holographic projector test... now." He said as he pressed a button, causing a hologram of Nicole to appear before them, forming from the top down. She was a brown Mobian lynx with black shoulder-length hair, green eyes and black markings underneath her eyes and above her nose. She was wearing a purple and white shoulderless, sleeveless dress with split tails and a red brooch. She also wore black gloves with white palms and purple cuffs, as well as skintight black trousers and black and white shoes.
"Okay, the hologram projector seems to be working perfectly." Rotor concluded. "All that's left is to attach the Power Ring." As he said this, he began to attach the ring to a clip on the upper half on Nicole's computer, but hesitated for a moment.
"Nicole, I should probably tell you a few things before we begin." He said. "While you're in a physical form, you'll be susceptible to pain and damage. As a precaution, the projector will immediately shut itself down if your body becomes too badly wounded."
"Understood." Nicole replied. She wanted to help Sally in any way she could, and was willing to take the risk.
Outside, Sally was anxiously waiting for Tails and Rotor to finish whatever it was they were doing to Nicole. She was about to go back inside to check on their progress when she saw Sonic rushing towards her, holding a large transparent container filled with water.
"Here you are, milady. One bucket of the Lake of Rings' finest water." He said in an overly formal voice as he handed her the container with a mock bow, apparently imitating a butler.
"Hilarious." She replied sarcastically with a smirk as she took the container.
"So, what do you need the water for anyways?" He asked, curious.
"Rotor built a hologram projector for Nicole that's able to synthesise a physical body for her."
"Wait, seriously? That's awesome!"
"Agreed. In order to power it, though, the device needs to have a Power Ring attached to it. The water is just to make sure we have a way of recharging it."
"Well, I'll bet you're excited to see her in the living..." He started before noticing Sally's downcast expression. "Sorry, didn't mean to open up an old wound."
"No, it's fine." She assured him. "I was actually thinking the same thing myself."
The sound of a heavy object colliding with the ground immediately grabbed their attention before their conversation could continue any further. Both turned to see what appeared to be a robotic hedgehog with piercing red eyes and a dark blue colour covering most of its body. Sally had no idea what the robot was, or why it looked so much like Sonic, but the heroic hedgehog knew exactly who it was.
"Metal Sonic!" Sonic growled at his mechanical doppelganger.
"SONIC THE HEDGEHOG." The robot replied, much to Sonic's surprise.
"Huh. Seems like Egghead finally fixed your voice chip." He remarked. "So, let me guess. Egghead wants you to capture me?"
"NEGATIVE. NEW PRIORITY: RETRIEVAL OF CHAOS EMERALDS. CHAOS EMERALDS DETECTED IN IMMEDIATE VICINITY: ONE." Metal Sonic stated.
"Sonic, what is that?" Sally asked.
"That's Metal Sonic. Eggman made him for 'the sole purpose of destroying me.'" He said, mocking Metal Sonic's robotic voice near the end, before turning back to face the robot. "That sound about right?"
"ENGAGING." Metal Sonic said, unfazed by the hedgehog's mockery.
"I'll take that as a yes." Sonic said before curling up and Spin Dashing towards Metal Sonic while the robot charged towards him, the two meeting in a powerful collision that sent the two flying backwards from the force of the impact. Sonic managed to land feet first on the side of the house before leaping towards Metal Sonic, while Metal Sonic recovered in mid-air and charged again.
They kept ramming into each other at high speed, neither one of them showing any kind of fatigue. The two moved too fast for Sally to see clearly. All she could see were two blue streaks repeatedly crashing into each other.
Eventually, Sonic was thrown back from the repeated impacts and landed on the ground, tumbling for a second before digging his feet and fingers into the ground to slow down, coming to a stop in front of Sally.
"He's a lot tougher than I remember." He said to himself as he curled up and Spin Dashed towards Metal Sonic. The robot responded by hovering slightly above the ground and forming a black diamond-shaped energy barrier around himself. The barrier completely blocked Sonic's attack despite his best efforts, which Metal Sonic took advantage of by slamming the blue hedgehog into the ground as if he were a volleyball. Metal Sonic then tried to stomp his downed opponent, but Sonic rolled out of the way in time to avoid the robot's metallic foot.
Noticing that Metal Sonic had deactivated his protective barrier to attack, Sonic used his Homing Attack technique to ram into Metal Sonic's torso, then used it again in mid-air to strike the robot's head before trying to attack with a powerful kick to the side of his head. However, Metal Sonic recovered in time to grab Sonic's leg and swing him into the ground. The robot then readied his claw to finish off the blue hedgehog.
Before he could strike Sonic, however, he was interrupted by Sally kicking him in the side, causing him to momentarily stagger. After regaining his balance, he glared at Sally, who had her Ring Blades active, then charged at the princess an swiped his claw at her, only for her to block the attack with her blades. This left an opening for Sally to attack Metal Sonic, landing a series of slashes and kicks on the robot before finishing off with one final kick to the chest that left Metal Sonic skidding back slightly.
Undeterred, Metal Sonic charged again and tried to claw and kick her, only for the Freedom Fighter leader to smoothly avoid every strike. She then tried to stab Metal Sonic using her Ring Blade. However, the robot grabbed her wrist to prevent the attack, before grabbing her other wrist as well.
"TARGET IDENTIFIED. SALLY ACORN, PRINCESS OF MOBOTROPOLIS." Metal Sonic stated as Sally struggled to escape from the robot's grasp.
"Hey, let go of-" Sonic tried to say as he rushed towards Metal Sonic from the side before the robot kicked him in the gut and sent him collapsing to the ground.
"Sonic!" Sally cried out in concern, before Metal Sonic pinned her arms to her sides and flew away while she thrashed around, trying to break free.
Meanwhile, Tails rushed outside, holding Nicole's handheld form in his hand. He noticed Sonic struggling to get back up from Metal Sonic's attack, and immediately ran towards him to help.
"What was all the noise?" He asked while helping Sonic up.
"Metal Sonic... he took Sally!..." Sonic groaned.
"I-I'll start up the Tornado!" Tails replied as he quickly ran back towards the garage, alarmed.
"Just hang on, Sal." Sonic muttered as he inched towards the garage after Tails.
To be continued...