Chapter 3: Reflection
The city, the one the Freedom Fighters had built ten miles away from Robotropolis, had more people in the streets than normal. The representatives of the city (who had been sent to Knothole) came back with news that tomorrow would bring a decisive battle for their future. One citizen in particular was to report to Knothole for further instructions. When the message reached her, she was surprised, not just because she hadn't heard from her friends in Knothole for some time.
"Yeah, it even has the royal seal on it!"
"The royal seal? They must need you."
She was lying on the couch in her apartment, a phone in one hand. The apartment wasn't too different from the others that crowded the condominium. It had the standard bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. The walls were painted a gray-white shade. They had posters of rock bands taped to them here and there, and the floor wasn't too clean. A small television was in one corner, adjacent to the wall with the only window in the room. A single fluorescent bulb hung over the couch, on which reclined a yellow mongoose with lavender hair. She hoped to leave this confined space and move in with her boyfriend some day.
"Well, I did belong to Knothole once, ya know. I was almost as fast as Sonic himself."
"So that's why they need you?"
"Yeah, I suppose. I gotta get ready to leave now; I can't keep the King waiting."
"Right. Call me as soon as you get back, okay Mina? And I know the warning is old, but take care of yourself."
"Sure. Bye sweetie."
She hung up the phone: Mina, the second fastest living thing on Mobius. Like Sonic, she was packed in an instant, and several moments later rushed out of the building and down the road, causing a few pedestrians to wonder why Sonic had dyed his fur yellow.
The blacksmith shop was dank with steam and smelt strongly of polish. Sonic instinctively began breathing through his mouth as he entered. Ricardo didn't keep a pleasant shop, but he did wonderful things with metal. He hailed from the northern end of the Great Forest, a large black bear with a gray stripe between his eyes. He had come to Knothole after the call went out for a blacksmith; years ago an inspection of the armoury had been very disappointing. Since Ricardo had come, the armoury was his daily chore. He forged new swords and armour for Sir John and Antoine, along with the rest of the royal guards. He used a special formula of polish that prevented rust formation indefinitely. There was nothing that he could not do with a lump of base iron ore.
"Yes, Sonic, how is the world outside? Inside here, my sun is the furnace and my moon is the small light I hang over my bedside, you know?"
"Uh, yeah. The battle's gonna be tomorrow."
"Oh yes, you want your gauntlets!"
He bent his shaggy body beneath the counter, sifted through other items, then stood upright and displayed a perfectly new pair of gauntlets. They shone with a thin silver coating, well oiled joints, and as an additional touch, each had a large "S" engraved on the top of the wrist, beneath the knuckles. Ricardo smiled down at them.
"They gave me a bit of a challenge, but they will work satisfactory enough. Go ahead, try them on!"
The blue hedgehog, dwarfed by the large black bear, was obliged to do so. They fitted snugly, and he noted with surprise that they were very light and didn't pinch his hands at all. The top of each gauntlet was mirror polished, and he could easily see his reflection on them.
"They will reflect laser beams, you know, I polished the tops very nicely. They laugh at water and rust. Oh yes, they are insulated, you know, so that you won't get zapped if you hit something live."
Sonic bent his fingers several times and smiled. They didn't restrict hand movement in the slightest. He punched his fists together, making a chink sound.
"Ah, good, you smile. So when will I get paid for my work?"
"Two months, and I'll pay in full. Thanks a million, Rick, I appreciate them."
"Good, good. You can try punching with them too. The insulator I put is also shock absorbent, not just electrically. You can crumble walls and not hurt your hand, if you had the strength."
"Thanks again, Rick. I'll be seeing ya."
"Bye, Sonic, and."
But Sonic had already left, the door swinging on its hinges.
".Close the door on your way out. It's getting colder each day!"
Sonic hadn't run very far when he felt a change in the wind direction. Before long, a yellow bolt of furry lightning shot past him, and he was spun around. After collapsing into the dust, a single name crossed his mind, "Mina!"
He picked himself up and dusted himself off, and she was standing before him. The years had not seemed to touch her. Some people simply remained young for a long time. She was wearing a black tee shirt with some rock band or the other imprinted on it. Two bags were sitting beside her feet.
"Well, Sonic, will you at least say 'Hello!' to an old friend?"
"Hello Mina."
"Hello Sonic!"
With that she gave him a playful hug. He broke away immediately.
"Some things never change," he growled. Her eyes were laughing at him as she pushed back a lock of hair.
"I got orders from the King himself. I'm gonna be in an Infiltration Unit! I feel so special!" she giggled. He glowered.
"Well, I'm glad for you and stuff."
"Can I stay at your place?" she asked suddenly. He really glowered at her this time.
"No."
"Awwww!" she whined. Then she giggled again. "Oh yeah, people might think."
"Precisely. Uh, maybe you can stay at my parents' home. they're not too far from here."
She resisted the urge to tousle his hair. He had grown so serious!
"Cool! Show me."
Mina picked up her bags and followed him as he exited the village in a blue streak. Sonic was still wondering why no one had told him that SHE would be part of the special unit also. Her hyperactivity might prove troublesome.
The room of Sally Acorn was dim with the afternoon sun filtering through the drapes. The squirrel princess was at her desk, studying the maps that her mini computer 'Nicole' displayed. The glow from the small screen flickered on her face as she tried to formulate the best angle of attack. Her eyes were on the maps, but her thoughts were elsewhere.
Unfortunately, the memories had not left her: the loud explosion, Sonic lying in his own blood, and the helpless anger and terror she felt. She remembered blaming Lazer for not stopping the missile, and then recalled when she had visited his hut to apologize for her blind mistake. The red hedgehog had gone through far more terrible experiences than she ever would, and she had felt the need to make amends. When she had stood before his door, a small note had been pinned to it.
"I understood your feelings at that time, Princess. No need to apologize."
Princess. He always called her Princess. Maybe he had forgotten her real name.
The memories would not fade for a very long time. She also remembered Sonic comforting her the morning after, the one person who drove her fears away, with his arms around her and his body close to hers. She felt frustrated that the past was affecting her work. After a while she gave up, turned off Nicole and paced out of her room in a state of agitation.
After completing target practice with Sir John, Elias entered the dining room and found his sister sunk into one of the plush armchairs. A half empty glass of lemonade was on the floor beside her.
"So tell me, what's bothering you?"
He crashed unceremoniously into the couch beside her. She groaned a bit and fumbled about in the chair, trying to sit up straight. She gave up that struggle and collapsed into its warm softness, closing her eyes. The weather was cold, and she felt glad for the chair and the fireplace in the hearth.
"I still can't forget that night. It's haunting me endlessly, and I don't know why I can't let it go."
"You need to relax. Maybe take a long walk."
Sally perked up at this new idea.
"Only if you come with me."
"Sure thing."
He helped her out of the armchair and they left the dining room and the castle, hand in hand, brother and sister, to take a long walk. They momentarily stopped to pick up extra coats. There was no sense in going for a walk and freezing at the same time.
"Nicko, you don't put the red wire in the green slot," said Tails, and correctly placed the red wire into the blue slot.
"Oh, yeah, I would have reversed its polarity like that."
In the woods outside of Knothole stood a makeshift shack. Tails and Rotor, with the help of two budding mechanical genii, Nicko and Jonathan, had built that shack a few weeks ago. It had been insulated to withstand both cold and heat.
Some time ago, after discovering that Nicko, a yellow and black gerbil, had such skills, and that Jonathan, a brown wolf, also had the gift, the village mechanics had made a sort of school for the unlikely pair. They had become fast friends, considering they were both interested in electronic devices and the art of creating or repairing them. Now they were under the guidance of Rotor and Tails, who made sure that their students developed their full potential. The four were huddled around a table on which lay a curious, rectangular box, with wires protruding from the side where Tails was doing surgery.
"Why are we covering it with durafoam? Surely that will decrease the output?" questioned Jonathan.
"Nope, the thing is, that's just the carrying case, so it won't get dented or anything. When we're ready to use it, we'll take off the durafoam covering."
"Oh, right," the teenager replied, glad that Rotor knew what he was doing.
"Alright, we gotta insert the black and purple wires at thirty three degree angles and cement them in place. Be careful!" Tails warned, as Rotor and Nicko brought the wires into position. Only when they had stuck the wires in that Tails noticed their error.
"Hey! It's thirty degrees the other way.!"
It was too late. The light above their worktable exploded and slivers of glass showered them as a huge electrical field emanated from the device and blasted everything in the room with an EMP pulse. Their respective furs nearly turned into nylon.
A few seconds later they stumbled out of the hut, coughing, as smoke billowed out the windows. There was no fire; the smoke had come from the device as it short-circuited.
"T- talk about premature launch!" gasped Nicko as he fell onto the grass, fur standing on end.
"Aw, darn! The EMP generator must be fried!" Tails groaned, trying to smooth down his puffed out hide. They had spent half a day working on that thing.
"Uh, I'll go and get another light bulb."
Rotor waddled off to his hut, the one nearest to the shack.
"So," Jonathan said, after removing soot from his fur, "What about tomorrow?"
"Who will detonate the device? It won't have to be anyone in particular. Once the remote control is made, anyone who's standing less than two hundred feet away can set it off by pressing a single button"
"How large can the blast be?" asked Nicko.
"Hmm, about a hundred and fifty metre radius. Anything electronic will be destroyed."
"Wait, won't people get caught in the blast?"
"We just survived a blast, right? All we got was hair standing on end. I prefer that than a whole army of Combots bearing down on us."
"And it will take out an army. We'll have to find the most concentrated group of robots and set it off from there. I just hope it won't short circuit," Jonathan thought aloud.
Three minutes later Rotor had returned with a new light bulb, and the team of mechanical wizards began to construct a less faulty EMP pulse device.
Bunnie was feeding a non-anthropomorphic rabbit (that is, a normal rabbit by Earth standards). The small creature had been discovered by the half-robotic Freedom Fighter yesterday, lying just outside of her hut. Even when Bunnie had picked it up, it did not struggle. Today, it did not seem any better. She hadn't bothered to carry it by a vet, since it was apparent that it would not live for very long. She would keep it warm and feed it until the passing took place.
"Y'all small forest creatures don't worry 'bout wars and otha things. Tomorrow will just be another day for you and your family. Well, it'll be a lot more than just that, for us, that is."
She stroked the rabbit, changed its water and left the hut. It gave a small gasp and closed its tiny eyes. The world had been cruel to it, but now a creature that smelt like itself, except much larger, had given it care. The rabbit did not understand why or how it was being cared for, but it was grateful.
The coyote, Antoine D'Coolette, royal guard of Knothole, was doing his usual duty. The borders of Knothole had become considerably larger since the palace had been built, so he had devised a plan to cover a larger area in a shorter time: since the huts were built close to each other, they had been connected with rooftop walkways. The other royal guards had agreed to this, since the winding streets could not allow them to mobilize quickly enough. Now Antoine marched above the huts, staring around in all directions. Many things missed his eye, though. A child stealing pastry from the local chef went unnoticed. A group of residents moved off into the forest unwatched. He wasn't very good at his job, but he stuck to it.
"Ah, eet ees one thirty. Time to polish ze sword."
He sat down on the walkway and drew out the well-polished blade. It was a popular rumour among the village folk that Antoine spent more time polishing his sword than he did patrolling. He hummed a tune while rubbing the blade with a cloth, and then his sight was suddenly diminished.
"Gahhhh!! Wat ze heck!"
"Guess who, shuga?" said a voice, and he felt a kiss between his ears. He was not wearing his wig today.
It was quite obvious to whom that voice belonged. He was glad that Bunnie had opted to use a velvet glove on her roboticized hand. He gently removed her hands and kissed the one made of flesh.
"Ah, darleeng, if only your other hand was of flesh, I would kees it always."
"Shuga, you can kiss me any time you want. Hey, after the battle tomorrow we can have some one-on-one, don't y'all think so?" she asked, smiling at him suggestively.
"Let's not be too hasty. we do not know who will be ze victor."
"Well, OF COURSE we know who'll win, shuga! Thuh Freedom Fighters are all coming together, and tomorrow we'll bang Robotnik straight into next century!" she declared.
"Eet must be nice to be zat optimeestic. Well, since I have polished ze blade, I must return to my duties. Au revoir, mon ami."
"Later, shuga-Ant."
She hugged him tightly (cutting off his air supply with her bionic strength) and walked away, waving.
Antoine noticed with annoyance that since Sonic called him "Ant" all the time, Bunnie had started calling him "Shuga-Ant" Well, better Bunnie than Sonic. He congratulated himself for having such a strong girlfriend.
Antoine was probably not aware, but Bunnie made up for his lack of fighting spirit, and he was the charmer who preferred to love than to fight. Such couplings always worked well for both parties.
"We should intervene before the time passes."
"No. We will watch them further, until we are certain that they cannot survive without our help."
"I do not believe that we should tempt Fate, but it is the will of the mas-ssked oness."
"Agreed. Fate will deal with them in due course. For now, we will observe."
The meeting ended. The four elders left their meeting site, to unite again in a place where they could observe the events occurring within the Great Forest and Robotropolis. Commanded by the Masked Ones, but fearful of Fate, they would interfere with the progress of events when all was lost.
The city, the one the Freedom Fighters had built ten miles away from Robotropolis, had more people in the streets than normal. The representatives of the city (who had been sent to Knothole) came back with news that tomorrow would bring a decisive battle for their future. One citizen in particular was to report to Knothole for further instructions. When the message reached her, she was surprised, not just because she hadn't heard from her friends in Knothole for some time.
"Yeah, it even has the royal seal on it!"
"The royal seal? They must need you."
She was lying on the couch in her apartment, a phone in one hand. The apartment wasn't too different from the others that crowded the condominium. It had the standard bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. The walls were painted a gray-white shade. They had posters of rock bands taped to them here and there, and the floor wasn't too clean. A small television was in one corner, adjacent to the wall with the only window in the room. A single fluorescent bulb hung over the couch, on which reclined a yellow mongoose with lavender hair. She hoped to leave this confined space and move in with her boyfriend some day.
"Well, I did belong to Knothole once, ya know. I was almost as fast as Sonic himself."
"So that's why they need you?"
"Yeah, I suppose. I gotta get ready to leave now; I can't keep the King waiting."
"Right. Call me as soon as you get back, okay Mina? And I know the warning is old, but take care of yourself."
"Sure. Bye sweetie."
She hung up the phone: Mina, the second fastest living thing on Mobius. Like Sonic, she was packed in an instant, and several moments later rushed out of the building and down the road, causing a few pedestrians to wonder why Sonic had dyed his fur yellow.
The blacksmith shop was dank with steam and smelt strongly of polish. Sonic instinctively began breathing through his mouth as he entered. Ricardo didn't keep a pleasant shop, but he did wonderful things with metal. He hailed from the northern end of the Great Forest, a large black bear with a gray stripe between his eyes. He had come to Knothole after the call went out for a blacksmith; years ago an inspection of the armoury had been very disappointing. Since Ricardo had come, the armoury was his daily chore. He forged new swords and armour for Sir John and Antoine, along with the rest of the royal guards. He used a special formula of polish that prevented rust formation indefinitely. There was nothing that he could not do with a lump of base iron ore.
"Yes, Sonic, how is the world outside? Inside here, my sun is the furnace and my moon is the small light I hang over my bedside, you know?"
"Uh, yeah. The battle's gonna be tomorrow."
"Oh yes, you want your gauntlets!"
He bent his shaggy body beneath the counter, sifted through other items, then stood upright and displayed a perfectly new pair of gauntlets. They shone with a thin silver coating, well oiled joints, and as an additional touch, each had a large "S" engraved on the top of the wrist, beneath the knuckles. Ricardo smiled down at them.
"They gave me a bit of a challenge, but they will work satisfactory enough. Go ahead, try them on!"
The blue hedgehog, dwarfed by the large black bear, was obliged to do so. They fitted snugly, and he noted with surprise that they were very light and didn't pinch his hands at all. The top of each gauntlet was mirror polished, and he could easily see his reflection on them.
"They will reflect laser beams, you know, I polished the tops very nicely. They laugh at water and rust. Oh yes, they are insulated, you know, so that you won't get zapped if you hit something live."
Sonic bent his fingers several times and smiled. They didn't restrict hand movement in the slightest. He punched his fists together, making a chink sound.
"Ah, good, you smile. So when will I get paid for my work?"
"Two months, and I'll pay in full. Thanks a million, Rick, I appreciate them."
"Good, good. You can try punching with them too. The insulator I put is also shock absorbent, not just electrically. You can crumble walls and not hurt your hand, if you had the strength."
"Thanks again, Rick. I'll be seeing ya."
"Bye, Sonic, and."
But Sonic had already left, the door swinging on its hinges.
".Close the door on your way out. It's getting colder each day!"
Sonic hadn't run very far when he felt a change in the wind direction. Before long, a yellow bolt of furry lightning shot past him, and he was spun around. After collapsing into the dust, a single name crossed his mind, "Mina!"
He picked himself up and dusted himself off, and she was standing before him. The years had not seemed to touch her. Some people simply remained young for a long time. She was wearing a black tee shirt with some rock band or the other imprinted on it. Two bags were sitting beside her feet.
"Well, Sonic, will you at least say 'Hello!' to an old friend?"
"Hello Mina."
"Hello Sonic!"
With that she gave him a playful hug. He broke away immediately.
"Some things never change," he growled. Her eyes were laughing at him as she pushed back a lock of hair.
"I got orders from the King himself. I'm gonna be in an Infiltration Unit! I feel so special!" she giggled. He glowered.
"Well, I'm glad for you and stuff."
"Can I stay at your place?" she asked suddenly. He really glowered at her this time.
"No."
"Awwww!" she whined. Then she giggled again. "Oh yeah, people might think."
"Precisely. Uh, maybe you can stay at my parents' home. they're not too far from here."
She resisted the urge to tousle his hair. He had grown so serious!
"Cool! Show me."
Mina picked up her bags and followed him as he exited the village in a blue streak. Sonic was still wondering why no one had told him that SHE would be part of the special unit also. Her hyperactivity might prove troublesome.
The room of Sally Acorn was dim with the afternoon sun filtering through the drapes. The squirrel princess was at her desk, studying the maps that her mini computer 'Nicole' displayed. The glow from the small screen flickered on her face as she tried to formulate the best angle of attack. Her eyes were on the maps, but her thoughts were elsewhere.
Unfortunately, the memories had not left her: the loud explosion, Sonic lying in his own blood, and the helpless anger and terror she felt. She remembered blaming Lazer for not stopping the missile, and then recalled when she had visited his hut to apologize for her blind mistake. The red hedgehog had gone through far more terrible experiences than she ever would, and she had felt the need to make amends. When she had stood before his door, a small note had been pinned to it.
"I understood your feelings at that time, Princess. No need to apologize."
Princess. He always called her Princess. Maybe he had forgotten her real name.
The memories would not fade for a very long time. She also remembered Sonic comforting her the morning after, the one person who drove her fears away, with his arms around her and his body close to hers. She felt frustrated that the past was affecting her work. After a while she gave up, turned off Nicole and paced out of her room in a state of agitation.
After completing target practice with Sir John, Elias entered the dining room and found his sister sunk into one of the plush armchairs. A half empty glass of lemonade was on the floor beside her.
"So tell me, what's bothering you?"
He crashed unceremoniously into the couch beside her. She groaned a bit and fumbled about in the chair, trying to sit up straight. She gave up that struggle and collapsed into its warm softness, closing her eyes. The weather was cold, and she felt glad for the chair and the fireplace in the hearth.
"I still can't forget that night. It's haunting me endlessly, and I don't know why I can't let it go."
"You need to relax. Maybe take a long walk."
Sally perked up at this new idea.
"Only if you come with me."
"Sure thing."
He helped her out of the armchair and they left the dining room and the castle, hand in hand, brother and sister, to take a long walk. They momentarily stopped to pick up extra coats. There was no sense in going for a walk and freezing at the same time.
"Nicko, you don't put the red wire in the green slot," said Tails, and correctly placed the red wire into the blue slot.
"Oh, yeah, I would have reversed its polarity like that."
In the woods outside of Knothole stood a makeshift shack. Tails and Rotor, with the help of two budding mechanical genii, Nicko and Jonathan, had built that shack a few weeks ago. It had been insulated to withstand both cold and heat.
Some time ago, after discovering that Nicko, a yellow and black gerbil, had such skills, and that Jonathan, a brown wolf, also had the gift, the village mechanics had made a sort of school for the unlikely pair. They had become fast friends, considering they were both interested in electronic devices and the art of creating or repairing them. Now they were under the guidance of Rotor and Tails, who made sure that their students developed their full potential. The four were huddled around a table on which lay a curious, rectangular box, with wires protruding from the side where Tails was doing surgery.
"Why are we covering it with durafoam? Surely that will decrease the output?" questioned Jonathan.
"Nope, the thing is, that's just the carrying case, so it won't get dented or anything. When we're ready to use it, we'll take off the durafoam covering."
"Oh, right," the teenager replied, glad that Rotor knew what he was doing.
"Alright, we gotta insert the black and purple wires at thirty three degree angles and cement them in place. Be careful!" Tails warned, as Rotor and Nicko brought the wires into position. Only when they had stuck the wires in that Tails noticed their error.
"Hey! It's thirty degrees the other way.!"
It was too late. The light above their worktable exploded and slivers of glass showered them as a huge electrical field emanated from the device and blasted everything in the room with an EMP pulse. Their respective furs nearly turned into nylon.
A few seconds later they stumbled out of the hut, coughing, as smoke billowed out the windows. There was no fire; the smoke had come from the device as it short-circuited.
"T- talk about premature launch!" gasped Nicko as he fell onto the grass, fur standing on end.
"Aw, darn! The EMP generator must be fried!" Tails groaned, trying to smooth down his puffed out hide. They had spent half a day working on that thing.
"Uh, I'll go and get another light bulb."
Rotor waddled off to his hut, the one nearest to the shack.
"So," Jonathan said, after removing soot from his fur, "What about tomorrow?"
"Who will detonate the device? It won't have to be anyone in particular. Once the remote control is made, anyone who's standing less than two hundred feet away can set it off by pressing a single button"
"How large can the blast be?" asked Nicko.
"Hmm, about a hundred and fifty metre radius. Anything electronic will be destroyed."
"Wait, won't people get caught in the blast?"
"We just survived a blast, right? All we got was hair standing on end. I prefer that than a whole army of Combots bearing down on us."
"And it will take out an army. We'll have to find the most concentrated group of robots and set it off from there. I just hope it won't short circuit," Jonathan thought aloud.
Three minutes later Rotor had returned with a new light bulb, and the team of mechanical wizards began to construct a less faulty EMP pulse device.
Bunnie was feeding a non-anthropomorphic rabbit (that is, a normal rabbit by Earth standards). The small creature had been discovered by the half-robotic Freedom Fighter yesterday, lying just outside of her hut. Even when Bunnie had picked it up, it did not struggle. Today, it did not seem any better. She hadn't bothered to carry it by a vet, since it was apparent that it would not live for very long. She would keep it warm and feed it until the passing took place.
"Y'all small forest creatures don't worry 'bout wars and otha things. Tomorrow will just be another day for you and your family. Well, it'll be a lot more than just that, for us, that is."
She stroked the rabbit, changed its water and left the hut. It gave a small gasp and closed its tiny eyes. The world had been cruel to it, but now a creature that smelt like itself, except much larger, had given it care. The rabbit did not understand why or how it was being cared for, but it was grateful.
The coyote, Antoine D'Coolette, royal guard of Knothole, was doing his usual duty. The borders of Knothole had become considerably larger since the palace had been built, so he had devised a plan to cover a larger area in a shorter time: since the huts were built close to each other, they had been connected with rooftop walkways. The other royal guards had agreed to this, since the winding streets could not allow them to mobilize quickly enough. Now Antoine marched above the huts, staring around in all directions. Many things missed his eye, though. A child stealing pastry from the local chef went unnoticed. A group of residents moved off into the forest unwatched. He wasn't very good at his job, but he stuck to it.
"Ah, eet ees one thirty. Time to polish ze sword."
He sat down on the walkway and drew out the well-polished blade. It was a popular rumour among the village folk that Antoine spent more time polishing his sword than he did patrolling. He hummed a tune while rubbing the blade with a cloth, and then his sight was suddenly diminished.
"Gahhhh!! Wat ze heck!"
"Guess who, shuga?" said a voice, and he felt a kiss between his ears. He was not wearing his wig today.
It was quite obvious to whom that voice belonged. He was glad that Bunnie had opted to use a velvet glove on her roboticized hand. He gently removed her hands and kissed the one made of flesh.
"Ah, darleeng, if only your other hand was of flesh, I would kees it always."
"Shuga, you can kiss me any time you want. Hey, after the battle tomorrow we can have some one-on-one, don't y'all think so?" she asked, smiling at him suggestively.
"Let's not be too hasty. we do not know who will be ze victor."
"Well, OF COURSE we know who'll win, shuga! Thuh Freedom Fighters are all coming together, and tomorrow we'll bang Robotnik straight into next century!" she declared.
"Eet must be nice to be zat optimeestic. Well, since I have polished ze blade, I must return to my duties. Au revoir, mon ami."
"Later, shuga-Ant."
She hugged him tightly (cutting off his air supply with her bionic strength) and walked away, waving.
Antoine noticed with annoyance that since Sonic called him "Ant" all the time, Bunnie had started calling him "Shuga-Ant" Well, better Bunnie than Sonic. He congratulated himself for having such a strong girlfriend.
Antoine was probably not aware, but Bunnie made up for his lack of fighting spirit, and he was the charmer who preferred to love than to fight. Such couplings always worked well for both parties.
"We should intervene before the time passes."
"No. We will watch them further, until we are certain that they cannot survive without our help."
"I do not believe that we should tempt Fate, but it is the will of the mas-ssked oness."
"Agreed. Fate will deal with them in due course. For now, we will observe."
The meeting ended. The four elders left their meeting site, to unite again in a place where they could observe the events occurring within the Great Forest and Robotropolis. Commanded by the Masked Ones, but fearful of Fate, they would interfere with the progress of events when all was lost.
