Chapter 11: Sweet Home, Robotropolis...
Hey, we touch
This place is so quiet
Sensing that storm...
---Peter Gabriel "Red Rain"
Air traffic was minimum in the city. Robotropolis was a sprawling mass, and I parked our ride on the outskirts. I didn't know what the Freedom Fighters were doing to the place.
We walked for a long time, and didn't encounter anybody.
"Why'd we come here?" whined Flying Frog.
"Because. I'm taking over."
"Yeah, right."
I looked over at him, narrowing my eyes. "This is my city, you understand? It's mine."
A few hours later (yes, Robotropolis is a huge place), we were crouching near the middle of the city. Freedom Fighters were everywhere. There were ladders all around the statue of King Acorn. It was black with years of grime from the pollution, and eroded badly. But the animals insisted on scrubbing and chipping away the dirt.
There were other changes going on. Some of them were cleaning out the old fountain. It must've been an older project, because they had the marble almost to its original shade of white.
They weren't trying to get rid of the metal buildings, it seemed. Mobotropolis had been made out of mostly stone, all natural-like. Robotnik was the one who replaced everything with metal. He was obsessed with metal, robots, anything as cold as himself.
They were painting over the metal instead. Even though I thought the whole robotic, metal thing was overdone, I was used to it, and I didn't appreciate the remodeling.
"Look what they're doing to my city," I couldn't help complaining.
Nobody said anything. I looked over my shoulder at them. They were just looking around. I wondered if they heard me, and I felt uneasy suddenly. Would they try to take the city from me? If I got it back, would they ease into the background, or would they try to get rid of me?
I can't trust them. I'll get rid of them when I get back in power. I won't kill them, won't even roboticize them...but I'll send them away. Maybe even back to the prison if they get too troublesome.
I clenched my fingers on the pile of scrap we were hiding behind. Then I crawled away to a nearby alleyway and stood up.
How was I going to do this...? How was I going to get it back...?
It was nearing dark, and we were still creeping around the city. Nobody had even seen us.
There was a group of freedom fighters in the road. We were crouched in the shadows of another alley. It was so dark I couldn't even see Drago, who was right beside me.
The wind could make or break a sunset. If there was no wind, the smog hung low and heavy, blocking out any light. Sometimes a faint red glow was the only indication of sundown. If there was wind, it sometimes pushed the smog around, making it thinner in places. Through those places, the colors would catch and illuminate the smog. Tonight the sky was unearthly shades of almost neon orange and pink. Drago's fur blew in a light breeze, tickling the top of my head.
The Freedom Fighters were sorting through a pile of scrap metal.
"Look at all this junk," I heard one of them say.
"We'll recycle it. Or something. Maybe there'll be parts for a deroboticizer in here."
I narrowed my eyes; it was a roboticized fox who had spoken. He wasn't familiar. I knew the Knothole Freedom Fighters had a partially-robotic rabbit, and the roboticized uncle of Sonic on their side. But who was this? Was it possible other roboticizees (for lack of a better word) had gotten their will back also? How many? All of them?
I closed my eyes, feeling suddenly tired. That would make my job harder. Damn.
"Hey, look at this. Cool, huh?"
The voice made me jump.
There was laughter, and I felt my heart jump as well. My breath came in as a gasp, and my eyes flew open.
Yes. It was her.
My eyes took in the scene. The Freedom Fighters. A figure wearing a SWATbot head, laughing. Her hands...her human hands, throwing it off. The breeze catching long strands of fire-red hair.
"Devon...Devon..."
I was on my feet suddenly, sprinting for the road. Somebody grabbed me, held me to them.
"Where ya goin', cueball?!" Drago voice was a low hiss.
I fought him, my eyes only on her. She was smoothing back her hair now. Her clothing was an orange tank top and jeans. Her shirt rode up, exposing her stomach.
"Devon!" I cried. "Devon!"
I went flying. The building wall seemed to lash out and strike me. I hit the ground, and felt a foot pressing down on my back.
"What the fuck are ya doin', cueball? Tryin' to get us caught?"
The foot was removed, and a hard kick replaced it.
"Ow," I whimpered.
The others were glaring at me. The hawk slapped me across the face, and Sleuth smashed my hand under his black boot.
"You little moron."
"Don't do that again."
"Little bastard..."
"He's nuts...frickin' nuts..."
"You try that again, I'll bust yer..."
"I'M SORRY!" I burst out. "Let me up."
Sleuth stepped off my foot and grabbed me under the arms, lifting me to my feet.
"I...I knew that girl," I said. "I'm sorry, I just lost my head...it won't happen again."
"It'd better not," growled Drago.
I looked back at Devon one last time before we walked off.
Without the sweeping lights of SWAT patrols, and the smog clouds blocking out any moonlight, the city was pitch black. The others had better night vision. They moved easily through the night, but I kept bumping into things.
The Freedom Fighters were gone. They had left a few hours after I'd seen Devon. A whistle had blown, and they all filed off into the forest. They were going to Knothole. I debated following them, then remembered, Drago knew where Knothole was.
So, now I would know where Knothole was located. But big deal. They were probably going to move into Robotropolis, or else why would they be cleaning everything up?
I would have to make my move soon.
"So, what we gonna do?" asked Nack. The others turned to look at me.
"Let's go to the main control room. See what's what."
"You think any of them is in there?" Sleuth looked slightly worried.
"They all went back to Knothole, bonehead," growled Drago. "Besides, we can kick any of their asses."
"Except your girlfriend," Flying Frog snickered.
The wolf snarled.
"Knock it off," I said. "We'll go through the air ducts, just in case. Then we won't have to worry about bumping into anyone."
"But we can kick their..."
"I don't care! I don't want to be spotted, you understand?"
"Fine, fine. So how do we get into these air ducts?"
"You should know. You were a Freedom Fighter..."
"I never went on any of their dumb missions."
I shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I know where they are. Now let's go."
"I can't see."
"Get yer tail outta my face!"
"Man, Drago, yer hogging the place..."
"SHUT UP!"
The air duct was groaning underneath us. I wondered if it would hold our weight.
We had been crawling in the dark for a while. I had no idea where we were. We were traveling up, that's all I knew.
I was getting tired.
"I'm tired," I said.
"So am I," Flying Frog whined.
"Yeah, let's sleep fer a while."
I nodded, then remembered they couldn't see in the dark. "I agree. We need some rest."
There was some banging and clanging as they settled down. I hoped there were no Freedom Fighters around. They would surely hear us with all that racket.
They fell asleep faster than I did. I could just crawl away now and leave them. I didn't need them.
Still...more power was better. That's what Julian thought, anyway. He had the whole damn planet in his grip...and where did it get him? Dead, that's where. Of course, if I hadn't fiddled with the machine, he might still be alive, and more powerful than ever...
It was my turn now. Julian was gone, by his own fault as well as mine. He hadn't anticipated things. I looked over at my sleeping crew, although I couldn't really see them. It was too dark.
I'd keep them for now. But I'd keep my eye on them. As soon as it was safe, I'd get rid of them. For although they didn't have any real reason to get rid of me, they were capable of it. Very capable...
We woke up early the next morning. While it was still quite dark, it was light enough to see where we were going. I still didn't know exactly where in the building we were. I looked out through the vents, but the hallways all looked the same. Metal walls, metal floors.
But eventually we came upon the main control room of the Death Egg.
"What the hell?" I took my face away from the vent, frowning heavily. The Freedom Fighters might still be spending their time in Knothole, but the king wasn't. He was down there, lounging in a makeshift throne. Robotnik's ugly green chair was gone.
The last time I saw the king was a few weeks before the whole Ultimate Annihilator thing went over. Half of his body was made of green crystal, the result of being in the Void too long. Now he seemed to be back to his old furry self.
"I want this building worked on first, St. John," the king was saying. "The restoration of the palace will also restore the spirit of my people."
I put my eyes up to the vent again. A skunk was standing before the king, and I clenched my teeth; it was the man who'd captured me. He had some sort of weapon on his right arm, a small crossbow attached to his glove.
"Yes, sire. How should we go about it? I'm no architect."
"Neither am I, St. John, you figure it out. Perhaps this whole structure should be torn down, and my old palace restored."
The skunk gulped a little; I saw his Adam's apple bob up and down. It wasn't an attractive sight. "Sire...that would take months..."
"Find an architect, St. John. You don't have to change the whole place, just make it more suited to us. Change it so it doesn't reflect Julian so much..."
"You mean Robotnik?" ventured the skunk.
"Yes, ROBOTNIK!" the king roared. The skunk jumped back, and even I cringed a little.
"Yes, sire!" The skunk waved his hand at two other men, and they promptly left the room.
"They're going to remodel my building?" I didn't mind that much. I didn't like Julian any more than the king did. But still...it was my building.
The others were scuffling around in the tunnel behind me. I turned to glare at them. Drago's eyes were gleaming in the dim light. "Hey cueball, the king's alone, ain't he?"
"Yes," I said.
"Let's attack him."
"What for?"
"What ya mean, 'what for'? To get him outta the way."
"If the king just disappears, then the others will get suspicious."
"So what? We're takin' over, aren't we? Why don't we just bust in and take it? What are ya plannin' to do? Sneak around or somethan'?"
I didn't like how they were saying 'we're taking over'. "If you bust in there, there'll be guards all over you."
"Yer uncle just busted in and took everythan'. All in one grab."
"So, that was him. He had robots, he had control of all the war vehicles, he had every advantage. We don't!"
"Hey, if we get ole kingy, then we'll have all the power we need. We'll hold him hostage. They'll give us everythan'. Especially Sally, she won't want poor daddy hurt."
"I don't like barging in," I said. "I like planning first. I like to see what they have first."
"They don't have nothin'."
I leaned back against the air duct wall. "Yesterday, when we were sneaking around, you saw some roboticized people, didn't you?"
"Yeah, so what?"
"They had their will back. A lot of them. That means most of them probably do."
"So what?"
"So...they're to us what SWATbots were to the Freedom fighters. Dangerous. And we don't have some incredible hedgehog on our side to beat them."
"We don't need one. We've got these!" Drago waved a gun around.
"Keep your voice down, dammit." I glanced out through the vent. The king was leaning his head back, eyes closed.
"You're the one who wants this city so bad," said Ernie. "But now you're going soft. Gettin' scared."
"I'm not scared. I...I just don't want to lose this again." I felt a strange stinging in my eyes, like I might cry.
"I wanna look down," said Drago. I moved over. He slid in front of the vent, then suddenly leaned his back against the wall, and kicked his legs out hard. The vent tumbled out of the duct, and the wolf leapt thorough. I heard the king yelp in surprise.
The others scrambled out after Drago.
"GUARDS! GUARDS!!!"
I peeked through the duct to see the king wrestling on the floor with Drago, his long robes twisting around everywhere. Then the doors slid open and the skunk and his two partners came back in, along with more guards.
Nack pulled out a pistol, but was clobbered by the skunk before he could shoot. Then the skunk aimed his weapon-arm at Sleuth, Ernie, Flying Frog, and the hawk, who were grouped up. I saw the arrow launch; the tip was bulky. The tip sprang open suddenly, and my four crew members were entangled in a net.
"They aren't going to win," I muttered, and then I got out of there. Those damn bastards...they were going to cost me the city!
I made it outdoors undetected, and stood in an alleyway, fuming. "Those bastards!" I couldn't help kicking a trash can. It tumbled over, spilling its contents. There was a ragged scrap of brown cloth.
I picked it up, running it through my hands. It wasn't much of a disguise, but it would help a little. I wrapped it around my head like a turban, and then around my nose and mouth. I turned and looked at myself in the metal side of the building. My nose made a severe protrusion in the cloth. I shrugged. People would probably think I was a bird or something.
I wrapped the cloth until only my eyes were visible. The frayed end was tucked into the collar of my...prison outfit.
Shit. I couldn't just walk around with this on. Especially after news got out that some prisoners had escaped and attacked the king. I wondered if my crew would say I was with them. I wondered if the guards were already out looking for me.
I tore off the number patch and threw it in the garbage can. But the outfit was still conspicuous. I took off the uniform completely. Now I was just wearing the long-sleeved wooly shirt and my underwear. I couldn't just walk around in underwear and a shirt. I tore at the uniform, trying to tear off the top section and just leave the bottoms to wear. But the cloth was strong.
I took the shirt off and put the uniform on, and put the shirt back on over the uniform. It felt bulky and slightly uncomfortable, but it didn't look so much like prison greys anymore.
I looked down at my hands. They were just so blatantly obvious; I was human. And there weren't many humans around here. I rubbed them against a dirty part of the building, but it didn't help. Now they were just dirty.
I rummaged in the garbage and found some more cloth. I wrapped some of it around my hands, leaving just my fingers exposed. It would have to do. I wasn't going to be seen if I could help it, anyway.
The wind was blowing hard today, and sunlight spilled onto the city streets. I was uneasy without shadows.
I stood by a junk pile, hidden from the street. Some kids came by and pounced upon the pile.
"Hey man, this is our turf," one said.
I didn't say anything.
"Yeah, this is OUR clubhouse," a girl cat with pigtails sneered at me.
"That's nice," I said. "You'd better be careful you don't get hurt."
"We won't."
I sighed and walked off.
"Grownups," I heard them say, and laugh.
The group of Mobians were still working on King Acorn's statue. I wonder why they were so worried about that. It was a nice statue...well had been a nice statue, but it certainly shouldn't be top priority.
Maybe I should rule differently than Julian. Instead of enslaving everyone, I could just terrify them. They could live in my city, and have businesses and live their little lives, as long as they obeyed my rules. I smiled. That would be fun. It probably would never work, but it was an amusing idea.
The king's face was free of grime, looking radiant against the rest of the statue. He seemed to be frowning over at me.
"Did you hear the news?"
"No, what?" A cat holding a scrub brush looked over at the raccoon who'd spoken.
"Some guys tried to attack the king!"
The raccoon looked shocked. "Who would do that?!"
"I heard it might've been some guys from that island prison."
"No way."
"Yeah."
"Hmmm. How'd they get out, I wonder?"
"Don't know."
I tried not to look suspicious as I walked by them. The cat looked at me for a moment, but it was just a glance. I let my breath out slow. Mustn't look nervous.
I turned into an alleyway and stopped. Somebody was there, picking up garbage, examining it, and then throwing it into a garbage can. They were wearing some kind of hooded shirt, and turned to look at me.
"Hey," she said, her voice smoothing over me. "Wanna help?" Her eyebrows titled up worriedly as I leaned against the wall.
"Are you ok?" she asked, laying her hand on my arm.
I trembled hard and sank heavily down to my knees.
"Are you..."
I pulled the cloth off my face.
"Oh my God," she said.
"Uh...hello, Devon..." I smiled weakly.
Her eyes darted over my face, and she reached her hand out to touch my cheek. "Man, I can't believe you're here!"
"Ssssh," I said.
"How'd you escape?" she whispered.
I sighed. "It's a long story."
"I heard that there was some attack on the king. You weren't in on it, were you?" She crossed her arms over her chest.
"No, I told them not to, but they wouldn't listen."
"You aren't planning on some dumb take-over or something, are you?"
I didn't say anything.
"Are you?"
"Maybe," I said mysteriously.
"Snively, you can't do that."
I laughed. "I've waited years to do this."
"You have to turn yourself in."
"Are you nuts?"
"No. You are. You can't do it. You'll get hurt. If you just turn yourself in, they won't do anything to you."
"I doubt that."
She was getting her I'm-worried-about-you look on her face. I hated that look. Worrying about something meant you cared about it...and I knew how much she cared about me. And I didn't want to hear it. "Sniv, I'll stick up for you. I won't let anything happen to you."
I believed she would try. But trying wasn't enough. The Freedom Fighters would never listen to her, in fact, they might even turn against her. She was a human too. Even though she was sweet and helpful, there had to be some mistrust of her.
"No," I said. "Just leave me alone. Don't tell anyone I'm here." I started to leave. She grabbed my arm.
"You can't!"
"Dev, let go."
"Sniv', don't go."
"Devon!"
She jerked me to her and suddenly kissed me, hard and full on the lips. I felt weak and dizzy when she let me go. The hood of her shirt had fallen down, and her hair was tumbling around her face, looking so much like fire, I expected it to burn her.
She looked beautiful. I wanted to stay near her. I wanted to talk to her. My eyes wandered over her body...and I had to admit...I wanted all of her. All she had to give, and all that I could take.
Her eyes were a green-blue color, like ocean water. The sunlight filtered into the alley, and her eyes were filled with light. I put my hand to her face, running my fingers over her eyelids, down her nose. She smiled. I always thought her lips looked like rose petals. I touched them gently, and they felt just as soft as petals.
"Stay..." she began.
I had to shut her up. I pulled her towards me, burying my hands in her hair, so thick and soft it felt like feathers. She raised her head to meet mine and we kissed again.
A feeling went down my body, like lightning or something; it was thrilling. I pulled her closer. She was leaning on me now; her breasts pressed against my chest, her thighs against mine, and I got well...a little aroused. I pushed her away before she could tell.
"Devon," I was breathing harder than usual. "Devon, come with me. We'll take over together!"
"You're so insane," she said, clasping her hands on top of my head. "You're going to get hurt."
"Come with me, please, please, Devon, I..." I took a long clump of her hair and wrapped it around my hand.
"You what?" she asked craftily. She was always trying to get me to admit I liked her. That I...I loved her.
"I want you to come with me."
"Won't I get in your way?"
"No, the more power the better..."
She was frowning.
"Just think about it. We could rule the city. You and me. Equal power. We wouldn't have to roboticize anyone."
"Think about this: you turn yourself in, you get pardoned, you come stay with me. No law-breaking. No looking over your shoulder, no stress."
"They all hate me, Devon. I can't live with them; I have to live above them. I owe them. They took this away from me; this city was mine!"
She shook her head.
"You don't understand. I waited so long for this."
"No, YOU don't understand! You don't have to be evil! You don't have to be hated, you don't have to hate anymore! Uncle Julian is dead, and if you try and take over, then you're just keeping part of him alive!"
The cat and raccoon passed by our alley without a glance. Devon looked at me for a moment, and then whirled to run after them. I grabbed her by the hair and yanked her back.
"Don't you dare tell them," I growled.
She slapped me hard enough to make me stumble. "I won't let you destroy yourself."
I grabbed a piece of pipe off the ground. "If you aren't with me, Devon, then you're against me..."
"You wouldn't hit me, you bastard." Her eyes reflected all the fury of an ocean storm.
I sighed. "I don't want to. But I will."
The storm in her eyes turned rainy, and ran down her cheeks. I looked away; seeing her cry made something inside me twist and hurt.
"You would hit me, after all we've been through? You would...you would throw away love for some stupid, stupid city? Some stupid thing you won't be able to keep anyway? You'd rather be hated than loved? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!"
I smacked the pipe against my palm. I wondered how hard I'd have to hit to knock her out. She'd tell, though. She'd tell that I was running around the city, and I know she'd beg them not to hurt me. They wouldn't listen though. I'd end up dead, or back in prison.
But I...I couldn't kill her.
"Devon, please, this means everything to me. It's not about hate, it's about what's mine. This city is mine. I'm not like Julian...I'm not going to do what he did."
She looked torn. I wondered what she was thinking.
"I...I...the freedom fighters are my friends. I can't betray them. I can't join you."
"But that means you can't be quiet about me, either."
"No..." Tears dripped off her chin. "I can't let you hurt them."
"What if I promise not to hurt them; would you come with me?"
She looked me directly in the eye. She was never ashamed of crying. How unlike me. Crying seemed a sign of weakness to me...and I was already weak enough to begin with.
"You couldn't keep that promise. And you know it."
"If you're with me, then you won't let me hurt them."
She was still staring me in the eyes, and I fought to hold her stare. I just wished she'd disappear. She was so damn crippling to my entire plan. I couldn't kill her, but I couldn't let her go either.
"That's true," she admitted. "But the Freedom Fighters will think I betrayed them. They'll hate me."
"What's more important, me or them?" I asked nastily. She looked stricken; as I knew she would. She hated what I'd become. She hated that I was mean and nasty and wicked now. Puh.
"Snively, that's not fair."
"Who said I was being fair? Just answer it."
"You're both very important to me."
I was getting restless. We had to look suspicious, just standing in an alleyway, talking. If someone walked by, they might get curious. I wrapped the cloth back around my face. "Look Dev, I can't stay here much longer. Decide." I tapped the pipe against the wall meaningfully.
"I won't come with you."
"Then you'll betray me? You'll give me away?"
She looked angry. Yes, I was pissing her off now. I was making her feel guilty. But dammit, I couldn't have her screwing me over now. Not when I was so close.
She kicked the wall suddenly, enraged. "I hate you for this," she hissed. "But I'll let you go. I won't say anything. But if you hurt any of them, I'll come after you myself."
I laughed.
She grabbed me by the shirt and yanked me to her. "I am dead serious. If you get caught, Sniv', I WON'T bail you out. You had your chance. You had your chance to...to be with me..."
She let me go and ran out of the alley. I didn't stop her. She didn't look back. If she had, she might've seen a sparkle of water in my eyes.
I didn't want to lose her. I didn't want to lose the city. I didn't want to lose her...
I left the alley and found myself a hiding place. It wasn't easy, because the Mobians were everywhere, cleaning up. But I finally found one.
I sat down to think.
I would have the city.
And I would have Devon.
And it wouldn't be long.
Hey, we touch
This place is so quiet
Sensing that storm...
---Peter Gabriel "Red Rain"
Air traffic was minimum in the city. Robotropolis was a sprawling mass, and I parked our ride on the outskirts. I didn't know what the Freedom Fighters were doing to the place.
We walked for a long time, and didn't encounter anybody.
"Why'd we come here?" whined Flying Frog.
"Because. I'm taking over."
"Yeah, right."
I looked over at him, narrowing my eyes. "This is my city, you understand? It's mine."
A few hours later (yes, Robotropolis is a huge place), we were crouching near the middle of the city. Freedom Fighters were everywhere. There were ladders all around the statue of King Acorn. It was black with years of grime from the pollution, and eroded badly. But the animals insisted on scrubbing and chipping away the dirt.
There were other changes going on. Some of them were cleaning out the old fountain. It must've been an older project, because they had the marble almost to its original shade of white.
They weren't trying to get rid of the metal buildings, it seemed. Mobotropolis had been made out of mostly stone, all natural-like. Robotnik was the one who replaced everything with metal. He was obsessed with metal, robots, anything as cold as himself.
They were painting over the metal instead. Even though I thought the whole robotic, metal thing was overdone, I was used to it, and I didn't appreciate the remodeling.
"Look what they're doing to my city," I couldn't help complaining.
Nobody said anything. I looked over my shoulder at them. They were just looking around. I wondered if they heard me, and I felt uneasy suddenly. Would they try to take the city from me? If I got it back, would they ease into the background, or would they try to get rid of me?
I can't trust them. I'll get rid of them when I get back in power. I won't kill them, won't even roboticize them...but I'll send them away. Maybe even back to the prison if they get too troublesome.
I clenched my fingers on the pile of scrap we were hiding behind. Then I crawled away to a nearby alleyway and stood up.
How was I going to do this...? How was I going to get it back...?
It was nearing dark, and we were still creeping around the city. Nobody had even seen us.
There was a group of freedom fighters in the road. We were crouched in the shadows of another alley. It was so dark I couldn't even see Drago, who was right beside me.
The wind could make or break a sunset. If there was no wind, the smog hung low and heavy, blocking out any light. Sometimes a faint red glow was the only indication of sundown. If there was wind, it sometimes pushed the smog around, making it thinner in places. Through those places, the colors would catch and illuminate the smog. Tonight the sky was unearthly shades of almost neon orange and pink. Drago's fur blew in a light breeze, tickling the top of my head.
The Freedom Fighters were sorting through a pile of scrap metal.
"Look at all this junk," I heard one of them say.
"We'll recycle it. Or something. Maybe there'll be parts for a deroboticizer in here."
I narrowed my eyes; it was a roboticized fox who had spoken. He wasn't familiar. I knew the Knothole Freedom Fighters had a partially-robotic rabbit, and the roboticized uncle of Sonic on their side. But who was this? Was it possible other roboticizees (for lack of a better word) had gotten their will back also? How many? All of them?
I closed my eyes, feeling suddenly tired. That would make my job harder. Damn.
"Hey, look at this. Cool, huh?"
The voice made me jump.
There was laughter, and I felt my heart jump as well. My breath came in as a gasp, and my eyes flew open.
Yes. It was her.
My eyes took in the scene. The Freedom Fighters. A figure wearing a SWATbot head, laughing. Her hands...her human hands, throwing it off. The breeze catching long strands of fire-red hair.
"Devon...Devon..."
I was on my feet suddenly, sprinting for the road. Somebody grabbed me, held me to them.
"Where ya goin', cueball?!" Drago voice was a low hiss.
I fought him, my eyes only on her. She was smoothing back her hair now. Her clothing was an orange tank top and jeans. Her shirt rode up, exposing her stomach.
"Devon!" I cried. "Devon!"
I went flying. The building wall seemed to lash out and strike me. I hit the ground, and felt a foot pressing down on my back.
"What the fuck are ya doin', cueball? Tryin' to get us caught?"
The foot was removed, and a hard kick replaced it.
"Ow," I whimpered.
The others were glaring at me. The hawk slapped me across the face, and Sleuth smashed my hand under his black boot.
"You little moron."
"Don't do that again."
"Little bastard..."
"He's nuts...frickin' nuts..."
"You try that again, I'll bust yer..."
"I'M SORRY!" I burst out. "Let me up."
Sleuth stepped off my foot and grabbed me under the arms, lifting me to my feet.
"I...I knew that girl," I said. "I'm sorry, I just lost my head...it won't happen again."
"It'd better not," growled Drago.
I looked back at Devon one last time before we walked off.
Without the sweeping lights of SWAT patrols, and the smog clouds blocking out any moonlight, the city was pitch black. The others had better night vision. They moved easily through the night, but I kept bumping into things.
The Freedom Fighters were gone. They had left a few hours after I'd seen Devon. A whistle had blown, and they all filed off into the forest. They were going to Knothole. I debated following them, then remembered, Drago knew where Knothole was.
So, now I would know where Knothole was located. But big deal. They were probably going to move into Robotropolis, or else why would they be cleaning everything up?
I would have to make my move soon.
"So, what we gonna do?" asked Nack. The others turned to look at me.
"Let's go to the main control room. See what's what."
"You think any of them is in there?" Sleuth looked slightly worried.
"They all went back to Knothole, bonehead," growled Drago. "Besides, we can kick any of their asses."
"Except your girlfriend," Flying Frog snickered.
The wolf snarled.
"Knock it off," I said. "We'll go through the air ducts, just in case. Then we won't have to worry about bumping into anyone."
"But we can kick their..."
"I don't care! I don't want to be spotted, you understand?"
"Fine, fine. So how do we get into these air ducts?"
"You should know. You were a Freedom Fighter..."
"I never went on any of their dumb missions."
I shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I know where they are. Now let's go."
"I can't see."
"Get yer tail outta my face!"
"Man, Drago, yer hogging the place..."
"SHUT UP!"
The air duct was groaning underneath us. I wondered if it would hold our weight.
We had been crawling in the dark for a while. I had no idea where we were. We were traveling up, that's all I knew.
I was getting tired.
"I'm tired," I said.
"So am I," Flying Frog whined.
"Yeah, let's sleep fer a while."
I nodded, then remembered they couldn't see in the dark. "I agree. We need some rest."
There was some banging and clanging as they settled down. I hoped there were no Freedom Fighters around. They would surely hear us with all that racket.
They fell asleep faster than I did. I could just crawl away now and leave them. I didn't need them.
Still...more power was better. That's what Julian thought, anyway. He had the whole damn planet in his grip...and where did it get him? Dead, that's where. Of course, if I hadn't fiddled with the machine, he might still be alive, and more powerful than ever...
It was my turn now. Julian was gone, by his own fault as well as mine. He hadn't anticipated things. I looked over at my sleeping crew, although I couldn't really see them. It was too dark.
I'd keep them for now. But I'd keep my eye on them. As soon as it was safe, I'd get rid of them. For although they didn't have any real reason to get rid of me, they were capable of it. Very capable...
We woke up early the next morning. While it was still quite dark, it was light enough to see where we were going. I still didn't know exactly where in the building we were. I looked out through the vents, but the hallways all looked the same. Metal walls, metal floors.
But eventually we came upon the main control room of the Death Egg.
"What the hell?" I took my face away from the vent, frowning heavily. The Freedom Fighters might still be spending their time in Knothole, but the king wasn't. He was down there, lounging in a makeshift throne. Robotnik's ugly green chair was gone.
The last time I saw the king was a few weeks before the whole Ultimate Annihilator thing went over. Half of his body was made of green crystal, the result of being in the Void too long. Now he seemed to be back to his old furry self.
"I want this building worked on first, St. John," the king was saying. "The restoration of the palace will also restore the spirit of my people."
I put my eyes up to the vent again. A skunk was standing before the king, and I clenched my teeth; it was the man who'd captured me. He had some sort of weapon on his right arm, a small crossbow attached to his glove.
"Yes, sire. How should we go about it? I'm no architect."
"Neither am I, St. John, you figure it out. Perhaps this whole structure should be torn down, and my old palace restored."
The skunk gulped a little; I saw his Adam's apple bob up and down. It wasn't an attractive sight. "Sire...that would take months..."
"Find an architect, St. John. You don't have to change the whole place, just make it more suited to us. Change it so it doesn't reflect Julian so much..."
"You mean Robotnik?" ventured the skunk.
"Yes, ROBOTNIK!" the king roared. The skunk jumped back, and even I cringed a little.
"Yes, sire!" The skunk waved his hand at two other men, and they promptly left the room.
"They're going to remodel my building?" I didn't mind that much. I didn't like Julian any more than the king did. But still...it was my building.
The others were scuffling around in the tunnel behind me. I turned to glare at them. Drago's eyes were gleaming in the dim light. "Hey cueball, the king's alone, ain't he?"
"Yes," I said.
"Let's attack him."
"What for?"
"What ya mean, 'what for'? To get him outta the way."
"If the king just disappears, then the others will get suspicious."
"So what? We're takin' over, aren't we? Why don't we just bust in and take it? What are ya plannin' to do? Sneak around or somethan'?"
I didn't like how they were saying 'we're taking over'. "If you bust in there, there'll be guards all over you."
"Yer uncle just busted in and took everythan'. All in one grab."
"So, that was him. He had robots, he had control of all the war vehicles, he had every advantage. We don't!"
"Hey, if we get ole kingy, then we'll have all the power we need. We'll hold him hostage. They'll give us everythan'. Especially Sally, she won't want poor daddy hurt."
"I don't like barging in," I said. "I like planning first. I like to see what they have first."
"They don't have nothin'."
I leaned back against the air duct wall. "Yesterday, when we were sneaking around, you saw some roboticized people, didn't you?"
"Yeah, so what?"
"They had their will back. A lot of them. That means most of them probably do."
"So what?"
"So...they're to us what SWATbots were to the Freedom fighters. Dangerous. And we don't have some incredible hedgehog on our side to beat them."
"We don't need one. We've got these!" Drago waved a gun around.
"Keep your voice down, dammit." I glanced out through the vent. The king was leaning his head back, eyes closed.
"You're the one who wants this city so bad," said Ernie. "But now you're going soft. Gettin' scared."
"I'm not scared. I...I just don't want to lose this again." I felt a strange stinging in my eyes, like I might cry.
"I wanna look down," said Drago. I moved over. He slid in front of the vent, then suddenly leaned his back against the wall, and kicked his legs out hard. The vent tumbled out of the duct, and the wolf leapt thorough. I heard the king yelp in surprise.
The others scrambled out after Drago.
"GUARDS! GUARDS!!!"
I peeked through the duct to see the king wrestling on the floor with Drago, his long robes twisting around everywhere. Then the doors slid open and the skunk and his two partners came back in, along with more guards.
Nack pulled out a pistol, but was clobbered by the skunk before he could shoot. Then the skunk aimed his weapon-arm at Sleuth, Ernie, Flying Frog, and the hawk, who were grouped up. I saw the arrow launch; the tip was bulky. The tip sprang open suddenly, and my four crew members were entangled in a net.
"They aren't going to win," I muttered, and then I got out of there. Those damn bastards...they were going to cost me the city!
I made it outdoors undetected, and stood in an alleyway, fuming. "Those bastards!" I couldn't help kicking a trash can. It tumbled over, spilling its contents. There was a ragged scrap of brown cloth.
I picked it up, running it through my hands. It wasn't much of a disguise, but it would help a little. I wrapped it around my head like a turban, and then around my nose and mouth. I turned and looked at myself in the metal side of the building. My nose made a severe protrusion in the cloth. I shrugged. People would probably think I was a bird or something.
I wrapped the cloth until only my eyes were visible. The frayed end was tucked into the collar of my...prison outfit.
Shit. I couldn't just walk around with this on. Especially after news got out that some prisoners had escaped and attacked the king. I wondered if my crew would say I was with them. I wondered if the guards were already out looking for me.
I tore off the number patch and threw it in the garbage can. But the outfit was still conspicuous. I took off the uniform completely. Now I was just wearing the long-sleeved wooly shirt and my underwear. I couldn't just walk around in underwear and a shirt. I tore at the uniform, trying to tear off the top section and just leave the bottoms to wear. But the cloth was strong.
I took the shirt off and put the uniform on, and put the shirt back on over the uniform. It felt bulky and slightly uncomfortable, but it didn't look so much like prison greys anymore.
I looked down at my hands. They were just so blatantly obvious; I was human. And there weren't many humans around here. I rubbed them against a dirty part of the building, but it didn't help. Now they were just dirty.
I rummaged in the garbage and found some more cloth. I wrapped some of it around my hands, leaving just my fingers exposed. It would have to do. I wasn't going to be seen if I could help it, anyway.
The wind was blowing hard today, and sunlight spilled onto the city streets. I was uneasy without shadows.
I stood by a junk pile, hidden from the street. Some kids came by and pounced upon the pile.
"Hey man, this is our turf," one said.
I didn't say anything.
"Yeah, this is OUR clubhouse," a girl cat with pigtails sneered at me.
"That's nice," I said. "You'd better be careful you don't get hurt."
"We won't."
I sighed and walked off.
"Grownups," I heard them say, and laugh.
The group of Mobians were still working on King Acorn's statue. I wonder why they were so worried about that. It was a nice statue...well had been a nice statue, but it certainly shouldn't be top priority.
Maybe I should rule differently than Julian. Instead of enslaving everyone, I could just terrify them. They could live in my city, and have businesses and live their little lives, as long as they obeyed my rules. I smiled. That would be fun. It probably would never work, but it was an amusing idea.
The king's face was free of grime, looking radiant against the rest of the statue. He seemed to be frowning over at me.
"Did you hear the news?"
"No, what?" A cat holding a scrub brush looked over at the raccoon who'd spoken.
"Some guys tried to attack the king!"
The raccoon looked shocked. "Who would do that?!"
"I heard it might've been some guys from that island prison."
"No way."
"Yeah."
"Hmmm. How'd they get out, I wonder?"
"Don't know."
I tried not to look suspicious as I walked by them. The cat looked at me for a moment, but it was just a glance. I let my breath out slow. Mustn't look nervous.
I turned into an alleyway and stopped. Somebody was there, picking up garbage, examining it, and then throwing it into a garbage can. They were wearing some kind of hooded shirt, and turned to look at me.
"Hey," she said, her voice smoothing over me. "Wanna help?" Her eyebrows titled up worriedly as I leaned against the wall.
"Are you ok?" she asked, laying her hand on my arm.
I trembled hard and sank heavily down to my knees.
"Are you..."
I pulled the cloth off my face.
"Oh my God," she said.
"Uh...hello, Devon..." I smiled weakly.
Her eyes darted over my face, and she reached her hand out to touch my cheek. "Man, I can't believe you're here!"
"Ssssh," I said.
"How'd you escape?" she whispered.
I sighed. "It's a long story."
"I heard that there was some attack on the king. You weren't in on it, were you?" She crossed her arms over her chest.
"No, I told them not to, but they wouldn't listen."
"You aren't planning on some dumb take-over or something, are you?"
I didn't say anything.
"Are you?"
"Maybe," I said mysteriously.
"Snively, you can't do that."
I laughed. "I've waited years to do this."
"You have to turn yourself in."
"Are you nuts?"
"No. You are. You can't do it. You'll get hurt. If you just turn yourself in, they won't do anything to you."
"I doubt that."
She was getting her I'm-worried-about-you look on her face. I hated that look. Worrying about something meant you cared about it...and I knew how much she cared about me. And I didn't want to hear it. "Sniv, I'll stick up for you. I won't let anything happen to you."
I believed she would try. But trying wasn't enough. The Freedom Fighters would never listen to her, in fact, they might even turn against her. She was a human too. Even though she was sweet and helpful, there had to be some mistrust of her.
"No," I said. "Just leave me alone. Don't tell anyone I'm here." I started to leave. She grabbed my arm.
"You can't!"
"Dev, let go."
"Sniv', don't go."
"Devon!"
She jerked me to her and suddenly kissed me, hard and full on the lips. I felt weak and dizzy when she let me go. The hood of her shirt had fallen down, and her hair was tumbling around her face, looking so much like fire, I expected it to burn her.
She looked beautiful. I wanted to stay near her. I wanted to talk to her. My eyes wandered over her body...and I had to admit...I wanted all of her. All she had to give, and all that I could take.
Her eyes were a green-blue color, like ocean water. The sunlight filtered into the alley, and her eyes were filled with light. I put my hand to her face, running my fingers over her eyelids, down her nose. She smiled. I always thought her lips looked like rose petals. I touched them gently, and they felt just as soft as petals.
"Stay..." she began.
I had to shut her up. I pulled her towards me, burying my hands in her hair, so thick and soft it felt like feathers. She raised her head to meet mine and we kissed again.
A feeling went down my body, like lightning or something; it was thrilling. I pulled her closer. She was leaning on me now; her breasts pressed against my chest, her thighs against mine, and I got well...a little aroused. I pushed her away before she could tell.
"Devon," I was breathing harder than usual. "Devon, come with me. We'll take over together!"
"You're so insane," she said, clasping her hands on top of my head. "You're going to get hurt."
"Come with me, please, please, Devon, I..." I took a long clump of her hair and wrapped it around my hand.
"You what?" she asked craftily. She was always trying to get me to admit I liked her. That I...I loved her.
"I want you to come with me."
"Won't I get in your way?"
"No, the more power the better..."
She was frowning.
"Just think about it. We could rule the city. You and me. Equal power. We wouldn't have to roboticize anyone."
"Think about this: you turn yourself in, you get pardoned, you come stay with me. No law-breaking. No looking over your shoulder, no stress."
"They all hate me, Devon. I can't live with them; I have to live above them. I owe them. They took this away from me; this city was mine!"
She shook her head.
"You don't understand. I waited so long for this."
"No, YOU don't understand! You don't have to be evil! You don't have to be hated, you don't have to hate anymore! Uncle Julian is dead, and if you try and take over, then you're just keeping part of him alive!"
The cat and raccoon passed by our alley without a glance. Devon looked at me for a moment, and then whirled to run after them. I grabbed her by the hair and yanked her back.
"Don't you dare tell them," I growled.
She slapped me hard enough to make me stumble. "I won't let you destroy yourself."
I grabbed a piece of pipe off the ground. "If you aren't with me, Devon, then you're against me..."
"You wouldn't hit me, you bastard." Her eyes reflected all the fury of an ocean storm.
I sighed. "I don't want to. But I will."
The storm in her eyes turned rainy, and ran down her cheeks. I looked away; seeing her cry made something inside me twist and hurt.
"You would hit me, after all we've been through? You would...you would throw away love for some stupid, stupid city? Some stupid thing you won't be able to keep anyway? You'd rather be hated than loved? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!"
I smacked the pipe against my palm. I wondered how hard I'd have to hit to knock her out. She'd tell, though. She'd tell that I was running around the city, and I know she'd beg them not to hurt me. They wouldn't listen though. I'd end up dead, or back in prison.
But I...I couldn't kill her.
"Devon, please, this means everything to me. It's not about hate, it's about what's mine. This city is mine. I'm not like Julian...I'm not going to do what he did."
She looked torn. I wondered what she was thinking.
"I...I...the freedom fighters are my friends. I can't betray them. I can't join you."
"But that means you can't be quiet about me, either."
"No..." Tears dripped off her chin. "I can't let you hurt them."
"What if I promise not to hurt them; would you come with me?"
She looked me directly in the eye. She was never ashamed of crying. How unlike me. Crying seemed a sign of weakness to me...and I was already weak enough to begin with.
"You couldn't keep that promise. And you know it."
"If you're with me, then you won't let me hurt them."
She was still staring me in the eyes, and I fought to hold her stare. I just wished she'd disappear. She was so damn crippling to my entire plan. I couldn't kill her, but I couldn't let her go either.
"That's true," she admitted. "But the Freedom Fighters will think I betrayed them. They'll hate me."
"What's more important, me or them?" I asked nastily. She looked stricken; as I knew she would. She hated what I'd become. She hated that I was mean and nasty and wicked now. Puh.
"Snively, that's not fair."
"Who said I was being fair? Just answer it."
"You're both very important to me."
I was getting restless. We had to look suspicious, just standing in an alleyway, talking. If someone walked by, they might get curious. I wrapped the cloth back around my face. "Look Dev, I can't stay here much longer. Decide." I tapped the pipe against the wall meaningfully.
"I won't come with you."
"Then you'll betray me? You'll give me away?"
She looked angry. Yes, I was pissing her off now. I was making her feel guilty. But dammit, I couldn't have her screwing me over now. Not when I was so close.
She kicked the wall suddenly, enraged. "I hate you for this," she hissed. "But I'll let you go. I won't say anything. But if you hurt any of them, I'll come after you myself."
I laughed.
She grabbed me by the shirt and yanked me to her. "I am dead serious. If you get caught, Sniv', I WON'T bail you out. You had your chance. You had your chance to...to be with me..."
She let me go and ran out of the alley. I didn't stop her. She didn't look back. If she had, she might've seen a sparkle of water in my eyes.
I didn't want to lose her. I didn't want to lose the city. I didn't want to lose her...
I left the alley and found myself a hiding place. It wasn't easy, because the Mobians were everywhere, cleaning up. But I finally found one.
I sat down to think.
I would have the city.
And I would have Devon.
And it wouldn't be long.