Part Two
she says she saw visions
**They were born at the same time. Benjamin was sure of that.
**And somehow I got the responsibility of being IT's guardian.**
She had to make sure the evil was contained and kept away from people who would release IT. IT loved to eat...and the thing it fed upon was souls.
**When did I meet IT? Oh yes.**
The memory was a bit tattered and faded, but she'd never forget.
In her travels through space....for she was a space traveler, going from planet to planet....
**A nice talent, I suppose.** Although she knew being able to travel through the dead airless realm was rather strange, if not unnatural.
**Ah well...**
There were many things about her she didn't even understand.
But back to the story.
She traveled through space, stopping at planets and moons, sometimes out of curiosity, other times out of an almost irresistible urge. Some of the planets she went to were dead. Void of life. She wondered what had had happened to them.
And some of them were bustling with life, and she would spend months dwelling and basking in the new cultures she found.
One time she returned to a planet she was fond of, only to find it had been destroyed in a similar fashion.
She never knew quite what was causing the destruction, until one day in her travels through space, she'd come upon a small planet...
She walked through a desolate deserted city, wondering where everybody was. Was there a war? Had hostile aliens invaded? But there was a warmth in the air, like people had been there very recently.
"Pssst, girl. Get in here before that thing gets you!"
She looked to her side, seeing a group of the native people huddled underneath the porch of a house. They were small, with white skin, gangly arms, and frightened black eyes.
"What thing?" she asked.
"It's black, and wicked, and evil!" babbled a young boy, before an older woman, presumably a relative of his, smacked him.
"Hush, you. It's something horrible. Just wandering around. Everybody it touches, disappears...but we know they're dead."
"Hmmmm..." Benjamin hmmmmed.
**I know what they are speaking of...even if I have never seen it. IT is the thing...the thing I have felt within myself for as long as I can remember. IT is what brought me here!**
Yes, it had to be. Some strange pull had drawn her to this planet. She had felt the strange connection...to WHAT? She didn't know...but she had felt it her entire life. When she had neared the planet, the pull had become unbearable.
She left the refugees, and trotted around the city. The humming in her mind became irritating and she knew IT was near. She rounded a corner, and there IT was.
She halted and just stared for a moment. IT appeared to be a black ball of some thick, oily-looking energy. But IT didn't stick to one shape. IT seemed to be constantly changing, and she couldn't quite get a clear image.
IT was very bad, though, she knew that for sure.
"AHHHHH..." IT breathed. "YOU SEEM QUITE FAMILIAR. YOU MUST BE THE ONE I HAVE FELT ALL THIS TIME."
She frowned a little. "Why are you destroying these people?" she demanded.
"I AM HUNGRY, STAR-SISTER. HUNGRY FOR WHAT I DO NOT HAVE...A SOUL..."
"You will not have a soul by devouring others. You must be born with one."
"BORN?" IT seemed to laugh.
A small boy suddenly ran between them. He braked when he saw her, and froze completely at the sight of IT.
IT lunged forward, and nothing was left of the boy but small bones. They crumbled into dust instantly, and she saw something bright swallowed by IT's darkness.
"THE TASTE IS SO SWEET. BUT NOT AS SWEET AS YOUR SOUL, I IMAGINE. YOU ARE SO BRIGHT, STAR-SISTER."
"TI'LEI!" Somebody screamed, and a young girl ran out, searching wildly around. Benjamin knew that the small boy had belonged to her.
The evil entity seemed to grin, but Ben knew she could not allow this.
**I need... need something to trap it... a box...**
No sooner had she thought it, then the box appeared in her grasp. It was glass, and very strong, and seemed to glow with her magic.
IT lunged for the girl, and Benjamin flung herself forward, holding the box out. She felt the weight of IT collide into the glass walls.
IT shrieked, voiceless, and she felt the anger burning into her very core. IT couldn't escape now. She'd sealed the box with the strongest energy she could muster.
For some reason, she didn't feel right.
**You should've killed IT**, a voice tugged at her, **you should've fought IT.**
She shook her head. IT was trapped, wasn't IT? What was wrong with that? She wasn't going to let anybody let it out...
Later on, she convinced the natives of the planet that all was safe. They didn't seem to like her. Thought she was somehow in league with IT. They thought she was the one who had brought IT to their planet!!
"But I am...am...IT's guardian!" she protested, realizing that was, indeed, what she was. Her very purpose in life had been discovered.
They didn't believe her, and she was not one for violence. When they chained her up and forced her aboard their ship, she did not struggle. They left the box containing the evil on the planet.
There were only a handful of the aliens left. Looking out the window of their spaceship, Benjamin had a clear view of their planet. It was blackened...dead...
IT had done irreversible damage.
The aliens eventually found a new planet to live on, and Benjamin did not feel the pull for a long long time. She knew, somehow, that nobody had disturbed the box.
Sometimes, she felt the anger of IT in her mind, but that made her feel good...because she knew IT was still trapped....****
******
Sonic awoke with a killer headache. He sat up. "Man, what...where am I?"
There were voices from above him. He saw that he was sitting next to a house, right next to an open window.
"Oh yes, funeral arrangements have been made." Sonic frowned; this deep male voice sounded vaguely familiar.
"I can't believe she's dead," came a choked female voice.
He looked around, while the voices continued their conversation.
It was a city of some sort. He could see other houses, and roads. There were overlanders and furries walking along. This particular house was up on a hill, and he could see more of the landscape. There was a wall surrounding this city, with watchtowers along it.
He saw a flag fluttering from one of the towers and recognized it vaguely. It looked like the flag he'd seen in a history book during one of Julayla's incredibly boring lessons. It was hard to place it exactly; those lessons had been a long long time ago.
It flapped and straightened out in a sudden gust of wind. The flag was black, with a circle in the middle. The circle was swirled in blue and green; a planet. Not Mobius though; Mobius had more land than that.
**Wow! I know what it is now. The flag the Overlander rebels used in the Great War. That's their home planet...Earth, I think. Yeah, that's it.**
"Fala, Fala, it's ok," the deep male voice crooned, and Sonic caught the sound of crying from the woman.
**So...I'm in the Overlander city? Mondo weird!**
"She's dead! How can you say it's ok!? You lived with her...why didn't you help her?!"
"Well..."
"DON'T GIVE ME THAT!! YOU WERE HOME WHEN SHE DIED! ALL SHE NEEDED WAS THOSE PILLS FOR HER HEART...AND YOU DIDN'T GIVE THEM TO HER! YOU MURDERER!!"
"DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE THAT, FALA!" The male voice rose to a booming roar, and Sonic froze and flattened himself to the wall.
He knew whose voice that was now.
"You don't know how she was, Fala," his voice rasped. "She was crazy. She was insane."
There was a slight gasp from Fala. "No. She got therapy for that. She was cured way long ago."
"It didn't cure her completely." The man's voice was haunted. His voice came in shuddering, seemingly close to tears.
"My wife...my child...they didn't die...they didn't die during childbirth like they said..."
"What are you talking about?"
"Mother killed them. There was never an autopsy. When Lela was in labor... Mother was sitting in the back with her on the way to the hospital. She had one of those damn syringes with her. For her diabetes... It wasn't filled with insulin. Mother injected her with poison, Fala. She poisoned them because she hated Lela AND YOU KNOW IT!"
"DON'T YOU TALK ABOUT OUR MOTHER LIKE THAT!!!"
There was a strange noise from the male; something Sonic never thought he'd hear from that man. A sob.
"She killed them...Fala, and I'm not sorry she died...I hope she suffered Fala, I hope with all my heart she suffered."
"Get out." The female's voice went into a growl. "Get the hell out of my house."
"I intended to. I'm going to the lab."
A door slammed. Sonic felt it vibrate through the walls of the small house. Then he stood up and crept around to the front to see a portly man stamping down the sidewalk.
He followed the man, and came alongside, although a fairly long distance away.
The man had a short orange mustache. He seemed to have a weight problem. In a white lab coat and dark glasses, he looked harmless.
But Sonic knew who it was. And he knew this man was not harmless.
"Robotnik," he whispered. "Wow, man, back then...you looked almost sane..."
They entered a busier part of town. Hovercars buzzed by. Overlanders peeked in the windows of shops, carrying heavy bags of already purchased items. A girl and guy walked by, holding hands, and giggling. Sonic felt a lump in his throat and stinging in his eyes.
**Sally...I'll save you, Sally. I promise you that.**
This seemed to be the shopping district. It was hard to believe there was a war going on.
They entered another district; industry. Tall white buildings rose up, glittering with huge glass windows. Chain link fence, topped with buzzing laser-wire, surrounded some of them. Here the occasional solider strolled by, guns resting on their shoulders.
Sonic noticed there were some Mobians in the troops. He'd known, but it was still startling. The Overlanders hadn't been all humans. Just the group that had started a rebellion against the Acorn kingdom. Most furries had stuck with their king. But some agreed with the Overlander's cause.
Although it was a little distasteful to Sonic, knowing that some of his fellow Mobians had actually helped the humans, he was glad of it. Because he didn't look suspicious. Nobody would stop him for being a furry.
He looked ahead, and saw Robotnik enter one of the white buildings. He followed.
They were in a lobby of some type. Scientists, decked out in their lab coats, strolled around. One lady was banging on a vending machine and snarling. Sonic grinned; those damn things never worked.
Julian entered an elevator and Sonic dared to sidle in beside him. A few more scientists entered, and the doors slid shut.
Julian looked down at Sonic for a second, and the hedgehog half-expected him to scream, "RODENT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?"
But the fat man merely turned to one of the other scientists.
"How is she today, Tobin?"
"Well," said Tobin, a tall skinny man with a bad complexion and greasy black hair, "She's babbling that nonsense as usual."
"She's quite off her rocker, eh?"
Julian and Tobin both laughed, although Sonic detected tension in the air between them. These were two men who didn't get along.
"What about the energy?"
"We're still reading it, but none of our machines seem to be able to handle the energy outputs it's giving off. They're very powerful..."
"Perhaps we should release it and see what happens."
Sonic heard a familiar undertone in Julian's voice; evil, hunting...mad for power...
He looked over at Tobin.
**Man, he looks freaked.**
The skinny scientist was nervously wringing his hands, his eyes widened. "No, no no. It's much much too..," he laughed nervously, "...early for that, Julian."
"You're scared of it."
Tobin frowned, and said nothing.
"That's why you'll never amount to anything. You don't take risks. Power is there for the taking. But none of you see it..."
Tobin opened his mouth, but the elevator came to an abrupt stop and the doors slid open.
Julian swept out. Tobin stood, open-mouthed, then looked down at Sonic.
"He's mad, you know," he said, rubbing his greasy hair. "He's truly mad."
Sonic nodded. "Oh man, you have no idea."
"Ever since his wife died, he's gotten worse and worse," continued Tobin, his voice lowering to a whisper. Sonic had a feeling this guy didn't have too many friends.
"That's too bad, man," said Sonic, and made a quick exit, at the same time thinking...
**I just can't imagine Robotnik with a wife! That's so freaky!**
He went down the wide hallway, lined with open doors. Looking in, he could see they were various labs. At the end of the hall, where Julian was now standing, slipping a card into a slot, were two large double doors.
**Must be something important in there. Maybe I should sneak in.**
He revved up, and dashed down the hallway, slipping in the doors before they closed.
The room they were in was big and the walls were metal. But it basically seemed like another lab. There were some computers and other machinery, but nothing special. On the far end of the room was another set of double doors, complete with black and yellow warning paint.
**Ah, the important stuff is behind that door!**
&&&&&&
Two scientists were examining slides under microscopes, grumbling and writing notes. A scrawny boy was leaning his elbows on the lab counter, sipping cola through a straw. His back was to the door.
Sonic watched as Julian laid his hand on the kid's head for a moment, patting the thick brown hair.
"Hello, my boy. Cutting class, again?"
There was a nod of affirmation.
Julian shook his head. "Your father is going to be quite angry. But he won't find out."
"I know. Thank you."
Julian gave a curt nod and pressed a touchpad on the painted doors. A guard stood cross-armed on the other side. Upon seeing Julian, he stepped aside.
Sonic tried to enter.
"You can't come in," said the guard sternly. "You aren't authorized."
"Yo, ok man."
The doors slid closed. Sonic scratched his head.
**Man...I know I gotta get in there. But why?** There was something in there...pulling at him.
**Forget this, man. I gotta find that girl. She can tell me what's going on.**
There was a mean laugh, and the scrawny boy's voice rang out. "Oh, you want to get in there, don't you? Too bad, you smeg."
The kid clanked his soda can down on the counter and smirked at the hedgehog. "I'm allowed through. They let me."
"Well, aren't you special?"
**And aren't I lucky? Getting to meet all my enemies in one day, hey!**
The kid had quite a familiar face, although it was far cuter and much more youthful than Sonic was accustomed to seeing.
**Hey, and more hair, too!**
The boy had an abundance of soft brown hair, falling into his eyes, cut rather messily. Some strands lay against his cheeks, others brushed his shoulders.
**Bet one of his brothers or something got a holda of some scissors. Heh...** He laughed inwardly, remembering a childhood memory of convincing Antoine to get a hair cut. Sonic had botched the poor fox's hair so badly, that Antoine had considered wearing a bag on his head! He'd settled for a hat instead.
"You're an animal too, bah," spat the kid, taunting further. "They'd never let you in." Narrowed and dark, his eyes belied their actual color, but Sonic knew they were a pale ice blue.
"Well, get me in there then, Sni..." he stopped abruptly.
The kid looked suspicious. "Why should I?"
"Because, Needlenose, I want in."
"Don't call me that, you little prick." The boy's fists clenched and he took a threatening step towards Sonic.
"Whoa, whoa, sorry. Didn't know you were this feisty...hmm. How things have changed."
"So fucking stupid. All you animals are."
One of the scientists looked up from his slide and backhanded the boy.
"I told you, don't use that kind of language in here, Snively. Or do you want to get sent home to your daddy, hmmm?" The scientist snatched the boy by the collar. "Oh, he'll beat your ass if he knows you're here, won't he? You just be glad that fat uncle of yours calls the school and makes excuses...otherwise they'd be calling your house. And if daddy found out you keep cutting..."
"I get the fu...I mean...I get the point!" Sniv' squealed.
"Fine."
The scientist shoved Snively away.
"Prick," he muttered under his breath, then looked at Sonic. "You want in, eh? We might be waiting a while."
"I hate waiting," said Sonic.
"Don't worry. I usually can get in there at least once a day."
Sonic leaned against the wall and impatiently tapped his feet.
After a while, he shut his eyes.
The scientist who'd slapped Snively changed his slide and looked into the microscope. After adjusting the dials, he started laughing.
"Eh, Rod, gotta another one of those."
The other scientist took a peek into the microscope. "Oh man, that's a REAL good one!" He laughed so hard his face turned red.
Sonic raised an eyebrow at Snively.
"They're pathetic," the kid mummered.
"Go get Toby, he'd want to see this one!" said Rod. He shoved the other scientist away and looked back into the scope.
The other scientist went to the door and hit the touchpad. "Hey Toby, come see this!"
The guard came into the lab, and saw Rod looking into the microscope. His face lit up with a smile. "Is that another one of those slides that looks like a pair of titties?"
**Oh man...whatta bunch of geeks!** Although Sonic kinda wanted to take a peek at the slide himself. Snively grabbed his arm and pulled him through the unguarded doorway.
"That happens almost everyday. Yesterday it was supposedly a naked woman. You ask me, a good fuck would clear up all those hallucinations they're having."
Sonic could only nod.
**Man, if I'd said them kinda swears as a kid, Uncle Chuck would've washed my mouth out with soap!**
They were in the 'forbidden' room. They stood against the wall, and Sonic took in the surroundings.
This was a big sterile room. The walls were polished steel. The ceiling was dotted with round, extremely bright lights. It took his eyes a minute to adjust, and he grimaced.
In this white room were various computers and many different machines. Some were printing out documents, others flashing numbers and lines.
There were two large glass containment chambers within the room. In one chamber was a cot and on this cot sat a girl...
**The girl who was at Knothole!**
She was sitting on the bed, head bowed and hands clasped between her legs.
The scientists in this room, including Julian, didn't seem interested in her today. They were looking into the other chamber.
This chamber had a metal podium. And on this podium sat a glass box. And in this box was something black...bouncing...humming...
**Oh, sweet Mobius. That's that...that thing.**
Through the glass walls he could hear the girl's voice. "IT will kill you all...Ah Gods..."
Sonic's eyes darted back and forth between her and the box. His heart clenched in his chest, and he became aware of how bad he was shaking...and how hard he was pressed up against the wall...
"That girl there," came Snively's voice, and Sonic jumped. He'd forgotten about the kid. Clenching his teeth...for what? To keep from screaming?
"...is crazy."
Sonic took a deep breath and breathed out slow.
"What...what is that thing?"
"IT was never meant to be found...IT will kill you all..." The girl's voice was whisper-quiet, yet it seemed to travel though the walls and into Sonic's very soul.
"She says crap like that all the time." Snively looked over at the box, eyes narrowing. "Funny, I somewhat believe her...that...thing...gives me the creeps."
"Do you know what it is?" Sonic asked again.
"They found it...too afraid to open it...though my uncle, he's that fat one over there..."
"Oh, don't I know," muttered Sonic.
"Anyway, they...Earth...first found it on a dead planet...locked up in that box, just like it is now."
Snively nonchalantly flipped some unruly hair out of his face, and Sonic nearly laughed at the gesture.
"It started the 3rd World War, you know. All the countries were fighting over it. Finally, they all came up with a treaty. They shipped it back out into space. It was treason to retrieve it, treason against Earth itself!"
"So, how'd you guys get ahold of it?"
"Hmmm...well, not surprisingly another World War broke out. Dumb pricks had to fight over everything...it was really a bloody hell... My family came here....but anyway...the Star ship we were on was filled with scientists. Our ship came upon the box...they knew what it was. So they picked it up and brought it with us to Mobius..."
"These readings are unbelievable... If only we could find some way to harness this energy." Julian's voice echoed throughout the room.
"We don't even know what the hell it is yet, Julian," grumbled another scientist, a tall blond fellow with an unkempt beard.
"It's powerful." Julian ran a pudgy finger along the glass. "Very powerful... Can't you feel it?"
Sonic watched, as like a chain reaction, a shudder ran through all the scientists and the black energy seemed to expand and press against the box, as if trying to touch Julian.
The fat man withdrew his finger, and shivered. "Perhaps more testing is necessary."
Sonic looked for a long long moment between Julian's face and the black IT in the box. **Think I've finally seen something more evil than Ro-butt-nik. Man, how do we get ridda this thing?**
The girl still had her head bowed, wild brown hair hanging down and hiding her face. He took a step towards her glass prison.
"I wouldn't get too near her," Snively warned. "She's crazy. She won't leave here...no matter how many times they tried to kick her out. She says she saw visions...says it's her 'duty to guard IT'." He shrugged. "So, they made her a test subject...she doesn't have a family..."
"She isn't crazy," Sonic said.
"Oh, how would you know, prick! Have you met her before?"
"Yeah, maybe I have!"
"You're a fucking liar. You've never been here before...everyone would've noticed a stupid looking animal like you. Who ever heard of a blue hedgehog, anyway?"
"Who's ever seen a nose that big?"
"Little prick! Think you're funny?!"
Sonic found himself on the floor suddenly, jaw aching. The little bastard had swung at him! Sonic jumped up and threw a punch back, slamming Sniv' right in the face.
He expected Snively to cry and whine, but Sniv's child counterpart was rather spirited. He lunged at Sonic, pushing the hedgehog against the wall, and hitting him hard in the face.
Sonic shoved him away, and was about to deliver a hard kick, when the girl looked up.
Sonic saw her green eyes rest on him for a moment, and then widen.
**I have seen him before...ah yes. I remember now! He is the one that I sent back to inform...**
She grimaced a little. Her own powers sometimes scared her. Sometimes, she could see things that hadn't happened yet...like predicting the future. But she could never quite see all the way...
**How will it all end in the end?**
Yet she knew that this hedgehog was here to see her....sent by herself.
**I know what will happen, yes...I can see it now. I must tell him NOW!!**
"From the future...the blue one!! You can't let it happen again!!!"
"OW!" Sonic hit the wall again, nose bleeding. He sneezed.
"All right, Needlenose, I've had about enough of you." Sonic kicked out, hitting Sniv' hard in the stomach. The boy collapsed to his knees, and doubled over, wheezing in pain.
"What's going on!?" Julian bellowed. "How'd you kids get in here? TOBY!!!"
Sonic ran to the girl's chamber; pressed his hands against the glass. "Tell me what to do...tell me what to do!"
"I know...I know your loss..." she gasped, her eyes wide, the pupils small black dots... I see EVERYTHING that is tied to IT..."
The guard Toby came into the room. "Damn kids. How the hell they keep sneaking in here?" He grabbed Snively roughly up by the hair and strode towards Sonic.
"Hey! Leggo!" The guard had a firm grip on Sonic's arm, and pulled him away from the glass chamber.
"TELL ME!" he shrieked...because oh...if she didn't tell him what to do...he couldn't stop IT...and IT would have Sally's soul...and he could still hear that scream of hers...trapped...
"Go back, back but not all the way. Back a day before the fat man found IT..."
The guard dragged them from the room.
The doors slid shut, but not before she shrieked one more time. "THE FAT MAN CANNOT GET IT...YOU MUST GET TO IT FIRST!!! IT'S IN THE WATER, BLUE ONE!!! IN THE WATER!!"
Toby threw them onto the floor and then returned to the room to guard his post.
The two scientists were still giggling over the slide. "Hell man, s'almost better than porn."
Snively rubbed his head and glared at Sonic. "Look what you did, you little prick. Got me in fucking trouble." He shot a glance over at the scientists, who glared back.
"You cuss one more time, and I'm calling your father. Julian makes those damn excuses so you can cut your classes, then what does he do? Expects us to babysit your little punk ass."
"Like you're doing anything. Laughing over some bacteria that looks like tits? Why don't you get yourself a goddamn woman, you fucking loser?"
"That's it. I've had about enough of you." The scientist got up, and once again, Snively found his hair captive as the scientist grabbed a handful of the tresses and dragged him over to a telephone.
The scientist opened the computerized phone-book, touching a finger to a number. Obviously knew very well where it was.
"Hey. Your little brat is here...again...Oh...Fala. Is that you? Sorry, ma'am. I thought Beau was home...no? At work? Well, hey, congratulations!"
Snively wrenched away, leaving long strands of hair in the scientist's closed fist, but the man didn't seem to notice.
"He has a crush on my mother," sneered the human. "He'll be talking to her for quite a while. Why don't we get out of here?"
"All right," agreed Sonic, although he watched the human warily. **Don't wanna get punched again...ow. That hurt.**
They exited the laboratory and strolled down the long hallway. They entered the elevator, which was crowded. Tobin was there, nervously flipping through a notepad and scribbling in something with a pencil.
"What's got you so scared?"
Tobin looked down at Snively. "Quite frankly, your uncle..."
"He's a maniac, isn't he?" laughed the boy. "But he's better than some people I know. I'm moving out of my house soon. I'm going to be Julian's apprentice."
"That's not a good idea, trust me," said Sonic, and Tobin nodded.
"I don't think Julian would be good to you."
"Bah," spat the kid, leaning against the elevator wall. "Anyone is better than that piece of shit I have to call father..."
"Hey trust me, you don't wanna be joining up with Robotn...I mean Julian."
Snively looked at Sonic suspiciously. "What did you say?"
"I said, you don't wanna be joining up with Julian."
"Before that."
"Nothing."
"You said something about robots."
"I didn't say nothing!"
"My uncle sometimes says he's going to change his name. I don't rightly remember...but it was something to do with robots. A really dumb name."
Sonic closed his eyes and didn't say anything.
Tobin scribbled something else on his notepad, then blurted out nervously, "That energy scares the bejesus out of me. I don't think we should be messing with it. I think we should get rid of it." He shivered suddenly. "There was a reason they threw it out into space."
"Yes, to stop the war," said Snively.
"No...the first time..."
A strange look came into the boy's eyes, no doubt imagining just how the box had ended up on the dead planet.
**Whoever put it there was pretty smart. That thing is mondo mondo scary...**
"Maybe one of these days, I'll get rid of it," muttered Tobin... "But don't you tell your uncle, Snively...please...he'll go mad..."
"I won't. But if he finds out, don't tell him I knew..."
The elevator came to a halt. They exited. Tobin went to the coffee machine, while Snively and Sonic left the building altogether.
"What was that lady screaming about? You acted like you knew."
Sonic looked over at the young boy, brow wrinkled with thought. "Um...nothing really."
"But she seemed to know you..."
"Look Sniv-meister, it's been nice talkin' with ya, but I have something really important to do."
Sniv' shrugged. "All right."
Sonic prepared to rev up, but before he did, he turned and looked at the kid one more time. He was scuffing at the ground with worn boots, hair falling into his eyes.
"Hey, Sniv'...I really meant what I said back in the elevator. You really oughta not join up with your uncle. It's a mondo uncool thing to do..."
Then he revved up and raced off down the street.
Snively picked himself off the pavement, gaping after the hedgehog...wherever he'd went...
Then he frowned. How did that blue bugger know so much? And about Julian...was it a good idea to team up with him?
He looked in the direction of his house, saw it there perched up on the hill.
**I'd rather die than stay there...**
And so, the hedgehog's warning went unheeded...
Sonic pulled out the Timestones. For a second, he held them in his hand.
**I could do something right now. Bust back in that lab and steal the box...
But the girl said to go back. Fine then.**
He pressed the Timestones together, and thought of Robotropolis...a day before Knothole's annihilation...
she says she saw visions
**They were born at the same time. Benjamin was sure of that.
**And somehow I got the responsibility of being IT's guardian.**
She had to make sure the evil was contained and kept away from people who would release IT. IT loved to eat...and the thing it fed upon was souls.
**When did I meet IT? Oh yes.**
The memory was a bit tattered and faded, but she'd never forget.
In her travels through space....for she was a space traveler, going from planet to planet....
**A nice talent, I suppose.** Although she knew being able to travel through the dead airless realm was rather strange, if not unnatural.
**Ah well...**
There were many things about her she didn't even understand.
But back to the story.
She traveled through space, stopping at planets and moons, sometimes out of curiosity, other times out of an almost irresistible urge. Some of the planets she went to were dead. Void of life. She wondered what had had happened to them.
And some of them were bustling with life, and she would spend months dwelling and basking in the new cultures she found.
One time she returned to a planet she was fond of, only to find it had been destroyed in a similar fashion.
She never knew quite what was causing the destruction, until one day in her travels through space, she'd come upon a small planet...
She walked through a desolate deserted city, wondering where everybody was. Was there a war? Had hostile aliens invaded? But there was a warmth in the air, like people had been there very recently.
"Pssst, girl. Get in here before that thing gets you!"
She looked to her side, seeing a group of the native people huddled underneath the porch of a house. They were small, with white skin, gangly arms, and frightened black eyes.
"What thing?" she asked.
"It's black, and wicked, and evil!" babbled a young boy, before an older woman, presumably a relative of his, smacked him.
"Hush, you. It's something horrible. Just wandering around. Everybody it touches, disappears...but we know they're dead."
"Hmmmm..." Benjamin hmmmmed.
**I know what they are speaking of...even if I have never seen it. IT is the thing...the thing I have felt within myself for as long as I can remember. IT is what brought me here!**
Yes, it had to be. Some strange pull had drawn her to this planet. She had felt the strange connection...to WHAT? She didn't know...but she had felt it her entire life. When she had neared the planet, the pull had become unbearable.
She left the refugees, and trotted around the city. The humming in her mind became irritating and she knew IT was near. She rounded a corner, and there IT was.
She halted and just stared for a moment. IT appeared to be a black ball of some thick, oily-looking energy. But IT didn't stick to one shape. IT seemed to be constantly changing, and she couldn't quite get a clear image.
IT was very bad, though, she knew that for sure.
"AHHHHH..." IT breathed. "YOU SEEM QUITE FAMILIAR. YOU MUST BE THE ONE I HAVE FELT ALL THIS TIME."
She frowned a little. "Why are you destroying these people?" she demanded.
"I AM HUNGRY, STAR-SISTER. HUNGRY FOR WHAT I DO NOT HAVE...A SOUL..."
"You will not have a soul by devouring others. You must be born with one."
"BORN?" IT seemed to laugh.
A small boy suddenly ran between them. He braked when he saw her, and froze completely at the sight of IT.
IT lunged forward, and nothing was left of the boy but small bones. They crumbled into dust instantly, and she saw something bright swallowed by IT's darkness.
"THE TASTE IS SO SWEET. BUT NOT AS SWEET AS YOUR SOUL, I IMAGINE. YOU ARE SO BRIGHT, STAR-SISTER."
"TI'LEI!" Somebody screamed, and a young girl ran out, searching wildly around. Benjamin knew that the small boy had belonged to her.
The evil entity seemed to grin, but Ben knew she could not allow this.
**I need... need something to trap it... a box...**
No sooner had she thought it, then the box appeared in her grasp. It was glass, and very strong, and seemed to glow with her magic.
IT lunged for the girl, and Benjamin flung herself forward, holding the box out. She felt the weight of IT collide into the glass walls.
IT shrieked, voiceless, and she felt the anger burning into her very core. IT couldn't escape now. She'd sealed the box with the strongest energy she could muster.
For some reason, she didn't feel right.
**You should've killed IT**, a voice tugged at her, **you should've fought IT.**
She shook her head. IT was trapped, wasn't IT? What was wrong with that? She wasn't going to let anybody let it out...
Later on, she convinced the natives of the planet that all was safe. They didn't seem to like her. Thought she was somehow in league with IT. They thought she was the one who had brought IT to their planet!!
"But I am...am...IT's guardian!" she protested, realizing that was, indeed, what she was. Her very purpose in life had been discovered.
They didn't believe her, and she was not one for violence. When they chained her up and forced her aboard their ship, she did not struggle. They left the box containing the evil on the planet.
There were only a handful of the aliens left. Looking out the window of their spaceship, Benjamin had a clear view of their planet. It was blackened...dead...
IT had done irreversible damage.
The aliens eventually found a new planet to live on, and Benjamin did not feel the pull for a long long time. She knew, somehow, that nobody had disturbed the box.
Sometimes, she felt the anger of IT in her mind, but that made her feel good...because she knew IT was still trapped....****
******
Sonic awoke with a killer headache. He sat up. "Man, what...where am I?"
There were voices from above him. He saw that he was sitting next to a house, right next to an open window.
"Oh yes, funeral arrangements have been made." Sonic frowned; this deep male voice sounded vaguely familiar.
"I can't believe she's dead," came a choked female voice.
He looked around, while the voices continued their conversation.
It was a city of some sort. He could see other houses, and roads. There were overlanders and furries walking along. This particular house was up on a hill, and he could see more of the landscape. There was a wall surrounding this city, with watchtowers along it.
He saw a flag fluttering from one of the towers and recognized it vaguely. It looked like the flag he'd seen in a history book during one of Julayla's incredibly boring lessons. It was hard to place it exactly; those lessons had been a long long time ago.
It flapped and straightened out in a sudden gust of wind. The flag was black, with a circle in the middle. The circle was swirled in blue and green; a planet. Not Mobius though; Mobius had more land than that.
**Wow! I know what it is now. The flag the Overlander rebels used in the Great War. That's their home planet...Earth, I think. Yeah, that's it.**
"Fala, Fala, it's ok," the deep male voice crooned, and Sonic caught the sound of crying from the woman.
**So...I'm in the Overlander city? Mondo weird!**
"She's dead! How can you say it's ok!? You lived with her...why didn't you help her?!"
"Well..."
"DON'T GIVE ME THAT!! YOU WERE HOME WHEN SHE DIED! ALL SHE NEEDED WAS THOSE PILLS FOR HER HEART...AND YOU DIDN'T GIVE THEM TO HER! YOU MURDERER!!"
"DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE THAT, FALA!" The male voice rose to a booming roar, and Sonic froze and flattened himself to the wall.
He knew whose voice that was now.
"You don't know how she was, Fala," his voice rasped. "She was crazy. She was insane."
There was a slight gasp from Fala. "No. She got therapy for that. She was cured way long ago."
"It didn't cure her completely." The man's voice was haunted. His voice came in shuddering, seemingly close to tears.
"My wife...my child...they didn't die...they didn't die during childbirth like they said..."
"What are you talking about?"
"Mother killed them. There was never an autopsy. When Lela was in labor... Mother was sitting in the back with her on the way to the hospital. She had one of those damn syringes with her. For her diabetes... It wasn't filled with insulin. Mother injected her with poison, Fala. She poisoned them because she hated Lela AND YOU KNOW IT!"
"DON'T YOU TALK ABOUT OUR MOTHER LIKE THAT!!!"
There was a strange noise from the male; something Sonic never thought he'd hear from that man. A sob.
"She killed them...Fala, and I'm not sorry she died...I hope she suffered Fala, I hope with all my heart she suffered."
"Get out." The female's voice went into a growl. "Get the hell out of my house."
"I intended to. I'm going to the lab."
A door slammed. Sonic felt it vibrate through the walls of the small house. Then he stood up and crept around to the front to see a portly man stamping down the sidewalk.
He followed the man, and came alongside, although a fairly long distance away.
The man had a short orange mustache. He seemed to have a weight problem. In a white lab coat and dark glasses, he looked harmless.
But Sonic knew who it was. And he knew this man was not harmless.
"Robotnik," he whispered. "Wow, man, back then...you looked almost sane..."
They entered a busier part of town. Hovercars buzzed by. Overlanders peeked in the windows of shops, carrying heavy bags of already purchased items. A girl and guy walked by, holding hands, and giggling. Sonic felt a lump in his throat and stinging in his eyes.
**Sally...I'll save you, Sally. I promise you that.**
This seemed to be the shopping district. It was hard to believe there was a war going on.
They entered another district; industry. Tall white buildings rose up, glittering with huge glass windows. Chain link fence, topped with buzzing laser-wire, surrounded some of them. Here the occasional solider strolled by, guns resting on their shoulders.
Sonic noticed there were some Mobians in the troops. He'd known, but it was still startling. The Overlanders hadn't been all humans. Just the group that had started a rebellion against the Acorn kingdom. Most furries had stuck with their king. But some agreed with the Overlander's cause.
Although it was a little distasteful to Sonic, knowing that some of his fellow Mobians had actually helped the humans, he was glad of it. Because he didn't look suspicious. Nobody would stop him for being a furry.
He looked ahead, and saw Robotnik enter one of the white buildings. He followed.
They were in a lobby of some type. Scientists, decked out in their lab coats, strolled around. One lady was banging on a vending machine and snarling. Sonic grinned; those damn things never worked.
Julian entered an elevator and Sonic dared to sidle in beside him. A few more scientists entered, and the doors slid shut.
Julian looked down at Sonic for a second, and the hedgehog half-expected him to scream, "RODENT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?"
But the fat man merely turned to one of the other scientists.
"How is she today, Tobin?"
"Well," said Tobin, a tall skinny man with a bad complexion and greasy black hair, "She's babbling that nonsense as usual."
"She's quite off her rocker, eh?"
Julian and Tobin both laughed, although Sonic detected tension in the air between them. These were two men who didn't get along.
"What about the energy?"
"We're still reading it, but none of our machines seem to be able to handle the energy outputs it's giving off. They're very powerful..."
"Perhaps we should release it and see what happens."
Sonic heard a familiar undertone in Julian's voice; evil, hunting...mad for power...
He looked over at Tobin.
**Man, he looks freaked.**
The skinny scientist was nervously wringing his hands, his eyes widened. "No, no no. It's much much too..," he laughed nervously, "...early for that, Julian."
"You're scared of it."
Tobin frowned, and said nothing.
"That's why you'll never amount to anything. You don't take risks. Power is there for the taking. But none of you see it..."
Tobin opened his mouth, but the elevator came to an abrupt stop and the doors slid open.
Julian swept out. Tobin stood, open-mouthed, then looked down at Sonic.
"He's mad, you know," he said, rubbing his greasy hair. "He's truly mad."
Sonic nodded. "Oh man, you have no idea."
"Ever since his wife died, he's gotten worse and worse," continued Tobin, his voice lowering to a whisper. Sonic had a feeling this guy didn't have too many friends.
"That's too bad, man," said Sonic, and made a quick exit, at the same time thinking...
**I just can't imagine Robotnik with a wife! That's so freaky!**
He went down the wide hallway, lined with open doors. Looking in, he could see they were various labs. At the end of the hall, where Julian was now standing, slipping a card into a slot, were two large double doors.
**Must be something important in there. Maybe I should sneak in.**
He revved up, and dashed down the hallway, slipping in the doors before they closed.
The room they were in was big and the walls were metal. But it basically seemed like another lab. There were some computers and other machinery, but nothing special. On the far end of the room was another set of double doors, complete with black and yellow warning paint.
**Ah, the important stuff is behind that door!**
&&&&&&
Two scientists were examining slides under microscopes, grumbling and writing notes. A scrawny boy was leaning his elbows on the lab counter, sipping cola through a straw. His back was to the door.
Sonic watched as Julian laid his hand on the kid's head for a moment, patting the thick brown hair.
"Hello, my boy. Cutting class, again?"
There was a nod of affirmation.
Julian shook his head. "Your father is going to be quite angry. But he won't find out."
"I know. Thank you."
Julian gave a curt nod and pressed a touchpad on the painted doors. A guard stood cross-armed on the other side. Upon seeing Julian, he stepped aside.
Sonic tried to enter.
"You can't come in," said the guard sternly. "You aren't authorized."
"Yo, ok man."
The doors slid closed. Sonic scratched his head.
**Man...I know I gotta get in there. But why?** There was something in there...pulling at him.
**Forget this, man. I gotta find that girl. She can tell me what's going on.**
There was a mean laugh, and the scrawny boy's voice rang out. "Oh, you want to get in there, don't you? Too bad, you smeg."
The kid clanked his soda can down on the counter and smirked at the hedgehog. "I'm allowed through. They let me."
"Well, aren't you special?"
**And aren't I lucky? Getting to meet all my enemies in one day, hey!**
The kid had quite a familiar face, although it was far cuter and much more youthful than Sonic was accustomed to seeing.
**Hey, and more hair, too!**
The boy had an abundance of soft brown hair, falling into his eyes, cut rather messily. Some strands lay against his cheeks, others brushed his shoulders.
**Bet one of his brothers or something got a holda of some scissors. Heh...** He laughed inwardly, remembering a childhood memory of convincing Antoine to get a hair cut. Sonic had botched the poor fox's hair so badly, that Antoine had considered wearing a bag on his head! He'd settled for a hat instead.
"You're an animal too, bah," spat the kid, taunting further. "They'd never let you in." Narrowed and dark, his eyes belied their actual color, but Sonic knew they were a pale ice blue.
"Well, get me in there then, Sni..." he stopped abruptly.
The kid looked suspicious. "Why should I?"
"Because, Needlenose, I want in."
"Don't call me that, you little prick." The boy's fists clenched and he took a threatening step towards Sonic.
"Whoa, whoa, sorry. Didn't know you were this feisty...hmm. How things have changed."
"So fucking stupid. All you animals are."
One of the scientists looked up from his slide and backhanded the boy.
"I told you, don't use that kind of language in here, Snively. Or do you want to get sent home to your daddy, hmmm?" The scientist snatched the boy by the collar. "Oh, he'll beat your ass if he knows you're here, won't he? You just be glad that fat uncle of yours calls the school and makes excuses...otherwise they'd be calling your house. And if daddy found out you keep cutting..."
"I get the fu...I mean...I get the point!" Sniv' squealed.
"Fine."
The scientist shoved Snively away.
"Prick," he muttered under his breath, then looked at Sonic. "You want in, eh? We might be waiting a while."
"I hate waiting," said Sonic.
"Don't worry. I usually can get in there at least once a day."
Sonic leaned against the wall and impatiently tapped his feet.
After a while, he shut his eyes.
The scientist who'd slapped Snively changed his slide and looked into the microscope. After adjusting the dials, he started laughing.
"Eh, Rod, gotta another one of those."
The other scientist took a peek into the microscope. "Oh man, that's a REAL good one!" He laughed so hard his face turned red.
Sonic raised an eyebrow at Snively.
"They're pathetic," the kid mummered.
"Go get Toby, he'd want to see this one!" said Rod. He shoved the other scientist away and looked back into the scope.
The other scientist went to the door and hit the touchpad. "Hey Toby, come see this!"
The guard came into the lab, and saw Rod looking into the microscope. His face lit up with a smile. "Is that another one of those slides that looks like a pair of titties?"
**Oh man...whatta bunch of geeks!** Although Sonic kinda wanted to take a peek at the slide himself. Snively grabbed his arm and pulled him through the unguarded doorway.
"That happens almost everyday. Yesterday it was supposedly a naked woman. You ask me, a good fuck would clear up all those hallucinations they're having."
Sonic could only nod.
**Man, if I'd said them kinda swears as a kid, Uncle Chuck would've washed my mouth out with soap!**
They were in the 'forbidden' room. They stood against the wall, and Sonic took in the surroundings.
This was a big sterile room. The walls were polished steel. The ceiling was dotted with round, extremely bright lights. It took his eyes a minute to adjust, and he grimaced.
In this white room were various computers and many different machines. Some were printing out documents, others flashing numbers and lines.
There were two large glass containment chambers within the room. In one chamber was a cot and on this cot sat a girl...
**The girl who was at Knothole!**
She was sitting on the bed, head bowed and hands clasped between her legs.
The scientists in this room, including Julian, didn't seem interested in her today. They were looking into the other chamber.
This chamber had a metal podium. And on this podium sat a glass box. And in this box was something black...bouncing...humming...
**Oh, sweet Mobius. That's that...that thing.**
Through the glass walls he could hear the girl's voice. "IT will kill you all...Ah Gods..."
Sonic's eyes darted back and forth between her and the box. His heart clenched in his chest, and he became aware of how bad he was shaking...and how hard he was pressed up against the wall...
"That girl there," came Snively's voice, and Sonic jumped. He'd forgotten about the kid. Clenching his teeth...for what? To keep from screaming?
"...is crazy."
Sonic took a deep breath and breathed out slow.
"What...what is that thing?"
"IT was never meant to be found...IT will kill you all..." The girl's voice was whisper-quiet, yet it seemed to travel though the walls and into Sonic's very soul.
"She says crap like that all the time." Snively looked over at the box, eyes narrowing. "Funny, I somewhat believe her...that...thing...gives me the creeps."
"Do you know what it is?" Sonic asked again.
"They found it...too afraid to open it...though my uncle, he's that fat one over there..."
"Oh, don't I know," muttered Sonic.
"Anyway, they...Earth...first found it on a dead planet...locked up in that box, just like it is now."
Snively nonchalantly flipped some unruly hair out of his face, and Sonic nearly laughed at the gesture.
"It started the 3rd World War, you know. All the countries were fighting over it. Finally, they all came up with a treaty. They shipped it back out into space. It was treason to retrieve it, treason against Earth itself!"
"So, how'd you guys get ahold of it?"
"Hmmm...well, not surprisingly another World War broke out. Dumb pricks had to fight over everything...it was really a bloody hell... My family came here....but anyway...the Star ship we were on was filled with scientists. Our ship came upon the box...they knew what it was. So they picked it up and brought it with us to Mobius..."
"These readings are unbelievable... If only we could find some way to harness this energy." Julian's voice echoed throughout the room.
"We don't even know what the hell it is yet, Julian," grumbled another scientist, a tall blond fellow with an unkempt beard.
"It's powerful." Julian ran a pudgy finger along the glass. "Very powerful... Can't you feel it?"
Sonic watched, as like a chain reaction, a shudder ran through all the scientists and the black energy seemed to expand and press against the box, as if trying to touch Julian.
The fat man withdrew his finger, and shivered. "Perhaps more testing is necessary."
Sonic looked for a long long moment between Julian's face and the black IT in the box. **Think I've finally seen something more evil than Ro-butt-nik. Man, how do we get ridda this thing?**
The girl still had her head bowed, wild brown hair hanging down and hiding her face. He took a step towards her glass prison.
"I wouldn't get too near her," Snively warned. "She's crazy. She won't leave here...no matter how many times they tried to kick her out. She says she saw visions...says it's her 'duty to guard IT'." He shrugged. "So, they made her a test subject...she doesn't have a family..."
"She isn't crazy," Sonic said.
"Oh, how would you know, prick! Have you met her before?"
"Yeah, maybe I have!"
"You're a fucking liar. You've never been here before...everyone would've noticed a stupid looking animal like you. Who ever heard of a blue hedgehog, anyway?"
"Who's ever seen a nose that big?"
"Little prick! Think you're funny?!"
Sonic found himself on the floor suddenly, jaw aching. The little bastard had swung at him! Sonic jumped up and threw a punch back, slamming Sniv' right in the face.
He expected Snively to cry and whine, but Sniv's child counterpart was rather spirited. He lunged at Sonic, pushing the hedgehog against the wall, and hitting him hard in the face.
Sonic shoved him away, and was about to deliver a hard kick, when the girl looked up.
Sonic saw her green eyes rest on him for a moment, and then widen.
**I have seen him before...ah yes. I remember now! He is the one that I sent back to inform...**
She grimaced a little. Her own powers sometimes scared her. Sometimes, she could see things that hadn't happened yet...like predicting the future. But she could never quite see all the way...
**How will it all end in the end?**
Yet she knew that this hedgehog was here to see her....sent by herself.
**I know what will happen, yes...I can see it now. I must tell him NOW!!**
"From the future...the blue one!! You can't let it happen again!!!"
"OW!" Sonic hit the wall again, nose bleeding. He sneezed.
"All right, Needlenose, I've had about enough of you." Sonic kicked out, hitting Sniv' hard in the stomach. The boy collapsed to his knees, and doubled over, wheezing in pain.
"What's going on!?" Julian bellowed. "How'd you kids get in here? TOBY!!!"
Sonic ran to the girl's chamber; pressed his hands against the glass. "Tell me what to do...tell me what to do!"
"I know...I know your loss..." she gasped, her eyes wide, the pupils small black dots... I see EVERYTHING that is tied to IT..."
The guard Toby came into the room. "Damn kids. How the hell they keep sneaking in here?" He grabbed Snively roughly up by the hair and strode towards Sonic.
"Hey! Leggo!" The guard had a firm grip on Sonic's arm, and pulled him away from the glass chamber.
"TELL ME!" he shrieked...because oh...if she didn't tell him what to do...he couldn't stop IT...and IT would have Sally's soul...and he could still hear that scream of hers...trapped...
"Go back, back but not all the way. Back a day before the fat man found IT..."
The guard dragged them from the room.
The doors slid shut, but not before she shrieked one more time. "THE FAT MAN CANNOT GET IT...YOU MUST GET TO IT FIRST!!! IT'S IN THE WATER, BLUE ONE!!! IN THE WATER!!"
Toby threw them onto the floor and then returned to the room to guard his post.
The two scientists were still giggling over the slide. "Hell man, s'almost better than porn."
Snively rubbed his head and glared at Sonic. "Look what you did, you little prick. Got me in fucking trouble." He shot a glance over at the scientists, who glared back.
"You cuss one more time, and I'm calling your father. Julian makes those damn excuses so you can cut your classes, then what does he do? Expects us to babysit your little punk ass."
"Like you're doing anything. Laughing over some bacteria that looks like tits? Why don't you get yourself a goddamn woman, you fucking loser?"
"That's it. I've had about enough of you." The scientist got up, and once again, Snively found his hair captive as the scientist grabbed a handful of the tresses and dragged him over to a telephone.
The scientist opened the computerized phone-book, touching a finger to a number. Obviously knew very well where it was.
"Hey. Your little brat is here...again...Oh...Fala. Is that you? Sorry, ma'am. I thought Beau was home...no? At work? Well, hey, congratulations!"
Snively wrenched away, leaving long strands of hair in the scientist's closed fist, but the man didn't seem to notice.
"He has a crush on my mother," sneered the human. "He'll be talking to her for quite a while. Why don't we get out of here?"
"All right," agreed Sonic, although he watched the human warily. **Don't wanna get punched again...ow. That hurt.**
They exited the laboratory and strolled down the long hallway. They entered the elevator, which was crowded. Tobin was there, nervously flipping through a notepad and scribbling in something with a pencil.
"What's got you so scared?"
Tobin looked down at Snively. "Quite frankly, your uncle..."
"He's a maniac, isn't he?" laughed the boy. "But he's better than some people I know. I'm moving out of my house soon. I'm going to be Julian's apprentice."
"That's not a good idea, trust me," said Sonic, and Tobin nodded.
"I don't think Julian would be good to you."
"Bah," spat the kid, leaning against the elevator wall. "Anyone is better than that piece of shit I have to call father..."
"Hey trust me, you don't wanna be joining up with Robotn...I mean Julian."
Snively looked at Sonic suspiciously. "What did you say?"
"I said, you don't wanna be joining up with Julian."
"Before that."
"Nothing."
"You said something about robots."
"I didn't say nothing!"
"My uncle sometimes says he's going to change his name. I don't rightly remember...but it was something to do with robots. A really dumb name."
Sonic closed his eyes and didn't say anything.
Tobin scribbled something else on his notepad, then blurted out nervously, "That energy scares the bejesus out of me. I don't think we should be messing with it. I think we should get rid of it." He shivered suddenly. "There was a reason they threw it out into space."
"Yes, to stop the war," said Snively.
"No...the first time..."
A strange look came into the boy's eyes, no doubt imagining just how the box had ended up on the dead planet.
**Whoever put it there was pretty smart. That thing is mondo mondo scary...**
"Maybe one of these days, I'll get rid of it," muttered Tobin... "But don't you tell your uncle, Snively...please...he'll go mad..."
"I won't. But if he finds out, don't tell him I knew..."
The elevator came to a halt. They exited. Tobin went to the coffee machine, while Snively and Sonic left the building altogether.
"What was that lady screaming about? You acted like you knew."
Sonic looked over at the young boy, brow wrinkled with thought. "Um...nothing really."
"But she seemed to know you..."
"Look Sniv-meister, it's been nice talkin' with ya, but I have something really important to do."
Sniv' shrugged. "All right."
Sonic prepared to rev up, but before he did, he turned and looked at the kid one more time. He was scuffing at the ground with worn boots, hair falling into his eyes.
"Hey, Sniv'...I really meant what I said back in the elevator. You really oughta not join up with your uncle. It's a mondo uncool thing to do..."
Then he revved up and raced off down the street.
Snively picked himself off the pavement, gaping after the hedgehog...wherever he'd went...
Then he frowned. How did that blue bugger know so much? And about Julian...was it a good idea to team up with him?
He looked in the direction of his house, saw it there perched up on the hill.
**I'd rather die than stay there...**
And so, the hedgehog's warning went unheeded...
Sonic pulled out the Timestones. For a second, he held them in his hand.
**I could do something right now. Bust back in that lab and steal the box...
But the girl said to go back. Fine then.**
He pressed the Timestones together, and thought of Robotropolis...a day before Knothole's annihilation...