Chapter Seven

            The plan was perfect.

            0417F knew this, of course, because it was playing the highest role. There would be no problems, no unexpected setbacks, because it was the smartest robot ever made. With the power of a full Chaos Emerald working primarily on its mental system, and a built-in robotizer in its right arm, 0417F was sharp enough to know exactly how the mission was supposed to go.

            The robotizer was imperfect, taking almost five minutes to complete its job, but effective. The problem was that it meant its target had to remain still while going through the process.

The master was upset about the BuzzBombers' failure on the Floating Island. Fools. Those robots were imperfect; they fed off of the life energy of living animals imprisoned inside them. They were not true robots, only the pawns of a vast military. The master was no pure robot either, having been robotized from living form, but 0417F kept its opinions on that to itself. It was pure, and that was enough.

            The robot had three missions, and they were simple ones. The first was the hardest – it had to locate Knothole, something that the master and his uncle had been trying to do since they began their vendetta with the animals of the town. That portion of the assignment could take upside of a week, as it only knew the position within a thirty-mile radius. Fortunately, 0417F was a patient robot, and knew no boredom. The fulfillment of its mission was more important than anything else.

            Anyone walking along the road at that time would have wondered what Princess Sabrina Acorn was doing out on her own in the middle of the night. 0417F was designed to be a perfect copy, with joints that didn't move jerkily and a shell that felt like flesh to the touch, unless it turned that setting off. Then it would become a war machine, with a bulletproof covering almost capable of resisting a spin attack. The master had intended to add a final coating that would increase 0417F's defenses even more, but the need was ever-present. With the discovery of their hideout, it was only a matter of time before those stupid living creatures who called themselves "Freedom Fighters" managed to do something to the base.

            Turning on its super speed, which was fine-tuned to mach Sabrina's own, 0417F raced towards the forest. Arriving about two hours later, it immediately began to methodically search for the hidden town.

            Fortune was with the robot. A day into its search, 0417F heard the buzzing of a plane engine not a hundred yards to its left. Sprinting over, it was just in time to see the fox and coyote take off towards Robotropolis. Hopefully, Snively was watching and would be able to finish them.

            0417F raced into the small clearing. There was nothing there except for plane tire  marks. This was obviously the Freedom Fighter runway, but where could the village be? The robot was confused, but far from discouraged; it retreated into the woods to think for a moment.

            Suddenly the stump directly in front of the robot opened like a hatch on a hinge. A furry head poked out and looked around, and shouted, "Miles? Antoine? Are you still there? I have something to ask –"

            The sentence was never completed. 0417F had slammed one very hard robotic arm into the creature's skull, and it collapsed. Quickly, 0417F grabbed the figure and flipped it over. It was Princess Sabrina. Nothing could have been better. Knothole was found, and the princess was out for the count. Mission parts one and two completed.

            The robot put one hand on her head, and concentrated fiercely. It absorbed all of the girl's thoughts and memories. It now knew what she liked, how much she knew, and her normal daily habits.

            0417F could have just robotized the girl there, but that would have been a waste. She would make an excellent hostage later on. The master would be extremely pleased.

            After trussing and gagging the unconscious Sabrina, the robot opened up a small container of powder. This would keep the girl unconscious until tomorrow morning. 0417F carried the unconscious figure back into the bushes, so that the fox and coyote wouldn't see her when they returned.

The hatch was still open, and the robot stepped in. It slid for a short ways, then dropped out into Knothole Village.

            The robot marveled at the town's phenomenon. Underground! Why had they never thought of that before? There were even small skylights to illuminate the town, but 0417F guessed that these were just as well hidden as the entrance. No wonder Knothole had never been found!

            It was still early morning, but the king was probably already awake. Too bad. That just meant that 0417F would have to play the part of a twelve-year old princess for a day, before she could complete the third part of her mission – robotize the King. With her thoughts firmly implanted in the robot's head, this would be a cinch.

            It was. In fact, Sabrina didn't even have lessons that day, so there was no trouble with knowing slightly more than the princess. It was unlikely that she could calculate the number of molecules in a person's body with a half a glance. Heck, she probably couldn't even figure out sines and cosines without her little computer, Nicole, at her side. Nicole had been passed down to her from Sally, and could easily detect that 0417F was a fake. But that was no problem at all; as soon as 0417F reached Sabrina's room, she shut the portable workstation off.

            0417F then simply had to play with the little fox brat, Tails, all day. His father had been the cause of Robotnik's final defeat, and the master held a measure of gratitude for that. It mattered little that 0417F acted perfectly like Sabrina all day anyhow; Tails had as little chance of guessing his playmate's true identity than him outrunning the king in a foot race.

            However, 0417F marveled at the nine-year old fox's aerial abilities. His three tails seemed to keep him in the air endlessly; it could be an hour before he had to rest. He had serious potential as a dangerous threat. If it got the time, 0417F would robotize him as well.

            That night, long after midnight, 0417F crept silently towards the royal bedroom. The door was closed, but the robot could easily open it silently. 0417F stepped into the room inaudibly, began to walk over to the bedside…

            Suddenly there was a roar, and a dark figure leapt at the robot, pinning it down and growling with menace. 0417F had erred! It had forgotten entirely about that damned robot dog, Muttski, that the king had had since childhood. The mutt would have been long dead by now, but it had been robotized imperfectly, and kept its free will.

            "Off, Muttski! Off! Bad dog!"

            The king was up and trying to pull the dog off of 0417F, who in turn was doing its best to look and sound terrified. "What's going on, Daddy? What happened? I was just coming in to see you – I got scared. He's never been like this before!"

            It knew why, of course. Robots knew each other. It was part of the programming. Muttski had acted to protect his master, like any good robot should. 0417F couldn't condemn the robot for what he did, but mentally it was furious. The damned mutt had screwed up its plans in a huge way.

"We should have had him derobotized a long time ago," the Queen was saying, "but he seemed so happy as a robot… I mean, he could do things he never could have done before. Except swim. I wonder if the mind control is taking over again. It's quite possible, with all that's been happening."

0417F had recovered. It walked back to Sabrina's room, dejected. Now she would have to play the part for another full day. Not that it really minded, but it would have to go back topsides and use the rest of its powder to keep the princess asleep. Damn that dog!

Chapter Eight

            The Minister of War was an old stag, and as he stood up to make his presentation, Rotor shifted in his seat and took out a small notepad. He wanted to catch all of this, to be positive that his plan would indeed work out better.

            A village meeting was being held, and it seemed that all Knothole had turned out – at least the adults. Through the small skylights, the sun was just beginning to come up, and all of the children were most likely still asleep. Rotor felt half-asleep himself; but the King had ordered that the meeting should happen at this time as not to disturb the normal daily schedule.

            Hopefully the Minister would be quick; it was likely that Rotor's plan was far superior anyhow.
            "The plan involves a large attack through the single vulnerable point that we have discovered," said the stag, "and the chance of success is high. We would be deploying our small militia, who, as you know, is extremely well trained in combat."

            Rotor knew. He was a member of that militia, as well as Miles, Antoine, and numerous other friends of his. Sonic would have loved to race directly into the fortress and start bursting Badniks, but he was to be denied. It simply was not allowed for the King to participate in an operation like this.

            "The militia would subdue the robots," continued the Minister, "free their hostages, and do away with the leader. This plan would be efficient, humane, and could be carried out by the end of today. The quicker that we are through this danger, the better."

            Rotor raised his hand.

            "What would be the potential for loss of life?" he asked.
            The Minister flinched, but was required to answer truthfully.

            "The possibility, naturally, is ever-present. Our small combat team with be fighting forces far larger than their own. However, that is one risk that will have to be taken in any situation. I suppose you have a plan that will eliminate that chance entirely?

            Standing, Rotor smiled and took the podium. He had not yet been called, but this would be a powerful shot. He had left his note cards back at his seat; he would not be needing them. The plan was clear in his mind. The stag looked shocked at this breach of custom, but retreated to his place in the audience.

            "You say that your plan could be achieved within the day? Well, I tell you that mine could be completed within the next two hours. It calls for the placement of a derobotization torpedo strategically placed at the single entrance that we have discovered. It will derobotize everything inside the fortification. The torpedo is already prepared, and I have asked the Surveyor to place it, if this plan is approved."

            The Minister of War looked very surprised, but decided to challenge Rotor just as Rotor had challenged him.

            "There must be some, err, drawback to this plan. It seems too good to be true. All the robots and the leader, defeated, just like that?"

"There is a drawback. We have discovered that Snively – I will not euphemize by calling him 'the leader' – is using a different, cruder type of robotization than Robotnik ever utilized. Such methods foil all of our current derobotization techniques, except for one. However, this one requires such a rare material that over the last thirty years, since the discovery of the substance, we have only obtained just enough to carry out this plan. Besides for this, there is no setback."

After the meeting, the King and all of his advisors consulted. It didn't take them long to approve Rotor's plan. The essential substance had no other use, so the loss would not be a large blow. As long as nobody in Knothole fell victim to robotization, there would be no consequences. He immediately deployed Miles to go place the weapon. It would be detonated from Knothole after he returned by remote. Then all would celebrate, the children would probably have the day off from school, and normal life would go on. It almost seemed too easy.

Too easy…

Walking back to his hut, Rotor caught a glimpse of Sabrina. That was strange. Sabrina was the deepest sleeper in the world; it would be impossible for her to get up this early. But, watching her movements, Rotor thought that it looked like she was trying not to be seen. She was headed for the topsides exit. What was she doing? She knew she wasn't allowed to venture outside of Knothole; that explained her stealthy behavior. But what could she possibly want up there?

As well as a fully-grown walrus could, Rotor followed her. However, there was no chance of him being able to see what she wanted without her noticing. He needed somebody else, someone who was stealthy and sly. Sly as a fox…

But that couldn't happen; Miles was out placing the torpedo. Rotor thought about Antoine, but the clumsy coyote would hardly be able to do the job better than Rotor. He couldn't go to the King for something as trivial as this, even if it was his own daughter. So who?

Not Miles, perhaps, but might his mate be even more suited for this job?