Hotel Robotropolis

Chapter 2

Sally entered the room of the newcomer... her boyfriend, Sonic. She looked down at the bandages that covered his right knee and cringed--those damnable SwatBots had crippled him for good. She sat down in a chair near his bed and began to dab a wet sponge on his forehead. However, her nurturing was interrupted when Sonic began to moan and his eyes fluttered open. Sally's face changed from one of surprise to one of happiness, and she smiled as she placed her face right in front of his.
"YAH!" Sonic shouted as he drew back. Taking a second look, however, transformed his expression from shock to annoyance. "Jeez, Sally, don't scare me like that!" Sally could no longer contain herself and laughed, and embraced Sonic and planted a kiss on his lips. "It's great to see you again..." murmured Sally as she pulled away. She sat back down and gently forced Sonic into a lying position as she continued sponging his forehead.
"Why are you sponging my forehead?" Sonic inquired as he tried to bat away the questing sponge.
"You had a pretty bad fever. We managed to stop your knee from bleeding, but... you won't be able to run anymore. Knees are difficult to heal properly at best, and we don't have the proper equipment to deal with your injury. It'll heal, but you will be able to stagger at best. I'm sorry, Sonic..."
Sonic hung his head at the the news, but he sighed. "Oh well... I wasn't going to do much more anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if we were the only remaining members of our group left. Rotor, Bunnie, Antoine, Uncle Chuck... they're all dead, aren't they?" Sally hung her head before muttering ascension. "And what about 'Buttnik? He'll come after us, won't he? We're practically in the heart of Robotropolis. I'm surprised SwatBots aren't blasting threough the doors already." Sally looked up and smiled again. "No, I can safely say that we are safe here. This is Hotel Mobotropolis."
"You mean that old rich man's hotel? Yeah, I remember this place.. My uncle sometimes visited some nobles here, before..." Sonic broke off, lip quivering. He quickly composed himself, though, and continued on. "But why would the fact that it's a rich-man's hotel protect us from 'Buttnik?"
"You don't understand. On the outside, Hotel Mobotropolis is a decrepit ruin. But on the inside, this is a refuge for Mobians," Sally explained. "We hide from Robotnik using sophisticated holographic projectors and sensor scramblers, and we have an EMP in case of invasion. We deaden the sound using more equipment and we have secure catacombs underneath that we can retreat to. If necessary, we can run away. But we won't run. Robotnik has no clue we're here, and if it weren't for the stubborness of the leaders, we would be making attacks on Robotnik."
"Then why aren't we?" Sonic demanded. "That tub of lard ruined my leg and my life, and I want payback!"
"You don't understand, Sonic. I want to get back at him, too. But the leaders here refuse to endanger their safety and claim that they don't have proper equipment. That's a load of crap, but still..."
"We're stuck. I am, at least, with my leg on the fritz. And I'm guessing you won't leave without me, right, Sal?"
"You've got that right, Sonic..." Sally murmured as she hugged him again before leaving.

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Sonic's leg quickly healed, and in several days, he was up and walking. However, Sally's prediction about Sonic's knee came true: Sonic was crippled for life.

(END)

A\N: Well, here's the end of another chapter. Sonic seems to be crippled, but it appears as though he doesn't care. He's safe, and he's with his love. But are things at Hotel Mobotropolis as rosy as they seem...? Stay tuned to find out!