Chapter 4


"Only a half hour left…."

Sonic looked down at his watch. The time seemed to be going so slowly for him, and he began to pace once more in Rotor's lab. After another moment, he looked up at Sally.

"I'm going."
"No." Sally's voice was sharp. "I'll say it again. I forbid you to do this."
"Why not?"
"Because its obviously a trap!"
"So then who else is going to save Mina? You?"
"We can work together to save her, Sonic."
"I have to go alone." Sonic looked down. "You heard that……that thing…..I have to go alone."
"….If you have to go alone….then at least let us help you." Sally looked at him, then looked down. "Look, I…..I know you care…..about her. But…you can't do this without a plan."
"Hmm?" Sonic looked up at her. "Sally?"
"Guys?"

The two turned towards Rotor. He held a small, circular white object in his hands as he spoke.

"Rotor..?"
"I think I may have something here…..well, sort of." Rotor grinned sheepishly. "See, I think I may have cracked something concerning their plan."
"Really?" Sally looked surprised.
"Well, in all the….confusion," Rotor looked at Sally and Sonic, then rubbed his chin. "I happened to notice something on Crocbot…..Mogul…….its leg. It was a white device of some sort, and whenever he did something drastic, it would start glowing blue. Just as the robot started glowing to repair the dent Amy made, the device was glowing also. I know this sounds weird, but it may have been some type of new battery that's never been seen before!"
"A battery device?" Sally was obviously interested. "How big was it?"
"Very small. No bigger than this camera I hold in my hand." Rotor nodded. "But it corresponded to every time Crocbot charged up or attacked. It was definitely some type of battery – maybe even a remote battery, and if that's so then that means that the source of the energy can't far away from the robot whenever it attacks. We might be able to track Snively with it."
"That's cool and all, but it still doesn't explain why Mina needed to be captured to get my attention." Sonic's voice lowered. "He could have been satisfied with skewering Amy."
"Sonic…." Sally looked down.
"And that's why you're going to find out for us." Rotor suddenly grabbed Sonic's ear. "With any luck, this transmitter won't get jammed by anything Snively has."
"Ow!"
"Rotor, you know this isn't a good idea." Sally shook her head. "You saw what Crocbot was able to do; we don't know what else Snively is capable of doing!"
"Which is why its what we have to do," Rotor replied. "This may be the only way to find out just what Snively and Mammoth Mogul are up to. You know this is the only way as well as I do."

Sally looked at Sonic, who was adjusting the transmitter in his ear, then back at Rotor, who was looking at her. She closed her eyes and gave a sigh.

"Fine….yes" She shook her head. "You're right; I know it's the only way. I just don't want this to be something we're going to regret, especially knowing Snively's track record with keeping promises. We may not find out anything, or he may keep Sonic and Mina."
"Which is why we've got to outsmart him at his own game." Rotor nodded towards Sonic. "As upset as we all are with what's going on, we have to look at the big picture of our enemy. We all know Snively's got a little issue of pride. He's got no respect for neither us nor any other enemy of his. Fear, maybe, but he thinks himself the master of the universe."
"And you think that if Sonic accepts the meeting, its an ego-booster." Sally slowly nodded. "But Mogul? I think he knows much more of us than Snively knows. He's not one to lose his cool from what I saw of him on the Floating Island."
"But he's also tied down to the Crocbot body, and if he loses that, he's toast." Sonic suddenly spoke up. "He said it in his own words once. He lost his body when the Master Emerald was shattered back when we faced Chaos. Without a body, he's nothing more than a disembodied spirit. And if Rotor's right, he's got a source of power keeping him in Crocbot's body. It's the same idea of what he did to Tails."
"Huh? What did he do to Tails?"
"….I'll explain later." Sonic turned to Rotor and Sally. "But this is why I have to do this. If I can figure out the source of the power Snively's using, then you guys can fight Crcobot and take out the battery no sweat!"
"…..Very well." Sally looked at Rotor and Sonic. "We've got twenty minutes to hammer out the details. Let's go."

---------------------

As the Freedom Fighters discussed their plans, Snaggle sat down on the porch of Rotor's hut, wiping his eyes. It had been a horrifying day for him, and he could do nothing but cry. He cried for a half-hour, non-stop.

"……M…..mina……"

He had seen too much for one day. First, his best friends, attacked by the bad monkey and burnt badly. Then, he could only watch as Mina was taken away. Then, in plain sight of his eyes, he had seen the bad crocodile smash pointed spikes into Amy. He could still see their frightened faces, their widened eyes, before they fell. He gave a whimper.

"I'm s-sorry……"
"Snaggle!"

The dog turned his head up to see a red coat coming towards him from his left. He stood up, his lip quivering.

"Oh, you poor thing!" Rosie was on him almost instantly, brushing off his clothing. "Oh, dear, you're been hurt!"
"I-its nothin'," Snaggle sniffed.
"Oh, Snaggle." Rosie gave him a hug. "I've been looking all over for you. When I heard what happened, I was scared stiff. Thank goodness!"
"M-mis Rosie…" Snaggle started to tear up. "I'm….I'm really s-sorry…..I let that mean monkey get Mina…..a-and she was still hurt fr-from when-"
"Don't talk like that, Snaggle!" Rosie scolded. "What you did was very brave. You went right on and got someone. There's no shame in getting help."
"B-but they couldn't do nothin'." Snaggle started to cry. "Amy got hurt bad."
"Now, now…." Rosie hugged him again. "That there wasn't your fault, Snaggle. But don't you worry; the Freedom Fighters will do something, and they won't let that monster get you! Hear?"
"I hear, Rosie."

Rosie gave a start at this, and stood up. Snaggle turned around to see Sonic smiling at him in an almost mischievous way.

"Sonic!"
"Don't get too down, Snaggle." Sonic bent down and pat Snaggle's shoulder. "We'll get Mina back, so wipe that puss off your face."
"Y-you promise?"
"You bet." Sonic stood back up and winked at Rosie. "After all, what are we for if we can't find a way to save our friends?"
"Aye, Sonic, I hear you on that one." Rosie chuckled.
"Now, if you'll excuse me…." Sonic looked up at the steep gully that bordered Knothole. "I've got a date to keep."

With that, Sonic was gone in a burst of speed. Almost instantly, he was beyond the gully, running back to the appointed spot.

--------------------

"How's the picture and sound on it?"
"Checking now. Sonic," Rotor spoke into the microphone. On the screen in front of him, a menagerie of forest colors whizzed by. "If you can hear me, say 'check'."
"Check, Rotor."

Sally and Rotor sat at Rotor's computer, watching as it received every moment of Sonic's running to the knoll. Finally, the menagerie of colors slowed down; the forest came into focus, and the angle then turned around towards the knoll. The picture than bounced slightly, corresponding to Sonic's walking.

"Looks like the sounds working. And the visual feedback is coming back good as well." Rotor turned to Sally. "You're still nervous about this, aren't you?"
"Well…" Sally nodded. "It is the first time we've had to actually let Sonic get himself caught in a trap to find something out. And…..from my experience…." Sally paused. "Just letting ourselves get captured has not always been very successful."
"We don't have much choice here, princess. Plus," Rotor rubbed his hands together nervously. "There's always a first time for everything. We'll just have to watch and see."

----------------------

The sun began its descent to the underworld as the mark of the hour passed. Sonic gave a huff with each passing minute.

"Come on, you poser." He tapped his foot impatiently as he looked at his watch. "The hour's passed. Maybe he chickened out."
"Sonic."

Suddenly, the point of a staff jabbed the hedgehog's back. Sonic could almost feel the electricity laying dormant in the tip as it stayed towards his lower back, as if pausing before breaking through skin.

"Well, well!" Sonic muttered. "If it isn't the metallic, poo-flinging simian. Let me guess….you're Snively's message boy now?"
"I work for masters," Monkey Khan coolly replied, "who will best serve my purposes. Take off your shoes."

With a weird look towards the monkey, Sonic slowly, carefully, complied. He dropped his shoes and socks onto the ground in front of him with a limp motion. His bare feet sank down into the cool grass and dirt.

"Put you hands behind your head."
"Hmm." Sonic did so. "What's with the nonsense?"
"You'll see, soon enough." The staff went off of his back, and as it did, Sonic felt mist surround his feet. "Now, though, its time to go."

Sonic suddenly lost his balance as the mist started to solidify under his feet, transforming into another mini nimbus cloud. He fell to his knees on the soft, wet platform; he was floating just an inch off the ground as a result. He gave a huff.

"Make me fall, huh…"

The monkey's eyes glowed, and as he started floating up, Sonic found his cloud following. They picked up speed as they went higher and higher up, breaking over the trees. As they did, Sonic's cloud suddenly swung in front of Monkey's, and they shot off with a trail of electricity behind them. Again, Sonic almost lost his balance.

"Woah!" Sonic decided not to try to stand up anymore at that point. "That was close."
"…They're going west," Through the transmitter, Sonic heard Rotor talk in a low voice to Sally. "We'll have to keep quiet so Khan doesn't hear us…"
"….So, Monkey," The cyborg's staff went back to Sonic's back. "You know anything about Snively's plan? Or are you just a reprogrammed pawn?"
"I'll overlook that remark, hedgehog." Khan replied, his voice slightly dark. "Programmed or not, I still have the advantage here. Don't be such a smart aleck or else you'll have a nice dive into the trees to contend with."
"Bah." Even in his desire to taunt Khan for his gullibility, Sonic knew better from what had happened with Mogul. "I might as well take your word for it."

They were silent for ten tense minutes after that. Neither said a word to each other; neither really wanted to. As such, Sonic could only look down and admire the standpoint he was in. He was right above the trees, like a camera taking a film of the countryside. The giant trees flew by just feet below him; soon, the Great River loomed below for a moment or so before it, too, went behind him. If the situation he was in wasn't so perilous, and his guide so willing to kill him, he knew he would have enjoyed the unique ride a little more.

"Hmph." Finally, Sonic felt the cloud slow down. "We're here."

Suddenly, the two clouds merged together as they ascended towards the dense forests below, and, because it was so abrupt, Sonic swore he felt the staff break skin, could feel blood trickle on his back, when this happened. Nevertheless, he said nothing as they went down lower.

As the cloud neared the ground, a hole suddenly appeared in the dirt, large enough for a small plane to enter. They floated down slowly, the hole's opening closing after them. The two were plunged into darkness, save for the electric glow of Khan's staff.

"I've got a relative course on where Snively is.." Sonic heard Rotor say. "We may be able to get him quickly."
"Don't count on it, Rotor." Sally replied. "With half of us gone, it would be suicide to just blindly go there. And we still don't have an exact location."
"….This is difficult, isn't it…."
"Stand up, hedgehog."

The sound of metallic doors took Sonic's attention away from his friends' conversation and back to reality. They were at the bottom of the hole, and a set of large reinforced steel doors were opening out in front of him, revealing a small, cluttered lab. Slowly, Sonic stood up, his hands still behind his head.

"Better." Khan then raised his voice. "Snively, I have him."
"Excellent!"

From the shadows came Snively; he wore a cloak over his normal clothing, and he rubbed his hands with pure glee upon sight of Sonic.

"Excellent….excellent!" Sonic glared at Snively as Khan prodded him off of the cloud. "A pleasure you could come to my lab. I have been expecting you."
"I'm sure you were."
"You'll have to forgive my not allowing your socks and shoes." Snively's expression was filled with nothing but evil intentions. "I didn't think it right for you to simply run off before I was finished with what I had to say." Looking up at Khan, "You can leave. I'll be fine with the hedgehog."
"Yes, master."

Khan bowed, and the cloud shot up towards the surface once more. The steel doors slammed shut with a definitive bang, leaving Sonic and Snively alone.

"You can take your hands down now, hedgehog." Still glaring, the hedgehog put his hands down slowly. "I'm surprised you complied so easily. I guess I should involve innocents in my plans more often if it catches your attention."
"Let's cut the boasting, Shorty." Sonic's voice came, once more, through clenched teeth. "Where is she?"
"Ah, yes….Mina." Snively laughed. "She's safe…..for now."
"Let her go. Now."
"Not yet, hedgehog." Snively took several steps back. "I think you're not so much concerned for her in terms of the general fact that I have her….not so much as what I could possibly be doing to her, yes? I'm sure you're wondering why I'd be kidnapping her in the first place, when I could just raze Knothole with one fall swoop."
"You could say the thought crossed my mind when your new 'friend' injured Amy."
"Ah, yes. Mogul. We came to a definite understanding of who had what. He has the prowess I want, I have the technology he needs. I think we both came to an understanding that betrayal would be most unsatisfactory, given how well we worked together for our common goal."
"So you gave that monster a new body to rampage around in."
"But wasn't that an awesome sight? Seeing your friend in a near-death situation, knowing there was nothing you could do to stop it from happening? Finally meeting a threat you couldn't match with your super speed?" Sonic shut his eyes tightly as Snively spoke and restrained himself; he knew a provoking taunt when he heard one. "Ah, but I love to see the pain on your face. I know how to get under your skin, unlike the Eggman. I know what makes your skin crawl."

As he spoke, Snively was taking steps back. His boots scraping the ground was the only other sound in the room, save his speaking and the hum of machines all around them.

"But I'm not finished." Finally, Snively got to the wall. He took hold of a lever from a large panel behind him. "No…..I have more surprises for you. For example…."

With an upward movement, Snively pulled the lever on. All around them, lights turned on, lighting up all of the various-sized tubing and machinery in the room. Sonic gave a start at what was in the interconnected translucent tubes; all of them had an unconscious small animal within them, and all of them were filled with a blue substance he had never seen before. Underneath each of the tubes were heart monitors; some of the animals had steady beats, while others became steadily erratic and dangerously irregular.

"….Behold. Crocbot's battery energy supply."

Sonic's eyes widened at the expanse of the animals that Snively had captured, but it was nothing compared to what he felt as his eyes turned up. For in the back of the room, floating almost lifelessly in one of two large tubes, was Mina, her eyes rolled up to the back of her head from the transfer currents. Under her tube, her heart monitor showed that her heartbeat was slightly erratic, as many of the others were.

"M……mina?!?"

Along with his squeaked gasp of realization, Sonic could hear Rotor and Sally's shout of anger as he stared at the tubes, stared at what exactly was happening. He shakily clenched his fists, his lip curling up into an outraged snarl.

"Ah, yes, and your friend Mina…" Snively's mocking bounced into his ears, making it harder for him to check his rage. "She's been very useful. Her battery output for Mogul's Crocbot body has been very steady, though I've noticed some faltering. Perhaps because of the relay satellite and buffer system I've been using, but ah well."
"…..You…….."
"The other problem with this is that the subjects we use for the power source suffer from a 100% mortality rate. A difficult decision to go to larger animals, naturally, but then again, we were going through the small brush animals like hotcakes." Snively's laugh became twisted. "She'll last a few more days, I'm sure; of course, the fact that she was seriously injured by Nack does complicate matters a bit-"
"…..sadistic MONSTER!!!!"

With a definitive hook, Sonic's connected with Snively's face. As Snively staggered back into the wall, Sonic jumped up onto the tubes; since he had no shoes to speed himself up fast enough, he instead jumped and flipped onto the tops of them to increase his velocity as he neared Mina's tube. When he was going fast enough, he went into a Sonic Spin and slammed right into the glass of the container.

*KA-POOOOOONG!!!!!!!*



Sonic gave a shout. He crumbled to the floor, his spikes having not even made a dent into the glass.

"Sonic!!!!" Sally's scream came into his ear as he rolled on the ground, holding his knee. "Rotor, hurry up on the coordinates…!!!"
"Ugh….!!!"
"Idiot hedgehog." Snively stood over him, holding his nose. "I didn't create this machine without first taking precautions. I studied metal tectonics for the past two years; I tested volatility, hardness and resistance of every rock and gemstone on the planet. I then took the hardest of each, and tested their half-life compatibility, as well as their atomic fission levels. Then, the main ingredient: sand. Over 90 percent of this glass, nothing more than sand! But applying the same engineering techniques to the rocks that one would apply to a pair of animal genes to alter them…..the result of building up, combining, and splicing atoms…these sastitubes." With that, he laughed evilly. "No force on Mobius can shatter them. It would take ten times the nuclear arsenal of every country to even crack these! So what are you going to do?"
"…Grr…." Slowly, Sonic stood up, and angry glare on his face. "First…..I'm going to take you and kick you in the-"
"Ah ah ah, temper, hedgehog!" Snively's laugh became more maniacal. "Even with all I've shown, I haven't finished yet. I think you should know, there is a way to save your precious mongoose friend."
"Killing you would be a good way to start."
"You know that that wouldn't help you; Crocbot knows how to work this as well as I do." Sonic glared at him again. "But I think you know what I want."
"……You…….you little…"

Sonic suddenly realized the corner he was in. He understood what Snively had just said, and realized that he was completely outmatched, outdone and outsmarted.

He went after Mina……because he….he was after….

"You had everything planned out, didn't you? You knew what I'd do…"
"Yes, I might as well admit it." Snively chuckled. "I knew you'd come to save Mina. I could have just used Sally or the other Freedom Fighters for my purposes, but none of them are docile enough to control and have fear instilled in them."
"Don't do it, Sonic!" Sonic could hear Sally shout. "Don't! Stall him and we can get there!!!"
"Nor is there that desperation that comes with the type of injury complication that a bullet to the stomach is." The man crossed his arms, triumphant. "Besides which, you're filled with far more energy than the mongoose could ever have; you're the fastest thing alive! But I guess you weren't fast enough to escape this time, were you? Either you submit to your final fate, and become Mogul's new battery so that Mina may be saved…..or you can simply stay here and watch helplessly as she dies a slow death from the energy expenditure."
"Sonic, NO!!!"

Sonic closed his eyes in contemplation, trying to shut out Snively, Sally and Rotor's voices. Never in his wildest dreams had he thought such a thing as he was seeing was even possible. The choices he had would be lose-lose no matter what he chose, and he knew it.

He knew that to choose to take Mina's place would encourage Snively and Crocbot to stop at nothing, to take whomever they pleased for their sick endeavors. He himself would eventually die, especially since the Freedom Fighters didn't have the ability to get through the safeguards Snively safeguarded. He'd also be nourishing Mogul, who's almost assuredly attack Knothole the minute Sonic was incapacitated, something he simply couldn't condone. Many people could die, or be enslaved; he wouldn't be able to live with himself.

But his job was to be a Freedom Fighter, and to protect all innocents. He couldn't let innocent people die; it went against his belief that protecting the population, no matter how small the population would be, was a priority. He couldn't bear the thought of knowing that he could have saved someone, yet chose not to. Plus, Sonic had always believed she was much stronger than she allowed herself to believe; she was capable of doing things if she was determined enough. She had proved this to her when she had put her life on the line for him and for Sally when Nack tried to kill them. No matter what, Sonic knew he definitely owed her for that.

"………Right." He gave a nod.
"Sonic…"

Without so much of a second thought, Sonic took his thumb and pointer finger to his ear, producing the transmitter. He rolled it into the center of his palm, and, squeezing his hand together in a quick movement, crushed it. Within a single electric shock, Rotor's voice was cut off.

"Let Mina go; let her out and give her back to my friends." He let the tiny remains of the device fall to the floor in front of Snively's surprised eyes. "Then I'll take her place."

Sonic didn't even look up at Snively as he slowly understood his victory, as he began to laugh more maniacally than ever before. He heard the click of another button, and looked over towards the tube as the substance surrounding Mina started to drain. His potential final resting place.

"Excellent choice, hedgehog. Heheh…."

Soon, all of the liquid was gone, and Mina slumped, limp, in the tube as the glass began to lift up. Instantly, Sonic jumped up onto the platform and lifted her to her feet.

"Mina…..Mina!" Sonic shook the mongoose; though there was no response, he saw that she was still breathing. "Come on, Mina…"
"Let her go, hedgehog."

Suddenly, Mina was violently wretched from Sonic by Monkey Khan. He slung her onto his shoulder and disappeared in a flash of electricity.

"Now that you're said your final goodbyes….." Suddenly, the glass was down around the hedgehog, and from several holes the blue liquid began to flood into the chamber. Gritting his teeth, Sonic could only press his hands on the siding of the container and stare down at the ground as the level of the cold, watery substance began to creep up. "I'm sure Mina and your freedom fighting friends will thank you for this, hedgehog. I certainly do!! Hahahahahahahahaha!"