***
Snively had long ago become callused to the killing and robotization of Mobians. He did not heed their screams or cries for mercy. He had seen too many of them march to the Robotizer to feel compassion. But somewhere deep down, he felt a hidden guilt about it, and could not bear to remain in the same room as a Mobian, any Mobian.
The knowledge that there was a young fox in the floor compartment of the control room ate at him as he worked. He was conscious of his uncle's watchful gaze, but he was also conscious of the Mobian's presence, too close for comfort, locked away though it may be. He began to sweat and make mistakes, pressing the wrong buttons and making typos in command strings. Why did Robotnik have to keep the fox in here? Did he think it could escape from a fortress cell? The fortress cells were the best ones in Robotropolis. Or maybe Robotnik liked having the fox near at hand.
"Sir," said Snively, turning around, "we have a cage meant for extra-strong prisoners in the next room."
"Yes?" said Robotnik, who was watching a monitor.
"If you wanted to put the fox in it, you could keep a closer eye on it."
"And have it rescued by its confederates," snapped Robotnik. "The reason I brought it here was to keep it out of sight."
Snively shrugged and returned to his work. Why had he suggested that, anyway? It would be worse if he could see the Mobian. The way it was, he could pretend it wasn't there under the floor, waiting, listening, making Snively feel guilty ... If it were kept in the next room, however, he would feel better.
To his chagrin, an hour later Robotnik wheeled in a cage like a reinforced pet carrier. "You had a good idea, Snively," he said, rolling the cage to the edge of the concealed floor panel. "I would like to question the little maggot. Call in the capture droids."
Snively obeyed, inwardly squirming. Now he would have to look at the Mobian every time he turned around, and worse yet, listen to it talk. If he listened to one of them talk for too long, he began to wonder how intelligent they really were, and then he began to think about the things those other Mobians had screamed at him while he had Robotizer duty, and...
Two capture droids entered the room. They were big cans with six arms, each armed with a hand, a hook, a stunner, and other capture-related instruments. Robotnik instructed them on what he wanted them to do, then unlocked the floor panel and lifted it open.
The fox leaped out at once, but it was caught by the capture droids and thrown into the cage, which Robotnik slammed shut and locked. Snively watched it rattle the cage bars with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He turned away as it spoke.
"Is Sonic here?"
"No," said Robotnik. "Your friends have abandoned you."
Snively could hear the note of stunned bewilderment in the fox's voice. "They did? But ... but Sonic wouldn't do that." Then the fox became angry. "Hey, you're trying to trick me, aren't you? Sonic said you try to do that."
"I am merely stating facts," said Robotnik. "You are here. They are not."
There was a moment of silence. Snively glanced over his shoulder and saw the fox looking at him through the holes in the cage sides. He looked away, but the fox said, "Hey, I know you. You're Snively." When Snively did not reply, the fox went on, "You run all these computers by YOURSELF?"
"Of course not," said Robotnik. "I'm here."
"He's running them right now," said the fox. "And you're just sitting in your chair."
Snively swallowed a laugh and studied a readout without seeing it.
Robotnik's voice was slightly louder as he asked, "What were you doing in the city when you were captured?"
"Oh, we blew up that factory," said the fox. "But you know that. I can see the smoke out the window over there."
"Why did you do it?"
"Because Sally says that destroying a factory disrupts manufacturing." The fox paused, then added, "Forget I told you that, I'm not supposed to tell you that." Snively glanced over his shoulder to see the fox sit down in the cage and wrap its tails around its body. It had two of them, he noticed. A mutant.
"I'm thirsty," said the fox. "Can I have a drink?"
"No," said Robotnik. "Let's talk about Sonic."
"Let's not," said Tails. "I don't want to talk to you anymore. My mouth's dry."
Snively looked over his shoulder, and met Robotnik's eye. Robotnik was smiling. Perhaps the fox was good for something other than a hostage.
***
Sonic ran the racecourse over and over the rest of that day and the following day. Down the highway, across the ridge, back along the dirt road, back onto the highway in a big loop. The highway was open and straight--Sonic woulc see any waiting robots. The dirt road cut through a few hills, but Sonic timed himself and figured he could outrun anything fired at him.
It was the ridge that gave him trouble. Why in the heck had he picked the ridge road? It was nice and wide, but there were three places where it skirted the edge of a canyon, with only a guardrail between the road and empty space. Sonic tested the guardrails in each place and decided they would withstand something striking them. If Robotnik tried anything, he would find the rails sturdier than they looked. The road also skirted several turns, and Sonic practiced on them, each time imagining himself racing a super-fast robot of some kind.
Sonic did not normally run that much, but all he could think of was Tails. Poor Tails in a cell somewhere, probably being interrogated, maybe tortured. Sonic had told Tails not to answer questions if he was ever caught, but what if they tortured him? Sonic ground his teeth and vowed to punish Robotnik personally if any harm came to the young fox. And so he ran the course over and over.
Sally sent Robotnik the course plan two minutes before midnight, for she wanted him to have as little advantage as possible. But Robotnik was waiting when the plan arrived on his servers, and fired up his hovercraft immediately to examine the track. He took with him several pounds of magnetic tacks, and the racing robot, which had been completed that morning.
Together creator and creation reviewed the course under the cover of darkness, and they, too, noticed the ridge road and the canyon flanking it. Robotnik drove his ship to and fro along that stretch, examining and scheming. The cheetah-robot paced below him, oiled and sleek, its tiny, aerodynamic head swinging from side to side.
When Robotnik returned to Robotropolis for a few hours' sleep, he left behind him a ridge track strewn with magnetic tacks.
Snively had long ago become callused to the killing and robotization of Mobians. He did not heed their screams or cries for mercy. He had seen too many of them march to the Robotizer to feel compassion. But somewhere deep down, he felt a hidden guilt about it, and could not bear to remain in the same room as a Mobian, any Mobian.
The knowledge that there was a young fox in the floor compartment of the control room ate at him as he worked. He was conscious of his uncle's watchful gaze, but he was also conscious of the Mobian's presence, too close for comfort, locked away though it may be. He began to sweat and make mistakes, pressing the wrong buttons and making typos in command strings. Why did Robotnik have to keep the fox in here? Did he think it could escape from a fortress cell? The fortress cells were the best ones in Robotropolis. Or maybe Robotnik liked having the fox near at hand.
"Sir," said Snively, turning around, "we have a cage meant for extra-strong prisoners in the next room."
"Yes?" said Robotnik, who was watching a monitor.
"If you wanted to put the fox in it, you could keep a closer eye on it."
"And have it rescued by its confederates," snapped Robotnik. "The reason I brought it here was to keep it out of sight."
Snively shrugged and returned to his work. Why had he suggested that, anyway? It would be worse if he could see the Mobian. The way it was, he could pretend it wasn't there under the floor, waiting, listening, making Snively feel guilty ... If it were kept in the next room, however, he would feel better.
To his chagrin, an hour later Robotnik wheeled in a cage like a reinforced pet carrier. "You had a good idea, Snively," he said, rolling the cage to the edge of the concealed floor panel. "I would like to question the little maggot. Call in the capture droids."
Snively obeyed, inwardly squirming. Now he would have to look at the Mobian every time he turned around, and worse yet, listen to it talk. If he listened to one of them talk for too long, he began to wonder how intelligent they really were, and then he began to think about the things those other Mobians had screamed at him while he had Robotizer duty, and...
Two capture droids entered the room. They were big cans with six arms, each armed with a hand, a hook, a stunner, and other capture-related instruments. Robotnik instructed them on what he wanted them to do, then unlocked the floor panel and lifted it open.
The fox leaped out at once, but it was caught by the capture droids and thrown into the cage, which Robotnik slammed shut and locked. Snively watched it rattle the cage bars with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He turned away as it spoke.
"Is Sonic here?"
"No," said Robotnik. "Your friends have abandoned you."
Snively could hear the note of stunned bewilderment in the fox's voice. "They did? But ... but Sonic wouldn't do that." Then the fox became angry. "Hey, you're trying to trick me, aren't you? Sonic said you try to do that."
"I am merely stating facts," said Robotnik. "You are here. They are not."
There was a moment of silence. Snively glanced over his shoulder and saw the fox looking at him through the holes in the cage sides. He looked away, but the fox said, "Hey, I know you. You're Snively." When Snively did not reply, the fox went on, "You run all these computers by YOURSELF?"
"Of course not," said Robotnik. "I'm here."
"He's running them right now," said the fox. "And you're just sitting in your chair."
Snively swallowed a laugh and studied a readout without seeing it.
Robotnik's voice was slightly louder as he asked, "What were you doing in the city when you were captured?"
"Oh, we blew up that factory," said the fox. "But you know that. I can see the smoke out the window over there."
"Why did you do it?"
"Because Sally says that destroying a factory disrupts manufacturing." The fox paused, then added, "Forget I told you that, I'm not supposed to tell you that." Snively glanced over his shoulder to see the fox sit down in the cage and wrap its tails around its body. It had two of them, he noticed. A mutant.
"I'm thirsty," said the fox. "Can I have a drink?"
"No," said Robotnik. "Let's talk about Sonic."
"Let's not," said Tails. "I don't want to talk to you anymore. My mouth's dry."
Snively looked over his shoulder, and met Robotnik's eye. Robotnik was smiling. Perhaps the fox was good for something other than a hostage.
***
Sonic ran the racecourse over and over the rest of that day and the following day. Down the highway, across the ridge, back along the dirt road, back onto the highway in a big loop. The highway was open and straight--Sonic woulc see any waiting robots. The dirt road cut through a few hills, but Sonic timed himself and figured he could outrun anything fired at him.
It was the ridge that gave him trouble. Why in the heck had he picked the ridge road? It was nice and wide, but there were three places where it skirted the edge of a canyon, with only a guardrail between the road and empty space. Sonic tested the guardrails in each place and decided they would withstand something striking them. If Robotnik tried anything, he would find the rails sturdier than they looked. The road also skirted several turns, and Sonic practiced on them, each time imagining himself racing a super-fast robot of some kind.
Sonic did not normally run that much, but all he could think of was Tails. Poor Tails in a cell somewhere, probably being interrogated, maybe tortured. Sonic had told Tails not to answer questions if he was ever caught, but what if they tortured him? Sonic ground his teeth and vowed to punish Robotnik personally if any harm came to the young fox. And so he ran the course over and over.
Sally sent Robotnik the course plan two minutes before midnight, for she wanted him to have as little advantage as possible. But Robotnik was waiting when the plan arrived on his servers, and fired up his hovercraft immediately to examine the track. He took with him several pounds of magnetic tacks, and the racing robot, which had been completed that morning.
Together creator and creation reviewed the course under the cover of darkness, and they, too, noticed the ridge road and the canyon flanking it. Robotnik drove his ship to and fro along that stretch, examining and scheming. The cheetah-robot paced below him, oiled and sleek, its tiny, aerodynamic head swinging from side to side.
When Robotnik returned to Robotropolis for a few hours' sleep, he left behind him a ridge track strewn with magnetic tacks.