main chapter finished: 11 /11 /03;
reformatted: 12 /14 /03;
revised/reformatted: 08 /07 /04
Antipode Evangel Presents:
FREEDOM FIGHTERS OF MOBIUS
Sonic the Hedgehog Neo Redux
Year 3236, Day 168
SOLO, Part 1
Siege
Story (c) 2003 by the author. Based on characters created by Sega, DiC Productions, and/or Archie Comics Group, used without permission, but protected by spiffy copyright laws... Nyah, nyah.
Other characters:
Bookshire Draftwood (c) Bookshire Draftwood, without permission.
Cornelius, Kara, Grease, and Tabitha (c) Antipode Echidna / Adam Czech. Please ask permission before using any of my charas, thanx!
Sonic approached the Elder Fortification as he had done countless times before, running the current message through in his mind. It was a status update to all the other rebel cells: they had just finished the generator for the de-Roboticizor and it was working fine. Now they just needed to finish the machine itself. He reached for his radio as he entered the clearing. "Hey, Rote. I'm here. Want me to head inside?"
"Go ahead, Sonic," Rotor answered back. "Just make it quick."
He scoffed as he put the radio back in his pack, remembering the time last year when they had a comm blackout because Rotor blew up the generator. Since then they didn't like to take chances with their agents in the field, especially when they were going it alone.
Sonic approached the entrance to the catacombs, peering into the darkness inside. Usually Cornelius was here to greet him; he wondered if something was up. "Maybe he's just runnin' late," he mused, taking a seat against the wall outside and waiting. After waiting, though, Cornelius was still a no-show, and his impatient nature took over. He snatched up his radio again. "Yo, Rotor!"
A beat of silence. "Yeah?"
"Corny knew I was comin', right?"
"He should have. I can check with Princess Sally if you-"
"No, I'm just wondering. He has never been this... un-punctual."
"What are you going to do?" Rotor asked. "You heading back?"
He grinned. "No way, buddy. If he just forgot, fine, but if somethin' bad went down here I gotta find out what it is."
"Suit yourself, Sonic. But I'm not going to be the one to tell Sally you caused an incident with our comm people."
"Hey, it's me," he did his best to assure him and replaced the radio again.
Sonic slowly made his way into the tunnels, torch held high. He thought he knew where the communications room was -- after all, Cornelius had only taken him there several dozen times -- but after repeatedly finding himself at the entrance he had to applaud their defense system.
Okay, hedgehog intuition didn't work this time, he thought and reached into the pack for a short stick of chalk. Time to rely on training. And defamation of an ancient temple site, he also realized, but that couldn't be helped. Push the hedgehog too far and he starts scribbling on things.
Using the chalk scratches as a guide as he explored, he was finally able to reach a set of stairs that led down to another floor of the Fortification. As soon as he reached level ground, however, he knew at once something was wrong. For one, there were black scorch marks painted on the walls and floor, and a thick dust coated the floor, from what looked like impact craters in the rock.
He took a cautious step into the hall, knowing the site of a battle when he saw one. "Somethin' went down here all right," he whispered to himself, his voice hissing off the stones. On the plus side there were no bodies lying around; whoever was doing the shooting must have gotten away. Sonic started down the hallway, wondering how long ago the conflict had taken place. It didn't look recent, but the monks would have surely cleaned up the place by now, unless...
Sonic quickened his pace now, senses alert. He had to find the control center and get some answers. Now he certainly didn't blame Cornelius for not meeting him, he and the brothers had more important things to deal with.
He turned the corner that led to the communications room, hit with shock at what he saw. The disguised door had literally been torn off the wall and lay in two pieces on the ground. Even from this far away Sonic could see most of the equipment within was shattered and pulverized.
He entered fearing the worst. Taking a look around, though, he found only the aftermath of whatever combat had taken place. Nearly all of the computer screens in the room were smashed in, and several of the components had been ripped out of the computers, rendering them beyond repair. Also amidst the wreckage were three crumpled bodies, dressed in the robes of the Fortification. One of them looked like Cornelius.
Sonic slowly approached the body, prodding it with his foot. He pushed it over, turning it face up. "Ugh," Sonic almost retched. It was Cornelius all right, but his head had been removed.
He quickly turned away, fighting to regain his composure. It took all his strength to keep from vomiting as he turned back to the corpse, crouching down to examine the wounds. Whoever had done it had used a long blade of some sort, probably a sword; the cut was clean. But there was something unusual: his neck around the cut and his shoulders were coated in a metallic alloy.
Sonic recognized it immediately as the same shell that covered most of Bunnie's body. "Ro-buttnik was here."
Somehow, he had discovered the Fortification and had Roboticized them. But what was he after? Sonic stood and looked around. The other two bodies had wound marks similar to Cornelius', which meant there had been someone else here, someone who fought well with a blade. If Robotnik had wanted to Roboticize them, he wouldn't send someone else to kill them on top of that.
He crouched down to Cornelius' body again. "Sorry about this," he whispered to the headless corpse as his hands ran through his robe, "but I'm gonna need this stuff more than you."
He found a portable computer and a data disk in the folds of the cloak, along with a cloth bag affixed to his belt; Sonic took these and stood. Didn't he have a gun, too? he asked himself, looking around. He found it, not far from the body. It was an old slugthrower-class of firearm; Sonic opened it and found only two bullets in the magazine, one in the chamber. He guessed it had been fired when Cornelius was killed.
Sonic sighed and examined the palmtop computer. "All right, let's see what's on this," he muttered and snapped the disk in. It loaded automatically, showing a video file that was made several days prior. It started, showing Cornelius' face as he looked down into the camera -- at least, he assumed it was; his skin was split in various places from veins of metal that wound around his features.
"I leave this message for whomever will be unfortunate enough to discover the results of the attack on our stronghold. We were besieged by the forces of Robotnik on day 159 of the year 3236. He destroyed our equipment, then injected all of us with the Roboticizor formula; I fear we don't have much time left.
"If I or my companions attacked you as you entered I feel the need to apologize. The doctor tells me we only have a couple of days before the Roboticization is complete enough that we will lose all control of our reasoning processes. If you find this message, I implore you to seek out the power generator for this facility and the others on the network and keep them from the hands of Robotnik at all costs. If they fall to his hands there is no telling the evil he can unlock with them.
"This computer contains a map of the Fortification. All of the doors can be opened with these," he paused, holding up in his hand what looked like a small golden ring. "Thank you for helping us, and Godspeed."
The message ended, and Sonic slid the computer into his pocket. Inside the bag he found the rings Cornelius had referred to. He turned one of them over in his hands, examining it. It was simple, really: about six or seven centimeters in diameter, maybe half a centimeter thick, just large enough to hold in one's hand. As he gripped the ring Sonic could almost feel a kind of energy pulsing from it, as if there was something more to it than mere jewelry.
Sonic stepped back out into the passage, tapped the buttons on Cornelius' computer until he found the map of the catacombs. Now that he knew where he was going the maze didn't seem all that imposing. He headed off toward a chamber the map marked as generator room, deep within the interior of the Fortification. He took inventory, realizing that the batteries on his electric torch might not last long enough, and decided to extinguish it in favor of one of combustion models lining the walls.
Deeper into the Fortification he went, part of him wondering if he should head upstairs first to tell Knothole what was going on. He chose to keep going. This shouldn't take too long, anyway.
According to the map display, the generator was on roughly sublevel three, about twenty feet underground. By the time he reached the stairs the air around him had already grown musty and cold. Sonic hunched over and shivered, wishing he had brought a jacket or something. The ground began to shake, and it took him a moment to realize it wasn't because of him. The entire cavern was quaking.
Sonic braced himself for what was coming, but was still thrown backward as the wall in front of him exploded. He hit the floor hard, and looked up to see what had happened. There, in the midst of a cloud of dust, was a steel machine. It was constructed from several round nodes that snaked end-for-end for a three-meter length, and had spinning drill bits at both ends. It positively reeked of Robotnik.
The 'bot's eyes slowly tracked Sonic as he grabbed for Cornelius' pistol, leveling it and firing off what was left of the ammunition. The first shot went wide and hit the wall, the second and third merely ricocheted off the metal armor. It didn't take him long to realize why the monks had been defeated so easily.
The driller lunged. Sonic dropped his torch and threw himself to one side, hurling the weapon at the 'bot as he did so. It connected with the steel skull with a crack, and Sonic could tell that some damage had been inflicted. He ran toward it while it was incapacitated, leaping forward and planting both feet firmly into its head. It shattered quite nicely, the body quivering and sparking before lying silent.
Sonic stepped out of the remains of the machine, dusting himself off. It wasn't too difficult an opponent, but still one that he had never seen before. It obviously wasn't a Robian; there wasn't anything natural that grew as big. Maybe Robotnik was turning to more conventional robotics for his new wave of troops. Definitely something to tell Sally about.
The hedgehog retrieved his torch and continued down the passage, able to reach the generator without further altercation. As a contrast to the communications room this door wasn't disguised in any way; it was grand and ornate, almost wanting to draw attention to itself. He approached it carefully, scanning its surface for any way to open the thing. There were strange etchings along its surface, possibly the language used by the temple's original inhabitants?
Near the middle, though, was what interested Sonic. Five circular carvings, arranged in a pentagon, only a centimeter thick. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what went in them. He opened the cloth bag, removing five of the rings. There was one left; he put it and the bag away. Sonic placed a gold ring in each of the carvings, stepping back quickly as the fifth was inserted. At first nothing happened, then each of the rings started to glow brightly, so bright that it hurt his eyes to look at them. When the glow faded Sonic looked again, seeing that the rings had apparently melted away, and cracks were flashing along the door's etchings. With a tremendous rush of stale air the pieces of the portal receded into the wall space, allowing him entry.
He would have taken some time to marvel at what he just saw, but he was more intrigued by what lay within. A walkway led from the door to a bronze pedestal, surrounded by lights that seemed to have no apparent source. Sonic slowly came forward, now noticing what was on the platform. It was an emerald, perfectly shaped, glowing with an internal light. He reached out a hand, feeling some kind of power coming from it, similar to that from the rings. He placed his hands around the emerald, with a jerk lifting it from its place on the pedestal. At once the lights around the room died. "Hope I didn't mess somethin' up," he muttered, casting glances around for hidden traps, but it appeared that he was safe for the moment.
"Whoa," he whispered, noticing the emerald's state. The glow was pulsing now, the light throbbing like the emerald was a living thing. He could feel the energy coming from it now. It was intense, almost intoxicatingly pleasing. "Like New Years' all over again," he grinned, deciding to put the jewel into his pack to keep it from distracting him.
Now all that was left was to leave without attracting any more of Robotnik's goons. That was executed easily enough; the killer caterpillar seemed to have been the only 'bot left inside. He pulled out his radio as he exited, the speaker immediately crackling and a familiar, bored voice issuing forth: "...onic, Sonic, Sonic, Sonic, Sonic..."
He chuckled. "Tails, is that you?"
"Oh, he's here!" the kid shouted. A lot of fumbling sounds followed, then Rotor came on.
"Sonic, where have you been? We've been trying to reach you for the past ten minutes!"
He didn't see the point of beating around the bush, so he went right to it. "Cornelius is dead."
"Huh?"
"Ro-buttnik found out about the comm network, and everyone's dead. Put Sal on."
Silence as Rotor tried to figure out what to do. "O-okay, just hold on."
More waiting. Sonic tapped his foot until Sally's voice came out over the speaker. "Sonic, what happened?"
He told her everything that had occurred in the catacombs, including the attack by the "cater-killer." "...and Cornelius said that the other guys on the network might be in trouble, too."
"As much as I hate doing this, I'm going to send you."
"Really?"
"It would take days to launch another team from Knothole, and time is of the essence. The Marble Garden Observatory is a dozen klicks east of you. Head there first. Just tell them who you are, you should have no problem."
He had half-expected her to order him back to base. "Wow, thanks, Sal. Don't worry about it. I'll be back before you know it."
"Just try to stay out of trouble. Knothole out."
Sally put the radio back on the desk in Rotor's workshop, proceeding to exit and return to what she had been doing. She found Bunnie in the vehicle garage between the cargo pod and Kara's nearly-finished passenger plane, the "Freedom Stormer." She looked up as Sally entered, seeing the look on her face.
"Our network's been compromised," she answered solemnly. "Sonic's looking into it. Where were we?"
"Talkin' about the pod," Bunnie answered, concern edging into her voice.
"Right," Sally rubbed her forehead. "Kara, can it fly tomorrow?"
"Sure, no problem. All the mods have been tested thoroughly, you should have no problem."
"Wonderful. It's all fueled and everything?"
The mechanic nodded. "Everything's been repaired from the last trip. It should be no different from last time you flew it."
Bunnie looked down from examining the craft. "Have you done anything with the cannon?"
Her brow furrowed. "I was able to squeeze a little bit out of the fire rate. I know how hard target practice was when you used it, Bunnie, so you should recognize the difference."
"Good," Sally nodded. "That will be just fine. We'll take it out tomorrow morning at first light."
"Just where're we goin' again, Sally-girl?" Bunnie asked as they were leaving the garage. "Ya didn't really make that clear."
"I was looking through my records last night, and I found a recon report from last year that said the eastern Sophia district was almost untouched by Robotnik's drones. If I remember correctly, my father had a villa by the lake up there. There might be something we can get from it."
"What do ya expect to find?"
"Right now I'm not really sure," she shook her head. "Possibly some information about what happened in the palace up until the coup. Best case I can get more information on the freedom fighter network. That would help us strengthen our ties to the other cells." Her thoughts went to Sonic's mission. "And unity is one thing we need right now."
-=:=-=:=-=:=-=:=-
Sonic reached the Marble Garden late in the evening. As he cleared the forest he could immediately tell something was wrong, and his suspicions were confirmed when he saw two bee-shaped robots hovering around the standing stones marking the entrance to the site. He came in slowly, careful to avoid detection.
That did little good, however, when the ground gave way under him and he shouted in surprise. Another caterkiller had emerged from the earth, and now eyed Sonic warily. "Oh, you guys again," he grunted as he rose to his feet. "Just won't take a hint will ya?"
The 'bot's simplistic programming told it to lunge, and the hedgehog's instincts told him to jump. A swift kick to the head and the insectoid was put out of commission.
"Aw, shoot," Sonic looked up and saw the two bees he had seen earlier now heading in his direction. "So much for bein' stealthy."
The bombers had something like cannons built into their torsos, which they swiveled to bear as they approached. When they were within range they opened up on Sonic, tearing up the ground with laser fire. He quickly threw himself into a dodge, rolling into a crouch a few meters away. He looked up in time to see the buzz-bombers circling around for another pass. "I'm wastin' too much time fightin' these goons," he growled and took off in the direction of the Observatory.
The only building he could see was a dome-shaped structure in the center of the rows of trees; he ran through the door and closed it behind him. The place was much more peaceful inside. The lobby was set up like a greenhouse, with rows of small plants on the walls and a slight mist hanging in the air. Sonic slowly entered, looking around the room and wondering where everyone was. Probably hiding, he thought. "Hello?" he called, his voice echoing in the space. "Anybody home?"
There was a desk at the far end of the room, empty. Sonic hoped to find a map of the place behind it, but no such luck. He sighed and looked for a way to go. There were stairs to the left and right, but where they led he didn't know. He decided to go left, and found himself in a basement hallway that stretched into darkness. He sighed and reached for his torch again. "Anybody here? Anyone at all?"
No answer. Whoever was supposed to be running this place was hiding pretty well. He started off down the passage, keeping a look out for someone -- anyone -- he could get some answers from. He followed the corridor as it opened up into what looked like a hydroponics bay. "These people sure love their plants," he observed dryly. From there he had three new ways to go, and getting more and more ticked with the guy who had built the place.
Sonic looked around, remembering that he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. He took a time out, sitting next to one of the planters and reaching into his pack for a ration bar. He tore off the wrapper and took a bite, trying to chew on the side of his mouth to avoid the taste. When he heard the rustling of the leaves around him, at first he thought nothing of it, then realized there was someone else with him in the room.
He jumped to his feet, looking around, but seeing no one. "Hey, who's there? I'm with the freedom fighters. I came to help!"
The sounds faded. Sonic heard what sounded like whispering, but with the constant hum of the misters around the room he couldn't be sure. He heard someone standing behind him, and spun to see a figure dressed in a white robe, a sidearm unsubtly strapped to one hip in plain view. "Come with me."
She crossed the room, stepping into one of the plant beds by the wall, reaching down and lifting a hatch disguised as topsoil. "The rest of you stay here," she ordered into the room. Sonic looked around, unable to see anyone, then followed her down a ladder.
He ended up in a control room that looked vaguely similar to the one at Emerald Hill. As soon as he hit the floor he was flanked by two men who frisked him over. "Hey!" Sonic protested, but they paid no heed. They removed his knapsack and flung it to the ground, where another white-robed individual started going through it. The fox who had led him down stood watch idly, hood back and arms folded as the examination was executed.
The young fur who was going through Sonic's pack was able to find Cornelius' cloth bag, and the emerald. He handed them to the overseer, who peered down at them, extracting the last golden ring from inside the bag. Her head came up to glare at him, eyes ablaze. "Where did you get these?"
"Hey, what's the big deal?" Sonic strained against the grip of the two men, who had him pinned against the wall. "I came here to help you guys!"
"We'll see about that, thief," she hissed back. "Now where did you get these!"
"Cornelius gave 'em to me!"
She scowled. "Cornelius of Emerald Hill? Why would he give something of this importance to you?"
"He's dead! Now will ya let me go and I can explain!"
She gestured and the two men released him. He shot one a dirty look as he began to tell them what had happened earlier that day.
"We feared as much," she sighed when he had finished. "We didn't think an attack like this would be an isolated event. Right before Robotnik clouded our communications we were receiving reports from all the centers that they too were under siege. You will forgive us for our heightened scrutiny, but we had to make sure."
"Hey, no prob," Sonic shrugged his knapsack back on. "Just tell me what I can do to help."
"My name is Tabitha, I run things here," she said, handing the objects back to him. "We're not sure whether Robotnik is attacking us because of our link to the freedom fighters, or if he knows of the Chaos Emeralds that are hidden within the ancient passages. In either case, we had taken steps to secure the lower levels against his robots, but it wasn't enough. He was able to break in and take several of our artifacts, including the Emerald, then leave. What you saw outside was the part of his attack force left behind to keep the rest of us from following."
Sonic sighed. "He's got it already?"
The vixen nodded. "As soon as they pulled out they boarded a transport and headed northwest."
"Toward Robotropolis. How long ago was that?"
"About an hour."
"That doesn't give me much time," he turned and headed for the ladder. "Thanks for the info, Tabs. If I juice outta here now I should be able to get your emerald back before Ro-buttnik gets his hands on it."
"Sonic, wait!" She produced a bag similar to the one Cornelius had. "Take this," she said, taking three rings out and offering them with outstretched hand. "You may find these useful."
He took them and put them with his others, then climbed up the ladder and returned to ground level.
-=:=-=:=-=:=-=:=-
Sonic spent the rest of the night heading for Robotropolis, trying to find some trace of where the carrier had gone. He slept under the open sky, staring up at the stars. When day broke he was off again, hot on the trail.
Back at Knothole, Sally and Bunnie got ready to launch the cargo pod, which Kara had christened the "Trojan," since its job was to sneak into enemy lines. The two left as soon as they could, ascending past the tree line and heading north. With any luck they could circle around to enter the city from the east, find the Royal Family's villa and get out quickly.
On the way they ran through basic in-flight procedures, making sure both of them knew what the heck they were doing. When they finally approached the city limits Sally activated the craft's IFF signal, which identified them as one of Robotnik's cargo craft. Even with the external modifications they hoped that they wouldn't be detected by any sentries until they were out of range of their weaponry. She came in as low as she could manage, through the unsuspecting perimeter towers and over the shore of Lake Azure, which bordered the city on the east. Sally remembered when her family would take trips up to the villa, and she would look out over the lake every night, watching the sunset. Now in the morning light it reflected almost nothing, and its surface was black and sickening with Robotnik's pollution.
When she was positive there was no one watching, she set the pod down in the middle of the cracked rubble of the street, powering down the engines before leaving. Even through all the destruction she still knew the area well, and what she couldn't recall Nicole could fill in. They quickly located the villa, now a quiet husk of stone at the edge of the blackened lake.
They entered slowly, reverently, all the memories of the place coming over Sally like a wave. So many times she had wandered these halls as a child, and now it seemed like so long ago. Bunnie left her to her introspection, looking around the place and imagining its past beauty.
"Someday," Sally's quiet voice split the air, "when Robotnik is gone, I'm going to rebuild this place. Nothing this grand should be left to waste like this."
Bunnie nodded. "Good idea, but let's get yer dad's stuff an' get outta here first, 'kay, Sally-girl?"
"Right. This way."
She found her father's office where she remembered it: second floor, down the hall, second to the last door on the right. Max had always kept his doors locked, so Sally was surprised to find this one open; that surprise faded when she saw that the door had been kicked in. She sighed as she saw the room. Apparently looters had thought of getting some booty off the Royal Villa, and several of the furnishings had been smashed or taken.
Sally stood in the doorway, her eyes eventually falling to the pulverized computer sitting on the remains of a desk. She released a heavy sigh. "So much for that idea."
Bunnie saw the source of her lament. "Did yer dad keep any backups?"
"He should have," she answered, eyes traveling the room. "But I would have no idea as to where they were kept. He was bound to have some in the Palace, but they're probably long gone."
"I'll take the closet," Bunnie smiled hopefully. The two fanned out, searching the room centimeter by centimeter for anything that could be salvaged. They eventually moved to the next room over, the master bedroom. It was a slow job, but Bunnie finally spoke up from a corner of the expansive closet.
Sally came over to look, as Bunnie yanked out a section of the floor with her left hand. The space had obviously been cut out earlier, and had rotted slightly with time. Sally got on her belly and reached down, wincing as she felt things she didn't want the description of. "I got something!" she soon called out, easing out of the hole a small cardboard box, its edges falling apart.
"A shoe box?" Bunnie raised her eyebrows as Sally set the box on the floor.
"Father always was a little unorthodox at times," she answered, lifting the lid and revealing the data tapes inside. "There they are. I can get Rotor to copy these to Nicole later."
Sally would have liked nothing more than to look through the old house some more, try to find some more things worth bringing back to Knothole, but as Bunnie reminded her they were working on borrowed time. They took the tapes and hurried back out to the pod, and she strapped in and initiated the pre-flight sequence. No sooner had the electronics warmed up than a shrill beeping sounded from the control panel.
Bunnie looked down at the radar grid. "Sally-girl, we got incomin'!"
She looked over at the panel as well as she eased the pod into the air. "Aerial fighters. I guess we attracted Robotnik's attention, after all. Arm the cannon Bunnie, at least try to keep them off our backs while I get us out of here."
"On it," she answered, lowering a targeting computer from the ceiling and peering into it.
They had just cleared the rooftops of the houses around them when Bunnie made visual contact, swiveling the turret and firing into the swarm of fighters. They scattered; she made a rough estimate of half a dozen, maybe eight craft.
Sally wheeled the pod around and headed for the outskirts, doing her best to evade the enemy from targeting them. She tried to keep the fighters out of her mind while she flew, but Bunnie kept a close eye on them. They circled around behind them, forming wings again and opening fire. Several of the blasts hit their hull, and an explosion almost rocked her off her chair.
A whooping siren screamed from somewhere. "Engine's are hit!" Sally announced. "I can't keep it up!"
Bunnie looked up from her visor. The ground now covered the viewing area of the windshield, and it was approaching fast.
"Head to the back! We can try to ditch!"
Bunnie un-strapped from her chair and swiveled around to get out, but it was too late. The cargo pod slammed into the ground, rolling onto its side as it slid across the pavement. Sparks traced the craft's path as its hull ground into the street and into an abandoned house. It slowly rocked before finally staying still.
Sally was the first to open her eyes, aware a pounding pain in her forehead. A thick smoke clouded her vision as she looked around, seeing how the windshield had shattered in and several of the consoles were smashed. "Bunnie?" she called, his voice weak. "Are you alright?"
In the copilot's chair Bunnie stirred. "I think so," she groaned, struggling to sit up. She was sitting backward in the chair, thrown against the console upon impact. The controls around her were a mess and part of the bulkhead on the copilot side was crumpled. And as she tried to move her left arm, Bunnie realized that it had been pinned down against the wall.
"Sally, I cain't..." she tried pulling at it with her free hand, but it wouldn't budge.
"They're coming back around," Sally spoke softly, looking out the window. "Can you move it at all? Does it hurt?"
Bunnie could see the fingers on her left arm flexing. "I can move it, but I'm pinned."
The fighters were getting closer, and it would only be a matter of time before the SWATbots showed up, too. Sally turned from the window to help her friend, but there was nothing they could do to get it free. "Just leave me, Sally-girl," she finally said. "You don't have to risk yer life for me."
"Shut up, Bunnie. I'm not leaving you." She began searching the pod for anything she could use to cut through the hull. In the back she was able to find an emergency axe bolted to the wall. She brought it into the cockpit. "Watch your head, Bunnie," she warned, bringing the blade down on the part of the bulkhead that was pinning her arm. It connected, but bounced off with a sharp ringing. She tried again, but the metal was too thick.
She stared down at the axe in her hands, then at her friend. There had to be something she could do...
"Take my arm."
The princess looked down at her. "What?"
"You said it yerself, Sally-girl," she said, her voice coated with imperativeness, "the 'bots're comin'. Take my arm off with that thing'n let's get outta here."
"Bunnie... Are you sure?"
"Hurry up, before I change my mind!"
Sally hesitated, trying to think of a better way. She couldn't. She sighed and lifted the blade, eyes filling with compassionate tears. "Forgive me."
-=:=-=:=-=:=-=:=-
Sonic had found the personnel carrier early that morning, as it was passing through a canyon on its way to Robotropolis. Lucky for him, too, it made for an easy way to jump onto it and get inside.
He saw that all the assault 'bots inside the craft were dormant as he made his way through the carrier, which was good. In fact, he didn't see anything moving around; the hovercraft seemed to be flying itself. It didn't really surprise him, though: if Robotnik made it, it would make sense that it would be brainless.
At least the ship seemed to have some kind of pattern to its layout, so he didn't get lost wandering around. There was a main corridor that ran through the interior, with all the rooms branching off of it. He found what looked like the hibernating area for the assault 'bots, some kind of engine room, and a control center, but he couldn't find any place that looked like a cargo room, or any other place to put Chaos Emeralds.
From the front to the back he searched, eventually finding that there was a room he constantly passed over, since it looked like a closet. Seeing how it was the only door he didn't look in yet, he decided to try opening it. He found that its plain design didn't truly reflect the size of the room within, as it seemed to occupy at least a quarter of the craft's space. Inside were stacks of miscellaneous crates and boxes, and more ancient artifacts than Sonic had ever seen before. It was obvious Robotnik was taking more than the Emeralds from the monasteries.
Now that he had narrowed his search substantially he was able to find a pile of artifacts that bore etchings reminiscent of those he had found at the Emerald Hill site. There amid the loot were two more Chaos Emeralds -- at least, they looked in shape like the emeralds, but these were colored differently, one a reddish tint and the other blue. Why would they just throw them in here? Sonic asked himself as he picked them up. Maybe Buttnik doesn't know about the Emeralds after all?
Sonic was counting on being assaulted with 'bots by the time he exited the storage room, but he got no such luck. "The security on this place really sucks!" he shouted out loud, kind of wishing the 'bots would wake up and give him something to do. Instead, he opened up the escape hatch and jumped out, landing safely on the ground and watching the carrier fly away, its payload now two crystals short.
TO BE CONTINUED...
reformatted: 12 /14 /03;
revised/reformatted: 08 /07 /04
Antipode Evangel Presents:
FREEDOM FIGHTERS OF MOBIUS
Sonic the Hedgehog Neo Redux
Year 3236, Day 168
SOLO, Part 1
Siege
Story (c) 2003 by the author. Based on characters created by Sega, DiC Productions, and/or Archie Comics Group, used without permission, but protected by spiffy copyright laws... Nyah, nyah.
Other characters:
Bookshire Draftwood (c) Bookshire Draftwood, without permission.
Cornelius, Kara, Grease, and Tabitha (c) Antipode Echidna / Adam Czech. Please ask permission before using any of my charas, thanx!
Sonic approached the Elder Fortification as he had done countless times before, running the current message through in his mind. It was a status update to all the other rebel cells: they had just finished the generator for the de-Roboticizor and it was working fine. Now they just needed to finish the machine itself. He reached for his radio as he entered the clearing. "Hey, Rote. I'm here. Want me to head inside?"
"Go ahead, Sonic," Rotor answered back. "Just make it quick."
He scoffed as he put the radio back in his pack, remembering the time last year when they had a comm blackout because Rotor blew up the generator. Since then they didn't like to take chances with their agents in the field, especially when they were going it alone.
Sonic approached the entrance to the catacombs, peering into the darkness inside. Usually Cornelius was here to greet him; he wondered if something was up. "Maybe he's just runnin' late," he mused, taking a seat against the wall outside and waiting. After waiting, though, Cornelius was still a no-show, and his impatient nature took over. He snatched up his radio again. "Yo, Rotor!"
A beat of silence. "Yeah?"
"Corny knew I was comin', right?"
"He should have. I can check with Princess Sally if you-"
"No, I'm just wondering. He has never been this... un-punctual."
"What are you going to do?" Rotor asked. "You heading back?"
He grinned. "No way, buddy. If he just forgot, fine, but if somethin' bad went down here I gotta find out what it is."
"Suit yourself, Sonic. But I'm not going to be the one to tell Sally you caused an incident with our comm people."
"Hey, it's me," he did his best to assure him and replaced the radio again.
Sonic slowly made his way into the tunnels, torch held high. He thought he knew where the communications room was -- after all, Cornelius had only taken him there several dozen times -- but after repeatedly finding himself at the entrance he had to applaud their defense system.
Okay, hedgehog intuition didn't work this time, he thought and reached into the pack for a short stick of chalk. Time to rely on training. And defamation of an ancient temple site, he also realized, but that couldn't be helped. Push the hedgehog too far and he starts scribbling on things.
Using the chalk scratches as a guide as he explored, he was finally able to reach a set of stairs that led down to another floor of the Fortification. As soon as he reached level ground, however, he knew at once something was wrong. For one, there were black scorch marks painted on the walls and floor, and a thick dust coated the floor, from what looked like impact craters in the rock.
He took a cautious step into the hall, knowing the site of a battle when he saw one. "Somethin' went down here all right," he whispered to himself, his voice hissing off the stones. On the plus side there were no bodies lying around; whoever was doing the shooting must have gotten away. Sonic started down the hallway, wondering how long ago the conflict had taken place. It didn't look recent, but the monks would have surely cleaned up the place by now, unless...
Sonic quickened his pace now, senses alert. He had to find the control center and get some answers. Now he certainly didn't blame Cornelius for not meeting him, he and the brothers had more important things to deal with.
He turned the corner that led to the communications room, hit with shock at what he saw. The disguised door had literally been torn off the wall and lay in two pieces on the ground. Even from this far away Sonic could see most of the equipment within was shattered and pulverized.
He entered fearing the worst. Taking a look around, though, he found only the aftermath of whatever combat had taken place. Nearly all of the computer screens in the room were smashed in, and several of the components had been ripped out of the computers, rendering them beyond repair. Also amidst the wreckage were three crumpled bodies, dressed in the robes of the Fortification. One of them looked like Cornelius.
Sonic slowly approached the body, prodding it with his foot. He pushed it over, turning it face up. "Ugh," Sonic almost retched. It was Cornelius all right, but his head had been removed.
He quickly turned away, fighting to regain his composure. It took all his strength to keep from vomiting as he turned back to the corpse, crouching down to examine the wounds. Whoever had done it had used a long blade of some sort, probably a sword; the cut was clean. But there was something unusual: his neck around the cut and his shoulders were coated in a metallic alloy.
Sonic recognized it immediately as the same shell that covered most of Bunnie's body. "Ro-buttnik was here."
Somehow, he had discovered the Fortification and had Roboticized them. But what was he after? Sonic stood and looked around. The other two bodies had wound marks similar to Cornelius', which meant there had been someone else here, someone who fought well with a blade. If Robotnik had wanted to Roboticize them, he wouldn't send someone else to kill them on top of that.
He crouched down to Cornelius' body again. "Sorry about this," he whispered to the headless corpse as his hands ran through his robe, "but I'm gonna need this stuff more than you."
He found a portable computer and a data disk in the folds of the cloak, along with a cloth bag affixed to his belt; Sonic took these and stood. Didn't he have a gun, too? he asked himself, looking around. He found it, not far from the body. It was an old slugthrower-class of firearm; Sonic opened it and found only two bullets in the magazine, one in the chamber. He guessed it had been fired when Cornelius was killed.
Sonic sighed and examined the palmtop computer. "All right, let's see what's on this," he muttered and snapped the disk in. It loaded automatically, showing a video file that was made several days prior. It started, showing Cornelius' face as he looked down into the camera -- at least, he assumed it was; his skin was split in various places from veins of metal that wound around his features.
"I leave this message for whomever will be unfortunate enough to discover the results of the attack on our stronghold. We were besieged by the forces of Robotnik on day 159 of the year 3236. He destroyed our equipment, then injected all of us with the Roboticizor formula; I fear we don't have much time left.
"If I or my companions attacked you as you entered I feel the need to apologize. The doctor tells me we only have a couple of days before the Roboticization is complete enough that we will lose all control of our reasoning processes. If you find this message, I implore you to seek out the power generator for this facility and the others on the network and keep them from the hands of Robotnik at all costs. If they fall to his hands there is no telling the evil he can unlock with them.
"This computer contains a map of the Fortification. All of the doors can be opened with these," he paused, holding up in his hand what looked like a small golden ring. "Thank you for helping us, and Godspeed."
The message ended, and Sonic slid the computer into his pocket. Inside the bag he found the rings Cornelius had referred to. He turned one of them over in his hands, examining it. It was simple, really: about six or seven centimeters in diameter, maybe half a centimeter thick, just large enough to hold in one's hand. As he gripped the ring Sonic could almost feel a kind of energy pulsing from it, as if there was something more to it than mere jewelry.
Sonic stepped back out into the passage, tapped the buttons on Cornelius' computer until he found the map of the catacombs. Now that he knew where he was going the maze didn't seem all that imposing. He headed off toward a chamber the map marked as generator room, deep within the interior of the Fortification. He took inventory, realizing that the batteries on his electric torch might not last long enough, and decided to extinguish it in favor of one of combustion models lining the walls.
Deeper into the Fortification he went, part of him wondering if he should head upstairs first to tell Knothole what was going on. He chose to keep going. This shouldn't take too long, anyway.
According to the map display, the generator was on roughly sublevel three, about twenty feet underground. By the time he reached the stairs the air around him had already grown musty and cold. Sonic hunched over and shivered, wishing he had brought a jacket or something. The ground began to shake, and it took him a moment to realize it wasn't because of him. The entire cavern was quaking.
Sonic braced himself for what was coming, but was still thrown backward as the wall in front of him exploded. He hit the floor hard, and looked up to see what had happened. There, in the midst of a cloud of dust, was a steel machine. It was constructed from several round nodes that snaked end-for-end for a three-meter length, and had spinning drill bits at both ends. It positively reeked of Robotnik.
The 'bot's eyes slowly tracked Sonic as he grabbed for Cornelius' pistol, leveling it and firing off what was left of the ammunition. The first shot went wide and hit the wall, the second and third merely ricocheted off the metal armor. It didn't take him long to realize why the monks had been defeated so easily.
The driller lunged. Sonic dropped his torch and threw himself to one side, hurling the weapon at the 'bot as he did so. It connected with the steel skull with a crack, and Sonic could tell that some damage had been inflicted. He ran toward it while it was incapacitated, leaping forward and planting both feet firmly into its head. It shattered quite nicely, the body quivering and sparking before lying silent.
Sonic stepped out of the remains of the machine, dusting himself off. It wasn't too difficult an opponent, but still one that he had never seen before. It obviously wasn't a Robian; there wasn't anything natural that grew as big. Maybe Robotnik was turning to more conventional robotics for his new wave of troops. Definitely something to tell Sally about.
The hedgehog retrieved his torch and continued down the passage, able to reach the generator without further altercation. As a contrast to the communications room this door wasn't disguised in any way; it was grand and ornate, almost wanting to draw attention to itself. He approached it carefully, scanning its surface for any way to open the thing. There were strange etchings along its surface, possibly the language used by the temple's original inhabitants?
Near the middle, though, was what interested Sonic. Five circular carvings, arranged in a pentagon, only a centimeter thick. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what went in them. He opened the cloth bag, removing five of the rings. There was one left; he put it and the bag away. Sonic placed a gold ring in each of the carvings, stepping back quickly as the fifth was inserted. At first nothing happened, then each of the rings started to glow brightly, so bright that it hurt his eyes to look at them. When the glow faded Sonic looked again, seeing that the rings had apparently melted away, and cracks were flashing along the door's etchings. With a tremendous rush of stale air the pieces of the portal receded into the wall space, allowing him entry.
He would have taken some time to marvel at what he just saw, but he was more intrigued by what lay within. A walkway led from the door to a bronze pedestal, surrounded by lights that seemed to have no apparent source. Sonic slowly came forward, now noticing what was on the platform. It was an emerald, perfectly shaped, glowing with an internal light. He reached out a hand, feeling some kind of power coming from it, similar to that from the rings. He placed his hands around the emerald, with a jerk lifting it from its place on the pedestal. At once the lights around the room died. "Hope I didn't mess somethin' up," he muttered, casting glances around for hidden traps, but it appeared that he was safe for the moment.
"Whoa," he whispered, noticing the emerald's state. The glow was pulsing now, the light throbbing like the emerald was a living thing. He could feel the energy coming from it now. It was intense, almost intoxicatingly pleasing. "Like New Years' all over again," he grinned, deciding to put the jewel into his pack to keep it from distracting him.
Now all that was left was to leave without attracting any more of Robotnik's goons. That was executed easily enough; the killer caterpillar seemed to have been the only 'bot left inside. He pulled out his radio as he exited, the speaker immediately crackling and a familiar, bored voice issuing forth: "...onic, Sonic, Sonic, Sonic, Sonic..."
He chuckled. "Tails, is that you?"
"Oh, he's here!" the kid shouted. A lot of fumbling sounds followed, then Rotor came on.
"Sonic, where have you been? We've been trying to reach you for the past ten minutes!"
He didn't see the point of beating around the bush, so he went right to it. "Cornelius is dead."
"Huh?"
"Ro-buttnik found out about the comm network, and everyone's dead. Put Sal on."
Silence as Rotor tried to figure out what to do. "O-okay, just hold on."
More waiting. Sonic tapped his foot until Sally's voice came out over the speaker. "Sonic, what happened?"
He told her everything that had occurred in the catacombs, including the attack by the "cater-killer." "...and Cornelius said that the other guys on the network might be in trouble, too."
"As much as I hate doing this, I'm going to send you."
"Really?"
"It would take days to launch another team from Knothole, and time is of the essence. The Marble Garden Observatory is a dozen klicks east of you. Head there first. Just tell them who you are, you should have no problem."
He had half-expected her to order him back to base. "Wow, thanks, Sal. Don't worry about it. I'll be back before you know it."
"Just try to stay out of trouble. Knothole out."
Sally put the radio back on the desk in Rotor's workshop, proceeding to exit and return to what she had been doing. She found Bunnie in the vehicle garage between the cargo pod and Kara's nearly-finished passenger plane, the "Freedom Stormer." She looked up as Sally entered, seeing the look on her face.
"Our network's been compromised," she answered solemnly. "Sonic's looking into it. Where were we?"
"Talkin' about the pod," Bunnie answered, concern edging into her voice.
"Right," Sally rubbed her forehead. "Kara, can it fly tomorrow?"
"Sure, no problem. All the mods have been tested thoroughly, you should have no problem."
"Wonderful. It's all fueled and everything?"
The mechanic nodded. "Everything's been repaired from the last trip. It should be no different from last time you flew it."
Bunnie looked down from examining the craft. "Have you done anything with the cannon?"
Her brow furrowed. "I was able to squeeze a little bit out of the fire rate. I know how hard target practice was when you used it, Bunnie, so you should recognize the difference."
"Good," Sally nodded. "That will be just fine. We'll take it out tomorrow morning at first light."
"Just where're we goin' again, Sally-girl?" Bunnie asked as they were leaving the garage. "Ya didn't really make that clear."
"I was looking through my records last night, and I found a recon report from last year that said the eastern Sophia district was almost untouched by Robotnik's drones. If I remember correctly, my father had a villa by the lake up there. There might be something we can get from it."
"What do ya expect to find?"
"Right now I'm not really sure," she shook her head. "Possibly some information about what happened in the palace up until the coup. Best case I can get more information on the freedom fighter network. That would help us strengthen our ties to the other cells." Her thoughts went to Sonic's mission. "And unity is one thing we need right now."
Sonic reached the Marble Garden late in the evening. As he cleared the forest he could immediately tell something was wrong, and his suspicions were confirmed when he saw two bee-shaped robots hovering around the standing stones marking the entrance to the site. He came in slowly, careful to avoid detection.
That did little good, however, when the ground gave way under him and he shouted in surprise. Another caterkiller had emerged from the earth, and now eyed Sonic warily. "Oh, you guys again," he grunted as he rose to his feet. "Just won't take a hint will ya?"
The 'bot's simplistic programming told it to lunge, and the hedgehog's instincts told him to jump. A swift kick to the head and the insectoid was put out of commission.
"Aw, shoot," Sonic looked up and saw the two bees he had seen earlier now heading in his direction. "So much for bein' stealthy."
The bombers had something like cannons built into their torsos, which they swiveled to bear as they approached. When they were within range they opened up on Sonic, tearing up the ground with laser fire. He quickly threw himself into a dodge, rolling into a crouch a few meters away. He looked up in time to see the buzz-bombers circling around for another pass. "I'm wastin' too much time fightin' these goons," he growled and took off in the direction of the Observatory.
The only building he could see was a dome-shaped structure in the center of the rows of trees; he ran through the door and closed it behind him. The place was much more peaceful inside. The lobby was set up like a greenhouse, with rows of small plants on the walls and a slight mist hanging in the air. Sonic slowly entered, looking around the room and wondering where everyone was. Probably hiding, he thought. "Hello?" he called, his voice echoing in the space. "Anybody home?"
There was a desk at the far end of the room, empty. Sonic hoped to find a map of the place behind it, but no such luck. He sighed and looked for a way to go. There were stairs to the left and right, but where they led he didn't know. He decided to go left, and found himself in a basement hallway that stretched into darkness. He sighed and reached for his torch again. "Anybody here? Anyone at all?"
No answer. Whoever was supposed to be running this place was hiding pretty well. He started off down the passage, keeping a look out for someone -- anyone -- he could get some answers from. He followed the corridor as it opened up into what looked like a hydroponics bay. "These people sure love their plants," he observed dryly. From there he had three new ways to go, and getting more and more ticked with the guy who had built the place.
Sonic looked around, remembering that he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. He took a time out, sitting next to one of the planters and reaching into his pack for a ration bar. He tore off the wrapper and took a bite, trying to chew on the side of his mouth to avoid the taste. When he heard the rustling of the leaves around him, at first he thought nothing of it, then realized there was someone else with him in the room.
He jumped to his feet, looking around, but seeing no one. "Hey, who's there? I'm with the freedom fighters. I came to help!"
The sounds faded. Sonic heard what sounded like whispering, but with the constant hum of the misters around the room he couldn't be sure. He heard someone standing behind him, and spun to see a figure dressed in a white robe, a sidearm unsubtly strapped to one hip in plain view. "Come with me."
She crossed the room, stepping into one of the plant beds by the wall, reaching down and lifting a hatch disguised as topsoil. "The rest of you stay here," she ordered into the room. Sonic looked around, unable to see anyone, then followed her down a ladder.
He ended up in a control room that looked vaguely similar to the one at Emerald Hill. As soon as he hit the floor he was flanked by two men who frisked him over. "Hey!" Sonic protested, but they paid no heed. They removed his knapsack and flung it to the ground, where another white-robed individual started going through it. The fox who had led him down stood watch idly, hood back and arms folded as the examination was executed.
The young fur who was going through Sonic's pack was able to find Cornelius' cloth bag, and the emerald. He handed them to the overseer, who peered down at them, extracting the last golden ring from inside the bag. Her head came up to glare at him, eyes ablaze. "Where did you get these?"
"Hey, what's the big deal?" Sonic strained against the grip of the two men, who had him pinned against the wall. "I came here to help you guys!"
"We'll see about that, thief," she hissed back. "Now where did you get these!"
"Cornelius gave 'em to me!"
She scowled. "Cornelius of Emerald Hill? Why would he give something of this importance to you?"
"He's dead! Now will ya let me go and I can explain!"
She gestured and the two men released him. He shot one a dirty look as he began to tell them what had happened earlier that day.
"We feared as much," she sighed when he had finished. "We didn't think an attack like this would be an isolated event. Right before Robotnik clouded our communications we were receiving reports from all the centers that they too were under siege. You will forgive us for our heightened scrutiny, but we had to make sure."
"Hey, no prob," Sonic shrugged his knapsack back on. "Just tell me what I can do to help."
"My name is Tabitha, I run things here," she said, handing the objects back to him. "We're not sure whether Robotnik is attacking us because of our link to the freedom fighters, or if he knows of the Chaos Emeralds that are hidden within the ancient passages. In either case, we had taken steps to secure the lower levels against his robots, but it wasn't enough. He was able to break in and take several of our artifacts, including the Emerald, then leave. What you saw outside was the part of his attack force left behind to keep the rest of us from following."
Sonic sighed. "He's got it already?"
The vixen nodded. "As soon as they pulled out they boarded a transport and headed northwest."
"Toward Robotropolis. How long ago was that?"
"About an hour."
"That doesn't give me much time," he turned and headed for the ladder. "Thanks for the info, Tabs. If I juice outta here now I should be able to get your emerald back before Ro-buttnik gets his hands on it."
"Sonic, wait!" She produced a bag similar to the one Cornelius had. "Take this," she said, taking three rings out and offering them with outstretched hand. "You may find these useful."
He took them and put them with his others, then climbed up the ladder and returned to ground level.
Sonic spent the rest of the night heading for Robotropolis, trying to find some trace of where the carrier had gone. He slept under the open sky, staring up at the stars. When day broke he was off again, hot on the trail.
Back at Knothole, Sally and Bunnie got ready to launch the cargo pod, which Kara had christened the "Trojan," since its job was to sneak into enemy lines. The two left as soon as they could, ascending past the tree line and heading north. With any luck they could circle around to enter the city from the east, find the Royal Family's villa and get out quickly.
On the way they ran through basic in-flight procedures, making sure both of them knew what the heck they were doing. When they finally approached the city limits Sally activated the craft's IFF signal, which identified them as one of Robotnik's cargo craft. Even with the external modifications they hoped that they wouldn't be detected by any sentries until they were out of range of their weaponry. She came in as low as she could manage, through the unsuspecting perimeter towers and over the shore of Lake Azure, which bordered the city on the east. Sally remembered when her family would take trips up to the villa, and she would look out over the lake every night, watching the sunset. Now in the morning light it reflected almost nothing, and its surface was black and sickening with Robotnik's pollution.
When she was positive there was no one watching, she set the pod down in the middle of the cracked rubble of the street, powering down the engines before leaving. Even through all the destruction she still knew the area well, and what she couldn't recall Nicole could fill in. They quickly located the villa, now a quiet husk of stone at the edge of the blackened lake.
They entered slowly, reverently, all the memories of the place coming over Sally like a wave. So many times she had wandered these halls as a child, and now it seemed like so long ago. Bunnie left her to her introspection, looking around the place and imagining its past beauty.
"Someday," Sally's quiet voice split the air, "when Robotnik is gone, I'm going to rebuild this place. Nothing this grand should be left to waste like this."
Bunnie nodded. "Good idea, but let's get yer dad's stuff an' get outta here first, 'kay, Sally-girl?"
"Right. This way."
She found her father's office where she remembered it: second floor, down the hall, second to the last door on the right. Max had always kept his doors locked, so Sally was surprised to find this one open; that surprise faded when she saw that the door had been kicked in. She sighed as she saw the room. Apparently looters had thought of getting some booty off the Royal Villa, and several of the furnishings had been smashed or taken.
Sally stood in the doorway, her eyes eventually falling to the pulverized computer sitting on the remains of a desk. She released a heavy sigh. "So much for that idea."
Bunnie saw the source of her lament. "Did yer dad keep any backups?"
"He should have," she answered, eyes traveling the room. "But I would have no idea as to where they were kept. He was bound to have some in the Palace, but they're probably long gone."
"I'll take the closet," Bunnie smiled hopefully. The two fanned out, searching the room centimeter by centimeter for anything that could be salvaged. They eventually moved to the next room over, the master bedroom. It was a slow job, but Bunnie finally spoke up from a corner of the expansive closet.
Sally came over to look, as Bunnie yanked out a section of the floor with her left hand. The space had obviously been cut out earlier, and had rotted slightly with time. Sally got on her belly and reached down, wincing as she felt things she didn't want the description of. "I got something!" she soon called out, easing out of the hole a small cardboard box, its edges falling apart.
"A shoe box?" Bunnie raised her eyebrows as Sally set the box on the floor.
"Father always was a little unorthodox at times," she answered, lifting the lid and revealing the data tapes inside. "There they are. I can get Rotor to copy these to Nicole later."
Sally would have liked nothing more than to look through the old house some more, try to find some more things worth bringing back to Knothole, but as Bunnie reminded her they were working on borrowed time. They took the tapes and hurried back out to the pod, and she strapped in and initiated the pre-flight sequence. No sooner had the electronics warmed up than a shrill beeping sounded from the control panel.
Bunnie looked down at the radar grid. "Sally-girl, we got incomin'!"
She looked over at the panel as well as she eased the pod into the air. "Aerial fighters. I guess we attracted Robotnik's attention, after all. Arm the cannon Bunnie, at least try to keep them off our backs while I get us out of here."
"On it," she answered, lowering a targeting computer from the ceiling and peering into it.
They had just cleared the rooftops of the houses around them when Bunnie made visual contact, swiveling the turret and firing into the swarm of fighters. They scattered; she made a rough estimate of half a dozen, maybe eight craft.
Sally wheeled the pod around and headed for the outskirts, doing her best to evade the enemy from targeting them. She tried to keep the fighters out of her mind while she flew, but Bunnie kept a close eye on them. They circled around behind them, forming wings again and opening fire. Several of the blasts hit their hull, and an explosion almost rocked her off her chair.
A whooping siren screamed from somewhere. "Engine's are hit!" Sally announced. "I can't keep it up!"
Bunnie looked up from her visor. The ground now covered the viewing area of the windshield, and it was approaching fast.
"Head to the back! We can try to ditch!"
Bunnie un-strapped from her chair and swiveled around to get out, but it was too late. The cargo pod slammed into the ground, rolling onto its side as it slid across the pavement. Sparks traced the craft's path as its hull ground into the street and into an abandoned house. It slowly rocked before finally staying still.
Sally was the first to open her eyes, aware a pounding pain in her forehead. A thick smoke clouded her vision as she looked around, seeing how the windshield had shattered in and several of the consoles were smashed. "Bunnie?" she called, his voice weak. "Are you alright?"
In the copilot's chair Bunnie stirred. "I think so," she groaned, struggling to sit up. She was sitting backward in the chair, thrown against the console upon impact. The controls around her were a mess and part of the bulkhead on the copilot side was crumpled. And as she tried to move her left arm, Bunnie realized that it had been pinned down against the wall.
"Sally, I cain't..." she tried pulling at it with her free hand, but it wouldn't budge.
"They're coming back around," Sally spoke softly, looking out the window. "Can you move it at all? Does it hurt?"
Bunnie could see the fingers on her left arm flexing. "I can move it, but I'm pinned."
The fighters were getting closer, and it would only be a matter of time before the SWATbots showed up, too. Sally turned from the window to help her friend, but there was nothing they could do to get it free. "Just leave me, Sally-girl," she finally said. "You don't have to risk yer life for me."
"Shut up, Bunnie. I'm not leaving you." She began searching the pod for anything she could use to cut through the hull. In the back she was able to find an emergency axe bolted to the wall. She brought it into the cockpit. "Watch your head, Bunnie," she warned, bringing the blade down on the part of the bulkhead that was pinning her arm. It connected, but bounced off with a sharp ringing. She tried again, but the metal was too thick.
She stared down at the axe in her hands, then at her friend. There had to be something she could do...
"Take my arm."
The princess looked down at her. "What?"
"You said it yerself, Sally-girl," she said, her voice coated with imperativeness, "the 'bots're comin'. Take my arm off with that thing'n let's get outta here."
"Bunnie... Are you sure?"
"Hurry up, before I change my mind!"
Sally hesitated, trying to think of a better way. She couldn't. She sighed and lifted the blade, eyes filling with compassionate tears. "Forgive me."
Sonic had found the personnel carrier early that morning, as it was passing through a canyon on its way to Robotropolis. Lucky for him, too, it made for an easy way to jump onto it and get inside.
He saw that all the assault 'bots inside the craft were dormant as he made his way through the carrier, which was good. In fact, he didn't see anything moving around; the hovercraft seemed to be flying itself. It didn't really surprise him, though: if Robotnik made it, it would make sense that it would be brainless.
At least the ship seemed to have some kind of pattern to its layout, so he didn't get lost wandering around. There was a main corridor that ran through the interior, with all the rooms branching off of it. He found what looked like the hibernating area for the assault 'bots, some kind of engine room, and a control center, but he couldn't find any place that looked like a cargo room, or any other place to put Chaos Emeralds.
From the front to the back he searched, eventually finding that there was a room he constantly passed over, since it looked like a closet. Seeing how it was the only door he didn't look in yet, he decided to try opening it. He found that its plain design didn't truly reflect the size of the room within, as it seemed to occupy at least a quarter of the craft's space. Inside were stacks of miscellaneous crates and boxes, and more ancient artifacts than Sonic had ever seen before. It was obvious Robotnik was taking more than the Emeralds from the monasteries.
Now that he had narrowed his search substantially he was able to find a pile of artifacts that bore etchings reminiscent of those he had found at the Emerald Hill site. There amid the loot were two more Chaos Emeralds -- at least, they looked in shape like the emeralds, but these were colored differently, one a reddish tint and the other blue. Why would they just throw them in here? Sonic asked himself as he picked them up. Maybe Buttnik doesn't know about the Emeralds after all?
Sonic was counting on being assaulted with 'bots by the time he exited the storage room, but he got no such luck. "The security on this place really sucks!" he shouted out loud, kind of wishing the 'bots would wake up and give him something to do. Instead, he opened up the escape hatch and jumped out, landing safely on the ground and watching the carrier fly away, its payload now two crystals short.