main chapter finished 12 /01 /03;
reformatted: 12 /14 /03;
revised/reformatting: 08 /08 /04
Antipode Evangel Presents:
FREEDOM FIGHTERS OF MOBIUS
Sonic the Hedgehog Neo Redux
Year 3237, Day 097
DOOM, Part 1
Origin
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 totally rad copyright laws... Woo-hoo!
Other characters:
Bookshire Draftwood (c) Bookshire Draftwood / David Pistone.
It had rained the night before, and the forest smelled of the fresh vegetation and moist earth. A morning mist enveloped the trees, giving the wooded glade an otherworldly atmosphere, like something from a dream. The birds sang in the treetops above, the only sound that could be heard. It almost seemed like another world entirely, free from the struggles of the outside.
The two liked to visit that place often, Sonic to try to forget the trials of the war, and Tails just to be with him. They would sit on the fallen logs or in the lower branches, talking about whatever they felt like discussing. Today's topic had somehow turned to Sonic's childhood.
"What did you want to be when you grew up?" Tails had started it. He was hanging upside-down by his ankles from a tree branch above Sonic's head.
"Gee, I dunno," he replied, chuckling. "That was a long time ago." He thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "I was always fast, runnin' around the house all the time. Maybe I thought I could be a professional runner, like marathons or sprints or somethin'."
Tails just nodded. "Why, little bro? What do you want to be?"
"I'm not sure," he answered. "I don't really know what I'm good at yet."
"Well, ya like helpin' Rote with his stuff. And makin' that plane with Kara."
Tails looked down at him. "I dunno. Bein' a pilot for the rest of my life doesn't sound like much fun."
"Sometimes it's not about what's fun, it's about what you need to do to help everyone around you."
He processed that for a moment. "You got that from Aunt Sally, didn't you?"
"More than likely," he smiled. "So why all this talk about childhood, huh?"
"No reason."
"Oh, come on."
"It's... just that I feel weird."
"Weird?" Sonic echoed. "Weird like what?"
"Well, these for one," he answered, grabbing a tail in each hand.
"That's not weird," Sonic shook his head. "It's what makes you-"
"'Special,' yeah," Tails finished. "I've heard that one from Aunt Sally, too." A period of silence, then, "How did I get like this anyway, Sonic?"
"I thought you knew?"
"Tell me again."
"Okay, well... You were only two, that would make me-"
"Nine and a half," he said quickly. Tails was always quick at math.
"Yeah... Anyway, I was out wandering away from camp, like I usually did back then, just to bug people, when I saw this clearing out by the river. I musta been pretty close to Robotropolis 'cuz there was two or three SWATbots there, shootin' at these two people -- your mom and dad, we guessed. By the time I got there your dad-"
"Amadeus, right?"
"Right. General Amadeus, eye patch n' all. By the time I got there, he was startin' to lose steam. So as the SWATbots 're movin' in your mom just yells, 'Miles, run!' You come bustin' out of the bushes and straight into the woods. Well, there was no chance you knew where you were goin' so I called you over and we both juiced back to Knothole."
"So what... happened to my parents?"
"We still don't know," Sonic replied somberly. "Probably roboticized like the rest of our families."
"Yeah... So, what about my tails?"
"Oh, right. Well, Sally said we should probably head back see what happened. When we got to the clearing nobody was left, but we found the river was polluted like nothin' you've ever seen. Our best guess was that if your parents were living there since Robotnik took over, the scum in the river might, um..."
Sonic's voice trailed off, and Tails finished. "'Mess something up?'"
"I wasn't gonna put it that way."
"What difference does it make how you put it?" Tails asked, letting himself fall to the ground. "Robotnik did it," he said softly. "That's what happened."
"Yeah," Sonic replied, eyes turned down.
"I'm not mad at you, Sonic. It's just that..." his voice broke and tears filled his eyes. "I just miss 'em."
Sonic held him close as he started quietly sobbing. "I know, buddy. Robotnik's taken people we love from all of us. That's why we gotta make him pay for it, right?"
The nine-year-old just nodded, staining Sonic's shirt with tears. It took half an hour before Tails calmed down, and they both started back home.
-=:=-=:=-=:=-=:=-
Sally stood the front end of the meeting hall, steeling herself for the news she had to give. In addition to the Knothole freedom fighters now there was a peppering of others as well, who had come at the news of the nearly-completed deroboticizor. At Sally's invitation they had brought their loved ones, friends and family who had been transformed by Robotnik, with the hopes that soon they could be turned back to the way they were. That was what made this news so hard to give.
It had been yesterday that Rotor had come into her office and told her that the roboticizor -- as he had built it according the specs they found -- had safeguards in it that prevented him from accessing its program, which made it impossible for him to give it instructions. And without instructions, it was nothing but a useless hunk of metal. It would turn on, blink its lights, blow its whistles, but nothing that would help anyone here.
Sally took a deep breath. "I apologize to all of our visitors, some of whom came a long way to our village. Our deroboticizor will not be completed in the time frame I gave you when you got here."
Ripples of surprise spread the room. Above the din a single voice rose, "What happened? What's going on?"
"Our technician Rotor told me yesterday that the schematics he was building off of included a security mechanism that prevents him from programming it with the right directions. We're not sure where that mechanism is located, and to find it will take time."
"How much time?" someone else asked.
She shook her head. "It's too soon to tell that."
The low murmurs grew in intensity as everyone in the room started talking at once. Sally sighed, trying to mentally drown out the noise until she heard Sonic's voice. "Hey, QUIET!"
Everyone immediately stopped and turned to stare at the blue hedgehog, who had jumped from his chair at the side of the room. As soon as he was sure he had everyone's attention he continued. "Sal, why don't we just get someone who knows how to bypass the security?"
She crossed her arms. "You have someone in mind, I hope?"
"Sure I do: my Uncle Chuck! He helped build it, he designed it almost by himself!"
She frowned in concentration. "You may have something there, Sonic. Not to get anyone's hopes up, but I'll look into it. Meeting adjourned."
Sonic and Sally met with Rotor and Bookshire shortly after. At Sally's suggestion they set to work, finding a table and covering it with Rotor's roboticizor schematics and Bookshire's medical reports for Bunnie. They started with the obvious problem, how to get Chuck back to Knothole. They already knew where he was, thanks to the tracker Tails had put on the transport earlier. They had been monitoring its progress since that day, finding that all the workers had been dropped off at an old crystal mine several kilometers west of the city.
"Well, stopping mechanical devices is never hard," Rotor answered. "You just need to hit it an EMP."
"Ee-em-what?"
"An EMP, Sonic. Electro-magnetic pulse. It shorts out all the circuitry, in this case in a robot."
"The problem, though," Bookshire spoke up, "is whether or not this will cause any problems to Chuck's organic systems as well. Now in this regard Bunnie won't work as an example, because she's not fully roboticized. If the process works the way we think it does, there could be some serious side effects to consider."
"Such as?" Sally queried.
"Well, if the robotics are manipulating his respiratory system, hitting those with an EMP will keep him from breathing. If it's connected to his heart it might stop beating."
"That's not good," Sonic stated the obvious.
"And if there are any implants sending signals to his brain -- and judging from Bunnie that's certainly the case -- overloading that will cause instant brain-death."
"So what are you saying, Bookshire?" Rotor looked over at him. "An EMP won't work?"
"I guess what I'm trying to say is... watch where you shoot? The least amount of damage we do to his body -- either his organic or his mechanical one -- the better."
Sonic tapped his foot. "That's not very reassuring, Booker."
"What's worse?" the doctor asked, shrugging. "Having an Uncle Chuck here who might not be able to use a leg or an arm, or a robot slave and no deroboticizor?"
"I just don't like the way you're takin' this," Sonic replied. "This is my Uncle Chuck we're talkin' about here!"
Sally changed the subject. "Rotor, how long until you can get an EMP weapon put together?"
"I can get a short-range pistol done... in about two hours. Give me five and you can outfit a whole team."
She nodded. "Do it. Sonic, go tell Antoine we're leaving in six hours."
"Ya want me to tell Bunnie, too, or isn't she comin'?"
She shook her head. "No. We don't want to risk the effects an EMP weapon might have on her robotics. Rotor will be the fourth man."
The techie's head came up. "Me?"
"Is that a problem?"
"Well, I haven't done field work in a long time, ma'am. I'm kinda out of shape."
She smiled. "Rotor, the only thing you'll have to do is show us how the guns work and provide some extra muscle."
He smiled weakly. "Sounds easy enough."
"All right. Mission starts in six. I'll be in my office."
-=:=-=:=-=:=-=:=-
Sally never really had formal paperwork to do at Knothole -- being in the middle of nowhere meant that she didn't have to report to anyone -- but she still like to spend time in a hut she designated her "office." It was the professionalism of the room, with the carefully-kept desk and neat stacks of papers that were usually nothing important. Most of the time she just looked through her personnel files, scanning the information of those freedom fighters they had already lost, which reminded her what she was working for, and gave her a little perspective.
She was looking over a summary of Rotor's work with the deroboticizor when she heard a knock at her door, and looked up to see Tails shuffle in, eyes red and puffy from past tears. "Tails? What is it, what's wrong?"
"I was just thinkin', Aunt Sally," he sniffed, glancing down at the floor. "If there was somethin' you wanted to tell someone, but you couldn't say it to 'em... what would you do?"
Sally reasoned that he was thinking about his parents; Sonic had told her about his conversation with Tails earlier. It was so sweet that he'd want to send his parents a message, even though the chances of them getting it were slim to none. "I'd probably write them a letter telling them how I feel," she answered.
"Like how?" he asked.
She took out a blank sheet of paper and scribbled down notes. "Well, you start out with 'Dear' and then the name of the person you're writing to," she answered, trying to make it as vague as possible so as not to let on she knew about his conversation, which was kind of private. "Then you just write down what you want to tell them."
"Okay..."
"And then when you're done you put 'Love' or 'Sincerely,' and then your name."
"All right. Thanks, Aunt Sally. Can I have that one?"
"Sure," she replied, handing him the paper. "Here's a couple extras, too."
"Thanks, Aunt Sally," Tails took the papers and scampered from the room.
She watched him go, and couldn't help but feel a small pang at her heart. Tails was growing up, that was evident. He was thinking about what happened to his parents and seeing it in a different light, and dealing with his emotions on a mature level.
"Hey, Sal!"
She rolled her eyes. Speaking of growing up.
Sonic came through her office door, head turned to see Tails leaving. "What's up with Tails? He doin' paper airplanes or somethin'?"
"He's writing a letter to his parents."
His eyes widened. "Well, that's cool."
"He obviously misses them now," she observed, her voice quiet. "Poor Tails. Having to grow up without a family..."
"Hey, what're we, chopped liver?"
"It's not the same," she shook her head. "You're more like a brother to him, not a father. Think of how devastated you were during the first years here, without Uncle Chuck to talk to."
Sonic squinted as he thought, finding with some alarm he didn't remember much about growing up at Knothole. Everything had moved so fast then. Sally was right, though: those had been tough times, for all of them. "Well, we're gettin' Unc back now, right?"
"Right. I just hope with time we can get all of our families back, too. This thing means so much to everyone here."
"Yeah. So what's the plan?"
"I figured we'd take the cruiser, since we'll probably need a quick getaway." Since Sally had hotwired and brought it to Knothole a year ago Kara had made some engine modifications to the ground speeder to make it more suitable as mission transportation. "Nicole can analyze the mine as soon as we get close." She sighed. "We'll have to play this one by ear."
"Hey, that's what I do best," Sonic replied, grinning.
"If you say so, Sonic. I just hope this works out. No one's ever tried... stealing a Robian before, especially from under Robotnik's nose."
"Eh, Rotor'll get those EMT thingies workin' and it'll be fine. Relax, Sal."
"I'll relax as soon as this is over with," she replied, feeling the tension in her back. Of course, when they got the deroboticizor working she would have to organize their visitors and get them into some kind of program. And no one was really sure what would happen if the process worked. Then after all the bugs were ironed out she would send messages to all the other cells telling them that it worked... This thing was far from over.
Sonic left, and Sally turned back to her office. "Nicole, interface mode, please."
The palmtop computer on her desk blinked its lights. [Connection established, Sally,] it responded in its monotone emulation of her voice.
"Access my father's files," she said, sitting back down in her chair and facing the monitor.
[Files accessed.]
"Open the network database."
Nicole immediately complied, displaying the lines of text on her screen. When she had analyzed the files she got from her family's villa almost a year ago, she found that one of the documents was a description of all the freedom cells her father had established. After reading through them she found that they were originally meant for exactly the purpose they were used for now: the overthrow of any government that usurped the Lineage of Acorn. There were over a hundred of them around and even in Robotropolis, and she also reminded herself that there were several other unofficial cells that existed as well. Knothole wasn't on the list, since Sally, Sonic, Rotor, Bunnie, and Antoine were brought there as children, so even theirs was an unofficial fighter group.
Still, her position as the heir apparent to the throne would carry some weight if anyone disagreed with her decisions. She had been doing this a long time now, she knew what she was doing. Sally found the list extremely helpful: if ever they would need to call any of the other groups for assistance they were now easy to find. That is, if they were still in their indicated positions; the list was over ten years old, and some of them may have had to move if they were found by Robotnik.
Sally idly scrolled through the list, refreshing her memory as to how many Mobians were out there fighting Robotnik. Soon, she thought to herself, this will all be over. We play this mission right, and this war could be over today.
-=:=-=:=-=:=-=:=-
The team piled into the ground speeder and departed from Knothole as soon as Rotor finished the new weaponry. Sally was driving, using Nicole's GPS systems to guide them toward the mining center. On the way Rotor informed them how to use the pistols.
"It's just like any other gun, really," he said from the backseat, loud enough for everyone to hear. "You just point and fire. The only major difference is that, against non-Robians, the effect will just feel like a light stun that will wear off in a couple seconds."
"But what about against Robians?" Sonic asked, turning one of them over in his hands. He never really liked using weapons, and he wasn't looking forward to using one against his long-lost Uncle.
"It should fuse the electronics in an area local to where the shot impacted. I advise we hit the legs if we can, that way we can do as little damage to the vital organs as possible."
Sonic frowned. He didn't like this at all. He thought there must be an easier and less risky way to do this, but no one would listen to him. "How are we gettin' in, Sal?"
"I'm not sure," she called back from the driver's seat. "Nicole will have to help us out once we get there. But once we are inside, we'll split up into two teams and try to find Sir Charles. He'll probably be with the other workers deep in the mine. If you find him, hold position and call on your radio, then we can regroup."
-=:=-=:=-=:=-=:=-
Tails scribbled furiously on his piece of paper, stared at the words on it for a moment, then crumpled it into a ball and cast it to the floor with the others. This letter-writing thing was harder than he thought it was. Maybe it would help if he wrote down all the things he wanted to say, then put them in order later.
He picked up one of the paper balls and unfolded it, turning it over to write on the blank side. First he would want to introduce himself, but that's what the whole letter was about. He should tell his name, where he lives, maybe a little about his friends. Tails took a look at the list, deciding it satisfactory. He took down another sheet of paper, beginning the letter again. "My name is Tails," he wrote, then frowned. "Tails" wasn't really his name. He rotated the pencil and erased.
"My name is Miles, but everyone calls me Tails," he said each word slowly as he wrote. "That's better. 'I have two of them, because I grew up next to a polluted river...'"
"I am a freedom fighter, and we are constantly fighting..." he continued, his pencil scribbling faster now that his mind was set on the task. He filled the page with his thoughts in little time at all, gracefully laying down his signature at the bottom. Now all that was left was to send it. Aunt Bunnie should be able to help with that.
Tails found her in the garden outside camp, tending to some plants. "Hi, Aunt Bunnie!" he called, in better spirits than earlier that morning.
"Well, g'mornin' Sugar-Tails!" she smiled back. He was so cute.
"Can you help me?" he asked. "I need to send this letter to someone."
"Oh, letter, huh?" she got up and brushed the soil from her robotic legs. "Well, do ya know where the person is?"
"Somewhere in Robotropolis, I'm pretty sure," he answered slowly.
"Well, that could be a problem, Sugar," she replied. "If it were anywhere else ya might be able to send it with a messenger, but I don't think the mail goes to Robotropolis."
"Oh..." his head slowly dropped.
Bunnie hated to see Tails sad. "But I could talk to Sally-girl about it. Someone would just have to go over to Robotropolis to deliver it," she said, for the sole purpose of making the kid feel better. She knew there was no one in Robotropolis but SWATbots and Robians, and if Tails wanted to send them a message... It was a sweet thought, but not at all practical.
"Okay. Thanks, Aunt Bunnie," he said slowly and turned to leave.
-=:=-=:=-=:=-=:=-
Sonic peeked cautiously around the corner, then grinned. "Piece'a cake."
"What is it?" Antoine asked. "No SWATbots?"
"Nah, there's two of 'em," Sonic replied. "Should be fun."
"Sonique, need I remind you that this is to be a serious mission? Fun should not be of the importance to you."
"Oh, lighten up, Ant. You can stay here if you want. I could take two SWATbutts in my sleep."
"And let you hog all the 'fun?'" he answered, smiling. "Not a chance, mon ami."
"That's better. Here's the plan..."
The two could have easily picked them off the from the safety of the intersection, but Sonic never operated that way. With a whopping cry he bolted down the corridor toward the guards, succeeding in drawing their attention as he ran past. They turned to track him, which left Antoine free to come up behind and zap them both in the back with his pistol. The SWATbots spasmed as their circuitry was instantly fried, and they collapsed in a heap to the ground.
Sonic and Antoine passed through the checkpoint and into the inner levels of the facility, finding themselves in an expansive chamber carved from the rock beneath them. Ramps at several points on the perimeter sloped down into the pit, where the quiet hum of drilling equipment could be heard.
The hedgehog found his radio. "Hey, Sal. Ant and I found the mine, we're headin' in."
"Go ahead, Sonic. Be careful."
Sonic jumped down onto the ramp, the gravel giving way slightly beneath his feet. "Careful, Ant," he called up. "Kinda slippy."
He nodded, stepping down to the slope and following Sonic as he descended into the mine. The darkness from above quickly faded, to be replaced by lamps mounted on the walls. Between the crunching of their own footsteps they heard the constant chipping of rock as the Robian miners around them kept working, oblivious to their presence.
"Like brainless zombies," Sonic whispered in disdain, as the two made their way through the tunnels.
"How shall we find Uncle Chuck in all this?" Antoine asked.
"Very carefully, Ant."
They continued down the mine shaft, soon coming to another small chamber occupied by two pieces of equipment and a handful of Robians. There was a vertical shaft ascending from the ceiling of the room, a conveyor track bringing carts of crystal to the ground level.
Sonic watched as two miners dropped armfuls of crystal into one of the carts, noticing it almost immediately. "Antoine, check it out!"
"What is it?"
He walked over to the bin and retrieved a shard. "These things are just like the Chaos Emeralds!"
Antoine looked into the holding bin. "Really? Robotnique is mining them here?"
"Well, they're not just like 'em, but they're pretty close," he answered, slipping the shard into his pocket when he was sure no one was looking. Just because the Robians were ignoring them now didn't mean they couldn't attack them if they wanted to.
The all-too-familiar clanging march of SWATbots echoed its way into the room, and Sonic and Antoine exchanged glances before seeking cover. A moment later two of the guards led another group of Robians to the conveyor, each his arms full of emerald ore. One of the miners, Sonic could see, was Uncle Chuck.
He had to work extremely hard to keep from shouting out right there, but instead motioned to Antoine, who already had his EMP pistol in his hand. Sonic held up three fingers, then two, one, then brought his fist down to signal the attack. Each freedom fighter took aim at the trooper closest to him, and in two seconds the SWATbots were incapacitated and lying on the floor. The Robians, still in their brain-dead state, simply turned and headed back for the passage from which they came.
"No, Unc, come back!" Sonic lunged for his uncle, grabbing him around the waist. The robot simply turned his head to regard him, then laid a vicious robotic backhand across his face. The hedgehog tumbled away and the drone continued marching.
Antoine stepped forward, leveling his pistol for a shot. The barrel flashed, and Chuck staggered, his left leg no longer functioning. Before he completely lost his balance, he reached up and ground his clawed fingers into the rock wall, bringing himself back up with a high-pitched whirring. Antoine fired again, hitting his other leg and dropping him to the ground.
Sonic got back to his feet, rubbing his sore jaw. That was going to leave a bruise. Antoine lowered his weapon, approaching cautiously to inspect his target. He was still functioning -- his arms kept reaching for something to hold onto -- but his legs wouldn't move. Sonic looked himself, feeling another shot of anger at Robotnik's handiwork. He grabbed his radio. "Sal, we got Unc! We'll meet you by the car!"
"Negative, Sonic," her stern voice called back. "Stay where you are, we're almost at your position."
Sonic sighed, working his jaw around. He found a chunk of rock that had fallen from the wall and took a seat. Antoine leaned against the wall, positioned so he could still see the flailing Uncle Chuck from an angle.
Sally and Rotor appeared from the tunnel in only a few moments, and Rotor immediately knelt down by the robot, careful to avoid the swinging claws. "He seems all right. Let's get him out of here."
So glad to have the "professional's" opinion, Sonic scowled. I could have told ya that.
Antoine and Sonic each took hold of one of Chuck's arms, dragging him rather unceremoniously through the mining tunnels. They eventually reached the car, and everyone got in. Sonic and Antoine took the back seat, with Chuck between them, who seemed unwilling to stop resisting.
-=:=-=:=-=:=-=:=-
Sonic sat alone on the deck outside the medical hut, elbows on his knees and head in his hands. For the past two hours they had been in there with Uncle Chuck, both Rotor and Bookshire, examining the robotic implants that he'd had for the past decade. They had been forced to restrain and sedate him when they had arrived at Knothole, then Bookshire had asked him to leave as they started the examination. He was too nervous to go do anything, though, so he just sat and waited.
Inside, Rotor was using Bookshire's viewing equipment to inspect Chuck's head, trying to find the tiny microprocessor that inhibited his own actions and controlled his bionics. It took a long time to find it, and even longer to figure out how to disconnect it.
"Careful, Rotor," the doctor warned. "As soon as it's turned off, Chuck's body will start shutting down. We'll be racing the clock then."
He merely nodded, totally engrossed in his work, as usual. As far as he could tell, it was connected to the central nervous system through the base of the skull and the spinal column. Getting it out was going to be tough. Getting it disconnected, on the other hand, should be relatively simple. "I think I know how to do it," he looked up at Bookshire. "Should we go ahead?"
"I have all the records that I need," he nodded.
Rotor picked up the radio nearby. "Sally, are you ready on your end?"
"Nicole's all plugged in," she answered. "Ready when you are."
"Okay..." he took a deep breath and reached for his manipulator. "Here goes nothing."
It was as close to brain surgery as Rotor ever hoped to get. The slightest miscalculated move and he could severely injure Uncle Chuck. He brought the tip of his tool down closer, closer, to the device on his skull. Upon contact with the metal casing he pressed the button, and a small surge caused the end of the bit to spark. He looked away from the magnifier and to his diagnostics. "Looks like that did it," he announced.
"Let's move. We're working on borrowed time now."
"How long do we have?" Rotor asked as the two pushed the gurney out the door.
"I don't know, but I'm monitoring his vitals. I'll give you the five-minute warning."
"Gee, thanks."
Sonic tagged along as they moved into the lab, where Sally, Antoine, and Bunnie were already waiting. They wheeled Uncle Chuck to the middle of the floor, then Rotor looked up to Bookshire. "How do we wake him up?"
"I'll give him some adrenaline," the doctor produced a syringe from his pocket and tried to find a soft point on his neck.
The Robian's eyes fluttered open, and he looked around the room with nervous fear. "Where am I?"
Smiles spread around the room at their first step forward. "Careful, Chuck," Rotor said softly. "This will all make sense later, but you need to conserve your strength. I need to know how to bypass the roboticizor security system."
Chuck squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, fighting back a headache. "I put those things in there for a reason, sonny," he made out in his gravelly voice. "I'm not just gonna tell you how to get past 'em."
Rotor rubbed his forehead. "He's every bit as stubborn as his nephew."
"Sonic?" the old man's eyes lit up. "Is Sonic here?"
"Right here, Unc," Sonic approached the gurney. "C'mon, tell him how to get through it, so we can get you back to normal."
Chuck's eyes darted nervously around the room, and he slowly grasped the situation. "You have to swap the second and fourth chips," he sighed, "and disconnect the fifth one. It's a dummy code."
Rotor was already in the mess of the deroboticizor, making the necessary changes and wondering why he couldn't figure that out before. Probably because the "dummy code" was so complex he had thought for sure that it was part of the operating system. He got back up to his feet. "What else?"
"That's it," he replied. "If you did everything else right it should work."
"Okay, Sonic. Give me a hand here."
Sonic and Rotor both brought Uncle Chuck up and laid him on the platform, then stepped back. "Let 'er rip, Sal!"
"Nicole, begin deroboticization sequence."
[Initiating, Sally...]
A warm glow started beneath the platform, a soft light that got brighter to reach up around Uncle Chuck's body. He could feel the energy bleeding through into his body, and was almost aware of the changes that were happening as the nanobots set about reversing all the things they had altered.
Sonic had almost expected the process to be instantaneous, but after twenty minutes he found himself tapping his foot and glancing at his watch. "Hey, Sal, how long is this supposed to take, anyway?"
"Well, Sonic, it has to do with Drazen's Law of Restitution: put simply, 'to reverse an operation takes more time than to do it.' In this case, deroboticization will take longer than roboticization, since all the implants need to be removed."
"And how long does roboticization take?" he crossed his arms.
"For the whole process, we're not sure. Bunnie says she was in Robotnik's chamber for hours, and that was only for half the procedure."
"So this is gonna take a while, huh?" Sonic sighed and looked around. "Hey, has anybody seen Tails?"
Everyone else in the room also came to realize that they hadn't seen Tails since they had gotten back. Bunnie spoke up. "I think he went back to his room."
Sonic started for the door. "Everyone sit tight, I'll go see what's up."
As he started across the camp he could see that the lights in his hut were off, which was odd. He opened the door and stepped into the darkness. "Little bro?" No answer. "Hey, Tails, you in here?"
Sonic flipped on a light. "Whoa, little guy's been busy."
Scattered all over the floor and the desk were small, crumpled-up pieces of paper, some with Tails' scribbly handwriting on them. "This must be that letter Sal was talkin' about."
He picked one of them up and unfolded it. "Deer," Sonic read aloud, smiling. "Funny."
He found another and unwrapped it. "Hey, he spelled this one right. Dear..." his eyes went wide. "Dammit!"
Sonic ran from the hut and back to the lab, almost kicking the door off its hinges. "Sally!"
She looked up from the computer with a start. "Sonic, what is it?"
He threw the paper into her face, and she took it. On it were written three simple words: "Dear Doctor Robotnik."
"Oh, God," the color drained from Sally's face. "Where is he?"
"He's not here anymore!" Sonic shouted.
Bunnie glanced at the paper over Sally's shoulder. "Oh, my stars, I know where Tails went." The two looked at her. "He was talkin' to me about how to give someone a letter," she continued helplessly. "I thought he meant, ya know, as an example. I told him that someone would have to deliver it... I'm sorry, Sally-girl, I didn't know he'd try ta-"
"It's okay, Bunnie. You didn't do anything wrong."
"I'm juicin' outta here now!" Sonic spun on his heel. "I gotta get to Tails before Buttnik does!"
"Sonic, wait-" Sally started but it was too late. Sonic was gone, out of the camp and heading north. "Rotor, stay with Uncle Chuck. Bunnie and Antoine, come with me. Before we have two potential casualties."
TO BE CONTINUED...
reformatted: 12 /14 /03;
revised/reformatting: 08 /08 /04
Antipode Evangel Presents:
FREEDOM FIGHTERS OF MOBIUS
Sonic the Hedgehog Neo Redux
Year 3237, Day 097
DOOM, Part 1
Origin
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 totally rad copyright laws... Woo-hoo!
Other characters:
Bookshire Draftwood (c) Bookshire Draftwood / David Pistone.
It had rained the night before, and the forest smelled of the fresh vegetation and moist earth. A morning mist enveloped the trees, giving the wooded glade an otherworldly atmosphere, like something from a dream. The birds sang in the treetops above, the only sound that could be heard. It almost seemed like another world entirely, free from the struggles of the outside.
The two liked to visit that place often, Sonic to try to forget the trials of the war, and Tails just to be with him. They would sit on the fallen logs or in the lower branches, talking about whatever they felt like discussing. Today's topic had somehow turned to Sonic's childhood.
"What did you want to be when you grew up?" Tails had started it. He was hanging upside-down by his ankles from a tree branch above Sonic's head.
"Gee, I dunno," he replied, chuckling. "That was a long time ago." He thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "I was always fast, runnin' around the house all the time. Maybe I thought I could be a professional runner, like marathons or sprints or somethin'."
Tails just nodded. "Why, little bro? What do you want to be?"
"I'm not sure," he answered. "I don't really know what I'm good at yet."
"Well, ya like helpin' Rote with his stuff. And makin' that plane with Kara."
Tails looked down at him. "I dunno. Bein' a pilot for the rest of my life doesn't sound like much fun."
"Sometimes it's not about what's fun, it's about what you need to do to help everyone around you."
He processed that for a moment. "You got that from Aunt Sally, didn't you?"
"More than likely," he smiled. "So why all this talk about childhood, huh?"
"No reason."
"Oh, come on."
"It's... just that I feel weird."
"Weird?" Sonic echoed. "Weird like what?"
"Well, these for one," he answered, grabbing a tail in each hand.
"That's not weird," Sonic shook his head. "It's what makes you-"
"'Special,' yeah," Tails finished. "I've heard that one from Aunt Sally, too." A period of silence, then, "How did I get like this anyway, Sonic?"
"I thought you knew?"
"Tell me again."
"Okay, well... You were only two, that would make me-"
"Nine and a half," he said quickly. Tails was always quick at math.
"Yeah... Anyway, I was out wandering away from camp, like I usually did back then, just to bug people, when I saw this clearing out by the river. I musta been pretty close to Robotropolis 'cuz there was two or three SWATbots there, shootin' at these two people -- your mom and dad, we guessed. By the time I got there your dad-"
"Amadeus, right?"
"Right. General Amadeus, eye patch n' all. By the time I got there, he was startin' to lose steam. So as the SWATbots 're movin' in your mom just yells, 'Miles, run!' You come bustin' out of the bushes and straight into the woods. Well, there was no chance you knew where you were goin' so I called you over and we both juiced back to Knothole."
"So what... happened to my parents?"
"We still don't know," Sonic replied somberly. "Probably roboticized like the rest of our families."
"Yeah... So, what about my tails?"
"Oh, right. Well, Sally said we should probably head back see what happened. When we got to the clearing nobody was left, but we found the river was polluted like nothin' you've ever seen. Our best guess was that if your parents were living there since Robotnik took over, the scum in the river might, um..."
Sonic's voice trailed off, and Tails finished. "'Mess something up?'"
"I wasn't gonna put it that way."
"What difference does it make how you put it?" Tails asked, letting himself fall to the ground. "Robotnik did it," he said softly. "That's what happened."
"Yeah," Sonic replied, eyes turned down.
"I'm not mad at you, Sonic. It's just that..." his voice broke and tears filled his eyes. "I just miss 'em."
Sonic held him close as he started quietly sobbing. "I know, buddy. Robotnik's taken people we love from all of us. That's why we gotta make him pay for it, right?"
The nine-year-old just nodded, staining Sonic's shirt with tears. It took half an hour before Tails calmed down, and they both started back home.
Sally stood the front end of the meeting hall, steeling herself for the news she had to give. In addition to the Knothole freedom fighters now there was a peppering of others as well, who had come at the news of the nearly-completed deroboticizor. At Sally's invitation they had brought their loved ones, friends and family who had been transformed by Robotnik, with the hopes that soon they could be turned back to the way they were. That was what made this news so hard to give.
It had been yesterday that Rotor had come into her office and told her that the roboticizor -- as he had built it according the specs they found -- had safeguards in it that prevented him from accessing its program, which made it impossible for him to give it instructions. And without instructions, it was nothing but a useless hunk of metal. It would turn on, blink its lights, blow its whistles, but nothing that would help anyone here.
Sally took a deep breath. "I apologize to all of our visitors, some of whom came a long way to our village. Our deroboticizor will not be completed in the time frame I gave you when you got here."
Ripples of surprise spread the room. Above the din a single voice rose, "What happened? What's going on?"
"Our technician Rotor told me yesterday that the schematics he was building off of included a security mechanism that prevents him from programming it with the right directions. We're not sure where that mechanism is located, and to find it will take time."
"How much time?" someone else asked.
She shook her head. "It's too soon to tell that."
The low murmurs grew in intensity as everyone in the room started talking at once. Sally sighed, trying to mentally drown out the noise until she heard Sonic's voice. "Hey, QUIET!"
Everyone immediately stopped and turned to stare at the blue hedgehog, who had jumped from his chair at the side of the room. As soon as he was sure he had everyone's attention he continued. "Sal, why don't we just get someone who knows how to bypass the security?"
She crossed her arms. "You have someone in mind, I hope?"
"Sure I do: my Uncle Chuck! He helped build it, he designed it almost by himself!"
She frowned in concentration. "You may have something there, Sonic. Not to get anyone's hopes up, but I'll look into it. Meeting adjourned."
Sonic and Sally met with Rotor and Bookshire shortly after. At Sally's suggestion they set to work, finding a table and covering it with Rotor's roboticizor schematics and Bookshire's medical reports for Bunnie. They started with the obvious problem, how to get Chuck back to Knothole. They already knew where he was, thanks to the tracker Tails had put on the transport earlier. They had been monitoring its progress since that day, finding that all the workers had been dropped off at an old crystal mine several kilometers west of the city.
"Well, stopping mechanical devices is never hard," Rotor answered. "You just need to hit it an EMP."
"Ee-em-what?"
"An EMP, Sonic. Electro-magnetic pulse. It shorts out all the circuitry, in this case in a robot."
"The problem, though," Bookshire spoke up, "is whether or not this will cause any problems to Chuck's organic systems as well. Now in this regard Bunnie won't work as an example, because she's not fully roboticized. If the process works the way we think it does, there could be some serious side effects to consider."
"Such as?" Sally queried.
"Well, if the robotics are manipulating his respiratory system, hitting those with an EMP will keep him from breathing. If it's connected to his heart it might stop beating."
"That's not good," Sonic stated the obvious.
"And if there are any implants sending signals to his brain -- and judging from Bunnie that's certainly the case -- overloading that will cause instant brain-death."
"So what are you saying, Bookshire?" Rotor looked over at him. "An EMP won't work?"
"I guess what I'm trying to say is... watch where you shoot? The least amount of damage we do to his body -- either his organic or his mechanical one -- the better."
Sonic tapped his foot. "That's not very reassuring, Booker."
"What's worse?" the doctor asked, shrugging. "Having an Uncle Chuck here who might not be able to use a leg or an arm, or a robot slave and no deroboticizor?"
"I just don't like the way you're takin' this," Sonic replied. "This is my Uncle Chuck we're talkin' about here!"
Sally changed the subject. "Rotor, how long until you can get an EMP weapon put together?"
"I can get a short-range pistol done... in about two hours. Give me five and you can outfit a whole team."
She nodded. "Do it. Sonic, go tell Antoine we're leaving in six hours."
"Ya want me to tell Bunnie, too, or isn't she comin'?"
She shook her head. "No. We don't want to risk the effects an EMP weapon might have on her robotics. Rotor will be the fourth man."
The techie's head came up. "Me?"
"Is that a problem?"
"Well, I haven't done field work in a long time, ma'am. I'm kinda out of shape."
She smiled. "Rotor, the only thing you'll have to do is show us how the guns work and provide some extra muscle."
He smiled weakly. "Sounds easy enough."
"All right. Mission starts in six. I'll be in my office."
Sally never really had formal paperwork to do at Knothole -- being in the middle of nowhere meant that she didn't have to report to anyone -- but she still like to spend time in a hut she designated her "office." It was the professionalism of the room, with the carefully-kept desk and neat stacks of papers that were usually nothing important. Most of the time she just looked through her personnel files, scanning the information of those freedom fighters they had already lost, which reminded her what she was working for, and gave her a little perspective.
She was looking over a summary of Rotor's work with the deroboticizor when she heard a knock at her door, and looked up to see Tails shuffle in, eyes red and puffy from past tears. "Tails? What is it, what's wrong?"
"I was just thinkin', Aunt Sally," he sniffed, glancing down at the floor. "If there was somethin' you wanted to tell someone, but you couldn't say it to 'em... what would you do?"
Sally reasoned that he was thinking about his parents; Sonic had told her about his conversation with Tails earlier. It was so sweet that he'd want to send his parents a message, even though the chances of them getting it were slim to none. "I'd probably write them a letter telling them how I feel," she answered.
"Like how?" he asked.
She took out a blank sheet of paper and scribbled down notes. "Well, you start out with 'Dear' and then the name of the person you're writing to," she answered, trying to make it as vague as possible so as not to let on she knew about his conversation, which was kind of private. "Then you just write down what you want to tell them."
"Okay..."
"And then when you're done you put 'Love' or 'Sincerely,' and then your name."
"All right. Thanks, Aunt Sally. Can I have that one?"
"Sure," she replied, handing him the paper. "Here's a couple extras, too."
"Thanks, Aunt Sally," Tails took the papers and scampered from the room.
She watched him go, and couldn't help but feel a small pang at her heart. Tails was growing up, that was evident. He was thinking about what happened to his parents and seeing it in a different light, and dealing with his emotions on a mature level.
"Hey, Sal!"
She rolled her eyes. Speaking of growing up.
Sonic came through her office door, head turned to see Tails leaving. "What's up with Tails? He doin' paper airplanes or somethin'?"
"He's writing a letter to his parents."
His eyes widened. "Well, that's cool."
"He obviously misses them now," she observed, her voice quiet. "Poor Tails. Having to grow up without a family..."
"Hey, what're we, chopped liver?"
"It's not the same," she shook her head. "You're more like a brother to him, not a father. Think of how devastated you were during the first years here, without Uncle Chuck to talk to."
Sonic squinted as he thought, finding with some alarm he didn't remember much about growing up at Knothole. Everything had moved so fast then. Sally was right, though: those had been tough times, for all of them. "Well, we're gettin' Unc back now, right?"
"Right. I just hope with time we can get all of our families back, too. This thing means so much to everyone here."
"Yeah. So what's the plan?"
"I figured we'd take the cruiser, since we'll probably need a quick getaway." Since Sally had hotwired and brought it to Knothole a year ago Kara had made some engine modifications to the ground speeder to make it more suitable as mission transportation. "Nicole can analyze the mine as soon as we get close." She sighed. "We'll have to play this one by ear."
"Hey, that's what I do best," Sonic replied, grinning.
"If you say so, Sonic. I just hope this works out. No one's ever tried... stealing a Robian before, especially from under Robotnik's nose."
"Eh, Rotor'll get those EMT thingies workin' and it'll be fine. Relax, Sal."
"I'll relax as soon as this is over with," she replied, feeling the tension in her back. Of course, when they got the deroboticizor working she would have to organize their visitors and get them into some kind of program. And no one was really sure what would happen if the process worked. Then after all the bugs were ironed out she would send messages to all the other cells telling them that it worked... This thing was far from over.
Sonic left, and Sally turned back to her office. "Nicole, interface mode, please."
The palmtop computer on her desk blinked its lights. [Connection established, Sally,] it responded in its monotone emulation of her voice.
"Access my father's files," she said, sitting back down in her chair and facing the monitor.
[Files accessed.]
"Open the network database."
Nicole immediately complied, displaying the lines of text on her screen. When she had analyzed the files she got from her family's villa almost a year ago, she found that one of the documents was a description of all the freedom cells her father had established. After reading through them she found that they were originally meant for exactly the purpose they were used for now: the overthrow of any government that usurped the Lineage of Acorn. There were over a hundred of them around and even in Robotropolis, and she also reminded herself that there were several other unofficial cells that existed as well. Knothole wasn't on the list, since Sally, Sonic, Rotor, Bunnie, and Antoine were brought there as children, so even theirs was an unofficial fighter group.
Still, her position as the heir apparent to the throne would carry some weight if anyone disagreed with her decisions. She had been doing this a long time now, she knew what she was doing. Sally found the list extremely helpful: if ever they would need to call any of the other groups for assistance they were now easy to find. That is, if they were still in their indicated positions; the list was over ten years old, and some of them may have had to move if they were found by Robotnik.
Sally idly scrolled through the list, refreshing her memory as to how many Mobians were out there fighting Robotnik. Soon, she thought to herself, this will all be over. We play this mission right, and this war could be over today.
The team piled into the ground speeder and departed from Knothole as soon as Rotor finished the new weaponry. Sally was driving, using Nicole's GPS systems to guide them toward the mining center. On the way Rotor informed them how to use the pistols.
"It's just like any other gun, really," he said from the backseat, loud enough for everyone to hear. "You just point and fire. The only major difference is that, against non-Robians, the effect will just feel like a light stun that will wear off in a couple seconds."
"But what about against Robians?" Sonic asked, turning one of them over in his hands. He never really liked using weapons, and he wasn't looking forward to using one against his long-lost Uncle.
"It should fuse the electronics in an area local to where the shot impacted. I advise we hit the legs if we can, that way we can do as little damage to the vital organs as possible."
Sonic frowned. He didn't like this at all. He thought there must be an easier and less risky way to do this, but no one would listen to him. "How are we gettin' in, Sal?"
"I'm not sure," she called back from the driver's seat. "Nicole will have to help us out once we get there. But once we are inside, we'll split up into two teams and try to find Sir Charles. He'll probably be with the other workers deep in the mine. If you find him, hold position and call on your radio, then we can regroup."
Tails scribbled furiously on his piece of paper, stared at the words on it for a moment, then crumpled it into a ball and cast it to the floor with the others. This letter-writing thing was harder than he thought it was. Maybe it would help if he wrote down all the things he wanted to say, then put them in order later.
He picked up one of the paper balls and unfolded it, turning it over to write on the blank side. First he would want to introduce himself, but that's what the whole letter was about. He should tell his name, where he lives, maybe a little about his friends. Tails took a look at the list, deciding it satisfactory. He took down another sheet of paper, beginning the letter again. "My name is Tails," he wrote, then frowned. "Tails" wasn't really his name. He rotated the pencil and erased.
"My name is Miles, but everyone calls me Tails," he said each word slowly as he wrote. "That's better. 'I have two of them, because I grew up next to a polluted river...'"
"I am a freedom fighter, and we are constantly fighting..." he continued, his pencil scribbling faster now that his mind was set on the task. He filled the page with his thoughts in little time at all, gracefully laying down his signature at the bottom. Now all that was left was to send it. Aunt Bunnie should be able to help with that.
Tails found her in the garden outside camp, tending to some plants. "Hi, Aunt Bunnie!" he called, in better spirits than earlier that morning.
"Well, g'mornin' Sugar-Tails!" she smiled back. He was so cute.
"Can you help me?" he asked. "I need to send this letter to someone."
"Oh, letter, huh?" she got up and brushed the soil from her robotic legs. "Well, do ya know where the person is?"
"Somewhere in Robotropolis, I'm pretty sure," he answered slowly.
"Well, that could be a problem, Sugar," she replied. "If it were anywhere else ya might be able to send it with a messenger, but I don't think the mail goes to Robotropolis."
"Oh..." his head slowly dropped.
Bunnie hated to see Tails sad. "But I could talk to Sally-girl about it. Someone would just have to go over to Robotropolis to deliver it," she said, for the sole purpose of making the kid feel better. She knew there was no one in Robotropolis but SWATbots and Robians, and if Tails wanted to send them a message... It was a sweet thought, but not at all practical.
"Okay. Thanks, Aunt Bunnie," he said slowly and turned to leave.
Sonic peeked cautiously around the corner, then grinned. "Piece'a cake."
"What is it?" Antoine asked. "No SWATbots?"
"Nah, there's two of 'em," Sonic replied. "Should be fun."
"Sonique, need I remind you that this is to be a serious mission? Fun should not be of the importance to you."
"Oh, lighten up, Ant. You can stay here if you want. I could take two SWATbutts in my sleep."
"And let you hog all the 'fun?'" he answered, smiling. "Not a chance, mon ami."
"That's better. Here's the plan..."
The two could have easily picked them off the from the safety of the intersection, but Sonic never operated that way. With a whopping cry he bolted down the corridor toward the guards, succeeding in drawing their attention as he ran past. They turned to track him, which left Antoine free to come up behind and zap them both in the back with his pistol. The SWATbots spasmed as their circuitry was instantly fried, and they collapsed in a heap to the ground.
Sonic and Antoine passed through the checkpoint and into the inner levels of the facility, finding themselves in an expansive chamber carved from the rock beneath them. Ramps at several points on the perimeter sloped down into the pit, where the quiet hum of drilling equipment could be heard.
The hedgehog found his radio. "Hey, Sal. Ant and I found the mine, we're headin' in."
"Go ahead, Sonic. Be careful."
Sonic jumped down onto the ramp, the gravel giving way slightly beneath his feet. "Careful, Ant," he called up. "Kinda slippy."
He nodded, stepping down to the slope and following Sonic as he descended into the mine. The darkness from above quickly faded, to be replaced by lamps mounted on the walls. Between the crunching of their own footsteps they heard the constant chipping of rock as the Robian miners around them kept working, oblivious to their presence.
"Like brainless zombies," Sonic whispered in disdain, as the two made their way through the tunnels.
"How shall we find Uncle Chuck in all this?" Antoine asked.
"Very carefully, Ant."
They continued down the mine shaft, soon coming to another small chamber occupied by two pieces of equipment and a handful of Robians. There was a vertical shaft ascending from the ceiling of the room, a conveyor track bringing carts of crystal to the ground level.
Sonic watched as two miners dropped armfuls of crystal into one of the carts, noticing it almost immediately. "Antoine, check it out!"
"What is it?"
He walked over to the bin and retrieved a shard. "These things are just like the Chaos Emeralds!"
Antoine looked into the holding bin. "Really? Robotnique is mining them here?"
"Well, they're not just like 'em, but they're pretty close," he answered, slipping the shard into his pocket when he was sure no one was looking. Just because the Robians were ignoring them now didn't mean they couldn't attack them if they wanted to.
The all-too-familiar clanging march of SWATbots echoed its way into the room, and Sonic and Antoine exchanged glances before seeking cover. A moment later two of the guards led another group of Robians to the conveyor, each his arms full of emerald ore. One of the miners, Sonic could see, was Uncle Chuck.
He had to work extremely hard to keep from shouting out right there, but instead motioned to Antoine, who already had his EMP pistol in his hand. Sonic held up three fingers, then two, one, then brought his fist down to signal the attack. Each freedom fighter took aim at the trooper closest to him, and in two seconds the SWATbots were incapacitated and lying on the floor. The Robians, still in their brain-dead state, simply turned and headed back for the passage from which they came.
"No, Unc, come back!" Sonic lunged for his uncle, grabbing him around the waist. The robot simply turned his head to regard him, then laid a vicious robotic backhand across his face. The hedgehog tumbled away and the drone continued marching.
Antoine stepped forward, leveling his pistol for a shot. The barrel flashed, and Chuck staggered, his left leg no longer functioning. Before he completely lost his balance, he reached up and ground his clawed fingers into the rock wall, bringing himself back up with a high-pitched whirring. Antoine fired again, hitting his other leg and dropping him to the ground.
Sonic got back to his feet, rubbing his sore jaw. That was going to leave a bruise. Antoine lowered his weapon, approaching cautiously to inspect his target. He was still functioning -- his arms kept reaching for something to hold onto -- but his legs wouldn't move. Sonic looked himself, feeling another shot of anger at Robotnik's handiwork. He grabbed his radio. "Sal, we got Unc! We'll meet you by the car!"
"Negative, Sonic," her stern voice called back. "Stay where you are, we're almost at your position."
Sonic sighed, working his jaw around. He found a chunk of rock that had fallen from the wall and took a seat. Antoine leaned against the wall, positioned so he could still see the flailing Uncle Chuck from an angle.
Sally and Rotor appeared from the tunnel in only a few moments, and Rotor immediately knelt down by the robot, careful to avoid the swinging claws. "He seems all right. Let's get him out of here."
So glad to have the "professional's" opinion, Sonic scowled. I could have told ya that.
Antoine and Sonic each took hold of one of Chuck's arms, dragging him rather unceremoniously through the mining tunnels. They eventually reached the car, and everyone got in. Sonic and Antoine took the back seat, with Chuck between them, who seemed unwilling to stop resisting.
Sonic sat alone on the deck outside the medical hut, elbows on his knees and head in his hands. For the past two hours they had been in there with Uncle Chuck, both Rotor and Bookshire, examining the robotic implants that he'd had for the past decade. They had been forced to restrain and sedate him when they had arrived at Knothole, then Bookshire had asked him to leave as they started the examination. He was too nervous to go do anything, though, so he just sat and waited.
Inside, Rotor was using Bookshire's viewing equipment to inspect Chuck's head, trying to find the tiny microprocessor that inhibited his own actions and controlled his bionics. It took a long time to find it, and even longer to figure out how to disconnect it.
"Careful, Rotor," the doctor warned. "As soon as it's turned off, Chuck's body will start shutting down. We'll be racing the clock then."
He merely nodded, totally engrossed in his work, as usual. As far as he could tell, it was connected to the central nervous system through the base of the skull and the spinal column. Getting it out was going to be tough. Getting it disconnected, on the other hand, should be relatively simple. "I think I know how to do it," he looked up at Bookshire. "Should we go ahead?"
"I have all the records that I need," he nodded.
Rotor picked up the radio nearby. "Sally, are you ready on your end?"
"Nicole's all plugged in," she answered. "Ready when you are."
"Okay..." he took a deep breath and reached for his manipulator. "Here goes nothing."
It was as close to brain surgery as Rotor ever hoped to get. The slightest miscalculated move and he could severely injure Uncle Chuck. He brought the tip of his tool down closer, closer, to the device on his skull. Upon contact with the metal casing he pressed the button, and a small surge caused the end of the bit to spark. He looked away from the magnifier and to his diagnostics. "Looks like that did it," he announced.
"Let's move. We're working on borrowed time now."
"How long do we have?" Rotor asked as the two pushed the gurney out the door.
"I don't know, but I'm monitoring his vitals. I'll give you the five-minute warning."
"Gee, thanks."
Sonic tagged along as they moved into the lab, where Sally, Antoine, and Bunnie were already waiting. They wheeled Uncle Chuck to the middle of the floor, then Rotor looked up to Bookshire. "How do we wake him up?"
"I'll give him some adrenaline," the doctor produced a syringe from his pocket and tried to find a soft point on his neck.
The Robian's eyes fluttered open, and he looked around the room with nervous fear. "Where am I?"
Smiles spread around the room at their first step forward. "Careful, Chuck," Rotor said softly. "This will all make sense later, but you need to conserve your strength. I need to know how to bypass the roboticizor security system."
Chuck squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, fighting back a headache. "I put those things in there for a reason, sonny," he made out in his gravelly voice. "I'm not just gonna tell you how to get past 'em."
Rotor rubbed his forehead. "He's every bit as stubborn as his nephew."
"Sonic?" the old man's eyes lit up. "Is Sonic here?"
"Right here, Unc," Sonic approached the gurney. "C'mon, tell him how to get through it, so we can get you back to normal."
Chuck's eyes darted nervously around the room, and he slowly grasped the situation. "You have to swap the second and fourth chips," he sighed, "and disconnect the fifth one. It's a dummy code."
Rotor was already in the mess of the deroboticizor, making the necessary changes and wondering why he couldn't figure that out before. Probably because the "dummy code" was so complex he had thought for sure that it was part of the operating system. He got back up to his feet. "What else?"
"That's it," he replied. "If you did everything else right it should work."
"Okay, Sonic. Give me a hand here."
Sonic and Rotor both brought Uncle Chuck up and laid him on the platform, then stepped back. "Let 'er rip, Sal!"
"Nicole, begin deroboticization sequence."
[Initiating, Sally...]
A warm glow started beneath the platform, a soft light that got brighter to reach up around Uncle Chuck's body. He could feel the energy bleeding through into his body, and was almost aware of the changes that were happening as the nanobots set about reversing all the things they had altered.
Sonic had almost expected the process to be instantaneous, but after twenty minutes he found himself tapping his foot and glancing at his watch. "Hey, Sal, how long is this supposed to take, anyway?"
"Well, Sonic, it has to do with Drazen's Law of Restitution: put simply, 'to reverse an operation takes more time than to do it.' In this case, deroboticization will take longer than roboticization, since all the implants need to be removed."
"And how long does roboticization take?" he crossed his arms.
"For the whole process, we're not sure. Bunnie says she was in Robotnik's chamber for hours, and that was only for half the procedure."
"So this is gonna take a while, huh?" Sonic sighed and looked around. "Hey, has anybody seen Tails?"
Everyone else in the room also came to realize that they hadn't seen Tails since they had gotten back. Bunnie spoke up. "I think he went back to his room."
Sonic started for the door. "Everyone sit tight, I'll go see what's up."
As he started across the camp he could see that the lights in his hut were off, which was odd. He opened the door and stepped into the darkness. "Little bro?" No answer. "Hey, Tails, you in here?"
Sonic flipped on a light. "Whoa, little guy's been busy."
Scattered all over the floor and the desk were small, crumpled-up pieces of paper, some with Tails' scribbly handwriting on them. "This must be that letter Sal was talkin' about."
He picked one of them up and unfolded it. "Deer," Sonic read aloud, smiling. "Funny."
He found another and unwrapped it. "Hey, he spelled this one right. Dear..." his eyes went wide. "Dammit!"
Sonic ran from the hut and back to the lab, almost kicking the door off its hinges. "Sally!"
She looked up from the computer with a start. "Sonic, what is it?"
He threw the paper into her face, and she took it. On it were written three simple words: "Dear Doctor Robotnik."
"Oh, God," the color drained from Sally's face. "Where is he?"
"He's not here anymore!" Sonic shouted.
Bunnie glanced at the paper over Sally's shoulder. "Oh, my stars, I know where Tails went." The two looked at her. "He was talkin' to me about how to give someone a letter," she continued helplessly. "I thought he meant, ya know, as an example. I told him that someone would have to deliver it... I'm sorry, Sally-girl, I didn't know he'd try ta-"
"It's okay, Bunnie. You didn't do anything wrong."
"I'm juicin' outta here now!" Sonic spun on his heel. "I gotta get to Tails before Buttnik does!"
"Sonic, wait-" Sally started but it was too late. Sonic was gone, out of the camp and heading north. "Rotor, stay with Uncle Chuck. Bunnie and Antoine, come with me. Before we have two potential casualties."