01 /xx /04
**FREEDOM FIGHTERS OF MOBIUS**
Sonic the Hedgehog Neo Redux
By Antipode Echidna
e-mail: SonicNeoRedux@yahoo.com
Mobian Time: Year 3238, Day 017
Episode: Phoenix
Story (c) 2004 by the author. Based on characters created by Sega, DiC Productions, and/or Archie Comics Group, used without permission, but protected by copyright laws that r00r your b00rz!
Other characters:
Bookshire Draftwood (c) Bookshire Draftwood / David Pistone, without permission.
Bunnie sat quietly as she awaited the results. She had been sitting in the medical hut for about two hours, and was starting to get anxious. Bookshire and Rotor were somewhere in the back room, looking over the data they had just gotten from her. She sighed and sat back, glancing down at her left arm. She smiled. Soon, she would be...
It had been three months since the destruction of Doomsday and the end of the war. Cleanup was being planned by Sally and the other leaders currently residing in camp. The general attitude of everyone was one of relief, and you could see it on the face of anyone you took a moment to talk to.
It was during this time that Bunnie had a realization: Robotnik may have been gone, but his actions were still influencing the Mobians' way of life, most certainly her own. She had discussed long and hard with Sally and Antoine, her closest friends, and had decided that she had put up with her augmentations long enough. It was time to look into deroboticization, and getting her old body back. Soon, she would be whole.
She had went to talk with Bookshire and Rotor, and the doctor had suggested an in-depth physical to check on the status of her implants. He would compare them with the medical records of the many who had already been deroboticized, and see if it was a safe option to take. They had been in the back room for a while now, and she started to wonder what was going on.
"Hey, guys!" she called out to them. "Yer still back there, right?"
"Yes, Bunnie, we're here," Bookshire answered distractedly, coming back to the main area of the hut. "We've found something... disturbing."
She immediately picked up on the tone in his voice. "What 'disturbing?' What'd ya find?"
Rotor took a deep breath. "We detected some signals, electrical signals, being sent when were doing the scan. It first I thought it was nothing, maybe something from your mechanics. I checked, though, and... I found a transmitter."
"A transmitter? What the hoo-ha you talkin' about, Rotor?"
Bookshire stepped in. "It's a transmission module, connected to both your visual and auditory implants. And it's been constantly sending data to somewhere in Robotropolis."
Bunnie's right eye blinked. "What're ya sayin', doc?"
"We're not sure -- yet -- but somehow Robotnik has been using you as... a kind of double agent against Knothole."
She raised her eyebrows. "What?"
Rotor tried to explain. "Do you remember, about two years ago, when your nanobots restarted and began constructing more mechanics into your system?"
"Yeah. So what?"
"Robotnik did that with a kind of electrical pulse. It not only awakened the bots, but slightly altered their programming a little. One of those changes was to be his eyes and ears in the resistance."
Bunnie sighed. This was a lot to take in. "But Robotnik's gone now, right? And you can take this thing out of me?"
Bookshire nodded. "Yes, we can take it out, but this is technically a security breach. We'll have to tell Sally before going ahead with the procedure."
She shrugged. "Fine with me. Just hurry, guys, okay?"
"All right," the doctor replied. "Rotor, that will be all. Please tell Sally that I'd like to see her when she has a chance."
"Um, sure," Rotor answered and left the room, closing the door behind him.
"Somethin' else ya wanna talk about, doc?" Bunnie asked slowly, almost apprehensively.
"Yes, there is," he answered solemnly, bringing over a chair and easing himself into it. "It's about your implants, something I found while looking over the data. Rotor doesn't know about this, no one does. I thought it right if you were told first."
"What is it?" Now she was getting worried. Bookshire usually didn't talk like this to her.
"Another thing Robotnik's signal did was to... harden the control your implants had in your body. Even if the deroboticization works, there is a chance you could have some damage to your body."
She swallowed. "What kinda damage? Is it permanent?"
"Probably not, but it will take time to heal. You may walk with a limp, or not be able to use your arm for some time, but I'm not worried about that, I'm sure that's temporary. I'm mostly concerned with the implants around your neck and face."
He sighed. "Again, I'm not sure about this, because it's never been seen before, at least not by me. If the mechanical-biological conversion goes as planned, your left eye and ear may need extra care, perhaps even surgery, to reach an acceptable level of performance," he paused before adding, "And may never work the way they're meant to."
She tried nodding, but couldn't move. "So, what yer sayin' is that... I may never get my old bod back again?"
"I'm saying it's a possibility. But, believe me, Bunnie, when I say that I will do everything in my power to make sure it goes all right."
Bunnie was too deep in thought to respond. Even after all this work, she would never be the way she was meant to be. She tried to fight the lump rising in her throat as she spoke. "How long would I hafta, ya know, recover from this?"
"Hard to say," he shook his head. "Maybe two weeks, maybe a month or longer."
"And there's no other way to do it?"
He bowed his head. "I'm sorry."
-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-
Tails peered out from under the lip of his hat, leaning as far over the edge of the boat as he could without falling into the lake. Through the surface of the crystal clear water he could see the small fish darting back and forth, but none of them were going the way he wanted them to.
"C'mon..." he whispered. "Stupid fish."
"How you doin', buddy?" Sonic asked from beside him. "Any luck yet?"
"No," he pouted. "Stupid fish won't cooperate."
"Don't worry, son, you'll get it," Uncle Chuck called from over his shoulder. "Fishing is for the patient. Just give it time."
Tails looked up to the front of the boat, where Uncle Chuck sat with his line over the side. "But it's so boring," he whined.
"Yeah, I'm gettin' bored, too, Unc," Sonic said. "We've been out here for hours already, and nuthin."
"Oh, you two are so alike, it's frightening," the old man chuckled. "If you want to go back, you're welcome to swim."
He gestured, and the two looked at the water surrounding them on all sides. Sonic and Tails exchanged glances, then shrugged and returned to watching their lures.
Sonic cast a sideways glance at Tails, amused at the kid's silly, bucket-shaped fisherman's hat perched atop his head. They had celebrated his tenth birthday about a week after the assault on Doomsday, and Sonic and his uncle had been spending more time with him lately, an effort by Uncle Chuck to help him to look past the constant death and sadness that had been a part of his life since the war had started. It seemed to be working, too, since even though the fish didn't seem to like him much, he had blast hanging out with Sonic.
The hedgehog returned to watching his pole, looking out over the sparkling lake. *Who would have thought six months ago that I'd be fishing with my long-lost uncle, without a care in the world?* So much had changed for him in the past few months, now that Robotnik was gone. Life seemed... simpler somehow. He didn't have to act like a freedom fighter all the time now, and he could just concentrate on being himself. It made him feel better knowing that they had gotten through this whole long war, albeit not unscathed.
Sally was doing her best on the plans for the cleanup effort, with the help of Lupe and the other cell leaders. It was going along well, at least as far as he thought. Sally had pretty much poured her heart and soul into Knothole for the past ten years, and now she was getting ready to move on, to take her place on the throne like she was meant to do.
Sonic sighed contentedly. Sally was definitely something else. They had spent New Years' together after destroying Doomsday, and not the usually way where Sonic had some terrible thing he'd try to do to her when she wasn't watching. Now he actually cared for her, as strange as it seemed at first. Sonic had always respected her, as the leader of their small band, and the brains of their operation, but since she had found her father in Robotropolis, she showed him a more personal side he had never seen before. And the more time they spent together, the more he found that he... loved her.
He chuckled and shook his head. He still found it hard to say, but it was true. He loved Sally, and Sally loved him back. It was strange, but now he felt so alive whenever she was around. Sonic saw her in a different light than so many times before.
"Oh! Ah, Sonic!"
"What is it, T2?"
Tails was wrestling with his fishing pole. "I think I got something!"
Sonic propped up his own pole and shifted over to help him. "Don't let him get away!" Uncle Chuck shouted.
He wrapped both hands around Tails' fishing pole and pulled, even with their combined strength there was still strong resistance on the other end. "Holy Mobius, this thing is huge!" Sonic ground his teeth. "Get the net, Unc!"
Chuck picked the net off the floor of the boat, trying to reach over to help them without tipping them all overboard. "Pull harder, boys!"
"We're tryin'!"
Sonic braced his feet against the side and gave one large jerk, and the end of the line breached the surface of the water. Tails' eyes widened as he saw what was hanging there. "Wow, look at him!"
Uncle Chuck laughed as he moved the net into position. "Great job, Tails! That's a whopper!"
The two of them eased the giant fish into the boat, careful not to knock each other over and into the lake.
"Wow, look at him, Sonic! Look at him!"
"That's great, Tails!" Sonic lauded, himself impressed by the kid's feat.
-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-
Rotor politely cleared his throat, waiting for Princess Sally to call him into her office. She did, and he came forward, telling her that Bookshire wanted to see her as soon as possible. Sally thanked him, then finished up what she was doing and headed for the medical hut.
She found Bunnie and Bookshire sitting quietly, both turned their heads as she entered. Sally saw a distressed look on her friend's face, and immediately felt concern. "Bunnie, what's wrong?"
"We've got problems, Sally-girl," she replied, her voice weak as if she were trying to keep her emotions in check.
"Bookshire?" she asked as she found a chair. "What's going on?"
The doctor recounted to her everything he had told Bunnie earlier. Sally listened carefully to every word, and when he finished she wore a look of genuine compassion. "Bunnie, what do you think about this?"
She shook her head. "I don't know, Sally. I'm just... scared, that's all."
Sally put a hand on her shoulder. "I know, Bunnie. Let's just think through this. Bookshire, is there any way we could shut down the transmitter?"
"That would take surgery, too," he replied softly. "And I won't lie to you: it would be close to brain surgery, and the risk would be extremely high."
"So, either way, I'm riskin' my life," Bunnie whispered.
"Yes."
Sally waited a moment before speaking. "Bunnie, the transmitter is a security issue, but Robotnik is gone. I care more for your health than anything else. This will be purely your decision."
She stared down at the floor, working through the options. "There is something else you could consider, Bunnie," Bookshire said. "You could always keep your cybernetics. They aren't harming your internal systems at all, and living with them as you have been is... safer, you could say, then attempting to have them removed."
Bunnie frowned. She had been pondering that, but didn't see it as any better an option. She almost voiced her outright opposition immediately, but stopped to think about it for a moment. Bookshire had a point, it would be safer. On the other hand, she had been plagued by her robotic mods for years now, and had been looking forward to getting rid of them every day.
"Could I have... some time to think about it?" she asked, her voice cracking.
"Of course," he nodded, rising from his chair. "Take as long as you need."
Bunnie's head drooped as the doctor retired to the back room. Sally gently rubbed her friend's shoulder. "Hey... we're going to get through this, all right?"
"It's hard, Sally-girl. Why does it have to be so damn hard?"
She began to weep, and the princess pulled her close, giving her a shoulder to cry on. Bunnie's body shook gently, and Sally whispered gently into her ear. "It's going to be okay, Bunnie. It'll be okay."
"Oh, Sally-girl..." she sniffed softly. "You've been great to me through all this. You're like the best big sister a body could have."
"You've been my best friend forever. It's my job to look after friends."
Bunnie pulled back and dried her eye. "What would you do... if you were me?"
Sally sighed. "I've seen how this thing has tortured you, Bunnie. I also know how strong you can be through adversity; you've shown that to everyone over the years. I think, if you choose to go through with this, you can beat it easily. And we'll all be there to help you, too."
She managed a smile. "Thanks, Sally. Bookshire?"
Despite his efforts to mind his own business, the doctor had been listening intently to their conversation. "Yes?"
"Call Rotor. Tell him to warm up the deroboticizor."
-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-
"No, NO *NO*!!" the little man screamed and smashed his fist against the console. "Why won't any of this blasted machinery work!"
Colin Robotnik sat back in the control chair, seething. The chair was huge, due to the mass of its previous occupant, and almost consumed him, but he would get used to it, he supposed. He was too engrossed by his current obstacle to pay that much attention to it at the moment, anyway. Darn that Robotnik and his infernal paranoia! He had locked up his control codes as tight as he possibly could, and even Colin was having trouble getting at them.
He leaned forward to try another key combination, and the computer slapped his wrist again. Colin's hands balled into fists, and he screamed at the empty room. "You idiot!" he spat at the ceiling, hoping somehow his curse would reach the dead man's ears. "You knew this would happen, didn't you? You gave me just enough information to make me *think* I could do this but, oh, you made sure that I couldn't. Yes, you made sure of that..."
His voice trailed off, and he forced himself to breathe. This wasn't impossible. Nothing was impossible, just difficult. He had come this far, and he'd be damned if he didn't finish the job, quite literally. He attacked the console once more, fingers flying as he attempted to crack Robotnik's ridiculous security. A grin and beads of sweat slowly spread over his face, as he moved faster than the computer could lock him out.
"Yes!" he threw his hands up as a list of command codes were printed to the screen. "You can't keep me out! Never!"
-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-
Sally returned to her office, more than willing to have stayed with Bunnie through the entire operation, but unable to put off the work that needed to be done. She found it hard to concentrate, though, her mind constantly wandering back to her friend lying on the table, undergoing a procedure that would drastically change her life... again.
Sonic came in, his heavy boots tromping on the floor as he went over and collapsed in a chair. "Heya, Sally."
She looked up at him, smiling at the exhausted look on his face. "The fishing trip went well, I see."
"Remind me never to do that again..." he groaned. "What did I miss while I was gone?"
"Bunnie's going to do it."
Sonic nodded. "Good girl. How is she?"
"Worried. Bookshire says it might not go the way it should, and there may be problems."
"Oh. Too bad. Is she in there now?"
"Rotor started about ten minutes ago," Sally sighed, then forced herself to smile. "So, how was fishing with Uncle Chuck?"
"Pretty good. Tails caught something about as big as his head. He'll probably show it to you as soon as he finishes helping Unc put all the stuff away."
"That's great," she replied, then her smile faded.
"Hey, what's up?"
"I've got a lot to think about, Sonic," she sighed, dropping her head to her desk.
He reached over to take one of hands. "Thing's haven't gotten any easier since taking out Egghead, huh?"
"Not really," she answered, her voice muffled from speaking into her desktop. She looked up just enough that she could see Sonic over her arms. "There's so much work left to do. Sometimes... I don't know."
Sonic nodded. "Sometimes cleaning up after the war is just as tough as the war itself?"
Sally smirked. "That's very insightful, Sonic."
"Eh, must be pickin' up some stuff from you."
She grabbed his hand and squeezed. "I'll take that as a compliment."
"Aunt Sally, Aunt Sally!"
They both looked up as Tails came in. He stopped short in the doorway. "You two aren't bein' mushy again, are ya?"
"No, Tails," Sally answered, lifting her head as Sonic sat back down. "What can I do for you?"
Tails looked from Sonic to Sally, then shrugged and jumped into the room. "I caught a great big fish!"
"You did?" Sally smiled and glanced at Sonic. "How did you do it? Did it put up a fight?"
"Yeah, but me n' Sonic took him down, no problem."
"How wonderful. Where is it now?"
"I think Uncle Chuck's cleaning him in the kitchen. We're gonna eat him for supper, he said."
"It's been a long time since we've had a decent fish fry," Sally commented. "The change will certainly be welcome."
"Well, I'm gonna go help him. See ya!" Tails waved and left the office.
"Bye, Tails," Sonic called after him. He waited for a moment, then turned back to Sally. "So how's the cleanup plan going, anyway?"
"It's getting there," she said slowly, reflexively straightening the papers on her desk. "I was thinking about taking a team back to Robotropolis again, to make more estimations. But that was before Bunnie decided..." her voice trailed off, but Sonic got it.
"I could take a team, if you don't wanna go, Sal."
She shook her head. "I wouldn't ask you to do that, Sonic. You've done enough for me already," she squeezed his hand again. "I'll just continue this when I'm ready."
Sonic inhaled and smiled. "Sally, you're procrastinating. Now you're picking up some of *my* bad habits."
-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-
Bunnie laid silently on the platform, the constant him of energy almost soothing around her. It was a lot less painful than she thought it would be. She hardly felt a thing, though she wondered if that was from the actual procedure, or from her brain refusing to register pain anymore.
She realized she was being cynical and silently told herself to shut up. Why don't you take a rest for once in your life, girl, she asked herself in her mind. Everything's going fine.
But she knew why not. She was afraid to close her eyes, that she might never open them again. She had to stay alive, and to do that she had to stay awake, too.
Or was she worrying too much? Rotor was standing about three meters away, manning the controls to make sure nothing went wrong. He was there to have everything under control, to make sure this went as smoothly as possible.
Still, she didn't feel that was enough. She had to do something herself to make this work. That was how she fought these implants for over the years: on her own, by her strength.
But then, there was Antoine. He had certainly done all he could to help her in her moments of emotional turbulence. And Sally, too, poured her heart out to her, giving her a big sister to talk too when things got rough.
Maybe she wasn't strong enough to do this on her own. She needed her friends as much as they needed her. Their combined emotional strength was what got her through so far, and it would be what brought her out of it, on the road to recovery. She smiled as she slowly faded to sleep. For that she was grateful.
Very grateful.
-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-
Robotropolis seemed absolutely no different than before. Sonic found that kind of strange, that the place still carried its air of foreboding, even though there was nothing to be afraid of anymore. Just give it time, he kept telling himself, and things will start looking up again.
To his right, Antoine shivered. "Place is still creepy, eh Ant?"
"No, I'm just chilly," the coyote shot him a glance. "It was a breeze."
"Right, right. How you feelin', little bro?"
"I'm okay," Tails answered distractedly, looking around him at the buildings rising on both sides. It didn't take as much haggling with Sally to let him bring Tails along this time; since Robotnik was gone the city was basically a giant dead husk.
"And I don't want any complaints outta you, either," he said sarcastically to the fourth member of their team.
Lupe grinned back. "Amusing, Sonic." He respected Sally's decision to stay with Bunnie, but Sonic still wanted to find a fourth man, so he asked the former Wolfpack leader to come along. She had been spending the last few weeks recovering from her battle injuries, and the hedgehog could see straight through her calm shell and tell she wanted some action. Now she had a couple brothers and sisters for her old facial scar, but he thought she still looked striking.
"So where're we going first?" Tails asked.
"I dunno. Sal just asked us to look around at stuff. Maybe we should go up to the Tower, and check out the stuff around there. Sound good?"
No one had any objections, so he led the group toward the center of the city. There was the Imperial Tower in all its splendor, though a large portion of it had faded over the years. It was great looking at it without worrying about SWATbots anymore, and Sonic looked up and stared, thinking about what it would be like after they had retaken the city.
"So where do we go next?" Antoine spoke up.
Sonic shrugged. "I have no idea. Anybody else have some suggestions?"
Tails looked around. "Let's look in... that building."
"Why that one? What is it?"
Tails looked at him. "I don't know. But you don't, either, so we should check it out, right?"
"Okay by me. Let's go."
The four of them crossed the street and approached the building, a mid-sized warehouse that looked no different from those around it. Sonic entered first, through a large sliding door that was open at the moment. It was some kind of shipping garage, but hadn't been used for a long time, probably since before the war. There was no sign of Robotnik's mechanical tampering around, it was as if he had simply ignored the place, for some reason.
The four of them looked around, realizing in only a few moments that there was nothing to see. "Oh, well," Sonic shrugged as they went back to the street. "Next one, I guess."
They turned the corner at an intersection, but Sonic abruptly stopped, whispering to the others. "Check it out..." There was a squad of six SWATbots at the end of the street, marching slowly toward them. "What's the deal?"
"Are they running automatically?" Lupe suggested. "Continuing with their programming?"
"I sure hope so," Sonic replied grimly. "You guys stay here, I'll go ask them."
He started toward them, slowly, stepping just inside where he knew their perception range to be. In only two seconds one of them turned to face him. |Identify yourself.|
"Who do you think it is, butt-head?"
|Voiceprint confirmed: freedom fighter -- initiating capture.|
"Smart boy," Sonic smirked as he ran back to the rest of the team. "I don't know if they're on autopilot, but they still want us dead."
"Are we gonna take 'em out, Sonic?"
"Sure thing, little bro! Just like that fish we took down this morning, right? We're gonna-"
Lupe cleared her throat and gave Sonic a look or caution. He faltered. "I mean... we can take care of 'em, but you have to stay here and watch, 'kay, buddy?"
"Aw!" Tails whined. "How come?"
"Cuz they have guns, and you don't," he smiled.
"You don't have a gun, either," he pouted.
"Tails..."
"Oh, fine."
"Let's go, guys."
Lupe armed and readied her rifle, and Antoine already had his pistol in his hand. Sonic stood and crossed his arms, seeing that the SWATbots hadn't even bothered following him, and all six now stayed still in the middle of the street. "Stupid bots. Lupe, wake 'em up a little."
"My pleasure," she smiled, bringing the sight of the weapon up to her eye. She squeezed the trigger, slowly raking her fire over the group of troopers, the shots blasting through half of them. The others returned the gesture, forcing the Mobians to take cover behind the corners of the buildings around them.
Sonic almost wished he had brought an EMP pistol with him or something, but liked that he got a chance to improvise. He had ducked behind a trash dumpster, which gave him wonderful ideas. He grabbed the lid off a nearby garbage can and peeked around the corner, picking out one bot who was preoccupied at the moment. He wound up his arm and let the lid fly. It wobbled in the air, then fell to one side, and straight past his target.
The hedgehog scowled in disgust, then quickly ducked back behind cover as the SWATbots turned its weapon on him. He heard weapons fire, then Antoine's voice calling out to him. "You can come out now, Sonique! All is well!"
Sonic peeked out again, seeing that Lupe and Antoine had already dispatched the remaining three bots. "Whew. Great job, guys."
"How many more SWATbots are there left in the city?" Lupe asked, looking around at the disabled machines.
"Hard to say, but there's lots. We'll have to tell Sally about that, it might change her plans a little."
"Man! Are there any of these that you *didn't* shoot in the head?" Tails asked from below them. He was crouched down running his fingers the one of the troopers' metal craniums.
"Force of habit," Lupe replied.
"Whatcha doin', bro?" Sonic looked down to see what he was up to.
"I've never seen one of these before... dead, I mean. They're kinda nifty."
Sonic chuckled. "What do you wanna do, bring it home?"
"Maybe," Tails shrugged, without any hint of sarcasm. "Think of what we could learn from one of these things. You have to admit, Robotnik knew what he was doing when it came to cybernetics."
"Yeah, well he worked with Uncle Chuck, so let's go ask him instead, okay?"
"Hold on a sec, I've almost got this off..." Tails breathed as the hatch on the side of the SWATbot's head popped off in his hand, and he moved it slightly to look inside. "Whoa, that's cool. It's still running."
"What?"
"The circuitry, it's still online. It's just not moving because you must have shot through some control cables. Heck, I'm bringin' this whole head home, this is awesome."
Sonic shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea, Tails."
"Hey, you!" Tails knocked on his bot's forehead. "I know you're awake, say somethin'!"
|Capture freedom fighters by order of Robotnik,| it droned.
"Not that. Say something interesting."
"Tails, let's go."
"No, wait. This is cool. Go on, ask it something about Robotropolis."
Sonic rolled his eyes. "Oh, okay. SWATbot, where does Robotnik live?"
|Robotnik is located in the central tower of Robotropolis.|
"Nope, sorry, you're wrong. Ro-buttnik's dead. See, told ya it was stupid. Can we go now?"
Tails turned back to the head. "What's Robotnik's first name?"
"That's easy," Sonic shrugged. "It's Ivo, isn't it?"
|Robotnik, Colin. Master of Robotropolis.|
Now Sonic was concerned. "What? That's not right," he paused, then laughed. "It's stupid, and wrong half the time!"
"Who is Colin?" Antoine asked skeptically.
"I dunno. Maybe Egghead changed his name lately. Whatta weirdo."
The SWATbot heard his question. |Colin, Robotnik. Initiated master control sequence on Thirty-Two-Thirty-Eight, day Seventeen.|
"But that's today," Tails retorted, then tossed the head to the ground. "You're right, Sonic. Maybe it is busted."
-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-
Sonic was relived when they finally reached Knothole again, and he saw the soft glow of the torches around the courtyard. It was late, and not a light was on in any of the huts, but the faint flicker of what he thought was a candle was coming from medical hut. He bid his team good-night and headed there, opening the door silently.
He immediately saw Sally, slumped in a chair on the side of the room, next to the bed Bunnie was resting in. He went over, coming up behind her and kissing her gently on the neck. She stirred, then her eyes slowly opened. "Hi, Sonic."
"How do ya know it's Sonic?" he replied in a whisper, kissing her again.
"Well, I sure hope it's you, or someone's got some explaining to do," she smiled, and he came over to sit beside her on the bed across from Bunnie's.
"You been here all day?"
"Pretty much," she groaned and stretched. "How did it go?"
"Interesting," he replied. "I'll tell you about it tomorrow. How's Bunnie?"
"Exhausted; she's been out since the procedure was finished. All of the obvious physical traces of her implants are gone, Bookshire was glad for that. As soon as she's awake he'll run more tests, probably tomorrow morning."
Sonic hummed and nodded understandingly. "You going to turn in anytime soon?"
"Soon," she nodded. "I just want to wait a little longer. Bookshire said there's a chance she may wake up before morning, and I want to be here with her when she does."
At that moment, the body in the bed stirred, and Bunnie slowly rolled over, her eyes opening. "Hi, guys," she managed, her voice nearly non-existent.
"Hey, cutie," Sonic winked.
"Welcome back, Bunnie," Sally smiled, her eyes moist. "How do you feel?"
"Like I've been through hell and back," she groaned, trying to lift her head but finding it to hard to accomplish. "Which I guess is pretty accurate."
She looked down at the sheets covering her body, bringing her right hand up to grasp them in her fist. Slowly and dramatically, she pulled them away, seeing for the first time her left arm and hand, and the lower half of her body, her own flesh. She gasped, wiggling her toes and fingers, which stung a little, but she could *feel* them!
"My face!" she exclaimed hoarsely. "What does it look like?"
Sonic handed her a mirror that had been sitting on the table. "See for yourself."
She took it, lifting it before her and peering into it. The left side of her head had no hair, and slight scarring was visible on her neck, but she saw none of that. "My sweet baby blues are back! Both of 'em! Oh!" Her hand fell back to the bed. "Sally-girl, this is the happiest moment of my life!"
"I'm so happy for you, Bunnie," she said, coming forward to hug her as best she could.
"Thanks, Sally," she whispered. "I've been thinkin' about that, though. I don't think it's right that I should be called 'Bunnie Rabbot' anymore, do ya?"
She chuckled. "I guess not."
"I think I'll go back to usin' my old name, if no one minds."
"Georgia?" Sally asked, blinking as she thought it over. "It's only right, though it will be different. We've been calling you 'Bunnie' for a while now."
"Oh, it doesn't matter," she sighed contentedly. "We've finally done it. Robotnik is gone now, from both of our lives."
**END OF CHAPTER**
MESSAGE FROM THE MAN: More Neat Stuff from Da 'Pode
This one's late, too! But it's not my fault. I just got an internship gig at my aunt's company, so I've been busy moving all my stuff two or three hours from home to this place I'm going to be staying until the end of the summer. But, it's done, and it's here, so read! READ!
Peace out,
-AE
**FREEDOM FIGHTERS OF MOBIUS**
Sonic the Hedgehog Neo Redux
By Antipode Echidna
e-mail: SonicNeoRedux@yahoo.com
Mobian Time: Year 3238, Day 017
Episode: Phoenix
Story (c) 2004 by the author. Based on characters created by Sega, DiC Productions, and/or Archie Comics Group, used without permission, but protected by copyright laws that r00r your b00rz!
Other characters:
Bookshire Draftwood (c) Bookshire Draftwood / David Pistone, without permission.
Bunnie sat quietly as she awaited the results. She had been sitting in the medical hut for about two hours, and was starting to get anxious. Bookshire and Rotor were somewhere in the back room, looking over the data they had just gotten from her. She sighed and sat back, glancing down at her left arm. She smiled. Soon, she would be...
It had been three months since the destruction of Doomsday and the end of the war. Cleanup was being planned by Sally and the other leaders currently residing in camp. The general attitude of everyone was one of relief, and you could see it on the face of anyone you took a moment to talk to.
It was during this time that Bunnie had a realization: Robotnik may have been gone, but his actions were still influencing the Mobians' way of life, most certainly her own. She had discussed long and hard with Sally and Antoine, her closest friends, and had decided that she had put up with her augmentations long enough. It was time to look into deroboticization, and getting her old body back. Soon, she would be whole.
She had went to talk with Bookshire and Rotor, and the doctor had suggested an in-depth physical to check on the status of her implants. He would compare them with the medical records of the many who had already been deroboticized, and see if it was a safe option to take. They had been in the back room for a while now, and she started to wonder what was going on.
"Hey, guys!" she called out to them. "Yer still back there, right?"
"Yes, Bunnie, we're here," Bookshire answered distractedly, coming back to the main area of the hut. "We've found something... disturbing."
She immediately picked up on the tone in his voice. "What 'disturbing?' What'd ya find?"
Rotor took a deep breath. "We detected some signals, electrical signals, being sent when were doing the scan. It first I thought it was nothing, maybe something from your mechanics. I checked, though, and... I found a transmitter."
"A transmitter? What the hoo-ha you talkin' about, Rotor?"
Bookshire stepped in. "It's a transmission module, connected to both your visual and auditory implants. And it's been constantly sending data to somewhere in Robotropolis."
Bunnie's right eye blinked. "What're ya sayin', doc?"
"We're not sure -- yet -- but somehow Robotnik has been using you as... a kind of double agent against Knothole."
She raised her eyebrows. "What?"
Rotor tried to explain. "Do you remember, about two years ago, when your nanobots restarted and began constructing more mechanics into your system?"
"Yeah. So what?"
"Robotnik did that with a kind of electrical pulse. It not only awakened the bots, but slightly altered their programming a little. One of those changes was to be his eyes and ears in the resistance."
Bunnie sighed. This was a lot to take in. "But Robotnik's gone now, right? And you can take this thing out of me?"
Bookshire nodded. "Yes, we can take it out, but this is technically a security breach. We'll have to tell Sally before going ahead with the procedure."
She shrugged. "Fine with me. Just hurry, guys, okay?"
"All right," the doctor replied. "Rotor, that will be all. Please tell Sally that I'd like to see her when she has a chance."
"Um, sure," Rotor answered and left the room, closing the door behind him.
"Somethin' else ya wanna talk about, doc?" Bunnie asked slowly, almost apprehensively.
"Yes, there is," he answered solemnly, bringing over a chair and easing himself into it. "It's about your implants, something I found while looking over the data. Rotor doesn't know about this, no one does. I thought it right if you were told first."
"What is it?" Now she was getting worried. Bookshire usually didn't talk like this to her.
"Another thing Robotnik's signal did was to... harden the control your implants had in your body. Even if the deroboticization works, there is a chance you could have some damage to your body."
She swallowed. "What kinda damage? Is it permanent?"
"Probably not, but it will take time to heal. You may walk with a limp, or not be able to use your arm for some time, but I'm not worried about that, I'm sure that's temporary. I'm mostly concerned with the implants around your neck and face."
He sighed. "Again, I'm not sure about this, because it's never been seen before, at least not by me. If the mechanical-biological conversion goes as planned, your left eye and ear may need extra care, perhaps even surgery, to reach an acceptable level of performance," he paused before adding, "And may never work the way they're meant to."
She tried nodding, but couldn't move. "So, what yer sayin' is that... I may never get my old bod back again?"
"I'm saying it's a possibility. But, believe me, Bunnie, when I say that I will do everything in my power to make sure it goes all right."
Bunnie was too deep in thought to respond. Even after all this work, she would never be the way she was meant to be. She tried to fight the lump rising in her throat as she spoke. "How long would I hafta, ya know, recover from this?"
"Hard to say," he shook his head. "Maybe two weeks, maybe a month or longer."
"And there's no other way to do it?"
He bowed his head. "I'm sorry."
-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-
Tails peered out from under the lip of his hat, leaning as far over the edge of the boat as he could without falling into the lake. Through the surface of the crystal clear water he could see the small fish darting back and forth, but none of them were going the way he wanted them to.
"C'mon..." he whispered. "Stupid fish."
"How you doin', buddy?" Sonic asked from beside him. "Any luck yet?"
"No," he pouted. "Stupid fish won't cooperate."
"Don't worry, son, you'll get it," Uncle Chuck called from over his shoulder. "Fishing is for the patient. Just give it time."
Tails looked up to the front of the boat, where Uncle Chuck sat with his line over the side. "But it's so boring," he whined.
"Yeah, I'm gettin' bored, too, Unc," Sonic said. "We've been out here for hours already, and nuthin."
"Oh, you two are so alike, it's frightening," the old man chuckled. "If you want to go back, you're welcome to swim."
He gestured, and the two looked at the water surrounding them on all sides. Sonic and Tails exchanged glances, then shrugged and returned to watching their lures.
Sonic cast a sideways glance at Tails, amused at the kid's silly, bucket-shaped fisherman's hat perched atop his head. They had celebrated his tenth birthday about a week after the assault on Doomsday, and Sonic and his uncle had been spending more time with him lately, an effort by Uncle Chuck to help him to look past the constant death and sadness that had been a part of his life since the war had started. It seemed to be working, too, since even though the fish didn't seem to like him much, he had blast hanging out with Sonic.
The hedgehog returned to watching his pole, looking out over the sparkling lake. *Who would have thought six months ago that I'd be fishing with my long-lost uncle, without a care in the world?* So much had changed for him in the past few months, now that Robotnik was gone. Life seemed... simpler somehow. He didn't have to act like a freedom fighter all the time now, and he could just concentrate on being himself. It made him feel better knowing that they had gotten through this whole long war, albeit not unscathed.
Sally was doing her best on the plans for the cleanup effort, with the help of Lupe and the other cell leaders. It was going along well, at least as far as he thought. Sally had pretty much poured her heart and soul into Knothole for the past ten years, and now she was getting ready to move on, to take her place on the throne like she was meant to do.
Sonic sighed contentedly. Sally was definitely something else. They had spent New Years' together after destroying Doomsday, and not the usually way where Sonic had some terrible thing he'd try to do to her when she wasn't watching. Now he actually cared for her, as strange as it seemed at first. Sonic had always respected her, as the leader of their small band, and the brains of their operation, but since she had found her father in Robotropolis, she showed him a more personal side he had never seen before. And the more time they spent together, the more he found that he... loved her.
He chuckled and shook his head. He still found it hard to say, but it was true. He loved Sally, and Sally loved him back. It was strange, but now he felt so alive whenever she was around. Sonic saw her in a different light than so many times before.
"Oh! Ah, Sonic!"
"What is it, T2?"
Tails was wrestling with his fishing pole. "I think I got something!"
Sonic propped up his own pole and shifted over to help him. "Don't let him get away!" Uncle Chuck shouted.
He wrapped both hands around Tails' fishing pole and pulled, even with their combined strength there was still strong resistance on the other end. "Holy Mobius, this thing is huge!" Sonic ground his teeth. "Get the net, Unc!"
Chuck picked the net off the floor of the boat, trying to reach over to help them without tipping them all overboard. "Pull harder, boys!"
"We're tryin'!"
Sonic braced his feet against the side and gave one large jerk, and the end of the line breached the surface of the water. Tails' eyes widened as he saw what was hanging there. "Wow, look at him!"
Uncle Chuck laughed as he moved the net into position. "Great job, Tails! That's a whopper!"
The two of them eased the giant fish into the boat, careful not to knock each other over and into the lake.
"Wow, look at him, Sonic! Look at him!"
"That's great, Tails!" Sonic lauded, himself impressed by the kid's feat.
-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-
Rotor politely cleared his throat, waiting for Princess Sally to call him into her office. She did, and he came forward, telling her that Bookshire wanted to see her as soon as possible. Sally thanked him, then finished up what she was doing and headed for the medical hut.
She found Bunnie and Bookshire sitting quietly, both turned their heads as she entered. Sally saw a distressed look on her friend's face, and immediately felt concern. "Bunnie, what's wrong?"
"We've got problems, Sally-girl," she replied, her voice weak as if she were trying to keep her emotions in check.
"Bookshire?" she asked as she found a chair. "What's going on?"
The doctor recounted to her everything he had told Bunnie earlier. Sally listened carefully to every word, and when he finished she wore a look of genuine compassion. "Bunnie, what do you think about this?"
She shook her head. "I don't know, Sally. I'm just... scared, that's all."
Sally put a hand on her shoulder. "I know, Bunnie. Let's just think through this. Bookshire, is there any way we could shut down the transmitter?"
"That would take surgery, too," he replied softly. "And I won't lie to you: it would be close to brain surgery, and the risk would be extremely high."
"So, either way, I'm riskin' my life," Bunnie whispered.
"Yes."
Sally waited a moment before speaking. "Bunnie, the transmitter is a security issue, but Robotnik is gone. I care more for your health than anything else. This will be purely your decision."
She stared down at the floor, working through the options. "There is something else you could consider, Bunnie," Bookshire said. "You could always keep your cybernetics. They aren't harming your internal systems at all, and living with them as you have been is... safer, you could say, then attempting to have them removed."
Bunnie frowned. She had been pondering that, but didn't see it as any better an option. She almost voiced her outright opposition immediately, but stopped to think about it for a moment. Bookshire had a point, it would be safer. On the other hand, she had been plagued by her robotic mods for years now, and had been looking forward to getting rid of them every day.
"Could I have... some time to think about it?" she asked, her voice cracking.
"Of course," he nodded, rising from his chair. "Take as long as you need."
Bunnie's head drooped as the doctor retired to the back room. Sally gently rubbed her friend's shoulder. "Hey... we're going to get through this, all right?"
"It's hard, Sally-girl. Why does it have to be so damn hard?"
She began to weep, and the princess pulled her close, giving her a shoulder to cry on. Bunnie's body shook gently, and Sally whispered gently into her ear. "It's going to be okay, Bunnie. It'll be okay."
"Oh, Sally-girl..." she sniffed softly. "You've been great to me through all this. You're like the best big sister a body could have."
"You've been my best friend forever. It's my job to look after friends."
Bunnie pulled back and dried her eye. "What would you do... if you were me?"
Sally sighed. "I've seen how this thing has tortured you, Bunnie. I also know how strong you can be through adversity; you've shown that to everyone over the years. I think, if you choose to go through with this, you can beat it easily. And we'll all be there to help you, too."
She managed a smile. "Thanks, Sally. Bookshire?"
Despite his efforts to mind his own business, the doctor had been listening intently to their conversation. "Yes?"
"Call Rotor. Tell him to warm up the deroboticizor."
-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-
"No, NO *NO*!!" the little man screamed and smashed his fist against the console. "Why won't any of this blasted machinery work!"
Colin Robotnik sat back in the control chair, seething. The chair was huge, due to the mass of its previous occupant, and almost consumed him, but he would get used to it, he supposed. He was too engrossed by his current obstacle to pay that much attention to it at the moment, anyway. Darn that Robotnik and his infernal paranoia! He had locked up his control codes as tight as he possibly could, and even Colin was having trouble getting at them.
He leaned forward to try another key combination, and the computer slapped his wrist again. Colin's hands balled into fists, and he screamed at the empty room. "You idiot!" he spat at the ceiling, hoping somehow his curse would reach the dead man's ears. "You knew this would happen, didn't you? You gave me just enough information to make me *think* I could do this but, oh, you made sure that I couldn't. Yes, you made sure of that..."
His voice trailed off, and he forced himself to breathe. This wasn't impossible. Nothing was impossible, just difficult. He had come this far, and he'd be damned if he didn't finish the job, quite literally. He attacked the console once more, fingers flying as he attempted to crack Robotnik's ridiculous security. A grin and beads of sweat slowly spread over his face, as he moved faster than the computer could lock him out.
"Yes!" he threw his hands up as a list of command codes were printed to the screen. "You can't keep me out! Never!"
-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-
Sally returned to her office, more than willing to have stayed with Bunnie through the entire operation, but unable to put off the work that needed to be done. She found it hard to concentrate, though, her mind constantly wandering back to her friend lying on the table, undergoing a procedure that would drastically change her life... again.
Sonic came in, his heavy boots tromping on the floor as he went over and collapsed in a chair. "Heya, Sally."
She looked up at him, smiling at the exhausted look on his face. "The fishing trip went well, I see."
"Remind me never to do that again..." he groaned. "What did I miss while I was gone?"
"Bunnie's going to do it."
Sonic nodded. "Good girl. How is she?"
"Worried. Bookshire says it might not go the way it should, and there may be problems."
"Oh. Too bad. Is she in there now?"
"Rotor started about ten minutes ago," Sally sighed, then forced herself to smile. "So, how was fishing with Uncle Chuck?"
"Pretty good. Tails caught something about as big as his head. He'll probably show it to you as soon as he finishes helping Unc put all the stuff away."
"That's great," she replied, then her smile faded.
"Hey, what's up?"
"I've got a lot to think about, Sonic," she sighed, dropping her head to her desk.
He reached over to take one of hands. "Thing's haven't gotten any easier since taking out Egghead, huh?"
"Not really," she answered, her voice muffled from speaking into her desktop. She looked up just enough that she could see Sonic over her arms. "There's so much work left to do. Sometimes... I don't know."
Sonic nodded. "Sometimes cleaning up after the war is just as tough as the war itself?"
Sally smirked. "That's very insightful, Sonic."
"Eh, must be pickin' up some stuff from you."
She grabbed his hand and squeezed. "I'll take that as a compliment."
"Aunt Sally, Aunt Sally!"
They both looked up as Tails came in. He stopped short in the doorway. "You two aren't bein' mushy again, are ya?"
"No, Tails," Sally answered, lifting her head as Sonic sat back down. "What can I do for you?"
Tails looked from Sonic to Sally, then shrugged and jumped into the room. "I caught a great big fish!"
"You did?" Sally smiled and glanced at Sonic. "How did you do it? Did it put up a fight?"
"Yeah, but me n' Sonic took him down, no problem."
"How wonderful. Where is it now?"
"I think Uncle Chuck's cleaning him in the kitchen. We're gonna eat him for supper, he said."
"It's been a long time since we've had a decent fish fry," Sally commented. "The change will certainly be welcome."
"Well, I'm gonna go help him. See ya!" Tails waved and left the office.
"Bye, Tails," Sonic called after him. He waited for a moment, then turned back to Sally. "So how's the cleanup plan going, anyway?"
"It's getting there," she said slowly, reflexively straightening the papers on her desk. "I was thinking about taking a team back to Robotropolis again, to make more estimations. But that was before Bunnie decided..." her voice trailed off, but Sonic got it.
"I could take a team, if you don't wanna go, Sal."
She shook her head. "I wouldn't ask you to do that, Sonic. You've done enough for me already," she squeezed his hand again. "I'll just continue this when I'm ready."
Sonic inhaled and smiled. "Sally, you're procrastinating. Now you're picking up some of *my* bad habits."
-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-
Bunnie laid silently on the platform, the constant him of energy almost soothing around her. It was a lot less painful than she thought it would be. She hardly felt a thing, though she wondered if that was from the actual procedure, or from her brain refusing to register pain anymore.
She realized she was being cynical and silently told herself to shut up. Why don't you take a rest for once in your life, girl, she asked herself in her mind. Everything's going fine.
But she knew why not. She was afraid to close her eyes, that she might never open them again. She had to stay alive, and to do that she had to stay awake, too.
Or was she worrying too much? Rotor was standing about three meters away, manning the controls to make sure nothing went wrong. He was there to have everything under control, to make sure this went as smoothly as possible.
Still, she didn't feel that was enough. She had to do something herself to make this work. That was how she fought these implants for over the years: on her own, by her strength.
But then, there was Antoine. He had certainly done all he could to help her in her moments of emotional turbulence. And Sally, too, poured her heart out to her, giving her a big sister to talk too when things got rough.
Maybe she wasn't strong enough to do this on her own. She needed her friends as much as they needed her. Their combined emotional strength was what got her through so far, and it would be what brought her out of it, on the road to recovery. She smiled as she slowly faded to sleep. For that she was grateful.
Very grateful.
-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-
Robotropolis seemed absolutely no different than before. Sonic found that kind of strange, that the place still carried its air of foreboding, even though there was nothing to be afraid of anymore. Just give it time, he kept telling himself, and things will start looking up again.
To his right, Antoine shivered. "Place is still creepy, eh Ant?"
"No, I'm just chilly," the coyote shot him a glance. "It was a breeze."
"Right, right. How you feelin', little bro?"
"I'm okay," Tails answered distractedly, looking around him at the buildings rising on both sides. It didn't take as much haggling with Sally to let him bring Tails along this time; since Robotnik was gone the city was basically a giant dead husk.
"And I don't want any complaints outta you, either," he said sarcastically to the fourth member of their team.
Lupe grinned back. "Amusing, Sonic." He respected Sally's decision to stay with Bunnie, but Sonic still wanted to find a fourth man, so he asked the former Wolfpack leader to come along. She had been spending the last few weeks recovering from her battle injuries, and the hedgehog could see straight through her calm shell and tell she wanted some action. Now she had a couple brothers and sisters for her old facial scar, but he thought she still looked striking.
"So where're we going first?" Tails asked.
"I dunno. Sal just asked us to look around at stuff. Maybe we should go up to the Tower, and check out the stuff around there. Sound good?"
No one had any objections, so he led the group toward the center of the city. There was the Imperial Tower in all its splendor, though a large portion of it had faded over the years. It was great looking at it without worrying about SWATbots anymore, and Sonic looked up and stared, thinking about what it would be like after they had retaken the city.
"So where do we go next?" Antoine spoke up.
Sonic shrugged. "I have no idea. Anybody else have some suggestions?"
Tails looked around. "Let's look in... that building."
"Why that one? What is it?"
Tails looked at him. "I don't know. But you don't, either, so we should check it out, right?"
"Okay by me. Let's go."
The four of them crossed the street and approached the building, a mid-sized warehouse that looked no different from those around it. Sonic entered first, through a large sliding door that was open at the moment. It was some kind of shipping garage, but hadn't been used for a long time, probably since before the war. There was no sign of Robotnik's mechanical tampering around, it was as if he had simply ignored the place, for some reason.
The four of them looked around, realizing in only a few moments that there was nothing to see. "Oh, well," Sonic shrugged as they went back to the street. "Next one, I guess."
They turned the corner at an intersection, but Sonic abruptly stopped, whispering to the others. "Check it out..." There was a squad of six SWATbots at the end of the street, marching slowly toward them. "What's the deal?"
"Are they running automatically?" Lupe suggested. "Continuing with their programming?"
"I sure hope so," Sonic replied grimly. "You guys stay here, I'll go ask them."
He started toward them, slowly, stepping just inside where he knew their perception range to be. In only two seconds one of them turned to face him. |Identify yourself.|
"Who do you think it is, butt-head?"
|Voiceprint confirmed: freedom fighter -- initiating capture.|
"Smart boy," Sonic smirked as he ran back to the rest of the team. "I don't know if they're on autopilot, but they still want us dead."
"Are we gonna take 'em out, Sonic?"
"Sure thing, little bro! Just like that fish we took down this morning, right? We're gonna-"
Lupe cleared her throat and gave Sonic a look or caution. He faltered. "I mean... we can take care of 'em, but you have to stay here and watch, 'kay, buddy?"
"Aw!" Tails whined. "How come?"
"Cuz they have guns, and you don't," he smiled.
"You don't have a gun, either," he pouted.
"Tails..."
"Oh, fine."
"Let's go, guys."
Lupe armed and readied her rifle, and Antoine already had his pistol in his hand. Sonic stood and crossed his arms, seeing that the SWATbots hadn't even bothered following him, and all six now stayed still in the middle of the street. "Stupid bots. Lupe, wake 'em up a little."
"My pleasure," she smiled, bringing the sight of the weapon up to her eye. She squeezed the trigger, slowly raking her fire over the group of troopers, the shots blasting through half of them. The others returned the gesture, forcing the Mobians to take cover behind the corners of the buildings around them.
Sonic almost wished he had brought an EMP pistol with him or something, but liked that he got a chance to improvise. He had ducked behind a trash dumpster, which gave him wonderful ideas. He grabbed the lid off a nearby garbage can and peeked around the corner, picking out one bot who was preoccupied at the moment. He wound up his arm and let the lid fly. It wobbled in the air, then fell to one side, and straight past his target.
The hedgehog scowled in disgust, then quickly ducked back behind cover as the SWATbots turned its weapon on him. He heard weapons fire, then Antoine's voice calling out to him. "You can come out now, Sonique! All is well!"
Sonic peeked out again, seeing that Lupe and Antoine had already dispatched the remaining three bots. "Whew. Great job, guys."
"How many more SWATbots are there left in the city?" Lupe asked, looking around at the disabled machines.
"Hard to say, but there's lots. We'll have to tell Sally about that, it might change her plans a little."
"Man! Are there any of these that you *didn't* shoot in the head?" Tails asked from below them. He was crouched down running his fingers the one of the troopers' metal craniums.
"Force of habit," Lupe replied.
"Whatcha doin', bro?" Sonic looked down to see what he was up to.
"I've never seen one of these before... dead, I mean. They're kinda nifty."
Sonic chuckled. "What do you wanna do, bring it home?"
"Maybe," Tails shrugged, without any hint of sarcasm. "Think of what we could learn from one of these things. You have to admit, Robotnik knew what he was doing when it came to cybernetics."
"Yeah, well he worked with Uncle Chuck, so let's go ask him instead, okay?"
"Hold on a sec, I've almost got this off..." Tails breathed as the hatch on the side of the SWATbot's head popped off in his hand, and he moved it slightly to look inside. "Whoa, that's cool. It's still running."
"What?"
"The circuitry, it's still online. It's just not moving because you must have shot through some control cables. Heck, I'm bringin' this whole head home, this is awesome."
Sonic shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea, Tails."
"Hey, you!" Tails knocked on his bot's forehead. "I know you're awake, say somethin'!"
|Capture freedom fighters by order of Robotnik,| it droned.
"Not that. Say something interesting."
"Tails, let's go."
"No, wait. This is cool. Go on, ask it something about Robotropolis."
Sonic rolled his eyes. "Oh, okay. SWATbot, where does Robotnik live?"
|Robotnik is located in the central tower of Robotropolis.|
"Nope, sorry, you're wrong. Ro-buttnik's dead. See, told ya it was stupid. Can we go now?"
Tails turned back to the head. "What's Robotnik's first name?"
"That's easy," Sonic shrugged. "It's Ivo, isn't it?"
|Robotnik, Colin. Master of Robotropolis.|
Now Sonic was concerned. "What? That's not right," he paused, then laughed. "It's stupid, and wrong half the time!"
"Who is Colin?" Antoine asked skeptically.
"I dunno. Maybe Egghead changed his name lately. Whatta weirdo."
The SWATbot heard his question. |Colin, Robotnik. Initiated master control sequence on Thirty-Two-Thirty-Eight, day Seventeen.|
"But that's today," Tails retorted, then tossed the head to the ground. "You're right, Sonic. Maybe it is busted."
-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-
Sonic was relived when they finally reached Knothole again, and he saw the soft glow of the torches around the courtyard. It was late, and not a light was on in any of the huts, but the faint flicker of what he thought was a candle was coming from medical hut. He bid his team good-night and headed there, opening the door silently.
He immediately saw Sally, slumped in a chair on the side of the room, next to the bed Bunnie was resting in. He went over, coming up behind her and kissing her gently on the neck. She stirred, then her eyes slowly opened. "Hi, Sonic."
"How do ya know it's Sonic?" he replied in a whisper, kissing her again.
"Well, I sure hope it's you, or someone's got some explaining to do," she smiled, and he came over to sit beside her on the bed across from Bunnie's.
"You been here all day?"
"Pretty much," she groaned and stretched. "How did it go?"
"Interesting," he replied. "I'll tell you about it tomorrow. How's Bunnie?"
"Exhausted; she's been out since the procedure was finished. All of the obvious physical traces of her implants are gone, Bookshire was glad for that. As soon as she's awake he'll run more tests, probably tomorrow morning."
Sonic hummed and nodded understandingly. "You going to turn in anytime soon?"
"Soon," she nodded. "I just want to wait a little longer. Bookshire said there's a chance she may wake up before morning, and I want to be here with her when she does."
At that moment, the body in the bed stirred, and Bunnie slowly rolled over, her eyes opening. "Hi, guys," she managed, her voice nearly non-existent.
"Hey, cutie," Sonic winked.
"Welcome back, Bunnie," Sally smiled, her eyes moist. "How do you feel?"
"Like I've been through hell and back," she groaned, trying to lift her head but finding it to hard to accomplish. "Which I guess is pretty accurate."
She looked down at the sheets covering her body, bringing her right hand up to grasp them in her fist. Slowly and dramatically, she pulled them away, seeing for the first time her left arm and hand, and the lower half of her body, her own flesh. She gasped, wiggling her toes and fingers, which stung a little, but she could *feel* them!
"My face!" she exclaimed hoarsely. "What does it look like?"
Sonic handed her a mirror that had been sitting on the table. "See for yourself."
She took it, lifting it before her and peering into it. The left side of her head had no hair, and slight scarring was visible on her neck, but she saw none of that. "My sweet baby blues are back! Both of 'em! Oh!" Her hand fell back to the bed. "Sally-girl, this is the happiest moment of my life!"
"I'm so happy for you, Bunnie," she said, coming forward to hug her as best she could.
"Thanks, Sally," she whispered. "I've been thinkin' about that, though. I don't think it's right that I should be called 'Bunnie Rabbot' anymore, do ya?"
She chuckled. "I guess not."
"I think I'll go back to usin' my old name, if no one minds."
"Georgia?" Sally asked, blinking as she thought it over. "It's only right, though it will be different. We've been calling you 'Bunnie' for a while now."
"Oh, it doesn't matter," she sighed contentedly. "We've finally done it. Robotnik is gone now, from both of our lives."
**END OF CHAPTER**
MESSAGE FROM THE MAN: More Neat Stuff from Da 'Pode
This one's late, too! But it's not my fault. I just got an internship gig at my aunt's company, so I've been busy moving all my stuff two or three hours from home to this place I'm going to be staying until the end of the summer. But, it's done, and it's here, so read! READ!
Peace out,
-AE