A/R: Yeah, yeah, I know... Been a while. I'm gettin there, I promise. I've been busy with SATs and school and other aspects of life. Aaanyway... *think* It's gonna start gettin better from here on out, I promise. Oh, and Sonic and Dreadlocks are gonna sorta fade from this story, because there's a whole 'nother plot that's gonna happen with that. You'll see. Also, it has been brought to my attention that Void was the badnik in Sonic Shuffle. This is *not* that Void. I have never played SS and I thought Void to be an original. Ah well, win some, lose some. Technically I do own this Void, unless (which with my luck is possible) I have accidentally re-created the SS one. If someone can prove this, then he's free to use. If not, I hold claim on him. I think that's all for now. MTP, out. Now get readin'! ;P
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Back in Robotropolis, Robotnik gleefully read over the message that was displayed on Void's status panel. Void had found Knothole and captured a hedgehog. Once the robot returned with the hostage, then the fun would begin. Times like this called for celebration.
"SNIVELY! WHERE ARE YOU?" Robotnik called, wondering where his nephew had gotten to this time.
"C-c-c-coming sir!" came the nervous sounding response from nearby. With a smirk, Robotnik sat down in his control chair, malicious plans swirling throughout his brain. What to do first... Roboticize the hedgehog? No, he would have more fun if he held Sonic ransom. But how much would he make the 'Freedom Fighters' pay for their so-called 'Hero?' Perhaps he should let Snively do the honors, a break would be nice.
"Y-y-yes s-sir?" Snively stuttered from the doorway, glancing around nervously. "D-did you n-need me?"
"Ahhh... Snively, my favorite nephew. Sit down... I need your advice." Robotnik replied as he turned his chair to see Snively standing in the doorway. "I need to ask you something. You may speak freely, without any fear of angering me. However, I diverge. What I must ask you is this: What would you do if I told you that I was considering letting you destroy Knothole Village?"
Snively's heart froze, suspecting a trap. His uncle had never been a such a mood as this. Never in his memory did he remember being offered a chance to do something this big. But...was it a sincere offer, or did it have a condition? "S-s-sir? M-m-me? Destroy Knothole, sir? B-b-but... I thought we don't know where Knothole is…?"
Robotnik chuckled at his nephew's comment. "Yes... We did have that problem at one point, didn't we? Yes, I'm considering letting you destroy Knothole. Void has captured a hedgehog, supposedly Sonic, along with the location of their village. So now, I ask you... Do you want to destroy Knothole? No conditions, no penalties if you fail, only opportunity. You see... Now that we know where they hide, we can strike at any time, whereas they can't."
"Y-y-yes sir! I would be honored!" Snively exclaimed, unable to stop himself. Well, if it was a trap, it was too late now. Best to take it at face value.
Robotnik laughed, slapping Snively on the back. "I'll be plotting evil schemes in the War Room if you need me!" With that, Robotnik stood and walked out of the room.
Snively's head was spinning. This was an actual opportunity... Robotnik really meant what he said. Hearing a hiss of closing security gates and the sounds of a struggle, Snively stood and turned to face Void.
"Let... Me... GO! You creep! I'll tell Tails!" Amy Rose kicked and screamed, punctuating each word with a solid whack of her Piko Piko Hammer, while Void looked to Snively for instruction. Your orders sir? came Void's metallic voice.
Snively grinned maliciously. She wasn't Sonic, but from the sounds of things, Amy would do just as well, if not better. From the sounds of things, he could use Amy as bait to capture Tails, and Tails would serve as bait for Sonic. Oh the rewards that he would get!
"Tails, you say? Not that two tailed freak you keep bottled up in Knothole for fear the world should see him?" Snively droned in a bored voice, carefully watching the captive's reaction.
"Don't you talk about my Tails that way, you evil creep! Where's Robotnik? I demand to be released!" Amy screamed, swiping viciously at Snively with her hammer.
Sidestepping the assault, Snively chuckled inwardly. Yes... This would do just fine. "You demand... How cute. Well, Amy, I'm afraid it can't work that way. You see, the generous Doctor Robotnik has graciously offered me the opportunity to obliterate the little village you scum call home, and I'm not about to let this opportunity go to waste. In fact... I was thinking that you might be willing to help me. From what I hear you saying, you would be willing to help me capture Tails. Wonderful! Then it'll be less painful for me once I get around to roboticizing him! Void! Lock this one in a cage, and bring the cage in here, I feel an evil scheme coming on!"
Amy froze instantly, horrified at Snively's words. Destroy Knothole? Roboticize Tails? "No! I won't let you do this, you... you... you monster!" Amy flailed, lashing out with her hammer. "You can't do this! You can't you can't you can't!"
"Oh but I can, Miss Rose," came Snively's bored reply. "Why are you still here? Can you not follow orders Void? I said get going!" Snively leaned back in his uncle's huge chair. How to carry this out... First, he would send a message to Knothole to try and tempt the freak to come on his own. "Computer! Open communications link with Knothole Village!"
********
Tails poked his head worriedly into Amy's hut. "Amy? You there?" Tails called nervously.
"She's not here." Came Amber's voice from inside. Tails stepped inside to see for himself.
"Amber? Hey... Have you seen Amy? She told me she was gonna wake me up early to show me something but I haven't seen her yet today..." Tails trailed off mid-sentence.
"I think I heard her go out for some fresh air last night, but I haven't seen her since. Sorry Miles." Amber replied, looking out the window.
Tails froze. "What... What did you just say?"
"Huh?"
"You... You just called me... You just called me Miles! No one but Sonic and Sally know my first name! How..." Tails trailed off.
"Miles... You remember what I said when I came here, right?" Amber asked. Tails' only response was a confused nod.
"You said you were looking for someone from your birth village... But..." Tails' eyes opened wide. "Where were you born...?" he asked suspiciously.
Amber's eyes met Tails' as she replied. "In the same hut as you... Brother."
Tails stared at Amber, disbelieving. "But... But... But... How...?" Tails stammered, suddenly realizing why she seemed familiar. "I thought everyone had died when the village was destroyed..."
Amber looked at the floor, purposely averting her eyes, as well as her answer. "So did I..."
Tails stepped closer to Amber, half expecting to wake up from the dream any second. "How... How did you survive?"
"I...had gone out of the village for something, and while I was gone, I heard a terrible sound. I ran back as fast as I could, only to find the whole place in flames... I... I thought everyone had died... I don't really know..." Amber collapsed onto Tails' shoulder, sobbing. "I was so lonely..."
"Tails...? Are... Are you nearby?" Sally's voice drifted in from outside, sounding extremely worried. "Tails...?"
"Sally? What's wrong?" Tails called back, still somewhat stunned from the fact that his sister had seemingly walked out of the mists of death, back into the realm of the living.
"Tails... We're receiving a message from Robotropolis that I think you should see..."
"Alright," he replied. "You coming Amber...sis?" he asked, turning back to Amber, who nodded.
********
Snively grinned maliciously at the assorted Freedom Fighters from his uncle's chair. "Greetings, worthless scum..." he began in a bored drawl, raising his voice over a commotion in the background.
"What does Robotnik want this time? He's not getting the Emeralds, and he definitely can't get rid of us." Tails shot back, before Snively had a chance to say more.
"Oh it's not what he wants this time, freak... Now it's what I want." Snively replied with an annoyed glance at Tails.
"Ah, shut yer trap Sniffles, and crawl back ta the hole ya were born in!" Bunnie interjected.
"My, my, my... Such offensive language. Perhaps you need an incentive to behave... Void!" Snively snapped his fingers, and a clanking of metal on metal was heard before the noise of yelling became clear.
"You monster! Let me go! Tails! Help! He's going to-" Amy's screams were cut short when she collapsed into a heap behind the bars of her cage.
"What did you do to her?" screamed Tails, lunging for the display.
"Tsk, tsk... If you want her, come and get her... Tails." Snively spat the name out like it left a bad aftertaste in his mouth. "Now, down to business. If you ever want to see Miss Rose again, I suggest that you, Tails, come to Robotropolis...alone. If you bring any of your friends, then I might just have to kill them. Understand?"
Tails nodded slowly, his eyes narrowed, anger barely in check. Bunnie and Sally still stood nearby in case he tried to attack the equipment again.
As the projection flickered off, Tails turned for the door, only to be stopped by Amber, who had appeared in front of him, eyes pleading him not to go. Slowly shaking his head, he forced his way around her and sped out of the door as fast as he could go, heading for Robotropolis. His mind raced, millions of possibilities swimming through his head. What if he was too late? What if Snively had killed her...or worse?
As he passed out of the Great Forest, into the wastelands that separated Knothole from Robotropolis, Tails saw the toxic city on the horizon. The only thing he could do right now was pray that he wasn't too late. With Sonic supposedly on vacation, and Knuckles on the Floating Island, he, Tails, was the only one who could possibly save Amy.
********
The sun had long gone down by the time Tails reached Robotropolis, and his doubts were starting to rise. The SWATbots didn't seem to be on patrol, the security gate was down, and even the patrol-bots weren't flying patrol. Tails landed inside the gates, and began making his way to the heart of the city, where Robotnik and Snively oversaw their evil operations. Around the city, the entrance gates slammed shut, locks hissing, but Tails was too worried for Amy to be afraid for himself.
As he arrived at the entrance to Robotnik's headquarters, the door hissed open. Stepping into the building, Tails began to search for the area where Amy was being held. As he turned a corner, he came face to face with a robot that looked almost exactly like Sonic. The robot wordlessly motioned him to follow.
As he followed the robot, Tails took the opportunity to check the rooms they passed for signs of Amy, nearly crashing into the 'bot when it stopped suddenly. Glancing at it, he saw that it was pointing towards the room on their right. Nodding, Tails stepped inside.
"Tails! Look out!" Amy was silenced by a glare from Snively.
"Welcome fox. I see you do care for her after all." Snively droned. "If you want to save her badly enough to have come all this way alone like I asked, then perhaps you're willing to go farther..."
"What do you want Snively?" Tails wasn't in the mood for small talk, let alone Snively's version of it.
"I want to kill you all, but I'm willing to let you supposed friends gather in one place so that it will be easier for me." Snively pressed a button on a small remote, causing the door to shut behind them with a sigh and a hiss of the lock. Another press of the button caused a hole to open in the ceiling and a hollow glass tube to fall on top of Tails. "You see... Dr. Robotnik has offered me the opportunity to destroy Knothole, and I'm not going to have it ruined by the likes of you."
"TAILS!" Amy shrieked, pounding fiercely on the bars of her cage. "NO!"
Snively cackled maliciously, and pressed the remote one more time. Smoke slowly billowed into the capsule, obscuring Snively and Amy's view. Yelling words that had no sound, Tails desperately tried to shatter the container, but to no avail. The glass wouldn't break, and he felt his feet turning to cold metal. The smoke had reached the top of the tube by now, and Tails was starting to feel light-headed. The last thing he heard before he passed out was Snively's maniacal laugh and Amy's scream of defiance.
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Back in Robotropolis, Robotnik gleefully read over the message that was displayed on Void's status panel. Void had found Knothole and captured a hedgehog. Once the robot returned with the hostage, then the fun would begin. Times like this called for celebration.
"SNIVELY! WHERE ARE YOU?" Robotnik called, wondering where his nephew had gotten to this time.
"C-c-c-coming sir!" came the nervous sounding response from nearby. With a smirk, Robotnik sat down in his control chair, malicious plans swirling throughout his brain. What to do first... Roboticize the hedgehog? No, he would have more fun if he held Sonic ransom. But how much would he make the 'Freedom Fighters' pay for their so-called 'Hero?' Perhaps he should let Snively do the honors, a break would be nice.
"Y-y-yes s-sir?" Snively stuttered from the doorway, glancing around nervously. "D-did you n-need me?"
"Ahhh... Snively, my favorite nephew. Sit down... I need your advice." Robotnik replied as he turned his chair to see Snively standing in the doorway. "I need to ask you something. You may speak freely, without any fear of angering me. However, I diverge. What I must ask you is this: What would you do if I told you that I was considering letting you destroy Knothole Village?"
Snively's heart froze, suspecting a trap. His uncle had never been a such a mood as this. Never in his memory did he remember being offered a chance to do something this big. But...was it a sincere offer, or did it have a condition? "S-s-sir? M-m-me? Destroy Knothole, sir? B-b-but... I thought we don't know where Knothole is…?"
Robotnik chuckled at his nephew's comment. "Yes... We did have that problem at one point, didn't we? Yes, I'm considering letting you destroy Knothole. Void has captured a hedgehog, supposedly Sonic, along with the location of their village. So now, I ask you... Do you want to destroy Knothole? No conditions, no penalties if you fail, only opportunity. You see... Now that we know where they hide, we can strike at any time, whereas they can't."
"Y-y-yes sir! I would be honored!" Snively exclaimed, unable to stop himself. Well, if it was a trap, it was too late now. Best to take it at face value.
Robotnik laughed, slapping Snively on the back. "I'll be plotting evil schemes in the War Room if you need me!" With that, Robotnik stood and walked out of the room.
Snively's head was spinning. This was an actual opportunity... Robotnik really meant what he said. Hearing a hiss of closing security gates and the sounds of a struggle, Snively stood and turned to face Void.
"Let... Me... GO! You creep! I'll tell Tails!" Amy Rose kicked and screamed, punctuating each word with a solid whack of her Piko Piko Hammer, while Void looked to Snively for instruction. Your orders sir? came Void's metallic voice.
Snively grinned maliciously. She wasn't Sonic, but from the sounds of things, Amy would do just as well, if not better. From the sounds of things, he could use Amy as bait to capture Tails, and Tails would serve as bait for Sonic. Oh the rewards that he would get!
"Tails, you say? Not that two tailed freak you keep bottled up in Knothole for fear the world should see him?" Snively droned in a bored voice, carefully watching the captive's reaction.
"Don't you talk about my Tails that way, you evil creep! Where's Robotnik? I demand to be released!" Amy screamed, swiping viciously at Snively with her hammer.
Sidestepping the assault, Snively chuckled inwardly. Yes... This would do just fine. "You demand... How cute. Well, Amy, I'm afraid it can't work that way. You see, the generous Doctor Robotnik has graciously offered me the opportunity to obliterate the little village you scum call home, and I'm not about to let this opportunity go to waste. In fact... I was thinking that you might be willing to help me. From what I hear you saying, you would be willing to help me capture Tails. Wonderful! Then it'll be less painful for me once I get around to roboticizing him! Void! Lock this one in a cage, and bring the cage in here, I feel an evil scheme coming on!"
Amy froze instantly, horrified at Snively's words. Destroy Knothole? Roboticize Tails? "No! I won't let you do this, you... you... you monster!" Amy flailed, lashing out with her hammer. "You can't do this! You can't you can't you can't!"
"Oh but I can, Miss Rose," came Snively's bored reply. "Why are you still here? Can you not follow orders Void? I said get going!" Snively leaned back in his uncle's huge chair. How to carry this out... First, he would send a message to Knothole to try and tempt the freak to come on his own. "Computer! Open communications link with Knothole Village!"
********
Tails poked his head worriedly into Amy's hut. "Amy? You there?" Tails called nervously.
"She's not here." Came Amber's voice from inside. Tails stepped inside to see for himself.
"Amber? Hey... Have you seen Amy? She told me she was gonna wake me up early to show me something but I haven't seen her yet today..." Tails trailed off mid-sentence.
"I think I heard her go out for some fresh air last night, but I haven't seen her since. Sorry Miles." Amber replied, looking out the window.
Tails froze. "What... What did you just say?"
"Huh?"
"You... You just called me... You just called me Miles! No one but Sonic and Sally know my first name! How..." Tails trailed off.
"Miles... You remember what I said when I came here, right?" Amber asked. Tails' only response was a confused nod.
"You said you were looking for someone from your birth village... But..." Tails' eyes opened wide. "Where were you born...?" he asked suspiciously.
Amber's eyes met Tails' as she replied. "In the same hut as you... Brother."
Tails stared at Amber, disbelieving. "But... But... But... How...?" Tails stammered, suddenly realizing why she seemed familiar. "I thought everyone had died when the village was destroyed..."
Amber looked at the floor, purposely averting her eyes, as well as her answer. "So did I..."
Tails stepped closer to Amber, half expecting to wake up from the dream any second. "How... How did you survive?"
"I...had gone out of the village for something, and while I was gone, I heard a terrible sound. I ran back as fast as I could, only to find the whole place in flames... I... I thought everyone had died... I don't really know..." Amber collapsed onto Tails' shoulder, sobbing. "I was so lonely..."
"Tails...? Are... Are you nearby?" Sally's voice drifted in from outside, sounding extremely worried. "Tails...?"
"Sally? What's wrong?" Tails called back, still somewhat stunned from the fact that his sister had seemingly walked out of the mists of death, back into the realm of the living.
"Tails... We're receiving a message from Robotropolis that I think you should see..."
"Alright," he replied. "You coming Amber...sis?" he asked, turning back to Amber, who nodded.
********
Snively grinned maliciously at the assorted Freedom Fighters from his uncle's chair. "Greetings, worthless scum..." he began in a bored drawl, raising his voice over a commotion in the background.
"What does Robotnik want this time? He's not getting the Emeralds, and he definitely can't get rid of us." Tails shot back, before Snively had a chance to say more.
"Oh it's not what he wants this time, freak... Now it's what I want." Snively replied with an annoyed glance at Tails.
"Ah, shut yer trap Sniffles, and crawl back ta the hole ya were born in!" Bunnie interjected.
"My, my, my... Such offensive language. Perhaps you need an incentive to behave... Void!" Snively snapped his fingers, and a clanking of metal on metal was heard before the noise of yelling became clear.
"You monster! Let me go! Tails! Help! He's going to-" Amy's screams were cut short when she collapsed into a heap behind the bars of her cage.
"What did you do to her?" screamed Tails, lunging for the display.
"Tsk, tsk... If you want her, come and get her... Tails." Snively spat the name out like it left a bad aftertaste in his mouth. "Now, down to business. If you ever want to see Miss Rose again, I suggest that you, Tails, come to Robotropolis...alone. If you bring any of your friends, then I might just have to kill them. Understand?"
Tails nodded slowly, his eyes narrowed, anger barely in check. Bunnie and Sally still stood nearby in case he tried to attack the equipment again.
As the projection flickered off, Tails turned for the door, only to be stopped by Amber, who had appeared in front of him, eyes pleading him not to go. Slowly shaking his head, he forced his way around her and sped out of the door as fast as he could go, heading for Robotropolis. His mind raced, millions of possibilities swimming through his head. What if he was too late? What if Snively had killed her...or worse?
As he passed out of the Great Forest, into the wastelands that separated Knothole from Robotropolis, Tails saw the toxic city on the horizon. The only thing he could do right now was pray that he wasn't too late. With Sonic supposedly on vacation, and Knuckles on the Floating Island, he, Tails, was the only one who could possibly save Amy.
********
The sun had long gone down by the time Tails reached Robotropolis, and his doubts were starting to rise. The SWATbots didn't seem to be on patrol, the security gate was down, and even the patrol-bots weren't flying patrol. Tails landed inside the gates, and began making his way to the heart of the city, where Robotnik and Snively oversaw their evil operations. Around the city, the entrance gates slammed shut, locks hissing, but Tails was too worried for Amy to be afraid for himself.
As he arrived at the entrance to Robotnik's headquarters, the door hissed open. Stepping into the building, Tails began to search for the area where Amy was being held. As he turned a corner, he came face to face with a robot that looked almost exactly like Sonic. The robot wordlessly motioned him to follow.
As he followed the robot, Tails took the opportunity to check the rooms they passed for signs of Amy, nearly crashing into the 'bot when it stopped suddenly. Glancing at it, he saw that it was pointing towards the room on their right. Nodding, Tails stepped inside.
"Tails! Look out!" Amy was silenced by a glare from Snively.
"Welcome fox. I see you do care for her after all." Snively droned. "If you want to save her badly enough to have come all this way alone like I asked, then perhaps you're willing to go farther..."
"What do you want Snively?" Tails wasn't in the mood for small talk, let alone Snively's version of it.
"I want to kill you all, but I'm willing to let you supposed friends gather in one place so that it will be easier for me." Snively pressed a button on a small remote, causing the door to shut behind them with a sigh and a hiss of the lock. Another press of the button caused a hole to open in the ceiling and a hollow glass tube to fall on top of Tails. "You see... Dr. Robotnik has offered me the opportunity to destroy Knothole, and I'm not going to have it ruined by the likes of you."
"TAILS!" Amy shrieked, pounding fiercely on the bars of her cage. "NO!"
Snively cackled maliciously, and pressed the remote one more time. Smoke slowly billowed into the capsule, obscuring Snively and Amy's view. Yelling words that had no sound, Tails desperately tried to shatter the container, but to no avail. The glass wouldn't break, and he felt his feet turning to cold metal. The smoke had reached the top of the tube by now, and Tails was starting to feel light-headed. The last thing he heard before he passed out was Snively's maniacal laugh and Amy's scream of defiance.