SEGA Timeline: Between "Sonic Triple Trouble/Sonic & Tails 2" and "Sonic Drift 2"

Chapter 4: SEGA Sonic's POV

"Sally!"

I watched as Cyber Sonic grabbed Cyber Sally in a hug that could probably rival Amy's, a tear brimming in his organic eye. "I thought you were dead!"

Sally hugged back. "I thought you were too!"

Wait, let me back up a little. After me and that other Sonic had rescued Cyber Sally, we had searched for our comrades on the lower levels of Robo-Robotnik's fortress and found them fighting for their lives against hundreds of Shadow Swatbots. We had retreated and brought Sally and several wounded Sonics back to the dimension where Cyber Sonic had taken refuge. Now they were having this happy reunion.

He let go and a worried look appeared on his face. "What about the other Freedom Fighters?"

"I don't know, Sonic. I haven't seen them since Robo-Robotnik attacked us..."

Cyber Sonic sighed wistfully and shook his head.

I decided to leave those two to it and find some reinforcements to replace those too injured to fight. We were running out of time to find the Giant's Hand.

I strolled right up to the crowd of Sonics that had stayed in this world just in case and grinned. "So...who's up for some alien-weapon-of-great-power hunting?"

I unrolled the map that Robotnik had entrusted me with and glanced at it every so often to make sure we were on the right track. The last thing me and the other Sonics wanted to do was to get lost in the Cosmic Interstate.

The road signs weren't helping at all. Among other things, they often just said something crazy like, 'Speed Limit: still 74,656 light yrs. per hr.'

I looked ahead and saw a vaguely familiar fork in the road. Three paths branched off to the left while two branched off to the right. In-between was a strangely black-and-white void. Two signposts stood nearby.

Then I remembered and skidded to a halt. Several grunts and cries escaped the mouths of my companions as they all crashed into me.

After a few moments, one recovered enough to ask, "What's wrong? Why the sudden stop?"

"If you'd watch where we're going," I replied, "you'd see for yourselves!"

They stared at the five paths, puzzled.

"Now what? Do we beat feet this way..."

"...or thataway?"

"Huh?"

"Maybe we should split up."

"Nah! That trick never works."

I unfurled the map and gazed at it. The five-way fork and void were reproduced on a section of the map. An arrow and the words 'to Neutral Zone' were printed right next to the void.

"According to Robotnik's map, we head thataway." I pointed to the space and turned to the others. "Only there is no 'thataway!' Just a big empty space! A colourless void."

I glanced at the map again and thought. "Hmmm... Robotnik did claim this route ran along the border of the Neutral Zone."

"Yeah?"

"So?"

I rolled up the map, looked out at the black-and-white space and walked towards the edge of it, ignoring the sign that said 'Point of No Return'. "So sometimes you've gotta take..."

I lifted my left foot...

"...a leap of faith."

...and placed it into the void onto invisible yet solid ground.

I took another step, then another, then another until I was way out in the void. I looked down at myself and saw that my body had become colourless as well.

I turned 'round and motioned to the others. "Well? What are you waiting for? Let's go!"

Somewhat reluctantly, they followed.

We didn't dare run for fear that, if we did, we would go over the edge of the invisible ground. Some Sonics found though that if they jumped, they would safely float back down as slowly as a feather.

Eventually, we found ourselves conversing with one another to alleiviate the boredom and the tension. I, myself, started talking with another ordinary Sonic. This one hadn't help me rescue Cyber Sally but he had assisted me during the retreat by carrying those who had been hurt.

"Doesn't Robo-Robotnik know the meaning of variety?" I joked, "Why does he use only one type of robot?"

"There's probably more. I'm surprised we didn't see any other cyborgs or even Workerbots in Robuttnik's base."

"Workerbots?"

"People who have been turned into robots."

Oh, a kind of Badnik, I thought. "Well, no biggie; if we'd met any, we'd have freed them easily!"

"Freed them? How? We didn't have any Power Rings."

"I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have needed them; for the Workerbots, that is. Badniks tend to have a bad aim."

"What are you talking about? Rings are what give Workerbots their free will back! And what aim? They don't have any weapons!"

"...Uh, aren't Workerbots Badniks?"

"No! And what is a Badnik anyway?"

"Er, Badniks are robots that use living animals for batteries."

"Say what!"

"...What I mean is that the Robotnik in my universe encases living beings in robots; their life energy acts like a battery."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute... you mean, in your world, Robuttnik traps people inside robots so they'll give juice to his machines?"

"Well, yeah. Don't Workerbots have people imprisoned inside them?"

"Uh, no. Where I come from, my Robotnik doesn't trap people inside robots; he transforms them into robots!"

My jaw dropped. "Really?"

"Really."

Oh man... How low could any Robotnik go?

I thought about this for a while then asked, "...You can't free Workerbots, can you? Turn 'em back, I mean?"

"No but me and my friends are working on a machine that will change them back. For now, all we can do is use a Power Ring on the Workerbots to free their minds." He looked a little sad for a moment there so I didn't question him further. Besides, I was way too shocked. Turned into a robot...and I thought being imprisoned inside one was bad!

Just then, I saw something up ahead and it didn't take an IQ of 300 to realize what it was. "There it is! The Giant's Hand!"

A large, folded, metal glove floated in the air before us, its colour currently matching that of the Neutral Zone. It was as big as my head (including quills) and adorned with gems at the joints. Picking it up, I was surprised to find that it was lighter then it looked. The others gathered 'round.

"I wonder if a real giant once wore it?"

"I wonder what it does?" I said to nobody in particular.

"You'll find out soon enough, blue boy...the hard way!"

With a pow, someone knocked me and a few other Sonics off our feet, grabbing the Giant's Hand and making a run for it!

I barely had time to recover before someone shouted, "Incoming!" and lasers flashed all around us.

"Hey!"

"Who?"

My question wasn't unanswered for long as the thief screeched to a stop on a piece of road right next to some familiar robots.

"It's our evil twin! And an army of Robo-Robotnik's Shadow Swatbots!"

Evil Sonic sneered. "Correct-o-mundo, goodie-two-shoes! Nice to see you again...not!"

He waved mockingly. Now that it was not in the Neutral Zone anymore, the Giant's Hand was a dull grey-greenish colour, jewels and all.

"You owe me big for the trouble you got me into with Robo back there! Unlucky for you, he decided to give me another chance." He jabbed a thumb at the Shadow Swatbots. "And once these black metal jacket types have done their thing, I'll be the one and only Sonic!"

The Sonic that I had been talking with glared. He ran across the void back onto the road and zipped past Evil Sonic, making him spin around and around. "Not so fast, shades! 'Cause, in case you've forgotten, we're all Sonic!"

That was our cue to rock 'em and sock 'em. We ran across the void and attacked the Shadow Swatbots with everything we had.

However, Evil Sonic took advantage of our preoccupation and tried to run for it. "Ha! Your buddies can swat my 'bots but the Giant's hand and I are headed back to home base!"

I was going to give chase but that other Sonic did it for me. "You and it aren't going anywhere..."

He passed Evil Sonic...

"...except down..."

...stuck his foot out...

"...and out!"

...and tripped him, forcing him to drop the Giant's Hand, which skidded to a stop a few feet away from them.

He picked up Evil Sonic by the scruff of his jacket, who simply leered. "Smooth move! You may have me..."

The Giant's hand started glowing.

"...but Robo's computer sensors have targeted..."

It suddenly disappeared!

"...and teleported the hand...right into his clutches! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

The look on that other Sonic's face was one of pure horror as he stared at the spot where the Giant's Hand had been mere seconds ago. I moaned loudly in an attempt to disguise my true feelings, which were that of fear. "Now what are we going to do?"