Aria: Hello, everyone! I've finished Part Six now, so Part Five is ready and rarin' to go!

Twister: -is sitting far off, flicking his tail angrily- ...

Aria: Ignore him. He's mad about how stupid he was acting last time, just as I predicted.

Twister: You had no right to take a picture!

Aria: Sure I did. I'm the authoress and the hand that feeds you. So, stop complaining. At least the fairies aren't here to tease you about it.

Twister: -growls- Your pet fireflies are the last people I want around me.

Aria: -sticks her tongue out at him- Grump-butt. Anyway, thanks to Crocgirl13, Crystalstorm 21, and Sally Acorn. He'll tell them eventually, Crocgirl13; I can assure you of that. I'm glad you don't mind the wait, Crystalstorm21. I hate to disappoint others. Thanks for the compliments, Sally Acorn. -smiles happily- Gee, I didn't know that. I hope that's optional, or I'd have to edit a LOT of work! Ugh...I can just imagine how long that would take...

Twister: So stop imagining it. Start the story!

Aria: Alright! I'm starting it! I'm starting it! -snaps her fingers-

(Disclaimer: Aria Zephyr does not own Sonic the Hedgehog or any related material)

Aria Zephyr Proudly Presents...

A Matter of Life or Speed:

An Archie Sonic Fanfiction

Part Five: Perils

About a month and a half later, far to the southwest of Robotropolis, the small group was creeping stealthily in the bushes alongside a worn dirt road. "Ugh! What eez that 'orrible smell?" Antoine complained, covering his nose with his arm. "That's the smell of sulfur and methane gases coming from the swamp," Rotor said, peering slightly over the edge of his bush. "Stay down!" Sally hissed. "There might be security drones!" "Aunt Sally, I'm cold an' dirty an' tired," Tails whimpered pitifully. "You're the one who wanted to come along so much," Sonic whispered. "I didn't think we'd be walking so much or that I wouldn't be able to fly..." Tails said. "Boys!" Bunnie scolded.

Her voice was slightly louder than she meant it to be and all of them stiffened as her shout echoed around the area. "Don't move unless I say 'now'..." Sally mumbled. Suddenly, they heard a buzzing sound in the distance. "Run for the swamp! Now!" Sally said as loud as she dared. Without a moment's hesitation, they all ran into the mucky fen.

They all faced different problems as they all entered the swamp. Bunnie made a loud squishing sound as she ran into the mire and immediately started sinking. Antoine wrinkled his nose in disgust and straight away tripped over a tree root and fell into the sludge. The laces of Tails's sneakers became weighted down with mud and Sonic had to help him retie them after the fox boy tripped. Sally tried tugging at a long vine to help Bunnie, but she pulled too hard and fell backwards. Rotor had the best luck out of the entire group, as his wide flippers acted somewhat like snowshoes on snowdrifts and allowed him to stand on the thick mud.

Sonic pushed Tails into a tree and went over to help the others. Sally had gotten up and was now scraping mud off herself, though much of it still clung to her fur in clumps. Antoine was struggling to free himself from the viscous mud and Bunnie didn't look at all happy with mud up to her hips. Sonic pulled Antoine out of the mud as Sally threw the vine to Bunnie, who tied it on at once. Once Rotor and Sally had pulled Bunnie out of the muck, Tails's ears pricked and he looked in the direction from which they had come.

"What is it, Tails?" Sally asked. Tails kept looking until his eyes widened. "SWAT bots!" he yelped. "Oh no!" Bunnie gasped. "Sally-girl, what are we gonna do?!" Sally looked around them and observed that Tails was hiding in a tree. That gave her an idea. "Everyone in the trees! NOW!" Sally ordered.

Bunnie quickly picked out a seemingly sturdy tree and used her robotic arm to haul herself into it. Sonic scrambled up Tails's tree and Tails immediately clung to him in fright. Sally shoved a petrified Antoine into a tree and climbed up another one. Poor Rotor... His fins might have been useful against the mud, but they were useless for climbing trees. As they all saw the SWAT bots approaching, Bunnie grabbed Rotor and put him in a tree.

They all held their breath and stared in alarm at the SWAT bots as they peered into the dank bog. With much difficulty, they entered the quagmire.

They all peered in alarm at the robots, keeping themselves as well-hidden as they could. Bunnie was almost thankful for the mud that disguised her metal parts. At the front of the SWAT bot group was a slightly larger SWAT bot with gold-painted insignias on it. "Spread out and search! Find the intruders!" it ordered the others in a robotic monotone. Everyone froze in his or her tree as the robots began to spread out into the bog. However, having taken a few steps into the murk, every one of the robots became trapped in the thick mud. Sally shot a glance at Sonic, which clearly read: "Maybe they'll give up and go away now."

After the robots struggled for a good five minutes, the head SWAT bot ordered, "STOP!" The robots in the troop froze. "Turn on jet packs!" it commanded. The group in the trees watched with anxiety as the robots rose out of the mud via jet packs that were strapped to their backs. Powerful gushes of air were used to do the job and soon every single SWAT bot was freed. "Continue search of Sector E7!" the head SWAT bot ordered. The robots began their search.

The SWAT bot troop diligently and meticulously searched the area, leaving no stone unturned and no bush uninvestigated. Luckily, they didn't bother to look into the thick foliage of the trees. After what seemed like forever, the head SWAT bot finally ordered, "No intruders found in Sector E7. Report back to base immediately." At the order, the troop formed an organized unit and marched off.

Everyone gave a unanimous sigh of relief. One by one, they all dropped out of the trees and onto the spreading roots of each tree. "That was a fright! I nevah want that to happen again!" Bunnie said, shuddering. "Aunt Sally!" Tails said, flying over to her. "SWAT bots aren't supposed to fly!" Sally patted his head with a shaking hand. "I know, Tails. This hasn't happened before," she said. "Vhat are ve going to do eef the SWAT bots can fly?" Antoine said, shaking his head. "Swat them?" Rotor half-joked. Suddenly, something heavy thumped to the earth behind them. They all froze, and slowly turned to see...

"Gee! You guys are really are hard to follow, ya know? Especially since it's so hard for a big girl like me to hide in those teeny-weeny bushes you all hid in!" Dulcy said, brushing bits of bracken off her scales. Everyone relaxed. Dulcy noticed and asked, "Hey, did I miss something?" Tails launched into telling her about the "big scary SWAT bots" that "snuck up behind them" and they "barely had any time to avoid them." While they were conversing about that, the others were discussing what they should do about the SWAT bots' new appendage.

"This could really pose a big problem for us in the future," Sally said anxiously. "What if Robotnik could make them actually fly?!" she said with a look of horror on her face. "Calm down, Sally," Rotor said reassuringly. "Even though Robotnik was able to give the SWAT bots the ability to hover by using attached jet-packs, it would be extremely hard for him to create many mass-produced SWAT bots that could fly as easily as any bird. They're simply too dense and not aerodynamic enough for it," he explained. "We can't just assume that because the SWAT bots can't fly Robotnik won't try," Sonic said. "This is a war, after all. We have to expect the worst all the time," he stated bluntly. "Sonique eez right," Antoine said. "For once," he added. Sonic snorted in slight annoyance. "So, Sally-girl, it seems like we need ta shut down that ol' energy core now, don't it?" Bunnie said softly. Sally sighed wearily and said, "Yes. We don't have any other choice."

After progressing slowly and cautiously through the swamp for hours on end, the small band reached a part of the swamp that wasn't so muddy and damp. The ground was much drier and harder and thick undergrowth covered the ground and made any advance difficult. The trees were different from those within the dank swamp; these were rough-barked hardwoods, tall and with heavy layers of foliage, blocking out any light that could have filtered through the thick smoke from the nearby energy core.

"Hey, there's something through those trees!" Tails hissed suddenly. Everyone jolted in surprise at his unexpected exclamation, but when they investigated, the tall, metallic walls of the energy core loomed not far away. "We're here," Sally whispered. Whether her voice held an inflection of terror or awe, no one could tell.

Quotes from Part Six: Infiltration

"The core will be the most difficult challenge."

"Tails and I will have to count on Sonic to get us out of there."

"It's that core and our lives we have to worry about now. We're going to need all the luck we can get."

Aria: I'll bet everyone's wondering what they're going to do now. Oh well...they'll just have to wait until I finish Part Seven.

Twister: -yawns- ...and if you're playing your cards right, that'll be the most dramatic one yet.

Aria: -turns red- Ack! Twister! I haven't even written Part Seven yet! How can you say that?!

Twister: -scratches his ear- Easy... I did help you with Part Six and I can tell by the way it ends out.

Aria: Smart Alec. We shall see!

Twister: Durn tootin'.

Aria: -sweatdrop!- Okay...I'd better go. He's starting to talk like a redneck and it's scaring me. Hope everyone liked the latest installment! Please read and review! -vanishes with muse into whirlwinds-