1 year earlier

Sally winced as Speed ran a skin regenerator over her shoulder, "How do you know how to do this?"

"In my line of work, knowing how to patch up a bullet wound is a needed skill." He shut off the small black device, "Your just lucky the bullet didn't hit your bone and went straight through."

"Don't feel that lucky! What do you do for a living anyway?"

Speed said nothing as he wrapped up her shoulder. As he finished and returned the equipment to his medkit, "Your shoulder should be back to normal in a few days."

Sally stood up from the bench she had sat down on and grabbed her cloak, "Thank you!" She started to walk away, then stopped, "You still want that drink?"

"No! Thanks!" Speed tossed the kit into his backpack and grabbed his dirty brown robe, "You have a place to stay."

"Not sure! I was planning on camping out or finding an inn."

"The tavern here isn't worth eating in. Let alone sleeping. I have a camp ground near here." Sally nodded and followed him to his campsite. It was hidden by thick bushes and trees. A green tent was the only indication that someone was even sleeping here. Speed pointed to a small clearing a few feet away, "You can set up there."

"Thank you!"

The next morning, Sally woke up to find Speed packing up his campsite, "Leaving?"

"I never stay in one place very long. Shoulder alright?"

"It is fine!"

Speed nodded and tossed his huge backpack onto his back like it weighed nothing, "Take care!"

"Where are you headed?" Sally walked to him, "I have no set destination and your the first nice person I've met."

"I am far from nice. And your being very trusting to ask to travel with a stranger."

"I know, but I sense I can trust you."

Speed shrugged, "Sure!"

A week later, the two saw a huge pillar of smoke rising into the night sky from behind several trees. They ran through the trees and stopped at the site they saw. A large village was on fire as a squad of Swatbots herded the villagers to the center. Sally started to run toward the village, but Speed was quick to grab her arm, "Are you crazy? There must be twelve Swatbots out there. Do you want to be robotized?"

"We can't just leave them to Robotnik."

"What can we do? How can we help?"

Sally sighed, "I don't know."

Speed let go of her arm, "This kind of stuff happens all the time. No sense in us getting robotized too."

"Your right!" Sally walked past him and back toward the forest.

Speed looked at her, then back to the burning village, "Can you get to one of their pods?"

"Yeah! I can flyone too."

Speed sighed, "Go! I will handle the bots."

"How?"

"Just go!" Sally nodded and ran around the village. Speed tossed off his backpack and robe. He opened the pack and pulled out a black box. He typed a code into the small keypad and the box opened. Speed pulled out a small gun belt and put it on. He took a large black blaster pistol from it and put it into the holster on his right hip. He pulled out three silver and black daggers and closed the box. He hid his stuff and slipped the daggers into the belt, "Not much! But I can't risk calling in for more weapons." He curled into a ball and spun around to pick up speed.

Six of the Swatbots stood guarding the prisoners, three were searching for any other mammals, and the last three were guarding the portable Roboticizer and the small tech droid that ran it. Their four hoverpods were being guarded by a pair of Swatcycles. One of the six guarding the mammals, looked up from the laser cage holding them and looked around, "Sensors detecting super sonic energy!" The other bots readied their laser rifles and scanned the area, "Probability of Sonic the Hedgehog, Ninety-three percent." A green ball shot from the village and blasted through the chest of one Swatbot. Speed uncurled and landed his feet into another one. The bot fell back and landed against the cage. The red beams shocked the bot with energy and Speed jumped off as it exploded. He soared forward and slammed his fist into a bot's head. The domed head fell off the bot and the body fell down. Speed stood waiting as the last three surrounded him and aimed their rifles, "Hostile unknown! Surrender in the name of Lord Robotnik!"

Speed drew his blaster and blasted one of the bots in the head, "No!" The two bots fired their rifles, but Speed jumped up and tossed two of his daggers. Each one hit a bot in the red visor on its head and exploded. The people in the cage cheered as Speed turned the cage off, "Run for the forest." Speed waited until everyone had gotten away, before he turned to hunt the other bots down.

Sally snuck up to a giant boulder and peered over it. The four hoverpods were sitting on the ground. The only bots were the Swatcycles and they suddenly lifted off and flew over the village. She figured it was because Speed was causing a commotion. She ran to one of the pods and used her computer, Nicole to open the hatch. She looked around, "Hope Speed can hold on!" She ran to the control panel and activated the self-destruct program. She linked the four pods together and set the program to detonate at her command. She ran out of the pod and went to find Speed.

The two Swatcycles flew over the village, scanning for the hostile target, "Thermal Scanners efficiency down to twelve percent. Smoke preventing Bio Scanners scan. Switching to visual and audio sensors. Large object flying from the ground." A wooden cart smashed into one of the bots. The hit bot crashed into ground and exploded, "Target located!"

Speed chuckled and waved for the bot to attack, "Come on! I don't have all day." He failed to notice the Swatbot behind him and it blasted him in the back with its laser rifle. Speed fell to the ground as smoke rose from his back, "Damn! Must be getting soft!" The bot was quickly joined by two others and both them and the Swatcycle opened fire. Speed rolled to dodge most of the shots.

Sally ran to the scene and saw the gang up on Speed, 'Hope I am a more important target.' "Hey Swatheads!"

The bots turned and their visors flashed red, "Priority one target confirmed. Threat Analysis, twenty-three percent." The Swatcycle and one of the bots broke off their attack and went after her.

"Crap!" Sally took off!

Speed laid on the ground. Because of the fire, the bots weren't able to confirm whither he was alive or dead. Deep within his mind and body, he could feel a dark energy growing. A rage and anger he had never felt before came to life and energy whipped around his body. His crimson eyes glowed, "Worthless pieces of metal!" He pushed himself up and shot forward. He smashed his fist into one of the bots and ripped out it's power core. Before it even his the ground, Speed lunged at the other and ripped the last one's head off. He laughed as the bots fell to the ground, "This power! This power is mine!"

Sally wished she had thought her plan through a little more clearly. The red and white Swatcycle flew just behind her and fired its twin blaster cannons. The squirrel managed to dodge and duck into a burning hut. She ditched her cloak so she was down to her blue boots and vest. The Swatcycle flew around the building, waiting for a target. The Swatbot ran up and walked into the hut. The roof was ablaze and it was only a short time before it collapsed. The bot scanned the one room hut, but couldn't pick anything up. Furniture was tossed around and the heat dulled it's sensor range. Sally for her part was hiding underneath a table that had been tossed aside. She waited for the bot to step more into the hut, then she ran for the door. The bot spun around and fired, but Sally was out the door. The Swatcycle flew around and hovered in front of the squirrel. It single v-shaped spotlight turned on and Sally was blinded. She counted to five, then dropped to the ground. Both the Swatbot and the Swatcycle had opened fire and had blasted each other. Sally pushed herself up and sat down, "Thank the heavens, Robotnik didn't make these things smart." She heard a large explosion near the center of the village. She ignored the collapsing huts and ran to it. She found Speed standing in front of the destroyed Roboticizer. The Swatbots and Techbot looked like he had ripped them apart. She slowly walked up to him, "Speed!"

"Stay back!" He dropped to one knee and his breathing got heavy.

"Whats wrong?"

"I am a cursed man! I grow stronger when I fight, but I slowly lose control. It has cost me so much."

"Is that why you were drinking when I found you?"

Speed slowly nodded his head, "It helped keep me calm." His breathing had slowed down.

Sally once again started to walk to him, but she stopped when she saw a plane burst out of the forest. Black and red, with short wings and a cluster of weapons on it's nose, "A Stealthbot! It must have been waiting to see if The Freedom Fighters tried anything." The plane's engines roared to life and it flew over the village. Sally had to cover her ears as it past over. It flew high into the air and turned around. Sally pulled on Speed's shoulder, "It is going to attack!" The Stealthbot shot toward the village and its heavy blaster cannons opened fire. Red energy exploded on impact with the ground. Speed snapped to life as the blaster fire neared them and picked Sally up. He shot forward at high speed. Sally was surprised, but she managed to pull her small computer from her boot and direct Speed to ran past the pods she had rigged. Speed led the Stealthbot past the pods and as the bot flew over them, Sally activated the self-destruct. The four pods exploded and took the Stealthbot with them. Speed ran through the forest and stopped where he had ditched their stuff. He set Sally down, "Thanks!" Speed slowly nodded and sat down. Thunder sounded around them and it started to rain, "Talk about timing!" She was going to run for cover, but Speed just sat there in the grass. She knelt down in front of him, "Are you going to be alright?" Speed said nothing. Sally put her hand under his chin and raised his eyes to hers, "Are you going to be alright?" For a second, nothing happened, but then the two found themselves kissing each other. It wasn't a passionate kiss, just a simple one. After almost a minute, Sally pulled back, 'Did I start that?'

Speed's eyes turned from crimson to cobalt blue for a few seconds, before returning to their crimson color. He shook his head and stood up, "Lets get out of the rain!"

"Sure!"