Chapter 9

The sun barely crested over the horizon as the lone lady wolf perused the vast plains that lie just outside of the Great Forest. Her yellow eyes narrowed as a cloaked figure moved quietly back toward the confines of the metallic city once more. Clenching her fist and gritting lupine teeth, Lupe silently cursed her inability to act on her suspicions. Knothole had a strict non-aggression pact toward other Mobians, regardless of intent. It was a holdover from when Robotnik was still an existential threat to all life on Mobius.

In the Great Unknown, he would be brought before the whole Wolf Pack and dealt with accordingly. I don't suffer those who skulk about in the darkness! Still, I have to trust in Princess Sally's judgment if she is to be the future leader of her people. Maybe we could stand to learn something from her example...

With an exaggerated huff, she began to trail the figure to the coordinates provided earlier, careful to not give away her position.

–

The streets of Robotropolis were suspiciously vacant as the chipmunk and hedgehog sped into view, with the gray she-wolf waved them down. Sonic took one look at the gaping hole as he set down his companion and immediately began tapping his foot anxiously. "I'm telling ya Sal, if he wants us to trust him, he's gotta work on his people skills!"

"Is that so? Maybe there's a good reason that he chose to hide out in enemy territory this entire time. You ever thought of that?" The blue one shook his head at the accusation as he lowered a rope held in place with a metal spike further into the abyss.

"I don't think about things I've already made my mind up about! That guy's no good if he's just coming out of the woodwork after everything we went through!" He caught her folding her arms with a stern expression... A "Sally" classic.

"I can see why he singled you out then. You're proving him right, you know!" Sally gave the spike a few more strikes with the heel of her boot to further secure it and pulled the loop taut.

"Sal! That cuts deep!" Sonic mockingly stabbed at his heart, which just caused the chipmunk to roll her eyes into the back of her head with an exaggerated groan.

"Just...keep your mind on the mission at hand. Both of you are my backup in case things go sideways." Lupe moved alongside the princess as shot her a sly glance as she stretched her claws.

"If your 'secret admirer' makes any strange movements, he won't be a threat anymore. That's a Wolf Pack promise." Fishing out three red night-vision goggles out of her pack, Sally could only give the she-wolf a look of noted concern through a furrowed brow. "I do hope that your intuition's right this time, Princess." One by one, the group lowered themselves into the darkness of the sewer system below...

–

"What a place to hide out from Ro-butt-nik! Maybe we should've considered moving here!" Sally was quick to hush the hedgehog as the group followed the only path left intact. They both held flashlights aimed toward the ground, taking care to only light their way forward without drawing attention. Lupe's nose wrinkled as she fought past the stench of the underground passageway to follow the scent of her target, keeping a few feet ahead of the pair close behind.

"Something's off, Sonic. He said he'd meet me right at the coordinates in the letter, but he's still nowhere to be seen. We have to be ready for anything down here..." Shining his light toward his other half, a familiar look of pained worry was written all over her face.

Brushing auburn hair out of her eyes, she once again perused a cloth map made up of the tunnels. Nicole had gone to great pains to compile it, since she would not be joining them this time. "The path diverges here... If we follow the left hand passageway, we'll find where the pipes converge at the pump station for this district."

As her eyes peered upwards toward her companion, she immediately realized that Sonic was distracted by a flow of an unknown purple liquid that seeped through the passageways. Pinching his nose, he replied "That's probably where the stench is comin' from! Smells worse than Lower Mobius on a -bad- day!" Another series of hushes greeted the hedgehog as he shrugged and just as soon stopped dead in his tracks, cupping an ear in one hand. "Whoa... Lupe, didja hear that too?", he whispered to the she-wolf.

"Oh, now we're being quiet." Sally sharply interjected as she too listened carefully, only to cover her ears as a loud screech sounded out throughout the dark tunnels! Two pairs of yellow eyes glared out from the darkness with an equal number of tails sparking with electricity waving close behind. "Robo Rats? Here!?"

Lupe and Sonic silently nodded to each other and turned to the chipmunk,who met their stern look with confusion. The blue hedgehog was the first to break the brief silence. "Looks like you'll be meeting him alone like he wanted. We'll distract them. You make a run for it!"

"What happened to being my back-up? We're in this together, Sonic." The tails of the Robo Rats rapped against the halls of the sewer system as loose bricks threatened to dislodge themselves from the walls.

"That won't be happening if this place comes down around us! Don't worry, Princess! We'll be right behind you!" With a quick nod, the trio sprung into action! A quick spin-dash knocked one of the rats on it's side as the tails thrashed wildly in the air! The other was soon occupied by Lupe as she sliced clean through its side with her crystal claws!

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Sally began a mad dash for the pump station, hoping that her friends could keep the rats at bay! Through sharp breaths, the clacking of her boots on the grated floor was soon followed by the sound of loud clattering behind her. A shout from the chieftain signaled that one had gotten away or perhaps...? "There's another one Sal! Keep running, I'll try and head him off at the pass!", Sonic cried as a flash of yellow resonated through the remainder of the passageway as it opened up into the open chambers of the pump station! A series of pipes lead to and from the facility, with rivers of the purple slime churning beneath.

Suddenly, she felt the sharp thrust of a blunt metallic snout on the small of her back and soon found herself plunging into the depths below! Catching a nearby platform, Sally barely had time to notice a curious wooden plank attached to a nearby pipe emptied out completely, which seemed to curve downward like a slide. The surface she clung too shook violently from the impact of Sonic running full bore into the third rat, sending it hurtling over the edge into the chemicals! The acidic fluid tore into the frame of the rat as it shrieked one last time.

The chipmunk's eyes lit up as the shock of the recent events began to wear off. "Oh my gosh... Sonic...! Help me!" Sally barely had time to squeak those words out as she felt her grip on the only thing keeping her from instant death had begun to loosen. With a deep breath, she pitched her body underneath the platform and flung herself toward the marked pipe. Stretching herself out as much as possible, she barely cleared the edge but found the surface of the pipe slick and unable to stop her forward trajectory!

"Sally...!" Sonic could only watch in mixture of relief and horror as the Princess slid down the only path to safety, her screams fading to silence as her shape was enveloped by darkness. The same wooden sign had fallen into the deadly river as well, with the word "HOME" racing across the etched surface as it too burned away.

As Lupe caught up with the blue one, he pointed over to a nearby elevator shaft leading further into the depths of the sewer. "Okay, you got a bit of a head start, that's all... Don't worry, Sal. We'll catch up with ya soon enough!"