Princess in Plaster
A Sonic the Hedgehog Fan Fic
By Chronos the Cat
This story is based on the Archie Sonic comic, and diverges from issue #37, "The Day Robotropolis Fell".
Introduction: The City of Mobotropolis was a beautiful and peaceful place, until the evil Dr. Robotnik conquered it, using his armies of robots, and his dreaded "roboticizer"—a device capable of turning flesh-and-blood Mobians into steel-plated robotic automatons.
But, a group of rebels arose, "the Freedom Fighters", led by the heiress to the throne, Princess Sally Acorn, and championed by the super speedy Sonic the Hedgehog!
One: Broken Princess
Sonic paced around the waiting room, frustration evident on his face. "What's taking so long?!"
"Sonic…" Tails said, annoyed by his friend's impatience, even though he felt the same way.
Bunnie got up and walked over to Sonic. She put her right hand on his shoulder, and said, "We're all worried, Sugah-hog, but y'all gotta trust Doc Quack. He'll fix her up right good, you'll see."
Under his breath, Sonic mumbled, "I just hope he's more reliable than his name sounds…"
Bunnie rolled her eyes.
Sonic paced around for a few more minutes, then snapped. "All right, that's it! This is taking too long! I'm going in!"
It took the combined strength of Bunnie, Tails, and Rotor to hold him back.
"No, Sonic, you can't!"
"You'll only be in the way in there!"
Sonic protested, "But… but! She—I-- … She could have gone with Uncle Chuck and the others, but she stayed, to be with me! And I didn't—I couldn't protect her! I should have protected her! She wouldn't have been injured if it weren't for me!"
As the fight went out of him, the others slowly let him go. He sunk to his knees, tears in his eyes. In a quiet voice, he said, "If she dies… it's my… my…"
Bunnie knelt down and put her hand on his shoulder again. Rotor put his hand on Sonic's other shoulder, and Tails crouched down to be on Sonic's level.
"It's not your fault, Sonic," Bunnie assured him quietly.
Tears in his own eyes, Tails reached out and hugged Sonic. Sonic returned the embrace, and together they faced their pain and fears.
…
Even Sonic was sitting, glumly, when the door of the waiting room opened, and Doctor Quack stepped through. A fraction of a second later, Sonic was standing in front of him, demanding, "Is she okay?"
Quack was so shocked by this sudden interrogation that he paused a moment—which prompted Sonic to grab him by the shoulders and say desperately, "Is she? Is she?"
As Rotor, Tails, Antoine, and Bunnie got up, Bunnie told Sonic, "Give him a moment to speak, sugah."
Sonic paused, and Quack steadied himself and took a deep breath. "Thank you. Don't worry, Sonic, Sally's going to be fine."
"Going to be? Going to be?!"
"Yes! Calm down. She's out of danger. We've completed surgery, and set her broken bones; now she just needs rest and time to heal."
"Oh… Okay… So, can we see her?"
"Yes, of course. Follow me."
Doctor Quack led them to Sally's room.
Sally was in bed, unconscious, her left leg and arm in traction. Her head was bandaged across her forehead and down the left side of her face. As for the rest of her body, it was covered by the bed-sheets.
Antoine squeaked in horror, "My Princess, what has happened to you?! It iz horrible!"
Sonic went up to her side, and stroked her head. "Sally…" Her breathing was slow and steady, her face peaceful. Sonic looked up at Doctor Quack. "When's she going to wake up?"
"Hard to say. She's been through a lot. It might not be for several days…"
"Several… days…?!" Sonic looked back down at Sally, continuing to stroke her, a pained look on his face. "Man…" Then he bent down and gave her a kiss. "I… I'm sorry, Sal. Please come back to us…"
He straightened up again, and stood there, looking at her. Then, finally, he stepped away, giving the others room to have a closer look.
Sonic walked over to Doctor Quack. "Hey, I… um, just wanted to say… --you know; …Thanks."
Quack gave a small, pleased smile. "Think nothing of it, my boy. It's my job."
…
…The first thing Sally noticed was the steady beeping of a heart-monitor. Am I in the infirmary? Sally wondered, even as her mind fought its way through a haze that was trying to pull her back to sleep.
Sally couldn't comprehend why it was so hard to wake up—usually she had no trouble. And why wouldn't her body respond when she tried to shift positions? She must be pretty exhausted…
Sally also couldn't quite figure out why she was in the hospital—although the vague pain coming from her legs and left arm was starting to give her a hint. Was I injured? She wondered. Where? How?
Slowly, the memory returned—she had been in Robotropolis, with Sonic. Sir Charles—Sonic's Uncle Chuck—had discovered that an earthquake was going to be hitting Robotropolis. Although, in many respects this was a good thing, there was one problem—the many roboticized Mobians still under Robotnik's control. Uncle Chuck had had a solution—by overloading a certain roboticizer, he believed he could create a de-roboticization field, which would return the Mobians to their natural state.
It was a risky plan—but it worked. However, soon they encountered a new problem—there wasn't enough room for all of them on the Freedom Fighter jet they had planned on using to escape. Someone had to stay behind and escape on foot.
Uncle Chuck volunteered for the job, but Sonic overruled him, volunteering himself instead. Sally couldn't argue with Sonic's logic—with his speed and experience, he was the best suited to escaping the quake. And as vital as Sonic was to the rebellion in the short term, in the long term it was Chuck's mind that was the more valuable.
However, Sally couldn't stand the thought of possibly loosing Sonic. And so she made a reckless decision—as stupid decision, now that she thought about it—and decided to stay with Sonic.
She couldn't really remember what had happened after that, but she had a feeling it hadn't been good…
She opened her eyes, and blinked them a few times, to clear them. The familiar thatched-roof style of Knothole was a reassuring sight.
Sally looked around the room. The first thing she noticed was Sonic—sitting in a chair right next to her bed, slouched over and snoring. How sweet—he stayed by my side, she thought.
Continuing her survey of the room, she recognized the room as one in the recuperation wing of the Knothole infirmary. That was a relief—it was nice to know for sure that she was home… Only in the Freedom Fighters' hideaway in the Great Forest would a modern-day hospital be put together inside a large hut, she thought with a smile.
However, as she examined her own condition, she began to realize that her injuries had been far worse than she'd imagined—the heart monitor was hers, as was a nearby IV drip, and… her left arm and leg were in traction…
Her heart seemed to skip a beat at that realization. She wasn't just hurt—she was incapacitated. She wouldn't be leading Freedom Fighter missions for a while—in fact, she wouldn't be doing much of anything for a while… Her heart began to sink. Wanting to get a better idea of the extent of her injuries, she tried to move her right arm, to feel her body, and perhaps pull down the covers. Her arm hurt a little as she moved it, but it seemed to have escaped with only a few bandages. As for her left arm, it wouldn't move at all. In fact, in addition to the traction, her left wrist, thumb, and index finger were all splinted…
Her throat constricted, and she fought a twinge of panic, as she moved her right hand across her torso, her fingers meeting something hard instead of her fur. Even as she went to pull down the sheets for a look at her condition, she noticed the white plaster covering her left shoulder.
Gulping and taking a deep breath, she pulled down the covers…
Her entire torso was bandaged—no, covered in plaster, she quickly realized. She slipped her right hand back under the covers, and followed the cast to her hips, where it connected with casts holding both her legs in place… No wonder I couldn't shift position, she thought in detached amazement, even as her mind tried to comprehend it all. (Thankfully, enough of her was uncovered down there that she'd be able to do her business when the time came—if she could somehow be brought to a toilet. …Or, more likely, she thought unhappily, have one brought to her…)
It was the thought of how such ordinary tasks would be beyond her in her current situation that really drove home how helpless she now was. She laid her head back on her pillow, and closed her eyes, fighting to keep from crying. She wasn't used to feeling helpless, and she did NOT like it.
She let out a mild moan that shifted into an unhappy sigh. This was all very disturbing—and not just because of her helplessness. Even more than that, she felt ashamed of herself for having gotten herself into this position. She had insisted on being with Sonic as he risked his life, yet it was she who seemed to have nearly died. What would have happened to the Freedom Fighters without her? To the Kingdom? She had so many responsibilities, why did she always have to take so many risks, and why, this time, had she decided to risk her life so pointlessly?! (It wasn't as if Sonic had needed her help, after all!)
And because of her stupidity, she now found herself in the hospital, nearly immobilized. It almost seemed fitting, in a way… She let out another sigh.
As an afterthought, she tried moving her toes. The toes of her left foot were held in place as securely as her left fingers, but she could wiggle her right toes—in fact, she could move her ankle as well. It seemed it was only her knee and hip immobilized on her right hand side… Thank the Source for even small freedoms… she thought.
For some reason, she found the feeling of her foot and toes rubbing against the sheet heavenly. Perhaps it was just the knowledge that that was one more part of her body she could still move… Or perhaps the lack of sensations from the casted parts of her body heightened the sensations from the remaining parts….
She lifted her head up again, and looked at her right foot, watching as she moved it around, and wiggled her toes.
Then, she stopped, and began to giggle wildly at the absurdity of it all. She, Princess Sally, heir to the throne of the Acorn Kingdom, head of the Mobian Resistance, and commander of the Knothole Village Freedom Fighters… was lying in a hospital bed, watching herself wiggle her toes…!
She laughed hysterically for a minute or two before finally being able to calm herself down. She glanced over at Sonic, finding him to still be asleep. He must have been pretty tired, himself.
Having released much of her tension through her laughing, and reassured by Sonic's presence, Sally allowed herself to drift back off, into sleep.
…
When Sally woke up again, this time feeling quite rested, Sonic was awake.
"Good morning, beautiful," Sonic said, with a soft smile.
"Uh… good morning, Sonic," Sally replied, a bit flustered—Sonic never complimented her so directly—it just wasn't his style to admit he had feelings for her (even if it was obvious to everyone that he did).
Sonic got up and walked over to her. Putting his hand on her right arm, he said softly, a worried look on his face, "How you doing?"
She smiled wryly. "Aside from the fact that I can barely move, pretty good."
Sonic's expression lightened up considerably. "You're not hurting at all?"
"No… No, actually, I feel great. Doctor Quack can work wonders, eh?"
Sonic gave a brief smile. "Yeah." His expression then grew serious again. "Look Sally, I… I want to apologize."
"Apologize? For what?"
"For… For not protecting you! I—I let that boulder fall on you. I should have been faster. If I had been, you wouldn't be in here now…"
Sally was shocked. "Sonic, I don't blame you for this… If anything, it was my fault! I should have known it would be too dangerous for me. Heck, I'm guessing that if it weren't for your speed, I really wouldn't be here right now—I'd be dead. You got me back here to Knothole, didn't you?"
"…Yes… But—but…"
"Sonic, it's all right." Pulling her arm out from under his hand, she reached up and touched his face tenderly. "I'm okay, remember?"
"Yeah… well, I just wanted to say I'm sorry…"
Sally opened her mouth to protest again, then realized it was futile. "Okay, you've said it. And like I said, you're already forgiven." Laying her arm back down on the bed, she continued, "…Now, what exactly happened back there? I remember, we were making our way through Robotropolis, and I was trying to get Nicole to chart us a way out… But after that, everything's fuzzy…"
Sonic blinked. "You mean, you don't remember…? …Well, I guess that's a good thing." Sonic scratched his head. "You didn't miss much—you'd just stopped to do something with Nicole, when I noticed a huge boulder coming down above you. I… I tried to warn you, and get you out of the way… But it was too late. The rock landed on you before I got there… If I'd thought to use my figure-eight peel-out…"
"Sonic…"
"Right… Right. So, I pushed the rock off you… You were a mess. I—I don't even want to think about it. … …Nicole finally came up with a route out, so I took you and raced back here as fast as I could manage… Took you to Doctor Quack's… and that's about it…"
"I see. Well, thank you Sonic. Thank you. If it wasn't for you…"
"What?!" Sonic held up his hands and stepped back. "You don't need to thank me. It… It was nothing, really!"
"Sonic! You saved my life! I'd hardly call that nothing."
"But I…" Sonic looked at her again, then stared into her eyes. "Right…" He walked back over to her, and put his hands on her right hand. "I'm glad you're all right, Sally."
Sally gave him a kindly smile, acknowledging his words without forcing him to say anything else.
Wow, this is kind of nice, Sally thought. I never expected my getting injured would make him open up to me… I just hope he gets over this guilt complex he seems to have. It wasn't his fault I got injured—it was mine! Because I stupidly thought it would be a good idea to tag along with him when he could have done perfectly well on his own. I… I don't deserve someone as good as Sonic. Without thinking, she tried to clench her left fist. Of course, only her middle and end fingers curled. Well… I guess I paid my price…and learned my lesson. …No point in beating myself up anymore, especially not right now, with Sonic here…
Sally took a deep breath, and sighed. "…So. I guess you should go get Doctor Quack. I'd like to know how long I'll be… at his mercy."
Sonic nodded. "'Kay. Be right back." True to his word, Sonic was out the door one moment, back at her side the next. Sally wondered that he'd even had time to deliver his message. "Doc said he'd be right in."
Sally gave an amused smile at this, and rolled her eyes.
"So, I hear my favorite patient is awake," Quack said as he came in, a lollipop clenched in his bill.
"Your favorite?" Sally asked.
"Of course! You're my only patient at the moment, ergo, you're my favorite. Of course, that also makes you my least favorite, but let's just ignore that, shall we?"
Sonic raised an eyebrow, crossed his arms, and began tapping his foot. Sally just rolled her eyes again.
Sally let Quack study her vital-signs monitor, and write down some notes, then she asked, "So, Doctor Quack, what's the verdict?"
"Eh?"
"How badly injured was I, how am I now, and how long before I get better?"
"Ah, right. Well…"
"Don't hold back any of the details—I want to know exactly what I'm dealing with."
The Doctor nodded. Flipping a sheet on his notepad, he said, "Well, as Sonic no doubt told you, you had a rather large boulder fall upon you. Frankly, it's actually rather a miracle you survived. Your left leg was, to put it bluntly, crushed. Tibia, fibula, femur—all fractured. In multiple locations, in the case of the tibia and fibula. I did what I could to repair the damage, but… well, I'm afraid you'll be in a long-leg cast for a good while before you'll walk again.
"Your right hip and femur also showed some minor hairline fractures—a few weeks in a hip spica should correct that…"
Sonic interrupted. "A what?!"
The Doctor's eyes narrowed. "A hip spica," he explained, pronouncing each word carefully, "is a cast which covers part of both the leg and the torso, thus immobilizing the hip joint."
"Oh."
Quack shook his head slowly, then turned back to Sally and continued.
"…You're lucky your pack shielded your spine—otherwise I wouldn't be able to put forth much hope of you walking again… You will need to go easy on your back for a while, though, especially your lower back… That means a cast or back-brace, as well, by the way…"
Sally tried not to show her growing trepidation at the regime Quack was prescribing. Just how long would it be until she had her mobility back?! How long until she was-- …free… ?
"You had a variety of internal injuries, as well," Quack was saying. Sally tried to pay attention to him. "--But I managed to patch them all up, and they should be good as new before long. Also some bad bruises… You'll just need to take it easy for a little while—not that you have much choice…
"…And then, there's your left arm…" Doctor Quack stopped and looked up at Sally, an apologetic look on his face.
"Yes?"
"Well…" Sally noted that Sonic looked away at this point, a nauseated look on his face. "…We were able to avoid amputation, but I fear you may never recover full use of the limb…"
"What?!" Sally couldn't believe her ears.
"You must have tried to break your fall with you arm…?"
"I-- I really can't remember anything of the… accident…" Sally explained.
"Hmm, yes, well… Your humerus, radius, and ulna were all shattered by the impact, then driven out of place-- in some cases significantly damaging the muscle… "
Sally gave a concerned look, and Sonic shuddered.
Doctor Quack continued, "We managed to put the pieces of the bones back in order, but with so many fractures, it could take a year or more before the bones are completely healed… By then, the muscles may have healed (to a point), but they will also have atrophied significantly. Exercise will help you regain some mobility, but how much is impossible to know…"
"I… see…"
Sally wondered, would she ever be able to go on missions again? …
She sighed and lowered her eyes. "So… how long?" she asked quietly.
"Eh?"
"How long until I'm not so… helpless…?"
Doctor Quack raised an eyebrow. "That depends on how you define 'helpless'. …We should be able to remove the hip spica within a month, but beyond that, we'll need to see how you heal… You should be prepared for a long, slow process, I'm afraid…"
"…And… how long until I can at least get out of this hospital bed…?"
"Well, that depends on the speed of your recovery. I would estimate, though, another few days… a week at the most. At that point, your internal injuries should be completely healed, and it should also be safe to switch from traction to an ordinary cast. Of course, we'll still need to check up on you regularly, but luckily this is a small village, so it isn't that far to walk to your hut! …You'll also need someone to take care of you, as you won't be able to do much for yourself for a while…"
Sally tried to hide how uncomfortable it made her feel to hear this. She was the leader of the Freedom Fighters, and the heir to the throne of Acorn! She was supposed to do things for others… she wasn't supposed to need other people to help her!
Sally closed her eyes, and sighed. She had a feeling this would be tougher than any of her missions against Robotnik…
Sonic grasped her right hand with his, and put his left hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Sal, I'll be here for you…"
Sally smiled at him weakly. "…Thanks, Sonic…"
Interlude: Bunnie's Nightmare
"C'mon, y'all, time to head back!" Bunnie called to the others, who were in the middle of a volleyball game, as she got up from her nap.
Sonic, Tails, Antoine, and Rotor stopped their game, and cleaned up. Bunnie stretched, and joined the others as they began the walk home.
"What's the matter, Bun?" Sonic asked, noticing her using her right hand to help flex her mechanical left arm.
"'Bit stiff, that's all. Probably need some oil, or somethin'."
"Oh. …Man, it must bite being partially roboticized, huh?"
"You have no idea, sugah…"
As the problem cleared itself up, and Rotor had some other things to do, Bunnie decided to wait until later to have him look into it.
It was a few hours later, when she was sitting in her hut, reading a novel, that she realized she had made a grave mistake. Needing to use the bathroom, she put down the book, and went to get up—but her mechanical legs didn't respond.
"Oh, deah…" She tried again, but still nothing. What an inopportune time for her legs to freeze up!
Hoping to at least make it to the bathroom without assistance, she tried to push herself up, to a standing position, by bracing her arms against the table. As she attempted this, she noticed that her left arm was acting up again. It was moving, but sluggishly, and it wouldn't straighten out completely.
"Damn! What's wrong with my bod?!"
Her legs gave a little, only to freeze up again, leaving her stuck hunched over, her rear less than a foot off the chair. This time, even her arm was completely stuck—all the way down to the fingers. She swore again.
Focusing her energy on her right arm, she tried to push herself up further, in hopes it might unlock her other limbs—or at least get her into a more comfortable position.
However, her mechanical limbs were truly immobilized—so much so that her efforts upset her balance, and sent her crashing to the floor.
She landed on her back, her left arm and her legs still stuck in the same positions as before. The pain of the fall caused her to loose bladder control, but she hardly cared about that now, other than to feel sorry for Rotor, who would likely be stuck with the task of cleaning up the insides of her legs and privates when he repaired her. Her biggest concern right now, she realized, needed to be getting help…
Using her right arm to slowly pull herself towards the door, she called out, "Hello? Anybody out there? Ah could use a little help in here!"
Nobody answered, so she had to pull herself to the door all by herself. By the time she made it there, her back was stiff and her arm sore. Not able to open the door in her position, she decided to rest a little to regain her strength before attempting to get the door open.
She called out for help several more times before she felt it was time to try to move again. Her mechanical limbs were still frozen in place, and to her dismay, her back and right arm weren't any less stiff—if anything, she was more stiff than before.
Desperately, with no other choice, she called out for help once again. Finally, someone came at her call. It was a stag who's name she couldn't recall.
"Oh, my! Are you all right?"
"No… Ah… can't move." Bunnie said weakly, surprising herself with the weary tone of her voice.
The stag backed up in shock, and asked, "What can I do?"
"Get… Get me ta Rotor's…"
...
"Thanks, Rotor—you're the best, sugah," Bunnie said, as Rotor finished cleaning her up.
Rotor shook his head. "Don't thank me yet. I haven't even gotten started on the repairs."
Bunnie smiled demurely, deciding not to mention that his clean-up job had actually felt rather nice.
Bunnie watched with passing interest and great admiration as Rotor began taking her mechanical limbs apart, studying them carefully, and adjusting various things. He was so good with his hands, and so intelligent… and he never complained about the constant repairs her mechanical parts needed.
She sighed in resignation. She knew nothing was ever going to happen between them. He didn't repair her because of who she was; he repaired her because of who he was. It was just in his nature to be helpful. And he'd never shown even a passing interest in her-- or any other Knothole residents, for that matter. Probably because he's a walrus, she thought, He probably wants someone with a little more flesh on her bones…
Bunnie forced herself out of her thoughts when Rotor put down his tools, and said, "I don't know what to make of this!"
"Eh?"
"There—there shouldn't be anything wrong with you. In fact, I'd almost say your robotic parts seem to be in better condition than after I last repaired them."
"But then, why can't I move?!"
"That is the question, isn't it. …If there's nothing wrong with the mechanics of the limbs, perhaps it's a circuitry problem?" He went back to work, opening up still more parts of her limbs, and examining their interiors.
He was just starting to open up a panel near her waist, when he gasped.
"What is it, sugah?"
Wordlessly, he ran his fingers across her side, then began studying her torso intently. Bunnie was trying to figure out how to ask what he was doing, when he said in concern, "Bunnie, can you bend your back? Or move your right shoulder?"
Bunnie stared at him in confusion, but tried to do as he had said. However, to her horror, her torso and right shoulder were now as rigid as her mechanical parts. In fact, even her right elbow was becoming difficult to move…
"R-Rotor? Ah… Ah can't! What's goin' on?!"
Rotor glanced around, until he spotted a shiny piece of metal lying on a workbench. Picking it up, he held it up wordlessly, so it would serve as a mirror for Bunnie. She gasped at her reflection. Strands of circuitry and metal covered her entire torso, most of her right arm, and even some of her face. Some parts of her torso were even covered in metal plates, making those parts look completely robotic.
Bunnie looked up at Rotor with a helpless, pleading look.
"I—I'll do what I can…"
…Over the next few hours, Rotor worked to try to understand what was happening to Bunnie, while her torso became completely robotic, and her face and right arm became more and more covered in the strange circuitry.
The other Freedom Fighters learnt of what was going on, and came in to help and offer her comfort. Bunnie was so caught up in her own situation that she barely registered the fact that Sally was out of the hospital much earlier than expected.
Finally, well after sunset, Rotor finally announced that Bunnie's robotic parts had contained systems designed to complete her roboticization, and those systems had for some reason just today been activated. Now it was only a matter of time before she was completely robotic, and under Robotnik's control. As for why she couldn't move, that was simply a by-product of her transformation: those limbs were no longer hers to control, just as soon her entire body wouldn't be hers to control…
"I'm sorry," Rotor told her sadly. "If there was more time… maybe I could stop it… As it is, the best I can do is give you a neuro-overrider, to protect your mind from Robotnik's control. However, I'm afraid the over-rider and the roboticization system you're dealing with aren't completely compatible… It probably won't restore your movement…"
Bunnie felt like crying, but no tears would come. Struggling to get her metal-encumbered lips around the words, she said, "Do… what… y'…all… haff… ta…. do… ta… pro…tect… Kn…ot…h…o…le…"
Rotor gulped, and nodded. He moved to the side of her head, and began working on it. Bunnie couldn't even move her eyes to watch him. Then even her senses dulled, and quit, and she was left immobile, in silence and darkness. Rotor, help me! She silently screamed. But she knew he couldn't hear her. She was alone, and helpless, maybe forever…
"Bunnie! Bunnie, wake up! It's just a dream!" Tails said, shaking her.
"Wh-what?" Bunnie stammered, as she tried to get her bearings. She was sitting under the tree in the field, near the volleyball net. It was bright and sunny, and only her left arm and her legs were mechanical. She lifted her hand, and flexed her fingers, just to be sure it was working all right.
"Just a dream…" She wasn't turning into a robot, or being immobilized. "What a relief…"
…But, Sally was still in the hospital, in nearly as helpless a position as Bunnie had been in her dream…
Tails asked with concern, "Are you all right, Aunt Bunnie?"
"Ah… Ah'm fine, sugah." She stood up, looked around, and took a deep breath. "Ah think ah'm gonna visit Sally-girl."
"Oh! Okay… I'll come too."
Bunnie and Tails headed back to Knothole…
End Part One