A Sonic the Hedgehog Fan Fiction
By Chronos the Cat
Author's Note: Portions of this chapter were adapted from Archie
Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog issues 37 & 39.
And, as always, Sonic and all related characters are property of SEGA,
which takes no responsibility for the content of this story; while I
make no guarantees of the accuracy of the medical references...
Sally awoke to a pressure in her bladder. She was somewhat used to being immobile, at this point, so she didn't automatically attempt to get up. Instead, she groped around with her right arm for the nurses' call-button. Not able to find it, she opened her eyes to look for it. It was then that she remembered that she was at home now.
With all but one of her limbs covered in plaster, she was as helpless as ever, of course, but luckily she did still have attendants... if she could get their attention...
"Sonic!" she called out. No response. She called out again, louder.
Moments later, Sonic appeared in a flash, his eyes still sleepy, and no shoes on his feet. "You called, your majesty?" he said with a sloppy salute.
She giggled. "Yes. I have an important mission for you, brave warrior. Get me to the bathroom before I soil my bed."
Sonic's eyes widened, and seconds later, Sally found herself positioned on the toilet.
"Thanks, Sonic."
"Er... No problem." He stepped out and closed the door. "Holler when you're through."
He then headed back to the living room (where he'd been sleeping on the couch) and pulled on his sneakers. Guessing Sally would want to stay up, he also pulled out her wheelchair.
Meanwhile, Sally enjoyed the novelty of being able to empty her bladder and bowels without anyone else in the room. It was a tiny step towards independence, but it was a step nonetheless.
Breakfast was cold cereal -- about the only thing Sonic knew how to cook was chili-dogs, and cooking was beyond Sally's current capabilities. Sally decided to invite Rosie over for breakfast in the future, so they could get some real food; but for now it was nice to just be with Sonic.
As they were finishing eating, Sonic said, "You know, I've been thinking..."
"Taking up a new hobby, are we?"
"Har, har," Sonic said sarcastically.
"Sorry. Go on."
"I was thinking, roboticized Mobians are a lot stronger than normal Mobians, and we need all the strength we can get to defeat Robotnik..."
"Absolutely not!"
"But--"
"We tried that before -- it almost got all of us roboticized, remember?"
"C'mon, it'll work! We let Robotnik roboticize me and using one of Rotor's neuro-overriders, my mind will still be free!"Then, with a super-enhanced 'bot body, I'll trash him and Robotropolis for good!"
Sally was getting angry now. "Sonic, are you even listening to me? I tried that. It didn't work."
"That's only because your neuro-overrider fell out. We could secure mine, so that doesn't happen."
"And what if the overrider still doesn't work? They've never been fully tested."
Sonic cocked his head and narrowed one eye. "The ones Uncle Chuck and Muttski are using are working fine."
"Sonic, they were already robots when the overriders were installed. We have no idea how the overriders would handle the actual roboticization process. Besides, Robotnik knows about them -- what if he's come up with a countermeasure?"
"I-- you're right, as always..." Sonic looked rather dejected. "Damn, I thought I had one there..."
Sally smiled, and motioned for him to come closer. When he did, she put her arm around him. "It's all right; it was a good try."
Elsewhere, Tails had finished his breakfast, and was going on a walk in the woods. He was still trying to sort out his feelings about Sally and her casts.
He had already figured out it was the casts that had turned him on, not Sally herself. This was good, as not only did he think of her as an "aunt", but she was taken. He decided he would do his best to suppress his feelings about her casts, too, as that was still too close for comfort to being attracted to her.
However, that still left the question of why her casts had turned him on in the first place. There were many different factors, he knew-- for one thing he wasn't used to seeing Mobians wearing much more than shoes and gloves, so the fact that she was covered up was kind of sexy. Also, the fresh plaster was such a bright white, and he'd always liked that color...
The biggest reason, though, seemed to be the fact that it made her immobile and helpless-- and that fact troubled Tails. This seemed to suggest he liked the idea of a girl being helpless-- and wasn't that wrong?
Of course, there were all sorts of tales of heroes rescuing helpless heroines; and it wasn't like he wanted any harm to come to Sally or any other girl... Maybe he just wanted to play the hero? (Like when he first met the android Fiona, and freed her from the palm-tree she'd been tied to...)
It wasn't just that, though... Tails was the youngest of the Freedom Fighters, and one of the youngest residents of Knothole. He always had to do what everybody else said... The idea of being in a position of power was enticing, and seeing Sally, the most powerful figure in Knothole, physically handicapped made him feel like he had some power. Being alone with her made him feel like he was in charge of her -- and thus, for once, fully in charge of himself.
These thoughts scared him. If he craved power over others, how was he better than Robotnik? --But he didn't want anyone hurt! He didn't even enjoy seeing Sally helpless until she started to seem okay with it... That had to count for something, right?
He shook his head to clear it. He was starting to think he would need to discuss this with someone. But who?
...Tails was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice he wasn't alone-- until it was too late.
Sonic was leaning back in his chair, feet on the table, while Bunnie prepared lunch, and she and Sally (who was in her wheelchair) chatted.
Sally broke off the conversation long enough to chastise Sonic. "You know, you could help Bunnie out, Sonic."
"Moi, cook? You know me better than that, Sal. The Hedgehog only cooks chili-dogs."
"You could learn!"
Sonic's eyes narrowed.
Just then, there was a knock at the door, and Sonic jumped in surprise, knocking the chair over in the process.
Sally and Bunnie giggled, as Sonic got to his feet and brushed himself off. "I'll get it," he told them, and zoomed out. Moments later, he returned with a small sack of letters, which he dumped out on the table. "Mail!"
"Hoo-ha! That's a lot o' letters y'all got there!"
"Had all my mail forwarded here..." Sonic explained. "Mostly fan letters..."
He began sorting through the envelopes, separating it into letters for Sally, letters to him from people he knew, and fan-mail.
Bunnie leafed through the letters, awed by how many fans Sonic had. "Hey, Sugah-hog, this one's marked 'urgent'!" Bunnie said, holding one without a return address up.
Wordlessly, Sonic took it from her and opened it. His eyes quickly scanned the letter. "...What?! Why, that dirty...!"
"What is it?" Sally and Bunnie wondered.
Sonic handed it back to Bunnie, then said. "I gotta go. I'll be back shortly." With that, he was out the door.
Bunnie read the letter to herself.
"Hey Sonic,
Did you really think your primitive prison could hold Nack the Weasel
for long? I've got your little friend Tails! If you want to see him
again, meet me in the weight room of the Freedom Fighters Training
Facility at 1:30 today, and come alone.
--Nack the Weasel"
Nack must have put it in the mailman's delivery bag himself, as it was dated today.
Sally asked, "What is it, Bunnie?"
Bunnie crumpled the letter in her mechanical hand. "Nothin', Sally-girl. Look, ah just remembered somethin' ah gotta do. I'll send Rosie over ta finish cooking lunch, and ah'll try ta be back in time to eat it with ya."
Bunnie marched out of the room purposefully.
"Bunnie, wait!" Sally called, but to no avail. She gritted her teeth and clenched her right hand. If only she could move her wheelchair herself! She was sure she was being left out of the loop on purpose, and she didn't like it one bit.
Sonic stepped into the darkened gym cautiously. Seconds later, he was hit on the head by a large dumbbell hung from the ceiling, and knocked unconscious.
Nack stepped out of the shadows, a conscious but tied-up and gagged Tails slung over his shoulder. "You're early, dumb bell. To bad for you I was ready early!" As he tied up Sonic, Nack explained to the unconscious Sonic, "I had a deal with Ivo Robotnik to bring you to Robotropolis! As they say, better late than never!"
Nack had deposited Sonic and Tails in the back of his Sky Sled, and was just powering it up, when Bunnie, Antoine, and Rotor stepped out of the woods.
"And where the hoo-ha do y'all think you're goin', sugah?"
"What the--?! I told Sonic to come alone!"
"An' he did-- we just got here, or didn't y'all notice?"
Nack snarled, pulled out his gun, and pointed it at Tails. "Back away and let me go, or the fox gets it!"
"That's low, Weasel, even for a bounty hunter like you."
"Hey, they don't call me the best for nothing!" He shifted the sled into gear, and it began to lift off the ground.
Realizing they were out of time, Bunnie shot out her mechanical arm, praying its' speed would be faster than Nack's reflexes.
Nack was caught off guard, and by time he squeezed the trigger, Bunnie's hand had knocked the gun away from Tails, making it shoot off into the air. Not giving him the time to recover, she activated her telescoping "ladder legs" extensions, rocketing toward Nack. She shoved him off the sled, grabbed Sonic and Tails, and retracted her legs again.
Bunnie handed Sonic to Antoine, and Tails to Rotor. She then quickly turned back around, assuming a defensive stance. Even as she finished this, Nack vaulted over his sled and pointed his gun at her.
All she had time to do before he fired was move her mechanical left arm in place to block the shot. If it the gun had fired a bullet or a laser, this would have been sufficient. Unfortunately, it was a gas gun. The pellet exploded on contact with her arm, and before she could think to hold her breath, the smoke knocked her out.
The smoke spread out, obscuring the Freedom Fighters, and Nack walked toward the cloud, chuckling. "I guess this is my lucky day! Five for the price of one! Robotnik's gonna pay me handsomely for this!"
"You don't have us yet," Rotor pointed out, as the smoke cleared, revealing his form. Antoine had succumbed to the gas, as Bunnie had, but Tails had also managed to hold his breath (and was now untying his own legs, though the gag was still stuffed in his mouth).
Nack laughed. "Issat so? And what are you two going to do to stop me?"
Rotor scowled and held up his fists, while Tails tossed aside the ropes that had bound his legs and stood up.
"Shuh uh!" Tails said through his gag. "Wheh weah rue whi oo, oo'ah whi oo ay ih ai!"
Rotor and Nack stared at him. Nack said condescendingly, "A word of advice -- take the gag out of your mouth before spouting threats!"
Tails scowled at him and growled. Then he reached behind his head and grabbed at the knot of the gag, trying to untie it. Unfortunately, he couldn't get the knot undone.
Nack laughed uncontrollably at this.
Tails and Rotor glanced at each-other, and charged at Nack.
Nack stopped laughing very quickly, and fired several more shots from his gas gun at them. However, as both Rotor and Tails could hold their breath well enough to get through the cloud, this only served to make it harder for everyone to see each-other.
Nack tossed aside the gas gun, and pulled out another gun, just moments before Tails burst out of the cloud and leaped at him, fists swinging.
Even as Tails' blows were about to connect, Nack made his free hand into a fist, and swung it at the approaching Tails.
There was a mild cracking sound, and Tails was sent flying back, impacting into the ground with enough force to leave a trail of torn-up grass.
Meanwhile, these brief seconds had been enough time for Rotor to almost reach Nack. However, the smoke was beginning to thin, so Nack saw him sooner than he'd seen Tails. (Not by much, though, as Nack had been watching Tails' crash, instead of looking out for his other opponent.)
Nack pointed his gun at Rotor's head. "No use holding your breath this time!"
Rotor's eyes widened, and he ducked at the last minute, as Nack pulled the trigger and a red plasma beam shot through the space where Rotor's head had been a second ago.
Still having a great deal of forward momentum, Rotor plowed into Nack's legs, knocking him to the ground and causing him to drop his gun.
The two of them began wrestling with each-other, trying to get into a good position to strike a good blow (or to grab the gun).
Meanwhile, Tails sat up, and finding the cloud of gas to have pretty much dissipated, tried to take a few deep breaths. With the gag in his mouth, and both mouth and nose bleeding from Nack's punch, though, this was easier said than done.
Feeling like he was suffocating, he tried desperately to untie his gag. After several terrifying moments, he managed to finally get the knot undone, and pulled the gag out.
Although his lungs cried out in joy to get fresh air, he almost regretted taking the gag out, as the movement caused his jaw to hurt even worse than before. He also felt several upper teeth come loose, and at least one wasn't a baby tooth.
This wasn't the time to dwell on this, he quickly realized, as he saw Nack and Rotor wrestling furiously, striking blows whenever they could. Despite his weight and training, Rotor wasn't faring too well...
Tails wound up his tails and flew at Nack, this time managing to deliver a swift kick to the weasel's head. Nack was knocked away from Rotor, causing a pause in the scuffle as Rotor and Nack got to their feet.
Rotor looked tired, and had several bruises forming, already a darker purple than his skin normally was. Nack on the other hand, was merely a little dirty from having been rolling around on the ground.
"Is that the best you can do? I expected more from the 'mighty Freedom Fighters'!"
Tails looked to Rotor, hoping for some guidance. To Tails' dismay, Rotor seemed weary and fearful. Quietly, Rotor confided, "I'm not sure what to do. He's a lot better fighter than most of Robotnik's 'bots..."
Tails' eyes widened-- that was not what he wanted to hear.
As if he hadn't injured them enough with his bare hands, Nack reached into his boots and pulled out a pair of knives. Nack began walking toward them, brandishing his knives menacingly.
Tails launched himself at Nack again, but veered off at the last minute, as Nack swiped at him with his knives. Tails flew around Nack, and the two struck at each-other a few times, then Nack changed tactics and lunged at the blaster he'd left on the ground.
Tails saw this, and zoomed in to intercept him, but too late. Nack dropped one knife, grabbed the gun, and spun around to blast at Tails. Only Tails' swift aerial reflexes allowed him to avoid the blast.
Tails continued zooming around, while Nack fired at him madly. "Stay still, ya frickin' two-tailed furry gnat!"
Tails managed to dart in and land a few blows on Nack, but they didn't really faze him. Suddenly, Nack's tail darted out, thwacking into Tails and sending him to the ground again.
Nack aimed his gun at Tails and taunted, "Looks like Ivo's gonna have ta settle for four Freedom Fighters! You've caused me too much trouble, so I'm swatting you here and now!"
Just then, Nack felt an impact on his back, and smoke rose up around him. "What the--" Before he could finish his question, he fell to the ground, unconscious.
Tails looked over to see Rotor holding Nack's gas gun. "He's really shouldn't leave his weapons lying around like that-- it's dangerous!" Rotor said with a smile.
Tails smiled back through his pain, before the smoke drifted over to Tails and knocked him out as well.
When Tails woke up again, he was lying in a comfortable bed, and his face wasn't hurting anymore. However, his face did still feel a bit strange, and there were several wires and plates in his mouth, holding his loose teeth in place. He also discovered that he couldn't open his mouth, and putting his hand to his face he found the entire lower half of his face to be bandaged.
Tails sat up in bed, and saw that he was in the Knothole Infirmary. As the rest of his body was uninjured, he got out of bed and walked over to the door of the room. He opened it, looked around the hall, and spotted a nurse. Tails automatically tried to call out to the nurse, but all that came out was, "Mmm...?"
The fact that he couldn't talk again gave Tails a very strange mix of emotions, which he put aside to deal with later. Instead, he jogged over to the nurse. She noticed him coming, and said, "Oh, young Mr. Prower, you're awake. If you hold on just a second, I'll get the doctor for you..."
Tails nodded.
Minutes later, Tails and Dr. Quack were seated in the room Tails woke up in."As you may have gathered, we've had to do a bit of work on your face
to repair the damage Nack caused... Your nose was broken, and your jaw
nearly so; and a couple of your adult teeth were knocked loose. We did
some reconstructive
surgery, so your nose should heal normally. We've also put your teeth
back in; and there's a good chance they'll stay in. However, to ensure
this, and to allow your jaw to heal, we'll have to keep your jaw
immobilized for a few weeks...
"I realize this may be inconvenient, but as I was telling Sally about
her injuries, the only other options are roboticization or allowing
your injuries to heal improperly."
Tails sighed, and nodded. He didn't exactly like it, but he knew the Doctor was right. At any rate, he didn't mind the thought as much as he would have thought. He was sure it would make life difficult, but if Sally could manage not being able to move for several months, he could certainly handle not being able to talk for a few weeks!
"All right, Sonic, you have a lot of explaining to do!" Sally told Sonic. She and the other Freedom Fighters were gathered in her hut, along with Rosie (who had been handling caring for her while the Freedom Fighters were out). "What were you thinking going off to rescue Tails without telling me?!"
"But, Sal, there wasn't any time! I had to get to him before Nack did anything to him! Besides, I never told Bunnie not to tell you!"
Bunnie looked like she was about to protest, then changed her mind. She bowed her head, and said, "I'm sorry, Sally-girl. I didn't want to worry you."
"Well, you did! And thanks to my being left in the dark, Tails was almost killed!"
Rotor spoke up. "But he wasn't! ...And besides, it's not like you could have came with us. How would your knowing what we were up to have ...changed ...things..." his voice trailed away, as he noticed Sally scowling at him.
"I could have given you advice... Stayed in touch using Nicole and the other surveillance and communications devices we've been working on... or at the very least, made sure you had someone to call for backup!"
Sonic, Rotor, and Bunnie all looked guilty. As for Antoine, he was still at Sally's feet, groveling and begging for mercy.
Finally, she rolled her eyes. "It's all right, Antoine, I'm not angry with you. It's Sonic who was in charge -- he was the one who should have thought about this. If he'd simply told me, or told Bunnie to tell me, this fiasco would never have happened."
Antoine got up. "Really? I am so 'appy to be 'earing zat. ...I would be 'appy to help arrange Sonic's punishment..."
"Belay that, Antoine. I can handle that myself."
Antoine looked disappointed.
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Sonic opened it to reveal Tails.
Sally was relieved to see him up and about. "Tails! Come on in! How are you feeling?"
Tails hurried over to her side.
Sally put her hand on his head. "So, I hear you had a bit of an adventure today. Are you all right?"
Tails nodded, and mumbled, "Mmm-hmm."
"That's good to hear. You had us all really worried."
Annoyed by the motherly tone in her voice, Tails gave an offended look, and looked away.
"Now, don't be like that. We'd feel the same way about any of the Freedom Fighters. ...Weren't you worried when I was injured?"
Tails looked back at her and nodded.
"Now, I want you to heal up quickly, okay? You still have some comic books to read me, after all."
Tails tried to smile, but it wouldn't have been visible, even if his bandages had allowed even that small mobility. Instead, he nodded.
Sally smiled back.
...
Later that day, a long-delayed ceremony was held.
After recounting the tale of the earthquake in Robotropolis, how Uncle Chuck had deroboticized a large number of Mobians, and how Sonic had saved her, Sally announced, "...And for your courage and selflessness I award you, Uncle Chuck, the Mobius Golden Acorn, named after my father!"
"Thank you Princess but I'm afraid you won't be able to pin it on me!" the metal-clad robotic hedgehog pointed out.
Sonic spoke up, "No sweat, Unc! It's really a refrigerator magnet!" Pulling out Nicole, Sonic continued, "I'm giving my medal to Nicole! We wouldn't have made it out of Robotropolis without her!"
"Thanks, Sonic!" the computer replied.
To wrap things up, Rotor called out, "Three cheers for Uncle Chuck!"
"Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!"
- - -
End Chapter Three
Author's Note: Keep an eye out for chapter four, coming soon! (Well, sooner or later, anyway... )