Alright, first off, I'd like to say I'm truly sorry for how long it took for me to post this update, but it's not entirely my fault either, my stupid computer crashed and the disk I put the back-up file on screwed up so I needed to start all over again and for the longest time was so bummed out that I could barely work up the motivation to rewrite it. That and I'd been wicked busy with school and now work. But that's hardly an excuse and considering the tremendous volume of hits I'm seeing I can see I need to get my ass in gear and start writing the rest of this thing soon. Anyways, enough of my ranting, lets carry on shall we?
A Visitor From Afar
Ch 21 From Bad to Worse
Robotropolis, a foul city once a paradise of free minds that filled the streets with song and the sounds of everyday life, now the domain of war-machines and the factories that produce them. Inside the noisy confines of one such factory, a SWAT-bot manufacturing plant to be exact; three silhouetted figures move cautiously from shadow to shadow as they make their way across the factory floor. Peaking around the corner of one of the massive factory machines, the head of Rotor the Walrus appears. He glances around a moment; insuring there is no enemy presence. Now certain, he skulks his way along beside the machine, keeping his back pressed against the cold metallic surface.
Not long afterwards another head pokes around the side of the machinery, following the same routine as the walrus had done. As the figure moves from the shadow, it reveals the visibly shaking form of Antoine, nervously following Rotor. Right behind Antoine followed Bunnie. As she followed the others, she would check behind her to make certain nothing crept up behind them.
As Rotor reached the end of the machinery he moved beneath the conveyor belt at the end of the equipment; using the web of supports and dark shadow to hide himself from view. The other two entered right behind him and huddled close together as Rotor started to speak. "Okay guys, lets take a sec to catch our breathe." He stated as he to tried to calm himself.
"I am surprised to zee zo few guards about oui?" Antoine pointed out as he calmed himself down enough to speak clearly.
"That's probably cause Sally's plan is working. They must have had to draw some forces away to deal with all the fake break-in's." Rotor explained. "Alright, down to business… See that machinery over there?" He asked, pointing a finger across the large open space of the factory floor to a massive machine that assembled the SWAT-bots. "That's our secondary objective. If we can't hit the factories mainframe computer we'll try to take that out."
"Why do we not just plant ze bombs on zis machine while we are here now?" Antoine asked, scratching his head.
"No, you heard Sally, we only have a limited number of explosives, and we don't know how much explosives will be needed to destroy either target." Rotor explained. "And personally I want to make sure that whatever we hit completely destroyed. Leave nothing behind for Robotnik to salvage or repair."
"Ah just don't see why we don't plant the bombs on this one heah and be done wit it" added, pointing at the heavy machinery across the floor.
"Because Bunnie. Sure if we take out the machinery it will disable this factory; but if we can take out the computer hub that will cripple the whole factory, not just the assembly line. The hub controls all the automated machines that supply and assemble the machinery. Without it the factory will be out of action much longer because it will that harder to replace." Rotor explained calmly.
"Fair enough, Sugar…" Bunnie nodded in agreement. "So, Sugar, which way ta the hub?"
Rotor scratched his head for a moment. "Um, the skylight we were originally going to get in through would have put us right next to hub room, so if memory serves me right… it should beeee… that way! C'mon."
With that everyone headed towards a metal staircase that led to the catwalk above. Bunnie took point once they reached the stairs, cautiously moving up one step at a time till she could just see over the final stair. All clear.
She waved her friends forwards as she kept watch. "So far, so good, let's just hope our luck holds out…" Rotor thought as he and his friends made their way to the computer hub.
Meanwhile…
Within Robotnik's massive fortress an almost forgotten room inside the base came to life, activated by a source unknown. The diminutive room could hardly be considered of a serious importance; harboring a sparse collection of instruments and equipment inside. The room hadn't been used in so long that dust had already collected on the various surfaces.
Suddenly, along one of the very mundane looking walls, a circular hole opened up, allowing the equally circular figure of Dr. Robotnik to slide in from the exit of his secret escape chute, with Snively bouncing along behind him; landing flat on his face. "Well that was most amusing, wouldn't you agree Snively?" Robotnik chuckled as he picked himself off the floor.
"Oof!" Snively groaned as he hit the floor. "I would hardly call that amusing, Sir." Snively grumbled as he picked himself off the floor and proceeded to dust off his clothes. "Sir, with all respect, if you could have grabbed the crystal like that any time you pleased, why on Mobius didn't you do it before?" He asked, he voice hinting the irritation the smaller assistant felt.
"Come now Snively, do you actually belief I would truly leave myself so vulnerable?" Robotnik replied waving his hand dismissively at the idea. "And besides…" he continued as he tossed the strange ruby gem up and down in his cold metallic hand. "By remaining as we did, we may have just uncovered one of this crystal's abilities."
"Do you honestly believe that crystal had anything to do with that explosion?" Snively asked, holding his arms out in disbelief. "Just the idea of some bizarre little gem doing that is simply preposterous!"
"Come now Snively don't the Chaos Emeralds prove such things are possible, but if I must once again prove I'm right, very well." Robotnik responded, turning to a small bank of computers on the wall. "Computer playback security recordings L54 to L 67."
As requested the computer displayed the footage of the crystal floating inside the glass scanner casing. Then Slasher started to emerge from the bottom right of the screen, moving in slow motion. Robotnik noticed that as the reptile drew closer to the crystal it began to glow brighter until the crystal appeared like little more then a tiny white spot in the grainy black and white picture.
Suddenly Tails leapt in from off screen and tackled Slasher to the ground just in time as a bright laser beam flashed over their heads. The shot shattered the glass surrounding the crystal and struck the faceted surface of the gemstone, causing the light emanated from the jewel to increase several times what it was before. Then next thing the two observers could determine would be that a blast of energy erupted from the other side of the gem, many times more powerful then the original laser. The resulting blast of energy then struck the opposite wall and created an explosion so massive it shook the camera out of focus for a moment or two. When the camera recovered from the shock waves it displayed the massive hole they'd seen only moments ago, and the crystal on the other hand seemed to be completely unaffected by the laser as it hovered in the exact place it had before; like nothing ever happened.
Robotnik ran a finger through his thick moustache in thought. "You see Snively, that crystal had a direct hand in the blast."
Snively looked on, still skeptical. "But Sir, any number of factors could have played into the cause. Perhaps the SWAT-bot had its laser set to maximum, maybe the scanner caused some-"
"NO, you bumbling fool. I designed and created every possible thing that might have caused that blast, and I know for a fact none of my machines could have caused such a thing." Robotnik growled. "Now, go and fetch the blood sample that creature, oh, whatever he called himself, so generously donated to us while he lay unconscious on the torture rack and bring it to my private lab at once." He ordered as he began to get a sly grin forming on his face.
Snively on the other hand looked at Robotnik with an expression that relayed his confusion. "What the devil for, Sir?"
"I'm beginning to hatch a plan dear Snively, a cunning, ruthless plan…" He sneered as he let out a bout of maniacal laughter.
Meanwhile back at the SWAT-bot factory…
Antoine popped his head around the corner for what must have been the fourth time as he kept watch. Meanwhile Rotor worked feverishly at his code breaker, trying to unlock the door that would lead to the computer hub room. "Can you not work faster mon ami?" Antoine grumbled as the anxiety grew.
"He's working as fast as he can Sugar 'Twan, now get grip'n and keep watch." Bunnie barked back, obviously even she was feeling on edge as well.
"Not helping guys…" Rotor said as he entered in a few other codes. "Got it!" He exclaimed in triumph. "Okay guys, let's go." He stated as he motioned everyone to the door.
Just as everyone reached the door and moved to enter, the door swished open on its own; revealing the hulking for of a SWAT-bot. If it were possibly for the mechanized unit to show expression it likely would have shared the surprised look of the Freedom Fighters gathered around the door.
"Alert! Freedom Fight-" The SWAT-bot started to say at high volume, but before the robot could finish it's sentence, Bunnie's extending metal arm smashed through the SWAT-bots domed head. That didn't stop the other SWAT-bots sitting at their work stations from rising from their stations and begin opening fire on the doorway.
"Run for it!" Rotor screamed as he joined his comrades in running back down the same hallway they came from. Two of the Swat-bots raced out the door and pursued the intruders, firing their lasers any chance they got.
The last SWAT-bot of the three out the door paused a moment and activated its internal radio. "Alert, Freedom-Fighters detected in factory complex O-193. Require immediate support." The machine reported before switching off its radio and raced down the hallway to assist it's comrades.
At the catwalk, Antoine and Rotor quickly made their way down the stairs and bolted for cover amongst the numerous large pieces of machinery. Bunnie, meanwhile ran down a few of the steps and turned around to fire several shots back at the pursuing SWAT-bots. Two shots connected with the first SWAT-bot as it dropped to the ground. The next one stepped over its fallen brother and fired repeatedly, forcing Bunnie to abandon her position.
When she got down the stairs she leapt behind some cover, joining Antoine and Rotor just as several lasers whizzed past, some fired by the SWAT-bot still on the catwalk. "C'mon, we gotta set the charges on the secondary!" Rotor shouted, as he pulled Antoine with him. Antoine may have objected, but with all the gunfire, this wasn't the best place to argue about it; and he knew it.
She glanced behind her to see Rotor and Antoine making a bee-line across the wide open space between them and the large machine Rotor mentioned as their secondary objective. "Rota'! Wait!" She shouted, holding her arm out as if she could pull them back. "Dag-nabit!" Bunnie cursed as she realized they hadn't heard her. Things were too dangerous now to worry about completing the mission, they needed to get out of here now, or they're as good as dead!
But, Bunnie wasn't about to abandon her closest friends now, so after firing a few shots towards the approaching SWAT-bots, she took off after them. But suddenly another squad of five SWAT-bots round the opposite corner of the machinery they were dashing for.
The SWAT-bots fired on sight at the Freedom Fighters, forcing Rotor and Antoine to take cover behind a series of machines on the opposite side of their target. Bunnie quickens her pace as she spots them and barely makes it safely behind cover as the shots strike the machinery all around. Bunnie glanced around the side of the cover provided by a large steel pipe to take in the situation.
From their location, they'd need to bolt across open ground a short distance, in plain view of the SWAT-bots that have taken up a position on the opposite side of the target, in order to plant their explosives. The target itself was very long and flat on the sides and provided no cover at all; which meant they'd either have to take out all the SWAT-bots before they could plant the charges or they'd have to run back and forth planting a few explosives at a time.
Bunnie looks over to her left to see that Rotor and Antoine were right next to her. "This is kind of a bad time ta be worry'n 'bout that Rota-hun…" She said to him snidely, nodding her head at the detonation packs they were removing from Antoine's pack.
The first two SWAT-bots join their comrades and prepare to move in and capture the Freedom Fighters. As Bunnie pokes her head out from around the corner she spots the SWAT-bots advancing past the line of machinery across the way. So, she fires numerous shots at them to try and discourage them.
Two SWAT-bots are struck by Bunnies shots and one goes down. The immediate response is the SWAT-bots move back up under the fire and take up firing positions, waiting for the Freedom Fighters to emerge. Every so often Bunnie would pop out from cover and fire a few shots, and the SWAT-bots returned fire; both sides looking like gophers as each side popped up from behind cover, fired a few shots and ducked as the other did the same.
"We have to finish the mission Bunnie…" Rotor replied as he continued to prep the explosives. "Just cover me while I set the charges!" he added, holding up a charge in preparation.
Bunnie sighed in defeat and wheeled around the corner and began firing relentlessly at the SWAT-bot's position. While the SWAT-bots took cover, Rotor rose and slapped on the magnetic explosive to the side of the machine, pressing a few buttons to prime the device.
When the charge beeped to acknowledge it was primed, Rotor raced behind cover. As he did so, several SWAT-bots opened fire. Bunnie jumped in front of the shots and activated her personal energy shield. All three, high-power lasers struck the translucent shield causing it to shimmer violently as it absorbed the impact. She then quickly dove back behind her cover, switching off her shield as she did so.
Bunnie paused a moment, her chest heaving as she panted hard, sweat pooling in her fur. "Rota, Ah can't keep this up foah ever!" Her words couldn't be truer as the energy meter on her bionic arm read nearly empty. Once her auxiliary power ran out her arm would be all but useless. The arm would still be able to operate on her bio-kinetic energy, so she would not motion lose in her arm, but all of her weapon, and all her other special features would be gone.
"Try and hold them off for a few more minutes Bunnie!" Rotor shouted, bolting from cover once more to plant another charge. Bunnie huffed angrily at the stubborn walrus, but did as he asked and fired on the SWAT-bots, hoping to buy him some time.
Just as Rotor slapped the charge onto the machinery and prime the explosive and started to run back to where Bunnie and Antoine were hiding, a SWAT-bot popped up from cover and took careful aim, ignoring Bunnie's suppressive fire and fired. The shot struck Rotor's right shoulder, just next to the shoulder blade. Rotor screamed in pain as he fell to the floor, clutching his wound.
Bunnie and Antoine's eyes bulged in shock and horror. A momentary fury rose in Bunnie as she extended her bionic arm and fired her pulse cannon at the SWAT-bot that shot Rotor. The shot hit dead on, blasting the dome-shaped head clean off its shoulders.
"C'mon Sugar-Twan!" Bunnie shouted as she ran from cover to her fallen comrade. Without a moment's hesitation Antoine raced after Bunnie, his own personal fears forgotten to his greater concern for his friend. Bunnie ran out from cover and stood in front of her fallen comrade, activating her energy shield again.
"See what happens when you anger an organic female, 3-5-4-8-2?" One of the SWAT-bots stated to its comrade as it examined the . "Your AI routine needs maintenance 0-9-4-7. You're cracking jokes again." Another replied.
Just as the SWAT-bot that had hit Rotor was struck down, the SWAT-bot that sent the earlier call for assistance receives a call on its radio. "Reinforcements scattered across city. Unable to deploy reinforcements as swiftly as necessary." The SWAT-bot on the other end said.
"Understood." The SWAT-bot answered, switching off its radio once again. The computer then began to process the situation in seconds: "COMMAND PROTOCOL: capture Freedom Fighters – PRORITY ONE. SELF-PRESERVATION OVER-RIDE: insufficient forces to capture Freedom Fighters. Reinforcements unavailable. RECOMMENDED ACTION: prevent escape until reinforcements arrive. ACTION APPROVE: EXECUTE!"
"Assume, support fire formation, fire at will." The SWAT-bot ordered just as Bunnie and Antoine made their move to help Rotor.
All at once the robots ran into the open and formed two rows, one row behind the other. The first line dropped to one knee and began firing non-stop at the Freedom Fighter's position until their weapons needed to stop and cool down and recharge. Then the second line fired in the same fashion until they too needed to recharge and cool. They repeated this pattern, keeping a constant spray of fire on the enemy.
Bunnie strained and grunted as she tried to keep herself from being knocked over by the force and sheer number of the laser impacts on her shimmering pink shield. "Time to go Mes Amies!" Antoine shouted as he reached Rotor's prone form. He grabbed his other shoulder and helped Rotor to his feet and While Bunnie used her shield to block the incoming laser fire, Antoine rushed out to Rotor and quickly helped the injured walrus to his feet. A warning beep sounded off from Bunnie's arm, indicating her energy reserves were fading fast under this relentless hail of fire. She glanced behind her and spotted Rotor and Antoine were nearly to cover.
With that, she deactivated her shield and shrieked as a stray blast hit the ground just at her feet. She didn't need anymore encouragement then that as she raced back to the machinery and dove behind cover.
"Ugh… Thanks guys…" Rotor groaned weakly as he rested his good shoulder against the metal bulkhead while Antoine pulled out a small medical kit and proceeded to wrap his wound in gaze and bandages. "I'm sorry for getting us into this mess, you guys. You were right, it's too dangerous now…"
"Don't start talk'n like that Rota'-hun, we aren't cooked yet." Bunnie stated confidently, her voice hiding any trace of her own self-doubts.
"Ya, but how, your batteries are nearly empty, you can't hold them off by yourself?" Rotor stated, pointing his finger to the flashing power indicator warning light.
"Then we'll just have ta improvise…" She replied as her eyes narrowed. Her voice may be full f confidence and bravado, but in truth, she didn't have any clue as to how they could get out of this mess.
But then Antoine piped up with a brilliant idea. "Wait, Madame, ze explosives!" He exclaimed in surprise at the brilliance of his own idea. He ripped his backpack off his shoulders and opened it up and began to activate every single one of them. He then carefully glanced over the top of the pipe to gauge where the SWAT-bots were.
"When I zay now, push ze button." He explained as he closed up the bag. Bunnie looked at him confused as she watched him work with the explosives, but then glanced at he small display and watched as lights activated on her screen to indicate her detonator was receiving a good signal from each bomb as they were set.
She suddenly caught Antoine's drift and nodded she understood. Rotor on the other hand was still out of the loop. "What button, what are you guys talking about?" He asked shaking his head in confusion. But rather then answering, Antoine opted to show him. He quickly stood up and hurled the bag filled with explosives and ducked back down as shots ripped through the air he'd momentarily occupied.
The pack fell right at the SWAT-bots feet, but they hardly paid any mind to it as they continued to pour on the firepower. "NOW!" Antoine hollered as popped his head back over the metal pipe to see if the bag landed where it was supposed to.
"Fire in the hole!" Bunnie shouted as she pressed the detonation button on her control panel. All at once the pack irrupts in a massive ball of flame and smoke. The SWAT-bots standing nearby were incinerated immediately, leaving little then a pile of scrap parts scattered across the floor.
"Let's go!" Bunnie shouted, grabbing Rotor and helped him to run below the skylight above. Just as Antoine caught up, more SWAT-bots came running around the corner of the machinery. "Here zey come again!" Antoine shrieked in fear.
"Hold tight Sugars!" Bunnie said as she held out her real hand to Antoine. He grabbed hold and held tight as Bunnie activated the jet boosters on the bottom of her feet. The force of the powerful mini rockets propelled all three Freedom Fighters through the open skylight windows and out.
Meanwhile, back in Robotnik's head quarters…
Robotnik chuckled wickedly as he carefully scrutinized the set-up of his latest experiment. On one end of the table sat a small, low powered laser assembly aimed at the crystal which he had fastened to the table with a metal ring. On the opposite side of the crystal sat a small, target that, if what if all went to his expectations would prove his hypothesis. The target was already singed slightly from his earlier test to see how powerful the tiny laser was o its own. He carefully twisted the crystal in its fastening to ensure the facetted face of the crystal pointed at the laser.
"And now we shall see what we shall see…" Robotnik stated as he stepped behind the laser rig and moved his hand slowly to the firing button. The shot flew across the table and passed through the crystal far too fast for Robotnik to see with his own eyes, but the results were plainly visible on the target. He checked the target and immediately saw the impact was far more powerful then the first test, leaving a very large blackened scorch mark on the target surface.
"Hmm… not quite the reaction I'd hoped for, but still… It does prove one thing, the crystal can increase the power of whatever energy passes through it." Robotnik mumbled to himself as he scratched his chin in thought. He then turned to another table in the lab, and reached for a nearly empty rack of vials-empty test tube rack and plucked up a vile that held a thick red fluid.
"And now… for the final test…" He stated flatly as he carefully placed the vile of blood next to the gem; marveling at how the crystal started to faintly glow as he brought the sample closer. The gem didn't seem to glow as brightly as it had before, but Robotnik chocked that up to the greater quantity of DNA present.
He placed a protective shield in front of the vile of blood, just in case. He then stepped back around behind the small laser and readied himself. Then with the press of a bloated finger the laser fired. The laser ripped across the room faster then the blink of an eye, but already the curious expression on Robotnik's face grew to a broad grin of satisfaction. For the target across the table wasn't just singed, it was completely gone; and the laser blast still had enough energy to melt a small dent in the opposite wall.
"Excellent!" The fiendish doctor gloated evilly as he rubbed his hands together. "Not quite as powerful as I'd hoped for, but this certainly proves my original theory. This crystal does seem to have some sort of tie to the loathsome creature, uh… Slicer, or, Slasher or something…" he muttered as he tried to remember what Slasher had called himself before
Robotnik shook his head, bringing himself back to reality. "Bah, no matter." He then plucked the stone from its fastening on the table and took a closer look at the gem. "The important thing is that this crystal seems to indeed possess the ability to amplify the power output of whatever energy passes through it, most interesting…" he mused, as he plucked the gem from its fastening to take a closer look; rubbing his chin with his other hand as he did.
As he stared at the gem he noticed in the gems reflection the table still draped in the heavy white sheet. "Hmm… I wonder…" He muttered as he turned to the table and walked over to it. He places the crystal aside for the moment as he drew back the sheet just enough to allow him access to the chest area of body shaped form that lay beneath the sheets.
He swiftly sets to work opening the chest plate, exposing the internal skeleton of ribs that gave the metal armour its strength, as well as exposing the cluttered complexity of the machinery within. He pushed his way past the jumble of wires and servo motors till he reached what he sought.
He carefully opened the cylindrical shaped power unit and set the crystal inside hollow cavity of the power unit. He then moved the vile next to the power core, and smiled as he saw the shielding of the core did not stop the crystal from reacting to the blood sample.
He closed up the power core and walked over to a large recessed control panel along the wall. "And now my new minion, with the power of that crystal to super charge your systems, you shall be even more powerful then I ever dreamed…" he beams as he grasps a large lever on the control panel and pulls it down. The electricity unleashed races through the cables on the table to what lay under the sheets and suges through the power core.
A brilliant light erupts from the still open chest, causing Robotnik to shield his eyes a moment. He raises the lever, killing the power flow to his creation for fear something had gone wrong. He rushes over to table, still puzzled by what had happened. As he peered into the chest, he gasped in complete shock from what he beheld.
The exterior of the machine, from what he could see of it at least, where previously consisted of rigid facets to form the shape, now was very smooth, curves. The chest cavity itself had also changed, drastically. Wires that previously lay wherever in the chest now seemed to be melded with the metal skin of the chest cavity, running like blood vessels across the surfaces. All the ribs that previously looked clearly artificial now resembled a more natural form.
"Utterly fascinating…" he whispered to himself, still reeling from the shock. "I hardly even recognize this as my own creation. But just how much has changed, I wonder…?" He pondered as he gazed at all the components he could see. "Perhaps its time then I gave my new creation a… field test…" He glowered, already concocting a devious idea.
Meanwhile, at the borders of the Great Forest…
The small band of Freedom Fighters walked silently through the brisk evening air. The group had been completely quiet the whole trip across the desert that separated Robotropolis from the Great Forest. And Sally; had been especially quiet up to this point. Everyone, especially Slasher could feel the negative vibs coming from the steamed princess and thus, an awkward silence fell upon the group.
Sonic knew that this was very out of character for her. Normally he and Sally would be arguing over Sonic's unnecessary risk taking, or Sonic would be bugging her about moving too slowly. He could see that something was bothering her. "Yo, uh… Sal, what's with the ole silent treatment?" He asked, hoping that Sally wouldn't blow up or something.
Suddenly, Sally stopped dead in her tracks, stomping a booted foot down as she spun on her heels to emphasis her point; arms folded across her chest, causing the whole group to halt in surprise. "Why should I be mad?" She growled in a blatantly sarcastic manner. "I only trusted a complete stranger just to have him toss it back in my face!"
"What are you talking about Sal?" Sonic asked, speaking for every confused person there.
"Look Princess, if this is about us coming after you; it was my idea, not Tails." Slasher said, pointing to himself as he stepped forward to take the inevitable tongue lashing. "And I would do it again, it's my crystal, my problem. I'm not just going to stand by and let others fight my battles."
Sally sighed and unfolded her arms that were still in front of her chest and placed them on her hips. "I know." Sally stated plainly. She paused a moment as she contemplated her next words. "You're a lot like Sonic that way; and as much as I'd like too, I can't hold that against you; however annoying that may be." She added with a note of irritation in that there was nothing she could do about it. "All things considered, it's a good thing you guys did show up; we barely got out of there even with your help." She admitted, her expression softening a little.
"Then what's the big deal, Sal?" Sonic exclaimed, throwing his arms above his head in exasperation.
"What's 'bugging' me Sonic, is that you lied to us about that crystal, Slasher. You never told us that your crystal could do anything like what it did back there!" She growled softly.
Slasher's expression hardened in response to Sally's accusations. "Hey! I didn't lie about a thing!" He groused angrily before catching himself and relaxed his expression. "I already told you, I'm still learning how to use it! That's the first time I've ever seen it do something like that! And besides, where I come from my enemies don't shoot beams of light at me, so how the heck could I know something like that could happen!"
"Wait… I don't ever recall you ever telling us that you're still learning how to use the crystal." Sally pondered aloud.
Slasher and Tails suddenly realized simultaneously that he'd just said too much. Tails let out a deep sigh and stepped in front of Slasher. "He told me, Aunt Sally…" He answered meekly, his ears folded against his head sadly.
This caught Sally totally by surprise. "You? But… but, why didn't you say anything?" She asked in disbelief.
Tails stared at the ground feeling awful guilty about keeping a secret from her. "Well, beca-"
"And for that matter, what happened to the bandages on your leg, Tails?" Sally added, interrupting Tails before he could try and explain himself.
Tails stammered to try and think of some kind of explanation. He couldn't just say the Ancient Walkers had healed him; because he knew that would mean revealing his vision the Ancient Walkers had given him. And he knew Sally knew that the Ancient Walkers only appeared under very extreme circumstances. That would draw more unwanted questions.
Suddenly a golden retriever ran from the darkness, towards the group, a relieved look on his face. "Princess, thank goodness I found you. There's a message for you back at Knothole. Dr. Quack says its really important. Bad news by the sounds of it I'm afraid." He stated, slightly exasperated. "He said that you should get over there as soon as possible."
Sally let nodded, forgetting about the topic at hand for the moment. "Alright. we'll be right there…" Sally replied, placing one of her hands on her forehead. "We'll finish this talk later at the medical center; wait for us there."
On the one hand, Tails was relieved he wouldn't need to reveal the knowledge he'd learnt from the Ancient Walkers, but at the same time, he knew Sally would ask about his miraculous healing sooner or later. So he'd best decide how to explain the Ancient Walkers intervention while keeping Slasher's secret just that.
"Why are all of us going to the medical center?" Slasher asked in uncertainty.
"Don't sweat it Slash, its standard procedure… in case we got injured but never noticed." Sonic explained as he patted Slasher on the back reassuringly. To Slasher's surprise, he hardly felt any pain at all from the gashes on his back. The crystal must have reacted to my presence; perhaps that's why that laser blast became so strong…
Of course no one noticed this but Slasher, so everyone continued on without him as he took note of this. He suddenly realized everyone else had continued without him so he rushed to catch up with them.
Sally and the Golden Retriever rushed ahead, trying to reach the village as fast as possible. Slasher and Tails took a more relaxed pace and before long they reached one of the secret entrances. A few minutes later the small group exited the cliff-side entrance and soon found themselves at the hospital after a brief walk through the darkened village. The lights inside the hospital shone out through the glass vestibule, illuminating the waiting Dr. Quack.
"Ah, there you are…" Dr. Quack greeted, waving his feathered hand as the group entered the lit area near the doors. "Sally said you'd be right behind her."
"She's at the reception desk getting her message now." He added as he led the group inside and past Sally who was standing at the reception desk like Dr. Quack had indicated, holding a phone to her ear. "If the rest of you would like to follow me, we'll get you all checked out quickly and let you on your way. Sally will join us once she's finished."
With that Sonic and the rest followed Dr. Quack down the hallway to the examination room. Sally held the phone to her ear, listening carefully to what the voice said on the other end. By the way Sally's face turned from a stern expression to a frown and then finally to shock, one could guess it was bad news.
Looking back, Sonic could plainly see the distraught expression on Sally's face, and as much as he wanted to go over to her and ask what happened, he knew he should let her be the one to tell him.
Back in Robotropolis…
Snively stomped his foot impatiently as he waited outside the doorway to Robotnik's main lab. "Scan this, Snively. Stay out of the lab Snively. Fetch the blood sample, Snively. Fetch some SWAT-bots, Snively." He grumbled bitterly as he paced back and forth in front of the labs door. Behind Snively stood a small contingent of SWAT-bots standing silently whilst the tiny human grumbled and griped in front of them.
"What's so special about what he's doing in there, that he can't even give me a hint of what he's doing in there? Even after he tells me to bring a squad of SWAt-bots to the lab, he still won't open the lab up!" Snively gripped in frustration.
Then, much to the minions' surprise the lab's heavy metal doors slid aside, revealing a pitch black lab beyond. Snively narrowed his eyes to try and see into the dark laboratory, but the darkness proved too much. "Dr. Robotnik? Are you there?" He asked, as sweat started forming on his forehead; his voice starting to quiver with anxiety.
No answer from within the pitch black room. "SWAT-bot, go in there and investigate." Snively ordered. As instructed on of the large robots marched forward into the room. Before entering the murky darkness, the SWAT-bot switched on a small flashlight built into one of its fingers.
Snively watched with a growing anxiety as the SWAT-bot waved the tiny beam around the room. Thus far the objects the beam illuminated were mundane over all. The light slowly moved across several tables before passing over one particular table; one with a white clothe laying in a discarded manner across it. Had Snively been able to see past the SWAT-bot, he might have seen this, and realized the significance of this. But because the SWAT-bot inside blocked his view of the table, the machine thoug ing beyond the beam. Suddenly, some slight motion at the right-most edge of the searching light caught Snively's eye. And the SWAT-bot seemed to notice this as well as it raised its right arm and began to fire its laser into the inky darkness.
The harsh bright light of the laser filled the room for a brief second. Snively could see several more flashes of laser fire within the darkness before he heard the ear-twitching sound of metal scraping against metal followed by the sound of something heavy crashing to the floor. Suddenly, the SWAT-bots decapitated, dome-shaped head rolled out from the darkness, before falling over like a lost hub-cap.
Snively trembled in fear, sweat streaming off his bald head like he were in a sauna, as his mind went wild with what might have done this with such ease. "Well, don't just stand there, go in and find out what happened in there!" Snively ordered to the three remaining SWAT-bots.
The SWAT-bots looked at each other, as if deciding amongst themselves which one of them would go in next. The bot closest to the door eventually started marching towards the dark doorway. Just as the SWAT-bot reached the dark threshold of the door something leaped out of the darkness at the SWAT-bot attempting to enter the room. And before the SWAT-bot could react, a loud piercing noise broke the uneasy silence of the hallway.
The SWAT-bot remained standing for a moment, before falling limply to the side in a massive, sparking heap. Snively's eyes bulged out of his head from fear and terror when he saw the terrifying-looking robot standing before him. "SWAT-bots! Destroy that… that, whatever it is!" Snively shrieked out in terror as the mechanical menace turned its gaze on him.
As one the two remaining SWAT-bots turned and fired their lasers on the unusual robot intruder. But the mysterious robot moved to swiftly, leaping above the laser shots before crashing its metal feet into one of SWAT-bots head. It then followed up by driving a long metal sword into the SWAT-bot as it fell to the floor.
Snively watched in horrified awe at the speed and efficiency the attacker fought with. Beyond anything he'd ever seen before. It's swift movement and Snively's terrified state of mine prevented Snively from taking a very close, detailed observation of the attacker as well. Even the Metal Sonic's had lacked such fighting prowess, especially with such an ancient weapon.
But as he watched he suddenly realized the last of the SWAT-bots fell to the floor with a great crash. And then the robot fixed its terrible gaze upon the trembling human once again. Snively nearly screamed as he turned to run down the hallway.
But the robot was too fast it leapt forward, easily closing the distance between the two before Snively managed to take more the two steps. It swung a heavy arm backhanding Snively on his right shoulder and sending him crashing into the left wall of the hallway.
Snively groaned and rolled onto his back, still dazed as to what just hit him. Then, he felt a slight pressure at his neck. He looked down in horror to see the very tip of the robot's long sword hovering motionless just above his voice box. Snively started sweating uncontrollably as his eyes traced up the length of the sword, to see the large robot poised to stab the blade right through his neck. It was then, as he stared at the face of his assailant, that Snively came to realize just what this thing was. And then the sword lunged forward. The sound of the sword striking the metal of the wall resonated down the hall, leaving behind an eerie silence….
End Ch. 21
DUM DUM Dummmm….
Wow… sorry once again to leave you waiting for this chapter for so freakin' long and on a cliffhanger no less. But with any luck, now I'll have more time for writing now that school is finished. So, what do ya think of this chapter? Please read & review and tell me!
