Angel: Hello everyone, I have returned to this fandom again. If you remember my name, you may have seen my Sophia X story, which...I didn't have good things to say about how it came about when it first started ^^' Hopefully I can redeem that with this story, since I actually do like this show. Speaking of Sophia X, thank you to all of you guys who said my story of the anime was better than the actual anime, and I feel kinda bad that I'm just now bringing that up, because I got those comments after the story was over XD I'm gonna be more fair within writing Sonic stuff. I won't do everything ever, but there are some things I will retain. Especially if I'm gonna continue writing Sonic media until I'm finished.
And one of them is the friendship between Sonic and Sophia.
Look, I get why some people shipped them in my Sophia X story and in the 2020 movie, which I did write with them for the first time being an actual couple (and btw, the only time). Several people asked me to ship Sophia with him with the anime. But I personally do not like the idea of a human and a hedgehog in a romantic way (and we are NOT bringing up when that actually happened). Or any other character who is an animal with her. It just weirds me out, and I know it's 2021 but even then, the thought of that still bugs me. I see Sonic and Sophia more as siblings rather than boyfriend and girlfriend. And I will be very firm on that decision. It might not be a problem now since it's been a long time, but I wouldn't write something that I'm not comfortable with. And I'm not the only one who feels that way. Personally I ship Sonic and Amy the most...which kinda sucks since she's not in this show.
From here on out, everything else besides the 2020 movie will be strictly friendship between the two. Sorry, but I just can't get past anything beyond that.
Radar mode and visual mode were activated through a floating Swat-Bot, which was patrolling Robotropolis. Another bot was looking around the area as a vehicle flew past it. The robot went through a pair of double doors, and was descended down an elevator. It stopped at floor 51, entering a dark red room with all sorts of computers and machinery.
"All secure," A green one reported to a yellow Swat-Bot. The yellow one left the room, and in the vents, Sonic the Hedgehog sped by. He slid to a stop, turning around.
"Come on, come on!" He urged his friends Antoine and Cat, both of them fellow Freedom Fighters like himself. "Get the old leadski out, guys!" He watched as they ran as fast as they could to catch up with him. Which was nearly impossible since he was the fastest thing on the planet.
They panted as they joined the hedgehog, who tapped his foot impatiently. "I'm waiting." He then peeked through the vent to see the green robot roll up to him. He ducked for cover next to the wall. "Chill! Swatbutt!"
The vent door opened and the other two quickly hid to the opposite wall. The robot scanned inside the system, the three staying very close to the wall. Antoine shivered in fear, Sonic wincing nervously as the light shone over him. He squeezed his eyes shut...
But it turned out to only be Sally Acorn, another one of his friends hiding in the robot. "Hi guys," She greeted with a smile.
"About time, Sal!" Sonic called out to her. "You ready?"
She jumped out of the robot, landing on the metal floor. "Ready!" She reported back to him.
"Okay guys, let's do it to it! Cat, Antoine, you guys cover our backs. Any bots show up, give us the signal," He ordered the duo. "Any questions?"
"Yes, I'm having a question," Antoine spoke up to him. "What if-"
"Cool!" Sonic interrupted him, jumping and landing on the floor. "I'm outta here! Let's lock and load, Sal." He walked off and she followed him.
"Bon voyage!" Antoine whispered to them in encouragement.
"Good luck!"
Sonic turned around and gave them a thumbs up. He and Sally entered a room with a large orb in the center. He helped her inside, taking a look around himself.
"Man! What is all this stuff?" He asked her curiously.
"It's the brains of the plane," She replied while starting to use the interface.
"And you're gonna do a little brain surgery, right?"
"More or less," She replied with a small smile. "First I break the access code, get into Robotnik's mainframe computer, and reprogram the launch data." She took out Nicole, her AI companion in a hand-held computer that had tons of knowledge.
"Then kaboom!" Sonic pumped a fist. "These stealth bots are lunchin', yes?"
"They're lunchin', yes," She answered in amusement. She planted Nicole into the mainframe. "Nicole."
"Ready, Sally."
"Access main database," She ordered the AI.
"Password, Sally."
She placed a hand on the metal while Sonic leaned in, taking a peek at what she was doing. "Run decoding program for X." Nicole ran the program, pulling up a hologram as letters came up all jumbled. But then they formed into the word meteor. She examined the screen, Sonic tapping his fingers rather loudly.
"Sonic, do you mind?" She asked him in annoyance.
"Not very well. Dogs mind, not hedgehogs," He pointed out to her.
"Well show a little patience," Sally retorted back as she could hear his foot tapping, which was something he usually did out of impatience.
"Hey, hey, hey! Patients are for hospitals. We're in robo-country, and that makes me itchy!" He glanced around, on the lookout for Swat-bots. "Whoa!" He looked back to see two more yellow robots rolling around. He then peeked back into the ship. "Hurry up, Sal! Party crashers coming!"
"Incoming message," Nicole spoke up, getting her attention. The word bean appeared on the screen.
"Bean?!" Sonic recoiled back in confusion.
"Oh my gosh," She murmured in realization, turning to him. "Sonic, my father called me Bean when I was little. Nicole, give me message origin."
Sonic looked back towards the ground, seeing the yellow bot coming in close. "Sal, we gotta pedal to the medal!" He urged her.
"I have to check this out. It may be from my father!" She told him in hope.
"Message origin: Area 12, Sector 9, Quadrant 32."
"The Dark Swamp?!" Sally exclaimed once those two words appeared, along with an overview of the area.
"Eeelars su!"
The two gasped at a female voice entering the room, and they turned around. Three Swat-Bots were escorting three cuffed humans, to the shock of Sonic and Sally. It was because there weren't actually any humans around in Robotropolis. The first one was dressed like a king and looked Caucasian, with dark brown hair with a beard to match. He had green eyes and a slightly athletic build, while his outfit was mainly red and black. The second one was a beautiful woman with long flowing pink hair that went down to her knees. Her eyes were an aqua blue, and had fair skin. Her dress was a yellow long-sleeved gown that had a blue ribbon at the top, her skirt having blue stars on it. Both her and the man had golden crowns on their heads, with blue gems on the front of them. The third and last one had a cream-colored gown, with white shoulder pieces disconnected from her dress. Trailing at the back was a pink gauzy bow with long fluttery ribbons. She also wore golden spiral earrings and had two glowing rings small enough to fit her wrists. She had long flowing pink hair like her mother, but hazel eyes and freckles.
All of them seemed about roughly an inch taller than Sonic himself strangely.
"Tle su og!" The girl struggled from the tight grip of the Swat-Bots. The hedgehog gasped as he eyed the rings around her wrists.
"Sal, look! She...she has power rings!" Sonic looked up at her in disbelief.
"Nicole, scan," Sally held up Nicole as the three passed by.
"I have identified the three prisoners. King Elliot and Queen Valentina of Planet Xenia, and daughter Princess Sophia."
"Other royals!" Sally gasped a little. "And from another planet even! But what does Robotnik want with them?"
"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out."
He peeked back towards outside...only to find that some robots had arrived to stand guard. He watched the three be escorted, though they were still struggling.
Several robots were getting too close for comfort towards the vent system.
"Seoemno ehpl!"
Cat and Antoine could hear the cry for help from the queen. "Did you hear that?" Cat turned to him and he peeked out the vent.
"Oui, but what is taking them from so long?"
"Those computers can be tricky," Cat told him with a shrug. "And Sonic probably has to go help whoever just screamed. Relax, Antoine."
"Relax?" He didn't seem to be doing any of the sort. "Yes...yes. A very good idea!" He leaned against the door, accidentally opening it. He fell right in between a robot's legs. He saw the mechanics of the robot right next to him and yelped in alarm. The robot fired lasers at him and he screamed for his life, Cat dragging him back inside. He ducked for cover as the lasers hit the system. Some of them got too close and he screamed, running off.
Sonic peeked in as he saw the chaos unfold. And the three royals were suddenly not in the room anymore. "Aw, man, Ant did it again! Look Sal, when I juice, jam for the air duct! I'll meet you at the usual place."
"Be careful, Sonic," She warned him. "And what about the prisoners?"
"They're gone. We'll figure out a plan once we meet."
He jumped and landed, speeding over to the two robots. "Yo, swatbutts!" They fired, but of coursed missed as he zipped past. "How about a little laser tag? You're it!" He sped past them and they gave chase. Sally ran over to the vent, where Antoine and Cat were waiting for her.
"Upsy-doozy, my princess!"
She jumped and they helped her inside. Sonic spun around several robots while the other three were running in the vents.
He sped past at least five robots, distracting them as they tried to locate him.
"Yo, Swatbutts!" Sonic called out to them. They found him sitting in a pile of junk. "Are you wonder-weasels looking for me? I'm the only one around."
They fired, but he backflipped into the vent, speeding off to go catch up with his friends.
Sally and Antoine took a left in the air vents while Cat slid to a stop. A bot was heading right towards him.
"Here comes trouble!" He looked around nervously, knowing that if he went right, he'd be leading it right to Sally and Antoine. So he decided to take a right to deviate the robot away from his friends. It was better than possibly giving away the location of the Knothole Freedom Fighters...
Antoine and Sally arrived at the meeting point outside of Robotropolis, coming to a stop at a wall. They sat down and Antoine let out a deep sigh. A noise occurred and they looked to their right.
"It's Sonic!" Sally stood up in relief.
He sped over their heads, coming to a stop in front of Antoine. And he did not look happy with him. "What happened, Antoine?"
"it is not my fault," He protested to the hedgehog. "Cat said I should relax, and I leaned against the-"
"Yo! Where's Cat?" Sonic suddenly realized that the Freedom Fighter was not with them.
"He was right behind us in the tunnel, and then we lost him," Sally explained to him.
"Swat-bots must've busted him! I'm juicing back, and then I've gotta find our new tourists!"
"Tourists?" Antoine asked in confusion.
"Sonic," Sally interrupted as he was about to leave and he skidded to a stop. "I'm sure that message was from my father. I'm going to the Dark Swamp and find him. Antoine can come with me."
Sonic's mouth opened in shock. "Antoine?"
Antoine had a crush on Sally, which was one reason why Sonic was not on board with this plan. Also, he wouldn't be there to help them if something happened. And number three, Antoine was not very...crafty like the others.
"Yes, Antoine."
Antoine himself smiled smugly. "You're kidding, right?" Sonic asked in disbelief, causing Antoine to drop his smile.
"I'm kidding, wrong!" Sally corrected him.
"Wrong?"
"Right."
"Right, or wrong?" Sonic scratched his head in confusion.
"You're wrong, I'm right, as usual," She ended the argument there as she led Antoine away from him.
"Excuse me while I chuck my breakfast," The hedgehog pretended to barf.
"Whatever. Come on, Antoine."
"Yo, Sal!" He caught up to the two. "As soon as I find Cat, along with the princess and her parents, I'll blast for the swamp. Be mondo-careful!"
"You too, Sonic," She told him and he spun around, dust forming behind his feet.
"Another princess?" Antoine gasped as he looked between Sonic and Sally. She placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"I'll fill you in on the way."
"Gotta juice and loose!" Sonic sped off with speed so fast fire formed behind him.
In a control room back in Robotropolis, a short man named Snively was walking up to a robotic chair. It lowered towards the ground, the occupant's back facing Snively.
"Tell me, Snively..." The person spoke with a low and raspy voice. "How did the hedgehog get past all my security?"
With the slow way he was speaking, it was bound to end badly for Snively.
"Through an air duct, Dr. Robotnik."
Cluck, Dr. Robotnik's robotic pet bird, jumped around on top of the chair.
"An air duct..." The evil doctor started off in thought.
"Yes, sir."
"Then seal it up!" He slammed an angry fist on the right armrest, scaring Snively a little.
"Yes, sir. Two more things, sir. One is that we captured a Freedom Fighter."
Dr. Robotnik seemed pleased at this news. "That's good, that's very very good, Snively," He turned around to his lackey.
"And the other is that we have located and brought the royal family of Xenia here."
"Excellent...robotocize the king and queen for all I care. The girl has something that I want...something I can use to defeat that pesky hedgehog," He wiggled his fingers together. "Where is the Freedom Fighter prisoner?"
"Bring in the prisoner! And prepare the roboticizer!" Snively pointed to a door, where two yellow bots stepped in with Cat in their clutches. He had a clamp around his neck and arms as he tried to move, failing to do so.
Thunder struck in Robotropolis as Cat was brought in front of Robotnik. "Tell me where Knothole is, old boy, and you have my word that you will not be...robotocized."
"I'm telling you nothing about nothing, Robotnik!" Cat denied while sitting in a chair, trapped to it.
"Oh...oh, I wouldn't be too sure of that, old boy," Dr. Robotnik turned around to face the Freedom Fighter. "I have machines of all kinds, marvelous machines, that can do things you would not believe."
Cat gulped upon hearing this.
Sonic arrived in the rundown city, turning left. He came a stop at a rock wall, ducking for cover as a ship flew right past him. He looked at the direction it was going and chased after it. The vehicle entered into a facility, Cat stepping out of it. A Swat-Bot escorted him out, Sonic peeking around the corner. He watched as Cat was taken into another room.
"Hang in, Cat!" He looked around to make sure no one else was in the room before running up to the doors. He then started to do a spin dash to get the doors open, looking up to see the elevator. He stepped back before speeding up the walls. A platform lowered towards him and he let out a gasp. He quickly opened another door to dash into, ending up in the prison block. He glanced around before he saw Cat laying down. He seemed to be the only prisoner around Sonic.
"Psst! Cat!"
He opened his eyes, sitting up to see his friend. "You alright?"
Cat walked up to him. "Robotnik's surveillance picked up Sally. He knows she's headed for the Dark Swamp. You gotta save her."
"But what about you?" Sonic asked, as he did not want to leave his friends behind. That just wasn't his style.
"Doesn't matter."
Sonic's eyes softened at that answer. A laser then flew past his head.
"Go, Sonic! Go. And take the princess with you."
Sonic looked at him in shock. "How did you know about-?"
"Word travels fast around here. And I saw her when she entered. That girl...she looks very lost, Sonic. I can tell she doesn't know why she's here. When you see her, make sure she knows of what I did."
"I will. I promise," Sonic nodded at him.
"She's a few cells down the hall. Hurry!"
"Not to worry, Cat, I'll be back!" He sped down the hall, skidding to a stop when he saw the pink-haired princess herself sitting on her bed in her jail cell. He took a moment to look at her as her wrists were cuffed, connected by a chain in front of her feet. She was trying to pull herself free, but it was no use as the restraints were strong.
"Psst! Hey!"
The pink-haired girl looked up to see him, surprised. "You're Princess Sophia, right? Are you okay?"
"O-Owh rae oyu?" She stammered nervously to him. "Owh od oyu kwno ym eanm?"
"Huh?" He asked in confusion at her language. Her eyes widened slowly as her heart raced in fear. She thought he was like the Swat-Bots, and was here to take her away. But she wasn't going anywhere with him, she didn't have a reason to trust him either.
"...Tge ywaa, tge ywaa!" She yelled at him, standing up and backing away defensively. "Ealve em elaon!"
"Whoa, whoa," Sonic waved his hands immediately. "Calm down, I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to set you free!" He then ducked his head from another laser, gasping sharply.
"Tse em feer?" She murmured slowly and he looked up as he scratched the back of his head. She definitely stood out from everyone else...she wasn't from Mobius, that's for sure. He had no idea what any of that meant.
"You're not from here, are you?" He rubbed his chin and her eyes saddened once she realized that he couldn't understand a word she was saying. He looked up at her as she silently shed a tear. She felt so alone without her parents, and so scared. She had no idea what to do...
"Don't worry, I'm getting you out of there! And then we'll find your parents!"
She looked back up at him, confused on why he was helping her. He simply stepped back and spun, cutting through the bars. He then cut her restraints off, taking her by the hand.
"Come with me! And stay close."
The lasers zipped past the cell and they made a run for the door. Sonic took a look at Cat one last time before carrying Sophia bridal style. He sped out of the room and she yelped at his sudden action, making sure her skirt didn't drag.
A floating Swat-bot took surveillance of Sally and Antoine walking through the Dark Swamp. Unfortunately, they didn't look up and see it since she was too focused on finding her father. They trudged through the water, Antoine sweating in fear.
"How much farther, my princess?" He asked after gulping, trailing after her.
"We'll know when we get there, Antoine," She glanced over her shoulder as she was taking the lead. She came to a stop and Antoine bumped into her, causing the both of them to scream. Antoine jumped into the air while she took a deep breath.
She looked up to see Antoine quivering in a tree. "Antoine, what's wrong?" She asked in concern.
"A t-thousand pardons, my princess," He apologized while sitting on a branch.
"Are you alright? You're trembling," She noticed him shaking and he hugged himself.
"Not trembling, my princess! Um, uh, s-shivering, yes. I-I must have catched a uh—how do you say uh, achoo! Oh! A terrible cold! Um, I think we should return to Knothole." He really didn't want her to know that he was actually scared of traveling farther. And if Sonic were here, he'd be teasing him about it for the rest of the night.
"No, Antoine," Sally shook her head determinedly. "My father is alive. I know it. And I'm going to find him!" She then kept walking, ignoring his concerns. If there was one thing she wanted out of being a Freedom Fighter, it was getting her father back.
"But we are having no idea where he is," Antoine pointed out to her. She took out Nicole in response.
"Nicole, is there any kind of structure in the Dark Swamp?"
"Searching," Nicole then pulled up a picture in a sphere of a building. And it looked just as dark and dreary as the rest of the swamp. "One structure. Ironlock prison. Schematic display."
"Ironlock prison?!" Sally exclaimed in fear, thinking that he was a prisoner there. "Oh no! Come on, Antoine!"
"But princess, wait!" He protested, the branch breaking underneath him. He then fell into the water below.
Sonic and Sophia came up to the swamp, both of them stopping at a small cliff. He placed her down gently as she stood up, looking towards what was up ahead. She looked at all of the trees and broken branches, along with the slightly dirty water. It certainly looked...unique to their world in some level to her. It wasn't the most amazing thing she had seen so far, given her first experience being here.
"Oh man, I hate swamps!" Sonic suddenly complained and she turned to him. He swatted a bug from his quills, looking at his hand. Sophia waved away a bug passing by her face. "They're full of bugs and junk!" He then looked up at the princess. "Listen, I gotta find my friends and then we'll go back for your parents, your highness."
She looked a bit annoyed to be addressed as such, and he could tell that she didn't like being called that. Meaning that she was kind of Sally, since Sally herself wasn't called that either by her friends...well, except maybe Antoine.
"You don't like royal titles either, huh?"
She simply shook her head no slowly, because if she tried to speak, he still wouldn't be able to understand her. So it was silently accepted between the two that she'd just nod along or give gestures until they found a way to communicate. Hopefully Sally could help with that.
"Do you mind if I call you Soph?"
She gave it some thought and then smiled, shaking her head. She seemed to like the nickname.
"Well then Soph, I'm Sonic! Sonic the Hedgehog."
Sophia picked up her skirt a bit, curtsying to him. "Whoa, no need for that. We're way past cool now."
She looked a bit confused by the slang since it wasn't familiar to her, but there was no time to ask. He put her into his arms again.
"Juice time!"
He sped off into the forest with Sophia in tow. Even though she couldn't speak yet understand English, he was learning a little bit more and more about her as time passed. He had asked some questions that she could answer simply with a yes or no. For example, he learned that she had traveled through space and loved sweets. Though, it'd be hard to find the things that she considered sweets from her home world...
The blue hedgehog skid to a stop, glancing around the area. "Sally!" He hollered, but could only hear his echo. "Bummer." He felt a tug, glancing at Sophia. "Huh?" She pointed downwards and he looked at the dirt to see two pairs of footprints. "Yeah. Now we're getting somewhere! Good eye, Soph."
He suddenly heard rumbling very close to him and looked at Sophia again. She rubbed her neck in embarrassment as she hadn't had a chance to eat anything.
"Hungry, huh? No sweat, I'll find ya something," He then took off once again, the robot still watching them.
"Dr. Robotnik! We have the hedgehog. And it seems that he has freed Princess Sophia. They're both in the Dark Swamp."
"He's looking for Princess Sally..." Robotnik petted Cluck while in his chair. "While Sophia has slipped through my fingers. No matter, a possible triple-header. Launch the stealth-bots."
"Yes sir," Snively pressed a red button, and an alarm blared. A panel opened to release the robots.
Sonic stopped at a berry bush, placing Sophia down and speeding around it. Once he stopped running, he held up a medium-sized basket of berries. She blinked at him in shock as he placed the basket in her hands.
"There you go! One berry bonanza by Sonic himself," He took a bow, causing her to giggle at him. She then looked at the berries, staring at them. And then he realized that she had probably never seen berries before. Meaning most likely they didn't have them on her planet. "Oh, don't worry, these are good. Well, as good as they are from a swamp. You just take one and put it in your mouth."
He took one and demonstrated it to her. She carefully took a berry and tried it. As she chewed, she smiled at him, eating another one. She didn't know their language, food, or customs, and had never even heard of Robotnik. It could only make Sonic wonder...what did this girl have that made the evil doctor wanna kidnap her? And if even she could speak English, she probably didn't even know the answer to that...
Neither of them noticed the Swat-bot following them as they took off again.
The stealth-bots left Robotnik's lair to head for the Dark Swamp.
Antoine and Sally were still walking. "How much farther, my princess?" Antoine asked, not sure if he could endure this place for much longer.
"Any minute, Antoine," Sally pushed past a wall of leaves, and they suddenly came to a stop.
"Scare bleu..." Antoine murmured as they looked up ahead. "Is that-"
"Yes. Ironlock." They had finally reached the prison, which seemed abandoned. So abandoned that it was starting to fall apart in some places. No efforts had been made to salvage either, apparently, meaning no one had been here in a long time. Sally pulled out Nicole again. "Nicole, give me all data on Ironlock."
"Searching, Sally. Built in 1543, abandoned 100 years ago. No other data," Nicole reported to her.
Sonic ran on water, Sophia's hair flying past as she hung on.
"You're in for a ride, Soph! Hope you can handle it!" He then picked up speed, but she didn't seem afraid at all.
The stealth-bot was arriving to their location as Sophia heard the bot. She looked up and pointed up at it, getting Sonic's attention. He then traveled faster before the stealth-bot fired a missile. Sonic looked back and his eyes widened in shock.
"Whoa! Hedgehog missile alert! Heading warp seven!" He ran so fast to avoid it, Sophia could get whiplash. The stealth-bot floated above a broken tree and Sonic suddenly got an idea. "Time to dust one stealth-bot. Hang on!"
She tightened her grip as he ran into the tree, going up the trunk. The two emerged from the top, Sonic landing on the branch. They watched as the missile flew towards the stealth-bot taking it out. Sophia looked up in awe and then grinned.
Sally and Antoine were now walking across a very unstable bridge, which just worried Antoine even more. They slowly took their steps, the bridge wobbling.
"My princess, I am thinking this is not safe!" He told her as they continued.
"Don't be such a worry wart, Antoine," She replied while trying to maintain her balance. The bridge then swung to the side, both of them yelping.
"Are you alright, my princess?" He asked once the shaking stopped.
"I'm fine!" She took a moment to catch her breath, but one more step caused the whole thing to shake.
"Gah! Alright princess! Run!" Antoine grabbed her hand and ran forward. However, that was enough to cause the bridge to snap. Antoine let out a cry as the whole bridge fell to the water. Luckily, they had managed to barely reach the other side, hanging onto the platform.
Antoine pulled himself up, turning around to get Sally. "Come on, Antoine! That's right! Come on, Sally," He grabbed her hand and pulled her onto her feet. They looked up at the prison, which...was honestly more creepier up close than far away. "Princess, I am hating to be such a, um, how you say, such a worry-worm, heh. But zis terrible place, it is not so good for our health. I am thinking this is so." He kissed her hand a few times. "We go home, yes?"
She took her hands back. "We go home, no, Antoine. If my father is in there, I'm going to find him. Is that clear?"
He shook his head no, but then relented and shook his head yes. "Oui, oui, my princess. Very clear, very clear. But-"
"No buts, Antoine," She interrupted him, pointing to the building. "Now let's go."
He cowered in place, not moving at all. "Antoine!" She screamed and he ran towards her.
"Oui, oui, princess here I am!" He slowly followed her into the prison and she explored it. "I am right behind you, princess."
"That's comforting," She remarked sarcastically as she could tell he was walking slowly.
Meanwhile, Sonic cranked up the speed overtime, leaving behind a wave every inch from the water. He then sped past the footprints, going back to examine them.
"Right behind ya, Sal! You okay, Soph?"
She nodded in return and they followed the footprints to hopefully find Sally and Antoine.
The duo stepped into the cell block of Ironlock Prison, but all of them were empty. Antoine whimpered a bit as they stopped.
"My princess, maybe I'm thinking we should-"
"Antoine, look!" Sally interrupted as she pointed up ahead. On the floor a few feet away was a piece of cloth.
"What is it?"
She picked it up and her eyes saddened. "It's from my father's cloak...I recognize the design. He was here!" She gripped it close, squeezing her eyes shut. Antoine placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, his eyes full of sympathy. "Come on!"
She stepped forward and he followed, the two walking past an open door. A breeze slammed the door shut, frightening Antoine. He jumped into Sally's arms, chuckling awkwardly.
"Hello! It was just a...clever way to get into your arms, my princess."
Sophia and Sonic finally reached Ironlock Prison, looking up at the building. "Whoa, mondo-spooky!"
The pink-haired girl nodded in agreement before he raced over the moat and landed in front of the gate.
Sally opened a door to a dark room, stepping in. "Antoine, my father was in here."
"This is good, yes?" He questioned nervously with a wide smile. Someone touched his shoulder, causing him to freak out. Sally turned around, gasping as she saw Sonic and the pink-haired princess standing in the doorway.
Sonic chuckled, looking up at the ceiling. "What are you doing up there, Ant?" Antoine was sitting on top of the wooden door.
"Princess! You're alright," Sally said in relief, earning a small scowl.
"Guys, say hello to Sophia. She hates being called princess, but I call her Soph."
"We're glad to see you're alright. I'm Sally," The chipmunk greeted her kindly, gesturing to herself. "And that's Antoine up there."
"H-Hello," Antoine stammered nervously, still a little scared from earlier.
Sophia simply greeted them with a wave and a small smile. She deduced that these must've been the friends he was talking about.
"She doesn't speak English, though. Which is getting to become a bummer."
Sophia crossed her arms with a small pout before glancing up at Antoine.
"Sonic, come here."
"What's up, Sal?" He skidded to a stop right next to her.
"Look what I found!" She looked to an old computer that was behind a hole in the brick wall.
"A computer, so?"
"My father must've sent me those messages from this computer!" She explained to him and Sophia just gave a look of confusion.
"Looks real ancient. Does it work?" Sonic scratched the side of his head.
"I don't know," Sally started tapping on the buttons. "Keep your fingers crossed...yes!"
The computer activated, showing only a black screen and some squiggly green lines. "Access code, please."
"...Try Bean," She rubbed her chin.
"Standby for message. Bean, check subter file, deposit. End of message."
"...That's definitely from my father," Sally shed a few tears, shaking her head. "Somehow he knew I'd find it."
"Fantastique!" Antoine cheered at this. "...What does it mean?"
"He didn't finish the message, but at least now I know he's alive. I just don't know where! Computer, access subter file." Sophia just watched them from the doorway as she didn't know what was going on, and she couldn't exactly ask for an explanation due to the current communication issue.
"Checking subter file."
Once she got access to it, they saw a whole bunch of maps. "Guys! Look at this! Do you know what these maps do? They give us access to all of Robotropolis!"
"Check out the tunnels!" Sonic pointed to one. "Man, I didn't know they existed!"
Sally pulled out Nicole once again. "Ready, Sally."
"Access main database," Sally commanded her.
"Accessing." Sonic leaned against the brick wall. "Password, Sally."
"Subter."
The hedgehog looked to his watch impatiently. "Nicole, get the old data out!"
Sally gave him a small glare. "Access granted."
"Transfer to holographic disc."
Sophia heard a noise as her ear twitched, looking up to see a giant rock fall. "Kolo uto!" She rapidly waved her hands and Sonic turned around to her in confusion.
"Huh?"
Suddenly the ground started shaking so loud they had to cover their ears. "Hey! What's going on?" Sonic exclaimed, Sophia squeezing her eyes shut.
"Ahh!" She gave out a small cry of pain as she tried to block out the sound. Suddenly a trap door activated underneath the three and they fell.
"On!" Sophia shouted as she ran forward, diving in head-first.
The three animals continued to fall until two arms grabbed both Sally and Sonic. Antoine grabbed onto a leg as they stopped in mid-air. They looked down in confusion before looking up, their mouths opening in shock.
Sophia was holding onto them, and had two large pink and white moth-like wings with see-through silver panes in the holes attached to her back.
"Ah! The girl is having wings?!" Antoine exclaimed while still clinging onto her leg.
She slowly descended down until they safely landed on the ground. "Would've been nice to know you could fly, Soph," Sonic remarked to her.
"Thank you for saving us is what he meant to say," Sally gave him a look and Sophia simply gave a small nod.
"What happened?" Antoine asked in confusion.
"That dumb cell was booby trapped is what happened!" Sonic retorted back.
"...But what is this place?" Antoine looked around in fear. The hedgehog sniffed the air as Sophia dusted herself off.
"Ew! Whatever it is, it sure stinks!" He complained and Sophia sniffed the air as well. She scrunched up her nose in disgust as she looked away, covering her nose. A creak was suddenly heard, earning a gasp from Sonic. Nearby was a door, and at the end of it was a single red light. "Okay guys, hang here. I'm gonna go scope out that red light."
He sped over to the hallway and they waited for him. But then he didn't come back and they backed away towards the wall.
"Sonic? You okay?" Sally called out to him.
He came back a few seconds later, spraying some sewage onto Antoine. "Wherever we go, we can't go that way!" Sonic pointed in the direction he came from.
"Why not?" Antoine asked curiously.
He got his answer a second later as a loud stomp occurred. Sophia squinted as she looked forward, a large one-eyed creature with a glowing eye appearing. She gasped sharply at its appearance.
"That's why not!" Sonic clarified to them.
"Oh my gosh, what is it?" Sally gasped in horror.
"Someone you never wanna marry," He told her as they watched it roar. "Plus, he's in a bad mood."
"But that's our only way out!" Sally pointed past the beast.
"What what what-" Sonic slapped the back of Antoine's head to snap him out of it. "What are we going to do?"
"Ask about his mother, maybe he's not such a bad guy," Sonic suggested nervously as Sophia looked to her hands, debating something in her head. The monster took a step forward with a roar. "No...he's rotten to the core."
Sophia tapped his shoulder and then pointed to her eyes, gesturing to the beast. She then hit her hand against her palm. And finally, she made a gesture with her left eye, pulling an o shape with two fingers back and forth. "Are you saying you can distract him?"
She nodded eagerly with a smile at his understanding. Because he had been around her the longest out of the three, he had been somewhat efficient in figuring out what she was trying to say. Or at least, more than the other two.
"Alright then, Soph. I've got an idea! Sal, grab the power ring from my bag! Okay, when I hold out my hand, slap it in! And when I give you the okay, Soph, you distract it!"
"Got it," Sally agreed as the pink-haired princess nodded eagerly. Honestly, she was just eager to help, especially since Sonic saved her life. Antoine and Sally held onto his shoulders.
"Juice time! Soph, now! Hold on!"
Sophia then used her heat vision to aim it at the beast's feet. He jumped around in a panic before Sonic sped past her, grabbing onto her hand. Sally gave him the power ring in his right hand, which he used to roll into a ball and go into the thing's mouth. They emerged from the other side, blowing it up to reveal robotic parts inside. Sonic lifted up part of the exterior to reveal Sally.
"Chill guys, everything's cool!" He smiled up at the robot as they looked relieved.
"Sonic, how did you know it was robotic?" Sally couldn't help but wonder.
"The hedgehog knows...plus, Soph told me. That last gesture meant that the eyes could scan stuff. She must've known something was off about it."
She nodded in confirmation with a small smile.
"But now, I am thinking we have another problem," Antoine spoke up, gesturing to two hallways. "Hm? How do we get the hecks out of here?"
Sally pulled out Nicole again. "Nicole, bring up Bean," She waved her hand and the map of Ironlock appeared.
Sonic tapped his foot impatiently after getting no answer. "I'm waiting."
"I have a great idea! We'll take that tunnel," Sally gestured to a tunnel on the leftmost side of the map.
They emerged in a cave, which also had multiple pathways. "Whoa, way cool!"
"According to those maps...we should be very close," Sally stated, confusing all three of them.
"To what?"
"You'll see. Follow that light source," She pointed to the path on the right.
A Swatbot rolled past on cave grounds and the four peeked behind some rocks. Sonic and Sally peeked around.
"Let's go," She whispered to them and the three followed after her. Sophia picked up her skirt so that it wouldn't get caught in anything. They snuck up to a large metallic foot, then to a ship, and then Sally closed a panel to the very last one. "Done. That's the last one. These stealthbots are history!"
"I got some things to do. Soph, you stay with my friends. They'll take good care of you...well, maybe just Sal," Antoine glared at that, crossing his arms. "Meet you guys at the usual. Gotta juice!" He took off, Sophia waving at him.
He arrived back in the cells where he left Cat, searching for the specific cell. Once he found it, though...Cat was gone...
"Cat?!" His eyes got a bit misty as he could probably guess the fate of his friend... A laser flew past and he had to duck his head. He turned to his left, gasping in shock to see Swatbots...
And the robotocized king and queen. And he knew it was them because of the crowns on their heads.
He ran in the other direction, managing to escape them.
"Intruder alert: Detention building. Intruder alert."
Robotnik glanced to one of the screens to see Sonic zipping away. "Consider yourself terminated, hedgehog," He pressed a red button and several panels opened.
Sonic made it back to the three, only to see stealthbots being launched. "He's launching the stealthbots!" He dug into his bag and pulled out one of Robotnik's cameras. "News at 11:00." He pointed it at the incoming bots.
Robotnik then just looked at the steathbots on his screen in confusion as they weren't doing anything. "What is this?! Snively, recall them!"
"Yes, sir," He pressed a button, but the bots exploded due to Sally's rewiring. They had to cover their eyes from the blast. Robotnik growled and watched the other ones explode. Then the feed changed to Sonic.
"Yo, Robuttnik! That was for Cat," Sonic gave him a thumbs down, laughing. But also deep down, it was for Sophia's parents. And then he was reminded of seeing them, realizing that Sophia probably didn't have anywhere else to go. And being the person he was, he couldn't just leave her to fend for herself out there...that wasn't his style.
"Hey, Soph...how'd you like to meet our other friends?"
Sally and Antoine stared at him and he gestured that he would tell them later. Because right now, he did not want to tell the girl about her parents while still near Robotnik's. Sophia smiled happily and nodded, feeling comfortable with the idea.
Sophia's new outfit consisted of a light pink short-sleeved blouse with a cream colored vest over it and white shorts. The vest had an upturned collar and long tails that stopped at her knees with a small bow in the back. Her pink hair was in a plait braid resting over her right shoulder and stopping right next to her hip. The end was tied with a butterfly ornament in white and a red rose in the center. Her boots were brown with wide brown flaps decorated with flowers, black lace tied around the ankle. Her head had a white rose flower crown over it. And of course, she still had the power rings on her wrists.
She was given a new outfit because her dress would just get in the way, so Sally gave her some new clothes. She was sitting on a log, looking around at the trees while Sonic was telling the others what happened with her. They asked her to wait for them so that they could figure what they were going to do now.
"That's awful! And she doesn't know about her parents yet?" Sally frowned a bit once they heard the news.
"I didn't have the heart to tell her...she's got nowhere to go," Sonic frowned as well.
"She could stay with us," Tails offered happily. "She can read me stories and I could tell her about how cool everyone is!"
"And we could always use another Freedom Fighter," Rotor added in. "But there's still the whole communication issue..."
Sophia sat there patiently, not really paying attention to them. They were too far away for her to hear, but she did wonder what they were talking about. After a few more minutes of them talking, they came over to her.
"Thanks for waiting, Sophia. These are our friends, Bunnie, Rotor, and Tails. There are other Freedom Fighters, but we'll introduce you to them later."
"Hi Sophia!"
"Nice to meet you, sug."
"Welcome to our home."
She just waved in return with a grin. "Soph, do you have a way to learn our language? Because to be honest, the whole silence thing is killing me."
Sally elbowed Sonic for being rude, but Sophia didn't seem to be offended. Instead of answering, she scoped the group before focusing on Antoine. She closed her eyes as she focused on him, a pink light forming on her forehead. Then the same light appeared on Antoine's forehead, shocking all of them.
"Huh?!"
After a few seconds, the process stopped and she opened her eyes. "What just happened?" Rotor glanced between her and Antoine. "You okay, Antoine?"
"Yes, but I am being confused..."
"Je peux apprendre les langues en puisant dans qui je choisis en examinant leur lobe pariétal. Tous mes gens ont cette capa cité. (I can learn languages by tapping into whoever I choose by examining their parietal lobe. All of my people have that ability)."
However...because Antoine was very French-orientated, and had a French accent, that only accounted for the language behind the accent. And not entirely basing that ability on the fact that Antoine's English was tenuous at best. Hence, why she was speaking French now.
They just stared in confusion, Sonic scratching the back of his head.
"...Tu ne comprends toujours pas mot de ce que je dis, n'est-ce pas? (You still don't understand a word I'm saying, do you?)" Sophia questioned sadly with a small frown.
"Wait, she must've examined Antoine's parietal lobe to learn his language!" Rotor snapped his fingers. "So all she needs is someone's mind to process our language into her parietal lobe, right? So we just have to give her a volunteer to give her proper English!"
"Cool!" Tails commented in awe.
Sophia perked up at this, waiting to see what they would do.
"I'll do it. I'm more past cool than Antoine is at talking," Sonic jerked a thumb to himself, Sally rolling her eyes.
"I'll help you, Sophia. Do it with me," Sally offered her, and the princess nodded. She did the same process as before with Antoine and they waited patiently.
"I'm waiting," Sonic replied impatiently as Sophia opened her eyes.
"Did it work?" Bunnie asked quietly.
"...Can you understand me now?" Sophia wondered and she gasped at hearing herself speak English. "Oh..."
"Now that's better," Sonic smiled a bit.
"Sophia...if you're an alien...how'd you end up here?" Rotor asked and she took a deep breath.
"I think in order to answer that...I have to tell you about how I came to be."
Everyone sat around the campfire, Sophia sipping some water. "My parents and I are from the planet Xenia. A planet filled with humanoid aliens, but smaller than the average human. I am the only child of King Elliot and Queen Valentina, and I am the heir to the Xenian throne when I turn 180."
"180?!" Sonic's eyes widened at her age. "But you look the same age as me."
"Oh, we age on a different system than it does here," Sophia informed him. "But, back to my story. We were a peaceful kind until my Uncle Valtor found out I would take over the throne instead of him. He believed himself to be the heir, and wanted to be king. So he proceeded to take over my home, and he turned us over to Robotnik out of spite. Robotnik said that I had something he wanted, but he never said what it was. And I never got to know how he knew about it..."
Sonic pointed to her rings. "How'd you get those rings?"
"My rings?" She looked to her wrists. "Oh, these were a gift from a family friend, but I've never met him."
"My Uncle Chuck made them...he's the only one who can," Sonic told her and she rubbed her chin in thought.
"Perhaps it was him..."
"Hmm," He rubbed his chin, wondering how Chuck got into contact with them...
"What about your powers? How'd you get them?" Sally asked curiously and she stood up.
"Oh, I was born with them! My grandfather had powers as well. I have various types of vision," Her eyes glowed red. "Flight," Her wings reappeared on her back before they disappeared. "Super hearing and super speed!"
"Wait! You're fast like Sonic?" Tails wondered in awe and she sped around the group to prove it. "Cool!"
"We gotta have a race, Soph!" Sonic told her eagerly and she sat back down.
"I'd be honored someday, Sonic."
"Well, at least we know why Robotnik wanted her. He wanted to take her powers to use against Sonic," Rotor pointed out.
"Well, we won't let that happen!" Sonic declared, punching his palm.
"Now that we've delved into my past, I need to know, have you rescued my parents?" The pink-haired princess suddenly asked hopefully and they glanced to each other. They had yet to tell her about her parents, since they wanted to give her time to adjust. She was unknowingly alone now in a world that she didn't understand. But they couldn't hide it from her forever.
"Soph, we need to talk." Sonic glanced to the others and then at Sally. "Sally, come with me."
She stood up and followed them outside in confusion. The others looked on sadly as they dreaded her reaction. They walked up to the window, watching as the three stood in front of the hut. Sophia faced Sally and Sonic, very concerned.
"What is it? What are you not telling me? They're not hurt, are they?!"
"No, nothing like that," Sally shook her head rapidly, looking towards Sonic. She didn't have the heart to tell the girl the news.
"Soph...when I found your parents, they were...robotocized." Sophia's eyes widened at that and he looked down sadly. "I'm sorry."
"W-What does that mean, robotocized?" Sophia stammered nervously, already not liking the possible definition of that.
"You don't know what that means?" Sonic then directed his eyes back at her.
"No, the man with the mustache, this...Robotnik. He simply only said that I had something he wanted and then took us from the galaxy. He never got to tell me what I had or what he'd do if I didn't give it to him. Please tell me what that means for my parents..." She placed a hand on her heart, feeling frightened for them. The two couldn't help but feel bad that they had to explain it to her. They could tell that she clearly loved them.
"Being robotocized here means...that you're turned into a slave for Robotnik," Sally slowly stated and the girl's eyes slowly got glassy. She already dreaded asking what it was. "And...with that, people who are robotocized lose their free will, and...they'll attack anyone on sight. So far...there's no way to reverse this."
Sophia shook a little at that before she fell onto her knees. She reacted a few seconds later by covering her eyes, starting to cry. The others could only watch her reaction with a gut wrench to the heart...
After she calmed down a little, she was sitting on a spare bed in Bunnie's hut. She hadn't spoken since being told her parents' fate. And because she was an alien girl who knew next to nothing about their world, she agreed that she would stay with them. Though when asked whether or not she wanted to become a Freedom Fighter, they didn't get a response. And it didn't seem like they'd get one tonight, so they decided that she needed some rest. Sophia wasn't sure what to do with herself now that her parents were...mentally gone. Sally had told her the full story behind being robotocized, but she was only half-listening.
The whole time, she was thinking what to do now. She had no one left...no one besides people who did save her life. But she didn't know them really. She felt so alone, and without her parents...what could she really do on Earth?
"Thank you for letting me stay here, but you didn't have to," Sophia spoke up to Bunnie, who was tidying up.
"Nonsense, sugar. Any friend of Sonic's is a friend of mine!" Bunnie insisted to her before frowning. "It'll be okay, darling. Even if you don't become one of us, we'll still be showing that Robotnik!"
Sophia looked up at her in confusion. "Wait, so...your purpose as a Freedom Fighter is to fight against Robotnik?"
"Sure is! After he took over Robotropolis, that's what we've been doing around here. No one's told ya, huh?"
"No," The girl shook her head. "But if I do become one of you...I'd be opposing against him?"
Bunnie nodded at her and Sophia stayed silent, letting her thoughts take over. "Well, goodnight, sug." She turned out the light and Sophia laid down, looking out the window. It would take a lot of time for her to adjust to this new life of hers...
Angel: I...I was really conflicted within choosing what episode to actually put as the first one. This one was aired before Heads or Tails, but the pilot episode is episode 13. And this episode was actually only the second one to air on ABC, Super Sonic came before it. I ultimately decided that the pilot episode could be considered as an origins episode, kinda like with Miraculous Ladybug. Not to mention that it was aired after Super Sonic months later. And the order of the episodes is kinda wonky too no matter where I look, so that does not help *blank look*. For example, Youtube has both Heads or Tails or this one listed as episode one. I'm gonna stick with the one from the Sonic wikia, since the Wikipedia list is not that accurate. As far as I can tell, there aren't any major conflicting things with the episodes no matter which one goes where. But if I'm wrong, you are welcome to tell me. The 90s and their episode orders, man...they are just all over the place.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, Sophia's alien language was entirely made up from me. I just used a word scrambler and went from there. Also, I didn't give her all of the powers she had in Sophia X, or else it'd be too complicated for this show, at least for the time that it came out. I'm probably gonna get flak for saying that, but I also personally think that she does not need that many powers in this adaptation. I also did try to give her the powers that I ended up cutting from the anime, I kept some though from Sophia X. So if you prefer an OP Sophia, look to Sophia X.