It was night time in Robotropolis as the sky was a dark red. A Hover Unit flew by. Elsewhere, Sonic, Sally, Bunnie, and Sophia were standing in a fog. Which caused both Bunnie and Sophia to cough from it. The pink-haired girl waved a hand in front of her face.
"Ugh! Don't you just love all this fresh air?" Bunnie complained as Sophia's pupils flashed red.
"Thankfully I have my eyes to help with the lack of sight in the area," She glanced around. This was her first mission with the Freedom Fighters, and she was just hoping that she would prove to be useful to them. She didn't want to be helpful just because she was the newest member or that she was doing it to be rebelling against Robotnik. Her new friends had been very nice to her ever since she had come to stay with them, and she wanted to repay that.
"Yeah, I love the air about as much as I love Robuttnik," Sonic remarked as Bunnie was rummaging through his backpack. Sally was working on Nicole.
"Arm cannisters, Nicole."
"Arming, Sally."
The canisters from Sonic's backpack lit up and Bunnie placed another one inside along with the three already in there. All of them were lighting up.
"Cannisters armed."
"You're all loaded, sugar-hog," Bunnie closed the backpack.
"Cool, synchronize the ol' watches."
"Sophia, here's yours," Sally handed one to the pink-haired princess, who put it on her left arm just below the ring on her wrist. "All you have to do is press the buttons from the top and the bottom. Then you link up with our watches."
"Mm-hm," Sophia nodded in understanding, doing so along with the others. They put their arms out and activated a timer together.
"Okay, meet you at the usual. If anybody's late, jam back to Knothole. Check?" Sonic glanced at all of the girls.
"Check," They all agreed in unison, giving a thumbs up. Sonic turned to Sophia.
"You sure you're comfortable going with Bunnie, Soph?" Ever since she moved into Knothole, Sonic took more of an older sibling role despite the fact that she was technically older than him—and the other Knothole members for that matter. But she didn't really mind since she was roughly the same height as them and they were her guide to navigating around the place.
"Yes, Bunnie has taken good care of me just like everyone else. Except maybe Antoine," Sophia glanced away, giggling a bit.
"You know what to do, right? This is your first mission, after all. If you feel overwhelmed, let Bunnie know and you can stop."
"Sonic, she'll be fine. She'll be with Bunnie, and both of them are capable of handling their own," Sally placed her hands on her hips, a bit annoyed that he didn't trust the girl as much as the other two did. Sally had seen Sophia and what she could do, and they had trained her for this mission thoroughly until she could memorize it.
"Oh, I don't mind," Bunnie waved it off. "I'll make sure she's safe."
"Thank you for worrying, Sonic, but it'd be best if we could actually start the mission," Sophia stated politely, giving him a hint to stop worrying. And honestly, it made her felt like a child in which she was not.
"Okay, if you say so," Sonic held up his hands in defense, not wanting to be ganged up by the girls.
"Good luck, y'all!" Bunnie waved as Sophia took her by the waist, flying her away from the two.
"We'll see you later!"
"Let's do it to it!" Sonic and Sally said in unison, doing their secret handshake. Then they gave each other a thumbs up.
Swatbots were guarding an immense entrance. There was crane machinery moving something inside. Nearby, in a pile of scrap metal, Sonic was snooping around. And unfortunately, along with the Swat-bots, there were also some security cameras...
"Must've forgot the welcome mat," Sonic grumbled at this. After what happened last time when he broke Sophia out, Robotnik must've upgraded security... "Gotta find another way in." He glanced around for a solution, and found what he was looking for with the roof. A large ship was entering a port from the top of the factory.
Sonic grabbed a piece of metal and threw it at the security camera, destroying it. It fell to pieces near the Swatbots, who immediately went over to investigate.
"Juice time!" Sonic ran past them and then ran up the wall. He reached a doorway into the port, which had garbage everywhere, and skidded to a stop. This was because over the edge was a vat of liquid. And given by the bubbles, it was most likely very hot.
"Whoa!"
Another ship came and pushed the garbage forward to the edge.
"What?!" Sonic exclaimed as he was pushed along with it. "Bad move, hedgehog! Mondo bad move!"
Parts of the garbage started to fall into the vat and the hedgehog pushed against it. "I'm outta here!" He jumped and landed on a bucket that was hanging over the vat. He hung over a rope that suspended it. Then a crane moved along with Sonic, thankfully getting him away from the vat. But then he saw a moving conveyor belt assembly line for Swatbots.
"Man, that was a close one," He glanced over his shoulder. "Shoulda known better than to not bring the only person with us who can fly with me."
Sophia was still flying Bunnie around when she pointed towards the ground. "Set us down right there, sugar."
The girl slowly descended onto the ground right near a red panel. Her wings disappeared from her back and then she flinched as she heard a noise.
"Bunnie, get down!" Sophia pushed her behind a pile of garbage so they could both hide. A Hover Unit approached the area as the two ducked their heads, but they were spotted anyway.
"Alert, alert. Organic lifeforms detected."
One of them slapped on the control panel.
"Don't bother. Substation electricity interferes with heat sensor. Ignore."
Sophia stood up and her eyes flashed red before lasers flew from them, hitting the ship. She blasted it to pieces and they fell to the ground.
"Oh my," Bunnie turned to the girl in surprise. "You never have a dull moment, do you, sug?"
"That was for my parents," Sophia narrowed her eyes, feeling a bit angry at being reminded of how they ended up. "It was, how do you say it, sticking it to Robuttnik?"
"Definitely!" Bunnie smiled at her. "You're becoming a natural."
They ran back to the panel, Sophia on lookout. Bunnie ripped it open with her mechanical arm. She then looked at her watch. "19...18...17..."
"16...15...14," Sophia looked at her own as the countdown had started.
Sonic jumped across and grabbed another rope. He used it to slide towards the ground. He then ran and hid behind a wall as a yellow Swatbot passed by him. He then took a look at his watch.
"8...7...6..."
Outside, Sally was also looking at her watch, but she failed to notice another Hover Unit flying up behind her. "5...4...3..."
Bunnie and Sophia held onto a switch.
"2...1...Bingo!" They both pulled it together and that caused the whole factory to shut down.
Sonic walked over slowly so as not to make a sound, and took out two cannisters from his backpack. He planted them into the ground.
"Ciao!"
He charged himself up and ran off.
Sally was using Nicole to analyze the map of Robotropolis to see where Sonic was. "Come on, Sonic, get out of there," She pleaded to herself, seeing him get around quickly. A Hover Unit approached Sally from behind and then fired a laser at her.
She gasped sharply as it barely missed her. She packed up Nicole and ran off.
Sonic ran away as two Swat-bots were chasing after him. He eluded them by going a level above.
"Yo, botbutts!" He called out and they looked up. "Looks like you could use a shout!" He held up a bucket of scrap metal by a rope. He let go of it and dropped the metal onto the bots, trapping them. He jumped down and landed in front of the pile, taking off again. He dropped a cannister in the process. More Swatbots arrived and he had to duck his head from a laser. "Yikes!" He went back, but got stopped by the bots. Then he zigzagged around and stopped, going in the opposite direction. "Whoa! Uh oh. This dump is getting crowded!"
Two Swatbots were in front of him as they fired and he turned around, gasping sharply. He looked around and tried to dash ahead, only to be blocked off. He jumped up as a Swatbot from behind fired a missile at him. The other robots moved out of the way to miss it and he landed back down safely. He looked to see the missile returning and screamed, running forward.
He took out a power ring as he glanced over his shoulder. The missile was getting closer and closer to him.
"Warp time!"
Just as the missile reached him, he increased his speed thanks to the power ring, leaving a trail of fire. He escaped the factory and Sally watched him leave. She looked towards Nicole.
"Nicole, prepare for-"
"Raise your hands, prisoner," A Swatbot interrupted her. Another one arrived as they aimed their weapons at her.
Back in Knothole Village during nighttime still, Sophia and Bunnie arrived through a slide chute. They both landed in a pile of hay, Sophia's bottom sticking out from it. Bunnie emerged from the top, shaking off the hay from her head.
"Whoo-whee, I feel like I've been dragged through a knothole...so to speak."
Sophia pulled herself out and looked at the hay on her. "And I feel like a low-effort scarecrow..."
"Hey, did you guys nail a Swatbot factory?" Rotor asked from the other side of Sophia, Antoine standing next to him.
"Well, honey, I don't know," Bunnie shrugged at him.
"We didn't see it explode, so it's hard to say..." Sophia glanced up at her. Bunnie slid down the pile of hay.
"We had to make a very unladylike retreat," Bunnie explained to them. Antoine offered his hand to her. "Thanks sugar."
He pulled too hard however, and took off her arm. "Oh! Oh, my stars. I'm just falling apart!"
Sophia emerged from behind the hay, dusting some off her clothes. "So Sophia, how was your first mission with the Freedom Fighters?"
"Oh, it was exciting!" She smiled, clasping her hands. "I was nervous, but at least I had the others with me."
"She got me out of a sticky situation earlier. With a little more training and experience, I think she's got it," Bunnie smiled too, jerking a thumb up at her. Sophia grabbed her robot arm from Antoine and bent down, attaching it back to Bunnie. "Oh thank you."
Rotor glanced around and finally noticed that 2 out of 4 were missing. "Hey, where's Sonic and Sally?"
"Well, the last time we saw, they were-"
"Cannonbaaaaaall!" Sonic spin dashed through the chute and they ran out of the way. He landed in the hay stack and it fell apart. He lifted some off his head and the pieces of hay went flying. "It was seismic! Talk about fireworks, right Bunnie, Soph?"
The four dusted off the hay, Sophia looking a bit annoyed by being covered in it again. Sonic looked around for Sally, but she wasn't anywhere to be found.
"Where's Sal?"
"She wasn't at the meeting place, so we came on back," Bunnie told him. Sonic immediately turned around and charged up to go.
"I gotta go back!"
Before he could leave, he got his arms grabbed by both Sophia and Bunnie.
"Sonic, wait!" The rabbit called out as he fell onto the hay. "You need a power ring."
"Why can't I just use Soph's?" He gestured to the pink-haired girl.
"You know why. Because you borrowed them yesterday, and they haven't finished being re-boosted yet," She placed her hands on her hips. He smiled sheepishly at her answer. Yesterday he wanted to test how powerful her rings were, because they were different from the way he used them now. He had to wait at the Lake of Rings to get one, which took forever. But Sophia's were a different story. They worked exactly like his, which further supported the fact that Chuck made them. However, her rings weren't exactly the same in terms in function. She could use her rings every 12 hours and got to keep them instead of replacing them like he did. She explained that it was because they were in space and it had something to do with the space-time continuum.
But unfortunately like him, she still had to deal with not using them for 12 hours, so she was still restricted to that time limit.
A thunderstorm had started back in Robotropolis as thunder could be heard. A lightning bolt struck near Robotnik's lair. "I know the hedgehog and the alien princess will come for you, dear girl..."
It turned out that Sally had been captured by the bots and taken to Robotnik's control room. She was now in a glass tube as a metallic robot stood next to her. "And when they do...I have a surprise. And then Sophia's powers will be mine!"
Sally gasped in concern; that must've been what he wanted from Sophia and why he kidnapped her. Probably most specifically her speed.
"Here it is, Dr. Robotnik," Snively walked up to him. "Enough memory to duplicate human complexity," He held up a chip.
"Excellent, Snively. Install it."
Snively walked over to the robot, opened up its back, and inserted the chip. Sally could only watch and then a screen nearby activated to show Robotnik.
"I don't suppose you'll tell me the location of Knothole..."
"Sure, I will," She placed her hands on her hips. "When you get a life!"
He seemed unfazed by her remark and pressed some buttons from his chair. The bot activated and twitched.
"When you get a life!" The bot spoke exactly in Sally's voice, causing her to gasp. Snively pressed a button from the bot, who stepped forward. It let itself get caught in another tube just like Sally's. Sally gasped in fear as a scan occurred around her. The bot then suddenly took the form of Sally herself. They both took a look at each other.
She whipped around to Robotnik. "Sonic is too smart to be fooled by a robot. Even a good one. And Sophia would sense that it is one with her infrared vision."
"Oh, but we're not finished, Princess," He pressed another button. "We need to add your spark of personality."
A purple halo surrounded Sally's head, the same thing happening to the robot.
It was now daytime in Knothole as Sonic paced around. Tails, Rotor, and Sophia were with him at the edge of a pond. Sophia was flying above them, glancing at Sonic as he walked up to the other two. He crossed his arms, tapping his foot. She didn't need to hear his catchphrase to know how he was feeling at the moment.
"...That's it! I'm outta here!" He exclaimed after a few seconds, about to leave.
"Wait, Sonic!"
Sophia flew in front of him and prepared her eyes to zap him if needed. Rotor grabbed onto him from behind. "You can't go without a ring," Rotor held him up above the ground so that he couldn't leave, although he didn't blame him for wanting to.
"Sal's in mondo trouble, and I'm going, ring or no ring!" Sonic insisted to him. Sophia placed her hands on her hips.
"Sonic, I know you wish to save Sally, and we're not trying to stop you. But think about what would happen if you went without it. How would you help Sally if you don't have everything necessary to break her out? She'd want you to take a ring."
He stared at her for about a solid minute and sighed in defeat. "Yeah, you're right. But I gotta go back!"
"We know you'll bring her back safe and sound," Sophia nodded at him.
"Sonic, a ring's coming!" Tails got their attention.
"About time," Sonic muttered once Rotor put him down. The water bubbled slightly and a ring rose from the lake. Sophia gasped in amazement.
"Fascinating! I've never seen anything like it."
"I've got it!" Tails jumped on a log and grabbed it, but he lost his grip and fell. Sophia flew over and grabbed him. "Thanks Sophia." She handed him over to Rotor and Tails put the ring in Sonic's backpack.
"Gotta juice and cut it loose! Come on, Soph!"
She blinked in surprise but then shrugged. He fell onto his back and she giggled, charging up. They both took off at the same time, causing both Tails and Rotor to fall. Sonic glanced at the girl as her feet were running at high speed, leaving dust behind her.
"Heh," He sped up and she smiled a little, speeding up to catch up to him.
Back in Robotnik's lair, Sally wakes up to find herself in a jail cell made up of blue energy. She groaned as she woke up, reaching out to touch the bars, only to get zapped.
"OUCH!"
She looked past the cell to see Robotnik back on the screen. "Oh, cheer up, Princess," He petted his robot bird. "I've sent you a visitor!"
"Hi!" Sally turned to see the robot standing nearby. "I'm Sally. Oh, don't get up! I am a princess, but out in the Great Forest, titles are meaningless."
Sally covered her mouth in horror in how accurate the robot was to herself. She gave a sound of distraught.
Outside, a Hover Unit flew by. The speedy duo popped out of hiding from behind some scrap metal. He looked around as Sophia's ear twitched and she turned around. "Sonic!"
"Huh?" He turned to the source, which was a security camera behind them. He grabbed a rock and destroyed it.
"Oh no..." Sophia murmured as she knew what that meant.
"Activate all exterior traps," Robotnik ordered Snively as they had already spotted them.
"But I thought you wanted them to get in," Snively replied in confusion.
"Yes...but we can't make it too easy."
The duo dashed away from a Hover Unit was attacking them. They entered a narrow alley, but it turned out to be a dead end. The two turned around to see the Hover Unit approaching, still firing at them. Sophia raised a hand as it glowed pink from her palm and fired a laser of her own.
"Whoa!" Sonic exclaimed before the Hover Unit attacked again. The hedgehog ran up the wall while Sophia flew up it with her wings. She glanced back at the Hover Unit following her and she turned around, doing a loop so that the thing would crash into the wall.
She managed to catch up with Sonic as the building was equipped with security cameras, one of them watching them.
"How did you do that?" Sonic turned to the pink-haired girl in awe.
"My rings give me this power. I'm able to absorb the weaponry of robots," She gestured to her wrists. "But after they get drained, I won't be able to use them until the 12-hour limit has passed."
The camera watched them reach the roof and sneak in through a hatch. Robotnik, who was watching them, called Snively on the monitor.
"Recall all Swatbots. Let the hedgehog and her royal highness in."
Snively nodded at him.
The duo exited through a floor hatch, ending up in a corridor from the lair. "Huh, must be my lucky day!"
"Should we split up?" Sophia asked him and he shook his head.
"No way! If something happened to you without me being there, I'd never live it down. Come on."
He dashed down the corridor and she ran after him. They passed by a monitor that had Sally on it...or rather, the Sallybot. Sophia skidded her feet to a stop and turned around.
"Wait, I believe I saw her!"
They came back and looked at the monitor. "Sal!" Sonic murmured in both relief and concern. He continued on with determination, Sophia flying after him. They both stopped as two Swatbots were guarding the cell block. "Stay on lookout," He whispered to the girl, who gave him a thumbs up. He turned around and pressed a button, which opened up a glass door with a cup of water in it. He took the cup and spilled the water onto the ground. Then he took the cup and put it to his lips to sound like Robotnik.
"Attention Swatbots, this is Dr. Robotnik. Report to the ward room immediately."
The two bots left and Sophia glanced at him, impressed. "Very convincing."
"Why thank you," He bowed to her and they dashed over to the Sallybot's cell. "Yo Sal, we're gonna blow this pop stand!"
She just watched as he walked over to the control panel for the cell. Sophia raised a brow at the Sallybot. Because the Sallybot was immune to her infrared vision, she couldn't tell that it wasn't Sally. Sonic used the cup again to impersonate Robotnik.
"Open cell number 54."
"Voice print approved. Handprint necessary for certification," The computer told him.
"Open up this cell or I'll rip out your electronic brain!"
Sophia shivered a bit at how accurate he sounded. It almost felt like she was in the same room as Robotnik.
"Certification unnecessary. You are Robotnik," The computer opened up the cell and the Sallybot pulled them in for a hug. The three then took off.
"Ah, true love," Robotnik watched from his control room. "Hurry home, little hedgehog and princess...hurry home..."
Sonic was taking the robot to safety while Sophia ran behind them. "Hang tight, Sal. Clear juicing ahead."
Sophia couldn't help but notice that Sally hadn't said anything, which was odd. They reached an abandoned building and stopped. Sonic looked outside the window and they ducked as a Hover Unit flew by.
"You okay?" Sonic turned to the chipmunk robot as she got closer to him.
"Fine." She got even closer, grabbing his arm. "Coming back to rescue me was very brave, Sonic."
Sophia huffed, her hands on her hips. "What am I, Xenian alien liver?"
Sonic looked between the bot and his arm, standing up. "Hey, no biggie. It's in the hero's job description."
Still grasping his arm, the Sallybot batted her eyes and pulled him in for a kiss on the cheek. He smiled and took her hand, running off. Sophia flew off behind them as they continued through Robotropolis. Unfortunately for them, a Hover Unit showed up and started to chase them.
"Hang on, Sal. Time to light it up!" Sonic took out the ring from his bag and held it up. Just as the Hover Unit swooped down, the two sped up.
"Yes, hedgehog, the faster, the better!"
He brought up Snively on one of his displays. "Ready to roboticize, sir."
"Activate!" He declared immediately. Sally was still in the glass tube as Snively activated the roboticizer. Numerous purple halos appeared around her. "Tomorrow, Knothole will be a wasteland and all the Freedom Fighters, my loyal servants..."
Suddenly the display disappeared from his screen and Cluck clucked. "What is this? Snively?!"
"The system's overloaded, sir," He looked to the sparking wires. "I better turn off the-"
His console exploded, causing him to cough. Robotnik's displays were still offline. "The video is gone, sir!"
"Here we are, Sal, home sweet Knothole," Sonic's voice was heard as Robotnik petted Cluck.
"The communication system works, we can still monitor his every move."
A group of Freedom Fighters were waiting for them as the three landed in a pile of hay. "Alright, Sonic and Sophia!" Tails greeted them and the others cheered for their return. They slid down the hay.
"Good job!"
Tails ran over to the Sallybot. "I missed you, Sally!"
"Hi Tails!" The bot smiled as they hugged, and she kissed his cheek several times. "I missed you too!"
He stared up at her in confusion. "How come you didn't do the funny kiss?"
The bot looked around, just as confused as him. "...Oh! The funny kiss. Of course," She kissed his forehead and he backed off.
"Nuh uh, not that one. The funny kiss...on my nose."
"Oh! Ah-uh—that funny kiss. Uh," She kissed him on the nose, making him giggle and swish around.
The Sallybot entered Tails' bedroom just as Sophia was tucking him into bed. "Tails? It's storytime." She grabbed a book from his table.
"Cool! You read stories really neato, Sally!" He then turned to Sophia. "Is it tight enough?"
"Like a mummy," She smiled as his sheets were snug around him. She started tucking in Tails since he apparently liked the way she did it for him. Sallybot sat down next to Tails and opened the book.
She started reading really fast. "Once upon a time, there was a giant and he was a-"
"Nuh-uh. Remember last night? We started that one," He pointed to a book from the other side of the room. Sophia raised a brow in confusion. The princess hadn't known them for long, but she would like to believe that Sally wouldn't forget a detail like that... Sallybot picked up the correct book and went back to Tails.
"You know, about the princess and the meanie witch. There's where we left off," He pulled to the right page.
"Oh, yeah, now I remember. Okay. The evil witch said pretty you can't escape-"
"No no!" Tails interrupted once again. "That's not the witch." He then started to imitate a witch. "So, my pretty! You can't escape!"
Sophia chuckled a little and then Sallybot closed the book, clearing her throat. "Um...it's um...i-it's kinda late, Tails. It's time to go to sleep. Goodnight," She jumped off the bed and tossed the book over her shoulder. Sophia stood up and she faced Tails, shrugging as she backed away towards the door.
Bunnie was making sure her robotic arm was okay while talking to Sophia and Sallybot. "So then, my doggone arm just fell off. I was so humiliated, I just about popped a bolt!"
Sonic dashed over and stopped in front of them. The dirt got into Sophia's face and she coughed, waving a hand in front of her face. "Oh, sorry, Soph," He told her apologetically as she dusted some off of her outfit. "Bad news, I've just heard the Swat-bot factory is still online. Sal, what happened?"
"Um...t-t-the bots caught me before I could detonate!" Sallybot stammered to him.
"Then we gotta go back," Sonic punched his fist against his palm, turning to Bunnie and Sophia. "We leave in the morning, and plan it out."
Sally from Robotnik's lair could hear his conversation with the robot. Snively was working at the console, the main display still inoperable. "This time, we light this sucker."
Robotnik was still watching from his monitor. "Perfect..." He chuckled evilly, Sally glancing back at them. She then closed her eyes, shaking her head in worry. She had no way to warn her friends that this was all part of Robotnik's plan...
Back in the Knothole Village, Tails was asleep in bed. He suddenly woke up and looked out to his bedroom window. He saw Sallybot walking outside with a baseball. She set it down and he ducked his head. Her eyes glowed as she scanned for something around the area. She stopped scanning and Tails lifted up his head with a gasp at what he had seen. He then watched Sallybot walking away, the brood still sitting there.
"That's not Sally..."
Tails went to his bed and hid himself underneath the covers, shaking.
Sallybot was asleep in bed, or just powered down. Bunnie, Tails, and Sophia entered the home. "Sally, wake up, sugar!"
Sallybot woke up and gasped, staring at them. "Bunnie, what's wrong?"
That question was unfortunately answered when she took one look at the garden: all of the crops were dead. Bunnie gave a sad look as she held up a dead carrot. Tails was glancing at Sally skeptically after last night...
"What in the heck happened?"
"I-I don't know! This is terrible," Sallybot answered in shock, gasping as she picked up another dead carrot. She gave it an angry look, which just only tipped off Tails even more.
A bit later, Sonic, Sallybot, Sophia, Bunnie, and Rotor were walking on a bridge over some water. "Sonic! Sophia! Wait for me!" Tails called out to them and they looked back at the fox running over. Sonic kneeled onto the bridge.
"Yo big guy, what's up?"
"Is something wrong?" Sophia asked, hands on her knees.
"Guys, I gotta tell you something," He glanced up at Sallybot, as Bunnie and Rotor had already gone up ahead. He leaned in towards the two. "It's a secret."
Sonic smiled up at Sallybot. "Later, Sal. Growing up talk."
"We'll catch up with you and the others soon," Sophia told her and she walked off. The two turned to Tails.
"Okay bud, make it quick. We got a Swat-bot factory to bake."
"That's not Sally!" Tails accused, pointing to where she left.
"What?!" Sonic questioned in confusion.
"Tails, I hope you know that's a very serious accusation to make," Sophia stood back up, hands on her hips.
"She didn't give me the funny kiss, didn't know what story to read, didn't even do the scary witch voice!" He insisted to them.
Sonic placed his hands on the fox's shoulders. "Tails, Sal had a seriously hard time yesterday. She's stressing."
"I will admit that her behavior was a little...off last night, but I just assumed that she had been through some things she would rather not talk about," Sophia rubbed her chin. "She seems to be fine to me, albeit with a few tendencies that seem odd. I'm sure she'll be back to her old self soon."
"Nuh-uh!" Tails shook his head. "I saw light shining from her eyes, then she went outside and talked to herself, and her eyes turned all red and yucky. Kind of Soph's but really red and yucky!"
Sonic and Sophia glanced at each other skeptically before he stood up. "Hey, little bud, you must've had one monster dream. We'll talk about it later, okay? Soph and I gotta juice!"
"Bye Tails! Race ya, Sonic!" She sped off first and Sonic gasped.
"Hey!" He sped off after her and she laughed. Tails stared after the two as he knew what he saw...
A Hover Unit in Robotropolis noticed the Freedom Fighters running past and stared firing at them. They all dashed over to some debris.
Sonic was the last one through as he looked around. "They're coming back."
He pulled out some rope and hooks from his backpack. "Get ready!"
He dashed away and then twirled the rope around a metal pole. He turned around and threw it to his friends. He dashed back before the hooks hit the ground, grabbing one while the other three grabbed their own. They twirled the hooks as the Hover Unit came back and attacked them. It passed over them and they threw the hooks to attach themselves to the Hover Unit. They pulled together, breaking the bot and causing it to crash in the process.
"Way to go, guys!" Sonic told his friends and the four shared a high-five. Sallybot just stood aside and Sonic turned to her. "Alright, Sal!" They went for a high-five, but because of the robot's strength, he went flying and landed on his back.
"Mm?" Sophia raised a brow, glancing at Sally. She didn't remember her friend being that strong enough to do that...
"Yo, Sal," Sonic rubbed the side of his head. "What'd you put in the ole' cereal this morning?"
Rotor walked over to the hedgehog. "Well, that's our third close one tonight. Come on, we gotta move it."
The others followed after him and Sophia offered her hand. Sonic took it and she helped him up. "That was mondo weird, eh, Soph?"
"Yes...it strikes me as being weird too. What was that Tails said about her? That she wasn't herself?" She glanced back at Sallybot and Sonic stared at her too. They both decided that they might need to keep an eye on her...
They arrived at a building that had a ton of openings. Sonic and Rotor took a look outside. "Whoa!" They ducked their heads as another Hover Unit flew by. Thankfully it didn't notice them, but it was alarming to them for one particular reason.
"Sonic, this is too weird," Rotor commented to his friend. "It's like the Swat-bots know every move before we make it."
"Yeah...the ole' buttbots seem sharper than normal," He looked behind him to stare at Sallybot. "Okay guys, we're ready," He walked over to her. "Let's do it to it." He held out his fist to her for the handshake, but Sallybot didn't know it.
"Uh...right," She fist-bumped him and she slowly tried to catch on. Sonic then decided to test Tails' theory.
"Come on, Sal! You forgot the best part," He gave a thumbs down.
"Oh yeah," She did the thumbs down, but that was enough to convince Sonic otherwise because it was a thumbs up.
"Tails was right! You're not Sally!" The hedgehog accused her. "Who are you?" He walked up towards her with a glare, hands on his hips. There was a small pause before she ran past him, knocking him onto the ground. "Hey! Soph, help me stop her!"
Sophia took flight as he ran after Sallybot. She fired with her laser eyes while the bot fired a laser from her hand to create an exit. The two chased her outside, only for him to jump and for her to duck from the laser beams the bot attacked them with. She continued running, but fired back at them. He ducked his head and sped after her.
Sallybot slid down a ramp to a stop and dropped a brown substance on the ground. She then threw some up into the air and went into hiding. Sonic dashed into the substance, causing him to stop in place. The substance over their heads started to descend down as Sophia flew into view. Then it dropped onto her wings, causing her to fall onto the ground.
"Hey!" She sat up, glancing over her shoulder to find that her wings were stuck together. Sonic tried to break free, to no avail, while Sophia tried to get her wings unstuck.
"Mega Muck!"
Sophia tried to pull at her wings, but it honestly hurt a bit, while Sonic continued pulling at his feet. Sallybot came out of hiding, standing in front of them.
"Say goodnight, hedgehog and Sophia!" She pointed her finger at them. Before she could do anything, Bunnie came in and kicked her down. She ran over and pulled Sonic out of the muck with her robot hand.
"There you go, sugar hog!" She smiled at him.
"I owe you one, Bunnie."
She looked over and saw Sophia's wings still stuck. "Oh, let me take care of that, sugar!" She then gently pulled apart the wings, earning a sigh of relief.
"Thank you."
Sallybot ran off and they looked over their shoulders. "Gotta juice!" Sonic jumped and ran after her with his super speed. Sophia flew into the air and flew over the building to catch the Sallybot off guard. She pointed a laser with her finger while the hedgehog took out his ring. He sped around the robot and she started to get dizzy. She looked up to see Sophia and fired, but Sophia caught the laser in her hand. She then absorbed and fired it back using her eyes, shutting down the robot. Bunnie and Rotor joined Sonic while Sophia gently descended down using her wings.
"Boy, Robotnik is good," Robot complimented at the robot's likeliness. "She fooled everybody."
"Except Tails," Sonic pointed out.
"No wonder why the Swat-bots knew our moves, she's been giving them up herself," Sophia narrowed her eyes angrily. "Must have been recording us way more than she let on. We should've listened to Tails..."
"But if that's not Sally, where the heck is she?" Bunnie pointed out in concern.
"I don't know," Sonic shook his head, staring at the robot. "But I bet this robot can tell us."
Back with Robotnik, Snively had just repaired the robotocizer. "It's ready, sir."
"Well, princess," Robotnik spoke up from the screen, Sally glancing at him. "Since the hedgehog and alien destroyed my robot, I'm making you an improved model!"
"And the bot factory is guarded by 20 security bots and hover units," After Rotor had refigured the Sallybot, it was answering all of their questions.
"And what about the princess?" Sonic demanded the robot.
"She is now being robotocized," The robot answered them, shocking the four.
"What?! I'm juicing," The hedgehog turned around to leave.
"Sonic, wait a sec!" Rotor called out, turning the screw on the robot, putting the panel back on. "Surprise for Iron Lips."
"That will teach him to make a robot out of our friend!" Sophia clenched her fists.
"Cool. You guys do the factory, I'll get Sal," Sonic told them and they shared a few fist bumps. "Catch ya later."
"Good luck, Sonic," Sophia told him before flying after Rotor and Bunnie. Sonic took hold of the robot and sped off with it.
The glass started to loom over Sally, who let out a sharp gasp. However, something else went wrong as it stopped right then and there. "Oh, now what?!"
Sonic sped over to a vent, glancing around the area. He grabbed the cover and pulled, but it wouldn't budge. He glanced over his shoulder at the robot, grabbing it by the hand and making it stand up. "Torch it," He ordered the robot, pointing her finger at the door. The laser started to melt around the door.
Bunnie, Rotor, and Sophia watched as a Swatbot ship flew past. Rotor threw something onto the ground to get the ship to land. The Swatbots went outside to investigate, Bunnie spinning around a grappling hook. She managed to get it by the legs and trip it. Sophia flew in and used her laser eyes to point it at the robot's head, disabling it. She then ran in behind Bunnie and Rotor inside the ship.
"Let's do it, sugars!" Bunnie smirked and Rotor activated the ship, flying it into the air.
"Ready, Dr. Robotnik?" Snively asked his boss, not noticing the vent in the room being lasered.
"Activate it." Sonic crawled into the room, dragging the Sallybot with him. "Bye bye, princess."
Sally braced herself when shaking in the room, getting their attention. "No!"
The three flew over a trash ship, dropping an explosive inside and flying off. Another explosion went off in the factory. "No!" Robotnik slammed his fists, gritting his teeth. He then pressed a button, zooming in on the ship. "Infiltration detected! All units attack!"
Sonic pulled a steam line to distract Snively, which worked as he walked over. The hedgehog ran over to Sally, lifting up the tube a bit. He then released her from her bonds, helping her down. "How you doing, Sal?"
"Fine, thanks to you!"
Sonic then switched Sally with the Sallybot instead. "Let's cruise! I don't like the company here." They ran out of the room and Sally closed the door behind her. The two shared a high five. "Past cool!"
After fixing the steam line, Snively went over to the controls and started up the roboticizer. Because it was Robo-Sally, it started to fritz, Robotnik watching two ships chase the one that the trio hijacked. "No! This can't be!"
Sonic, with Sally in his arms, sped over to the camera that Robotnik was watching. "You were close, Robuttnik, but close only counts in horseshoes!"
"Have a dreadful day!" Sally told him with no regrets, bracing himself as Sonic held up a ring. He then turned around and sped off with her, Snively coming up on another screen. "The princess is roboticized, sir, but there seem to be some glitches."
The Sallybot walked over, pointing her finger at him. "You fool! Get that out of-" The Sallybot fired and destroyed the screen. Snively ran off as the bot started firing repeatedly.
Rotor, Sonic, Bunnie, and Sophia were being carried by the other Freedom Fighters for their victory in saving Sally. "Thanks for saving my life tonight, Bunnie."
"Sometimes a metal body comes in handy, but I still have something a robot will never have: a mind and a heart of my own."
"And that is all we really need," Sophia spoke up with a soft smile. Sonic and Bunnie shared the secret handshake, the rabbit then hugging Sophia happily.
Tails was sitting by himself on a log, looking towards the water. "Hi, Tails." He gasped, looking over his shoulder to see Sally approaching. He looked away silently, unsure if it was really her. "It's really me. Honest," She took a seat next to him.
The fox looked at her up and down and then looked away.
"Come here, you!" She kissed his cheeks and then his nose.
"Sally! It's really you!" He leapt forward and hugged her.
"That it is, my pretty!" She said in the witch voice and they hugged again.
"Hold it, Tails!" Sonic spoke up from behind. "I'm still not sure that's the real Sal."
"Oh, really?" She stood up. "Then I guess I'll have to prove it!" She kissed him on the cheek. "Well?"
"She's a fake! Come on, Tails, we gotta juice!" He took the fox's hand and ran off.
"Alright!"
"I'll show you fake, Sonic Hedgehog!" Sally then ran after him, Sophia flying in.
"And I can assist you!"
Sally jumped up and grabbed her hands, the alien flying after them.