CHAPTER 27
Downfall

When Sally awoke she had a pounding headache and her whole body seem paralyzed. Antoine put a cold cloth over her head.

" What happend? I cant remember. "

" We won " said Sonic who was resting against a rock. He too looked exhausted.

The stars were shining bright out this night. She looked to her side and Lupe had made a fire. Everyone was patched up in bandages trying to rest and get their strength back. Antione had wandered off to be alone and Lupe was fast asleep and Bunnie was sitting in the far corner alone in deep thought. She looked over and saw Sonic and Sally interacting together and smiled, deciding to let them be alone for a moment. She saw Rotor sleeping soundly and decided to go look for Antoine. She was starting to wonder about seemed very protective of her and was the most pleasent towards. He was a strange fellow. But he was rather cute underneath the masculine tough guy attitude he put out she thought.

She found him pacing back and forth. She then listened to a poem Antoine was reciting to himself in private.

" As tears roll down my face,
I know you're in a better place.
I close my eyes to see your face,
suddenly I feel a warm embrace.
With a smile so wide,
it brings tears to my eyes.
I try so hard not to cry;
all of my pain I cannot hide.
You always knew just what to say
to anyone having a bad day.
I don't know if I will ever understand,
but it must be part of a plan.

As I look up towards the blue sky,
I imagine you spreading your wings to fly.
Tell everyone there I send my love
to all of the Angels up above.
As the tears roll down my face,
I know you are in a better place. "

Bunnie stepped out from behind the rock upon hearing the song. She had never heard such a sad song in her life. She knelt down beside Antoine who had gone silent, staring off into the darkness.

" That was a nice poem, sugah. But sad. "

" Eet reminds me of happier times " Antoine replied. " Before Robotnik took my family from me. "

Bunnie looked down. " Seems he's taken something from us all, hasn't he. "

" Not everything " Antoine repilied. " I still live, I can still love, laugh, and fight another day. If I can help others live one more day, eet is worth it all. "

Bunnie gave a smile. She had wondered if his white knight persona was genuine, but she could hear the sincerity in his words. She gave his hand a slight squeeze as she rested her head against his shoulder.

" Did you make that poem up yourself?" She asked.

Antoine gave a slight embaressed smile. " No, I am actually terrible at writing songs. I think someone else wrote that. "

They shared a laugh together, enjoying the moment of peace.

Sonic and Sally were left alone together, sitting across each other. Sally had noticed that when she first met him he was a broken shell of a hedgehog. But the more he was around others the more she began to see flickers of the old Sonic she once knew. Perhaps their was hope for him. Sonic approached Sally to speak, keeping the side of his face hidden from view under his hood.

" I've had a lot of fun hanging around you guys, but I need to tell you this sooner than later. I don't have much life left in me. "

Sally's heart sunk. She had hoped this conversation wouldn't come up, but it did.

" Surely their is something we can find to treat your illness " she said.

" Only one guy can help fix me, and that isn't on his agenda " Sonic said.

Sally frowned.

" He must have some kind of cure. Surely he must have made one, if at least for himself. "

Sonic gave a slight smile.

" I'm past cool with the whole dying part. All I want is to make it a flashy one " he said with a small laugh.

" I won't give up on you, Sonic " she said with a bold sternness to her tone. " We've come too far to talk about quitting now. "

Sally took the initiative and climbed on top of Sonic, her legs locked around his hips. " But if you were looking for a flashy time, we could always make some fireworks tonight. "

Sonic's eyes widened, his face with surprise and confusion.

" W-wait, Sal. It aint safe...what if it's contagious? "

" I'll take that risk " she said, leaning in locking lips with him. Sonic struggled at first but gave into temptations, accepting the gentle touch of a woman. He wrapped his arms around her as their bodies embraced. The more they touched the more they realized just how much they needed this. For the rest of the night they made love under the open sky while the others slept off the fatigue of battle.

When the sun rose their seemed to be a sound of distant thunder from far away. They packed up their remaining supplies and headed out once again. They began to cross into the outskirts of the Great Sand Desert. Crossing this desert would be treacherous for those who didn't know the proper paths which to follow. Quicksand pits and scorpion dens often swallowed up wandering travellers, but it was also the most direct path towards Robotropolis. Their final destination.

As they travelled through the sands Sally heard a distant humming catch her attention. She looked on the horizon and saw a dark speck approaching. It was coming fast kicking up a large dust cloud.

" Can you see what that is? " asked Rotor to Lupe.

" Whatever it is, it's coming fast and not slowing down. "

Sensing danger, the group got ready. Colin had finally tracked down his prey and was now racing towards them on his mechanized flicked a switch and the sides opened up firing rockets out. The Freedom Fighters jumped back avoiding the direct blasts but were knocked back from the recoil. Colin pulled out a shotgun and began blasting.

" Huhahahahaha! Yes, go ahead and run! Make this exciting for me! "

" You obviously don't know who you're messing with, pal " Sonic said.

Sonic shot forth like a blue bullet at his enemy, fist ready to cave in his skull. Colin showed impressive reflexes and foresight, a knife already drawn and sliced Sonic's arm. The hedgehog hit the ground, not sure what even happened.

"Hey!" shouted Rotor who went straight for him on the offensive.

Colin revved his bike and launched himself at the giant walrus. Rotor felt the air leave his lungs and his body go numb from impact as he fell backwards. Colin took his shotgun and pressed it against his face, thumb on the trigger. Lupe and Bunnie joined the fray coming to Rotor's aid. Bunnie shot off a barrage of energy lasers with Lupe hurling her war hammer, to which he ducked.

Colin grabbed a long metal pole and charged them like a lancer on his horse. When they got close he turned the pole sideways and clotheslined them both.

" Come on! Are you all this weak? " he said.

" Why you... "

Sonic's right arm shot out like an elastic band grabbing onto the back of the bike and with great monstrous strength flung him into the air. Colin clung to his bike and while in mid air shot rapidly down at the others. Lupe put up a magical shield stopping the bullets but had no time to think of how to respond with an attack. Colin controlled his fall and pinned Sonic to the ground on top of his bike.

Bunnie saw her moment and struck, hitting his bike with a stray blast from her wrist sending him flying with debris and metal raining down on him.

" You bitch, that was my favorite bike! " he snarled.

Colin dusted himself off and charged her. Bunnie's arm opened up into a cannon and she fired shots off but each time Colin would dodge with reflexes on par with Sonic. Antoine stepped up and jumped in between her and him and hit him with a blast of electricity sending him skidding back. He smiled, shrugging off the attack. He ducked avoiding Lupe's swing of the hammer and delivered a shark kick to her face and pulled out his gun and shot her. Lupe collapsed to the ground clutching her abdomen in pain.

" Lupe! " Sally yelled rushing to her aid.

" You all bore me. Robotnik told me you were all special. "

Enraged Sonic rolled up into spin mode and launched himself at Colin. He reered back and knocked Sonic away with a hard solid punch. Sally was shocked. How could a human be so powerful?

Bunnie and Antoine both attacked Colin together. He single handedly blocked their attacks and avoided laser fire from Bunnie. Colin punched Antoine hard in the face and brought his elbow back hitting Bunie and kicking her away. Then he leaped high in the air avoiding the boulder Rotor threw at him and took out his gun and shot Rotor eight times. He fell to the ground dying just like Lupe.

" Stop it! Stop it!" cried out Sonic racing towards him.

Colin pulled out the sword sheathed inside his cyborg body and sliced off Sonics right arm. He went down screaming in pain. He rushed Antoine delivering a sharp stab wound to him and turning around slicing off Bunnie's head. Sally collapsed at what just happend.

" No...no..it cant be..." she uttered.

Sonic got to his feet with his mind swimming with rage and hate letting his other side take over. He got that crazy grin on his face and his arm stump suddenly had regenerated a full limb. His eyes went bloodshit and the infection spread deeper into him, his body deteriorating.

The two circled each other now like hungry wolves. Colin's black mechanical eyes glew red with evil. He raised his sword to Sonic and attacked! His attacks were fast, slicing the air with Sonic dodging each swing in a furious blur. He moved with an efficiency and speed not even Sonic was able to see an opening to strike back. He came to cleave Sonic's head in two but Sonic caught the blade between his hands. Colin tried to pull his sword back but was unable to wrench it from Sonic's grip, him giving Colin a smug grin. He pulled Sonic forward and rose his knee to his jaw knocking him to the ground.

Colin jumped on top of Sonic pinning his shoulders down and began a savage beat down to the hedgehog. He rained furious fists down upon his small body, blood spraying from his nose and lip.

"Come on, hedgehog! I though you had more fight in you than this. "

Sonic replied by headbutting Colin breaking his nose. He continued with a large haymaker to his throat making him gasp, reeling back. He finished with a sonic boom uppercut sending his neck snapping back and flying into the air.

Colin's cockyness twisted into simmering rage. He stopped smiling and a cold look took over his face. He picked up his sword and went to attack again. Before Sonic would dodge Colin planted his boot down on Sonic's foot anchoring him in place as the blade pierced through his chest and out his back.

Sonic's face was frozen in shock, him looking down at the sword embedded in his body and had gone through his heart. Colin lifted him up off the ground letting him suffer and bleed out. Soon his body went limp as his head slumped forward. Sonic was dead.

" Feh. What a waste of my time " Colin said wiping the blood off the blade. He picked up Sonic's now lifeless corpse and dragged him over to an open quicksand pit and tossed him in watching him sink. He turned to Sally who was in a state of shock. He looked down on her like she was some kind of insect and gave her a menacing stare. He reached into his back pocket pulling out a small gun and shot her in the neck with a tranquilizer dart.

" Robotnik wanted you unharmed and unharmed you shall be " he said gritting his teeth. He took out his radio contacting Swat Bots to activate the teleporters and bring him in.