IMPORTANT: This is the only A/N in the story that will be long. Please read it through. Also, this chapter is a PROLOGUE. The real story begins in Chapter 2, but this chapter is the set up to the rest of the story. If you don't care about the A/N, then don't read it. Don't blame me if you're confused about something in the story later on.
A/N:
List of Character Ages as of the end of Sonic Forces and Voice Actors I prefer for the story:
*Note: this is not a complete list of characters to be featured in the story, there will be others, but why spoil the fun, right? Also, you don't have to use these voice actors, but I think that should be self-evident.
Sonic the Hedgehog – 20 Jason Griffith (Present Sonic)
Jaleel White (Young Sonic)
Miles "Tails" Prower – 13 Amy Palant (Unleashed)
Knuckles the Echidna – 21 Scott Dreier (Adventure 2)
Amy Rose – 17 Lisa Ortiz (Unleashed)
Shadow the Hedgehog – 20 (70) Kirk Thornton (Forces)
Rouge the Bat – 21 Lani Minella (Adventure 2)
E-123 Omega – NA (Robot, duh) Vic Mignogna (Forces)
Silver the Hedgehog – 19 Quinton Flynn (Forces)
Blaze the Cat – 19 Bella Hudson (Sonic 06)
Cream the Rabbit – 11 Rebecca Honig
Vector the Crocodile – 25 Keith Silverstein (Sonic Forces)
Espio the Chameleon – 21 Mathew Mercer (Forces)
Charmy the Bee – 11 Colleen O'Shaughnessey (Forces)
Mighty the Armadillo – 24 Your guess is as good as mine.
Ray the Flying Squirrel – 18 (Guess) Your guess is as good as mine.
Jet the Hawk – 19 Jason Griffith (Riders)
Wave the Swallow – 23 Bella Hudson (Riders)
Storm the Albatross – 24 Dan Green (Riders)
Dr. Eggman (Ivo Robotnik) – ? Mike Pollock (since 2005)
Sally Acorn – 20 Kath Soucie (SatAM)
Sonia the Hedgehog – 20
Manic the Hedgehog – 20
Nack "Fang the Sniper" the Weasel – Preferably dead
Sonic: Woooow…
Tails: That's a bit harsh, don't you think?
Knuckles: Heh, yeah, emphasis on "a bit".
Me: I'm sorry, do you remember the Triple Trouble Incident?
Team Sonic: Uhhh…
Me: Exactly. Don't worry you'll find out why I hate him in Chapter 2… assuming I write it. I'm not sure yet as I am writing/typing this on a word doc.
Sonic: But… this is the first chapter.
Me: Yes. Congratulations, you win a sticker, I guess.
Tails: Which means this isn't Chapter 2.
Me: Riiiiight…
Knuckles: Which means you'll never publish it because this is your first fanfic and you have no idea why or what the hell you're doing.
Me: Pretty much sums it all up, yeah.
Tails: So why bother?
Me: BECAUSE I'M BORED OUTTA MY MIND AND I'VE HAD THIS ITCH TO WRITE ONE AFTER READING SO MANY ****ING FANFICS, THAT'S WHY!
*Awkward silence*
Tails (meekly): Sorry I asked.
Me: *sigh* Let's just start this piece of shit that no one will ever read.
Disclaimer: All rights to characters, music, and whatnot belong to their respective owners. I only own my OCs.
*Additional and sincere A/N*
This is my first fanfic I'm writing. But, before we begin, I need to talk about is the timeline. I don't wanna go into too much detail, but it's important that you guys know the history, so here's the gist of it:
I apologize ahead of time, but please bear with me, this is the only A/N that will be this ridiculously long…
The story takes place on Earth. Yeah, shocking I know. The planet is inhabited by both Mobians, the anthropomorphic creatures that we all know and love (most of them), and by humans. Remember the locations filled with humans from Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 and Sonic Unleashed? Imagine that but also includes Mobians as well. There's a region/continent on Earth called Mobius; which includes many familiar locations, including the Mystic Ruins, South Island, Mobotropolis, Knothole, just to rattle a few off.
The events of The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic (SatAM), and Underground occurred concurrently, with modifications, when Sonic was 10 years old. I know, in SatAM, Sonic is supposed to be 16, but this is my story and I'm trying to make it as consistent as possible with the games. Also, assume Knuckles was never in Underground and the instruments were only used for music and not as weapons. After the events of "The Doomsday Project", where Julian Robotnik was killed, his nephew, Dr. Ivo "Snively" Robotnik, (yes, that's how I'm writing this story) hid somewhere on Mobius for many months. There is no Naugus. During those months, Sonic and Sally decided to end their relationship, on good terms, and remain good friends. At the same time, Ivo's appearance began to change. By Sonic 1, he appeared as he did in said game. A month before the events of Sonic 1, Sonic and Tails received word that trouble might be brewing in the South Island region. While the rest of the Freedom Fighters wanted to help, Sonic explained that they were needed to help continue rebuilding the kingdom and to help support Sally when she rules in the near future.
*Deep breath*
6 months after the "Doomsday Project", the events of Sonic 1, 2, CD, SegaSonic, 3&K, Triple Trouble, Knuckles' Chaotix, and Mania occurred. By the end of Mania, Sonic is 11. The only event from Mania that actually occurred was Sonic saving Mighty and Ray from that capsule. The actual Mania and Mania: Plus stories happened in Classic Sonic's timeline.
After that, the events of Sonic 4 (all episodes) occurred and by the end Sonic is 13. In Sonic Adventure, he's 13. Adventure 2, he's 14. Sonic 06, he's 16. Unleashed, he's 18. He turned 19 in Generations (his birthday, duh). Sonic is 20, as of the end of Sonic Forces.
Sonic 06 did occur, the events were erased when Solaris was extinguished. Blaze was sent to the other dimension when she sealed Iblis. Blaze was NOT born in Sonic's world. She was born in her world (the other dimension). She, for whatever reason, came to Sonic's world in the future, met Silver, and the events of Sonic 06 occurred, Iblis was sealed away, blah, blah, blah. When she returned to her world, she resumed her duties as a princess and guardian of the Sol Emeralds. When the timeline altered, Silver and Blaze never met in the future. Why, I don't know. Like everyone else, Blaze does not remember the events of Sonic 06, but they all have faint remnant memories of it. Silver does remember everything, as does one other person.
The events of Sonic Rush and Rush Adventure happened AFTER 06. Blaze never actually met Sonic in 06, mind you.
The events of Sonic: Dark Chronicles did happen but are irrelevant.
No Sonic X or Sonic Boom universe implementation here as of now. Maybe Cosmo in the future, I dunno yet.
I mostly based Sonic's age from the games off of DeviantArt's The4thSnake's timeline, with my own tweaks for the story.
*Thud* God I'm tired. Holy crap, this whole freakin' A/N together is a one-shot story… and now I have a headache.
The story will have YouTube video titles for songs and music. Just search the title on YouTube in another tab or window, start the video at the time code indicated, follow the instructions, if any, and continue reading while listening to them. Make sure you continue reading as soon as the video starts in order to stay in sync with the story, as best as I have tried for it to be synced. It's to help put more emotion into the story. You don't have to do this. I wish I could have hyperlinks, but I can't. so I make do.
(Updated 11/9/18: Made a few corrections in the A/N. Also, there were a lot of spelling typos for some reason that are not found on the original document.)
(Updated 1/5/19): Decided to revise the first paragraph of the A/N. If you have read the original, then I will now state that this fanfic WILL BE COMPLETED. I will continue doing grammatical revisions some time in the future.
(Updated 1/14/19): Revised Ray's age. Removed Sonia and Manic's voice actor of Jaleel White. Intentionally meant for young Sonia and young Manic only, but decided to add them to the story later. Also added important note at the beginning. Some minor grammar fixes. More to come.
Ok… there…. *gasp* finished… *Deep breaths* Okay, I promise that I won't make a ridiculously long A/N like this again… I hope.
Well here it is, my first fanfic. Better hold on to your butts, 'cause this is gonna be quite a ride. I hope you enjoy it! I proudly… well for now anyways… I proudly present:
Sonic Adventure: Downfall and Redemption
~ ThePhantomHedgehog
"Sometimes the most dangerous enemy is the one you least expect. Sometimes the most hated person is the one you must have faith in. Sometimes the one who is least loved loves the most."
I'm sure many of you can relate to some part of that passage. If not, then I'm sure you will at some point in your life. Life can be quite strange at times, wouldn't you agree? Whether it's good or bad, right or wrong, just or unfair, life is life. It's full of mystery and discovery. But it's also full of darkness and despair.
But you didn't come here just to talk about philosophy, now did you? Of course not. You came for answers, answers for questions you all have been wanting to ask me for long time. But before you start asking, I wish for you to listen to a story I wish to tell.
Now, now. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here, this story isn't just any story. It contains the answers you wish to know. I can't promise I'll give you all the answers today, especially if I don't know the questions at all. But I promise, in time, that I will tell you everything. So, that's my offer. Take it or leave it.
So, that's a 'yes', then? Very well. Fair warning, I prefer not to be interrupted unless it's necessary. Come on, don't be so formal, please, sit down. The couch doesn't have much room, but there's plenty of space on the carpet. Before we begin, anyone want hot cocoa or coffee? Some cheesecake bites? Alright then, everyone ready? Now, where to start the story? Well, I guess I'll start where it all began, over 10 years ago…
Chapter 1: Prologue
~~~ 10 Years Ago ~~~
*** 6 months before the Doomsday Project ***
Deep underneath Robotropolis, in a vast refinery and steel works
"Huhhh…" a young hedgehog sighed as he wiped the sweat off his face. "Just another day of this mindless turmoil."
The air around him was thick with pollutants and it was so hot and dry, it put Sandopolis Zone to shame. Taking a pause to catch his breath, the hedgehog looked around to make sure no SWAT-bots were around. Certain he was alone; the hedgehog took this as an opportunity to take a quick break and have a minute-long little walk. He turned his body around on the rusty metal stool he was sitting in for hours and stretched out his aching legs. He got off the stool and got onto his feet. If it weren't for the wrappings on his feet, he would have certainly stepped on one of the hundreds of rusty nails and broken glass shards scattered everywhere on the ground and potentially hurt himself.
[ Reconstructing Science Remix (Futuristic Orchestra) 10 hours ] (Uploaded by 10hourclips) (0:00)
He took a moment to take in his surroundings, not that there really was much for him to take in. All around him, there were machinations and roboticized slaves at work. Sparks were flying; machines were moving components from one place to another; large crucibles were rolling along overhead tracks, carrying molten metal that bubbled over, causing small droplets of the hot stuff to fly in several directions. Quick reflexes and high-alert instincts have helped to keep the youngster from getting harmed on more than one occasion.
"Doesn't old Buttnik know anything about safety precau- oh, right. To him, everything that harms others is safe."
He stretched out his arms, giving his upper body much needed relief from the aches of the day's hard work. Actually, of the whole time he's been stuck here.
If one were to see the youngster now, they would believe they saw a mummy straight from an ancient pharaoh's tomb, albeit in the form of a hedgehog. The reason for the wrappings weren't due to the lack of shoes. He was wearing shoes, gloves, and around his neck a pair of improvised goggles, which were clearly a couple sizes too big. The reason was because the soles of his shoes have been diminished to nearly nothing, barely able to hold his shoes together if not for the wrappings. His gloves, too, had wrappings around them as well, fingers included. He did this so his hands wouldn't become so callous from all the harsh work. But it wasn't just his extremities…
No, he had almost everything covered: legs, arms, torso, and everything above his eyes, save for the ears. Underneath it all was a very damaged body of a 10-year-old hedgehog, the result of the cruel and immoral acts done to him by the evil scientist and dictator, Dr. Julien Robotnik.
He began his walk and not even taking his ninth step, the hedgehog was instantly choked by a cold tight piece of metal on his neck and instantly landed on his back. Save for the air forced out of him from the fall, he was not injured.
"What the hell?" he questioned as he rubbed his sore neck and repositioned the metal collar into a more comfortable, for a lack of better term, position.
"One, two, three…"
He was counting the number of links that connected the collar to the nearby cell, where he "lived".
Yes, this youngster was a slave. Not a mindless roboticized citizen of Mobius that followed Robotnik's bidding, but a young, living, depressed hedgehog, forced to do the bidding of another with no beneficial outcomes, other than to live another day.
"Seriously? He removed 10 more links? Can a guy get any breaks around here? Let alone a decent meal?"
On cue, a SWAT-bot came out of a nearby elevator, bringing what one would consider as a sick joke of some sort. To the hedgehog, it was… a meal. The hedgehog's deep blue eyes followed the SWAT-bot as it walked towards his workstation.
"Your nutritional meal," the SWAT-bot stated in a monotone voice as it dropped the polluted meal down on the work table.
The meal consisted of polluted, and possibly radiated, water and what appears to be two-month-old moldy bread. The hedgehog stared at the food, his mouth watered, and he immediately went forward and devoured the entire thing without-
OK, that didn't really happen. In fact, he has never eaten anything given to him by the SWAT-bots. If he had been eating this crap for the past six months, he would have been long dead. Probably as far back as day one.
Since Robotnik's rise to power, fresh water and food around Robotropolis were as rare as the hedgehog seeing daylight. In other words, never. To get by, whenever he was "summoned" to Robotnik's throne room, he would snag one of the dictator's personal supply of food. Usually a piece of fruit or a candy bar. Too bad today wasn't that day.
The hedgehog walked over to the slop of what was most likely something you'd find on a menu in the bowels of a sewer populated by the homeless with next to nothing in their possession in terms of food or water.
"What… in the hell… is this crap?" the hedgehog asked, giving the SWAT-bot a questionable look.
"Your nutrition-"
"Nutrition my ass," the annoyed hedgehog interrupted, "I specifically asked for a double cheeseburger with a layer of fries and barbecue sauce. Where's the meat and potatoes? I want food, not something that can only be found at the bottom of Buttnik's toilet bowl."
"This is what I was ordered to give you! And you will address King Robotnik by his proper title!" the SWAT-bot remarked.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I meant Lord Buttnik. And he gave you orders to bring me any meal I specifically ask for."
The SWAT-bot came closer to the annoying hedgehog.
"His name is Robotnik."
"Buttnik."
"Robotnik."
"Buttnik."
"Robotnik."
"Buttstink?"
The SWAT-bot was now inches away from the wisecracking slave.
"For the final time, it's BUTTNIK!" the SWAT-bot bellowed.
*Record scratch* (Stop the music)
The hedgehog tried to hold back his laughter. To say he failed would be a universal understatement. And the arguing continued for another minute.
Normally at this time, a SWAT-bot would have beaten some sense into the smart-mouthing hedgehog. However, this young hedgehog was like another we know; willing to put up a fight. And after the hedgehog had pulverized the fifth SWAT-bot with his bare hands, as far as Robotnik knew, the SWAT-bots were given new orders to leave upon confrontation with said hedgehog.
Clearly, this SWAT-bot had a few bugs in the system. Or one might describe it as an idiot.
"No, no… you were ordered to give me what I want for a meal. Now go back and get me some real food," the hedgehog ordered.
A couple of seconds of staring later, the SWAT-bot turned away and marched towards the elevator.
"New orders: bring prisoner updated meal," the SWAT-bot stated as the elevator doors closed behind it.
"What an idiot," the hedgehog smirked.
"Ain't that the truth!" a voice from behind cried out.
[ Twinkle Cart ...for Twinkle Park - Sonic Adventure Music Extended ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)
The hedgehog turned to see his friend and partner in hell, James "Snickers" the Mouse. Technically he was most likely a rat, but he claims otherwise. Snickers was a 9-year-old rodent with purple fur, covered in dust and… who knows what with the plumbing to the showers, with dark, beady green eyes and a dark pink nose.
Snickers and the hedgehog met four months ago. Up until two months ago, the hedgehog used to work in a different section of Robotropolis. While still underground, it had safer working conditions, if you could call any place in Robotropolis "safe", but he was glad to be away from the place. He would rather continue working without food in the foundry than go back to that place. The only place the hedgehog felt was more painful to work in than the foundry was the roboticizer sector.
For the first eight months of his "loving" work for the malicious dictator, the hedgehog was forced to watch as countless Mobians and Freedom Fighters were roboticized. Day by day, while the machine sucked out the souls and free will of its victims, the hedgehog felt his own soul being taken apart piece by piece. It wouldn't be until a couple of months later that the hedgehog would learn that there was hope for the roboticide slaves. Of course, as with any job opening, when one worker leaves, another must take its place. And lo and behold, Snickers was the lucky winner. The hedgehog could only hope that his purple friend was strong enough to get through the heinous job.
Snickers had slightly larger hands than a normal rodent would, mainly because his hands were callous, and wore black leather gloves. His tail was 6 inches long and ended with a stub covered in bandages. A certain fat ass thought it would be funny to feed his tail to a chop machine. Surprisingly, the fat ass did find it funny. Not surprisingly, Snickers didn't. The hedgehog saw the event, since it just so happened to occur in the room next door. When Robotnik left, leaving the harmed mouse crying in the room alone, the hedgehog snuck away from his station to help. The first thing the hedgehog did was offer the purple mouse half his candy bar. No, that wasn't how he earned his nickname, he earned that from being a prankster and joker. That's how they became friends. And since then, the two always did their best to have each other's back.
"I was wondering when you were gonna show up, Snickers!"
"Sorry, had to find new bandages for my legs." The purple mouse explained as he walked over to me. His legs, while that of a normal mouse, somehow managed to keep his entire body up. Not that Snickers was overweight or anything. In fact, if he was, the hedgehog would probably question how much food he really gets and then force the information out of him. It was mostly due to the fact that Robotnik and his crony SWAT-bots would punish him by slicing deep gashes into his thighs.
As he got closer, the hedgehog noticed the "bag of tricks", as he liked to call it, the purple mouse had over his shoulder.
"How are the legs?" the concerned hedgehog asked.
Snickers looked at his friend and gave him a hopeful smiled as he answered, "Still standing."
His face then warped into one of concern.
"How are you feeling, buddy? You look like you could drop any second and fall into a coma," the purple rodent stated.
He was right. The hedgehog gave his pal the "I'll be fine, don't worry yourself" look, but they both knew the truth. The hedgehog's sleep schedule was nearly nonexistent. If it wasn't the harsh conditions or the impossible tasks at hand, it was the nightmares that kept the poor young hedgehog up.
They remained silent for a few seconds before Snickers broke it.
"So, is it ready, 'Wisps'?" Snickers asked.
'Wisps' was a nickname Snickers called his hedgehog friend. Unlike the alien Wisps that we know of today, the hedgehog was called Wisps for the bandages. Sometimes, if a couple of bandages were cut, Wisps would looked very similar to a phantom.
*cough cough*
Now 'Wisps' was smiling. Being a bit of an engineer, he was always glad to show new tools and gizmos to his friend.
"Been ready."
"How long?"
"Past two hours."
"Dammit, I should have arrived sooner."
"To be fair… I wasn't sure if any SWAT-bots were gonna show up, let alone you. Good thing you both showed up at the perfect time."
The hedgehog motioned over towards the sad excuse for food on the table.
"Well, I managed to snag a couple of chocolate bars. Here, have one." Snickers said as he handed his friend one, knowing how hungry he was.
"Thanks, pal." 'Wisps' told him as he ripped the wrapper open.
He ate the entire bar in one gulp and stuffed the wrapper in between his quills and bandages.
"So, how much time do we have?" Snickers asked.
"Before we die or until Buttnik finds out about my little food order?" the hedgehog joked.
"Isn't that redundant?" Snickers countered.
'Wisps' was silent for five seconds pondering this.
"Yeeeaahh… yeah. Well to answer your previous question, at worst 30 seconds. At best about three hours." 'Wisps' replied.
Snickers whistled.
"What did you order?"
"Double cheese burger, fries, barbecue sauce. The usual cravings I get."
"Wow. That SWAT-bot gives a mindless roboticized slave a run for its money."
"Wouldn't surprise me." 'Wisps' joked. "So, shall we proceed with our little mission for revenge for your tail, my good friend?"
"We shall indeed." Snickers responded.
With that, the hedgehog turned around and reached across his workspace, moved a couple of blueprints aside, and revealed his little side project he spent six months making. It appeared to be some sort of watch-like bracelet, but almost 3 times the width. The hedgehog opened the device by its hinges and placed it on his right wrist.
"Is that the grapple you've been working on?" Snickers asked with interest.
'Wisps' smiled to his friend.
"Yes," he said, "it is indeed. However, this thing is just a prototype, so I wouldn't be surprised if the thing fails on me at the worst time."
"Well, at least I won't be needing it, hopefully." Snickers said.
"Best case, we die a quick death from falling into molten metal." The hedgehog joked. "Worst case, we die a slow painful death at the hands of Lord Buttstink."
"And his trusty sidekick, Sniffley!" Snickers added.
The two friends laughed once more, tears slowly coming down their faces.
"Phew. OK, now that we had a good cry, we have only one last bit a business before we get started." Snickers said, wiping a tear from his eye.
"Yeah…" 'Wisps' said, looking at the annoying, and quite heavy, chain that linked him to his "shelter". "But that never stopped you from getting me out before, pal."
That said, Snickers pulled out his bolt cutters from his bag, and with one cut, the collar fell to the floor.
"Better?" he asked?
The hedgehog playfully punched his friend in arm. As 'Wisps' pulled his goggles on, he responded, "Time to get this show on the road."
(Music fades)
[ Chemical Plant - Sonic Forces - Music Extended ] (Uploaded by Crunchii [Music Extensions]) (0:00)
The two partners dashed off into the heart of the foundry. Avoiding the attention of SWAT-bots and roboticized Mobians, the two jumped, slid, and hid among the shadows and machines. Snickers had a distinct advantage of being able to traverse along the pipes and huge gauge wires on the walls and ceilings very quickly, much like how mice and rats do. 'Wisps' was like Sonic, he had the ability to run at abnormal speeds, albeit not as fast the blue blur, and spin dash along the ground, or midair, into enemies. Unfortunately, 'Wisps' would tire after running for long periods of time and, due to the injuries on his quills, spin dashing was very painful for him. Luckily for the duo, their destination was only 20 minutes away from the hedgehog's workstation.
A couple minutes into their trek, 'Wisps' decided to test out his new grapple and he knew the best place to test it before reaching their goal. Up ahead was a U-shaped room that contained a floor completely covered in molten metal. There used to be a bridge from one end of the room to the other, but time and heat took its toll on it and it eventually fell into the pit of boiling metal. Workers used to inspect incoming giant crucibles that would transport the molten material. When the bridge collapsed, inspections ceased as well.
Snickers was slightly ahead of 'Wisps' and reached the room first. While there was no bridge, there was something just as good for him. Along the wall, up high, was a pipeline that transported coolant to other parts of Robotropolis. Using the nearby wires and smaller pipes, he climbed his way up. Once at the top, Snickers dashed across the pipeline. By this time, 'Wisps' had just reached the hallway to the room. His ears perked up as he listened and homed in on the audio cues. He could hear Snickers climbing his way up the wall inside. He could hear the moaning and the creaking of the rust, hot remains of the bridge. He could hear the screeching of the crucible as it entered the room along the metal rail tracks above the pool of molten metal.
"Yes. Perfect!" the young hedgehog thought.
As he got closer to the room, he started to pick up more speed. Meanwhile, Snickers was halfway across the pipeline when he heard the familiar sounds of his speedy friend approaching. He slowed down enough to keep his eye on the entrance, as well as 'Wisps'. He wasn't sure how "Wisps' would be able to navigate through without the bridge. Knowing the dangerous obstacles in the room, Snickers was worried for his friend.
"What is he up to? It sounds like he's speeding up," the concerned mouse noted. "Why would he do that, unless… wait. Is he…?"
Before Snickers could finish his thought, 'Wisps' came storming in. In a matter of just milliseconds, 'Wisps' saw the crucible, wrapped his right arm around his body, and jumped left towards the wall. It seemed as though time had slowed down around Snickers. He knew his friend wasn't able to wall-run certain distances, let alone the length of the U-shaped wall. But just as 'Wisps' started wall-running, he flicked out his right arm towards the top of the crucible. From his bracelet gadget, a grapple hook shot out at lightning speed, the hook springing open from its confined form midair, trailed by a long wire. The grapple sailed towards it target, 'Wisps' was a couple steps along the wall, already drifting downward as gravity started to overcome his wall-running efforts. Snickers held his breath as he watched his hedgehog partner began to fall into the boiling metal lake below.
And then it happened. The hook caught onto the top of the crucible. The wire went taut. And just as he reached the bend, 'Wisps' grabbed ahold of the wire, still connected to his bracelet and continued to wall-run towards his destination. With enough momentum and help from the grapple, 'Wisps' managed to run up and along the wall of the entire room. As he reached the end, he yanked on the wire, sending a signal to the grapple to unhook from its anchor. As the hook came flying back into its confinement, 'Wisps' landed right at the exit of the room, momentum sending him forward a couple feet, until he came skidding to a halt.
Snickers couldn't believe what he saw. Even for the days to come he still couldn't believe it. He saw his friend, practically wall-run the U-shaped chasm of molten metal. With just a millisecond of aiming and firing a prototype gadget that had slim chances of even working. The purple mouse just stared from above, his face looking dumbfounded.
'Wisps' didn't need to see his friend's face to know what he was thinking. "If ya don't close that trap of yours, Buttnik might end up putting a tracking beacon in there!" 'Wisps' joked as he turned to face his stunned friend. Snickers snapped out of his shock and came running over to his friend. As soon as he was standing a foot away from him, Snickers finally spoke.
"That… was… AWESOME!"
"Shhhh! Quiet. Last thing we need is for unwanted attention," 'Wisps' warned.
"Sorry. But, dude, how'd you know that would work? Did you plan this?"
"Would you believe me if I said yes?"
"Hell, no!"
"Then yes," the hedgehog joked, giving his friend a cocky smile. "Anyways, we should keep moving. We're almost there."
"Right," Snickers agreed. And the two friends continued running towards the nearby control plant.
(Music fades)
After a few more minutes, they reached their destination. Inside the control plant, hundreds upon hundreds of pipes were seen. To the untrained eye, the pipes all lead to the same destination. Lucky for 'Wisps', his pal Snickers was anything but untrained.
"So, think you know which pipe it is?" the hedgehog asked.
"Gimme about a minute," the mouse said as he started to investigate the endless sea of pipes.
'Wisps' silently waited. Within 45 seconds, Snickers spoke up.
"Found it!"
'Wisps' came by to the pipe Snickers was pointing to.
"So this is the pipe?"
"Yup."
"As in THE pipe?"
"Yes, THE very pipe."
"You, my dear friend, should have the honors of cracking this bad boy open," 'Wisps' stated as he pulled out a pipe wrench from Snicker's bag and presented to him as if the wrench was a sacred sword.
"Thank you. I will use its power wisely and justly," Snickers smirked as he turned a couple of valves to stop fluid flow so he could safely remove the pipe in question.
As he started to remove the pipe, 'Wisps' pulled out everything they collected for their mission from his quills and from the "bag of tricks". A minute later, Snickers had the pipe removed. He held out his hand.
"Candy wrapper," he ordered.
'Wisps' handed him the wrapper from his chocolate bar eaten earlier. Snickers then shoved the wrapper into the pipe.
"Rubber bands."
'Wisps' handed him the item.
"Pair of dirty socks."
This went on for about 10 minutes. They put everything they could get their hands on into that pipe: nails, moldy bread, balloon full of ink, a couple of SWAT-bot data chips that Robotnik has been searching for, and a brick, just to list off a few items.
Content with their newly "improved" pipe, Snickers started putting it back into place.
"So we're gonna die if he finds out, right?" asked Snickers.
"Oh, we are so screwed. It's not 'if', but 'when' he finds out," 'Wisps' replied.
The two partners against crime chuckled at their little joke. "How long do you think it will take?"
Snickers replied, "My money's on four hours from now."
"My money's on 30 minutes from now. Of course, this bet is irrelevant since we both don't have a ring to our name."
"Oh, shut up and let me have my moments."
"Have you moment when you get back to your station. We've been gone for almost 40 minutes now. I was just being generous by saying we had three hours," 'Wisps' explained.
Snickers had just finished putting the pipe back in and literally dropped the wrench into his bag when he heard that last sentence.
"Wait… then how much time did we really have?" he asked.
'Wisps' gave his optimistic friend an answer he did not like.
The two stared at each other for a good 10 seconds before they said together, "We are so ****ed…"
And without another moment of pause the two dashed out of the control plant and headed to their respective stations.
*** 30 Minutes Later ***
'Wisps' managed to get back to his station in 15 minutes after leaving the plant. He was busy tinkering with a module he was ordered to build. It was practically done, with some modifications made to give the Freedom Fighters improved chances. He stashed his grapple bracelet away in his quills and bandages. The one fortunate thing the Robotnik never does was have the SWATbots do a pat down. Shocking, even for the young speedster.
"I hope Snickers made it back in time," the worried hedgehog thought.
As he continued tinkering on a damaged circuit board, a sudden sound was heard, thundering throughout Robotropolis. To most, it could only be described as a bloodthirsty, rage inducing, unholy yell of evil. To 'Wisps' and Snickers, on the other hand…
"I'M GONNA KILL THAT ****ING HEDGEHOG AND HIS PURPLE RAT-F*** FRIEND WITH MY BARE HANDS!"
… it was music to their ears. Normally, 'Wisps' would be shocked that ol' Buttnik would call his friend a rat, usually earning him 20 less SWAT-bots from Snickers' rage and the "I can't believe that happened" look from 'Wisps'. You know, the one where you go wide-eyed, your jaw is wide open but your lips make the small O-shape? Yeah, that face.
Five minutes later, the elevator behind 'Wisps' opened. 'Wisps' turned around expecting either a SWAT-bot or a very, very angry Julien Robotnik. Fortunately, it was both. And he was covered in what could only be described as raw sewage.
[ Handel Messiah - Hallelujah Chorus ] (Uploaded by Luis Peres) (0:00 – 0:16)
(Listen to the sixteen second clip before reading on)
"There must be a God," 'Wisps' pondered.
[ AoSTH Dr. Robotnik Theme Remastered ] (Uploaded by Turret 3471) (0:00 and keep looping until further notice)
Robotnik marched over to the amused hedgehog, followed by two SWAT-bots. As the dictator came over, 'Wisps' slid off his goggles down, letting them hanging around his neck as he got better view of Robotnik. 'Wisps' could only pray there was security footage of this somewhere in a storage archive for him to grab if he ever escapes. Without any shame or regret, 'Wisps' asked the tyrant one question as soon as he was looming over the hedgehog.
"New look, sire?"
"NO!"
"Jeez, no need to shout, I'm right here. Not that I can go anywhere," 'Wisps' stated, pointing to the repaired collar around his neck.
"YOU… you and that rodent friend of yours… you did this… DIDN'T YOU!?"
"If I said 'no', would you even believe me?"
*WHUMP*
The force and magnitude of Robotnik's fist flying into the young hedgehog's stomach sent him flying from the rusty stool all the way to the wall of his cell 10 feet away. Now the hedgehog didn't weigh much to begin with, but combine that with over 40 huge chain links, that was a lot of strength in that punch.
"I have enough problems at it is dealing with Sonic the Hedgehog and those annoying Freedom Fighters! I don't need any more crap from you or the mouse!" Robotnik roared.
The force of the punch took the wind out of 'Wisps', as did hitting the wall, but the pain in his stomach was worse than both of the those, combined. On top of that, he was sure that a couple of his ribs were cracked, if not broken.
"What…. *gasp*… makes you think… *cough*… that Snickers and I… *gasp*… had anything to do with… eeerrrgghh… whatever happened?" 'Wisps' asked through the excruciating pain.
"SWAT-bot, approach!" ordered Robotnik.
'Wisps' assumed that he was referring to one of the two SWAT-bots standing next to Robotnik. He realized his error when a certain idiotic SWAT-bot appeared from the elevator. It marched over to Robotnik and took position next to him.
"Yes, what is your command, Lord Robotnik?" the robot asked.
"One moment, SWAT-bot," Robotnik replied before turning his attention back to the hedgehog.
Looking into his eyes, 'Wisps' could see Robotnik was enjoying the pain he was experiencing.
"Typical," 'Wisps' thought.
"Now, hedgehog," the tyrant continued, "mind telling me why this SWAT-bot insisted that I allowed you to have a… 'special meal' delivered to you?"
'Wisps' silently stared at the SWAT-bot for 10 seconds.
"Huh?"
Yeah, 'Wisps' is playing the stupid card.
"Do I need to repeat myself? I said, why was-"
"I heard what you said. But I have no idea what you are talking about."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah, really…"
"Approximately one hour and 10 minutes ago, at 9:45 PM, this SWAT-bot was sent to give you your evening meal," Robotnik explained. "Am I correct in saying that this SWAT-bot arrived here at that time and gave you your evening meal?"
"Here goes nothing," 'Wisps' thought.
"I haven't seen any SWAT-bots since the last time they gave me food, which was two days ago."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah, really."
"So, you have never seen this SWAT-bot before?"
"How the hell would I know, they all look the same!"
"And why should I believe that the SWAT-bot has not come here to deliver you meal?" Robotnik asked in an irritated tone.
"Do you see a trashcan lid lying and plastic cup lying around?"
The platter in question that was given to 'Wisps' earlier had a tragic encounter with molten metal a few minutes prior.
"Errr… fine! However, there seems to be another problem."
"Goodbye, world," 'Wisps' joked to himself.
"It would seem that the water systems have malfunctioned. Waste has entered into the water systems. Specifically, the water systems that lead to my personal facilities," Robotnik explained.
"Oh, really? I would never have guessed."
"And how- uuugghh… how does this involve me, Robotnik?" the pained hedgehog asked.
The pain had eased over the past couple of minutes, but that's like saying you wiped the mud off your clothes, but they're still dirty with mud stains.
"Don't play dumb, slave! I know it was you. While I may not be able to prove it, you can't prove your own innocence either, now can you?!" Robotnik spat out.
"I can prove it! IF you look on the table, you will see a module I've been working on. The complexity and design took me over an entire day straight to complete!"
That was only half true. While 'Wisps' did work on the component for a whole day straight, he didn't specifically say it was the day before. Unfortunately for him, Robotnik wasn't buying it.
"Do I look like a fool? You could have worked on this in the past 20 minutes for all I know!" the tyrant yelled, marching over to the hedgehog. "I think I've had enough of your lies! You will now be severely punished!"
As Robotnik raised his foot, intending to stomp on the young hedgehog's chest cavity, 'Wisps' closed his eyes and prepared for the inevitable pain.
But nothing happened. 'Wisps' wasn't aware that just before Robotnik was gonna strike, a Surveillance Orb had arrived to give Robotnik an update. He didn't realize this until he opened his eyes. Robotnik had moved aside to hear what the Surveillance Orb had to report.
(Music Fades)
"Phew. Too close for comfort," the relieved hedgehog thought.
A few more seconds of quiet discussion, Robotnik turned towards the hedgehog. His red eyes were fueled with anger. He then turned to the SWAT-bot.
"YOU!" he screamed, pointing to the SWAT-bot. "You were the one at the water control plant!"
"Error: data does not compute," the SWAT-bot stated.
"Well then, compute this. The Surveillance Orb has just informed me that your tracking beacon shows that you were at the control plant exactly 40 minutes ago!" Robotnik shouted.
"Heh, I knew it would work!" 'Wisps' thought, smiling to himself internally.
What Buttnik didn't know was while the SWAT-bot's tracking beacon was shown to be at the control plant, the SWAT-bot wasn't actually there. Earlier when the SWAT-bot got into the heated argument with the hedgehog, 'Wisps' was close enough to quickly snag the robot's tracking beacon, literally from right under its head. While he was waiting for Snickers to find the right pipe back at the control plant, he tinkered with the beacon to report a different patrol path than the SWAT-bot was actually programmed to have.
"Error: does not compute. System beacon must need maintena-"
But before the SWAT-bot could continue to protest, Robotnik grabbed it by the neck and started to repeatedly bash its head in. 'Wisps' was no longer happy. In fact, his eyes turned from relief to terror.
*WHAM*
*WHAM*
"You dare accuse me of poor maintenance?!" Robotnik bellowed. "I will make an example out of you!"
*WHAM*
*WHAM*
Robotnik bashed, crushed, and demolished the SWAT-bot before the hedgehog's eyes. He could only stare in fear as he watched the dictator viciously tear the robot to smithereens. 'Wisps' mind started flashing images into the young hedgehog's eyes, images he never wanted to see again. Tears started forming in his eyes.
"No…." he pleaded, shutting his eyes closed, "No, please… not this… I don't want to relive this nightmare… not again!"
[ Shenmue Original Sound Track: Daily Agony ] (Uploaded by Shenmue Fans) (0:00) (Get tissues)
But his mind had other plans. When 'Wisps' opened his eyes, instead of seeing Robotnik destroying a buggy SWAT-bot, he saw a SWAT-bot brutally attacking a female teal colored hedgehog. Floating above in a Hover Unit was Julian Robotnik, watching and enjoying the beating upon the victim. 'Wisps' looked anywhere other than the heartless abuse before him. The surroundings were no longer that of the foundry and steelworks, but that of Mobotropolis, with buildings burning everywhere. This was the time when Robotnik attacked his hometown nearly a year ago. People were screaming as more and more of Robotnik's forces arrived. Nearby, laid the remains of male sapphire colored hedgehog in a pool of blood, the body showing clear signs of a heinous assault.
"D-dad?"
*WHAM*
A sudden cry of pain and pleading for mercy brought 'Wisps' focus back to the female hedgehog.
"Mom?"
*WHAM*
"Mom!"
*WHAM*
"No! Mom!"
*WHAM*
"Leave her alone!"
*WHAM*
'Wisps' tried to run to save his mother, but it seemed as though the faster he ran to her, the farther away she became. And every blow she took, her screams got quieter, and the laughter of Julian Robotnik grew louder and louder.
"Mom, I'm coming!"
*WHAM*
"Mom, please, hold on!"
*WHAM*
"Mom?!"
*WHAM*
"Mom!"
*WHAM*
"MOOOOOOOOOOOM!"
*WHAM*
*WHAM*
*WHAM*
*WHAM*
That was the day when the young hedgehog lost his family. The day he got captured by Robotnik's forces. The day he became a slave.
After what seemed like hours to the hedgehog, when really only a couple of minutes, Robotnik ceased his destruction upon the remains of the SWAT-bot. By now, 'Wisps' was out of his flashback, tears were falling down his cheeks, his eyes were red and puff. Robotnik turned and left without saying a word to the young disturbed hedgehog, followed by his remaining SWAT-bots and Surveillance Orb. Once they were gone, 'Wisps' pulled his knees to his chest. He pressed his forehead against his knees and cried.
A few minutes later, he wiped his face and tried to get up. A sudden pain jolted through his entire stomach, resulting in 'Wisps' falling back down against the wall. 'Wisps' decided that he was done working for the day and laid down on the ground, trying to get some sleep. But thoughts of his deceased parents prevented this. Within seconds, tears had started the fall from eyes again.
"I miss you guys…" the broken hedgehog cried.
(Wait until the music ends)
*** 1 Month before the Doomsday Project ***
"I hope he made it out okay." 'Wisps' said quietly to himself. "He's gone through enough pain to last him more than… countless lifetimes."
'Wisps' was sitting alone at his workstation staring at the security footage on the three monitors while tinkering with a communications device. Over the past five months, he managed to convince Buttnik that he would work much more efficiently if he had some kind of monitor to work his blueprints on. He also noted that he would have much more space on his table with physical blueprints out of the way. Of course, while this was true, this was not the primary reason why 'Wisps' wanted the monitors. He also needed them, so he could have a peak at the security footage he planned on hacking into. Which he did. For three months, 'Wisps' has been able to get a better sense of what was happening with the Freedom Fighter's war against Robotnik.
And the news was not good. 'Wisps' found out a month ago that Robotnik was building a war-ending device, dubbed "The Doomsday Project". 'Wisps' wasn't sure what this "Doomsday Project" was, but he had a feeling that every component he was building for the past few months may have been part of it. He had theories of what it could be, but he dared not to fear the worst.
'Wisps' wasn't really paying close attention to the device he was modifying. For weeks, he tried to modify a SWAT-bot communicator, so he could attempt communications with anyone outside, whether it was the Freedom Fighters or anyone from a nearby region. But attempt after attempt just ended in failure. So, when he heard Princess Sally's voice coming from the communicator, to say was surprised would be an understatement.
"Whoooaa!" 'Wisps' cried out as he started to unintentionally juggle the communicator around.
Finally calmed down, and turning down the volume on the communicator, 'Wisps' listened in the best he could to what the princess was saying. Although it was definitely her voice, the quality of the conversation was poor. Making slight tweaks to the circuit components, the signal and voice quality became clearer.
"Sonic, come on! *zzz* We need to ge- *zzz* of here!"
"It is the princess. But what's going on?" 'Wisps' thought.
"Hold on, Sal! Th- *zzz* a kid down the- *zzz*"
"'A kid'? Could it be?" 'Wisps' wondered.
Without hesitation, 'Wisps' turned his attention to the security feeds. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of video feeds and it was nearly impossible to know where the group was without more information. Regardless, 'Wisps' cycled through each feed one by one, hoping that he would be able to find them.
"Sonic, h- *zzz* -ry up! The SWAT-bots will show up any second!"
"Dammit, where are they?"
"Sally, get the Hover Unit ready. We're coming in hot!"
"Hover Unit? The hanger bay!" 'Wisps' realized.
Typing in a few command lines, he swapped the feed over to the security footage from one of the Security Orbs in the hanger bay. 'Wisps' watched the event on the screen. Princess Sally was inside a highjacked Hover Unit and was flying at a decent speed but very low to the ground. Coming in from the right side of the screen was the blue blur himself, Sonic the Hedgehog. He appeared to be holding on to something, or someone, 'Wisps' hoped. Typing in a couple more command lines, the feed zoomed in on Sonic. He could definitely tell that Sonic was indeed carrying a person, but 'Wisps' couldn't make out any features because the person was wearing a huge oversized trench coat. The same trench coat 'Wisps' gave to the escapee minutes ago.
"He made it! Holy crap, he actually made it out!"
As fast as he was relieved to see his friend made it out alive, he was immediately alerted by the impending danger of the SWAT-bots closing in. As 'Wisps' zoomed the camera out more, he could see Sonic sprinting aboard the Hover Unit, with 'Wisps' friend safely aboard. Suddenly, an object appeared on screen that made his heart stop. Outside of the hanger bay was a towering laser cannon. And it was charging up and taking aim at the unsuspecting Freedom Fighters.
"No!" 'Wisps' cried out.
[ Radical Train (The Chase) - Sonic the Hedgehog [OST] ] (Uploaded by DeoxysPrime) (0:00)
He immediately grabbed the communicator and proceeded to warn the trio. But stopped. It was as though time slowed down around him. He wanted to warn them. He truly did. But he knew he couldn't. If he did communicate with them, then Robotnik would know about it and would kill him on the spot. But the main reason was because 'Wisps' needed more information on the "Doomsday Project". If he died now, the chances of the Freedom Fighters defeating Robotnik, let alone the "Doomsday Project", were possibly next to nothing. But he also knew that if he did nothing right now, then the Freedom Fighters will lose their only hope for stopping Robotnik.
"What can I do? I can't warn them without getting myself killed. And doing nothing will get them killed."
'Wisps' stared back at the footage outside the hanger bay. SWAT-bots were surrounding them and the Surveillance Orbs were watching their every-
"Wait! That's it!" 'Wisps' exclaimed.
Wasting no time, the young hedgehog started inputting commands into the system. The laser cannon was growing brighter and brighter by the second. 'Wisps' fingers were moving so fast over the keyboard, it looked as though they could give Sonic's legs serious competition. A couple of seconds later, the cannon fired a huge ball of energy right towards the heroes. The projectile moved closer and closer to the Hover Unit. It was just mere feet away when a Surveillance Orb flew into the ball of energy, causing a small explosion. When the smoke cleared, 'Wisps' could see that the Hover Unit was unscathed, along with its passengers, who were giving each other confused looks.
Suddenly, another ball of energy was fired by the cannon. As Sonic and Sally focused on flying out of Robotropolis, 'Wisps' got back to work and hacked another Surveillance Orb and block the attack again. And again. And again. As this went on, the Hover Unit blasted off towards the distance, leaving a fleet of robots behind in the dust.
(Music fades)
"We did it. Woohoo! Eat our dust, Robuttnik!"
"Sonic, who is that?"
"I don't know, Sally. Kid isn't talking."
"Well, at least you're both safe. Now, let's g- *zzz* -ome. *zzzzzzz*"
[ Halo: Reach OST Extras "Ghosts and Glass (Piano)" ] (Uploaded by Cloud Tridyrium) (0:00)
Once he knew they were safe, 'Wisps' turned the communicator off, slid his goggles down off his face, and sat down on the stool. He just now noticed that during that whole stressful situation, he stood up while hacking the bots. He let out a long sigh of relief and wiped some sweat off his face. He then leaned his elbows onto the table and held his face in his hands, trying to calm down and relax.
He stayed like this for five minutes. He would have continued like that if it weren't for the sound of metal and glass scraping on the floor behind him. 'Wisps' slowly turned, wide eyed, to face what he could only guess was the beginning of the end of his life. Standing a couple of feet away was a dark brown roboticized Mobian. The hedgehog's eyes got even wider. It took him a moment to realize that the robot slave before him was the very last Mobian he saw get roboticized in person. 'Wisps' started to shake.
"So, this is it, huh?" he thought. "The last Mobian I saw roboticized is the one that ends my life."
'Wisps' closed his eyes, bracing for the slave to alert all of Robotropolis of his deed. Seconds went by, and yet, nothing happened. 'Wisps' slowly opened his eyes only to see that the slave was now standing next to him, staring at a frozen image of Sonic, Sally, and the rescued Mobian. The robot slowly raised its arm, moving it towards the image displayed on the monitor, until its robotic feline hand caressed the screen.
"… Sonic…" it spoke.
'Wisps' couldn't believe what he was seeing or hearing. A roboticized Mobian was showing signs of breaking free from Robotnik's control and gaining its own free will again. The robot then took its hand off the monitor and turned around. Before it walked off, he couldn't tell at first, but 'Wisps' could have sworn the robot was smiling at him.
After sitting for another minute, 'Wisps' started to feel the weight of the chain and collar on his neck take its toll on his body. It was getting late, so he decided that now would be a good time to get some rest. Before walking over to his cell to sleep, 'Wisps' took one last look at the freeze frame.
"Someday, my friend," he spoke softly as turned off all the monitors and hid the communicator away in his quills.
As he walked into his cell, 'Wisp' looked at the small printed picture of Robotnik that hung on the wall, which he used as a dartboard, using nails as darts. After months and months of forced work and pain, after all the events that he had witnessed, after what had happened today, 'Wisps' stormed over to the picture…
And with every bit a strength he could muster, punched the photo dead center, leaving a good two-inch imprint in the stone wall.
"Someday…"
(Wait until music ends)
*** Doomsday Project ***
"Sonic."
No reply.
"Sonic."
No reply.
"Sonic! Do you read me?"
No reply.
"Dammit!" 'Wisps' shouted, slamming his fist onto his table.
He was starting to panic. Just moments ago, he got word over the communicator that the Freedom Fighters were planning on using explosives to destroy the "Doomsday Project" power core. While the communicator did a great job receiving broadcasts, 'Wisps' just couldn't get the damn thing to send communication signals. He had to warn them that the power core is protected by a diamond-reinforced casing. Worse, Robotnik knows of their plan and is expecting Sonic to show up.
While all this is happening, 'Wisps' was also trying to get as many Mobians and roboticized slaves out of Robotropolis. Thanks to the efforts of Sonic's Uncle Chuck, the Freedom Fighters have managed to create a permanent De-Roboticizer. Knowing that the slaves will finally be free, 'Wisps' spent the as much time as he could finding information on the "Doomsday Project". And what he discovered horrified him. The project consisted of multiple "Doomsday Pods", large UFO-like vehicles with a barrage of weapons, capable of destroying everything in their path. Everyone already knew this by now. What they didn't know was that each pod also contained a nuclear warhead, each capable of leveling all of Robotropolis and the surrounding area, including Knothole. To make matters even worse, the power core itself was a nuke, the largest of all. 'Wisps' calculated that if the power core nuke were to go off, the entire planet was doomed.
After making a few more modifications to the communicator, 'Wisps' tried contracting the Freedom Fighters again.
"Sonic?"
No reply.
"Sonic, does anyone read me?"
No reply.
"This can't be happening," the hedgehog moaned as he combed his hands through his quills.
Looking towards the security feed, he realized he was too late. Sonic was already at the core, getting the explosives ready. 'Wisps' knew the power core created too much interference, so the communicator was now useless, as if it wasn't before.
"Shit!" 'Wisps' swore, angrily throwing it across the room. And almost hitting a certain roboticized hedgehog.
"What do you think you're doing, throwing a fit like that?" Charles asked, startling 'Wisps'.
Regaining his composure, 'Wisps' walked up to Chuck.
"Praying for a miracle that's never gonna happen," 'Wisps' exploded. "It's over. I wasn't able to contact Sonic or anyone and warn them of the grave mistake their making!"
Charles just stood there and listened.
"That core is protected by a diamond-reinforced casing and houses a nuke powerful enough to destroy the world!" 'Wisps' continued. "And to top it all off, I can't do a damn thing from here, because I have to make sure everyone down here escapes! So why are you down here, when you should be up there fighting!?"
"Why don't you do something about it, 'Wisps'!?" exclaimed Charles.
'Wisps' stood there, shocked.
"Huh?"
"You think you can help save all of us, but you forget that we were, and still are, willing to fight to the death to end Robotnik's rule! Even if 1000 of us die, we would die knowing we fought for something we believed in. Do you really think that you staying down here will help save us, or anyone for that matter? What is the right thing? Saving my nephew, who might be our last and only hope, or the hundreds of us left down here? Would you be able to forgive yourself if you knew you could do something to save the world but did nothing?"
The questions hit 'Wisps' like 100 punches to the gut. Charles was right. All this time, 'Wisps' felt that it was his responsibility to save all the people trapped in Robotropolis. He couldn't see that everyone made the choice to fight against Buttnik, that they knew death or roboticization was almost certain. He now realized his mistake. Looking back at the screen, showing Sonic almost finishing up with the explosives, 'Wisps' knew what he had to do. He walked over to his secret compartment and pulled out, not one, but two grapple bracelets.
"I hope you're making the right choice," Charles stated.
"Thanks, Charles," 'Wisps' said as he put the bracelets on his wrists. "Before I get going, I have to ask, how do you know my-"
Looking up, 'Wisps' was surprised to see that Charles was nowhere to be seen.
"Name?"
Before he could ponder his own question, 'Wisps' looked over at the monitors in time to see that a 15-minute timer had appeared on them and was counting down.
[ Future Fuckballs 2010 - Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures Music Extended ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)
"Not much time to work with. Not that any of us have had enough to begin with," 'Wisps' muttered to himself.
*** 14 minutes 55 seconds left ***
Pulling his goggles over his eyes, 'Wisps' turned his attention to the elevator. It was the fastest way to get to the surface, since the escape tunnels were overwhelmed with escaping Freedom Fighters and Mobian robot slaves. Only Robotnik and his robots were allowed access to the elevator, so 'Wisps' called for some room service. Robotnik had recently added a tampering module to the hedgehog's collar, which when activated would alert all nearby SWAT-bots to find and eliminate him. Of course, 'Wisps' was planning on being found. The elimination part, not so much. Grabbing a hammer off the work table, he took one last at Sonic's image before hitting the collar with the hammer a couple of times and then throwing the tool at the screens. The shattered glass fell everywhere and only a few hit the ground before alarms started wailing.
"Well, no going back now. Time to save the world," 'Wisps' told himself as he ripped off his collar, which was now also detached from the chain.
Not even 15 seconds passed before a team of four SWAT-bots arrived from the elevator.
"Stay right where you are, prisoner!" they ordered.
'Wisps' launched both his grapples toward the robot squad, latching on to the heads of the rightmost and leftmost SWAT-bots. As soon as he hit his mark, the bracelets pulled on the wires and 'Wisps' launched himself toward the robots, flying at such a tremendous velocity. He was going so fast, that as soon as he introduced his feet to the faces of the two middle SWAT-bots, their heads literally detached from their bodies. Milliseconds later, 'Wisps' pulled his arms around his body, pulling the remaining SWAT-bots heads off their bodies. Spinning a few times in the air, he reduced friction from the air and sailed into the elevator, landing perfectly on his feet. Hitting the ground floor button, 'Wisps' turned around and closed his eyes, mentally readying himself for the upcoming battle and took a deep breath. As the elevator closed and 'Wisps' opened his eyes, he wasn't aware that his irises were glowing a light blue for a moment through his goggles.
*** 13 minutes 42 seconds left ***
The elevator ride was uneventful, as was leaving the facility through the front door. In fact, only a couple of SWAT-bots could be seen anywhere from where 'Wisps' was looking. Not far, he could see the "Doomsday Project" power core. Not wasting another second, 'Wisps' sprinted towards it, hoping he could reach Sonic in time.
"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!"
"Great, more SWAT-bots," 'Wisps' muttered as dozens started showing up from underground chambers.
The SWAT-bots aimed their weapons at the rebelling hedgehog and took fire. Running, jumping, dashing, sidestepping, grappling; 'Wisps' did everything he possibly could to avoid the blasts. Timing his windows of opportunity, 'Wisps' punched, smashed, grappled, and spin dashed into the army of robots. But for each SWAT-bot destroyed, another two would take its place. This went on for minutes, debris of destroyed bots lain everywhere, and 'Wisps' was beginning to wear out. But at the same time, and 'Wisps' didn't realize it at the time, but time was slowing down around him.
"I don't know how much longer I can hold out. And on top of it, I'm wasting time dealing with these piles of junk."
Suddenly, as 'Wisps' slid under a SWAT-bot, resulting in it colliding with another and destroying both, he saw smoke rising from where the power core was located. His eyes widened. He knew Sonic must have detonated the explosives. And that was Robotnik's cue to spring his trap and capture Sonic! As tired as he was, 'Wisps' took every ounce of strength he could muster, jumped into the air, and began to spin dash as fast as possible. Faster and faster he spun, ignoring the pain he was in and not noticing the few strands of bandages the were flying off his body. Feeling that his body was burning, he released his stored-up energy and blasted through countless SWAT-bots as he made his way to Sonic.
*** 10 minutes 3 seconds left ***
"So, hedgehog, how do you like my diamond-glass dome?" Robotnik sneered.
"It stinks, Robuttnik!" Sonic exclaimed.
"Does it, indeed?" Robotnik scoffed. "Well then…"
"Almost there…" 'Wisps' thought as he uncurled from his rotating form and sprinted as fast as he could.
"… perhaps we need some…"
"So close. Come on legs, don't fail me now."
"… VENTILATION!" exclaimed Robotnik as he pushed a button on his remote control.
Immediately, two floor panels behind Sonic opened and a huge pipe rose out. The pipe was a vacuum tube and, just as Sonic took a couple steps forward, began to pull him inside.
"H-heeeeeyyy!" Sonic cried out as he was swept off his feet.
"Oh, no you don't!" a voice boomed.
Before Robotnik could turn towards the origin of the voice, a gray streak rushed by, grabbed Sonic by arm without pause, and took off into one of the nearby facility buildings.
"What!?" cried Robotnik. "No… No! This can't be happening! I had the blue rat in my grasps! How? How could this have happened?!"
His rage was growing by the millisecond. No surprise there.
"I'm gonna find that hedgehog… and then I'll find that slave… and when I do… I will kill them both with my bare hands. You hear me, fools! I WILL END YOU!"
(Music fades)
*** 8 minutes 52 seconds left ***
"Uuuhhh…" moaned Sonic as he rubbed his left shoulder. He was leaning against the wall of one of the unoccupied buildings.
'Wisps' was sitting next to him, pulling out a roll of bandage-tape and catching his breath. Surprisingly, he wasn't as tired as he was expecting, just worked up about rescuing Sonic in a high stress, last second situation.
"So," said Sonic, "I suppose I owe you big time for saving my quills back there. But I could have handled whatever Buttnik had in store."
"If the situation wasn't so dire, I wouldn't doubt that," 'Wisps' replied as he rewrapped his shoes and gloves quickly. "I'm sure you'd love to make more chitchat, but we don't have the luxury of time. We have only minutes at most from this whole place becoming the epicenter of a nuclear explosion!"
The blue hedgehog was alarmed, slack jawed from this new information. After a brief moment of silence, Sonic spoke.
"Whoa. That's not cool. I can't believe ol' Buttnik would go this far…"
"We can't waste any more time," 'Wisps' stated. "There must be something we can do to stop that countdown."
"Countdown?!" Sonic cried out.
"Sonic, do you or any of the Freedom Fighters have anything that can help stop the 'Doomsday Project'?" 'Wisps' asked, getting up onto his feet.
"Not that I- hey, wait a minute…" Sonic said as he gave 'Wisps' a questionable look. "How were you able to run almost as fast as me?"
'Wisps' wasn't expecting this.
"Huh? I dunno, I was born with the ability to run fast. Look, now isn't the time, we need a plan to-"
"How do you know about the nukes?" Sonic continued questioning. "How do I know you're not lying or working with Robotnik? And who are you exactly?"
'Wisps' wasn't in any mood to play 20 Questions, he needed to convince Sonic that he was a friend. Or at least an ally.
"What do I say?" 'Wisps' thought. "I can't tell him that I was working for Robotnik as a slave. He'd assume the worst and ask more questions."
"Well? I'm waiting…" Sonic said with his arms crossed, his eyes narrowed, and his foot tapping impatiently.
"What do I do? What do I do? What do I- wait. Of course!"
"THUNDERSTORM!" exclaimed 'Wisps'.
Sonic's eyes softened a bit.
"What?"
"Thunderstorm. That's the code-word, right? The one that kid gave you a month ago? In the hanger bay?" 'Wisps' asked.
It took Sonic a second to remember, but he realized the bandaged individual in front of him was telling the truth.
"You. You're the one the kid mentioned. You're 'Wisps', aren't ya?"
"Yup. That's me. Sorry, it took me a moment to remember I gave the kid that code-word. So… do you believe me now?" 'Wisps' asked.
"I do now. But to answer you're question, I don't have any idea what we could do about the nukes. That kid mentioned you were good with computers. Couldn't you just hack into Buttnik's network and override the bombs?"
"I could, if I was in Robotnik's main control room… and he wasn't there. And that's assuming we can even stop the countdown at all."
The two hedgehogs stared at each other for a couple of seconds before a female voice broke the silence.
"I think I have a possible solution, Sonic."
Sonic reached into his quills and pulled out a small computer unit.
"Whaddaya got, Nicole?" Sonic asked.
"So, this is Nicole…" 'Wisps' noted to himself.
"Sonic, you have one of the Deep Power Stones in your possession," Nicole stated.
"Yeah," Sonic replied, "but it's no good without the second one. And Robotnik's hidden it somewhere."
"I know. But, if you can retrieve that second Deep Power Stone and combine the two, the power surge will be powerful enough to destroy the Doomsday Device without setting off the nuclear explosives," Nicole explained.
"Sorry to interrupt," said 'Wisps', "but a power surge that powerful means not only destroying the Doomsday Project, but also killing everyone within 10 miles outside of Robotropolis. And that's being generous. If not that, the power required could end up blowing up all of Mobius."
"What are you saying, 'Wisps'?" asked Sonic.
"What he is saying, Sonic," explained Nicole, "is that either way, the planet is be doomed. However, there might be another way."
"Yes?" the two hedgehogs asked.
"If Sonic were to combine the Stones the other way around, he could become powerful enough to destroy Robotropolis, without the risk of harming the others," Nicole explained.
"I'm guessing there's a 'but' in that theory?" 'Wisps' asked.
"But, I need more time to scan the Stone. I'm not 100% certain that this is possible and the scan will take minutes. However, if you could find the other stone, I will be able to complete the scan within seconds."
"Wait," said 'Wisps', "what do you mean 'more time to scan'? Sonic, do you have the Deep Power Stone on you!?"
"Yeah, I keep it safe with me at all times. Why?"
"I assumed it was… never mind. If you already have one with you now, this plan might work. I think I have an idea of where Robotnik stashed the other stone."
"Where?" Sonic asked.
"The one place that only Robotnik is allowed entry," replied 'Wisps'. "His private quarters."
*** 4 minutes and 33 seconds left ***
[ Stardust Speedway Zone Act 1 - Sonic Mania - Music Extended ] (Uploaded by Crunchii [Music Extensions]) (0:00)
The hedgehogs entered the enemy's private quarters. Not much to say about the decor of the room. It looked as though it was someone's office space; a couple of shelves with boxes, a couple of filing cabinets, three bookshelves with a few books, and a suspicious looking electronic safe on a table.
"Can't believe Robuttnik had ordered all his SWAT-bots to Doomsday. Heh, that guy will never learn," 'Wisps' chuckled as he walked towards the boxes.
"I bet I know where Robuttnik's hidden the Stone!" Sonic exclaimed.
"Really?" replied 'Wisps'. "Wanna bet?"
"Is that a challenge, I hear? 'Cause you're on!"
"OK, then. I bet 50 rings you don't know where the Stone's hidden."
"100 rings says I do," retorted Sonic.
"Deal," 'Wisps said as the two shook on it. "So, where do you think it is? And no takesy backsies!"
"It's obvious," Sonic smirked as he dashed towards the safe. As he gave it a couple of pats on top, he said, "It's right here."
"If you say so," said 'Wisps' as he started looking in one of the boxes, throwing junk out of them.
Sonic pulled out Nicole.
"Alright, Nicole," Sonic said, "time for you to do your thing."
"No problem, Sonic." Nicole stated as she started hacking into the safe.
A minute and Sonic's patience out the window later…
"Can we pick up the pace, Nicole?" Sonic impatiently asked.
"Just chill, Sonic." Nicole replied. "You're stressing me."
Seconds later, Nicole had the safe unlocked.
"Open sesame."
"Way past Nicole!" Sonic complimented.
Sonic then stuck his head into the safe, pulling out papers and blueprints, sending them flying all around him.
"Awww, nothing!" he complained.
"I win." 'Wisps' mentally cheered as he tossed the 14th box over his shoulder.
"We keep looking, right?" Nicole asked.
"Right." Sonic confirmed. He then turned his attention to the shelf next to 'Wisps' and rushed towards it.
"Sonic, stop!" Nicole ordered.
"Say what?!" Sonic complained.
"Back it up." Nicole ordered.
Sonic backed up a couple of steps and looked towards the table next to the safe. Sitting on top of the table was some sort of decorative pottery. And sitting on top of that was the second Deep Power Stone.
"Way cool, Nicole!" Sonic cheered as he grabbed the Stone.
"Hey, you guys found it!" 'Wisps' cheered. "Nice work. How did we not see that to begin wih? Anyways… Nicole, can you finish your scan now? We have to hurry, we only have two minutes at most left!"
"Yes. Give me a moment." Nicole said as Sonic pulled out the other Stone for her to scan alongside the first.
(Music fades)
*** 1 minute 30 seconds left ***
A couple of seconds later, Nicole finished her scan.
"Scan complete. Combining the stones will grant Sonic immense power. However, I am unable to determine if he will be able to withstand this amount of power," she stated.
"How powerful are we talking, Nicole?" asked Sonic.
"The equivalent of 10,000 Power Rings," she said.
"Whoa… that's a lot of power," said 'Wisps'.
"10,000?! That sure is a big number," Sonic added.
"The only alternative is almost certain destruction of Mobius," Nicole reminded the two.
"Think you can do it, Sonic?" 'Wisps' asked.
Sonic turned to his ally, smirking.
"No other way. It's time to juice and jam!" he exclaimed.
He walked up to 'Wisps'.
*** 1 minute left ***
"No telling what will happen when I combine the Stones. You better get outta here and head for Knothole. Make sure everyone is safe," Sonic ordered.
"I will," 'Wisps' said.
"If I don't make it, tell my buddy, Tails, to take care of himself. And tell Sally… tell her I'll always be by her side," Sonic added as he handed Nicole to 'Wisps'.
'Wisps' nodded. He waved farewell to the blue hero and dashed out of the room. As he exited the facility, 'Wisps' caught a glimpse of a bright shining object flying around the Doomsday Project.
*** 30 seconds left ***
"I guess your theory was right, Nicole." 'Wisps' said to the computer unit in his hand.
"Way past cool," she replied.
'Wisps' then headed straight for the Doomsday control room, where Robotnik was located.
"'Wisps'?" Nicole asked. "You do realize this is the wrong way towards Knothole, right?"
"Don't worry, Nicole," 'Wisps' replied. "Just making a quick stop before heading there."
*** 30 seconds left ***
[ The World Adventure - Sonic Unleashed Music ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (1:55)
"Grrr… Hedgehog!" yelled Robotnik, as he marched into his escape pod.
"B-b-b-but, sir, w-w-wait for-" Snively begged.
"There's only room for one, Snively!" Robotnik remarked to his nephew as the hatch closed behind him.
As the escape pod's launch sequence activated, Snively said, "You don't give me enough credit… Julian!"
Snively walked towards one of the control panels and pushed a button. A secret elevator rose from the floor and Snively entered it. The door closed behind him and he went down into the underground chambers he had secretly built behind his uncle's back.
Back inside the escape pod, Robotnik was pushing buttons left and right, getting the pod ready for launch. Seconds later, the pod began to rise. Suddenly, only a few feet above the ground, the pod jerked to a halt.
"What?" Robotnik cried out. "Why is the pod not taking off?"
He pushed a couple of buttons, but the pod wouldn't budge.
"Oh, come on, now? Of all times?" he asked.
He tried everything possible, but Robotnik got the same result.
"Aaaahhhh!" he screamed. "What's going on? Why won't this piece of junk-"
* "Yoo-hoo" Whistle *
"Huh?" Robotnik grunted as he looked out the window. "WHAT THE…"
On the ground below stood 'Wisps', smirking at the enraged Robotnik. And next to him were a large number of chains that were bolted to the ground…
… and were all wrapped around the escape pod, preventing liftoff and Robotnik's escape.
"Looks like Sonic destroyed all your nukes, Robuttnik! Too bad you're not getting away that easily!" 'Wisps' exclaimed, pointing to the completed countdown timer on the nearby monitor.
"You little… I'm gonna gut you alive when I get my hands on you! And then, I'll find that Sonic and-" Robotnik roared.
"Oh, really? And how do you plan on doing that, Buttstink? The hatch door?"
Robotnik took a second to understand he was in bigger trouble now. He got up and ran to the hatch. When it opened, he knew he was doomed. The exit was covered by a sheet of metal that was held down by all the chains 'Wisps' had wrapped around the pod.
"This is for everyone you've hurt and killed!" 'Wisps' yelled at the nervous tyrant.
"NO!" Robotnik roared as he scrambled back to the controls. He looked outside again, just in time to see 'Wisps' give a two-finger farewell wave off and dash away.
As 'Wisps' dashed towards Knothole and Sonic flew throughout Doomsday, they could hear the faint voice of Robotnik growing louder and louder.
"I really hate those hedgehogs. I hate them! I hate them! HATE THEM! Hate! Hate! Hate! HAAAAAAAAAATE!"
As the end of Doomsday neared its completion, the life of Julian Robotnik ended as well. Seconds later, Robotropolis was no more.
(Wait for music to finish)
*** 1 hour later ***
[ Stardew Valley OST - A Golden Star Is Born ] (Uploaded by Lewie G) (0:00)
'Wisps' arrived at Knothole once he knew everyone had escaped unharmed. Luckily, Sonic survived the power granted by the Stones and was happily reunited with his friends. 'Wisps' wanted to be a part of the community and introduce himself to everyone, but he couldn't. He wanted to get away from here, as far as possible. The memories of everything that had happened to him over the past year still haunted him. 'Wisps' felt more uncomfortable being here. Taking one last look at the happy celebration around Knothole, 'Wisps' dashed towards Sonic and Sally, placing Nicole into Sally's hands, and ran off before anyone could see him. He ran as fast as he could towards the sunrise.
"It's over," 'Wisps' thought to himself. "Juilan is finally gone. And everyone's now free. And I can start finding peace."
He continued along his path for a few seconds before halting to get one last look of the re-founded Mobotropolis. As he turned around, he was sure he was alone.
"Leaving so soon, buddy?"
Or so he thought.
'Wisps' sighed. "Of course, you would be the one to notice."
Sonic smiled. "What can I say? I'm the fastest thing alive."
"No arguing here."
The two were standing a few feet away from each other, staring in silence.
"So, you're leaving?" Sonic asked.
"Yeah. I've got something that I need to take care of." 'Wisps' replied.
"Can't you stay for a while? You could help us rebuild the kingdom or-"
"Like I said, Sonic, I've got something that I need to take care of."
"You sure?"
"Yup. Don't get the wrong idea, Sonic. I would love to help out around here, but I have my reasons as to why I can't stay."
"… Well," said Sonic, "if you ever happen to be around, give us a call."
"I doubt that will happen…" replied 'Wisps'. "But if I do, I will."
With that, 'Wisps' turned around and got ready to begin his own journey.
"Hey!" Sonic called out, just as 'Wisps' was about to dash away. "Will you at least tell me your real name?"
'Wisps' turned his head back to Sonic and smiled.
"My name is…"
(Music fades)
Team Sonic: Aaaannnd? What's his name?!
Me: Nope. Sorry, not yet! Can't give away too much backstory about 'Wisps' now, can I?
Team Sonic: Awwww…
Me: Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter. It turned out to be a lot longer than I originally planned. I was intending on the prologue to be just a prologue, not an actual chapter, but as I wrote more and more, I decided to make it a whole chapter instead. Yeah. Anyways, I hope this has interested you into the story. I'm already working on Chapter 2 already. Don't worry, you'll be seeing a lot more characters in the next chapter. And I won't be doing any more super long A/Ns. If need be, I'll give brief answers to any questions in the reviews or I will simply direct the question to a previous (or current) chapter. Anyways, please Review and let me know what you think!
Side note: The reason why 'Wisps'' (wow, that looks weird) is in apostrophes is because, in future chapters, he will be referred to by his real name. Mind you, there will be more OCs in this story. The only question is… how many more? Maybe five? Ten? Three? Or maybe none! I won't tell you. You'll just have to wait and see! Until next time! One last thing: the only reason why the first A/N were so long was to give you guys the history of Sonic's adventures in this story. I might update that if need be, but there's no need to fear about future chapters. Those A/N will be much shorter.
~ThePhantomHedgehog