(Next Chapter is on its way. So Riku, Sora's best friend/rival and Key bearer of the Twilight, is now in the world of SatAM. He's met with Robotnik and Snively, so far. But what about everyone's favorite speedy blue hedgehog, Sonic? Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about him. I don't own Sonic, nor do I own Kingdom Hearts.)

CHAPTER 3

After the meeting with Robotnik, Riku had been boarded on one of Robotnik's egg-pod ships; where a swatBOT escorted him outside of Robotropolis and into the outskirts of the Great Forest. The green ship descended slowly to the ground below, kicking up a cloud of dirt as it came to the end of its flight.

GREAT FOREST AHEAD, the swatBOT informed Riku in a mechanical voice, PLEASE PROCEED WITH CAUTION ON YOUR MISSION, it warned as Riku stepped towards the doors.

"I've got it handled," Riku waved the swatBOT dismissively; "I'll call you if I need help (which I won't)."

UNDERSTOOD, the swatBOT went to standby mode, until it was summoned.

The circular doors separated into equal fragments as they opened up, allowing Riku to jump out onto the ground. A vast beautiful green forest stood before him; a huge contrast to the mechanical city that was Robotropolis. "So, these "Freedom Fighters" inhabit the forest, yet the exact location of their base is unknown," Riku repeated the information he already knew as he walked into the forest, "So how the hell am I supposed to find them?"

Riku walked through the forest cautiously, looking all around for any signs of life. He walked for what seemed like almost an hour, finding no life forms except unless he counted the trees; now he was starting to get annoyed. "Urgh… If Robotnik actually lives on this planet, yet he doesn't know where to find this group…THEN HOW THE HELL DOES HE EXPECT ME TO FIND IT WHEN I KNOW NOHING ABOUT THIS WORLD!?" Suddenly, he felt the essence of a strong heart coming towards his direction at a furious pace. Not wanting to be discovered, he quickly ducked into a nearby bush, and peered out of the dense foliage. A speeding blue streak came Riku's way and halted right outside of an old looking tree with a gaping hole in the middle, where it was revealed to be a small blue hedgehog with white gloves and red sneakers; the EXACT same description that Riku had received, regarding "Sonic the Hedgehog." 'It's him,' Riku thought with excitement, 'it's actually him! Maybe he can show me where that Freedom Fighter base is now.'

"Nothin' like returnin' back to the ole' homestead after a hard day's work," Sonic mused with a smile, "Hope these are the parts Sal needs for that ole' gizmo she's been workin' on." He patted his backpack, before jumping into the Knothole village's secret entrance.

Riku popped out of the bushes with a grin. "Looks like this is my lucky day... He led me right to it!" He wandered over to the tree and peered into the hole; where he found a long wooden tube slide leading down. "So this is where he went…well I'd better get going." Riku climbed straight into the tree, feet first, and pushed himself down the slide. "WHOOOOOOOOOOOOAAA," Riku hollered as he slid down the log slide at a furious pace as if he was on a water slide, only without the water. POOMPH! Riku landed straight on a pile of soft straw, cushioning the impact of his fall. "Ugh, I can't believe they actually use this as a method to return home," Riku muttered as he stood up.

"Yes! Sonic, these are exactly what we need! Thank you, SO much!"

"Aw shucks, Sal. T'weren't nothin.' It's just what this hedgehog does best."

"Crap! Someone's coming!" Riku snuck back into the straw pile to hide. Peering out from underneath the straw, he watched as Sonic returned with that ground squirrel girl; the one Robotnik had called "Princess Sally."

"Really Sal, it was no trouble at all," Sonic boasted with a confident smirk, "Buttnik couldn't touch this faster than lightning hedgehog with a ten foot pole! Those parts were a cinch to get."

Riku raised an eyebrow at the hedgehog's cocky attitude. 'Is this guy for real?'

"Oh? So fast, that Robotnik couldn't even detect your huge ego?" Sally retorted teasingly.

"Sal, Sal, Sal," Sonic shook his head with a smile, "My ego's got nothing to do with it; just my sweet fleet feet."

'Now where have I heard this kind of talk before?' Riku asked himself rhetorically, as the playful banter between Sonic and Sally seemed oddly familiar to the kind that would go on between Sora and Kairi; only Sora wasn't as cocky and bigheaded as Sonic was. 'Sora never overly praised himself like this guy does. I wonder which is bigger; his speed range or his ego? Or maybe he's as full of himself as he is fast,' Riku chuckled mentally.

"Besides," Sonic went on, "there's more to this ole' hedgehog than speed and ego," he grinned.

"Like what?" Sally placed her hands on her hips in mock challenge.

"Like this," Sonic swept Sally off her feet and planted a big kiss on her lips; which she just seemed to melt into as she gave a soft moan.

Riku blushed at the tell-tale kiss before him. 'Whoa…but I've never seen Sora and Kairi do THAT…at least not in front of me anyway. BEHIND me, however, might be another story… Gah! I can think about that later! If they're that "involved," maybe I can make my escape…now!' The Key bearer quickly sneaked out of the hay and half snuck/half ran behind the trees, hoping that Sonic and Sally didn't spot him.

Sonic finally broke the kiss, after what seemed like ages, and grinned at Sally. "So, did I make my point?"

"Ok, you did," Sally giggled, as she stood back up, "Now we'd better go help Rotor out before it gets to dark.

Riku sighed with relief as he watched them head off, and took the time to get a better look at his surroundings. Much like the Great Forest, Knothole village was a huge contrast to the cold metallic feel of Robotropolis. This primitive yet clean and quiet village reminded Riku of Destiny Islands, only without the beach and ocean, along with a lot more trees (which weren't the tropical kind). "I wonder what Sora would think of this place," Riku wondered to himself, "and Kairi too." He looked around the village, at the wooden bridges across the river, the straw and wood huts, and even the water wheel which looked to be supplying them with electricity. "Huh…just like Gilligan's Island and Robinson Crusoe," Riku observed, before looking up into the sky, seeing the brilliant red sunset. "The sun's setting…and that means when night falls, I'll be able to move around here without the worry of being seen." He then took another look at the huts. "Although, it wouldn't hurt to check things out a little more…" Taking a quick look around, to make sure nobody could see him, Riku broke into a sprint and darted behind the nearest hut; he snuck over to the window carefully and peered inside.

Antoine Depardieu, self proclaimed royal guard of Princess Sally (and number one coward who was insanely jealous of Sonic), was doing random Kung-Fu poses (which he called "King-Fu" in his usual broken English) in the mirror and making cheesy martial art yells. "Hya! Wuya! And a Kya! Oh yes, my King-Fu skills shall be putting ze hurt on monsieur Robotnik! Zat fuel, Sonic, shall zoon be ze jealous fuel instead of moi, once moi is winning ze hands of ze Princess! Haha!" Antoine leaped into the air and did a flying kick; and accidentally crashed right into his own closet, sending clothes and hangers flying everywhere. "Ouchie…ze pain…eet iz hurting…"

Riku tried to keep himself from laughing out loud, managing to stifle it to a muffled snicker. 'Man, I've heard of broken English before, but that guy's dialect…even the French would be offended. And his "King-Fu" makes Bruce Lee turn over in his grave.' Shaking his head, Riku quickly ran behind the next hut, making sure that he was out of anyone's sight. He peered into the window of the hut, curious as to who inhabited this particular home.

Bunnie Rabbot, the muscle of the Freedom Fighters and the resident "Southern Belle," was brushing her fur gently as she admired herself in the mirror. "Gotta keep the ole' hair and ears lookin' pretty," Bunnie giggled as she put away her brush and winked at her reflection, before going over to a large basket full of fresh carrots. "Mah, Mah, Mah," she declared in her southern dialect, "don't these carrots look nice and fresh, todah?" She picked one up in her robotic arm and admired it. "These beauties'll be just fine for Bunnie's ole' carrot stew recipe."

Riku smiled a little, 'she's actually pretty cute, for a half mechanical rabbit… I wonder how she got those mechanical parts anyway.' Riku shifted a bit, accidentally knocking over two rakes nearby; causing the two gardening tools to fall on top of one another making a loud clanging sound.

Bunnie's ears perked up at the sound. "Wuh in tarnation was that?"

'Uh-oh, she's coming out! I'd better get out of here, quick!' Riku darted away from Bunnie's hut and hid behind a few crates, staying out of sight as Bunnie came around back and inspected the rakes.

"Now d'you suppose the little ole' wind came and knocked these down?" She asked herself as she picked them up. "Ah well, no harm done."

'Whew, that was close,' Riku sighed mentally, "maybe I'd better stay out of sight until nightfall.' But that suggestion was instantly dashed as Riku noticed a group of the animals he had just seen gathering around what looked like a strategy table underneath a large wooden canopy. 'A strategy meeting, perhaps?' Riku thought, 'I'd better get over there myself.' Riku followed the Freedom Fighters close behind, hiding and running behind bushes, crates, poles and other objects before he was right outside of the canopy; his back was pressed against the outside wall as he listened in.

"So who did you see Robotnik talking to?" Sally asked Sonic with an inquisitive look.

"I'm not sure, Sal," Sonic admitted, "But he was a human being, just like Buttnik and Snively. He had shoulder length silver hair despite the fact he was probably only one year older than me, and his clothes just seemed to have zippers everywhere."

"Was there anything else about him that you noticed?"

"Well…yeah; he was holdin' this freaky lookin' sword in his hand. Sal, that thing looked like it was made up of angel and demon wings; plus it was shaped just like a giant key. I wish I had gotten to see that guy in action though; it looked like he took down a whole squad of swatBOTs!"

"A whole squad? What happened next?"

"Last I saw, Robotnik was takin' him into his HQ," Sonic told Sally, "and here's a real kicker. He didn't know WHO Robotnik was what Robotropolis was, or anything about Planet Mobius!"

"Are you serious!?"

"Sal, that boy didn't look or sound like he's from this planet."

"Sacre bleu-cheese," Antoine gasped, "He iz ze alien?"

'Who the hell is he calling an alien!?' Riku thought, a bit offended at being called an alien.

"Ant, this guy wasn't green, nor did he have any antennae," Sonic chided Antoine.

"Humph! 'Ee does not need ze antennae or green skeen to be ze alien, you fuel!" Antoine challenged.

"Guys, don't start," Sally warned, trying to prevent a fight, "Sonic, please continue."

"Basically, Robotnik was acting all friendly towards the dude and trying to convince him that we're the bad guys here. I don't know about you guys, but I'm a little worried about runnin' into this new kid; I got some really creepy vibes commin' from him."

'Damn…so he saw me,' Riku thought, 'well it doesn't matter anyway, once night falls.'

Time seemed to pass quickly into the night time, and the Freedom Fighters had all returned to their respective huts for bed. Riku was left alone outside, now free to roam about without having to hide as much.

"Now, where do I begin…?" Riku thought aloud as he snuck around the village quietly. He peered into random huts, searching for the one that Princess Sally might sleep in.

"Mmm…just five more minutes Ma…"

Riku nearly jumped out of his clothes as he heard a faint voice behind; he turned around with his Keyblade drawn defensively. Right behind him, hanging from a tree by her tail in an opossum-like manner, there was a large green female dragon with two medium-sized green wings on her back; along with two smaller feathered wings on her ankles. Luckily for Riku, she appeared to be asleep. Riku waved a hand in front of the dragon's face to make sure she was sleeping soundly; since the beast remained motionless, Riku assumed he was safe. 'Phew, that was close… I'd hate to wake this girl up,' he thought to himself, more than a little intimidated by the dragon girl's size.

Choosing to sneak away as far from the dragon as possible, Riku resumed playing his game of peek-a-boo with the houses around him. "You'd think that a princess' home would at least stand out from all the rest," he grumbled, as his search dragged on to the next hut. "Where in the-aha!" Peering into the hut, Riku saw Sally's sleeping form in her bed. 'Jackpot!' Grasping the windowsill carefully, Riku quietly lifted himself up and put one leg through, until he was sitting on the windowsill; he then lifted his other leg and jumped down carefully onto the wooden floor beneath him.

If only Riku had had eyes in the back of his head, he would've seen the dragon girl behind him crack one eye open and watch him intently. 'Looks like we've got a prowler sneaking about,' she thought to herself, 'and he's headed for Sally's room! I gotta warn Sonic!' She flew up into the air and headed for Sonic's hut.

Riku stood over the bed and watched as Princess Sally slept peacefully. 'I don't know…was Robotnik REALLY telling the truth? Something tells me he was lying. His heart essence was too dark and evil, now that I think about it… Ugh, I don't need suggestions right now; I need answers. He raised a hand and began to reach for Sally.

"Get your hands offa her, bro!"

Riku only had time to pull his hand back as he heard someone shout out, followed by what seemed like a miniature gale force wind knock him off his feet and right out the door. "WHOA!!" Riku was sent rolling like a barrel across the grass, stopping 20 feet from Sally's hut. When he pulled himself back up, he saw the blue hedgehog, Sonic glaring at him challengingly.

"Hey, you're that dude I saw talking to Robotnik!" Sonic pointed a finger at the silver haired boy before him. "Just who the heck are you and where did ya come from!?"

Riku glared at Sonic as he stood upright. "My name's Riku," he said quietly, before his Keyblade materialized in his grip, "And where I come from is none of your business, Sonic Hedgehog!" He pointed Way to the Dawn aggressively at his foe.

TO BE CONTINUED