Chapter 6: Phantom Fox Girl
The awakening felt like a pain in the head. He had a relatively large lump in the place he was hit, because of the concentrated flow of blood into that area. Man, Sonic thought, what happened? What was that thing that hit me? It couldn't have been one of Robotnik's creations…too intricate. Slightly lifting only one eyelid, the hedgehog looked around the room to find him in the medical hut back at Knothole Village.
Suddenly realizing that he had last seen Sally gazing down at him before he went out, Sonic attempted to jerk into motion but found a feathery hand on his shoulder. He tilted his head, following the arm finding it belonging to the esteemed, middle-aged duck, Doctor Quack, who garbed in his profession's attire made only to solemnly point at a bed to Sonic's right.
On her side facing away from the two, Sally was comatose, and had at least two bandages wrapped around her forehead. The girl had the sheets only halfway covering her, but Sonic could also detect indications of bandages around her waist and legs.
"Welcome back, Sonic," Doctor Quack said, rather plainly, "as you can see, your mission has been jeopardized, so nobody but you, Sally, or Bunnie can possibly know what had happened back there in Robotropolis. And, since Bunnie is nowhere to be heard of, and Sally, obviously, you are the only one who can fill us in."
Sonic was in a pool of swirling electrons of memory, trying to piece them together for logical explanation. Suddenly, he blurted, "Antoine!"
"Yes, Antoine was the one who recovered you," the doctor replied, "You both were dropped off several yards next to him while he was, er, 'monitoring' the power ring pool. He said you woke up for an instant and saw you."
But no, Sonic thought, he brought us back! That clumsy french-of-a-coyote actually left behind those useless, pathetic fears of his, bought some balls, and came to check on us. At least, Sonic reconsidered, that's what I thought happened…
Dr. Quack must have been reading Sonic's face, "He told us that he kept his post: one A.M. to four A.M. and said he heard some bushes rustle after retrieving a power ring. He said that then he heard footsteps fall back into the woods before recovering you two. At around three in the morning he knocked on my door followed by a little crowed, and after Sally and you were inside five minutes later everyone went back to sleep."
"How long ago was this?" Sonic said, staring at a clock.
"Don't worry, Sonic," Quack said, "you haven't been out more than only seven-and-a-half hours," pausing, he continued, "Now, what's your half?"
As Sonic began, the duck went to get a chair, "Well," Sonic paused to prop himself up on the bed to sit upright, "First awry thing to happen was when Bunnie disappeared," he reflected, "when we went around a corner in one of the laboratories, we didn't see her follow.
"What happened next is still pretty messed up in my head," the hedgehog put an index and thumb finger to his forehead and temple, "We went further into the main building in the center of the city, and came to a large laboratory with a bunch of stuff in it. A big robot came out and fought with me. It really, wasn't like any of Robotnik's designs, but it really put me in a pickle. It was fast but powerful, and before I knew it, it got me right in the head," that's when Sonic noticed the bandages on his head, touching them with the palm of his hand.
A break in the storytelling told Dr. Quack that that was all Sonic knew. He put the chair he used back and returned with a pill, "Well, Sonic, you've been through a lot. Now, this is just a sedative," Quack held up the capsule between two fingers, "I want you to relax and get some rest. That blow to your head will need some time to–"
"No thanks, doc," Sonic interjected, "I have to get back to Robotropolis to find our pal! You said Ant picked up another ring? That's my cue to get moving!" Sonic jumped out of the bed next to the doctor, still wearing his shoes, but fell to his knees clutching his skull and groaning.
"Sonic–uh–you really shouldn't strain–"
"It'll be fine, Quack," Sonic held up his torso with fists, and breathed through his mouth, "but…you got any painkillers?
Tails woke in the cold, laying face up on the ground. Opening his eyes he found himself in the middle of the Great Forest, and realizing this, panic took hold of his heart. He lurched forward, finding himself to be clutching a golden staff twice his height with a fixture for a large gem on the top. The fox gazed at the staff a moment, then whipped it back as he spun towards the opposite direction after hearing a familiar voice giggling.
What was fooling with his mind? Could that possibly be Fiona in the distance amongst the trees? How could that be? His lost friend was smiling at him a precious smile. Tails stood, jaw and eyelids hanging, staring at the much darker orange furred, fox. Still keeping her eyes fixed on the boy, Fiona turned her body towards the opposing direction.
"Wait!" Tails shouted, "Are… you?"
"Follow…" a second passed before she slipped into the tall, dense foliage. For a few seconds Tails hesitated before running after her. Why is she here? Tails asked himself of impossible answers, why am I here? Was I sleepwalking? Everything is so confusing!
Fiona was Tails's love a few months before. He and she grew to be fast friends, which was Robotnik's goal in the first place. The Fiona that Tails knew was only a robotocized copy of the real Fiona who was five years older at the time. The fake turned on Tails, breaking his heart as it tried to kill him. For all this time, Tails couldn't have ever known where the real Fiona had been.
Finding his way through the thick bushes in Fiona's direction, he thought of these things. Emerging from the vegetation, a very large clearing interrupted his thoughts. It was about the size of half the village–gymnasium size. He couldn't see Fiona anywhere until he spotted her all the way across the field, But I was right behind her! The two-tailed fox, exclaimed in his thoughts. He had to catch up. If it meant being in that fox's company again, he was determined to follow, whatever the consequences. For self-defense, he decided on keeping the staff as a weapon.
From the other side, Tails watched Fiona motioning for him to keep following.
Sally awoke with a start. It was Tails that first came to her mind, remembering him with her at Robotropolis last night. He came out of nowhere just after Sonic went out, and he never said a word the whole time he was there with her. It was as if he was sleepwalking.
What worried her most is that the robot Sonic was fighting came and knocked her out too, leaving Tails all alone against the monster. Ideas flew like bricks into her mind of what might have happened to him.
Doctor Quack was quieting her down, "My princess, I'm sure little Miles is alright. Please, relax and let me take a look at that dressing."
Sally sat back against the wall of the hut letting the duck unwind the cloth from her scalp, "Doctor, I must see Tails soon. Where is he?"
"It's okay," he reassured her, "I saw him myself when Antoine came with you two early this morning," he paused, turning to prepare new bandages, "By the way, Sonic left with a Power Ring to Robotropolis to find Bunnie. He said when you woke up to give this to you," reaching into his pocket, Quack handed Sally a large ring.
It bore resemblance to a Power Ring, however, this was two thirds the size and silver colored. There was not anything apparently peculiar or powerful looking about it, other than it was shaped almost exactly like its golden counter-parts. When she finished looking over it, Sally stuck it in one of the pockets on her blue vest, fitting it easily.
"How was he feeling when he left?" The girl asked.
"Not too well, but he asked for a painkiller before he went, so that will keep him up for a while… not more than three hours or so."
With hands in pockets, Doctor Quack stood pondering about this while trying to direct his mind to the next thing he was going to do, unsuccessfully. The unsettling quiet that arose, drove Sally up from the bed.
"I don't feel too bad, how bout I go to Miles's hut?"
"If you really feel okay, you can, but I think I'll go with you if you don't mind."
Sally agreed and the pair exited the hut towards the young fox's hut.
"So, Tails came to your rescue?" Quack asked his princess.
"He did, but… he didn't look very…well, awake. It was like he was sleepwalking: his eyes were droopy, he didn't respond to stimuli or other people, didn't talk or make any gestures––I just can't possibly explain it." Sally related.
The pair continued to walk, Quack said, "Odd…and you don't really remember anything else before you were knocked out?"
"Actually, I'm pretty sure I remember him holding a golden staff."
Arriving at the building, the chipmunk-girl stepped up to the front door and rapped on the wood, "You awake, Tails?" after a few seconds of wait for a response, Sally knocked a bit more, "Tails, I'm coming in, okay?" When she heard nothing on the other side, she opened the door and went in.
She found nobody to be inside.
Hurling paper and garbage debris in the air from his wake, Sonic was traveling at, a lowly, two-hundred forty through the dark and oppressive Robotropolis. Every, which way one went, they would be greeted by service lines, electrical wires, pipes, and metallic buildings of various sizes. The city was consumed within an enormous cloud of gaseous pollution that constantly poured from factories and laboratories. The sight of that made Sonic sick to his stomach in disgust and hatred for that fat, villainous, putridity who so ruthlessly conquered this, once sanctuary, city.
Poised, and ready for anything, Sonic sped around and sometimes over these obstacles, coming to a long straight-away towards that pointed directly to the main, center, egg-shaped, palace. Rising above mostly everything in the center of the metropolis by five times, the palace was very large, and had a balcony like a pocket near the top.
The hedgehog's first idea to look would be the primary holding cells in the palace's dungeon. If she was disabled and captured, that is where Bunnie would be. The Power Ring Sonic brought along was kept in a small, brown backpack, since upon physical contact with him a ring would come out of inactiveness. Therefore, when he needed it at a critical time, he could grab it out of the backpack.
Any way into the building is kept heavily secure and guarded. Usually, if possible, a team of Freedom Fighters would find a harmless tunnel blocked by grating they could infiltrate by, but being one hedgehog, Sonic didn't have any need to stay as a group. He certainly didn't have any time, either.
Zipping to a hiding spot a stone's throw from an entry, Sonic required only to wait for one of the service hovercraft that routinely exited and entered through these sliding, blast doors. From behind, Sonic heard the whirring and buzzing of the hovercraft engines he had been waiting to hear, and, making sure he was safely out of sight, let them pass.
The caravan of four ships, each shaped as an egg, about the size of a truck each, and green, stopped in front of the entrance. Sonic looked on in awe as each craft waited for about ten seconds before going in after the preceding one. This could only mean that a check was performed on each craft, probably in an enclosed, threshold, for stowaways.
