Chapter 9
The next morning
8:34 AM
Dr. Robotnik stared blankly at the text scrolling across his computer screen, pretending to care about the security report. The progress made on his project had exceeded his expectations, and he could scarcely take his mind off of the approaching stages. None of the foolish few who resisted him would see it coming, and could do nothing to stop him once it began.
He snapped out of his daydreaming with a growl as the electronic lock on the door behind him began to blurt a notification. "Who is it?" he groaned.
"It's me, sir," Snively's voice crackled through the static-filled speaker.
Robotnik scowled and pressed a button on his desk to open the door. He whirled around in his great metal chair to find Snively uncharacteristically storming into the room with a folder overflowing with papers. "Yes... Snively?" he asked, trying to remain calm. Cluck emulated its master by scowling at the small man before them.
"Sir, something has to change! Look at this," he exclaimed, showing his uncle the first picture from the folder.
Robotnik made out the image of a blue-furred echidna staggering under the impact from a SWATbot's laser projector. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Yes, so?"
"That particular echidna managed to survive a direct hit from that beam and make it back out of the city with little trouble. That echidna has been in the city nearly half a dozen times in the past week or so, and is almost single-handedly responsible for the SWATbot losses and spying we've sustained over that time."
"So, this little one is giving us all of the trouble..."
"Yes, sir, but that's not the main reason I'm here. If you'll look through the files you'll also see scores of instances of the SWATbots being easily out gunned, out maneuvered, and simply outclassed. Meanwhile, the roboticized security guards and even ordinary workers that have been in combat situations have performed significantly better."
Robotnik put the picture away and returned his piercing gaze to Snively. "And?"
"Sir, it's just that I think the SWATbots are very well over due for an upgrade. The roboticized soldiers are evidence enough that we have the means to make them much better combatants. I've already prepared a few plans and schematics, as well as AI upgrades for you to approve. With your blessings I'd like to get started on the work as soon as possible."
He mulled over the thought for a second and replied, "Very well. Do whatever it takes so long as it doesn't interfere with the project."
Snively blinked and swallowed, surprised at the ease of his approval. "Thank you sir, I'll get right on it." He opened the folder and sifted through the pictures before continuing, "But one last thing." He handed the picture of a vacant cell, followed by one of a porcupine and squirrel.
"And what is this?" Robotnik asked, growing impatient.
"This was the location of the princess, sir. They've taken the bait, as you expected."
"Ah, then I suppose the hedgehog has run off back home with her in tow? The fool."
Snively swallowed hard, "Not exactly sir. The two pictured here showed up first... and made off with her last night."
His uncle exhaled loudly and said, "Well, at least we'll know where they ran off to, even if it's not the hedgehog it's something."
"Actually sir," Snively continued, preparing for an unpleasant response, "I wanted to ask your permission to increase the security in the holding cells area... I... didn't discover that she was missing until this morning when I went to put the tracking device on her."
"So she's gone, and we have nothing to show for it?" Robotnik asked, his voice rising to a worrying tone. Cluck let out a low hiss and glared at Snively.
"Well... yes, sir, I'm afraid so."
Robotnik handed the picture back to Snively and pointed to the door with a sneer. "Very well then... do what you must, but leave me to my work. I don't intend for this setback to delay the project any longer than it has to."
Kyros was beginning to feel a distinct dislike for the cafeteria, having been to meeting after meeting over the past few days. He flinched at the familiar grating sound of the main door sliding open as he pulled its handle, and blinked to adjust his eyes to the interior lighting. In the typical meeting area, he saw the figure of Maya conversing with someone.
He quickly recognized her as the chipmunk that they had rescued the night before. After she had showered and cleaned herself up, she felt much more familiar, but the last time he remembered seeing the princess was over five years ago on TV. The princess didn't appear on television that often, and even then she would have been preteen when he last saw her. He glanced across her face, registering a certain familiarity to her. Everyone else seemed convinced enough that she was who she claimed to be.
Maya directed a prideful smile to her and pointed at him. "I'm sure you remember Kyros from last night. We couldn't get by out here without him."
The princess stood from her seat on the table and offered her hand with a smile. "Glad to meet you, Kyros. I do appreciate your help."
He took her hand and gave a skeptical shake. "Don't think anything of it, Princess Acorn."
She smiled and replied, "Oh, there's no need for that, just call me Sally."
He gave her a curious look, but neglected to comment. "What exactly did you want me for again?" he asked Maya.
"Nothing much, I just wanted for you to meet the princess here, and to discuss if your team managed to learn anything last night. It was all a bit hectic after we got back."
Kyros looked between the two and answered, "Well, no, not really. I wasn't expecting to find the princess here, and so our search was cut a little short."
"Search?" the princess asked.
Maya answered, "Oh, didn't you know about Robotnik's latest project?"
"You mean the rocket launches?"
"Yes," Maya continued.
"Well, we know that Robotnik has been working on building a large number of space rockets, but didn't learn about them until a few days ago when they started flying overhead. We were snooping around in Robotropolis when I was captured."
Maya asked, "We? Who else were you with?"
Sally looked at her in disbelief for a moment before continuing, "Uh, well, have you heard of the Knothole Freedom Fighters?"
Kyros unfolded his arms and replied, "Of course, who hasn't?" Anyone who had been into Robotropolis a few times would be familiar with them. Of all the resistance groups that tried to feebly repel Robotnik, the Knothole Freedom Fighters were his most hated foe. They had defeated more of his schemes and caused him more trouble than any other.
"I'm one of them!" she replied energetically.
"Are you serious? You know Sonic?" he asked.
"Of course! We've all been close friends since before the beginning of this tragedy."
Maya stood from her seat and exclaimed, "We had no idea! You must know more than we do about this then. We really must discuss everything together, I'm sure there's so much that we can learn from each other."
Sally smiled and said, "Sure." She looked around and asked, "Are you two the ones in charge around here?"
Kyros smirked. "Yeah, sort of."
"Yes, yes, but there's no need to get into all of that now. I want to you show to everyone first, we can discuss everything tonight over dinner," Maya pleaded.
Maya rounded the corner of the dirt path before the three to face the majority of Armadi. "Stanley is the one who found you first. I'm not sure how you normally handle missions, but we tend to send him off on his own, or just ahead to scout out for us. He's a good guy, but sometimes he can sort of rub you the wrong way."
"You can say that again," Kyros added.
Maya butted-in, "Anyway, he's not here right now. He took Marcus and Vladimir fishing with him today."
"I can't remember the last time I've taken a day to just enjoy life," Sally said, following Maya and taking a moment to look over the buildings sprawled through the valley floor.
"It does get a little hectic at times, and it's hard to really relax with Robotnik around," Maya responded. "But, it's good to know that we're doing something about it, which is why I want to introduce you formally to a couple of hard working tenrecs that make life possible here."
"Seltic? I think I remember hearing you speaking with him last night when you brought me here," Sally asked.
"Yes, and his sister Sissera. He's the only one who knows how to repair all of our computers and such, and she manages all of our medical supplies."
As they reached the large double-building that served as their homes and workplaces, Maya veered off towards Sissera's half. Her door was slightly ajar, and her preference of bright lighting was spilling out into the overcast environment.
"I believe that somebody's home," Maya said to her guest, sliding the door open. Sissera and Tantalus met their gazes as they stepped inside, squinting through the brightness.
Sissera finished placing a gauze patch across a red gash across the squirrel's arm before saying, "Oh, I wasn't expecting anyone. Do you need something?"
"No, no, I just wanted to formally introduce the princess to you. With everything going on last night we didn't really have a chance."
Sissera put her tools down and stepped forward, offering her hand. "Alright then. I'm Sissera Tregenoas, it's a pleasure to meet you Princess Acorn."
Sally took her hand and replied, "Likewise. Just call me Sally, I'm not really much of a princess anymore."
Tantalus eagerly jumped down from the table and offered his hand as well. "The name's Tantalus Gray. We're honored."
She shook his hand and chuckled. "Please, I'm just like everyone else." She looked at the wound on his arm and asked, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, I just hurt myself like an idiot while unloading some things leftover from last night. Are you okay? I'm sure being held prisoner by Robotnik is no picnic."
"It's not the first time I've been there. Thankfully he didn't do anything to me, I suppose he assumed that Sonic was going to save me before he would have the chance." She looked at Maya and Kyros again before continuing, "But again, I am grateful for your help."
"It was nothing, we're naturally always willing to help anyone in need," Maya pridefully said to her.
"No kidding, wait until you see who else we've picked up recently," Kyros added with a smirk.
As Sally questioned the statement with her facial expression, Maya said, "We're going to go see Seltic now, do you two want to come? We'll all meet up again tonight to discuss things over dinner."
"I've still got a lot of work to do, so I'll just catch up with you later," Tantalus replied.
Sissera shut off an overhead lamp and answered, "Well, I'm done here, so I guess I'll tag along."
"Right through here," Maya said to her company as she depressed the handle to open a door in front of them. The white lighting from Sissera's side of the building spilled into the pitch blackness of the hallway bridging the two halves. Maya fumbled with the adjacent wall to find a light switch, and commented, "Don't mind the mess, Seltic's not that organized."
Sally offered a chuckle in response before following her into the newly lit hallway. Maya cautiously opened the doorway across from them, sidestepping a pile of assorted machinery placed on rags to offer minor protection to the floor. She stepped inside and called into the catacomb-like maze, "Seltic? Are you there?"
A faint hum of light electrical motors could be heard approaching them from an unseen room, followed by a distinct intercom-like voice answering, "Mrs. Morceaux? Seltic's outside looking for something, what do you need?"
"Nothing much, I just wanted to introduce you two to someone."
"Oh yes, Seltic did mention that you'd found someone last night in Robotropolis. He didn't tell me much else though," the voice continued, growing louder.
Kaplain appeared from the large maintenance room to their left, with large portions of his metallic skin removed, exposing mechanics and fiber optic wiring. He stopped in front of the group and strained to look past Maya at their guest. "Who have you brought?"
The mink stepped aside to reveal Sally, replying, "Do you recognize her?"
Sally took a glance at him and jumped back with a gasp. She instinctively searched the room for the nearest exit, backing away from him before Kyros' hands stopped her.
"Whoa, there. He's not going to hurt you," he reassured her, despite his personal feelings. He knew better than make a scene in front of them at the moment.
"Sorry to scare you like that," Kaplain added. "These good people here rescued me from Robotropolis not too long ago."
Sally took a moment to calm down before offering her hand customarily. "Nice to meet you, Mr..."
"Daubach. Kaplain Daubach," the deer answered, taking her hand and studying her face closely. "You know, something about you does seem familiar, but it's been so long..." He paused for a moment more before squinting in thought. As if struck by lightning, his eyes snapped open and he stepped back. "Princess Acorn?"
She nodded modestly. "Just call me Sally."
"But, how is this possible? Weren't you in Mobotropolis when Robotnik started the coup?"
She looked away, shunning painful memories. "I was lucky that I had such resourceful friends, we managed to escape to safety. Ever since I've been leading a band of Freedom Fighters against him."
"We found her in a cell in Robotropolis last night," Kyros explained.
Kaplain nodded and said to Sally, "Then you are very lucky... being roboticized is indescribable."
She replied, "I know. I've seen it too many times... we've all had to see our roboticized parents and siblings working in Robotropolis." She fought back a tear and trailed off, "Daddy wasn't as lucky as I was..."
"The king? Is he in Robotropolis?" Kaplain asked.
She nodded weakly without comment. Sissera picked up, "Yeah, he's one of Robotnik's advisers. We've only seen him a few times over the years."
Kaplain said, "Oh, I see. I'm sorry princess."
"That's okay," she replied. "At least he's not dead... I've tried to come to grips with it."
Kyros cut in, "Wait a minute, if Kaplain could be brought back to normal, then couldn't the king?"
Sally sighed and said, "We've tried. We know it's possible, because we've managed to do it with Sonic's uncle Chuck. He's a spy for us in Robotropolis, and has been a huge help. But, even with his help we've never been able to get close enough to daddy to try to help him."
"Help who?" the group heard Seltic blurt out from the servicing facility that Kaplain appeared from. He strolled into the crowded room and glanced at Sally. "Oh, Princess Acorn, I didn't realize that you were here."
"Mrs. Morceaux here was showing me around and introducing me to everyone," she said, offering her hand once more. "You must be Seltic, just call me Sally."
He accepted her hand and replied, "It's an honor, princess." Responding to her disapproving expression, he said, "Oh, sorry. Anyway, didn't I hear you say something about restoring someone who's been roboticized?"
"It's a long story, but yes. He came to his senses when his nephew Sonic was in danger."
Seltic grinned. "Then I was right!"
"What do you mean?" the others asked in unison.
"I just think that I've confirmed the reason that Kaplain overcame the mind control. It all seems to be mental stress, if you witness or experience something too intense, like dieing or seeing someone love in danger, the roboticization's mind control fails."
"We kind of knew that already," Kyros added.
"Yes, but that means that I haven't been wasting my time," he replied before motioning for them to follow him back into the spacious room he had appeared from. The group filed into the room, noting the dozens of schematics and images playing across the computer screens lining the walls. An immense diagram of Kaplain's head filled the screen along the far wall, highlighting a section of components within his metallic skull.
"This reminds me a lot of Rotor's workshop back home," Sally broke the silence. She smiled and continued, "You two should meet sometime."
Seltic chuckled and replied, "I try, but there's only so much you can do with the things that Robotnik throws out."
Kyros stopped in front of a computer screen and said, "Man have you been busy, what's all of this mean anyway?"
"I was just getting to that," Seltic answered. "It's probably a little hard to tell, but this screen shows an anomaly in Kaplain. At first I thought that he was able to overcome the mind control because he was extraordinarily strong-willed, but after analyzing him further I'm not so sure." He pointed to a spot on the diagram and continued, "For whatever reason, this part of his brain wasn't roboticized correctly. It could have been a glitch, or possibly a natural defect."
Kaplain frowned as best he could with half of his face missing. "Go on."
"Well, I thought it might be the source of his ability to return to normal, so I studied it and found that there is an unstable series of electrical signals that move through that area. With a little work, I managed to pinpoint the source, and figure out exactly what part of his brain wasn't functioning properly.. With that in hand, I began work on this," he said, grabbing a pair of button-like devices from the table.
"What are they?" Sissera asked unnecessarily.
He raised them to eye level and answered, "I don't really know what to call them yet, but when finished, they will produce very intense electrical fields much like what I saw in Kaplain. With a little luck they might be able to instantly snap anyone out of the mind control."
Sally perked up and took a closer look. "Amazing, we tried to build something of this nature before, but never had anything to work from. We've been wasting our time trying to build a deroboticizer instead. We haven't made much progress."
He sighed and placed them back onto the counter. "I'm still not that close to finishing it, and as far as I know it may not work at all, or could even kill their user. But then again, what else am I going to do with my time?"
Everyone offered a smile or chuckle, but failed to comment further. Eventually, Maya broke the silence by saying, "Well, we can discuss all of this later tonight. Princess, would you like some tea?"
"That sounds nice," she replied politely. "Nice to meet you all."
Throughout the rest of the day Kyros had made it a point to steer clear of Maya and the princess. A lot of work remained to be done with preparing for the mission that night, and after Tantalus hurt his arm things would take even longer. After several hours of dragging crates and supplies, the smell of food grilling was irresistible. He normally didn't care for seafood of any sort, but since the freezer didn't work well the fish that Stanley brought back had to be eaten immediately. Some people didn't eat meat, since the wild animals of the world were so closely related to them, but Kyros just didn't like fish.
As he helped Tantalus force a final bag of equipment into the cargo space beneath the hover craft, the squirrel asked, "So, is the princess staying here or what?"
Kyros brushed off his hands and replied, "She claims that she leads another freedom fighter group, with Sonic himself. I'm guessing that we're taking her home on our way out."
"Sonic? Wow, I'd like to meet him."
"Yeah, if she really knows him."
Tantalus stood up straight and stretched. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"How do we know that she's really the princess? I mean, it's been half a decade since any of us have seen her, and even then not in person. Sure, she looks like the princess, but what are the odds?"
"I know, but she seems authentic. What good would it do her to lie anyway?"
Kyros stepped towards the twilight pouring into the garage through the open vehicle door and said, "Maybe she thought we'd only take her in if we thought that she was the princess. I don't know, maybe she's even a robot spy sent by Robotnik?"
"I don't think so. That doesn't really seem to be what Robotnik's up to right now. Besides, do you have any reason to think she's out to get us?"
"No, not really. But I guess we'll have a chance to find out in a minute," Kyros replied, spotting Sissera hanging out of the cafeteria door and motioning for them to come eat.
The two casually walked the short distance to the cafeteria, halting the conversation in case Sally was close enough to hear them. Kyros groaned as an arctic wind rolled through the town, and tightened his coat. "I hope Seltic got the heater fixed," he murmured to Tantalus.
"I doubt it, he's probably been working on Kaplain all day again," he replied as he reached for the door.
The lack of jackets and coats on the rack beside the door answered Kyros' question, and he noticed the red-hot glow of a spare pair of space heaters in the middle of the cavernous room. As the two found their typical places along the table, he overheard Maya apologizing to the princess about the spartan conditions.
He was preparing himself to ask if the food was ready when Stanley barged into the room with a plate of fried sliced potatoes. The sound of metal scraping against the concrete floor was soon followed by Kaplain lugging a much larger pan filled with fried fish. The two sat their trays onto the table and stepped back.
"How's the arm holding up?" Seltic asked Kaplain.
The deer lifted his arm and demonstrated its mobility before answering, "Great. It's taking a little getting used to though."
Seltic smiled and turned to Stanley. "The fish smells excellent, I can't wait."
"I wish I could taste it," Kaplain added. "I guess I'll just stand back and get something if anyone needs it."
Amid the confusion, Maya stood from her seat and tried to quell everyone. "Alright everyone, calm down for a second. Before we begin, I just wanted to remind everyone that we are heading out tonight. First to try and do anything we can in Robotropolis, and second to take Sally home," she said, directing her hand towards the princess.
Sally smiled meekly and said, "Thank you, everyone."
"Okay then, everyone enjoy the food. As soon as we're done we'll discuss the mission further."
As Kaplain and Marcus removed the last empty plates from the table, Maya spoke aloud, "If everyone's ready, I think we should go ahead and go over everything."
The others broke from their conversations and silently looked back. After a brief silence, Kyros answered for everyone, "Go ahead."
She clasped her hands together and said, "Alright then. Before I get to the mission itself, I wanted to ask you, princess, what you have learned about the situation."
Sally swallowed and perked up, not expecting to be put in the spot light. She took a deep breath and started, "Well, not much really. Like I said before, we only just discovered that Robotnik was planning anything. How did you find out so early?"
Maya looked over to Kyros with a playful scowl. "Kyros nearly burned the town down, and we had to go into Robotropolis to find out if Robotnik noticed the fire. When we got there, we found out by searching through the computer system."
Sally nodded and said, "I see. We didn't even know about it at all until he started launching rockets day and night. Normally we wouldn't be concerned over one or two, but with the sheer number we decided that it was best to find out their purpose."
The discussion was interrupted by Kaplain noisily dropping a stack of dirty plates back onto the table. He stared blankly for a second before snapping to and questioning, "Did you say... rockets?"
Sally raised an eyebrow and replied, "Yes. Dozens launched over the past few days."
"Do you know something?" Kyros asked, becoming genuinely interested.
Kaplain stood up straight and raised his hand to his temple. "Yeah, I think so. I'd completely forgotten about it until now though. When I was still in Robotropolis, I was normally stationed as security for the factories."
"Go on," Kyros urged.
"Well, the last place I was ordered to guard was a factory that was building a rocket. I was there for at least a week, and I remember some about the design."
"What details do you remember? Anything about the payload?" Seltic asked.
Kaplain thought momentarily and replied, "I don't have a clue what most of the parts were, but I do remember that the engines and overall design were supposed to be revolutionary somehow. I remember seeing something about them being nuclear powered, and being reusable."
"That sounds right," Sally cut in. "We found one of the rockets still in Robotropolis before I was captured, and Rotor, our tech-specialist, said that he'd never seen anything like them before. He said that they looked like they were supposed to be launched and recovered after falling back to the surface."
Maya puzzled over the information and asked, "But, why?"
Sally shrugged and raised her palm to Kaplain, asking him the same question.
"Sorry, I just don't know. The only glimpse of the actual satellites that I got was brief. They just looked like different kinds of telescopes or something."
"Could be a GPS upgrade or the like," Seltic offered. "But why such a level of security and secrecy over that, I haven't a clue."
"Did your team find out anything?" Maya asked Sally.
She shook her head and replied, "No, I'm afraid not. They may have by now, but not before I was captured."
Maya sighed and continued, "I was afraid so. Well, since we don't know anything more than we did a few days ago, I suppose my original mission plan remains."
"Which is?" Kyros asked impatiently.
Maya glared at him and replied, "That we're going back into Robotropolis to sabotage the missile launches, if we can't learn what they are being used for. We can't afford to waste any more time snooping around without acting."
Vladimir grinned and said, "It's about time." Kyros and Tantalus eagerly agreed with nods.
"We're going to split up again and hit several locations at once. With any luck, we can destroy several of the rockets or launch pads. Any other targets of opportunity are fair game, as always." She met eyes with Kaplain and said, "We're taking you too. Your knowledge of the security and such should be a huge help."
His eyes opened widely and he stammered, "O-okay."
Kyros cut his eyes to him and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Sorry, I'm just not in any hurry to go back, too many painful memories. But, like I said before... I'll do anything you ask."
Maya glanced to the princess and said, "We would love to have you come with us, but I'm sure you're ready to go home. So, when we leave tonight, we're more than willing to take you back to Knothole. All you have to do is show us where it is."
Sally smiled and replied, "Thank you, I appreciate it."
"Okay then, if no one has any questions or comments, you're all dismissed. We'll be leaving in two hours, so if everyone could be ready and assembled by then, I'd appreciate it."
Kyros finally began to feel the grogginess of riding for two hours through the treacherous forest lift as the hovercraft slowed to a halt. Princess Sally had been somewhat reluctant to reveal the location of Knothole to them all, given the possibility of Robotnik capturing and torturing it out of one of them, but after a little diplomacy by Maya she agreed. After all, she knew the location of Armadi, and in his eyes it was only fair.
His doubts about the princess' claims began to fade as he caught sight of a number of wooden buildings through the narrow vision slit in the vehicle's door. At the sound of the lumbering machines lurching to a halt in the middle of the village, lights began to flicker on in various windows. He grasped the heavy metal handle to the sliding door and forced it open, preparing to step outside as he saw the princess eagerly entering the passenger cabin from the cockpit.
"After you," he offered, motioning for her to step outside.
She accepted the offer and jumped down, her boots landing on the soft grass with a mild crunch. Kyros stepped out after her, surveying the fog choked darkness. He heard the distinct creak of old doors creaking open a short distance away, followed by the murmuring of people unseen. A peculiar thunderous boom echoed through the village, prompting Kyros to jump backwards and draw his rifle.
An instant later a deep blue blur flashed by, halting in front of the two. Kyros blinked to refocus his eyes, and felt his body grow weak as the hazy image condensed into a hedgehog. The hedgehog's cocky gaze met his own before falling to Sally's.
The hedgehog ran over to and hugged her before saying, "Sal! We got worried when we couldn't find you in Robotropolis." He released her and looked back at Kyros, asking, "Who's this dude?"
She chuckled and answered, "This is Kyros, his friends rescued me."
"Hey bud, thanks for the help, but I was already on the way to save her."
"S-Sonic?" Kyros heard Maya ask from the hovercraft.
"That's the name, and who are you?" the hedgehog replied, raising an eyebrow.
Kyros swallowed and tried to recollect himself. "It's really you?"
Sonic impatiently replied, "Yeah, what's the big deal?"
Sally interrupted, "These people are freedom fighters too, and they've heard of you."
"News spreads quickly, especially if you're Robotnik's mortal enemy," Kyros added. "You're a legend."
Sonic smirked and replied, "I don't know about that, but anyone who hates old Blubberbolts is a friend of mine." His eyes played across the growing crowd filing out of the two hovercraft parked in the middle of the village, and he asked, "Jeez, how many of you guys are there?"
The group began to make their way towards Sonic, varying levels of excitement growing within them. Kyros suddenly found his friends matched in number by the surprised and curious other inhabitants of the village, who had finally crept up to the escalating excitement.
"Sally girl, you're back!" a partially roboticized female rabbit exclaimed before embracing the chipmunk.
"Aunt Sally, I was so worried about you!" a young two-tailed fox shouted, joining the two.
"I know, I'm going to have to be more careful next time," Sally consoled the two.
At the rear of the group, a coyote sporting an old and worn royal guard jacket approached, followed by an overweight purple walrus. The coyote picked up his pace as he caught sight of the princess, and much to Sonic's dismay shouted through his thick Mercian accent, "Iz that the preencess? Who iz this that brought her back?"
Sonic sneered and replied, "Chill Antoine, I'm handling this."
"Everyone chill out, including you," Sally added. She took the imaginary stage between the two groups and turned to face the villagers. "I think a formal introduction is in order," she said, raising her hand towards Kyros and Maya. "This is Kyros and Maya, the leaders of the freedom fighter group that rescued me from Robotropolis. They've been fighting Robotnik for almost as long as we have."
She stepped back towards them, and pointed at Seltic and his sister. "This is Seltic, and his sister Sissera," she directed to her friends, moving down the line. "Stanley, Vladimir, and Marcus," she continued as she passed them. "Tantalus," she said, walking past the squirrel and approaching Kaplain. "And, Kaplain," she said at last, halting next to him.
"He iz a robot!?" the anonymous coyote voiced.
"Yes, a bit like Bunnie," Sally replied. "Don't worry, he's not going to bite."
"Amazing," the walrus added.
The fox clung to the blue hedgehog, and whimpered, "Sonic?"
"Don't worry little bro," he replied. "I think Sal knows what she's doing."
Sally walked over to the two and said, "It's okay Tails, he's been through a lot, but he's a nice guy."
"My stars, I can just imagine," the rabbit said.
Sally turned to Kyros and placed her hand comfortingly on the fox's head. "Everyone, as you've probably figured already, this is Sonic, and his friend Tails." The group stared on intently, but remained still.
"This is Bunnie, who we rescued during roboticization," she told them, resting her hand on the rabbit's robotic shoulder.
Kaplain turned grimmer and whispered, "Man..."
"This is Antoine, son of General D'Coolette," she said as she passed the coyote. He turned his head slightly and crossed his arms, cutting his eyes to Kyros and his group.
"And, last but not least, Rotor, our technical expert," she said, raising her hand to the walrus.
After the introductions ceased, the two disparate groups instantly moved together. The various members each exchanged greetings and handshakes, and curiously examined one another. Bunnie, Rotor, and Kaplain formed a tight knot, examining each other and conversing. Sonic, Kyros, and Maya grouped together, and Marcus and Tails instantly introduced themselves.
"Hey Sonic, where's Rosy?" Sally asked him after a moment.
"I dunno, probably still in bed," he replied from the middle of his group.
"Okay, I'm going to go see if she wants to meet our guests. They're on their way to Robotropolis, and might be interested in some refreshments before they set out."