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"SAY WHAT?" Sonic cried as he managed the bump on his head.
"It's true, only Sir Charles figured out how to make Power Rings!" Topaz said.
"How can you be sure?" Sonic asked.
"Why else would the ultimate power supply in your home?" Shelby asked.
"Yeah, and just think of what it would do when if you gave it to a roboticized citizen!" Topaz added.
"Oh, that'd be bad." Sonia said.
"No, it would be good." Shelby informed.
"What do you mean?" Manic asked.
"According to our friend, Shurie-"
"Power Rings will return the freewill to a roboticized person as long as it is activated by someone who is very close to them." A voice said.
"Huh?" The Sonic Underground looked at the door.
Standing there was a young female hedgehog at about the age thirteen. Her light purple spines were curved down and her eyes were a dull pink. She wore a blue bandana on her head, a log dark pink skirt that nearly reached the floor, a pink jacket, white gloves, brown hiking boots, and very large glasses.
"SHURIE!" Topaz cried, ran to the hedgehog, and jumped into her arms.
"Hey, Shurie. Long time no see." Shelby said.
"Likewise."
"Guys, who is this?' Sonia asked.
"This is Shurie the Hedgehog, the smartest person I know." Shelby said.
"Oh, really." Double D said in a slight growl. He HATED it hen someone was smarter then him.
"Yeah, she was the only made out hypercubes and just about every we use during missions." Topaz said.
"She's also the one who told us about the Power Rings." Shelby said.
"Yeah, I've been tracking a signal coming from the rings for some time now, and it looks like I finally found them at just the right time." Shurie said.
"Wait, I'm starting to see a pattern here." Manic said. "Uncle Chuck was roboticized, Ro'butt'nik scans him and a bunch of other 'bots, he gets the info from Uncle Chuck but since there were so many he doesn't know which had the info, there's a weakness to the roboticizer that gives victims their freewill back, and the Power Rings do just that!"
"What are you saying Manic?" Sonic asked.
"I'm saying that your uncle found the cure for the roboticizer!" Manic said.
"That's why I was looking for them." Shurie said. "To study them in hopes of creating more so that the days or the roboticizer would end."
Jimmy started looking into the closet.
"What's this?" He asked.
He pulled out a strange device but it was hard to tell what it was because it smashed up.
"That was the machine that was supposed to create the Power Rings, but as you can see, it's too busted up to even make one." Shurie explained.
"Can't 'cha fix it?' Tails asked.
" I don't know, I never saw the blue prints for the machine." Shurie said.
"How many Power Rings can that thing make?" Sonic asked.
"One every twelve hours." Shurie said.
"That long?" Sonic asked.
"It takes a lot of power to make something like that. Besides, we don't even have the proper energy source." Shurie said. "We'd need the Power Stone."
"You mean this?' Jimmy asked.
He pulled a glowing rock out of the closet. It was twice as big as his fist but it seems like it belonged in a machine.
"The Power Stone!" Shurie said, grabbing it. "If I can fix the machine, then we could get more and more Power Rings every twelve hours."
"How many Power Rings are in there, Jimmy?" Sonia asked.
Jimmy went back in and came out with only three rings on each arm.
"That's all I could find." He said, handing them to Sonia.
"You know, we shouldn't keep these to ourselves." Sonic said. "I think we should let a few other people enjoy them as well."
"But Sonic, Sir Charles created them specifically for the royal triplets. You and your siblings are the only ones who can tap into their power." Topaz said.
"How do you know that?" Sonic asked.
"Queen Aleena allowed us to look into an old file about the rings created by your uncle, before she deleted it to keep it out of Robotnik's hands." Shelby explained.
"Well, that's not what I was going for anyways." Sonic said.
"What were you going for then?" Sonia asked.
"I was thinking that we could free three certain people from Ro'butt'nik." Sonic said with a smile.
"Wait, you're not suggesting…" Manic couldn't finish.
"Exacto mundo. We're going to free our old folks!" Sonic said.
"Sonic that is your best idea ever!" Sonia said, hugging him.
"Aw, c'mon sis, don't wrinkle the fur!" Sonic tried to whine.
"That's kind of risky." Shurie said. "You've never used them before."
"Queen Aleena once demonstrated for us." Topaz said. "We could help."
"Oh really?" Sonic asked.
"I have a better idea." Shelby said, starting to fiddle with the watch on her wrist. "I recorded it onto my watch."
A hologram was suddenly shot from the watch and displayed in the air.
"Better then a holocube." Topaz commented.
It showed Queen Aleena, holding one of the rings, there was a restrained roboticized person struggling to get free. The queen held the ring out to the area where the heart would be, and the ring and the roboticized victim started glowing. After nearly ten seconds, the light died down, and the roboticized victim looked around confused. But before they could see anything else, the recording ended.
"Just a little more work and it can fully de-robotizice a person." Shurie explained.
"Yeah. Just hold the Ring to where there heart would be, then reach out to them with your heart. They'll be cured in an instant." Shelby said.
"How do we do that?" Manic asked.
"When the time comes, you will know."
"Is everything a riddle with you?" Manic asked.
"No, she's just copying how Queen Aleena taught her." Topaz said.
"You mean these are the teachings of our mother?' Sonia asked.
"Exactly." Shelby said.
"Shelby?" Shadow asked.
"Yes?"
"While I was an infant, I remember hearing you singing a lullaby."
"It was the only way I could get you to sleep so we wouldn't get caught."
"Yes but…"
"But what?"
"Well, my mother sang it to me, my birth mother, when I was young."
" Queen Aleena taught it to me." Shelby said. "Maybe your mother worked in the palace, Queen Aleena sang the song a lot."
"She did?" Sonic asked.
"Yes, the song was passed down from her mother, and her mother, and her mother, and then some."
"If you guys don't mind, I'd like us to get going here!" Manic said. "I wanna get Ferral back ASAP!"
"We can't just rush in there Manic. We need a plan." Sonia said.
"Well, I do have a new addition for you guys." Shurie said, reaching into her backpack.
"Shurie, when don't you have something new for us?" Topaz asked.
The light purple hedgehog pulled out a pair of strange sunglasses.
"I call them "Search Glasses". You can use them to find anything." Shurie said.
"Lemme try!" Tails said, placing the glasses over his eyes. "I don't see anything out of the ordinary."
"That's because you need to give them a command on what to find and they'll become like X-rays." Shurie explained.
"Hm, I know! Manic's tools!" Tails said.
The glasses then turned red, and to Tails, Manic's fanny pack became see-through.
"Cool!" He said in awe.
"Let me see!" Manic said, snatching them away. "The Black Chaos Emerald."
The screen remaindered but he could now see through Shelby's pocket, showing the emerald.
"Man, these things are so cool!" Manic said, taking them off.
"Well, I think we know where we're going next." Sonia said.
"And now wouldn't be a better time, Robotnik wouldn't suspect an attack on his head quarters so soon after all this havoc." Sonic said.
"When do we leave?" Double D asked.
"At dawn tomorrow, I'm not letting Robotnik keeping my Uncle Chuck any longer." Sonic growled.
"I'll try repairing the ring maker, the more we have the better." Shurie said.
"I'll stick around and help." Topaz said.
"I'll help too!" Tails said.
"Okay, looks like we've got us a plan. Let's get a good night's rest, and in the morning, that's when we nail 'em!" Sonic said.
It was agreed. In the morning, with the first light, they would sneak into the base and free the three guardians.
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Will the plan work, or will it fail or is it already too late? And what about Shadow's mother? Read the next chapter of Ed Underground to find out. R&R please.