Written by Mixedfan8643 and TCH2
Based on the original comic book story written by Ken Penders, Kent Taylor, Mike Gallagher and Karl Bollers for Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog Issues 47-50 and published by Archie Comics.
This re-write is intended for entertainment purposes and is also intended for those who feel the original Endgame story was lackluster and could have been better. No offence is intended for anyone who enjoyed the original story.
Part 5: The Final Battle
Sonic the Hedgehog, Hero of Mobius, had decided that Robotnik had finally gone too far in his plans. He'd blackmailed a Wolf Pack Freedom Fighter, Drago Wolf, into revealing the location of Knothole, attempted to murder the girl he loved, Princess Sally, with an Automaton version of himself in order to frame Sonic for the crime, tried to kill Sonic with his SWAT bots, subjugated his home village and had constructed a weapon to wipe Knothole completely out of existence. This weapon was called the Ultimate Annihilator, and with Sonic alive and his Automaton Sonic destroyed, Robotnik had decided to activate the weapon right now.
Now, today, in the name of freedom, Sonic, the Freedom Fighters, the Wolf Pack and the Chaotix were taking the battle to him! Robotnik's tyranny ended today; Sonic would make sure of that!
The Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix were gathered at the outskirts of Robotropolis, making final preparations to mount their assault on Robotnik's main headquarters.
"No doubt, we'll encounter heavy resistance from Robotnik's SWAT bots," Sonic said to the team. "But we must push on through; we must reach Robotnik's HQ before he fires his Ultimate Annihilator. Knuckles, Bunnie, Mighty, you get the lead; you're the strongest of us, so you can take out the SWAT bots, no problem."
"You got it, Sonic!" Knuckles said.
"Easy peasy, sugah!" Bunnie said.
"No problem!" Mighty said.
"Okay, once we're through, we'll need to break into Robotnik's HQ. Tails, you have Nicole on you?"
"Right here, bro," Tails said, producing the AI computer.
"Once we get inside, use Nicole to hack into Robotnik's mainframe and deactivate the Ultimate Annihilator. Can I count on you to do that?"
"You sure can, Sonic, my main hedgehog," Nicole said. In spite of the seriousness of the situation, Sonic couldn't supress a small smile at Nicole's newly-developed sense of humour.
"Once that's done, we go straight for Robotnik himself!"
"Sonic?"
"Yes, Knuckles?"
"Since when did you go tactician all of a sudden?"
"Well, with Sally hospitalized, someone has to lead us, Knux."
"But you usually run head-on into a situation and make up your plan as you go."
"This is our darkest hour, Knuckles; I cannot afford to let my impulsiveness get the better of me; this is a time for careful planning and teamwork."
Knuckles was amazed. "Who are you and what have you done with Sonic the Hedgehog?"
Sonic waved his comment away. "Okay, guys, you know what to do. This is our final stand. Hold nothing back; either we're going down, or Robotnik is." He raised his fist. "For Sally and for all of Mobius!"
"FOR SALLY AND FOR ALL OF MOBIUS!" the Freedom Fighters, Wolf Pack and Chaotix said in unison.
"Okay, guys! Let's do it to it!"
What followed this statement was an enormous cheer from the Freedom Fighters, Chaotix and Wolf Pack. Now they were ready for action, the Mobians all charged into Robotropolis with Knuckles, Bunnie, Mighty and Sonic taking the lead. The SWAT-bots that patrolled the city saw them coming and they instantly jumped in surprise at what they saw.
"Red-alert! Red-alert! Freedom Fighters coming in at twelve o' clock!" shrieked one SWAT-bot.
"But Unit 5295, it's only ten past three according to my timing mechanism." said another SWAT-bot.
"Just fire at them you idiot!" snapped the first SWAT-bot.
So the SWAT-bots all took aim and they began shooting at the Mobians. The Mobians all scattered and Knuckles, Bunnie, Mighty & Sonic ran forward. Knuckles drew his arms back and punched through some SWAT-bots, destroying them instantly as his fists drove straight through their bodies and smashed their armour. Mighty rolled up into a ball like a normal armadillo would do and he spin-dashed some robots to pieces. He then also grabbed two by their legs, lifted them up with ease and slammed them together as if he was slapping two fly swatters together. The SWAT-bots were destroyed instantly. Bunnie smashed some SWAT-bots with her cybernetic arm and she used her cybernetic legs to kick some away too. Sonic, of course, used his spin-dashes to smash the robots to pieces. Funny enough though, Sonic wasn't enjoying this as much as he normally would do. He felt...serious as he was destroyed the SWAT-bots. Never throughout the battle did a laugh escape his lips. His face contorted with loathing every moment of this battle. As he smashed one SWAT-bot after another, he just seemed to feel more and more angry. Definitely unusual behaviour for the usually happy-go-lucky hedgehog.
"You nearly killed my love...and you tried to wipe us out of existence!" snarled Sonic, smashing through another SWAT-bot "Robotnik, I will show no mercy once I get to you!"
Meanwhile, in the command centre, Robotnik was inspecting the finishing touches to his Ultimate Annihilator, when Snively entered frantically.
"Sir, the Freedom Fighters, Chaotix and Wolf Pack are mounting an attack on the city!" he said. "They're coming for us, I know it!"
Robotnik didn't seem all perturbed by the news. "So, the hedgehog and his friends think they can stop me," he said. "Well, we'll soon see about that. Snively, mobilize all SWAT bots; tell them to create a perimeter around the command centre, while I make the final touches to my Ultimate Annihilator."
"Yes, sir," Snively said. Then, as Robotnik turned away, he muttered, "Your weapon will soon be your undoing, you ugly boil."
"WHAT WAS THAT, SNIVELY?!"
"Ahem, I said your weapon will surely prove to be a success this time, sir."
"I thought that was what you said." said Robotnik coldly.
He turned away from Snively and he wandered off to prepare the Ultimate Annihilator for activation.
"You have been a minor problem in this stratagem hedgehog..." purred Robotnik dryly "But you will not be a problem that grows to the point of being incurable! This weapon will fire and even you can't stop it!"
He cackled to himself as he left the room. As soon as he left though, Snively began cackling to himself.
"Oh uncle, you'll wish you'd never even bothered with this scheme..." chortled Snively as he began to tap some keys on the control pad...
Back outside, most of the SWAT-bots were beginning to fall and the Mobians were getting closer to the command centre, the very building upon which Sally had been thrown from in cold blood by Auto-Sonic. Sonic just hated the look of the command centre more than ever before looking at it for he now associated it with the building Sally nearly met her end at. Sonic spin-dashed through a SWAT-bot and he ran on towards the building.
"Sally...you were thrown from this building and almost killed..." grunted Sonic "Well now this building is going down with Robotnik. I promise you Sal...you'll wake up to a free Mobius tonight!"
As Sonic carried on running, Tails looked over at his friends.
"Hey guys, you noticed Sonic seems to be a little...edgy right now?" asked Tails.
"Oui, Sonic is being ze little bit furious isn't he?" agreed Antoine.
"Ah hope he doesn't let it get to his head or he'll do something horrible." said Bunnie with concern in her voice "Ah don't want sugah-hog to go around the bend..."
"What's keeping you guys?" Sonic barked over his shoulder. "Come on; let's get inside and get Robotnik. Bunnie, Mighty, break the door down!"
"With pleasure, sugah-hog," Bunnie said, flexing her metal fingers as she and Mighty stepped up to the door.
Bunnie and Mighty both punched through the door as hard as they could, breaking it in two and throwing it across the room.
"Oh YEAH!" They both yelled at the same time as they broke through the door.
The command centre's alarms began blaring loudly as the Mobians ran into the base and SWAT-bots began stampeding into the room to stop the Mobians dead in their tracks. The Freedom Fighters piled in first and began to cut loose on the SWAT-bots while the Wolf Pack and the Chaotix filled up the rear. SWAT-bots were getting destroyed by the dozen as the Mobians all ran into the command centre.
Sonic was in the lead, determined to reach Robotnik no matter what got in his way.
Tails, meanwhile, ran over to a nearby console and plugged Nicole into it. "Okay, Nicole, do your thing."
"It'll be my pleasure, my good fox," Nicole said.
Tails tapped a few buttons on Nicole and he began working away, seeing if he could hack into the system and shut-down the Ultimate Annihilator.
"Come on...please let us succeed..." Tails whispered to himself as Nicole began her hacking job.
As for the others, they were busting up SWAT-bots by the dozen. The room of which the battle was raging in was now littered with robot parts and inner circuitry. Sonic spin-dashed through some SWAT-bots, Knuckles punched through them, Mighty smashed them together, Bunnie user her robot parts, Rotor used what strength he had to fight them off, Antoine used his sword skills, the Chaotix did their thing and the Wolf Pack used their skills to fight through the crowds of SWAT-bots that tried to put them down. The SWAT-bots fired like crazy at them but their shots were ultimately futile for they could not hit the Mobians. Sonic broke some more SWAT-bots and he ran towards a door at the end of the room. Unfortunately for him, the door closed before he could run through it.
"No!" cried Sonic "Robotnik, you're not stopping me from getting to you!"
So Sonic proceeded to spin-dash against the door and try to break through it.
Meanwhile, Dr. Robotnik was watching Sonic from a monitor and he was a little surprised at what he was seeing. He'd never seen Sonic look so furious before. Had he finally pushed Sonic to his breaking point? He could probably use that to his advantage. He could break Sonic for good if he could do that. Robotnik grinned to himself as he though about this.
"How about I let the hedgehog in; alone? With him facing me alone, breaking him will be a cinch. And then, all his friends will follow, when they see their hero broken and miserable. Then nobody will be left to stop me!"
Robotnik cackled as he pictured Sonic's demise and his friends breaking down in tears over him. Robotnik pressed a button on the monitor and he contacted Snively.
"Snively, continue monitoring the Ultimate Annhilator." ordered Robotnik "I'm going to prepare for a little welcoming committee."
"Certainly sir." said Snively in a feign tone of loyalty.
Robotnik switched off and walked off to prepare for Sonic's arrival.
"Sonic will not stand a chance against me and my new invention." purred Robotnik "I'll evaporate that insolent hedgehog you see if I don't..."
Back outside, Sonic was still trying to break through the door. He wasn't having much luck though. The door was incredibly tough for him.
"Come on, you stupid door!" he shouted. "Open!"
Just then, it did open, just as Sonic was about to charge at it with a Spin Dash. "Whoa... that was unexpected..."
Then, Robotnik's voice sounded over an intercom system. "Sonic the Hedgehog, you and your friends have meddled in my plans for too long. There is only one way we can end this; you must face me, alone. Only then, will we know which of us is truly superior."
The other Freedom Fighters looked worried.
"Sonic, it could be a trap," Tails said.
"Ah agree," Bunnie said. "Y'all shouldn't go in there alone."
"Robotnik's inviting me to kick his ass so I think I'll take the invitation." said Sonic coldly "I'm going and I'm going alone. You lot keep the rabble off my back."
"But Sonic..." protested Tails.
Sonic shot a death glare over his shoulder at Tails, making the fox jump back in surprise.
"That's. an. order." growled Sonic, the pure nastiness of his voice making Tails shudder.
"OK then." said Tails hesitantly.
With that said, Sonic ran through the door to find Robotnik. The door closed up behind him as he ran through it. Tails and Bunnie looked at each other in worry.
"Oh no...Sonic's really lost it hasn't he?" asked Tails.
"Sugah-hog seems so...cold and so...angry." said Bunnie "It's like...all of what's happened has warped his poor little mind! Ah hope he can stop himself from going too far though."
"I hope so too." said Tails, looking at Nicole to see how she was doing in shutting down the Ultimate Annihilator "I don't wanna lose the Sonic I consider my brother..."
Robotnik was waiting for Sonic to arrive. He knew there would be a fight, but he wasn't unduly worried. Robotnik certainly wasn't known for his physical fitness, but he had used his technology to compensate for it, using nano-machines to enhance his abilities and metabolism. Plus, he had Sonic's anger and his ability to deliver Hannibal Lectures to use against his foe. He was going to enjoy this.
At that moment, the doors flew open and Sonic entered, his face full of loathing. "Julian Ivo Robotnik, now you will pay for your crimes against the Kingdom of Acorn and against all of Mobius! Your tyranny ends today! One shall stand; one shall fall!"
"Why throw away your life so recklessly?"
"That's a question you should ask yourself, Julian!"
"And why would I do that hedgehog?" purred Robotnik darkly "It is not I who will be throwing my life away today. Anyway, I cannot help but notice you have a perceptibly high level of anger at this moment. Tell me, is it because I nearly killed your precious princess Sonic? I'm dreadfully sorry about that...sorry that I didn't finish her off for real!"
He then leapt out of his chair and fired a laser at Sonic from out of his robotic arm. Sonic leaped out of the way and tried to spin-dash Robotnik but the fat scientist blocked the blow with a holographic shield that emitted from his arm. Sonic hit the shield and was instantly blasted with 100 volts of electricity. The shield had a shock-generator built into it. Sonic fell down to the ground and Robotnik picked him up.
"You never had a chance against me hedgehog." gloated Robotnik "And it shows in your success rates. Notice how I always seem to come back no matter how many times you let me take the fall? It's because I am simply too powerful."
"I've smashed every little one of your schemes before Robo-butt!" grunted Sonic "Ugh...and I always survive to fight another day! How powerful does that make you then?!"
"It matters not whether you survived to fight another day!" Robotnik said. "What matters is that you won't live after this day! And when I'm done with you, my Ultimate Annihilator will obliterate your village and your precious Princess as well!"
"NEVER!" Sonic shouted, and pulling himself from Robotnik's grasp, he Spin Dashed the dictator straight in the stomach, sending him flying across the room.
Robotnik hit the wall and he groaned in pain. He picked himself up and began firing lasers at Sonic from his robotical hand again. Sonic dodged the shots with relative ease but Robotnik had an idea. He aimed for where Sonic was going to end up after he leaped and shot at Sonic as he leaped. Sonic landed directly in the line of fire and he was brought down onto his back, wincing in pain and fighting the stinging pain of the shot. Sonic picked himself up, a scowl curled on his face, and he spin-dashed towards Robotnik again. Robotnik activated his holo-shield and Sonic hit it. He was shocked by the shield and brought down onto the floor. Robotnik kicked Sonic as hard as he could (amazing really considering how small his legs are) while he was down. Sonic picked himself up and spin-dashed towards Robotnik. Robotnik readied the shield but Sonic ended up jumping over Robotnik and landing behind him. He spin-dashed Robotnik in the back and slammed him against the wall. Robotnik groaned in excruciating pain as he hit the wall. Sonic jumped onto Robotnik's gut and he punched him in the face as hard as possible. Robotnik punched Sonic with his robot arm and sent the hedgehog flying off of himself. Sonic skidded across the floor and he ran towards Robotnik once again...
Meanwhile, the Ultimate Annihilator was entering its final stages. It was looming above Mobius in orbit and it was aiming down at the planet below, ready to fire its devastating beam that would erase Knothole from existence. Snively was preparing it for launch and he grinned to himself.
"Oh Uncle Robotnik, if you think that you're destroying Knothole then you've got another thing coming." sneered Snively "I'm not letting you destroy Knothole. That's too lenient on those Mobians. The Freedom Fighters deserve a life of captivity and they deserve to be servants for me, the great Snively Robotnik! And what better chance I have of getting rid of you then right now...your Ultimate Annhilator will bring YOUR annihilation!"
Just then, the monitor began beeping. Hacker alert! Hacker alert! Hacker alert!
"Now what?!" Snively said impatiently. "There's an intruder in the system?!"
He brought up several screens on the monitor, each showing a different computer. Then, he spotted Tails and Nicole at one of them.
"That pesky little fox is trying to stop me, is he?" Snively said. "I'll show him!"
Snively then proceeded to start taping on some controls in an attempt to counter-hack Nicole and keep her out of the system.
Over with Tails, Nicole's doing a good job getting into the system but unfortunately, Snively's found out about them and now Nicole found herself battling with Snively to make sure that she could get into the Ultimate Annihilator.
"Nicole, what's wrong?" asked Tails as he noticed a change in Nicole's actions on her screen.
"Snively is attempting to lock me out of the system." explained Nicole "I am doubling my efforts to make sure that Snively cannot stop me."
"Try your best Nicole, we NEED to stop that weapon from firing." exclaimed Tails worriedly "Robotnik will wipe us all out if you fail."
"I'm trying, Tails!" Nicole said, her voice now sounding restrained. "But Snively keeps packing them up against me!"
"I'll give you a hand!" Tails said, and began tapping Nicole's keys as quickly as he could.
Tails taped furiously and managed to crack a few of the codes Snively was uploading to try and block them out. Luckily his genius mind was able to keep up with the codes that were coming in so Snively was having a hard time keeping Tails and Nicole out of the system. Tails kept it going until it seemed that Snively was getting weaker and Nicole was able to deal with the rest. Nicole managed to pass through a few more firewalls and finally, she made it into the system. The Ultimate Annihilator was all theirs now.
"Sweet! We're in!" cheered Tails "Now let's shut this thing down!"
Unfortunately, Snively had other ideas.
"They're going to ruin everything!" growled Snively, running over to a storage compartment in the wall and opening it "That foolish fox is going to prevent Robotnik's doom! Luckily I know how to keep him out of the system for good..."
He yanked open the compartment and reached inside. He pulled out an enormous blaster rifle and he aimed it at the control box for the Ultimate Annihilator. He shot at the box several times until he eventually destroyed it, cutting Tails and Nicole off from the Ultimate Annihilator. The box was now a smouldering wreck that could not be used for anything ever again. Snively laughed to himself.
"Yes! They're locked out for good!" he cheered "And since I've already programmed the Ultimate Annihilator to fire, it cannot be stopped! It'll fire without delay and then soon Snively Robotnik's reign can begin! Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"
Back over to Tails & Nicole, Nicole's screen went blank and Tails' heart began to pound. Had something gone wrong? Nicole ran a test and realized that something was deadly wrong
"NO!" Nicole cried. "Snively's destroyed the control box. I'm cut out completely!"
Tails was horrified. "That means we can't stop it from firing! Knothole is doomed!"
"Not if Sonic can stop it!" Nicole declared.
"I hope he can or...we're all dead!" exclaimed Tails.
As the Ultimate Annihilator reached its firing point and prepared to fire down on Knothole, Sonic and Robotnik continued their battle. Sonic kicked Robotnik in the gut and brought him down onto his knees and then he uppercut Robotnik into the air. Robotnik hurled up into the air like a beach ball and he came down with a rather painful bounce and then a thud onto the floor. Robotnik fired a laser at Sonic and hit him in the gut. Sonic skidded across the floor in pain and Robotnik advanced on Sonic. He activated his holo-shield and then pressed it against Sonic while he was still down on the floor. Sonic screamed at the top of his lungs as he was violently electrocuted by the shield. Because he was pinned to the floor, it seemed he would be trapped there and Robotnik would be able to keep him there for Sonic would not be able to resist him as he was electrocuted.
"I win Sonic!" crowed Robotnik as the hedgehog felt his life slipping away "You are beaten, broken and on the verge of death! The Ultimate Annihilator should be in place now! In a matter of seconds, you and your friends will cease to exist and I, Dr. Robotnik, will take over the world and you cannot stop me! Bwah, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"
At this, Sonic snapped! He refused to let it end like this! Robotnik was going to die, right here and right now! Focusing his thoughts on Sally, he reached up, grabbed the holo-shield and pulled as hard as he could, ripping the shield free.
"WHAT?!" Robotnik cried. Next moment, Sonic Spin Dashed into his left shoulder, tearing the robotic arm free. He then kicked Robotnik in the face, knocking several teeth and sent him crashing into a wall. He then grabbed a sharp object from the floor, ran to Robotnik and held it to his throat.
"If we die, I'll make sure you don't live to see it!" Sonic spat venomously. "Any last words?"
Robotnik stared at Sonic, unable to believe that the hedgehog had just said those words to him. Sonic really had gone off the deep end. Sonic was actually threatening to kill him! Robotnik began to sweat nervously. He thought Sonic was pretty scary acting like this now.
"Sonic...please...do not kill me!" pleaded Robotnik "Spare my life! I'll do anything you wish, please spare me!"
"Why should I?! You didn't spare Sally and you certainly won't spare us when your weapon activates so I don't think I'll be sparing you!"
Sonic raised the shrapnel above his head and he prepared to plunge it into Robotnik's neck. Robotnik gasped in horror as Sonic prepared to take his life.
Then, a voice spoke in Sonic's head. Sonic, please don't do it, my love.
Sonic froze. "Sal? Is that you?"
Robotnik was confused. What's up with him? he thought
Sonic, if you kill him, you will only brand yourself a cold-blooded killer, like him. This isn't like you, Sonic.
But he tried to kill you and all of us as well.
And you're going to sink to his level? Please, Sonic, be the better hedgehog that I know you are.
Sonic took a moment to ponder on whether he was going stir-fry crazy or if that really was Sally talking to him. He was only imagining her voice in his mind and yet...it felt like she really was talking to him. Sonic suddenly began to feel guilty about what he was going to do. This wasn't what he was like at all. Killing was not something he fantasized at all. He always believed in incarcerating the wicked for they deserve to serve their penance. Killing the bad-doer does not bring them to justice, it helps them worm their way out of punishment and Sonic believed Robotnik deserved a very terrible punishment for his crimes. Sonic lowered his arm and he dropped the shrapnel.
Thank you Sonic. Sally seemed to say to him in his head.
Sonic smiled at that and then he turned to Robotnik who's face was the embodiment of obfuscation.
"No...you don't deserve death Ro-butt-nik." said Sonic coldly "That's too merciful for you. What you deserve is life in a cold, hard prison cell for what you've done and prison is where I'm gonna haul your gluttonous backside to!"
"Is that so Sonic?" purred Robotnik "Well I cannot say that I'm awfully fond of prison. In fact...I abhor it!"
He then suddenly punched Sonic off of himself with this remaining arm and sent him hurling across the room! Sonic smashed into a console and fell to the floor on his front. Then, a screen fell onto his leg, trapping him.
Robotnik picked up a plasma rifle and walked over to Sonic. Both enemies were rather the worse for wear; they had cuts and bruises; Sonic's nose was bleeding and he felt sure at least his leg was broken; Robotnik had lost quite a few teeth, suffered a black eye and his left shoulder was sparkling. Nevertheless, he pointed the rifle at Sonic, grinning maniacally.
"I would have waited an eternity for this!" he purred. "You're too weak to finish me off; you always were. That's why bad guys will win in the end. It's over, Sonic the Hedgehog!"
Sonic stared hard at the rifle, unable to believe that Robotnik had him completely at his mercy and he was going to get shot in the head. What a way to go for the big hero of Mobius! Sonic however saw a piece of debris lying next to him and he threw the debris at Robotnik's forehead. Robotnik yelped as he was hit by the debris and he accidentally fired at the screen trapping Sonic's leg. The screen was blasted to smithereens and Sonic wrenched his leg free. It wasn't quite broken but it did really hurt him. Sonic stood up and then winced as pain seared up his leg. He used his other leg to jump on Robotnik and knock him down onto the floor. He raised his fists up, ready to punch Robotnik and knock him out until suddenly, an enormous, violet blast erupted through the room and struck the two. The Ultimate Annhilator had fired at last and it was aimed directly at Robotnik and Sonic. The blast filled the room and everything seemed to go white as both enemies were engulfed by it...
The Freedom Fighters, Chaotix and Wolf Pack were still dealing with the SWAT bots, when an explosion shook the whole building.
"What is that?" Lupe cried.
"I don't know," Knuckles said.
"Oh no, I think the Ultimate Annihilator has been fired!" Tails cried. "We were too late! Knothole is gone and we're done for!"
"Wait a moment, Tails," Rotor said. "If it was the Ultimate Annihilator, surely we'd be dead by now. I think it came from upstairs."
"Sonic!" Tails cried. "Come on, guys, let's head upstairs and see if he's okay!"
The Freedom Fighters, Chaotix and Wolf Pack ran over to the door at the end of the room and Mighty, Bunnie, Knuckles and Vector broke through it by punching it together. Once they were through the door, they ran through the corridors and made it to the room where Sonic and Robotnik were having their battle. The blast from the Ultimate Annhilator had finally died down and in the room, Sonic was lying on the floor wondering which way was up. Robotnik however appeared to have vanished. He was gone and only Sonic was left in the room. He didn't look too good at all.
"Hooga...that wuz trippy..." burbled Sonic droopily.
The Freedom Fighters, Chaotix and Wolf Pack entered the room and they were all rather surprised that Sonic was here and looking rather beaten whereas Robotnik appeared to have disappeared.
"Sonic!" gasped Tails "Oh my gosh he's hurt! Let's get him outta there now!"
"Roger!" cried Rotor, running in to help Sonic "But...where's Robotnik?"
"Ze scoundral has le vanish-ed." blurted Antoine in surprise "Do you tink ze Ultimate Annhilator...ze vaporized him?"
"That's preposterous, why would Robotnik kill himself?" scoffed Knuckles.
"Maybe it was aiming for Sonic he was accidentally caught in the crossfire?" suggested Bunnie "Ah dunno but it seems like Robotnik's gone for good."
"We'll search the area and see what we can find." offered Lupe "You Freedom Fighters get Sonic to safety."
"OK Lupe." said Tails as Rotor picked Sonic up and carried him out of the room.
Meanwhile, Snively was simply jubilant. "YES!" he yelled in delight, jumping around. "YES! He's gone; Robotnik's gone at last! This world is mine now! Ha hahahahahaha!"
After a minute or two, he finally calmed down, reminding himself that the Freedom Fighters, Chaotix and Wolf Pack were still present in the building.
"I still have to deal with them," he said, crossing back to the console.
Snively was about to do something until he noticed that the Freedom Fighters were actually getting ready to leave. He watched on the monitor as the Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix left the building with Sonic in tow but the Wolf Pack were sticking around and searching the area. Snively pulled a grim face.
"Those wolves will be investigating to see if Robotnik's really gone." muttered Snively "Oh well, I'd best get out of here before they spot me."
So with that said, Snively ran over to an escape hatch in the corner of the room and he opened it. He stepped into it and slid down the slide that provided an escape route for him or Robotnik when they wanted to abandon the building. Now Snively had escaped, he was going to lie low for a while and then he would strike back at the Freedom Fighters and take them down...his reign was going to begin the moment he emerged from hiding...
Sonic, who had passed out during the journey back, slowly regained consciousness, though he didn't open his eyes straight away, as they felt too heavy at the moment. He was lying in an extremely comfortable bed and he thought he could hear voices around him.
Sonic groaned slightly and then, he heard Tails' voice.
"Look, everyone; he's waking up!"
Sonic opened his eyes blearily. For a moment, everything was a blur, but then he blinked and found everyone standing around his bed.
"Ugh...hey everybody...am I...dead?" groaned Sonic as he came back from unconsciousness.
"No Sonic, you're very much alive." said Rotor brightly "Although Robotnik doesn't seem to be."
"Wait what? What do you mean?" asked Sonic, rubbing himself better for he could feel some parts of his body beginning to ache.
"We found you lying on the floor in Robotnik's room and Robotnik seemed to have vanished." explained Tails "Lupe and the pack stayed behind to investigate and they said that they could not find any trace of Robotnik at all. It's like...he just disappeared."
"Really?!" gasped Sonic "Oh my goodness! Robotnik's...gone? Forever?!"
"Seems like it sugah." said Bunnie "And we have a theory on what happened."
"The Ultimate Annihilator fired but only Robotnik ended up vanishing when it did." explained Rotor "So we think that Robotnik was...annihilated by his own weapon."
"Whoa..." gasped Sonic "Really? Wonder why that happened then? Systems malfunction much?"
"I guess so." said Tails unsurely "Although Snively's gone too according to the Wolf Pack. Maybe he was annihilated too?"
"So...we won then...Mobius is free forever?!" blurted Sonic, getting ready to cheer with excitement.
"Seems like it." beamed Bunnie "The two big bads are gone for good and the Ultimate Annihilator is no more. The durn thing destroyed itself after it fired. We saw its remains burning up in the atmosphere."
Sonic was just about ready to cheer, when he remembered.
"Guys, back when we were attacking the command centre, I obviously was more angry than I ever was before," he said. "In fact, when I confronted Robotnik, I was actually ready to kill him and I almost did!"
"WHAT?!" everyone cried in shock.
"So, what stopped you?" Tails asked.
"I heard... Sally's voice in my head," Sonic said quietly. "She... told me not to do it. I know that sounds crazy, but I definitely heard her; I'm being honest here, guys. Oh, and Tails... I'm so sorry I scared you back there, lil buddy. Can you forgive me?"
"Sure Sonic, what you've been going through is perfectly understandable." said Tails reassuringly "I'm just glad you didn't kill Robotnik. You would not be setting yourself a good image at all and Aunt Sally wouldn't like to hear that you killed Robotnik, something that we Freedom Fighters don't do."
"I'm glad I stopped too." sighed Sonic "I never wanted to stoop down to Robotnik's level and..."
He stopped himself when he remembered something else.
"Sally! Where is she?" asked Sonic "Has she woken up yet?"
"No Sonic, le princess is still in ze coma at zis moment." said Antoine sadly "She is still in her hut if you wish to see her."
"Thanks Ant." said Sonic, leaping out of bed as if he didn't hurt anymore "I've gotta see her mondo quick! I hope she'll wake up eventually!"
"Wait a minute, Sonic!" Doctor Quack said. "You need to rest after your fight with Robotnik!"
"No time for that, doc!" Sonic said, brushing past him. "I have to see Sal, pronto!" And he hurried off without another word, completely ignoring the pain in his leg.
Sonic arrived at Sally's hut in a matters of moments. He opened the door quietly and entered. And there Sally lay, still in her coma, looking very peaceful.
Sonic stepped slowly up to her. He stroked her cheek and soft auburn hair gently; her fur was so silky smooth. She looked so beautiful, even in sleep; he almost found himself wishing that he could sleep with her, just the two of them. But he knew it couldn't be like that.
"Sally," Sonic said quietly, "ever since I met you as a kid, we've been the best of friends. We played together; we grew up together; we formed the Freedom Fighters together; and we fought for Mobius together. Sal, we did it; we won at last. Robotnik's gone forever; Mobius is free. Your wish has been fulfilled at last. I know it seemed like I was the one who dropped you from that building, but you know me, Sal; you know I'd never do such a thing to you." Sonic took a deep breath.
"I know we've had our difficulties with each other and we've argued a lot, but that never affected our friendship; nor did it ever affect my feelings for you. I know I'm just an impulsive, reckless and hot-headed speedster who always leaps without looking, and you're the Princess of Mobius, but... I love you. You make me feel happy whenever I think of you; being with you makes me feel so confident; and your voice makes my heart sing. You are my angel from heaven; you are a blessing to everyone in Knothole and especially to me. Please come back, Sal; we need you; I need you. I love you, Sally Acorn; I love you so much!" At this moment, tears were rolling down Sonic's cheeks and he made no attempt to wipe them away; he just bowed his head, crying silently.
It was at that moment that Sally stirred; her sapphire blue eyes opened to see Sonic crying over her silently. She had heard him, especially his last few words. He loved her; he truly loved her.
"Sonic..." whispered Sally quietly "Did I...hear you correctly?" she asked, a sly smile spreading out on her face.
Sonic lifted his head out of his tear-soaked gloved-hands and he gasped in surprise, his cheeks going red with embarrassment.
"Oh my gosh!" he cried "Y-y-you heard everything I said?!"
"Not exactly." said Sally softly "I heard you saying that you love me. I find that hard to believe though..." she said coldly "Especially since you threw me off that building! You've got a nerve trying to do me in and then come crying beside me and declaring your love for me! Who do you think you are?!" she snarled, sitting up in the bed and glaring at Sonic furiously
"Sal, I swear that wasn't me who did that!" shrieked Sonic in fright "The Freedom Fighters can vouch for that! Robotnik used an Automaton to try and kill you and frame me for the crime! Robotnik wanted to get me out of the way so he could wipe Knothole out of existence and thus, he tried to kill you and frame me for the crime! He actually succeeded too and I was nearly shipped off to Devil's Gulag. I managed to escape and we all stopped Robotnik...and I stopped him...in your name Sal. Please believe me, that's the honest truth." He sounded very imploring as he said it, more tears in his eyes.
Sally took in what Sonic had said to her and she knew deep down in her heart that Sonic was telling the truth. Sonic could never attempt to kill her so there was no reason why she shouldn't believe him. She was quite touched to hear that Sonic stopped Robotnik in her name. Sally's face fell into an apologetic expression; she felt terrible for what she'd said to him. She put her hands on Sonic's shoulders.
"Don't cry, Sonic; I'm so sorry I dared to think for a minute that that was you who tried to kill me." she said with her lips wobbling a little. "I believe you on what you've said. It's awfully flattering that you stopped Robotnik in my name though."
"Well thinking of you kept me going when things were getting tough." said Sonic, holding Sally's hands "And the reason you keep me going is because I love you Sal. Do you...love me too?"
"I think I'll let my lips deliver the answer." said Sally slyly.
She pulled Sonic close and planted a kiss on Sonic's lips. Sonic was both surprised and delighted to receive a kiss from Sally. The love of his life loved him it seemed. Sonic and Sally wrapped their arms around each other and they deeply embraced on the bed Sally had been sleeping in.
After several minutes, Sonic broke the kiss and looked deeply into Sally's eyes; he'd always loved those eyes of hers.
"Welcome back, Sal," he whispered. "And welcome to a free Mobius."
"Thank you, Sonic," Sally whispered back. "Thank you for being you."
"Shall we go and see the others?" Sonic said.
"Nah," Sally said. "Not yet; we'll have plenty of time for that later. Let's just enjoy this moment together."
"Of course, Sal," Sonic said, laying down on the bed with her and pulling the covers over them both.
The day had been won, Robotnik had been vaporized and Princess Sally had woken up at last. As Sonic would put it, this is the perfect ending to what had been a very eventful and very hard day...
And that's the end of this re-write! I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you'll agree with me that this is better than the original (Because, you know, it is).
Special thanks to TCH2 for helping me finish this chapter. :)
Thanks for reading and I'll see you next fic readers! :D