Robotnik had sent him a directive to capture around 30 Mobians for roboticization tests. For Robotnik had recently had an idea: to create 'super-Robians' - roboticized individuals with extra features not installed by the standard roboticization procedure.
The intercom hummed as Robotnik prepared to speak. "Snively," he said calmly, "I trust the raid went as planned on the Rock Beach settlement?"
"Yes, sir," Snively confirmed. "Twenty-six prisoners await your attention, sir."
"Are the Rock Beach Freedom Fighters among them?"
Snively was proud to be able to answer an affirmative to this question. "Yes, sir. All known members of the group accounted for."
"Very good, Snively," Robotnik replied, a touch of glee in his voice, "Very good indeed! Await my instructions for the prisoners."
Snively couldn't wait to get started...
xXx
Antoine clasped his hands behind his back as the Princess switched from one of Robotnik's computer files to another. Sonic, who was standing beside him and clearly didn't care how slovenly he looked, hunched a little, hands on hips. Bunnie and Rotor loitered behind them.
Sally pointed at the screen. "That's unbelievable!" she exclaimed. "There's so many!"
"Oh, mah stars!" Bunnie exclaimed as the length of the list became apparent, "How many are there?"
Sally counted them. 'They' were registrations; logs noting the entry of more than twenty new prisoners. Eventually she got to the bottom of the list. "Twenty-six."
"Geez," Sonic said to nobody in particular. "So where are they?"
Sally scrolled back to the first and looked for its registration number. "The first is in solitary confinement in level five. A turtle. Female. Seventy-eight years old." Sally shook her head in disgust as she read about the appalling treatment of the elderly woman. Then she went back to the beginning and opened another file. "This one's a piebald stallion; teenager; taken to..." she tracked the horse's file, expecting him also to have been taken to level five. What she found surprised her. "Level seven," she commented, and frowned.
"That's odd," Sonic said, mirroring her thoughts. "What's ol' Buttnik keepin' them in different places for?"
The princess was already searching for a third example. "Male, wolf. He was taken to level five... But he's been moved to the roboticization chamber."
"R-r-r... robotick-ized?" Antoine whimpered in fear. He trembled despite himself. Terrible, just terrible!
Sally clicked on. "Surprisingly, no," she replied, confused. "Looks like he was taken to the chambers but hasn't been turned. There isn't a registration number for him."
"So what did happen?" Rotor asked.
"I don't know," Sally said. "I'll check another one."
Sally checked three more files; it seemed that the new prisoners had been taken either to level five - the prison level, level six, a corridor containing an easily-accessible string of cells, or level seven, a laboratory-like holding pen. The final case she found made her sick to her stomach: a penguin had already been experimented on. "Oh, my." Sally covered her mouth and looked away.
"Princess?" Antoine prompted; Sally was plainly distressed.
Sally gathered herself and explained. "This lady... She's had two more arms grafted on. From another prisoner. What's Robotnik doing to these people?"
The whole room fell silent as the news sank in. Then the squirrel shook her head and read on to try and solve the mystery.
"Then... she was roboticized. Robotnik's..." Sally looked at Bunnie, still sickened.
Antoine sensed the rabbit step closer. "He's tryin' to make Robians with extra parts, ain't he?"
Sally could only nod. Robotnik had to be stopped.
TO BE CONTINUED...
