EPISODE 2: From Rabbit to Rabbot

Background: Before season one. Bunnie is not robotacized.

The Great War was over. The Mobians won the war, but the commanding general of the Mobian forces, Julian, used his massive robotic army to conquer the planet he had defended. He renamed himself Robotnik. Although Robotnik's forces had subjugated the planet rapidly and with little resistance, not all were conquered. The children of the royal families, their nanny Rosie, and a handful of loyal Mobotropolian citizens took refuge in the secret village of Knothole, deep in the Great Forest. Rumors circulated that other hidden outposts similar to Knothole were providing refuge to many fortunate Mobians. However, none knew how to find and contact fellow refugees, if they even existed. For years, the children could do nothing: they were much too young to fight back. Sally, Sonic, Rotor, Bunnie, and Antoine watched and waited as they saw Freedom Fighters leave on missions, but some never returned. At first it was scary, knowing that men and women who were like uncles and aunts to them had been robotacized. As time went on, though, and such events became familiar, it scared them less and rather tempered their resolve. They were the successors of the rightful Mobian authority: they would restore what had been stolen. First, they had to grow up a little, the adults said. In the mean time, like all children, they would need to learn how to live. Rosie provided schooling in primary Mobian subjects like language, culture, mathematics, literature, and so on. Cat, a retired soldier from the Mobian army prior to Julian's use of SWATbots, provided knowledge in the art of combat and strategy.

Sonic, though his patience was minimal, was deceptively bright. If anyone could get his attention long enough, he usually knew the answers. His speed was both his greatest strength and weakness: it could get him out of many tight spots, but it also permitted him to be brash and compulsive. More than once, he had gone to Robotropolis to look around and cause trouble for Robotnik. Though his so-called missions had little impact on Robotnik's plans, the dictator was quickly developing a dislike for the upstart hedgehog. Sonic demonstrated a keen sense of field awareness, Cat noted. Sonic had a knack for conceiving creative solutions and making snap decisions. These were a skills no one could teach. Cat prepared the impulsive Mobian to be the future leader of Knothole.

Sally was devastated by the disappearance of her father the King. She had also lost her mother not long before. But as royalty, she had been brought up to put her people before herself. She took the burden she bore as the successor to her deposed father seriously and her duty as princess soberly. She was not the strongest or most savvy of the next generation, but she was a quick learner and applied herself more than any other, so she would be a worthy model of Mobian royalty. She told others to not call her princess, not because she hated it, but because she didn't want anyone going lightly on her by virtue of her station. She always displayed a steady countenance, but at night she would frequently cry herself to sleep, partly for missing her father, partly for the suffering of her people, and partly for the rage she felt toward the man who caused it all.

Bunnie, as the only other young girl, developed a deep bond with Sally. She was the only one that knew Sally not as the calm and collected princess but as a hurting and burdened soul. Bunnie, despite her delicate upbringing, had a tomboyish streak running through her feminine charm. Of all the studies, Bunnie excelled at martial arts and hand-to-hand combat. Paradoxically, she also felt it was important, outside of battle, to carry herself with all the grace and beauty of a noble family's daughter. She spent much time with Rosie, learning family care, etiquette, and the like. She treated her friends with dignity and gentleness, and she prepared herself to one day dispense white hot justice against their enemy Robotnik. She had the temper of a cottonmouth and the determination of a badger, making her one of the most capable Freedom Fighters.

Rotor was quiet and reclusive, preferring the perusal of plans and the smell of oil in Knothole's workshop to Cat's lessons in tactics. Rotor was slow and awkward and didn't have much success in Cat's lessons. He found that in the small lab he was having more success, but unfortunately, he had no one to teach him to properly use the schematics and laboratory equipment. So he spent many hours studying on his own and teaching himself chemistry and other branches of science. By much trial and error, he taught himself. He was well on his way to becoming a superb mechanic and inventor.

Antoine was a timid child and the youngest of the group. He was not exceptional in strength or knowledge or stealth. As many Mobian boys, he would imagine himself as a brave hero in service to a princess. It just so happened that his princess was indeed the Princess. Antoine was uncoordinated, unsure, and easily frightened, so his dream of serving his Princess seemed very unlikely. But like his Princess, there was more to Antoine than what appeared to others. At the core of his soul, he wanted nothing more than to protect and serve Sally. He despised his cowardice and prayed for the day he could conquer it.

The years advanced quickly, as it does for all children in schooling. Before they knew it, eleven years had passed, and they were on their first mission in the city. Everyone was a edge, especially Antoine.

"Quiet, Antoine," Sally whispered harshly. "Do you want to bring every SWATbot in Robotropolis down on us?" Sally, Antoine, Bunnie, and Cat were deep within the city's heart looking for a powerful new source of energy: a power stone. Rotor had discovered some schematics in one of Knothole's storage sheds. They outlined the design for a device called a ring generator. Sir Charles Hedgehog, Sonic's guardian and uncle, had invented the machine for his adopted son as the Great War was raging. With the fate of his people uncertain, the royal scientist had conceived the power ring as a performance enhancement for his super fast child, that it may help protect him if something were to go wrong with the war.

"I am sorry, my Princess; but zee filthy air eez choking my throat and tickling my nose. How can I helps it eef I cough and sneeze?" Antoine asked as he rubbed his nose with a handkerchief.

"Doesn't matter, Ant, you gotta hold it in," encouraged Cat. As this was their first mission, the veteran Cat was tasked with overseeing it and ensuring their safety. His age slowed him down somewhat, but he was just as determined as the rest to bring down Robotnik.

"He's right, Pumpkin. We all gotta cough, but we're keepin' it back 'cause we got to," cooed the gentle voice of Bunnie. She was a beautiful young Mobian, covered in silky fawn fur. Her smooth drawl soothed anyone's nerves.

Antoine nodded his head. "Oui, I will do my best." He tied the handkerchief around his face to filter out some of the irritants permeating the city air. It looked ridiculous but seemed to help. It also quieted his gagging. "Where ees dat Hedgehog?" he moaned.

Across the square, in a prominent building that looked more like a palace than a factory, Sonic began his task. "Gotta juice. The guys are waitin' on me," Sonic said to himself. The plan was simple: get the SWATbots' attention and get them to chase him out of the building. Due to his numerous previous excursions into the city, the SWATbots were familiar with his face. With the building empty of bots, his friends would move in to do their job. Without thought (which was Sonic's way of approaching things), the super fast hedgehog dropped out of an air duct into the midst of a SWATbot staff meeting.

"MEETING ADJOURNED. CAPTURE HEDGEHOG," droned the commanding robot officer.

"In your dreams, metal moron. Let's see if you losers can keep up." He dashed out of the room with a few dozen SWATbots in pursuit. He found himself streaking across a wide-open lobby. Some Tankbots nearby noticed the intruder and joined in. Rockets and lasers narrowly missed him. "Hey, careful, guys. You're singein' me!" Two more Tankbots guarded the exit. "Time to shake and bake! Don't blink; you'll lose me." He abruptly stopped before the guards and leaped as high in the air as he could. The numerous rockets that were following him hit the guards, blowing them to bits. When he landed, Sonic turned to the pursuers and gave them a raspberry. "Nice aim, numskulls," he said and dashed outside with the bots following close behind. The building was empty. As Sonic led them on a merry chase, four figures emerged from the shadows and entered the building. Some strange writing was over the door; it looked like a series of geometric figures. It was the written language of Mobius. Translated, it said, "Mobian Royal Planetary Bank."

The lobby of the once largest bank on Mobius also had been one of the grandest, second only to the palace. White and green marble floor tiles had formed a checkerboard pattern, and the cathedral dome ceiling had gold and silver plated reliefs depicting the history of Mobius, and the walls had been ebony and covered with rich tapestries depicting natural beauty. Unfortunately, it was no longer such an impressive display. The gold and silver had been melted down for circuitry and wires; the exotic wood had been burned for fuel for Robotnik's massive power plants; and the tiles had been so pulverized and dirty from constant bot traffic that the floor looked like nothing more than oily rubble. Only Cat was old enough to remember the bank in the days of the King, and its now dilapidated state caused him to shed a few silent tears as he and his students crossed the lobby to the elevators.

As they waited for one, Sally recounted the plan to the group. "We have about ten minutes, I figure, before Robotnik realizes that Sonic is just fooling around with the bots and decides to send them back here. We're looking for the safe-deposit box that contains the power stone necessary for the ring generator. The schematics were damaged so we don't know where it is exactly, but, according to the older Mobians, the safe-deposit repositories are on the second and third floors. The box number is 3224. Cat, you and Bunnie will take floor three while Antoine and I search floor two. Remember: ten minutes! Any questions?"

Antoine slid over to Sally, invading her personal bubble, and piped up. "Oui, I haves a question?" He cleared his throat with an 'ahem' and said, "I was wondering if, perhaps, later this evening you and moi could, how do you say, -"

Sally had no patience for Antoine's poor timing. "Antoine, this isn't the time. Does anyone have a real question?" Sally interrupted. Antoine looked down at his feet in embarrassment, and the others shook their heads. "Good! Let's go." The elevator took the two teams upward quickly. Sally and Antoine got off on the second floor. "Good luck, you two. You have nine minutes," said Sally, and then the elevator door closed to take the other team to the top floor. The floor was situated as a long hall with rooms on one side, where the guests would have private access to their boxes. On the other side windows overlooked the former capital of a free Mobius. The view was probably breathtaking in the day, Antoine thought to himself. At the end of the hall, behind the cobalt shards of a crushed glass counter, was the storage location for the boxes. They were torn apart and strewn about, their contents looted by bots for Robotnik no doubt.

Antoine picked up one of the empty boxes and looked inside anyway. "Oh, this eezn't looking all too goods, Princess. Maybe Robotnik alreadys have zee, how you say, power stone."

Cat and Bunnie found a similar mess on the top floor. "I guess we shouldn't have expected anything less from Robotnik," commented Cat as he dug through the hollow and mangled boxes.

"I hope Sally-girl and Antoine are havin' more luck," sighed Bunnie.

"Nicole, transmit combination from file power_stone," Sally commanded, hoping that maybe in the mess the bots might have missed the stone.

"COMBINATION TRANSMITTED, SALLY. . . . NO RECIPIENT," replied Nicole. Sally's shoulders dropped in obvious disappointment. "BUT," and Sally's ears perked up, "A STORED HOLOMESSAGE HAS BEEN UPLOADED INTO MY MEMORY BY THE LOCAL NETWORK. SHALL I PLAY IT?" Sally was surprised. A message?

"I am not liking dis massage b-b-beeznis," Antoine chattered in fear. "It could beez a t-t-trap."

"Oh relax, Antoine. It's just a recording. Though I can't image what it might be," she mused. Nicole impatiently beeped to remind her of the awaiting message. Sally shook her head to pull herself out of her thoughts, "Yes, yes, Nicole. Please play it."

A holographic projection of a hog, dressed in formal attire complete with a top hot and monocle, appeared before them. He wiped his brow with a yellow handkerchief. In a British accent, he said, "Sir Charles, it seems the worst has happened, as you feared. As per your instructions, I have hidden your deposit in an undisclosed location. If this calamity resolves itself, I shall retrieve it at the earliest possible convenience. If," he portly gentlehog wiped his face of the obvious sweat collecting on it, "I am captured, then you will receive this message when you attempt to claim you property. I am sorry I cannot be specific about the location, but, as you instructed me, I must be discrete should the enemy gain access to this recording." A large explosion caused the stately swine to fall to the floor. Off camera, the screams of Mobians and drone of SWATbots was heard. The hog straightened himself up, fixed his bow-tie, and finished with this: "I pray you will remain well, Sir Charles. I pray we can do business again in the future."

"END OF MESSAGE, SALLY." Nicole announced.

"Wells, that eez just peaching!" exclaimed Antoine. "Now we be having no waying to knows where een zee world dis power stone eez!"

Sally shook her head. "True, Antoine, but now we have hope that it is not in the hands of Robotnik. As fast as the coup happened, I don't think the banker could have taken it very far. I bet it is still inside this building somewhere."

"But where een dis building could someone hide a box from zee bots?" wondered Antoine. Sally shrugged.

"We don't have much time left. Let's go get Bunnie and Cat. We'll have to come back another day," said Sally. Antoine groaned at the thought of ever coming back to this dusty and dank city.

As the teams searched through the former financial center of Mobius for the stone, Robotnik lounged in a green chair in the center of a dark room as Snivley worked frantically at the giant computer. He shooed a mechanical chicken off the computer panel, and it flew over to Robotnik,who held his robotic pet in his arms. "Now, now, Cluck, you must be more careful where you perch. We have important work to do," Robotnik said as he stroked its steely back. "Snivley, have you got that data yet?" the fat man bellowed.

Snivley shrieked. Robotnik was so volatile; one never knew when he would blow. But Snivley quickly regained his composure and reported, "The computer cannot determine a pattern to the Hedgehog's path. It determines that the Hedgehog has no predictable objective."

Robotnik continued to pet his mechanical bird. So the hedgehog was on another one of his silly runs through his city. One day he would devote some time to dealing with the delinquent, but with constant uprisings in the north and east, he had no time for these shenanigans. "Well, then, no reason to waste my resources for his amusement. Order them to return to their stations."

"Yes, sir." Snivley pressed a black button labeled RESET. "Bank Guard Team, return to posts." On the screen the robot parade stopped their pursuit and turned around.

Robotnik stopped petting Cluck. "What team are they?" he asked suspiciously.

Snivley reported, "They guard the former Royal Bank, sir."

"Hmm," groaned the tyrant in deep thought. Maybe he was wrong about the Hedgehog. It seemed odd that he had somehow sneaked his way into such a deep part of Robotropolis and then have that particular team of robots chase him. It did not make sense. Maybe he was a diversion. "What could possibly be there that a Freedom Fighter would want?" he asked aloud, mostly to himself.

Snivley felt compelled to answer anyway. "Sir, that is where gold and platinum is stored for use in your robots."

Robotnik shot out of his chair, sending Cluck tumbling through the air. "Of course, Snivley, if they can get their hands on my metals, they can seriously disrupt my weapon production. Get those SWATbots back to stations on the double and have them search the entire building. If there is a Freedom Fighter in that building, I don't want one of those beasts getting away!" bellowed Robotnik. He plucked Snivley up by his collar and brought the midget's eyes up to his own. "Understood, Snivley!" Cluck shrieked viciously.

Snivley trembled. He could feel the rage radiating from his uncle's glowing eyes and smell the sulfuric stench of his breath. "Understood, s-sir."

"I love my job!" exclaimed Sonic as he continued to lead Robotnik's forces on a leash, so to speak. He was the fastest thing alive, and he relished proving it. He looked down at his watch and noted that he had been running for about six minutes. "That drags," he complained. "It's already half over. Well," he perked up, "there's always tomorrow, eh, Buttnik?" It was then Sonic noticed something was off. He looked behind him just in time to see his pursuers heading back to the bank. "Aw man! That's way uncool. No way the guys have booked it yet!" He took off for the bank. The bots had a head start, but he would get there first if he had any say about it. "What I wouldn't give for one of those power rings right about now."

Back at the bank, Sally and Antoine had finished checking all the private rooms on their way back to the elevator. There wasn't much to see: they were plain square rooms, long emptied of any useful contents. Antoine's allergies were flaring up again, and he asked in an exceptionally nasal tone, "Are we to be goings now, Princess?"

Sally brushed a cobweb from her fur and nodded. "Yes, Antoine. We're almost out of time, so let's go get Cat and Bunnie. Maybe they had some luck." They walked down the hall toward the elevator. Through a window, Antoine thought he saw something move. He broke out in a cold sweat, but not wanting to seem worrisome, he said nothing. He saw it again. He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

"Um, Princess," he barely croaked, "I t-t-tink we might havez comp-p-pany."

Instantly Sally ducked down and dragged the startled Antoine with her. She whispered, "Where, Antoine?"

Antoine pointed to the window. "I am not being too very sure, Princess, buts someting eez moving arounds down zares, slowly and sneakily: someting that doesn't wants to be seen."

Together, they slowly peaked out from beneath the grimy window. Without warning, a bright blue laser shattered the window in front of them. As they ducked for cover, windows all along the wall were being blown apart; they could hear and feel the concrete walls being battered by the barrage. The hall was filled with the irritating smell of ancient dust and ionized air. They felt trapped, but then Sonic emerged from the elevator. "Thank goodness to me, zee Hedgehog eez 'ere."

Sonic ran over to his beleaguered friends and tossed a grenade out the window. "Catch, boltbrains!" The explosion broke a few more windows as well as many of the besieging bots. Sonic helped Sally to her feet. "We gotta bruise 'n' cruise, Sal. The bots have surrounded the building and started movin' in."

Sally gingerly removed some of the glass from her hair. "Right, let's go get Bunnie and Cat and get outta here."

"Sounds like music to my nose!" exclaimed Antoine.

"That's 'ears,' Ant," corrected Sonic.

Antoine shook his head. "No, no, I means my nose. All dis dust eez being zee murder to my sinuses." As if to prove his point he sneezed mightily.

"Whatever you say, Ant," shrugged Sonic. They entered the elevator and pushed the button for floor three, but the elevator headed down.

"Oh no!" cried Sally. "The bots must have pushed the call button for the elevator just after we got on. They'll be waiting for us!" Sally frantically removed Nicole from her boot. "Nicole, interface with elevator control system."

Nicole came to life with the flashing of lights and bleeping of her system computing. "WORKING, SALLY."

"Work fast, Nicky," commented Sonic as he drummed his fingers on the metal wall.

"Oui, this eez good advice, Nicole." They looked at each other, each thinking the worst was about to happen. Sonic felt a fear he never had felt before. It tightened up his throat, dried his mouth, and made the heat flee from his body. His worst nightmare, though he had never told a soul, was to lose Sally to Robotnik. With his uncle gone, Sally had been his whole world since the rebellion. She was his friend, his family, and his girlfriend. Sonic braced himself, ready to do his utmost to protect her.

"ACCESS ACHIEVED, SALLY." The elevator stopped at the first floor.

"Quick, Nicole, cut all power to the elevator system!" Nobody breathed. On the other side of the door, they could hear SWATbots shuffling. It was mere seconds they waited to see if the doors would open, but an eternity passed in their minds.

"ALL POWER TO ELEVATOR SYSTEMS DISABLED."

All three sighed with relief. Antoine let out a nervous chuckle and nearly fainted. Sally leaned up against the wall. Sonic swallowed the lump in his throat, which was hard to do with his mouth so dry. "It won't be long before they or Buttnik finds a way to get in here, Sal," observed Sonic. "What's the plan?"

Sally was still frazzled. This was her first mission, after all, and they almost got caught. She took a deep breath to calm herself down. "We need to go back up for Cat and Bunnie. Then we'll head for the fire exit. That will be our best bet to get out."

"Got it!" They climbed through an emergency hatch in the top of the elevator. "You guys chill while I wedge the door open up there." He curled up into a super spin and dashed vertically up the elevator shaft. Using his spin maneuver, he forced open the top floor's door. As soon as he came to a stop on the floor, he had to dodge a steel bar being swung at him by Cat. "Whoa! Hey! Cat, careful with that! You could poke my eye out."

"Oh! I'm terribly sorry, Sonic," apologized the elder Mobian. Guess I am losing my touch in my old age, he thought to himself. "We got bots coming up the stairs, and I thought you were one coming in from the elevator."

"Yeah, SWATbots are swarmin' all over the place. The plan is -"

"Sugah! I can't hold um back no more!" hollered Bunnie from down the hall as she ran toward them. "They're bustin' in!" Three SWATbots broke through the stairway door into the hallway and fired their lasers wildly.

"Into the shaft!" yelled Sonic. "Bunnie, get the door!" Cat and Sonic jumped and grabbed the steel cable that operated the elevator and began sliding down. Bunnie picked up the steel bar Cat was using and hurled it at the pursuers. "Mind your manners! Don'tcha y'all know your shootin' at a lady?" The bar knocked one down, but the others continued toward her. More bots were entering from the stairway. She leaped for the cable and reached back to close the door.

Cat had already made it down with Sonic right behind him.

"Bunnie, please to be hurrying," encouraged Antoine as the others dove for cover into the elevator.

"Why didn't I think of that, Antoine!" retorted Bunnie. She was having difficulty getting the door shut and was more irritated with herself than Antoine. "Dang blasted smelly ol' dirty -" she mumbled to herself. Complaining out loud wasn't lady-like.

"Forget the ol' door, Bunnie! Get down!" yelled Sonic.

It was a bit too late though. A SWATbot appeared in the doorway and saw the struggling Bunnie. She was an easy target being so close. It locked on and fired. A searing laser beam tore through her left shoulder. Bunnie cried out. Reflexively, she let go with her right hand, grabbed at her shoulder as she doubled over in pain. She fell. "Bunnie!" screamed Antoine. Instinctively he reached out to catch her. She crashed into him with tremendous force. They both were unconscious with SWATbots firing from above.

"Oh my gosh!" exclaimed Sally. Her friends were powerless to head for the cover of the elevator.

"No prob, Sal! I'll distract the bots while you get um inside." Sonic dashed out of the elevator. He passed by his injured friends and went up the shaft and on to the floor with the bots. "You guys are really startin' to tick me off!" They turned their attention to this most recent threat. This gave Sally and Cat the time they needed to bring Bunnie and Antoine to safety. Sonic super spun through the hall, demolishing dozens of SWATbots. Sally called up the shaft that they were safe. "It's been fun playin' with you bots, so let's end things with a blast!" He pulled a magnetic grenade from his backpack and stuck it to a SWATbot as he ran back into the elevator shaft. The explosion rocked the whole building as it turned the robots into scrap.

In the Robotropolis headquarters, Robotnik awaited news of the operation at the former bank. "The Freedom Fighters are trapped in Elevator #2, Dr. Robotnik," reported Snivley, as Cluck pecked at his few remaining hairs.

"How many, Snivley?"

"Five, Sir - two unknown, Bunnie Rabbit, the Hedgehog, and Princess Sally." Snivley tried to shoo his tormentor away, but with his uncle looking, he couldn't do much. "One day, you nasty little. . ." Snivley grumbled under his breath.

"Oooh!" the sadistic tyrant cooed. "This is excellent, Snivley. How long until we can override the elevator controls?"

Finally Cluck gave up and went back to perch on his master. Snivley sighed. "About ten minutes."

"Time is running out, Hedgehog," Robotnik growled. Cluck squawked in triumph.

When Sonic got back into the elevator, Antoine was waking. "Oh-um," he moaned, "my pain wrack-ed body. I must be dyings." He was holding his head in his hands.

"Just take it easy, Antoine," advised Cat. "You're gonna be fine, except for some bruises and a nasty headache." He pulled some pills from his pack. "Take these. They'll help the pain a bit."

Antoine swallowed the pills and asked, "How's Bunnie?"

Sally was leaning over her, scanning her injuries with Nicole. Her friends could tell it was not good. Even without seeing her face, the way her shoulders and head were sagging spoke. "Sal?" Sonic pleaded.

She shook her head. "Not good, guys." She stopped to wipe the tears from her eyes. "The nerves in her arm were destroyed by the laser: she'll never be able to use her arm again." Sonic put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. She cleared her throat to continue: "In the fall, she suffered numerous fractures in both legs and has massive internal bleeding. If it wasn't for Antoine, she would have died, I'm sure of it."

"So what do we do now?" asked Cat. "How do we treat her?"

Sally lost it. She hunched over Bunnie and bawled. "Nothing! There nothing we can do!"

That declaration of agony echoed in the hollow shaft, like the voice of an eerie and cruel ghost taunting them. Sonic felt so powerless and stupid. How could he let this happen to his friend, to his princess' best friend? Wasn't he going to be the hero who took Robotnik down and save the world? Yet, in front of him, was one young friend shot down by SWATbots of all things! He smashed a fist into the elevator wall, and dropped his head so no one could see the pain in his face. Those darn robots and their fat . . . Sonic's mind described Robotnik with choice words for which Rosie would have made him chew on soap. He was just so mad! How many more Freedom Fighters and friends would die, go missing, or be robotacized before Tubbo was put down? Sonic's mind paused. Something in that last sentence birthed an idea – a hope – in his mind. He remembered seeing something during the coup, when he was in line to be robotacized. Yes! If only he could convince the others, they could save Bunnie!

"We can save her, Sal," Sonic said in a quiet voice.

Sally sat up immediately. "What? How?" Sally asked in unbelief.

"Oui! How?"

"Trust me, Sal," he coldly declared. "But first we gotta get out of this elevator. Stand back everyone." Sonic went to a corner of the elevator as the others covered themselves as best they could in the far one. He curled into a super spin and tried to cut through the floor. It was difficult work; metal doesn't give much to spinning quills. But in short order and a bit singed at the tips, Sonic pierced through the floor and hopped down. "Let's get the ol' lead out, guys!" he called back up. As he waited he noticed the floor was gravel instead of concrete. Good he remarked to himself. He wasn't sure if his quills could take much more abuse for today.

Antoine was the next to go through. "Eet eez," he claimed, "a royal guard's duty to ensure zee safety of dee Princess. I will scout a-heads."

"Antoine," Sally said before he went. "That was very brave and noble, what you did from Bunnie. Thank you so much," she said, giving a hug and small kiss on his cheek.

Antoine winced a bit from the hug (his ribs were a bit tender) and glowed with pride. "But of course, Princess. Any gentles-man would have done zee same, seeing a lady in dee-stress." Sally smiled. If nothing else, Antoine was certainly dedicated to his dream. Antoine hopped down.

Cat and Sally gently lowered Bunnie into Sonic's and Antoine's arms and crawled through themselves.

"Time to spin and win! Stand back, while I cut us a path," declared Sonic. He watched as the Freedom Fighters backed away into a corner. Antoine slipped and fell backwards. Sonic gave him a look full of pity. "Smooth move, Ant."

Antoine got up and dusted himself off. "Eet wasn't my faults, Soneec. I was just backing aways nice and easy whens I tripped over dis stone eer." To make his point, he kicked at small peak jutting out of the gravel floor. It didn't budge; Antoine yelped in pain as his toes took the brunt of his kick.

Sally and Cat took a closer look. "It's metal," remarked Cat. "And smooth." Sally began digging it up.

"Sonic, you get busy with that tunnel. While we're waiting, we'll take a look at this," said Sally. Sonic nodded, then proceeded to spin into the ground. His Uncle Chuck has told him that under the city were tunnels that connected some of the more important buildings. It allowed important people to get from place to place without having to travel through the busy streets of Mobotropolis. The tunnels, his uncle had told him, were abandoned after the advent of hover technology, which helped the traffic and was easier than walking. He hoped to find one of these tunnels under the bank.

In a few moments, the rumble of his tunneling faded away. Sally and Cat continued to dig. Antoine was nursing his foot. "Well, Cat, what do you think? You know what it looks like to me?" asked Sally.

Cat nodded enthusiastically. "Looks like a deposit box, Princess." Indeed it was. It seemed to have an electronic encryption lock on it. She pressed the START button; the display came to life. She let out a small squeal of delight and retrieved Nicole.

"Nicole, retrieve combination data from file power_stone and transmit to nearby device." Nicole obediently beeped and booped as she worked. Within a few second, the display on the safe went dark and the snap of a solenoid-driven lock being removed echoed in the crawlspace. Sally, Cat, and Antoine looked at each other. "Well, here goes nothing, " expressed Sally as she pulled on the door. It didn't move. Years in the dank crawlspace must of rusted the door shut. "Antoine, give me a hand," demanded Sally. Antoine looked very confused, then lit up.

"Woohoo, Princess," he cheered as he clapped, "you cans do eet!" Sometimes, like right now, the language barrier was a source of unbearable frustration for Sally. But she had to remain in control of her temper.

"No, Antoine," she growled through clenched teeth, "Help me open this door." Though no one could see it in the shadow of the crawlspace, Antoine could feel himself turn a few shades of red. He quickly grabbed the handle by Sally's hands. "On three, Antoine. . . One. Two. Three." They pulled as hard as they could. Without warning the door popped open, and Antoine went rolling backward, head over heels. A soft green light shone throughout the dingy space. The three Freedom Fighters looked in awe: it was the power stone!

Sally picked up the stone. "Incredible!" she whispered. The rumbling under them returned, slowly growing louder until Sonic was back in the chamber. His quills were so caked with dirt one could hardly tell he was blue. Sonic immediately noticed the glowing rock.

"It's not toxic or radioactive or nothing, is it, Sal?" he uneasily questioned. She shook her head. "Way past! Anyway," he continued, "the tunnel slopes real easy, and I made it nice and wide, so getting Bunnie down won't be a prob. It leads to a service tunnel under Robotown. We should be safe for a while down there. We'll take turns carrying Bunnie. Sal," Sonic said as he threw his pack at her, "you carry the stone." Sonic and Cat started to carry Bunnie, following Sally and Antoine into the tunnel.

It was slow going, trying to be gentle with Bunnie on the uneven ground in limited light. But at least they made it safely to the tunnel. Just as his uncle had said, they were completely abandoned. Cat asked for a break. Sonic was glad to oblige. Bunnie may have been a lady, but she was well-built, strong and heavy. "Be right back, guys. I'm gonna make sure the buttbots can't follow us," he said as he retrieved an explosive from his pack on Sally. Sonic ran back up the tunnel. Cat sat down, gasping for air. He was definitely slowing down in his old age. There was a rumbling up the tunnel, and Sonic returned, covered by another layer of soil. "That will keep us in the clear for a while," said Sonic.

"Tell ya what, Sonic," Cat huffed, still trying to catch his breath, "I don't think I have it in me to carry her all the way back to Knothole."

Sonic swallowed and steeled himself for what was about to come next. "We're not going to Knothole." The other three looked at each other, then him, and were very confused. Sonic sighed deeply and said, "We're going to the robotacizer."

The others gasped. "What are you thinking, Sonic?!" asked Sally. "Are you insane?!"

"Listen, Sal, you said that there is nothing we can do for Bunnie, right?" Sally couldn't say it; she just nodded her head slowly. "The way I figure it, we can save her - "

"By robotacizing her!" Cat yelled incredulously.

"Not all of her!" assured Sonic. "Just the broken arm and legs. I've seen it done before. Why do you think ol' Conehead only has one robotic arm? The robotacizer will repair the damage, and then we can reverse it some time later."

"No, Sonic, I don't like it," objected Sally. Bunnie had been her closest friend forever. She loved Bunnie and didn't want her to die, but she knew how hard it would be for her friend to live with the robotic parts. She was torn as what to do.

"Oui, yes, I don't likes eet either," added Antoine.

"And neither do I," growled Cat.

Sonic realized how hard it was for them to use Robotnik's most-feared weapon as the device that would save Bunnie's life. "Guys, it's the only way to save her life." He saw that they were not being swayed. "Listen, Cat, you've been prepping me to lead for a day just like this. I don't like this idea any more than you do, but this hedgehog will be smoldering crater before he lets a Freedom Fighter under his watch die." Cat looked at the young but stalwart Sonic. Yes, he was brazen and careless and conceited sometimes, but in all his days never had met someone with more determination to succeed or more fidelity toward his fellow Mobians than this young hedgehog.

"Are you sure you want to take this responsibility on, Sonic? You realize it's a thankless job – no matter what you say or do, someone will be second-guessing you and doubting you. You will get none of the credit and all of the blame. Are you ready for that?" asked Cat.

Sonic looked him straight in his eyes with a determination so fierce it even made the veteran feel uncomfortable. Cat understood without Sonic saying a word and nodded. With that Sonic continued, "I'm the leader of this group; the decision is mine. You're just gonna have to trust me. If she wants to blame someone, she can blame me." More like hate me for the rest of her days, thought Sonic. The others looked down at their dying friend with the color slowly fading from her face.

Sally saw no other hope and nodded her head. "Okay, let's go," Sonic said.

Things were not going smoothly for Robotnik and Snivley at the Headquarters either. "Where are they, Snivley?" ranted Robotnik. Cluck joined in the abuse by flying about Snivley, pecking at his nose. Perspiration flowed down his face.

"They seem to have cut a hole in the floor of the elevator, sir, and tunneled beneath the ground to escape. The tunnel has caved in." He didn't understand why his uncle had to be such a beast. It wasn't like he hadn't done what he was ordered to do. He had sent more than enough bots to the bank, but the Freedom Fighters had just outmaneuvered them. Of course, Robotnik would never acept that, so it was Snivley's fault that they escaped.

"Find those pathetic mongrels, Snivley, now!"

Sweat was soaking Snivley's clothes. "Yes, sir," he squeaked in terror. He turned back to the Control Panel as a light began to flash to his left. "How odd. Sir, someone is activating the robotacizer without authorization!"

"What! Who?" A surveillance transmission appeared on a monitor. Sally, Cat, and Antoine were at the robotacizer controls as Bunnie lay near the robotacizing unit. "It appears one is injured, Snivley," Robotnik observed. "They are trying to treat her injuries using my robotacizer! Get security over there, now!" Robotnik thought of how pleasant it would be to finally capture the Princess. With her joining his robotic legion of obedient servants, the resistance would fall. It was looking like a pretty good day.

At the robotacizer, Sally was working with her computer. "All right, Nicole, activate the robotacizer."

"ACTIVATING," droned the computer. The whole room buzzed with the sounds of coils and other electronics powering up. What appeared to be a lightening bolt was flashing on the robotacizer pad. "SECURITY FORCES INCOMING, SALLY," warned Nicole.

"Sonic, you have to keep the bots off long enough for us to finish," reminded Sally.

He was leaning over Bunnie, holding her hand. "No prob, Sal." He wiped the tears out of his eyes. "Hang on, Bunnie. You'll be cool soon. And," he whispered as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze, "I'm sorry about this." He went out into the hall to guard the way. He took a melodramatic stance, arms crossed. "All right, Robuttski, gimme your best shot."

"It's all set, guys. Let's do it," said Sally. Cat and Antoine gently lifted Bunnie and brought her bad arm toward the robotacizer beam. Her left wrist grazed the bolt; her left arm became robotic. Sally turned away, hot tears burning in her eyes. If only she had planned better, if she had not underestimated Robotnik's response time, if only she had anticipated the ambush, if . . . if . . .IF! She felt as if it were her fault that her best friend almost died and now must be robotacized to live. She was pulled from her musings by the explosions and ruckus coming from down the hall. Sally, Cat, and Antoine looked concernedly toward the door. They had to hurry.

"SURRENDER, FREEDOM FIGHTER. RESISTANCE IS POINTL -" the SWATbot said no more when the grenade beneath its feet exploded. Sonic had piled up the first squad of unfortunate bots that he destroyed around him to form a barrier. He had confiscated a laser rifle from them and was not timid with it.

"C'mon, Moonhead, is this the best ya got?" taunted Sonic to the orb floating above him.

"Hardly, Rodent!" Robotnik growled in reply. At that moment, Sonic's 'bunker' exploded from a rocket fired by a SWATbot. Sonic was disoriented, but only for a moment.

"Ha! You think that's gonna stop me, Conehead? You ain't seen nothin' yet!" He curled into a super spin and dashed down the hall. SWATbots crashed left and right, becoming piles of scrap. Then Sonic crashed into something that wouldn't move - a Tankbot. "Hmm," he groaned with concern. "Well, it's been fun, bots, but I gotta run." With that, he made a hasty retreat back to the robotacizer room. He burst through the doors and shut them. "Getting a bit hostile out there." Then he saw Bunnie, awake and standing! Her left arm and both legs had been robotacized to counteract her injuries. Amazing he said to himself. "Bunnie, y- your . . . " he stammered.

"I'm all right, Sugah-hog," she replied as she gave him a hug. Gently she whispered in his ear, "And don't worry your lil head none, Sugah-hog, I don't blame you for trying to save my life." Sonic felt himself tearing up again but held it back. Enough crying for one day.

"Thanks, Bunnie. Good to see your up and at um again," Sonic said giving her a thumbs up.

"Oui, she eez in full health again."

"The robotacizer took care of all the injuries," commented Sally. The whole room began to shake.

"What going on?" asked Cat.

"A Tankbot is coming down the hall. We gotta juice." The five friends ran into the tunnel from which they came in. The tankbot crashed through the wall. It scanned the area, but the Freedom Fighters were gone.

"Snivley?" asked Robotnik with forced calmness. "Where are the Freedom Fighters?"

The small man choked on his own fear, trying to muster the courage to give the bad news. "They've [*gulp*] escaped, Sir," he barely squeaked out.

Robotnik ground his teeth in the most hair-raising manner. "They've what?" his hissed as he approached Snivley. Snivley just cowered. It was not going to be a good day.

A few days later, Sally and Bunnie were sitting together in Sally's hut, just chatting idly as they frequently did. Bunnie was lounging on the bed, playing with a loose thread in the blanket. Sally could not help but address the elephant in the room. "Bunnie, are you mad at me for allowing you to get robotacized?" It was a question that had plagued her since the mission. Bunnie was her closest friend, and it tore Sally's heart to not know how her friend felt about all of this.

Bunnie sat up on the bed and looked Sally straight in her eyes. "Now you listen here, Sally-girl, and you listen good." Sally tensed up a bit at Bunnie's serious tone. "Am I happy that my pretty lil body is half-made of metal and makes me smell like a SWATbot sometimes? You can bet your cute lil tail, I'm not. But none of this is your fault, Sugah. Or Sugah-hog's. I got distracted and let some bot get too close to me. I should be deader than doornail. But thanks to all of ya, I pulled through." Bunnie began to tear up. "I'm sorry for putting y'all in such a spot."

Sally embraced her half-robotic friend. "Some day, Bunnie, I promise that we'll get you back."