Chapter 4
Valiant
It takes a while, but we finally arrive at the "safe" point. It is a cave…. I very well furnished cave. I say "are you sure no one knows of this place?" the resistance member replies "yes. Absolutely this is a hideout I've been using for years to kick back, take a break from life, and enjoy nature while I still can." "well, as long as it's safe then It's fine by me. I haven't "relaxed" in years. The war has put me through so much, so fast. So much sadness, so many casualties." Antoine walks up to me and says "I probably don't want to know, but…. How did I die?" I reply "you died valiantly." *enter flashback* I yell "TAKE COVER!" A hail of shots passes over our heads, missing us by inches. I say "whew, that was close eh guys?" Sonic replies "oh yeah. Too close for this hedgehog." "we need a plan." "well Sally's battalion is trapped behind enemy lines. We have to get to her." "yeah, but I just don't see how that's possible." "where there's a hedgehog, there's a way. I say we go for it, just push straight through." "that's totally crazy." "we've done crazier." "true… oh why not?" we dash from our cover and are immediately shot at by 10 bots. But this number of shots are easily dodged. Sonic cuts 4 of them in half with a spin. I shoot 3. And Antoine gets the other 3 with his sword. We continue on, destroying more robots as they get in our way. We are determined to get to Sally as quick as possible. We are almost to the place where Sally is held up when we hear a scream. Antoine says "zat sounds like zee princess." we start running. We turn the next corner to see a swat bot standing over Sally. It says "prepare yourself." Antoine screams "NOOOO!"
he throws his sword at the robot. His aim is true and the blade impales the robot. But more bots surround her. Antoine charges in and retrieves his sword. Then he leaps into action, cutting up bot after bot. a pile of parts begins to surround Sally. But there are more and more robots coming. So many shots fly around. Antoine gets hit. But the roboticization process seems rather slow to me. Antoine says "I….Will… Never…. Let… You… Harm…. Princess….Sally!" he continues fighting. I am astounded. It looks as if his sheer willpower is slowing the process. It must be his love for Sally. That's the only conclusion. He destroys another 10 bots before he is hit again. Another 20 before he is hit a 3rd time, still he keeps fighting. Over 70% if his body is roboticized now, there's no way he'd make it. But he keeps fighting anyway. After another shot, 90% of his body is roboticized. But after that last hit, he finishes off the last robot. (There were about 100. So, he basically went super Saiyan and PWNED those bots hard.) He staggers over to Sally and says "my princess. I will not live to see zee end of theess conflict. But you are alive and zat ees good enough for moi. Promise me thees never give up princess, NEVER GIVE UP! You must carry on zis war without me." as a tear rolls down her cheek, Sally says "I promise." Antoine turns the sword towards his chest. He says "I refuse to become one of them. I won't to become one of Robotneek's metal monstairs. goodbye princess…. I love you." with that, he stabs himself in the chest. Sally shouts "ANNNTOOIINNE! NOOO!"
I walk up to her and say "he was a brave coyote. we should bury him elsewhere than this battlefield when we win this fight. It's the honorable thing to do." Sally gets up and says "you're right, I've no time for this. He saved my life, I must not let his sacrifice be in vain. Let's go Tails." "I agree. Let's kick some metal behind." *end flashback* "we buried you at the foot of a large oak tree with your sword in front of your tombstone, which read, here lies Antoine, the bravest of the royal guard." Antoine looks down for a moment. He says "well… I'm glad I'll save princess Sally's life in the future. Thank you Future Tails." Rotor walks up to me and asks me the same question.
*enter flashback* (this flashback is really long. Screw you Antoine. I like Rotor a lot more. So he gets a longer flashback.) I am helping Rotor work on a geothermal power generator. Rotor says to me "thanks for helping me Tails. With you by my side, this has gone a lot faster than I could have done by myself." "Don't mention it Rote. I'm happy to help a friend. Besides, I had nothing else to do today. So I'd have been bored." I fly up to the top of the generator and put in a screw. I say to Rotor "so…. What's this for anyway." "It's a geothermal power generator" "well yeah, I know that. But what are we using the power for?" "Well, this thing will not only meet new Knothole's power needs, but it will also power the automated farm I came up with. The one you helped me build." "oh yeah, I remember that." "also, I have an automated fish hatchery completed." *licks lips*
A few hours later, Rotor says "and there, we're done. Let's hope this works." He presses a button and the machine comes to life. I wipe sweat of my brow and say "whew, finally." My stomach rumbles loudly. I say "oh…. I guess I'm hungry. Oh yeah…. I haven't eaten since breakfast. I've been so wrapped up in this project. Say, what time is it?" I look down at my watch "TWELVE O'CLOCK! Ugghhh… it's so late. I don't wanna walk home now. Hey Rote, you mind if I stay here for the night?" "not at all." "so, what do you have to eat here, as I assume you're hungry too." "well… all I have is a lot of fish. I can-" "GOD NO! Let me cook…. Actually no, let Nicole cook." "wait what?" "well you see…. To go along with your automated farm, I thought I'd build a semi-automated kitchen. Just provide the ingredients and it'll cook anything you want. Nicole's memory banks contain every dish known to Mobians. Well…. All you have is fish…. I have an idea. So, you want it hot or cold?" "well, I usually eat my fish cold, but I guess you would want it hot." "nah, it's fine. I've got an idea that we'll both find edible. (forgot to mention, Sonic may be a chili-dog chomping champion, but I can imagine Tails eating other things. So here is one of those other things. Tails is a genius, I imagine he as a more refined pallet.) I take Rotor to the kitchen with the fish. I take out some rice and some seaweed. I say "Nicole, make some sushi please?" Nicole replies "certainly my main fox Tails." (Sushi is one of my favorite foods of all time.) The machinery in the kitchen comes to life. First it skins the fish. Then it cuts it into the right sizes. After that, it places the rice on top of the seaweed and the fish on top of the rice. Next it rolls and cuts the sushi. Finally, it makes the wasabi sauce. All of that is placed on plates and the plates are placed on the counter. Nicole says "douzo meshiagare" Rotor asks "hey Tails, what does that mean?" "that's Japanese for 'Enjoy your meal.'" "ah. Well then, let's eat…. Um… how do I eat this?" "oh yeah, there's no way you'd know. Alright, let me teach you." I hold up a pair of chop sticks. "these are called chop sticks. This is how to hold them." I show Rotor how to hold the chop sticks. "now, to eat this, just dip it in the sauce, then eat it." "ok then." He eats a piece of sushi. Seconds later, he runs to the sink and starts gulping down water. He says "OH MY GOD IT'S HOT! How can you and Sonic eat hot food like this? I'll stick to what I know." (BURN BABY BURN!) He walks away and returns with a raw fish. I say "your loss. More for me."
After we finish our meal, we go back to Rotor's house. (yeah this is still underground n' stuff. So, all of this is really just a bunch of rooms. Moving on….) we are standing in his living room. I say "so, where am I supposed to sleep?" Rotor walks over to the couch and pushes it to the side of the room. Then he goes into his closet and retrieves a small cube. He says "on here." "um Rotor….. are you losing your mind?" "nah. Watch." He places the cube on the ground and presses a white button on top of it. He says "stand back and watch my genius unfold." A bed, with sheets and pillows appears before my eyes. I do a double take, then rub my eyes. I say "whoa… that's really cool. *yawn* well, I'm really tired. So goodnight." "goodnight." He walks into his bedroom and I shut off the lights before going to bed.
The next morning I awake to a horrible smell. I slowly open my eyes to see smoke above me. I run into the kitchen to see Rotor cooking. (OMGWTFBBQ! HOLY GOD ROTOR IS COOKING! WE'RE ALL GONNA GET FISH AIDS!) I RUN over to the stove and grab the pan from his hands, saying "oh no you don't. are you trying to kill me? ugghhhhh let me cook" "gosh Tails, are you trying to make me feel bad?" I give him puppydog eyes "pleeeaaassseee?" "oh who could resist that?" "well…call me a sadist, but I could." "lies" so anyways…. I end up taking some of the fish that Rotor ALMOST burned and sticking it in an omelet. (strange I know. But it's better than letting Rotor cook as that would lead to burned fish mush on a plate….supposedly.)
After I save breakfast, and my stomach, from certain doom, Rotor tells me about his next project. He says "my next project is a scanner scrambler. Basically, it prevents Robotnik from scanning this place. His scans will always come up negative. So, he can't find us without well, finding us." I reply "neat idea. So… what do we do first?" "well….first we-" a siren goes off. "INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!" a com-bot breaks down the door and fires its weapon at Rotor. The shot hits him in the chest. I yell"NOOO! ROTOR!" I quickly reach into my pocket pull out a syringe. I stab him in the shoulder with it. Then I shoot the bot. Rotor is sweating hard. His face is pale. He says "oh my god. How? How am I alive?" I reply "I gave you the serum." "you completed it? I'm saved!" I look down and say "well….. not exactly. I didn't complete the serum. It will only 'halt' the process for about a week. After that, you will slowly be roboticized. My estimate is about a month total." "oh. Well if I only have a month to live, then I'll finish this project or die trying." Sonic and Sally come running into the room. Sally cries out "OH MY GOD ROTOR!" "everything's going to be ok Sally, at least for the moment. Tails gave me a shot of the serum he has been working on." "so… you're going to be ok?" "not exactly." I say "the serum isn't finished so, he's not going to make it. He's got a month at best. There's no way I'll complete it in time. In other words, he's gonna die. Though he's got a month." Rotor says "and I plan on using that time effectively." Sally says "you're a good walrus. No one could ever replace you." Rotor says "well…. I've gotta get to work then."
1 month later
The only part of Rotor that isn't roboticized is the top right part of his face. He says "well, it looks like it's the end for me. but before I go, I'll press this button and activate the system….. RAAWWRRR! CAPTURE FREEDOM FIGHTERS!... NEVER! I WON'T LET YOU TAKE CONTROL!" he presses the button. Nicole says "jamming system online. Good job Rotor." We all congratulate him on a job well done. He says "well, by everybody. It's been fun. but it looks like this is it. I have one request though. Someone shoot me. do it now before I turn. I won't become one of them. I refuse to become one of them…RAWWRRR CAPTURE FREEDOM FIGHTERS!... DO IT! NOW! SHOOT ME!" I shed a tear and say "goodbye Rotor, we'll all miss you. I hold a gun to his face and pull the trigger. Rotor falls to the ground with a smile on his face. He got what he wanted, he didn't give in to Robotnik. He was a true freedom fighter until the end. *end flashback* Rotor says to me "a signal jammer huh? Well, I guess that's useful." He walks away from me.
I sit on the couch. It is soft and comfortable. I haven't felt "comfortable" in some time. This war has taken a heavy toll on me. my emotions have almost disappeared. I have become hard and fearless. I had to though. To have done otherwise would have led to my death. I say "ahhhh…. I have forgotten what comfort feels like." Tails walks up to me and asks "how is that possible?" "well….. like I said earlier, ever since the invention of the roboticizer rifle, things have been tough. I've been to New Knothole, but not for very long. We're always on the move. Just recently we destroyed a factory that supplied the military forces for the entire continent. From there, I was told that the army was marching on a power station close by. But I was sent back in time after the factory raid. Sonic told me not to go. But I reasoned with him, and he told me to go ahead. I thought it would be a piece of cake. But this assimilator must be newer than the ones I fought in the past. This thing is WAY upgraded. So, it turns out, that I'm once again on the move. Oh well, I'm used to it. You better get used to it as well, because until we can find a solution to this problem, our only option is to run from it." "I guess. But that doesn't make the prospect any more appealing to me. though I guess this entire situation is bad." "at this rate, It'll only get worse." The rest of the group walks up to us. Sally says "we need a plan." I say "well, any problem in the world can be solved with the proper application of high explosives. If we-" Sally hits me on the head hard. "OW! What was that for?" "for being a meathead. We can't just go blowing up the countryside. The 'countryside' may be dead in your time, but it's not dead in this time! And I'd rather keep it that way!" "geez…. It was just a suggestion. No need to get mad." This just earns me another whack. Tails says to me "I think you should just be quiet." I had to agree with him… uh me. god time travel is so annoying.
Sally says "so as I was saying…. We need a plan that doesn't involve nuking the countryside." I say "base your strategy on this. The body of that robot should be made of iridium carbonite, an alloy not invented yet that is almost as hard as diamond. Needless to say that this is going to be one tough nut to crack. However, a large amount of force, should be able to overcome that. Say, point-blank shotgun shell. Though that's easier said than done. A strong enough laser would easily be able to melt it. But that's not possible here either." "well we could try and get weapons from Robotnik. Though that would be risky." Sonic says "I'm up for it. I'll steal weapons from old blubber butt any day." "but we can't risk that. If the assimilator finds you in Robotropolis, you'll be dead for sure." "oh come on Sal, do you honestly think that they can catch this hedgehog?" "you've too overconfident for your own good." "you're too cautious for your own good." "ugghhh… Sonic one of these days….." She walks off. I say "same old Sonic, no matter what time he's in, he still finds ways to tick Sally off. Soooo, if Sally's not here, then we can go through with my "blow stuff up" plan." "I HEARD THAT FUTURE TAILS!" "eep! Won't happen again Sally." "THAT'S AUNT SALLY TO YOU!" Antoine says "maybe we should let zee princess, how you say, "cool off" before continuing." I say "sounds good to me Ant."
We hear a scream in the direction of Princess Sally. We run over to see the assimilator pointing its gun at her. It fires, but the (nameless guy) plants himself in the way of the shot and takes it instead. He instantly starts to roboticize He says "you must live princess Sally. Now go! I'll hold it off!" he charges at the assimilator and attempts to punch it with his right fist. I say "you heard him, RUN LIKE HECK!" we start running away. Sally says "what that guy just did was very brave. He gave his life for me. that thing has to be stopped before it takes any more lives." I say "I completely agree with you. but before we stop it, we need to get away from it right now. so keep running!"