Chapter 2: Fastest Thing Alive Part - 2

Robotropolis: Fortress War Room

Another night dealing with the same thing. What more could he ask for? A short-statured human with a beak-like nose, sporting a light green outfit, sifted through piles of documents both physically and digitally. "More destroyed warehouses?" He mumbled under his breath as he scanned the report from a small response team of Swatbots. "Nothing too out of the ordinary. Hopefully that overgrown posh pie won't get too worked up about it."

"SNIVELY!" A thunderous roar bellowed from the shrouded center of the room, where a tall man sat agitatedly in a monstrous-sized chair. His robotic fingers tapped impatiently against the armrest, and his gaze was fixated on the pint-sized man.

"Oh no!" Snively exclaimed, followed by a terrified shriek that could shatter glass. "Yes, sir?" He tried controlling his tone as he approached the man in the chair.

"What do you have to report?" He growled lowly.

"Well–you see—" Snively started to stammer. "The task force successfully extinguished the fires from those warehouses that had been destroyed. Many of the munitions and parts that were in them have also been lost. But we still have plenty of backup depots to make up for that district's production line. I suspect that we will be back on schedule in two days."

The man's metal prosthesis squeezed tightly against the armrest, crushing the edge into a compact shape. Sweat soaked Snively's skin and clothes as his mouth ran dry with words. "That's it?" Snively gulped and tried to respond, but was immediately cut off. "Nothing else to accommodate that? Nothing about the whole reason we let those warehouses be destroyed?" His voice gradually rised with frustration.

"N-no, sir…" Snively whimpered as he anxiously rubbed his hands.

"Then you explain to me why the princess hasn't been delivered yet!?"

"Well, you see, Dr. Robotnik, our informant hasn't called in yet. Perhaps he's taking care of that right now as we speak. I bet we'll see him here soon with the princess tied perfectly in a bow." Just as those words left Snively's mouth, the blast doors leading into the war room hissed open, revealing the ocelot Kleid, all alone. Snively's mouth drops as his eyes shrink.

"At least you're half right," Robotnik grumbled as he stood from his chair, descending a short flight of small stairs. He directed his unnerving stare at the ocelot, who was holding something discreetly in his hand. "You better have a good reason as to why you came back empty-handed." The ocelot tosses a small piece of scrap at Snively, nearly catching him off guard as he fumbled to hold onto it. As Snively examined the piece, he made out that it was one of their observation drones.

"Your answers lie in that," Kleid japed.

Much later, Robotnik and Snively hook up the destroyed drone's memory chip into the war room's main computer. They shift through an unedited feed that shows the drone scouting the city, taking pictures and data of anything remotely remarkable it sees. As Robotnik skips forward toward the end of the feed, he sees the drone spot a vibrant streak speeding into the streets. It was fast. Faster than anything he had ever seen before. Intrigued, Robotnik leans intently into the monitor, pushing past Snively with his round body. The drone dives in to investegate, leading to it getting a closer look at the blue hedgehog that stood aimlessly in the roads. The last thing that was shown was the hedgehog turning around and smacking the drones out of the air as it emitted a flash. "Everything was going to plan until he showed up," Kleid explained. "She was right within our grasp. If it weren't for that hedgehog, then the freedom fighters would be no more."

"How fascinating." Robotnik seemingly ignored Kleid, deeply focusing on the hedgehog. "Where have you been all this time? All that power and it's only now that you show up." Robotnik turned to the ocelot. "How exactly did they escape?"

"It was within the blink of an eye. One by one that hedgehog took each of the freedom fighters to safety."

"What about the army of Swatbots? How many did he take down?"

"None, sir."

Robotnik formed a devilish grin. He started piecing together a puzzle. This mysterious new hedgehog was not a fighter. If this was the case, then Robotnik needed to snuff out any potential before it could develop into something dangerous. What would've been a disastrous start to the day ended with fresh ideas in mind. Now that the freedom fighters have this hero aiding them, ridding him for good would dash any remaining hope that they had. There was only one problem. If he was with the freedom fighters, then they would have already brought him to Knothole, their hidden base. He needed to find a way to draw him out soon before they could utilize him in a way that he couldn't fight back against. Yes, he needed to strike today.

"Kleid, was it?" Robotnik maintained his grin as he looked back at the ocelot, who nodded in response. "Did those freedom fighter scum ever reveal to you the location of Knothole?"

"No, sir. They stationed me in another operating base, a data center to be specific."

"If you may, I'd like for you to tell me all about it." Robotnik moved back to the center of the room, stepping up the stairs and reclining back into his seat. Kleid took a deep breath as he approached, but as he did, Robotnik spoke out. "What am I saying? That would take too long." Robotnik pointed at Snively avidly. "Snively, prep the roboticizer. Probing his minding will be quicker."

"Right away."

"What!?" Kleid yelled as he stood in complete distraught. "After all those years I did, making chums with them on your behalf, you're just gonna throw me away?"

"Organic life is inconstant," Robotnik stated. "No order, no instruction, all chaos. It's easier to get your way when everything does as you say without question or hindrance. So give me one good reason why you would be more useful to me now that your cover has been blown." Kleid's heart started to race. His hand trailed down his body and around his waist, where he felt the hilt of his dagger.

"You…you won't take me!" As Kleid leaped forward with his dagger primed and ready, a duo of Swatbots swooped in and pinned the ocelot to the ground. One of them squeezes his hand to relinquish the dagger, and as soon as he is disarmed, they drag him away from Robotnik, who laughs mockingly at the defeated ocelot.

"One more thing, Snively," Robotnik speaks again. "Once you extract his memories, prepare the mech."

Knothole

"I know it's not a lot to look at, but we make do with what we got." Sally led the blue hedgehog through a series of dense brush and woods since they escaped from the city. They didn't travel too far, but they also weren't directly located next to the metal burg. At first, nothing popped out to Sonic as he viewed a semi-open field neighboring a small river. But as he looked at the trees, and even past them, he saw the remnants of life etched into the scenery. Look out balconies positioned at the south and north trees– straw and wooden huts clumped into a tight space—alcoves built around a great tree in the center of it all. It inspired awe in Sonic as he found it difficult to appreciate all that was done here. These freedom fighters were harborers of nature. They stood against the machine's oppression down to the last principle. "What do you think?" Sally asked.

"This is what I always imagined the outside world would look like." Sonic walked forward, tracing his steps along the riverbank. Sally trailed close behind, leaving Bunnie and Antoine to recuperate by the bonfire adjacent to the huts.

"You don't get out often, do you?" Sally caught up with Sonic.

"I spent a lot of time in one place. It was my home until they came. I guess I just didn't know what to expect."

"Well, Knothole wasn't my first home either." Sally lowered her head, troubled to bring back certain memories. "That city you saved us from, used to be where I lived. Until he came."

"He?" Sonic narrowed his eyes. When he saw how things were run in that wretched city, he figured that everything there had been operated by machines. Now he was being told that someone was in control of all of it. How could anyone be so cruel?

"His name is Doctor Robotnik. He was a brilliant scientist who devoted his life to robotics, seeking progress to create…' Controllable life.'" Sally faltered those last words. "He used to work for my father before he betrayed him."

"Your father?"

"The former king of Mobius. He shared his power with another monarch without kinship. They ruled over separate districts of the kingdom in harmony. That is until my father caught wind of Robotnik's scheme to overthrow them both and rule the world under tyranny. When he confronted him…Robotnik showed no mercy." Sally stopped in place, tightly holding her hands below her waist as she stared into the river. "Those who weren't roboticized after the invasion were driven away. But many of them were caught too." Sally turned back to the rest of Knothole, prompting Sonic to do the same. There weren't a lot of fighters, and morale seemed to be at an all-time low. "This is all that's left of us."

"How can I help?" Sonic asked.

"I'll talk to Rotor. He might find a use out of your speed. Until then, take some time to rest. Maybe get to the others." Sally moved past Sonic, crossing a wooden bridge to the other side of the river. Sonic headed to the huts and bonfire, where he got a good look at some of the freedom fighters. They were all so young–roughly around his age. Was this really all they had? Were things this desperate? Sonic saw the other two he left the city with standing around a cauldron. Antoine, Sonic thought his name was, stirred with haste and precision.

"Now, we let simmer for just a few more minutes." The coyote stated as he sprinkled a touch of spices into the pot. "But no for too long, or else lé bottom will burn and solidify–" Antoine stopped speaking as he saw Sonic approach. "Oh, it's you." He snobbishly said. "I already gave my thanks to you before. Try not to get into a habit of hearing it."

"Actually, I was wondering what you were cooking." Sonic changed the subject. Antoine was visibly taken aback as his confidence took a hit. He kept stirring to keep his composure together.

"In that zat case, grab a bowl. The chili is about done." Sonic looked inside the pot and saw the concoction. It was dirt brown with lumps of all kinds of things Sonic was unfamiliar with. He tried to be polite about it, but it was hard to correlate slop and food together.

"I think I might pass." Suddenly, the others around him went stiff, as Antoine's eye twitched.

"Pardon?"

"I may just not have an appetite right now." As Sonic nervously looked around, he spotted a small plastic wrapping of what looked like meat. It was shaped like a log and had smoothed-out sides. Beside it was another package containing bread of a similar shape. "What about those?" Sonic pointed to the packaged meat. He could almost hear Antoine's head creak as he turned to look at them.

"Hot dogs? You want…hot dogs?" His voice was about to snap. But just before he could lose it, the coyote took a deep breath and plainly looked at Sonic. "Fine, you may have one. But under one condition." Antoine raised the ladle from the pot, holding a serving of the chili. "You have to try some." Sonic gulped as Bunnie rushed over and grabbed the hotdogs.

"Oh, I can cook these! I'll get some water boiling." Bunnie ran off, leaving Sonic and Antoine in an awkward position. Sonic finally broke the ice as he was curious about one thing.

"I've been meaning to ask about your friend, Bunnie." Antoine was once again caught off guard as his face turned a little red. "What's the deal with those robotic parts?"

"If you must know, it wasn't pretty." Sonic's eyes flickered inquisitively as he intently listened to Antoine for once. "We were under fire. Ambushed, for clarity. Many of us were trapped in the city's streets, surrounded by killer robots. Bunnie saw them and rushed in to save them. But by the time I warned her not to go, it was already too late. An explosion knocked debris all over, encasing her legs and arm. When the dust came in we lost her." Antoine's fingers tense around the ladle. "We searched for hours, and as days went by, we thought all hope was lost for her. That was until she came back here on her own with those new legs and arm. She said she didn't remember much of what happened, except for a stranger hiding under a cloak and wearing a webbed glove who rescued her. She thinks that he gave her those prosthetics."

Bunnie came running back with a pot full of hot dogs. "Ready!" Sonic and Antoine move past their conversation as Bunnie lays out the hot dogs and buns across a wooden bench.

Sonic took a dog and inserted it into the bun. He then had an idea. If he had to eat Antoine's slop, he might as well combine it with something that seemed more appetizing. Sonic lifted his bun to Antoine, asking him to put the serving of chili on it. The coyote reluctantly complies. Sonic takes a bite, anxious about what it would taste like. But then, fireworks were set off in his mouth. A bomb of flavor exploded into his sensitive tongue. He almost shed a tear as he placed his hand on Antoine's shoulder. "This is the single best thing you've made." His arousing praise caught the wind of the other freedom fighters, who all joined in with having one of those chili dogs. For the first time in a while, everyone had a smile on their face. While Sonic nearly cried before, Antoine's eyes swelled with water as he felt blessed by his peers.

Elsewhere, Sally observed all the commotion from inside a spacious workshop. She cracked a small smile, seeing her people bond with joy for the first time in what felt like months. "He's been getting along with them nicely." Sally turned to the heart of the workshop, devoting her attention to her friend, Rotor. The violet walrus was absorbed in his tinkering, as he was fixing up a disk-shaped gadget under a microscopic lens. "Where did you find him?"

"It's a long story, but he's here to help." She said.

"And you trust him? You know very little about him. And with what happened with Kleid, you're sure it's wise for him to be here?" Rotor put down his tools and moved the lens away from the device. He applies a bit of pressure on its side, which causes it to retract into a smaller, more compact form to store away. "Knothole is our last bastion. We can't lose it."

"I know." Sally sighed. "It's a lot to deal with. But right now we have another problem." Sally cleared a table of its tools, spreading out a map of the forest in their place. On it were the locations of all their bases, with Knothole being the most prominent. "Kleid never knew where Knothole was, but he was still stationed in a very important data center. He's probably already revealed its location to Robotnik, and he might be on his way as we speak. It's too valuable to lose, and it would change the entire tide of the war if he got his hands on it. You and I are going there on foot to retrieve the data and scuttle the base."

"All of it?" Rotor exclaimed. "Sally, even with our advances in technology over the years, downloading all those files will take a lot of time, and most importantly, energy. Our water generators can only input so much." Sally scratched her chin as she tried to find a workaround. She paced the workshop until she came across the window. She peered outside and eyed Sonic, taking note of his immense speed as he was showing off to the rest of the freedom fighters.

"I have an idea."

Much later, Sally led Sonic inside the workshop, where he was dumbfounded at all the different gizmos and gadgets. What immediately caught his eye was the giant running wheel in the center, one that Rotor had just finished putting together. "Ok, I think we're ready." Rotor flipped a few switches at a panel stationed to the side of the wheel, activating a few lights and cables connected to it. "Step on in, Sonic."

"Uh, what do you want me to do?" He asked.

"Simple. Maintain your pace inside the wheel until we collect enough power in this generator right here." Rotor patted a handheld generator which was hooked to the running wheel. "Don't go too overboard, ok?" Sonic nodded as he approached the inside of the wheel. His first step felt strange as the wheel pivoted in response to his foot. He then regained his balance as he planted his second foot in, getting a better feeling of how this was supposed to work. Rotor gave the initiative with a thumbs up, prompting Sonic to pick up his legs and move. He started slow, feeling out the wheel. His pace increased as he got used to the unusual feeling of running in place. Already, the wheel started to transfer power to the generator. Slowly, but surely. "That's it, keep it going," Rotor said.

Sonic was pushing past his limits. His legs moved faster than they ever had before. He wondered where this speed was coming from. He had never been this quick when he was still at the cabin. He was certain that if he raced with the person who he was yesterday, he would lap them almost immediately. Why… why is this coming to me now? He closed his eyes as he kept running. If I had this speed before, I could've warned them sooner. I could've got them out of there. Sonic's thoughts were clouded by the loss of his step-parents. He still had no clue of their fate, and if he would ever see them again. Why now! Sonic started to pick up his pace again, spinning the wheel out of control. Seeing that an accident was imminent, Sally rushed over to Rotor.

"We need to stop this now! It's going too far."

"Just a few more seconds," Rotor responded, engrossed in the monitor that calculated the charge of the generator. "It's almost full." Sparks started to fly from the wheel and across the room.

"This can't go on any longer," Sally shouted to Sonic. "Sonic! That's enough!" Her voice just barely reached out to Sonic as he opened his eyes, breaking him out of his wallowing state. However, he got caught on his own foot, which tripped him up and around the wheel. His body was forcibly curled into a ball as he bounced rapidly across, eventually shooting out and into the workshop. His balled body smacked against the walls and desks, either cracking or shattering them. Rotor and Sally take cover as Sonic just keeps rebounding off of every surface. It was impressive just how violent and strong each impact was as if his quills were sharp enough to pierce anything. Soon enough, he was able to uncurl himself and land safely on the floor, albeit nearly unconscious and dizzy. Sally tended to him as Rotor grieved the condition of the room.

"My lab!" He cried.

"Sonic, are you alright?" Sonic pulled himself together as he raised himself off the ground.

"Yeah, never better." He woozingly said. Sally breathed a sigh of relief as she turned back to Rotor.

"Please tell me we got enough for the generator." Rotor took a quick glance at it as he averted his sight from the torn state of his workshop.

"Yeah, we should have enough."

"Excellent. Let's get going then." Sally said. "Sonic, we're on a tight schedule. Do you think you can bring both of us to an old base?"

Freedom Fighter Data Center

It wasn't long until Sonic, Sally, and Rotor arrived at the base. After learning about Kleid's defection, Sally ordered the current staff of the data center to pack what they could and return to Knothole. The place was deserted when they came, showing no trace of anyone ever being there. All that was left to extract was the classified documents stored in the mainframe. Rotor quickly began to do his magic as he provided enough power with the generator to jumpstart the process. All while this was happening, Sonic and Sally moved on to the next step in the operation. Sally handed Sonic the leftover explosive charges from their previous mission, to which the hedgehog blitzed around the perimeter of the data center, strapping an explosive to the structural foundations. "We should be good to go here." He told Sally as he dusted off his hands.

"Good. All that's left is for Rotor to do his job, and we're out of here. Until then, we got some time to kill." Sonic took that last part as the perfect opportunity to sit down and relax for a while. He had been running a lot the past few hours with little rest. What he needed was to lay back for a bit and appreciate this pocket of whimsical wilderness. However, Sonic couldn't clear his mind, as he saw Sally still on guard. Her head periodically snapped between one point and the other, hyper-fixating on every little detail.

"Is this not a time for break?" Sonic asked her.

"You can take one. I'll be on the lookout just in case."

"C'mon, you said it yourself we got time to kill. Is that how you want to spend it?" Sally's muscles loosened as she took a lungful of air. Her shoulder slacked as she sat next to Sonic as they killed time. "Doesn't that feel much better?"

"I guess it does," Sally smiled. "Sometimes it's hard for me to cool down. And at some points, I forget how to do so entirely."

"It's stressful being a leader, huh?"

"It's not really that." Sally rubbed her hands uneasily. "As you probably already have seen, we're all young and desperate. But it wasn't always like this. Our movement's founder was strong, brave, and caring for all life. But I barely knew her before she disappeared, just like my father." Her hands clamped together, straining the tendons. Her face was on edge again, boiling to a point of little return. "Now I'm responsible for filling both of their shoes and that's what's really stressful."

"Well…" Sonic closed his mouth, struggling to find the right thing to say. It was hard to give advice for something he knew so little about, but he still had to be there for her somehow. "You don't have to shoulder the burden of filling everyone's shoes. The people at Knothole are here to listen to you, and it's okay to lean on them as well. Right now, all they truly need is a little faith and joy." Sally's expression mellowed out as he said that, and her rigid hands softly planted to the side.

"Guys! I did it!" Rotor came bursting out of the data center, carrying a handheld hard drive and waving it in the air.

"Great, now let's get out of here before–" Suddenly, Sally was cut off by a barrage of bullets scattering through the air, which were gunning right for them. Sonic reacted quickly as he tackled both Sally and Rotor to safety. Unfortunately, in the commotion, Rotor dropped the hard drive as he was carried to cover. As the hellfire of bullets ceased, something enormous started to make its way to them. Its thunderous stomps shook the ground as it came closer and closer. Sonic looked beyond their cover and saw the hard drive now stuck in the middle between them and what was firing at them. As it emerged from the woods, its metallic body reflected the blazing sun. Its silver stomach was thin, which led to compensations throughout the rest of the body. It had bulky legs and a round upper torso, painted in a bright crimson red. Its cylinder shoulders were structured to support two gigantic gatling guns equipped on each hand. Finally, its head was rounded down into a sphere, where a single dome monitor started to air static until it buffered into the face of a vile man.

"Leaving so soon?" Robotnik spoke through the mech's speakers. "What? Surprised to see me here? I'm shocked, princess. Your father would've seen this one coming." Robotnik laughed manically as anger fueled Sally. As he did, a small hook was shot out from the center of the mech, snagging the hard drive and inserting it inside the mech's empty cockpit.

"Is that him?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah, it's Robotnik." Sally growled in response. "What gives, Robotnik? Couldn't make it in person?"

"Had I known you'd be here, I would've cleared my whole schedule for today. But I can make do with this. Soon, I will achieve what that incompetent ocelot failed to do. You're coming back with me, one way or another."

"I can get us out of here," Sonic told Sally and Rotor. "We'll be out before you know it."

"We can't leave without that data." Sally retorted.

"You can't possibly think we can take that thing on our own." Rotor protested as he scrambled through his bag.

"We only have to distract it for a bit." Sally sharply turned to Sonic. "Sonic, I need you to run back to Knothole. Gather as many fighters as you can and bring them here. We can hold him off until you arrive."

"We can!?" Rotor said in an appalling tone.

"Rotor's right. Maybe I should help out–" Sally leaned over to Sonic and placed her hands on his shoulder, staring desperately into his eyes.

"No! You have to go. You have to run." Sally removed her hands away as she prepared a multitude of gadgets, courtesy of Rotor, to fight. Sonic gritted his teeth in frustration as he sporadically stood up and sprinted away, zooming past Robotnik's mech as he made way for Knothole.

"Little pest!" Robotnik grumbled. "No matter. I'll defeat you before he can return." Making the first move, Sally triggered the detonator, causing massive flames to erupt from the data center. The shockwave only slightly knocked back Robotnik's mech, as he methodically made his way toward the two cowering freedom fighters.

Sonic did what he had always done: Run. He kept running. In and out. Near and away. It's all he ever did. Even when he heard the explosion, he still kept moving forward. For the longest time, he saw his powers as a gift. His agility was unmatched. His speed was boundless. Yet here he was, running away again. His eyes were shut the whole way through, unable to bear to sight of himself getting farther away from those he abandoned. First his stepmother, his stepfather, now his friends. What good was his speed if he couldn't save anyone? He didn't believe that he would make it to Knothole and back in time with reinforcements. By the time he would've gotten back to the data center, they would be lost to that monster. "Run!" "Just go!" "You have to!" All these voices wearing him down. Eating away his hope for good. Well…maybe he was tired of that! Maybe there was something he could do!

Sonic dug his feet in, stopping himself from running any further. He was done running from danger. He was done letting people sacrifice themselves just so he could fight another day. He turned back, seeing smoke fill the sky. His fist swelled. His eyes locked forward. No more would this destruction happen without him saying something about it. He ran once more, facing down this road to evil. He was no longer scared. He couldn't afford to anymore. He was already almost back as he sped through the forest. He recalled back in the workshop when he bounced out of control. Perhaps he could implement that here in some way. As he caught sight of the data center, he saw Rotor defeated on the ground, and Sally within the clutches of the mech. They didn't last long at all. If he had been just a little later, this would've been worse. "Here goes nothing!" Sonic said to himself as he curled himself into a ball. The momentum from his running carried over to his new form as he rolled faster and directly at the mech's leg.

With one strike, Sonic carved a noticeable gash in the mech's leg, causing it to lose balance and drop Sally. Sonic then circled back and caught her just as she was about to fall. "Sonic? Why did you come back?" Sonic quickly moved Sally and Rotor to safety behind some trees.

"It's ok. I'll get that drive back in no time." Sonic raced away from them, leaving Sally in awe as she watched the blue blur confront Robotnik's mech.

"Right here, tall and chubby!" Sonic hollered right below the mech, to which it leaned down, allowing Robotnik to see the hedgehog confidently facing him.

"So, you aren't such a coward after all. But then again, you were foolish to come back to your grave!" The guns on the mech started to spin as they were aimed at Sonic. As they unloaded with a hail of metal, Sonic outran them by orbiting around Robotnik's mech. "Hold still!" Sonic decided that now was the best time to try his new move again. Once he had created enough space between himself and the towering mech, he propelled himself forward, coiling into a tight ball as he soared through the air. He smashed the center of the mech, knocking its sluggish stature to the ground.

"And. He. Is. DOWN!" Sonic cheered as the mech struggled to lift itself.

"You…" Robotnik growled. "You think you're clever!?" The mech dug its foot into the ground, kicking a chunk of the land into the air, along with Sonic who spiraled frantically into the tree line. But as he was up there, he saw another opportunity to strike, as he found a tree with a perfect curve to its trunk. Sonic slid down the trunk, arching into a little orb to gain more speed. As he met the ground, Sonic's body was propelled forward, and with one little jump, he pierced right through the mech's shoulder. Its right arm came clean off as Sonic twirled in the air, posing to tick off Robotnik even more. Once Sonic landed, he started to run backward as Robotnik retaliated with his remaining gatling gun. Sonic simply crossed his arms as he kept running back, avoiding each bullet with ease. Robotnik tried to keep chase as he ran straight for the hedgehog.

"Hey, you're not doing too bad." Sonic taunted. "But how quickly can you stop?" Sonic pivoted to the side where the mech couldn't aim. Robotnik tried to control the mech from running forward, but its lagging pace struggled to halt it. "Have a nice fall!"

What is he talking about? Robotnik thought as he diverted his attention in front of him. However, as he did, his heart sank as he saw the edge of a cliff. "No! Slow down!" But it was too late, as the mech tumbled off the side, plummeting thousands of feet. Sonic listened closely as he was awaited for the sound of a loud bang. As he heard it, he started to make his way down. At the bottom of the cliff, Sonic found the shattered remains of the mech. "You…" An enraged voice stuttered from the cockpit, as Robotnik glared at Sonic. It was heavily damaged, and soon, it would light out for good. Sonic took this time to step toward the cockpit and reach inside, retrieving the stolen hard drive. "Do you honestly think you will be enough to save them? It doesn't matter that you've won today. Sooner or later, it will be all for nothing–" Sonic decided it was best to expedite the mech's failing systems by stomping on the cockpit's monitor, shutting up the doctor for good.

Back on top, Sally lifts Rotor to his feet as she carries him out into the open. "Need a hand?" Suddenly, Sonic was already behind them, brandishing the hard drive in his hand.

"How did you do that? Did you know you could do that?"

"I even surprise myself." Sonic smiled as he offered the two a ride home.

Knothole

The freedom fighter awaited the three as they returned. A lot of them were worried once they saw the smoke in the sky, but their fears came to rest as their leader came in with their brand-new hero. It had been months since their last victory against Robotnik. Something was telling them that a new dawn was approaching, and they just had to keep fighting to see it through.

A crowd of them swarm around Sonic, lifting him a top of them and tossing him in the air in celebration. "Sonic! Sonic! Sonic!" They chanted, cheered, and yelled at the top of their lungs. Sally smiled from afar as she saw their delight grow. She laid down, exhausted from everything that had happened today. Before, a future broken free from Robotnik's grasp felt like a fleeting fantasy. But now, it could become a reality. She could pick up where her father left off, and turn Mobius back into the fruitful planet that it used to be. But none of that would've been remotely possible if it weren't for Sonic. He was their magic bullet.

To be continued…

Up Next: Deadly Reflection-Part 1