"Heart of Darkness" A work of Sonic the Hedgehog "Fan-faction" by Ian
Patterson A few technicalities... I've read enough fanfic to know what
title 17 (the copyright law) does and does not allow; you can't change the
text in any way or charge anyone money to read this without my expressed
written permission. All situations and characters from the Sonic the
Hedgehog Saturday morning cartoon series, as aired on ABC, are copyright
SEGA, DiC, and/or Archie Comics, and are used (or at least referred to here)
without permission, except the characters created by yours truly, which are
copyrighted by me. Bookshire Draftwood owned and created by David Pistone.
Heart of Darkness
Sonic sat up in the look-out tower just beyond Knothole. He leaned
up against the wall of the tower, and looked up at the blue sky through
the trees. The day had started out so well, now he was wishing that he
had never gotten out of bed this morning.
Two Freedom Fighters had been reported missing yesterday. The sad
thing was that both of them were only slightly older than Tails was. The
last anyone had seen of them, they had been out in the Great Forest,
gathering up firewood.
The two were Kyle and Amy. Kyle was a young buck who had lost his
parents in the coup, and had come to Knothole with his grandparents several
years afterwards. Amy was a pretty little cat who was very shy. She was
very friendly once you got to know her. It killed Sonic to think of the
obvious cause of their disappearance; that they had been captured by
Robotnik's bots and hauled back to Robo-Tropolis to be roboticized.
"Hey, Sonic!", called a voice from the ground.
Sonic snapped out of his thought, and looked down. Tails was waiting
down there.
"What's up, Big Guy?", he asked.
"Sally told me to come and get you", he said, "We have another
problem."
"That's all I need", said Sonic, standing up.
He revved his legs up, and ran down the side of the tree. Once he
hit the ground, he skidded to a halt, and looked at Tails.
"What's wrong now?", he asked.
"We can't find Harold", said Tails.
"What?", said Sonic, "Where'd he go?"
"I don't know", said Tails, "Sally just found out about it, and told
me to come and find you. I'll watch the tower until you come back."
"Geez", said Sonic, "This is getting too weird. First Amy and Kyle,
now Harold."
Sonic revved up, and took off in a burst of speed. Tails folded his
arms, and flew up to the top of the tower.
Sonic headed back into Knothole, and saw that there was a slightly
different attitude to the place. It had been eleven years since the war
against Robotnik had began, and most of the Freedom Fighters had lost
loved ones in some way or another to Robotnik. Most of them knew very
well that people die in wars. However, losing people and not knowing what
happened to them was even worse.
Sonic saw Sally standing in front of Rotor's workshop with Bunnie
and Rotor. Antoine was also there with them. He screeched to a halt in
front of them all.
"Sonic", said Sally, sounding relieved, "You're here."
"Tails told me that we lost Harold too", said Sonic, "What happened?"
"Last time anyone saw him was last night'", said Bunnie, "He was all
shook up about Amy goin' missin' like that."
"He did have a bit of a crush on her", said Rotor.
"I think he may have gone out into the Great Forest to look for Amy
and Kyle", said Sally, "If he did, he may have suffered the same fate."
"Alright", said Sonic, "Let's see here..."
He folded his arms, and paced back and forth a few moments. Then, he
looked up at Sally.
"Where were Kyle and Amy getting wood from?", asked Sonic.
"About two miles north of the village", she said.
"Has anyone been out there yet?", he asked.
"No one realized they were missing until after dark last night. If
they were grabbed by bots, I didn't want anyone going out there until it
was light again."
"I'm gonna take a stab in the dark and guess that Harold headed that
way", said Sonic, "Let's just hope that those bots didn't nab him too."
"I'll second that", said Sally, "Come on, let's go see if we can
find him."
"Cool", said Sonic, "I'll go on ahead."
"Fine", said Sally, "We'll get Dulcy and meet you there."
Sonic looked at Sally.
"Don't worry, Sal", said Sonic, "We'll find them all."
"Please be right, Sonic", she said, "I don't think I could take
losing anymore people."
Sonic put his hand on her upper arm, and then shot off into the
distance. Bunnie saw a tear run down Sally's cheek, and then put her hand
on her old friend's shoulder.
"It'll be alright, Sally-Girl", said Bunnie, "Ol' Sugar-hog'll find
'em."
Sally sniffed once, and tried to manage a smile. She failed
miserabley.
"I'm not worried about Sonic finding them", she said, "I'm just
concerned with 'how' he might find them."
"I can relate to that", said Rotor, "The last thing I'd want is to
go out there and find them all turned into worker-bots."
"That is givings me the chills", said Antoine, hugging himself.
"Come on, Guys", said Sally, wiping her eyes, "Let's go find Dulcy."
The four of them headed off into the village.
Sonic finally reached the place where Kyle and Amy had come to get
the firewood. He looked around, and saw several small trees that had been
cut down. There was a stump that had several axe marks in it. Sonic
guessed that Kyle had used it to split the wood before they brought it
back. To the left of the stump, was a whole pile of freshly cut wood.
"Hmmmm", hummed Sonic, looking around the area.
From what he could tell, Kyle and Amy had finished chopping the wood
they had come for, and were about to leave when whatever happened to them
happened.
"Something ain't right", said Sonic, "This place is way too out in
the sticks for bots to have nabbed them."
Something caught Sonic's eye. He looked to his left, and saw a
wooden handle sticking out of the bushes.
"Must be the axe", he said, walking over to it.
He grabbed ahold of the handle, and gave it a good yank. It didn't
come out.
"Huh?", said Sonic, scratching his head, "Aw, must be stuck to
something."
Sonic pushed the bush aside so he could see whatever the axe was
embedded in. He got the bush out of the way, and about screamed. Amy
was sitting there, staring at him. Aside from that, the blade of the axe
was dug right into her forehead. She was sitting in a pool of blood that
was running from the wound.
"Oh my God", said Sonic, backing up.
Something wet hit Sonic on the top of his head. He put his hand on
the wet spot and then put it in front of his eyes. A huge puddle of blood
was now on his glove. He looked up, and his jaw fell open even wider.
Kyle was hanging from the tree, upside down. A huge piece of wood in the
shape of a stake had been shoved through his throat.
Sonic put his clean hand over his mouth, and backed away from the two
bodies. Sonic couldn't think. All of a sudden, he felt like a scared
little kid. Then, he imagined what those two must have felt.
"Sonic!", said a voice from behind him.
Sonic screamed at the top of his lungs. He twisted around, and fell
into a defensive posture. He relaxed when he saw Sally and the others
standing there.
"Sal!", he said, trying to breathe.
Sally didn't say anything, but looked past him. Her jaw fell open
as she gazed upon Amy and Kyle's bodies. Bunnie and the others looked as
well.
"My God", said Sally, "What happened?"
"You tell me", said Sonic, "I just got out here and found...this!"
"Bots wouldn't do that", said Rotor, shaking his head, "They wouldn't
kill them, and certainly not like that.
Sally moved over, and knelt down next to Amy's body. The dead girl
seemed to stare right back at her with a chilling look. Sally took a deep
breath, and then stood back up. She pulled out Nicole, and opened her up.
"Nicole", she said, her voice trembling, "How long has Amy been dead?"
Nicole scanned the body for a moment, and then displayed some results
on her monitor.
"Subject has been deceased for roughly 17 hours", said Nicole,
"Cause of death was due to massive trauma in the skull region."
"We kinda figured that, Nicole", said Sonic, looking over Sally's
shoulder.
"Quiet, Sonic", said Sally, "What about Kyle?"
Nicole scanned up in the air, and produced another read-out.
"Subject has also been deceased for roughly 17 hours", she said,
"Cause of death was due to massive trauma in the throat region."
"You mean whoever did this killed him and then strung him up there?",
asked Bunnie.
"Affirmative", said Nicole.
"Rotor", said Sally, "Cut him down."
Rotor started to untie the end of the rope that was holding Kyle
up in the air.
"Carefully", said Sally, "I want Bookshire to do a full autopsy on
both of them. Maybe the killer left something incriminating behind."
"Sally!", said Dulcy, standing over near Amy's body.
Sally walked over, and saw Ducly pointing at the ground. She looked
down, and saw a huge blood trail leading from the cut wood, to the place
in the bushes.
"Somebody tried to hide her and Kyle", said Sally.
"Question", said Sonic, helping Rotor lower Kyle's body down, "We're
missing three Freedom Fighters. We've only got two. Where's Harold?"
"Good question", said Sally, "Let's see if Booker can tell us anything
else."
The door to the medical hut opened, and Bookshire walked out, pulling
his blood-stained rubber gloves off.
"Well?", asked Sally.
"I want you to see this for yourself", said Booker.
Sonic and the others followed Bookshire into the area where he had
Amy and Kyle's body. Sonic took three steps into the room, and saw the
two of them laying on different examining tables, and both disected.
"Uh", said Sonic, making a gagging sound, "I think I'll wait outside,
Sal."
"Alright", said Sally.
Sonic hurried out the door, and Sally looked back at Booker.
"What did you find?", she asked.
"I've sort of pieced together what happened out there from my
examination of the two bodies", he said, "Apparently, Kyle was hit in the
head with the axe. You can see by the huge welt on the back of his head.
After that, Amy was struck in the forehead with the sharp side of it.
More than likely, she died instantly. After that, Kyle had this piece of
wood rammed through his throat. It may have taken him as long as three or
four minutes to choke to death on his own blood."
"My God", said Sally, putting her hand over her eyes, "What kind of
creature could do something like this?"
"After they were both dead", said Booker, "The killer wrapped the
rope around Kyle's neck, and hung him from the trees. Amy was then moved
behind the bushes. The weird thing is that you said that the wood was all
stacked neatly, right?"
"That's how we found it", said Sally.
"I took a reading from the scan you made of the area with Nicole",
said Booker, "According to her, there was blood splattered on odd areas of
the wood. I'm guessing that Kyle or Amy was holding the wood when they
were attacked. The killer cleaned up the area afterwards. I wonder why
they would do that."
"I don't know", said Sally, "But it did look like Amy and Kyle were
purposely hidden from view."
"Hmmmmm", hummed Booker, scratching his chin.
"What do you think happened?", asked Sally.
"I think the killer never intended for either of them to be found
by anyone", he said, "They obviously got in a hurry, and half cleaned up
the mess. Perhaps they intended to return later, but Sonic arrived before
they could."
"Makes sense", said Sally, "Anything else?"
"One thing", said Booker, "The rope that was used to string Kyle up
from the tree."
"What about it?", asked Sally.
"I've seen it before", he said.
"Where", she asked.
"It belongs to Rotor", said Booker, "I remember him saying that it
went missing a few days ago. Someone went into his workshop and took it."
Sally glared at Booker, not seeming to like what he was suggesting.
"Are you saying the killer might be HERE in Knothole?", she asked.
"More than likely", said Booker, "However, I believe we already have
a prime suspect."
"Who?", asked Sally, "Harold?"
"He's missing", said Booker, "And he was last seen shortly before
the murders were committed."
"But why?", asked Sally.
"Well", said Booker, covering up the bodies, "I hear he had quite a
crush on Amy. Perhaps he was over-come with jealousy. She and Kyle were
getting along rather well."
"But Harold wouldn't do something like this", said Sally, "I know
him."
"Sally", said Booker, "How well does anyone know anybody? There's
always some dark part of ourselves that we keep hidden from everyone
around us."
"I guess", said Sally, "But I just can't accept that Harold would
butcher these two like this."
"I'm going to have Sonic and Rotor lead several search teams around
the area to see if we can't find Harold or where he went", said Booker,
"It may help to make some sense out of all this."
"Good idea", said Sally, "I'll have Bunnie get in contact with Uncle
Chuck, "We may need him on this."
"Also", said Booker, "In the case that it wasn't Harold, and the
killer still remains among us, I'm going to set up a survellance team to
watch everyone in the village until further notice."
"Booker", said Sally, smiling, "What would we do without you?"
"Be in really big trouble", he said, wrapping his tools up.
"No doubt", she said, "Listen, I'm going to go lay down for a while.
All this is starting to get to me. I'll be back out to help in about
three or four hours, okay?"
"Alright", said Booker.
Sally turned, and started to walk out of the hut.
"Sally?", said Booker.
"Yes?", she said, looking back at him.
"Don't worry", he said, "I won't let anything happen to you."
She smiled, and left the hut.
Sonic was sitting on the steps, still looking rather pale. He stood
up when he saw Sally come out.
"Well?", he asked, "What's the verdict?"
"Booker thinks that Harold may be responsible for all this", she
said.
"Whoa", said Sonic, widening his eyes, "Who'da thought?"
"However", she added, "He may not have been, and the killer may be
here in Knothole, just waiting to strike again."
"What are we gonna do?", asked Sonic.
"You're going to go find Rotor and get back to Booker", she said,
"He's going to organize some search parties to go out and look for Harold."
"What about you?", asked Sonic.
"I'm going to go take a nap", she said, "I need to clear my head a
little bit. All of this has me shaken up."
"I hear ya", said Sonic, "I'm gonna go on and track down Rote. Call
me if you need anything."
"I will", she said.
Sonic revved up, and took off down the dirt road.
Sally continued on to her own hut. She noticed that word of Amy and
Kyle's deaths had spread quickly throughout the village. She could already
see several of the residents walking around looking over their shoulders.
Sally walked through the door to her hut, and locked it behind her.
She quickly closed all the windows and the curtains. Thanks to the
water-wheel that Rotor had devised, she had several lamps in there that
she could use to brighten up the now darkened room.
Sally moved over to her chair, and slumped down in it. She pulled
Nicole out of her boot, and opened her up.
"Nicole", she said, "This is bad."
"Affirmative, Sally", said Nicole.
"This is going from bad to worse", she said, "I'm really worried,
now."
"Please specify, Sally", asked Nicole.
"About those search parties that Booker's sending out", she said,
"I'm worried about what they might find."
"It is unlikely that anything incriminating will be located", said
Nicole.
"Dammit, Nicole!", snapped Sally, "I know that! That's not the
point, though."
"Please specify", said Nicole.
"I don't want ANYTHING found", she said, "Right now, Harold is their
prime suspect. If they find the pits, then they'll know that it couldn't
have been him. The grass on them hasn't had a chance to grow much. They
might find them."
"Your methods seem rather 'ameturish', Sally", said Nicole.
"Oh, stuff it!", said Sally, "I got sloppy, and I'll admit it. I let
my urges get the better of me this time. I shouldn't have gone after them
at that time of day. I barely had enough time to get them out of sight."
"Kyle and Amy's discovery does indicate that you must cease your
activities for a short period until things return to normal", said Nicole,
"The consequences could be dire."
"That's putting it lightly, Nicole", said Sally, "Still, as long as
I keep playing the part of the concerned princess, no one will even think
of looking my direction."
"But your activities must cease until a sufficient amount of time
has passed", said Nicole, "If Harold is to take the fall for your actions."
Sally sat back in her chair, and rubbed her chin.
"I suppose", she said, "It will require some will-power, but I think
I can hold out for a few weeks. Do you think that's long enough?"
"It should be", said Nicole.
Sally set Nicole down on the table next to her chair, and stood up.
She looked over at her closet. After staring at it for a moment or so,
she walked over and opened the door. The body of a young badger fell out
of it and face down onto the floor.
"Now", said Sally, folding her arms, "What should I do with you,
Harold?"
She kicked the body onto its back with her boot. Harold's lifeless
eyes stared back up at her. Sally grinned slightly when she looked at the
huge slit that she had put in his throat. That was a nice, clean cut if
she she did say so herself.
"Here's the real stickler, Nicole", said Sally, squatting down next
to Harold's body, "How do I get rid of him without anyone seeing? With
those damn search parties and security teams that Booker's put all over
the village, I'll never get a big enough break to get him out to one of
the pits. I've only got about three or four more days before he starts
to stink."
"My sensors show that the temperature will drop to well below 20
degrees farenheit tonight, Sally", said Nicole.
"I suppose I could keep him out under my hut", said Sally, scratching
her chin, "The cold would buy me a few days at least."
"That is not the course of action I was referring to", said Nicole.
"Oh?", asked Sally, "Then what was it that you were referring to?"
A beam of light shot out of Nicole and over at Sally's fire-place.
Sally looked at it for a moment, and then grinned.
"Brilliant, Nicole", said Sally, "Absolutely brilliant."
Robo-Tropolis was as gloomy as ever. Sonic wasn't really in the
mood to think much about it, though. As he ran through the barren streets,
he thought of Kyle and Amy. They were just kids! The thought of someone
killing them made his stomach churn. Sonic was no stranger to death. He'd
seen plenty of it in his relatively short life. However, each death he'd
seen had sort of a purpose to it, or as much of a purpose as any murder
could claim to have. Robotnik had killed Mobians because they enraged him,
or he tortured them to death to get information. Sometimes he even killed
family members of his enemies as punishment.
As much as Sonic hated Robotnik for that, he could almost bring
himself to understand those killings. This new predicament, however, was
something totally alien to him. This new killer killed only for the sake
of killing.
Sonic's thought was interupted when he reached Uncle Chuck's hideout.
He rapped on the pipe next to it with a rock, and the door opened moments
later. After tossing the rock back on the ground, he ran in, letting the
door close behind him.
Uncle Chuck sat at his computer terminal, going through some of
Robotnik's data-bases. He smiled when Sonic appeared.
"Sonic!", he said, "What brings you out here?"
The older hedgehog noticed that his nephew didn't look his cheery
self.
"What's wrong?", he asked.
"Unc", said Sonic, "We've got a bit of a crisis in Knothole."
"What kind of crisis?", asked Uncle Chuck.
And so, Sonic laid out what had happened in the past several hours.
He told Uncle Chuck all about Amy and Kyle, how he found them, and Harold
disappearing as well. It was safe to say that Uncle Chuck was horrified
at the prospect of a killer lurking about in Knothole.
"This is bad", said Uncle Chuck.
"There's an understatement", said Sonic, "And it gets worse."
"How could it get any worse?", asked Uncle Chuck.
"Word travels fast", said Sonic, "And bad new travels even faster.
When I left, the whole village knew what was up. I heard a few people
talking about keeping weapons in their huts, just in case. In my opinion,
Unc, plasma blasters are the last thing that we need in Knothole."
"I totally agree with you, Sonic", said Uncle Chuck.
Back in Knothole, night had fallen, and the situation hadn't improved
much. Booker had already dispactched several search parties to look for
Harold out in the Great Forest. The fact that he never did venture out of
Knothole very much and the fact that he was slightly over-weight, made it
unlikely he would have had made very good distance if he was trying to run.
Also, village patrols were placed all over Knothole, in case Harold
decided to return. Booker knew that it was a long-shot, but it did ease
everyone's minds for a bit.
Sally watched a patrol wander by her hut. She quickly shut the
curtains, and stomped her foot on the floor.
"Shit!", she said, "God damn Booker! There's no way I can burn
Harold now. I'm just going to have to stuff him under the hut until I
get a clear enough break to haul his smelly carcass out to one of the pits."
Sally walked over to her closet, opened the door, and let Harold's
body fall out of it again. She grabbed him under his arms, and proceeded
to pull him over in front of her sofa.
"Nicole!", she grunted, pulling the rather large bear, "How long can
I keep him under here before he starts to smell?"
"At the current rate that temperature drops each night, Sally", said
Nicole, "About six to eight days."
Sally got Harold's body to the front of her sofa, and then let it
slam back on the floor. She then kicked the rug away from the sofa,
revealing a trap door under it. She pulled the heavy door open, and then
kicked Harold into it. After she crammed his appendages down as well,
Sally slammed the door, and pushed the rug back over it.
"There", she said, folding her arms, "That should take care of that
for now."
Just as she said that, there was a knock at her door. Without
thinking, Sally let out a rather audible scream.
"Sally?", said Booker's voice, "Are you alright?"
Sally caught her breath, and looked down at the rug to make sure that
it was properly placed. She then walked over, unlocked and opened the door.
"Sorry, Booker", she said, holding her chest, "You just scared me."
"My apologies", he said, "Of course, given the current state of
things, I don't really blame you for being on edge."
"Did you find anything yet?", asked Sally.
"Not yet", said Booker, "But I really don't know if that's a good
thing or a bad thing."
"What do you mean?", asked Sally.
"Well", said Booker, straightening his glasses, "It's good as in we
haven't found anymore bodies, but it's bad as in we haven't found Harold
either."
"Has Sonic come back from the city yet?", asked Sally.
"No", said Booker, "I was going to have Rotor send him this message
in the carrier dove."
"I'll do it", said Sally, taking the piece of paper from Booker,
"That way, you can keep coordinating the village patrols."
"Good thinking, Sally", said Booker, "I'll be in my hut if you need
me. Let me know what Sir Charles says about the message."
"I'll be sure to see you first, Booker", said Sally.
Booker turned, and walked away on his cane. Sally waved to him,
and smiled. Once she shut the door, however, the smile turned into a
huge snarling frown.
"Booker better just watch himself", she hissed, "There's a fine line
between being a concerned citizen and being too damned nosey."
Sally walked over to a lamp, and unfolded the message.
"Sir Charles", she read quietly, "The situation in Knothole is going
from bad to worse. I haven't conferred with the princess yet, but I do
not believe that the deaths of Kyle and Amy are an isolated incident. I've
been doing some digging, and have found that an oddly large number of
Freedom Fighters have disappeared without a trace in the last seven to
eight months. Further research is required, however, but I hypothesize
that there may be a serial killer lurking either somewhere in the Great
Forest, the city, or, Chaos help us all, Knothole itself. Please respond
with any new data you can find."
Sally looked up from the message, her eyes turning bloodshot.
"That nosey, crippled son of a bitch!", she yelled, tearing the
message in half, "I've worked too hard to get things just the way I want
them, and I refuse to have some gimpy-legged computer geek ruin it for me."
"What is your course of action, Sally?", asked Nicole.
"Simple", she said, "Ol' Chucky isn't going to be bothering us with
any new data. The only reason I let him stay in Robo-Tropolis was to
keep him from figuring any of this out. The last thing I need right now
is him and Booker both sticking their noses where they don't belong."
Sally pulled a piece of paper out from her dresser drawer, and grabbed
a pencil from her desk. She quickly wrote down a new message, and folded
it up.
"There", she said, "As far as Sir Charles is concerned, all signs
point towards Harold murdering the two in a jealous rage, and it looks as
though he may be caught within a matter of hours."
Sally grabbed Nicole, and put hooked her on her boot. She then
headed for Rotor's hut.
Sally walked out of her hut, and hugged herself.
"Ooo", she shiverred, "It's getting cold out here."
Sally then walked down the street towards Rotor's hut. From across
the street, and through a half-covered window, Rosie watched Sally walk
into the darkness. She shut the curtains, and shook her head.
"Please", she said, "Please let me be wrong."
"Booker said to send it ASAP, Rotor", said Sally, handing the folded
piece of paper to Rotor.
"No sweat", he said, walking over to the window, and whistling for
the carrier dove, which promptly answered the whistle.
Rotor opened the little pouch that was strapped to the dove's side,
and slid the message in. He then whistled again, and the dove flew off
into the night sky.
"I sure hope Uncle Chuck can figure something out", said Rotor, "It's
bad enough we've got one psycho living in Robo-Tropolis. I don't like the
idea of having one out here too."
"I know how you feel, Rotor", said Sally, "Knothole is supposed to
be safe for Mobians. Who would have thought something like this would
happen?"
"Sally!", said Booker, swinging the door open, "Are you in here?"
Sally looked at Rotor, and then looked over at Booker, who was
panting.
"I'm right here, Booker", she said, "What's wrong?"
"You are not going to believe what one of the patrols just found
just past the edge of the village."
Sally scowled, and then looked back at Rotor, who looked extremely
worried.
Ten minutes later, Sally, Rotor, Bunnie, and Antoine arrived with
Booker at the scene. A red piece of cloth had been put up around a
circular area, and the patrol members were doing their best to keep the
citizens of Knothole back.
"Princess", said one of them, "This way."
The five of them slid through the opening that the patrolman made
for them, and made it to the center of the site.
"What is this?", asked Rotor, looking down at the hole in the ground.
"I think it's where our friend has been keeping his victims", said
Booker, "One of the patrols noticed several patches of ground that didn't
have any grass on them."
Sally got down on her knees, and looked down in the pit. Biting her
lower lip, she shook her head.
"Son of a bitch", she whispered.
"What?", said Booker, looking down at her.
"I said....I can't believe this", said Sally, looking back up at
him, "How many are down there?"
"I don't know", said Booker, "We can't get down there just yet."
"Why not?", asked Bunnie.
"The bodies have been down there so long, that they've become toxic",
he said, "I'm going to have to confer with Sir Charles on how to get them
out so I can work on identifying them. That might give us a clue as to
who could possibly have done something like this."
"Man", said Rotor, "Looking down at the pit, "This is out of even
Robotnik's league."
"Alright", said Sally, standing back up, "I want guards around all
of the pits at all times. I also want everyone who's not guarding it kept
away. The children don't need to be seeing this."
"Good thinking, Sally", said Booker, "I'll take care of it."
"I know you will, Booker", said Sally, smiling.
Sally turned away from them, and looked back at the pit.
"And it looks like I'll have to be taking care of you", she said to
herself.
Sally walked away from the pits and back to Knothole. From the
darkness, Rosie watched her head back. She leaned against a tree, and
felt a tear run down her face.
"I was wrong", she said, "All this time, I was wrong, and he was
right."
The old woodchuck stood up straight, and wiped the tears from her
eyes.
"However", she said, "There still might be a chance that I can make
things right. I just hope he'll listen to me."
Rosie them pulled her hood over her head, and ran off to find Ducly.
"Good news, Sonic", said Uncle Chuck, walking back into his monitor
room with a piece of paper, "Sally says that everything's almost tied up
in Knothole."
"Past cool", said Sonic, "So, it was Harold?"
"That's what Sally thinks", said Uncle Chuck, "At any rate, you'd
better haul your tail back there so you can help them track him down."
"No prob", said Sonic, standing up out of his chair, "I'll hunt that
little creep down like...."
"Sonic!", shouted Uncle Chuck, "Look!!"
Sonic looked at the monitor that Uncle Chuck was pointing at, and
saw that they were looking in Robotnik's control room. He was sitting in
his command chair, and there was a figure standing in front of him. Sonic
squinted his eyes, and saw that it was Rosie!!
"Rosie!?", he said, "Oh, man!!"
Sonic revved up, and started to charge out of the room. Just as he
did, however, Uncle Chuck grabbed his shoulders.
"I'm coming with you, Sonie!", he said.
"Let's juice!", he said, exploding out of the spy station leaving a
trail of fire behind.
"Well", said Robotnik, "Rosaletta Woodchuck. It's been so long since
I've had the pleasure of seeing you. To what do I owe the honor of your
visit?"
Rosie hung her head down, and stared at the floor. Finally, she
looked back up at Robotnik.
"You were right, Julian", she said, "I've finally realized it."
Robotnik sat silent for a moment, as if unsure what to say. Finally,
he sat up, and looked at Rosie.
"How many bodies were found?", he asked.
"We don't know yet", said Rosie, "There are three pits on the edge
of Knothole that have several in them apiece. Actually, we don't even know
if those are ALL of them."
Robotnik growled, and pounded his fist on the side of his chair.
"I warned Acorn that this would happen!", he shouted, "But the fool
refused to believe me."
"That isn't so hard, Buttnik!", said a voice from the doorway.
Robotnik looked, and saw Sonic and Uncle Chuck standing there. Sonic
expected Robotnik to call for security, but to his surprise, he just sat
there.
"What's up, Robuttnik?", asked Sonic, "Did you forget what button
calls your SWATbutts up here?"
Rosie turned around, and looked at Sonic.
"Sonic!", she said, "Shut up! This is not the time!"
"Rosie?", asked Uncle Chuck, "What are you talking about?"
"It's really quite simple, Sir Charles", said Robotnik, stepping out
of his chair, "Miss Woodchuck is simply asking for my help in dealing with
a problem that could have been solved over 11 years ago."
"What...?", said Sonic, folding his arms.
"I know who the killer is, Sonic", said Rosie, "She's been in our
midst for a very long time."
"Well, for crying out loud!", said Sonic, "Who is it?"
After a moment of looking at Sonic, Rosie finally spoke.
"Sally", she said.
There was a disturbing moment of silence in the command room. Sonic
just stared at Rosie, unable to speak. After all, what could he say?
Rosie had just accused the girl he loved, as well as his best friend, of
being a serial murderer. Finally, he broke the silence.
"You lying bitch", he hissed, "Where the hell do you get off by saying
something like that?"
"It's not a lie, Sonic", said Rosie, feeling tears coming to her eyes,
"It's the truth."
"What the woodchuck says is the truth, Rodent", said Robotnik, coming
up behind Rosie, and putting his hands on her shoulders, "Whether you
believe it or not is inconcequential."
"Right, Robotnik!", yelled Sonic, "You are the last person in the
universe that I would believe!"
"Sonic, calm down", said Uncle Chuck, putting his hand on Sonic's
shoulder.
"No!", yelled Sonic, swatting his uncle's hand away, "Unc, don't you
hear what they're saying?! Either Rosie's gone crazy, or Buttnik did
something to her!"
Uncle Chuck sighed, and looked up at Robotnik.
"You do realize that this is quite difficult to swallow?", he said.
"Of course", said Robotnik, "The Princess Sally you know is a kind,
noble, person who would sacrifice her life to save another. However, I
know a different Princess Sally, the true one."
"Can you offer any proof?", asked Uncle Chuck.
"Indeed I can", said Robotnik, walking over to a computer console.
He tacked in a few commands, and a video came up. Sonic, Uncle Chuck,
and Rosie all walked over to view it.
"What is this?", asked Sonic.
"The proof you seek, Hedgehog", said Robotnik, looking down at him.
Sonic looked back up at the video, and saw that it was Sally when she
was maybe four or five years old. She was sitting in a room along with
a little wingspanner hopping around on the floor chirping at her. Sally
seemed to be playing with it real nice.
"Some proof", said Sonic, folding his arms.
"Shut up and watch", said Robotnik.
Sonic looked back at the video, and his jaw dropped open. Sally
picked the little bird up, and with what looked like an expression of joy
on her face, broke its neck. Then, the video ended.
"What was that?", asked Uncle Chuck.
"A pschyotherapist's study on the prinecss when she was four years of
age", said Robotnik, "Several members of the royal court became suspcious
of the princess's odd and sometimes violent behavior. They set up a secret
study to see if there was any merit to their suspicions, and this tape
proves that they were correct."
"It doesn't prove anything!", said Sonic, "You could have made this."
"He didn't, Sonic", said Rosie, "I was there when it was made. I
also remember when the hard documents and the video were shown to the king.
He was outraged. He ordered the documents destroyed, as well as the video.
It was then that he issued a decree that no-one in the royal court ever
speak of it again."
"And after much consideration and pondering about what life in this
city would be like when the princess assumed the throne", said Robotnik,
"I struck."
"Wait a minute", said Sonic, "You're saying that you took over
Mobo-Tropolis, banished the king to the Void, and roboticized everybody
to SAVE them from Sally?"
"I admit", said Robotnik, "My methods may have seemed harsh, but I
assure you, Hedgehog, my heart was in the right place."
"Yeah, right", said Sonic, turning away from them, "I know you're
lying out your fat ass, Robotnik, because Bookshire just sent us a message
saying that it was definately the work of someone else."
"Sonic", said Rosie, "That's not true."
"What do you mean?", asked Uncle Chuck.
"Bookshire told everyone that he suspected a serial killer and that
he had asked for Sir Charles' help in tracking them down", said Rosie.
"That's not the message we got", said Uncle Chuck, "The message we
got said that it was definately Harold and that he probably be caught within
the next few hours."
"No", said Rosie, "Before I left, Bookshire's patrols uncovered about
three pits full of bodies."
"Your princess must have intercepted the message and changed it so
that Sir Charles would stay out of it", said Robotnik.
"I'm not listening to anymore of this", said Sonic, "Sally is not
a killer!"
"Sonic", said Uncle Chuck, "Settle down. Maybe we should hear him
out."
"Unc!", yelled Sonic, "Listen to yourself!! You're actually believing
this liar!?"
"We're wasting time", said Robotnik, "While we stand here and argue,
your beloved princess is probably out slaughtering more of your people,
Hedgehog."
Sonic folded his arms, and looked away from the human. Robotnik
gritted his teeth, and growled for a moment.
"Alright, Hedgehog", he said, "What is it going to take for you to
believe that I am telling you the truth?"
Sonic looked up at Robotnik, and squinted at him.
"De-roboticize my unc", he said, "Now."
Robotnik glared at Sonic, and to Sonic's surprise, nodded.
"Very well", he said, "Follow me."
Sonic, Uncle Chuck, and Rosie followed Dr. Robotnik into the
robotization chamber. Several tech-bots were bustling about. They
immediately went into alert status when they saw Sonic.
"Priority-One-Hedgehog", they all said in unison, "Detain by order
of Robotnik."
Sonic dropped into a defensive stance, believing that Robotnik had
double-crossed him. However, Robotnik lifted up his hand, and said
something that actually made Sonic's heart skip a beat.
"Stand down", he said, "Delete all Priority-One-Hedgehog Protocols."
"Acknowledged", said the tech-bots.
Robotnik walked up to the computer panel, and typed some commandes
in. He then turned and looked at Sonic.
"The cancellation of the Priority-One-Hedgehog Protocols are now
city-wide", he said, "Now, if Sir Charles will stand in the roboticizer."
Uncle Chuck started to walk up onto the platform, but Sonic grabbed
his arm.
"Unc", he said, "I have a bad feeling about this. Let's just grab
Rosie and juice outta here."
"No", said Uncle Chuck, "This is the one way that we can be sure he
is telling the truth."
Sonic nodded, and let go of his uncle's arm. Uncle Chuck walked up
onto the platform, and looked at Robotnik.
"Do it", he said.
"It will take a moment to reconfigure the robotization commands", he
said, "A little bit of information for you, Sir Charles. The reason none
of you were ever able to perfect de-robotization was that you were looking
for some hi-tech and complicated process to do it with. The truth is that
you must simply run the program in reverse."
"You're kidding me, right?", asked Uncle Chuck, "There's no way it
could be that simple."
"Really?", asked Robotnik, "Then explain this."
He hit the button, and the tube dropped down over Uncle Chuck. The
usual bright flash of light erupted from the center of the platform, and
Sonic and Rosie were forced to cover their eyes.
Moments later, they heard the computer's mono-tone voice.
"De-Robotization Process complete", it said.
Sonic uncovered his eyes, and saw Uncle Chuck, fully de-roboticized,
standing in the middle of the platform.
"Unc!", he said, "You're you again!"
Uncle Chuck looked at his hands, which were 100% flesh and blood
again.
"I don't believe it", he said, "It really worked."
"Of course it did", said Robotnik, "Did you truly believe that I would
turn the entire population of Mobo-Tropolis into robots without having
someway of turning them back once the threat had ended?"
Robotnik turned, and looked at Sonic, who was standing there, totally
dumbfounded.
"I hope I've convinced you, Hedgehog", he said.
"Not totally", said Sonic, "But, I guess it'll do for now."
"We must hurry back to the village", said Rosie, "Sally must be
taken into custody as soon as possible."
"Hold up", said Sonic, "We can't just waltz back into Knothole with
Robotnik in tow."
"Unfortunately, Sonic", said Uncle Chuck, stepping onto the ground,
"We don't have a lot of choice right now. Robotnik has convinced me of his
sincerety for the moment."
Sonic took a deep breath, and nodded.
"Good", said Robotnik, "Come, we'll take my personal shuttle."
"Just you, Robotnik", said Sonic, "No SWATbots, worker-bots, or
tech-bots."
"Very well", said Robotnik, "This way."
Robotnik headed out of the Robotization Chamber, and for the shuttle
bay. Sonic, Rosie, and the now de-roboticized Uncle Chuck followed him.
In Knothole, Booker was sitting in his hut, looking at some
photographs that he had taken of the several body pits that they had found.
It was absolutely horrible. The mere thought that those had been there
for who knew how long and no-one was the wiser to it made him sick at his
stomach.
"Booker?", said someone behind him.
Booker turned, and saw Sally coming in the door.
"Oh, Sally", he said, "I'm glad you're here."
"Are you?", she asked, walking up to him, "What have you found out?"
"Well", he said, judging by these photos I took, some of the bodies
that are near the bottom of the pits have been there for at least three
to four years. Unfortunately, the bodies are all toxic right now, so I
have to wait to confer with Sir Charles on how to get them out so I can
do autopsies on them."
"Any theories on who's behind this?", asked Sally.
"Well", said Booker, "Judging by the scale of this, I think it's
probably just one person. This is an interesting thing though, since I
can't remember the last time any serial killings have been documented even
before the coup eleven years ago."
"Hmmmm", hummed Sally, "I have my own theory on it, though."
Booker swivelled around, and stood up.
"Really?", he said, "What do you think about all this?"
"Well", said Sally, "I think the killer has been at this for a long
time, carefully covering their tracks so not to be discovered. To tell you
the truth, the time we presently live in is a perfect atmosphere for their
activities."
"What do you mean?", asked Booker.
"Think about it", said Sally, "If a Freedom Fighter disappears in
Robo-Tropolis or in the Great Forest, everyone will automatically think
that they were captured by Robotnik. Who would even contemplate that they
may have been killed by someone in this very village?"
"You have a point, there, Sally", said Booker, "In that case, the
killer may not want the war agaist Robotnik to end."
"Right", said Sally.
"But", said Booker, "What I can't figure out is if the killer has
been so careful in the past, why did they allow Kyle and Amy's bodies to
be found?"
"Well", said Sally, folding her arms, "I would bet money that the
killer saw them go into the woods one day, and childishly let their urges
get the better of them. I believe they quickly hid the bodies and returned
to Knothole so their presence would not be missed. They most certainly
planned on returning to the murder site later to dispose of the bodies,
but Amy and Kyle's disappearance was noticed before then and Sonic happened
on the site, where the bodies were discovered."
"If that's the case", said Booker, "Where does Harold tie into all
of this?"
"He probably went looking for Amy and Kyle shortly after the killer
returned to Knothole and was killed to keep him quiet", said Sally.
Booker folded his arms, and smiled at Sally.
"That is absolutely amazing Sally", he said, "Your theory ties
together every loose end that I couldn't figure out. How did you come up
with all this anyway?"
Sally put her hand on Booker's shoulder, and smiled.
"It was easy", she said, "Considering..."
"Considering what?", asked Booker.
Suddenly, Booker saw a flash of something, and then felt a massive
pain in his stomach.
"Ugh", he gulped.
Bookshire looked down, and saw Sally shoving a huge blood-stained
butcher knife into his gut. He looked back up, and saw her bloodshot
eyes staring right at him.
"Considering that it was me behind it the whole time!", she hissed,
yanking the knife out of Booker's stomach.
"Uhhhh", he moaned as Sally pulled the knife back.
"You know, Booker?", said Sally, grinning insanely, "Under any other
circumstance, your persistance and skills of deduction would have been
greatly appreciated. However, in this case, they are simply fucking with
my agenda!"
Sally pushed Bookshire backwards, and he stumbled over the chair and
onto the floor. He looked up at Sally, and was still holding the massive
stab wound in his stomach.
"You just couldn't leave it alone, could you, Booker?", said Sally,
picking up Booker's cane, "You just had to push..."
Sally hit Booker in the head with the cane. The impact split the
skin on the side of his face open, and blood started to pour out of it.
"...and push!!", said Sally, hitting him again, "AND PUSH!!!"
Sally continued to hit Booker several more times. When she finally
stopped, she looked at the cane, which was a bloody mess. Booker was
laying the ground, covered in bruises and blood. He wasn't moving, either.
Sally kicked him once in the head, but he made no movement or sound.
"Unfortunately for you, Booker", said Sally, tossing the cane out
of her hand, "You were just too damned smart for your own good."
Sally suddenly heard a sound behind her. She quickly spun around,
and to her surprise, she saw Tails standing in the doorway. His eyes
were as big as saucers.
"Tails", said Sally, wiping Booker's blood from her face, "What have
I told you about walking into people's huts without knocking first?"
Tails didn't say anything, he just stepped back from Sally. She
walked away from Booker's body, and picked up the bloody knife from the
ground. She held it in her right hand, and looked at Tails.
"Where do you think you're going?", she said, "You were bad, and now
you've got to be punished!"
"NO!!!", yelled Tails, running from the hut, "Help!"
"Oh no you don't!", she said, running out of the hut.
Sally hit the dirt, and saw Tails run up the road towards the cliffs
at the southern end of the village.
"Hmph", she said, grinning, "The little guy's so scared, he's got
no idea that he's running for a dead-end, heh heh. This should be fun."
Sally gripped her knife, and ran into the darkness after Tails.
Just as Sally disappeared into the foliage, a black and red hover
pod broke through the canopy of trees that hid Knothole from the sky and
landed right in the center of the village. Once it set down, the hatch
opened, and Sonic stepped out.
"Sonique!", said Antoine, running up to him, "Where have been beings?
Such terrible things have happened."
"Tell me about it", said Sonic, "Where's Sally, Ant?"
"I am not knowingz where my princess is", he said.
"Ah saw her aheadin' fer Booker's hut just a bit ago", said Bunnie,
joining the two of them.
"Then let us waste no more time!", said Robotnik, exiting the hover
pod with a plasma rifle in his hands.
"What the hoo-haw-fuck is he doin' here!", yelled Bunnie, aiming her
blaster arm at Robotnik, "You make one move, sucker!"
"Stand down, Bunnie", said Uncle Chuck, emerging from the pod, "As
hard as it is to swallow, Robotnik is on our side. He always was."
"Chucky?", said Bunnie, "Is that you?"
"I'm the proof that Robotnik is being truthful about helping us", said
Uncle Chuck, "He de-roboticized me and can do the same for everyone else."
"GUYS!!!", yelled Sonic, "Get over here!!!"
Everyone ran for Booker's hut, and gasped when they saw the site.
Booker was lying in a pool of his own blood, and there was even more blood
all over the walls and his cane.
"Booker!", said Sonic, "Are you still alive?"
Somehow, Bookshire managed to open his eyes, and look at them all.
"Who did this to you, Man?", asked Sonic.
"Sal....ly", he whispered, "Went....after.....Tails....towards.....
...cliffs."
"Sally's after T2?", said Sonic, widening his eyes.
Bookshire managed to nod, and then slumped over. Uncle Chuck ran
to him, and checked for a pulse. He looked over at Sonic.
"He's alive, but just barely", said Uncle Chuck, "Sonie, you, Bunnie
and Robotnik go after Sally. Antoine and I will take care of Bookshire.
Sonic stood up, and looked at Bunnie and Robotnik.
"Let's juice", he said.
Sally tromped through the forest, knowing that Tails was right in
front of her. She loved this part. This was the part where they thought
they could get away. Sally loved the smell of Tails' fear as he tried
to get away from her.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are, Tails", she sang, "I won't
hurt you....much!"
Tails watched Sally from under a bush. She walked right by it, and
stopped. The terrified fox was no more than half a foot from Sally's
blood-stained boot. He felt himself shivering in a panic he had never
known, not even when confronting Robotnik.
"BOO!!", yelled Sally, pulling the bush away, and slashing at Tails
with the butcher knife.
"AHHHH!!", screamed Tails, rolling away, and jumping to his feet.
"Come on, Tails", said Sally, grinning an insane grin, "You're not
going to make me chase you all over the Great Forest, are you?"
Tails didn't say a word. He just kept backing away from Sally.
"Come on, Sweetie", cooed Sally, holding out her blood-stained hand,
"It'll only hurt for a second."
Sally slashed at Tails again, but he ducked under it, grabbed a
handful of dirt, and threw it right in Sally's face.
"AHHHH!!", she screamed, covering her eyes with her hands.
Tails didn't waste a moment. He darted right past her as she blindly
grabbed for him and ran into the forest. Sally wiped the dirt from her
eyes, and looked at where Tails had run.
"I'M GONNA CUT YOUR THROAT FOR THAT, YOU LITTLE BASTARD!!!", she
screamed at the top of her lungs.
Sonic stopped Bunnie and Robotnik when he heard Sally's scream.
"This way!", said Robotnik, pointing his rifle to the left.
"Hold on, Big Guy", said Sonic, revving up, and running after the
two of them.
Tails had never been so scared in his life, or confused. Why was
his Aunt Sally doing this? This wasn't like her at all. Tails' thought
was interuppted just as the ground ended in front of him. He looked
over, and saw a large number of jagged rocks at the bottom of the cliff.
"Look's like you've just run out of ground, Tails", said Sally,
coming out from the forest. And after the marathon you just ran, I don't
think you have the energy to go and fly away on me."
"Why are you doing this, Aunt Sally?", cried Tails, backing as far
away from her as he could.
"Why?", she asked, "Simply put, I ENJOY IT!!"
Sally gripped her knife in her blood-covered hand, and walked towards
Tails, smirking an evil smirk.
"Time to take the eternal sleep, Little One!", she said, raising the
knife over her head.
Before Sally could strike, she felt something warm on the back of her
head. She turned, and saw a laser-site move down to her chest. Then,
Robotnik, Bunnie, and Sonic walked out of the forest.
"Don't move a muscle, Acorn", said Robotnik, aiming the plasma
rifle right at Sally's chest.
"Fancy meeting you here, Robotnik", said Sally, "Let me guess, that
old crone, Rosie tattled on me, didn't she?"
"More than that", said Robotnik, "Soon, the rest of your Freedom
Fighters will know who the true monster on Mobius is."
"Not if I have anything to do with it", said Sally.
"What are you going to do, Sal?", asked Sonic, "Kill us all? Like you
did to Kyle and Amy?"
"If I have to", said Sally, "However, that was pleasure, this is
strictly business."
"How could ya, Sally-Girl?", cried Bunnie, "How could ya do such
horrible things?"
"With extreme satisfaction, Bunnie", said Sally, "There's nothing
quite like slitting another Mobian's throat. It's quite relaxing, you
should try it sometime."
Bunnie gritted her teeth as she felt a tear run down her face.
"We're not gonna let you get away with this, Sal", said Sonic, "This
is gonna stop here and now."
"Not if I have any say in it!", said Sally.
With lightning fast speed, Sally twisted under Robotnik's site, and
got behind Tails. She put the blade of the knife right up to his throat.
"Tails!", yelled Sonic, stepping forward.
"One more step, Sonic", said Sally, "And I'll put a big smile on
Tails from ear to ear."
"You psychotic bitch", said Sonic.
"Flattery will get you flattened!", said Sally, "Now, GET BACK!!"
Sonic stomped his foot, and backed off.
"Good boy", said Sally, "Now, tell the fat man to lose the piece."
Sonic looked up at Robotnik, who gritted his teeth, and made his
eyes turn about three shades of red. But, he finally put the rifle down,
and dropped it on the forest floor.
"Looks like Robotnik has a heart after all", said Sally, "Now that
all that's been taken care of..."
Sally grabbed Tails' shoulder, and pulled the knife back, ready to
slit Tails' throat.
"NO!!", yelled Bunnie, stepping forward,
In a blink of an eye, Sonic stomped the barrel of Robotnik's rifle,
and it flipped up in the air, where he caught it, aimed, and fired.
The blast hit the ground right under Sally's feet. She lost her
footing, and fell backwards, throwing the knife in one direction, and
grabbing Tails' arm with her other hand, thus, pulling him over as well.
"TAILS!!", yelled Sonic, shooting forwards, and sliding on the
ground.
Sonic grabbed Tails' other hand, and kept him from falling. Sally
was still holding onto his other hand, and dangling in mid-air off the
cliff.
"You're....not....stopping....me!!!", growled Sally, "I'm still...
gonna kill....him!!!"
Sally reached for Tails' neck. Just as her hand approached it, a
red dot appeared on her forhead.
"Game over, Princess", said Robotnik, "You lose."
Robotnik pulled the trigger, and shot Sally right in the head. Her
upper skull exploded, and she was knocked away from the cliff. Tails
quickly grabbed Sonic's other hand, and then watched as Sally disappeared
into the darkness below.
Robotnik dropped the rifle, and helped Sonic pull Tails back up.
The two of them sat on the ground for a moment. Sonic didn't know what
to say. He looked up at Robotnik, and said the only thing he could.
"Thanks", he said, "You saved his life."
"It's what I tried to do from the beginning, Hedgehog", said Robotnik,
"I hope you can see that, now."
Bunnie came up, and looked over the cliff. There was nothing but
darkness down below. She looked at Sonic, who was still in shock from
what had happened.
"Ah'll take Tails back ta Knothole", she said, "Ya'll can catch up."
"We shall in a moment, Ms. Rabbot", said Robotnik, "And tell everyone
there that the conflict is now over. Robo-Tropolis will be transformed
back into Mobo-Tropolis and all worker-bots de-roboticized starting
tomorrow."
Bunnie nodded. She then picked Tails up, and walked back into the
forest. After she was gone, Robotnik looked down at Sonic, who was still
staring into the darkness below.
"This can't be happening", said Sonic, "This has to be a dream."
Robotnik put his hand on Sonic's shoulder. Sonic looked back at him.
"Sometimes, Hedgehog", said Robotnik, "Reality can be the cruelest
dream of all."
Sonic looked back down at the darkness below the cliff face, and
believed that Robotnik was right.
THE END
(
geocities.com/area51/cavern) (
geocities.com/area51)