Chapter 2
Hydrocity
________________________________________________________________________
If the water pipe had been straight, it might not have been as
bad. But it was not. It snaked back and forth like a water slide, half
full of salty water. Sonic and Tails were swept along in the wet
darkness, fighting to keep their heads above water. They could not
buck the current, and they kept running into each other.
Finally the pipe straightened--vertically. They tumbled down and
finally out of the pipe.
They splashed into a big water tank. Sonic hit first, plunging
down. Tails landed awkwardly on top of him, driving him in deeper. They
clawed their way free and finally surfaced a short distance apart. "You
okay?" Sonic asked Tails, who nodded.
"Yeah, I guess. Are YOU okay? I hit ya pretty hard."
Sonic nodded. "I guess I'm all right. Nothing broken anyway. Hey,
there's a ladder over there; lest's get out."
The two swam to the ladder and hauled themselves out of the water,
streaming. They stood there a moment, looking around.
They stood on the edge of a big square water tank. It almost
filled the little room, its metal sides against two of the brink walls.
A sort of deck had been built out from the edge of the hallway
entrance. They could see the opening in the ceiling they had came out
of--the end of the pipe. Standing there, they could hear a faint whirr
of moters or generators somewhere. Everything smelled mouldy; the wet
kind of mouldy, like canvas or rot.
Sonic pulled off his gloves and wrung them out. "I'll pry get
sick from all the sea water I swallowed," he commented as he twisted
the fabric.
"Yeah," Tails added. "I won't need a drink for a week." He sat
down on the yellow brick floor and took off his shoes and socks. They
sat there a moment, wringing out their gloves and squeezing out their
shoes as much as they could.
After a few minutes they were ready to face Hydrocity. Feeling
soggy, they stepped into the hallway that ran parallel to the holding
room. A faint breeze wafted through, touching their damp bodies. It
carried the smell of slime and grease. "Yuck," Tails commented. "This
place stinks."
Sonic nodded. "Yeah, no kidding. What's that on the wall down
there?"
The two walked down the hall a bit for a look. It was a large
plastic map in a dirty glass case. Its colors had faded and the corners
were speckled with decay, but it was still readable. It was a floorplan
of the waterworks.
It took a few minutes to decide where they were on it, but after
a short, heated argument they figured it out. "Okay, we're right here,"
Sonic said, pointing to a small square in the bottom of the map. It had
a symbol above it, marked 'intake'. The hallway adjoining it seemed to
be going the same way as the one they were in. "We're on sublevel 1A.
It looks like the only way out is on the next level up. This one, level
1. So we gotta find some stairs somewhere."
Tails traced the green-marked hallway with one finger. "Maybe we
could find somebody to help us. I mean, a factory like this has gotta
have some workers, right?"
Sonic nodded. "Right, little bro. Let's see. Think we could find
anybody in this room over here, the one marked 'DESAL'? It looks like
it has machines and stuff in it."
Tails nodded his furry head. Probably. Let's go."
They set out down the hallway. The breeze in their faces was sour,
as if dredged up from the depths of the plant. The corridor was made of
yellow brick, and black mould grew in the cracks. The occasional hanging
light was draped with dirty cobwebs.
"I don't think I'll be able to drink the mainland's water again,
after seeing this," Tails complained.
"Kinda turns your stomach, don't it?" Sonic agreed. "Yeah. Who
knows what kind of diseases grow down here."
Tails looked toward the ceiling. "How do they keep the ocean out?
Water's kinda heavy, ain't it?"
Sonic nodded. "The roof's pry ten or twenty feet of cement or
rock. It'd be pretty strong, if they support it right."
They walked along in silence. Tails sighed. "Why do you think
Knux threw us down here? I mean, we didn't do anything to him."
Sonic shook his head. "I know. All I did was try to get the
emeralds back, and anybody would do that. I guess the guy is just
territorial. Viewed us as trespassers."
Neither spoke for a moment.
"Sonic, is Knux designing robots, do you think? 'Member on the
radio, 'Come out here to--somewhere--and design ANOTHER robot'?"
Sonic turned his head and looked keenly at Tails. "Ya know, I'll
betcha he is. If Robotnik got him like I think he has, then Knux might
be doing anything. You know that saying, 'Bad company corrupts good
morals.' If we don't do something, Knuckles will be handing over the
title deed to Floating Island. Maybe let Robotnik use him as an
experiment, even! Gosh."
* * *
The radio buzzed in my hands. I adjusted the tuning knob and
tried again. "Doc, ya there?"
Robotnik's voice came through loud and clear. "Read you now,
Knuckles. What were you saying?"
"I said I got Sonic and his friend off the island. They're in
Hydrocity."
"Good." He sounded pleased. "Is there any way for them to get
back out?"
"Nope," I replied. "I'm disconnected from the waterworks, and
well, you know what happened to their plane."
"Yes," Robotnik purred. He seemed to be thinking. "Sonic still
has the chaos emerald. We need to get it from him."
"Why don;t you send out the new robot to get it from him?" I
asked. I was curious to see our newest creation in action.
"No!" Robotnik barked abruptly. "It's still to early. I don't
want Sonic to know about it yet."
"Well," I suggested, allowing a bit of my irritation into my
voice, "Why don;t you go down and get them?"
"Oh, I don;t think I can, Knux," Robotnik replied. "I've never
been to the waterworks, myself. I wouldn't know where to look. Besides,
if you took the emeralds once, you can do it again. I'll keep an eye on
the island for you."
I paused, considering. It didn't feel right, somehow, leaving the
island (of which I was Guardian) in the care of somebody I hardly knew.
But then again, what could it hurt? My optimism toward Sonic had faded.
After all, if it hadn't been for him I wouldn't have been nearly killed
in the fire. If not for him, a quarter of my island wouldn't at this
moment lie in smoking ruins. An, if not for him, Dr. Robotnik and I
would have all seven of the chaos emeralds. I couldn't think of anything
I would take more pleasure in than punching him out and taking the
stolen emerald from his limp body.
"Okay," I told Doc. "I'll hunt him down and get that emerald."
"Right," he replied through the radio. "I'll meet you in the level
1 intake/holding area. Out."
As I clicked off the radio, it occurred to me that for someone who
had never been to Hydrocity, Robotnik sure knew the best place to get
in. Oh well. Maybe he had meant he had never been all the way through
the place. Level 1 is a pretty public area.
I touched the spikes on my knuckles for which I had been named. I
couldn't wait to drive them into my rival's face ... but I would have
to find him, first.
* * *
"Uh, Sonic, shouldn't we be there by now?"
Sonic paused and nodded. "Well, yeah. But we haven't seen the next
hallway yet."
Tails hesitated and looked back. "Maybe it was that door back
there."
"The map said it was a hall, not a door," Sonic insisted
stubbornly. "Let's keep going."
The two kept walking down the dirty corridor. Sonic was getting
impatient. "It didn't look that far on the map," he complained. "Are we
caught in a time warp or something?"
Tails shook his head. "No, I'm telling you, we passed it already."
Irritated, Sonic turned on him. "Look--"
"Lookit!" Tails interrupted, heading off an argument. "What's that
in the floor?"
Sonic turned to look. There was a big metal grate in the brick
floor. It was about six feet long, and the edges met the wall on either
side. The roar of water passing beneath reached their ears.
"Is it a canal or something?" Tails asked, looking through the
grate into darkness. Sonic stood beside him, looking down as well.
"Maybe," he offered, "but it could be anything. A pump outlet, or a
well, or--" He stepped into the middle of the rusty surface and peered
downward. A rush of cool, damp air met him, an updraft from below. He
couldn't see the water, no matter how hard he looked.
Out of the darkness beneath Sonic's feet came a loud splash, like
a fish jumping. Then something struck the underside of the grate with a
clang. Startled, Sonic leaped off the metal. He and Tails jumped back
about six feet and stared back at the grate. What was that?
The clang sounded again, softer this time. Then a pair of fingers
emerged from the grate and curled around the mesh, like somebody behind
it was holding on. Over the sound of the water came a throaty chuckle.
Then a voice called, "Hey, anybody out there?"
Sonic looked at Tails, then hesitantly answered, "Uh, yeah."
"Ah," said whoever-was-behind-the-grate. "Can you open the grating
and let me out? I'm stuck in the canal down here."
Sonic and Tails walked to the grate and peered through it.
Hanging by both hands was a smallish crocodile. He was wet and
shiny, and his eyes gleamed as he looked up at them. "Hi," he said, and
gave them a toothy smile. "Open the grate, will ya?"
"Uh, how?" Sonic queried. He wasn't wild about helping this guy.
The crocodile nodded toward the left edge. "There should be some
big metal clamps on that side. Flip 'em up, then just lift the grating."
Sonic waved Tails back and mouthed, "Stay here."
"Why?" Tails mouthed back.
"I don't trust this guy," was Sonic's silent reply. Then he turned,
clanked across the grate and crouched down next to the six-inch clamps.
He saw at a glance they were rusted solid. He told the crocodile this.
"The only way I could open this is with a sledgehammer," Sonic said.
The crocodile sighed and looked down glumly. "I guess I'm stuck
here. The current's too strong to swim any further upstream, and the
exit downstream is blocked by a big watergate."
Sonic looked helplessly at Tails. Tails stared back, then looked
at the floor, thinking. Suddenly he looked up at Sonic, his eyes alight.
"The emeralds!" he mouthed.
Sonic grinned as the same idea struck him. He turned to the
crocodile. "Uh, would you mind turning the other way? I'm going to use a
--um--secret I have to open the latches."
"What is it?" the crocodile said. "Oh, I get it. If you tell me you
gotta kill me, right?"
"Right," Sonic answered humorously.
The crocodile obediently turned to face the other way. Sonic dug out
his two emeralds. He set them both on one of the clamps, then picked up
the green and began to move away. The red, left without its neutralizing
companion, began to glow brightly, its heat level skyrocketing.
Sonic stopped four feet away. The metal began to sizzle and burn
under the fierce heat. "Not hot enough," Tails murmured.
"Yeah it is," Sonic countered. "Wait a second."
The top layer of rust began to bubble, then curled away like a
rotten orange peel. The metal beneath glowed a dull red, but its color
was hard to tell over the scarlet of the chaos emerald. "What kind of
metal is this?" Sonic asked the crocodile.
"Iron," he replied without turning. "You guys burning through it?"
"Yeah, something like that."
There was silence for a moment. Then Sonic said, "Okay, I think
it's mutilated enough." He walked up to the red emerald, now sitting in
a puddle of molten metal, and dropped the green emerald on it. The red's
star-like glow faded to a hot glimmer, cooling almost instaniously.
Sonic nudged the two gems out of the way with the tip of his toe, then
picked them up. He set them both on the second clamp and repeated the
process.
The tunnel smelled of hot metal by the time the second one was
melted through. Sonic pocketed the emeralds, then he and Tails pulled
the grating open.
The crocodile climbed out of the slimy shaft gratefully. With the
grating open, Sonic and Tails could see the white, foamy water sloshing
by about six feet below. They closed the mesh with a clang. Then they
turned to the crocodile.
He was a head taller than Sonic. He was a dark green all over with
a yellow belly. A watertight cannister hung around his neck. "Hi, I'm
Vector," he said. "Thanks for gettin' me outta there."
"Um, you're welcome," Sonic said. "I'm Sonic the Hedgehog, and
this is Tails. What were you doing down there in the first place?"
Vector looked down sheepishly. "Well, I wasn't supposed to be,
really. I was checking on the canal, and the pavement was wet. I fell
in, and the current dragged me all the way down here." He looked at them
curiously. "What are you two doing down here? Nobody but personnel is
allowed lower than level 1."
Sonic and Tails did their best to explain why they had fell down
the pipe, but Vector seemed to know they were hiding something. However,
when Tails asked him to show them a way out, he complied.
The first thing he did was march them back down the hall to the
door they had passed. "See, I told you," Tails muttered to Sonic. Vector
opened the door, and they all stepped through.
The room was about the same size as the one with the holding tank,
but that was where the similarities ended. This room was scrubbed clean
as a whistle. Glaring white florescent lights stared down from the
ceiling. But it was what was in the rooms that grabbed their attention.
Four gleaming brass stills sat against either wall. Each one was
about five feet tall by six feet wide. The golden outsides were brightly
polished, and a network of pipes ran from the top of each one. They all
connected to a big metal pipe on the ceiling that ran the length of the
room and disappeared into the wall.
"What's all this?" Sonic asked, gesturing to the humming stills.
Vector looked around. "This is one of the desalination rooms.
Contrary to popular belief, we do other things down here than just
desal. Our biggest thing, really, is reverse osmosis, but you never
hear about that."
"What is it?" Tails asked.
"I'll tell you as we walk," Vector replied. "We've got a ways to
go."
They passed through the room and entered the dim hall on the far
side. It turned left and went straight for a good distance.
"Reverse osmosis," Vector explained, "is really just a pressurized
filter system. The water is pressurized, then fed through the filters.
The filters have big fancy names like 'semi-permeable' and
'ion-specific'. That only means they only let plain water through. They
strain out salt and other stuff. It doesn't get it a hundred percent
pure, though. About one percent of the salt water slips through. That's
fine for most mainland uses, like irrigation, and it's okay to drink.
But if you want it really clean, ya gotta desalinate it."
"Desalination is a high-tech way to boil water. We used to boil
it, actually, but boiling means you have to have it constantly heated
to get the amount of steam needed. (It's the steam, you know, that
counts. The steam, once it condenses, is pure. The impurities are
heavier, so they get left behind.) Constant heating uses a lot of fuel,
but if you hook a lot of stills together, you get a lot of steam and it
works better.
"The technique we use, mostly, is called flashing. It's fun to
watch, but it mostly happens in the stills. Like the ones you saw back
there. What we do is heat the water over a hundred degrees Celsius,
then hold it under pressure. (It'll stay hot a long time like that.)
Then, when we're ready for it, we release it into a vacuum. The water
flashes into steam. The stills we have are linked together at
successively lower pressures, you know, staggering it.
"We don't make as much desalinated water as the ROed water. RO
is easier to do, and we pump it straight to the mainland from our
holding tanks. Desal is more expensive, and we sell it mostly to the
industries that need pure water."
The three of them walked in silence a moment. Sonic and Tails
were thinking up questions. "Does Knuckles buy your water?" Sonic asked.
"You seem to be pumping a lot up to him."
Vector shook his head. "Nope. Ya see, our machinery is starting
to take up more space than our holding areas. And it does take time to
dig out more space under the ocean floor. So, a lot of times we end up
with more water than we have room for. Poor management, ya see. Se
we'd just been putting it back in the ocean until Knuckles came along.
He takes all the water we'll give him, so he's been kind of a Godsend."
"You ever met him?" Tails asked.
The crocodile shook his head. "Nope. Like to. Like to see the
Floating Island, too."
Sonic had another question all lined up. "You work down here?"
Vector shrugged. "Yes and no. I'm only part time. For the summer.
I generally hang around Maintenance. They let me do the underwater
repair stuff. That's 'bout it."
The three walked along in silence for a while. After five minutes
had passed, Vector unscrewed the thermos-like container that hung
around his neck, withdrew a walkman and headphones, donned them and
cranked the volume. After that, if Sonic and Tails had tried to talk
to him they wouldn't have gotten an answer anyway.
* * *
Thirty minutes later found them standing on a narrow ledge next
to a wide water chute. The chute was about three feet wide and looked
like a waterslide. It was about half full of dark, oily-looking water.
"The water's been treated with chemicals for bacteria," Vector
explained. "Not safe for drinking at all. Or swimming. The chutes go
all over the place, but this is the main one. Follow it to where it
meets the canal. Follow the canal left, upstream, until you find some
steps. Go up those, and you'll be on level one. The hallway will be
marked, and you'll be able to find your way out from there." Vector
fingered his headphones and looked down at the water. "The current gets
really strong once a few other chutes meet it, and the canal is plain
deadly. Stay out, stay alive, ya know?"
Sonic nodded. "Yeah, I know. Thanks."
"Hey, no problem. Got stuff ta do, now. See ya!"
Vector left them. Tails stepped to the edge of the walkway. "Too
bad it's so dangerous. Looks like it'd be fun to swim down."
Sonic, arms folded, said, "Yeah, too bad. Fulla chemicals. Well,
you know the saying, 'Hasta lasagna, don't get any on ya.' Let's go."
* * *
I had met Robotnik in level one. He had said he would get
'set up', so to make sure Sonic and Tails ended up in the level one
holding area. He had given me a nifty little radar device. It looked
like a little gameboy, except it used radar to scout out your
surroundings.
Nobody had seen them on level one, so I went down to sublevel 1A.
It was deserted as usual, so I turned the radar up full blast and
checked out what seemed to be miles of passages. No sign of them. I
actually began to worry. Hydrocity ain't safe, really. They use high
concentrates of chemicals in some places, and boil water in big open
vats in others. Between those is a network of pipes, canals, chutes
and gates. I knew they could both swim, but nobody could fight a current
like the ones down here.
I was highly relieved when I finally picked up two blips on the
screen. It looked like they were following the main waterway out to the
canal. Why they were going that way I didn't know. I didn't think there
were any stairways down there, but you never knew. I had to get to them
before they got to where they were going.
I pocketed the radar detector and began to run. I wasn't far from
them, and if I hurried, I could reach them as one of the smaller
waterways intersected the main one. Murderous thoughts began to fill my
head; murderous, hateful thoughts. And anger. Oh, those horrible
feelings! They consumed my mind and heart until I could think of
nothing else. I supposed it's a good thing Sonic did what he did ...
* * *
"Remember her face when she first saw us doin' stunts on the bi-
plane?"
"Oh yeah. Man, was she freaked." Tails sighed. "Too bad about our
plane."
"Yeah, I know. I can't believe it burned up. And so well! Not a
bit left."
"Musta been the chemicals in the bombs."
"Yeah, maybe. If the bombing was the D in disaster, then that was
the I."
"Uh-huh. What do you think the other letters will be?"
"I hope we don't get to find out." Sonic slowed to a walk. "Well,
here's the first intersection. Heavy current from here on out."
Two narrower channels joined the larger one at an angle on either
side, making the narrowing walls between them shaped like a pizza
slice. The ripply water churned below, looking dangerous. Sonic and
Tails jumped over the smaller chutes with no trouble and walked on,
talking unconcernedly. They didn't notice the figure pattering down one
of the walkways and entering their passage.
Knuckles slunk along behind them, thinking of the best way to get
the emerald. He decided deception was the best course.
"Hey Sonic!"
Sonic and Tails paused and looked back. "Knux," Sonic growled to
Tails, instantly suspicious. Aloud, he said, "Uh, hiya Knuckles."
The scarlet echidna hurried up to them. "Boy, am I glad I found
you guys. It's really dangerous down here."
Too friendly, and he didn't look them exactly in the eyes. Sonic
and Tailss' mental red flags were up and waving. They exchanged a
glance, then Sonic cut to the heart of the matter. "Is this about the
emerald?"
Knux stood up straight, hesitated, then nodded. Sonic's answer
was cold and measured. "No, Knux. It's rightfully mine, and YOU stole
the others from ME. No favors. Forget it."
Knuckles's reply was instanious and physical. His fist caught
Sonic in the face. Sonic fell back, eyes blazing from the pain. Knux
moved up a step, big fists up and ready. His face was dark with anger.
He swung again, but Sonic stepped back and he missed.
Sonic wiped his nose, and with a shock saw the red streak across
the back of his hand. His nose was bleeding--no--gushing. "Hey, you're
bleeding!" Tails said, startled. "He got you! Oh Sonic--" Furious,
Tails turned on Knuckles, thrusting his slight body between the two.
"Why don't you pick on somebody your own size, you jerk?" Tails
demanded.
Knuckles smiled. "Like you?"
He drew back one arm to punch him. But before the blow fell,
Sonic grabbed Tails from behind and shoved him sideways. Tails
stumbled, trying to duck Knuckles's punch, and tumbled into the water
chute. Sonic went with him.
The water was only three feet deep, but flowing very fast. It
dragged them downstream, away from their attacker. "Run, you cowards!"
they heard him yell. "I'm gonna get that emerald if I have to kill both
of you!"
Sonic looked at Tails, the blood staining his upper lip and mouth.
"He's lost his mind," he muttered. Tails nodded, and they both knew that
jumping into the canal had been the best thing to do.
* * *
I stood looking after them, unknowingly in the same stance Sonic
had taken when I had stolen the emeralds--back straight, head down,
hands clenched. My teeth were clenched as well; fury like I had never
known gripped me. I began to run after them on the walkway. I had to
know where they would end up.
* * *
Sonic and Tails were moving with the current, dog-paddling a
little to keep their heads above water. Sonic kept ducking his head,
trying to stop his nosebleed. It was beginning to slow down, but hadn't
quite stopped.
The water swirled them past another adjoining waterway, and the
main chute deepened about four inches. "Do you think we should try to
get out now?" Tails called above the noise of the water. Sonic pulled
himself up in the water and looked back. "Nope. Got the Red Fury on our
tail. Let's get as close to the canal as we can."
Tails looked back as well. Knuckles was trotting down the walkway
ten feet to their rear, eyes fixed on them.
"Sonic, uh, maybe you should give him the green emerald. He looks
really mad."
Sonic shook his head. "No way. The red one would go nuclear on us.
Then he'd know we'd found the way to get more emeralds and do it
himself."
Fifteen minutes and three waterways later, with the water
beginning to be dangerous, Sonic said, "Okay, I think we'd better get
out now." He jumped out of the water and grabbed at the top of the
chute. He found a fingerhold somehow and stayed there. The current
churned and dragged at his body, angry at the resistance. Sonic pulled
himself out, then looked around anxiously for Knuckles. He was nowhere
in sight. Relieved and uneasy at the same time, he turned to help Tails.
Tails had grabbed ahold of the edge, but wasn't strong enough to
drag himself up on the walkway. Sonic pulled him out, and they both
looked around nervously. The hall was empty, and the only sound was the
rushing of the water in the chute.
The two of them turned and began to walk down the passage, their
feet squelching in their shoes, ears tuned for any sound behind them. A
tense thirty seconds passed before anything happened.
A sharp patter of footsteps behind. They turned to see Knuckles
running at them. He tackled Sonic like a football player, driving him to
the floor. Sonic went down in surprise, but didn't stay there long. He
fought like a pinned wildcat, clawing, kicking and hitting. Even
Knuckles wasn't strong enough to keep him down, and in another instant
they were both on their feet, glaring at each other.
Tails stood against the wall, watching with a mixture of fear and
anger. Sonic and Knuckles clashed again, struggled, and separated. Then
Knux jumped forward, shoved Sonic backward and tripped him with a well-
placed toe. Then Knux was on him, using his heavier body to pin his
rival to the floor, trying to block Sonic's wild blows while dealing
them out himself.
Tails saw his chance. He lunged forward and rammed his shoulder
against Knuckles's ribs, knocking the echidna over sideways. Knux
turned, and almost carelessly socked Tails in the stomach. Tails
stumbled back and slumped against the wall, the breath gone from his
body.
In the instant that had taken, Sonic had sat up, planted both feet
in Knuckles's chest and kicked. Knux fell back and sideways -- and into
the water chute with a splash.
Sonic jumped to his feet, blood running hot with battle. Knuckles
was out of the fight for the time being, struggling against the current,
subdued by his very real danger. He was swept rapidly downstream.
Sonic helped the gasping Tails to his feet. "You all right, kid?"
Tails nodded, unable to speak. Sonic stood with him, looking in the
direction Knux had gone. As soon as Tails got his breath, they started
down that way.
After a few minutes of very fast walking, their ears caught a
vague roar, like a waterfall. As they drew closer, they saw the hallway
opened out into a long corridor. The water in the chute poured out into
a cement-sided canal below. Sonic and Tails stepped down into the lower
room. The canal ran under the wall to the right. "Do you see Knuckles?"
Sonic said to Tails. "I'd feel really bad if he drowned."
Tails looked at him questioningly. "After what he just did to us,
are you kidding?"
"C'mon, Tails, I want him to leave us alone. I don't want the guy
to get killed."
Tails realized Sonic was right, and grudgingly turned to scan the
canal. After a second he said, "There he is."
"Where?"
"There! See him?"
Sure enough, there was Knuckles. he was half in/half out of the
water, the spikes on his hands stuck in a crack in the cement. As they
watched, he began to drag himself up it, one fisthold at a time. "Uh on,
Tails," Sonic said, "we'd better get a move on. Looks like he's goin' to
be another Red Devil."
They turned to go back down the hallway, but Tails said, "Hey
Sonic, there's the stairway Vector told us about!"
There it was--a metal staircase leading up into the ceiling.
"C'mon," Sonic said, glancing in Kunckles's direction. The two dashed to
the stairs and clattered up them. At the top was a heavy steel door
marked 'Level 1'. Sonic twisted the handle and threw his weight against
it, but the door wouldn't budge. "I think it's locked, Tails," Sonic
said grimly. He glanced at his sidekick, but Tails didn't seem to have
heard. "Tails!"
The fox jumped. "What?"
"What are you doing?"
"Sonic, a teleporter just appeared down there!"
"Where?"
"Right at the foot of the stairs--don't you see it?"
"I don't see nothin', kid. You sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure, TEENAGER. Let's warp!"
"But I don't--"
Tails grabbed Sonic's hand and tore down the steps. "Quick," he
yelled, "before Knux gets out!" The little fox spun his double tails
and jumped the last six feet, dragging Sonic behind him. Sonic was
about to protest again that he still couldn't see any teleporter, but
the next instant he felt the teleporter catch his body and hurl him
upward. The golden, sparkling light surrounded them, propelling them,
carrying them.
The next instant they found themselves in the little cockpit room.
It was all shut down, as before. Tails turned to Sonic. "Toldja I saw
one," he said smugly.
"Oh, knock it off," Sonic replied. "It's not my fault I couldn't
see it--it was the teleporter's. Take player one. I'll be player two
this time."
The two climbed into the pilot seats. Sonic handed the chaos
emeralds to Tails, who took them solemnly and placed them in two of
the seven holes in the control panel. All the lights came on, the room
lurched as the power came on, and the cockpit shield opened to reveal
another maze. The floor colors were blue and dark green this time, and
the spheres were arranged differently.
"Two players," Sonic sang out, and waved to Tails as the panel
closed between their seats. A moment later the intercom crackled to
life. "Sonic, you there?"
"Sure. Where do you think I'd go?"
"Hey, the big pod is a lot nicer than the little one."
"Tell me about it. This is like a motorcycle feels after you've
been driving a tank."
"Yep. Okay, I'm gonna go this way. You can go that way, or the
other way; and don't hit the reds."
"Yes, mother."
"Oh, shut up."
The two pods split up. "Let's break the tie," Sonic said. "I
didn't hear the computer for this level. How many rings for this level?"
"Uh, seventy-two."
"Heck, another even number! Oh well. I'll bet I can beat you."
"HA! You're on."
The red pods cruised around the maze, turning the squares of blue
spheres to rings and collecting them into the pods' holds. They nearly
wrecked collecting the last fourteen spheres, and with relief watched
the red spheres fly up off the board and out of sight. The two pods
reconnected, and the panel between the seats re-opened. "Who won?" Sonic
asked.
Tails shrugged. "I donno yet. Oh, wait a minute, there it is."
The computer tallied up their scores and showed the results on the
little screen. "Player 1 = (45+32)= 127. Player 2 = (27+32) = 59.
Winner = Player 1."
"See?" Tails said. "I won.
"Yeah, yeah, but I'll win next time.
"Fat chance. Oh, here comes the emerald."
One of the empty slots next to their emeralds began to glow
brilliantly. The light inside the slot gathered itself together,
shrinking and growing brighter. Then the light resolved itself and
faded to a steady glimmer, and there was the gold chaos emerald. The
green emerald's glow faded from the brightness it had had during the
game. Its light was still dim, but a bit brighter than before.
The little screen blinked, but instead of displaying the
teleporter co-coordinence, it said, "Loading level 3."
"Cool!" Sonic said. "We get another level! Hang on, Tails--here we
go again!"
* * *
Dripping and cold, I hauled myself out of the canal. My face was
burning with anger and indignation. I was still raging mad. I crawled
away from the edge and slowly stood up, shivering. "I'm gonna get you,
Sonic," I muttered. I wiped the water out of my eyes, shook it out of
my hair, and started forward. I hadn't known about the access stairway
to level 1, but I knew Sonic and Tails must have. That's where they had
went. I clanked up the metal steps to the door at the top.
I turned the knob and pushed. The door wouldn't budge. "They
locked it," I thought hatefully. "That won't stop me--" Putting all my
emotion energy behind it, I swung one fist at the doorknob. It quivered,
but didn't give. I hit it again and again. My fists had ploughed through
ten feet of solid rock before, and I wasn't about to be foiled by a mere
metal door. About the fifth hit the knob broke off. I stuck my hand
through the hole and twisted the deadbolt gears. The lock snapped open.
I pushed open the door and strode into the hall beyond. They wouldn't
escape THIS time.
* * *
The red-orange light faded away, leaving Sonic and Tails standing
at the foot of the grey metal stairs. They were bewildered for a few
seconds until they remembered where they were, then Sonic said, "Well,
that was convenient. Two emeralds for the price of one."
"Yeah," Tails added. "That was fun. I still can't figure out how
you got more rings, though."
"Elementary, my dear Tails."
"Su-re. I think you cheated."
"How the heck could I cheat? I can barely drive!"
"Right. Well, let's get outta here."
The two clanked up the steps, only to find the previously locked
door standing open, knob missing, bolt broken. They stared at it, and
Sonic cast a suspicious glance behind them. "Well, I think we can
safely assume Knux was here," he mumbled. "But where is he now?"
Tails shivered. "He's such a grouch, he might be anywhere,
waiting for us."
Sonic drew a deep breath. "We'd better keep going. Maybe we can
get out of Hydrocity without meeting him."
The two set out. The first floor was cleaner and better lit than
the floor below, and only an occasional metal pipe snaked across the
ceiling. The plant seemed deserted at first, but the further they went,
the more people they saw--walking down the halls, talking, or, in one
case, in large tour groups.
Sonic stopped and asked a busy secretary for the fastest way
out of the factory. The cat was icily polite, as if she hated to be
disturbed. She told him to follow the hall all the way to its end and
turn right. At the end of that passage was an elevator. Sonic thanked
her and he and Tails departed, slightly ruffled by the cat's insulting
air.
They made it to the end of the hall and turned right, but instead
of finding an elevator, there was a pair of swinging doors marked
'Personnel Only, Do Not Enter.'
Tails looked at Sonic, who shrugged and said simply, "She lied."
"Maybe she meant a left turn."
"Maybe." Sonic turned to the doors and looked through the glass
window in one. "It looks like some sort of processing center," he said.
"The floor is about two stories down, and I think it's full of water.
There's a walkway all the way around it."
"Anybody in there?"
"Just one guy. Looks like he's talking to somebody below the
walkway; I can't see who."
"Maybe he could show us how to get out of here."
"Yeah."
Sonic pushed the door open and stepped onto the walkway with Tails
behind him. He walked up to the lone figure, tapped him on the shoulder
and said, "Excuse me, could you tell me how to get out of Hydrocity?"
The person said gruffly, without turning, "Authorized Personnel
only. You shouldn't be here."
"I know, but I can't get anyone to--"
The person whirled around. His teeth flashed in a smile as he
said, "Well Sonic, you want to get out of here, huh?" Knuckles. He was
wearing a coat with a hood, so Sonic hadn't recognized him from behind.
The blue hedgehog quickly moved back a step, pushing Tails behind
him. "We meet again, Knux," he said, trying not to show how startled he
had been.
Knuckles folded his arms. "You want out?"
"Yeah."
"Give me the green chaos emerald and I'll show you how."
"No."
"FINE!"
Knuckles stepped forward, grabbed Sonic's arm and shoved him
against the railing. Sonic tried to struggle, but Knuckled deftly
twisted his arm up between his shoulderblades. Sonic abruptly stopped
moving. Knux was a fighter and much stronger; he held Sonic powerless.
"Like it?" he hissed in Sonic's ear. Sonic could only gasp in
pain. The larger echidna was leaning against him, pressing his neck
against the top bar of the railing, choking him. "I want the emerald,"
Knuckles snarled softly. Sonic felt him turn a little and growl, "Keep
back, fox. I'll break his arm if you come any closer."
"Tails!" Sonic gasped. He was strangling, darkness beginning to
close in around him. Wildly he weighed the consequences of giving Knux
the emerald and being done with it.
* * *
I felt Sonic shudder. He would pass out in a minute. "Weakling,"
I snarled. "Give it up and I'll let you go."
I couldn't see Sonic's face the way I was standing, but Tails
could. He was only five feet away, indecision written all over him. I
sneered at him. Sonic struggled weakly, wheezing a little. "Okay," he
coughed. "I'll ... give ... you ..."
"NO!" Tails screamed. I turned to look at him, only to see him
flying at me. He hit me as he had by the water chute, his shoulder in
my ribs. I stepped back unintentionally, letting Sonic off the railing.
I was dimly aware of his gasp and head shake, but my attention was
directed to Tails. The little fox should have been a cougar. No, strike
that--if he had been that, he would have done me a lot more damage. He
was kicking hitting, scratching, his big ears flat against his head,
teeth bared. I couldn't fight back with my hands full of Sonic, so I
let go Sonic's arm, grabbed his shoulders, lifted him above the
railing and shoved him over.
I turned back toward Tails, only to have the little creep grab
my arm and bite as hard as he could. I threw him to the ground in rage.
He bounded to his feet, snarling, slight body heaving. "Cool it," I
said to him. "This isn't your argument."
"It is now," he snapped. "You'll never get our emeralds, you hear
me? NEVER!" Tails took off running, grabbed the top of the railing and
vaulted over.
(Expletive Deleted), his teeth were sharp! The bite wasn't
bleeding, but I would have the half-circle mark for days. I can't
describe the hot fury I felt as I examined it. So, now it was Tails,
along with Sonic, I needed to get rid of. Well, I could arrange that.
Without bothering to look over the railing at them, I crossed the
walkway to a control panel in the corner. I pulled down two levers and
waited. What would happen next would be fun.
Suddenly it struck me. Tails had said "Emerald's'".
* * *
The water was only twenty feet below the walkway. It was dirt and
salty; fresh from the ocean. The holding room was normally empty, but
Robotnik had arranged for another tank to be dumped into it.
Sonic was still gasping as he trod water, eyes roaming
suspiciously around the room. There was no way out; the water level
should have been fifteen feet higher. Obviously a trap. As Sonic was
observing this, Tails was swimming back and forth, adrenaline still
pumping, hot with anger. "You sure you're all right, Sonic?" he asked
for the third time.
Sonic looked at him. "Tails, if you ask me again I'm gonna dunk
you. YES! My body is working properly in every function! That includes
breathing. I'm fine, really."
"Well, if you're not, I'm gonna tear Knuckles apart."
Sonic was inclined to agree with him, but said, "No you're not. We
still need to tell him--"
He stopped as the water began to swirl and churn mysteriously,
boiling as if fanned by a propeller. The water vibrated faintly with a
low hum, as if machinery were operating in the bottom of the pond. The
two were swept apart.
"What is this?" Tails called above the sloshing of the water.
"I donno; the first thing that comes to mind is a shark feeding
frenzy, but I don't--"
"Sonic! You really think that?"
"Naw--too impractical. Try to stay above water."
The water had a definite motion, now--rotating clockwise in the
tank like a whirlpool. Its speed gradually increased. The center dipped
down and down, and the edges splashed up against the walls, higher and
higher. The hum of machinery grew louder. Sonic and Tails were
automatically forced toward the sinking center. "Stay out of the
vortex!" Sonic cried to Tails, paddling with the current, trying to keep
near the walls. Tails tried to reply, but caught a wave in the face and
coughed.
* * *
Robotnik was sitting in the bottom of the tank, operating the pumps
and propeller from inside his little underwater craft. He kept me filled
in on the radio. "Yes, it's working nicely, Knux. You're a genius. In a
few minutes they will be drawn into the center."
"Then what happens?"
"We'll hold them there until they drown."
I rubbed the bite on my arm. "Good."
I couldn't help but think of what Tails had said. "Emeralds."
Plural. It could have been just a slip, but he seemed to be referring
to ones they had. It worried me. How could they have got more? Really,
the emeralds themselves played in who retrieved them--usually one had
to complete a sort of game or maze to earn one. But how? How did they
do it?
I walked to the edge of the walkway and leaned over the rail,
looking down. The whirlpool was going nicely. The funnel in the center
was ten or fifteen feet deep; I could make out the rotating blades
below it. Sonic and Tails were being sucked into it, slowly but surely.
I folded my arms on the metal bar and rested my chin on them, watching.
How had they got more emeralds? How many did they have?
I lifted my radio in one hand. "Doc, they, uh ..." Something
stopped me from informing him of what I had learned. A protective
instinct, maybe.
"What was that, Knuckles?"
I cleared my throat, thinking of a cover-up answer. "They're
almost to the center."
"Ah, good."
As the two were sucked closer and closer to the vortex, my
feeling of uneasiness increased. I fought it, telling myself it would
be good to have them both out of the way, but well, it just didn't seem
right. I thought, "No, I'm not worried about them--just the emeralds."
But my conscience, way down where I had buried it, was still prodding
me.
They were only a couple of feet from the dip. "Doc," I said, "we
shouldn't go through with this. They've still got information they
could give us."
"I'm not stopping now. Only a couple more minutes and my nemesis
will be vanquished."
"But Doc! They--"
"You're not turning chicken on me, are you?" The way he said it
made my face burn with shame. I shut up.
Then they were in the vortex, sucked below the surface in the
incredible current. As they went under, I suddenly remembered the time
I had found a cat washed up on the beach. It had drowned. It was stiff
and cold, and so pitifully lifeless ... I had been sick for days after I
had buried it, vowing I never wanted to see another creature drowned in
my life. Well, here I was, helping drown two people I knew, that I had
talked to. The horror of what I was doing came over me. And I knew in
that moment that I couldn't go through with it.
I whirled and ran back to the control panel in the corner.
Frantically I pushed up the two levers, then reset a few other things.
Stop the propeller! No, better yet, reverse it--spin it the other way!
The machinery roared below, and the rushing, sucking sound of the
whirlpool was replaced by a huge splashing, like rapids. I'll never know
how it worked, but suddenly, it seemed the vortex turned upside down. A
huge column of water shot up and out of the tank, bursting the grating
the ceiling and shooting up.
I had no idea that we were below the island, or that it was
connected to that particular outlet. All I knew was, as I watched the
fountain shoot into the ceiling, was that Doc would not be happy.
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