Doomed
By: Alex Gariepy (orion@travel-net.com)

LEGAL STUFF
=============================================================================
This story borrows characters that are trademarks of the SEGA Sonic video
games, the Sonic SatAM cartoon and the Archie comics based on Sonic. All
other characters that are not are the property of the owner. This story
can be distrubuted freely, but in occasion for a website hosting the
story, an e-mail consent is neccessary. It should not be distrubuted for
profit. It should be distrubuted in its entirity, without any changes.

AUTHOR'S NOTE
=============================================================================
This is it! After this story, the real changes begin. If you're confused
from 'Not so fast!', don't worry, it's not supposed to make sense. If
you DO know what's going on, I suggest you keep it to yourself and not spoil
it for the others. Anyways, here's the latest story. Is Robotnik dead?
Also, just to let those who do know, I do have a site which contains
all of these fan-fictions. It's at http://www.travel-net.com/~orion/tigff.html
Oh yeah, just to make sure, I added new legal stuff to the text, stating
that the distrubution of this text is not for profit, and also can be posted
on another website WITH e-mail consent. The sites that have consent will be
at the bottom of my page, so any other pages holding these fics did not
have permission. Thank you.

MAIN CHARACTERS
=============================================================================
Tigui Gariepy*
Sonic T. Hedgehog
Princess Sally Acorn
Miles "Tails" Prower
Rotor Walrus
Bunnie Rabbot
Antoine D'Coolette
Sir Charles Hedgehog (Uncle Chuck)
Meier Turtle*
Burrows Bear*
Snively
Dr. Robotnik

* - read legal stuff

STORY
=============================================================================
	The day has come. The Doomsday Project is nearly completed, and
today was the decisive day. If Robotnik wins, Mobius is in deep trouble.
If the Freedom Fighters won, Robotnik's empire will be dealt a terrible
blow.
	Tigui? Well, it seems that out of all the days he could be
sleeping, this day was probably the worst opportunity. Night was nearly
falling, and Tigui was there at his usual tree, resting up.
	Burrows was sent to tell Tigui of the important meeting, "Tigui,
wake up!"
	Tigui slurred his speech as he opened his eyes slighty, "What
is it? Can't you see i'm trying to dream."
	Burrows grumbled, "There is an important meeting in the war
room."
	"Tell 'em I don't wanna come."
	"But they said it was very important, it seems like this could be
the biggest battle in this war. We need all the help we can get."
	Tigui was too stubborn to listen, "All battles are the same,"
he tried to sound stern, "Pinechester, the time we had that nearly
unsuccessful reconnaisance mission, the time Sonic and the others
had to save Sir Charles when his cover was blown. This battle is no
importance to me."
	"But--" Burrows contested. Sure, he knew the conditions of Tigui's
entry into the Freedom Fighters. It clearly stated that Tigui could reject
going on a mission at anytime. But this mission is too important to
pass down on. By the urgency of Sally's voice when she told him, it must
be important.
	Tigui interrupted Burrows during his train of thought, "I said no."
His voice sounded almost childish.
	Burrows sighed, "Alright, but if we lose this battle..."
	"Just go."
	Burrows hated being ordered. He was an officer, after all. Being
ordered by a non-anthro cat was not an experience he like to have. However,
he decided to go anyways. Let him suffer, the bear thought angrily, the little
shrimp deserves it.
	Tigui, in the meanwhile, was just too tired to go anyways. he thought,
he's seen this war continue and nothing has been gained, nor lost. Most of the
things that happened to him usually happened here in Knothole, his
intervention, his fight with Sonic, the accident he had. So, what's in
Robotropolis that could be so important to him?
	Project Doomsday, that's what.
=============================================================================
	Tigui was unnoticed to the events going on during the night, even
when Sonic and Sally came back after defeating Robotnik, Tigui was still
there, sleeping. Neither Sonic, Sally, Tails, nor even Burrows felt like
waking him up. He seemed much too tired to be woken up.
	Of course, he's going to be surprised in the morning.
=============================================================================
	The next day after the Doomsday project exploded. Sonic and Sally
were in Meier's office being examined....
	Meier blinks at his findings, "Well, it seems that the power stones's
energy has weakened since last night. You still have some, but you won't have
enchanced abilities."
	Meier then blinks, "Hey, what are you two doing? No holding hands in
the office! This is an office, not some.... love-fest."
	Sonic blinks, "I wasn't holding her hand."
	"Then what's that?" He points.
	Sonic blinks and lets go, "I don't know, I don't think I wanna
know.... c'mon doc, what else do you got?"
	Meier mutters under his breath, "Maybe a hedgehog tranquillizer
will help him."
	Sally couldn't help but giggle, and Sonic, pretending to be innoncent,
asks, "What?"
	Meier composes himself, "Well, i'll leave you two here to recall
whatever. Just don't do anything silly!"
	Sonic said bitterly, "We won't..." he then looks to Sally, I think,
he thought.
	Meier went back to other duties. "So," Sally smiled, "It's finally
over."
	"Yeah," Sonic still confused, "Robuttnik's gone."
	"Say it again," Sally said.
	"Ok," Sonic blinked, "Robuttnik's gone."
	"No," she smiled again, "the other thing." She was referring to
the time when Tigui's intervention made Sonic say it.
	"C'mon, Sal," he retorted, "You know it."
	"You didn't seem confident when you thought I was with Tigui,"
she grinned, "Face it, Sonic, you were jealous."
	"Jealous?" Sonic blinked, "How can I be jealous? There was no
possibility on you and Tig being.... you know. Besides, there was
no way that an anthro can be with a non-anthro."
	"So why did you say it?" she retorted.
	"Two things, Sal. One, i'm not very trustworthy of that cat. Two,
I did what I thought was right."
	Sally disbelieved it, "Sure, Sonic. Sure."
	Sally grinned, and thought she could 'tease' Sonic by
kissing him on the cheek. She did so, and Sonic blinked.
	"Whoa, Sal," Sonic waved his arms, hesitating, "You heard what
Meier said. Ain't cool..."
	"What?" Tigui yelled from outside, enough for most of Knothole to
hear it. Sonic and Sally turned their heads out the window to see Tigui
listen to Burrows telling him off the news.
	He was surprised, alright.
=============================================================================
	Burrows kept his face composed when he told Tigui the news,
but inside he tried not to laugh at Tigui's expense.
	"What do you mean the war's over?" Tigui asked, confused
as ever.
	"That mission," Burrows chuckled, "was our last. Robotnik
was making some sort of Doomsday project. However, Sonic and Sally
managed to destroy the project, with Robotnik inside. He's gone!
Finally."
	"Why didn't you tell me?" Tigui angrily said.
	"I didn't know it was 'that' important at the time," Burrows
responded, "also, you seemed too stubborn to even get off your..."
	Tigui interrupted before Burrows finished, "Lemme get this straight.
Robuttneck built this, Doomsday thing, then Sonic and Sally went inside
the machine and blew it up, with Robuttneck. Now, tell me, how did they
managed to get out of the explosion? Sonic, I can understand... but.."
	"They both used the power stones," Burrows said.
	"The power what?" Tigui was even more confused.
	"Power stones," Burrows said annoyingly, "We found one of these
things before you arrived here, Robotnik had the other. In the last
battle, Sonic stole the power stone from Robotnik and combined
the stones with each other to help destroy the project."
	"Oh," Tigui's response was quick. He never even heard
about these power stones before. They probably didn't feel it was
neccessary, he thought.
	Burrows nodded, his neck feeling a bit stiff for some reason,
he put one of his hands to massage the tension.
	"So I guess we'll be moving into Robotropolis first thing,
right?" Tigui tried to hide his confusion.
	Burrows frowned slightly, and shook his head, "No, not today.
Today we'll be celebrating our victory with some kind of party.
Unfortunately, we won't be entering Robotropolis to reclaim it
until after this is over, which they say will be about a week or so."
	Tigui tilted his head, "You don't seem so confident."
	"I'm not," Burrows said strongly, "I mean, even with
Robotnik gone, I would suggest we take Robotropolis while
the getting's good. For all we know, his nephew, er, what's his name?"
	"Snively," Tigui frowned, "I see where you're getting at.
He may not be dead, and if we don't take Robotropolis soon,
Snively may take over where Robotnik left off."
	"I told them that in the war room early this morning,"
Burrows confirmed, "Sally says that Snively was probably killed
in the explosion along with Robotnik. Sonic simply said that
even if Snively is gone, how would he do anything. The others just agreed."
	Tigui thought for a moment. Sure, the Freedom Fighters may have
beaten Robotnik, but what about Snively. Though he hasn't encountered
Snively very much, it seems that even a guy who many Freedom Fighters
would say to be a wuss could still be a threat. After all, he was
Robotnik's aide, so may know some things that his uncle knew, like
how to utilize all off the empire's machines, including the
SWATbots.
	Burrows sighed while Tigui thought, "Well, I better get
Knothole stage all ready. Suppposedly the party starts at about noon
or so. See you there?"
	Tigui, a little startled, looks at Barracks, "Um, yeah. Sure,
i'll be there."
	And with that, Burrows left, leaving Tigui to continue
thinking.
=============================================================================
	Part of Robotnik's old fortress was still there since the explosion
of Project Doomsday. At the seat where Robotnik would usually sit every
single day of operations, a small man was sitting there.
	Snively looked at all the monitors, seeing WorkerBots working
as hard as they can to fix all the damage done by the Project.
Snively felt great as he watched. They were no longer working
for Robotnik.
	They were working for Snively.
	The thought made Snively laugh. Robotnik spent ten years after his
coup to build his empire. However, unlike what Robotnik had predicted on
long ago, he didn't get to control all of Mobius so quickly. No, the rebel
Freedom Fighters kept attacking them from their secret base, including
a certain hedgehog whom later Robotnik would obsess about. However,
Robotnik is dead, and now Snively is the ruler. This time, Snively
thought, i'll finally do things my way, find Knothole, and finally
finish the job Robotnik planned on doing, the elimination of Sonic
the Hedgehog.
	Snively turned on the communicator, "SWATbot 4th and 6th divisions
go to the repair zones currently in progress and continue the patrol of
the area until ordered otherwise. All other SWATbot divisions maintain
your posts and be alert for any signs of intruders. If an intruder is
spotted, I want the intruder to be captured."
	A bunch of confirmations respond to Snively's orders, "Also,
have some SpyGlobes spread all around the borders of the city. If an
intruder is found, follow it and feed the coordinates to the nearest
SWATbot division and order for them to intercept."
	Another confirmation made, Snively leans back in his chair and
smiles.
=============================================================================
	It was noon, and Knothole stage was ready for a big celebration.
Outside of the bleachers, several stands were installed, many of which held
food and drinks. And, because of Sonic's immense appetite of his favorite
food, Uncle Chuck was there along with the Knothole chef to help fix
up tons of plates of chili dogs.
	"A hero's dish for a hero," the chef said as he brought another dish
over to lay on the many service tables.
	"You mean dishes, don't you?" Uncle Chuck added.
	"Oh yeah, keep on forgeting this is Sonic we're talking about,"
the chef tried not to laugh, as much as he could.
	Meanwhile, as some of the citizens of Knothole sit down in the
bleachers with their food, Rotor was busy trying to work with
the microphone that he recently placed.
	He turned on the speakers, each was on each side of the stage,
then tested the microphone, "Testing, testing... (static) 1, 2,"
a large static emitted.
	Meier was sitting in the front of the bleachers when Rotor tested
the microphone. The sound made him jump, his head throbbing.
	Rotor grumbled as he went to work on the speakers again. Meier
fixed his glasses as he said, "You shouldn't be so loud."
	"I'm just testing these things," Rotor angerly said, "If you have a
problem with it, I suggest you go to the back."
	"What? And lose this perfect seat in front? Heh, yeah right."
	Further up the bleachers, Tails sat there in his seat a little tired,
but also a bit bored. Bunnie was bringing her meal down to the bleachers
when she saw Tails, and sat beside him.
	"What's wrong, now, sugah?" Bunnie asked.
	Tails turned to face Bunnie, "Well, the war's over. And now, because
Robotnik's gone, I guess the fighting will stop."
	"And what's wrong with that?" Bunnie tried not to sound so rude.
	"Oh, nothing's wrong," Tails said quickly, "it's just that, I won't
be able to prove i'm just as good as Sonic or the others."
	Bunnie, realizing what Tails meant, nodded, "Well, I wouldn't worry
about that. Even if Robotnik's gone, we still have a long road ahead of us.
We still have to find a way to get all the bots back to normal, as well
as disband all the SWATbots. So, you'll have plenty of time."
	Tails stood there for a few moments, looking down at his feet,
thinking, then looked back up, "Ok. Thanks for the talk."
	"No problem," Bunnie smiled.
	Back near the stands, Antoine was looking at the various plates
of food he had to pick, "Let's see, there's 'ze chili dogs," his voice
more annoyed as he looked further, "more chili dogs, again more chili
dogs, and, ah yes, too many more chili dogs." He put his left hand
on his forehead and shook his head, "Why is 'zis world so obsessed with
'ze hedgehog?" Antoine put down his hand and let out a sigh, finding
at last different food on thhe other end of the table. Some hamburgers,
french fries, and an assorted number of toppings, plates, forks, and knives.
	Antoine took the time to get what he could grab, no chili dogs though,
and began making his descent down the bleachers, he sat in the row between
where Meier had his 'perfect' seat, and where Bunnie and Tails were talking.
Burrows, though, decided to go to the back row.
	The late arrivals were that of Tigui, Sonic, and Sally. Sonic was first
to come by, who quickly grabbed a whole plate of chili dogs and went quickly to
the stage and sat in one of the stage chairs, scarfing down the chili dogs.
Meier, still waiting, and in the front row, tried not to look directly
at Sonic eating, for he may lose his appetite. Sally casually made her
way into the area, being greeted by the many furs that she passes by. She went
to the stage and went to help with Rotor, who was nearly done working on the
sound systems. TIgui was last to come by. By the time he did, Uncle Chuck
and the chef abandoned their posts near the stands to join the others. Tigui
took a plate and layed it on the floor just close to the stairway to the
bleachers, then grabbed one small hamburger and layed it on the plate. He
sat near the plate, taking a nibble of the burger now and then as Sally was
ready to give her speech.
	The crowd began to hush each other as Sally made her way to the center
of the stage, microphone in her hand. She tested the microphone first, paused,
then spoke...
	"Citizens of Knothole, and members of the Freedom Fighters, last
night we have blown one of Robotnik's schemes. However, not only did we prevent
Mobius from going into further problems, but we have also destroyed Robotnik
himself. He was in the Project when it exploded, which means that, after
all we fought for, we have finally beaten Robotnik."
	Some cheers were heard for a moment before Sally spoke again, "But our
task is not over. Our next task will be to go into Robotropolis and begin the
reconstructing process. However, in the meantime, we will celebrate, celebrate
the end of Robotnik's empire, and the beginning of freedom."
	More cheers were heard again, with the exceptions of Tigui, who just
watched, "Oh yes," Sally spoke, "because he asked me to, and because you would
probably want to hear from him, I will allow Sonic to come up to give his own
speech." Sally sounded a bit reluctant when she finally relinquished the
mirophone over to Sonic, but most of the crowd wanted to hear the hedgehog
speak anyways.
	Sonic finally had his last chili dog finished by the time it was
his turn to speak, he jogged up and took the microphone from Sally politely
and spoke, "Thanks, Sal," he looked over to the crowd, seeing the many
people that turned out. He then looked up and saw Tigui near the stands,
Tigui's look was not very pleasing, but he didn't seem angry, just a little
disgruntled about something. That thought stayed in Sonic's head as he
composed himself so he can speak, "Well, as Sal told to you earlier, we
still have a lot of work to do now that's Robuttnik's gone. But, now
that he is gone, I say we all make the best of our victory and party."
	It was rather quick a speech that Sonic made, but most
of the crowd didn't mind it. Instead, they just cheered as happily as they
could, just because of the fact that they won. Sally took the microphone
back and spoke again, "Okay, everybody. In a few minutes, the stage
will be ready to make a presentation based on some of the battles we made.
Special thanks go to the many volunteers who will act out the roles
of the many Freedom Fighters and villains. In the meantime, I suggest
that you can freely talk with one another before the show begins.
Thank you."
	A few minutes later, the show was still being set-up. Sonic, Sally,
and many of the volunteers were talking behind the stage. Sonic glance around
to see one of the actors rehearsing, as Sonic.
	"Sal," he turned to look at her, "are you sure it's a good idea to let
this show go on?"
	"Of course," she said, "why you ask?"
	Sonic turned back to the actor, who hasn't noticed him, "I'm not sure
if this guy is good enough to play me. The guy's not fast, his costume looks
silly, and my quills aren't like that. What if he trips or something?"
	"It won't mean that everyone will think you're clumsy, Sonic," Sally
smiled, "besides, even if he does foul up, at least we'll see a side of Sonic
we rarely see."
	Sonic smiled for a moment, then frowned back again, "Hey! What's
that supposed to mean?"
	Sally tried not to laugh, "You don't have to worry, Sonic, we all
might get embarrassed, anyways," she looks over to see the actor rehearsing
as Sally, "think of it as a 'roasting the host' show."
	Sonic shrugged, thinking of something, "Um, yeah, whatever."
	"What is it now?" Sally muttered.
	"Oh," Sonic blinked, "nothing, it's just that... well, remember a few
weeks back when we had that recon-thing mission with me, Burrows and Tig?"
	"Yeah, what about it?"
	"I don't know," he put his right hand behind his neck, "it's just that
when I asked Tigui if he saw anything during his trip, he seemed to hesitate
for a moment, then said nothing."
	"So?"
	"When we were all on the stage back there, I took a moment to look
at Tigui. When I looked at him, something in my gut told me something's in
his mind, something he's hiding."
	"Tigui is on his own little quest to go home, Sonic, he has plenty
of things on his mind."
	"I know, but something's up, and I gotta find out what."
	Sally frowned, not liking where this is going, "Sonic, you're
not gonna follow him everywhere, are you?"
	"Of course I am, why?"
	Sally sighed, "Well, I guess I can't stop you. You're probably
gonna do it anyways."
	"Don't worry, Sal," Sonic assured her, "He won't even know
i'm there."
	"That's gonna be tough," Sally said, "since Tigui is one of the best
reconnaissance furs in Knothole."
	"Just trust me, Sal. I'll find out."
	A breif pause entered between the two, "Alright," Sally spoke, "He
does seem to be hiding something. Might as well."
	"See ya later, Sal," Sonic waved as he walked passed the crowd.
	"Now?" Sally blinked.
	"The sooner, the better," Sonic said as he left.
=============================================================================
	Enough was enough, Tigui thought as he moved away from the crowd,
it's time that someone better find out what's happening in Robotropolis,
just to make sure we all don't go marching into a trap. Might as well
go there myself.
=============================================================================
	Sonic was going up the stairway through the bleachers. However,
when he saw Tigui leaving, he was wondering why. Then he realized it,
"He's going to Robotropolis," he said to himself. Since Sonic thought there
may be dangers still going in the city, he decided to prepare himself
just in case. He went back to his hut and picked up his backpack. Afterwards,
he put in a power ring, then started to follow Tigui towards the city.
=============================================================================
	Snively was sitting in his chair when he was alerted by a call
from a SpyGlobe. He turned his head over to the monitor and looked.
His face didn't look shocked, nor pleased, to see a small non-anthro cat
snooping around Robotropolis.
	"So," Snively muttered to himself, "it seems that i'll have
my first catch after all."
	He turned quickly to the speaker, and spoke into it,
"SWATbot divisions closest to intruder, intercept and capture."
	The SWATbots acknowledged, and were on their way.
=============================================================================
	Tigui was on what seemed to be the most deserted street in
Robotropolis. Tigui shook his head disbelievingly, "This doesn't
seem right," he said to himself, "unless all the SWATbots are
deactivated, this place has gotta be filled with those robots somewhere."
	The SpyGlobe which followed Tigui was dismissed from its mission as
it fed the co-ordinates to the SWATbots and then left the scene. On its way,
it hit a small piece of wire, which made a small whipping sound.
	Tigui then stopped, listening for any type of sound. He waited for
a while before he heard something. When he did, his heart started
pounding. It was SWATbots, all right. Sure, he can handle a couple
or so, but the sound of those steps didn't sound like a few, they sounded
like a hundred.
	"Eep," was all Tigui said before the SWATbots came within firing range.
They began firing. The SWATbots, almost typically, seemed to miss Tigui
on every shot. However, it was when Tigui began his retreat that one of the
shots got lucky and hit Tigui on his right leg. The initial shock made
Tigui unconcious. The SWATbots advance to pick Tigui up. Tigui was only
stunned, but he has a burn on his leg.
	The SWATbots began carrying Tigui the way the SWATbots came. Meanwhile,
Sonic, who was far from the scene at the time, finally arrived when he saw
the SWATbots carry Tigui.
	Sonic, not wanting to tackle so many SWATbots, decided the best course
will be to follow them and find out exactly what is going on.
=============================================================================
	Tigui woke up a few minutes later. He looked around to see that
he was over at what was Robotnik's fortress. He remembered that time
Robotnik brought him here, all too well. The room had only a few SWATbots on
guard.
	He then noticed a small figure hiding behind one of the big monitors
on the right side of the room. It was Sonic. Apparently, Sonic was able to
go by security undetected, because most of the SWATbots went back to their
posts on the outskirts of Robotropolis. He then resumed looking around,
soon finding Snively sitting in Robotnik's chair.
	Tigui's first reaction was to run, and run fast. However, the
burn on his right leg prevented him from moving anywhere. Snively
watched in amusement.
	"So, Tiggy," Snively said, "It seems that you are now just a
prisonner of war."
	"The name's Tigui!" the cat growled, "And I don't know what
you're talking about."
	"Don't play stupid with me," Snively said angerly, "it's obvious
you are now with the Freedom Fighters. Ever since you meddled in on two
seperate occaisions, both when the Freedom Fighters were attacking."
(Those two occaisions are in 'Tigui watches...' and 'Not so fast!')
	"So what?" Tigui said, "It doesn't mean I know their base location."
	"I know you're lying, but I wasn't even thinking of trying to get
that information out of you," Snively countered, "Besides, i'll get that
information from the next Freedom Fighter who will fall, surprised by
my alert SWATbots. No, i'm just wondering where that stone from the time
machine is."
	"What makes you think I have it?"
	"Oh, really," Snively frowned, "you think I was just letting you
lay down on the floor unconcious now, do you? I had a scan run by you, and
I know for a fact that your DNA has changed. It seemed too drastic
a change to have been caused by a group of rebel Freedom Fighters. There
are two explanations for this. One, you somehow have the ability to
transform, but I doubt that very much. Or two, some type of magic
was involved."
	"And what makes this stone so special?" Tigui asked curiously.
	Snively thought for a moment. Should I tell him about it? he thought.
Why not? It's not gonna be a big deal, anyways, "It was long ago. During
the Great War, Robotnik left somewhere, don't know exactly where, but
when he came back, he brought that stone as some kind of 'present
from the natives'. Little did we know at that time it possessed a great deal
of magic. However, while the war raged on, I was bored stiff, so I brought
the stone along with other supplies to the Overlanders colony for scanning.
When I found out about it, I was simply shocked. However, when I was
about to leave the colony, we were attacked by the Naugus's army. I
was the only survivor of the attack, and quickly went back to
Mobotropols to tell the new to Robotnik. You see, this stone has
magic dealing with time, but we never found out how to harness the
energy...."
	"And that's where I came in," Tigui noted, "A guinea pig for your
testing."
	"I never wanted that to happen," Snively pointed out, "that was
Robotnik's own mistake. That idiot cost us a chance to harness that power,
all because he wanted a pet cat."
	Tigui was shocked by the whole matter, he was brought onto Mobius
because Robotnik wanted a pet? How annoying, he thought.
	Snively stood up from his chair, walking towards Tigui, "You know,
I don't think you're much use to me roboticized or alive. So, why not
I just kill you on the spot." Snively takes out a pocket knife and draws
closer towards Tigui, who tried to drag himself away as much as possible.
	Sonic, who stayed hidden the whole time, was about ready to ditch his
cover and save the day when all of a sudden the door went opened, causing
Sonic to hide again.
	Snively stopped when he saw the figure, almost trembling with fear.
He dropped the knife on the floor, then fell to his knees.
	Both Sonic and Tigui were shocked when they saw the figure that
entered the room. Sonic silently cursed as the figure that stepped in
was none other than Robotnik himself.
	Both Snively and Robotnik were still unaware of Sonic's presence,
as well as the few SWATbots that were inside the control room. Robotnik
walked in with a disgruntled look. He reached out for Snively's neck
and picked him up, "Idiot am I?" he growled.
	Snively struggled in Robotnik's grip, trying to get at least gasp
a breath or so, "How...." Snively choked.
	Robotnik threw the now helpless Snively on the ground, "I'll
deal with you later," looking to Tigui, "As for you, you will be held
at the brig until you are needed later." Robotnik tapped quickly on the
control board in his room, re-accessing his command feature. Afterwards,
he commanded the two SWATbots on-duty to take Tigui to the brig. The
SWATbots complied, and took Tigui towards the door. While Robotnik looked
at Snively crossly, Sonic took this moment to go follow the SWATbots out the
door quietly.
	"You know I could kill you right now," Robotnik said in a quiet, yet
stern voice, "you wanted me dead so much, I could just kill you so I don't
have to worry about a disloyal servant anymore..."
	"I know," Snively said in pain, "sir..."
	"Nevertheless," Robotnik added, "I won't kill you. There are three
reasons why. One, you are my nephew. Two, you've become helpful since the
Great War, to a small extent. Three, we both have a bigger enemy we want
to destroy..."
	Snively could only nod, his throat so sore he wouldn't be able to
speak even if he tried. He knew the enemy Robotnik was referring to was
that annoying hedgehog, Sonic.
	"However," Robotnik spoke, "just because I want you alive, doesn't
mean your life will be any easier."
	Snively tried to speak again, "H-....ow..."
	"So," Robotnik smiled evilly, "you thought I would be dead along with
Doomsday, huh? I have more lives than a nine-life cat. You saw me enter that
lift yesterday, but did I go inside the Project? Hardly. I was in the lift
on the way to the Project when all of a sudden I saw an alert inside,
showing me that both the Princess and that hedgehog were destroying it.
I, of course, was not pleased, and began to bang on the panel angerly
cursing at that miserable hedgehog. Strangely, the lift stopped, the panel
was damaged. So, while Doomsday blew from above, I was stuck below the
explosion, trapped in the lift. For the rest of my hours awake, I used
my mechanical skill to try to fix the lift, and have it move back. And now
that I am here, we must continue the Project."
	Snively frowned, confused, "But.... it's gone..."
	"Yes," Robotnik frowned, "well, one of our Project is."
	Snively was about to ask why, "Don't ask, save your energy. I'll
tell you later. In the meantime, I will prepare the SWATbots to get ready
in case of Freedom Fighter intruders. We have the element of surprise,
might as well wait for them to come right into our hands."
=============================================================================
	When the doors closed behind Sonic, it was now or never. He quickly
leaped at the two SWATbots from behind and disposed of them. Tigui was thrown
by the attack and landed just a few meters from the wreckage. Sonic ran
beside him, "Are you OK?"
	Tigui painfully nodded, "When this leg stops hurting, i'll let you
know."
	"Sorry," Sonic shrugged, "but I had to get you out of that situation
as quick as possible. C'mon, we gotta get outta here, and warn the others."
	"In this condition?" Tigui tilted his head to the bruised leg, "Unless
you want me to drag myself back."
	Sonic thought for a moment, than looked at his backpack, than at Tigui,
"What?" Tigui asked, "Me? In, there? Oh no, i'm not a pocket kitty."
	"Would you rather stay here and let Robotnik finish you off?" Sonic
retorted.
	"I guess I have no choice," Tigui sighed.
	Sonic picked up the cat carefully, opening his backpack and putting
Tigui inside. He closed the lid slightly, and began walking quietly along the
corridors.
	"This ring is pressing against my leg," Tigui spoke from inside the
backpack.
	"Quiet," Sonic countered, "just move the ring a bit so it's not
hurting your leg."
	From inside the bag, Tigui moved the ring upwards, so now it's laying
around his head. Though it wasn't very comfortable, it was better than
having the power ring on his bruised leg.
	Sonic continued his walking, the corridor seemed to stretch for a
long distance, but Sonic's speed, even at a walking pace, was fast enough
to make the trip quick. He made it to where the corridor split into two
parts. Sonic remebered which route he followed the SWATbots through and
turned that way.
	Sonic finally made his way to the entryway, only to see two SWATbots
near the entryway. He kept his distance away from the SWATbots so as
not to give any attention to himself. He then said quietly, "Tigui, give
me the ring."
	By now, Tigui was feeling the ring pressure against his head, "Please,
be my guest." Tigui opened the backpack lid and lifted the ring for Sonic
to grab it.
	"Hang on," Sonic said as he raised the power ring, "Let's do it to it."
	A glow surrounded Sonic, and then a sonic boom was heard as Sonic
ran through the entryway, past the SWATbots and outside.
=============================================================================
	Snively was still hurt and on the floor aching. Robotnik
looked at the monitor, and said to himself, angerly, "So, it seems that
the hedgehog has entered Robotropolis without my noticing. Well, this time,
hedgehog, i'll let you get away." He ordered all the SWATbots to stand by
until given any orders. If he attacked Sonic, he thought, Sonic would
expect that Robotropolis is active again, and that he would lose his element
of surprise. Besides, he would wait until all the other Freedom Fighters
would come, and then he would attack.
	Robotnik looked to Snively, feeling he had all the time in the world,
"So, you want to know about the little secret i've been keeping away from
you," Robotnik said. Snively nodded slowly, "Well, while you checked on
Doomsday, I sent in a few groups of WorkerBots to a small island to work
on anoter project. You see, Snively, I had doubts that Doomsday may be found
out and destroyed, but while we were constructing Doomsday, I began
sending more and more resources to the island. In fact, the construction is
almost done. So, soon, Snively, you'll finally get to see the fully mobile
version of the Death Egg!"
	Snively was shocked to the news. The Death Egg, one of Robotnik's
biggest weapons. The one they were inside with was formally
mobile, and was used for a while after the coup. But, some malfunctions
triggered the Death Egg to fall and crash. Now, they made it into a
fortress. The question was, though, where is this island, and how
long was this construction.
	Robotnik turned to the monitor, "So, Tigui should be at the
prison by now. Let's see if he's there." He checks the monitor to
see the prison walls, neither the SWATbots, nor Tigui, was there.
	Robotnik finally realized the stupid mistake he's done, and
checks the monitors to see if Sonic was still in Robotropolis. He wasn't.
	Robotnik yelled angerly, "I hate that hedgehog!"
=============================================================================
	As Sonic and Tigui finally get to Knothole's entrance, Sonic stopped,
then looked at Tigui, "You think we should tell them now?"
	"Why not?" Tigui blinked, "They do need to know that Robotnik's
back, and that Robotropolis's defenses are back on-line."
	"I know," Sonic said, his ears listening further into Knothole,
"but they're dancing in the Knothole Commons. Shouldn't we wait
until tommorrow?"
	"We can't," Tigui said, "besides, when they find out I have a bruised
right leg, they'll start asking questions."
	For a while the two didn't speak, then Sonic said, "This is not going
to be cool."
	"Indeed what seems to be a day of celebration turns into a dark day for
all of us," Tigui added as the two finally entered Knothole.
=============================================================================
THE END

Coming soon...

An echidna, a hedgehog, and his... cat?
	A translation of the Sonic & Knuckles 3 game.

Upcoming stories...

A dish served cold
	Antoine tries to figure out a way to get back at Sonic for all his pranks.

Meier's journal
	Meier must investigate a bombing which took place in Knothole.

    Source: geocities.com/soho/atrium/8271/fanfics

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