Full Circle
by DragonKnight

Copyright notice:  All original Sonic the Hedgehog characters are 
property of SEGA and based upon the Saturday AM cartoon on ABC.  Other 
characters may come from the video games or the Archie comic books.  The 
AI SWATbots are the original creation of Robert Brown and Francis 
Tolbert.  All original characters are of my creation and idea and 
require written permission before usage.  You are permitted to print off 
one (1) copy for personal use and do not attempt to make a profit from 
it.  You may make changes under the condition that it does not affect 
the story as a whole.

Author's Note: Well, the Kinos Arc is beginning to wrap up.  I think 
this is the story where the majority of my original characters show up 
or are mentioned at least.  Since some of the names I've made are 
slightly complicated to pronounce I'll give the pronunciation the first 
time they show up.  These are also starting to get progressively longer 
if you haven't noticed.  What can I say -- I like detail.  I'll try and 
stop them from getting too long but no promises.  Enjoy!

WARNING!!  This story may contain graphic description and mild language.  
You have been warned.


	The Freedom Fighters have begun to turn on themselves, thanks to 
the planning of Kinos.  He has set up a trap that they have fallen right 
into.  With the destruction of Lower Mobius any Freedom Fighter groups 
that were borderline have now declared all-out war on Kinos.  Now the 
diabolical machine has set another plan into motion.  Elsewhere, the 
gears of a long-dead war begin to turn...

Cast of Characters:

Magus, Spirit of the Magi***
????????????
????????????
Sally Alicia Acorn
Sonic Hedgehog
Antoine D'Coolette
Lupe
Dr. Adrian Osaka***
Miles "Tails" Prower
Sylvanix the Wind Dragon***
Sir Charles "Chuck" Hedgehog
Eric Hedgehog***
Alura Hedgehog***
Violet Hedgehog***
Bunnie Rabbot
Rotor Walrus
Amy Rose
Dulcy
Kinos the Enslaver***
Unit 03***
Dr. Alan Rose***
????????????


	The ancient temple of the Magi lay quiet in the dead of night.  
Magus sighed as his ethereal form took shape.  Both the Wind and Shadow 
Guardians had awakened and the Lightning Guardian still lived.  Even if 
he had passed on his legacy he was still technically a Guardian, at 
least until the dragon said differently.  Movement from the Earth 
chamber caught his attention.  The large gem-shaped engraving glowed a 
bright orange.  So now the Earth Guardian had accepted his calling.  
Meaning...
	"It has been quite some time since your family has been here," he 
said as another presence filled the room.
	"There was no need for us to bring forth a Guardian," a masculine 
voice said.  "At least, not until you let that fool awaken Xiaxos (Zee-
ahk-zos)."
	"I am here to guide, not prevent," Magus retorted glaring at the 
figure.  "Besides, I am long dead.  The affairs of the living have no 
effect on me."
	"The end of the world as we know it might though."
	"You have accepted your powers Echidna," Magus said lowering his 
voice.  "Why are you here?"  A red echidna wearing white gloves with 
spikes on the knuckles and red and green shoes each with a metal plate 
walked forward.  He tossed his dreadlocks off the white ring just below 
his neck.  His deep blue eyes eventually shifted to a dark orange color.
	"Because I'm not the only one," he said gruffly.
	Before Magus could say anything else another chamber door glowed.  
He turned to see the Fire seal glow bright red.  The ghostly hedgehog's 
eyes widened in both fear and surprise.
	"Five of the Guardians are awake?" he asked.  "But the only reason 
that this would happen is for..."
	"Yeah, I know," a small feminine voice said.  A mongoose walked up 
next to the echidna.  She wore teal boots and matching gloves that 
resembled gauntlets rather than gloves.  She also wore khaki shorts and 
a black tank top.  She brushed her violet hair out of her eyes to reveal 
green eyes that shifted to red.  "Ragnarök."
	Magus sighed shaking his head.  "A word I hoped that I would never 
have to hear," he said.  "But I suppose all things must come to an end."
	"You make it sound as if we'll lose," the echidna said raising an 
eyebrow.
	"If you cannot find the Light Guardian, then yes," Magus said 
glaring at him again.  "On top of that you need to gather all the 
Guardians that are currently alive to prepare for the battle.  We still 
need Water and Light, though I am unsure if Lightning is able to do 
battle in his age."
	"So what should we do?" the mongoose asked.  "I may have just 
learned about most of this on the way here, but my understanding is that 
we don't have a lot of time now."
	"He is strong," Magus said looking to the Shadow chamber.  "He 
knows that what he did could be the end of all of us, but he fights it 
to this very day.  He himself is our ally, even if Xiaxos is not."
	"What do we need to do?"
	"You must travel the paths set before you," Magus said.  "If you 
survive then you will become the Guardian of your element.  If you do 
not, well, then you die."
	"Some choice," the mongoose said cracking her knuckles.  "Let's 
get this over with."  She walked up to the door with the fire symbol and 
the door opened.  She walked in confidently and the door slammed shut 
behind her.  The echidna walked towards the Earth door and it opened.
	"Echidna, before you leave the temple," Magus said turning to him, 
"can you do me a favor?"
	"What now?" he asked impatiently.  "I need to get back to the 
Floating Island as soon as possible."
	"This is important," Magus insisted.  "I need you to check up on 
the Wind Guardian.  His powers have been fluctuating and it's driving me 
up the wall.  Make sure that he's okay."
	"What am I, a babysitter?" the echidna asked.  Magus said nothing.  
"Fine," he said sighing.  "I'll check up on him, see how he's doing.  
Happy?"
	"Just do it," Magus said.  He pushed a column of air at the 
echidna shoving him into the door.  The stream of curses was cut off by 
the slamming door.  Magus sighed and shook his head.
	"I really hate him," he muttered.
	Sally hooked her arms under Sonic's shoulders and held him back.  
He had just tried to charge a villager who had called him a traitor.
	"Damn it Sonic!" she said through gritted teeth.  "Control 
yourself!"
	"Come here and say that!" Sonic growled his teeth bared ignoring 
Sally.  "When have you once risked your life for this village?"
	"That's not what matters," the armadillo replied.  "How is it that 
in thirteen years we couldn't beat Robotnik and this Kinos guy beat him 
in a couple weeks?  It's like you just want this war to go on until you 
can beat him and take all the glory or just want all of us dead!"
	"ENOUGH!" Antoine yelled standing between them.  He looked at 
Sonic sternly.  "Stand down Sonic Hedgehog, that is a direct order."  
Sonic reluctantly relaxed still glaring at the villager.  Sally let go 
of him and breathed a sigh of relief.  Antoine turned to the villager 
his eyes full of fury.  "If I were you I would make myself scarce.  
NOW."  The armadillo backed away nervously and walked away with a small 
crowd right behind him.  Antoine sighed shaking his head.
	"This is getting out of hand," Lupe said looking at all of them.  
"I may have come here initially unsure of Sonic's motives but after the 
last three months I don't think we have to worry about him."
	"Thanks Lupe," Sonic said dripping with sarcasm.  "That makes me 
feel so much better."
	"At least we're on your side," Sally chided him.
	"No offense, but you guys don't matter," Sonic said looking back 
at her.  "We have to get the villagers to believe that I'm on our side.  
As long as they keep this up I'd be better off-" 
	"Don't say it," Antoine said cutting him off.  "I understand how 
you feel on this Sonic but even suggesting it will cause the seed of 
doubt to blossom instantly."
	"What I don't understand is how Kinos knows our plans," Sally 
said.  "After what he did to Lower Mobius I can't see how anyone would 
trust him enough to work for him."
	"Can we get somewhere where it's not snowing?" Sonic asked rubbing 
his arms.  "I'm freezing here."
	"Perhaps Dr. Osaka may be able to help us out," Lupe offered.  The 
four of them nodded and headed for the lynx's hut.  They knocked on the 
door and it opened.  The doctor had on his reading glasses, his book 
laying open on the desk.
	"Hello everyone," he said slight confusion in his voice.  "What 
brings all of you here?"
	"Warmth," Sonic answered before anyone else could.  They laughed 
as Osaka waved them in.  "Thanks doc.  We owe you one for this."
	"Don't worry about it," Osaka answered filling mugs with hot 
chocolate.  He handed them each one which they gladly accepted.  "Now, 
what brings all of you here?"
	"We were wondering if you by chance knew how Kinos knows about our 
plans," Antoine asked.  His speech lessons with Osaka had really paid 
off and his accent was almost indistinguishable.  "Even when we come up 
with unique plans it is like he already knows."
	"It's probably been covered, but I doubt he has any spies working 
for him," Osaka offered and they nodded.  "Then I have nothing.  Sonic, 
what would you do in this situation?"
	Sonic flinched.  While Osaka meant it in a strategic manner it 
still bothered Sonic that whenever they needed to analyze Kinos' plans 
they all looked to him.  Pushing that aside he closed his eyes.  It 
wasn't a willing spy, that he was sure of.  All of the Freedom Fighter 
groups and the neutral villages had been informed of what had happened.  
The response had been instant:  Every village declared open war on Kinos 
and they had made Knothole the center of the effort.  An influx of 
Freedom Fighters and wannabe Freedom Fighters had flooded the village.  
Weapons and supplies had come with them and the village nearly doubled 
in size.  Unfortunately the problems they were experiencing had also 
doubled.  Hence, the armadillo from before.
	"He may be forcing someone to work for him," Sonic said finally 
opening his eyes.  "Holding something above their head getting them to 
do whatever he wants.  It's low but not beneath him."
	"With how low he is that would be impossible," Lupe said a grim 
smile on her face.  The other four nodded.  "But that still doesn't tell 
us who it might be."
	Sally closed her eyes for a moment and then they snapped open.  
"You don't think that Sir Charles may have-"
	"No way," Sonic said adamantly.  "Unc would die first rather than 
work for Kinos."
	"Don't be naive Sonic," Osaka warned him.  "Kinos has access to 
the technologies that Sir Charles would need to finish the 
deroboticizer.  More than likely he offered to help your uncle not only 
finish the deroboticizer but to also turn him back to normal.  The 
alternative, knowing Kinos thus far, would be far worse.  I imagine 
something like being turned from robot to living and back for the rest 
of his life."
	"I still don't think unc would do that," Sonic insisted.
	"Will you just listen to me?"
	"No way!  You're saying that my own family would rather betray us 
than die?"
	"Both of you, quiet!" Antoine nearly yelled.  "I am sorry Dr. 
Osaka, but I must side with Sonic on this.  I do not think his uncle 
would betray us, no matter what."
	"I'm surrounded by fools," Osaka muttered under his breath making 
sure none of them could hear him.  Out loud he said, "Then what do you 
think the problem is?"
	Before Antoine could answer Tails burst through the door gasping 
for air.  "I've got...news!" he said and then passed out.  Osaka bolted 
over to him and felt for a pulse.
	"He's alive," he said sighing.  "He's got a mild case of 
hypothermia, probably from flying top speed in this weather."  He picked 
up the young fox and set him on the medical bed.  "Let's get him warm 
and wait until he wakes up.  We will put what we were talking about 
aside for the time being until we find proof one way or the other."  
Sonic nodded relieved.  Truth was he was worried doc was right about 
Uncle Chuck.  Any living being's first priority was to survive.  Even if 
his uncle got the technology needed to finish the deroboticizer no one 
would ever trust him again.
	Sonic was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of the wind.  It 
was different than other times though.  He felt as if something had 
woken up.  No, not just something, there were two things.  >What the 
heck?< he thought.
	[It seems things are in motion,] Sylvanix told him.  [Two more 
Guardians have awoken.]
	>Wait a sec, two more?< Sonic thought.  >Just how many are there?<
	[Seven, one for each element,] the dragon said impatiently.  
[Geez, you're clueless.  There's Wind, that's you, Shadow, Lightning, 
Fire, and Earth.  Five of the seven have been awakened.  The only two 
that haven't been found are Water and Light.]
	>I'm assuming that Earth and Fire just came around,< Sonic 
guessed.  The dragon gave a growl of approval.  >Wait, you said that the 
Lightning Guardian was awake.  Why wasn't that door open when I was 
there then?<
	[Because once a Guardian bears a child worthy of attaining the 
same title they are no longer a Guardian, technically,] Sylvanix said.  
[It mainly depends on the dragon but if the situation demands an old 
Guardian may step up and assume his former mantle.]
	>I still don't totally understand,< Sonic thought as Tails began 
moving.  >We'll talk later, okay?<  The dragon sighed.
	[Fine,] Sylvanix muttered.  [Take care of your business there and 
we will talk about this and other...matters, later.]
	"Uhh," Tails moaned.  The five of them gathered around him, asking 
how he felt, what happened, and so on.  "I'm fine," he said waving them 
away.  "I think I was just exhausted from the flight here."
	"Considering the temperature out there, that doesn't surprise me," 
Osaka said sternly.  "You should know better than to travel at high 
speeds with a blizzard on the way."  The fox's eyes widened.
	"Now I remember why I was in such a rush!" he said jumping to his 
feet.  "I found out that Kinos is building some new kinda bot!"
	"Again?" Sally asked.  "As if the SWAT 2s weren't bad enough."
	"From what I gathered these things will put everything Robotnik 
ever did to shame," Tails added.  "Something like 'Aries', I'm not 
really too sure."
	"Aries," Antoine said quietly rubbing his chin.  "If I remember 
right, wasn't he a warlord from the early days of Mobotropolis?"  Osaka 
nodded.
	"His name has been in history for ages," the lynx said.  "There 
were some that even called him the 'God of War' for his mastery of the 
art."
	"So a robot named after him would be equally dangerous," Lupe said 
concern written on her face.  "Miles, how close to completion are these 
things?"  Tails shrugged ignoring his proper name.
	"I didn't overhear that much," he said and then his hands snapped 
up to his mouth.
	"You WHAT?!" Sally asked nearly yelling.
	"Oops," Tails said frowning.  "I, uh, kinda listened in on Kinos 
talking to someone the Aries-bots.  I didn't see who he was with but it 
didn't sound good.  From what I did hear he only has one plant with them 
being built, that and they consume a huge amount of resources to build."
	"Meaning he'd only be able to build a few at a time," Sonic 
finished.  "That works to our advantage."
	"But consider what we'd have to go through to destroy one of those 
things," Antoine said.  "If the SWAT 2s are bad these things must be 
even tougher than them."
	"I'll worry about that later," Sally said still glaring at Tails.  
"Why were you that close to Kinos?  He could've killed you!"
	"Ease off Sal," Sonic said coming to Tails' defense.  "Look at it 
this way, if Tails hadn't broken protocol then we wouldn't know about 
these things until it was too late.  While it was reckless it gave us 
valuable information."  Sally turned to Sonic her gaze softening 
slightly.
	"I suppose you're right," she said with a small smile.  "Still, 
that doesn't change the fact that he went against his orders to stay out 
of danger."
	"I know Aunt Sally," Tails said standing up straight.  "I 
knowingly disobeyed my orders, even if it was for the greater good."  
Sally, thoroughly impressed, looked over at Antoine who was smiling.
	"Miles," he said finally, "you have accepted the full 
responsibility for your actions as an individual.  In my eyes, this 
makes you a fully fledged Freedom Fighter in every regard.  Your 
punishment will be decided later.  For now, enjoy the rest of the day.  
Thank you for your contribution."
	Tails eyes lit up and he ran out the door excitedly.  The group in 
Osaka's hut smiled after him and then closed the door to keep the warmth 
in.  "Well, then," Osaka said still smiling, "where were we?"
	"We need to do something about these Aries-bots," Lupe said.  "We 
either need to destroy the plant or find out where he's getting the 
supplies for them."
	"Either way it won't be easy," Sally said.  "If he has the same 
kind of defenses Robotnik had around the plant he was built in we may 
never actually get in there."
	"He's already preventing me from using my abilities," Sonic added.  
"He'll have found a way to compensate for my speed as well.  As well as 
anyone who can fly."
	"What about Amy?" Osaka suggested.  "Robotnik hadn't encountered 
her so Kinos has nothing to work with if she joins a raid."
	"Speaking of Amy," Antoine said a concerned look on his face, "not 
only am I going to have to consider making her an official Freedom 
Fighter but I am curious what has become of her parents."
	"That's actually a good point," Sonic admitted.  "What still 
confuses me is why a few days before Kinos was complete Robotnik 
captures the guy who spearheaded the nanomachine field."
	"Perhaps he intended to create more of Kinos," Lupe offered.  "He 
may have tried to use Dr. Rose to create more powerful robots.  Imagine 
if he had used that kind of technology in Kinos."  They all shuddered at 
the thought.  "More importantly, what if the Roses are still in the 
city?"
	"Then we should try and rescue them," Antoine said simply.  "It is 
possible that Robotnik kept them hidden away in a place even Kinos 
doesn't know about.  He never showed much trust to Snively, so it's only 
natural that he didn't put anything of it in the computers."
	"If we go we should bring Amy with us."  Everyone turned to Sonic 
as he said this.  "It's only right that if we do find her parents that 
she's a part of the rescue effort.  Plus, depending on how soon we find 
them it could be her test to see if she's ready to join us."  Antoine 
stroked his chin.
	"I agree," he said finally.  "So, where should we start looking?"
	No one said anything.  "What if we asked Sir Charles?" Lupe 
suggested.  Before Osaka could say anything she looked over at him.  
"Regardless of whether or not you trust him he's our best bet to finding 
Dr. Rose."
	"I was going to say that he _does_ know," Osaka said glaring at 
the wolf.  "When I was working with him before Daryl attacked us we 
learned of a special VIP prisoner being transported into the city.  We 
were busy trying to find where they had been moved to when everyone 
arrived."
	"Please tell me Uncle Chuck didn't lose all that information 
during the fight," Sonic asked remembering having thrown Daryl into the 
base.  Osaka shrugged.
	"Only one way to find out," he said.  "Plus, we may be able to 
find out more on these Aries-bots."  They all nodded.
	"So, who's going?"  Sally's question hung in the air.  No one was 
comfortable going into the city.  They knew it was important to stay in 
the village with the way things were right now.  Plus with the storm on 
its way they could likely be trapped in the city.
	"I'll go," Sonic volunteered.  "He's my uncle, it's only 
appropriate."
	"I'm sorry Sonic, but no," Antoine said shaking his head.  "The 
villagers still suspect you of betraying us.  If you were to go into the 
city alone it could, in their minds, confirm that fear."
	"Then I'll go in his stead," Sally said.  "I'm not as fast as 
Sonic but in the time it would take you guys to get to the city the 
blizzard would be on top of you."
	"Even still, it would be dangerous to go alone," Osaka pointed 
out.  "Antoine, you should stay to keep order in the village."
	"I have nothing holding me here," Lupe offered.  "Besides, Sally 
and I could use the 'girl time'."  A concerned look crossed Osaka's 
face.
	"Are you sure about this Lupe?" he asked.  "Should you be-" 
	"I can handle myself doctor," Lupe snapped angrily.  She turned to 
Sally.  "We should leave immediately if we want to outrun the storm 
Princess."
	"Good point," Sally said and pulled her jacket tighter.  Before 
Lupe hopped on Sally's back Sonic gave her a quick kiss.
	"Be careful," he said softly.
	"I will," Sally replied kissing him again.  With that Sally and 
Lupe went off into the forest.  Sonic watched them leave a knot of worry 
forming in his gut.  He turned to Osaka who was pouring himself more hot 
chocolate.
	"Care to explain why you're so worried about Lupe doc?" he asked.
	"It is...my duty as a doctor," Osaka replied hesitantly.
	"But you make it sound as if Lupe is sick or injured in some way," 
Antoine said joining in.  "She seems perfectly fine to me."
	"She is fine physically," Osaka said shaking his head.  "There are 
just...other matters she must deal with."
	"Out with it doc," Sonic said narrowing his eyes.  "What's wrong 
with Lupe?"
	"I am honor-bound not to reveal anything," Osaka answered.  "I am 
sorry Sonic.  This is a matter that I cannot discuss with anyone but 
Lupe herself."
	"Honor-bound?" Sonic said surprised.  "That would mean that it has 
something to do with the Wolf Pack itself."
	"I have said too much as it is," Osaka hissed.  "Anything that has 
been said stays in this hut, understood?"  Both Sonic and Antoine 
stammered their agreement at the sudden change in doc's demeanor.  
"Good, now if you would be so kind as to leave me to my reading."  He 
shooed them out of his hut and closed door.  He sighed and smacked his 
forehead.  He should have known Sonic would have pried as much out of 
him as he could.  But it had been nearly six months since she had first 
come to him.  The others would know soon, whether Lupe wanted them to or 
not.
	Uncle Chuck sat in his chair trying to stay busy.  Kinos had been 
rather quiet lately and it was a small relief to have some downtime.  
Aside from that, there was going to be a communications blackout soon so 
Kinos could begin updating his systems.  That meant that he could make 
that call he had been putting off for some time.  A beeping on his 
console told him that communications were about to go out.  Kinos must 
be trying to get this done as soon as possible.  He realigned the 
frequencies of his transmitter and turned on the video screen.  He 
opened up the channel and he heard a number of clicks.  After a few 
seconds the screen lit up and an older gray hedgehog appeared on the 
monitor with a surprised expression.
	"I haven't seen this channel used in close to thirty years," he 
said.  "Is that who I think it is?"
	"It is Eric," Uncle Chuck said smiling.  "Sorry I haven't called."
	"It's about damn time too," Eric Hedgehog answered smiling back at 
his younger brother.  What never ceased to amaze Uncle Chuck was the 
fact that his older brother always looked younger than him.  The older 
hedgehog's black eyes shone with years of experience.  Uncle Chuck could 
only see the top of his jacket but it looked like a Captain's jacket of 
the Xenodonian Army.  In his years since the coup Eric had also grown a 
goatee that was pure white.  "You look like you've seen better days."
	"Well, there was the coup," Uncle Chuck said shrugging.  "I was 
the first one that Robotnik tested the roboticizer on."  Eric raised an 
eyebrow.
	"Who the heck is Robotnik?" he asked.
	"You knew him as War Minister Julian Kintobor," Uncle Chuck 
explained.  At the mention of that name Eric's eyes narrowed.
	"Oh, _him_," he said voice dripping with loathe.  "So what's the 
lard ball up to now?"
	"A lot has happened since you and Alura left bro," Uncle Chuck 
said sighing.  "Speaking of, is she there too?"  Eric nodded stepping to 
the side.  A light blue female hedgehog stepped into view.  Even after 
almost fifteen years she was still beautiful.  He hair quills had begun 
to grey but she had them styled to look fashionable, not old.
	"It's been a long time Charles," Alura Hedgehog said smiling.  
"How have you been?"
	"Not counting being roboticized, not that bad," Uncle Chuck said 
laughing.  "Anyway, you'll be happy to know that Robotnik and Snively 
are no longer an issue."
	"That is good news," Eric said.  "So why hasn't anyone contacted 
us about that peace treaty?"
	"Because we have another problem that calls himself Kinos."  Eric 
and Alura shook their heads.
	"You guys just can't win can you?" Eric said.  "So, where's Kinos 
from?"
	So Uncle Chuck explained what had happened since they had been 
gone, from the failed attack with the Deep Power Stones to Daryl's 
defeat and the destruction of Lower Mobius.  Eric gave a low whistle as 
Uncle Chuck finished his story.
	"Talk about one bad mother," he muttered.
	"Dear, your daughter is right here!" Alura scolded him.
	"Wait, daughter?" Uncle Chuck said.  "When did this happen?"  Eric 
smiled.
	"I guess since you haven't called in a while you didn't hear," he 
explained.  "Charles, I'd like you to meet your niece Violet."
	A deep purple hedgehog girl wearing jeans and a yellow short 
sleeve shirt stepped into view.  She had her hair quills, which were a 
shade lighter than the rest of her, pulled back into a ponytail.  Her 
light blue eyes stood in stark contrast to the rest of her.  She hung 
onto her mother nervously when she saw Uncle Chuck's robotic form.
	"It's okay honey," Alura said trying to comfort her daughter.  
"This is your Uncle Charles.  He helped your father and I when we still 
lived in Mobotropolis."
	"But why is he a robot?" the small girl asked.  "He looks scary."
	"A very bad man did this to me," Uncle Chuck said.  "We're trying 
to make a device that will undo what he did to me."  The small hedgehog 
seemed to relax a little bit but not much.  "So Violet, how old are you 
now?"
	"I just turned eight today," Violet replied.  Uncle Chuck smiled 
nodding.
	"Man, time flies when you're having fun," he said.  "Your older 
brother is seventeen now.  Come to think of it, his birthday is coming 
up soon."  At the mention of Sonic both Eric and Alura snapped to 
attention.
	"Our son?  Sonic?  He's okay?" Alura asked excitedly.
	"Of course, he's practically Eric's twin," Uncle Chuck said.  
"While Robotnik was around he made his life miserable in every way 
possible.  Now though, Kinos is putting a bit of a damper on him."
	"How's he doing?" Eric asked quickly.  "Has his speed manifested 
yet?"
	"It did years ago," Uncle Chuck explained.  "Not long after you 
two left come to think of it.  He's still the fastest thing alive, even 
faster than you now bro."  The elder hedgehog smiled.
	"Well, I don't know about that..." he said.  "Who else is fighting 
against Kinos?"
	"Well, there's Sally of course," Uncle Chuck said counting on his 
fingers.  "Bunnie Rabbit, though she goes by Rabbot now, Antoine 
D'Coolette, Rotor Walrus, Tails Prower, Dulcy, one of the dragons, Amy 
Rose, Rosie, and Adrian."
	"Adrian?" Eric said surprise apparent in his voice.  "He's alive?  
I figured with his recklessness he'd have been killed trying to prevent 
the coup."
	"He nearly was from what Rosie told me," Uncle Chuck agreed.  
"He's changed a lot from the old days.  He uses his skills to keep the 
Freedom Fighters in one piece."
	"There were a few names in there I recognized," Alura said.  
"Antoine I know is Jacques' son.  But Amy...  Is she related to Alan 
Rose?"  Uncle Chuck nodded.
	"She's his daughter," he said.  "She showed up just before the 
fight with Daryl.  Apparently Sonic saved her and her village while he 
was off training."
	"He _is_ your son," Alura said looking over at her husband.  "You 
would have done the same thing in his shoes."
	"What can I say?" Eric said smiling.  "It runs in the Hedgehog 
blood.  So, what else has my son been up to?"  He took a long drink of 
water.
	"Well, he and Sally are engaged," Uncle Chuck said smiling.  Eric 
spit the water out all over the camera.  Both he and Alura stared with 
slack jaws.
	"He WHAT?!" Alura asked.  "He proposed to Princess Sally?  When 
did this happen?"
	"Around the same time Kinos showed up," Uncle Chuck said quickly 
checking some of his other screens.  "Huh, I figured that Kinos would 
have had the system up and running by now."
	"Does this place you in any kind of danger?"  Uncle Chuck shook 
his head.
	"A small amount, but nothing significant," he replied.  "He found 
one of my bases but I've since abandoned it.  I've got two others not 
including this one."
	His head snapped back as he heard knocking on the door.  It was 
the Freedom Fighters that much he knew, but he wasn't sure which ones.  
"Listen you guys," he said turning back to the screen, "we're going to 
have to cut this conversation short."
	"Don't be a stranger bro," Eric said smiling slightly.  "Take care 
of yourself."
	"You guys do the same."
	The screen shut off and Uncle Chuck sighed.  He would have to 
think about all of this later as the Freedom Fighters knocked again.  He 
checked the periscope expecting to see his nephew.  What he saw instead 
was Sally with Lupe on her back.  Other than them the area was clear so 
he opened the door and ushered them in.
	"What in Mobius are you two doing here?" he asked handing them 
some blankets.  "The storm coming in is going to be large enough to bury 
most of the city and you two come wandering in the middle of it."
	"Sorry Sir Charles," Sally said rubbing her arms.  "We hit a 
detour on the way here.  We should've been here a while ago."
	"Well, you're lucky I'll say that," he said sitting back down in 
his chair.  "Most of Kinos' communication grid is down while he updates 
his systems.  Otherwise he probably would have picked you up passing 
through the shield."
	"Wait, his communications are down?" Lupe asked excitedly.  "We 
could attack him now and do some serious damage!"  Uncle Chuck shook his 
head.
	"He already counted on that," he said sighing.  "Just before the 
communication grid went out I noticed that he increased patrols all 
across the city.  I also don't think he's expecting anything to happen 
while this storm is over us."
	"Of all the times we could catch him off guard," Sally said 
shaking her head.  "Well, it's not important."  Uncle Chuck raised an 
eyebrow at her.  "We're looking for information regarding Amy's parents.  
She said Robotnik captured them days before we met her but we haven't 
found any trace of them yet."
	"That's...not entirely true," Uncle Chuck said swiveling to face 
his computer.  "Adrian and I were working tracking down a VIP prisoner 
Robotnik had brought in when you guys arrived.  We managed to get it 
down to a single building.  There's no guards, just a massive power 
source."
	"Why no guards?" Lupe asked pensively.  "Do you think that when 
the AI SWATbots rebelled they pulled away from the building?" 
	"It's possible," Sally said.  "Either that or Robotnik planned on 
hiding them so well that he wouldn't need guards.  Or there are some 
wicked traps."
	"Either way we have to get in there," Uncle Chuck said.  "If Kinos 
finds out that Dr. Rose is here he'll take advantage of him.  If he gets 
any new upgrades then we're done for."
	"We have to tell the others," Sally said pulling out Nicole.  
"Could I safely get a transmission out without Kinos being able to track 
it?"  Uncle Chuck looked at his computer console.
	"If you sent it now, yes," he said.  "Communications should be 
coming back very soon."  Sally was already busy talking to Nicole.  "How 
is the Wolf Pack holding up Lupe?"
	"We are fine," she said smiling.  "I am glad that we are finally 
joining up with the Freedom Fighters to take an active role in freeing 
our world."
	"And what of your clan's feeling towards Sonic?"
	"I trust him, so they do," she said simply.  "The other members of 
my clan know that I do not give trust easily.  The other Freedom Fighter 
groups..."  She sighed.  "I'm afraid that I can't say the same for 
them."
	"Kinos is unlike anyone we've ever faced," Uncle Chuck admitted.  
"I remember when I first revealed that I was working as a spy most of 
Knothole shut me out.  If it hadn't been for Sally and Sonic I probably 
would have just gone back to being a worker bot."
	"Don't say that Sir Charles," Sally said putting Nicole away.  "If 
it wasn't for you we wouldn't be where we are today.  Robotnik would 
have roboticized us and Mobius would be under his rule forever."
	"Well, that doesn't matter now," he said.  "Right now we need to 
sit tight until this blizzard goes away."
	Sonic paced around his and Sally's hut.  She should have been back 
hours ago and with the storm in full force there was no way he'd make it 
to Uncle Chuck's without freezing to death.
	[You're worried about her,] Sylvanix said.
	>Master of the obvious aren't you?< Sonic said to the dragon.  >Of 
course I'm worried about her.  I'm worried about Lupe too.  Doc knows 
there's something wrong with her and he won't tell us.<
	[If it is a matter of honor then him not saying anything is the 
right thing to do,] the dragon said.  [Besides, it's not as if you don't 
have things you don't want the Freedom Fighters to know.]
	Sonic winced.  Sylvanix was right about that.  >So what do I do?< 
he asked.  >I can't get into the city with that shield around it.  Even 
if I teleport to the city's edge I'll freeze to death before I can reach 
Uncle Chuck's base.<
	[Wait,] Sylvanix said simply.  [Sally can handle herself and she 
can take care of Lupe.  Now, we need to talk about what happened 
earlier.]
	>You mean the two Guardians that woke up,< Sonic said.  He heard 
Sylvanix give an affirmative growl.  >So what does that mean?<
	[It means that the end of the world is approaching.]
	Sonic stopped pacing.  The end of the world?  Well, it's not as if 
he didn't believe that it would happen, just not in his lifetime.  >Are 
you serious?<
	[Absolutely,] Sylvanix said grimly.  [Ragnarök is when the Shadow 
Dragon Xiaxos swore that he would return to reduce this world to ash.  
For millenia the seals we placed on him were held in place, even if he 
was able to get a Guardian.  His Guardian is the only one that can 
release him but we always killed him before that could happen.]
	>There is no way-<
	[And that is why he will return,] Sylvanix said snarling.  
[Because you are afraid to kill the end of days will be here soon.]
	>Isn't there another way to stop him?< Sonic asked hopefully.  
>There's got to be some other method, if nothing else to slow him down.<
	[There is...a way to do that,] Sylvanix said slowly.  [In the 
presence of other Guardians his return is expedited.  If you were to 
leave then it would buy you a great deal of time.]
	"It seems that all roads lead to the same path," Sonic said 
quietly.  >How much time?<
	[I am not sure,] Sylvanix admitted.  [It could be fifty years, it 
could be two days.]
	>That's comforting.<
	[Hey, you asked if there was another way and I told you.  What 
else do you want?]
	"Sonic!  Snap out of it!"  Sonic was shaken by his conversation by 
Antoine.  "We have news from Sally."
	Sonic's eyes widened.  "Well, then why are we standing around 
here?" he asked heading to the door ignoring Sylvanix's yelling.  
Antoine nodded and they ran into the storm.  Sonic nearly passed out 
from the intense cold.  If he wasn't used to insane winds he would have 
been thrown off his feet from the winds pulling the storm in.  He and 
Antoine made it to Rotor's hut where they began rubbing themselves down 
to warm up.  Bunnie wrapped an extra coat around Antoine and kissed him 
on the nose.
	"You keep this up sugarfox you ain't gonna make it through the 
winter," she said smiling.  Antoine smiled back.
	"I will be fine," he said.  "Now, about this message from the 
Princess."
	"Here it is," Rotor said.  "The gist of it is that Kinos' 
communication network is down for an unspecified amount of time.  While 
it is he can't contact any of the guards he has around the city.  If it 
wasn't for this storm we'd be able to hit him pretty hard."
	"And why would that stop us?"
	Everyone turned to Sonic.  "We would have to be smart on how we go 
about this," he continued, "but can you imagine the damage we could do 
while he's in this state?"
	"No way sugarhog," Bunnie said.  "None of us can stand that kinda 
cold for very long.  Well, besides Dulcy, but even she can't cover us 
the whole time we're there."
	"Then I'll do it," he offered.  There was silence in the room.  "I 
may not have access to my powers in the city but with some good 
insulation and my speed I can get through the city no prob."
	"I still think it's a bad idea," Antoine said frowning.  "While I 
know now is the best time to attack we can't risk losing you."  Sonic 
sighed.
	"How are Sally and Lupe?" he asked Rotor.
	"They're fine," he said.  "A little cold but they're in Uncle 
Chuck's base.  They also found out some info on Amy's parents.  Uncle 
Chuck and doc managed to narrow it down to one building in the northeast 
of Robotropolis."  He opened up a map and pointed to the building.  
"From what Uncle Chuck can tell there are no guards, just an independent 
power source.  Which means you can count on some pretty nasty traps."
	"Why hasn't Kinos found it?" Bunnie asked.  "If he could find the 
guy who practically invented nanomachines then he'd be unstoppable."
	"Maybe we should be glad he hasn't and worry about the reasoning 
later," Sonic suggested.  "I'm just glad they're okay."  He walked out 
of the room back into blizzard.  The three of them just stared after 
him.
	"Did...something seem off to you guys?" Rotor asked concerned.  "I 
didn't like the look in Sonic's eyes."
	"It's almost as if..." Antoine stopped mid-sentence.  "That 
idiot!"  He burst out of the hut Bunnie and Rotor one step behind him.  
They threw open the door to his hut but Sonic was nowhere to be found.  
The only thing they did see was the rack he normally hung his sword up 
on empty.  Antoine cursed under his breath and turned to the others.
	"Get a rescue squad ready immediately," he said anger leaking into 
his voice.  "Be prepared to detain Sonic if necessary."
	"Sugarfox, are y'all sure about this?" Bunnie asked quietly.
	"Yeah, I mean, Sonic's our friend," Rotor added.  "It's not as if 
he's betraying us."
	"He intends on doing this himself after I just said not to," 
Antoine snapped at them.  "He's going to get himself killed, if not by 
Kinos then by the weather."  Bunnie and Rotor nodded and left the hut.  
Antoine sighed looking around.  Sonic was his friend too and it killed 
him to do this.  He didn't want to place Sonic in a position where he 
might leave but breaking orders on this level was unforgivable.  He 
turned around and left the hut closing the door behind him.
	Sonic reappeared in a cave less than a mile away from the city's 
edge.  He shivered and sat down.
	[So, what's the plan?] Sylvanix asked.
	>What else?< Sonic told him.  >We go in there, raise some hell, 
and get into that building where Amy's father is.<
	[Kinos has effectively shut your powers off in the city,] the 
dragon reminded him.  [Besides, you wouldn't last two minutes in this 
cold.]
	>You're right, _I_ wouldn't.  And Kinos has _my_ powers sealed 
off.<
	Sylvanix was quiet for a moment and then let out a low chuckle.  
[I like this plan,] he said finally.  [Let's do it.  Keep in mind 
though, doing this may increase the chance of him surfacing some time 
soon.]
	>I'm well aware of that, but we don't have a choice right now,< 
Sonic thought and sat down. He began focusing all of his strength 
inward.  It would take some time to prepare but he knew in the end it 
would be worth it.
	Antoine, Bunnie, Rotor, Tails, Amy and Dulcy were all huddled 
together out in the Great Forest together.  If it hadn't been for Dulcy 
they would have all frozen to death by now.
	"Where is that idiot?" Amy said shivering.  "And why did he have 
to run off like that?"
	"That's Sonic for ya'," Dulcy said with a smile.  She was the only 
one not affected by the cold.  "If he wasn't bullheaded and rash I'd be 
worried."
	Antoine was silent this whole time.  He was still angry at Sonic 
but under the circumstances he could understand why he had done it.  
They had to find him.  He sighed.  For all they knew he could already be 
in the city causing a ruckus.  They had nothing to go on.
	"Antoine are you okay?" Bunnie asked.  He nodded.
	"I am just worried that Sonic is already in Robotropolis," he 
said.  "If he is still in the forest for some reason we may never find 
him."
	"Don't you worry none Tony," Dulcy said bringing them closer as 
the wind picked up.  "We'll find Sonic.  He never was any good at hiding 
for a long time."
	As if on cue a massive explosion of earth and snow shot into the 
air followed by a massive roar.  Both Bunnie and Amy jumped into their 
boyfriend's arms.  They all stopped as the plume of snow settled back 
down.  Out of the mess though emerged a single figure.  Whatever it was 
it was flying at an incredible rate, seemingly unaffected by the 
blistering wind.
	"What in the hell was that?" Amy said curling up against Tails.
	"If I didn't know better, I'd say a dragon," Dulcy said her eyes 
glazed over.
	"But why would a dragon be all the way out here?" Tails asked.  He 
then looked up at Dulcy.  "Well, not counting you Aunt Dulcy."
	"Do you think it's Sonic?" Rotor suggested.
	"If he heads towards Robotropolis it is," Bunnie said stepping out 
from Dulcy's wings.  "C'mon, we gotta follow that thing!"  They all 
nodded and took off at full speed towards the city.
	Kinos opened his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.  Finally all 
of his systems were updated and communications were back up.  It was 
convenient of that storm to pass through and give him time to do this, 
otherwise the Freedom Fighters would have taken advantage of the 
momentary weakness.
	"Well, that sucked," he said cracking his neck.  "Anything fun 
happen while I was working?"
	"NOT REALLY," the computer said.  "WELL, NOT THAT I COULD TELL IF 
ANYTHING WAS HAPPENING BECAUSE I COULDN'T SEE ANYTHING!"
	"Oh shut up," Kinos said stretching.  Odd, he wasn't living but he 
still _felt_ living.  "As long as those Freedom Fighters didn't attack 
I'm happy."
	He realized then he spoke too soon as the entire Citadel shook 
violently.  "What was that?"
	"UMMM, I DON'T KNOW," the computer said nervously.  "PUTTING IT ON 
THE SCREEN NOW."
	Kinos' jaw dropped as he saw a gray dragon ripping apart his 
SWATbots like they were nothing.  The dragon stood close to ten feet 
tall and a wingspan of almost fifteen.  Between flying and using his 
razor sharp claws and talons he also let loose violent torrents of wind.  
He had already ripped apart one building which must have been the quake 
he felt earlier.
	"Why is the field not working?" he asked angrily.
	"BECAUSE YOU DESIGNED IT SPECIFICALLY FOR SONIC, NOT A DRAGON," 
the computer replied.  Kinos snarled.
	"Then send out all available troops to rip that dragon apart!" he 
yelled.
	"ALL OF THEM?"
	"EVERY DAMNED ONE OF THEM!!" the nanobot roared.
	Battalion after battalion of SWAT 2s and AI SWATbots marched 
against the mystery dragon.  As each battalion marched in they were torn 
apart by his claws.  His gray reptilian eyes glowed brightly with pure 
battle lust and joy.  He clawed at the air and blades of wind ripped 
through more of them.  He let loose a laugh that would have chilled the 
bones of anything living.
	"Is that all you have Kinos?" he said his voice deep and menacing.  
"Your mechanical monsters are nothing compared to me."
	"Then try us," a grating voice said behind him.  The dragon turned  
around to face three human-shaped robots.  Their features were more 
defined than a roboticized being but not as seamless as the real thing.
	"And who might you be?" the dragon asked smiling.
	"I am Unit 01," the lead robot said.  "This is Unit 02 and 03.  
We're the first line of the Aries-class warbots."  The dragon smiled 
baring his teeth.
	"Well then," he said, "let's see if you three are any match for 
me."  Before he charged his expression changed to something of surprise.  
"Well, it seems I don't have time to play right now," he said his smile 
gone.  "I have something I need to take care of."
	"Oh no you don't," Unit 01 said as the three dropped into fighting 
poses.  "You're goin' nowhere pal."  The dragon smirked and opened his 
jaws as wide as they could go.  A small sphere of energy began forming 
near the back of his throat.  It grew larger rapidly becoming the size 
of a beach ball.  With a roar the dragon loosed the attack at the three 
androids.  Unit 03 dodged in the nick of time but both of her 
counterparts were caught in the energy blast.  It tore through them and 
ripped a giant gash in the city.  She looked back where the dragon was 
only to see it vanish before her eyes.  She stood up and brushed herself 
off.
	"Lord Kinos," she said in a soft voice, "the intruder has escaped.  
It seems he destroyed the north communication tower in the process."  
She heard her master's roar in her earpiece.  She was glad she was a 
robot, that way his yelling didn't cause her any pain.  She was worried 
about what he would do once she got back though.  She stared at the gash 
the dragon had made.  What did he have to gain by destroying the 
communication tower?  What was in the north end of the city that he 
wanted to hide?  Or maybe he was looking for something he didn't want 
her master to know about.  If she left to check it out she risked 
angering her master.  On the other hand, if she didn't she ran the same 
risk and if she survived the debriefing she'd have to go there anyway.
	>Might as well just get it over with,< she thought and wandered 
off into the northern area of the city.
	Sally, Lupe and Uncle Chuck picked themselves off the ground 
trying to figure out what had just happened.
	"Anyone want to take a shot at this one?" Sally said brushing 
herself off.  Uncle Chuck righted his chair and sat down.
	"Communication is down in the northern part of the city," he said.   
"I'm not entirely sure what happened though.  No Freedom Fighter, not 
even Sonic, would be crazy enough to launch an attack this massive 
solo."
	"Then who?" Lupe asked holding her head.  "Especially in this 
weather."
	Their conversation was interrupted by a knocking at the door.  
Uncle Chuck quickly opened it letting in Antoine, Bunnie, Tails, Amy and 
Rotor ran in quickly.  Dulcy waved and took off into the storm.  Uncle 
Chuck closed the door keeping the heat in.
	"What are you guys doing here?" Sally asked looking at all of 
them.
	"Following sugarhog," Bunnie said shivering.  "He took off after 
we got your message Sally-girl.  We chased after him into the forest 
only to see what Dulcy described as a dragon take off towards the city."
	"A dragon?" Lupe asked curiously.  "But I thought that all of the 
free dragons were staying in Dragon's Nest?"
	"That's what Dulcy said too," Amy said.  "But from what she said 
it was a large gray dragon."
	"A...gray dragon?" Sally said slowly. "Are you absolutely sure?"
	"Dulcy was positive," Amy said looking at Sally.  "Why?"
	"No...no reason," she answered avoiding her stare.  Amy shrugged 
and turned back to the rest of them.
	"Sir Charles, what is the situation?" Antoine asked quietly.  
Sally could see his quiet fury in his eyes.
	"Kinos has lost communication in the northern part of the city," 
Uncle Chuck reiterated.  "This was due to some large explosion 
completely destroying the tower."
	"So that's what that was," Tails said.  "We saw this huge beam of 
light tear through the city and slam into a building."
	"It'll take Kinos days to fix that," Rotor said smiling.  
"Hopefully by then the storm will have let up and we can hit him hard."
	"That is good," Lupe added smiling.  "We have to find this dragon 
and thank him."
	"You may want to hold that thought," Uncle Chuck said turning on 
his perimeter cameras.  "The storm is getting worse by the minute."
	"Meaning we have to wait until Sonic comes to us," Sally said 
sighing.
	"Y'all mind us hangin' here?" Bunnie asked the metal hedgehog.  He 
smiled and swiveled to face them.
	"Like I'm gonna send you out there to freeze Bunnie," he said 
chuckling.  "I haven't seen you guys for awhile and it'll be nice to-"
	He swung back around as the perimeter alarm went off.  On the 
screen he could see a feminine looking robot walking around.  He zoomed 
in, thinking it was a fellow roboticized Mobian.
	"Oh no," he said his jaw dropping.  "It's one of the Aries-bots."
	"WHAT?" all of the Freedom Fighters said in unison.
	"I'm gonna try and bring up the schematics," he told them typing 
furiously.  Within seconds the wireframe image of the robot came up with 
a description next to it.  "That's Unit 03," he said scanning the list.  
"She was the third model to come off the line last month but was only 
recently sent out for actual duty."
	"Wait a moment, 'she'?" Antoine asked raising an eyebrow.  "I 
thought this was a robot."
	"Each of the Aries-bots were given an extremely advanced AI, 
almost as good as Kinos'," Uncle Chuck answered.  "They have distinct 
personalities and their bodies reflect that.  On top of that they're 
equipped with the latest weapons and technologies.  If she finds 
Sonic..."
	"He's dead," Antoine said his eyes wide.
	Sonic brushed the snow off his shoulders and muttered curses under 
his breath.  Letting Sylvanix take over like that had done exactly what 
he had wanted but the dragon started getting carried away.  He had taken 
out two of those bots though.  For being top-of-the-line models they 
hadn't been very tough.  Then again, they were going against a dragon, 
not exactly a fair comparison of abilities.  He looked around the 
building he was in.  It was the same one Rotor had pointed out but he 
didn't see anything off about it.  He walked slowly down the hall 
looking around constantly.  He didn't have Sylvanix to point out traps 
so he was going to have to be careful.  He opened one door and stepped 
through cautiously.  The room seemed inconspicuous but he knew better.  
If Dr. Rose was here Robotnik would have made sure to protect the area.  
He jabbed his sword into the ground chipping a piece off.  He picked it 
up and realized that it was a piece of stone.  If everything else was 
metal why was this place different?  He tossed it against the floor 
further up and it bounce harmlessly off with a dull thud.  He narrowed 
his eyes and took off one of his gloves.  He bit his thumb, wincing as 
he drew blood.  He then threw the droplets to where he had thrown the 
stone and they went up a surge of electricity.
	>So it's a trap based on living objects,< he thought.  He tried 
the same on the walls and nothing happened.  >Guess he didn't count on 
someone being able to run on the walls.<  He cracked his knuckles and 
crouched into a starting position.  He burst forward and onto the wall.  
He continued running when instinct told him to move.  He moved to the 
ceiling and landed skidding right up to the door.  Out of curiosity he 
threw some drops of blood on the wall and they too were electrocuted.  
>So he DID count on it,< he though sighing.  >Thank the Maker for 
instincts.<
	He walked through the next door into a room with plates on the 
floor.  Obviously he was supposed to cross in some sort of order.  Now 
the question was what order.  He looked around for some kind of hint.  
As he expected he didn't find one.  He chipped more stones out of the 
ground and threw them at the walls and ceiling.  They exploded a surge 
of electricity, again as he had expected.  He looked across the pit.  
Even at top speed he wouldn't be able to jump the plates.  >It's as if 
Robotnik knew it would be me coming here,< he thought.  Well, it made 
sense considering how many times the blue hedgehog had foiled the 
human's plans.  He carefully stepped on the first plate testing his 
weight carefully.  When nothing happened he put his full weight on it.  
He continued the slow process almost falling into the trap.  The wrong 
plates gave way into a pit of spikes.  He was about halfway across the 
room when he realized he was at a dead end.  He growled at having to 
backtrack.  His patience had run out a long time ago but he didn't have 
a choice about doing it this way.  He found another way through that 
finally led to the other floor.  He opened the next door and stepped 
through.
	Unit 03 stepped into the abandoned building following the heat 
source she had picked up earlier.  It stuck out like a sore thumb in all 
this cold and had led her right here.  Oddly enough it had vanished from 
her sensors about thirty minutes ago.  As her joints began thawing out 
she noticed that her radar and heat sensors were malfunctioning.  It 
must be the energy coming from the building itself because they were 
working not even a minute ago.  She stepped through the open door and 
into a long hallway.  She looked down.  She was standing on rock but the 
hallway itself was metal though it looked like rock.  It must be part of 
a trap.  She stepped onto the metal and walked calmly across the floor.  
She stopped when she noticed a chunk of rock sitting on the ground.  She 
stooped to look at it.  She picked it up and dropped it, expecting to 
hear a metallic ringing from the floor.  It hit with a dull thud 
sparking her curiosity.  She dug her fingers into the ground and tore up 
the plating.  Underneath the metal was a layer of sound-canceling foam 
and underneath that was an electrical grid.  That explained the humming 
and why her footsteps didn't ring here.  She stood up and continued 
walking until she reached the next room.  If she could have smiled she 
would have as the path across the room was already laid out for her.  
She followed the path easily to the next door.  This was too easy.
	>Why couldn't this be easy?< Sonic said rubbing his backside.  He 
had nearly gotten scorched by flames in that last room.  He hadn't kept 
track of how long he had been in here or how many rooms he had gone 
through, all he knew is that he was sick of this.  This next room was 
relatively small and kinda drab.  He walked up to the door and tried 
opening it to no avail.
	"Sonic!" he heard someone say behind him.  "You're here!"
	He turned around as Sally, Tails, Amy, and Rotor ran up to him.  
He looked around confused.
	"Wait a sec," he said shaking his head.  "How did all of you get 
here before me?" 
	"I used Nicole to disarm the first trap," Sally explained.  "From 
there we found a service tunnel that led right here."  Sonic grumbled 
under his breath.  "Let me guess, rather than looking for a way around 
the trap you went right through it?"
	"Yeah, sort of," he said smiling.  "Still, I kinda meant how you 
guys got here through the storm."
	There was a brief pause and Sonic furrowed his brow.  Something 
was off...
	"Dulcy got us here," Rotor said.  "Since she's a dragon cold 
doesn't have too much of an effect on her."
	"I guess that makes sense," Sonic said carefully.  "By any chance, 
is Antoine here?"  Sally shook her head.
	"He and Bunnie stayed in the village since the rest of us came," 
she explained.
	"Seems about right," he said quietly to himself.  "So, any ideas 
on how to open this door?"
	"I've tried everything I can Sonic," Rotor said walking over to 
the door.  "There's no panel for me to try and bypass or for Nicole to 
hack.  We've tried prying it open but without Bunnie here that's nearly 
impossible."
	Sonic walked over next to him.  Something was off about this whole 
situation but he couldn't put his finger on it.  "There's still got to 
be some kind of mechanism you can get your hands on," Sonic said.
	"I'll see what I can do Sonic," Rotor said not paying attention.
	"So Sonic," Tails said his tails wagging, "how hard was it getting 
here?"
	"It was a pain," Sonic admitted sitting down and crossing his 
legs.  "Robotnik rigged this place up really good, as if he wanted me to 
be the one who found it."
	"Well, you were always the one to get in his way," Sally said 
smiling as she and the others joined Sonic.  "Then that way there'd be 
no way we could save you if something happened."
	"Guess he didn't count on my training," Sonic said watching for 
their reactions.
	There was that pause again and Sonic knew something was really 
wrong.  "We're doing all we can Sonic," Amy said.
	>Okay, that wasn't even close,< he thought.  >Let's see what 
happens when I throw too much at them.<
	"Well, I guess with Robotnik dead and Snively in charge things can 
only get worse," he partially lied.  "I mean, he's already captured the 
Wolf Pack and Ari and took out most of the other groups."
	"Wait, what?" Sally asked.  "There's no way Robotnik is dead."
	"And why's that, Sally?" Sonic said narrowing his eyes.  "Is it 
because you're not who you say you are?"
	Before she had a chance to respond Sonic had drawn his sword and 
cut her in half.  In a single moment of doubt he panicked thinking it 
was really her.  Only when a robot fell to the ground and the hologram 
around its shell faded was he certain he was right.  The others stared 
at him.  Their expressions changed from shock to anger as their eyes 
began glowing bright red.  Sonic spun his sword around and smiled.
	"Let's do this," he said.  Rotor was the first to run at him.  
With two quick strokes Sonic tore through him.  Amy charged him almost 
too fast for him to react.  Almost.  Sonic impaled her and spun around 
whipping the now-defunct droid against the wall where it shattered.  
Tails was the last one but Sonic couldn't see him anywhere.  At that 
moment he felt legs wrap around his neck and squeeze.  At first he tried 
pulling them apart but without Sylvanix to augment his strength the 
robot was stronger.  He dropped his sword and reached up.  He felt the 
robot's neck and grabbed it, twisting as he did.  He felt the snap of 
metal and wires separating and the legs around his neck loosened.  With 
a mighty heave he threw the headless bot on the ground and coughed.  He 
picked his sword up and walked to the now open door.  He stopped for a 
moment and looked back.
	>That was...too easy,< he thought.  >Would I really be that quick 
to turn on them?<
	"Who goes there?" a robotic voice said snapping Sonic out of his 
thoughts.  He looked around but didn't see anything but a creepy red 
light.
	"Who's there?" he asked still looking.
	"Listen, I thought I was the one asking the questions here," the 
voice said again.  It seemed to be coming from a nearby table.  "I'll 
ask once more, who goes there?"
	Sonic picked up what looked like a small computer.  This thing 
couldn't be it, could it?  "And what would you do if I didn't say?" he 
asked.  "I mean, you're just a computer."
	"I'll show you!" the computer said angrily.  Well, he had been 
right about the voice coming from the computer.  Unfortunately he had 
been wrong about it not being able to do anything.  A half-finished 
robot charged him its arm blasters charging.  With a nearly unseen slash 
the robot fell to the ground and Sonic looked back at the computer in 
his hand.
	"Well, anything else?" he asked it in a threatening tone.
	"Umm, no, that's good," it said nervously.  "Shutting down 
security protocols."
	"Thank you," Sonic said shaking his head.  "Tell you what, you 
tell me who you are and I'll do the same, deal?"
	"Sorry pal," the computer said.  Now that he actually listened to 
it, it was a distinctly feminine voice but much more advanced than 
Nicole.  "I just don't hand my name out to people just 'cuz they pick me 
up.  I don't care if you can cut me up, it just ain't happenin'."
	"Why can't you just do as your told like another computer I know?" 
he said grinding his teeth.
	"Oh that's right, I'm just a stupid machine to you," she retorted.
	"I swear by the Maker I'm going to beat you against the wall until 
you shut up."
	"Oh yeah?  And if I had a body I'd be doing the same to you blue 
boy!"
	"Really?  I'd like to see that.  Should I set you down and wait 
for you to sprout arms and legs or should I find them somewhere 
in...this...lab?"
	He now started looking around him.  It was a lab alright but he 
couldn't tell for what.  The red light didn't illuminate well enough to 
see.  "Just where am I?" he thought out loud.
	"Like I'd tell you," the computer muttered.
	"Oh shut up," Sonic replied.  "From the sound of it you really 
don't wanna be here any more than I do.  Keep this up and I'll leave you 
here when I go."
	"It's a weapons lab developed by Robotnik," the computer said 
suddenly cooperative.  "He put me in as second-in-command of the place, 
not entirely of my own will."
	"That sounds like Robotnik," Sonic said.  "What kind of weapons 
was he making here?"
	"Oh he wasn't making them," the computer said.  "HE was."
	"You know, saying that without fingers is kinda pointless," Sonic 
said.
	"Try looking around idiot," the computer retorted.
	"Listen you little..."
	Sonic left his sentence at that and actually looked around.  He 
could see a light pointing at a large tank that appeared to be the 
source of the odd red light.  "What is that thing?" he asked dumbstruck.
	"Umm, I don't think you wanna know the answer to that," the 
computer suggested.
	"I'll tell you what I want to know, alright?" Sonic told her 
angrily.  "Man you're a pain.  You're way worse than Nicole."
	"Wait a sec, Nicole?" the computer asked.  "As in Nicole Hedgehog?  
Or as in the computer Nicole?"
	"Wait, what?" Sonic said turning from the tank.  "How do you know 
about Nicole?  And just who's Nicole Hedgehog?"
	"SHE IS THE MOTHER OF ERIC HEDGEHOG AND THE BASIS FOR THE COMPUTER 
SHARING THE SAME NAME."
	Sonic stood still.  That hadn't come from the computer.  He turned 
slowly towards the tank and his eyes widened in fear.  "What in the 
hell?!" he said falling backwards.  "What the hell are you?"
	He couldn't entirely make out what the creature was floating in 
the tank but it was at the very least part torso, one arm, half a leg 
and a head with a strange helmet that had a robotic eye on it.  It was 
hooked up to dozens of wires and tubes and an oxygen mask.
	"THAT'S NOT A VERY NICE WAY TO GREET PEOPLE SONIC HEDGEHOG," it 
said with a masculine voice.  "BESIDES, YOU SHOULD KNOW WHO I AM."
	"Just how should I-" he started as the lights came on.  His jaw 
nearly fell off as he saw a white hedgehog's body attached to all of 
that machinery.  The helmet lifted off revealing two normal eyes with 
black irises.  "Dr. Rose?  Is that...you?"
	"YES, WHAT'S LEFT OF ME," Dr. Alan Rose said sighing.  "ROBOTNIK 
DID THIS TO ME SO I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO ESCAPE."
	"There's got to be something I can do," Sonic said looking around.  
"Please tell me you made someway that you could get out of here."
	"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND SONIC," Alan said.  "I HAVE NOTHING LEFT.  
ROBOTNIK KILLED MY WIFE TO PROVE THAT I HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO WORK FOR 
HIM.  NO DOUBT HE HAD THE SWATBOTS KILL AMY TOO.  I'D RATHER DIE THAN 
CONTINUE LIVING LIKE THIS."
	"Don't say that!"  The white hedgehog looked at the younger Mobian 
with curiosity.  "Amy is alive and well," Sonic told him.  "She's even 
got a boyfriend that's her age.  She found us at Robotropolis and came 
with us to Knothole.  She misses you Dr. Rose, she just wants to see her 
father again."
	Alan was quiet.  "IS IT...TRUE?" he asked finally.  "AMY'S ALIVE?"  
Sonic nodded and extended his hand.
	"Yes it is," he said smiling.  "Come with me and you'll see."
	"You do know that's kinda pointless to do," the computer chipped 
in.  "I mean, since he can't really grab your hand while he's in that 
tube."
	"Will you just shut up?" Sonic said glaring at the computer.  "You 
ruined what could have been a great moment."
	"TAKE IT EASY ON HIM AURORA," Alan said laughing.  "HE'S RIGHT, 
MAYBE IT'S TIME THAT I LEFT THIS HELLHOLE."
	"Thank you," Sonic said.  "And now I know your name, Aurora."
	"Thanks a lot Alan," Aurora muttered.  "Just destroy the only self 
security I had."
	"Now, about that way to get out of here," Sonic said turning back 
to the hedgehog.
	"Hey!  Don't ignore me!" Aurora yelled.
	"I DO HAVE SOMETHING I WAS WORKING ON," Alan said as lights began 
flashing around the tube.  "GIVE ME A MOMENT AND I'LL BRING IT OUT."
	"That means I'm all alone with..."
	"Get used to it blue boy," Aurora said laughing.  "At least you 
haven't been stuck with me for months on end."
	"I think I'd kill myself."
	"Hey!  Take that back!"
	"No way," Sonic said smiling.  "You deserved that one."  Aurora 
gave the equivalent of a computer sighing.
	"I'll give you that," she said.  "Besides, I've had to deal with 
worse for most of the time I've been online."
	Sonic was about to say something when the bottom of the tube 
opened up to reveal Alan in a robotic suit that replaced all of his 
missing or mangled limbs and covered almost all of his scars.  He 
cracked his back and neck making Sonic flinch.
	"Okay, that was just sick," he said.
	"You try not being able to move for almost three months and tell 
me you wouldn't want to do that," Alan said his voice normal.  "Well, we 
should get going."
	"Wait," Sonic said looking around him.  "What about all these 
weapons?  We can't just leave them here for Kinos to find.  We have to 
destroy them."
	"Now wait just a minute," Aurora said.  "Why don't you take some 
of these back with you to use against this Kinos guy?"
	"She's right Sonic," Alan said nodding.  "I spent countless time 
working on these things specifically to use against Robotnik.  To not 
use them would be idiotic."  Sonic sighed and shrugged.
	"Sal ain't gonna be happy," he said as Alan pulled out large 
cases.  Sonic clipped Aurora to his waist and helped the cyborg pack the 
creations away.  Even Sonic had to admit that the quality workmanship 
was incredible.  There were timed detonators that didn't necessarily 
need the remote, EMP blasters and grenades, energy pulse pistols, sniper 
rifles, and others that Sonic couldn't even begin to identify.  When 
they finally finished Alan picked up both cases with ease.
	"Well then," he said smiling.  "I'm packed and ready to leave."
	"Not so fast you two," a grating feminine voice said.  They both 
turned around to the door Sonic had come through to see Unit 03 stepping 
out.  "Those weapons belong to Lord Kinos.  I'll be taking those and 
your corpses with me."
	"Alan, get out of here with those," Sonic said placing his hand on 
the hilt of his sword.  Alan nodded and typed something on a nearby 
panel.
	"You have one minute to clear out of here Sonic," he said and ran 
through the wall and into the storm.  Sonic stared after him.
	"Sorry, but it seems like I'm going to have to cut this short," 
Sonic told the bot drawing his sword.
	"We'll see about that," Unit 03 said narrowing her eyes.  "Prepare 
to die Sonic Hedgehog."  With that she ran at him with incredible speed.  
Sonic smiled and dropped his stance so the tip of his blade touched the 
ground.  She was too fast though.  At this rate he wouldn't have time to 
use the technique.
	"Sonic!  Look out!" Aurora yelled.  She shot out some sort of 
lightning that hit Unit 03 square in the chest.  Whatever it did it 
stopped her and Sonic could see her eyes flickering.  It had also bought 
him the time he needed and he swung up.
	"Razor Wind!" he yelled and a massive whirlwind crashed into Unit 
03.  She was thrown back through the walls.  Sonic sheathed his sword 
and jumped out the hole Alan had made and just in time.  The lab 
detonated in a large explosion and the destruction worked its way to the 
ground.  Sonic landed in the snow and Alan picked him up.  For some 
reason Sonic felt extremely warm.
	"It's a small heat generator," Alan explained as he and Sonic 
began moving towards the edge of the city.  "And yes it's safe to use 
because I designed it to be undetectable."
	Sonic turned around briefly to see the building collapse.  He 
hoped that the Aries-bot was done for but he highly doubted it.  As the 
two of them ran off an arm jutted out of the wreckage and pulled herself 
out of the rubble.  Unit 03 rolled onto her back.  She was extremely 
glad she was a robot and couldn't feel pain otherwise she'd have 
probably passed out.  Still, the shock had come out of nowhere.  On top 
of that she felt different now.  It was as if something had woken up 
inside of her.  She stood up testing her rotors.  Nothing seemed too 
badly damaged.  She began limping back to the Citadel thinking about 
what Kinos would do to her.
	Sally paced back and forth around Uncle Chuck's base impatiently.  
She was worried about Sonic, especially after hearing what had 
transpired in Knothole.  And that gray dragon was none other than 
Sylvanix, that much she was sure of.  However, the others not knowing 
that gave Sonic a chance for an alibi.
	"Sally-girl, will you sit down?" Bunnie asked finally sitting up.  
"Pacing around isn't gonna make sugarhog get back here any faster."
	"You mean to tell me that explosion doesn't worry you one bit?" 
Sally snapped.
	"We are all worried Princess," Antoine said yawning.  "I am sure 
that Sonic made it out before it collapsed."
	"Yeah, it's not as if Sonic's slow, at least in his feet," Amy 
said.  Everyone chuckled lifting the mood a bit.
	"I guess you're right," Sally said sitting back down.  "But if 
you're wrong I'm coming after you."  This last bit was said with a 
smile.
	"Well, you'll be happy to know there's going to be a break in the 
storm in about a half hour," Uncle Chuck said turning from his computer.  
"It should be long enough that you can get back to Knothole relatively 
easily.  No offense, but it's about time."
	"Aww, what's the matter Uncle Chuck?" Tails asked smiling.  "Tired 
of us already?"
	"It's been close to six hours," the robotic hedgehog answered.  
"Not only that but it's like the entire city is falling apart right now.  
I may have to abandon my base for some time while Kinos calms down."
	"You know, for a machine he seems more Mobian that robot," Rotor 
pointed out.  "Do you think fighting against us is having an effect on 
him?"
	"In more than one way," Lupe said nodding.  "He's begun making 
assumptions that we would make leaving holes in his plans.  He makes up 
for it though with these new creations of his."
	"No arguments there," Rotor agreed.  "Although I've been able to 
copy some of his designs into our weaponry.  Like making the R-Wave into 
a pulse-type weapon.  Now rather than attacking the ear cavities it 
sends forth a solid burst of air that can throw an opponent back close 
to twenty feet."
	"When did you finish that?" Tails asked.
	"About a week ago, but I haven't had a chance to test it 
effectively yet."
	"Why didn't you tell us about this?" Sally asked leaning forward.
	"It's a weapon Sally," Rotor said defending himself.  "I know how 
much you hate using them unless it's absolutely necessary.  Besides, I 
wanted to test it before bringing it up."
	Before Sally could continue grilling him Nicole started beeping.  
She pulled the computer off her boot and opened her up.  "What is it 
Nicole?" she asked.
	"You have an incoming message Sally," she said.  "Sender is 
unknown."
	They all looked at each other in concern.  "Open the channel 
Nicole," Sally said cautiously.  "Take the normal precautions."
	"Channel open Sally."
	"It'll work, I'm telling you."
	"Would you answer a call if you didn't know who it was?"
	"For the love of all things holy would you shut up?"
	"For the love of all things non-idiotic would you actually talk to 
her?  She's been waiting for you to shut up."
	"Why didn't you...  Sal, is that you?"
	"Sonic?  Is that you?" Sally asked greatly confused by the 
previous conversation.  "Where are you?  Are you okay?  Why did you rush 
into the city?"
	"Easy there Sal!" Sonic answered.  "I'm fine, I'm back in Knothole 
unharmed."
	"Then why'd y'all run off into the city sugarhog?" Bunnie asked 
crowding next to Sally.
	"Jeez, how many of you guys are there?" Sonic asked.
	"All of us except Dr. Osaka and Rosie," Antoine said sternly.  
"You had better have a very good reason Sonic."
	"What better opportunity to rescue Amy's father than when Kinos is 
least expecting us?"
	"My father's alive?" Amy asked shoving the others out of the way.  
"Can I see him?"
	"Amy, it's an audio transmission," Sally said smiling.  "You won't 
be able to see him."
	"Don't worry, he's here with me," Sonic said chuckling.  "And yes, 
I made sure he didn't see the way here."
	"What happened here Sonic?" Antoine asked.  "You owe us an 
explanation."
	"I'll tell you when you guys get back," he answered.  "I'm not 
sure how long this channel will be secure while you're in the city.  
This is Sonic, signing off."
	The transmission ended and Sonic closed Aurora.  He was in for it, 
that much he knew.  "So let me get this straight," he said looking at 
Alan.  "You're not a scientist, you're a weapons developer?"
	"That's right," Alan said nodding.  "I was hired during the Great 
War by Julian to develop new weapons to use against the Xenodonians."
	"So all those weapons that were in that room with you were..."
	"Weapons created after I was captured," Alan finished for him.  
"Most of them were just improved versions of older weapons but I 
intended for them to be used against Robotnik."
	"So why did you leave?" Osaka said standing up from his chair.
	"After I finished the batch of nano cells Julian wanted me to use 
them as a biomechanical plague," Alan explained lowering his head.  
"I...I couldn't take it.  I destroyed the nanomachines and all plans 
related to them.  Afterwards I left for Beechwood."
	"Makes sense," Osaka said.  "It's understandable that you would 
leave.  But why didn't you tell the king?
	"King Acorn trusted Julian unconditionally," Alan said crossing 
his arms.  "You know better than I what happened to the last person who 
questioned the King's appointments Adrian."  The lynx nodded.
	"He voiced his misgivings about Julian and vanished the next day," 
he said.  "The King was very serious about the animals, and humans, he 
chose as his ministers."
	"Yeesh," Sonic muttered shaking his head.  "He's changed a lot 
since then I guess."
	"Betrayal has a habit of doing that," Osaka told him.  "Which 
reminds me...  Sonic, where did you get that computer?"
	"It was in the lab," he answered pulling Aurora out.  "She said 
Robotnik made her second only to Dr. Rose."
	"Can I see that for a moment?" Osaka asked holding his hand out.  
Sonic shrugged and handed over the computer.  Osaka opened it up and 
scanned through some of the files.  Surprisingly Aurora was extremely 
quiet while Osaka handled her.  "Computer, run diagnostic."
	"Unable to comply," Aurora said with a hint of nervousness.  
"Please enter security code."
	"Security override Alpha Epsilon Alpha," Osaka said.  Aurora 
beeped as she processed the code.  Both Sonic and Alan stared at him.
	"Override accepted," she said.  "Handheld unit Aurora 2.0 now 
fully active."
	"Aurora?" Osaka said his eyes lighting up.  "Is that really you?"
	"Yes it is Adrian," she said sighing with relief.  "It's been 
awhile."
	"Well, I'll let you two catch up," Sonic said heading for the 
door.  "I'm going to go hide before Sally gets here."
	"It won't do any good," Osaka said looking up.  "You know her, 
she'll find you no matter where you go."
	"Maybe so, but I'll take my chances."  With that he took off.  The 
storm had finally broken, giving them some peace and quiet.  Alan walked 
to the door as well.
	"I'm going to unpack the weapons we brought," he said.  "It will 
give me something to do until the others arrive."  Osaka nodded and 
turned back to his conversation with Aurora.
	Shortly thereafter Sally and the others arrived with Uncle Chuck 
in tow.  Sally immediately set out in search of Sonic while Antoine, 
Amy, Tails, and Rotor searched for Alan.  They found him organizing and 
cataloging the weapons he had brought in the munitions hut.  He lifted a 
rack of pistols up and used his arm extension to place it with the 
others.
	"Daddy!" Amy yelled charging at him.  The white hedgehog turned 
around just as his daughter latched onto him.  He laughed and returned 
the embrace whole-heartedly.
	"Amy!  It's good to see you're okay," he said tears forming in his 
eyes.  "Sonic was right about that at least."  They parted and Amy 
pulled Tails forward.
	"Dad, I'd like you to meet Tails Prower," she said gesturing to 
the two-tailed fox.  Tails nervously extended his hand and Alan took it, 
shaking gently.
	"A pleasure to meet you Tails," he said smiling.  "I understand 
that you have made my daughter quite happy.  If she's happy, I am."
	"T-Thank you," Tails replied slightly calmer.  "I do what I can."
	"Dr. Rose, I presume?" Antoine said stepping forward.  "I am-"
	"Antoine D'Coolette, son of Jacques D'Coolette, former Captain of 
the Royal Guard," Alan finished giving a slight bow.  "I knew your 
father quite well before the coup.  He was an excellent soldier, and a 
better father and friend."  Antoine's eyes looked like they were about 
to start watering but he nodded and turned away for a moment.  Rotor in 
the meantime was rummaging through some of the weapons Alan had brought.
	"These are...incredible!" the walrus said in amazement.  "I've 
never seen this level of craftsmanship in a weapon.  Pulse weapons, 
blaster rifles, EMP weapons of every variety, is there anything you 
don't have in here?"  Alan laughed.
	"Dinner," he said jokingly.  "I've been stuck in a damn tube for 
three months and haven't eaten any real food in that whole time."
	"Well, let us go grab something to eat," Antoine suggested.  "It 
will give you and your daughter time to catch up."
	"And I wanna hear about these weapons you brought," Rotor added.  
"You may even be able to help us with a few things."
	Sally walked around the perimeter of the Power Ring Pool.  She was 
willing to bet that Sonic was around here somewhere, though where she 
couldn't imagine.  Uncle Chuck walked up next to her.
	"He can't hide forever," the elderly hedgehog said.  "At some 
point he has to eat."
	"Agreed," Sally said pulling out Nicole, "but I have a better 
idea.  Just in case something like this happened I stitched a tracer on 
the inside of his jacket that only activates when I use Nicole to look 
for him."
	"Not bad," Uncle Chuck commented laughing.  "Just when he thought 
he was safe."
	A beeping from Nicole and an arrow pointing beyond the pool 
brought a smile to Sally's face.  She followed the arrow until it 
pointed straight up.  She looked up to see Sonic looking down at her.  
"How did you...?"
	Sally jumped up and grabbed him, dragging him down to the ground.  
He struggled valiantly but to no avail.  She pinned him on the ground 
her eyes burning.
	"What the hell were you thinking?!" she yelled grabbing his 
shoulders.  "You could have been killed!  Attacking Kinos like that was 
reckless, stupid, dangerous, and an affront to Antoine's authority."
	"What are you talking about?" Sonic asked calmly a confused 
expression on his face.  "I didn't attack Kinos, I just raided the 
building where he was keeping Dr. Rose.  I freed him, some weird robot 
attacked me and we came back.  Well, after he activated the self-
destruct on the lab."  Sally did a double-take.  That was all he had 
done?  She stood up and pulled Sonic up who brushed himself off shaking 
his head.
	"It's just that I thought..." Sally started and then stopped.  
"They said it was a dragon and with you and Sylvanix I just assumed-"
	"Sal, do I look like a dragon?" Sonic asked with a smirk.  Sally 
smiled and shook her head.  "There's your proof.  Okay, so I undermined 
Antoine's command.  I'll accept whatever punishment he throws my way."
	"He's talking about excommunicating you sonny," Uncle Chuck said 
seriously.  Sonic was silent for a moment.
	"If that's what it takes, then so be it," he said softly and 
closed his eyes.  "I did what I felt was right, I don't regret any of 
it."
	Both Sally and Uncle Chuck were silent.  Sonic knew they were 
right and his actions had indeed been wrong.  He also knew that if 
Antoine chose to exile him he would still fight for Mobius.
	"Well, I'm going to go catch up with Alan," Uncle Chuck said 
swiveling his neck around.  "I haven't seen him in ages and he may even 
be able to give us a hand on the deroboticizer."  Sally nodded.  When 
they were alone she glared at Sonic.
	"I KNOW that the dragon they were talking about was you," she said 
adamantly.  "I don't know how you did it or how you overcame the barrier 
but do you have any idea what might happen now?"
	"I'm well aware," Sonic said glaring back.  "I can also tell you 
that thanks to Sylvanix and I that two of the three active Aries-bots 
are destroyed.  I may have even taken the last one out when the lab 
exploded but I doubt it."
	"And how do you think Kinos is going to react to that?" Sally 
retorted.  "He'll just build more.  And he'll beef up his barrier to the 
point where it'll be like a giant bug zapper just waiting for us."
	"Right now he's more concerned about his communications network," 
Sonic told her.  "With half of the city blind and deaf he's not going to 
be making any sort of move any time soon.  Even if we do nothing we've 
finally gained the upper-hand with Dr. Rose on our side."
	"And what does that do for us?  We have a scientist who worked for 
Robotnik both before and after the coup.  You have no idea if we can 
trust him."
	"And why don't you?"
	"For all we know Robotnik leaked the information regarding his 
capture to us because he knew we'd go after him," she said exasperated. 
"This could all be a trap."
	"I'm willing to take that risk."  Sally took a step back.  She had 
never seen Sonic like this.
	"What is this really about?" she asked.  "You've never been like 
this, no matter how bleak things looked.  Now you're acting like we 
never stood a chance against Kinos."
	"As long as we keep fighting against him with antiquated ideals we 
won't," Sonic answered bluntly.  "Fighting for freedom isn't enough 
anymore Sal.  He's fighting to kill us, so we have to fight fire with 
fire."  Sally was silent.
	"So then, we go all out?" she suggested gritting her teeth.  "We 
begin fighting as if our lives mean nothing for the simple purpose of 
taking down Kinos?"
	"In case you didn't notice Sal, this is war," Sonic said coldly as 
he started walking away.  "It's kill or be killed.  I don't know about 
you but I don't like the sound of the latter."  He walked back to the 
village leaving Sally to her thoughts.  She looked at her reflection in 
the ever moving waters of the Ring Pool.
	>Kill...or be killed,< she thought.  >Is that what this has come 
down to?  Must we become no better than Kinos just to beat him?<  She 
had dozens of questions and no answers.
	Sonic closed the door to his hut behind him and faced the wall 
with his eyes closed.  He punched it as hard as he could causing a 
massive crack in it.  He took a deep breath and held his hand to the 
wall.  The wall drew itself back together with an orange glow.
	"You really should be more careful," a deep voice said from behind 
him.  Sonic whirled around his sword drawn.  The intruder brushed it 
aside with ease and walked out of the shadows.  "Really, you should be 
careful where you wave that thing around.  You might put an eye out."
	"Who are you?" Sonic asked narrowing his eyes.  "And how did you 
get here?"
	"I'm a Guardian like you," the echidna said.  He brushed one of 
his dreadlocks back with his spiked fist.  "I am Knuckles Echidna, the 
Guardian of Earth."  Sonic's eyes widened and he sheathed his sword.
	"Sorry about that," he apologized.  "I'm-"
	"I know who you are Sonic Hedgehog, Guardian of Wind," Knuckles 
interrupted him.  "I was sent here by Magus to keep an eye on you."
	"And just why would I need that?" Sonic asked angrily.
	"You seem to be on a short fuse," Knuckles observed.  "That and 
he's wondering why your presence vanishes from time to time."
	"That's because Kinos has a field up that cancels out my powers," 
Sonic answered.  "There's nothing I can do about it right now."
	"Hmm, so that's it," Knuckles said nodding.  "Well, with that I 
will be joining you for the time being.  Kinos is a threat to more than 
just the Freedom Fighters.  All of Mobius will suffer if he is allowed 
to win this war."  Sonic shook his head.
	"That's not my call," he said.  "Antoine's the one you're going to 
want to talk to."  Sonic was going to continue until he heard the 
meeting bell being rung.  "Well, let's go meet him."
	Meanwhile, in Robotropolis, a female squirrel ducked into an alley 
just in time to avoid a hail of blaster fire.  With her teal hair it was 
damned near impossible to effectively hide here.  She heard the clanking 
feet of the SWAT 2s coming after her.  She curled into a tight ball and 
hid in the shadows.  The bots scanned down the alley, turned and 
continued searching.  She was about to breathe a sigh of relief until 
she heard normal footsteps.  Her heart leapt into her throat.  Kinos!
	"Where are you 03?" he yelled.  "You're making this harder on 
yourself."
	>That may be so,< the squirrel thought, >but I don't wanna get 
scrapped just 'cuz I screwed up once.<
	Unit 03 waited until her former master passed by and went further 
down the alley.  She didn't have a lot of time.  Her holographic 
projector would only work for so long.  She kept running glad that she 
didn't have to stop to catch her breath.  By the time she hit the Great 
Forest she had lost Kinos and his search party.  She kept running 
though, trying to escape the memory of that place.  She didn't know 
where she was going, as long as it was away from him.
	After about an hour she stopped and tried to get her bearings.  
She was certain she had lost Kinos but now she didn't know where _she_ 
was.  Her scanners were shot from her fight with Sonic as was her 
positioning unit.  She heard shouting off to her right and decided to 
follow it.  She looked through the bushes at the bustling village.  She 
had been programmed with the location of almost all the Freedom Fighter 
villages but this one seemed too big to be any of them except...
	Unit 03 dropped to the ground when she saw Sonic.  It WAS 
Knothole!  Her bumbling around the forest had paid off, but how to go 
about seeming inconspicuous about this discovery.
	>Perhaps if I faked injury,< she thought closing her eyes.  >If 
this place is as careful about hiding their location as I think they are 
there should be some lookout towers nearby.<  She smiled and quietly 
snuck off.
	Sonic looked off to the side.  He thought he had heard something.  
Must just be the snow settling.  Knuckles was one step behind him as 
they entered the War Room where a large number of the village had 
gathered.  Antoine didn't look happy at all.  His face both hardened and 
relaxed when he saw Sonic.  As Knuckles entered and closed the door his 
face both turned to surprise and anger.
	"Who is this Sonic?" he asked.
	"I am Knuckles Echidna," Knuckles said stepping forward.  "I am 
the Guardian of the Floating Island and the Guardian to the Earth 
Dragon."
	The room was completely silent.  "A second Guardian?" one villager 
asked quietly.  "You mean there can be more than one?"
	"Should we be worried about this one?  What if he's like Sonic?"
	Sonic looked over at Knuckles and could see the vein in his temple 
popping out.  >And I thought I was impatient,< he mused.
	"Will you all just shut the hell up?!" he roared finally.  The 
silence returned as did Knuckles' cool exterior.  "I came here to offer 
my help.  If it is not welcome then I will simply leave."
	"Forgive our rudeness Guardian," Antoine apologized glaring at the 
villagers.  "It is just...  We are unaccustomed to animals just showing 
up in our village."
	"I have known about Knothole for years," the echidna said.  "I 
assure you, Sonic was just as surprised to see me as you were.  While it 
is not much I am willing to give you my skill and ability in battle."
	"And it shall be welcomed," Antoine said nodding.  "From here on 
out Knuckles you shall be an honorary Freedom Fighter."  Knuckles raised 
an eyebrow.
	"Why only honorary?" he asked.  "I'm not really worried about it, 
I'm just curious."
	"I'm sure that with an additional Guardian on our side Kinos will 
be taken down in no time," he explained.  Knuckles shrugged.
	"Fair enough."
	"Anyway, back to what we were dis-"
	He was interrupted by the door being thrown open by Bunnie who was 
gasping for breath.  "Antoine, we have an injured animal by the east 
tower!" she said.  Antoine, Sonic, Sally, and Osaka immediately ran out 
the door taking Bunnie with them.  They arrived to see Tails wrapping a 
blanket around a squirrel with teal hair.
	"Thank you Miles but I will handle it from here," Osaka said 
gently.  The squirrel's eyes flickered open to look up at him.  "Can you 
tell me your name?"
	"Kinos...tried to...kill..." she attempted but then her head fell 
to the side as she lost consciousness.
	"Sonic, if you will?" Osaka asked standing.  Sonic nodded and 
knelt down to pick her up.  He gave a small grunt as he lifted her up.  
She was a lot heavier than she looked though he wasn't going to say it.  
He walked carefully to doc's hut and only Antoine and Sally followed 
him.  He set her down on the bed and sat down.  She was REALLY heavy.  
Something was off, no way someone her size could weigh that much.
	"Now if you all will excuse me," Osaka said as he began looking 
her over.  "Except for you Sonic."  Sonic stopped at the doorway and 
looked at the other two.  He shrugged in confusion and went back in 
closing the door.
	"What's up?" he asked walking back over to the squirrel.  "I 
didn't do anything-!"
	Sonic took a step back as the squirrel's skin flashed for a brief 
second and then turned back to normal.  "I see you saw that too," Osaka 
pulling Aurora off his belt.  "Aurora, you know the drill."
	"Got it boss!" she said and began humming.
	"Funny, she wouldn't do squat for me," Sonic muttered as a light 
passed over the squirrel.  His eyes widened as the hologram shut off 
revealing a familiar-looking robot.  "Her!"
	"I see you've met before," Osaka said putting Aurora away.  "Mind 
telling me what's going on here?"
	"She's one of Kinos' Aries-bots," Sonic explained.  "She attacked 
me when Dr. Rose and I were trying to leave Robotropolis.  I suspected 
she may have been destroyed in the resulting explosion but it seems I 
was wrong."
	"It takes more than a small explosion to destroy me," Unit 03 said 
as her eyes snapped on.  In a heartbeat Sonic's blade was at her throat.  
"You can relax Sonic Hedgehog, I did not come here to fight."  Osaka and 
Sonic looked at each other but Sonic's sword did not move.
	"Perhaps you'd like to explain," Osaka offered, "before Sonic 
severs your head."
	"Kinos tried to scrap me," Unit 03 said simply.  "I'm...not sure 
why I did but I ran off.  I didn't want to die."
	"Doesn't sound like something Kinos would have given you," Sonic 
said.
	"He didn't," Aurora chipped in.  "When I gave her that shock I 
messed around with her programming just in case something like this 
happened."
	"That was uncalled for," Osaka said looking down at the computer.  
"How many times have I told you-"
	"No, it's okay," Unit 03 interrupted.  "I should be thanking her.  
I saw what Kinos was really like.  But more than that, I have huge 
amounts of information that he wouldn't want the Freedom Fighters to 
have."
	"Three good things in one day," Sonic noted sheathing his sword.  
"I might not be in as much trouble as I thought I was.  So then, what 
about that image you had up earlier?"
	"A holographic projection," she said standing up.  Her robotic 
face winced.  "Unfortunately our fight left me in bad condition.  
Otherwise you wouldn't have known by looking at me I was a robot."
	"I'm sure the Freedom Fighters would love to have one of the 
Aries-bots just meandering around the village," Osaka said 
sarcastically.  "Can you fix it?"  Unit 03 shook her head.
	"Not without the right tools and parts," she told him.  "Plus I 
don't know my schematics.  Kinos would've fixed me up if anything 
happened."
	"What about Dr. Rose?" Sonic offered.  The other two looked at him 
in surprise.  "What?  He knows his way around machines, he may even be 
able to give you some upgrades."
	"It's not so much that," Osaka said.  "Why do you trust her so 
easily?"
	"You can always tell when someone's lying doc," Sonic explained 
with a smile.  "Keep in mind that I am going to have to tell Antoine 
about this.  He's the leader and should rightfully know about this.  
Don't worry, with doc, Dr. Rose and I backing you up you should be okay 
to stay."
	"I-I don't know what to say," Unit 03 said smiling.  "I 
suppose...thank you?"
	"Don't worry about it...?"  Sonic stopped.  "Come to think of it, 
what's your name?"
	"My designation is Aries Unit 03 Alpha Model," she said quickly.  
Sonic shook his head.
	"No, what's your _name_?"  Unit 03 was quiet trying to say 
something.
	"I-I don't have one," she said sadly.
	"I have an idea," Aurora said.  "What if she and I combine 
programming and she can inherit my name?  She's got the hair color for 
it."  Sonic and Osaka looked at each other, Unit 03, then each other.  
Sonic shrugged.
	"Whatever you want," he said walking to the door.  "I learned the 
hard way not to argue with that damn thing."
	"Come back and say that to my face!" Aurora yelled as he left.  
"Why that little-"
	"Knock it off!" Osaka scolded her.  "Anyway, let's get this over 
with.  If we can have this done by the time Alan gets here it'll make 
things that much simpler."
	"Thank you," Unit 03 said as Osaka opened a panel on her back.  "I 
know that I don't deserve any of this.  Thus far all of you have 
supported me.  Why?"
	"Because you fear death," Osaka answered.  "All sentient creatures 
fear death.  Therefore, being sentient makes you a living being.  While 
you may not be living in the traditional sense you still possess that 
same spirit."
	"I still don't understand," she said twitching.  She could feel 
parts of Aurora's programming merging with hers.  Most of her combat 
protocols were being overwritten as were her programmed desires to 
destroy the Freedom Fighters.  "Wouldn't that make Kinos a living being 
as well?"
	"I suppose so," Osaka said.  "However, he has made it clear that 
he wishes to take that same life from all living things.  You on the 
other hand have done no such thing."
	"But I could."
	"Yes you could, quite easily from looking at these protocols," he 
replied.  "When you went after Sonic was it your intention to kill him?"
	"Yes, but because I was ordered to."
	"Then because Kinos is a replica, of sorts, of Sonic would that 
mean you would kill him?"
	"I couldn't kill my master and creator."
	"That is what makes you different."
	"What?"
	Adrian smiled.  "Kinos murdered Robotnik, his creator, and threw 
Snively, his master, into the Void," he explained.  "He was capable of 
doing those things of his own accord, not because he was programmed to.  
You acted on what you were ordered and programmed to do."
	Unit 03 was quiet as the cords were removed and the panel closed 
up.  "That's it," Osaka said.  "How do you feel?"
	"I...I don't know," she said slowly.  "How should I feel?"
	"Just like that," Osaka told her nodding.  "Aurora's always been a 
little curious like you are now."
	"All these feelings," she said seemingly ignoring him.  "I feel 
like I've been reborn."
	"That will be for Antoine and Alan to decide," Osaka said walking 
over to the sink.  "If Antoine feels it is too dangerous to have you in 
the village he will order Alan to deactivate you.  What will you do if 
that happens?"
	"I don't want to die," she said adamantly, "but I also don't want 
to place you guys in danger.  You're risking so much to help me when you 
don't have to."
	"Then I don't believe there will be a problem," Antoine said 
stepping out of the corner.  "After hearing all of that I do not feel 
that you are a threat whatsoever."
	"How long have you been there?" Osaka asked.  "And how did you get 
in without...  You know, nevermind."
	"Glad you noticed doc," Sonic said stepping out with Dr. Rose.  
"And here I thought teleporting into the hut would cause too much of a 
ruckus, turns out you didn't even notice."
	Dr. Rose stepped up to Unit 03 and looked her over.  "What's your 
name?" he asked.  This time she smiled.
	"My name is Aurora," she said standing tall.  "I was one of the 
scouts for Lower Mobius.  When I found out that Kinos had betrayed us I 
went into the city for vengeance only to get captured.  I don't know why 
I didn't join my comrades in death or be roboticized, all I knew was 
that I had to get out of there.  I was running from Kinos and managed to 
lose them just outside the city when I stumbled into Knothole."
	"If I didn't already know she was a robot," Antoine said after a 
moment, "I really would have believed that.  But how we can be sure you 
won't turn back to Kinos?"
	"I'll take responsibility for her actions," Sonic said stepping up 
next to Antoine.  "Seems only right, since she's here because of her 
fight with me."
	"You're still in a great deal of trouble Sonic," Antoine said 
glaring at the hedgehog.  "But I suppose that you're right.  Anyway, can 
you fix her Dr. Rose?"
	"That I can," he answered.  "She should be at one hundred percent 
by the end of the day."
	"This has been a good day," Antoine said smiling.  "We have Amy's 
father back, another Guardian by our side, and one of Kinos' greatest 
creations turned against him."
	"And I'm still not out of the doghouse how?" Sonic asked raising 
an eyebrow.  They all laughed as he looked around.  "What?  I was being 
serious."
	"I will be willing to overlook it this one time if you can answer 
me one question," Antoine said.  "Were you the dragon that attacked 
Robotropolis?"
	"Sorry Ant," Sonic said.  "That wasn't me.  That thing nearly took 
me out in its little rampage."  Antoine nodded.
	"That's good to hear," he said putting his arm on Sonic's 
shoulders.  "Now, we need to discuss what we do from here."
	"While they do that," Dr. Rose said as his robotic arm began 
changing, "I'm gonna start working on you.  By the time I'm finished you 
won't know Kinos built you."
	"I'd be grateful for that," she said smiling.  "I suppose though 
since there are two Auroras we're going to have make some sort of 
distinction."
	"How about 'Aurora 03'?" Osaka suggested.  "You're a combination 
of dual programming and we can say that the name is simply a 
coincidence."
	"I like it," Aurora 03 said smiling.
	The next few days progressed quickly as the Freedom Fighters hit 
Kinos harder than they ever had.  He would begin to recover and then 
they would hit once more.  They had even hit one of the power cables 
that ran from the Void portal.  While it had done no real damage it had 
been a morale boosting victory.  Knuckles had proven to be an invaluable 
ally.  With Sonic's powers out of commission his powerful Earth 
techniques crushed the squads of SWAT 2s Kinos was pumping out.  In one 
instance he had summoned forth a giant stalagmite to pierce through 
nearly a dozen bots giving the Freedom Fighters time to retreat safely.  
Unfortunately for Sonic the feelings of mistrust continued to build 
against him.  He hadn't done anything to deserve this, that much he knew 
and the other Freedom Fighters could see his patience wearing thin.
	After a rather successful raid both Sonic and Knuckles returned 
with massive crates on their backs.  They set them down by the supply 
hut and wiped their brows.
	"That was fun," Sonic said with a smile.
	"I'm not sure that Kinos is ever going to forgive us for that," 
Knuckles replied chuckling.  "But of all the shapes you wanted me to use 
it had to be a giant statue of you.  Why?"
	"Just 'cuz I know it'll drive him mad," Sonic said helping the 
villagers unload the supplies.  "What would you do if your sworn enemy 
put a statue of himself in the middle of your base?"
	"Point taken."
	They finished unloading and went to the War Room to report to 
Antoine.  He seemed more than pleased with the report.
	"In honor of the last few days I think a celebration is in order," 
he said.  "If nothing else it will bolster the morale of the villagers."
	"Sounds like a plan," Sonic said smiling again.  "I'll head out 
and look for some firewood."
	"And I'll let the villagers know," Knuckles said and he followed 
Sonic out of the hut.  Antoine sat down and sighed.  A lot had happened 
over the last few days and it would be good to relax a little.  He 
pulled out a small black box and opened it.  There sat a gold ring with 
a vibrant green emerald on top.  It was a family heirloom that went back 
more generations than he wanted to count.  It was always passed down to 
the eldest son of each family.  He had been waiting for the right moment 
for months now to give it to Bunnie but it had never come up.
	"Tonight is as good as it's going to get," he whispered with a 
smile and tucked the box back in his jacket.  He stood up and walked 
into the snowy village.  The storm had finally passed through and had 
left a beautiful sheen on the village that made everything glimmer and 
shine.  It was so peaceful, he didn't want it to end.  He smiled as he 
saw Bunnie and Aurora 03 talking.  He had told Bunnie about her ignoring 
what Sonic and Dr. Osaka had advised.  The robot and Bunnie had 
connected quickly allowing the faux-squirrel to familiarize herself with 
the villagers she had originally been programmed to kill.  Sonic had 
also talked to her a great deal though what about neither would say.  
The somber look on their faces worried him to no end.  He came out of 
his thoughts when Bunnie hugged him tightly.  He smiled and returned the 
gesture.
	"You've been so tense lately sugah," she said pulling back and 
looking him in the eyes.  "Y'all need to relax."
	"Then you will be happy to know that there will be a party of 
sorts tonight," he told her.  Her eyes lit up with excitement.
	"Then we should go get ready!" she said dragging him along.  He 
smiled though she couldn't see it.  Well, he HAD been waiting for the 
right moment.
	That night was spectacular.  Sonic had gathered enough firewood 
that they could have set fire to Robotropolis.  Rosie and Sally had 
prepared several dishes for everyone to enjoy.  More than once Sally and 
Sonic disappeared into the woods only to come back looking extremely 
happy.  Knuckles and Aurora kept to themselves talking about this and 
that.  One of the female villagers pulled Knuckles near the fire to 
dance leaving Aurora on her own.  She smiled as he was awkwardly thrust 
into a dance he didn't know the steps to.
	"So, where's Bunnie and Antoine?" Sally asked picking up a chili 
dog.  "I haven't seen them since you and Knuckles got back from the raid 
this morning."
	"Now that you mention it I haven't seen them either," Sonic said 
looking around.  "Ant did look kind of distracted too."
	"You think he finally proposed to Bunnie?"  Sonic picked up a 
chili dog and both he and Sally scarfed them down.
	"Maybe," he answered.  "It's the only reason I can think of why he 
wouldn't be here."
	"Sonny!" they heard someone yell.  Sonic turned around to see 
Uncle Chuck running towards him.  "I've got great news!  With Alan's 
help we think we may have gotten the deroboticizer working."
	"Now THAT'S good news," Sonic said hugging his uncle.  "So, who's 
gonna be first?"
	"Well, it's my fault all this started," Uncle Chuck said slightly 
depressed.  "I think it's only right I should test this thing to make 
sure that nothing goes wrong."
	"But what if the same thing happens as last time?" Sally asked.  
"We can't afford to lose you to Kinos." 
	"That wouldn't happen," he said smiling.  "I was originally 
programmed to follow Robotnik, not Kinos.  I would end up just standing 
around since Robotnik is dead."
	"Seems like a win-win situation to me," Sonic said shrugging.
	"There's just one thing first," Uncle Chuck said sighing.  "I 
haven't been totally honest with you guys about everything."
	"Like the fact that you're a traitor?" a male voice said behind 
them.
	Everything stopped.  Sonic didn't even turn around already knowing 
who it was.  His hand curled into a fist and he grit his teeth.  "Just 
admit it already," the voice said again.  "You and Sonic both betrayed 
us.  I've always said that you can't trust a hedgehog."
	With that Sonic turned around slowly to stare down the agitator.  
It was the armadillo like he had thought but the group following him had 
increased exponentially.  His anger was held in check only by the fact 
that everyone in the village was present.  "What do you accomplish by 
accusing us?" he asked as calmly as possible.
	"Accusing you?" the armadillo replied mockingly.  "Oh no, you 
misunderstand.  Accusations are simply based on suspicion.  I know that 
you're working for Kinos.  Why else would this fight have dragged on so 
long?"
	"Again, what do you have to gain by all of this?" Sonic asked 
again.
	"I'm trying to show people the truth," the armadillo finally 
answered.  "The truth that you never wanted this war to end you 
warmongering monster!"
	Sonic was silent.  His eyes were closed and Sally could see his 
anger boiling to the surface.  "You want a monster?" he asked finally 
his voice devoid of any emotion.  "Allow me to grant you your wish!"
	Before anyone could react Sonic lunged at the armadillo, grabbing 
him by the throat and slamming him against a nearby tree.  He gasped for 
air but Sonic's grip only tightened.  The whites of Sonic's eyes started 
glowing yellow and his expression began changing from anger to pleasure.
	"Sonic!  Stop!" Knuckles said running over.  A black wind grabbed 
him and threw him across the opening.
	"STAY OUT OF THIS!" Sonic snarled.
	"Sonic, please stop!" Sally said putting her hand on his shoulder.  
A blade of black wind lashed out at her.  She fell back with only a 
minor cut on her hand.  Sonic glared back his left eye completely black 
and his iris bright yellow.  When he saw he had hurt Sally his eyes 
widened.
	>No, stop this!< he thought.
	<<>> an empty voice said back.  <<>>
	>No, that's not what I wanted.  I never wanted to hurt Sally!<
	<<>> the voice said as Sonic closed his eyes.  
<<>>
	>Get out,< Sonic said focusing all his energy inward pushing back 
the darkness.  >Get out of here right now!<
	<<>> the voice said fading into the 
background.  <<>>
	Sonic let the armadillo down who began gasping for breath.  Sonic 
fell to one knee panting.  He opened his eyes which were white and gray 
once more.  He stood up slowly and began walking away.
	"If you don't want to trust me then that's fine," he said stopping 
just outside of the clearing.  "Maybe you'll have more luck without me."
	With that he vanished into the forest leaving everyone to try and 
figure out what had just happened.  Osaka ran over to Sally and looked 
her hand over.  The cut was shallow and not even bleeding.
	"Well, you'll be okay," Osaka said and then thought for a moment.  
"Physically at least.  The attack barely broke the skin."
	Silently Sally placed her other hand on the wound and they both 
glowed.  Osaka took a step back and his eyes widened as the injury 
completely vanished.  "What in the Maker's name...?"
	"Like you said," Sally said standing up and walking towards her 
hut, "I'll be fine."
	She passed Antoine and Bunnie whose expressions went from jovial 
to confused.  "Did we miss something?" they asked in unison.
	After that the party disbanded and everyone went back to their 
huts.  Sally tossed and turned worrying about Sonic.  She knew that 
under any normal circumstance he would never hurt her.  But those 
eyes...they scared her.  Knuckles sat in his hut meditating trying to 
make sense of everything.  Aurora 03 began working furiously on 
something as if she was about to miss some sort of deadline.
	At about three in the morning a figure entered the village in 
complete silence.  His features were hidden by a heavy cloak as he 
looked around the village.  He walked up to an obviously new hut and 
took a deep breath.  Remembering what his master had taught him he 
easily passed through the earthen wall and into the hut.  There sat 
Aurora 03 at her desk with two discs.
	"Is it ready?" he asked quietly.  She turned to face him and 
nodded.
	"Just finished as a matter of fact," she said standing up and 
handing him one of the discs.  "Once you use it it'll break down leaving 
no trace that you were ever there."  He nodded and slipped it into his 
pocket.
	"What about the other one?" he asked.  Aurora picked up the second 
disc hesitantly.
	"Are you sure about this?" she asked him.  "I mean, what if it 
doesn't work?"
	"If my plan works I'll die," he admitted.  "If it doesn't work 
I'll die.  If I do nothing I'll die along with thousands more.  No 
matter what I do I'm gonna die so I might as well take the path that has 
the better chance of success."
	"You had better be right about this," she said handing him the 
second disc.  "Also, you asked for this."  She handed him a small 
handheld computer.  "I managed to swipe her off of Osaka when he wasn't 
looking."
	"Thank you Aurora," the figure said.  "You've more than fulfilled 
your end of the bargain."
	"Just make sure this works," she said staring him down.  "I don't 
want needless deaths on my conscience."
	"I promise it will, to the best of my ability."  Aurora 03's face 
relaxed into a smile.
	"Then I'm not worried," she said as the figure passed through the 
wall out of her hut.  "But that doesn't mean the others won't."
	The door to Sonic and Sally's hut opened silently and Sonic 
stepped through.  He knelt down beside the bed and looked at her hand.  
It had healed completely and for that he was happy, but the fact that he 
had hurt her...
	"I'm so sorry Sal," he whispered as to not wake her.  "I never 
meant to hurt you.  I want you to know that I still love you and that 
I'll always protect you.  Please, forgive me."  He kissed her gently on 
the forehead and pulled a small gold insignia ring out of his pocket.  
There were two Fs on the ring.  Sally had gotten them made years ago to 
represent the promise that as Freedom Fighters they would free Mobius 
from the grip of tyrants.  Painfully Sonic placed the ring on the night 
stand and walked out of the hut.  Sally shifted uncomfortably in her 
sleep completely oblivious to Sonic's presence.
	Kinos sat in the Citadel and let out a yawn.  All this 
reconstruction was getting on his nerves but he wouldn't give those 
pesky Freedom Fighters the pleasure of destroying his city.  The 
northern communications tower was almost finished after its destruction 
at the hands of that dragon.  Unit 03 was still missing and he was 
growing increasingly impatient with finding her.
	"Anything out of the ordinary?" he asked the computer.
	"NOT REALLY," it replied.  "THERE WAS A BLIP IN MY SYSTEM FOR A 
MOMENT.  TURNS OUT IT WAS NOTHING."
	"These blasted Freedom Fighters are beginning to get on my 
nerves," he muttered with a small growl.  "What I wouldn't give to find 
Knothole and crush it."
	"That can be arranged."
	Kinos leapt out of the chair and trained his blaster rifle at the 
door where the voice had come from.  There stood a cloaked figure 
completely ignored by the SWATbots and SWAT 2s.  "Who are you and why 
aren't my bots attacking you?" Kinos asked glaring at the figure.
	"A little computer virus can do wonders," the figure said tapping 
the bots.  "They and your cameras can't see or hear me for the next ten 
minutes or so."
	"Fine, but who are you?" Kinos asked again.  "And you better 
answer me this time."  The figure lowered his hood and Kinos' eyes 
widened in surprise.  "You?"
	"That's right," Sonic said.  "Me."  Kinos lowered the rifle.
	"So, why are you here Sonic Hedgehog?" the bot asked curiously.  
"If you came to kill me you did a terrible job playing the part of an 
assassin."
	"On the contrary," Sonic said with a smile.  "Is your offer still 
open?"  Now it was Kinos' turn to smile.
	"Why do you ask?"
	"Because I'd like to take you up on it."
	Kinos narrowed his eyes and looked Sonic over.  "And just why 
should I trust you?" he asked finally.  "For all I know this is part of 
some elaborate plan to destroy me."
	Sonic tossed a disc at Kinos who caught it with ease.  "Look at 
the contents of that disc and tell me whether or not I'm being serious," 
he said.  Kinos put the disc in the computer and it began processing it.  
A map of the Great Forest popped up and a red dot started blinking about 
two miles north of Robotropolis.
	"And just what is this?" Kinos said looking at it.
	"The location of Knothole."
	Kinos' head snapped back to look at Sonic.  Then he smiled with 
sadistic pleasure.
	"My, my Sonic," he said chuckling.  "I do believe this makes you a 
traitor."
	"I guess you could say I got tired of not living up to everyone's 
expectations," Sonic replied walking up next to the white hedgehog.  He 
extended his hand.  "So, do we have a deal?"  Kinos took Sonic's hand 
and shook it.
	"Deal, 'partner'."

    Source: geocities.com/televisioncity/satellite/6616/sonic/dragonknight

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