IMPASSE
By Brian Sapinski, Sonic Whammy
Disclaimer: This story uses characters created and copyrighted by Sega of
America, Inc. and Archie Comics. (This is with the exception of my own
characters, which have created and copyrighted by me.) This story may also
contain elements that are featured in the Street Fighter video games and are
therefore copyrighted by Capcom, Inc. Downloading and distribution of this story
is permitted and welcomed under the conditions that (1) you don't pass this off
as your own story, (2) no changes to the story are made without my expressed
written (not e-mailed) permission, and (3) no attempt is made to profit from
this story. If any of these rules are violated, it will be considered a
violation of copyright law.
Author’s Note: Back once again, and I gotta tell you, these days, I’m lucky I
can get ANYTHING in print since I started these stories back in 1999! I’m very
happy, but very busy.
As a matter of fact, this story is being posted on a very important day.
For today, March 27, 2007, marks the release of the Saturday AM series of Sonic
on DVD, and I already have my copy. I strongly encourage fans far and wide to
buy it and take pleasure in watching a Sonic cartoon done right, back in the
days before Archie Comics made their changes, and not all for the better.
In addition, I am finishing and posting this story in the midst of
Creative Writing Month at the high school I work at. (I’d say the name, but I’ll
wait until next year when I have tenure and no one can complain anymore.) So, I
feel the time all around was right for this story.
Oh, a quick message to anyone that’s saving my stories to their
websites, hard drives, or whatever: Some time ago, I went back through my old
stories and fixed a couple of grammatical and spelling errors that slipped past
Robert and me the first time around. So in case you haven’t already caught them
yourselves, you may want to go back yourself and resave each story.
I am going to go on record and say that this was the hardest story I’ve
tried to write. I even had to go so far as to have a certain someone supply me
with some personal character input, and even then, it only got so far. *wink*
This story literally was what the title says, so I just hope I was up to the
task in your eyes. You know where to reach me to give me the answer to that one.
Stay Way Past Cool!
Brian had always described the village of Bluebrook as "the most boring
town in the universe." Indeed, it was a quiet place to be, and apart from the
invasion by Robotnik two months ago, few things happened that really brought any
kind of excitement, good or bad, to the neighborhood.
That was before Brian got his new toy, of course.
"YES!" Brian hollered as he weaved his way around the last obstacle on
the course Rotor designed at the village outskirts. After completing the turn,
Brian straightened out the Jet Sled and landed the craft past the finish line
that Rotor laid out.
Rotor checked off the last box on his clipboard and looked up at Brian
with a smile. "Well done, Brian. You’ve passed the final test," he said.
"All right!" Brian exclaimed. "I finally did it. Wasn’t easy, but I
finally did it."
"And now, the Jet Sled is all yours. I can also give you this," Rotor
said, untying the sack he had with him to reveal a video monitor just larger
than Brian’s head. "I told you that you can communicate with us in Knothole and
with Andrea, too. This monitor is for her so that she can make contact with you
wherever you are."
"Awesome, Rotor. You just keep outdoing yourself."
"I have to, especially after I got captured by Robotnik. He won’t stop
at anything to prove he’s more of a technological genius than I am."
"I’m sure you’ll do fine if this baby is any indication," Brian said,
patting the Jet Sled. "And after he used tracers on this like you told me last
week, you’ve just brought your skills to the next level."
"And I will keep doing that. Now, why don’t we give Andrea her present?"
"Sounds like a plan. Let’s go." The two hopped into the Jet Sled,
monitor in tow, prepared to fly back into town. Just before Brian pressed the
ignition, he stopped himself.
"What’s wrong, Brian?" Rotor asked.
"Something I just said clicked in my mind," Brian said in a hushed tone.
"You said that Robotnik could find any of his ships just by activating those
tracers, right?"
"That’s what he said," Rotor replied. A moment later, the thought
clicked in his mind as well. "Wait a minute, am I thinking what you’re thinking?"
"I think so. What if we could trace where that lone hover unit went down
from the invasion?"
"Of course! It makes perfect sense. Since Nicole didn’t know of the
tracers, she couldn’t find the hover unit. But that means we would need to have
access to the program in Robotropolis."
"Do you think it can be done?"
"Hard to say. Maybe Uncle Chuck can break into the system. Let’s contact
Sally and have her send a message to him."
"All right. Now let’s see, you said it was... this button to open the
link to Nicole?" Brian asked, pointing to a blue button beneath the monitor.
"Yep."
Brian pressed the button as he spoke. "Sonic Whammy calling Nicole. Do
you read me, Nicole?"
A moment passed before a vibrating red line appeared across the blank
screen. "NICOLE TO SONIC WHAMMY, COMMUNICATIONS LINK OPEN, COMING IN LOUD AND
CLEAR," the computer replied. "HOW ARE YOU, BRIAN?"
"I’m doing great, Nicole, and I’ll feel even better if I can talk with
Sally. Is she available?"
"SHE IS HERE NOW."
"Permission to speak with her, please."
"ACKNOWLEDGED."
The red line disappeared, replaced by Sally’s image on the monitor.
"This is Sally," the squirrel said. "Hello again, Brian. How did your test go?"
"Passed with flying colors, and I’m ready to fly now," Brian said
proudly.
"Wonderful, congratulations! You’ve come such a long way in such a short
time. Is Rotor still there with you?"
"I’m right here, Sally," Rotor responded. "He’s become a natural at
this. And now, he wants to find his family." Rotor then began to explain the
idea that he and Brian had just come up with. Sally agreed with the idea, vowing
to send a message to Uncle Chuck right away. After some other pleasantries,
everyone said their farewells as the monitor turned off.
"Well, that’s that. Nothing more I can do but wait. Now, let’s go see
Andrea and tell her, too," Brian said as he started the engine.
A week later, life had continued to go on as normal, but there was no
word from Uncle Chuck. Even in a supply raid that Sonic went on midway through,
there was no note in the blind drop to indicate the results of his search. This
lack of communication had everyone slowly becoming nervous, even Sonic.
"Would you relax, sugarhog? Ah’m sure that Uncle Chuck is all right and
that he’s gonna find something," Bunnie said, watching Sonic as he paced
relentlessly in Sally’s hut.
"I know, Bunnie, but I can’t help it," Sonic said apologetically. "It
normally doesn’t take Uncle Chuck this long. I’m just hoping he didn’t get found
out."
"Believe you me, if Robotnik captured Uncle Chuck, he’d be singing it
from the rafters."
"Not only that, he could probably find out where Knothole is," Sally
remarked, "so I understand Sonic’s concern a little bit, too. We have to be
ready for anything."
As the others nodded in agreement, a familiar call was heard from
outside. Everyone looked to see the carrier pigeon appear and find its perch on
Sally’s windowsill.
"About time," Sonic said, breathing a sigh of relief. "So what’s it say,
Sal?"
Sally took the rather thick note from the pigeon and unrolled it. "Dear
Sally," she read aloud, "I’m sorry for taking so long to report. The tracer
programs have a very complicated firewall on them, and I was unable to hack into
the system without giving up my cover. Robotnik and Snively must have backed up
their security systems since they started planning their ‘Doomsday Project’ so
that they are the only ones who can access the system."
"So if we want to get to that program, we gotta ask Robuttnik to do it
for us? Fat chance of that one," Sonic spat out.
"I know what you mean," Sally replied. "Brian would be in danger because
Robotnik will know exactly where he is. Not to mention anyone in those
neighboring towns that Brian goes to."
"So what do we do, Sally-girl?" Bunnie asked.
"There’s only one option. We have to go after Snively, and I think I
know how. I just hope it works."
The next twenty-four hours were very busy back in Knothole. Sally spent
several hours locked away in her hut planning a strategy. The only one she
allowed in was Sonic when he was using Nicole to run reconnaissance in
Robotropolis. After researching the information he brought back, Sally sent a
message to Uncle Chuck, who was among the roboticized Mobians that were at the
controls of Robotnik’s largest factory the next morning.
It bothered Uncle Chuck to be in here, for he knew that while he was
trying to overthrow the tyrant, he was still forced to aid in constructing
components for the Doomsday Project. He didn’t know what it would be exactly,
and the purpose of what he was putting together at that moment was uncertain,
too. But deep down, Uncle Chuck felt that the whole concept sounded "mondo
ugly", as his nephew had put it.
"Sector Five, prepare for inspection," came a voice over the factory’s
intercom. Not a moment later, the front doors opened where Snively appeared,
flanked by two SWATbots.
All robots immediately stood to attention after halting their
procedures, including Uncle Chuck. One by one, Snively scanned each area to
check its productivity. "Excellent progress, Station Seven," Snively said as he
passed by Uncle Chuck’s area, pleased with the results. Uncle Chuck did his best
to keep a straight face, but he was unhappy with his efficiency. "I wish I
didn’t have to regret a job well done," he thought.
After passing all stations, and marking one defective machine for
dismantling, Snively spoke to himself as he took his notes. "Sector Five running
at 95%. The next inspection will be in three days at 1400 hours."
Uncle Chuck’s eyed widened as he overheard the lackey. He knew this was
the chance he’d been waiting for.
That night, Uncle Chuck’s suspicions were confirmed when he researched
Snively’s inspection schedule and the SWATbot patrols in the area. In no time,
he sent the pigeon to Sally with the information, and three days later, the
Freedom Fighters found themselves on the northern side of Robotropolis.
"Man, I hate being bored in the shadows again," Sonic groaned, sitting
against the wall.
"This is different than last time, Sonic, and you know it," Sally said
beside him. "Without Snively, there’s nothing to do but wait. Don’t worry, it’s
almost 2 o’ clock."
Sonic nodded, albeit with a sigh. He’d been doing everything in his
willpower to not simply rush out in the open. "This is mondo hard," he thought,
"but I promised Sal. Things were good between us until last time. No way I’m
gonna ruin it this time."
Sally had returned to watching Nicole’s holographic projection, which
was showing their immediate surroundings. Several red dots moved around the
image at a relatively even distance, highlighting the patrol paths of the
SWATbots they were hiding from. While she studied it, she passed a glance over
to the opposite alley, where Bunnie, Rotor and Antoine all waited for their
signal, equally as antsy as Sonic from all the anticipation.
"Ah do declare, this sure don’t get any easier," Bunnie sighed.
"Oui, Bunnie," Antoine shakily followed. "I’m still not used to zis
after all zis time."
"But y’all didn’t do too bad for yourself last time, Sugar-Twan. You got
a couple more of those sparkly things with you?"
"We’ve both got ‘em," Rotor said, pulling one of the glitter grenades
from his pocket. "After hearing what a great shot he was, I rebuilt the course
and we both got our practice in."
"Just hope it counts when we need it," she replied, turning her
attention back across the path. A minute later, she saw Sally give her a
thumbs-up. "OK, y’all, look sharp now, looks like it’s time to crash the party."
Back on Sally’s side, she watched as the patrols began to separate,
leaving their area in the open.
"But where’s needle nose?" Sonic asked, "I don’t see him anywhere."
"And it’s only a minute before two," Sally said. "Wait, here they come."
Sally pointed to a series of three dots moving in triangular formation from the
top corner of the map toward the factory. "This isn’t right. According to Uncle
Chuck’s reports, he should be coming up this main street. But they’re coming
from the side road."
"You don’t think Buttnik changed the schedule or nothin’, do you, Sal?"
"He must have, Sonic. And look, there’s still several SWATbots over
there. It’s too risky to go after him."
"So what now?"
"It’s too late to do anything now, he’s at the factory. We have to abort
the mission."
Sonic sighed at hearing that, but he knew she was right. Checking to see
that the coast was clear, he picked up Sally and zipped to the opposite alleyway
to pick up the rest of the team and get out of the city as inconspicuously as
possible.
For the next several days, Sally continued her planning, waiting for
other attempts to capture Snively on his routes. Unfortunately, as thorough as
she had been in her plans, the Freedom Fighters were unsuccessful twice more.
First, they tried to bust him at an oil drilling site west of Robotropolis, then
tried to intercept him on a food supply run for Robotnik and himself. But
Snively’s scheduled presence was conspicuously absent in both cases, with only
SWATbots carrying out the assigned duties. By the end of the week, the
frustration was beginning to show on everyone’s faces.
In the next meeting, another problem arose. Everyone suddenly realized
that in the midst of this mission, they had begun to lose focus on the Doomsday
Project. The only thing they had accomplished on that front was the breakup of
the drilling site they were hoping to find Snively at. It was agreed at that
point that capturing Snively would have to wait until the balance was restored.
Woefully, Sally knew she had to relay this news to Brian. "We’ve kept
him waiting long enough," she thought. She contacted Brian that night. He was at
Andrea’s house at the time, and the couple was quite unhappy about this setback.
After some assurance that they would come up with a plan, Sally closed the link.
"Well, that’s just great. Now what?" Brian moped.
"What do you mean, ‘now what?’" Andrea replied. "They can’t reach that
Sniv-whoever-he-is, so you can’t use the tracers. It’s over."
"But I can’t let it be over. I have got to get a hold of those tracers
by any means necessary. I can’t start my search without them. You understand?"
It became obvious, however, that Andrea was not persuaded so easily. She
immediately rolled her eyes and started massaging her head for the headache she
was sure would follow.
"Cutie, think about it," Brian said, pleading with his girlfriend. "I
don’t know the first place to look for my family. The tracers will cut down my
search because there will have to be some town or village nearby where the ship
crashed. I won’t have to roam aimlessly."
"But you heard what Sally said," Andrea argued back. "Without the
tracers, you would be chased forever. I don’t want you to be in that kind of
danger. So, unless you can figure out a way around that, you’re just gonna have
to do this on your own. And I’m not about to let you just go back into
Robotropolis after what happened to you last time."
Brian slumped in his seat on the couch. "You’re right," he sighed. "I
just wish this wasn’t so hard, Cutie."
Andrea slid over next to Brian and hugged him. "It’s all right, Sweetie.
You’ll see them again."
"You think so?"
"I know so."
Brian pulled away from Andrea and smiled. "You finally see it my way,"
he told her.
"Yeah. Someone cute taught me that."
Brian returned the hug, welcoming the comfort it offered for a little
while.
The next day, work continued in Knothole as usual. Sally was making her
rounds when she saw Rotor dashing towards her.
"Well, you know those grenades that I made for the training course we’ve
been practicing on?"
"Yes."
"I was wondering if it would be possible to make something like those,
but with a little more power. Something that could really put a dent into the
Doomsday Project."
"Interesting, Rotor. What have you come up with?"
"Well, I’m working on some chemical compounds that can eat through
metal. It’s still in its early stages, but I could use some scrap metal and
other things to test it on."
"We’ll run a supply raid in a few hours. You find Bunnie and I’ll get
Sonic. I’m sure this will make him happy."
Later that day, the four Freedom Fighters stood in the alleyways beside
one of the Doomsday factories. They were standing next to the ventilation ducts,
and everyone was hunched over catching their breath, save for Sonic.
"They sure all are busy around here," Bunnie whispered. "Ah’ve seen
enough SWATbots left and right today to last a lifetime."
"Yeah, and I’d like to start knocking those numbers down for a change,"
Sonic replied with a hint of displeasure. "Not for nothing, Sal, but can we cut
all the sneaking around?"
"Soon, Sonic," Sally added as she was reading Nicole’s diagrams. "We’ll
enter from here to take some of the parts off of the assembly line. Rotor and
Bunnie, you two go around the perimeter and take out the two SWATbots guarding
the front gates so we can escape from that direction."
"You got it, Sally-girl," Bunnie said, taking off around the far side of
the factory. Rotor nodded as well, heading towards the near corner.
"OK, Sal, that’s that. Now down to business," Sonic said, removing the
grate from the vent leading into the factory. "Ladies first," he said, bowing
gracefully with a smile.
"Why Sonic Hedgehog, you sure know how to show a woman a good time,"
Sally replied with a mock smile.
"Don’t I, though?"
Sally couldn’t help but giggle at his playfulness. She couldn’t figure
him out sometimes. So often, he would take the most childish things seriously,
and the important matters without a shred of common sense. But lately, he
appeared as if he had been making an effort to concentrate on his role in the
mission and not bite on impulse like he usually did. Sally kept these things in
mind, but in moments like this, there was something about the combination of
duty and personality that just tugged at her heart.
Sally was so deep in thought that she had reached the end of the
ventilation shaft without realizing it. Peering through the grates, she saw the
coast was clear and pushed the grate off. There was an assembly line immediately
nearby with various parts being moved along the conveyor belt.
"This is just what Rotor needs," Sally said, eyeing each hunk of metal
as it passed by. "You have the sack ready?"
"In tow right here, Sal," Sonic whispered, taking it out of his backpack.
"Perfect. Now let’s fill up before we’re-- oh my gosh!"
"What’s wrong?"
"Sonic, look," Sally replied, pointing out to the main floor about
thirty feet away where a familiar figure stood. "It’s Snively!"
"All right!" Sonic almost shouted, pumping his fist. "What are the odds
of that? Now we can finally corner him and get that code for Brian."
"Sonic, wait. We can’t just dash out there in the open. There are guards
everywhere."
"Then I’ll take them out while you grab Snively. Sal, there’s no hiding
this time. If we want him, we’re gonna have to charge right in. And besides, you
promised me my action on this trip. So unless you’ve got a better idea..."
Sally quickly processed the situation and determined that there was no
alternative to Sonic’s plan. "All right, Sonic. Just get them away from me so I
can get to him. And be careful."
"You too, Sal," Sonic replied. "Let’s do it to it!"
With a quick Freedom Fighter handshake, Sally crouched behind the
machines while Sonic sped straight for the center of the room. "Yo, Snortly," he
yelled, "nice place you got here. Glad to see you’re still making practice
dummies for me."
"The hedgehog!" Snively gasped. "SWATbots, get him!"
"And here come some more now. Thanks!"
The chase picked up immediately, with Sonic zigzagging back and forth
along each side of the main walkway. SWATbots fired continuously at him, missing
Sonic and just barely missing blowing up the assembly machines that he stopped
in front of.
"Hold your fire, you tin cans, you’ll destroy the factory!" Snively
wailed to the SWATbots on their aim.
"Aw, no more target practice? You’ll just have to catch me then," Sonic
taunted back, speeding straight up the main drag with most of the SWATbots
within the factory in pursuit.
Snively watched with irritation as the action moved further away from
him. "Why now? What is he up to this time?" he wondered to himself. His
wondering was cut short, however, when Sally came and grabbed him from behind.
"Ack! Let me go!" he yelled.
"You’re coming with us, Snively," Sally replied, trying to pin the
lackey’s arms behind him.
"You’ll never take me, Princess! Help me!" Snively cried. He tried to
wrestle himself free from Sally’s grip, but she managed to keep him immobilized.
As he struggled, he saw a lone SWATbot approach them from behind. "Get her!" he
yelled.
Sally saw the SWATbot out of the corner of her eye, however. She pushed
Snively to the side and dove in the opposite direction before she could be
caught. Rolling back to her feet, she awaited the bot’s approach. As it made
another attempt to grab her, she slid low to the side and threw a double-leg
sweep kick to the bot’s leg, causing it to double over and collapse.
During the distraction, Snively fled from his would-be captor and ran
for the front doors of the factory. The moment he stepped outside, though, he
was met with the sight of another pair of SWATbots lying broken on the ground.
He froze in place, unsure of where to go next.
"Gotcha!"
Snively barely had time to look up as Bunnie and Rotor leapt at him from
both sides, each grabbing an arm in stronger grips than Sally had. "Not again!"
he cried.
"Nope, you’re not getting away," Bunnie said from his left. "Now be a
good ol’ boy and hold still."
Snively continued to struggle, but tired quickly from his escape attempt
and finally stood still. A minute later, the three of them were joined by Sally
and Sonic, a full sack of metal slung over his shoulder.
"What do you want from me, you wretched Freedom Fighters?" Snively asked.
"Just a little of your time, Snively," Sonic replied. "You’re lucky we
found you, or we’d be going on a trip without a tour leader."
Before Snively could protest, Sonic scooped him up as the others grabbed
on to Sonic from behind. In a boom, the train of Mobians flew up the streets.
Within seconds, they arrived at their destination: the same SWATbot factory
where they had originally learned of the hover unit’s fate. Sonic deposited
Snively on the ground when they arrived.
"What are we doing here?" Snively asked after bringing himself back to
his feet.
"We need to access the tracing system you have on all of your SWATbots
and hover units," Sally replied. "We need you to enter the password."
"You heard the lady," Sonic said.
Snively chuckled as he flashed a smirk at his captors. "How quaint. I
know exactly why you need that code. You want to help that other rodent friend
of yours. I’m surprised he’s not here himself."
"He just wants his family back, needle-nose, and without you or the big
guy making things tough for him. Now let’s have that code."
"I don’t have to give you anything. And soon, it won’t matter for your
friend. Robotnik’s reach is on the verge of covering this entire planet and
every living being on it. His family won’t be able to escape, and neither will
he."
At this point, Sonic started getting annoyed. "Hey, we didn’t drag you
all this way for any of our health here," he said as he lowered his nose to look
him square in the eyes. "And we’ve heard this whole song and dance before. Now
are you gonna put it in or I have to get rough with you?"
"Sonic..." Sally hissed quietly, sensing that the lackey was getting the
better of him.
"Your threats are worthless to me, hedgehog," Snively replied. "You
haven’t made good on them yet."
"Then you listen to me, you snake!"
Sonic turned, only to have Bunnie push him out of the way, grabbing
Snively by the neck with her robotic hand so that his focus was on her. "If I
ever find out that you’ve laid but one finger on him," she growled, "or sent
even one SWATbot after him, y’all are gonna wish you had finished the job on me.
Are we clear?" She picked him up off the ground and lightly squeezed her hand as
she asked the question.
The others were shocked when they watched Bunnie’s actions, but that was
nothing compared to Snively’s reaction. His eyes widened to huge proportions as
Bunnie applied the pressure, and the expression in them as he looked back at
Bunnie proved that it was not just because he was being strangled.
"Bunnie, no! Stop!" Sally cried as her and the others tried to pry
Bunnie’s grip off of Snively. Finally, after a few seconds, Bunnie threw him
down in disgust. Before Snively could get up, she straddled him on the ground
and punched the ground with her metal fist next to where his head lay. "Well, do
we understand each other?" she asked slowly to him.
"Yes!" Snively managed to squeak out before Bunnie got up and walked
away, a pained expression on her face.
The air was silent for several seconds before anyone finally spoke up.
"Snively, disable the firewalls," Sally said.
Without another word spoken, an expressionless Snively got up and
approached the control panel. After a minute of punching various sequences into
the keypad, the monitor flashed to indicate that the process was complete.
"There, you got what you want. Now let me go," he said.
"Not quite. Sonic, if you please."
Sonic stepped up behind Snively and placed a blindfold around his eyes.
"What is the meaning of this?" he asked furiously.
"Simple," Sonic replied as Sally plugged Nicole into the panel. "We know
you’ll try to read the location, even after we leave. So we’re making sure that
you never get that chance."
Snively grumbled at the thought, but offered no resistance as Sally
continued her work. "All right, everyone," she said a couple minutes later after
deleting the search from the records, "we’ve got it. Let’s get out there."
The others nodded and prepared for departure. Snively started to breathe
a sigh of relief that his part was over, but quickly gasped that breath when
Sonic grabbed the still blindfolded lackey at the last second and dashed off
with him in tow.
A short time later, they reached the site in the Great Unknown. In the
rocky areas near a cliff, the tangled remains of a lone hover unit sat, a few
random desert creatures flying out of the open door upon everyone’s arrival.
Brian flew in a few minutes later on the Jet Sled, followed by Dulcy, who landed
in a predictable skid alongside, but managed to come to stop herself and land on
the kneepads Rotor gave her a month ago.
"Whoa, easy there, Dulcy," Brian called as he hopped out. "You all right
over there?"
"Fine," Dulcy said back. "That one wasn’t actually too bad."
Brian began to reply, but the thought died on his lips when he noticed
Snively in the gathering, as well as his current state. "I remember him from
Robotropolis. What’s he doing here?"
"He’s here to insure that he won’t come after you once we destroyed this
hover unit."
"Are you sure he can be trusted?"
"Don’t you worry about it, sugar," Bunnie replied, patting her robotic
hand on Snively’s shoulder. "Him and I came to a little agreement that he ain’t
gonna hurt you. Ain’t that right?"
"Y-y-yes, we have," Snively nervously answered.
Brian gave a look of wondering towards them, but let the moment pass a
few seconds later. "Well, then, let’s do this. I’m ready."
Sally nodded as she opened her computer. "Nicole, scanning mode. Locate
the tracer device within this hover unit."
"SCANNING," Nicole responded. A holographic image of the hover unit
appeared a minute later with a red dot blinking on one side. "DISPLAYING
LOCATION, SALLY."
"Oh, no," Sally said.
"What’s wrong?" Sonic asked.
"The tracer is located within the engine itself in the back of the unit.
If we destroy it, the whole thing will explode."
"That’s right, you meddlesome rodents," Snively said smugly from his
position. "There’s no way you can destroy it without putting yourselves in
danger."
"Don’t count on it, Snotly," Sonic countered as he jerked Snively’s
wrist. "We’ve got this covered. Right, Sal?"
"Let’s hope it works," she replied. "Dulcy, Bunnie, we need to get to
that engine."
"Got it," Dulcy said. Inhaling deep, she launched a breath of fire at
the shell of the hover unit. The metal turned red with the intensity of the
heat. Taking another deep breath, Dulcy then shot ice beams from her nostrils at
the target. Steam rose from the hover unit as the heat was rapidly cooled. She
repeated this process a second time, taking a minute in between each blast to
regain her strength.
When she finished, Bunnie stepped in. She threw a hard side kick at each
side of the area that Dulcy fired at. The metal shell easily caved in due to its
weakened state, leaving a hole where Bunnie had kicked it. Using her robotic
arm, she then grabbed the shell and pulled at it. The metal tore apart from one
hole to the other, fully opening the unit and exposing the engine.
"Great job, there it is," Sally said. She reached into Sonic’s pack and
pulled out the extra power ring. "Now it’s all up to you, Brian. Are you ready?"
Brian was taken aback for a moment, but then he saw the firm smile on
Sally’s face as she made the unexpected gesture. Reading her mind, he smiled as
he accepted the ring. "As ready as I’ll ever be," he replied. "Now get back."
"Take cover, everyone," Sally called as the others got away from the
wreck. Brian held his position about 15 feet away from the hover unit. Closing
his eyes, he held up the power ring. The ring instantly activated, quickly
injected him with its power.
Brian dropped the ring when it finished, and turned his attention toward
his target, the engine. Instinctively, he repeated the motions he had done
before in order to draw the power that he would need to throw the fireball. The
aura was slow to manifest, but it appeared and came to rest in Brian’s hands.
The others the stiff expression on Brian’s face as the energy built. Finally,
after several moments, he threw the ball of light as he cried "HA-DO-KEN!" The
light hit the engine squarely. Within seconds, the engine began to spark.
Suddenly, as Brian sank to his knees, the engine and the entire ship exploded.
The force threw everyone to their knees, and knocked Brian back several feet,
collapsing on the ground.
The others quickly ran to him after the smoke cleared. "Are you all
right, Brian?" Sally asked as she and Bunnie helped him up to his feet. His face
was all dusty from the ground and smoke, but he was still conscious.
"I think so," Brian replied with a cough, trying to regain his breath.
"Man, that thing is powerful, but it worked."
"How were you able to handle the energy this time?"
"Honestly? Not very well. The power was still controlling me. I’d say
I’ll get used to it, but I’m not sure if it will allow me."
"We’ll figure something out. But for now, our work is done here. Sonic,
take Snively back to Robotropolis, and grab the sack you left behind."
"You got it, Sal. I’ll see to it he gets the star treatment," Sonic
said, hoisting Snively over his shoulder.
"I think... he’s had enough, Sonic."
"For now, Sal. Later." In a flash, Sonic was gone.
"All right, everyone, let’s go home," Sally said. "Rotor, you take Brian
back in the Jet Sled. I don’t think Brian is in a condition to pilot it. Dulcy
will take the rest of us back."
Without another word, the Freedom Fighters all made their departure.
Shortly after their takeoff, Dulcy looked behind her at her passengers. "Say,
Sally," she said, "how come you wanted Brian to destroy the engine? I could have
turned the heat on from further away and he would have been fine."
"I know, Dulcy, but he needed this. It was a sense of closure. Brian was
able to destroy what took his family away from him, and get another chance to
use the abilities of Ryu. I hope that he will be able to control it, because
he’ll need that on his side when he begins his search. There’s no way of knowing
what he’ll run into out there."
Dulcy nodded wordlessly, continuing her flight. Sally turned behind her
to look at Bunnie, whose look hadn’t changed since her "talk" with Snively.
"Bunnie, are you OK?" she asked.
"Ah’ll be all right, Sally girl," Bunnie replied, eyes still closed.
"Ah’m just so sick of him and Robotnik. Ah want this war to be over."
"So do I, Bunnie, but I’ve never seen you act like that before. Are you
that worried about Brian?"
"He’s... he's a really good person. Ah just don’t want to see anything
happen to him, that’s all. This is our fight, not his."
"I know, Bunnie. I know," Sally whispered, forcing a smile. She could
see the look in her friend’s eyes that suggested there was more to it than that,
but she let it pass for now.
Meanwhile, a somewhat different interpretation was passing over the
males as Rotor flew the Jet Sled. "So you’re telling me that she came this close
to just snapping his head off right then and there?" Brian asked with a slow
breath, still recovering from the events of moments before. "That doesn’t sound
like her, does it?"
"Yeah, we were all scared of what she was going to do next. But you
know, I’ve thought about it since she did it, and I think I might know why
Bunnie acted the way she did," he said.
"What do you mean, Rotor?"
"Antoine told me the other day that he saw Bunnie training. He said she
has this look in her eyes like nothing he’s ever seen before, almost as if she’s
found a new purpose in her training."
"Like what?"
"Well, Bunnie’s studied kung fu since she was a kid, and she’s been
training with Sally and teaching Tails for a long time now. But I don’t think
she’s ever had someone that she could call her equal. Maybe that’s what she
thinks of you as now."
"Equal, eh? What about Sally?"
"Well, perhaps, but it’s still just friendly sparring with them. There
may be a spirit there with you that she can’t find with anyone else."
"That’s... quite a compliment, if it’s true. Maybe I’ll find out for
sure if we ever get the chance to finish our duel. Time will tell."
The rest of the ride was mostly quiet as all of the Freedom Fighters
eventually reached Knothole. After exchanging thanks and farewells, Brian had
recovered enough to fly the Jet Sled back to Bluebrook, where Andrea sat on her
doorstep, anxiously awaiting his return. Later that night, however, the mood was
a bit less than happy as Brian sat in Andrea’s room telling her of the day’s
events.
"Sweetie, I’m really getting scared here. You can’t keep risking your
life like this."
Brian pulled Andrea closer into a hug from where they sat on the bed.
"Cutie, it’s all right, I’m fine," he said. "The Freedom Fighters made sure of
that."
Andrea stepped back in the embrace so she could look at Brian square in
the eye. "They’re not going to be there for you all the time. Didn’t they just
say they’re dealing with that Doomsday thing of Robotnik’s?"
"Yes, I know that, but--"
"But what?" Andrea cried out as she broke from Brian, now more unsettled
by the situation. "You know, for someone who’s been saying all this time, ‘I
don’t want to be a Freedom Fighter,’ you sure spend a lot of time with them,
even more than with me, lately. Their lives do not revolve around you. If you
go, you’re going alone."
"So wait, are you saying you want to come with me?"
"You know I can’t do that. I’m only seventeen, which means I still have
a whole year of school to go. What’s going to happen if it takes you a year to
find them? It’s not my fault that you got lucky and got skipped in the fourth
grade."
Brian now was rubbing his forehead in much the same fashion as his
girlfriend was a few days before. "So what do you want me to do, Cutie?" he
asked. "I have to try. This is the closest I’ve been in the last three months to
finding them. I have a reason to believe they’re alive again."
"And I’m happy this finally happened. I just don’t want to see you get
hurt, that’s all. I mean, what if those power ring things do what they did to
you again?"
"No, you’re right, I can’t afford that. So why don’t we do this, then.
I’ll stay here and train over the summer months. In the meantime, Sonic can
supply me with extra rings whenever he gets them so that I can keep working on
my control. But that means I’ll need their help from time to time."
"How are they supposed to help you?"
"I’m not sure. I guess I could spar with Bunnie or something. Rotor said
she considers me her equal, so I can’t think of anyone better to help me right
now."
Andrea forced herself not to frown upon hearing Bunnie’s name. "Oh, OK,
I guess that’ll work," she said half-heartedly.
"Hey, you cool with this?"
"Yeah. I just want this to be over, Sweetie."
"So do I, Cutie," Brian said, pulling Andrea back into the hug. As they
looked out the window into the night sky, Andrea snuggled closer to her
boyfriend. All the while, though, she turned her face away so that he couldn’t
see the mix of fear, pain, and even a small flash of anger, that were forming on
it.
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