CHAPTER 4
Exactly 15 minutes later, Sonic, Sally, Bunnie and Antoine met in the
War Room. Rotor had been instructed by Sally to keep a watch on Brian, which
explained his absence.
"So what are we going to do now, Sally girl?" Bunnie asked. "Ah mean,
Brian's the only one who knows what his family looks like."
"I know, Bunnie," Sally responded. "Because of that, we have two
options. We can either cancel the mission until Brian recovers, or we change
the battle plan."
"But it has already been ze four days since his home was invaded,"
Antoine interjected.
"Yeah, Sal," Sonic called. "We'll be lucky if Buttnik hasn't already
roboticized them. He never lets that lard butt of his sit on anyone THAT long."
"Exactly," Sally replied, "Which is why we have to go in. But since we
can't identify Brian's parents by ourselves, we'll have to change this to a
reconnaissance mission. All we can do is gain information on whether Brian's
parents are roboticized."
"Does this mean I'm not gonna be able to trash some SWATbots?" Sonic
asked.
"Not anymore, Sonic. Searching the prison cells is pointless now.
Besides, you don't have a power ring because of Brian."
"Aww, Sal..."
"Sonic, now is not the time to argue."
"But think about it, Sal. How many hedgehogs you know of besides me?"
"He's gotcha there, Sally," Bunnie said. "Brian is the first one we'all
have seen in years."
"Hmm... good point," Sally replied. "Still, we don't know for sure.
Uncle Chuck can search the computers and see if there are any records on the
roboticizer. So, therefore, we'll go and see him first. Any questions from
anyone?"
"Yeah, Can anyone explain what the heck happened to me?"
Everyone turned toward the direction of the voice and let out a gasp.
There, Brian stood in the doorway, with Rotor close behind him.
"Brian, what are you doing here?" Sally asked. "You were unconscious 20
minutes ago."
"So I've been told," Brian responded, looking back at Rotor. "I feel
like I've been struck by lightning or something, and all I remember is looking
at Sonic's power ring."
"So how do you feel?"
"I feel great, really. Never felt better."
"But how did you recover so quickly?"
"I can't even answer that one, Sally," Rotor chimed in. "One minute, he
was unconscious, and the next minute, his life signs suddenly sprang up, and so
did he. It's almost as if nothing had happened to him."
"Did Nicole verify this, Rotor?"
"AFFIRMATIVE, SALLY," Nicole said. "VITAL SIGNS READ AT 100% CAPACITY."
"Interesting. Are there any side effects, such as Sonic's speed?"
"SONIC'S MOLECULAR STRUCTURE HAS PERMANENTLY BONDED WITH BRIAN'S
EXISTING STRUCTURE, RESULTING IN A MAGNIFICATION OF BRIAN'S SPEED AND
ABILITIES. HOWEVER, BECAUSE HE ONLY CONTAINS A PORTION OF SONIC'S STRUCTURE,
BRIAN CANNOT ACHIEVE SUPER SPEED WITHOUT THE AID OF A POWER RING."
"But how come nothin' like that nevah happened to any of us when we all
grabbed on to the sugarhog?" Bunnie asked. "None of us evah got all that."
"Good question, Bunnie. Nicole, can you determine a possible reason for
this?" Sally replied.
"MOST PROBABLE OUTCOME IS BASED UPON A GENETIC LINK BETWEEN ALL MEMBERS
OF THE HEDGEHOG SPECIES THAT ALLOWS FOR SUCH A TRANSFER OF DNA. WHILE TRANSFER
IS MORE COMMON IN OFFSPRING, IT IS POSSIBLE OUTSIDE OF BLOOD RELATION. HOWEVER,
ODDS OF SUCH TRANSFER ARE APPROXIMATELY 1 IN 10,000,000."
"Hmmph, so now I'm a freak of nature. Go fig," Brian said
sarcastically, looking up at his now dark blue quills.
"Well it sounds risky to me," Sally said. "Brian, I am going to have to
ask you to stay behind so that Rotor can run some more tests on you."
Brian was shocked at hearing this. "What?! I'm sorry, Princess, but I
can't let you do that."
"It's too dangerous for you in your condition. You may be too
physically unstable, and if something should happen to you, it would be a
threat to the mission."
Brian raised a hand. "Hear me out for a moment, Princess. This was my
mission from the start, in a sense. After all, this is my family that we're
rescuing. I've come so far to ask for your help, too far to let anything stop
me. I can't bail out now. So I ask of you to reconsider, Princess." He went
down to one knee as he made that final statement.
Sally stood unmoving, absorbing Brian's words carefully. Finally, after
a minute, she spoke. "Very well, Brian. Against my better judgement, you may
come. But I give you this word of caution. If anything should happen to you
during the mission, I cannot guarantee your safety, so you must be extremely
careful in Robotropolis."
"I understand, Princess, and I accept full responsibility for my
actions," Brian replied, rising to his feet. "I owe you for your help and
gratitude once again."
"Thank you, Brian," she said. Sally then turned back to the table. "All
right, everyone, the mission has changed. Listen carefully, as we only have a
short time before dusk arrives."
Nightfall. The stars were scarce in the sky as the Freedom Fighters and
their companion made their trek. Where they were headed, however, had no chance
of ever seeing stars above its sky.
Brian had his weapons belt on, with his bo staff and sais loaded in. He
fixed his gaze at the outskirts of Robotropolis just ahead. He could see all
the giant mechanical structures towering in the distance, a foul black cloud of
smoke hanging above the entire city. The whole sight gave Brian a chill, yet he
never took his determined gaze off of the city. "Just think," Brian thought.
"Somewhere in there, my parents are waiting. Woe to Robotnik if he's done
anything to them..."
"Brian, are you all right?" Bunnie asked, noticing the scowl that was
emerging on Brian's face.
Brian snapped out of his thoughts. "Huh? Oh yeah, I was just getting
focused on finding my folks," he said. "This is the toughest thing I've ever
had to do in my life."
"Well, it's tough on all of us, cuz we're all in the same boat," Bunnie
replied. "Let's only hope y'all only have to this once."
"Say, mind if I ask you... sort of a personal question?"
"Sure thing, sugah."
"Well... you ever feel like you fight against Robotnik for personal
revenge because of what he did to you?" Brian asked, pointing to Bunnie's
robotic arm.
"Ah'd be lying if ah said ah didn't sometimes," Bunnie replied, holding
her robotic arm with her real one. "It's changed mah life so much, and ah hate
ol' Robotnik for it, that's for sure. But it's also been a blessing in
disguise, too. Ah mean, ah've saved mah friends so many times thanks to these
things. Ah don't know what ah'd do without them sometimes, even if ah'm a
freak."
"Guess I know how you're feeling in more ways than one," Brian said,
touching his quills. "But then, you wish no one had to experience things like
this. I sure don't wish Robotnik's evils on anyone. How 'bout you?"
"Nevah in a million years, sugah...."
Moments later, the group arrived at their checkpoint: the junk piles in
Robotropolis. Sally and the others huddled up and synchronized their watches.
"All right, everyone, we meet back here in one hour," Sally said. "Well, Brian,
this is it. Are you ready?"
"Yes, Princess," Brian said, nodding. "I'm ready to go."
"Now remember, Sonic, divert the SWATbots away from the prison so that
Brian can search, but do NOT strand him in there. We can't afford you being
reckless out there."
"Moi? Reckless?" Sonic said defensively. "Hey, no prob, Sal. Those
slo-mo bots always love to see me for a little target practice. It'll be a
snap."
Sally sighed. "Just don't forget that. All right, everyone, let's do it
to it."
With that, the Freedom Fighters performed the secret Knothole
handshake. All except for Brian, who just stood there confused. "OK, Brian, hop
aboard the hedgehog express," Sonic said. Brian grabbed on to Sonic, and the
two headed off.
"All right, they're on their way," Sally said. "Let's go see Uncle
Chuck."
Sonic and Brian reached the prison complex moments later. Sonic stopped
around the corner of the main entrance. SWATbots stood on guard on both sides
of the door.
"So how do we get in?" Brian asked.
"Leave it to the 'hog," Sonic said. "Wait here." Sonic then ran right
in front of the SWATbots. "Yo, botheads!" he called to them. "Looking for me?"
"HEDGEHOG, PRIORITY ONE," the SWATbots droned, firing their plasma
lasers at him.
Sonic easily jumped their blasts. "Man, you guys need a serious
workout. Come and get me, SWATbutts!" Sonic sped away from the prison, the
SWATbots following behind him.
Brian looked on until they were all out of sight. "Geez, that boy's
nuts," he thought. "But it did the trick. Now's my chance." He came from around
the corner and headed into the prison.
Sally, Bunnie, and Antoine reached the junk pile that concealed Uncle
Chuck's hidden base. Antoine was a nervous wreck, despite Bunnie's best efforts
to keep him from whimpering too much. Sally banged on the side on the pile, and
the front rose up, revealing stairs leading down into the base.
"Hey there," Uncle Chuck called. "Glad to see you made it."
"Glad that you could help us out again," Sally replied.
"So what do you need to know about this fella's parents?"
"They were captured 4 days ago during the Bluebrook invasion. We're
trying to find out whether or not they have been roboticized yet. Do you think
there is any way that you can access information on its recent activity?"
"Hmm... well, I've heard Robotnik gloating over having lots of new
recruits, so I'll guess the roboticizer's been busy. It may be difficult, but I
think I can pull it off. Just have to be careful not to blow my cover." Uncle
Chuck went over to the computer consoles and attempted to enter the system.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in Robotropolis, an alarm was going off in a
computer filled-room.
"We have an intrusion, Doctor Robotnik," a nasal voice said. A chair
revolved around, revealing the maniacal doctor. "Status report, Snively."
"It appears to be the hedgehog, sir. SWATbots are pursuing him in
Sector 3."
"Bring the surveillance monitors online."
"Yes, sir," Snively complied. The monitors flashed on. Robotnik then
watched as Sonic was running through the city with several SWATbots tailing
him. "What has brought the hedgehog out of hiding this time..." he muttered.
"Snively, determine the hedgehog's first known location."
"According to the surveillance, he was first spotted in Sector 4 near
the prison complex. SWATbots from there as well as in nearby locations have
begun pursuit of the hedgehog."
"Is the prison sector still unguarded?"
"Um... y-y-yes, sir," Snively stammered, now becoming nervous.
"And do you know what that means, Snively?"
"Yes, sir?" Snively's voice was becoming high-pitched.
"Well, then, if you know what's good for you, you'll get more SWATbots
over there NOW!" Robotnik yelled, pounding his fist on the armbar. "He's
creating a diversion for someone!"
"Y-yes, sir." Snively immediately ran to the microphone on the computer
console. "Attention all SWATbots in Sector 5, intruder in prison complex,
Sector 4. Proceed to capture."
"AFFIRMATIVE," a SWATbot droned back.
"Hmhmhm..." Robotnik chuckled. "Let's find out what our Freedom Fighter
friends are up to this time."
Brian looked once each way down the upcoming corridor. "Good... no bots
here," he muttered, then kneeled down to regain his breath. He had been running
like crazy through all of the prisons and he saw no sign of his parents. In
fact, he could hardly find anyone. "Now I'm getting worried. If I don't find
them here, then that means..." Brian shook his head. The tension was making
Brian so nervous that he started to sweat. "No, I can't think that. I've gotta
find them. They're counting on me."
After a few moments, Brian stood up again. "All right. Looks like I'll
have to try the next floor. Now where are those stairs....?"
Sonic laughed as the SWATbots missed with their blasts yet again. He'd
been running them through the nearby 2 sectors of the city. At the same time,
any bots and hover units that saw him pass gave chase as well. He now had about
a dozen machines behind him.
Suddenly, Sonic froze in his tracks. The ships flew past him and
circled around to corner him. The SWATbots stopped behind him as well, arms at
the ready to fire again.
"Oh no, you've got me cornered," Sonic jokingly whined. "Whatever shall
I do?" The SWATbots slowly moved in to grab Sonic. He then looked down at his
watch. "Oh, will you look at the time. Hey, listen, botheads, I'd love to stay
and play this game some more, but I've gotta juice."
Sonic leaped up and spun into a buzzsaw. In one quick motion, he sliced
through all the SWATbots around him, leaving their remains to fall to the
ground. Then, he ran back the way he came, the hover bots continuing the
pursuit.
Brian ran through another corridor of cells, all empty like the others.
"Ugh... still nothing," he said. He was beginning to get very worried and
frustrated. "Where the heck are they?"
Turning the corner, he saw the door leading to the next cell block.
"All right, they've gotta be here. There's nowhere else left," he thought. He
reached the door and pressed the button on the wall. "C'mon, be there," he said
to himself as the doors slid open.
What he saw in front of him as the doors opened took him by surprise.
"Oh boy...."
Sally looked over the junk piles for a moment. "Where the heck are
they?" she wondered aloud as she returned to the others.
"Oh, now, relax, Sally girl," Bunnie said. "I'm sure those two
sugarhogs are doing just fine."
"I can't help but worry this time. I mean, I expected this from Sonic.
But now he's bringing someone else into his games. If I'm not worried about
Sonic, I'm worried about Brian."
"Oui, zat Sonic can be more trouble zen he iz worth," Antoine said. "He
may be going too far zis time."
"But they've still got another 20 minutes before they all have to jump
back here," Bunnie said, embracing Sally. "Don't worry, Sally, they'll be fine."
"I only hope you're right, Bunnie," Sally replied.
"Sir, the SWATbots have located the intruder," Snively called.
"Well, then, let's see who it is then," Robotnik sneered. "Activate
surveillance monitors."
The monitors flickered on again to reveal Brian face to face with a
half dozen SWATbots. "Snively, who is that?"
"I do not know, sir. It's a hedgehog, but it's not Sonic. He looks very
similar to him, though, sir."
"Indeed. The hedgehog carries no such weapons like this one does. Order
the SWATbots to take him with minimal force. I want to see what our guest is
capable of."
Meanwhile, as Robotnik watched, Brian was ready to panic.
"This is not what I needed right now," he thought, sweating profusely.
"And there's a lot more of them than last time." He looked behind him to see
that he was backed up into a corner. "Oh, great... well, guess there's only one
way I'm getting out of here. Here's hoping."
Brian reached for his bo staff. He then charged forward, planted his
staff on the ground and leaped with a flying side kick at one of the SWATbots
hitting it flush. The bot doubled over with the momentum and fell to the floor
with Brian on top of him. Brian hopped off the fallen bot and dashed for the
door as he replaced his staff.
The other SWATbots began opening fire on Brian. He dodged from side to
side as the shots missed him. "C'mon, Brian, almost there..." he muttered as he
pushed himself harder to escape.
Just then, a SWATbot blast darted across the room. Brian dodged to one
side, only to step right in the beam's path. He tried to cut back in the other
direction, but it was too late. The beam hit him in the back.
Brian collapsed to the floor with an "Ugh..." The SWATbots then walked
over and picked up Brian's body.
"They've taken him, sir," Snively said to a now very cheerful Robotnik.
"Excellent," he grinned. "Have him brought here immediately. I wish to
meet this intruder in person." Robotnik grinned evilly at his final thought.
Sonic concentrated on the road in front of him as the hover units fired
at him. Seeing that he was approaching the prison cells, he stopped in his
tracks. He turned to see that the hover units had stopped along with him.
"Enjoy the ride, botheads?" he called. "Hope you did, cuz this is where
I get off."
He ran up a nearby wall, the hover units resuming their fire. Just
before the top of the wall, Sonic kicked off and jumped through the air between
the hover units. All the ships blasted at the moment he was dead center, but
Sonic's leap was so fast that the blasts missed, and connected with each of the
other ships instead. The ships exploded on impact.
Sonic activated the anti-gravity vents on his sneakers and slowly
descended to the ground. "Looks like they thought it was a real blast," he
chuckled. "Now to go get Brian."
He reached the prison cells in no time. He zipped past each of the
cells, but Brian was nowhere to be found. "Brian?" he called out as he paused
between blocks. "Where are you?" The corridors only returned his voice. As he
ran past more cells, there was still no trace of Brian. "Oh man, this is
serious. I'd better go find Sal and the others." With that, he ran out for the
junk piles.
As Sally continued to lie in worried wait, Bunnie looked on from over
the garbage. In a few moments, she saw a blur approaching. "They're on their
way," she called.
Relieved, Sally stood to meet with the two hedgehogs, only to find one
standing there when the blur stopped in front of her. "Sonic, what happened to
Brian? Where is he?" Sally asked.
"I checked the cell blocks, Sal. He's gone," Sonic replied. "I think he
might have gotten caught."
A small gasp escaped Sally's lips. "We've gotta go after him,
Sally-girl," Bunnie said. "He ain't gonna stand a chance if Robotnik's got him."
"Sonic, we've got to get to the roboticizer in Robotnik's main chamber,
and fast," Sally said.
"Hey, fast is my middle name, Sal. Everybody grab on," Sonic said.
Sally grabbed on to him, with Bunnie and Antoine following suit. One rev later,
Sonic took off for the center of Robotropolis.
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