The following short story is based on characters created and/or
copyrighted by SEGA! Enterprises, DiC Productions, Archie Comic
Publishers, Fleetway Comic Publishers, and the Taki Corporation.  All
other characters were created and copyrighted by Roland Lowery.
	The author gives full permission to distribute this work freely as
long as it remains intact and unaltered, and the transfer of monetary
units is not involved.
	Comments, questions, suggestions, complaints?  Send them to me at
.  I enjoy hearing from people who can
spell.

	Chaotic Multiverse Tale #13

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quote for the day:

	"This is the first day of my last days,
		Built it up, now take it apart,
	climbed up real high, now fall down real far,
		No need for me to stay,
	Last thing left, I just threw it away,
		Put my faith in God and my trust in you,
	Now there's nothing more f@$%ed up I can do, . . .

				-Trent Reznor (/\/ | \/\), Wish (Halo 5)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	CHAOS! - Present Problems
		by Roland Lowery


	DR. IVO Robotnik lifted his cup to his lips, sipped some of the
tea within, then let out a gratified, "Aaaaaaaaah . . . "
	He loved days like this.  Normally, he had some project or another
running, giving him heartburn, indegestion, and ulcers.  But today was one
of those intermediate days with no pressing problems, no natural
disasters, and no Freedom Fighters deigning to attack him.
	On these days, Robotnik liked to sit back in his command chair,
drink hot tea, and relax.  He had even - of all things - given Snively the
day off.  The computer was able to handle the few minor details that
popped up.
	The only sound in the control room, as a matter of fact, was the
computer.  It gave off light beeps every once in a while, a soothing sound
to the normally evil doctor.
	He was bringing the tea cup back up when the floor shook, almost
making him drop his drink.  When it stopped, he opened a commlink.
	"Snively," he said into the communicator, "what was that?"

	"I'm not sure, sir," said Snively.  "Just give me a second."
	Snively had been using his day off, like all of his free time,
programming his new computer system, MATRIX.  He sighed, wondering if he
would ever find the time to finish it, then switched his comport over to
the main system.
	"Computer," he said, "what was the source of the disturbance a few
minutes ago?"
	"GxlrgwrglixblidfSector H-5, Room 520."
	Snively frowned.  "Computer, do you have a glitch?"
	"Nnnnnnegative."
	"Then what's wrong?"
	"Attempting to purge . . . zglitzbaring . . . unauthorized
u-u-user."
	Snively reopened his commlink with Robotnik.  "Doctor," he said,
"it appears that there are intruders in Sector H-5, Room 520, and they are
trying to-"
	He was cut off by the sound of breaking glass.
	"Sir?" he called out, worried.  "Sir, are you alright?"
	"Snively, do you remember what's in that room?" Robotnik asked in
a shaky voice.
	Snively frowned again.  "No, sir, I don't think I-"  He trailed
off as realization hit him.  "Oh, my."
	"I WANT SWATBOTS AND COMBOTS DOWN THERE ON THE DOUBLE!" Robotnik
yelled.

	Sonic T. Hedgehog and Dr. Ivo Robotnik had very little in common
and, at times, appeared to be complete opposites.
	Case in point.  Robotnik drank tea to relax.  Sonic, on the other
hand, couldn't seem to get enough coffee to keep a buzz going.
	It was a lovely Sunday afternoon in Knothole Village, and Sonic
was on his way to the mess hall to tank up on his favorite breakfast
beverage.
	He was zooming through the village with less constraint that
usual, due to the fact that very few Freedom Fighters were still inside
Knothole, making the risk of collision smaller than normal.  Almost
everyone was off in the forest or in their huts enjoying the short lull in
activity.
	The ground heaved and threw Sonic into the air.  He fell back down
with a curse, then stood up and looked around.
	"I KNEW we couldn't have a normal day around here," he mumbled to
himself.  He was about to run off to the war room when Tails flew up to
him.
	"What was that?" asked the fox.
	"I dunno," Sonic answered.  "I was about to head to the war room
to find out.  C'mon."

	Five months ago, Sonic and the Freedom Fighters had fought a
cyborg menace known as the "Screamers".  The killer 'borgs had torn down
all of the huts that weren't protected, but had a special preference for
military targets, tearing down everything inside as well.  Only the
computer and weapons huts had escaped that fate because of the Freedom
Fighters who had fled into them for protection.
	The war room, however, had to be rebuilt from scratch.  It had
taken a long time to do, but they had just finished rebuilding it two days
ago.
	"-cieving transmission."
	Sonic and Tails walked in just in time to hear the computer kick
on.  The holographic imager in the center of the conference table lit up,
displaying Robotnik's R symbol.
	"Oh, great," said Sonic.  "I wonder what ol' tubby wants."
	The R disappeared to be replaced by the evil doctor himself.
	"Sonic T. Hedgehog and Freedom Fighters," said Robotnik's image.
"This is a warning and a plea for for assistance.  An unknown force from
the Zone of Silence has comprimised my main control tower.  They have
overwhelmed my main forces and have captured the bottom seven floors of my
control tower, and are beginning to spread throughout Robotropolis.
	"I have reason to believe that these things are planning to attack
you as well.  I propose that we call a temporary truce to dispose of the
menace.  They are evil of the worst order.  Getting captured by them is
worse than death, even worse than roboticization or mechanization.  For
your help, I will gladly release all roboticized Mobians within the
Robotropolis city limits, all de-roboticized.
	"If we are to subdue this force, we must hit them and hit them
NOW, so I must ask for IMMEDIATE assistance.
	"Robotnik out."
	"End of Transmission," said the computer as it powered down.
	"D'ya think he's tellin' the truth?" asked Tails.
	"No," said Sonic.  "Not all of it.  But it's obvious that
SOMEthing's got him all shook up.  How many times has he asked us for help
before?"
	Just then, Sally burst in.
	"Hey, Sal," said Sonic over his shoulder, "you're missin' the
party."

	The Robotropolis Sprawl spread before the speeding hedgehog and
flying fox.  Sally had sent them ahead to check on Robotnik's message and,
so far, they had found nothing.
	Literally.
	The entire city seemed to be dead.  There were no SWATbots,
ComBots, roboticized Mobians, or air patrols.  All of the factories were
silent, and all of the lights were off.  Even the control tower in the
distance looked lifeless.
	"Should we check in with the spy network?" asked Tails, mentioning
the group of Mobians that lived inside Robotropolis and worked with
Sonic's Uncle Chuck to get them information straight from the source.
	Sonic didn't answer for a moment, but finally said, "Yah.  Let's
go."
	Half a minute later, they were standing outside the spy network
HQ.  Sonic knocked lightly, but didn't get an answer. He looked at Tails
and jerked his thumb upward.
	Tails nodded and silently flew up to a second story window in the
burnt-out building.  He looked in, but didn't see anything or anyone.  He
turned to look at Sonic and shook his head, then landed beside the
hedgehog.
	For some reason, the atmosphere generated the feeling that they
were being listened to or watched, so Sonic lapsed into silent hand code
when he said, "Something's wrong."
	"What now?" Tails signed back.
	"The tower.  Go scout it, then report back.  I'll stay here.
Hurry."
	Tails nodded and flew off.
	He returned a few minutes later empty handed.  The tower, like
everything else in Robotropolis, was empty, devoid of any life -
biological, mechanical, or otherwise.
	"It's too quiet," signed Tails as they slipped through back
alleys.  "I don't like it."
	"I know what you mean," Sonic signed back.  "It's like Robotnik's
'unknown force' took him and troops out completely, without leaving a
trace."
	"But, how?  They didn't have all that long."
	"I wish I knew, big guy.  I wish I knew."

	"Do you feel it?"
	Archimedes Fire Ant was stunned.  The waves of energy pouring
over him held him entranced, and he was unable to answer Knuckles'
question.
	"I thought so," the echidna said.  "I do too.  What is it?"
	Knuckles T. Echidna had called for Archimedes to meet him at the
Floating Island's "western" edge.  The fire ant had appeared in his ususal
puff of smoke, then just stood there, overwhelmed by the same energies
that Knux had found a few hours ago.
	"It's-it's-" mumbled Archimedes.
	"Yah, yah, it's what?" asked Knuckles impatiently.
	Archimeds frowned.  "Get the Chaotix together.  We're going to
need help."
	Knuckles frowned too.  "You're not even gonna tell me what it is?"
	"No.  M'boy, there are some things in this world even *I* am not
sure about.  We need to check this out first before we make any snap
decisions based on speculation."
	Knuckles, far from happy with the ant's vauge answer, glided off
grubmling.
	"And may the Ancient Walkers help us if I'm right," said
Archimedes under his breath, "and that the Collective is here."

	Sonic and Tails stood in the control room of Robotnik's tower.
	"Man, I wish Sally was here," Sonic signed.  "When we get back to
Knothole, I'm going to get her to teach me more about computers.  How do
you turn this thing on?"
	Tails shrugged.
	In a flash of speed, Sonic started pushing buttons at random until
a screen lit up.  It displayed the startup sequence, blinked, then
displayed an R:\> prompt.
	Uh-oh, thought Sonic.  Now what?
	He tried various commands to bring up a map of the tower, but none
worked.  It just kept spitting out "Bad Command Or File Name" at him.
	Tails tapped him on the shoulder and jerked a thumb at himself.
Sonic stood up out of the console's chair and bowed graciously as Tails
took his place.
	Half a minute later, Tails had a map of the tower displayed on a
holo-imager.  Sonic, slack-jawed, was barely able to sign out, "How did
you do that?"
	"Aunt Sally taught me," Tails signed smugly.
	"Alright, wiseguy, show me where Robotnik's Zone of Silence portal
is."
	One of the rooms on the map lit up before Sonic had even finished
signing his challenge.

	Ixis' laboratory hadn't changed much since ten years ago, save for
the massive proton cannon firing positively charged atoms into the Zone of
Silence.
	Whadda ya figure that's for?" asked Sonic.
	"I dunno," said Tails.
	They had abandoned hand signals because the zone portal was
emitting a dull roar, making it hard to hear each other, and making it
virtually impossible for anyone outside the room to hear them.
	"Mebbe we should shut it off," yelled Tails.  "It was probably put
there by whoever attacked 'Buttnik!"
	"Mebbe," said Sonic, "mebbe not.  Look!"  Sonic pointed at the
cannon.  On the side was Robotnik's R symbol.
	"So, whadda we do?"
	They stood in thought, which was interrupted by a dull thump
coming from the zone portal.
	"You heard that?"
	"I heard that."
	"Let's go," suggested Sonic.

	ERROR|ERROR|ERROR
	ITEM DESIGNATE:  PROTON CANNON HAS BEEN RE-ENGAGED.
	OPTIONS:  GIVE UP|BLAST THROUGH|FIND ALTERNATE ROUTE.
	OPTION 2 SELECTED.

	"Waitaminute," said Sonic.  He grabbed Tails' shoulder.  "When I
turned the computer on, do you think it might've turned that thing on
too?"  He pointed at the cannon again.
	Tails shrugged.  "Mebbe."
	Another thump came from the portal, louder this time.
	"And mebbe," Sonic continued, "Robuttnik's attackers took him into
the zone.  Which means-"
	Another thump.
	"-that that, is them!" finished Tails.
	"Shit!" cursed Sonic.  He grabbed Tails and ran.

	"We're too late," breathed Archimedes.
	He, Knuckles, and the Chaotix were standing on the "western" side
of the island.  From their vantage point, they could see the bright white
beam of light blazing out of the ground miles away, where the Robotropolis
command tower used to be.

	The explosion was felt around the globe.  Half of Robotropolis was
leveled.  Shockwaves hit the Great Forest and Knothole Village, knocking
down trees, huts, and Freedom Fighters.  The Floating Island was buffeted
by a wall of wind and sound.  Pieces of the Arctic Ice Cap broke off in
ton sized chunks.  On the other side of Mobius, the Downunda Freedom
Fighters were hit by a sudden backlash of psionic and magical energy.
	No one in Downunda had the stregnth to look up and see the Ancient
Walkers take flight.

	The first thought that formed in Princess Sally Alicia Acorn's
mind when she came to was, What was THAT?
	She picked herself up out of the rubble and looked around.
	She was standing in the middle of what used to be the computer
hut.  From there, she could see that only a few buildings were left
standing.  There were very few Freedom Fighters to be seen; most of them
were still off in the forest -
	- or rather, what was left of the forest.  Many of the surrounding
trees were either pushed over or completely gone.  Those still standing
were mostly stripped of leaves and bark.
	Without taking her eyes off of the massive smoking destruction,
Sally groped for her mini-computer, Nicole.  She was relieved to see that
Nicole had only sustained minor damage.
	"N-Nicole?"
	"Working, Sally," said the computer.
	"Casuality count, Knothole Village."
	"Scanning . . . . . . . . . . . done.  Five dead, ten injured,
fourty-seven missing."
	"Extend scan, Great Forest, two mile radius."
	"Scanning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . done.  Nine dead,
twenty-four injured, three missing."
	Sally heard a thin moan escape from her lips.

	"Is everyone all right?"
	"I . . . think so."
	"Why's it so dark?"
	"Ow!"
	"Get your elbow outta-"
	"That ain't my elbow, dude!"
	"Alright, alright, everyone just SHUT UP!" yelled Knuckles.  "We
need to find a way outta here.  Any ideas?"
	"Yah," said Mighty Mighty Armadillo, "and I'm gonna shove it-"
	"Ah, ah, ah," interrupted Charmy Albert Bee.  "Temper, temper,
Mighty!"
	"Why don't you and Mighty just dig us out, Knux?" asked Espio
Carlos Chameleon.  "All of this around us feels like dirt."
	"Because, Espio," answered Knuckles, "we don't know where we are,
exactly.  If me or Mighty started digging, we might bring the roof down,
burying us all!"
	"Archy could telport us," suggested Charmy.
	"No can do," said the fire ant.  "I don't know where I'd be
teleporting us TO because I can reference from where we're teleporting
FROM."
	"Well, how about some light, anyway?" asked Mighty.
	"Only if you want to be flash fried by my breath," said
Archimedes.
	"Aw, man!" Vector Tangent Gator complained.  "Like I really need
all this!  We're gonna die of starvation and my CD player's batteries are
runnin' low!  The Master of Smooth Moves can't live like-"
	The alligator's grumblings were cut short by dirt falling from the
ceiling.
	"What the-?"
	A shaft of light poured in through a hole overhead.  A voice told
them to come out, which they did, one by one.  As soon as they were all
freed from the hole, they looked at their rescuer.
	He was a young male Mobian deer, standing slightly taller than
Vector. He looked like he was well used to a rough life and had the
scuffed up travelling clothes to prove it.  A mop of brown hair sat on top
of his head, framed by two small antlers.
	"Where are we?" asked Knuckles, looking around at the surrounding
trees.
	"No, no, no," said the deer.  "The question is, WHY are you here?
I don't get too many visitors this deep in the forest, especially none
that fall from the sky."  He pointed upwards.
	Through the canopy up above, Knuckles and the Chaotix saw the
bottom of the Floating Island.
	"By the Walkers," mumbled Archimedes.  He jumped up to his normal
perch on Knuckles' shoulder.  "How do you suppose we survived the fall?"
he wondered aloud.
	"Magic," said the deer cryptically.  He picked up a backpack,
slung it over his shoulder, and started to walk off.
	"W-wait!" cried Knuckles.  "Who are you?  What's your name?"
	The deer stopped.  "Name?" he said.  "I don't have one.  I used to
have one, a long time ago, but not anymore.  But, if you have to call me
anything . . . call me Jim."

	"Well, this is just luverly," grumbled Geoffry St. John.  "Is
everyone alright?"
	His rebel squad checked themselves, then their gear, then called
out affirmatives.
	"Good," said St. John.  "Fleming, you're in charge until I come
back.  Continue with our original mission.  I'm going to go check out that
. . . disturbance."
	"Yes, sir," said Fleming.
	St. John nodded and stepped off into the forest.

	Nack T. Weasel, bounty hunter extraordinaire, awoke upside-down.
At first, he wondered what his captors, the Knothole Freedom Fighters had
slipped into the jail food, but then he noticed the large hole in the wall
of his cell.
	Since his capture, Nack had fallen into a rather steady routine.
Monday was spent practicing his gun drawing - with fake guns, of course.
On Tuesday, he did calesthenics and aerobics in his cell for most of the
day.  Wendsday and Thursday, he was allowed to exercise outside for the
daylight hours under heavy guard.  Friday was reserved for magazine
reading - he had already read all of the mags that could be found in
Knothole about twenty times each, but he continued to read them over and
over again - and Saturday and Sunday were reserved for sleeping.
	He had been in the middle of his Sunday afternoon nap when he had
woken upside-down.
	He thought maybe that the Screamer cyborgs had come back, but
realized that they would've mowed him down in his sleep.  He probably
wouldn't have woken up due to the noise because the deep Saturday and
Sunday sleep was part of his pre-jail schedule too.  He would sleep deeply
on these two days only, and he was able to stay wide awake for the rest of
the week on only one hour of light sleep a day.
	More likely than not, an earthquake had hit and taken the wall
down.  Nack probably would have - and seemingly had - slept through that
as well.
	That was not important, however.  What WAS important was that the
wall was down.
	Nack slipped off of his cot and looked through the cell bars.  No
guard was standing there, so he walked through the hole in the wall,
around the building, and into the main room of the jail.
	While retrieving his gun belt, Nack found the guard crushed
underneath a piece of the ceiling that had collapsed.
	"Y'know," said the weasel to himself, "I wonder why they even
bother with a guard.  They don't seem to last all that long."

	"An' we jus' got this thing fixed, too," said Bunnie.
	She, Antoine, Rotor, and Sally were sitting in the war room,
staring out through the hole in the hut's southern wall.
	"What do we do now, mah Preences?" asked Antoine.
	"We have to go to Robotropolis and assess the damage."  Sally's
voice was cracking.  She was standing at the head of the conference table,
pretending to study Nicole's cracked screen.
	"Why don't we just wait for Sonic to-"
	"SONIC IS *DEAD*, ROTOR!" Sally screamed as she slammed her fist
down.  "NOTHING could have survived that blast!  Sonic and Tails are
GONE!"
	"Look, Sally girl," Bunnie said softly, "Sonic and Tails have
gotten outta wors scrapes'n this.  Jus' give 'em a li'l-"
	"You have your assignment," Sally said coldly, then walked out of
the hut.

	Ten years ago, when they first came to Knothole Village, there had
only been Sally, Sonic, Rotor, Bunnie, and their caretakers/teachers,
Julayla and Rosie.
	Julayla had continued teaching the young Princess the martial
arts, and the importance of meditation.  To help her into her "trance",
Sally often sat underneath the main bridge over the stream that flowed
through the village.
	There were three bridges in all in Knothole, and all three passed
over the stream.  One was on the north side of the village, and one on the
south.  The main bridge, however, passed through the middle where the bank
incline was the steepest.  A person sitting under the bridge couldn't be
seen from higher up, so Sally went there for the privacy.  Also, the
babbling of the streamwater helped her to relax.
	Sally hadn't meditated since five years ago, when Rosie and
Julayla both died, the former from old age, and the latter from a SWATbot
laser.
	But she meditated now.
	The stream still babbled, but for different reasons this time.  It
was forced to flow through the wreckage of the main bridge.  As Sally
concentrated, the sounds of scurrying Freedom Fighters above faded away.
Her vision clouded as the babbling of the stream sloughed off as well.
	She had to believe Sonic and Tails were dead.  It was her job, as
Princess of the Acorn Kingdom and leader of the Freedom Fighter movement,
to assume the worst until otherwise notified.
	If they had survived the blast, they would've radioed in if
possible, or reported back to Knothole physically.  And even if they
couldn't do either, they might as well be dead.  If Robotnik's unknown
force was as strong as his transmission hinted at - and if the explosion
was any indication, they were - then Sonic and Tails wouldn't stand a
chance alone and injured.
	And yet, Sally had to admit, both of them had beaten overwhelming
odds before, alone and together, with help and without.
	Sally, like the others, believed deep down that Sonic and Tails
were still alive, but she was hampered by the need to maintain a
professional distance when all odds pointed to the fact that they were
not.

	"Well, well, well," mumbled Nack to himself.  "What's this?"
	Since his "escape" from the jail, Nack had been following a nearby
stream in the hopes that it would lead him out of the forest.  He had
travelled most of the time under the water to keep roaming Freedom
Fighters from spotting him, so he had no idea where he was.
	Now, though, he was getting a pretty good idea.  Princess Sally
Acorn was sitting on the steep bank just a few yards ahead.  She was
apparantly lost in thought.  She stared straight ahead at the ruins of a
bridge.
	Nack knew when to play an advantage, and now was on of those
times.  He pulled out his gas gun - waterproofed, naturally - and crept
stealthily as possible along the incline until he was directly behind her.
	He pointed his gun at the back of her head and cleared his throat
to get her attention.  Sally didn't turn around, stand up, or even so much
as twitch.
	"Hey," said Nack as he poked her in the head with the barrel of
his gun.  "Hey, wake up!  I ain't got all day."
	In a flurry of arms and legs, Sally finally reacted.  Before Nack
could counter, he found himself flying through the air.  He landed among
the broken logs of the bridge.
	"Shit!" he yelled when he saw how close he had come to being
skewered by a piece of the wreckage.  He looked up in time to roll out of
the way of Sally's next attack.
	Nack, being a bounty hunter, had been in his share of brawls with
uncooperative bounties.  He quickly holstered his gun, realizing its
uselessness in close combat, then assumed a street fighter's stance.
	Sally came in with another flurry of attacks.  Nack was amazed at
the speed with which she moved, as well as the silence of her attack.  She
neither grunted or breath hard, and her arms and legs made barely a sound
as they cut through the air.
	Nack was amazed, but not defeated.  He proved to be just as fast
as Sally, and almost equally skilled, but he was still hard pressed.
Whoever had taught the Princess how to fight had taught her well.
	The fight was hampered by the broken spears of wood jutting up
from the wreckage.  Nack and Sally both had to dodge carefully.
	Unfortunatly for Sally, Nack was just as devious as he was skilled
at fighting.  He tricked her into thinking she had pressed him into a
crouching position.  He fended off most of her blows with one hand as he
pulled a flash ball from his jacket pocket and threw it at her.
	The flash ball exploded in silent white light as soon as it hit
Sally's chest.  Blinded and stunned, she was still almost able to defend
herself from Nack's renewed volley of attacks.
	Almost.

	"C'mon, man," said Vector, "this ain't cool!"
	Jim ignored him and kept on walking.  He didn't even blink when
Charmy flew up in front of him.
	"Vector's right!" the bee said.  "You gotta help us!"
	"I've done my part," said Jim evenly, "and now I suggest you
leave."
	"We can't, Jim, that's the problem," said Knuckles.  "We're lost
and need to know where we are!"
	"Under the Floating Island."
	"We KNOW that!" Knuckles cried impatiently.
	"Then you're not lost."
	"Not exactly the friendly sort, are you?" asked Espio.
	"I don't play well with others."
	For the fourth time since they'd met him, the Chaotix watched as
Jim held out his hand.  An apple fell into it from a branch overhead.
	"How DO you do that?" mused Archimedes.
	Jim bit into the apple, then said, "Magic."
	"Yes, so you said before.  Would you like to see some of MY
magic?"
	"No."
	"Too bad." Archimedes disappeared from Knuckles' shoulder in a
puff of smoke.
	He had planned to show up on Jim's nose and poke him in his green
eye to make him pay attention, but instead he ended up floating a foot in
front of the deer, bouyed by a pinkish-purple light.
	Jim had stopped walking.  Anger clouded his face.
	"Well, 'magician', how's THAT for a trick?" he asked testily.
"You'd better start thinking twice before screwing around with something
or someone you don't know about or understand."
	Archimedes fell to the ground.  Jim stepped over him and continued
walking.  None of the Chaotix followed him this time.
	"H-how'd he do that?" asked the startled fire ant.
	Knuckles leaned over and scooped him up.  "How do ya think,
Archy?" he said.  "Magic."

	St. John stepped out of the smoldering forest and into a disaster
area.  When the Screamers had attacked, St. John had been there to see the
destruction they had wreaked firsthand.
	That, however, had in no way prepared him for this.
	Knothole Village looked like a battlefield.  The few huts left
standing had walls or roofs missing.  Those that hadn't survived were
either scattered across the ground or missing completely.  St. John could
see the patches cleared of any evidence that anything, let alone walls or
furniture, had been on them.
	At least two of the standing huts were on fire.  Smoke permeated
the air.  Freedom Fighters were running back and forth through the haze,
attending injured people or the fires.
	As he walked along, St. John also noticed that some of the
standing huts had burn marks on their eastern sides.  He remembered that
Robotropolis was east of the village.  He felt suspicions grow.
	He felt fortunate that his camp had been located deeper into the
Great Forest when the blast came, or they would've ended up in the same
situation as the village.
	He was walking along the stream when he heard the hushed sounds of
a near-silent fight.  He was just about to look over the edge of the bank
when a flash of light hit his eyes, stunning him.  He fell on his butt and
rubbed his eyes.  When his sight came back a few seconds later, he found
himself looking up into the barrel of Nack's gas gun.
	"Hey," said Nack, "it just keeps getting better and better!  Stand
up."
	St. John, seeing no other alternative, complied.
	Nack, Princess over his shoulder and rebel leader in front of him,
proceeded down the stream.

	Somehow, an outer ring of buildings in Robotropolis had survived
the explosion with minimal damage.  It was like the shock wave had jumped
over it.
	It was this was the part of the city that Bunnie, Rotor, and
Antoine were checking out first.  They had split up to cover more ground,
but hadn't found much that was worth reporting until-
	"Hoo-whee!" exclaimed Bunnie.  She turned on her communicator and
said, "Y'all come look at this!"
	They found her in front of a warehouse doorway.  The door was
missing, seemingly ripped off of its hinges.  Inside, they found row after
row of SWATbots.
	"Would'ja look at that," breathed Rotor.  He pulled a scanner from
his utility strap and stepped inside.  Bunnie and Antoine filed in behind
him, then moved off among the aisles.
	"Zey are not een ze good condiseons," said Antoine.  "Zis one ees
messeng 'is left arm!"
	Rotor looked up from his scanner to the 'bot standing before him.
"This one doesn't have its power core," he said.  "I'd guess that this is
a warehouse for defective 'bots."
	"Then why line 'em up?" asked Bunnie.  "Why not jus' chunk 'em?"
	"Spare parts.  Even Robotnik recyc-"  His scanner beeped.
"Waitaminute.  This 'bot is still servicable."
	"What?"
	"There's nothing wrong with it.  It seems someone just shut it off
and stuck it in here."
	Bunnie and Antoine walked over to look at it.
	"Mebbe we should turn it on," suggested Bunnie.
	Antoine looked at her like she'd grown another arm.  "So eet can
shoot us?  Je ne crois pas!  Why would vous want to be turneng eet on?"
	"Ah c'n hold it down while y'all question it."
	"I could just-"
	Rotor was interrupted by the movement of the 'bot.
	"**This unit will not be comprimised,**" it said.  "**Designates:
Bunnie Elizabeth Rabbot, Rotor Boome Walrus, and Antoine Guy DeCoolette -
collective Designate:  Freedom Fighters - surrender and you will not be
harmed.**"
	After the initial shock, Bunnie said, "Shugah, ah think you bettah
check yoah brain in fer a tune up.  Yoah outnumbered AND outgunned!"
	Her cybernetic left hand retracted into her forearm to be replaced
with the barrel of a laser gun.  Rotor unholstered a small laser blaster
while Antoine pulled his sword from its scabbard.
	"**Incorrect,**" said the SWATbot.  To the Freedom Fighters'
complete suprise, the SWATbot's body began to grow.

	REFORMING INTO CHAOTIC COLLECTIVE FORM.
	WAIT|WAIT|WAIT.
	TRANSFORMATION COMPLETE.
	VOCAL:  "Collective Designate:  Freedom Fighters, you now have
five seconds to surrender.  This unit does not wish to harm you."
	MULTIPLE TARGETS MOBILE|SAVE COMMAND TO FILE:  "SCATTER -
DISPERSAL OF GROUP TO MORE STRATEGIC LOCALES" AS OBSERVED FROM STATEMENT
BY DESIGNATE:  ROTOR BOOME WALRUS.
	COMPENSATING FOR "SCATTER" TACTIC.
	VOCAL:  "Attempt to escape is futile.  Surrender now."

	"Yah, right," said Rotor.  He fired a shot at the gray 'bot's
head, but it merely glanced off.
	Bunnie had edged around and was among the SWATbots behind the
weapon covered 'bot.  She fired a volley of laser fire, but it had no more
effect than Rotor's pistol.
	"Forget lasers!" yelled the walrus.  "They don't work!"
	Antoine ran up and slahed at the thing's knees in an unsuccessful
attempt to slice at the wires in between the leg plates.  Bunnie met with
little more luck.  She Bunnie Hopped up to the head and started trying to
pull it off.
	"Bunnie!  Look out!" Rotor yelled.  The 'bot had raised its arm
and was groping around behind its back for the rabbit, and Rotor's warning
came only a moment too late.
	The gray 'bot held her, upside-down and screaming, in front of it.

	DESIGNATE:  BUNNIE ELIZABETH RABBOT CAPTURED|ORDERS:  INJEST.
	TRANSFER|TRANSFER|TRANSFER.
	OFFLINE ----------------------------------------------------
	@!#?>.'-$*(^)!
	ONLIN@?# ---------------------------------------------------
	ERROR|ERROR|ERROR.
	UNABLE TO ASSIMILATE DESIGNATE: BER|REASONS AS FOLLOWS:
		REASON 1:  CYBERNETIC PARTS - ONE (1) ARM, TWO (2) LEGS,
	AND METAL BONE LACING - INTERFERING WITH TRANSFER|SOLUTION:  KEEP
	TRYING|ESTIMATED TIME OF COMPLETION:  UNKNOWN.
		REASON 2:  NECK ORNEMENTATION - ONE (1) ACORN CONTAINING 1
	MILLILITER OF FRESHWATER, ENGRAVED WITH A PICTURE OF A HOUSE, AND
	COVERED WITH AN UNKNOWN SUBSTANCE - INTERFERING WITH
	TRANSFER|SOLUTION:  UNKNOWN.
		REASON 3:  UNUSUAL AMOUNT OF PSIONIC
	INTERFERANCE|SOLUTION:  UNKNOWN.
	OVERALL SOLUTION:  UNKN-
	INCOMING TRANSMISSION|TOP PRIORITY|STANDBY.

	Rotor was perplexed.
	The huge 'bot had seemingly "melted" a part of itself over
Bunnie's entire body, went into a seizure of some kind, then stood up
ramrod straight.  Nothing Rotor or Antoine did affected it in any visible
way.  Rotor's scanner couldn't pick up anything from it.
	"So, what are we to be doeng now?" asked Antoine.
	"I don't know, Antoine."  He looked up at the encased Bunnie
Rabbot.  "I just don't know."

	Knuckles, Mighty, Vector, Espio, Charmy, and Archimedes were
walking through the brush, trying to find their way out of the forest.
	They had given up on Jim quite a while ago, and were now looking
for A) a way out of the forest, B) a high enough mount for Knuckles and
Charmy to take off from and carry everyone else to the Floating Island, or
C) a landmark of some kind to tell them where they were, exactly.
	The lush, green forest ended abruptly to be replaced by charred,
dead wood and burnt land.
	"Uh-oh," said Espio, "what's this?"
	"I can't walk on that!" said Vector.  "My shoes'll take a beatin'!
This ain't cool, dudes."
	"Maybe not, Vector," said Archimedes, "but it might just help us."
He jumped off of Knuckles' shoulder and bounded up to one of the burnt
trees.  He broke off a chunk of bark and crumbled it in between his finger
and thumb.
	"Fresh," he said.  "Almost an hour old . . . meaning we're in the
Great Forest."
	"How d'ya figure?"
	"Think about it.  What happened just an hour ago?"
	"Robotropolis blew u- oh."
	"But, wait," said Mighty.  "Jim back there said that he doesn't
get that many visitors this far into the forest.  Robotropolis is a good
mile and a half away from the Great Forest's edge, isn't it?  If we really
are that far in, how did this much destruction happen?"
	"I got an idea," said Charmy.  He flew off saying, "I'll be right
back!"
	He came back a minute later.  He told the rest of the Chaotix
about a chunk of scrap metal a few humdred yards away, just over a nearby
hill and lying in a crater.
	"Parts of it are still glowing red," he said, "and by the skid
marks I'd say it was flung quite a ways before it finally stopped.  It
must've set fire to all of this."
	"So we know where we are," said Arcimedes, "and why this part of
the forest is destroyed, but . . . can anyone explain why the destruction
ends in an exact line right there?"
	Indeed, where the fire ant was pointing, the trees and grass ended
in a straight line where the charred ground started.
	"Magic," said Knuckles.  "My guess is that Jim is more powerful
that we originally guessed.  We should go back and-"
	"Don't bother," said Jim as he stepped from the forest.  "I'm
already here."

	"I'm gonna kill yer for this, mate."
	"Yah, yah, just keep walkin'."
	Nack's trek down the stream finally brought them out of the
forest.  The trees and grass were burned in spots and the stream bed was
almost dry.
	"Looks like the expolsion evaporated most of the water," mused
Nack.  "Too bad I missed it.  Of course, ya can't see much in a jai-"
	Sally, still over Nack's shoulder, began to move.  "Oops!  Our
little Princess is waking up!  Get some water for her, Geof."
	"My name," said St. John, "is 'Geoffry'.  You can call me that or
'St. John'."  He stooped down and scooped up some of the water from the
streambed and walked over to where Nack set Sally down.  "Only Sonic calls
me 'Geof', and it drives me crazy."
	Nack kept his gun trained on St. John.  "Well, Geof, we're stuck
together for a while, and while I have this gun, I'M in charge.  I call
you what I like, capice?  Good.  Now, give Miss Acorn a drink, IF you
would be so kind."  With his free right hand, he leaned the Princess' head
back and opened her mouth.
	St. John strained the dirt in the water out between his fingers,
then poured the water into Sally's mouth.  She sputtered, then swallowed.
Her eyes fluttered open.
	"Wh-what happened?" she said weakly.
	"A flash ball," said Nack.  "There's the obvious flash of light in
the eyes, but there's also a small concussive blast, half a foot radius.
That's why I let you beat me down.  It got me out of range.  As for what's
happening right now, I have you and your little rebel friend here held
hostage.  If you're thinking of escaping, don't bother.  I outnumber you
three to two," he hefted his guns, "and all three of us are faster than
you."

	TRANSMISSION COMPLETED.
	INITIATING NEW ORDERS|TRANSMITTING COORDINATES.
	TRANSFER|TRANSFER|TRANSFER.
	OFFLINE ----------------------------------------------------
	#>@|<,;+*$!<*>?
	ON*LIN,E ---------------------------------------------------
	PARTIAL ?INJES!TION|COMPLET>E PHY-PHY-PHYSICAL CON^TROL.
	VVOOCCAALL:  "Greetings, Mobians.  I am the Chaotic-

	-Collective,*>" said the new 'bot.  "<*I suggest you give up.
NOW.*>"
	The 'bot that had latched itself to Bunnie had taken a form
similar to the helpless rabbit, throwing Antoine and Rotor off.  They
stood slack-jawed.
	"<*If you do NOT comply with my wishes,*>" the robot continued,
"<*you, your world, and your universe shall be forfiet.  As it is, we
claim rights to Robotropolis as conquerors.  Anyone object?*>"
	The two Mobians were still too shocked to say anything."
	"<*Good.  The Chaotic Collective doesn't really want this paltry
city anyway, but it IS a nescessity, and we WILL be wanting it later.  For
now though, if the population of Mobius complies with us and gives us what
we want, we'll let you have it and the rest of the planet until we come
back for them later.*>"
	Rotor worked his jaw until he was able to speak.  "And . . . and
what is it that you want?"
	The Bunniebot laughed.  "<*Why, quite simply, all we want . . .
is your Chaos Emeralds.*>"

	Ten seconds later, Sonic, a hedgehog; Bunnie, a cyborg; Sally, a
Princess; and Knuckles, the guardian of the No-Longer-Floating Island
stepped out of a temporal rift, followed by four Chaotic Collective
robots, a super-powered deer named Jim, and a batch of confused Chaotix.

	TO BE CONTINUED

		Roland Lowery
			

    Source: geocities.com/timessquare/dungeon/5221

               ( geocities.com/timessquare/dungeon)                   ( geocities.com/timessquare)