There was not a sound in Robotropolis. The streets were deserted. No Swatbots patrolled. All hover-units were gone from view. All generators, except for the main one, were inactive. Or so it seemed.

Dr. Robotnik sat in his large green chair, staring at the master computer, the only thing activated besides the main generator. Behind him stood all of his robots, deactivated. Uncle Chuck was in their midst, wondering why Robotnik deactivated everything.

It was an awful sight. Millions of Swatbots, Spy-Orbs,hover-units, roboticized Mobians, and more metal objects filled the entire room, leaving Robotnik claustrophobic. Despite this, he grinned. Everything was shut down for a purpose.

Just then, Snively entered.

" I have the Roboticizer on, Sir."

" Excellent, Snively! When the hedgehog comes, and meets no resistance, he will obviously attack here, the center of the city. And when he does............HA HA HA HA HA!!!"

Sonic the Hedgehog in METAL STREAK by Blue9Tiger

Chapter I Too Fast for his Own Good

Sonic the Hedgehog struck the silence of the city. Seeing that the streets were empty, he frowned. He looked behind a junk pile.

" Yo, Swatty!" He yelled. No response.

" Are you guys sleeping? C'mon! We need some action!"

Sally suddenly appeared, jogging towards him.

" Sonic, Nicole's readings show no robotic activity anywhere. The've been deactivated somehow."

" Way past cool! Now we can really mess around with ol' Flabby. Let's juice to his HQ and trash 'im!"

Sally shook her head and replied,

" It could be a trap. I say we...."

It was too late. Sonic had already gone.......to his doom.

He raced through the unsealed air ducts, and through the unlocked doors, determined to reach Robotnik. He couldn't believe his luck....going to Robotropolis at the very same time Robonik decided to shut things down! The round guy finally slipped, he thought. He was approaching the final door, which slid open and let him in. Robotnik whirled his chair around to face the hedgehog. Sonic smirked at him and said,

" This is what ya get for shutting your city down with me in it!"

He rolled up and went into a position for a Spin Dash. Robotnik only laughed at this, and threw a switch. A great din was heard. The previously silent robots were rising from their positions, beeping and humming. They creaked and clanged and started moving towards Sonic. Their voices rang out in unison,

" PRIORITY ONE! PRIORITY ONE! ELIMINATE HEDGEHOG!"

Sonic looked around him. He was surrounded. The door was locked. The machines were drawing nearer. Robotnik yelled above the noise,

" And this is what YOU get for being so foolish, hedgehog! "

Sonic swallowed. He knew there was no hope, now. He saw his uncle trying to get to him through the mess of metal, but Sonic knew it was pointless.

" Oh, man. Sal was right. It was a........" Sadly, he never got to finish the sentence, courtesy of a laser blast.

Chapter II Parting

Meanwhile, Sally was trying to make her way through the building Sonic had entered, but in vain. It was fortified so well with robots that she couldn't take two steps without ducking. She was angry at her companion for not following her instructions and extremely worried. She ducked and jumped the flying blasts, all the while thinking about Sonic and how Robotropolis changed from a graveyard to a castle in a matter of minutes. Her mind was such a jumble that she failed to notice that the Swatbots stopped firing, and a blue object was running towards her at maximum speed., making a clanging noise along the floor. A second later, they collided. It was with so much force that she was thrown back against the wall. She looked up, dazed. Sally tried to stand up, but she was too weak from the collision. Blood covered her arms, legs, and chest. She looked up again and tried to figure out who it was.

Her attacker was blue, with razor sharp spines and red sneakers. It looked like Sonic, but this hedgehog had black -and-red eyes.It had gray where there was supposed to be flesh, and other gadgets not found on Sonic.

Suddenly, the squirrel snapped out of her trance. " SONIC! NO! " She cried.

"I AM NOT "SONIC". I AM UNIT # 9899999890. BZZT.... COMPUTE PRIORITIES......... PRIORITY ONE! PRIORITY ONE! CAPTURE......"

She didn't wait for Sonic to finish his monotonous sentence. Sally struggled onto her feet and bolted. All the Swatbots in the room pursued, Sonic at the head. With a wound like that, she would never escape Robotropolis in one piece. However, she was determined to try.

"Nicole, find......nearest......shelter." She struggled with her words.

"SEARCHING , SALLY. FOUND. RUN STRAIGHT, MAKE NEXT LEFT."

Sally obeyed, and entered Uncle Chuck's HQ. He was sitting on a chair sobbing. When he saw Sally, he ran over to her and bandaged her.

"Sally, are you all right? What happened?" Then he thought, Hmmph. Why am I asking her this? She is unconscious! Besides, I already know what happened.

The injured squirrel opened her eyes and weakly replied, "Sonic................................is...........................gone. Ro......bot.........i......ci.........zed."

"Shh. Don't talk now. Rest." He placed his metallic hand on Sally, trying to comfort her.

For three hours Sonic searched Robotropolis in pursuit of Sally. He scanned every possible nook and blew up every stone. He ran every inch of every building and trashed every pile of garbage. He found no trace. His uncle took great care to make his hideout as inconspicuous as possible. Sonic scanned it, but failed to locate Sally. That was because Uncle Chuck hid her elsewhere until all was safe again. Finally, Sonic realized that it would be a waste of energy trying to find her in Robotropolis, so he left and looked as far as the Great Forest, and then returned to Robotnik. When Chuck saw this, he became worried.

Sonic entered and bowed to Robotnik.

" Did you find her?" He asked, impatiently.

Robotnik listened to Sonic's explanation, which, to him, was a tiring excuse. " I AM SORRY, MY LORD. BUT MY SENSORS COULD NOT PICK UP ANYTHING. PERHAPS SHE HAS FOUND A SENSOR PROOF PLACE IN THE VICINITY? OR MAYBE THE FUGITIVE ESCAPED THE CITY?"

"If she has, you won't escape the trash compacter. FIND THE PRINCESS!!!!!!!!!!"

"YES , SIR." He stormed off.

Princess finally opened her eyes. Uncle Chuck breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are you okay, Sally?" He asked with concern. She nodded. " You were almost Sonic's first victim."

" I can't believe it," she sobbed.

" Neither can I." Sally tried to stand up, explaining,

" I must return to Knothole." The old robot's expression changed from concerned to stern.

" Not in the shape you're in!"

" Sir Charles," she replied, " there is no time to waste! Sooner or later, he'll find me." Uncle Chuck thought it over. She had never called him by his "official" name before. He knew that meant business, so he gave in. " All right. But remember, Sonic is no ordinary bot. He now is stronger and faster

than he used to be. Robotnik ordered him to capture you. Soon, maybe ALL the Freedom Fighters. Then, other Mobians. Earlier, I saw him leave the city borders. I'm not sure if he recieved direct orders to do that, but, he could easily be a threat to all of Mobius, much less you. Once you leave this building, you are more detectable and in the open. But ,(sigh) it is your choice. Just promise me that you'll be careful."

" I promise," she affirmed. Then she left the structure, jogging towards her goal.

Just as Sonic's uncle had predicted, he immediately sensed Sally. After

her he ran, Sally panting hard. She had only one chance to escape. Only one. He was gaining. The tired princess could almost feel the metal at her back. She dove onto the ground. She had taken her chance and succeeded. Just at the moment when a Swatbot was firing, Sally had hit the ground, and the incoming laser hit Sonic in the head. Sally continued on, without looking back to see if he had recovered or not. Even after she crossed the border of Robotropolis, she kept at full speed until, at last, she reached Knothole.

Chapter III Bad, Worse, and Worst News

Everyone gathered around Sally, asking her a jumble of questions. She raised her hand for quiet. After the Freedom Fighters were silent, Sally broke the news.

" Fellow Freedom Fighters, I know you have many questions. The scouting trip was successful, in a way. Sonic and I went to Robotropolis, and found out that Robotnik had deactivated almost everything, temporarily. Sonic decided to attack Robotnik. I have bad news about that."

" WHAT HAPPENED?" They shouted in unison. Sally tried to stall. Breaking this news would not cause an estatic reaction.

" I-I have some bad news, worse news, and worst news," she stammered. All her audience were waiting. " The bad news is that Sonic was roboticized." Upon saying this, the villagers yelled and chattered, and some burst into tears. Rotor quieted them.
"Thank you , Rotor." The worse news is that he is like a Swatbot --- he patrols Robotropolis and is very heavily armed." This statement brought yells, chatters, screams, and even more crying. Again Rotor shut them up. " So," she continued," no one is to leave Knothole until we find him and free him from Robotnik!" There were cheers, but

it was short. " The worst news is that Sonic will probably attack here, and sooner than

we might think. There was a general noise, followed by yells from Tails that half the Freedom Fighters fainted.

Chapter IV The Top Bot

After Sonic had gone through the trash compactor, just like Robotnik promised him, he was rebuilt, and ordered to abort the earlier mission and just patrol the city. At this, he did not fail. When something was broken, it was fixed within the next hour. The Swatbots that malfunctioned were destroyed and thrown in the dump. The Roboticizer never crashed when Sonic was available. Robotnik was very pleased. Robotropolis had never been this polluted or in such good condition.

Eventually, Sonic was sent out of Robotopolis to attack different parts of Mobius. Nothing was safe from him. There was hardly any continent that was completely free from pollution, burning craters, and roboticized animals. The Zones were filled with even more robots than 100 feet of Robotropolis. Overnight, sparkling water would become a sewage dump. This was a very dilligent and efficient machine, as a few young Freedom Fighters would find out.

A week after Sally ran into Sonic, two rats were sneaking to Robotropolis. They were going to reprogram a Swatbot. The first one whispered,

" Are you sure this is right? To be going to Robotropolis when Princess Sally ordered us not to?"

" Don't worry! We'll be done before you know it!"

" I hope so."

They did succeed with reprogramming a robot : a Swatbot from Factory 7. Unfortunately, they made one fatal error : they hung around and admired their work. The rats watched the reprogrammed Swatbot make pinwheels and snickered. That was when Sonic burst into the factory, eyes glowing red.

" SWATBOT # 0000000000909090907! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO MAKE PIPES, NOT PINWHEELS!" The metal junkpile looked confused, and replied,

" I WAS? I DON'T REMEMBER." Sonic glared at him and drew back his mechanical fist. He whacked the other so hard that the poor Swatbot flew 10 feet backward and slammed into the wall, destroyed. Sonic ran through the door, and then slowed down. He frowned.

" SENSORS DETECTING NON-ROBOTIC LIFE."

" That's us!" The rat whispered.

" Shut up!" The other whispered back. They were about 1 foot away from Sonic.

" IT SMELLS LIKE A DIRTY RAT. TWO OF THEM."

" How could he be so right? Let's split!" They ran for their lives, but they made the decision an hour too late.

"HALT, INTRUDERS!" You can guess what happened next, right? If you can't, I'll tell you that those Freedom Fighters suffered Sonic's fate, in less than a minute.

After doing that horrible deed, UNIT # 9899999890 continued patrolling. He ran from this corner to that building, doing 100. His sensors picked up nothing, the city was holding no furry animals. He kept on running aimlessly until he ran right into his uncle. The impact caused them to lose oil and it dazed them both, for a second.

" WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, YOU CLUMSY OLD RUSTBUCKET!

I SHOULD HAVE THE MASTER DISMANTLE YOU!"

Uncle Chuck winced. I can't believe he's saying this. He couldn't let Sonic know

that he was a good guy, but he did not want to leave Sonic under Robotnik's control. So he said, trying to jog his memory,

" Sonic, don't you remember us? Don't you remember the times when you were fighting Robotnik? When you were a normal hedghog? Don't you remember when you made me remember all this?" However, the other ignored him and affirmed that the former was not on his side.

" INTRUDER ALERT! SUBJECT: SIR CHARLES THE HEDGEHOG. ALSO KNOWN AS UNCLE CHUCK. FORMERLY UNIT #.........."

" I guess that you don't remember!" The hedgehog yelled, as he opened his chest compartment and removed a small keyboard. He pressed a button on it that shot a beam out towards Sonic, and shorted him out temporarily. Then, he left, muttering to homself,

" But someday you will."

Chapter V Massacre and the Freeing of a Slave

" So, who will volunteer?" Sally asked the Freedom Fighters. Tails and Bunnie raised their hands. " Good. Let's go! " They left Knothole, in the direction of the Great Forest. Sally, Tails, and Bunnie walked through the mass of tall trees and stubby bushes. There were so many trees that the sun's rays could hardly pass through. They walked through the winding path, making the necessary turns. Finally, they arrived at the Lake of Rings. The three looked intensely at the pool.

After 5 minutes, the lake glowed, not the evil glow of a robot's optic-units, but a golden glow. It filled the dark recesses of the forest, glowing brighter each second. Then, the lake bubbled and swirled, and moved as if alive. Then, it slowly ejected a Power Ring.

Tails knew what to do. Using his two tails, the fox flew up and grabbed the Ring. Sally smiled and quoted from Sonic,

" Let's do it to it!" Then they took off, headed for Robotropolis, and, so they thought, trouble.

Sonic entered Robotnik's room.

" YOU SENT FOR ME MASTER," he said in his mechanical voice.

" Yes, indeed. I was thinking........Ahhh! You know what to do with Knothole, boy.

" YES, SIR." Off he bolted, set to destroy.

The three scanned the area.

" Ah don't see the sugar-hog anywhere!"

" Keep looking, Bunnie. He can't be far."

" There he is!" shouted Tails.

" Where, sugar?" A boom was heard a few hundred feet away.

" He's gone, guys. Let's get back to Knothole."

Speaking of that, it was not a pretty sight there. The robotic hedgehog was destroying everything in sight. Everything was aflame. Panic swept the inhabitants. Lasers were flying every which way, hitting live targets. Blood was everywhere, and there were already a good number of victims.

Antoine was hiding under a log, but Rotor pulled the shivering fox out and led him and the survivors to the underground shelter, walls of flames and explosions restricting their flight. At the end of the line of villagers was Dulcy. She saw a little beaver trapped under a tree. Acting on her first impulse, she grabbed the animal before it was shot by the attacker.

Sally, Tails, and Bunnie ran through the now smoldering forest, getting attacked by falling branches and flames.

" This is not my idea of a successful mission," Tails cried.

" Sonic found us!" Sally shook her head, sadly.

Exhausted, they reached the village. They were horrified. The grass was red with blood and were transformed into fire. The dead lay scattered over rocks and logs, and some were in the fire. Tails' eyes bulged and he turned green. You could tell that he was not enjoying the view.

Suddenly, # 9899999890 appeared. His optic units glowed. He lifted his wrist, which held a laser.

" SUBJECTS IDENTIFIED AS PRINCESS SALLY, BUNNIE RABBOT, TAILS PROWER. ELIMINATE!" Tails started to shiver and whine. Bunnie tried to calm him down. Sally stared at what was once her greatest friend, but lost no time. She grabbed the Power Ring from Bunnie and whipped it towards Sonic like a frisbee. It whacked him in the head and knocked him over. The glowing object engulfed Sonic in a golden mass of light. He began to spark with electricity. The others looked on, hoping that the effect would restore the mental essence of Sonic the Hedgehog.

All of a sudden, the golden light faded, and the Ring fell to the ground. Sonic stood up and looked around him. When he realized what had just taken place, he cried,

" How could I have done this?! I'm such a......" He shook his head, half - angry, half - confused. Sally walked over to him and hugged him. The rest did the same.

" Thanks, guys. I'm real sorry. I feel like I have nuts and bolts for brains, servin' Robuttnik like that. Way uncool." Bunnie didn't feel like rubbing it in, but she HAD to say,

" But you DO have nuts and bolts for brains, sugar."

" Yeah, I do. All thanks to......" He flared up. " Robonik! When I get my hands on ya.................." Chapter VI Acceptance of the Truth

The four Freedom Fighters walked solemnly through the remains of the village. At every step, Sonic was stabbed by guilt. He swallowed hard.

" Did everyone die? "He asked Sally.

" That's what I'm checking. Anything, Nicole?" Nicole hummed.

" NOTHING. RE-SCANNING. (BEEEEEP). HEAT SOURCES FOUND. UNDERGOUUND. "

The next moment, the Freedom Fighters were in the underground shelter, hoping that's where they would find most of their comrades. Sonic helped the search by using his sensors. After searching for a good hour, they found Rotor, Antoine, Dulcy, and many others, wounded.

Dr. Robotnik sat once again in his green chair, watching the screens of the master computer. He drummed his fingers and growled. He stalked out of the room and found Snively eating an egg.

" Snively," he said in his deep voice. Snively nervously dropped the egg on the floor and stood at attention.

" Yes, Dr. Robotnik."

" Where is Sonic? He has not reported in from his earlier mission. Why?" Snively was sweating now.

" Negative on that, sir. I have not seen him for the past three hours."

" Ohhhhhh......Even as a robot, that hedgehog makes my blood boil. Deploy all units!"

" Yes, Sir."

The Freedom Fighters emerged from the shelter. They saw the demolished village, and knew that their work was cut out for them.

The first thing they did was bury the dead. That took a whole night. They started out fresh in the morning, planting seeds to replace the burned trees, collecting wood and straw for the huts, and trying to forgive Sonic. He had completely destroyed their whole lives, most thought. Others thought that it wasn't his fault and they would have to move on. Unfortunately, the majority of the villagers wanted to see Sonic as a tuna fish can. So, they were estatic when Sonic made a few mistakes that only a robot could make.

One night, Sonic's joints were creaking. He tried to get into Rotor's laboratory, but the door was locked. He needed oil, and he didn't want to wait until morning to get it. He was creaking so loudly that he woke up half the village, including Rotor. The walrus was not pleased. Sonic thought fast. He jumped into the door and knocked it down, and the door fell on top of Antoine. Sonic was on top of the door.

Rotor pulled him upright and demanded,

" Sonic, it's 2:00 AM! Why are you in my lab and making so much noise?!"

" Sorry, Rote. I was gonna get some oil. Oh, and the door fell on top of Ant. Sorry, Ant!" Antione was swearing in French and then muttering,

" I hate zat hedgehog."

That was only the first incident. Other follies included : Sonic fell into the Lake of Rings and rusted. Another time he raced Tails and the hedgehog ran so fast that his wind caught the two-tailed fox and slammed him into a tree. A few weeks later, he ate 10 chili dogs and he lost control of his blaster and formed a crater. These incidents lasted for about 4 months, and then the anti-Sonic majority voiced their opinion to the Princess.

" He causes so much trouble! " Twenty-four pigs, rats, mice, dogs, cats, and what not complained.

Sally frowned.

" He doesn't mean to. Sonic has to get accustomed to his enhanced abilities. Give him a month or two." One of the dogs muttered under his breath,

" Or a century or two." The others snickered. " No one can sleep with him rusting all the time. And, what if he was to go back to the fat man. We'd be dead."

Sally frowned again.

" I see your point. Chances of that are slim, though. The Power Ring is effective against the twisted mind." The persistent dog argued,

" But the twisted mind is effective against the Power Ring, especially if the mind belongs to that hedgehog!"

The squirrel replied hotly,

" Herb, stop trying to accuse Sonic.When he actually does something, I will take action. Until then, I dismiss you." They left Sally's hut, disgusted.

An hour later, the protesters met in Herb's hut, and hatched a simple, but evil scheme. It would rid Sonic of Knothole forever.

Chapter VII A Lovely Picture Frame

Herb had convinced Sonic and Bunnie to take a walk in the Great Forest. Little did the two know why he had wanted them to do this. They would find out soon enough.

The walk was very peaceful. The birds were singing and the fish were jumping. Besides that, all was quiet.

All of a sudden, Robotnik waddled into their path. Sonic automatically fired at him. Bunnie screamed,

" Sonic! What are ya doin'?! That's Antoine you're firin' at!" Sonic stared ahead. He shook his head, trying to focus.

" That's not Ant!" He yelled, and fired again.

" What are ya tryin' ta do?!! Ya wanna kill im'?!"

" Yeah, I do! He ruined everythin' for all of us!"

" Antoine? That muffin didn't do anythin'!" Sonic looked surprised.

" That's NOT Ant! It's Robuttnik!"

Their argument was cut off by Sally.

" What happened here?!" She cried in alarm. " Sonic, what on Mobius were you tring to do?!" He was still confused and replied,

" Get even with..."

That was all she needed to hear. She motioned for Rotor to bind him and take him to her hut.

Sonic looked even more confused now. To him, he was just arrested for blasting Robotnik. To the rest of the village, he was arrested for blasting Antoine. He waited impatiently for Sally to walk in. After a minute, she stormed in, alone.

" All right, Sonic Hedgehog. What happened?" He began to tell the details of his walk.

" Herb suggested I go for a walk with Bunnie. We went and then saw Robuttnik. So I fried him."

" That was ANTOINE! "

" But I saw......"

" He has a few broken bones because of this," she interrupted." And this time, it's

no accident. Therefore, I must turn you out, to prevent more damage. You might be plotting to destroy us this very moment!"

Sonic was raging. He couldn't believe that Sally was saying this. Of all his friends, he would expect her to be the most understanding. He exploded,

" I didn't know that it was Ant!!!" At that, he stormed out of Knothole.

That night, the squirrel walked into the forest, trying to reason why one of their truest Freedom Fighters suddenly betrayed them. While she was aimlessly plodding, Fate struck. Sally took one more step and halted, dead. She saw Robotnik standing in front of her.

She took one step sideways, and all of a sudden, the image disappeared. She shook her head in disbelief. Sally stood where she previously was, and saw Robotnik once more. She became frustrated and stomped her foot, and heard a crunch. The image faded, and the curious squirrel bent down. She saw a broken button, and at once comprehended why Sonic thought Antoine was Robotnik. At the exact place he stepped, there was a button that controlled a hologram. She burst into tears.

Chapter VIII Amends

Sonic took much interest running across the globe. In his wanderings, he reduced the pollution and the Zone robot population. He freed the minds of roboticized Mobians and prevented the roboticization of fleshy animals. Almost everywhere he went he destroyed the signs of destruction. He had immense glee making amends for his forced wrongdoings that he almost forgot the Freedom Figthers. However, he never forgot the score he had to settle with his worst enemy, and it led him to do his amending with greater vigor.

Chapter IX The Compromise With The Enemy . One cold morning, Sonic arrived at Robotropolis, and found his uncle.

" Uncle Chuck! Don't ask any anythin'. Get outta here."

He didn't bother to argue. Besides, he knew what he was going to do. Without any words, he left Robotropolis for Knothole.

Sonic blasted through the city at full speed. But he was soon overtaken by an army of Swatbots. He dodged back and forth, and was caught in the head and chest with several lasers. He lay on the ground for a second, and then rushed at them, and sawed through a few, but there were still too many. He faught fire with fire but it was still no use. Then, he thought of something. He searched through his memory files and pinpointed a time when fighting robots directly was not an option. That was a time when he was weaker and couldn't simply saw through an automation. Back then, he was flesh and blood. He scanned through that file and found that he was fighting a few Swatbots. What he did then was find a reflective piece of metal. The robots fired, and he had used the shield to reflect the fire back where it came from.

Sonic closed the file and ran toward a junkpile. He grabbed a large scrap of iron.

" Yo, Chrome-Domes!" He called. He was starting to hate that name, because it applied to him. The whole hoarde fired at him. The shot reflected, and there was a deafening explosion. When the smoke settled, there was a heap of burning, sparking scrap metal.

The metallic hedgehog breathed a sigh of relief. Despite his own damages, he painfully raced toward the gigantic oval main center that Robotnik called home.

He raced up the building, destroying the last few remaining robots. At the top, he met Snively.

" Yo, Snively! Where's Robuttnik? Did he forget to put new toxic waste on his brush?" He sneered.

" No, you mechanical moron! He left Robotropolis. After he found out that you were freed, he gathered as many robots as he could manage into as many hover-units as he could find, and left for as long as you exact revenge on this city."

Sonic was disappointed.

" Bummer. Well, you're still here." He grinned mischievously and became excited.

Snively screamed and ran for all he was worth, Sonic followed, firing lasers and insults at him.

Snively finally gained the upper hand and dove into a lost hover-unit. He turned it on and it bombed out of the city.

" See ya next......." Sonic was abruptly interrupted when he was smacked in the chest.

Sonic woke up strapped in a machine. He looked around him, and to his astonishment, saw Dr. Robotnik!

" But.....Snively told me that you split from here!" The other laughed.

" You didn't think I would give up THAT easily. If you did, you are a perennial fool!" Sonic glared and cracked,

" Well, YOU"RE a perennial egg that grows in size sideways and shrinks in brain."

" Very funny, boy. We'll see how many jokes you can make when I press this button and you are mine once more!"

" I don't think so." He curled up and spun, wrecking the machine. Before Robotnik could reply, Sonic said,

" Right now, 'Buttnik, I got the juice to level this city so that nothin's left. Startin' with YOU."

Robotnik saw that he had to act fast.

" I have something that you would like to use, rodent. But for you to have it, we must have a compromise." The other grew excited, then reluctant. But his curiosity grew. Finally, he answered,

" I'm listenin', Flabby."

" Deroboticization for sparing Robotropolis. I'll take you to where it is."

They walked down a long flight of stairs, took several turns, and arrived at a gigantic door. The doctor pressed some keys on the wall, and the door lifted. The two walked in. There, in front of them, was a Deroboticizer. Sonic's eyes glowed like the sun. He thought about the deal. If I agree, I'll be a normal hedgehog again. The rest of the FFs will quit calling me "Chrome-Dome" and "Nuts-and-Bolts-For Brains. I would be less a threat to my friends. On the flip side, I could be rid of Robotropolis forever.....and be a bot forever. Wait a sec! It's been the Freedom Fighter's lifelong goal to bring peace, and I have to fulfill it if I get the chance! 'Sides, if there are any more mad docs, we'll have a better chance of beatin' them......

Sonic choked as he said these words.

" I........refuse." He ran out of the room, to destroy the generator for starters.

The other released as echoing yell of rage, and then escaped Robotropolis.

Sonic was one of the few left in the dark city. Now, no one could stop him from demolishing the place. He neared the generator. After a day, he destroyed it.

" This is gonna take a long time. " Then, he realized that Robotnik was gone. He kicked himself mentally for letting him escape.

In a few more days, he had demolished two factories. He said to himself,

" Who am I kidding? This is gonna take forever. Hmm. Maybe it won't if I use some juice!" He bombed out of the city and gathered 50 Power Rings from the Lake. It drained nearly all of his patcience, but the prize was worth sitting on a log waiting for the hoops of gold to fly out.

Chapter X Condemnation of Robotropolis

Having acquired 50 rings, Sonic returned to the desolate city.

At Knothole, all life seemed to have left. Everyone was depressed and overflowing with guilt about Sonic's leave.

That is, almost everyone. Those that weren't were bursting with glee, and in jail.

A few hours after Sonic had been ordered to leave, Sally had organized an investigation. The perpetrators had been caught. In other words, Sonic had been cleared a long time ago, he just didn't know it.

During those days, Sally was constantly being assured by Tails who insisted that he would come back soon.

Uncle Chuck wasn't depressed in that light. Instead, he was worried. Worried that Sonic would kill himself trying to destroy the city. In fact, he had been debating with himself to whether or not to tell the others of what Sonic was trying to do. Finally, he decided to tell Sally.

" What? He can't obliterate the whole city by himself! It's too large! " He answered her,

" With 50 Rings he can. What I'm worried about is that he might suffer an overload of his systems. Or he might detonate a secret experiment that will trigger an explosion all across Mobius. (sigh) Whatever he does, there is no stopping him."

Just then, Tails strolled over to them and said,

" I told you that he would come back." Sally glumly stared toward the direction of Robotropolis, and answered,

" I hope so, honey. I hope so."

Back at Robotropolis, well, what was left of it, there was no peace. Explosions emitted from every inch. Sounds of echoing metal crashing against each other rang out. Everywhere were burning computers and smoking deactivated machinery. Rockets fired and lasers sang.

Sonic was using one ring at a time, and he was down to his last ten rings. He thought that he had trashed every part. The main building was the exception. Of all the

things he forgot! It was also the most dangerous. Some of Robotnik's most deadly weapons were housed there. But he was willing to take that chance. He took a deep breath and called out one of his favorite expressions,

" Time to juice!" He held up the rings and blasted into his target.

He curled into a Spin Dash and buried his spines into the metal.

About 100 feet away, village scouts watched the fray. Their eyes nearly escaped from their heads. They were astonished at how much damage the hedgehog could really

do.

" Glad that ain't Knothole," one said thankfully. They were all agreeing when a tremendous explosion caused them to jump. The smoke from it billowed and blanketed the black sky. The frightened scouts streaked to the village at light speeds, to tell the news to the others. But they found this unnecessary. Sally, Tails, Bunnie, Antoine, and Dulcy and Rotor bombed out of Knothole as soon as the explosion reached their ears, and didn't stop running until they reached the ruins of the destroyed city.

Chapter XI Destruction of a Robot

" Turn this junkpile inside-out, guys! Find him!" Sally barked.

They set to work. They overturned this and that, and dug through the heaps of trash. All the while, they called his name. No response.

Over at the other side of the city, Sonic lay under a metal plate. He was covered with oil and sparking electricity. Wires were exposed, and he had mile-wide rips in his metal. The damaged robot vaugely heard the cries of his comrades, and it gave him hope. With much effort, he heaved the obstructing plate off of him. He began to drag himself toward his friends, across the sea of junk. It hurt with every pull, but Sonic knew that he had to reach the Freedom Fighters. The red in his eyes dimmed. He was sparking even more now.

" I......gotta......let.......them.........know........I'm.....................here," the hedgehog barely whispered. He slowly activated his laser. It fired, striking and detonating a dead Swatbot. Bunnie's eyes caught this sight.

" Sally-girl! Did ya see that? " She shook her head. " An explosion! Ah think it's a signal!" Bunnie started, with the others following. They looked down and spied Sonic. Sally immediately bent down and exclaimed,

" Sonic! I'm so sorry!"

"For...........what?..............Sal.............'Buttnik..isn't...........dead..............I'm..............................fad........ing...........

Sally lost no time. With the help of Bunnie, she carried him back to Knothole. Rotor, Uncle Chuck, and a few other machine-oriented villagers immedeately started to work on him. For a week, he seemed to get worse and worse. But, every time all hope was lost, Sonic improved. He seemed to be trying to heal, as the others were trying to heal him. He never seemed to give up, even in that trying time. Then one rainy morning, the familiar sonic boom was heard throughout the village. It was followed by cheers.

After that, Sonic couldn't stop thanking the Freedom Fighters for saving him.

Three days later, all of Knothole celebrated the fall of Robotnik's city. Sonic felt embarrased, and that night he reitirated his guilt to Sally.

" Robuttnik isn't dead. Same with Snively. They escaped. (sigh) Let's face it, Sal. They aren't dead, and we haven't won. And I failed, big time."

Sally shook her head.

" Stop blaming yourself. You destroyed Robotropolis. That's an amazing feat. In doing that, you almost destroyed yourself. "

" And you got your revenge," added his uncle as he walked by.

" Yeah, " he answered. Sally leaned over and kissed him.

They both gazed at the dark blue sky. The same thought crossed their mind: It won't be permanent. But, tomorrow, unlike any other in a long time, will be peaceful.

The next morning, Rotor and Uncle Chuck were sent, probably by Fate, to survey the damage. They brought a large bucket to place any useful components in. They found several things, but after digging through miles of useless objects, Rotor found a large part of the Deroboticizer. When he found it, he flew to the village, the other following as fast as he could.

As soon as they reached Knothole, they hurled into Rotor's lab and locked the door.

" What's going on there?" Dulcy asked Antoine.

" Oh, haven't you heard? Monsieur Hedgehog and Monsieur Rotor found part of ze Deroboticizer. Zey are building it now."

" Wow! Sonic and Uncle Chuck must be estatic!"

" Non. Ze machine can only be used un time."

" Uh, only once?"

" Oui, oui, Mademoiselle."

So, the two roboticized inhabitants of Knothole debated on who would return to flesh and blood.

" Sonic, you should be deroboticized."

" Unc, you've been waiting for it your whole life."

" Nephew, I'm worth more to the cause as a spy. You're worth more as.......well, either way. But, no more argument, Sonic. Until Robotnik is truly gone, I STAY THIS WAY. And I put my foot down." He stomped and made a hole in the floor.

Sonic argued,

" This could be your last chance!"

" Who knows what the future will bring?" Sonic nodded and gave up the argument. He walked into the hulking machine. Rotor smiled and asked,

" Ready?"

" Do it to it, Rote!" The glass tube eased down. It glowed and sparked. It flashed a blue light, and then, the tube rose, and Sonic the Hedgehog was now physically restored.

" Thanks guys. Thanks a lot," he gratefully said to Rotor and his uncle. He coaxed them to join him outside. They ran out of the door and found the whole village ready to celebrate. Again. The main FFs walked over to Sonic and said,

" We weren't going to let you have TOO much peace!" He answered,

" As long as it's not the noise of Robuttnik's voice, I can take it!"

END

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