This entire story, characters, and artwork are all protected under copyright law. I (the author) grant permission to distribute this story, but only in it's complete, unaltered form, and never for profit. All other use is prohibited. Sonic, Sally, and related characters are copyrighted by Service and Games, Archie Comics, and DIC Entertainment, except for the following: Bookshire, Sandra Nightweaver, and Packbell: David Pistone SYmechs, Aptiva: John Macfarlane A WARNING: This FINAL chapter in my series is a very dramatic episode, and contains violence on a grand scale. Some of the events in this chapter are probably going to seem objectionable, and some of these events might be a little too much for young web surfers, so be prepared for a few disturbing things (this is afterall, the end of the world!) Once again, I'm not out to offend anyone, so please bear with my story. Questions and comments (polite ones please) to The Beginning of the End (Part 3: The Death of Evil) A Sonic the Hedgehog story Written by John Macfarlane Background: Packbell has discovered the location of Knothole, and has sent a transport into the Great Forest, its cargo unknown. The freedom fighters know that they have been discovered, and are trying to keep a level head in the intense situation. There is chaos in the village. Screaming from some of the young citizens rang in Sally's ears, causing her to begin crying as she watched the chaos unfold. Sonic placed his hand on her shoulder and she turned back towards him, trying to dry her tears. "Sonic," she choked, "This is terrible, we've been discovered!" "I know Sal," he withdrew his hand, "But I feel up to fighting those new toys of Packbell's!" "Not without our help!" Rotor and Bookshire came up from behind, flashing a large printed sheet in front of them, "We've found a number of weaknesses in the SYmech design!" "Where Rote?!" Sonic jumped. "How many are there?" Sandra asked. Rotor went into a lengthly explaination of the numerous flaws in the design of the SYmechs, pointing out several strategic points where to attack them. In the middle of his explaination a loud roar was heard coming over the horizon. Everyone ran outside as a large dark craft entered the center of the village. "Get back guys!" Sonic yelled, "I'm gonna waste those things!" The craft halted in the center of the village and lowered to the ground. The door to the transport slid apart, and a powerful light spread along the ground. A moment later a Techbot emerged from the craft, holding a holographic projector in its hands. "What is that for bot?" Sonic stepped closer, unafraid of it. The projector spread a picture across the air, similar to the way Sally's computer Nicole does. Packbell stood head to toe in front of him in the form of a hologram, a wide smile across his face. "Hello Sonic," Packbell stated in a friendly tone, "I have a gift for you and your friends." "What is it? A bomb?" he smirked. "Nooo Sonic," he chuckled, "That would be too easily; too swift and merciful for my taste. This craft contains weapons for you to fight my new army of warrior SYmechs, and I didn't want a bloodbath, just a challenge...I think these should even the odds--don't you?" The transport was stocked with weapons of all makes and models, containing everything from light arms to a few peices of heavy artillary. Sonic looked at the stockpile, and looked at Packbell's image. "You're pretty sure of yourself aren't you, almighty Packbell?!" In the warehouse inside sector C, where the SYmechs were repaired, many of them lunged forward, thinking of going after Sonic that very moment after insulting their Allied Master. Packbell signaled them to remain at attention while he broadcast. All mentions of the weapons inside the transport were made with a silent connection, so that the SYmechs wouldn't become aware that their master was going to make the upcoming battle more difficult for them. "The Hedgehog is naturally insolent my warriors," he reminded them, "Let him speak what he wants, it won't help him." "I am sure of myself Sonic," Packbell's hologram stood, "In fact, I'll even give you one last night to say goodbye to your world. Because by this time tomorrow, none of you will be alive to see it!" Packbell's maniacal laughter sounded throughout the Great Forest, damaging the freedom fighters' morale even further. His holo- gram faded away, and the Techbot shorted out and erupted in a cloud of smoke. Sonic kicked the Techbot away and stepped into the trans- port, looking at the different weapons inside. "What's in thare sugah hog?" Bunny asked. "Whoa!" he said gleefully, "We struck it rich guys!" Packbell turned away from the holographic camera, bumping into mech 23. He ordered it to move. "Step aside number 23!" he ordered harshly. "Why do we not attack them now?!" it questioned. "I'm feeling generous today," he scorned, "Besides, it'll be dark in a few hours, and I want the freedom fighters in their premium fighting form for our ultimate victory!" "Let's finish them now and get home!" 23 insisted, Leader spoke. "Packbell is paying us to fight this battle. He decides when it shall transpire, not us. This is how a mercinary operates." "Understood Leader." The night came quickly upon the Great Forest, and a slight rain moistened the lands. The transport stayed in the same place as it stopped, the rain beading and rolling off of the canopy glass. Sally and Sonic sat alone in her hut, looking and listening to the rain strike the leaves and foliage. The torches had been lit, but the campfire was not burning that night. No one had the spirit to go out and start it. They all stayed inside their huts, thinking about what was to come the following day. "Sal," Sonic finally broke the silence, "This isn't like you." "What do you mean?" she snapped out of the trance she befell from the rain, "No one is like themself tonight." "You're a better leader than this Sal. We've got record-low morale, and no one is making any serious preparations, and you're not doing a thing about it!" "Sonic," she sighed, stood up and approached him. "You're not gonna slap me are ya'?" That joke changed Sally's mood for the better. She relaxed for the first time in days, and hugged Sonic. She laughed timidly at the joke and they both sat down on the edge of the bed. "We will survive Sonic," she admitted, "But the situation is gonna get alot worse for a while until we destroy all of those mechs." "We?" Sonic questioned. "Of course, I can use the power rings the same as you." Their conversation ended soon afterward, and Sonic never left Sally's side. The lights in her hut went out and the weather worsened. The rains flooded some of the village in a few inches of mud, and the level of the ring pool rose by about a foot. The cold wind blew many leaves from the trees, littering the village with them. Sandra stood by the ring pool for hours, her eyes shut, and her clothes soaked. Her field jacket was the only thing that kept her moderately warm. The morning came after what seemed an eternity. Many of the freedom fighters did not sleep at all, and showed for breakfast drinking nothing but coffee to keep alert. Sally was late for break- fast, which was most unusual for her, even after staying up all night working on strategies she was always on time. During the course of the day Sally, with the help of Sandra and Bunny, issued weapons and discussed the battle plans to deal with the expected intruders. Rotor and Bookshire, with help from Sonic, set traps for the mechs in the Great Forest, hoping that they can do enough damage to disable them. All non able-bodied freedom fighters and children were evacuated to emergency shelters several kilometers away. Those being evacuated walked for hours on end to reach the shelters by the time noon struck on the big day, the day history would be made. Packbell waited patiently in his war room, surrounded by his SY mech troops. The mechs had acted strangely since they had been revived earlier, mostly due to their programs evolving a number of times that day. Packbell summoned the Leader, and he approached the chair. "Yes Allie Packbell?" Leader's bellowing monotone sounded. "Your comrades are acting in an unusual manner SYmech Leader," he pointed to many of them twitching, "Are their programs in process of evolving?" "Yes, but none of our programming has ever developed so quickly. This is possibly due to our lack of battle action giving ourselves more time and power to further our programming." "Make sure they are all in prime operating condition," he said, and then thought to himself, (I didn't send those freedom fighters a stock- pile of weapons and artillary so that they could defeat me with it.) "I understand Master," Leader saluted, "We will be ready." "Are we prepared for ze arrival of zeez mechanized mechs my Prinzess?" Antione asked faintly, holding a heavy rifle. "We got's all the weapons passed around Sally." Bunny reported. "Traps are set Princess," Bookshire added. Sally stood at the end of the meeting table under the main Knothole pavilion, reviewing the strategy for counter-attack. She was evidently uneasy, with a tired expression. Bunny stepped closer to Sally and tapped her on the shoulder as she mumbled on about the orders. "Sally girl, you don't look too good," Bunny stated honestly, "You oughtta get some rest before the attack." "G-good idea Bunny," she said as she left the pavilion, "Sandra can explain the rest of the plans." "Sandra?" Sonic mumbled from the opposite end of the table. "All right freedom fighters, this is not the time for long faces," she spoke over the muffled roar of conversation, "We have a very important day today, we fight for more than our freedom against these machines of mass destruction, we're fighting for our very survival! We must be all ready for the upcoming battle!" Sandra went on with her pep talk for a few moments, lifting the spirits of a great many freedom fighter. They lifted their firearms at the end of her speech and blasted shots into the air, the thunder sounding though the Great Forest. "Shall we go now my SYmech warriors? To crush the rose of this planet that is the freedom fighter movement, the thorns of which pain me so. This pain in my side so severe that to the extent of which drives me to the very edge of a system crash!" "We are ready and awaiting your orders our Allie!" the SYmechs shouts echoed throughout the war room. "Then we march on the Great Forest now!" Packbell shouted as he was given a battle accessorie. He was given a sheathed sword. Packbell took the item from the nearby SWATbot, the sword he handled gently, and drew it from its sheath, releasing a blinding light. The sword was metal of course, but electric energy surged through it, enabling it to penetrate any surface with little or no resist- ance. He raised the sword as the glare reduced to a glow and then instructed the mechs to proceed onward into the Great Forest. "Have the combat cyborgs secure the surrounding area," he ordered to his field generals, "Give me a 30 kilometer radius!" The troop of SYmechs took off through the war room skylight in a loud roar, their propulsion blowing light equipment around inside. Packbell watched the small swarm penetrate into the depths of the Great Forest, guided by the coordinates given by mech 26, still in orbit. "Admirable performance number 26," Packbell spoke through the headset, "You have permission to join the attack party!" "Acknowledged Allie." mech 26 replied as it lessened its density and dropped out of orbit into the inner atmosphere. The missing mech rejoined the swarm as they approached the edge of the Great Forest...Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA), 14 minutes, 45 seconds. Packbell remained in the war room. Bunny stepped into Sally's hut, where she heard a loud sobbing from Sally's bed. Bunny sat down next to her and patted her on the back, attempting to cheer her up (to the best extent possible under the circumstances) but she only kept to herself. "Sally?" she asked,"What's all the mattah with ya girl?" "It's nothing, Bunny...Just the...stress of the situation," she tried to speak, her voice quivering. "Sally, a lot of us don't feel like smiling right now, but right now we need your leadership more than ever. I understand tha--" "No you don't understand!" she shouted, "Nothing has been easy for me ever since Robotnik took over! He destroyed my family, my kingdom, and now everything that's left is next! No matter what we do or how hard I try there's always something that springs up to stop us!" "We all know how ya feel Sally," Bunny sounded surprised, "But I imagine that talking about it's made yuh feel a whole lot better, right? "I'll be fine in a few minutes Bunny," she nodded, "Just give me a minute...alone please." "Shoa thing Sally girl, just don't get too caught up in the past. We gotta be lookin' towards the future." Bunny left the hut as Sally slowly stood up. She walked over to the window and looked at the freedom fighters being spoken to by Sandra, and noticed all of the worried expressions. She went to the door to return to the pavilion, letting out a sigh. "The future..." she sighed, but before she could grasp the handle the door flew open on its own, revealing Bookshire. "Bookshire!" Sally jumped with shock, grasping her heart, "You scared me half to death!" A few of the freedom fighters by the nearby pavilion noticed the Princess' slight scream, but knew that nothing was wrong (at least not yet) and resumed listening to Sandra's speech. Sally noticed a frightened expression to Bookshire's face. "Are you alright Bookshire?" she placed her hand on his fore- head, "You look pale." "Sally," he was gasping for air from running, "The..mechs...here ...less than a...minute!" "Oh no!" she yelled to the freedom fighters, "They're coming! The mechs are coming any second!" "Alright evwery one! Get into pozitions for ze attack!" Antione ordered as the freedom fighters spead out into the forest. "We have to run for cover Princess!" Bookshire shouted. Sally began to move out the door when from the other side of the hut, something tore out the wall. Bookshire began to run as a roar grew louder in the sky. The enemy approached. "Sally!" Bookshire yelled as she exited the door, "C'mon!" Sally was stopped by something in front of her, something cold, which decloaked in front of her...the SYmech Leader. Sally was frightened to the point of being paralized as the huge machine looked downward upon her. "Sonic!" she yelled, "Hellllp!" As mech number 19 landed beside Leader, a bright flash and a streak of light impacted into number 19's back. 19 let out a metallic squeal and dropped to the ground, a few sparks flying into the air. Above the fallen mech's body stood Sonic, holding a power ring in his hand. He looked up at Leader, completely unafraid of its God-like power. "Seems Rotor and Book were right about their weak spots!" The battle had begun to rage in the village as freedom fighters used Packbell's gift of weapons to attempt to fight off the SYmechs. Packbell prepared to tele-transport into the village, Aptiva standing beside him. "You know I would like nothing better than to fight alongside you on our day of victory Aptiva." Packbell held out his hand. Aptiva dressed in her dark cloak, to protect her identity, which Packbell didn't want the world to know of. They each placed an arm over the other's shoulder, and he tapped the transport pad on his chest, sending them both into the battle. "My God! It's Packbell!" Sandra cursed, thinking, "Who is the one under the cloak?" (Fight Aptiva, and be careful. You are too valuable to lose.) (I will fight well, my equal, but remember, the mechs are be- coming more self-conscious every minute, do not let them know that you supplied the rebels with weapons, or you they will disregard our alliance, and turn on us!) Packbell spoke as Aptiva waited to enter the battle, watching. "Fight bravely my mechanized warriors! This is the day that we shall dominate the freedom fighters and take complete control of this world! Capture these freedom fighters and place them in custody so that we may execute these savage criminals of my great empire! Then I shall return you to your home world, to destroy every freedom fighter there, and taking your planet back in your fallen master's name!" "Catch Sal!" Sonic gave her a power ring, "Now you know where to hit em'!" Sally caught the ring and held it high in the air in the same fashion as Sonic, releasing its energy. She and Sonic spread apart and began attacking the SYmechs, barely doing any damage. The other freedom fighters were not doing so well. The mechs were not cloaked, but moved fast enough to dodge their weapons. They captured many of the freedom fighters easily, not killing them as Packbell had ordered, and placed them in the custody of the combat cyborgs stationed in a circle around Knothole. Fighting continued as laserfire, and the sound of trees being snapped like twigs from the SYmechs' great strength sounded through the Great Forest. Trees were destroyed by the dozens, and used to throw between them and the freedom fighters' weapons, but gave little resistance to the powerful ammunition Packbell had provided them with. By this time, twelve of the mechs had fallen. Their systems had begun to malfunction due to multiple impacts to their areas of weakness from the freedom fighters' weapons. Leader had become concerned about the welfare of his troops, and turned to Packbell. "How did these freedom fighters get such powerful weaponry Allie Packbell? I thought you said they were weak!" "They are Leader, they just stole some of my weapons from a weapons lab a few days ago," he calmed the Leader down, "They'll run out of ammunition within a few minutes." Sally stopped fighting the SYmechs for one moment to catch her breath, and leaned against a nearby tree. There was a sound in the bushes, but she couldn't hear it from all the noise. Mech 19 emerged through the bushes, its devistator cannon aimed and charged. "Pwer--Kzz!. .. fai..llll--lure! If I go then, I'mm...hmm!. taking this f-f-f-freedom, f-fighterrrr--gzz! With me!" A blast rang through the forest, and Sally's screams of pain were heard clearly by Sonic, battling another mech at the time. In anger and frustration he struck the mech hard with a spin, killing it instead of wounding it like most of the others. "Sally!" he shouted as he raced to her side, "Sally!" "Sonic," she could barely speak, "I'm dying Sonic." "Not true," a mech landed by Sally's opposite side, "She is badly hurt, but she has a good chance of living if you let me help." Sonic immediately charged the mech with another power ring, knocking it to the ground. He prepared to kill the mech with a spin. "Wait! Please!" it said, surprising Sonic, "I want to help!" "Number seven, what is your position?" Leader asked, "There is no response Packbell." "What does that make our death count then?" Packbell asked. "He's not dead though, he's fully functional." "Then why does he not respond?!" "Okay mech, I'm gonna trust you, but only because you say you can save Sally." Sonic pointed out. "She would need extensive medical treatment to live, but I know what to do," it said as it lowered its cannon. "What are you doing!" he shouted, holding up the ring. "Place the power ring on her chest," the mech requested. Sonic did what it said, and placed th power ring on top of Sally. The mech began to scan the ring, and powered up the cannon. "Ring will melt at 600 degrees, readying cannon," "Hold it! She'll be burned to death if you do that!" "Have some faith Hedgehog! I have learned a great many things about power rings from your uncle Sir Charles Hedghog!" "How is that possible?" "Packbell discovered him and downloaded his knowledge into his network back in my dimension, before he was defeated by the freedom fighters. That information is inside each SYmech in this village, and power ring physics are very well-known to us." Number 7 fired a short burst at the power ring, melting it on contact. The ring then appeared to be absorbed by Sally's body, and she began to give off a faint glow. She sat up and held her forehead. "Sonic," she was at a loss for words, "I'm alive! How?" "Thank SYmech number 7," he held her hand out for her, "He helped me save your life." The mech gently grasped her hand, and placed his head down. "I am sorry for what we have done to you freedom fighters, I had no idea that what we were doing was wrong! Let me help you freedom fighters battle my evil Allie!" "You must have been reformed if you saved the life of a freedom fighter, especially the leader, Princess Acorn." Sonic said. "SYmech 7 has gone Maverick, Allie." Leader advised. "He has betrayed me?" he questioned angrily, "What is he doing? Siding with the enemy?!" "He has defected," Leader projected a hologram, "He saved the life of this freedom fighter." Leader pointed to Sally's projection. "I would destroy him," Packbell pointed, "But he has given ME the opportunity to kill her, even after number 19 shot her in an act of dishonerable combat. I will let your comrades destroy the Maverick." "I will free your freedom fighters Princess," SYmech 7 volunteered, "They will be heavily guarded, and you and Sonic can hold off the other SYmechs until I return." "Sal's in no condition to defend the village number 7!" Sonic protested the mechs plan as Sally got back to her feet. "I feel fine Sonic, and this way number 7 can draw some of the SYmechs out of the village!" Sally supported the plan. "Good luck you two!" number 7 disappeared into the sky. "The Maverick is leaving the village Leader," Packbell gave his order, "Of the 23 of you remaining, send ten to destroy him." With no further comment the Leader and nine other SYmechs took off for the outer edge of the Great Forest, where the combat cyborgs were holding the captured freedom fighters. Maverick had landed a few moments earlier, and began a one-mech assault on the holding party, firing into the barracks with his devistator cannon. The ten SYmechs landed around the Maverick, and aimed their devistators directly at him. Leader moved closer, and the others held a ready stance. Leader stopped within 100 feet of Maverick. "Why have you defected?" he asked, "Is your program under- going a malfunction?" "No!" Maverick shouted, "I've developed what was once known as a conscience, a sense of right and wrong!" "You are malfunctioning Maverick! We will repair you!" "You don't understand Leader, that what we are doing is causing unnecessary pain and suffering to others! We're helping our Allie committ genocide! We must stop fighting for this objective!" "You are thinking in an illogical manner, so it appears you cannot be reasoned with! SYmechs, prepare to destroy this, Maverick!" The SYmechs charged their cannons and prepared to destroy number 7, nicknamed Maverick. Maverick determined his choices, and had only a few seconds to act before he would be destroyed by the blasts of ten powerful weapons. He saw the convoy of cages, dozens of them, each holding two prisoners. Seeing no other alternative he fired his own cannon at the convoy, but with none of the typical devistator effect. The other mechs scattered away from the blast with great bursts of fire from their propulsion, and hurried to take aim again. "It is so tragic to lose such a fine warrior as yourself Maverick, but as your Leader you leave me no other alternative." A few of the mechs turned around and looked at the convoy as a strange noise approached. An army of mechanized freedom fighters charged at the ten mechs hunting the Maverick, and began to attack. Using their mechanized advancements the freedom fighters began to damage the SYmechs severely. "Fall back to devistator range!" Leader took to the sky. The other nine mechs followed Leader into the air and readied to fire their devistators at the freedom fighter-bots. Packbell shouted through the communicator. "Your orders are to capture! Not to destroy!" "Yes, Packbell!" Leader hesitated, "Retreat SYmechs!" The mechs retreated back to the village, where Sonic and Sally were pinned-down, back-to-back with Sandra, the last three freedom fighters to remain uncaptured. The other mechs had surrounded them, and armed their cannons. "First, second, and third cannon safety locks disabled." one mech reported to Packbell and Aptiva as they entered the circle. "How you holdin' up Sal?" Sonic whispered. "Okay," she replied, "Number 7 really helped." "Sonic! What are we going to do?!" Sandra asked. "I'd robotisize you on the spot if I wanted, but what I want now is to personally end your lives! A good, clean...well, good execution!" "The freedom fighters'll be back any second Pacman! One of your mechs has sided with us and has probably already freed em'!" "Oh really?" Packbell chuckled as the ten mechs sent to hunt the Maverick returned, landing steadily on their feet, but showing the scars of battle from the robotisized freedom fighters. "Tell me Maverick Hunters, how was number seven's demise?" There was no response from Leader or any of the other mechs. Leader approached Packbell and spoke to him in a low volume. "He robotisized the freedom fighters we had captured, and used them to fight against us." "But I thought he had defected?" Packbell squinted. "It was an act of despiration, we were about to destroy him and he fired first..." "Enough then," he shouted in a whisper, "What can he do against the remaining 22 of you, who are still loyal to my cause?" "Sonic," Sandra got his attention, "Look at Packbell's chest." Sonic looked at the badge on Packbell's chest on his left torso, except it wasn't a badge Sandra pointed-out. It was a transporter control, probably linked to the pack he was wearing. "Yeah Sandra, I see it." "If you can trigger it, it'll transport him somewhere else, and maybe give us enough time to escape." "I'm going in three Sal...two...one!" Sonic charged at Packbell as quickly as he could, leaving the mechs with little chance to fire. He lunged into Packbell's chest, causing him to fall back a few steps. Sonic punched the pad on his chest and Packbell began to disintegrate into microscopic bits. Sonic was pleased until the same effect disintegrated him as well. "Sonic! Get away from him!" Sally shouted as a mech restrained her. "Sally! I....." Sonic's voice disappeared into the air, and the glow accompanying the transport faded away. "Sonic!" Sally cried. Sonic lay in a vast meadow, where there were nothing but grass and flowers around him. He stood up, not knowing where he was, and noticed something in the deep grass near him. After moving closer he saw that it was Packbell's body, not moving the slightest. "Looks like that fried the ol' CPU, huh Pacman?" he laughed. Before Sonic could contain himself Packbell opened his eyes, and jumped to his feet with blinding speed. Sonic was snapped out of it just as Packbell unsheathed his sword from his side, and swung at Sonic's head, missing by a few microns. "Y-you're alive!" he said in a shocked tone. "Haven't you ever heard of 'playing dead'?" "In about a minute Packman--you won't be playin'!" Packbell powered his sword and swung the sword in a circle, making a bright streak. With a great lunge Packbell's sword grazed across Sonic's shoulder, creating a deep cut. Sonic was too occupied with saving his life to counter attack, and tried to find a flaw in his strikes. Sonic drew the final power ring from his backpack and got to a safe distance from Packbell, who halted for a moment. "Feeling tired Hedgehog? Need to use your final power ring so soon? I hoped you'd be more of a challenge, but you haven't even been able to touch me so far!" he laughed maniacly. Sonic's power ring glowed brighter than any others that came before it, becoming white hot. Sonic burned his hand severly, and the ring grew as bright as the sun, blinding Packbell. "Ahhh!" he yelled, "My optical circuitry has been overloaded!" "My hand!" Sonic howled, seeing third-degree burns on his hand, destroying all of the nerves. Sonic saw that Packbell was blinded, and took the opportunity to knock him to the ground. Packbell, unable to reach his sword cursed the hedgehog and attempted to struggle free. Maverick returned to Knothole, where he faced his brothers-in- combat, holding Sally and Sandra prisoner. He stepped into the circle, and the mech holding her released its grip. Maverick told of his success in freeing the freedom fighters to the Princess, and she smiled. "Keep Maverick busy SYmechs!" Aptiva said in a scrambled voice, then, touching a similar transporter control on her chest, vanishing. "Who was that, anyway?" Sandra and Sally thought. "You're a traitor number 7," Leader reminded, "But you are of an endagered species--one of the few remaining Scrap Yard Mechanized Security Enforcers in existence, and for that reason we will not kill you." "But you tried to destroy him when he freed the prisoners just a few moments ago! Why not now?" Sally asked. "He ROBOTISIZED your freedom fighters!" Leader laughed. "What?!" Sandra was disgusted, "How could you?!" "It was the only way to escape," Maverick defended himself, "I'll be able to reverse the process later." "Sonic! What happened to Sonic!?" Sally asked. "I'll follow Packbell's distortion trail, and find out what his destination was." Maverick worked his computerized mind. "We will not allow you to leave the village Maverick!" "Too late my Leader-in-Combat!" he pulled Sally and Sandra closer to him. Maverick used his own abilities to tele-transport to within a few hundred meters of where Packbell landed with Sonic. The other SYmechs also transported, assuring their Master's safety as he battled his enemy. The girls saw Sonic caught in the violent conflict. "One way or another Hedgehog, one of us is going to die!" Packbell had struck him many times, and Sonic was bleeding profusely from wounds around his head and arms. Packbell was fighting half-blind from massive burn-in, inside his optical circuitry. Packbell's clothes were torn in some places, revealing his artificial skin, which was also bleeding, but not nearly so badly. He however, could live without blood, unlike Sonic, who was losing his fast. "Sonic you can't beat him!" Sally shouted, "Run away!" Sonic heard Sally's screams and lowered his guard for a split- second, giving Packbell plenty of an opportunity to strike. Sally knew that she had made a mistake by diverting Sonic's attention, and saw Packbell charge towards him. "Sonic! Look out!" Sandra warned him. Sonic turned just in time to avoid the sword's full sting, and jumped as high as he could. The sword cut through the ground as if it was nothing, and the sword's power melted some of the stone. In midair, Sonic used the last bit of energy from the power ring and went into a mega-sonic spin. He crashed onto the android's back, and destroyed his metallic vertabrae, paralizing him below the waist. "Damn you hedgehog!" Packbell yelled, noticing that the transporter power cell was ruptured, "You've killed us both!" The SYmechs had followed Maverick, and made sure he did not interfere with the battle. Leader recieved instructions from Pack- bell's keypad, and his memory was accessed. "Downloading program: Packbell." Leader processed silently. "The battle is coming to a close!" Maverick quietly informed the Princess, "I fear that we have arrived too late to save him." "We have to help him!" Sally ordered, afraid of his reply. "No time!" Sandra said, "The other SYmechs will kill us before we can get close enough to help!" "We have to do something number seven!" Sally pleaded. "Alright," Maverick answered, "I only have a few seconds, but I might be able to get him away from Packbell. Packbell had finished inputting commands, and in exhaustion, Sonic dropped to his knees, ready to strike Packbell's death blow. "You've killed us both Hedgehog," Packbell laughed, "You've ruptured the power source to my transporter, and any second the exposed solution will blow us to kingdom come. My immortal soul shall live on, unfortunately you don't have that advantage...Goodbye Sonic!" (Aptiva, if you can hear me, I am about to die. Find my soul! And keep self-preservation your top priority!) Aptiva heard the message, but could not reply soon enough to acknowledge. She stared back at the area of the battle. (I will Packbell. I shall disappear until these SY's are gone from my sight. I will ressurect you, my equal!) "Run Sonic! Please RUN!" Sally screamed in despiration. "There's nothing we can do now to save him Princess!" Maverick yelled to her, "It's too late!" Maverick lowered his cannon to the level of the battle, and fired a shot into the dome-like expansion that resulted from the exposed power cell. As the concussion wave hit Maverick, he was knocked a few feet back, and was forced to move. The explosion subsided, and Packbell was dead, his body in small fragments thrown about the landscape. Leader and the other SYmechs stood shocked as the thunder of the blast deadened into silence, broken by Sally's cries. Their Allie, the great leader Packbell had fallen before their eyes to a puny freedom fighter from a weaker dimension. And Leader realized where the freedom fighters got their weapons from. "That couldn't have been the real Packbell!" one mech yelled. "But he WAS Packbell!" Leader argued, "This is not possible! Our Allied Master would not be so treacherous as to sacrifice a SYmech to uncrease the challange of the battle! He armed the rebels! Packbell was a fraud!" Leader growled, as he and many SY's fired at Robo- tropolis, destroying many buildings, none important in a fire of rage. "This isn't possible! He can't be dead!" Sally cried. "I can't believe that the Hedgehog is gone," Sandra sighed, concealing a tear, "I'm gonna miss him." "I'm sorry Princess," Maverick apollogized, "I just wasn't fast enough to save him! I tried to robotisize him so he would escape the blast with his life!" "He must've been vaporized before you fired," Sandra reasoned, drying her eyes, "You can't mechanize something that's nothing." "But I could swear that I roboticized him! My data shows it!" Sally continued to cry as the SYmechs that remained gathered about them. They were unsure about how to achieve their primary objective: to conquer their home dimension's Mobius. Leader spoke, unaware that he was remotely commanded to download Packbell's artificial intellegence into his storage blocks. "Maverick," Leader asked him with an extended hand, "How did you know Packbell had betrayed us?" "I didn't Leader, it was my conscience." "We will take what we can from THIS Robotropolis, to rearm ourselves, then return to our home dimension and resume fighting. But first, we will prepare the damage we have done to this world." "But why Leader?" Sandra asked, "Why the change of heart?" "It was Packbell's objective to destroy you, not ours. We only attacked as part of an agreement to be rearmed and repaired." "Packbell betrayed us, and now that he's dead, we shall take what we need from his city, then destroy it." Maverick added. "We owe you a debt, Freedom Fighters. One that we hope to repay to you as best we can." Leader saluted. Sally only cried, and Sandra continued to calm her down. After a short time, she became rational, and she hugged Sandra. "I know it hurts to lose a loved one Princess," Sandra comforted, "But we still have work to do before we can sleep." "What's happening with the mechs?" she asked softly as she slowly stood, drying her eyes. "Maverick has 'shown them the light' if I'm not mistaken." "He's reasoning with them?" she sounded surprised. "He got them to think..." there was a long silence. Sally only felt sadness, and fought the emotions off in order to keep collected. Leader raised his massive slender head, and pledged his allegence to her. The next few days progressed quickly. The SYmechs assisted in the reconstruction of Knothole Village, and the damaged mechs were returned to Robotropolis to be repaired. Sally only thought about a few things, mostly Sonic. She stood around her hut as Maverick de-robotisized the other freedom fighters back in Robotropolis. Leader stayed with Sandra. "You are the great spy my Master spoke of." he mentioned. "I must have made quite an impression on him if he even told mercinary mechs from alternate dimensions about me." she chuckled. "The Princess seems greatly troubled by the loss of Sonic. Were they close friends?" Leader tapped his head. "They were lovers." "That would explain her reaction...Sandra?" "Yeah big guy?" Sandra looked at the towering machine. "What does the emotion 'love' feel like?" "Don't ask me," she shrugged the statement off, "I don't even have any 'real' friends, let alone a mate." "I have experienced more emotions than my 'Master' has, but I have yet to experience love. Although I understand the Princess' condition, unfortunately, I can not sympathize." "In addition to everything else she's pregnant." "Yes, my scanners noticed an offspring forming inside her." "That only adds to the trauma of losing her lover." "But how are you able to detect her pregnancy without the aid of scanners such as mine?" "I've learned to read people, and the Princess has become effected in such a way that I can notice it." "Very clever, your intuitivity is most impressive." The village was soon repaired, and the freedom fighters restored to their normal forms. They began to live their lives of freedom, and had plans to dismantle Robotropolis. Inside the void room, the 36 mechs, minus the one Sonic killed completely, were standing in their ranks. Sally stood by the troops as Leader commanded his mechs to return to their home. "I'm glad we...managed to make peace." Sally approached. "We are no longer a danger to you," Leader informed, "We are now allies, and will aid you should you need our help." "I'd rather you not return to destroy innocent lives." "We must no more stop fighting the Freedom Fighters in OUR world than you could stop fighting Robotnik in THIS one, Princess." "Will you try make peace there as well?" Sandra asked him. "Attempts have been made, but all SYmechs that attempted peace so far have been killed. Our nature has been to destroy what threatens us, and if we return, and are attacked, we will go back to fighting. That is why we have fought for the past decade; we have been threatened." The dimensional portal opened, and the void created a partial vacuum in the void room, causing some debris to be injested. One-by- one the SYmechs returned through the portal to their own world, landing in the same region that they had left. Sally watched the mechs leave her world, and the Maverick stopped, the last in line. Sally shed a tear as Maverick saluted her. "Good bye, Princess Acorn," he lowered his arm, "May we one day meet again, in a peaceful future." Maverick disappeared through the portal as it closed immediately behind him, returning the room to the normal level of lighting. The brightness of the void was gone, and Sally stood staring at the device used to cross the dimensions, the plans for which were inside Packbell's Robotropolis Network. Sally left the room and wandered aimlessly down the hallways, Sandra following directly behind her. "How are you feeling Sally?" Sandra asked, trying not to sound very concerned or compassionate, although she was very-much both. "A bit tired, but I'm okay," she mumbled, "We have a lot of work to do to get this city, as well as get this world back into shape." "It'll take a lot of time and energy, but we'll have the world back the way it once was...free." Rotor appeared. "It's time to get our hands dirty!" Bookshire stated excitedly. THE END...(or is it?) ********************************************************************* The way the story has been ended you know there's gonna be a sequel story! There are still a number of questions left to answer! Packbell's body might be dead, but his program remains, inside the alternate dimension, inside Leader's memory! What will become of Sally and her child? What will the future hold for Mobitropolis' reconstruction? What becomes of the other freedom fighters? What has become of Sandra? Maverick swears that Sonic was completely roboticized, but there was no body, or even trace of Sonic. Will this program find a way to come back and haunt Sally and child? Find out by reading my next great story, and expect the illustrations to keep coming! ******************************************************************** Description of mechs actions (character profiles): MECH NUMBER 1 (Leader) - pulled through the dimensions to serve Packbell in destroying the freedom fighters. The largest mech of the 36 SYmechs remaining in that dimension. MECH NUMBER 7 (Maverick) - developed a robotisizer configur- ation for his devistator cannon, and evolved enough wisdom to realize that it was wrong to take what did not belong to them, and thay it was wrong to kill another. Helped to save Sally's life. MECH NUMBER 14 - did not want to leave the battle in Mobitropolis (in part 1) and remained at the portal to fire one last devistator round. Was the first mech to awaken from repairs. MECH NUMBER 19 - disabled by Sonic when Sally was confronted by Leader at the start of the attack. Crawled away to a position where it mustered its remaining power in an attempt to kill the Princess with its devistator cannon, but failing to do so, and only severely stunned her. MECH NUMBER 26 - endowed with an optical enhancement, was used as a spy satellite to locate Knothole Village. ILLUSTRATIONS are available at: http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/4661/images.htm. For Illustrated Stories see: http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/4661/fanfic.htm Come visit "The Dimension of Maverick-7" at geocities: http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/4661/index.html