WHERE'S SALLY?
By Nick Nelson

        Sonic looked over the small, thick, metal barrier.  He was tired.  He
must have only slept for two hours last night.  The missions  to
Robotropolis had almost become routine after years and years of them. 
Sonic was tired and wanted to get this done quickly and head back to
Knothole for some R&R.  Sonic, going by safety precautions, checked to
make sure everyone was ready before the opening move.  They had done
this same procedure several times and everyone had it memorized.  There
was one safety procedure Sonic forgot to follow, checking for Sally's
signal.  The signal that told him Nicole's scan of the area for Swatbots
was complete. 
        Sonic jumped out and started quickly towards the outer door.  Swatbots,
somehow, saw it coming and all popped out, firing their blasters in
every direction.  You could look anywhere and see bright yellow rays
whizzing through the air.  Sonic wanted to blow the whole thing off, but
he was never a person to back out of anything.  That was why he was
relieved when Rotor fired a retreat flare into the sky.  Sonic sped up
and sped out in a blur, snatching the closest person to carry out, who
happened to be Bunnie Rabbot.  
        No one stopped until finally they reached the concealed Knothole
Village.  Sonic was ready to go to bed, his eyes open about a millionth
of an inch, but when he realized that Sally was missing his eyes went
wide open.
        "Oh...my..." Bunnie was in a trance.  She had realized Sally was gone
too.  Sonic got ready to head back to Robotropolis but Rotor stopped
him. 
        "Sonic, you'll have to wait 'till tomorrow," Rotor said.  "It's getting
dark.  Going now will get you caught and then who knows what will
happen."
        "Just get some sleep, Sugah," Bunnie said reassuringly.  "You can go to
Robotropolis tomorrow."
        "Besides," Rotor called as he walked to his hut. "Who's to say she's
still there?  Maybe she just stopped somewhere.  Maybe she'll be here by
tomorrow morning."
        
        Knuckles the Echidna looked down off the edge of the Floating Island. 
He saw big oceans and forests.  Beyond all this he saw a sight which he
would rather not have seen.  Robotropolis, it's huge boilers pumping
smoke into the air, polluting the planet of Mobius.  It was a horrid
sight, but just beyond the Great Forest, which surrounded it, he saw
Knothole Village.  Unseeable if you didn't know exactly where it was,
Knothole was the home of Sonic and the Freedom Fighters.  Knuckles
decided to perhaps head down to see how Sally, a good friend of his (a
long story for another time).
        So he told Mighty the Armadillo that the Chaotix would be taking care
of the Floating Island for a while and he glided down to Knothole
Village.  
        Sonic and Knuckles' relationship was, well, hard to explain.  After the
events in the Hidden Palace (Sonic & Knuckles) they couldn't say they
disliked eachother, but they didn't really agree on much.  That's why
when Knuckles lowered down into Knothole Village, Sonic's expression
hardly even changed.
        "Hi guys, where's Sal?" Knuckles asked when he reached the ground. 
Sonic was about to leave the question in the air, since he wanted to go
to Robotropolis alone, but Rotor answered quickly.
        "We believe she's trapped in Robotropolis.  Sonic was just about to go
attempt to find her.  Maybe you'd like to join him."
        Sonic made a grumpy face, but said nothing.  "Of course I'll join him,
anything for the Princess," Knuckles replied.
        So, at about noon, Sonic and Knuckles were off and at the gates of
Robotropolis in no time.  They hadn't talked much on the way and were
both trying to work at a different part of the gate.   Finally, upon
breaking through they met a small troop of Swatbots, whom they took care
of in their own way.
        They moved to the front door.  it was pretty easy for them from there. 
They found the cell controls and found Sally's jail cell.  
        Sally laid sleeping on the metal cot in her cell when Sonic and Knux
arrived. 
        "Psst!  Sally!" Sonic whispered furtively from outside her cell.
        She opened her eyes slowly and blinked alot, then looked to Sonic and
Knuckles.  "You guys came," she cried.
        Sonic began to pick the lock.  Knuckles knew they had been to loud when
he saw a sahpe approaching from the shadows.  He recognized the robot as
Mecha Bot, a large and powerful bot.  
        "Oh, man," Sonic cried.  "No time and there's nothing to pick this lock
with."
        "Here," Knuckles replied and he pulled a spine from Sonic's back.  he
jammed it in the lock and played around with.  The door popped open. 
Sonic grabbed Sally in his arms and sped out.  Knuckles was kept busy
with Mecha Bot.
        knuckles put up a good fight but when both fighters worn out Mecha Bot
gathered up all his strength and threw a mighty punch, knocking him
about 20 feet across the room. He hit the wall and lost consiousness. 
Throughout the fight though, the entire building had become shaky and
would collapse any second.
        Sonic and Sally stood in the great forest and watched Robotropolis
collaplse in a heap of metal and oil and dust.  But the question stuck
in their head's, 'Where's Knuckles?'
        It would seem Knuckles had been crushed in the collapsing.  After
waiting about a half-hour and checking the wreckage they finally started
home sadly.  But when they looked up as they approached Knothole
Village, there was Knuckles.  
        "Oh, Knuckles!  You're alive!" Sally cried happily and ran over to hug
him.
        "He did that on purpose," was all Sonic said before heading to his hut
for some well needed rest.
        


The End