LEGALITIES: All characters are ©SEGA. Penny was created and technically owned by 
me. Feel free to use her in your own stories, but I'd prefer it if you asked me 
first. Maple City is also my creation.

Send questions and comments to randiradio@rocketmail.com.

DESTINY
by Randi Radio

	It was ten years after the evil Dr. Robotnik had proclaimed himself ruler 
of the planet Mobius. Since then, much of the once beautiful planet had been 
polluted by Robotnik's factories, many of the furry Mobians transformed into 
lethal killing machines by the dreaded Roboticizer. Some Mobians rebelled, 
others surrendered. Yet in spite of all this, Maple City had remained untouched, 
isolated in the far northern part of Mobius.
	Penny, a young Dalmatian dog, woke up with a start. She was feeling 
scared, for no apparent reason. Her room was still dark. Trembling, she turned 
on her bedside lamp. It was four in the morning. She must have had a nightmare 
that she couldn't remember. She lay back down and tried to recall it, but she 
couldn't.
	There was no sense in trying to go back to sleep, Penny told herself. She 
got out of bed, pulled off her nightgown and threw on the first clothes she 
could find-a blue skirt and half-shirt and silver flats. She pulled her long 
bright red hair into high pigtails and tied them with silver ribbons.
	Penny sat down at her desk with her head in her hands. This wasn't the 
first time she had woken up scared lately. She knew something awful was going to 
happen soon. She'd discovered her strange power to sense the future when she was 
a child, when she had a nightmare about something evil destroying the world. 
Sure enough, the very next day Dr. Robotnik began his rein of terror. 	Penny 
closed her eyes and concentrated. After a few seconds, an image slowly formed in 
her mind. A large city, with tall buildings, practically hidden by smog. Some of 
the buildings were severely damaged by acid rain. In the center of the city, 
blackened and eaten away was what looked like a large marble maple leaf...NO! 
Penny's eyes sprang open. Could it be possible? Maple City, Penny's home, the 
only safe place on Mobius, soon to fall to Dr. Robotnik? No, she wouldn't let 
it. She knew the future, so she could change it, couldn't she? Of course she 
could. And she knew just how to do it.
	Penny strode over to her closet. From the top shelf, she took down a 
cardboard box filled with things from her childhood. At the bottom of the box, 
Penny lifted out something not from her childhood, but from three years ago, 
when her mother became ill and died. It was a small crystal box, with a switch 
on one side. Through the crystal you could see a Chaos Emerald, the ultimate 
source of power on Mobius, inside the box.
	Penny's mother had given her the device before she died, instructing Penny 
to flip the switch if Maple City and its residents were ever threatened. But she 
had also warned Penny to be careful about when and where to flip the switch, or 
it could mean destruction for everyone and everything in the city. When Penny 
asked how she would know if she had to flip that switch, her mother had just 
told her she would know.
	Penny didn't know if she would have to flip the switch just yet, but she 
was pretty sure she would have to soon. But first she wanted to go to Central 
Square, since that had been the focal point of her vision.

	With the device under her arm, Penny moved slowly toward the marble maple 
leaf in the center of Central Square. It was still dark out, and there was 
nobody on the street.
	A shadow moved out from behind the marble maple leaf. Penny instantly 
delivered a massive kick straight on its face. The shadow yelped. In less than a 
second Penny had it pinned on the ground, socking its head again and again..
	"Hey, stop it!" the shadow yelled, and grabbed Penny's fist before she 
could strike again.
	"Why should I?" Penny snarled. "I know you're working for Robotnik, and 
you're here to destroy Maple City. And it was a mistake. You don't even know how 
to fight!"
	"I can't hit a lady! And I'm not one of Robotnik's workers, I'm Espio the 
chameleon of the Chaotix!"
	That's when Penny noticed the orchid chameleon tail and the weird shoes 
worn exclusively by Espio. Penny still wasn't convinced, but she saw that this 
mysterious shadow was just someone wearing a dojo. She relaxed her grip a 
little.
	"Prove it", she said.
	Espio took off his black face mask. Yes, it was Espio. Penny had done a 
good number on his face. He had a huge bruise on the side of his face, where 
Penny had kicked him, and a big scratch on his horn.
	"What are you doing here?" Penny demanded. "Aren't you and the Chaotix 
supposed to by trying to defeat Robotnik?!"
	"Yes, and that's why I'm here", Espio replied, getting up off the ground. 
"I heard that Robotnik is planning to attack Maple City and enslave the 
population. Since hardly anyone knows about Maple City, I came over here by 
myself to see if I could stop him. What are you doing out so early, anyway?"
	"I had a vision of something awful happening to Maple City. I'm here to 
stop it too."
	"Vision? Are you a psychic or something? Who are you?"
	"My name's Penny. As far as that psychic thing goes, I do sometimes have 
visions of the future, but I don't know if I'm a true psychic. But my mother 
was. She told me what to do if Maple City was ever in danger." She showed Espio 
the crystal device.
	Espio gasped. "Don't use that just now!" he hissed.
	Penny frowned. "Why?" she asked. "It'll save Maple City."
	"Or it could destroy it", Espio retorted. "I've heard of those devices. No 
one's really sure how they work. But what is sure is if the owner isn't sure if 
it should be used, it's dangerous."
	"My mother told me that", Penny said.
	"Are you sure if it should be used?"
	Penny gritted her teeth. "Well, I had the vision, and you said so yourself 
Robotnik was coming."
	"I'm not positive Robotinik's coming. He could have changed his mind."
	"And how wrong you are", a voice said.
	The fat and bald figure of Dr. Robotnik approached Penny and Espio. Penny 
put her finger on the crystal device's switch. But she wasn't fast enough. Quick 
as a flash, Robotinik snatched it from her hand.
	"I've always wanted one of these", Robotinik said, smiling. "I knew Maple 
City was the place to find one."
	"THAT'S why you came?!" Penny asked. She turned her head to her right-but 
Espio was gone! Penny was alone against the evil and mighty Robotinik!
	"Of course, now that I'm here, I can enslave and pollute this wretched-" 
Robotnik never got to finish the sentence. He flew backward as if hit by an 
invisible force. The device flew out of his hands. Penny jumped up and caught 
it.
	Espio appeared out of thin air where Robotnik was knocked down. Penny's 
mouth dropped open. "How did-", she started to say.
	"I'm a *chameleon*", Espio said with a smile.
	Penny put her finger on the switch. She smiled "I'm positive now", she 
said.
	Espio smiled. "I trust you", he said.
	Suddenly, Robotnik had Espio in a headlock. "Take your hand off that 
switch, girl", he said. He pointed his laser rifle at Espio's head. "The second 
you touch that switch, your friend dies."
	It was a no-win situation, Penny thought. If she didn't flip the switch, 
Maple City would fall to Robotnik. If she did, the city would either be saved or 
destroyed. If it were destroyed Dr. Robotinik would be killed, but so would she. 
And either way, Espio would be killed.
	She knew what she had to do.
	Slowly, she took her hand off the switch..
	Robotnik smiled. "Good", he said. He lowered his laser rifle. "Both of you 
have the honor of becoming my first robot slaves." He loosened his grip on 
Espio.
	The second Robotinik did that, Penny flipped the switch.
	The last thing she saw was a bright green flash.

	And the next thing she saw was Espio's face looking down at her.
	"What happened?" Penny asked groggily.
	"You did it, Penny! The green flash blinded Robotnik and I for a second, 
and knocked you out because you came in contact with the device. When the light 
cleared, a Chaos Emerald was suspended in mid-air, and a green glow began to 
grow out of it very slowly. Both Robotnik and I were clueless to what was 
happening. Robotnik escaped in his Egg-o-Matic hover craft, cursing you and I. I 
didn't know if whatever was happening was good or bad, either, so I slung you 
over my shoulder and ran out of the city. Look." Espio turned and pointed behind 
him. They were sitting on a hill, and beyond it, maybe thirty kilometers away, 
was Maple City, surrounded by a green glow. Behind it, the sun was rising. "You 
saved Maple City, Penny", Espio said. "Robotnik will never go there again."
	Penny gave Espio a hug. She was so happy. "What happens now?" she asked.
	"You can go back if you want", Espio replied. "But why don't you come with 
me to Floating Island and join the Chaotix? We could use you."
	Penny thought for a moment. After a life-or-death choice in Maple City, 
she was faced with another choice. She didn't know if she ever wanted to face 
Robotnik again, but she did want Mobius to be free again. Maple City was safe 
again. Staying there, she was powerless to do anything about Robotnik.
	Finally Penny nodded. "I'm with you", she said, smiling.

END

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more? Send me some messages at randiradio@rocketmail.com