CHAPTER 1 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "HI THIS IS SONIC HERE. I HAVE DECIDED TO TELL YOU THE STORY OF HOW THE FREEDOM FIGHTER TEAM GOT TOGETHER AND NEARLY STOPPED ROBOTNIK. IT STARTED ON THE DAY WHEN I WAS SIX THAT ROBOTNIK TOOK OVER MOBOTROPOLIS. MY HOME TOWN". ROBOTNIK IS SHAPED LIKE AND EGG AND SMELLS LIKE ONE. HE WEARS A BLACK AND RED SUIT. BLACK LINES GOING DOWNWARDS WITH A ORANGE BADGE HALF WAY DOWN, EVERYTHING ELSE IS RED. HE HAD THIS MACHINE THAT POLLUTED EVERYTHING IN SIGHT. THINGS TURNED BLACK, RIVERS OVERFLOWED AND YOU WERE LUCKY TO EVEN HAVE A BIT OF FOOD. ROBOTNIK HAD THIS MACHINE CALLED THE ROBOTICIZER WHICH COULD TURN ANYTHING INTO ROBOTS. ON THE FIRST DAY ROBOTNIK'S SWATBOTS HAD CAPTURED OF THE POPULATION OF MOBOTROPOLIS WHICH ROBOTNIK RENAMED ROBOTROPOLIS. SWATBOTS WERE ROBOTNIKS ROBOT SLAVES WHICH USED TO BE PEOPLE, PEOPLE THAT I KNEW. HE TURNED THEM INTO SWATBOTS BY PUTTING THEM THROUGH THE ROBOTICIZER. ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WAS MY UNCLE CHUCK. UNCLE CHUCK WAS THE FIRST TO BE ROBOTICIZED. EVEN THOUGH HE'S A ROBOT HE ACTS LIKE HE ALWAYS WAS. HE FOUGHT THE ROBOT VIRUS AND WON. I DON'T KNOW WHERE HE IS NOW. ME AND SOME OTHER PEOPLE TOOK THE CITIZENS THAT WASN'T CAPTURED BY SWATBOTS TO KNOTHOLE. A SECRET LOCATION DISCOVERED BY UNCLE CHUCK. HE WAS AN INVENTOR AND A ARCHAEOLOGIST. THE PEOPLE SURVIVED BECAUSE THERE WAS A LITTLE HIDE OUT WHICH WAS LIKE A HOME UNDER A RUBBISH PILE. WHILE I WAS LEADING EVERYBODY INCLUDING THE KING OF MOBIUS CALLED KING JOHN TO KNOTHOLE KING JOHN GOT CAPTURED, AND SOMETHING TERRIBLE HAPPENED TO HIM. CHAPTER 2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SALLY, WHO IS THE KINGS DAUGHTER, AND MY BEST FRIEND, WHO IS A YEAR OLDER THAN ME ASKED ME SOMETHING. "SONIC. WHERE'S FATHER ?"SHE ASKED. THEN SUDDENLY WE HEARD A VOICE BEHIND US. "RIGHT HERE HEH HEH". IT WAS ROBOTNIK. "HELLO SALLY I HAVE BEEN DYING TO MEET YOU."HE SAID. "YEAH WELL ROBOTNIK I HAVEN'T AND IF YOU HURT A HAIR ON HIS HEAD......". "WAIT". ROBOTNIK WALKED UP TO KING JOHN AND PLUCKED A HAIR OFF HIS HEAD AND BROKE IT. "YOU WERE SAYING !!!". SUDDENLY KING JOHN TRIED TO ESCAPE BUT SNIVELY, ROBOTNIKS ASSISTANT, TRIPPED HIM UP WITH A ROPE. SNIVELY IS A SMALL GUY WITH FOUR BITS OF HAIR AND A LONG NOSE. "UHH" KING JOHN MUMBLED. "I DON'T THINK YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE THAT" ROBOTNIK SAID. THEN HE PULLED OUT A KNIFE. "BYE BYE" HE SAID. "SALLY SAVE YOURSELF" JOHN SHOUTED. "NOT WITHOUT YOU FATHER" SALLY SHOUTED. ROBOTNIK THEN LIFTED UP HIS ARM AND FELL TO THE GROUND WITH THE KNIFE GOING THROUGH JOHNS HEART. "NOOOOOOOOO.... FATHER" SALLY SHOUTED. "OOPS" SAID ROBOTNIK. THEN HE FLEW OFF IN HIS SHIP. ME AND SALLY RAN TO JOHN. HE SAID SOMETHING BUT COULD BARLEY UNDERSTAND BUT WE DID. "SALLY BEAT ROBOTNIK FOR ME AND SONIC TAKE THIS DISK SALLY WILL FIGURE IT OUT, OH AND ONE MORE THING, TAKE CARE OF SALLY FOR ME." HE SAID. "I PROMISE YOUR HIGHNESS." I TOLD HIM. THEN HE DIED. "NO, WHY SHOULD IT BE YOU, JUST WHY, WHY ?"SALLY SHOUTED. THE NEXT DAY AT KNOTHOLE THERE WAS A BIG GATHERING FOR THE KING'S FUNERAL THE BIGGEST EVER. "WE HAVE GATHERED HERE TO DAY TO SAY GOOD BYE TO A ROYAL MAN, KING JOHN. HE WAS A GOOD RULER AND A VERY GENEROUS MAN, BUT NOW ROBOTNIK HAS TAKEN OVER THE WHOLE OF MOBIUS AND THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO TO STOP IT. EVERYBODY HAS TO DIE BUT NOT THIS WAY. NOW HERE IS SONIC TO SAY A FEW WORDS." THE VICAR SAID. "THANK YOU VICAR. AS HE SAID KING JOHN WAS A LOYAL MAN AND VERY KIND. JUST BEFORE HE DIED HE TOLD ME TO TAKE THIS DISK AND LOAD IT ON NICOLE, SALLY'S MINI COMPUTER. HE SAID IT WOULD TELL ME AND SALLY EVERYTHING. I WAS THINKING THAT SOMEDAY I COULD MAKE A FREEDOM TEAM AND I WILL SO THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN AGAIN, AND THIS IS IT. SALLY, WITH HER BRAINS AND CUNNING, BUNNIE RABBOT, A SUPER TOUGH FIGHTER WITH THE HELP OF ROBOTNIK THAT TURNED HER INTO HALF RABBIT AND HALF ROBOT, BOOMER, WHO CAN FIX ANYTHING AND CAN STOP ANY ONE AT 20 METERS WITH HIS FISH BREATH, AND ME. WE ARE THINKING OF ASKING MORE PEOPLE TO JOIN BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHO YET. NOW SALLY WOULD LIKE TO SAY SOME WORDS." "THANK YOU SONIC. I NEVER KNEW IT WOULD TURN OUT THIS WAY AND I DIDN'T WANT IT TO. BUT NOW MY FATHER IS DEAD I WILL DO ANYTHING I CAN TO DESTROY ROBOTNIK". BANGING HER HAND ON THE TABLE SHE SAID, "I WANT MY REVENGE." AFTER THAT SALLY THEN BROKE DOWN IN TEARS. WHEN THE FUNERAL ENDED SALLY STAYED FOR A WHILE AND SWORE THAT ONE DAY SHE WILL TRIUMPH OVER ROBOTNIK. "C'MON SALLY IT'S GETTING DARK WE BETTER GO." CHAPTER 3 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "OK WON'T BE A MOMENT." SALLY TOLD ME. THEN SHE SAID GOOD-BYE TO KING JOHN. BY THE WAY, DID I MENTION WHO SALLY IS ? OH, WELL NOT ONLY IS SHE MY BEST FRIEND BUT SHE IS MY GIRLFRIEND ONLY SHE DOESN'T KNOW YET. SALLY WEARS A BLUE JACKET WITH MATCHING BLUE BOOTS. IN HER RIGHT BOOT THERE IS A COMPARTMENT FOR NICOLE. SALLY IS A BABE, I HAVE CRUSH ON HER BUT NOT THE MUSHY LOVE TYPE, I JUST LOVE HER. I LOVE THE WAY SHE TALKS, I LOVE......LET'S GET ON WITH THE STORY. TEN YEARS LATER. IT TOOK ME ABOUT 4 YEARS TO MAKE THE FREEDOM TEAM BECAUSE OF ROBOTNIK. WHEN WE WERE EIGHT WE DECIDED TO WEAR CLOTHES, I MEAN YOU HAVE TO WEAR SOME DON'T YOU ! I WORE TROUSERS, A JACKET, AND MY SPEED SHOES. SALLY WORE TROUSERS, WAIST JACKET, SHIRT AND BOOTS. BOOMER WORE SHORTS, SHIRT AND BOOTS. BUNNIE WORE A SHIRT THAT ENDED AT THE STOMACH, A MINI SKIRT AND SHOES. A PORTAL WAS OPENING SOMEWHERE NEAR KNOTHOLE AND A FOX APPEARED FROM IT, AND THE FOX HAD TWO TAILS. BECAUSE THE PORTAL WAS ABOUT ONE METER FROM THE FLOOR THE FOX FELL AND LANDED WITH A BUMP. THEN THE PORTAL FADED AWAY. THE TWO TAILED FOX STOOD UP. HE WASN'T THAT TALL, QUITE SMALL ACTUALLY, AND HE LOOKED ABOUT 10 YEARS OLD. HE STARTED WALKING THROUGH THE FOREST WHEN HE SAW A BLUE BLUR STOP AT A PIECE OF A CUT DOWN TREE. IT WAS ME. "I-I-I-IT'S SONIC" THE TWO TAILED FRIEND SAID. I WAS WITH SOMEONE ELSE WHO WAS SALLY. "AND SALLY" HE SAID ALSO. SUDDENLY THE LOG OPENED AND ME AND SALLY JUMPED DOWN IT INTO NOWHERE. THE FOX THOUGHT HE SHOULD FOLLOW THEM. "WELL WE ARE BACK EVERYBODY" I SAID. "YEAH HI" EVERYBODY ANSWERED. CRASH. EVERYBODY LOOKED ROUND AND SAW A TWO TAILED FOX. "WHO ARE YOU KID ?"I QUESTIONED. THE FOX WORE A SHIRT, SOME TROUSERS AND SOME SHOES. "I'M MILES PROWER SIR, AND I WANT TO JOIN YOUR FREEDOM FIGHTER TEAM" THE FOX SAID IN A SHY VOICE. "LOOK, I CAN DO THINGS WATCH". HE JUMPED AND HIS TWO TAILS STARTED SPINNING AND MADE HIM FLY. HE LANDED AND DID A SUPER DASH ATTACK. "HMM. OK TEAM TALK" I SHOUTED. THE FREEDOM TEAM GOT TOGETHER AND STARTED WHISPERING TO EACH OTHER. THEN SALLY STOOD UP AND TOLD HIM THE ANSWER. "WE HAVE COME TO OUR FINAL VERDICT....YES YOU ARE IN". THE FOX JUMPED UP AND SHOUTED "YES". "HEY KID IF YOU DON'T LIKE YOUR NAME WE COULD CHANGE IT TO........TAILS". "YEAH OK. TAILS, I LIKE THAT NAME". A WEEK FROM THAT DAY ALL THE HUTS AND THINGS WERE FINISHED AND WE HADN'T HEARD A THING ABOUT ROBOTNIK, BUT THAT WAS ABOUT TO CHANGE. CHAPTER 4 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "SONIC QUICK COME HERE. I'VE HACKED INTO ROBOTNIKS COMPUTERS." SHOUTED BOOMER. "YO! I'M HERE. GIMME THE FACTS ABOUT ROBOTNIK". THAT BOOMER THEN DID. "BECAUSE ROBOTNIK HASN'T BEEN HEARD FOR ABOUT A WEEK IS THAT HE IS MAKING A DRUDHENGE PROJECT. TO POWER THE DOOMSDAY PROJECT ROBOTNIK NEEDS THE DRUDHENGE ROCKS, SO IF YOU ASK SALLY, SHE COULD ASK NICOLE ABOUT THE DRUDHENGE ROCKS." "I'M THERE MAN" I SAID. LATER I WENT TO SALLY'S HUT TO ASK HER ABOUT THE DRUDHENGE ROCKS. "CANNOT GET FILE SALLY" NICOLE SAID. NICOLE IS SALLY'S COMPUTER. "AND WHY NOT ?"SALLY ASKED. "YEARS AGO, KING JOHN PUT TIME LOCKS ON SOME FILES UNTIL YOU BECOME OF AGE, WHICH WITH THIS FILE IS IN TWO YEARS TIME" NICOLE TOLD SALLY. "SORRY SONIC I CAN'T GET THROUGH TO IT" SALLY SAID. "THERE'S ONE THING LEFT" I THOUGHT TO MYSELF. I TOOK NICOLE AND ASKED... "DOES THE DRUDHENGE ROCKS DO ANY DAMAGE ?" "YES. LOTS OF DAMAGE" "SO IF ROBOTNIK GOT HOLD OF THE DRUDHENGE ROCKS SALLY WOULD NEVER BECOME OF AGE TO SEE THE FILE. RIGHT ?"I SHOUTED. "TRUE. OK I GIVE IN. ACCESSING FILE. "NICOLE SAID. THERE WAS A LOT OF BLEEPS AND ANNOYING SOUNDS, WHEN SUDDENLY A HOLOGRAM APPEARED. IT SHOWED THE DRUDHENGE ROCKS AND WE HEARD VOICE OF KING JOHN . "SALLY. THESE ARE THE DRUDHENGE ROCKS. JOINED ONE WAY THESE ROCKS CAN GIVE ETERNAL PEACE" "ALL RIGHT LETS GET THEM" I SHOUTED. "SHUT UP SONIC THERE'S MORE" SALLY WHISPERED. KING JOHN GOES ON.. "BUT TURNED THE OTHER WAY AND JOINED, HATRED AND DESTRUCTION WILL COVER THE PLANET AND THE PERSON WITH THE ROCKS WILL BECOME SUPREME RULER" "DRAT!!" SALLY MUMBLED. "IT IS A ROCK THAT IS SPLIT IN HALF SO IT CAN BE JOINED IN TWO WAYS. THE PEACE WAY AND THE DEMOLITION WAY". MY FIRST THOUGHT WAS THAT SAL AND I WOULD HAVE TO GET THE SECOND PIECE OF THE DRUDHENGE ROCKS TO STOP ROBOTNIK FROM TAKING OVER AND MY SECOND THOUGHT WAS, WHERE THE HELL WAS THE SECOND ONE ? I HOPED THAT SAL KNEW WHERE IT WAS BECAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE A CLUE. NICOLE HAD A MAP OF WHERE BOTH OF THEM WERE AND THAT WAS A HUGE RELIEF. THE SECOND ROCK WAS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF MOBIUS IN THE VOLCANIC ZONE WHICH HAS GOT LOTS OF LIVE CRATERS AND VOLCANOES. SALLY GOT EQUIPPED WITH PORTABLE ELECTRONIC STUFF, TAILS GOT STOCKED UP WITH FOOD AND BOOMER FIXED UP AN OLD SWATBOT HOVERCRAFT FOR US. WE WERE READY. I CAN'T RUN HALF WAY ACROSS THE WORLD BECAUSE MY SNEAKERS WILL BURN OUT AND MY FEET WILL BURN TOO, THEN I WON'T BE ABLE TO RUN. IT TOOK US ABOUT HALF AN HOUR TO GET THERE AND WHEN WE DID BOY IT WAS HOT. WE FOLLOWED THE INSTRUCTIONS THAT WERE ON NICOLE AND WE EVENTUALLY FOUND THE ROCK. I WAS IN A BOX THAT HAD A PICTURE OF A SUN ON IT. THE THING IS WE HAD AN UNEXPECTED SURPRISE. "WELL LOOKY WHO WE HAVE HERE." ME AND SAL SPUN ROUND AND WHEN WE DID, ROBOTNIK WAS THERE. "I HAVE THE DRUDHENGE ROCK. IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR IT, I HAVE THE FIRST ONE." "BUT WE HAVE THE SECOND ONE". "I HAVE HAD THE FIRST ONE SINCE YOUR LITTLE LIFE WAS CREATED. I DID HAVE THE SECOND ONE BUT IT WENT MISSING. I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR THE SECOND ONE EVER SINCE. SO JUST DON'T TRY ANY THING STUPID!". CHAPTER 5 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TAILS SUDDENLY CAME UP BEHIND ROBOTNIK AND GRABBED IT OUT OF HIS HANDS. "YOU DON'T HAVE IT ANYMORE" TAILS SHOUTED. THE SWATBOTS THEN STARTED TO SHOOT AT TAILS BUT THEY MISSED TAILS AND HIT THE DRUDHENGE ROCKS. THEY FLEW OUT OF HIS HANDS AND LANDED IN MINE. I WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF A CRATER AND THERE WAS SWATBOTS ALL AROUND ME, IF I DID A SPIN ATTACK IT WOULDN'T DO ANY GOOD BECAUSE SWATBOTS KEPT ON COMING. I WAS TRAPPED. I SHOUTED "OH GOD I HOPE THIS WORKS......IF YOU WANT THEM GO AND GET THEM". I THREW THEM IN ONE OF THE CRATERS. "NOOOOOOO" ROBOTNIK SHOUTED. "SALLY GET OUTTA HERE" I SHOUTED. "SONIC" SALLY SHOUTED. IT ACTED AS IF IT WAS IN SLOW MOTION. THE ROCKS FLEW THROUGH THE AIR, SPINNING AS THEY WENT. GETTING CLOSER AND CLOSER TO THE CRATER. I TURNED AROUND AND SAW ROBOTNIK TRYING TO RUN AWAY. I SHOUTED AT SALLY, BUT SHE SHOUTED BACK. SUDDENLY NICOLE PUT UP A FORCE FIELD AND COVERED SALLY AND THE REST, BUT NOT BIG ENOUGH TO GET TO ME. THE ROCKS WERE NOW JUST MILLIMETRES AWAY FROM BLOWING UP. I JUMPED WITH ALL MY MIGHT BUT DIDN'T JUMP LONG ENOUGH. "SONIC". KA-BOOM. TO BE CONTINUED....... I WAS TRAPPED. THERE WERE SWATBOTS ALL AROUND ME. TOO MANY TO DO A SUPER SPIN ATTACK ON. THERE WAS ONLY ONE CHOICE. I THREW THE ROCKS INTO ONE OF THE CRATERS. NICOLE PUT A FORCE FIELD AROUND THE GANG, BUT IT WASN'T BIG ENOUGH FOR ME. I JUMPED WITH ALL MY MIGHT BUT DID NOT MAKE IT. "SONIC !!!!!" KA-BOOM. PART II CHAPTER 6 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WHEN I CAME ROUND I COULDN'T REMEMBER A THING. I HAD TEMPORARY AMNESIA. THE GANG WERE CROWDING AROUND ME. SALLY SUDDENLY SAID, "ARE YOU ALRIGHT ?". I ANSWERED TOTALLY CONFUSED "WHO...AM...I ?". I WAS RUSHED STRAIGHT TO A HOSPITAL AND SO WERE THE OTHERS. ALL THEY HAD WERE MINOR FRACTURES AND BRUISES. I HAD COPED THE LOT. THE DOCTORS SAID THAT I COULD ONLY SAY 4 WORDS. WHO AM I AND SALLY. "ARE YOU SURE HE IS GOING TO BE OK ?" SALLY ASKED THE DOCTOR. "NO" "WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO ?" "I'M SORRY TO SAY THIS BUT SONIC WILL DIE IN THE NEXT 48 HOURS". THERE WAS A SUDDEN SHOCK IN SALLY'S FACE. SHE COULD NOT SPEAK FOR A COUPLE OF MINUTES. "I'D BETTER LEAVE YOU IN PEACE" "NO WAIT. HOW WILL HE DIE ?". "BLOOD CLOT IN THE BRAIN. USUALLY WE WOULD USE A LASER TO BURN OUT THE CLOT BUT THIS CLOT IS IN A CRITICAL PART OF THE BRAIN WHICH CAN KILL INSTANTLY. I'M SORRY BUT THERE IS NOTHING THAT I CAN DO. I AM AFRAID THAT UNTIL HE DIES HE WILL ACT LIKE A ZOMBIE. TOTALLY BRAINWASHED. I'M SORRY". THAT NIGHT I DREAMT A WEIRD DREAM. I WAS HOLDING ONTO A CLIFFACE. HANGING FOR DEAR LIFE WHEN SUDDENLY, OUT OF THE BLUE, SALLY APPEARED. SHE WAS REACHING OUT FOR ME SAYING "C'MON SONIC. REACH OUT A LITTLE FURTHER". I KEPT REACHING AND REACHING UNTIL I GRABBED HER HAND. AS SOON AS I GRABBED HER HAND I WOKE UP, SWEATING LIKE A DOG. SALLY WAS SLEEPING NEXT TO ME. I WAS WIDE AWAKE BUT SOON FELL BACK TO SLEEP AGAIN. THE NEXT MORNING I WOKE UP AND SAT ON THE SIDE OF THE BED. SOMEBODY SAID, "SOMEONE WAKE UP SONIC". I REPLIED, "I'M AWAKE GUY'S". EVERYONE SPUN AROUND IN SURPRISE AND STARED AT ME. "YOU'RE...YOU'RE...YOU'RE AWAKE" "YEAH AND I HAVE SOME INFO FOR YOU. KING JOHN IS STILL ALIVE. THE ONE THAT WAS KILLED WAS A CLONE". "ARE YOU MAD ? WHEN DAD DIED YOUR HANDS WERE CAKED IN BLOOD AND I SAW HIM BLEEDING" SALLY SHOUTED. "SALLY, SALLY THINK. CLONES ARE EXACTLY THE SAME AS PEOPLE. THEY HAVE ALL THE ORGANS AND THEY HAVE BLOOD TOO. YOU KNOW THIS, HECK I DON'T KNOW THIS !!" "OF COURSE. WELL IF THAT WASN'T FATHER, WHERE IS HE ?" "I DON'T KNOW BUT FIRST WE HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE" "WHAT ?" "THE OTHER PART OF THE MESSAGE" "WHICH IS ?" "NICOLE IS BUGGED. THAT'S HOW ROBOTNIK FOUND US. NICOLE THEN SHUT DOWN. "NO C'MON NICOLE YOU CAN'T SHUT DOWN I NEED YOU". SALLY STARTED PUNCHING IN LETTERS AND NUMBERS WHAT WAS BEYOND MY FAR IMAGINATION. SUDDENLY "PLEASE ENTER PIN" "OH GREAT WE HAVE TO ENTER A DAMN PIN" I MOANED. SALLY ENTERED THE PIN WHICH ONLY SHE KNOWS. BEEP BEEP BEEEEEEEEEEP. NICOLE CAME BACK ON LINE. NICOLE THANKED SALLY "SALLY. THANKS FOR GETTING OUT THAT VIRUS, IT WAS GETTING RIGHT ON MY CIRCUITS". "IT'S OK" SALLY SAID IN A RELIEVED VOICE. "THANKS FOR TELLING ME YOU HUNK OTHERWISE NICOLE WOULD HAVE SHUT DOWN AND ROBOTNIK WOULD KNOW WHERE WE MIGHT HAVE BEEN" SALLY THANKED. "OH THAT'S ALL RIGHT" ME AND TAILS REPLIED. "BUT WAIT A MINUTE HOW DID YOU KNOW ALL THIS ?" SALLY ASKED. "WELL IT HAPPENED LIKE THIS. I WOKE IN A WHITE ROOM WHICH LOOKED LIKE IT STRETCHED TO INFINITY. I SAW A MAN ABOUT THREE METRES IN FRONT OF ME. I STARTED TO WALK UP TO HIM WHEN HE STARTED TO WALK TO ME. HE WAS ABOUT MY HEIGHT AND LOOKED JUST LIKE A HUMAN. WHEN HE GOT TO ME HE STARTED TO TALK. `YOU DID A LOT OF GOOD THINGS SONIC AND YOU WANT TO WASTE IT ALL'. I ASKED `W-WHO ARE YOU ?'. `I AM GOD'. CHAPTER 7 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I DIDN'T BELIEVE HIM AT FIRST BUT HE TOOK ME THROUGH ALL THE STAGES OF MY LIFE. WHEN I WAS BORN, WHEN DR ROBOTNIK WAS DR KINTOBOR, HOW I GOT MY SPEED, HOW KINTOBOR BECAME ROBOTNIK, WHEN I WENT SIX MONTHS INTO THE FUTURE, WHEN I MET YOU WHEN AMY MOVED AWAY, EVERYTHING. `WHY DID YOU WANT TO GIVE UP ?' HE ASKED. `ROBOTNIK HAD TAKEN OVER THE WHOLE OF MOBIUS ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO. I MISSED SIX MONTHS OF THE YEAR. IT WAS TOO MUCH TO TAKE IN. I WANTED TO GET MY OWN BACK. I TRIED AND TRIED AND TRIED AND GOT NOWHERE I EXPLAINED `SHALL I SHOW YOU WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF YOU DIDN'T TRY ?' HE ASKED. `WELL...ER....' HE THEN CLICKED HIS FINGERS AND MOBO....ROBOTROPOLIS WAS ALL AROUND ME. I SAW MYSELF AS A SLAVE. MY SPIKES HAD GONE ALL BLACK AND I HAD SEVERAL SCARS ON ME. I SAW YOU AND TAILS. YOU WERE BOTH BEING WHIPPED BY LASER WHIPS. IT WAS HORRIBLE. `NO. TAKE ME AWAY FROM ALL THIS PAIN.' I OPENED MY EYES. I WAS BACK IN THE ROOM. HE TOLD ME SOMETHING THAT SHOCKED ME. `KING JOHN IS ALIVE. ROBOTNIK HAS PUT A VIRUS INTO NICOLE. SHE LEADS ROBOTNIK TO YOU. THE ONE THAT DIED WAS A CLONE. THAT IS ALL I CAN SAY. REMEMBER THIS MESSAGE'. SUDDENLY I FELT A RUSH OF AIR, I WAS FALLING DOWN A TUNNEL WITH A LIGHT AT THE END. I WAS FALLING AWAY FROM THE LIGHT. FALLING DOWN, FASTER AND FASTER. I COULD HEAR VOICES, VOICES THAT I RECOGNISED. SALLY AND THE FREEDOM TEAM WAS TALKING, CRYING, PRAYING AND SAYING MY NAME. THEN I FELT A JOLT, A SHOCK. I COULD HEAR EVERYTHING PERFECTLY." "WOW" SALLY SAID IN A BREATHLESS VOICE. I WAS IN HOSPITAL FOR TWO MORE DAYS BECAUSE THE DOCTORS THERE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE BEST. DURING DAY TWO OF WHICH I WAS IN HOSPITAL, TAILS STUMBLED UPON A OLD SCROLL. HE WAS GOOD AT TRANSLATING THINGS SO HE MADE OUT WHAT IT WAS AND RACED IT TO ME. "LOOK SONIC IF WE FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET THE TIME CONTROLS, GO BACK IN TIME AND STOP ROBOTNIK FROM TAKING OVER. GET WHAT I MEAN" TAILS EXPLAINED "WAIT TAILS WHAT ARE THE TIME CONTROLS ?"INSTEAD OF TAILS SALLY ANSWERED, "IT IS AN ANCIENT CONTROL PANEL THAT CONTROLS TIME. BY THE WAY, TAILS, TIME TRAVEL IS AGAINST ALL THE LAWS OF PHYSICS AND ANYHOW THE TIME CONTROLS ARE JUST A OLD FOLKLORE MYTH" "WHERE ARE THESE SO CALLED TIME CONTROLS ?" I ASKED. "THE FLOATING ISLAND" TAILS REPLIED. "HUH. ANOTHER MYTH" SALLY SAID. "LOOK SALLY LET'S JUST HAVE A SEARCH FOR IT" "OK. I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOUR FACE WHEN YOU ARE COMPLETELY EMBARRASSED" SALLY SAID. LUCKILY, A COUPLE OF MINUTES AFTER THAT THE DOCTOR SAID I WAS FIT TO GO. THE DOCTOR GAVE ME THIS POWER RING. HE TOLD ME THAT UNCLE CHUCK GAVE IT TO HIM. HE KNEW UNCLE CHUCK. "CHUCK TOLD ME TO GIVE YOU THIS AND THIS MAP WHEN YOU BECOME 15, TEN YEARS AGO. I WAS GOING TO GO TO YOUR PLACE TO GIVE YOU THIS BUT THEN YOU CAME IN THROUGH THE MAIN ENTRANCE IN BOOMERS ARMS. LUCKY WE USED OUR FASTEST AMBULANCE OR YOU WOULD HAVE DIED." "YOU HAVE NO IDEA" I MURMURED. "PARDON" "PLEASE CARRY ON". "WELL YOU WERE IN A COMA SO I WAITED FOR YOU TO COME OUT OF IT TO GIVE YOU THIS. THE MAP IS SOMETHING SECRET. I SEARCHED FOR IT PUT THE DOOR HAS GOT A PASSWORD ON IT. I HAVEN'T GOT A CLUE. GOOD LUCK". "THANKS". "OH, KEEP THE RING UNTIL YOU REALLY NEED IT" "HOW DO YOU USE IT ?" "YOU'LL FIND OUT!" CHAPTER 8 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE GANG AND I WENT BACK TO KNOTHOLE AND GOT THINGS BACK TO NORMAL. AFTER THAT SALLY AND I FOLLOWED THE MAP TO THE SO CALLED SECRET PLACE. WE PASSED THE HIGHEST CLIFF AND THE DEEPEST LAKE. IN THE END WE ENDED UP IN THE THICKEST FOREST. NOTHING WAS THERE EXCEPT TREES AND BUSHES. A CORNER OF THE MAP WAS RIPPED OFF. IT SAID `THE.........IS COVERED IN............'. "OH MAN. WE CAME THIS FAR AND WE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT IT IS. HECK, WE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE IT'S BURIED. "I SHOUTED. I WENT UP TO A BUSH AND KICKED IT WITH ALL THE FORCE I HAD. "AAAAARGH" "WHAT'S THE MATTER ?"SALLY ASKED. I WAS HOPING ALL OVER THE PLACE HOLDING MY FOOT. "WELL DUH SAL! "I TOLD SALLY. "OH, YOU SMASHED YOUR FOOT IN RIGHT" "10 POINTS FOR THE HOME TEAM !!" "WAIT SONIC. HOW CAN YOU SMASH YOUR FOOT ON A BUSH ? SONIC I THINK YOU'RE ONTO SOMETHING HERE". "I AM ?" "YEAH". SALLY STARTED PULLING AWAY BRANCHES FROM THE BUSH. AS SHE WAS DOING THIS MORE AND MORE BITS OF METAL STARTED TO APPEAR. I HELPED SALLY AND IN THE END IT WAS A BI-PLANE. THE BI-PLANE WAS IN SHADES OF RED, GREY AND WHITE. "A BI-PLANE ? WE CAME ALL THIS WAY FOR A BI-PLANE ?" SALLY EXCLAIMED. "WAIT A MINUTE SAL. UNCLE CHUCK MUST HAVE PUT THIS HERE FOR A REASON. SOMETHING'S COMING BACK TO ME. UNCLE CHUCK WANTED TO KNOW IF THERE WAS A FLOATING ISLAND. HE WANTED TO PROVE THAT THERE WAS A FLOATING ISLAND" I REMEMBERED. "HEY SONIC LETS GET THIS BI-PLANE BACK TO KNOTHOLE SO BOOMER CAN FIX IT UP AND THEN WE CAN SEE IF THERE WAS A FLOATING ISLAND" SALLY TOLD ME. AS WE TOOK MORE AND MORE BUSHES AWAY WE COULD SERIOUSLY SEE THAT IT NEEDED FIXING UP. THE BOTTOM HALF WAS A COMPLETE RUST BUCKET. NICOLE HAD BEEN LINKED UP TO A SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK WHICH ALLOWED PEOPLE TO TALK TO EACH OTHER WHERE EVER THEY ARE ON MOBIUS. "I'LL CALL BOOMER ON NICOLE AND HE CAN GET A HOVERCRAFT TO TAKE THIS THING BACK" SALLY TOLD ME. IT TOOK BOOMER ABOUT 15 MINUTES TO GET TO THE EXACT LOCATION. BUNNIE RABBOT CAME WITH BOOMER SO SHE COULD HELP US TAKE APART AND LIFT THE PLANE. THE PLANE WAS TOO BIG TO FIT ON THE HOVERCRAFT SO BOOMER, BUNNIE, SALLY AND ME TOOK THE PLANE APART AND PUT THE PLANE ON THE HOVERCRAFT BIT BY BIT. IT WAS EASY TO TAKE APART BECAUSE OF ALL THE RUST. WHEN WE EVENTUALLY GOT THE PLANE BACK BOOMER AND BUNNIE REPLACED ALL THE RUSTED UP PARTS AND UPDATED THE WEAPON SYSTEM. IF THAT WASN'T ENOUGH BOOMER PUT ON A JET ROCKET TO MAKE IT GO THAT BIT FASTER. "WELL BOOMER I MUST ADMIT YOU HAVE DONE ALRIGHT. I SHOULD HAVE TAKEN A BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURE OF THE PLANE" I SAID. "THANKS SONIC. I HAVE JUST FINISHED INSTALLING A RADAR THAT CAN PENETRATE THROUGH ANYTHING" "WHOA, CALM DOWN BOOMER ! YOU SHOULD TAKE A BREAK SOMETIME LIKE A HOLIDAY" "YEAH. PERHAPS I SHOULD TAKE A BREAK TO THE MIRACLE PLANET. WAIT HAVE THE BROTHERHOOD OF METTALIX BEEN DESTROYED ?" "YEP, THEY ARE ALL DESTROYED. GO PACK YOUR BAGS, WE'LL SORT EVERYTHING OUT. DON'T WORRY". "OH SONIC TRY NOT TO LOSE YOUR TEMPER AND TURN INTO THAT YELLOW PERSON. YOU SAID IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY ?" "YEAH. I'VE NEVER BEEN THAT YELLOW PERSON BEFORE SO IT CAN’T HAVE BEEN PASSED DOWN". "GOOD. HE ALMOST KILLED ME. SEE YA". CHAPTER 9 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I ASKED BUNNIE RABBOT IF SHE COULD COME WITH US TO THE FLOATING ISLAND, SHE JUMPED AT THE CHANCE. BUNNIE IS A RABBIT WHO GOT HALF OF HER BODY ROBOTICIZED THANKS TO ROBOTNIK. THE THING IS THAT ROBOTNIK ACTUALLY DONE BUNNIE A FAVOUR, BECAUSE OF HIM SHE IS NOW A SUPER STRONG BABE. THE BI-PLANE WAS EASY TO HANDLE SO IT WASN'T A PROBLEM. WE WERE ABOUT 2 MILES UP IN THE AIR WHEN SALLY STARTED TO HAVE DOUBTS ABOUT ME FLYING BECAUSE I WAS DOING HOOPS AND DIVES, SHORT DIVES. "SONIC CAN YOU FLY THIS THING ?" SALLY ASKED. "WELL SALLY.....NO I CAN'T !!!!" "AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGH" "COOL IT YOU TWO. I WAS JUST KIDDING" I TOLD THEM WHILE LAUGHING MY HEAD OFF. "OHHHHH, IF YOU DO THAT ONCE MORE SONIC HEDGEHOG AND I MEAN ONCE MORE I SWEAR I WILL KNOCK YOU INTO THE NEXT SOLAR SYSTEM" BUNNIE THREATENED. "WELL PUT BUNNIE" SALLY ADDED. "OK. I WON'T DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT AGAIN. HONEST !"I TOLD THEM. WE FLEW ABOUT FOR AN HOUR AND SAW NOTHING. "SONIC, I TOLD YOU IT WAS A MYTH" "JUST TEN MORE MINUTES JUST TEN" I SAID. I THEN LOOKED AT THE PETROL GAUGE AND IT POINTED AT EMPTY. "SALLY, BUNNIE, THE PLANE HAS RUN OUT OF PETROL" I SAID. "OH YEAH RIGHT, I'M NOT FALLING FOR THAT ONE AGAIN, NO WAY" SALLY TOLD ME. "NO SAL, WE HAVE REALLY RUN OUT OF PETROL" "WHAT..YOU’RE NOT JOKING ?" "NO". THEN WE ALL STARTED SCREAMING. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGH". WE FELT THE AIR RUSHING THROUGH OUR HAIR AND THEN I SAW LAND. I LOOKED BEHIND ME AND SAW BUNNIE AND SALLY OUT COLD. THE LAND WAS RUSHING TOWARDS ME. THE RADAR SCREEN SHOOK LOOSE AND HIT ME BANG IN THE FACE. MY FACE STARTED TO STING. AND THAT'S ALL I REMEMBER. I THINK I HAVE A THING ABOUT ALWAYS GETTING KNOCKED OUT. I NEVER HAD A BREAK. I WOKE UP FIRST AND REALISED I WAS ON LAND. "BUMMER" I COUGHED. I LOOKED ALL AROUND AND ALL I COULD SEE WAS MIST. "TOTAL BUMMER". I SAW THE PLANE SCATTERED ALL OVER THE PLACE. BUT THERE WAS ONE BIT OF SCRAP METAL THAT SEEMED A LITTLE ODD. IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS BALANCING ON A EDGE. AT FIRST I THOUGHT IT WAS A LITTLE BUMP THAT THE PIECE WAS BALANCING ON. AS I WAS GETTING CLOSER TO THE COUNTERPOISED OBJECT, WAIT DID I SAY SOMETHING SCIENTIFIC...YES I DID....COOL, I COULDN'T SEE OVER THE BUMP. SOON I WAS STANDING OVER THE SCRAP PIECE OF METAL AND FOUND IT WASN'T ON A BUMP AT ALL, IT WAS ON A EDGE OF AN ISLAND, ON THE EDGE OF A FLOATING ISLAND! "SAL, BUNNIE COME AND LOOK AT THIS" I SHOUTED NOT REALISING THAT THEY WERE STILL KNOCKED OUT. CHAPTER 10 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I RAN UP TO THEM AND TOOK NICOLE OUT OF SALLY'S SECRET SHOE POCKET. "UNCOOL". NICOLE SCANNED THEM BOTH TO SEE IF THEY HAD ANY INTERNAL INJURIES, FOR SOME REASON THEY DIDN'T SO THAT WAS A STROKE OF LUCK. SALLY STARTED TO COME ROUND. "OHHH MAAAAAAAAN" SALLY MOANED. "I'M NEVER DOING THAT FLIGHT AGAIN!" "SAL, COME AND LOOK AT THIS. WHOSE EMBARRASSED NOW EH !?!". SALLY GOT UP AND BALANCED HERSELF OUT. SHE WALKED UP TO SONIC AND LOOKED OVER THE EDGE. FOR ONCE SHE DIDN'T SAY A WORD. SHE INSTANTLY CHANGED THE SUBJECT. "LET'S GO SEE IF BUNNIE'S OK". SALLY SAID TRYING NOT TO LOOK AT ME. "ALREADY CHECKED. SHE NEEDS MEDICAL ATTENTION. NICOLE, PUT BUNNIE IN CHRYO TILL SHE GET'S TO A HOSPITAL". "OK MY MAIN HEDGEHOG". "THANKS BABE" "OH I LOVE IT WHEN YOU TALK LIKE THAT". NICOLE SHOT A LASER AT BUNNIE AND HER SKIN TURNED BLUE. "THAT SHOULD DO IT" NICOLE SAID. "HIDE HER IN THE BUSHES" I TOLD SALLY. BEFORE SHE COULD SAY ANYTHING I BUTTED IN. "I KNOW IT'S NOT MUCH BUT IT IS THE ONLY PLACE WE CAN HIDE HER. I MEAN THE PLANE IS BUSTED SO WE CAN'T USE THAT." "OK. BUT WE HAVE TO RETURN TO HER SOON" SALLY FRIGHTFULLY SAID. WE PUT BUNNIE IN THE BUSHES AND COVERED HER UP. AFTER THAT WE WENT TO EXPLORE. EVENTUALLY WE FOUND SOMETHING BUT IT WASN'T WHAT WE EXPECTED. THERE WAS A ROCKET HALF BURIED IN THE GROUND. WE BOTH WALKED UP TO IT. "WHAT IS IT ?" I ASKED. SALLY SCIENTIFICALLY ANSWERED, "IT LOOKS LIKE AN ESCAPE POD FROM ROBOTNIK'S DEATH EGG WHEN YOU BLEW IT UP." SUDDENLY TWO BADNIKS CAME OUT. VERY OLD BADNIKS. "C'MON SAL. RUN !!". WE STARTED TO RUN BUT I RAN TO FAST AND FORGOT ABOUT THE EDGE OF THE ISLAND. "SONIC LOOK OUT WHERE YOU’RE....AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH". WE FELL OF THE EDGE. WE BOTH STARTED TO SCREAM. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH". I SUDDENLY HAD A BRAIN-WAVE. "THE RING! THE RING!" "WHO CARES ABOUT THE RING WE ARE GOING TO DIE". I GOT THE RING OUT OF MY BACKPACK AND HELD IT UP IN THE AIR. I DON'T KNOW WHAT BUT SOMETHING INSIDE ME MADE THE RING CLICK. IT STARTED TO GLOW THEN A BURST OF WHITE LIGHT. I WAS SHOOTING UP IN THE AIR WITH SALLY WAS HOLDING ONTO ME WITH FEAR. THE ISLAND RUSHED TOWARDS US. BEFORE WE KNEW IT WE WERE ON THE ISLAND. "WHOA. WHAT A RUSH !". "OH YEAH. THAT WAS A CLOSE ONE !". SUDDENLY I HEARD A VERY HIGH PITCHED NOISE. "YO SAL. DO YOU HEAR THAT ?". SALLY STARTED TO GET A LITTLE NERVOUS. SWEAT STARTED TO POUR OFF HER. "HEAR WHAT ?" "THAT HIGH PITCHED NOISE. DON'T YOU HEAR THAT ?". I LOOKED AROUND THE PLACE TRYING TO FIND THE SOURCE OF THE NOISE. SHE WALKED UP TO ME AND SAID "I'M SORRY SONIC BUT YOU WON'T WANT TO SEE THIS". SHE SWUNG HER FIST INTO MY FACE. A SUDDEN SHOCK SHOT THROUGH THE RIGHT SIDE OF MY JAW. SHE HAS ONE HELL OF A RIGHT HOOK. I WOKE UP. I REALISED THAT I ONLY WAS KNOCKED OUT BECAUSE I HAD A DALAYED REACTION FROM THE CRASH. I WOKE UP AND SAW SALLY ALL FOLDED UP ON THE FLOOR AND SHE WAS CRYING. I SHOOK MY HEAD A COUPLE OF TIMES TO GET SOME BLOOD TO MY BRAIN. "YO SAL WHY ARE YOU CRYING ?". "DON'T CALL ME THAT !" SALLY SNAPPED. "WHAT ?" "I HAVEN'T BEEN SALLY FOR TWELVE YEARS. I AM A CLONE OF SALLY".