Astal Meets Sonic
By Sega Hedgehog

     Sally looked up at the moon. The night was beautiful, the stars 
twinkled in the sky, and there was a cool, refreshing breeze.
     "Too bad Sonic isn't here to enjoy it with me," she sighed to 
herself, 
"But then again, he'd probably not like it anyway."
     With a sigh, she got up and walked back to Knothole.

Then, somewhere in a place called Quartalia.
     "Astal, look at all the stars that are out tonight," exclaimed 
Leda.
     "Aw, it's just stars, Leda. What's so interesting about them?" 
Astal 
said as he leaned up against a tree.
     "They're beautiful. Antowas sure did well when she made them," Leda 
said with a smile.
     Astal got up. "Come on, let's go do something else. All this 
sitting 
around is making me bored," he huffed, crossing his arms.
     "Just one more minute," she said.
     "Ok," he said as he started to walk off, "Meet you over by the 
river."
     "He never learns," she sighed as he left.

     "Come on, Sal. You know that looking at dumb stars is not my fav 
thing 
to do," Sonic complained.
     "Don't you ever think of anything but yourself?" Sally sighed as 
she 
walked to her hut to turn in for the night.
     "But Sal....," she hushed him.
     "It's alright," she said sadly, "Now go to bed." She then shut the 
door.
     Sonic stood there with a guilty look on his face.
     "What's the matter, Sonic?" Tails asked as he walked up to Sonic 
and 
noticed the look.
     "Oh, it's nothing, Tails. I think I hurt Sal's feeling by not going 
with her to look at the stars. She hardly spoke to me afterwards," Sonic 
said with a sad look on his face.
     "Oh, she'll be ok. Just wait til tomorrow, she might feel better," 
Tail 
said in a comforting way.
     "Guess you're right," Sonic yawned as he walked towards his hut.

     "Astal, I don't think that torturing little animals is a good way 
to 
have fun," Leda said, crossing her arms
     "Oh, what's the big deal? They're so little....," Astal said as he 
hung 
from a branch.
     "Whatever happened to compassion, my friend?" Leda asked in a sorry 
tone.
     "Ok, so I had compassion for that bird and that helped me defeat 
Jerado 
and Geist. What's the big deal?" Astal shrugged.
     "Remember what Antowas said?" Leda reminded him.
     "Yeah yeah, 'compassion brings strength'. So what? It still makes 
no 
difference," Astal exclaimed, still hanging from the branch. Suddenly, 
there 
was the sound of cracking wood and the branch broke, dropping him on his 
head. The little animals snickered at him and he shot them an angry 
glare.
     "You'll never learn, will you, Astal?" Leda said as she walked 
away.
     "But, Leda...," Astal argued as he got up.
     "Somebody's in trouble," the little animals taunted and snickered 
at 
him.
     He turned and glared at them, but he knew they were right.
     "Hopefully, she won't be mad at me tomorrow....," he said as he sat 
underneath the tree and feel asleep.

     "Will you slow down, Knux?!" Julie-Su huffed as she tried to catch 
up 
to him.
     "Not now Julie-Su, something's wrong in the chaos chamber... I can 
feel 
it," Knuckles huffed as he raced towards the zoot chute.
     "How do you know?"
     "Because we Guardians have a link with the emerald. When it's in 
trouble, we know," Knuckles explained as he jumped down the zoot chute.
     "Ok, whoever... whatever you are....," Knuckles started to say, but 
found no one there.
     He scratched his head. "That's weird... it seems no one's here," he 
said confused.
     "Maybe your guardian sense is off-track, Knuckles," Julie-Su 
snickered.
     "No, something IS wrong here!" he said as he noticed the emerald 
starting to glow really bright, almost blinding.
     "Yow! It's got a mind of its own!" Julie-Su exclaimed as the 
emerald's 
light filled the room.

     Sally was still up, reading a book. She still was dissapointed in 
Sonic, but then she realized that that was just how Sonic was. She was 
about 
to put the book down and turn off the light when a strange glowing light 
began to come from the lake.
     "How odd," she said to herself as she observed it. "I better check 
this 
out." She quickly threw on a robe and went towards the glowing light. 
Sonic 
had noticed it also and came up behind her.
     "What do you think it is, Sal?" he said, making her jump.
     "Oh, Sonic you scared me," she said quietly as he apologized. "I'm 
not 
sure, but it appears to be coming from beside the lake." As she said 
that, 
the glowing object glowed brighter to where it was blinding.
     "Yow! Whatever it is, it sure is powerful!" Sonic said as Sally and 
him 
shielded their eyes.

     Astal was awaken by a terrible shriek. "Leda!" he shouted as he 
quickly 
raced towards the screaming
     His mouth dropped when he saw what happened. "Geist! But... I 
thought 
you were destroyed!"
     "So did Jerado, but he's never coming back is he?" Geist laughed as 
he 
restrained the struggling Leda.
     "Let her go!" Astal demanded, glaring at Geist.
     "I would, but you and I have a score to settle," Geist said with a 
grin 
on his face.
     "This is between you and me, Geist. Let her go!"
     "Gladly," Geist said as he tossed Leda aside and attacked him.
     Astal put up a good fight, but he wasn't a match for Geist.
     "I have you now, Astal," Geist said as he soon pinned Astal down, 
"Now 
it ends..."
     "Astal! No!" Leda screamed as Geist was about to kill him.
     Just then, the green jewel around Astal's neck began to glow until 
it 
became blinding.
     "What's going on here?" Geist demanded as all three of them were 
engulfed in the jewel's light and suddenly disappeared.

     "Whoa! Stand back!" Knux exclaimed as a figure appeared from the 
emerald's light.
     "What is it?" Julie-Su asked as she looked at the figure.
     It was a boy, dressed in a sleeve-less purple jumpsuit. Embedded 
into 
the back of his massive hands were two jewels, red just like his puffy 
hair, 
which flowed down his back. Around his neck was a green jewel and around 
his 
wrists were golden shackles. His red eyes almost glowed in the dark.
     "It looks like an overlander," said Knux as he peered at the 
figure.
     Astal staggered forward, took one look at Julie-Su and Knux, then 
collapsed on the floor.
     "What do we do with him?"
     "It's against my better judgement, but I'd say we take him to my 
hideout," Knuckles said as he hoisted Astal over his shoulder.
     "You have a hide-out? And you never told me?!" Julie-Su crossed her 
arms. Knuckles gave her a sheepish look and then ran off towards his 
hide-out.

     "Who do you think she is?" Sally asked quizzly as she looked at the 
girl that formed from the blinding light.
     She was dressed in a pretty white dress with a stylish belt around 
it. 
Her brown hair was tied back in a nice curly hair-do. From the left side 
of 
her head, behind her ear, was a grouply cluster of gem. Around her 
wrists 
were two huge, gold bracelet rings.
     "She's an overlander and we all know that overlanders are no good," 
Sonic sneered.
     Sally looked at Leda and felt some pity for her. "Well, I say we 
take 
her back to Knothole," Sally said, picking the girl up.
     "What?! Have you lost your mind!?" Sonic argued.
     "I said...," Sally said sternly, not in the mood to argue, "we are 
taking her back to Knothole and that's that!" she then started to walk 
back 
to Knothole. Sonic looked confused, but still didn't like the idea.

     "Sir," the swat-bot droned, "We have found an overlander."
     Robotnik turned in his chair. "What?! I thought there were no more 
overlanders... I destroyed them all!"
     "But sir, we have the overlander right here," the swat-bot droned 
as 
some others brought the figure in.
     "Hmm...," Robotnik thought as he looked at the figure. It too was a 
boy, only looked a little older. He was dressed in a black jumpsuit with 
the 
sleeves hanging from his arms, hemmed with red as were the soles of his 
feet. On his forehead was a black jewel and around his neck was a jewel, 
blue like his eyes, hanging from a red and white chain. His stringy 
blonde 
hair hung down his back.
     'I have never seen an overlander like this one before,' he thought 
as 
he examined the jewels on his forehead and chest, 'perhaps this one 
could be 
useful.'
     "Take this overlander to the medical office and strap him to one of 
the 
beds. Inform me when he wakes up."
     "Yes, sir," the swat-bot droned as he carried out his orders.

     Astal began to groan. "He's waking up," said Knuckles as he hovered 
over him.
     "Huh? What happened.... where's Leda and Geist?" Astal said gruggly 
as 
he sat up.
     "We don't know, but who might you be?" asked Knuckles.
     Astal looked at his surroundings, ignoring Knuckles' question, 
"Where 
am I?" he then looked over at Knuckles and Julie-Su and nearly fell off 
the 
bed, "Whoah! Animal mutants!"
     Knuckles and Julie-Su exchanged funny looks. "Um... I'm Julie-Su 
and 
that's Knuckles," Julie-Su said introducing them, "Who are you?"
     Astal still couldn't believe his eyes, but gave in. "Um... my 
name's 
Astal. Did Antowas make you too?"
     "Who the heck is Antowas?" Knuckles asked quizzly.
     Astal was puzzled. "This is still the planet Quartalia... right?"
     "Umm... no, this is a planet named Mobius," Julie-Su explained, 
"how'd 
you come through the emerald like that?"
     "Emerald? What's an emerald?"
     "Oh, boy. This is gonna take awhile," Knuckles sighed, rolling his 
eyes.

     Leda began to wake up and found herself in a bed. "Huh? Where am 
I?" 
she asked herself. She got up and walked around.
     Just then, Sally walked in and noticed her. "Oh good, you're 
awake," 
she said with a smile, "My name's Sally, what's yours?"
     Leda almost shrieked at Sally's sight, but recognized that she 
didn't 
mean any harm. "Oh, my name's Leda. Where am I?"
     "This is Knothole, where are you from?" Sally asked in a friendly 
manner.
     "I'm from the planet Quartalia," she said, "What planet is this?"
     "This is planet Mobius," Sally explained, "It's not as beautiful 
now 
because of Robotnik's pollution...."
     "What's 'pollution'?" Leda asked puzzled.
     Sally looked surprised. "You must come from a lustful world with 
plants 
and stuff, huh?"
     "Oh yes! Our goddess Antowas made it beautiful!" Leda exclaimed.
     "Wish we were as lucky," Sally sighed to herself.

     "I gotta find Leda!" exclaimed Astal, "She could be in trouble!"
     "Hold on, is Leda your girlfriend or something?" asked Julie-Su.
     Astal gave her a sheepish look. "Well, sorta. We were both made by 
Antowas when she made Quartalia. Leda had the power of life and my 
purpose 
was to protect her. Some protector I turned out to be...," Astal sighed.
     "Hmmm... seems you and Knuckles have a lot in common," Julie-su 
exclaimed.
     "Oh?" said Knuckles, interested, "Like what?"
     "Well, you're both hot-heads for one, red, and you both protect 
something. In your case, Knuckles, it's the chaos emerald as well as the 
island," she explained.
     "Oh, so he's a protector too, huh?" said Astal crossing his arms, 
"I 
think I understand what this 'chaos emerald' is and about this island 
that 
somehow can float in the air, but is this all there is on Mobius?"
     "Well, no... there are other lands on the ground on Mobius, but 
they're 
basically all destroyed by Robotnik...," explained Knuckles.
     "Robotnik? Is he supposed to be the bad guy on this planet or 
something?" asked Astal, remembering Jerado.
     "Yes, he took over the planet and polluted most of it, then turned 
the 
population into robots," explained Julie-su.
     "Robots? You mean like artificial life-forms?"
     "Sort of, but these are actual people that were made into mindless 
slaves," Julie-su explained, "Mechanical stuff, like this dreadlock and 
arm 
of mine."
     "Wow, so when can we go to this 'polluted world outside the 
island'?"
     Knuckles and Julie-su both gave him a surprised look.

     Geist groaned.
     "He's awake, go inform Lord Robotnik," droned a swat-bot.
     Geist looked at his surroundings. "Where the heck am I?" he 
struggled 
under the straps, "And why am I strapped up like this?!"
     He then saw a big, round figure enter the room. "Who in blazes are 
you?! And why are you keeping me here?" he demanded.
     "I will ask the questions dear boy... for one, what's your name?" 
Robotnik asked cooly, but sinisterly.
     "I ain't telling you nothing until I get some answers first, 
fatty!" 
Geist shouted at him.
     "My my, such language...," Robotnik said as he pressed a button. 
Geist 
began to scream as he was electrified. "Now, again... what is your 
name?"
     Geist gritted his teeth. "They call me Geist, from the planet 
Quartalia."
     "Now, that wasn't so hard was it? Now, tell me about this 
'Quartalia' 
that you spoke of," Robotnik asked again.
     "It was made by the goddess Antowas, before she retired and turned 
it 
over to Astal and Leda, the two humans she made," Geist explanied.
     "Astal and Leda? Tell me about them," he asked again, interested.
     "Who cares about them? Now let me go!" Geist shouted as he 
struggled 
yet again under the straps.
     "Not until you tell me everything you know, then perhaps I'll 
consider 
letting you go," Robotnik said evilly.
     "Fine," Geist said as he rolled his eyes, "Leda is the girl Antowas 
made with the power of life. Astal was made to protect Leda from harm."
     "Were you also made by this 'Antowas'?"
     "No, I was made by Jerado, the demon that wanted to take control of 
Quartalia and form it into his own wicked image. My purpose was to get 
Leda 
and Astal out of the way."
     "Did you succeed?"
     "No, Astal stopped us before our conquest was over. Made me look 
like a 
fool... and I want revenge on him so bad...," Geist gritted his teeth 
with 
the thought of what happened that day.
     "Hmm... another planet, eh? Sounds.... interesting...," Robotnik 
smiled. He then turned to two swat-bots nearby, "Take this worthless 
'human' 
to the roboticizer... his use it over."
     "What's a roboticizer?" asked Geist, puzzled.
     Robotnik gave him a wicked grin. "It's a machine that turns people 
like 
you into my robotic slave. Is that good enough for you?"
     Geist's mouth dropped as the swat-bots untied him and hauled him 
off to 
the machine. "Slave? Nah, I don't think so...," with that, he blasted 
the 
robots with an energy ball and they fell to pieces.
     Now Robotnik's mouth dropped. "I guess I mis-judged you, 
Geist....," he 
said as he rushed for the door.
     Geist flew after him, but instead was hit over the head by a 
metallic 
object and fell to the ground, unconscious.
     "I guess you can still be of use to me after all.... with getting 
rid 
of a certain hedgehog," Robotnik said with an evil grin.

     "Sonic!" Sally said with a frown, "she's not bad, she comes from 
another planet untouched by pollution. Why can't you understand that?"
     "Because she's still a no good overlander, no matter what planet 
she 
comes from," Sonic crossed his arms.
     "I don't care what you say, she's staying until we can get her back 
to 
her own planet."
     "And how are we supposed to do that?" Sonic asked, with a slight 
arrogance in his voice.
     "She said that it was the jewel that she gave to her friend... 
Astal I 
think she called the person, that brought her here," Sally explained.
     Just then, Rotor came rushing towards them. "I just got a call from 
Knux. He said he's coming over and he's bringing a friend with him," 
Rotor 
reported.
     "Great, now Knuckles is coming. How bad can this day get?" Just 
then 
they heard a shriek from inside Sally's hut. They rushed to find that 
Leda 
had just discovered Dulcy.

     Astal looked up into the trees and noticed the birds. He remembered 
that strange bird that just wouldn't leave him alone when he went 
looking 
for Leda. He missed that bird. "Sure, it was Leda in disguise when 
Jerado 
stole her away.... but I still miss that bird." He then heard a call in 
the 
distance. It was Knuckles, calling him so they could go to Knothole and 
visit this group called the 'freedom fighters'.
     "Sure wish I knew where Leda was," he sighed as he walked towards 
the 
sound of Knuckles' voice.

     "The device is done your roundness," droned the swat-bot.
     "Excellent!" said Robotnik happily, "Now I just need to insert it 
in 
here and...."
     Geist's eyes flashed open and he stood up in front of Robotnik, a 
blankness in his eyes. Robotnik was happy with his new development.
     "Yes! The mind-control chip works!" Robotnik cried happily. "With 
the 
powers that this human, Geist possesses the hedgehog will be a worry no 
more!"
     "What is thy bidding, sir?" Geist asked enchantedly.
     "To find and capture Sonic the hedgehog," Robotnik said as he 
showed 
Geist a picture of him. "Bring him back here to me, but if you are not 
able 
to...."
     "I will destroy him otherwise," Geist finished him, smiling evilly.
     Robotnik nodded with twinkle in his eye, "He is located in the 
Great 
Forest in a village called Knothole. I do not have the coordinates, but 
if 
you get me them as a bonus, I will be most appreciated," Robotnik told 
him.
     "As you wish, sire," Geist said finally, "I will go and capture the 
hedgehog.... or else destroy him." They both then went back to Robotnik 
command center, chuckling sinisterly.
     "The hedgehog won't know what hit him...."

     Knuckles and Astal landed their flying disc at the edge of the 
forest.
     "I don't see any village anywhere," Astal complained.
     "That's because it's in the forest. The only reason we land here is 
so 
Robotnik can't track the disc to Knothole," Knuckles explained.
     "Oh, I think I understand," Astal said, though still a little 
confused.
     They soon met up with Tails at the look-out post.
     "Whoah! Another one!" Tails said as he flew to them.
     "What do you mean 'another one'?" asked Knuckles.
     "Sally and Sonic picked up another overlander not too long ago.... 
a 
girl with funny looking robes on," Tails told them.
     "Leda!" Astal said happily, "Where is she?"
     "You know her? Who are you?"
     "This is...." Knuckles began to say.
     "Astal!" said another voice, finishing Knuckles. It was Sally, 
walking 
up to them.
     "You're Astal, right?" she asked him.
     "Yeah, where's Leda?"
     Sally gave him a smile and then led Astal and them to Knothole, but 
Sonic wasn't too happy to see another overlander.
     "Man! They're coming in by the numbers!" he said, annoyed.
     Sally gave Sonic a glare that made him back down. She then turned 
back 
to Astal. "I'm afraid she got alittle scared and fainted at the sight of 
Dulcy," Sally explained.
     Astal looked up at Dulcy. "I wouldn't have blamed her either," he 
said, 
shivering at the sight of the huge dragon.
     "Y'know, she told me a lot about you," Sally started, looking at 
the 
jewel around his neck.
     "Really? Like what?"
     "Like about how Antowas made both you and her and how your purpose 
was 
to protect her. She also told me that that jewel around your neck was 
what 
brought you and her here," Sally explained.
     Astal nodded, "Though I don't know how or why."
     Sonic was beginning to get bored. "How's about I go make egg-belly 
alittle mad for fun? Maybe trash one of his new plans."
     "You can't go alone, Sonic," Sally argued.
     "Why not? It's much funnier that way," Sonic complained.
     "Not alone, Sonic. I mean it!" Sally said, crossing her arms.
     Sonic rolled his eyes. "Ok, who wants to come?" he said, looking at 
everyone. They were all silent.
     "How's about I go? I'd like to meet this 'egg-belly' you speak of," 
Astal volunteered.
     "I don't think it's a good idea, Astal. He's very nasty," Sally 
told 
him.
     "Hey! You're talking to someone that was almost squashed by Jerado 
with 
his foot! And yet I don't think ANYONE can be more nastier then 
Jerado...," 
Astal told her, smirking, "does that convince you?"
     "Why do guys have to be so insisting?" Sally mumbled to herself. 
"Ok, 
you can go, but be careful! You don't know anything about this world, 
Astal."
     "Don't worry! Nothing will happen! Trust me, Sal! I'll keep him 
safe," 
Sonic realized that Astal reminded him a bit of himself.

     They then took off. Astal nearly screamed when he discovered 
Sonic's 
talented speed, but realized it was pretty fun after awhile.
     "Have you always had this speed?" Astal yelled over the wind Sonic 
was 
creating.
     "I was born with it, pretty cool huh?" Sonic answered him, but 
stopped 
when he saw a boulder in the road. "D'oh man! Now we have to take a 
different road..."
     Astal looked at the boulder. "It doesn't look that heavy...."
     "Are you kidding?! That thing is HUGE!"
     Astal walked over to the boulder, grunted and lifted the huge thing 
up. 
Sonic's mouth dropped wide open. "Now you see MY talent," Astal said 
with a 
smirk as he hauled the boulder off the road.
     "That's awesome! The only person I know that can do that is..."
     "Mighty, I know. I met him on the island before we went... after I 
beat 
him in an arm wrestling match," he smirked.
     Sonic laughed. "Cool, is there anything else you can do?"
     "Yeah, some others, but let's get going...." Astal urged him, "I 
can't 
wait to meet this Robotnik dude."

     Soon, Robotnik heard a beeping sound on the monitor.
     "Welcome hedgehog... your final days as a Freedom Fighter are 
over!" 
Robotnik chuckled.
     He pressed a button on the control panel and Geist walked in.
     "Yes, Lord Robotnik?"
     "The hedgehog is approaching and he has a friend with him... 
probably 
the princess. Apprehend them both and bring them here," Robotnik 
commanded.
     "Yes, my lord," Geist said with a bow and then exited out the 
window 
towards Astal and Sonic's location.
     Robotnik smiled. "Today is going to be the happiest day I've had 
since 
I took over and threw King Acorn into the void."

     Sonic and Astal reached the outskirts of Robotropolis in no time. 
Astal 
took one look at the city and wrinkled up his nose in disgust.
     "What's all that black stuff over the city?"
     "That's called pollution," Sonic explained, "thanks to Robotnik's 
factories pouring it out into the air everyday.... hardly breatheable."
     "Pollution? Knuckles told me about it back on the island. Now I see 
how 
terrible it is."
     "Yeah, luckily you don't live here. Luckily in your world there's 
no 
such thing as pollution.... no Robotnik.... no robots that use to be 
your 
family.... your world must be beautiful," Sonic sighed sadly.
     Astal looked at Sonic sadly. "You can come live in my world if you 
want... you're more than welcome."
     Sonic smirked. "Yeah, that'd be great... plenty of sunshine, grassy 
fields as far as the eye could see, gems everywhere sparkling in the 
sunlight....relaxation finally," Sonic sighed at the thought, "but if I 
did 
go.... who would continue the fight with Robotnik?"
     Astal understood. "I see what you mean.... I...." before he could 
finish, an energy blast hit him right in the chest.
     "Astal!" cried Sonic as he looked up to see where the blast came 
from. 
He saw Geist floating there with a grin on his face. "Geez! How many of 
you 
actually came through the portal?!"
     Astal gritted his teeth. "He's no friend of mine... that's Geist."
     "Glad you still remember me, Astal," sneered Geist, "We still have 
a 
score to settle, remember?"
     "How could I forget? I beat your whissy-butt all the way across 
Quartalia.... who's the weak one again?" taunted Astal.
     Geist's face turned red with hatred. "Enough of your rants, I'll 
settle 
with you later," Geist said as he smacked Astal into a nearby tree, 
almost 
knocking him out.
     He turned to Sonic. "You must be the hedgehog Robotnik was telling 
me 
so much about. You don't look so tough...," he grinned at Sonic.
     "Overlanders, always judging too quickly...," Sonic said as he 
created 
a Sonic tornado, sucking Geist in and knocking him into the tree with 
Astal, 
"How's that for not being so tough?"
     "Fine," Geist sneered as he blasted a energy shot at Sonic, who of 
course dodged it.
     "Ump, too fast for ya slow-mo," Sonic said as he made a taunting, 
silly 
face at Geist.
     "We'll see about that...," he said as he went to tackle Sonic, but 
Sonic sped from him.
     "Come on, can't ya keep up with lil ol' me?" Sonic said as he sped 
towards one of Robotnik's factories nearby.
     Geist, of course, gave chase. "Your pride will be the end of you 
hedgehog!"
     As they left, Astal got up and rubbed his head. "That hedgehog sure 
is 
a prideful talker... I better go help him before Geist gets smart," he 
said 
as he staggered towards the factory.
     Still in chase, Geist snapped his fingers and a bunch of steel 
energy 
balls appeared in his hand. He threw them at Sonic, hitting him right in 
the 
back. Sonic lost his balance and skidded across the dirt. "Oww! That 
hurt!" 
Sonic said as he tried to get up.
     "That's not all that's gonna hurt soon, Sonic," Geist said as he 
hovered over Sonic, with a wicked grin on his face. Just then, Astal 
jumped 
up from behind him and bopped him on the head with all his might. Geist 
fell 
to the ground, enough time for Sonic to get up and realize he hurt his 
ankle.
     "Great, I hurt my ankle... Ow.... real bad," groaned Sonic.
     Geist looked up from the ground. "There's no where for you to run 
now, 
Sonic," he grinned as he got up.
     "Put a lid on it, Geist," Astal said as he huffed up enough air as 
his 
massive lungs could hold and blew Geist into a nearby post, knocking him 
out.
     Sonic was surprised again. "That's another talent you neglected to 
show 
me... or there any others?" asked Sonic, smirking.
     "That's it, other than having a huge ego like you," Astal winked.

     Leda woke up again.
     "Thank goodness it was only a dream....," she sighed, not realizing 
where she was.
     "What was a dream?" piped a little two-tailed fox.
     Leda almost shrieked again, "Ok, I guess it wasn't...," she sighed.
     Sally walked in. "I see you've met Tails."
     Tails smiled and waved at her and Leda smiled back.
     "Ummm.... sorry about Dulcy, we forgot to mention her," Sally 
apologized
     "You mean that great huge beast? I'm sorry too, big animals tend to 
scare me.... especially dragons," Leda explained.
     "Well, Dulcy means no harm," Sally explained.
     "I'm a good dragon," Dulcy piped in from a nearby window. Leda 
cringed.
     "Umm... while you were out of it, we met your friend Astal," Sally 
said, trying to change the subject.
     Leda bolted out of the bed. "You did? Where is he?"
     "He went with Sonic into Robotropolis, he should be back soon... 
hopefully," Sally looked alittle nervous
     "I hope Astal's alright," Leda sighed.

     "What happened?!" yelled Robotnik as he lost Geist's signal on the 
screen. He did not look happy, "Computer, play back the battle between 
Geist 
and the hedgehog!"
     "Working."
     It played back to the part where Sonic went down and with Geist 
hovering over him. Then Robotnik saw Astal enter in and beat Geist into 
the 
pole.
     "Another overlander? How can this be?" Robotnik wondered. Then he 
remembered Geist mentioning something about another boy.... Astal.
     "So, this must be Astal huh? Geist didn't mention him being this 
powerful... of course I never gave him the chance to," snickered 
Robotnik. 
"Perhaps this Astal can be useful to me. These overlanders must come 
from a 
powerful planet indeed if they are this strong. I must harness this 
power to 
my advantage." He turned to another part of the control panel, "Swat-
bots, 
apprehend the red-haired overlander, I don't care about the hedgehog for 
now, but get me that overlander!"

     Soon, Astal and Sonic arrived at Chuck's headquarters. Chuck was 
surprised to see Astal, but after some explaining from Sonic, Chuck was 
delighted to meet him.
     "Rather usual, but I wouldn't be less surprised," said Chuck.
     "Why's that, Unc?" asked Sonic, resting in a chair off his ankle.
     "Seems Robotnik already got an overlander earlier. I think he 
called 
him Geist," explained Chuck.
     "Yeah, well we already ran into him on the way here. That's how 
Sonic 
hurt his ankle," Astal explained.
     "I see. I'm not sure Sonic can make it back to Knothole on an ankle 
like that. I better get a message to the girls and have them pick him 
up," 
said Chuck.
     "That's fine, meanwhile I want to see who this Robotnik dude is," 
said 
Astal.
     "I'm not so sure about that, Astal. Robotnik is a pretty tough 
person 
and you don't know anything about him," warned Chuck, "besides, we need 
you 
to go back to Knothole and get someone out here to pick Sonic up."
     "Ok, fine," Astal said after rolling his eyes.
     "Just watch out for swat-bots and Geist. If you run into 'em, give 
'em 
a whack for me, " winked Sonic.
     Astal smirked and left.
     Once he was outside he headed for Robotnik's tower. "Like I listen 
to 
anyone," he smirked.

     Rotor rushed into the hut with Sally and Leda. "Sally! I got a 
message 
from Uncle Chuck!"
     "What does it say?"
     "Sonic needs help, seems he twisted his ankle while battling some 
dude 
named Geist," explained Rotor.
     "Geist?!" shrieked Leda, "Does the note say anything about Astal? 
Is he 
ok?"
     "Slow down, it says he's alright and heading back to Knothole," 
Rotor 
calmed her.
     "Do you know who this Geist person is, Leda?" asked Sally.
     "Yes, he was the human that Jerado made to get rid of me. Luckily, 
Astal was there to rescue me, even though he tore the whole planet apart 
doing it. Sad that he caused such a mess that Antowas banished, and 
chained 
him to an asteroid above the planet. Unfortunately, because Astal wasn't 
there to protect me, Geist stole me away again until Astal broke his 
chains 
and came to rescue me again. He and Geist had a final show-down and we 
thought we'd seen the last of him when Jerado turned him back into a 
crystal 
again. I guess we were wrong," explained Leda.
     "Well, let's go get Sonic. I know how he hates waiting around. 
Hopefully we won't run into Geist," said Sally as they got up and headed 
towards the hover-unit they managed to get from Robotnik.

     Astal ran through the empty, cold streets that use to be a 
beautiful 
kingdom.
     "Glad Quartalia isn't this bad," he thought. He turned down another 
street and ran right into some swat-bots.
     "Oh man, these must be swat-bots... sure are big," he said as the 
swat-bots turned to him.
     "Stop Freedom Fighter and prepare to be apprehended," they droned.
     "As if," Astal snorted and blew them away with a blast of air. 
"That 
was easy," he thought. Unfortunately, he wasn't watching while a bunch 
of 
swat-bots came up from behind him and blasted him in the back. "Ack!" he 
cried as the blast blew him into another swat-bot, who restrained him.
     "You will be taken to Robotnik and be roboticized," droned the 
swat-bot.
     "I don't think so," Astal said as he threw the swat-bot over his 
head 
into a group of them, knocking them into a wall.
     He then turned to another group of swatbots. "Battering Ram!" he 
cried 
as he charged into the swat-bots, knocking them over his head as he 
plowed 
through them.
     A spy orb hovered nearby. "He is definately a good fighter, just 
what I 
need to get rid of Sonic," Robotnik laughed.
     Suddenly, mega-muck units flew in and covered Astal in some green 
gunk.
     "Yuck! What is this stuff? I can hardly move," Astal said as he 
struggled to move, but to no avail. A swat-bot came by and hit him in 
the 
back of the head, knocking him out.

     "I sure hope Astal's gonna be ok out there," sighed Sonic.
     "I hope so too, he doesn't know this world, but I think he'll be ok 
for 
now," said Chuck, as the girls arrived to pick Sonic up.
     Once inside Chuck's headquarters, Sally gave Sonic an earful about 
what 
trouble he could've been in, but Sonic just shrugged it off as usual.
     "Have you seen Astal yet?" asked Chuck.
     "No, we searched Robotropolis, but there was no trace of him," 
explained Bunnie.
     "He better not have been captured by Robotnik, or I'll make that 
egg-belly pay," said Sonic, gritting his teeth.
     Sally rolled her eyes. "Not in your condition you're not," she said 
sternly. "We'll check it out."
     Sally decided to have Bunnie take Sonic back to Knothole as she and 
Uncle Chuck looked around for Astal.
     "Be careful, Sally-girl," warned Bunnie as they took off.

     Astal then began to come out of it. The first thing he noticed was 
that 
he was chained to the wall and right in front of him was an egg-shaped 
figure.
     "Welcome back, Astal," greeted Robotnik with a grin on his face, 
"Hope 
you had a pleasant sleep."
     "Not likely," sneered Astal, "You must be Robotnik.... how'd you 
know 
my name?"
     Robotnik gave a short bow. "The same way as you came to know mine, 
by 
associating with each others' enemies," he said as Geist walked in from 
a 
nearby room. "You remember Geist, right? He told me all about you... 
before 
I enslaved his mind of course," Robotnik explained as he walked over to 
Geist, a blankness in his eyes. "A beauty what technology can do, huh 
Astal? 
It can enslave people's minds, make them do your bidding, it can help 
you 
take over the planet but by the push of a button, and you don't have to 
lift 
a finger," Robotnik grinned.
     Astal narrowed his eyes at Robotnik. "It will come to an end 
someday, 
Robotnik... the Freedom Fighters will win in the end."
     "And what makes you say that? I'm stronger than any of those puny 
lil 
rodents."
     "If you're so strong than why do you need your robots to do your 
bidding? Are you a weakling or something, egg-belly?" taunted Astal.
     "Don't you ever call me that!" Robotnik yelled as he smacked Astal 
across the face, "You think I'm afraid of you?"
     "Then why am I chained to the wall? If only to keep me from 
whipping 
your whissy-butt across Mobius," Astal snapped back.
     "You're the one who should be afraid, Astal. If I wasn't in such a 
good 
mood I'd roboticize you in the blink of an eye," sneered Robotnik, "But 
your 
powers will be of much use to me."
     "I'm not afraid of you and I'd never turn against Sonic and the 
gang... 
ever!"
     "Ah, but without your own freewill, you'll have no choice," 
Robotnik 
grinned wickedly as he started toward Astal with the mind-control chip. 
"Now, this won't hurt a bit...."

     Sally and Chuck checked the holding cells, only to find nothing.
     "What if Robotnik's already roboticized Astal?" Sally said, fearful 
of 
the thought.
     "I'm not so sure of that, Sally," said Uncle Chuck. "We should 
check 
out Robotnik's headquarters next.  I know how Robotnik likes to greet 
new 
guests," there was fear in his voice.
     With that, they both closed the hatches to their robot disguises 
and 
headed up to the command room. When they got there, they found a blank-
eyed 
Astal still chained to the wall.
     "That's Astal!" Sally whispered.
     "Yeah, and it looks like Robotnik's done something to him," Chuck 
whispered back. "We need to notify the FFs immediately. Too bad Sonic 
sprained his ankle."
     "Yeah, I'd say we need him right about now," whispered Sally. "You 
try 
to distract Robotnik while I contact them."
     Robotnik was gloating so much that he didn't even notice them until 
after Sally left the room, leaving Chuck behind. Robotnik stared at him 
coldly. "What do you want?" he snarled.
     "Umm...," Chuck stuttered until he had an idea. "Sir, the 
roboticizer 
seems to be down."
     "So what? Have the swat-bots or Snively fix it! Can't you see I'm 
in 
the middle of something?"
     "Snively is attending to other things and cannot do it. The swat-
bots 
need your help," Chuck beeped.
     Robotnik grumbled under his breath. "Stupid swat-bots can't do 
anything 
right....," he grumbled as he left, pushing Chuck out of the way.
     "Good, he's gone," Chuck said as he hopped out of his robot 
disguise 
and went over to Astal. "Astal? You ok?" Chuck said as he waved a hand 
in 
front of his eyes. After no response, Chuck concluded that he was being 
mind-controlled. "Hmmm... what's this?" he said as he discovered a tiny 
micro-chip stuck to Astal's head behind his ear. He pulled it off and 
immediately Astal came back to life.
     He shook his head to get out all the cobwebs. "What happened?" he 
immediately asked as he saw Chuck.
     "It appears Robotnik was trying to mind-control you with this 
micro-chip," Chuck explained as he showed Astal the chip. "Luckily, 
Sally 
and I got here before Robotnik got a chance to use you as a weapon of 
destruction."
     "Yeah, that would have been bad...," Astal said as he looked around 
the 
room. He then noticed Geist still standing there, a blankness in his 
eyes. 
"Do we have to help him? He's a bad guy."
     "'Fraid so. He'd be better off with us then Robotnik."
     "Guess so," Astal sighed. "Now if I can just break these 
chains....," 
he said as he grunted to break free from them. They busted from the wall 
and 
he was free. By that time, Chuck had already gotten over to Geist and 
freed 
him from his blank state.
     Geist, too, shook out the cobwebs. "What the heck happened? Where 
is 
that double-crossing Robotnik?!" he said as he gritted his teeth. Before 
he 
had a chance to say anymore, Astal came over and knocked him out with 
one 
single punch.
     "You sure have a way to shut people up," Chuck smirked.
     "Yeah, well enough of his ranting, I just wanna get outta this 
place," 
Astal hmped.
     Just then, Chuck heard an angry Robotnik coming their way.
     "Uh oh, better get moving...," Chuck said as they headed for an air 
duct nearby. Inside, they listened as Robotnik entered, steaming mad 
that 
nothing was even wrong with the roboticizer.
     "You incompetant robot!" he came in, yelling at the empty robot 
diguise. "There's nothing even wrong with the roboticizer!" He then 
turned 
to a switch on his control panel. "I have no need for robots that waste 
my 
precious time," he pressed a button and a trap door opened underneath 
the 
fake robot.
     "Good thing I wasn't still in there when Robotnik came," whispered 
Chuck. "Guess I'll have to get another robot disguise then," he chuckled 
and 
led Astal with Geist down the air duct to safetly.
     Robotnik finally cooled off. "Now, where was I before that 
miserable 
robot messed me up..... ah yes," but when he turned, he found Astal was 
gone. "What the--?" he said as he noticed Geist was gone too. "I've been 
outwitted by that hedgehog again... NOOOO!!!" he screamed, defeated 
again.
     His yell was so loud that the freedom fighters heard him outside 
the 
control tower.
     "Hehe, guess Uncle Chuck got Astal to safetly after all," snickered 
Rotor.
     "Guess you can call me 'that hedgehog' too," snickered Chuck as he 
and 
Astal appeared from a nearby open air duct.
     "Glad you're alright, Astal," said Sally.
     "Me too. Now I see what you have to put up with," Astal smirked.
     "Goes with the job, sugah," smiled Bunnie.
     Rotor checked to see if the street was clear of swat-bots, then 
gave 
them the signal to get moving. "Now, let's get back before we run into 
any 
swat-bots," suggested Rotor as he headed to the hover-unit parked 
nearby.
     As the group followed, a laser blast hit Astal in the shoulder, 
making 
him drop Geist. He turned to find Robotnik with a squad of swat-bots.
     "Nobody's going anywhere," Robotnik said as he narrowed his eyes at 
Astal. Astal glared back at him, holding his hurt shoulder. Robotnik 
smirked 
as he lowered his laser gun and shot Astal square in the chest, knocking 
him 
into a pile of junk.
     "Astal!" Sally yelled as she watched Robotnik walk over to him and 
pick 
him up by the neck, choking him.
     "I will not let a little twerp like you make a fool outta me," 
Robotnik 
said darkly as Astal gasped for breath under his strong grip.
     "Too late, Robotnik, you already are a fool," said Knuckles as he 
glided in and knocked Robotnik over, releasing his grip on Astal.
     "Thanks, Knuckles," Astal gasped.
     "Don't mention it, Astal," he smirked.
     Robotnik rolled over. "Swat-bots, attack them!" he ordered as the 
swat-bots began blasting at them.
     Knuckles dodged the blasts while he grabbed Astal and ran. Bunnie 
had 
grabbed Geist and followed the group behind a pile of junk for shelter.
     "Now what do we do?" Rotor said as he turned to Sally.
     "I'm not sure...," she said with a sigh.
     Astal got an idea. "Ok guys, on the count of three, head for the 
hover-unit while I take care of Robotnik."
     "Are you sure, Astal?" asked Sally, alittle worried that Astal was 
hurt.
     "Trust me. I gotta teach Robotnik a lesson about messing with me," 
he 
winked. "Ready?"
     Robotnik grinned. "Come out Freedom Fighters, there's nowhere to 
run. I 
promise your roboticizations will be swift and painless," he offered 
with a 
smile.
     "Fat chance of that," said Astal as he emerged from behind the 
junk. 
Robotnik smirked, thinking he'd won. "Hey, Robotnik, here's a riddle for 
ya. 
What happened when the egg-belly messed with the Quartalian?"
     Robotnik gave him a funny look. "I have no time for riddles, boy," 
he 
said angrily.
     Astal went on. "Give up?" he smirked, "Why, he got blown away."
     Robotnik looked at him funny, but that gave him just enough time to 
huffed up enough air and blow them all into a pile a scrap metal. He 
gave 
the FFs the signal to head for the hover-unit as he strolled up to 
Robotnik, 
covered in broken swat-bot parts. He picked him up by the collar and 
glared 
at him in the face. "Don't mess with me or my friends.... got it?" he 
said 
angrily. Robotnik nodded. "Good," he then knocked him out with one 
punch. 
"Ah, been meaning to do that all day," he smirked as he joined the 
others in 
the hover-unit.
     As they landed, Sonic limped out of his hut on crutches. "So... did 
you 
give Robotnik a whack for me?" he asked, curious about what happened.
     "Yeah, I gave him one for you and me," Astal smirked as he gave 
Sonic a 
high five.
     "I could almost swear they were twins," Sally sighed.
     Leda heard the commotion and walked outside from Sally's hut. When 
she 
saw Astal, she gasped. "Astal!" she yelled as she ran towards him, 
smiling 
happily.
     Astal was just as happy too. "Leda!" he said as she ran into his 
welcoming arms.
     "I missed you so, Astal," she cried as they hugged.
     "Me too," said Astal as he held her tight.
     Sally and Sonic watched with smiling faces. "When will you ever be 
that 
compassionate, Sonic?" Sally smirked.
     "Maybe when you fall off a building," he joked. She frowned at him. 
"Just kidding," he said as he put an arm around her, letting one of his 
crutches fall. "I'd never wish something like that on ya... besides, I'm 
compassionate with a capitol C."
     "Oh yeah, huh? Then who was the one that wanted to leave Leda out 
in 
the cold to starve?" she smirked as Sonic smiled innocently.
     Leda then noticed the wounds on his shoulder and chest. "Oh, Astal 
you're hurt!" she frowned, concerned.
     "Just some measly scratches I picked up from Robotnik," he 
explained. 
"Besides, once we're home, I'll be ok."
     "Home....," Leda said, almost like it was a dream, "I can't wait to 
go 
home."
     Astal smirked alittle, but then he thought about how he'd miss this 
world. He then let go of Leda and walked up to Sally. "Sorry I was 
wrong, 
Sally," he apologized.
     She gave him a puzzled look. "What for?"
     He smirked sheepishly. "Well, I thought there wasn't a person more 
nastier than Jerado, but I guess I was proved wrong."
     They all laughed. "Yeah, ol' tubby's as nasty as they come..... but 
I 
try to keep him inline," Sonic snickered.
     "Yeah, well, we might as well get going.... I'm home sick already," 
exclaimed Astal as he slung Geist's limp body over his shoulder and 
re-joined Leda. "I'll miss you all."
     Everyone waved. "Come back and visit us again sometime," said Sally 
with a smile.
     "Yeah, sorry we got off on the wrong foot, but I've realized that 
not 
all you guys are bad after all. Come back again so we can do cool things 
together," Sonic gave him a wink with a thumbs up.
     "And next time, find another doorway other than my chaos emerald," 
Knuckles smirked.
     Astal laughed as the jewel's light began to engulf them. "I'll try 
to 
remember that, Knux," he smirked.
     Soon, the light faded and they were gone, back in their own 
dimensional 
world. The group de-parted.
     "Think we'll ever see them again?" Sonic asked Sally.
     She shrugged. "Maybe. Atleast it's a good thing we found out about 
Robotnik's mind-control chip. If it wasn't for Astal and them, we 
probably 
wouldn't have found out until it was too late."
     "Glad Uncle Chuck destroyed the plans, I'd hate to see what would 
happen if he still had them," Sonic said. Sally shivered.



-Sega Hedgehog