"Oh crud..." Tristina moaned, her face becoming pale. her trusty wheelchair sat a few feet away, the left wheel bent in a awkward 'L' shape. a few spokes appeared to be missing from the right wheel, and the neck support had completely snapped off. "Wait a moment, Sally." said Tristina as Sally went to right the chair. Tristina held up her hand, and closed her eyes.
"scanning..." Tristina reported in a monotonous voice. Sonic tapped his foot in the tense silence. "Damage minimal. all systems except for ground mode fully operational." Tristina reported, closing her eyes and lowering her hand. once her irises had re-appeared, Tristina dragged her useless robotic legs over to the chair and pressed the winged button.
"but...what is this place?" Antoine asked, putting a fearful (and muck covered) hand to his mouth. Sonic stood up and sniffed. "Phew, whatever it is it sure stinks." he said, shaking more of the muck off himself. Tristina watched as two robotic arms came out of the back of the seat of her wheelchair. one pair of claws grabbed each joint, then with a whirr and a click, one wheel was fastened to the back of the chair. the other wheel was fastened to the underside of the chair. the wheel spokes on the underside flattened and began to spin.
"There. at least I'm mobile again." said Tristina once the fan blades started spinning. pulling herself into the hovering chair (with a little push from Sally) Tristina sighed as she settled into her chair once again. As Tristina tested the joystick, Sonic gasped as a scratching noise reached his ears. "Okay guys, hang here. I'm gonna scope out that red light." said Sonic, pointing to himself with his thumb. Sonic then revved up and took off, slinging more of the muck and slime onto Antoine.
Tristina frowned as the silence continued. "Sonic?" Sally called worriedly. "You okay, blue?" Tristina added, backing up against the wall with Sally. moments later, Sonic returned, skidding to a stop in front of Antoine. "Wherever we go, we cant go that way!" Sonic declared, pointing. "Why not?" asked Antoine, confused.
a sudden thump gave them their answer. Looking up, Tristina gasped as a four legged slime green beast with a glowing red eye and razor sharp teeth approached them. "thats why not!" Sonic cried as the beast let out a shrieking roar. his long serpentine tongue watered as he stared at the four. his yellowing jagged teeth seemed to gleam in the dank sewer light.
"Oh my gosh!" Sally cried, putting up her hands to defend herself. "What is it?" she half asked, half cried as the beast came even closer. "Someone you never wanna marry." Sonic grumbled as the beast let out another shrieking roar. "Plus, He's in a bad mood." added Sonic as they continued to back away.
"But thats our only way out!" Sally declared, pointing at the path the beast was blocking. "What what what what are we going to do?" Antoine stammered as Sonic slapped him on the back. "Ask about his mother. maybe he's not such a bad guy." said Sonic as he backed up against the wall.
the beast let out yet another hungry roar and continued to close in. "Nooo, hes rotten to the core." said Sonic, wagging his finger at the creature. "I've got a idea." Sonic declared. "Sal, grab the power ring. Tiff, get ready to activate the turbo boost on your chair. When I hold up my hand, slap it in. Tiff, when Sal hands me the power ring, activate the turbo boost."
"Got it." said both Sally and Tristina together. Tristina began grabbed her joystick in a vice grip as Sonic slid one foot back to run. "Juice time! Hold on!" Sonic declared, revving up. Sonic took off towards the beast, the back of Tristina's wheelchair spinning madly to keep up.
Sonic held up his hand, and Tristina slammed her finger down on the power ring button. both hedgehogs were engulfed in a bright golden white glow. The beast, drooling insanely with hunger, spread out his two front legs and opened his mouth. Sally and Antoine cried out as Sonic and Tristina burst forward, directly into the creatures waiting jaws. Snapping its jaws shut on its victims, the beast gave the slightest hint of pleasure as its meal passed down to its stomach.
Suddenly, the beast's expression changed as it felt the two creatures burst from its back in a fury of white sparks and green fabric. the chaos died, Sonic grabbed some of the green fabric and lifted it up. "Chill guys, everything's cool." said Sonic, revealing Sally and Antoine. Tristina pushed her own section of green fabric off of her. looking up, she smiled at a vast array of sparking wires, bits of metal, and two treads that the 'beast' had used for hind feet. "Sonic...how did you know it was robotic?" Sally asked, puzzled. "The hedgehog knows." said Sonic, grinning.
"But now..." said Antoine as Sonic looked up. "I am thinking we have another problem hmm?" Antoine then motioned to two separate tunnels leading in two separate directions. "How do we get the hecks out of here?" "I have a idea." said Sally, pulling Nichole from her boot. "Nichole, bring up 'bean'." Sally then waved Nichole in a sweeping downward motion as a light green and dark green screen appeared in front of them.
Tristina hovered closer and studied the map with Sally while Sonic rolled his eyes to the ceiling and tapped his foot. "I'm waiting." he drawled. Suddenly, a grin appeared on both Tristina and Sally's faces. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Princess?" Tristina asked, smiling at Sally and pointing to a section of the map. "We'll take that tunnel." said Sally, pointing to a light green line on the edge of the holographic screen. Sally then powered down Nichole, replaced her on her boot, and lead the way down the left hand tunnel.
"Hey Sonic," said Tristina as she hovered along side Sonic, Sally, and Antoine. "I've always wondered...how do you know Kat?" "Kat?" Sonic asked "He's like a father to me. He helped me to become more alert while I'm juicin. you know, like dodging lasers and stuff." said Sonic. "what about you?" "After my legs short circuited, Kat convinced me that it wasn't the end of the road for me after all." said Tristina with a smile.
"He helped me realize that, even though I was half paralyzed, I can still help the freedom fighters. Just in my own way." "Cool." said Sonic, smiling at the light blue hedgehog. The two then looked up to see that they were drawing closer to a light at the end of the tunnel. Tristina tilted back the joystick of her hover chair to slow down. Sonic, Sally, and Antoine skidded lightly in the muck.
as they stopped, the freedom fighters saw that the tunnel opened up into a massive cavern. Stalactites hung from the ceiling like dark erect fingers reaching towards them. The Stalagmites reached up towards the ceiling in small clusters. "Whoa, way cool." Sonic said softly, looking around at the cavern walls. "According to those maps," said Tristina, looking around as well.
"We should be very close. right Princess?" Tristina asked, looking at Sally. Sally smiled and nodded. "To what?" Antoine asked. "You'll see." said Sally, smiling. "Follow that light source." Sally then pointed to a small glow at the very end of the expansive cavern. Sonic, Sally, and Tristina then began to walk (and hover) towards the 'light source' Sally had indicated. "Princess, do you have a plan for when we get where we're going?" Tristina asked, hovering along beside Sally. Sally nodded. "We finish what we started." she said determinedly.
A mustard yellow swat bot walker wheeled past the stalactites and stalagmites that had made up the hangers western wall. it never noticed the four figures peeking out from behind them. "Lets go." Sally whispered, creeping out from behind the stalagmite. Sonic, Antoine, and Tristina followed. Without a word, the four freedom fighters set to work.
Antoine and Sonic would boost Sally up to the Stealth Bots. Meanwhile, Tristina would possess the visual sensors of the bot to monitor the area around them. Occasionally ducking in between stealth bots to avoid detection, the four freedom fighters continued their work un noticed. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Sally gave a thumbs up to the trio below. "Done." she said, smiling. "Thats the last one. These stealth bots are history!"
"I got one more thing to do. Tiff, you can come with me. Sal, Ant, We'll meet you guys at the usual. Gotta juice!" Sonic whispered before zooming out of the hanger, Tristina wheeling behind him. the two traveled a long distance in a few minutes, mostly in silence. Tristina only slowed down when she spotted where they were heading...Robotnik's detention building.
Sonic and Tristina continued to race down the hallways of cells. a tiny bolt of fear tickled Tristina's heart. He had to still be here! he had to! Tristina skidded to a stop as Sonic approached one of the blackish green cells and grabbed the bars. her breath catching in her chest, Tristina wheeled up beside Sonic and peered into the cell.
a cold, empty stone slab greeted them. "Kat..." Sonic moaned quietly, and Tristina grabbed her head. Gritting her teeth, Tristina gasped as a painful knot began to form around the area of her heart. "Kat...Oh, Kat..." Tristina choked, sobbing into her own lap. Suddenly, Tristina's eyes snapped open as Sonic let out a shout of surprise.
two swat bots carrying laser cannons ran into the hall. Tristina didn't need Sonic to tell her that it was time to go. turning, Tristina followed the hedgehog as the two of them raced back down the hall with laser blasts reflecting off the walls. Sonic and Tristina ignored the blasts, a cloud of deep green dust trailing behind them.
"Intruder Alert. Detention Building." a robotic voice reported as a quiet buzzing issued from the control panel. "Intruder alert." Robotniks faded green command chair turned to see two hedgehogs rushing away from the cell block. Sonic zipped back and forth, dodging laser blasts while Tristina followed in his wake. Robotnik's lips curled into a cynical grin as a idea came to him. "Consider yourselves terminated, hedgehogs." the tyrannical doctor muttered to himself, his deep gray glove pressing a red button on his command chair.
A wave of water rose on either side of Sonic and Tristina. Peering just over the crest of the wave, Tristina noticed four stealth bots shoot into the air from the hanger. Sonic and Tristina soon skidded to a stop in the badlands just outside Robotropolis. "He's launching the stealth bots." Sonic reported as Tristina began to dig into his backpack. pulling out a brown and gray orb, Tristina activated the Spy Orb and positioned it away from Sonic.
"News at 11:00" Tristina said, pointing the Spy orb at the four Stealth Bots. Meanwhile, in Robotnik's headquarters, Robotnik gave a start as he spotted the four Stealth bots flying in unison over Robotropolis. "What is this?" he demanded. "Snivley, recall them!" "Yes sir." came the meek reply as Snivley pressed a red button on the control panel. A few moments later, all four stealth bots exploded in a mass of black and red clouds.
Tristina, Sonic, Sally, and Antoine all shielded their eyes as they were bathed in a bright orange light. Robotnik growled as he watched his beloved Stealth Bots explode, then the screen faded out. after a moment, the screen returned with his nemesis. placing a thoughtful finger to his lips. "Yo Robotnik!" said Sonic, pointing at him. "That...was for Kat! Ha ha ha!" Sonic laughed, giving the screen a thumbs down. Robotnik could only roar in rage.
The End.