EPISODE 3: Sally, Sonic, and the Void

A squad of Hoverbots encircled Sonic in Robotropolis. "HEDGEHOG . . . PRIORITY ONE! SURRENDER BY ORDER OF SNIVLEY THE GREAT" droned one of the Hoverbots in its typically unconvincing manner.

Sonic shot his hands into the air, "Oh, well, since you asked so nicely." He then struck a defiant pose. "C'mon, does that ever work on anyone, Rivet-breath? If you really want me, you're gonna hafta come git me," Sonic taunted the Hoverbots. One of them fired a bright blue laser beam at him. Sonic quickly dodged to the left. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. You can do better than that, Boltbrain." The four bots each fired at Sonic. He easily sidestepped each attempt to hit him. "Man, you dumb-bots are really slow." Sonic noticed that he was attracting more SWATbots to the area. "Time for phase 2. C'mon, Slow-moes, see if you can keep up. Juice time!" Sonic took off through the crowd of SWATbots, who followed him sounding their sirens.

As the blue hedgehog and his trail of bots faded in the distance, Tails peeked out the window of an abandoned building. He twisted up his tails and flew out the window toward Snivley's headquarters. His part of the mission was to download any highly encrypted or high priority files to Nicole then, if time allowed, to upload a virus that would overload the generators in Robotropolis. Sure, it was a pretty routine mission, and it only slowed down production; but it was a victory, if only a small one when it worked.

Tails landed at the opening of a maintenance tunnel that would lead into Snivley's headquarters and control room. Of course, Robotnik had sealed off all of these to keep out the Freedom Fighters. Tails pulled out a golden power ring. His new-found ability really made infiltrating Robotropolis' defenses easier. Using its power, he melted away the iron security bars and ran inside.

"Nicole, display file 'HQ maint_sys.'"

"WORKING." Nicole flashed the lights on her display and beeped a bit, then displayed a holographic layout of the shaft system within Snivley's base.

"Show the path to the control room." A bright red line appeared on the display. Tails followed Nicole's directions and ended at a grate that looked into Snivley's control room. Tails heard Snivley laughing about Sonic. His eyes grew wide. "Nicole, open a com channel to Sonic!"

Sonic was having a ball leading the bots on their merry chase. "Ha-haha! C'mon, Butt-bots, you're not even making me sweat." Sonic had been cruising around Robotropolis gathering more bots every minute. He had nearly forty on his tail by now. He heard his earpiece chirp, meaning Tails was calling in. "Yeah, big guy," he answered.

"Sonic, you gotta leave, now! Ol' Sniv's setting a trap for you."

"But I can't leave you. Abort the mission and meet me outside HQ."

"Okay, Sonic," Tails replied. Sonic came to a screeching halt and ran right back the way he came. The robot forces parted to avoid being run over by the blue blur. "Sorry, fellas, it's been fun, but I gotta motor!" He reached into his backpack and pulled out a power ring. He felt its power surge through him. "Juice time!" He exploded forward, leaving all the SWATbots behind with a sonic boom. He rounded the corner to head for HQ. "Whoa, bad news!" He was facing a whole division of tanks. Before he could even stop, he was covered in Megamuck.

Tails waited nervously at the opening to shaft. Sonic should have arrived by now. He kept an eye out for the spy-eyes. His com-link beeped. "Tails, bail for home. Snide's got me. Let Sal know."

"Sonic, captured?" Tails thought to himself. It had happened a few times in the past with Robotnik, but Snivley has always been a little more focused on business than pleasure than his sadistic predecessor was. The one time he has taken Sonic in, he had found and nearly overrun Knothole. It was only by the fortunate timing of a newly spawned power ring and a sound hunch by Uncle Chuck that they had thwarted the tiny tyrant. Tails would rather not give Snivley another chance with Sonic.

Tails protested, "No, Sonic. I've got a ring. I can . . ."

"Listen, T2. There's too many bots, and Shrimpboat probably knows you're here, too. You gotta bail and let the others know. I'll be cool."

Tails did not like it, but Sonic was the leader. "All right," Tails replied reluctantly, "Tails over and out." The fox went airborne but stayed low and alert. As soon as he was out of the city, he took off like a rocket toward Knothole. Sonic's life may depend on it.

A short while later he was in a conference with Sally, Bunnie, Rotor, Dulcy, and Uncle Chuck (no one knew where Antoine was). Sally, who was usually calm and collected, was obviously very stricken. Ever since Doomsday, she and Sonic had been growing closer. Uncle Chuck, who was the most level-headed of the bunch at the moment, said, "We can't just go charging in. Snivley will be expecting that. And I cannot get us in with the old security passes I have from Robotnik's time."

"We all could use the air ducts like we all use tah," commented Bunnie.

"No, Bunnie, Snivley is sure to know all about our using the air duct system. And seeing the trap he laid for Sonic, he probably knows about the maintenance shafts, too. He is more cunning than Robotnik ever was," Sally responded. "We should use the tunnels under the city and enter the headquarters at the basement level. Then we'll slowly make our way upward until we get to the control room."

"Sounds good, Princess," Sir Charles affirmed. "Tails, get yourself a couple of rings. I think that the fewer that go, the less attention you might draw. After all, Snivley will be on full alert knowing that a rescue will surely be attempted."

Sally agreed that a small team would be best. "All right then, Bunnie and Tails, you'll come with me. Dulcy, you'll fly us to the outskirts of Robotropolis. We'll keep a channel open to you if we get into trouble. Is everything clear?" All nodded their heads. "Then let's move." Tails went to get his rings; Bunnie went to have Rotor give her parts a pre-mission check, and Dulcy went out to warm-up. Before Sally could leave, Uncle Chuck stopped her by laying a robotic, yet strangely warm and gentle, hand on her shoulder..

"Worried?"

"We all are," Sally said, deflecting from Uncle Chuck's obvious implication.

"That's not what I mean." Uncle Chuck gave her a knowing look. She had known what he meant and blushed. "It seems your relationship has changed lately. You love him, don't you?"

She felt that he already knew the answer. "We have always been friends: we grew up together. We have suffered, lost and won together. Our personalities have always clashed a little. But he's always been there for me. And Doomsday . . . it brought us together like nothing before." A twinkle came to her eyes.

"Yes, I heard something about 'being in it together' and how he 'will always be your hero,'" Uncle Chuck teased gently.

Sally's blush became an even deeper red. "Well," she said sadly, "Sonic will never take us seriously. He's too hyperactive and absent-minded."

Tails rushed in. "Everybody's ready, Aunt Sally!" Suddenly a worried look came to Tails' face. "Hey, Aunt Sally, are you feeling all right? Your face is all red."

Sally coughed nervously and shook her head adamantly. "Everything's fine, honey, let's go."

As the Freedom Fighters prepared to come to the rescue, Sonic was arrested and taken to the central control room to face Snivley. The tiny man, sitting in the giant recliner his uncle had used, looked more comical than terrible. It only served to magnify his smallness. Despite being in a bad way, Sonic could not resist harassing the former lackey. "So, Snerdly, what's up?" Snivley just ignored him.

"Well, Hedgehog, now that I have you, the question is what to do with you." Snivley chuckled sinisterly from his chair. Sonic could only see Snivley's giant nose peeking out from behind the console. Sonic laughed to himself about the wordplay.

"Whatever you say, The Great and Powerful Schnoz. " Sonic's flippant attitude was beginning to enrage Snivley.

"Whatever fate I have in store for you will be merciful compared to what I have in store for the rest of your worthless friends." Sonic kept up a carefree attitude on the outside but was anxious inside. He was sure he could outlast anything Snivley could do to him, unless he were to use his friends as leverage. "You and the Princess may have destroyed Doomsday, but not the first Doomsday. Dr. Robotnik had planned something entirely different at first, but scraped the idea for the Doomsday Project you knew. I am carrying out the first project, but you won't be around to see it. Will he, Naugus?" The control room door opened up, and Naugus entered in.

"Greetings, Sonic Hedgehog. We meet again, but only for a short time, I am sorry to say. And," the wizard sneered, "for the last time."

Sonic laughed. "Promises, promises, Haggis." Suddenly, a puzzled look came to Sonic's face. "Say, Hag, how did you get out of the Void? I saw Tails cook your cat big time."

The wizard's sneer widened. Sonic swallowed hard, "So you found a way out, eh?"

"Clever of you, Sonic. I never thought you had it in you. So can you figure out what we are going to do with you?"

"Take me out for brunch?" asked Sonic innocently.

"Enough of your stupidity!" Naugus seethed. "It's time for you to leave." Two SWATbots entered the control room, picked up Sonic, and followed Snivley and Naugus to the Void room.

Sonic was placed in the Void chamber. It was a nondescript room with a heavy steel bulkhead. High on one wall was an observation window. Behind that window, Naugus and Snivley looked down on the restrained freedom fighter. "So long, Hedgehog," Snivley wheezed.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Robotropolis, Bunnie, Sally, and Tails began the rescue operation. Sally and Nicole had located a tunnel that would lead them to the headquarters of Robotropolis. Now Tails had to get them in. Sally said, "All right, Tails, do your stuff."

"How far down is the tunnel, Aunt Sally?"

"About 6 meters." This was the first time Tails tried using a super spin on a mission before. Sonic had taught him the basics, and Tails had been able to do it a couple of times during training. Sonic had told him that digging with a super spin was like pushing dirt out of the way, not cutting through the soil. "The first time you hit a big ol' rock, you will know if you are doing it right. If you try cutting through that, it's gonna mess you up big time." Tails wasn't sure what that meant, but Sonic had seemed to approve of his technique. Tails hoped he wouldn't have to find out if he was doing it all wrong today. Tails curled up tight and began to spin. It was strange; it didn't make him dizzy at all. As he dug into the ground, he felt like he was encased in the bubble, like the soil never even touched his fur. After a few moments, he began to free fall. He was in the tunnel.

"All right, let's get the hip-hop a-goin'!" Bunnie thew a strong cord into the hole. Tails called back that it was long enough. The rabbot tied it to a spike and kicked it deep into the ground with a robotic foot.

"Right, Bunnie," Sally said as she followed her friend down the rope. "If we move fast, we can get to Snivley's Control Center within the hour." They ran down the musty tunnel that no one had been in for years. Snivley, and Robotnik before him, did not know of the tunnels' existence. This was good; it gave the Freedom Fighters some leverage in the war for independence.

As they neared the basement level of the headquarters, Nicole detected something. "HIGH LEVELS OF TRANSMATERIAL RADIATION DETECTED, SALLY."

"What the who-ha is she sayin?" inquired Bunnie.

"Nicole, what is source of this radiation?"

"UNKNOWN. HOWEVER, ELECTROMAGNETIC SIGNATURE MATCHES PREVIOUS SCANS OF THE VOID."

"The Void!?" all three cried. The Void had been a concern for the Freedom Fighters ever since they first learned of it nearly a year earlier. Sally was especially interested in it because her father, the King of Mobius, was trapped there thanks to Robotnik. .

"Where is the source, Nicole?" asked Sally.

"ON LEVEL THREE. HEAVY SWATBOT ACTIVITY ALSO DETECTED ON THAT LEVEL."

"Nicole," Tails asked, "can you detect com channel 4 on level three?"

"Whatcha'll getting at, sugar Tails?" asked Bunnie.

Tails replied, "Sonic and I had a com-link going between us during our mission. If Sonic still has his on, Nicole can trace it to him."

"Good thinking, Tails!" Sally praised him.

Nicole's lights and screen flashed as she calculated an answer. "AFFIRMATIVE. SONIC'S COM-PIECE SEEMS TO BE IN THE VICINITY OF THE . . . ."

"Nicole, some me a schematic of that area and indicate the location of the radiation source and Sonic's com signal," demanded Sally. A hologram of the area floated before them."

"THIS RED DOT," Nicole noted, "IS THE ORIGIN OF THE RADIATION. THE BLUE DOT IS THE LOCATION OF MY MAIN HEDGEHOG'S COM SIGNAL."

Sally sighed. She wished Nicole would not talk like that, but there were more important things to deal with right now. She noted a very heavy glass window separating one of the neighboring rooms. It was slightly above the level of that chamber and was electrically connected to a bulkhead in the same room that contained the source of the radiation. "Nicole, that room right there," Sally said pointing to it, "looks like some kind of control area for the components near Sonic. What do you think?"

"I CONCUR, SALLY."

"Open a com-link to Sonic," commanded Tails.

"WORKING . . . . . . . COM-LINK ESTABLISHED."

"Sonic?" inquired Tails.

Sonic's voice replied from Nicole. "Big Guy? Whatcha doin' here?"

"Sonic, listen, it's Sally. We are here to rescue you. Are you okay?"

"In a sonic sec, I won't be! Listen up, guys! Snide and Naugus found a way to bail out of the Void, but now they're sendin' me there!"

"Just hang tight, Sonic, we'll get ya out," declared Tails. In the background, they heard a high-pitched voice evilly announce, "Have a nice trip, Hedgehog!"

"See ya' later, guys!" Sonic flippantly called out. The terrible roar of a strong wind was heard over the com-channel and then it suddenly went dead.

"Sonic!" Sally cried, but no response came. She collapsed, tears pouring from her eyes. She had lost her father to the Void and now Sonic. "No! They won't get away with this! Pull yourself together, Sally girl. I got to think," Sally said to herself as she sat on the cold tunnel floor drying her eyes. "Let's go pay those two a visit!" The other two grieving Freedom Fighters gathered around her. There was a job to do: they still had to rescue Sonic. If they were quick enough, they could get him out before the crystallizing effect took over.

"Here's the plan. We have to keep low and avoid setting off any alarms for as long as possible. We'll take the stairway up to Level Three. Once we get there, Tails, you will activate a ring and keep it ready for Naugus. Bunnie and I will take care of the SWATbots. We'll have to act quickly once we begin the fight on Level Three: an alarm is sure to go off. When we get to the Void Control Room, Nicole and I will hack into the computer and use whatever program Snivley devised to retrieve Naugus from the Void while you two watch out for bots. Got it?" They nodded. They were surprised at how strong Sally was being. Yes, she was usually the one to make plans, but she rarely carried them out herself. That was usually Sonic's job, especially the part about taking out SWATbots. But Sonic wasn't here. Bunnie and Tails both had the feeling as they followed Sally that any SWATbot that got in her way would be very sorry.

They had to duck for cover a few times on Level One to avoid some TechBots, but they made it safely to the stairwell. After a couple flights of stairs, they saw a sign: "LEVEL THREE - RESTRICTED AREA."

As his friends made their way deeper into Snivley's headquarters, Sonic tumbled and rolled for a long time down into the Void. A bright flash of light forced him to close his eyes. He landed with a thud on the crystal surface of the Void, bumping his head on the glassy ground. "Oh, major headache." He tried to sit up but found it impossible with his being all tied up. So he just lay there for he knew not how long. His head was pounding, so he just tried to relax it away. He must have fallen asleep because he found himself starting awake from the sound of footsteps behind him. "Hey, who's there?"

"It's me, Sonic," replied a smooth, kind voice. The accent was unmistakable.

"Your Majesty?" If he had not be tied up, he would have facepalmed himself for asking such a stupid question. There was no on else trapped in this crystal prison.

"Yes, Sonic. Here, let me help you." The King pulled Sonic up and untied him.

"Thanks, Highness." Sonic took a good look at the King. He seemed rather pale and thin. "Hey, you don't look too hot, your Majesty."

"I don't feel so well either, Sonic. I am very hungry," replied the monarch weakly.

"Hungry? But why now? I mean you've been chillin' here for over 11 years. And I thought this place had some strange power to keep people trucking."

"Yes, Sonic, what you say it true. Naugus once told me that the Void eventually integrates one's life force into itself. After that, one never sleeps, gets hungry, or ages in the Void because the Void is timeless and perpetual. But the downside to that is that if you stay in the Void as long as Naugus and I did, the Void establishes such a grip on your life force that you normally cannot leave."

"That's why you both turn to crystal, right?"

"Exactly. But Snivley has found a way to undo this integration. That is why Naugus was able to leave, and so can we, if the portal opens. But in the meantime, we will continue to age, get tired, and become hungry as we would outside the Void, courtesy of Snivley."

"How long since Needlenose put this super sucker in reverse?"

The King could not help but crack a smile at Sonic's colorful way of describing the situation. "About two days ago," the regal fox grimly replied.

"Two days!" gasped Sonic, The King would not have much time left. "Well, don't worry, your Highness. Tails and Bunnie and Sally are on their way. They'll get us out."

"It will be good to get out and to see my Sally again. Oh and to see how the other royal children have grown." A faraway look came over the King's face as he remembered a time so long ago. A happy time. The King came out of his musings and asked, "But this Tails, I don't recall his name. Who is he?"

"He's my little best bud. He's super smart like Sal. He's a fox with two tails that can twirl them around and take off like some helicopter," Sonic said. A strange look shot across the King's face that Sonic could not quite read. Fear? Curiosity? Wonder? Shock? Maybe some combination of those. Sonic continued. "He's about ten years old, born after Robuttnik took over. He remembers very little about his parents; we figure they were robotacized. I found him about two years after 'Buttnik rebelled while I was exploring the Great Forest."

The King's face grew dark, "To know nothing but war for his whole life. These are truly evil times."

Sonic swallowed nervously. He had to lighten things up a bit. "Wait 'til you meet him, Sire; he's way past cool."

The King's face brightened up a bit as a smile crept across his face. "I'm sure he is, Sonic. I will be glad to meet him." Sonic saw that same strange look just flash across the monarch's face. But before Sonic could ask him about it, the King asked, "So, how's my Sally?"

The rescue party paused for a bit in the stairwell on Level Three. Sally ran an area scan with Nicole. The computer detected thirty SWATbots between them and the Void Control Room. "All right, let's do it to it," Sally declared. "You all set, Tails?" Tails was a bright blue: he had activated a deep power ring.

"All set, Aunt Sally."

Bunnie clenched her fist above her head. "This bunny is ready to bring Sugarhog home. Shall we all get started?" They burst through the door from the stairway into Level Three. Before anyone else could blink, Sally had taken out two SWATbots close by with a high kick and a shoulder block. Laser fire buzzed down the corridor: the SWATbot did more damage to the electrical circuits running in nearby conduits than anything else. The burning metal and electrical circuits saturated the air with their unpleasant, acrid odors. Bunnie's martial arts skills and Sally's acrobatics kept them clear of any fire. Tails blocked any incoming laser fire with the ball of energy in his hands. Sally was a fighting machine, destroying bots left and right. She had snatched a laser rifle off a fallen SWATbot. Bunnie's powerful robotic limbs totaled any bot that was unlucky enough to get close. The two girls had taken out about half the SWATbots when an alarm sounded. They had to move quickly. Tails activated a second deep power ring. He glowed pure white, like hot steel. "Sally, Bunnie, get behind me!" He ran forward to close the distance. When he was in front of them, he shot out purple lightning that fried the rest of the bots.

"Good work, honey." Sally gave him a peck on the cheek. "Now let's give Snivley and Naugus our best wishes."

They ran down the corridor to the Void Control Room. "Bunnie, if you please."

"Sure thing, Sugah." Bunnie pulled back her left arm and, gritting her teeth, slammed it into the bulkhead. It buckled. She spit into her hand. "Just one little ol' tap more," she growled as she balled up her fist and blew the doors into the room.

Nagaus snapped his head around just in time to see the steel entry flying toward him and to duck for cover. Snivley just wailed in fear as it whizzed over his head, taking one of his few remaining hairs with it. The door buried itself deep into the reinforced concrete wall of the control room.

"Nappy time, Naugus," said Tails as he blasted Naugus with a deep power ring. The wizard screamed in pain and fell to the ground, groaning curses. At the same time, Bunnie had secured Snivley to a chair with some cord, and Sally had taken out two more SWATbots. Bunnie and Tails guarded the door as Sally started to work on the control panel.

"Nicole, lock into the main computer and secure program for Void retrieval."

"WORKING . . ."

"How dare you vermin do this to Snivley the Great. When Naugus gets up, we'll . . ." Snivley wailed.

"Shut up, Snivley," the three moaned. It was true he ruled Robotropolis now and was certainly dangerous, but they could not take his threats all that seriously.

"Hurry up, Sally girl, SWATbots will be crashin' in on us here quick."

"PROGRAM FOUND SALLY. INITIATE?"

"Proceed, Nicole," commanded Sally, with her fingers crossed.

In the Void, it seemed like an eternity had passed, or maybe five minutes; Sonic could not tell. The Void was strange like that. As a child, the King was always someone who was just there, just Sal's dad, just Uncle Chuck's boss. But in the time-warped confines of the Void, he had spent what felt like a lifetime getting to know this guy, not as a king or as Sal's dad, but as just some other Mobian. Here was a great fox who loved freedom and family and nature and fellow Mobians like anyone else. Well, like anyone else except the trio of baddies that had worked together to throw Mobius into chaos. Sonic never knew his parents: his uncle had been his family for as long as he could remember. But he felt that Sally was one lucky girl to have him as her father. It hurt him deeply to think how awful it must have been for Sal to have been torn away from him so many years ago. Sonic must pulled from his musing by a gale whipping up in the still atmosphere of the Void. "Hey! What's up?"

"The Void is opening, but it's drawing us out instead of in. Sally must have succeeded!" exclaimed the King.

"That's Sal!" Sonic and the King were tumbling up and out of the Void. After a disorienting trip, they found themselves standing on the concrete floor of the Void Room. The door to the Void closed, and the one to the hallway opened. The three rescuers rushed in. Sally, Tails and Bunnie embraced Sonic. In their excitement they knocked him to the floor. Then Sonic, Tails, and Bunnie watched the happy reunion as Sally hugged her father. Tears streamed down both their faces. "Finally," she exclaimed through her tears, "after all these years, Daddy, you're back!" Sally wished she could make the moment last forever, but hundreds of SWATbots were no doubt on their way. She let go of her father and looked up into his face. "Daddy, we have to go now." The King nodded.

"Dulcy, did you copy? We have Sonic and my father. Get back to Knothole. We'll meet you there!"

"Roger, Sally," the dragon replied over the com. "See ya later!"

Tails pulled out a power ring and gave it to Sonic. Golden beams exploded from the ring in Sonic's hand. He picked Sally up in his arms and the others grabbed hold of his shoulders from the back. "Hang tight, everybody. We'll be outta this dump in a sonic second." The blur blur blasted for home.

Up in the Void Control Room, Snivley snarled, "You might think you've won, Princess, but mark my words, this is the beginning of the Freedom Fighter's end."