Sonic the Hedgehog: Worth Fighting For

Continuity Info: This takes place in SatAM continuity in Season 2 after the events of The Void, but before the events of Cry of the Wolf; in other words, work on the Doomsday project has not yet started.

But through the blaze they see it fade
The sea of black, the beaming heat on their faces
Then a figure emerges from the wasteage
Eyes transfixed with a piercing gaze
One hand clutching a sword raised to the sky
They wonder how, they wonder why
The sky turns white, it all becomes clear
They felt lifted from their fears
They shed tears in the light...
-“Turn the Page”, The Streets

Worth Fighting For
by Blue Eyes Shining Dragon

Cold, metallic blue reflected across the burning red of Robotnik’s eyes.  A hungry glint rested in those eyes, born of the promise made by the beautiful machine at which they stared.  It was all the vicious tyrant could do to keep himself from twirling his mustache in delight, pride, and anticipation as, one by one, a cornucopia of computer screens lit up around the object of Robotnik’s excitement.  The screens showed all-too-familiar images to the ruler of Robotropolis, each one playing a different video of that most accursed blue hedgehog.  Destroying his machines...blowing up his factories...snap-shots of the miserable rodent’s most daring exploits within the confines of the industrialized city.  In any other situation, seeing those unpleasant memories displayed in such magnitude would have angered the “doctor” greatly, but not now.  Indeed, as a faint blue bar began to stretch out across each one, Robotnik’s face folded out into a grin that would have frightened the most vicious of predators.  Building his newest robotic warrior had been quite the task, but construction alone had been shown in the past to be insufficient.  No, the key to victory against those pesky little furballs...against that perpetual thorn in his side...lay in turning their own greatest asset against them.  “Download Complete.”
The computer’s droning words were like music to Robotnik’s ears. In the same manner as they had been activated, the screens blipped back into darkness in rapid succession.  The central hub to which they had all been connected, a  machine similar to a Roboticizer, a single glass cylinder held in place by a computer console on its bottom and a steel clamp on its top, came alive as the screens fell silent.  Steam coming out of its lower end, the cylinder began to recede into the clamp.  Soaking every second of it in, Robotnik could not be happier.  The mechanized figure within the cylinder stood in full view, a humanoid shape that only stood up to its gluttonous master’s stomach.  “You’re ready...”, the mad scientist whispered, watching as his creation’s fingers twitched ever so slightly.  “The time has come for you to fulfill your purpose.  When you awaken...kill him!”
As Robotnik’s whisper became a roar followed by an outbreak of maniacal laughter, two rings of crimson that blazed like those of its creator emerged from within the blackness of the robot’s eyes.  
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“Once.  Just once, could you try and show some restraint?.”
“Oh, come on, Sal!  It was a piece of cake takin’ out that construction factory, and Ol’ Buttnik’s gonna have to make due without hovercrafts for a whole three months!  What’re you gettin’ in my face about?”
“I’m ‘gettin’ in your face’ about the way you recklessly placed my life and the life of your friends in danger just so you could show off!”
“Pfft!  It ain’t showin’ off if it gets the job done!”
Dawn was breaking across the village of Knothole, but the normally-peaceful hour found itself disrupted once again by a loud, fiery argument that echoed across the woods.  It was this bickering to which Knothole’s denizens awoke with a less-than-happy attitude.  Sonic the Hedgehog and Princess Sally Acorn, the two making all the fuss, had always shared a somewhat antagonized relationship, but lately it had grown far worse than ever before.  Arguments like the one they were now locked in had begun occurring more and more frequently over the last few weeks, and, walking alongside the shouting duo as they re-entered the village, the other Freedom Fighters had to admit it was starting to grate on their nerves.  “So, what set ‘em off this time?” Rotor the Walrus asked his companion Bunnie Rabbot, having split off from the main group as part of the mission from which they were now returning home.  
Long ears drooped in an attempt to tune out the noisy verbal sparring that lay a few feet ahead of her, the half-roboticized rabbit sighed tiredly.  “Th’ usual,” she answered Rotor, “He got a little too caught up playin’ decoy ‘n’ managed to get one of th’ hovercrafts chasin’ him to crash into the factory’s main hub, blowin’ the whole place sky high.”
Rotor whistled lowly.  Even with Sonic’s history of maverick stunts, that was quite a feat.  Sensing the follow-up question coming, his rabbit companion spoke up, “Don’t ask me how, I just saw the end result, not the build-up...”
Nodding in understanding, the walrus simply continued to watch in fascination at the continuing verbal struggle his two friends were having.  It had begun to cool down at that point, and so, his interest waning, his hut in view, and his bed practically singing to him, Rotor departed from the group to get some well-earned rest.  Bunnie soon followed suit, leaving Sonic and Sally oblivious to both their departures as their squabble finally began to die down.  “I’m just saying, in the future, try to think these things through a little better, OK?” the young princess spoke in a diplomatic tone of voice.
“Yeah, yeah...” Sonic answered dismissively, calmer but still obviously grumpy.
Sally watched her blue-quilled friend depart, from the look of it heading to the fishing stream, and sighed.  The princess had noticed the growing frequency with which fights like the one that had just ended were occurring between her and Sonic, and it worried her.  Something was bothering the hedgehog, that much was obvious, but the squirrel had no idea what.  Though she wished he would let her know the answer, Sally knew better than to expect it.  When it came to adventure and excitement, Sonic made his feelings quite apparent, but in terms of his more personal emotions, he seemed to keep to himself.  Suddenly, a familiar and quite welcome voice caught her attention.  “Aunt Sally!  You’re back!”
No sooner had her head turned to face where the sound was covering from did Sally find herself ambushed by a young fox, who literally flew through the air toward her and grabbed her in the strongest hug he could muster.  “Tails!” Sally greeted happily, her earlier concerns soothed by her foster nephew’s sunny demeanor.  “Did you have a good time last night without me?” she asked, returning the embrace and planting a quick kiss on the tip of the boy’s nose.
“We sure did,” he replied enthusiastically, turning around and calling back, “didn’t we, Antoine?”
Panting and wheezing all the way, Antoine D’Coolette managed to reach Sally and Tails just in time to collapse at their feet in exhaustion from trying to keep up with the far faster flying fox.  Face planted on the ground, he managed a sarcastic grumble.  “Oui, oui...spending my night playing three hours of the hiding and seeking is a cream come true...”
“That’s ‘dream’, Ant...” Sally giggled, helping the coyote to his feet.
As Antoine dusted himself off, Tails was hovering in circles, his gaze wandering all over the village, an excited smile on his face.  “So where’s Sonic?” he asked eagerly.  “I can’t wait to show him this new game I came up with!”
No matter where he looked, however, Tails saw no sign of his hero.  His confusion was right on the fox’s face, leading Sally to place her hand softly on Tails’ shoulder.  “Sonic’s...tired, sweetie,” she told him in as motherly a tone as she could, “He went to go find a nice place to take a nap, but I’m sure he’ll come play with you later.”
With a disappointed “Awww...”, Tails floated back to the ground with slumped shoulders.  “C’mon, Tails,” Sally comforted, “let’s get some breakfast and you can tell me all about the fun you had last night!”
Face brightening again just a little, he nodded in agreement.  Soon, the three were off to Sally’s hut, leaving the Princess to silently contemplate what to do about Sonic...

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Even though he would always cast the line, always set up the rod so it could stand on its own, Sonic never came to the fishing stream to actually fish.  He did not come there to rest, either.  No, if Sonic ever came down to the stream, it was for one reason and one reason only: to rock out loud.  Bright red guitar in hand, the hedgehog could stand on top of the bridge that arched across the flowing water and play until his fingers were ready to pop open.  Aside from running, it was probably his favorite pastime.  Simply letting his fingers move up and down the chords as they pleased...Sonic did not think when he played, he simply did.  There was a release to it that could not be achieved any other way.  Indeed, as he let loose with as hard a tune as he could create, it occurred to the speedster that he needed a release more and more lately.  “Sal’s been like a brick wall lately...I just keep runnin’ into her over ‘n’ over again...” he thought grouchily.
In truth, however, Sonic knew his problem was not with the Princess per se.  No, there was something...deeper...to the frustratingly unshakable funk that had grown over the last few days.  Before, when the fleet-footed Freedom Fighter went on a mission, it was the highlight of his life.  All the hedgehog’s passion was ignited, focused, and harnessed into a force to be reckoned with whenever he got into it.  Lately, however...
“Gah!” Sonic recoiled in surprise as he accidentally hit a wrong note.  
With a frustrated groan, he tried again, only to hit another sour note before too long.  Again and again, the blue blur tried to get into his music, but again and again, he continued to slip up.  Each time, Sonic grew a little more frustrated and thus messed up that much sooner.  Realizing that his brief attempt at rock-and-roll therapy had failed, the hedgehog reluctantly leaned his guitar against the bridge’s railing, now as useless as the fishing rod it was next to.  “Well, that sure worked...” Sonic muttered dryly.
Just then, a loud squawking caught his ear.  Turning his gaze upward, the hedgehog recognized the green carrier Dragonfly-Parrot as its talons came to grip the railing.  “Must be a message from Uncle Chuck...” Sonic observed plainly, opening the flask slung around the bird’s shoulder.  Removing the letter within and opening it up to read, Sonic could not help but hope it was something big, something that could clear his head and heart again.  From the look of it, the blue blur’s hopes had been rewarded:

Freedom Fighters,
Something strange is going on.  I know you were successful in taking out the hovercraft factory, and Robotnik has been running low on them for some time now.  However, there has been no signs of an upsurge in security or even a reconstruction effort.  Something else seems to have occupied Robotnik’s attention, though what it is I do not know.  What I do know, however, is that several weeks ago Robotnik began taking large quantities of robot parts and materials out of circulation.  At the time, I did not make anything of it, but his more recent behavior suggests he may have used them to construct some sort of secret weapon.  I can’t investigate any further for fear of being caught, but take this information into account when planning your next move.

Sincerely,
Sir Charles Hedgehog

Sonic had not even fully finished reading before he had sped off to share the news, his guitar and fishing rod both falling uselessly to the ground in his wake.       

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It had taken some time to rouse the resting Rotor and Bunnie, but as the sun finally peaked over the tree tops of the Great Forest, the Freedom Fighters had gathered in their entirety to look over Uncle Chuck’s letter and discuss their next course of action.  Sally was not sure what to make of the message.  “I wish we had a little more to go on...if this is all Sir Charles could find, I’m not sure it’s even worth looking into...”
Antoine nodded his agreement, though he usually agreed with most any plan that helped him avoid Robotropolis.  “Ah don’t know, Sally-girl,” Bunnie noted, stifling a yawn as best she could.  “If ol’ ‘Buttnik does have somethin’ nasty comin’ down the pike, we could nip it in the bud now before it really gets ugly.”
“I’ll go,” Sonic spoke up in his usual brash manner, jabbing his thumb into his chest.  “Alone.  That way, if it’s all just a dud, we won’t be wastin’ man-power.”                                
Sally shook her head.  “And if this weapon’s for real, you’d be on your own against it.  It’s too risky, Sonic.”
An agitated sigh from Sonic sent chills down Rotor, Bunnie, and Antoine’s spines.  “Not again...” they all mentally worried.
The hedgehog prepared to fire back that he could easily head back to Knothole without problem for reinforcements, but was cut off when Rotor perked up with an idea.  “We’ll take a small group,” he said.  “Just three of us.  That way, we’ll still have Freedom Fighters here and the Recon team will be at less risk.”
Everyone exchanged looks with each other, contemplating the walrus’ proposal.  Eventually, Sally spoke.  “Sounds like a plan.”
Rotor had to keep himself from wiping his brow in relief.  “Dodged that one...” he thought.
“I’m on the recon team!” Sonic volunteered, forcefully enough that everyone else knew he was not about to take “No” for an answer.  
Rather than argue the blue blur’s proposal, Sally chose another road.  “I’ll go, too.” she spoke.  “Because someone needs to keep an eye on you lately...” she mentally added.
At Sally’s words, Antoine strode to her side with a valiant air.  “I shall accordion you, my princess.” he offered with false humility.
“That’s ‘accompany’, Ant...” Sonic groaned.
“It’s settled, then,” Sally said.  “The three of us will ride Dulcy to Robotropolis and see what we can find out about this ‘secret weapon’...”
One by one, the team filed out of the meeting room.  “Sonic, Antoine, you’d best get ready.  We’ll leave in a few hours.” Sally instructed.
The group began to disperse, each member off to pursue their own ends until the time came.  Sally’s end, however, involved Sonic, and so before the familiar boom and fearsome winds that always signaled his departure could make themselves known, she made sure to place a soft hand on his shoulder.  “Hold on a sec, Sonic,” she told him, seeing that his knees were already bent in preparation.  “I wanted to talk to you...”  Now was as good a chance as ever...
Looking at her with a mix of anxiety and curiosity, the blue blur asked, “About?”
Sally knew she had to pick her words very carefully.  A single slip, and any chance of a meaningful conversation about the hedgehog’s recent behavior would be shot.  “About you...you’ve been acting...different lately.”
A silly grin spread on Sonic’s face then.  “You’re joking, right Sal?  I know we’ve been arguin’ a lot lately, but no fears; I’m still the same awesome hero ‘hog we all know ‘n’ love!”The sheer cheerfulness of his voice caught the Princess off-guard.  Seeing the doubt in her eyes, Sonic gently removed her hand from his shoulder and gave her a quick pat on the back.  “I promise, Sal, I’m fine.”
Sally, however, was not so convinced.  “Fine?  Sonic, your behavior on missions has been getting more and more erratic for days now.  It’s like you’re intentionally trying to find bigger risks to take, and I’m very worried about your safety, not to mention everyone else’s.” she replied, looking Sonic square in the eye to let him know this was no joke.
Without even really thinking about it, Sonic’s foot began to tap the ground over and over again in growing impatience.  For a second, Sally could have sworn she saw a flicker of...guilt?...pass across his eyes, but it was replaced with a flustered glare so quickly she was not even fully sure it had been real.  “I said I was fine and I meant it,” he told her, folding his arms indignantly.  
“I don’t care what you said,” Sally shot back, she too slowly losing her patience, “I’m not about to let you go on what could turn out to be an extremely dangerous mission until I’m sure you won’t jeopardize our team!”
Already, the two could feel the tension rising between them.  “So you don’t trust me, is that it?” Sonic asked angrily.
“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” Sally responded cooly.
Hands raised in mock-surprise, Sonic gasped exaggeratedly.  “Oh?  I guess I got psychic powers when I wasn’t looking!”
Massaging the bridge of her nose, Sally stopped for a moment to compose herself.  Eyes closed, she sighed.  “Look, Sonic...I just want to make sure you’re OK.” she said sincerely.
“Hmp!”-ing in a less than pleased way, Sonic still felt his mood lighten a bit at her soft tone.  “Yeah, well...I appreciate the concern, Sal...” he answered quietly, frustrated both at the situation and at himself.  
Before Sally could say anything more, her ears were filled with a loud boom, her body overtaken by a fearsome wind.  When her eyes had opened, the Princess was alone.  With a defeated sigh, she trudged off to her own hut, dreading the mission now more than ever.

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Snivley hated being left in the dark.  Ever since his “dear” uncle had retreated into the underground lab on the lowest level of his citadel, however, the dark was the only place the needle-nosed man had been.  Forced to communicate with Robotnik solely through a computer monitor, Snivley had been made responsible of running the city in his uncle's absence.  Though the diminutive lackey would normally have killed to have such power, it was not to be; whatever orders Snivley wished to give had to be run by Robotnik first.  In short, he was forced to be a figurehead to his bloated uncle.  All the while, he had no idea what the mad man was even working on down there.  Thus, when the elevator doors opened and the rotund ruler of Robotropolis emerged for the first time in almost a month, Snivley was more than eager to learn just what had been going on.  Indeed, he was right there waiting for his uncle when Robotnik entered the command room from the elevator.  “Hello, sir.” he spoke with dishonest reverence.
“Greetings, Snivley,” Robotnik answered distractedly, taking his seat in the room's center, immediately settling back into his role of command, watching over the many consoles and monitors that now surrounded him intently.  “I trust things have been well in my absence?”
“I'm afraid not, sir...the Freedom Fighters managed to destroy our hovercraft factory last night.” Snivley answered cautiously, having chosen not to inform his superior earlier for fear of reprisal; now, however, it was best Robotnik learn it from him and not simple observation of the city.  
Though Robotnik drummed his fingers along the arms of his throne, the dictator did not become enraged, much to Snivley's surprise.  Instead, he began to simply grin.  “Good, good...” he practically laughed, “that means the little rodents will be coming for a follow-up strike soon...”
If Snivley was surprised before, he was quite confused now.  Uncle Julian was...happy?  At the destruction of one of their most important factories?  “Something to do with his secret project, no doubt...” he realized.
“Snivley!” Robotnik barked.  
“Yes sir?” he practically squeaked.  
Folding his fingers together, dark and terrible and delightful thoughts whirling around in his mind as he anticipated what was coming, Robotnik's grin became a frightening, toothy smile.    “I want Spy Drones patrolling the borders of the city at all times...the second they so much as catch a hint of those pathetic furballs, I want to be informed immediately.”

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That hint was fast on its way.  Though the clouds she had been flying through had once been clear and pure, Dulcy the Dragon could see the skies grow thick and smoggy as they drew closer to Robotropolis.  Flying in her usual roughshod manner, she hoped her friends, riding as they were on the saddle that rested on her back, were not too uncomfortable.  “We're just about there, guys!” she called over her back to Sonic, Sally, and Antoine, each one gripping nervously to the sides of the saddle.  “There's a good landing spot up ahead...should I take it?”
“YES!” they all answered quickly.
Soon enough, Dulcy had landed.  Or rather, she had attempted to land, only to trip, crash, and slide along the ground several feet on her stomach. Though dazed, the Freedom Fighters had long since gotten used to the dragon’s less-than-graceful landings, and so recovered quickly.  “You OK, Dulce?” Sonic asked as he hopped off her back.
“Don’t worry, Ma, I’ll be OK after I have some milk ‘n’ cookies...” Dulcy answered dizzily.
Sally and Antoine followed the hedgehog’s example, climbing off Dulcy and getting onto the ground.  Shaking her head a little bit, Dulcy snapped back to reality.  “Ugh...sorry, guys...” she apologized groggily as she rose back to her full height.
“Don’t worry about it, Dulcy,” Sally said.  “Just head back to Knothole, and we’ll whistle when we need you, OK?”
Nodding vigorously, the dragon took off, shakily at first, but growing stabler as she got higher up.  “Well, now zat zat is taken care of...” Antoine said, more shaken by the frightful fall than the others, a fact his trembling voice made clear, “perhaps we can be moving to ze on?”
“For once, Ant, I agree with ya.” Sonic said.  “Last one in’s a rotten egg!”
Sally immediately moved to stop him.  “Sonic, wait!  You don’t even know where you’re...”
Alas, the Princess was too late, and so she ended up talking to empty air as the last word came out.  “...going...”
“Zat fuel is going to get himself grilled one of zese days...” Antoine chided.
Too worried to bother correcting the coyote, Sally instead grabbed his arm and pulled him along as she began to pursue Sonic.  “I swear,” she mentally promised the hedgehog, hoping somehow he could hear her thoughts, “if Robotnik does not kill you today, I will...”
Soon, the barren ground gave way to the metallic maze that was Robotropolis.  From here on in, Sally knew, she and Antoine would have to exercise great caution.  Ducking into the first alleyway she could find, the squirrel released her hold on Antoine.  “We have to find Sonic...” she told him.
“Why bother?” the coyote asked, frustrated both at Sonic’s rashness and at being dragged around.  “We will only be wasting time looking for zat fuel!  Besides, he is more zen capable of taking care of himself, no?”
Although the Princess wanted to object at first, she slowly realized Antoine was right.  Regardless of his...unusual behavior, Sonic was still capable of keeping safe (though how often he ever bothered to do so was another thing...) and at least one step ahead of Robotnik and his drones.  Regardless of what he was up to, there was still work to be done.  Reluctantly, Sally nodded.  “You’re right, Antoine.  Let’s get going to the supply depot; maybe we can find out just what Robotnik’s been hoarding for himself...”
As the two prepared to take off, however, they heard a strange whirring sound coming from above.  A camera!  Looking upwards, Sally could not quite tell where the noise was coming from in the shadows that covered the alley.  Still, she did not need to see it to know they had been spotted by a Spy Drone.  “Robotnik knows we’re here...” she told Antoine, who had already begun shaking.  
Taking her gaze back to the ground, the squirrel knew she was not about to let that stop her.  It just meant they would have to play things differently than originally planned.  “C’mon, Ant!” she encouraged the coyote, resuming her run to the alley’s end.  “We can still pull this off.”
Soon, the duo was on the move again.  As the exit of the alley began to come into view, Sally could see a familiar silhouette up ahead.  Though it was hard to make out all his features in the darkness, the squirrel smiled in relief at the sight of Sonic.  “There you are!” she called out as she and Antoine came closer to him.  “What’s the big idea, running off on us like that?” she asked, her attempt at condescension ultimately outweighed by the happiness that Sonic had avoided getting into trouble.
However, where there normally would have been a witty response or cutting remark, there was only silence.  “Sonic...?” Sally asked fearfully; the closer she got to this shadowed figure, however, the less certain she was that she was addressing the right person.
Suddenly, the shadows were pierced by a terrifying crimson light.  Illuminated now by the glow of its eyes, the figure stood revealed, and Sally gasped in horror.  A mechanized hedgehog stood before her, dull blue armor covering most of its body with shimmering silver on its arms and legs, a golden circle in the center of its torso within which rested what looked like a powerful turbine.  “No...oh no...” the squirrel thought, terrified.  “He didn’t...he couldn’t have been...”
The word “roboticized” danced across Sally’s thoughts like a wraith.  Rationality tried to argue that it was not possible; Sonic would have had to have been caught immediately upon entering the city to have been...transformed...and ready so soon after having last been with her.  Yet the proof seemed to be staring her in the face.  Against that, all the logic in the world could not hold.  “Ah, hello dear princess...” a familiar and much-maligned voice emanated from the robot, its crackling quality revealing it as a radio transmission.  “I do so hope you like the newest addition to my family.  I call him...Metal Sonic.”
“Robotnik...” Sally hissed, fighting back tears.
Knees buckling, arms trembling, Antoine still attempted to slowly but surely position himself between his Princess and this new enemy.  “I was rather hoping I’d get the chance to use him against you, you know,” Robotnik’s voice continued to boom forth arrogantly.  “The irony really would be delicious, don’t you think?”
Just as Robotnik finished his boast, Metal Sonic’s body tensed.  “I’m afraid this is the last you and I shall ever see of each other, Princess,” the mad doctor feigned sorrow, “I’d say you’ve been a worthy adversary, but...I’d be lying!”
With the villainous tyrant’s laughter echoing across the alley, Metal Sonic lifted off the ground, the turbine in its chest whirring like a monster ready to consume its prey.  “RUN!” Sally shouted as loud as she could.  She and Antoine both attempted to follow that order, but as soon as they turned they were again confronted by their mechanical foe.  Surprised at its speed, Sally quickly reached into her vest pocket, shouting out, “Nicole, run program holo1.1/1.5!”
As Sally spoke those words, a laser rifle had risen from the top of Metal Sonic’s fore-arm and in the blink of an eye found itself aimed at its prey.  However, where once only two enemies stood, there now stood dozens.  Sallys and Antoines filled the alley from wall to wall.  With their opponent temporarily distracted, the genuine articles fled as fast as they could back to the very place they had first met this new enemy and beyond.  “My Princess,” Antoine panted, “what just ‘appened?”
When Sally did not answer, the digitized voice of her personal computer Nicole, now out of its resting place in the squirrel’s vest and in her hands, picked up the slack.  “The activation of a new, previously untested program that utilizes my screen to emit light particles in such a way as to create seemingly solid images called ‘holograms’.”
“Ah, but of course!” Antoine beamed, despite the fact that in actuality he had no idea what had just been said.  “Still, I am to be thinking we will not be keeping safe for long if we do not be hurrying!”
Again, there was no answer from the princess.  What little of her mind was not focused on getting herself and her friend to safety was struggling to wrap its thoughts around what she had just seen.  Sonic roboticized...she knew it had always been possible, but...for it to actually happen...turning the corner, recognition overtook worry.  “Perfect!” she thought thankfully.  
The second they exited the alley, however, the pair were rocked by a powerful explosion that erupted only a few feet behind them.  Metal Sonic had skipped going through its targets one by one in favor of a blast so large it had overtaken all of them.  Sally and Antoine were both knocked off their feet by the force of it, but while the princess managed to pick herself up quickly, her coyote companion was slowed by a body frozen in panic.  “Come on, Antoine, just a little further!” she shouted, even as she turned back to retrieve him.
The smoke and debris created by the blast was fading, and Sally knew the second they did, Metal Sonic would be upon them, if not sooner.  Alas, Antoine had degenerated into a blubbering mass of dead weight, and so she had no choice but to drag him along.  “Come on, come on...just a bit more...” her mind raced.
Long ago having mapped out Robotropolis, the Freedom Fighters had taken to crafting hiding places for themselves when the city’s construction did not lend itself to that purpose on its own.  By sheer good luck, this spot was one of them.  An inconspicuous panel rested on the building that stretched out adjacent to the alleyway Sally and Antoine had come from that, once pressed, would cause a chunk of the wall to open up, revealing a hollowed-out area any Freedom Fighter on the run could enter until their enemies had given up searching for them.    If she could get there in time, open it before they were spotted...
Her hand only inches away from the panel that would have been her salvation, Sally suddenly felt cold steel close down on her neck like a vice.  All oxygen starting to leave her, the squirrel gasped desperately for air.  Immediately, life returned to the previously-paralyzed Antoine, who began a futile assault against the machine that now held his beloved Princess in a death grip.  “Release her!” he cried out, pounding against Metal Sonic futilely.  
With a single flick of its free arm, the robotic hedgehog send Antoine flying into the nearest wall.  Crumpling uselessly to the ground, the coyote could only watch as he saw the life slowly leaving Sally.  “My...princess...”, he groaned weakly, trying to get his injured body to function with no success.
And then, as if sent by the Goddess herself, a new voice entered the fray.  “Hey, pal!” it echoed across the sky, “hands off!  The lady’s with me!”
In a flash, a blur of blue and motion had crashed into Metal Sonic’s forearm with such force that the hand connected to it loosened and the blaster hidden within it was crushed.  The machine was knocked off balance, and Sally fell to the grimy streets of Robotropolis, panting and wheezing, yet still feeling a surge of life at the sound of her savior.  “Sonic...?  But...I thought...”
Yet she had very little time to think, for the next thing she knew, she had been lifted up again, this time scooped up out from under her legs, and was moving at breakneck speeds.  “Yeesh, Sal, I leave for two minutes and you go ‘n’ run off with some other hedgehog?  I’m hurt.”
Still recovering, Sally looked up into familiar brown eyes.  Though she tried to fight them down, faint tears began to mount.  “Sonic...you’re OK...”, then, a sudden thought caused her to continue, “Antoine! Is he...”
“I am being just fine, my Princess...” the coyote wheezed, his arms wrapped around Sonic’s shoulders as he rested on the hedgehog’s back.
“Guess we know what ‘Buttnik’s big project is now, huh?” Sonic asked, eyes darting back every so often in search of pursuers.  
When Sally gave no response, the hedgehog’s gaze fell upon her, and he saw her tears for the first time.  “Sal...?” he whispered, surprised and concerned.  
Before the squirrel could respond, a flash of crimson came like a lightning bolt from the sky at the travelling trio.  Though Sonic dodged out of the way in time, even outrunning the explosion that followed, another came several seconds afterwards.  Looking upwards, he saw the machine modeled in his image chasing them, rocketing through the sky at speeds far greater than any other machine Robotnik had ever constructed, smoke emanating from another laser gun in its undamaged arm.  Even the Cheetah-Bot that had raced alongside Sonic himself would not have been able to match it.  Slowly but surely, it was closing in on its organic counterpart, and Sonic knew if he did not start getting serious, it would overtake him.  “C’mon, feet, don’t fail me now!” he ordered himself, picking up speed as best he could.
Yet for every inch it lost, Metal Sonic seemed to recover two more in the same instant.  Slowly but surely, he was gaining on the ever-rushing hedgehog.  Their heated race soon took them outside of Robotropolis, cutting through the wastelands that seperated it from...
“SONIC!” Sally suddenly shouted, her again-aware mind suddenly realizing what would inevitably happen if things continued as they were, “You have to turn around!”
“WHAT?” the hedgehog yelped.  “Are you nuts?”
Growling in frustration, panic, and confusion, the squirrel quickly rephrased her order.  “Take another route!  We can’t go back to Knothole with that thing tailing us, or we’ll lead it straight to the others!”
If Sonic had any free hands available, he would have smacked himself.  Of course that was what would happen!  How could he have not seen that?  Still, the hedgehog knew he could save his frustration for later.  Right now, he had no intention of leaving his friends in jeopardy.  “Sal, whistle for Dulcy!” he shouted, then added at the sight of the Princess’ doubtful eyes, “Look, I’M Priority One Hedgehog, right?  If we split off, it’ll come after me, not you guys!”
Sally opened her mouth to protest, but another explosion, this one so close it singed the tips of her fur as they dodged it, silenced her.  She hated the idea of leaving Sonic behind, but there seemed little alternative.  Antoine’s life was at risk too, and Sonic was right: the machine would ultimately pick the hedgehog as its target over any other.  Reluctantly, the squirrel brought her fingers to her mouth and blew.  A high-pitched whistle pierced the air, a signal for their winged friend to come aid them.  As it did, the trio found a shadow slowly crawling across them from above.  “It’s almost right on top of us...” Sonic realized in a mixture of panic and frustration; he was the fastest thing alive, he should have been able to leave this two-bit copycat in the dust without breaking a sweat!
Another blast meant another dodged explosion for Sonic, though he realized with no small amount of worry that each shot was a bit closer to being on the mark than the last. Worse, Sonic had begun to feel the strain of his increased efforts, and knew he would not be able to keep going at his current speed much longer.  And then fire poured down from the skies above, slamming into Metal Sonic like a tidal wave.  “HEY GUYS!!!”
“Dulcy!” Sonic and Sally shouted together happily as the dragon swooped down in the nick of time, though the hedgehog dared not stop moving, forcing her to follow alongside as best she could.  
Looking back, Dulcy could see why.  The robot hedgehog was unfazed by her flames, already rising upwards to resume its pursuit.  “Hop aboard, you guys, and quick!  That Sonic-bot or whatever it is looks like it’s coming back for more!”
“Just Sal and Ant, Dulce,” Sonic said, raising his shoulder to help the weakened coyote onto Dulcy’s saddle, “You gotta leave me behind or that thing’ll follow you to Knothole!”
Dulcy liked the idea as little as Sally, but just like the Princess, the dragon quickly concluded there was nothing else to be done.  With what remained of his strength, Antoine managed to climb shakily onto the saddle, reaching out his hand for Sally to take.  “Go for it, Sal,” Sonic urged her, “I’ve got this lame-o wannabe covered!”
Looking at the hedgehog pleadingly, she whispered, “Just...come back safely, alright?”
“LOOKING ZE OUT!!!”
Antoine’s warning came just in time as Metal Sonic, already closing in on the group, fired another blast.  Sonic dodged out of the way without so much as a milisecond to spare, and even then the blast grazed his arm, sending a horrendous burning pain through it.  “AAGH!!!”
“Get out of here, Dulcy!”  Sally ordered.
“NO!” Sonic shouted through clenched teeth.  “You gotta go with her, Sal!”
“There’s no time, Sonic!  Dulcy, please...”
The squirrel was begging now.  If the dragon stayed any longer, Metal Sonic would have all four of them in the palm of its hand.  “Don’t you dare, Dulcy!” Sonic barked, trying to get back to the winged beast, only to have to cut himself off to avoid another of his robotic doppelgangers’ attacks.  “Sal, ya gotta go with them!  I can’t...”
There was a note of panic in Sonic’s voice that shook Sally deeply.  It took a great deal to frighten Sonic the Hedgehog; if he was scared, that was very good reason to be afraid.  Yet Sonic’s fear gave the Princess all the more reason to be brave, for the both of them.  “You have to,” she urged him, “and you know it.”
Arm burning, throat dry, mind scrambling, the hedgehog was forced to admit she was right.  With an angered yell, he veered off to the left, leaving Dulcy and Antoine safe to travel back to Knothole.  As Sonic had suspected, his metallic double took only a moment to decide between which target to pursue, and was back on him in seconds.  More laser fire came raining down upon the hedgehog and his passenger, but Metal Sonic’s brief pause had given the speedster a small enough lead that he was able to dodge the incoming attacks far easier than before.  The blue blur knew it would not be long before the situation reverted back to the way it was, but for now, he had a chance of escape.  “So, Sal,” Sonic piped up over the roar of the whipping winds and booming explosions, “any ideas on how to shake this thing?”
“Keep moving,” Sally instructed, her leader’s instincts kicking in.  “We’ll try to lose it in the Great Unknown!”
“You got it, Sal!” he said, starting to sweat from exertion; keeping ahead of that machine was pushing him to his limits and beyond.  
Zig-zagging across the increasingly bumpy terrain did little to help, but the hedgehog kept going.  If he could keep Metal Sonic aiming instead of shooting, he hoped it would improve his odds, at least until he and Sally made it to the canyons of the Great Unknown.  Jagged and treacherous, the canyon was as dangerous a spot as one could find, but its mountainous boulders and winding gaps made it a good place to hide.  “We’re almost there!” Sally shouted, feeling Sonic’s sweat on her fur now.  “You can make it, Sonic!”
Sonic’s breathing was growing ragged.  The chase had been beyond even his high thresholds, and the speedster knew he did not have much left.  Soon, the ominous stone peaks of the Great Unknown began to peak over the horizon.  “We made it!” Sally shouted to encourage her carrier.
She and Sonic both knew, however, that they were far from out of the woods yet.  “We need a place to hide,” she reminded the hedgehog.  
The blue blur simply nodded as he saw they were approaching the open mouth of one of the many canyons that populated the Great Unknown.  Normally, he would simply have jumped the large distance, propelled by his incredible speed.  This time, however, Sonic knew the moment he was in the air, he and Sally would be sitting ducks, and so instead he prepared to turn to the right, hoping to lose his relentless enemy amongst the giant stones.  That was when it all went wrong.  
Another laser came down upon Sonic, and though he dodged once again, the explosion it created was too close.  This time, it was near enough that Sonic felt himself picked up off his feet by the sheer force of it.  As the terrifying absence of ground beneath him began to register, the canyon up ahead seemed to open up, like a mouth trying to swallow him; Sonic’s heart froze as he and Sally flew over the edge, plummeting downwards into the abyss below.  Clutching Sally close, Sonic closed his eyes as the wind beat against his face and they fell deeper and deeper into the canyon below.  Desperately, the blue blur straightened himself out and dove forward into the fall rather than fight it, hoping against hope that the half-cocked plan that had just flashed through his mind would work.  “Sonic…!” Sally began to shout, but one look at the hedgehog’s eyes told her everything she needed to know.
One of the many talents Sonic had been able to develop due to his incredible speed was the ability to curl into a ball that span on its own power so fast it could cut through steel; he liked to call it his “Sonic Spin”.  It was far easier to do it when he had the boost of a Power Ring, and he’d never tried one with someone in his arms before, but he saw no other choice.  “Hang on, Sal!”
With that, Sally felt herself pressed against Sonic’s body even tighter, his legs curling up against her.  Then, her world turned upside down…and then it turned right-side up again.  Upside down and right-side up, upside down and right-side up…over and over again, turning and turning.  Sally began to feel more than a little motion sick, closing her eyes as she and Sonic rocketed downwards.  Scratching up against the canyon wall every now and then, digging through its rocky surface, the hedgehog made a desperate attempt to slow their descent.  Alas, it proved fruitless; every time he began to get traction, the spinning Sonic would find himself bounced away.  Suddenly, the sound of rushing water reached his ears through the wind, and he felt a new surge of fear rush through him as he realized what that meant.  Sure enough, the next thing he knew, Sonic’s body was consumed in water as their fall ended at last, only to place them in the hands of the flowing river that lay at the canyon’s bottom.  Feeling as if he had crashed through a glass window, the hedgehog uncurled, exposing Sally to the powerful current that swept her out of his arms and launched the both of them downwards.  Yet while the princess managed to swim up to the surface, Sonic sank like a rock, unable to swim and winded by the collision.  As consciousness began to fade, his last thoughts were “Sal…I’m so sorry…”
And then his world turned black.