Sonic the Hedgehog: The Path Untaken

[The Jest 45]

(Best to be playing this song while you read...)

Before I begin, I feel a Prelude is necessary. So Here it is:

Prelude

As some of you already know. I mainly came here for the comics, at least at first. While I've had a few actual comics before, (Sonic and Knuckles special, Knuckles the Echidna #25, and Sonic the Hedgehog #121, in case you're wondering.) what REALLY sparked my interest was the Sonic the hedgehog comic cover collection from Sonic Mega Collection. It was pretty old at the time, so only 1-110 was shown in the cover. It did have one actual comic to it, Sonic Firsts, which we also have here. (Issue #3 of the Super Sonic Specials.)

Through Sonic Mega Collection, I looked at the first 110 comic covers of Sonic, in addition to the covers of Knuckles and the specials. (No Chaotix, or Knuckles mini-series though for some reason.) While the covers of a lot of those were alright. It was the main series covers that really fascinated me. But it wasn't the artwork that did it for me, it was looking at the covers, and guessing at what was inside. When a single hint is the cover, it's the only guess you got to know what's going on in the comics. It's not just an impression of the series, but an impression of the story at hand.

I spent some of my time imagining what might be the stories behind these covers, when a certain skunk appears and give me the link to this place. At long last, I was able to read these Comics that I've been waiting for all this time to read.

...And I was honestly disappointed. Oh, don't get me wrong I'm not saying they're bad, I'm not even saying I don't like what they were doing with the plots. Sure there's some things I raise my eyebrow at, (Enerjak: The ultimate power in the multiverse, but can't seem to handle rocks and ants.) but the series overall have been excellent so far.

That said, I just had high expectations, and only VERY rarely does the main series actually hit those expectations. Upon looking at the cover of Issue 30 again, I was stricken with an idea...

They say a good comedian can make the Phone book funny. I believe the same applies to writing about a single picture. (A picture's worth a thousand words, after all.) With that in mind, I intend to practice my skills as a writer, by sharing my thoughts with all of you. Starting with Sonic the Hedgehog #1, I shall show you the world of Mobius and everyone in it...in a slightly different light then what Archie gave us. I'll admit it will be slow at first, but give it some time, wait til we get to the bigger issues of Sonic, then I'm sure I can use my mind to the fullest for your entertainment.

I am, of course appreciative towards comments on this work. I'd also appreciate both compliments and critiques alike since this is after all my training exercise.

However, I understand there may be some comments that are...confused. Critics who may be misunderstood if I just up and did this thing from the start. So that I don't have to repeat myself as the stories progress, I'd like to make a few things clear:

1. This is a new Continuity: These are not the exact same stories as the Archie comics, and are not the exact same characters either. The fact of the matter is: This is NOT the Archie comic series. The stories will be different from their counterparts, (Well, at least as different as possible) and while I will try to make the characters as much of a match as possible, they may not be the same character you know and love. This also won't be following the Canon of said Archie comics. As such, there may be some things that may not appear in this. The Source of All being one I know won't show up here unless I find a clever way to get it here. (Maybe in Chapter (Issue) # 35) I want there to be critics, but I want them to Critique this on its own standards, as its own stories.

2. I tell it as I see it: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder as they say. The stories made are made strictly by the covers that I see, and as such are made strictly by my perspective and my personal guess as to what the stories were going to be like. As such, understandably, there may be some covers that are like Rorschach tests, in that people will have a different perspective of what the comics may be like. That's just fine, everyone has a different opinion on things and no two people think the same thing when seeing the same image of art. Just know that this is how I see the stories that these covers show.

That being said, the stories I'm making are made SPECIFICALLY by looking at the covers. If I see a character fighting with another, he'll fight with another. If I see a character on the verge of death, he or she will be on the verge of death. If I see someone betraying another for one reason or another, that someone will betray that other for one reason or another. I will explain my reasons in author's notes for why I chose the stories I make, by telling what I personally see in the cover. Won't do this for all of them mind you, Some of them are fairly obvious. But there will be some that I understand you may not quite understand my choices for, and for those I will explain as soon as they happen.

3. Until 110 (However...): As I've already stated, I've got this idea from looking at the covers in Sonic Mega Collection's extras menu. If you remember, Sonic Mega Collection was released in the US near the end of 2002. Considering also that it was an ongoing comic series, well, needless to say there had to be a stopping point sooner or later. They stopped their trip down memory lane at the cover of Sonic #110. (War games, if you remember.) So that is where my own nostalgic trip ends. As such, I intend to stop doing this at Issue 110. Odds are, it will end on a cliffhanger, or just without EVERYTHING resolved, just like a comic book would do. At that point, I'll be done with it.

...HOWEVER, If I am requested, if you guys really want me to, I can, and will, continue all the way to the current Comic cover, and will continue to do this, for as long as the comics come rolling in, making a new story for each new cover.

4."*Sigh* Ohhh Sh**! ...That was actually really good.": Above all else, you have to remember that the reason I'm doing this in the first place is that I see potential unseen by Archie. I want you guys to have the best entertainment as possible listening to my stories. That being said, the fact is that while they missed my target in most cases. Some special cases were pretty freaking close! The example that comes to mind is 46-50, the Endgame Quadrilogy. Another fact is that I'm not perfect, in fact I'm just a beginner Author. I'm a newb and a rookie compared to the likes of...any other author you can think of. While I admit one of my major concerns is being unable to think up anything for some covers, (Looking at you, Issue 3...and you too, 5!) I can deal with that since they're just starting out and as such, I can just make some sort of filler for it somehow, use the space for something good. My MAIN problem, however, is the fact that there are some that not only hit my expectations, but actually SURPASSED them. ...Again, I'm looking at you, Endgames!

Because of this, I'm going to say this right off the bat: if I don't skip them (And I probably won't since we need to avoid as many continuity merges as possible to keep things from getting confused.) I can not, and will not, guarantee that they will be better than the original stories, and that's Ok. My intention has never been to think myself better than the writers of Archie, but to see and go down a different path of the same road as them. (Hence the title.) That being said...

5. Main series ONLY: I didn't see the specials as particularly in canon with anything. I thought of them like anime movies, awesome spectacles with the same characters but nothing canonical, and this ESPECIALLY goes double for the Super Sonic Specials. While I'll admit there are five SSS issues I can see potentially making something of (Battle Royal, Brave New World, Return of the King, and Issue 14 & 15) Nothing I'd think of would be canon with the story I make, and besides that, look at the rest of those covers...

...Let me explain in order why I'm not even bothering with these. (Except maybe the ones already mentioned) Sonic Firsts is irrelevant since I may explain how Sonic's Origin story began and the others I intend to make happen as the story goes along. I'm not particularly good at tales about children versions of existing characters. (Though Geoff might be if he's up to it whenever he gets back.) Same goes for their sequel. Sonic 50 director's cut is just that: Sonic 50. I know nothing about the characters of Image comics, and for that matter, about Spawn's universe for Issue 7. 8's a Sailor Moon/Sonic combo... Just no. I know nothing worth mentioning about Sabrina in issue 10, except maybe if I make it like an episode of the sitcom. Issue 11's girl power filler, I knew nothing about Zonic back then for issue 12, and it would probably be filler anyways, and 13's gonna be covered in the middle of the main series where it's Sonic Adventures adaptations aplenty.

The specials I considered as both un-canon and connects well between cover and story. ...As they should. The same goes for the Megaman Series, The mini-series, and the Sonic Universe Series.

The ONLY things that I might do, If it's requested of me, are the mentioned 5 SSS issues, and the Knuckles series. That's it, but even then, it's only if requested. Until then, It's just the main Sonic the Hedgehog series, and nothing more.

6. This is done on MY time: I should say right out that I have no schedule for this. This is something I'm using as a pet project of sorts, and I have other things I need to do, much is the case with the Altia Chronicles. I have RPs, I have my own, actual, book that I'm working (or trying to work) on, since I am intending on having a career as an author. Not to mention things in RL to take care of, like bills, and errands. So for anyone that asks when the next chapter will be out, all I can say is that it will be done when it's done, no more, no less.

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One more thing: I should warn you that the first 8, are probably not going to be my best. I don't have a lot to work with in the case of these first ones, and even if I did, the 90's kid type writing isn't exactly the style I'm good at. If anything, I was tempted to just skipping straight to 9. Or at least 6. So as such... be prepared, for some, for lack of a better word, lazy writing for a little bit. Don't worry...I WILL pick up quickly.

With all of that said... Let us begin.

(PS...I got the title from Number 4 from this.)

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Chapter 1: Welcome to Mobius HELL

Planet Mobius: a planet filled with many different forms of life and more beautiful forms of nature. A world of sentient life across the globe evolved to reach a level of intellect and skill equal or even surpassing the most common of evolution's children. Animals, just like ones on the earth, but now mostly anthropomorphic and considered an equal humanoid kind: The Mobians. Once ruled by the peaceful Acorn Kingdom, and under its king, Maximillian Acorn, the world knew peace and freedom. Until one faithful day, when the actions of one man, changed the world for the worse.

This man was Dr. Ivo Robotnik, a scientist who, out of seemingly nowhere, assembled an army of robots all the while making mobians disappear. With this army, he staged a Coup against King Max and usurped his throne, taking control of the entire world into his hands. The King was banished, disappeared into the unknown by the doctor, and his wife Alicia, his son Elias, and daughter Sally disappeared shortly before his victory. With the kingdom of Acorn now under his control, it didn't take long for Robotnik to take the smaller countries and governments into his control, eventually taking over the entire world.

Factories were created, Mobians were used as slave labor or disappeared to be replaced by robots, and pollution darkened the once bright skies over their heads. The once beautiful Mobius was now barely keeping itself from becoming a wasteland.

Rebellions were formed against the Doctor, small groups of freedom fighters who vowed to bring Mobius back to the way it was before. But they were small compared to the global power they faced up against, too small to make any difference other than annoying the Doctor and delaying the performance of his robots. For a long while, it seemed like nothing would be able to stop the Doctor; it looked as if he had won before the battle even began.

One day however, someone did make a difference. On an island in the middle of the West (Think Pacific) Ocean, a single hero rose up to the challenge after Robotnik's attempt at taking the small Mobians. He was known as Sonic, a blue hedgehog with a natural gift of extraordinary speed and agility. With this ability, Sonic managed to do what other freedom fighters only wished to do: He defeated the Doctor, he made him halt his domination and retreat from the island.

This act, which can only be described as a miracle in their eyes, changed the world for the better, as it gave the freedom fighters of Mobius a new spark of hope. They became known throughout the world and acted relentlessly against the Doctor and his robots. It was also revealed by this act that Robotnik was turning Mobians into robots by a machine of unknown origins known as the Roboticizer. As such, the freedom fighters now had the mission of reverting the Mobians back to normal, and destroying every other robot they can. They were still outnumbered and outmatched, but now they had a goal and a reason to keep hope alive and that made them eternally persistent.

So persistent, in fact, that the Doctor attempted to harness a group of mysterious gems found by Sonic, known as the Chaos Emeralds, to create a super weapon that will roboticize everyone and everything on Mobius in one blow. As such, Sonic left his island with the assistance of his friend and fan, Tails, and traveled the world in search of a way to head to the super weapon above the clouds known as the Death Egg. Along the way, he helped Freedom Fighters across the world in their attempts to defeat Robotnik, as a freedom-fighting vagabond, until eventually he reached the flying fortress of the Death Egg, and sent it crashing down.

Soon after this, in an attempt to finish off the Death Egg, he followed it as it fell back down to earth and found the legendary floating Island, Angel Island. There he found and constantly fought with its sole guardian, and guardian of the Master Emerald that slept within, Knuckles the Echidna. Twice Eggman tried to launch the Death Egg back into orbit, and twice Sonic stopped him, destroying the Death Egg for good, while making peace with Knuckles as he gave back the emeralds Robotnik stole.

As Robotnik retreats, the Death Egg plan miserably failing, he returned to his Capital City of Robotropolis, once the capital city of the Kingdom of Acorns and once named Mobotropolis.

As Robotnik tries to come up with other ways of defeating this hedgehog, now the priority target of his forces, Sonic continued to be a drifting Vagabond, helping people out all over the world. Eventually he decides to travel to the forest of Knothill, the great forest on the outskirts of Robotropolis, to assist the freedom fighters there, and finish Robotnik's conquest once and for all.

This, is where our story begins...

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Knothill forest, one of the only places of Mobius still rich with the natural beauty made by the trees and grass, the ever-loving green and brown all forests used to have. It's amazing that such a large forest was made so close to the pollution capital of the world. It goes to show how good the Mobians of this freedom fighters unit are in their persistence and quality against Robotnik from this close to the center of his entire army. Walking through this forest, with a bag on his shoulder and a cape to keep himself warm in the cold nights was a certain blue figure, his shoes, ruby-red and with a white velcro stripe, a golden buckle on opposite sides, and a bullet-like shape, were about as distinctive as his color. It was none other than Sonic the hedgehog, walking through the forest, savoring its beauty and untainted air.

How long has it been since he started travelling the world, stopping Robotnik's forces each time, saving a few reckless freedom fighters from their demise? It must have been about a year now. A year since he stepped right into the frontlines despite wanting to just be living a laid-back life, a year since he stopped Robotnik's doomsday machine and met his red rival. A year since Tails left to try and help out like Sonic was doing. The kid's brave, he had to give him that. But since he left, Sonic was without aerial support, so he had to go to this place on foot, helping out people along the way as best as he could. The once alone and carefree hedgehog who just wanted to live a peaceful life, is now akin to a war hero whose name is idolized in songs and legends alike by fellow freedom fighters.

He never was able to go back to that island home of his, so this is the first time in a little while that he felt such a peaceful atmosphere, the calm winds on his face and the peaceful sounds of the moving leaves and grass amidst the wind. It made him feel right at home, as if he never left that island. He wanted to sit down, lay back on the trunk of a tree and relax. ...But that's something he can't do, not now.

As Knothill was right next to Robotropolis, the city where Robotnik lives, and returns to with each and every trip, its freedom fighters were apparently the best around to be able to directly attack this place and live to tell the tale. Supposedly, it's leader was a great tactical mind, and is often seen as the leader of the freedom fighters all around the world. But with that comes the heavy disadvantage of being right in the heart of the Doctor's forces. One screw up is all it would take for them to be taken down, and this forest burned to the ground. They may be good, but they're not perfect. Eventually they'll screw up, they'll make a mistake and Robotnik wins. Therefore now was the time to join with them and keep them from all getting essentially roboticized. Besides that, he can finally finish off the Doctor's reign since he's so close to his capital. It wasn't going to be done in a second, but the more damage done, the more possible it becomes to get to him. For Sonic, this little war was the final battle.

As Sonic walks through the forest, he stumbles upon a single stump where a tree should have been, unique among the forest filled with full-grown trees. A little while ago, he passed a village hidden within the forest, containing the remaining civilians of Mobotropolis, which meant the Freedom Fighters here has much more to lose than simply a pretty forest. Remembering the words of an old caretaking squirel who talked with him as he passed, the entrance to the Freedom Fighters secret base was in the forest as one of its most unique spots. He checked the stump out thoroughly and revealed that it was hollowed out, with a round door that he opened up from the top and that there was a tunnel beneath it. He looked around and jumped inside as soon as he could, closing the door from behind.

The tunnel seemed to be just his thing as he curled up into a ball and spin-dashed through the wavy tunnel as it swerved in all different kinds of directions. Eventually he shot out, landing on a bed of hay. He got off, stood up and looked around. An underground base of operations beneath the forest, using the forest as a cover; a cave of many rooms with tables, maps across the walls, and some aspects of technology, such as a computer on the wall. With a whistle as a reaction to this, Sonic looked around at the giant catacombs beneath the forest. He found an empty 'room' within this cave and decided to call it as his own, dropping his bag and cape down on the ground. He then walked around the place, noticing that there were two signs for two different exits out of this base. One led out to the forest where he entered from, and the other seemed to go directly back to the village, making him wonder why the old lady didn't just tell him to go through there.

But there was one thing that bothered him about this. There was no one around, it was completely empty and silent.

"...HELLO!?" He yelled, but nothing answered him.

"Typical. I come by, and no one's around to greet me." He said to himself. He then walked over to find any leads to where they might have went. Based on what the marked-up map on the table and the records on the computer, they apparently left for another mission to Robotropolis, a factory there that they're trying to destroy.

"Looks like they must have got caught or something, too bad they took all the freedom fighters with them or else someone would be heading there to help them out." Sonic said. With a smirk on his face, he gave stretched his legs in preparation and immediately shot right out of the forest tunnel. As soon as he flew out, he hit the ground running and dashed towards Robotropolis.

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As Sonic makes it out of the pleasant forest, he's met with an atmospheric back-slap. Beyond the forest lies the desolate mechanical city of Robotropolis. A giant circular city of metal and smog, the center possessing a massive Tower-like fortress that served as Robotnik's home. Metropolis Zone and the Scrap Brain Zone had nothing on this place it seems, the skies forever darkened by a black cloud of pollution, electricity and fire shooting out from various areas, and not one living thing can be seen.

From the outside and inside, the only things that can be seen are the one type of robots the Doctor made the most common: The Swat-bots, the personal army of Robotnik. Pure androids that didn't need animals inside to be powered. Though that made them all the better for Sonic since that means he had no reason to go easy on them. But they are tough and quite powerful, facing an army of them will only end in pain, and this city has a nation's worth of them inside those walls. This wasn't like any bases he invaded before, this was Robotnik's home, and as such, he had to tread lightly for now.

Since he couldn't just barge in and expect to come out swinging, the next choice of action would have to be to sneak in from the back. That marked map luckily had the location of the specific factory they were attacking marked. As such, it was easy to find. Furthermore, despite the city being completely composed of robots, Robotnik was still a living being and as such needed air whenever he goes to his factories. Obviously not fresh air as this city shows, but air nonetheless. As such, there had to be ventilation ducts that could be used. Moving too fast for any of the Swat-bots to detect, he headed inside an air duct he found outside and crawled in.

For a little while, for the first time in a while, Sonic had to move slowly through this small metal hallway. Any attempts to crawl fast would lead to noise that the robots can hear and that's not something he can take chances on happening.

Eventually, he crawled out of the vent into what appears to be a catwalk inside the facility. The place around him was exactly as expected, a massive dark hollow square of metal and wiring as cords hang from the ceiling's open areas, dirt gathered on the handles of the catwalk and very small holes in said catwalk the dropped straight to the floor. For factory in the robotic capital of the world, this place looked like a dump. Perhaps Robotnik had to spend so much time with him that he never had the time to renovate his factories.

But just as he thought about this, he looked downwards towards the ground level and saw what appears to be two people, actual living Mobians, strapped to the factory wall by metal chains. They both appear to be male, and somewhere in the teens of their age, one of them probably a little older than the other by the looks of the height difference. The taller one was a rather large walrus wearing nothing but a cap and a large utility around the chest, the nails of his claws being quite long and hard. The shorter one was a coyote wearing rather fancy looking shoes and a military vest. No medals on it though, so it's assumed he's a military type, but a rookie one. Sonic's seen a bunch of freedom fighters like that, though it's wear to see one so scared as he was by the looked of his legs shaking without stop. Below Sonic appeared to be the jailers of this apparent makeshift prison. A group of typical badniks, and a bunch of them at that. Caterkillers, buzz bombers, burrowbots, crabmeats, and even plenty of Swatbots behind them, those who aren't standing perfectly still and watching are, to put it simply, hanging out with each other, the sounds of them talking to each other echoing of the walls and heard as mumbles. Are these guys really this good that this is needed? It's just two guys after all. ...Wait a minute two? There's suppose to be three, what happen to the third member?

As Sonic thought about this, the doors to the far left opened up with a loud squeaking sound combined with the typical sound of a metal door opening up, as if the door was heavily rusted. From out of it came none other than the fat-man himself, Dr. Ivo Robotnik. Walking as he makes a thud noise with each step. The fat on his legs being more than enough to sustain the weight of this man, who with his oval torso and bald cone head, looked like an egg that grew arms, legs, a large orange mustache (No wonder he shaved his head...) and a strange fashion sense with his red shirt, crimson shoulder pads and yellow cape, his golden yellow belt holding up his black pants and what appears to be metal grieves. He hasn't changed much since he last met, but he seems to be missing the round glasses he always had on to cover up those creepy red and black eyes, and...he recalls him not having a right arm made entirely of metal. He must have done more damage to him in that last battle in space than he thought.

Beside him though, are two people Sonic didn't recognize. One of them was a very small and skinny man with only a few pieces of straggly hair on his almost-bald head and large blue eyes, not to mention that long stick he calls a nose. He seems to have a taste for green, rather than Robotnik's red, and had rather long legs compared to most, although no where near as tall as Robotnik. He looked rather scared or nervous around the big man, twiddling his thumbs and trying not to make eye contact with him as they walked. The other however was around the same height as him, but with the black cape and hood covering him head to toe, he couldn't make out anything about him from where he was. Considering how close they are while following the giant red egg, it's easy to assume that maybe they're Robotnik's best two henchmen. Seems rather odd for Robotnik to have even one living, organic minion at his side, let alone possibly two, but there must be some reason why he didn't just roboticize them like he did for everyone else.

As they walked over to the two prisoners, Robotnik took a step forward, his hands casually behind his back, and leaned down to their level.

"I am starting to get rather tired of waiting for an answer from you two. You will tell me where to find your two companions and the location of your base before I roboticize you." The emperor of the world said to the two in a nightmarishly low pitch and cold tone. Though menacing as the cackling voice is, he still sounds like he has something like a fish head stuck in his throat. There was no enjoyment in that voice, nothing that makes him out to be anywhere near good. It almost seemed emotionless due to how calm he was. ..Wait, did he say two? The other freedom fighters who told the rumors about these guys said there were only three freedom fighters in this zone. So who's the fourth?

"...D-Don't you mean, 'or else I roboticize you'?" The coyote said, that french accent as clear as day and about as subtle as a brick to the face.

"I know what I said..." Robotnik responded.

"We already told you that we don't know. They could be anywhere by now, blowing up another factory or two." The walrus said, his voice also having a low pitch but a rather soft tone.

"...Oh well, no matter. I'm sure they'll come back for you anyways like good little heroes. ...Then you will at least tell us where your base is." Robotnik said as he went and grabbed the walrus by the neck.

"You're wasting your time doc. We'll never tell you that." The Walrus then said.

"...Hmm, I suppose I am. Don't say I didn't give you a chance though. Lord Metallix, prepare them for roboticization. I'll have what I want, even if I have to extract it from their computerized brains. Let's go, Snivley." Robotnik said. The hooded one nodded then pointed to a Swatbot, or at least Sonic thinks he did, and pointed towards the back door. The other one nodded as well and walked away with the Doctor. Well, at least he knows the names of those two now, but it seems he'll have to hurry this up. He looked around the area for a way to get him down there to help against the odds. He looked to the left, and then did a double take when he noticed something there. An orange fox and a pink squirrel with black hair and blue eyes, looking down on the two below just as he did. He didn't know the squirrel but he recognizes that fox and his twin tails anywhere. But what was he doing here, and who's the lady beside him? The simplest answer, given the evidence, is that they're the other half of the freedom fighters. If that's the case though, then since when did Tails decide to be a part of these guys as well?

"I guess fate does have a sense of humor after all." Sonic thought.

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The Squirrel and Tails walked over to the ledge and watched the interrogation as it went through. Leaving them was never the best idea, and now they're both captured. Antoine D'Coolette the Coyote and Rotor the Walrus; they were suppose to be setting bombs to this place but apparently got caught in the act. It didn't take them long to realize that either, since they were suppose to come to them at the rendezvous point far away from the explosion, and hasn't been heard from for a good ten minutes. Now there's no way the squirrel can detonate the charges, not with those two captured and now about to get roboticized. Of course they have to jump down and help, but she can tell they'll just run into an ambush with that amount of swatbots to the side. They'll fire on all four of them on the spot if they jump at them; at that point Robotnik no longer will need any info since he already knows the village is in the forest and would be completely powerless without them there to defend it. In other words, helping the two is exactly what the doctor wants them to do. At the same time though, she can't just leave them there to get roboticized. Never mind not wanting to have their friends die, roboticizing them would reveal the information anyways. No matter how it's looked at, it's an un-winnable situation.

"What are we gonna do?" Tails asked, looking to the squirrel for advice. He felt honestly powerless when it came to this. Flying down to save them would make him a big red target, and there was no way even he could get the chains undone before the bots start firing; there wasn't even a way to get down to their level safely without the bots firing.

"...I don't know but we have to think of something, fast." The squirrel said.

"...And there ain't nothing faster than me!" A voice said loudly enough for the Swatbots and the two hostages to hear. The squirrel and Tails looked around and immediately saw a blue ball jump off the catwalk the three were on, much to Tails' delight. He knew all too well who that could be and smiled right as soon as he did. The ball unrolled itself until it became none other than Sonic the Hedgehog.

"Who in the world...?" the Squirrel asked, perplexed by the sudden Mobian from nowhere.

"Sonic!" Tails yelled out at this pleasent surprised his face showing glee of seeing his hero and partner again.

"Sonic? ...Wait a minute, That's THE Sonic? But, ...He looks my age." The Squirrel said in confusion. It's true she was younger than an experienced leader should be, but she had an excuse, and enough knowledge of tactics and fighting styles to fill the role. Even then, she never actually fought against the Doctor nor has done anything particularly large. This hedgehog, if what was said was true, pierced straight through Robotnik's armies, travelled the world, and fought and defeated Robotnik no less than three times. He had the reputation that depicted him years older and more experienced as a wandering soldier of freedom, yet he's still young.

Swatbots looked at this hedgehog, as did Lord Metallix, and it was then that Sonic actually saw the face behind the hood. As expected, the face wasn't natural but metallic as his name implied. He still couldn't really make it out, except that he had a needle for a nose and glowing red eyes.

"...Sonic the Hedgehog...At last we meet, and what perfect timing." Lord Metallix said, the robotic muffling voice giving a deep and cold tone to it. Looking close now, only that face, as little of it as he can see, is revealed to Sonic. Everything else except for those metallic claw-like hands were covered in his black cape. He pointed his claws at the group of about 50 swatbots pointing their arm-blaster attachment at Sonic, and behind them, a giant capsule-like machine. The bottom and top was pure smooth metal, spikes protruding out of them, while the area in the middle connecting it together was made of polished glass. There was no doubt in Sonic's mind, this was the Roboticizer.

"Think you can intimidate me with a bunch of bots and Robuttnik's mecha-maker?" Sonic asked.

"...No, but the other two are irrelevant to me, compared to you. ...I have been waiting a long time for the moment of roboticizing you, Sonic."

"...And if I say no?" Metallix looked at the swatbots that started charging up the lasers of their blasters.

"Oh, please. You think they're fast enough to hit me?" Sonic asked.

"...They're not aiming for you." Metallix said as he snapped his fingers. Immediately seeing where this was going, Sonic immediately went to trashing the Swatbots before they could shoot at the two hostages. But some of the lasers still fired at them, though missing and hitting the wall right next to them, making the walrus jump on instinct and the coyote to jump with fear. As Sonic continued to thrash the robots, he looked and noticed that he wasn't fast enough to stop them as well.

"Your speed is recorded to be a hundred and eighty meters per second, the speed of a small bullet from a forbidden pistol. The same speed of the lasers fired by these soldiers. While I don't believe that is your top speed, it is the speed level you seem to prefer. The lasers from here are about the same speed, albeit, perhaps slightly slower. ...But the speed of a Swatbot or anyone with their hands and minds on the trigger? How fast is the speed of central processing, of thought if you will, compared to your feet?" Metallix asked him, two swatbots walking over and pointing their guns at the hostages at point blank. He took a look above at the catwalk quickly, enough to make it look more like a roll of the eyes then a stare.

"...Faster than you think." Sonic said with a smirk.

What he looked at was the squirrel taking out and using a grappling hook from her belt to latch on to a pipe above them and swing down. But before she did she looked to Tails.

"Fly me up as high as you can." She said. Tails was a little confused by this request but did so nevertheless. Flying up into the air, he let go while she was still hanging on, resulting in her swinging towards the swatbots and consequently kicking one in the torso from behind, which was then thrown by the extra force into the other bot and knocking them both down.

"What!?" Metallix said in disbelief, as the other Swatbots prepared to fire. But that was Sonic's chance to use his speed and his signature jump onto their heads one by one he knocked them down, making the other badniks and swatbots focus their attention on stopping him. As the lasers fired through the roof, buzzbombers blowing up the floor, and the caterkillers separating themselves to jump at Sonic, the factory became a mess of a battlefield in mere seconds. While all of this was going on. The squirrel and Tails worked on uncuffing Antoine and Rotor. After this, Tails immediately made a spin dash towards Sonic and decided to jump into battle with him.

"Are you two alright!?" The squirrel asked the two former captives, the souds of lasers, bombs, and metal slamming into things making it somewhat hard to be heard by them unless yelling like she was.

"Oui, Zis was cutting it a little close don't you think?" Antoine asked with a heavy french accent, still shaking in fear of getting caught in the crossfire.

"Just be glad they came for us at all." Rotor said to him in response, having a somewhat low tone in his voice, he then looked at Sonic and Tails.

"So that's the hero everyone's talking about. I gotta say, at least he's no pushover." He said.

"He's still only so young. Zis is suppose to be our sav'or?" Antoine asked, looking at Sonic with his arms folded.

"Hey, a time and a place you two. Now let's get out of here." The squirrel said. She then made a run for the door, with Rotor following close behind and dragging Antoine by the right arm, forcing Antoine to run as well.

"What about Sonic and Tails?" Rotor asked as they ran.

"Tails knows the strategy, if his stories are true then he can lift Sonic as well. He should be able to tell him to follow for now." The squirrel responded. As they ran away from the area, Sonic and Tails trashed the bots to pieces before giving each other a high-five. They then looked at Metallix simply standing there.

"You're the last one, ''lord'." Sonic said to the black-hooded bot.

"...Hardly. Do I need to remind you where you are exactly?" Metallix asked. The doors on the walls behind him slid upwards and open, revealing a bunch of badniks and swatbots.

"...Oh, come on, that's just not fair." Sonic said looking at them annoyingly. Tails looked behind to see that the other fighters have left. Immediately he grabbed his friend's hands before spinning his namesake like helicopter blades, making them fly into the air.

"Whoa Tails, what're you doing!?" Sonic yelled as he was lifted high up and out of a hole in the roof.

"There's a bomb we planted down there, we gotta group with the others and take care of it or else they'll just keep coming." Tails said to him as he flew off. Metallix looked at their leave in silence for about 10 seconds before he started giving orders.

"...Find and capture them, you can do whatever you want with his friends, but Sonic the Hedgehog I need alive." Metallix said to them, continuing to look at the hole on the roof. The others nodded and ran off after them. He then heard a beep on his communicator.

"...Lord Metallix, why am I getting reports of a factory about to get burned to the ground? Was the reinforcements not enough?" The voice the other line, none other than Robotnik himself, said harshly

"Due to unexpected circumstances, yes." Metallix bluntly said. Robotnik growled in anger at this.

"Bah, it doesn't matter. I'll deal with this personally." Robotnik said to him, and hung up immediately. Metallix simply hung up and sighed. He heard what Tails said to Sonic to justify the retreat. In hindsight, not a good idea to explain things when you're so close to the enemy that he can easily hear it. With that, Metallix ran out as well.

------------

Tails and Sonic flew towards the other freedom fighters, Tails catching up with their running speed easily. Sonic jumped down towards them while Tails hovered down and used his Tails again to propel himself forward, catching up with Sonic and the rest.

"So, I didn't quite catch your name." Sonic asked as he ran, clearly lowering his speed to be at the same speed as The squirrel's running speed.

"Is this really the time for introductions?" She asked him, while loking forward at the path she was running through rather than him.

"Well, I can't really thank you for helping me out back there if I don't know your name." He said to her.

"I helped them out, you just happen to be around. Though I'll admit I should thank you for providing the distraction we needed. ...Sally Acorn." She said to him.

"Huh, Sally Acorn...That's the same name as the former princess." Sonic said, his right hand resting his chin in contemplation. This made Sally look at him, annoyed and practically at awe at how stupid his words just now were.

"You know, for a hero known throughout the world as the Father of Freedom Fighting, you're not very bright, are you? For the record, that's CURRENT princess. I refuse to let my position be taken by Robotnik." She said to him.

"Father of freedom fighting? ...Is that really what they're calling me? I mean it's not like I was the first freedom fighter ever. ...But wait, YOU'RE Princess Sally? ...No offense, but last I check, you look nothing like her, except the maybe the right height, the right species and the right eye color." Sonic said to her.

"It's a long story, and one I'd rather not talk about in the middle of running for our lives. Before you ask, that's Rotor, that's Antoine, and you already met Tails. Now can we please focus on getting out of here before those charges get hot?" Sally asked him.

"Charges? You mean like demo-bombs right? I think we should be at a good enough range to be safe from them right?" Sonic said.

"Safe from the bombs, yes. Safe from the chain reaction that will result from them? That's a different story. That particular factory has been producing large amounts of toxic smoke and robots from it. It looks abandon, but it's one of the doctor's biggest factories underneath the surface. The moment it goes up in smoke the chain reaction of erupting the toxins into the air could cause this entire sector of the city to be dangerously hazardous for a while." Rotor said.

"In other words, ze explosion might be safe, but the poizon most certainly is not." Antoine then said. As they turned the corner they noticed a giant wall blocking them from getting out of the city.

"That...wasn't there before." Rotor said.

"This isn't good, Robotnik must have installed security walls across the city. Guess he was more knowledgeable about us then we thought." Sally said. Sonic looked at Tails.

"You think you can fly us up there, little buddy?" Sonic asked him.

"Yeah, but it'll have to be one at a time. So it might take a while." He responded.

"Ok then, we'll have to hurry. Rotor, you go first, see if you can somehow lower the wall from the other side." Sally said. Rotor nodded as Tails picked him up by his arm. Being a walrus, of course Rotor was very heavy, but Tails is managing to carry him, albeit very very slowly up the wall, and quickly down it. Tails flies up again, up and above the wall, only to see something that made him distressed.

"Guys, behind you!" Tails said. The remaining three turned around and saw another army of badniks and swatbots surrounding them, trapping them in that area. Walking towards them with the familiar small man following suit was none other then the doctor himself, his arms behind his back as he stood there.

"Well, well, well...the knothill freedom fighters, and even Sonic the Hedgehog. This IS a happy day indeed." He said to them with a grin, a deep sinister tone in his voice. He moved his arms to normal position, revealing his left arm completely covered in metal. In fact it looked like metal completely replaced it.

"...Yo, Robuttnik. Got bored waiting for the next beat-down so I thought I might come over and take the fight to you." Sonic said with a confident smile.

"I see your mouth hasn't changed from its annoying sarcasm, rodent. I suppose it was inevitable that you would come to face me here though. But your reckless persona never ceases to amaze me. Did you really think you would come and go from here as you please?" He asked.

"Why yes, yes I do. Just like I bet you think its fashionable to look a little more like a robot with that left arm of yours."

"...Oh, this?" Robotnik looked at his left arm and moved the fingers around. "This is a cybernetic replacement. My actual arm was damaged beyond repair after you destroyed my Robo-King Mk. II in the orbit of Mobius. It had to be amputated and replaced as a result. However, I don't miss that arm one bit. If anything, I should thank you for giving me an excuse to build myself something I can use for my self-defense." He explained, smiling as a green plasma-like energy encased his hand. When it disappeared, holes appeared at the fingertips of it.

"Now that we're here, leaving you trapped like rats while your bombs become your demise, I suppose I can thank you now. How would you prefer I do that: By roboticizing you and your friends free of charge, or by giving you all, a quick mercy killing?" He asked, his fingers pointed at the team as well as the swatbots and other badniks prepared their weapons.

"...How about I go with mowing you guys down and getting everyone out of this place?" Sonic asked.

"You are truly ridiculous, hedgehog. You lack the time, the explosion will blow up that factory the consume this place in a toxic smog, and while you may get out of that alive, can you say the same for the princess and her freedom fighters?"

"Then why did you come here too? Planning on following us to the grave?"

"Do you forget Sonic? I live here, I breathed these toxins everyday. They have no effect on me. ...So I just came here to watch you surrender or die." Robotnik said, laughing afterwards.

"Heh, ...Too bad. ...We're doing neither." He said as the wall he the noticed the sound of the wall coming down much to everyone's shock. As it sinks into the ground, Rotor could be seen prompting everyone to follow.

"Come on!" He yelled out.

"...Heh, I'm liking these guys already." Sonic thought as they made a run for it, dodging the lasers of the bots in the army and the bullets fired by Robotnik himself. He then looked at the army with a smirk and a two-finger salute at them.

"Thanks for the distraction by the way. Have fun with the clean up, 'neighbor'." He said as he then ran away, taking the others and leaving Robotnik at awe at what just happened. Before he could think anymore about it, the factory exploded behind him, leaving a giant cloud of fire and smoke in the distance.

"...Oh, I HATE that Hedgehog!" Robotnik said with a menacing frown on his face, his red eyes glowing in the darkness.

"Um, Sir...We can always just chase them back to their home as planned." Snivley said to him nervously. Almost after he said that though, the wall suddenly went right back up. Snivley immediately placed a gas mask on himself while he and Robotnik turned around and left.

"That hedgehog came earlier than expected. I was hoping to deal with the freedom fighters first, but now I have to deal with them AND the Hedgehog. ...Tell Lord Metallix to come to my office immediately, and meet me there. ...We have much more work to do now." Robotnik said.

"Yes sir." Snivley said bowing as he followed him along with the swatbots.

---------------------

Within about a minute while the others were catching up, Sonic and Tails were already at the base beneath the forest. Since both knew how to go unnaturally fast, what was a minute to them takes about 30 minutes for the rest of the team. As such, Sonic decided to reconnect with his old friend.

"So what are you doing here?" Sonic asked.

"I came to help, just like you usually do." his buddy responded. Sonic could tell though by the look in his eyes, that there was something he wasn't telling him. But Sonic simply shrugged it off.

"Fair enough." He said. He knew Tails well enough to know that he'd tell him when he felt like it. Now wasn't the time for that kind of thing anyways. As he thought this, in came the other freedom fighters, who notice the hedgehog as they land on and hop off the matress of hay on the entrance. First came Rotor, then Antoine, and finally Sally Acorn herself. Sonic greeted them with a wave of his hand, as did Tails.

"So are you all always this slow?" Sonic asked them outright.

"Oui! Show some respect to ze Princess. We cannot run as fast as you." Antoine said.

"...So, I suppose I should stand up and salute to you, your highness?" Sonic asked.

"For now, let's not worry about formalities. ...Sonic the Hedgehog, the hero of Mobius, the one who halted the Doctor, and the inspiration for all Freedom Fighters. You helped us when we needed you the most. As such, it would be much appreciated if you could join us." Sally said to him. There were a few seconds of silence as the two practically into each others' eyes. For Sonic, it was starting to become clear that this was the real Princess. Yeah, the hot-pink fur and the black hair on the top of her head isn't what he's seen in images of her. But she was a squirrel, she had the right color eyes, and in those eyes he could see a determination that not a lot of Mobians have nowadays. She wants to do whatever it takes to destroy the doctor's grip on the world, and seems capable of leading a group like this easily. The rumors about the leader of these freedom fighters being practically the leader of all freedom fighters now starts to make a lot of sense. Who better to have such reputation then the heir to the largest kingdom in the world? There was little doubt now that she was THE Sally Acorn. With this in mind, he gave a shrug.

"Sure thing. That's why I came here, I even picked out my own room in this place." He said to them, which made Tails jump for joy.

"Do you intend to stay for long?" Sally asked.

"Until I get Robuttnik beaten down for good, so yeah." He responded, to which she nodded.

"...Then allow us to reintroduce ourselves. ...I am Princess Sally Acorn. ...To the right of me is Antoine D'Coolette, our military tactician, and to the left is Rotor Walrus, our technician." Sally said, Antoine nodding his head while Rotor smiled and waved at him.

"Heh, I see. ...I can only guess Mr. D'Coolette-"

"ZIR D'Coolette!" Antoine interrupted.

"...'zir' D'Coolette' just hasn't gotten the chance to show those 'military tactics'." Sonic said. Antoine gave Sonic an evil eye and walked off.

"Gees, guy can't take a joke." He thought. He then looked at Rotor.

"You definitely seem to know your stuff though Rotor. Nice job with that wall by the way." He told him.

"Oh,. uhh...Thanks." Rotor said, scratching the back of his head. Sonic looked at Tails and the two nodded at each other. Sally walked up to Sonic and extended her hand to him.

"...Welcome to the freedom fighters of Knothill, Sonic." She told him with a smile. Sonic gave a smirk and grabbed hold of her extended hand, establishing a handshake.

"Happy to be of service, Princess." Sonic said.

End

[Chromatic Terras 20]

Dude, the nostalgic feels you just gave me are too great.

I remember having Sonic Mega Collection when it first came out, me being around 8 at the time, and every-time I played, I would always start or end with just looking through all the comics because I was never able to own them for myself, and didn't want to bother my parents about paying the monthly subscription. It wasn't until issue 150 that I actually attempted to get them, but ended after 164. But back to the game itself. I know as a child, I enjoyed games, but never really appreciated some of them as I do now. Reading through your experience, and story, while listening to the SMC menu music had me reflect back on what an amazing game that was for me, due to all the involvement it got me into. Being able to play all the preceding games of Sonic Adventure (as that was the first one I ever played) really gave me the knowledge of the Sonic Universe that I have today, and the joy that I have of playing all the different types of games that Sega puts out for him. Now about the comics, whenever I did look through all the pictures, I always fantasized about what story they would entail, but never fully thought about it as a child. Reading your ideas is not only enjoyable, but it feels like it completed the young child in me who didn't take the time to do so himself. Now I'm just left remembering all the different games it held, as well as wanting to listen to all of it's glorious music, as previewed by the extras and options ost you posted, and also reread every comic on the archives, as after I discovered this website, (through means that I forgot how) I was really excited and grateful to finally be able to read through every sonic comic from both the past and the present releases. However, with it being close to a year now that I've visited on a near daily basis, I'm more grateful for the community that's formed cause of it, specifically in the RP section. You guys give me some really great times, whether we agree on certain things or not. I'm really happy to be a part of all this and expressing myself through my ideas and adventurous thoughts.

[Skye Prower 386]

While unlike yourself and Knux I don't have the nostalgic draw of the comics (I didn't know they existed until recently!) I have really enjoyed reading this re-imagining of the story based on the covers. And I'm seriously looking forward to the next chapter. As well as being curious as to how you intend to handle certain covers! ;)

Keep up the good work. If this is any indication the books that your hoping to write are in good hands.

And here is the drawing you requested for Lord Metallix. I hope you like it and that it's close to what you had in mind.

[Chosen One 4]

I'll do this according to the way you divided your story and as I finish reading each parted the story.

Let me start with the exposition. From the look of stuff it seems as a combination of the Sonic Movie (1996) with Sonic been isolated with Tails on an island, your current knowledge on the comics, as you introduced Angel Island and the Death Egg in the exposition, (as from the videogames I don't have much knowledge on that). This reminds me of the Martian School of writers who wrote poetry in viewing the world as an extraterrestrial alien which was very hard for them as they knew their world; you are doing almost the same as you know what the comics contain on each issue, yet you're viewing it as if you didn't know what was in them. As for diction, the descriptive word "vagabond" for Sonic seemed at first a bit on the negative side if one was to define it on its connotation (as most readers would do), but you have your reasons, as maybe this Sonic will be different from the comics as you chapters develop. All that said, the panoramic method you use gives enough background information for a reader (with no knowledge on the Sonic world) to allocate what has happened and what is happening.

As for the story,

The first part contain a good description of the setting thru imagery and personification. The description of Sonic's attire is well developed. The way you made Sonic just enter the base and just dropping his thing in a random room makes him seem carefree and somewhat arrogant. Also, by Sonic's saying "Typical, I come by, and no one's around to greet me" may show that he's previous adventures have started like this "typical"; a good way to put background information thru dialogue.

The second part. You kept the description of setting at the great level, allowing the reader to follow with the changes of setting; you gave necessary info on the Swatbots and Robotropolis, which is great as you didn't leave the reader to guessing how thins may look like. You introduced characters at a steady and descriptive pace without revealing their names, this makes the reader wonder and want to read more to know the names. Also, thru the dialogue you were able to portray the attitude of the characters, and also thru actions such as Robotnik's. Towards the end of this part you introduced both Sally and Tails effectively.

The third part. Wow. This part seem like the rising action, and your realistic style. Good place to introduce Antoine's and Rotor's name as well as the youth of Sonic, (I was wondering at the beginning of how old you were going to portray him), you didn't made the reader wait for plot to elapse. As for the action, it came quickly into the story as well as the endangerment of two characters, a good way to keep the reader entertained. Also, the way you made the characters escape the trouble is believable and realistic. At this point you have gotten my full attention.

Part four. Bravo, you introduced more background info on Robotnik, and you it looks like you know very well how each character speaks and the dialogue they use. And once again, at the verge of defeat you managed to have an exit at the right moment. Most importantly you kept in mind the 'domino' effect that the bombs could cause as well as the concept of powerful toxins killing the FF.

Part five. Hmm. Sonic's epiphany at Sally can be seen as a comic relief. A very good cliffhanger with not revealing Tails' purpose in joining the Knothole FF to the reader.

Overall. Well it looks like the story will be in third person limited, as only Sonic's thought are revealed and the persona seems to be centered on Sonic. There were some minimal tautology and grammatical errors, which I disregard, for as you said you're just practicing your writing. In conclusion, well I must say that that this continuity seems legit and very interesting, I'm looking forward to reading your other stories on this creative writing. Hope these is of help.

[Lena Stan Account 60]

Well I read this near the time you posted this, Jest. I'm not very familiar with the old STH Archie comics.

[Lino Blythe 8]

Better keep the story going for the people that like this Red~