CHAPTER I – FOOTSTEPS
MONDAY, JULY 1ST, 1991
"Is it here yet?"
Her blue-furred husband was camped out near the window, anxiously waiting. They couldn't wait for much longer. Who knew when or if they would come tonight? They didn't want to wait and find out. They had too much to lose, and that terrified them.
Thankfully, salvation seemed to arrive as a van's lights rolled into the driveway.
"Bernie, it's here. (Jules the Hedgehog: Chris Pratt)" He looked back to his lavender wife. "Get the luggage out here. We need to be quick." She nodded and ran into the bedroom. The doorbell rang, and he quickly answered it. "Thanks for coming so quickly."
"You guys must have one hell of an early flight," the rhino said entering the house.
"And we have to make it there as soon as possible." Just then, Bernie came out with the first few bags. "Alright, start loading."
"Slow down there, Mr. Hedgehog. We need to take our time with this—."
"WHAAAAAAA!" The rhino stopped dead in his tracks and looked at the father. They shared deeply concerned looks. With what was happening in the city over the last six weeks, it all made sense why they needed to get out of town pronto.
"You mean—?"
"Yes, that's why. Now stop jawing and start packing, Marty."
"You got it," he said.
As Marty picked up the first few bags, Bernie came out with the others. "That's all of them. Now we can grab Eli and David. (Bernadette the Hedgehog: Cobie Smulders)"
"Alright." Jules reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small booklet which he offered to his wife. Upon taking it, she opened it up and saw her new passports and credentials. "If anyone asks, your name is now Aleena Sonia Hedgehog. And I'm—."
POP! POP! CRASH!
The sudden sound of shattering glass and destroyed metal froze them. It sounded like it came from outside. Soon after, a body was thrown through the window, letting the heavy storm outside rage into the large, luxurious living room.
There laid Marty… with one bullet in his stomach and another through his skull.
They were too late.
They were here!
"Bernie! Protect the kids!" She did not argue as she ran for the nursery. Jules pulled out a concealed 9mm handgun and readied it. There was nothing at first as the tension and silence frightened the man. Then something large and heavy barreled in before he could get a round off.
WHAM!
Jules was thrown across the room into a filled bookcase, getting conked n the head by Jules Verne. He gathered himself and picked up the sidearm he'd dropped upon contact. But when he looked up, he was startled beyond all comprehension. A massive robot twice the size of him was running at him at full tilt. Jules dove out of the way of the raging android, and the automaton ran right through the bookcase and through the wall back into the storm.
"Take this!" Jules barked as he opened fire on the robot, aiming for its eyes. The automaton was hurt and made a step towards the gunman, but eventually fell down and lost all power when enough bullets riddled his chassis. Just then, another droid came down right in front of its fallen clone and lunged at the man. Jules dodged again, but he heard another robot come in through the broken window.
He took aim again, but he was in disbelief when all he heard was repeated clicking. "Aw, crap," he said as he was struck and thrown into the front door. The robots began marching down the far hall with purpose. He couldn't just lay there. He had to protect his family, no matter the cost.
Jules dropped his empty magazine, put a new one in, and shot off a round at one of them. They both turned around. "Over here, you walking pieces of scrap!" One robot ran further into the hall while the other charged at him. Jules ran at the stampeding droid and purposely slid underneath it. He quickly got up and began firing at the other one. After a few hits, it went down, but Jules was out of ammo again. These mechanized nightmares could take a beating and eat bullets, that was for sure.
He quickly ran into the nursery where Bernie was trying to console the crying twins. "Are you alright?!" she asked frantically.
"For the moment," he responded. "I'm out of bullets. Throw me your gun." She un-holstered hers and threw it to Jules along with another clip.
After cocking it, he heard a loud running sound. The droid from before was coming at Jules again and the hedgehog pumped it full of lead. Soon enough it went down, but a loud CRASH came from the living room again as more robots invaded the house.
But these were different, and much to Jules' horror, one of them peered into the hallway, shot out its arm, and grabbed him by his legs. The arm itself was built like a grapple and began to pull the hedgehog toward them.
"Jules!" Bernie screamed. Her husband grabbed onto the nursery's door frame and hung on for dear life as they tried to pull him in. "Hold on! I'll sa—!"
"No! Protect the boys!"
"Not happ—!"
"This isn't up for discussion!" he screamed as he struggled. His strength was dwindling, and he would undoubtedly lose his grip soon. "Protect them, whatever you do!" He let go of the doorframe and yelled while popping off a few rounds. The mother ran back to her screaming kids as she also heard the bloodcurdling yells of Jules.
"Shhhh! It's going to be alright, boys!" she said in panicked voice. "It's going to be alri—!"
CRASH!
She screamed and turned around to see a hulking robot at the entrance to the room.
"STEP AWAY FROM THE INFANTS." The android said in a deep, mechanical voice. It started walking their way, but she was prepared for this and pulled out another small gun that was strapped to her leg. A girl couldn't be too careful.
She took aim and fired at the huge automaton until it went down. Another one came in, and she did the same thing, but she was thrown across the room when it got too close. There was a loud SNAP that came from her leg.
Somehow getting back up, she peppered the robot again when it got too close to the crying toddlers, but it caused the cradle to tip over when it went down. The hit she took had done its damage as she had to crawl to the cradle. She was thankful to see that her kids were still okay from the tumble.
But she also realized something else. There was no way they were getting out of this alive. She could hear Jules struggling, and she was seriously injured with a fractured or broken leg. She and he would mostly likely be dead soon, and the kids would get taken away. Neither of them were in any position to keep fighting.
This was it.
She cradled them in her arms while on her stomach. The kids in their mother's arms slowed their crying for the moment.
Her two beautiful twin sons. The older one of them had royal blue fur and his father's emerald green eyes while his brother had lime green fur and the same sky blue eyes of his mother. This was the last time she would ever see them, and there wasn't a hole in her heart big enough for all of the sadness and regret that pumped through it.
"Shhhhhhh," she said to them. They still whimpered, but the blue one opened his tear-soaked eyes. "It's going to be alright, you two. Everything will be just fine. It may not seem like that now, but it will be. Daddy and I aren't going to make it out of here, boys. We just aren't. We won't be able to see your first steps, or listen to your first words, or watch you grow up, but I want you two to know this: we love you. Daddy loves you. I love you. We'll always love you. You boys are the greatest things to ever happen to us. I know you can't understand me, but I still can't say it enough. I don't know what'll happen to you, but I know you'll be okay. I know you'll make it. You two are young, but you are very strong. I know you'll be okay. I just know it." She turned to her green son and kissed him on the nose. "Eli, I love you." She then turned to her other one and did the same thing. "David, I love you. Daddy loves both of you, and so do I. Don't worry about us. Daddy and I will be just fine, okay?" Her tears came out bitterly, but she still cracked a loving smile. "Be safe. Look after each other. I know you'll be fine." Just then, a robot came in and grabbed her. Too weak to fight, she resigned to her fate and let them take her. As she was getting carried away, she turned back to her infant sons. "I'm sorry," she said, although it sounded like a pained, heartbroken squeak.
Another robot went into the room. Its chest opened, revealing two small seats. It grabbed the kids and put them gently into said seats as it strapped them down. It shut its chest. "TARGETS APPREHENDED. RETURNING TO BASE," it said as it broke down a wall and flew off into the raging storm.
When Bernie heard that, she shed another tear. She was brought into the living room and dropped onto the floor beside her bruised and broken husband. He was still alive, but only barely. With whatever strength he could muster, he grabbed his wife's hand and looked at her.
God, she was gorgeous. Bernadette, or "Bernie" as she was widely known, had the softest set of blue eyes anywhere. They complimented her vivid lavender fur and the tuft of golden hair that was on her forehead. As she looked at him with a broken smile, she gazed into his emerald green eyes. He was a royal blue hedgehog—like the two's firstborn—and had the looks of a model but with a heart of gold. He was all that with a tuft of dark brown hair of his forehead.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I couldn't… I couldn't…."
"Shhhhhh," she said. "I know. I know they'll be okay. I have a gut feeling about it."
"I hope you're right."
"ANY FINAL WORDS?" said a mechanized voice. When the couple looked up, they saw the remaining androids encircling them. Eight of them to be exact.
"I only wish I could see the day where you all get scrapped and recast as pipes for a shitter," spat Jules.
BANG!
BANG!
"'TIL DEATH DO YOU PART," said one of the robots.
The sound of sirens and flashing of red and blue lights was approaching the home. The robots fled into the stormy night sky by flying into it. Their mission was another brilliant success.
The only sound in the dark room was that of soft snoring and breathing. A king-sized bed housed a loving husband and wife. The two faced opposite sides. The husband was on the right side, and he faced the ajar bedroom door. His wife was on the left facing a window that showcased the powerful storm rocking the city.
His eyes fluttered open as a light came on from the nearby hallway. A soft, silent stepping sound was heard, but who was it? The squirrel's question was answered quickly as he saw his 8-year-old son going to the bathroom.
"Couldn't wait until morning, could you, Elias?" the man mentally asked. Turning over, he read the clock. 1:19 am. "I hope they got out alright."
He moved slowly towards his wife and gently put his arm around her waist and gently cuddled her. She stirred a bit, but she still snored softly. Before returning to his slumber, he gently kissed her cheek.
RIIIIIIIIING! RIIIIIIIIIING!
"God, who's calling me at this hour?!" he mentally spat.
"Could you get that, Max? (Alicia Acorn: Emily Rose)" his sleepy wife asked.
"Yeah, yeah, I got it, (Maximillian Acorn: Robert Redford)" he responded. He turned over onto his back and reached for the phone that rang on the bed's large headrest. "Hello…?"
"Is this the home of Mr. and Mrs. Maximillian Acorn?"
"Yes, this is Max Acorn. Who's calling?"
"I'm sorry for the inconvenience of this late-night call, Mr. Acorn. I'm Captain Rodney the Porcupine of the Mobotropolis Police Department."
"There a reason you're calling so late, Captain? Did the MFMG Building get broken into?"
"It wasn't your building that was broken into, sir."
Max hesitated. He had a bad idea of what this call was about, but he dismissed it. "Then why are… why are you calling me?"
"Sir, there was an incident earlier tonight at E. 123 Omega Street. Whoops, hold on. Sorry, 123 E. Omega Street."
NO. NO!
His eyes shot up in fear. Alicia was still dreary, but she knew something wasn't right just by judging Max's voice. To her dismay, she got the full effect of his frozen face when their son, Elias, opened the door as the light from the bathroom shined on his face.
"Daddy?" a voice from a hall asked. Little Elias had shut the bathroom light off and turned on his parents' bedroom light. He gasped when he saw his dad's panicked face. "Daddy? What's wrong?"
"C-C-Captain…," Max stuttered, "why are you telling me my partners' address? Where are Jules and Bernadette?! Where are my godsons?! Tell me they're alright!"
"I-I'm sorry, Mr. Acorn."
Tears like poison rolled down his face. He was not religious, but he prayed to Chaos that this was a sick joke. Someone had to have been pranking him.
"Daddy?" A new voice was heard. She had just turned three years old a few days ago. A little chipmunk with her father's sapphire blue eyes quietly stumbled in behind her big brother.
"Max…," said Alicia. "w-what's going on?"
"Officer…," Max choked out, "where are my friends?! Where are my godsons?! Tell me! Tell me now!"
"Your partners fought for their lives, Mr. Acorn. But… but they didn't win. A-A-And we can't find their babies. I'm a-afraid the Hedgehogs' twins are just like the other babies: gone without a trace."
"No! This must a joke! Please tell me this is a sick joke, officer!"
"Max!" Alicia exclaimed. "You're scaring the children!" Sally and Elias were now cowering near the doorway. "Now what happened?!"
He hung up the phone and looked at his wife. He quickly grabbed her and held her tightly as he sobbed terribly into her shoulder. His best friends… his and his wife's godchildren… gone. They were just like the rest: parents and family members dead protecting their young kin, but failing as their youths were presumably taken without so much of a trace.
He held onto his wife for dear life. He and Alicia had known Jules and Bernie since high school. They were the best men and maids-of-honor at each other's weddings. Business partners. Defenders of truth. Bringers of news. He felt like everything good and happy had been ripped away from him. At that moment, he only had one thing… and that one thing was hard to come by in the city these days: a family.
"The-They're gone, Ali," he choked out. "David… Eli… they're gone too."
Alicia was speechless as her expression told the story. The shock of it all made her grip around Max tighten even more. She closed her eyes and sobbed silently with her beloved.
Poor Elias and Sally. This was the first time that they witnessed their strong parents cry. They were so distressed. They did not know what caused them to break down, but they knew that something was very wrong.
Elias approached his grieving parents with Sally hiding behind him, keeping an eye on the whole scene.
"Daddy? Why are you crying?" Elias asked. "I thought you said grownups don't cry?"
Max turned around to see the worried looks on his kids' faces. He quickly picked them up and brought them onto the bed where he and Alicia put them in a group hug.
"I-I'm not losing you guys," Max squeaked. "Don't leave me."
"Daddy? What happened?"
It shouldn't just be them pulling into their personalized parking spots at this time. The spot to their right should have a woman with a black coffee and a man with the same but with a splash of Irish crème in his.
Coworkers. Co-owners. Godparents to their children. Best friends.
Without a word, Alicia opened the driver seat door. As she slammed it shut, she began to walk towards the parking garage's exit. However, she noticed Max wasn't along beside her. She turned back to the car to see his sullen face stare blankly at his lap. He had that look on his face all morning. Chaos, it broke her heart to see him like this. But she needed him to be strong for their compatriots, their children, and her especially.
She walked back and opened his door slowly. His face had never dried. The tears never stopped falling.
"Max, you know we have to do this now." He was silent. "They have a right to know."
He turned towards her and stared at her for just a moment. Then he nodded slowly. He unbuckled himself and got out, slamming the door shut as they walked out of the parking garage silent as the grave.
A low rumble of thunder was heard in the distance. The skies produced a steady rain, but that didn't stop the bustling burgh from being as lively as it was… even if it was only 7 o'clock in the morning. The precipitation would do the farmers outside of the suburbs a lot of good, that was for sure. But it just seemed too symbolic, given the circumstances.
This place was a symbol of hope in the crime-ridden city. It was only three stories tall, but rumors of renovation and expansion for the building were in the air. The business was started by the Acorns and Hedgehogs in 1988 and delivered the truth. Sure, there were various stations with studios for radio and television (and if they were lucky, their own newspaper), but they were localized stations of globally-known news corporations—like the Mobian Broadcasting Company (MBC) or Mobian News Network (MNN). They were almost always paid off to only disclose the information that they chose and not give out the full truth.
This company only had the one building, but in the time of its inception, it proved to be the city's most known and well-respected news organization, and it wasn't even a part of any national or global news chain. This was the Mobotropolis Freedom Media Group (MFMG) Building. Within its walls, it produced a daily newspaper—the Mobotropolis Freedom Gazette—morning and nightly news shows, which were getting better ratings by the day, and its own radio station (WCBM) with various shows that ranged from global news to local sports.
Walking through the main doors, they saw their secretary, Rita the Wolf, on the phone while balancing her 3-year-old daughter, Lupe, on her lap. When she saw who was coming in, she told whomever was on the other end of the line that she would call them back.
"Morning, Max. Morning, Ali," she said. "I hope it's not too much trouble if my daughter's here… with…." Her speech slowed as she studied her employers' faces more. "Is… Is something wrong?"
"Hi, Max!" screamed Lupe. "Hi, Ali!" The happy toddler jumped off her mother's lap and went around the desk to hug Alicia's leg.
"Lupe, come back here!" her mother ordered.
"It's alright, Rita," Alicia said as she scooped up the toddler into her arms. Lupe hugged her mother's employer while Alicia went around the desk to give the wolf her daughter back.
"Is something the matter, Mrs. Acorn?" asked Rita. Alicia and Max nodded.
"Rita, can you please get everyone into the meeting room? We have… something that you all need to hear immediately." The solemnness in her tone made her very concerned, even scared.
"No… No problem." She grabbed her phone, dialed for the P.A. system, and said, "Attention, everyone. The Acorns need to speak with everyone in the building right now. Everyone is required to meet in the meeting room as soon as possible. Thank you."
She put the phone down and gathered her daughter while she looked back to a very despondent Max. He was looking at a picture that was hanging behind the wolves. It had Max, Alicia, Jules, and Bernadette all on it. Rita looked at Max, then to the picture. She slowly alternated between the two. She had a feeling….
"Come, you two," Alicia said. Rita nodded and walked with the Acorns to the meeting room.
"Max? Ali?" asked Lupe. "Why you so shhhhhhhhh?"
"Lupe!" Rita scolded quietly.
"No, it's alright," said Alicia. "You'll find out soon enough."
Lupe didn't like that answer, but she remained quiet nonetheless. Rita was growing more and more fearful with each step she took.
The small group eventually made it into the meeting room where they found a few of their colleagues discussing amongst themselves. One of them, a hen, walked up to the Acorns.
"What's up with the meeting?" the hen asked with a hint of irritation in her voice.
"You'll find out, Melissa," Max said.
The impatient hen was about to say another word, but Rita shook her head as if to tell her to drop it. Melissa raised her hands to give up on it, and she walked away.
As the room slowly filled up, everyone could notice something was wrong with their bosses. They looked away at their employees as if they were hiding something.
"Is everyone here?" Alicia asked. The whole room was dead quiet. "Alright. Now you—. Hold on. Let us get up to where you can see us."
Alicia gestured to Max. Max silently came over and followed his wife. There was a long meeting room table in the middle of the room, and the co-owners got on it and stood up.
"Can everyone see us now?"
The group collectively said, "Yes."
Mrs. Acorn opened her mouth, but she had a hard time figuring out how to break the news and try to be delicate at the same time.
"All of you are probably wondering why you aren't following up on leads, writing stories, or simply doing your jobs right now. You all have a right to know why. Some of you have asked, but we said that you would find out soon enough." She paused. "As you know, for the last six weeks, the city has been running scared due to this 'Baby Scare.' Children across the city have vanished left and right where their families were brutally killed by what the police believe are to be a faction of Dr. Robotnik's robots that were stolen while being shipped to Empire City. Those vile machines are still under the control of a *SNIFFLE* sick, twisted serial killer with no regard for man- or animal-kind." She closed her eyes and cried to keep her tears in there, but they still fell and stung like salt in a wound. "But now… now…." She couldn't bring herself to say it. Not yet, at least. "A few of you may be wondering right now, 'Wait, why is it just the Acorns up on a table? Where are Bernie and Jules?'"
A collective gasp of shock came about the room. Men and women alike covered their mouths with their hands and stared at their bosses. "Please no!" they thought with a single voice.
"As you… As you a-a-all kn-know…." Alicia took in a sharp breath. She knew that this last bit was going to hurt the most.
But a booming voice came to her rescue. "What Alicia is trying to say," Max began, "is that this morning at 1:19, we got a call from the Mobotropolis Police Department. Last Sunday, June 23rd, a pair of twins… were born. David and Eli." He took a pause to take a deep breath.
"NO!" Rita howled. The group turned to the secretary, holding her daughter for dear life. "Max, Alicia, please don't say what I think you you're going to say! Please!" Her panic began to frighten the more skeptical in the group. "Not Jules! Not Bernie! Not their sons!"
The group looked to the Acorns, their gazes coated in disbelief and fear.
Alicia and Max looked Rita in the eyes and nodded as they cried.
The room was dead silent for a moment, the shock too much for them to react at first. But then some people began weeping uncontrollably. Some were too shocked to say a word. Some silently cried.
Rita held her sobbing daughter tightly in her arms. She kissed little Lupe on the head as she consoled her little one. "Don't leave me, Lupe," Rita whispered into her daughter's ear. "Don't ever leave me."
Max consoled his wife by putting his arms around Ali's shoulders. Mrs. Acorn was a bit relieved that she didn't have to say it, though it still made her feel awful.
"Everyone!" Max called out. "Everyone, may I please have your attention?!" The mourners looked up to their bosses. "Yes, it's true that have lost our fellow journalists, our friends, our family. But if there is one thing that Jules and Bernadette would have wanted us to do, it'd be to stick together and look out for each other." He paused. "This will take some time to get used to, and we know it might seem impossible, but we can and will get through this. We just have to stick together. Bernie and Jules would want it that way." He paused again. "But today, we want everyone to please go home." There was a collective gasp of surprise. "Please do not take this the wrong way. Alicia and I discussed this earlier. With everything that's happened, we believe that to honor Jules and Bernie, we must shut down the presses and radio shows on the day of their deaths. The viewers and listeners will understand why we are doing this. It's not just our friends and family that we lost today. They were theirs as well. Everyone will be paid for a full shift of overtime. With that said, please go home. If you have children, give them a hug. Give them some love, whether it be overdue or just to show them that you care. Smell a rose or two. Live. Can you all do that?"
The group took in his words and slowly obeyed their boss. The crowd dispersed silently and solemnly, almost like a funeral. Actually, given what Max and Alicia said, it was like they gave a eulogy to the congregation.
The Acorns left the room when it was mostly empty and ascended the stairs to their top-floor office. As they looked out the south window, they dreamed of a view of the entire city from a ten-story building overlooking downtown while it symbolized hope as it would soon stand high on Knothole Hill. One day… one day.
"Pity they won't share it with us," Max said lowly.
"Yeah…," Alicia replied. She turned around towards the east end of their large office. The east side of the room were where the Acorns' desks were. Jules and Bernadette had theirs on the west side. Covering the navy-blue walls were framed front pages of years past. The first edition, the biggest news stories from riots to sporting events hung like trophies, victories on their greatest accomplishments.
The Acorns had one or two things to deal with before closing up shop on the shortened day. Alicia and Max were looking through their desks when the phone on Alicia's desk phone began to ring.
"Great," she huffed. "Now what?" She picked up the receiver and said, "Alicia Acorn."
"Alicia, it's Rita."
"What do you need, Ms. Wolf?"
"Er… it's not what I need…."
"Then what is it, Rita?"
"Dr. Robotnik is here."
"Oh, joy," Alicia spat. "Just what we need right now! Rita, please send him up, but tell him if he has anything to say, he'd better make it quick."
"Will do, Alicia." Hanging up the phone, Alicia groaned.
"What now?" Max asked with a sense of worry.
"Ivo's here," Alicia responded. "He wants to talk with us about something."
"Now?!" he asked with an irritated tone.
"Yeah, now. He'll be up in just a minute."
"I just hope this is quick."
"That's what I said on the phone, or didn't you hear that?" Max cocked an eyebrow but couldn't respond as a knock was heard from the door. Man, he got there quickly. "Come in, doctor."
The oak door creaked open and the doctor stepped in. He wasn't the world's most perfect-looking specimen (with his round-shaped body, unnecessarily tight rubber pants, bald head, an over-the-top red mustache, a red jacket, and the goggles on his head), but his genius mind more than made up for it. Like the Mobotropolis Freedom Media Group, Doctor Ivo Robotnik was one of the city's greatest success stories. However, he was not without controversy.
The doctor had an unbelievable IQ of 300, and he had a knack for robotics and economics. That's how he made his fortune. He founded the Robotnik Robotics Corporation after he graduated college at 18 years old. That was in 1970. His corporation began creating machines that sped up automobile production. Now his flagship company was the world's foremost leader in creating robots for automobile production and large-scale manufacturing. Recently, the doctor began a line of personal care droids that would help those most fortunate (for example, people in retirement homes). However, this business move of his amassed some very bad press, especially in regards to an accident that occurred almost two months prior which Alicia had alluded to downstairs.
Still, his business was so profitable that it helped the fat doctor buy up most of Mobotropolis's bigger businesses, from Ferrum Steelworks to the Shamarian Oil Company (now called the "Oil Ocean Corporation") to having major ownership stakes in all the other city's news stations.
However, Robotnik's always been suspected of questionable dealings. Genius or not, how he acquired the city's various businesses rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, especially former owners and employees. Some think that there was blackmail and other illegal practices going on, but nothing has ever proven.
That, however, might be because he had a significant controlling interest within the city's various public services. He was more or less responsible for the mayor getting re-elected, and he supplied the police force with best equipment money could buy, even supplies that had questionable origins.
But what had to be the most controversial thing about him was the fact that he hired some of the worst scum the city had ever seen in an attempt to "give them a second chance." No one bought this. These men and women were better off in a cell with no chance at parole. They worked for the city in places like the sanitation department and as officials on the city's docks among other places. To the surprise of no one, these were hotbeds for criminal activity. A lot of illegal goods—if you even want to call them "goods"—had been sold and purchased there, and the police force locked the perpetrators up only to have them thrown back out because someone covered their bail or the evidence wasn't concrete.
The whole cycle of Robotnik, his business dealings, his connections, and "good heart to give those a second chance" was rotten to the core. He presented himself a legitimate and educated (and if a third word could be used, egotistical) business mogul, but there was something else at play. Was this man dealing with the city's biggest crime boss? Was he in cahoots with the Eggman?
The wildly mustached man walked in as he held onto a briefcase. He shut the door behind him and walked to the Acorns who were now leaning against Max's desk. The doctor seemed to have a spring in step.
"Good morning, Alicia. Good morning, Maximillian. (Dr. Robotnik: Mike Pollock)" Robotnik greeted. "Wet one today, isn't it?" His cheeriness annoyed them. "Say, what's with all your employees leaving the building? There some kind of fire drill going on today?"
"Hello, Ivo," Alicia greeted. "What brings you in today?"
"This." He set his briefcase on Alicia's desk and took something out. It was the MFMG's Sunday edition, and it didn't have a flattering picture on it, at least to the doctor. He handed it to the owners and waited.
"Yes, it's yesterday's paper," Max said. "What seems to be the problem?"
"This," he said again as he pointed to the front page. "I cannot say I like your choice in front page news."
"What? One of the city's biggest drug busts?"
"No, it was how your people portrayed it."
"I don't see anything wrong with it."
"Stop looking at the pictures like children and read the fine print."
"Calm down, doctor," Alicia said. The two read quietly for a minute. "So, what appears to be the problem with the news?"
"It's how your journalists worded it. The way its laid out gives me the impression that you think that those responsible are the worst sort of criminals."
"Well, they were busted for acquiring and distributing methamphetamines and weed on the streets, and they were all on property that you own. Oh, and most if not all of them have a history of doing this before."
"No, you aren't seeing the big picture, Alicia."
"What 'big picture'? Crime is crime, Ivo."
"What I am complaining to you two about is how you are deliberately defacing my company and my workers."
Max interjected with, "Like my wife said, this isn't the first time that your workers, who all seem to have questionable backgrounds when put mildly, have been busted like this."
"That's not what I am saying!" Ivo screamed.
"Then what are you saying?" Max was known for having a hot temper, and it was starting to show.
"That your company is purposefully giving my businesses bad reputations."
"It's not our fault that you constantly hire reprobates that have been in and out of prison their whole lives! You know how you can stop this, Ivo? Stop hiring criminals!"
"And you know that I want these criminals to have a second chance at contributing to society."
"I hate to say it, Ivo," Alicia began, "but Max is right. If you'd hire good, qualified people, then you won't have this kind of crap. It doesn't take an IQ of 300 to figure that out! Besides, you're barking at us like Max and I wrote it. If you have a problem with a news article, then write a letter to the editor. Not us."
"But it's you and your partners that give them the green light to publish."
"Would you rather we lie to the people? I think every John and Jane Doe from here to Spagonia has a right to know the truth."
"No, but I am asking you to not knock my businesses down."
"Then for the last time, stop hiring scummy people," Max hissed. "Is there anything else you want?"
"Yes, there is. I take it and your partners got my document a few weeks ago?" The Acorns nodded with angry faces. "And what did you think of my proposal?" They stared him down with those same contempt faces. "Ah, I see. Didn't like it? I'm prepared to offer more, if that's what you want. Where are Jules and Bernadette? I would like for them to be here so that we can discuss this further." They opened their mouths to rebuke him, but their angry faces turned to saddened ones. "What are those looks for?"
Max sighed and said, "You asked us earlier why everyone was exiting the building, Ivo." He paused. "There's no fire drill going on, otherwise you would've heard a siren."
Alicia added, "There's a reason why they're leaving… and why Bernie and Jules aren't here."
"And why's that?" asked Robotnik.
With a sigh and pain in her throat, Alicia said, "They were killed this morning."
The doctor's eyebrows slowly went up as his mouth was open slightly. "You're joking?" he asked half-heartedly.
"We wouldn't dare joke about this, doctor." She paused and fought back a tear. "They were trying to leave for a vacation with their newborns… but those robots of yours that were stolen some time ago ruined that." The doctor stood there as a surprised look had latched to his face.
What Alicia was referring to was a heist on a shipment of Robotnik's robot helpers that were en route to Station Square to be used for a large company based out of that city, but somewhere along the way, the delivery truck transporting them crashed and landed at the bottom of the Echidna River. The only thing the truck had inside when the police found it was the driver's dead body. The androids were gone, presumably stolen. There were telltale clues on the bridge where the truck fell off that it was forced off the road just by noticing that were some different tire tracks to that of the truck, but investigators weren't able to identify what tire was used, much less what kind of automobile it was. There were no witnesses to the accident, so the case went cold.
A few weeks later, those robots were identified by various witnesses when they performed attacks across the city… eerily similar attacks that all had the modus operandi as the attack on Jules, Bernadette, and their twins… and those attacks have been happening for the last six weeks.
"The reason you saw all of our employees leaving today is because we lost some good friends," Alicia said. "It's out of respect to them that we are silent today. I just hope our readers and viewers understand our decision."
"I'm sure they will," the doctor said solemnly. The Acorns nodded. "Please accept my sincerest condolences."
"Thank you, Ivo," Max said.
"They will be greatly missed. But back to business. That proposal?" he asked as he opened up his briefcase and showed them the document.
Their eyes lit up. You could see the anger in them, the scorn, the hatred. He had the audacity to bring this back up?
"Excuse me, doctor?" Max said darkly.
"I hate to bring this up again, doubly so considering the tragic news, but it still is the other reason why I'm here today." They continued to stare at him with intense hatred, their eyes filled to the brim with venom. "So, if $20 million isn't enough, then how about $25 million?" Not a flinch out of either of them. "Okay… $50 million?" Nothing. "$75 million?" Still nothing. "$100 million? $150 million? $250 million?" Still no signs of movement. "Look, I am giving you the king's ransom for this establishment. You have my word that I'll keep this place in tip-top shape." Still nothing from them. "And look on the bright side, for the price that I'm offering, you won't have to split it with Jules and Bernadette."
Finally, one of them moved.
Alicia walked quickly toward the doctor with a lethal look on her face.
SLAP!
The contact made Robotnik take a step back. He rubbed his cheek and gave Alicia a flabbergasted expression.
"How dare you say that! Our best friends were killed by some of your robots, and you have the nerve to say that about Jules, Bernie, and our lost godchildren?!" she screamed. "What kind of soulless fucker says that?!"
"I meant no harm!"
"Oh, blow it out ass, Ivo! You're full of shit, and you know it!" screamed Max as he stormed up the fat man. "This isn't about money! This is about getting our media group so your friend Eggman can have total control of the city's news flow! Eggman wants us to suffer! He wants a complete grip on the city, and this business is the last beacon of hope for its citizens!"
"That's not it at all, Max!"
"Don't you dare lie to us! You and Eggman want this! It's the biggest thing left in this city that represents hope. It's something you want, but you just can't get your grubby, little fingers on it!"
"That is not why, Maximillian, and you know that! I'm a businessman. I see the MFMG as a big money-maker in the news business! I want that, and I'm willing to give you anything for it!"
"We're not interested in selling, Ivo," Alicia spat. "Especially to you."
"$300 million then!"
"No!" the Acorns yelled.
"$400 million!"
"NO!"
"$500 million!"
"NO!"
"$1 BILLION!"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" The Acorns stopped and took a breath or two.
"We are not going to sell, Ivo!" screamed Alicia. "Not now, not ever!"
"Please, you two! You must see-."
"We're not interested! Whatever amount you throw out, it won't matter! We are not going to sell!"
"But you just lost your partners! They'd want you to sell!"
Max violently grabbed the man by his coat and brought him in close, looking him dead in the eye at point-blank range with all the potent rage of a volcano. "Don't. You. Ever use our friends as leverage," he hissed. "They'd want us to keep goin; not sell out." Max took the proposal and tore it to shreds. "Now get out before I call the police and have you thrown out. Understand?"
The doctor stood there staring at the Acorns. He was like that for a few seconds, trying to call their bluff. But no dice. Robotnik sighed and hung his head. "Fine," he spat. "Have it your way. But you will regret not selling this place to me."
"Is that a threat, Ivo?" Max snarled.
"No, it's just that you would've enjoyed an early retirement."
"Get the hell out."
Ivo turned away and walked out of the office. Max and Alicia turned to each other and said, "Do you think we've heard the end of him?" asked Alicia.
"If I knew, I'd tell you."
Robotnik made it to the ground floor of the building and stepped out of the elevator. He turned and gave a death stare at the two wolves behind the secretary's desk. Rita was under the desk grabbing her purse, but Lupe saw him and growled lowly at the man. She knew that he wasn't as good as he made himself out to be by instinct alone, instincts that every descendant of the old Native Wolf Pack Tribe had.
He made his way out the door and walked shortly to his limousine driver. He opened his door, through his briefcase on the seat and climbed in. "Go," he said.
"DESTINATION?" his robotic valet said in a mechanized voice.
"The Enterprises Building, and tell the others to prep my chopper. I'm headed to the rig tonight."
"AFFIRMATIVE, SIR." With that, his robotic valet drove off. "WERE YOU SUCCESSFUL, DOCTOR?"
The doctor threw his arm at the closest window, nearly breaking it while he screamed, "NO, YOU GODDAMN MACHINE! DOES IT LOOK LIKE I GOT IT?!"
Robotnik's bad press with the robotic helpers that got turned into murdering machines was still evident, but he believed that robots could be the future. All of his personal drivers were robots made by him. He trusted his machines because he created them to be the best. Best at what? Everything.
Driving through downtown Mobotropolis, he made it to the Robotnik Towers, a hotel chain of his that had locations in every United Federation city on Mobius. The doctor lived in the penthouse suite. The Robotnik Towers was only one of the many companies under the Robotnik Enterprises banner.
The sun was setting in the west past the mountains. The doctor stood with his hands behind his back as he looked out a large window at the city. The street lights started to turn on to illuminate the burgh. "Soon… this charade will end," he thought.
"DOCTOR," a robot stated. "YOUR HELICOPTER HAS ARRIVED."
"Thank you," he responded. He walked away from the window and up a flight of stairs where he opened a door to reveal a chopper with its blades already whirring. He jumped in the seat to the right of the robotic pilot. "The rig."
"LOCATION ACKNOWLEDGED."
The helicopter began to rise slowly and began moving east towards the ocean. Soon enough, they got out of the city and above the Mobotropolis Docks. Weapons of all kinds came through the ports. Rifles, semiautomatics, pistols, C-4; you name it, they got it. Dark dealings especially came from just down the road. Amongst the warehouses stood the Mobotropolis Sanitation Department: a place where trash was collected on a regular basis, but also served as the city's top method of weapon and drug distribution.
They continued further east into the Central Sea where the continents of Northamer, Soumerca, Eurish, and Efrika all had holdings. The world's busiest body of water with all its port trading.
Off the coast of the city by ten miles stood an older-style oil rig that had the faintest of sunlight still shining on it. It had all the decks and offices a rig would need. It was supported by four thick, cylindrical beams painted black near the water surface with white striping above it. Each column had a ladder that could be used to climb to the surface of the rig. On the surface, but underneath the main levels, were various docking stations for boats of modest size. Finally, one more cylindrical pillar was in the heart of the lower half and was thinner than the other four. It would be where the oil would go up when successfully drilled, but that wasn't what it was used for anymore. To the everyman, this was a run-of-the-mill oil rig for the Oil Ocean Corporation, albeit an officially defunct one. However, it held a dark secret, one that only the doctor and his robots knew about. It was fixed up and updated last year, but the city council said that the doctor couldn't use it, despite its renovations. However, it was all a part of the plan.
The chopper landed on the rig's helipad. Robotnik was greeted by a few of the robots who worked there. They were aligned in a way that there were two rows of robots, and they all faced inwards, leading to the rig's control room in the offices at the top of the base.
Going in, the robot in charge of the facility walked to its creator. "GOOD EVENING, EGGMAN," it greeted using the doctor's second identity, the same one that ruled the city with an iron fist.
"Are the subjects ready?" Eggman asked.
"YES. THEY ARE WAITING BELOW DECK."
"Let's hope this time it yields results."
Robotnik walked to the elevator in the room and was accompanied by a few more robots. Eggman reached over to the floor panel and punched in the combination.
L-2-L-3-Door Close-Door Open-Door Close-Emergency Exit.
DING. DING. DING.
The three dings meant that the secret password was put in correctly. The doors shut and the elevator went down beneath the levels of the rig under the ocean's surface to a secret testing chamber on the sea floor. It was expansive in size. One day it would host the doctor's most important possessions, but to Eggman, that day could not come soon enough (if at all).
It came to a stop, and the passengers walked out. They walked down a slight flight of stairs to see a group of other robots working away. There was a large pane of glass on the opposite wall. Beyond it was a sterile, white room that housed many young children. There were 100 of them, all taken from their homes by large robots of the doctor's. They had no families to speak of. Well… not anymore. They have been getting harder and harder to find now since the city's Baby Scare was at its peak.
All of them were less than a year old. They were all strapped down to chairs and crying. Each of them was hooked up to a heartbeat monitor. They were lined up in a 5-row-by-20-column grid. Robots monitored their vitals and heartbeats via screens in the control room, also in a 5x20 grid, so that anyone in there could monitor a specific child.
"DOCTOR, WE ARE SET TO BEGIN."
"Let's hope this time we get one." For six weeks now, testing has yielded no survivors. And with the population of one-year-olds declining within Mobotropolis, the doctor was beginning to run out of opportunities and test subjects. If he had to expand his search for less-than-one-year-olds to cities other than Mobotropolis, he would. "Begin."
A robot at the control panel flipped a switch. Suddenly in the next room, the ceiling split into two, right down the middle. These panels parted in opposite directions as another ceiling was coming down. However, this ceiling looked like something straight out of a torture scene in a movie.
One hundred needles mounted to the ceiling began coming down slowly and stuck its syringes into the toddlers. If there weren't any children crying before, they all were now as each of them were punctured in the right arm. Each of the needles had a tube that ran up through the ceiling. They began pumping a green-colored substance through those tubes that slowly filled each needle. When they were all filled up, another 'bot hit a different switch to commence the injection.
Like an influenza shot, the liquid inside the needles was injected into each of the children's bloodstreams. The crying heightened again as they all tried to squirm away. And what was the doctor doing while this was happening? He just stood stoically in the control room. He had heard screams like this before from the other test subjects and people in Mobotropolis who had crossed the Eggman. How could one man be so cold and ruthless?
The screens in the control room went crazy. Each of the children's individual heart rates began to go berserk. Their collective beats-per-minute were going haywire, far higher than normal. The doctor looked on, waiting patiently.
Then it began happening.
One by one, babies began to succumb to the treatment. They just stopped moving and went limp, dying in front of his eyes. This happened to all the other children as well. The serum once again failed. For whatever reason, the serum just wouldn't bond to a child's DNA. It always triggered a cardiac arrest, and death followed soon after.
The white room became silent. One hundred lifeless bodies sat in chairs it needles in all of them. The doctor labored a sigh.
"TEST RESULTS: ALL NEGATIVE. NO SURVIVORS," an automated voice stated.
Eggman walked up the stairs and slammed in his fists into the elevator door. "Why hasn't it worked?!" he screamed. "Every time! That serum is supposed to strengthen them; not kill them! Even when I tweak the formula, it always fails!" He punched the door a few more times in frustration and stopped when his fists began to throb in pain.
"WHAT NOW, DOCTOR?"
BLIP.
The doctor turned around. His robots went back to their stations.
BLIP.
"Where is that coming from?!"
BLIP. BLIP.
"No… this is impossible!"
"DOCTOR, THE CLOSEST ROW, THE TWO LEFT-MOST SEATS."
Eggman looked to the screens. Sure enough. Not one, but two heart beats were being picked up. The other 98 were still lifeless.
The doctor then went up to the glass and looked left to the corresponding seats. The children resting there began to stir, then cry loudly. They were both male hedgehogs; one blue, one green.
"Yes! Yes! YES!" The doctor pumped his fists and smiled devilishly. "YES! Success! A brilliant success! I've got a survivor! And not just one, but two! Yeeeeees!" He turned back to the robots. "Well, what are you waiting for?! Get those children here stat!"
"YES, DOCTOR." The robot that said that went through a door on the left and walked to the kids.
"Lift the needles from the kids, slowly," Robotnik commanded. The robot in control of that did so, and the needle machines all contracted. The ceiling of syringes went upward, and the previous ceiling pieces slid back into place. Meanwhile, the robot unfastened the kids' restraints and brought them through the door. The doctor was then handed the children.
"Hehehe! Hahaha! Hohoho! Finally!" He turned back to the robots. "We finally have survivors. We can begin Phase II, although we will need to adjust for two as opposed to one." He handed the kids off to two robots. "Get these two into their room and awaken the Caring, Recreational, Educational, Attendant Machine." He then turned to the others. "Discard the failures."
"YES, DOCTOR."
They spilt up to do their jobs as Eggman caught the elevator with the robots who held the kids. He looked at each of them and chuckled. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this day. You're going to make me so happy one day! Hehehe!"
"DOCTOR, I HAVE RECEIVED CONFIRMATION THAT THE CARING, RECREATIONAL, EDUCATIONAL, ATTENDANT MACHINE HAS BEEN PLACED IN THE CHILDRENS' ROOM. SHE IS WAITING FOR THEM THERE."
"Excellent. Tell me, these boys… when were they picked up?"
"THIS MORNING AT 12:25 A.M. THEY WERE THE ONLY CHILDREN THE SEEKER-BOTS WERE ABLE TO ACQUIRE LAST NIGHT."
"Wait… where were these boys taken from?"
"123 E. OMEGA STREET. HOME OF—."
"Wait, let me guess," Eggman said as a smile curled across his face. "Home of Jules the Hedgehog and his wife Bernadette?"
"YES."
"Hohohohoho! Hahahahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh, the world is indeed a funny place! We nabbed their boys! And they're going to be my subjects?! HA!"
"SIR? WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY, 'THE WORLD IS INDEED A FUNNY PLACE?'"
DING!
"I'll tell you later," Robotnik said as the elevator doors opened. "Until then, get the kids to their room. I expect you to follow the instructions for Phase II to the letter. Understand?"
"YES, DOCTOR."
"Good. I'm headed back to the mainland. I'll be checking in every so often." The elevator closed again as the giddy Eggman rode it to the surface.
The robots walked down an ivory hallway that had the Robotnik logo painted on the wall: the doctor's face with his signature mustache and a cheesy smile. One robot opened the door, and they both went in with the crying children.
In the room, there was a decently-sized crib with a small chandelier overhanging it. It was essentially a bare-bones nursery with sky blue walls and a multi-colored rug. There was also a big desk that was against a wall to the right.
As the two robots left, a robot in a corner to the left of the door was activated when the door shut. Walking slowly out of it was another one of Robotnik's robots, but this one was different in terms of appearance and function.
This one was modeled to look like an animal Mobian; more specifically, a female rabbit. She had long ears that stretched down to her waist. She was also painted to look like said Mobian rabbit. She was dressed in an all-metal dress that was mainly orange in color, but had stripes of yellow and brown at the neck hole, sleeves, and bottom of the dress. The rest of her was painted a creamy tan (what her fur would look like if she were a real Mobian). Her face was also that same creamy tan, but her muzzle was white. She had orange markings around her eyes, the ends of her ears, and down the back of her head in the form of a stripe, looking a mohawk in a certain way. Her shoes were also orange—matching her dress and the markings on her head—but with yellow striping at the ankles. Finally, her eyes were like a camera. They were each equipped with an aperture that were painted brown with a lens in the middle that looked black, giving the illusion that it looked like an iris and pupil. To complete her look, she also had soft, white gloves on.
She was activated and walked towards the crib to find the crying twin brothers.
"Oh, my." Her voice was caring, gentle and feminine, but also slightly mechanical. She gently picked them up and held them close to her, slowly rocking them. "Shhhh… there, there. I have you. You are alright." Soon enough, the twins stopped crying. They opened their eyes to get their first glimpse of the robotic hare. "My, you two are so adorable! Don't worry. You're safe. I won't let anyone hurt you." She noticed the holes on their arms. "Looks like sometime was given a shot of some sort. Maybe for the flu? Hold on. Let me get my first aid kit."
She set the twins back down in the crib and went to the desk where she pulled out the necessary supplies. She returned with some rubbing alcohol, cotton swabs, and two bandages.
"This might sting a little." She dabbed the cotton swab into the alcohol and smeared it on the blue boy's arm, then the green one's. They moaned weakly at the pain. "We're almost done," she assured them.
Next, she took the bandages and put them on their wounds. "All done." They still cried a little bit, so she kissed the bandages. Almost instantly, they stopped their sobbing and giggled at the robotic hare. "You two are so cute. Since we're going to living together for a while, I suppose I better introduce myself. I am your Caring, Recreational, Educational Attendant Machine. But you can call me 'CREAM' for short. CREAM the Rabbit. (CREAM the Rabbit: Tara Strong)"
She giggled a bit when the two started to make silly faces. "From the information that was given to me by Dr. Robotnik, I understand that because of your abilities, you were abandoned by your parents. I must say that your parents are some of the most awful people on the planet if that was their reasoning! Dr. Robotnik built me to take care of you two. He says he has magnificent plans for you. He's a great man. He has a great heart. He also told me that you were given names." CREAM picked up the blue-furred one. "You are Blue the Hedgehog." She set Blue down and picked up his brother. "And you're Green the Hedgehog." She set him down, but the twins began to yawn. "Oh, poor dears. You must be tired! You must have had a long day!"
She went back to the desk and pulled out a pair of diapers for the youngsters and quickly put them on. CREAM then slid a blanket over them as their small heads laid gently on their soft pillow. "Aww…!" She kissed them both on the forehead. "Sweet dreams, Blue. Sweet dreams, Green." She smiled and walked out the door so they could get their rest. Even through the closed door, she could hear their soft snoring.
( watch?v=ZXvkTuMyZpM)
SconnieSA presents
A DeviantArt and Fanfiction-dot-net Production
ROGER CRAIG SMITH
MIKE POLLOCK
THE SONIC PROJECT
I've been counting all my steps ... ALSO STARRING:
All my no's just turned to yes ...
Silently, I must confess ... CINDY ROBINSON
My troubled history ...
That's washed away all my sins ... JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
Starting over once again ...
This is where it all begins ... TARA STRONG
It's right in front of me ...
Down is not where I belong ... SUSAN EISENBERG
This aching heart won't turn to stone ...
There's a fire inside these bones ... KAREN STRASSMAN
It was meant to be ...
I see the world still full of light ... JENNIFER HALE
How could I ever be so blind? ...
I still haven't lost my fight ... ROBERT REDFORD
That haunts me in my sleep ...
I feel like waking up, I've had this dream before ... EMILY ROSE
I'll take these footsteps, go higher, go higher ...
I've walked an empty mile, wore down this lonely soul ... JASON GRIFFITH
I'll take these footsteps, go higher, go higher ...
(Woo-hoo, woo-hoo, woo-hoo) higher, go higher ... PAULEY PERRETTE
(Woo-hoo, woo-hoo, woo-hoo) higher, higher ...
I know only time will tell ... CHRIS PRATT
If all the cards will treat me well ...
'Cause this hand that I been dealt ... COBIE SMULDERS
Keeps me wondering ...
So now here I turn the page ... TROY BAKER
I've learned to silence all my rage ...
Tell me who can really say ...BILL FAGERBAKKE
What will tomorrow bring? ...
I feel like waking up, I've had this dream before ... ROBIN LORD TAYLOR
I'll take these footsteps, go higher, go higher ...
I've walked an empty mile, wore down this lonely soul ... with KEITH DAVID
I'll take these footsteps, go higher, go higher ...
(Woo-hoo, woo-hoo, woo-hoo) higher, go higher ... and DEMI LOVATO
(Woo-hoo, woo-hoo, woo-hoo) higher, higher ...
I'll find you so far away ... ALL CHARACTERS ARE THE PROPERTY OF ARCHIE COMICS AND SEGA
I'll find you after all ...
I'll find you so far ... "FOOTSTEPS" IS OWNED AND PERFORMED BY POP EVIL
I'll find you after all ...
(I'll find you so far away) I feel like waking up, I've had this dream before ...
(I'll find you after all) I'll take these footsteps, go higher, go higher ...
(I'll find you so far away) I've walked an empty mile, wore down this lonely soul ...
(I'll find you after all) I'll take these footsteps, go higher, go higher ...
(I'll find you so far away) I feel like waking up, I've had this dream before ...
(I'll find you after all) I'll take these footsteps, go higher, go higher ...
(I'll find you so far away) I've walked an empty mile, wore down this lonely soul ...
(I'll find you after all) I'll take these footsteps, go higher, go higher ...
I feel like waking up, I've had this dream before ...
I'll take these footsteps, go higher, higher ...
DIRECTED BY SCONNIESA
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Wow. This has been a long tine coming. Officially, the Word document with the whole story on it was created in March 23, 2016. It was finalized on June 28 of this year. But I remember announcing this story earlier than that in my other one-shots and deviantArt status updates around December 2015/January 2016, so it really took a year and a half to write this. I still believe that it's been too long in between major stories, and I cannot apologize enough for that. For reference, I wrote Affairs of State, which was 24 chapters and 147,181 words long, in five months (not including a month for editing). This is a chapter and over 8,000 words short of that and took three times longer to write and edit this animal. In my defense, senior year at UW-Whitewater was not friendly to me, and I could not skip out on my senior year and cruise right threw it. Senioritis was not an option, especially with an internship thrown in for good measure.
Excuses aside, welcome to The Sonic Project! If you are familiar with my other stories, you probably found out that this tale is much darker in tone. As a result, M is rating for violence, not sexuality (there's next to none of that sans a few instances where the word "whore" is said). The deviantArt version of this story will have chapter censors on it when appropriate, so if you reading this on dA, you can read the full story on my account (same SconnieSA username).
This is the first in a planned series of 4 stories where Sonic is portrayed as a sort of comic book superhero. This story is stylized like a comic book movie, so the Dark Knight trilogy and Marvel Cinematic Universe where big influences on the tone and story. I also got some inspiration from other Sonic stories I have read in the meantime (Street Speed and Guns Nd Love to name a few) as well as a few previously dead head-canons that were shelved.
If you've read any other of my stories, my SonAmy shipping preference should be well-documented. While there is some of that in the story, it is not the focus; not by a long-shot. If you love SonAmy, you will see it, but the moments are few and far in between. Sorry. Oh, and if you didn't guess, the song above with the celebrity names is meant to emulate an opening credit sequence to a James Bond/007 movie. All other stories in this planned series will get the same chapter 1 treatment.
Finally, please leave a review. I want to hear from you guys on how this story is going. Like if there's anything I missed in editing, please tell me. Like Affairs of State, I plan on uploading a chapter every week, so expect the second chapter on 7/6/17 and every other Thursday going forward unless noted otherwise. As always, the characters used in this story are the property of SEGA, Sonic Team, and Archie Comics. The song "Footsteps" is the property of Pop Evil. Everything in the story is being used strictly for entertainment purposes. And as always, I will talk to y'all later.
EDIT 6/30/17: Nothing is different in the story, but I said the next chapter would be on Thursdays going forward. Last time I checked, 7/7/17 isn't a Thursday. 7/6/17 is.
EDIT 2/3/19: Starting the majority of the re-editing process by replacing words that were redundant like "robot" which was used 18 times in the first scene alone (thanks to Zoggerific for pointing that out). Also fixed up the beginning credits sequence to make it easier to read the voice actors' names. Also also the word count went up from 10,218 to 10,400. Also also also, I didn't include the original A/N when I republished the first chapter.