Rise of the Machine Empire – Part 1

"Ducks in a row"

by Asher Tye

Disclaimer: I've said it before, I'll say it again. I don't own Sonic, Sally, Tails, Rotor, or any of the characters you'll recognize from the show, comic books, or games. I do own the bit characters, and of course Silver Fox himself. If you'd like to use him, please let me know in advance.

Author's Note: Here we go.

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Sally awoke to a fairly nasty headache on a soft mattress bed with a deep groan. Quickly she took stock of the previous night's events. She'd been celebrating her triumphant mission to Robotropolis where she and her team had successfully destroyed the egg-generator, crippling Robotnik's empire. During the party, Rotor had confronted her with regards to her somewhat underhanded tactics, particularly in dealing with her fellow Freedom Fighters. Then a sleepy-eyed Tails had asked if she'd tuck him in, an escape from the situation the Princess had gladly taken, hoping it would allow her some time to figure out how to make it up to Rotor. She'd entered the kit's hut and then…

Nothing. The squirrel was quite surprised to find she couldn't remember anything after that, not even when she had obviously dragged herself to bed. Suddenly, she sensed movement in the darkened room. A little bit of light was shining past the drawn curtains showing off a small and familiar silhouette.

"Tails?" she asked quietly. On her more hectic or stressful nights, it was not uncommon for the rebel leader to crash at her adoptive nephew's after tucking him in. He didn't mind, it often made him feel important to know that Sally found his company so relaxing. The only downside was that, in his efforts to be a "good boy" for his Aunt Sally, Tails often went out of his way to make sure she was not disturbed, often resulting in her sleeping until noon. Obviously that's what he'd done this time. Suddenly, the silhouette turned to her, and the Princess could almost swear she'd seen sunlight bouncing off a polished metallic surface.

"You're awake," Tails said in a voice that seemed oddly distorted. Lifting herself into a sitting position on the bed, Sally looked down at her young nephew.

"What happened?"

"You've been out for quite a while. I guess Rotor's little tantrum took a lot more out of you than I thought," Tails explained as he approached the bed, his footfalls seeming oddly heavy for such a little fox. "Course I really don't get what he's so worked up about. Your plan worked and in the end that's what counts. Maybe he should just pack up and leave if he's not able to play hardball." Just a few weeks ago, Rotor had been one of the two core Freedom Fighters arguing for Tails to remain in Knothole, and now Tails himself was basically suggesting that Rotor be removed. Quietly the two tailed fox crawled up onto the bed.

"Tails, that's not nice," Sally admonished, strangely wondering if the kit's eyes had always appeared so reddish in the dark. Once more she rubbed her head, wincing as she came upon a tender spot. "Rotor is entitled to his opinion; he's not a slave to me."

"Ah yes, the ever-present idea of friendship amongst the Freedom Fighters." Sally mentally winced as she heard the disdain in the young fox's voice for the group that had been his family for so long. Something was wrong, something was most definitely wrong.

"Tails, is something the matter?" Sally asked; her guard up as she did so. "Why didn't you open up the window and let the sunlight in?" Suddenly she could feel Tails's face right in front of hers. No warm breath struck her, only a cold aura of confidence.

"If I asked you to," the lights suddenly came on, "would you be my friend?" Sally screamed with a start as she leapt back away from the visage she saw.

"Silver Fox!"

"In the flesh, at least for now," the metallic monster grinned. Though the cyber-criminal was obviously in control, his body had yet to complete the transformation. Here and there, bits and pieces of his body were still covered in fur, but even as Sally watched, these were being quickly subsumed by the machine. Most frightening was his face. Though the ears and eyes seemed fully roboticized, only the right portion of his muzzle and the back left section of his head were mechanical. The rest was still the same flesh and blood face she'd known as Miles Prower, only now it was twisted in an evil smirk. "What's the matter? Not happy to see me?"

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Knothole was in chaos. But then why shouldn't it be. Not but a few hours ago, a series of explosions had erupted inside the normally safe and sane little village, leveling five huts and spreading fire and destruction throughout the township. The Knothole Volunteer Firefighters had only just barely been able to keep it from spreading the rest of the village, not to mention the Great Forest itself. Now the unhappy task of sifting through the damaged huts fell to Antoine, who was acting as the unofficial leader of the searchers in the absence of Sonic, Sally, or even Rotor. So far the Freedom Fighters felt lucky. They had yet to come across any casualties. Everyone, it seemed, had been at the celebration, so the huts that had exploded had, thankfully, been empty. All save the last hut they'd been able to check, which ironically, was the first hut that had exploded; the one belonging to Mile Prower, a.k.a. Tails.

"Sugar-Twan, you don't suppose Tails and the Princess were in there when it blew?" Bunnie asked, clearly remembering Sally taking the young fox to bed earlier.

"I am hoping not Bunnie, but it will be doing no good to deny zhe possibility," Antoine answered. He wished any of the others were here instead of him. Sonic was eternally optimistic, Sally had N.I.C.O.L.E. to give her scans of the area; even Rotor was more likely to know if anyone had been inside just by examining the wreckage. All he could do was worry as other people worked.

"ANTOINE!" Bunnie called from over in the middle of the burned hut. "Something's here." Antoine raced over to where his rabbit friend stood, right next to a fallen beam that had once been the roof of their foxy friend's hut. All around him were burnt and mangled toys. From the bottom of his heart he hoped their owner was in better shape, for more than one reason. That was when he heard it; a soft but persistent banging sound, like someone smacking into metal.

"Bunnie, I think it is coming from under zhe beam." Without a second wasted, the cyber-Mobian lifted the heavy wooden obstacle and threw it off to the side. Underneath the pair could see what looked like a small steel door. Quickly Bunnie opened it and inside they found Sonic himself, curled up like a ball and squeezed so tightly into the small space that he couldn't get out. Sensing her friend's peril, Bunnie wedged her arm into the shallow pit and successfully popped the hedgehog out.

"AIR!" Sonic gasped as he breathed in the fresh air, falling over as he did so. When, after a full two minutes, the blue speedster failed to moved, Antoine unbuckled his sword and used the scabbard to poke his spiny friend carefully.

"Sonic?"

"I'm all right," Sonic responded irritably. "I just need some air. I thought I was gonna die in there."

"What happened, Sugar-Hog?"

"It was a trap," Sonic began. "Guys, Silver Fox is back."

"But how is that possible?! Tails was deroboticized, was he not?"

"I don't know, but either he's back or Tails is developing a seriously twisted sense of humor," Sonic explained. "He planted a bomb and sealed up to the hut. I was lucky I remembered about Tails's little hidey-hole, or I'd be one crispy critter right now."

"Luckier than you know," Rotor interjected as he came upon the group, looking like he'd fought his way through horde of SWATbots to get there. "If they hadn't found you, you'd probably have run out of air." Bunnie moved just in time to catch the beaten tusker as he stumbled and began to fall forward.

"What happened to you Rotor?"

"I was attacked…"

"By what, a house?"

"Yeah, mine," Rotor explained. "I was in my workshop after the… unpleasantness, when I heard the explosions go off. Suddenly I was mobbed by my own workshop's defense system. I barely made it out of there alive!"

"How'd Silver Fox take over your system?" Sonic asked.

"Silver Fox? Is that who's behind this?"

"Apparently. I don't know how long he's been active but…"

"Then it could have been at any point today if he'd decided to strike, Tails was with me the entire day."

"But why be setting a trap for you? I am thinking it is Soneec who is the one he cannot be standing."

"Ah don't know, and I don't rightly care," Bunnie said as she hefted the larger walrus up into her arms. "But I do know you two need to be checked out by Dr. Quack."

"He's got Sally. I know it," Sonic stated turning as he prepared to leave. "That's why he left her jacket behind, so I'd know it before I died. I'm going after him."

"And what exactly do you intend to do, Sonic? Go knock on his fortress and hope he's in a giving mood," Rotor said. "We need to find him first and then we need some sort of plan."

"No! No waiting. We waited last time and he destroyed Kith Alunel. Tails's is still on a guilt trip about that. I'm not letting that monster hurt Sally and leaving Tails with the guilt when we bring him down."

"How are you going to find him? Wing Fortress could be anywhere and even N.I.C.O.L.E. can't penetrate its shields with any sort of consistency."

"Maybe not, but I know someone who can." So saying, Sonic sped off before his friends could stop him.

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Back at the Wing Fortress, Silver Fox laughed a grating, metallic laugh as he watched the scene unfold on a large screen before him. Next to him, Sally sat upright on the bed she'd awoken on, a puzzled look on her face as she watched the metallic fox.

"I don't know what you're so pleased about," she stated. "Sonic survived your little deathtrap and will be on his way soon to stop whatever mad scheme you've come up with." Quieting his laughter, Silver Fox turned to his captive, a smile on his face that showed many of his metallic teeth.

"Sally, Sally, Sally," he began in a condescending tone, "Do you honestly think I've spent the past few months planning and scheming just to finish Sonic off with a bomb planted in Tails's hut? Awfully practical I must admit but hardly something worth all that effort. I wanted Sonic to survive. My big surprise is that he didn't notice the armor plated table I left for him to hide behind." Suddenly, the metallic Mobian began cackling again. "That idiot nearly killed himself trying to escape the explosion anyway…"

"So what am I here for; bait to capture Sonic with?"

"Let's be honest Princess, if I just needed you for bait, you'd be dead right now. Sonic's so hyped up about me, he'd have come if I'd just left a picture of myself mooning him in that hut. No, my dear, you're here for another reason entirely." At this point, the still partially transformed Silver Fox leapt up onto the bed, moving so that his part flesh, part machine face stared right into her own. "I need a mate." For the briefest of moments Sally wondered if she'd heard right.

"You're insane," she finally stated. "There are so many things wrong with that idea I don't even know where to start."

"I need a partner, an equal. A Queen to my King, an omega to my alpha, a match to my flame… A Sally to my Sonic," he added slyly with a smile.

"Get over yourself," Sally said as she pushed him away, oddly enough succeeding as the robo-fox went backwards. Of course the squirrel princess was no fool. The only way she could have so easily out-muscled a machine like Silver Fox was if he let her. "Do you have any idea how much a loathe you?"

"Only about half as much as you think you do," Silver Fox answered, swinging his legs back over the bed. "Besides, it's not you I'm interested in; at least, not the whole you." Wary now of whatever the menacing mechanoid had planned, Sally backed away.

"What do you mean?" Silver Fox hopped off the bed, a sight that might have appeared comical given his somewhat malicious nature if Sally didn't know he'd done it completely on purpose. Though he was trying to put her at ease by acting like Tails, Sally knew deep down in her heart that there was little if any similarity between the two kits. Quickly Silver Fox walked to the door.

"I don't think I should tell you just yet, Princess. Better to wait for it to be a surprise, don't you think?"

"I don't think I can take too many of your 'surprises' Silver Fox."

"Touché, 'Aunt' Sally, touché. But rest assured that this will be a surprise well worth the wait…" With that Silver Fox left the room, locking the door, and Sally inside.

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"Robotnik!" Sonic called as he raced into the city of Robotropolis, trying to attract as much attention as he could. Given the situation, he did not have the time to waste on their usual games of hide and seek as he raced through the city. "ROBOTNIK!!" Suddenly, a spy orb made itself known to the hedgehog, floating before him steadily. Its holo-projector activated and a three dimensional picture of the Mobian dictator stood before the hedgehog, wearing of all things a nightcap and bed clothes.

"Sonic, I was having the most wonderful dream. And you were in it, with rusty nails and seventy-five pounds of salt. Why have you interrupted such a magnificent dream?"

"I need your help." At this statement Robotnik broke into a laughing fit.

"My help? What on Mobius makes you think I'd help you after what you did?"

"Silver Fox," Sonic answered. At the sound of his creation's name, Robotnik's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he returned to normal.

"I see. Am I to take it young Mr. Prower has suffered some form of accident?"

"I don't know how he came back; I just know he's back. And I need your help to find him," Sonic said. "He has Sally." Robotnik snickered at this. Even with the danger the machine fox represented, he couldn't help but be impressed at his own brilliance in action. Silver Fox had been programmed and conditioned to target the world in general and Sonic in particular, and what better way to torment the hedgehog than by taking the woman he loved.

"That would seem to be more your problem than mine, hedgehog," Robotnik said snidely.

"Want me to make it your problem?" Sonic threatened.

"I actually have more than enough on my hands at the moment," Robotnik replied before slyly adding. "But, if you would take one of them off my hands…"

"Kinda cheesy trying to charge me to save your blubber-butt as well as everyone else's," Sonic growled. "Especially when it's your fault this is happening."

"Now Sonic, who ever accused me of being fair," the blubbery Overlander cooed. "Now as I recall, not less than eight hours ago, your Princess pulled off a most impressive bit of deception that robbed me of my precious little Egg-Generator power plant." Sonic stared at the rotund dictator in silent fury, refusing to answer what was most obviously not a real question. "No doubt you and your little band of ruffians hope to capitalize on this, try to strike me while my defenses are low. But if that's the case, it hardly seems fair to ask me to divert any of my precious resources to locating your rogue friend, now does it?"

"How long?" Sonic asked, already guessing the price for Robotnik's cooperation. Sally would be none too thrilled to find out he'd struck this particularly bargain, but from the hedgehog's point of view saying "no" was not an option at the moment.

"It should take me about a week to get the generator back on-line so… lets make it one month…"

"A month?!"

"Yes… A week to fix the generator, and three more to come up with something suitable to thank you with for yesterday."

"Two weeks!"

"Does this look like 'Let's Make A Deal,' hedgehog?" the overlander chortled. "One month, with not so much as a piece of you fools' DANDER showing up in my city, no matter what, or you can try to find your tin-plated Tails and his flying fortress on your own!" Outside Sonic stood with his eyes shut and his arms crossed, pretending to consider his nemesis's words. Inwardly though, the blue hedgehog raged and screamed, calling up every foul name, every nasty adjective, every horrible word he knew and mentally hurling them at Robotnik. If the megalomaniacal madman noticed he gave no sign other than a disgustingly innocent look on his flabby and hideous face. Finally, understanding he was backed into a corner, Sonic unfolded his arms.

"You've got a deal," he grudgingly said.

"Excellent," Robotnik responded, clasping his hands together. "And since you're the oh-so noble 'Hero of Mobius' I know I can trust you not to back out of our agreement." Suddenly, the holographic image of Robotnik faded as the spy orb retreated, stopping only for a second to signal for Sonic to follow. Angrily the teen complied.

& & &

Inside his Command Center, Robotnik marveled how the universe never ceased to amaze even such a stupendous mind as his own. Only a few paltry hours ago he had been writhing in fury as he desperately sought a way to deal with the crippling blow his enemies had dealt him, and here he had been presented not only with the means to protect himself, but also get back at those who had hurt him in the first place. This only served to reinforce the belief the evil-minded Doctor had long held that everything, everywhere bent to his will and desire. Some could resist for a while, but in the end the universe itself had already chosen to hand its reins over him. And, as always, he could choose to be magnanimous in his good fortune, especially when that was precisely the course of action that would rankle Sonic's quills the most.

With a press of a button, the giant computer in Robotnik's command room awakened from its sleep mode, its monitors coming to life with incoming messages and data from all over the rotund overlander's empire. The evil doctor chose to ignore the displayed messages, inputting the command to wipe one the monitors clean so he could go to work, though his excellent memory stored away the more urgent items for later. Behind him the door hissed open as Sonic Hedgehog entered with a scowl on his face as he did so.

"My, that was fast," Robotnik said snidely.

"Can the sarcasm, fat-man, I'm only interested in Wing Fortress," Sonic responding with uncharacteristic hostility, a fact which sent a shiver of glee up the doctor's spine he typically only felt with roboticization.

"Of course, of course," Robotnik said in an all too polite voice. Immediately Sonic felt like forgetting his need and punching the fat human's lights out. Robotnik turned to begin tapping out commands on his computer. The main monitor began to display several graphs and plot lines over a generalized map of Mobius as it tried to home in on Wing Fortress's location.

Inwardly Robotnik felt a pang of disappointment. Despite the fact that he had betrayed his creator, Silver Fox was still one of Robotnik's "children" and, though the overlander wouldn't, and indeed couldn't, hesitate to crush him and his silly little rebellion, it pained Robotnik to know the automaton could be so reckless. Had he been the one to steal Wing Fortress, Robotnik was quite sure he would have made it far more difficult to track. Even Snively would have had that much sense. In the end, Robotnik simply chalked it up to the corruption of the Silver Fox program by whatever it was that had seized upon young Prower during his roboticization.

"You done yet?" the impatient hedgehog asked, causing the overlander to growl silently. He detested such impatience, one of the many reasons he had not done well with most of his early attempts at employment.

"Out of curiosity, what exactly do you plan to do when you find out where Sally is? Some ill-conceived rush headlong in for a rescue, no doubt."

"What do you care?"

"I care because if you fail, I'm the one who'll have to deal with the problem. I somehow doubt he's forgiven me for my part in his last defeat."

"I weep for you, I really do," Sonic said sarcastically. A few more moments of silence passed between the two, probably the first time in the history of their relationship such a thing had happened. Suddenly, the digital map began to zoom in quickly on a flyspeck of deep in the largest ocean of Mobius.

"Well I'll be…" Robotnik said as he recognized what he was looking at. "He's at Mt. Mobius, my old Veg-O-Fortress."

"The place with the pinball set-up?"

"The very same…"

"Right, then I'm gone."

"And how exactly do you plan to get there?" Robotnik asked.

"The Freedom Fighters have a plane, Doc."

"One plane against the Wing Fortress and all of the hardware Silver Fox will be able to throw at you? And over water no less? Tell me where you want the funeral, I'll send a mechanized bouquet." Sonic stopped in his tracks, his hands clenched into fists. Seeing that he had the hedgehog's attention, Robotnik continued. "He's not going to just let you in, you know, he wants you dead."

"And your point would be?"

"Let me send you with a squadron of Stealthbots for protection. They won't be able to wipe him out, but they should last long enough to provide you cover until you get onboard."

"And you're doing this out of the kindness of your heart?"

"Call it insurance to make sure Silver Fox is suitably occupied instead of planning to wipe me out."

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Sally was somewhat worried. She'd been a prisoner often enough in her life to realize that it was when a captor left their prisoner to her own devices that were the most stressful, particularly if the prisoner wasn't entirely sure why she was captive. As Silver Fox had pointed out, her value as bait had evaporated the moment Sonic realized who had her, which left her questioning what he needed her for.

She'd spent her time scouring the room for something, anything she could use to her advantage to get out of her situation but, other than the bed she'd woken up on, there was nothing. Sadly, whatever material the mattress had been made of proved most resilient against either her nails or her teeth, making acquiring anything from said mattress nearly impossible.

Suddenly, the door opened with a sliding hiss as the Wing Fortress's most powerful occupant entered his body now ninety percent robotic, flanked by two SWATbots, an eager smile on his face.

"So, you've decided to do something other than let me just age in here alone?" Sally asked with a biting tone. For what other reason would Silver Fox feel the need to bring guards with him, it certainly wasn't as if Sally currently had the ability to hurt him.

"Very perceptive," Silver Fox stated. "Tane informs me that your blue beau is on the move, and with Robotnik's help no less. This actually calls for me to move onward with my plans, before he can successfully interrupt." The two SWATbots advanced on the squirrel Princess who quickly began to back away. "Now Princess, you're not going to force me to have them sedate you? They're merely going to insure you don't do anything… irritably heroic." Quickly the two machines each took a hold of one of Sally's arms, gripping her firmly but not harshly as they would have under Robotnik's commands.

"March," came a monotonous command as the SWATbots began moving forward, Silver Fox leading the way as Sally found herself being compelled to oblige. They walked at a quick pace, occasionally taking elevators and ramps as they navigated the massive aerial fortress. Sally kept her eyes peeled as she attempted to memorize her surroundings in the event of an escape, but they went down so many twisting corridors it soon became impossible keep track of the path they were taking. Eventually, however, they arrived at their destination.

It looked like a lab, a fact that did not bode well for Sally as she thought about it. One a cold steel table, a figure lay, draped over by a white sheet so that Sally could only make out the barest outline. Nearby, she was quite surprised to see what looked like the remnants of a palm tree, a robotic palm tree of all things. The young Acorn's mind tried to place where she'd heard of robotic palms before. Also in the room was a familiar looking chair sporting restraints and a circular headpiece with wires coming out of which, some of which connected to the form lying under the sheet on the table. Sally had no trouble recognizing that piece of hardware.

"The Brain-scanner," she said, remembering when Robotnik had used that same despicable device to create a near perfect robotic double of her to fool Sonic into revealing Knothole's location. The plan had failed, obviously, but apparently Silver Fox had managed to salvage the key component of it for his own purposes. "If you're hoping to duplicate me, it won't work."

"Yes, yes, I know," Silver Fox said as the two SWATbots maneuvered Sally over to the chair and used gentle force to make her sit. "The brain-scanner is unable to actually transfer anything more than a cursory amount of its subject's personality without lengthy exposure. And even then there is always something… missing from the duplicate is there not?"

"If you know this, then why try?" At Princess Sally's statement, Silver Fox actually looked offended.

"I'd never repeat one of Robotnik's plans, particularly a failed one. I have no interest in using you or Sonic to find Knothole, especially since I know where it is already."

"So then why…?"

"My allies have been scouring the Mobian oceans trying to find something for me, an island I visited a long time ago, back when I was still that pathetic little spoiled ball of fur you knew as Tails." Sally thought back, remembering when Tails had indeed gone island hoping on his own. It was just before he'd gone missing for a week only to turn up with the Downunda Freedom Fighters. Memory sparked in the Princess's mind as Silver Fox pulled off the sheet, revealing the table's occupant. A body lay there, still and unmoving as a corpse, its eyes closed and its arms crossed over its chest. It was a vixen, with dark red fur and even darker hair on its head, as well as a yellow bow. She looked young, somewhere around Tails's own age, but then, she wouldn't have been much use if she wasn't. Though the body on the table certainly resembled a female fox, Sally had little trouble recognizing one of Robotnik's diabolical duplicates when she saw one, particularly when half of its synthetic skin had been peeled away to expose the inner mechanics.

"The Fiona duplicate," Sally said, recognizing the fox from Tails's, and then Sonic's, descriptions of her.

"And they say the mind goes as you get older," Silver Fox quipped as his hands roamed over the exposed circuitry of the mechanical fox. "Though he be more for function over form, I myself must commend Dr. Robotnik for the sheer beauty of his design."

"You do know he just copied an already living fox, right?" Sally asked, not liking at all where this was going. Silver Fox's talk of needing a "mate" and then the revelation of his possession of this doll… Tails's life was screwed up enough with just Robotnik walking around.

"Do not insult my intellect, Princess," Silver Fox responded, his luminescent eyes glowing blood red for a few seconds, almost as though he really was defending something he cared for. "I don't speak of her physical looks, but her eternal." The roboticized fox walked over to a nearby computer monitor, which began displaying schematics. "Did you know that the Fiona model was not the first duplicate created? She was actually the last. Robotnik had intended to use her as a form of psychological torture on Sonic, but with the failure and subsequent destruction of the other duplicates, and the premature escape of the 'real' Fiona, he turned his attention elsewhere, until an opportunity arose to use her."

"When Tails set off on his own and got tangled up on the robotic island," Sally finished for him.

"Was I ever so naïve?" Silver Fox asked wistfully. "But as I was saying, she possesses the most advanced of Robotnik's robotic technology, at least at the time of her creation. And she was created with the sole purpose of seeming absolutely real. Her servos are finely made enough to allow almost perfect fluidity of motion, her eyes react with almost true photosensitivity, and her fingers are delicate enough to gently move through real fur." As he said this last part, a creepy smile came to the grey colored robot's face as though he were remembering something very pleasant. Just as quickly, he snapped out of it. "Her programming, on the other hand, is horribly flawed, do more to the fact that Robotnik never had any intention of using her after trying to entrap me."

"Entrap Tails you mean," Sally said.

"Tails is a memory, Princess, a weak and pathetic cub that I was before I found the strength to crush those who dared try to harm me. I would suggest you get used to that."

"Then why are you so obsessed with what was essentially his first love?" No retort came from the fox as he roughly pulled back more of the robotic Fiona's "skin," this time from the head, exposing her artificial skull. Quickly he began to connect the brain-scanner to R-Fiona, something Sally was finding very distressing.

"I intend to remedy the flaws in her programming by adding the most desirable elements of your mind, as well as my own."

"E.V.E. already proved you can't transfer knowledge or intelligence, it's learned."

"True enough, but you can transfer the predisposition for certain traits. Your intellect is what you make of it, but you couldn't have nurtured it thoroughly if the seeds had not been present. Likewise for you abilities as a leader, your drive, your force of personality, all characteristics that make you a VERY attractive person."

"You're coming across as creepy again," Sally said, trying to hide the revulsion she was feeling.

"And there in lies the ugly side, which I cannot abide. Hence why I too will also be donating a portion of my programming, in order to equip this lass with some of my better features. My indomitable will, ruthless ambition, and massive intellect will more than make up for your own personality flaws."

"Personality flaws?" Sally asked incredulously. Her anger was dissipated; however, as she watched the machine she was now attached to begin to power up.

"Unfortunately, successfully copying your data and then integrating it into her programming will take time, time we are steadily losing I'm afraid as we draw closer and closer to Sonic's arrival." The lights of the brain-scanner's helmet illuminated as Sally began to feel a slight tugging sensation at the back of her mind. "You should be grateful, Auntie dear, at this setting the process may indeed be long, but it will also be painless."

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Sonic did not like this, not one bit.

Essentially, he was trapped in a flying egg, surrounded by armed SWATbots as they flew over the largest ocean on Mobius. The Hover-Unit he was in was also surrounded, this time by Stealthbots which were serving as an armed escort for the slower moving craft. And all Sonic had to insure they wouldn't attack was Robotnik's word, a form of currency that, when combined with five mobies, couldn't get you gumball in old Mobotropolis. Still, the machines had been on their best behavior so far.

"We are approaching our destination," the pilot said in a monotone voice. "Possible hostiles approaching."

"Possible?" Sonic asked as he moved up front to view the scene. Mt. Mobius loomed in the distance, quickly getting bigger as they approached. Hovering over it bobbing slightly in the air as though it were resting on the water instead, was Wing Fortress, the target for Sonic's mission. What got the hedgehog's attention, though, was the countless small dots that seemed to be angrily zipping around the flying metal base; Silver Fox's own air-force. "Nothing is ever easy." As if on cue, the formerly distant ships began to surge forward.

"Hostility confirmed. Switching to battle formation," the SWATpilot said as the Stealthbots moved to intercept the incoming attack craft. As it stood, they were outnumbered four to one, but as Robotnik had said, they were simply to make sure Sonic got into the fortress.

"Go low and fast," Sonic ordered the pilot as the SWATbots readied their weapons. "Skirt the water and come up the base of the volcano."

"Tactic approved," the SWATpilot said as it complied. Above him Sonic watched as Robotnik's Stealthbots engaged those of the Wing Fortress. Suddenly, the hover-unit rocked as two missiles exploded at its rear. "Engines have sustained damage." At the pilot's words, two SWATbots moved to the back where the smoking machines were and using emergency blankets to help smother some of the flames. Two more SWATs opened the Hover-Unit's door and began returning fire with their laser rifles. And all the while, Sonic watched as the base of Mt. Mobius raced towards them.

"Get this heap moving faster," Sonic said.

"That is not recommended," the pilot responded. "Damage to the engines has made them unstable. It is inadvisable to push them to their limits. There is an eighty-seven percent probability the engines will be completely disabled before we make it to Wing Fortress."

"If we get shot down over the water, we'll never be able to make it Mt. Mobius, let alone Wing Fortress." For a few brief moments, the pilot processed Sonic's words.

"Complying." The hover-unit shot forward as more power began to be poured out of it's thrusters, causing the already smoking engines to glow dully red as they did so. Skillfully the SWATpilot maneuvered the ship as bits and pieces of destroyed Stealthbots, some from the Wing Fortress, most from Robotnik, fell around them and into the water below.

"Incoming enemy fire," one of the SWATbots manning the hover-unit's door said, just as a missile struck the poor robot, blowing a hole open in the ship.

"Structural integrity severely compromised!" came the warning from the SWATpilot.

"Keep going, we're almost there!" Sonic yelled. More missiles struck the craft.

"Danger! Danger! Explosion imminent!" One of the SWATbots in back barked Sure enough, fuel was leaking all over the floor. "Recommendation; abandon ship." Sonic looked out the hole in the hover-unit's side at the ocean racing, not really liking his options. Either he could stay put and wait to be blown out of the sky and sink into the ocean in this ovoid tomb-to-go, or he could leave and probably get blasted by Stealthbots as he made a hash of trying to swim the last hundred or so yards to the oceanic volcano.

Thinking quickly, Sonic began to run around and around in a tight circle, building up his speed. Once he'd judged himself to be moving fast enough, the blue blur raced out of the hole; hoping his momentum and speed would allow him to charge across the water for the short distance he required. Typically he needed some sort of head start to perform that trick, or a power ring at least, but hopefully the short distance would improve his chances.

Water sprayed everywhere as his feet hit the surface, creating a huge wake behind him that washed what was left of the crippled hover-unit under the waves. Above him he could see that his escort was down to four measly Stealthbots, none of which were undamaged. Floating even higher in the sky, the Wing Fortress hovered placidly, a great behemoth unconcerned with the battle going on below it. Sonic's observations were cut short, however, as he felt his feet slipping below the surface of the water, slowing him down. With a grunt the highspeed hedgehog redoubled his efforts, ripping his now soggy shoes from the water's grasp as he ran like a madman. He was less than twenty yards from the rocky mountain. Laserfire descended all around him, throwing up jets of water that threatened to slow him further and cause him to unbalance, but the hedgehog pushed on.

"Don't worry Sally," Sonic said as he made a somewhat sloppy leap for Mt. Mobius. "I'm on my way!"

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To Be Continued…

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Next time: The Veg-O-Fortress Revisited.