Not so fast! By: Alex Gariepy (orion@travel-net.com) LEGAL STUFF ============================================================================= This story borrows characters that are trademarks of the SEGA Sonic video games, the Sonic SatAM cartoon and the Archie comics based on Sonic. All other characters that are not are the property of the owner. AUTHOR'S NOTE ============================================================================= Ok, at first this was supposed to be a 'filler' story for this continuing alternate universe. However, this story, like the previous ones, is an important one. However, it may seem less important now, but this story will be important, espacially when I start Season Two. Well, here we go. MAIN CHARACTERS ============================================================================= Tigui Gariepy* Sonic T. Hedgehog Princess Sally Acorn Miles "Tails" Prower Rotor Walrus Bunnie Rabbot Antoine D'Coolette Sir Charles Hedgehog (Uncle Chuck) "Pascho"* Meier Turtle* Burrows Bear* Snively Dr. Robotnik * - read legal stuff STORY ============================================================================= It's been a day since the unsuccessful raid on Pinechester took place, and since Tigui fell to a mysterious explosion. Things started to go strange in Knothole, espacially when the Freedom Fighters heard of Uncle Chuck's urgent call that he'll be coming to Knothole. "Uncle Chuck?" Tigui was conversing with Sonic on the issue, surely Tigui's curiousity hasn't changed since his accident. "Yeah," Sonic said, "Uncle Chuck. He's a covert spy for us in the war against 'buttnik. Not to mention he's my dad's brother." Tigui makes a dumb look, acting sarcastically, "Geez Sonic, I didn't know what the term 'uncle' meant. May I remind you that I have increased memory now." "That accident may have helped you a bit," Sonic said, "but there may be some long-term side effects to it we don't know about. Anyways, this visit is going to be way past cool." "Uh, Sonic. Didn't Sally said that this meeting will be urgent?" "Yeah, but me and Uncle Chuck are going to talk afterwards. Usually over a plate of chili dogs." "I had to ask." Sonic stopped in his tracks, and turned to face Tigui, giving him a curious look, "By the way, I was meaning to ask you something. You said that the accident made you know more about Earth and its history. I also remember long ago, back when you came from the time machine, that you seem to have heard my name before on Earth. So, do you know why my name sounds familiar?" Tigui checked through his new memory for a moment, then, although at first he looked as if he knew what, he smirked and shook his head, "Sorry. Don't know." Sonic snapped his fingers in frustration, "Not cool." A breif pause, then Sonic moved again, "Well, I gotta be off." Tigui nodded as Sonic jetted away. He then mumbled to himself, "Yeah right, how am I going to tell him that his name sounded familiar because he's on the cover of a video game box?" He walked in Sonic's direction. ============================================================================= Later in the afternoon, Uncle Chuck was walking in Knothole, a little bit unsettled since his robotic body wasn't blending in to the natural look of Knothole. However, this was expected from him. Anyways, as he was walkig around, Meier came out of the nearest hut, and was almost scared silly when he saw Uncle Chuck. "Oh," Meier panted softly, "It's you. Good afternoon, Charles." "I seem to have that way with you, Meier," Uncle Chuck smiled, "scaring you like that. By the way, where's sonny?" Meier blinked for a moment, sonny?, he thought. He then remembered, "Oh, Sonic's at his hut having a conversation with Tails and Tigui." Uncle Chuck threw his head back, as if in confusion, "Tigui?" Meier blinked again, then remembered, "Oh yes, Tigui. New guy here. They said he came from a prototype time machine. Some say he came from the gods, others claim that he was sent to," he acted sarcastically, "destroy us all and claim Knothole for Robotnik. Personally, I don't trust him. But, he seems too small and scrawny to be much of a threat. So, might as well make the best of it. Besides, us doctors don't need to put bias in our work, just get the job done." The robotic hedgehog nodded to Meier, "Uh, thanks for the profile Meier, i'll be on my way now." Meier nodded his head slowly, "Yes, see you later at the meeting." The two went their seperate ways. Meier went to the infirmiry, and Uncle Chuck went to Sonic's hut. ============================================================================= Sonic, Tails, and Tigui were having a small discussion about what aliens would look like on other planets, and not the ones that Tigui already mentioned about on Earth. "I tell ya," Sonic boasted, "there's a planet full of mes waiting to be discovered." "There's a scary thought," Tigui jokingly said. Sonic looked at Tigui squarely, "I heard that." "I know you did, that's why I said it." "I think there is a world that has a ton of friends just like me," Tails said in his sort-of-childish voice. "If I ever get home," Tigui smirked, "those alley cat friends of mine's will never believe what I saw here." "Alley cats?" Sonic blinked. "Yes, alley cats. Cats that are stray, not domesticated, and they live in alleys. There are two certain alley cats that I usually meet, Fred and Agate. Fred is a little on the chubby side, but he's very talkative. Agate's very quiet, but she's pretty dominant when she can." Sonic rolled his eyes, "Great, I feel like i'm listening to ancient Mobian history, stone age style." Tigui blinked, having no idea what Sonic meant. Tails saw this opportunity to talk, "I learned this a few weeks ago. Tig, there were no humans on Mobius long ago, just us animals. Eventually some of us evolved to become smarter and stronger. Some animals didn't. So, we eventually grew and grew, either hunting other animals or growing plants for food." Tigui still looked confused, "But if you said there were no humans then, then why are Robotnik and Snively here?" Sonic bit his tongue before speaking, "'buttnik and Sneyevely were part of the overlanders race that came to Mobius before the Great War. Overlanders because of the fact they came from 'over the land'. Although some of us were ok with the overlanders staying, some weren't. That's why during the war the overlanders were nearly all exterminated, except two..." "Oh," Tigui said, "so I guess human appreciativity is at an all-time low, huh?" "Bingo," Sonic muttered. "Well," Tigui continued, "I guess..." A knock is quickly heard before Tigui could say anything, "Who's there?" Tails asked. "Where's sonny?" A familiar voice is heard. "Uncle Chuck!" Sonic's expression lightened up as he opened the door to see the robotic hedgehog. The robot smiled as much as he could, "Hello sonny, hope i'm not interupting anything." Sonic shook his head, "Nah, we were just giving Tigui a history lesson," he turned back to where Tigui would be, "Tigui? Where'd he go?" A small voice was heard from behind Sonic's couch, "Is it safe to come out now?" Tails smiled, trying not to giggle, "It's safe, it's only Uncle Chuck." Sonic tried not to laugh as well, "He won't bite." Tigui peeked his head out slowly. As soon as he saw Uncle Chuck, he became a little nervous, "Then what's with the robotic skin?" Sonic frowned a bit, "It's a very long story." During this time, Uncle Chuck was looking a bit perplexed. Tails was first to notice this, "You ok?" Uncle Chuck shook his state off and said quietly, "It's ok, I was just thinking of something." Sonic seemed to skip the whole thing altogether, "So, Uncle Chuck, what brings you here?" Uncle Chuck smiled, "I came to see how's sonny doing." Tigui looked at Tails, and asked, "Sonny?" Tails shruged, as Sonic continued the coversation, "It's been awfully quiet here. Haven't kicked down a SWATbot in a long while. The only recent events that happened were Tigui in an accident, Sally managing to get through the raid at Pinechester, and Antoine still on hospital sickness." Uncle Chuck looked at Sonic, "That was quiet?" "Well, 'I' haven't done anything." "You will soon," Uncle Chuck frowned, "remember the meeting tonight." "I will," Sonic sounded like a kid when he said that. "Alright," Uncle Chuck said, "i'll be off. See you later Sonic, i'll be cooking some of those chili dogs you like." Sonic waved as Uncle Chuck left the hut. Tigui smirked, "Sonny the hedgehog?" Sonic looked at Tigui, "Don't you start with that." ============================================================================= It was night, and all the residents of Knothole gathered for the meeting. ============================================================================= It seemed that everyone was there. From the familiar faces of Sonic, Sally, and Tails, to the not-so-familiar faces of Meier and Burrows. Rotor, Tigui, Bunnie, Tails, and Antoine were also there. And, of course, the person who first called them all up to begin with, Uncle Chuck. Meier was conversing with Burrows about the raid at Pinechester. "Yeah," Burrows smiled, "It seems that Robotnik will be embarrassed for quite a while since he was stopped in his tracks by only a few of us." Meier rolled his eyes, "And I am suppose to.... what?" Uncle Chuck cleared his throat for attention, allowing the others to quiet down. "I've been noticing some strange activity back in Robotropolis and it seems that Robotnik is starting on something big," the robotic hedgehog said. Some of the furs begin to mumble a few words, though the others didn't. Uncle Chuck resumed, "I've been seeing WorkerBots being reassigned somewhere and I am starting to wonder why." "So what do you expect us to do?" Burrows asked. Sally took the question, "We are going to do a reconnaisance mission. We'll send some of our best 'scouts' out to check around a small perimeter which we believe to be the place for this activity. If we find anything there worth attacking, they'll tell us, and we'll go in, unless it's bigger than we expect, then we fall back." "What about if it's nothing of importance?" Tigui asked, his voice smaller than those around him. "Then this will be one of the strangest things 'buttnik has done in a long time," Sonic smirked, "He doesn't send resources to build a mini-mart. He's definately up to something." Sally continued, "Anyways, we're looking for scouts to recruit. Sonic already volunteered." Sonic was about to protest, but he didn't. "Alright, who will volunteer?" "I will!" Tails shouted. "Sorry, Tails," Sally said, "it's too big for you." Burrows muttered, "I think i'm old enough to go." Meier tried not to chuckle. "Very well," Sally frowned at the comment, "You can come Burrows. Last volunteer?" The furs looked amognst each other to see if anyone volunteered. "I will," the small cat responded. "Tigui," Sally again frowned, "this is a big mission..." "It doesn't matter to me if it's a small mission or the head huncho of missions, I want in." Sally bit her lip, "Alright. Sonic, Burrows, and Tigui will be our scouts. We'll be near the clearing, if you guys find anything unusual, come back and let us know, ok?" "No prob, Sal," Sonic gave his confident promise. "I won't fail," Burrows added. "I'll just try to stay alive long enough to find anything useful," was Tigui's mumbled response. ============================================================================= The three made their way to the entrance to Robotropolis. Each looked around before going in. Sonic made his way straight north, Burrows tailed behind, while Tigui went into the vents. ============================================================================= The vents Tigui went in reminded him of the time he escaped from Robotnik's clutches thanks to Sally, Bunnie, and, yes, Antoine. His mind was racing through because of the various noises of robots outside the vents. He eventually, come out of the vents at a small deserted sector of Robotropolis that seems to have been forgotten by the security of the SWATbots. The place looked like a scrap heap, but had a more homey look to it, as if it could be livable. The lights were on the ceiling of this closed sector, and the place looked very dirty. Tigui looked around the place, curious as he always is. He looked at a junk pile and looked at the various junk inside. There was some old newspapers, dating back about 10 years ago, there was old robotic parts, fast food containers, but what caught Tigui's attention was a strange looking clock, it showed the time, as well as the date: "June 16, 3228." All of a sudden, something tapped Tigui's back, forcing Tigui to leap away. He blinks to see a small dog-like character. His clothes look rather shaggy and a little dusty. His face was small but the many wrinkles on his face did not indicate that he was young. Tigui composed himself and looked at the seemingly-friendly dog, "Who are you?" The dog looked at him, his face still in its neutral position, and said, "It is not as important as who you are." ============================================================================= Sonic and Burrows made their way to where Nicole showed them. The two hid in the most common hiding places: scrap heaps, behind fences, and around the alleys. Robotropolis was a perfect place for guerilla warfare. "So when do you suppose we find what we're supposed to look for?" Burrows whispered. Sonic tilted his head a bit, and said quietly, "When what we're looking for is found." "I don't like the looks of this, i've known Robotnik a bit, he's up to something." "He always is, bulky." "Burrows...." "Bulky sounds better," the hedgehog smirked, before looking ahead, "C'mon, it's clear." ============================================================================= Meanwhile, at Robotnik's fortress... ============================================================================= "How many days 'til the project is completed?" the leader of Robotropolis asked. "About 3 weeks, sir," Snively smiled as he knows that with the addition of Project Doomsday, the Freedom Fighter rebels will finally be defeated, and then he can relax. "It's a good thing we found our reserves most helpful in replacing the losses at Pinechester." "Indeed." "So, Snively, how do you think I should deal with Sonic once I catch him? Shall I quickly roboticize him, or watch him slowly get tortured until he begs for mercy?" "How about both?" "Yes, that will be even better," Robotnik stiffles a laugh. Coincidently, one of the monitors beeped. The two paused their delightful conversation to watch as they see one of their SpyGlobes find something. "It's that hedgehog again!" Robotnik frowned and hit part of his chair, he then looks closer, "And that blasted bear from the raid! Where are they?" "They're at...." Snively frowned, concerned, "Sir, they're heading towards the Project!" The dark eyes of Robotnik begin to look desperate, "Blast! Can you hold them off if they get within range?" "Maybe, sir, but you know who we're dealing with?" "I know, I know. Just don't do anything to startle them yet..." "Pardon?" "If we start hitting them now, they'll obviously retreat, but we'll be hearing from reinforcements. The hedgehog and the bear are probably just on a recon mission, so we must make sure to lure them away so that our Project won't be discovered." "And if it fails..." "We're done for..." ============================================================================= "You're not quite talkative, are you?" Tigui asked. The dog replied, "That is because we haven't got anything to discuss about." "Alright. Maybe you can start by answering these questions. Who are you? Where is this? And why is it not patrolled by SWATbots?" "I believe the name you want is Pascho," the dog nodded slowly, "And we're in one of Robotropolis's abandoned sectors, Sector 134. There's no SWATbots here because, well, this place is of little significance to both Robotnik and the Freedom Fighters." "You know the Freedom Fighters?" "Yes, just because we're in an old sector it doesn't mean we can't find out what's outside," he paused, then continued, "Robotropolis was a big city at one time, and glourious too. However, when the Great War came, and the coup that followed, the city is reduced to a living factory." "Yes," Tigui nodded, "i've heard much about Mobian history..." Pascho interupted which made Tigui jump a bit, "But you do not know most of it..." he then smiled softly, "Not yet." Tigui looked confused now, "What do you mean not yet?" Pascho changes topic, "Now, who are you?" The cat replied, "My name is Tigui." The dog blinked, his smile fell and his face look composed, "Tigooey?" Tigui erfed, and said, "The name's Tigui! It's pronounced like Tig-gy." "Ok, Tig...gy. Tigui. I was expecting you." This made Tigui suspicious, "What? Now you're making no sense. How do you know I was coming?" "He told me." "Who told you?" "I can't say. I don't know." "What do you mean you don't know?" "It was long ago, I can't remember it." Long ago? Tigui thought. This is strange, first he says he expected me to come, then he says that the person who told him was long ago? How can it be? Nobody on Mobius knew of me until after I arrived on Mobius, around the time Dulcy was discovered. I must find out what he's up to. "Tell me, er, Patcho." "Pascho." "Pascho. Tell me, why did you expect me here?" "Because we all follow a path which leads to where our fate lies. And, I have seen a part of your path sketched out. Now, I must show you what lies in the future." "You're not a fortuneteller, are you?" "No, I can't be one. I know no magic. I only know what he told me." "There he goes with that 'he' thing again," Tigui mumbled to himself. ============================================================================= Sonic and Burrows continue to make their way through the sector. Strangely enough the SpyGlobe maintained its pace above them. The two stopped at another pile of trash just ahead of a SWATbot patrol. The SWATbots were all aligned in a line, their armour reflective as if these ones were just recently made. ============================================================================= "Shall I order them to attack?" Snively hesitatenly asked. "No," Robotnik said coldly, his arms crossed, "Not yet. Wait for a moment and see what they're going to do. If we're lucky, we'll get a better chance of thwarting them." "Yes sir," Snively sighed quietly as he turns back to the monitor. ============================================================================= "What now?" Burrows growled, knowing the answer to the question. Sonic didn't even think before answering, "You wait here while I distract them away. You take on what's left." This tactic's been used too often, thought Burrows. Back then we didn't have to use speed to penetrate a sector. No, we had to use raw firepower. But, then again, we don't have that now. No, we have to use speed and sneakiness... Sonic was ready to do his thing. He loves this part the most. Everytime he distracts one of Robotnik's minions, they always seem to follow. He can taunt them as much as he can, and the only person he'll get mad at him would be old 'buttnik himself. Not only that, but the sheer enjoyment of risk in the chase thrills him. And so, with a big grin on his face, and Burrows complying, Sonic makes his way over to the SWATbots. ============================================================================= "He's going to distract them," Robotnik grumbled, "sometimes I wish we didn't put in those 'priority one' traits in those things." "He'll distract all of them away," Snively matched Robotnik's mood. "Only one chance, we may be helpless in one sector but it'll be worth the trouble. Where's the nearest reserve?" "We got one reserve back at the old wreckage of the last attack on Robotropolis." "Get them there, but make sure they get to the sector, and tell them whatever they do, don't pursue unless directly attacked." "Understood," Snively lightened up a bit. This tactic may work. ============================================================================= "Ok," the cat grumbled, uneasy with the strange saying Pascho directed at him, "so you expected me... if so, then what do you want with me?" Pascho replied smoothly, "Nothing." What an annoyance, Tigui thought as he reached for the dog's hood to pull him down to his level. After some struggle, Tigui did so, "Listen you, I had enough of you beating around the bush, so just get to the part of what the bush is or i'll make sure you'll have more than old age to worry about." During all this time, Pascho still remained calm, even his face smiled when Tigui threatened him, "I don't have anything big to discuss. I just knew you were coming and thought a small conversation would be okay." Tigui for a moment, didn't believe in him. He hated being toyed with. However, seeing as he has no choice... "Fine," the cat muttered, letting go, "You wanna talk, talk, but not too long, I gotta get back." "Yes, to your base, right?" "It's not a base," Tigui blurted out, "Well, it's not MY base." "You don't know how this war started, did you?" "Of course I do, Robuttneck went insane, wants to become a dictator. Many furs disagree with him. end of story." "No, it is not the end of the story," Pascho said holding one hand out, "the war is still going on." Tigui rolled his eyes, of course it's still on, he thought, why would I be here right now? If Robotnik had no opponents before I came here, he might not have built that blasted time machine. Of course, Robotnik seems to want power, so he might've made it for some reason or another. One thought stood out in his mind. I hate this place. "Are they're citizens in Robotropolis?" Tigui switched topic. "Believe it or not, yes," Pascho said, "Most of them were roboticized, but some stayed around. Usually at the beginning of the coup, some of Robotnik's prisonners were brain-washed instead of going into the roboticizer. Some, however, pledged allegeance to him, though you won't see many of those around here." "Ok," Tigui said, then mumbled his thought aloud. "You do, do you?" Pascho overheard. Tigui winced, and tried to get himself out of the situation, "No, it's just that I don't belong here. I belong elsewhere. I don't even think i'm doing anything important here." "Never say that," the dog growled, "Of course we all have something important to do in our lives. Though they may not be as inportant as some other things, we all have a certain fate to go by." "Fate," Tigui jokingly said, "there's no such thing as fate. That's some kind of religious tale to help keep everyone from going insane." Tigui was not vewry convinced in the belief, he was atheistic, after all. "Maybe," Pascho said, "but at least keep my words in mind." "Yeah, sure," Tigui said, still not convinced. "Also, don't tell anyone about me," he sharply said, "You didn't see anything." How true, Tigui sarcastically thought as he nodded. "Yeah, well, I must be off now. Goodbye, Pascho." The dog nodded as the cat left, confused but slightly annoyed. ============================================================================= The plan worked, and Sonic was able to drive away most of the SWATbots away from their post. Burrows took the opportunity to make what's due and go check out what exactly what the SWATbots were guarding. The tunnel that Burrows entered was almost confused for a sewer. The tunnel was dark, though had enough light for anybody with a good eye to see throught it. The tunnel curved as it strecthed further away. Burrows walked slowly through the tunnel, looking around to make sure that no SWATbots come back. He was turning around when a shot was fired in his direction from ahead. Burrows gasped as he saw about twenty SWATbots advancing his way. Burrows quickly dodged the fire blasts and retreated. ============================================================================= Sonic, in the meantime, just finished his part as he lost the SWATbots that had followed him. He made his way back to the place he and Burrows were hiding before and waited. Meanwhile, the Spyglobe that were keeping an eye on the two maintained its position, overlooking the view from above. ============================================================================= "Now what shall I do?" Snively grinned, success seemingly going their way. Robotnik looked to the map and saw a great opportunity, he smiled evilly, "See these two divisions?" "Yeah," Snively complied, "They're both deployed at each side of the fight." "That's our jaw," Robotnik smiled, "all we have to do is close it..." "And get the two trapped, great," Snively was almost going to clap, but saw that that would leave him in an embarrassing situation. "Order the two divisions to turn in and advance on the enemy," the dictator yelled happily, "and get the Spyglobe to continue following the hedgehog. If they do escape, that Spyglobe will follow them, directly to Knothole." Victory seemed imminent. Robotnik laughed gleefully. After all this time, after all these years, he will finally beat that annoying hedgehog to the punch. ============================================================================= Burrows ran out of the tunnel and jumped over the pile of trash and landed near Sonic, "We got trouble." "What do you mean..." Sonic was about to finish is sentence when a fire blast went over his head. Sonic looked and saw the twenty SWATbots that Burrows was fleeing from, "No sweat." He said smoothly, and tried to divert them away. However, the SWATbots stayed, firing. Sonic ran back behind and growled. "They won't budge," he said. Just then, fire blasts continued. This time from the side. "What the?" Sonic blinked as he sees two SWATbot divisions approaching from the side. "We've been tricked!" Burrows stated the obvious. Sonic looked behind him, "Not quite. We have no choice but to go back. Tell me, Burrows, can you run?" "Not as fast as you, but yeah." "Good, 'cause I can't carry you. So you better run by yourself home." The two sighed as they began their retreat. ============================================================================= "Follow them!" Snively ordered the Spyglobe. ============================================================================= The Spyglobe complied, and followed the two. However, as Sonic was too fast, the Spyglobe followed the slower Burrows. ============================================================================= Tigui got out of the vent, and procedded to one of the buildings, climbing upwards with his claws, he went onto the roof and looked around. His eyes peering around to see if he could see the others. He looked down to see Sonic zoom by, followed by Burrows, and then... "A Spyglobe?" Tigui blinked. "No way you're gonna follow us," he grred as he jumped on the Spyglobe, trying to destroy it with his claws. The weight of Tigui's body made it slowly come down. The Spyglobe then hissed, which made Tigui leap away. The Spyglobe crashed and exploded, while Tigui grabbed unto the edge of the roof. Tigui then got himself up, and went with the others back to Knothole. ============================================================================= "That, that, that, cat," Robotnik yelled furiously, "we almost got them!" "But we saved the Project," Snively held his regular face. Robontik slowly but surely calmed down, "You're right.... Pinchestor was a draw, today was a marginal victory, but the next battle will be decisive.... and I will finally triumph!" ============================================================================= "Nothing..." Sonic sadly said. "Nothing?" Sally asked. "There were too many of them," Burrows defended, "and the strange thing was they stayed put." "'buttnik is hiding something," Sonic added, "but we can't attack unless we know what it is." "That's not all," Tigui said, "it seems that Robotnik almost has us. A Spyglobe was following you two on the way out." "What?" Sonic said in disbelief. "I was able to take it out before you two got into the Great Forest, but it seems that he knew you were coming." "Which would explain the many SWATbots." Burrows said. "Well," Sally sighed, "it seems Robotnik may have won this time, but now we know something is up. We must be ready by the time we know what." "Right," Sonic said. With that, the others left, but Sonic asked Tigui something. "Did you find anything?" Tigui thought for a moment, but then shook his head, "No, nothing at all. Just vents, followed by vents, followed by more vents." "Oh. Well, good night." "Good night." ============================================================================= Meanwhile, back in Robotropolis, Pascho moved through the dirt to meet someone. The figure was shadowed so that he or she cannot be seen. "Did you meet him?" Pascho nodded, "Yes, I did. Strange little fellow." "Did you tell him about me?" "He doesn't know you." "Good, what happened?" "A small discussion. Told him a bit about history, gave him hints. The cat hated it, almost attacked me." "As long as he doesn't know everything." "I did what you ask." "Alright, you can leave now." "As you wish." The figure stepped forward when Pascho left, showing the face of one robotic hedgehog. ============================================================================= THE END Coming soon... Doomed Robotnik's dead?