All characters are copywrite Sega, and other media companies responsible for the
international Sonic franchises (including DiC and Archie). This applies to all 'Glint' stories.

Story is by: M.C. Griffin (unless otherwise stated... I guess.)
*********************************


Dark... cold... harsh... how could anyone live hear?

This was the plan.

It had something to do about Snively still having to tend to other things in my absence, in spite of
his new responsibilities. He said something about waiting for Snively to tend to the output stats in
the SWAT Bot factory. There was mention of having Sonic take out the guards guarding the
control room in Snively's absence, and Bunny rigging their bodies to work like bombs like Rotor
showed her. Where it got kind of interesting was when it got to the whole, detonating them in the
control room thus negating my control on my own city, bit.

You barely even got into the city when everything went wrong.

Sonic had warned you before you left that your new found power couldn't harm any robot. "Until
you get some quills like mine, or a weapon of some notable strength you shouldn't even attempt
confronting any robot. You can't harm ‘em ‘til your more than just flesh and bone. Punch one and
you'll break your hand."

You were bleeding. You were scared.

By now you must have been almost as powerful as him. Your conditioning with the power rings
made you into a new person. Simply using one every day toned and conditioned you to that God-
like status that the hedgehog could once claim as only his.

Chuck: Sorry we don't have anything to drink.

You looked up at the small, underground room. With its metallic walls. With its distorted
computer screen. With its smell, the way everything smelled in this forsaken city.

You cuddled yourself further into the red blanket as you looked up at Chuck's cold, hard face. He
tried to give the warmest smile that he could, but it seemed pointless for a robot.

"Its no problem. All I need is water."

He looked dead. Like he shouldn't be moving.

Chuck: You assume too much princess.

You laid back onto Chuck's decrepit mattress, with its loose springs and lumps. You carried
yourself in your arms, wrapping yourself in the tattered red blanket. It was so cold.

Chuck: I'm sorry everything went so badly.


His voice sounded so fake. It was fake. Everything here was fake.

"Heh... I am too."

Chuck: So... what did happen?

"Well..."

You, Sonic, Rotor, and Bunny walked the ruined desert path to Robotropolis. Sonic stopped your
group, suggesting they should use a different path. You couldn't have known then, but Sonic had
destroyed Scratch and Grounder on the path you were taking. No one was ever to go outside the
Great Forest without clearance. Sonic had broken this rule many times but never with any
evidence left behind.

"‘Ey, I think we'll run into less trouble if we go South side." he said

"You couldn't have said this sooner?" Bunny responded annoyed.

"Well..."

"No... Sorry Sonic, but we're sticking to plan." You said.

Now, when one falls into a trap one is usually caught by surprise. You couldn't help but notice
Sonic's calmness. A trance like look of ‘Woops, who knew that was there?' was painted on his
face when a battalion of SWAT Bots and other assorted Badnicks rose from the yellow sand and
began firing.

SWAT Bots: CAPTURE FREEDOM FIGHTERS. PRIORITY 1

Sand filled the air as laser fire lit the sky. Rotor hit the ground behind a hill. He wasn't battle
trained, and he wasn't equipped with any weapon.

You and Bunny both jumped back, souring from the cloud of sand and light as Sonic jumped into
it. The dust parted as the hedgehog spun into the chest of the first SWAT Bot, ricocheting him
into the air, and collapsing the Bot's chest.

You watched in awe as the hedgehog dispatched Bot after Bot. Causing them to shoot one
another. Spin dashing into them. He even threw one into another with astonishing strength.

He stood amidst the rubble of the SWAT Bot battalion. "You shoulda' been told punk, I play
ruff." He kicked a Swat Bot's head back into the huge pit that they popped out of.

"How'd they know we were coming Sonic?" You hollered.

He turned facing you, catching his breath. Over his shoulder you saw the terrifying sight of a few
carrier pods rise out of the sand behind where the others sprouted from. You pointed over Sonic's
shoulder, right as he whipped around.

Everything seemed to slow down as Sonic jumped into the air, whirling around to see you again.
He was so agile and coordinated. In one seemingly slowed down motion, while still in his midair
turn, he reached into his backpack and pulled out Scratch's gun. As he began to turn away he
threw it at you.

Laser fire struck under Sonic.

His feet touched the ground.

With a crash, the hedgehog spun straight through the air craft. It spiraled 10 feet into the air and
came down with a deafening crash. You could see Sonic on one knee as fire and scrap rained
down from the sky. He looked over to you.

The moment was clear.

I lOve yoU.

FucK yOu foR loViNg mE.

He spun into the air making a tornado of sand as he did as the second pod approached. Once
again your view was obscured by sand.

You turned away from the cloud of dust to meet a stoic SWAT Bot right behind you. His gun met
your eye. The dark barrel reminded you of the well back at Knothole.

Suddenly, a flash of steel impacted with his head. As he collapsed an arc of light from the gun
flew by your face. You flipped backwards to get some space between you, it and your savior.
Your savior was Bunny. You watched as she took the SWAT Bot's gun and pounded his head in
with her huge metallic hand.

You looked over Bunny, seeing three more Bots coming over the hill from where the pod had
crashed. You ran and leaped over her while she continued to mangle her SWAT Bot.

You rolled as they began to fire at you, burning the ground as they missed you. You raised your
gun to the first of the three now that you were in the middle of them. Two beams shot from
behind you, missing you and taking out his legs.

Well... how convenient.

You flipped backward, grabbing his hand blaster mid flip. You landed on one knee and raised
your weapons. Scrath's huge pistol and the SWAT Bots hand blaster. You shot round after round
of bullets and laser fire into the other two Bots.


They fell backwards, smoke rising from those metallic bodies, rusted from age. SWAT Bots
didn't look like anything more than slightly human. They were never a living thing. They were
soulless. Un-missed. No one would cry for them.

Another explosion, followed by another cloud of sand.

You felt a strong wind behind you and turned to find what had caused it. Sonic was once again on
one knee, his fist touching the ground. His blue skin was tinted with sand, oil, ash and a little bit
of his own blood.

"You okay Sonic?"

A smirk flashed across his tan cheek.

"Way past, Sal."

"SALLY!!!" You heard Bunny give a shriek that would inspire a stampede.

You looked to your lover, holding a SWAT Bot's rifle in one hand, and pointing frantically with
the other. A wave of dark covered steel came over the hill from Robotropolis. More SWAT Bots.
It must have at least been fifty of them. Some with hand blasters, others with laser rifles.

"Bunny!" You heard Rotor shout. "Rifle!"

Bunny tossed Rotor the weapon. He caught the gun and pulled the lever back to full power.

Rotor let loose a barrage of laser fire from the weapon, tearing a row of oncoming SWAT Bots in
two. He was the one with the least physical ability on the team, but he was fearless never the less.
Rotor strafed sideways toward a rock as he fired into the crowd. Light shot back at him
ferociously. One shot hit him in the heel as he stumbled behind the rock.

Fuck.

The SWAT Bots continued uphill towards you, beginning to focus their shots on you. You began
firing. The constant use of the power rings may have made you faster and stronger, but your aim
was by no means better.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom.


It was amazing. So many ‘bots and you were never hit. You just kept unloading with your
mismatched firearms. You dodged lasers. Hurtled plasma blasts. ‘Bot after ‘bot went down with
the pulling of your trigger fingers.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom.

Metallic heads, limbs, and parts flew into the air as you shot into the crowd of soldiers. Every
stone had to drop. Do robots die? Were you taking life? Would killing be this satisfying with
living things? Did the warriors who killed Mobotropolis feel this justified as they slew your
people? Were you cleansing as they were?

Boom.

Boom.

Boom.

Somewhere you were unbeatable. Somewhere you were unstoppable. Somewhere you were
invincible.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom.

Somewhere you were his equal.

Boom.

Boom.

Click.

Click.

"Fuck."

Light streamed by your face and body, singeing your fur. You were out of resources, you froze
up. The sounds of lasers and plasma filled your ears. Dust and debris exploded into the air all
around you. A crash that should've been the sound of death was instead a blur of blue, mercilessly
ripping SWAT Bots in two. You may have been equals in non-lethal combat, but when it came to
deadliness, Sonic's quills allowed for more boasting.

You felt weak as you watched the hedgehog destroy Bot after Bot. Their chrome screams filled
your ears like they were in a tunnel. It was awful.

You went to your knees as these screams echoed across the battle torn desert. These wastelands
were always the downfall for villagers who would venture out and be caught by a Hover Bot that
had just happened to be in that area. Now it would be your downfall. Oh... the screams.

It should have been good for you. To see the downfall of your enemy.

The downfall of your enemy.

The downfall of your father.

You looked up to see the battle field. Fire burned on gasoline that was soaked into the sand. The
corpses of dead Swat Bots littered the ground. Lifeless. Were they lifeless before? Not like this.
Wreckage. Death. Destruction. Chaos.

*HoW bEauTiful it aLl Is.*

You remembered. The quick flashes of images were gone. The memories were clear now.
Everything was so clear. You rose your head to see Sonic, covered in blood and oil.

Your enemy.

Killer of beauty.

Killer of perfection.

*I lOve yoU*

FUCK!!!

What were you? Friend or foe?

With him or with me?

He could destroy you. So could I, but I could enslave you.

But what is freedom?

I could love you as a father or a king. He could love you like a man. Like a prince.

A mutilated SWAT Bot clawed his way up to Sonic's leg. His metallic moans rang out into your
ears.

01101101111001
011011 1111001
0H0W M1100Y
0HOW M110CY
SHOW MERCY

You couldn't deny it. You heard it. It was the same scream as the Mobotropolians had. The same
call for sanity. The same call for peace.

Sonic killed him just as well as he killed any other Bot.

Over and under all the sounds of war and destruction that one plea was heard, but then muffled by
he who you called your friend. Your ally. Your love.

Your enemy.

He speaks.

"Are you okay Sal?"

"Fuck you." for loving me.

"Wha'?... No time..." He sped off to kill more.

More death. More explosions. You didn't want your friends to die. You didn't want your enemies
to die. You didn't want anyone to die. You were weak. You were worthless. You were
screaming.

Too much. Too much. Too much. Too much. Too much until you pass out.

This is you unconscious.

All you saw were fireworks. Fireworks. You always loved fireworks.

You woke up to the smell of blood. You were in cold arms in a dark alley. Reminded you of
Bunny. Reminded you of the robots who first carried you to your cell when you were a child. The
memories that you could so well remember now. Those memories shown even brighter than those
of the battle before.

You laid back in the arms of those you woke up in. Everything smelt of gasoline and sulfur, but it
was okay. Now you felt secure. Like a child with her father.

You thought of me.

You looked up to your savior. It was Rotor. He rested his head on the steel wall of the alley with
his head up, looking into the dark, foggy sky. You could still see the stars. The battle was in the
morning. You had been knocked out for a while.

Rotor looked as if he had lost all hope. He just sat there with you in his arms and staring at the
sky. Transfixed on the moon. You could see tear trails breaking through the dirt on his face. You
could still smell that blood.

"Rotor..."

You wiggled a bit to let him know you were still alive.

"Rotor?"

He just kept staring at the moon.

"ROTOR!!"

You forced his hands off you, with a loud cracking sound.

You fumbled away from him, stumbling a little and looked at him.

Bullet wounds were on his foot, leg, shoulder and wrist. The kind of wounds that don't make you
die, they make you expire. His body was like a tree, unmoving.

"R... Rotor?"

He must have died taking care of you. You had no wounds. You were in much better shape then
he was, yet he died caring for you. True loyalty.

This guilt could never subside. His blood would be on your hands forever.

The middle of a battle was obviously not the place to have a nervous break down.

You looked around. You were out of the wasteland... the desert. This was definitely
Robotropolis. The smells of blood and oil filled your nostrils. You could barely see anything
through the dark and smog. All that could be heard was the wind blowing through the streets. No
matter what though, your eyes kept adverting to Rotor's. His cold stare upward. His mouth
gaped. His blood. His tears.

He was a true friend. Favoring your health over his.

You picked up your pack and put all of his supplies into yours. The alley glowed from the light of
the power ring within your pack. There was nothing left but you. You couldn't be sure of
anything but Rotor now. Sonic and Bunny were nowhere to be found, and the army of SWAT
Bots would indicate that Robotnik had most definitely returned. You couldn't even be sure of
yourself or your allegiances. You didn't know what was more important to you anymore.

Human complexity?

Digital perfection?

Where does a program start and a soul stop?

Who deserves more sympathy?

What is a dictator if not a misunderstood leader?

No! No! You had to keep your ideals straight!

You had to keep remembering the difference between right and wrong! You had to remember the
difference between freedom and slavery. You had to remember that the mechanical beauty of my
creations could never be ideal for life!

As you trudged through the cold Robotropolis streets you cried. You were confused and dizzy.
You doubted yourself and the war you were in. With every step you took you cried harder. With
every boot print left, a tear drop kept it company. You were tired and scared, but the feeling that
seemed to be strongest was a sudden incredible thirst.

You walked about a mile more, crying and moaning the entire way, before passing out once again.

Fireworks. Yay.

As you began to come to again, you felt the first pleasant thing you had felt the entire day. A
warm blanket.

Your eyes were still focusing but you could still hear things like the sound of small fans for
computers and little beeps every once and a while.

Finally, a familiar voice.

Chuck: You shouldn't have been cryin' and carryin' on like that all night princess. You got
dehydrated.

You cleared your dry throat, and wiped the crust and tears from your eyes as Chuck's robotic
figure came into focuse.

Chuck: Sorry we don't have anything to drink