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Stephen Zacharus

WRATH OF THE GODDESS

 

Chapter II: "Opposite Sides of the Coin"

 

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The massive cargo frigate finally came to a stop. With a metallic clang, steel doors parted on the underside of the craft and yet another army of deadly SWATbots poured out; apparently, Robotnik was taking the security of the Doomsday Tower very seriously.

There was a moment of silence. At long last, Sonic poked his head out of the opening to check if the coast was clear.

Not a 'bot in sight.

Sonic dropped to the ground, followed immediately by Sally, Bunnie, and Antoine. Quickly, to avoid being seen by any spy 'bots, the Freedom Fighters scrambled behind a stack of giant storage crates.

Sally pressed herself to the ground, ignoring a twinge of apprehension.  This was the largest and most important mission in the history of the rebellion—a counterattack composed of the five major Freedom Fighter groups from all over Mobius. They couldn't afford to lose this one.

She checked her watch.  The others would be arriving any minute...

With a sigh, Sally gave a nervous glance to the others. Everybody needed to be on their guard. Things were going a little too smoothly for her liking.

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Meanwhile, Snively was having the time of his life.

Since Robotnik hadn't yet returned from his "sight-seeing" excursion to the Pod Chamber, Sniv saw this as an opportunity to pretty much do whatever he pleased. He was currently passing the time by watching archived videos of prisoner interrogations - many of which he conducted himself. Snively found many of the more recent ones (as a testament to his increasing talent) to be the most entertaining... especially his latest episode of torture delivered to none other than Freedom Fighter Antoine D'Coolette.

Snively sat back and watched the vid-screen, a grin of pleasure creeping up on his face. On the screen, the jittery coyote was strapped to a chair while a laughing Snively was cooking something in the corner of the room.

"Nonononono... if you are making zee Crape Suzette, zen you are using too much of zee butter!"

"I know," was the onscreen-Snively's sinister reply.

After a moment, the Freedom Fighter was screaming in terror. "No! No! Please to be stopping zees terrible things!!!"

"Are you going to talk?"

Antoine seemed indecisive. "Yes-no, yes-no, yes... NO!! I WILL NEVER TALK!!!"

"Fine. Then I shall make... escargot!!!"

"AAAHHHHH!!! Not escargot!! It is too special... it must be prepared JUST RIGHT!!! You'll ruin it, you fiend!!"

"Oh contraire... we start with a plump, juicy snail..."

"Oui..."

"A little garlic?"

A sigh of relief. "Ah... oui, again!"

Snively watched himself bring out another plate. "And two cubes of..."

"Butter! Yes! Yes!!"

Virtual-Snively shook his head. "MARGARINE!!!" he screamed evilly before falling into a spell of maniacal laughter.

The coyote let loose a blood-curdling scream. "NO! NO!! TOO CRUEL!! I GIVE, I GIVE!!! I WILL TELL YOU EVERYTHING!!! PLEASE NO MORE— [end of file]."

Snively clicked-off the vid-screen and bitterly remembered that the video had been cut short by that blasted hedgehog, who’d stamped out the security cameras and rescued his little Freedom Fighter friend just before he was going to get some real answers out of him.

"Curse that speedy little blue beast."

But despite his anger, Snively felt himself smile; his torture-technique was still something to be proud of. Inventive...

Snively found his thoughts returning once again to his new dilemma.  Should he sabotage Doomsday or sit back and hope that it failed on its own? With the latter option, there was a greater probability that the Freedom Fighters would live... something Snively didn't want (he hated them almost as much as Robotnik did). Then again, if Doomsday failed by Snively's hand, there was still a chance—however slim—that the rebels would escape anyway. Furthermore, if Robotnik wasn't killed and found out that Snively had something to do with the project's destruction...

He gulped at the thought.

"SNIVELY!!" Robotnik roared as his image flickered onto the vid-screen. "Just what in the hell do you think you're doing?"

"N-n-n-nothing, sir," Sniv stammered, terrified by the overlord's sudden appearance.

"Exactly my point. Get back to work! You're supposed to be watching the security monitors!"

"Yes, sir."

"There's a good minion, Snively. Be sure to have food and booze prepared for my arrival—I'll be up in five minutes."

"Yes, sir." The vid-screen went blank; Snively groaned. "I hate my life..."

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A ways behind them, the Freedom Fighters heard a loud crash; their dragon-friend, Dulcy, hadn't quite perfected her landing technique. They cringed simultaneously, hoping the noise wouldn't give them away. Sally crept out from her hiding place cautiously. "You guys okay?"

A moment later, Lupe and Ari—leaders of the Wolf Pack and Northern Freedom Movement, respectively—emerged from behind yet another pile of crates. "We're fine, Sally," Lupe whispered as she approached. "And right on schedule. How much time do we have left?"

Sally consulted her watch. "Ten seconds... nine... eight... seven... six... five..."

Far above them, Lupe spotted Punnel and Derek (respective leaders of the Southern and Eastern Freedom Movements) cruising across the sky in a hijacked Robotropolis hovercraft. Seconds later, dozens of plushie Freedom Fighter decoys precipitated on the Tower in a mass of parachutes.

The Tower. It looked much more intimidating in person than it did in any of the mission photos. Lupe couldn't help but shudder as she looked up to the biblically-proportioned mechanical structure. It was easy to see why Robotnik was so proud of this accomplishment...

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...and speaking of Robotnik, the evil doctor happened to be spying on the Freedom Fighters at that very moment. Watching the vid-screen, Ivo sipped a glass of wine and adjusted himself in his familiar, green, mechanized chair—a duplicate of the chair he loved so much from his command center in Robotropolis.

"You see, Snively? I told you these hidden surveillance cameras would come in handy; it appears that our 'guests' have arrived." He looked at an adjacent vid-screen and saw the rain of Freedom Fighter plushies. Ivo chuckled. "The Dummy-Diversion! How very appropriate. I think our little friends underestimate me." He sat back, taking another sip of wine. "We'll let them in... but let's not risk anything. Snively, alert the ground forces and have them on standby."

Grumbling to himself, Snively reluctantly gave the order. The idiot! He couldn't believe that Robotnik was just going to let the rebels waltz into the complex with no countermeasures on their part whatsoever. This was going to make his escape considerably more difficult, giving Snivlely no choice but to rethink his planning.

Ivo was a madder scientist than most gave him credit for.

On the vid-screen, the Doc watched Sonic pull a green balloon from his backpack, yell something along the lines of "It's juice-time!", then hurl it at the outer shell of the Tower. In seconds, a chemical reaction occurred and the metal was eaten away—in the form of a jagged circle—to provide an entrance; the Freedom Fighters hurried inside. Robotnik was impressed. "Clever. Perhaps it is I who underestimate them."

Then, on yet another screen, he saw a pair of Freedom Fighters parachuting amongst the plushies—a female wolf and a tallish male ram. Moments later, two more Freedom Fighters did the same. Obviously the air attack was only disguised as a diversion.

"Should I play along with their little game?" Robotnik mused. He activated the computer com-link and ordered an army of SWATbots to seize them. "Nope," was the thought that came with his evil smile. "I play to win."

"Sir! Sir!" Snively shouted, pointing to the screen showcasing Sonic and company. "They're inside!"

"Funny, I noticed that myself."

Snively was annoyed. "Shall I alert the forces?"

Robotnik sat back and grinned. "Oh no no no, Snively... let's let them explore. I want them to realize on their own that they've finally lost."

Snively turned back to the terminal, disgusted. "Your stupidity will ruin everything, you ugly boil," he muttered under his breath.

There was a hiss of hydraulics as Robotnik spun his chair around to face him. "What was that, Snively?"

Terror-stricken, Snively fumbled for an answer that would (at least) prolong his life. "Um... I simply mentioned that the Doomsday machine is going to need more oil, sir!" was all he could come up with in the time allotted.

Robotnik grabbed him by the throat, pissed. "Bullshit, Snively! This machine doesn't even run on oil! What the hell do you think the NUCLEAR REACTOR is for? DECORATION?!"

Snively gasped, struggling for air. "My [choke]... apologies [wheeze]... Lord Robotnik [cough]..."

Just then, the computer beeped.  [LORD ROBOTNIK, SECURITY FEEDBACK HAS BEEN TRANSMITTED TO THE SECURITY ROOM].

The thought of spying on Sonic and his friends on the wall-sized vid-screens within the newly installed Observation Room enticed Robotnik more than killing Snively, so he released his grip and let his nephew drop to the floor. Prior to his exit, he stopped at the terminal. "Computer, remind me to beat the hell out of Snively when I return." He left the room.

"Why me?" Snively thought bitterly, just before he went unconscious.

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The giant, robotic claw extended from the ceiling, delicately grasping the skeletal frame of what would soon be the next Doomsday Pod. The Pod Chamber was gigantic, making Sonic, Sally, and Bunny a little edgy and Antoine (as usual) more than a little paranoid.

After a computer core was placed inside, the pod-skeleton was submerged in a vat of liquid-metal. Upon extraction, the contents were put into a mold where the metal froze—with the aid of cryo-solidifiers—into an almost-impenetrable outer shell; exterior sensors were welded into place, and the pod was relocated to the Launch Bay. The entire production time amounted to less than thirty seconds, with over half-a-dozen other assembly lines working at similar efficiency.

Sonic hit the palm of his hand with his fist. "We've gotta stop this!"

Sally pulled out her mini-computer. "Nicole, switch to com-mode."

"COM-MODE ACTIVE. SCRAMBLE CHANNEL OPEN."

She spoke into the computer as she would a com-link. "Squad Two, report!"

No answer. Strange...

"Squad Three, report!"

No answer from them, either. "This sure doesn't sound good," Bunnie whispered, growing increasingly worried.

Antoine nervously tapped Sally on the shoulder. "Perhaps, you sink, zey have been captivated?"

Sally sighed. "You might be right, Antoine. I'm afraid we're on our own."

"Wrong, Sal," Sonic said as he zipped up his backpack. "I'm on my own."

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"The hedgehog is hell-bent on protecting his friends at all costs," Robotnik mentally noted as he watched their conversation unfold in the Observation Room.

On one of the vid-screens (one of those lovely, wall-sized vid-screens), Sonic and Sally were arguing—much to Robotnik's enjoyment.

"Sonic, you're not going to just—"

"Come on, Sal! Our plan's blown. You gotta get outta here."

"And what will you do?"

The hedgehog smirked. "What I do best: wing it! You guys ride a pod out.  I'll stay here and take care of things."

Robotnik must have forgotten about his recent outburst on poor Snively, as he had gleefully invited him to join-in on the entertainment. "Lovely picture, eh Snively? These giant vid-screens were such a brilliant idea of mine."

Snively nodded, not daring to ignite the overlord's anger by reminding him that it was originally his idea. Changing the subject, he asked, "Should I seal the launch-tunnel door?"

Robotnik tapped his fingers together. "No, Snively—let them go. I only want the hedgehog." A smile came to his lips as he thought about roboticizing Sonic. The hedgehog's last thought would be the knowledge that all of his friends would die... but not by Robotnik's hand. By his hand.

Then Ivo's pleasure-inducing thoughts were rudely interrupted by Snively, who'd let his mouth get the best of him again. "But sir, I don't understand... the hedgehog is—"

Snively stopped upon seeing Robotnik's cold stare. "Are you implying, Snively, that the hedgehog is a match for me?"

The minion gulped, shaking his head. "I parish the thought, sir."

"Good... because there are many things that you know nothing about. Now open the skylight, you little prick!"

"Yes, sir..."

With the press of a button, Robotnik activated his newly-donned jetpack and sped through the opening in the ceiling, piercing the stormy, nighttime sky.

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They didn't have much time.

Sally, Bunny, and Antoine huddled inside one of the pods, due for launch in less than three minutes.  Sonic waited outside to make sure everything went okay.

"Sonic, I want to help," Sally insisted, reluctant to leave.

"Hey, this is power-time, Sal," Sonic said, thinking of something reassuring to say. "You'll slow me down," was the best excuse he could think of.

Sally, of course, saw right through that one. "Bullshit," she thought, and was about to make her opinion known orally when Bunnie put a hand on her shoulder.

"He's right, Sally-Girl," Bunnie said, winking.

Sally smiled slightly and returned the wink. She knew what Bunnie meant. Sonic was only trying to protect her... a way of expressing his love for her.

She clasped Sonic's hand. "You'll need Nicole," she said, reaching into her vest.

Sonic took the computer and looked into her eyes, hoping she understood. "Stay safe," he said. "I'll see you guys later."

Then the compartment door hissed shut. Everybody braced themselves as the pod was jettisoned at amazing speed through the tunnel and into the night.

Silence.

Sonic sighed and looked down at Nicole. "Just you and me, babe. Show me the way to the Reactor Chamber."

A Doomsday Tower hologram was projected. "NO PROB, BLUE STREAK MY MAN," the computer said, imitating Sonic's lingo. The route was then highlighted on the projection in bright red. "THE REACTOR IS THIS WAY, MY MAIN HEDGEHOG..."

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The Reactor Room was huge. Beneath a glass dome, lightening crackled between two spinning, nuclear-powered turbines as the raw power was fed into the building through thick electro-ducts. Sonic just hoped that the glass was radiation-proof.

Then, upon further inspection, Sonic noticed a more immediate danger: a collection of powerful thermal explosives, wired together and arranged evenly around the circumference of the dome. Most likely Robotnik's doing.

"Not cool. The Round-Guy's messin' with me again." He looked around for any security cameras; he didn't see any. That didn't necessarily mean anything... but Sonic felt slightly more comfortable just the same. Carefully, he stepped over to the wired explosives and inspected them. No timer. Possibly remote detonated...? If that was the case, then there had to be security cameras around somewhere. Sonic wouldn't have time to run... so he decided to try his luck and attempt to deactivate the explosives.

As he searched for the right wiring, Sonic couldn't help wondering why ol' 'Buttnik would place explosives within the core of his most prized creation. Perhaps, if anyone made it this far, they were Ivo's way of saying "Go to hell—if I die, I'm taking you with me." Or perhaps they held a completely different purpose altogether.

"Red or blue...?" The hedgehog had to decide which wire to pull... why couldn't he remember? "Aw, what the hell—red."

The wire snapped out of place and, almost instantly, an electronic groan filled the room as the explosives were drained of life.

A sigh of relief. Now to destroy the Reactor. Sonic realized that he couldn't use an explosive that was too powerful (even though blowing up the entire complex would be ideal, he couldn't risk having the explosion go nuclear), so he chose a smaller, less-powerful device that would have just enough "umpf" to break the glass and put the Reactor out of commission; this Doomsday Tower would soon be nothing more than a useless, hollow structure.

He attached the device to the glass dome. "Get ready to kiss this thing goodbye, Robuttnik!"

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By now, of course, Packbell was residing in the safety of his Dark Mountain base. Curious as to how the Freedom Fighters were progressing, he clicked-on his surveillance equipment: a display of several large vid-screens to which his hidden spy-cameras transmitted.

The center-screen showed activity in the Doomsday Reactor Chamber. Using a computer terminal, Packbell rotated the spy-camera about 130 degrees before the image locked-on to none other than... Sonic the Hedgehog! The android zoomed in; it appeared that the little rodent was affixing some sort of explosive device to the surface of the Reactor Dome. Perfect! The hedgehog obviously wanted to avoid destroying the complex (probably fear of nuclear fallout), judging from the relatively small device.

Packbell smiled. Unbeknownst to the Blue-One, any size explosion would bring about the same result. The blast would provide just enough spark to set off the electronic heat-sensors on his own explosives; the hedgehog would bring about the end of this pitiful little planet without even knowing it. The results were inevitable.

The Doomsday Tower is destroyed by a nuclear explosion.

The hedgehog dies.

Robotnik dies.

Nuclear fallout chokes Mobius in a dark cloud of death, killing the rest of its living inhabitants.

Packbell wins.

He, of course (being an android), would be completely immune to the nuclear material that is so poisonous to organic life. Mobius would soon be a planet populated entirely by machines... a deadly race of artificial life, with Packbell ruling it all.

He couldn't lose.

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Sonic zipped around the corner and a little ways down the hall—a nice, safe location away from the blast. He put on UV-shielded goggles (just in case the explosion was brighter than expected) and braced himself.

"Lightup time. Do it to it, Nicole!" And so the computer activated the device.

The explosion was only powerful enough to shake the ground slightly, which was a decidedly good thing. After a few moments of silence, Sonic figured it was as opportune a time as any to check out the damage...

He couldn't believe what he saw.

The Reactor, resting beneath the glass dome, was completely unharmed.

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After a series of vile curses, Packbell slammed his fist into the terminal, leaving a good-sized dent. "Unbreakable glass!!! Damn Robotnik!"

Then, a few seconds later, the android came to another realization: his explosives didn't so much as spark. Yet another punch was delivered to the computer. That cursed hedgehog had probably defused the bombs before he began surveillance.

Packbell continued raving out loud for some time before something else caught his attention on the vid-screen...

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A panel in the floor slid open. Slowly, in a cloud of exhaust fumes from his jetpack, a familiar villain emerged: Dr. Ivo Robotnik.

Laughing crazily, the vile human came to a landing before his arch-nemesis. "So, hedgehog—how do you like my new Diamond-Glass dome? Patent pending, you know."

Sonic sneered with disgust. "I think it stinks, Robuttnik!"

"Does it indeed? Well then, perhaps we'll need some ventilation!!"

Ivo chuckled at his own (albeit bad) joke and pressed a button on his wrist-mounted remote control; an air-vent in the floor rapidly began drawing air from the room, creating a powerful vacuum-force that pulled Sonic into the shaft.

Robotnik finally had Sonic right where he wanted.

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The next thing Sonic knew, he was groggily coming back to consciousness, surrounded on all sides by glass. A huge, glass cylinder... circuit boards beneath his feet... a soft, blue, crystalline light... 

Sonic gasped, pressing his hands against the glass. He was dizzy, semi-conscious, bruised... but he knew where he was. He knew all too well where he was.

He was in a roboticizer.

Slowly, Sonic got to his feet, collecting himself, getting a better grip on the situation. He had to find a way out of there...

Robotnik's face appeared on the other side of the glass, watching Sonic like a captive insect. "Bad news, hedgehog: I'm afraid you can't escape. Oh, wait a minute—that's good news! Well, at least for me..." He walked over to the control panel and took a seat, caressing the red lever that would finally do the rodent in. Robotnik was delirious with pleasure; he couldn't believe that he'd actually won! He looked at the hedgehog with glassy eyes. "Oh, I'm almost sorry that it's over. If nothing else, you have been a most worthy adversary. But..." He turned back to the control panel, grinning like a jack-o-lantern. "... as in every game, there are winners and there are losers. And as you know... in this game..."

He grabbed the lever.

"... losers get roboticized."

CRANK.

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Packbell furiously typed-in hundreds of key commands, cursing profusely. His plans had failed—this was turning out to be worse than he'd ever expected.

Ah, but it wasn't over yet. With the utmost ease, the android hacked into the Doomsday mainframe network. Just a few more tweaks, then his virus would be ready to go.

Unfortunately, the said virus would allow the hedgehog to escape... but such were the sacrifices of victory. Once Doomsday was infected, it would take at least two hours for even Robonik's most advanced tech-bots to get the computer back online. By then, the hedgehog and his friends should be able to penetrate the Tower's defenses a second time (and there was no doubt that they would), upon when Packbell could use the diversion to sneak-in unnoticed, leave behind a crap-load of explosives, then detonate them at the push of a button when he returned to his base.

The final key-stroke was executed, and the virus was delivered.

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The roboticizer hummed to life. The crystal focus-lens began to warm-up. Robotnik laughed maniacally. Sonic couldn't believe that this was finally the end.

Trembling uncontrollably with fear, the hedgehog wrapped his arms around himself and... noticed something. He furrowed his brow. He felt a nylon strap.

He was still wearing his backpack!

"Hey 'Buttnik—I guess you aren't as smart as you think you are!" Sonic yelled as he pulled out one of his power rings. He lifted it over his head, releasing its power only seconds before the roboticizer beam spilled from the focus-lens.

Robotnik just laughed... which wasn't the reaction Sonic was expecting. "A power ring won't help, hedgehog. You see... I designed this roboticizer JUST FOR YOU." He pulled the lever down even further, increasing the beam's intensity.

Sonic struggled against the beam, using the ring to keep it from moving downward... but in the end, all he managed to do was slow it down. Sonic was finally shoved to the floor, the beam only inches from him...

It took some skill, but eventually Sonic was able to wriggle-out another power ring. "Maybe one power ring won't do the trick, but two might work," he reasoned in his mind as the situation was becoming increasingly hopeless.

To no avail. Realizing that he'd finally lost, Sonic closed his eyes and prepared for the worst...

Then, inexplicably, the beam shot up in the reverse-direction, shaking the room in a violent explosion.

Robotnik stood in rage, disbelieving. "No! This can't be happening! This is impossible!!!" He pressed any buttons within his reach on the panel in wild fury.

Still under glass (so to speak), Sonic revved-up and used the power rings to start spinning like a cyclone. The glass cylinder shattered into a million little pieces; Sonic had broken free.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Robotnik screamed, watching as the blasted little hedgehog ran for his life.

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The evil doctor's scrambled image flickered onto the vid-screen. "Snively! What the hell happened?!!"

Sniv gulped, dreading what would come after he told the bad news. "It appears that we have acquired a... computer virus... sir..."

Reception was lost immediately after Robotnik (apparently) plunged his hand through the receiver. Snively stared blankly at the static-filled vid-screen. "I told you so, Julian. Project Doomsday is a failure... just like everybody said it would be!" He began losing control, slipping into a psychological breakdown. "You couldn't ever listen to me, could you? NO! You couldn't ever admit that someone might be smarter than you, could you? NO!!" He stormed out into the hall and entered the room in which the back-up computer system control panel was located (whoever gave them the virus certainly wasn't expecting that!). After setting the back-up computer as the primary system, Snively began obsessively entering key commands. "So now, Robotnik... now you've finally managed to piss me off."

A moment later, a message showed up on the bottom-right corner of the vid-screen:

__self-destruct/01:00:00:00__

Perfect. One hour was plenty of time to get out of there. He could sneak out easily, leaving Robotnik alone and completely oblivious to his metaphorical death-certificate. And fortunately for Snively, the Self-Destruct was designed to deliberately shut-down the reactor before it blew, creating a fail-safe against any pesky nuclear explosions (the Diamond-Glass™, after all, was completely blast-proof). Yes, everything would work out to perfection. Snively would have his revenge.

The command was confirmed. The countdown began, with a few additional key-strokes conveniently hiding the message so Robotnik wouldn't see it. The needlenosed human sat back, satisfied.

"And when Snively's pissed off... he isn't very nice."

 

 

 

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[End, chapter two of four]

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