Chapter 3:
Through the Looking Glass

AUTHOR'S NOTE: If any of you are wondering where I came up with this "harmonics"
business, it's from two lines of otherwise meaningless technobabble in the cartoon
episodes "Sonic Conversion" and "The Void". In "Sonic Conversion", Uncle Chuck and
Rotor were talking about harmonic frequencies while they were creating the hologram
map. In "The Void", Snively said, "Harmonic frequencies synchronized" while he was
preparing to close the portal that lead to the Void.

A familiarly sonorous voice echoed in Snively's eardrums, stirring him from the
blissful oblivion of unconscious. He tried to ignore it, tried not to think about it.
Throughout his entire life that voice had brought him nothing but pain.

"Wake up," the voice demanded. There was something different about it this
time, the mechanical resonance of his uncle's robotic vocal cords was off. "Time to
wake up."

Snively groaned, and rolled over. As sensation returned to him, he felt a soft
mattress underneath him and a blanket of some kind covering his elfin form. His mouth
twisted into a frown; he had woken like this many times before, in Robotropolis's
medical bay, covered in wounds inflicted by his fat uncle.

Why couldn't the voice just leave him alone? He was the one who had done this
to him. Couldn't he understand that Snively preferred the lonely nonbeing that sleep
brought to whatever cruel tortures the day would bring?

"I know you're awake," the voice repeated urgently. "Open your eyes."

God, whatever wounds Robotnik's fury had inflicted must have been severe this
time. Snively couldn't even remember being beaten this time. Memory flashed painfully
through him, rippling like a crest of pain down his spine. He saw the exploding emitter
device, the portals swirling around the room. Robotnik must have been *very* angry.

Snively's eyes fluttered open. His vision was clouded with the haze of
unconsciousness, and Snively vainly wondered how long he had been out of it. He saw
the blurred form of an obese man standing in front of him.

"Y-yes, Doctor Robotnik?" Snively said weakly, voice cracking.

There was no immediate answer. Snively lay back in the bed, eyes sealed shut,
wishing again for the bliss of nonexistence.

"Son, do you know where you are?" the voice asked. Snively thought the tone
was unusual for Robotnik, but he was always so unpredictable…

"The city's medical wards," Snively mumbled. His hand slowly moved across his
body, poking the flesh, checking for new wounds. His face still stung where the flying
glass had hit him, but otherwise he felt fine.

"You're that coherent, at least." Snively heard a sharp scratching, like a pen
scrawling something onto a hard surface. He opened his eyes once more and saw that the
figure was holding a clipboard. Robotnik wasn't wearing his usual Robotropolis
uniform, either, he was wearing a white dress of some kind, almost like his military outfit
from before the coup.

Snively felt a headache begin to build up in his temples. How long *had* he been
unconscious?

His eyes fell upon his uncle's left arm, vision focusing more clearly. Robotnik
wasn't wearing his usual gloves and his arm… his arm… it was organic!

Snively's eyes snapped open, suddenly fully alert.

The pen was still moving against a sheet of paper on the clipboard. "And… what
did you call me again? Doctor Robotnik?" He appeared to be writing it down. The
recognizable orange mustache twitched momentarily. "Well, I'll be. That's my name,
spelt backwards."

Snively clutched futilely at the blanket, as if it might offer some form of
protection from the reality he was suddenly confronted with.

The fat man smiled amiably. His face was so aberrantly charismatic that Snively
would have had a hard time actually recognizing it. But there was no doubt: the man
standing before him now was his uncle.

More memory shot through Snively like a lightning bolt. He saw Robotnik's
theory of parallel worlds, he saw the emitter shoot out a burst of energy… he saw himself
falling through the portal in Robotnik's lab.

Snively found a hand held out to him. "My name is Doctor Julian Kintobor, and
I've been placed in charge of your recovery."

Snively forced air into his lungs. "No," he gasped.

"Are you feeling all right?" Doctor Kintobor asked, genuinely concerned. "That
was quite a light show you put on before we found you."

Snively was unable to speak. His world had been torn away from him and this…
this wasn't right.

Kintobor frowned, looking at his clipboard again. "I'm not sure why we found
you unconscious. There were no external injuries or anything of the sort, aside from a
few cuts on your face and scalp. If you're feeling okay, some of King Acorn's people
would like to ask you a few questions."

"No," Snively squeaked, "no questions. Where am I?"

"I thought you knew," the doctor frowned. "The Mobotropolis City Hospital."

Snively's breathing became frantic. Doctor Kintobor frowned. "No, this isn't
right, none of this is right." His wide eyes met Julian's. "I've GOT to get out of here!"
Before the Doctor could react, Snively deftly threw the sheets away from him and
scrambled for the door.

*****

"Didn't that work out well?" Nicole spat, furiously pacing the cell. The angry,
electrical buzzing of the force field bars threatened to drown out her voice. She held up
her hand before Packbell could answer. "No, wait, don't tell me. 'Can it, Nicole',
right?"

"Right," Packbell growled, in the cell across the hallway. His Mobotropolis
police officer's uniform was torn and scarred. Some of the false flesh on his upper arm
was missing; raw metal showed through the wound.

The android Nicole continued pacing, arms akimbo. "'There are many ways to
outwit a city security bot', you said, like you knew what you were talking about."
Packbell shot up from his seat, staring daggers at Nicole through the two force
fields separating them. "So the ones in this universe have learned a few new tricks. I
didn't know that!"

"'Trust me', you said." Nicole shook her head. "Once we get out of here, my
paycheck is going to bankrupt the Acorn royal treasury, I swear it."

"Would you stop thinking about yourself, for once?"

"Never," Nicole snapped.

"Look at it this way," Packbell said, "We're stuck here, in an alien universe, and a
week in the past. We're inside some kind of sick mockery of Mobotropolis." His chin
came close to the force field bars. "What we do here now affects the fate everything we
know on our planet. This is beyond the scope of a paycheck; we're dealing with entire
worlds here."

"Ask me if I care," Nicole shot back. "I do things for myself, and nobody else.
Our miserable little planet can go fuck itself and it wouldn't matter to me. The only thing
I know is that so far I've been severely under compensated on this little adventure."

Packbell shook his head, staring uncertainly at Nicole. "You really don't care
about anyone else, do you?" he asked incredulously.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you for the past week!"

"I never thought that such a person could exist. You're lying."

"Like hell I am." She held up a finger and leveled at Packbell, as if just the act of
pointing it could cause damage. "Listen, if I *cared* about anyone but me, I wouldn't be
here right now. I would still be trapped inside a little hand-held computer, answering
questions for any idiot who asked."

The two androids stared wrathfully at each other for several moments. Memories
flashed through Nicole's mind: memories of being an AI trapped inside a palmtop
computer, being that bitch ground squirrel's slave. Only a year had gone past since
Nicole had betrayed the Knothole terrorists on her own world to procure an android body
and go into business for herself. Her life before that she still remembered in vivid detail,
and she hated it. The hate burned in her eyes as she stared at the Mobotropolis police
officer.

Disgust gleamed in Packbell's eyes as he stared back.

Nicole slammed a furred fist into the cell's wall, and sat down. A bitter silence
lingered in the air of the cellblock.

Nicole could hear gears whirring as a door at the end of the hallway opened.
Booted footsteps echoed down the hallway. Before long, the source of the noise stepped
into her angle of view.

"Oh, my," Commander Packbell said, red Robotropolis uniform polished to a
sparkle, as he stared at the two prisoners. His gaze was rooted on his android
counterpart, the one wearing the uniform of the Mobotropolis police.

"Oh, shit," the Mobotropolis Commander cursed.

The two Packbells stared at each other for another moment, more curious than
anything.

The Robotropolis Packbell rubbed his chin, staring at the prisoner. "I've been
observing you for some time now, through the cell's cameras… I must say that you are
the most… unusual prisoners I've been ordered to interrogate." Packbell knew how to
put two and two together. "So you're from another world, huh? You're my counterpart?"

Packbell felt the oil in his veins freeze. Before they had activated the Time
Stones to come to this world, Sonic had warned him about his counterpart in
Robotropolis. He didn't answer.

The other Packbell continued, still staring at the prisoners, "I actually thought that
the fat bastard had finally gone crazy. When first mentioned the concept of other
realities, it took all of my reserves to keep from laughing in his face. I guess he was
right, after all… because you, even though you look like me, are definitely *not* me."
The android's finger moved close to the force field bars; sparks of static electricity
jumped to his hand. "And, although I actually had to check some of the older records,
I've identified your clothing as the uniform of a Mobotropolis police officer. Delicious."

Neither of the prisoners spoke.

"How did you come to be here in Robotropolis, hmmm?" Commander Packbell
asked. "You appeared *before* the Doc had his little accident in the lab. You traveled
between worlds on your own initiative. Tell me why."

"I can't do that," came the answer.

"You will also tell me why you appeared in the Freedom Fighters' little toy
biplane."

"No, I won't."

"You will. I don't know anything about you or your own universe, and you
probably don't know much about me, either. I can tell you, though, that I am a master of
interrogation." Packbell grinned. "And I have tools that can surpass even the level of an
android's pain tolerance."

*****

"So what do you think, Bookshire?" Sally asked, peering over the raccoon's
shoulder at the computer monitor. Seemingly random patterns of text and numbers
flashed on and off on the screen.

"I might be able to access some of the data, but… how much would depend on
where he stored it." Bookshire frowned, watching the stream of data. "You said that you
found the machine in Robotnik's laboratory, right? The one in his castle?"

"That's right, sugar," Bunnie said.

"I can hack into his lab computers, at least for a little while. But we run a serious
risk of being detected, and if that happens Robotnik may be able to trace us back to
Knothole." Bookshire paused, rubbing his muzzle. "Of course, if I relay our pirate
signal through several different transmitters, it'll be harder for him to find us… but I just
don't think that anything is worth the risk."

Sally nodded, determination still smoldering in her eyes. "What would be the
odds of getting caught if you tried that?"

Bookshire saw Sally's expression, and knew instantly where she was heading.
"Princess, I'm sorry I have to say this, but… you need to think clearly. Just because
there's a chance that we might rescue your father, that doesn't mean you have to put the
lives of everyone here in danger." Sally didn't immediately answer. Bookshire sighed.
"After your last attack, Robotnik could be expecting this."

"We have to try it, Booky," Sally ordered.

Bookshire turned back to his computer, shaking his head. "Okay, Princess. I just
hope you're making the right decision. Bunnie, could you get Rotor in here? Let's boot
up the cryptosmasher software."

"Shore thing, sugar."

Sally's feet had stayed rooted to the floor of Bookshire's hut as the room changed
around her. Within minutes of Bookshire's request, his small room had been crowded
almost to the breaking point. Furniture had been moved to make room for all the
newcomers. Sally thought about ordering them all out, but remembered Bookshire's
warning. What happened here could possibly lead to Robotnik finding Knothole's
location; they all had a right to know if that happened.

"I could use Nicole for this." The Princess unclipped the hand-held computer,
and obediently handed it to Bookshire. Nicole's case slid easily into an adapter slot on
the computer.

"Amazing how she always has an interface for everything," Bookshire mumbled
to himself.

"I'm sorry?" Sally asked, confused.

Bookshire's finger tapped against Nicole's case. "Well, every time we've needed
to interface Nicole with some kind of other computer, she's always had the right
interface, or an adapter, or…" Bookshire trailed off, staring into space. "Never mind.
Nicole, begin broadcasting the pirate signal into the Robotropolis mainframe."

"BROADCASTING… INTERFACE READY."

A tense silence descended over the room. It had begun… if Robotnik's security
noticed them, it would be a simple matter to triangulate the signal's origin. Knothole
would be done for.

They won't find us, Sally vowed. They can't.

"Let's get this done as quickly as possible," Bookshire said. "Link directly to the
computers in Robotnik's castle laboratory."

"PASSWORD NEEDED."

"Activate the cryptosmasher software."

Numbers ticked on Bookshire's screen, drowning the hut in silence.

"ACCESS GRANTED."

A sharp gasp of air escaped Bookshire's lungs. Sally hadn't realized that she had
been holding her breath, too, and exhaled in relief. The raccoon turned around to face
Sally.

"What did you say Snively called it?"

"I think he said… emitter?"

"Nicole, search for any files that reference a device called an emitter. Especially
any schematics."

"TWO FILES FOUND."

"Display one."

The air shimmered for a moment as light twisted into a hologram. Sally saw a
three-dimensional overlay of the hover unit-sized box, a crystallite prong attached to the
front. "That's it. That's it!"

"What about the second file, Nicole?"

The hologram flickered, light unfolding to reveal a smaller device that looked
remarkably similar to Nicole. A similar crystalline prong was mounted on the front of
the device, but it appeared much smaller than the one on the other schematic.

"What's that?" Sally asked.

Bookshire shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe… a smaller emitter? It looks to
have the same function as the other device, but the scale is much smaller." He frowned.
"We'll figure it out later. Nicole, download both of the files and transfer them to my
computer's hard disk."

"DONE."

"Cut off the broadcast."

"TRANSMISSION ENDED."

A palpable sense of relief swept throughout the room. Bookshire wiped the sweat
off his brow, and leaned back in his chair. "And that's enough excitement for today." He
turned around, looking at the crowd. "Okay, show's over. Nothing else happening. You
all can leave." Reluctantly, most of the onlookers began filing out.

Sally wasn't paying attention. "Nicole, begin analysis of the schematics. Tell me
exactly what they are."

"WORKING…"

Rotor wheeled his chair over to Sally, silent but watching Nicole intently. Sonic
and Bunnie hadn't left with the others, and they joined Rotor. Sonic drummed his fingers
impatiently on the wall.

"THE TWO DEVICES ARE DESIGNED TO EMIT HARMONIC FREQUENCIES ON-"

"You're doin' it again!" Sonic snapped bitterly, earning him Sally's irate glare.

Without skipping a beat, Nicole reworded her answer. "THEY ARE ABLE TO OPEN PORTALS
SIMILAR TO THE VOID'S GATEWAY."

"So they both have the same function?" Rotor asked.

"YES, BUT ONE DEVICE IS SMALLER, AND MORE EFFICIENTLY CONSTRUCTED."

"Display the smaller device." The hologram of the hand-held emitter flickered
into being again. "Display a list of the materials and resources the device needs." A text
chart appeared in the air next to the schematic. Sally could only recognize a few of the
names on the list, but the ones she could pick out included several different kinds of
metals, all highly conductive.

Sonic's foot tapped against the wooden floorboards.

"Rotor? Do we have any of these materials on hand?" Sally asked anxiously.
"I dunno. I see a lot of things that I could scavenge from the storeroom, but the
rest of this stuff… I don't know where we can get a device capable of harmonizing those
frequencies." His shoulders twitched in a little shrug. "Knothole isn't exactly the most
well-stocked town on Mobius, Sally."

Sally's face sagged downward. Rotor was usually overly optimistic when it came
to his mechanical skills; from him, an "I dunno" was almost an admission of defeat. The
walrus continued, "I mean, as far as I know Nicole is the only thing in Knothole that uses
*any* harmonized frequencies, and she uses those just to create holograms. We'd have
to dissect her to get some of the materials we need."

"We all know that's not an option," Bookshire said. "So now what?"

"Well, if we want to be able to build this device, we need to find another
expendable device that uses harmonics. Dissecting one of those is the only way we can
get the circuitry needed to harmonize any kind of energy band."

"I could always bust some 'Buttbots back in Robotropolis," Sonic offered. "If we
don't have one of those doohickeys in Knothole, the city's sure to have one somewhere."

"Maybe," Sally said, downcast.

"Hey, wait a second, Rotor," Sonic said. "You said you just need any device that
uses harmonics, right?" Rotor nodded. "And all holograms use harmonic frequencies of
light to work?"

"Yeah," Rotor confirmed.

"Well, what about that map of Robo-town my Uncle Chuck made for us? That's
a hologram."

*****

Sharp pain shot up through the hedgehog's wounded leg, even worse than usual.
Muscles stopped moving, and he lost balance, tumbling helplessly to the ground. His
head impacted the forest's dirt flooring chin-first, kicking up dust into his face and eyes.
More pain rippled up and down Sonic's spine.

For a moment, the injured hedgehog was afraid that his walking had worsened the
fracture and he'd finally broken it. He rolled over onto his back, carefully checking his
leg's condition, ignoring the grinding agony that had been his constant companion for the
past several hours.

He could still move his leg, which came as more than a relief. Looking back on
his path, he saw that he had just taken a bad fall over a rut. Sonic had been counting on
being able to run at his usual break-neck pace. Being forced to walk was already enough
of a delay, and he knew had didn't have the time for any more. He had kept a careful
watch on the sun's journey across the sky, remembering that it had been just after
nightfall when the portal had been opened in Knothole. Right now the sun was on the
verge of setting, and so far he had only completed half of the long journey to rebels'
forest enclave.

"Man," he said, puffing breath as he pulled himself back into a standing position,
"This 'walking' stuff draws major wind."

The hedgehog's ears twitched, detecting the faint sound of running water nearby.
He hobbled over to the source of the noise, leg still throbbing after the fall, and
discovered a small stream. He cupped his hands together and dunked them into the
water, bringing it back up to his face. The cool liquid poured down his forehead and
cheeks, washing away the dust he had collected during his walk. The sensation was
immediately welcome.

He paused for another few minutes, bringing up more handfuls of water to face
and drinking them. The stream was surprisingly clear for being so close to Robotropolis,
though it still had a slight, bitter tang of industrial pollution. Recently, at Knothole, the
problem had become so bad that Rotor had to build a water filter just to collect drinking
water. Sonic wondered vaguely what kind of damage the lead and contaminants in the
water would do to his system in the years to come, and then shrugged it off.

He knew it didn't matter any more. Like his counterpart had said, one way or
another, his life would be over soon. Thoughts of time travel and parallel dimensions
still gave him headaches, but over the past week he had grown used to such things, and
knew exactly what would happen to him. If he succeeded in changing the timeline and
preventing the portal from opening, then he would have saved his friends and the past
version of himself, but he, this Sonic, would simply cease to exist.

And if he failed to change the timeline, then he was dead anyway.

Either way, Sonic knew, the version of himself that was truly him, the one
squatting by the stream sipping water, was done for.

The thought struck him with its finality, but he realized something. He didn't
really care what happened to him now. He had to succeed in saving his friends. Even
death would be worth it if that was the price he had to pay to save Sally from becoming
the… the corpse he had seen in the future.

And besides, Sonic reasoned, the past version of himself would stay alive. In
some way, he would still exist. One hedgehog is all this universe can handle, he thought
smugly.

*****

Sally's nimble fingers reached underneath the metallic hologram projector, and
quickly plucked out the essential piece of control circuitry. The three-dimensional map
of Robotropolis flickered and disappeared, replaced by random streams of red, blue, and
green lights jumbled in midair. Those, too, died within seconds, leaving only empty air
where the map had been.

The hologram table had sat in the same place ever since Sir Charles had first
constructed it, near a table in Sally's hut. Without the controlling microchip, the map had
been reduced to a useless metal plank. Reluctantly, she pushed it over to the corner of
her hut. It would have to go unused until the microchip got returned.

Sally held the microchip up to the light. "I don't know why I didn't think of this
before," Rotor was saying. "That's the piece we need, right there. Uncle Chuck used it
to control the light beams' frequencies, to synchronize them and create harmonics. With
a little retooling, we can use it to control other energy bands, too. Like the ones the
emitter uses."

"So, that's it then?" Sally asked breathlessly, not sure whether or not she wanted
to hear the answer. "You have all the parts?"

"All the parts listed. Now that we have the microchip, all we need is the
crystalline transmitter, battery pack, case, and the wiring." He absently plucked at his
whiskers, deep in thought. "I *think* that I can find most of those, or a decent substitute,
in the store room."

"How soon can we build our own emitter?"

"I dunno. I haven't really had a chance to go over the schematics you recovered."
He shrugged. "Maybe tonight, maybe a week from now. It depends on how complex the
design is."

"Get right on it, Rotor."

"No problem, Princess. I, uh, could use some help sorting through some of the
junk in the store room, Sonic."

"Yeah, I'll be there in a sonic second."

Sally passed the harmonics microchip to Rotor's extended hand, and he left. The
door slipped shut behind him; Sonic and Sally were alone. An uncomfortable silence fell
across the room. Sonic obviously had something to talk about, but was waiting for the
princess to speak first.

Sally knew what he was going to say. She didn't volunteer any words, and faced
away from him, staring out the window. It was getting darker and darker outside, the sun
falling away behind the Great Forest's ever-present foliage. The lessening light made it
easier to see the glare of the room's light bulb reflected in the pane, glowing like second
sun.

She stared at the reflected light, its fiery incandescence reminding her of the
swirling purple and yellow vortex of the Void.

"Sal, are you feeling all right?" Sonic asked, at last.

Sally gently opened the window, watching as the reflection of the light bulb
disappeared with the receding glass. Cool evening air drifted inward. "No, no I'm not,"
she said simply.

Sonic didn't seem to know how to answer. Even though he was one of the most
charismatic and self-confident inhabitants of Knothole, in moments like these the
hedgehog was always the epitome of teenage awkwardness. He just remained silent for a
time.

"If there's even a chance of rescuing my father, I'm going to take it," Sally said,
speaking with a resolve she didn't feel. "No matter what."

"Even at the cost of Knothole?"

Sally didn't turn to face him, only staring out the open window. A full moon was
just peeking out behind a distant cloud, its light casting down on the village, bestowing it
with a surreal atmosphere.

"Because that's what almost happened tonight, Sal. One false move, and
*boom*," Sonic snapped his fingers, "The village would've been history."

"I will find him."

"I just don't think it's worth it, Sal," Sonic continued. "At the very least, we
could have gone to Robotropolis tomorrow to recover those schematics." Still no answer.
"Sal… So what if Robotnik found a quicker way to open the Void? He already knew
how to do that."

"Now we do, too."

"And it won't do us much good. Even if we've found a way to open the Void
ourselves, we still don't know how to keep anyone that comes out from turning to
crystal."

"Damn it, Sonic," Sally burst out, spinning around. "We have to try!"

Sonic took an involuntary step backward; his eyes wide open in surprise. Sally
frowned, and turned back towards the window, unwilling to apologize.

"I wouldn't be able to face myself in the morning if I didn't try," she said.
"I'm sorry, Sal."

"Don't be. It's not your fault…" She paused. "I have to try and rescue him.
Please understand that."

Sonic walked forward again, standing next to her. His gaze fell out the window,
towards the horizon and the ever-present smog hovering over Robotropolis. "Yeah, I
understand. I was the same way with Uncle Chuck when we had the deroboticizer." He
smirked. "I seem to remember someone telling me to 'use my brain' instead of charging
out to save him."

"And I seem to remember someone saying that thinking gives him a headache,"
Sally sniped back.

"Well now the roles have changed. I just wanted to tell you to… use your brain,
Sally. Don't take too many risks."

"Yeah, I'll try."

"Just so long as you think you know what you're doing, I trust you, Sal."

Sally looked over at Sonic. "You don't know how much that means to me right
now."

The hedgehog only grinned. "Oh, I know." He turned towards the door,
extending his hand. "Come on, Rotor's expecting me right now. You gonna help?"

"Of course." Sally put her hand above Sonic's, and both of them curled into fists.
Sally brought her fist down on Sonic's, and then he brought his back on top of hers. The
fists met each levelly, giving each other the thumbs-up and completing the little ritual.
"There's always a way to fight," she smiled.

"Let's do it to it."

*****

"Wow, that was fast. I thought you said that it would take longer," Sonic said,
scratching his head. He, Sally, Bookshire, and Rotor stood near a pair of huts on the
fringes of Knothole. The store room was nearby, its contents spilled and spread all over
the ground from Rotor hunting through the mess for parts.

"The design was actually simpler than I anticipated," Rotor said. He held a small
plastic box, cobbled together in the space of an hour. Wires and tubing stuck out it at
ugly angles, looping back in amongst each other in a design that more than failed to
please the eye: Rotor designed his machines to be functional, not aesthetically appealing.

The only thing not covered in wiring and cooling industrial glue was the small,
crystalline prong sticking out of the front of the device. "In fact, it's almost an exact
copy of a hologram generator, but it works along different energy bands. The wave it's
keyed to create is an odd pattern, but easy to duplicate."

He offered it to Sally. "Here you go, Princess. The 'emitter'. But it's not
guaranteed to work."

Sally gladly took the emitter, trying not to wince as metal odds-and-ends poked
her palm. "You've really outdone yourself this time, Rotor. This is incredible!"

The walrus beamed.

Sally flipped the device around in her hand, looking over every piece of it. A
small button was mounted on the emitter's underside. "And this button activates it?"

Rotor nodded, then stopped. "Well, it *will* send power from the battery pack
into the crystal tip of the emitter, just like the schematics said. From there, though, I'm
not sure what will happen. If what you said is right, a portal to the Void might open."

"And if we built it wrong?"

Rotor shrugged helplessly. "I really don't know. If we're unlucky, something
like what occurred in Robotnik's lab might happen. An unstable portal that'll collapse in
minutes."

"Bogus," Sonic said, biting his lip. "Wouldn't want that to happen in Knothole."
A thought struck him. "Hey, Sal, whatever happened to Snip-ly, anyway? I didn't see
him when we ran out of that place."

"Maybe the portal got him," Sally laughed. "That'd make my day. Snively in the
Void?"

"With Naugus and the King? He wouldn't last an hour," Sonic chuckled.

Sally examined the emitter again, eyeing the button. "Well, we may get the
chance to find out."

Bookshire's eyes widened. "You mean you're actually going to use it?
Tonight?"

"This is something that can't wait until morning," Sally said. "It's not like I'd be
able to get any sleep, anyway, if we didn't try it now."

Sally felt Bookshire's hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure about this? While we
were going over the schematics, I found *both* Robotnik and Packbell's signatures on
the file. They knew that we were interested in this; it could just be a trap."

"I really doubt it," Sally said. She pointed to a nearby clearing. "Say we open the
portal over there? If it turns out to be unstable, it won't be close enough to the village to
do any major harm."

"Sounds like a plan, Sal."

It was a short, brisk walk over to the clearing. Sonic was there before anybody
else, and was tapping his feet impatiently when the others finally got there.

"It's all set, Princess," Rotor said. "Just point the emitter at an the air and press
the button."

She glanced back at Bookshire. "Please, you have to know that this is important."

The raccoon sighed, and finally relented. "All right, Princess. I trust you."

Sally held up the emitter, facing away from the others, and making sure that there
were no trees or plants immediately in front of her. Her index finger hovered over the
button. The others were silent; Bookshire looked ready to make a run for it.

This is it, she thought.

The mental image of her father spurred a new flow of determination. Her finger
plunged towards the button.

The air in front of the crystalline prong wavered momentarily. The effect shot
outward towards the air in front of her, moving like a near-invisible shock-wave of
compressed air, before finally fading into emptiness. Nothing else happened.

Silence permeated the clearing. Sally's arms drooped to her sides, crestfallen.

"Rote," Sonic began, "Are you sure that-"

A portal soundlessly cleaved space apart, forming into a solid, almost perfectly
two-dimensional ellipsoid of white light almost seven meters in diameter. A gentle
breeze kicked up in the clearing. The Freedom Fighters, as one, took several steps
backward.

"Holy hells," Bookshire muttered.

"That's it!" Sally shouted. "The portal! We did it!"

Rotor took a cautious step inward, circling the portal's disc. "It looks stable
enough," he said. "I can't believe that it worked the first try."

"That doesn't look like the Void, though," Sonic said, shaking his head. "I
thought the portal to the Void was all purple and yellow, always violently sucking air
inward."

"Maybe this is a new version of it," Sally suggested. "This portal certainly isn't
as noisy." This portal, unlike the Void, made none of the howling noises that Sally had
grown accustomed to. "I still think that it's the Void."

She took another step closer to it, mindful of the gentle breeze still. Air was still
being pulled inwards, just not at typhoon-force winds like the gateway to the Void they
had found only months ago. "I'm going in to check it out," she said resolutely.

"Whoa, whoa, Sal. You mean *we're* going in to check it out."

"It's… it's too risky right now," she said. "I don't want to put both of our lives
on the line."

"Yeah," Sonic answered crossly, "but I'm worried that without me there, you're
life *will* be on the line."

She glared back. "I can take care of myself. Look, if I'm not back in 10 minutes,
you can come in after me."

"All right, but I don't like it," Sonic yielded, staring into the portal. "10 minutes."

Sally turned away from them, stepping closer and closer to the threshold of the
gateway. The bright white light consumed her vision, and she threw up her arm to cover
her eyes from the blinding glare. She stepped forward once more.

The fiery white light consumed her body, and she disappeared.

*****

The rippling breeze changed direction; it was almost like walking into a large
building that had an air pressure slightly higher than the outside world. Other than that, it
felt no different than open air. Sally opened her eyes, meeting the other side of the portal.
She was still standing in the clearing, the silent portal now behind her. She had just
walked straight through it, like it was air. She was still in Knothole, and not the Void.

She felt like dropping to her knees, and felt a plaintive, child-like wail build up in
her throat. She fought it back, but just barely.

Sally turned around, unable to gaze at the burning white glare of the portal. It
would be like trying to stare into the gaze of a weasely street-side gambler who's trap you
had fallen for even though, in hindsight, he was obviously a cheat. All the hope she had
held for that vortex, all the trouble and the risks... all for a lie.

For a while, at least, there had been the hope.

Stifling the lump building up in the back of her throat, she walked back around
the perimeter of the portal, to where she and the others had been standing before she
walked into it.

"It didn't work, Rotor. I'm still here... nothing happened."

Sally walked forward, shoulders slumped in defeat. Her eyes were rooted on the
ground, and her mind so preoccupied that she almost didn't notice when there was no
answer.

"Sonic? Rotor?" She glanced upwards. Nobody stood in the clearing; off in the
distance, the huts of Knothole village were silent. "Bookshire?"

Sally planted her hands on her hips. "Sonic, you can come out now." It would be
just like him to count down ten minutes in the space of two seconds, and come through
the portal after her... she circled around the portal once more, but there was no sign of
any of the other Freedom Fighters.

A chilly wind brushed through the clearing, not coming from the glaring portal. It
was colder out that Sally thought. Her fur rippled. She hugged herself, until the
momentary gust died down.

"Where the hell are you, Sonic?" Sally asked the air. Only the gentle breeze
answered. They all couldn't have left this fast, could they? No, she thought, they had to
be around her somewhere.

"Sonic!" she snapped, kicking the underbrush in frustration. Nobody was hiding
under it, almost to Sally's chagrin. They had to be somewhere around here.

A knot forming in Sally's stomach told her that all her calls were amounting to
nothing more than talking to herself.

Still no sign of Sonic, Rotor, or Bookshire. Sonic had the odd habit of
disappearing at the exact moment that he was needed, but Sally knew in her heart that
neither Rotor nor Bookshire would leave just as she stepped through the portal. Yet,
there was no sign of them.

She shivered again, as yet a colder wind kicked up through the trees, caressing the
grass at her feet. It casually brushed aside her reddish head fur as easily as the reality of
the past few seconds and tossed aside her hopes, leaving it just a mussed-up mop of hair.
She didn't bother to correct it.

Get out of here, an impulse from the darkest corner of her mind screamed. The
voice was muffled by Sally's natural doubt and skepticism, but it still screamed. They
left you, it shouted.

Sally, spurned by the voice, immediately spun around on her heels and faced
Knothole. The village was darker than it should have been. Instead of the usual ambient
glow from the electric lights inside the huts, the moon was the only source of
illumination. The pale white light cast a surreal glow on the thatched roofs and worn dirt
paths that weaved their way through the familiar village. There was no sign of life in any
of the huts.

Sally began moving towards Knothole, past the few scattered huts on the town's
fringes. She could see no one moving. There was always activity in Knothole, even this
late.

An overactive imagination had always been one of the banes of Sally's childhood,
cooking up nightmarish dreams and visions when left unchecked. She hadn't needed to
deal with it for years, but now she couldn't help but to think about outlandish ways the
experiment could have gone wrong. What if stepping through the portal had triggered
some sort of massive energy release - like a neutron bomb - that had killed and vaporized
everyone in Knothole, leaving only structures intact? It would be exactly the kind of
devious trap Robotnik would have prepared: let them steal the schematics for a bomb that
they, in their ignorance, would use to wipe themselves out.

Light flickered at the edge of her vision. Sally shook her head, attempting to clear
it. Of course nothing that ridiculous had happened. She could even hear soft voices. She
turned to peer at the light. It wasn't from the electric lights that Rotor had installed with
the waterwheel. This was the muted orange glow of firelight.

Sally frowned. Thoughts of the light bulbs had reminded her of the waterwheel.
That was what was missing. For the past year the soft gurgling sound of the village
waterwheel had been a constant accompaniment to the sounds of the outdoors. Now, it
was strangely silent. Sally peered towards the stream that ran near the village but
couldn't make out the lurking shadow of the waterwheel in the darkness.

A door opened nearby, and the voices got louder for an instant. Sally could detect
Rotor's familiar drawl amongst the crowd before the door shut. A silhouette stood before
her in the darkness.

"Who's there?" the gloom asked, in Bunnie's familiar southern dialect. Sally let
out a sigh of relief.

"It's just me, Bunnie," she said. "Have you seen-"

Bunnie cut her off. "Sally-girl, where the fuck have y'all been?"

Sally was so caught off-guard that, at first, she didn't even notice the casual
swearing. "I've was out with Sonic and the others testing..." Sally trailed off. Flustered,
she asked, "What did you say?"

Bunnie snorted, again, an uncharacteristic action. Sally's heart started beating
faster, and she couldn't say why.

Bunnie's hands reached out and grabbed Sally angrily by the shoulders, pulling
them both into the flickering light cast by the distant fire. Sally saw Bunnie's face for the
first time, and the only think she could think was, "That's not Bunnie." It was the rabbit's
face, all right, but it was contorted, forced, into an expression of anger and animosity that
could never have been born from Bunnie's personality. Her eyes and hear-fur were
disheveled and unkempt, and in the poor light Sally could just make out a leather jacket
thrown around her friend's shoulders.

Sally felt herself involuntarily tremble, going into numb shock. This was all
wrong. She looked down at the hands still rooted to her own shoulders. The two
*biological* hands.

"Ah said, Sally-girl, where the FUCK have y'all been?" Bunnie spat.

Sally was suddenly terrified beyond the capacity to answer.

Bunnie withdrew her arms, shaking her head, and stormed back into the shadows.
"Very, very typical, Sally-girl. Ah just hope Ah'm not around when Sonic gets back.
Y'all should count your lucky stars if he doesn't break your spine right then and there.
Goin' missin' for three days, and all."

Sally stood there, holding a single hand to her mouth, her own horror forbidding
her to do anything than other than remain motionless and let the scene play out.

Bunnie shook her head, disgusted, mistaking Sally's silence for the cold shoulder
treatment. "L'il prissy princess. Y'all can sort this out on yer own." Bunnie retreated to
the hut she had emerged from, and slammed the door shut behind her.

Sally stood between the darkened huts, alone, unable to keep herself from
trembling. She cast a glance back towards the distant glowing discus of the portal. It
was still there, wide mouth yawning temptingly. What remained of Sally's scientific
mind had immediately known, since she had first seen Bunnie in the firelight, that wasn't
in her Knothole. Some kind of...

Slowly, she reached down to unclip Nicole from her boot, and flipped the
microcomputer open. Even the computer seemed daunted by the unreality of their
current environs; it didn't even react to being opened.

"Nicole, hypothesize," she said, confident that Nicole would be able to figure out
what she was asking for. She was secretly ashamed of how much her voice cracked. But
just seeing someone so changed...

"UNABLE," Nicole replied, monotone calm as always, "MORE DATA REQUIRED."

Sally swallowed, and tried to control her voice this time. "Just give me whatever
solid facts that you can."

"WE ARE NOT IN THE VOID, SALLY."

"Thanks for the information," Sally grumbled, slipping Nicole back into her boot.
She stared back at the open portal, but then turned away from it. Upon later recollection,
she didn't know what made her want to press further on into the village. All she
remembered was pressing one boot in front of the other, to move into Knothole.

She made two steps forward, and then stumbled.

A structure that Sally had never seen before, one that was apparently unique to
this distorted version of Knothole, stood in the center of the town. Several huts had
blocked it from view when she walked into town, but Bunnie had taken her around a
corner when she had grabbed her. It was sitting in plain sight.

Sally's eyes had adjusted to the sparse moonlight enough to make out its basic
shape. A platform stood in the open ground, and several wooden structures, shaped like
an inverted, upside-down L, stood at the edge of the stage. A stench that curdled Sally's
blood drifted away from it.

It was a gallows.

The structure itself was very indistinct, but there was a sign nailed to the ground
closer to the source of the firelight. Some of it was just readable in the gloom.

"By order of Sonic Hedgehog," Sally read, wanting to rip her eyes away from the
sign. "Traitor executed in the name of the resistance, for attempting," she swallowed, "to
betray us to the False King Maximillion Acorn." A date was listed: Sally recognized it as
three weeks ago.

She glanced back up at the gallows, hoping what she had seen earlier hadn't only
been her imagination. Hoping with a desperation she had never felt before.

The dark shape still hung from one of the cross beams, a rope strung around its
neck. It was completely still.

Sally stared, horrified, into the open eyes on the rotting corpse of Bookshire
Draftwood.

The voice at the back of her mind was still screaming. Now, it was the only
voice. Before she knew what she was doing, she found herself rushing back to the
clearing, back to the still-open portal. What she was running to wasn't as important was
what she was running *from*.