Legal Stuff:

Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters are copyrighted to Service and Games (Sega of America/Japan), DIC entertainment and Archie Comics. Bookshire Draftwood and Packbell are the property of David Pistone.  Some events of the story coincide with Joseph DeLaCroix's 'This Island Floating,' which you can read at my website ' http://graffitiwall.tripod.com. 

This work is protected under copyright law. The author grants his permission for free, unaltered distribution of this work. Any other use is prohibited, and will put you in violation of Title 17 of the US Code regarding Copyright restrictions. Blah blah blah.

Well, I was reorganizing the contents of my new website, The Graffiti Wall, when I sumbled across this artifact and decided to read it. 

God, it was embarrassing.

It's kinda fun, though, to see how my writing style has evolved since I sat down to write my first Sonic fanfic; my style is so different now that, after reading 'Wrath of the Goddess,' I almost can't believe that I wrote it.  Ah, well.  This summer marks my two-year anniversary as a Sonic fanfic writer (!), and I thought it would be fun to re-release this' thing' for a few good laughs.

Somehow I recently felt compelled to redraft a few parts of the story and include numerous cut segments that I found scattered about on my hard drive.  The result is an extra chapter of previously unreleased (however sophomoric) material.  Goody.  Actually, this new draft is quite a bit better than the original in my opinion, and rereading the story has resurrected many fond memories of my beginnings as a (na've) fanfic writer.   Ah, the nostalgia' (gag, sputter, cough, wheeze).

Enjoy!  (Or not')

SJZ

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Stephen Zacharus

WRATH OF THE GODDESS

Based upon the teleplay "The Doomsday Project" by Ben Hurst

Chapter I: "A Matter of Time"

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Five cybernetic fingers drummed quietly on the cold metal within the air duct. The owner of these digits suddenly realized that he was doing this unconsciously.  Where had he learned it? This was such a strange habit for an android to pick up through simple observation.

Packbell shrugged it off (yet another unconscious gesture; he was becoming more human every day) and continued spying on Robotnik and Snively through the vent. Once again, he made sure that his internal scan-blockers were activated'to avoid tripping any of the alarms, of course'and proceeded to make himself slightly more comfortable.

His neural sensors registered various emotions during that particular moment, the most vivid being that of mischievous satisfaction. Packbell allowed himself to chuckle silently. After his supposed "death" (the fools!), Packbell decided it was best to keep his survival a secret, to strike when the time was right, catching them unaware. Besides, Robotnik's Doomsday project was almost underway, and if everything went as Packbell expected...

An evil smile formed on his synthetic lips. All he'd have to do was sweep up the remains; then Mobius would be his for the taking.

Packbell glanced around. This so-called Doomsday Tower was an impressive feat, he'd give Robotnik that much. But first impressions give-way quickly when something is damned for failure, and such was the case with Project Doomsday. Stretching out once more, Packbell was just glad the building had decent-sized ventilation shafts.

If androids possessed such a thing as anxiety, Packbell would have been driven crazy hours ago. Ah, but being a machine had its advantages, with patience ranking moderately close to the top of the list (number one had to be awarded to immortality in Packbell's humble opinion). So it was here Packbell remained'in a ventilation shaft, spying on his former confederates'simply for the pure morbid pleasure of watching his creator's plans blow up in his face, hopefully quite literally. His escape route was planned to perfection: the vent beneath him could be kicked out with ease, and the shaft would take him directly to ground level; he'd be able to get out of there in five seconds flat. From his base in the Dark Mountains, he'd see one hell of a fireworks show.

But the android couldn't help wondering about the slim possibility that something wouldn't go wrong; for that, he made his assurances'an array of powerful thermal explosives located in the reactor-chamber. If the Freedom Fighters didn't do the project in, Packbell would certainly complete the job; on the other hand, if the rebels DID manage to destroy the tower, of which he was infinitely confident, they would simply find themselves "assisted" a tad-bit. With any luck, they'd die in the explosion, too.

Another smile. His plans were flawless. Packbell delighted to think of the project's inevitable failure; a dormant empire would soon be up for grabs... and he'd make sure it was he who collected. It would only be a matter of time'Packbell foresaw his dream becoming reality very soon.

He shook his head suddenly. First unconscious human gestures, now foresight! He was really getting bad.

_________________________

It was dusk. A thunderstorm was passing overhead. Dr. Ivo Robotnik grinned; he loved thunderstorms.

Robotnik sat back at the Doomsday Tower computer terminal, surveying the dormant evil for which he was responsible. Hundreds of superdestructive Doomsday pods manufactured and released hourly... the thought made the rotund overlord squirm with delight.

Robotnik punched a few keys on the terminal; a few moments later, loud opera music filled the room with crystal clarity (via surround-sound speakers that Robotnik made Snively install a few weeks ago). Ivo sighed romantically; opera music always enhanced the thought-process during his diabolical scheming.

To his far right, also at a computer terminal, was his good-for-nothing and aforementioned nephew/minion, Snively. Elbows on knees, head in hands, the needlenosed human let out a groan.

Robotnik was dismayed. "What's the matter, Snively... is it the music?" He cranked up the volume with evil pleasure. "Is that better?" he asked, wearing a mischievous grin.

Snively let his head drop to the terminal.

"No? How about this?" The volume grew even louder, and Robotnik laughed maliciously as he pretended to conduct the music. "The sound comes in quite nicely through those new speakers, wouldn't you agree, Snively?"

No answer. In rage, Robotnik grabbed Snively by the scruff of the neck. "You're going to listen to my damn music whenever it pleases me, and you will LIKE IT!!!" he bellowed, shoving Snively's face against one of the speakers.

Snively whimpered. "Of course, sir! Yes, sir! Your music is very delightful, sir!" he screamed in terror.

Ivo let Snively drop and switched off the music. "Good." Then, changing the subject, the tyrant walked over to the gigantic plexiglas window overlooking the entire pre-nighttime production scene. "Ah, Doomsday... an object of beauty, eh Snively?"

Something in Robotnik's tone demanded a response. "Very lovely, sir," Snively said, knowing he dare not disagree.

"Within 24 hours," Ivo continued, "I will control every inch of this planet... EVERY INCH!" From his terminal, Robotnik retrieved a remote control and pressed it. Almost instantly, the Doomsday Tower roared into hyperproduction mode, all systems running at full potential.

Robotnik grinned. "Now that's beautiful music, Snively!"

Snively nodded, cowering behind his chair. Ironic, he thought, that he actually agreed with his boss for once.  Anything was better than opera, after all.

23 hours, 57 minutes and counting...

_________________________

Pacing circles in Rotor's workshop, Sonic was, naturally, growing even more impatient. "How much longer will it be, Rote?"

Rotor held two vials of self-concocted chemical powder up to the light, making sure he had the correct amount of each. "I'm almost done," the blue hedgehog heard him say, though the portly walrus was probably talking more to himself than anyone else.

Carefully, Rotor poured the two volatile materials into a larger vial, mixed them, and painstakingly filled a small, green balloon with the combined chemicals. He tied-off the end. "There we go... ready, Sonic!"

Sonic zoomed over, eager to try out Rotor's latest invention. He took the balloon into his hands, which was far heavier than its size lead him to believe. After a moment of surprise, Sonic adjusted his strength and swung his arm back. "What's the target?"

Rotor pointed. "That pile of scrap metal."

"I'll give it the ol' fast ball!" Sonic quipped as he wound his arm around and fired the balloon. A split-second later, the scrap metal vaporized in a cloud of hissing, neon-green steam. "Whoa..."

Rotor explained. "Inside the balloon are two chemicals'an explosive agent and a metal-corroding compound. When mixed together, the chemicals vaporize any metal that they touch."

"Way cool! How many of these balloons can you make?"

Rotor inspected his materials. "Probably about... oh... twenty-five?"

"Far out, Rote. I *guarantee* these things are gonna do some serious damage to Robuttnik's Doomsday project." He glanced at his watch. "Yikes! I've gotta speed over to the Lookout Post before I miss my shift. Latersville!"

In a burst of speed that broke the sound barrier, Sonic was gone.

_________________________

It was sometime after his conversation with Robotnik ended that Snively snuck out of the room. He figured he had a good hour or so before Ivo lost interest in Doomsday Pod production and felt the need to go on and on to someone about how brilliant and flawless his plan was, etc, etc, etc. In other words, Snively needed to be brief so his uncle wouldn't discover him missing.

But then again, there'd be no such things to worry about if the hedgehog destroyed the tower while Snively was away. And if not, then an hour would be more than enough time to retrieve his new friend from the Floating Island...

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Bookshire Draftwood sat at his computer, drinking coffee. Bored and tired, the raccoon yawned and stretched, looking sleepily at his watch: nearly 8:30 pm.

"It certainly seems much later," he laughed. Then, suddenly, he had an idea to pass the time. Quickly punching in key commands, Bookshire hacked into Robotnik's mainframe computer system (as he had countless times before) and began browsing around, looking for the latest juicy insider-info. Just out of curiosity, he brought up the Project Doomsday file and went into it.

Upon reading the contents, Bookshire went slack-jawed.

The Doomsday Tower was operational!

Bookshire rubbed his eyes, looked again.  The report he'd read yesterday said the factory would be ready by next week at the earliest; apparently it had been yet another false document that Robotnik had posted. In any case, Bookshire needed to tell someone...

From behind his hut, a sonic-boom sounded. Bookshire knew what that meant, and he wasted no time getting to the door. But alas, the blue hedgehog streaked to the horizon before the raccoon could even open his mouth.

As he hurried to find Princess Sally, Bookshire just hoped that Sonic wouldn't run into trouble.

_________________________

The Lookout Post was located atop one of the tallest trees in the Great Forest. Constructed out of solid pine, the Post provided a comfortable location to spot oncoming threats.

Apparently too comfortable, Sonic noted as he approached: Antoine was fast asleep in his chair.

"Great -- a lot of good this is doing us," Sonic grumbled as he climbed up the ladder. Quietly, he crept up behind the sleeping coyote.

"YO, ANT!!!" the hedgehog screamed.

Antoine woke up with a yelp and tumbled out of the tree with about the same grace as... well, Antoine.

"No! No!" he screamed as he plummeted towards the ground. "I am too young to be dying like zees!"

Awaiting him on ground-level was Sonic, who caught him just in time (he, of course, had planned this from the beginning).

Antoine continued to tremble, crying "Not like zees! Not like zees!" Disgusted with how pathetic he was, Sonic dropped the coyote to the ground. Antoine opened his eyes. "Eh...? Sacre-bleu cheese! I am not squished like zee rug. He, he, he!" Then he noticed Sonic. "Oh! Zees is now your shift, no?"

Sonic was about to answer when he heard a strangely familiar noise in the distance'a soft, electronic hum. Quickly (as if Sonic did anything slowly), he grabbed Antoine and dove behind a bush.

A large, metallic object, roughly saucer-shaped, floated past Sonic and Antoine into the deep of the forest. Almost immediately, red laserbeams shot out from various locations around its circumference and began blasting everything in its sight.

That was all Sonic needed to see. He grabbed Antoine and raced back to Knothole.

"That was a Doomsday Pod!" Sonic's mind screamed as he ran. "Robotnik suckered us..." He burst into the village. "Get ready!" he yelled. "There's a Doomsday Pod headed straight for us!"

ZAP!!! A fiery bolt of plasma slammed down next to Sonic, barely missing him; such marked the Pod's emergence from the forest. But it wasn't the hedgehog that the machine was aiming for. In fact, it wasn't programmed to aim at anything'its purpose was simply to destroy all that it came in contact with... and from the looks of it, the machine was fairing quite well. Among the most urgent matters were the coniferous trees snapping like toothpicks, catching fire from the lasers. If a hydro-team wasn't sent out soon, a forest fire was looking to be inevitable.

Rotor rushed out of his hut just before a flaming tree fell over and crushed it to rubble. "My workshop!" he gasped.

Sonic looked over and noticed that Rotor was (luckily) carrying an armful of his balloons. "Hey Rote, couldja hand me one of those?"

Seconds later, the Doomsday Pod exploded into green flames, vaporized. But celebration was short-lived as Sonic realized even further danger. "We need some help!" Sonic called. "We gotta put out these fires!"

As a group of Freedom Fighters rushed to the scene with buckets of water, Rotor approached Sonic. "These are the only balloons left, Sonic," he said, showing him what he held'only three of them in all. "The others were in my workshop when it was crushed."

"Hey, we're lucky you managed to save these," Sonic reassured him. "But in the meantime, I gotta go talk with Sal..."

_________________________

"The other Freedom Fighter groups have been on alert for weeks," Princess Sally Acorn assured Sonic in the War Room. "Once they get the message, it shouldn't take long for them to get here."

"It won't take long for those pods to wipe everything out, either," Sonic pointed out. "Any idea how many of those things Robuttnik can launch, Sal?"

Sally pulled out her mini-computer. "Nicole'show us the Doomsday Project."

"ACCESSING, SALLY," the computer droned, emitting a holographic projection of the Tower.

"Internal schematics, please'the Pod Launch-Bay." Such was projected. "These are the plans we took from Robotropolis on our last mission," Sally explained to Sonic. "Nicole, give us a capability read-out."

Sally studied the figures for a long moment. 

There was something about Sally's face that worried Sonic. "Sal... what's up?"

The squirrel looked grim. "To the best I can calculate, the factory is capable of releasing hundreds of pods..."

"Hundreds...?"

"...EVERY HOUR." The room went temporarily silent. "We don't have long," Sally continued, "before the pods populate the entire planet."

"Oh man... so that means there's already hundreds out there?"

"At least."

"We gotta move. FAST."

_________________________

"Well this sucks."

Snively pouted from his chair, alone in the control room. He thought that the hedgehog would have surely destroyed the place by now. Disappointing to be sure. The blue demon must have been losing his edge... or perhaps, rather, Snively was. After all, even he admitted that he never was one for intuition.

Well, at least the flight back to Robotropolis took less time than expected, which put him in a slightly better mood. Even more pleasing was the fact that Robotnik didn't even notice that Snively was gone, having since gone downstairs to the Pod Chamber to view Doomsday activity up close (his uncle was really obsessed with that cursed project). In any case, Sniv had a little extra time to check up on his guest.

It took about four minutes by hovercraft to get to Robotropolis from the Tower. Shortly after, Snively arrived at the door of a prison block. The terminal demanded an access code; after a few unsuccessful tries (Robotnik neglected to have personnel maintain these things' proper working order), the code was accepted, and Snively stepped into the room.

"Enjoying your stay?" he asked.

The red echidna, who was sitting on the floor playing cards, looked up. "So far, your 'ospitality isn' impressin' me too much, Snively-Mon."

"I know. My apologies, Knuckles'it's the best I can do. As you can probably tell, we get very few visitors to Robotropolis."

Knuckles nodded. "I can see why" was his unspoken comment.

"Besides," Snively continued, "we can't risk letting Robotnik see you, now can we?"

Knuckles was perplexed. "Why not?"

"Because, Knuckles'Robotnik is the very villain we are trying to put a stop to!"

"Den why don' we put a stop to 'im now, Mon? Remember dat I need to soon get back to m' island. What's with dis waitin'?

Snively put a hand on Knuckles' shoulder. "Robotnik's foolish Doomsday project is bound to fail. Such will be the perfect time to overthrow Robotnik'a period of supreme governmental depression. All we'll have to do afterwards is pick up the pieces and start anew."

"But couldn' we make sure dat dis project be failin', like to sabotage da computer system or somethin'?" Knuckles asked, not quite seeing Snively's point.

Snively grinned. "I already have," the human lied. Then, changing the subject, he pulled out two com-links; he handed one to Knuckles and set his own for Vibration-Mode. "Push the button if you need anything, and I'll be here as soon as possible."

Knuckles nodded and waved, then returned to his card game as Snively left the room.

Outside, after the door hissed shut, Snively groaned. If he was planning on seizing control from Robotnik, he was certainly ill prepared for it. He just hoped Project Doomsday failed as miserably as he expected it to.

As he boarded the hovercraft, Snively thought about Knuckles once again. It seemed like such a waste to let the echidna sit in a prison cell as Doomsday played itself out. He'd mentioned something about sabotage... did Knuckles know anything about computers?

No, Snively decided. How could he? The creature had lived on a floating island all his life. Perhaps Snively could affix some sort of tracking device to the echidna and send him exploring in the Great Forest to find Knothole (Snively would have to conceal true agenda, of course'Knuckles didn't seem like the type to be intentionally evil). At any rate, Knuckles would even blend in with the Freedom Fighters to a certain degree.

No. Upon further thought, Snively decided that such a project should be reserved until after he'd taken over Robotnik's would-be empire. Maybe he could let loose the wild echidna inside the Tower...? Now that might work. Snively could "accidentally" disable the security system and let Knuckles smash the hell out of everything with those huge fists of his'making it even easier for the rebels to destroy the place.

Or... even better... Snively could simply input the Doomsday self-destruct command...

"So many options to consider," Snively grumbled to himself as the hovercraft arrived at the Tower. Only one thing was certain: he didn't have much time to decide.

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[End, chapter one of four]