On My Mother's Grave, Part 2

From: Robin Hood <gt6005a_at_prism.gatech.edu>
Date: Sat, 19 Aug 1995 21:42:18 -0400 (EDT)

On My Mother's Grave
A Sonic the Hedgehog story
Written by Kris Kelley. Story by Kris Kelley and Craig Moore.

This story is protected by copyright laws. Feel free to distribute this story,
but the authors do not allow any unauthorized alteration of the story or
distribution for profit.

Part 2

     The group was soon back home in Knothole, and they all went to Sally's hut
to congratulate each other, and to become acquainted with Knothole's newcomer.
     Todd's spirits had lifted when he entered Knothole, and he was looking
excitedly around, taking it all in. He still wasn't saying much, though, and
Sally decided to prompt him.
     "So, tell us about yourself, Todd," she said.
     Todd looked at her and shrugged, saying, "I've just always wanted to find
this place and meet you all. I've heard a lot about you."
     Sally smiled. "Well thank you, Todd, but that doesn't tell us much about
you. Where are you from? How did you know about us?"
     "Yeah," Sonic chimed in, "and what were you doing all alone back in
Robo-ville? That's not a way to easy living, you know!"
     Todd sighed and looked away from them. "It's a long story."
     "Hey! We got time," Sonic said, and the others nodded in agreement.
     Todd turned around, his face looking weary, having lost some of the
enthusiasm. "Okay." He looked for a place to sit, and did so. "Should I start
at the beginning?"
     "That's usually the best place."
     Todd nodded.

     "I used to live in a small village close to the edge of the Great Forest,
north of what I guess used to be Mobotropolis. It was just me and my mother,
because my father had disappeared when I was real young. I don't really
remember too much about it, I just know that I was happy and my Mom loved me.
And then...that day...it was my sixth birthday, no less..."

     Todd's mind went back to that fateful day nearly a decade ago: the day of
the coup. After taking over the city, Robotnik's forces, with Packbell in
command, quickly spread all over the northern continent, enslaving the
populations of every city and village they could find. It was Packbell himself
who had seen to the areas surrounding Mobotropolis, including the Great Forest,
and Todd's village...

     Cammy held her young son close to her. She, her son, and the rest of the
villagers (those who had survived the raid) were in a hovercraft, being taken to
somewhere in the newly rechristened Robotropolis. There was no sound, save the
whine of the hovercraft's motors and the occasional sob from somewhere within.
The raid had been very quick, and in under ten minutes all the villagers had
either been forced into the hovercraft, or were dead. Now, they were being
taken away, and none of them had any idea where. Cammy cradled her son, trying
to shield him from the fear that was tearing her apart.
     Todd, having no idea what was going on, buried himself in his mother's
chest fur, not wanting to look out. What was supposed to be a day of
celebration for him had turned upside down, and now, all he felt was fear. He
cried, and Cammy held him tighter.
     Eventually, the hovercraft stopped, and the villagers were hoarded out of
it and soon found themselves in a wide open room, housing nothing but a raised
podium. There they were made to wait, as if dared to imagine what their unknown
fates were. And then, Dr. Ivo Robotnik and his android commander entered the
room. Robotnik stepped up to the podium and Packbell stood by his side, laser
rifle in hand.
     "Citizens of Mobius," Robotnik began, "I am sure you are all quite confused
and curious about what is going on here." He chuckled. "It is all very simple
really. I, Dr. Ivo Robotnik, formerly known to you all as Julian, Minister of
War, have decided that his majesty King Acorn is unworthy to rule, and therefore
I have...persuaded him to step down and allow me to take his place. Now, what
does this mean to you all?" He paused, looking around at the frightened faces,
grinning with evil pleasure. "I am pleased to tell you that your lives will
become much easier to live. No longer will you be burdened with the uncertainty
of deciding what to do with yourselves. Gone will be the regrets of having
taken the wrong steps in life. Thanks to modern technology, something that
King Acorn never had an appropriate appreciaton for, you will be sent through a
process called 'roboticization', where you will become living robots, existing
only to serve my purposes." Robotnik could still see fear in the faces in the
room, but he also noticed disbelief and anger in a few as well. That will
change, he thought. "Perhaps some of you have not heard about the work of Sir
Charles Hedgehog and do not believe that such a thing is possible. In that
case, let us go ahead and demonstrate this remarkable technology to you all.
Packbell."
     The android nodded in reply, and motioned to the Swat-Bots at the edge of
the room. Soon, the crowd was escorted out of the room and deeper into the
building, finally coming to a room not quite as big as the one before, dominated
by machinery surrounding a huge glass cylinder. Robotnik rubbed his hands
together in gleeful anticipation. "Now, citizens, who wants to be the first
volunteer?" His eyes slowly scanned the room, finally resting on a trembling
female squirrel near the far edge of the crowd. "You. Swat-Bots, bring her
here."
     The young squirrel shrieked in terror, but Robotnik seemed deaf to it as
the Swat-Bots literally dragged her from the crowd up to the glass cylinder.
Robotnik pressed a button, and the cylinder slowly raised, allowing the
Swat-Bots to place her on the pad the cylinder had surrounded. Before she could
react, the cylinder slid down again, imprisoning her inside, her screams no
longer heard outside the encasement. Robotnik pressed another button, and a
steady whine gradually increased in volume. The roboticizer was charging.
"Now," he said slowly, deeply, "watch carefully."
     The crowd was taken completely by surprise as the squirrel was suddenly
engulfed in a searing yellow light, and they gasped in horror as she transformed
right before their eyes. Fur and skin became metal. Eyes glowed red. Her
arms, which had been pounding against the cylinder in panic, ceased their
movement and hung loosely at her sides. Finally, it was over, and the cylinder
slid up again, revealing a robot where a living squirrel had once been.
Somebody screamed. Somebody else fainted. Cammy clutched Todd even tighter, a
tear wetting her cheek fur.
     Robotnik only smiled. "The process is a quick one, as you see, and it is
not specific to gender, age, or species. Remarkable, is it not? Now, who will
be next?" Once again he made a point of looking around slowly, until finally he
chose a male fox, not much older than a kit, being held in his mother's arms.
"You."
     "NO!!" Cammy screamed, holding Todd away from the Swat-Bots' reach. "I
won't let you! He's just a child!"
     Robotnik slowly walked over to her and glared, emphasizing every syllable
as he stated, "There is nothing to gain from resistance, for you will be
roboticized as well. Now. Give - him - to - me!"
     Cammy shouted her denial again and then, in her panic and anger, the
vulpine instincts of her ancestors took over, and she clamped her muzzle down on
Robotnik's arm. Todd fell out of her arms and quickly ran behind her, only to
be roughly picked up and held by the Swat-Bots.
     Robotnik howled in pain and surprise, but Packbell was swift, rushing over
and forcefully removing her from his arm. Robotnik doubled over, his other arm
clutching the wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. But then, he looked
back up, and slowly began walking over to where Packbell was holding her. He
stopped in front of her, doing nothing but glaring at her for one long minute.
Then, he seized her out of Packbell's grasp, one hand getting a firm grip on her
neck. He turned and looked at Todd. "Say goodbye, young fox." Anger burned in
his eyes as he tightened his grip until...
     *SNAP*
     "MOMMY!!" Todd cried out. He struggled against the Swat-Bots and somehow
found himself freed from their clutches. Todd wanted to run to his mother, but
in one quick second he looked at her, he looked up at Robotnik, and something
inside him took over. He found himself bolting for the doorway, running as fast
as he could.
     Almost instantly Packbell had the laser rifle aimed, but before he could
fire, Robotnik pushed it down. "Let him go," he said. "He will learn his
lesson soon enough. He'll never make it out of the city alive." He dropped
Cammy's lifeless body to the floor, and glared at the remainder of the crowd.
"Packbell, see to it that the rest of these prisoners are processed smoothly,
using any means necessary. Swat-Bots," he pointed to Cammy, "see to that." He
turned and walked out of the room, holding his wounded arm.
     Robotnik had been wrong. Todd, by nothing short of a miracle, had managed
to find his way out of Robotropolis. It was a small victory, however. He was
now completely on his own, and he had not the slightest idea where he could go
or even what he needed to do to stay alive...

     Todd paused. It was difficult to continue. "I don't remember what
happened right after that too well. I was in the Great Unknown somewhere,
half-dead when I was found by a group of travellers also escaping Robotnik. I
was with them for several years after that, as we wandered all over, trying to
stay away from the patrols. One of them, a wolf named Sebastian, was a master
of many martial arts, and the others had looked to him as their leader. He
liked me and trained me to fight. We lived as best we could, hiding where we
could, and constantly moving so Robotnik wouldn't be able to trap us. And then
one day, a few months ago, we met up with another group of travellers. They had
a storyteller with them, and that night we all sat around a fire listening to
him. One of his stories was about a village somewhere in the Great Forest,
where a hedgehog who could move faster than sound led a group of animals in
fights against Robotnik." Todd smiled. "You guys."
     "Whoa!" Sonic said. "Ya hear that, Sal? They're already writing stories
about us!"
     Sally merely rolled her eyes, chuckling.
     Todd continued. "Soon after that I decided to leave, and I found my way
back to the Great Forest. I wanted to find you guys, to meet those who were
actually putting up a fight against Robotnik, and maybe..." His voice trailed
off, but that look of hope was again in his eyes.
     Sally was pretty sure what he was about to say, but there was still one
unanswered question. "So, Todd, what were you doing in Robotropolis?"
     Todd looked down. "I had wandered all over the Great Forest looking for
this place, but I never found it. And then, this morning, I found myself near
the edge of the forest, looking at the city. I thought about what Robotnik did
to my mother..." He hesitated. "I just wanted to find something, anything I
could do to hurt him."
     Sally shook her head. "You wouldn't be able to do anything, alone like
that. You're very lucky you weren't captured and roboticized."
     Todd shrugged.
     Sonic tried to cheer him up. "Well, you're here now, bud! Come on, we're
gonna have us a party tonight!" He turned to the others and threw his fist in
the air. "We did it!"

     That night, the Freedom Fighters and most of the villagers sat around a
campfire. Sonic was telling the story of their mission with his usual bravado,
receiving gasps of astonishment from many, as well as the occasional snicker
from those who had been with him. Todd was there as well, and he had been
introduced to many of Knothole's residents, and his spirits were high. He had
finally found Knothole. Did he finally have a place to call home? More
importantly, he thought:

     Will I finally be able to pay Robotnik back?

To be continued.
Received on Sat Aug 19 1995 - 22:45:25 PDT