SEEING STARS
Author: Pat Carson Jr.
* * *
At the Keld'yrian base known as Haven, hidden somewhere on Mobius,
the halls were quiet... Or they would seem so to those who couldn't hear
thoughts... (Translated from Keldii)
*<Ok, what's the status?>*
*<Not good... Robotnik has the Ry'den Star and is en route to
Robotropolis even as we speak>.*
*<Ack... Glad he doesn't know how to use it...>*
*<That's true now, perhaps, but I doubt he will remain ignorant of its
usage for long.>*
*<Yup. And when he _does_ figure out how to use it, both we, and the
remaining people of Mobius are in big trouble.>*
*<I think "Not good" is one heck of an understatement...>*
*<Gods, this is my fault... If we had stayed there to protect it...>*
*<...then you'd both be _dead_. As soon as Robotnik's patrol picked up
the energy signature, the amount of robots he brought to the subbase would
have easily overwhelmed you. Stop blaming yourself for this.>*
*<You're lucky you managed to self-destruct the other equipment there
in time...>*
*<What I wanna know is, HOW did he pick up the energy signature? We had
the subbase well cloaked from whatever sensors Mobius could produce...>*
*<I've got my suspicions...>*
*<Yes, but we'll need proof for those. In the meantime, we need to find
a way to relieve him of the Ry'den Star before it's too late.>*
*<Can't we just go in and take it?>*
*<No, Darius. Too risky. We may be able to teleport in there, but we
can't teleport out of there with it, and he's most certainly not going to
let us destroy it.>*
*<Ya, too many of us there equals too many chances of him getting a
hold of one or two of us, spelling _big_ trouble for Mobius.>*
*<And just one or two of us going in by ourselves would be just plain
stupid...>*
*<I know the Freedom Fighters would most certainly be willing to go in
there, if they knew what was at stake...>*
*<Yes, they would... Perhaps one of us should go to them and inform
them of the threat, and maybe even assist them.>*
*<Hmm.. Perhaps that is the solution then...>*
*<We're gonna be bending the heck out of Rule #3 by doing this...>*
*<Agreed, but given the circumstances, I'd say we're well justified in
doing all the bending we can..>*
*<Yup.>* *<Agreed.>* *<She's right.>* *<Sounds good to me...>*
*<Well, then it's settled. Which group should we contact?>*
*<The group at Knothole is the closest group to Robotropolis, and
Princess Sally Acorn resides there... I'd say them.>*
*<Vision! You've been observing that group for quite some time.
Perhaps you should volunteer for this?>*
Vision just grinned and stood up from his chair. *<I thought you'd
never ask...>*
* * *
In the great forest, at a waterfall in Knothole Village, Princess
Sally was resting against a nearby log watching the clear water flow by,
Nicole closed shut by her side. She liked this spot; It was a beautiful
location, untouched by Robotnik's pollution and dreariness. It reminded
her of what most of Mobius looked like before Robotnik staged his conquest
of the planet. It was a nice place to relax and reminisce...
She was startled out of her rest, however, by a sudden whooshing sound
and rush of air. She quickly turned her head to see a familiar blue
hedgehog standing beside her. "Yo, Sal! News flash from Uncle Chuck!"
Sally caught her breath. "Sonic, you scared me... Can't you announce
yourself without making others jump 10' feet?"
"Aw, c'mon, Sal," Sonic replied with his familiar smirk. "You know
me. I'm just too cool to not make an impression."
Sally rolled her eyes upward. "Whatever, Sonic... What news did
Charles have for us?"
Sonic hopped up and sat on the log. "Robuttnik came across some
abandoned base near the Great Unknown. Everything was trashed there except
for this big, weird crystal, which he brought back to Robotropolis."
"This wasn't a Freedom Fighter base, was it?" Sally asked.
Sonic shook his head. "Nope. No one knows _who_ it belonged to. But
they _do_ know that the crystal holds a way serious amount of power.
Enough juice to light up Robotropolis for years."
"Oh my gosh..." Sally gasped. "Sonic, he could also use something
like that as a powerful weapon!"
"Uh-uh," said Sonic, shaking his head again. "Ol' Robuttnik can't
figure out how to draw the juice out of it. The fat man hasn't got a clue
how to use it."
Sally frowned. "That doesn't mean he won't know how to use it for
long, Sonic..."
Sonic smirked. "No problemo, Sal, we'll just have to take away his
little crystal whatchamacallit before he..."
*Ry'den Star.*
"Yeah! Ridden star!" Sonic then blinked. "Heyyy... Who said that?"
Sally got up, looking a bit alarmed. "Sonic... I don't think anyone
_said_ that... It's almost as if it was..."
*Thought to you?*
Sally gasped, and Sonic jumped off the log, looking around quickly.
"Awright, that's it! Who's there?!"
A rustling sound from behind caught Sonic's attention, and he spun
around to see a bush shaking a bit, then remaining still. "Ok, come outta
that bush and show yourself!"
*Can't do that, blue boy...*
Sonic frowned annoyedly. "And just why not?!"
*'Cause I _am_ the bush.*
Sonic folded his arms, looking even more annoyed. "Yeah, right! And
_I'm_ the queen of the prom!"
*If you say so, your majesty...*
What happened next completely shocked Sonic and Sally both. The bush
glowed brightly, then almost seemed to melt, reshaping itself into
something else rapidly. When the glow faded, it was no longer a bush, but
a grinning red fox holding his hands behind his back. He had a tuft of
hair over his forehead, and his back hair was tied into a short ponytail.
He also wore an odd gold amulet around his neck.
Sonic looked completely flabbergasted. "HUH?! What th'...?!"
Sally looked equally as stunned. _No_ species could change shape like
that... at least no species from Mobius. "Wh-Who _are_ you?"
The fox smiled and walked forward a bit. "The name's Vision,
Keld'yrian shapeshifter and Lord of PEZ, at yer service..." He said with a
bow.
"And _you_ two," He continued, rising back up and grinning, "are
_just_ the Freedom Fighters I've been looking for..."
Sally and Sonic blinked and looked at each other confusedly, then back
at Vision. "For us??" they both said in unison.
"Absoposilutely!" Vision replied, as he walked up to the log and
leaned against it. He pointed at Sonic. "You're Sonic Hedgehog, leader of
the Freedom Fighters, and the biggest thorn in Crazy Ivo's bloated side.
We've enjoyed watching you."
Sonic blinked again, then smirked. "See, Sal? Told ya I had a fan
club." Sally rolled her eyes at that comment.
Vision chuckled, then turned to Sally. "And you are Princess Sally
Alicia, of the house of Acorn. I know you believe that titles are
meaningless out here in the woods, but you are most certainly more
qualified to lead this world than Crazy Ivo ever will be. And far better
looking, in my humble opinion." With that, he kissed her hand cordially.
Sally blushed at the compliment. "Oh.. Thank you..."
"Ahem.." Sonic interrupted, folding his arms and tapping his foot.
"How come you know so much about us, an' we know nothing about you? Like,
what you are, what you're doing here, and why you where looking for _us_?!"
Sally bristled a little at Sonic's callousness. "Sonic, please..."
Vision, however, waved it off. "All perfectly good questions, my
dear. To answer them, lemme spin ya a little yarn about us..." He then
sat down, leaned his back against the log, and began...
"I, and the thirty others of my kind here on Mobius, come from a
world we call Keld'yr. Our people believe in the sanctity of Life and
Freedom, and we like to make friends with other worlds that share that
belief.
"We noticed yer world about thirteen years ago, and listened in on
yer transmissions for a few months, to get a small idea of what you were
like. We became interested, so a small handful of us, including yours
truly, quietly set ourselves up here, to observe you more closely, first by
simply watching everyday events, then after about a year, we began to
interact with you, using our ability to shapeshift to pose as one of yer
kind.
"We watched you for about a year, all through the tail end of the
Great War and past. We watched the King, your father, Sally, bring an end
to the war and order all the warbots dismantled. He wanted to bring about
a new era of peace, where people are ruled by common sense and compassion,
and most Mobians were ready to embrace that change. That was the main
reason we finally decided to make a formal contact with Mobius, first with
the King, then hopefully with all of you.
"Sadly, tho, it was only three days after we that decision when Crazy
Ivo had the unmitigated audacity to make his move towards conquering the
planet. We were as surprised as everyone else was that this happened, and
were lucky to get all of us back to Haven, our main base here..."
Vision looked away, out in the distance, and sighed. "A lot of us
made friends amongst you, only to see most of them get carted away to be
roboticized..."
Sonic interrupted. "Yeah, well, ya coulda' _helped_ us, ya know."
Vision pre-empted another admonishment from Sally by changing shape
again, to face the two, becoming an orange furred cat. "A lot of us
would've, blue boy, were it not for our Third Law."
Sonic blinked. "Third Law?"
"The Third Law," Vision replied, raising his index finger, "which
states: We shall not involve ourselves in the internal politics or
conflicts of any world other than our own. We almost got into a very nasty
war by doing just that, and vowed never to do it again."
"Hmph." Sonic crossed his arms. "How conveeenient..."
Sally glared at Sonic. "Sonic, stop it. It makes perfect sense for
them to have such a law." She then turned back to Vision, ignoring a
"yeah, right." from Sonic. "Please, continue."
Vision smiled. "Thank you. Anywayyy... Soon after the takeover, we
noticed the activity of small resistance groups scattered about Mobius.
We decided to keep secretly observing, always adhering to The Third Law.
"Recently, however, Crazy Ivo has made a small amount of our
involvement necessary, by taking something that belongs to us."
"You mean this 'Ry'den Star'?" Sally asked.
"Vision nodded. "Ry'den Stars are the power source for our main base
and sub-bases. They hold a lot of power within them, and are usually quite
stable, tho you wouldn't want one of your power stones anywhere near one.
Crazy Ivo somehow picked up the energy signature of the one at our sub-base
near The Great Unknown, despite the fact that we had it cloaked, and
stormed in. The two of us stationed there were lucky enough to
self-destruct the rest of our equipment and get out, but now he's got it.
Your fears of what will happen when he figures out how to use it are well
founded, Sally.."
Sally nodded and crossed her arms worriedly. "We can't let him keep
this thing..."
"Yeah.. this is major bad news." Sonic added. He then turned to
Vision. "Hey, if you're so advanced, how come ya just can't take it away
from Robuttnik?"
"Well, lessee.." Vision replied. "We can't teleport it out. Trying
to teleport a Ry'den Star is a _baaad_ idea. To send just one of us in
there is just plain stupid, and if a group of us goes, that increases the
chance of one of us getting caught, and if _that_ happens..."
Sally interrupted. "Robotnik could become so powerful that we _all_
would be doomed..."
"Precisely," said Vision. "We finally decided to send someone, namely
myself, to warn you of the threat. I would also like to assist you in this
endeavor. If possible, we'd like our Ry'den Star back with us. If not,
I'll be responsible for seeing that it's destroyed."
"Either way, it's out of Robotnik's hands..." Sally said
thoughtfully. "Hmm... I think we could most definitely use your help."
Sonic blinked, then shook his head. "Whoa! Time out!" he pulled Sally
aside and said, "I don't trust this guy, Sal, or these Keld'yrians... He
could be working for Robuttnik, or they all could be trying to take over
Mobius for themselves!"
Sally sighed, and said, "Sonic, that's absurd. He obviously knows
where Knothole is. If he was on Robotnik's side, we wouldn't be standing
here right now. And if the Keld'yrians wanted to invade and overtake
Mobius, don't you think they would have done that thirteen years ago??"
"But.." Sonic tried to get a word in, but Sally stopped him. "Sonic,
he knows a lot more about that Ry'den Star Robotnik has, and he's confirmed
my fears about how serious a threat this is. We _need_ his help."
Sonic thought to himself, then grumbled. "Oh, alright, Sal... But I'm
keepin' an eye on this guy!"
"Whatever, Sonic.." Sally said, then walked back to the log. "Vision,
we welcome any help you can give us."
"Keul!" Vision said, hopping up. "We should have a team assembled
ASAP. I don't think Crazy Ivo's gonna be in the dark about how to play
with the toy he has for long."
Sally nodded, and the three of them started towards Knothole's hub,
Vision trailing behind the other two, occasionally commenting on how
fascinating the foliage looked.
"It's amazing..." Sally told Sonic, "That these Keld'yrians have been
watching us for so long, and we had no idea that they even existed..."
"Yeah, well..." Sonic replied, "I'm not sure I like..."
"SONIC!!" Sonic was interrupted by a familiar two-tailed fox bounding
up and hugging him. "Hey, Sonic! Hi, Aunt Sally!!"
"Hey there, little bro'!" Sonic hugged tails back. "How's it goin'?"
"Goin' Great, Sonic! I..." Tails then noticed Vision approaching and
said, "Hey, who's... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!"
He immediately hid behind Sonic from the shapeshifter, trembling.
Sally blinked at Tails' odd behavior, and Vision raised an eyebrow,
saying, "Shyness?"
Sonic glanced at Vision, then looked back down at Tails. "What's
wrong, Tails??"
Tails shakily pointed at the amulet Vision was wearing. "S-s-sonic!
Th-that's the s-same medallion the Headless Gopher dropped where we were
camping!!!"
--
/---------> ##### ##### ##### # <---------------------------------------\
|Peace, -> # # # # # <- Vision (Pat Carson in RealLife(TM)) |
| Love, -> ##### ### # # <- vision_at_quack.kfu.com |
| and -> # # # <- /-----------------------------------\|
\---------> # ##### ##### # <--| Nakedness is a concept created by |/
| Humans with fur envy :) |
\-----------------------------------/
Received on Tue Oct 03 1995 - 08:03:53 PDT