Chapter 1
		The return of Slasher

By K. M. Hollar
_______________________________________________________________________
	It was cold; bitterly cold. Sonic the Hedgehog shivered and
 wished he could curl up.
	But he couldn't, for heavy chains bound his hands and feet. The 
chains were cold, and hurt his raw wrists and ankles. They held him 
motionless and immobile, locked to the wall.
	He was lying partly on his side with his back to the icy cement 
wall. He pressed his face against the cold stone floor and tried to 
fight the waves of pain that washed over him. It was almost a physical 
pain, for his heart was heavy and aching. He felt like crying, but he 
wouldn't let himself. No, he mustn't cry, for in a way it would be 
admitting Robotnik had won.
 	But that didn't prevent Sonic from feeling sick. He wouldn't have
felt so bad if he was all alone in the prison, for then he would have 
had the comforting thought that everyone at Knothole village, the 
Freedom Fighters, would be planning a rescue attempt. But even this 
was denied him.
	Vivid was the memory of Knothole village going up in flames,
and the invading robots shooting their stunners. Next came the memory of
all the Freedom Fighters chained together and dragged away to the prison. 
Robotnik had chosen it specially, for although it was small, it was 
built with more security measures than the others. He had thrown 
everyone into the cells at the far end of the prison block, and locked 
Sonic into this end. On top of it all, he had chained Sonic
hand and foot, sure he would never escape this time. The outside
of the building was surrounded with the toughest of the SWAT-bots as 
well, insuring security.
	It was all these factors combined that was making Sonic feel 
heartsick. That and the memory of his friends' faces as they were led 
away. Not to mention Tails's pitiful Despairing cry as he looked back 
at Sonic and saw him powerless in the grip of five SWAT-bots.
	It was a cold November night. It was bone-chilling damp with a 
thick fog. Icy cold breezes stirred the mist and wafted in through the 
metal bars of the prison door. Sonic's cell was located directly across 
the hall from the door, and he received the full force of the chilly 
night.
	Sonic huddled up, desperately trying  to get warm. His skin felt
clammy and wet, and the cold draft felt like an icy whip. A bit of light
shown in from a streetlight attached to a building a short distance
away.  Every so often a big robot would clump by, it's operational 
lights flashing hazily through the mist. Sonic shivered again and 
closed his eyes. He lay still for a long time, wishing he was a 
million miles away.
	Now, unknown to anyone, the cell Sonic was in was contaminated 
with a very virulent bacteria. This was the reason Robotnik didn't 
usually put anyone in that particular cell, for anyone left in it for 
any length of time usually died. (Ivo had never bothered to find out 
why.) And now, with each breath that Sonic drew, the deadly germs 
entered his system. The strain of bacteria was so infectious that 
if anyone was exposed to it they would be flat-out sick in a matter 
of hours. It was like a poison.
	Sonic had had a very large dose of this bacteria, and it was
beginning it's deadly work.
	The cold seemed to intensify until Sonic was certain icicles
were forming on his face. Miserable, he sat up and leaned against the
wall. His head swam and he seemed to see bright lights in front of his eyes.
	Uh-oh, he thought. There's something wrong with me.
	He was so cold it was almost agony. He curled up as much as
the cruel chains would allow and wondered why he felt so crummy. The
answer was not long in coming.
	The fever heat started in his head, then quickly spread to the 
rest of his body. His temperature rose until he could no longer sit up, 
but had to lie down and rest his throbbing head.
	Man, I wonder what I caught, he thought. I never got sick so fast
in my life. This is awful.
	The prison seemed to pitch and roll like the deck of a ship. 
Everything wavered before Sonic's fevered eyes. After a while, he 
found himself too weak to even sit up again. He began to drift in and 
out of consciousness, the fever doing strange things to his mind.
	Sally, one of the Freedom Fighters, seemed to be standing in the 
cell. She was about as tall as Sonic, but a light brown all over, with 
lighter stripes running down her face and ending at her nose. Her bangs 
hung over her eyes in a soft forelock. She was crying. "Sonic, oh Sonic! 
Help me!" Sonic opened his eyes and reached out, but she was not there.
	Hallucination, he thought. I've never been delirious before. 
This is wierd.
	All of his friends paraded themselves through Sonic's head, each 
one acting so lifelike that Sonic couldn't help reacting to them. Last 
of all were Tails and--to his surprise--Knuckles. The red echidna was
standing before him; so lifelike in his usual pose that Sonic couldn't 
help but wonder. He had only met Knuckles once or twice--and why was 
he with Tails? As this went through Sonic's head, Knuckles looked down 
at him and said, "Hiya, Sonic. Whatcha doin' layin' on the floor like 
that?" Sonic started and stared around, but the cell was empty.
	Unnerved, Sonic lay back down again, hating the fever for
doing such bizarre things to his brain. He decided he wouldn't close
his eyes again, but they kept sneaking shut in spite of him.
The fever hallucinations set in again; Sonic lay still and watched
entire movies on the silver screen of his mind.
	It grew late. The icy cold fog thickened as the night wore on.
Sonic sank into an uneasy sleep, unconsciously fighting the chains.
He woke himself up after a while, and found himself stretched out on
the floor, hands reaching as far as they could, feeling along the
ground.
	That's dumb, he thought.
His hand touched something; a small object. His fingers closed around
it and drew it toward him. At first glance he thought it was just a
piece of pipe or something, but closer examination revealed it was
flattened and pointed at one end.
	A rusty old dog whistle, he thought, feeling something between 
disgust and disappointment. The feel of it was somehow familiar. He 
turned it over and over in his hot palm. The rusted surface bore 
several raised letters. Sonic wearily pulled himself into a sitting 
position and tried to make out what it said.
	The letters had been all but worn away from much handling. Somebody
had used this whistle many times before. He looked at it, straining his
eyes to see through the gloom, but he couldn't make it out. Curious,
he traced the first letter with his finger. It was an S. The following
letter was almost obliterated, so he moved to the next. It was an N.
The next was an I, and the next a C.
	"S, something, N, I, C. Could that be Sonic?"
	As he spoke his name he looked down at the whistle. To his surprise
he saw the S begin to glow in electric blue. The color spread to the
next, which was an O, then to the rest of the letters. "Cool," he breathed
in awe. The whistle began to glow a dull red, gradually brightening.
Sonic watched it for a moment before he realized that the glow was
produced by heat. Startled, he dropped it on the ground and looked at
his hand. He wasn't burned in the least, nor had he felt anything. Really
curious and forgetting all about his fever, he picked it up again. It
began to glow once more, but it still wasn't even remotely hot. As an
experiment, he touched the glowing whistle to the damp wall and
listened to the sizzle and hiss of water on hot metal.
	He withdrew it from the wall and held it in his hand again.
The red turned orange, then faded into white. As it did,
it crossed his mind that maybe it could melt metal. He touched it
to one of the chains that bound his leg, and watched with amazement
as it melted it's way through the iron like a hot knife through butter.
	He unchained himself this way, and found that he could
feel heat from the melting metal, but not from the whistle itself.
	"Weird," he muttered. He tried to stand up, but his fever had weakened
him so much he couldn't. He slumped down against the wall and
considered melting through the cell's bars, but thought,
	What's the use? I'm not strong enough to free the others, and what good
is one little whistle against fifteen SWAT-bots?
	Glumly he stared at the whistle, still glowing, in his hand.
His name was energized in electric blue. He fingered the whistle,
and wondered how he knew, somehow, how the thing felt from all angles
without needing to touch it.
	I wonder what would happen if I blew it? he thought to himself.
	Aloud, he mumbled,
	"Well, you whistle, what are you for?"
	A chill ran over him, for, as if in reply, another name appeared below
his. The letters were all in scarlet. "SLASHER."
	"Slasher," Sonic murmured. The name brought back a flood of memories;
places, faces, good times, all long forgotten.
	Sonic swallowed hard and angrily wiped his eyes with the back of one hand.
"No crying now, ya wimp," he said to himself. He studied the whistle again.
What were the signals? Slowly it came back to him. Clear as a bell he remembered
Slasher saying, "One blast for 'come.' Three blasts for 'come quickly.'
Five blasts for 'help, my life is in danger.' Wherever you are, I will be
able to hear these whistles, and will come as fast as I can."
	Whistles? Oh yeah, Tails had had one, too. One, three, and five. I'll
blow five, `cause our lives _are_ in danger. Good excuse.
	Sonic brought the whistle to his lips, drew a deep breath, and
blew it five times. It was silent; Sonic couldn't hear it. From
further down the cell block came a sharp cry. Tails, who had been asleep,
leaped to his feet and covered his ears. His hearing was sensitive
enough to catch some of the frequency. Almost without thinking, he
counted the number of blasts. Five. He moved to the front of his cell
and called, "Sonic, your whistle! Where did you find it?"
	Sonic didn't answer. He was staring through the prison door and
outside into the foggy night.
	Where is she? he thought. His attention was drawn by a dark figure
rounding the corner of a building. After a moment's scrutiny he sighed,
disappointed. It was not the figure he expected; this was either human
or a robot.
	The dark figure was approaching the prison block. Sonic watched
it dispiritedly. He heard the robotic voice of a SWAT-bot snarl,
"Halt! State your identity and business!" The figure replied in a low
voice, "I'm your boss, and my business is none of yours." Robotnik. The
robots let him pass. Robotnik advanced to the barred door and unlocked
it. He swung the door open with a rusty screech and looked around inside
the darkened building. Sonic knew he couldn't see by the way he stood
in the doorway and let his eyes adjust. Slowly Sonic moved the glowing
whistle behind his back, hoping Robotnik hadn't seen it. Apparently the
doctor had not, for he said nothing.
	Sonic's eyes were drawn outside again by a sharp movement. Across
the courtyard came a very large black shape--it was really hauling.
He gasped and drew himself up against the wall, staring. He knew exactly
who it was, but it still unnerved him. He had forgotten how fast Slasher
could run. She was the only creature alive who had ever out-run him, but
somehow he loved her the more for it. And here she was again, streaking
through the mist, charging at Robotnik's back.
	Robotnik had no clue. He had come out to make sure Sonic was still in
his cell, and was cursing inwardly because he had forgotten to bring a
flashlight. He started to turn around, thinking to call one of the SWAT-
bots and use it's headlight to see. He never got the chance. Slasher hit
his back doing seventy-five. It felled him like a bowling pin.
His head hit the pavement with a solid clank; Ivo was out like a light.
The big velociraptor crouched over him, ready to rend him limb from limb
if he moved. He didn't.
	"Good one, Slasher," Sonic called softly. The big raptor lifted her
head, moved to the bars and gripped them with both three-fingered hands.
	 "Sonic, I'm back. I can't believe it, but I'm back!"
	Her eyes glowed with muted affection.
	"Slasher, get me out of here. There's something wrong with me. . . ."
	Slasher whirled around and began to frisk Robotnik's fallen form.
After a few seconds she produced a key ring. She stuck one of the keys in the
lock and twisted it hard. The lock snapped open. She swung the door open with
a protesting screech and stepped inside to help Sonic. She froze, big body
suddenly tense. She stood motionless for a few seconds, head moving in short,
nervous jerks, nostrils flaring.
	"This cell's infected," she said uneasily. "I can smell it."
	"Yeah," Sonic replied, "and I caught it. Help me, I can't stand up."
	Slasher scooped him up in her forearms. She eyed the glowing whistle and
said, "Keep a tight hold on that. While it glows only the Master emerald has
more power." She turned to leave the prison, but Sonic said, "Slasher, my
friends--Tails, too--all of them are in this prison. Get `em out, `kay?"
	She bobbed her head to acknowledge, then glided up the hallway. Everyone
gasped at the gigantic creature and shrank back, but Tails recognized her
and bounded forward.
	"Slasher! Thank goodness you're here! Get us outta here, please?"
	 Slasher unlocked the cell door with one hand and let Tails out.
	"Hey, what's the matter with Sonic?"
	"He caught something and is major-league sick. Is everybody here your
friend?"
	Tails looked around. "Uh-huh. The entire Freedom Fighter band is here."
	Slasher looked around at all of them and sighed. "Sonic, give me
your whistle." Wordlessly Sonic handed it to her.
	Slasher ran her finger across her own name to charge it to herself,
then began swiping it through the cells' bars. Back and forth she went,
slicing through the metal with the whistle like she was hacking through
a jungle with a machete. The bars crashed to the ground like so much scrap,
and one by one the Freedom Fighters were released.
	 They stepped out nervously, eyeing the big raptor with distrust.
Tails was reassuring. "C'mon, guys, she's a friend. Hurry up, she's not
gonna hurt anybody."
	"Except Robotnik," Slasher put in. "Let's scram before he wakes up."
She led them to the open door and fearlessly stepped out. Sonic, in her arms,
stiffened and hissed, "Slasher, the SWAT-bots!"
	"Don't worry about them," she said to him and the others.
She pointed off over several buildings to their left. A red glow lit up the mist.
"The SWAT-bots were called away because of an emergency situation in
the fuel station."
	"Is it a fire?" Sally asked.
	"Uh-huh. It was very nice of them to leave a flame thrower
on a shelf in the station. Heh heh. Let's jam before the fire reaches the
things of rocket fuel."
	As the last of the group stepped out of the prison, Slasher shut
the door and locked it with Robotnik still inside. She dropped the keys
on the ground in front of the door, then turned to face the edgy Freedom
Fighters.
	"All right," she said, "stick close. The fog is very thick tonight,
so it will be easy to get separated and lost. Because of Sonic's condition
I can't come back until tomorrow to look for anyone. Now--" she looked down
at Sonic's motionless form--"let's speed."
	They were off. Slasher settled into an effortless swinging stride that
kept everyone else at a jog. She led them down dark alleys and ill lit back
streets, keeping always to the shadows. They had only been on the move about
five minutes before there was a thunderous explosion, and the sky reflected
a bright orange glow for a moment. "My first sabotage mission," Slasher
muttered to herself. "I did pretty well, I think." Sally heard her, and
had a feeling that this big creature would be running the Freedom Fighters
before long.
	In the fog the little group was nearly invisible. They proceed without
a sound, strung out alongside and behind, but Tails and Sally stayed on
Slasher's right and left. They didn't want to lose sight of Sonic. Sonic was
curled up tightly with his burning face pressed against Slasher's chest. The
warmth of her big body was wonderful to his chilled form. Slasher could
feel that he was burning with fever, but he was sweating and already
had a bad chill.
	 At last they made it out of Robotropolis. Slasher led them on a straight
path across the plains and into the woods that faced the city. They kept going
until they were a fair distance in, then stopped to make sure nobody had gotten
lost. All there. "Where to next?" she asked them. They all looked at each other
blankly. "Well," said Bookshire, an old raccoon, "I'd say Knothole, but it's been
burned to the ground."
	"Well," said Slasher, "don't you have an alternate village where you could
go in a case like this?"
	This thought had never even occurred to the Freedom Fighters.
Slasher snorted at them, "Smart bunch you are."
	She sighed and looked down at Sonic again. Everything was quiet for
a few moments, the only sound being the drip-drip of moisture from the wet
trees. Slasher bowed her head, eyes glittering fiercely, trying to figure out
what to do next.
	One by one the different creatures approached Sonic and looked at him anxiously.
He was cradled in Slasher's muscular arms, and was trembling with cold.
He opened his eyes and looked at them miserably.
	Slasher's voice broke the silence. "I know where we can go. But it's a
long way, and those who are already tired I'll carry on my back." She looked around
at the circle of faces. Tails asked, "How far is it?"
	"About five miles. We only have about half a mile to go until we reach
the trail, and that covers the other four and a half."
	Tails said without hesitation, "I'll ride."
Slasher crouched down and let him climb up.
"What about the rest of you?" she asked.
	Sally stepped forward. "Frankly, I'm just worried about Sonic. Let's get
moving; we can talk on the way."
	"Wait," Sonic said hoarsely. "Slasher, I'll die if I get any colder.
Can you carry me under a wing? I can't take another hour of this."
	"Wing?" everyone gasped, looking at Slasher in surprise.
She shrugged. "Yeah, I've got wings, but in the dark nobody's' noticed
`em." She rolled her eyes. "The next question is usually, 'are you a
dragon'. No, I am not. I am a winged velociraptor. I'll explain everything
later."
	She spread one of her broad feathered wings and placed Sonic in the
warm hollow between it and her side. When she folded her wing back, Sonic
was held securely underneath, but with enough room to be comfortable. "Poor
guy," she murmured. "He's burning up, but he's shaking all over." Sternly
she looked around. "Let's rip."
	Slasher turned left and the rest of the group followed her. For some
reason, the going was just a bit easier than walking through the woods
normally. It was as if there was a ghost of a trail they were following.
Some places were as overgrown as the rest of the forest, however, and
Slasher would have to stop and claw her way through. Then she would turn
and help the others.
	Needless to say, they were all wet, cold and miserable after an
hour of this. Sonic was curled up inside Slasher's wing and seemed to be
asleep, but it worried Slasher. Little by little she kept stepping up the
pace. The Freedom Fighters traveled faster to keep up, but
without noticing. They were tired and footsore, and some of them were
nearly asleep on their feet. Only Sally still walked with a firm step
beside Slasher. She didn't know if she trusted the big raptor yet, but
Sonic and Tails sure seemed to.
	Sally puzzled over that for a long time. Slasher seemed to know
Sonic and Tails like the back of her hand, and they knew her the same
way. Sonic had known about her wings, about being able to ride under
one. Even Tails, who was now lying nearly flat along Slasher's back,
dozing, could ride better than the others behind him. But how? When?
Sally sighed. Slasher had promised a full explanation, and they would
all get it sooner or later.
	Provided Sonic survived.
	Slasher was worrying about him as she strode along. Her agile mind
worked hard as she concentrated on where they were going and tried to
remember exactly what kind of disease Sonic had at the same time. The
smell in the cell had given her a hint. It was a sweetish-sickly odor
that the bacteria produced. Memories associated with that scent were not
pleasant. As Slasher remembered more about it, she also recalled the
treatment and cure.
	Every now and then, as they walked, one of Slasher's clawed hands
would drop down, snag a leaf or a bit of bark, and transfer it to her
other hand. Another hour passed, and she began to have a rather
sizable bundle.
	 At last she stopped. Everyone bumped into her from behind,
but their complaints were hushed by two words from Slasher. "We're here."
She stood still, head slowly turning this way and that, scanning
the area for badniks. Five minutes passed. "All right, the area's secure.
Follow me."
	They stepped out of the trees into a sizable clearing. In the center
was one of the biggest trees in Mobius. It had to be ten feet across. The
spreading branches didn't begin for fifty feet up the trunk. "What are we
doing here?" Sally asked wearily. Without a word, Slasher walked up to the
trunk, inserted her long claws into a strip of bark and pulled. A large, bark-
paneled door swung silently outward, revealing darkness within the tree.
	Most of them were too tired to appreciate this, but Sally stared
open-mouthed. "What in the world--?"
	"I'll explain later," Slasher interrupted impatiently. "This is
the place, everybody. C`mon in."
She turned and entered the tree. The Freedom Fighters followed, Sally last
of all.
	It was pitch black inside, and they could hear Slasher fooling
around with something. There was the scratch of a match being struck.
In the sudden flare of light they saw Slasher light a propane lantern
and adjust it. The light revealed what looked like the inside of a regular
cabin.  Bunks were carved into the walls like lockers, and a  stone
fireplace dominated half the room. There was a small store of supplies
on several shelves, six feet above the floor.
	The room was small, but cozy. With all of them in it, it was kind
of cramped. Slasher noticed this, and told everybody to pick a bunk and
get into it until she had things arranged. There were only five bunks,
so Sally, Tails and Roter sat on the floor. Slasher built a fire in the
fireplace, and took several pairs of blankets down from a shelf and
handed them out. A few more were needed to bed down the three on the
floor. And then Slasher turned her full and undivided attention to Sonic.
	She spread several blankets on the floor beside the fireplace,
and took Sonic out from under her wing. He was in a dazed fever-sleep.
Slasher wrapped him up in another blanket and gave him a drink of
water from a big keg in the corner. It was soothing to his tortured
system. Slasher's green eyes looked him over several times, and the
signs she saw were not good. He was fighting a losing battle and
desperately needed help from the outside. Slasher took the bundle of
things she had snagged out in the woods and crushed them in her hands.
A strong, spicy smell, like crushed mint, spread through the room. She
dumped the whole mess into a small bag and tied the top shut. Next she
took a small kettle from it's hook and filled it full of water, and
hung it from a bar that ran crosswise through the fireplace.
	 Slasher turned back to her friend. His eyes were open and
following her. She crouched down beside him and looked into his eyes.
They were clouded by the fever. He shivered uncontrollably.
The big velociraptor took him into her arms and held him close. Several
feet away, Sally propped herself up on one elbow and watched her
suspiciously. But what Slasher did came as a shock to her. The big
creature bowed her head, closed her eyes, and prayed. Sally listened
in amazement as Slasher humbly asked the Lord to heal her friend.
She spoke partly in the tongue of `raptors, for it was in her own
language she was able to express her emotions. She prayed for a
long time, speaking softly, now and then lapsing into raptor.
	When she was finished, Sonic had drifted off again. She gently
put him down, then attended to the process of brewing a strong antibiotic
out of the herbs. This took around twenty minutes, and by the time it was
made Sonic was awake again. This time he was fully functional and
coherent. Restlessly he sat up and looked around.
	"Where are we?" he asked Slasher.
	"A temporary shelter," was the reply.
	"I don't feel very good," Sonic continued. "My head hurts
and I'm dizzy."
	"That's because of your fever. Drink this. It'll help your body
fight off the disease."
	Slasher handed him a mug full of a steaming liquid. Sonic sipped
it and made a face. "Yuck. This is bitter, Slash."
	"It's medicine. You're not supposed to like it."
	"No kidding."  Sonic drank a little more, watching Slasher the
whole time. As soon as she turned her back, he looked over at Sally
and pretended to throw up. Slasher turned back around and saw him.
"Well, you haven't lost your sense of humor, that's for sure."
	Sonic managed to get down the rest of the medicine, but not without
grimacing at every swallow. He shuddered as he handed the cup back to
Slasher and lay down again. "Gross," he muttered. He sighed and curled
up in the blankets. A few minutes later he was asleep.
	He slept the rest of the night, which wasn't really a long time, for
the night was almost over anyway. Slasher watched him constantly,
listening to his breathing, once in a while reaching over and
feeling his forehead.
	Morning came and found the Freedom Fighters asleep in their
respective bunks. Sally, Tails and Roter were sleeping soundly on the floor.
Across the room from them, Sonic was curled up in several blankets with
Slasher stretched out beside him. The big velociraptor was not asleep
but seemed to be, for her eyes were half-closed and the fire in them
had died down somewhat. She was a little tired, and felt as if she was
the one fighting the disease instead of Sonic. But her heart was singing
in victory, for Sonic's fever had broken and he was sleeping normally.
 Silently she thanked her Maker the antidote had worked.
___________________________________________________________________					
Chapter 2
 	The resurrection of Knothole
___________________________________________________________________
	"All right guys, push!"
 	Slasher threw her weight into the rope harness, dug her feet in and
pulled. The ropes were attached to a ten-foot beam buried in the
rubble of one of the huts that had been part of Knothole village. Antoine,
Roter, Sonic, and Bunnie Rabbot were behind the beam, pushing as hard as
they could. For a few muscle-cracking seconds nothing seemed to be
happening. Slasher gave a determined growl, put her head down and
flung her weight against the harness in short, rapid jerks. With a
groan the beam gave way, tumbling out of it's resting place.
Working as a team (and arguing the whole way), they hauled it
to one of the piles of recovered lumber, a short distance away.
By the time they reached their destination, everyone had broken out
in a sweat and was breathing hard.
	Slasher slid out of the harness and said, "Good work, team."
She picked up a battery-powered drill and a hammer and set to work
pulling out renegade nails and two metal braces.
	It had been two weeks since that eventful night. They had all
lived in hiding until Slasher was certain that going
back to Knothole would not be too dangerous. Robotnik had been furious
that they had managed to escape, (and that they had had the nerve to
lock him in his own prison), and had sent scouting ships with five
or six SWAT-bots each to watch Knothole for a week, assuming
the Freedom Fighters would head for home.
	Slasher had done some scouting herself, and knew the whereabouts
of every visiting hovercraft. She watched the robots from a  distance as
well, monitoring their movements.
	Robotnik eventually quit sending out the robots, figuring the
group had headed for one of the southern Freedom Fighter bands.
	Now they were relocating Knothole. Slasher had found a new
location further back in the woods, so they were salvaging what they
could from the charred ruins of the former village. The robots hadn't
done a very good job of pillaging, so there were still things
to be found in the rubble. Everybody had found something belonging
to them.
	All were cheerful, even on this gloomy, overcast December
day. It was damp and chilly, for after the fog had blown away it had
rained for the past week. Now it looked like it would snow. The cold
was welcome to the 'labor force' (as Sonic laughingly called it). Already
there was a pile of reusable stuff, and there was more to be had.
	It had taken Sonic a week to recover. The first two days were a
little rough (mostly because Slasher wouldn't let him get out of bed),
but the last three days before Slasher started the salvaging, he was
practically bouncing off the walls. (He was one time). But now
he was working hard, helping his friends do some heavy lumber moving.
	"Gosh," he said, leaning against the stack of wood and wiping his
forehead. "This junks' heavy. Hey Slash, how're we gonna move this to the
new Knothole?" Slasher pulled a nail out of the wood with an ear-splitting
screech before answering, "I've got that covered."
	She stood up, tossed a handful of nails into a nearby bucket
and beckoned to him. "Come`ere, and I'll show ya." She turned and
trotted into the woods, long tail swinging. Sonic followed. A few minutes
of walking brought them to a small clearing. Parked  there was a strange
looking hovercraft. If a hoverbike was the equivalent of a motorcycle, then
this was the equivalent of a heavy-duty pickup. Sonic stared at it in
amazement. "Slasher, where'd you get that?" Slasher grinned at him.
"Wouldn't you like to know."
	She chuckled. "Actually, I kiped it out of Robotnik's big machine garage.
I know a lot of clearance codes, and one of them worked. I got it out here
unchallenged. I figured I'd leave it out here in the woods, so if we got
attacked, it wouldn't be--well, repossessed, if you catch my drift."
	Slasher and Sonic climbed aboard, revved the engines, and headed
back to what was left of Knothole.
____________________________________________________________________
	Chapter 3
		Serena
____________________________________________________________________
	At that very moment, chaos was erupting in Robotropolis.
It started with a young hedgehog named Serena. Several weeks
before, Robotnik had invaded her home village and carried off all
it's inhabitants.
	Serena was an orphan, and was living with a large family of rabbits.
She had only dim memories of her parents (they had been killed in the Great
War), but she had heard rumors of an older brother still living. She didn't
know his name or anything about him, or even cared. As far as she was
concerned, the rabbits she was living with were her family.
	Her life was shattered the day Robotnik had his SWAT-bots capture
the village. He needed more subjects to robotize and had had his eye on
the village for quite some time.	
	They were all thrown into the dungeon to await robotization at
Robotnik's leisure. Day after day, a few at a time, the villagers were
taken from the dungeon and never returned. Serena was terrified, but
her scheming mind began to work after a day of imprisonment. By the time
her turn came, she had pretty much figured out her only hope of escape.
	Weeks passed. Serena was the last in the dungeon, nervously
awaiting her turn. She had observed the SWAT-bots and how they treated
prisoners. If you struggled, they tightened their hold on you so there
was no way of escape. On the other hand, if you were limp with terror,
they sensed you wouldn't be any trouble and didn't hold you nearly as
securely. And this was what her plan hinged on.
	Two SWAT-bots entered the dungeon and unlocked Serena's cell.
She automatically cowered at the far end, making them enter to get
her out. They took hold of both arms and dragged her out. As soon as
she was out she got her feet under her and walked along with the SWATs,
giving them no resistance at all. Her swift mind was in play. To get to
the robotizer, they would have to leave the dungeon, go through the main
building, and walk the length of the fortress to the entrance.
	Serena matched strides with the robots, careful not to fight
them in the least. They left the dungeon and the main building to walk along the
side of the fortress. The `bots relaxed their hold a little, secure in the
knowledge she wouldn't try to escape. They had almost reached the entrance
when Serena went into action.
	The young hedgehog stopped and almost sat down. The movement caught
the SWAT-bots off guard, jerking them to a halt as well. Before they
reached a complete stop, Serena kicked her feet up over her head and did
a backward summer-sault, using the SWATs' grip on her arms as leverage.
This broke their hold, and Serena landed on her feet behind them.
As the robots spun around, she went into a spindash and crashed into one
of the bots's chest, splintering it. As it crashed to the ground, she turned
to find the other one pointing a laser pistol in her face. Boldly she
reached out, grabbed the gun barrel and yanked downward. The laser blast
hit the ground in a shower of sparks. With a clever twist of her wrist,
Serena snapped the gun out of the robot's hand, flipped it around, and
shot him with it.
	All this took place in less than fifteen seconds. It ended with
Serena standing between two piles of smoldering metal and trying to figure
out what to do next.
	Well, I could just stand here and look surprised when I get caught.
	Her imagination kicked on. She envisioned herself standing before
Robotnik with the robotizer in the background, saying, "I don't know what
happened, Doc. Those two robots just collapsed all by themselves, and as
one fell down, its laser flipped out and landed in my hand."
	Yeah, right, like he'd really buy it. If I run I have a fifty-fifty
chance of escaping. Ha, I know one place they'd never look.
	Serena jammed the pistol into her belt and ran along the side of the
fortress. She tried the first door she came to, found it unlocked, and
ducked inside.
	She found herself in an impressive entry hall. As she stood there
panting, she heard footsteps coming up the corridor to her left.  Wildly
she looked around for a hiding place. She spotted an insignificant-looking
door off to her right and dashed to it. The knob turned easily. She
whisked inside and closed the door softly behind her. Then she looked
around.
	It was no closet like she had first thought. It was more like
a castle turret, with a circular staircase winding up to the roof.
Curious, Serena started climbing. Her bare feet made no sound at all
on the thick carpet as she made her way up. After a few minutes she
dropped to all fours and climbed with less effort.
	I hope whatevers' at the top of this thing is worth it, she thought.
	Gasping, she arrived at the top. She was a little dizzy from all the
circling, and had to rest on the top step. After a few minutes
she looked around to see a door just around the corner. It was
ajar. Curious and cautious at the same time, Serena crept to it and
peered around it.
	It was Robotnik's bedroom. He had taken the best from all of
Mobius and used it to furnish his room. The carpet was a deep red
plush, and a canopied four-poster bed took up one entire wall. There
was a desk, several assorted armchairs, and a big screen television.
The room was dark, but light entered through a gigantic plate-glassed window
that looked down on Robotropolis. What caught Serena's attention was
light coming from a side room. The door to it was pulled to, and
white light streaming through the cracks.
	She crept across the richly furnished room and looked into the
adjoining chamber. A wondrous sight met her eyes.
	The room was only a third of the size of the bedroom, and was
stacked from floor to ceiling with computer equipment. It was all
connected to form one huge computer. It took her a second to realize
that this must be Robotnik's main computer, the one that controlled
everything.
	A few minutes of wide-eyed staring later, she noticed the monitor
and the figure seated at the keyboard. The person was seated in a gray
swivel chair and was typing madly. His back was to her, and it didn't
look like Robotnik; he was too small horizontally and vertically.
Serena watched him nervously, then let her eyes scan the room again.
This time she saw several boxes stacked in one corner. Before she
had time to see anything else, however, the person in the swivel
chair stopped typing, gave 'enter' a vicious stab, then leaned back,
staring at the screen.
	Serena squinted. She wished she could see his face instead of
just his back. She was startled by his voice as he grumbled aloud,
"C'mon, c'mon, the ro-bo-tizer should be on by now...." He picked
up a small microphone and said, "C'mon, Doc, I'm waitin' for the
ro-bo-tizer to kick on. What's the hold up?" Through the mike came
Robotnik's voice, and he did not sound happy. "The subject somehow
managed to smash her escorts and escape." His voice dropped to a
venomous whisper. "She was a hedgehog."
	"Ah," the figure in the chair replied. "So her fate was sealed,
eh? Hmm. Need help hunting her down?"
	"Yeah, come on down. She can't have gone far. Leave the computer on;
I still intend to robotize her."
	With a sinking sensation in her chest Serena turned to hide.
She knew who they were talking about. Wildly she looked around for
cover, then on impulse dove under the bed. To her dismay it was
crowded with heavy boxes, but by shoving desperately she managed to
work her way a good twelve inches underneath. She felt more than heard
the footsteps of whoever it was, and watched his feet walk past the
bed. He was wearing flashy red and yellow high-tops, almost boots,
trimmed with a gleaming metal, and green socks. He walked to the door
and paused, looking around. Serena couldn't resist moving her head a
little to see who it was. She didn't recognize him. A bright red echidna,
he had a pointed face, long dreadlocks, muscular chest and arms, and a
white crescent on his chest. A few seconds later he turned and left the
room, closing the door behind him.
	She waited a few minutes to be sure he was gone, then rolled out
from under the bed. Feeling a bit more secure now she was alone, she
trotted into the computer room for a closer look at the machinery.
The whirr and hum of the computer was alien to her unaccustomed ears,
but she examined the screen with interest. It was a lot of numbers and
computer code; coordinates for the robotizer. She swallowed uneasily.
For some reason Robotnik had it in for her. He hated hedgehogs.
	I wonder why. Well, I can give him a reason to hate me. Let's try a
hand at vandalism.
	With her mind on destruction, Serena looked around for a possible
way to trash the computer. She made a list on her fingers. "Well,
viruses wreck computers, uh, power surges, umm, magnets, water--"
She looked at the screen again. "Amateur hackers."
	With her mind turning over these options, she slid the boxes out
of the corner and opened them. She found herself staring at several
different joysticks, a gamepad, and stacks of game CDs. Nothing that
would work. She closed the boxes and put them back, wondering who would
have all that game stuff.
	Remembering the boxes under Robotnik's bed, the youngster
trotted into the next room, got down on all fours, and yanked the
first box out. It felt like a ton of bricks, and the cardboard all
but ripped in her hands. Curious, she opened it's sealed top, thinking
maybe it was spare robot parts or something--and found the box full
of big circular magnets, like the ones in speakers. A thick padding of
Styrofoam separated one layer from the next. Thrilled, Serena took out
four, stuck them together, and carried them back into the computer room.
There she wrenched the magnets apart and stuck them to the computer
in various places.
	At first nothing seemed to be happening. Disappointed, she
looked at the screen and saw it was a blur of fuzzy colors which
flashed and sizzled frantically across the monitor. Serena snickered
and said, "This is your brain normally. This--" she pointed to the
screen for the benefit of an imaginary audience, "is your brain on
drugs. Any questions?" She was interrupted by a strange buzzing sound
within the computer. It crescendos to a scream, and the machine began
to spark and smoke. It looked like it was about to blow up. Serena lost
her nerve and bolted for the door.
	She got five steps down the carpeted stairs when she heard someone
bellow like a mad bull and thunder up the stairs. Somehow, she
knew it was Robotnik. She lunged back up the steps, leaped behind the
door and waited. (Robotnik had an elevator so he wouldn't have to climb
the stairs, but with the computer down nothing worked. He had to
take the steps.) He was so mad he was charging up them three at a time,
swearing with each breath. Halfway up he had to rest, so he made use of
this and pulled out a hand-held communicator. "KNUCKLES!!" he bellowed.
GET UP TO MY #@$&*!# OFFICE RIGHT NOW!!" He paused for a breath, then
continued in a slightly softer tone, "Something happened to the computer,
and you were the last one on it!!" Ivo could be heard all through the
building. Serena cringed and thought, Oh man. If I get caught I really
will be dead meat.
	Stamping, sweating and snarling, Robotnik charged into his bedroom.
He flung open his door with such force it hit the wall,
chipping the plaster. It missed Serena by an inch. She waited
until he had entered the computer room before slipping out, not wanting
to be anywhere near the smoldering human dynamite when it exploded.
	Serena fell more then ran down the stairs, but even halfway down,
the building seemed to shake when Ivo discovered what had happened to
his central computer.
	Serena was looking over her shoulder, back up the stairs, when she
ran into someone. It knocked them both over. It was the red echidna.
He stood up. "Hey, watch where--" he broke off as he saw her. He recognized
her as the escaped hedgehog. He said no more, but his eyes flamed as he jumped
at her, wrestled her down, twisted her arms up between her shoulder blades,
and marched her back upstairs on her toes.
	Robotnik met them at the top of the stairs, his face a mask of
fury. His gigantic mustache stuck straight out, and it looked angry,
too. He was about to scream at Knuckles, but stopped short as he saw
Serena. He stared at her as Knuckles explained. "She ran into me as I
was coming up the stairway. I figured she must be the runaway hedgehog,
so I snagged her." Without taking his murderous gaze from Serena,
Robotnik hissed, "Take her in and look at what she did."
	Knuckles marched her in and looked at the computer. He was shocked.
Robotnik had unplugged it first thing, but the machine was obviously
wrecked. At the sight of it Knux was gripped with a rage that nearly
equaled Robotnik's. He tightened his grip on Serena so much she winced
in pain. He whirled around and walked her out. Robotnik's voice was
very soft, but it belied the murderous hatred beneath. "Take her out
to the Testing Lab. Robotizing her would be kind. I will not treat
her kindly." His black eyes bored into Serena's. "Believe me, hedgehog,
 by tomorrow night you will wish you had never been born. You will pay
for this damage; with every drop of blood in your body you will pay for
it."
	Stunned, Serena let Knuckles march her down the stairs and out of
the fortress. He was snarling and muttering under his breath, his mind
on the computer. As they left the fortress, he snarled, "You have no
idea how many saved games you erased. I worked for days on that level,
and just as I beat it you had to fry the computer!"
	Knuckles continued breathing indignation as he guided her along
the side of the building, back toward the prisons. As they walked,
Serena saw the two crumpled SWAT-bots still lying on the ground. The sight
sent her mind into action. Her body followed a swift second later.
	She dropped like a stone and flopped on the ground. With her
arms twisted behind her in Knuckles's iron grip, this really hurt.
She gasped as pain shot through her shoulders. At the same time,
Knuckles stopped and leaned over her to drag her to her feet again.
That was what she wanted. Serena kicked her legs up, locked her
knees around Knuckles's head and swung him up and over her. He hit
the ground flat on his back with kind of a whooshing grunt. Serena
leaped to her feet and fled as Knuckles doubled up, gasping for air
like a fish out of water.
	It took a few seconds for Knux to get a decent breath, but
as soon as he did he grabbed his `com link. "Doc," he choked into the
microphone, "she got away. Send re-enforcement's." Robotnik's answer
could be heard all the way outside. His language was a deep blue in
shade; Knuckles winced and held the `com out at arms length. As
Robotnik was cursing, he was plunging down the stairs four at a time.
A few minutes later he burst out the door, breathing heavily,
a look of frenzied rage in his eyes. He skidded to a stop with an
oath when he saw Knuckles. The echidna looked up at him, and the
look on his face was grim and cold. "She hurt me," he wheezed.
"Kill her."
	Robotnik switched channels on his `com and said, "Calling all
SWAT-bots. Red alert: escaped prisoner." He looked down at Knuckles,
who gasped, "She's dark violet--almost blue." Ivo continued,
"Number-one priority hedgehog. Apprehend. Capture alive." He switched
off the mike, then sneered. "She looks enough like Sonic to be
mistaken for him by a robot. And believe me," he said, looking across
Robotropolis, "she will be captured."
___________________________________________________________________					

Chapter 4
	Serena's escape
___________________________________________________________________
	Serena was tearing across Robotropolis at remarkable speed, fear
and adrenaline adding wings to her feet. So far she had seen no SWAT-
bots, but had seen several robotized citizens of the city. The sight
of them reminded her of what they intended to do to her, and her speed
increased. She kept to the back streets and alleyways, setting a
straight course out of the polluted city.
	She had run for a good five minutes before a SWAT spotted her,
called it's buddies, and the chase was on.
	The robots had the advantage, for they knew the layout of the city
and she didn't. The metallic sounds of the SWATs behind her filled her
with terror, and she ran like a scared rabbit. It was a nightmarish
experience. Serena just knew she would turn a corner and find
a dead end. She thought of the pistol still jammed in her belt. It
hadn't been noticed when she had been caught, and was still there.
She didn't want to use it though, for that would mean turning at bay
and fighting however many robots were behind her. She cocked her ears
backward, listening to the metallic footsteps of her sinister pursuers.
	Serena was really faltering by the time she reached the garbage dump
which formed the outskirts of Robotropolis. When she saw the piles of garbage
and rotting discarded machinery, her heart sank, thinking she
was trapped. In desperation she ducked into it and wove her way though
 like a gigantic obstacle course, always heading the same direction.
The SWATs were slowed by the loose garbage; they weren't as small
or light as the young hedgehog and couldn't leap and bound as she
did.
	Serena was beginning to tire. A terrible cramp was developing
in her side, and her breath came in shallow ragged gasps. Still
intent on her pursuers, she didn't notice the junk was thinning out.
She was leaving Robotropolis behind; before her stretched
five miles of open plain, bordered by the Great Forest. Serena lifted
her head, saw the great empty space before her, and her heart
plummeted to her toes; she couldn't face racing robots across that.
With grim resolve, she stopped, turned, and drew the laser pistol from
her belt. Holding it in both hands, she set it on 'rapid fire' and
held it up, ready to shoot as soon as she eyeballed the first robot.
	The SWATs had broken up, fanned out and emerged in twos
and threes from the dump, scanning for 'priority hedgehog.' As they came
into view, Serena took aim and fired systematically. She was a good shot.
Every blast hit a SWAT in the head or chest, blowing it to bits. One
bot was carrying a blaster rifle. Serena shot the robot, then darted
forward and snatched the rifle. Jamming the pistol back into her belt,
she cocked the rifle and resumed firing.
	Twenty robots later found Serena still standing her ground, slowly
looking up and down the dump for more attackers. But she was alone; she
had won the skirmish. Not quite believing that she was victorious, she
counted how many bots she had blasted. There were thirty-seven. The
hedgehog frisked each robot and exchanged her pistol for a better one.
She also found a gun charger that would reload the guns with energy.
Then, with the blaster rifle slung over her shoulder, the pistol in
her belt (and feeling quite dangerous), she headed for the Great Forest.
						* * *
	A few hours of alternately walking and running found her in the
woods, headed back to her village. Serena was quite woods-wise; her hearing
and sense of smell had been honed to a fine edge, for animal qualities
had been important in her village. They had been dulled by her
long stay in the prison, so it was perfectly wonderful to be outside
again, to breathe the fresh cold air and feel wet cold leaves underfoot.
She didn't care that it was freezing cold and cloudy; being free was
enough to make it all delightful.
	As she traveled she occasionally circled back to catch the breeze
for any sound of pursuers. But no one was following her. She had
taken out the first wave of SWATs, and they hadn't had time to re-group
yet. By the time they did, she would be long gone.
	As she made her way through the forest, she thought about
what she would do. She was going home to get supplies for living
out in the woods, but what to do after that? Her thoughts turned to her
brother.
	"I could spend my time trying to find him, I guess. Too bad
I don't know his name. _If_ he really exists. He's probably about
fourteen or fifteen by now. Heck, this won't be easy. There aren't that
many hedgehogs in Mobius nowadays. Just finding a hedgehog would be a
challenge. I wonder if he's even alive, or if he's been robotized, or
what." Serena sighed.
	Another hour of hiking brought her to the charred remains of her
former home. She wasted no time in staring around forlornly, but cut
across the clearing and stepped onto a nearly invisible trail. It
didn't look like a trail to someone with less experience,
but Serena knew all about it. Many times her bare feet had followed it
to it's destination, along with her friends. Now she followed it's familiar
twists and turns easily as it wandered aimlessly through the
trees. (The turns were necessary to lose any 'spies' that might be
following.) It made the path hard to see, but Serena followed it quite
easily.
	It ended in a little clearing that was more like a gap in the trees.
Built around the base of a tree trunk was a cunning little fort. It was
cleverly camouflaged by branches and brush. Serena and her friends had
built it and had hidden it there. It was their secret clubhouse.
The youngster walked up to it and pulled aside two leaning boards which
served as a door and entered. Inside were a couple chairs, some boxes
and other miscellaneous objects. Serena, relieved that the clubhouse
had been left undiscovered by the robots, stepped over to a pile of burlap
sacks, pulled them aside and revealed a hole in the dirt floor beneath.
In it was her backpack and a few treasured belongings.
	Serena sat down and opened her backpack. In it were her
pocketknife, her precious flint-and-steel, and a pocket flashlight
with several sets of batteries. She put several things in, including
her shoes that (fortunately) had been left there.
	I'll want these later, when it gets really cold, she thought.
	Then she turned to go back to the village. She would see if she
could find anything worth keeping. As she left she paused and looked
back at the little fort, thinking sadly of her robotized friends. She
would probably never see them again. And then it hit her. Why not join
the Freedom Fighters? They might know something about her brother, and
she could help in the war for freedom.
	Thus cheered, she headed for the village. Serena found what was
left of her home, and managed to salvage a few items she thought she
would need, like blankets. All went into her pack.
	It was getting dark when she finally left. The young hedgehog had
tears in her eyes as she turned her back on what had been home and
plunged into the woods.
______________________________________________________________________
	Chapter 5
		The discovery of danger
______________________________________________________________________
	Two weeks passed, and Knothole village was nearly rebuilt. With
Slasher there as supervisor, overseer and architect, things were running
smoothly. The village had slightly different layout than it had had in the
old location; each hut was invisible from the air. A tree sheltered each
one, and at the same time served as a windbreak.
	Everything was going great, but Slasher seemed troubled. She was a
little too quiet, and in the evenings it was not raining, she would steal
off by herself and be away for hours. One night Sonic went looking for
her.
	He found Slasher at a small lake about a mile from Knothole. She
was lying down, forearms crossed in front, hindlegs folded comfortably
underneath. She was also completely motionless, staring out across the
water. She was perched on a big boulder, and screened by overhanging
trees and brush. Sonic knew she liked to come to the lake; he also
knew she would be invisible in the dark to all but the sharpest eyes.
So he cheated. He took along some infra-red goggles.
	Even with them, she was hard to find. He finally spotted the big
raptor and tried to sneak up on her. It was twilight, so he didn't think
she'd see him until he surprised her. He got within ten feet of her before
she said, "Hi, Sonic." His cover blown, Sonic climbed up on the rock beside
her. "How'd you know I was here? I thought I was pretty quiet."
	"Not quiet enough, though. I could hear you as you looked for me, and
I knew when you spotted me."
	"How?"
	"Oh, I could tell by the way you were moving." For the first time
she looked over at him. "And I didn't have night-vision goggles."
Embarrassed, Sonic took them off. He knew Slasher didn't approve of using
machines for hunting.
	"What're you doing here?" she asked after an interval. Sonic shrugged.
	"I want to know what's' wrong with you."
	"What's wrong with me?"
	"You've been acting really un-cool lately. Like you aren't interested in
what's been goin' on. What's the deal?"
	Slasher turned away with a deep sigh and was quiet for several
minutes. When she turned back her eyes looked strange; a haunting,
haggard look. It startled him. "Slasher, what's wrong?" he asked, alarmed.
For answer she looked up at the sky and pointed to the south. "Do you see
that star cluster? The little blurry patch to the left of the pine tree."
Sonic looked.
	"Yeah. What about it?"
	Eyes fixed on it, Slasher replied in a low voice, "It doesn't move.
Sure, it moves 'cause of the rotation of the planet, but it never shifts
position; never sinks lower after a few weeks or rises after a few weeks.
Neither do the other constellations."
	Sonic felt a chill of foreboding run down his spine. "What that
mean?"
	"It means," Slasher replied grimly, "that Mobius is locked into
a space-time continuum."
	"Huh?"
	Slasher sighed. "The whole universe--as far as we can tell--is all
in the same time frame. It's called a space-time continuum. Well, Mobius
has been locked into a separate time. Our time is different from that of
the rest of the universe. That may be okay for right now, but it means
trouble in the long run."
	"Why?"
	"Our solar system revolves around our sun. The system is moving
through the galaxy, and the galaxy is traveling through space. Now, if
Mobius is no longer in the same time frame, it gets left behind." Sonic's
eyes widened, and Slasher saw most of the blood had drained from his face.
"You're kidding." Slasher slowly shook her head. "I wish I were. Mobius's
orbit is already starting to decay. Winter has been colder because the
planet is a little further from the sun. Summer will be hotter 'cause
it's just a bit closer. Eventually gravity will take over and we'll
either hit the sun or be hurled out into space." She paused. "But if we
could free the planet from the continuum, it's orbit would be able to
stabilize. If we wait even three more years it will be too late."
	Sonic felt like he was sinking with nothing to hold on to. He
put his arms around Slasher's neck and held on. "Oh Slasher," he
breathed. It was all he could say. "Oh, Slasher."
	She put an arm around him. "You wanted to know what's been bothering me."
"Yeah," Sonic murmured. "You don't worry about anything small, do you?"
	"Well, I wouldn't say that," Slasher replied. "You're small, and I
worry about you." They were quiet a few minutes. Sonic broke the silence
by saying hopelessly, "But how do we free Mobius? Is the continuum natural or
what?"
	"No Sonic, it's not natural. It's man-made." Sonic sat up and
looked at her. "Say what?" Slasher put her head to one side and looked
into his eyes. "Think back, Sonic. Remember when Robotnik first
took control of Mobitropolis?"
	"Yeah. Few years ago."
	"Do you remember a day when the light changed colors, and the planet suffered
from massive earthquakes?" Sonic's brow furrowed in thought. "Um...well
....uh...wait, yeah, I do remember a day something like that happened.
I was scared, and just hid until the shaking stopped. Why?"
	"Because that was the day the planet entered the continuum.
Robotnik somehow locked Mobius into it, and that's where we've
been for a long time." Sonic looked puzzled. "What for? What would it
accomplish?"
	"Well, I've come up with two reasons. One is to keep anyone in space
from landing on Mobius. Like, say, from Earth. The second reason is
that if Robotnik falls, he figures the planet will self-destruct
afterward. So he wins either way."
	Sonic was glowering. "What a jerk! Doesn't he know how close
he is to dying with the planet?" Slasher shook her head. "From what
I've gathered, he has no clue. But I have to figure out a way to
destroy whatever mechanism he has for maintaining the continuum."
She got to her feet. "Well, it's getting late. Let's head back. Hey,
want a free ride?"
	"Sure."
	Sonic swung himself up onto her back. Slasher spread her wings,
crouched, and sprang off the rock into the motionless, starry sky.
_____________________________________________________________________

	Chapter 6
		In which Serena joins the Freedom Fighters
_____________________________________________________________________
	It was early morning. The forest was motionless as the sun arose above
the eastern mountains. Birds who had been warming up their feathered
throats burst into full song.
	As the sun's first rays shown down into the trees, Serena stirred and
pushed back a low hanging tree branch. She had spent the night on the
ground, curled up with her back against the tree trunk and a heavy
blanket around her shoulders. But it was morning again, and she rolled
out from under the tree and looked up at the sky. It was clear and
cloudless. "Another fine day," Serena murmured.
	She had slept with her shoes on. Now she took them off to go
barefoot again, and folded her blankets. She opened her backpack and
took stock of her supplies. She was nearly out of food--she had enough
to last another three days, but that was it.
	Too bad I don't have any money, she thought.
She was not afraid to work, but was hesitant, for she knew Robotnik
probably had a price on her head by now.
	For three weeks she had lived in the woods, sleeping where she
could and avoiding all robots. She had been to the Freedom Fighter bands
further south, asking about her brother. Some had been kind, others
suspicious, but none had heard of him. Discouraged, she was headed for
the last band she knew of. If they hadn't heard of him, she would
give up and simply join the little rebellion.
	Serena knew the village was somewhere in the area, but felt she
was looking for a needle in a haystack. Someone at another band had told
her Robotnik had discovered it, captured all the Freedom Fighters
and burned the village. Somehow the band had managed to escape and were
rebuilding somewhere else.
	And if I know Freedom Fighters, it will be so well hidden I'll never
find it, Serena thought. But it was worth a try. She had nothing else to do.
	Serena shouldered her backpack and walked down to the stream. The
night before, when she had found it, she had made sure it wasn't flowing out of
Robotropolis. If it was, then you could bet it would be polluted.
Contaminated streams were marked with bio-hazard signs every few feet,
but it wasn't hard to tell, anyway. The water would be multi-colored.
This stream, however, flowed from the mountains and was fresh and clean.
The young hedgehog drank from it and washed her face and hands. Then
she put on her pack and headed north, following the creek.
	After thinking about it, Serena had narrowed village locations to
a few possible places. She knew they needed water, and wouldn't be too
far from Robotropolis. (The other bands praised the inhabitants of
Knothole village for their hit-and-run sabotage operations.) So Serena
was following the stream. She figured that she would follow the creek
until she reached the mountains, then would double back and trace it's
tributaries. That way she hoped to find Knothole. The fact she was
nearly out of food, though, worried her. It meant her searching time
was limited.
	Serena thought about it as she walked upstream, eyes on the ground.
She traveled for an hour without really noticing her surroundings,
vaguely aware of the sun's winter warmth on her back. Her eyes
followed the muddy bank of the stream beneath her feet without interest;
that is, until she caught sight of a very large footprint. It stopped
her dead in her tracks. She bent down and studied it. It was a robot's
footprint, perhaps SWAT-bot. But, gosh, it was huge! It was five
times larger than a regular SWAT's foot. She gingerly placed her own
foot inside it, and found the print was much larger than her own.
What was eerie about it was that it was fresh; very fresh. Serena
lifted her head, trailing the bot's path with her eyes. It had came
out of the woods on the far side of the stream, walked though the water,
and vanished into the trees on this side.
	Serena was instantly on guard, staring around her and listening.
The robot was close by; she sensed it's presence. A chill of
foreboding swept over her, and she was suddenly aware of how exposed
she was. She moved sideways into the brush that lined the riverbank,
careful to make no unnecessary sound. She had a feeling she would be
doing some running, so she took off her backpack and hid it under a bush
where she could find it again. As an afterthought, she took out her
pistol and stuck it in her belt where she could reach it easily. Then,
curious and cautious at the same time, she set out to find the bot
with the big feet. It would do no good to run if she didn't know where
the robot was. She might run into it instead of away from it.
	A sound. A twig cracked under feet not her own. Serena
turned and faced the direction the noise came from. It wasn't far away.
Softly Serena crept toward it. The woods were very quiet; too quiet.
It frightened her, but she was determined to see the robot. Another
sound, further away. She followed. Now the bot's progress was marked
plainly by the crunch-crunch of robotic feet. That SWAT must be really
clumsy to make that much noise, Serena thought.
	Then, from only a few feet to her right, came the harsh metallic
voice of a SWAT-bot. "NUMBER-ONE PRIORITY HEDGEHOG!! APPREHEND!!" Scared
out of her skin, Serena leaped away like a frightened deer and fled, the
robot in hot pursuit.
	It was not a regular SWAT. It was bigger and burlier. In one
metal hand was a sound caster; a device which played sound effects
and put them at any distance from the user. It had baited Serena with
it until she was almost in reach. But now she knew what it had done,
and was running as fast as she could. The robot was gaining on her,
covering the ground in huge strides. Serena glanced back. Fear was
beginning to be replaced by outrage that she had fallen for it's trick.
"Let's see how you handle an obstacle course, you back-stabbing creep,"
she growled, then began to dodge through the thickest of the brush and
trees. This slowed her down a little, but it slowed the SWAT even more.
She began to pull away from it.
	Then her heart plummeted into her shoes, for behind her the robot
fired up it's rocket pack and blasted into the sky. That was no normal
SWAT-bot. It was an Ultra SWAT. As stormtrooper is to dark trooper,
so was SWAT-bot to Ultra SWAT-bot. And Serena was unfortunate enough to have
one on her tail.
	Ultra SWATs had a wider area scan than regulars, motion sensors, sound
sensors, and sight sensors. You name it, they had it. Robotnik had had Ultra
SWATs in the making for quite a while, but was just beginning to deploy them.
As a test, he sent several out after Sonic. Serena happened to look like him,
and was now targeted as 'priority hedgehog.'
	The robot turned off it's jet pack and smashed to the ground a few feet
to Serena's right. She veered left. As she ran, she glanced over her shoulder,
back at the robot--and slammed into another SWAT. It was standing there, arms
folded and metal legs braced, just waiting. The U-SWAT behind her arrived,
and another stepped out of the trees to her left. Serena was surrounded.
	Simultaneously the robots produced blaster rifles and aimed them at her.
"Drop your weapon," the biggest one growled. Serena pulled out her pistol
and let it fall. As she put her hands in the air, the one that had spoken--
she noticed the status symbol on it's chest--pressed a button to radio
Robotnik. "Have Apprehended Priority Hedgehog. Request Further Instructions."
Robotnik's voice came through a speaker on the robot's belly. "Turn on the
cameras." Immediately the eyes of all three bots lit up as the internal
cameras came on.
	Three screens in Robotnik's computer room came on with different
angled views of Serena. At first Robotnik was disappointed it was not
Sonic, but then he leaned closer to the screens and looked again. "Well
well well," he said with an evil smile. "If it isn't our little saboteur."
 He pressed a button on an intercom. "Knuckles, come up to the control room.
I have something to show you."
	"All right Doc, I'm on my way," came the echidna's voice through the speaker.
A few minutes later Knuckles walked in. "Hiya, Doc, what's up?" Robotnik
motioned to the screen. "Take a look at what my U-SWATS caught." Knuckles
looked. "They snagged Sonic?"
	"No. Look again."
	Knuckles squinted. "Hey, ain't that the girl who blew up the main computer
a few weeks ago?"
	"Uh-huh."
	Knuckles's face darkened. "I still think we should kill her."
	"My sentiments exactly," Robotnik agreed. "Robots, destroy Priority
Hedgehog."
	Serena would have died a horrible death if someone, or, rather, two
someone's, had not been out scouting the woods that day.
	The head U-SWAT put away it's blaster and clapped it's metal hands
together. "All right, robots," it said, "let's slice and dice." All three
robots snapped open panels on their lower arms, revealing razor-sharp
sawblades. That wouldn't have been so bad, but they turned them on with a
high-pitched whine. Serena gasped as she realized what they were going to
do to her. "I'm not priority hedgehog," she cried. "I'm somebody else!"
	"Yeah," said a voice behind the lead SWAT. "I'M the guy you want, ya
stupid bots."
	What happened next was almost too rapid for Serena to grasp. The
big robot spun around and fired three laser blasts from it's wrist gun
in quick succession. Whoever it was firing at smashed into it's legs.
As the robot reeled backward, a large creature appeared out of nowhere.
It came at Serena at great speed, but it was gentle as it's arms
encircled her waist. It lifted and carried her as if she weighed
nothing. It sprang away from the robots and set the young hedgehog down
behind some brush. "Stay here, you're safe now," it said in her ear.
Then it whirled around and returned to the fracas. Serena had an impression
of long claws, green eyes and a long reptilian tail. She parted the brush
to see what happened next.
	She was in time to hear the other creature's taunt: "How many of
you idiots does it take to change a light bulb?" He went into a spin,
racing around and around two of the robots. As he became a blue blur,
he flung out the answer to his own question: "Fifty! One to unscrew it,
another to hand up the replacement, and forty-eight to figure out how!"
He slammed into the robots over and over, crippling them. The
other animal, the one who looked like the biggest lizard Serena had ever
seen, pounced on the other SWAT from behind. The blow knocked the robot
to the ground, but before it could recover, the lizard flipped it over and
smashed in the back of it's head by landing on it with both feet.
	And then it was over. The blue blur resolved itself and turned
out to be a blue hedgehog. He gave the lizard a high five. "Good work,
Sonic," the lizard said.
	"I love doing that," Sonic said, grinning broadly. "What?" Slasher
asked playfully. "Destroying helpless robots?" Sonic kicked at one.
"I wouldn't call them exactly _helpless_. We got the parts Roter
wanted. I see ya just disabled this one."
"Yeah," Slasher replied, "I figure we better learn how U-SWATs operate
before we take out any more."
	Then Sonic remembered. "Hey, where's the kid the SWATs were gonna
disassemble?"
	Serena stepped out of the bushes. "Right here."
Sonic surveyed her critically. "Well, you kinda look like me, but gosh!
a robot shouldn't confuse us. Weird." Slasher started as she noticed the
resemblance, looking from Serena to Sonic and back again. She said
nothing, but had an odd look on her face. "Thanks for saving me,"
Serena said. "Hey, no problem-o," Sonic replied. "I'm not about to let
anybody get ripped apart just `cause they look like me. By the way,
I'm Sonic, and this is Slasher."
	"Hi. I'm Serena."
	Sonic looked her over from head to toe. She was a tad shorter than he,
and a violet blue all over. She wore tattered jeans and a faded red
sweatshirt. She looked a little pale, but seemed cheerful enough.
	"Serena, eh? Pretty name," Sonic said. He looked down at the
robot. "Well Slash, let's head back. We're gonna need help to clean
all this up."
	"Good idea," Slasher replied. They both turned to leave,
but stopped as Serena yelped, "You're just gonna walk off and leave me?
What if there are more SWATs around?" Sonic opened his mouth to reply,
but Slasher beat him to it.
	"You see, young Serena, we are Freedom Fighters, and you are a
total stranger. How do we know you aren't a spy for Robotnik?" Slasher
could see plainly the girl hedgehog was no spy, but wanted to test
her and see how she would react. Sonic was about to jump in, but he caught
the mischievous glint in Slasher's eye and decided to play along. Serena
seemed stunned.
	"Me--a spy? Where do you get that? I can't even imagine
working for Ivo. He robotized all my friends and step-family, and almost
got me. How could I work for someone so evil?"
	"Prove it," Sonic said haughtily. Serena's mind raced. How in the
world could she prove something like that? "If I'm working for Robotnik,
why did he have the robots try to kill me? Or, to take it one step further,
why have a hedgehog working for him at all? I've noticed he has a special
hatred for Hedgehogs. The only way he can stand us is if we're robotized."
Sonic raised his eyebrows and glanced up at Slasher. That was a good point.
Slasher returned his look with a barely distinguishable nod, then returned
her gaze to Serena.
	Serena was looking at the ground. "He robotized everyone I knew and
burned our village." An impish grin spread across her face. "But I got
him back. I wrecked his central computer."
	That got Sonics' and Slashers' attention. "What??"
	"Oh, before I escaped I stuck magnets all over his main computer. So now
Ivo really has it in for me." She made a list on her fingers. "I smashed
two SWATs, wrecked his computer, then knocked the wind out of a bright
red echidna who tried to take me back to prison." She looked up and saw
Sonic and Slasher grinning broadly. "Ya know, Slasher," Sonic said, "I
think she has the makings of a first-rate Freedom Fighter. Whaddya think?"
	"I think you're thinking what I'm thinking."
Sonic slapped Serena on the back. "C'mon, we'll take ya to Knothole."
	"Wait a minute--Knothole? As in, the Knothole that Robotnik discovered,
burned, and carried off all inhabitants?" Sonic just rolled his eyes as
he remembered. "Uh-huh."
	"How'd you escape?"
Sonic tossed a meaningful glance at Slasher and said, "It's a long story."
"Yes," murmured Slasher, "longer than you realize."
	They started walking. They had only moved a few paces when Serena
stopped and said, "Oh, wait a minute, I forgot my backpack. It's down by
the stream; I'll go get it." The youngster turned and glided away into the
woods. Sonic watched her go. "Whaddya think of her, Slasher?" Slasher put
her head to one side and partly closed her green eyes. "I don't know yet.
She seems okay, but there's something familiar about her. Like I've seen
her before, or hung out with her before." She looked down at Sonic and
studied him intently. Sonic ignored her stare; she was always studying him
intently. "Sonic," Slasher asked, "do you have any family?" Sonic shrugged.
"I donno. As far back as I can remember I've been an orphan and living with
Uncle Chuck. You know that already. Why do you ask?"
	"Oh, out of curiosity, that's all."
	Before Sonic could make any sense of this, Serena arrived, backpack
slung over one shoulder. "Okay, I got it," she said breathlessly. "Let's go."
	As they trotted through the woods, Sonic asked, "How'd you manage to
knock the wind out of Knuckles?"
	"Huh?" Serena replied, looking at him.
	"Knuckles. You know, the red echidna. How'd ya do it? Knuckles ain't exactly
the easiest guy in the world to fight with."
	"Oh, I didn't fight him. When we get to a clear place I'll show you what
I did."
	"Why, do you know martial arts?"
	"What?"
	"Karate."
	"Nope. Well, I don't think so. I learned a few things
from some of the older kids, mostly because I was the one they practiced on."
	But they didn't find a clear place until they reached Knothole, and then
they forgot about it.
	Serena was formally introduced to everyone. Slasher offered to share her
hut with Serena until they had a place to put her, and everyone agreed. Sally
cornered Serena and demanded to hear her whole story, to which Serena gladly
complied. While they were talking, Slasher, Roter, Sonic and Bunnie headed off
to collect the remains of the U-SWATs. The group made three trips by the
time the two girls finished talking.
	Slasher prompted them to help by giving them a pointed look and saying
to the others, "Well, back to work, guys. The _ladies_ obviously aren't done chatting
yet." Sally laughed as she got to her feet. "We better go help them, Serena.
Or else Slasher will needle us for the rest of the evening."
	As they walked back to where the robots were, Serena caught up to Sonic.
"Hey Sonic," she called, then lowered her voice as she slowed him down to walk
behind the others. "What's up?" he asked her. "I want to know about Slasher,"
was the reply. "Is she a dragon or what?" Serena had noticed Slasher's wings.
Sonic gave her an odd look. "No, she's a winged velociraptor. In fact, she gets
really offended if you even suggest she's a dragon."
"But raptors don't have wings!" Serena protested.
	"I know, but Slasher sure does. All she'll say is she was given them.
Then she changes the subject."
	"Weird."
	"I know. She doesn't like to be asked about it, either. But--" his voice lowered even
more--"she's not from Mobius. Don't tell anyone, but Slasher is originally from
Earth."
	"How?"
	"I donno. She has an interesting history, you would think. But
she's never told us about it. At least, not that I can remember." Sonic's brow
furrowed as a troubled look crossed his face. Serena had no more time for
questions, for they reached the fallen U-SWATs, and in the work that
followed she couldn't close to Sonic again.
	The group carefully disassembled the intact Ultra SWAT and carried
the parts back to Knothole. Putting it back together was more of a chore,
and dusk had fallen by the time they finished. Somebody lit the campfire.
Dinner that night was prepared by Sonic (they all took turns at this),
so of course they had chili dogs. Afterward came the most interesting part
of the day. It was the informal debriefing sessions which took place around the
campfire.
	Usually Sally planned the sabotage runs, but that night
she said, "Slasher has something special planned, and she wanted to
tell us about it." She looked at Slasher, transferring everyone's gaze
to the big raptor. Slasher had remained standing, and now her posture
added emphasis to her words.
	"I know how you have all noticed how every clear night I head
off into the woods, and don't come back until late."
	Sonic interrupted her by jumping to his feet. "No, Slasher!" he almost
shouted. She looked at him sorrowfully. "Sonic, they have to know. It's
too big for you and me to handle on our own. We need help."
Beaten, Sonic sat down again, but he sat with one hand over his eyes so nobody
could see what he was thinking.
	Slasher went on to tell them about the space-time continuum, and
what it was doing to Mobius. The Freedom Fighters reacted the
same way Sonic had, with fear, despair and anger. Slasher paused for a
few minutes, then informed them about Robotnik controlling it. "And so,"
she concluded, "we need to start some major reconnaissance missions. Our
lives depend on destroying the thing, or things, that hold Mobius in
danger." Slasher sat down. She was finished speaking. Let the others
digest the news, and see if they came up with a way to reverse the
continuum process.
	A heated discussion followed. It finally ended by organizing
scouting groups that would try to find out all they could. Slasher
refused to lead a group, though. Her reason was this: "I intend to go
to some pretty dangerous places, and I will risk no life but my own.
I won't have somebody getting killed because of me."
	It was late before they all went to bed, but no one slept for a
long time. The news had been terrifying to Serena's rookie ears, and
she agonized over it for hours before she finally dozed off.
	But that was nothing compared to what Sonic went through.
___________________________________________________________________
	Chapter 7
		Sonic remembers, and where Slasher got her wings
___________________________________________________________________

	He thought he had learned to live with the idea of the continuum,
but as he lay there in his hammock that night, he found it still terrified
him. What emphasized it was this: out his window, across the treetops,
he could see one bright star. It didn't move. Sonic stared at it and
stared at it, his mind a turmoil of horrible thoughts. At last he fell
asleep, but his eyes closed with the light of the star in them. Perhaps
that is what caused his dream; or perhaps not.
	It wasn't really a dream--it was more like a floodgate of memories
opened in his subconscious mind.
	Suddenly he was reliving his previous adventure on Floating Island.
Bright and fast the memories hit him, exploring the island with Tails at
his side. Knuckles stealing the chaos emeralds. Falling into Hydrocity.
Finally escaping and winding up in the heart of Floating Island; a place
called Marble Gardens. The setting sun in his eyes as he and Tails landed
in the Carnival. The bright lights and rides. Slasher meeting them outside
the gates. Leaving the island and flying to the snow-capped mountain range
on the mainland. Exploring the Ice Cap and the caves. Pursuing Knux to
Launch Base and seeing Death Egg take off. Seeing the enormous ship crash
later on Floating Island. Running through the island's Mushroom Hills.
Hitching a ride on Robotnik's warship and meeting Metal Sonic. Fleeing the
ship at Sandopolis. Experiencing a desert sandstorm. Finding and exploring the
pyramid. Falling through the mine shaft into the Lava reef mines. Barely
escaping with their lives, fleeing to Knuckles's Hidden Palace. Sonic's
showdown with Knuckles, and arriving too late to save the Master emerald
from Robotnik. Knux showing them through the Sky Sanctuary, high above
the ground. Entering Death Egg as it flew over. Metal Sonic's fury--
	It was there Sonic awoke. He sat up in bed, eyes wide, breath
coming in deep gasps. He looked out the window. The lone star had not
moved, but Sonic could feel it was around midnight. All was not normal,
however. The dream had broken the barrier in Sonic's memory, and he could
recall all the way back to before Robotnik. He could also remember why
he had forgotten it all.
	One day, he, Knuckles and Tails were messing around with a portable
teleporter. It had been acting up, so Knuckles was at the controls while
Sonic stood in the beam. The device was set to three-fourths power; that
is, you could see wherever it would take you without it doing so. Sonic
was calling out what he saw, and Knuckles was making adjustments. Tails
was watching from a safe distance.
	And then the quirk came into play. The teleporter did something it
wasn't supposed to do. Sonic remembered yelling hysterically, "Turn it off!
Turn it off! It's the Interweb! Yaaahh!!" But the thing was locked
and wouldn't shut off. Knuckles and Tails leaped forward to forcibly drag
Sonic out, but as they grabbed his arms the teleporter came all the way
on and sucked the three of them into the trackless universe of the Interweb.
	Sonic and Tails managed to stay together, but Knuckles was flung away
from them and lost. Time had no meaning in the Interweb, so they were
unaware of how long they were in it. But by the time they made it out and back
to Mobius, they had both lost their long-term memories. It had all been
erased by the brain-draining functions of the Interweb.
	Robotnik had been busy, meanwhile. He had played a big role in the
Great War and succeeded in capturing Mobitropolis, which later became
Robotropolis. He also perfected the robotizer, and began his dictatorship
over Mobius.
	Sonic and Tails started a Freedom Fighter band, which quickly became
a sort of underground rebellion. They forgot about the Interweb in the
meantime. It was such a horrible experience that it went into one of those
airtight compartments in their heads and was conveniently forgotten about.
	Another thing that changed was the fact Slasher was gone.
No one knew when she had left, or had even heard of her. Knuckles had
gotten out of the Interweb, but isolated himself on the Floating Island
and for a long time lived by himself, alone and secluded. Only recently
had he started working for Robotnik; the Interweb had erased his memory
as well. But he was still reserved and didn't completely trust anyone.
	Sonic remembered everything, and with a clarity that was a little
freaky. As he sat there, staring out the window, his thoughts flew back
to Slasher's arrival. What had she said? "Sonic, I'm back! I can't believe
it, but I'm back!" Back--from where? She had not been in the Interweb, for
she still had her memory. Yes, he could see that--she was constantly saying
things that related to his previous adventures, but he never understood her
innuendoes.
	 He had to know. Sonic quietly slid out of his hammock and made
his way outside. It was clear and cold; already a thick frost covered everything.
The stars lit the world with a soft luminescence, allowing Sonic to see quite
clearly. He glided across the clearing and entered Slasher's hut.
	The big raptor had built her hut to have the maximum amount of
floor space. She didn't sleep on a bed, for she preferred the floor.
Her only bedding was a pile of branches and dried grass covered with a
canvas tarpaulin. Serena was asleep on a cot in the corner. As Sonic
entered Slasher's head lifted, showing she was far from asleep. Sonic
padded over to her pallet and sat down. "Keep it down," Slasher murmured.
"Serena's asleep, but lightly from nervousness." Sonic nodded, then said
quietly, "Slasher, I remember--everything."
	One of Sonic's hands was on Slasher's shoulder, and he felt a deep
tremor run through her. "At last," she said softly. "I've been praying
that the Lord God Yeshua would break whatever barrier it is that stands
in your mind."
	"Y-Yeshua?"
	"Or Jesus. He is the creator and Lord of all--even Mobius. But if
you remember everything, you must remember all I told you about Him."
Sonic thought back. Yes, Slasher had exposed him and Tails to Jesus, and
Sonic had always sort of sloughed over it before. But now....
	"Slasher, I want to know what happened to you. We got sucked into
the--the...." he couldn't bring himself to say 'Interweb'"....and when
we came back you were gone. Where'd you go? When I blew my whistle you
said you couldn't believe it, you were back." Slasher closed her eyes
and shook her head. "To explain this I'm afraid I must admit to one of
the stupidest mistakes I've ever made."
	"What?"
	She looked at him. "Way back before the Interweb--" Sonic cringed"--I
told you why I live on Mobius instead of Earth, and how I got my wings.
Remember?" Sonic looked down, thinking. "Oh yeah! I remember now! You said
those weird aliens took you to that planet called Cockytus, and they
gave you wings so you could work for them more efficiently. Right?"
	"Brilliant, Holmes. Keep going." Sonic thought a moment more. "And all
the aliens tried to become gods and vanished, and you sank into a hundred-
year hibernation. When humans from Earth showed up, one of them befriended
you and you showed him around and helped him bring back the aliens. Then
the aliens let you go home. Am I right so far?"
	Slasher nodded. "Uh-huh, and I'm glad you seem to be thinking clearly, for
I was not."
	"When all three of my friends were sucked into an alternate dimension,"
Slasher continued, "I figured I'd never be able to rescue you by entering
the teleporter. So I tried to go in a back way. I remembered where the
aliens had gone, a place they called 'Space-time Six.' I tried to go there."
	Sonic looked shocked. "You didn't."
	"I did. That's why it was the stupidest mistake I ever made. I used
an object the creatures gave me (and I've sworn I'll never tell anyone what
it is), and left Space-time Four. I mistakenly thought I could reach the
Interweb through Space-time Six. I was wrong."
	"The instant I entered Space' Six the portal closed behind me.
I knew if I advanced one step further I would never be able to
find my way back again. So I waited. I knew enough to know I must
be needed outside for the portal to open again, so I despaired when I
saw that you had gotten back, but had forgotten about me. Still, there
was always a slim chance, so I stayed close to the portal. Nothing
happened until I began praying and then--I still can't explain it--you
found your whistle."
	"The moment you blew it the portal opened and I leaped through it.
I came through so fast that there was a few minutes before time caught
up to me again. That's how I was able to set fire to the fuel station and
attack Robotnik in the same thirty seconds."
	"Ah, I wondered about that," Sonic nodded. He put an arm around
her muscular neck (she was so big he had to reach up to accomplish this),
and said, "I've needed you a lot in the past few years."
	Another hour passed before they finished talking. Sonic went back
to bed with a much lightened heart and a refreshed mind. They had talked
over everything that had happened so long ago, and Slasher had told him
 he had to tell Tails about it, and revive his memory, too. "Too bad
we can't talk to Knux," Sonic had said regretfully. "I'd like to ask him
what happened to him in the--the--man, I wish I could at least say it."
As he fought with himself, Slasher had looked increasingly thoughtful.
"That's not a bad idea," she had murmured. Shortly afterward she had
kicked him out, for it was late.
____________________________________________________________________
Chapter 8
	Tails, Sonic, and Slasher's plan
___________________________________________________________________
	Early the next morning, Sonic awoke Tails. "Hey, little bro,"
Sonic said softly. "I need to ask you something." Tails sat up and yawned.
"What's up, Sonic?"
	"Tails, uh, do you remember --the Interweb?"
	Tails gasped at the name and writhed backward. "Don't say it, Sonic!
I don't want to remember it!"
"Tails," Sonic was firm. "You have to. Because you have to remember what
happened before it got us. It's like, really important." Tails tried to think,
but shuddered and looked up at Sonic.
	"I can't remember anything past--it."
	"You have to!" Sonic implored earnestly. "Don't you remember Floating Island?
Remember the earthquake in Marble Gardens that almost killed you?"
	"Floating Island," Tails murmured. "Marble Gardens. They sound familiar,
but I don't--"
	Sonic began to recount their previous adventures in detail while Tails
listened, wide-eyed. Unknown to them, everyone in Knothole gathered around
the door and windows and were also listening, wide-eyed.
For thirty minutes it went on, Sonic so absorbed in what he was
telling Tails he didn't notice he had an audience. He ended at the doomsday
battle between himself and Robotnik, and Tails suddenly remembered it all.
They talked back and forth about everything. Tails said, "The only
thing bad about remembering all this is that I can't forget the Interweb
and what it did. Man, I wish I could. How awful to totally forget
everything else, though!"
	It was then Sonic looked up and noticed everyone clustered around
the windows and door. "How about that?" he shouted at them. "Did you guy
hear all that okay?" In a lower voice he said, "C'mon, Tails. Gosh, I feel
like I've said that a lot!" He got up and walked outside, where he was
inundated with questions. "Slasher, help!" he cried in mock dismay. Slasher
was standing back with her forearms folded, watching. When Sonic called she
grinned and moved forward. "You seem to be very popular at the moment,"
she chuckled.
	  Two hours passed. Sonic was at the center of attention as he told
everyone about fighting Robotnik many different times. Tails told his side
as well, with Slasher imputing her angle every so often. But once nobody
could think of any more questions, Sonic said, "Well, there was one more
person who was there, too. But he's on the wrong side."
"Who?" Sally demanded. Sonic and Tails looked at each other and said in unison,
"Knuckles."
	Slasher stood up and announced unexpectedly, "And he needs to have
his memory revived as well. He could give us valuable information on the
continuum. I've been thinking about it, and tonight Knuckles will join
our side."


Part 1 completed.