"Project Omega" A work of Sonic the Hedgehog "Fan-faction" by Ian Patterson 
A few technicalities... I've read enough fanfic to know what title 
17 (the copyright law) does and does not allow; you can't change the text in 
any way or charge anyone money to read this without my expressed written 
permission. All situations and characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog 
Saturday morning cartoon series, as aired on ABC, are copyright SEGA, DiC, 
and/or Archie Comics, and are used (or at least referred to here) without 
permission, except the characters created by yours truly, which are 
copyrighted by me.


PROJECT OMEGA


	Beautiful, absolutely beautiful!!!  That's what Snively thought as
he sat in the command chair of his nearly completed Project Omega.  Sitting
here reminded him of being back in the old Doomsday Machine.  Oh, how he
had wanted to sit in the command chair, and run the whole thing.  Robotnik
didn't know what he had been doing, and that was what led to his ultimate
defeat.
	"Isn't this a marvelous piece of work, Mecha-Sonic?", asked Snively.
	"Delightful", said Mecha-Sonic, standing by one of the computer
consoles, "Final preparations for the activation should be finished within
the hour.  After that, then the real fun starts."
	"Yes", said Snively, "And then all of Mobius will be mine for the
taking.  After this, I probably won't even need the roboticizer."
	Snively looked over at Mecha-Sonic, still busying himself with 
the preparations.
	"Or you", he thought.

	This was the moment that Sally had been waiting for almost two
days.  Nicole had originally predicted 16 hours to break Snively's encrypted
codes on transport that they had stolen from him.  However, the block that
Nicole had broken turned out to be one of eight more that were just as
complicated.  But their patients had paid off.  Now, Nicole had opened them
all.
	"Are the files open, Nicole?", asked Sally.
	"Affirmative, Sally", said Nicole, "95% of the blocks have been
successfully removed."
	"What about the other 5%?", asked Sally.
	"The remaining percentage proved to be totally hacker-proof", said
Nicole, "Access codes are required to open it."
	Sally sighed, and shook her head.  She just hoped that it wasn't
something important.
	"Are you all ready?", she said, looking back.
	Behind her, stood Sonic, Bunnie, Rotor, Uncle Chuck, and King Acorn.
They all nodded their heads, and Sally engaged the computer.
	At first, nothing happened, but then a hologram of Snively appeared.
	"Ew", said Sonic, "We waited two days just to see Snerdley's ugly
face??"
	"Shush, Sonic", said Sally.
	"Final Omega Report", said Snively, "After several years of secretive
planning, my greatest creation is in its final stages of construction.
Within the month, it will be fully operational, and ready for use."
	The image of Snively disappeared, and an image of Project Omega came
into view.  It was a huge tower, perhaps half a mile into the air.  There
was a huge antenna array on the top of it.  The image began to rotate, 
showing all angles of the huge tower.
	"The Omega Tower is linked to several satellites in orbit around
Mobius", said Snivley, "When the time comes, the tower will beam what I
have named, "The Brain Wave", at the satellites.  When that occurs, the
satellites will relay it all around the planet.  The wave will affect only
organic Mobians.  When the wave touches them, it will have an effect that
is similar to the effect of the roboticizer, in that it will remove their 
free will, and leave them totally dependent on an outside suggestion.
In addition to the mind-numbing wave, there will be a sonic sound installed
within it.  It will give the now mindless Mobian only two words to live
by for the rest of their days; OBEY SNIVELY.  There are still a few 
technical problems to work out, but I am confidant that my genius will 
preservere.  End of report."
	The image disappeared, and the Freedom Fighters all just stood there
with their mouths hanging open.  Sonic was the first to break the silence.
	"Oh man!", he said, "This is Doomsday all over again!"
	"We have to stop this", said Sally, "If Snively gets that thing
operational, he'll be able to subdue the entire planet in one sweep."
	"But how?", asked Rotor, "We don't even know where the site is."
	Sally folded her arms, and looked down at her feet.
	"That is a problem", she said, "Snively kept this project so secret
that only a handful of individuals even knew that it existed, much less
knew where it was.  Our intelligence hasn't brought up anything new,
either."
	"Great", said Sonic, "Then we're sunk!"
	"Well", said Uncle Chuck, fiddling with the controls on the transport,
"From what I can gather from this airial shot of the tower, it's located 
somewhere out in the Great Unknown.  That's really the only place that
has the kind of room that Snively would need for this huge a structure."
	Sally lifted her head up, and put her arms behind her back.  This was
bad.  They had all been caught WAY off guard by this new weapon.  With the
Doomsday Machine, they at least had some bit of knowledge about its inner
workings.  With Project Omega, they had squat.  She was also betting that
the other Freedom Fighter groups knew next to nothing about it, and wouldn't
be of much help.
	"We have to go there", she said, "At least then, we can get some
kind of idea of what we're up against."
	"But Sally-girl", said Bunnie, "We don't even know where that awful
thing is."
	"I've got a hunch", said Sally, "It's not much, but I'm willing
to try it out.  Sonic, you and I can go."
	"Where are you going, Sally?", asked King Acorn, finally speaking up.
	"Just trust me on this one, Daddy", said Sally, hugging her father.
	Sally grabbed Sonic's hand, and they both headed towards the Power
Ring Pool.
	
	"Is it time?", asked Snively, rocking in his chair.
	"Master", said Mecha-Sonic, sounding slightly irritated, "There are
still some anomalies that are being created from installing the Mechanizer
into Project Omega's power grid, and it's slightly unstable."
	"I don't care", said Snively, "I want full initiation in 45 minutes.
Is that clear?"
	Mecha-Sonic narrowed his eyes to slits, and nodded his head.  He
then turned back to his control panel.  He looked at Snively through the
corner of his eye.
	"Your arrogance will destroy us all", he mumbled.
	Before he could get another thought in, there was a familiar flash
of white light.  He turned, and saw the massive form of Century standing
there, with his arms folded.
	"You!", yelled Snively, pointing at the cloaked figure, "Where have
you been?"
	"What I choose to do with my time is none of your concern, Snively",
said Century, in his low voice.
	"Look at it, Century", said Snively, waving his hand around, "Isn't
it marvelous?  And it's almost ready for initiation."
	Century looked around for a moment, and then looked down at Snively.
He shook his head.
	"I sense instabilities in the core", he said, "They make cause a 
problem later on."
	"See?", said Mecha-Sonic.
	"Bah!", said Snively, waving the warning away with his hand, "Nothing
will interfere with my master plan."
	"Really?", laughed Century, "Then how about an annoying blue hedgehog
or a nosy little squirrel?"
	"Don't worry, Century", said Snively, rubbing his hands together,
"Thanks to you, they won't be a problem.  Are you positive about 
everything?"
	"I'm always positive", said Century, "Your metal crony over there
had better get a move on if he plans to be in position when they arrive."
	"Right", said Snively, "Mecha-Sonic!  You know the drill."
	"Yeah, yeah", said the robotic hedgehog, walking away from the control
panel, and towards the door.
	He walked into the elevator, and turned around.  His eyes flashed
red.
	"You'd just better be right about all this", he said to Century.
	Century's eyes just flashed red.

	Sonic and Sally stopped on top of a rock formation out in the Great
Unknown.  The sun was starting to go down, and the sky above was a reddish
color.  The dry wind of the huge desert blew Sally's hair all about.
	"Bingo", said Sally, pointing in front of them.
	Sonic looked, and saw a huge tower standing right where the monstrous
Doomsday Machine had been.
	"Project Omega?", he asked.
	"It couldn't be anything else", said Sally, pulling Nicole out of
her boot, "What do you think, Nicole?"
	"There is a high level of energy being put out from the tower", said
Nicole, "There is a 93% probability that this is Project Omega."
	"Man", said Sonic, scratching his head, "I thought it'd be bigger."
	"The holo of it must not have been scaled right", said Sally, "Come
on, let's go back and get everyone."
	"Hold it, Sal", said Sonic, grabbing her by the arm, "Since we're
all the way out here, what say we take a little peek inside?"
	"I don't know, Sonic", said Sally, "We shouldn't go in there alone."
	"Pish posh", said Sonic, "I can handle anything that Snerdly throws
at us."
	"Alright", said Sally, putting Nicole back in her boot, "But the
first hint of trouble, and we're gone.  Got it?"
	"Got it", said Sonic, revving up.
	Sally grabbed onto his back, and they shot off towards the tower.
	Sonic stopped when he reached one side of it.  He looked around, and
saw no guards or any other kind of security.
	"That's weird", said Sonic.
	"I know", said Sally, "There should be some kind of defense around
this place.  It's possible that Snively doesn't think we'll find this
place, and didn't figure he needed guards."
	"That's a pretty risky maneuver", said Sonic, "Even I'd know better
than that."
	"Hmmm", hummed Sally, "I'm gonna bet that this is just a decoy.  
Snively probably expects us to waste all of our time here, while he's off
somewhere else."
	"So what's the call, Sal?", asked Sonic.
	Before Sally could say anything, about a dozen or so plasma rifles
appeared all around them.  Sonic and Sally just looked at each other, and
then back at the SWATbots.
	"The call, Hedgehog", said Mecha-Sonic walking towards them, "Is
GAME OVER!!"

	Sally and Sonic were taken inside the tower, which was a little more
than the two had thought.  Mecha-Sonic had them both thrown in some kind
of arena-type cage.  The floor seemed to be like a real thick mud.
	"Alright, Robo-Jerk", said Sonic, "What's the deal?"
	"You two are really pathetic", chuckled Mecha-Sonic, "You fell for
this just like Snively knew you would.  Project Omega isn't within fifty
miles of this place."
	"What are you going to do with us?", asked Sally.
	"Well", said Mecha-Sonic, "I thought that I would give you a look
at the Brain Wave."
	Two worker-bots pushed in a device with a dish at the end of it.
They performed a few adjustments, and then Mecha-Sonic walked up to the
controls.
	"Now", he said, pushing buttons, "This is a miniature version of the
main structure.  It emits a harmonic pulse that will remove an individual's
free-will, leaving them not unlike these two worker-bots."
	"Skip that", said Sonic, "We already knew all that jazz."
	"Good", said Mecha-Sonic, "Then I can get down to the nitty-gritty.
What makes this machine so special, is that it can go from very general
to extremely specific.  For example, I can set the beam to affect all living
creatures.  Next, I can set it to affect only Mobians."
	Mecha-Sonic turned a few dials and the cannon hummed slightly.  Sonic
and Sally just watched it.  Sonic started to slip the Power Ring out of
his back-pack.  Mecha-Sonic looked up at him.
	"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Hedgehog", he said, "I'm sure 
you've noticed the unusual floor.  That's a new mixture of Mega-Muck."
	"Hah!", laughed Sonic, "It doesn't work too well."
	"You can move freely on it", said Mecha-Sonic, "You won't sink unless
you start moving fast.  The second you start running, you're going to sink
like a rock.  Got that?"
	"You're bluffing", said Sonic, clutching the ring in his hand.
	"Are you ready to test that theory?", said Mecha-Sonic, grinning,
"Now, as I was saying, the cannon now only affects Mobians.  That's still
a bit too general for me.  How about we set it to only affect female 
Mobians?"
	He pushed a few more buttons, and the cannon hummed again.  
	"The beam will no longer affect you, Hedgehog", said Mecha-Sonic, 
"The princess, on the other hand, heh heh heh.  Let's take it one final
step."
	Mecha-Sonic turned a dial one last time, and then folded his arms.
He looked at Sally, and his eyes flashed red.
	"Now the cannon only female Mobian squirrels", he said, "Hold on to
your brain-cells, Princess!"
	He pushed a button, and there was a flash of white light.  Sonic
uncovered his eyes, and saw Sally standing there with a vacant expression
on her face.
	"Sal?", he said, "Yoo-hoo, Sally!"
	He waved his hand in front of her face, and she didn't even budge.
Sonic turned his head back, and looked at his robotic double.
	"What did you do to her?", he growled.
	"Her mind has now been numbed", he said, "She can no longer make her
own decisions.  She can only respond to an outside source, which happens
to be me!"
	"I don't believe you", said Sonic.
	"Fine", said Mecha-Sonic, "Tell her to stand on one foot."
	Sonic just glared at Mecha-Sonic.
	"Go ahead!", said Mecha-Sonic.
	Sonic turned his head, and looked at Sally.
	"Stand on one foot", he said.
	Sally just stood there, unmoving.  
	"Now, observe", said Mecha-Sonic, "Sally, stand on one foot."
	Sally slowly raised her right foot up a few inches.  Sonic couldn't
believe it.
	"She'll stand there like that until I tell her different", said 
Mecha-Sonic, "Alright, put your foot down, Sally."
	Sally set her foot back down on the ground.  Mecha-Sonic grinned an
evil grin.
	"Kiss Sonic, Sally", he said.
	Sally turned, and kissed Sonic full on the lips.  He tried to push her
away, but she wouldn't let go.  Mecha-Sonic stood there, tapping his claws
on the console, and chuckling.
	"That's enough, Sally", he said.
	Sally let go of Sonic, and stood up straight.
	"Now slap him", he said.
	Sally's arm snapped back, and belted Sonic right across the face.
He put his hand over his cheek, feeling the pain.
	"You see, Hedgehog?", laughed Mecha-Sonic, "She does exactly what I
tell her, without question.  Now, I'm going to prove it to you."
	"What do you mean?", said Sonic, hoping that Mecha-Sonic wasn't
going to say what he thought he was going to.  
	"Sally?", said Mecha-Sonic.
	Sally slowly turned her head, and looked at Mecha-Sonic.  He grinned
a sinister grin.
	"Kill Sonic", he said, "And make him suffer."
	Sally turned her head back, and looked at Sonic.  Her eyes narrowed
to slits, and she clenched her teeth together.  She started walking towards
him, with her hands out.
	"Sal!", said Sonic, backing up, "Don't do this!  Come on!  It's me,
Sonic!!"
	Sally lunged at Sonic, who promptly dodged.  Sally crashed onto the
ground, and laid there for a moment.
	"Come on, Hedgehog!", laughed Mecha-Sonic from behind the force-field,
"You can do better than that!"
	"I'm not gonna hurt her, you jerk!", yelled Sonic.
	"Too bad", said Mecha-Sonic, "It's either you kill her, or let her
kill you."
	Sonic turned his head, only to have Sally punch him across the face.
He fell to the ground from the shock.  Sonic didn't have time to recover,
because Sally was quickly on top of him, trying to strangle him.
	"Ach!", gagged Sonic, "Sally!  Quit it!"
	Sonic grabbed ahold of Sally's wrists, and tried to pull them away
from his throat.  However, he was in a bad position, and he couldn't
get any power behind his grip.  
	"That's it, Sally!", growled Mecha-Sonic, "KILL HIM!!!"
	Sally responded to Mecha-Sonic by tightening her grip on Sonic's
throat.  Sonic knew that if she kept this up, she was going to crush his
wind-pipe.  But how did he get her stop without hurting her?  It wasn't her
fault that she was doing this to him.
	Everything started to go black.  Sonic knew that he had to get Sally
off of him and get some breathing room.
	"Ugh!", he grunted, bringing his foot up.
	He kicked Sally in the back, and knocked her off of him.  Sonic rolled
over on his side, and clutched his throat.  He took several huge breaths
of air.  His vision was starting to clear up.  
	"That's the spirit, Hedgehog!", laughed Mecha-Sonic, "Give her 
what-for!"
	Sonic ignored Mecha-Sonic.  He staggered to his knees, and looked up.
He saw Sally charging him.  Her eyes were seemed filled with blind rage.
	Sonic instinctively flipped Sally over his head.  She crashed back 
onto the ground behind him.
	"I have to stop you, Sally", he said, standing up, "I don't want to
hurt you."
	"Too bad she doesn't feel the same way, Hedgehog", said Mecha-Sonic.
	Sonic got an idea.  He revved up, and shot at Sally.  He quickly
began running circles around her, causing the mega-muck to swallow her hands
and legs.  Once she had sunk down enough, he stopped running.  The mega-muck
hardened, and trapped Sally within it.
	"Oh, that's very clever", said Mecha-Sonic, folding his arms, "Well,
now that she's helpless, what do you say I make you break her neck?"
	Mecha-Sonic was about to turn the dial on the cannon, when a blast
of white light hit the control panel, causing it to explode in the robot's
face.
	"AHHHHH!!!", he yelled, flying backwards.
	His armor-plating protected him, but Mecha-Sonic was temporarily 
deactivated when he slammed against the wall.  The two SWATbots that 
were standing nearby turned, and fired on the source of the blast.  Two
more of them came out of the shadows, and destroyed the bots.
	Since the cannon was destroyed, its hold over Sally vanished.  She
blinked her eyes once or twice, and looked around.
	"Hey!", she said, "What happened?  How did I get here?"
	Sonic came up to her, and knelt down in front of her.
	"Mecha-Jerk used that Brain Wave gizmo to turn you against me", he
said, "I stuck you down in here so I wouldn't have to hurt you."
	Sonic looked up in the shadows where the blasts had originated from.
His jaw dropped when he saw who walked out of them.
	"Century?", he said, "What are you doing?"
	"Silence", said Century, holding up his arm.
	"Hey, wait a minute!", said Sonic, covering his face.
	Century fired a bolt of energy at the force-field.  There was a loud
hiss, and then it shorted out.  
	"You may uncover your face, Hedgehog", said Century, "I have not 
come to harm you."
	Sonic looked at the hooded figure.  He squinted his eyes.
	"What DO you want?", he asked.
	"I have come to help you", said Century, reaching into his robes,
and pulling a small capsule from it.  
	He tossed it onto the mega-muck that was holding Sally.  It slowly
ate away the hardened goop.  Sally looked up at him.
	"Why?", she asked, standing up, "I thought you served Snively."
	"I serve no one", he said, "I allied myself with Snively because
he showed potential.  However, his idiotic incompetence will destroy us
all if he is not stopped."
	"What are you talking about?", asked Sally.
	"He has integrated the Mechanizer into Project Omega's power grid",
said Century, "This is causing dangerous instabilities.  If he engages
the Brain Wave while the Mechanizer is activated, there is no telling what
could happen."
	"And you're assuming the worst?", asked Sally.
	"A planet that is devoid of life is of no use to me", said Century,
"As much as I despise you Freedom Fighters.....you are now Mobius' only
chance for survival."
	"How are we supposed to stop it?", asked Sonic, "We don't even know
where the stupid tower is!"
	Century pointed his finger at Nicole, and a beam of light shot out
of it.  He looked back up at Sally.
	"The coordinates for Project Omega are now in her database", said
Century, "I have given you all the aid that I am willing to.  The rest is
up to you."
	A flash of light surrounded the room, and when it let up, Century
was gone.  Sonic looked over at Sally.  
	"I think we'd better get out of here before Metal-Mouth gets back up",
said Sonic.

	Snively stood, staring at the main power console for Project Omega.
The huge LED redout above it said that there was only 3 hours, twenty-seven
minutes, and sixteen seconds until full initiation.  His Tech-bots and
worker-bots were making the final preps at that moment.
	"Soon", he said, "I will be Master Supreme of all Mobius, and there
won't be a soul left to stop me, heh heh."
	He heard the door open behind him.  Slowly, he turned around, and
scowled as he saw Mecha-Sonic limping in.  The entire front side of him
was covered in black soot.
	"What the HELL happened!?", yelled Snively.
	"Don't ask", said Mecha-Sonic, trying to wipe the soot off of him.
	"You let them escape, didn't you?", said Snively, glaring at the
robot.
	"It wasn't my fault this time", said Mecha-Sonic, "I had them both
right where I wanted them.  Then, just as I was about to make Sonic break
Sally's neck, the stupid console exploded in my face!"
	"A likely story", said Snively, "More likely, you overloaded the
system and knocked yourself over.  Those two vermin probably laughed all
the way back to Knothole."
	"Say what you will", said Mecha-Sonic, "But I will destroy that
hedgehog."
	"You say that every time he makes a fool out of you", said Snively,
"And every time you engage him, he manages to do it again.  Well, I have
news for you.  The Mechanizer is prepped and ready to go.  The next 
warrior-bot that comes out of is going to be your replacement."
	"You're gonna scrap me?", said Mecha-Sonic, not believing his audio
sensors.
	"No, of course not", said Snively, "You still have your uses.  
However, catching the hedgehog is not one of them.  Don't worry.  I'll find
something for you to do to serve me."
	Snively turned away from Mecha-Sonic, and walked for the door.  He
turned his head, and looked at the robot.
	"If you'll excuse me", he said, "I want to supervise the final stages
of preparation for initiation."
	Snively walked through the doorway, and the door shut behind him.
Mecha-Sonic just stood there, staring at the closed door.  He wiped a 
claw-ful of soot from his face.  His eyes flashed a bright shade of red.
	"Replace me?", he sneered, "That's what you think, Twit."
	Mecha-Sonic walked over to the access panel for the Mechanizer.  He
opened it, and looked at the huge rat's nest of wires and cables inside.
He grinned as he began rewiring the machine.  With any luck, the bot that
the thing would put out wouldn't worth the energy Snively used to make it.

	Back in Knothole, everyone had gathered in Sally's hut to hear about
the information that Century had given Sally about Project Omega.  It was
safe to say that it wasn't good.
	"Project Omega is located about sixty miles to the north of where
we were", said Sally, pointing at the holo-map of the Great Unknown.
	"So how do we get in?", asked Rotor, staring at the 3D model of the
tower, "Snively has some major ground defense all around the place."
	"That means we're going to have to keep our ground assault to a 
minimum", said King Acorn, "If Snively is expecting a major attack by 
land, then we'd best do just the opposite."
	"What do you suggest, Sire?", asked Uncle Chuck.
	"Since Sonic has the best chance of making it through the ground
defenses", said the king, "It's only logical that he be our ground
assault."
	"Cool", said Sonic, "No problem for this hedgehog."
	"The rest of you must find other ways in", said the king, "According
to this data, Snively does have air defense, but not as much as on the
ground.  I believe that Dulcy can cause a sufficient diversion and let
our hover-unit slip in unseen."
	"And once in", said Sally, "We can dock with the tower, and start
our individual missions."
	"There's more", said the king, "Nicole, go to SUBTERRANEAN Mode."
	The 3D display moved below Project Omega, and showed a vast array
of tunnels under the main structure.
	"You see this?", said King Acorn, pointing at a bright light in the
heart of the tunnels, "This is the main engine driver for Brain Wave beam.
Taking this out should cause a huge loss of power to the beam, and cause
it to be nonfunctional."
	"However", contrasted Sally, "Snively probably has a back-up system
for that.  We'd need to take out the main computer system at the same time
to prevent the back-up from kicking in."
	"That should do it", said Rotor, "If we take out both of these
things at the same time, Project Omega should totally shut down.  Hopefully
for good."
	"Then it's a plan!", said Sonic, giving a thumbs-up."

	About an hour later, everyone was getting ready to head for the
site in the Great Unknown.  Rotor had quickly slapped together a blast
shield for Dulcy, in case she took a hit.
	"Come on, you two", said Sally, helping Sasha and Tails onto Dulcy's
back.
	"Sally", said Dulcy, "Are you sure it's a good idea to put them in
with me?"
	"If they see you flying on your own, Dulcy", said Sally, "They'll
know that you're just a diversion.  I'd put someone else on, but nobody
else knows how to ride you like these two monsters do."
	"I resent that", said Sasha, looking at Sally, and sticking her 
tongue out.
	"Here's all you two have to do", said Sally, "When Dulcy enters
Project Omega's airspace, just keep your heads down and hold on tight."
	"Gotcha, Aunt Sally", said Tails, holding onto Sasha, who was sitting
in front of him.
	"Be careful", said King Acorn, "I'll be monitoring everything from
here.  Dulcy, if anything happens, get them out of danger as soon as you
can, understood?"
	"Yes Sir, your Kingship, Sir", said Dulcy, saluting the king.
	King Acorn shook his head, and went over to the hover-unit.  There,
Bunnie and Sally were getting ready to depart as well.  Uncle Chuck and
Rotor were inside getting the unit ready.  Antoine was going to serve as
the pilot.
	"Sally", said King Acorn, "You know what you're supposed to do?"
	"Yes, Father", said Sally, "Don't worry, I've been doing this kind
of stuff for years."
	Uncle Chuck stuck his head out of the opening.
	"All aboard!", he said.
	Sonic sped up beside them.  He'd just grabbed a Power Ring from the
Power Ring Pool and was ready to go.
	"Alright, Sal", he said, "You know the drill, right?"
	"Yes, Sonic", said Sally, "Let you and Dulcy take care of the
defenses, and then slip by them when they're not looking."
	"Cool", said Sonic, giving Sally a thumbs-up, "Then let's rock!"

	Snively sat in the Control Center of Project Omega.  He was staring
at the countdown timer.  He only had an hour and forty-seven minutes left
until he ruled Mobius.  He turned his head when he heard a noise behind
him.
	"Century", he said, "Where have you been?"
	"When something concerns you, Snively", he said, "You will be told.
Otherwise, don't ask."
	Snively narrowed his eyes to slits.  He wondered what kind of creature
Century was.  Perhaps he would use the Brain Wave on him as well.

	The hover-bots outside the Omega Complex were performing their 
security duties.  So far, they had covered the area seven hundred sixty
eight times, and they hadn't seen a thing out of the ordinary.
	One bot flew up to the flight leader.
	"Security flight completed, Sir", it said.
	"Begin Security Flight #0034", said the flight leader.
	"Yes-", started the bot.
	Something huge and green flew right between the two hover-bots, 
causing them both to flip out of control.  Once they righted themselves,
they looked, and saw Dulcy doing flips and turns in the air.  She looked
at the both of them, and waved.
	"Hiyeeee!", she chimed, smiling.
	"Intruder alert!", said the flight leader, "All units, apprehend
the dragon!"
	The hover-bot that was with the flight leader flew after Dulcy.  Six
more units appeared and joined the chase.

	Snively jumped out of his chair when he heard the intruder alert.
He ran to the monitor, and saw the dragon.
	"That's the dragon that's with the Freedom Fighters!", he growled, 
"And the princess is with her!  GET THEM BOTH!!!"
	Just as he said that, another intruder alert went off.  
	"Now what?", he said, looking at another monitor.
	The image showed several SWATbots trying to shoot at Sonic, who was
racing circles around them all.
	"Not the hedgehog!", yelled Snively, balling his hands into fists, 
"I'm too close!  All available units!!  Keep the Freedom Fighters away
from the complex!!  Use any means necessary!"
	Snively slammed his fists down on the console.  He turned to say
something to Century, but the hooded figure was gone.
	"I wish he'd stop doing that!", said Snively, gritting his teeth.
	
	Outside, Dulcy was flying rings around the hover-bots and hover-units.
She had already frozen several of them, and blew fire at several others.
	"This is fun!", she said, doing a summer-salt in the air.
	She went straight into a nose-dive, and two hover-bots that were
closing in on either side slammed right into each other, exploding in a
ball of fire.
	On Dulcy's back, Sasha and Tails could only hold on for dear life.
Tails noticed that Sasha looked a little pale.
	"Are you alright?", he asked.
	"Tell me when it's over!", she squealed.
	Tails saw that she had her eyes shut tightly.  He smiled, and held
onto the saddle.
	Dulcy did a U-turn, and landed right on the windshield of a chasing
hover-pod.  She knocked on the glass, and then waved at the two SWATbots
that were inside.
	One pulled out a plasma pistol, and blasted a hole in the windshield.
Dulcy moved out of the blast's path, and looked back at the two SWATbots.
	"Hot stuff, you guys!", she said, "So, CHILL OUT!!"
	She took a deep breath, and blew a storm of ice onto the two robots.
They quickly froze, and Dulcy then jumped off of the pod.  The out of 
control pod slammed into another one, and they both exploded.
	"YES!!", said Dulcy.
	Tails looked up, and saw the Freedom Fighters' pod fly through the
area, unnoticed.  He knew that their cue to leave.
	"Let's get out of here, Dulcy!", he said.
	"Too bad", said Dulcy, swooping around, and flying away from the 
complex.
	
	"She's retreating", said Snively, "Good."
	He looked down at the ground battle.  The hedgehog was still giving
his ground forces a hard time.  
	"All airial units", he said, "Engage the hedgehog!"
	He watched as the air units headed into the other battle.

	A few miles away from the complex, Dulcy landed behind a big rock.
Sasha quickly unstrapped herself from Dulcy, and slid to the ground.  She
knelt down, and kissed the sand a few times.
	"Mwah, mwah!", she said, kissing the ground, "I'm never leaving you
again!"
	"Aw, c'mon, Sasha!", said Tails, hopping down, "It wasn't that bad."
	"Yeah!", said Dulcy, "We got those bots!"
	Suddenly, there was a huge flash of light, and the three Freedom 
Fighters fell to the ground.
	"Yes", said Century, standing there with his arm out, and still 
smoking, "You most certainly did."

	At the complex, Antoine landed the hover-unit in a row of several
other hover-units.  He gave the other four a thumbs-up when they were clear.
	Sally popped the hatch, and they broke into their two teams.  Rotor
and Uncle Chuck headed for the engine core, while Sally and Bunnie headed
for the main computer chamber.  Antoine quickly closed the hatch, and 
nervously looking around the landing bay.
	"I do weesh zat they would be hurrying the hecks up", he said to
himself, "Zis place, it eez giving me zee creepers."
	
	Rotor and Uncle Chuck made it down several levels of the complex
without much of a hitch.  From what Uncle Chuck got out of a terminal
that they had passed earlier, they were only a few levels from the
engine core.
	"Chuck!", said Rotor, "Look out!"
	The two of them ducked behind a wall, and saw two SWATbots walk by,
brandishing their plasma rifles.
	"Great", said Uncle Chuck, "I was hoping to make it down there without
having to worry about this."
	"What do we do?", asked Rotor, "This whole operation'll be worthless
if they see us."
	"Then we'll have to make sure they don't see us", said Uncle Chuck,
pulling two pin-like devices out of his backpack.
	"What're those?", asked Rotor.
	"Bot scramblers", he said, "First time I used 'em was during the 
coup.  Hope they still work."
	Uncle Chuck set up his aim, and threw one of the scramblers at the
SWATbots.  It stuck into the back of one's head.  There was a small flash
from the scrambler, and then the bot fell to the ground.  The second one
stopped, and looked at its fallen comrade.  It then looked over at Uncle
Chuck and Rotor.
	"Halt, Freedom Figh--", it started.
	It was cut off when Uncle Chuck threw the second scrambler and it
hit it right in the face.  It then fell on the ground.  
	"Come on", said Uncle Chuck.  
	The two quickly pulled the SWATbots out of sight, and then headed
to the engine core.  Hopeful, this was the last confrontation they would
have to deal with.

	A light began flashing on Mecha-Sonic's terminal.  He looked, and saw
that two SWATbots had stopped relaying data.  
	"Unit 4", he said, "Respond."
	There was nothing but static.  He narrowed his eyes to slits.  This
wasn't good.
	"Unit 6", he tried again, "Respond."
	Again, nothing but static.  They had both been deactivated.  Slowly,
Mecha-Sonic gritted his metal teeth.  This was way too close to the engine 
core.  
	"Freedom Fighters", he said, "Somehow, they got in.  But how?"
	Mecha-Sonic looked over at a set of screens next to him.  He pushed
a few buttons, and the image of Sonic still running circles around the
hover-bots and units.
	"No", he said, "There's too many traps and guards for them to have
come in on land.  They must've come in by air."
	Mecha-Sonic flipped a switch, and the replay of Dulcy playing kick
the can with the hover-units came up.  He watched her retreat, and grinned.
	"The dragon and the hedgehog are just decoys", he said, "They must've
slipped in during the distraction.  Clever, Princess.  Very clever."
	Mecha-Sonic stood up, and headed out of the control room.  In the
lift, he thought about where to go.  It was doubtful that they would hit
the same target.  It would be more likely for them to hit multiple targets
in order to cripple the tower.
	An idea came to him.  He lifted up his arm, and tacked in some 
commands on the computer terminal.  Then, he looked at the screen that was
waiting for a destination.
	"Brain Room", he said, folding his arms.
	
	"See anything, Rotor?", asked Uncle Chuck.
	Rotor poked his head out from behind the huge bulk head they were
hiding behind.  
	"Bunch of worker-bots", he said, "They aren't coming over here."
	"Good", said Uncle Chuck, pulling a rolled up sack out and laying it
on the floor.
	He unrolled the sack, and pulled out one of the many tools that 
occupied it.  
	"Come on, you stubborn panel!", he grumbled at the access panel to
the engine terminal.
	Finally, he got the panel off, and quietly laid it on the floor.
Rotor looked up again, and saw that no worker-bots had noticed them as of
yet.  They were all milling about, performing this or that duty.
	"We're still in the clear", he said, "What now?"
	Uncle Chuck started typing on the terminal.  He brought up the status
of the engine core.  Several bar graphs and charts came up.
	"Engine core at 92% and rising", he said, "This thing'll be ready
to go in......thirty minutes."
	"What is Snively using to power this thing?", asked Rotor.
	"He's using nuclear fusion to bring it up to full power, and then
he's going to use regular fossil fuel to keep it running."
	"So how do we shut this thing down without causing a meltdown?", 
asked Rotor.
	"I don't think we can overload it", said Uncle Chuck, "But maybe
we can start filtering the power to other systems and try to use it all
up.  That way, Snively can't get the tower up to 100%.  Once the nuclear
power is gone, we should be able to blow this place."
	"Good idea", said Rotor.
	Uncle Chuck picked up a pair of wire-cutters and started snipping
wires so he could cross them.  One of the wires was a bit thicker than he
thought, and the pliers slipped out of his hands.
	"Darn it!", he said, "Rotor, get those for me."
	Rotor leaned over to grab the pliers.  He got ahold of them, and 
looked up.  His eyes got real wide, and he poked Uncle Chuck.
	"Ah, Chuck?", he said, nervously.
	"Not now, Rotor", said Uncle Chuck, "I'm getting somewhere, here."
	"Chuck", said Rotor, "This is important."
	"Oh, for crying out loud, Rotor", said Uncle Chuck, "What do 
you.......oh hell."
	Standing there watching them, were about thirty worker-bots.  All of
their eyes were glowing red.  Rotor and Chuck just looked at each other,
and put their hands up.

	"Intruders have been captured, Sir", said a worker-bot over 
Mecha-Sonic's arm comm.
	"Good", he said, "Take them to Snively and tell him to wait for me.
I'll be along shortly."
	"Yes, Sir", said the worker-bot.
	Mecha-Sonic put his arm down, and tromped down the hall.

	"This is good enough", said Sally, stopping at a port in the wall,
"Nicole should be able to interface with the tower's main computer."
	"The sooner the better", said Bunnie, looking around, "This place
is givin' me the creeps."
	"Just hold tight, Bunnie", said Sally, "Nicole, access the tower's
initiation systems."
	"Accessing, Sally", said Nicole.
	"Now what?", asked Bunnie.
	"We wait", said Sally, "There's a lot to search."
	Bunnie crouched down next to Sally, so she could see what Nicole was
doing.
	"Can't she hurry it up?", asked Bunnie, rocking back and forth.
	"I said hold tight, Bunnie", said Sally, "Give her a minute."
	Suddenly, a metal hand wrapped around Bunnie's neck, and yanked her
off her feet.
	"Geez!!!", screamed Sally, falling back against the wall.
	"If you don't want to hold tight, Rabbot", said Mecha-Sonic, "I'd
be happy to do it for you!!"
	Mecha-Sonic tightened his grip on Bunnie's neck, and held her off 
the ground.  She tried to pry his hands off of her with her robotic hand,
but Mecha-Sonic was way to strong for even Bunnie.  She gagged for air,
but got none.
	"BUNNIE!!", screamed Sally, leaping to her feet, and charging 
Mecha-Sonic.
	Mecha-Sonic chuckled, and put his free hand out.  He held onto Sally's
head, and kept her a decent distance away from him.
	"Ach!", choked Bunnie.
	"Almost there", said Mecha-Sonic, smiling.
	Suddenly, Bunnie went limp in Mecha-Sonic's hand, and he let go of
her.  She crashed to the floor, unmoving.  
	"Right on time", he laughed.
	Sally pulled away from the robot, and slid to Bunnie's side.  She
looked up at Mecha-Sonic, with tears forming in her eyes.
	"You killed her!!", she growled.
	"Oh, keep your vest on", said Mecha-Sonic, "I didn't kill anybody.
I just cut off the oxygen to her brain and she passed out."
	Sally saw that the robotic hedgehog was right.  She saw Bunnie's
chest rising and falling.  Her friend was still alive.  Sally took a 
sigh of relief.
	"Believe me, Princess", said Mecha-Sonic, "She didn't feel a 
thing.....which is more than I can say for YOU!!!"
	Mecha-Sonic's foot shot up, and hit Sally right in the face.  She
flew several feet back through the air, and slammed against wall.  She slid
down it, and slumped to the floor.
	Mecha-Sonic walked up to her, and sat her up.  He wiped away the 
blood that was running from her nose.  He stood up, and walked over to
where Nicole was laying on the floor.  He yanked her out from the port
she was connected to, and looked at her screen.
	"You are a troublesome little thing, aren't you?", he said.
	He closed her, and looked over at several SWATbots that had arrived.
He tossed Nicole to one of them, and pointed at Sally and Bunnie.
	"Take them to Snively", he said, "And do something about the 
princess' nose.  We don't need her bleeding all over the tower."
	"Yes, Sir", said one of the SWATbots.
	Mecha-Sonic took one last look at the two girls, and then tromped
off down the halls again.

	"You thought you were just going to walk in here, and destroy my
beautiful machine, didn't you?", asked Snively.
	In front of him, Rotor, Uncle Chuck, Sasha, Tails, and Dulcy were
hanging from the wall in restraining cuffs.
	"Well, that was the plan", said Rotor.
	Snively scowled, and shook his head.
	"You Freedom Fighters are getting more pathetic everytime I see 
you", he said.
	The door opened behind Snively, and he turned.  Two SWATbots came in
carrying Sally and Bunnie.
	"Ah, good", said Snively, folding his hands, "More friends to play
with!"
	Bunnie and Sally were shackled to the wall as well.  They just looked
at the rest of them.

	In the landing bay, the Freedom Fighters' hover-unit sat among several
other identical hover-units.  Inside it, Antoine sat on the floor, between
the two pilot seats.  He was trembling as he rocked back and forth.
	"I do weesh zey would be hurryings up", he said to himself, "Zees
place is making me quite afraid."
	There was a tap on the hatch to the shuttle.  Antoine yelped quietly
when he heard it.  His eyes opened real wide as he stared at the door.
	"Antoine?", said Sally's voice, "Open up.  It's us."
	Antoine breathed a sigh of relief.  Finally, they could get out of
this horrible place and go home where it was safe.
	"Please to be holdings on", said Antoine, standing up.
	He straightened his uniform out, and pushed the button on the
console that opened up the hatch.  He heard it whoosh open.  Then, he 
turned around.
	Mecha-Sonic stepped into the shuttle.  Antoine's eyes got as wide
as saucers when he saw the robotic hedgehog.
	"AHHHHHH!!!", he screamed, backing up.
	"Thanks Antoine", said Mecha-Sonic, in Sally's voice, "You've been
a great help!"
	The robot held out his claws, and started walking towards Antoine.
Antoine scooted up onto the control panel, trying to get away from the
robotic hedgehog.
	"Don't worry, Antoine", said Mecha-Sonic, "You won't get hurt.....too
much, heh heh."
	Antoine scooted up the panel further, trying to stay out of 
Mecha-Sonic's grip.  On his way up, he accidentally hit the throttle for
the hover-unit, and knocked it to full power.
	The hover-unit roared to life, and shot forward at incredible speed.
	"YAAAAHHHHH!!!!!", screamed Mecha-Sonic, flying backwards.
	Antoine flew back into one of the chairs.  He turned, and saw the
robot stuck against the rear wall from the G-force.  Antoine turned back
around, and tried to gain control of the hover-unit.
	"You-little-maggot!", grunted Mecha-Sonic.
	He managed to pull away from the wall, and stand on the deck of the
hover-unit.  Slowly, he started walking towards the front of the unit.
	Antoine was struggling to stabilize the unit, when he saw Mecha-Sonic
in the windshield of the unit.  
	"Got ya now!!!", yelled Mecha-Sonic, raising his claws over his
head.
	"AAHHHH!!!", screeched Antoine.
	Antoine accidentally pulled back on the stick, and the hover-unit
shot straight up in the air.  He fell back against his seat.  Mecha-Sonic,
on the other hand, rolled backwards and slammed against the back of the
hover-unit again.
	"I'm-gonna-KILL-you!!", he growled.
	Mecha-Sonic dug his claws into the floor of the hover-unit, and began
climbing up towards the front.
	From down below, Sonic saw the hover-unit flying out of control.
	"What's that bonehead Ant doing?", he said.
	Knowing that no good could come of this, Sonic revved up, and started
following the unit.
	Antoine was whining up in the front.  Here he was, in an out of 
control hover-unit with a murderous robotic hedgehog closing in on him
from behind.  This really sucked.
	Mecha-Sonic grabbed onto the leg of the chair that Antoine was sitting
in, and pulled himself up next to Antoine.	
	"AHHHH!!!", he yelled, "SUPRISE!!!"
	Antoine shoved the stick forward, and the hover-unit went into a 
nose-dive.
	"AH, NO!!!", yelled Mecha-Sonic, flying forward, into the windshield.
	Antoine looked at Mecha-Sonic, who was glaring back at him from
behind his glowing red eyes.
	"That's it!", he yelled, "You aren't allowed to drive anymore!!"
	Mecha-Sonic kicked the stick, and the hover-unit righted itself.
He leaped off of the control console at Antoine.
	"AHHH!!", screamed Antoine, rolling out of the chair.
	He quickly ran for the hatch, which was still open.  He looked out
of it, and saw that they were quite a ways up off the ground.
	"I hope you can fly!", said Mecha-Sonic, getting off of the chair,
and standing up.
	Antoine pulled a parachute from the hook next to him, and put it 
on.  He waved at Mecha-Sonic, and jumped out of the open hatch.  The
parachute opened up shortly after.  Mecha-Sonic fired a few shots at him,
but to no avail.
	"Damn!", he cursed.
	He heard a beeping from the front of the hover-unit.  Mecha-Sonic
ran up front, and looked at the screen.
	FUEL RESERVES EXHAUSTED flashed across the screen.  
	"Oh no", he said.
	The hover-unit started fall towards the desert floor.  Mecha-Sonic
scowled, and made a fist with his claws.
	"That French maggot's gonna pay for this", he said.
	Then, the unit smashed into the ground, and exploded in a brilliant
flash of light and fire.  A pillar of smoke rose several hundred feet into
the air.
	A little ways away, Antoine landed on the ground.  The parachute
came down and covered him.  
	"Whew!", he said, "I was thinkingz that I was being dead."
	He heard several clicking noises.  Slowly, Antoine poked his head
out from under the parachute, and saw several SWATbots standing there,
with their plasma rifles aimed at him.
	"AHH!", he screeched, and pulled the parachute over his head again.
	"This is SWATbot Patrol 4", said one of the bots, "We have captured
a Freedom Fighter."
	
	Sonic ran up to the hover-unit, which was still on fire.  He looked
around, to see if there was anyone around.
	"Hey!", he said, kicking the hot metal, "Is anybody in there?"
	Something moved under a few pieces of metal.  Sonic quickly ran over
and tried to lift the metal.  It was still hot, but Sonic's gloves kept
his hands safe.
	"Hold on", he said, "I'll get you out!"
	Suddenly, a fist exploded from under the metal, and hit Sonic right
in the face.  The blow knocked Sonic off of his feet, and he landed on his
back.  Mecha-Sonic pushed the metal off of him, and stepped away from the
smoldering wreck.  
	"System check", he said, "Check complete.  Minimal damages."
	He looked over at Sonic, who was out cold on the ground.
	"Thanks for the assist, Hedgehog, hee hee."

	Sonic opened his eyes, and saw that he was stuck to the wall.  He
looked to the right, and saw the rest of his friends there as well.
	"What happened?", he said.
	"You got a nice little bump on your hedgehog skull", said Snively,
"Courtesy of Mecha-Sonic."
	Sonic tried to move, but the binders on his wrists and ankles made
it impossible.  He looked up at Snively, and narrowed his eyes to slits.
	"So what now?", he asked.
	"Now", said Snively, "I will allow you all to live long enough to 
witness my final victory.  I will succeed where my uncle failed."
	"Don't forget that you did have help", said Mecha-Sonic, looking over
from his control station.
	Snively didn't say anything. 
	"The one I do have to thank is you, Century", said Snively, "If it
wasn't for your part, this would not have worked."
	Century didn't say anything.  He just stood there in the shadows with
his arms folded.  Sally sneered and looked at the hooded figure.
	"You lied to us", she said, "I thought you said that you didn't serve
Snively."
	"I lied to no-one, Princess", said Century, "I gave you pieces you
needed to defeat Snively.  I never said anything about not helping him
destroy you at the same time."
	"Why?", asked Sally, "You said that Snively was going to destroy
us all."
	"True", said Century, "But I can deal with that later.  You, on
the other hand, you and your kind are an infectious disease that only 
exists to be exterminated.  When it came time for me to choose between
helping Snively and helping you, the choice was easy."
	"You suck, Century!", said Sonic, "Just wait until I get my hands
on you!"
	"Don't bother with idle threats, Hedgehog", said Snively, "Century
serves me, and I could ask for no more in a lackey!"
	Century's eyes flashed red.  He grabbed Snively by his collar, and
yanked him off the ground so that the two were eye to eye.
	"Listen, Worm!", he hissed, "And listen well!  I serve no-one!  I
only assist you because it serves my interests to!  You are nothing next
to my power, and you never will be."
	Sally looked over, and saw Sonic slide his hand out of his glove, and
out of the latch.  After putting his glove back on, he pried the other
latch open with his free hand.  Sally grinned.
	Once Sonic's hands were free, it was child's play to free his feet.
He dropped down to the ground and hoped that neither Century nor Snively
would notice him.  
	"Snooze ya lose, Guys", said Sonic.
	Century and Snively both looked at the hedgehog, who was in the 
process of pulling the Power Ring out of his backpack, which had been
thrown on the floor.
	"JUICE TIME!!!", said Sonic, holding the ring over his head.
	Suddenly, Sally's eyes got real wide and she screamed out,
	"SONIC, BEHIND YOU!!!"
	It was too late.  Mecha-Sonic's fist slammed down on the back of
Sonic's neck.
	"AHHHH!!!", he yelled, throwing the ring away from him and falling
to the ground.
	"Stupid hedgehog!", growled Mecha-Sonic, kicking Sonic in the stomach,
"You forgot about me!"
	Mecha-Sonic lifted Sonic off of the ground, and head-butted him.  The
blow sent Sonic sprawling on the floor.
	"It's time you learned, Hedgehog!", said Mecha-Sonic, "You are an
outdated model.  I'm the new and improved one!"
	Mecha-Sonic grabbed Sonic by the back of his head, and started to
squeeze.
	"STOP!!!", ordered Snively, falling from Century's grip.
	Mecha-Sonic let go of Sonic's head, and he fell to the ground, trying
to breathe.
	"I hope you have a good reason for stopping me from crushing his
skull", said Mecha-Sonic.
	"I do", said Snively, "I think this miserable rodent will better
serve me as you do."
	"What are you talking about?", asked Mecha-Sonic.
	"Put him in the Mechanizer", said Snively, grinning, "I think I want
to watch him incernarate his friends."
	"NO!!", screamed Sally, struggling against the latches.
	Mecha-Sonic grinned.  This was just what he had been hoping for.  
With the 'modifications' he'd made to the Mechanizer, plus the power
instability, plus the bugs that were already in the thing, Sonic would be
completely worthless.
	"With pleasure", said Mecha-Sonic, grabbing Sonic by his neck, and 
dragging him to the Mechanizer.
	"Sonic", whispered Sally, still trying to free herself.
	Mecha-Sonic pulled Sonic right up to his face, and grinned.
	"Bon Voyage, Hedgehog", he said, and then threw Sonic into the 
chamber.
	The metal door sealed, and the controls came on-line.  Mecha-Sonic
walked to the control panel, and entered the activation sequence.  All
he had left to do was start it.
	"NO!", said Snively, shoving the robotic hedgehog out of the way,
"I've waited too long for this to let you do it.  The pleasure of this
will be mine!"
	"Whatever you say", said Mecha-Sonic, stepping back, and grinning.
	Snively looked back at Sally, who had tears running down her face.
	"Say good-bye to your boyfriend, Princess", he chuckled.
	"NO!!!", screamed Sally.
	Snively pushed the button.
	There was a loud cracking noise, and a bright flash of light.  The
noise lasted for almost a minute, before the lights started to flicker.
	"What's happening?", said Snively.
	"I warned you!", said Mecha-Sonic, "Integrating this with the tower's
power grid would cause dangerous instabilities!"
	The control panel started short circuit, and began popping and 
crackling.  Snively covered his eyes, and backed away.  There was a loud
explosion.  Several parts of the Mechanizer exploded and fell over.  The
lights went out completely.
	"Activate emergency lighting!", said Snively.
	The red emergency lights came on.  Snively saw that the Mechanizer
was totally destroyed.  He gritted his teeth, and shook his head.
	"Well", he said, "At least this spells the end of the hedgehog."
	"Sonic", said Sally, closing her eyes, and gritting her teeth.
	She couldn't believe that he was gone.  There was no way he could
have survived that.  
	Suddenly, there was a loud bang.  Snively looked around, but could
not find the source of it.  
	"What was that?", he said.
	"I don't know", said Mecha-Sonic.
	Another bang.  Mecha-Sonic followed the noise back to the chamber.
He focused, and saw fist-sized dents in it.  His jaw dropped slightly,
and his eyes grew wide.  He lifted up his claw, and pointed at the metal
door.  Snively looked as well.
	"What is it?", he said.
	There was another bang, and another dent appeared in the door, and
then another.  A whole series of bangs followed, and soon the door was
covered with the dents.
	"Oh no", said Snively, stepping back, "It's not possible."
	The door began groaning.  There was one final bang, and the huge
door flew off of the chamber, and crashed to the ground.  A huge gust
of steam exploded out of the chamber.  
	Snively covered his eyes again.  Sally and the others turned their
heads.  Snively looked, and saw two red dots in the mist.
	"Hedgehog", he muttered, backing up.
	The figure in the mist stepped forward, revealing himself to all
of them.
	"Sonic!", said Sally, letting her jaw drop.
	Sonic barely resembled himself.  He was composed of a sleek, blue
metal.  His ears and quills had been transformed into razor-sharp spikes.
His eyes were glowing bright red.
	He looked at his metallic-gray hands, which were sticking out of
two yellow forearms.  After examining them for a few moments, he looked
up at Snively.
	"What-have-you-done-to-me???", he said, in a robotic voice.
	Snively didn't say anything.  He just backed away from the robot.
	"He still has his free will", said Snively, "How is that possible?"
	"Uh", said Mecha-Sonic, "The power instability must be responsible."
	Sonic looked at Snively, and raised his hand up, as if reaching for
him.  Suddenly, it shot away from his arm, connected to it by some black
cord, and grabbed Snively.  The hand retracted, and pulled Snively right
to Sonic.  He lifted him up, and stared right at him.
	"What-have-you-done-to-me!?!?", he growled, gritting his metal teeth.
	He lifted his free hand up, as if to strike Snively hard enough to
kill him.  Snively closed his eyes.
	"SONIC!!!", screamed Sally, "Don't!"
	Sonic looked up at Sally, and tilted his head slightly.
	"Sal-ly?", he said.
	"Yes!", said Sally, smiling.
	"What-are-you-doing-up-there?", he asked.
	"We're stuck!", she said, "Help us."
	"Help-you", said Sonic, dropping Snively, and walking towards Sally
and the others.
	Sonic stood on the ground below Sally's feet.  He looked up at her.
	"Help-you?", he said again, "How?"
	"Get us down", said Sally.
	"Get-you-down", repeated Sonic, grabbing the latch on Sally's foot.
	He tore the latch from the wall like it was only glued on.  After 
pulling the other one off, flamed erupted from under his feet, and he
rose into the air.  He tore the two latches off of Sally's wrists, and she
wrapped her arms around him.
	"What-now?", he asked.
	Before Sally could answer, Mecha-Sonic grabbed Sonic's leg, and pulled
him down.  Sally flew out of Sonic's arms, and hit the ground.  She lifted
her head up, and saw Sonic kick Mecha-Sonic in the face.
	"Take-that!", said Sonic, dropping to the ground.
	"That's alright", said Mecha-Sonic, looking up, "You can keep it!"
	His legs swooped under Sonic's, and kicked them out from under him.
Sonic crashed to the ground.  Mecha-Sonic jumped back to his feet, and 
charged Sonic.
	Sonic's eyes suddenly flashed red, and he stuck his feet out in
front of him.  Mecha-Sonic ran right into them, and Sonic bent his knees
when he did.  He then kicked Mecha-Sonic halfway across the room.
	Sonic kicked himself to his feet, and looked at Sally.
	"Detecting-power-build-up", he said, "Destruction-of-tower-immenent."
	"The initiation sequence is still active!", said Sally, "The
Mechanizer must have been too much for the power grid to handle.  The whole
tower is going to blow sky high!  How long?"
	"Five-minutes", said Sonic, "Free-the-others-and-go."
	"What about you?", asked Sally.
	"Do-not-worry-about-me-Sal", said Sonic, "Just-go."
	Sally stomped her foot, and ran to the wall where the release for
the latches was.  She flipped it, and the others dropped to the ground.
	Sonic turned his head, and Mecha-Sonic slammed into him.  The two
robotic hedgehogs flew into the damaged Mechanizer.  It exploded in a blast
of fire.  Sally felt several of the hairs on her head singe from the heat.
	"We have to get out of here!", she said.
	She pointed towards the lift, and everyone piled into it.  Sally
stopped short before reaching it.  She ran to the terminal on the wall.
	"Sally-Girl!", yelled Bunnie, "What are ya doin'?"
	"I can't let all of the worker-bots get destroyed", she said, typing
in several commands.
	Suddenly, the evacuation alarm sounded.  Sally knew that the 
worker-bots were programmed to escape upon hearing it.  She started to
go towards the lift again, but looked to the side.
	"Oh no you don't!", she growled, grabbing Snively by his cape.
	She yanked the human to his feet, and twisted his arm behind him.
	"You aren't getting away that easy", she said, "MOVE!!"
	Snively had no choice.  He looked over at Century, who was standing
in the midst of the fire with his arms crossed.
	"Century!", he yelled, "Help me!!"
	"You have failed, Snively", he said, "And I leave you to your fate."
	A flash of white light surrounded Century, and he vanished into
thin air.
	"Mah mah", said Bunnie, "Guy shore knows how tah make an exit."
	"Speaking of exits!", said Uncle Chuck, "Three minutes!"
	Sally shoved Snively into the lift with the rest of them.  She gave
him to Dulcy to hold onto.  The dragon glared at Snively.
	"Don't try any funny stuff, Shrimp-boat!", she growled.
	Sally turned, and saw Sonic and Mecha-Sonic still fighting in the
flames.  She shut her eyes, and closed the doors.
	
	Sonic slammed both of his fists against Mecha-Sonic's face.  The 
blow made Mecha-Sonic stagger backwards a few steps.  He shook his head,
and glared at Sonic.
	"Good hit, Hedgehog", he said, "I've never been hit that hard."
	"Get-used-to-it", said Sonic.
	Mecha-Sonic responded by grabbing Sonic's arm, and flipping him 
over his shoulder.  Sonic crashed to the ground, but instantly kicked his
foot up, and hit Mecha-Sonic in the face, knocking him back.  Sonic kicked
himself back to his feet.  He spun around, and roundhouse kicked his
robotic double in the face.
	"AHHH!!", grunted Mecha-Sonic, slamming into a wall.
	He barely had time to put his hands up, when Sonic slammed against
him, and the two pushed through the wall into the next room.

	"A minute and a half!", yelled Uncle Chuck, as they all piled into
a hover-unit.  
	Sally sat at the controls, and the unit lifted off the ground.  She 
throttled up, and they sped away from the tower.  There were already 
flashes coming from the giant structure.
	"Far enough!", said Uncle Chuck, "Set us down, Sally!  We can't 
afford to be in the air if we get hit by a shock-wave."
	Sally landed the unit on the ground.  She opened the hatch, and 
everyone climbed out.  
	"Thirty seconds!", yelled Uncle Chuck.
	Once they were clear of the hover-unit, they all hid behind a huge
rock.  However, they weren't the only ones who were there.
	"Damn", said Sally, stepping back.
	"We never catch a break, do we?", said Rotor.
	Every worker-bot from the tower was standing there.  Snively grinned.
	"Get them!", he yelled.
	The worker-bots held up their hands, and started closing in on the
Freedom Fighters.
	
	Mecha-Sonic slammed against a control panel, leaving a huge dent in
it.  The two robots had found their way into a power relay station.  All
of the SWATbots had evacuated when the two came crashing in.
	Mecha-Sonic jumped to his feet, and glared at Sonic, who glared
back.  With lightning speed, Mecha-Sonic shot at Sonic, and knocked
him on the ground.  He retracted his fist, and aimed at the hedgehog.
	"Kiss it good-bye, Hedgehog!", he said.
	Suddenly, Mecha-Sonic's image of Sonic vanished, and he saw an image
of a female hedgehog with long, red hair.
	"What the?", he said, staring off into space.
	"Come to Mommy", she said, holding her arms out.
	Sonic saw Mecha-Sonic distracted, and shoved him against a wall.
Mecha-Sonic's image returned to Sonic, and his eyes flashed red.
	"You'll pay for this!", yelled Mecha-Sonic, throwing a punch at
Sonic.
	Sonic ducked, and flipped Mecha-Sonic over his back.
	"The-check's-in-the-mail-Baby!", he hissed.
	Mecha-Sonic rolled to his knees, and yelled at the top of his
audio system.  His jet-pack fired, and he shot forward at an incredible
speed.
	"Oh-hell", said Sonic, firing his, and jumping over Mecha-Sonic.
	"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!", screamed Mecha-Sonic.
	He flew past Sonic, and slammed right into an electrode that was
in his way.  He cracked it open, and there was a brilliant surge of
electricity that filled his body.
	"YAHHHHH!!!", he screamed, as his systems overloaded.
	Several huge sparks flew from him, and then the electrode exploded,
throwing Mecha-Sonic away from it.
	Sonic covered his eyes.  When the flash subsided, he looked up.
Mecha-Sonic was laying face-down on the floor, unmoving.  Sonic rolled
him over, and saw that his eye-lights were out.  Mecha-Sonic had shut
down automatically because of the power overload.
	"Stupid", said Sonic.
	The ground began to rumble.  Sonic felt the power beginning to 
grow.  Project Omega was going to go out with a big bang.
	He put Mecha-Sonic over his shoulder, and fired his foot-thrusters.
They coughed and sputtered, and then backfired.  Sonic looked down at
the smoke coming from them.  They must have been damaged from the power
surge caused by the electrodes.
	"Oh-dear", said Sonic.
	
	Project Omega exploded.

	The ground shook with a huge force.  All of the Freedom Fighters and
worker-bots were thrown off their feet.  Sally looked up, and saw a huge
shock-wave ring that was exploding out from the tower in all directions.
It had to be at least a mile high.
	"Look out!!!", she screamed.
	Everyone covered their faces, awaiting their fates.  The shock-wave
washed over them all.  There was a enormous flash of white light all around
them for what seemed like an eternity.
	Sally uncovered her eyes, and saw that the shock-wave had passed
right through them all and was moving away at an incredible speed.
	"What the heck was that all about?", said Rotor, standing up.
	"I have no idea", said Sally, "It didn't even damage the rocks."
	"It must have been an energy pulse from the Brain Wave", said Uncle
Chuck.
	Snively lifted his head up.  He saw all of the worker-bots getting
up as well.  He quickly jumped to his feet, and ran to them.
	"NOW!!", he laughed, "Destroy them all!!"
	Snively folded his arms, and smiled.
	"I may have lost my tower", he said, "But at least I have the pleasure
of watching you all get torn limb from limb."
	Suddenly, two of the nearest worker-bots grabbed Snively by his arms.
He couldn't believe it!
	"What are you doing?", he said, "Not me, them!  Destroy them!"
	"No more, Snively", said one of the worker-bots.
	"We will no longer be your puppets!", said another.
	"It's not possible!", screamed Snively, "Impossible!!!"
	"The Brain Wave", said Sally, "I don't know how, but it restored
their freewill."
	"NOOOO!!!", yelled Snively, struggling.
	The worker-bots began hugging each other.  Some jumped up and down,
shouting out loud.  Others collapsed to the ground, and weeped tears of
joy.  They had been prisoners within their own bodies for so long, and
now they were free.
	"Hey!", said Tails, "What about Sonic!?"
	"Oh my gosh!", said Sally, "He was still in the tower!"
	Sally climbed to the top of the rock they were behind.  She covered
her eyes from the heat that was still being put out by the burning hulk of
the tower.  She managed to open them up enough to see the devastation.
	There was metal pieces everywhere.  What remained of the tower only
went up about a hundred or so feet.  
	"Sonic", she said, feeling the tears run down her face.
	Tails came up beside her, and looked as well.
	"Oh, man", he said.
	Sally fell to her knees, and buried her head in her hands.  She
couldn't believe that Sonic was gone!  After all they had been through
together.  
	"Aunt Sally!", said Tails, "LOOK!!"
	Sally lifted her head up, and saw a figure walking out of the
smoke.  She could see two huge spikes on the top of its head, and several
more running down its back.  It all this, a single word escaped her lips.
	"SONIC!!!", she screamed, jumping from the rock, and running towards
him.
	Indeed, it was Sonic.  He was burned and battered, but he was alive.
He had Mecha-Sonic over his shoulder, who wasn't in much better condition.
He lifted his head up when he saw Sally running for him.
	"Hold-on-Sal", he sputtered, "I'm-too-hot-to-handle-right-now."
	"Sonic", said Sally, getting as close to him as she could stand, 
"You made it!"
	"I-would-never-leave-you-Sal", said Sonic, dropping Mecha-Sonic on
the ground, "Not-now-not-ever."
	Sonic started shaking, and then fell to his knees.  He put his head
down, and a huge flash of light surrounded him.  When it let up, Sonic
had de-mechanized, just like the king had previously.
	Sally ran up to Sonic, who was no longer hot.  She wrapped her arms
around him, and cradled him.
	"It's okay, Sonic", she said, "It's over.  Everything is finally
over.  The shock-wave freed all of the worker-bots.  Snively doesn't have
anything to back him up.  We did it.  We won."
	Sonic felt tears running down his face.  Not tears of sadness, but
tears of relief.  After 12 years of fighting, it was finally over.

	Two days later, everyone stood in the square of Knothole Village.
This was the first time Snively had ever been within its boundaries.  It
didn't matter, though.  All of the SWATbots had been dealt with, and the
worker-bots, who had been named Robians, were now forever free of his
control.  Most of them were now with their families, who were overjoyed
to have them back.
	Sonic even shared in the joy of reunion.  His own parents saw in 
the crowd that was gathered in Knothole.  Sonic could not recall a time
when he had been so happy.  
	"My fellow Mobians", said King Acorn, standing on a stage, "We have
survived a war that will forever be a part of our history.  For this, we
have these brave young Mobians to thank.  Everyone of us, including myself,
are forever in their debt."
	Everyone applauded.  Now was the part that King Acorn was dreading:
the sentencing of Snively.
	"Bring him forth", said King Acorn.
	Geoffrey St. John pushed the human before King Acorn.  Everyone 
started boo-ing and throwing things at Snively, who was dressed in prison 
greys.
	"Jonathan Kintobor", said King Acorn, "Also known as Snively.  You
have committed unspeakable crimes.  It would take a lifetime to list them
all.  You do not deserve to live."
	"I am not ashamed of my actions", said Snively, "Given the chance,
I would do it all again."
	"You are a pitiful excuse for a living creature, Snively", said
King Acorn, "However, the sentence of death is denied.  To kill you, we
would become you.  Unlike you did in the past, we will show mercy.  You
are hereby sentenced to spend the rest of your natural life behind bars.
There, you can no longer harm our children or our loved ones, and you will
be forced to contemplate you sins for all eternity.  Now, remove this
vermin from my sight."
	St. John grabbed Snively, pulled him away.  Snively stopped himself,
and looked back at King Acorn.
	"You haven't seen the last of me, Acorn!", he said, "One way or
another, I will have my victory over you and your kind!"
	"Shut up!", said Geoffrey St. John, "Keep movin'!"
	After Snively was gone, King Acorn turned to Sonic.
	"Sonic Hedgehog", he said, "My family and all of Mobius owe you our
freedom and our lives.  If not for your intervention, Snively would have
succeeded in his nefarious plot."
	"All in a day's work for this hedgehog", said Sonic, taking a bow,
"So, when do we eat?"
	King Acorn smiled, as did Sally and the others.  He wished them all
the best, for they deserved it.

	Somewhere else, Century sat at a table, and waved his robotic hands
over a grayish crystal.  It was pulsing with energy, and filling his body
with it.  An image of Snively appeared above the crystal.
	"One down", he said, waving his hand.
	The image of Snively disappeared, and another image came up.  This
time, it was an black armored figure with a long cape, and a long blonde
ponytail.  Around her, marched thousands of robotic-looking creatures.
	"One to go", he said.

THE END