Worthless Legalish Mumbo-Jumbo:

Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails, Rotor, Robotnik, and everything else I missed is the property of Sega. Megaman X, Zero, Dr. Cain, Sigma, and Protoman are the property of Capcom Co. Neko, Houston, Speed, Necros, and Megaman X: The Robotnik Wars are the property of me, and if you do anything I don't like with them, I will personally rip out your spinal cord and use it for dental floss. Capishe? Anything else I forgot is hypotheticly acknowledged.

PROLOGUE

THE END OF THE 21ST CENTURY.

In the vast region of the Cosmos, a new planet has been discovered.

Mobius.

The leaders of the Maverick Hunters must retreat from the carnage of the Maverick Wars on Terra. Their only escape way is the planet Mobius. So the Hunters, as they are known, make a voyage to Mobius, having no knowledge that an even more dangerous war is already raging on Mobius...

I
RUDE AWAKENING

X awoke from his long cryoslumber, which he had been in for at least forty lightyears, if the probes' data had been correct. His systems booted up, and his diagnostics went on overdrive trying to figure out if there was any trace of the infamous Doppler Virus in his systems. The tests came out negative. The deepsleep capsule's canopy swung upward with a hiss of hydraulics. X hopped lightly out of the capsule and stumbled. Forty lightyears of inaction had left X's reflexes somewhat dulled.

X picked himself up and walked toward the autorevival systems control board and wondered, who would he awaken first? X decided to revive his robotic "brother", Protoman, and his fellow Hunter, Zero. He pressed in the appropriate coodrinates and set the other six to revive in one hour's time.

* * * * *

"Wake up, sleepyhead!" chirped a voice in Zero's head.

"Uuuuuuuuuunnghhhh...." Zero replied sleepily.

"Wakeup-wakeup-wakeuuuuup!!!" the voice said. Zero seriously considered blowing the voice's owner away with a plasma shot. It didn't matter what level, just as high as Zero's DualBlasters would go. Wasn't that something like Level Six or something? Zero wasn't sure.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake uuuup!!!" sang the voice. It obviously had no problems in awakening, Zero observed.

"Oh, go away," growled Zero, putting his pillow over his head in an effort to shut out the voice.

But the voice refused to be denied. "If you don't wake up," it threatened, "I'll SING!!!"

Oh God, Zero thought. He wouldn't dare. The voice knew it was playing with fire--

"Just around the river beeend...

"Just around the river beeeeeeend..."

It was all Zero could do to keep from going instantaneously insane. But the voice sang...

And sang...

And sang...

And sang...

And saaaang...

Until the madness-inducing song was over. But the voice wasn't through yet.

"Bonjour!

"Bonjour!

"Bonjour, bonjour, bonjour!!

"There goes the baker with his tray like alwaays...

"The same old bread and fruits to selllll...."

"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Zero screamed. He tore open the canopy with suprising strength. The plasteel canopy landed with a loud clang on the catwalk, about fifteen feet away. Zero thought he heard a satisfied little snicker from the voice.

"Little bastard, teach him to mess with me..." Zero muttered, firing off a couple of Level Zero plasmabolts into the capsule. The voice sputtered and died in a blast of static. "Who's laughing now?" Zero said, laughing.

* * * * *

X checked the ship's systems. All green. The Song of Morning was ready for her descent into the Mobian atmosphere.

"What's up, X?" The red and white Protoman said, sliding into the copilot's seat.

"Nothing much, Proto," X replied. "Just making sure that the Song will be able to make the descent. By my calculations, we will make it by a margin of point nine armor rating. We'll have to rebuild her armor when we touch down. Other than that, we're ok."

"Good. If I should die before I wake..." Protoman said, "I will be very annoyed." X and Protoman laughed together.

"That's a good one! I'll have to remember that!" X said.

"Where is Zero's coffee?" Zero's rough streetwise voice said. "Zero need coffee!!"

"Here is Zero's coffee," X said, handing the crimson and gold reploid a mug of coffee. Zero slammed the coffee down like a Mexican lady slams down tequila. Nobody knew where Zero had picked up his unusual habit, but it was there. "So, how go the preps, X?" he asked.

"Ok," X said. "We won't die, but it will be close. An armor rating of point nine, if we do it perfectly."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Zero said.

* * * * *

"Sir," Snively drawled. "I'm picking up some rather unusual readings."

"That hedgehog?" Dr. Ivo Robotnik said hopefully. Robotnik was Snively's uncle (not to mention absolute superior.) and also happened to be Head Evil Badguy on Mobius.

"No, sir, no precisely. The SkyBot has detected an abnormal amount of Class E plasma coming from an object approximately 150 feet long and 10 feet high. The plasma signatures indicate an interplanetary propulsion unit of some sort," said Snively.

"Interplanetary-- Snively, are you implying that those Freedom Fighters have constructed a spaceship??!" Robotnik demanded.

"It appears so, sir," Snively confirmed.

"Ah, Sonic... Can't defeat me, so you try to run. Well not this time, hedgehog. I've got you right in the palm of my hand..." Robotnik said to nobody in particular. When he saw that Snively wasn't arming any hedgehog-killers, Robotnik's temper flared. "What are you waiting for?!" Robotnik yelled at his nephew. "I want you to throw every nuclear warhead we have at that starcraft!! Use SWATbots!! Use plasma cannons!! I don't care!! Just don't let it leave!!!!"

Outside of the Robotnik Compound, tens of thousands of weapons emerged from their hiding places, glistening in the twilight. They all charged at once to their maximum capacity. Snively launched them one after another, making a literal storm of death. Hundreds of SWATbots, all armed with long-range laser rifles, lined up on top of the compound. Their rifles lipped white fire as they volleyed laser fire into the perpetual night of Robotropolis.

Far away, a blue figure watches the spectacle from a rocky cliff. "Aye aye aye! Someone's getting the heavy end of the hammer!" he exclaims. "Perfect. No SWATbots at all." he says. Pulling a Power Ring out of his backpack, he yells, "Motor time!!!" and in a burst of light, speeds away.

* * * * *

The Song of Morning shuddered heavily as laser fire slammed into it's underbelly.

"What's going on!??" Zero yelled, grabbing hold of the back of the co-pilot's seat. "Mavericks, way out here!??"

"Proto!! Countermeasures!!!" X shouted.

"Countermeasures, ONLINE!!! X, Zero, gunpods!!!" Protoman yelled.

X and Zero manned the gunpods and started blasting anti plasma at the bolts. Suddenly Protoman yelled, "Oh, SHIT!!!! NUKES!!!!" and grabbed a pair of long-range plasma rifles. He opened the airlock and started blowing away nuclear warheads.

X remembered something. "CAIN!!!" he shouted, bolting out of the gunpod.

X manually opened as many cryosleep chambers as he could, but could only open three, Dr. Cain, a female Hunter named Neko, and a human Hunter named Houston. Then the ship shuddered sickeningly.

"X!!! Get to an escape pod!!! WE'RE GONNA CRASH!!!!!!!!!!" Protoman screamed.

II
CRASH LANDING

Escape Pod, Deepspace

X punched in the escape pod's maglock code, and the doors slid open silently. "Everyone inside!!" X yelled over the alarms. Everyone piled into the escape pod, and the doors slid shut again. X disengaged the pod from the rest of the ship with a loud "Phoomph!!"

Dr. Cain's voice rose in prayer. "Our Father, who art in Heaven--"

"Heads up, everyone!!!" Zero yelled. "We're gonna crash!!!"

* * * * *

Rotor's workshop, Knothole

"What was that!??" Princess Sally Alicia Acorn of Mobius exclaimed.

Rotor looked up from his newest invention into the fiery explosion in the sky. "A spaceship. Only possible explaination." Rotor went back to his invention.

"But doesn't Robotnik have all the spaceships, Aunt Sally?" Tails said, swishing his tails back and forth.

"You know something? The kid has a point," Rotor said, putting down his work and looking more closely at the explosion. "Why would old Robotnik blow away one of his own ships? It doesn't make sense!"

"Maybe he thought one of us was on it," Sally said.

"Like Sonic?" Rotor laughed. "That'd just about do it!"

"Seriously, Rotor," Sally said. "I'd bet that was it. Robotnik makes a simple mistake, something like twenty SWATbots get wiped out."

"Public service, really," Rotor said. "The world could use less of those creeps." Rotor kicked back in his chair. "A lot less, like maybe none. Let 'em take 'Buttnik too." Rotor's eyes gleamed devilishly. "Hey... I have a spare plasma rifle..."

"Rotor, please," Sally said, rolling her eyes.

Rotor grinned. "Can't a whacko like me think freely?"

"Rotor, please," Tails said, imitating Sally.

"Oh, god, Rotor, now you got him started. You're worse than Sonic!" Sally said, throwing her arms up in the air.

"Sonic's cool!!" Tails retorted.

"Speaking of Sonic, where is he?" Rotor said.

"I haven't seen him all day!" Sally said. "That's what I came in here to ask you!"

"Oh, you did?" Rotor said, feeling embarrassed. "Well, I haven't seen him, either. Probably at Robotropolis."

"Robotropolis?!!" Sally yelled. "You let him go to Robotropolis and didn't tell me!??" Sally whacked Rotor upside the head. "What the hell is wrong with you!?? --Whack-- Are --whack-- you --whack-- NUTS?!!!"

"Yeow!!" Rotor yelled, trying to defend himself. "Watch it, Sally! That's my head you're pounding on!!"

Suddenly, there was a loud thwump of metal embedding itself into the ground. Sally ceased beating on Rotor, to Rotor's relief, and asked, "Now what was that!??"

"Sounded like it landed right smack in the middle of Knothole!" Rotor exclaimed. "I'll go check it out. Stay here." He jumped out of his chair and dashed outside, forgetting to shut the door.

"Jesus, Mary, and Buddha!!" Rotor exclaimed in total shock.

"What is it, Rotor?" Sally asked. Tails slipped out the door.

"Wow..." Tails gaped, his eyes wide.

"Tails, get back here!!" Sally shouted.

"Aunt Sally, come here quick! It's really awesome!!" Tails called.

"Tails, I'm serious," Sally said, stepping out the door. "It could be -- oh my god...." Sally said, the sight of the escape pod taking her breath away.

"It's not Robotnik, Sally," Rotor said. "It doesn't look evil enough."

"That doesn't mean whoever was using it wasn't hostile," Sally retorted to the best of her ability.

Tails touched the pod. "Yeowch!!" he exclaimed, snatching his hand away from the hot metal. "It's HOT!!!"

The door slid open...

"Ohmygod... ohmygod... It's... it's... OPENING!!" Rotor panicked. "What am I gonna do?!"

"Rotor!" Sally whispered fiercely.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up!!"

Rotor shut up, fearing that he would get beat up by the Princess again. (Dontcha wish that'd happen to Mario once in a while? :-)

* * * * *

Unknown location, Mobius

"Zero, would you mind getting your back off my head?!" Protoman asked irritatedly.

Zero raised a question. "Hey, guys, are we dead yet?"

Everyone groaned. "No, Zero," X said. "If this is Heaven, what are you doing here, Mr. Blood and Gore?"

"Hey! Don't tell me that you haven't made a few Mavericks sorry for messing with you, X!! And besides," Zero added, "I was having a bad hair day."

Everyone groaned again. "Are we gonna just sit around here and talk to Zero all day, or are we getting out of here?" Houston asked impatiently.

"Just a second," X said, putting in the door's maglock code.

"Hey," Neko protested. "How come X is the only one who ever puts in the maglock codes into anything, be it a nuclear warhead or a blender?"

"Oh, God," X muttered. He relocked the maglock. "There, Neko, happy now?"

"Very," Neko said, grinning as she punched in the maglock code.

* * * * *

Outside Rotor's workshop, Knothole

The door suddenly slid shut again. "What the heck?..." Sally said, screwing up her face from the sheer weirdness. If it would have been Rotor that had did such a thing exiting his workshop, Sally would've laughed out loud.

"What was that all about?" Rotor asked, puzzled.

As suddenly as it shut, the door reopened.

Rotor gave a muffled snort. "Are these aliens whacko?" he asked himself.

The door began opening and shutting seemingly by itself. It was hilarious. Tails fell to his knees laughing, Sally's icy visage cracked, and Rotor...

Let's not even go into those sort of details here, ok? (Hey, I resent that!:)

Their grins were instantly wiped off their faces when the first two impressive, six foot plus robots stepped out of the escape pod.

Which is pretty damn impressive compared to four foot plus animals.

III
BLOOD AND METAL

"Wow..." Tails gawked at the formidable killing machines in front of them.

"Tails, get down!" Sally said. As usual, Tails did nothing of the sort.

"Look at that E-Plasma cannon..." Rotor whistled. "Man, I'd like one of those..."

"Rotor, did you just say E-Plasma?!" Sally said, her eyes growing marginally wider. "As in SWATbot E-plasma?! Come on, Rotor, run!! What are you, insane?!"

However, Rotor and Tails couldn't move, morbidly fascinated by the machines. The robots were actually quite different from one another. The first was a shorter blue robot wearing white armor traced with gold around the edges, and had two plasma cannons mounted on his forearms, the right considerably more advanced than the left. The second was simply bright red and white, donning a cool helmet with a long blonde ponytail coming out the back like a river of gold. He had a pair of E-Plasma cannons too, mounted on his forearms, but Rotor spied the Beam Sabre that he carried at his hip. This second one looked about cautiously, his right hand never far from the Beam Sabre. This would be the dangerous one.

A third robot climbed out, this one an older, streamlined model, more humanoid than the other two. He wore a flat red(As in color flat, not shape) helmet with a black reflective visor, to match the rest of his vermillion body. Around his neck was tied a yellow scarf. This one had no visible weaponry, but he carried a primarily white weilding shield, lined with the dull crimson that matched helmet and body armor. This one was immediately followed by a female robot, this one looking most like the first, but with black armor traced in emerald instead of white and gold. Her radiant black armor matched her long-range plasma rifle and low slung Magnum. She was extremely well made and beautiful, like Pamela Anderson in Barb Wire. This one, too, carried an aura of menace along with her beauty. An Amazon, then. Not the lady to piss, Rotor decided.

And finally, the fifth came. This robot was the most obvious, wearing SWATbot-style armor. His permanant arm cannon was used in place of a right arm. This one was a bulky, heavy robot, built primarily for killing and destruction. It was about as subtle as a gangster with a bazooka. Of all the androids he'd seen today, Rotor decided that if any were of Robotnik's batch, it had to be this one.

Number Five took off his head-- oops, no, it was just a helmet. Rotor's eyes bugged out of his head when he saw Number Five's face.

He had a stubby blonde beard, shaven short. You could've accomplished more with a toothpick, however. His gold-flecked green eyes sparkled in the moonlight.

But the really freaky thing was this-- he was neither robot nor animal, he was like Robotnik, human to the core, a species that had supposedly been totally roboticized in the early days of the war. The few remaining humans had been decimated by the other survivors, claiming that these last humans were Robotnik's spies and intended to roboticize the rest of Mobius. This one didn't seem to know of anything about the situation of Mobius. Then again, they just fell from the sky... So that was to be expected.

A sixth figure climbed out of the escape pod, an old human who had the look of the elders of this world, the look of someone who has been to Hell and back again. He limped out on a copper cane. The first and second robots assisted his walking.

"A human?!" Sally whispered in disbelief. "What the hell are humans doing on Mobius?"

The old human spoke. "Who are you....?" he said, squinting as though to see past the Freedom Fighters' illusion. He spoke!

In fluent Mobian!

Why the frack should visitors from another planet speak Mobian?

Sally didn't know or care. All that mattered was that machine and mortal got to be on equal terms with one another. Any other way and the robots would tear the world asunder. Literally.

* * * * *

Unknown location, Mobius

X was totally awed. Those animals had spoken! Not only that, but in perfect Terran! Then again, these didn't look like ordinary animals. Most Terran animals were quadruped, not bipedal. X began to wonder if any other of the probes' data were incorrect. This entire planet was supposed to be uninhabited, dammit!! X started to get angry. He'd have to take it out on a Maverick sometime soon.

X sighed. He remembered. No Mavericks of any type on this planet.

Crap.

Now that he was stuck on a planet with talking animals, he'd better get to know them.

"Hi," X said.

"Uhhh, hi," replied the walrus. The female ground squirrel gave the walrus a look that could curdle solid Titanium-X.

"God, I've never seen a smart SWATbot before," said the two tailed fox, swishing his bushy tails back and forth curiously.

"Tails!!" the squirrel said.

"Quite ok," X said. "Wait, what the heck is a SWATbot?"

"It's nothing," the squirrel said hastily.

"You're lying," Zero said, his hand clasping firmly around his Beam Sabre.

"Zero, what the hell is wrong with you?!" X said. "This is a simple conversation with a person who lives here, not a Maverick interrogation session."

"It will be what I decide it to be," Zero retorted coldly.

X took Zero aside and snarled in his ear. "What's wrong with you!?? These aren't god-damn Mavericks, or even our enemies here, they're living, breathing creatures! You can't go off and just decide to break the First Law of Robotics just because you're on another planet!!"

"The precise wording of the Laws only protect human beings," Zero said. "They are not human beings. We can do whatever we like to them."

X gave Zero an extremely hard left hook to the face. "Are you just bloodthirsty today, Zero, or are you just plain stupid?! I can't let you harm anyone, Zero!" X gave Zero a right jab to the chin, even harder than the first. "ARE YOU LISTENING, ZERO?!" X pounded on Zero a bit more.

<< WARNING!! WARNING!! POWER LEVELS AT THIRTY PERCENT AND DROPPING!!>>, Zero's power management systems screamed. Zero coughed up circulatory fluid, the approximate reploid equivalent of blood. He was in pain.

"Are you gonna do as I say now, Zero?" X asked, implying that if Zero didn't, he'd beat the tar out of him again.

"Urgh... yeah..." Zero managed before coughing up another mouthful of circulatory fluid.

"I'm sorry about my friend here," X said. "He's being an asshole. I'll get the mess cleaned up."

This seemed to impress the animals one HELL of a lot. This white reploid had just gave the red one a punch that would floor a god-damn rhino! "Uhm... Thats ok," said the walrus quietly.

"My name is X," X said, extending a hand. "We kinda need to get back home... You see, there's a war raging on Terra--"

"And you come here to hide," the squirrel finished. She shook the reploid's hand. "I'm Sally. Interesting strategy."

"Cut the crap, we need a ship and we need to get one now." Protoman said, his scarf blowing defiantly in the evening wind. "I hate playing politico."

"And I hate robots!" the walrus retaliated. "Probably with ol' 'Buttnik!"

"Rotor!!" Sally exclaimed, looking like her eyes would pop out of her head at any minute.

"Yeah, are you SWATbots?" the fox chimed in.

"Tell me, why does this kid keep mentioning SWATbots?" Zero asked X. "Are they like some sort of Maverick?"

"Kinda sounds like Sigma got here before we did, eh, X?" Houston said, scratching his neck.

"Maybe..." X said in deep thought. "Tell me, is the enemy leader anything like us? I mean, is he a Reploid?"

"Reploid," Rotor repeated, urging X for more info.

"Yes, reploid, stupid," said Protoman. "You think X just said that for his health?"

"Oh," Rotor uttered an extremely obscene Mobian curse, basicly telling Proto to stay out of business that wasn't his. Then he realized, Terran was the same as Mobian. Oops.

"Mobian, you have just ten seconds to take that back before I plasma you all over the universe," Protoman said, morphing his left forearm seamlessly into an E-Plasma cannon. Luckily, Neko intervened.

"Listen up, old-timer!" She barked to Proto. "You or anyone else so much as looks at him in the wrong way, and you'll have to take it up with me!! Do I make myself clear?!" Proto nodded his head. "Anyone else? Zero?" Zero agreed quietly. "Good."

X could see now that his brother and Rotor would not get along. And Zero wasn't exactly going to be cooperative, either. God, why was it X's duty to keep Zero and Proto from starting an interplanetary war? Maybe a punishment for something he did in a past life.

"Man, you're lucky, dude," Houston said to Rotor. "You got the best lookin' out for you! Neko is a Hunteress among Hunteresses!!"

"Houston, I got in the Hunters because I killed a man," Neko said dryly. "And I've killed several others. Don't make me do it again."

That effectively shut Houston up.

Dr. Cain beckoned Rotor over. "You have the look of someone who works with machines well." Dr. Cain said quietly. "I have need to speak with you... about a -- what do you call it?-- Roboticizer."

"Excuse me?" Rotor asked. "Could we go into my workshop for a second?"

"That Mobian will not take Dr. Cain with him!!" Proto declared.

"It's fine, really," Dr. Cain smiled weakly. "Lead the way..."

* * * * *

Rotor's workshop, Knothole

"Quite an impressive setup you have here, Rotor," Dr. Cain said approvingly, leaning on his cane.

"Yeah, well I have some important stuff in here, so please, don't touch anything," Rotor said, taking off his cap and scratching his head. "You said you wanted to talk to me about the Roboticizer. How did you know about it?"

Dr. Cain laughed. "Why, my son," he said, "I built it!"

IV
SPEED

Outside SWATbot Factory, Robotropolis

"Just one more minute..." Sonic the Hedgehog prayed, working impatiently with a computer terminal.

<<DOWNLOAD: 100% COMPLETE>>

Sonic ripped the optical disk out of the computer and shoved it into his backpack, planning to burn rubber. He turned around and walked right into a SWATbot.

"Hedgehog detected," said the SWATbot, looking down at Sonic.

"No kidding!" Sonic retorted, tripping the SWATbot with a sweep kick. The SWATbot fell to the ground with a loud clang. "Outta here!!" Sonic yelled, running like a bat out of Hell with a burst of light.

Weapons that Sonic had just snuck carefully by not five minutes earlier he simply dashed in front of. No need for stealth now. He could see the outskirts of the Great Forest on the horizon...

BZZZAP!!!

A laser cannon detonated the ground in front of Sonic, nearly causing him to stumble. "HEY!!" Sonic yelled. "Watch where you're pointing that thing!!"

A second cannon caused the ground not four inches to Sonic's left to explode. "Geez, if you were a little closer to me, I'd think you were actually aiming for me!!" Sonic laughed. "Silly me!!"

BZZZAP!!!

Sonic didn't see the laser coming up from behind him, and it struck him full in the back. He fell to the ground and prepared for the worst.

"Back!!" yelled a voice. "Back!!"

Sonic opened his eyes. A dazzlingly bright green and gold robot fired off a few shots into the small force of SWATbots in front of him, scattering them. He fired off a few more shots into the SWATbots' ranks. One fell to the ground, his chestplate blown wide open. The stranger charged energy into his arm cannon and let loose the biggest fireball Sonic had ever seen. SWATbots fell down "dead", their individual power sources ruptured from mere heat damage. "Are you ok?" the stranger asked, helping Sonic up.

"Uh, yeah," Sonic said.

"Then run." And with that, the enigmatic warrior jetted off.

"Wait--!!" Sonic yelled. But the warrior was gone. Sonic had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time they met. He sped off into the sunrise.

* * * * *

Robotnik Compound, Robotropolis

Robotnik reviewed the video of Sonic escaping. It simply wasn't possible!! The SWATbots had exploded for no reason at all!! He looked at the massive blast of light that had destroyed his troopers. Wait...

"Snively, magnify this. 300%," Robotnik said.

"Magnification in progress, sir."

The video enlarged to a particular location. A blur of green... A burst of light... Surely not...

The Hunter Speed?

* * * * *

Knothole, Great Forest

"You?!" Rotor choked.

"Yes," Dr. Cain confirmed.

"But, HOW?!!" Rotor exclaimed. "You're -- You're from up THERE!!" Rotor pointed to the ceiling.

"No, it's a fact I've been running from my whole life. I am Mobian," Cain said, leaning on his staff. "I saw what damage my creation was inflicting upon the world, and I did what everyone else prayed they could've done. I ran." Cain looked down in shame. "I turned my back on this world, until I could reverse the effects of the Roboticizer. But the Maverick Wars interfered, and I ran again, this time to prevent Sigma from getting ahold of Roboticizer technology. But I still haven't figured out how to reverse the effects of my creation." Cain took a deep breath. "I've failed my friends, my country, my world. And now I've returned."

"I don't believe this... I've wanted to get ahold of whoever built that damned machine for ages... And he just falls out of space!!" Rotor said, fuming. "Safer than anything!" Rotor grabbed Cain's shirt and lifted him up into the air. "Do you have any fucking idea what it's like to wake up in the morning and thank God that you aren't a robot? DO YOU?! How many of your family members were turned into soulless, metal imitations of what they were supposed to be?! None, I'd bet!!" Rotor threw Cain away from him in disgust.

"Rotor, I don't think you understand this. How many times have you awoken in the middle of the night and thought of all the people dying because of something you created, and knew that you were safe because you turned your back on your homeworld? That you should be out there fighting alongside every man, woman, and child on Mobius but you aren't because you're afraid for your soul?" Cain asked quietly. "I was the only one in my entire family to survive the Change. I saw my four year old son transformed into a hollow mechanical shell of what he once was. I killed my own son, Rotor. Do you know how that feels? I KILLED HIM, GOD DAMN IT!!" Cain fought back tears.

You aren't the only one in pain, Rotor, thought Rotor. Just because you've suffered, does that mean he has to suffer too?

"I'm sorry, Dr. Cain," Rotor said. "I just got carried away- "

"It's fine," Cain said, wiping away a tear. "I'm fine. Now, I want you to tell me something. Where is Robotnik? I'm going to kill him, right now, this very moment."

"You can't be serious!!" Rotor exclaimed. "The SWATbots would tear you to pieces!!"

"No they won't. And if they do, I don't care," Cain said.

"Wait, the others that crashed with you. What are they?" Rotor asked.

"Reploids. Machines able to make their own decisions, to learn, to think, to feel emotions. My weapons against Robotnik," Cain said. "My only weapons."

"What do you use them for? Literally weapons?" Rotor wanted to know.

Dr. Cain laughed. "Use them? I can't use them for anything! They will do as they wish, because they can make their own choices in life. But these five are my most elite and loyal Maverick Hunters."

"Would they follow you to fight against Robotnik?"

"X and Zero would, I'm certain of that. They would win, surely. They've taken on entire armies and won, just the two of them. I've seen it."

"Do you have a death wish, Cain?" Rotor asked. "Why not stay here and work on the De-Roboticizer with me and Uncle Chuck?"

"Uncle Chuck," Cain repeated, not recognizing the name.

"Sir Charles Hedgehog," Rotor elaborated.

"Oh, that Uncle Chuck!" Cain said, snapping his fingers. "So you know Sonic?"

"Of course!" Rotor said. "Everyone on Mobius knows him!"

"Does he still have the shoes I built for him?" Cain asked fondly.

"You?!" Rotor exclaimed, aghast. "The plot thickens!! Who are you, anyway?!" This guy enhanced Sonic's running to lightspeed!! "I always thought Uncle Chuck made them."

"We were pretty close, Charles and I," Cain reminisced. "And now, I realize, I'm going to take down Julian. I'm going to take him down, HARD. But I need help. You need help. We help one another."

You've got a deal, Dr. Cain. Whoever you are." Rotor shook Cain's hand.

V
JUST A SLIGHT MISUNDERSTANDING

Sonic screeched to a halt. Literally. There was a Goddess damned spaceship smack in the middle of Knothole! One of Robotnik's tricks, no doubt. He hid behind a tree.

* * * * *

Knothole, Great Forest

Zero's infa-red sensors flared. He clasped his hand around his Beam Sabre. He felt an intruder...

"What is it, Zero?" Houston asked, noticing his partner's shift into "trouble mode."

Zero paid no heed to Houston's words. His eyes narrowed. Behind that tree. Yes. There.

He struck, Beam Sabre fully extended. There was a sickening buzz of plasma burning through solid wood. He'd missed.

"Hey!" A blue hedgehog said, extremely surprised. "What are you doing?!"

Zero swung the plasma sword again. He didn't know how the hedgehog dodged his first blow, but Zero was determined not to miss this time. There was a brief flash of light as the hedgehog burned rubber and dodged Zero's weapon a second time. "Damn you!!" Zero roared, highly agitated. He charged up power into his blade. If he couldn't slash the annoying creature in half, he would simply blow him away.

"Oh my God, Zero, what is wrong with you?!" X cried out. Zero paid no heed to the words of his commander, either. He pointed the hilt of the Sabre at the hedgehog and cut loose the energy. Multiple bolts of E-plasma burst out of the flashlight-sized Beam Sabre and flew at the hedgehog.

"Woah, SHIT!!" the hedgehog yelled, dodging every single bolt.

"What the hell are you anyway?" Zero said, disgusted. He cut loose a barrage of DualBlaster shots, which the hedgehog evaded.

"Something isn't adding up!" Protoman said. "This isn't right!" He cut loose a few shots of his own, which missed like Zero's. "Wha--?" Protoman gawked.

"Dual charge!" Zero called out. Both Zero and Protoman began glowing, collecting energy in their arm cannons. The hedgehog took one look and ran. Zero and Protoman unleashed their shots. Zero's shot curved and whirled in a double helix pattern, glowing a neon red. Protoman's shot expanded like a mushroom cloud, with a ring about it, the blast glowing a flaming yellow. Either of these shots alone had the power to take out a Terran skyscraper.

They both missed by a mile.

"Houston!!" Zero yelled. "Triad charge!!"

Houston looked frightened. "No way, Zero, that thing gives me the creeps!"

"Houston, I am your commanding officer!! You will obey me or die!!" Zero bellowed.

"And I am yours, Zero," X said sternly. "Now, put your bloodlust on hold for a second!!"

Zero lowered his DualBlasters. Protoman did likewise.

"Now, could we please NOT kill anything for at least FIVE seconds?!" X shouted. "Can you do that, Zero?"

"Yes, X," Zero said, looking rebellious.

"Now, throttle your instincts. We aren't even at war with Mobius!" X said. "What use is attacking people we aren't even fighting with?"

"If he had been a Maverick, I would have killed him," Zero said, his eyes deathly serious.

"You almost did kill him, Zero!!" X exclaimed. "Why is it my responsibilty to keep you two from starting an interplanetary war?! As if we could really handle one while we're fighting against Sigma!!"

"Wow, Jesus, keep Psycho-bot away from me!" the hedgehog said, jumping from out of a tree.

"Psycho-bot?!" Zero exclaimed. "That's it, I'm gonna kill him, X! Get out of my way!"

"Gotta catch me first!!" the hedgehog taunted, running like hell again.

* * * * *

Knothole, Great Forest

"What is going on out there?!" Dr. Cain exclaimed. "It sounds like a war zone!!" Cain opened the door and barely missed getting decapitated by a blue hedgehog being thrown through the air. The hedgehog made a sickening thudding sound as he hit the wooden wall.

"Oh my God, what happened?!" Cain cried out.

"Allow me to dispose of that, Dr. Cain," said Zero, Beam Sabre extended and glowing ominously.

"What's wrong with you!??" Dr. Cain bellowed. Rotor echoed Cain's feelings.

"Excuse me?" Zero said. "This intruder was trying an ambush attack."

"This 'intruder' is the most important person here!!" Cain roared. "You've nearly killed him single-handedly!! I ought to have you deactivated for breaking the First Law!!!"

Zero didn't seem to be shaken. "I'm serious!!" Cain said angrily.

"If that's the way it has to be." Zero shrugged. Most Reploids have no fear of death, and Zero was no different.

"Woahhhhhh..." the hedgehog known as Sonic groaned.

"Stay still, Sonic," Cain said quickly. Turning his attention back to Zero, he said, "I'll deal with you later, Zero. For now, try not to cause any more trouble than you already have."

Zero turned around and left.

"I'm sorry, Rotor, Zero has this uncontrollable lust for killing," Cain apologized. "He gets like this sometimes. Just leave him alone, and whatever you do," Cain paused for emphasis," don't provoke him."

"We'd better get Sonic back together," Rotor said. "Sally would know what to do."

"Wow..." Sally stared. "I've never seen anything like it," she said, fingering Sonic's wounds. "You say Zero threw him up against the wall? How hard?"

"Pretty freakin' hard," Rotor said, readjusting his cap. "He actually left a dent at least an inch deep."

"I'd say at least six broken ribs," Sally estimated, checking Sonic lightly. "I say he'll need 24 hours to heal."

"Twenty-four hours?" Cain gaped. "You must be joking! Six broken ribs will take a couple months!!"

"Trust me, he heals fast," Sally said. "Especially when he uses a Power Ring."

"I never knew they had healing capabilities," Cain said.

"They have several uses," Sally said. "I'm not even sure we've discovered them all yet."

"We've got one running the De-Roboticizer," Rotor said.

"Pure, condensed energy," Dr. Cain murmured. "Do you know what Sigma would do for such a thing?"

"You never told me, who are you?" Sally said.

"I'm Dr. Joseph Cain, a friend of Sonic's Uncle Charles," Dr. Cain said.

"I never heard him mention a Dr. Cain," Sally said.

"Please, call me Joseph," Cain said. "And the reason he never told you about me is that he most probably forgot totally about me or thought I was roboticized. He and I worked out the Power Ring technology together."

"And next I suppose you'll be claiming to have enhanced Sonic's running," Sally said sarcasticly

Rotor and Joseph laughed abruptly.

"What's so funny?" Sally demanded.

* * * * *

Knothole, Great Forest

"I hope you're proud of yourself, Zero," X glowered. "You nearly killed him!"

"He offended my pride," Zero said.

"You and your damn pride!" X yelled, picking up and throwing a rock at Zero's head. "You, your pride, and your flea-market hair weave can just leave, for all I care!!"

Zero got up off the stump he happened to be sitting on. "Maybe," he said," I will." And with that, Zero stomped off into the forest.

"Man, X, you really pissed him," Houston pointed out.

"So what?!" X yelled. "I don't care anymore!!!" He fired a few X-Buster shots off into a bush angrily. The bush burst into flames.

"You don't have to take responsibility for everything, X," Houston said. "Trust me, if I were in your place, I'd probably just kill Zero and be done with it. But I'm not a commander. You are, X, and a damn good one to boot."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Aaron," X said.

"Don't mention it."

* * * * *

Starship Steel Star, Deepspace

"So, Vile, how are we coming?" Sigma asked, swiveling around in his chair.

"Hyperlight drive is still down, but we've got power and movement, Sigma," the purple Maverick said, looking up from a circuit board he'd just taken out of the wall.

"Damn," said Sigma. Running through that hypermagnetic field had been a big mistake. The Steel Star was stranded, lightyears away from any civilized planet. It would take at least 2000 years to reach Mobius at the speed the starcraft was capable of now. By that time, the war would be lost, in favor of the humans. Not an especially good way to end a genocidal war, Sigma thought. His ambush had failed, and now he was going to die in space. "Wait..." Sigma thought. "Get me to the engine room."

The engine room was a mess. Scraps of metal littered the ground, as well as tools Sigma's lackeys forgot to pick up. Damn them, Sigma thought as he picked up a weird tool. What the hell was this? It didn't matter. Sigma tossed it. Sigma was a commander, not a carpenter. He stepped carefully around the mess to the hyperlightdrive generator, a vast column of high technology. He placed his hands on the twin energy input units.

"Um, Sigma, what are you doing?" Vile asked.

Sigma let out a deep, relaxing breath. And he let energy pour out of his hands, sparking and flashing a brilliant white. His hair and cloak blew back from the sheer force he was generating.

The ship, moving at a drifting pace, shuddered with power.

"VILE!!! REPORT!!!!!" Sigma bellowed over the noise.

Vile ran to a terminal. "Life support: Online!! Propulsion: Online!! Redundant systems: Online!! Hyperlight drive: ONLINE!!!" Vile was amazed.

"GwaaAAAAARRRRRRRRRGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sigma roared, willing the craft to go forward. The ship shuddered and the hyperdrive kicked in. With a roar from engine parts and Sigma, the craft sped forward to destiny.

"Owwww..." Sonic whimpered. He tried to stand up.

"Stay still," said Joseph, gently holding him down.

"Wow... Psycho-bot has a mean body slam!!" Sonic grinned.

"Yeah, well I hope he doesn't use it again, Sonic," Sally said. "He almost killed you back there."

"Come *on* Sal!" Sonic protested. "You think a little thing like getting thrown into a wall is gonna stop yours truly?" He grinned.

"He's OK, or at least his *ego* is," Sally proclaimed. "I wish his ego would get mortally wounded or something."

"Don't we all!" Rotor laughed.

"So where did Charles put the Power Ring generator?" Joseph asked.

"Just a second, Rotor and I have to talk this over," Sally said, taking Rotor into the corner.

"Rotor? Do you think we can show him the way to the pool?" Sally asked.

"Sure, Sally, I know the way, everyone does. Even Antoine knows, and he doesn't even know what he's saying when he says '*sacre bleu cheez!!*' Heck, he doesn't ever know what he's saying half of the time anyway!!" Rotor said.

"No, I mean, would it be safe?" Sally asked.

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"What if he's one of Robotnik's spies?" Sally said.

"Come on, Sally!!" Rotor protested. "If he was, why wouldn't he be a robot like the other five?"

"Maybe he is."

"You're being hysterical!!" Rotor said.

"I'm being serious."

"You're *being* hysterical!!" Rotor repeated. "You're getting worked up over nothing!!"

"But--" Sally started.

"Let's just show him the pool, Sally," Rotor scowled. "If you want to keep it a secret, I'll just go and get it myself. Your call, Sally."

"I... I don't trust him," Sally whispered. "Him and his robotic killers."

"I dare you to say that to Zero," Rotor said.

"N-no!!" Sally stammered.

"OK, Sally," Rotor said. "I'm only listening to you because you're the boss."

Suddenly Tails rushed in with a frightened expression on his face. "Aunt Sally!!! Rotor!!!" he panted.

Rotor and Sally broke away and came to Tails. "What is it, Tails?" Sally asked.

"SWATbots!!!!"

Zero was faring OK against the half dozen black iron cyborgs that had attacked him. They knew someone was going to be here, so they ambushed him. They looked absolutely shocked when Zero had whipped out his Beam Sabre, extended the neon green blade, and slashed the first one in half. It was as though they didn't expect Zero to be able to defend himself.

Foolish robots.

Zero charged his DualBlasters and blew two away at one time. Zero noticed that they had very little armor, and extremely simple attack programs. Pieces of cake. When the dust cleared, Zero stood surrounded by the pieces of the shattered black robots. He picked up a silvery piece of metal off one of the "bodies" and examined it. Odd... A remote control device. It was connected to a small grayish-white cylinder.

A second wave of fighters came. Zero extended his Beam Sabre again, the green plasma blade casting a pale, ominous light.

The weapon danced in Zero's skilled hands. Circulatory fluid splattered all over the nearby trees. The remaining three invaders were stopped by a blast from behind Zero.

Protoman grinned, blowing the smoke off his arm cannon. He jumped off of the rocks he was hiding in onto the forest floor. "Need help?" he quipped.

"Thanks," Zero said, running a hand through his hair. "Now could someone please tell me what in the name of God those were?"

"I think those are Prower's 'SWATbots'," Proto said.

"Prower?" Zero echoed.

"The two-tailed fox. Miles Prower," Proto said.

"Ah." Zero picked up a shattered black box off a SWATbot body. "I want to crack this thing. Proto, can you do it?"

"No, but I think that walrus can. He looked suitably techno," Proto said.

"Then go get him," Zero suggested.

"Don't need to. He's coming," Proto replied.

As if on cue, Rotor appeared, armed with... was that some sort of weapon, Zero wondered? It looked more like an eggbeater. In fact, it *was* an eggbeater. Protoman asked Rotor if he was meaning to kill something with that eggbeater. Rotor blushed bright red and put the eggbeater back in his pocket, muttering something unintelligible.

"It looks like you got them all..." Rotor said.

"SWATbots?" Zero smiled grimly, wiping clear circulatory fluid off his arm.

"You got it. Robotnik's little robo-twerps," Rotor grimaced.

"Who the hell is this Robotnik guy?!" Protoman demanded.

"Oh, yeah, I keep forgetting you're from another *planet*," Rotor said.

"I didn't like that emphasis on 'planet' back there," Protoman whispered to Zero.

"Neither did I..." Zero replied.

"Maybe Sally can explain it better than I can," Rotor said, not hearing what the two Hunters were saying. "Come on." He gestured for Zero and Proto to come with him. Zero picked up a pair of SWATbot black boxes to take with him.

"Guys?" Rotor yelled. No answer. "GUYS?!" Still no answer. "**GUYS????**" Rotor bellowed. "I've got a bad feeling about this..." he mumbled.

"Houston!!!" Zero barked. No answer. "X, Neko!!" Silence. "This *is* odd," Zero said.

"There's only one place I can think of that they'd be, and that's Robotropolis," Rotor said.

* * * * *

Robotnik Compound, Robotropolis

"Sir, the matter transferral was a great success," Snively said. "It delivered the Freedom Fighters straight to our doorstep. Unfortunately, two escaped."

"Let me guess," Robotnik snarled bitterly. "That rodent and the princess, right?"

"Actually, no, sir. The hedgehog seems to be in critical condition," Snively said. "The SWATbots didn't know who the extra two were, but the core six and one other seem to be accounted for."

"Let the other two try to escape," Robotnik said. "It doesn't matter to me anyhow. They'll be Roboticized before too long."

"Come on!!" Neko whispered, crawling after X in the cramped heating duct. "We have to get out of here!"

"But what about Houston and Cain?!" X whispered loudly.

"Worry about them LATER!!" Neko snarled. "We'll come back for them!!"

"I don't like this..." X muttered.

"Do you really want to go back there?! Those Mobians were pretty damn frightened, and Cain was too. Wanna go back and find out why?" Neko growled.

"No."

"Then follow me," Neko said. X was supposed to be the commanding officer, but Neko had experience in these matters. "This heating duct should lead somewhere, or it wouldn't have been guarded." Neko had dealt with the cybernetic guards by tearing their inner circuitry out their backs. She crawled forth. "Stop," she commanded, looking through a vent.

"Lemme see," X said, looking through the vent.

The Hunters were high above the ground, almost over a circular refrigerator-sized device made of metal and glass. "Shhhh," Neko warned. "It's important to them." The black sentry droids swarmed like ants down there. There was some sort of operation going on. One droid roughly threw a middle-aged Mobian into it.

"What the hell are they doing down there?" Neko muttered.

"Shhhh." X wanted to see this.

A canopy slid down on the device and energy collected in the cylender.

"What the...?!" Neko mumbled, engrossed in the process.

There was a terrible silence.

There was a high, piercing scream of sheer terror.

There was a terrible silence.

In an instant it was done. The Mobian marched out of the cylender gleaming metallicly. His eyes were replaced by red pinpoints of red digital light. His flesh was replaced by silver sheet metal.

Roboticization.

"Now I see..." X said. This wasn't an ordinary global takeover, this was *genocide!* Robotnik had clearly gone too far. "Robotics gone mad," X murmured. Now everything fit into place!

"I don't believe this..." Neko said. She looked into X's eyes with a tinge of barely controlled hate and outrage. "Let's just blow this fucking thing to fucking Kingdom Come." For once, X agreed with her. He kicked the vent open.

The broken vent clattered to the floor. "Cover me!!!" X screamed, leaping down in the middle of the droids and firing wildly. The droids were surprised shitless. After the first dozen exploded however, they started firing. X was too close and his movements were fueled by enough outrage that every shot they made missed and hit their fellows. So the sentry droids killed off most of their allies, and Neko and X picked off the few remaining ones. Then X turned his attention to the Roboticizer.

"AAAAARGH!!!!" X screamed, pumping plasma into the device. His normally blue eyes turned bright red, showing that he was Berserking. X roared in fury, and soon enough, the Roboticizer started to smoke and exploded. X kept firing at the ruins of the Roboticizer in uncontrolled rage.

"Yes!!" Tails yelled from the Freedom Fighters' cell. "X just blew up the Roboticizer!!"

"You can't be serious!" Sally said, looking out at the ruined Roboticizer. "My Lord..." she gasped. X was trashing the thing!! She watched as he X-Bustered it till it fried. He was doing the impossible!

"Snively..." Robotnik demanded, bordering on hysteria. "What's going on?"

Snively stared at the monitor in mute shock. "They... They... They destroyed it!" Snively stammered.

"****WHAT????????!!!!!!****" Robotnik yelled at the top of his lungs.

VII
ESCAPE

Rotor jump-kicked a SWATbot in the head. It went down, unconsious. A small pool of the clear circulatory fluid SWATbots used collected around the sentry's open mouth. "Coast's clear," Rotor said, beckoning to Zero and Protoman.

"What the hell are X and the others doing here?" Proto muttered. "This is way too Maverick-style for me."

"Probably didn't have a choice in the matter," Zero said. "Matter transferral or something similar. That's the only way you'd get me anywhere near this hellhole." He spat on the unconsious SWATbot.

"Let's shut up and get them out of here!!" Rotor suggested sharply. "God knows what Robotnik's planning now..."

"They WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" Robotnik bellowed.

"They destroyed it, sir," said Snively meekly.

"You can't be serious!!" Robonik shoved Snivley out of the way and checked the monitors of the computer banks Snively was using. The Roboticizer had gone off-line from an immense electromagnetic pulse. He checked the security cameras and was shocked at what was going on.

Two of his own robots were trashing the Roboticizer!! "Say!!" Robotnik yelled. "What the hell are you two doing??!!"

The white and gold robot seemed to notice the presence of the security cameras. "Robotnik, I presume?" he snarled.

"You can cut the crap with me," Robotnik said sternly. "Now quit it, or I'll have you deactivated."

"Robotnik," the white and gold robot said tersely, "You can bite my reploid ass!!" The robot turned his E-Plasma cannon to the camera. "Adios, asshole." The robot shot the camera, leaving only static for Robotnik to look at.

"DAMN!!" Robotnik yelled. He picked up a microphone. "All SWATbot units report to Roboticizer Chamber 03, on the double!!" he yelled. "Kill them!! Kill the bastard robots, kill the Freedom Fighters, kill the hedgehog, KILL THEM ALL!!!!!"

Alarms began to howl. "Looks like they found us," Zero said wryly, unclasping and igniting the Beam Sabre. It glowed a steady, pale green light.

"The heating duct!" Rotor yelled over the alarms, tearing a vent out of the wall. The three rescuers climbed into the heating system of Robotropolis.

It was a tight fit for the two Maverick Hunters, unlike Rotor, who was used to traveling the ducts on spy missions, and also happened to be a whole lot smaller. "Come on!" Rotor whispered, not wanting the sound to carry. The heavy reploids followed noisily. "Shh!!" Rotor commanded. The reploids got somewhat quieter, but Rotor was still afraid that someone would hear them.

They traveled slowly through the ducts, slow enough for Proto and Zero to take in the dismal sights. Rotor felt they weren't going fast enough, but it was the fastest the Maverick Hunters could go without causing a huge racket.

Through the vents, there were pitiful looking Mobians working in what appeared to be factories. But these ones, Zero noticed, had a metallic sheen to fur and quills. And all of their eyes were red. He said as much.

"What the frack...?" Proto said, the realization dawning on him too. "What's going on here?" Rotor ignored them both, barely holding back tears.

"Something big is going on this planet... Something I don't think I really want Sigma to get ahold of," Zero said. Something wasn't adding up... Or maybe it was.

"Let's get going," Rotor said.

* * * * *

Roboticizer Chamber 03, Robotnik Compound

The alarms howled. "Hey, I was just thinking..." said a partially consious Sonic, "We might want OUT of here!!"

Neko blew the heavy-duty lock away with a single shot from her laser Magnum. "Anyone here order a pizza?" she quipped.

"DETAIN FREEDOM FIGHTERS BY ORDER OF DR. ROBOTNIK," droned *several* SWATbot voices at once.

"Shit!!" Neko shouted, blasting away with her laser rifle. She tossed Sally her laser Magnum. She actually turned out to be a pretty good shot. Reploid and Mobian fought side by side. Bunny gave some much-needed assistance in the form of punching and kicking the crap out of SWATbots. Houston had fun launching Super Missles at SWATbot scum.

Antoine, on the other hand, was *freaking*. He was *worse* than useless.

Neko realized they had more people that were useless than people who could fight. Cain, Tails, Sonic, and especially Antoine. Once Houston ran out of missles, he'd be forced to go with hand-to-hand combat. And his Power Suit wasn't made for such an occurance. Even now, Neko's laser rifle was running on sheer exhaust fumes. Actually, it was quartz crystal, but what does it matter? Neko pulled the trigger, and it fired it's last shot. There were more SWATbots coming in, seemingly an endless swarm.

This was hopeless.

* * * * *

Heating Duct, Robotnik Compound

"Stop," Rotor said, looking through the vent. "There's a whole legion of SWATbots down there. We'll never get through them."

"Why would we want to?" Proto asked.

"Because that's where the others are," Rotor said.

"Oh," Proto said.

"Wait... How do your DualBlasters work, Zero?" Rotor asked, his eyes gleaming devilishly.

"Well.. the power magnet draws energy into the ion processor..." Zero began.

"No, can it absorb power from other sources?" Rotor asked.

"Yeah, I suppose so..." Zero trailed off.

"Here." Rotor took a neon gold ring out of his backpack. "It's a Power Ring. You can just hold it, I think," Rotor instructed. Zero took the ring in his hand, feeling it's pure, sweet, condensed energy wash over his metal body.

"Sweet," Zero remarked. He instantly charged up to full potential, using a fraction of the time it would have normally taken him. He kicked out the vent and began firing away. And by firing away, I mean *blowing the almighty shit out of anything that happened to move!!* Zero roared a primal challenge to his adversaries, whose stun shots were blocked by a shield Zero threw up using energy from the Power Ring. He retaliated by curving the ring into an arc and letting energy flow out of it, disintegrating all SWATbot forces.

"Thanks, Zero," X panted, resting on a piece of machinery. "You always manage to come at the right time."

"Yeah, aren't I great?"

* * * * *

Control Center, Robotnik Compound

"They WHAT????????" Robotnik bellowed, going far, *far* past the top of his lungs. "They destroyed my *entire SWATbot force???!!!*"

"Yes, sir," Snively confirmed quietly.

"My ENTIRE FUCKING ARMY!!!!!!" Robotnik screamed. Looking heavenward, he screamed, "WHY?! WHY NOT JUST TAKE ME NOW!??!!?!?!"

"Doctor...." Snively said quietly. "I have this feeling that it's about to get a whole lot worse." He stared at a security camera displaying a green and gold robot at the Robotropolis gates.

* * * * *

"Let's get out of here!" Houston suggested.

"Gee, good idea," Zero said sarcasticly. "Here," he said, returning the Power Ring to Rotor. "Did you want this back?"

"Sure," Rotor said, accepting the golden ring. "Sonic will need this." He slipped it into the hedgehog's hand.

"Thanks," Sonic said, using the ring. It glowed bright yellow for a second and died, attracting considerable shock from Sonic. "Wha--?!"

"What the phreaking vulpine hell is going *on here?!*" Rotor swore. "The Power Ring failed!!"

"Drained," Dr. Cain said. "We'll have to carry him." X picked up the limp hedgehog.

"Let's get OUT OF HERE!!!" Houston repeated, juicing up the Hyper Boosters implanted in his Power Suit. The suit began glowing a dim neon white and Houston blasted off.

"Wait!!!" Sally yelled. "We have to stay *together!!!*" But the bounty hunter was already gone.

"We can't *all* fit through the heating ducts..." Rotor started. "Follow him!!"

"Divide..." Robotnik said," And CONQUER!!" He pressed various buttons on his control chair, making the layout of the labyrinth that was the Robotnik Compound change randomly.

A wall slid out and blocked the way forward, while at the same time, creating two new passageways. X fired upon the wall, and the shots ricocheted harmlessly. "Tiranium," X announced bitterly.

"Crap..." Zero muttered. "Is that the super-strong reflective metal Sigma used for most of his Battle Body?"

"The same," X said.

"Craaaap..." Zero moaned. "This has been a *rotten* day."

"Tiranium?" Rotor piped up. "You mean Robotnik has *access* to that stuff?"

"Yes, I do," boomed a voice from out of nowhere.

"Robotnik," Sally growled.

"I'm happy to see you too, Princess," Robotnik replied sarcasticly. "Along with the rest of you Freedom Failures."

"What do YOU want?" Dr. Cain snarled.

"My, my, you don't even *know* me," Robotnik said. "And already you hate me!" He laughed. "Not especially friendly, are you?"

"I know all about you, Julian, you bastard," Cain replied coldly. "I know that you're a little whacked-out machine-crazed sociopath that can't function correctly in the real world."

"My, aren't *we* touchy!" Robotnik laughed. "From where do you know me? If these Freedom Fighters told you that about me, they're sorely mistaken."

"Personal experience," Cain said.

"....? What *are* you talking about?" Robotnik asked.

"Julian, I'm Dr. Cain, come back to haunt you," Cain said. He laughed a grim laugh.

"Cain. The maker of the Roboticizer, no doubt. I thought I got rid of you a *long* while ago."

"We'll talk about it for a long time-- in the afterlife, that is," Cain said.

"How about we discuss it after I Roboticize you all?" Robotnik asked. Freedom Fighter and Maverick Hunter alike could hear the grin on Robotnik's face, if not see it. "I'm in a nice mood today, however. If you can get out of here alive, I guess I can let you free... That is *if* you get out."

"Bite my shorts, Cybernoggin," Zero suggested.

"Cybernoggin? *That's* a new one," Robotnik commented. "I'll have to remember that one. By the way, what the BLUE-BLAZING LASER-TRAILING SUPER-IONIZED CARBON-ENTROPIED NULL-CARRIER MODEM- RESETTING PHREAKING VULPINE HELL *ARE* YOU??!?!"

"I'm Bart Simpson, who the hell are you?" Zero retorted sarcasticly.

"Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" Robotnik sneered.

"Do you really want to know?" Zero replied coolly.

"Maybe I ought to teach you some respect, you little foul mouthed rebel," Robotnik snarled.

Zero opened his mouth and let out a long, complicated string of swear words that would make the most vile, drunken sailor blush. Everyone's eyes got really, really wide as they contemplated where Zero had learned such a phrase. Zero continued emitting vulgarities for the better half of ten minutes.

"W-well," Robotnik stammered, obviously impressed. "*That* was certainly an educational moment."

"Would you like me to repeat that, Mr. Ro-*****-nik, so you can write it all down?" Zero smiled cordially.

"SWATbots, wash this guy's mouth out with *soap!!*" Robotnik called. "Lots and LOTS of soap!!"

"Just shut up and tell me how I'm supposed to get out of here," Zero said.

"Find it yourself, you moron," Robotnik suggested, the radio shutting off.

Zero muttered a curse under his breath. "Which way do we go?" he asked nobody in particular. "Or can we teleport?"

Nobody said anything, they merely stared at Zero in mute shock. "What?" Zero said, shrugging. "Was I a little too vigorous back there?" He punched in four digits on a keypad inset in his Beam Sabre. "Everyone join hands," Zero commanded. Hunter and Fighter joined hands, and Zero teleported, taking the whole lot with them.

* * * * *

Control Center, Robotnik Compound

"GONE??? What do you mean by 'GONE?????' " Robotnik demanded.

"I mean they're *gone*, sir," Snively said. "They used a teleportation unit of some sort--"

"Teleportation? Why didn't the shields stop them?" Robotnik asked coldly.

"They're down at the moment, sir, the Hunter Speed sabotaged the shield generators," Snively said.

"Damn him and Cain!!!" Robotnik yelled, smashing his fist against the control chair. These reploids had destroyed nearly every piece of weaponry he owned. The bulk of his military forces, an *extremely* expensive force shield generator, two Roboticizers, one that the white reploid destroyed, a second that Speed had dismantled at the front gates, where if all had worked correctly, Robotnik could've trapped them as they escaped. But the foul mouthed red one had teleported, ruining Robotnik's plans.

He shook in fury. The time needed to rebuild it all was something like a few months. A few months in which he would be practically defenseless.

"DAMN!!!" Robotnik screamed. "DAMN IT ALL!!!!!!!"

Snively gulped. This was going to be a rotten day.

A really, really rotten day.

* * * * *

Outskirts of Knothole, Great Forest

"Woohoo!" Protoman cried triumphantly. "We made it out alive!!" He fired a few celebratory Mega Buster shots into the air.

"I've made a decision," Neko said to Sally. "Is there room for a extra Freedom Fighter?"

"Count me in!" Protoman chimed in.

"Add one more to the lineup," Zero said.

"Make that two, Sally," X grinned.

"Make that three," Hoston said, lifting his arm cannon into the air.

"Oh mah stars..." Bunny said, wide eyed. "FIVE new Freedom Fighters, Sally-girl?"

"Six," Dr. Cain corrected, smiling.

"Wow..." Sally mumbled. "Five war machines... Are you sure about this?"

Antoine, however, was still freaking. He was babbling something in a foreign language to nobody in particular.

"Antoine, SHUT UP!!!" everyone yelled.

"Yipe!!" Antoine cried, running blindly into the forest.

"I don't see why not..." Sally said. "Sure."

"Maverick Hunter Zero reporting for duty, M'AM!!" Zero fake saluted, firing a shot into the air. X and Neko followed suit, firing plasma shot into the sky.

And so begins the alliance between the Maverick Hunters and the Freedom Fighters...