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Post by Lans on Jul 24, 2006 19:44:11 GMT -5
"Right." Sonic nodded. "Which way, Sal?"
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Post by Leda on Jul 24, 2006 22:48:52 GMT -5
"Nicole, holomap of the base, please. ..... Okay, so once we get to the ground floor we need to head north... Okay, now, the schematic of the prison, with Tails' location?" Sally studied the layout carefully, motioning to Sonic to look with her. "It looks like there's six floors, and Tails is on the fifth. Cell J ought to be the fifth cel on the left before we turn the corner here." Backing Nicole out of the maps, Sally then brought up Robotnik's itinerary, beginning to walk towards the door in the process. "According to this, Robotnik will be getting a supply shipment in about half an hour. With any luck, security could get more laxed while they're unloading and delivering." Opening the big, electronic, steel doors with a mechanical whir, Sally peered cautiously into the hallway before stepping out. "We're clear for the moment. Let's see if we can't get out of here before anyone sees us."
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Post by Lans on Jul 24, 2006 22:57:45 GMT -5
"Right, jucie time!" He scooped up Sally and blasted off down the hall. However something was bothing him. If Robotnik had caught Tails, why move him to a prison that's out in the middle of nowhere?
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Post by DB on Jul 24, 2006 23:11:13 GMT -5
It was a good question. A good question indeed. The answer, of course, was that it was a trap. Something that was soon to become obvious, for as soon as Sonic set foot into the hall a trigger was sprung, and the floor gave away beneath him with a sharp snap. -- And watching from his cozy viewing place, Robotnik smiled. " A rat in a trap. How appropriate... and now the fun begins." He pressed a button on the control pad and grinned even wider. This time... the hedgehog would not escape.* ((*... Pfft yeah right))
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Post by Leda on Jul 24, 2006 23:21:24 GMT -5
AGAIN WITH THE FALLING. This wasn't a good day for solid ground. Sally shrieked as the floor gave out beneath the two of them, Sonic's hands losing their grip on the princess and her own hands losing their grip on Nicole as they plummeted down the shaft. "Sonic!!" As dark as it was she could still dimly make out his form ahead of her, and his voice calling her name back in reply echoed loudly on the steel walls. Suddenly there was a loud bang as Nicole apparently hit a wall, and Sonic's silhouette took a sharp veer to the right, followed by a whirring noise. What was--She found out before the thought even finished; the ground squirrel found herself slamming hard into a metal panel that apparently had cut off the path Sonic and Nicole had followed, forcing her into an adjacent passage. After a bit more falling Sally was dumped into a new chamber, the impact knocking the wind out of her.
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Post by Lans on Jul 24, 2006 23:25:32 GMT -5
Sonic barely had time to give a cry of "Sal!" before colliding hard with a tunnel wall and getting the wind knocked out of him. The next thing he knew, he was landing on his back at the bottom of a glass tube, in the middle of some sort of lab. "Ugh," he groaned, flipping over and getting back to his feet, "I hate booby traps, especially when I'm the booby."
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Post by Sipp on Jul 24, 2006 23:33:48 GMT -5
"Yes indeed, sir."
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Post by Jamie Lee on Jul 25, 2006 3:27:15 GMT -5
Before the hedgehog would even get a chance to inspect his immediate surroundings, the lights of the room began to flicker and dim, adding an eerie contrast to the lab before the power cut out completely and leaving the room in darkness. The power hadn't blown entirely though. That much was obvious, as a low hum had begun to reverberate through the darkness, coming from the machine Sonic stood in. It was low at first, barely audible. But as the machine warmed up it grew steadily louder, the vibrations of its thrumming would be felt in the hedgehog's chest, pounding in rhythm with his heart, and no doubt probably causing a great deal of alarm. A loud crackle of electricity whipped through the pitch black atmosphere, and the chamber Sonic stood in suddenly lit up with a bright green glow. White energy spiraled around inside the glass chamber, causing every muscle in Sonic's body to lock and his fur and quills to frizz out as electricity shot through him painfully. The force of its punch would have been great enough to throw him through a wall if he hadn't been confined. As this happened, the entire base began to experience a complete blackout as the energy was directed into running the machine. The event took place in the span of mere seconds, but through the searing pain of being electrocuted, it probably felt more like hours. Finally, abruptly, the electrical current ceased, leaving only a throbbing ache through Sonic's body and a smell of singed fur. Whether or not he collapsed from the experience afterward, the darkness returned as the green glow faded, the machine having completed its task. "Life data successfully extracted," a monotone voice suddenly announced. "Beginning transfer." The hum continued. No longer coming from the machine the hedgehog stood prisoner in, but traveling to another area of the room too dark to distinguish. It had dulled into a soft, almost soothing rhythm that was soon accompanied by a loud and alarming snap. There was a series of clicking and beeping sounds, before the room faded into near silence, only the same hum continuing as whatever task currently being preformed worked. Then another loud snap. A new sound quickly followed - the sound of something shifting. Something mechanical. Joints creaked through the darkness as whatever it was stirred, accompanied by the soft whirr of an additional processor as its systems began to collaborate. All at once, piercing through the pitch black like a couple of beacons, were two red half circle eyes. Vaguely, with the aid of the light, its features could be outlined. A metallix, standing about the same height as Sonic and baring a striking resemblance to him, turned its focus toward the hedgehog. In the red glow its cobalt armor appeared black and barely distinguishable, its silver muzzle gleaming. For barely a second the lights flickered as the base's power restored, finally showing the metallix in its full detail. As this happened, briefly a few small white lights flashed across its LCD optics as it scanned the prisoner over, its sensors identifying him as Priority One Hedgehog. It stood there lifelessly, continuing to stare down the hedgehog from under its molded scowl, and awaited its first command.
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Post by DB on Jul 25, 2006 20:51:28 GMT -5
And Robotnik saw all of this from his monitors. He calmly took a deep breath, got out of his seat, and struck a 'SCORE' pose. " YES!" He then turned rather dramatically in place, his cape flapping behind him and pointed at Snively with his non-mechanical hand, grinning in his demonic fashion. " SNIVALY! Send the SWATbots to retrieve the Princess and prepare the cargo unit to send the hedgehog back to Robotropolis! I want NO FLAWS, do you hear me? NONE. I WANT NOTHING TO RUIN THIS PERFECT MOMENT." He turned to the monitors again, and chuckled, flopping back into his seat and pressing a few buttons. Things were far too good to not gloat over. -- The intercom of the room squawked, and Robotnik's voice came in loud (very loud, actually), and clear. "Hello, Hedgehog. (*chuckle*) Enjoy the accommodations? ... Oh, never-mind, your opinion doesn't matter anyway. I do, however, want you to meet my newest invention- say hello to Metal Sonic."
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Post by Lans on Jul 25, 2006 21:00:00 GMT -5
Sonic had collapsed back against the side of his tube when the beam faded, but, despite the residual pain, and the small amount of horror he felt at looking at his double, he still managed to come up with a comeback. "What's wrong Buttnik? I thought you hated hedgehogs, had a change of...whatever you have in place of a heart?"
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Post by Sipp on Jul 25, 2006 22:03:48 GMT -5
Slightly nervously, "Of course sir..." and Snively ran around and did JUST THAT. He didn't dare ruin the moment.
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Post by Leda on Jul 26, 2006 0:17:37 GMT -5
Meanwhile, the princess was still motionless on the cold, dusty floor. She'd managed to catch her breath, but the landing had still left her a little dazed. Sally groaned and pushed herself into a sitting position. It was so dark, she could barely make out the outline of the doorway to the small room she'd fallen into. Electricity hummed loudly somewhere on the other side of the far wall. She didn't really seem to notice, though; her mind focused more on the wheres: where was Sonic, where was Tails, where was Nicole.... Hell, where was SHE? It didn't look like a prison cell, that was for sure. Sally figured it was more likely that she'd just been dumped into an empty storage room. The ground squirrel rose slowly to her feet and made her way carefully over to the huge, metal door, feeling around in the darkness for a way to open it. Sure enough, there wasn't a control panel on her side. Looked like she'd be stuck there until it was opened for her. Which, just at that moment, it did. It was just as dark on the other side, save for the red beams of light from the three Swatbots' optics. Sally gasped and took a couple of steps backwards, and to her dismay she heard the heavy clunk of the machines' feet as they followed her. The princess knew that if she could just get around them, she could probably outrun the Swatbots, but in such darkness she could never run full speed. If only I hadn't dropped Nicole, I could use the light from her screen to get out of here!!Suddenly she felt the chill of the lifeless, unforgiving metal hands of the Swatbots, who oppositely could see her just fine. Sally shrieked and did her best to struggle against them, but there was close to nothing she could do to fight off the three of them. As she was towed off in the hall, Sally squirmed and did the only thing she really could do: " SONIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIC!!"
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Post by DB on Jul 26, 2006 0:58:45 GMT -5
The intercom fizzed a bit, and Robotnik responded.
"You've got me all wrong... you see, I don't hate hedgehogs- I just hate you. Quite different, you see. Besides that, I'm only fighting fire with fire... though it seems I've already won."
The speaker cracked and popped a bit as he laughed.
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Post by Jamie Lee on Jul 26, 2006 4:03:37 GMT -5
Metal's attention tore away from Sonic as he heard his master's voice speak. Having yet to be given any orders his eyes began to drift around slowly, scanning as he took in the surroundings. Almost-- almost--with a look of idle interest behind them.
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Post by Lans on Jul 26, 2006 10:16:48 GMT -5
"It ain't over til the fat man sings, Robotnik, and you can't carry a tune!"
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Post by DB on Jul 26, 2006 15:14:15 GMT -5
"I'm almost sad I'll no longer hear your witty retorts once you're roboticized..." At this SWATbots began to file into the room, their footsteps echoing hollowly. One had brought a trolley to transport the pod to the cargo ship, and the others began working at unhooking the pod from it's setting for transport. "almost... but not (*chuckle*). Au revoir, rodent." --- Robotnik flicked off the speaker feed and sighed happily. Finally that hedgehog would be out of his hair. Even if he didn't have hair. But, first things first. Pressing another button on his console he opened up a transmission feed to his newest machine. "Unit Metal Sonic. Your first orders are to go to the Little Planet and capture the pink hedgehog seen around the guardian and bring her back to the airship- preferably alive for use as a hostage. Additional information about the area and locals is already supplied in your data banks." He flicked that feed off as well and sat back, smiling. "Snivaly, bring us up to mechanical city on Little Planet. We have some reprogramming to do."
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Post by Sipp on Jul 26, 2006 15:26:29 GMT -5
"Yes sir!" He was enthusiastic now, pleased himself, and he punched in keycodes at the console - and they were headed for the mechanical city (which Snively was trying to come with a pet name for ... Mecha Madness, Metallic City, Metallic Madness, hm...) MEANWHILE: Two SWATbots were manhandling Sally, one overseeing, with its blaster pointed at her. They were forcefully dragging her away. WAY TO GO, TROOPS.
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Post by Lans on Jul 26, 2006 16:16:01 GMT -5
Sonic was knocked on his butt again as the SWATbots lifted the pod. "Hey, easy on the mechandice guys!" he protested, before he realized he was sitting on something. Reching under him, he pulled out Nicole's fammiliar shape. Glanceing at the SWATbots, who seemed intent on ignoring him, he flipped the little computer open and whispered, "Yo, Nicole, you awake?"
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Post by Jamie Lee on Jul 26, 2006 18:46:37 GMT -5
Metal's eyes dimmed slightly in response to the transmission, no longer paying attention to Sonic or the SWATbots. "Acknowledged." He turned stiffly and walked off.
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Post by Leda on Jul 26, 2006 23:46:41 GMT -5
Whether from the impacts of the fall or from the electricity used to gather Sonic's life data, Nicole had taken a beating, and booting up was proving difficult. A none too promising grinding sound came from within her hardware, and as Sonic shifted her in his hands, chips that had come loose could be heard rattling inside her case. Even so, one by one some of her buttons began to light up, although there were several that never did. Then the monitor flickered, but couldn't seem to quite hold a steady image, and tracking lines continually rose to the top. For a while nothing else happened, and it seemed the computer wouldn't be able to pull off much else, but at last Nicole's staticy voice rang out, "..Extensive..... cir-cir-circuitry damage... several systems off-off-offline..." The princess, meanwhile, resigned herself to being dragged off by the Swatbots. She would've liked to resist, but there wasn't really much use in her getting killed when she could probably find an opportunity to escape later. The only real thought running through her head was the hope that the others were all okay.
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Post by Lans on Jul 27, 2006 0:19:30 GMT -5
"Oh man," Sonic groaned. Sal wasn't gonna be happy about this. Heck HE wasn't happy about this since Nicole was his best way outta here since he hadn't grabed a power ring before leaving Knothole. "How 'bout the 'ole laser? Does that work?"
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Post by Leda on Jul 27, 2006 0:24:49 GMT -5
Nicole beeped softly as she ran her diagnostics... but also continued to grind horribly. "La-La-Laser-er online..." Suddenly the laser fired, apparently without Nicole meaning to set it off.
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Post by Lans on Jul 27, 2006 13:39:26 GMT -5
"YIKES!" Sonic yelped, quickly turning the laser's point AWAY from his direction, and pointing her instead at the side of the tube. "Ok, let's try that again, Nicole."
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Post by Leda on Jul 27, 2006 13:59:53 GMT -5
Nicole's buttons blinked wildly. "Sor-Sorry Sonic.... Activa-vating..." This time the laser fired on cue in a smooth, steady beam.
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Post by Lans on Jul 27, 2006 14:49:15 GMT -5
"Yeah!" Using Nicole he burned the outline of a round hole into the glass in front of him, then tucked Nicole away in his backpack. "SPIN AND WIN TIME!" He spun into a spindash and charged through the weakened glass, busting right out of the tube.
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Post by DB on Jul 27, 2006 15:09:57 GMT -5
As slow to catch on as SWATbots usually were, they weren't slow enough to NOT notice Sonic escaping (way to go, troops!).
Needless to say they were on Sonic with lasers ready like white on rice. ... Or stink on a hobo.
"HALT! PRIORITY ONE HEDGEHOG!"
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Post by Lans on Jul 27, 2006 16:06:13 GMT -5
"You guys want me to stick around? Aww, too bad, I gotta go save a few people, so we'll play some other time." He said, flashing a trademark smirk, before revving up, "Gotta juice!" and dashing off in search of Sally.
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Post by Leda on Jul 27, 2006 16:27:19 GMT -5
Another heavy door opened, and Sally squirmed to look over her shoulder. The Swatbots had hauled her down to docking bay, not a jail cell! Sally's eyes widened and she again struggled against the robots. This isn't good! If they take me out of here, I might not escape at all! But when the Swatbot bringing up the rear pointed his blaster in her face and charged the energy, the princess again conceded with a sigh. Patience, patience. The door to the hover unit whirred open, and the two Swatbots holding her arms dragged her inside. Sally expected to be strapped to a back seat, which she was confident she could loose herself from... but instead she was pulled to the back of the ship and unceremoniously dumped into a cargo bin. The ground squirrel just barely had time to holler, "HEY!!!" before the lid was slammed shut and she was yet again alone in the darkness. Sally's face contorted with anger; couldn't ANYTHING go right this day?! Even though in the back of her mind she realized it was useless, the princess went to work trying to push the lid back up and hitting and kicking the walls. "LET ME OUT OF HERE!!!"
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Post by Lans on Jul 27, 2006 16:53:08 GMT -5
His traditional sonic booms anouncing his arrival, Sonic charged into the landing bay, heading straight towards the hoverunit with all the activity around it.
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Post by DB on Jul 27, 2006 16:59:25 GMT -5
The SWATbots Sonic had left behind immediately sent a message to Robotnik... -- However, Robotnik was ... eh... busy. Napping. Apparently. "Snivaly... wake me when we arrive." ... Well, he did need his beauty sleep. -- However, the SWATbots in charge of the cargo bay DID pick up the message, and instantly went on alert, keeping an 'eye' out for Sonic.
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