______________________________________________________________________
	Chapter 25
		Arrival at outpost 5
______________________________________________________________________
  	Slasher had been flying for hours over the vast featureless desert. 
She was tired, but her big black-tipped wings were still beating, carrying 
them onward. Sonic and Tails would doze, jerk awake, doze, jerk awake again. 
They had finally spotted the river that ran right past the outpost when 
Sonic half-murmured half-sang, "Exhaustion takes over. Will this someday be 
over?" 
	Slasher looked around at him. "Too true, Sonic. You don't even have 
to quote the song to get the point across. But look; there's the river. 
The base sits right on it, so we should be able to find it, no problem."
She banked and began to drop toward the ground.
	Thirty feet above the ground they went into 'landscape traversal mode,' 
that is, they skimmed along at high speed. The desert side of the river was 
muddy and had a little grass growing. And, for an abrupt contrast, the 
opposite side was overgrown with semi-tropical jungle.
	The ground began to look broken up. One area would drop away suddenly, 
marked with strange ripply marks and sharp hills. Slasher studied the 
terrain closely. "This wasn't done that long ago," she said. "Look at that 
tree right there; the one growing on the edge of the drop-off." Sonic and 
Tails saw the big tree leaning precariously over the edge, half its roots 
sticking out. It was still green. 
	"That tree is technically dead. See how the biggest of the roots are 
severed? But it's still alive." She paused. "That means this broken ground 
wasn't done that long ago. Within a month."
	"Gosh," Tails responded, "what could cause earthquakes like that?"
	"I'll bet I know," Sonic put in. "The continuum. I'll bet it started 
cracking up when we started getting the time stones."
	"You're probably right," Slasher replied. Then she pointed and gasped, 
"Look at that!"
	The whole jungle was swaying, trembling. A low, ominous rumble came 
to their ears. It grew louder as the earthquake intensified, snapping the 
trees back and forth like in a high wind. One part of the forest began to 
settle softly downward. With a thunder of falling rock and earth, half the 
forest dropped away twenty feet, creating new rapids and waterfalls in the 
river.
	The three aerial observers looked on in awe and fear. The earthquake 
subsided and stopped, but it showed the continuum was weakening. The planet 
was gravitating back into the universal continuum, and the other holding it 
was putting on stress. "Slasher," Sonic said soberly, "I don't want to be 
down there when we get the last time stone."  
	"Yes," Slasher replied through her teeth, "but you don't want to be in the sky, 
either."
	They flew in silence a few minutes, then Tails said, "Serena's down 
there. She was in that earthquake."  
	Sonic stiffened. "That's right, she was," he whispered. His grip on Slasher 
increased so much it almost choked her. "Hurry, Slasher, hurry." 
	In reply, she stared down and said, "There it is."
	The country dropped steeply downward, creating the neatest waterfall 
you ever saw. It poured straight down for twenty or thirty feet, then ran 
over a ledge and dropped another fifteen feet to the next ledge, and from 
there to a green pool far below. Crossing the top of the waterfall was a 
flimsy wood-and-rope bridge. And on the far side, set back fifty feet from 
the river, almost hidden under the trees, was the outpost.
	Slasher dropped down to the desert side of the river. "It would be 
foolish to land in front of the guardstation," she explained. "I need rest, 
and will stay here. You two go get the stone and 'Rena. Make sure you get the 
stone last of all, and get Serena over here first."
	"Why?" 
	"Continuum difficulties."
	Sonic and Tails took off their packs, and as they headed for the bridge, 
Slasher called after them, "And don't burn your bridges behind you!"
______________________________________________________________________
	Chapter 26
		How group two finished their mission
______________________________________________________________________
	Motion, a swaying. He was vaguely aware of the sound of metal dragging 
over rock, screeching and sliding, sliding, sliding down. Then a crash as the 
world around him slammed into the ground. It hurt his head--all he wanted to 
do was sleep.
	Knuckles was still in the pilot seat, hanging from it by the harness. He 
knew he was swinging back and forth, dangling just below the chair, but he 
didn't know why. It hurt to move. Oh, it hurt--everything hurt. Slowly he opened 
his eyes, feeling he had won a battle just by doing that. Everything looked 
strange. Perspective had changed, and for a long time he didn't grasp what 
his half-focused eyes were seeing. He simply hung there, staring without seeing.
	The cockpit moved again, grinding it's metal hull against the ground, 
skidding downhill a bit. It roused him a little.
	"Where am I?"
	He stirred. The harness bit into his chest and stomach, and his head 
ached terribly. He felt bruised all over, like how he felt the morning after 
Slasher had beat him up. Except, this was much worse. A few more minutes passed 
as he gathered his senses. He became aware of his arms. They could move. He 
slowly lifted one hand to his face, then touched the harness on his chest. 
He knew he could undo it, it was very simple; he had done it many times 
before. He lifted his other hand, grasped the catch with both and pulled it open. 
	With a zi-ip of fabric the harness went limp and shot through the 
buckles. Knuckles, hanging as he was, free-fell out of it and landed with 
a thump on the floor. Pain shot through his body. He lay motionless for a 
while, eyes closed, barely breathing.
	Glass fell on him from above. He opened his eyes and looked around. 
He was still inside the mech, he realized. It was lying on its side, the 
cockpit tilted at an odd angle. He was lying on what had been the wall. 
Curving up and a little over was the big window. It was crushed inward 
on one side, where it had taken the brunt of the landing impact, and most 
of the glass was gone. What was left was crumbling away, plinking into the 
cockpit.  One of the metal support ribs was gone, he noticed. The control 
panel was tilted upward, and the pilot chair, above, had been knocked crooked. 
It was a wonder he hadn't been killed.
	Slowly he pulled himself to a sitting position. The inside of the mech 
was a mess. The bottom was littered with broken glass and numerous other 
objects that had broken loose during the fall. One hand touched something 
warm. He jerked his hand away, only to see it was a time stone--the dark 
red one. He grasped it, then looked around the cabin for the other one. He 
spotted it by it's glow. As he picked it up, he felt something warm and wet 
trickle down the side of his face. He touched it and saw his fingers were 
stained red. "Great," he thought, "I'm bleeding again." Nothing was hurting 
seriously, so he decided to ignore it and concentrate on getting out.
	His backpack was resting on the floor a few feet away. He wearily 
crawled over to it. It was surprisingly heavy in his weakened hands. He opened 
it and took out a shoulder bag. He put the stones in it, then slipped his arm 
through the strap. He slowly climbed to his feet. Something told him all was 
not right with his legs, but they worked, anyway. He walked in the direction 
of the shattered cockpit window, gingerly stepping around and over the many 
objects on the floor. He climbed up on the control panel (the mech was dead, 
so it didn't matter) and pulled himself up to the broken window. With a shock 
he saw the robot was lying lengthwise along a ledge about a fourth of the way 
down the cliff. The head, (the part he was in), was hanging over the edge, 
above empty space. He slid back inside the mech to think. He couldn't get 
out the big window, that was for sure. He thought of the exit hatch in the 
floor of the mech; only now it was the left wall.
	He grasped the metal handle and twisted. The door didn't budge. He 
shoved it again, then paused to rest. He was still shaken up and hadn't yet 
regained his strength. "When this is all over," he thought, "I'm taking the 
Floating Island to the center of the ocean, and not set foot on the mainland 
for a year." He tugged at the handle again, but it was like trying to pull 
a limb from a tree.
	Then something happened that wasn't supposed to happen. The mech 
powered up again. The lights on the control panel blinked on, and the engines 
began to hum. "Oh no!" Knuckles groaned. The throttle had been jarred all 
the way open, so the robot's legs began to move, lurching it toward the 
edge of the cliff. As the cockpit began to inch along, Knux frantically 
tugged at the metal handle. As he did, the computer came on, and the things 
it said threw him into a panic. "Critical hit: engine. Critical hit: heat 
sinks. Critical hit: torso. Internal ammo explosion detected. Warning: heat 
level critical."  "Give more time!" Knux begged, struggling to the control 
panel. He hit the button marked 'shut down,' and to his horror the computer 
replied, "Shutdown is no longer optional."
	"NO!"
	He attacked the closed hatch again. Fear gave him strength, and 
the handle turned at last. He swung the door open and saw the mech's moving 
legs, waving senselessly in the air. A glance at the control panel revealed 
the switch on the throttle had been jammed all the way open and broken 
off that way. Knuckles looked back at the legs. One was below him, the other 
above him. A straight glide would take him out, but the sharp metal plates 
on the toes made him nervous. It was a dangerous maneuver, and Knux didn't 
quite trust himself to do it. That is, until the computer said, "Self 
destruct sequence initiated."
	"I didn't know it would self destruct when critically damaged!" 
Knux exclaimed aloud.
	"Self destruct in T minus fifty-nine, fifty-eight, fifty-seven--"
	Nothing for it, he would have to make the glide. He slung the time 
stones across his back, held his arms out in front, sucked in a deep breath 
and jumped. It was over before he knew it. He passed neatly between the 
feet with room to spare. He landed and looked around.
	The ledge was no more than ten feet wide and about forty feet long. 
It hadn't fallen very far; the top of the cliff was only fifty feet up. 
The ground was littered with broken glass and twisted metal, and the side 
of the cliff bore deep scratches from the mech's limbs. It was rough and 
nearly vertical. Knuckles walked unsteadily to the base of the cliff and 
looked up. It was a long way to climb. As he stared upward, his three friends 
appeared at the top, peering down. "Knuckles!" Sally called down in surprise. 
"You're still alive! Are you all right?" 
	"No," Knuckles called up, and his voice sounded funny, even to him. 
"I-I think I'm in shock, `cause I know I'm beat up, but I don't hurt. My 
mech is gonna self destruct. I gotta climb the cliff."
	The Freedom Fighters watched as Knux tapped one hand on the wall, 
testing it. Then he jumped at the side of the cliff, gripped with his 
knuckle-spikes and feet and started up.
	It was the hardest climb Knuckles had ever attempted. Normally he 
would have enjoyed it, for the cliff was a good one for climbing, but he 
was exhausted by the time he covered ten feet. He tried to climb faster by 
using the inchworm approach, by which he would raise his feet to his hands, 
reach up as far as he could, pull his feet up to his hands again. . . .
That's how he usually did it. Now he only had the strength to do it once, 
for pain shot through him like liquid flame. He was hurt a lot worse than 
he had thought. Grimly he settled into the fisthold by fisthold approach 
again.
	Before long he had to stop. His limbs were trembling, and sweat mixed 
with blood was dripping in his eyes. He wiped his eyes with the back of one 
hand, then looked down at the mech. It was balanced precariously on the edge 
and looked as if it would fall any second. "Hope it falls before it blows," 
he thought, then gritted his teeth and kept climbing. He made it another 
fifteen feet as his friends shouted encouragement from above. He stopped 
again and looked back, for with a shriek of metal the heavy mech began to 
slide over the edge of the cliff. As it fell, a bright explosion ripped 
through it's hull, consuming it's upper part. Then it exploded, but by then 
it was below the edge. All Knuckles could see was flames, but he could hear 
as the seventy-five tons of burning metal clattered and smashed it's way 
down. He watched it go without a qualm. The thing had nearly killed him twice; 
good riddance.
	Knux took his time about climbing after that, but he was so worn out 
by the time he reached the top his friends had to help him up. The first 
thing he did was to take the bag slung across his shoulder and drop it on the 
ground. Bunnie picked it up. "Knuckles boy, this here bag is heavy! Why the 
hoo-ha did ya bring it all the way up that there cliff for?" He had his hands 
on his knees, breathing hard. 
	"Open it," he said shortly. 
	She did. "Why Knux, it's the time stones! Ya saved `em!" 
	"Yeah. At risk to my life." He dropped to his knees, unable to stand 
any longer. As his three friends told him what a great guy he was, he simply 
sat there, about to keel over. Suddenly he forgot everything else. "Shh!" 
he hissed fiercely. The talking ceased abruptly. From down below them, deep 
underground but all around at the same time, came a low rumbling. The ground 
quivered slightly.
	Knuckles dragged himself to his feet. "Let's get off this cliff," he 
said sharply. He took two steps and fell down. "Oww, it huurts! I can't walk--
please help me!" The three lifted him to his feet and half-carried half-
dragged him off the pass, back toward where they had parked the remaining three 
mechs. Knuckles was deathly pale as they laid him on the ground. "Somebody--
get in a mech," he gasped painfully. "Turn on--computer. Look at ground; 
target. That's radar. See if--volcano--active--continuum--"
	Rotor whirled around and raced to his idling mech. He carried out 
Knuckles's orders, targeting the ground. He opened the cockpit window and 
called, "There's some massive heat spikes below the old cone of the volcano."
	Knuckles shook his head. "The volcano's gonna erupt. We gotta get 
outta here--oh, no."
	"What?" the other three demanded.
	"We can't get off the island. We can't convert regular fuel to jet 
fuel. My mech had the only attachment." Knuckles let himself collapse to 
the ground and closed his eyes. "Remind me to thank Sonic for the lovely 
weekend," he muttered.
	Rotor continued to look at the underside of the volcano with the 
mech's radar. The heat spikes were advancing upward at a hundred times the 
rate of normal ones. Each time one spurted up, the ground trembled as if 
in fear. Rotor was no geologist, but he could see the volcano would blow 
toward the east--that was the angle of most of the pressure. "Hey guys," 
he called, "if we go to the west side of the island, we might make it. 
We'd better hurry, though; it's going really fast."
	Bunnie and Sally looked at Knuckles. "I can ride in the back of 
someone's cockpit," he suggested. "Does anybody have any room?" 
	Sally shook her head. "Mine's full of supplies and stuff. What about yours, 
Bunnie?" 
	Bunnie shrugged. "Mahn has room in the back. You could ride with 
me, Knux." He sat up and smiled weakly. 
	"Well, at least I don't have to run along behind." The two girls helped him 
to his feet and into Bunnie's mech.
	It didn't take very long to get on the roll again. Everyone opened 
the throttle all the way whenever they could. This was often, for the 
beach was mostly clear. The ground was shaking almost constantly now, making 
the mechs stagger on the shifting sand. This made the normally smooth 
ride a little rough, but Knuckles rode in silence. He grimaced at every 
quake, and before long was hanging on to the back of Bunnie's chair, 
trying to keep from being thrown around. 
	After thirty minutes of swift travel, they reached the western-most 
point of the island and parked the mechs. The four exited the robots and 
walked a little ways away from them. The ground pitched and rolled in one 
big tremor, then stabilized for a while. The rumbling continued, though. 
It was ominous and frightening, and added to the nervousness of the group 
on the beach.
	They sat there for an hour--the longest hour of their lives, waiting 
for the volcano to erupt. Knuckles's shock-induced pain-killer had worn 
off, and he was lying on the ground curled up in a ball. He tried not to 
make a sound, but every so often a soft moan escaped him. His companions 
knew he probably had internal injuries, but they could do nothing. 
	As the hour of waiting neared it's close, the red echidna had found a 
position that almost didn't hurt. It was lying flat on his back with his knees 
bent. He lay there, thinking of what somebody had once said about malaria 
and how it applied to him: "The first week you hurt so bad you're afraid you 
might die. By the second week you feel so much worse, you're afraid you 
might not."
	His eyes were fixed blankly on the blue sky above. Suddenly he sat up 
and shook his head, thinking something was wrong with his eyes. The blue 
was changing to a deep purple. Startled, he stared around. His friends noticed 
him and looked up as well. Then they stared, open-mouthed.
	The sky was now a solid violet, like it sometimes appears after sunset. 
The sun looked pink and seemed to pulsate; growing, then shrinking. It looked 
like an eclipse.
	Then the real earthquakes hit. The things they had been experiencing 
were tremors compared to this. The ground went up and down, rippling like 
water. The sound was so intense nobody could describe it afterward. It completely 
drowned out all other sound. Everyone lay down flat and tried to keep from 
being hit with the flying debris. It was awful. In the midst of all this the 
volcano erupted, which added to the chaos. Rotor had guessed correctly; the 
volcano erupted eastward, on the low eastern side, so they completely avoided 
the blast's path. They could hear it, but nothing came their way.
	There was no telling how long this nightmarish ordeal went on, but it 
seemed like a lifetime. It was actually about thirty minutes. Then the sky 
and light returned to their normal colors, and the massive earthquakes subsided. 
The volcano continued to erupt, and would do so for another twenty-four hours. 
The mechs were hopelessly wrecked, but fortunately did not self-destruct. 
Rotor, Bunnie and Sally managed to get out enough supplies to build a sort 
of make-shift camp. Knuckles watched them, occasionally offering advice when 
he could make himself heard above the volcano. He seemed strangely happy. 
Roter asked him why, and the mildly shocked reply was, "Don't you know? The 
weird stuff that happened was because we exited the continuum. Mobius is 
no longer in danger." He punctuated this with an ear-to-ear grin.
	Later, as the sun sank into the ocean in the west, the group lit a 
fire on the beach, wondering how in the world they were going to get 
home again. It grew dark, the only sound being the roar of the volcano as 
it continued to erupt on the far side of the island, miles away. One by 
one the stars came out, and the group noticed with satisfaction that the 
sky had rotated to match their season of the year.
	Suddenly, from up the beach, there came a bright flash of light. 
Everyone turned and stared in that direction. A glowing figure was speeding 
toward them. It looked for a moment like he would plow into them, but he 
jumped at the last second and sailed over their heads. As he landed amid a 
spray of sand ten feet beyond them, they recognized Hyper Sonic. He glided 
back to them. "Hiya guys," Sonic said cheerfully, "what's up?"
	"Sonic!" Sally exclaimed, jumping to her feet, "what are you doing 
here?"
	"Checking on you guys. Is everybody cool?"
	Knuckles had been lying down. He sat up painfully and replied, 
"Nope." Sonic stared at him. "What the heck happened to you?"
	"Rode my mech over a cliff."
	"Geez, you look worse than when you tangled with Slasher!"
	Knux only nodded.
	Sonic turned to Sally. "He's in bad shape. How come you guys haven't 
made tracks by now?" 
	"Can't, Sonic. We're out of jump-jet fuel, and the earthquakes wrecked 
our mechs, anyway." 
	Sonic looked down. Sally's eyes followed his, and she noticed the cast 
on his left wrist and hand. "Hey, what happened?" she asked him, reaching out 
to take his injured hand. He jerked it away from her. 
	"Ah! Don't touch it. I've sustained minor injuries from this trip myself." He 
looked toward Knuckles. "I'll just have to take you all home myself, then."
	"How?"
	"With this." He pulled out the blue chaos emerald. "I can teleport with 
this. One at a time, though--Slasher made me promise." He smiled wryly. 
"C'mon, Sal, I'll take you first."
	Sonic and Sally vanished and were gone five seconds. Sonic reappeared 
alone, and teleported with Bunnie, then Rotor. Finally it was Knuckles's turn.
	"C'mon, buddy, ya gotta stand up," Sonic coaxed, one hand on his arm, 
glow lighting up the beach like a floodlight.
	 "Sonic--I can't. I just can't!" Knuckles tried anyway. He only made it to 
his knees before he almost screamed in pain. It scared Sonic. He knelt down beside 
his old rival. 
	"Grab my belt," Sonic said. He took one of Knuckles's large hands and rested 
it on the active emerald belt. Knuckles felt it and grasped it with both 
hands. The energy flowing through Sonic's body was partly diverted and 
flowed into Knux. Sonic's glow, as a result, was transferred to his friend. 
Knux hadn't used the supers in a long time, and was amazed they could split 
their energy like that. He found the strength to stand. Sonic held one of his 
arms and touched the chaos emerald to a super.
	Teleportation was instanious. Knux found himself in the Knothole village. 
"Don't let go the belt," Sonic warned. Together they walked to Bookshire's hut. 
Calmly Sonic explained the situation. Bookshire had Knuckles lie down on one 
of the beds; then Knux let go of Sonic's belt. The pain and weakness returned 
before you could say 'knife.' Bookshire hurriedly gave Knux some anesthetic to 
put him to sleep and began doctoring him up.
	Let us leave Knuckles where he his. He is in good hands, and while he is 
being cared for, let us take a look at where we left Sonic, Tails, Serena, 
Slasher--and Metal Sonic.
________________________________________________________________________
	Chapter 27
		Finale, but not the end
________________________________________________________________________
	The river was a lot wider than it had seemed from the air. The 
waterfall was more than thirty feet wide. Thousands of gallons a second 
went thundering down the falls, plunging in white foam into the lagoon far 
below.
	The rope bridge was old, frayed and rotten in places. Sonic stood 
on the edge, hands on his hips, looking uneasily at the stringy ropes and 
weathered boards, some of which were missing. From beside him, Tails voiced 
his thoughts. "That bridge don't look safe."  
	"No kidding," Sonic agreed. "If we speed across it, though, we should make it."  
	"I hope so," Tails replied.
	Sonic crouched, dug his feet into the rocky dirt and shot away. He 
went across the bridge so fast it hardly quivered. He paused on the far 
side and beckoned to Tails. Tails stepped back several paces, then ran 
forward. He crossed it without incident and arrived safely on the far side. 
He gave Sonic a high-five, then stared toward the outpost.
	This guardstation was unlike the others, in the fact it was completely 
unguarded. It appeared to be abandoned and forgotten. The recent earthquake 
hadn't seemed to have hurt it much, although several large trees had 
snapped like toothpicks and lay haphazardly in front of it and collapsed 
against the walls. As Sonic and Tails cautiously approached, they noticed 
the deadly quiet. No movement, no birds sang, nothing. Even the air was 
still and rather hot. "I don't like this," Sonic muttered under his breath. 
"Too quiet. Metal Sonic has to know we're here by now." Tails stayed close 
behind him, looking around nervously.
	Slowly, taking their time, they approached the outpost. It seemed totally 
devoid of life, and the trees, which were usually kept at bay, had grown 
right up to the walls.
	"Tails, go that way, and I'll go this way. Meet ya at the back of the 
building."
	Tails opened his mouth and shook his head. "No way! I ain't leaving 
when it's so scary around here!" Sonic seemed about to argue, but changed 
his mind. 
	"All right then, come on. I'd hate to have to rescue you, too." He 
flashed an easy-going smile at Tails and started off.
	It was a little difficult to force their way through the thickly entangled 
undergrowth alongside the building, but Sonic blazed the way by spindashing 
through in short spurts. As they went along they kept an eye out for doors or 
windows, but there were only two windows, very small, barred and next to the 
roof. Tails was on edge and jumped at every sound, and just couldn't seem to 
calm down. He stayed right behind Sonic, panting with fear.
	They reached the end of the building. Behind it was a small clearing, but 
no sign of the generator. This puzzled Sonic, for the ones he had blown were 
always on the ground. Knuckles could have told him to check the roof, but he 
wasn't there. Anyway, Sonic crouched behind some bushes, scrutinizing the clearing 
suspiciously. It was still very quiet; he and Tails had heard no sound other 
than what they made themselves.
	Sonic suddenly had a feeling something was going to happen. Without a 
word he turned and pressed his back to the wall, motioning for Tails to do 
the same. For a long time they just sat there, looking and listening. There 
was no sound anywhere, no movement. No breeze, either. At last Tails mustered 
the courage to ask Sonic, "What's wrong?"  
	"I donno," Sonic replied just above a whisper, "and that's what's bothering me." 
At that moment their overly-sensitive ears caught a sound. Sonic grabbed Tails's arm, then
carefully turned his head to look into the clearing.
	The sound had been the click of a door unlocking. Sonic saw the edge of 
it as it swung open, then closed again. Serena stumbled into view, as if she 
had been shoved from behind. She lost her balance and fell over, then climbed 
to her feet, brushing herself off. She looked unhurt, except for her wrists 
and ankles, which were red from bring tied up. As Sonic and Tails watched, 
she stood erect, folded her arms and growled, "Jerk." She cupped her hands 
to her mouth and seemed to be yelling at someone inside the building.
	"Mecha," she hollered, "I still think you're an idiot! I don't like 
being dragged out into the middle of nowhere to be murdered at your leisure, 
and if Sonic really is my brother, he's not gonna let you kill me! Got it, 
mister maladroit?" She paused for breath, then added, "Maladroit means, 
'inept, unskillful, and/or clumsy'!" She laughed.
	"Well," Sonic muttered, she hasn't lost her sense of humor." He let 
go of Tails's arm and whispered, "Don't go anywhere, okay, little bro? This 
is looking a little too easy." He turned and called in a hoarse whisper, 
"`Rena! 'Rena, over here!" She turned. 
	"Sonic!"  
	"Shh!" Sonic hissed fiercely, putting a finger to his lips. "Come here and let's
make a break for it!"  She took a step toward him, then hesitated. "Whassamatter?" he 
called in a whisper. Her eyes were fixed on something behind him. 
	"Watch out!" she screamed suddenly, pointing. Sonic whipped around in time to see 
a sharp metal arm come swinging in a downward arc toward his head. He 
dodged quick as lightning, grabbed the arm; and found himself staring into 
Mecha's metal face.
	Metal Sonic almost smiled with delight. "Hello again, rival," he said. 
"I didn't expect you to actually figure out where I am. You are smarter 
than I first thought. Release my limb."  
	"No," Sonic replied. Suddenly an electric charge coursed through all 
the metal in the robot's body, zapping Sonic's hand. He let go with a start. 
Mecha was elated at Sonic's dismay. 
	"You see, hedgehog, the blue emerald gives me powers I had never considered 
before." Sonic saw the indigo chaos emerald was still in Metal Sonic's engine 
intake, and was glowing very brightly. "And I can use my weapon, as well. You 
may have the super emeralds at your disposal, but you do not use them to your 
advantage. And now you never shall."
	The robot made a swift move, a downward striking motion. His clawed 
hand slashed through the belt. It became visible and fell to the ground. 
"Hey!" Sonic cried, reaching down to grab it. That was a mistake. Mecha clenched 
both hands into metal fists, raised them and brought them down on the back of 
Sonic's head.
						* * *
	"Sonic, please wake up!"
	"I hope he's not dead."
	"Don't say that! He's not dead--I hope. Sonic, wake up!"
	"Shut up, prisoners. If he's dead, it would be a real let-down for me. He is not."
	Sonic could hear the voices of those around him. Tails was the first 
voice, Serena the second, the their robot capturer the third. Slowly he opened 
his eyes. He was lying in a dark corner with his hands bound behind him, and 
the biggest  headache of his life. Tails was tied up and sitting on his right, 
his sister on his left. They were in a very large, rectangular room with one 
skylight in the center of the ceiling. It was the only source of light in the 
room. Sonic guessed they must be in the outpost. He lifted his head a little 
and spotted the generator. It was directly beneath the skylight, and standing 
before it with his back to them was Metal Sonic. He had Sonic's belt and was 
fooling with it, probably trying to get it to work on himself.
	Tails saw Sonic move and squealed, "Oh Sonic! You're not dead!" Sonic 
struggled to sit up, his head throbbing. 
	"'Course I'm not. Not yet, anyway," he glanced in Mecha's direction. "Are we 
in the outpost?" 
	Serena eyed him and nodded. "Where else could we be?" She seemed very 
downhearted. Sonic had never seen her so depressed before.
	"Whassamatter?" he asked her quietly.
	"What's the matter?" she replied. "We're trapped by possibly our worse 
enemy, and you ask what's wrong?" She looked at Metal Sonic, then down at the 
floor. "Isn't it obvious?"
	Mecha looked over his shoulder at them. "Ah, rival, I see you have 
awakened. I will destroy all of you soon, but not quite yet." He turned back 
around. 
	Tails leaned toward Sonic and whispered, "We only have a few minutes. Can you get us 
free?" 
	Sonic moved his hands. They weren't tied with chains or rope, but with 
some kind of steel cable. His hands were numb from the wrists down, and 
coupled with his headache, he didn't feel very well at all. "What in the 
world is this stuff?" he whispered after pulling and discovering the strength 
of the cable. 
	"I donno," Serena whispered back. "He had me tied up with it. He 
shot it out of his wrist. Some kind of wire."
	Sonic struggled again and managed to get his feet under him. "I think 
I can break it if I spindash. Think so?" Serena and Tails considered how 
that would feel. "Sonic, won't it hurt your arms to spindash with them 
behind your back?" Tails asked. Sonic nodded. "Yeah, but it's all I can 
think of. I'll--" he broke off as Mecha glanced at him. A minute later Sonic 
continued, "I'll try now."
	He ducked his head down and threw himself into a spin. He spun for 
perhaps two seconds before his bonds shattered. He came out of his 'dash 
and sprawled on the floor, rubbing his shoulders. "That hurt," he muttered, 
then massaged his wrists and hands, getting the blood flowing again. He 
picked up a section of the cable, glanced at it, then glanced at Tails's 
hands. The binding was twisted into such knots Sonic knew he would never be 
able to untie them. "I'd need wire cutters, or--" He glanced down. To his 
amazement, Slasher's whistle was still hung around his neck. For some 
reason, Mecha hadn't taken it.
	With a sly glance at the robot's back, Sonic traced out his name on 
the whistle's shiny surface. "C'mon, please work again," he pled softly as 
he completed the last letter. In response, the letters began to glow electric 
blue, and the rest of the whistle turned a dull red. Sonic held it behind 
his back, cupped in his hands so Mecha wouldn't see the incandescent glow. 
In the few seconds it took to charge, Sonic broke into a nervous sweat. He 
felt defenceless without his belt.
	As soon as the whistle turned white, Sonic inched over next to Tails. 
"Hold perfectly still," he whispered, and pressed the whistle to the cable. 
The cable melted like wax, and Tails slipped his bonds off easily. "Keep 
your hands behind your back," Sonic commanded with a nod in Mecha's 
direction. Tails put his hands behind him as Sonic turned to Serena and 
freed her the same way. Then he sat down and stared stonily at Metal 
Sonic, wondering what to do next.
	"Sonic, blow your whistle and call Slasher," Serena whispered. Sonic 
shot her a look that said, "Good idea," and grasped the whistle. Before 
he blew it he got his feet under him and motioned for his friends to do 
the same.
	Sonic drew a quick, sudden breath, and Tails clapped his hands to 
his ears as Sonic began to blow the five signal.
	At the first blast Metal Sonic whipped around. At the second he gave 
a mechanical scream and lunged at Sonic. The blue hedgehog only managed to 
get in one more blast before the metal hedgehog slammed into him. The 
first thing Mecha did was to wrest the whistle from Sonic's grasp and hurl 
it violently across the room. "You have damaged my high frequency hearing 
sensors!" the robot screamed. Sonic could see sparks from the malfunctioning 
hardware in Mecha's back eyes. The robot forced him to the floor on his 
back. Only one of his metal hands was free--the other was still clasped 
around the torn emerald belt. This hand was pressed against Sonic's chest, 
holding him down. Now the robot raised his empty hand, fingers spread, 
probably to slash Sonic across the face. The blow never fell. 
	As Sonic cringed backward and shut his eyes, Serena grabbed Mecha's right arm, and 
Tails grabbed the other. With a "Now, Tails!" the two of them lifted and 
turned at the same time, flinging the big robot off Sonic and sending him 
skidding across the floor.
	Sonic jumped to his feet and sprinted to the robot. Metal Sonic hadn't 
yet recovered his motion ability, so Sonic was able to yank the belt out of 
his hand. Without thinking, Sonic whipped the belt around his waist to put 
it on. As the broken ends met, the fibers fused together as if they had 
never been cut. Sonic hardly had time to marvel at this, for Mecha noticed 
him and swung at his legs. Sonic jumped with both feet off the ground, 
letting the blow pass beneath him, then jumped back. As the robot climbed 
to his feet, Sonic had a few seconds breathing space. "Tails! 'Rena! Make 
a break for it!" They made a beeline for the door as Mecha came at Sonic 
again.
	The robot swung at Sonic and missed. Sonic had an eye on the 
generator, and was trying to figure out how to open it, become Hyper, 
escape and/or survive, and not necessarily in that order. Mecha suddenly 
stopped and held still. His engines had a high-pitched whine which showed 
how much he had been moving in the last few seconds. Sonic, expecting 
another attack, raced around to the other side of the generator, keeping 
the machine between them. Metal Sonic crouched a little, and a beam of 
light appeared in his back, growing in intensity every second. As Sonic 
watched uneasily, Mecha stood erect, threw his head and shoulders back, 
and hovered six inches off the floor. "Now, Sssonic," the robot purred, 
"we shall see who is the better of us."
	Mecha moved so fast it almost caught Sonic off guard. He came 
flying over the domed generator, clawed hands outstretched. Sonic dodged 
him. He leaped into the open and began to run in a twisting, turning 
path, trying the robot's maneuvering skills to the utmost. After five 
minutes Mecha was infuriated. Sonic was still faster and could start and 
stop on a dime, while the robot overshot and had to slow down. Snarling, 
Mecha leveled out, and began to overload his power supply, draining the 
chaos emerald. He started to glow yellow and could move twice as fast as 
he could before. The robot gave Sonic a run for his money. What was worse, 
as Mecha pursued Sonic around the dimly lit room, was that the robot was 
starting to use his head. He wasn't Robotnik's head assassin bot for 
nothing. He was studying how Sonic moved, how he ran, and how he reacted 
when the robot got a little too close.
	The last time Sonic stopped in mid stride, turned and ran the other 
way, Mecha was ready for him. He moved with his quarry, and had the 
satisfactory feeling of finally colliding with Sonic and driving him to 
the cement floor. Mecha crouched over him, pinning his arms and legs. Sonic 
struggled, but to no avail. "I have you now, Sssonic," the robot hissed, 
"and neither your friends nor your precious emeralds can save you. I--" He 
was interrupted by a colossal crash. Behind them, the skylight had just 
caved in. Mecha didn't release his grip, but turned his head to see what 
had happened. Sonic looked, too, and saw Slasher.
	She was lying on the generator with a stunned expression on her face. 
She hadn't seen the skylight until she had stepped on it. Slowly her head 
turned, and she studied the two contestants. Her voice was clear and calm 
as she said, "The name's Bond. James Bond." 
	Mecha bristled. "Leave, creature with the distasteful sense of humor. 
You have interrupted a murder." Slasher slid off the machine amid a shower 
of broken glass shards. As she gravely approached them, her clawed feet 
crunched on the glass. Sonic cringed, and it wasn't because of Metal Sonic.
	Slasher was studying Mecha with interest. She didn't seem the least 
bit concerned about Sonic. "Ah," she said, "at last I get to meet the 
infamous Mecha Sonic. I have heard much about you. You are one of the best 
robots I have ever seen. And believe me, I have seen a lot." Metal Sonic 
didn't know how to take this. No one had ever tried to flatter him before. 
He was not a vain robot, but he seemed interested. His hold on Sonic's arms 
weakened a tiny bit. "Are you loyal to Dr. Robotnik?" he questioned 
doubtfully.
	"What does it matter?" Slasher shrugged. "I am a free-lance mercenary. 
I have seen many robots. Most are below my notice, and I scorn to even 
mention their makes. But you, Mecha, are different. You are not only swift 
of foot, but you think fast, too. You also seemed to have pinned an elusive 
victim." Her eyes flickered over Sonic indifferently. Sonic felt a chill 
run over him. She had never given him a look like that before. Was this an 
act, or for real?
	This went on for another fifteen minutes as Mecha was pleased and 
Sonic became afraid, more of the big raptor than the robot. After a while, 
Mecha let go of Sonic entirely and stood up to face Slasher. Sonic slowly 
climbed to his feet, eyes jerking from the robot to Slasher and back. He was 
confused and didn't quite know what to do. He looked at his friend, 
bewildered. Again she gave him that careless glance, but this time one of 
her clawed hands stirred ever so slowly in the direction of the door. Sonic 
took the hint and began to edge toward the exit. Nonchalantly Slasher moved 
a few steps so she was directly facing the door. Mecha turned to face her, 
putting his back entirely to it. Sonic gave Slasher a thumbs-up and stepped 
outside, scott-free.
	He turned on the speed as he raced down the side of the building 
and into the treeless area beyond. The roar of falling water filled his 
ears as he aimed for the bridge. Serena and Tails were on the far side, 
anxiously waiting for him. "Sonic!" Tails yelled, hands cupped to his 
mouth. "Be careful! The bridge--" But by then Sonic had flashed across 
the structure and was standing before them, unharmed. "You were saying?"
	"The bridge ain't safe," Tails finished. "The planks are so rotten 
some of 'em just turn to dust when you step on 'em."
	Sonic turned to look back. "Slasher is ex-tremely smart, ya know? 
I'd never have thought to soft-talk Mecha--and boy, did he fall for it!"
	The three of them stood there for another five minutes, waiting for 
Slasher to leave the building. It was a long five minutes. But after a 
while, the big raptor came moseying around the side of the outpost, 
so casual she was fit to bust. If she could have buried her hands in 
her pockets and walked with a slouch she would have. After a few seconds 
she broke into a ground-gulping stride. She flew across the waterfall, 
scorning the bridge. 
	"Well?" Sonic demanded. "Where's Mecha?"
	Slasher shrugged. "I took care of him."
	"How?" Serena asked.
	"Cultivated a healthy self-conceit."
	"Slasher, say it in English," Tails said.
	"Aw, c'mon, you guys are really no fun at all. I started asking 
him some really technical questions about his hardware and software; 
you know, acting like an expert. Finally I asked him his mass weight. 
You know, how heavy he is. He said two hundred plus pounds, and I said 
no way, he couldn't be that heavy. He said try to lift him and see. So 
I grabbed both arms, swung him off the ground and threw him into the 
generator. The generator!" The big raptor snapped her fingers. "I forgot 
to get the time stone! Aw, man!" 
	She turned to go back, but Sonic put a hand on her arm. "Let me get 
it, Slash. I can go faster." Reluctantly Slasher paused, considering, then 
relented. "All right, but be back before the earthquakes start."
	Sonic was halfway back to the guardstation before he thought, 
"Earthquakes? What earthquakes?" But it was too late to turn back. He 
sprinted around the building, and skidded to a halt in the clearing in 
the back. The door was open. Slasher might have left it that way, but--no, 
it had a spring that held it closed. The door was propped open. Suspicious. 
Sonic sidled up to the opening and peered inside. It was darker inside 
than outside, so it took his eyes a few seconds to adjust. Metal Sonic was 
still in there. His heart pounding warily, he stuck his head through the 
door and stared hard into the darkened corners of the room. Nothing moved. 
He leaned in farther and looked into the corner to his right. Empty. He 
turned to the left--and saw only a metal fist, backed by Mecha's hate-
filled eyes, slam into his face.
	Stunned, he reeled backward and fell over, holding his forehead with 
both hands. He heard the thud-thud of the robot's footsteps as he ran 
around Sonic and out toward the river. Blindly Sonic groped for his radio 
and snapped it on. "Watch out, there's a metal hornet headin' right for ya!" 
He turned it off without waiting for a reply. Sonic climbed to his feet, 
shook his head to clear his vision, and started into the outpost. Before 
anything else happened, he would get the stone.
	 Slasher must have tossed Metal Sonic like a bale of hay, for the 
generator was sadly wrecked. One whole side was dented in, and the big lens 
on top had one edge exposed and was laced with cracks. Sonic only had to 
hit it twice before it broke, littering the floor with even more glass 
shards. He took out the time stone--pale green--and was startled by a 
computer voice saying, "Internal matrix for main system is loaded. System 
check beginning. Base one: negative. Base two: negative. Base three: 
negative. Base four: negative. Base five: negative. Base six: negative. 
Base seven: negative. System check completed. Vital component missing. 
All systems will shut down until further notice. Chain power surge in: 
Thirty. Twenty-nine ...."
	Sonic had fled the premises at "Base two: negative." He hit the 
doorway running, skidded into the clearing, swerved and headed up the 
side of the building. As he ran he thought of Knuckles's instructions, 
so long ago in Robotropolis. "Ten sticks of dynamite. How big of an 
explosion is that? Will we be safe on the other side of the river? I don't 
want to be here, that's for--" His thoughts broke off in a sudden gasp 
as he dug his heels into the ground and skidded to a stop. There, not ten 
feet ahead of him, stood Metal Sonic. In his arms was Serena; again. She 
was unconscious this time, limp and pale.
	Sonic took in her condition at a glance, a thousand questions flashing 
through his head. How the heck had he got her away from the others, and 
where were they? What had he done to knock her out? He gazed up at the 
robot. "Haven't we played this scene before, Mecha?" He queried. "Yes," 
the robot replied, "and if it worked the first time, it'll work a second. 
I still want the stones, but more than that, I want YOU. Oh yes, and don't 
try to trick me, either. The lizard was quite cunning, but I survived. 
Your sibling will not, however." It was quiet a few seconds as Sonic stared 
at the ground, heart and mind racing. There wasn't enough time to become 
hyper, for Mecha would simply teleport and that would be the end of it. 
But it wasn't safe to just stand there, either. The whole place would blow 
in less than thirty seconds.
	He decided what to do and did it in the same instant. He went from 
standing to full stride in one step, dove into a spin and hit Mecha across 
the head. Unprepared, the robot stumbled backward. Sonic gripped his sharp 
metal arms, trying to make him release his prisoner. Metal Sonic resented 
this and lashed out with one foot, catching Sonic in the stomach. Sonic 
let go and doubled up, gasping shallowly for air. Mecha was about to take 
off, but paused a moment to watch Sonic's agony with smug amusement. It 
was a mistake. Sonic was staggering back and forth, choking and carrying 
on like he was dying, but as he passed by the robot he suddenly stood up 
straight and drove his fist into the robot's eyes. 
	That registered. Mecha let go his prisoner and clutched at his eyes. 
Sonic caught Serena and headed for the bridge, gasping like a fish out of 
water and favoring his right hand.
	He reached the bridge and had to stop for breath. Tails and Slasher 
called from across the waterfall, "Sonic, stop!" He looked at them, the 
bridge, then back at Mecha, who was starting in his direction. "Why?" he 
called above the thunder of the falls.
	"Metal Sonic cut--"
	Tails was interrupted by an ear-shattering explosion. Sonic looked 
back and saw the base had erupted in a dirty orange ball of flame. It 
mushroomed up and outward, black smoke consuming the fire, blotting it out. 
The blast hit Metal Sonic, enveloping him in smoke.
	Panicking, Sonic started across the bridge, Serena in his arms. It swayed 
and bounced under his moving feet, and each grey plank creaked a protest as 
he stepped on it. He moved rapidly, his stomach in a hard knot, his back 
tingling with the knowledge of who was behind him. He had made it half-way 
across before anything happened. Trouble presented itself in the form of a 
cracked board that gave way underfoot. His foot went down through the bridge, 
throwing him down. He dropped Serena on the planks ahead of him, trying to 
ride the bridge's resulting movements. Despite all his intentions, his eyes 
strayed down to the board beneath his hands, the down even further, to the 
gap between the planks and the falling water beneath. He was just in time to 
see the falling fragments of the broken plank as they were dragged under the 
white foam beneath the waterfall. He stared, transfixed.
	Serena awoke with a start, the stunner's charge depleted. With a shock 
she realized she was on the bridge. She sat up, grabbing at the hand-ropes to 
steady herself, and saw Sonic. He was kind of slumped on all fours, one leg 
hanging through a gap in the bridge, staring downward as if hypnotized. 
"Sonic!" She held out a hand to him. With an apparent effort he tore his eyes 
away from the watery turmoil below and looked up. His lips moved. The rushing 
water drowned out his voice, but what he said was clear. Help me. She grasped 
his arm and pulled. He shakily lifted his leg out of the planks and crawled 
free. As he stood up, he looked over his shoulder. Serena followed his gaze. 
Metal Sonic was standing on the far side of the bridge, both hands on the 
hand-ropes, his body bent slightly forward, red eyes fixed on them. He didn't 
set foot on the bridge, or even move at all. He looked like a crouched cat, 
ready to spring on it's prey.
	His presence unnerved Sonic. He looked back at Serena and pushed her 
gently in the direction of Slasher and Tails. They were standing on the 
other side, waiting. "Go!" Sonic shouted in her ear. "Get off the bridge!" 
Serena turned and ran the rest of the way, safely joining the other two. 
Her motion caused the bridge to lurch again, nearly throwing Sonic off. 
He grabbed both guardropes as the bridge stretched and pulled, sagged and 
tightened. Stretched and pulled, sagged and tightened. Sonic closed his 
eyes and tried to keep from throwing up.
	A cry from his friends made him look up. They were staring past him 
with horrified expressions. Sonic turned his head, and what he saw became 
permanently etched in his memory. Mecha was calmly rubbing his sharp lower 
arm across the ropes. The logical thing to do was run for the other side, 
but Sonic couldn't think or move. His feet felt like lead weights, and all 
he could do was helplessly watch the robot saw through the first rope.
	With a snap the rope broke. The rope under Sonic's left hand went 
slack and fell away, and the bridge sagged over sideways. Sonic's bruised 
right hand couldn't--or wouldn't--grab the other rope hard enough, so 
Sonic turned and grabbed it with both. As he did he caught sight of his 
right glove--the knuckles were stained red. "That's what I get for punching 
a robot in the face," he thought grimly. His weight on the rope twisted 
the bridge over sideways, slinging him down toward the waterfall. As he 
struggled to get his feet up on the boards, he glanced over at Metal Sonic. 
Mecha had nearly sawed through the second rope. Sonic wrapped one arm through 
the dangling first rope, anticipating what would happen next. The bridge 
jerked once, then the other rope snapped.
	The bridge swung down in a wide arc. It hit the side of the cliff 
with a terrific slap. Sonic's body slammed into the wall with an involuntary 
grunt, knocking the wind out of him. The rope his arm was hooked through 
was nearly ripped off, and he painfully worked it loose. As he did, he 
discovered another problem. The loose ropes were twisted around his right 
leg in an impenetrable tangle. He pulled at them with one hand, but his 
weight on them had drawn them taut, stiff as wire. There were several loose 
ropes dangling around him. He grabbed one and tried to haul himself up, but 
his leg held him down.
	He glanced over his shoulder at Metal Sonic in time to see him 
materialize and teleport to the other side, up above. Sonic looked up and 
Mecha looked down. The robot was delighted with Sonic's situation, laughing 
evilly. In the middle of his laugh, however, someone rammed him from behind. 
He lost his balance and slipped over the edge. Sonic watched in 
disappointment as the robot grabbed ahold of the bridge and only fell a few 
feet. His attention was drawn to the top as Serena looked over the edge. 
Shock passed over her face as she realized Sonic was entangled in the ropes. 
She turned her head to relay this information, but then Sonic's view of 
her was blocked by Metal Sonic.
	Mecha had his feet braced on the wood planks and one hand on the ropes. 
From there he leaned out, looking down at Sonic. Sonic shouted up, "Well, 
Moron, how's the view up there?"
	"I can't stand your insolence," Mecha called down. "I can still cut you 
down from here." The robot reached down below his feet and began to cut the 
ropes. Sonic watched from below while his friends watched from above. Then 
Sonic called, "I'll bet you're too chicken to come down here and throw me 
off yourself."  "Sonic!" his friends screamed in horror, for Mecha, angered, 
began to climb down toward his enemy.
	But Sonic had counted on this. He pulled up a long strip of rope and 
looped it up against the planks, preparing a snare for the robot. He braced 
himself, lightly holding both ends with either hand. Mecha didn't notice. 
He climbed down inside the loop where he could reach Sonic.
	Metal Sonic turned around, facing his rival again. To his dismay, he 
saw that Sonic was tangled in the ropes and couldn't be just shoved off. 
Sonic grinned at him. "Can't push me off, tinhead," he taunted.
	"Perhaps," the robot's voice was so soft Sonic could barely hear it 
over the waterfall, "but you cannot escape, either. Therefore I can readily 
kill you here, then cut loose the entire bridge."
	"But what about the time stone?"
	"I will take it and the belt from your lifeless body before I drop 
you into the water. I will--"
	Mecha's voice was drowned out by a sudden, terrific rumbling roar. 
All around them the ground began to shake. The light dimmed. The two enemies 
looked up at the sky and forgot each other for the moment. The sky was 
turning a deep violet. The sun seemed to throb, and as all of them stared 
upward, red streaks shot across the sky like meteors. The ground lurched 
suddenly, slamming the bridge into the wall. It nearly knocked Mecha off, 
and as he scrambled to get a better hold, Sonic grabbed the ends of the 
loop and pulled backward with all his might.
	The rope caught the robot in the neck. As he started to topple 
backward, one of his pawing hands caught a board. He clung to it as his 
rival tried to throw him off. Sonic strained to pull harder, but entangled 
as he was, he didn't have good leverage. Desperate, he tried what Slasher 
did to move something. He threw himself backward, pulling in short, 
spasmodic jerks. It worked. Mecha's claws splintered through the board, 
and he flipped down and backward. Sonic ducked as the robot fell past, but 
even in mid air, Mecha kept his head. As he fell he twisted, reaching out, 
and caught Sonic by the left wrist. His weight jerked Sonic downward, and 
it was with great effort Sonic managed to grasp the ropes with his other 
hand.
	Metal Sonic hung there, staring down at the raging water below. After 
a moment he threw his head back and looked up at his enemy. Sonic looked 
down at him, only an arm's length away, and noticed the robot's glass eyes 
were cracked where he had hit him. It was a small comfort.
	Out of pure spite, Mecha began to tighten his hold. His vise-like metal 
hand closed, crushing his rival's wrist. Sonic cried out and tried to shake 
him loose, but to no avail.
	Another earthquake rocked the scene. Sonic was in agony. He aimed 
his free leg in a series of kicks at the robot, but it did no good. Mecha 
didn't care. He was hurting his enemy dreadfully, and enjoying it.
	"Stop! Leggo!" Sonic screamed. "My wrist is pulp! Are you happy?"  
	"Oh yes," Mecha replied, "but I'm just getting started. Watch this." The 
robot electrified his outer metal shell. The charges flowed through his 
metal hand in into Sonic's tortured arm. Sonic writhed in agony, finally 
letting go with his other hand and swinging upside down, trying to free his 
hand from Mecha's grasp.
	Sonic's ears were deadened by the constant noise of the waterfall, 
and so he didn't hear the warning cries of his friends. He did notice when 
the roar got considerably louder. He looked up in time to see a twenty-foot 
wall of water come sweeping over the falls--a tidal wave driven on by the 
earthquakes. As he looked at it, he thought, "That's a lot of water." The 
torrent struck him and Mecha, tearing away the fragile bridge with them 
and dragging them down into the waterfall.
	Ever wanted to know what a piece of driftwood feels like? Sonic 
experienced it first hand. The first wave slapped all the breath from 
his body, and now he was falling, surrounded by water. Ooff! He hit the 
first ledge and was swept off it at the same instant, driving out what 
little breath he had left. Then he was falling again, dragged downward by 
tons of water, the bridge, and Metal Sonic.
	After an eternity he was washed into the deep lagoon below the 
waterfall. He was pounded down and down by the falling water, deeper and 
deeper into darkness. Or was he being dragged? Pulled by a heavy weight? 
Mecha's hand was still clenched around his wrist; he felt no pain anymore, 
but he was aware of the discomfort. He had to do something--they were 
sinking lower and lower, toward the bottom, the pressure increasing. Sonic's 
body was starved for air, his lungs aching terribly, his ears ringing like 
fire alarms.
	Feebly he turned his head toward the light--he sensed that way was up. 
He tried to swim, but the robot held him down. Mecha had shorted out long 
ago, and was as dead as a robot could be. As Sonic looked down at him, his
dimming eyes caught a glint of blue. Slowly, with effort, he remembered. 
The emerald. The chaos emerald in Mecha's intake.
	Sonic reached down and pulled it out. As he did, the robot released 
his arm and fell away. Sonic turned and tried to swim upward, but the 
force of the falls was still beating him down. He couldn't go up. He 
paddled sideways, trying to get clear of the invisible barrier. His lungs 
felt like they had a total vacuum inside--more than anything he wanted to 
open his mouth and suck in a breath. A roaring filled his ears, along with 
each thunderous heartbeat. A black curtain seemed to cover his eyes. The 
last thing Sonic remembered was the feeling of his muscles going completely 
slack. As his eyes closed and unconsciousness overtook him, he thought, 
"And I never did find out if 'Rena is my sister."
						* * *
	Slasher had dragged Tails and Serena away from the edge as the wave 
roared past. It had only taken a few minutes for the first wave to go down, 
and as soon as possible the three rushed to the edge and looked over. The 
bridge, robot and Sonic were all gone. 
	Tails looked down the length of the falls and screamed, "Sonic!" 
Serena collapsed to the ground, sobbing, and Slasher just stood there, 
stunned. 
	Suddenly she yelled, "He's got to turn up somewhere. On my back, 
you two!" Startled by the authority in her voice, Serena and Tails obeyed. 
	Slasher whirled and began to run downstream, following the decline 
in the bank to where she could reach the lagoon's bank. As she ran, Tails 
yelled, "Slasher, you're too much of an optimist for your own good!"
	"Maybe," Slasher called back, "but if I wasn't so optimistic you and 
Sonic would have lost your lives long ago."
	They slid to a stop on a sandy beach thirty feet away from the base 
of the falls. "Get off, I gotta go for a swim!" Slasher commanded, and the 
two slid off. They stood on the bank, watching anxiously as the big raptor 
spread her wings, leaped out over the pool and swooped toward the waterfall. 
Ten feet away from it, right where the foamy water began to settle into 
green, Slasher hovered, wings beating as she stared into the water. Abruptly 
her wings folded, and she dove headfirst into the water like a pelican.
	The two on the beach held their breaths as she vanished beneath the 
surface. She was gone for what seemed like hours, and the water grew still. 
Then her head broke the surface, jaws wide as she gasped for another breath. 
She surface-dived and was gone again. She was under longer this time. 
Tails murmured, "Please find him, oh, please find him!" Serena was crying 
again, but neither of them took their eyes from the water. The ground 
rumbled, then shuddered under their feet. The quake intensified until it 
threw them to their knees, and subsided.
	Slowly the sky began to turn blue again. Normal daylight returned, 
and the strange red streaks vanished. Tails and Serena couldn't care less. 
They were staring at the water, waiting for Slasher to re-surface. She did, 
gasping, but alone. For a third time she ducked under. "Oh Tails," Serena 
sobbed, "she can't find him. He must have drowned!" Tails was also deathly 
afraid, but wouldn't admit it. 
	"Shut up!" he exclaimed. "Slasher'll find him or die trying!"
	At that moment Slasher was ten feet under and diving. Her first two 
dives had turned up nothing, and she knew she had better find her friend or 
it would be too late. This time she was going straight down, wings clasped 
tightly to her body, arms and legs pressed to her sides, muscular tail driving 
her on. Like a powered stone she sank into the cold, into the darkness below 
the cascade. She felt the pounding of the falling water above, forcing her 
down like a gigantic hand. The pressure increased, and the water darkened.
	Her eyes, glowing in the darkness like two live emeralds, caught a 
shadow below her. How far? Was it Sonic? She spiraled down, the weight of 
the water forcing air from her lungs in bubbles. She reached out with both 
hands, groping, feeling. One hand brushed something. She turned and groped 
again. Her hand closed around something; an arm. Sonic's arm. He was 
completely motionless and sinking slowly. She grasped both his arms, and 
holding him against her chest, she angled herself upward. She drove her 
slim body up and up with powerful sweeps of her tail. The pressure abated 
quickly, but the surface still seemed terribly far away. She forced 
herself to go faster, faster--
	Her head broke the surface, jaws sprung wide, gasping. She held 
Sonic's head above water, but he wasn't breathing. When Slasher realized 
this, she headed for the shore with such speed that her shoulders and 
forearms were out of the water. "I found him!" she called to the two on 
the bank. 
	"Is he all right?" Tails called.
	"No, he's not breathing!"
	"I told you it's too late!" Serena wailed.
	"It's not!" Slasher yelled. She reached the shore and splashed out 
of the water, streaming water from her wings. Sonic was limp and pale in 
her arms--he looked quite dead. She put him down on his back, head downhill, 
then pushed down on his chest. Water streamed from his mouth, but he didn't 
move. Slasher cuffed him roughly, then pumped his chest again. This time 
he retched and coughed up an entire lungful of water. Slasher turned him 
over on his belly as he coughed again, then sucked in a rattling, painful 
breath. He coughed again.
	Sonic's windpipe was on fire. It hurt to breathe, but oh, the pain 
was so good. He choked up a little more water, then lay still and concentrated 
on breathing.
	"Is he okay?" Serena queried anxiously. Slasher was crouched beside 
him, one hand on his back. 
	She replied without looking up, "I think so. He's acting normal, anyway." 
	Tails knelt beside his friend, his small body trembling with relief. 
He reached for Sonic's hand and froze, staring at it. Sonic's left hand 
was hideously mangled at the wrist. Tails gulped and pointed at it, stunned 
to silence. 
	Slasher looked at it and murmured, "Metal Sonic still managed 
to hurt him." She stood up and looked around at the surrounding vegetation. 
Spotting what she wanted, she walked over to a thick-leafed fern. She tore 
off two long leaves and turned back to Sonic. She gingerly pulled off his 
wet glove, then wrapped the leaves around and around his hand and lower arm.
	"That will serve as a make-shift cast until we get home," Slasher 
explained. Sonic moved his hand a little and opened his eyes, looking at 
it. Slowly he rolled over and sat up. 
	"Hi, guys," he said slowly. "What happened?"
	"You were washed away in a flash flood," Serena replied.
	"Yeah, yeah, I remember that part. Mecha was dragging me down. He 
wouldn't let go of my hand. But--I took--" His right hand was doubled up 
in a fist. Slowly he opened it. There on his palm was the blue chaos emerald. 
Slasher took it from him and looked at it. 
	"Yes, the emerald is safe," she said, "but what about the time stone you had, 
and the one Mecha had?" 
	Sonic looked up at her. "They must be somewhere at the bottom of the falls,"
he said simply. "We still have the other two, and if Knuckles managed to get 
the other ones, plus the one from Robotropolis, we should do all right."
	He stood up shakily, wiping the water from his eyes. "I won't need a 
drink for a week," he grumbled. He looked up at Slasher. "I guess we're all 
done," he said. "Can we go home, now?" Slasher shrugged and looked at the 
other two. 
	"Yep. Guess we can. I don't feel like flying, though." The three 
of them stared at her.  
	"What?" 
	She pointed to the chaos emerald. "You're holding the smallest teleporter 
device in Mobius. YOU take us home." 
	Sonic looked down at the emerald in his hand. "How?"
	"Try touching it to a super."
	He did, and vanished instantly. A moment later he reappeared. "Yep, 
it works, all right."
	"Where did you go?" Tails wanted to know.
	"Knothole. Just like that. Cool!"
	Sonic looked around at them. "Let's all teleport together." Wordlessly 
they all joined hands. "Hang on, guys," he said, holding up the blue gem. 
"Ready, set, go!" He brought the emerald down and touched it to his belt.
	All around them the world shifted and changed. The river and 
waterfall vanished, and in their places were the huts of Knothole village. 
	"Cool!" Tails yelped. 
	"Gee," Slasher commented, "I wish we'd had that before. I wouldn't have had to 
have flown all that way."
	Their sudden arrival was a shock to the others, who hadn't expected 
them back for quite some time. Slasher and Sonic dried themselves off, and 
while Bookshire patched up Sonic's crushed wrist, Serena and Tails excitedly 
told everyone of their adventures. After they had rested for a while and had 
had a bite to eat, Sonic asked about the other group, if they were back yet. 
Bookshire replied that no, they weren't back yet, and nobody had had any 
contact with them for days. This worried the intrepid four, especially 
when the old raccoon gravely told them the volcano on Copie Wright Island 
had erupted.
	Sonic insisted on warping to the island to see if they were there, 
and if they were, he would bring them home. Slasher broke in by saying No 
way, he wasn't going anywhere until his wrist healed. A tremendous argument 
followed, and it ended in a compromise. Sonic could go, but only as Hyper 
Sonic.
	Sonic Sonic went and found all of them (except Knuckles) in good 
condition. He brought them back, and Knux was put into medical for a few 
days. He was treated for minor internal injuries, concussion, three broken 
ribs, and his numerous flesh wounds. But he recovered. What happened next 
is about a week later, so ... read onward, if you please!     
____________________________________________________________________
	Chapter 27
		Epilogue
____________________________________________________________________
	"C'mon, Bookshire, hurry up!"
	"Sonic, it'll take a few minutes to access the genealogical records 
with the Robotropolis computer down."
	Sonic sighed irritably and folded his arms. He turned his back on 
the computer and called, "Hey Knux, how long do you think it'll take to 
get the computer on-line?" 
	Knuckles, who was reclining in an armchair in the corner, shrugged. 
"I donno. Probably not for quite some time. C'mon, you saw the tower. Doc's 
gonna hafta get a whole new replacement, and super computers ain't exactly plentiful."
	When the generator on the roof of the fortress had blown up, it took 
half the tower and part of the roof with it. The computer was directly below 
the blast, and was vaporized and melted. Parts had been scattered across 
the city for miles. Robotnik was more stunned than angry. (Rage came later.) 
The big computer was required to run the network and the roboticizer, and 
with no more computer, nothing worked. A crippling blow had been dealt. 
With Knuckles's expertise gone, Mecha destroyed and Packbell temporarily 
out of order, Robotnik was left without a leg to stand on.
	But now, most of the Freedom Fighters were grouped into Bookshire's 
hut. He was accessing the Mobian civilian genealogical records; trying to 
answer the question of weather or not Sonic and Serena were related. Serena 
was standing behind the old raccoon's chair, staring intently at the screen. 
Sonic, behind them, paced the room impatiently. He stopped when Bookshire 
said, "Ah, here we are." Orderly rows of text appeared on the screen. "Okay, 
since we don't know your parents' names, we'll start with your uncle--Sir 
Charles Hedgehog." Bookshire typed in the name. A moment later the entry 
appeared. He typed in the word, 'relatives.'
	Another list appeared. Most entries had the word 'roboticized' in the 
blanks, but in the category 'close relatives' was 'brother.'  Sonic and 
Serena both caught their breaths when they saw it. Wordlessly Bookshire 
entered it. The screen went blank a few seconds, and the computer clicked. 
Then a message flashed at them, "Warning. Corrupted data. Virus could be 
present. Do you wish to continue Y/N?" 
	Sonic covered his eyes with his good hand. "Oh no! Not when we're 
so close!" 
	"What?" Knuckles demanded. He got up and limped over. "Hmm," he muttered 
as he read the screen. "Viruses are a risky business." He put one hand 
on his chin and thought for a moment. Suddenly he snapped his fingers. 
"I got it! Hang on, I'll be right back."
	Knux walked out. A few minutes later he returned with a couple disks 
in his hand. "This is an anti-virus program," he explained. "We got a 
bunch of software when we went to earth to get the mechs. I got all my 
games there, and my equipment. The games all came on CDs and DVDs, which 
are kind of like holodisks, but with slightly different format." As he was 
speaking, Knux was installing the anti-virus program to the hard drive. 
"This will scan for viruses and automatically delete them." A moment later, 
"There. Now go ahead." He stepped back and folded his arms.
	Bookshire pulled up the screen again and pressed 'Y.' The computer 
gave them a short screen that said 'loading,' and then the personnel file 
came up. Sonic and Serena leaned close, reading it. Sonic slapped the 
table in frustration. "All the names have been erased! What good is that?"
	Slasher, who had been standing back quietly, came forward and studied 
the screen. "There's still information here. Look. Your mom and dad were 
both incredibly talented runners; top athletes. That explains why you two 
can run so fast." She read some more. "Oh wow. Listen to this. 'When their 
son was born, their lives were threatened by the impending war. They sent 
him away to live with his uncle in Mobotropolis, assuming he would be safe 
there. Two years passed, and their second child, a daughter, was born.' " 
Serena gasped and gripped the back of Bookshire's chair. As Slasher 
continued to read, the young hedgehog turned and locked eyes with Sonic.
	" 'When the child was two years old, their town was bombed during 
the Great War. Both parents were killed, and the status of their daughter 
in unknown at this time.' "
	"Well?" Sonic demanded. "What's her name?"
	"Hang on," Bookshire answered. "There's another link to her personnel 
file." As it loaded, the two hedgehogs joined hands quietly. The screen 
came up; the name at the top was 'Serena Hedgehog.' Everyone turned and 
looked at them. Sonic and Serena were staring at each other. 	"Sonic, 
I--I don't know what to say."
	"Me neither. 'Rena, you're--you're my sister. And--and--" Sonic 
paused, licked his lips and looked around at everybody. He had suspected 
it for a long time, but now he knew for sure he didn't know how to react.
Serena did, though. 
	With an "Oh, Sonic!" she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. 
Sonic put his arms around her and returned the hug. 
	"Little Sister," he murmured. For the first time the words held special 
meaning. For about five minutes they were totally unaware of everyone else. 
Then the two were suddenly aware of being stared at. They turned and grinned 
at the group. "Hey guys," Sonic said happily, "meet Serena, my long-lost 
sister." He turned and said gravely, " 'Rena, I would like you to join the 
Freedom Fighters. Will you?"
	"Sure, Sonic. I'd like to."
	Sonic turned and looked at the others. "Looks like we have a new 
recruit." He looked at his sister. "C'mon, 'Rena, let's go for a walk." 
	Together they strolled out, arm in arm. They had much to tell each 
other ... 
	Little did they know that the dead robot at the bottom of the falls, 
miles and miles away, would pose a new threat that would test their bonds 
to the fullest. But that's another story.
					THE END