Sonic The Hedgehog (part 3)

Note: Did you read the last one "Sonic The Hedgehog (part 2)"  ?

Chapter 13 Confrontations and Freedoms

"Something's not right. We got in too easily. I'll bet he has the whole place booby-trapped. Everyone watch your step!" Aaron warned. There was an electrical pulse in the air as if they were standing in some sort of giant computer.
"Where...how do we get to the top floor? There must be an elevator somewhere." Sonic observed. There was a clank below them and then Sonic, Sally, Sam, and Aaron found themselves on a platform that was taking them straight up. After going up for about a minute, the platform came to a bone-jarring stop. About ten seconds later, it started moving again, much slower this time. When it stopped, they found themselves in a room full of computers and various displays. On one display, there was a clock counting down.
"My...my. Who do we have here? It's so nice of you to join me on the eve of your destruction. It's really too bad that your friends can't join you. They've had the tables...or, rather the floors turned on them. Now, they have their own problems at the moment." A voice from above them said. As the voice, which Sally identified as Robotnik, spoke a section of the wall slid away revealing a vast sea of Roboticizers, each enclosing one Freedom Fighter or Mobian. Robotnik himself walked out of the room of Roboticizers.
"We're going to play a little game. First thing, choose one of you...the chosen will battle their robotic double to the death. If one of you wins, you will then have to battle me to the death once more. If you win, you will have saved both planets and all the inhabitants of them. If you lose, you will have lost everything; planet, inhabitants and your lives. You will have sixty-five seconds to decide." Robotnik said as he walked over to one of the control panels. Aaron, Sally, Sonic, and Sam huddled together.
"I'll do it. I have nothing to lose." Sam spoke up.
"Nonsense. If anyone, it should be Sonic. He's the only one who can move as fast as Robotnik can think." Sally volunteered. Ivo Robotnik was busy calling up the robotic duplicates of the Freedom Fighters.
"Hey, chubs! I got you covered! Send your best at me!" Sonic jeered.
"You asked for it, now you're gonna get it! I give you... Metal Sonic!" Robotnik said as the robot jetted down to the floor. Ivo hit a few buttons and suddenly the ceiling and walls spread out and rose up until they reached coliseum proportions.
"Let's get this over with. I have other things to do." Sonic shouted as Ivo initiated the combat program for Metal Sonic. The robot came to life and immediately started fighting Sonic. At first, Sonic was caught off guard by the speed of the robot's attack. Metal Sonic was much faster and was able to counter every move of Sonic's with one of his own moves. Eventually, Sonic was able to confuse the robot enough through the use of his speed to gain sufficient pause to get his energy back. With neither side winning and both combatants being pushed to their physical limits, Doctor Robotnik called the first fight off.
"I can see this is going nowhere fast. Hedgehog, you put up a good fight, but let's see how you do against me. Snively, start the launch timer at five minutes. I should be done by then." As Snively set the launch timer on the rocket that would transport the doctor and a select few of his robots off the planet, Rotor ran over to the real Annihilator and started the timer on the device.
"Sonic! We've gotta go! The device will go off in less than a hundred seconds!"
"You guys go! If I don't make it, take care of Sally! Go! Get out!" Sonic shouted. Robotnik had the hedgehog on the run with a series of lasers in the floor. Sonic ran over to the Roboticizers and opened them all from the main control panel. The Mobians that were trapped in them all ran over to the elevator and took it down. Once at the bottom, it headed back up to the top floor where the fight was going on. Snively, Sam, Sally, and Aaron scrambled to the lift, which took them to the bottom floor where they ran out of the tower. Snively ran off in the direction of a patrol craft he had hidden behind the tower. He started it up and flew away as fast as he could.

As the timer on the device neared zero, the room filled with a pulsating humming. Sonic knew he too would be consumed by the energy if he did not do something about his situation. Robotnik had a hold of his legs and was dragging him towards the source of the humming. Sonic still had his backpack with him; he had had it on throughout the entire fight. He remembered that he had packed it with power rings and the last emerald that Rotor had been able to find. Sonic grabbed a handful of the rings and slid those around his arms and took hold of the emerald and hoped that it would negate the energy of the device when it detonated. When the humming from the device seemed to reach the peak of the audible range, it began to emanate waves of energy. Robotnik had taken to his feet and scrambled desperately for his shuttle that was about to launch. Sonic leapt after the evil Doctor and managed to drag him away from the rocket as it launched.
"If I'm going down, you're coming with me!" Sonic shouted over the humming. The energy field emanating from the device had started to consume its surroundings. Robotnik screamed in terror as he realized that he had lost. As the field consumed him, Robotnik howled with rage as he saw all he had made was being lost to a device of his making.
"I'll get you someday! The war is far from over!" Robotnik said before he vanished. As Robotnik was consumed, the device detonated. The resulting explosion obliterated the city.
As Aaron, Sally, and Sam watched in amazement, the explosion was sucked back in and vanished from sight...leaving only the original Kingdom Of Acorns.

(End of Chapter 13)


Chapter 14 End of the ten-year siege

"Wait! Where'd Sonic go? God, he was in the building when it disintegrated! Split up and begin searching for him." Sally ordered. They ran back to Knothole and got the rest of the Freedom Fighters together so they could cover more territory at a faster pace knowing that it could be quite a search with just the three of them. They searched for about an hour and did not find anyone. Finally, as they were leaving the city, Sally caught sound of crying coming from up in a tree.
"Hello? Who's up there?" Sally called up into the tree.
"It's safe. Please just come down. We're here to help." Aaron added. There was a rustling as the person in the tree came down.
"Hershey! What's wrong?" Samantha asked. It took a few seconds for her to find her voice.
"I know about everything that has taken place that led up to now." Hershey told Sally and the two humans before breaking into tears again.
"Come on, let's get you back to Knothole and then we'll talk. You haven't seen Sonic around here, have you?" Sally asked as they slowly walked back towards the village.
"As Robotropolis vanished, I caught a glimpse of him as he ran out of there. So, Robotnik's dead? He's really finally gone?" Aaron nodded at Hershey.
"And, Sally got her parents back. After ten long years, it had all fallen back into place. Now, all we have to do is find a way to separate the planets and get everything back to normal." Sam added. As Sam said that, Sonic came running up to them looking slightly disheveled.
"What's shakin'? You guys miss me?" He asked as he skidded to a stop. Sally ran up and gave Sonic a big hug and kiss.
"Now what happens? Where do we go from here? How do we get back home?" Sam asked.
"According to Quantum Theory, there is a copy of everything someplace in time and space. It's just a matter of locating exactly where one would go within time and space to get back there. If the theory holds true, maybe we can still get back to our Earth." Aaron explained.
"As for us, we'll start rebuilding the Kingdom and hopefully, someday, get back to where we were before this all started without it happening again." Sally said. They arrived back at Knothole with Aaron's car in tow. Aaron and Rotor built a makeshift garage to store the car in so Aaron could work on it if needed. With a quick check of the car, the garage proved to be a good idea.
While parked outside the city before its destruction, much dust and debris had accumulated in the engine compartment mainly around the turbine for cooling. The cooling system also had blown several of the fuses, which needed to be replaced before any further driving would be possible. That night, as the village slept, Aaron was wide-awake working on repairing what needed fixing on his car. By about three in the morning, Aaron had dozed off in the garage. Morning came and with it the bustle of the citizens getting ready for the new revolution in the village.

"Aaron! Time to get up! You have a big journey today! Sam whispered in his ear. Aaron woke up and to his surprise; he found that the car had been loaded with foods and vegetables.
"Ohhhh! I forgot about today! Come on! We have to go before the sun sets!" Aaron urged Sam.
"Not we, just you. They need my help here and I want to help them." Sam explained.
"But...but...will I ever see you again?" Aaron stuttered.
"I don't know. I'll be fine. I can take care of myself. Don't worry about me, just get back to Earth, and straighten everything up there." Aaron was having a hard time fathoming something like this. 'I'll be fine, don't you worry. I'll possibly see you again in the near future. Go now and don't look back. Remember, I love you." Sam called after him. The Freedom Fighters had gathered around to say their goodbyes and then Aaron started the car up and began his journey. As he sped away from the village, he started crying as he thought about how much he would miss Sam and the Freedom Fighters. He sped the car up as he programmed the coordinates and estimated distance into the onboard computers and let the car do most of the driving while he took a nap. Before he knew it, he was back on Earth; the Earth he had left so many days ago, the Earth that Robotnik had tried to take over.
From what he saw up and down his street, Robotnik was unable to even touch the human race as the Roboticizers were tuned for the anatomy, composition and body type of the Mobians and had never been tried on a human. There had been a little damage to the city itself; some minor structural damage to the city center and some houses from what seemed to be a fight.
"So that's why Robotnik was so ready to use that device; he just wanted to destroy both planets and then move on to a new civilization and take them over." Aaron thought to himself. As he turned into his driveway, the car died in a cloud of oil smoke resulting from three blown head gaskets. Aaron was able to push it into the garage before going into the house and going to bed. As he climbed into bed, he noticed the picture of Sam he kept next to his bed was gone. That night, both Sam and Aaron cried themselves to sleep.

The following morning, Aaron set about assessing the damage to his home city and what had happened to the citizens that Robotnik had tried to roboticize. Very little had happened to the few citizens who were subjected to the process; from what could be found, the only thing that happened to them was the process enhanced their strength and ability to retain information. Aaron tried to explain what had happened as clearly as was possible without going into too much detail about what had happened to the few people who were subjected to the process. Once he was done explaining what happened to the people who witnessed the attempt at invasion by Robotnik, Aaron went back to his house and began trying to rebuild his car. The car proved to be a mess; during the return trip, he had not only blown the head gaskets of three cylinders, he had also damaged the onboard computers. Both would have to be replaced before any further travel would be possible.
Sam and the rest of the Freedom Fighters spent the next ten months working on restoring the Kingdom to its once and former glory. King Maximilian and Queen Alicia Acorn assumed the throne once again after almost eleven long years. Much time was spent looking for Snively, but he was never found. It was assumed he had traveled to the eastern half of Mobius where he lived with the Overlanders. The restoration was completed nearly a year after the end of the siege under the direction of the King and Queen.
At the same time that the restoration was completed, Aaron finished working on rebuilding his car and getting it back into working order. He had also taken the tattered remains of Princess Sally's vest and found a similar fabric in his hometown, which he used to make a duplicate of her original vest. He used what he could of the original vest and the rest was the new cloth. After packing his clothes and locking his house and garage, Aaron embarked on his last mission; his last mission would be to return the vest to the Princess, get back together with Sam, and possibly marry her. Aaron started his car up and made it back onto the Inter-Dimensional Superhighway and journeyed back to Mobius.

(End of Chapter 14)


Chapter 15 Sally's journal

About half way through the night, Sally woke up after having a dream about her past experiences. She immediately went to her desk and got her diary out of the desk drawer and wrote about her dream in it:

' A year and a half after I joined the Freedom Fighters, I was sitting alone out in a clearing wishing for a miracle; a miracle that would end Robotnik's reign and make Sonic declare his love for me that I had always suspected was there.
"Hello, little flower! Maybe you can tell me what I need to know!" I, then just fourteen years old, said aloud to the flower that fluttered in the winds in front of me. I picked the flower and proceeded to pluck each of its petals while repeating the phrase that many school girls learned as they came of age.
"He loves me...he loves me not." I spoke as I pulled the first two petals from the little flower. Finally, I reached the last of the petals and was more than disappointed as I spoke the words that anyone never wanted to hear.
"He loves me not." I said as I rested my head in my hands and let out a sigh.
"Guess I won't find any answers tonight." Things seemed much less complicated when I was young. Back then, my thoughts were on anything but romance...fun was fun, but my duties as Princess always came first' Since birth, I had been groomed to one day take my place at the throne. Little did I suspect how soon that day would come. Almost overnight, my father had disappeared and Robotnik appeared, spreading his unique brand of tyranny across the land.
Back then; I was still a simple kid with a head full of dreams and no way to make them come true.
"I wish I had a magic wand to help wipe my troubles away! Oh father, I miss you so much!" That night, a comet came streaking down out of the night sky and crashed about five hundred yards away. I cried out, "What was that?" and jumped up and started running towards the crash site.
"It landed just over that hill! Well, whatever it was I'd better go check it out!" Meanwhile, outside of Knothole, Sonic and the rest of the Freedom Fighters had heard the crash of the object. From what I was told later, Sonic was the one who suggested that they investigate it. Shortly, they caught up with me. Rotor had gotten his metal detector fixed and was sweeping it over the ground trying to get the direction of the fallen object.
"Sonic! You saw it too?" I asked.
"Saw it? We heard it! That was loud enough to wake the dead!" Sonic replied. I turned to Rotor and asked if we were headed in the right direction.
"My metal detector thinks so, Princess. In fact there it is!" Rotor said as they came to the crater from the impact.
"Way cool!" Sonic said under his breath.
"You're right, Sonic! Cool to the touch!" I said. Rotor said that the objects being cool to the touch was impossible.
"I've never seen anything like it! What do you suppose it could be?" Rotor asked me.
"I'm not sure, Rotor...but this may well be the answer to all my wishes!" Right away, we took the mysterious object, which we came to call 'The orb', back to Rotor's lab where he tried to get it open using all his knowledge. Nothing was able to even scratch the surface; acids just sizzled and boiled, lasers just bounced off, at one point Rotor even tried to compress it and when the pressure was let up, it just sprang back to its usual shape; nothing could damage it. We were all gathered in the lab when my Aunt Rosie came in.
"Princess Sally...might I have a word with ye? 'Tis important!" She said from just within the doorframe.
"Certainly, Rosie. I'll be right there." I took off my safety glasses and hurried over to Rosie. She proceeded to tell me about what was happening to my mentor, Julayla. She had been suffering from some kind of illness for the past few days and was now nearing death's door.
"... I'm not even sure the surface is the surface!" Rotor was saying behind me.
"Huh? Could you say that again in plain English?" Sonic asked.
"The 'orb' is a force field...masking the true nature of what's inside! And, until we find some way to crack it open..."
"I get the picture! What's your take on all this, Sal? Sal?" Sonic asked as I ran past him to Julayla's room. "Wow! Talk about dazed and confused! Maybe I'd betterSonic said as he went to start after me, but was stopped by Rosie.
"Not this time, laddie. 'Tis a matter she must be dealin' with in her own way!" She told Sonic.
"But, why can't we help?" Sonic asked.
"You both should know," She said to Sonic and Tails, "that there are some roads...which must be taken alone!" I arrived at Julayla's chamber and announced my presence to her.
"Sally...come closer, my child, that these aged eyes might more clearly see." Julayla said from her bed.
"Are...you..." I started to ask, fearing that the answer would be what I thought it would be.
"Hush, favored one. There are, to all things, a season...and time is in short supply. You bear the mantle of leadership with honor and grace. Though you might have longed for other paths, the duties of your birthright could not be denied." She rather slowly said, "From the first, you studied long and hard, ever growing in knowledge and spirit, and as our teacher, I would have accepted no less. Each day brought new lessons." At this point, Julayla and I seemed to share some sort of telepathic connection as we both experienced the same vision.
"Here, snatch it from my hand." Julayla said to the younger me as she held an acorn in her hand. The younger me, as quickly as I could, reached out and made an attempt to grab it. Pulling back my hand, I was surprised when I opened my hand and didn't see the acorn in my hand.
"Huh? Where is it?" I asked.
"Where it always was. This ceremonial acorn has been a symbol of your heritage for twelve generations, and once you have successfully claimed it, you will have mastered the most important discipline of all." Julayla said in the vision, which ended at that.
"I remember that day, and many others like it...you never let up for a moment." I said.
"Only because I cared...and knew you to carry the seeds of greatness. None were prouder than I at your commencement ball...nor more sorrowful on the day your father was taken from us. That was long ago, and you have since grown much. Let us discover together...exactly how much!" Julayla said as she opened her closed hand and in it was the acorn. I knew what I was to do...try to get the acorn from her hand using my wits and intelligence. For a few seconds, I observed the situation and finally came up with an idea to get it. So, I tapped her hand with my knee, bouncing the acorn into the air and as fast as I could, grabbed it.
"An elegant solution. Such wisdom cannot be taught...it must be acquired! You are ready...farewell, beloved oneShe said as she faded away into the grips of death. Deeply saddened by her passing, I went outside and sat down where I was when the orb fell from the sky. Out of nowhere, Sonic came walking out to me.
"Sally, I thought I might find you up here! Is everything alright?" Sonic asked.
"I guess. Just feeling a little lonelier tonight, Sonic." I said.
"Tonight is almost yesterday, Sally...and there are many more tomorrows ahead!" Sonic said. '

(End of Chapter 15)


Chapter 16 Return to paradise

When he reached Mobotropolis, it was night. The newly resurrected city gleamed like a newly cut diamond in the moonlight. Aaron parked his car a ways away from the city, wrapped the new vest, and took a short nap before the sun rose. Once the sun rose, Aaron tracked down Samantha and after talking for a few minutes, Aaron had Sam take him to the Princesses chambers.
"Princess, you have a visitor. He says it's important." Samantha said to Sally.
"Show him in. It better be quick. Tonight is the first anniversary of our freedom. Sally said as she sat down in front of her vanity with her back to Aaron and Sam. Sam motioned for Aaron to enter. "Make it quick." Aaron approached Sally while holding the package out in front of him. "Speak up. I don't have the time to sit here and play games." Sally said as she turned around. To her surprise, Aaron was standing before her.
"Hello, Princess. I know you weren't expecting me to come by, so I'll make it fast. I just thought that you'd like this back." He said as he handed her the package. Sally hesitated before she opened it, trying to figure out what Aaron would be giving her. Samantha waited just as eagerly as Sally ripped the wrapping paper off the box and fumbled with it to get it open.
"Don't tell me you came all the way back here just to give me a present." Sally said as she finally got the box open. "My goodness! You actually got me a new vest! But how?" Sally gasped as she held the vest up in front of her. Aaron stepped forward as he explained what he did.
"... All I did was find a cloth that matched your old vest, fixed it where it was torn, stitched it back together and came back here to give it back to you." He solemnly said. "And, I couldn't leave Sam here all alone." Sally and Sam ran up and both hugged Aaron. That night, Aaron, Sam, and the Freedom Fighters celebrated the first anniversary of their freedom from the dictatorship of Ivo Robotnik. Halfway through the celebration, without knowing of each other's intentions, Aaron took Sam aside while Sonic took Sally aside. Once outside the party, Aaron took Samantha by her hand and got down on one knee and said,
"Samantha, will you marry me?" Samantha was speechless. On the opposite end of the courtyard, Sally was just as shocked.
"But... But...this is so sudden. I'm just not ready for this kind of commitment... I do hope you understand. You have to see that I am not ready for us to be that close. We should just stay friends for awhile...at least until things get straightened up around here." Sally gently said.
"I see and I am willing to respect that. I have no problem with us just staying friends." Sonic said. At the other end of the yard, Samantha had finally regained her voice.
"I don't know what to say...my initial impulse says 'no' but my heart says 'yes'. And, for once in my life, I'm going to follow my heart and say...absolutely! I love you!" Samantha exclaimed joyfully with tears of happiness streaming down her cheeks. Aaron slid the ring around her finger and then wrapped his arms around her. The rest of the night was spent building a hut for the two of them to live in. Thereafter, for the next week, the Freedom Fighters spent their time trying to find a way to de-roboticize the unfortunate ones. Immediately, they started with Sonic's Uncle Chuck. It proved to be no easy task, for the mechanical part had grown and bonded to his skeletal structure, thereby making it impossible to de-roboticize him. Sonic was able to totally restore his free will by having him take hold of a power ring. Somehow the energies contained within the mysterious rings allowed all the roboticized Mobians to regain their will. As time went on, Aaron and Samantha grew closer to each other and the rest of the Freedom Fighters.
"Samantha, when do we wanna get married?" Aaron asked on their six-month anniversary. Aaron was nineteen years old and Samantha was eighteen. Samantha was hesitant to respond either way.
"Aaron, I want to do it soon. But we must get one thing straight before we go any further... I want you to quit smoking. It is the worst possible thing that you could for your body and I don't want to lose you for any reason. So I ask you...if we get married, will you quit smoking?" Sam asked. Aaron looked deep into her eyes while he answered.
"I'll do anything for you, so long as we never part." Aaron said softly. He got up, went over to his dresser, took his carton of cigarettes, and burned them outside in the bonfire. That night, Aaron dreamt that after the marriage ceremony was done, the War Machines reactivated themselves and once more destroyed Knothole and the Palace. In the dream everyone was killed by the machines except him.
Once morning came, Sally had the realization that could help the roboticized Mobians.

(End of Chapter 16)


Chapter 17 Undiscovered Discoveries

All at once, Sally realized that the one thing they had not tried with the roboticized Mobians was subjecting them to the process that had made them what they were.
"Rotor! I think that the only way to deroboticize the Robians is by roboticizing them again. Do you think it's doable? I know it sounds crazy...but it just might work." Sally excitedly told Rotor.
"You're right, it sounds crazy. The only way to be sure would be to try it and see what happens. We should get Charles before we do anything. He designed it, so he knows what we will be risking." Rotor suggested. As Sally thought she would, she found him at the Village kitchen making chilidogs for Sonic.
"Charles, we need your help with something."
"We think we have an idea that that could...deroboticize the Robians. But, we need you to help us with this one. You're the only one who knows how the roboticizer works." As Charles heard this, he dropped what he was doing and followed them to the last roboticizer known to exist, which was located in the lab.

Aaron and Samantha were busy working on the wedding plans.
"Aaron, why must our wedding be so elaborate? All I want is a small simple wedding. I don't want to have it complex...all I want is to get married to you." Samantha explained.
"Alright, my love...simple it'll be. Next thing, where do we want the ceremony to be held?" Aaron said looking over the list of things he had planned.
"I know the perfect place. Tell me...would you want to get married inside the palace?" Aaron kissed Sam on her forehead.
"Absolutely!"

At the lab, Sonic, Sally, Rotor and Charles found they could not get the Roboticizer online and working.
"What do we want to do now?" Rotor asked.
"Maybe we should leave them this way. Perhaps they don't really mind being robots. They have their free wills back, so who cares what they look like? I'm jut glad they are on our side now instead of being on Robo's side." Sonic explained in his unconventional way.
"He's right, y'know. It's not what's on the outside; it's what's inside that matters. I say we head back to the village and see what's been going on in our absence." Sally agreed with Sonic. At that, they turned around and headed back to Knothole, which was still home to the Freedom Fighters. Upon arriving, it was obvious that something big was going on; the entire city was decorated.
"Daddy, what's going on? What happened while we were gone?" Sally asked, approaching the King.
"Dear, we are going to be having a wedding. Aaron and Samantha, the humans, are going to get married." King Max answered, grinning broadly.
"They are going to get married inside the palace. This is so wonderful...another couple getting married the same way we did so many years ago! And on her birthday...so romantic." Queen Alicia said. The village buzzed with excitement as they prepared for the wedding, which promised to be extravagant.
"It's all set; the wedding is set for tomorrow afternoon. It will be held outside in the old tradition." Aaron explained.
"What are we going to do for my dress and your suit?" Samantha asked.
"I'm not sure. I sure don't have a tux here or on Earth and I'm sure you don't have a wedding-type dress with you."
"I have an idea...let's go talk to the King and Queen and se what they can do." Samantha said as she hurried along to Acorn Castle with Aaron following a little behind. She pushed open the large door and entered. She motioned for Aaron to follow her in. Samantha had developed a rapport with the King and Queen for saving Queen Alicia's life with the surgery; they allowed her access to the castle and all its treasures contained inside. Aaron followed Sam into the inner chambers of the King and Queen.
"Your Majesties...as you know, Aaron and I are getting married tomorrow, but we don't have anything to wear for the wedding. We were wondering if you might have any clothes that we could borrow...just for the ceremony?" Samantha asked.
"Certainly. Anything we have you can have. Dear, will you help Samantha while I help Aaron?" King Acorn asked.
"Of course. We'll have you kids spiffed up in a jiffy." Queen Alicia said as she led Samantha to her rooms. At the same time, King Max led Aaron to his rooms. As luck would have it, the clothes that the King and Queen handed Aaron and Samantha were just about the right size. They took the measurements and had their tailor adjust the clothes for Aaron and Sam. They took the clothes, thanked the King and Queen, and headed back to their hut. The rest of the night was spent with them in their hut nervously anticipating the next day. Aaron slept somewhat soundly while Sam slept restlessly that night.
With morning came a day that they both had been waiting for. In keeping with the tradition, Aaron and Samantha were not allowed to see each other until the actual ceremony. Two hours before the ceremonies were to take place, the doors to the palace were opened so that the citizens could get seated. At five minutes to three o'clock, the King and Queen, the acting ministers, made their way to the podium. As the three o'clock hour approached, the congregation quieted first to a whisper and then complete silence.

(End of Chapter 17)


Chapter 18 The Grand Marriage

"Ladies and gentlemen...thank you for coming today. As many of you know, for the past year, we've had two new residents in the Village and now the city. It was with their help that we defeated Robotnik, got the Queen and myself back, and started rebuilding the former Kingdom. On the request of them, we have been asked to perform the ceremonies of marriage that will join them together in perpetual matrimony." King Acorn proudly said. The doors at the far end of the temporary chapel opened and in the doorway were standing Aaron and Samantha. Sonic and Sally led them down the aisle. As they slowly walked down the aisle, Rotor played the traditional wedding marches on the organ. When they reached the end of the aisle, they were standing before the King and Queen.
"Aaron Brandt... Samantha Collen...we have gathered here today to join Mr. Brandt and Miss Collen in perpetual matrimony. Before we go any further...is there anyone who thinks these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace." No one spoke after the King.
"The ring please." Sonic brought the ring forward and handed it to Aaron. "On this day, we have gathered here to bear witness to the marriage of Mister Aaron Brandt and Miss Samantha Collen." The Queen brought forward a large book and handed it to the King. "Contained within this book are the names of everyone who had gotten married within the palace walls. Unfortunately...over the years the book has changed hands many times and has lost much of its significance." The King explained.
"Once you two are married, we shall be able to continue the tradition. It has been done this way for hundreds of years and thus it shall be done in the years to come." Queen Alicia added. The King took a step forward and then continued the ceremony.
"Aaron...do you take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife...to have and to hold from this day forward for better or for worse for richer or for poorer in sickness and in health till death do you part?" King Acorn asked. Aaron could feel all the eyes in the room watching him.
"Yes... I do." Aaron nervously stuttered. The Queen repeated the vows to Samantha.
"Samantha...do you take this man to be your lawful wedded husband...to have and to hold from this day forward for better or for worse for richer or for poorer in sickness and in health till death do you apart?" Queen Alicia asked. Samantha looked deep into Aaron's eyes before she answered.
"... Yes, I do." Samantha slowly answered. King Max and Queen Alicia then said in unison,
"By the power vested in us by the Royal Decree of Acorns, we pronounce you...husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride. Aaron took Samantha's hands and looked deep into her eyes and they remained that way for a few seconds before finally kissing. As Sally watched them kiss, she felt tears come to her eyes. Sonic wanted to reach over and offer his touch to comfort her, but he was worried that she might reject his comfort. After kissing for what seemed like an eternity, Samantha broke off the kiss and, taking Aaron's hand, went running down the aisle. Before she reached the doors, she turned around and threw the bouquet into the air. It landed right in Sally's lap. She cried out in surprise and looked up in time to see Samantha slip out the doors with Aaron in tow. Sonic reached over and took Sally's hand. She looked over and met Sonic's warm, friendly gaze and immediately hugged him.
The rest of the night was spent in celebration. At about two in the morning, the party finally started to die down. Finally, at about three thirty that morning, everyone had headed home. Aaron and Sam went back to their newly finished hut and sleepily crawled into bed. Aaron fell asleep almost instantly, while Sam lay awake thinking about what they had gone through to get to this point. As dawn approached, she drifted off to sleep.

(End of Chapter 18)


Chapter 19 Knights in Knothole

For the next few days, not much happened. They spent the days working on restoring the castle and the nights telling stories of what royalty was like in the castle and what Earth was like. At the end of the week, there was a large bonfire built in the center of the palace courtyards and they talked about what had gone on that week. The meeting went as all the meetings went until it got to the King, who had remained quiet until that point.
"Lately... Sonic M. Hedgehog had been on my mind for many reasons. As of late, I have seen him do many brave things in the past week. One thing I have seen him do this past week was I saw him rescue a group of children from falling into an underground mineshaft... I have seen him rescue people from burning buildings. I have witnessed him do many brave and heroic deeds while risking his life for the safety of others' lives. And, for this I would normally award him a Medal of Honor...but considering what all he has done for us... I shall award you the honor of Knighthood." King Max said, turning to Sonic. Sonic was speechless. The Queen stepped forward to the King and handed him his Royal Sword. Sonic knew what to do, for he had seen his Uncle Chuck get knighted when he was younger. Sonic bowed down on one knee before the King.
"Sonic Maurice Hedgehog, you have done many brave things in the past year and a half. And, for those, you have earned the greatest honor of all... Knighthood. As you kneel before me, I want you to think about this seriously...do you think you honestly deserve the privilege of being knighted? I want you to think about it hard. Along with your Knighthood comes a great line of responsibilities." King Acorn explained to Sonic. Nobody said anything for about a minute and then Sonic spoke up.
"Sire, I am honored that you would think I deserve to become a Royal Knight...but I don't feel that I deserve it. If anyone deserves it, it should be Geoffrey St. John. He did much more than I in defeating Robotnik. You do understandSonic valiantly said.
"I understand and respect your decision. Geoffrey St. John, do you accept this honor of Knighthood?" Geoffrey could not believe his ears.
"Why, I'm honored. But, what did I do that would make me deserve Knighthood?" St. John asked.
"Dude, you led the full-scale invasion against Robotropolis. Without your tactical skills and persistence, we wouldn't have gotten the King's sword back. If we never got the sword back, we couldn't have gotten the King back and nothing would have worked. You are the true hero of the Kingdom!" Sonic explained.
"Sire, I accept my being knighted and all the responsibilities associated with it." St. John said.
"By the Royal Crown and Throne of the Kingdom of Acorn... I hereby Knight you, Sir Geoffrey St. John of the Kingdom of Acorn." The King said as he knighted Geoffrey. "In the morning, report to the training center. As for everyone else, good night and I'll see you kids in a couple months. Until I return, Princess Sally will be in charge of the Kingdom." The King said. At that, everyone went to bed.
That night, as Sally slept, she dreamt of the fateful night when she lost Nicole during the final battle. When the device went off, the energy from it consumed everything in the city. Unfortunately, Sally was in such a hurry to get out before the device went off that she dropped her computer. The energy field consumed Nicole and no trace was ever found of the small computer amongst the rubble that was left of the city.
While training Geoffrey St. John, the eastern Mobians started several riots. Being in the area, St. John and King Max tried to stop the riots. They were successful in stopping them, but it cost them the life of St. John. King Max suffered a dislocated spinal disc and ended up bed-ridden for the rest of his days. Five years later, Sonic and Sally finally married. The Freedom Fighters had disbanded with having no freedom to fight for. A year later, Sally found herself wondering what had become of Nicole. As Sally sat there braiding their daughters' hair, there was a great crash outside beyond the boundaries of the Great Forest.
"Children...you stay here. Sonic, come with me and get the others together. If anything happens...we'll wait with that part." Sally said. She and Sonic ran to the others' huts and got them together for perhaps one last time. They all gathered together and left for the crash site.

(End of Chapter 19)


Chapter 20 The orb

After a lot of walking and a few false alarms, they found what had landed. It appeared to be an orb about a foot in diameter. The impact of the falling abject had created a crater almost a hundred feet across with the orb in the exact center.
"Princess, I am detecting levels of alpha and gamma radiation...they appear to be within normal limits." Rotor said, consulting his instruments. Sally started towards the orb.
"Sal! Don't go near it! We don't know what it is! Be careful!" Sonic said. Sally bent over and touched it; she noticed that it was cold to the touch. She noticed that it reflected light but not images. Sally picked it up and tapped on the outside of it. The tapping reverberated through the object as if it was hollow.
"Rotor...let's head back to your lab. See if we can crack this egg." Sally said as she climbed out of the crater carrying the orb. Once out, they all headed back to the lab. Back at the lab, Rotor tried everything he had to get it open. After two hours of trying chemicals, machines and energies on it, he gave up.
"There is no way that I can see to get that thing open. Lasers just bounce off it; acids evaporate... I can't even compress it because it'll just flatten and then return to its spherical shape. Something else...it seems to generate its own light. I don't know what it is!" Rotor said before he threw his hands up in the air, defeated. Sally kept having a strange episode of Dvu...almost as if she had been through this once before.
That night, as Sally slept, she dreamt of the day her and Sonic's marriage. Just as Sonic was about to say 'I do', she woke up. To her surprise, the room was lit as if it was morning already. She glanced over at the clock and found that it was just past two in the morning. She got up, put on her vest, and began looking for the source of the light. She left her hut and found that the light was coming from within Rotor's shop.
As she entered the shop, the light dimmed in intensity. The light seemed to have a pulse to it as if it was a living being. Sally looked all over the small shop for the mysterious sphere, which she suspected of being responsible for this light. Where Rotor had set the sphere, there was now a small computer resembling her old computer Nicole. She went to touch the small computer when it switched on.
"Princess, it has been a long time. I am Nicole, and I am back. I can only stay for a few minutes, then I'll finish my journey." Nicole said in her computerized voice.
"But, you were destroyed in the final battle!" Nicole's lights blinked.
"What you remember is leaving me in the tower when the device detonated. What you didn't see me do was generate a force field around myself. The shield ended up catapulting me up into an alternate reality where the Princess Sally and Sonic of that reality had just launched their fight against the Robotnik of that reality. You see...if you hadn't left me behind in the Command Center, you may not have defeated Robotnik." Nicole explained.
"Stay right here for a second... I'll go get Rotor!" Sally said.
"No... I have to go. Alternate realities await and I cannot afford to keep them waiting. If I could, I would...believe me. I must go. But, as I leave, I'll leave you with this...in five years, you and Sonic will ascend the throne and become Queen and King of Greater Mobius. I can't tell you anything more than that for fear that it would change the future and that can be devastating to a civilization. I will go now The computer said as it generated its shield around itself.
"Be sure to take care of any other civilizations you run into...and if you can, come back. Remember...we love you." Sally said with a tear-choked voice. At that, Sally picked up the orb and carried it to the window and watched it as it flew away. Sally went back to her room and wrote down what had happened and what she had been told in her diary. Sally happened to look at her vest and found that there were six words glowing on it. Sally picked up the vest and found that the words were stitched in gold thread into the cloth.
She wrote down the words in her diary and then went outside and sat in the palace gardens deep in meditation. She sat there the rest of the night thinking about what she had been told. Sally decided to keep it to herself; not even telling her husband, Sonic. Once morning came, she slipped back into the castle and back into bed, lying next to Sonic. Sally curled up next to Sonic, put her arm around him and fell into a restless sleep. That morning, the entire village seemed to remember something about a bright light, but no one knew where it came from or what it was.
With each passing day, the Queens health deteriorated a little more to the point that she passed away. The Kingdom was greatly saddened by her passing. Then three years later, the King died in his sleep. It would later be found that the both died from brain aneurisms. After the King passed away, Sonic and Sally assumed the role of King and Queen. By this time, Aaron and Samantha had moved across the Great Ocean to the massive eastern territory. All was peaceful and quiet.
The Mobians had become friends with the remaining Overlanders and they proceeded to share their technology and trade goods. Aaron and Samantha later became King and Queen of the eastern territory and they developed the first air purification plant on the planet. The unfortunates, it was discovered, could be turned back by using the energies of the power rings in conjunction with a power amplifier. Through prolonged exposure to the resulting energy, the answer to changing them back was found.

(End of Chapter 20)


Epilogue

After Sally met Nicole again, Earth and Mobius mysteriously separated. Upon separation, Earth returned to its normal orbit around the Sun in the Milky Way galaxy. As Sally grew older, she realized that Nicole was a gift to herself from herself. When one Sally in one reality defeated Robotnik of that reality, Nicole would travel to another reality and assist that Sally in her quest for total freedom. For the rest of her life, the six words embroidered into the vest that Julayla had left Sally served her well. Whenever she needed some kind of reassurance that what she was doing was right, she would look to those six little words and find she was right.
Over the generations, the peace that Sally, Sonic, Aaron, and Sam strived to reclaim was lost once they all died. Aaron died of old age at ninety-five; Sam of a massive heart attack at seventy-four, Sonic at sixty of heart failure and Sally passed away at one hundred and three of kidney failure. Those six little words would be engraved on her tombstone. They read: To Thine Own Self Be True.

The End

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Note: The preceding story was started sometime around April 1995 (age 13) and finished around May 2001 (age 19)... the version you just read is the original version that I handwrote over that whole time period.