Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ A Timeless Adventure ❯ Chapter 1

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

All official characters are copyrighted by their respective owners. Cody Griffor, Lily Griffor, Angel Starfire, Saber, Drake the chao, and Comet the chao are copyrighted by me. Slasher and Leviathan, as well as the chao transformation concept, are copyrighted by NetRaptor, used with permission.

Author's Note: This fanfiction has been one that has taken me many years to complete, and as such I hope that you all find my time and effort worth it while reading. I would also like to personally thank my friend and fellow Sonic fanfiction author NetRaptor. You were my inspiration for starting this fanfiction, as well as the one person that stuck by me through all my struggles as I worked to complete this story. You are a very good friend and for that I am grateful that I met you all those years ago.

Author's Note 2: This story takes place roughly 3 months after the events of the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles video game. I will update this story about twice a week on average. Also, any helpful feedback would be most appreciated whether it is good or bad. Thank you and enjoy!

A Timeless Adventure

Chapter 1

The sun began to rise over the northern mountain ranges of Mobius, casting their shadows across the valleys in between them. Serenity was something that most of the northern area of Mobius hadn't seen in many years, but in the valleys of this particular mountain range, peace and serenity was something that was seen almost every day. As the sun rose slightly higher in the morning hours, a loud screech-like cry could be heard from the biggest valley in the range, known as Veloci Valley. Several birds flew up and away from the valley, fleeing from the cry. Suddenly, a second, lower pitched cry could be heard coming from the valley.

Down in the valley, two rather large figures circled one another. Both looked similar in stature, one being only slightly taller than the other. Both of them circled around the valley floor, watching each other with their keen eyes. Suddenly, the shorter of the two lunged forward, the taller one moving back just in time to avoid getting bitten by the smaller figure.

“Nice try, but not good enough. There is nothing to be gained by attacking with all your might if you don't save some strength for when you needed it most,” said the taller figure in a female voice. The shorter figure straightened up.

“That is your opinion,” said the shorter figure in a male voice, lunging forward, this time with its hind legs. The taller figure cringed as one of the six-inch, dagger like claws on the shorter figure's foot slashed into her left leg. She then shrank back away from the shorter figure, but still kept a calm demeanor even as she retreated.

“You think fighting with all your power at once is the only answer, but you are wrong. I will defend myself if you attack me again that way. Let that be your one and only warning,” said the taller figure.

“You'll be eating your words after I win!” cried the shorter figure as he leaped into the air, claws outstretched on his hind legs. But before he could land a blow, the taller one suddenly spread a pair of golden wings from right behind her shoulder blades and flew back out of the way of the attack. She then flew up high into the air, letting out a screech-like cry. She then dove back down and body slammed the shorter figure, kicking up a small cloud of dust. When the dust settled, the taller figure stood atop the shorter one, who was pinned to the ground.

“You have lost Saber,” said the taller figure, looking down at him. By now, the morning sun was just now rising high enough that the valley was being filled with its light. As the light chased away the shadows of the night, they revealed the two combatants. Both of them were reptilian looking creatures. The pinned one had glaring yellow eyes. He had a tan underside, but a brown backside that made dozens of line-like patterns on his tan coloring as it trailed down his sides. The standing one had soft emerald eyes. She also was tan in color, with dark brown stripes marking her body. Both of them were easy to identify with the single six-inch long claw on either hind leg. They were both velociraptors. But there was one main thing that separated the two of them, and that was the pair of golden wings the taller one possessed. The winged raptor let the other raptor up to its feet.

“How'd you do that Slasher?” asked Saber as he stood back up.

“I was able to do that because, unlike you, I balance my power and defensive abilities to the situation. You, on the other hand, use all your strength to attack. An opponent that realizes that can take advantage just like I did,” said Slasher, folding her wings back against her body. Saber sighed as he looked up at the rising sun. He had been at his training for almost a year now, but he was still struggling to handle even the most basic of fighting skills. Sure, he had learned much, but it was still nowhere near what he'd need to know to survive outside the valley. He then cringed as he looked down at the cut he had given Slasher, which was bleeding slightly.

“Did I hurt you bad?” asked Saber. Slasher looked at the cut, then shook her head.

“Not really. It'll be fine in a day or two,” said Slasher. She then looked up at Saber with a smile. “Actually, that's the first time you've been able to land a blow that's actually hurt me before. I have to admit, you are getting better at this.” Saber smiled slightly at the compliment. Slasher noticed this, and was about to say something else, but decided against it. The young raptor could use a little bit of praise without her spouting off that he still had a long way to go.

“So does that mean I'm ready for the next part of my training?” asked Saber as the two friends turned to head back into the caves that honeycombed the whole area.

“Not by a long shot,” said Slasher.

“But I know I'm ready!” cried Saber, stopping and giving Slasher a glare that he would never dare give her had they still been training.

“Until I can see that you're ready, you're not going to advance to the tougher stages of training. You may be my best friend, but that doesn't mean that I will bend the rules for you,” said Slasher, glaring back at Saber with just as much intensity.

“Just let me prove myself! I know I can do this!” said Saber, gritting his teeth in anger. The young raptor had a short fuse and it was usually triggered by arguments such as this. Slasher, on the other hand, wasn't one to normally get angry. But having to put up with Saber's short fuse day after day was really starting to get to her.

“Look Saber. I am the teacher. You are the student. You will follow the training schedule I set. Is that clear?” asked Slasher, her voice starting to hint towards anger. Saber lowered his head and gave a low growl. Slasher watched him tense up as if he was preparing to pounce, but she knew he wouldn't. To pounce her would mean instant retaliation on her part, and Saber knew that in an all-out fight with Slasher he wouldn't stand a chance. Saber finally sighed and loosened his stance.

“Yes,” he whispered, just audible. He then looked up and made an about-face.

“Where are you going?” asked Slasher, wondering what Saber was up to now.

“I'm just going to go run for a while. It'll calm me down,” said Saber. Slasher wasn't surprised. Saber ran a lot as it was. He was the second fastest raptor in the valley, seconded only by her. He'd run for fun, exercise, and just to relieve stress all the time.

“Okay. Just don't be too long,” said Slasher as she started back towards the entrance to the caves. Saber then took off, leaving Slasher behind as he went from zero to near sixty mph in less than ten seconds.

You're way too trusting for your own good Slasher. And when I come back, you'll have to admit that you were wrong and I was right, thought Saber to himself as he headed up the side of one of the mountains, leaping from ledge to ledge until he reached the cave entrance that led into a tunnel that went straight through to world outside the safety of the Veloci Valley.

**************************

Three days later, a crimson robot was sitting at a table in what used to be the Mobotropolis Library. The building had seen better days, which was evident in the cracked walls and immense amount of dust that had accumulated over the years. The robot turned a page of the book it held in its hands, careful not to cut into the book with the two six-inch claws that jutted from top of each of its hands on the end of its long, flat arms. It also had five, triangular shaped tubes with vents on the tips flowing down the back of its head like dreadlocks, the three middle tubes containing a small thruster in them. On its back was an engine exhaust port and topping off its look was a white "V" mark on its chest.

The robot would come here often, gathering information. It had been created less than a month before by Snively as a temporary replacement for what had been referred to as its “younger brother” by the diminutive human. It still had not seen anything outside of the polluted city of Robotropolis yet, but it had been told that when it was ready for a confrontation with the Freedom Fighters, and especially Sonic, it would be allowed to roam on its own outside of the city. This made the robot irritable most of the time, and its attitude had become quite bitter very fast. In fact, Robotnik had made a comment to Snively in private that the crimson robot was becoming independent minded even faster than its predecessor had. The sound of the front door of the library opening caught the robot's attention. It glanced up at the door, the bright neon green pupils moving up from the bottom of the black background to see Snively standing there.

“What brings you here?” asked the robot, its voice having a deep male vocal range with hint of robotic origin, a little deeper sounding than his predecessor had. Snively caught the slightest hint of annoyance in the robot's voice, but paid it no mind.

“I'm just checking up on you. You really must like to read, seeing as you're here almost every day,” said Snively as he walked up next to the robot. The robot regarded the four foot tall human coldly before returning his attention back to the book, which was one that contained facts about Earth's prehistoric dinosaurs.

“I don't like to read,” he said coldly, not taking his green pupils off the book. “I am simply expanding my knowledge. It's about the only thing I can do in this accursed prison of a city.”

“I know you want to get out of Robotropolis, but until we are certain that you can handle a confrontation between you and the Freedom Fighters, you have to stay here,” said Snively. The crimson robot then threw the book up in the air, startling Snively.

“That's all I ever hear! I'm not ready! I have to prove myself! I think you both just don't want me to leave this place,” he cried angrily, raising his fist spikes first towards Snively's chest. He then let out a mechanical sigh and relaxed himself, walking over and picking up the book he had thrown.

“Well, your `brother' is still in the beginning stages of repair. Until we can be sure that he can be completely rebuilt, your safety is quite a high priority. We can't risk losing you before knowing that he can be fixed,” said Snively. The crimson robot looked up at Snively, his eyes narrowing. This was another thing that had heightened the robot's independent nature, as well as his anger, with his creator and the other rather large human he was programmed to obey. Though he despised being their little wind-up toy to boss around, he was angrier still with the fact that they saw him as only a mere fill-in until this other robot was repaired. This latest mention of his so-called “brother” was the last straw for him. The crimson robot gripped the book he was carrying with both of his hands and tore it in half, hardback cover and all, before stomping towards the library's exit.

“Take me to him! I want to see just who this `brother' of mine is!” cried the robot angrily as he walked out of the library. Snively stood in stunned silence for a fraction of a second before following the crimson robot, the automatic door closing behind him.

****************************

“That's it. All the firewood's been cut and stored away,” said Sonic as he walked into community hut where Knuckles, Sally, Tails, and a few of the other Freedom Fighters sat taking a break from the day's tasks. The winter months were drawing closer. In less than a month they would arrive and everyone was hard at work preparing the forest community for the harsh cold ahead. Cody, a hedgehog in his late twenties that had been roboticized roughly a year ago, was also helping out, but in a different way. As everyone else prepared Knothole for the winter months ahead, Cody was down south in Emerald City as a representative of the Knothole Freedom Fighters, trying to convince the human colonies there to join the fight against Robotnik. Up until recently, Emerald City had been a human only colony, fearing that after Robotnik attacked Mobotropolis others would follow his example and attack mobian populated areas. But there was no evidence that pointed to people hating mobians for any reason, and the mayor of Emerald City had proclaimed the place a mobian-friendly place as of last year.

The idea of roboticized mobians, or “Robians” as they were sometimes called, joining the community was still something they had a prejudice against, which was one of the reasons Cody had been the one sent to represent the Knothole Freedom Fighters, to show that robotic individuals were just the same as flesh and blood people. While he might have been roboticized using an upgraded version of the technology that granted him his combat skills and weapons, he was still a Robian nonetheless. Despite the so-called “advanced” roboticization technique, its fatal flaw of allowing the victim to retain their free will had ultimately doomed the project when Cody instantly turned on Robotnik and destroyed the machine, escaping with his wife Lily and eventually finding a home in Knothole. He then became a great asset in the hunt for the Chaos Emeralds, which had only ended a few months ago. They only had the blue Chaos Emerald now, the others having being scattered after the Death Egg incident. But the Super Emeralds, the miniatures of which Sonic usually kept in an invisible belt around his waist, had made up for the loss of the Chaos Emeralds.

“Good. At least the heat problem's taken care of,” said Sally as Sonic sat down next to her.

“So what's next on the agenda?” asked Sonic.

“Well, we still need someone to check all the look-out posts to see if they are going to be able to withstand the weight of the snow. Why don't you go and do that, Tails? Anyone who can fly has a much easier time checking the holdings,” said Sally. Tails gave a nod as he stood up and walked out of the hut. Sonic watched the ten year old fox leave, then put his feet up on the table.

“So Sal, where do we stand on food for the winter?” asked Sonic.

“As long as we can get the last of the crops harvested before the first frost of the year, we should be fine,” said Sally.

“How about computer parts? Do we have enough?” asked Knuckles. The crimson echidna had come down from Floating Island via the teleporter he and Sally had installed near the outskirts of the village so that Knuckles could help out with the village's needs without leaving the island any longer than he had to, though he had become more lax with leaving his new friend Mighty in charge for longer periods of time which had resulted in him being around the village a lot more than he had been early on in his alliance with the village. Sally brought up an inventory list of all the spare computer parts they had with Nicole's holo projector.

“Actually, we could use a few more XP-Y6 chips. We've been burning up a lot of them lately,” said Sally as she closed the hand-held computer.

“No problem, Sal. With Mecha gone, the city's been easy pickings every trip,” said Sonic as he put his feet back on the floor. “Me and Knux can go and grab a few of those chips and be back before nightfall.”

“Okay, but be careful. Just because Metal Sonic's gone, it doesn't mean you should take unnecessary risks like you have been,” said Sally as Sonic and Knuckles stood up.

“Would I ever do that?” asked Sonic sarcastically before walking out of the hut. Sally glanced over at Knuckles.

“Yeah yeah. I know the drill. Keep an eye on him,” said Knuckles as he grinned and shook his head, following after Sonic. As he caught up with him, Sonic gave him a glance.

“Let me guess. She gave you the old `keep an eye on him' speech,” said Sonic. Knuckles smiled and just nodded as Tails flew by overhead on his way to the next lookout post, blowing a very light breeze at them as he passed by.

“Well, let's get going,” said Sonic as Knuckles gripped him from behind. Sonic then took off in the direction of Robotropolis, kicking up a cloud of dust in his wake.

***************************

“This is my `brother'?” asked the crimson robot, looking at the half completed metallic blue robot floating in a tank of clear orange liquid, then back at the short human. Snively had just led the robot into the room where mecha bot two, who was also known as Metal Sonic, was still in the beginning stages of repair. Even after free-falling from the Death Egg into the side of a mountain just a couple of months earlier, his outer shell was almost repaired. His two legs were attached to the lower torso, and the engine was almost complete inside his chest cavity. The head was a complete mess still, as only half of it had been reconstructed thus far.

Snively had actually been quite surprised that they were able to salvage as much of the mecha bot's original hull and circuitry as they had. Even though the more delicate parts would still need several months to repair, he was sure that they could get him up and running at one hundred percent again by the middle of spring. He had to give Robotnik credit for the craftsmanship he had put into Metal Sonic's design. He never did anything halfway when he put as many years behind a project as he had with the second in the line of the mecha bot series.

“Yes, he is. He was a superior fighter to most robots, and by far the fastest,” said Snively as he watched the tank. The crimson robot returned his attention to the tank. “He had several run-ins with Sonic and the Freedom Fighters, each one a war in itself.”

“And he was nearly destroyed permanently by simply overloading his systems with chaos energy that he himself allowed to enter his body?” asked the crimson robot.

“Yes. Quite a lack of logic on his part. He knew full well that his systems couldn't handle the power of even a single Chaos Emerald. Just touching an emerald would start to short out his systems. Trying to harness the power of the Master Emerald to undergo a similar transformation that Sonic undergoes when using the Chaos Emeralds completely fried all his systems within a minute. Still, he was programmed to kill Sonic. In his mind, using the Master Emerald's power to take on Hyper Sonic was the only option he could see left open to him to win,” said Snively as he watched the machines begin work on re-attaching Metal Sonic's left arm. The crimson robot looked back at the mess of wires, parts, and limbs that made up what was repaired of his `brother'.

“What a fool to be felled by such an illogical approach to a problem,” said the crimson robot as he turned and walked out of the room. Snively watched him leave, then looked back at the half-repaired Metal Sonic. He then gave a sigh.

“He is right, you know. You became obsessed with killing Sonic every time you two met, so much so that at times you seemed to be willing to destroy yourself to win the hunt. You were very close this time to achieving the former without the latter,” said Snively under his breath. Suddenly, the alarm klaxons began to go off, filling the room with their sounds and flashing red lights. The crimson robot ran back into the room. In the two weeks since his activation, he hadn't experienced an attack, so he was confused as to what was going on.

“What's that alarm for?” asked the crimson robot as he ran up in front of Snively.

“The Freedom Fighters have made an attempt to break into the city. They probably already made it past the perimeter defense like usual,” he said with a hint of annoyance. “We have to get you out of here and to a safe place.” He reached out and grabbed the crimson robot by arm and started to drag him out of the room. But suddenly, the crimson robot pulled his arm from Snively's grip.

“No! I won't sit by and watch as this chance to prove myself to both you and Robotnik once and for all passes me by!” cried the robot, his green pupils flaring with anger at Snively's trying to keep him away from the fight. He then ran out of the room through the opposite exit, the engines in his back and dreadlocks flaring to life as he shot from the room and outside. “Soon, Sonic and the Freedom Fighters will fear the name of Robo Knuckles!” he said under his voice.

****************************

“Which way now?” asked Sonic as he kept watch while Knuckles read the map Nicole had given them. Already, they had a run-in with a hover-unit and a team of six Swatbots, but they had managed to lose them…for now.

“That way. The factory's over there,” said Knuckles, pointing towards a factory further down the street as he put the map back into the pack on his back.

“Right. Let's go,” said Sonic as they ran towards the factory. But something was up, and Sonic knew it. For some odd reason, there didn't seem to be anything guarding the factory. Sonic suddenly stopped running as they came to the entrance to the factory. “Hold up. Something's not right.” Knuckles stopped and looked back at Sonic.

“What do you mean?” he asked, unsure what Sonic was talking about.

“It's too easy. There aren't any guards around protecting the factory,” said Sonic. Knuckles just shrugged.

“Must be our lucky day,” he said. He then ran into the factory. Sonic looked around uneasily before walking in after him. Inside, the entire factory was almost completely dark, the power having been cut to the building. This nagged at the back of Sonic's mind. Sure, the city was still recovering its power system from their last attack about three weeks ago. The mission had taken out two of the three generators in the city, almost ensuring that Robotropolis wouldn't be running anywhere near the norm in terms of available power over the winter months, but the fact that a building this close to the one they had not hit was screaming at him that something was wrong. He walked up next to Knuckles, who was busy sifting through microchips on the assembly line to find the ones they needed. He then pulled his hand from the container of chips, holding several of the ones they needed. “Got them.” Sonic looked off to the left as he turned to follow Knuckles out of the building, his eyes widening at the sight they took in as he turned.

“Knux…I think you'd better take a look at this,” whispered Sonic as he back up into the echidna's side. Knuckles turned to look over at whatever it was that had Sonic suddenly spooked, but not even he was ready for the sight he saw. Several Swatbots, nearly a dozen of them, were lying on their chests on the ground around the floor of the factory. Knuckles quickly took a flashlight from his pack, switching it on. He swept the small beam of light at the fallen Swatbots, the two mobians only now noticing the gaping slashes on the backs of almost half of them, wires sticking out of the holes in their armor. Flipping the others over, it seemed as though they had been attacked from the front, as several similar slashes were on the front of their bodies.

“What the heck happened to them?” asked Sonic. He then looked up at the crimson echidna, fear evident on his face. “They look like they were on the wrong end of one of my spindashes, but I know that can't be what did this to them.” Knuckles shook his head, at a complete loss for a rational explanation. A small click of something solid against the metal floor behind them caught their attention. They both whipped their heads around, expecting to see someone or something behind them, but nothing greeted them except the machinery around them.

“Please tell me you didn't hear something just now,” said Sonic.

“I was just about to ask you the same thing,” said Knuckles. Suddenly, a low growl sounded from the shadows of a giant piece of machinery. Both of them nervously looked over at the darkness, Knuckles turning the flashlight on the area the sound had emitted from. As the light chased away the shadows of that area of the factory, Sonic saw something move from within a different machine's shadow on the other side of the factory. He nudged Knuckles and pointed towards the new shadow. Knuckles swept the light towards the area Sonic had indicated, but neither of them saw anything.

“What do you think that is?” asked Sonic under his breath. A loud crash of something hitting the conveyor behind them caused them both to stiffen in fear. They both slowly turned around to come face to face with a pair of yellow, reptilian eyes. The two mobians both starred into the eyes as they felt a breath of hot air against their necks. Both of them let out a horrified cry as they turned and fled from whatever was perched on the conveyor belt, the thing letting out a loud feral screech before leaping off the belt and running after them. Sonic was the first one out of the building, Knuckles following close behind. A second screech could be heard from the factory as the thing emerged and gave chase.

“So now what?” cried Knuckles as he and Sonic ran for their lives. They still didn't have a clue what was chasing them, as the thing had been shrouded in shadows, but those yellow eyes and hot breath were enough to make them not even want to know what was chasing them.

“I have no clue!” cried Sonic. He then slowed down and let Knuckles catch up to him. He then held out his hand “Grab hold! We're going to leave whatever that thing is in the dust.” Knuckles reached over and gripped Sonic's hand a split second before Sonic shot off, accelerating up to over five hundred miles per hour in less than five seconds. The thing chasing them watched as the distance between itself and the mobians started to increase rapidly. Knowing then that it wouldn't catch them, it slowed to a stop, exhausted.

“Now that's…what I call…fast food,” panted Saber as he watched the cloud of dust the fast creature had created in its haste dissipate. He had ventured far from Veloci Valley to find the thing he would need to prove Slasher wrong. The spoils of a hunt that he himself had done alone. But exhaustion and hunger were beginning to take their toll. In fact, he hadn't eaten anything since he left. He had tried to hunt the few creatures that lived where he had been traveling, but he was used to hunting in a pack, not hunting solo. This last attempt at hunting had been even more embarrassing than any other up to that point. Never had prey outran him before. It had never occurred to him that something could be faster than him or Slasher. The two of them had outrun cheetahs on the open plains before. Then again, it was the first time he had tried to hunt mobians. This fact started to nag at his conscious. He knew that it was against the morals of the clan to hunt sentient creatures such as mobians or humans, but hunger had overridden his judgment, and now he was deeply regretting it, realizing that he would have committed murder by killing the two mobians. Saber sighed in both exhaustion and remorse as he stood there trying to decide what to do next. Unbeknownst to him, another person was watching him from a nearby rooftop.

“Accursed reptile,” mumbled Robo Knuckles. “He just cost me my one chance to prove myself able to handle Sonic.” Then a thought crossed his mind as he recalled the section about velociraptors he had read in the book from the library. The creature before him was one such creature, of this he was sure. The thing's profile was nearly a perfect match by the book's estimate on its size and shape, only off by about 2.9% accuracy. His advanced AI matrix, the very core of his being, began to process the information about the so-called “extinct” dinosaur he had read about.

The Velociraptor was supposed to be one of, if not the best, hunter of its time on prehistoric Earth. Feared by most of the herbivores, except the exceptionally giant ones like the Brachiosaurus, the Velociraptors were pack hunters, but could adjust for singular hunting if need be. They were possibly the smartest of all the dinosaurs, though no one could confirm this. However, Robo Knuckles was pretty sure that this statement was accurate since he had heard the creature actually speak perfect English, leaving him to wonder if their species had always been able to speak English and humans had picked it up from their kind, or if it was the other way around. Still, there was even the possibility that these particular raptors were indigenous to Mobius and could talk the same as the mobians could. The question puzzled him to no end.

He watched the reptile sag its shoulders, then start walking towards the north end of the city, breaking into a run after walking about a block. He thought about giving chase and trying to capture it for study, but decided against it. The thing was more than twice his size, plus the razor sharp sickle claws on its feet could shred him as badly as the Swatbots inside the factory. Still, he thought, it is most interesting to know about the existence of a race of creatures long thought to be dead. A smile worked its way on his face as the beginnings of an idea leaked into his processor. He ignited his engine and leapt from the building top, spreading his arms out like wings as he flew back towards the Command Center to give his proposal of his first ever plan to get rid of Sonic and the rest of the Freedom Fighters once and for all.

**********************************

"Are you sure you won't reconsider?" asked Cody as he stood near the door that led out of the mayor's office in Emerald City. Despite all the points that Cody had made to the mayor, he was still unmoved in his position to stay a neutral city in the war against Robotnik.

"I'm sure, Cody. Tell Princess Sally that I am terribly sorry I can't help her cause, but to have this city become a target of Robotnik's terrorizing could mean the end of the city and its people. I can't allow that to happen," said the mayor, a man in about his mid forties with slightly graying brown hair. He stood just a little taller than Cody if you didn't included the largest quill that stuck up on his head. The mechanical hedgehog let out a sigh.

"Okay. I'll relay the message. Thank you for your time Mr. Mayor," said Cody as he closed the door behind him. Cody walked out of the office, slightly frustrated with the whole situation. He had been here for the last three days, trying his best to convince the mayor to help out the cause of freeing Robotropolis from Robotnik. But he had not been able to even make the mayor consider doing it. As he walked down the street, he noticed something on a poster hanging outside of a rather large building. Normally, he wouldn't care about some advertisement, but there was something about it that caught his attention. In the middle of the poster were several pictures of a blue creature of the likes he had never seen before. It looked like a blob with an onion shaped head and small blobs for arms and legs. It also had a pair of small yellow wings on its back, and a weird little ball shaped thing that floated above its head. Cody stopped and took a second to read what the advertisement was saying about the creature.

"Do you want the perfect companion? Then take home a chao today. Just come on down to the Chao Garden, located at the top floor of the luxury hotel Emerald's Glow. Take home one of our garden raised chao, or take a chao egg of your own home to raise from scratch. Only $499.99 (2000 Mobiums) for a garden raised chao, or $299.99 (1200 Mobiums) for a chao egg (raising manual included). Come on down and take home a friend today."

Now that's a good idea. I could use something to take my mind off the disappointment of not getting this city on our side, and this sound like just the ticket, thought Cody as he started walking towards the Emerald's Glow hotel that was located near Emerald Coast, the city's beach-side area. It was a little steep for his budget, seeing as how Knothole had no real need of money outside of what they bought supplies with from the human colonies in the north when they couldn't claim them from one of Robotnik's factories, but right now it seemed like the right thing to purchase with the money he had brought with him for recreational purposes. He almost laughed as he walked down the street. What recreation? I've been spending all my time in that office.

******************************

"And that's my idea. It is one that I believe will spell the end of Sonic and the other Freedom Fighters, as well as give you a weapon that will surely allow you to forever keep control of the northern area of this continent," said Robo Knuckles as he stood before Robotnik. Snively was present as well, mostly just there to be a listener, not to be an influence on the idea.

"An interesting idea you've come up with, Robo Knuckles," said Robotnik as he twirled his mustache between his index finger and thumb. "It is one that I will allow you to pursue, but I will judge the finished product of your idea. If it is acceptable, then it will be allowed to stay on under your command."

"Thank you doctor. You will not regret this," said Robo Knuckles, giving a small bow before he turned and walked from the control room. Snively looked over at Robotnik.

"You're not really letting him build this thing, are you?" asked Snively, surprised that Robotnik would allow such a new robot to undertake such a task. He himself had barely managed to get the approval to build a fourth mecha bot, seeing as how the last one had failed miserably even in its test run stages. Robotnik gave him a glare.

"I gave you the chance to create a mecha bot, and so far I am not all that impressed with him. However, he has never engaged in a single fight yet, so I have no real room to talk about my opinion on his design. Perhaps if he is successful with the task he has undertaken, he'll change my opinion about his abilities without even having to lift a finger in a fight," said Robotnik before he turned and left, leaving a speechless Snively behind, unsure whether to take the commentary as a compliment or as an insult.