...and this ends the Chaos Race series/sequels/et cetera. I do have
another Sonic series I could post, if people want, though I don't think
it's as good.
---cut on this line---
Two Shades of Sally
Part 2
Written by: Adrian Tymes and Alessandro Sanasi
[Legal disclaimer:
This story is based on characters created by SEGA and Archie Comic Publications,
Inc., and Commander Packbell by David Pistone. Permission is granted to freely
distribute this story, so long as:
a: no recompense of financial value is received or given by the person who
distributes the story, and
b: the distributed copy is identical to the story as originally authored.
In other words, don't sell it, and don't alter it.
Copyright (c) 1997, all rights reserved, et cetera.]
******
"Antoine, let me through," Amy yelled.
"Non. You are being too inexperienced to safely handle such a dangerous mission
on your own," the object of her ire replied.
Amy sighed. "Tails, can you talk some sense into him? We have to take out
Packbell's cannon, and for that we need the explosives he's guarding. There is
no time to lose."
"With all due respect, madam, you are not our leader. Sonic ees in charge."
"Yeah, right. He hasn't even been out of his hut since he got back from the
Floating Island." She tried to dash past Antoine into the room behind him, but
Antoine interposed an arm.
"Nevertheless, he ees who everyone listens to."
"They might if he said anything."
"She's right," Tails added. "I'm the only one who's seen him in the past few
days, and he doesn't speak to me any more. I don't think he even listens when
I say something to him."
"It matters not," Antoine replied. "He is being our leader."
"And you are being a major pain," Amy growled. "What's your problem, anyway?
So you don't want me to handle this alone. Why don't you help us out?"
"We stand no chance without Sonic."
"That's what Bunnie said. And Rotor, and Dulcy, and everyone else."
"Perhaps zey are being correct, no?"
Amy and Antoine held each other's gaze for a full minute before Amy broke off.
"Fine. Come on, Tails." With that, Amy stormed out the door, followed by Tails
who flew out behind her.
******
Once out of Antoine's sight, Amy sighed, then whispered to Tails, "Thanks for
the help, but you didn't have to be that dramatic. I mean, I haven't heard
Sonic say one word since he got back from the Floating Island, but surely he's
spoken to someone."
Tails shook his head. "I wasn't kidding. I bring him food and water, but if
anyone else knocks on his door, he acts like he's dead. He hasn't been eating
or drinking much lately. It's like he's losing his will to live."
"We have to do something."
Tails sighed. "What can we do? It's not like we can bring Sally back to cheer
him up. At this rate, I might have to do something to his food to keep him
alive."
Amy smiled.
"What?"
She stood up, grinning devilishly, then threw her arms around him and pecked him
on the nose. "Thank you, Tails."
"You're welcome. Umm...for what?"
"For serving him breakfast."
******
Sonic lay limp when Tails opened the door. In reverent silence, his friend
slowly hovered in, replaced an empty tray with a covered one, flew out into the
night, and shut the portal behind him.
Once he was sure that the kitsune was gone, Sonic reached out a hand and
switched on a lamp. The light revealed an expressionless face, eyes rimmed red
from the volume of tears that had flowed from them. Sonic reached out towards
the small hologram of Sally that Nicole projected, not even noticing that he was
unable to cry any more. Surprisingly, nothing stained the long swath of black
cloth which the hedgehog wore like a blanket. He pulled this bakhat closer as
his body shook, thinking that it was merely his latest thoughts that caused the
vibrations. Tradition dictated that mourners wear the bakhat for a short time,
but Sonic had no intention of ever removing it.
He reached to the tray and removed its cover. Subconsciously, his hand moved to
where the first chili dog always was, closed, and shoved it in his mouth. He
didn't notice at first that the dog was not there, but a small part of his mind
acknowledged what was. "Hi, Amy," he said in a weary voice.
Then it hit him.
"AMY?" He sat bolt upright. "Leave me alone." Sonic pointed towards the
door. "Get out, now!"
"No." Amy frowned. "Not until you snap out of it."
Sonic just groaned and turned away.
"I'm not kidding. You have other things to do than grieve for Sally. We have a
war to fight." Amy snatched the bakhat off of Sonic.
"Wha...gimme that!" Sonic lunged at the pink hedgehog.
She ducked, then held the cloth up to the lamp. It quickly caught fire. She
tossed it out the window as she snatched Nicole from the table, making the
hologram disappear.
"Put that back, or I'll show you what a Spin Dash is for!" Sonic screamed.
Amy scowled. "I thought you were my friend. But no...with Sally gone, you
don't care about anything, or anyone. I bet you wouldn't mind at all if it had
been me who died instead of Sally, just so you could still be with her."
"Amy..." Sonic's anger eased off, and his head drooped. "You know that's not
true. It's just that... Sally and I... well..."
"We'll see," she replied gruffly as she walked out the door.
Sonic waved a hand dismissively, turned back to his bed, and froze when he
remembered what was missing. "You little THIEF!" He sped out the door in a
rage, waking a fair portion of Knothole in his fruitless search for Amy.
Beneath Sonic's porch, Amy's face was lit by the screen of a minicomputer.
"Nicole, record message."
******
Knuckles was sitting in the Chaos Chamber, meditating on top of the largest
emerald. "What do you want?" he asked his visitor.
"We need Sally."
"That's impossible. She's dead."
"You know what I mean. I want the device you once showed me."
He opened his eyes. "I won't give it to you. It's too dangerous. If you
hadn't gotten on my nerves with your curiosity, I never would have shown it to
you in the first place."
"I don't care. You owe Sonic. We need him for the fight against Packbell.
It's your fault that he's suffering now. If Packbell wins, you will be
responsible for the demise of Mobius."
Knuckles closed his eyes again.
"You know it's the truth."
"All right, ok already. I'll help. But remember the risks. Do it as quickly
as possible. If you do not, you may not survive. And then I will owe two,
while I now only owe Sonic."
"Like who?"
"You know who. Or you should."
******
Tails was standing beside Sonic's bed, pulling on the hedgehog's arm. "Sonic,
stop behaving like a little kid. You can't just lie here forever. We need you
to help us destroy that cannon, and we need you NOW!"
Sonic pushed the fox away, and refused to budge. "Leave me alone, Tails. I
don't care. Just leave me alone."
"No way! That's not the Sonic I know. You always care."
"Tails, please," he pleaded. "Leave me alone."
"That's not the Sonic I knew," a female voice said from behind them.
Tails jumped up with a yelp, turned around, then froze in surprise when he
saw Sally standing in the doorway. "Aunt Sally?!" he finally managed
to squeak out.
A sudden *THUMP* made him turn toward Sonic again, who had fallen out of his
bed, eyes wide in disbelief. "Sal? You're alive?!?" The expression on his
face slowly changed from surprise to joy, as a broad smile formed on his face.
In less than a second he was beside her and squeezed her tightly, as if he never
wanted to let go again, which was probably the case. "I thought I would never
see you again! Knuckles said...and I thought...but how..." was all he managed
to stutter out.
"Wait a minute," Tails protested. "How do we know you aren't another impostor,
like the one Robotnik built?"
"So suspicious," Sally purred, as she leaned forwards and gave Tails a kiss on
the nose.
"It is you!" Tails started to faint backwards in surprise, then rolled forwards
to hug her around the legs.
"Owwwch!" Sally tried to pry Tails off, causing him to let go.
"I'm sorry. I didn't think I grabbed that hard."
"You didn't. I just...I landed kind of hard on one of my feet, and it's still a
bit sore."
"But what happened? How did you survive?"
"I can't remember it all," she answered, holding her head. "But I guess the
amulet I wore had something to do with it." She opened her vest and brushed
away the fur, revealing a tiny blue gem that hung on a small chain around her
neck, glowing in a strange blue light.
"A magic amulet? You never told me you had one, Sal," Sonic interrupted.
"Well, actually I only wore it in memory of my father. He gave it to me when I
was a child, and told me that it held great powers that would protect me in
times of danger. I thought it would be just another fairy tale, but it seems to
be true after all." Sally smiled. "Anyway, there is no time to lose. We have
a cannon to destroy. Let's inform the others immediately."
"Right away, Sal!" Sonic confirmed and zoomed out, beaming.
******
Rumor traveled even faster than Sonic. All of Knothole was abuzz with the news
of Sally's return, even as Sonic was just starting to gather the Freedom
Fighters.
As Sonic neared completion of this task, Tails was sitting by the power ring
pool, staring at his reflection. Sonic sped by, quickly stopped, backpedaled,
and came to a halt next to his friend. "Yo, big guy, what's up?"
Tails sighed. "I can't find Amy. I wanted to tell her the news, but no one has
seen her since..." He paused, and looked at Sonic. "Since she tried to snap
you out of your sulking yesterday morning. Do you know where she is?"
"Uh..."
"Well?"
Sonic sat down next to Tails. "Look, T2, I wasn't quite myself the last few
days. Amy grabbed Nicole, and I shouted at her. Maybe she didn't take it all
that well, but I'm sure she will come back soon."
Tails glared at Sonic. "You scared her away!"
"Tails, I'm really sorry. I didn't know what I was doing. Amy might have been
a pain, but she was right: I'd mourned for way too long, when I should've been
helping everyone else."
The kitsune grumbled to himself.
"Oh, come on. I'm sure she didn't run away forever. If it makes you feel any
better, we'll search for her together, right after the mission."
"Well, ok."
******
At Robotropolis's launch facility, all was quiet. Deathly still air seemed to
echo the unusually clear area surrounding the hole in the ground. While the
other Freedom Fighters were doing fake attacks on various pieces of Robotropolis
to distract Packbell's forces, Sonic planted explosives throughout the tunnel at
top speed. Sally watched the surrounding area from a catwalk just inside the
hole. Strange that Packbell had placed a catwalk there; it certainly did not
seem to give access to any vital systems. In fact, the more she thought about
it, the more she thought it was...
"FREEZE FREEDOM FIGHTER."
...a trap.
"Should've known." She slowly turned around to face the SWATbot whose laser
was aimed at her. "So, are you gonna roboticize me, or just let me die along
with everyone else next week?"
"I would so prefer the latter," came Packbell's voice. "Unfortunately, you
would undoubtedly try to stop me again if I let you live. I'll just have to
take care of you now." Sally felt a sharp pain in her left arm and immediately
fell to the floor, barely able to move anything, and having trouble just
breathing. Turning her eyes towards her arm, she noticed a small syringe stuck
in it, placed in her by the 'bot.
"Ow! What is that?"
"Just a new chemical, for which you have the special honor of serving as the
first, and hopefully last, live test subject. It immobilizes any living
creature for at least five hours. More than enough time for robotizication...or
to lure your friends into a trap when they come here to rescue you."
"You're wasting your time, they won't come." The paralysis made it easier for
Sally not to let her face betray her lie, even as it made it harder for her to
speak at all. "Your cannon has been filled with explosives. In three minutes
nothing will be left here but a huge crater, no matter what you do. My friends
aren't coming."
"Well, since you're useless as bait..." The SWATbot grabbed Sally. "...I'll
at least have the pleasure of getting rid of you right now."
"You wouldn't know pleasant even if Robotnik hadn't programmed it out of your
system." Resisting the temptation to glance downwards, Sally hoped she had
bought Sonic enough time to finish his job.
The SWATbot did not reply. It just lifted Sally over the catwalk's railing, and
let go.
Sally closed her eyes as she saw the ground rush up. Suddenly, she felt a
gentle lifting sensation as her life flashed before her eyes. When, after a
few seconds, she did not hit the bottom, she opened her eyes again, and to her
surprise saw Sonic carrying her away.
The SWATbot on the railing quickly rushed forwards and leapt over the hole,
only to be scrapped in the column of flame that erupted from it as the bombs
went off, collapsing the tunnel.
Sonic tried to move Sally on to his shoulders, and nearly tripped in surprise
when Sally's arm would not move. "Yo, Sal, what'd old rust-brain do to you?"
"It's ok," Sally tried to reassure Sonic. "Packbell said the effect would wear
off after five hours. We just have to wait."
"Nuh-uh," Sonic insisted. "Rotor's gonna do a medical exam, just to make sure
everything's all right. And then you've gotta get some breakfast..."
Sally sighed. "Ok, if you insist."
******
At the medical hut, Rotor puzzled over some instruments.
"So, what's the word, Rote?" For once, Sonic was actually standing still.
"I don't know. These readings look unusual."
"They say she's alive? After the past couple'a weeks, that's unusual enough."
"True. But, one moment they say she's Sally, the next they're completely
different. Her whole blood chemistry seems to be changing. It's almost as
if..." He shook his head. "I don't know. I've never seen anything like this."
Sally grimaced. "Well, now that the cannon is destroyed, I guess I should tell
you something I kept secret until now. About this amulet..."
Sonic looked at her blankly.
Sally hesitated for a moment, as if thinking of a good explanation, then finally
continued. "See, the magic of this amulet saved me, but it didn't do it for
free. I now owe it something in return. I'm bound to go where it leads me to.
It sent me here because the future of Mobius was at stake, but now that the
threat is gone, I can not stay; I have to go wherever I'm needed." She sat up
and looked at Sonic. "I'm sorry. But I will always remember you wherever I am.
And who knows, maybe I'll be allowed to return here someday, and then we can be
together again."
"But we all need you...I need you. Stay here. We'll keep fighting Packbell
together."
Sally shook her head. "I wish I had that choice. But, no, this is bigger than
Packbell." She looked at him, pleading. "Please, I have no choice."
Sonic returned, and surpassed, her pleading expression. "At least stay for the
night. I...I don't know what I'd do without you. Please, Sal, you can't leave.
Not again."
Sally's expression blanked, then softened as she looked down into his eyes.
"Oh, ok, I'll try. But I can't keep it up forever. I must leave in the
morning."
******
The next morning, Sally groggily rose, wincing at the morning sun. Just as she
started to leave, Sonic picked her up.
"Sonic, let me go." She slipped free of Sonic's grip, only to collapse back on
to Sonic when her own legs failed to support her.
The hedgehog smirked. "I just thought we should have a final tour through the
Great Forest together, to let you remember it once you leave."
"I'm not sure I can keep the amulet from taking me away." Curious, she tried
squeezing her fist out of Sonic's sight, and found that her strength had faded
considerably overnight.
Sonic's voice became softer. "Please, Sally. Just one more day. For me?"
"Ok," she sighed, "for you." She resolved to find out why she felt so weak once
she had a moment alone.
"All right!" Sonic picked her up in his arms, as he did countless times before.
"Let's start with the scenic route, in only five minutes." A second later,
only the wind testified to his former location.
******
That night, Tails was still worried about Amy's whereabouts. She had been gone
for three days, with no trace of her whereabouts.
"Where did she go?" the little fox pondered, while settling down to bed. "She
knows I'd miss her. Something must be wrong. If she was planning on being
gone, I'm sure she would have left a message..."
His gaze fell on his bedside table, where a small gray box was lying: Sally's
palmtop computer. Tails knew from Sonic's explanations that Amy had taken
Nicole, but he did not remember seeing it here earlier. Maybe he just hadn't
noticed it during all the fluster.
A sudden hope came from within. He picked Nicole up and opened it. "Hi there,
Nicole. Did Amy leave any messages for me in your database?"
"YES. THERE IS ONE PERSONAL MESSAGE, ADDRESSED TO YOU."
"Please play it."
"THE MESSAGE IS TIME LOCKED. IT CANNOT BE PLAYED FOR FOUR WEEKS."
"Time locked? But why would she hold it for so long? Hmm..." A smile passed
across his lips. "Nicole, display schematics for processor cluster number 3."
A hologram of Nicole's internal circuitry, with all of the parts labeled,
appeared above the computer.
Tails opened a small access panel on Nicole's bottom, carefully examined the
diagram, then thumbed Nicole's power switch. Grabbing a small, thin rod lying
on his table, he carefully extracted a small black chip from Nicole's interior.
After closing the panel, he turned Nicole back on.
Abstract symbols flashed as Nicole's start-up diagnostics ran. A few of them
blinked red, but the symbols disappeared once Nicole's main operating system
took over. "ACTIVATION COMPLETE. WARNING: TIMING CHIP OFF-LINE."
"Nicole, check the date on Amy's time locked message."
"MESSAGE CAN NOT BE PLAYED UNTIL FOUR WEEKS AFTER RECORDING."
"What day is it today?"
"TIMING CHIP OFF-LINE."
"So, you don't know whether the time lock has expired?"
"AFFIRMATIVE. TIME LOCK NONFUNCTIONAL UNTIL TIMING CHIP RESTORED."
"Umm...does that mean you can play the message?"
"YES."
"Then play it."
A life-sized hologram of Amy Rose appeared. She was on her torso, apparently
hiding from something. "Dear Tails," she whispered. "I have to leave for a
little while, and I'm not sure if I'll be coming back. If you see this, it's
likely that I won't. Go to Knuckles, he will explain everything. I'm sorry I
couldn't tell you in person. Always remember, I love you." She blew a kiss and
smiled as the message faded.
Tails stared at the empty air. "Knuckles?"
******
That evening, Sonic placed Sally on her bed. "Guess we had a little too much
fun. You never tuckered out that quickly." He pecked her forehead. "Sweet
dreams, Sal." And was gone.
Behind him, Sally tried to lift her arm, but failed. "Sonic...help..." she
silently mouthed, too weak even to use her vocal cords.
******
The next morning, Tails soared into the Chaos Chamber. "Knuckles! Come
quickly!"
Knuckles stood up, squinting into the dawning sun. "Mon, haven't you ever heard
the phrase, 'Let sleeping echnidas lie'?"
"But..."
"No buts. Whatever it is, it can wait." Knuckles lay back down, intent on
continuing his sleep.
"Fine. If you won't help me, I'll do it myself!" Tails grabbed the nearest
Chaos Emerald, closed his eyes and concentrated. For a moment nothing happened,
but suddenly, the emerald started to glow. With a pop, the gem came free of its
mount in the wall.
The unknown noise got Knuckles' attention. He looked in the direction of the
sound just in time to see the emerald float out of the Chaos Chamber, with Tails
following close behind.
Knuckles stood dumbfounded. "That's impossible. He can't control a Chaos
Emerald." Shaking off his surprise, he dashed after the fox. "Hey, come back
here! That's MY emerald!"
******
Sonic breezed in to Sally's bedroom well after sunrise.
"Hey, Sal," Sonic piped up. "Ready to go?"
Sally did not respond.
"Come on, Sal. You can't sleep forever."
The squirrel lay motionless.
Sonic zipped up to her and grabbed her wrist. "I said..." He froze, then
slowly felt around for a pulse.
Most of Knothole responded to Sonic's yell.
******
When the guardian finally caught up with Tails, he could not believe his eyes.
>From his perch on a sand dune, he saw Tails standing on the beach, beside a
brown squirrel that was lying on the ground.
"Sally!?"
Tails looked up. "She needs help."
Knuckles blinked, then helped Tails pull Sally's body on top of the emerald.
"How'd you move the emerald, anyway?"
"I dunno. I just reached out and...it responded. Sally's hurt. I wanted her
to get better. It was like the emerald read my mind."
"It probably was. A desperate mind can be very strong; some are even strong
enough to send telepathic calls for help. The emeralds tend to respond to those
calls, if and when they hear them. I didn't think you had it in you." Knuckles
finished moving Sally, and gently set her down. "Stand back."
As soon as Tails and Knuckles were clear of the gem, arcs of green energy poured
over Sally's limp form, cleaning the layers of dirt and removing the bruises
which showed through her fur. As it progressed, Sally gradually sat up, then
stood up. Suddenly, in a flash of light, the arcs stopped, leaving her healed
completely.
"Aunt Sally!" Tails flew up and hugged her, fast enough that the pair toppled
over and landed in the sand.
"You all right, girl? What happened?"
Sally smiled and sat up again. "Seems like your focuser had a malfunction. I
landed here on the beach when you brought us down. I couldn't remember who I
was, or what I was doing here, so I decided to stick around until I could. Not
that I could go far, with two broken legs. I used the food and water supply
in the suit to stay alive, until Tails found me."
"But Aunt Sally, if you were here all the time, who's the Sally that helped us
destroy Packbell's cannon?"
"Another Sally?" Sally cocked an eyebrow. "What are you talking about, Tails?"
Knuckles winced. "She didn't turn it off yet? We have to get to Knothole
immediately; there's no time to lose. I'll explain everything later."
Tails blinked in surprise while Sally pondered. "Say, Knuckles, can you aim
that focuser sideways?"
******
Rotor looked as glum as Sonic felt when he checked Sally's weak, unsteady pulse.
"Whatever's eating her energy, we can't do anything about it. I'd give her a
day at most." He sighed as he dropped the squirrel's hand, wondering what had
knocked her into a coma.
"No." Sonic held Sally's other hand as a shimmering beam flared briefly behind
him. "No, Sally, you can't die. Not again."
"Who said I was dead?" Sally asked from the door.
Sonic froze, then looked around. He looked from one Sally to the other as Rotor
asked, "Two Sallys?"
"Nope. Just one." Knuckles marched up to the form on the bed, pulled away the
sheets, and aimed his knuckles at a spot a few inches below the glowing amulet.
"What do you think you're doing?" Sonic yelled as he leaped to stop the echnida.
Before Sonic could stop him, Knuckles brought his fist down. A crack was heard,
and Sonic and Rotor sucked in their breaths when they saw the unconscious
"Sally" slowly transform into Amy Rose. Where Knuckles' fist had hit, a strange
looking device could be seen, from which wires snaked over various parts of
Amy's body. "That's not Sally," Knuckles sighed. "That be Amy posin' as
Sally."
"Say what?" Sonic, having checked his lunge when he saw the transformation,
looked from Amy to Sally, then back to Knuckles. "I think you'd better tell us
what you know, right now."
"She saw you go apathetic, Blue. They needed you to take out that cannon, and
this was the only way to give you back your old spirit. Amy knew I had a device
that could change someone, making them appear as a different person. It can't
be used forever, though, since it powers itself from the body's energy. Anyone
who uses it too long will eventually fall into a coma, then die from the energy
drain." He looked at his feet. "I should've never given it to her."
"Ohh, my head," Amy moaned. "Sonic? I...I can't stay any longer."
"It's ok, Amy."
"No, I..." She looked at her arm. "Eeek!" She looked up at Sonic, and
started to back away. "I'm sorry. I just...once I saw how hurt you were, I
couldn't leave..."
"I understand." Sonic advanced slowly, then suddenly hugged her. "Thank you.
But don't you ever pull another stunt like that again."
Amy, bewildered by his unexpected reaction, merely returned his hug. "Ok."
Tails barged through and tackled Amy, snatching her out of Sonic's grip.
"Hi th-," Amy started, but was quickly cut off by Tails' kiss.
Sally giggled. "It looks like he really missed her."
"I'll say."
"So, Sonic, did you really give up on everyone when you were mourning for me?"
Sally questioned.
"Umm...well, I..." He sighed. "Yes."
Sally crossed her arms and smiled. "There's only one punishment for that."
"No." Sonic stepped away. "Please, Sally, no, not thaaaahahahahahahaha..."
Knuckles and Rotor left the couples alone as Sonic collapsed under Sally's
tickling.