Epoch and Jazz had gathered the Freedom Fighters together in a secret meeting place—far out of earshot of Cybrux. Epoch addressed the group.
"Can I have your attention please?"
The group died down.
"Well, I'm sure you all know why you're here. But just in case you don't, here's our problem in a nutshell: Robotnik is planning to somehow blow Knothole right off the face of Mobius, Princess Sally has been captured, and Sonic has flown the coop."
"Oh, is that all?" Jazz said sarcastically, looking over at his brother.
Enigma, who had just run into the room said, "You can add another problem to that little list of yours."
Jazz rolled his eyes and exclaimed, "Well, ain't that convenient!"
Epoch looked at her quizzically and asked, "What's wrong, honey?"
"Nicole's gone."
* * *
Sonic returned to the Great Meadow and couldn't contain his laughter. It was just too easy. He had returned to Knothole expecting to find a fight on his hands for Nicole, but instead, what did he find? Nicole, laying right there in the middle of Knothole Square, right where Sally had left her the previous day! Sonic chuckled and turned on the power switch. Nothing happened. What's up? he thought. He eyed the computer suspiciously. Upon closer inspection, Sonic realized that it wasn't Nicole at all. It was a well-fashioned fake. Sonic threw the computer on the ground in frustration and sat back down, fuming and brushing away the shards of the broken computer. He'd been tricked.
* * *
"What are you talking about?" Jazz asked his sister-in-law.
"I said Nicole is gone. She was sitting in the square this morning up until about five minutes ago. Now she's gone. The second prophecy has been fulfilled."
"Not really," Epoch replied, pulling the real Nicole out from the pocket inside his black guncoat. "Were you talking about this Nicole?"
Everyone in the room sat speechless.
Enigma looked at him curiously. "How—?"
Epoch smiled warmly at his wife and explained. "Lemme explain. With the help of Sir Charles, he made me a replica of Nicole yesterday. I switched computers, putting out the mimic as bait and keeping the real Nicole with me. I figured that if anyone came along and tried to destroy Nicole, they would assume that the one in the square was the real one. Apparently it worked, because it's gone."
"Bravo, bro'!" Jazz exclaimed.
Enigma sat down next to her husband and sighed with relief.
Epoch set Nicole down on a nearby table.
Suddenly, the door flew open, and in came Sonic. "All right, where is she?" he demanded.
Jazz sat up in his chair and remarked, "Well, Sonic, I'm surprised you got this far without being captured yourself!"
Sonic glared at Jazz and repeated, "Where is she?"
"Well, it might help if we knew who you were talking about!" Jazz said sarcastically.
"You know damn well who I'm talking about!" Sonic replied angrily.
"If it's about Sally, I've told you a hundred times—" Jazz began.
"No, not Sally! Nicole!" Sonic saw Nicole sitting on the table. "Oh, so that's your game, is it?" Sonic said.
"What game?" asked Epoch.
"Oh, nothing, nothing. Just the fact that you set out an imitation of Nicole in the square, that's all."
"Are you the one who took it?" Epoch demanded.
"Yes. And come to find out, it's not even real!"
"No! You're kidding me!" Jazz yelled in mock surprise.
"What did you do with it, Sonic? Where is it?" Epoch asked.
"It's laying in little pieces out in the Great Meadow."
Epoch smacked his head and shook it slowly. "You stupid Hedgehog! That was a decoy in case someone came along to fulfill prophecy number two!"
"Oh, and I'm supposed to know that, right?" Sonic replied.
"Well, maybe if you had stuck around long enough, you would have found out!" Jazz retorted angrily, standing back up and pointing at Sonic.
"Well, can I help it if no one else will bother to save Sally?"
"Why do you think we're meeting right now, Sonic?" Epoch asked.
"That's not the point! We have no time to lose!" Sonic wailed.
"Exactly my point, Sonic! You've been wasting our time ever since you disappeared from Knothole. We could use your help, if you don't mind!" Epoch replied.
"I'll think about it," Sonic said. With that, he walked out the door.
"He'll think about it. He's worried about Sally so badly, and he says he'll think about it. I don't get him," Enigma said disgustedly, looking after Sonic.
"Nor I," Epoch added sadly.
* * *
Sally waited in silent horror for the footsteps to pass. They didn't. In fact, they stopped right in front of her. She wedged herself as far into the wall as possible and prayed. She stayed there for what seemed like an eternity, when the footsteps continued on slowly, passing right by her hiding place and continuing down the corridor. She waited till she could hardly hear the metallic steps anymore, and then she squeezed out of the hiding place and began walking down the corridor in the opposite direction, looking for a way out.
The 'bot knew she was there. It wasn't Sally's hiding that saved her from death. It was the fact that Robotnik had programmed it for the mere surveillance of his newest prisoner, the Princess Sally Acorn.
The tunnel seemed to go on forever. There was no sign of any light at the end, or any end, for that matter. The only light cast in that damp catacomb-like corridor would be the occasional dim flicker of a lantern every five-hundred feet or so. When she would pass under one of the lanterns, it would give off eerie shadows and startle her every time. Another thing she was reminded of whenever she passed under a lantern was how ominous the dungeon-like walls of the stone-laid tunnel looked. She didn't remember anything like this in Robotropolis.
She shivered. It certainly was cold. Where is Jazz's guncoat when I need it? she thought aloud. She slowed down her pace and smiled at the thought of the two chivalrous and somewhat mysterious black Panthers, Jazz and Epoch. She had met them only a little less than a year ago when they first appeared in Knothole, and yet she felt like she knew them for years. She then thought of Sonic. Poor Sonic. He must feel awful right now. Wonder how long it will take them to discover I'm missing? I don't even know what time of day—or night, for that matter—it is!
Suddenly, she came to a sharp bend in the tunnel. She followed it and rounded the corner. It began to get lighter. There was another sharp bend, and she peeked cautiously around the next corner. What she saw filled her with both happiness and despair at the same time. The light of day. Metal bars. She was indeed a prisoner.
* * *
Back in Knothole, the Freedom Fighters were still sitting at the meeting. Epoch continued with the meeting.
"Well, at least now we know where Sonic is. Whether Sonic decides to help us now is not our problem. We can do this without him, but it would sure make it a lot easier with him helping.
"Jazz and I came up with a plan yesterday, and it turns out it should work perfectly. As you all know, our prisoner, Cybrux, looked exactly like Jazz. Why? Because Robotnik wanted Cybrux to mimic a person in Knothole so that he wouldn't look so suspicious. Too bad he didn't research who he supposed to copy, huh, because Jazz obviously doesn't go sneaking around at night. In fact, he does anything but that. Right, Jazz?" Epoch grinned and turned to his brother.
"You got it, bro'! At night, I don't do nuthin' but stand there in my statue form, unless I'm called on, of course," Jazz replied with a smile.
"Anyway, the way Jazz and I see it, Jazz could return to Robotropolis as Cybrux and find out information about Robotnik's plan from the inside. Then, with the info Jazz gives us, we screw up Robotnik's plan and, at the same time, quickly get Sally out of there. It's that simple. And maybe you'll even get to see some fireworks!"
The Freedom Fighters all smiled and nodded in approval.
Sonic, who had been standing outside listening to the conversation the whole time, made up his mind and returned into the room.
"Count me in."
Jazz gave him a high-five. "Now you're talkin'!"
* * *
Sally felt like crying. A prisoner! She began walking back where she had begun, with not one ray of hope left in her. She was in an underground tunnel. If anyone came to rescue her, how would they know where to find her? She walked farther and farther, past where she had hid from the 'bot. She hadn't explored this part of the tunnel yet. It began to incline slowly upward. She followed it up and rested every now and then under the lonely glow of the dim lanterns stationed so far apart. The tunnel made a sharp turn again, just as the other side had done. She turned the corner. Instead of seeing another grate, however, she saw a solid metal door. The 'bot was nowhere to be found. So this is how the 'bot got in, she thought. The door had solid iron hinges and a sturdy frame. There was no way of getting out. Sally was trapped, left with no choice but to wait for whatever was to happen to her. She sat down in front of the door and thought of Knothole. Soon, she was fast asleep, a smile on her face. |
