Doomsday Fanfic

[Dead]

A fanfic I started playing around with the idea of. Here is first chapter. Will update when I have worthy material. It is psychological horror and a romance. 

 

And to This Place That I Called Home

 

The explosion was deafening. Sonic dove and clapped his hands over his ear drums and opened his mouth as the shock wave ran over him from the nitric acid, sulfur and charcoal mixture Sally and Boomer had concocted in the lab, detonated with enough force to level three feet of rebar-enforced concrete.

A few days in the making, that was how little time they had had to recall long distance recon teams hoping to make contact with the wolf pack and potentially scattered remnants of the royal army. It was all chaotic and in the end only a handful had managed to make it back in time to assist. Antoine was running skeleton crew with the Doc back at their home base, Knothole, a hollowed out tree stump that by chance grew above a natural cave once upon a time. A blessed place of safety.

 

Dust and chunks of concrete scattered around the freedom fighters. The air became thick with smoke, Sonic coughed as the fine particles clung to the back of his throat and dried it out in a second. The home made bomb had been carried in a shoulder-sling bag and placed on the floor next to the Research Division building in Northern Mobotropolis. Research division was the unassuming name used to describe a place of great evil. “Research” meant developing new ways to break an individuals will, live vivisections, testing defoliating agents on Mobians to see if the chemicals would harm a living creature as well as plants. All in the name of science of course.

 

Sally was standing around the corner of the building when the bomb went off and it still sent her sprawling as the whole building shook. She picked herself up double time and yelled for Tails and Boomer to charge the building. No need for Sonic to be told, he was already in there. He was slamming into maintenance bots with the sound of a thunder clap. Five foot tall red robots that were fridge shaped with several working arms lay scattered about Sonics feet. He was dusting off his gloves when Sally, Boomer and Tails came running in behind him to see all the work done already.

“Nothing to it” Sonic said.

 

The walls were made of a smooth metallic substance and emitted a soft blue light that illuminated a long hallway leading straight to a metal sliding door. The door was covered in dust and oil, a grate was on the bottom of it to allow some air flow. Robotnik was not too concerned about clean air, certainly nor were his robots or that creepy hairless nephew of his.

Sally drew her shock stick, a branch of cherry wood cured in mud for twenty eight days with copper wires twisted around it hooked up to a guard robots stun battery. It emitted electro magnetic pulses when the two prongs connected with something, ideal for robots.

“Chuck?” Sally called “We're here! We got your message!” she walked up to the door and it slid upwards. She was standing in a lab with a lot of insanely advanced looking lab equipment, monitors and what looked like a surgery table with surgical tools suspended above it held by motionless robotic hands. The air was cool and sterile. Besides some oil tracks from a leaking robot worker at the door, the room was unusually clean. That struck a tone with Sally, Mobotropolis was a filthy place. It was down right toxic in fact. So why this room?

 

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A few days ago they had received a transmission on an encrypted channel known only to the resistance fighters. Boomer had been up late, the moon was at the highest point. With only a warm lantern to keep him company in the wooden shack it had been getting a little chilly when he heard the message. After Robotnik took over and they had found knothole, they had made sure that someone was always at the radio, just in case.

Sonic's semi-roboticized uncle had relayed a hurried message to Boomer. He sounded worried, something far out of character for the ever calm and kindly scientist. There was little time, but Robotnik was beginning work on a new kind of weapon. Before Robotnik took over, Chuck had explained, there was a complete ban on military research. The king had never seen any use for it, they were a peaceful people and lived in harmony with all living things. But now Robotnik had been using his new found resources to conduct just that kind of research. A new kind of weapon. Biological. A word Boomer had never considered in warfare before. How could a weapon be biological? As in alive?

Regardless, Boomer had woken everyone and they had gotten busy calling for help wherever they could.

 

------

 

Chuck was made entirely out of metal, silicon compounds and an ever so slightly radioactive compound that used sulfur fused with silicon. It transferred data from his semi-organic brain into a central processor based in a long stretched hollow cord filled with circular black metalloid, fully flexible sticks – a highly advanced processor stored in a gaseous state, stored under enough pressure to be fully flexible. His brain was roughly eighty percent still “organic” and the rest was interfaces and devices to measure electrical output. His brain was being kept alive by his robotic body, it read his thoughts and translated them seamlessly into action. Due to being exposed to a gold ring of mysterious powers, his indoctrination process had been reversed and he retained free will.

Indoctrinated, what they called the roboticisation process. A horrific process in which living flesh is reconstructed by nanobots as machine and all free will is eliminated.

 

 

Chuck was splayed out on the table. A surgical light hovered above him, his mechanical insides had been disassembled and the memory chips in his brain taken out. Sally was appalled at the sight and fought the urge to vomit. She brushed her hand over that familiar robotic hand, the material had been generated when he was turned only fifteen years ago but somehow still resembled that of a sixty year old.

 

“No, wait” she stopped and squinted closely at his chest. “His scars were replicated in the roboticization process, he always had a big scar on his left hand side from an accident at work”

 

“Sally?” Chucks voice suddenly came from behind them and Sonic jumped like he had seen a ghost.

Chuck had just walked into the room, he stopped when he saw “himself” on the table.

“Well darn, looks like Robotnik caught on”

“Chuck? But how? What do you mean?” Sonic ran up to Chuck and touched his arm. Cold, hard, definitely his uncle though. It was a miracle.

“I created this guy. Meet Chuck junior.” he saw the look of puzzlement and decided to explain. “See, I needed some cover after Robotnik had grown suspicious of me. I have been watched on my shift a lot. I created him to pretend to be me. I have been hiding in the ventilation systems. Looks like Robotnik decided I was not to be trusted after all.”

“Then you need to come back with us” Sonic spoke plainly and to his surprise but joy, Chuck agreed with him.

“Look, about this weapon, Robotnik has discovered a new type of life form. It is so small that we cannot even see it. But it can get inside our bodies through ways I am still unsure of and those it gets inside, all go crazy before dying just a few days later. This thing is evil”

Sonic stood trying to take this in. He immediately suggested destroying it but Chuck shook his head.

“We can't, not by just smashing it anyway. He keeps it stored in glass vials and metal tanks. If we destroy them, they will get out and get inside of all of us. No, we need to be smart. We need more help on this one. And it just so happens I know where to get it. Naugus”

“Wait, why would he help us?” Sally asked him “And wouldn't that mean us getting back to the forbidden realm?”

“Yes it would, I think Naugus doesn't want to be trapped in there forever, or killed when Robotnik realizes he can use this against his sorcery”

The plan was making sense now. Naugus and Sally's father were trapped in the forbidden realm. Naugus used to be the court wizard who had assisted Robotnik in taking over Mobotropolis before Robotnik had turned on him and trapped him there for all eternity along with Sally's still organic father.

 

 

 

“Don't be so sure about that Charles” Robotnik's voice echoed throughout the building, it buzzed with a little static and was deep and calm. The freedom fighters looked everywhere at once for any incoming threats and found none. They started moving together towards the hole in the wall.

“Don't worry. No Swatbots will try and stop you leaving. I gave them the day off. You really wanted to find out what my new weapon is. Well I thought I would let you meet it. You already met him. He was being stored in my walls.”

“Your weapon kind of sucks Robotnik. I feel fine” Sonic felt uneasy but he was not about to show it.

“That's it Sonic. Laugh. Make a joke. You always thought you were the funny one. Well. The joke is on you. I decided to stop hating you Sonic. I decided I was going to use you as my teacher. I became your student, and now the student has surpassed the teacher. You had a point about learning how to get on with all living things. You were right. There is much we don't know about life forms. And they are fascinating. But did you ever stop to consider that there was other life forms out there? I found one. I studied life forms from all over the planet. But one stood out to me. It arrived on a fiery rock. It is small but more resilient than anything I ever made. So I took it and added a few of my modifications to make it my planet killer.”

“It is already inside of you all. You breathed it in when you blew up the wall. Oh, you will be paying me for those innocent workers you broke on the way in here too”

 

 

Sally was starting to feel strange. Her ears were ringing and a strange coolness had started in her forehead and was radiating outwards down her face. “Sonic?” Sonic was concentrating on Robotnik and didn't hear her soft voice over the talking.

 

“You may have learned from me, but you still are a disgusting example of an overlander and I have no love for you.”

“I am beyond caring. You are all going to die. The problem with this life form is that it is still not better than me. It needs to be directed, to be told what to do. It is a tool, and I am its master”

 

Sonic hoisted up Sally and started running with her. Everyone else trailing behind him, Sonic pausing occasionally to oversee that there were in fact no Swatbots after them. True to Robotniks word, they were not followed.

“Sonic, I don't feel right” Sally's voice came out, softer, almost child like this time. Sonic held her, she felt safe, protected, but inside her head...she was feeling floaty and cold.

“Sal?” Sonic asked her, concerned at how she sounded. She sounded like she had regressed in age, the girl looked a little pale too “Hey? It's okay, I'll have you back at knothole soon and have the doc check us over”

“Yeah...home sounds good. I want to be home and safe” she nodded and tucked her head into Sonics chest the rest of the way home.

 

 

The journey home was silent. Robotnik had just let them leave. Chuck was with them now. He was getting concerned at Sally's condition. She kept sucking her thumb like a child and staring vacantly ahead. The others had taken turns in trying to cheer her up. She was still talking to them but was clearly not all present.

They reached Knothole and the Doc was waiting for them. He was surprised to see Chuck with them and then concerned when he saw his former princess patients state.

“Chuck? Whatever are you doing here? I thought you were otherwise engaged?” he took Sally by one arm and Sonic supported her other.

“It's a long story Doc, but Robotnik has a weapon of some sort. We can't see it but he says he got us with it and let us walk out of there. But now Sally is not well so I think we need to consider the possibility of a weapon so small we can't even see it seriously.” Chuck opened the door to the Doc's office for them and they sat Sally down on the bed. She slumped a little forward and then righted herself.

Doc shone a light in her eyes and responded “I think you are right to worry Sir Charles. Anything is possible with Robotnik. What more do you know?” he took her temperature and noted it was high. He noted the number.

“He said it came from a fiery space rock and he modified it. He said he stored it in the walls and we were all exposed. But only Sally is sick” Chuck held Sally's hand in reassurance as she suddenly looked panicked and looked around the room with her head jerking rapidly left and right. “There now Sally it's alright, we are going to help you feel better”

“Guys what the hell is wrong with her?” Sonic asked exasperated at having no idea what was going on.

“Easy Sonic, we don't want to upset her” Doc cautioned as he noted her pupils were an uneven size and she was shaking lightly from her fever.

“Sorry Doc,” he said “Sal, I'l run and get you your pillow your father gave you” he dashed off at lightning speed just feeling happy to be doing something to comfort his childhood crush.

Sally smiled despite the fever and strange cold sensation she was feeling spreading down her body. Sonic always did anything for her, even the stupid small things. Her fathers pillow sounded like it would help right now. She was certain she saw a spectral figure in the room with them made of shadows.

Sonic came back just as Sally was finishing describing what she saw and the cold sensations. Doc and Chuck turned to have a discussion at the Doc's desk. They were the closest to a team of scientists the freedom fighters had. Charles actually used to be a scientist when Robotropolis was Mobotropolis.

Sally hugged Sonic when he came back tightly, surprising him with its firmness. “Do you feel that?”

“Feel what Sally?” Sonic asked her as he tucked the pillow behind her with his free hand.

“That tremor? Do you feel the ground shaking?”

Doc came back over looking concerned and held a glass of coconut water to her to drink.

“Thank you Doc” she took it and drank deeply.

“I don't feel anything Sally” Doc looked a little confused and continued “Sally I have some remedy's I would like to use to try and help. Honestly, this is new to me but I will do everything I can to help you get better”

Sally's eyes shot open and she started screaming a terrible, fearful scream. It was ear splitting and they all jumped. She fell to the floor clutching her head, her face contorted in an expression of abject terror and pain.

 

 

 

Knothole began to grow dark until Sally could no longer see in front of her. It came in like clouds of sulfuric acid much unlike the acid that contributed to the polluting of the river Delta. The smell was acrid and sharp and she fought back a gag.

Sally closed her eyes as the dark clouds enveloped her and caressed her softly, whispering profane things in voices that sounded like a million angry lizards screeching for her blood. She opened her mouth to scream and tendrils of smoke seeped in through her mouth. They had her now. They would twist her and deform her just like all the young Mobians born before Robotnik had taken over. The pollution, the radiation, it deformed them. Now it would do the same to her.

 

The clouds came rushing away from her and out of her with the force of a hurricane and equally as deafening. Warm light was shining through her eye lids and the violating feeling of so many souls inside her left with the darkness. Tentatively, she opened her eyes and the rays of a brilliant dawn breaking greeted her. Never was she so more relieved to see the Mushroom Hills than she was today.

Sally gathered her bearings, the Green Hills were a large zone so she was not sure at first where she was until she spotted the dark clouds in the distance where Robotropolis was. At least she was not there. But where was Sonic? What happened on the mission? She brushed her head and her heart sunk in her chest when she felt a small, scabbed over wound on her forehead. It was real. It did happen. She wasn't imagining this. But why was she here?

All this and a million other questions flooded her mind at once. The others. Were they okay? “I must get back to knothole and find out what happened...and get my head looked at”