Robot Realm (draft)

[Note: Sir Charles Hedgehog and other characters used in this story belong to Sega & are used without their permission. I am building from the continuity established in the "Sonic the Hedgehog" animated series which used to air (in the States) on Saturday mornings. I have taken events from the episode "The Doomsday Project" and used them to project a "What if...?!?" scenario.]

Sir Charles Hedgehog scanned the area from within his workerbot disguise. The Great Forest was no longer a forest. It had been turned into a wasteland by the Doompods. A toxic river and toasted tree stumps were the only indication that living things had once thrived there. He had a feeling the rest of the planet had fared no better.

"So, it has come to this." He mumbled sadly.

He recalled how "this" had come to be. Princess Sally had planned an assault on Robotnik’s "Doomsday" project. It had been a disaster. Robotnik had seen through the "dummy diversion" and his SWATbots had captured Apollo, Dirk, Lupe, and Ari. Sally, Bunnie, and Antoine met Chuck at the lava fields--without Sonic. Dulcy and Tails joined the group as Sally reported that Sonic had gone up to the control room in order to shut down Doomsday. Something must have gone wrong.

Assuming the worst, Sir Charles had outlined a desperate plan to steal the second half of the Deep Power Stone from Robotnik’s safe. That plan had gone sour; Sally, Bunnie, and Antoine took too long and were spotted by a Hoverunit, which alerted a nearby squad of SWATbots. The trio had been surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered, but they had fought fiercely. Amazingly, they had managed to take out two-thirds of the squad before a couple of SWATbots got lucky enough to tag Bunnie in a crossfire of stunbolts. Dulcy and Tails had tried to turn the tide by taking out the Hoverunit and attempting to rescue their fellow Freedom Fighters. However, another unit of SWATbots arrived with a Doompod. They didn’t stand a chance.

"Now what?" Sir Charles asked himself. "Every freedom fighter on the planet has been captured and roboticized. There is no one left to oppose him--except me."

He steered his workerbot shell toward Robotropolis and pondered about what to do about Robotnik. "If I hit him with the memory scrambler, he’d lose his memory and I could get him to step into a roboticizer. Hmm." He then estimated the risks involved. First, he would have to -get- the scrambler. Then Chuck would have to pick his opportunity to use it; he’d have to wait until Robotnik was alone. Problem is, there are usually several SWATbots or workerbots with him at any given time, and then there’s Snively...

An idea hit him. "Of course! Snively’s probably plotting behind his uncle’s back. I should see what he’s up to before making any moves. Hmm. Then again, Robotnik may suspect that now is the perfect time for his nephew to betray him." Sir Charles then wondered how his -own- nephew was doing. "Robotnik’s probably still gloating about finally roboticizing Sonic." he thought. "Still, roboticized people -can- fight Robotnik’s control from within." Sir Charles himself was proof of that.

Sir Charles was still considering his options as his workerbot shell rolled near one of the scrapheaps. He saw two robots carry, then dump, a load of broken parts. A wave of guilt washed over Chuck as he recognized them as Antoine and Tails.

"Sorry, boys. I let you down--I let everyone down. And now I’m the only one left to make things right again." He moved away.

Sir Charles renewed his efforts with a vengeance--and perhaps with vengeance in mind. He finally decided on a plan when he reached Robotnik’s headquarters. Then he saw Snivley sneak toward the control room, and Chuck became suspicious. "Why would he need to sneak around like that?" to robotic hedgehog asked himself as he ducked into a shadowy aclove. As Snively passed by, Chuck saw that the short human was holding a device behind his back. Chuck used his optic sensors to zoom in on the device and identify it. Sometimes being a robot came in handy ;)

"Why that's--it is! The memory scrambler! Three guesses who Snivley plans to 'zap' with it--and the first two don't count." he said to himself. Then Sir Charles made a mental note to quit talking to himself before discretely following Snivley to the control room.