Embedded Files
Two weeks ago.
The Chemical Plant Zone. Doctor Robotnik’s terrifying figure loomed over a pair of his scientists. He glanced at a machine they’d been working on. To anyone but these three, it would have been impenetrable in design. Tubes, cables and cylinders all connected to a round main body, the energy core of the machine.
Robotnik clenched his fists, “You’d better make sure this machine works perfectly, or else you’ll lose more than your jobs”
One of the scientists, an ape, stammered, “Y-yes, master”
The other scientist, a cat, pointed to a pair of photographs of Sonic the Hedgehog on the wall, one of him whizzing confidently at top speed, the other of him stood still, before the accident which turned him blue. The scientist spoke more confidently than his friend, “In less than twenty-four hours, we should be able to replicate the accident which streamlined Sonic and turned him into a superhero”
In truth, Robotnik could remember almost nothing of the accident which had turned Sonic blue. For some reason, he had it in the back of his mind that he had been present. He could remember the rough design of the machine but not the precise details. But what else are lackeys for if not bullying into ironing out the details?
Robotnik looked at the image of the blue hedgehog, imagining himself in the same pose, “Once the machine is operational, I will absorb the energy it outputs and gain Sonic-like speed of my own, making me more than a match for that hedgehog!” He cackled, his gut wobbling cartoonishly.
In a village on the outskirts of the Zone, a young hedgehog was trying their best to rouse the villagers into action. But this wasn’t Sonic. In fact, they weren’t even blue. This hedgehog, like most who didn’t originate from Hedgehog Village, was brown and their quills were spiky. A little too spiky, some days, or so they thought. The headband definitely helped keep them tidy.
Her name was Amy Rose. And she was soon to become leap up Robotnik’s Most Wanted list.
“There are rumours that Robotnik is working on an experiment in the Chemical Plant Zone,” Amy announced to a gathering of villagers, “An experiment to give himself powers! We have to work to stop him!”
One of the villagers shushed her, “Amy, please, be quiet! You mustn’t say such things!”
“Yes,” one of the others concurred, “just last week, Robotnik had my own brother turned into a Badnik just for scowling at him!”
“It’s best not to make Robotnik angry. He leaves us alone as long as we report for work detail”
Amy felt a burning in the pit of her stomach and furrowed her brow in annoyance, “Listen to yourselves! Somebody has to put a stop to his plan! If he’s as temperamental as you say then who knows when he’ll change his mind and start coming after you all with more force?”
The villagers began to disperse. One waved a hand at her, “Sorry, Amy. I get where you’re coming from but I think you ought to get real. Ordinary folk like us don’t get involved. Besides, how could we make a difference against Robotnik?”
“Master!” one of the scientists reported in to Robotnik, “We’ve just received word from a Trooper unit that female hedgehog is trying to stir up trouble again!”
Robotnik pulled a faux-scared face, “I’m quaking in my boots! Hah! I have nothing to fear from an insignificant little madam! She’s not even worth my attention! There’s only one hedgehog I care about focusing my energies on and he’s long gone!”
***
That night, Amy ran across the rooftops of the Chemical Plant Zone. A night-time run would usually make her feel better, though she was still feeling some of the frustration from earlier in the day. She took a moment to centre herself and put it out of her mind. She would need clear focus on the task at hand.
Inside the laboratory, Robotnik stood in front of the machine. The scientists punched a series of numbers into a keyboard. One looked up at Robotnik, “Energy levels are almost precisely aligned, Great Robotnik. Within mere minutes, you should be transformed with Sonic-like abilities!”
Robotnik stood proud, “Then I will be unstoppable!”
Suddenly, the skylight gave way with a deafening sound as Amy crashed through and landed mere feet away from Robotnik, “No way, potato-face!”
Robotnik growled, “The hedgehog female!”
“The name’s Amy Rose, doc!” Amy brandished a small crossbow and fired a missile-shaped bolt from it, “Remember it!”
The bolt sailed past Robotnik right into the energy core of the machine. Robotnik gasped, “My machine! Troopers! Stop her at once!”
As Troopers appeared as if from nowhere, Amy bounded over their grabbing arms, “They’ll be lucky if I let them, egg-head!”
The ape scientist shuddered in fear as he backed off, his colleague long gone, “S-sir! The power core! She’s damaged it! The whole machine is in overload- it’s about to detonate!”
The distraction caught Amy off guard and Robotnik picked her up with his surprising strength, “Then I’ll see this isn’t a total write-off! I’ll ensure she is destroyed with it!”
As Amy went sailing towards the core, she couldn’t help herself, “Who’s ‘She’? The cat’s mother?”
A mighty explosion rocked the room and Robotnik turned to shield himself from the blast. Instantly, the sprinkler system activated and put the flames out.
Through the smoke emerged Amy, but not as she had been before. Her quills were streamlined… and pink.
“Hey, hey!” She looked impressed at herself, “Now that is what I call a make-over!”
Robotnik lunged for Amy but she side-stepped him. He roared at her, “Curse you! The energy you’ve absorbed should have been mine!”
Amy scoffed, “What, and you reckon pink would go with your ginger moustache?”
Amy darted through the room, firing crossbow bolts of all kinds- arrow, explosives, concussive bludgeons- at the Troopers, taking them out of commission.
“Stop her!” Robotnik yelled at his dwindling forces on hand, “The power has improved her fighting ability”
Amy fired a bolt through a window, shattering it, and leapt up onto the window ledge, “Wrong, Robotnik. I always had these skills. Your mistake was never taking me seriously before. The only thing the energy did was change my looks. Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to judge someone by appearances? No wonder you turned out so rotten! See you around, doc!”
Before Robotnik could close the gap between the two of them, Amy had leapt out of the window and made her escape to safety.
***
The following morning, back at the village, word of Amy’s exploits had reached the villagers. They gathered to congratulate her on a job well done.
“Amy,” the villager who had previously thought himself one of the ‘ordinary folk’ said, “you were right all along. Robotnik should be resisted. Maybe we can’t all do what you can with that crossbow, but we can all do our part in standing up to him. It’s how we’re going to beat him!”
“Well,” Amy smiled and raised an eyebrow, “I’m tickled pink to hear it!”
Act Three coming soon
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