The two SWATbots at the main entrance to Refinery 7 seemed utterly mystified by the sudden appearance of a familiar blue Hedgehog.

"Catch me if you can, buttbots!" he sneered in that overconfident way that seemed to so easily annoy and attract the attention of all who were nearby. This was a trademark of Sonic the Hedgehog, and it had the desired effect on the pair of metal men. They raised their weapons and fired, but there was nothing on the ground where their shots collided.

"Missed me. Wanna try again?"

They did. Shortly the main entrance to Refinery 7 was vacant, the guards having taken up a hopeless chase across the bleak city scape of Robotropolis, sending a request for reinforcements along with a Full Hedgehog Alert to the Death Egg, which loomed over the city like a metal wart in the midst of a grimy cesspool of filth and sludge.

"Okay, go!" came another familiar voice, and Sally Acorn stepped out from a nearby alley, followed close behind by Antoine, Bunnie, and Rotor. Right behind them walked a young brown-furred horse named Equinus who had been on a few successful raids before, though never one with the famed Princess Sally Acorn and Sonic the Hedgehog, hero of the Freedom Fighters. He was awed by the honor, and so was his little sister, Fillia, the only Freedom Fighter that was Tails' age. Fillia had something of a crush on the blue hedgehog, and so she made her big brother promise to give a full report of whatever Equinus could learn about Sonic after the mission.

The quintet moved as silently as they could manage, taking into account how many times Bunnie was forced to steady the slippery-footed Antoine. They soon circled around the building until they came to a blank wall, a ventilation duct high above them on the wall.

"Grab on, sugars," said Bunnie, holding out her arms. While Rotor remained below, Antoine, Equinus, and Sally grabbed on and shot quickly upwards as Bunnie Rabbot's metal legs extended. While her passengers held tight to her shoulders the cyborg Rabbit took hold of the vent and tore it off with a grunt. Sally hopped through lightly, just in time to catch Antoine from falling on his nose. Antoine was followed shortly by Equinus who made a slight 'clop' noise with his hooves. With a quick wave from Sally to the two Freedom Fighter remaining below, the trio descended into the ventilation system of one of the main metal and plastic processing plants in Robotropolis. Its destruction would easily put a cramp on Robotnik's scheduled conquest of their world, and in addition the security of the refinery was fairly light as most of the security in Robotropolis was stationed on the opposite side of the city, where the Freedom Fighters had been making their more recent attacks. After a moment of fiddling, Rotor found the 'down' button on Bunnie's legs and the two of them ducked quickly back into the alley they had come from.

"It's all up to them now," said Rotor, his worried eyes mirroring Bunnie's.

"Yeah sugar," said Bunnie, "Ah just hope they make it out okay."

* * *

Sonic was having fun as only he could. Just moments behind him were a large percentage of the SWATbots stationed in Robotropolis, and just as many moments behind him was a death as certain as his speed. Weaving to the left just in time to dodge a sludge-shot Sonic decided he needed to complain to the manager for such sloppy service.

"I'm comin' atcha 'Buttnik," he hollered, and using a rusted street lamp left over from the old days he made a complete turnaround, straight into the oncoming 'bots. Having grown used to chasing a fleeing blue streak, this sudden reversal threw the small army into total disarray when the blue streak turned into a blue javelin, knocking robots aside left and right as he passed, most in pieces or their sensors overloaded, leaving them helpless. Weaving through the crowded machines Sonic soon cleared them and took off in the direction of the Death Egg as fast as he could go, his legs a blur of movement and red running shoes. This only seemed to draw still more machines, Stealth-bots and flying hover-cycle SWATbots. Numerous Flying Eyes floated swiftly about, their tiny cameras trained on the speedy Hedgehog as best as they could manage, sending a play-by-play report to their master, the lord of the Death Egg himself.

In all this confusion a dark shape watched silently from a nearby alley, unnoticed and undisturbed. The cloaked figure looked down in thought for a moment, and then stepped back into the protective shadows, following the action as closely as possible while still holding to the alleys and side streets.

* * *

Sally, Equinus, and Antoine crawled through the air ventilation ducts of the refinery, Sally holding up NICOLE, her pocket Artificial Intelligence, who was displaying a small 2D image of the duct work layout on its screen, a much quieter and less flashy method than using the holograms NICOLE usually displayed. Antoine would have been unbearable except for the need for silence, which he barely maintained. Nevertheless as they crawled on for a long time the tailless fox began to make a high-pitched whine in his throat, a sound which slowly began to work on Sally's nerves. Equinus seemed a little puzzled by Antoine's actions, which would have indicated that the fox didn't want to be there if they had come from another person. But of course, that couldn't be possible in one the Princess chose to work with. The young horse lived on the outskirts of Knothole, and so he didn't know much about anybody living there, preferring the quiet of the woods to the bustle of the Freedom Fighter headquarters.

As Equinus was considering the behavior of Antoine, Sally stopped at one of the grill screens looking out on the refinery and began to study the plans NICOLE showed her of the area ahead of her. Looking over her shoulder Equinus could see several roboticized Mobians at work, working the controls that moved the bubbling vats of liquid to be refined and processed.

"Okay people," whispered Sally, "here's what we're gonna do. Antoine and I will lure those people out the main doors," she pointed to the huge doors at the front of the building, "and Equinus will shut them, place a charge under the main vat," she pointed to a huge steaming cauldron of molten metal set in the center of the room, "and get out through the ducts. Bunnie and Rotor should be waiting for you. Got it?"

"Oui, my Princess," said Antoine, though he was visibly sweating. Equinus nodded.

"Will do," said the young horse, a smile touching his face for a moment. Sally found she liked that smile and thought it a pity the serious Equinus didn't use it more often. She quickly dismissed that thought, focusing instead on the present.

"Right," said Princess Sally, "let's do it to it!"

It took only a few moments for Sally and Antoine to climb down from the vent, and they both began to yell at the half-dozen or so metal people gathered at the refinery controls, working the automated equipment and giant scoops used in the refining process. As the roboticized Mobians looked up from their work Sally and Antoine started to run as fast as they could towards the large front door of the refinery, and after a moment of hesitation the metal Mobians shut down their systems on the control board and started to climb down from their elevated control station. As soon as their metal feet touched the floor Equinus lowered himself from the ventilation shaft and started to duck behind consoles and machines on his way to the main smelter. Crouched behind a large box used to store scrap metal he soon heard Antoine screaming something about being 'doom-ed,' and then heard the hiss of the big front doors depressurizing followed by the metallic scrape of their opening. Antoine's screams were cut off suddenly as he was jerked through the door by Sally, and when Equinus saw this he ran to the smelting vat and slapped the pack of plastic explosive to the underside of its raised and insulated outer shell. Tapping a few quick instructions into the simple controls he set the bomb for seven minutes and then started to run back towards the front door. At that moment a bolt of energy struck the floor directly in front of the horse, bringing him to a sudden halt next to the lever of a chain hoist.

"Supervisor seven oh dash four orders you to halt," came a metallic voice from behind Equinus, and he turned to see a strange robot. It was much like a SWATbot in shape, having the same body and the same dark metallic exterior, but the head was almost human, with two blank green glass plates for eyes and a grill for a mouth.

"What are you?" asked Equinus, seeing no reason in not knowing what was about to shoot him.

"Supervisor is the latest in SWATbot technology. Designed to control and monitor production and management of Robotropolis. Primary function: Ensure functionality of current project. Secondary function: Destroy intruders, Priority One Termination or Capture procedures granted to Targeted blue hedgehog," replied the robot matter-of-factly. "Subject at hand is Rebel Freedom Fighter, name, Equinus Samuels. Termination of said subject will ensure continuation of Functions Prime and Secondary. Prepare for termination. Citizens, return to your stations!"

This last order went to the roboticized Mobians who had already cleared the door and were looking around in confusion at the sudden disappearance of the pair of beings they had been chasing. As they started to turn towards the Supervisor, the robot marched towards the young horse in front of it, aiming a blast-pistol at Equinus' head. Equinus decided to 'prepare' in a slightly different way than the Supervisor intended. Instead of groveling or begging for mercy, as its files said most organics were wont to do when faced with termination, the horse grabbed the lever to the chain hoist and jerked it downwards. The robot was very nearly knocked off its feet and had its gun crushed under the weight of the falling chain. Adding to the list of faulty information the robot made notes to have corrected the Freedom Fighter slammed his weight into the lever, snapping it off and turning it into a handy club when he picked it up. This showed a resourcefulness that the Supervisor's training files never mentioned, but its silicon musings were put to a sudden stop with one swing of the lever. Equinus displayed a talent for golf that had hitherto been untapped as he sent the robot's head flying onto the main control console almost twenty feet away.

"Subject terminated," said Equinus, allowing himself a second quick smile. The horse then aimed the metal bar and sent it flying like a javelin towards the control panel of the main doors, closing them before the metal Mobians could return to their previous positions.

The main console began to beep urgently after the metal head came to a full stop on the floor nearby. "Communications request, communications request."

Equinus realized that someone wanted to talk to the Supervisor he had just broken, and if they didn't get an answer they would show up and perhaps even catch his friends.

"It never rains," he muttered as he rushed to the console and scooped up the robot's head. "I guess I'll just have to fake it."

Holding the head up to the communication screen, Equinus tapped what he guessed was the operating button. He let his breath out when the screen lit up to show a SWATbot.

"SWATbot security unit six eight dash two reporting, giving update on current placement. Now reporting the capture of a prisoner in this quadrant. Will be en route to roboticizing unit two in thirty seconds, ETA thirty minutes. Acknowledge."

Equinus nearly cried out when he heard this, but he remembered his friends and gritted his teeth, then spoke into the head, using it like an amplifier to make his voice sound metallic.

"Acknowledge. Proceed with transfer."

The console winked off.

So, the SWATbots had caught someone and were taking him to be roboticized, as they did with everyone they didn't kill on the first encounter. Once he got back to the rendevous point he would have to tell Princess Sally and see if they could arrange a rescue mission before it was too late. It was then that the realization of the bomb only a few scant feet away hit the horse's preoccupied mind and he took off at a sprint for the vent, still carrying the Supervisor's head under one arm.