Sally, Equinus, and Antoine held tight in a long chain as Sonic towed them all along at his incredible speeds. As they entered the grim city of robots Sonic ducked down an alley and the chain broke so that the quartet could move more stealthily.

"They'll be ready for another decoy this time," whispered Sally. "SWATbots may be stupid, but they don't always fall for the same trick twice in the same day, especially if Robotnik changes their programming for today so they don't chase Sonic at the first opportunity."

"What? Not chase me?" said Sonic, looking wounded. "What's the world coming to?"

"Come on," said Equinus, his face tense with worry, "let's hurry to the center. We can decide on a plan when we get there. Right now I want to make sure my sister is all right."

Sally nodded and started to lead the way out of the alley they were concealed in. As she reached the alley entrance, though, a looming dark shape blacked their path. Sonic leapt in front of Sally, followed close behind by Equinus, just as Antoine overbalanced and pulled all three of the males down in a heap of arms and legs.

"I am not your enemy," hissed the dark shape, who Sally saw now was a figure in a voluminous brown cloak. One of the figure's robed arms came up and the cloth fell away from a feathered hand which pointed at Equinus. "I am here to help save your sister."

"Who are you?" asked Sally and Equinus in unison, the horse pulling himself out of the furry tangle under him and standing to face the ominous figure.

"How do you know about my sister?" asked Equinus, looking the figure over suspiciously. "And why are you offering to help?"

"That is quite a number of questions, and there is not enough time to answer them all in great detail, as you should know," said the figure with a little more volume, loud enough so that the voice of an older woman could be discerned. The figure tilted her head just enough so that the dim light of the city fell on her face. Sally and Equinus blinked in surprise, as did Sonic and Antoine as they pulled themselves up. The figure in front of them was a great horned owl, her huge dark eyes regarding them with a stare that seemed to drill right through them.

"My name is Oracle," said the owl, her voice carrying a very proper English accent, "and I know everything, though not all at once. The reason I am offering to help is because you don't stand a chance on your own, and also because I need your help in return."

"What do you want?" asked Sally.

"I want Equinus to come with me, alone, to free his sister," replied the owl. "And after she is safe I want him to come with me once more. There is something that I must show him that I cannot explain right now."

"Why just Equinus?" asked Sonic. "Ain't I good enough?"

"It is not a matter of who is better, Sonic Hedgehog," answered Oracle patiently. "It is a matter of destiny. But now you must hurry and get away from here. The robot head Equinus brought back to your rendevous had a listening device in it. Rotor found it and your friends were safe last I checked on them, but they are surrounded by a SWATbot patrol and it is only a matter of time before they are found. I suggest you decide what to do quickly."

Sally thought for a moment as Sonic and Antoine looked in confusion between her and Oracle. Equinus was the one to break the silence.

"Do you promise we'll save my sister?" he asked, suspicion replaced only by his worry.

"I swear by the moon of Mobius, I will save her with you or die in the attempt," said Oracle, a strange glint of blue flashing across her eyes as she gave her oath. Equinus looked closely at her for only a second, and then nodded and looked back at Sally.

"I'm going with her. You go save the others."

Sally frowned, her brow wrinkling in uncertainty and mistrust, and then her face cleared and she nodded, smiling a little.

"Do it to it," was all she said, and Equinus gave her another of his rare smiles. He then turned and followed the looming owl out of the alley, the silent pair quickly fading into the dark of the city.

"I guess we go back," said Sally, shrugging as she looked at Sonic and Antoine.

"What joost happened, my princess?" asked Antoine, blinking his eyes in confusion.

"I don't know," answered Sally, "but I think it's something important."

"Man, the kind of people you invite on these raids, Sal," said Sonic, his ever-present smirk now aimed in Sally's direction.

Sally and Antoine caught hold of Sonic's hands and they began to race back the way they had come.

* * * Equinus followed only a step behind the mysterious owl, neither of them making more than a whisper of noise. Oracle seemed well-versed in espionage, and knew her way around the city of Robotropolis as though she had lived there all her life. Moving swiftly in the shadows of the looming metropolis, the two Mobians soon faced the roboticizing center from across a wide cement street. The young horse couldn't help but feel a dark chill inside as he looked at the building where his parents had lost their free will, maybe forever. The roboticizer was a machine that filled the nightmares of every free Mobian, and the waking horror of every zombie robot that emerged from the deadly energy wave patterns and nanite reconstruction matrixes that made up the process of roboticizing. And now Equinus was going right into the very jaws of the thing that filled his nightmares to pluck his sister from the metallic maw of the cybernetic beast.

"Relax, Equinus," whispered Oracle, "they haven't even brought her here yet. If my plan works as it should we won't even have to enter the building."

At this Equinus smirked wryly. He had been waxing a little over dramatic, psyching himself out.

"When will the guards get here?" he asked, his voice matching hers in volume.

"In only two minutes. We didn't get here with much time to spare."

Equinus rolled his eyes heavenward and wondered what he had gotten himself into.

"More than you want to know about," said Oracle.

This was getting freaky.

* * *

Sonic ducked behind a pile of junked mainframes as he came to a stop, just in time to avoid the sensors of a passing SWATbot hovercycle. The strange old owl had been right in saying that SWATbots had found the rendevous. They could only hope that what she had said about their friends was also true.

"Alright, Sonic, Antoine, we need a quick plan," whispered Sally as she watched a patrol of marching SWATbots as they flashed their wrist-lasers around on their lowest setting, making them into searchlights. "There are two hovercycles and one squad of six SWATbots on my side. How many are on your side, Antoine?"

"Two mure of the hovercycles, my princess," answered Antoine, his teeth gritted tight to keep them from chattering.

"Alright," murmured Sally, thinking hard and fast, "we don't have many options. Sonic could . . . but that might get the others caught. Or . . . but that would get us caught."

"Have you decided what we're gonna do yet, Sal, or do you want to figure it out among yourselves?" whispered Sonic with a smirk.

"Sorry," grinned Sally, abashed. "Sonic, I think if Antoine stood in front of this pile of junk as bait we could draw most or all of the SWATbots over here. Can you move fast enough to get him out of the way when they get here?"

"Do bees swim? Of course I can!"

"B-b-but Princess . . ." started Antoine, his teeth slipping apart long enough to chatter for a few moments before he got them under control again. "Princess, zey will chase oos, zey will shoot oos! How are zey to be stopped?"

"I'll deal with that," said Sally. "Just trust me. Sonic, once you have Antoine, go to the rendevous point and see if you can find the others. Get them back to the Great Forest as fast as you can go."

"What about you, Sal?" asked Sonic, and just briefly his face was marked in worry instead of his usual sarcastic smirk.

"I'll be all right, Sonic," said Sally, putting a hand on the hedgehog's shoulder. "Just get the others to safety. You both ready to do this?"

"Well, okay Sal. You're the boss."

"Oui, my princess."

* * *

Crouched in anticipation, Equinus watched as a pair of SWATbots came into view, his sister Fillia between them, looking terrified but unhurt, the stains of dried tears matting down the fur around her eyes. The young stallion nearly leapt forward then, but felt the restraining, feathered hand of Oracle on his shoulder.

"Wait but one moment more," she whispered.

It was only one moment more before the road just behind the SWATbots erupted in a burst of fire, throwing Fillia's guards to the ground.

"Save her quick, Equinus!" hissed the owl urgently, and Equinus needed no further prompting.

Rushing forward, Equinus scooped his trembling sister into his arms and sprinted back towards the hiding place where he had left Oracle, just as the SWATbots began to swarm out of Roboticizing Center Two. Taking cover in a pile of concealing junk in the alley, Equinus and Fillia watched in amazement as the energy bolts of the SWATbots were answered by gunshots out of the smoke from the recent explosion.

"What the . . .?" started Equinus, but Oracle hushed him with a look.

"We must hurry before this area swarms with automatons. Our allies will only hold their position for a little while, then they shall retreat, leaving us on our own once more. Follow me, and hold tight to each other."

With barely a moment to let the pair of equines get up Oracle started into a brisk run, and Equinus and Fillia ran close behind her, darting out the back way of the alley and down another dark side street. All around them the sound of warning klaxons blared and metal-shod feet tramped. Equinus could hear SWATbots surrounding them, and knew it was only a matter of time before they were all caught. Oracle seemed to know this also, pausing for a second as though she were uncertain what to do next.

"This way," called the owl, her robes sweeping around her as she hurried into an abandoned building and rushed up the stairs to the roof, Equinus and Fillia right on her heels.

"What's going on, Equinus?" asked Fillia in a dazed voice when they got to the roof, the dark city only slightly more visible from the squat building's rooftop.

"I think we're rescuing you," replied the stallion, shaking his head in a bemused fashion.

Their words were cut short as the staircase they had just come up trembled with the passing of a small army of metal men. A stray energy bolt flew past Equinus' left ear and they all moved away from the stairwell, closer to the edge of the roof.

"It seems that I don't know everything after all," said Oracle dryly as the trio backed up to the short wall that lined the rooftop. A squad of SWATbots lined up in front of them and took aim with their weapons, the rifles humming with energy.

"Surrender and prepare for roboticization," ordered one of the SWATbots. "Come peacefully and you shall not be terminated."

"Over my dead body," yelled Equinus.

"Preference noted," replied the SWATbot.

* * * "Yoo hoo, SWATbots, I am over here!"

Sally rolled her eyes despite her best efforts not to. Antoine stood out in plain sight, and his prissy voice coupled with his attempt at looking brave resulted in a very silly sight, especially since the fox was shaking like a leaf.

"Come and get moi!" yelled Antoine once more, and this time the SWATbots seemed to hear. The six SWATbots began to converge on the trembling Mobian, the four hovercycles reaching his position in a few seconds.

"Halt or be shot," ordered one of the hovering red-plated robots, and Antoine obediently became as still as a statue. Antoine started a little when he felt a metal hand clamp on his shoulder, lifting him off the ground.

"Subject identified as 'Antoine D'Coolette,' rebel operative," barked the metallic voice of the hoverbot. "Confirm orders, Central Control."

"Bring him back here," said a crackling voice that started from the radio set into the dash of the robot's hovercycle. Sally and Sonic both recognized the voice as belonging to Snively. "I'll be wanting to question the rebel scum before I send him to the roboticizer. He should enjoy a cooking lesson or two. Perhaps frog legs."

"Non, not frog legs!" ranted Antoine, his face a mask of outrage that overrode even his fear. "Jous fiend!"

"Confirmed," said the hoverbot, and it began to rise into the air, the six SWATbots still several yards away.

"Now!" screamed Sally, and Sonic took off in a flash, shooting around the tall pile of mainframes and jumping high into the air with a spin. The hoverbot's arm was sheared off in an instant, and Sonic caught hold of Antoine a moment before the fox hit the ground, both of them racing towards the discovered rendevous point, leaving Antoine's screams far behind.

Sally braced herself and then slammed her body into the pile of junk at just the moment Sonic grabbed Antoine's hand, and the pile tumbled, burying three of the hoverbots in a riot of noise and a cloud of dust. When the dust settled, the last hoverbot floated in midair, looking stupidly at the stump of its severed arm.

"Unit has been damaged, rebel subject has escaped in company of Priority One Hedgehog," said the 'bot emotionlessly into the hovercycle's radio. Then the machine looked up and its single yellow eye locked on Sally. "Subject identified as 'Sally Acorn', rebel leader. Requesting further instructions."

Sally didn't wait for the hoverbot to get its orders and sprinted off, diving behind another pile of junk made of assorted gears and bolts.

"GET THE PRINCESS, YOU METAL DOLT!" came the reply, this time from a familiar and sinister voice, the voice of Robotnik himself.

"Acknowledged," replied the one-armed 'bot, and it began to float slowly through the junkyard. Behind it the SWATbots spread out to find the hiding Princess.

"This just isn't my day," muttered Sally as she crept to another pile of junk, ducking into the cover provided by a wrecked hovercar.

* * *

"This just isn't our day," muttered Equinus as the SWATbots closed in, forcing Oracle, Equinus, and Fillia to the edge of the building.

"This is just a minor setback," said Oracle. "Things don't get hopeless until later."

"Thanks for the consolation," said Equinus dryly.

"Anytime. Now hold on." With this the great owl grabbed the two horses by their shoulders and then launched them all off the roof.

Equinus did as he was told and held on tight to Oracle's arm, as did his sister who screamed as they fell all the way down to the street below. Only a matter of seconds before they hit the pavement, Oracle threw back the robes on her arms and tilted her wings out, catching the wind and almost completely stopping them in midair. The owl and her equine passengers then gently floated down the last foot to the ground.

"Warn me next time you do that, okay?" said Equinus, swallowing the knot that had formed in his throat.

"I will try and remember to do so," replied Oracle seriously. "Now follow me quickly. Our pursuers will not be truant in finding us again."

"Equinus?" piped up Fillia, "can we go home now?"

"I'd like to, but I think our guide has other plans."

"Quite," said Oracle. "Step lively, now."

* * *

Landing on the old couch and bouncing off, Sonic came to a halt in the now-deserted rendevous.

"Okay, everybody, c'mon out," he called. Antoine was too shaken to join in Sonic's calling, and just stood next to the blue hedgehog, blinking like a tired owl in the sunlight.

"We're over here, Sonic!" said Tails, poking his head out of the battered jalopy he, Rotor, and Bunnie had taken cover in.

"Hey, Big Guy!" said Sonic with a grin. "What's happenin'?"

"Just a few problems with SWATbots, is all," said Rotor, crawling around Tails to exit the cramped vehicle.

"Tell me all about it later," said Sonic. "Sal wants you back at Knothole right away, and she sent the best to get you there."

"Sally?" said Bunnie as Tails hopped out of the car, poking her own head out the side door. "Whar is the Princess?"

"We joost left her back there," gasped Antoine, regaining his voice and pointing towards the direction he and Sonic had come from. "She eez distracting ze SWATbots."

"What!" said Bunnie in alarm. "We gotta go an' help her. She can't take a whole squad of SWATbots by herself!"

"Maybe not, but knowing the Princess she'll certainly try it," said Rotor with a little grin on his dreamy face.

"She said to get you and go back to Knothole," said Sonic, losing his smirk and folding his arms. "And that's just what we're gonna do."

"Sonic?" said Tails, looking in stunned surprise at his hero. "You're just gonna leave Sally here?"

Sonic grinned.

"Not a chance. I've got you and we'll get going to Knothole. We just won't go until we've got Sal too. Now huddle up, people, we need a plan."

Sonic, Antoine, Tails, Rotor, and Bunnie gathered together and started to talk in hurried and hushed voices. It was only a matter of time before four of them were listening with rapt attention to the fifth, and a plan worthy of Sally Acorn herself was hatched.

* * *

Equinus and Fillia didn't ask any questions as they hurried after their tall owl companion. Oracle led them through the dim city streets of Robotropolis for what seemed like hours, though it couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes, the time stretched out by the agonizing fear of capture. They heard the clank of robot feet more than once as their pursuers just narrowly missed their hiding places, and Equinus was almost certain that the beam of searchlights had found them at least once before they could dodge into an alley, but none of the SWATbots were able to catch them. At last Oracle led them down a side street and stopped in front of an open manhole, the cover lying on the ground nearby.

"Get in quick," she ordered, and Equinus and Fillia obeyed, clambering down the metal ladder just inside the manhole. Oracle followed after them and pulled the cover back over the manhole, plunging them all into darkness. "Keep going," she called down after the two equines, and though Fillia was scared, Equinus was able to persuade her to do as the owl said with a little coaxing.

After what seemed like an eternity of climbing, and Equinus was sure this time that it was at least an hour, Fillia called up excitedly.

"I see a light."

And sure enough, there was a light at the bottom of the shaft, a glow from electric lamps that grew steadily brighter as they descended. Stepping off the ladder, the two horse siblings and their owl companion walked down a short tunnel, following the light. They came to an abrupt halt in front of what appeared to be a cave in, the light they saw coming from a flickering sulphur lamp stuck into the wall.

"Now you're going to see something," said Oracle, and Equinus could have sworn he saw the corners of her beak twist up in a smile. Grasping the lamp, Oracle twisted it all the way around, and abruptly the caved-in tunnel vanished to be replaced by a circular metal door. The owl reached out and tapped a few buttons on a small keypad next to the door and it slid silently open. "Get ready for the second most exciting sight of your lives."

They followed their tall companion past the door, and saw the hologram replace itself just before the door slid shut. Now facing forward, the two young equines took in their new surroundings, and what they saw made them gape with surprise and wonder.

"Oh wow!" said Fillia with a big grin.

"Yeah," echoed Equinus, his jaw having dropped in surprise. "Oh wow."

Below them was an underground city, and all around bustled Mobians, real live Mobians who walked and talked just like they must have before the Great War changed everything. Buildings were thrown up everywhere, small homes and larger office buildings, and even a shop or two, though none of them was taller than two or perhaps three stories. Vendors hawked their wares on the concrete streets of the City below the city while jugglers and street magicians entertained the passing masses. And above it all, suspended from the ceiling at least fifty feet in the air, was a massive control center, beaming out the light that gave eyes to the city, cables running down from conductors that lined the control center's sides to give power to the buildings. The owl and her equine companions stood on a stone platform elevated by a hundred feet or more above the bustling city.

"Follow me," said Oracle, walking down the long stone staircase that led to the main thoroughfare of the Underground City. "We must talk with Gryf before we can go any further."

* * *

Sally crouched behind an overturned refrigerator as a SWATbot tramped nearby, its glowing visor sweeping back and forth. It had been almost fifteen minutes since she had last seen Sonic and Antoine, and during that time she had seen more of SWATbots than she ever wanted to in her life. The Princess of Mobius had been ducking behind piles of trash at every turn, and had managed to just barely keep one step ahead of her pursuers.

As Sally watched the SWATbot passing her she made up her mind to not be taken without a fight and searched about for something to arm herself. Looking around to see if the 'bot's friends were nearby, and finding them nowhere in sight, Sally decided to take action. With a grunt, she pulled off one of the bars in the rusted grill of an old car. Giving a quiet yell, Sally leapt and vaulted off the refrigerator onto the back of the passing SWATbot. As she landed on its back, knocking the robot on its face, she used the sharp piece of grill like a short spear, and punched straight through the back of its metal neck, the weakest point on a SWATbot. The SWATbot thrashed around for a few brief moments, and then was still as its power supply shut down. Sally tried to pull her makeshift weapon out of the 'bot's neck, but heard the whine of the hoverbot as it came to investigate the noise Sally had made. She rolled under a derelict water cooler, held off the ground slightly by the remnants of a weight set, and watched as the hoverbot surveyed her handiwork, and then proceeded to make a search of the immediate area.

"Come on, a little further," Sally whispered as she watched the floating android make its way in the opposite direction of her hiding place. When she felt it was a far enough distance, she rolled out of her hiding place and began to run to a permanently parked hovercar to see if she could find cover in it and perhaps another weapon. But before she had gone halfway, the dark metal form of a SWATbot stepped in front of her, leveling its arm-cannon at her chest.

"Surrender or be terminated," it ordered, and Sally heard its particle cannon charge up to carry out its threat.

"Get stuffed," said Sally, and she leapt onto the pile of junk on her left, pulling herself up and over, narrowly dodging the blue rays of the SWATbot's particle beams.

Looking around from her elevated position, Sally realized she had just made a few major tactical errors. The first of these was that the wall of junk she was standing on was surrounded by SWATbots, all of which could now see her clearly. The hoverbot had obviously transmitted the information that Sally was nearby, and they had converged on that area. The second was that the aforementioned hoverbot could rise above the maze of junk below, and it did, and began to close on Sally as she searched for some avenue of escape and found none.

"Oops," was all Sally said, looking around with wide eyes as the robots closed in on her.

* * *

The tall owl swept through the streets of the Underground City, Equinus and Fillia trailing behind her, gaping at the wonders of a life they thought was only a myth. They saw full-grown adults among the Mobians all around them, many of them in fact, and were nearly overwhelmed by the jostle and bustle of life in an actual city. In reality, the city was fairly small and had an understandably limited population, but to the rustic siblings it was a teeming metropolis. The only grownups they had ever known were Aunt Rosie, the royal nanny who had raised the children in Knothole, and Katz, who had been their instructor in combat tactics and the martial arts until he had been captured and roboticized during a raid with Sonic. And now they saw a city where more than half the population were full-grown adults, and these adults seemed to be in charge of the show. Understanding that they were no longer in a world run by teenagers and children, Fillia and Equinus almost unconsciously stood up straighter, and tried their hardest to look well-behaved just like Aunt Rosie had taught them to in polite company.

"Here we are," said Oracle, coming to a halt in the town square. Out of the center of the town projected a long metal ladder, which rose high into the air until it connected with the control center hanging from the cavern ceiling. Climbing down this ladder was a young goat. His fur was well-kept, his horns neatly filed, and his beard trimmed to a sharp point, and in every respect he carried himself like a noble. But when he stepped off the ladder and stood before Oracle, Equinus got a good look at the goat. His eyes were kind, and his manner felt charming and winning and as courteous as could be wished for when he addressed them.

"Oracle, good to see you're still alive," said Gryf, his voice soft and kind. Equinus glanced at his sister, and saw immediately that she had developed a crush on the handsome young Mobian.

"I am harder to kill than most," replied Oracle cooly, though Equinus saw the edge of her beak tilt upward in a smile. "Here is the one we rescued, and her brother. Fillia and Equinus."

Equinus colored a little as the owl stepped aside and introduced them. He wasn't used to such formality, but stammered out a greeting as best as he knew how.

"I am pleased to meet you, friend Equinus," said Gryf, shaking the horse's hand with a firm grip.

Gryf then bowed to Fillia, took her hand, and kissed it while gracing her with a warm smile. Equinus couldn't help but grin as he saw his sister's dun fur almost turn pink as she blushed madly.

"And it is a pleasure to meet you as well, Fillia," said Gryf as he stood erect once more.

"We need a way to the Tombs, Gryf," said Oracle, stepping forward once more, pulling her rough brown cloak more tightly around her.

Gryf shook his head in amazement.

"First you talk me into helping you mine the road outside a roboticizer facility, and now this. Do you know how much trouble you've caused me? How much trouble you've caused all of us in the Underground?"

Oracle smiled mysteriously.

"You know it will be worth it, Gryf Prong. Besides," and the robes fell open as the looming owl held out a large, irregularly-shaped glowing crystal she had pulled from the depths of her cloak, "power is hard to come by these days. Especially raw power crystals, with all the mining Robotnik does."

With a chuckle the goat accepted the crystal, still shaking his head.

"This will cover the dangers of setting the mines. Now why should I help you get to the Royal Tombs? The entrance to that place is heavily monitored by Robotnik, and the insides . . .," Gryf snorted, "nobody but the royal family has ever been able to get past the chapel just inside the entryway. What could possibly make me want to help you in a suicide mission?"

"What about a chance to breathe surface air again in Mobotropolis, untouched by the taint of smog?" said Oracle, her eyes piercing deep into Gryf's.

"A pretty dream, friend owl," said Gryf, though he didn't seem as unconvinced as he tried to sound. "How do you propose to achieve it in times like these?"

"Have you heard of the Last Legion, Gryf?" whispered the owl, leaning close to the goat.

Equinus didn't know if Gryf had heard of the Last Legion, but he knew he had. He remembered the times, late at night by the fire, as Katz or Rosie would tell them stories about the daring feats of the small band of five who were destined time and again to save Mobius in adventures that would be told and retold through the ages. They were exciting tales, but stories were just stories and Equinus had never really believed the Last Legion to really exist, though he and all the children in Knothole had wanted to be like their imaginary heroes from the tales.

"Yes, I've heard the stories all my life from my mom, before she was caught," said Gryf, tilting his head to one side quizzically. "Why do you ask?"

"What if I told you they were real?"

Gryf smiled again, this time a little cynically.

"Then I'd ask you where they've been for the past few years. We could certainly have used the help."

Oracle's face became sad, but her eyes held a fixed determination, and Equinus, Gryf, and Fillia stared intently at her as she spoke, her voice calm and steady.

"The Last Legion is real, but they have to be called upon in the right way. You know the stories, where some young hero has to go and call the old warriors so they can save the day, usually netting him or herself a charming young companion in the process and enjoying a vast number of the most outlandish adventures? Well, nobody has tried to call them since the Great War. Everybody has been too busy just trying to stay alive."

This sounded reasonable enough to her listeners.

"What I am asking for -- and this is all I am asking for -- is a way past Robotnik's security system. If you can get Equinus and myself to the chapel, we can take care of the rest."

"Wait a moment," said Equinus, "who said I wanted to go to the royal tombs?"

"And why can't I go too?" demanded Fillia, looking hurt.

Oracle closed her eyes and pressed her hand against her forehead as though nursing a headache.

"First things first," she said with some effort. "Gryf, can you do this?"

Gryf scowled and chewed his lower lip.

"It's dangerous," he began.

"We'll take most of the danger," answered Oracle quickly.

"I guess, if I can get a few Undergrounders who are willing to help, that I can arrange a passage to the Tombs. But only on one condition."

"Name it."

Gryf grinned.

"I get to be the first to breathe that clean Mobotropolis air."

* * *

"Surrender," repeated the hoverbot, and Sally could hear the particle cannons all around her humming as they were charged to full power.

Sally's lips pursed as she thought quickly, and then set in a serious frown, her hands rising into the air. She really didn't have any way out this time. None she could see, at any rate. And if she went with the SWATbots, perhaps a chance to escape would afford itself later.

"That is a wise decision, Princess," said a familiar voice that crackled over the hoverbot's intercom. The princess knew the voice of Robotnik, and she hated it with her whole heart and soul. "I shall find many uses for you, I am sure, after your flesh has been made more . . . pliable."

"Keep dreaming, Egg-boy," said Sally in defiance. "The Freedom Fighters will crush you, even if you do have me."

"Not if they lose hope, 'highness,'" said the oily voice of the twisted fiend of the Death Egg. "And they will certainly lose hope without their precious, beloved princess to lead them. Guards, bring her to me. I will enjoy gloating as she is made into my metal slave."

Sally looked to either side as the SWATbots climbed the pile of junk she stood on, the one-handed hoverbot looming close with the laser on his remaining arm trained on her to prevent any treachery. It was just as the first of the SWATbots to start the climb had almost reached the top of the pile that the tide turned once more, and a familiar metal fist shot out from behind a corner in the trash piles, knocking a SWATbot to the ground with a sizable dent in its torso.

"Duck, sugar," yelled Bunnie, and Sally did just that, barely avoiding the blue streak that shot over her head, sending the hoverbot into a wild spin through the air, its comlink smashed, and the topmost SWATbot falling to the ground below, where it sprouted a variety of wires and gears and then lay still.

The two SWATbots still on the ground began to back away from the form of Bunnie Rabbot as she stepped into the light, training their guns on her. But quite abruptly a screwdriver wielded by a long-clawed hand reached out from the shadows behind them and popped the control console open on the back of one SWATbot. When the console was open, the screwdriver made a quick and precise incision to one of the 'bot's wires and the metal man stiffened, his arms shooting out to each side, which jostled its companion, and then its whole upper torso began to spin, which sent the SWATbot next to it flying apart.

Taking in the loss of its companions, the remaining SWATbot decided to finish its original purpose, and started to pull itself over the edge of the heap Sally and Sonic stood on, almost unnoticed by the others. But before it could take aim with its wrist gun, it had to grab onto the side of the pile with both hands as a weight, small but noticeable, grabbed its legs.

"I will not let vous harm my princess," gasped a terrified voice, and the SWATbot looked down to see a scrawny, tailless young fox with his arms wrapped around both of the 'bot's legs.

"Neither will I," said another voice from above, and the SWATbot looked up just in time to see a very young orange fox with two tails heave a fairly large rock with both hands right into the middle of its visor, shattering the plastic.

After a moment of trying to decide upon a proper course of action, the SWATbot settled upon terminal shutdown, and dropped like a stone. Right on top of Antoine.

"Help, my princess!" squawked Antoine from under the tangle of metal, and he continued his plaintive cries until Bunnie finally managed to untangle him from the wreckage.

After the whole crew had cleaned up and gathered together once more, Sally looked around at the Freedom Fighters, and frowned angrily at them all, especially at Sonic.

"I told you to get the others back to Knothole," she said to the blue hedgehog, her voice accusing. "You disobeyed a direct order, endangered their lives, and have certainly made enough noise out here to get us all noticed and roboticized."

"Well, Sal, I, uh . . ." Sonic stammered, trying to explain, but Sally cut him off.

"And you saved my life. Thank you." She turned to look at the Freedom Fighters around her, smiling in gratitude. "Thank you all."

"Piece of cake," said Sonic, his confidence immediately restored. Then he held out his hand to the princess. "Care for a lift?"

"Love one," she said, grinning. Within a moment the Freedom Fighter made a chain and the blue streak at their front sped off towards the Great Forest, faster than any SWATbot could hope to travel.

As the Freedom Fighters passed from sight, an unsteady metal figure stopped its erratic spin and slowly righted itself. A few sparks popping from the damaged console of its bike as well as from its severed arm, the hoverbot slowly made its way back towards the Death Egg, wobbling a little in the air. It had a gloomy report to deliver, and Robotnik would not be pleased.