Underground X (*Straight Sonadow*)

Sonica's Story and The Search Begins

How long has it been? How long since I left? Well, I wouldn't really say I left there. It was more like I got teleported away.
My siblings and I were on a mission, we had to destroy a new base off the coast of the Mobian Sea. I was a little nervous. After all, I do really hate water, which I guess is why they chose to build it so close to the ocean. My sister was driving while my brother banged his drumsticks on the dash of our van. I was in the back, trying not to have a panic attack. Throughout the drive, one of them would try to cheer me up, saying things like, "We're only going to the base, not the water," or "We'll be right there with you." That did make me feel a little better, but I still had this really bad feeling in my gut. A feeling that had nothing to do with my fear of water, but a feeling that this was going to end up bigger than just destroying a base.
Boy, was I right.
It took a few hours of bumpy roads, swatbot patrols, and getting lost whenever my brother decided to drive, but we finally made it to the base. The place was huge. It looked to be 5 stories high and about 30 times the width of our van. The two top floors of the building had windows circling the entire thing. Some of them looked like they were glowing. There wasn't much security around. Only a few patrols walking around the perimeter, and not even in large groups. There was one bot guarding each of the entrances. One was a large metal door that probably weighed more than the building. It was pure black with huge chains keeping it from opening. It must have just been decoration of some sort though. The other was a small garage door with a passcode lock on it with a swatbot next to it, guarding against intruders. That was our way in.
It took ten minutes to get to the door (with no swatbots noticing us, I might add.) The guard was easy enough to get rid of; one laser blast and it was gone. It took barely any time to hack into the building. Not even two minutes and we were in. Easy. A little too easy for my comfort.
The inside was less spectacular than the outside. Outside, it was big and dark, but inside, it was kind of plain. There was a huge hallway in front of us with boring tan walls and a 'ROBOTNIK RULES' poster occasionally posted along it. (Probably someone trying to kiss up to the big boss man.) Not all the lights were working, so you'd have to walk through a dark area every few feet. For a new top secret base, it wasn't kept very well. The smell of the sea floated in the air, as though a constant reminder of where we were. 'Thanks for that Buttnik.' Every once in a while, we would find a room as we walked down the hall. Most were locked and the few that weren't were completely empty.
The farther in we went, the more I thought of how easily we got in, of the giant metal door that was impossible to open, and the bad feeling that was growing inside me. I looked over at my siblings to see if they had any of the suspicions I did. They didn't.
After what felt like hours, we came across a large door at the end of the hallway. There had been no turns, no forks in the hall, nothing. Just a straight path to this door. I never knew that through that door would be what changed my life forever. That would lead me to new places and new friends. That would take me away from the life I knew into a whole new life. The life of Sonica the Hedgehog.

Freedom HQ was buzzing. Everyone was talking. Ever since Manic had transmitted the conversation between Eggman and Sleet, the entire mood had been lifted ten times as high.
The happiest of them all was Sonia and Manic, who were gathered around the table of their plan room with all their friends.
"I can't believe it!" Sonia was pacing the floor; she just couldn't sit down.
"I know! I'm so happy for you, Sonia," Mindy, Sonia's best friend, was watching the ecstatic hedgehog from her seat. She had found Sonia as soon as she heard the news. She had been so depressed after she had come home from that mission so long ago. It took all of Mindy's know-how to bring her back. Pedicures, shopping, hair appointments, everything they used to do before Sonia learned about her mother. Now she was here to share the joy with her BFF.
Trevor was sitting between Manic and Cyrus across the table. "Looks like your readings were right, Cyrus. Do you think you'll be able to pin-point where she was sent?" Trevor had known Sonica since she had joined the Freedom Fighters as a kid. He had tried to help out more when she had gone missing, but he knew it was nothing compared to Sonica. Sonica was one of their top fighters, even when she was starting out. She destroyed factories in under five minutes, broke force fields, even stopped transit trucks, all without being identified. There was no way anyone could replace her in any way.
The lion gazed over to his friend. "I'm not sure." He looked slightly defeated. "Even if I can track her, I'll only be able to get the general area."
"Don't worry 'bout it, Cy." Manic placed a hand on his shoulder, grinning from ear to ear. "Even if you can't find her, we know she's alive! We'll just go out and find her!"
"In that case," He got up and walked over to the monitor, preparing for a long night's work. "I better help you guys any way I can!"

By the time he was done, he was ready to pass out. He had spent the entire night analyzing and sorting data. His eyelids were drooping so much they were almost completely closed, but he was smiling.
It was a success! He had figured out were Sonica was! Or the general area at least.
His friends came in first thing in the morning, so at least he wouldn't fall asleep before they got there.
"Whoa! Cyrus!" Manic ran up, very worried. "You look like some kind of zombie!"
Said 'zombie' gave a small chuckle at the hedgehog's reaction. "I'm fine, Manic." He trudged over to the monitor. "Better than fine, actually. Look."
They all looked at the image he was indicating. A huge smile overcame each of them. "You did it!"
Cyrus's own smile broadened. "Yep. Although, it might be hard to get to her, if I read the results right."
Sonia was bursting with enthusiasm. "Because that will stop us. Where is that, anyway? I don't recognize it from any maps."
"That's the thing." He didn't take his eyes off the screen. "The area hasn't been charted. Not even Robotnik had explored it!"
"Are you serious? I'd think that ol' Buttnik would want to expand his land more. Why wouldn't he send out some robots or something?"
The half-asleep lion shrugged. "I don't know, Manic. But I do know that that man Sleet and Dingo were talking to is from that area. That's the only way he would know about Sonica, anyway."
Trevor had started gazing at the data along with Cyrus, a serious look on his face. "Do you think this will be enough to find her?"
Cyrus nodded, slowly because of his drowsiness. "It has to. This is all I could get."
Sonia, seeing Cyrus's exhaustion, put a hand on his shoulder. "You look beat, Cyrus. Go get some rest." She gave her brother a meaningful look. "We'll head over there and find Sonica." With that, she and Manic started heading toward the door.
"Wait."
The two did a 180 to look back at the lion. "What is it, Cy?"
"We don't know anything about this place. It could be a lot more dangerous than Robotropolis. You should go talk to-"
Sonia held up her hand to silence him. "Way ahead of you. Now go get some z's before you pass out."
Cyrus gave a nod of both gratitude and drowsiness and went back to take a well-deserved nap. A ten-hour nap, maybe, but a nap was still a nap.
"Good luck, Hedgehogs."
"Thanks, Trevor." Suddenly the princess found her shoes very interesting. "Do you think she's all right?"
Manic put an arm around his sister. "'Course she is, sis. Why are you worrying so much?"
"It's like Cyrus said; we don't know what's out there. What if she got hurt or... or?"
"Sonia." The pink hedgehog grew quiet at her brother's voice. "Sonica knows how to take care of herself. Plus, by now, she's probably gotten used to the dangers up there. She's just fine."
Sonia sniffed and smiled up at her brother, obviously appreciative of the pep talk. But Manic wasn't sure if he was just talking to his sister, or to himself as well. To tell the truth, he was just as worried as Sonia. He knew Sonica could handle herself out there. She could do just about anything with a smirk on her face and a whole barrage of insults and smart remarks in her corner. Still... against unknown enemies in unknown terrain... even Sonica must have her limits.
Well, it didn't matter now. They were going to go rescue her, no matter what dangers awaited them. So they went off to the one person on Mobius who could tell them anything about the new land that their sister had been trapped in.... the Oracle of Delphius.