Chapter 1: Sally Acorn
Wrong baby wrong baby wrong
It ain't the end of the world
Don't you worry pretty girl
Cause now that he's gone baby gone baby gone
You got nothing to lose
Count the minutes if you want to
It won't be long baby long baby long
'Til you find somebody new
We’re not entirely sure what made the doctor go mad, but he is a madman. Born Julian Robotnik on Space Colony DESTA, the capitol of the Overlander nation. Julian’s family was very notable for huge breakthroughs in the Overlander scientific community and there was a lot of pressure on the boy. He was entered into a prestigious Overlander Academy at age of four, with a path to his future laid out before him, with no room for change.
Where Robotnik was gifted mentally, he was cursed physically. He was a heavy-set boy prone to acne and dandruff. At six years old the other students started calling him Egghead Julie. By thirteen “Egghead” was a social outcast. His only source of comfort was in his grandfather.
Doctor Gerald Robotnik, of the ARK incident infamy, was the grandfather of, and seemed to be the sole comfort of young Julian. After leaving them to go to school, Julian had little contact with his parents and spent all of his free time in his grandfather’s lab.
Around the time of Julian’s seventeenth birthday it was discovered that his cousin, also being raised by Dr. Gerald Robotnik, Maria was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Because of the incident on the Ark and Dr. Gerald’s resulting madness it is unclear what Maria’s illness was, but it changed the Robotniks forever. Gerald began working on creating Ultimate Life Forms in an attempt to be able to create immortality for his granddaughter. Julian began working on Robotization.
In the early stages Robotization was a medicine. It was meant to heal. Julian created robotic arms and legs to replace lost limbs, some reports say he was even working on a robotic heart to keep someone alive after death. But Maria died before either experiment was complete.
Gerald went immediately mad. He was locked away and the final results of his “medical” experiments were seen in the Eclipse Cannon Incident just last year. Julian’s madness was more subtle. The day Maria was proclaimed dead he dropped the name Julian and had his name legally changed to Ivo.
Ivo Robotnik was not the same mild man Julian had been. He dropped out of the academy and it took ten years to connect him to the murder of his roommate. Immediately he started calling himself a “doctor” but he had never earned the title. He moved planet side and started up two businesses, Eggman Industries and Robotroplis. He also underwent a huge physical change. Using his Roboization process Ivo was able to surgically replace what he saw as his physical defects. The process dropped him over a hundred pounds, gave him the agility of an Olympian, and more than doubled his height. He had become an entirely new man, and that new man was out for blood.
An aggressive businessman, Dr. Ivo Robotnik, quickly crushed opposition to his businesses. In four years Eggman Industries had a monopoly over all Mobius’s mobile technology. Phones, cars, computers, television, it all came from Eggman Industries. Robotroplis wasn’t far behind. After ten years it had invented the nanobot, a key piece of technology in every home today. Then the doctor vanished. For twenty years he ran his business as a ghost. His signature appeared on all the right lines but no one saw him.
When he returned he declared war on the entire continent of Mobius. He turned his robotization into a weapon. He turned his opposition into mindless robotic slaves. He laid siege for six years crowning his war with the Chaos Incident and the Eclipse Cannon Incident. Now he is on the run, and he needs to be stopped…
…”Why are you all just staring at me?”
“Sally, it’s very informational and … all. But it isn’t going to fly at the Global Summit. The world leaders are going to be watching and they’ve already decided that Eggman was never a threat.” Elias ran his hand through his hair, he always did this when he thought I was being ridiculous.
“What do you mean? I was there! I was on the front lines!”
“Sally, I love you, but don’t let your imagination and bias blind you to the real threat. Chaos was dangerous. The ARK and Project Shadow were dangerous. Dr. Ivo is just an aggressive businessman that they took advantage of. One man couldn’t take over all of Mobius.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. How could my own brother not remember? He was there! I was there! We were both there when he dragged father and mother away from us and took the castle. How could he so dismissively say that Eggman wasn’t a threat? “… I know what I saw Elias.”
“But no one believes you.”
“I will make them believe…” Wait… “You said no one believes me… not us.”
He couldn’t meet my eyes. I had hit the nail on the head. My own brother didn’t believe me. My twin brother thought I was exaggerating the Eggman.
My name is Alicia Acorn. My friends call me Sally. It’s a long story. I guess I’m a princess, but my brother Elias is the heir so most days I don’t feel like much of a Princess. During the war with Dr. Robotnik I was on the front lines and… no. That’s too far back. I guess it’s enough to know I was a fighter in the resistance that restored Mobius to what it was before Dr. Robotnik took over.
The whole war was monitored by the Global Summit. Every nation on the globe is part of the “Global Summit” but unless it is a “global” threat the Summit takes a hands off approach and leaves us to fight for ourselves. They decided at the beginning of the war that Dr. Ivo Robotnik was never as dangerous as Kingdom Acorn claimed. Even when the doctor threatened other nations and took over the entire continent of Mobius. We were exaggerating. No one man could take over a country. No one man could turn other people in to mindless robots.
That was until the Chaos incident. I don’t understand all the details, because the Red Echidnas on Angel Island, (a nation of Mobius.) are our most reluctant allies. Well, except Knuckles. More on that later. Anyway. The doctor somehow got his hands on a malevolent deity from ancient Echidna mythology. Sonic was able to once again defeat Robotnik, but the monster was enough to get the Global Summit to pay some attention to us.
Or at least to Sonic. He’s a global icon now. The hero of Mobius and he won’t let you forget it. The stubborn stuck up... Enough about that. I really couldn’t afford to think about him right then.
Less than a year after the Chaos Incident… notice they’re “incidents” right… anyway… Eggman got ahold of the Eclipse Cannon up on an abandoned Overlander Colony and bravely made a threat against the Earth. Again the madman was stopped by Sonic. As if he needed more fame.
… But the Summit has finally decided it would gather the world leaders so we could decide how to best deal with Dr. Robotnik. Or at least that’s what I thought.
Instead they were tracking him in order to find the “real threat”. They’re more concerned with Chaos and Ultimate Life Forms than they are over Robotnik. They’re stubbornly holding to the fact that the doctor was never as powerful as we claimed. Only his allies are a global threat.
But it got worse than that.
Much much worse.
My dad and brother were starting to believe it too.
He killed my mother. The doctor turned her into a mindless robot slave who helped him take over all of Mobius… and my own brother and father were parroting the global summit and saying he’s no threat.
Elias and I were going to represent Kingdom Acorn at the Summit, but I had no idea what we would do. We couldn’t even agree on what to tell them about Robotnik.
… At least Knuckles was coming with us. He was of course representing Angel Island… or “The Independent Alliance of Red Echidnas on Angel Island.” Since more than Red Echidnas live there now most of us just call it Angel Island.
Either way, Knux was there. He knows just how dangerous Robotnik can be. He won’t forget, even if Elias has.
“Don’t put so much faith in me Sal.” We had the boat mostly to ourselves. The other representatives from Mobius kept mostly to themselves. Even Elias rarely left his room. Knuckles and I would wander the ship and debate politics, but when I told him how relieved I was he still remembered… he got dodgy.
“What is that supposed to mean?” I had to stand on my toes and I still wasn’t eye level with him. I think he’s even taller than Sonic.
He sighed. “Have you ever wondered why the Global Population of Echidnas didn’t rush to Angel Island when Eggman first took it over?”
“The GPE rush to save everything that has to do with Echidna culture. The Echidnas are the oldest population on Earth. You have influence!”
He shrugged “I’m just confused. If we’re so important… why didn’t they come before Chaos?”
He was paranoid. “You’re Paranoid.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time. Besides. Great Hero Sonic’s girlfriend should have some sway with the world.”
Sonic was NOT my boyfriend but all my friends teased me about it. I had known the arrogant blue hedgehog my entire life. He was my best friend, besides Bunnie, but we weren’t in love.
Knuckles and I were able to laugh at it but he wasn’t as paranoid as I had thought. It was probably the first time since we had met that his suspicions were on the right people. The GPE.
The Global Population of Echidnas.
Earth is a strange planet. There are basically two types of sentient people here. The Overlanders aren’t technically living on planet, they live in orbital Space Colonies and Stations. Some say they lived on the planet and went to space some time before the Echidnas evolved but not even their history knows when they went to space or where the original Colonies and Stations were built. Station Square is the only Overlander Nation to actually be on the planet. I have heard to the other Overlanders call the Station Square residents “Humans” but I don’t understand why living on Earth would make you more or less humane.
Opposite to the Overlanders are the Dwellers. I’m a Dweller. To be specific, because we royals are always specific, I come from a long line of Squirrel Dwellers. My mom was a Chipmunk Dweller and some people believe that is why fate let her be taken. Unlike Overlanders where you can fall in love and marry anyone regardless of “species”, Dwellers still don’t like couples outside of “species.” Squirrels marry Squirrels and Chipmunks marry Chipmunks.
It’s getting better in normal society, really, my generation specifically… but most noble adults still though my dad was “radical”. Sometimes I really wish I wasn’t royalty.
I had no idea what I was getting into when the boat docked at the Global Capitol but I held my head and marched onto the landing. Knuckles on my left and Elias on my right.
“Here we are.”
“Just don’t say anything that will make us loose the assistance they’re offering now.” Elias was talking to Knuckles but I had the feeling he meant I should keep my mouth shut.
Knuckles shook his head. “I’ll see you guys at the hotel. I’ve got to go meet with the representative of GPE.”
Boy did I feel like the third wheel.
“Come on Sally. I’m sure Bunnie has your room all ready.”
I had to ask, “Eli… If Chaos and Project Shadow were the real threats… what happened to Bunnie?”
“Sally…”
“What happened to Mom?”
He didn’t answer me. I don’t know which was worse. The fact he didn’t answer or what he said instead. “You don’t have to come tomorrow. I can handle the Summit by myself. You should stay behind. See the capitol. It’s beautiful this time of the year.”
“Eli…”
“I’m going to go check us in at the Hotel. What are you going to do?”
“Well, since you’re not going to talk to me… I guess I’ll go give Sonic a call. I hear he’s been staying in the capitol lately.”
I didn’t really want to go see Sonic. I wanted to go home. As long far back as I could remember Elias and I had never fought. Not like this at least. This wasn’t arguments or shouting or anything noisy siblings get into. This was silent and subversive. For the first time Elias didn’t want to talk to me. He didn’t want me around. And for the first time he wasn’t going to just tell me why.
There I was. A princess. A fighter. A hero. And for the first time ever, I was completely alone.
Cry baby cry baby cry
Go on and let it all out
I ain't leavin' you now
And we can fly baby fly baby fly
Let's share a bottle of wine
We can laugh about the good times
And you'll know why baby why baby why
It's gonna be alright
