Reflections of the Past 
Part 1


        Our mouths fell open as we saw them.  The rest of the gang had 
just arrived and saw Sonic and the others.  Everybody ran over to them.
I stayed behind and growled.  Selena stood next to me.  "Who are they?"
she asked.
	"The four original Freedom Fighters.  Princess Sally Acorn, 
Rotor Walrus, Antoine D'Coolette, and Sonic T. Hedgehog," I said. They 
had all looked the same as the last time I saw them when we split up.
	Sonic ran over to us.  "Tails!  Long time, no see, little bro!"
	"Yeah, but not long enough!" I said under my breath.
	"Say that again.  I didn't hear ya the first time," Sonic said.
	"Yeah! Good to see you back, Sonic!" I said, trying to cover up
what I really said.
	Mighty walked over to the cage where the clones were kept and 
had his gun in hand.  A few of them called him names, but Mighty just 
told them to shut-up before he shot them all to hell.  Aunt Sally gave 
Knuckles a big hug and I could tell that Knuckles blushed a little.  I 
walked out of the party and decided to take a look around the palace. 
The sound of my sneakers hitting the metal floor echoed.  I found a 
little place to myself and curled up.  I soon fell asleep.
        Weeks past and we locked up the clones in a cell for safe
keeping. We dismantled all the SwatBots and found that the robotocized 
furries got back their free will.  Just like in the other worlds.  
Everything was turning out like it had on other worlds.  A few 
differences here and there, but it's pretty much the same.  We might 
not have Snively locked away, but we have Robotropolis, or Mobotropolis
as we now called it.  The thing that bothered me the most, was that I 
couldn't find Blade's body.  I saw him fall, but never heard him hit 
bottom.  I'm beginning to think he could have gotten away, but how?  I 
walked by a room that had its door open a little.  I looked in and 
there was the Princess talking to Knuckles.  It was the room that Aunt
Sally took over as her new room.  
	"...I'm really sorry, Knuckles, but you weren't there when 
Rotor gave us the Void Openers.  We had no choice!  We thought you were
dead," Aunt Sally said.
	Knuckles said nothing and leaned against the wall. 
	"I'm glad to see you alive and that you didn't give up on us.  
You formed a whole new group of Freedom Fighters and found them a new 
home," said Sally.
	"Yeah, but a few people weren't happy about it," Knuckles said.
	"Would you be if you were taken away from the Floating Island?"
Sally asked.
	"....No,"
	Sally walked up to Knuckles and kissed him.  "I'm still proud 
of you, Knuckles," she said and walked out.
	I ducked down behind some pipes before Aunt Sally walked out.  
Knuckles came out a few seconds later.  I stood up and walked down the 
hall.  I came to a giant steal door that had a lock on it and a sign. 
The sign said: Warning! Private. Do not enter.  "Hmm....I've never seen
this here before," I said. I looked at the lock.  It was computerized. 
"Gee... This must have been something Robotnik didn't want anybody to 
mess with."
	Luckily I had my backpack with me.  I hadn't found a room yet
and always had it with me.  I got out a screwdriver and opened up the 
lock panel.  Wires were everywhere.  Tiny red and green lights flashed 
in the darkness.  I took out a flashlight and put the wires under the 
light.  There was a small locking chip at the bottom of the panel.  I 
grabbed it and pulled it out.  There was a light hissing noise as the 
door slid open.  "Well that wasn't so hard!" I said and walked in.  
Lights switched on and a giant computer screen turned on.  I looked in
amazement as my eyes fell upon a big glass tank.  
	"Good-afternoon,-Dr.-Robotnik," a mechanical voice said.
I jumped a little and turned around.  It was the computer.  It talked.
	"Umm... Who are you?" I asked the computer.
	"I-am-Alisha-and-who-are-you?" it asked.
	"M..My name is Tails," I said, stuttering.
	"Hello,-Tails," Alisha said.
	"Hello to you too.  Can you tell me what this room is?" I asked
the computer.
	"You-are-in-Dr.-Robotnik's-private-office," Alisha said.
	I looked over at the tank.  "What's that for?" I asked.
	"That-is the-roboticizer-made-specially-for-the-one-called-
Sonic-The- Hedgehog."
	I raised an eyebrow.  "Really?  Wow!  No wonder Robotnik had 
this room locked up." I said.
	"Where-is-Dr.-Robotnik?" Alisha asked.
	"Huh?  Oh, he's gone."
	"Gone-where?"
	"He left Mobius.  We got rid of him."
	"Then-I-am-free?"
	"Yes.  You're a slave?" I asked.
	"Yes.  I-was-Dr.-Robotnik's-personal-computer.  I-control-the-
main-roboticizer-and-most-of-Robotropolis."
	"Wow!  Um.. We now call this place Mobotropolis now.  Not 
Robotropolis." I walked over to a desk and sat in the big chair that 
was behind it.  I looked on the wall and a dart board with Sonic's 
picture was on it.  I opened a drawer in the desk and saw spare robot 
parts and darts.  Papers were scattered on the desk.  "Alisha, can you 
tell me if Snively was ever here?" I asked.
	"I-don't-know-a-Snively," Alisha said.
	"Good. Then that means he doesn't know about this place."
	I heard whistling and footsteps coming down the hallway.  
Before I could act, Rotor walked in.  
	"Whoa!  What's this place?" he asked.
	"Hi, Rotor!" I said.
	"Tails?  How'd you get in here?"
	"I broke in," I said.
	"Now don't tell me you became a thief these past years," Rotor said.
	I laughed.  "No!  I just happened to find myself here.  Oh!  
	Rotor, I'd like you to meet Alisha!" I said pointing to the 
computer.	
	Rotor got a puzzled look on his face.  "So you talk to 
computers too, huh?" he said.
	"No.  My-name-is-Alisha," the computer said.
	Rotor jumped.  "Whoa!  Just like Sally's computer, Nicole!"
	I nodded.  "She controls the roboticizers and most of 
Mobotropolis," I said.
	"She isn't going to give us any trouble, is she?  'Cause if she
will, I'll have to shut her down," Rotor said.
	"I-won't,-now-that-I-am-free-from-Dr.-Robotnik's control,"  
Alisha said.
	"Cool!  Hey!  Maybe we can find a way to reverse the 
roboticization process and return everyone back to normal!" Rotor said.
	"That-is-impossible.  I-was-not-programed-for-deroboticization,"
Alisha said.
	Rotor sighed.  "Oh, man!" he said.
	There was a knock on the side of the wall and Bunnie Rabbot 
stood in the doorway.  "The Princess wants ya all in the conference 
room.  She's having a big meeting," she said.
	"Thanks, Bunnie.  We'll be there in a minute," Rotor said.
	Bunnie turned and left.  "We'll have to work on this later. 
Right now, we have to go to that meeting," I said.
	I grabbed Rotor.  "We'll be back, Alisha," I called back to her
as Rotor and I left.
        We were soon in a big room with a giant conference table and a 
bunch of chairs around it.  Sally sat at one end of the table and 
Knuckles sat at the other end with the Chotix Team and Selena.  I took 
a chair next to Julie-Su and Dulcy.  It was scary to see Dulcy 
robotocized, but I tried not to worry about it too much.  Sonic sat by 
Rotor and Antoine.  
	"Okay!  We're here to clean up a few things about Mobotropolis,"
Aunt Sally said.  
	Everyone was quiet.  They all sat watching Princess Sally with 
open ears.  "I hope all of you has found a place to stay at.  I know a 
few of you haven't and will those people please raise their paws so we 
can see who they are?" 
	I raised my paw in the air and a few other people did to.  I'm 
not even sure if I want to stay here.  I thought about my friends the other world I've been
to for a while. I was just beginning to get used to it.  "Okay!  Good!
Now, I also know that a few of you, such as Knuckles and the Chaotix 
Team, will be staying on the Floating Island," Aunt sally said.
The meeting went on for hours.  When it was done, we all had a big 
celebration and a cook out.  I tried to stay away as much as I could.  
There was dancing and music.  Chili dogs cooking on the grill and 
people having a good time. The smell of the chili dogs made me drool.  
I took a few before I walked off to go see how Alisha was doing.  I saw
Knuckles walking with Mighty.  They were talking about Sonic.  
	"So now that Sonic's back, what are you going to do?" Mighty 
asked Knuckles.
	Knuckles shrugged.  "As long as that Hedgehog stays away from 
me, we won't get his mouth beaten in!"
	"Have you thought much about what Robotnik said about Sonic?" 
asked Mighty.
	"Not really.  I would like to know what he meant by Sonic 
making him who he was, but I guess the only person that would know
would be Sonic himself.  I wouldn't be surprised if that Hedgehog was 
up to something like that, though."
	"Robotnik told Knuckles that!?" I asked myself.	"Doesn't look 
like I'll be able to keep my peace about what happened seven years ago 
much longer."
	I was shocked that Sonic made a deal with Robotnik.  The 
freedom of five Freedom Fighters for the exchange of five Chaos 
Emeralds.  How could Sonic do such a thing?  What would people do if 
they knew  Sonic was a traitor and caused the destruction of Knothole?  It scared 
me.  I knew too much. I ran to Dr. Robotnik's ex-private room.  I sat 
at the desk.  I had piled up all the papers that were lying around and
put them in folders.  You never know when they might be handy.  I 
looked through the main files on Alisha's hard drive for any notes 
Robotnik might have made.  I found a few.  He wrote some things about 
what his plans were to get rid of us and the other Freedom Fighters.  
	I found one about that deal Robotnik made with Sonic.  It 
talked about what happened and Robtonik's plans to destroy Knothole.  I
put the file someplace private.  I didn't want Rotor, or anyone else 
finding it.  I loaded a few new programs of my own into Alisha.  A 
couple of games and stuff.  I added more memory and space into the hard
drive.  
	Rotor helped me with a little of the stuff I did.  The place 
was big enough that we decided to turn it into our own work shop.  
Rotor was impressed with some of the things I built in my own lab back 
on Tails Island.  Rotor asked if I still had my Chaos Emerald I was 
given before we split up.  I told him yes, but I had it locked away 
someplace.  Rotor had his and he put it on a stand with a glass dome 
covering it.  It was a purple Emerald.  It glowed with energy and I 
could feel it.  Archimedies showed up for a while and I couldn't resist
showing off my new powers to Rotor.   
	He was a little scared at I could open portals with a thought 
and the other things I could do.  Archimedies was proud at the fact 
that I mastered them. Rotor and I told each other our stories of the 
other worlds we visited and how different they were from this one.  I 
had a fun time.  Soon it was after 3:00 at night and I finally said I 
was tired and went to sleep.  Rotor snuck off to his room.

        The next morning, I woke up to an alarm I had set on Alisha's 
desk top.  I walked out of the room and bumped into Knuckles.  "Oh!  
Sorry about that, Tails!" he said.
	"No problem, Knuckles.  I guess I should watch where I'm 
going," I said.
	Knuckles looked at me.  "What?" I asked him.
	"Tails, have you...Nevermind!  You're Sonic's best friend.  I 
shouldn't be asking you this," he said.
	I stopped him.  "Things have changed, Knuckles, and you know 
that.  Just tell me.  I won't tell Sonic," I said.
	He studied me for a second.  "Okay.  Well, have you ever 
thought Sonic might have been in with Robotnik?" he asked.
	"You mean like working for him, or something?"
	"Yeah!  Umm... When Mighty, Charmy and I saved Selana, he said
that Sonic made him who I was.  Do you know what he might have meant?"
	I grabbed Knuckles and dragged him into the work shop.  "Yes! 
I do! Knuckles, there's something I have to tell that no one else can 
know!" I said.
	Knuckles was surprised, but kept his cool.  "So tell me then!"
he said.
	"Two days before Knothole came to its end, I spotted Sonic 
running off to Robotropolis.  I followed him to Robotnik's throne room.
I hid in an air vent and watched them.  Sonic had made a deal with 
Robotnik that he had to spare Sonic and four of his friends' lives for 
the exchange of five Choas Emeralds.  Sonic made the deal and betrayed 
us all.  He was the one that gave Robotnik the Emeralds he needed to 
power up his laser weapons and the Death Egg!  He also gave Robotnik 
the location of Knothole!  That's how that all happened seven years 
ago!" I said, almost in tears.
	Knuckles was shocked.  I knew he would be.  He pounded his fist
on the desk.
	"I knew that blue rodent was no good!  But why do you still 
hang out with him?" 
	"I don't!!  When I saw that, I stayed away from Sonic as much
as I could. Just like I've been doing these past days!" I said.
	Knuckles nodded.  "We need to tell the Princess!" he said and 
started to run out the door.
	I stopped him.  "We can't! It'll hurt her!  You know she has a 
thing for Sonic!" I said.
	"Like you said before, Tails.  Things have changed.  She told
me two nights ago that she could barely stand Sonic.  They had a big 
fight about the Chaos Emeralds and Sally couldn't believe Sonic's 
hunger for power."
	"There's a story that I know about that too, but now is not the
time to tell it.  Let's go get Aunt Sally!" I said and we ran out.
        
        We got to the throne room and Aunt Sally sat in Robotnik's 
metal chair.  Her Choas Emerald was in a glass dome, like Rotor's was.
Antoine stood guard and he stopped us.  "And where do you think you two
are going?" he asked.
	"Cut the crap, Antoine!  Before I shove that toupee up your 
ass!" Knuckles said raising a fist to his face.  
	Antoine's eyes widened and he stepped aside.  We ran up to 
Sally.  "Knuckles! Tails!  What's up, guys?" she asked.
	"Princess, there's something Tails an' I need to tell you about
Sonic," Knuckles said.
	Knuckles noticed Antoine listening in.  "Alone, please!" 
Knuckles shouted at Antoine.
	Antoine jumped up and ran out of the room.  "So what is it you 
want to tell me?" Aunt Sally asked.
	"Sonic's a traitor!  He was responsible for what happened to 
Knothole!" Knuckles said.
	Sally looked at Knuckles funny.  "Sonic, a traitor?  Sure he's 
got an attitude, but he wouldn't do that."
	"Yes he would, Aunt Sally," I said.
	"Do you have proof that he did that?"
	"I was there when Sonic made the deal with Robotnik.  He traded
five of our Chaos Emeralds to Robotnik to save you, Rotor, me, and 
Antoine's lives.  I know it's hard to believe, Aunt Sally.  I can 
hardly believe it myself, but it's true!"
	"Robotnik had told me this before Snively sent him through that
portal," Knuckles said.
	"You have to believe us, Princess!"
	Sally called Antoine in.  "Antoine, get Bunnie in here and find
Sonic.  I want you to keep an eye on him and tell me everything he 
does!"
	Antoine bowed and ran out.  "Hey!  Who made him your personal
guard anyway?" I asked.
	"He was the only one that wasn't doing anything at the time," 
Aunt Sally said.
	"Hopefully it will only be temporary," Knuckles said. Bunnie 
came running in.  "What's the big idea bothering me when I'm getting 
myself oiled, sugah?" she asked.
	"Sorry, Bunny.  But I have some interesting news about Sonic 
that might be a little hard to chew," the Princess said.
	"Huney, I don't eat anymore, remember?  I'm now a full pledged
robot here!" Bunnie said.
	"I know.  Now I want you to find everyone, except Sonic, and
tell them that I'm having an emergency meeting, now!" Sally said.
Bunnie nodded and ran out.  
	"So what do you want us to do, Aunt Sally?" I asked.
	"Since you guys are the only ones around here that know about 
this, I want you to keep your mouths shut until the meeting and watch 
your backs."


        Later, we all sat around the throne room.  People were asking 
each other if they knew what was going on.  I kept my mouth shut, like
Aunt Sally told me to.  Everyone was there except Sonic.  I walked over
to Sally.  "You know, Sonic is going to notice that everyone is gone," 
I said.
	"Lets just hope he doesn't for a while,"  she said.
	Everyone got quiet as Princess Sally stood up.  "I know you're 
all wondering why I called an emergency meeting.  I have some shocking 
news for you all.  It also explains why our world turned out the way it
did.  Tails, Knuckles, will you guys please explain what happened seven
years ago?"
	People began to talk and Sally quieted them.  Knuckles and I 
told our story and many people gasped.  "I know it's hard to believe, 
but would I lie to you guys about something that Sonic did?  I was 
there.  I even have a note written by Robotnik himself saying this!"
	Just then, the door to the throne room opened and Sonic walked
in.  "That's a lie!!" he yelled.
	"Get him!" Sally yelled.
	Everyone jumped up and pinned Sonic to ground. "Get the hell 
off me!!" Sonic yelled.
	Sally walked over and looked at Sonic.  "Sonic Hedgehog, you 
are to be put on trial for the destruction of Knothole and the murder 
of more than half of the Freedom Fighters and Mobians!"

TO BE CONTINUED