SALLYQUEST by Daniel J. Drazen "Way! Way for the King!" All at once Sally found herself in the middle of bedlam. She was surrounded by sights, sounds, and smells she'd never known before. "Make way for the King!" She found herself in the middle of a crowd of Mobians jostling her as they moved away from what appeared to be a street. This wasn't so much a street as it was a place where nobody had yet decided to build a ramshackle house. The houses on this street were jammed up against each other so that the crowds in the street were like the buildings behind them. She saw little of the houses themselves, but it seemed to her that they were in the style of houses built on Mobius two thousand years ago, in that society's Middle Ages. "Way! Make way!" Sally looked around, racking her brain, trying to recognize something familiar about this scene, but she could pick up on nothing. She reached down to retrieve Nicole. Not only did she discover that her hand-held computer was missing, but that she was wearing a coarse garment that swathed her from her throat to her ankle. It was dark brown in color and as heavy as two blankets. It also smelled as if it had been worn for several weeks and had never been washed. As for the Mobians milling about her, there was something odd about them and it took Sally a few moments to realize what it was. These Mobians didn't seem to be paying attention to the voice crying out in the street or to the approach of this King, whoever he was. From what she could see, their faces registered neither curiosity nor awe nor adoration nor even anger. Instead Sally saw a profound sadness and a sense of resignation. She still retained a dim memory of standing next to her father on several state occasions, and she remembered seeing crowds of people whose faces showed a genuine affection for their King. These Mobians, however, more closely resembled slaves about to confront their master. "Way for the King! Way for the King!" By simply standing her ground as the others in the crowd melted away from the center of the street, Sally found herself close to the front of the mob. She could now see someone moving down the street. She had expected to see a brightly-dressed herald, but instead saw a knight. He walked the street on foot, a drawn sword in his right hand. He towered over the Mobians in the crowd by about a foot at least. The visor of his helmet was down, and the plate armor and chain mail he wore were a dull black. He carried no shield and bore no heraldic colors or devices. He walked with a steady, measured step. "Way! Way for the King!" Sally could not yet see the King so she again looked at the people about her. They shrank away from the knight as he approached. Sally then looked back up the narrow street and saw several more knights wearing armor and mail identical to that of the first knight, ranked around... "DADDY!" There, in the midst of the the knights, walked a solitary figure. A gold circlet rested on his head, and he wore a blue robe embroidered with the Cosmic Serpent over the heart, a garment that only the King of Mobius was entitled to wear. Yet he walked with head down and shoulders sagging, as if his lot in life were no different from that of the Mobians crowded around him. But this sad King was indeed the very image of Sally's father. Every other consideration was pushed from her mind as she lunged out of the crowd and started toward him. "DADDY!" She could not see the crowd of Mobians behind her, staring and gasping as some woman who was obviously mad dashed from amongst them and ran toward the King. Sally had almost reached the King when one of the knights in the front rank brought up his arm and struck Sally in the face with the back of his metal gauntlet. She dropped to the ground unconscious. * * * "Lie still, now." Sally was lying on a bed that was little more than several blankets wrapped around straw and supported by a wooden frame. A cloth covered her eyes and the top of her head. She reached up to feel it; it was cool and damp. "Where am I?" she asked. "Hush, girl." Sally sat up a little too quickly and felt a sharp pain on the side of her head. She lay back down. "Perhaps now you'll listen. Just lie still." "All right," she said, but she did lift the cloth from over her eye, the one that wasn't painful. She saw that she was inside a small room roughly furnished with a table, two chairs, and with a chest resting on the wooden floor in one corner. The contents of a small iron kettlle simmered over a low fire in the stone hearth. The reddish light of evening streamed in through one of the two windows in the room. It looked, to Sally, like a very poor version of one of the huts back in Knothole. Seated at the table, cutting vegetables, was a female rabbit whose age Sally could not determine. There was something about her face that told Sally she was an adult, probably about 30 years of age. Yet there was also something about her manner, about the way she carried herself as she gathered the vegetables together and added them to the pot, that suggested she had seen trouble beyond her years. It was an unusually uncomfortable expression because it also seemed so familiar, though she couldn't quite place it. Then it occurred to Sally that this rabbit looked the way Sally had felt the first night she and the other children had arrived at Knothole: her father gone, Mobius conquered, a pall of misery descending on everyone and everything. "Did you bring me here?" Sally asked. "I did," the rabbit said sternly without looking up. "Don't ask me why." "Thank you." At that, the rabbit turned on her sharply. "And what's THAT for, then?" she snapped. "You helped me and...and I'm grateful." The rabbit put her knife aside, wiped her paws on her apron, and brought her chair closer to Sally. "Forgive me, girl. It's been a long time since I heard civil words from another soul. A long time since anyone in Castle Mobius has had anything civil to say to their neighbor." "What's your name?" "Lindsey." "I'm Sally." "Well, Sally, you were almost taken away by the King's Guard. If that had happened...." She shook her head quickly. "Never mind. Anyway, I took you inside myself. And I'm past caring what anyone may think." Sally felt that Lindsey was hinting at something, and it was something she didn't want to discuss voluntarily. She knew better than to press the issue. "Now as for you yourself," Lindsey went on, "you'd better not go around saying such nonsense again." "What do you mean, nonsense?" "You ran out into the street, shouting. Bad enough you got it into your head to approach the King. But to claim that he's your Father! Have you quite regained your sense now, girl?" Momentarily, Sally forgot that she was somehow in another time and place. All she knew was that she suddenly felt empty and sad, as she had when as a child she had watched her father being taken away by Robotnik's SWATbots toward an uncertain fate. She rolled over on her side, put her face in her hands, and began to cry. Sally was so caught up in her grief that she was only dimly aware that Lindsey had knelt down on the floor next to Sally's bed. Gently she took Sally by the shoulders, raised her up, and cradled her in her arms. Lindsey began to sway slightly in a rocking motion. Eventually, Sally stopped crying. She then heard Lindsey softly singing a song which was unknown to her. Yet the melody was so simple and Lindsey's voice was so soothing that Sally was immediately calmed by it. A few minutes later, Sally felt Lindsey's grip loosen. "Feel any better now?" Lindsey asked. "Much better, thank you." Lindsey smiled. She looked for a moment as if she wanted to do or say something else as she started to bring her face closer to Sally's. But with a mixture of anger and impatience she let go of Sally and stood. "You might as well have something to eat, then, if it hasn't burned." With that, Lindsey turned her attention to the iron pot in the hearth. Sally was perplexed and hurt by this sudden change in Lindsey's mood, but did not let it show. She slowly sat up. The pain in her head had subsided, though she could feel that the part of her face where the knight had struck her was sore and slightly swollen. Lindsey brought out two wooden bowls and filled them with the stew that was in the pot. She handed one of the bowls to Sally, and Sally thanked her once more. Lindsey shook her head and said nothing. "You sing very beautifully," Sally said, hoping to engage Lindsey in conversation. "Now THERE's a lamp hidden under a bushel," Lindsey said with a trace of disgust. "What do you mean?" "I mean, why should I have been given such an ability when there's no means of doing anything with it?" It sounded to Sally as if this was a question that had occurred to Lindsey a million times. "Are Mobians not allowed to sing?" "You MUST be from a far country!" "You...you might say that." "Well, if you want to play the stranger have it your own way. It's not as if we aren't allowed to sing; we just haven't much to sing about. Not since the King engaged the services of the knights." "Who ARE they? I've never seen anyone like them before." "Then you've lived a blessed life. Some years back Castle Mobius was like any other kingdom, drawing its knights from the lesser nobles of the region. Then one day and without any reason, the knights were simply dismissed, and...and THEY began to appear." "The black knights, you mean?" "Yes. They proved to be taller and stronger than our own, and professed to serve the King as their master and lord. Yet from that day forward they have been more like prison guards and we their prisoners. "It was about that time that they took on an added duty. The King decreed that it was the duty of every man, woman or child to report any violation of the laws of Heaven or Mobius to the knights who daily walk our streets. There had never been such a decree to anyone's recollection, and it's thought that the King's confessor had come up with the idea. Not that anything can be done about it now," she added, sighing. "What do you mean?" "The residents of Castle Mobius took the King's decree to heart, and it was like a poison. Once not so long ago the people of this place were like a family. Now everyone here regards everyone else with a cold suspicion. We denounce each other for acts small and great, whether they happened or not. But enough. After all, it's not as if we live in Knot...." She stopped herself in mid-word. Sally started. "Knothole!? You know about it?" Lindsey eyed her more suspiciously than ever. "Now why is it that someone who's played so ignorant as you up until now should know about Knothole?" "I...I've been there. In another time." Lindsey rose and walked to a nearby window. The sun had set and only a handfull of lights burned in some of the houses. "Never mind," Lindsey said dismissively. "Forget I said anything. Time for bed, anyway." Sally lay back on the bed on which she was seated. "Thank you again, Lindsey. You've been very kind." Lindsey said nothing as she continued to look out the window. Sally settled back down to go to sleep. Yet she did not sleep. She watched as Lindsey stirred the fire so that only a low bed of glowing coals remained. Then in the near-darkness she watched as Lindsey sat at the table, laying her head in her folded arms, as if to go to sleep. It seemed like hours before Sally's stillness and steady breathing had lulled Lindsey into believing that the stranger was indeed sound asleep. She then watched as Lindsey slowly rose, crossed the floor, and slipped out into the night. Sally had been uneasy about Lindsey's talk of mistrust and denunciation among those of Castle Mobius. Now she was certain that Lindsey had left to turn her in to the black knights. She guessed that, as in her own world, the location of Knothole was generally unknown even though others may have known about it. She suddenly felt she'd be better off there than anywhere else. Throwing off the blanket in which she had wrapped herself, she opened the door and looked down the street. Nobody was about. She slipped out into the street and kept to the shadows. From what she knew of the architecture of that time, a walled castle like this one appeared to be had one major entrance at the castle gate. She made her way down the maze of small streets, inching her way toward the castle wall. At length she saw the gate. It stood opposite an empty courtyard from the doorway where she watched. There seemed to be no knights nearby to guard it. She emerged from the shadows and walked stealthily toward the gate. She was in luck. The castle drawbridge appeared to be down. The only thing between her and the outside was the huge portcullis. There was no door she could take, and the criss-crossed timbers were too close together to crawl through the open spaces. She then looked up. She could see what appeared to be a small gap between the top of the portcullis and the masonry of the gate. It was a slight gap and too small for a knight in armour to climb through. Sally took off the garment she was wearing, feeling glad to be rid of it. Then she started to climb up the portcullis. Reaching the top, she slid between the portcullis and the stonework. She then began climbing down the other side. "HALT!" The cry came from one of the black knights, who suddenly stepped into the empty courtyard. He then raised a crossbow and fired in Sally's direction. The bolt struck just inches from Sally's face, splintering the wood of the beam. She could now hear other knights approaching. Instinctively, Sally pushed herself away from the portcullis, turning halfway around in midair. She tucked and rolled as she hit the ground, then began running as she got to her feet. Once away from the castle gate, she plunged into the forest as she heard the knights noisily beginning to raise the portcullis. She now felt that she was back in her element. She had been on nighttime missions against Robotnik without number, and there was nothing she didn't know about moving through the woods in the dark. There was something comforting, reassuring, about being back in the forest. But was it the Great Forest? And WHERE was she exactly? Lindsey had almost said "Knothole," but was it the same Knothole she had left? Or was it all mere coincidence? She moved on into the forest, occasionally pausing to listen to determine if she was being pursued. She only needed to stop twice before realizing that there was no way that even one knight in armour could pursue her without giving himself away. She then turned her attention to her goal. Despite the darkness that surrounded her, Sally somehow felt that this was indeed the Great Forest. She turned to the North, on the assumption that Castle Mobius occupied the spot where Mobitropolis would one day stand. She knew that she could not trust the trees as landmarks. She needed something more permanent. The river. The river that ran past Knothole. Its source was hidden deep in the Great Forest, and Robotnik had never been able to find the sheltered spot where it flowed out into Mobius Bay. If she wanted to find Knothole, that was her best chance. She continued on, pausing to listen not for pursuit, but for the sound of running water. For hours she walked, not sure if she wasn't walking in circles, but determined to keep moving. Finally, just as she felt at the end of her strength, she heard it: the sound of water just beyond a thick undergrowth. After struggling for several minutes, she was through. The moon was full and the night was cloudless, but this deep into the Great Forest the moonlight was scarce at best. Yet even in total darkness Sally would have known the place. For she had managed to reach what would in future years be the pool where Sonic would harvest the power rings he needed to augment his natural speed and to take it to new levels. It was smaller but still recognizable. Sally broke into a broad smile, as if seeing an old friend. She fell to her knees at the edge of the pool, dipped her hand into the pool and drank repeatedly. Then, forgetting her objective and her pain and overcome by fatigue, she dropped to the soft ground and was fast asleep in an instant. * * * "On your feet, water sprite!" Sally squinted. Sunlight hit her face. There were several figures standing around her. Most of them held simple staffs, though at least one held a crossbow. Sally began to get to her feet. She realized that a blanket of some kind had been draped over her. Tired of the discourteous behavior if nothing else, she took her time in folding the blanket. She then handed it to one of the Mobians and began walking in the direction they indicated, toward Knothole. The central cluster of buildings, hidden beneath smoothe mound- like canopies, was not there. The rest of Knothole, however, looked very much like the Knothole she had left behind. She suddenly remembered WHY she had left it, and why she had gone to the Floating Island. It stung her heart, and all thought of being a prisoner vanished as she started scanning the faces of the few Mobians about her, looking for someone familiar no matter how illogical that search might be. Almost all of the Mobians in Knothole who watched Sally being escorted among them wore simple peasant dress. They did not have the defeated, resigned look of the residents of Castle Mobius. But Sally still sensed something missing, something unlike the Knothole she had left behind. "Where are you taking me?" Sally asked. She got no answer. She was taken to the largest hut standing, one with a chimney from which a steady stream of smoke poured. Inside it was one long lodge with a kitchen-like alcove at one end and tables and benches near the door. "We've brought her, ma'am." One of the Mobians at the far end of the hut began walking toward them; she appeared to Sally to be an old woman. As she walked, she wiped her hands on her apron. She then looked up. Sally gasped. "Rosie?" The old woman looked hard at Sally's face. "Leave us," she said to the guards. Without question, they left. "Sit down, child," she said as she pointed to a bench nearby. Sally seated herself, and Rosie sat down next to her. "Do you know why I dismissed the guards?" she asked. Sally shook her head. "There's something about you, child, that tells me I can trust you. It's been a long time since one Mobian could freely trust another. I miss that feeling. Only tell me one thing: how is it that you know my name?" "I...you remind me of someone else named 'Rosie'. Someone I knew at another time in another place." "I believe you," Rosie said after. "Don't ask me why, I just do." "Are you the leader here in Knothole?" "Not by choice, as it turns out. I was only one of the first to come here eleven years ago with a group of youngsters in tow. I felt we just HAD to get away from Castle Mobius. And I'm not the only one; others have joined us, escaping the castle alone or in twos." "But what have they joined you for? Does anyone have a plan to make things right?" Rosie sighed. "We thought so, at first. It seems clear to everyone that the presence of the black knights has made all the difference, and for the worse." "Then why not fight against the Black Knights?" "Because we've learned our lessons well; perhaps too well. If you know anything about us, you know how we feel about harming any living thing." "I know." It was unthinkable for any Mobian to harm anyone or anything living. It was one of the most basic precepts a Mobian ever learned, and it was why she and the other Freedom Fighters had concentrated on fighting against the lifeless bots who served Robotnik and sabotaging his facilities. She could see that asking these people to fight against the knights would be asking them to do the impossible. "So you're basically just hiding here." She tried not to make it sound like a reproach. "Yes," Rosie said softly. "It's all we can do for now." "Rosie!" someone called out. Rosie and Sally looked up and saw someone entering the lodge: a young hedgehog about Sally's age. "I just came off watch and I heard about someone escaping from the castle, and...who's this?" The tone of his voice had shifted to pleasant surprise. "My name's Sally. I'm the one who escaped last night." "Excellent well!" Sally smiled, figuring that this was the equivalent of "Way past cool!" "And what's your name?" "Nicholas. Call me 'Nick'." "Well, Nick and Sally," Rosie said as she stood up, "I'll just see if there's anything left for breakfast for you two." "Thank you," Sally said as she sat back down. Sonic sat across from her. "How did you manage it?" "It was...tight." "Well, I'm sure you'll find a better life here than in Castle Mobius." "Why exactly did you leave?" "I was only five years old at the time, so my memory isn't good. But it was Rosie's doing. I was one of a group of orphans in her charge. Each of us had some connection with the Royal Household; my uncle, Sir Charles, had been a knight in the King's service. Then one day Rosie gathered us together and took us to a part of the castle we'd never seen before, leading us through several long, dark tunnels until we arrived here." "And you haven't been back since?" "That's where you're wrong," he said as he flashed a self- assured smile Sally had seen many times before. "Some of us have learned how to come and go as we please without arousing suspicion." The smile then faded. "That's how we've come to learn about Castle Mobius, and what life there is like now. And we've managed to bring people out now and then, but it's risky." "What IS life there like? I wasn't there very long, but it seems awful." "You've seen the knights?" "We've...met." The swelling of Sally's face from where the knight had struck her had gone down, and her fur did much to hide the bruise. "They move among the people at will, and must be obeyed no matter what. That's not the worst of it, though." Nick turned his attention toward someone at a the far end of the hut. It was a young female rabbit, about their age. She was helping Rosie prepare food by slicing vegetables. She worked deftly, despite the fact that she only used one hand to both hold the food and the knife. Sally wondered why she worked this way when the rabbit finished her work and began to slide off the stool on which she sat. With a start Sally realized that the rabbit's gown was amply disguising the fact that she was missing one arm and both legs. Seating herself on a low cart next to the stool, she placed a short crutch under her arm and used it to begin propelling herself across the floor. "Oh, my gosh!" Sally whispered. "What happened to her?" "Ask her yourself," he said quietly and bitterly. "Maybe she'll tell you, maybe not. From what any of us can tell, someone denounced her sister." "What do you mean, 'denounced'?" "All infractions of laws against Heaven and Mobius are to be reported to the King through the knights. Someone denounced her older sister, for what crime we've never learned. Apparently the king wasn't satisfied with the information he received and demanded more. So he ordered that she appear at the castle to answer questions. When she emerged, she was as you see her." Sally was stunned. Even if the King wasn't her father, had he really ordered that one of his subjects be dismembered? There was NO justification for such an act! Yet she could not bring herself to argue with Nick; what he said seemed to her to be the truth. "But...but if it wasn't SHE who was denounced, why was she tortured? And what became of her sister?" "We know not. Those of us from Castle Mobius believe the system is breaking down, and even the King must know this. Word had gone forth that the King shall grant a boon to whomever comes forward with information against another resident of the castle. It's no longer a question of working toward a greater good anymore; even the King can't stop what's happening. There's no justice in Mobius anymore, only a great beast that devours for devouring's sake." At that point Rosie reappeared with a tray of food and so the topic was mercifully dropped. Later, Nick conducted Sally around Knothole and to Sally it felt good to be home. Yet what he had told her preoccupied her thoughts for the rest of the day and were still troubling her that evening as she stood on the bridge spanning the river, watching the water flow beneath her. "Are you sad?" A voice that sounded familiar but not quite caught her attention. She looked to her left and was startled. The dismembered young rabbit was seated on the bridge next to her. "I'm sorry if I frightened you," she said, adding: "I guess I'm rather frightening to look at, anyway." "It's not that," Sally reassured her. "I just didn't hear you approach. What's your name?" "Bunnie." For a moment, Sally was confused by the lack of Bunnie's characteristic accent. Then she quickly realized that that territory in Mobius wouldn't be settled and inhabited for several hundred years yet. During that time, the necessary linguistic changes would take place to mold that regional accent. "I'm Sally. And I guess I'm just lonely for...for some friends I left behind." "In Castle Mobius?" "No. Somewhere else. Why do you ask?" "I always come here to watch the water when I feel sad." The two sat there for several minutes, not saying anything to each other. Sally eventually became aware that Bunnie had her head down and was quietly crying. She began to reach over toward her. Bunnie sensed Sally's hand drawing near and slapped it away. "Hey!" Bunnie was instantly alarmed and, it seemed to Sally, repentent. "I'm sorry," she said. "It's just that it reminded..." She looked again at the waters flowing beneath them. "It might help to talk about it," Sally suggested. Bunnie said nothing for a minute; Sally waited. "My sister, she...she had secured a position in the court," Bunnie said at last. "She taught music and voice to members of the royal household. She always had the most beautiful voice. Then one day she...she professed to one of her pupils her secret love for that pupil. Word of her profession reached the king and she was banished from the palace." "Her pupil, was he already married or betrothed to another?" "Her pupil...her pupil was not a man." "Oh." "When I was summoned to the palace some time after that I was taken to a small room off the kitchen and told to wait. After being left alone for a few minutes, a page entered carrying a goblet. He set it before me and bade me drink. I did. All suddenly became darkness. "I woke up outside of Castle Mobius on some trash heap, naked and...and as you see me. I had probably been left there to die and I might have had I not been brought here. Now I can't help but wonder if I hadn't brought this upon myself because...." "It was you who denounced your sister, wasn't it?" Bunnie nodded and continued watching the water. "My sister's pupil kept the confession a secret. I could not. I thought I was acting in obedience to the King's command. And now I know not what's become of her. At the time, all I could see was that she had acted contrary to the laws of Heaven. Well, all I can say now is that if Heaven has aught against her, let the account be settled on the Day of Judgment. I only know that she's my sister, and...." She bent her head, placed her one remaining hand over her eyes, and began to cry. Sally put her arms around Bunnie and held her. She also remembered the events of the day before. "Bunnie," she said at length, "I want to help you get your sister Lindsey out of Castle Mobius." * * * It was midday when those who worked in the fields surrounding Castle Mobius set down their tools to take their midday meal and to seek a few hours' shelter from the heat. None of those who were working seemed to notice the two figures who had joined them: Sally and Nick, dressed in simple peasant garb. The pair had slipped out of the forest and were now seated with a small knot of the workers. Sally avoided making eye contact as much as possible for fear of being recognized as the one who had had rushed out of the crowd toward the King the other day. She need not have worried; Nick's attemps at casual conversation were rebuffed by the residents of Castle Mobius, lost in their misery and apathy. It was after several hours more that Sally, more weary than she had ever felt in her life, found herself trudging back through the gate of Castle Mobius next to Nick. Her companion raised one eyebrow as he looked at her. "Not even used to half a day's labor? Maybe you ARE a princess!" he jested. "I don't mind hard work, I just mind doing it knowing that the knights were watching. The sooner we get Lindsey out of here, the better I'll like it." "So where does she live?" It took Sally a moment to get her bearings. "This way." They walked down the streets toward Lindsey's home. They were only a few yards away from her door when they stopped. "Oh my gosh!" Sally whispered. The windows of the house had been smashed in, and what was left of the wooden door lay in pieces inside. Sally looked within the house and saw the furniture overturned and smashed. "What happened?" she asked Nick. "THAT happened," he said, pointing to a dark spot on the doorway, a mark that looked like a figure 8 had been burned into the wood. "It's the King's mark. His knights have confiscated this property." "And Lindsey?" "THEY'LL probably know," he said as he jerked his thumb toward a crowd of Mobians heading toward the castle courtyard. "Let's go." "All right, but let's keep to the back of the crowd." "No argument." They followed the crowd of Mobians walking toward the courtyard of the castle. They appeared to be in no hurry; rather, they seemed as if they were reluctantly fulfilling some required appointment. Nick and Sally tried not to look too eager. They turned a corner and Sally gasped. A wooden platform had been raised in front of the entrance to the castle itself, and a wooden frame had been erected. A rope had been tied to the cross- beam, and hanging from that rope by her wrists with her feet several inches above the platform was Lindsey. She had been stripped to the waist, her head hung down as if she were unconscious, and her back was criss-crossed with marks where she had recently been whipped. "I don't believe this!" Sally whispered. "What kind of...of monster....?" "That kind," Nick replied as the crowd grew silent. The King had stepped onto the platform, a scroll in his hand. He unrolled it and began to read. He stumbled on several words, words which had clearly been written by someone else and which he had not rehearsed. "Bear ye all witness," he intoned, "as to how Our justice is carried out. While she has confessed to her part in the commission of a crime against Heaven...." No, Sally thought. She left to turn ME in! And look what it got her! "...yet the other participant in that crime remains at large. That We may safeguard this castle and its inhabitants from such a vile offender, We renew Our offer that a Royal Boon shall be granted to that citizen of Castle Mobius who identifies...." Sally hurriedly began whispering something to Nick. His eyes widened. "You ARE crazy!" he said in a harsh whisper. "Maybe," she whispered back. "But if the King goes along, just do as I've asked." "You're throwing your life away!" "It will be worth it if I can save hers." "...to any one of my Knights, who...." "HOLD!!" a woman's voice called out from the midst of the crowd. The assembled Mobians began looking around and muttering to one another. The two Knights standing at the front corners of the platform drew their swords. "Who dares interrupt their sovereign?" the King called out, eyes darting back and forth across the crowd. He was clearly unnerved by the interruption. "I claim the King's boon!" The voice seemed to come from a different part of the crowd now. Confusion began to build. "Do you...do you know the identity of the other sinner?" "I do, Sire." Now everyone could see a young girl stepping from the front rank of the crowd and walking up the steps of the platform. Some immediately recognized her as the one who had rushed toward the King once already. The knights stepped toward her. "Keep them back!" Sally ordered. This act shocked everyone present, that a commoner not yet full grown could speak thus in the face of the King! "Stop! Why have you...?" "Why have I stepped forward in broad daylight, instead of cowering in shadows?" Many in the crowd shuffled nervously on their feet or lowered their heads in shame. "Yes." "I came to seek the Royal Boon with but one condition: that you cut her down and let her go free." "And then you will reveal the name of the other?" "I will, before all here." The King leaned toward Sally. "Are you truly mad?" he whispered. "Care you not that others will know of your coming forward?" "Right now, I care only that she be spared any further pain and humiliation." "Cut down the prisoner!" the King called out. The Knights hesitated for a moment. The crowd began to stir. Then, as if they had received a silent signal, one of the knights cut the rope from which Lindsey hung. She fell to the platform in a heap. Wrapping her own head scarf around Lindsey, Sally dragged her to the edge of the crowd, where Nick was waiting to receive her. Yet almost everyone was watching Sally and the King. "Your boon shall be granted. Will you name the other party?" "Yes. It was I." Cries and gasps arose from the crowd. Nick looked on in shock, then began walking to the edge of the courtyard, the unconscious Lindsey in her arms. "You!?" the King exclaimed. Sally said nothing. She simply regarded the King with a look of cold defiance, daring him to make the next move. "What proof have you?" the King asked nervously. "You don't want proof! You only want a means of keeping the people of Castle Mobius in fear!" That was enough for the Knights. They rushed forward and took hold of Sally's arms. The King approached her, a strange look on his face. "Such strength of heart," he whispered, "has not been known inside these walls for a long time. I almost wish that your delusion were true, and that you WERE my daughter." Then to the Knights he simply said, "Take her away." The Knights silently took Sally down a long stone passage, through a heavy oaken door, and down a winding staircase. Sally offered no resistence. Instead, she found herself listening. Listening intently for something, something she was SURE she should be hearing but didn't hear. She then saw that the Knights had led her into a dank, stone room. Two torches flickered and gave the room most of its light; the rest came from a brazier of glowing coals in which several metal instruments rested. Their tips glowed a dull orange. "Greetings." Sally was turned loose by the Knights. She turned to look behind her, at the source of the voice. A figure stepped out of the shadows, a figure dressed in a dark, cowled robe. "Do you know why you are here?" "For your amusement?" "Very good. The tongue truly speaks what is in the heart. And that is what I want from you." Sally didn't wait around to hear anything else. She shoulder- blocked the Knight to her left and began to make a run for it. Just as the first Knight hit the stone floor with a loud crash, the other Knight grabbed Sally and held her in a vice-like grip. "You won't get out of here so easily, my child." "I'm NOT your child!" "All residents of Castle Mobius are my spiritual charges. And you are quite unique, indeed." "Who are you, anyway?" "I am the King's confessor. You may call me Brother Julian." "You're more likely the King's jailer! You're keeping him and all Mobians prisoner with...with these!" She lashed out with her foot at the Knight lying next to her. It clanged deeply and its helmet separated from the body and rolled a few feet away. There was no head inside. "I knew it! There was never anyone inside!" "And how did you guess about my clockwork knights? No other Mobian seems to have figured it out." "That long walk we took to get here. Anyone wearing armour would have been out of breath. Yet I never heard either knight breathing, let alone panting with exhaustion." "Intelligence AND courage. Too bad I can't make the fullest use of you." "As what?" In response, Brother Julian walked to a nearby table on which something lay covered with a sheet. He pulled off the sheet and Sally screamed. There on the table lay an unfinished monstrosity: a headless body. It was a combination of parts of carcases and machinery. The muscle tissue lay exposed, and Brother Julian poured a liquid over the muscle as if he were basting meat. "Too many other alchemists do not know how to set the proper goals for themselves. So many of them are only interested in turning lead into gold. My goal, however, is to rule this kingdom." "How, by replacing the King with...with that?" "Trust me, the resemblance will be much more believable, once I attach the King's head. But you have been brought here because you are the key to making my creation live." Brother Julian made a gesture, and the Knight that held Sally placed her heavily on a nearby table. Holding her down with one hand, the Knight bound her wrists and ankles to the table with stout ropes. "If you think torturing me will make me cooperate, you've got another thing coming!" "I don't need your cooperation," he said as he drew a knife from the brazier, "just your living heart to place inside my creation. The fortitude you have shown is precisely what the King's replacement wil need." Sally's eyes were wide with fright as Brother Julian walked slowly toward her. All at once there was a loud banging sound as the door flew open and struck the wall. Sally and Brother Julian turned to look. It was Nick. "Let her go!" he demanded. "You're in no position to give orders here, boy. Guards!" Two of the Knights started toward Nick. He started backing away, realizing that perhaps he had acted brashly. "Nick!" Sally called out. "The Knights...they're clockwork dolls!" For a second Nick was stunned by the news; then a sly smile spread across his face. The Knights drew closer. Nick wasn't as fast as Sonic, but he was apparently fast enough; he was also at least as tough as Sonic. He ran into each of the Knights, ricochetting off the first to crash into the second, sending each of them to the floor. Brother Julian set the knife down on the table where Sally was bound and lunged at Nick. He missed and himself went crashing to the floor. That was all the opportunity Nick needed: he ran over Brother Julian with as little regard as Sonic would have given a speedbump in Robotropolis. He took up the knife and swiftly cut Sally's ropes. Brother Julian was just starting to bark orders to his Knights as the two of them raced out the door and into the corridor. It was several minutes before they burst out of the castle kitchen and into daylight. "At least those knights aren't as fast as we are!" Nick said as they raced toward the courtyard. The words were barely out of his mouth when he turned a corner and froze. The courtyard was swarming with Knights. "They may not be fast," Sally said dejectedly, "but there are still a lot more of them. Face it, Nick, we're outnumbered." "Maybe, but so are the Knights." The Knights began closing on Nick and Sally, and in that one moment when they began their advance, Sally realized that Nick was right. She saw crowds of residents of Castle Mobius standing off to the side, with that same apathetic look on their faces she had seen before. But that, she told herself, was about to change. Sally ran toward an old he-wolf standing a few feet away, his arms loaded with firewood. She grabbed the two stoutest pieces she could see, as most of the rest cascaded to the ground. Sally was only able to say a quick "Sorry" before rejoining Nick and handing him one of the sticks. The two young Mobians then plunged headlong into the crowd of Knights as the crowd looked on. Though vastly outnumbered, the two had their small stature working for them, as well as Nick's speed and Sally's agility. Several of the Knights fell as they were clubbed, but the others simply began to press in. "We're surrounded!" Sally shouted as she and Nick stood back to back holding off the Knights as best they could. "And nobody can see that they're ro...that they're clockwork Knights!" "We've got to SHOW them, then! Get ready to head for the gate." "When?" "NOW!!" With that, Nick plunged into the mass of Knights, knocking some to the ground himself but simply letting the Knights topple each other over in a kind of domino effect. Sally jumped over the fallen Knights as best she could and then dashed for the portcullis when she was in the clear. As she reached it, she looked back. One of the Mobians was holding aloft the empty helmet of one of the Knights. An audible gasp arose from the crowd as he poured gears and springs from its inside onto the ground. But just as the crowd of Mobians began to comprehend what that meant, their murmurs gave way to screams as a new wave of Knights entered the courtyard from the direction of the Castle. There was pandemonium as Mobians began darting every which way to escape the Knights. Sally turned and saw Nick standing just outside the castle gate. "Sally! Get out!!" Nick yelled. At that moment, Nick dashed down the road leading from the castle just ahead of a wave of arrows being fired in his direction by Knights stationed on the castle's battlements. Before Sally could react, the portcullis was lowered with a crash. Sally wasn't about to give up so easily now, and she began climbing the portcullis to the top. In the daylight it was easier to see what she was doing and the spot she meant to reach. Unfortunately she was just as easily seen by the Knights, some of whom charged the gate. One Knight raised his broadsword and swung it in Sally's direction. She felt the blade strike her right ankle. She didn't stop to think about the pain or the damage. She just kept climbing. Just as she was inching her way over the top of the portcullis she felt arrows striking the wooden beams. She quickly rolled over and fell to the ground on the other side. She winced and cried out from the pain where the Knight's sword had sliced through her ankle. Looking up, she saw Knights armed with bows aiming in her direction; she also knew she couldn't walk, much less run. Just as she heard the telltale hiss of arrows flying toward her, she felt herself swept up off her feet. It was Nick. With Sally in his arms, he ran back down the hill and crashed into the brush. As safe as they were from the Knights in the Great Forest, Nick never slowed his pace until they were in sight of Knothole. * * * "Nothing's changed." Rosie offered this assessment as she bound up Sally's wounded ankle. "Maybe not on the outside, Rosie. But the residents of Castle Mobius now know that the Knights aren't living beings; they're only machines." "Small comfort THAT knowledge is, with them living in a prison." "It wasn't meant to comfort; it was meant to inspire. They needed to know that they could fight back with a clear conscience." "Conscience alone won't do the job," Nick observed as he leaned against the doorway, his arms folded across his chest. "It's still a start, Nick. It's up to us to take the next step." "Right now," Rosie observed, "you'll be taking no steps at all until that ankle heals. Into bed with you. And you, Nick, let her rest." Sally lay back on the simple wooden bed. Rosie made sure her foot was elevated. Then she watched as Rosie and a reluctant Nick left her alone in the room. She was not alone for long, for a few seconds later, the door slowly opened. Lindsey put her head inside. "May I come in?" she asked. Sally nodded. "Are you all right?" she asked. "I feel like a hunchback with this poultice in place," she said as she indicated the visible lump on her back beneath her clothing. "But Rosie swears it will heal the wounds faster. I came here to tell you that Bunnie and I are leaving Knothole." "Leave Knothole? Where will you go?" "We know not yet, but we must leave. Castle Mobius has done us too much evil already." "Lindsey, I was speaking to Bunnie, and...." "I know. My sister confessed her part to me, and I have freely forgiven her. As I pray you will forgive me." With that, she dropped to her knees next to Sally's bed. "I had gone to Castle Mobius to turn you in to the Knights. I had thought that such an action would prove my loyalty to the King and that the Knights wouldn't bother with me as a result. I know now how wrong that was." She appeared to want to say something else, but instead bent her head down on her folded arms on the bed, and began to cry. "I do forgive you, Lindsey," Sally said gently as she placed a hand on Lindsey's elbow. "And as far as I'm concerned, the consequences of your actions are punishment enough." "If there were anything I can do to make amends for your redemption of me...." "Well, you MIGHT want to reconsider leaving Knothole. You and Bunnie may be useful in the war against Ro...against Brother Julian." "What kind of war would have the likes of US in the front rank?" "This is a different kind of war, where the rules of chivalry don't apply. This kind of war is to be won by striking hard and running fast. And we'll strike only against the weapons and property of Brother Julian, not against any living being. It may go against the code of knighthood, but it was used very effectively where I came from. I'll speak with the residents of Knothole about it in the morning." "This doesn't sound like the rules of combat of which I heard at court." "A lot of things will be different, Lindsey. But those who live in Castle Mobius WILL be free." "Thank ye," Lindsey said gratefully. She slowly rose to her feet so as not to aggrevate her wounds, and left. Sally was asleep in a matter of minutes. She awoke to birdsong the next morning, eased herself out of bed, hobbled to the door and opened it. As she began to open it, though, she wondered why the birds had suddenly fallen silent.