When in Rome

 

Synopsis: Sonic becomes frustrated that all of their efforts to fight for freedom seem futile. Sonia suggests that they go to the Oracle of Delphius, their spiritual guide, to put everything into perspective. The Oracle makes a deal with the Hedgehogs, stating that if they can complete this next mission, he will reveal their future. Instead upon arrival in the ancient city, they discover their power medallions are missing and they are powerless. Sonic, Manic and Sonia must use their natural powers to save this civilization from the evil ruler and they learn that by relying on faith in themselves, they can overcome obstacles and achieve their goals. The rulers also can't stand the sounds of music and the hedgehogs' voices, but they are silenced not as frequently as in the original episode.

           

            ‘Well, you know what they say.  Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither was Syracuse.’—Moe Howard to Larry and Curly, common catchall phrase that Moe used fairly frequently in quite a few of The Three Stooges episodes  

 

 

Chapter 1—Going Nowhere Fast

            In a dismal compound surrounded by surveillance LEDs, the sky was eerie and domineering.    Looming against red-orange sky, the bilious factory belched black smoke into the horizon, making it even darker than it was before. Omnidirectionally, the lights searched in a 360 degree scan as the all-too-familiar drone of a SWATbot could be heard. 

            ‘Security breach in the southwestern quadrant.  Security breach in the southwestern quadrant.’, the overseer SWATBot announced.    In a lightning flash, Sonic carried his siblings on his hips as he sped past a battalion of SWATBots.   He maneuvered and dodged expertly so the laser fire between the bots hit the other SWATBot guards and a massive amount of SWATBots were destroyed.    To think that they were horribly outnumbered suggested Sonic was miraculous in just how untouchable he was made for another exhausting but easily accomplished mission.

            ‘That’s three missions now that we’ve returned empty. We’re going nowhere fast !’, Sonic kvetched.   His head was pounding and to keep the headache at bay, Sonic had a compress filled with ice lying atop his head.    

            ‘We’ve done a fantastic job, though, Sonic !’, Sonia said, trying to add some levity to the situation.    Clearly, Sonic wasn’t having any of it and was getting very irritated.

            ‘Have we really though ?   Is Buttnick still in charge ?  Are we ever gonna find mom ?’, Sonic questioned, posing some sticky and tough questions for them all to ruminate upon.

            ‘Yes, yes and…maybe ?’, Manic said, feeling a bit shaken up by Sonic’s query.    It had been some time that they had considered if they were really gaining any momentum on finding their parents or not.    The odds seemed insurmountable to them.   The Resistance was still growing, and they were gaining further patriots to the Freedom Fighter movement.   Sonia rested her hand on Sonic’s shoulder to reassure him.

            ‘I know where we can go to get some answers.’, she said.

            ‘Well ?’, Sonic questioned, curiously.

            ‘How about a visit to the oracle ?’, Sonia retorted.    Just like that, they started their quest toward the north to the Oracle’s snow-driven cave, secluded to all except the trio.

 

Chapter 2—The Oracle Sends the Triplets Through a Portal

'Well, hello there, young hedgehogs !', the Oracles of Delphius said.    The trio had to regain their footing.  After traveling diagonally through a crystalline waterfall into the Oracle’s dining room, the triplets had a spot of vertigo.

            ‘Woo, man.  I’m never gonna get the hang of that.’, Manic said, shaking his head back and forth, becoming grounded again.   The triplets regained their balance and were invited into the Oracle’s study.   From the mouth of the cavern, which was surrounded by all manner of crystals from amethyst to zoisite, there was no shortage of gorgeous shiny objects for Sonia to admire and gawk at.   

            ‘I see you come seeking answers once more.’, the Oracle said, as if he had been expecting their arrival.   He and his wife Sybille had prepared hors du erves for the peckish hedgehogs as soon as they had arrived.  

            ‘Yes, and how close we are to finding our parents.’, Sonia said, getting a little teary-eyed.   Manic held his sister a bit in a side hug to comfort her.          

            ‘To find which you seek, I’m sending you someplace all answers will become clearer.’, the Oracle said, as he waved his hand, and the portal sucked them in.   As they were being taken in by the power of the whirlwind beyond, their medallions fell into Sybille’s hand.  

            ‘I do hope they make it out of this situation alright.  This is the first time they’ve been powerless.’, Sybille mentioned.

            ‘Sonic still possesses super speed, and they have each other, so they’re not exactly vulnerable.’, the Oracle said as the portal was sealed.  

 

 

Chapter 3—Not in Robotropolis Anymore

            As the triplets gained their bearings, they noted no trace of Robotnick, but Sleet was grand high emperor of this Roman version of Robotropolis.  There were centurion SWATbots and Dingo rushing about on a cyberpunk chariot.   Sonia nearly got mowed down by Dingo’s reckless driving.   Provoking Dingo’s ire, she was taken away after she had found she couldn’t simply send him away using her whirlwind attack.    Not long after she was thrown in prison her siblings join her.

            ‘I tried outrunning and outmaneuvering, but I still ended up here.’, Sonic said, disappointed.    The others commiserated with him but just then, Manic had a brilliant idea.

            ‘If this is just an alternate Robotropolis, maybe they’ll hate music as much as they do back home !’, Manic surmised.  

            ‘By Jove, that’s genius !’, Sonia agreed, impersonating Sherlock as best she could.   Inspired, the trio began to sing:

 

Where there’s a will there’s a way

Wherever there’s a will we can find a way

Together we’ll overcome it, when come what may

Take away our medallions take anything you want

But Sonic Underground, we can’t be stopped

Well it took a long time for us to find each other

Ain’t nothin’ gonna beat this sister and her brothers

Whoa... whoa... yeah

Where there’s a will there’s a way, oh...

Where there’s a will there’s a way, come on

Where there’s a will there’s a way

Where there’s a will

There’s a way

 

 

This prompted the guards to spring them out of their iron bar motel and into the royal palace.   Here they met Caesar Sleetus and Senator Dingus.   Dingus couldn’t help ogling Sonia, but she could care less about that dunderhead’s leering gaze.   

‘Talk about déjà vu’, Manic whispered to his sister.

            ‘Hey, where’s Sonic ?!’, Sonia realized, seeing that her brother was nowhere to be seen or found.

            ‘Oh, I put him in the labyrinth.  Figured he could use a bit of exercise.’, Sleet said, sardonically.   Sonia severely wanted to punch Sleet in the jaw but held her temper back.  

            ‘You two, though.  You can be useful.  You, green hedgehog.  You’re my juggler.  And you, fuchsia one, are my servant.’, he said.    Just then, another subjugated hedgehog stepped in looking very downtrodden, but the two learned that this was Lydia, the daughter of the rightful Emperor, Augustus.   When they weren’t bowing to Sleetus’ every beck and call (to avoid being subject to his wrath), she told them her father was locked away in a tower as the kingdom was usurped.     Sonia knew that once Augustus was reinstated as the rightful Caesar, the people would rally behind him.    It would take work, but they would stick together as a team, or at least until Sonic could be reunited with them to break Augustus out of confinement. 

 

Chapter 4—In the Labyrinth

           

            Meanwhile, Sonic was stuck in a massively confusing maze until he met the minotaur.   This minotaur had an axe to grind (more like a sledgehammer) and was looking to bludgeon Sonic into a puddle of blue goo.    Sonic wasn’t even phased by the minotaur’s intimidating nature or how tall and broad his shoulders were. 

            ‘Ew, I bet that breath of yours really hurts your chances with the honeys, huh ?’, Sonic said, making a face of disgust at the minotaur’s halitosis.    Self-conscious and insecure, the minotaur decided to hear Sonic out rather than bludgeoning him.

            ‘So you want better luck with the honeys, huh ?  Stick with me, bud, because when it comes to chill, I’m a slice of ice.’, Sonic said, charismatically.    In a picosecond, the blue future prince of Mobius had charmed one of Romeatropolis’ most fearsome monsters.   It was luck, too, because in his training, Sonic made an everlasting ally and he would use that toward his advantage and that of his siblings.   In all due time, he and his family would restore Romatropolis to its former glory before Sleetus’ bronze-clad rule.

 

Chapter 5—Facing Down the Lions

           

            It was another day of serving Caesar Sleetus in his opulent mansion when Manic accidentally bumped into Sonia.   This incurred Sleetus’ wrath, which ended in them being thrown to the lions.   Sonia happened to find a spear just lying about in the gladiator pit next to a gladiator that wasn’t so lucky.    Manic started to pick the locks as quickly as he could and Sonia held the snarling lions at bay. 

            ‘Could you pick a little faster ?  I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up !’, she said, a hint of fear in her tone. 

            ‘Maybe I’ve lost my touch.’, Manic said until the gears ‘clanked’ and the door was open.   Suddenly, a minotaur burst into the arena and rescued them.  Without missing a beat, the three got on the minotaur’s back, went back to the palace, fetched Lydia and she went into the high tower with the triplets.

            Sleetus had forgotten she knew the secret code to open Augustus’ holding cell.   Entering the code quickly, she freed her dad and all 5 of them returned to the arena, triumphant.   

 

 

Chapter 6—Hear Your TRUE Emperor

            Sleetus was beside himself.   Dingus also was at a loss as to how to proceed.   Nothing he or centurions could do could stop these three heroes, and it was irksome.  They were only three hedgehogs and they had bested the two at every chance they had.  

            The spectators in the arena were disappointed that no hedgehogs had died today but were pleased to see Augustus back, especially with Lydia at his side.   Since Sleetus’ rule, they had formed a collective amnesia about their true emperor.   The minotaur, now popular and more confident, bolstered the people in welcoming their original leader back to his rightful place.

            ‘Also, Lydia will come to reign someday, when she is of age.’, Augustus said, with a wink.

            ‘Only if Sonic will become Caesar.’, Lydia stated, blushing a deep purple.

            ‘Sorry, Lyds but my heart belongs to Amy back in my own timeline.   I hope that doesn’t hurt you.’, Sonic said, honestly. 

            ‘No, candor is the way of a true leader.   Not only that but heart as well, and you three possess it in spades.’, Lydia said.   With that, she bid her friends goodbye and had Sleetus and Dingus taken to court later to be tried to see what their fates would be.    Most likely, they would receive a fate that the trio had earlier, but Augustus was a bit more forgiving and probably would have them perform menial tasks and community service as a reminder for all those they had wronged.  

 

Epilogue

 

            The minotaur had actually been magically placed by the Oracle to assist the hedgehogs in their journey.   Suddenly, it transformed and took the shape of the Oracle.   Swirling, whirling, twirling, it became a vortex, and swept them back into their own version of Robotropolis.

            ‘You did all this without your powers !’, he said, impressed.   Not that there had been any doubt coming from prophesied royalty.

            ‘Think what you can do with your powers.’, Sybille added, gently hugging the three of them.   The oracle then gave them a snow globe of the future to remind them what they had been fighting for.   They could shake it and see the future lights brightly glimmering as a symbol of the Freedom Fighter’s brigade and movement.   One day, they would be successful, but for now, they had to continue having faith, heart, humor and togetherness to see the struggle through.

 

To Be Continued…