MECHA SONIC X: THE DARK SIDE

All SEGA characters copyrighted by SEGA of America, Inc.
Mecha Sonic X, Boing, Aolani and Wildfyre created by C. Gast
Davey Crockett copyrighted by David Gonterman
Phenix copyrighted by Emily Smith
Packbell copyrighted by Dave Pistone

Note: Due to some of the topics covered in this story, it is suggested that readers be of the age of fifteen or older. Thank you.
The rain beat fiercely down in the Great Forest. The black stormy sky dimmed the moons' light, making it hard to see. The wind picked up and blew leaves into Amy Rose's face as she frantically tore through the undergrowth. Her skirt, soaked and clinging to her legs, almost tripped her, and slowed down her flight. Her shirt caught on tree branches and jerked her backwards; her neckline dug painfully into her throat. She pulled against the branches; some broke free and stuck to her; others tore out sections of her clothing. She heard heavy footfalls behind her and began to cry in terror. The tree had cost her valuable time--time she needed to escape.
She began to run again, her tired legs plodding one in front of the other slowly, as if someone had tied lead weights to her ankles. Fear and adrenaline spurred her burning muscles onward. She pitched forward, not looking, into a patch of sawtooth grass. The sharp blades of the bushy grass cut into her arms and legs, leaving itching, stinging slashes that dripped a red trail behind her. Now she was too easy to track!
Her brain burned with shock as she felt fingers grab her arm. Her blood-and rain-slicked skin was too slippery for her pursuer to hold on to; she quickly wrenched her arm free. He fell behind her, slipping in a patch of muddy ground, but not before he seized her ankle. She fell onto her belly and choked and wheezed as she tried to regain the breath that had been knocked out of her. He struggled with her, turning her over onto her back in a pile of wet, stinking leaf-litter.
"Don't worry, Amy. This won't hurt a bit," he leered. His red on black eyes flamed frighteningly; he gave her a cold, evil smile that made an instinctive fear turn her insides into a frozen knot. His wet, blue-grey spines dripped in her face. He held her down with one arm, and slashed off her shirt with razored finger-claws on the other hand.
"Please don't do this!" she begged, tears streaming from her pale blue eyes.
"Shut up!" he growled. He slapped her hard across the face, splitting her lip and causing her nose to bleed.
Mecha Sonic X stopped cold as he realized what he was doing. "What am I--?"
His shocked lament was cut short by a nerve-rending agony that made him double over. His lungs burned like acid had been poured into them; his internal organs felt like they were about to burst. He fell onto Amy Rose, unable to keep his balance. Amy choked and gasped, each little breath of air she could steal a God-send; Mecha Sonic X's five-hundred pound body was nearly crushing the life out of her.
X bellowed in terrible pain; his torture was increasing exponentially. In a vicious spasm he flopped off of her. She coughed and wheezed, trying weakly to get on all fours. Little fireworks began to creep up from the corners of her field of vision until she could barely see. Her head began to spin until she felt so dizzy she vomited.
"...Amy...I'm so s-sorry....p-please...get away from me...." She turned around and looked at Mecha Sonic X. He was shaking violently; his teeth were clenched together and his eyes were tightly shut. He went through another spasm and his limbs flailed wildly. As he returned to his tense fetal ball, Amy noticed his right arm hanging limply, like the spasm had torn the muscles from bone. The rain poured down over him, washing the red, bloody tears from his eyes. He screamed in agony and his echoing cry was accented by a rolling thunder-crash.
Amy stumbled away, but lost her footing and fell backwards; she was caught in mid-air by a pair of gloved hands. She looked up into a near vacuum of a hood. Only a decidedly feminine muzzle protruded from the earth-brown cloak.
"Who.....who are you?" she asked, still shivering from cold and shock. "
I am Aolani," the hooded figure spoke through red, full lips.
"What do you want from me?" Amy queried, fearfully backing away as the cloaked woman let her go.
"You needed help. I came to aid you in your escape." She looked back at Mecha Sonic X, feeling suddenly sad. Had this woman somehow caused Mecha Sonic X's pain? Or was something desperately wrong with him? She felt the warm brown cloak wrap around her. It was scratchy and rough at first, but as she touched it, it began to soften, and became increasingly warmer. It felt almost as if the cloak was trying to comfort and protect her of its own accord.
"What's wrong with him?" Amy asked, looking back once more at the suffering blue-grey orxdroid hedgehog.
"There is nothing I can do for him, Amy. His fate is sealed now." Amy felt herself growing sleepy at a rapid pace.
Aolani picked up the weak pink hedgehog and carried her off into the mist of the rainy forest.

 

 

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Mecha Sonic X was drug roughly through the streets of Knothole by a lynch mob. Davey Crockett and recently adopted nephew Kitsume Twyn Destroyer took him to Knothole's prison area. They threw him into a very specially made cell; it had been designed by Davey as a place to put him if he should ever go bad. Nothing could break out of it; Davey himself made sure of that. Mecha Sonic X's unconscious body dropped onto the steel floor, his right arm bending unnaturally behind his back. The floor was streaked with bright red liquid; it reminded Sally of a butcher's shop.
"Did they find Amy Rose?" Tails asked, fearing the news of his friend's death. Sonic put his hand on Tail's shoulder. He looked down, searching for a delicate way to break the news. Sonic's silence was all Miles Prower needed to hear.....and all he didn't want to hear. Tears began to form in the young fox's eyes. She was gone...and someone who they all thought was her friend, possibly even boyfriend, was responsible. He heard Rotor talking quietly to Bunnie.
"What happened, to her Rotor? Ah didn't hear all the details," Bunnie asked.
"Well, so far they think Mecha Sonic X raped and murdered her, and hid her body," he answered in a near whisper. He knew Tails was listening.
"Oh mah stars and garters!" Bunnie gasped. "But how'd they know he raped her if they couldn't find the body?"
"They found....well...." Rotor couldn't bring himself to say the word. "... evidence."
Tails shot out of room, blinded by tears.

 

 

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Amy's eyes began to flicker open. She was warm, clean and dry, and her face didn't hurt anymore. She tried to get up, but nearly lost her balance; she quickly realized she was in a hammock, made of the same stuff Aolani's cloak was. A little silver box was on her chest; it had silver cord/wire thingys that were taped to her wounds. She felt her face, expecting a swollen puffy disaster, but instead felt smooth skin.
"That box on you is a Medikit. It helps to heal wounds very quickly. You can untape it now; you're all better."
Amy took the little electrodes off and they quickly retracted back into the box. She looked around the room. The walls were smooth and greenish-white; when she touched them, they felt smooth and like a plant in texture. The ceiling gave off a warm glow that lighted the room. There were some chairs and a table, all wooden; a bookshelf with all kinds of weird mechanical objects and a few old tomes; a dresser that had two doors instead of many drawers sat in the corner. Amy noticed she had on different clothes than before. It looked like a bodysuit of some kind; it was jet black with pink trim. A totally white woman wearing a similar outfit was leaning over the table, preparing something. Amy noticed her long white barbed tail--with several multicolored rings around it at the tip.
"Would you like something to eat?" the woman asked.
Amy noticed that her voice had a pleasant, soothing ring to it. She came to the realization that her tummy was empty.
"Yes, please!" she replied enthusiastically.
A red female fur entered the room. Amy recognized her. "Wildfyre?"
"Just one of my friends. I owe you an explanation, Amy Rose," Aolani said. She gave Amy a plate of chili dogs, the staple diet of Mobian hedgehogs. "I'm going to start at the beginning."
"My name is Aolani, and I am of a race known as the M'kannons. I was traveling to a world close to here, to see of it was colonizable, and my ship was hit by a stray asteriod. Since I was in cryo-statis, I did not know my ship had crashed until I woke up. This ship's cryo-timer was still set to the time when I would arrive on the new world, so I did not wake up until fifty years after I had landed--and that was twenty years ago." Amy listened carefully, enthralled. A real alien!
"I had met Robotnik previous to his overthrowing of the King here--when he was still a good man. I had shared some of my technological secrets with him. And apparently he has now decided to use them. That is how Wildfyre and Hunter Alpha came to be. Since no one here is familiar with ORBOT medicine, I am their doctor. I was out looking for my lost metasphere when I came across you and Mecha Sonic X."
Amy nodded. "Its a good thing you did. But if you're an ORBOT Doctor, how come you couldn't help Mecha Sonic X?"
Aolani sighed. "Because I cannot alter the programming he had as a robot before he was changed into an ORBOT. He is fighting with his old programming--and all I can do is stand by and watch."
Amy looked sad, but understood.
"How do the clothes fit?" Aolani asked, changing the subject.
"Perfect. Almost like they were made for me," Amy said, getting out of the hammock carefully. She took her plate over to the table.
"Good--because I made them for you," Aolani smiled.

 

 

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Phenix stood alone in front of Mecha Sonic X's cell. She kept a constant vigil, waiting for him to wake up. By now the bleeding from his eyes and mouth had stopped. The dried blood was beginning to make the place smell of death. She had heard the others talking of his trial like he was already sentenced to die. She would not let that happen. Guilty or not, she would make sure he had a fair trial.
Mecha Sonic X shot up and roared in pain. He flopped onto his back, confused by his surroundings. He managed a thin smile as he saw Phenix. She gripped the bars of his cell wanting desperately to go in there and help him.
"....phenix....kill me, please kill me!" he begged, tears streaming down his face. He lay there shivering and with his good arm, clutched his sides and gritted his teeth.
Davey ran in, hearing X's cries of suffering. "Good, you're awake you bastard," he snarled. He walked over to the cell, a hateful gleam in his red-irised eyes. "I hope you're really being tortured. You deserve it."
Phenix's eyes slitted in inner rage. "David, I want permission to get him cleaned up and get his arm braced," she said coldly.
"No way, Phenix," Davey declared authoritatively.
Phenix grabbed Davey's arm and forced him around. He looked into eyes that changed fiery orange as they burned into his gaze.
"You listen to me, Kintobor. You are not going to treat him any differently than any other prisoner. You can practice your vigilante justice on the battlefield, but in Knothole we do things by the book!" she snarled.
Davey was taken aback by the venom in her words, but stood firm. "What about his strength? Do you think you could stop him if he tried to escape?" he asked with an icy stare.
"I'm PHENIX, Kintobor. I could take ANYONE down!" she snapped, glowing slightly.
Davey grudgingly agreed to let Phenix have custody of Mecha Sonic X, but only to get him fit for trial.
Phenix opened the cell and went to Mecha Sonic X's side. She helped him up; it was difficult because his legs had weakened considerably. "Don't worry, I'll take care of you," she whispered to him.
"..just kill me, beloved....I can't stand....the pain..." he said, his voice a thin raspy whisper. Phenix carried him out of the prison, receiving surprised and cold glances from passers-by. She headed to her hut.

 

 

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Packbell was enjoying this thoroughly. After he had discovered that Mecha Sonic X's old programming still existed, it was a simple operation to re-activate it. And true to form, he had gone after the last target he had been assigned to--Amy Rose. The nanites they had introduced into X's system had brought the old program back up; now Mecha Sonic X was, to his great pain, trying to fight it. Things were going perfectly. With any luck, someone would try to cyberjack to Mecha Sonic to either gain evidence from his memory, or to try to help him; then the nanites would cross over into that person and take control. He had to laugh at the twisted joke he had played on Mecha Sonic. He had given the nanites a small, extra program that should prove amusing when someone stumbled onto it. The nanites had installed a false memory routine in X; anyone trying to read his memory would see a record of Mecha Sonic X brutally raping and murdering Amy Rose! Once the nanites had crossed over to Davey, or hopefully Phenix, Knothole's fate would be sealed!

 

 

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Phenix had a hard time removing the blood-and waste- encrusted clothes from X. She wanted no help however; she knew that he would only feel comfortable nude around her. And even then he still felt horribly embarrassed. True to what the others had found at the crime scene, she detected the slight odor of reproductive liquid on his clothes.....but it seemed to her that he had evacuated every orifice. What could cause him to do that? And how did his arm get injured? Amy Rose was *not* capable of doing such damage. And of all the blood they found, almost all was Mech's. He still shook vehemently, even in warm, soapy water. Phenix examined his right arm. He winced as she touched a swollen, hot lump on his shoulder. *She* winced when her suspicions were confirmed. His muscles *had* torn away from the bone underneath.
"I-I d-didn't t-touch her," he stuttered. "S-something's w- wrong with m-me, Phenix!" She thought about it for a minute; the pulled the cyberjack out of her index finger. She held Mech's hand, looking for the access port... He jerked his hand away.
"No...d-don't...my p-pain...y-you'll feel it t-too!" he warned. She appreciated his concern for her. She helped him up, and got him some towels. He felt somewhat better, but he still hurt badly. At least now he didn't stink. His arm was wrapped and braced, and Phenix gave him his robot fighter uniform. She had snuck it out of DREAMTIME, in case he ever needed a spare set of clothes. Her forethought paid off today. He buttoned up the gray-black, blue-trimmed body suit as best he could, with occasional help from Phenix, and prepared to return to his cell.

 

 

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Boing walked onto the streets of Knothole. He got immediate stares from passersby. He stopped and stared back at them. Maybe this was their way of greeting one another. Sally went to investigate the crowd forming at the end of Knothole. She pressed through the mass of bodies and stopped cold as she saw what everyone was staring at.
"What the heck?..."
Boing noticed the brown mammal female with the small computer in her hands. She seemed to be important to the others. He stepped closer. Sally looked carefully at the weirdly-shaped silvery creature. It had a bulbous head with a goofy-looking overbite that almost encircled it; it had red, triangle shaped eyes; its body became increasingly *smaller* from the head down, and it didn't seem to have a neck at all. Its limbs, which were all exactly alike, were thin and tube-shaped where they connected to the body; at the joints in the middle, they began to flare out until they reached the square shaped base, which had a flexible claw at each point. On its head, chest and forelimbs it had a symbol that looked like a circle with a bar underneath. Where in the universe had this creature come from? And more importantly, what did it want? Boing remembered that some beings shook hands as a greeting. He offered an enormous, putty-like limb to the brown mammal female. Sally cautiously put her hand in the creature's grasp. It shook her hand, almost a little to roughly, and gave her a huge, dopey smile.
"Who are you?" Sally asked slowly, hoping the creature would understand. Boing stopped and scratched his chin thoughtfully. He snapped his claws and closed his eyes.
A vibration filled the air around the crowd and from a seemingly incoherent mass of noises, a word formed. "Boing."
"Is that your name?" Sally asked.
Another vibration. "Yes."
"What are you doing here, Boing?" Sally queried. This would be the moment of truth.
The triangle eyes saddened. "Lost."
Sally stepped forward and took Boing's arm. "Maybe we can help you get home, Boing," she smiled.
Boing returned the gesture with that goofy grin. "Pay for stay," he vibrated.
"What do you mean?" Sally asked, confused. They begin to make their way through the gathered masses.
"You help Boing, Boing help you." Sally understood. He didn't want to freeload. But how could this weird creature help? Sally didn't even know what he was capable of doing.
"Would you like something to eat?" Sally asked. Boing shook his tear-shaped, rubbery head in agreement.

 

 

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Amy Rose stepped outside into the sunshine. She and Wildfyre were in a grassy plain somewhere. A large bee flew up to them. Amy thought it was strange that the bee had gloves, shoes, and a pilot's cap with goggles on his head.
"Hello Wildfyre! Who is this charming young lady hedgehog?" Wildfyre had to smile. Charmy was his usual, charming self.
"Charmy, this is Amy Rose. Amy Rose, this is my friend, Charmy Bee."
"Pleased to meet you," Amy said shyly. "Pleased to meet you, too, Amy," Charmy replied.
"Where are we, Wildfyre?" Amy asked, noting surroundings vastly different from the Great Forest.
"My home, on Floating Island." Amy gasped. How long had she been out?? Well, she had always wanted to see Floating Island!
"Can we visit Knuckles?" Amy asked, excited.
"As a matter of fact, I had to see him today," Wildfyre beamed.
"I'll accompany you!" Charmy offered. With that, they set of for the ruins of Echidnopolis, home of Knuckles the Echidna.

 

 

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Phenix continued her watch over Mecha Sonic X. He had passed out once again and she had laid him down on the mat in the cell. She heard footsteps approaching the holding area and turned her head to see who was coming. She jumped to a defensive posture as Boing poked his head around the corner. He had a fork sticking in his head.
Sally stepped in. "Don't worry about him Phenix, he's harmless," Sally assured. She covered her face with her hand as she noticed Boing's fork and groaned.
"I told you that's *not* what that's for!" she grimaced at Boing. With a cheesy apologetic grin, he removed the fork and handed it to Sally.
"Thank you," Sally said with a 'will-you-knock-it-off' smirk. Boing squinted his eyes as he looked at X. His smile disappeared, and was replaced by a look of serious study. He walked over to the bars of the cell and squeezed through them as if he were made of clay. He squatted next to Mech and his eyes shot two red beams of light that hit Mech's chest. He looked up and down Mech's body, the ruby light following his field of vision, then stood up, and stretched back through the bars.
"Programmed."
"Of course he is programmed; so is Hunter Alpha and Wildfyre," Phenix replied, puzzled. Boing shook his massive rubbery head no.
"Old Program is activated." Sally and Phenix both looked at each other. They simultaneously cupped their hands over their mouths in surprise.
"Do you think that's what--?"
"Who did--?"
"Did he--?" Phenix and Sally continued to exchange fragments of thought until Boing spoke up.
"His fight with the old program is killing him."
That got the girls' attention. "How?" Sally asked.
"He resists, it fights harder. Fight too hard, he dies."
"We've got to get it out of him!" Phenix exclaimed.
"Boing help!" the silver behemoth volunteered. Boing melted into a puddle, then slithered over to Mecha Sonic X, and poured himself down Mech's throat. Sally almost lost her lunch as she saw Mech's chest and stomach bulge and writhe. Within a minute or two, Boing crawled back out and reformed.
"Old Programming is gone." Mech began to stir and he lifted himself up on one arm.
"Am I dead?" he asked weakly.
"Well, at least not yet," Sally said remorsefully. "You're still going to be tried for the rape and murder of Amy Rose."
"But I didn't do it!" Mech said, stunned at her statement. "Maybe not of your own free will. I promise you that will be taken into account."
Phenix couldn't believe what she was hearing! Was Sally really *that* cold?
"But Sally, he says he didn't do it!" she stated incredulously. "We still have to try him, Phenix. Amy Rose is gone and he is the prime suspect. Even if he did it outside of his free will, he's still guilty of the crime," Sally explained. She walked out of the room. Boing put his arm around Phenix, who was still in shock. "Help Phenix," he vibrated softly.
She looked at Mecha Sonic X, who sat up against the wall with his good arm folded around his legs, and his eyes closed. Tears came to her eyes. "Don't worry love. I'll prove your innocence. One way or another."

 

 

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Amy, Wildfyre and Charmy arrived at Knuckles' home.
"How's Espio doing?"
Knuckles sighed. "Not very well. What ever he ate is really working him over. He slept for eighteen hours yesterday, and he has a dangerously high fever." He signalled for them to enter. Inside they found Espio on Knuckles' guest bed, pale and sweating. His eyes were puffy and dark, and he winced with every ache of his stomach.
Much to Wildfyre's surprise, Erik Drocken was there beside him.
"He's been poisoned," the Erik stated.
Amy gasped. Who would do such a thing? She looked at Espio. He reminded her of Cleo, only much older, and he had a horn.
"Do you have a sample of the poison, Erik?" Wildfyre asked. He handed her a piece of fruit. Much to Amy's dismay, Wildfyre ate the fruit!
"What did you do that for?" Amy asked, the concern in her voice ringing like a bell. "Don't worry Amy. I know my body very well. With some concentration, I can create an antidote in my bloodstream," she explained. Amy watched as she sat down in a nearby chair an closed her eyes. Wildfyre's breathing slowed down to the point where it looked as if she wasn't breathing at all. Amy got nervous. What if she couldn't change the poison? What if she were already dead?
Wildfyre opened her eyes. "It's done."
Erik took a nearby syringe and drew some of Wildfyre's blood.
He injected it into Espio. "I hate shots!" he mumbled weakly. Within seconds, his color began to brighten and he fell into a peaceful sleep.
"Give him a couple more days of rest," Erik told Knuckles. "He should be back in the pink, or should I say purple, soon."
Amy beamed. Wildfyre definitely wasn't as bad a Uncle Davey had made her out to be! Espio would be OK!

 

 

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Davey Crockett entered the prison area, where Mecha Sonic, Phenix and Boing sat. Having already met Boing earlier, he paid no attention to the rubbery silver creature. His main focus was directed at the guilty-until-proven-innocent ORXBOT in the holding cell. "It's time."
Mecha Sonic X stoically got up and stood still in front of the cell door. Davey opened the door lead Mech out. Phenix and Boing followed as they headed for the hut where the trial would take place.
Sally presided as judge. Davey presented himself as Prosecutor, and Phenix presented herself as Defense. The jurors, those who had known Mecha Sonic X both before and after his transformation, sat down and prepared to hear the evidence. Sally pounded the gavel, and the room quieted.
"The trial of Knothole vs. Mecha Sonic X begins now. The Prosecution may call the first witness."
"I would like to call Rotor the Walrus," Davey asked. Rotor came forward and took the stand. Twyn D handed him The Sacred Book of Mobius, and Rotor placed his right hand on it. "Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"
"I do."
Sally turned to Rotor. "You may be seated."
Davey stepped up to the stand. "You were one of the first of us to find the crime scene, were you not?" he asked.
"Yes, I was," Rotor replied.
"Can you describe the crime scene for those of us who were not there?"
Rotor sighed, then began. "Well, when we got there, we found Mecha Sonic X there, unconscious and bleeding pretty badly. We found some of Amy Rose's quills and pieces of her clothes, but not her. And there was blood everywhere."
"Did you find anything else besides just blood?" Davey asked happy with the answer he knew was coming.
"We found some, uh, stomach contents...and uh, um..." Rotor stalled, uncomfortable with the term he knew he'd have to use.
"Just spit it out Rotor," Davey said, annoyed.
"We found, um, reproductive fluid," Rotor said, finding a comfortable euphemism. The crowd gasped. Surely Mecha Sonic X was guilty!
"No further questions, your Honor," Davey said, returning to his seat.
"Defense may come forward," Sally said. Phenix came forward, a hard gleam in her eye.
"Rotor, can you tell us just how much of who's blood there was?" she asked.
"Almost all of it was Mecha Sonic X's. We could tell because it had kind of a metallic shine to it."
"Rotor, how many sets of footprints did you find?" Phenix smiled.
"We found Mecha Sonic X's, Amy's, and a third set we couldn't identify." This raised a few eyebrows.
"Rotor, in your opinion, could Amy Rose have injured Mecha Sonic X as much as he had been?" Phenix queried.
"No," Rotor replied firmly. "Isn't it possible that it was the third person there who raped and murdered Amy, especially since Mecha Sonic X was incapacitated when you found him?" Phenix asked forcefully, driving her point home.
"It's possible," Rotor said, rubbing his whiskered chin thoughtfully.
"No further questions, your Honor," Phenix said.
"You may step down, Rotor," Sally replied.
"Prosecution may call the next witness."
Davey looked straight at X with a cold stare.
"Prosecution would like to call Mecha Sonic X to the stand!" Mecha Sonic X was sworn in (as best he could with his arm braced) and took the stand. Davey paced in front of Mecha Sonic.
"Mecha Sonic X, is it true that you were seen chasing Amy Rose during the night in question?"
"It's true," Mech sighed.
"Is it true that you attacked her on that same night?" Davey said, stopping and gripping the stand.
"It's true."
"Is it true, Mecha Sonic X, that on that night you raped Amy Rose, murdered her, and hid her body?" Davey asked, his voice almost a growl.
"No."
"Then where is she?" Davey sneered.
"I don't know. Something made me go after her and when I had her pinned down, I realized what I was doing and I stopped, but as soon as I did I was thrown into the worst pain of my life. I fell onto Amy, and then I got off of her when I heard her gasping for air. I think I made her very dizzy, because she threw up. I told her to get away from me, because I was afraid that I would attack her again, and then I passed out."
A silence followed as everyone stopped to personally scrutinize Mech's story. Davey turned to Sally.
"Your Honor, I would like permission to display the Accused's memory of the night in question, as evidence."
"Permission granted," Sally replied.
Everyone hung on the following moments; this would be the make-or-break point of the trial. Davey cyberjacked himself and Mecha Sonic X to a video monitor. Their eyes glowed red as they began to process the information.
The video monitor began to display the memory loop left by the nanites. Packbell's coup-de-grace was made.
"Please stop!"
"Shut up you little *****!"
<crying>
"There, now that's not so bad, is it?"
"It hurts!"
"Get used to it!"
The entire court was aghast at the vicious, brutal scenes that followed. Some with weak stomachs had to be excused from the court. Mecha Sonic X was the most surprised person there.
"But I didn't....!"
"No further questions!" Davey snarled.
"Has the jury reached a decision?" Sally asked, her hands covering her face in dismay.
Sonic rose from the stands. "We the jury unanimously find the Accused guilty on the count of sexual assault in the first degree. We the jury unanimously find the Accused guilty on the count of sex with a minor. We the jury unanimously find the Accused guilty on the count of murder in the first degree."
Sally pronounced the sentence. "I hereby sentence the Accused to Execution, to be carried out at dusk!"

 

 

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"So you've got to take that little metal thingie to someone in Knothole?" Amy asked as they walked throught the Great Forest that afternoon.
"That's what direction it's pointing to," Wildfyre answered, looking at the glowing arrow that worked like a compass on the outside of the sphere. Amy thought how good it would be to get home. She bet everyone was worried sick about her. She felt a little bad that she had not asked to go home sooner, but she had had so much fun today! And she loved her new clothes; Wildfyre said she could keep them.
*I wonder how Mecha Sonic X is doing,* Amy thought to herself.

 

 

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Phenix pressed herself against the cell bars, trying to hold her beloved as best she could. Mech wiped the tears from her eyes. "I can't believe this is happening!" she sobbed.
"I don't understand it!" Mech said sadly. "I don't remember any of that!"
"I know. I believe you," she cried. Mecha Sonic X took something out of one of his pockets, and slipped it on Phenix's finger. She looked at it; it was one of Mech's metallic spines, made into a ring.
"I had hoped to give this to you on our wedding day," he said, wiping away a tear-drop, "but it looks like that day will never come now."
Phenix held it close to her heart, treasuring it like it held the very essence of Mecha Sonic X's life within its band. Twyn D walked in, carrying a black hood and a rope. Phenix looked out the window, her heart breaking as realized dusk had already come. *No! It's too soon!* her fevered brain grieved.
"I love you, Phenix, and I always will." Mecha Sonic X was bound and his head covered in a black hood. He was lead to the gallows in the center of Knothole. All the Freedom Fighters had gathered to watch his fitting punishment carried out. Phenix stood in the front with Boing, wanting to perish right along with Mech; to breathe her last as he breathed his. Since no normal rope could properly hang him, steel cord had to be used, and only Davey and Twyn D could fashion it into a functional noose. His neck was placed in the noose.
"Any last words, murderer?" Davey asked coldly.
"I hope Knothole will be forgiven for executing an innocent."

 

 

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Amy and Wildfyre wondered why there was such a crowd in Knothole. That's when Amy noticed the gallows.
"Oh my God, they're hanging somebody!" she exclaimed.
"Yes, and the person they're hanging is the one the sphere is pointing to!" Wildfyre replied.
"I hope this isn't because....." Amy stopped, coming to a sad conclusion. "Oh please don't let them be hanging Mecha Sonic X! They probably think he killed me or something! We've got to stop them!" The two hit top speed for the center of Knothole.

 

 

*****************************************************

The death drums continued to roll....then stopped, their sudden silence cutting throught Phenix like a knife. The trap door under Mecha Sonic X opened.
He jerked and gasped a few times, and went limp. Phenix buried herself in Boing's "chest" and tried to cry her life out of existence. He was dead.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING??" the silent crowd heard from behind them.
"IT'S *AMY ROSE*!" Someone gasped.
The crowd began to mumur frantically. What had they done? She was alive! Amy and Wildfyre quickly made their way to front.
"Oh my God, we've killed an innocent man," Davey gasped. Wildfyre raised her Dark Blade to the sky; Out of nowhere a bolt of lightning struck the gallows, dropping X's body to the earth bellow. As if to join in the sudden sorrow of all around, a hard cold rain began to pour out of the rapidly blackening sky. Phenix, Amy, Boing, Wildfyre and Davey drug Mech's body out from under the gallows and into the street as everyone else took shelter from the downpour.
"I don't understand," Davey said, in a state of shock and disbelief. "His own memory pointed to his guilt."
"Feed-Back Loop," Boing vibrated.
"What??" Davey asked. "I found a strange program in Mecha Sonic X's mind. At the time I had no idea if it was safe to remove, so I left it--," Boing vibrated.
"They could have left that memory in his body," Wildfyre thought aloud.
"But who would want to do that?" Amy asked.
"I don't know," Wildfyre answered sadly.

 

 

***************************************************

The rain continued to come down as they took Mecha Sonic X's body to the stone table outside of Knothole where funeral pyres were started. They wouldn't be able to do it tonight, but as soon as the rain let up, they would. Davey, Boing and Amy left for Knothole; her return would be celebrated, but the festivities would be tainted with the guilt and grief of all.
Wildfyre stayed to comfort Phenix and to mourn Mecha Sonic X as well. He had saved her life once--and he was as close to her as a brother. She had only one hope for him now...
She set the silver sphere on Mecha Sonic X as she turned to comfort Phenix. Of its own accord, the sphere rolled into the hollow of Mech's throat and began to disolve, unnoticed by his mourners. A silver coloration began to extend from his throat and up over his face....
"I wish I could have died with him," Phenix lamented, as the hand of her beloved changed silver under her touch.
"Remember, Phenix: All things happen for a Purpose," Wildfyre said, watching X...
"..out of...the..ashes....."
The two women's eyes expanded to several time normal size as they slowly turned to look at Mecha Sonic X's face. Two blade-like wings exploded from Mech's back as he lay on the table, catching the moons-light and making rainbow shimmers dance across them.
"I'm glad you didn't light my fire yet," Mecha Sonic X grinned at the two stunned females, "cause I'm not quite dead."
Phenix leapt into Mech's open arms (right one now perfectly healed!) and began to cry tears of joy. "Remember the Arena?" he said softly. "You gave me quite a scare....now it's my turn. We're even now, so let's not die anymore, OK?" he teased.
Phenix laughed, her head dizzy with joy and relief.
"Do you still have that ring?" Mech asked. "Yes, I wouldn't *dare* loose it!" she said, taking it off for him to see. He took it from her hand, and set her on the table. He then proceeded to get down on one knee.
"Phenix Mechhog, will you marry me?"
Phenix blinked back her tears, a little stunned. "Yes. YES. YESYESYESYESYES!!!" she exploded with emotion. They held each other close, drinking in the warm feeling that enveloped them.
Wildfyre got an idea. "Phenix, do you mind if I give you your wedding present a little early?"
Phenix shook her head no. She was still too happy to speak.
"Step back for a sec, Mech," Wildfyre said, drawing the Dark Blade. Wildfyre held up the Blade and fired a rainbow-hued ball of fiery energy at Phenix. It smashed into her and she was enveloped in magical flames.
"CHAOS ORB OF LIFE!"
The fire vanished and Phenix stood before them ORXBOT.
"Surprise," Wildfyre smiled. "You should have no problems having children now. And I KNOW you will."
Mecha Sonic X picked up Phenix and cradled her in his arms. "Shall we head back to Knothole?"
Phenix laughed. "They'll probably hang you again for making them wallow in guilt this long!" Mech expanded his silver wing/blades and shot off towards Knothole.
Wildfyre was left to her thoughts. She sheathed her Dark Blade and smiled.
"Well, Mecha Sonic X has passed through his nexus successfully. I just hope I can pass through mine."
Dark clouds formed on the horizon and thunder boomed in the distance, and a lone hooded figure set off into the pouring rain.


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