Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are a copyright of SEGA
Enterprises INC. and Archie Comics Publications.
	Delphine, Dimitria, Comet, and Metal Knuckles are a copyright of Delphine.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=		You
never know who someone really is....
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
	Looks Can Be Deceiving
	Part 1 of Newfound Alliances
	by Delphine

	Delphine was flying through the air, chasing Metal Knuckles. She was using
her Medallion powers to fly. She focused her energies, and threw a blast
that would've rocked the Floating Island.
	"Take this, slime ball!" Metal Knuckles quickly dodged the blast.
	"Ha! You can't beat me a second time!" Metal Knuckles shot at her. She
dodged it, and fired back with an energy ball. It hit Metal Knuckles
squarely in the chest, and he was temporarily disabled. Delphine caught
him. Then spun around, going faster and faster at each turn.
	"Enjoy the spin cycle, you rotten ball of slime! Don't come again!" She
let go, and he went flying off into the sky, straight down, full force.
Dulcy flew up beside her, and Sally and Sonic were riding her.
	"Good goin', Del!" Sonic gave her a high-five.
	"Well done, Delphine!" Sally said, giving Delphine another high-five.
	"Nice work, De," Dulcy said calmly. Dulcy was a dragon.
	"Well, now that that's taken care of, why don't we try and find out what
he was doing attacking us....again." Delphine said.
	*Good idea.* Delphine looked down. Comet was flying towards them. Comet
knew telepathy, which means she can talk to anyone with her mind, if
they're willing to listen. *But don't you think we should....* "land on the
ground first?" Comet finished out loud.
	"Sure. Comet, take Sally. I don't want her getting hurt if I crash. Which
is very probable." Dulcy said. Sally jumped over to Comet and landed on her
back.
	"What about me?" Sonic asked.
	"Don't worry. If the big, strong Sonic falls down, I'll help you up."
Delphine smirked at him. Everyone laughed, except Sonic.
	"Very funny, Del." Sonic said in a low voice, crossing his arms. Delphine
recognized the voice and wondered what was the matter.
	<he doesn't usually get so bent out of shape over a joke....> Delphine
thought. Then she said "Sorry Sonic. I was just kidding."

	Later that night, Sonic was in his hut, thinking to himself. <I shouldn't
have gotten so bent outa shape about what Del said> he thought. <She was
just kidding, and it nothing to do with what Sal said before....> Sonic
didn't want to think about that. He didn't want to think about it at all.
	Delphine heard a knock on her door. She didn't even take her eyes off of
her book. "Who is it?" She yelled.
	"Sonic." Sonic yelled back. Delphine put her book down and stood up.
	"Come in." Sonic opened the door and Delphine saw the look on Sonic's
face. "Sonic? What it is?"
	"I need to talk to you," he sighed. He knew this would be difficult.
"First, I need to apologize. I didn't mean to get so bent up over a joke.
It's just that...."
	"Sonic, what is it? What's wrong?" Delphine knew that there was definitely
something wrong. This was not the Sonic she knew.
	"Today.... me and Sal.... we.... we had a fight."
	"So? Lovers' quarrels. Everyone has them. Even me and Knuckles...."
Delphine was going out with Knuckles. Sonic just sighed, and Delphine
brushed back her long reddish-blond hair, a trait she has, which she does
when she is nervous. She knew that something was definitely not right.
"Sonic, what is it?" She said quietly.
	"It wasn't just any old fight. It was a big one. We were fighting over-- I
don't remember anymore. But it got to the point were she said something
about me not being good enough and that maybe she should go after someone
else...." He couldn't continue. He sat down across from Delphine and looked
down at the floor. Delphine thought for a few moments. Then she said,
	"Look, from what I can see, she didn't really mean it. She was just mad,
as I suppose you were also. You probably said something too, and you just
don't remember." Delphine said.
	"Really? Ya think that's it?" Sonic looked up hopefully.
	"Sure I do. Now why don't you go find her and patch this up, okay?"
Delphine motioned to the door.
	"You bet I will! Thanks Del, you've helped a lot!" Sonic shouted as he ran
out the door.
	<I usually do,> Delphine thought, closing the door.

	Sally was sitting in a rowboat in the middle of the ring pool. She was
thinking about what she had said. <I shouldn't have lost my cool,> she
thought. <if he thought I actually meant it....> She sniffled back tears.
She didn't want to think about that.
	*what's wrong, princess?* Sally looked up. She saw Comets' sleek white
coat reflecting the moonlight. Comet was flying overhead, about to land in
the rowboat. "What's troubling you?" She asked when she landed.
	"I said something I shouldn't have to Sonic and now....I think he thought
I meant it...." Sally looked away, holding back tears.
	"I don't think.... don't look now, but there he is," Comet whispered.
Sally looked towards the shore. Sure enough, there was Sonic, waiting for
her to come back. "I think I'll leave the two of you alone," Comet said.
She flew off into the night. Sally rowed back to the shore and got out of
the boat. Sonic walked up to her.
	"Sonic, I didn't mean it, I swear! I was just angry and...."
	"You didn't?" Sonic asked, relieved. He had been hoping that Delphine had
been right. Now he knew.
	"You mean.... you thought...." Sally put her head in her hands and started
crying.
	"Whoa! Hey, what's wrong?" Sonic asked, pulling her close.
	"You thought I actually meant it...." Sally sobbed into his chest.
	"Well, I don't anymore." Sonic said. "Hey, it's okay," he said gently.
Sally looked up at him.
	"Are you sure?" Sally asked.
	"Of course I am. Now lets get out of here before Antoine sends a search
party out for you." The two of them walked back to Knothole, hand in hand.

	Miles away from where Knothole lay, Metal Knuckles was readjusting his
systems. Delphine had thrown him hard, but obviously not hard enough. He
was lying down, his face in the dirt. <as soon as I get my hands on that
girl, I'm gonna ....> his thoughts were interrupted when a robotic figure
landed next to him.
	"There you are. Robotnik was wondering what had happened to you. He wants
you back right now, to know how the mission went." It was Metal Sonic. He
had been rebuilt, too.
	"In short, it sucked. That stupid Freedom Fighter Delphine caught up to be
and threw me outa the sky. If only she hadn't caught me off guard...."
	"Yeah, that's what I said the first time that Sonic took me down. But
you'll learn. I've been around longer than you, which makes me better than
you. Now come on. Robotnik has something waiting for us." Metal Sonic said.
Metal Knuckles mumbled something under his breath that no decent writer
would repeat, and followed.

	Sonic and Sally came back to Knothole just in time to see Antoine running
all over the place screaming, "Zee princess ez gone! Zee princess ez gone!"
And Delphine yelling back,
	"Get a life you idiot! She went for a walk!"
	"Chill out Ant', she's right here." Sonic called out. Antoine stopped
running and looked towards Sonic.
	"Zee princess! She ez safe!" Antoine came rushing towards them. He took
Sally's arm and kissed it. "You ez safe! I thought you were gone forever!"
	Sally pulled her arm away. "Of course I'm safe. Now stop screaming and get
to your hut. You probably woke everyone from here to Robotropolis!" Antoine
looked hurt, to Sonic's satisfaction, but walked back to his hut anyway,
head down. Sally looked towards Delphine. "What was he doing, anyway?"
	"He went looking for you, for unknown reasons, and couldn't find you. So
he went berserk." Delphine shook her head in wonder. Just then Bunnie
walked up.
	"What the hoo-ha was Sugah-t'wan yellin' about now? It was enough to wake
the dead--Sally! There you are! I wanted to show you something and couldn't
find you. So I...."
	"Whoa, hold it! Can't we have some peace and quiet for once?!" Sonic said.
He was tired of interruptions. The two of them had some talking to do.
	"What do you mean--oh, I get it. C'mon, Bun. These two want to be
_alone_." Delphine smirked, and Bunnie giggled. The two of them walked off
to talk about girl things.
	"It seems the two of them are on speaking terms again," Sally commented.
	"That probably won't last long. You know how those two are," Sonic
replied. He took her hand, and they went walking off to talk. :)

	Metal Sonic and Knuckles arrived at Robotropolis around the same time
Antoine stopped screaming. When they arrived at the Center Building,
Robotnik started screaming at them. "Where the hell have you been?! I make
robots that are supposed to do whatever I tell them to, and they can't even
be on time! I suppose you have a good explanation for this?!"
	"Actually, we do," Metal Knuckles replied. Metal Sonic looked at him in
awe. <this is one insane 'bot> he thought. "I was attacked by Freedom
Fighter Delphine, and Metal Sonic here couldn't find me because I was on
the ground sucking dirt," Metal Knuckles spit out. Robotnik nodded.
	"I guess that explains a few things. Well, I suppose that I'll let you
off--this time. Follow me. I have something to show you." Robotnik wobbled
off. The two 'bots followed behind.
	"How'd you do that?" Metal Sonic asked. He was surprised that Metal
Knuckles still existed, never mind the fact that Robotnik had calmed down.
	"Simple. I just laid out an appropriate excuse and used a logical explanation."
	"Whoa, heavy man." Metal Knuckles just laughed. When they got to the end
of the long hall, they came upon a large room. In the corner, there was a
large computer. Robotnik stood in front of it, panting.
	"This," he said, "is my master plan."
	"Uh, boss? Not to interrupt, but, what are you talking about?" Metal Sonic
asked.
	"I'm glad you asked that. This computer can successfully regenerate any
living being. As you know, I have done this before. I failed. But this time
will be different. It can also download all the beings' memories on the new
robot's CPU, so that they'll know everything that the subject knew. I shall
not fail again." Robotnik looked at his new creation with pride.
	"As if I haven't heard THAT line before...." Metal Sonic muttered.
	"What was that?" Robotnik asked menacingly.
	"Um....I was talking to Metal Knuckles. I asked 'what would we need wine
for?'" Metal Knuckles was confused, but decided not to say anything.
	"Well, what do you two think?" Robotnik asked.
	"I think that this is the best machine you have ever created. But, how do
we know if it works?" Metal Sonic asked. Metal Knuckles swore at him under
his breath.
	"I don't exactly know," Robotnik admitted. "But, I think we may be able to
test it soon, on a certain Freedom Fighter. What do you think, Metal
Knuckles?"
	"I think that Delphine would act as a good start," Metal Knuckles said,
grinning evilly. 	

	Somewhere in Robotropolis, Sir Charles hedgehog heard the last part of the
conversation on one of his bugs. he didn't know what they were up to, but
he did know that it involved Delphine. He contacted Princess Sally. She
wasn't there. he didn't know it, but she and Sonic were catching up. And I
don't mean talking. Chuck tried to contact Rotor, but he was asleep. Then
he tried Delphine, but she wasn't there. He went through everyone, getting
various results, but all ending in failure. He decided that he would have
to use his last resort.... get to Knothole on his own.

	Delphine finally got back into her hut, after she had almost gotten caught
watching Sonic and Sally.... err.... catching up. She found a message on
her answering machine. "Delphine, it's Chuck. I tried to contact you, but
you were out. I have important news. I'm coming to Knothole personally to
deliver it."
	"What?!" Delphine said loudly. She ran out of her hut, jumped down the
stairs, and took flight.

	Somewhere in the Great Forest, Comet woke up. She wasn't sleeping in
Knothole because she had had a fight with Dulcy, and had decided to avoid
coming in contact with her at all costs, until she calmed down. Using her
mind, she telepathically scanned the area, looking for Delphine. She found
her, rushing away at speeds only Sonic could surpass. *Del, what are you
doing?* she asked using telepathy.
	*going to meet someone* With her new powerlink,(see Knuckles' Birthday)
Delphine could use telepathy with anyone. She was soon out of range of
Comet's limited telepathy powers, so Comet went back to Knothole to find
out where Delphine had been going.

	Delphine soon found Charles walking towards the village. "Chuck! Wait!"
Delphine yelled as she landed.
	"There you are," Charles said in his Robotic voice. "I have important
news." He relayed the plan he had heard in Robotnik's central building.
	"They think they can catch me?! Ha! I'll show them!" Delphine took to the
air again.
	"Delphine! Wait! They will be expecting you! Delphine!
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIT!"

	Delphine arrived in Robotropolis in a half-hour. She entered an air-duct
into the Center Building. As she climbed through the passageways, she
thought about Chuck's last warning. 'They will be expecting you'. How is
that possible? Unless they knew she was coming, there was no way they
could. Maybe he was just trying to keep her from going alone, but it was
too late for that now.
	She found herself outside the room in which the machine was. Inside,
Robotnik was talking.
	"If all goes as planned, their spy, whoever that is, shall tell her about
this plan, and she will come here. Then, you two will find her and bring
her to be." Delphine noticed Metal Sonic squirming uncomfortably at that
little tidbit. She smiled.
	"Then we shall put her into this tube and make an exact copy of her....
memories and all." Robotnik finished. Delphine backed out of the air-duct
and into the hallway.
	<capture me? ha! I'd laugh out loud if I were as stupid as Antoine....>
Her thoughts were interrupted when the two 'bots rushed her and knocked her
down. "SHIT!" she yelled. Using her Medallion, she threw a blast at the two
'bots, but they both dodged. "How the hell did you two find me?!" she
yelled as she delivered a karate kick to Metal Sonic's chest.
	"Oof!" he said as he landed on the ground. Before he could get up and
strike back, Metal Knuckles had grabbed her from behind.
	"Let go of me you tin can!" she screamed, struggling.
	"Not on your life, you stupid little b--"
	"Forget about it, Metal Knuckles. Let's just get our little friend here to
Robotnik so that he can test his precious little machine." Delphine
realized what he was saying.
	"NO!"

	When Charles couldn't get Delphine to come back, he had walked the rest of
the way to Knothole. There he met Sally as she was walking back to her
cabin. he explained everything that was happening. She called a late night
meeting to try and decide what to do.
	"What's the matter, Sally-girl? You.... :yawn: you look pale." Bunnie said
to her when everyone had gathered.
	"Delphine went to Robotropolis by herself." Sally said. Everyone gasped.
Sally quickly retold Charles' story.
	"But why would she go on her own? That doesn't sound like our Delphine."
Sonic said. He was just as worried as the next person.
	*pride, probably* Comet said as she landed. "The question is, is she still
safe?" Comet was still hung up about the way Delphine had been acting.
Sally gasped.
	"You're right! We need to send someone to get her right away!"
	"Well, Sal, ya know who to talk to." Sonic said.
	"Yes. Sonic, you and Bunnie go to Robotropolis to find her and bring her
back. Comet, you come with me. I want to talk to you."
	"Yes, princess" they all said at the same time. Sonic grabbed Bunnie and
ran towards Robotropolis. Comet followed Sally into her hut.

	"Okay, Comet, I need to know if you have any idea why Delphine would go on
her own."
	"I don't know Sal. I tried to ask her, but she just left before I could
really get anything out of her." Comet replied. Sally nodded.
	"I just hope that Sonic and Bunnie find her before it's too late." Comet
agreed.

	"Well, well. Looks like I finally caught you. Now I can test my wonderful
new creation on you." Robotnik told her gleefully.
	"Let me go, you slime ball!" Delphine screamed at him.
	"Now, why would I want to do that? Metal Knuckles, throw her in." Delphine struggled, but he got her in anyway.
	"My friends will never believe it! They'll know it's not the real me!
You've done this before, and it didn't work! LET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"
She screamed. She was starting to become hysterical. Robotnik didn't
answer.
	"Bring in the subject." he said to the 'bots. They brought in a robotic
skeleton that wasn't exactly programmed. Actually, it wasn't programmed.
Actually, it wasn't programmed at all. It kept repeating "Ready for
programming" in it's annoying robotic voice. Delphine watched the 'bots put
it into the adjoining tube.
	"No," she whispered to herself. She forced herself to stay calm. There was
no way that becoming hysterical would help the situation. She watched as
Robotnik hit a button on the control panel. She felt herself being scanned
by the machine. She watched in horror as the robot started turning into an
exact replica of herself. The robot was wearing the same clothes, had the
same copper hair, and even her eyes were the same blue color. The tubes
stopped glowing, and the tube surrounding the robot lifted. The robot
walked out. She turned, and looked first at Delphine, then Robotnik. She
smiled a chilling smile.
	"Ready for your orders."

	As the replicating process was underway, Metal Sonic had snuck out. Now he
was flying towards the Floating Island.

	Knuckles was testing out his new laptop that Sally had given him. He was
making a map of the Floating Island. Before he could finish, though, he
heard a huge explosion. He looked up.
	"What the heck was that?" he said outloud. He turned the laptop off, stuck
it in his backpack, and walked towards the explosion.

	Metal Sonic was the one who had created the explosion. He was waiting for
Knuckles to walk into his trap. He had seen what the machine could do, and
he wanted to do it to Knuckles as well. He heard Knuckles walking up, and
he waited impatiently for Knuckles to be in position.
	<okay, what happened here?> Knuckles thought to himself when he got there.
Suddenly a rustling in the bushes startled him. Metal Sonic rushed him. He
wasn't ready for it, and was thrown against a tree. "AYE!" he screamed. He
looked up in time to see Metal Sonic rush him again. He tried to throw a
punch, but Metal Sonic was too fast, and he was still dizzy from hitting
the tree.
	"Don't even try to defeat me this time, echidna." Metal Sonic raked his
razor sharp hand across Knuckles' chest.
	"AHHHHHH! You're gonna pay for that, spine brain!" Knuckles threw a punch,
but Metal Sonic dodged it. Then Metal Sonic picked Knuckles up. "Put me
down you piece of shit!"
	"No problem." Metal Knuckles threw him at subsonic speed towards a tree.
He was unconscious. "Now _you_ shall pay." Metal Sonic said, and laughed
evilly. Just then the Chaotix showed up and saw Metal Sonic flying away
with the unconscious Knuckles.
	"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

	As soon as Sonic and Bunnie got to Robotropolis, they were attacked by
SWATbots.
	"Geeze, we can't even take two steps without being shot at!" Sonic
exclaimed when they attacked.
	"What do you expect, sugah? We're in the middle of a war, remember."
Bunnie said as she shot at one of the SWATbots. The two of them fought the
'bots, slowly losing the battle. Just as they were about to be annihilated,
the 'bots left.
	"What was that?" Sonic asked no one in particular.
	"I don't know, but for some reason the SWATbots were called off. " Bunnie
answered.
	"Something smells. And I don't just mean the air." Sonic said.
	"Let's just find Delphine and get out of here.

	Before Metal Sonic could get into the Central Building, Knuckles woke up.
	"Wha--huh-- YOU!" Knuckles began struggling against Metal Sonic.
	"Stop, you fool! Do you want both of us to fall?" Metal Sonic screamed at him.
	"I'd rather die than work for you and your stupid fat boss!" Knuckles
screamed at him. He started fighting him, and Metal Sonic couldn't hold the
two of them. They fell towards the building.

	"Hey, I just noticed something. Where's--" Just then, Knuckles and Metal
Sonic fell through the roof, and landed on the floor. They started rolling
around, fighting. "--Metal Sonic," Metal Knuckles finished, muttering.
	"Dirt bag!"
	"Idiot!"
	"Fool!"
	"Tin can!"
	"Loser!" Metal Sonic yelled. Then he threw Knuckles against the wall. he
lay there, not moving.
	"No," Delphine whispered. "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" She started throwing herself
against the glass tube, trying to break it.
	"STOP!" Robotnik ordered. He said it so loudly that it surprised Delphine
enough to make her stop. "You," he said, "are the biggest problem I have,
besides that idiotic hedgehog. I'm going to make sure that you don't get in
my way while this plan goes underway." He pushed another button on the
control panel, and a portion of the side wall went up. Delphine remembered
it from the last time she had been there. It had obviously been rebuilt.
The tube lifted around her, and she jumped down. She started to generate an
energy ball, but Metal Knuckles caught her before she could do anything.
	"Now, now. You wouldn't want to ruin our fun, would you?"
	"Let go of me, you sorry excuse for a tin can!"
	"Now, why would I do that?" Just then Knuckles moaned. Metal Sonic stood
over him, his laser gun leveled at Knuckles.
	"Don't.... move." Metal Sonic said menacingly. Knuckles looked up at him.
	"You little...."
	"DON'T YOU DARE SAY IT!" Metal Sonic screamed at him. He was about to pull
the trigger.
	"DON'T TOUCH HIM!" Delphine screamed at him, struggling to break free.
Knuckles looked up. Metal Sonic's attention was diverted away from
Knuckles.
	"Del?"
	"Knuckles, RUN!" she screamed. Knuckles dived for the door. Metal Sonic
dived for Knuckles. They two banged together. They started fighting on the
floor again.
	"ENOUGH!" Robotnik yelled. Neither stopped fighting. "Snivley, send
twenty SWATbots to the top floor," Robotnik said into his communicator. A
few seconds later, the SWATbots came and broke up the fight, and the held
Knuckles so he couldn't get away. "Well, that was fun, but I've got other
things to do." he pushed yet another button on the control panel. The cage
door opened. "Throw them in," Robotnik ordered. Delphine and Knuckles were
thrown into the cage. He closed the cage door, just as Delphine got up.
	"You're gonna pay for this!" she said, shaking her fist.
	"I highly doubt it. Your robotic replica has already been administered
into a cell in the lower levels." he pushed another button, (there seems to
be a lot of buttons....) and a viewing screen popped up. She saw her
robotic counterpart in a cell, about to be 'rescued' by Sonic and Bunnie.
	"You little piece of...."
	"I wouldn't. If you haven't noticed, your friend there hasn't moved since
I threw the two of you in. I've got all my robot's guns trained on him. So
keep your mouth shut if you want him  to live." As Robotnik was saying
this, Delphine knelt down beside Knuckles.
	"Knuckles, are you okay?" she asked.
	"I don't know." he replied. He didn't want to tell her that he was too
weak to get up.
	She saw the wound that Metal Sonic had given him.
	"Geeze, that's deep," she said softly. She helped Knuckles sit up.
Robotnik hadn't taken their backpacks. She took out a first aid kit. As she
worked, Knuckles explained what happened.
	"So then I was here, and you know the rest," he said as Delphine was
finishing up.
	"It seems that he went straight for you and didn't even bother going after
the emeralds. This was strictly directed towards you, and we don't know
why." Delphine said.
	"We need to find out, though. Oh, by the way, what is Robotnik up to this
time that got you in here?" Knuckles asked. Delphine explained everything
that was going on.
	"Which means that the Freedom Fighters have no idea what's going on,"
Knuckles said.
	"Exactly."

	Just as Delphine was saying 'Exactly', Sonic, Bunnie, and the robotic copy
of Delphine had gotten back to Knothole. Sally saw them and walked up to
them.
	"There you are! I was starting to worry that it was to late. Are you all
right?"
	"I'm fine, Sally. It was close, though. If these two hadn't come along...."
	"Aw, you don't need tah thank us sugah! We're your friends!" Bunnie said.
	"She's right, Del. Ya don't need to thank us. We would've done it no
matter what." Sonic told her. T. F.(the fake) Delphine blushed.
	"Come on, let's go see what Tails and Antoine are up to."

	Rotor was in his workshop when the Chaotix called him on the communicator.
	"Rotor here. What is it, Mighty?"
	"Robotnik has Knuckles," was all he could say.
	"What?! But how?"
	"Metal Sonic knocked him out and took off with him."
	"Stay on. I'll go get the Princess." Rotor left. In a few minutes, he came
back with Sally.
	"He took Knuckles?" she asked.
	"Yeah. We need to come down and get him."
	"Antoine will be up with the hovercraft in  about forty-five minutes.
We'll try to think of something. Don't worry about it."
	"I wish I could do that--Mighty, over and out."
	"Over and out."

	When Sally told T. F. Delphine, she gasped, but not for the same reason
the real Delphine would have. She hadn't known about it, and Robotnik
hadn't told her. Then she remembered that Delphine and Knuckles were going
out. "I'll be right back," she said, with fake concern.

	Comet knew something was up. She saw the fake look of concern on T. F.
Delphine's face, and saw the fake look in her eyes. She didn't know what
was going on, but she was going to find out.

	The Chaotix arrived soon after Comet left for Robotropolis. Hello's were
made, then they got down to business.
	"Do you have a plan yet?" Mighty asked
	"Yes, sort of." She explained the partial plan to him.
	"Sounds pretty good. When do we leave?"
	"Right now." Sally walked towards Robotropolis, with Sonic, Bunnie, Tails,
Antoine, T. F. Delphine, and the Chaotix following.

	Comet got to Robotropolis half an hour later. After following T. F.
Delphine around using her invisibility powers, she had found that she
wasn't worried at all. Now Comet was going to talk to Charles to find out
if anything else had been said that would help her figure out what was
going on.
	"What is it Comet?" Charles asked when she walked in.
	"I need to hear the conversation that went on when Robotnik spoke of
kidnapping Delphine." she replied.
	"Hold on a minute. I'll go get it." He went into the shadows of his
domain, and got out a CD, on which the conversation had been recorded. "You
can't hear much of anything, just the last part," he said  as he stuck in
the CD. But, what nobody knew was, Comet had exceptional hearing. She could
hear a tree rustling miles away. She was confident that she would be able
to hear the part of the conversation that she needed too. Charles turned on
the recorder/player, and the conversation started. To Charles' ear, it was
all just a bunch of murmurs. But, to Comet's ears it was a conversation. A
startling one.
	"I'm glad you asked that. This computer can successfully regenerate any
living being. As you know, I have done this before. I failed. But this time
will be different. It can also download all the beings' memories on the new
robot's CPU, so that they'll know everything that the subject knew. I shall
not fail again." Comet was horrified. She was also glad that it wasn't the
real Delphine, because then they might have had a problem on their hands.
	"Thanks, Chuck. I've got what I need." Comet said.
	"But how? You can't hear anything until...." But Comet was gone.

	Sally and the rest arrived in Robotropolis minutes after Comet left to
tell them what she had heard. They stayed in the shadows, out of sight of
the SWATbots. They came upon the Center Building fifteen minutes later. The
Chaotix looked around in wonder. Besides Espio, none of them had ever been
here. Sonic noticed them looking around.
	"Yeah, just another reason for us to kill Robotnik before he turns this
planet into a toxic waste dump." Sonic muttered.
	"Come on guys, in here," Sally said, pointing to the same air-duct in
which Delphine had entered. They all climbed in.

	When Comet got back to Knothole, she couldn't find anyone. Rotor saw her,
and came out. She saw him, and asked where everyone was. He told her what
had happened.
	"Oh no!" she gasped.
	"What is it?" Rotor asked. Comet explained what she had heard.
	"Oh, dear. What should we do?"
	"You are going to stay here. I'm going to go after them. They couldn't
have gone to far." Rotor nodded, and Comet flew back towards the putrid
city.

	When they got into the building, Sally split them up, having the Chaotix
on their own, and splitting the Freedom Fighters in two teams, with Bunnie,
Tails and Antoine on one team, and Sonic, T. F. Delphine and herself on the
other. They split up, the Chaotix taking the main hall, and the two teams
of Freedom Fighters taking side halls.

	Delphine and Knuckles could here Robotnik and Metal Sonic coming down the
hall, talking.
	"Everything is going according to plan. Now it's time to turn our two
guests into eager minions."
	"Knuckles, what are we gonna do?" Delphine whispered.
	"I don't now. We'll figure something out," he whispered back. After a
moment, he kissed her forehead, then brought the two of them into the
shadows of the cell. Maybe if Robotnik didn't see them....
	"Don't try to hide back there. We know you're in there. There's no way
out." Metal Sonic told them. Neither of them moved.  They weren't about to
give into these freaks. Behind Robotnik were four SWATbots.
	"Ya think that's enough to hold us down?" Knuckles asked.
	"It is for now. We won't be going far." Robotnik smirked. Delphine gasped.
Using his new Powerlink, Knuckles telepathically asked,
	*What is it?*
	*He's going to take us to the Roboticization room!* Delphine answered
back, also using telepathy. Knuckles gasped. Then the robots came in and
held them. They struggled, but were weak from being there so long. The
SWATbots dragged them through the hall, taking them towards the
roboticization room.

	At the same time, all three teams were dumped through three different
hidden holes in the floor, slid down a large slide, and were dropped into a
cage.
	"Okay, what just happened?" Sonic asked as he helped Sally to her feet.
Suddenly the cage was yanked up, and they both fell in a heap. Antoine got
up, and then started running around screaming.
"We ez doomed! We ez doomed!" after a few seconds of that, Sonic caught him
and screamed at him.
	"Will you shut up! We don't need your whining and screaming at the
moment!" Antoine stared at him.
	"You don't have to yell!" he yelled. Sonic threw up his hands. Then he
went to help Sally up again. During all of this they were being pulled
upwards, towards the top room.

	They were there.

	All of them. The Freedom Fighters, the Chaotix, Delphine and Knuckles.
Delphine glared at her fake counterpart.
	"Well, well. It looks like everyone is here. Now, I guess I owe an
explanation. When I captured Delphine, I created a robotic replica of her.
But this time, I downloaded all her memories onto a CPU, so that no one
would know that this robot wasn't the real Delphine." Robotnik told
everyone. Sonic glared at the fake Delphine. She just moved to Robotnik's
side.
	"You idiot's fell for it. Now you get to see your friends working for
Robotnik, against you." Metal Sonic snickered.
	*Now what do we do?* Knuckles asked Delphine.
	*I don't know. But I do know that he's gonna roboticize me first.* She
took out her Medallion and stuck it into Knuckles backpack. *If you get
away, contact Dimitria. She'll know what to do. I don't know what the full
extent of it's powers are, but if Robotnik gets ahold of it, we're all
doomed.* Knuckles looked at her in awe. Even near what seemed to be the
end, she was thinking of everyone else.
	Robotnik ordered the SWATbots to put Delphine in the Roboticization
chamber. She struggled, but they got her in anyway.
	"You're gonna pay for this Robotnik!" Sonic screamed at him.
	"We'll see." Robotnik turned on the Roboticizer.
	"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

To be continued.....
End of Part 1