Optimus and his allies had gotten back from the cave. Tails quickly shut off the Ground Bridge the instant he saw the team. He was surprised at Bokkun’s presence, but quickly changed gears to see Sonic in his metallic state. He had to check. “S…Sonic?” he asked tentatively. Sonic smiled.
“Hey, buddy!” greeted Sonic as he ruffled the little fox’s hair. There was a robotic undertone, but the voice was unmistakable.
“So, the Faker lets himself get roboticized!” Shadow quipped.
“I didn’t let myself do anything!” protested Sonic. “That was Megatron who did that!”
“Yep, easily annoyed, he’s back,” chuckled Shadow.
“Oh, bite me, Faker!” snapped Sonic.
“He remembers us!” called Bumblebee.
“Sonic,” quizzed Rouge, “when did you get that?” She pointed to a symbol on his chest. It looked like the Eggman symbol inside the outline of the Decepticon symbol.
“Er, I don’t know,” replied Sonic.
“Sonic, it’s been our darkest hour without you,” remarked Optimus. “But, know this, your heart was never anything less than that of a hero!”
“Thanks, Prime,” bid Sonic.
“We have a Deroboticizer with your name on it,” reported Tails. “And, Bokkun? Thank you.”
“Just doing what I can,” assured Bokkun.
“If you want,” offered Sonic, “I’m sure I can pull some strings to get you help when you need it.”
“Thanks,” bid Bokkun.
“Sorry for snapping at you,” sighed Amy. “Past history got in the way.”
“I don’t blame you in the slightest,” assured Bokkun.
“Hey, Prime, before I DO get back into the fur,” called Sonic, “I gotta ask. Is there really an Allspark?”
“Yes, why?” quizzed Optimus.
“And was it launched into space during the Bot/Con war?” asked Sonic. “Megatron told me a lie relating to that.”
“No, the Allspark was launched during the tail-end of Cybertron’s war with the Quintessons,” corrected Optimus. “The few pictures we have display it as a massive cube covered in ancient Cybertronian hieroglyphs.”
“Why would it be such a big deal to you guys?” asked Shadow.
“Because, before we femmes came around,” lectured Blackarachnia, “the Allspark was the Cybertronian race’s means of reproduction. After it was launched from Cybertron, Primus made another branch of the Cybertronian tree in Solus Prime’s image. Yes, for a while, we WERE considered property, but the war changed that.”
“We still have some mech/femme superiority problems,” mused Optimus.
“Any culture with more than one gender does,” replied Amy. “We’ve still got that on Mobius.”
“So, the Allspark IS real?” asked Sonic.
“Yep,” confirmed Optimus.
“I see,” mused Sonic. “Well, where’s that Deroboticizer?”
“This way!” directed Tails. He led Sonic to the lab.
“And, what about you, Bokkun?” asked Optimus.
“I need to get back home,” replied Bokkun. “I’ll give you the coordinates there.” He keyed in the coordinates for Teletraan 1.
“Got them!” called Teletraan. He then opened the Ground Bridge for Bokkun.
“See you later!” he bid.
“Wait! Before I forget!” called Optimus as he hand security cards to Bokkun. “Give these to your most trusted people. They’ll allow you to pop in whenever you want.”
“Thanks!” replied Bokkun as he took the cards and headed through the Ground Bridge. It closed after a while.
“Things are settling down for now,” mused Optimus, “but with Shockwave having observed the fight, she may help Megatron overcome the power drain the Emeralds have on him.”
“Pardon?” asked Shadow.
“Megatron used the Chaos Emeralds to get a Super Form like you and Sonic,” Amy explained. “Shockwave observed the entire fight.”
“Uh oh,” gulped Ratchet.
“BIG uh oh,” replied Optimus.
“Maybe not so much,” chuckled Prowl.
“How do you figure?” asked Optimus.
“Guess what I have that’s been around since I first joined the police force AND the military?” replied Prowl. He then brought a pad out. “A warrant for bugging the enemy.”
“You bugged Shockwave?!” cheered Optimus.
“I gave him the bug,” reported Bumblebee. “Being a scout, gathering intelligence is part of my duties.”
“And now, her intel is ours,” chuckled Prowl. “Ratchet, do you think you and Perceptor can make something from this?”
“We SHOULD,” remarked Ratchet. “Won’t know until we try. I’ll let you know of any progress.”
“Very good,” praised Optimus. Tails then called the Command Center.
“Guys, the Deroboticization was a complete success!” he reported. “Sonic’s back in his fur!” Amy then disappeared in a pink blur that led to the lab.
“Ooh, poor Sonic,” winced Blackarachnia.
“AMY! TOO TIGHT!” cried Sonic’s voice.
“Yep, there she goes,” muttered Blackarachnia.
“Well, I can’t blame her,” chuckled Optimus. “And we currently robbed Megatron of whatever advantage he has over us with the Chaos Emerald knowledge gap. I’d say things are going well.”
Back in Robotropolis, Eggman and Megatron were stewing. “What was it you used to say?” asked Megatron. “‘I hate that hedgehog’?”
“I still say it,” rumbled Eggman. “Now you see why.”
“Yes, I do,” sighed Megatron. “If I know him, in the brief time I met him, he’ll be giving us more grief.”
“That sounds like tempting fate,” remarked Eggman.
“That’s not tempting fate,” argued Megatron, “this is. What else could go wrong today?”
“Lord Megatron,” reported Shockwave. “I have begun construction of a room that can simulate Chaos Energies similar to that which you draw the Super Form from. The bad news is this; the Autobots have snuck a bug onto my equipment and managed to copy all the data I have obtained from the fight in the cave. They’re most likely doing the same.”
“PRIMUS, I DIDN’T MEAN IT!” Megatron roared to the heavens. “I WAS BEING SARCASTIC!”