Here we go again. All disclaimers apply. **** ["Fire And Rain" James Taylor] [Just yesterday morning they let me know you were gone] We open on a shot of Uncle Chuck, sitting in his little hideout in Robotropolis, looking extremely depressed. If that's possible, for a robot. The camera slowly pans around him, and we see why. [Suzanne, the plans they made put an end to you] We see, on several monitors, the Freedom Fighters being thrown into roboticizers. Sonic is the last to go, struggling all the way, and just as the beam is about to hit, the monitors all blink off. Uncle Chuck (we see him from the rear) hangs his head. [I walked out this morning and I wrote down this song] We see Uncle Chuck clicking away at a computer. On the screen is a picture of a metallic fox, spinning slowly. As we watch, a beam sweeps down the figure, slowly converting it back to flesh. [I just can't remember who to send it to] Uncle Chuck smiles, slightly, and sticks his palm flat against the back of the computer. The file slowly fades from the screen, and the screen shimmers, as if for a flashback... [I've seen fire and I've seen rain] Uncle Chuck is standing in the Roboticizer chamber at Robotropolis. Robotnik throws the switch, and he looks sadly at his nephew Sonic before he turns into the slave he is now. [I've seen sunny days and I thought they'd never end] Flashback further, to Uncle Chuck and Sonic in the workshop. The two devour a plate piled with chili dogs in 3.5 seconds and burp in concert, then dissolve in laughter. [I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend] Flash forward a bit, to Sonic running away from Uncle Chuck, whose eyes are glowing red. [But I always thought that I'd see you again] Flash forward again, to the red fading from Uncle Chuck's eyes as Sonic pleads with him to come back. [Won't you look down upon me, Jesus You've got to help me make a stand You've just got to see me through another day] Cut to a work scene. Robotnik is looking on from a high platform in one of his many warehouses and laughing, as droves of WorkerBots assemble... something. It looks to be a large cylinder of some sort, and, as we look a bit closer, there are radiation symbols on just about everything. Uncle Chuck and Sonic are working side by side, and Sonic is completely emotionless, while it's obvious that Uncle Chuck is suffering greatly. The WorkerBots leave for the day, at which time we see the exterior of the building: "Robotropolis Nuclear Plant #1". [My body's aching and my time is at hand] Cut to a shot of Uncle Chuck in the workshop, typing madly away at a console. A document with the title "Robotropolis Nuclear Plant Schematics" comes up on screen. [And I won't make it any other way] Uncle Chuck types a few things into the keyboard, and a red circle begins expanding from the room labeled "Central Reactor". Before long, it fills the entire screen. He turns his chair around slowly, picks up Nicole, and starts dictating into it. [Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain] Cut to a shot of a storeroom, where most of the worker-bots are hanging out, deactivated for the night. [I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end] He walks over to the roboticized Sonic, takes its head in his arms, and kisses it on the forehead. [I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend] He slips Nicole into a compartment on the roboticized Sally. [But I always thought that I'd see you again] He then walks out, and turns... as if to say good-bye. [Been walking my mind to an easy time my back turned towards the sun] Cut to a shot of Robotnik and Snively in the nuclear plant. The two of them are up in a glassed-in control room, looking very smug. Then Snively gasps and points to a monitor, which shows a sole worker-bot walking toward the main reactor. [Lord knows when the cold wind blows it'll turn your head around] We see that the worker-bot is Uncle Chuck, as he begins fiddling with a few controls on the main reactor. [Well, there's hours of time on the telephone line, Talkin' 'bout things to come] Abruptly, the control room is illuminated by a red pulsing light. Robotnik sprints for the door, only to find that it won't open. He pounds on it a few times with his metallic fist, and Snively tries pushing at it. It won't give. [Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground] The Uncle Chuck on the monitor is smiling, and laughing, as the red flashes grow more and more intense. [Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain] Cut to the exterior of Robotropolis, seen from miles away. A brilliant flash of light illuminates the landscape, and a small mushroom cloud rises from the outskirts of town. [I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end] Cut to a shot of the room with the worker-bots. Abruptly, they all reactivate, and seem more than a little confused... [I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend] Sally opens Nicole... who displays the same hologram we saw in Uncle Chuck's hideaway: a roboticized fox, spinning around and being turned back to normal. [But I always thought that I'd see you, baby, one more time again, now] A holographic message then comes up... "Sally: Don't deroboticize anyone until the radiation has died down. You'll be safe as you are now. I'm sorry that it had to end this way. But... we won. And tell Sonic I love him. Like he doesn't already know. --Uncle Chuck" Fade out. [Thought I'd see you one more time again There's just a few things coming my way this time around, now] Fade in on a shot of Robotropolis... which is slowly dissolved away to a shot of Mobotropolis in its former glory. [Thought I'd see you, thought I'd see you, fire and rain...] Cut to Sonic and Sally, both deroboticized and walking down a flagstone path in a park. We see them lay flowers at the base of some monument - the shot doesn't make it clear - on top of an already large pile. Sonic's eyes are filled with tears, and he turns to Sally. She's just crying. Holding on to each other, they slowly walk away. [Thought I'd see you just one more time, Suzanne...] The camera slowly pans back... to reveal a metal statue of one Sir Charles Hedgehog, roboticized... **** Comments and criticism are welcome. And encouraged. --Glazius Falconar, Scripter and Seeker of Knowledge in All Dimensions (Powered by the mind of Paul Arezina)