Moonlit Metal
Moonlit Metal
Bunnie Rabbot, Sally Acorn, and all associated characters © 2006 DiC Entertainment, Archie Comics, and Sega of America.
Princess Sally Acorn laid in her bed, tossing and turning fitfully as her mind was plagued with horrific sounds and visions, causing her to mumble in her sleep.
"N-nuh-no, B-Bunnie, no... BUNNIE!!"
With that last word, Sally's cerulean eyes shot open and she sat bolt upright in her bed, panting as if out of breath from the intense adrenaline rush. She shuddered fiercely at what she had witnessed, tears beading up at the bottom of her eyes, fighting to be let free. Instead, the ground squirrel wiped her eyes dry with the back of her paw, drawing the covers off of her lithe body and slipping her feet over the edge of the mattress, standing up as she walked over to where her knee-length blue hiking boots and matching denim vest were resting, pulling the boots onto her feet and sliding the vest over her torso in a process that had become automatic over time. Once dressed, the walked to the door of her modest hut and opened it, stepping out into the cool night air of Knothole Village. The primitive encampment deep in the heart of the Great Forest had become the home for her and her band of guerilla rebels known as the 'Freedom Fighters', a group of Mobians whom had managed to evade capture by the maniacal tyrant Dr. Robotnik whom had staged a stunningly swift coup d'état and seized near total control of the Kingdom of Acorn, and almost all of the planet Mobius along with it.
Sally had been appointed as the leader of this group, being the daughter of the king and the heir-apparent since her father had vanished without a trace in the chaos of Robotnik's attack. She quickly proved herself worthy of the position, swiftly maturing into an effective field commander, leading her comrades on hit and run raids on the former capitol city of Mobotropolis, now rechristened Robotropolis and transformed from a pristine, utopian paradise into a polluted, industrial wasteland. For the most part, their missions went off without a hitch, but eventually their luck finally gave out on them, with tragic consequences.
It was this terrible incident that had left Sally wandering about the sleeping village in the middle of the night with only what moonlight the massive trees surrounding it saw fit to allow through their dense canopy for illumination, though it was plenty for the young ground squirrel. She had become so accustomed to the layout of the village as to be able to navigate it flawlessly in pitch darkness if need be. Eventually she came to the foot of one of the massive trees surrounding the perimeter of the village, sitting down at the foot of it and pulling her legs to her chest, her arms wrapped around her knees with her chin resting atop them, releasing a heavy sigh.
About this time, another member of the Freedom Fighters had just gotten off her assigned guard duty shift, keeping watch from a crude watchtower built onto one of the trees with a clear view of anyone or anything that might try to infiltrate their woodland sanctuary. As she descended the last of the rickety stairs leading back to terra firma, she felt a sense of welcome relief at the thought of her bed awaiting her back in her hut. Her thoughts were cut short however when she noticed a familiar figure huddled at the foot of a nearby tree, prompting her to take a detour to investigate.
"Sally-girl? Is that you?" came a familiar voice from behind Sally, snapping the princess out of her thoughts as she looked over her shoulder to the one addressing her, a young female lapine stepping out of the shadows. She had yellow fur with white around her muzzle and green eyes which were framed by seemingly ever-present lavender eyeshadow which she never seemed to have in short supply, despite the scarcity of such luxuries as makeup in these hard times. She was dressed simply, wearing a purple leotard that matched her eyeshadow. While the outfit was form-fitting and allowed for ease of movement, it did nothing to conceal her most distinctive feature, namely her robotic legs and lower body, as well as her left arm, which too had been replaced by a bionic substitute. These limbs were the product of another of Robotnik's depraved creations; the roboticizer, a terrifying device designed for the sole purpose of transforming flesh and blood into metal and circuits. When Robotnik seized power, he had the bulk of the population of Mobotropolis, and anyone else unfortunate enough to escape his iron grasp, fed through these machines, reducing the victims to little more than mindless robotic slaves with no free will or any trace of the soul which once occupied the now-metallic shell. Bunnie herself nearly shared this unthinkable fate, though was spared at the last possible moment when her comrades managed to shut the machine down, but not before it had transformed her left arm and her entire lower body below the waist into cold, hard metal.
"Oh, Bunnie, you startled me." said Sally as the cyborg rabbit known as Bunnie Rabbot, her last name reflecting her half-machine nature, came to stand next to her, looking down at her close friend.
"Mah stars Sally-girl, what's got y'all out here at this hour?" inquired Bunnie, her trademark southern drawl evident in her voice as she spoke.
"Oh it's nothing, just a bad dream is all." Sally replied dismissively, trying to play it off as nothing worth worrying herself about, although Bunnie knew the princess well enough to know that was hardly the case.
"Come on girl, I can see that somethin's eatin' at y'all like a hound dog on a T-bone steak. What's the matter sugah?" coaxed Bunnie, resting her 'normal' paw on her friend's shoulder as she sat down next to her, eliciting a deep sigh from the chipmunk.
"My nightmare... it was about.... you..." admitted Sally reluctantly, looking down at the toes of her boots as she spoke.
"Y'all had a nightmare about li'l ol' me? Oh Sally-girl, c'mere..." said Bunnie, gently drawing Sally into her arms to hug her, running her right paw up and down her back soothingly, letting her friend's head come to rest on her left shoulder between the base of her neck and where the metallic sphere that formed the upper limit of her robotic arm started. Sally offered no resistance, letting herself be guided into her friend's embrace, holding her around the waist in return, the tears she had warded off earlier once more threatening to breach her defenses and spill forth.
"Shhh, it's alright sugar, just relax." Bunnie said softly, trying to calm and comfort the young woman in her arms. Ever since Bunnie had been caught by an unanticipated SWATbot patrol and thrown into a portable roboticizer during a reconnaissance mission into Robotropolis during the early years of the Freedom Fighters' struggles against Robotnik, Sally had always assumed part of the blame, believing that it was some flaw in her planning or execution of the mission that had led to this grizzly and near-fatal event transpiring.
"I'm so sorry Bunnie. This should never have happened." sobbed Sally, struggling feverishly to keep the powerful emotions within her in check.
Bunnie gently held Sally to her, continuing to rub her back to try to soothe the heartache her friend was feeling. Even now, months after it had happened, she herself still felt a twinge of sorrow and longed to have her original body back. After a few moments of quiet sobbing, Sally lifted her head from Bunnie's shoulder to look at her friend face to face.
"I swear to you Bunnie, no matter what it takes, that disgusting monster WILL pay for what he's done, to all of us." said Sally, her voice and expression showing her utter contempt and hatred for the one who had inflicted such suffering on her people.
"Ah know sugar, ah know. We all want a piece o' that low-down snake. He'll git his, don't you worry none." assured Bunnie.
Sally sighed. She knew that she couldn't let her desire for vengeance control her, otherwise it would consume her and she'd become no better than the man she fought against and more importantly it could cloud her judgement and put her and the others at risk. The look on her face softened and she patted Bunnie lightly on her normal shoulder.
"Thanks Bunnie. I don't know what I'd do without you sometimes." Sally said, her voice calming now.
"Aw shucks Sally-girl, y'all gonna make me blush talkin' like that." replied Bunnie, lifting her robotic hand to her cheek.
Sally smiled and got to her feet, Bunnie following suit as Sally spoke "I guess we should get going. It's getting rather late."
"It shoah is, sugar." agreed bunnie, covering her mouth with her robotic hand as a yawn broke free "Hoo-ee, mah stars am ah ever tuckered out." exclaimed Bunnie. Sally smiled to her, grateful to have such wonderful friends as her.
"I'll see you in the morning, Bunnie. Sleep well." said Sally, Bunnie nodding in reply.
"You too Sally-girl." answered the lapine, waving to her with her normal hand as the two parted ways and headed off towards thier respective huts for some well-deserved rest.
THE END