Prologue
Laser blasts rang through the darkened forest. A mother and child ran in fear from their metallic pursuers. The tall, powerful woman stopped and took out a long gold staff, with a large amethyst jewel on the end. The jewel began to glow, lighting up the woman's face, revealing jet-black hair and purple, angry eyes. She raised it high in the air, shooting out a violet beam that destroyed a robot on contact. That gave them time to find quick sanctity in the shadows. The woman turned to the child at her side.
" Run Carmen! Get away from here!"
She began to protest. " Mother, I can't leave you! What if they –"
The woman brushed back her daughter's brown hair and kissed her on the forehead. She knelt down and looked deep into her child's sea green eyes.
" That doesn't matter now. All I care about is you being safe." She got to her feet and looked out. " I want you to run as fast as you can. Run and don't look back." The girl nodded and sped away into the darkness, away from the sounds of staff on steel, away from the battle her mother couldn't win, tears running down her cheeks, not looking back as her mother had ordered. She sped on and on, until she finally collapsed.
Newcomer
Tails strolled languidly through the forest. He had woken long before any of the other Freedom Fighters in order to enjoy the peaceful hours of the early morning. He flew up and sat in the branches of a tall tree. Finally, the young fox thought to himself. Some time to relax. He sighed contentedly and closed his eyes. Suddenly a chilling scream pierced the still air. Tails sprung from his branch with a start. So much for relaxation! He sped off in the direction of the scream.
"Get off me, you suped-up excuse for a trash can! Ahhhhhhh!" The voice belonged to a young otter girl, struggling in the clutches of a flying SWATbot and she seemed to be losing the fight. It had her by the arms, high above the treetops. She swung back and gave it a vigorous kick in the face, causing it to lose its grip on one of her arms.
She gave an internal shudder as she stared at the ground far below her feet. Oh please, please don't let it drop me! she thought nervously, closing her eyes in pure trepidation.
" Hey! Leave that girl alone!" Tails had arrived on the scene and not a moment too soon. The girl let out a squeal of pain.
" Help me!" she yelled. " This thing feels like its going to rip my arm off!" She looked helplessly at Tails, her ocean green eyes willing for his help.
Tails had had all he could take. He jetted off the ground at full speed, aiming straight for the SWATbot. Just as it looked like he was going to have a head-on collision, he pulled up and bounced right off its head. Its head jammed in like a button. It reached up to unstuck his head and let go of the girl, sending her plummeting to the ground. He pulled into an aerial power dive and caught the surprised girl right before she hit the ground.
"Are you alright?" Tails asked as he touched down to the forest floor. She looked up, panting. "You saved my life!" she said breathlessly. Her eyes sparkled with admiration.
Tails looked back up at the sky, where the robot was still struggling to get its head from between its shoulders.
" Don't thank me yet. I still have to take care of Big, Bad, and Stupid up there." He smiled shyly and hovered lightly into the air. " Stay here while I make that tin soldier into scrap metal."
He rose quickly into the air and flew right into the robot's face. " Come on rust-bucket!" he taunted. " Come and get me!" He stuck out his tongue, angering it even further. It began to pursue him through the treetops, shooting lasers everywhere. Tails flew on ahead, until he found himself in a dead end. Nowhere to run!! He stopped in front of a tree and turned to face his attacker. It would catch him in seconds. 1… The young fox closed his eyes as the SWATbot sped closer. 2… It would mean disaster if he couldn't think of something. 3! Tails bolted upwards out of its way at the last second, causing it to crash into the tree and explode. Tails let out a breath of relief and wiped the sweat from his face. He flew back to the clearing where the girl had been watching the aerial battle.
"How did ya like my flying?" he called down to her as he began his descent.
She answered back excitedly. " Wow! That was amazing! Where did you learn to fly like that? It was so cool!"
He sat down to catch his breath and finally got a good look at his rescuee. She had tan colored fur, chestnut brown hair pulled into a somewhat disheveled waist length braid, a white tank top and light blue skirt, and warm green eyes that reminded him of the ocean. Wow, she's pretty. Tails thought to himself.
He smiled at her and offered his hand.
" I'm Tails, what's your name?" She looked at him nervously, afraid to trust, and afraid not to. Can I let him know who I am? What if he's one of them? One look into Tail's blue eyes told her all that she needed to know. She put her hand into his and shook it.
" My name is Carmen."