Years ago, we lived in harmony with beings that people today know only as characters from video games, movies, etc. However, in their greed to gain the abilities of these beings, humans all but destroyed them. After a deadly battle with the CIA only six of these beings remained; two from each series, three old and three young.
Sonic, Tails, Dave, Simon, Tyler and Austin were the last six characters alive, coming from today's Sonic, Chipmunks and Pokémon series' respectively. After their harrowing escape from the humans, the six had fled to a secret location with severe injuries. Despite stealing some medical supplies, it was clear that only some of them would survive this day. The supplies were only enough to save three of them.
The older characters sacrificed their own health to treat the injuries of their younger counterparts. A few bullets were removed, wounds were closed, and in one case a makeshift cast was put on. By the time the elder of the six beings completed their work, the younger ones had passed out from pain and exhaustion. Their bodies tired and their health failing, the elder characters followed their young counterparts into the land of unconsciousness.
Early the next morning, the traumatized younger beings awoke. Not yet having reached their depicted ages, the three kids were a mere 5 years old. Despite this, the battles with the likes of the CIA had taken most of their innocence and replaced it with a number of special skills. Even so, nothing could prepare them for what they found that dreadful day.
Awaking from his slumber, Austin called out to his father, Tyler, trying to wake him. The shiny Azelf did not respond. Worried, the shiny Umbreon woke Tails and Simon. The three kids were unable to wake Sonic or Dave either, and feared the worst. Simon glanced down at the large, shallow pool of blood beneath his elders' feet. Remembering something, the intelligent young chipmunk took the elder beings' pulses.
"As much as I hate to say it, they're gone, guys…" he said quietly, "We're on our own…" It was then that Austin noticed a piece of paper on the ground. Picking it up from the edge of the blood puddle, he let the crimson liquid drop off a bit before reading.
Boys, by the time you read this, Sonic, Dave and I will probably be gone. I'm sorry we had to leave you at such an early age, but this is a situation over which we have no control. In case of an occurrence such as this, I have set up a place in which you can seek refuge. Go to the address provided at the bottom of this note; it'll take you to a house across the street from a park.
Go to the park, and enter the public restrooms there. Inside the bathrooms, there are two stalls; enter the handicap-accessible one. There will be two metal support bars bolted to the brick wall inside the stall; look at the bolts on the upper end of the diagonal one. There should be four, corresponding with the positions up, left, right and down.
Pressing the bolts like buttons, enter the combination left-up-right-left-up-right. If you've done this correctly, you'll gain access to my secret bunker; it has everything you need to survive. Unfortunately it was too far away for us to get to last night, but you should be able to make it there now. Keep low and out of sight, the government is probably looking for you. So long, and good luck.
3411 Goldenrod Street, Phoenix, AZ 85048
All my love,
Tyler
Tears slid down Austin's face as he read his father's final words. In his dying moments, Tyler had given them a beacon of hope. The boys were very thankful, and would certainly remember this gesture for years to come. Using what little strength they had, the three boys gave their elders a proper burial. Keeping his dad's note with him, Austin then led his friends towards Arizona.
A little over half a year later
By now things had changed in the lives of the young beings. After a long trek, the boys arrived safely in Arizona and entered Tyler's secret bunker. It was a very high-tech place, located deep underground. The bunker contained food, water, medical supplies and more. There were also some weapons and combat gear, along with a special room containing a shrine holding the Master Emerald and the yellow Chaos Emerald. To top it all off, the bunker had the means to access multiple forms of transportation.
That very day, the boys set a goal for themselves: find the other emeralds and figure out why their kind had been killed. After a few months of hunting through countless locations, the boys found the other six Chaos Emeralds and files on the mass extinction of their fellow non-human beings. They learned the cruel truth; their elders' deaths had been the result of human greed. However, they only knew a few general facts about the operation, so they planned another mission to CIA headquarters to get more information.
One day, Tails was busy planning the next mission while Simon did some scientific and medical work. Austin walked into 'mission control' after some combat practice in the bunker's training room. Stopping, he glanced over at his bespectacled friend and his work.
"Come any closer to finding the solution to our little medical problem?" Austin asked. The shiny Umbreon was referring to a condition the three boys had incurred from the injuries sustained during the escape from the CIA.
"Unless you count going to a stem cell clinic and demanding treatment at gunpoint, no. Please stop asking," Simon answered.
"Sorry… I guess I'm just still a little embarrassed after that incident on the last mission," Austin responded.
"Don't sweat it man, we have to wear em' too. We're in this boat together," Tails cut in.
"Yeah, I guess we are. Thanks Tails," Austin replied, "Hey, anyone else need a change?"
"I do, gimme just a second…" Simon responded, making a few keystrokes on his computer. With that, he stood and followed Austin to the bathroom. The two boys had only left the room for a couple minutes when Tails suddenly cried out. Worried, the two boys came running back into the room in only their t-shirts and newly exposed diapers.
"What's wrong?" Simon asked worriedly.
"Nothing; I just figured out how we're getting into the CIA undetected!" Tails answered excitedly.
"Man, you had us scared, Tails! You've gotta stop getting so excited about these things," Austin responded.
"Sorry, I'll try to tone things down a bit," the two-tailed fox replied, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. The other two boys sighed and returned to the bathroom.
A few days later
"Alright, we're in," Tails said quietly through his radio. Austin, just up ahead of him, was scanning the dark room with his eyes' special night vision abilities.
"There should be a terminal near you on the left," Simon radioed from the bunker. The intelligent chipmunk sat in front of the main computer, using Tails' plans to guide the other two boys. Finding the terminal, Tails began hacking the CIA servers directly. Meanwhile, Austin was on lookout in case any agents came snooping.
Sure enough, a couple of agents walked in to investigate. As they neared his position, the shiny Umbreon focused his psychic powers on their pistols. On Simon's mark, Austin teleported the agents' pistols into his hands less than a second before he came into their view.
"Don't move. One step in any direction and you die," Austin commanded, stopping the agents with their own weapons. The two men looked down at their tiny aggressor, taken aback by his size and species.
"Aww, someone thinks he can handle a gun, eh?" one of the men remarked, amused. He leaned over and moved to grab one of the pistols. Austin reacted immediately, pointing the other gun at the agent's head and preparing to fire.
"Whoa, easy there! We mean no harm!" the man cried.
"Is that what you said to the others?" the boy asked angrily, "What you told them before you captured and killed them?"
"Others?" the second agent questioned.
"Others like me; Pokémon, Mobians, etc. You know what I'm talking about!" Austin exclaimed. Before the agents could say a word, Tails interrupted the conversation.
"I've got the files, let's get out of here!" he exclaimed. Nodding, Austin teleported himself and Tails out of the building, leaving the pistols behind. The two reappeared across the border in Maryland, at the closest airport. Sneaking aboard a commercial flight headed to Phoenix, the two settled in for a long ride. Eventually the plane arrived at Sky Harbor airport, which was close enough for Austin to teleport himself and Tails straight to the bunker.
Simon congratulated his two friends when they arrived, the three boys sharing high fives after a successful mission. After a short celebration, Simon brought the newly-acquired files up on the computer and started decrypting them. Meanwhile, Austin and Tails changed out of their special mission gear and into casual clothing. Finding the bunker strangely hot, they decided to forego wearing pants.
"Is something wrong with the A/C?" Austin asked as he and Tails re-entered the main room of the bunker.
"I don't know, but it stopped working while you guys were on the mission," Simon responded, wiping sweat from his brow. The other two boys now noticed that his shorts were on the ground, leaving his diaper exposed like theirs.
"I'll take a look at it…" Tails muttered, walking off. Being a mechanical expert, he'd be able to fix any potential problem with ease. As the other two boys worked, Austin headed off to the training room for a crinkle-filled combat practice session. The young dark-type hated being incontinent, as it made him feel inferior to others. Still, as he progressed through the training session, he had to admit that the comfy padding was starting to grow on him.
A few hours later, Tails had identified the problem with the air conditioner and taken an undercover- but legal- trip to Home Depot. Having purchased the necessary parts, he now had the bunker back down to a crisp 74 degrees. Despite the cooler temperature, the boys acted their age for once and neglected to put their shorts back on. Having finished his training session, Austin joined Tails alongside Simon as the bespectacled chipmunk finished decrypting the new files.
"Okay, that's the last one. Let's see what we've got," Simon remarked, finishing his task. With a few deft keystrokes, he opened the first file. Eventually the boys viewed every file they'd retrieved, and what they found out was astonishing. They had the minute details of tens of thousands of non-human deaths, including the likes of beings we know today as Ness, Kirby, Fox McCloud, and even Mario.
"Wait a second, I just realized something!" Tails suddenly remarked a few minutes after they'd viewed the last file.
"What is it, Tails?" Simon asked.
"We can use these files to blackmail the CIA into giving us our freedom!" Tails stated.
"True," Austin responded, knowing what Tails was thinking of, "but we have to be very specific. The CIA will try to outsmart us." Simon nodded in agreement.
"I'll start drafting a contract," he remarked, turning to face the computer.
-
The director of the CIA was having a somewhat peaceful day for once, when suddenly his computer screen turned to static. Seconds later the image cleared, showing what he knew to be an orange, Mobian fox. It was Tails, broadcasting from the bunker directly to the CIA director's computer. The call was secure, so much so that the CIA was unable to track it or stop the call.
"Good afternoon Mr. Director, my name is Tails, and I have a proposition- no, a demand. I have in my possession, files that contain the details of the killing of millions of non-human beings by your agency," Tails said. As he spoke, screenshots of the files were shown, confirming the director's fears.
"A contract has just been faxed to your office. You have one hour to read it, sign it, and fax a copy to the address on the screen. Otherwise, these files will be released to the public. I'm sure you don't want millions of murders on your hands, do you?" Tails questioned.
"You expect me to believe that if we sign the contract, you won't release the files?" the director questioned. The video feed zoomed out to show Tails' entire body, making his age obvious.
"I'm 5 and a half. Do I look like I'd lie to you?" Tails asked. With that, the feed returned to static, leaving the director with a big decision on his hands. He sighed, running his hands through his graying hair. So much for an easy workday...
It had been almost an hour since the boys had initiated their plan to, more or less, blackmail the CIA. There had been no response as of yet, and all three boys were starting to wonder if they'd get their freedom after all. The tension in the bunker was so thick, you could almost cut it with a knife. With a mere three minutes remaining before the deadline, the bunker's fax machine suddenly went off.
The machine printed out a signed copy of the contract, and a note from the director of the CIA. In short, the note congratulated the boys on successfully negotiating their freedom, but also warned them that they'd need a legal guardian due to their age. If not, any time they were spotted in public they could be caught and taken to an orphanage or similar place. The three boys sighed; another curveball just when they thought their troubles were over.
"Any ideas?" Austin asked aloud. The three boys thought for a moment.
"I've got it!" Tails suddenly remarked, "Shadow!"
"Shadow?" Simon questioned, not understanding.
"Shadow the Hedgehog, another one of us. I'd forgotten about him; being immortal he probably survived the CIA's tests. He may be in cryo-stasis somewhere," Tails explained.
"Hey, didn't he have a girlfriend or something?" Austin questioned.
"Maria Robotnik; she was a human with a terminal disease called NIDS. She was killed, but Shadow brought her back as a hedgehog using his own DNA. Hey, that means she's immortal too! They might even be kept in the same place!" Tails answered.
"Good thing I wrote in 'all non-human beings' into the contract," Simon remarked.
"You can say that again," Austin responded, "see what you can dig up on our potential guardians."
"I'll get right on it," Simon responded.
A few days later, Tails and Austin teleported into a secret CIA facility in the rocky mountains. Supposedly, this was where Shadow and Maria were being held in cryo stasis. Crates and boxes of all sizes littered the area, and a distinct humming could be heard somewhere in the distance. Tails held a stun gun, ready to take out anyone who opposed them, meanwhile Austin was ready to use Hypnosis at a moment's notice.
The two boys moved stealthily through the facility, following the mysterious humming sound. Soon they came across two cryo chambers, holding the very hedgehogs they were looking for. Tails examined the cryo-chambers for a moment, trying to figure out how to release their prisoners.
"Watch my six," he remarked, going in for a closer look.
"Roger," Austin responded, watching for any disturbances while Tails worked. The two-tailed fox found little difficulty in releasing Shadow and Maria, but the machine had leaked and frozen the controls. Tails had to slowly melt the ice with his blowtorch before he could release the two hedgehogs.
Meanwhile, a security guard passed by, and Austin was forced to put him to sleep. Tails got the controls thawed out shortly thereafter, and then released the two hedgehogs from their frigid prison. Both Shadow and Maria were weak from being in stasis for so long, so the boys were forced to hold them upright. Not wasting any time, Austin then teleported the four of them back to the bunker.
As it turned out, Shadow and Maria still suffered lingering effects from the experiments done by the CIA. Using their newfound freedom, the boys were able to take the two to a hospital for treatment. They were nearly taken to an orphanage in the process, however, but avoided the trip by stating that they were going Shadow and Maria made their guardians. Acknowledging the fact that the two hedgehogs were ill, the doctors allowed the boys to stay.