So here it is, chapter one of my first story. This is a spinoff of Priscillarouge's "The Maid" which tells us what goes on with Sonic after he left the town that Amy was in (chapter 7). I like to call it "The Soldier." Let it be known that I'm not the greatest writer, but I'm trying :P. Oh, yes, and the reader may want to know that it begins in flashback, to fully explain how this war started.

Chapter 1, This is War.

The door to the Central Mobius council hall was forced open by a frantic soldier. The impossible had happened that night, and yet the havoc had only begun. His clothes torn, mind racing, and heart pounding, he ran to find any sort of guidance. He found a young servant, a wolf, and quickly interrogated him.

"Quickly!" the soldier yelled at the butler. "Where is Vice President Allen?"

"I believe he is in his office sir, down to the right," the servant answered confusedly, "what seems to be so urgent?"

The soldier, without answering, dashed off to the right corridor. His mission was too urgent to explain to every soul which crossed his path. At the end of the painstakingly long hallway was a door labeled 'VP ALLEN WARD: KNOCK FIRST.' The guard forced the door open, easily ignoring the insignificant message printed upon it. Inside was Allen himself, a wise fox aged about 30 Mobian rotations.

"Can you not knock, good sir?" the vice president remarked as he watched the panting guard step into his office.

"My apologies, Sir Allen," the soldier began his message through heavy breaths, "but I bear a message of utmost urgency."

"Very well, but I do not see what can be so urgent as to-" Allen continued until he was cut off by the soldier.

"Our leader, Sir Arthur Rose," the troop panted, "has been... murdered."

"What! How could this have happened! He was only going to a peaceful, diplomatic meeting! How! Why!" the vice president stammered in shock.

"The meeting went without issue," the soldier explained, "it was the journey back that led to the late leader's death. We were just on the outskirts of town here and we were ambushed by... rebel forces."

"The Rebellion!" the vice president yelled in anger and confusion.

"Yes, and they were too much for us. A mere wagon of governors and three guards was not enough to take on the forces that they had built against us. I advised that all passengers stay in the wagon until we were safely inside the city, but Mr. Rose wouldn't be satisfied until he had taken the lives of those damn devils. Just as he was succeeding in his mission too, he was shot once in the chest. Then, as he knelt on the ground in pain, he was shot again... in the head," the soldier related, shivering at the thought of the scene. "We honestly tried, sir, but they were overwhelming in numbers. I helped to drag his body into the wagon and I was then sent to convey this message to you, sir."

"No..." Sir Allen stated grimly, shaking his head. "This cannot be, yet it is. Those damned rebel soldiers! Not only must they refuse to allow government to survive, they take the lives of those involved as well! Have they no honor?" He suddenly regained his composure. "Quickly, soldier! Order the servants to gather all members of council and military leadership! A meeting must be held as soon as possible. Go now! There is no time to waste!"

"Please, everyone!" the vice president yelled over the roar of conversations in the Council auditorium. "Silence! We need silence before any sort of meeting may commence!" Soon enough, the room of officials hushed in unison.

"Thank you," Sir Allen said, annoyed, "now we may begin. I'm sure that plenty of you know by now, through the gossip of the town, that our leader, Sir Arthur Rose, has been killed. The murderers are, without a single doubt, soldiers of the Rebellion. That is what we have come to discuss at this meeting." He looked over the room of worried faces before continuing. "It is at this meeting that we shall begin to make arrangements to begin taking forceful, violent, military action against and any individuals who have been involved in the Rebellion organization."

Pounding his fist on the table in front of him, General Jules Hedgehog, father of Sonic, stood and gave his thoughts on the current situation. "This is exactly why we should have taken military action months ago, as soon as those self-righteous scoundrels stopped paying their taxes! This whole bloody disaster could have been avoided!" he yelled.

"Now hold on a minute," another member of the council interjected, "is there any proof that the Rebellion army had anything to do with this crime? I believe that you may very well be using this as an excuse to violently attack them! This is the exact reason that Mr. Stevens left the council to support their protest. They wouldn't do a thing such as this!"

"Who else could've done it!" the hedgehog general fired back. "Random thieves and troublemakers wouldn't be so bold as to kill the planetary ruler!"

"Silence!" This was beginning to be too much for the vice president. "At this point, we must assume that the perpetrators were indeed associated with the Rebellion forces. Therefore, if you cannot support the council's actions at this time, you are hereby considered an enemy and threat to public safety." He shot a vengeful glare at the council member who attempted to defend the rebel organization.

That was how it all started, and now Sonic was suffering for it. 'If only those rebels would've done what they were told,' Sonic thought as he got on his horse to ride out of Riven, the town in which Amy was staying with Shadow. He really couldn't bear to be away from her without knowing what was going on with her and that... traitor. He had to though, he was a dog of the military and had to obey all orders given to him.

"Where are we supposed to be going anyway?" Sonic asked his father.

"God, don't you ever read the mission briefing?" his father answered in disgust.

"Why bother? It'll only waste time that I could spend actually doing the mission."

"Alright," his father sighed, pulling a text from his pocket and focusing his eyes on it, "we are heading north."

"A little more specific, please?" Sonic answered in a smart aleck tone.

"We're heading to the town of Uru. It's about a, oh, six hour trip on horseback. That's not including stopping for lunch of course."

"Great," Sonic scoffed sarcastically, "more time wasted. Why can't I just run there?"

"Because not all of us are as fast as you, Sonic."

Sonic's squadron consisted of 12 soldiers in total, including he and his father. By order of rank, there was the two of them, two artillery men (each armed with their own cannon), three snipers (armed with... sniper rifles of course), and five cavalry men (armed with pistols and swords).

The trail to Uru was a daunting one, to say the least. It wound through many of Mobius's beautiful forests as well as the darker ones. It reminded Sonic a lot of when he was younger. It was a much happier time, a time when Sonic was too young to care about any of the politics or worries concerning the grown-up world around him. Then, all of the sudden it just disappeared.

When he was only fourteen he was drafted into the United Mobius Military with his father. That was the time of the Opening Conspiracy war. He never really understood why that was what they called it, but it didn't really matter. What did matter was the way that the war changed him. It made him a lot more serious than he ever was. It showed what it was like to fight for a life, as well as ending those of others. To draw blood... it was all normal to him now. Not to mention hate. He was really feeling that at this time.

"Hm," his father grunted, looking at the trees that surrounded them, "I think we can stop here to eat." All of the soldiers agreed and made several remarks about how hungry they were. Although it wasn't exactly a five star meal, in fact it was just salad, bread, and fruit, they were grateful for it.

"So," a soldier spoke aloud, attempting to make decent conversation, "has anyone heard the joke about the girls in Ur-" BANG! The soldier was suddenly shot in the head! After quickly recovering from the shock, the group drew their swords and started looking for the hidden attacker.

"The hell?" Sonic exclaimed under his breath as he drew his rapier as well. It was a nice, long, sharp sword that he received as a gift for his sixteenth birthday. The hilt was made of pure gold and had a single blue gem embedded within it.

"I heard that joke before," an unidentifiable voice proclaimed, "it's not that funny, so you aren't missing out on much."

"Show yourself!" Sonic's father yelled.

"Uh, I'm right here, in plain sight. Idiots." said the voice again which was now easily found. Leaning on a tree was the speaker, an odd half-wolf half-weasel creature. He was wearing a brown stetson hat and holding a modified pistol in his leather glove. He also had one canine tooth that was greatly larger than the other on one side. He then scanned the soldiers with a confused smile. "Why would you draw your swords when a guy got shot? Do you plan on stabbing the bullets?"

"What do you want?" Sonic's father asked the assassin. "Are you part of them? The Rebellious ones?"

"The Rebels? Yes, yes I am. Don't worry though, I'm not gonna kill anybody else. If you don't mind that we take some of your supplies, that is."

"Hah!" Sonic laughed. "Do you really think you're in the position to make negotiations? There's still eleven of us left and only one of you. No matter how good of a shot you are, you have to admit that the odds are definitely in our favor."

The weasel only shook his head and smiled. "That may be how it looks, pal, but I actually have exactly 23 snipers hidden in the trees around you. So, actually the odds are a bit more than fifty percent in my favor."

"He's bluffing!" Sonic yelled in hopes of keeping his worried soldiers calm.

"Okay, if you really need proof," the weasel sighed. He then raised one of his hands in the air and made an odd gesture with it. Suddenly, a gunshot rang from the trees and another soldier of the High Council was shot.

'Dammit!' Sonic thought. 'This nut case is serious! What are we going to do?'

"So? You willin' to negotiate now?" the weasel asked again.

"Frankly I think that's a pretty cheap victory, buddy," Sonic commented, mocking the weasel. He now had a plan with a thirty percent chance of success. "How about we settle this like men, er, mammals."

The weasel pondered this for a moment. He then smiled and said, "A mono y mono challenge, eh? Sure, I got time to play. I get to pick the game though, y'know. Seein' as you're not in a position to make negotiations."

"Whatever you say," Sonic accepted happily.

"Alright, let's have a shootout. I call off my men and you call off yours alright?" the weasel stated.

Sonic nodded and gestured for the soldiers to clear out of the way. The weasel followed in this fashion, took off his gloves, and commanded his troops to hold fire. He then walked over to Sonic to explain the rules.

"Okay, so here's how we're going to do this. We're gonna stand back to back then take ten steps away from each other. As soon as the tenth pace hits the ground, I'll yell 'draw.' Then, you draw your gun from your holster, turn around, and try to take a potshot at me. Whoever gets shot has to surrender. And no cheatin' or I'll have my men shoot each of your quills off one by one! Any questions?"

"Just one," Sonic replied, "I like to know the name of a guy before we agree to play a game."

"Alright," the weasel complied, "I'm Nack, but most people call me Fang. Fang the Sniper. I already know who you are though, veteran Sonic." Sonic nodded and the two opponents went back to back as planned. "One," Fang began counting as they both took a step.

'What am I going to do? I'm only stalling for time at this point,' Sonic's mind raced.

"Two," Fang went on.

'I'm not nearly as good of a shot as this guy is! I'm more of a sword fighter,' his thoughts continued in a frenzy.

"Three, four,"

'Oh man, there's nothing I can do at this point but try!'

"Five, six, seven,"

'God,' Sonic started a rushed prayer as he began reaching for his gun slowly, 'if I don't make it through this, let Amy know... that I'm sorry.'

"Eight, nine, draw!" BANG!

A single shot was fired... and someone fell to the ground.

Luckily, it was Fang who was shot. The soldiers were stunned once again! They were frozen in amazement until one of them finally started to freak out.

"Wait a minute," a soldier noted, "Sonic didn't shoot him! He's still turned around! That means... one of us cheated! Oh, we're screwed! The snipers! Oh god! Oh god!"

"Calm down," a new unidentifiable voice spoke flatly. It was heard over near a bunch of bushes. Out of them stepped a purple chameleon. "There are no snipers," he explained.

"What?" Sonic's father stuttered in confusion. "How did he shoot that soldier then? Witchcraft?"

"No, just technology," the chameleon explained, "you see that glove? The one that he gestured with? On each finger he has several, nearly invisible, threads tied. Each thread is connected to the trigger of a gun in the trees above us. Sonic was smart to get him to take it off, otherwise you may have all died if I shot him."

"That's incredible craftsmanship!" the hedgehog general remarked.

"Yeah, Fang's smart in a technological sense, but he's too arrogant to say no to a challenge," the chameleon admitted. Just then, Fang started to squirm to get up again. Sonic quickly tackled him.

"Thanks for the help," Sonic said to the chameleon as he sat on top of the struggling weasel, "but who are you?"

"I'm Espio, an undercover soldier for the Council's army. I work to take down rebel bounty hunters like this guy. Apparently they're offering a lot of money to whoever can get you and your father dead, Sonic."

"Ha, they think I'm pretty special I suppose," Sonic joked. "Well, I think I can take them on, especially if they're all as bright as this guy," he gestured to Fang beneath him.

The group then, with the help of Espio, apprehended the assassin and went back on their way to the small town of Uru. They had to skip lunch though, as they were behind schedule. The town of Uru was small and quaint. It was mainly a farming town, filled with simple and kind folk. Espio worked to get Fang into the local jail until they were approved to transport him to a council court for prosecution. Upon arriving at the camp where the soldiers were staying, Sonic finally got a bit more interested in the mission.

"So, what are we going to do here?" he asked his father as they were eating dinner.

"Well, in one week we're going off to attack a rebel camp that our spies found not too far from here," his father explained through slurps of soup.

"Oh, okay, but why wait a week?" Sonic questioned.

"Sonic, we lost two soldiers just getting here," his father stated in an annoyed tone, "what chance do we have against a camp of those types? We're waiting here until reinforcements arrive."

'A whole extra week away from her, that's just great,' Sonic thought sarcastically. He then excused himself from the meal and went to his quarters where he would be resting for the night. He grabbed a book off the dusty shelf in the corner and tried reading it to get his mind off of things. It didn't work, especially when it was a romance novel. He then tried to just lay down. This was working well, until he heard a knock at the door.

"Mail's here," the guy at the door yelled. Sonic answered it and saw a familiar face. It was Knuckles the Echidna, his mailman and good friend since his school years.

"Hey Knuckles," Sonic smiled, "any mail?"

"Just a letter to your father," Knucles stated as he handed Sonic the envelope. Sonic was disappointed, as if he expected her to send him something after what he did. "How goes the battle?"

"Oh, not much of a battle yet. We're heading to attack some camp tomorrow," Sonic informed his friend.

"Well, don't show those rebels any mercy. If they really needed money they could've come to work on the pony express like me. I'm swamped with letters and packages to soldiers. Speaking of which, do you have anything for me to send?"

Sonic pondered this for a moment. 'Why bother? It's not like writing some pansy letter will save her from Shadow,' he thought. "No, nothing."

"Okay then," Knuckles stated as he started to walk away, but then he stopped and pulled something out of his pocket, "ah, I forgot about this. It's from Sonia, but she said to only give it to you and not tell your father. She gave me a tip for keeping it secret." Knuckles handed the excited hedgehog the envelope and continued on his way.

Upon opening it, Sonic found a note and a picture. He read the note first. It said, 'Hey bro, I had one of my friends in Riven do a bit of spying for you :). She got out her parents' fancy new camera and took this picture of Amy in the town market. -Sonia'

He then looked at the picture of Amy. Even in black and white she was as beautiful as ever, smiling warmly and holding a sack of vegetables. He then gripped it tightly, remembering that she was with Shadow and he was able to do nothing about it.

"I'm going to enjoy shooting the hell out of those rebels..."