War for Mobius Side Stories
Friendship, Duty, and Sacrifice Part 001
It's not easy being the leader of a group of teenagers, specifically when their goals are so important. Ordinarily teens fight over cute girls or guys, who's turn it is to do dishes, what you should get on your pizza, who can eat more chili-dogs and the like.
The Knothole Freedom Fighters fight to save their planet, and if they fail…well there isn't always a second chance.
It's a leader's job to guide their comrades and look out for them. Sometimes however a leader must make sacrifices. Sometimes not everyone makes it home. A leader must never waste their comrades' lives, but they must be willing to make sacrifices to achieve their goals.
The trick is knowing if a sacrifice will be worth it or wasted.
Sonic wasn't a founding member of the Knothole Freedom Fighters. Those Members were Princess Sally Acorn, Bunnie Rabbot, Rotor Walrus, and Antoine Depardieu Décolleté. When they first formed there wasn't many Mobians living in Knothole. There were a few, mostly young children and older folk who had escaped when Robotnik first took over. There weren't many of them who were skilled fighters, but a few of the younger Mobians had the fire in their hearts to strike back.
This is the story of one of those attempts to strike back. This is a story of Duty, Friendship, and Sacrifice….
And this is a story of Revenge.
Princess Sally closes NICOLE's Screen. She had been up all night checking and rechecking the data to see if the rumors were true, and apparently they were. Doctor Robotnik would be inspecting a nearby Weapons Facility tomorrow, and since it's a secret inspection, his guard detail will be at its lowest.
She had trouble believing it but after all that double checking there was no denying it now. This was The Knothole Freedom Fighters' big chance. They had been working hard, doing their very best to hurt Robotnik in whatever ways they could: sabotage, rescue missions, supply runs, petty distractions. Actually that is what it had mostly been up to this point, petty distractions. Like a fly they would buzz in and anger Robotnik, rather his lackeys as the Freedom Fighters weren't even sure if Robotnik recognized them as a threat, annoy him, and buzz away before he can strike back. Rinse and Repeat.
But no more. The Freedom Fighters were putting an end to the bad doctor's tyranny tomorrow and ending this Era of Darkness. And it couldn't have come any sooner. The Princess had been waiting for an opportunity like this and she wasn't going to pass it up.
"Robotnik," she clenches her fist, "You'll pay for what you've done to Mobius! And you'll pay for what you've done to my family!"
"Warning Sally," NICOLE buzzed in, "There seems to be too much unfilled data."
"What do you mean?" Sally asks somewhat irritated, it had been a long night and she was not looking forwards to being told only now there was something amiss.
"Well the origins of the data supporting the rumor are only 60 percent reliable," the AI warned, "Also if the inspection is to be secret, the data should be unavailable without a leak. And Robotnik has rarely allowed leaks before."
Sally sighs, "His grip on Mobius is starting to loosen. Robotnik may have taken over the Kingdom of Acorn by surprise but he isn't able to hold onto it. The Leak just proves he's weakening."
"That may be true," NICOLE pauses, analyzing the possibilities, "However more probable is that the data is not accurate. Perhaps the rumor was sent out to distract his enemies."
"I considered that," Sally smiles. While NICOLE, even if she was an Artificial Intelligence Program, was a dear friend, Sally always enjoyed being able to outsmart or outthink the computer, "Robotnik's main enemies right now are the Mobian Militia and the military might of the Overlanders. Neither of those groups has access to the facility he's inspecting, so why deceive them? There are only two possibilities. Either he's rubbing it into their faces that he can do as he pleases, hence the low security, or he's got a leak he doesn't know about."
"That is a big assumption," the AI defended, "but there is also the possibility that the leak is a trap."
"Not likely," Sally corrected again, "If he was to set up a trap, he'd be setting it up in a location that gave him the advantage. The Weapons facility is in the Dark Swamp. Most SWATbots have trouble traversing the Swamp due to the sink holes and mud that clogs up their joints. And the Hover Pods can't navigate as the swamplands are too thick and the insects in the air play havoc with the life detection systems. Robotnik is at a huge disadvantage here, it's not the ideal place to hold a trap."
NICOLE ponders this information for a moment, "If you say so Sally. However all my data points to a trap."
"NICOLE you may be the most advanced AI in the world, but you still act like a computer. Sometimes you won't have all the data and have to act on instinct and go by your gut," Sally explains.
"I'll try to record that into my memory banks."
"Good," Sally yawns, "Well I'm off to bed."
"At the time of the tone, it will be seven-thirty-five a.m." NICOLE informs.
Sally just grumbles on her way to her room, "Tell any visitors I'm not to be disturbed till ten." With that Sally slams the bedroom door shut.
Sally slumps into her chair around the meeting table; she tries to hide the embarrassment in her face.
"Well hon," Bunnie tries to hold back a laugh, "That's what you get for sleepin' in."
Sally had already scheduled a meeting with the other Freedom Fighters to explain her plan of attack. Unfortunately she had stayed up all night making it. When she told NICOLE not to disturb her till ten, she didn't realize NICOLE wouldn't wake her up till two. She was a whole 2 hours late for the meeting and only happened to bump into Bunnie on the way.
Bunnie had explained that after Sally had been a no show for thirty minutes, Rotor sent everyone home. And for once everyone had been there on time, except for her. After urging everyone to be there on time, fully prepared for their big chance, Sally herself had blown it.
"I didn't mean to sleep in," Sally whined, "Doesn't matter now does it?"
"'Fraid not Sally-Girl," Bunnie smiled, patting her friend on the back, "Maybe next time?"
"We don't have a next time," Sally shook her head, "Robotnik will be at the factory tomorrow, we only have today to plan. We need to gather everyone up again."
"Well I can get a few people," Bunnie shrugs, "But most are already doing their daily assignments. It won't be a full meeting."
Sally gives her a sheepish smile, "Probably for the best, I don't know if I can face all of them."
It doesn't take long for Bunnie to gather up some Freedom Fighters. Sally looks over the faces. It was good to see Rotor made it. As Sally's Second in Command, it was always good for him to be there to back up her plans. Sometimes he came up with his own.
Bunnie had just caught Johnny as he came back from his patrol. Johnny liked to show off a bit, but he was rather quick on his feet and an excellent fighter, specifically with staff weapons. While he wasn't really a planner, he was usually good at following one.
Ben had also just returned from a patrol and happened to pass by as everyone was showing up. Ben was a scout through and through. He wasn't the best fighter, but he could hold his own. Ben was also very good at following orders. Rarely did he deviate from them, and when he did, it was usually for the best. He was a good call. Unfortunately he also tended to move too quickly for the rest, disappearing without a trace. While this made him a good scout, it made him difficult to work with in a group. Not because he didn't get along, but because he reacted before he'd communicate, but he'd do for this mission.
Antoine had been the first to actually show up, trying to be the most impressive of the group. Antoine had the most training out of all of them, but he still lacked the experience. Still he made up for it in his profession behavior, except when things seemed to be going bad, which happened a lot. Antoine was a bit of a coward, and on top of that always felt that everyone was relying on his skill and training to help pull them through. Unfortunately this put enormous pressure on every choice he made making him sometimes be unreliable because he was panicking or froze because he couldn't make a decision. Ordinarily that would have pulled him from active duty, but since the Freedom Fighters needed every man they could get and sometimes Antoine's own pride forced him to pull through even when nobody else could. While it was risky, it was good he was here.
The Last to show up had been Fiona. As kids Sally and Fiona had been friends, but something between the two caused the friendship to go sour and they hadn't really been on the best of terms sense. Well, at least from Sally's point of view. Fiona seemed to be indifferent to the fact, not caring one way or the other, which made it rub Sally the wrong way even more. Fiona was always a wild card in the mix. She was a pretty good fighter, and she knew enough basic medical skills to act as a field medic, but she didn't' follow orders well, usually going off to do her own thing. Fiona also had away with getting under Sally's skin as well, causing Sally to lose her cool during critical moments. However, Fiona had never failed a mission she had gone on so far, and she was the only one other than Doctor Quack, who could act as a medic. And since Doctor Quack was too important to risk in the field, Sally knew she'd have to let Fiona on this one. She was mandatory even if she was the biggest risk on the team.
Of course Bunnie was there as well and that helped relieve some of the risk. Bunnie had been Sally's Lady in Waiting, and best friend since as far back as she could remember. Bunnie also acted as her body guard for a good portion of that time. And Sally knew she could trust Bunnie to keep Fiona in line.
"Thank you all for coming," Sally begins, brushing some hair from her eyes, "I apologize for my previous mishap with the meeting earlier."
"It's nice to get to sleep in every now and again," Fiona teases, taking her seat.
"Right well," Sally coughs, "Let's just get started then shall we…."
The Clouds covered what little stars were visible that night. The rain was light but cold. Sally pulled the dark blue hood she was wearing over her head. She turned behind her at the others. They all wore similarly colored, hooded jackets. Rotor nodded to tell her they were ready. At the meeting Rotor expressed almost the exact same concerns NICOLE had the night before, but like with NICOLE, Sally had reassured him that she had thought this through. They were not missing this opportunity and they were not letting Robotnik walk away from this one.
Thunder rumbled in the distance. "Storms coming in," Ben warns, "May change the flight plan."
"Robotnik will be there, don't worry about a thing," Sally cautioned.
"But what if he's not?" Fiona asked.
"We shut down the facility anyways," Rotor replied, "It'll just be easier."
That was the official plan. Take out the facility, and get Robotnik if they can. But Sally had other plans. They wouldn't need to take out the facility if Robotnik was taken down. He was one hundred percent the goal, everything else was secondary.
"Let's get moving," Johnny shuddered, "It's cold out here."
The group of seven slowly starts moving towards the base. Sally felt the small pistol attached to her belt. Usually The Knothole Freedom Fighters don't carry guns, for the most part shooting SWATbots did very little as most carried magnetic shields that protected them from bullets or jammers that would fry laser pistols. Robotnik likely carried a similar jammer, perhaps even armor to resist bullets, but Sally felt she needed it tonight. Just in case.
She was the only one who was carrying one. She had advised Rotor to carry one but he opted out saying he wasn't good at using them anyways. Bunnie also refused one. Not because of lack of skill but lack of desire to. None of the others were offered one.
"Sal," Bunnie Warned, "If you keep playing with that thing you'll likely shoot your own foot off."
"Just making sure it's still there," Sally mumbles back. Small talk on the mission was both dangerous and distracting. Sally had never really ever been for it. While many of the Freedom Fighters enjoyed talking back and forth and sending jabs at each other, Sally, specifically for this mission, felt it too risky in enemy territory.
Of course that never stops the others. Ever.
"Why weren't we given fire arms?" Fiona asks.
"I'm better close range," Ben shrugs it off.
"I don't need a weapon," Johnny Brags.
"They why did you bring the stick?" Bunnie nudges.
This goes on until the dirt ground turns to metal plating. Nobody is speaking then. All verbal communication has ceased and everyone is focusing on Sally's next move as she goes first.
For the most part the base looks empty. Deserted even. Sally is just starting to regret not observing the base before the mission when a big spot light shines right on her.
"Well well well well, what do we have here?" A voice laughs. The voice echoes from everywhere. Its sound is dark, cold. Almost as if you can hear the evil seeping through it.
"Robotnik," Sally clenches her teeth.