Hey everybody! Here I am, posting the first chapter of Tribulations on everyone's favorite day of the year! Well, Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad and all those other holidays around this date. Enjoy and remember to read and review!
G.U.N. Headquarters
December-7-3456
18:30 Mobius Time
It was a dark room, the main operations room. That is, aside from the dim lighting provided by the red lights overhead and the other miscellaneous colors of light provided by computer screens. There were three significantly large screens on the far wall. On the right, it displayed battlefields and current situations occurring in them with satellite technology.
The screen on the left depicted live video feed from soldiers on the battle field. Some of the thirty smaller screens were filled only with static, heeding the worst. Every time a screen fizzed out, they computer operators had a short prayer for the poor souls. In his down time, one operator had a rosary out and was repenting the Hail Mary prayer for the fallen men.
The middle screen showed the insides of a file labeled: Armed Forces.
It broke down into two other files, which included soldiers separated by branches of the army and soldiers that are separated by their health status.
That was all on the first floor of the room. On the second floor, there were operators checking phone calls, acknowledging statuses and approving or disapproving of airstrike requests. There was also a balcony that you could overlook the first floor from.
One specific operator was checking the security cameras. It wasn't an important job, but it needed to be done. He noticed that someone had buzzed for access to the main control room and put himself on speaker.
"General!" He shouted, causing a grey wolf in front of him to turn in his direction. He had a scar below his left eye and was wearing a green suit with five stars over his heart. "There are two people who want access to the room."
The General, his name was Felix O'Donnell, turned his head slightly so he could listen with more ease. "Can you identify them?"
The security official shook his head. "The only recognizable feature is that their wearing huge black cloaks with the Roman numeral IX on them."
The General's eyes widened slightly, and smiled softly. "Good; send them in." He affirmed.
The security official nodded and pushed a button for his microphone. "Visitors, you are clear for entry. Please, come in."
The figures came in through a door behind the General, who was looking at the screens. He fiddled his hand around in his pocket and found what he was looking for. It was a nice, short cigar with the brand name Villa Clara on it. He took out a lighter and lit the stogy, taking in a quick smoke.
"How are you two today?" He asked them politely while blowing smoke out his mouth, cigar in hand.
One figure walked forward and showed himself in the light, though almost all his body was hidden by the draping cloak besides his feet, which sported sneakers that were half white, and half red, divided perpendicular to the shoe's length.
"Let's cut to the chase, General. You know we can't stay here for too long." The figure said. It was obviously a male's voice, but it was not as deep as you might expect.
He nodded and turned toward them. "Jenkins! Pull up the file." He bellowed across the room. A moment later, the Soldier Status file on the middle screen was pulled up. In one file was a pie chart, marked: Percent K.I.A. Jenkins opened this file and showed a circle chart that showed about thirty percent of active soldiers being killed in action and twenty percent were wounded. The remaining fifty percent were active in duty.
"I'm not going to lie to you two. We are losing this war, and we need your help." He said, sparking interest in the two.
The first figure nodded. "What can we do for you?" He asked.
At O'Donnell's cue, a 3-D spinning image of an oil rig appeared. "Our Intel shows that this oil rig is a secret manufacturing plant for Eggman's robots." He explained. "His artificial intelligences have been enhanced, giving the robots almost sentient intelligence. We want you to infiltrate the oil rig, recover blueprints on the robots, and blow the rig sky high."
There was a short silence before the figures nodded and turned away. "I want our secrecy secured though, okay?" The second figure said. It was obvious that she was female.
The General nodded in understanding. "This will be archived as a Black Operation." He assured them. He noticed uneasiness in the two as well, so he said, "If it makes you feel better, I don't agree with the idiotic politicians. I think you're innocent."
They stopped for a while and the first figure turned. "Your one of the few." He said, before turning and running out quickly with his partner. If you looked close, you could catch a glimpse of his nine tails.
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…Syaoron the Fox presents…
…The Third in the Series…
The Mobius Code
Tribulations
Chapter 1
9 Months Later
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Oil Rig #19, The Shivery Sea
December-8-3456
1:17 Mobius Time
It was early in the morning at Oil Rig #19, and it looked like your average rig. From a distance, that is. It was so far out in the frigid waters, Mobians rarely came out this far, even in the summer. Glaciers would drift by the support shafts, making contact and erupting in a loud "dong" every now and then.
It was, however, not your average oil rig.
The robots that guarded the rig were the average Rooks, Knights and Bishops, but they had a developed A.I. that made them almost human in nature. On the outskirt edges of the rig, two humanoid, Mobian sized Knights serve as guards.
"Cripes! Is it cold or what!" One of them complained. As is shown, Eggman's Artificial Intelligence programing has improved. "How cold do you think it is?" It has to be below freezing, right?" The backdraft of this was that they had also developed emotions, original thoughts, and the inevitable complaints.
The other Knight, his self-assigned name was Murphy, was growing tired of his complaining but he put up with it nonetheless. "Well, there's ice so… yeah, freezing." He retorted while Laurence, the other Knight, continued to complain.
"You know who doesn't have guard patrol, in the ice?"
Murphy made another mechanical sigh. "I'm sure you'll tell me."
"Larry!" He accused of the Rook who wasn't there. "I bet he's sleeping, right now! Back in his tower, resting his big melon head on a soft pillow!"
Larry was considered the top dog, and due to that, he got a lot of perks, such as late sleeping. He was the most envied robot of them all. "Yeah, that's Larry." Murphy affirmed.
They walked into a nearby room to escape the cold and make a regular security check. Murphy checked the door on the opposite side of the room as Laurence continued to bellyache. "You know, I had lookout duty, eight weeks straight? Eight weeks, man!"
Lookout duty was considered the best job. All you did was sit in an air-conditioned room and make regular rounds on the windows to check for intruders. You could see all of the beautiful scenery from up there, and when the sun glistened off of the icebergs, it was quite the sight. Murphy felt a twinge of jealousy for his partner momentarily. "Yeah, lucky you." He commented.
"So I make one comment to the C.O. about Larry, and that's it for me." Laurence continued, "Larry gets my lookout duty, and I get to freeze my processors out here with you."
After making his check, he turned around to berate his partner with more complaints… only to find that he wasn't there.
"Murphy?" He asked, trying to find his comrade. He stepped out the door he'd been guarding and looked around. There wasn't a person in sight and it was eerily silent outside as all that could be heard was the whistle of the wind. "Stop messing around, Murph'!" He threatened, continuing to look around the walkway. The waves were crashing into the structure at a continuous rate, adding to the nervousness he felt.
He reached for the M1911 Colt pistol in his holster and held it out in front of him.
"You know, you robots leave too many openings."
Laurence turned around to face the perpetrator and found himself face to face with a yellow fox. Only this one had nine tails.
The fox waved his hand aside and severe wind formed, blowing Laurence into the cold waters below. He screamed as he fell into the icy sea below.
"Hey, Cosmo, are we clear?" He spoke into a radio transponder.
On a column from which steam rose a couple buildings south of him, Cosmo lied down with her Barrett M82 out in front of her. On top, it had a thermal scope and at the end there was a sound suppressor. She wore a similar black cloak to Tails', with the Roman numeral IX emblazoned on the back in reddish-orange. The hood was pulled down and it was unbuttoned below her waist, showing that she still wore her green dress underneath.
"Yes, Tails, your clear, but watch your corners." She advised him over the radio. "This steam is good for cover, but it's distorting with my thermals. The cold isn't helping."
"Yeah, I know what you mean." He replied. He searched his surroundings and ducked behind cover. "Cosmo, I've got two Tangos on my six. Take 'em out for me."
"Roger." She replied. Using the thermal optics, she easily spotted the two robots he referred to. "Keep your head low, Tails." She suggested before quickly unloading two high caliber rounds into the robots.
There was barely a sound from the muzzle as the robots dropped to the floor. "Alright, Tails. The next patrol is in fifteen minutes. Make your move." She informed him, at which he nodded.
He disposed of the metallic bodies in the ocean before rushing on. He stayed just below the speed of sound so as not to make a noise. His feet pattered almost noiselessly as he made his way to the room and rushed inside the door. Robots were guarding the corridors, so he made his way between pillars and computer equipment as quietly as possible.
He soon found the primary objective, a large computer that held the blueprints he was looking for. "I see the console." He told her through the radio. "I'm going to initiate the transfer."
"Copy your last." She affirmed, returning to her scouting. She then saw something that made skin crawl.
"Tails, I've got something on the thermal behind you!" She shouted into the radio.
Tails, struck with fear turned around immediately to see a Knight, blankly staring at him. Tails raised his right hand at him and scowled. Right next to the robot was a conveniently placed alarm button. "Don't… even… think about it." He warned the bot.
The robot was afraid of the intruder, knowing very well who he was. He looked at the intruder, then at the button, and back at the intruder again, thinking about duty over self-preservation. To hell with it the robot thought and he rushed for the button.
Reacting quickly, Tails shot the robot with a bolt of wind energy, tearing a hole the size of a quarter in its head. He didn't account for the fact that the forward momentum kept it traveling towards the button.
"Oh snap…" He said to himself while pulling the USB drive with the downloaded documents. "About to get loud."
The robot fell limp against the button and everything hit the fan from there.
Loud alarms blared throughout the rig, alerting every guard on the manufacturing plant. Cosmo heard it all and sighed. "Always flashy with you, huh Tails?" She questioned to herself, rolling her eyes. She jumped down, landing softly behind two other Knights.
She took their heads and bashed them together, rendering them inoperable. Over the radio, she told him, "I thought we were supposed to keep this silent!"
Tails shook his head as he ran down a walkway adjacent to hers. "Sorry, Cosmo! Meet me at the helipad for extraction!" He replied. He met a couple robots along the way and figured he had to deal with them.
While one Knight tried to rush him, the others stood back and fired their XK8 assault rifles at him. Tails smirked ad grabbed the one who was running at him with four of his nine tails, using him as a shield. When they finally stopped firing to reload, he hurled the squirming robot at them and used his own momentum to spin into a backhand. He then filled his tails with energy and diced them apart with them as if they were made of butter.
With no time to relax and his adrenaline pumping through his bloodstream, Tails set off for the helipad. While running across the thin walkways, he summoned columns of wind that tore through his enemies with ease, and he barely batted an eye.
Over the passing months, Tails had honed his senses and hardened his talents through several experiences. He learned that displaying emotions in public could ultimately lead to that person, or himself, becoming a target. His emotions were, hence forth, hidden in the public.
But out here, his emotions fueled him.
With his tails rotating behind him to provide an extra boost in speed, he performed his new move. Forming a bullet shaped barrier before him, he pushed himself to Mach 3 and tore through all robots in his path. "What pushovers!" He mocked as he continued to tear through the machines. He soon found himself in an open area with four robots.
Skidding to a stop, he landed in a fighting pose and was about to strike when he heard, "Watch your head!" and he immediately ducked down.
Cosmo came in, duel-wielding PP-2000s. She flipped over Tails, guns blazing and she had soon shredded the robots surrounding Tails.
"Your timing is always impeccable, Cosmo." Tails commented, leaving Cosmo with a smile of accomplishment on her face.
They then heard loud cracks and they dove behind opposite pillars. Cosmo looked around the corner briefly and announced, "Snipers! You got an idea?"
Tails nodded. "Alright; we switch on my mark!" He instructed her. "Ready? Mark!" He shouted and they switched places in perfect sync. Tails had grabbed a robot body on his way.
Afterwards, he dashed from behind cover with a war cry, using the bot as a shield. Cosmo followed up behind him, downing some snipers on the wall with her own rifle. Tails got just below the wall and created a wave of wind that cut through the robots or caused them to fall off.
While Tails was working on opening the door, Cosmo covered his six with her sniper. She gunned down a couple stragglers while Tails hacked the keypad, opening the door. "We're good; let's go!" Tails ordered after he got the door to open. They ran out into the open and knocked down robots with their expert teamwork that was also maximized over the last nine months.
Tails scooped an XK8 off the ground in mid-run and spotted a group of Knights up ahead. "SWITCH!" He yelled to Cosmo. He knelt and sprayed bullets in an arc that encompassed the robots in front of him while Cosmo jumped over his back and kicked one of the remaining robots. She quickly grabbed its SPAS-12 shotgun and shot high-velocity pellets at the bots in front of her. The spray hit several robots and she smirked; pumping the action back and forward again. She continued this repetition of shooting and quickly cocking the action till the remainder of the forces were gone, leaving them in the helipad area… with robots surrounding them on all sides on elevated walkways.
"Aw, come on!" Cosmo complained, backing herself against Tails.
One Knight was colored differently, being black rather than the normal red. "Attention Intruders!" It bellowed, "Stand down, you're surrounded! Give us the data file now!" He rambled on about their capture and whatever while Cosmo and Tails formulated a plan.
Quickly analyzing the numbers of the enemy, Tails decided, "Cosmo, I'm going Gale. Stay out of this."
She nodded and stood aside for a moment. It took him a bit of concentration, as he hadn't done this in a while, but it all paid off with a satisfying click and the normal rush of energy. A large white aura appeared around him as he looked at the robots around him.
"Come get some." He taunted before raising his arms and calculating all the while. "CYCLONE SCYTHE!" He shouted while bringing his arms down, hailing a gust that was blown in the direction of the enemies, siphoning them.
With the numbers lowered and the walkways destroyed, leaving the robots on the same play floor, Tails got busy. Covering his arms in energy, he sped forward at Mach 1, dicing robots one by one. Cosmo provided accurate cover fire with her sniper all the while. At the speed he was going, with the white aura still around him, Tails look like a white and yellow blur breezing by; destroying all the robots in sight.
The small army lasted no more than a few more minutes before they were among the scrap heap. "Well, I'd say that was worth tripping the alarm for." Tails summarized. "We better leave before they regroup."
Cosmo nodded and they were about to take off when a gaping hole opened up on the platform before them. They could hear an elevator rising as a humongous robot appeared from it.
This model had a Gatling gun on one of its shoulders and a rocket pod on the next. It also had a long sword in one hand that was befitting of its immense size. The head was rounded and its armor was a dark gold color. This was the Egg Emperor 2.0.
They stared at the new threat with blank looks on their faces. Tails narrowed his eyes at the robot, studying its every weakness. He noticed that this was an older model, as shown by cracks in the armor.
He then frowned. "What… is that it?" He asked out of disappointment. His white aura grew ever bigger as he inverted to Cyclone Tails by opening the next gate. He held his arm in the air and began gathering energy.
Seeing an opportunity, the robot fired its Gatling gun, spraying bullets at the target. Tails stood there, brushing the bullets aside. In his right hand, which was raised, a sphere of concentrated energy spun. It emitted a high-pitched whir that sounded like a constant ringing.
He ran forward and plunged the sphere into the robot, tearing it apart from the inside. The robot collapsed, inoperable and irreparable. "C'mon Cosmo, let's get out of here." He said.
She nodded and was soon swooped up and into his arms. He spun his nine tails, slowly at first. About ten seconds later, it was an orange blur that looked like helicopter blades. They zoomed away from the construct and Tails smirked at another job well done. Cosmo reached through her pocket and clicked a detonator, blowing the rig to kingdom come.
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Miniature Chapel Room, Castle Acorn
December-8-3456
9:57 Mobius Time
Castle Acorn, which was all that remained standing of Mobotropolis aside from G.U.N. HQ, had a nice little chapel. It was filled with whites and purples and was currently holding a Mass. A cross hung from the ceiling above the area where the priest was preaching.
"We celebrate today, as the Feast Day of the Conception of the Holy Immaculate Virgin Mary." A purple hedgehog in a purple robe was preaching. "She was conceived in the womb of Saint Ann, and since then she was blessed with God's Holy Prevenient Grace. From her very birth, she was destined to hold our savior, Jesus Christ." He finished. He then gave the necessary dismissal, and the crowd was let go.
From the crowd, Sonic the hedgehog walked up to the priest and patted him on the shoulder. "Man, I didn't know the son I didn't know I had was such an accomplished priest." He complimented him.
Gary blushed slightly at the praise that he hadn't received from his father in so long. "Thanks… dad." He replied to him while turning to leave. He dipped his finger in the fountain of holy water that he had blessed and made the formation of the Cross over his body.
Everyone was waiting outside for them to head to breakfast. Once they joined up, they all traveled to the nearest juice bar, the Café Chaotix. It wasn't a well-known place, but it was quite small and quaint.
Plus, it was owned by a couple friends of theirs.
When they all walked in, they were met a by the young bee that acted as a waiter: Charmy. Behind the bar was a purple chameleon with various forms of ninja apparel on his body, including wrist guards and kunai holsters. He was Espio.
Finally, there was Vector, a green crocodile that played piano in the back. The twenty grabbed a couple tables and chairs to sit down and take a break. Then came the normal topic of conversation.
"So, do you think Tails is okay?" Cream asked, starting the general topic.
Shane shrugged. "Who knows? We can only hope for the best that those two are okay." He expertly answered, leaving a pocket for conversation.
An awkward silence occurred thereafter, leaving them wondering what to say next. Amy was the first to speak… or cry, rather.
"Who are we kidding?" She mumbled through her cries. "We can't keep our minds off of him for one moment, can we?"
All were silent after that. All conversations seemed to drift back to the yellow kitsune and his green significant other. Knuckles was seething with anger. "It's all because of that idiotic parliament!"
They nodded in unison. There was a place to hate those politicians in everyone's hearts.
"Can't say I disagree." Espio spoke from the bar. "Politics was always corrupt."
Charmy paused while serving another table to insert his two cents. "Amen to that!" He proclaimed, before continuing to serve tables their drinks.
"Do you think he'll be okay?" Vector asked, bringing up the same topic.
At that moment, the door opened to reveal Geoffrey St. John, the skunk. "I'd say he'll be quite alright." He stated, while walking over to the table of twenty.
Shadow looked skeptically at him. "And what makes you so sure?"
St. John then smirked, holding up a document enclosed in a yellow envelope. "We got a lead on where the kit lives."