An Author's Note:
Chapter Two! Hoorah! It's pretty different from what happened in the forum, but it still creates the same setting and serves the same purpose. Two new characters are introduced.
I don't own Sonic, Eggman, or any of the OCs, except for the one that I say does.
Bolt the Wolf's OCs: Marl the Fox, Ren Swanson the Cat, Bolt the Wolf
DarkCloud 780's OCs: Riku the Hedgehog, Miles Prower (sort of, since she's a girl with a new personality), Serina the Kitsune
Omega 445's OC: Kyle the Kitsune
Brice Smudar's OC: Tyler Scrimmer
More authors' OCs will be added and credited in later chapters.
Also, if your OC was not included in this part of the plot, and they WERE part of the plot in the forum, don't worry; they ARE in the story. Just not now.
Kyle broke through the cover of trees, running through the forest as fast as he could towards his home, which was mercifully close to the shore, but not close enough that he didn't have to run there to make it in time. The mossy branches and deep brown tree trunks only thickened as he continued. The forest steadily darkened as a shelf of clouds slowly covered the sky and blocked out the sun, painting the forest a nice blue-green color.
Eventually, he made it into some sort of natural depression in the ground, like a very shallow crater. In the center of the shallow dip was a large tree, slightly taller and wider than those around it. Buried between two thick roots were a pair of steel double doors. Kyle pressed a button on his wristwatch, and the doors opened with a pneumatic hiss, blowing away a few stray leaves.
Kyle marched down the ramped floor to the main hallway, the lights turning on as he did so in luminescent white strips along the floor and ceiling. He passed by several doors and open arches, all designed in the neo-tech architecture that his father favored, to emulate typical 1950's style sci-fi.
"Serina, are you near here?" Kyle called. There wasn't a response for a moment until a door opened, revealing a small boy, around seven or eight years old, with shaggy black hair and a hoodie.
"She's in the garden again. Do you want me to get her?" the boy asked.
"No thanks, Tyler. I'll call her." Kyle said. Tyler nodded and returned to his room. Kyle walked over to the wall and typed a command into the console mounted there. A thin rod with a tiny, spherical microphone poked out of the it, extending right to Kyle's face.
"Serina, please come to the main defense chamber immediately." he spoke calmly into the microphone, transmitting his message across the mile long underground complex to the artificial garden room, where it was projected from internal speakers.
Confident that Serina would be with him in no time, Kyle speed walked to the control room he'd mentioned. The doors slid open in front of him, allowing him to enter the dark metallic chamber. The curved wall in front of him was covered in monitors, all overseeing the vast Hermitage. He sat in his chair and typed a command. Another screen was pulled up, showing a detailed map of the surrounding Viridor Forest within a mile radius of his subterranean home.
The map was green, with small yellow dots slowly moving from the shore towards one of the bunker's several entrances. Those must be Ren, Bolt, and the others at the beach, Kyle thought to himself. They most likely didn't live in the area, which meant that they were travelers. And since they were travelers, then they would probably be staying in a the run-down hostel a few miles up the shoreline. Why not be a generous host? I already have two unexpected people down here. A few more guests couldn't hurt if they need a better place to stay. An alarm began to ring loudly within the control room, jerking his attention back to the screen. The yellow dots were moving at the same pace, but behind them was a cluster of red dots, most likely the enemies they'd fought earlier...
"How far do you think Kyle could've gone?" Ren asked as they walked through the forest, stepping over tree roots and letting their eyes wander over the dim blue-green foliage of the trees.
"We're going the right way, I know that much." Marl said. "He left a pretty clear trail."
"Did you see where that white Hedgehog went? He was here for the fight, but I haven't seen him since," Bolt said, keeping his eyes on the pinecones that he was juggling.
"I haven't seen him." Sonic said as Bolt tripped over a root, scattering the pinecones everywhere. Miles helped him up, trying not to laugh.
"What kind of weapon do you think he has way out here?" Ren wondered aloud.
"My bet is some sort of trap," Bolt said. "Like spiked pits covered in leaves, or trees that fall on you when you break a trip wire. Stuff like that."
"Bolt, I'm pretty sure Kyle isn't an Ewok. I'm sure it's something like a laser cannons mounted on the tops of the taller trees." Sonic said.
Marl stopped inspecting the ground in front of him, suddenly standing straight up, his ears twitching.
"It's too quiet. There are no more birds or insects near here." he said.
"Did something scare them off?" Miles asked.
"...Yes. And we're about to meet it. Let's see if we can't get any further, though." Marl took off, his cape snapping behind him as he ran. The others followed him until they reached a small rounded clearing, with the ground sloping toward the center. In the center was a tree, and lodged between its' roots looked like a set of metal doors...
They stopped, all five of them ringed around the tree and facing away from it, ready to fight off whatever was coming their way. The bank of clouds finally blotted out all the blue in the sky, dimming down the clearing like a celestial light switch. The Marl stiffened again, perking his ears towards an unheard noise.
"...Hmm. Him again?" he muttered.
The white Hedgehog broke through the trees once more, covered with even more bruises and scrapes.
"Well look who it is. Deja vu. What's the problem now?" Sonic asked him as he staggered towards them.
"It's the same problem. That fat human's back. And he brought friends." the Hedgehog said, the black swirling streaks on his arm much more clear.
"He can bring as many friends as he wants. It still won't change the fact that we'll beat him." Sonic said, punching his fist into his open palm.
"Well, before we have to kick some more robotic butt, what's your name? We can't just say 'hey you!' all the time," Bolt said.
"It's Riku." he said, lifting his sword and facing the forest like the rest of them.
It wasn't long before they heard the tell-tale whirring of motors and jets. Eggman came back, once again occupying all space in his pod with his obesity and ego.
"Oh good, I've finally caught up with the lot of you. You didn't think I'd let you get away with demolishing my creations? You could say it got me a little...fired up." He snapped his fingers, and a pointed weapon unfolded out from underneath his pod, clicking into the shape of a gun barrel. There was a high-pitched whine as it powered up, until it released a stream of orange flames, glowing in bright contrast to the dim greenish-blue of the forest. Sonic leapt out of the way as the jet of fire ignited the ground he stood on. A second gun popped out of the pod, though this one release a smelly, yellowish liquid, which turned out to be oil, seeing as it made the flames expand.
Bolt shot a cascade of electricity at the pod, electrifying it. Eggman's teeth rattled as he was shocked, but his pod had absorbed most of the energy. Eggman hmphed and pressed a button, lowering a plexiglass shield around the pod, shielding it from more lightning.
More flames shot out, following Ren, who ran around in a random pattern to avoid it. The fire followed her, burning much of the clearing in the process. She tried to blow it out with a gust of air, but it only made them grow.
Marl fired an explosive arrow at the pod, pushing it backwards into a tree. Eggman righted himself and sent a concentrated blast at the base of the tree he'd run into, burning through it and knocking it over. Marl dodged the tree, which promptly burst into flame. Soon, much of the clearing was inflamed, shedding shimmering waves of heat into the air. More trees caught fire, adding to the danger.
Riku tried to jump up and slash the pod head-on, but the gun's barrel struck him, throwing him backward into the largest patch of fire. Ren sent a burst of air at him, pushing him onto the few places left that weren't burning.
"I have an idea!" Riku yelled, waving his arms toward him to indicate that everyone should follow him. He jumped over a fire and landed behind the tree, meeting everyone else there.
He outlined his plan."If we all attack the pod at the same time, then we'll be able to destroy it. When I say go, we all strike. Agreed?"
"We need to try something before the rest of the forest catches. I'm up for it."said Marl.
"Me too," affirmed Ren.
"Me three," said Bolt.
"Me four," Sonic and Miles said simultaneously.
"Alright. Let's do it." Riku jumped out from behind the tree, only to be met by a furious stream of molten gas. He grazed past it, singing his jacket, and advanced upon the pod. He jumped and lodged his sword between the plastic plating, twisting as he did so. The pod's shield snapped off.
"Now!" Riku yelled.
Ren held the pod in place with several streams of air. Bolt electrified it, frying the circuits, as Marl shot an explosive arrow into the hull. Miles and Sonic kicked it from different sides at the same time, popping the pod's engine out. The vehicle immediately fell to the ground, spilling Eggman onto the charred grass.
He quickly stood up, pressing a button on his lapel.
"You didn't think I'd come without a little help, did you?" he said, backing away from them. More robots, identical to those that they'd fought earlier, rushed out from the tree cover. There were far, far more now than they'd ever fought at once. This wasn't going to be pretty...
Serina walked through the cool hallways of Kyle's bunker, the artificial light gleaming off of her silver fur. She wished that she could fly by spinning her tail around, as Kyle could. She may be a Kitsune, but you needed more than one tail to fly. She waited for the metal doors to whoosh open, allowing her to step inside the control room.
"Hey hun, what did you need me for?" she asked.
Kyle turned to her, pointing to the screen. "Look."
The video was captured by a security camera mounted on a tree, giving them a bird's-eye-view of the scene below. Hundreds of robots were fighting against six different people, but the people seemed to be doing well enough. It looked that way, until Kyle zoomed in. The white Hedgehog was bleeding out of a nasty gash in his side, and the green Wolf was carrying his Cat friend away from the battle, only to be blocked by another wall of robots. The orange Kitsune wasn't hurt too badly, but she was definitely getting tired, her kicks and punches missing more and more frequently. The only person who wasn't hurt was the blue Hedgehog, yet it still looked bad for the others in the clearing.
"Kyle, you need to do something. They're not gonna last much longer. Is the security grid operable?" Serina asked.
"Yes, I was just about to say that. Once we get these people inside, will you be able to heal them?"
Serina watched the screen carefully for a moment.
"...Yes, I should be able to heal them. But the wound that the white Hedgehog has may need some added medical help."
"Good. I'm gonna release the FightBots."
"Okay Kyle," she said, bending over slightly and kissing him. "I'm gonna be right at the entrance so they know where to go."
"Wait for most of the enemies to be destroyed first," he kissed back.
"I'll do that." she said. Kyle watched her walk out of the room, then shook himself slightly. No time to be distracted now.
He typed a command into the computer:
[Active System: Enter, Defense Grid: Enter, No. of FightBots: ¾, Manual or Automatic: Manual, DNA Confirmation]
A glass panel opened on the keyboard. Kyle removed his glove and placed his hand on it, and the panel began to glow, outlining the creases and lines in his palm with a wave of UV light, which reflected back into the computer's system.
[Visual Confirmation: Complete.] The screen read. Kyle felt a sharp jab as the panel stabbed his finger to take a small blood sample.
[DNA Confirmation: Complete. Execute?]
"Yes." Kyle said out loud. A ceiling tile retracted, creating a square hole. A helmet and visor descended from the hole, connected by thousands of wires and cables, stopping right over Kyle's chair. He put the helmet on, completely covering his whole head.
Kyle now saw the battlefield above ground, as seen through the eyes of one of his FightBots. The screen was monochrome, and a steady stream of numbers and artificial vitals scrolled in the top right corner of his vision.
"Section A, destroy enemy targets. Section B, destroy enemy targets. Execute." Kyle said. A picture of a green thumbs-up winked at him in his vision, indicating that his robots were following orders without a hitch. Aboveground, several camouflaged hatches were opening, spilling out hundreds of dark red Fightbots, each one a metal torso, arms, and head on a set of wheels.
"Viewpoint, FightBot Section A Leader." His point of view suddenly changed to that of the robotic leader of Section A, who was currently targeting a robot that was about to finish off the white Hedgehog. A red target icon appeared on the enemy, and the screen suddenly jerked as the Section A leader punched at it. Kyle saw a robotic limb snap forward and puncture the hull of the enemy, pulling out wires and circuits as the arm retracted. Wham! Crunch! Snap!
[Repeat Action]
Section A leader punched again and again, ripping apart the enemy, and saving the Hedgehog's life. In the bottom of Kyle's vision, other smaller screens showed that the rest of Section A and B were destroying the enemy mechas. There was no resistance, since the enemies were only attacking their living targets.
The other Animals stopped what they were doing to watch the metal-upon-metal carnage as the FightBots tore Eggman's mechas to pieces, littering the burning clearing with shrapnel and shattered circuit boards.
Kyle heard Serina's voice off to the side, so he switched his point of view.
"Viewpoint, Camera A-1." His vision now showed the top of Serina's head, since the camera was positioned right over the bunker's main entrance.
"Everyone! Listen to me! We have medical supplies in here! Hurry up!" she shouted over the battle. Serina stood aside to let the other Animals run past her.
"Hey! Blue guy! Aren't you coming too?" she called to the blue Hedgehog.
"Nah, I've got other stuff to do. Thanks anyway!" he called back, running off into the forest. Serina watched him dash off, and it began to rain. The clouds that had accumulated all day finally released their loads, showering down onto the copse, extinguishing the flames.
"Exit Viewpoint. Execute." Kyle said. The helmet unattached itself from his head and rose back up into the ceiling. He glanced at the color monitor again, happy to see that the rain was putting out all of the fires.
