Chapter Two
A week following the misleading speech, the Freedom Fighters were called to that very country to assist some members of the United Cyborg Hegemony on a mission to crack down on a slave trading ring. That particular ring was notorious for its brutal cruelty, in that the slavers used their slaves as shields when attacked and frequently tortured them for entertainment purposes.
Soaring thousands of feet up in the dark, star-studded sky over a neighboring country in the Northeast, the Freedom Fighters prepared to disembark from their stealth transport and drop onto a meeting spot close to the target compound. Each member, save for Rotor, who was piloting, prepared for the impending jump. Tails and Kaolin weren't fearful of a freefall because they were accustomed to flight. Bunny, as well, was unafraid, since she had a flight system in her cybernetic feet. She adjusted her hat while displaying a determined face, and glanced at the remaining four Freedom Fighters who weren't so calm. Sally and Sonic were visibly nervous, but ready nevertheless, and held hands while awaiting the go ahead. Antoine and Amy were clinging to each other for dear life.
The signal was given, and they jumped into the black expanse. Out of all of them, Kaolin enjoyed the rush of skydiving the most, and relished the feeling of the wind roaring past her body. As expected, Antoine and Amy screamed the entire way down. Moments later, their chutes opened, and they glided to a grassy area about a mile away from the building in question. Some touched down more gracefully than others, though Antoine landed with quite a thud. After Bunny helped him to his feet, the team noticed two other people approaching, and everyone immediately prepared for combat, just in case it wasn't who they thought they were meeting. They relaxed when they saw that the individuals were indeed agents from the UCH. One of them was a teal fox named Oryn, whose legs had been replaced with cybernetic ones following a landmine accident. The other was a leopard named Jack, who had lost his right arm, part of his tail, and his right foot in a ship crash. Both appeared menacing, but their kind tones quelled the overall uneasiness of the group.
"Glad to see all of you made it safely," exclaimed Oryn with a smile. "I am Oryn, and my associate here is Jack. No need to introduce yourselves, as we are well aware of your identities due to your past heroics."
Each of the Freedom Fighters smiled, and Sonic was the first to reply, who, with his typical cool countenance, said, "Yeah, glad to see you made it, too. We panicked a little when you showed, though."
Oryn responded with a slight chuckle,"Heh sorry. We should've stood within view, but there are people after us, so just a precaution. Bounties and such." He paused briefly to look at the surrounding individuals, and continued, "Let's get going, we have plans to make."
They made their way to another meeting place and met up with three other UCH operatives. One of them had a computer out, displaying a layout of the one-story compound, and the group examined the data and discussed the best course of action. After one was decided upon, they double-checked their gear and boarded a small hovering platform, using it as a rapid, low-sound, gound-hugging means of reaching the building. Once they came within a few hundred feet, they set the craft down and scanned the premises for guards and cameras. Oddly enough, they found none. Even more to their surprise was the fact that one of the doors was wide open. It took them a short while to realize that it wasn't Robotnik or a major terrorist group they were hunting, just a group of lowlifes who enjoyed treating sentient beings as little more than beasts of burden.
Warily, they entered the building and navigated the dank, wan hallways. Oryn, who was in the lead, stopped at a corner of a four-way hallway junction, and motioned the others to huddle up next to the wall. He had detected an armed guard.
The guard was halfheartedly making his rounds, bored well out of his mind, and wondering why he didn't take his family's advice to attend college and become an engineer. The only bit of joy that rested within his corrupted psyche was the knowledge that he would be acquiring his own slave very soon, and an almost nonexistent grin presented itself on his lips.
The servomotors in Oryn's legs buzzed ever so slightly as he gripped his knife and prepared to make his move. The guard barely had time to think before his jugular vein was severed, and his screams were muffled to almost nothing by Oryn's gloved hand. Amy nearly passed out from the sight, but one of the UCH operatives kept her from toppling over.
The group continued down a hallway until they came upon a locked door. On the other side was a room containing most of the slavers, who were chuckling and having a good time while they watched a bleary-eyed, malnourished teenage feline dance in her swimsuit. All of them had automatic weapons. Antoine, Sonic and Jack were keeping an eye on the other hallways, guns aimed and ready. Sonic still hated the fact that he was holding a gun, but he knew that being without one would probably be foolish in this situation. Another UCH operative used his cybernetic eye to peer through the door and scope out their targets. When he gave the go ahead, Oryn carefully applied explosives to the door and motioned for the others to stand back and prepare to rush in. The blast propelled the door into one of the slavers, plowing him into a wall and killing him instantly. The group barged inside and mowed-down all but one of the slavers with automatic gunfire. That one remaining slaver managed to slip out through a different doorway, down yet another hall and toward the slave holding room, where there were three more guards and two more slavers. Aware that it was a race against time, Sonic quickly and used his renowned speed to best the escapee, but not before the hapless criminal could shout a warning. They entered the holding room as fast as they could and opened fire, killing all three guards and incapacitating one slaver. The one who remained unharmed ignored the liberators and began shooting slaves with a chaingun. Tails put a bullet through his trigger hand, causing him to drop his gun immediately, and the slaver was tackled by various UCH and Freedom Fighter members. Jack used his robotic hand, which was more of a claw, and held him above the floor while clasping his entire head.
The group gazed upon the nightmarish sight. Over a dozen of the slaves were dead, and many were wounded. One of them, a young lion, had been shot in the chest, and Tails ran to help him, Kaolin in tow. He did the best he could to keep him awake and stop the bleeding, but watched as the life completely disappeared from the child's eyes. Tails sat there on his knees, motionless and numb. His lips quivered, and a warm tear traveled down his golden-orange muzzle. Kaolin consolingly placed her hand on his shoulder, trying in vain to comfort him, but he slowly and delicately removed it, stood, and looked at the slaver with a steely glare. She knew what was about to happen, but was unable to stop him as he bolted to the slaver with speed that would make even Sonic wince, knocking Jack out of the way. Tails went ballistic. The irate two-tailed fox clubbed him over the head with the butt of his gun, creating a loud whack noise and sending some blood on a wall, and punched him twice before being held back by nearly everyone present. The slaver collapsed to the floor, unconscious and bleeding.
"Tails, calm down! I understand your anger more than any of us, but we need him for questioning!" exclaimed Kaolin as she held one of his arms.
Tails struggled and growled for a few moments before her words sunk into his livid mind. He set aside his almost overwhelming desire to obliterate the child-murderer and got everyone to release their grip. Angrily, he spat at the madman before turning around and wandering to a corner. He placed his forearm on a wall and rested his head on it, subsequently dropping his gun, which sparked as the barrel scraped the concrete floor. He gritted his teeth while his mind pounded, his heart raced, his body shivered, and more tears streamed down his face. Never before, during his entire existence, had he wanted to kill somebody that badly.
Kaolin looked over at her distraught husband with concern. She'd never seen him that angry, but it was understandable. For as long as she'd known him, he despised people who abused children. She herself harbored a particular disliking for them; possibly enough to beat them to death, just as Tails attempted to do. As was the probable mindset of most of the others present, she wanted to assist Tails, but she knew that it wasn't needed in this case. They'd planned to take at least two slavers captive so the UCH could interrogate them for information concerning other similar slave rings. Tails generally displayed more restraint than that, and she wondered if there was something he wasn't saying.
While the others assessed the damage, the loud hum of the country's armed forces' aircraft could be heard overhead. Jack muttered an obscenity, and the other UCH operatives slung their weapons. The Freedom Fighters looked at each other in confusion and fear, and slung their weapons as well. Less than a minute later, troops poured into the building, successively arresting everyone present and escorting the former slaves to transports. The two remaining slavers were executed on the spot.
All of them were tossed into a prison deep within the nation's capitol. Following lockup, Tails and Kaolin sat next to each other on a cold metal bench, gathering their thoughts while watching the others do the same.
"Kaolin...about what happened back there...my lack of restraint. It's from something that's come up recently," said Tails to his wife in almost a mutter. "Doctors believe my mother has a terminal illness, and since I heard that, I haven't felt like myself. The report of her condition came to my attention a few days ago." His nose flinched as he fought the growing urge to shed a tear.
The light-grey fox placed her arm over his shoulders and pulled him near. She sympathetically replied, "I hope they're wrong, Tails. I truly do," and tenderly rested her head against his.
For two days, the group was held in confinement. No phone calls. No lawyers. Only silence, boredom, and three meals per day. A court hearing followed, resulting in various false accusations and an outright ban from the country. Each team returned to their respective headquarters, befuddled and annoyed.
The following day, the nation's socialist leader presented another misleading speech. Wearing attire even more flattering to his appearance than before, he proclaimed, "Good citizens of Shauland, and indeed, good people of all the world who may be watching, I come before you with an addendum to my previous warnings. Just days ago, the Freedom Fighters, in league with the United Cyborg Hegemony, came within our borders unauthorized and massacred thirty-four innocent people. They claimed, in good faith, that they were tracking down a slave-trading ring, but these 'slavers' were just people running a drill on how to deal with the slave-trading problem. The transgressors were repentant, though they showed little sadness. Despite the recommendation of many of my advisors to deal a severe punishment, I have decided to simply deport them, and a enact a year's ban from our wonderful homeland. As I have said before, they are dangerous and misguided, with very little foresight, as seen clearly on that tragic night."
The Freedom Fighters were absolutely stunned at the blatant falsehood of his words, as were the members of the UCH who participated in the raid. It was obvious that he was not merely trying to harm their reputation, he was trying to annihilate it. For what reason, they didn't know. The group discussed the matter as they sat in the entertainment area of their headquarters, and even brought the corresponding UCH operatives into the loop via video conference. The discussion drew well into the night, and after getting off on various tangents, some of them amusing, friendships between the two organizations were forged. The result of the pertinent portions of the discourse remained inconclusive, and everyone agreed to simply keep a sharp eye out for further Shauland developments.
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Keep an eye out for chapter three, coming soon! Thank you for reading, and please leave a review!
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Canon Sonic characters and places © Sonic Team, Sega
Kaolin, story, original characters and organizations, etc © NuclearCookout
