A/N: Hoping to spend most of the evening catching up on things, so count on seeing a new chapter not only to this, but to things on my YouTube channel as well. Breath of a New Era, Darkened Blur and Phoenix Wright should all be caught up by the end of summer, and I will record for a Breath of the Wild vlog next week, since it's taking so long for me to unlock everything. Call it a splash of inspiration from my nephew, if you would. Anyway, here is the new chapter. Hope you enjoy! And no, still haven't settled on Dying Resistance or Freedom's Hefty Price, so placeholder still in effect. Also debated on having Sonic revived, using the two Emerald groups, but then thought a little more and decided not to because I know that at his core, Sonic is purehearted and respects "the circle of life". Also, even if his spirit was still lingering for whatever reason, he'd see how much Tails grows and the bonds between the Resistance members strengthening, and would not want to stand in the way of that. Also, the chapter title is not a misnomer for Katy Perry's song, though I may make a Resistance tribute video using that at some point. Anyway, please enjoy!

Dying Resistance: Freedom's Hefty Price

Chapter 2: Firework

A couple of weeks after Sonic's life celebration, Knuckles stood in Resistance Headquarters, looking around and wondering if it had been worth it. They had suffered a tremendous blow, especially since Sonic had essentially been a very effective morale booster and second-in-command. Sally had taken over his roles in the movement against Eggman, but with a heavy heart and some reluctance, as she knew Sonic had more spirit and tenacity than she ever would.

Astra and Tobias, after they had managed to get Blaze back into good spirits, had served as round the clock bodyguards for her, as Tails had no doubt in his mind that she would be next if they weren't careful with their strikes. For now, the Resistance was mainly striking military targets and weapons factories, as they didn't want to risk harming too many innocent civilians. They were also careful to check for the Eggman Empire slogan on the target before deciding what was to be done about it, and if it seemed abandoned, they occupied it and used it as a base of operations for the nearby region. After a while, Tails sighed and muttered, "Guys...we all miss Sonic, but I think we need to move to targets of a larger scale now and start cutting off the supply chain for his robots. Sonic didn't die so we could sit on our collective bums and do nothing. He died so we could protect our beautiful planet in his place! Who's with me?"

Blaze, Sally, Knuckles. Amy and Shadow nodded in agreement with Tails, then helped him choose the first supply depot they would attack. Blaze added, placing a hand on her growing stomach, "Just promise me that whoever goes along on the said mission won't get hurt. Also...doesn't attacking the heart of Eggman's forces seem a bit premature?"

Tails sighed and shook his head, "It's not premature at all. He started it when he killed Sonic! If anything, we've been generous, holding off as long as we have. Blaze, I need you to do me and everyone else a favor though, and go back to the Sol Dimension for a short time. I think the last thing Sonic would want us to do is place you and your unborn kid in danger. I know that your people don't like him, so I'll contact Marine and see if she can host you aboard her ship for a short time until this blows over."

Blaze nodded, then added, "That would be all right, so long as I can come back before the child is born. Sonic told me before he died that he wanted his kid born on Mobius, and I want to fulfill that final wish." Thinking a moment, Tails went over to the window and looked out, then told her reluctantly, "All right, you can come back after a few weeks. We'll have someone meet you at Resistance HQ. Just don't be late." Blaze nodded her head and gave Tails a hug, knowing she would miss him while she was gone. Though at first the two had argued a lot, they had become the best of friends over the course of the war, brought together not only by the death of the Blue Blur but also by common interest of keeping the peace and restoring Mobius to its former glory. She told him, "Good luck, and please be careful." Tails smiled and nodded. Though he wasn't sure how the mission to destroy a supply depot would go, he knew that it was a very risky undertaking. Perhaps he should put this one off on some of the rookies, Shadow and Silver, just in case. He didn't want Sally, Nicole, Amy, Knuckles or any of the command team to be injured. It was bad enough that Sonic had been taken from them.

After Blaze left using the Sol Emeralds, Tails thought a moment, then gasped, "Wait a minute...what if we got some outside help with defeating Eggman and Infinite?"

Knuckles asked, "Outside help...what do you mean?"

Nicole smiled, "I think I know where he's going with this, Knuckles. He wants to call Megaman in for help...but wouldn't it take a lot of power for us to be able to communicate with him?"

Tails responded, "It would, but if we reroute power from one of the weapons factories we occupied, to here at HQ for a few hours, we should be able to get through. Besides, it might be kinda cool to talk to him again. Who knows? Maybe he's gotten stronger too."

Shadow, who had been listening the entire time, finally spoke up and told him, "Even if he hasn't, he could always bring Dr. Light, Roll and Protoman with him. Between the four of them, they should be able to manage something that'll help bring an end to this war."

Sally nodded, "He's right,guys. If Sonic were still alive, he wouldn't be happy that this has gone on as long as it has. This war needs to end. If not for us, then for Sonic's daughter. If she grows up in a time of war, she'll never know how to relax."

Tails asked, "Just curious, did you and Blaze manage to come up with some names for the baby before she left?"

Sally responded, "Yes, we came up with three. Alexis if she's a hybrid, Melanie if she's a hedgehog, and Marissa if she's a said she was leaning more towards her being a hybrid though, since she and Sonic can both control very powerful gems, which could prevent any offspring resulting from them getting together, from leaning either way in terms of what species the child is. So, we'll just have to wait and see."

Tails nodded, "Right. Well, let's get in touch with Megaman then. I...I am worried about one more thing though." He sighed.

Knuckles, having known Tails for a long time and guessing at where his mind was going, added, "We have to tell him either way, Tails. Let's just break it to him as gently as possible, okay? And make sure you tell him exactly how it all ended for Sonic. While it wasn't pleasant for any of us to witness...he will want to know everything. You should know that better than anyone."

Tails nodded, "Right. I'm ready. Okay, Nicole, reroute power from Prower Weapons Factory 645 to this base and open a channel to Megaman's world as soon as you get that done." He trembled and began to cry a little, the night before Sonic's imprisonment on the Death Egg, and the subsequent fatal beatdown he had faced playing over in the young fox's mind. Before he could say another word, Sally walked over and hugged him. She then knelt to meet the young fox's eyes, and told him, "Tails...how about you just tell Megaman about when Sonic was captured? I know you saw both pummelings, but it might be better for Megaman to hear it from someone who wasn't forced to interrupt a conversation with his best friend as he was living out what could have been his final moments."

Knuckles nodded in agreement and added, "She's right,Tails. It'll be a lot easier on you if you let someone else tell him about the final beatdown of Sonic's life. After all, Eggman did…" He trailed off and clenched a fist, then took a deep breath and continued, "oh so graciously, broadcast his torture for the whole Resistance, and those interested in helping the cause, to see." Tails sighed and nodded, "Yeah, I guess you guys are right." He then said to Nicole, "Just do me one more small favor in regards to this, Nicole. Reroute just a little more power from another station and get Blaze in on the call too. After all, Sonic didn't completely die after the beating and his last moments were with her and their kid. He died in her arms, a hero, who was completely at peace with everything that happened. And I think Sonic would want Megaman to remember him that way. Not as a victim of Eggman's brutality or a war trophy. Okay?"

Nicole smiled and nodded, picking up on the little bit of Sonic's spirit that lived on through his 'little brother', Miles Tails Prower. She then replied, "No problem, Tails." With this, the A.I. rerouted all the power the young fox had asked him to and sent a signal to Megaman's world, as well as to the Sol Dimension. Not long after, Light Labs received the video call and Roll replied, "Light Labs, Roll speaking. How can I help you...tonight?! Whoa, Tails, Knuckles, everyone! Hello, how are you all?"

Tails shrugged and took a deep breath, then responded, though he couldn't hide the grief and sadness he was still feeling from the loss of Sonic, "As well as can be expected, considering everything that's happened so far. How is everyone there, Roll?"

Roll told him, noticing the bit of pain in his tone, "We're all okay. But you sound sad. What's happened?"

Rock spoke up as well, a little surprised to be hearing from Sonic's world after so long, "Yeah...you wouldn't be contacting us unless the situation was pretty dire. What's going on?"

Tails trembled a little, then finally told them, "Sonic has been killed, by a tyrannical partnership between Eggman and Infinite, a jackal mercenary who got hold of the Phantom Ruby, which has the ability to alter reality. He used copies of Zavok, Chaos, Metal Sonic and even Shadow to do the job. He even….he even broadcast one of Sonic's pummelings to try and stop us from opposing their ownership of Mobius. Our Resistance hasn't given up but...it's a lot harder to coordinate things without Sonic, and...morale's at an all-time low around here. Long story short, we need some outside help."

Blues, unsure about this, spoke up and said, "If we did offer our help, how do we know we won't just get killed as well? As one who's seen him fight before, I know that killing Sonic can't have been easy for that crazed scientist."

Tails, feeling the guilt rising in him, responded with tear-filled eyes, "It wasn't easy for him! Hence why I mentioned the Phantom Ruby! But Sonic died protecting all of us and because…"

Rock spoke up and finished Tails' sentence, noticing the tears on the young fox's face and feeling slight sympathy for him, "Because he was protecting you, his best friend. You know something about what happened to him. Don't you?"

Tails sighed and nodded, "Yes. I was leading a group of civilians away from a city that Eggman was attacking with his help, and before I could even comprehend what was happening, Infinite, Eggman's partner, attacked us and caught us off guard. Most of them got away, but Sonic...got beaten to the point of unconsciousness making sure that we all got to safety. A day or two later, after he got captured, Eggman had Sonic beaten to death by some of the Phantom Ruby copies and made us all watch."

Roll gasped and trembled, "He...he made you watch him kill Sonic?! That's...that's terrible, I'm sorry!" Hearing this news caused the young helper robot to cry a little. Seeing Roll's emotional reaction, Blues sighed and shook his head, replying, "If this Phantom Ruby has the power to alter reality and perception as you say it does, how do you know that he wasn't just using that to make it look like-" Before Blues could finish speaking, Blaze cut him off and said, "I KNOW. I was...Sonic died in my arms, all right? Astra, Tobias and I were sent on a rescue mission. We wouldn't have been sent on a mission for something that didn't happen."

Blues sighed and said, "Look. The pummeling that Tails talked about, I'm sure happened. The child is not shown to be a liar. But a fatal pummeling a few days later? No. Sonic has shown that he's very durable. It would take a lot of force to kill someone like him." He looked at Blaze, who was displayed on a separate screen and said, "And you? I don't even know you that well and you tell me Sonic /died/ in your care? How do I know that you weren't the one that killed him and this isn't all just some big ruse to make Rock decide to help you, when you won't even tell us EVERYTHING about what's been going on?"

Rock looked over to Blues and folded his arms, "Last I checked, I'm the one in charge, not you, Blues. They aren't lying. If they were, I would've sensed that something was off about what they were saying. Everything checks out. Even…" He sighed and clenched his left fist, "even the part about them having to watch Sonic die right in front of them. Tell me, if something similar were to happen here, say...Sigma teamed up with Wily, and they forced the three of us to watch as they rewrote Roll's programming to fight us...do you think Sonic's friends would turn a blind eye to us if we called and asked them for a little assistance? Huh?"

Blues was at a loss for words. He knew Rock was right. In fact, such a thing had happened. But on the other hand, he didn't want to see the boy make a rash decision that could harm them in the long run. After a few moments, he finally spoke again and said, "No, but they don't have the same experiences as I do, Rock. I'm just saying we should ask them a few more questions before committing to going over there. I'm not suggesting we turn a blind eye to their plight, just get a little more information. Okay?"

Rock sighed and nodded, "All right, fine. So, what's happened over there other than Sonic dying, Tails?"

Tails related all he could to them about the war, and also let Knuckles, Shadow, and Sally give their accounts of what was currently going on, in order to give the guy as much information as they could. After everyone had a turn, he asked, "Do you need anything else?"

Rock shook his head, "No, that's enough for me. Blues?"

Blues told them, sighing and replying with a new resolve in his tone, "Fine, I'll go too. If for no other reason than to make sure that Rock and Roll stay safe. Just promise me one thing, Rock."

Rock looked at him curiously and responded, "What's that?"

Blues answered, "If you find yourself in over your head at any point, or that the Phantom Ruby that they mentioned is messing with your optic sensors, you'll get yourself and Roll safely away from that area. The last thing we need is to lose you two as well."

Rock nodded, smiling a little, "You got it, big guy. Okay, Tails. Let us know when you find a way to bring us over there. We're coming to help you."

Tails responded, smiling and nodding, "I'll let you know when we've got the portals up and running. See you later." He hung up the call and almost did a victory dance, but then remembered that Eggman had cameras on a lot of places, so he decided against it. Some time later, with Nicole's and Rotor's help, he had the portals setup, called Megaman and told him, then teleported Rock, Roll and Blues all to the Resistance HQ, "Thanks for coming on such short notice. Now we might be able to turn the tide of this war!"

Blues sighed and shrugged, "I don't know about that, Tails, but we'll certainly try." With that, Tails took them on a tour of their headquarters and introduced Rock and Roll to all the rookies. Blues was left largely to his own devices, though he usually shadowed Rock and Roll to ensure for himself that they weren't being harmed.

A/n: So yeah...this went into the direction of Worlds Unite/Collide. Didn't mean for it too, but that's where it went, and I have to say I'm looking forward to more chapters now because of it! :) For now it's just Megaman, but if you want something else added as a possible world or maybe just characters from that world to make a cameo, let me know in a review and I'll try to find a way to add it next time.