Chapter 8: Wild Night: Part 2

Castle Acorn Entrance Hall…

Spectre shook his head in disbelief as he looked around at the dead Mobian soldiers. They'd put up a resistance so fierce, it had at first surprised the clones. But once they'd regained their composure, they'd found away, and now, the Mobian militia all lay dead at the feet of the clones. Looking around further, Spectre was vexed that none of the Jedi, nor the clone deserters, or the Freedom Fighters were present. It was obvious now that the group had retreated while the Mobians held them off. They'd fought so heroically, Spectre admired them. But nonetheless, they'd resisted, and just like any other resistance Spectre had faced in his life, he'd crushed it like a bug. His thoughts were dissipated by Captain Pac walking up.

"Commander, one of the soldiers is still alive, albeit barely. Do you wish to speak to them?" Pac asked.

Spectre nodded. "Guess it wouldn't hurt to get another side of the story." At this, he followed Pac to the live Mobian soldier. Turned out, it was the Colonel.

The Colonel didn't look too good. His left hand gripped his abdomen hard as blood seeped through, and his right arm hung uselessly at his side. Multiple facial lacerations covered his face, and his left eye had been forced closed to heavy swelling around that area.

Commander Spectre walked over and knelt down by the Colonel. "Anything to say for yourself before my boys end your life, traitor?"

The Colonel looked up and glared at Spectre. "I ain't no traitor. It's you who're the traitors. We fought and bled alongside you guys for a month, and this is how you repay us? By turning your weapons not only on us, but on your own commanding officers? What kind of monster possessed you to do such a thing, huh? What kind of monster?"

"His name," Spectre growled as he drew his pistol, "is Emperor Palpatine of the New Galactic Empire."

The Colonel chuckled before breaking into a fit of coughing, finishing by spitting out blood onto the ground. "Galactic Empire, huh? Well, here's a newsflash for you: We're not gonna stop fighting. We never stopped fighting Eggman, what makes you think we'll stop fighting you? That is, if you ever take over Mobius."

"Because-" Spectre said as he aimed his pistol at the Colonel's head. "The Emperor isn't Eggman." After saying this, he fired.

The Colonel's head snapped back as the blaster bolt impacted, the back of his skull bursting apart as blood, skull and cranial matter burst out like from a spot when it's popped. Soon after though, the head sunk back, as if the Colonel was inclining his head towards Spectre.

The Clone Commander allowed himself a grim smile before turning back to Pac. "We'll use this as a Forward Operating Base. For now, secure the castle, and hunt down those stragglers. When you find them, bring them to me. I'll execute them personally."

"Yes sir!" Captain Pac replied as he started giving the orders.


Meanwhile, Castle Acorn Throne Room…

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Rome?" Sally asked as she finished planting mines around the area Roman had specified. "Dad recently refurbished this floor, and spent a good amount of money having it done. I don't think he'll be too happy to find he has to spend more money to rebuild it."

"Relax, Sally." Roman said. "I'm sure the old man will appreciate it when we've routed those guys. Then he can worry about the floor."

"Hate to break it to you Sal, but Rome does raise a good point." Sonic said matter of factly.

Sally sighed. In this sort of situation, she guessed it was prudent to just nod and say nothing.

Shatter and Tusk finished creating cover for themselves and the Freedom Fighters as they hopped over it and walked over. "Everything's set General. We'll next make our stand here." Shatter said.

"Good stuff, Shatter." Roman said. "Roth and Seth are gonna hide behind those two big statues while I hide behind the throne."

"Are you seriously intent on destroying everything my dad likes around here?" Sally asked in disbelief.

"I said I would hide behind it until we spring the trap." Roman said clearly. "I never said I'd use it for cover."

Sally sighed. "Fine. But if I see one little chip on that throne, I'll tie you upside down and let Knuckles use your testicles as punching bags."

Roman wet his lips at the thought.

"Just so you have a little extra incentive for not destroying royal property." Sally said playfully, patting Roman on the shoulder and walking off with Sonic, talking.

Roman shook his head as he saw Seth walk over. "And that's why I'm never getting a girlfriend. You're lucky you got who you have. But I'm not risking it for myself."

Seth chuckled as he replied: "That's probably because you haven't fallen in love yet. Except for a few crushes of course."

Roman rolled his eyes. "I got over Barriss when she decided to blow up the fucking Temple Hangar, I always knew Chuchi and I would never work out, and don't even get started on Ahsoka! I never really liked her, and you just teased me about my supposed crush on her because you wanted to hide your own feelings about her."

Seth smirked. "Glad to hear you finally call my girlfriend by name."

"Yeah, yeah." Roman said. "Anyway, let's get hiding. I don't want to be caught with my trousers down." At this, he walked over to the throne, and shuffled behind it.

Seth chuckled as he shouted at everyone to assume positions before heading to his own hiding place. This was about to get good.


Not too long later…

Captain Pac motioned with his hands to several other clone troopers to make their way through the door into the throne room before following them with the rest of the clones. He'd taken an entire company, Tornado Company to be exact, and set about securing the entire castle. So far, he'd only secured the area leading directly from the Entrance Hall of Castle Acorn to the throne room. As he entered, underneath his helmet, his eyes narrowed. "Where the hell are they?" The clone captain demanded. Moving forward, he kept his eye on the sights of the blaster he held, looking everywhere for any sign of activity. Then, he foot met something. Looking down, he swore under his breath. The floor he and the clones stood on was covered with thermal detonators. They'd been had. Shouting as loud as he could while backing off, Pac shouted: "Everybody, out of the room now!"


Behind the throne…

Roman allowed himself a massive smirk as he heard the cry from Pac. "Ka-boom." Roman said to himself as he pressed the detonation button. Instantly, he heard the roar of an explosion and the shriek of the dying and the wounded. Instantly stepping out of his hiding place, he ignited his lightsaber, and charged the enemy lines.

Seth and Roth did the same, just as the Freedom Fighters and clones popped out of cover and opened fire on the survivors.

Unfortunately for the Freedom Fighters and clones, Roman and the other two got there first, beginning to cut them down instantly.

Pac, as soon as he saw several clones fall to the Jedi realised they stood no chance, shouting: "Fall back!" And promptly retreated with the remaining clones.

Roman lowered his lightsaber, complaining after them: "Oh come on! I was expecting more of a challenge!"

"Be careful what you wish for, lad." Roth warned. "There's a big possibility your wish for a challenge could bite you back in the arse."

"With all due respect Generals, why not use this chance to mount a counterattack? Perhaps we could finally push the enemy back sufficiently enough as so to finally eliminate them?" Shatter inquired.

"We can't risk it." Roth replied. "There's no telling how many men they've actually got."

"But we have the element of surprise." Roman added. "The clones will be expecting us to wait for the next attack. I say we take the fight to them this time."

Roth rolled his eyes as he said: "Fine, if you say so."

Roman smiled as he bumped knuckles with Roth. "Then I say let's do this."

"About time too!" Sonic added as he walked up. "I've been itching to take the fight to 'em!"

"Glad to hear it." Roman replied. "Now, let's take this fight to them!"

"Hold on." Sally said as she was finishing up something from Nicole. "Tails just contacted me. He's just arrived at the airfield."


The Airfield…

The Tornado's rotor ground to a halt as Tails almost dived out of the biplane. Walking forward, the ten year old wet his lips. He could see smoke rising from the castle, which was never a good sign. Drawing his pistol, Tails started walking towards the path that would take him from the airfield, to the castle. But before he could reach it, he saw two clone troopers on guard, along with about thirty others. Commander Spectre must have left them here to make sure the others couldn't escape this way, Tails thought. Remembering some tips Knuckles had given him about stealthily moving past armed groups of people, Tails poked his head out past the fighter he was hiding behind to look at the positions of the platoon in front of him. Much to his annoyance, they were all grouped mostly together. Moving back behind cover, Tails sighed. Taking one of them out without the others noticing isn't going to be easy, the twin-tailed kit thought. Then again, neither would be sneaking past them. Tails let out a small grunt of exasperation. Can't these guys be easier to get past? Tails thought. Suddenly, as had become common for the young genius, a lightbulb appeared in his brain, along with an idea. He might not be able to take them out one by one without the other clones noticing. Neither could he sneak past them. But he could distract them. Looking at the surrounding area, he saw a multitude of fighters. Smirking, the ten year old vulpine slowly rose to his feet, and stealthily walked off.


After a while…

Tails peeked around the corner to check for any patrols, of which there were several. Waiting for them to pass, Tails moved forward, his eyes open and alert for any means of a distraction. Suddenly, Tails felt this strange feeling within him, almost as if something were awakening in his very being, pointing him to a target. Following this strange power, Tails looked in the direction it pointed him to, with his eyes falling upon an ideal target: A Mobian F-75 Starfighter, with several fuel drums nearby. Smiling, Tails checked his pockets for his lighter. Legally, he wasn't allowed to smoke, and neither did he intend to start, but Tails had insisted he have one in case of times like these. He also happened to have a combat knife ready. Making sure no one was coming, Tails sprinted over to the fuel drums, drew his knife, and quickly stabbed a hole into the side of the drum. Promptly, fuel started pouring out, not too quickly, but not too slowly either. Smiling at his fortune, Tails took a few steps back, before reaching for his lighter. Taking it from his jacket pocket, Tails lit it up, and placed it to the fuel, which set alight instantly, almost burning Tails' hand. Not wanting to stay around for much longer, Tails sprinted away to the cover of a Republic Gunship nearby and waited for the results, which were instantaneous: The Starfighter exploded with immense violence, with almost as much violence as a volcanic eruption.

Tails pumped his fist in elation, and his smile widened as the patrol from earlier returned.

"Oh shit…" Said one of the clones, obviously their leader. Stepping away, he contacted somebody. "We have a situation here, lads. Someone's blown up one of the fighters. We'll need some assistance to find the-" He never finished his sentence, as soon, a rather neat hole appeared in the middle of his visor, but the back of his head burst apart, the corpse promptly slumping to the floor.

Wasting little time, Tails opened fire on the rest, managing to down three before taking cover as the other four regained enough composure to return fire. Knowing now was the time, Tails waited for them to stop firing before breaking off into a sprint, running as far away from them as his ten-year-old legs would carry him.

"There's the saboteur! Get him!" Shouted a clone nearby, but Tails paid no attention, his only thought to outrun his pursuers.

Rounding a corner, Tails continued to run, but quickly found himself at a crossroads of sorts. Before he could make a decision, he heard a harsh voice shout:

"Oi! What do you think you're doing here?"

Tails turned to see another patrol and raised his pistol, shooting one in the face before diving into cover as the clones returned fire, in this instance a small barricade that did well to block the oncoming fire from the clones. Silently berating himself for getting pinned down like this, Tails looked around to try and find anything he could use to his advantage, finally seeing a drum of Rhydonium near another Starfighter. Smiling, Tails carefully aimed his pistol, and let off a shot or two, grimacing as he heard the explosion, coupled with the screams of the wounded and dying. Waiting a few moments, Tails rose to look over the barricade, finding almost everyone lying dead on the floor, and those that were still alive with severe burns. A wave of nausea swept over Tails, but he forced it down with heavy breaths before starting to walk away, but before he could, a hand gripped his ankle and pulled him down, causing him to drop his blaster pistol. As he regained his equilibrium, a hard right hand crashed into his face, causing black spots to dance in front of his eyes. Once he had come to his senses, his eyes focused on his would be assailant: A still-living clone with maybe third degree burns covering his face, now intent on killing Tails. Instantly after, another fist flew at Tails, but the kit managed to block it and use the momentum to roll them around so that he was on top. Pinning the clone's shoulders down with his knees, Tails punched the clone several times in the face before feeling the sting of a kick to the back of his head, knocking him off. Realising he was at a disadvantage, Tails quickly got to his feet, secretly drawing his knife and hiding it behind his back.

The burned clone forced himself to his feet while picking up a pistol, and with an almost feral snarl, he charged Tails again, knocking them both over, but with the clone on top, doing his best to get a punch in on Tails.

Tails fought to get his right arm free so he could stab the clone, but found he could not, likely due to the clone's superior weight and height. For the while, he pushed the clone's head away as much as he could, doing his best not to let the clone bite a bit of him, which the clone was clearly trying to do.

The clone's breath was like a hot furnace in Tails' face, steadily increasing in rapidity before finally stopping, as the clone fell to the side.

Tails felt his arm go with the body, and it was then that he realised why he'd not been able to move his right arm: The knife he held in his hand was buried to the hilt in a chink in the clone's armour, blood already coating his hand, and turning the white fabric of his glove blood red. Tails almost stopped breathing as he saw the blood, and pulled the blade out, seeing the blood that covered the blade. Finally, he could hold down the nausea no more, leaning over and vomiting violently until all that came out was bile, retching as he felt repulsed by what he'd been forced to do to survive. When he regained himself, he looked about, his breath ragged as he wiped his mouth. Getting up, he wiped the blade clean on his other glove, seeing as his right hand one was already soaked, and sheathed it, looking around until he had found his pistol, holstering that as well. Picking up a DC-15S nearby, he grabbed all the ammunition for the gun as he could carry before walking off, headed for Castle Acorn, and his beleaguered friends.


With Roman and Co, Corridor in Castle Acorn…

Lightsaber in hand, Roman steadily hugged the wall of the corridor, spotting a small squad of clone troopers, about nine men strong. Looking to Roth, he mouthed the number, then quickly moved out from the wall, igniting his lightsaber.

The squad leader instantly turned to see the oncoming danger and made as if to warn his comrades, but before a single word could leave his mouth, his head was rolling on the floor.

The other clones tried to retaliate, but Roman was already in motion, his lightsaber a blur in the midst of them all.

Within seconds, it was all over, with all nine clones lying dead at Roman's feet.

"You could have left some for us, General." Shatter said.

Roman shook his head. "It was only nine, Shatter. Wouldn't have made much difference."

"Roman does raise a good point, Captain." Sally said as she walked over.

Looking around, Sally let out a deep breath. "Well, we shouldn't hang around too long. The other clones will have heard that."

Roman nodded agreement. "Let's get back to the throne room." With this, the group turned tail and ran back to the throne room.

Once everyone was inside, Roman turned to Sally: "You got any updates from Tails?"

Sally nodded. "He's coming in through the back way into the castle. He should be joining us in about half an hour."

Roman nodded. "I'm not about to stand around and let Tails make his own way here." Turning to Seth, Roman said: "Come with me. We'll meet Tails at the back entrance and bring him here. When that's done, we'll really get down to business."

Sally nodded and handed him Nicole. "Nicole will show you the way there."

Roman smiled and replied: "Thanks, Sally. I won't be long." At this, he and Seth turned and sprinted out of the throne room, with Roman contacting Tails: "Fox-Five, this is Fox-Two. We're headed for you, over."

"I hear you, Fox-Two. Since when were you called that?" Tails asked.

"Since just now." Roman replied with a smirk.

"Ha-ha." Tails replied. "Anyhow, I'm at the entrance. Meet me there."

"Will do." Roman said as he and Seth continued running.


With Tails…

The young kitsune switched off his communicator and sat behind a rock near the entrance, leaning his head against the cold stone. The stone felt colder than the cold he'd felt during the earlier parts of his life, abandoned by his parents, bullied as a kid, and forced to live on the streets. All three due to the fact he had two tails instead of one. Luckily, he'd found Sonic, and Sonic had found him. Deep down, Tails wondered what might have been had Sonic not discovered him that day in 3232. I'd probably either be dead, or I'd be cooped up in some orphanage, one of those real messed up kids. Tails almost smirked at the thought. He'd been lucky though. Indeed he'd been lucky.

After nearly half an hour, Tails heard a voice from behind hiss:

"Tails! Where are you?"

Tails stood up from behind the rock and walked over to where Roman and Seth were, grasping both their arms. "Glad to see you two alive."

"Same for us." Roman said. Looking around, Roman said: "Let's get inside."

"Yeah, let's." Tails agreed, as the three walked through the back door. Once inside, Tails turned to them. "Okay, what's been going on?"

"Well, our friends are taking refuge in the throne room, but we're planning on launching a counterattack as soon as possible. Now you're here, we can do that." Roman replied.

"Um, might I suggest that next time, you eliminate the danger before I get there?" Tails asked.

"Well, we haven't, so we'll need your help to take these guys out. We'll need all the help we can get for this." Seth answered.

Tails shrugged. "Fair enough." Looking around, Tails said: "Now, may I also suggest we get to the throne room? The sooner we get there, the sooner we can stage this counterattack, end this nightmare, and get back to living normally."

Roman and Seth turned to face one another and shrugged before walking off, followed by Tails.


Back in the throne room…

The moment she spotted Tails, Sally bolted over and hugged him. "Thank Aurora you're okay, Tails."

"Forget me." Tails said. "I'm perfectly fine."

Sally broke away and nodded before her eyes fell on Tails' blood-soaked gloves. "Tails, is that blood?"

Tails nodded. Before Sally could ask anymore, he said: "Relax, it isn't mine. The blood was from a clone at the airfield I got forced into a close quarters fight with. It ended with him tackling me to the floor, inadvertently bringing his body onto my knife. It went right into a chink in his armour, but he held on for a few moments before dying." Tails made to say more, but shuddered in response. "That's definitely an experience I'd rather forget."

"Relax, little bro." Sonic said as he wrapped his right arm firmly around Tails' shoulders. "When all this is over, you won't have to do anything like that again."

"Hopefully." Tails said. Looking around, Tails sighed. "The thing is, I doubt things will go back to normal after this."

"What do you mean, Sugar?" Bunnie asked.

"If this is happening here, then it's happening all over the galaxy." Tails replied. "And even if we manage to survive, I don't think this is the last we'll see of these guys. They'll just keep coming until we're all dead. Just like with Eggman."

Roman scowled. As much as he hated to admit it, Tails had a strong point. Even if they survived tonight, the new Galactic Empire would hound them until they were either dead, or the Empire ran out of people to send after them. Turning to everyone, he said: "What Tails said is true. After tonight, everything changes. We'll have another enemy to contend with: The Empire. And like he said, even if we do survive this nightmare, after this, they'll just send someone else to take care of us, until we die, or they run out of people to send." Roman let that sink in for a moment before continuing: "But there's something they haven't realised yet: We're the Freedom Fighters. This isn't the first time we've faced an enemy more powerful than us. We've faced Eggman more times than we can count. Plus, there was two years ago, when we faced Sigma. And now the Empire's our latest opponent. And to be honest? Like I said earlier today when we took Eggman's fortress, I'd rather face the Empire with everyone in this room rather than by myself. We've been there for one another through thick and thin, and excluding Shatter and Tusk, I'd rather fight beside any one of you then a clone army any day. So on this day, if we're going down, then by the Force, I'll make sure we make the Empire remember our fucking names!"

Everyone broke into cheers at that statement, with Shatter and Tusk raising their weapons in the air as they did.

Once the cheers had died down, Roman said: "Let's get ready people. For tonight, we dine, IN HELL!"


In the Entrance Hall…

"One thing's for sure, they're certainly getting bolder." Pac remarked as the lieutenant he and Spectre were speaking to finished his report.

"So they are." Spectre said. With this, he placed his hand over his chin. "If this is the case, then we're going to have to act fast." Turning to Pac, Spectre said: "Get Scavenger Company together and head outside. We're going to set a little trap for our former Commanders. Leave Rancor and Nexu Company here as bait. Unless they neutralise the enemy, if they get taken out, we'll wait a little, and then move in. Take them by surprise, and hopefully crush them."

"Yes sir!" Pac replied as he headed off.

Spectre turned and prepared to round up Phantom Company. With luck, this would be the last he ever saw of the Jedi.


Well, looks like the clones have finally got their act together, and so have I. On this night, I'll be uploading the last three chapters, and then there'll be an Epilogue.

But, I assume that you've already guessed who Seth's significant other is: Ahsoka Tano.

Anyway, please leave your reviews and see you later.

T-Rock14