Hello everyone, and I hope you're all having a wonderful time, with it being the 24th and all. I've been a bit busy down here, as Dad's decided that now would be a good time to do some Home Depot styled improvements to the yard and house. Still, I've managed to turn this out in time to present it too you as a Christmas present. Hope you all enjoy it, as I'm a little nervous about it. (crosses fingers)
To everyone who's read the story so far, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time and effort to do so, I know I can be a handful at times. To those of you who have reviewed, I hope you found my replies adequate, and note irritated with me.
Lawyers: My but you are persistant little bloodsuckers, aren't you? Fine! I swear upon my immortal soul that I plan nothing profitable from this in any way form or fashion, and claim ownership only of the characters that I myself have created. Now, bugger off or go pull an Ebenezer Scrooge.
&
A Sobering Moment
"I want to thank all of you for agreeing to see us on such short notice, I know your schedule's must have been busy," Elias said with a slight bow.
"One doesn't turn down a priority invitation from the king, day after yuletide or not," the Zeo Matrix representative, a coyote, said with a nod.
"Indeed, but some of us do have schedules, so let's make this quick," the rabbit that was there for LCC grumbled.
There were four of them at the table in front of the king, representatives from the reforged Mobian mega corps, Zeo Matrix, Emuerade, LCC, and Bakira. All looked anxious, as there had been an abnormally high amount of security on their way here.
Sally understood it perfectly. The kidnapping of her and her daughter was being kept under wraps from the general public for the moment. There was a war at hand, and there was enough information on that holodisk to potentially demoralize a population without letting the people know that this new enemy had snuck in and whisked away part of the royal family in the middle of night.
The representatives weren't alone. Military officers and generals from all over the planet were present here for this briefing, as was Derrick.
"Sally." Elias nodded towards her as he took a seat.
"Some of you may have heard rumors of an 'incident' that occurred at the palace the night before last." Sally clasped her hands behind her back and looked around the room. "You have heard correctly. There was an armed strike force which penetrated the palace defenses and caused considerable damage before they succeeded in kidnapping myself and my daughter."
There was a collective gasp from the group.
"We were able to escape with the help of General D'Coollette's wife, who tracked them down, but we obtained knowledge that was quite sobering. The source behind the attack was a rouge element currently calling themselves the 'Neo Crusaders'." She pressed a button on the control she held, and a dossier appeared from a holoprojector.
She moved around a menu for a moment, before selecting one of the files. A picture appeared along with a data readout. It was a black panther.
"Kex Prudii." Antoine nodded in the direction of the man. "A sniper and marksman, trained in covert assassination and infiltration." Another picture appeared, a snow leopard. "Xarga Jaiing, close combat specialist."
The list continued. Daveriel Jaiing, a computer slicer. Kailenna Fett, a demolitions expert. Braska Bevin, heavy weapons and anti-armor support.
Then came the next to last. A female artic fox. Her pale eyes shone with a hidden strength and steel. Antoine looked over to Derrick. The old Mandalorian's face was scrunched up in confusion, as if he was on the edge of a revelation.
"Brianna Ordo, grenadier and rifle specialist."
Sally watched Derrick's face, how it became a study of shock, disbelief, and then what appeared to be fatigue. His hands shaking he rose to his feet, his gait unsteady. He nearly fell, but one of the officers caught him. His amber eyes locked onto the princess'. The question was silent. Sally nodded.
"Your daughter," she affirmed.
"How?" was all he could say.
Murmurs broke out throughout the room, and more than a few people shot glares at the old man, tried to place the blame for this upon him, now that it was known that his flesh and blood was involved.
"They were children at the time of Malachor, and apparently hid from the soldiers after the battle. They stayed there for some time, trying to nurse the final member of the group back to health," Sally continued. She pressed a button on the remote, and a wolf appeared. "Jaster Merell."
Derrick did fall to his knees then. He looked at the picture, of the man that the boy had become. The eyes, the neutral expression on his face, the marks running down his tear lines. It was Canderous' son.
"Jaster was critically injured at Malachor, suffering near fatal execution styled wounds at the hands of a Royal Army officer." Sally's tone was filled with disgust for the latter part of the sentence, but she regained control of herself. "Somehow he survived with the others. Then, they fall off of the map until about seven years later, when the resistance starts up. They joined in with one of the southern bands of Freedom Fighters. However, shortly after the victory over Robotnik, they were exiled when it was discovered that they were Mandalorians. This is the first we've officially heard of them since then."
"What are the marks running down their faces?" a captain inquired.
"The Tears of Skirata."
Everyone looked to Derrick. The old man was barely holding himself together, and there was a crack in his steel hard voice.
"It's a Mandalorian sign of mourning." He brought his hands together, clasped them as if in prayer. "Kal Skirata was one of the first Mandalores, many hundreds of years ago. He was a brilliant and compassionate leader of our kind. However, in one battle, his six children were all killed. According to legend, he wept blood at the knowledge of that, and soon afterwards died himself. Ever since then the Tears have been a way of signifying great loss among our people. Every one of those children probably lost their entire families at Malachor…"
He let the sentence die, lapsed into silence. Antoine awkwardly cleared his throat and moved onward with the discussion.
"They are extremely skilled warriors, and their talents have been put to great use by the leading technician of the group." He selected the next to last file and another set of gasps filled the room as the image of Snively appeared, though he was not immediately recognized, again due to his hair. "Jonathan Kintobor, the technical genius behind the operation. His knowledge has been utilized in creating the army."
"What kind of an army are we talking about here?" one of the soldiers asked.
In response, Sally pressed a button on her remote, and the image of Snively was replaced with life-sized images of a rotating, armored figure. The princess pressed a button on a remote that she held, and the figure suddenly broke into a run, its assault rifle raised to chest level.
A message in the air, flashed and blinked several times.
Neo Crusader, light infantry, rifleman.
"What is that?" the Emurade rep inquired, her eyes wide with curiosity.
"The army," Sally said with a grave voice.
"Are they…" a major from the back ranks paused as he searched for the right words. "Are they all Mandos?"
"Yes." Antoine gestured towards the telltale visor and kama. "They are Mandalorians, trained in their doctrine and fighting techniques. This variety right here is a standard rifleman. All in all, there are several hundred thousand of them."
"How could they have raised an army that large without anyone knowing, where would they have gotten the troops, the supplies, the manufacturing industry?" another officer asked.
"They've been using bases hidden in the hostile regions of Mobius, using sensor jamming and hologram generators to hide their bases. We aren't sure how many there are, but we estimate no more than fifteen." General D'Coolette, continued. "As for the soldiers themselves… they're Clones."
There was a moment of silence, followed by outbursts of conversation.
"Your silence please," the coyote growled. Such was the power of his voice that everyone shut up. "The Neo Crusaders are drawn from Jaster and the other Mandalorians, and are rapidly aged to reach combat maturity.
"These Clones are born and bred killing machines, trained from day one in all manner of battlefield tactics. They have riflemen, grenadiers, snipers, heavy weapon and dedicated anti-armor operators among their ranks." He pressed a button and various different Neo Crusaders appeared in the room, all of them sporting a variety of different weapons. "In addition to sporting combat competence that is above and beyond what we currently have at our disposal, the Neo Crusaders have a technology edge as well."
The rifleman's weapon suddenly came out of his hands. It spun around a few times and gave everyone present a good view of the weapon.
"This is their primary small arms weapon, the X-51 'jurkadir' assault rifle. It is part of a group of blasters that the Neo Crusaders have termed 'bolters'. We're not sure what exactly it is that they use for their ammunition, aside from that it is some manner of high power energy beam that shares characteristics with both particle and plasma weaponry." He paused for a moment and contemplated how best to say what came next. The military officers weren't going to like the news. "The weapon has a variable yield power adjuster, capable of five different settings in addition to automatic, burst or semi-automatic fire capabilities. The energy pack holds a charge of one hundred rounds on standard power… which comes out in the neighborhood of seven mega-joules a shot."
There was a pause, and Antoine looked over the room. Everyone was bug eyed over what he'd just dropped. Seven mega-joules were an awful lot of energy; almost six times what the old DC series of guns had been capable of unleashing.
Derrick seemed to be the only one who wasn't surprised. His people always had had a love for overpowered weaponry. He shook his head as he remembered an old Mandalorian credo that Canderous had once jokingly told him: "There is no such thing as overkill. There is only 'open fire' and 'I need to reload'."
"The rifle also carries a tactical scope capable of multiple zooming levels, and links to the HUD of their helmets, allowing for a 'gun's eye view'. There's something else as well," Sally said as she picked the briefing back up. "The gun is a 'smart' weapon. It has sensors in it that link up with the gauntlets of the Crusader's armor and activates a series of micro-repulsors and recoil dampeners in and around the weapon. If that connection is broken, they shut off, and the weapon basically becomes useless in the hands of a normal Mobian."
"What do you mean?" Geoffrey St. John asked, his tone somewhat foul, as he had been left out of the initial briefing.
"The data that we obtained indicated that Clones are trained in specialized holodeck environments at 2.5 G gravity levels. They are insanely strong, possibly as a direct means of being able to deal with the recoil of these weapons. We believe that the abnormally high recoil has something to do with the energy field that the bolt is contained within, which has been tuned to give it a 'punch' that is capable of blowing a target off its feet. Bunnie tried firing one without wearing their gear, and she was knocked back into a wall by the weapon's kick."
More murmurs came from the assembled group, as several officers and the mega-corp representatives jotted down some notes.
Another one of the armored figures came to the forefront and began moving around. This one held a rifle that was very similar to the first one, except that it had a second barrel on top of the first.
Neo Crusader, light infantry, grenadier.
"This unit is identical to the rifleman variety, except that their jurkadirs have an over slung launcher for heavy anti infantry weapons." Sally gestured to the large barrel. "It carries its ammo in a magazine fed, six-round launcher held at the back end of the gun, in a bull pup fashion. This enables a series of linear magnetic coils to throw the grenade out at much higher velocity, giving it improved range and stopping power."
She selected the next unit. This one was carrying a different weapon. It was larger, bulkier and box-like around the middle, and the shoulder stock was affixed horizontally, rather than vertically. Prominent iron sights and a scope were again attached to it, as was a massive, box-styled power pack. A bipod support unit could also been seen attached to the front.
Neo Crusader, light infantry, assault trooper.
"This type operates as a support unit in the field. While its armor is the same as the other Clones, instead of a jurkadir rifle it carries an M-249 'escilian' automatic repeater. This weapon is more powerful than the jurkadir, has a higher rate of fire, and a larger ammo capacity. However, its range is not as great." Sally raised her finger to accentuate her point. "In battle, we believe their job is to suppress enemy fire teams and force them to keep their heads down while their own solders are able to move around without fear of enemy retaliation."
Another unit was selected, this one holding a long barreled rifle.
Neo Crusader, light infantry, scout.
"The scout is the basic unit of infantry reconnaissance and information gathering of their ground forces. They are equipped with a variety of probe droids for battle field observation, and a M-241x 'verpine' sniper rifle." The princess crossed her arms and frowned slightly. "We are not yet certain of the range capabilities of this particular weapon, but we know that it has a minimum effective distance of three kilometers."
She selected the final soldier. This one was carrying a large weapon that could only have been a rocket launcher.
Neo-Crusader, light infantry, anti-armor trooper.
"This unit's name pretty much speaks for itself." She gestured to its primary weapon. "It is armed with a P-301 'Plex' rocket launcher. The rockets it fires are high explosive, armor-piercing, one hundred and twenty millimeter missiles. The missiles can lock onto either a heat source, or the repulsor lift generators of a vehicle, making it both an effective anti tank and anti aircraft weapon. As a backup weapon, the unit also carries a MP-9 'koch' submachine gun. It lacks both the stopping power and range capabilities of the other weapons the Clones carry, but its high rate of fire makes it excellent for temporarily suppressing an enemy position."
"Then there is their armor," Antoine said as he took a step forward and took over.
The rifleman came to the center again, and the armor separated into several distinct parts.
"The shell in which the Neo-Crusaders have encased themselves is a very impressive piece of defensive hardware. Data readouts indicate that the armor itself is a composite alloy, composed primarily of a material called 'neosteel,' which Kintobor seems to have developed. It is significantly stronger than our current armor plates, and its strength is achieved by fusing zersium with something Kintobor calls 'ceramite'. The whole thing is then infused with an exotic alloy called lamina, making it able to flex without suffering from stress fractures."
"So they're armored like tanks and are able to move around without being encumbered by their gear?" the Bakita rep muttered, a frown on his face as he jotted down notes.
"Yes," Antoine said with a nod. He pressed a button on his remote and a video file came up next to the soldier.
There was a group of Clones clustered around a series of armor suits. One of them leveled a weapon and pointed it at the chest of the suit.
"What's that?" someone asked.
"A B-5 carbine, standard issue Mobian police weapon, max yield of two hundred and fifty kilojoules. Our company makes them," the Emeraude representative said as she leaned forward in her seat.
The Clone opened fire at point blank range. Red tinged bolts smashed into the armor and sent sprays of light everywhere. At full auto the fifty round magazine was soon empty. When the soldier stepped away from the suit, there was a collective gasp from the Mobians present in the room. Aside from some carbon scoring, there was no visible evidence that the neosteel suit had even been damaged.
At the second suit, another Clone stepped forward. She held a DC-19 in her hands. As her comrade had, she stepped up to point blank range and let fly a barrage of automatic blaster fire. Blue beams struck the suit and the gun bucked in her hand. Ten rounds hit. The armor held strong, though bits of black slowly appeared on it. Twenty rounds. It began to glow just slightly, and sparks flew. Thirty rounds and it finally gave as the bolts penetrated the manikin.
Antoine stopped the feed and looked over to the assembled people. "As you can see, their armor is amazingly powerful, and is able to withstand multiple shots from their own weapons, a third of a clip from a decee, and are in theory completely immune to civilian weaponry."
"We need to turn out more powerful weapons and stronger armor, is that what you're asking?" the Zeo spokesperson asked.
"Correct." Antoine nodded his head. "We cannot beat them, equipped as we are. Simply put, gentlemen, we need bigger guns."
"We'll get right on it." The other coyote's voice was grave, but determined.
"There are other things you should know about the suit before we proceed, though." The general held up his hand and pointed to the helmet, which split open to reveal a complex interior. "The visor is actually just for show, and is not used in any way. Instead, computer sensors deliver a holographic readout of surprising clarity to the soldier, he literally sees what the computer feeds him. There is also a two way squad radio and interlinking HUD capabilities, enabling every Clone to visually link up and give the other units the ability to see what he can." As he spoke, a screen within a screen appeared, showing a simulated battle raging.
"In addition to that, the suit is completely sealed and offers full NBC protection to the wearer. Breathing is assisted by a microfilter unit attached to the front of the helmet, near the radio comm.," Sally said as she gestured to the unit.
"The helmet also has several viewing modes, ranging from infrared to light amplification, ultraviolet, and so forth." Antoine flicked through some of them and gave the people present a first hand glimpse of what it offered. "They control the various commands through a cybernetic implant located at the base of the skull." An x-ray view of a lupine head appeared, with the implant and its mechanical components highlighted. There was a larger object as well, a chip located around the center of the brain. "This also connects to a neural chip that some in here may find familiar. It is almost a carbon replica of the one used to control Norrack ten years ago."
"You mean that the Clones are essentially slaves?" Derrick asked. His breath was coming in short gasps again and he seemed to be struggling to keep himself upright.
"More or less." The coyote's response was a sober one, filled with a subtle tone of grief. "They're implanted with it before they're even born, and probably aren't even aware that it's in there, keeping them in line."
The old artic fox collapsed back in his chair, his head held in his hands. His eyes were hidden, but he shuddered slightly, and those near him could hear faint sobs as they wracked his body.
Antoine shifted his feet a frown on his face, and then returned his attention to the briefing. He spun the armor around to show a large bulge on the back. "As one might expect when dealing with Mandalorians, there is a jetpack on the armor suit. This one is integrated into the armor, and allows for rapid climbs or extended jumps, enabling them to swiftly move across the battlefield. A stinger missile is kept within the center of the pack, in a small, armored silo." The image of the pack split open to reveal its hidden cargo.
"Thus we have the continuation of the Mandalorian tradition of turning their armor suits into walking weapons platforms," Elias muttered as he reached up to rub his temple.
"That's not all," his sister said with a shake of her head. She gestured down to the gauntlets of the armor. "They have a smaller launcher in the right wrist, as well as a high-intensity, plasma flamethrower. The gauntlet on the left has the traditional thek'la punching dagger and a hold out blaster. As you can see, they also carry a telescopic zhaboka vibro blade on their hip, as well as a utility belt for basic supplies and the like. We don't know for sure, but there are also reports of testing for military grade slug throwers and electromagnetic ion weapons for front line use."
Various groans came from the command staff, particularly the older ones that had been present in the Great War. Sally sympathized with them. They likely held memories of fighting Mandalorians, and now here was a new enemy, born from their legacy. Only these ones would be far more deadly…
A bit of despair filled her, and she lowered her head towards the floor. She felt a sigh try to well up inside of her, but she crushed it. The most sobering news was about to come up, and it would not due for her to show how she felt. She also had to fight down the urge to hate these Clones. She couldn't allow herself to, not now. She knew the truth behind their nature, about how much choice they had in this matter.
"This brings us to our final point: who's in charge of this whole movement." She raised her remote and moved to the last file on the holodisc. A figure appeared, clad in black armor, with a mug shot at the top of the hologram being the only clue to his identity.
"ARC-091 Murai, a.k.a. Shadow." Her voice was grave, and she had to repress a shudder. She remembered all too well both the treatment that she had received at the cyborg's hand and the subsequent beating that he had given her rescuer.
A readout appeared, and the princess could see the others shift uncomfortably as they read the ARC's capabilities. The neural lace, the ferrosteel plated bones, the armor that he wore, his weapons load out, and, finally, information on his psychokinetic abilities. The eyes of the men and women present bulged and blinked as they watched video clips of the black hedgehog in action.
With a gesture a group of Clones flew backwards. Fire leapt from nothingness and consumed target dummies. They watched his reflexes as he sent energy bolts back at the auto turrets shooting at him. They saw the speed, the inhuman, unbelievable speed that he could reach as he rushed about an obstacle course.
Still, though obviously nervous, the military officers kept their cool, and she could already see some of them take notes on his abilities. If the furrowed brows were any indication, then it appeared as though they were already troubleshooting ways to defeat the cyborg. So much the better.
"What are the goals of this organization?" a colonel inquired as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"To our knowledge, complete and total domination of Mobius through the use of the Clones," Antoine answered with a shake of his head. "Shadow has been cunning, keeping his forces hidden. Were it not for the luck of the princesses' escapes, it is likely we would have no knowledge of this until they lobbed the first mortars at us. As it stands though, we have a chance, with all of your cooperation, of beating them back. For all their strengths, we still outnumber them by a significant margin."
"What would you have us do?" another general asked.
"We need to let the people know a few of the details, and the threat that we face along with an aggressive recruitment and new training program. In the meanwhile, the mega-corps shall have access to the technical readouts of the Neo Crusader equipment in the hopes that we can catch up in some areas."
"We'll do our best," the Zeo diplomat said as he closed his notepad.
"As will we," the other general said.
As one, both groups rose and took their leave of the room. Sally collapsed back in her seat as they left. She brought her hands up to her forehead and began to massage her temples. The remaining people exchanged glances, and decided that it was perhaps best to leave her be for the moment. One by one, they left the room, and soon the ground squirrel had only her thoughts as company.
Those thoughts were tumbled and chaotic. Images flew around inside of her head. She slumped as she felt the fatigue begin to eat away at her. Her eyelids began to droop and she felt the throbbing behind her skull increase in its ferocity. She let her eyes shut, let the blackness of oblivion try to drown out the migraine that encroached.
Her eyes opened upon a bizarre landscape. A large castle stood in front of her, a fortress of black stone. It seemed to reach up into infinity, and when she craned her head back as far as she could, she could not see its zenith. A large gated portcullis beckoned to her, like the maw of some monstrous beast. Hesitantly, she took a step forward, and then another, and a third as her determination grew.
Torches crackled within their sconces and cast eerie shadows about the hallway. Her boots echoed within the confines as she stared around. The fur on the back of her neck stood up as she proceeded forth into the heart of this strange place.
A sound reached her ears, and she paused for a moment, her head cocked to one side. It was a harsh, shrieking noise, like the sound that came as a person drug chains across rock.
The passage suddenly opened up into a massive courtyard, and the princess stared around. She knew that the sound had come from within here, but what had it been?
Something flew by her a moment later and smashed into the wall beside her. Sally gasped and turned to face it. It was a figure, clad in black robes that hid the face. The eyes, though, she could see the eyes. They were pure white, and blazed with a manner of inner fire. She took a reflexive step backwards, and brought her fists up to defend herself.
Then she saw the chains that covered the robes. Spiked, stained dark red with blood. The strange phantom ignored her, though. It twisted about and raced towards the center of the courtyard.
She saw him then, another figure, clad as the first had been, minus the chains. As the first closed upon the second, it suddenly blurred away and appeared behind the first one. With a vicious roundhouse, the first one was sent flying into the far wall.
The second one spoke then, a cold, haunting voice that Sally knew too well.
"My, my," the voice of Shadow sneered, "I'll give you credit for persistence if nothing else."
The other robed figure let out a roar that was one part pain, another part rage, and rushed back across. The princess could see fresh blood spilling down the chains. He'd impaled himself when he'd hit the wall. She could see the holes in his robe and the rended flesh beneath.
The unnamed one tried to lash out, to inflict a blow upon his tormentor, but he again failed as Shadow gleefully danced out of the way.
"Poor fool, always second best…" His hands were spread wide and mocking laughter echoed throughout the courtyard. "Face it, Norrack, you're no match for true power."
Lightning split the sky as Norrack charged in a third time. Sally watched, riveted, at what happened next. He almost made it this time, his punches almost landed. At the last possible instant his foe twisted away.
Shadow reached out as he passed and grabbed one of the chains. Too fast for her to watch, he lassoed Norrack in and had wrapped the chain around the other one's neck twice. A fiendish sneer upon his face, the black hedgehog pulled the other cyborg's back, held him close.
"Futile as always. You lose again, faker."
"Sa…" the cyborg choked.
His eyes were fixed upon her, hidden within the depths of his cowl. Whatever he was trying to say, though, would never be said. Shadow ripped the chains hard. There was a choked gurgle, and a shower of blood came from Norrack's throat as the spikes tore across them. He slumped to the ground and the stone underneath him quickly stained red with his life's essence.
Sally snapped up with a gasp. She looked about in a wild search for the two combatants.
She was back in her room. Bunnie must have come in to check on her and carried her back here. The princess threw her covers off and slid her legs over the side of her bed.
A frown marred her face as she tried to contemplate what had happened. Why was she dreaming about Norrack? What was her subconscious mind trying to tell her?
She thought about the cyborg, about their escape and his treatment of her and her daughter. Saria had told her about the incident at Knothole, and she knew that she owed the ARC trooper a debt for saving her little angel. Still, there was something about his behavior that seemed to indicate a deeper attachment than just friendship.
The way he had shielded the young girl with his own body during their escape, the concern he had felt during the ride back. She had been able to tell he'd been struggling to stay calm.
Sally swatted her mattress in frustration. There was something about him she should have known, something more than he had told her. His evasiveness when questioned about his past, his apparent refusal to remove his helmet and armor when in the sight of others. What was he hiding?
"Come on, Sally-girl," the ground squirrel muttered as she stood up and began to pace her room, "think. You can figure this out."
She replayed everything she'd seen and been through. Shadow's interrogation, Snively's jeering…
As if someone had hit the pause button of a holovid, everything ground to a halt. Shadow… he had referred to Sonic, mentioned about finally having understood why his brother could fall in love with her. There was the subtle clue, though: he'd used present tense, not past. Snively, too, had been about to say something before she'd thrashed him. Something about Sonic being a slave.
The escape…
"Come on, Sal!"
Sal… He'd called her Sal… In the heat of the moment, the concern for Saria had caused her to miss that…
It felt like a freight train had just hit her, and everything started to fall into place. Sonic's death, Robotnik's sudden, rejuvenated interest in the ARC project, Norrack's reaction to fighting her and to being ordered to try to kill Tails, the cybernetic limbs…
. . .The eyes.
She felt her legs try to give and she reached out to grab at the side of her bed.
"No…" She felt a tightness clutch at her chest.
No, no, it couldn't be true… Fate could not possibly be that cruel!
Logic continued to damn her pleas, to show little details that she'd seen but never connected. Mecha's reluctance to cooperate with him and the subsequent battle between the two of them. How Norrack had tracked them so easily. Again, she tried to shake it away, to deny that the man she loved could have been tortured like that… forced to commit those atrocities.
Again, she found that she could not.
"Damn you, Julian!" she wept, tears falling down her face.
She drove her right hand into the floor. A crack split the air as the tile shattered.
Her thoughts drifted to Norr… no, to Sonic, and her cries stopped. A fire came into her eyes again, and she rushed over to her closet. Grabbing some cold weather gear and Nicole, she departed her room, heading for the palace garage.
He furiously worked his blades back and forth. Bolts of light filled the room as Neo Crusaders advanced forward. Assault troopers threw down suppression fire while the others tried to flank him. He threw himself to one side, took cover behind the shattered remnants of a housing project. He leaned out and flicked his arm towards one of the Clones. A small column of white fire burst from nothingness. It hugged the ground, hit the rubble that the soldier was hiding behind, and exploded. The hedgehog heard a scream of surprise, and the Mandalorian staggered backwards, flecks of melted dura-crete clinging to his armor.
An alarm warbled in his helmet. It wasn't the sound of his shields dropping, but of something else.
"Terminate simulation," the cyborg said.
In a flash, the shattered cityscape and the enemy faded from view, leaving just a bare room behind. With a thought, he pulled down security camera feeds. He searched them all, and found nothing until he came to the exterior one for the back entrance.
It was Sally. She was at the cave door, Nicole in hand. The little computer's screen flashed and he realized that she was attempting to hack the security system.
There was something about her owner as well. The princess' face had a determined edge to it, something he had not seen since… since his time at Knothole, when she'd been about ready to take down one of Robotnik's mad schemes. He understood then, and his shoulders began to tremble.
She knew… the secret was out at last.
It was a day that he'd dreaded for years… having to face her like this.
Still, as he watched her open the doors, some part of him wondered if she could save him. If she could free him from this armor that had become both shield and prison.
Sonic reached down into his belt, opened a pouch and fished around inside of it. A moment later he withdrew his hand, and opened it. The old ring lay battered and charred within his palm. He slowly closed his fingers around it, and turned his head towards the ceiling.
&
Alright, hope that was okay, and that the technobabbly mathematics didn't bug you all. I also hope that I didn't rush the last couple of scenes, but if there was a problem, let me know, so that I can correct it. I do want this chapter to be a good.
As usual, feedback, ideas, comments, constructive criticism (I love this) and or flames are all welcomed.
Thank you all so very much, and I wish you a Merry Christmas. May tomorrow be filled with family, friends, good health, and cheer. As for me, I'm getting a laptop with a photoshop program, so I might finally be able to get some art of characters and the like out (wish me luck).