CHAPTER 10

TO SEEK AND CAPTURE

January 2, 2016

Ker came to me this morning and once again informed me that he and my army has not seen any sight of The Underground Rebellion. This game of cat and mouse is really starting to fucking piss me off! I know I will find them eventually but unfortunately I am a very impatient man. However, I have this feeling that soon I will not have to proceed with anymore searches...

Ker got on his knees and bowed to Shadow in forgiveness while they met in the throne room. "I'm so sorry I couldn't find them, sire."

The hedgehog sighed, "They're such slick bastards." He looked over to Ker and placed his hand on his head because he was suffering from a headache. "Usually if you found one of them, my order would be to kill them immediately but...now I'm changing the rules a bit. If you catch one, bring them to me...alive and I'll deal with the situation from there. Understand?"

"Yes, sire."

"Good. You are dismissed."

Ker stood from the floor and walked out of the room, continuing his daily duties.

While Rouge sat beside him, she looked over to him in worry. "What do we do in the meantime, my king?"

"We wait until those bastards come to us and then once they confront me...they won't know what hit them. They have nerve to try to overthrow me! No one fucking crosses me like that! No one!"

She turned away from him in sadness and knew he would slaughter The Underground Rebellion once they were found. 'Espio...'

Meanwhile in the city, a pink girl fox child was cornered in an alley by two Black Army robots. She had her back against the wall while she looked up at the robots with tears and fear. "Please", she begged.

"Violation of Code 639. No Mobian shall wander around the city before noon. You are guilty by law and are sentenced to be annihilated", a robot spoke.

"Please!" She sobbed. She child shut her eyes tightly until she heard two loud gunshots and a heavy thumping on the ground afterwards. She opened her eyes slowly and saw the two robots on the ground with a huge gapping hole through their bodies. She looked away from them and saw five Mobians standing in front of her smiling. She hesitated to walk towards them because she didn't know who they were but she had a pretty good idea. "Wh-Who are you?"

A purple chameleon walked over to her, kneeled down at her, and patted her head. He formed a warm smile, "We're The Underground Rebellion. We protect the innocent from this evil society."

"The Underground Rebellion?" The child repeated.

A young looking pink rabbit woman came up to the child and held her in her arms. "You're going to be all right now. Your life is in good hands."

As the chameleon watched the rabbit cradle the child in her arms, a red bird came up to him.

"Espio", the bird called.

The chameleon turned to him,"What's up, Magnum?"

"We better get going. The robots are bad enough and I don't think we want to run into any Almas."

Espio made a nod, "Yeah you're right." He faced the group, "Come on guys. Let's get back to The Underground Sanctuary."

Everyone made a nod, "Right."

Later when they got back underground, the group led the child through the malodorous tunnels.

The child held her nose, "It stinks down here."

A red fox laughed a bit, "If you're down here as much as we were, there's no doubt you'll get used to the smell."

They soon got to the center of the sewers and saw other Mobians sitting around looking paranoid and starving.

The child's eyes widened, "Wha-what is this place?"

"This is The Underground Sanctuary", an orange dog answered. "These are some of the Mobians that were attacked by King Shadow's henchmen."

The child placed her hands over her mouth in disgust, "How awful...I...I lost my parents to an Almas and now I'm...all alone."

The pink rabbit hugged the child tightly, "Don't feel that way, sweetheart. You're not alone anymore."

The child couldn't help but to smile because of the comfort she had with them. "Thank you. So, what are your names?"

"Oh! Well, my name is Shana", the pink rabbit answered.

"Yamato", said the orange male dog.

"Rika", the red female fox said.

"I never had a real name but everyone calls me Magnum", the red male bird explained.

"And my name is Espio", the purple male chameleon said. "Espio the Chameleon and I'm the current leader of The Underground Rebellion."

The child was amazed at how cool they seemed because of their strong sense of justice. She just met the rebellion yet she was encouraged with their bravery to go up against King Shadow. "Cool! My name is Laura."

Rika formed a wide smile, "Nice to meet you, Laura."

The child then wondered if there were more of The Underground Rebellion working elsewhere in the city. "Are there more of you?"

"Not really. We're the only known rebellion in this area but we do have one member on a special undercover mission", Espio explained.

"Undercover?" The child repeated.

"Yes, she's been undercover and has been by King Shadow's side for at least six years."

"Do you think she's okay?"

"Of course she is", Yamato answered. "She's been keeping in contact with us every now and then giving us the latest information about what King Shadow will do next."

"Wow! She must be really good at being undercover."

"She's not just good", Espio added. "She's a strong and reliable warrior. She's the best. That's why she was perfect for the job, but now the time of waiting is over. Years have went by and all we've done is sit on our asses and watch our beloved world fall into the ultimate evil. Too many lives have been lost. It's time to act. Tonight I will infiltrate the castle and assassinate King Shadow!"

Everyone gasped in surprise and thought that even though Espio would attempt to kill him, there would be a great chance that he would fail in his mission.

"What!" The child shouted in panic. "Are you crazy? He'll kill you! King Shadow is the strongest being in the world! There's no way you could possibly..."

"I have to try. I'm not just doing this for my health you know. I'm doing it for all the Mobians in Mobius. Right now I choose freedom over being enslaved under King Shadow's laws. Besides...I have to save her. She's all I have left..."

Magnum stared at the chameleon sadly, "Espio", he whispered softly.

The chameleon looked over to Yamato, "Yamato, I need blueprints of the castle that she sent over to us. Inside and out."

The dog made a nod, "Okay."

Espio then turned to Rika, "Rika, I need weapons with plenty of ammunition."

The red fox nodded, "Right."

Before Espio could prepare, Magnum had confronted him in sadness. "Magnum?"

"Espio, I know we had this all planned from the beginning but...I don't want to lose you. You're my best friend."

Espio formed a small smile, "I know...you're mine too and that's why if I end up failing the mission, I'm counting on you to take my place."

He made a small nod, "...Right."

He placed his hand on his shoulder, "Look out for Shana for me while I'm gone okay?" He said in a soft tone.

Magnum placed his hands over his eyes so he could hide his tears, "I will", he said in a hoarse voice.

He took his hand away from his shoulder as he began to prepare. 'Look out Shadow, because I will not hesitate to kill you.'

A/N: I think someone's gonna die. XD R&R please!