Disclaimer; I own only the kids and story line.

p.s Thank you, all of you for your reviews!

Before either Quinn or Jax could answer, the door to the work shop burst open and the Sonic Team tumbled out.

Sonic stood in the front and smirked, "Nice to see ya again, Eggy. Long time, no see, not that I'm complaining. Unfortunately, you caught us at a bad time. So let's make this quick."

Each member of the Sonic Team took on battle stances and glared at Eggman, waiting on his attack.

But the fat doctor paid them no mind. Instead he stared at the curious group of children that had formed behind them. It didn't take him long to formulate a guess as to who they were. After all, each of them bore striking resemblances to the group in front of them. The bunnies were replicas of Cream the Rabbit except they had the blue eyes of that annoyingly smart kid fox. And the red bat had to be the spawn of Knuckles and Rouge, there was no doubt about it. The three hedgehogs are the ones that confused him the most but he'd get his answer in due time.

Smirking, he turned to the Sonic Team. They had dropped their defensive stances and now looked a little more than uneasy. Even Shadow looked uncomfortable and moved to stand in front of both Quinn and Marion as though he felt it would help.

If anything, it further proved the doctor's suspicions. He smirked and without another word, turned his Eggmobile around and was off. Amy bit her lip in concern and she had good reason to be.

Eggman chuckled as he flew off. Oh, this was going to be very fun.

After a few beats of uneasy silence, Jax chuckled. "Ha, guess we showed Egghead what's up, huh?"

Quinn turned to her navy blue counterpart, "you and I both know that is not the case Jaxper. We've made a grave mistake, letting him see us. He may not be sure of who we are but he isn't exactly brainless. He's made some kind of connection. You saw his smile. We are in danger here now as well."

Blaze sighed and patted little Vanessa's head, "Quinn's right, you guys. We need to be more careful, especially now. We haven't seen Eggman for over three months then instead of attacking, he just takes off like that? You know he's going to plan something even worse than before. We need to watch our backs and the kids as well. That means none of you should leave without one of us. Understood?"

Normally, Quinn wouldn't take orders from anyone, with the exception of Julie-Su, but Blaze had such a fierce look on her face that Quinn didn't think it wise to disagree. So she simply nodded with the rest of her team.

As though to ease the tension, Silver chuckled at their faces and slung his arm around Alannah. "Well now that that's discussed, how about we go inside and talk some more. I'd love to hear some more about the type of powers you were blessed with kiddo." He ruffled Lana's bangs affectionately and laughed when she pushed him away.

"Hey hands off the hair, old man, you're messing them up. Bugger off." She giggled and flattened them again. Blaze watched with a small smile on her face and jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Silver's real good with kids huh? Makes you kind of wonder about the future, doesn't it?" Amy asked with a small smile. Blaze shook her off with a blush and short laugh.

"Not now, Ames. Let's get them inside and safe then we can talk about our feelings 'kay? We can even bake cookies."

Amy snorted and shoved the purple feline away from her.

"Whatever, kitty," she turned and caught Shadow's eyes. She quirked her eyebrow at the curious look he was giving her but he simply chuckled and shook his head slowly.

Amy bit her lip and stared deeper into his eyes, trying to discern the look in them. What was he thinking? Suddenly, her concentration was broken when she was spun around to meet Rouge's teal blue eyes.

"Ah!" Amy shrieked in surprise at the sudden disruption and at widened her eyes at Rouge's serious look.

"Careful who you stare at for too long hon. People may get the wrong idea." She wagged her finger then smirked. Amy simply smirked back and pulled away.

The rest of the group was steadily heading inside, each talking amongst each other. The only ones who had hung back were Rouge and Gemma. Even Shadow had brushed past Amy, casually knocking her shoulder with his and smiling at her when she stuck her tongue out at him. Rouge shook her head at the pink hedgehog and nudged her inside.

They walked past the computers where Tails, Oliver and Cream were sitting and talking and Rouge laughed when Gemma flung herself across Oliver's lap and grabbed one of the notebooks. The dark orange fox flushed and yelped in surprise.

"This formula is so wrong Oli, you gotta carry the seven and multiply this by 18 -," her voice faded out as Amy and Rouge made their way up the stairs.

"See, she really is smart huh?" Rouge smiled with a hint of pride.

Amy giggled, "Yeah and she certainly seems to enjoy flustering Oliver, just like you and a certain fiery guardian, huh?"

Rouge smirked, "Yeah I suppose so. She does seem to act a lot like me. Hey, remember that purple echidna. Who do you think she is to Knuckles over there? Plus, why did she seem to dislike Gemma so much?"

Amy tilted her head and pursed her lips in thought as she pushed open the door to the house, "I dunno, Rouge, but well maybe you can ask Quinn?"

"Ask me what?" the dark hedge-girl piped up from the couch where she and Jax were sitting. She shoved the navy hedgehog off her lap with an eyeroll and smirk then looked at Amy and Rouge questioningly.

Amy moved to sit on the arm of Sonic's chair and Rouge sat on the other couch in between Knuckles and Tikal. Shadow was standing next to Tikal's side of the couch and Silver and Blaze had taken over the small love seat in the corner.

Marion, Alannah, Drake and the twin bunnies were all on the ground by the lounge that their leaders were occupying.

"Who was that lavender echidna that you were talking to earlier?"

Quinn smiled slyly and stole a look at first Drake then Knuckles. This was gonna be interesting.

"Oh that was Julie-Su. She is an ex-Freedom Fighter, guardian of the Royal Children and Knuckles' ex-girlfriend. Why?"

Rouge's eyes widened and she coughed and nodded, "Oh alright, I figured you had mentioned her. Thanks for clearing that up."

Quinn sniggered at the uncomfortable looks on Knuckles and Rouge's faces and almost began to tease them when Amy, who could sense the tension and Quinn's plan, interrupted.

"Hey, I know we kind of swore not to ask about him for Jax's sake but seriously, what's with you and that super cute monkey prince, Quinn?" she asked with a sly smirk of her own. Sonic elbowed her and they both burst into giggles at Jax's pinched glare and Quinn's wide eyes.

"Actually, I'd like to know about him as well Quinn. And how you became leader of this wide-spread organization? How old were you when you even became leader? How did it all happen?"

Quinn pursed her lips and pondered Shadow's question, "Well, you see, it all started about 2 years ago -,"

Flashback

A younger Quinn and Jax were sitting on a couch in the bunker living room. They were doing the same thing they did every day, watching the news for any information on the ongoing war and their parents. It was about 6 p.m.

Quinn was twisting her mother's red ribbon around and around her hand as the news progressed. She always hated this part. Not knowing what was going to happen or what she was going to hear.

"Hey, Q, you all right?" Jax put his hand on hers to stop her from cutting off the circulation in her hand with the ribbon.

Quinn sighed and ran her hand through her long quills. "Yeah, J, I guess so. I just hate this part. Not knowing what's gonna happen. I miss them and I wish I knew how they were. We haven't heard anything in a month."

Jax smiled and leaned in so that his forehead and Quinn's were touching. She gasped and felt her face flood with color and was about to push him away with an annoyed quip when suddenly –

"BREAKING NEWS."

An alarm sounded from the TV and it began flashing red. Both hedgehogs pulled away and whipped their heads around to the TV just as the rest of the group poured into the living room. Quinn stood up shakily and held her fist to her chest, her heart gripped with fear.

A female mongoose standing in what looked like the throne room from the Acorn Castle except it was completely torn up, replaced the 'Breaking News' alert. She had her back against a wall while explosions lit up the screen behind her. She was dirty and scuffed up and had her lavender hair pulled up into a messy ponytail.

"Oh my chaos. Is that Mina?" Gemma hissed as she pinched Oliver's arm. He only responded by grasping her hand in his.

Mina was another ex-Freedom Fighter who had answered Queen Sally's call to join the fray. She had left behind her days as a popstar and now served as a soldier/reporter. She gave reports on the battlefield whenever anything major happened.

It had awhile since she had done a live broadcast. The last one had been when Station Square had been taken by Eggman's forces. So one could only assume the worst.

And that's exactly what Quinn did.

"Hey everyone. Sorry to interrupt your regular broadcasting," She started with a small half-smile. She looked around the edge of the wall then yelped and jumped back when a robot flew only millimeters past her face.

"Eggman's forces have just infiltrated the Acorn Castle –,"

She was cut off by an explosion that lit the background and she cringed. Gemma screamed at the scene and Quinn felt her blood turn to ice.

It was Eggman floating in his Eggmobile, cackling. While he did look awfully ugly, that wasn't what caused Gemma to scream. It was the giant robot next to him and what said robot was clutching in his fist.

Queen Sally Acorn.

"NO!" Mina screamed and both her and her camera man/husband Ash, sprinted forward, the broadcast all but forgotten.

Ash's camera was installed in his glasses. It was an invention Tails had come up with before they went to battle. It was convenient because no matter what happened, as long as Ash had on his glasses, everyone could see everything Ash was seeing.

Sally was struggling to get loose but it was all in vain. She had a piece of tape on her mouth and her battle clothes were torn as well. Her glittering gold crown was tilted on her head and falling halfway into her eyes. Her big blue eyes were hard and angry.

Different members of the ex-Freedom Fighters sprinted forward and the robot's other hand flashed out. A group on the left was illuminated by a bright light that came from the robot's hand and when the light vanished, the fighters were gone.

"What the hell?!" Mina screamed.

Eggman chuckled nastily and the robot raised Sally up in the air.

"Listen and listen good, loyal subjects of the Kingdom Acorn. I have captured your queen. It is all over. Surrender and you shall be spared. Even those who have fought against me. However, if you choose to keep fighting, you shall end up like your fellow warriors. Vaporized into nothing."

Mina turned to Ash with a look of sheer terror on her face. "What do we do?" she hissed.

It was quiet and the camera angled down meaning he was looking down. After a beat of silence, he reached out and grabbed Mina's hand.

"We surrender, Meen. What else can we do?" He whispered back in sad soft tone.

Mina scowled and wrenched her hand out of his. "Yeah! Over my dead body, Ash."

The rest of the battle had ceased around them. The remaining robots drifted to Eggman's side and the Freedom Fighters moved together in a huddle.

An uneasy silence fell over the huddled group as murmurs on what to do spread through the crowd.

"What do you think they are gonna do, Quinn?" Drake whispered as he moved closer to her. Although Quinn was younger than him, there was no questioning that she was the one in charge of the group. She just always seemed to know what to do.

She looked back at the red bat and he was shocked to see tears coming out of her eyes, "I don't know Drake," she whispered before turning back.

A scream echoed through the castle and the fighters turned towards the source of the noise. Mina cried out and Ash gasped in horror.

There were three robots marching mechanically towards Eggman in a slow procession.

The first was pushing along a struggling male monkey who looked about Quinn's age. He was wearing gray pants, a long sleeved blue shirt, and black boots. His dark auburn hair was messy and ruffled. He also had a piece of tape slapped over his mouth. The robot had his arms pulled harshly behind his back and yet the monkey kept fighting. His own blue eyes radiated anger. Prince Kenneth Acorn.

The second was holding a younger female chipmunk by the upper arm and was practically dragging her along. She was wearing a long, blue, lace dress that was ripped up at the hem and kept causing her to stumble as the robot pulled her. Her beautiful face was streaked with tears and where her brother had looked pissed, she looked terrified. Her auburn curls were tangled in a knot one side. She had obviously ripped the tape off her mouth and was the one that had screamed and gathered everyone's attention. She was now crying audibly and struggling in vain to pull away. While Quinn had never cared much for the princess, her heart ached at the state she was in now. Princess Sandra Acorn.

The last one had two people. The first was an older lavender colored echidna wearing a black vest, black pants and dark green combat boots. The Caretaker of the Royal Children, Julie-Su. It had both of her hands pinned behind her back with one hand and was pushing her forward. She had tape across her mouth as well.

The other hand was carrying a small female monkey with big, sad, blue eyes and long tangled, auburn curls. She only looked about five years old and was wearing a dress the same as Princess Sandi's except hers was pink. When she caught a glimpse of Queen Sally in the closed fist of the robot, she reached out her little hands and called out, "MAMA!" Princess Eliza Acorn.

Queen Sally shrieked in horror behind her tape and her blue eyes quickly filled with tears, despite her obvious attempts to act brave. She struggled again and only stopped when the robot squeezed her.

"Where in the name of Mobius is Monkey Khan?!" Mina hissed in anger.

The rest of the group looked around at each other as though trying to form a plan as the children were placed in front of Eggman's floating Eggmobile.

The robots ripped the tape off of Julie-Su and Prince Ken's mouths and pushed them to the ground. Sandi was tossed forward and she fell to her knees and Eliza was dumped on her bottom. Ken glared at the robots then helped his sister to her feet while Julie-Su picked up little Eliza and dusted her off.

"Now, children. Be the good example you are supposed to be and lead your kingdom in kneeling to your new ruler. I know the rest of the kingdom is watching."

Sandi hiccupped and cried harder and Ken snarled.

"That'll never happen. Drop dead, fat man." He spit out. Without warning, he turned and kicked the robot away from him.

Before he could attack the other two robots, one lunged forward and ripped Eliza out of Julie-Su's arms and forced the echidna to the ground. It placed its foot on her back and held her down as she struggled and shouted obscenities. It wrapped its hand around little Eliza's throat and held her above Ken's head like a dangling prize. The little princess cried out and began to kick and sob.

At the same time, Sally screamed again and began struggling once more. Sandi screamed as well and lunged at the robot but Ken yanked her back.

He scowled, "Okay, fine. Just let her go… Please…" The robot squeezed and Eliza began to choke. Instead of freaking out like Quinn was sure she would've, he merely took a deep breath.

"Please." He dropped to his knee and bowed his head. Sandi gasped and clasped her hands to her mouth before following her brother's lead, shakily kneeling on the ground, her eyes still streaming with tears.

Eggman chuckled darkly and motioned for the robot to drop the little girl and let Julie-Su up. Julie wrapped the little girl in her arms and dropped to her knees as well, bowing her head. Eliza peered over Julie-Su's shoulders and into the lens of the camera, obviously looking into Ash's eyes.

"Help." She mouthed to him.

Quinn felt her heart clench again at what she was witnessing. Was this it? The fall of the Kingdom Acorn and the re-rise of the Eggman Empire?

No. It couldn't happen.

Where were the great heroes of Mobius? Where were their parents?

Eggman pushed a button and the colossal robot dropped Queen Sally. Immediately she stood up and raised her chin in defiance.

She ripped the tape off her mouth and didn't even flinch. Instead, she moved to stand next to her son.

"Kneel before me, Sally Acorn. Or I shall destroy you and your children." The robot raised its hand and directed it towards the Queen and her children. Sally sighed then gripped her son's shoulder. He didn't move.

"SALLY! DON'T DO IT!" Mina screamed but was quickly silenced by the robot facing its palm towards her and the rest of the group.

Sally turned and smiled sadly at Mina with a small shake of her head.

Suddenly, just as she was about to touch the ground, the wall behind Eggman exploded apart and everyone screamed. The robots closest were caught in the rubble and buried. The rest were blown away. Sally and Julie-Su quickly threw themselves over the bodies of the Royal Children.

"Sorry we took so long everyone. Did we miss the party?" A familiar cocky voice sounded and Jax whooped with joy.

Standing on top of the rubble that had once been the wall and hallway to the castle was none other than Sonic the Hedgehog himself.

Figures slowly emerged out of the dust as well. The first; King Monkey Khan. The handsome older monkey's tense face melted in a small smile of relief when his eyes fell upon Queen Sally and his children.

Cream, Tails, Amy Rose and Shadow followed and Quinn nearly collapsed with relief when her parents stepped out of the dust cloud.

Amy was dirty and bruised and yet she still looked beautiful and vibrant and alive. Her green eyes glittered with malice and her pink quills were tangled and pulled away from her face. Shadow the Hedgehog stood next to her with his signature smirk of defiance. He placed his hand on Amy's shoulder and she turned to look at him. Their eyes met and she smirked and nodded once.

Before Eggman had a chance to turn around, Shadow Chaos Controlled silently to the left side where pillars lay in rubble. Amy stepped forward so that she was standing next to Sonic and gripped her hammer.

"Huh? Where are the rest of them?" Ash murmured.

He started to look around and he noticed Silver and Blaze hiding behind pillars on the other side and when he looked up, Rouge and Knuckles were hiding in the rafters.

Eggman turned and glared at the six newcomers.

"Well if it isn't Sonic the Hedgehog. Oh and look, here's our dear King Khan. Thank you so much for delivering him to me, rodent."

Sonic crossed his arms and chuckled, "Not even in your wildest dreams, Eggman." He then threw a wink Sally's way and tapped Amy's hammer.

"ATTACK!" Amy shouted before leaping into action.

It was like hitting the play button on a paused movie. Blaze set the robots closest to her on fire and Silver used his telekinesis to throw them at the larger robot.

Shadow jumped out just as a robot tossed Amy backwards like a rag doll and caught her in his arms. He set her down gently and she kissed his cheek before they both pulled away and ran in opposite directions. Amy took out the robots that had surrounded Queen Sally and Julie-Su and smiled when King Khan broke through the robots and lifted his wife in the air. He pulled his children in between them and they shared a family hug.

It was cut short when Amy tapped on Sally's shoulder and smiled sadly. She said something that Quinn couldn't make out but both Sally and Khan's face fell and they looked at their children.

Khan kissed Sandi's head and pulled little Eliza up into his arms and held her close. Sally kissed Ken's head and ruffled his hair sadly. Ken's eyes were wide and he looked ready to argue when Khan kneeled in front of him and grabbed his shoulders. He said something gruffly but otherwise effective. Ken's face fell in defeat and his shoulders sagged. Sandi gripped her brother's hand and nodded once at her mother.

Khan then turned to Sally and said something that made her blue eyes light with fury. She shook her head fiercely and jabbed him in the chest. After what looked like an intense argument, they both nodded at each other with hard stares on their faces. Julie-Su squeezed both their hands then turned and ran with Amy towards the opening in the wall. They guided the children in between them and none of them looked back.

Once they got to the wall, Amy pushed something into Julie-Su's hands and whispered something hurriedly before gently shoving her outside. She then turned back around and joined in on the fray.

Mina had dragged Ash over a larger hole in the wall on the other side and gave him strict instructions to stay put.

"I'm not letting you fight alone, Mina." He whispered fiercely.

Mina smiled, "Keep recording, Ash. Please, can you do that for me?"

Ash sighed then nodded once. Mina leaned forward and kissed his head.

"Keep quiet okay? I love you."

She ran back towards the middle of the room and found herself back to back with Rouge the Bat.

For a while, it seemed as though they were actually going to win this battle. They had pulled ahead tenfold and everyone was giving their all.

Except the robots kept coming.

And coming.

Mina turned to look at Ash as though to check on him and her eyes grew wide at the robot just on the other side of him. At the same time, a robot was sneaking up behind her.

"LOOK OUT!" They screamed in unison.

Mina was yanked back and Ash was yanked out and thrown to the ground.

The fighters were corralled into the center of the room with more and more robots surrounding them. Ash looked up at the robot above him then back to the center of the room. Mina was desperately trying to get to him and the robot she was fighting threw her back and she flew into Sally and Monkey Khan. They all toppled over.

The last thing that Quinn saw before the feed cut out were the King and Queen's crowns falling to the ground.

Static.

That was the last time any of the kids saw their parents.

A few days later, Julie-Su found them.

The kids had been a mess since they hadn't heard anything on the battle or the outcome. They couldn't even get a signal anymore. They had lost hope completely when they had heard someone knocking around above ground.

At first, the kids had been weary of the echidna and her fellow travelers. Not only the Royal Children but also more children that had belonged to the surrounding towns and cities.

Julie-Su smiled and introduced all the kids one by one. Starting with the Royal Children first and lastly, herself. She had picked up the other kids as refugees that had been either orphaned or abandoned.

While they had all heard about Julie-Su and Queen Sally and the rest of the old group of Freedom Fighters, they had never actually met anyone outside of their parents' immediate group of friends. They had all been raised together, as a family.

It was only after the introductions that Quinn had to ask the dreaded question, "Miss Su, what happened to everyone? The battle?"

And it was with a heavy heart that Julie-Su had broken the news; M.I.A.

Everyone present at the battle that day had gone either M.I.A or were dead. Since there was no trace of the bodies of Queen Sally, King Khan, Mina, Ash, Sonic, Tails, Cream, Knuckles, Rouge, Shadow, Amy, Blaze or Silver, one could only assume that they were captured and still alive somewhere.

Or at least that's what Quinn hoped.

"What are we going to do now?" Quinn had asked as she held the sobbing Gemma to her chest. When Julie had delivered the news, it seemed the whole team had collapsed with grief, sans Quinn. Drake and Jax had dropped to their knees with blank expressions and the blue hedgehog had caught a fallen Oliver and was now letting him cry into his chest as well. Drake didn't look as though he could comfort anyone.

Marion and Alannah held the twin bunnies in between them and rocked back and forth, crying the type of tears that were so heartbroken, they were silent.

Quinn had wanted to collapse so badly. Her heart had broken and in its place was left a steely resolve. She was going to take care of them now. And one way or another, she was going to find her parents. She couldn't afford to collapse, she couldn't afford to lose it. She had to be strong.

That night, she had relayed it all to Julie when they were sitting at the table in their kitchen. All the other children had been given a spot to sleep and Quinn had willingly relinquished her room for the Royal Children.

Ken had refused at first, saying he didn't need special treatment but as soon as he touched her bed, he collapsed with exhaustion. His sisters had curled up next to them and Quinn smiled sadly at the scene. They had been on their feet for days, looking for the bunker that Amy had told Sally and Julie-Su about in during the battle. That's what Amy had handed Julie-Su. Maps of all their bunkers.

Julie-Su smiled when Quinn had told her about wanting to get their parents back and stopping Eggman. She then told Quinn a story about another young girl who had someone she loved taken from her and who had also resolved to defeat Eggman. She had been leader of the Freedom Fighters and eventually became Queen.

"You actually remind me a lot of her, Quinzel. You know she helped pick out your name? Your mother and Sally were best friends."

Quinn smiled at the thought. She had seen plenty of pictures and heard plenty of stories of them together but had never actually believed it.

"So. You never answered my question earlier. What do we do now?"

"What do you want to do?"

"I want to bring them back. I want to fight."

The next day began the most intense month training Quinn had ever undergone in her life. Julie-Su may have only been one person but she sure knew what she was doing. She didn't hold back but it didn't matter because everyone was eager to learn.

Not even her own father was as hard on her as Julie-Su was.

Sandi, Eliza, Alexia and Vanessa were the only ones not training.

It seemed Ken, Quinn, Jax, and Drake were the best at training and Julie told them they were competing to see who would be leader. Of course, that broke into an all-out war between Jax and Ken who seemed to have a natural rivalry from the start.

When asked why she would rather put one of the kids in charge, Julie-Su merely said, "I see pieces of your parents in all of you. I know what you all are capable of."

Drake didn't want to become leader because he had his work cut out for him taking care of the Master Emerald.

Quinn hadn't expressed any interest in it only because she knew she would be leader. Hands down. It wasn't being cocky. It was just because no matter who she fought against, she beat them. Plus she was smarter and way more level-headed than the boys.

So when the boys argued, Quinn would smirk and Julie-Su would smirk back knowingly.

Even the refugees that Julie-Su had picked up, trained with them. Julie had managed to send out signals to other Freedom Fighters that hadn't been present that night at the battle and they came from all over to either help with the training or to help anyway they could.

Even in recruiting more members.

Some even helped Oliver start up his inventing again. None were even as close to being as smart as Tails was but they were smart enough to help. Of course, once he came out of shell again, Oliver was smarter.

Soon, the organization was as big as it had been back in its heyday. And almost equally as powerful. The only thing it was missing was a leader.

Once the day to choose a leader rolled around, everyone knew exactly who it was going to be. It's funny how unanimous it was.

Quinn, Ken, and Jax got the chance to lead a raid on a village Eggman had captured long ago, to rescue everyone still alive in the village. While there weren't many and it was a relatively easy mission, the boys still managed to botch it somehow.

Due to quick thinking and reacting on her part, Quinn had managed to get everyone out safe and sound but unfortunately, that was her first run-in with Eggman. The boys had gotten themselves captured and Quinn knew there was no time to wait on backup.

She saved them all on her own. But not without sacrificing something along the way.

The element of surprise.

Thanks to the boys' foolish arrogance, Eggman now knew the New Freedom Fighters were up and running again. Thus making attacks and raids harder than before.

All this, Julie-Su had relied to them angrily once they got back to headquarters.

"This is why. . . Quinn is the new leader." All three of them looked up in surprise at the lavender echidna's words.

"BUT. . .But SU! Quinn?! She's a girl. You know I can do this. Please. Come on, give me one more chance." Ken had practically begged.

Julie-Su merely gave a sharp shake of her head.

"This was your chance to prove yourself, Ken. And you let yourself be caught because of your arrogance and you and Jax trying to upstage one another. It's your own fault you lost. Now, it's up to Quinn to pick her second."

What a difficult choice that had been.

While it was obvious Ken was a born leader, he still was so unsure of himself and his abilities thus making him relatively easy to fluster and mess up. He could think of plans on the spot just like Quinn but he had a problem following orders and plans. That was not something Quinn could look forward to. He always thought he knew best. Kind of like his father.

And Jaxper. Well, he was strong, loyal and brave. He had a hard time making crucial decisions when it came down to it, because he wanted to save and help everyone. He was overly sure of himself and thought he could do anything and there was his downfall. His hubris. Pride. He couldn't admit when he needed help. He couldn't admit when he was wrong. Still, he listened to Quinn and gave his 100 percent every time he had to.

Jaxper then became second-in-command.

Oooh boy, what a fit Ken had thrown.

"What do you mean you're picking that ARROGANT, OVERLY CONCEITED HEDGEHOG as your second, Quinn?!" he was nose to nose with her and they were glaring at each other something awful.

"I know what I am talking about and I know what I'm doing, monkey boy. Do not question me. EVER!"

"I AM SO MUCH BETTER THAN THAT LOSER-HOG! Why won't any of you believe in me? I am the future king. So I made a few mistakes, who hasn't?!"

Quinn rolled her eyes and pushed away from him. They were in the main meeting room in the headquarters. It was the biggest underground bunker they had which is why they chose it. Currently seated in the room were each of her team; Jax, Marion, Drake, Oliver, Gemma, Alannah and the bunnies. Plus Julie-Su and an older, yet still beautiful, Bunnie Rabbot. She was merely visiting and had arrived just in time for the great debate.

Jax smirked and stood up. "Look, Kenny boy, you lost. Fair and Square. The beautiful Rose has spoken. Deal with it."

Ken balled his hands into fists.

"SHE DOESN'T EVEN DESERVE TO LEADER. SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT SHE IS DOING!"

"Enough!" Julie-Su shouted. She and Bunnie had jumped to their feet and Julie-Su had slammed her hands against the table top.

Ken's face immediately softened. "Wait, Quinn, I'm sorry."

She didn't even try to listen. She sprinted out of the room and ignored everyone yelling her name.

She didn't stop until she was in the dining room and staring up at the picture of her mom and dad at their wedding.

What if Ken was right? She had never had to lead before. What if she didn't know what she was doing?

"Quinn -?"

She turned towards the door and glared at the owner of the voice.

"Whaddya want, monkey boy?"

Ken sighed and leaned against the wall, never taking his blue eyes off of the hedge-girl.

"Look, I am sorry okay? My pride was just hurt when Julie picked you over me. She doesn't even know you but she knows me. I thought for sure she would have picked me. Yet – she didn't. And judging from the way I blew up in there, she was right not to. I was wrong."

Quinn rolled her eyes and leaned back against the wall next to him. They both heaved deep sighs and slid down on to their bottoms.

"What if you are right, Ken? What if I can't do this?" she whispered, picking at her white gloves. Ken shifted his body to face her and took her hand. She looked up in surprise.

His ice blue eyes had melted into something warmer and calmer. He smiled at the blush creeping on her cheeks. Why was she uncomfortable with anything to do with being close? It was actually kind of cute.

His own eyes widened and he felt his cheeks burn. Oh chaos, did he really just think that?

"Um, Ken?" her soft voice brought him back from his thoughts and he chuckled softly.

"Sorry," he leaned his forehead on hers and she gasped. What was it with these boys and physical boundaries? Still, she had to admit it felt nice being close to him.

Not Jax nice. But still nice.

"Quinn, Julie-Su was right to choose you. You saved me and Jax and didn't even bat an eye. You knew what you had to do and you did it. I guess I can also understand why you chose Jax over me. You know him more, trust him more. It makes sense. You have a great sense of judgement and you are so smart. Julie-Su made the best choice she could've made. Don't doubt yourself because of something I said."

Quinn smiled back softly then abruptly stood up. Ken's eyes flew open and he slammed face first on the ground. He groaned and glared up at Quinn.

She giggled. "Consider that pay back for your harsh words." Then she helped him to his feet and kissed his cheek.

His eyes widened and they both flushed red.

"Consider that a thank you for your kind words as well."

She darted out of the room and back to the meeting room leaving a shocked Ken behind.

End Flashback

"After that, we decided that I would be overall leader and there would be sectors with leaders of their own. Ken became leader of the biggest sector because I chose my team and I decided to keep it small. My best friends. My family. I trusted each of them with my life. They each proved themselves tenfold." Quinn smiled at her teammates.

"Oliver was the smartest one in the whole organization just like his dad. Gemma was our spy, because she was great at stealth. Drake and Jax were our brute strength and speed. Marion and Alannah were our tactic specialists because they were just as devious and sneaky as Gemma on her best day. And well the bunnies were going to be raised to be the future leaders because I chose them. We were the top sector in the whole organization. The best."

Jax took over, "but we were also a family. Oliver served as our medic as well. Marion and Alannah took the bunnies under their wings, Gemma has always been great at cooking and sewing because she used to hang out with Amy so much. Drake and I were like the bodyguards and well Quinn was our leader of course."

Amy looked down at her hands then looked back up at the red ribbon in Quinn's hair.

"So that's where you got your ribbon from?" Quinn nodded and reached up to touch it.

"I thought you would've recognized it right away."

Amy giggled and shook her head.

"Wow, Quinn, you guys have been through so much and yet you all handle it like nothing is wrong." Shadow moved to stand next to Quinn and smiled softly down at her.

Quinn smirked back up at him, "Yeah well a little red and black flicky always told me 'keep your emotions to yourself' so I had a lot of practice."

Blaze laughed and smiled at Alannah who was re-braiding Vanessa's hair again.

"It has been a difficult road because we didn't have the expertise or gadgets that the old Freedom Fighters did but I think we've done pretty well on our own thanks to Julie-Su and Bunnie." Marion smiled and stroked Alexia's ears.

Sonic smiled as he studied the kids in front of him. They were all so strong and so willing to do anything necessary to stop Eggman. Kind of reminded him of another group of teenagers who gave their lives to fighting off evil.

He laughed at the thought, "I think you guys are doing just fine."

'Kay guys. Hopefully a long enough chapter for all of you. I dunno about the ending but my brain was kind of fried. And I wanted to finish this chapter on a happier note. Keep leaving reviews! Thanks!