Disclaimer - I do not own sonic or any other characters. They are property of SEGA and anything sonic the hedgehog affiliated with it.
As morning came the next day in the Knothole, many awoke to the sun shining brightly. It looked to be another sweltering day and people crawled sluggishly from their beds ready to face the heat. Bunnie though, she awoke with an upbeat mood. She actually felt quite good this morning with a smile on her face. She knew her sudden infatuation with Sonic wasn't good, and she wanted it to stop. But at the same time, she could not deny the fervor of feelings she was experiencing still felt pretty darn good this morning…
She sighed with her smile turning on her side, still feeling a sense of lightness throughout her body, and looking out her window seeing the clear blue skies. A cool morning breeze blew through her window, and she continued to smile. It was beautiful out, and she still had a little free time before the important meeting today. She hoped nothing would go wrong that might interrupt her free time, but she suddenly felt that no matter what might happen today…that this was going to be a fine day…
So she pulled her tattered blankets from herself and got out of bed. She stretched her arms up in the air and her whole body as she yawned. Then she bent down and grabbed her wash cloth and other things she used to clean herself and headed out her hut; leaving her hat and jacket off. She went to the bathhouse by the river and returned ten minutes later. When she reentered her hut, she put her washing utensils back under her bed and headed out her hut again. Her hair's long locks were slightly damp, fluffed, silky again, and smelt of flowers. She still left her hat and jacket off as she walked out of her hut and closed the door again. And she looked around the Knothole with a smile. She felt like doing a bit of a work out this morning. And she then began to jog at a leisurely pace away from her hut and around the Knothole a few times this morning.
As she began to jog around the Knothole and work up a sweat, many residents greeted her a good morning. And she responded to them in a happy manner because she knew many saw her on her daily workouts around the village. As she rounded the northern part of the village, she was stopped by a few robotticized citizens like herself. They praised her, and she accepted the praise of hers and the guy's heroics. Even though she felt guilt about the latest attack being her fault, she didn't realize how much robotticized citizens looked up to her. They talked about how they wanted to fight like her one day to help defend. That and how pretty her hair was.
And after she spoke to them and took off jogging again her smile became bigger. That made her feel even better than she already was…
As she began jogging round the eastern part of the village, she caught sight of Antoine. She was inclined to greet him a good morning but he looked to be in a hurry. He didn't see her as he ran towards Castle Acorn with a panicked expression. She wondered what he was up to but continued on jogging around the Knothole. She jogged through the southern part of the village, pass Castle Acorn and pass the Freedom Fighters HQ when she encountered Sally, Tails and Sonic…
She smiled brightly as she made her way pass them, and all three waved at her. Sally and Tails were smiling, and Sonic had a weak smile of his own. And she smiled at Sonic feeling her stomach in knots again…but also a strange sense of unrequitedness...
Knowing it was probably best if how she felt stayed far away…
Surely she was just uncertain of what she wanted since she moved on so quickly from her recent relationship. She still had lingering feelings from her relationship with Antoine, but these new feelings she had were even more counterintuitive. If mostly for the fact that it could certainly only add to the current disarray within the Freedom Fighters. She hoped her 'confusion' would pass…
Bunnie turned her head from the guys as she continued jogging, and they the same as they went in opposite directions. And her smile lessened as she began jogging through the west side of the village. There were residents setting supplies up ready to build the last few new huts, and Bunnie sighed as she turned her attention back to jogging. She didn't know why she felt this way…where these feelings had come from…
She didn't want to feel this way…she rather feel nothing again than entertain these thoughts…feelings of Sonic…
The way she felt was changing her perception now too. As she realized Sonic made her feel something she'd been missing…something she'd been wanting…
The feelings she felt anyways…not him….not him…..
The feelings of happiness she thought she'd have once she achieved her goals had not come in the form she'd thought. In the way she felt right now...
Yeah she wanted love and affection, but not like this. Because she just knew in the future once she got what she wanted, carried out her plans, then she would be happy…
Antoine did not make her happy…
But she began to see neither did all of her plans as she had felt really down the other day before…it…happened She had even been somewhat successful with her hair after she'd failed in the past. But even after she grew her hair long, and pretty she had still felt empty…
But something stirred up in her after Sonic…and she just had to find out why so she could do something about it...
Because why she felt this way about Sonic had to come from somewhere. And her smile lessened again into a light frown as her lips curled down. Her brows narrowed feeling nervous and worry again as she neared round her hut for her second lap around the Knothole. She began to huff and work up more of a sweat as her mind continued to wander on her troubled emotions.
Her face felt flushed probably for more than one reason as she stopped in front of her hut to catch her breath. She bent over placing her hands on her knees and closing her eyes as she took in some deep breaths. If nothing else she felt she was getting closer to figuring out what she was feeling. She was certainly going to be pondering on it as the day went on. She felt she had to, too. She had to figure out something so she could maybe stop it? Because she felt bad when she thought of Sally. Knowing she still harbored feelings for Sonic…and she did too now…sort of…
After she quickly caught her breath, she stood fully back up opening her eyes still looking slightly nervous. She put her arms into the air stretching them before she began to take off again. She thought of all the bad implications of how she felt. And she didn't like Sonic like that…right?
She was just confused after her breakup…she wasn't thinking clearly right now…
That thought made her blush faintly, and her lips pinched together into a frown as she lowered her arms. She didn't like like him…
But just as those thoughts crossed her mind the noise of someone yelling behind her caught her attention. She glanced behind herself seeing even a few residents looking on in confusion as Sonic ran from Amy. Amy smiled brightly as she chased a panicked looking Sonic.
They both ran pass her, and her hut into other parts of the western side of the village; Sonic yelled as he ran pass her "Cut it out Amy!"
"One hug is not going to kill you Sonic!" Amy said as she ran pass her and her hut.
And Bunnie watched Sonic as he ran pass her, and her heart raced for a moment. Then a smile came over her face again as she turned and began jogging her second lap around the Knothole. Well maybe she did like Sonic…a lil…
A little later around noon…
Bunnie finished her morning workouts and donned her jacket and hat again. After grabbing a quick bite to eat at the lunch house she made her way over to the HQ. Everyone was present but Antoine, and they were all relived to get another report from Nicole that there was still no activity from Robotropolis. So they took the opportunity to continue and help Nicole with her nanites.
Bunnie stood next to Sally and the rest of the guys by the back counter of the lab observing the twelve corked glass jars that sat on the counter. There looked to be nothing in the jars. But the nanites were invisible to their naked eyes, and Nicole assured them the jars were full to the brim with nanites. About an octillion of nanites had been created, but she needed much more to create New Mobotropolis.
But for the time being, Nicole was ready to move her nanites as she spoke to them all gathered around her assembly "I require more materials to continue production of the nanites. I am sure we can discuss this in your meetings later, correct?"
"Of course Nicole. So this means you can't make anymore nanites right now?" Sally questioned with a curious look.
"I could, but to use other materials than the ones I have designated are among other of my outlines…" Nicole paused in her neutral tone, and the guys raised their eyebrows in confusion at Nicole's subtle wordplay.
But Nicole continued "While I am not creating more nanites I think it is the appropriate time to move them. We must choose the desired area where New Mobotropolis is to be created."
And everyone's faces brightened at the prospect, and Sonic questioned her with a grin "So how big will this dome of a city be?"
And Nicole responded promptly "Calculating…" she spoke and everyone waited "…from the amount of nanites I intend to create I estimate seventy to eighty acres of land will be covered. That is ten times bigger than the size of the Knothole, and a fraction of the size of Mobotropolis before it was destroyed."
"Wow…" Tails said with awe on his features.
And Rotor chuckled with a smile "That's much more than I expected. And that's still bigger than anything we've been living in a long time."
"We ain't had thet much space since I first showed up to tha Knothole." Bunnie said with an impressed look slowly nodding her head.
"Yeah, because we've been shrinking…" Sally said with a weak smile.
And the mood turned somber for a second as everyone looked at Nicole on her assembly. But Bunnie brightened the mood as she was still feeling quite chipper, she looked around at everyone with a smile "Well let's get on it then!"
Sally, Tails, Rotor, and Amy looked more enthused. Sonic smirked a bit and Bunnie was glad to see some improvement on his part as she spoke again "We need to get tha city going before we lose anymore."
"Bunnie is correct. Me being sent back to help you would be all for naught if we are not in haste." Nicole spoke aloud.
Everyone glanced at Nicole blinking their eyes then chuckled. They didn't know if all that future business she always talked about was true, but they did get hope from her because they would not have survived this long without her.
So Tails began unhooking Nicole from her assembly, and the rest of the guys followed Tails, Rotor, and Nicole. And at a leisurely pace, they made their way out of the HQ and into various parts of the Knothole. Since they didn't have much danger on their radar today they actually took it slow. Bunnie took it even slower as she walked with the guys through the Knothole.
With a gentle smile even Sally caught onto, she and the guys all the more fooled around as they looked for the appropriate spot for the nanites. But Bunnie herself could not erase the foolish way she felt. She glanced at Sonic every now and then when no one was looking, and she couldn't stop smiles from forming on her face when she did.
And she felt like she remained in a lovely stupor all the while as Nicole scanned different areas of the Knothole. She even knew she was going against her better judgment when she began walking closer near Sonic. But she did…
Smiling and joking with Sonic and the guys as they dismissed many areas of the Knothole. And she was fighting her instincts…getting nearer to Sonic just to test it…
Hoping that whatever she saw in him was wrong, and make her feelings fade; something like Antoine. But the feelings still didn't subside. The fluttering feeling in her gut stayed the same, and she was finding it hard to pull herself away from him….
Hard to stop smiling…
But they were good friends; everyone knew this. And her behavior wasn't too out of the ordinary, so no one said anything. Despite all her grinning, a lot of it directed at Sonic, she seemed to hide herself mostly, and figure out some more about why she was feeling the way she did. But by the time they neared towards Castle Acorn, she finally came down off her high a little. She was still walking by Sonic's side, but she noticed Sally behind her, and she held a slightly curious expression at her.
And Bunnie blinked her eyes as she looked away from Sally. She began slowing her pace as she saw subtly that Sally wanted to walk near Sonic. And quickly there was a gap that Sally walked into next to Sonic. And Bunnie's brows wrinkled together looking a tad worried now. She did her best to look neutral and erase the worry from her face, but the way Sally just looked at her had her concerned.
And they all began walking across the drawbridge, walking into Castle Acorn as Nicole went on about nearing another suitable location. They were saluted by a group of soldiers as they walked into the main corridor, and Nicole directed them over to a large wall on the corridor and scanned it. Everyone was smiling and watching Nicole do her scanning, but Bunnie's lips pinched together in worry in the back of the group.
Now that she was sort of paying attention again to something other than Sonic, she just realized Sally noticed her behavior when she looked at her. She had been walking a little too close to Sonic…
And now she wasn't sure if the others might have noticed. And she beat herself up in her head for acting so irrationally. But soon Nicole was done scanning, and she spoke aloud for everyone to hear "In conjunction with the most recent maps of the Knothole; this particular area of Castle Acorn seems to be the most suitable area of construction for the nanites."
"Why?" Tails questioned with a curious look.
"If we are to build here it will cover a large area of resources we already have control over. So once New Mobotropolis is built it would be a very easy transition." Nicole stated.
"So what? The nanites are just going to be dumped here?" Amy questioned Nicole with an equally curious face.
"Not exactly. This area will need to be sterilized so a work area for my nanites can be built and can thrive." Nicole responded in a neutral tone.
And Sonic grinned at Nicole's words "Thrive? They sound like a swarm." his joke made everyone laugh, and he glanced behind himself at Bunnie to see if she had laughed as well.
But everyone looked at Bunnie too. And Bunnie wasn't paying attention, but blinked her eyes in surprise when she noticed everyone staring at her. She instantly felt nervous as Sonic raised an eyebrow looking confusedly at her; everyone looked confusedly at her But Sonic then shrugged with a smirk "Bunnie what's up with you? You've been in la la land all day."
Bunnie did her best to recover, and she smiled sheepishly rubbing the back of her head "It's just been a great day an all…I can't help mahself…"
And thankfully Amy pulled their attention away from her odd behavior; she donned a big smile "She's right. We're on the verge of getting a new home. It is a great day."
Sally nodded jumping into the conversation as Bunnie lowered her hand from her head. Her smiled lessened into a weak one, and she felt terrified as they turned their attention away from her. Yep…they had noticed…
And she began to wonder if anyone would have noticed if she had not been so chummy with Sonic; wondering if she should have kept her distance more. But then she saw Sally briefly glance back at her, and on instinct she darted her eyes away from Sally. Almost as if it was guilt or shame. Sally's eyes lingered on her with slight worry for a moment before she continued speaking with the guys.
And Bunnie stood in the back of the group as everyone listened to Nicole talk about more details of the nanites. Bunnie pulled down on the tip of her hat to hide the worry that consumed her face. She had thought her behavior was normal. She had always been sociable and talkative. But now seeing the guys reaction to her, she saw she was wrong yet again. It wouldn't have mattered if she had distanced herself from Sonic or not. As she began to see she couldn't hide how she felt, as it was written all over her. In her demeanor…it was her… it was out in the open… and she couldn't hide herself…
And as she watched the guys from behind, she had come to a new understanding in her feelings. She wanted her feelings to stop…but she saw clearer now…it was Sonic…
And she was beating herself up inside again for getting so close to him. She felt she had acted foolishly because of her feelings. And also she might like…him…a lil…
The question now was why. She only hoped she could figure it out and do something about it. Because Sally was on to her now for sure, and she knew Sally was going to corner her soon. That and she still felt terrified when she looked into Sonic's eyes…because she knew he had saw something too…
Meanwhile in the Military Training areas of Castle Acorn…
This particular area resembled a gym, with training equipment stocked around all the walls, and many of the recruits of the Royal Military were training today. They all wore short white sweat pants and t-shirts as well. Antoine and his platoon were present too.
And Antoine was getting yelled at by his drill instructor as he dueled with a more experienced private. His drill instructor, a gruff looking male rabbit yelled at the top of his lungs. Antoine was in a circle with a cutlass surrounded by his platoon as his sword dinged against the more experienced soldier in front of him. His platoon sat on the floor watching, and he tried to keep his focus as his drill instructor insulted him, but the soldier he was dueling with was much more experienced than him. Antoine held a worried expression as he tried to block the incoming attacks; trying to keep focus as his drill instructor yelled at him.
His brows narrowed grabbing a hold of his sword with both of his hands, and he took a step back. Almost stepping out of the circle as his dueling partner's sword bounded off his again. His dueling partner then swung his sword again and Antoine gritted his teeth as he tilted his sword to the left. He blocked the attack and tried to swing at his dueling partner, but the soldier moved his sword in an upside down manner. He completely blocked Antoine's attack and having plenty of time to go offensive again.
The attack knocked Antoine's sword out of his hands, and he blinked in surprise. Not so much because he'd failed again, but because his drill instructor was going to chew him out again, and he did…
His drill instructor marched into the circle with his fist balled, and still yelling in anger "Private Coddles! That is the third time today! Can you do anything right?"
Antoine then stood straight and tall and faced his drill instructor with a serious expression "Sir! Yes sir!"
"Are you trying to disrespect the core Coddles! You and private joker over here are a mess!" his drill instructor yelled with an angry expression.
"Sir! No sir!" Antoine yelled back at him.
Antoine's drill instructor then pointed at his dueling partner "Sit down private Snowball!"
"Sir! Yes sir!" the soldier yelled and hurried out of the circle.
"Pick up your weapon!" his drill instructor ordered him.
"Sir! Yes sir!" Antoine yelled as he turned around and picked up his sword.
As he turned back around his drill instructor held up his fist "Attack me!"
Antoine blinked his eyes for a moment, but he nodded doing as he was told. And he began swinging his sword in a non-lethal way. His drill instructor dodged and even blocked his sword with his hands a few times. But when he found an opening in his defensives he quickly got a hold of Antoine's wrist. Antoine struggled to move, but his drill instructor disarmed him yet again.
Antoine looked nervous as his drill instructor looked angrily at him "Never let go of your weapon private! You are nothing without it, and without you it is useless!" and he looked around at his platoon "This goes for the same in reverse! Your enemy will be worthless if you can strip their hands! So if you are ever in close combat remember this! It might save your life!"
"Yes senior drill instructor!" Antoine and his platoon yelled at him.
Then his drill instructor looked angrily back at Antoine handing him his sword back still yelling "I don't care what kind of coddling you got to get into my beloved core! You will get no special treatment from me, now sit-down!"
"Sir! Yes sir!" Antoine yelled as he scurried back to an empty spot on the floor out of the circle.
Antoine felt relief as he sat down, because he was always getting a grilling from his instructor. A frown came over his face as his brows furrowed together. He watched as his drill instructor called another pair of soldiers to duel. He felt down about how he'd been treated in the military…everything was harsh…
And everyone knew he got special help to get in. Luckily, he hadn't been too much of a hindrance on the rest of his squad because he knew they would not like him if he did; especially since he got special treatment to get in. He was working harder so his platoon mates would not hate him…and his plans for prestige were sort of an afterthought as he worked to keep up…
This was not his plan…
Things never really did seem to go as planned, and he didn't like that. He watched as two inexperienced soldiers got yelled at while he thought of Bunnie. This experience he was getting in the military was good he thought…though he didn't like it sometimes…and after Bunnie, he felt like he'd grown better without her…
He still felt proud about his noble lineage…
And he still felt jealous of Sonic; insecure about his own abilities. However, prestige was still the only thing on his mind. He felt uncomfortable out in the world again without Bunnie, but he felt, knew, she did not understand him. And he disliked her for that. She did not understand his pride and the noble place where he came from, and once he got his fame, he was going to look down on everyone who he thought had done him wrong. So for the time being he still had a lot to learn, and his prestige was starting to fall farther away every day. He might not reach Sonic's level, but he was certainly going to attempt to create something of his own…
A few hours later at the Freedom Fighters HQ…
After setting up a hazard zone for the construction of a work area for Nicole's nanites in Castle Acorn, the guys returned to their HQ. It was getting on into the afternoon, and they were ready to start their meeting. They were just waiting on Antoine again, and they leisured around their HQ while they waited. As per usual, Tails and Rotor were in their lab with Nicole. But Bunnie, Sally, Sonic, and Amy were in the common room.
Bunnie was laid back on the couch with her hat tipped over her face, and her arms crossed. She was trying to limit her interactions with Sonic who sat on the floor in front of the couch. Amy sat on the couch next to her, and Sally sat on the floor in front of Amy as she brushed her hair. Sonic was speaking to Sally sitting face to face with one another. And Bunnie nodded her head every now and then listening to them talk. Though she was really trying to hide her face, her feelings and anything that might give away anymore that was already exposed. As she couldn't hide her pining disposition…
While she was working out her feelings in her head, and what she could do about it, Sally's conversation with Sonic drifted back into uncomfortable territory. Sally placed a hand over her mouth as she giggled at Sonic. She lowered it smiling at Sonic who looked confusedly at her "You don't make jokes like you used to Sonic, come on and make another funny."
Sonic continued to stare at Sally with a raised eyebrow "I still make jokes."
"Yeah, but not like you used to. When is the more enthusiastic Sonic coming back?" Sally questioned him with a bright smile.
But Sonic's mouth pinched together giving her a dry, sarcastic look "I'm not that different…"
Sally giggled again as Amy pointed her brush at him, and she grinned as she went back to brushing Sally's head "Yeah you are. Nothing ever used to get you down."
But by this point, a light frown came over Sonics features "Well maybe about that…"
And Sally and Amy stopped smiling. Bunnie uncrossed her arms, and lifted up the tip of her hat looking slightly confused by Sonic's words. It was a sobering statement that he expounded upon "I don't feel the same after all that's happened…I'm probably gone...but I'm doing all I can to make the best of right now…"
Sally and Amy blinked their eyes in momentary surprise, but they looked saddened afterwards. Bunnie did so too as she sat fully up placing her hat properly back on her head. It seemed Sonic still had not forgotten their past treatment of him, and he had not forgiven them either. And Sonic's mouth scrunched together as a soft frustrated sigh escaped him.
And Bunnie stared at Sonic as her saddened expression turned into a deepening frown…to forgive…he couldn't even forgive himself it seemed…and now more than ever it looked like the Sonic they used to know wasn't coming back…
And they were unsure if they should continue to approach him about it. Because it looked like he was done talking about it. But Bunnie broke the silence hoping to not let Sonic slip away completely; Bunnie spoke with her upset expression "But yiah are making an effort…"
Sonic nodded at her with his frown, and Sally jumped in staring at Sonic with her saddened face and speaking in a descending tone "Once things get better the happy Sonic will come back…I'm sure of it…"
Though it didn't sound like she even believed her own words. Sonic remained silent with a nod again as his frown softened and the mood suddenly felt dead again. The happy go lucky Sonic seemed to have checked out by now, and what was left was weakened morale. The heart of their team had been pierced. And it hurt more so because they had a part in the way Sonic had become. And unfortunately because Sonic was not letting it go, they were all being dragged down by the past…and it made it harder the face the days…
But luckily, Antoine seemed to be right on time for a change as he opened and stepped through the door of the HQ. Everyone glanced at him, and he looked a tad confused by their troubled demeanors. But Sonic was the first to stand, and he raised an eyebrow at Sally "Time for the meeting then? We should get our plans together so we can get out of here before dark."
Amy stopped brushing Sally's hair still looking upset, and Sally stood with a frown forming on her face "Yeah…we should get started before it gets dark…."
Bunnie was last up off the couch, and she remained quiet as everyone shuffled into the lab. But there was an air of dissolution among the Freedom Fighters. Without Sonic's grand vigor there didn't seem to be life…
No one could mimic it, and that was because he was literally a line of defense. His speed, his powers had been an unmovable force to reckon with. It still was stopping Eggman and others that looked to harm them. But with their pillar of hope cracked, and the way Sonic had become; being there doing no less in the terrible situation they were in. They could feel the decay in the air…
And Bunnie felt even more terrible with her feelings in the mix as they gathered around their discussion table. She held a frown taking a spot next to Sonic…unintentionally this time…well it was sort of intentional…but she stood next to him around the table no less…
Sally began moving papers around on the table as Nicole, Tails, and Rotor joined them at the table. And Bunnie's eyes trailed over at Sonic out of the corner of her eyes. She really hoped what he said in the common room wasn't true…
Even more so in the revelations of her new found feelings; even before all the things that had happened, happened. She missed that Sonic they used to know…
She missed that friend that was there, not only for her so many times in her life, but there for everyone. She didn't want him to go away, but she guessed hoping he was going to come back was pointless. Especially after how she'd treated him, and taken him for granted. He was still slipping…everyone could see it…
It tugged at her heart….
And if not for the feelings she was currently struggling with, she might could say why she was feeling this way clearly. Because she didn't know why she felt the way she did about him…and she wasn't sure where the blur in the line of their friendship had begun…
Sally then broke her from her thoughts as she rolled Nicole's blueprints out across the middle of the table. With a serious expression and tone, she spoke aloud so everyone could hear "Since everything else is ready I think we are ready to start Operation Scrap Zone. Nicole, if you would."
And Nicole spoke aloud on the table, and everyone held serious expressions as they listened intently "Yes Sally. Now that I am able to I will explain the process in by which I need to create the nanites I require."
Everyone remained silent as Nicole continued "First, it must be established that the materials I will need are the scale of one hundred tons."
And the seriousness was washed from everyone's faces at Nicole's statement. Their eyes widened looking surprised "One hundred tons…" Tails stammered "How are we supposed to get that much metal…."
Rotors jaw was slack "Not to mention we've only created a small amount of nanites. And even those were limited materials…"
Sally's brows drew together looking serious again "We couldn't even take that much from Robotropolis if we wanted. How are we going to gather that much metal Nicole in the short amount of time we have."
And Nicole calmed their disbelief slightly "The nanites are not limited to metal. The trees in the surrounding forest of the Knothole and any material you can provide for the nanites can be used."
Bunnie's brows pinched together into a curious expression "Yiah were saying something like thet weren't yiah…"
"You are referring to the manipulation of the nano-structures of inputted materials. I didn't explain in full, but the manipulation of nano structures applies to everything. Any material can, and will be used to produce more nanites. Though metal would be preferred as it is closer to the intended structure of nanites already. All available materials must be used to reach the required amount of nanites to build New Mobotropolis." Nicole stated in her neutral tone.
Everyone looked curious and were a bit speechless as Nicole continued "The forest and whatever else can be provided will be enough to create New Mobotropolis in forty eight hours."
Sonic chuckled a bit though he kept his serious look "So wait…the nanites are gonna like eat everything up?"
"Yes Sonic, in laymen's terms, the nanites will need to consume nearly everything in the Knothole to make the nanites we need. As you already know, it would be unfeasible to get materials further away from us as we have limited time." Nicole stated promptly, pausing for a moment as everyone looked somewhat surprised again "The nanites themselves will form into the base of the city. The details on why they can do this can be explained at another time. Also, Sally?" she questioned.
And Sally blinked her eyes "Yes Nicole?"
"Castle Acorn would be an acceptable form of materials for my nanites. The castle seems to be a wealth of stone and metal that we could use. As the materials structures of the castle would take less time to reform as they are similar to the nanites. I surmise my ideas will come up against some resistance though." Nicole finished speaking down on the table.
Sally nodded as her lips curled into a frown "Yeah, you're right about that. Though I'm sure I can convince the right people to let your nanites snack on the castle once they see Eggman coming."
Amy rubbed her chin looking skeptical though; then she crossed her arms and twirled her hand "Forty eight hours huh? So is that just an estimate or will production take longer?"
Nicole responded to Amy "It varies. The more nanites I have the faster they can reproduce themselves. Once a certain threshold is reached the nanites will be able to almost instantaneously transmute any material it comes into contact with."
"So if you were to say toss a log in?" Antoine questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Then it will give the illusion that the material has disappeared. Only, more nanites will have been created." Nicole stated.
Sally huffed through her nostrils as everyone glanced at her, she then spoke with her serious expression "So this is going to have to be a village wide effort…"
"And we should probably get started right away…" Tails said with a frown.
"Yes. A faster pace would be preferable." Nicole stated from the table.
"An what? This is only tha first part of these plans I'm guessing." Bunnie spoke in a serious tone.
"Yes there is more…" Rotor said picking up a pencil off the table and circling a spot on the blue prints on the middle of the table "Nicole needs our help to get this kicked off. As she said, we're going to need a lot of stuff…"
Everyone nodded seriously as he continued "And Nicole can get a huge boost and create a lot of nanites real quick with some assistance. But we're going to need a lot of metal…a lot of it…" he repeated then looked down at Nicole, "Nicole?"
Everyone looked down at the table as she spoke "Part one of Operation Scrap Zone includes another trip into Robotropolis. With a large amount of similar material, that being metal, I would be ahead of schedule. By tomorrow morning I could have twenty percent of the required nanites; passing the nanite material threshold. The nanites then could produce almost instantaneously, and other materials would be assimilated quickly. In no less than two days New Mobotropolis could be built."
But though everyone felt excitement, they only wore half smiles. Glancing at one another feeling dread that they had to make another trip into Robotropolis. Though their new home was on the way it seemed they still had another obstacle that faced them.
"So we're going on another mission." Sonic stated as he donned a light frown.
And even the slight tinge of confidence in his voice made everyone feel the same as Rotor continued with a serious face tossing his pencil on to the table "That's right, and Tails, Sally, Nicole, and I have all the details pretty much planned out. We just have to go over them."
"So you can come with us on this mission Nicole?" Tails questioned her.
"As I cannot create anymore nanites for the time being, I would be better assisting you." Nicole spoke up.
"Great so you're coming." Sonic finished crossing his arms.
"Before we get into whose going you should probably know first this is a six person operation." Sally said seriously.
"We aint had one of those in a while…" Bunnie stated in a thoughtful tone.
"Not since Eggman's army of Swatbots started growing after Mobotropolis was destroyed." Rotor said picking his pencil up again and poked at the blueprint where he circled "We need a lot of metal and fast. So whoever is going, you're going to be heading to a waste removal facility in the south east side of Robotropolis."
Everyone leaned forward to look at the blueprints to see what Rotor was talking about and Antoine questioned aloud "What exactly is there?"
Tails pointed at the blue prints with a determined look "Those squares are exporting buildings, but there's a lot more there than what you can see. A lot of discarded materials, obviously metal, run through there. And there's a good way we could sneak in and out quickly…"
Everyone nodded with serious expressions as Tails and then Nicole described more about where they were going. The hardest part about sneaking into the city this time was the point of entry. Where they would usually enter from the front side, this time they had to circle around in the wide-open spaces where Robotropolis sat. And after they got the details in order they all began on their final push to create New Mobotropolis…
A few hours later…
Nighttime had fallen and it was dark out as Bunnie, Sonic, Tails, Amy, Antoine, and Nicole neared the south side of Robotropolis. They had to circle around the entirety of the city out on the open plains because the forest where the Knothole sat ended a certain ways out. They were sure they had monitoring devices around this perimeter of the city too. So they had to trek in the cool night air on the open barren plains that separated Robotropolis from the Knothole. And they were nearing closer to their destination as they jogged in the night. Luckily with Nicole's help they were able to remain undetected like they always did. Narrowly avoiding all of Robotropolis's detection devices planted around the city.
They stood a good distance away from their destination concealed by the darkness of the night; watching vehicles drive in, and out of their destination. And when there was an opening they dashed towards the area. Sonic carried Antoine, Bunnie flew, and Tails and Amy ran keeping up with Sonic. And they all dashed in a line one behind another as they hurried to hide behind many large metal ridged multicolored shipping containers. The whole area was full of them, and full of similar looking factory type buildings like around the city. Only they knew this area was a waste disposal area, and it was their best shot at getting a lot of metal quick. Large yellow dump trucks also came in and out of buildings all around them hauling away large amounts of junk...which in their case was treasure…
And they quickly made their way out of sight of the many roving trucks. This was much better than sneaking into the junkyard if they could pull this off. And once the headlights of a few large trucks passed by a few times Bunnie, and Tails poked their heads out from behind the shipping containers to get a good look around. Their eyes were narrowed and they looked around with determined expressions.
It seemed for the time being there were no other trucks coming in or out. The buildings here had large metal ridged doors, and some of them were still open as the trucks that had went in stopped. The buildings looked to be garages for these dumping trucks. The lights were also on in these garages for these dumping trucks and they were a standard white. The trucks that had gone into nearby buildings could be heard stopping and the large metal shuttered doors of the garages began closing. As they all shuttered closed the Freedom Fighters were left in semi darkness again. Because unlike most parts of the city, the lights that hung from the sides of these buildings were a crystal light blue color. There weren't any Legionnaires or Swatbots patrolling this area either as far as they could see.
They also guessed that these shipping containers they stood next to had different purposes, and what might be inside wasn't junk. But once the initial scouting observation was done Bunnie and Tails walked back over to the guys.
Sonic was looking up at the large control tower that loomed over the city with a frown. The faint orange glow that illuminated most of the city was still present even from where they were. And then he glanced back at Tails and Bunnie "After what we did here recently I don't want to stay long. I think Eggman still might be a little upset from what we did."
Amy nodded seriously "The mans already angry all the time. It would probably be best if we didn't agitate his crazy even more tonight."
"Agreed, we must acquire zis metal." Antoine said with his hand resting on his sword hilt.
Then Tails held Nicole up as she spoke; he adjusted Sonic's backpack straps on his shoulders; his tools rattled around "Hijacking a vehicle can go relatively smoothly. I have already surmised, and detected what I surmised. There are safeguards I must bypass in these vehicles so we may acquire them, but bypassing the safeguards will not be too difficult."
"Sounds too good to be tru…" Bunnie said with skepticism.
"Well I also gotta check for some kind of tracking. I'd be surprised if they didn't have tracking on their stuff." Tails said in an uneasy tone.
"So yiah can hack thet stuff good then right Nicole?" Bunnie questioned.
"Yes Bunnie, if there are no interruptions we will be in and out without anyone noticing." Nicole stated in Tails hand.
"Right then, let's get a better look around." Amy stated in a serious tone.
They all nodded at one another as they split into two groups. Antoine, Bunnie, Tails, and Nicole went left, and Sonic and Amy went right. And they carefully snuck around this waste disposal area, avoiding trucks when they came through, and moving when it was clear. There was a slight issue they discovered before they met behind the containers again. There were a large amount of dump trucks parked around the area out in the open. The problem was they were empty. The large dumping bed on the back of the trucks were bare and they needed one full to the brim.
The second issue was it seemed the trucks inside the buildings were full. So they were probably filled inside before they left. So they had to break in…
So after they met back behind the shipping containers again, they discussed what they scouted. And quickly came to the conclusion that they had to sneak into one of the buildings to find a truck to hijack. So once the coast was clear again they made their way towards the buildings. There were single doors that had bars in front of glass windows. They could see inside and most buildings lights were on inside. There were mostly Swatbots inside dumping materials into the trucks. But as they inspected the other buildings they found that some were not operating at the moment; these few had there lights off and no one inside. Though some had trucks and some didn't, and the ones with trucks had empty beds.
They were in luck though as two empty buildings had trucks and the trucks were full to the brim. Just what they were looking for. So they chose a building to enter and Tails and Nicole went to hacking. Tails pulled out a thin sliver if metal attached to a ribbon cable, which he hooked Nicole up to.
He slid the thin piece of metal into the slit of the doors latch and Nicole spoke aloud "Decrypting…"
"What are you doing?" Amy asked questioningly.
Tails kept his eyes on the door "Nicole is bypassing the door alarms. She is short-circuiting the circuits that would trigger the alarms if the magnets on the door bond is broken."
The rest of the guys looked around anxiously as they waited for Nicole to finish. Because they were standing out in the open, and they could all hear a truck approaching. But Nicole finished in a timely manner "It is now safe to open this door." she stated in her usual neutral tone.
Tails began unhooking her as Amy donned a determined face "I'll get it…"
She walked over to the door and firmly placed both her hands on the door knob. And with one big heave she used her strength and busted the door open, cracking the glass on the door window, and even breaking the deadbolt off. Just in the nick of time to as everyone scurried inside and Bunnie closed the door behind herself. They all ducked down as the headlights of a large truck passed by the door of the window. And a collective sigh escaped them all as they heard the truck drive away. And while trying to stay hidden they observed the inside of the building. The entire garage was darkened except for the crystal blue lights outside spilling in from the cracked glass of the door behind themselves. The wall farthest from them held a suspended metal railing walkway up above with stairs that also led down from it. And there were two doors on each end of the walkway, as well as a few doors on the main floor with them.
And all around them in the darkness, there were racks full of various things, and drum cans all over the place. The materials around the area looked like truck parts so they figured they might also repair trucks in these buildings. And as they all stood up to get a better look around they began walking towards the truck on their right. There were two large clamp claws directly above the truck, and they seemed to be moveable from the machine rails they were attached to on the ceiling. As an opening on the wall farthest from them, up above them, indicated that the claws moved in and out the building. A computer panel also sat in the middle of the suspended railing which was obviously the control panel for the claws.
The smell of gasoline was strong and they hoped that this particular building remained off duty long enough so they could take the truck in front of them. Tails then began walking under the truck holding Nicole up as she scanned and everyone waited.
Looking around skeptically watching all the doors in the area when Nicole spoke in the silence "There is a device attached above the back right side brakes of this vehicle. Although I cannot interact with it as it is inactive at the moment. I would advise to disable it regardless."
It was hard to make out anyone's faces in the darkness but Tails determination could be heard in his voice "Nicole and I will take care of this real quick…" he said ripping off Sonics backpack and pulling out his tools.
But Tails spoke again from under the truck "Could someone hold this flashlight?"
"I will help…" Antoine said as he went under the truck with Tails.
Sonic then walked over to the backside of the truck and hopped up to see what was in the bed. Amy and Bunnie followed climbing up behind him, and they smiled a bit in the darkness as they reached the top. They could barely make out all the discarded metal and scraps of junk, but they could tell it was a lot and more than what they had expected.
Sonic glanced over at the two "Maybe we could add to this?"
Bunnie nodded speaking in an amiable tone "Quick thinken hoss. I'm sure they won't mind if we borrow a few more thangs."
And the trio hopped back down and began moving around the area to collect more materials as Amy spoke aloud to Tails, Antoine, and Nicole "Were going to get more stuff guys."
And Antoine responded in understanding as Tails continued to work. Bunnie, Amy, and Sonic began grabbing metal parts off the floors, shelves and where they found anything in the darkness. Then they tossed the things they collected into the back of the pickup truck doing their best to make as little noise as possible.
But soon Tails finished disabling the tracking device on the truck, and he needed help again. The door to the truck was locked, and he hopped down from the truck "Hey Bunnie? Could you help out with this door?" he called to her questioningly.
Bunnie jogged over to him in the darkness "Let's see what I can do…"
And she climbed up the yellow truck and grabbed the door handle to test it. It was locked. So she used her cybernetic arm and pulled at the door, and soon metal could be heard bending until the door was ripped open. It made a decent amount of noise, but the door hung open as she released her hand from the bent metal.
She hopped down as Tails climbed back up with Nicole "Thanks Bunnie!"
Bunnie looked up at him with a smirk in the darkness "Yuer welcome sugah."
As she went to help collect more stuff Tails spoke aloud again "All we gotta do now is hotwire this thing, and we're outta here."
And it was quiet enough to where everybody heard him, and Antoine joined in gathering more materials. This went on for a while, and they were feeling more comfortable about getting out undetected as the time went by. As it was late already when they arrived, and they hadn't heard or saw any trucks for a while. They figured the Legionnaires, and Swatbots were mostly off duty for this facility and patrolling Robotropolis. But after gathering a good amount of things, ten minutes passed and their hopes of getting out undetected were smashed.
The lights to the building all suddenly flickered on and Bunnie, Amy, Sonic, and Antoine froze were they stood with widened eyes. Up above on the suspended metal railing walkway, Lien-Da walked onto the railing with a clipboard in her hands looking down at it. Drago, Beauregard, Diesel, and a good amount of Legionnaires walked out from one of the doors as well.
And Lien-Da immediately noticed them as the Freedom Fighters looked up at her. Lien-Da's eyes widened as she blinked once in surprise stopping in her tracks. Her Grandmasters immediately donned upset faces, and her Legionnaires lifted their weapons.
But then Lien-Da grinned speaking in a somewhat loud fashion so they could hear her from up above "You have got to be kidding me."
She tossed the clipboard she was holding onto the floor of the railing and swiftly walked over to the control panel on the railing. She pressed some buttons, and the Freedom Fighters could hear the garage door behind them click. She had locked them in, and from her twisted grin above, it looked like they weren't leaving without a fight tonight….
Bunnie, Sonic, Amy, and Antoine moved near one another, and they bared their gritted teeth up at Lien-Da. They raised their fist and got into fighting stances. Amy pulled her hammer from the straps on her back and Antoine unsheathed his sword. Sonic raised his fist and Bunnie did so similarly glaring up at Lien-Da and her Legionnaires with upset expressions as she spoke again.
"You're still alive rabbit girl? Interesting…" Lien-Da looked over to her Legionnaires, and they nodded silently as a few of them fired their jamming devices at Bunnie.
Bunnie and everyone remained still as a few devices attached to Bunnies arm and legs. She froze up for a moment, but her upset face remained as she slowly began moving again. And seconds later she removed the devices from herself and threw them to the grey concrete floor.
Lien-Da then laughed heartily tilting her head back and then looking back down at them "You know, I was sure you'd be dead rabbit girl. But you even seem to have been able to neutralize my signal jammers. I guess you, and your family were stronger players than anyone expected considering the information I've obtained recently…"
"We aint got nothen to say to the likes of yiah!" Bunnie growled up at Lien-Da.
Lien-Da looked bemused placing both of her hands on the railing; she paused as the Freedom Fighters glanced over at the Grandmasters "Oh? But what about your uncle over here?"
Beauregard himself kept his angered expression as Lien-Da continued with her grin "Once you come into my ranks you are mine…literally…" she chuckled "And after Grandmaster Beauregard failed me we shared even more information with one another. I was unaware up until now of how much of a big role your family played in the destruction of Mobotropolis…"
And Sonic, Antoine, and Amy's upset expressions remained but they all did glance at Bunnie who kept her eyes away from them. And Lien-Da chuckled again up above "Even after helping the Overlanders and losing the Great War they still conspired against their own. They helped Eggman take over Mobotropolis even though he betrayed them in the end. Quite impressive if I do say so myself…"
"It was for the best…" Beauregard said aloud looking down at his niece who glared angrily up at him.
"I'm sure I squeezed everything I could out of my capable Grandmaster over here. And those maps you provided are probably the closest you were ever going to get to your responsibilities before you ran away..." Lien-Da's tone was mocking.
And the Freedom Fighters stayed in their fighting stances as anger came over Lien-Da's features "I don't know how you survived rabbit girl, but your usefulness has long since pass. All of you pest; your interference has worn thin on my patience." Lien-Da then pointed at them "Kill them!"
Lien-Da first pressed a few buttons on the panel near her, and loud alarms began to blare. Then she hopped over the railing and landed on the main floor with them. Beauregard, Diesel and Drago followed suit, and the seven Legionnaires ran down the stairs towards them.
Sonic went for Drago as he charged with his sharp metal claws, and Bunnie went for Lien-Da dashing from where she was. Amy went to the right with Antoine taking out the Legionnaires. But Beauregard pulled a hidden blade from his cane and began dueling Antoine.
Their swords clashed as Amy made quick work of the Legionnaires and then duked it with Diesel. But the battle was intense for the Freedom Fighters as the blaring alarms made them hyper aware. Soon a lot of stuff was going to be bearing down on them so they had to leave right now.
Sonic spin dashed into Lien-Da, but she was able to bear the brunt of his attack and even grab a hold of him. Sonic uncurled as she had a hold of his right arm. But Sonic did a flip while she held his arm breaking himself from her grasp. Lien-Da stumbled but quickly kicked at him as she turned around, and Sonic spin dashed at her again. Both of their attacks connected sending them both flying in opposite directions. Sonic crashed into a large pile of metal parts and Lien-Da flew into a few metal barrels.
Bunnie was having a hard time avoiding Drago's sharp claws as she moved around him. Because both of his arms were completely cybernetic metal he could attack faster. And his sharp metal claws made him even more dangerous. He growled as he swiped at Bunnie, and she punched him in the jaw. Her punch made him stumble, but he only looked angrier as he looked back at her. He swiped again, but also opened his mouth revealing is sharp teeth and lunged at Bunnie.
Bunnie frowned reacting as best as she could; blocking his bite with her cybernetic arm. He bit down on her arm but she realized it was hard for her to move now as he began swiping at her again. Bunnie tried to move, but he was able to swipe at her jacket ripping it a bit. She tried shaking him off, kicking one of her feet into his chest, but he wouldn't let go. But then Drago yelped in pain as Sonic sped into him freeing Bunnie and knocking him into a shelf. Drago grunted in pain as the shelf fell on him, and Lien-Da jumped kicked Sonic from behind.
Bunnie growled as she watched Sonic fly into a shelf of his own. And Lien-Da smirked at Bunnie as she immediately went on the offensive. Bunnie attempted to block her punches and punch her back, but Lien-Da dodged. She pulled Bunnies cybernetic arm back and punched her in her abdomen twice, making Bunnie groan in pain as she threw her to the floor.
Sonic and Drago were already back at it as they got up, and Amy just sent Diesel flying into the air knocking him into a pile of junk and out of the fight. But Antoine looked to need some help while this was happening. Beauregard just knocked Antoine's sword from his hands, and Amy rushed toward them to help.
But as Beauregard raised his blade to attack Antoine who was now weaponless, he charged at Beauregard grabbing a hold of his wrist. Beauregard could not complete his attack as Antoine suddenly disarmed him. Beauregard looked shocked, and Antoine looked arrogantly at him as he shoved him. And he stumbled back into two shelves which promptly fell on him.
But before Amy could even think about congratulating him, Swatbots and more Legionnaires began rushing in from all the doors and firing their lasers at them. But at the same time the lone dump truck suddenly cut on as the engine kicked over and revved. And without a word, Antoine ran for the truck throwing Beauregard's blade to the ground, and picking up his own sword again. Amy dashed over to help Sonic and Bunnie.
Meanwhile, Lien-Da heard the truck start but turned her attention back to kicking Bunnie while she was down. But Bunnie then rolled over and away from her attack and quickly got off the ground. Lasers shot pass her head as Lien-Da went to attack her again. Lien-Da was able to land another punch on her side but Bunnie punched at Lien-Da, and she dodged again. But Lien-Da didn't see her cybernetic elbow as it hit the side of her face.
Lien-Da's head whipped to the left as Bunnie kneed her in the gut and grabbed her. Lien-Da groaned as Bunnie whirled her in a circle off the ground towards the incoming Swatbots and Legionnaires. She flew into them slowing them down a bit. But the alarms continued to blare loudly, and the laser fire was getting more intense. Two lasers stung her as she turned around only to see Sonic violently push her.
Bunnies eyes widened in shock as she stumbled back and fell on her butt. Drago had almost hit her from behind as Sonic turned back to face Drago. Amy yelled as she raised her hammer to attack Drago, and he jumped back as she missed. Drago then jumped forward dashing with his claws in the air, but Amy turned her hammer upside down and bunted him in the stomach with the hilt of her hammer. Drago's eyes shot wide in pain as his arms froze in midair. And Amy's second swing as she gracefully flipped her hammer back around hit Drago hard.
Drago stumbled back with his eyes closed as Bunnie pulled herself from the floor, and she charged at Drago with her fist raised. She punched Drago off his feet finishing him; knocking him into a large pile of barrels.
But Lien-Da was already back up, and she was yelling to all the available forces to stop them. And Bunnie, Sonic, and Amy ran back to the truck as Antoine waited for them. Tails poked his head out of the side of the truck "The garage door is locked guys! I don't know if this truck can break the lock!"
"Then we'll make one! Back up and give it all the gas Tails!" Sonic looked at Amy with a frown "Work with me!" and he looked at Bunnie "You know what to do Bunnie!"
"Right!" Bunnie and Amy said simultaneously.
The laser fire got heavier as the truck began backing up, and Amy and Sonic walked besides the truck. Bunnie grabbed Antoine by his collar and tossed him up into the bed of the truck. Then she faced the metal door of the garage. Her arm transformed into her Arm Cannon, and she aimed it at the door of the garage as the truck backed up as far as it could. Then Bunnie planted her feet firmly as she fired her Arm Cannon. A loud electrical WHOOSH erupted from her Arm Cannon, and the energy blast ripped a medium sized hole through the metal ridged door.
Bunnie then ran at the truck trying to avoid laser fire as it started moving forward. Bunnie jumped up and climbed into the bed of the truck as it took off. Amy and Sonic ran with the truck as it went at full speed towards the garage door. Sonic curled into a ball and charged at the door, and Amy charged with her hammer. And simultaneously the truck, Amy, and Sonic connected with the locked garage door and hit it with all the force they could. The garage door burst open leaving the bottom half bent and run over by the truck and the top half curled upwards.
Laser fire continued to erupt from behind Amy and Sonic as they ran after the truck. Amy put her hammer back in the strap on her back as she jumped up on the back of the truck. Antoine grabbed her hands and pulled her up and Sonic jumped up after her.
Bunnie grabbed his hands as the truck crashed into the side of a few shipping containers. The truck lurched to the left making Bunnie tighten her grip on Sonic's hands. She then used her strength quickly pulling Sonic onboard. And the Swatbots and Legionnaires ran out of the garage firing their weapons at them as the truck began to get some distance from the area. The alarms continued to blare as they got farther away, and they were all sure they were going to send some flying vehicles and patrols out to look for their stolen property. But like their many trips into Robotropolis they had pulled a valuable haul. And they at least felt relief from that, as nothing ever went according to plan…
An hour later…
The truck the Freedom Fighters hijacked drove near and down the forest line of the Great Forest heading back towards the Knothole. Robotropolis was still clearly visible as they drove through the open plains, and the half-moon that peeked through the scattered clouds every now and then gave them a bit of light. As the headlights of the truck were broken in their escape, so they had no light source at the moment; though that might have been a good thing because multiple flying vehicles had been sent out after they escaped. They parked in the surrounding forest line amongst all the trees and shrubbery to avoid detection. Tails drove in any random direction, a great distance away from Robotropolis, and maybe even a greater distance from the Knothole, and they parked for a while as they waited the danger out.
Land patrol vehicles went out as well, but the flying and land vehicles had luckily went pass them a few times in the last hour. But as explained by Nicole, they had a hard time finding them because their tracking devices and other detection software and hardware had been disabled. So they sent out scans but did not know where they were. As proven about thirty minutes ago, because the searches came to a stop, and they knew they had lost them.
So they began driving back to the Knothole as they were now down the forest lines still trying to remain low profile as they could. The truck was full of gas too so they had no worries about reaching the Knothole. But it seemed they had lost their enemies. And the bed of the truck remained bumpy and uncomfortable to sit on as Bunnie did her best to remain transparent and truthful with the guys. And she timidly told them more of her past that she was sure they did not know about…
Sonic sat on one side of the bed, sitting on a sheet of metal, Bunnie sat on the other with Robotropolis in her backdrop. Amy had got in the passenger seat with Nicole and Tails after they took off. She opened a slidable cracked window and poked her head out of it as she listened to Bunnie talk. Antoine sat by the window on Bunnies side on a wooden board and Antoine, Tails, Amy, and Sonic held curious expressions in the darkness as Bunnies self-admissions delved deep into things they did not know about her.
Bunnie herself sat on top of a Swatbots head with her head dipped low and a frown on her features; though her hat was blocking a lot of the uneasiness on her face "Knaa I didn't expect it to come out so suddenly like thet…but its tha truth…I found out at a young age what my parents and my whole family were up to…thets why I ran away from mah uncle…"
Sonic slowly nodded his head as his brows narrowed into a serious look "Even after the Overlanders were defeated?"
Bunnie kept her head low rubbing her cheek from a laser burn "My fam never stopped trying to overthrow the Kingdom of Acorn until they got wiped. And many in the Southern Baronies helped Eggman…or Julian at the time…help us Mobians defeat the Overlanders. Then my kin helped Eggman in secret to destroy Mobotropolis…then Eggman turned on everyone…" she said lowering her hand from her cheek.
"So your uncle is the only one left?" Amy asked her curiously.
"Hes tha only kin I've known off since I left…" a sigh escaped Bunnie as her shoulders slumped "I'm sure my uncle was gonna introduce me to mah part in it all sooner or later…glad I found out before thet happened…"
"Do you think he knew what he was going to ask you to do before you left?" Amy asked her with a curious expression.
Bunnie nodded with her head still low "I think he knew, I knew what he was gonna ask before I left…he an tha lot of them are all dirty dogs…" she added.
The truck hit and bump and the truck, and all the materials in the bed clattered up and down as Sonic shrugged "No big deal then. You didn't have any part in it."
But Bunnie lifted her head keeping her frown "Yeah it's a big deal. Cause I don been befriended by tha people I was supposed to destroy. I have ties with tha people who destroyed Mobotropolis…yall home…"
Everyone nodded silently, an Antoine sitting next to her held a contemplative face as she continued with her head low "An now I'm friends with tha people who saved me. Sonic and Rotor saved me from being fully robotticized when I first met yiah. Yiah saved my life…an now I'm hangin with tha people whose home was destroyed cause of my peeps…it don't feel right…"
Antoine interjected though with a serious look glancing over at her "You did the righteous path...no guilt should arise from your circumstances…"
Amy, Tails, and Sonic agreed and Bunnie felt a little better that her friends continued to forgive her. Bunnie lowered her head again and then rubbed her slightly ripped brown jacket with her fingers "This jacket and hat was supposed to be a gift from my parents…" she paused as everyone became somber again.
And she continued letting the ripped fabric fall from her hands "It was a symbol for my family…and what they stood for…"
And the guys knew Bunnie was revealing some deep personal things about her past. So they were even more forgiving of her being so truthful. And the truck started turning left to move around a bend, and everyone swayed to the right as the truck drove straight again.
"Well you've done plenty to prove them wrong. And if we can get New Mobotropolis built then all is forgiven." Sonic smirked a bit.
And Bunnie lifted her head with a weak smile and a chuckle at his joke. She glanced over at Antoine who gave her a look of reassurance and Amy smiled at her from the open window. It felt good that they were letting it go…even better than she could let go of the past sometimes…
She found it hard to let go of her past, and self-forgiveness was stubborn in her. But seeing others outside herself forgive so easily made her grip loosen a little. And she found she was starting to not hold on so hard anymore…
Maybe even let it all rot in the past one day…
The truck bounced up and down again as Bunnie's eyes imperceptibly looked at Sonic. She kept her weak smile because he was probably still one of the biggest pillars in her life. Even though she had not seen it so much in the past, but she would not had made it without him. And with her feelings as of late…she continued to see him in a new light…
Soon though Antoine stretched his arms into the air clenching his eyes shut as he let out a big yawn. And not long after Sonic and Amy yawned making Bunnie giggle "I guess yawning really is contagious."
Antoine lowered his arms rubbing his eyes "Are their cushions in that compartment?" he looked over at Amy.
Amy nodded raising an eyebrow "Yeah but the springs are sticking out a bit."
Antoine steadied himself as he stood "Well it is better than ziss junk back here. I'm tired, let me get in there."
Amy nodded as she moved aside and Antoine climbed through the window. Sonic stood from where he was sitting and moved his way through the junk to Bunnie's side of the truck. He stood not far from her resting his arms over the side of the truck; staring out at Robotropolis in the night. And as it all became quiet again Bunnie waited for a moment before she mimicked Sonic, getting up, turning around, and resting her arms over the side of the truck as well; quietly staring at the orange glow of Robotropolis in the distance.
So while in the temporary silence Bunnie took the time to retreat into her own thoughts like everyone else was. Sonic and she remained quiet as they stood next to one another, and she could see him out the corner of her eyes as she stared ahead.
She thought of earlier today, wondering if anyone had suspected anything of her. Because unfortunately she was sure everyone had saw her behavior was a tad off. She knew Sally saw something in her eyes, but she wondered what Sonic saw when he saw her behaving strangely.
Her eyes moved away from him as she stared at the fast passing ground below. And she began to ponder on her feelings again…about Sonic…
She knew they were there now…
And as she stood next to him, she still felt a high; a fluttering in her stomach that she couldn't shake and wouldn't go away. And she pondered on it all day, wondering why she had begun to feel this way. Trying to make sense of these feelings…
But after she just spilled her guts to everyone about her past, she began to realize a possible reason why. And Bunnie's brows narrowed into a worried expression as she stared downwards at the fast passing ground. Their forgiveness and letting go made her see even more how Sonic had been there for her so much in her life…
And memories began to flash in her mind about Sonic saving her life many times over the years. The first time they'd met, saving her from being completely robotticized, and saving her and everyone multiple times. Being a goofy friend cheering her up when she was down. Times in the past where he'd gone out of his way to get hard to get parts for her old limbs. Recent memories of him continuing to do the right things even after everyone had treated him badly. How he'd saved her life recently twice even after he found out she used him to make Antoine jealous, and in a way saving her from her Uncles underhanded ways. So many different little things he did as her friend…
Then gears started to click in her mind as she slowly began to realize Sonic…he made her feel…
And her eyes widened slightly; making sure to keep her eyes away from Sonic and not make a move. But her heart raced as the sudden realization took her by surprise. As it made more sense to her now why she was feeling this infatuation; this happiness she'd been searching for. The hole of loneliness she'd been feeling as of late had seemed to wash away, replaced by this passion she could not describe. The feelings she thought she'd have with Antoine. These feelings of happiness she thought she would experience in the future…she was feeling right now…
And Bunnies eyes widened a bit more as she realized…it was him…
It was him she wanted…
The happiness she'd been longing for…he made her feel it…he made her feel complete…
All the loneliness she hoped to free herself from in her life, and all the happiness she thought she would achieve through her goals had not come. Instead, the person standing next to her had done more compassionate acts for her than she just begun to recognize. And she was appreciating it more than she ever did before. He cared for her in many ways over the years, in an unintentional fashion, but still caring for her no less in ways no one ever had. Her skin felt quite warm…and the closeness they already shared not only in their friendship…but the closeness she experienced towards him only amplified…
He'd always been there for her…
Even if she was just starting to see it…
Her goals, the farm she still wanted to build, the hair she wanted to work with, the quiet peaceful life she was aiming for. All those realities seemed possible again because she could feel the passion for them again, her motivation had returned. She wanted it all even more now because she was experiencing these happy feelings, only, she knew without the happiness first everything else fell to the wayside…
She had been in denial about it for a long time…but she knew without love none of her goals really mattered as much to her…she didn't even care as much as she pretended she did…
Without love, the affection or caring of another everything was sort of meaningless to her…
That's what she always wanted above all and everything else…
That's what she was hoping for with Antoine…maybe that's why things fell apart with Antoine…
The feelings she'd been missing had come to her…and she was just starting to see the closeness that had always been between Sonic and her…that and now she was starting to see their closeness was more than that…
And with Sonic she….she…li…well she liked something about him…she could no longer deny how she felt today…she….like liked him….
And immediately doubts ran through her mind, pinching her lips together into a frown blocking the mere possibility of what her mind was even entertaining. She and Sonic…it could not happen…
Her head dipped lower as the truck sped up a bit. They looked to be getting nearer to the Knothole, and she was glad because she wanted to stop thinking for a while. But if she had these feelings didn't that mean there was something else in their friendship? Bunnie felt dread in her gut now. But there was something between them she could not describe; a closeness that was unconditional. And the light feeling in her gut made her all the more worried that what she was feeling was not a delusion…
Sometime later…
The yellow dump truck the Freedom Fighters had hijacked rolled into the Knothole. It was still very dark out and around two p.m. The racket from the loud engine of the truck awoke many in the village thinking there was danger. They came running with torches to find the Freedom Fighters were instead successful on their mission. It also didn't help that the truck couldn't come in across the bridge on the east side of the village; it was too big. Tails instead drove the truck down the dirt path of the west side of the village.
And the residents with torches followed them as Amy told them from the window of the truck that they could use some light. Some residents went back to bed, but the ones that remained followed the truck as Tails drove it near Castle Acorn. By that point, Sally and Rotor were alerted to their presence and found the parked truck full of metal and various materials near Castle Acorn.
Nighttime military soldiers that were patrolling had even come to observe the spectacle. The Residents cheered on Bunnie, Tails, Nicole, Sonic, and Antoine as they climbed down from the truck. But the brief merriment was cut short as it was late and everyone was tired. So the royal military soldiers went back to patrolling, and the residents went to retire to bed. They left their torches behind in the ground to give the Freedom Fighters some light though.
And Rotor, Tails, and Nicole climbed into the bed of the truck to see their haul. While the others discussed small details about how their mission had gone. Sally made mention of all their minor scrapes and scruffs with a smirk "Well it sounds like everything went smoothly."
Bunnie nodded with a smile "Those lasers didn't even sting." she said jokingly as everyone knew they did.
"I'm glad we had five people. We needed all the help we got." Sonic said with a nod.
Sally rubbed her chin "And what exactly was Lien-Da talking about?"
Bunnie spoke up first "…I got some stuff to let Rotor, and yiah know…I'll tell yiah tomorrow…" she said with a slightly serious expression.
Sally nodded blinking curiously at Bunnie as Sonic glanced over at Antoine "Oh, and nice work handling the Baron Antoine. You were on you're A game." he said with a smirk.
And Antoine donned a smug look for the second time this night, gladly accepting Sonic's complement in the most arrogant of manners because of the attention he was getting "Who knows what would've happened if I hadn't accompanied you all."
And immediately Sonic's brows narrowed looking annoyed, but Bunnie looked equally or more so. Her mouth curled down into a deep frown as she glanced over at Antoine, who looked smugly at Sonic. And the level of annoyance on her features made Sally's and Amy's slight annoyance pale in comparison. But before the attention was off Antoine Sally noticed Bunnie and her reaction. Bunnie quickly tried to cover her reaction, pretending to yawn stretching her arms into the air, but she knew Sally had saw her.
"Yeah yeah…" Sonic responded in slight irritancy.
But just above them Tails poked his head out from the side of the bed of the truck "Hey Sonic, Amy, Antoine? Could you give Nicole and us a hand? I think we found some salvageable materials we could use." he said with a smile.
Sonic, Amy, and Antoine nodded and climbed up onto the truck as Bunnie lowered her arms. Her expression became neutral but Sally grabbed her by her organic arm with a serious expression. Bunnie blinked in surprise as Sally spoke in a stern tone lowering her voice "Could I speak with you alone Bunnie?"
Bunnie nodded silently, and her pulse increased as Sally let go of her arm. They walked over to the front side of the truck, just out of earshot of everyone and the light from the torches was dimmer.
Once out of sight Sally looked uneven and worry came across her face as she crossed her arms. And Bunnie's eyes were slightly wide as Sally kept strong eye contact with her "Bunnie…is everything ok? You seem a little thrown off these last few days."
And Bunnie donned a light frown to hide the worry and surprise on her, but the subtly of Sally's statement made her nervous "Auhum fine Sally girl. If anythang, I still feel a bit of a downer bout Antoine…" she lied.
Sally paused keeping her uneasy look "…Well just let me know if you wanna talk about it. I can see your acting…different…and Antoine has affected you deeply…I just wanted to let you know you can talk about it with me…."
"Let's chat in the morning. I could go for some socializing after I get some shut eye." Bunnie's frown softened.
Sally nodded at her and what she was about to say was interrupted as the guys called her name. Bunnie and Sally nodded at one another as they walked back to the side of the truck to see what was up. But Bunnie had a bad feeling in her gut, and she knew Sally knew something now. She wondered what she meant by…different…in her statement…but at the same time she knew different meant Sonic…
It looks like it's all finally coming to a head! As the Freedom Fighters push to build New Mobotropolis, will it be enough before Eggman and the Dark Legion come to the Knothole? Will Antoine achieve his prestige, or will life knock him down off his high horse? What of Sonic? Can he let go? Now that Bunnie has figured out her feelings, and knows she like likes Sonic, how will she approach it? How will her feelings affect everything around her now that she knows what she wants out of her life? Find out next time! Later.
One a side note I wanted to let me readers know where the story is going. I figured some more out about what wanted to do. And the next chapter will be the conclusion to the story. I think I've built everything else up good so far. So the next chapter and a epilogue will conclude this tale. And an author's notes too. But I thank you all whose read and reviewed this far. This might be my final story so enjoy the ride while you can :)