A/N: Here comes 36 people. The heroes are getting ready to get back on the field. At the moment, Eggman is still chasing Snively around the world, but we're not gonna focus on them much today. Instead, we'll see how Team Fighters' first mission goes.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Sega and Archie except my OC.

The last few days had been rather eventful for the heroes. The proposal to disband the Freedom Fighters to make two groups was approved unanimously by the council. As expected, Naugus was the only one who didn't approve of it as he still believed he alone could protect the city. The group to hunt Eggman was dubbed Team Fighters, while the protectors of New Mobotropolis will be called Team Freedom. Unfortunately, the auditions bore little fruit, only attracting a small amount of attention. Still, Big, Cream, and Cheese were up for the task (the latter two having to ask Vanilla for permission). Despite their small numbers, Team Freedom also had the Tarantulas for extra support, and since Rotor was the leader, he was in charge of controlling the city's nanites. He didn't have to worry about the sentries on the walls as Kor built automatic dispensers next to each one.

For Team Fighters, Sonic was the de facto leader with Amy, Tails, and T-Pup being support in their own way, but it decided that Kor would be the main strategist for the group, a role Sally had before her unfortunate roboticization. Their first order of business was to find out where the Death Egg was headed before they made their move, but so far had no luck. The Tornado would be their main mode for transport, so Kor had to figure out how to make his sentry a carry-on, or at least make it fly (the latter seemed unlikely).

With Bunnie and Antoine, Klaus stopped by and put his medigun to work on them. He managed to heal just about whatever physical injuries they had, and about a day later they had awoken. Everyone greatly appreciated Klaus for his help, and even asked if he wanted to join them. However he had to decline as he still had his own mess to fix. After their near-death experience, the married couple decided it would be best to retire from active duty. They didn't want to stay in New Mobotropolis due to Naugus, so the two decided to go and see the world, maybe send a postcard from time to time. Wherever they would go, everyone hoped they'd be safe.

As for Kor, he made good progress on his sentry. To save time, he enlisted the help of Tails, Rotor, and of course, Nicole. Wheels turned out to be a good replacement over treads, especially when equipped with independent suspension, so he put 8 wheels on the machine. This allowed for good drive control as well as allowing the sentry to travel as fast as 90mph even on a full payload. The body of the sentry was finished as well as its armament, but the hardest part was getting some decent armor for it. When no one else had any ideas, Kor decided to pay Soldier a visit. The army general had hooked him up with applique, explosive-reactive plates, and cage armor, to which the fox paid a hefty amount for. When asked if it was necessary, Kor said it would if Eggman 'decided to throw a tank at us'. Also he wanted it to be thick so Mecha Sally wouldn't be able to slice it up so easily.

The sentry's weapons consisted of twin 30mm chain guns mounted on a tower centered on the chassis with 2 missile silos at the top on each side. These components were also armored. However, this wasn't the only weapons it had. Kor decided to finally get the old 30mm cannon the Hornet used out of retirement (it sat in the hanger for some time). It was hidden in the forward section of the sentry and would be used in case the need for heavier firepower was necessary.

Courtesy of Nicole, this vehicle was fully sentient, but there was still the issue for storage if Team Fighters needed to cross open water. To answer this problem, the A.I. injected a large amount of nanites into its systems, allowing it to break down into a small cube when the engineer commands it to do so with his cybernetics. She did the same favor for Rotor when she helped him construct his battle suit. However, the sentry was still incomplete, so Kor told the Fighters to go on without him if Eggman made his move before he was finished.

-The Death Egg-

Eggman laughed to himself as he headed for the main control room. The past two days had been rather enjoyable for him. Snively managed to find Regina and, after some convincing (which included breaking her out of her cell with an old robot called the Iron Oni), put up a good fight against the doctor's Egg Beater Mk II. Eggman had to admit, Snively was at his best out there, yet it made it even more fun considering the short man still lost. To make sure Regina and Snively won't be bothering him for a while, he allowed Regina to lead part of the Dark Legion somewhere in United Federation territory with an infiltrator copy of Snively (which she has yet to find out). The real Snively is sitting in an Egg Prison pod somewhere deep within the Death Egg, whose location only Eggman knew of. As an added bonus, he got to mess with Monkey Khan and terrorize a village.

The mad genius stepped into the command center with a wide grin. "Attention everyone, commander on deck! Set a course for the city known as Furville! It's time I show all those nitwits whose in charge now. Once we get there, round up all of its citizens for roboticization and legionizing!"

Orbot bounced up to the doctor. "Wouldn't it be easier to just roboticize them? At least that way you could have an actual robot labor force to work with."

"It would, but after investigating the effects of the Genesis wave, only half of the world's population is susceptible to roboticization. Those that aren't will be simply legionized. Either way, it's a win-win for me." Eggman explained.

"Aaah I see. Hey, can I go for an oil can break now?" Cubot asked.

"You had an oil change to minutes ago. Plus we don't have mouths." The sphere robot told his companion.

"I know, but it tastes soooo good." Cubot replied, pulling an oil can out of nowhere and tries to drink it, spilling the contents on himself and the floor. Eggman just shook his head in annoyance.

-The Great Wastes-

The area known as the Great Wastes was where Knothole used to be before it was razed to the ground. Building materials and dead trees lie scattered about the landscape, and you couldn't tell where one used to live unless you had good memory. A series of explosions shattered the eerie silence as several trees were blown to splinters and a couple missiles created new craters. A large, armored vehicle could be seen scanning the area, one of its sights rotating around while its twin chain guns were smoking from expending ammunition. Its owner watched from close by.

"Woo-wee! That there's a fine piece of work. I'd say after a few more tweaks, you should be good." Kor said as he assessed the damage. While it might have been doing Knothole some disrespect since it was the place everyone used to live, it sure made a decent firing range now.

The sentry rotated in place and drove back to the HQ. Being powered by the 6 chaos drives Kor asked Klaus to bring with him pretty much negated the need for fuel, and it's what made the sentry fast despite being heavy. Once at the HQ, the engineer opened an inner compartment to work on the gun cooling system. The chainguns tend to overheat a little too easily and the sentry had a fail-safe to stop firing when this happened so the guns wouldn't melt under their own heat. He ran through the data in his PDA before tweaking the system so it would now cool the cannons while it fired its ammunition.

"Almost done Kor?" Nicole asked as she leaned on a window sill.

"Yeah, just need a few slight fixes and testin' and this thing'll be ready to take on the world. Heard any word from the others lately?" The engineer chuckled.

"No. Although I still wish I didn't have to be exiled...I just don't want to feel useless by sitting here..." The A.I. stated, her ears drooping on her head.

"Yer not useless dear. Besides, you, Tails, and Rotor helped me build this, and you gave me a way to package this monster." Kor assured her.

"How is it that someone like you went from making small time defense cannons to making giant behemoths of weapons?" Nicole chuckled.

"Well, to be frank I don't know. Maybe I just had to adapt." He smirked at her, making Nicole give a smirk of her own.

"Your charisma is one of the reasons I became infatuated with you."

"Charisma? I ain't sure about that. I mean, Sonic is literally crawling with it given the size of his fan base."

"True, but even before we became closer I found something under all the violence and insanity you have, and despite what others think of you, I know you're a kind and caring person, to both people and machines." She gave a sincere smile.

"Yer makin' me blush Nikki..." The fox gave a sweet smile.

Nicole then got a message from Rotor. After scanning it internally, she saw it was urgent. "Kor, Rotor has detected the Death Egg heading towards Furville. Team Fighters is already getting prepared to launch."

Kor's face grew serious. "Alright. I'm almost done makin' modifications for this sentry. I already told them to go on without me if I wasn't finished."

"Alright, I'll let Rotor know." She said before walking inside.

Kor resumed working before he realized something. "Wait, where's Furville?" He called out.

"It's a large metropolitan city located near the center of the continent! I'll give you directions before you leave!" The A.I. yelled back.

-With the rest of the Fighters-

Sonic, Amy, and T-Pup were riding on the wings of the Tornado as it headed for their destination.

"Was wondering when Eggman would come out of the woods. He must be really confident to attack a large city." Tails said thoughtfully.

"How many people are in Furville anyway?" Amy asked.

"Last I remember, a lot." Sonic replied. "If I had to guess, Eggman is probably invading it to capture all those people, build a base, etc."

"Figures...I'm guessing Kor wasn't done with his 'project'?" Amy said with a little annoyance.

"No, but he said he was very close to finishing. Hopefully he'll join us while we're there." Tails explained.

"Well, he might be mad if we finish the party before he gets here, there's the city now." Sonic smirked.

Furville was perhaps the second largest city in the Republic of Acorn territory, and Sonic wasn't joking when he said it had a large population. However, just about everyone there was unaware that Eggman replaced the original Robotnik as the city hadn't come under attack in the last year or two. When the Death Egg arrived, it was a horrific wake-up call. Citizens screamed and panicked as battalion of Egg Swats led by Mecha Sally entered the city. Once there, they began to round up any civilians in sight while making a general mess of the area.

Sonic jumped from the biplane and immediately tore into two robots that were taking a mother and her child towards an Egg Prison pod. "You two alright?"

"Oh yes Sonic! Thank you, thank you!" The mother said gratefully.

"You two find a place safe to hide. Team Fighters will take care of this!" The hedgehog stated before zooming off toward some Egg Swats that noticed him.

Amy used the momentum from her fall to smash a bot's body in to the point it looked like it had been crushed by a car compactor. More robots approached her, but she batted the crushed robot's corpse at them. This caused a domino effect that took them down quite easily. Amy then saw an Egg Prison that had some civilians in it. Luckily, it was unguarded.

"Don't worry! I'll get you guys out!" Amy said, preparing to smash the pod open.

Tails circled around from above, attacking robots and any opportunity with the Tornado's missiles. He didn't see any sign of Sally, which he was thankful for because he didn't want to have to face her again so soon. Mecha Sally watched as Sonic tore into more robots. At this rate, he'll destroy a most of the ground forces and the mission would fail. She wasn't about to let her master be disappointed. Activating her jet boots, she took to the air before firing a beam of energy at the hedgehog. Sonic was caught by surprise from the attack and skidded backwards, glaring at Sally.

"I hate to do this Sal, but we got a city to save!" The hedgehog stated, curling into a ball before launching himself at her.

Sally dodged the attack before shooting another laser at him, which the hedgehog avoided. He looped around and made another run at her, but she blocked it with her swords. "Amy! Tails! Keep the other bots busy! I'm dealing with Sal here!"

-Freedom HQ-

While the rest of the fighters were on their way to Furville, Kor worked as quickly as he could to make sure his sentry was ready for combat. After he thoroughly checked everything, he was sure it was 'ready for anything'. Picking up his usual work goggles, he strapped them to his head along with a vest that contained several tools, including those from his usual utility belt. He then slung a futuristic-looking shotgun that his mercenary friends would know as 'the Widowmaker'.

"Been a long time since I used this thing. Hopefully it still functions like it should..." The engineer muttered to himself as he inspected the gun.

"You almost look like your old self from a few months ago, minus the hat and vest." Nicole stated.

Kor chuckled. "Yeah. This tool vest is actually somewhat thick so it should offer some protection, and I don't think I'll need a hat...for now..." He muttered the last part. For some reason he couldn't really explain, he and the rest of the mercs really, really liked hats. "Anyway, I'm gonna go catch up with them. I don't know how long we'll be gone, but hopefully not too long."

"I understand. But before you go..." Nicole walked up to him, rested her hands on his shoulders and gave him a long kiss on the lips. Kor kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her waist.

She parted after a minute. "Come back safe ok?..."

"I will. Actually, I should say 'we will'." He smiled at her.

Not a minute too soon, the engineer hoped onto his sentry and told it to head for Furville. The machine drove as fast as it could toward the city, ready to give Eggman's forces a date with death. Nicole watched as her lover rode off into the distance, greatly hoping this wouldn't be the last time she would see him. She knew by now both teams would be busy with their particular agendas, but it still bothered her she was unable to do much from her position. Feeling a little tired, the nanites that made up her physical form dispersed as she went back into the lab's computer.

-Back to Furville-

Roughly 30 minutes had passed and the fight was still going on. The Death Egg continued to pump out robots like gas at a fuel station while Team Fighters were doing everything they could to keep the invasion at bay. Their heroic actions were even causing some of the civilians to rise up and defend their city. They were using anything they could get their hands on to beat the robots, which wasn't that hard since their armor was somewhat weak. However, more and more civilians were being captured and Amy could only do so much. Sonic was still keeping Sally busy.

The hammering heroine was forced to take cover once more as a barrage of laser fire came in her direction. They were guarding another egg prison as more Egg Swats were capturing civilians. Tails would bomb their position, but it was too risky. Either Eggman better run out of resources soon or this'll be another problem for the heroes. Amy was getting frustrated with being stuck behind a corner while the robots rounded up more innocents. She pulled the same trick from before but there was too many of them for it to be effective.

Suddenly, the gunfire got louder, and Amy was sure more robots had joined the fight. However, what confused her was that as soon as it started, it stopped. Cautiously poking around the corner, the pink hedgehog was surprised to find all of the robots lying on ground full of holes. She was even more surprised to find what caused the damage. A large vehicle that looked armed to the teeth was looking around. Amy jumped back, hoping it didn't see her. The vehicle drove off, and that's when she saw Kor struggling to open the egg prison.

"Kor! You made it!" Amy said as she practically glomped the poor engineer.

"Ah! Oh hey Amy, didn't see ya there." Kor responded shakily. For a 12 year old, she had a vice-like grip.

"I was stuck behind a corner as there were too many robots here. I was trying to figure out what to do before they were destroyed by some giant machine with guns." Amy explained, which caused the engineer to chuckle.

"Yeah, that was mah new roaming sentry doin' its work, and from the looks of it, its workin' hard." The fox said, looking at the casualties it racked up. "Anyway, what's the situation?"

"Sonic is busy fighting Sally and Tails is up above giving air support. Some of the people are also fighting for their city."

"Alright. I'll handle the robots, you stop them from capturing anymore people." Kor told her.

"Right."

The two worked together for the next few minutes freeing captured civilians while destroying the invasion force. The sentry drove around the town, destroying whatever enemies it came across. The robots fired back at it but they simply did no damage thanks to the vehicle's armor. Tails noticed it below him and notified Sonic that Kor had arrived.

On the Death Egg, Eggman was getting frustrated that his plan wasn't going well. It didn't help that Orbot kept reminding him that their supplies were running low again. He hoped he could keep sending as many robots as possible to exhaust the heroes.

"Sir, our fuel state is getting dangerously low. The nearest base to our current location is in Shazamazon." The sphere robot stated.

"Curse those pests! They're even more persistent than usual!" He grabbed the communications microphone and screamed into it. "Mecha Sally! Fall back to the Death Egg! I'm leaving some robots to slow Sonic as we retreat!"

Unfortunately for the doctor, his loud mouth was overheard by Sonic, who was still locked in a duel with the roboticized chipmunk. As Sally egressed, the blue blur went to find his team. He noticed some Egg Swats were still around, so they'd have to deal with those quick so they can move on. He found Amy and Kor seconds later as they noticed the Death Egg was leaving.

"Guys! We gotta bust these bots quick. I overheard Egghead on Sal's radio that they're going toward another base." He ordered.

"Not a problem son. Mah sentry is still kickin' it out there." Kor boasted.

"How so?" The blue blur asked. They soon heard an explosion with several robot parts falling from the air afterwards. The trio saw the turret roll down a street, guns blazing with a few civilians cheering for it. "Well that solves that. Let's a make a sweep to make sure that's the last of them." The hedgehog ordered.

Tails was circling overhead in the Tornado as surveyed the area. The fighting had ceased, and despite the damage caused during the conflict, much of the city was still intact. He leveled out before landing in a field just outside the town. The kit spun his namesakes before making his way into the city. It didn't take long to spot them as Sonic was talking with a group of people.

"Is everyone gonna be alright?" The blue hedgehog asked.

"Yes Sonic. W-We thought that Robotnik had been killed some time ago!" Someone who turned out to be the mayor told him.

"Well, he was for awhile...but he arose again." Sonic looked back and noticed Tails joined them. "Sorry to cut the visit short, but we gotta catch up to Eggman before he causes even more trouble. If you need anything, you can always count on Team Fighters to lend a hand!" He gave his trademark smirk before joining the others.

"So where are we headed next Sonic?" Tails asked.

"From what Eggman was screaming over Sal's radio, they're heading for a place called Shazamazon."

"Where is that?" Kor asked.

"It's in Soumerca. It's also close to the borders of the Wolf Pack Nation and Mysterious Cat Country." Tails explained.

"Alright, remind me to get a world map. From what you said though, it sounds like South America back in my world." The engineer said thoughtfully.

"Either way, we got a Death Egg to follow." Sonic smirked. "Let's get to the Tornado and follow 'em."

"Right!" The others replied.

As they got to the biplane, Kor whistled for his sentry. The roaming turret drove up to them before the engineer issued a command with his cybernetic paw. The others watched in amazement as the sentry literally disintegrated from top to bottom, its components flowing through the air until the made a large cube in the engineer's hand.

Kor smirked at the others. "Courtesy of mah boo." He said as he stored the turret.

-Great Wastes-

A few hours after Kor left, Mina sped through the dead landscape to Freedom HQ. A determined, yet uneasy look was plastered on her face. That argument she had with Sally, Sonic, and Kor over Nicole was still fresh in her mind. On the first day after their 'debate', she initially didn't think much of it, but as time went on she saw for herself how the general populace really felt. On one particular night, she was on a date with Ash as they dined as a fancy eatery, and it seemed Sonic and Sally were planning to do the same. Unfortunately, their waiter asked what they would do about Nicole as he thought she was evil. Pretty soon most of the restaurant erupted into a flame war over whether Nicole was a hero or a villain.

In order to raise spirits, she attempted to host an unscheduled mid-day concert, but Geoffrey and Naugus ruined that outing. Granted, Mina wanted her song to be heard by the masses and the heroes where she hoped she could inspire them to work harder for a better future, but all it did was spread more unnecessary fear. And to add insult to injury, many still placed blame on Nicole to the point some thought she was the sole reason the Iron Dominion was able to invade. With her guilt mounting, Mina nearly broke into tears when she found out Nicole had been exiled. Some were just happy she was gone while others thought she needed to be 'taken offline' so to speak.

The mongoose was broken from her thoughts when she realized she was about to slam into the front door. Seeing it was unlocked, she cautiously opened it. "Hello? Is anyone here?" She called out.

After not getting a response, she was sort of glad for that. No doubt the Freedom Fighters didn't want to speak with her, though she was actually a little glad Kor wasn't around. From the look he gave her that night, and if he saw her now out of all times, saying he'd do something 'unpleasant' would be putting it mildly. Mina nervously to the lab and walked to the computer. To Mina, it seemed plausible she'd be there.

"Um, Nicole? You have a moment to talk?"

Nicole was on standby for the time being and was jarred from her sleep by a voice. Rubbing her eyes groggily, she saw that Mina was there. Nicole sighed as she wasn't in the mood to speak with her, but given the look on her face, she might as well hear her out. Activating a keypad, she typed onto the monitor.

Yes...what is it that you want?...

"Nicole, I ask of you to please come back to New Mobotropolis...everyone else may think they're safe under King Naugus, but I know he's nothing but an evil tyrant!" Mina explained.

Nicole was rather surprised that Mina of all people would ask for her return. Well, there was that 'begging you to come back' instance her boyfriend talked about some time ago. Still, Nicole wanted her to clarify.

Why should I return?...Here, I am not a danger to anyone just as they aren't to me, so as far as I'm concerned you got exactly what you wanted...

"But this isn't what I wanted! I didn't want things to turn out like this!" Mina practically screamed. She settled down after a moment. "...All I wanted was to help inspire people to build a better future for themselves...I never wanted fear to overtake the city, let alone cause the public to exile you...I'm so sorry for everything I did Nicole...I didn't realize what I did until was too late, but I hope I can make it up to you...somehow..." Mina told her.

Nicole was at a loss for words. So much that she didn't know how to reply through text. Since she wasn't responding, Mina began to leave.

"Mina wait..."

The songoose was startled and turned around, seeing Nicole in her physical form. "After thinking over what you said...I forgive you...but even if I wanted to go back to the city, no one else will see me in the same light. Also I'm still exiled..."

"I'll figure something out...wait, I got it! If people began to fear you after that concert, maybe I can host one to sway public opinion back in your favor!"

"Do you think that will work?" The A.I. asked.

"It should. I have a very large fan base, and my songs have always been inspirational." Mina looked at the floor. "I'm just not sure what the Freedom Fighters will think of it. They've shunned me ever since that night..."

"Well, if you are willing to do what you said, they should forgive you too. Even Kor." Nicole smiled.

"Speaking of which...where are Sonic and Kor? I haven't seen them anywhere lately."

"Both of them along with Amy and Tails are out chasing down Eggman. Kor left to catch up with them just recently. I'm not sure when they'll return though...I know Team Fighters and Team Freedom are both strong enough to handle themselves, but I wish I was able to lend a helping hand. Growing up with them, it just doesn't feel right to sit here and do nothing..."

"I'm sure you'll get your chance Nicole. You'll see." Mina replied with a smile.

"Indeed she will." A new voice said.

Both the mongoose and lynx turned to see a somewhat old mobian brown owl dressed in a red robe standing at the door. He was also holding what looked to be a walking stick.

"Um, who are you?" Mina asked.

"Sorry, where are my manners? My name is Mr. Who, and I am here to request the help Ms. Nicole." The owl replied.

"What do you need help with?" The A.I. asked, a little unsure.

"A certain 'project' of mine." Harvey told them.

A/N: Time to stop for now. Now to explain a few things.

1. The way the new sentry is built makes it look like a wheeled version of the BMPT-72, an AFV from Russia. Also, the way the sentry can change from combat ready to a cube is much like how Galvatron from the 4th live-action Transformers could change shape.

2. For those that play TF2, you should be familiar with the Widowmaker shotgun. For those that aren't, it's a shotgun that uses the engineer's metal supply as ammo an it doesn't require a reload. It uses 30 metal per shot, but grants back metal for the amount of damage you deal to someone. In-game, I don't use it since I'd prefer to keep my metal supply free for building stuff, but for Kor he'll practically get metal back every time he hits someone with it. The vest he's wearing that was mentioned earlier is also a modified version of the 'Tools of the Trade' cosmetic for the engineer.

3. I thought about adding in how Eggman beat Snively at his own game, but it gave me writer's block trying write that out and I didn't feel like having to put all of that in, so a short summary would have to do.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed reading this one. Next time, Team Fighters will be in Soumerca, and what exactly is this project Harvey Who needs help with?