A Tale of Two Brothers
Hey Peeps, I don't own anything related to Sonic or his universe, that's SEGA and all other companies relevant to the creation of his various back-stories, and even though most of them have tanked it now that is beside the point. Honestly, I actually own very little in this fic (next to nothing apart from some background alterations) but this is my story and even though I am using characters from Archie, DiC and SEGA I will be fleshing many of them out because they were only 2-dimensional so in some ways they will appear very OC hopefully you'll bear with me! Anyway, I've bored you to tears with this disclaimer so enjoy and let me know what you think! X
Review Replies:
DanceDream: No I wouldn't call you nosy for reading review replies. After all, if I didn't want them read why would I post them? And yes, this chapter sees the Overlanders first hit on Mobius… and the plot points are irritating to write but so rewarding when they slot into place, makes the whole thing worth spending until 1am writing. Haha, don't worry I'm not a defender of Archie either (as you've probably guessed) but it's not just them either Disney makes mistakes quite frequently when it comes to royals too that's why I blame the 'American view' rather than a select group. I get that it's a different world with different customs but the comic Sonic X Years later bugged the hell out of me. I agree with you Sonic was waay out of character to want to be king. That would be far too much responsibility for him to handle not to mention the restrictions on what he can actually do that's considered 'acceptable behaviour for a king' would drive him to madness. But his title of 'King' regardless is incorrect since Shadow is not dead and he is Sally's first husband he would retain the title of 'King' and Sonic would only be known as Queen's Consort… why do you think King Henry VIII killed off most of his wives and the ones who survived were never called 'queen'. And to be known by his 'nickname' as King 'Sonic' is also incorrect, that's bad form and bad manners his true title would have to be King Ogilvie because that name is written on his birth certificate (allegedly) and it would be disrespectful in any world to call him anything else.. and yup, the freedom fighters are starting to appear now and yes… a time jump is nearing again! X
Slayer 666: Perhaps so but I never made this fic so it would fit into the boundaries of the ordinary. And yes, I'm aware how sticky royal marriages can be but they are what they are and I have no definite family trees for anyone so I can't say for sure how messed up they are. And at the very least there has to be at least 14 generations separating Jules and Aleena as cousins so I think Sonic and co. are pretty safe, don't you? X
astroshadow: Mobian History is fast becoming my favourite subject too! ;) x
Warning: character death and mild scenes of violence… Well, this is a war.. x
Chapter Twenty-Three: The War Has Begun…
'Your majesty….' The gravelly tones of the rhino-bat hybrid-mobian crooned in a simpering manner that didn't quite match the nasty looking jagged leer stretching his wide mouth.
'Naugus…' Princess Aleena uttered in a hushed voice of fear mixed with disgust, immediately recoiling away from the hybrid-mobian, moving closer to Captain Argus Fletcher. The yellow-furred wolf-mobian stepped forward a little to shield her and glared at the rhino-bat-mobian. Princess Aleena had heard the story of this wizard's treachery from her father and recognised the hybrid-mobian purely by King Ogilvie's peculiar description of him.
The Princess of Mobius and her elite team had arrived back at Hedgington Hall a few days early after learning that Green Hill had erupted into war and Marie D'Coolette had gone into labour. The royal guard faction arrived at a similar time as Commander St John and his squad of secret service soldiers who had escorted the wizard to the castle as ordered by King Ogilvie the Third. It was only by chance that the two groups had encountered each other in the great entrance hall of the palace.
'Ah! So you have heard of me…' Naugus' blood-red irises glinted with slight delight at her perception of him. 'I can't imagine your dear daddy has been saying anything nice about me, has he princess?' The lilac-furred princess briefly trembled, slightly unnerved by the wizard's intimidating stance. He may have been short in stature but even she could sense the power of his dark aura with her own untrained one. Argus Fletcher's eyes narrowed with further distaste, about to open his mouth and tell the wizard not to address the princess unless spoken to first when Commander St John forestalled him..
'Naugus..' The skunk-mobian's mauve eyes narrowed in a warning glare. 'You are here to see the king and it would be in your best interests not to keep him waiting.' The beige-skinned rhino-bat hybrid-mobian swivelled around and threw the strong-backed skunk-mobian a jagged leer, his stance seemed to momentarily swell with slight annoyance at this interruption from behind. Commander St John didn't even flinch, refusing to let this wizard's change in stance intimidate him.
'As you wish Commander..' Ixis Naugus suddenly deflated, twiddling his long off-white beard with his claw-like left hand. The simpering grin was back but it didn't seem to wash with Ian St John as his expression didn't change from stern indifference.
'Then leave her majesty alone and follow me.' The skunk-mobian said coolly.
'My father invited him here!' Princess Aleena squawked in revulsion at Commander St John's previous statement. 'Why would he do such a thing knowing what this… this..' The lilac-furred hedgehog faltered as she could think of no nice words to describe this hybrid-mobian before her. '-this vile betrayer tried to do to my grandfather!'
'I suggest that you take this up with the king, your majesty. Now if you'll excuse us..' Ian St John replied as the rhino-bat hybrid-mobian merely eyed the spirited princess with mild interest in his distrustful red eyes. Ixis Naugus then followed the skunk-mobian down the corridor.
'Oh have no fear, I shall be..' Princess Aleena muttered softly, glaring down the corridor as Naugus and Commander St John turned into the throne room to speak with the King of Mobius. The moment they were gone the lilac-furred royal hedgehog then turned to Argus who was stood beside her. 'Captain Fletcher, please escort me to my chambers to drop off my bags and then we shall be heading off to Mobotroplis General Hospital. The D'Coolette's are our oldest friends and they deserve the support of at least one of the Hedgington family.'
'As you wish your majesty..' Argus replied amiably to her words with a polite bow before linking arms with her and leading her towards the huge marble staircase leading to the first floor…
…Within half an hour the Princess of Mobius arrived at Mobotroplis' best hospital and was escorted by Argus Fletcher to the private room where the D'Coolette's would be staying until the hospital was ready to allow their new son to leave. While the Captain of the Royal Guard remained outside the room the lilac-furred royal hedgehog was the first to get a peek at the D'Coolette's new kiton.
'Oh Marie..' Princess Aleena cooed as she perched herself on the edge of the light-tanned female coyote's hospital bed while Armand D'Coolette was sat in the chair next to his wife and newly-born kiton that was wrapped in swaddling blankets in his mother's arms. 'Il est tres adorable.' The Princess of Mobius uttered in the mobian-coyotes' native tongue as her eyes narrowed at the tiny male coyote-pup with huge expressive blue eyes and a curl of light-blonde head-fur.
'Merci Princesse Aleena..' Marie sounded in a happy but tired voice as she passed their kiton to her husband before nestling down in the bed to rest properly.
'Would tu be liking a hold of heem.' Armand asked the blonde-quilled princess with a smile as the tiny kiton in his arms yawned contentedly before closing his big blue eyes. Without even waiting for an answer the thirty-nine year old coyote stretched across and gently rested his new son in Princess Aleena's arms. The little kiton then opened his eyes sleepily to see who was holding him now before snuggling back into his blankets and closing his eyes once more.
'You must be so happy Armand, to get the son you always wanted, especially after the loss of your parents in Anais..' Princess Aleena said with a soft yet sad smile towards her father's oldest friend.
'Oui, zey might not be 'ere but I am being sure zat zey would 'ave been filled with zee pride.' He replied solemnly as his son stirred a little in the female hedgehog's arms.
'Have you thought of what to name him?' Princess Aleena asked curiously, feeling the tiny infant-coyote wriggle against her stomach.
'He is 'aving to be named Antoine after mon papa, of course, and ees meeddle name is Jacques after Marie's pere.' Armand said with a hint of pride in his voice before reaching out and carefully taking back his sleeping son, placing him in the tiny hospital crib next to his now sleeping wife who was exhausted from the birth.
'Armand, did you know that my father is in a meeting with Naugus as we speak?' The lilac-furred seventeen year old hedgehog asked him curiously since there was no-one else to disturb them. She was hoping that her father's oldest friend might be able to shed some light on why the banished wizard was back in the kingdom.
'Oui mon princesse, I was of zee knowing. 'Owever, tu must not be theenking zee worst..' The light-tanned coyote's admission was followed by a solemn look as he twiddled his thin moustache. 'Ogilvie is, how you say, trying to explore zee box.' Armand added before sighing heavily. ''E is very much wanting to protect zee mobians from zee threat of zee Overlanders and 'e is 'oping zat Monsieur Naugus can be using zee 'ocusie-pocusie to be helping.'
'I see..' Princess Aleena sighed gently as she folded her hands together in her lap, suddenly feeling a little bad for her angry outburst about her father's way of thinking earlier. He must really be desperate for a solution to sink so low as to call in a known traitor of the crown.
...At the exact same moment in the throne room of Hedgington Hall…
'You are most generous, your majesty..' Ixis Naugus sounded in an almost false sounding humble tone at the offer King Ogilvie the Third had made. If he was to use his magic to aid and protect the citizens of Mobius the king would repeal his banishment and allow him to serve once again as an advisor in this war, providing that he affirmed his loyalties to the kingdom.
'This offer is only going to be made once Ixis, I may only have been small when you tried to dethrone my father but do not take me for a fool.' King Ogilvie sounded sternly as he lanced the hybrid wizard before him with a warning glare. 'If you try to do so once more then I will banish you back to the Forbidden Zone. Do I make myself clear?'
'Crystal clear sire..' Naugus replied with a low bow. 'I assure you that I feel no ill will towards this kingdom, the Overlanders are my enemy as well as yours now.' The rhino-bat hybrid-mobian added as he straightened again.
'I am glad you can see this our way Ixis, now I'm tasking you with the protection of our citizens. Mobotroplis itself can be rebuilt but with the Overlanders within striking distance we must consider evacuating the kitons to neighbouring hamlets and towns.' King Ogilvie the Third sounded seriously his maroon eyes remaining serious as he spoke to his newly appointed magical advisor. 'If Warlord Kodos and our frontline inventory fail then I will be forced to sign conscription and I do not want kitons in this city if it is to become a war zone.'
'I will see to it that my magic cloaks them from the Overlanders' detection..' Ixis Naugus responded in a humble tone and the green-quilled King of Mobius nodded.
'Very good, Prime Minister Stryker Wolf has a list of settlements that have agreed to shield the kitons.' King Ogilvie replied amiably.
'What about the princess, your majesty?' Commander Ian St John asked automatically.
'My child will stay with me until I'm sure a future is certain for our lineage and then I will have her sent to Angel Island as already agreed with Sabre of the House of Edmund.' King Ogilvie the Third said seriously, his eyes seeming a little far away at this point. He knew his daughter was holding out to see if their former guard could prove himself to Mobius but if things got much worse he would have no choice but to marry her off against her will just to ensure their family line. Hopefully, she would understand his position…
Out on the neck of Green Hill valley leading out to the seemingly quiet gorges of the badlands the frontline inventories had been cautiously walking for days. The squad units had separated off and unit delta was being led by Lieutenant Buchanan Rabbot and Sargent Jules Hedgehog. Behind them their squad of six other mobians followed in a vigilant silence, their laser-rifles remain close to their chests as their eyes scanned the stony chasm around them for any signs of 'Oliver', the code word for Overlanders. When they were to finally encountered any they were to stand ground and radio base control for assistance, the plan was to flush out the Oliver's position and try to hold them back but without even knowing how the number of their enemy this was always going to be a risky strategy.. They were into day five of their solitary march and the eight members of the Knothole Dandies had not seen any other life since they last saw unit gamma four days ago. At the sight of a blind turn in the stony chasm ahead of them the light-brown-furred rabbit pressed himself against the stone wall and his cobalt-quilled sargent immediately signalled for the company to halt. As the rest of the Knothole Dandies froze in their positions behind Corporal Mongoose Jules moved over beside Buchanan and after a moment of the two whispering to each other they turned to the group of soldiers behind them.
'Alright Corporal, you take point..' Jules spoke in a soft voice before turning to their communications officer. '-and Fee, you stick with the Lieutenant. Let's move out.' The cobalt-blue hedgehog then signalled for the yellow-furred mongoose-mobian to lead the group around the corner while he checked above and behind them for any signs of an ambush. As Corporal Mongoose moved forward with Lieutenant Buchannan Rabbot and Private Coffee Rabbit leading the small squad forward Red Fox remained with Jules, only moving when his sargent signalled him to keep the line-formation tight so now Jules was bringing up the rear.
'It's quiet out there..' Corporal Arthur sounded suspiciously as his deep-brown eyes narrowed at the wide open rough dust and wiry grassland with only the sparse poorly-leaved trees.
'Too quiet Corporal, I don't like the looks of this..' Buchanan's brow furrowed at the silent open ground before them. 'Something seems off.' He murmured thoughtfully, scratching his bristly white-furred chin.
'That's because it's an ambush!' Red Fox roared out, pointing behind them as movement had caught the ruby-furred fox's stone-grey eyes. The Knothole Dandies all swivelled around to see the movement of four small hovercrafts with those tall, oily-looking humans wearing navy uniforms and deep hate-filled glares. While there was only one Overlander steering their sleek but silent crafts towards the squad unit the rest were firing a barrage of bullets onto them. The whole gorge quickly became a mass of gun-noise and falling rock.
'Move out into the open!' Jules declared loudly, pointing into the open clearing of the badlands.
'But there's no place to hide out there!' Corporal Mongoose retorted immediately. 'They'll kill us!'
'We'ah as good as dead if we hang about here Corporal..' Buchanan Rabbot seized the Mongoose by the collar of his army shirt and slung him in the direction of the clearing ahead of them. The light-furred rabbit then forced Private Coffee Rabbit and their medical officer to follow. 'Yah bettah have a plan Sargent..' He drawled towards Jules and the cobalt-hedgehog grinned.
'I do but I'll need two officers to hold back with me to take out their machines. You take the rest and radio position to base control!' The eighteen year old hedgehog roared to his lieutenant before shoving him harshly then turning to the ruby-furred fox and the brown-furred squirrel behind him.
'Foxy, Chips you two stay with me and aim for their ships! We need to take them down so they're on our level; we'll need to out run them and regroup with the others!' As the rest of the Knothole Dandies retreated into the opening of the badlands Jules Hedgehog turned towards the approaching Overlanders as Privates Red Fox and Woody Chips fired laser-shots at the Overlanders' crafts. However when the green orbs hit the machines but they merely deflected off of the silver surface of the hovercrafts.
'It's not working Sarge!' Red exclaimed in horror, panic slowly creeping onto his face. He'd heard the horrible stories of what Overlanders did to mobians when they caught them alive...
'We're done for..' Chips sounded in a soft voice but it was clear from his expression he was anything but calm right now.
'No we're not.' Their sargent roared back, his hazel-eyes narrowed as he quickly eyed the angel of the huge crumbling gorge around them. 'Keep firing, I have an idea..' The cobalt-blue hedgehog added to the last two privates that were standing by him, throwing them his own laser-gun before his black-booted feet blurred and Jules sped off in the direction of the four Overlander ships.
'Sarge, are you crazy?!' Red Fox bellowed over the noise towards his commanding officer as the cobalt-blue hedgehog sped off into the barrage of bullets which suddenly switched focus onto Jules, leaving the two mobian officers unmarked as they chose to deal with the 'threat'.
'He's gonna get himself killed..' Chips cried out in dismay as the two of them stared at Jules' reckless running into danger.
'Come on. We better do as he ordered; maybe we can get them to focus their fire back on us and off of the Sarge.' Red said seriously and immediately he and the young squirrel-mobian instantly lifted their laser-arms and resumed fire, drawing the humans' attention back onto them as Jules swiftly ran up one side of the crumbling gorge wall. Once he reached the top of the gorge the blue hedgehog swiftly spun around in a non-moving spin-dash before he suddenly shot forward and smashed into the side of the Overlander-craft nearest him before ricocheting off and smashing into the craft nearest it. When the cobalt-blue hedgehog landed on his feet he staggered a little, feeling slightly unsteady on his feet after spinning at a dizzyingly fast speed. Jules shook off his dizzy spell just in time to dive out of the blast zone as both hovercrafts smashed into fire as they hit one side of the gorge causing the ground to shudder violently at the impact. Without pausing long enough to see if any of the humans manning these hovercrafts survived the eighteen year old hedgehog spun into action and collided with the third hovering ship forcing it to crash into the fourth and the opposite side of the gorge. This second tremor then caused a landslide of now-loose boulders to fall down.
'Uh-oh, time to juice on outta here..' Jules said as his hazel eyes widened in horror at the deteriorating rocky-chasm. He then sped off in the direction of the two worried looking privates ahead of him and seized them by the arms, whisking them out of the collapsing gorge before they were crushed by boulders. When the three of them eventually screeched to a stop they turned as one to witness the whole gorge collapse in on itself. While Sargent Jules Hedgehog looked dumbfounded by what he'd done Private Red Fox grinned widely at his commanding officer and pulled himself out of his grip.
'Sarge, that was incredible!' The ruby-red fox with the burgundy lick of head-fur exclaimed brightly. 'I have never seen a mobian move like that!'
'Me neither..' Chips added with a smile curving his pale muzzle. Jules didn't respond to these words, instead the cobalt-blue hedgehog watched the rocks fill the gap in the cliff edge that they had just come through. He felt bad as he had never wanted to kill the Overlanders, just make things a fair fight between them..
'Holy Terra, what happened in theyah?' The sound of Buchanan's voice came from behind them as the rest of the Knothole Dandies appeared behind the three soldiers but only Private Fox and Private Chips turned around to greet them.
'Sarge took out all the Overlanders by smashing their hovercrafts into the gorge walls and causing a landslide.' Fox replied keenly as the other privates in the squad looked impressed.
'So they'ah all dead?' Buchanan replied with a kink in his brow and at the moment this truth was voiced Jules could not repress a guilty wince at what he had done.
'I never meant to do it..' The cobalt-quilled sargent spoke softly, his pointed-ears dipping in slight shame. '-I just wanted to even the odds by destroying their hovercrafts.'
'It's all right Sarge..' Corporal Mongoose replied, stepping up towards his commanding officer and recognising the fact that Jules felt uncomfortable for his actions. 'It was self-defence. It was them or us and you saved all our hides.' Behind them Lieutenant Buchanan Rabbot was talking into the radio, updating base control on their status and receiving new orders from Colonel Somersby.
'I know..' Jules replied with a heavy sigh and a slight frown. 'But it doesn't change the fact that I have blood on my hands now.' At this moment Red Fox appeared at Jules' other side.
'No offense Sarge but this is war. We're all gonna have blood on our hands sooner or later.' He then held out Jules' laser-gun towards him with a wry smile. 'It's time you stopped thinking like a Royal Guard, your one of us now.' For a moment the cobalt-blue hedgehog regarded the ruby-furred fox with his hazel eyes before extending his white-gloved hand and taking back his laser-gun.
'So what now Buck?' The cobalt-blue hedgehog said as he turned around to face his lieutenant and the light-brown-furred rabbit sighed heavily.
'Accordin' t'the colonel we'ah the only unit t'git back in touch with him, so since we areh gonna have t'find a new way back t'base we bettah try an' find out what happened to the othahs..' Buchanan Rabbot then reached into Coffee Rabbit's backpack and whipped out a map of the badlands and spread it out over the dusty ground as his squad crouched around him. 'Unfortunately gittin' back ain't gonna be easy. Somethin' is tellin' me them Olivah may have set us a few traps t'try an' snare us.' At this point every member of the Knothole Dandies looked around at the wide open space that seemed quiet and placid with a new sense of dread... What was waiting for them out there?
Back in Mobotroplis and completely unaware of the true dangers that were lurking just on the edge of her home zone Alicia Acorn was seated behind the reception desk of the Mobian Council Building. She was using the holovision screen to proofread a dossier that Prime Minister Stryker Wolf had given her on Mobotroplis' plans to evacuate the youth of the city for their own safety in these dangerous times. As her sapphire eyes flicked over the list of towns and hamlets on the screen her heart felt heavy as she considered how everything in Mobius had changed in such a short space of time. She had lost her brother because of these furless creatures and now some of her closest friends had gone out to face them as they were here, threatening their very existence with the same fate that eastern Mobius had fallen to. Alicia sighed heavily as she finished off her proofreading and correcting the small errors the red-headed chipmunk-mobian pushed the print button on the holoscreen and the printer behind her began to whirr into action. As she waited for the print out from the power-stone printer her pretty sapphire eyes turned to look down the grand hallway towards the double-doors of the council conference room. Right now the Minister of Science and his undersecretary were in a meeting with Warlord Kodos and Commander St John. They were discussing Lionel Lion's newly discovered technology that was inside his board, the very thing that made it hover. For his part the nineteen year old inventor was also in this meeting, since the army wanted to try and utilise his technology they would need to know if the specifics of it first and see if it could be applied to other things, like war vehicles..
'Alicia, do you have my finished copy?' A deep nasally voice sounded from her side out of the blue and causing the red-headed chipmunk to give a small jolt in surprise. Alicia Acorn wrenched her eyes away from the double doors and her curiosity to how her friend Lionel was coping inside, she immediately found herself face-to-face with Prime Minister Stryker Wolf. Despite his deep yellow eyes, sharp fangs, grey fur and slicked back purple head-fur the wolf-mobian was not nearly as intimidating as first impressions lead others to believe.
'Oh... um..' Alicia flushed a little at being caught out before she swivelled around to the printer and grabbed the sheets of paper, quickly reshuffling them into numerical order and passing them to the Prime Minister of Mobius. 'Right here sir.' She added with a strained smile, unable to completely hide her worries concerning her friend in the conference room.
'Thank you..' Stryker replied amiably to the red-headed chipmunk with a pitying smile back, he too had lost family in this war. 'Perhaps you should take an early lunch and pull yourself together for this afternoon Mrs Acorn.' He spoke in a soft and kind voice as the female chipmunk did seem out of sorts and he would need her on top form this afternoon to assist him as he addressed the public about the plans he and Ixis Naugus had for the evacuation of Mobotroplis' youth.
'I'm fine, sir. Really, just a little worried about the future.' Alicia said gently as she pushed a loose curl of red head-fur back from her face.
'We all are Alicia, which is why you should take the extra time to clear your head so that you are more focused for the arduous task ahead.' Prime Minister Wolf placed a grey-furred hand to her shoulder and as his yellow eyes continued to look concerned. 'Mobius' very future is riding on our next move.' The red-headed female chipmunk nodded solemnly at his words. She knew it would fall onto her to assign the evacuees their refugee for the duration of this war and she could not afford to slip up on a single kiton. He was right, Mobius' very future was in her hands..
'I know..' Alicia replied gently to his words.
'Alicia, are you ready to go?' The familiar voice of her husband sounded at this moment and immediately Stryker Wolf removed his hand from Alicia as they both turned their eyes to Mayor Maximillion Acorn who was stood with his own file containing the plan of action for the 'go ahead' on Mobotroplis' black out.
'Go?' The red-headed chipmunk gazed confused at her light-brown furred husband with a small curl of matching head-fur and pencil-thin moustache.
'To lunch..' Maximillion prompted with a slight smirk before his kind blue eyes turned to the Prime Minister. 'You don't mind her knocking off a little early do you Stryker?'
'Absolutely not, in fact I was just dismissing her now.' The grey-furred Prime Minister smiled warmly at the Mayor of Mobotroplis.
'Oh good.' The fox-mobian smiled warmly before turning back to his wife. 'Shall we?' At this point however the double-doors of the conference room opened and Warlord Kodos strode out in front of Commander St John who was talking to Doctor Charles Hedgehog and Lionel Lion. Professor Owl was following casually behind watching as his undersecretary seemed to be handling everything just fine by himself.
'-we thank you both very much for your cooperation on this and we look forward to seeing your designs for our new utility vehicles.' Commander St John then shook hands with Lionel Lion and Charles Hedgehog before he too disappeared, following Kodos Lion who was already striding far ahead of him.
'Lionel!' Alicia cried out and immediately headed in his direction, leaving her husband's question hanging as she did so.
'I guess we shan't then..' Maximillion muttered to himself before turning to Prime Minister Stryker Wolf. 'I was sorry to hear your son was arrested again Stryker, I suppose this will be his third strike now, won't it?' The light-brown fox-mobian sounded sympathetically to the grey-furred wolf next to him and immediately Stryker snorted with disgust.
'My boy's an idiot Acorn. I warned him if he got in any more trouble they'd throw the book at him but the stubborn little whelp just doesn't listen to me. He'll be lucky if they don't throw him in jail.' Stryker said harshly as his yellow eyes flashed with a hint of his true displeasure at his son's behaviour. 'Now if you don't mind I must be going, I have lunch arrangements with Professor Owl.' He nodded politely then moved towards the Minister of Science and his undersecretary. While Charles was being congratulated on his performance by Professor Owl the blonde-furred lion-mobian found himself swept up into a quick hug from Alicia Acorn.
'So, how'd the meeting go?' The red-headed chipmunk sounded keenly, showing how anxious she had been about the whole thing as she knew how nerve-wracking it could be talking to council members.
'It was good. They were very impressed and they want Charles and me to collaborate on some new vehicles to help transport our boys out in battle. This will help the injured get the medical attention they seek much faster than they possibly could now, it's all very exciting stuff..' He said with a wide smile which faltered as he turned to glance at the mild-blue hedgehog as he shook hands with Professor Owl before the old tawny owl-mobian left with Prime Minister Stryker Wolf to discuss the meeting over lunch.
'Wow, that's great news Lionel, but why so glum?' Alicia added curious as to why Charles should darken his mood, she thought the two of them always worked well together.
'Charles has been a little withdrawn since Jules left. He's immersed himself deep within his own research and political work but he barely speaks of his own feelings anymore. It's like he's using anything he can as a barrier to protect himself-'
'Don't worry about me.' The sound of Charles' voice came from behind him now as the twenty-two year old hedgehog with mild-blue quills and bushy pale-blue eyebrows and matching moustache stood there looking calm. 'I'm fine.'
'I know but I can still show concern for a friend, can't I?' Lionel replied warmly to the older hedgehog scientist but Charles frowned slightly as if the mobian-lion was invading on his personal space. 'Well, we gotta go Alicia and I think your husband is waiting for you.' He added pointing at Maximilloin who was watching the threesome while leaning against her work station.
'Yes, we were going to go for lunch. You two would be welcome to join us.' She added with a bright smile but Charles immediately shook his blue-quilled head roughly.
'Thanks but no thanks Alicia. We were going to grab a quick bite on the way back to the lab and get started on this new project. It's imperative that it's finished as soon as possible.' Charles said firmly and she could tell that part of this insistence was to do with the very fact that his little brother was now a part of this war and this was the only way he was going to be able to help him out now. She wanted to reassure him that Jules would be fine and she was just as worried about her ex-boyfriend as Charles was but Alicia knew he'd never accept her comfort so she didn't voice it.
'Well, ok then. I'll see you both later..' The red-headed chipmunk sounded and turned away from them both and returned to her fox-mobian husband who looked up the moment she approached.
'Shall we go?' Maximillion asked curiously with a slight bite of irritation at being ignored the first time he had asked this.
'Yes, let's go..' Alicia sounded with a sigh and an apologetic smile and as they walked out of the Mobian Council Building her sapphire eyes turned to Charles with a pitying glance... Come back soon Jules… your brother needs you...
It was now mid-afternoon in the badlands and the air was thick with tension as the Knothole Dandies moved more cautiously through one of the deep naturally-formed trenches of the dusty clearing. They were trying to stay near the high ridges of the cliff edges that marked the very edge of badlands and the joining of Green Hill to this unstable zone. The small squad of soldiers had already lost two of its members to hidden jagged metal-snares in the dusty open clearing and had been forced to leave the bodies behind as when activated these traps seemed to let out a silent alarm, alerting the Overlanders towards their location. The Knothole Dandies were lucky that they had two very swift-footed members in their squadron or all of them could have been 'culled' as the furless beings called their extermination of mobians. The six members left dared not talk in case they alerted the Overlanders to their position, by the sounds of things they were not very far away from their current location. Instead they moved slowly and silently through the dusty trench, cautiously keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of movement in case they had to speed off once more. Lieutenant Buchanan Rabbot was leading them with Corporal Mongoose in between him and radio officer Coffee Rabbit. Behind them was Woody Chips who was now carrying their lost medic's backpack with Sargent Jules Hedgehog and Private Red Fox bringing up the rear. While the rest moved cautiously forward the ruby-furred fox-mobian and his cobalt-quilled sargent watched behind them to insure they were not being followed. It was only when the soldiers in front stopped did Sargent Hedgehog and Red Fox turn to see why they had stopped and they realised that the squad unit had arrived at an opening in the trench and that voices could be heard from the other side. Pushing his way to the front with the ruby-furred fox-mobian right behind him Jules moved with Buchanan to see around the edge into the open clearing while the rest of the unit huddled together.
'Any sign of the rest of them?' The voice of one of the humans sounded. He had a crop of brilliant ginger hair and was dressed in a grey military uniform with a blue utility belt and matching boots. His small dark eyes narrowed at the other human who he was addressing and it was clear to both the light-brown furred rabbit and the cobalt-blue-quilled hedgehog that this greasy Overlander was the commanding officer of the ones that had been trying to track them down.
'No sir..' The brown-hair human responded. 'They seem to be good at giving us the slip.' At these words Jules and Buchanan exchanged a grin of pride in their ability to do this but it was immediately wiped off by what happened next. The brown-haired Overlander beckoned to some unseen human behind him and they stepped forward with a large brown sack and dumped it unceremoniously at their commander's feet. The bag opened and revealed its contents, the bodies of their two fallen comrades that were matted with dried sticky blood from the gashes that the snare-traps had created.
'The traps we set did pick off these two though. What do you want done with them?' The brown-haired Overlander asked and the ginger-haired furless being barely glanced at them.
'Skin their hides. We can cook the meat later..' The commanding human sounded in an offhanded manner and while Buchanan Rabbot glared with a mixture of revulsion and hatred at the treatment his dead officers were going to get Jules' muzzle instantly paled and the hedgehog looked like he was going to be sick.
'We have to get outta here..' The brown-furred rabbit-mobian murmured softly, his voice barely a whisper so the humans nearby wouldn't hear them and force them to meet the same fate as their comrades. 'Yah feelin' ok li'l partnah?' He added as he spotted the flushed expression and far-off gaze in Jules' hazel-eyes, his light-brown-furred rabbit placed a gentle hand on the cobalt-blue hedgehog. Immediately Jules looked around and nodded, swallowing hard as he did so to force back the bile in his throat. Satisfied Buchanan took the map back off of Coffee who'd been carrying it and pointed down. 'Thereh's a marshland, jist around that bend in the opposite trench. If we can make it thereh we can lose the Olivah in the swamps an' try regroup with unit alpha.' He spoke in barely a soft hiss as his finger trailed the path he intended on leading his boys and all five of them nodded. 'We'll go in two sets of three, that way if we need to boost we can.' The rest nodded once again in response and Coffee immediately swept up the map, folding it quickly and stuffed it into his backpack. The group of mobian soldiers watched carefully for the right moment to move over to the next trench and as luck would have it the humans scooped up the bag containing the corpses of and began heading in the opposite direction to them. Without hesitation both the mobian-rabbits then gripped Corporal Mongoose tightly and the yellow-furred mongoose-mobian with the mop of dark head-fur zipped across the open space to the next trench followed swiftly by Jules Hedgehog who was gripping Red Fox and Woody Chips heading straight to the marshlands on the edge of badlands swamps...
Princess Aleena smiled widely at the holophone-screen in front of her as she clicked the answer button and a pretty red-furred echidna with white ribbons braided through her quills appeared on the screen. She was smiling back at the lilac-furred royal hedgehog and wearing a plane white robe while sitting in a clinical-looking living room.
'Aleena, it is so good to see you again..' Lara-Le said brightly, a flash of pleasure lit her minty-green eyes. 'I'm so sorry I haven't been in touch but the Echidnae Council are limiting our contact with those outside of Albion. They don't want to alert the Overlanders to their presence in case they decide to come for us next. I practically had to beg my father to allow me to make this call but I don't know when I will be allowed to call again or even if. But I simply had to get in touch since it had been four months since our little one has hatched and you still haven't seen him..'
'Him?' Princess Aleena sounded dimly before letting out a small 'oh' at the instant realisation at what she was being told. 'You have a son too? The D'Coolette's had a boy called Antoine a few weeks ago and he's just adorable with his big blue eyes and happy smile..' She tailed off at the memory of earlier when she had been playing with the tiny coyote-pup as he burbled with happiness at the attention.
'They did?' Lara-Le beamed widely at the news. 'Oh. If it had not been for the war perhaps he and little Knuckles could have been friends..' She clasped her white-mittened hands together with a soppy expression at this very thought. The Princess of Mobius kept silent with a slight smile at her friend's words, privately thinking that even if the war hadn't been going on there would have been little chance of Antoine and her son being friends… not if Locke had his way anyway.
'Knuckles?' Aleena suddenly queried the name choice and at her expression Lara-Le giggled in slight amusement.
'It was the name of the very first Guardian of the Master Emerald; he was apparently a great warrior. Locke wanted to name our son after him.' The red-furred echidna spoke softly before getting up and smiling. 'Hold on, I'll just go get Knuckles.' She immediately disappeared somewhere out of view but her voice could still be heard as she addressed her young son. 'Come on Knuckles; come see the Princess of Mobius.' There was a babyish-squeal of slight protest at this moment then Lara-Le spoke again. 'You can play with those in a moment dear, come see mother's friend.' She then reappeared with a not so impressed little echidna perched in her lap holding a building block with the mobian symbol for the letter 'E' on it. However the moment little Knuckles spotted the lilac-furred hedgehog his attention was off of the block and it dropped to the floor as he held out a tiny white-mittened hand to touch the screen before him, his little purple eyes wide with curiosity as Princess Aleena was the first non-echidna he had seen. Her strange appearance seemed to fascinate him.
'Oh how cute. He looks like a miniature of his father..' Princess Aleena cooed at the four month old echidna before waving at him with a soft babyish-smile. 'Where is Locke anyway?' Aleena suddenly blinked noticing that Lara's husband had not made an appearance yet.
'He is in a meeting with the Brotherhood of Guardians. He's been acting really strange recently and keeps uttering about Knuckles' destiny. He had this nightmare a few weeks ago but he swears it was a vision sent to him by his grandfather of the future and now he's obsessed with 'preventing' it from happening. He keeps talking about how Knuckles needs to return to the island for training as soon as he turns three but I'd rather he just stayed here and had a childhood..' Lara-Le suddenly looked very tired and Aleena could tell that she and her husband had been quarrelling about this issue for some time.
'What was this nightmare about?' The blonde-quilled princess asked curiously and Lara-Le sighed heavily as her son continued to try to reach for the screen to touch Princess Aleena, oblivious to his weary mother.
'That's the thing. He won't tell me what it was about but whatever he has seen has brought back his old fears about leaving Angel Island. He speaks with his father Sabre on a daily basis, I think he's just looking for some excuse to return sooner and if he finds one I know he will want Knuckles to go with him.' She sighed heavily and the blonde-quilled female hedgehog felt her heart go out to her friend, it seemed this argument was not going to be resolved anytime soon. 'What about you Aleena? How are you? I was sorry to hear that you and Jules were caught but Locke said it was only a matter of time..' The red-furred echidna sounded sympathetically.
'I am alright, I guess. Jules was immediately transferred into the army; my father wants to see if he can prove himself to Mobius. That was just over three months ago and I have not heard from him in all that time. I worry about him as our frontline inventory is already facing off the Overlanders that are on our doorstep. I just wish there was some way to contact him so I knew he was ok..' The lilac-furred hedgehog stifled a small sob as she trembled slightly with the weight of the feelings she had been keeping locked away. Lara-Le flashed her friend a sympathetic smile as she set her tiny son back down on the floor. The little echidna seemed to now have lost interest in the holovision screen and gone back to his toys as his attention was back on his discarded block. He picked it up and put it in his mouth before crawling quickly out of sight, back over to the rest of his toys.
'Well, why don't you write him a letter?' The female echidna suggested and immediately the Princess of Mobius blinked with surprise at this obvious solution.
'A letter..' Princess Aleena repeated this softly. It made sense. The Mobian Army received letters all the time from family and lovers of their soldiers, passing them on to the recipient than sending out the responses. 'Yes.. I suppose I could..' She uttered, perking up a little before smiling at her friend. She could pour her heart out in a letter.. 'Oh Lara thank you so much. I must be going now. I bid you good luck with your husband and pray that the two of you find a solution soon.' With a final goodbye she turned off the holophone and disappeared to locate her stationary set.
…The Knothole Dandies had been trekking the badlands swamps for a couple of days. The putrid sludgy green mud now caked their Mobian Army uniforms from wading through the thick swamp in an attempt to mask their tracks from the Overlanders. Thankfully there was more cover here as there were thick-leaved trees so there was virtually no chance of being detected from above without being alerted to the Overlanders' presence first. They continued their cautious movements, testing the unknown marshland for hidden traps but fortunately it seemed to be clear for the moment. They were beginning to grow concerned as they still had not come across another squad unit and were now wondering if they had all been wiped out. However they would not know for sure until they got back to base control but thanks to their detour they were still a number of days away from returning. The lands around them had become somewhat misty now that they were back inside the gorges surrounding Green Hill Zone and they could only see a few feet in front of them. For a long time they continued in their line formation before the mists ahead revealed a horrific sight and this made them stop dead in their tracks. There was, what appeared to be, charred remains of bones that appeared to be piled together on a crudely built pyre. Judging by the skulls they looked like the bones of mobosapiens.
'You don't think that theyah…' Buchanan Rabbot tailed off with a worried look to Jules and the hedgehog blanched slightly at the unspoken words of his friend and lieutenant and swallowed hard, hoping that the rabbit wasn't right.
'There's only one way to find out.' The cobalt-blue hedgehog replied, spotting something silver glinting in amongst the ash and blackened bones. Gingerly the almost nineteen year old hedgehog stepped forward and with shaking fingers he pulled the silver object away, wincing as the blackened neck-joint snapped as the chain came loose and the charred skull rolled down stopping short before his feet. 'I'm sorry..' Jules squeaked apologetically to the burnt body that he had just decapitated before turning his now watering hazel eyes to his blackened fingers, instantly realising that the silver object was in fact a dog-tag. His white-gloved hand trembled and he could feel fear rising from the pit of his stomach as he slowly opened his fingers to reveal the engravings on the dog-tag.
'Arrrhh…' The cobalt-blue hedgehog gave a yelp of shock and automatically jerked his hand away from the dog-tags causing them to fly out of his fingers and fall back onto the burnt out remains of the pyre before him.
'What is it Juice?' Buchanan asked as the rest of the unit gazed with wide eyes at their unnerved sargent. Jules slowly turned back to his lieutenant and for a moment nothing was said.
'Sir, unit alpha are… dead.' The cobalt-blue hedgehog said, his voice breaking at the final word and the rest of unit Delta gasped.
'May Terra have mercy on their souls..' Arthur Mongoose said grimly as the rest of the unit hung their heads in respect.
'Lit's keep movin' fellahs. We don't want to give them Olivah the chance t'catch us an' make us meet the same fate, do we?' Buchanan finally broke the gloomy silence and immediately the whole unit pulled themselves together and moved out once more..
It took the Knothole Dandies a further four days to find themselves on a pathway back in the right direction towards base camp. By this time the entire unit had been on the move for well over twelve days solid. Their food rations were scarce and they were tired, hungry and caked in in dirt, blood and, in Sargent Jules' case, ash. Their uniforms were ripped in places and they only had less than a couple of rounds of ammunition left, conserving their laser-fire until it was really necessary. It was clear from the narrow-eyed expressions of their comrades around them that they were all fed-up with the seemingly endless running, hiding and shooting their way back to base camp. They just longed for this nightmare to be over…
…The final leg of their journey saw them in a stand-off with the Overlanders once more. It seemed that the sneaky humans had been following them in the hopes of learning where they were based but it was only thanks to Red Fox's keen eyesight and hearing, due to a minor slip-up on the Overlanders' part, their position was revealed. Once the ruby-furred fox-mobian sounded the alarm the truth suddenly dawned on the mobians that this was the real reason they had not been attacked in the last few days. Even though unit delta was exhausted they bravely took their arms against these relentless creatures, firing off the very last of their ammunition. Once this was all gone they were forced to take cover before a new and incredibly dangerous strategy was formed. In a flurry of fast-feet Sargent Jules Hedgehog separated from his unit and used his speed to divert the Overlanders away from the location of the base camp. The cobalt-blue hedgehog used his speed to duck, dodge and weave out of the way of their bullets and the Overlanders' frustration at not being able to hit this speedy blue target was enough to keep their focus on it. While they were distracted Corporal Arthur Mongoose was able to use his own quick feet to take the unit one soldier at a time back to the base camp. The dark-yellow-furred mongoose was not as fast as his sargent but the distraction gave him ample time to get the three privates safely out of the war-zone before his movements were spotted on his return for their lieutenant.
When Jules realised that the human's focus had switched from him onto the last two members of his unit, shooting a bombardment of bullets as the not-so-nifty mongoose tried to dodge them while clinging desperately to Lieutenant Buchanan Rabbot. The Overlanders seemed to take amusement out of this and the cobalt-blue hedgehog let out a snarl of disgust and immediately spun into a spin-dash manoeuvre and shot towards them, coming so close that he managed to knock several of their guns out of their grasps and cause them to yell out in shock at this unexpected strike. Without stopping the hedgehog spun across the huge gorge rock-face while the remaining Overlanders with guns resumed their fire on him. The ginger-haired commanding officer of the humans was now screaming for his soldiers to shoot him down, infuriated by the fact that this small blue hedgehog was too fast to gun down. Jules only grinned at his frustration before his eyes spotted something that might be able to help stop these humans from following them back to base, or at the very least slow them down for a good few days and give the Mobian Army time to plan for their eventual arrival.
Without even considering the risks to his plan Jules swept down in a blue blur and grabbed the round silver bomb from the artillery belt of the Commanding Overlander and zipping off to towards the narrow crevice that would lead him back to Green Hill Zone and base camp. He paused only long enough to arm the bomb and ditch it, for the first time he was grateful to the fact that his father had forced him to complete his high school engineering degree or he would have had no idea how . The cobalt-blue hedgehog had only managed to get through the other side of the gap before the bomb detonated. An array of screams from the Overlanders could just be made out over the mass explosion which sent a mild seismic tremor that knocked Jules off balance and was followed by the rumbling of rocks as they sealed off the humans from following him through… When everything was silent once more Sargent Jules Hedgehog got up, not bothering to dust off his already filthy and tattered uniform and headed back to base camp feeling weary and exhausted…
The cobalt-blue hedgehog was welcomed back a hero by the remains of the Mobian Army squadrons that had been sent out just over two weeks ago to face-off the Overlanders. He was surprised that there were a handful of mobians from the other units that had somehow made it back to camp too, most likely forced to retreat when the rest of their units were wiped out. Despite his weary visage Jules smiled back, shrugging off the words of admiration and handshakes from his fellow soldiers for stopping the Overlanders from following them through. His smile was soon wiped off by the contrasting gloomy looks on his own squad unit's sombre faces, quickly noting that Buchanan Rabbot was not amongst them, feeling an icy plunge of dread sweep over him. As the cobalt-blue hedgehog pulled himself away from the other celebrating soldiers his corporal Arthur Mongoose stepped up to him with sadness and guilt mixed in his dark eyes.
'They got him Sarge..' The dark-yellow-furred mongoose uttered softly and immediately Jules knew exactly what had happened. Lieutenant Buchanan had been shot. 'I-I didn't even notice until we got back here but…' Corporal Mongoose's voice wavered unevenly as he himself trembled with the enormous weight of guilt and despondency about what had happened to his commanding officer on his watch.
'It's not your fault Arthur, it's not your fault..' Jules uttered softly and feeling a tear threatening to form in one of his eyes. The two officers gripped to each other in a brotherly hug, clinging to each other tightly for support. 'Where is he now?' The cobalt-blue hedgehog sounded breathlessly.
'T-the hospital tent, he's in the hospital tent, his lung's been punctured, he's fading fast and asking for you.' Arthur said pulling away from Jules, his dark eyes filled with sorrow. Without even waiting for anything else the almost nineteen year old hedgehog pushed his friend and officer aside and vanished into the direction of the hospital tent, hoping he wasn't too late..
…The moment Jules stepped inside the white tent it was awash with injured and dying soldiers. It was a horrific thing to witness. Not just the injuries themselves as the neatly dressed army-nurses tried their best to stem the flow of blood and wrap the wounds with gauze but the moans and groans of anguish from the soldiers themselves tugged at the hedgehog's heart. It then squeezed painfully as Jules' hazel eyes spotted the light-brown rabbit-mobian laid out on a bed rasping for breath. With his heart thumping wildly in his chest and fear rising up his throat Jules gingerly stepped forward to the bed and revealed himself to the dying rabbit.
'Ah… Ah knew Arthur would fi-find yah..' Buchanan sounded in a slow rasping whisper, his moss-green eyes slipped in and out of focus as he struggled to breathe. He coughed slightly as he clung to life, desperate to say his final piece before death took him.
'I'm here for ya bud, I'm here..' The cobalt-blue hedgehog uttered softly, taking the small wooden stool by the hospital bed and gripping Buchanan's hand tightly, giving it a comforting squeeze and feeling the rabbit-mobian return it. The light-brown-furred rabbit then pulled their linked hands towards his chest and rested them over the gauze bandage that covered his fatal bullet-wound. It was already stained crimson as the blood was starting to seep through the bandaging.
'Y-yah always were g-good t'me an' Missy.. Yah g-gonna have t'take c-careh of her fo' me now li'l p-p-partnah.' The light-brown-furred rabbit-mobian stuttered, forcing his words out with difficulty as he could feel the cold wash of death approaching now. His fingers tightened around Jules' fingers to the point where it almost hurt the hedgehog's white-gloved hand.
'B-Buck… I…' Jules faltered in his own words, his cobalt-blue pointed-ears now lying flat across his head as the first of the hot tears he had been holding back rolled forth over his light-tanned muzzle and dampening the edge of his cobalt-blue facial-fur.
'It's alrigh'…' Buchanan sighed; his breathe starting to rattle a bit now as the end was almost here. 'J-jist m-make sho m-mah k-k-k-kit git's mah banjo… an' if… if yah see m-mah bruh-brothah Beau..' His words faltered once more as the mobian-rabbit gave a horrible wheezing breath, his words now barely more than a rasping whisper. 'T-tell him… I'm sorrah..' And with that Buchanan Rabbot's moss-green eyes closed, his grip went slack as his breath stopped.
For a long time Jules Hedgehog just sat there, feeling nothing but numbness by the dead body of his commanding officer, his neighbour and his friend…
…It was incredibly late in the night when Sargent Jules Hedgehog finally found his way back to his billet and none of the remaining Knothole Dandies were awake to greet him. The cobalt-blue hedgehog could not remember leaving the hospital tent, nor could he even recall ambling back to the billet itself, it was all just a meaningless blur as his mind could only focus on the fact that Buchanan was dead. As he made his way through the row of beds towards the private room he had always shared with the light-brown-furred rabbit he noted the empty beds of the missing soldiers who had died out in the field and the lumps of the few soldiers he had left. Whether they were asleep or just pretending to be was unclear, it didn't matter to Jules either way as he was in no mood to be spoken to right now. He just moved towards his private room and shut the door.
Jules stripped off his tattered and disgusting uniform and climbed the ladder to his top bunk. He curled himself up into a foetal position and merely lay on his side facing the wall and gazing at the few pictures he had stuck on the wall. It was only now did the enormity of what had happened seem to hit him and the almost nineteen year old hedgehog trembled with grief and tried to blink back the tears that were threatening to break free once more. For a short while he lay there rocking himself slowly before he grew uncomfortable with the position. A curious rustle sounded when the cobalt-blue hedgehog moved his legs out of his foetal position and Jules lifted his head to find a small rectangular object sitting on top of his sheets..
..It was a letter addressed to him..
He hadn't noticed it before and it certainly wasn't his brother's handwriting, or Alicia's either. Curious to know who could possibly be writing to him Jules picked up the letter and tore open the envelope, discarding it as he unfolded the piece of paper inside:
Dear Jules, it has been so long since I have seen you. I think about you constantly. I know I shouldn't but I cannot help it. I worry about you too, ever since my father told me you had been transferred into the army. Is this wrong of me? I miss you terribly. I wonder if you miss me too but perhaps that is a bit presumptuous of me, there are thousands of fine womobians out there for you to choose from, all of them far more attainable than I am. Yet still I cannot help how I feel, I pray that you find a way back to me my love... I'll be waiting. Forever yours, Aleena.
For a long moment the cobalt-blue hedgehog merely stared at the piece of paper he was holding while laid out on his back, hardly able to process what he was reading. He read the letter again, more carefully this time. There was something soothing about it and as he brought the paper to his black nose he could smell a faint hint of her flower perfume coming from it. He then laid back against his pillow and clutched the letter close to him, closing his eyes..
'I miss you too..' Jules uttered sleepily before falling into a dreamless sleep…
Little Notes:
Hi peeps, is everyone as emotionally drained as me? This chapter has been particularly difficult to write and has gone through several edits and rewrites before I was happy to post it. The chapter has such an epic amount of high and low points to it that I'm practically exhausted… and that doesn't even cover the amount of late nights I've stayed up just to prepare the chapter!
Ok, our first view of the Overlanders here and I want to explain something here. As far as I'm concerned the Overlanders are humans. In fact I kind of view the term 'Overlander' as a mobian word for 'human'. I know Archie tried to separate the two but that just overcomplicates the issue too much for my liking and I really wanted to strip this war right back to its fundamentals and work with that and that alone, my plot is complicated enough without the extra headache of that!
And poor Buck… the first real casualty that was close to Jules in this war. I loved this guy but unfortunately he was a very necessary loss for the plot to move forward. He will be greatly missed… by me at the very least anyway. I tried so hard to make his death believable it went through three rewrites alone it was almost maddening but it was this final one that touched my heartstrings and caused me to stop editing..
Alright, we have the first of our shifty characters coming in to play now and there's going to be more from him in the next chapter along with another new plot twist (god I'm never gonna be getting these down in number but nevermind eh?) more on that next time..
Until then guys…
~Ditzy x