Here it is. The big moment. Revan's true face is revealed to the FF. Enjoy.
The Freedom Fighters, both Knothole and Downunda, ducked into another hall to avoid a group of Dark Legion and Raiju Clan members rushing by. Sally peered out, looking around. Once it was all clear, she motioned for them to move. Sneaking around, this brought back memories for the princess. The raids on Robotropolis, the planning, the adrenaline pounding in her blood.
But there was that nagging feeling, that something was wrong...something was going to happen. Shaking it off was a challenge.
Focusing on the current mission, she heard the sound of blasters below. Everyone looked down to see the GUN agents surrounded by Sith, Dark Legion, Raiju, and Mandalorians. They were removing the C4 from the place, talking in Basic.
"Shoot, there went that plan!" Bunnie hissed, making Sally nod.
"We need a terminal for NICOLE to plug in." Sally said, about to move on again.
She was stopped by a coms coming to life and Shadow's voice coming out of it.
"Blue Faker, I found your boyfriend Tails."
Sonic snapped his head to his coms, making him scowl.
"He's not my boyfriend, Shadow! I'll be right there." Sonic said, looking at Sally.
The Princess nodded, Sonic speeding off with a loud boom. The group was about to start again when movement out of the sides of their eyes caught their attion.
A shadow flying through the air. Looking up they saw it was Rouge flying above them, Barby seething.
"That flying rat! She is going after treasure at a time like this?!"
"Guys...something is wrong...way wrong. This place...its so negative." Guru moaned, leaning against the wall. "Messin' with my vibes here...so much darkness and emptiness..."
"Guru?" Walt asked, seeing his friend fall down, shaking and crying.
The wallaby turned to the others, frowning.
"Go on ahead. I'm gonna stay with Guru. Hells, follow Rouge. She might take you to a terminal."
The other FF nodded, looking at Barby. She shook her head. She was going on with them. The group headed off, leaving the pair behind.
STHSW
Rouge flew to another level, her senses telling her that she was on the right track. To think...there was a Chaos Emerald here of all places. She had sensed it as soon as she had stepped foot on this station. Once everyone had split up, she had taken off, heading for the place the Emerald was at.
She stepped through the doors, seeing a massive chamber within, another door protected by a single computer terminal. She flew toward the terminal, scoffing at the Sith's lack of security. Standing before it, she looked at the keyboard...and groaned.
"Of course...who needs a security system when the language isn't even in Mobian?!" Rouge hissed, rubbing her head.
She began to hit buttons, getting buzzes from it. She grew more and more frustrated with the terminal, but her ears twitched. There was a snap hiss of something activating and she shot up into the air, barely missing the black blade that hummed in the air where she was once at. Preforming a loop, Rouge landed on the durasteel floor, entering a combat stance. The figure that had attacked her spun around, the hood obscuring the face.
"Don't know what you hope to do...but you will not succeed." The figure said, their voice female.
"Says you!" Rouge said, taking flight and preforming her screw attack.
The figure simply waved her arm, Rouge going wide and hitting the door. The door didn't even have a mark on it when she stopped her attack. She spun around again, seeing the figure attempting to bisect her.
Once more, Rouge took flight, the laser sword missing her by scant inches. She felt the icy cold energy of the tip, frowning. This one was not holding back at all. The figure watched as Rouge stayed in the air, out of her reach. Once more, the figure reached a hand out, something coming loose.
Rouge watched the figure stretch out her arm, wondering what they were doing. She got her answer when something slammed into her back, making her tumble to the ground with a cry. She landed in a heap and went still.
The figure looked at the downed bat, still keeping their saber active. Cautiously, they walked to the downed thief. Seeing that she wasn't moving, they deactivated their saber, getting even closer. The figure looked down at the bat's face.
Rouge's eyes snapped open and delivered a hard kick to the head of the figure. They managed to get their arm up, but it still sent them flying back, their hood falling off. Rouge stared. The now fallen off hood revealed the face of a very familiar vixen.
"Kriff!" Fiona swore, glaring at Rouge who was unnerved by the hellish eyes she now sported. "Just like in that illegal fight! Things don't go your way, you fight dirty!"
"Well...this is unexpected, Fiona. Scourge joined up with Revan?" Rouge asked, looking around for the Green Hedgehog.
"Scourge is dead. I killed him. And my name is Traya." Fiona stated, making Rouge look at her.
Scourge? Dead by her hands? Rouge didn't believe it. She ignored the little voice warning her not to aggravate the vixen, laughing haughtily.
"Well, isn't this precious? You joined up with the Sith to save your own skin. So...how long until you betray Revan?"
Traya's entire form went rigid. Betray Revan? How...How dare that bitch say that! Rouge caught the look of rage and pressed on, thinking she could make the vixen sloppy.
"I mean, let's face the facts, hon. You betrayed Nic, the FF, Doc Fini, and now Scourge. Its only a matter of time before the hottest and youngest man comes along and you betray Revan for their pretty face." Rouge said smug.
Traya shook with pure malice for the bat. How dare she! HOW FUCKING DARE SHE! SHE WOULD NEVER BETRAY REVAN OR THE SITH FOR SUCH A SHALLOW REASON!
"Face Fi...that's all you do. Its betray." Rouge said, laughing mockingly.
"SHUT IT YOU BITCH!" Traya screamed, letting loose her anger in the form of a Force Storm.
Rouge's eyes went wide at the massive storm of lightning. She briefly wondered how Fiona could do that.
That second of thought cost her dearly.
The massive Force attack crashed into her, making the bat scream in pure agony. Slowly, the white energy became red, Traya's eyes becoming a darker yellow.
"I will NEVER betray Revan and the Sith! They have made me stronger, they have given me a home, HE HAS ACCEPTED ME FOR ME!" Traya screamed, pouring all of her hate, all of her rage at Rouge's words into her attack.
Rouge fell to the ground, thrashing around as her skin broke and blood began to sizzle and boil. Traya felt the attack ebb away and panted, staring at the smoking body, the bat still breathing, but heavily scarred.
"Look at you...not so haughty now are you?!" Traya snarled, bringing Rouge to her via a Force hold. "You got some nerve, saying I'll betray...when you already betrayed your employer and the planet with this attack!"
Rouge just stared through her one unclosed eye, staring in fear and horror at Traya's entire form. The door opened again, making Traya look up.
There stood the Freedom Fighters, staring at the sight before them. Traya dropped Rouge onto the floor, activating her blade once more. Calmly, Traya pulled out a Communicator and turned it on.
"To any Sith patrols, this is Lady Traya. The Freedom Fighters have been located at the Vault. Need backup." Traya said coolly.
"Understood, my lady!"
Traya fell into Form I, staring at the FF. She recognized the Knothole ones, but not the koala that was with them. Didn't matter to her. They were all attacking the station and needed to be dealt with. Antoine drew his sword, nervously stepping up.
"S-s-s-surrender, Fiona!" Antoine stammered out, cursing himself for sounding like his young self again.
"To you? Never." Traya said, rushing forward and slashing.
Antoine parried the blow, but his eyes shot open at seeing the metal get sliced through like a hot knife through butter. Traya kicked the coyote away, snarling as the rest surrounded her. Bunnie's arm became a cannon and fired an energy blast. Traya deflected it with her saber, making the rest scatter while Bunnie shouted apologies. Traya reached out with the Force and crushed one of the jet legs she had, damaging it enough so the rabbit could still walk, but no longer fly.
Bunnie crashed hard, Antoine hurrying over and helping her up. The koala managed to get around Traya's defenses, but the vixen simply deactivated her saber and switched to the unarmed version of Form II.
The pair exchanged blows, Barby sweating from the effort. Traya was not even winded, blocking the blows that would and could cause steel doors to break. Traya grappled her arms and threw the koala into Sally, the vixen jumping away from a attempted tackle from Antoine.
The vixen landed near the doors, crossing her arms.
"I expected as much from you...weak."
"We're not weak, Fiona..." Sally said, standing up.
"Oh, but you are, Princess...you didn't put up a fight when the Council hacked our ship. You didn't put up a fight when your father emotionally and mentally abused you, allowing the false heir Elias to take over."
"Elias is the heir!" Bunnie shouted, Traya shaking her head.
"Who led you against Robotnik? Who kept everything and everyone together through a decade of war? Who actually gave a fucking damn about her people that she became Queen at the tender age of sixteen?" Traya said, pointing at Sally. "SHE did. Her brother stayed on an island, far from his birthright and training. Elias is no king...just a pretender."
"Even so...you can't take us all on!" Barby shouted, making Traya laugh.
"I just did...and I won." Traya said, seeing the silver armor of the Sith Troopers behind them. "Commander...stun them."
The FF's eyes widened before they were hit with several blue rings, passing out. The last thing Sally saw before her eyes closed shut was Traya's expression of shock at being told something.
STHSW
Sally woke up with a start. The first thing she noticed she was in a cell of some kind, laying on a berth. She swung her legs over the berth and got up, looking around. The cell was large, sixty feet by sixty feet. The door was a field of some kind. Walking up to it, she lightly pushed on the door and hissed when she felt a shock of energy hit her.
Reaching for NICOLE, she saw the handheld was not there. Cursing, she began to walk around. Her pacing led her to find no vent to shimmy through to get out. Sighing, she sat back down on the berth.
After an unknown amount of time passed, she heard the click clack of high heels. Standing at the door, she saw a red female echidna walk in, two Sith Legion members near her.
"Lien-Da, I presume." Sally said, crossing her arms.
"Princess Sally. Its an honor to meet you...though I wish it was under better circumstances." Lien-Da said, sliding a key across a reader.
The energy wall faded and the two Sith Legion placed shackles on the princess' wrists. Sally didn't resist, knowing that doing so would be fruitless. Once the shackles were on, she was brought out of the cell and began the trek to who knows where.
"Where is everyone?" Sally demanded, the four now walking.
Lien-Da answered. They were around, but on different cell levels. This was to discourage them from trying to break out. Lien-Da marched with a stiff purpose, the Sith Legion members doing the same. Sally bit her lip, trying to figure out a way out. Seemingly reading her, Lien-Da spoke.
"Don't try it, Princess. Master Revan wants to talk with you and the rest of the FF."
"So you traded one master for another?" Sally bit out, Lien-Da stopping and spinning around.
"What I did was save my people from becoming nothing but slaves to that fatass called Eggman." The Grand Commisar snarled, getting in Sally's face. "His Legionization process would have all of my people equipped with Microbombs to ensure loyalty."
Sally's eyes went wide. Microbombs? The echidna nodded, stating that Revan was the one to tell them.
"I swore my life and lives of my people to him because he wanted to save us. Hells, it was the same with the Raiju Clan! He's been nothing but honest...and I thank him for that. He's made us so much more..."
The group continued in silence for some time. After a while, Sally sighed.
"Alright, I'm sorry...I didn't realize your people relied on Cybernetics so much. But I have to ask...why not come to us?"
Here, Lien-Da gave her a deadpanned expression.
After all the Dark Legion had done, before Eggman, did the council really want to agree to helping their own enemies? Sally saw the point and nodded.
"So...where are you taking me?"
"Here."
Sally's eyes saw a door before them, opening to admit them in. Inside was a large table, a window overlooking the system outside. Sally admitted it was very beautiful, seeing the planets below. At the table sat the FF, Walt, Barby and Guru on one side, Antoine, Bunnie, and NICOLE on the other. All of them were shackled like she was, making helping them out nearly impossible. She was placed into a chair, NICOLE's handheld before her. Bunnie looked up, frowning.
"Sorry, Sally girl. They took out a lot of critical components of my arms and legs. No big escape plan fer us." Bunnie said, Sally nodding.
"Its fine." Sally said, seeing the group that had escorted her here leave. "Walt, Guru, how-?"
"After you left, several Silvers showed up and stunned us. I woke up in a cell only to be later escorted here. Guru is better, but still nervous." Walt said, explaining how they were caught.
Sally nodded, confirming to the rest she too woke up in a cell far from anyone. Clearly, the Sith knew of their exploits to get out of any kind of trap when they work together. The question was how? Did Tails tell them? Probably did.
Across the room, a door slid open, Traya walking in and carrying a scorched head in her arms. T3 rolled beside her, beeping and whirring, making the vixen shake her head.
"No, Teethree. HK is still getting used to his new body...and besides, Revan wants them all ALIVE not dead. HK is way too eager to try out his new body and all the weapons he's got."
T3 beeped several times, Traya rolling her eyes. She set the head down, revealing it to be a droid's head. T3 extended an arm, plugging into the head. One of the eyes came to life and began to roll around, taking in everything before focusing on the FF.
"A-a-a-a-a-a-ah...I see-e-e-e-e-e-e-e. I perished?" The droid spoke, its mouth lighting up.
"You did. Shadow blew up the C4."
The droid blinked, indicating it understood.
"S-s-s-s-s-s-so-o-o-o-o-o he's finally doing it-t-t-t-t-t-t?" it asked, looking its optic at Traya.
Traya nodded. The eye blinked twice, a form of nodding.
"Very well." It said, focusing on the FF. "G-g-g-g-g-g-greetings! I am the Tactical Analytical Infiltration Lookalike Sith Droid."
All of the FF gave greetings to the droid, making its optic blink several times.
"Oh dear...its seems Lord Revan-n-n-n-n's assumption was correct. Between the group...they have only a combined IQ of ten."
That made all of the FF scowl, Traya laughing her head off.
"The hell you mean by that, you scrap of tin!?" Bunnie snarled, making the droid's eye dim.
"I merely stated the truth-th-th-th-th, Miss Rabbot. The fact that you missed the obvious confirms Lord Revan's assumption rather accurately."
Bunnie scowled, but the door opened again, this time revealing the Prowers. Both of them were pale as a ghost, Rosemary weeping while Amadeus comforted her. Sally wanted to ask when a third figure walked in behind the pair. Sally's eyes widened before narrowing.
Revan. The Dark Lord strode past the pair, heading for the lone seat. He gave a nod to both Traya and the Droid who bowed though in the Droid's case, it simply dimmed its eye. Revan turned to the group, his mask staring at each and every one of the Mobians.
For several long minutes, no one said anything. So when the baritone voice of Revan echoed, it made everyone jolt.
"I am...so very disappointed." Revan said.
Disappointed? What was the Dark Lord talking about?
"I expect so much when I returned. Sally and Sonic married, the city of Mobotropolis restored, a new generation of Freedom Fighters running around..." Revan said.
"Returned?! Emperor Revan, the first time we ever MET you was at Chan-un!" Sally protested.
"Well...you have met me...just never in this form." Revan said, reaching up to his helmet.
There was a slight hiss and the mask came away. Revan placed the mask on the table, face up. He reached up and removed his hood, revealing his face.
Sally and all of the FF gasped.
Revan was a Mobian! A fox Mobian! The fur was a deep rust orange, the muzzle white and the eyes were similar to Traya's, only they were a darker shade of yellow, bordering gold. Sally shivered at the sight of them. She thought Robotnik's eyes were evil, but those eyes...they spoke of even greater evil. Evil that was needed.
"Do you recognize me, Princess Sally?" Revan demanded, shaking the chipmunk from her thoughts.
She shook her head, Revan scowling. He turned to Barby, asking the same question.
He got a no. His scowl deepened, turning to Walt.
One by one, the FF were asked if they recognized him. One by one, they told him no.
Revan's scowl was so deep now, the shadows on his face seemed to grow and make his eyes glow brightly. He spun away from them all turning to the window, staring out it. Traya walked up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"It seems you will have to reveal that part of you, my Lord." Traya said, Revan sighing, but nodding.
"You're right, Traya." Revan said, reaching up to his cloak chain.
There was some clinking before the cloak fell away. Traya quickly gathered it, allowing Revan to turn to the group again. Once more, the FF were shocked!
The Mobian had two tails! Both were flicking in agitation, one of them had a band of black around its tip, clearly a scar of some kind from a battle. Revan stared at the group once more, ignoring Rosemary's renewed sobs.
"Do any of you recognize me now?" He demanded, anger clear on his face.
Sally Acorn scowled; he was not recognizable at all to her! She NEVER met this fox before in her life! Why did he keep saying that they knew him!? A sudden gasp made her turn, seeing her best friend, Bunnie, covering her mouth, tears in her eyes.
"No...no, no it can't be..." The rabbit said, horrified.
Another gasp made the princess turn to Barby, her own face one of shocked horror.
"I-Impossible...its not true...its NOT!" The koala screamed, Walt and Guru staring as well, too shocked to say anything.
Sally heard Antoine speaking in Merican, his face pale and shaking.
What was going on with everyone!? They were all acting so strangely! So the fox had two tails! What was-
Her blood turned to ice as a thought entered her mind. The droid...it said its name was Tactical Analytical Infiltration Sith Droid. But that spelled out...
Sally shook her head. She refused to believe that! But another treasonous thought entered her mind.
All Mobians had one tail or no tail, depending on their species. Foxes only had one tail, but she had never heard of a fox with TWO tails.
Except for one.
Revan had two tails. Revan was a Fox. Revan was a Mobian. But...it couldn't be him. He...he was gone. But there was something pushing her. To make her take a look, a closer look.
Sally slowly turned to look at Revan, this time with a more critical eye. The fox had his arms crossed, his eyes narrowed in anger. She looked his face over for something, anything that HE would have had.
She recalled holding HIM in her arms as a happy babbling baby...and there was a star mark on his nose. She got up, stepped around her seat, getting closer to Revan. She stood on her tip toes to see his nose. Revan simply looked at her, staring down his nose.
Sally saw it; a tiny star on the nose. Her legs gave out, landing on her butt, staring up at Revan who loomed before her like a massive monster. Tears welled up in her eyes, icy cold fear gripping her heart.
"No...nononononono! NO IT ISN'T TRUE! YOU'RE NOT HIM! YOU'RE NOT, YOU'RE NOT!" Sally began to scream hysterical.
"Oh, But I am. I am, Aunt Sally. I'm...home." Revan said, a wicked gleam in his eyes.
Darth Revan, Dark Lord of the Sith, Slayer of Malak, Destroyer of Korriban, Emperor of the Sith, Master of the Force, Savior of Gulark...was Miles 'Tails' Prower, former Junior Freedom Fighter.
Okay, let's be honest. I betcha a LOT of you all saw this coming from Light-years away. Yes, I always planned for Revan to be Tails right from the get-go. Originally, I was going to have Revan use a Dark Side technique that allowed you to create a 'Force Clone' as it were. Such a move was used in Dark Horse Comics, Dark Empire. Luke used this move to trick Leia and Han into escaping the Planet Byss.
HOWEVER.
I figured this would scream too much of 'The Last Jedi' and given how people have reacted to this already, I modified it. The Tactical Analytical Infiltration Lookalike Sith Droid (T.A.I.L.S.) was born. The next chapter will show exactly HOW Tails became Revan. If you're fans of the Jedi, better be ready for them to be made out as monsters.