Shinobi form a band of Freedom Fighters! Led by

Shadow the Hedgehog, the Shinobi have

trained a band of insurgence to fight

the Separatists on the planet

Delphius. With the help of the

Shinobi, the Freedom Fighters escaped capture

and infiltrated the heavily

fortified city of Oracle.

Now our heroes have launched an

armed campaign to subvert the

Separatist occupation of the

planet. The Shinobi Council continue

to observe and advise as the Fighters

strive to gain momentum against the

Separatist forces. Despite the

absence of civilian casualties,

public fear has ensued as reports

of the Fighters' daring strikes

circulate throughout the city….

Cyrus was in the city hiding behind a stand as a group of Egg Pawns stood in the middle of the street. He threw a badnik popper at the group and its detonation disabled them all. The whole crowd stared at the badniks in confusion as Cyrus casually walked away and met with Amy. Elsewhere two Pawns were speaking to a mole in an alley "Your identification failed" "That's not possible" "You are coming with us". Suddenly Harvey Who appeared and shot the Pawns scaring the civilians around him, he ran away as a cloaked Espio watched. On a rooftop Chloe was looking through her sniper scope while Shadow stood next to her. On the ground Fang led two men to a shied roadblock being manned by a single Pawn. Chloe shot the Pawn in the head before hitting the control panel next to it disabling the shield. A crab badnik appeared and fired at the roof but the two men with Fang ran out and destroyed it with blaster fire. Chloe then saw three more Egg Pawns run into the street "The insurgents are attacking again. That is the third time this rotation", but she quickly shot them causing her to smirk "That should give King Max something to think about". Shadow chuckled "I'm sure you've gotten his attention". They both slid down the roof and met with the others.

On a balcony at the palace, King Max, a chipmunk wearing a blue uniform was looking out at the city when a penguin came up behind him "Dodan Pa has been summoned and awaits your order, my lord". Max turned to him "What about the terrorists?" "They've attacked a checkpoint near the canal and two badnik patrols". Max scoffed "If they think destroying a few badniks is going to effect change, they've run a fool's errand". They entered the throne room "One more thing, my lord. The royal carriage was ambushed soon after it left the residence". This got Max's attention "Hmm, an attempt on my life" "It seems that way" "Get my predecessor in here". Max sat on his throne as two Metals entered with an elderly yellow tanuki with a white moustache. Max stared down at him "You surprise me. Engaging with extremists is beneath you. Do you really want your crown back so badly?" "I only want freedom for my people". Max scoffed "Your supporters are responsible for terrorist acts against the kingdom and our allies" "I didn't know that. You've made it quite impossible for me to stay informed of anything outside of my cell". Max glared down at him "Call off the attacks" "I cannot call off what I did not dictate. What you're up against is simply the will of the people. It's up to the King to embrace, bend, or break it. And I am no longer the king". Max stood up with clear anger in his eyes "Stop the attacks, or you will atone with your life!" "It is you that must end the attacks by ending this badnik occupation".

The group were walking through the city streets and entered a small building. They entered a room and sat in a circle; the Shinobi removed their cloaks "Your success will not go unnoticed" Shadow said causing the Fighters to cheer. Espio nodded "I agree, but we need to be mindful of public perception. What was your observation, Commander?". Amy looked regretful "The people were fearful, Master" "Indeed. Judging from the reactions I saw today, I'm afraid they'll mistake your intentions". This didn't seem to deter Harvey "We need to do more damage. A few dozen broken badniks won't free Delphius". Chloe nodded in agreement "Without their support, our efforts are meaningless. The people need to believe we can succeed" "If they're afraid, they won't support us. We need to assure them of our intentions" Cyrus said. "I don't understand. Why are they afraid?" Harvey asked. Chloe sighed "They're afraid we're not strong enough to win. We need to earn their trust". Shadow nodded "You'll have plenty of time to earn their trust. All of you are going to be very busy". Fang smirked "Today was only a taste. You'll get your chance" "In the meantime, make the most of your victories. Welcome and learn from them" Espio said. Cyrus began to ponder "Perhaps if we hit something big, give a show of strength, they will overcome their fear and join us" "Do you have something in mind?" Amy asked, "I know the perfect target". The group exited the building "I think they're ready to give the 501st some competition" Shadow joked to Fang, "Let's not get carried away, General, though these Fighters have impressed me". Espio nodded "We will share the development with the Shinobi Council. Amy will remain here as an advisor. Monitor them and report back with their progress". Amy bowed her head and Shadow put his hand on her shoulder "Are you up for it, Snips? Or would you like to return to Mobotropolis" "No, Master. I want to stay". Espio nodded "Good. We should continue to provide supplies and rings, but they must learn to operate on their own. Their survival depends on it" "Yes, Master". Shadow, Espio and Fang walked away as Amy watched.

Chloe and the others were on the roof of a building watching a power station through her scope. Cyrus used his binoculars and saw a group of Pawns exiting the station "This power generator feeds substations across the city. We hit it, the entire grid falls" "How does that help us? Badniks are no longer linked to central control. They operate individually" Chloe asked. "Yes, but they still need power to recharge. If we take out this facility, it will knock out the power grid, and then it will only be a matter of time until the badniks are brought to a standstill, literally". Amy watched the station "If you can carry the plan out by nightfall, you'll maximize your strike capability" "Okay, so we just need figure out how to destroy the power station" Chloe said, "We'll need to do more surveillance". Harvey smirked "Those badniks should have all the intel we need stored up in those tin cans of theirs, right?". Amy nodded "They should" "Then I'll get us one". Harvey slid down the roof and onto the street. They waited a few minutes then Harvey came back up now holding a Pawn head looking very pleased with himself. He hooked it up to a small device and they saw a hologram of the power station "Sentries at every access point inside and out". Cyrus examined the hologram "We can't sustain combat against their numbers" "Maybe, but we're fast and have the element of surprise. All we need is something with heavy firepower" Chloe said. Cyrus pondered "If we give them enough trouble, they'll call for reinforcements". Chloe understood what he was getting at "Like a tank. I could provide cover while you hijack it". Harvey grinned "Then we use their own weapon and bring the badniks to their knees".

Later that night the group were split up on either side of a street with a speeder in the middle. They waited until eventually a patrol of Pawns and Omegas arrived. They went around the speeder, one of the Fighters pressed a detonator and an EMP wave released disabling most of the badniks. Harvey and Cyrus both threw poppers taking out even more leaving only a single Pawn who Chloe let call for back up before shooting him in the head "Let's hope they send a tank" Amy said. They however then heard jets "Gammas!" Amy yelled and they all ran. Amy gave Chloe and the other fighters cover when the Gammas arrived as Harvey and Cyrus went round the alleys to get behind them. They made it and snuck up towards the Gammas without getting noticed and fired through the joints in the armour destroying them. They then heard a tank stomping from around a street corner with an Omega escort. "Split up!" Amy yelled, she gave Chloe cover as she fired on the Omegas with her rifle. Harvey and Cyrus ran close to the tank "Let's move" they both took out poppers and climbed onto it. They both threw them into the hatches before jumping off and the tank was now disabled. Everyone regrouped behind the tank and waited incase anymore badniks came but they didn't hear anything. "Let's get this thing moving" Harvey said before he and Cyrus removed the disabled badniks from the tank and climbed in. Harvey tried to work the controls, "What're you waiting for" "Give me a second". He press one of the buttons which but it just made a noise, "Do you know what you're doing" "Yeah". He kept pressing buttons but nothing worked. Chloe peeked her head in through the hatch "You boys having a problem" "No problem. Why?" "Well hurry up then. We need to get moving before they realize this tanks gone missing". Harvey rolled his eyes "Fine. You try" "Okay". They switched places "We're running out of time". She took out a small device which she connected to the console. "I was gonna do that" Harvey said, now it was Chloe's turn to roll her eyes "Uh-huh". The engine started up and Chloe let Harvey pilot it.

Harvey and Cyrus drove the tank to the station as Amy and Chloe ran of foot to a market stand. Chloe looked through her scope and saw a group of badniks at the entrance to the station. She fired at the badniks causing them to advance forward to them. Amy saw more coming from across the street and gave Chloe cover as she continued firing. The tank arrived and trampled over the badniks and fired at the door blowing it open. Metals suddenly ran out and they were too fast for Chloe to shoot. She charged forward and used her pistol, her and Cyrus managed to shoot them as Harvey recharged the cannon. Amy watched as the cannon fired into the station destroying it and the covering the city in darkness. She then saw the three freedom fighter use the darkness to disappear into the city "Looks like all that training is paying off".

Max was watching from his palace with the penguin standing next to him "My Lord, without power, the badniks will be massacred" "This loss will work for us" he responded calmly before walking away.

Freedom Fighter's all over the city used infra-red to attack squads of badniks easily. Civilians saw this "It's the Freedom Fighters!" "Fight for Delphius!" "They're destroying the badniks" "Freedom!". Chloe even saw four civilians cheering over a transport tank which was on fire.

The group were back at the hideout celebrating while there were holograms of Shadow, Espio and Fang. Chloe hugged Harvey before going to Cyrus. Fang looked to Espio "Chloe's a born leader" "And quite courageous, I hear". Shadow then noticed Amy staring at Chloe "Amy, remember what I told you about staying focused". Amy sighed "I can't help it, Master" "I understand". Amy stared at him in surprise "You do?" "I do. But try to remember, always put purpose ahead of your feelings". Espio then stepped forward and everyone turned to him "This development will surely get Dimitri's attention. He will respond harshly. They will stop at nothing to find you. You must adapt and continue to confront them in order to liberate Delphius". "We will" "And we shall win" Harvey and Chloe said. Espio nodded "In that, I have no doubt". Shadow then stepped forward "Now you must rally the people. You'll need their support. Your ability to influence them will also determine your capacity to represent them not only on the battlefield but off of it, against your enemies, even within your own ranks. Your commitment will inspire others. Your conviction will lead to victory". Espio nodded "After tonight the people will be ready to follow. You will need a leader for them to rally behind".

Max was speaking to a hologram of Dimitri "They are waging a very public war. Every trespass is an embarrassment" "Your forces cannot manage a small band of terrorists?". Nigel started to look nervous "My Lord, your badniks have become ineffective against the mounting attacks". Dimitri didn't look pleased "I thought I could trust you to rule Delphius. I find this report most disappointing". Max sighed "It seems that the insurgents are far more organised than they were in the past. The attack against the power generators proves that. Perhaps it is time you send me better reinforcements than the badniks I have". Dimitri stared at him for a moment "I will grant you this request and not only will I send you better badniks but a better general". A hologram of a Swatbot appeared but he looked different from the usual model. This one was taller and bulkier with a red and purple colour scheme. "This is our new Swatbot. I assure you he will succeed where you have failed".

Harvey was speaking to the others "We need to build on our momentum and continue our attacks to keep them off balance" "We have to assure the people first. If we keep disrupting their lives, we risk alienating them. We have to gain their trust" Cyrus said. Chloe nodded "I agree with both of you. We can balance both. We also need to recruit others to join us. Delphius is ours. We will remind everyone and keep reminding them until we get it back". The group all cheered "Delphius is ours! Delphius is ours! Free Delphius". One of them suddenly stood up on a crate and raised her glass "All in favour of Chloe as our leader, raise your hand". Everyone did so, Harvey was surprised but then nodded "Okay. Looks like it's been decided. You're the leader". He then took a drink and walked out of the building "Harvey" Chloe said but he ignored her. She was about to follow but Cyrus stopped her "Let him go. He just needs to blow off some steam. He'll be back". Chloe sighed "I can't" she walked past Amy "Why?". Chloe glanced at her "He's my brother" she followed him outside.