War in the Inner Zones! Freedom Fighter leader
Chloe Who has joined forces
with General Ebony after boldly
rescuing Delphius' former king
from execution, evading a trap set
by Separatist ally King Max the Chipmunk and
the badnik Swatbot general. Amid
growing public support and rising
unrest, Amy continues to monitor
the Freedom Fighters' efforts as they rally
around Dodan Pa to restore
his reign as the rightful king and
finally put an end to the
Separatist occupation of Delphius….
In the city market a cloaked Amy crossed the street and discreetly dropped a disc on the ground before getting out of sight. The disc the projected a massive hologram of Dodan Pa "My fellow subjects, I appear not as your king, but as a servant of Delphius". Hundreds of civilians stood around the hologram listening "We are in the midst of a great struggle. The Confederacy has used the recent attacks as an opportunity to tighten their hold on Delphius. They have accused me of leading these so-called terrorists. It is a lie the have engineered to further restrict your independence and use deadly force against our people. The truth is, I have never met them before now. I have come to know them as the true sons of Delphius. They are unwilling to surrender our freedom to those who conspire to take it from us. Our destiny is tied to them and this planet. We must all rise together to protect it". The message ended and the Egg Pawns on the street noticed they were getting some very bad glares "Uh, why are they looking at us that way". The crowd surrounded the Pawns and tore them apart by hand. On the roof of a building Amy climbed up and got on an eagle that was being ridden by Cyrus.
They arrived back at the new base outside the city and landed on a walkway where Harvey was waiting. Cyrus jumped off the eagle with a grin on his face "The people are turning against the badniks. There's rioting in the streets now". Harvey laughed "That's a beautiful thing". Chloe was standing near them petting one of the eagles "We need to keep the battle to the outskirts of the city" "Less structures and people" Cyrus said. Harvey nodded "But less niks. Their main force is in Oracle. We should join the fight down there and take it straight to King Max" "We all want victory, but not at the cost of innocent lives. If we fight door to door, no one is safe". Harvey scoffed "This is war, Chloe" "She's right". They turned and saw Dodan Pa, Amy stood next to him "I agree. The more you draw the badniks from the city to the highlands, the safer the people will be". Ebony then appeared and bowed to Dodan Pa "My men are at your command, my lord". Dodan Pa smiled "I believe there's a new contender" he then looked to Chloe "You will lead our forces including the Royal Army. Chloe is now the commanding general". Ebony hesitantly bowed "As you wish, my lord" "You and your Freedom Fighters renewed my faith in myself. Now I'm putting my faith in you". Chloe tried to hide her nervousness and bowed her head "Thank you, Your Majesty. Let's ride". Cyrus was about to say something to her but then stopped himself and called on of the eagles. Chloe was about to get on her own but then stopped. She smirked and went over to Cyrus and kissed him "Just in case". Cyrus smiled like an idiot as Chloe went back over the eagle. Amy was on her own and saw this but had a blank face. Cyrus then climbed on the eagle and sat in front of her. He looked back at Amy who suddenly smiled and affectionately punched his shoulder. Cyrus chuckled before making the eagle take off.
Max was on the balcony of the palace with the Swatbot "We are losing the public. If they turn against us, I fear the outcome" "Fear will bring them back" "We must eliminate Dodan Pa, General Ebony and the terrorists before the people commit to their efforts". He started waking back inside but the Swatbot spoke "General Ebony is weak. His army will not withstand the power of the Confederacy. Neither will the terrorists". A Metal then appeared "General, our scouts have located the main resistance forces in the mountains to the east". Max sighed "With the rioting in the city, how can we spare the troops to attack the insurgents in the mountains?" "Do not underestimate our means. If the insurgent army falls, the citizens will lose their courage, and order will be restored". Four Separatists gunships then flew in front of the palace and then headed to the mountains with a large group of badniks and tanks.
Chloe and the others landed on the edge of a cliff the "The badniks are almost here. Everyone, get ready". Ebony led her soldiers on the ground as the badnik army advanced. "Harvey, begin your attack" Chloe said, Harvey and a few others flew out on eagles and dropped grenades down destroying the front line of badniks. Ebony's group then starting firing as a turret up on the cliff shot at the beetle tanks. Harvey made another pass and managed to destroy one of the transports. It looked like the Freedom Fighters were winning but the gunships then arrived. They shot down one of Harvey's wingmen before destroying the turret. Chloe and Cyrus fired on the gunships, but their shields were too strong "Run!" Amy told them. They got on the eagles and flew away. Harvey saw one of the gunships firing on Ebony's men. He flew down to try and hit it with a grenade, but he was shot down and landed on the ground. Ebony helped him up and they both retreated. At the fall-back point Amy was speaking to Shadow and Espio "I take it the Fighters have Dimitri's full attention" "It's a full-scale war! They need our help. Please talk to the Council". Espio remained calm "Even Master Merlin would be wary at this point. The Council will not engage or involve the Republic in an internal affair" "The Separatists have a new gunship with a powerful ray shield. Nothing's getting past it" "I'm sorry, Amy. They will have to find a way. Don't stay there if their failure is certain. Evacuate who you can and return to Mobotropolis immediately. Do you understand".
Amy reluctantly nodded "Yes, Master" she ended transmission. Shadow didn't look happy "We need to help them" "We will do what we can to relocate the survivors" "Before they lose their planet". Espio sighed "We can't" "What difference does it make now? The Separatists know we're involved" "I don't disagree with you, Shadow, but to send Republic gunships defeats our purpose. We must stay true to our intentions, learns our lessons". Shadow tried to think "It doesn't have to look like we're the ones helping. What if another party was involved?" "Another party? Who in the galaxy would be running around with an extra batch of missiles?".
Chloe and Cyrus were still shooting down at the badniks when Amy ran up to them "Is the Republic going to help us?" "No" "What's it going to take?" Cyrus asked angrily. "King Max rules Delphius. Unless that changes, the Republic can't do anything" Amy said as Chloe and Cyrus gave their retreating troops cover fire. Harvey and Ebony took cover behind a large rock "At this rate, the niks aren't going to need reinforcements" "We have to regroup at the nest".
Manic the Hedgehog and his pirate gang were outside of their base on Mobodoon when Shadow's fighter landed in front of them. All the pirates raised their blasters as Shadow exited the fighter. Manic laughed "Shadow, my old friend. You come alone?" "For your service" "Oh, business! Good, good, good. That I understand". Shadow nodded "I need you to make a delivery for me". Manic tried to look offended "And is that all I am to you, Shinobi? A delivery boy" "I know that if I need arms shipped illegally, you're the man I need to come to". Manic grinned "Illegally? Ha! Now, why would a Shinobi need to deliver arms illegally" "How about I pay you well enough that you just deliver the missiles for me and don't ask any questions?". Manic laughed "Well, as long as you're not paying me in Republic rings, I'm sure I could accommodate your wishes, Master Shinobi".
The Fighters were inside their base "The highlands may slow down the badniks, but they won't stop the gunships" Harvey said. "Any word from Master Shadow?" Cyrus asked Amy, "Not yet". The others looked like they had given up except for Chloe "We're not done yet. Stagger our defences to the camp. Secure the approach. Stay in small teams. Make use of our training". Harvey smiled "You really are the best leader among us. Couldn't be more proud of you, sis" "I learned from the best, brother". Harvey and Ebony ran out and Cyrus turned to Amy with a desperate face "You have to help us" "I'll do what I can to protect you, but I can't fight this war for you". Cyrus turned away from her and left the room. Chloe sighed "We wouldn't have made it this far without you. I wish I could do more". They then suddenly heard an engine humming; they ran out and saw a cargo ship landing just outside the base and the group raised their blasters. The ship doors opened, and pirates came out carrying crates. Manic then walked out towards Chloe who he smirked at "Well, you could be my new favourite customer". Chloe rolled her eyes and Amy stepped forward "Manic, what're you doing here?". Manic sighed disappointedly "Oh, no, no, no. You should thank me, child. I have brought you a gift from Shadow and Espio". One of the pirates opened a crate revealing they were full of rocket launchers "Shoulder fired. Very expensive" Manic said proudly. Amy glared at him "Paid for?" "Very handsome-" a blaster bolt suddenly hit the ship. Manic saw Metals running towards the base "Oh! Oh, my, look at the time. Well, my work here is done". Manic and his men ran into the ship which flew away as Chloe whistled causing her eagle to fly down and grab the Metals before dropping them over the cliff. Chloe grunted "Uh, they must have seen Manic's ship" "It was only a patrol". Cyrus went over and carried as many rocket launchers as he could "We have to get these down to the others. He handed more to Amy and Chloe "I hope they work" "There's only one way to find out".
They flew back to the main battle and started handing out the launchers. A huge grin formed on Harvey's face and then ran out of cover. He fired at one of the gunships causing it to crash down to the ground "Haha. I love this!". Everyone started cheering but Chloe's commlink activated "Chloe, they're attacking the nest. They're after the king!" "Come on!". Chloe ran over to her eagle and headed back to the nest. Amy and Cyrus watched "She sure leads by example" "What good will that do her if she gets herself killed?".
A Separatists gunship shot down the Freedom Fighters on the nest walkway and then released two Metals "Find the king". Chloe then arrived and fired a rocket at the gunship but missed. It turned around and chased after her as Dodan Pa and two guards ran out of the nest and was chased by the Metals. Chloe flew low and jumped off the eagle which the gunship continued to pursue. Chloe then fired another rocket this time managing to hit it. She then saw the Metals and ran after them as Amy and Cyrus arrived. Dodan Pa made it to a cliff edge just before his two guards are shot dead. He turned around and prepared for the Metal to kill him, but Chloe then shot it in the head from behind. She then ran over to Dodan Pa and helped him "Are you alright, Your Majesty?" "Thanks to you". On the ground back at the battle there was one last gunship "This one's mine" Harvey said. He fired a rocket at the gunship causing it to spin out of control. Chloe saw that it was heading straight for them "Get down!" it hit the cliff damaging it and then crashed in front of Amy and Cyrus knocking them back. The edge around Chloe and Dodan Pa began to crack. Chloe quickly pushed Dodan Pa forward to safety before the ground fell around her "Chloe!" Harvey yelled. Amy ran forward and caught Chloe with the Force "I got you". She reached out to grab Chloe's hand, but the gunship's turret suddenly moved and shot Amy in the shoulder causing her to fall back and drop Chloe who screamed as she fell. Cyrus quickly shot the gunship turret. He and Amy looked over the edge and saw Chloe lying dead on the ground with Harvey crying over her. Amy closed her eyes solemnly as Cyrus fell to his knees with a devastated look on his face.
Max was on his throne looking enraged while speaking to a hologram of Dimitri "Your gunships have failed! I need more reinforcements". Dimitri raised his eyebrows "Really. General, what s your assessment of the situation?". The Swatbot turned to him "They have managed to penetrate our shields and are using the cover of the highlands against our forces. To defeat them will take… time" "A prolonged war does not interest me, General. Their group grows with every small victory". Max said nothing, "Then we are lost" "Salvage the remaining arms and withdraw the army. Bring them to the nearest Separatist outpost for relocation". Max stood up "What about-Ah!" the Swatbot shot him dead before leaving.
Amy and Cyrus ran up to Harvey who was cradling his sisters' body "It was my fault" he said. Cyrus kneeled in front of him "Harvey, it's not your fault. She knew what the risks were" he put his hand on Chloe's face "We all knew what it would take to free Delphius".
A massive crowd stood in front of the palace as Chloe's body was in a casket. Shadow and Espio were there watching as Harvey, Cyrus and Amy paid their respects to Chloe. Espio looked to Shadow "This has been quite a journey for your apprentice" "Chloe will be a powerful spirit in their lives" "Yes. For all of us". Amy looked to Harvey "I'm sorry for your loss" "Thanks, but it's over now. Let's just leave it at that" he walked away. Cyrus moved next to Amy "Chloe would be glad. Her sacrifice gave Delphius its freedom". Amy sighed "But at what cost. It's like you said. Many lives get caught between the Republic and the Separatists". Cyrus sighed "Amy, I may still not trust the Republic but after seeing the heroics and selfishness of the Shinobi I can at least say that you have another ally in this war". Amy didn't understand "What do you mean?" "Dodan Pa has appointed me Senator of Delphius. I will follow in my mother's footsteps and I will help to bring peace back to the galaxy". Dodan Pa then stood at Chloe's body and faced the crowd "Remember this day, the day Delphius became free again" the crowd cheered.