Luray, Virginia
September 24, UC 0079
1900 Hours, EST
The room Garma and his staff had gathered in was originally for private parties for guests, now it served a different purpose: a war room. He, Char, Schultz, and about a dozen other officers were gathered around the large, round table, with the lights turned down low and a projection of a physical map of the northern portion of the valley was projected on the table. A blue circle and a white polygon next to it were prominent features: the Anomaly and the enemy ship.
"Comrades," Garma began, "the Earth Federation has developed a mobile suit that is considerably better than our Zakus. It is aboard that new class of warship you encountered today. We have given her the codename 'Trojan Horse'. Lt. Commander Char here has been chasing her over the course of the previous week. Last Tuesday, he traced her path to Side 7, where a secret Feddie mobile suit development facility was discovered. He followed her to Earth and, in an astute move, forced her down into our territory."
"Why would the 'Horse' park right next to the alien city?" asked Darota.
"The subject of the aliens is largely still a mystery," said Garma. "We know that they are humanoid with animal-like traits and possess technology we have yet to see. The reasons as to the enemy's presence is unknown at this time."
"And what's her next move going to be?"
"You don't suppose she's going to make a push for the Atlantic?" Schultz posited.
Garma had already ruled that out. "Not likely," he said. "The AAR provided by Char after arriving from space suggests that her original trajectory was toward Brazil. The white mobile suit we saw in action today is a prototype and the objective of the 'Horse' is to deliver it to Jaburo."
"So if they leave the Anomaly, their most likely course would be southward," Schultz surmised.
"Meaning our flyboys at Sumter and Pensacola will be there to scrap her," one officer said confidently.
"That region's only on elevated alert," said Garma. "The guys on the 'Horse' would have to be either crazy or suicidal to push directly southward. Even if they were in good enough shape to push past Miami, every Jukon, Gaw, and Dopp in the Caribbean would be waiting for them. To top it all off, Garcia runs the northern coast of South America. It's a virtual glue factory."
"So that would mean they're going to go back the way they came in," said Char.
"Exactly," Garma confirmed. "I want to get my hands on that Federation mobile suit and I will lead the mission personally." The slide changed to one of the continental US, the vast majority shown to be under Zeon control; a white dot in the Virginia region marking the "Trojan Horse". "The plan is as follows," Garma continued, "the 'Horse' is trying to escape our airspace. She is going to make a push for Mexico, if anything. All installations along the border will be put on red alert and every little twitch she makes is going to be watched and recorded." He pointed at a spot in the west, Lake Mead. "We'll send two mobile divisions to point S-4, supported by a thousand units of cannon and AA missiles… and in one shot CRUSH THEM!" He pounded the table on "CRUSH THEM!".
"If you'll allow me a word, Commissar," said Darota, "we barely have the military strength to maintain the battle lines as is. Our troops are exhausted. I can't see any possible way to produce a full two divisions from them!"
"Pull troops from every division, from every front!" Garma ordered. "If we still don't have enough, I'll requisition more from father. Assemble our forces at point S-4. Understand!?"
"So Zeon has control of the bulk of Northam—er, North America?"
"Bright's more familiar with this war than we are," Sally told Sonic, "so I'm taking his word for it."
"Meaning the city's surrounded."
Sally nodded.
"That's the best news yet," said the Hedgehog, rolling his eyes.
"But what's going to happen if they attack again?" asked Fraw Bow. "NICOLE doesn't like fighting."
"And if the nanites require radio waves to control," Amuro added, "then that's going to be a problem."
Sonic had to give it to Amuro. "Yeah, NICOLE seemed to have a little trouble phasing onto the bridge. If the city doesn't want to go the way of Sand Blast, there's gotta be a way around the Minovsky particles."
"And what about Bunnie?" asked Fraw Bow. "I know she got sent to jail for desertion, but…"
"I'm going to see if I can grant her permission to join the volunteers as a form of exile," said Sally. "At least we can craft some sort of freedom for her."
"She's right," said Sonic. "Bunnie's as loyal as they come, and she's been more than just a big help to us."
"Amuro, Fraw Bow!"
The four looked to the side to see a buggy park in front of the diner, not that it HAD a parking lot. The voice was Ryu's, Hayato and Kai were with him.
"Sonic and Sally brought us here to eat," said Fraw. "His Uncle Chuck runs this diner."
"Lemme guess," said Kai, "they only serve vegan, bugs, and swamp moss."
"Actually, they've got actual meat here," said Amuro. "But the food's much smaller."
"They're omnivores?" said Ryu, a bit surprised.
"Why's this table so much bigger than the others on the patio?" asked Hayato, taking in the surroundings.
"NICOLE sized it up so Amuro and Fraw Bow could sit down," said Sally.
Sonic's eyes furrowed as he looked around. Something was off. "Hold on a second, weren't the kids here a second ago?"
Katz and Letz looked all around the ever-darkening neighborhood. Their compatriot Kikka wandered off and they had to follow after her. So far, no luck.
"I can't believe she just darted off like that," said Katz.
He and Letz moved toward some hedges and started looking around. They found something, but it wasn't Kikka. A broken staff, one they thought would look awesome had it not been found like this, and a shiny purple rock nearby. Some kind of gemstone. A big one.
Their eyes widened at the sight.
"EEEEEKK!"
Fear gripped the two boys as a loud, shrill shriek gave them a direction.
At the foot of a tall tree, some two hundred feet away, a green-clad adult was seen with Kikka high off the ground in a stranglehold. The little girl kicked and squealed. She even tried to bite the guy at one point, but couldn't. A handful of Mobians had gathered around, frightened by the aggressive human.
The man snarled at the two boys. "Stand back!" he ordered. "Nobody move!" He had a reddish-brown bottle in his left hand, which was promptly smashed against the tree.
About the time he shattered it, Sonic showed up, giving the two boys a start. The Hedgehog hesitated a second, and scowled. "Let her go right now, motherfucker."
The stranger had the broken part of the bottle aimed at the terrified child's face, ready to slash it up if anyone tried anything. "I have a better idea, Alien-boy," said the man. "How about you get me out of this joint?"
Sonic didn't give an inch. "Maybe you ought to let her go, and then I won't send you out of here on a stretcher."
"I'm not stupid," said the man. "I've been your prisoner for days, that Who bastard's goons iced my recon team and it's been non-stop questions. Don't know how it happened, but I got out of my cell during the fighting today. Maybe your shit doesn't do so good when Minovsky particles are involved."
"'Who bastard'?"
"Sonic, what's—KIKKA!" Amuro and Sally had caught up with him, followed by the other Humans. They were aghast to see the Zeon pilot and his little captive.
"The Feddies and aliens together?" said the Zeon. "Intelligence would love to hear this, but I'd still be court-martialed." He brought the shattered bottle closer to Kikka's left cheek, looking much like a pointed crown, making her whimper. "Now listen up, if you don't want this little girl to live the rest of her life with a paper bag over her head, you're gonna get me out—!"
The loud crack of a gun blast echoed throughout the neighborhood. A shell lodged in the Zeon's left temple, releasing his grip on both Kikka and the bottle. He fell on the ground, dead as a pine log.
Kikka ran straight for Fraw Bow and sobbed into her uniform.
Sonic walked over to the corpse and looked at it with contempt. "No balls at all."
"Took the words straight out of my mouth," an all-too-familiar voice said. "Now, freeze! I don't want a single one of you to move, or you're dead."
Sapper, Sonic thought, I should have known.
"All of you face me."
The group obeyed.
Sapper stood on a log bridge, suspended some fifteen feet off the ground, gun still smoldering. Sonic tensed, expecting the worst. He wouldn't shoot again. "It would seem that I showed up in the nick of time."
"How did you know I'd be here?" Sonic asked.
"A lucky guess," said Sapper. "After our last meeting, I went to Casino Night."
"Lemme guess," the Hedgehog said, with a bit of grim sarcasm. "Mogul had second thoughts about retirement and put a hit on me."
"Relax, boy," said Sapper, "I'm not here for a bounty."
"You're not?"
"Listen, if somebody wanted you dead and make sure of it, you know they'd come to me."
He had a point. "So why are you here?"
"Passing on information," said the assassin. "Relating to Eggman."
"Eggman?"
"I figured you, of all people, would want to know. Saving the kid's skin was collateral, I'd been here an hour looking for you just to relay this. He's been captured."
Sonic and Sally's jaws dropped. "C-Captured?" said the princess, amazed, but still hesitant to budge. "Eggman?"
"And Snively," the Mole added.
"How did you find out?" asked Sonic, through stiff lips.
"Snively's two replacements. After something called Zeon destroyed Death Egg, they managed to escape to Casino Night. Mogul gave them jobs at the Bottom of the Barrel Bar and Grill."
"Zeon beat Eggman!?" Sonic couldn't believe it. He understood them stomping out a weakened DEL Chapter and the Sand Blasters… but the Death Egg?
"I only know about Zeon by name," said Sapper. "You wouldn't happen to know what it is, exactly?"
"A breakaway group of space colonies that formed their own country," said Ryu. "We've been at war with them since January. They attacked this place earlier today and the guy you just shot was one of their soldiers."
Sally swallowed. "You don't think Zeon's going to make them work for them, do you?"
"Who can say?" said Sapper. "From what Orbot told me, it sounds like they didn't leave the Death Egg wreck on the warmest of terms."
"I still say that a guy with a name like Eggman is someone too goofy to be any real danger," said Kai.
"Seems someone isn't familiar with the disease left behind by Julian Kintobor," the Mole remarked, dully, "but then again, you are from the past."
"So that's it?" said Sonic, still amazed. "You're not going to kill us?"
"No," Sapper told him. "My business here is finished."
"So where are you going now, trigger?"
"Now that I know what happened to Eggman," the assassin went on, "I'm going to rummage through some databanks and find out what exactly they did to him. When I find him, he dies." He began to walk away, but stopped a few seconds later. "One more thing, Sonic, this… merger between time periods? It happened because you let him live." He continued his walk, leaving the group behind.
"I don't give a crap about what that edgelord says," Kai snarked, "how can someone pose any kind of threat with a name like that?"
Sally looked at Kai sharply. "Kai, Dr. Eggman's our worst enemy," she told him. "We've been at constant war with him and his subordinates over the past two years. With all the tech on his side, he'd be a boon to Zeon if he joined up."
"Not too long ago, he tried to turn everyone in the world into robots with that Death Egg," Sonic added. "And that's the tip of the iceberg."
Fraw Bow looked at the small, rattled girl still clinging to her. "Kikka, what were you doing running off like that?"
"Potty."
"But there's bathrooms at the diner," said Sonic.
"I… don't think she needs to use one anymore," Katz said, in an awkward tone. A grossed out Letz concurred; it was a good thing Kikka still needed diapers. But Fraw Bow's question inadvertently reminded the boy of something on his way out there. "Hey, I just remembered. When we were looking for Kikka, we found some kind of shiny rock in the bushes."
"Shiny rock?"
The two boys led the throng to the hedge in question there it was.
"A Chaos Emerald," said Sonic. He studied at the debris surrounded it. "Naugus'."
"He must have dropped it during the battle," said Sally.
"Overexerted himself and passed out, no doubt," the Hedgehog noted, recalling the tortured king back at Tommy Turtle. "He wouldn't just leave something like that behind."
Amuro, already swamped by today's torrent of information, spoke up. "This is one of those Chaos Emeralds you were talking about earlier, that can—?"
"That can ultimately twist and turn the space-time continuum like a piece of gum?" Sonic interrupted. "Yes."
"Okay, animal people from the future, nanite technology, wizards, and superpowered gemstones?" remarked Kai. "I'd say that the whole world's gone apeshit over the past week, but given the current circumstances, that would probably constitute an ethnic slur."
"Well it sure isn't a dream," Hayato told him. "So what now?"
"We're not giving it back to Naugus," said Sonic. "Even if he has it in light of Zeon, it's still bad news."
"We saw him at the hospital, too," Amuro added. "His mind was completely fried."
"So do we take it?" Ryu wondered.
"NICOLE will have to take it for now," said Sally, picking up the gem. "Even though it may help us in the fight for Zeon, it legally belongs to the king, despite him being unable to use it."
Sonic hung his head. Something that Zeon said before he got plugged by Sapper: "that Who bastard".
True to Sally's word, the shield had been enlarged to cover the entirety of the White Base. The bridge had been deserted for some time, but Bright remained, staring at the Mobian city off the port bow, all lit up as darkness fell.
Despite the burst of Chaos energy, the day they collected the Gundam, the changes were seamless. The tiny city and its shield stood there, as if it were as native to the valley as the mountains and trees. To think that in 12,000 years we gain technology and lose others, Bright thought, but Acorn's glass jaw is Minovsky warfare, based on NICOLE's lag earlier. We can't stay here much longer, just for necessary repairs and some volunteers. He returned to his chair and sat, leaning forward and using his palms to support his head occupied head.
The door to the elevator hissed open. "Mr. Bright, you still here?" He was no longer alone, Mirai was there.
"I take it you didn't feel like going sightseeing with the others," said Bright.
"Not really," Mirai admitted. "You have to admit that these mountains are beautiful, it's just a shame—"
"That we have a war going on?" Bright cut in.
He'd taken the words right out of her mouth.
"I feel the same way."
"I was a bit worried during the Council meeting today," Mirai said. "A couple of close calls with Reed."
He knew she was right. That Pig on the Council was maybe a little bit more level-headed than the lieutenant, but if the sparks started flying between the two, it would be the first intertemporal incident ever. "I was relayed a bit of good news," he said, "the mobile suits didn't get banged that much compared to what happened at the Grand Canyon."
"Bit of a shame we can't leave them a 'tank or a 'cannon when we go," said Mirai.
"And they don't like fighting," Bright added. "Can't really blame them, a psychopath would but not normal people."
"They said they wanted us to attend the regular meeting tomorrow," she said, looking into the darkening distance. "You said that Garma Zabi is the commander of this region?"
"Yes," Bright confirmed, "Degwin's youngest. Before the war he and his classmates were involved in the Dawn Rebellion. Char, too."
"We sure haven't had a lot of luck lately," said Mirai.
AUTHOR'S NOTES
I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter up and running. Between SonicEvan's departure and personal stuff cropping up recently, I haven't had a lot of time to work on this, but I'm going to make up for it, hopefully. I'm just ready to get out of this Virginia section...