* * *
"AAAIIEEEEEE!!! We are Doom-ed! Doom-ed!" Antoine screamed as he covered his eyes.
"Shut up, Ant!" Sonic shouted over the wind. "Dulcy's not going to crash."
"Doom-ed! Doom-ed!"
"Guys? I hate to complain, but this is hard enough as it is without you twisting and shouting the whole way." Dulcy piped up.
"Right. Sorry Dulce." Sonic said.
"It's okay." Dulcy paused as she turned to avoid a cloud bank. "Where exactly are we going, Sally?"
"There's an oil refinery located approximately six miles due north of here. That's our target. Right now, what we need is a place to rest and plan."
"Over here Sally-girl!" Bunnie called from Dulcy's pouch. "Look left!" Sally turned her head and saw what Bunnie was talking about. There was a depression in the lowlands ahead. It was almost like a dimple on the face of Mobius, one that was filled with jungle. It was steep enough that it appeared impossible to scale and was ringed by mountains.
"I see it Bunnie, good work." Sally said over the wind. "Okay Dulcy, set us down in the jungle."
"Gotcha, Sally." Dulcy said. "Hang on."
With that, Dulcy dove towards the hidden jungle Bunnie had discovered. But as she passed over the mountains, the winds began growing fierce and violent.
"Dulcy!" Sally shouted.
"HOLD ON TIGHT EVERYONE! IT'S GOING TO BE A BUMPY FLIGHT!" Dulcy shouted back. Sally tightened her grip on Dulcy's harness and saw Sonic hold Tails' hand tight. A sudden jolt nearly sent them all flying, it felt like the wind had kicked Dulcy in the stomach. Dulcy grit her teeth and beat her wings as fast as she could. With one last exertion of strength, she broke through the maelstrom.
"Aaaahh." She sighed. "I'm home, Ma."
"Snap out of it, Dulcy." Sonic said. "And remember not to-" Sonic's warning was cut off as Dulcy slid into a nose-dive. Right to the center of the jungle!
"DULCY!" Sally all-but screamed into her ear. But the young dragon was barely lucid, it was a miracle she wasn't completely unconscious. As the green jungle floor grew closer and closer Sally made what was in all likelihood, one of her more insane ideas.
"Jump for it!"
Her fellow freedom fighters stopped and stared at her, but only for a moment. The next, they were leaping from the diving dragon and landing unceremoniously on the jungle floor.
"Everyone all right?" Sally groaned as she rose to her feet. A chorus of "yeah," "sure thing," and "Sacre bleu-cheese" answered her.
Sally looked around. "Where's Dulcy?"
"There she is Aunt Sally!" Tails said, pointing up. Sally raised her head and saw Dulcy hanging upside down, her tail caught on a branch about seven feet up.
"Dulcy! Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, Ma." Dulcy groaned right before she fell. Fortunately, the toughness of dragon scales saved her from any major bodily injuries. Her wings however-
"OWW!" Dulcy cried when she tried to flex her wings. Sally took Nicole off her boot and activated her.
"Nicole, begin medical scan."
"SCANNING, SALLY." Nicole hummed for a moment and then answered, "THERE IS DAMAGE TO THE CARTILAGE AND TO THE LIGAMENTS IN THE WINGS. DULCY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO FLY FOR AT LEAST TWO WEEKS."
"Two weeks?! Now how are going to get back to Knothole?" Rotor wondered.
"We can't worry about that now." Sally replied. "Right now we have to-" A sudden howl rose out of the jungle that set everyone's fur on end. It wasn't the cry of a wolf or anything else the freedom fighters were familiar with. Nicole beeped.
"SOUND DOES NOT MATCH ANY KNOWN CREATURE. ITS PITCH REACHES INTO THE HYPER-SONIC RANGE. CAUTION IS ADVISED."
"M-Maybe I zam thinking we should be going nest-pas?" Antoine said over the chattering of his teeth. He was scared and Sally couldn't blame him.
"I think you might be right, Antoine." Sally said slowly as she looked for someplace to head to. "There looks like there's a compound of some kind a bit south of here."
"All right! Everyone grab on and I'll get us there in a sonic second!" Sonic said as he prepared to grab a power ring from his pack. Sally caught his hand,
"Do you really think you can carry Dulcy? I hope you can since we are NOT leaving her behind! We all go or we all stay."
"Got it, Sal." Sonic said as he put the ring back. "I guess I'll just have to stay behind with you slow-moes, eh?"
"How generous of you." Sally said dryly. "Dulcy, can you walk?"
"I think so."
"Good. Let's move." As the intrepid freedom fighters trekked through the jungle, the number and frequency of the strange cries grew. They all looked into the depths of the jungle, trying to find their source. They couldn't see a thing. As they reached the tall gray walls of the compound Sally had noticed, they all breathed a bit easier.
"I am--how you be saying?--PHEWING!" Antoine sighed as he wiped his forehead.
"What do y'all suppose this little old place is?" Bunnie asked.
"We're pretty close to the borders of the former Overland Empire. I guess this is an abandoned garrison for Royal Troops." Sally said thoughtfully.
"Maybe they'll still have some of their hardware here." Rotor added.
"I'm just glad to be outta that jungle. It was given me the heebie-jeebies." Bunnie shuddered.
"I know what you mean." Sally agreed. "I wonder how we get in-" Sally spun around at the sound of a deep, angry snarl coming from behind.
"Look out!" A voice from above cried out. A instant later a plasma bolt struck the ground right behind the Knothole crowd. Sally heard a distinct moan and the sounds of something making a hasty retreat.
With a creak and a groan the gates to the fortress swung open, beckoning the freedom fighters in. They didn't need to ask twice.
"Inside!" Sally ordered. The instant they had all entered the compound, the doors swung shut behind them. She paused to look around the garrison (which was apparently NOT abandoned) and raised an eyebrow in surprise. For a base that must have been over a decade old, it was in surprising good shape. In the center was a central barracks and attached to it was a smaller section which is undoubtedly where the officers and administrators lived and worked. A smaller almost make-shift looking building is where munitions and weapons must have been stored. The central courtyard occupied most of the space inside the towering walls and walkways that ringed the fort.
"Uh Sal? We're not alone here." Sonic pointed out. About a dozen Mobians occupied the courtyard the just entered, each one of them paused in the middle of whatever task they were just doing. All staring at them.
"Mondo weird!" Sonic commented. "You'd think we were aliens or something!"
Sally shushed him and turned to the curious on lookers. "Hello. Thank you for letting us in. Who-"
"Nave te çi ye?" Said one of them, a female ferret working on a ladder. Sally blinked.
"I'm sorry, I don't understand you." Turning to the rest of the crowd she asked, "Does anyone here-"
"Jak se jmenujete?"
"Masmuk?" After two or three more endeavors, Antoine piped up.
"Zey are not speaking ze English, no?"
"Heh, look who's talking." Sonic muttered to Tails. Tails just giggled.
"What now, Sally-girl?"
"I don't really know, Bunnie." She frowned. "I could try Nicole, but I really don't think she was built as a translator. Perhaps we could-" Sally trailed off as she looked up at one of the guard towers.
"Yo Sal, what's up?"
"Those towers. Look." They did. What they saw was the last thing they expected. Instead of seeing the Cosmic Serpent, the symbol of Mobius and crest of the Royal Family, they saw a white hand with a giant eye in its palm.
"What is that?" Rotor wondered.
"That's an Overlander symbol."
* * *
"AAAIIEEEEEE!!! We are Doom-ed! Doom-ed!" Antoine screamed as he covered his eyes.
"Shut up, Ant!" Sonic shouted over the wind. "Dulcy's not going to crash."
"Doom-ed! Doom-ed!"
"Guys? I hate to complain, but this is hard enough as it is without you twisting and shouting the whole way." Dulcy piped up.
"Right. Sorry Dulce." Sonic said.
"It's okay." Dulcy paused as she turned to avoid a cloud bank. "Where exactly are we going, Sally?"
"There's an oil refinery located approximately six miles due north of here. That's our target. Right now, what we need is a place to rest and plan."
"Over here Sally-girl!" Bunnie called from Dulcy's pouch. "Look left!" Sally turned her head and saw what Bunnie was talking about. There was a depression in the lowlands ahead. It was almost like a dimple on the face of Mobius, one that was filled with jungle. It was steep enough that it appeared impossible to scale and was ringed by mountains.
"I see it Bunnie, good work." Sally said over the wind. "Okay Dulcy, set us down in the jungle."
"Gotcha, Sally." Dulcy said. "Hang on."
With that, Dulcy dove towards the hidden jungle Bunnie had discovered. But as she passed over the mountains, the winds began growing fierce and violent.
"Dulcy!" Sally shouted.
"HOLD ON TIGHT EVERYONE! IT'S GOING TO BE A BUMPY FLIGHT!" Dulcy shouted back. Sally tightened her grip on Dulcy's harness and saw Sonic hold Tails' hand tight. A sudden jolt nearly sent them all flying, it felt like the wind had kicked Dulcy in the stomach. Dulcy grit her teeth and beat her wings as fast as she could. With one last exertion of strength, she broke through the maelstrom.
"Aaaahh." She sighed. "I'm home, Ma."
"Snap out of it, Dulcy." Sonic said. "And remember not to-" Sonic's warning was cut off as Dulcy slid into a nose-dive. Right to the center of the jungle!
"DULCY!" Sally all-but screamed into her ear. But the young dragon was barely lucid, it was a miracle she wasn't completely unconscious. As the green jungle floor grew closer and closer Sally made what was in all likelihood, one of her more insane ideas.
"Jump for it!"
Her fellow freedom fighters stopped and stared at her, but only for a moment. The next, they were leaping from the diving dragon and landing unceremoniously on the jungle floor.
"Everyone all right?" Sally groaned as she rose to her feet. A chorus of "yeah," "sure thing," and "Sacre bleu-cheese" answered her.
Sally looked around. "Where's Dulcy?"
"There she is Aunt Sally!" Tails said, pointing up. Sally raised her head and saw Dulcy hanging upside down, her tail caught on a branch about seven feet up.
"Dulcy! Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, Ma." Dulcy groaned right before she fell. Fortunately, the toughness of dragon scales saved her from any major bodily injuries. Her wings however-
"OWW!" Dulcy cried when she tried to flex her wings. Sally took Nicole off her boot and activated her.
"Nicole, begin medical scan."
"SCANNING, SALLY." Nicole hummed for a moment and then answered, "THERE IS DAMAGE TO THE CARTILAGE AND TO THE LIGAMENTS IN THE WINGS. DULCY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO FLY FOR AT LEAST TWO WEEKS."
"Two weeks?! Now how are going to get back to Knothole?" Rotor wondered.
"We can't worry about that now." Sally replied. "Right now we have to-" A sudden howl rose out of the jungle that set everyone's fur on end. It wasn't the cry of a wolf or anything else the freedom fighters were familiar with. Nicole beeped.
"SOUND DOES NOT MATCH ANY KNOWN CREATURE. ITS PITCH REACHES INTO THE HYPER-SONIC RANGE. CAUTION IS ADVISED."
"M-Maybe I zam thinking we should be going nest-pas?" Antoine said over the chattering of his teeth. He was scared and Sally couldn't blame him.
"I think you might be right, Antoine." Sally said slowly as she looked for someplace to head to. "There looks like there's a compound of some kind a bit south of here."
"All right! Everyone grab on and I'll get us there in a sonic second!" Sonic said as he prepared to grab a power ring from his pack. Sally caught his hand,
"Do you really think you can carry Dulcy? I hope you can since we are NOT leaving her behind! We all go or we all stay."
"Got it, Sal." Sonic said as he put the ring back. "I guess I'll just have to stay behind with you slow-moes, eh?"
"How generous of you." Sally said dryly. "Dulcy, can you walk?"
"I think so."
"Good. Let's move." As the intrepid freedom fighters trekked through the jungle, the number and frequency of the strange cries grew. They all looked into the depths of the jungle, trying to find their source. They couldn't see a thing. As they reached the tall gray walls of the compound Sally had noticed, they all breathed a bit easier.
"I am--how you be saying?--PHEWING!" Antoine sighed as he wiped his forehead.
"What do y'all suppose this little old place is?" Bunnie asked.
"We're pretty close to the borders of the former Overland Empire. I guess this is an abandoned garrison for Royal Troops." Sally said thoughtfully.
"Maybe they'll still have some of their hardware here." Rotor added.
"I'm just glad to be outta that jungle. It was given me the heebie-jeebies." Bunnie shuddered.
"I know what you mean." Sally agreed. "I wonder how we get in-" Sally spun around at the sound of a deep, angry snarl coming from behind.
"Look out!" A voice from above cried out. A instant later a plasma bolt struck the ground right behind the Knothole crowd. Sally heard a distinct moan and the sounds of something making a hasty retreat.
With a creak and a groan the gates to the fortress swung open, beckoning the freedom fighters in. They didn't need to ask twice.
"Inside!" Sally ordered. The instant they had all entered the compound, the doors swung shut behind them. She paused to look around the garrison (which was apparently NOT abandoned) and raised an eyebrow in surprise. For a base that must have been over a decade old, it was in surprising good shape. In the center was a central barracks and attached to it was a smaller section which is undoubtedly where the officers and administrators lived and worked. A smaller almost make-shift looking building is where munitions and weapons must have been stored. The central courtyard occupied most of the space inside the towering walls and walkways that ringed the fort.
"Uh Sal? We're not alone here." Sonic pointed out. About a dozen Mobians occupied the courtyard the just entered, each one of them paused in the middle of whatever task they were just doing. All staring at them.
"Mondo weird!" Sonic commented. "You'd think we were aliens or something!"
Sally shushed him and turned to the curious on lookers. "Hello. Thank you for letting us in. Who-"
"Nave te çi ye?" Said one of them, a female ferret working on a ladder. Sally blinked.
"I'm sorry, I don't understand you." Turning to the rest of the crowd she asked, "Does anyone here-"
"Jak se jmenujete?"
"Masmuk?" After two or three more endeavors, Antoine piped up.
"Zey are not speaking ze English, no?"
"Heh, look who's talking." Sonic muttered to Tails. Tails just giggled.
"What now, Sally-girl?"
"I don't really know, Bunnie." She frowned. "I could try Nicole, but I really don't think she was built as a translator. Perhaps we could-" Sally trailed off as she looked up at one of the guard towers.
"Yo Sal, what's up?"
"Those towers. Look." They did. What they saw was the last thing they expected. Instead of seeing the Cosmic Serpent, the symbol of Mobius and crest of the Royal Family, they saw a white hand with a giant eye in its palm.
"What is that?" Rotor wondered.
"That's an Overlander symbol."
* * *