* * *
"Sally? Sally!" Someone was calling her.
"Couldn't they wait five minutes?" Her brain thought sleepily. "I have such a headache..."
"Wakey, wakey Princess. Otherwise I may just have to let soldier-boy take a crack at this."
"All right, all right! I'm awake." Sally groaned. She sat up slowly. It took a minute for her pounding headache to subside long enough for her to realize that she was in bed. And standing over her was none other than...
"Misha?" She asked in confusion. "What-?"
"You were expecting perhaps, Prince Charming?"
"What happened?"
"You managed to give yourself a concussion and a burnt tail when you stopped that last beast. You saved the day, but you've been out of it for almost half a week."
"Three days?! But the raid!-"
"-Went on without you. Colonel Franklin decimated Robotnik's refinery with no losses. He's quite good. Your friends have been asking about you."
"I want to see them." Sally said as she slowly stood up, stretching as she did so.
"Um, I hate to sound rude, but maybe you should shower first." Misha said, his nose twitching. "It has been three days."
Sally was about to snap back with a crushing rejoinder when she caught a whiff of herself. "Ugh, I think you may have a point." she groaned. "Where are the showers?" Misha pointed. "Thanks."
Five minutes later, feeling and smelling much better, Sally was escorted by Misha down to the hastily repaired mess hall, where she was greeted by a thunderous ovation.
"What is all this?" She asked, feeling overwhelmed.
"It's your Bat Mitzvah, what do you think it is?" Misha asked in a sarcastic, but friendly manner.
Sally was unable to answer, as she was immediately mobbed by her friends.
"Way to go Sal!"
"Manifique moi prinzess!"
"All right Sally-girl!" Sally had to all but fend them off with a stick.
"Wait, what's all this for?" She demanded one last time. Misha just shook his head in mock pity.
"You just don't get it do you? You want it spelled out? Fine. Here's the short version, you killed the last one of those damned beasts, created the first lasting alliance between Mobians and Overlanders against Robotnik, prevented this place from being ripped to pieces and prevented us from starving to death. You're a hero, again."
Sally shook her head as Misha continued. "What's more, you impressed a certain Slav that perhaps, not ALL blue-bloods are cowardly wretches."
"Small miracles." Sally said in a daze. She looked around, the hall was draped in banners and posters two dozen languages and several alphabets. There was music playing and someone was singing. The mood was light and the happiness seemed contagious. It wasn't long before Sally joined the others in the celebration. Even the Colonel was there, cutting a rug with Major Cadwaller.
Sally felt the stress, anxiety, and last fear of the few days simply melt away. She soon found herself laughing and having fun along with everyone else, dancing to some Romanian tune and knowing none of the words, but that didn't stop her or anyone else. They all just made up their own lyrics, in their own languages. When she finally stopped to take a break, she spied a very interesting sight. David and Misha, standing off to the side, laughing and clapping each other on the back.
"About bloody time." Olivia commented from behind. Sally turned with a questioning gaze. "Those two used to be like brothers, until some bad blood popped up."
"Over Rosa?" Sally asked.
"Yeah, or as I like to call it, the worst best-kept secret ever. David thought Misha was taking advantage of 'er, which 'e wasn't and things got a might bit ugly. Glad to see that's all water under the bridge now."
Sally nodded in agreement. Before she could say anything further, the Colonel pulled her aside.
"Might I have a word with you Princess? I simply wish to inform you that you have made a friend in the Overlander Empire. The first of many, I would hope."
"Likewise Colonel." Sally nodded.
"I also wanted to inform you that my soldiers and I will be withdrawing from this place tomorrow. We're going home to see if there is anything left of our homeland. However, your compatriots told me of the plight of your Eastern Freedom Fighters. They are in need of a base of operations. Since we plan on leaving and have no real estate agents, how would you like to take this garrison off our hands?"
Sally had to refrain herself from gasping. "You're serious." She said.
"Quite serious. I believe that such a move would be mutually beneficial. It would give your people a base and would provide a vanguard for mine. Are we agreed?"
"Agreed." Sally said, too happy and stunned for words.
"Excellent, now if you'll excuse me-" And he turned away, leaving a very pleased and taken aback Princess Sally.
"Two birds with one stone, eh Princess?" Came a Russian accented voice Sally knew too well.
"You might say that Misha. What's on your mind?"
"A lot. I-I guess I'm feeling a bit depressed. With the Overlanders withdrawing and the beasts dead, most of us are going home."
"And you're unhappy because you can't go home?"
"Partially. I guess I'm also going to miss the Mir."
"Mir?" Sally asked, repeating the foreign word.
"It's a Russian word. It means peace, community, and the world. That's what we had here. Our community was our world, Mobians from all over and Overlanders too, living in peace. Now that's gone. And we're going to disperse."
"That may be. But if each of them is going to their native lands, and each of them brings that ideal with them, then you'll have helped spread the concept of 'Mir' all over Mobius." Misha looked at her curiously.
"You're trying to make me feel better by appealing to my ego. Not going to work."
"You're pretty stubborn, you know that?" Sally asked. Misha snorted.
"That, as the humans say, is an example of the teapot calling the kettle black." He glanced over he shoulder. "If you'll pardon me for just a moment..." He sidestepped her and hurried outside. Sally discreetly followed.
As she poked her head out the door, she spotted Misha embracing Rosa and the two of them quietly talking. For some odd reason, even though it was in Yiddish, she somehow understood everything that Misha was saying.
"--I'm sure David will be fine, his arm is healing quite nicely. No, that dispute is all in the past now. Listen, Rosa...I-I can't tell you how much I'll miss you. But I can't come with you. I just don't belong with you just yet. There are things-things I have to discover. Maybe I can make a difference somewhere. I've asked Abdullah to look after you. Just make sure he doesn't look after you TOO well." He paused as Rosa said something back.
Sally waited and watched the two of them seem to argue about something. Rosa brought her hands behind her neck and unclasped a necklace she wore and tried to put it in his hands.
"I-I can't, Rosa-that was a gift from your family! I couldn't!" But Rosa seemed to think otherwise. She pried his hand open and deposited it in his palm before she closed his hand around it. "I love you." Misha whispered. Rosa's response wasn't translated, but Sally knew what she said all the same. Sally withdrew as the two fell into a crushing embrace and a passionate kiss.
"Eavesdropping?" Sky Lynx asked, nearly giving Sally an aneurysm.
"How did you-?" Sally gasped. The dragon seemed to shrug, or as much as a dragon without shoulders can shrug.
"Dragons are natural telepaths. We can read and transmit thoughts. I decided to give you a glimpse of what Misha was saying and thinking. Call it pay back for his 'volunteer work' for me."
"Where will you go?" Sally asked. "What will you do?" Sky Lynx grinned.
"Oh, I'll keep in touch with this lot, but where I go and what I do is my business alone. Maybe if you're lucky, I may drop in someday."
"Imagine my joy." Sally groaned. Sky Lynx guffawed and sauntered off leaving Sally to shake her head in despair.
"Sally?"
"Misha?" She couldn't help but notice him wearing a gold necklace with a six-pronged star pendent. "What's that?"
"Oh, this? This is a Magen David. A gift from Rosa."
"I see." Sally said, not wanting to pry further. "Misha, I know that you can't go home, not now at any rate. It occurred to me that someone with your talents and your gifts would always be appreciated in Knothole." He stared at her, as if wondering what disease she had been infected with.
"I suppose this is the place where I'm supposed to laugh?"
"I'm serious. You could be a big help in Knothole."
"Help with what? Restoring the Kingdom of Acorn? No offense Sally, but I can think of a lot of things I'd rather do than see that kingdom restores. It point of fact, restoring the old regime is the LAST thing I want to see happen."
"No. The LAST thing you want to see happen is see Robotnik takeover and destroy Mobius while we debate politics." She shook her head. "Listen, our views on my father and the monarchy are probably never going to be resolved. But perhaps, if we work together, we can find some common ground between us. Between restoration and revolution, between kingdom and republic. If we don't, the only one who wins is Robotnik." Misha paused in consideration.
"You realize that if I come back with you, become a freedom fighter, I'm going to make your life a living hell. I don't follow orders well, I don't believe in royalty, and I'm one of the most argumentative and stubborn Mobians ever born."
"That's precisely why I need you." She had obviously thrown him for a loop, so Sally decided to elaborate. "It's been too long since I've had someone with a fresh perspective on things. Someone who'll argue with me without fear of jeopardizing our relationship. I need a balance, and frankly, so do you. As I see it, that makes us counter-parts."
"You don't know what you're getting yourself into." Misha warned. Sally just smiled.
"Neither will you."
"Well in that case, how can I refuse?" He held out his hand. Sally shook it.
"Welcome to the Freedom Fighters, Mikhail Sergeivich Dragoslav."
"Like I said before, call me Misha."
* * *
"Sally? Sally!" Someone was calling her.
"Couldn't they wait five minutes?" Her brain thought sleepily. "I have such a headache..."
"Wakey, wakey Princess. Otherwise I may just have to let soldier-boy take a crack at this."
"All right, all right! I'm awake." Sally groaned. She sat up slowly. It took a minute for her pounding headache to subside long enough for her to realize that she was in bed. And standing over her was none other than...
"Misha?" She asked in confusion. "What-?"
"You were expecting perhaps, Prince Charming?"
"What happened?"
"You managed to give yourself a concussion and a burnt tail when you stopped that last beast. You saved the day, but you've been out of it for almost half a week."
"Three days?! But the raid!-"
"-Went on without you. Colonel Franklin decimated Robotnik's refinery with no losses. He's quite good. Your friends have been asking about you."
"I want to see them." Sally said as she slowly stood up, stretching as she did so.
"Um, I hate to sound rude, but maybe you should shower first." Misha said, his nose twitching. "It has been three days."
Sally was about to snap back with a crushing rejoinder when she caught a whiff of herself. "Ugh, I think you may have a point." she groaned. "Where are the showers?" Misha pointed. "Thanks."
Five minutes later, feeling and smelling much better, Sally was escorted by Misha down to the hastily repaired mess hall, where she was greeted by a thunderous ovation.
"What is all this?" She asked, feeling overwhelmed.
"It's your Bat Mitzvah, what do you think it is?" Misha asked in a sarcastic, but friendly manner.
Sally was unable to answer, as she was immediately mobbed by her friends.
"Way to go Sal!"
"Manifique moi prinzess!"
"All right Sally-girl!" Sally had to all but fend them off with a stick.
"Wait, what's all this for?" She demanded one last time. Misha just shook his head in mock pity.
"You just don't get it do you? You want it spelled out? Fine. Here's the short version, you killed the last one of those damned beasts, created the first lasting alliance between Mobians and Overlanders against Robotnik, prevented this place from being ripped to pieces and prevented us from starving to death. You're a hero, again."
Sally shook her head as Misha continued. "What's more, you impressed a certain Slav that perhaps, not ALL blue-bloods are cowardly wretches."
"Small miracles." Sally said in a daze. She looked around, the hall was draped in banners and posters two dozen languages and several alphabets. There was music playing and someone was singing. The mood was light and the happiness seemed contagious. It wasn't long before Sally joined the others in the celebration. Even the Colonel was there, cutting a rug with Major Cadwaller.
Sally felt the stress, anxiety, and last fear of the few days simply melt away. She soon found herself laughing and having fun along with everyone else, dancing to some Romanian tune and knowing none of the words, but that didn't stop her or anyone else. They all just made up their own lyrics, in their own languages. When she finally stopped to take a break, she spied a very interesting sight. David and Misha, standing off to the side, laughing and clapping each other on the back.
"About bloody time." Olivia commented from behind. Sally turned with a questioning gaze. "Those two used to be like brothers, until some bad blood popped up."
"Over Rosa?" Sally asked.
"Yeah, or as I like to call it, the worst best-kept secret ever. David thought Misha was taking advantage of 'er, which 'e wasn't and things got a might bit ugly. Glad to see that's all water under the bridge now."
Sally nodded in agreement. Before she could say anything further, the Colonel pulled her aside.
"Might I have a word with you Princess? I simply wish to inform you that you have made a friend in the Overlander Empire. The first of many, I would hope."
"Likewise Colonel." Sally nodded.
"I also wanted to inform you that my soldiers and I will be withdrawing from this place tomorrow. We're going home to see if there is anything left of our homeland. However, your compatriots told me of the plight of your Eastern Freedom Fighters. They are in need of a base of operations. Since we plan on leaving and have no real estate agents, how would you like to take this garrison off our hands?"
Sally had to refrain herself from gasping. "You're serious." She said.
"Quite serious. I believe that such a move would be mutually beneficial. It would give your people a base and would provide a vanguard for mine. Are we agreed?"
"Agreed." Sally said, too happy and stunned for words.
"Excellent, now if you'll excuse me-" And he turned away, leaving a very pleased and taken aback Princess Sally.
"Two birds with one stone, eh Princess?" Came a Russian accented voice Sally knew too well.
"You might say that Misha. What's on your mind?"
"A lot. I-I guess I'm feeling a bit depressed. With the Overlanders withdrawing and the beasts dead, most of us are going home."
"And you're unhappy because you can't go home?"
"Partially. I guess I'm also going to miss the Mir."
"Mir?" Sally asked, repeating the foreign word.
"It's a Russian word. It means peace, community, and the world. That's what we had here. Our community was our world, Mobians from all over and Overlanders too, living in peace. Now that's gone. And we're going to disperse."
"That may be. But if each of them is going to their native lands, and each of them brings that ideal with them, then you'll have helped spread the concept of 'Mir' all over Mobius." Misha looked at her curiously.
"You're trying to make me feel better by appealing to my ego. Not going to work."
"You're pretty stubborn, you know that?" Sally asked. Misha snorted.
"That, as the humans say, is an example of the teapot calling the kettle black." He glanced over he shoulder. "If you'll pardon me for just a moment..." He sidestepped her and hurried outside. Sally discreetly followed.
As she poked her head out the door, she spotted Misha embracing Rosa and the two of them quietly talking. For some odd reason, even though it was in Yiddish, she somehow understood everything that Misha was saying.
"--I'm sure David will be fine, his arm is healing quite nicely. No, that dispute is all in the past now. Listen, Rosa...I-I can't tell you how much I'll miss you. But I can't come with you. I just don't belong with you just yet. There are things-things I have to discover. Maybe I can make a difference somewhere. I've asked Abdullah to look after you. Just make sure he doesn't look after you TOO well." He paused as Rosa said something back.
Sally waited and watched the two of them seem to argue about something. Rosa brought her hands behind her neck and unclasped a necklace she wore and tried to put it in his hands.
"I-I can't, Rosa-that was a gift from your family! I couldn't!" But Rosa seemed to think otherwise. She pried his hand open and deposited it in his palm before she closed his hand around it. "I love you." Misha whispered. Rosa's response wasn't translated, but Sally knew what she said all the same. Sally withdrew as the two fell into a crushing embrace and a passionate kiss.
"Eavesdropping?" Sky Lynx asked, nearly giving Sally an aneurysm.
"How did you-?" Sally gasped. The dragon seemed to shrug, or as much as a dragon without shoulders can shrug.
"Dragons are natural telepaths. We can read and transmit thoughts. I decided to give you a glimpse of what Misha was saying and thinking. Call it pay back for his 'volunteer work' for me."
"Where will you go?" Sally asked. "What will you do?" Sky Lynx grinned.
"Oh, I'll keep in touch with this lot, but where I go and what I do is my business alone. Maybe if you're lucky, I may drop in someday."
"Imagine my joy." Sally groaned. Sky Lynx guffawed and sauntered off leaving Sally to shake her head in despair.
"Sally?"
"Misha?" She couldn't help but notice him wearing a gold necklace with a six-pronged star pendent. "What's that?"
"Oh, this? This is a Magen David. A gift from Rosa."
"I see." Sally said, not wanting to pry further. "Misha, I know that you can't go home, not now at any rate. It occurred to me that someone with your talents and your gifts would always be appreciated in Knothole." He stared at her, as if wondering what disease she had been infected with.
"I suppose this is the place where I'm supposed to laugh?"
"I'm serious. You could be a big help in Knothole."
"Help with what? Restoring the Kingdom of Acorn? No offense Sally, but I can think of a lot of things I'd rather do than see that kingdom restores. It point of fact, restoring the old regime is the LAST thing I want to see happen."
"No. The LAST thing you want to see happen is see Robotnik takeover and destroy Mobius while we debate politics." She shook her head. "Listen, our views on my father and the monarchy are probably never going to be resolved. But perhaps, if we work together, we can find some common ground between us. Between restoration and revolution, between kingdom and republic. If we don't, the only one who wins is Robotnik." Misha paused in consideration.
"You realize that if I come back with you, become a freedom fighter, I'm going to make your life a living hell. I don't follow orders well, I don't believe in royalty, and I'm one of the most argumentative and stubborn Mobians ever born."
"That's precisely why I need you." She had obviously thrown him for a loop, so Sally decided to elaborate. "It's been too long since I've had someone with a fresh perspective on things. Someone who'll argue with me without fear of jeopardizing our relationship. I need a balance, and frankly, so do you. As I see it, that makes us counter-parts."
"You don't know what you're getting yourself into." Misha warned. Sally just smiled.
"Neither will you."
"Well in that case, how can I refuse?" He held out his hand. Sally shook it.
"Welcome to the Freedom Fighters, Mikhail Sergeivich Dragoslav."
"Like I said before, call me Misha."
* * *