"Sir."
"Yes?"
"We've received news about the badnik, sir."
"How is she faring?"
"She's missing."
"What?"
"Reports say she's been out of action far too long, there are rumors that
she has been captured as well."
"Make a full search on her, and report back immediately."
"Right away, sir."
CHAPTER 5-KNOTHOLE, THE GREAT FOREST
Sally sat on the edge of her bed, staring to a cup that was once filled with coffee. Her troubled thoughts raced trough her mind, making waves after waves of burdensome responsibility as both a princesses and a leader. A few additions to that responsibility had been added, after rescuing a long lost friend from the depths of Lower Mobius.
The same friend whom she had an encounter long ago, and almost lost her life because of it. Now, that same friend was rescued from death herself, have Sonic not ventured into the underground city that got overrun by Robotnik's monstrous machines.
"How serious is it?" she asked to Doctor Quack while he attended Hershey's wounds with ease. Bloody bandages laid inside a bucket while new were being wrapped around the cat's torso, carefully going over her damaged skin and making sure it protected her ribcage.
"Not as serious as I thought it would be, really. She is lucky that her bones are intact, but I am afraid that one of the boulders hit her head pretty hard, so she will be out of it for a while," Said the doctor after applying the last of the bandages. "She is lucky she didn't had a single broken bone."
He turned his head to see the princess and added a wink on his right eye, trying to comfort her. "I'll give her until noon before she wakes up. Rest is all she needs for the moment. Now if there is anything else I can do for her, just let me know, I'll be at the usual."
By that he meant the tent housing the wounded freedom fighters. The doctor and his attendants were usually found inside (and around) the establishment, giving medications and attending to the wounded by replacing bandages every other hour. His job never seemed to be done, although his mood was always cheerful, even if it meant that he could get little or no rest at all. His dedication was something short of remarkable.
"Thank you doctor."
Sally looked down at Hershey, her arms folded against her chest. Many questions she wanted to ask the now Underground Rebellion member and no way of doing so at the moment. And after seeing her like this she wondered if it would be a good idea to even question her when she finally wakes up. The Underground Rebellion has not had any kind of contact with the Freedom Fighters for several months, and every time Sally tried to communicate with them, the lines would get abruptly cut, leaving her in the dark about updates or progress on missions related to their plans to liberate the world from any remnants of Robotnik's power.
The door behind her closed as the doctor walked out of the small hut. Sally thought of doing the same, but couldn't get herself to do so just yet.
She felt glad to see a long lost face among the many that resided in Knothole, but she also felt concern for her well being. That troublesome past did not matter any longer, although the memory is still there. She took one last look at Hershey. Her face grimaced and her eyes winced, giving hints of being still in pain. She was found in pretty bad shape when Sonic rescued her from Lower Mobius. Sally reached with her right hand at her for comfort, but refrained from doing so. She did not wanted to wake her up at her current condition. Instead, she reached inside her vest and retrieved a small disk, which was in Hershey's possession when she was found. Sally studied carefully, noticing no inscriptions on it, or any other distinguishing marks that could determine its owner. It was of a pale yellow color, and it looked no different from the ones she had used in Nicole as means of backing up files.
She raised her head in realization of this and proceeded with the notion of taking a peek inside it, but at the same time she realized it would not be right if she did hits without Hershey's permission. Sally slid the disk once more inside the vest, and rested it on the top of a shelf nearby. The princess then sat down on a wooden chair, observing Hershey. She was glad nothing serious happened to her, and that she was able to see her once more, despite of what happened in the past. She relaxed on the chair and remained there; keeping watch over the feline until a knock on the door forced her to get up. She heard the sound of the door opening, and the face of a male wolf peered trough. He was black furred and his eyes shone with a sparkle of green and gold. His muzzle was long and thin, almost vulpine. His ears, long, with a white tip on the right one.
"Princess Sally, your presence is required at the breakfast meeting, many are already acting agitated for the wait."
"Yes, thank you Malco. Let them know I will be there in a few minutes. Oh by the way, has Bunnie showed up yet?"
The wolf shook his head slowly, and then spoke. "I have not seen her around, Princess. Should I send someone to find her?"
"No, that is alright Malco, I am sure she will appear soon." Sally stood up from her seat and stretched her arms vertically, her body forming outlines around her rib line and breasts. The wolf looked aside, feeling a bit embarrassed for staring. Sally noticed this and a thin smile appeared on her face, followed by her right hand resting on her lips. Of all the new members in Knothole, Malco was surely the most modest and educated. She has heard that the black furred wolf was once a spokesman for the Kingdom of Mobius, before Robotnik's takeover took place. Many houses around the kingdom gained friendship with King Acorn as a result. Malco was also trained in hand-to-hand combat, or by using a force lance. Sally felt she made the right choice in selecting him as a guardian to watch over Hershey.
The Princess walked over to the exit and Malco opened the door fully, allowing her passage. Sally stopped halfway through and looked up at him, for his stature easily toppled hers.
"Why don't you take a brake, Malco? I will wait here until Bunnie arrives."
The wolf's ears flattened and his muzzle parted with a grin. "A brake sounds nice at the moment, m Princess, but right now many are awaiting your presence, and I prefer if the people's needs are taken care of than my own. I shall guard your friend until Bunnie relieves my post. I really don't mind."
Sally nodded with a smile of her own, and then closed the door behind her. Malco was a true gentleman, an honorable one at that she realized. She then walked from the hut and followed the small trail that led to Knothole's main plaza. Food and drinks would be served as the meeting would commence, and she would have to endure through it since she will be facing many difficult questions.
Moments later, Bunnie Rabbot appeared (with apologies about being late), relieving the honorable wolf warrior and guardian of Hershey's hut.
***
Her eyes opened all of the sudden, observing an unfamiliar ceiling. Her body sat up in an instant, panting with sweat among her fur. Hershey didn't know where she was, but her instincts were working hard to let her know that she was in danger no more. Her ears ringed, but soon songs of birds and conversations of mobians near were replacing that ring slowly. Hershey tried to figure out where she was, although the room she was in kept giving her strong hints that she was here before.
Lower Mobius? No, this place looked -and felt, - a lot different, for one, the structure she was inside was made mostly of hay and wood, not brick, like in many structures of the subterranean citadel.
Her right hand rubbed the back of her neck involuntarily; she felt a sore spot just underneath her skull. The cat winced and retrieved her hand to take a look at it, the sensation of blood was there, but there were no traces of the vital liquid on it. She began to check her body, then her legs, trying to find any injured muscles or broken bones.
Her ribs were covered with bandages, and still hurt enough to let her know that they've been broken once. Her legs were still a bit sore, but no serous injuries to them were present. Her body was in pretty good shape after all.
Now was the time to find out where she was. She kept recalling the structure of the room in her mind, feelings of her being traced along with it. She still couldn't place where she was at the moment, and her head was throbbing at the effort of finding her whereabouts. Her eyes closed as she rested her face on an open hand. She wanted to get up from the comfortable bed she was resting on, but her body soon anticipated her thought with a protest of pain and tiredness.
All right then, that is not a good idea at the moment. She thought, her eyes furrowing to trace back the events that led her to this place. Her mind was foggy at first, blocking out some memories of time's past, but eventually, it allowed her to go back to Lower Mobius, at the time when the citadel was attacked by the enormous rats...
***
"Sector 14 in the city has been breached, sectors 3 trough 7 are inaccessible. We're having causalities left and right." A mobian kangaroo said, his fingers flying trough the keyboard while checking any more damage done by the monstrous robotic rodents. Harvok turned his gaze back to Leonard's monitor screen; a computerized version of the city was displayed, covered in tiny red dots that seemed to be increasing in number. Hershey crossed her arms and looked at the disk inside the computer in the meantime.
"How did this happen?" Harvok asked, "Who could've entered our computer terminals and override the city's defenses this easily?"
"I don't know sir, I wish I had an answer to that," Leonard replied, "but I am working on getting our exits opened at the moment."
"Very well, see that our people have a chance of getting out of here alive. Lieutenant Hershey, I have to ask you to leave this place, it is no longer safe for you to be around."
The feline looked at him with a concern look on her face. The goat nodded, and handed her the computer disk.
"Your mission must be completed if our friend Medusa was involved on it, make sure not to let her down."
With that said, Hershey took the disk from him and kept it inside her vest. She peered over Leonard's screen, which displayed another section of Lower Mobius being ravaged by the robots.
"Sir, I managed to open one route towards the surface," the dingo said, "it is located on the subterranean cavern, near the regional area." He looked back at the L
"Good job, Leonard. Hershey, use this exit and get out of here, we will do our best to hold off those vermin."
Another loud explosion was heard, and this time, part of the ceiling gave out, sending large chunks of debris and clustered pieces down. Hershey jumped out of the way, avoiding a direct hit from the dangerous stones. A cloud of dust covered everything as she managed to go out trough the door.
Coughing, she got up and looked behind her, there was nothing visible other than a screen of smoke that the collapsed section left. She saw no one moving inside. She walked back inside, looking around for any survivors. There was a kangaroo with a heavy computer frame located on her chest. Hershey began walking to the injured Mobian, only to be pushed aside once more, this time her oppressor was nothing more than a gigantic motorized rat, fixing a scanning laser on her face. Hershey ran away from it, but it was too late, the mechanical beast already pounced on her, raising her by means of having its metallic jaws on her backpack. Hershey was unable to move at such angle, but tried to detach her backpack to get herself free.
The rat began shaking its head violently, moving Hershey's body like a ragdoll. Her legs met the concrete walls once, making her flinch in pain. Hershey got herself free after slashing the backpack's lining with her claws. A move of desperation she found to be most useful on this situation. She fell down on her side, her legs being unable to support her body after the painful crash with the wall. The rat spat away her backpack and looked down at her, its glimmering eyes radiating death upon her face. With a screech, the rat snapped its jaws at her, and then lowered its head to take one fatal bite at her body.
The rat's eyes met a laser blast, sending the mechanical being back with another screech. Hershey looked back to the source of the blast and found a wounded mobian chipmunk at one of the doorframes holding a blaster with his right arm while his left was holding his ribs. He kept firing more shots at the rat, trying to distract it from the fallen feline.
"Hurry and run, I will keep this thing occupied!" He shouted and Hershey jolted out of the room, ignoring the burning pain that her legs still held within. There were more shots then she heard the sound of the metallic rat, but nothing more. Hershey jumped and crashed her body against a damaged window, liberating herself from the cursed robotic vermin. It was fortunate that the ground was not so far below; otherwise she would be a stain on the now-ravaged city. This time, she landed on her feet, but the burning sensation was still present.
Hershey hid herself behind a wall, and surveyed the area. Buildings riddled in fire and ruined homes where everywhere, the rats kept excavating tunnels on the floor for more of their kind to get out. She remembered the map straight from her head, she knew where she current location was, but the problem was how to get there before the rats began to attack anyone that dared cross their path.
There were not many mobians outside now, the ones who were present held the rats at bay with any means of defense they found, it ranged from laser beams to wooden sticks and rocks. The battle was turning quickly against them, since the metallic bodies of the vermin were powerful enough to sustain damage from such weak weaponry. Buildings collapsed as more rats appeared, Lower Mobius seemed to face the last ray of life as its people kept fighting desperately. Hershey felt the need to join them, to defend with any methods of dense she had at hand.
However, when she began to move towards the small group of fighters, her mind turned to let her know of her directive, images of St. John flashed on her mind, he was shown either alive or dead, and she needed to find him regard what she was confronting down here.
With a grunt, she turned and ran towards the exit. She was halfway to meet the metallic vermin, when a yellow transport pulled right in front of her. Jason smiled weakly at her, good arm holding the steering wheel of the hover car.
"Need a lift?" He said, already opening the door for her to jump in. The hover car was maneuvered away moments before a rat pounced it to the ground. Avoiding a couple of other mechanical fiends, Jason drove at full speed, avoiding the mayhem and destruction. Lower Mobius became a vast battleground, unlike the way it looked to Hershey when she first visited. Smashed building and fire replaced the cheerful life these mobians used to have. She noticed a few corpses on the ground; heroic soldiers who risked their lives so other could flee the invasion. Desperation joined her sadness, feeling hopeless, as she could do nothing to stop the massacre.
Jason made a sharp turn to the left, avoiding more of the monsters lurking around. However, a large boulder obstructed his way. Jason did not have the time to stop fully, so he tried to maneuver around the boulder without colliding with it. The action proved to be too much and the hovercar found itself turning over, hitting the boulder on its side. The vehicle spun in the air and landed on its side, knocking Hershey far away. Her body trashed against dust and rocks violently, then finally stopped against a crumbling limestone wall with a heavy thud. She managed to maintain consciousness however, raising her head lightly to see towards the direction of Jason's vehicle. Trough a scratched visor she noticed the canine's arm stretched from below the upside down hovercar, but it made no motions whatsoever. She cringed, not being able to comprehend all this carnage. The car caught flames moments later, and it was giving all the signs that it would explode any time soon.
"No...Jason...please..." Her words were stuck on her throat, trying to make way trough a mouth full of her own blood. One of the dreaded mechanical rats appeared, and it advanced towards her, ignoring the damaged vehicle. Its eyes shone with the knowledge that Hershey was not going to escape at all, and just like before, its jaws opened to meet her body, going for the kill. Damn it all, she thought, this seemed not worth the senseless killing.
Sparks flew from the neck of the robotic monster, flying around its body and barely touching the cat's fur. After the last spark flew by, the rat stood motionless, its eyes darkening. It made neither sound nor movement, but its head kept falling onto her involuntarily. She felt her body being pulled away in a flash, moments before the severed head fell on her with a crashing sound. The rest of the body fell apart moments later, piece-by-piece it went, forming a useless pile of metal and circuitry. Hershey felt confused about what was going on, she felt her body being held by a pair of masculine arms, and at the same moment, she tried to look up to see who was responsible for her rescue. She managed to notice a blurred blue face before she passed out completely, due to the damage her body sustained.
"Yes?"
"We've received news about the badnik, sir."
"How is she faring?"
"She's missing."
"What?"
"Reports say she's been out of action far too long, there are rumors that
she has been captured as well."
"Make a full search on her, and report back immediately."
"Right away, sir."
CHAPTER 5-KNOTHOLE, THE GREAT FOREST
Sally sat on the edge of her bed, staring to a cup that was once filled with coffee. Her troubled thoughts raced trough her mind, making waves after waves of burdensome responsibility as both a princesses and a leader. A few additions to that responsibility had been added, after rescuing a long lost friend from the depths of Lower Mobius.
The same friend whom she had an encounter long ago, and almost lost her life because of it. Now, that same friend was rescued from death herself, have Sonic not ventured into the underground city that got overrun by Robotnik's monstrous machines.
"How serious is it?" she asked to Doctor Quack while he attended Hershey's wounds with ease. Bloody bandages laid inside a bucket while new were being wrapped around the cat's torso, carefully going over her damaged skin and making sure it protected her ribcage.
"Not as serious as I thought it would be, really. She is lucky that her bones are intact, but I am afraid that one of the boulders hit her head pretty hard, so she will be out of it for a while," Said the doctor after applying the last of the bandages. "She is lucky she didn't had a single broken bone."
He turned his head to see the princess and added a wink on his right eye, trying to comfort her. "I'll give her until noon before she wakes up. Rest is all she needs for the moment. Now if there is anything else I can do for her, just let me know, I'll be at the usual."
By that he meant the tent housing the wounded freedom fighters. The doctor and his attendants were usually found inside (and around) the establishment, giving medications and attending to the wounded by replacing bandages every other hour. His job never seemed to be done, although his mood was always cheerful, even if it meant that he could get little or no rest at all. His dedication was something short of remarkable.
"Thank you doctor."
Sally looked down at Hershey, her arms folded against her chest. Many questions she wanted to ask the now Underground Rebellion member and no way of doing so at the moment. And after seeing her like this she wondered if it would be a good idea to even question her when she finally wakes up. The Underground Rebellion has not had any kind of contact with the Freedom Fighters for several months, and every time Sally tried to communicate with them, the lines would get abruptly cut, leaving her in the dark about updates or progress on missions related to their plans to liberate the world from any remnants of Robotnik's power.
The door behind her closed as the doctor walked out of the small hut. Sally thought of doing the same, but couldn't get herself to do so just yet.
She felt glad to see a long lost face among the many that resided in Knothole, but she also felt concern for her well being. That troublesome past did not matter any longer, although the memory is still there. She took one last look at Hershey. Her face grimaced and her eyes winced, giving hints of being still in pain. She was found in pretty bad shape when Sonic rescued her from Lower Mobius. Sally reached with her right hand at her for comfort, but refrained from doing so. She did not wanted to wake her up at her current condition. Instead, she reached inside her vest and retrieved a small disk, which was in Hershey's possession when she was found. Sally studied carefully, noticing no inscriptions on it, or any other distinguishing marks that could determine its owner. It was of a pale yellow color, and it looked no different from the ones she had used in Nicole as means of backing up files.
She raised her head in realization of this and proceeded with the notion of taking a peek inside it, but at the same time she realized it would not be right if she did hits without Hershey's permission. Sally slid the disk once more inside the vest, and rested it on the top of a shelf nearby. The princess then sat down on a wooden chair, observing Hershey. She was glad nothing serious happened to her, and that she was able to see her once more, despite of what happened in the past. She relaxed on the chair and remained there; keeping watch over the feline until a knock on the door forced her to get up. She heard the sound of the door opening, and the face of a male wolf peered trough. He was black furred and his eyes shone with a sparkle of green and gold. His muzzle was long and thin, almost vulpine. His ears, long, with a white tip on the right one.
"Princess Sally, your presence is required at the breakfast meeting, many are already acting agitated for the wait."
"Yes, thank you Malco. Let them know I will be there in a few minutes. Oh by the way, has Bunnie showed up yet?"
The wolf shook his head slowly, and then spoke. "I have not seen her around, Princess. Should I send someone to find her?"
"No, that is alright Malco, I am sure she will appear soon." Sally stood up from her seat and stretched her arms vertically, her body forming outlines around her rib line and breasts. The wolf looked aside, feeling a bit embarrassed for staring. Sally noticed this and a thin smile appeared on her face, followed by her right hand resting on her lips. Of all the new members in Knothole, Malco was surely the most modest and educated. She has heard that the black furred wolf was once a spokesman for the Kingdom of Mobius, before Robotnik's takeover took place. Many houses around the kingdom gained friendship with King Acorn as a result. Malco was also trained in hand-to-hand combat, or by using a force lance. Sally felt she made the right choice in selecting him as a guardian to watch over Hershey.
The Princess walked over to the exit and Malco opened the door fully, allowing her passage. Sally stopped halfway through and looked up at him, for his stature easily toppled hers.
"Why don't you take a brake, Malco? I will wait here until Bunnie arrives."
The wolf's ears flattened and his muzzle parted with a grin. "A brake sounds nice at the moment, m Princess, but right now many are awaiting your presence, and I prefer if the people's needs are taken care of than my own. I shall guard your friend until Bunnie relieves my post. I really don't mind."
Sally nodded with a smile of her own, and then closed the door behind her. Malco was a true gentleman, an honorable one at that she realized. She then walked from the hut and followed the small trail that led to Knothole's main plaza. Food and drinks would be served as the meeting would commence, and she would have to endure through it since she will be facing many difficult questions.
Moments later, Bunnie Rabbot appeared (with apologies about being late), relieving the honorable wolf warrior and guardian of Hershey's hut.
***
Her eyes opened all of the sudden, observing an unfamiliar ceiling. Her body sat up in an instant, panting with sweat among her fur. Hershey didn't know where she was, but her instincts were working hard to let her know that she was in danger no more. Her ears ringed, but soon songs of birds and conversations of mobians near were replacing that ring slowly. Hershey tried to figure out where she was, although the room she was in kept giving her strong hints that she was here before.
Lower Mobius? No, this place looked -and felt, - a lot different, for one, the structure she was inside was made mostly of hay and wood, not brick, like in many structures of the subterranean citadel.
Her right hand rubbed the back of her neck involuntarily; she felt a sore spot just underneath her skull. The cat winced and retrieved her hand to take a look at it, the sensation of blood was there, but there were no traces of the vital liquid on it. She began to check her body, then her legs, trying to find any injured muscles or broken bones.
Her ribs were covered with bandages, and still hurt enough to let her know that they've been broken once. Her legs were still a bit sore, but no serous injuries to them were present. Her body was in pretty good shape after all.
Now was the time to find out where she was. She kept recalling the structure of the room in her mind, feelings of her being traced along with it. She still couldn't place where she was at the moment, and her head was throbbing at the effort of finding her whereabouts. Her eyes closed as she rested her face on an open hand. She wanted to get up from the comfortable bed she was resting on, but her body soon anticipated her thought with a protest of pain and tiredness.
All right then, that is not a good idea at the moment. She thought, her eyes furrowing to trace back the events that led her to this place. Her mind was foggy at first, blocking out some memories of time's past, but eventually, it allowed her to go back to Lower Mobius, at the time when the citadel was attacked by the enormous rats...
***
"Sector 14 in the city has been breached, sectors 3 trough 7 are inaccessible. We're having causalities left and right." A mobian kangaroo said, his fingers flying trough the keyboard while checking any more damage done by the monstrous robotic rodents. Harvok turned his gaze back to Leonard's monitor screen; a computerized version of the city was displayed, covered in tiny red dots that seemed to be increasing in number. Hershey crossed her arms and looked at the disk inside the computer in the meantime.
"How did this happen?" Harvok asked, "Who could've entered our computer terminals and override the city's defenses this easily?"
"I don't know sir, I wish I had an answer to that," Leonard replied, "but I am working on getting our exits opened at the moment."
"Very well, see that our people have a chance of getting out of here alive. Lieutenant Hershey, I have to ask you to leave this place, it is no longer safe for you to be around."
The feline looked at him with a concern look on her face. The goat nodded, and handed her the computer disk.
"Your mission must be completed if our friend Medusa was involved on it, make sure not to let her down."
With that said, Hershey took the disk from him and kept it inside her vest. She peered over Leonard's screen, which displayed another section of Lower Mobius being ravaged by the robots.
"Sir, I managed to open one route towards the surface," the dingo said, "it is located on the subterranean cavern, near the regional area." He looked back at the L
"Good job, Leonard. Hershey, use this exit and get out of here, we will do our best to hold off those vermin."
Another loud explosion was heard, and this time, part of the ceiling gave out, sending large chunks of debris and clustered pieces down. Hershey jumped out of the way, avoiding a direct hit from the dangerous stones. A cloud of dust covered everything as she managed to go out trough the door.
Coughing, she got up and looked behind her, there was nothing visible other than a screen of smoke that the collapsed section left. She saw no one moving inside. She walked back inside, looking around for any survivors. There was a kangaroo with a heavy computer frame located on her chest. Hershey began walking to the injured Mobian, only to be pushed aside once more, this time her oppressor was nothing more than a gigantic motorized rat, fixing a scanning laser on her face. Hershey ran away from it, but it was too late, the mechanical beast already pounced on her, raising her by means of having its metallic jaws on her backpack. Hershey was unable to move at such angle, but tried to detach her backpack to get herself free.
The rat began shaking its head violently, moving Hershey's body like a ragdoll. Her legs met the concrete walls once, making her flinch in pain. Hershey got herself free after slashing the backpack's lining with her claws. A move of desperation she found to be most useful on this situation. She fell down on her side, her legs being unable to support her body after the painful crash with the wall. The rat spat away her backpack and looked down at her, its glimmering eyes radiating death upon her face. With a screech, the rat snapped its jaws at her, and then lowered its head to take one fatal bite at her body.
The rat's eyes met a laser blast, sending the mechanical being back with another screech. Hershey looked back to the source of the blast and found a wounded mobian chipmunk at one of the doorframes holding a blaster with his right arm while his left was holding his ribs. He kept firing more shots at the rat, trying to distract it from the fallen feline.
"Hurry and run, I will keep this thing occupied!" He shouted and Hershey jolted out of the room, ignoring the burning pain that her legs still held within. There were more shots then she heard the sound of the metallic rat, but nothing more. Hershey jumped and crashed her body against a damaged window, liberating herself from the cursed robotic vermin. It was fortunate that the ground was not so far below; otherwise she would be a stain on the now-ravaged city. This time, she landed on her feet, but the burning sensation was still present.
Hershey hid herself behind a wall, and surveyed the area. Buildings riddled in fire and ruined homes where everywhere, the rats kept excavating tunnels on the floor for more of their kind to get out. She remembered the map straight from her head, she knew where she current location was, but the problem was how to get there before the rats began to attack anyone that dared cross their path.
There were not many mobians outside now, the ones who were present held the rats at bay with any means of defense they found, it ranged from laser beams to wooden sticks and rocks. The battle was turning quickly against them, since the metallic bodies of the vermin were powerful enough to sustain damage from such weak weaponry. Buildings collapsed as more rats appeared, Lower Mobius seemed to face the last ray of life as its people kept fighting desperately. Hershey felt the need to join them, to defend with any methods of dense she had at hand.
However, when she began to move towards the small group of fighters, her mind turned to let her know of her directive, images of St. John flashed on her mind, he was shown either alive or dead, and she needed to find him regard what she was confronting down here.
With a grunt, she turned and ran towards the exit. She was halfway to meet the metallic vermin, when a yellow transport pulled right in front of her. Jason smiled weakly at her, good arm holding the steering wheel of the hover car.
"Need a lift?" He said, already opening the door for her to jump in. The hover car was maneuvered away moments before a rat pounced it to the ground. Avoiding a couple of other mechanical fiends, Jason drove at full speed, avoiding the mayhem and destruction. Lower Mobius became a vast battleground, unlike the way it looked to Hershey when she first visited. Smashed building and fire replaced the cheerful life these mobians used to have. She noticed a few corpses on the ground; heroic soldiers who risked their lives so other could flee the invasion. Desperation joined her sadness, feeling hopeless, as she could do nothing to stop the massacre.
Jason made a sharp turn to the left, avoiding more of the monsters lurking around. However, a large boulder obstructed his way. Jason did not have the time to stop fully, so he tried to maneuver around the boulder without colliding with it. The action proved to be too much and the hovercar found itself turning over, hitting the boulder on its side. The vehicle spun in the air and landed on its side, knocking Hershey far away. Her body trashed against dust and rocks violently, then finally stopped against a crumbling limestone wall with a heavy thud. She managed to maintain consciousness however, raising her head lightly to see towards the direction of Jason's vehicle. Trough a scratched visor she noticed the canine's arm stretched from below the upside down hovercar, but it made no motions whatsoever. She cringed, not being able to comprehend all this carnage. The car caught flames moments later, and it was giving all the signs that it would explode any time soon.
"No...Jason...please..." Her words were stuck on her throat, trying to make way trough a mouth full of her own blood. One of the dreaded mechanical rats appeared, and it advanced towards her, ignoring the damaged vehicle. Its eyes shone with the knowledge that Hershey was not going to escape at all, and just like before, its jaws opened to meet her body, going for the kill. Damn it all, she thought, this seemed not worth the senseless killing.
Sparks flew from the neck of the robotic monster, flying around its body and barely touching the cat's fur. After the last spark flew by, the rat stood motionless, its eyes darkening. It made neither sound nor movement, but its head kept falling onto her involuntarily. She felt her body being pulled away in a flash, moments before the severed head fell on her with a crashing sound. The rest of the body fell apart moments later, piece-by-piece it went, forming a useless pile of metal and circuitry. Hershey felt confused about what was going on, she felt her body being held by a pair of masculine arms, and at the same moment, she tried to look up to see who was responsible for her rescue. She managed to notice a blurred blue face before she passed out completely, due to the damage her body sustained.