It had been a long two weeks. Many of them had not even seen light yield to dark and dark defer to light. They only had watched the hours tick by and scratched the days on the wall like cavemen did. They had made good progress. They were almost there. But Rand had run out of his explosives and progress had been hindered greatly. It would take another week, they had estimated, before they would be able to surface at the future site. And once they were there, the daunting task of rebuilding Knothole itself still would lay ahead of them.
"I bet Uncle Chuck's worried sick about us."
"Jeez, I never even thought about that."
"After seeing Knothole burn two weeks ago he must think we're dead."
"I'll… go see him…"
Sonic pulled himself out through the tree-stump into the shadow of the former Knothole. There wasn't much to see anymore. Some structures still stood. Sonic suspected the Tornado was still intact, though probably not working, since it quite as satiating to the flame as wood. But everywhere, there was ash, blackened remnants of trees, trunk-bottoms basalt, torn from their bodies, eaten alive by the inferno. Then Sonic looked to the left, and he saw. The fire still burned. There was nobody to put it out, so it would burn until it died naturally, or someone rose to the task of squelching it. It was nowhere near its former strength or size, but neighboring trees still burned slowly. Sonic sought to purge this image and its associated memories, as he turned back to gaze forward, and his feet moved to follow.
Sonic closed his eyes as he quickly walked out of the shadow, throwing the painful vestige behind him, as if this would make him forget. But nothing could make him forget.
Suddenly, he heard a crunching footstep, as the charred twigs beneath someone's advance broke apart again. His eyes shot open. "Who's there?"
He felt a tap on the shoulder from behind and heard its voice. "It's me."
Sonic would not turn around to face it, for fear of again seeing Robotnik's heavy footstep which had crushed him and his. So Sonic restated to the space ahead: "Who?"
"Caero." Caero came around and now stood in front of Sonic.
"Hey."
Sonic didn't want to talk about what had happened.
"Glad ta see yer okay."
The pain burst. "I'm okay?"
"Well, alive…"
Sonic had expected Caero to hastily apologize, but instead he got this. It felt cold, abrasive, heartless. "Shut up!"
"What? I thought ya were dead… I mean—"
Sonic held back another angry yell, resisted the urge to curse and make all of this Caero's fault; he said nothing.
"Is everyone else okay?"
"They're alive," Sonic said irritatedly.
"Where ya going?"
"To let my uncle know I'm alive."
"Can I join ya?"
Sonic sighed. "I don't care." He brushed past Caero and continued walking.
Caero hurried to catch up. Sonic spoke as he stared ahead. "Where were you?"
"Um… oh, I was back at my clan."
Sonic didn't reply; the rest of the trip was mostly in silence.
"Unc? Ya here?" "Uncle Chuck?" "Hey, are ya here?"
Sonic heard a clambering sound, and then his uncle came hurriedly up the stairs.
"Sonny! You're okay!"
"Yeah, I'm alive."
"I was so worried when I heard Robotnik found Knothole. Is everyone else—"
"Yeah, we're fine. Hiding underground. Sally says we'll build a new Knothole."
"But Robotnik already—"
"Knows where it is? Yeah. We'll build it somewhere else in the Forest. Well, at least, that's what Sally says."
"Not what you say?"
Sonic sighed heavily. "I dunno. I guess… but it seems so impossible. To build it all again."
"Keep your head up, Sonny-boy; it's times like these when you need your friends more than ever, and they're alive, Sonny-boy. They're alive. As long as you have them, you can build everything else again."
Sonic lowered his head and nodded faintly.
After a time of silence, Sonic looked up again. "I just need to get my mind off of this. I need to go kick Robotnik's butt! Make him pay!"
Uncle Chuck frowned. "Well, I didn't want to tell you yet, since you already have so much else burdening you…"
"What?"
"Well, Robotnik's security has heightened and his forces are conspicuously busy. It seems he's working on something big."
Caero, who had been silent thus far, now spoke. "He's planning something big. Got his troops focused on building something."
There was an awkward pause, and then Sonic turned to eyeball Caero, who stood behind him. "Wait a sec… how do you know?"
"Um… Well really I don't. Just a rumor. From the clan. Maybe one of them saw a lotta troops, or, uh, overheard something."
Sonic glared at Caero.
"What, ya don't believe me? My clan gossips all the time. Jeez."
Sonic loosened his gaze, and then turned back to his uncle. "We've got the location of another group of Freedom Fighters. The guys from Tarahassas do, I mean. They're helping us dig our way to the place where we'll rebuild. I told you about Tarahassas, right?"
"Yes."
"Well, they know of another group, in the south. Do you think that Robotnik's really making something big?"
"There's a lot of evidence, Sonny. But now I'm convinced. I overheard Snively addressing the beast about 'the grand tower' and its progress. Plus the heightened security, the multi-part Project UA, the Emerald, the Island, burning Knothole and then recalling all of the troops within a day."
"I'll go find those other Freedom Fighters, then."
"That's a good idea, Sonic. If you bring one of them to me, I'll try to convince them of my suspicions. If this is as big as it seems, I think it would only be wise that the Freedom Fighters all work together."
"Gotcha, Unc."
"Good luck, Sonic."
"The Tornado was damaged, but it survived. I was able to make the necessary repairs. I of course got rid of the tracking device, and Robotnik already knows where Knothole is if you land back here, but be sure to check anyway, just to be safe."
"Good job, Rotor. We'll be back soon, hopefully with some new Freedom Fighters."
"I'm 'a come too."
"What? Fine, whatever, Caero; I don't care."
The south was a bitter cold. Sonic exhaled and watched the warm breath leave his body, opaque until it dissipated into the frigid air. The home of the Ilus Freedom Fighters was not far off. Sonic turned to find nothing. The snow-capped mountains rose up on both sides of him. Sonic glanced to the left, but Caero wasn't there. He turned to the other side; Tails was still there. "Hey, have you seen Caero?"
"You just noticed? He left just after we landed. Said he'd catch up with us soon."
Sonic shrugged. "He told you and not me? Whatever."
They kept walking.
Eventually Caero returned.
"What were you doing?"
"I—well—I was hungry. Got some berries. Good this time a' year."
"Berries?"
"Ya'd think they'dn't grow here, but they do. Sorry; should've brought you some. Didn't think of it." Caero cracked a smile.
"Whatever."
Now ahead the two opposite mountainsides that bordered Sonic left and right collided, as they both turned for the other and met in the middle. This was where the Ilus Freedom Fighters were.
"Anybody here?"
Sonic was greeted by a bear, white-furred. "Who are you?"
"Fellow Freedom Fighters. Robotnik is planning something big and we need to band together."
"How do you know what Robotnik's doing? Work for him?" The bear growled.
"My uncle does, sort of."
The bear misinterpreted, and grabbed Sonic by the throat. "We don't take too kindly to Robotnik."
Tails cried out, "No, no, Uncle Chuck's a spy for us, from inside Robotnik's! He's roboticized but has his mind! Not a bad guy!"
The bear loosened his grip on Sonic, and Sonic nodded slightly. The bear acknowledged this and dropped his arm back to his side. "Look, we're not suicidal. If what you've got planned for us is for us to go and attack Robotnik, all of us, then I'm gonna have to show ya to the door. We'll take care of Robotnik when he threatens us, but if he leaves us alone, we don't throw our lives away."
"You don't understand," said Sonic. "If Robotnik's got something big under his belt – and that's besides his fat belly – then the whole world might be at stake."
"What's this 'might?' What exactly is it that Robotnik's got planned? If you can't answer that, then all of this means nothing."
Sonic looked to the ground uneasily. "I don't know exactly what it is."
"Yeah, and you don't know exactly if it even exists. I've heard enough. I could tell you the moon was gonna fall and kill us, and that'd be just as convincing as your little spiel. Sorry."
"Robotnik has the Chaos Emerald; he dropped the Floating Island into the sea. He found and burned our home, and Uncle Chuck says the SWATbots are all focused together on building something. Security's heightened. And there's this 'Project UA' that's split into a bunch of parts that's super-classified."
"Ah, so he burned your home, eh? Well, look, I'm sorry, but just because Robotnik's hurt you doesn't mean you can bring everybody else into your problem. And it doesn't mean he's going to destroy the world. You're pissed at him so you want to kill him. Fair enough, but you can't let that blind you."
"Listen up, you! I'm not here on some kind of personal vendetta. My Uncle Chuck doesn't say stuff for the hell of it. He's concerned. It doesn't matter if I'm right or not; this isn't about being right. It's about having good reason to wonder, 'what if?'"
"What if the moon is gonna hit Mobius and we're all gonna die? I might as well get all paranoid and live my life in fear, eh?"
"You do live your life in fear already. All us do, but not as much as you. You're Freedom Fighters! But you don't care about freeing Mobius; you just care about yourselves. You'll sit here and hide, in fear, until you're threatened. Then you'll kill the threat and go hide in fear again until you're threatened again."
"You know what? Maybe we are selfish. But it doesn't matter, because we've tried to stop Robotnik, and it should be pretty clear by now that we're not winning this war and we aren't gonna. So what's the use in trying? Just do what you can, and for us, that's protecting ourselves."
"You're right. We're not winning this war. But maybe that's because split up we're powerless. One little factions can't stop Robotnik. But together…"
"…"
"Do you finally see? If we work together, all of us, we can stop Robotnik."
The bear didn't answer. "Why don't you come in? I'll show you to our leader Raiyon[1]."
The bear, who was still nameless, turned his back on Sonic and started down a hall. Sonic turned to exchange glances with Tails, and then they followed the bear; Caero followed them.
Raiyon was a mountain lion of middle age, with gray, almost white fur, and the darker fur around his jaw was like a mane.
"I overheard," said Raiyon, with a voice that was neither deep nor high, but more deep than high.
"And?"
"We have tended to promote a policy of isolationism. It keeps us from needless danger."
Sonic looked as if to interrupt, but Raiyon sensed this and deliberately continued speaking, drowning out any protest Sonic may have made. "But, I have been slightly moved by your ambition, despite it being somewhat naïve. We will fight if you can bring together a substantial amount of other Freedom Fighters. If you can make a force large enough to stand against Robotnik, we will join it."
"While I appreciate your compromise and won't forget it, we may not have enough time. This isn't just about defeating Robotnik; that comes later. Now we have to stop whatever he is doing. We don't need the world for that. Uncle Chuck said he'd be willing to convince you himself if one of you will come with me. And once we stop whatever Robotnik is doing, then we can unite the world and destroy him."
"I suppose there's no harm in hearing your uncle out," said Raiyon. "Arnost, go."
"Me?" the bear exclaimed; he was Arnost.
"Yes, you. Don't argue; just go."
Arnost sighed heavily, and when he turned back to Sonic his eyes did not look especially pleased with him, but he followed orders and did not argue.
Sonic, Caero, Tails, and Arnost retraced the way back to the entry. Once outside, Arnost spoke. "I don't appreciate you trying to pull us into your war."
"You guys should change your name to the Freedom Frightened. How can you be Freedom Fighters if you won't even fight for freedom?"
Sonic remembered that Tarahassas, too, had been tentative to help, but chose not to mention it.
"We do fight for freedom: ours."
"Fine, then change your name to Greedy Fighters. Selfish suits you."
"I don't need your snide shit. I'll hear what your uncle has to say, because I've been ordered to. But that doesn't mean I want to give my life to Robotnik, which is what I'd be doing by trying to defeat him."
"It's no use arguing with you; you're coming, so I'll just leave it at that for now."
The four of them walked back toward the Tornado; the cliffs rose up as colossal walls on either side of them, defining the wide-yet-narrow path. Suddenly, there was noise. Sonic's eyes darted around, seeking the source of the sound, but the source quickly revealed itself and Sonic's searching was rendered unnecessary. There were a good, but not overwhelming, number of SWATbots coming from hiding against the great walls on either side, and they converged ahead of Sonic.
"Shit! How'd they find us? There were no SWATbots here before and how could Robotnik think to look for us here, of all places?"
"I told you, bastard!" Arnost yelled. "This is what happens when you fight Robotnik! Thanks a lot!"
Suddenly, a rabid accusation, in confusion, came to the forefront of Sonic's mind as he turned and shouted vindictively. "Caero! What did you say you were doing?"
Caero did not expect this wild accusation, so his response was a stutter. "I – I was picking berries, eating."
Caero's hesitation fueled Sonic's fire. "Liar! There's no other way Robotnik could find us in such a coincidence but from inside. And you were gone at too opportune a time for it to just be coincidence!"
The SWATbots started advancing.
Caero's glare turned from surprise to cold. He then, out of nowhere, started laughing. "I guess I didn't do too good a job, huh?" Suddenly, what had seemed like a wild accusation at someone who was friend, not foe, became twisted.
Tails uttered, "You… you…"
"Why?!" Sonic yelled.
"When I saw Knothole in flames… I saw what happens to people if they defy Robotnik. I learned then that you're on one side or the other, and that only Robotnik's side's got the power to win. I wanted a future fer my clan, what's left'a my family. And if I continued to defy Robotnik, he'd destroy that future. I'm… sorry, Sonic."
Sonic yelled, but Tails' cry interrupted his rage. "Sonic, the SWATbots!"
Sonic turned to find the SWATbots almost upon him, and quickly plowed his curled, spiny body through them, tearing them apart. But there were many, and Sonic could not fell them all at once. But Arnost, too, had overcome his refusal to fight Robotnik and was knocking SWATbots to the ground with his big arms, a white winter upon the silver metal that breached the greater white of this place. And when they were all felled, they turned to Caero. But Caero raised a gun. "I don't wanna kill ya, Sonic. Just go. But remember, next time we meet, we'll be enemies. But as a friend, lemme give some advice. Don't take it lightly: join Robotnik. His side'll win the war. The only way to a future's through him."
Sonic stepped forward.
"Don't; I swear I'll shoot. Get away; run; I'm letting you go!"
Sonic understood, but before he turned back toward the Tornado, before his backed faced Caero, he uttered, "Mobius has no future with Robotnik."
Caero didn't give Sonic the last word. "But I do. And you do. Mobius may suffer, but at least we will live."
Sonic frowned; disappointment was evident in his eyes. "The whole world is selfish now. Maybe Robotnik's already won, then; he's made us selfish. The world is selfish."
"We were always selfish."
"I know… but that's a truth I don't want to believe."
Sonic turned then, and left Caero staring at his back, gun raised, arm shaking.
"What about Ilus?" Arnost was shaking Sonic by the shoulders and his voice was not restrained. "The bastard was in there! He knows where it is! I have to go back and save it! He'll tell Robotnik and Robotnik'll destroy it!"
"He's waiting there; he'll kill you. Don't you understand? Robotnik will destroy the world if we don't unite. And Ilus can take care of itself while we're gone. Robotnik has more important things to do than go attack it right away. It'll be there when we get back, and then we can defend it."
"You don't know it'll be there when we get back. You don't care, either, 'cause if it ain't, then we'll feel the pain you felt, and it'll feel good inside to you, to not be alone in it."
"Robotnik already took our homes long ago! We all already feel pain! I don't care about making you feel sorry for me! I don't want to be pitied!"
Arnost frowned, and then walked in silence back to the Tornado.
His arm shook like a chronic shiver, a chronic fear, and his arm was still outstretched ever once they disappeared into the fog horizon. Slowly, his arm lowered.
"I… am… a monster."
He started, and his fingers let go of the gun. He stumbled to retrieve it, and then exploded, seizing and pulling the trigger, barrel-to-the-sky.
"Traitor! What does it matter if you live? We all die! And now I'll die a coward. I'm just Robotnik's tool. He doesn't care. He doesn't care about giving me a life, a future. All he wants is the death of Mobius and I'll give it to him just so I can live alone in his dead world. I'm just his tool, a disgrace!" He unleashed a torrent of shots at the silently screaming sky.
He choked back a tear. "But it's too late to turn back now."
"So he was with Robotnik all along… that devil."
"No, not all along. He said he defected after seeing Knothole burning; and he'd have no reason to lie about that now."
"So those times he helped us were real?" asked Tails.
Sonic sighed. "Yeah."
"Does he know about Knothole underground?" asked Uncle Chuck.
Sonic contemplated. "He knows about Knothole, the old one, but not underground, I don't think."
"But he knows about Ilus! I can see you don't give a shit though."
"We'll be back there before Robotnik, I hope. Unc, spill it for 'im."
Uncle Chuck let flow the evidence. Of how the fall of the Island and the fall of Knothole coincided with the birthing and differentiation of the high-clearance "Project UA." Of how the SWATbots were busied, concentrated, needed, never free from duty. Of the abnormally high security. Of the "grand tower;" of the new general; of the echidna; of the constructions.
"While all of this is rather suspicious, it doesn't mean Robotnik is planning to destroy the world."
"But do you want to take that chance?"
"I can't wait any longer. I shouldn't have even waited this long. I'm a fool! I need to know if my friends are alive."
"How will you find them? I'm sure they're hiding from Robotnik."
"Let's wait until Sonic comes back and go from there."
"I've had enough waiting!"
"What good would it do to go looking? You won't find them alone."
"You lied to me; you said that we'd look for them. You lied. You have no intention of helping me."
"We'll look, but it's no use until we have more people."
"We have enough people! But all you care about is digging a new home. Well, what about my home? What about me and mine?"
"Can we at least wait until Sonic comes back?"
"Fuck Sonic."
"He's trying to bring Freedom Fighters from Ilus. And then we can find your friends."
"They're probably already dead. And who says the new fighters will want to help me any more than you do? Who says they'll want to help my find my friends? Why should I wait for them?"
"Actually, we may be able to look now."
Everybody turned to find Rotor the speaker.
"I have this heat radar. It's not very good, because I never finished it, but it's worth a shot."
"Alright, Rotor," said Sally, "I guess it's worth a try. I'll stay here and wait for Sonic. You and Bunnie take Knuckles to the Floating Island."
"Alright, we'll join you."
The room was unsettled and clamored as the verdict was declared.
"Thank you."
Who was this stranger in their homes who sought to force them into a war they didn't want to be in? An insurgent shout from the crowd, a body rising from its seat: "Who do you think you are?"
"Silence! He speaks with me! Any dissent against him is an attack against me and my decision."
The protestor sat, mute. It was not as easy to stand against Raiyon as it was an outsider.
"I, too, did not want to enter this war. You know I have always preached isolationism. But if all the evidence I have been given really does equate to something to be feared, then should we stand here, we would be brought into the war anyway, with death, and not under our own volition."
There were murmurs, some of approval, some of understanding, and some of quiet scorn.
"And if this is a false alarm, we can return home and live as we always have. But I don't think it wise to place so much on the hope that this is only routine Robotnik happenings, when in the presence of such ominous ambiance. If the Princess' rebellion can put us to use in subduing the potential threat, then we should take this chance to ensure that we are not caught by it in such a way that we can no longer lash back."
When they reached the Floating Island, Rotor had to lug his large radar box, making movement slower than usual.
"This was the side of the island you guys were on, right?"
"Mainly."
"I'll set up my heat radar device a couple miles inland."
It took a while, but finally Rotor said "Okay, stop," and began setting up his radar box. It had never been completed, so not only was it not as effective as Rotor would have liked, but it also wasn't quite as functional. It wouldn't work on the first try, and Rotor had to open it up and make some changes; it engaged on the next try. A radar disc on the front top of the box started spinning, and several minutes later stopped. A crude LCD display lit up on the top-center of the box. There were several scattered heat signatures in the northern section of the display. A small blotch of heat signals could be seen directly in the center; Rotor knew that was themselves. In the far northwest corner was another heat signature. Rotor scanned over the cryptic annotations that accompanied the colors of heat.
"There must still be SWATbots on the island. I think all of those in the north are SWATbots. I'm not sure, though. All of the individually-separated ones up there all carry very similar signatures. The ones up there," he pointed to the far northwest corner of the screen, "are different."
"How far away is that?"
"I have no idea. I never got around to testing how large this thing's range is. But I don't think I got it to see very far before I stopped working on it."
"Well, let's start headin' thattaway." Bunnie pointed in the direction that was northwest on the box's display.
Rotor lugged the heavy box behind him.
When they had gone some ways, Rotor told everyone to stop again and they waited several minutes for the radar box to scan for heat signatures again.
Now, the results were slightly different. The signatures that Rotor recognized as what was probably the same bodies that had been in the far northwest last time were still northwest of them, and it seemed they were now at the midpoint of the radar catchment's radius. The scattered figures that Rotor had suspected to be SWATbots were now much closer than before, to the east, a bit north. But what was most striking about the readout was that the scattered bodies to the east now seemed to be orbited by single bodies, in five directions. There were the scattered bodies at the nucleus of the mass, and then at five points around the disfigured, chaotic nucleus' warped and shaky circumference, there were what appeared to be single bodies at a fair distance from the center.
And then Rotor realized what this meant. If these were SWATbots as he has supposed, and now he was more certain of this inference, then these outliers were probably scouts, patrols. Robotnik had pulled a great deal of his forces from the island, but not all of them, and it appeared he still scouted the area just to keep informed on it, to keep his control and power over it, so he could see all.
And now Rotor glared at the screen again. If he drew a line between the chaotic congregation of SWATbots and the single outlier body that was closest to him at the center of the radar catchment… it appeared to be heading his way. It wasn't a perfect course, but from what he had inferred based on how much distance they had shaved between them and the northwest heat signals for how much time roughly they had taken to get there, the margin by which the patrolling SWATbot would miss him if it kept its current course was probably not enough for it to not see him.
And now he wondered how much closer it was to him now in all the time that had passed since the radar had run its scan. It was not very far from him on the screen, and it was closer now. Rotor shut off the device quickly.
"Move!"
"What's up, sugah Rote?"
"I think a SWATbot patrol is on target to come within viewing range of us. We need to try to get away before it gets here! Move!"
Rotor lugged the radar box, and he was clearly trying to hurry, trying to run, and moving much faster than he had before, but the big box still slowed him down and he couldn't really run with it, just try.
They had gotten a fair, but not great, distance when they were seen. They heard, in the distance, a metal clanking toward them. It was the SWATbot, as Rotor had thought.
"Move!"
A weak laser beam went over their shoulder, with poor accuracy from the distance the SWATbot held from them. But as Bunnie looked over her shoulder, the SWATbot had emerged from the fog of vision and was now clearly visible off in the distance. It was closing distance. They ran. But the clanking got closer and closer. Bunnie looked over her shoulder and it wouldn't be long before it wouldn't be feasible to run anymore.
"Rotor! Drop the box!"
"Wha—what? No way!"
Another laser beam, now with greater accuracy, flew past Knuckles' side.
"Turn an' fight or drop it an' run!"
The SWATbot was behind them now, though, and they couldn't run anymore. It would hit them at point blank if they tried. So Rotor released his grip on the big box and it leapt a few inches off the ground as he did, before thudding heavily to the ground. Rotor was not very fast naturally, but now, running, he could at least hold his distance against the SWATbot while his endurance lasted. The dropped box caused a distraction, however, which stalled the SWATbot and allowed the three to gain a good margin against the SWATbot, as they continued running. Eventually, it must have given up, as they turned around and saw it wasn't there. Rotor was breathing heavily at this point, out of breath, and when he turned and saw their pursuer was no longer there, he stopped and rested his hands on his thighs.
"How far are we now?" This voice was Knuckles.
"Can ya just give me a second here?" Rotor was trying to catch his breath.
Knuckles rolled his eyes.
"Jus' hold on a sec, ya raring 'kidna!" Bunnie smiled; her poking was clearly meant in jest.
"Alright, now," said Rotor, still short on breath, but rising, probably to gratify the tired Knuckles… tired of waiting, and tired of not knowing. "We ran more west than north so if we head north we should get there. I think we got enough—" Rotor paused to catch a deep breath. "—enough lateral distance."
Knuckles nodded solemnly and they started walking north.
"I'll have to talk with Sally and Chuck first, but we'll send word when we're prepared to strike. Probably soon. Pick you up in the Tornado XL… assuming it works."
"Why do we have to be 'picked up'? So you can take us to your home? 'Cause you're better than us?"
Sonic laughed. "Man, you guys are uptight and full of hostility. No, we'll gather in the Great Forest because it's by Robotropolis. Makes sense, huh?" Sonic crossed his arms. There were no retorts from the crowd.
"And thank you for your support. Well… your reluctant agreeing to go along because your leader said so… but still… and thanks, Raiyon. This ain't about whether my Uncle Chuck is right or not about what all these weird things mean. It's about the fact that if he is right, the consequences of not fighting are far more than the consequences of mistaking Robotnik's doings or whatever else. I'll see ya soon." Sonic nodded, to the crowd or to nobody, and smiled before walking down the carpet and out the door, Tails quickly running to follow behind him.
Once Sonic was out of earshot, Raiyon spoke. "I know that we could make up some nonsense and use it to convince people of lies, the world ending, our destruction if we didn't do something about it. There's stories about stuff like that. And nothing short of Robotnik coming to our door and saying, 'I'm going to unleash the ultimate hell tomorrow; just thought I'd let you know so you can try and stop me' would be completely convincing of the fact that there's immense danger and we need to stop it or be enslaved forever – and even Robotnik saying that could be a lie, so there's nothing that can totally validate our tomorrows as being so crucial that there's no choice but to defend them. Nothing can do that. But if we just accepted that, and told ourselves that since we can never be truly sure that a warning is true, we should never heed them because then we'd risk it being a false alarm and needlessly having acted on it, then we'd be caught in the undertow of slavery once it does come. And Robotnik isn't just going to sit there and let our little rebellions survive, not if he can help it. So he will try to destroy us even if we don't try to destroy him, because we're a threat. And someday maybe we'll realize – maybe I'll realize, because even I cannot bring myself to truly fight for freedom and do what is right – that the only way to better our lives is to fight the oppression.
"But in the meantime, we at least need to realize that while the hedgehog and his uncle certainly could be making up garbage just to try and bend us, twist us, make us do their bidding. But why? They are us. They are Freedom Fighters; their enemy and our enemy is the same. They have no need, no reason to lie. What they say is true, and their fear and concern for what it means is real. And if you think about the state of the world now, maybe you can realize that we have reason for concern too if we have reason to believe that Robotnik is building up to gain even more power than he already has. The hedgehog and his gang haven't ever before come to us for help. They've always fought it out alone, took care of themselves, and probably – judging by the hedgehog's attitude – even taken the offensive on Robotnik without us. So when they come here and tell us that they fear Robotnik is doing something bigger than he's ever done before, you have to wonder how big it is and what it can do, and then fear it.
"Maybe we should be like them, taking the offensive. But I don't want to think about that right now. So let's join them just until we find out how big this thing is, or if it's even big at all. And I want you to cooperate with them until that task is done, and once we have destroyed whatever huge threat there may be, we can rest again and stop fighting. Okay?"
"Is anybody here?"
Of course they wouldn't answer. How foolish could they be?
"Hello?"
Waste of breath. If they were to fall for this, they'd fall for him, and then they might as well have never hid.
"It's—"
"—Hey, this is Knuckles! Y'all there?"
Now they were getting somewhere. Knuckles' voice.
Too bad.
Somewhere around here.
But they couldn't confirm or validate. Not without the box.
Knuckles scampered ahead. There was a black-lined cave. He stepped inside, gyrating his head upon his neck to look around, as well as he could in the dark antilight. He stepped deeper into the cave, and when he reached the back, he had found nothing. He sighed, and turned to go back when his eye was caught by something. At the back of the cave, there was very little light to illuminate the shape of the cave, but it appeared that to his right, the wall of darkness was hollowed. He stepped forward, hand outstretched, to test his speculation, and when his hand moved through the invisible wall, he knew he had been right. The walls, without light, looked black, and blended in with the empty darkness. So this was not a wall, but the walls all looked as black as the hollow. Knuckles, slowly walking forward, bumped into the cold wall at the end of the hollow. Everything around him looked nearly the same; it was hard to tell emptiness from occupied space. He stopped to rub his nose, which had met the unexpected end of the black cavity. And in his silence, he heard breathing, ever so quiet. And now, in this place, around the corner from the light at the cave's end, where he could only barely see his hands in front of him, he gathered reservations. Was the breathing his friend's, or something else? At this point, Bunnie had followed him into the cave.
"Knuckles?"
The breathing's regular pattern jostled, and suddenly Knuckles realized that the voice, speaking his name, breaking the silence, had almost certainly roused their company in the darkness. And his thought was confirmed when he felt something upon him, and was knocked to the ground. Bunnie gasped as she felt Knuckles' body felled to her feet. Rotor came now into the cave but stopped advancing once he found Bunnie in the darkness. It was not pitch black, but Knuckles could still not make out who it was in front of him. He could not even tell for sure if he was staring into their eyes or the back or side of their head.
"Who are you?"
Knuckles felt a tight grip around his wrist, but heard no words.
Knuckles' assailant couldn't be seen. Knuckles didn't know who it was; it could be one of his friends and he couldn't even know. It could be an enemy.
"I'm here to save you."
No response, no loosened grip.
Knuckles pulled free his other arm that was not in the assailant's grip, and reached out, to touch their face and find the texture and see if he could recognize it. As his hand ran along the shadow-shrouded face, he felt a sharp pain in his fingers and palm, and realized he had been bitten. Knuckles cried in pain, and pried his feet, legs and knees well-bent, against the invisible assailant, and then, in one quick movement, pushed out his legs like a spring uncoiled and felt the presence thrust away from him. He heard a thud, followed by tense silence.
"Who are you?" Knuckles asked again.
There was no answer. It seemed adamantly stubborn, refusing to talk. But perhaps it couldn't now.
And then suddenly Knuckles felt a sting in the back of his neck.
"Charmy!" It wasn't until after this cry had passed his lips that he even realized the thought behind it. And this subconscious belief turned the thought, once it hit him, into a conviction. So he continued with the motive: "It's Knuckles!"
Silence was broken. "Knuckles?" And it was Charmy's distinctive voice.
Knuckles heaved a sigh of relief, but it was quickly dissipated. "Then who was it that attacked me?"
"Espio."
"Espio?" Knuckles was calling him.
But there was no response.
"Espi—"
"You hurt him bad. Might have knocked him out when he hit the wall. Can't see."
"Damn, got to get him outta here."
Knuckles stepped forward, but couldn't see anything but darkness. He moved slowly forward; one foot, now the other, now the first, arms outstretched. And then he felt the cold wall at his fingers. He reached down, and with his hands found Espio where he had fallen from the wall. He slid his arms under Espio's invisible-through-darkness body and then lifted him. "Let's get out of here, now."
"Ilus has agreed to cooperate with us against whatever big thing Robotnik is supposedly doing. Whenever you're ready to attack, we can pick 'em up." Sonic paused, and then turned to speak to Rotor, and ask, "Can you can the XL working?" but Rotor wasn't there. "Where's Rotor?"
"He went with Knuckles and Bunnie to the Floating Island."
"What's he doing there?"
"Trying to find Knuckles' friends on radar."
"I hope he can fix the XL, so we can pick up Ilus."
"I don't even know if it's broken."
"Well, the original was…" Sonic trailed off, and then abruptly loosened his pupils, calling in another train, "Tails?"
"Yeah, Sonic?"
"Go check to see if the XL works."
"Aye-aye." Tails scurried off.
"I'm assuming the Tarahassas guys will work with us, too, right? Have you told them all the stuff we know? And asked if they think the rest of Tarahassas would cooperate too?"
"They've been kept informed. I haven't asked them if they're willing to cooperate, but I think it's inferred that we want them to, and they haven't made any dissenting remarks yet…"
"I'll go ask them, then."
"Hey."
"Hm."
"Ilus said they'd fight with us. Took a lot of talking to, but they did."
"Hm."
"Well, what about you? Didn't—"
"I thought we were here to dig."
"Well… you were, and you are… but Knothole can wait if Robotnik's got something as big as Unc thinks."
There was a soft sigh, and then a pause, before Rand spoke. "Yes, I'll fight."
"And—"
"I'll fight, too, Sonic," said Ruben. "If you put this before Knothole, and you don't even have your home…"
"Will you fight too?"
Kaire, the beaver, just nodded, his back still to Sonic.
"Will Tarahassas fight?"
"What do you mean? Didn't we just—"
"I mean, will all of Tarahassas fight? Will we have another army?"
"An army? If we're what you call an army…"
"Fine, not an army. A militia."
"A small militia."
"But do you think the rest of them would fight too?"
"I don't know. I think a lot of them would, but I don't know."
"I'm sure they can't be as stubborn as Ilus."
"I wouldn't know. Never tried to make them fight. But I know they don't like fighting if they don't have to."
"Will one of you come with me and help me talk to the others? In Tarahassas."
"I really don't want to convince them…"
"I'll talk. They don't even know yet that this isn't for Knothole, but for who-knows-how-much, remember? Last I was there, I was bringing you guys here to help us after Knothole was destroyed. Weird things were going on but Unc didn't put them all together yet, or at least he didn't say so to us. So we did bring you here, not really just to dig, but we didn't know what for. So digging had to do. Now we have a new reason for help. I'll tell them. And if they won't listen, just at least tell them that you're fighting. That might help."
"Okay, but I'm not going to ask them to do anything," said Ruben.
"Fine. Let's go."
Knuckles carried the unconscious Espio in his arms. Rotor and Bunnie tagged behind him, and Charmy hovered over his shoulder, unbobbing.
The clouds hovered above them as they made the obshort trip back to the edge of the Island. Espio lay breathing in Knuckles arms as they walked, his eyes closed.
"Hey, look, y'all!"
They looked.
"It's… it's my heat radar! It's still there!"
It was well off in the distance, and only its outline could be made out. Rotor hastened his step now, but did not run, and they proceeded forward.
When they reached it, Rotor inspected it meticulously. "It doesn't look like they even damaged it. It probably still works." He looked up at Bunnie. No sooner, Rotor felt a wave of heat beside him, and in the same moment heard it. He instinctively jerked away from the sound and the sudden feeling. It was too late. Rotor's reaction was nothing more than instinct; he did not have any reason for his started movement, so he was unable to augment it; the one step was all he gave before the heat swelled a hundredfold and seared his skin which faced it, and Rotor was knocked backward, trying to cover his eyes and face with his arms, and then was heaved several feet back onto the ground. The heat radar was reduced to its framework, smoking and burning. Bunnie and Knuckles had kept their distance, and looked up to see a SWATbot with its arm raised, pointed at the scorched husk of the box.
"Goddamnit," cried Knuckles. He knelt down and laid Espio at his feet. "I'll be back, Espy. Just sit tight." Knuckles rose to his feet, hovering above Espio for a split second before leaping at the air between him and the SWATbot. Now there were five; they had come out of the woodwork.
"Ah'm coming atcha!" Bunnie had armed her pulse cannon and raised it to the level of the SWATbots. She fired, blowing a hole through one's chest. In perhaps a single blink of sentiency, the SWATbot seemed to look down at its mortal wound, and maybe feel it. And then it died. It had only lived for those few moments. Knuckles, gliding, in the air, fists first, plowed into another, and it was thrown back. Knuckles touched down and swung his fist at another. And then from behind him a fourth gripped his other wrist— the one he wasn't swinging at the third. Knuckles kicked his left foot backward; the bot fell, but held its grip on Knuckles' wrist and he fell with it. Bunnie's cannon was recharged, and Knuckles felt the airstream of the pulse as his captor was robbed of its other arm. Knuckles writhed free of its one remaining arm and then crushed the bot beneath him. The fifth was behind him, and he swung around, fists flailing, sending it sprawling to the ground fast, at an angle to the left, and jerking it taut against its leash of inertia when it hit the ground.
The battle was over, but the enemy had done its damage.
Quickly, Bunnie rushed to Rotor. "You alright, sugah?"
"Uhhhnn… not… quite…"
"Mah stars, we've gotta get chu outta here!"
Rotor the walrus was heavy; who could carry him all the way back to once-Knothole?
She could.
She brought her mechanical arm, endowed with great strength from the roboticization process, beneath him, and lifted him, holding him against her chest, between her body and her one strong arm.
Knuckles was back at Espio and glanced over at Bunnie. Seeing Rotor in her tow, he quickly did likewise and lifted Espio.
"Jeez," was all Charmy could muster, and then they all walked solemnly toward the edge of the island.
"I'm sorry for coming again, but we have something that's potentially a lot more urgent."
"More urgent than Knothole being destroyed?"
"Well, it's just a suspicion, but one my uncle is convinced of. He's our spy in Robotropolis."
"Hm."
"He thinks Robotnik is planning something big. He doesn't know what it is, but it's probably the thing that came up that was called Project UA. It's classified so he couldn't open the files on it, but he's got all his SWATbots working overtime and he's got the Emerald and after he got the emerald, part 1 of UA was checked off his schedule and there were more parts. It's impossible to know for sure, but he thinks it's convincing enough for us to act on it. Oh, and he overheard someone say something about 'the grand tower' too."
"And what are you asking of us?"
"Well, I guess I'm asking you to fight… but do I need to ask? It's not a fight for Knothole. It's a fight against Robotnik. You and I are both just as much part of that fight."
"And what if this is nothing?"
"Then it's nothing. How about this, Han?: What if this is something?"
"…Then it's something."
"And we die?"
"You think that by going into battle, we aren't risking that?"
"Look, I'm not all into that math jumbo, or that statistics gibberish, but I think we'd have a better chance of surviving by fighting Robotnik than just sitting and hoping he isn't making the power to kill us all."
"Your uncle… what was his name again?"
"Chuck."
"Chuck…"
"Well, Charles is his real name, but we mostly just call him Chuck."
"Was your uncle King Acorn's Minister of Science?"
"I was never much one for titles, but he did work for the King. Why all these questions about Unc?"
"I'll trust his judgment. I'll fight."
"Way to jump around a conversation! But I'm glad you're with us. I take it you're speaking for the rest of the guys, too?"
"Yes, Tarahassas will fight."
"Awesome. Ilus is on board, too. I'll tell Sal and we'll let you know when it's time to strike." He turned to Ruben. "See, you didn't even have to say a word."
Ruben grinned shyly.
"I take it you had already pledged to fight?"
"Yes…"
"Are you staying here?"
Ruben looked up at Sonic. "Still want me to dig until the battle?"
Sonic thought for a second, and then replied, "Your choice. Of course I'd need your help after the battle, if you'll give it, but it can wait 'til then if you wanna rest. I said that this wasn't about Knothole, that this is more important, and I guess I meant it."
Ruben laughed as Sonic said, "I guess." Then he stated, "I'll help, then."
Getting Espio down the hole wasn't a problem. He was unconscious and bruised, but there weren't any obvious injuries that jostling would be hazard. Rotor, on the other hand, was more of a challenge. He was burned, awake, and in pain, and neither Knuckles nor Bunnie was a doctor, so they had no idea if Rotor had any major injuries beyond the burn, and the burn by itself was very delicate. Knuckles found Sally and she quickly got the Doctor, who lowered Rotor in a stretcher through the stump.
"This is a bad burn, second-degree in parts, but luckily it's not deep, just superficial. He'll heal in time and there shouldn't be any scars if I do my job right."
"It wasn't prolonged, the burn; just an explosion."
"And we're lucky for that. A lot of it is just first-degree, but his hands and arms and scattered parts of the front side of his body are second-degree. His face is burned pretty bad too, but it's still just first-degree; looks like he tried to cover his face."
"What about Espio?"
"Esp—"
"The chameleon."
"Oh, haven't looked at him yet."
"Could you plea—"
"I have to treat this burn first. If it goes untreated, it could get much worse."
"Sal? I'm back! Good news!"
Sonic dropped through the tree-stump but didn't see Sally. He hustled down the hall and found Sally there. "Hey, Sal! Good news!"
She didn't turn; her back still faced him. "Sal!" He came up behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "What's up, Sal? Tarahassas said they'd help."
She whispered. "Rotor…"
Sonic's hand left her shoulder and he brushed past her, to see Rotor on a white sheet that covered an unpainted wooden bed.
Rotor turned his head weakly. "Sonic…"
"Shh, don't talk yet. Your lips are burnt; they need to heal."
"What happened?"
"Explosion. A lot of first-degree burns and some second-degree burns, mostly on his arms. The burns on his arms could have been much worse, but luckily they weren't. He'll be okay; it'll take at least a week to heal, though."
"A week? But Robotnik!"
"…a…don't…fight…anyway…"
"Shh…"
"Don't fight? Don't fight?"
"…no…I…don't…fi—"
"I said quiet! You'll aggravate the burns!"
"Without you…" Sonic nodded. "Okay. For now."
Sonic turned. "Tails!" He walked out the door and called Tails' name again.
Tails came.
"So how was the XL?"
"…it was fine, I think, but I didn't try to fire it up. The metal frame we used protected it, though it melted a bit, it rehardened. But why?"
"We've got a battle to fight."
"Now?"
"Well, no. But yes. Rotor said not to wait for him. As soon as Sally says…" Sonic cut himself off midsentence and brushed past Tails, finding Sally again.
"Ilus and Tarahassas are ready. Tails said the XL was ready. Should we give them the signal tomorrow and gather that night? The next morning?"
"What? Can't we hold off a bit?"
"Rotor will be fine. He's not dying, you know. And he said to fight without him."
Sally sighed. "And he's right. We should. He'll be safe here anyway… well… if he's not, we've lost anyway. But I don't want to discuss it until tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay, Sal."
It wasn't night yet, only the evening; the sun was setting, but it had not yet set; he found some place to sleep and slept.
"Espy!"
It was dark outside now, though they couldn't see the proof. Espio had suddenly blinked his eyes open. Knuckles had been sitting there for an hour now. The doctor had told him that Espio was bruised, but luckily he hadn't gotten a concussion and would wake up of his own accord. He should still rest for a while, though.
Out of nowhere, Knuckles laughed. When his laughter subsided to words, they formed, "that was me, y'know? In the cave, that was me you were attackin'."
Espio looked dumbfounded. "What?"
"The cave."
"Oh, wait… oh… that was… …oh…"
And that was that.
"Good night, Espy. I'll see ya in the morning."
Knuckles stood up and left the room to find a corner to sleep in.
"Is the Anselan core online?"
"It will awaken in twenty-eight hours, sir."
"As planned, then."
He had slept, ironically, for once. And when he woke, for once he oddly felt refreshed. Until he realized where he was, that is.
"We are prepared, in light of recent events, to stage a United attack on the Robotropolis core and the speculated site of the Grand Tower. We have Ilus and Tarahassas in line, ready to fight. We will send them word by pigeon late tonight and then gather the day following tomorrow for the operation. But what I am addressing you for today concerns you.
"I ask for you all – all of you who are able – to rise up and fight with us."
"You know I will!"
Laine.
A smile fluttered across Sally's lips but it was gone quickly as she was trying to move the crowd. "So who else is with me?!" she boomed sonorously. "Who else will rise and fight for the preservation of once-and-future Knothole, of the Freedom Fighters and the end of Robotnik's tyranny?!"
Several members of the crowd rose, and then their peers followed them, and then their peers, and there were at least twenty standing.
The leaf, scribed, was placed, as her hand rose carefully and calmly, in the pigeon's claws, and they closed to clutch it. "Go now!" It went, wings fluttering, exuding a soft quivering flurry of a sound and of an image.
"We'll pick them up tomorrow night. They'll have some 20 hours to prepare."
"We should use the time wisely, too."
"Sonic, can you try to train ours?"
"Hah, you know I'm no good at that. I can't teach for anyone who's so slow."
"We'd have Antoine—"
Sonic laughed. "Ant?! Train?"
"As I was saying," said Sally irritatedly. She repeated, "We'd have Antoine train them some but we don't have any blades worth using, and that's all he knows. We just need to teach basic sparring, melee, to those who need it."
"Melee? Well, I'm no expert, but at least I have some experience." Laine stepped forward.
"That's fine. We just need you to give them something to start from. I'm sure at least some of them only stood because they did know something, but I'm sure my convincing probably got some of them to stand without really being prepared to fight. So just teach those ones what you can. You don't have to be skilled."
"Then I'll show 'em what I can…which ain't much."
The twenty-one volunteers were lined in an open chamber, earthy and soil-walled. Laine, now accompanied by another, a red fox who had volunteered to help train, having been practiced in combat as a child. In the back of the hollowed, dusty chamber, where the dirt soaked into your fingers and lingered on them when you touched the walls, red Knuckles leaned against the wall in silence, perhaps observing, feeling the dirt on his back.
"Duck under his blows and push your weight up under him."
They ducked in unison, beneath their opponents.
"Good." The red fox paced. "Now, if you're advancing on your enemy, turn like this to shield your body and reduce the size of your enemy's target."
They turned.
"Get behind your enemy if you can."
"And if you lack strength," said Laine, "use your momentum to knock the enemy down."
"Ah, so just barge into them?" replied the red fox unexpectedly. "I never thought of that."
"And if you turn the way you demonstrated, you can probably concentrate your force more. It would probably be more effective if you charged at them while turned like that, hitting them with your shoulder-side." Laine turned back to the volunteers that faced him. "But if you're using your momentum, just remember to not hesitate when you make impact with the enemy. The whole point is to be moving as fast as you can and hitting them without slowing down. Don't waver."
"If they're upon you, get them by the throat, or get them in a grip if you know how."
"That doesn't work too well against SWATbots; unless you're real strong, I guess. I don't think you can choke a SWATbot. So if they're upon you, use your team. They're your best tool."
"Swing, strike like this."
He swung, and they tried to mimic him.
There was a grunt from the back of the room. "Like that?!"
"Would like you to see again?"
"No, that's not a question. That's too slow. Too predictable."
Knuckles shifted his weight to come back to his feet and slide away from the wall. He brushed some of the dirt off his back, but his back was still dirtied as some of it still clung to his skin where it had met him. He stepped up beside the red fox. "Try it more like this." He jutted his fist impulsively and quickly, in a tight curving arc; it was with fluidity, unthinking; the path and the way just came naturally.
Laine tried to emulate Knuckles' demonstration, but either failed in moving as fast or failed in moving as fluidly with such technique. "Sorry," he said. "I told 'em I didn't know much. I've never trained. I can't go that fast and still have any sense of control or dexterity."
Knuckles frowned, and then shrugged. "Well, I'm no teacher. Never learned how to teach." He turned his dusty back to them. "Use your enemy." Knuckles walked. "It works; I know."
"They're coming."
"Who?"
"Knothole. They sent word. We and Tarahassas will convene tomorrow night… Or is it today-tonight now? Day, night, night, day, nothing."
"I'll alert everybody."
"We should be ready for them when they arrive sometime after the next 2100… I don't even know what time it is now."
"Time is meaningless. I'll just tell the guys that they're coming at 'our next evening'."
[1] Pronounced like "Ryan"