Chapter 4 – New Lives

"Welcome aboard the Veil commander!" spoke a voice from a chair.

Morgan Jake took a step forwards, passing through a thick metal door that separated the bridge of the ship from the corridor that led to it. The door gave a hiss and slid back to place with a heavy thud as Morgan started to make his way further onto the bridge. The bridge itself was very thin, with a frontal viewing screen at the far end. Lines of consoles with various officers at them lined both of the side walls and pipes and electrical conduits ran across the ceiling. At the front of the bridge sat two consoles that appeared to be the main operating consoles for navigation and weapons and behind this sat the chair the earlier voice had come from.

Presently this chair turned round to reveal the occupant and captain of the vessel Morgan was standing in. She was a tall woman in her late thirties wearing the same uniform as Morgan and the rest of the crew on the bridge. That said there were a few differences in her appearance to the others around her. Her ginger coloured hair was cut short and was mostly covered with a deep maroon coloured beret that she wore on her head at an angle. Mounted on her right shoulder and upper arm was the base plate for a type four energy bazooka but the weapon itself was not present. The plate was used to attach the weapon to the person using it so they could steady themselves when they fired it.

Morgan had once enquired as to why she wore the base plate during her normal day and had received a very straight forward answer, "You never know when a normal day will turn into a battlefield when it comes to war, better safe than sorry.". Morgan remembered the day he had asked that very clearly, it had been his last one night stand before he had met Kerry.

"Long time no see." said the woman flatly as she chewed absently on a pair of glasses that Morgan knew was just for show.

"Quite so Alex, how are you?" replied Morgan with a smile.

"Not too bad, better for seeing you." replied Alex smiling also.

Alex Rand, one of a few female captains assigned to the Mobius mission. She had had a fairly quiet career until she had met Morgan some fifteen years previous. After a rather unsteady meeting in a bar the pair had got to know each other fairly well and Morgan, being a higher rank back then as he was now, had helped advance her career a little in certain areas. Alex hadn't been too happy about it, claiming she could do it on her own but none the less accepted his help when it came around. She was now the captain of a Swarm class missile corvette, the Veil, and was at a high point in her career.

"So would you care on filling me in on the details?" asked Alex, taking the glasses from her mouth and putting then away in her pocket.

"Straight to business as always eh captain, very well." replied Morgan as he gave a glance around the bridge, "Just where is your office on this thing?"

Alex just laughed as she stood up.

"Missing the wide open spaces of bigger ships are we? This way."

Alex stepped passed Morgan, casting him a small smile as she went, and headed out of the bridge. Morgan followed close behind, not wanting to get lost, as the door slid shut again behind them. Alex led them down the corridor and took a left, the corridor actually getting thinner the further they went. Morgan began to feel claustrophobic, even though he didn't have that fear, the Veil reminded him of how the old nuclear submarines had been centuries ago. Finally they came to a door and Alex stopped, opening the door with a card and stepping inside.

Inside Morgan was surprised to find that Alex's office was also her quarters and they weren't that big either. A desk with two chairs was located in one corner of the room, the opposite corner holding a fold down bed that looked like it hadn't been made in a few days. A single soft chair sat near to the bed along with a small table that housed a plant along with a small pile of books and a couple of cups. Morgan couldn't see any sort of food making facilities in the room and assumed that Alex must have to join the crew in the mess for food. The rest of the room was pretty bare, holding only a few personal items and nothing much else. If Morgan knew Alex as well as he thought he did she probably spent most of her time on the bridge anyway.

Alex showed Morgan over to the desk and they both sat down, Alex resting her feet on a small buffet next to her chair and sitting back. For a moment neither spoke but finally Alex raised her hand off to the side and did so.

"I'm sorry I can't offer you anything to drink or eat, life on a corvette ship is somewhat more restricted and rough that a cruiser." she said raising her eyebrows slightly.

"It's ok, I ate before I got here anyway. I noticed the rather cramped conditions." replied Morgan looking round.

"You get used to it, I think it's rather cosy now. Saying that I do like to go out on deck ever one in a while."

"I can imagine that a space mission is rather testing then."

"Yes, at least here on this planet we can get a breath of fresh air occasionally, now what is this mission you have?"

Morgan gave a nod and fished in his pocket for a moment, finally pulling out a disk and handing it to Alex.

"I hope you have a computer station in this room." he said with a chuckle.

Alex just rolled her eyes and got up from her seat. Turning round she pressed a button on the wall and a cover slid up revealing a computer monitor and keyboard fitted into the wall of the room. Alex inserted the disk into a slot and stood for a minute at the computer. She occasionally pushed a button or made a small interested noise but for the most part remained still, finally sitting back down in her chair and handing the disk back to Morgan.

"So basically the president has something planned that will take care of this place and we're to mess around in the meantime." she said.

"I wouldn't have put it that way, he wants us to create a number of distractions that will keep their attention here on Mobius and hopefully draw in our rebel friends. He's definitely planning something but I can't tell what." replied Morgan rubbing his chin.

"You think too much Morgan. How many times do I have to tell you, you're not a thinking type of person, you're the kind of guy that'll follow orders to a tee without question or hesitation."

"Yeah but I can't help thinking about this, it was something in his voice."

Alex promptly got up and walked round behind Morgan. Morgan followed her with his eyes and was about to ask what she was doing when suddenly Alex's hands made contact with Morgan's shoulders and began to massage them.

"Now Commander, don't go thinking too hard, concentrate on the mission at hand and everything else will see to itself."

Morgan didn't reply, instead he just relaxed his shoulders and let Alex's hands go to work. He hadn't seen her in ages but he remembered how good she was at making a person unwind. Morgan sank a bit further into his chair and continued to enjoy the attention his shoulders were getting when suddenly he felt something nip his ear.

"You know I've really missed you." Alex whispered into his ear as she bit down a little more on it.

"Alex don't." replied Morgan, "I'm married now, and as much as I'd enjoy another wild night with you I'm loyal to Kerry." replied Morgan tilting his head away slightly.

The next thing that happened was Morgan giving a small scream as Alex dug her nails into his shoulder's roughly.

"You're such a spoil sport Morgan." she said as she removed her hands.

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The morning sun was rising over Harmony village as Bunnie woke from her slumber. It was perhaps the middle of the morning and definitely a good time to have breakfast, which is exactly what Bunnie smelt the second she came round enough to take notice of her senses. A smell of cooking eggs wafted in from the kitchen as well as the smell of freshly made break and boiling fruit.

Bunnie pushed herself upright, sitting up properly in her seat and looking around the room. Her eyes stung a bit from all the crying she had done the night before but for some reason she didn't feel like crying at the moment. Instead she fished a tissue from her pocket and tried to wipe the dried tears from her face. The fire had long since gone out during the night and the room had a slight bitter edge to it, which caused her fur to stick up slightly. She decided to go and investigate the smells coming in from the kitchen and got up slowly, stretching her legs and back to shed the last traces of sleep from her body, before heading out of the door and round to the kitchen.

Sabrina stood next to the stove stirring a pan of something when Bunnie entered the room. Bunnie also noticed Josh to one side of the room who was trying to cut a slice of bread from a newly cooked loaf of bread. The cat was having some trouble seems as though he was trying to do it with only one hand, his other fixed firmly to his tail. The sight of Josh holding his tail brought back the events of the previous night and Bunnie sniffed slightly, absently wiping her eyes again as she did. The sniff was enough to attract the attention of Sabrina, causing the echidna to turn round and look at Bunnie.

"Good morning dear." she said in a joyous tone.

Josh promptly dropped the knife he was using to cut his bread and turned to look over his shoulder, giving a broad smile and a wave as he did, before going back to his bread cutting attempt. Sabrina gave her pan another stir and then lifted it from the stove, placing it on a heatproof mat on the table in the middle of the room. It was then that Bunnie noticed the table and it's contents.

Three plates had been set out, each with their own supply of cutlery and cups. A selection of different jams were lined up in pots in the middle of the table along with a block of butter, a plate of fried eggs, the loaf Josh was trying to cut, a selection of cereals and the contents of the pan Sabrina had put on the table, which turned out to be stewed plums. Bunnie quickly realised she hadn't replied to Sabrina yet and looked away from the table quickly.

"Morning." she said slowly still unsure of her emotions at this point in time.

Sabrina gave a smile and waved her hand at one of the chairs around the table.

"Sit down and get yourself some breakfast dear, I can imagine you're probably hungry."

Bunnie just nodded and sat down where Sabrina had indicated. For a moment she just looked at the table and its contents before a grumble to her side caught her attention. Josh was still trying to cut the loaf and was now starting to mangle it he had made so many attempts. Bunnie had to admire his determination but slowly leaned over and placed a hand on his lightly causing Josh to looked over at her with a questioning look.

"Allow me sugar." said Bunnie as she took the knife from Josh.

She cut off the bit he had mangled and then cut several fresh slices before placing the knife down and smiling at Josh. The cat quickly scooped a slice up and gave a grin at Bunnie.

"Thanks." he said quietly and quickly retreated to his own seat where he began to spread liberal amounts of honey onto the slice.

Bunnie herself also took a slice and then helped herself to a bowl of cereal, a couple of fried eggs and finally started to dig into the stewed plums. Bunnie soon found herself forgetting her troubles and concentrated on eating until she had satisfied her hunger and then sat back in her chair. It was then that she noticed that Sabrina had also sat down and was finishing off the remains of her eggs. Josh had already disappeared but this didn't surprise Bunnie at all. Presently Sabrina placed her cutlery down and looked at Bunnie.

"Enjoy breakfast?" she asked.

"Yes, it was lovely." replied the rabbit quietly.

"Are you feeling any better?"

"A little maybe."

"I see, well I'll not mention it again or tell anyone else what you told me. This is something you need to work out on your own."

Bunnie replied by giving a nod and sighed slowly. Sabrina got up and started to clear away a few pots, placing them in the sink to be washed later. Bunnie slowly got up from her seat and looked out of the window.

"Do you mind if I go out?" she asked.

"No not at all, I can manage the clearing up on my own, besides a walk will do you good." replied Sabrina as she returned the butter to the fridge.

Bunnie gave a small smile in thank you and walked from the kitchen. She headed to the front door and opened it, catching a large gust of wind as she did. The rabbit shivered and pulled a scarf from coat rack next to her before wrapping it round her neck and stepping outside. The path was cold under her bare feet but she had long ago gotten used to not wearing shoes ever since she had been de-robotisized.

She headed towards the centre of the town, not really knowing where she was going and yet again letting her feet guide her. She passed a few residents as she walked along, each of them giving her a smile or a nod as she passed by. She tried to return the gestures as best she could but she had a feeling she had them all wondering if something was wrong. In fact Bunnie didn't know if something was wrong or not, she had been thinking of Knuckles ever since she left the house and yet she hadn't shed a single tear. Had Sabrina been right?

Just then she heard a faint humming noise in the air, the type of noise a distant thunderstorm might make. Bunnie rubbed her ears slightly, wondering if she was just hearing things. For a start the sky was crystal blue without a cloud in it so it couldn't be a thunderstorm, maybe what Tifa said about her ears getting sensitive was right.

However she was soon proved wrong as several other people around her raised their heads and titled their head slightly, obviously hearing the noise too. It was then that another noise caught Bunnie's ear, but this time is was not a simple noise, it was a voice.

"Alarm! Alarm!" it carried on the wind followed by a shrill whistle and the voice again.

Bunnie's ears pin pointed the sound almost immediately, the rabbit turning in the direction it was coming from. There, running full sprint down a hill towards the village was the form of MTP. His rifle was raised into the air and as she watched he fired several shots into the air, a dull boom echoing around the village as he cried again.

"Alarm! Incoming! INCOMING!" he screamed, the fox now tearing into the village.

All around her, everyone's attitudes suddenly shifted. They dropped what they were doing, conversations and actions completely forgotten as they sprung into action. The women around quickly rounded up any children and hustled them off the streets while everyone else ran to various buildings, appearing soon after with various weapons. Bunnie found herself following MTP as he ran through the streets towards the north side of the town. She didn't know where he was going but his pace didn't slack for a moment and Bunnie started to find it hard to keep up.

Presently thought, M stopped outside a brick built house that was considerably larger than the rest in the village. A familiar face was already outside waiting for them, that of Mayor Jessie Valencia. The cat must have already received the news as she had discarded her mayoral attire and now wore a pair of combat trousers and a tight green top with no sleeves. In her hands was a large energy rifle that was fixed around her shoulder with a brown strap.

"Report!" she cried as M stopped in front of her.

"Incoming! We have one small Alliance vessel heading our way!" replied M quickly, trying to catch his breath at the same time.

"M, get to the front defence line and set up a blockade!" replied Jessie before turning to a stoat next to her, "You get the summoner, we'll need her help!"

"Yes ma'am!" replied the stoat before darting off towards the south end of the village.

Jessie's next target was Bunnie, who she noticed a few moments after giving the order to the stoat.

"Bunnie! Get yourself to shelter, I wouldn't want our village guest getting killed in a fire fight." she said quickly.

Bunnie didn't reply for a moment, what should she do? All around her people were getting ready to fight for their homes and she was being told to take shelter. Shelter would be safe but…what if they needed help? She had experience in dealing with the alliance and knew how to handle herself in a fight, her decision was a quick one.

"I'm staying! I can help." she said quickly.

"Fine whatever, just don't get killed!" replied Jessie as she rushed past Bunnie and headed for the end of the village M had come from.

Bunnie now noticed that M had already left, not even registering her presence. Bunnie soon turned tail and headed after Jessie, catching and passing her quickly due to her species running capability. M was just ahead and appeared to be slowing slightly allowing Bunnie to catch up and yell to him.

"M! What's going on?!" she cried.

"Huh?! Bunnie?! What are you…never mind, we're under attack! We have an Alliance vessel closing fast on the village." replied M as he continued on.

"I'm gonna help M!"

"Good! We need as much of that as possible, just be sure to pick up a weapon at the defence line!"

Bunnie made a note of what M said and then remembered what Jessie had said a moment ago.

"M! Who's the summoner?" she asked.

"You'll see." replied M grinning as he made ready his rifle.

It didn't take them long to reach the edge of the village where everyone was gathering. The rumbling in the air was even more present now and everyone was looking at the eastern sky and waiting. As Bunnie arrived a male bat noticed her lack of weapon and threw her his, which Bunnie quickly caught and checked. The design was fairly simple and easy to understand, the gun apparently holding a number of projectiles of a fairly large calibre. Bunnie turned her attention back to the sky and waited.

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"It seems our presence has been noticed." said Alex matter of factly.

"So it would seem, but that doesn't alter our mission." replied Morgan.

"True, weapons! Make launchers one through six ready and stand by seven through twelve. On my command set up a barrage, three volleys of two launchers each."

"Yes ma'am!" came a confirmation from the weapons console, "Launchers one through six standing by."

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Below the defence group stood ready as the ship they were waiting for finally appeared from behind a hill. It was fairly small, the front of it shaped like a triangular block connected to a rear section, which was a square block, by a long thin tube. The rear block housed two engines that ran along the top of the ship, a set of tail fins that stuck upwards and two large wings that pointed downwards slightly. The thin tube connecting the front and back of the ship was covered in large pods of some sort.

Bunnie felt her fur bristle in the cold morning wind, she could tell this could get ugly. Beside her a wolf fidgeted with his rifle for the seventeenth time in five minutes. The whole situation had a nervous feeling about it. As the time passed Bunnie caught whispers going round the gathering about where the summoner was. She didn't even know there was a summoner in the village never mind where he or she was…come to think of it just what was this summoner anyway?

Finally the Alliance ship stopped just outside the village and two of the large pods mounted on its body moved outwards slightly. It was only a moment later that both pods exploded, releasing at least twenty missiles a piece down towards the village. M was the first to react with the obvious command.

"Open fire!" he screamed as his own rifle unloaded its first shot into the incoming pack of destruction.

Around her the other furries aimed up and fired themselves, trying to shoot down the incoming missiles. Bunnie herself aimed upwards also and took aim into the oncoming pack. She fired a single shot, the recoil of the gun being more that she was expecting and landed flat on her back. She scrambled to her feet, looking back at the missiles and aimed once more. She knew she could do this, she'd been doing it all her life, just brace, aim…fire! Her shot went off and flew towards the missiles, this time the recoil not knocking her off her feet. Her shot tore through one missile causing it to explode violently and that had the resulting effect of creating a small shock wave that pushed the missiles around it off course slightly.

In total a good two thirds of the missiles had made it through, most striking the ground all around them. One hit a nearby house turning the entire thing into a giant fireball and sending debris flying everywhere. This debris, however, wasn't the main focus of worry. Against their best efforts a few missiles were now heading right for them and they could not hit them. Bunnie's eyes became huge saucers as her feet froze her to the ground, much like the rest of the group around her. Just then a bright flash of yellow filled the air and a streak of colour shot across the sky ahead of them. A split second later the missiles heading for them exploded in mid air, showering then in a few bits of debris but nothing major. It only took a second for a cry to go up.

"THE SUMMONER IS HERE!"

The summoner?! Then…! Bunnie turned quickly to see a familiar figure standing behind her, a large yellow coloured boomerang in her hand.

"Tifa!" cried Bunnie.

"I'll take care of the ship!" cried Tifa swinging her boomerang behind her.

"Protect the summoner!" came a cry.

"Incoming!" screamed M's voice over the other cries.

Bunnie turned just in time to see another double volley of missiles taking off from the ship above them. Bunnie wasted no time, her gun swinging round and aiming at the oncoming bunch. She fired moments later, this time her shot being the first to go off. The shot struck dead on with its intended target, the missile exploding violently in mid air and taking out several alongside it at the same time. MTP was next to fire, his own shot taking out another missile.

"Where'd you learn to shoot like that?!" he cried firing again.

"Back when I was fighting Robotnik." replied Bunnie, "I was part of the Knothole Freedom Fighters."

"Freedom Fighters!" came a cry from around her.

"You keep surprising me Bunnie!" said M keeping his attention fixed on the incoming swarm.

Bunnie gave a small glance behind her, noticing Tifa was now performing a small dance on the spot.

"Air, Fire, Water, Earth! Elements of Astral birth! I call you to attend me now!" she chanted quietly as she swung herself and her boomerang round in a circle.

As she did a small ring of blue light started to form on the road around her.

"In circle, rightly! Safe from psychic curse or blast! I call you now, attend me!"

She quickly raised her boomerang to the sky, a jet of blue colour erupting around her.

"From cave and dessert, sea and hill! By wand, blade, cup and pentacle! I call you now, attend me!"

Her boomerang again spun round her, this time Tifa going into a small flip and bringing her boomerang up behind her.

"This is my will, so mote it be!" she finished.

With all her strength, Tifa brought her boomerang down on the ground in front of her, the blue colour reaching a peak in brightness. The ring around her expanded, lines of blue colour flashing all over the road and weaving into an intricate pattern around her. Moments later a number of blue coloured orbs rose from the ground, each one crackling and flashing intensely. For a moment Bunnie forgot her job of firing and just watched the display going on behind her. The orbs of light slowly began to change in front of her eyes, each one forming into a grey coloured cloud that started to spin fiercely. Tifa raised her eyes to the ship above her and with a shrill cry launched her boomerang towards it. The four spinning clouds also shot off, heading straight towards the oncoming missiles.

Bunnie just stood and watched as a strong wind picked up as the clouds passed overhead, the missiles now no longer able to retain a steady flight path. A number of them collided with each other, causing them to explode, while the rest were whipped into a spinning frenzy, carried along by the wind. The clouds then headed straight towards the ship, the missiles caught in the wind now following them before everything slammed into the ship's mid section at once. The missiles exploded on contact with the hull, ripping into the missile pods that were still loaded and causing them to explode. For a moment the entire mid section of the ship was encased in a giant explosion but the ship was still there, all be it now without any missiles to fire.

Tifa however wasn't done yet, the lines of blue around her quickly changing to red as four more ball of light rose from the ground. This time the balls were red and moments after appearing burst into flames before shooting at the ship's hull like comets. The ship, still recovering from the initial hit, was struck in the rear section by all four of the fire orbs, which tore through the hull plating and passed through the other side without the slightest trouble.

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Onboard the occupants of the bridge were nearly knocked off their feet by the double attack.

"Report!" cried Alex clinging to her chair arm.

"Weapon systems are offline!" came a reply from her right, "The main reactor safety systems have been hit! It'll go critical within the hour unless we land and shut down."

"Alex! Get this ship out of here! We can't risk it." cried Morgan picking himself up from the floor.

"Damn those furry bastards! They hurt my baby and I'm not going to let them get away with it!" growled Alex, "Reverse course now! Get us away from the village."

Alex promptly got up and looked at a crewman nearby.

"You! Get my weapon!" she cried.

"Yes ma'am!"

"Alex what are you doing?" asked Morgan.

"Getting revenge."

"Now hold on one second Al…"

Alex, however, didn't let Morgan finish and barged past him, heading off the bridge and down the corridor. She made fast progress down the narrow corridors and quickly lost the pursuit of Morgan who had been following behind her. Alex made her way to the rear of the ship, taking a set of stairs up to the rear deck, where she input a code into the airlock door and stepped outside. The cold air hit her face hard due to their altitude but it didn't stop her. She marched right to the edge of the deck and stopped, waiting for the crew member to bring her weapon to her.

Finally he arrived, carrying the main part of a type four energy bazooka. The weapon was cylindrical in shape and covered in small hazard signs to display its hazard level. A number of arms fanned off the rear of the weapon which the crew member quickly slotted into the plate mounted on Alex's shoulder. As he did the tactical display mounted on the side of the weapon blinked into life. Alex quickly slid her hands onto the weapon grips and played her finger across the trigger. She looked through the display and activated the zoom feature, quickly zooming in until she could clearly see the assembled group on the edge of the village.

"No one hurts my baby like this and gets away with it. I don't care if our orders state this mission can fail….I don't fail!"

Her sights centred in on Tifa, a set of red crosshairs locking in place around the fox.

"You hear me you?"

Her finger slid round the trigger and pressed it.

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The red pattern around Tifa began to fade as she saw the ship turning away from the village. A cheer quickly went up around her from the other furries who quickly started to jump around in glee. Tifa gave a sigh and took hold of both handle of her boomerang, the colour fading from between them before she put them back in her belt pouches. M sank to his knees and collapsed backwards into a pile of snow where he shut his eyes and gave a deep sigh of his own. Bunnie just took a step back and leant her back against a wall as she looked over the group of furries around her.

Presently she noticed some other people approaching the group, those being the forms of Sabrina and Josh. They stopped a little way off and looked around, finally catching MTP's gaze who beckoned them over.

"I just wanted to make sure it was safe." said Sabrina as she approached.

"Wise move Sabby but I think it' safe now." replied M looking back at the fleeing ship for a moment, "I think we've chased them off for now."

"I hope so."

Sabrina and M quickly fell into a small conversation of their own, taking little notice of anyone else around them. Josh meanwhile looked around and then started to head over towards Tifa. As the cat approached he glanced up at the ship for a moment and blinked. Suddenly the cat's eyes went wide in horror and he dived at Tifa.

"Look out!" he screamed as he charged straight into Tifa.

The next few events happened very quickly. Josh's shove caused Tifa to stumble sideways and trip over a small garden wall, falling flat on her face in a pile of snow on the other side of the wall. Josh meanwhile stumbled and fell to the ground, giving a small roll as he did. At the same time a bright point of light erupted from the back of the fleeing ship and turned into a large beam of energy that slammed into the road where Tifa had been standing only moments before. MTP and Sabrina looked up from their conversation, a look of fear on both of their faces.

"NO!" cried Sabrina.

"Why you!" cried M spinning to face the ship.

He was aiming his rifle even before he had turned round, Sarah his computer calculating the trajectory and distance values of the target moments before M shot.

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Alex had already pressed the trigger by the time Josh pushed Tifa out of the way but she had little time to curse his actions. M's shot was well aimed but yet a little off target, hitting Alex in the right shoulder, more or less in the middle of the plate she was wearing. The impact caused a sickening crack to be heard as her collar and shoulder bone broke, causing her to fall to the ground with a scream. At the same time the weapon mounted on her shoulder gave a clank and fell to the floor as the plate shattered and fell away from her shoulder.

Almost at the same time Alex hit the deck, Morgan finally found his way onto the deck. He quickly knelt down beside Alex and took hold of one of her hands.

"Alex! Alex are you alright?!" he asked quickly.

"...I…didn't get her…ah…" replied Alex before she passed out.

Morgan turned to the crewman standing nearby and barked.

"Get this ship out of here now and get a doctor up here stat!"

"Yes sir!"

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"Tifa!" said M to himself as he dropped his rifle and spun on the spot, "TIFA!"

"M!" came a horse reply from behind the wall.

M's actions couldn't have gone much quicker if he'd tried. He sprinted towards the voice and vaulted the wall in a single move, landing next to Tifa and reaching out to place a hand on her side. Tifa lay mostly on her front although she had managed to prop herself up slightly so her face wasn't in the snow. She was covered in dust and snow from the explosion the energy blast caused and had a small cut above her left eye from where her face had hit a little bit of ice but was otherwise ok. M quickly took a hold of Tifa and pulled her up slightly, wrapping his arms round her as she wrapped hers around him.

"I'm so glad you're alright!" said M, gulping back a sob, "I thought…"

"I'm ok M, but…."

"JOSH!" came a cry from the other side of the wall.

Sabrina was looking around frantically for the cat, her face going whiter by the minute as she looked around.

"JOSH!" she cried again.

Bunnie was soon by her side and a moment later MTP was also there now he knew that Tifa was all right.

"JOSH!" they cried together.

Bunnie perked her ears trying to catch any sound of the young feline but drew a blank.

"Spread out!" instructed M as he darted to the right.

Sabrina went straight ahead and Bunnie headed to the left. The rabbit found herself standing in the front garden of a house, the energy blast had thrown pieces of stone from the pavement and snow all over the place covering just about everything in a thin layer of debris. Bunnie began to push a little aside as she searched for Josh but at first found nothing. After a moment she saw something long and white that was obviously not part of the debris, it was Josh's tail.

"Hey! I've found him!" she cried as she bent over and pulled a bit of rock off the cat.

After the rock she moved a bit of stone and soon found the cat lying on his back in the snow. There was a cut on his head that ran from the bottom of his muzzle up to just below his right ear and his left leg appeared to be broken. His eyes were barely open and his breathing somewhat laboured but he seemed to register Bunnie's presence.

Presently Sabrina and M arrived, Sabrina immediately kneeling down beside Josh and taking hold of his shoulders.

"Josh!" she said quickly, a panicked tone in her voice.

Josh made a small whimper and tried to focus his vision on Sabrina. He wasn't making a good job of it and kept blinking and squinting at her as he lay there.

"It's ok Josh, you're safe now." said Sabrina.

Josh slowly moved his hands upwards and looked down at them as best he could. His tail was nowhere in the picture and yet Josh's face was completely calm.

"I'm…not afraid…anymore…" he said looking at Sabrina.

Slowly his eyelids closed and his arms fell to his side. Sabrina's face immediately went white and she gave Josh a number of hard shakes.

"Josh! Josh don't you dare die on me! Don't you even dare!" she cried.

Bunnie quickly intervened, taking a hold of Sabrina and pulling her away slightly as M knelt down next to Josh. The fox quickly checked for signs of breathing and a pulse and found both. He gave a sigh and sat back slightly, looking up at Sabrina and giving a smile.

"He's still alive Sabrina, he's just passed out." he said calmly.

Sabrina was so overjoyed to hear this she burst into tears and collapsed into a heap on Bunnie. Bunnie just looked at M with a tired face, which the fox returned in kind.

"Is it over?" she asked slowly.

"I think so." replied M with a nod, "Unless of course they decide they want another round, I'm up for it."

Bunnie just started laughing to which M soon joined in. It seemed things would be quiet again for a while.

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It was later that day that Bunnie, MTP, Tifa, Sabrina and Jessie sat in a circle in Sabrina's house. After the attack everyone had separated to take care of various things and the five had only just been able to get back together. Apart from Josh's injuries and a few other light wounds around the village everyone had made it through unscathed which everyone was thankful for. Josh himself had been looked over by the village doctor and was going to make it. His leg was indeed broken but it was mendable and the rest of his cuts and bruises would heal in time.

Bunnie stretched in her chair, cracking her shoulders as she did. Everyone in the room was exhausted after the fight and sat still resting for a little while before anyone decided to speak. Finally when someone did speak it was Jessie directed at Bunnie.

"So Bunnie…just who are you?" she asked.

"I figured I'd get asked that sooner or later." replied Bunnie, "My full name is Bunnie Rabbot, I was once part of the Knothole and Knotlake Freedom Fighters during the time of Robotnik and now I'm part of the same group operating from Never Lake."

"I know there was something more to your story." said Tifa patting the bandage on her head again, "You always seemed so distant about telling anyone."

"Yeah, well I had a problem I had to overcome first." replied Bunnie.

Sabrina just gave a small smile, she knew what Bunnie was talking about.

"So what are you going to do now?" asked M leaning forwards as he chewed on a biscuit.

"I'm going back to Never Lake, I have friends there who need my help if we are ever to defeat the Alliance once and for all." answered Bunnie with a nod before pausing slightly, "And I'd like to ask you to join us."

"Excuse me?!" said Jessie sitting forwards sharply, "Join you?"

"Yes! We can accomplish so much more as a team and you have skills here that could be useful to the cause."

Bunnie cast a glance as MTP and Tifa who both looked at each other with a smirk.

"The only way we'll get rid of the Alliance is to join forces with as many allies as possible and take the fight to them. Sure we might be able to survive like this in little pockets but what if next time they show up with more ships?" continued Bunnie looking back at Jessie.

"She does have a point." said Sabrina.

"She does indeed." replied Jessie looking away for a moment, "What are you proposing exactly?"

"I'd like MTP and Tifa to accompany me back to Never Lake. Not to stay but hopefully for long enough to work out some sort of link and then they can return here." said Bunnie.

"It's risky, what if the Alliance attacks again?" asked Jessie.

"They won't." replied MTP, "I've been scanning the entire area all week and that ship today is the only thin in the area as far as I can tell and we badly hurt it today. I doubt they'll be back any time soon."

"You might be right." nodded Jessie scratching her chin, "Well as long as they are back soon then I think it is a risk we can afford to take. That is if you two are alright with it."

"Of course." replied Tifa, "I've always wanted to see new places anyway."

"I'll go too." replied MTP.

"Then it's settled, the pair of you will return with Bunnie to her home and help set up a network between us." instructed Jessie.

"Yes ma'am!" replied Tifa with a salute.

M just smiled and shook his head at Tifa's gesture.

"If there is nothing else to say then I think we could all use a little break." put in Sabrina quickly, "We can meet up again in say ten minutes."

Jessie gave a small nod and got up from her seat. The cat excused herself and was quickly followed by Sabrina and M who all left the room. Tifa and Bunnie stayed where they were, Tifa sinking into her chair with a huge sigh.

"Boy and I tired." she sighed.

Bunnie gave a small laugh and looked up at the ceiling.

"Really, well after the show you put on earlier I'm not surprised sugar. What was that?!"

"That? Well did you really think the powers of my boomerang stop at just itself? I didn't know when my mother first gave it to me but long into my families history there was a time when they used the forces of this planet to call forth creatures of the elements. For lack of another term, they were summoners like I am now. My father told me a little about it before we parted and the rest I had to work out on my own but I've gradually developed the skill too. Really anyone can do it, the power is in the weapon itself."

"Wow…that is really quite something Tifa."

"I thought so too, the only downside to it is that its very tiring, I can hardly move after using it if I go too far. Today was about my limit."

"Well it proved to be enough."

"Thankfully yes."

"You'll have to tell me more about it on our trip Tifa, right now I have to visit the little girls room."

Tifa gave a small laugh and waved her hand at the door.

"Of course." she said with a smile.

Bunnie slowly pulled herself from her seat and crossed the room, heading out into the corridor and ran straight into Sabrina. The echidna was leaning against the wall as if she had been waiting for her.

"So, what changed you all of a sudden?" she asked.

"In a word, Josh." replied Bunnie.

"Oh? How so?"

"You remember the so called story you told me yesterday? The point you were trying to get across was somewhat lost on me until I saw Josh lying injured this morning. You said that he never let go of his tail for fear of it being pulled or trod on. Because he kept hold of it he was also keeping hold of all the bad memories he had and as such could never be truly happy and move on but today that changed. After that fall he didn't have hold of his tail and he saw that no one was going to step on it again.

"I was much the same way, I kept a hold of Knuckles, urging myself to find a way that he might come back to me. Because of that I could never let go of the pain his passing had brought about. I set out on my trip to find a way to rid myself of that pain and thanks to you and Josh I found it. I can't thank you enough."

"Not at all my dear, you did that yourself, I just nudged you along on the right path."

"Say what you will Sabrina, I will pay you back for this somehow."

"YO SABRINA! Where'd you keep the coffee?" cried M's voice from the kitchen.

Sabrina gave a small laugh and flung her arms up.

"It never stops, come on I'll make you one too." she said as she turned and headed for the kitchen.

Bunnie followed close behind, not saying a word but smiling broadly. Life was much better now.