SEPHIROTH ADVENTURE: Sephiroth Vs. Shadow; Ch. 8
Sally told the assembled troops that they would be led into battle by Richie the Armadillo, a new recruit who was an excellent leader, and this would be his first mission as a Freedom Fighter in which he led troops. SALLY: "Guys, I think it would be wise if you left the Chaos Emeralds here with me. Think about it, you're going after Eggman." TAILS: "You're right." So the three of them handed over their four emeralds. Everyone loaded their rifles, put on all necessary armor, and prepared to attack Eggman.
Sephiroth noted that when he saw Eggman, he was hovering around the woods in his EGGMOBILE, accompanied by two Swatbots in hovercrafts, which indicated they seemed to be looking for something. RICHIE: "Remember, no matter what, Eggman can NOT find the entrance to Knothole Village, so if we lose, we can't retreat, or he'll follow us. Now let's get going!" When they left the village, they followed the sound of hovercrafts, and eventually caught up to them. Eggman was right there in their sights.
Richie was equipped with a small RPG Launcher, and it only had two grenades, and he thought it would be wise to aim for Eggman's ship first. They hid in tall grassy areas and behind trees and large stones. When Richie had a clear shot at Eggman, he fired. The grenade just missed the EGGMOBILE, and instead, it blew one of the 'bot vehicles right out of the sky. Eggman ordered the other vehicle to begin firing small missiles to see if they could reveal their enemies. Explosions tore the area apart, and every soldier was in clear view, right were Eggman wanted them. Eggman had a minigun built into his EGGMOBILE, and he put it to good use. The other vehicle dropped three Swatbots onto the area, which also began to attack the troops.
The troops with smaller weapons began to fight the Swatbots, and the guys with the bigger guns fired at the ships. Richie began to take aim at Eggman's ship, but was distracted by all the gunshots. Finally, the other 'bot vehicle went down, and the Swatbots inside bailed out and joined the fight on the ground. Sephiroth was blasting through Swatbots with no problem, and Knuckles had fun beating the bolts of them. By now, all the troops were out of ammunition, and there was only one Swatbot left to take care of. Eggman was still around, but he was out of ammo as well. EGGMAN: "I followed the signal that was picking up energy waves that I believe were coming from Chaos Emeralds. Hand them over, or I will blow every last one of you to bits with this!" A side compartment on the EGGMOBILE opened, and a large missile was revealed.
Richie saw this as the perfect opportunity. He aimed, fired, and he hit dead on. The missile on the side of Eggman's ship was destroyed, and his EGGMOBILE was badly damaged. Knuckles took care of the last remaining Swatbot, and Eggman flew off. It was the Freedom Fighters' first victory against Eggman since he took over Mobotropolis. However, it was not a great win. A soldier was shot and killed in the battle by one of the Swatbots. Everyone paid their respects to the fallen soldier, and began the walk back home to Knothole Village.
On the way back to the village, almost everyone was silent. Sephiroth mumbled something to himself. SEPHIROTH: "I almost forgot how intense the heat of battle could be…", he said, under his breath. Tails and Knuckles just looked at him. When everyone got back, Sally congratulated them on their win. SALLY: "The battle is won, but the war is far from over. Eggman won't rest until he gets what he wants. Richie, you did excellent on your first assignment. And although we all feel terrible about losing a fellow Freedom Fighter, there is no time to grieve over the loss. We must be strong and move on. Now get some rest."
