Thank for all the reviews, keep them coming, here is the next chapter. Be warned though there are some graphic seens here and there in the coming chapters, there isn't too much blood (which is why it's PG-13) but a little here and there.

---0

The smoke rolled forth through the forest, choking the life out of all the animals, it now made its way to Knothole. All was silent other then the roaring, either it be the flames of the burning trees or the pouring rain no one could tell. There was the smell of burning trees and timber, but the older Miles noticed there was another fragrance to it; there seemed to be smell of petroleum to the burn, which would explain why the heavy rains couldn't retard it. It made him sick, how and why would Robotnik do such things, like purposely destroy such beauty, so much so he'd waste his oil on it. He had no honor, no shame, and ever since he was five he put all his effort toward trying to see the fat man feel the pains of his own destruction. Many times his wish appeared to come true, but was actually false, it made him think the doctor was impregnable, however the vulpine clung unto the assumption that doc was just as mortal as they, and sooner or later he'd make a mistake.

Today would not be that day.

Right now, all he could do was try to stall for time, this battle had loss written all over it. Anyone could tell, for one they were out numbered, probably twenty to one, or more. Also they were outgunned; the Swatbot lasers could fire much faster and with more accuracy then the defenders could fire those balloons off the catapults. The only other person with a ranged weapon with any effectiveness was probably Jerome, who had also stayed behind.

The white mouse held a strange looking rifle, probably another part of his collection. Selim hoped that this weapon would be more effective against machinery then the one he saw earlier in the evening. The fox looked across the clearing at the enemy, he wondered what they were waiting for, they had stopped dead as soon as they were at the foot of the village, which was the major cause of the before said silence. He looked down the line of freedom fighters, who also stood their ground, waiting for him to say something. It was a heavy déjà vu feeling to be back in charge again. It was a pressure he had a chance to grow used to over the past decade... well HIS past decade. Right now victory wasn't on his mind though, or defeat, all that mattered to him was that he save the young Tails from being put through all the pain he had been. At this point as long as Sonic and Sally both survived, nothing else mattered.

--------0

Snively was savoring every moment his uncle could never have; his army was at the front door of the Freedom Pests' village. And here they stood, all ready to die or be robotisized. Either way it didn't matter, Knothole was his for the taking, and this time he wouldn't fail. He came close before, this time there would be no errors.

The video display moved down the line of the freedom fighters. He growled as he noticed that neither the princess nor pesky blue hedgehog were present. "Why aren't they here?" He asked himself, but then a more interesting question popped up. In the middle of the line there was a fox, with two tails... but it didn't look exactly like the one who helped Sonic make a fool of him near Drood Hedge. This one was far older then that... the younger fox was already nowhere in sight. Snively growled, he probably should have been more subtle in his approach, but still a handful of freedom fighters was better then none. They were out numbered and done for. He, however finally realized his uncle's sporting personality, he'd let them have the first strike. He gave out an order to one bot to fire at a nearby tree next to the line that should get things going.

---------0

Out of the mob of bots a shot was fired, apparently aimed for the far right flank. Luckily it missed and hit a nearby tree, however this was the act the Selim was waiting for, the first shot that would cause the chain reaction. The vulpine opened up his wrist laser; this was going to be a fight that they won't forget. With a nod to the rest of the defenders they turned all the safeties off and let fire on the aggressors.

About seven balloons flew up from the catapults the robots were so scrunched together in a small space that they were helpless and couldn't move before the green elastic material popped and released the acidic plant powder, taking out about three each.

Jerome fired the rifle pressed tightly against his shoulder, a bullet quickly discharged from the barrel and soared to the target. Though it was ballistic, it pierced through a Swatbot's metal skin, and after about a second, as oil leaked through the hole, there was an explosion which completely dismantled the robot. Selim picked his shots with his wrist laser, nailing a couple of Swatheads, though he had to be careful, cause over usage could cause fermentation of other parts of his body as the weapon demanded more oxygen to convert.

Meanwhile, the others were reloading the catapults, and unfortunately this was a long process and the bots were ready to strike back, and that they did. Suddenly there was a sea of lasers heading right for the freedom fighters and their catapults, screams of 'incoming' and 'get down' were heard. Though there wasn't much time to react at all as the hot beams of light crashed into the lightly hilly ground. One hit a launcher that was being reloaded, causing the balloon to nearly fall out of the Mobian's hand, but the bear quickly squeezed it tightly to keep it from falling, and unfortunately the sharp claws on his hand pierced the rubbery material and the acidic powder came out of the balloon and ate away at his hand, which was gone before the balloon dropped to the ground.

Selim braced himself ducking down as the lasers tore through everything in their path. Their main weapons now inoperable and the Mobians suppressed as the deafening amount of laser fire continued unrelenting.

--------0

Deeper in the forest the lasers could be heard causing the evacuating Freedom Fighters to jump a bit. Sally looked up and down the line and could see nothing but faces looking down, demoralized. It was difficult not to join them, she too felt her hope slipping from her, but she had to keep her head up, because if she faltered so would the rest of them. She had to have hope, that they would return everything back to the way it was, that life would return to he way it was. It seemed so unlikely though, it takes far more time to restore then to destroy. Something that took years to grow can take a minute to chop down. She watched the hover trucks move, slowly so that those walking could keep up. She chose to walk, because if she sat down she would have the opportunity to become immersed in sorrow and worry.

When she left the village she decided that it'd probably be best if she had some of the convoy members cover their tracks. They did well, making sure no footprints were in the mud. It took awhile though so this slowed down their movement, but at least they wouldn't be followed. She didn't doubt that Selim would survive, it was just that possibility that lingered, and by the sudden sounds of lasers she began to worry about the others.

Tails, the younger kit, was sitting down, in the Tornado's cockpit. His head hung out the side of the opening, the rain dripping off his ears. He looked like the worst hit out of them all as he stared at the wet grass, knowing he'll never see it again after tonight. Homesickness set in along with his worrying for Sonic and Selim. Maybe foremost in his mind was if he'd ever see the sky again; see the white fluffy clouds that floated above the sky of the Great Forest. He sighed very audibly, causing Sally to look up at him.

"Tails, are you going to be alright?" She asked up at him, causing him to stir lightly and sit back up in his seat. He let out a sigh again.

"Aunt Sally... will we ever beat him...?" Tails asked. "Why does he keep doing this, can't he see what he's doing to our home?" His voice sounded like one of defeat, he obviously fell under what Sally was trying to avoid, thinking too much on what would happen if this continued. Doomsday was the start of the fear factor that hadn't been there before, a shroud of seriousness. Before now, it all did seem like a game, but now that the villain was giving it all he had, the game had become a fight for survival. The Doomsday Project, The Death Egg, and now the fall of Knothole, each time marked a new high point for Robotnik. Sally couldn't fall victim to these thoughts though, she had to be a leader, and at times like this her role was extremely important.

She looked up. "Tails hun, as long as we're together there's still hope on victory, we're strong as long as we all stick together. We won't give up, not ever, as long as we share the dream of overthrowing him."

Bunnie was nearby and decided to chime in, "As long as there are people willin' to fight, we'll neva give it up sugar. We live to fight another day, and we'll get all our vengeance."

Tails nods weakly, "He stole my sky, my parents, my home..."

Sally sighs and nods. "Yes, he did. He did to all of us hun. Which is why we fight, we won't go quietly, though to attack now would be suicide, we'll get him one of these days, I promise."

The young kit nods weakly and sits back in the cockpit chair. The ground squirrel felt for him, she missed her father, but at least she knew him. The poor kit didn't know his biological father or mother, just cruel foster parents. It was rumored that his true parents were robotosized. No one cared what happened to the fosters, they could rot in hell for all she cared. It was sad they couldn't see Tails for who he was, instead of seeing him as a freak like everyone else of his childhood did.

They wouldn't be much longer now, she should contact Sonic and have the others begin their retreat, and hopefully they were still alive.

-----------0

Sonic was sitting back in the driver's seat, his foot tapping against the dash board. "Why is it I have to wait and they get to have all the action?" He groaned as he sighed.

"Hold your horses Sonic, Sally will give us the all clear, then there'll be plenty of action." Dulcy said sitting in the back, looking out the windows, "This is terrible, they've been pushed back to the war room... they'll be sitting ducks in there."

The hedgehog looks through the mirror and could see the defenders moving into the war room to gain cover. It'd only be a few minutes before the Swatbots surrounded the building and cutting them off for the final blow. "Sal'd better hurry up or I'm gonna juice in and get them."

As if on cue the center computer terminal on the dash lit up, Sally was transmitting with Nicole on an encoded frequency to avoid unwanted ears. "Sonic, you there?" Her voice came up.

The hedgehog jumped out of his seat as the voice suddenly snapped him out of his resting state. "Ya Sal, what's up?"

On the screen Sonic could see the ground squirrel standing there looking rather lovely though she was soaked, he could see Bunnie moving a boulder leading to the 'Pipeline Express' as Grif called it. "We're here, and I've had some of the members of our group cover our tracks already. It's your turn, get them out of there and make Robotnik follow you away, then..."

"Sal, we don't need to go over it again," the blue one sighed. "Trust me; I'll keep those Buttbots lost."

Sally nods, "I know we can count on you Sonic and I believe in you, no matter what. Do it to it..." the ground squirrel concluded as the screen blanked out.

Dulcy piped up, "Sonic, hurry, the bots are closing in!" The dragon shouted causing Sonic to look out the mirror to see the army of bots heading for the war room, starting to encircle it.

"Hold onto your lunch Dulce, we're gonna juice!" He said starting the hover engine.

---------0

Selim stood by the open door, only about half of their group remained, the rest were caught, killed, or too injured to follow. He helped who he could, one lost their hand, and he could remember how painful that was. Luckily the acid charred the arm to a stub at about the wrist so it didn't bleed anymore. Jerome had made it; he was at the other side of the door, his rifle over his left shoulder. "Looks like they're surrounding the building... we won't be able to hold them off."

The vulpine nods solemnly, "At least the others are safe, we kept them busy and that's what's important, good job guys."

The others were not really responsive, still shaken up by the attack, knowing another one was on the way. Jerome looked up. "Well, I'm not going down without a fight, I just arrived at Knothole, and I'm not leaving it like this."

Just then a high pitched scream could be heard, it was a hover engine, and Selim knew who it was, and by the sounds of it he wasn't slowing. "Get away from the back wall!" He yelled and a few freedom fighters ran toward the door away from the wall just as the truck's back end smashed through the wooden wall.

There was a silence that followed; the robots stopped their advance as they saw the vehicle smash into the building, as if they were confused. However being machines they were just waiting on orders in this newly developed situation.

The back door of the truck opened, Sonic looked back over the driver seat. "Come on guys, we're bailin'." Most of the freedom fighters ran to the truck quickly. The robots in the meanwhile were given their orders; there was a sudden hail of fire upon the building. Beams cut through the building like a hot knife through butter. Selim and Jerome fell forward as they heard the shots coming, but some of the others were so frantic to escape they didn't, and as a result were hit in the back, killing some, wounding others.

Dulcy screamed as she ducked under a blast that soared into the truck and hit the computer terminal in the front. Sonic jumped as a shard of glass nearly hit him. "You guys have a sonic-second, and then we're gone."

Just then there was a quick pause in the barrage. Jerome looked to Selim, "Listen... if we both go for the truck we'll both be killed... you're much more useful to the team, so I'm gonna cover you, got it?"

Selim looked to the albino mouse, "What are you saying?"

The mouse stands up his rifle hung under his arm and he looked to Selim, "Go, don't worry about me, this is my purpose, to help the cause, we need some to protect those that will make a bigger difference." He said walking toward the door.

"No, Jerome, don't do this!" Selim said standing up, when someone caught his arm; it was the bear that had lost his hand, holding the fox's arm with his only good one. "Lets go, we don't have much time."

Selim was dragged back to the truck as the mouse walked out the door, a couple of ballistic blasts were heard, and right before the doors shut the barrage started again and a blood curdling cry was heard, which could only belong to the mouse.

"JEROME!" Selim cried as the doors closed.

----------0

Be sure to keep the reviews coming, the next chapter will be up on, October 1st, until then.