Working Title

By: Foxfighter

Author's Note: As you can tell from my other story (Insert Title Here) I'm not the best at making titles. Leave a review, and a suggestion for a title to this story and if I like it I'll use it. You'll get full credit of course.

I don't own Sonic or any other of the characters. Packbell belongs to Bookshire Draftwood, and is used without permission. Joshua Valni belongs to me, Foxfighter. You can use him if you want, but just give credit where credit is due.

Prologue: A Fall from Grace

He was cold… so, so cold.

He had wandered into this back alley in hopes of finding a someplace, such as a dumpster, where he could rest in for the night.

But he had no such luck; the only thing that awaited him in this dark place was a gang of angry wolves, and a beating he wouldn't soon forget.

They had punched, kicked, and stabbed him until he could no longer even move; and upon finding he had no money on him, they had simply left him there to die.

He was in a far away place, exhausted, and much too far away for him to make it back to his rundown shack he had constructed on the other side of the city.

Curled up in the fetal position, he began to cry.

What had he done to deserve this?

What cruel God up in the sky hated him so?

He drifted off into an uneasy sleep on the cold pavement; hopefully he would last through the night.

………

Two Months Earlier

………

King Seth Maxis Valni III stood and admired his kingdom. From the roof of the palace in The Royal City of Valanai, he could truly admire and appreciate all that his ancestors had worked so hard to achieve. The royal fox slowly shifted his gaze so that he could look over every part of the land he loved so much. From the bustling Sunset Park mass transit station, to the wilderness of the Meta Junglira, to the tall snowy mountains near the border, and all the way back (past his father's crowning achievement the Tidal Plant) to the beautiful Great Turquoise beach. Just past that there was still a huge crater where the-

"Father?"

King Seth was snapped out of his thoughts, and he turned around to face the one who addressed him.

"Yes son?"

"When you get back home, will you take me hunting with you again?"

The older fox smiled at his son.

"Yes of course. You're getting better at it every time we go. But first, I have to attend this meeting. It's really important."

The crimson haired youth nodded and grinned at his father.

"Alright, I'll have my stuff ready for when you get back."

The older fox nodded at his son, and turned to go back inside the palace.

"Don't forget about your fencing lesson today with Jacques. It starts in thirty minutes, and I would hate to know that you hindered one of my finest generals from his duties. Understand, Joshua?"

"Yes Father. I won't be late."

"Good. That's what I like to hear. General Jacques D'Coollete has taken time out of his busy schedule to personally see to it that you are instructed in the arts of combat. I hope you won't disappoint me. Good luck son."

"Father, you still treat me like a child! I'm fifteen years old! I'll do fine, don't worry about it!"

"Yes… yes I suppose your right… I guess I just-"

At this point a servant came onto the roof.

"King Seth, everything has been prepared for your meeting with the ambassador from the Acorn Kingdom. If you would just follow me, please."

The king looked at his son, and smiled.

"I'll see you later Joshua."

"Okay. Goodbye Father."

King Seth followed the attendant back into the palace, and they began walking towards the throne room.

"Exactly who is it I'm speaking with today?"

"Ah yes, I believe that the ambassador's name was…" the servant checked a piece of paper, "Commander Packbell, the leader of the Mobotroplis Armed Forces."

"Hmmm…. Commander Packbell…. I can't say I've ever heard of him."

…….

"For a beginner you're not too bad Joshua."

General D'Coollete and Joshua walked away from the Training Center.

"Thank you, General. You're a good teacher. Where did you learn to handle a rapier like that?"

"It's been a long standing family tradition that once a D'Coollete is of age, he is taught how to use a rapier. Every male in my family line (as far back as we can trace) has been in service to a royal family. My brother, Abel D'Coollete), is in service to the Acorn Kingdom down south. It's been a really long time since I talked to him last. His son, Antoine, should be about your age. I'll have to introduce you to him sometime."

They continued to walk through the Valni Military Headquarters back towards the palace. Joshua loved it here, and he would always come here to admire it. The Headquarters was always alive with activity, and there were soldiers running around everywhere in their pristine red uniforms. Some even carried the newer model machine guns, and Joshua often took time to admire the elegant beauty of these instruments of death.

"And one day," he thought, "all this power will be mine to command!" Joshua grinned.

"Joshua!"

The prince snapped out of his thoughts and ran after the general, who had a rifle in his hands.

"Have you ever handled one of these….."

…………………………………..

Packbell loathed being Robotnik's diplomat

He entered the throne room accompanied by two Swat-Bot's. One of them was carrying a briefcase.

"Ah, Commander Packbell, it's a pleasure to meet you. I trust your flight was pleasant?"

The two shook hands.

"It was."

They took seats at a table facing across from each other.

"Good. So, how are things in the Acorn Kingdom? This kingdom is in a fairly remote place, so we haven't been able to receive any word of how the outside world is doing. It's been nearly ten years since we were last in contact with your kingdom."

"I would assume so, this being as remote an island as it is. Well, your majesty let me take the point. There has been a…. slight change in power in the Acorn Kingdom…"

"How do you mean?"

"I mean that the Acorn's are no longer in power. There's been a 'revolution' of sorts."

"A revolution! By who?"

King Seth could hardly believe his ears.

"You will find out in due time. Relax. I'm here to cut you a deal with the new empire. Do you see the two guards I have with me?"

"Yes… they seem to be in some very strange looking armor."

"They are not in the armor… they are the armor. Swat-Bot 28964!"

One of the Swat's saluted Packbell and replied in a monotone "Yes-sir!"

"Show the King what I'm talking about."

With this, the Bot opened a panel on his chest and revealed an intricate mass of wires.

"What is this… magic?"

Yes, Packbell thought, I suppose their level of technology isn't quite as advanced as Robotnik's is.

"You could say that. My master has offered you full use of a battalion of these magic armors. They are called Swat-Bots, and they will follow your orders no matter what. Swat-Bot 28964!"

"Yes-sir!"

"Execute self termination program number 5739."

"Yes-sir"

The Swat took the plasma rifle it was equipped with and pointed it at it's CPU unit (it's head) and fired.

"See? They are loyal to the end itself."

The lifeless Bot fell to the floor.

"And I can get a battalion of these? At what cost?"

"Not much really. All you have to do is use them in the police force, and swear to aid the new empire."

"This is too good to be true. Who is the leader of this new 'empire' you speak of?"

"I believe you've met him before…. Six years ago…."

"No….. six years ago… the Death Egg….. The Atomic Destroyer…. ROBOTNIK!"

Packbell smirked. Seeing the rulers of kingdoms behave like children was the best part of the job… that and what came after this.

"I will never swear allegiance to him! Leave. NOW."

"Oh, but you see you don't really have a choice."

Packbell nodded at the remaining Swat-Bot, and it brought him the briefcase.

"Oh, really? And why do I not have a choice?"

Packbell smirked and opened the briefcase showing a map of Mobius, with several blinking lights scattered across it.

"We have twenty-four ICBMs targeting this pathetic island as we speak. Should you refuse to co-operate, this little kingdom of yours will go the way of the echidna."

"Wh-how……..no…."

For the first time in his life, Seth was at a loss for words.

"Now then, I believe we were about to commence negotiations?"

…………………..

It was dark in this room. Not the kind of 'soft' darkness that normally lingers in an unoccupied room, but a sort of oppressing darkness. One that seemed to hunt down and choke out everything it came in contact with.

Into this oppressing darkness, four figures entered. They perfectly meshed into this darkness, and seemingly bonded with and became part of it.

"Can someone hit the lights please?

A flick of a switch later and a small light hanging from the ceiling came alive. It made a feeble attempt at warding off the choking dark, but in the end it only managed to illuminate a small portion of the room. Through the dim light one could make out a small circular table around which four figures sat. The darkness still engulfed them, as the light wasn't quite strong enough, and seemed to be trying to claw its way back to occupy its former space.

"This meeting shall come to order."

After several moments, the figure at the front of the table stood up.

"Gentlemen, the moment that we've been waiting for, the moment our fathers and our father's fathers never accomplished, is nearly upon us. I felt it necessary to convene one final time before it begins, and check our status. Is that acceptable?"

Murmurs of agreement arose from the other three.

"Good. Then let us begin. Firstly, how is the moral of the people?"

The figure that was currently standing took a seat, and the one to his left stood up.

"It is at an all time low. After the failure of the economic reforms, mass inflation, and the 'malfunction' of the Tidal Plant last month, the populous is most unsettled. There has been an increase in crime by four percent. The fake reports we've been handing in are working like a charm. Everything is as it should be on."

The speaker sat down, and the one to his left stood up.

"The military is completely at our disposal. My position has allowed me to gain many subordinates, and I have slowly managed to get rid of or convert all of the original army. I have replaced them with soldiers loyal to me and me alone. All the higher-ups support our cause. All except for that impudent coyote, but he is certainly expendable. Everything is green on my end."

He sat down, and the figure to his left stood up.

"I have found someone willing to accept our contract. Nic, you can come in now."

Another figure entered into the room. Through the darkness, you could tell that the figure was a female.

The figure at the front of the table stood up again.

"This is not who we instructed you to get. We told you to get Fang, not some girl who looks like him."

"Hey! I'm just as good as a sniper as my brother. Cheaper, too. You won't get a better deal than me."

"Yes, it seems Fang has been away for some time. Besides, he's known here after that little incident six years past. I trust this is acceptable?"

Both sat down.

"Yes, it will do."

They all sat in silence for a few moments until the figure at the front of the table spoke up.

"Tomorrow is a glorious day, gentlemen. For tomorrow royal blood shall be spilt!"

They all stood up and chanted in unison "Down with the king!"

After a few moments, four figures left the room.

He was about to leave, when he felt a slight vibration in one of his pockets. Reaching down, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, and looked at the number. He smirked and pressed the connect button.

"Hello, sir."

"Yes everything went fine on my end. I just finished the meeting, and the revolution begins tomorrow. I trust everything went well on your end?"

"Good. So, during the speech tomorrow night then…"

"Yes sir, we did get someone from the Exchange."

"No sir… we weren't able to get Fang. But we were able to get his sister."

"I understand sir, but if we didn't get her then we would have to request more money from him.

"Yes sir."

"No sir. No one suspects a thing."

"Of course not, why would they? Their just happy to be getting money for it. They wouldn't check to see who their 'new supplier' was."

"Yes, Operation: Clean Sweep is going off without a hitch."

"Thank you sir. I hope I can continue to be of use up until the next part of the operation. I would most certainly be of use to you in the new seat of government."

"Of course sir, I swear my loyalty to him."

"Alright, I will."

"Hmm, that'll be fine then."

"Yes. Goodbye…. Packbell."

…………………….

Morning's first rays were bright and unforgiving to young fox. They had awoken him from his deep comforting sleep, and reminded him of his new reality. Slowly, he began to check himself to see if he had any serious injuries, and to his relief the only this he had was a minor stab wound to his right shoulder. This would have worried him in the past, but living on the street for as long as he had made him tougher than he had ever been.

The crown prince got to his feet, and began his long dismal journey back to his little hideout.

End of Proluge.