It's about time I updated this, ain't it? I'm not sure when the
next update will roll around, so read this a few times to tide you over
until then! PS: No fighting in this one, either. Isn't that a bit of a disappointment?...
A city lies in ruins, war-torn and ravaged in a manner that seemed as if a stray A-bomb had touched down. Buildings are crumbled, slanted, and soot-covered, pathetic shells of the majestic towers of human ingenuity and effort they once were. The creased roads and highways are not the busy commuter paths they once were, only populated by broken down and destroyed vehicles. Other signs of high-scale destruction also lay about: uprooted and bent road signs, damaged mail boxes and newspaper stands, the dusty and empty roads, bare, dismembered trees, and rotting corpses, all filling the streets like common litter. The cloudy, smoke-filled backdrop only adds to the despair of the horrendous site, not at all lightened by the red splashes of blood that almost completely cover the streets and lower floors of the few remaining buildings. The ruins of Station Square will soon be the scene of one of the greatest battles in the War for Peace. The deadened streets of the once bustling and friendly city will soon become livened once more in the heat of battle, only to fall into the haunting silence once again. But this time, the silence will not toll the presence of death, but rather the joyous sense of future resurrection. A certain hedgehog knows this already, unconsciously however, as he continues his insightful watch over the bare city while stationed underground in the apartment basement.
Since his adolescence, his spines have grown, thinning out and separating into parts, which made it seem as if he had around twenty-five main spines, not six. He's dressed in navy blue, camouflage army outfit over a thick, bulletproof vest which he received via an underground system of transporting clothes, food, and other necessities to the city once word of survivors got out. In his left hand, he grips the butt of an automatic rifle firmly in anticipation and pointless guilt. For once in the hedgehog's life, doubt about his abilities to do good and continue that tradition on for the rest of his life began to shroud the free plains of his mind like a deceptive fog. And the fact that he, Sonic the Hedgehog, held such a measly weapon in his hand further justified his troubling thoughts.
This event marked the beginning of a slow downfall. This time, everything was different. The battle had quickly come to him, not the other way around. It was he who had been caught off guard, and what a time it was to get caught during a vulnerable moment of reassurance. The Neo-Mobians had already taken over the ruins as their own territory, slaughtering everything in their path, devastating the land, and creating no safe haven of anything else outside of their kind. In this process, Sonic had actually been pushed aside and forced to hide underground like a frightened rabbit, lest he wanted to throw himself to the wolves. His powers were useless, his speed was useless, and without that gun in his hands, he was useless. He knew the battles of the future would get harder, for they always had. At this continuous rate, he would eventually be overwhelmed... and what would happen to the people then? The planet? His friends? His bright-eyed future had come into a dark perspective.
I guess I won't always be able to do this...
As if he'd somehow been heard, Sonic heard the door behind him open to reveal his good companion, Miles Prower, or Tails for short. The taller, leaner, and now-teenage fox wore an identical outfit to his, but a hard army helmet was seated upon his head, the side straps flopping about loosely as he walked forward. His rifle, slightly smaller than Sonic's, was secured to his back tightly by a thick nylon belt that ran across his shoulder. Sonic flashed his visitor a smile, albeit a bit of a half-hearted one, and turned his attention back towards the window.
"What's up, pal?"
An equally half-hearted smirk formed along the fox's white and narrow muzzle, borne from hearing his unchanged voice, and he quickly joined him in staring outside at the stoic, grisly environment.
"To tell you the truth, I'm pretty much afraid, Sonic."
"Don't worry about all of this, man. We'll get through it sure enough. We always have–"
"No, not that–... Um... well, I guess it can be considered the cause of the problem, especially with the enemy we have to face... and all of this other nonsense."
"The cause? Well, what's the real problem then, if that's the case?"
"Well, they're sending me to work with another group: the aerial guys," Tails mumbled, the simple thought of separating from his idol in such a time of distress restricting his openness towards him and escalating his nervousness.
Sonic immediately got the gist of it and sighed in sorrow for his friend.
"Well... uh, what for? Even now, it can still be a bit difficult for you to do some hard flying, no offense. And God knows what happened to your plane."
"They mostly want me to work with the others on a technological and strategic aspect... you know, finding easier ways to send messages and supplies, or to bomb certain places if need be. The general also says I'm best suited for shorter missions due to my, uh... lack of endurance in the air, so to speak, so... so there'll probably be a less likely chance I'll get hurt," he added the last part for reassurance, as he could tell right off the bat that Sonic was not okay about something.
It seemed to work. Sonic's smile grew some and he became a bit more contented.
"That's good to know. I'm sure you'll do fine in that position... When are you leaving and where to?"
"In three hours... I think we're being relocated to that abandoned air base somewhere down south. Apparently, that was one thing they didn't touch. Guess they figured it wasn't worth anything."
Sonic took a pause before taking his turn to speak.
"...Which scares me somewhat. You'd think they'd have ravaged that too."
"Vector and the others were sent there not too long ago, though," Tail's significantly lowered his tone as if he was shy, "They gave an all clear."
"Oh..."
Despite the mask Sonic had put on over his true feelings, Tails was now beginning to feel that he had told Sonic the news of their upcoming separation at one of the worst times. He had known about his relocation for about three days earlier, but because of his worries about what could possibly happen while he was alone, he just didn't feel right admitting it at the moment. But as a result of his procrastination, he felt as if he had put Sonic even more on edge. He turned away a bit his lower lip in regret then faced him once more to break the silence and get the attention away from him for a while.
"So, um... what are you doing in here all alone? Knowing you, I'd figure you'd be at Fire's briefing."
"What for? I thought it was just for people going to the air base."
"It is, but they figure we'll also need some escorts, just in case."
Tails then saw more of his old friend returning. The hedgehog shook his head with a chuckle and went on.
"And you think I'd want to take up the job?"
"Why not?" he said, nudging him with an elbow, "I know you. You'd kill for action. Besides, it'll be the last time we even see each other throughout all this. Once you guys get back, I heard you're heading north–"
"– to the last Chaos Emerald," Sonic finished abruptly, shocking Tails somewhat.
The fox then went out on a limb of asking him a question that he never answered truthfully. But times were different, and so was Sonic apparently...
"What's wrong, Sonic?"
No luck. Sonic did the usual; he dismissed the question with a wave of his hand and gave the mundane "it's nothing". Tails just sighed and nodded his head in understanding. That helpless, instinctive need to give condolence to a friend who refused it was setting in on the hurting fox. It seemed that he could never help Sonic in an emotional way like he always did in return. Despite his sadness, he also knew that it was something he should not have been contemplating about since it wasn't something to be helped. But he could never help it. He was too good of a person to not be affected by it. Soon, he felt he was being a nuisance to the hedgehog who probably wanted some space, and he was off again.
"I suppose you'll want to talk to Fire before my time's up, Sonic..." he warned before he was out again, not even bothering to close the door back all the way.
Sonic could do nothing but sigh.
"Soldiers! To attention!"
Upon hearing the gruff barks of Rintinner, the entire lobby of mixed Mobians fell dead silent and still, all eyes locking onto his martial form simultaneously. The German shepherd was, to some awe, neatly dressed in a clean, tight-fitting General's outfit, complete with a black leather gun holster belt and several burnished medals that decorated his large chest. Tapping a large combat boot as if impatient, the dog looked around at the crowd surrounding him with such a focused intensity through his yellow, slitted eyes that he began to give everyone a feeling of dreadful suspense. Once assured that he had their undivided attention, he cleared his throat and began to speak.
"Men. Today we will commence our first operation in the Revolution; one that will surely give us a much greater advantage against the opposition providing that we are successful. You all are to escort the entire aerial squad seven miles due south to the abandoned airfield, where they shall begin setting up missions that will aid us in the battles ahead. The stealth squad has given an all-clear for the edge of the city, yet they faced a bit of trouble in the center of the ruins..."
"Puh! Tell me about it," remarked the crocodile from the background, the statement easily overlapped by Fire's words.
The stealth squad, or better known as the Chaotix, were seated in the very back of the lobby close to the elevator. With their jobs done for the time being, they were simply attending for the heck of it.
"... Which is why I'm counting on all of you to be present and ready for action. We shall leave in echelons spaced fairly wide apart, several meters or so, so as not to become surrounded should we become overrun. The center groups will protect the aerials from any onslaught, while outside forces will stop any of the beasts that get in our way. There are no restrictions. Fire at will upon sight. And do not stop either. Keep on going. We must get through, for the sake of the entire war. We shall get through their forces, "
Sonic had just come up from the basement, fairly quiet so as not to disturb Fire. He leaned himself against the door wearily, his arms crossed and his utmost attention only dedicated to certain bits and pieces of the address. However, the irony of Fire's rant seemed to be apparent only to him as he stopped paying attention after barely a minute and began to reminisce on what he'd heard to himself.
Huh, as much as he spouts out all of that blind hope, he fails to realize the severe consequences of his decision. Going straight through the city! What will happen if we all tried that with thousands of those things about? Huh, failure. That's what.
Sonic gasped, his large eyes going even wider in awful realization. Despite his free-spirit, he'd long ago made a rule for himself that he promised himself he was never to break, and that was to proclaim failure upon himself unless he was put in a position where he could go on no longer. Over the course of his life, his adventures came with an increased level of danger, and therefore he had made it even more taboo to give in. But now, he had broken it. A quick shake of his spiny head threw the personal guilt out of mind for a moment. There had to be a better way about the matter. A safer way. He crossed his arms and turned his sight downwards at the colorful tiles, putting the seldom-used process of thinking to work. It wasn't as bad as he supposed it to be. Within a minute, an idea slowly began taking shape in his mind. He kept it there, watching as Fire began to wrap things up. Once finished, Sonic began making his way through the dispersing crowd. Fire had noticed the blue furball fighting throughout the current of people, but he turned his back to him as if he had not noticed, going as far as to begin shining one of the palling medals on his shirt.
"Um... Fire? Can I talk to you?"
"Hmm? Oh, Sonic. It's you. I was expecting you to attend the briefing. Your love for anything remotely involving action further justified my assumption, but..."
"Well, you know me pretty well, and you should know I'm not one for a lot of talk."
"Yes, that is true. But with a person such as you, I figure you would do anything to be involved in such an activity, provided it does not go against your moral code. And if I recall, attending a boring meeting is not a sin," he chuckled, "So, what's on your mind?"
"Sir, if you don't mind me saying... I think you're making a horrible mistake with this plan. If we go along with it, we are entirely doomed."
"What are you going on about?"
"Sir, it's obvious! There's tons of those things inhabiting the center of the city. And they're smart. Real smart. They may be afraid of simple gunfire, but they definitely know that there's safety in numbers. That's their strength. If our team of about 70 or so runs right into the middle of one of their smaller hordes, which I figure to be a several hundred, who do you think will win, realistically?"
Fire's eyes widened reflexively as the hedgehog's words began to seep into his mind and change it. He looked down at the hedgehog, who was frowning in a slightly pleading manner. The shepherd couldn't help but chuckle at himself.
"Good show. That's what I get for getting so worked up and wanting to just dash straight through. I better be more thoughtful about this in these times."
You'd better...
"Well... that was all I wanted to say before we headed off... It worried me a bit, so I had to say something," he mumbled gloomily, quickly turning to head back to his spot in the basement.
Fire had picked up something unusual in Sonic's demeanor, and he had a pretty general idea what it was. However, he didn't want to assume anything again and simply asked the hedgehog straight up if anything was wrong.
"Sonic. Something bothering you, son?"
"Uh... aside from this depressing atmosphere?... No. Why'd you ask?"
"Just making sure it wasn't anything aside from that. It's, uh, nothing serious, really. You can go on now."
Sonic said nothing more, turning to go back to his favored spot. Fire stroked his furred chin at the hedgehog's odd demeanor and watched him go away while mumbling to himself:
"I'll get my real answer at exactly three o' clock..."
Three hours later as planned, all of the Mobians had finally gathered outside. However, unlike what was planned or generally assumed, they were sheltered in the shadows of a formally empty alleyway to the left of the building, the large group curving around the right corner. The obvious change in direction from south to east had emitted a feeling of sudden dread among the soldiers that was apparent in their low whispering. Only Fire and Sonic remained unfazed amongst the confusion, and soon Tails once he saw his friend so eerily calm. Another Mobian, one who possessed Sonic's thin patience as well as other attributes, got fed up with the secrecy and pushed himself out of the crowd and behind Fire.
"What's going on here? I thought you said we were supposed to be heading directly south to the base. Not east."
"Hello, Shadow. If no one else, I thought you'd be one of the few people to come up and question me. There was a slight change of plans."
"Hmph, you call this slight?"
Fire couldn't help but chuckle at the dark hedgehog's remark, but otherwise it went ignored. He turned back towards the entire group.
"Quiet down and listen up," once again, they obeyed immediately, "Now as I said, there's been a slight change in our plans. We'll go around the danger as best we can. After rethinking our method of assault, I figured that the lower chance we have of encountering the beasts, the better chance we'll have of succeeding."
Sonic frowned at his lack of giving credit, but said nothing.
"We'll head east for the edge of the city," Fire continued, "It's been confirmed that the beasts are more concentrated in the interior of the city. Instead, we're heading around them. Once we hit the boundaries we start our journey south."
The shepherd went silent once more and started on with the trek. But the others were barely given any time to follow before he abruptly stopped, turned, and went on to address another piece of news, something that even Sonic was not aware of.
"Also, I forgot to mention: From this point on, you all will not be lead by me."
A sudden murmur of questioned conversation arose from the animals, much to the delight of Fire.
"But you will be led by your new squad leader, no one other than Sonic the Hedgehog."
The attention was now on Sonic, and for once he actually minded. His heart was pounding very painfully in his chest, and to add to his anxiousness, he could barely breathe. It felt as if snakes had formed inside and began to constrict his lungs with every breath he took. He couldn't believe it. Him, the leader? Why? Why didn't Fire just lead? He had more a good amount of military experience underneath his belt. Sonic had none at all. So why was he chosen?
"Look, Fire. Really, what's the point in having me appointed as the leader when you can–"
"Oh, come on, now. Don't be so modest," he laughed, patting him on the head as if he were a little child, "After all, it was you who proposed this change of plans, wasn't it?"
All eyes locked onto him again. Now he had no choice but to comply.
"Huh? Oh... Oh yes... Heh, heh I suppose it was. You know me and my memory!"
"Good. Well then, Chief, lead the way."
"Ah... Hold on for a second."
Sonic took Fire by the arm and took him aside quite roughly, his charade dropped and his anger on the rise.
"Since you seem so keen on using my ideas, here's another to take into consideration: Reassign yourself as leader. I couldn't possibly–!"
"Sonic. Listen to yourself. You're acting rather foolish. You have just proven that you have the intelligence to lead these people, so why be afraid?"
"One good idea formulated from the obvious does not amount to years of military experience! Besides...!"
"Besides what?"
"Besides... everything's different. I am different."
"You are not the only one to have changed throughout all of this, Sonic. Everyone has. It's a different time now, and to survive in different times one must adapt himself. However, adaptation does not override your best qualities as a person, but rather enhances them and makes you stronger. You are fit to lead this group, Sonic. You have always been a good leader. We both know that, son."
Despite the truths that were left hanging in his mind, Sonic was stubborn. How could anyone possibly see him as fit to lead an entire group of people into a danger that he had just proven he could not handle on his own? He felt as if he'd be leading them and himself right into the grave, and what good would that have done then? None at all, which is why he still believed it to be a bad idea. However, he saw that Fire was not going to be swayed in the matter. So once again, despite resistance, he had no choice but to be compliant. Even with doubt, he understood perfectly. The forlorn hedgehog closed his eyes and nodded his head once at Fire, turning back around to face the group, his group.
"Well... Come along, then."
And it was then that Mobians set off through the alleyways, all of whom where very relieved at the change of plans. They were avoiding the danger, and therefore they were all calm.
All... except Sonic.