CHAPTER 4: Elsewhere...

1/6/2022

Aleena was jolted awake by the sound of explosions in the distance. She grabbed her laser gun and groggily looked around with her gun primed, prepared to fight. "If someone's there, I have no qualms about shooting you if you wish to do the same to me!" She declared. She didn't hear a response, so she got off the ground and left the small cave she had slept in the night before. She ran around the side of it to find the source of the sound. The sun had just barely risen, making it a bit difficult to see. She reached into a bag she had and pulled out a pair of binoculars and turned up the brightness. When she saw the source of the sound, she was amazed. "Well, I'll be…" Through her binoculars, she looked past the city towards the plains on the other side and saw smoke from a valley she knew to contain one of Robotnik's weapons factories. "It looks like my little Sonic pulled it off."

For the last fifteen years, Aleena had been monitoring her children in secret. It was through her monitoring that she learned their new names, and of the upbringings each child had; While Sonic being a Freedom Fighter scared her, she knew soon enough, he'd begin facing his destiny and getting into danger anyways. She was proud of the work he was doing, despite the risks he was taking. Sonia's life pleased her, although she had issues with Windermere's methods; she knew Windermere meant well and loved Sonia and appreciated the things she was teaching her daughter, she wasn't too keen on her finding Sonia's powers "un-ladylike." Manic surprised her most, however. She was absolutely mortified to find out that criminals took him in. However, finding out he stole from the rich to give those in need better resources (children in particular) and rarely for his own benefit put her slightly at ease. She also appreciated how loving his family was, and how they tried to give him an education… even if most of what he learned was taught for criminal purposes. Even though she checked in on them frequently, not being able to interact with them or talk to them made her soul ache.

Aleena then felt a small ray of light graze the corner of her eye. She whipped around and saw that the sun was beginning to rise. "Looks like the day's starting. I need to get a move on if I'm to reach Westvale." She went back into her cave and packed away her things and started on her way. Westvale was a Wild West style town that was well out of the way from Mobotropolis in a desert that was an appreciable distance west of where she was. "Getting past the Yuji mountains will be a challenge, I'm certain. But I must do this," she said to herself. She stopped for a second, double checked her bag to make sure she had enough resources to last her the multi day trip, and continued walking. She made such a deal out of getting to the town; For starters, she would find a brief sanctuary there. However, there was another reason for her pilgrimage. Her mind took something that occurred a few years prior…

On a rainy night towards the end of May, four years ago, Aleena had been hiding in a small hut in an abandoned section of Jadegully. She was horribly shaken up, for that day, she was forced to take a life for the first time. It was a horrible man, who had the intent to use an injectable drug to paralyze her and bring her to Robotnik for a hefty bounty. In the eleven years she had wandered at that point, she had never once had to kill. She rarely even had to fight any of Robotnik's un-organic robots. But in a moment of fear, she crushed his foot, nabbed a gun he had, and shot him. She felt so disgusted with herself. "I'm… I'm a monster," she repeated. But she would soon have to focus on something other than what she had done that day, for The Oracle had visited. "Aleena, what ever is the matter?" Aleena gulped. "I… I killed…" she began to shake violently. The Oracle put his hands on her cheeks and did something magical to calm her down. "You did what you had to. You would not have survived if he had his way. Robotnik would not have appreciated your noncompliance." The former queen sighed sadly. "Now, you're here for a reason. What have you seen?" "I have seen when your children's journey shall begin. 50 months and two weeks from now, they shall set off to begin facing their destiny. You must also begin your journey then, to train, and to avoid Mobotropolis; At that point, it will not be that safe for you to stay close by." Aleena held her knees. "I'd hardly call it safe now. But I understand."

The woman's mind came back to the present. For her own safety, she had to reach the base of the mountains by tomorrow. Very soon, she'd have to leave her children behind and double down on the training she neglected due to her years of watching her children just out of sight. Since Robotnik would be aware of her children's existence by then, she didn't think it'd be quite safe to stay close by. Tears rolled down her cheek, but she kept her head up, and eventually her tears flew off, blown away into nothingness by the strong wind. "Someday, I'll see them again… but I wish that 'someday' was soon." She then looked slightly behind her. "Goodbye, Sonic. Goodbye, Manic… And, goodbye, Sonia."

Her walk was not without dangers; she occasionally had to fend off malicious wildlife and hide from overhead security drones that Robotnik likely deployed as a direct response to his factory being sabotaged. Every mile she crossed, she felt more and more uncomfortable. While she hadn't been safe for the past decade-and-a-half, being closer to the city provided an odd sense of security for her. It was familiar, and she knew where to hide. But soon, she wouldn't have that feeling of safety; She'd be winging it in places she'd never been before, and even in far-off places she had been to, she wouldn't have a guard or ambassador with her. She didn't like it, but she knew this was going to be her new normal for the foreseeable future.

Finally, it became 2 PM. Aleena had managed to travel a fair number of miles; the Yuji mountains were starting to be within her reach. Aleena searched for a small private spot to eat, eventually settling on a couple of tall rocks that formed a rough corner. She made a beeline for it and sat down. She took out a small time-stasis preserved sandwich and deactivated the container it was in. She then noticed a puddle of water nearby that wasn't too dirty. She pulled out a bottle and scooped up enough water for a drink and pressed a button on the side. A mechanism inside the bottle deployed, and she began shaking the bottle vigorously for a full minute. Once she was done, a nozzle in the bottom popped out, and all of the dirt and other contaminants poured out, leaving Aleena with a bottle of clean, if a bit stale water. She began to eat the sandwich and washed down her bites with the water she just collected. Once she finished her meal, she got back up and resumed her trek.

She continued for a couple of hours, her mind eventually taking her back to her most recent meeting with The Oracle. This particular meeting occurred towards the end of winter on a snowy morning. Aleena was hiding out in an abandoned low-end casino in a lower-class borough on the northeast side of the city. Aleena was making herself a small breakfast in a surprisingly well-preserved employee's lounge, when The Oracle manifested himself. "Good morning, Aleena. I hope I didn't disturb you." He said to her softly. Aleena smiled faintly. "I don't think you could disturb me, Oracle. These past 15 years have done that enough…" She said, as she stirred her coffee. The Oracle used magic to make himself a cup. "I need to talk to you. I know where you must go first when the time comes." Aleena pulled out a seat, and sat down, crossing one of her legs. "Oh yes, that's coming up, isn't it?" She took a long sip from her coffee. "25 weeks from now, I'll have to take my leave from the city and the area surrounding it. I cannot say I'm looking forward to it, Fortuus." The Oracle grimaced a little. "My, you don't typically use my first name like that." The queen finished off her coffee. "Sorry, I'm just a bit snappy today. Lover's Day is tomorrow, and it makes me think of…" The Oracle stopped her. "Say no more. I know his absence upsets you so." The deposed ruler sighed. "So, you were saying I needed to go somewhere?" "Ah yes, that. When the time comes, you must make your way to Westvale. There, you shall meet my protégé, who shall accompany you and guard you, while training you in the fighting arts."

Aleena was snapped out of her flashback by a frightening sound; heavy footfalls and mechanic whirring. "Oh no, Robotnik's robots… I must have completely spaced out and forgot to watch for drones!" She quickly glanced around for somewhere to hide, but there wasn't a place in sight that was close enough. "Oh dear… It looks like I'll have to fight, whether I want to or not!" She pulled out her gun as the robots closed in.

These robots weren't as big as the kind Sonic would be dealing with the next day; They were roughly 5'5", and were a shiny, sickly grey color, wielding dark purple guns. Aleena began shooting at their heads, disabling them. One came behind her and grabbed her wrist. "Let go, you fiend!" She screamed this as she fought her way out of his grip, pistol whipping him when she was free. She shot beam after beam, piercing the metal exteriors of the mechanical foes, destroying critical wires in the process. But after a couple of minutes, her gun began faltering. "Oh no, not now… You can't run out of charge now!" She finally ran out of shots after this, and was forced to smack the robots with a gun. She attempted to run away from them, but they formed a tight circle around her. "DO NOT ATTEMPT TO RESIST." They said loudly at her. She cowered on the ground. No… I can't lose here. I can't lose now… she thought to herself. Aleena had no way out. She wailed a loud "no," as one attempted to pick her up to fly her to Robotnik's base.

However, before the robot could even touch her, a sword burst through his torso. He was lifted up by it and tossed aside. The sword belonged to a mysterious figure in a dark, pale green robe. They then began unleashing hell upon the robots, slicing through them like a hot knife through butter. Within a couple minutes, every robot was downed. The sword-bearing figure walked up to Aleena, who backed up through a weird sort of crawl. "W-who are you?" she asked, frightened. "Are you Aleena Soleil, former queen of Mobius?" asked the figure. Aleena was caught very off guard by the voice. It was nothing like she expected; for the voice was that of a teenage girl. But it had none of the typical characteristics of a teenage girl's voice. It wasn't as melodic or bright, and the way the figure spoke gave off the energy of someone much older. Without thinking, Aleena said "yes." "Good," she replied.

The figure lowered her hood, revealing herself to be a pink hedgehog girl who seemed to be about a year older than Sonic. She had two long quills on her forehead, and quills on the back of her head that were like Sonic's, but aimed more downwards than his. Aleena squinted for a second. "You look awfully familiar…" Her eyes widened in realization. "Are you related to the noble Rose family, by any chance?" she asked as she stood back up. "Indeed." She put her sword away. "I'm Amelia Rose, youngest daughter of the Rose family. Fortuus Delphius sent me." "Hang on, does that mean you're his…?" Amelia nodded. "Yes, I'm his protégé. I got a sense that you were in danger, so I made my way here rather than waiting for you at Westvale. From here on out, I'll be your bodyguard and your teacher. Now let's go, we need to set up camp at the base of the mountain by nightfall."

Elsewhere still, a large man was grumbling and complaining in a dark, wire-covered room as he paced back and forth. "Get me that analysis, already!" he demanded of a robot, stationed at a computer. "I want to know what insolent, little brainless fool sabotaged my factory today. GIVE ME ANSWERS." The robot swiveled his head around. "THE ANALYSIS WILL BE COMPLETE IN A MOMENT, DR. ROBOTNIK."

Robotnik was a scary man, who was more machine than human, though his robotic aspects were largely covered up by his attire. He wore a red turtleneck jacket with white cuffs, black pants with boots that looked like they were part of the pants, a black cape with a red vertical stripe going down the center, and violet pince-nez glasses. The outfit was tied together with dark red gloves. Despite his odd taste in clothing, this particular outfit symbolized tyranny and suffering for many, and the masses came to fear it, with some even becoming fearful of the color red, of which Robotnik was so very fond of.

He fixed up his moustache, and then heard a beep from the computer. "ANALYSIS COMPLETE, YOUR EXCELLENCY. IT'S…" the robot went silent. "SIR… YOU MAY NOT BELIEVE ME FOR THIS, BUT IT'S… PRINCE EVINRUDE." The dictator zipped over to the computer and laughed in disbelief. "I knew he was still around! And I'm willing to bet his siblings are too!" He then had an epiphany, and smiled a horrible, frightening smile. "And I bet that mysterious figure who keeps hovering around the place and shooting up those bounty hunters I hire might just be their wretched mother! I had a feeling, but I wasn't quite sure...!" He let out a disturbing and grotesque cackle. When he was done, he pulled out a device, and issued a memo containing orders on it. "I'll send some robots out tomorrow to go hunt for the little freaks," he said as he wrote down what he needed done. He then pushed a button on the computer, which caused a microphone to pop out. "SLEET! DINGO! Floor 14, Room 32. Now!"

Within minutes, Sleet and Dingo arrived. Sleet was a tall wolf dressed in a sort of thin armor colored an assortment of crimsons and golds with a purple cape. Dingo was an even taller orange & top-heavy dingo with purple rectangular pince-nez shades, green shorts and mechanical boots on both feet. "Yes, your excellency? Is there something we may do?" Sleet asked. Robotnik turned towards him, speaking with a low voice. "Yes. Are you familiar with the city of Jadegully?" "Oh yes sir, it's a forest city located east of here." "Good. I have reason to believe there's a freedom fighter uprising happening there in a few days. I want you to go there, and wait and see if it happens. If it does…"

"STOP IT."

SONIC UNDERGROUND: AMPED