Sonic zipped through the forest into Knothole. He slowed down to return the waves he was getting from the citizens. Many had been pulling their weight, gathering supplies to help sustain the base of operations for the Freedom Fighters.

Of course, there was another reason he was going here instead of new Mobotropolis, and that was that this area was outside the sphere of Nagus's control. Knothole was Sally's territory, regardless of who was king.

Sonic waved at a group of lumberjacks, who were carrying a log to finish fortifications. Apparently a wall would do a good job keeping standard badniks out. Sonic approached the hilled bunker that was Knothole HQ. Sonic had so many good memories here. Life wasn't easy, but the memories were good, and he knew he could trust everyone around him.

Now, he wasn't so certain.

Sonic entered the headquarters and went to the command room. There, a walrus and two chipmunks talked.

"I don't know why, but they are." Rotor seemed to be explaining, with a picture of factories with blazing black smoke stacks.

"He must be stockpiling." Elias proposed. He had been helping out after he was deposed by Nagus. Apparently , the new king didn't see any danger with the previous king working with his sister.

"But it's out of character for him." Sally explained, her arms were tense, which told Sonic she was stressed out.

Sonic cleared his throat, hoping to just finish his "report" and get back out there.

Sally immediately turned to Sonic, "Anything?"

"I ran around three times, I looked high and low. Nothing. Robutnik must be busy, maybe I should knock on his door and remind him we exist." Sonic balled a fist.

Sally smiled, "As fun as that would be to watch, Nagus has ordered us back. I've tried to get him to approve us going out, but unless another freedom fighter group calls for help, we're stuck here."

Sonic shrugged, "Yeah, figures, well that's my report. I'll be seeing you." Sonic turned to leave.

"Sonic!" Sally called out, as though he had already ran away. Sonic looked over his shoulder, "What?"

"I…. We'll talk after this." Sally awkwardly proposed.

Sonic grunted a little in dread, "I'm actually, a little busy today."

Sally paused. Elias cleared his throat, "Do you two need some time to talk?"

Sonic shook his head, "No, I'm was just going to do a-uh- thing." He bolted out of the base, and ran. Where was he running?

He was running, that was all he knew. He zipped through forests, and plains, and sands, until his feet arrived at the concrete mechanical fortress.

Sonic looked up at the large walls, before zipping around to the mountain top as the sirens whirled to life. Sonic sat down behind the rocks of the mountain overlooking the fortress, and thought about his current state.

He was alive, so Sonic was healthy. His heart was upset. Sally had hurt him, she had cut him in a way he didn't know was possible. Now, Sonic didn't even want to be around her casually.

She had demanded the one thing he couldn't do: walk away. Sonic could offer her everything else, but that was the one thing he couldn't compromise on. Then she had slapped him, in front of the whole city. He had never felt so humiliated… and so alone.

Even as they attacked the Death Egg, he had kissed her in the heat of the moment. A swift and sudden act that he had come to regret.

A Drone passed over head, blinking it's scanner a few times before giving up the search. Sonic slumped and ran back to Knothole.

He had taken his chances, and had been hurt for it. Maybe it was better if Sonic was alone, at least romantically. He still had Tails, his lovable little buddy who helped him through the worst of times. Sonic hated to admit it, but he depended on Tails for emotional support.

Sonic arrived back at Knothole, and went into his room. His electric guitar still sat in the old chair that was next to his bed. Sonic flopped on the bed, and stared at the ceiling fan, that circled around endlessly.

It completed another cycle, before starting again, to repeat the exact same thing it had done, over and over again. Sonic growled, only to realize the fan suddenly wobbled as a knock struck his door.

Sonic stood up and sigh, "Sal, I don'-"

When he opened the door however, he was greeted by a male red fox, "Hello, are you-" He gazed at a card, "Lord Sonic the hedgehog."

"I'm Sonic, but I am not a lord." Sonic blinked. Technically he was knight, but that didn't come with anything other than a title.

"Hmm, well lord Sonic, I am lord Frederick." The Fox stated, "I claimed my estate after my father's passing at the hands of Robotnik. I am the last of my family, unfortunately. I have told to meet the other lords of the realm by his majesty king Nagus."

Sonic nodded, before shaking his head with what he just heard, "Hey, man, I'm sorry for your loss. I know that sounds generic, but I really am. I know how it feels to have your world destroyed by Ro-but-nick. Losing parents isn't fun."

"I didn't just lose parents." Frederick clarified glumly, "I lost my siblings, my cousins. I'd rather not speak of it anymore."

Sonic nodded, "Yeah, sorry, but if you need anything…well you should probably ask someone else because I don't exactly have a lot of stuff to give, but I'll do what I can." Sonic wasn't trying to be harsh, but again, he wasn't a lord with tons of wealth. It seemed to be an honorary title, one the king used to manipulate people into swearing allegiance. A trap he had fallen into.

But Sonic also realized something. He wasn't suffering anything compared to what Frederick was. He still had his parents(Albiet, his dad was still a robot), and he still had his…brother. He'd have to give Tails a hug the next time he saw him.

/*-*/

She stood at the top of the stairwell, surrounded by orange and heat.

"Momma." The little fox cried, "Momma!" She searched desperately. Where were they? Did they leave without her?

The little red fox ran down the stairs. The fire seemed to burn all around her.

Fiona opened her eyes, noticing first of all that she was alive. Second, she was in a building, not on the bank of a river, which meant she had been helped. Third, that her stomach ached both from hunger and from a searing gash.

Fiona sat up, and clutched her stomach. There wasn't any wet blood, which was good, but the covers made it harder to figure out how beat up she was. She raised the covers up and looked down. Her stomach was bandaged, but the blood that had soaked through was dried. She licked her dry lips, and grabbed the bandages.

Fiona pulled lightly, and her fur felt air rush in to fill the area. It felt relieving, but the bandages had also pulled some fur, which stung.

Fiona saw the small, fresh scab. Seriously? Fiona thought. That was what had caused her so much grief?

Fiona scoffed, and climbed out of bed, feeling a little wobbly as she hit the ground.

"Hey YOU!" A voice called out, and Fiona immediate got ready to fight. She looked up and saw a young bear, holding cheese and bread in a tray. "You can't be out of bed. You were hurt pretty bad."

Fiona took a moment. She wasn't under arrest, or under attack. Right, there were her rescuers.

Fiona nodded, the helpless damsel would work, "Oh thank you. I am terribly sorry; I just couldn't stay in bed any longer." She clutched her hands in the sincerest looking way possible.

The young bear nodded, "Trust me, I got caught in a trap and had to wait three weeks for my leg to heal, but you need to stay in bed. You'll get better faster."

Fiona nodded, and reclined back onto the bed, "Might I know where I am?"

The Bear nodded, smiling, "You're in Roja, our little village is just east of the City of Roja, in the kingdom of Acorn."

Fiona nodded slowly.

"Is everything ok?" The bear asked.

Fiona nodded and put on a fake smile. She had landed on the wrong side of the river. Fiona had wanted to be in the wilderness, outside of the kingdom's control, where she and the destruti-

They were dead. She realized that. They had died right in front of her. Fiona smiled, "Yes, Everything is fine."

Had Scourge survived? Was that demon still out there? Fiona realized the unfortunate truth. She couldn't leave. She needed a team and a sponsor to get started again. She could go to the freedom fighters? Horrible idea. Fiona would have to deal with him most of all.

She grit her teeth through the smile as the bear came over and set the tray of food on her lap, "Can you eat by yourself?"

Fiona nodded, "Yes, I can move, thank you." She batted her eyes. This village hick was eating out of the palm of her hand.

The bear nodded, "I'll go get the elder, and you can tell him what happened, because you didn't look too good."

Fiona opened her mouth to protest, but the bear had run out the door. Now she had to make up a story about who she was and why she was in the wilderness.

A ram came back, grey fur all around, making a goatee on his snout.

Fiona hadn't wasted the five minutes.

"Good afternoon miss…" The ram asked.

"Aria." Fiona wasn't exactly a fan of that name, but she needed one that wouldn't get her caught.

The Elder Ram nodded, "My name is Bill, and this Oswald." He gestured to the brown bear that had been taking care of her, "I would like to ask you some questions about your injuries."

Fiona nodded, " I'll try to help when I can."

Bill nodded, "Thank you. You had nasty gashes on your stomach, can you tell how you got those?"

Fiona lowered her head, and mustered a slightly terrified face, "I was… I was walking down a road up the river… and a beast attacked me…he was huge, and-and…" She pulled out the terrified card. It worked like a charm.

"Please, miss Aria, don't strain yourself." Oswald Stretched out a hand.

Fiona shook her head, "Sorry, I was ambushed… by the Lightning tribe. They attacked me when I was walking along the roads north."

Bill frowned, "I see. Do you believe they are still north?"

Fiona shook her head, "They seemed to be moving, so they are probably gone."

Oswald breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good. I was worried that our children might be at risk."

"Children?" Fiona asked, suddenly somewhat worried.

"Yes, our village children love to go north to pick mushrooms and berries. They went out this morning, and if they got hurt, well… I couldn't forgive myself for not accompanying them." Oswald lowered his head.

Bill nodded, "And I would take the blame for their deaths, demanding that you look after our guest instead of protecting them. We should still send a few adults to protect them, in case there is danger out there."

Oswald nodded, and turned asking a question now, "Do you have any family or a home you need to get to? I can go into town and get you a ticket with some of our money."

Fiona blinked. That was actually pretty generous, but she didn't have to lie on this one, "No, I was moving north to try to improve my life, but I lost everyone in the attack."

Oswald lowered his head, and Bill spoke in a low voice, "Poor child. To lose everything while still so young. You may stay with us. Until you are ready to leave, or you may chose to settle here. The more the merrier."

Fiona put up a fake smile at the realization of how stupidly trusting these villagers were, "Thank you. I'll try not to be burden."

/*-*/

The snow provided a cooling sensation to his wounds. They closed, but were still somewhat inflamed.

Johan's body was new, not harden by the glories of war. He would have to purge this weakness, but first, he needed food. He was wolverine, which made finding it easy.

The scent of strong fur indicated powerful opponents nearby.

Johan sniffed as he walked before feeling the tremor reflected back into his feet. He began to trudge forward. He would find his food soon enough.

/*-*/

I Am writing shorter Chapters to better manage the story and maybe update twice a week. If you guys want larger chapters, be sure to let me know, but also know that it will extend the time between updates.