merendinoEmilano: Glad you liked everyone's thoughts. There's even more in this chapter
These chapters are getting a little smaller. I have one or two characters focused for each chapter, but the third one is a slog to write for. So I try to give them something. Granted, This one is Johan and Sonic.
/*-*/
Sonic slumped down as they stood over the city. His burns were certainly killing him. They were all across his chest, and arms. Sonic was…exhausted. He hated the feeling. It was rare for him to ever feel so tired, but it seemed to hit him more and more as time went on. He closed his eyes against the wall, the sound of gunshots creating an odd lullaby as allowed himself to slump down.
"Sonic… what are you doing." Tails sounded frustrated.
Sonic opened his eyes, "Just a quick nap, I'm… I'm just a little." He felt warm fur wrap around his chest, stinging from the open burns.
Tails uncurled his fluffy appendages from Sonic, "You're hurt… pretty bad. Are you going to be ok?"
Sonic didn't answer. The air had an odd paradox, cooling the burns, but also feeling sharp and chilling at the same time. He was hurting bad. Sonic nodded, and gave a weak thumbs up, trying to reassure Tails.
Tails frowned, not looking convinced. Sonic stood up, and walked, slowly feeling better as he moved, "I'll be alright. Don't worry about me."
Tail nodded slowly, his face torn between a sort of begrudged look, and a sad, guilty state.
Sonic walked over and hugged him, "If you want to help, you can be my second in command. I know you want to lead these guys, and I'm not really cut out for it. I'm sorry man."
"Sonic… are you really going to be ok." Tails sounded nervous.
Sonic tried to nodded in the hug, "I'm good." He said breathlessly.
They broke the hug right as the sound of gunshots died down. Sonic looked at Tails, who looked nervous. They ran to see… the legion had surrendered.
They held their hands up, their eyes were terrified. Sonic wasn't quite sure why… until he realized how the Freedom Fighters had been moving. They had all moved as a group, which meant Johan could be a part of this attacking force. He seemed to be less keen on taking prisoners.
Sonic held up his hands, "Calm down. You guys will be fine. We aren't going to hurt you all. I'll make sure of it."
His men still had their guns raised, but Tails was quickly going around, "Lower your guns. Guys, we won, don't shoot them."
Sonic saw the middle legionnaire lower his hands and he walked up to Sonic. Sonic got ready to fight, if things got rough. This legionnaire was a white Wolf with a mechanical eye and left arm. He seemed to be pretty strong, and would probably be a hassle to fight.
The wolf held out his right hand. Sonic stared at it for a moment, and took it.
"Well played, Sonic the Hedgehog. Well played. We are at your mercy." The Wolf sighed. He clearly wasn't happy with the defeat, but he was graceful about it. Sonic almost felt bad for winning so handily.
Sonic smiled, "You guys are pretty tough, gave me a run for my money." Sonic tried to laugh it off.
"Spare us the plea-" The wolf started, when Sonic heard a call out from behind him.
One of his men, a bear stood in attention, "Sonic, you need to come see this."
Sonic looked at the wolf legionnaire, and stated clearly, "Come with me."
Sonic heard the urgency in the bear's voice. Sonic followed him across the street to a warehouse. When the door was opened, Sonic could tell something was wrong, purely by the smell. It smelled awful, like someone had taken a crap in the hot sun.
As he walked inside, Sonic realized why. He felt… calm… but horrified at the same time. Sonic saw cages, packed with mobians. They were filthy, and underneath them sat… what came after eating.
Sonic jerked his head towards the wolf, "What the heck is wrong with you! Have they even been fed?"
The wolf shifted uncomfortably, " We fed them of course. Eggman wanted them to eat two meals a day. They were to be sent back to be roboticized. Of course, I was not going to make my men clean up their… messes."
Sonic felt a mixture of fury and understanding within his soul. Eggman was clearly to blame, but Sonic still felt angry. He couldn't figure it out though.
Sonic turned to Tails, who looked mortified. Sonic placed a hand on Tails' shoulder, "We need to let them out." He turned to the Wolf, "What's the code?"
"521679432." The Wolf sighed.
Sonic zipped over to the gate, careful to avoid the mess on the floor, "5217-"
"6" The Wolf clarified.
Sonic growled, "-679432." He placed the code on the first locked cage. The door opened, and the mobians looked at Sonic…terrified.
Sonic cleared his throat, "Come on, we aren't going to hurt you. We're with the kingdom."
A mobain goat held her kid close. Sonic held out a hand in the most none threatening gesture he could muster. Slowly the mobians crept out of the hole.
Sonic came back to the wolf, "Is there water running in the city?"
"We have baths." The Wolf answered vaguely. Sonic wasn't sure if he liked it, but it was better than nothing.
Sonic looked at his men… and the reality of who they were set in. The way they looked at the women, the eyes of hungry men.
Sonic growled, "Alright, Tails… Can you get the rest of them free. I'm going to have a talk with our men."
Tails quickly moved to unlock the cages while Sonic walked outside, "Alright! Listen up."
The Penal Soldiers passed glances. Good enough.
Sonic growled, "We found innocent people here. I want them to be taken to get a bath, and served some food. If you guys try anything… ANYTHING… You'll find out just how bad I can be when I'm angry." Sonic tried to sound fierce. Johan would have really completed it with a roar… and probably more gruesome details.
Sonic was met with some laughter.
"Why not have a just give the ladies a good time!" A boar laughed, snorting over himself.
"We've a hero's reward." A Mobian wolf called out.
Sonic frowned. He needed to keep them in line. He suddenly regretted giving these guys a second chance. Sonic needed an out. Johan could have….
Sonic growled, "Fine… I'll give you to the wolverine. If any of these people get hurt, touched or even looked at funny by you… I'll hand you over to him. We'll see who laughs then, won't we." Sonic forced a grin, but the threat was scary…even for him. The result was perfect, though.
The men's laughter disappeared, with a somber, almost scared look. They'd heard the stories, and seen the proof. They looked nervous,
Sonic watched as the scared mobian citizens carefully walked out of the warehouses, and were led to the baths. They looked so sad and miserable, even after they were liberated.
Sonic jerked back to the wolf who seemed to be in charge, "You didn't even give them baths!" Sonic couldn't help his angry, surprised state.
The Wolf stood strong, "I wasn't expecting to keep them long. We were waiting on a signal from Eggman that they were to be… processed."
Sonic frowned, "You weren't going to get a signal. We took the city of Ostlet already."
The Wolf Growled, clearly not liking Sonic's tone, "You have us surrounded?"
Sonic licked his lips, caught off guard, "Somewhat. We still need to take another city before we join with our front line, but Yeah, we're closing in. The Wolverine proposed it."
"I heard from my cousin about a wolverine up north. I heard it was a monster. I also hear they've gone extinct. Your kingdom must work with monsters." The wolf growled.
Sonic shook his head, "Someone send him and his cronies to Sally." A penal Soldier grabbed the wolf and dragged him away. Sonic walked back into the warehouse that housed what must have been three thousand mobians, all crammed within cages. Sonic saw the cages open, as Tails finished up letting them out.
Sonic smiled at the citizens who had been stuck in the cage for who knows how long, "Hey… It's alright. We're here to help. You guys are safe now. Come on, let's get you all a bath, and some clean clothes."
Tails followed them, clearly feeling filthy after having to step in the brown sludge.
Sonic left the room as quickly as possible. He followed Tails, and found the bath houses. Unfortunately, He found out why the legionnaire had been so vague about the water temperature. The water at best was slightly chilly. He sank in and shuddered, quickly looking around for soap.
His eyes landed on a ledge at the edge of the bath house, and a bar of white, which did not help with the fact that the walls and outside were white. Still, he scrubbed up and down his body, hissing when the soap touched his burns. It was good soap, and that was the problem.
Sonic cleaned himself up, cleaning off soot and oils, which were oddly present, but then again, he had been around a lot of gun fire lately. Sonic quickly cleaned up, and realized that there were no towels. Which meant…. He'd have to run out. Sonic manned up and bolted out of the bathhouse, ignoring the chilling wind as he zipped into the nearest house, and grabbed as many towels as he could. He ran into other houses, thinking of how many people were going to be using the bathhouses.
Sonic returned to the bathhouse, and found Tails… slumped. His ears dropped, and his heart felt… depressed.
"Hey buddy, how are ya?" Sonic tried to sound upbeat.
Tails sighed, "I'm good."
Sonic forced a chuckled, "They didn't have any towels… I got some for everyone."
Tails nodded and slowly turned around. Sonic's burns were starting to act up. He set down the towels, and turned to leave.
"Sonic… can you stay here…please." Tails asked, nervously.
Sonic turned back to his little buddy, and nodded. He walked over to a chair, and sat down, with the towels on his lap.
He didn't remember what happened next. He awoke in a bed, with warm sheets and a nice… comfy pillow.
Sonic turned to see Tails curled up next to him, keeping him nice and warm with the fluffy appendages. He at least wasn't mad at Sonic anymore… Sonic hoped. He closed his eyes, and held the little guy closer to him.
Sonic found himself once again in the mysterious land of his dreams. Gun fire rang all around Sonic's astral form as he drifted over a trench which weaved within itself. He saw the same men with black hair and blue eyes which had been joking so much before, now desperately pulling back the bolts on their rifles, firing in a mass of black metallic flesh. These were not machines; they were certainly alive. These black creatures held rifles of their own and fired back, their posture seemed beastly… more than mobians. Jagged, razors resided in their mouths, making their maws seem all the more intimidating. Barbed tails descended from their rears. They seemed to charge in mass from a jungle, rushing for the trenches.
The soldiers quickly responded, "What are we doing!" one shouted as he fired into the mass, reloading, stalling the charge.
The one who must have been in charge hesitated, firing at the creatures, "I think we're making a last stand. They wouldn't risk any more men for us." The officer sounded only slightly older.
Sonic felt… sad for them. Their faces as they turned to each other in the brief peace before the next charge seemed register the horrifying truth: They were about to die.
"We should have left when we got the retreat order!" Shouted The soldier who had raised the question. He seemed to panic with every action.
"And leave the wounded?" Growled the officer, "I wouldn't leave you, so I won't leave them." His hands shaking told Sonic how scared they actually were.
The soldier slumped down, his rimmed helmet hiding his face, but his voice being clear enough, "Bloody hell. I'm about to die here, and I'll be forgotten. I'll be just another face, because you all couldn't leave men who were basically dead."
"Yeah, I'd march through what ever ides of hell to get to them, and I'd do it all for you." The officer's shaky voice rippled across the trench, "And I might be the only Teskan commander who would. I'm sorry lads, I really am, but now we have a choice. We can surrender, and let those filthy dark guards tear our muscles off our bones, or we can make them earn their keep!"
He seemed to hope for a cheer of triumph, or a battle cry. All he got were weak nods.
"Alright gentlemen, it's been an honor." The Officer bowed his head, and picked up his rifle. Sonic looked deeper into the trenches. He saw men with bandages all around their chests, some with bandages around their heads, all of them in pain.
"ENEMY TANK!" Shouted one of the soldiers. The officer, soldiers and Sonic all turned to where the "dark guards" had come from. A large slopped piece of metal, a tank, rolled forward on two treads.
"Get down!" Shouted the officer, and everyone dove as the gun fired. Sonic was glad he was a ghost-thing, because the shell went right through him. Sonic didn't expect for it to explode behind him.
Sonic hovered over the small crater in between the trenches. He looked back up, oddly hopeful for people in his dreams. Sonic saw a pod on slope, firing several bullets out at the trench. Two of the soldiers fell back. The tanks seemed to be getting closer. More dark guards charged the trench from behind the tank.
A sudden flash struck the sloped tank. It glowed before exploding in a brilliant flash of light, sending bits of metal all around.
Sonic turned and saw… Young Johan, sitting out of hatch with a strange gun that had a cylinder attached to it.
"What the hell have you been doing!" Johan shouted, "We gave the order to pull back!"
The officer seemed to recover from the shock, "Jonathan, are we glad to see you. We tried to get out, but we had wounded… did you break open a corridor?"
"No, I just happened to avoid- Of course I broke open a corridor for you. Get your wounded and get out, Now, don't respond, just go!" Johan shouted as the officer opened his mouth. Sonic saw several stretchers being used to pulled the wounded.
Johan quickly turned his gun and fired into the forest, Sonic saw more dark guards fall down. Johan shouted into his tank, "Logan, Prioritize High explosive! Daniel, focus on clusters, other Daniel, keep the front clear!"
Sonic saw more Dark guards charging, and the tank seemed to light up, guns firing in every direction to keep the Dark guards at bay.
Meanwhile, Stretchers were being carried next to the tank. Sonic saw what must have been three hundred people carrying a hundred stretchers. There were more on the trench, but they seemed to be moving to leave.
"Tank, on our left!" Johan shouted. The square tank turned its turret and fired right as a tank identical to the one before emerged. The tank shook, but it remained strong. It fired its gun in retaliation, which hit the side of the boxy tank. The shell deflected, but hit the front tread, cutting it off.
"ARMOR PIERCING, ARMOR PIERCING!" Johan shouted. His tank fired back and the enemy exploded. The dark guards shrieked in terror, and ran back into the jungle-forest.
Johan seemed… calm… oddly calm. He only let out a slight breath in relief. He climbed out of the hatch, pushing the gun aside, and called out, "Stephen, come look at this."
A square hatch opened from the front of the body of the tank, and a black haired man crawled out, "Wha- oh come on!" The guy, Stephen groaned.
A large man with red hair walked out. He had green eyes and a freckled face, "What's up- on man."
Johan gestured to the tread, "Can you fix it?"
Stephen blinked, "Here? Not like this. If I could avoid getting shot I might. We should just scuttle her and get back to base." Stephen smiled hopefully.
"How long would you need to fix it?" Johan asked, tapping his foot calmly. It was weird how little he seemed to panic. Sonic didn't like it.
"I would need about ten minutes without a bullet in my neck." Stephen held out his hands, "Or, we could leave a nice boobytrap for the Shadows when they come to check it out."
Johan climbed on top of the tank. He pulled out a wrench, and unbolted the driver's hatch.
Stephen sighed, "I was afraid of that."
Johan stuffed the hatch under his uniform, "Logan, you do exactly as he says. Sevs, You keep that front up. Daniel, get your anti-tank rifle. Keep any armor off me. I got the flank."
The sound of screeching and engines came from the forest as the last of the men in the trenches disappeared. Johan jumped off his tanks with his large gun in hand.
Sonic opened his eyes, and saw Tails looking at him, "Are you ok?"
Sonic blinked, "Y-yeah…. What time is it."
"Time to eat… and then… to our last city." Tails muttered. Right… this little experiment was over, and Sally could get back to leading the main army.
/*-*/
Fiona found the morning to be surprisingly calm. She stirred awake to the sun slowly rising, which was a nice break from the cloudy days. Her stomach felt fine, and she found herself in an oddly neutral mood. Fiona stretched out of bed, and even the chilly breeze didn't seem to hinder her normal spirit.
Fiona got dressed and walked outside. The air was cold, but the rays of the sun seemed to warm her up. Not to mention the smell of warm food being prepared. Fiona did have one stop to make before eating breakfast.
She visited the infirmary-building they had made out of a storage shed. Fiona saw the several bodies laying there in the cover of candle light. There was a heater working from the limited generator the army had, but aside from trying to rig something together, they were stuck relying on firewood.
Yet for Fiona, the surprise she felt in the room didn't come from the hurt men or the smell of ointment. It came from the fact that Sally was there, in the infirmary with all of the men she was supposed to command. Fiona half expected her to be in her quarters, drinking a glass of wine and forgetting about the world. Yet there she was, sitting there by her wounded soldiers, whispering to them, a patting the parts of the mobians which weren't bandages or scorched.
Sally's eyes met Fiona's. The two starred only for a moment, Sally scowled, and Fiona felt her anger rise. Sally had that effect on her. But cooler heads prevailed, and Sally went back to talking to the wounded soldiers.
Fiona got down low, and whispered, "Thanks for having my back." She said it to someone who she was pretty sure was asleep, but it took care of her checklist. She moved up to the next mobian, who turned his head, "Oh hey… don't feel too bad about me, I'll be back in action in no time."
Fiona smirked, "Sorry I couldn't help you." She admired his spirit, but she still owed him an apology. She frowned and bowed her head.
"Don't be so down. I'll be back up soon. A pretty face like yours should never frown." The mobian Wolf laughed, before wincing.
Fiona continued down the line of mobians, trying to thank all of the fifty men who were injured. Then Fiona left the building, feeling… strangely sad yet happy. It was odd, like she had done something… kind of good.
Of course it had to be ruined, "So… do you really care about them? Or are you still putting up an act?" Sally spoke with such a firm, cold tone, Fiona thought she was being interrogated again.
Fiona felt so defensive, she opted to skirt around Sally's little trap, "I might be either. I might be both. You'll never know." She found a great deal of joy with her semi-immunity pushing Sally's buttons just right.
Or so she thought. Sally smirked, which immediately sent red flags off in Fiona's head, "Alright… Play your games. I've got all I need out of you."
Fiona grit her teeth, "What's that supposed to mean?"
The Chipmunk walked off, "You'll see."
Fiona felt an odd distant fear creep its way into her heart. What was Sally planning?
Fiona found her way back to the mess hall and sat down at the table. Sausage and toasts, which was fair
enough. Fiona's issue came from thinking about what Sally was saying. Did she find out about something? Fiona kept her tracks covered pretty well, so what was Sally planning?
Fiona could have kept her mind on that thought for hours. She hated to admit it, but Sally was a terrible enemy to have made. What ever Sally was planning, Fiona needed to be on guard. The dark realization set in that Sally didn't need an intrinsic plot. Sally was a commander, and Fiona was a prisoner-soldier.
A feel of dread set it. Sally could simply order her to be at the front lines, and then leave her to die. Fiona had small inhibitors that said Sally wouldn't do that, but they were drown out by the reasons she should. There was almost no downside.
Fiona was so panicked, that she almost missed the sound of everyone gasping. Fiona shook her head, when she saw the half-roboticized rabbit coming in through the west gate of the city. Behind her stood two hundred or so mobians, with old rifles. Carts of Ammunition, food and other amenities came into the city to help the soldiers with their stock and goods.
That put Fiona's heart at ease somewhat, as the additional ammo made the threats of the Eggman not seem so dire, and her storage was running low. On the other hand, she was that much more expendable now that Sally had more men coming in.
The rabbit and Sally talked and the seemed to chat, probably sending one-liners at each other. Fiona momentarily relaxed enough to finish her dinner, and go to her post. She was set up at watch where she could contemplate her situation. If Sally was going to have her killed, she couldn't afford to wait until she knew.
Fiona needed insurance. Someone who would come in and keep her safe. Fiona really wished she had gone with Scourge when he showed up. Now she was potentially screwed…
Fiona thought for a moment. If she could not keep herself secure in three days, Fiona would leave in the middle of the night. They didn't seem to keep watch too closely.
She would leave, join up with Scourge, and work from there.
/*-*/
Johan would have enjoyed the morning if he weren't so aware of just how terrible the commander within their army was. The mere presence of the fake-wolf Antoine was enough to ruin his day. How and why the princess would give him command of their already failing military force eluded him. He saw no virtues within Antoine, only a man who believed himself superior, as opposed to true superiority.
Still Johan prowled among his pile of corpses. The snow seemed to seal in the freshness of the bodies, despite being a day old. Johan continued to chew the corpses, eating their limited meat. They were to leave soon, which was good, as Johan had worn down his supply of food. Strangely he heard a noise.
His instincts took over, and his head perked up. It sounded like metal being stuck. His curiosity got the better of him, and Johan crawled towards the noise. It came from a building towards the northern gate of the city. The building was large and square. It reeked of fecal scents.
Johan entered, and saw the source of the noise. Several of the animal people who inhabited the land were inside large metal cages, much like the ones used to transfer slaves from fresh conquests. These cages, however, were far too populated. The Saxons would transfer maybe ten at a time, and would only be reserved for the most disobedient slaves. These cages held maybe a hundred, with several cages in rows and stacked on top of each other.
Johan felt conflicted about the situation. While his employers would like to see these people freed, Johan saw no reason that they should. These people allowed themselves to be captured, why should they not endure the punishment of their cowardice? If Johan freed them, what incentive would they have to get stronger and fight against their enemies?
Johan made sound logic, but he knew full well that the princess would be outraged if he abandoned the people whom she was tasked with protecting. Johan crawled over to the cages, and tore them open, much to the people's fright.
There must have been thirty to forty cages. If he were a slaver, Johan would have been well fed. Instead, Johan found not gratitude from the people he had freed. Only confused and scared stares.
Johan growled, "Go into the city, and get cleaned up. Now!" Johan barked.
The people ran out, their stained and messed up clothes leaving trails in the dark ground. They all should have been punish for such weakness, yet they got live lives without fear. Disgraceful. Johan attributed it to God's pragmatism of permitting the weak to exist.
When Johan returned to the city, he cleaned himself with ash from the fires and the snow. With his paws clean, and the looks of awe from the men as they saw the thousands of people repopulate the city.
"Oh yes-yes. I am of total credits for this great achievements." Antoine shouted from the top of his podium. Johan let out a roar, and smashed the snow.
Antoine quickly cleared his throat, "And of course of all yous are the beings of helpfuls." The fake-wolf understood at least.
Antoine calmed down, "Now I will sends these people back to the princess, and we shall continues on to the city."
Johan simply headed to the gate and waited. He had no interest in the meager politics and wastes of time that the fake wolf seemed to be so fond of.
Johan slowly realized just what he hated about Antoine outside of his voice. Antoine was civilized, domesticated. He had shaken off any effort to be strong because of the status of nobility. He had fallen into the trap of civilization.
Johan waited, until he saw white movement out of the corner of his eye. Johan jerked around to find Gewis standing there.
Johan growled, "I see you are still here. Do you see the light."
Gewis frowned, "I don't agree with you on a lot of things… but you're right about me saving someone else's life. I won't leave…but I don't want to kill anyone."
Johan sighed, "Then you will die pointlessly." Why were these people so civilized?
The army set out after about two hours. They marched for two days. Over the course of that two days, Johan found Antoine to be insufferable. The next day, they arrived outside of the city walls.
Johan prepared himself for battle, only for the gate to be thrown open. He was certain it was a trick. A red Garden Defender walked outside, with his hands up. He was followed by several Garden Defenders. Johan knew exactly what they were doing, and he hated it.
Johan growled at Antoine, who stood with the army around him, "Tell them to fight!"
"What… no-no-no. We win now because of my fearsome legend." Antoine insisted nervously.
Johan admittedly lost control, and smashed the snow with a roar. What glory was there in that battle. They surrendered? No, they should have fought and died as men, not cowards. They deserved to die!
Johan hissed out of his throat in anger. How dare they.
Antoine smiled, "Well, we shall return to the princess with our prisoners and our honor!"
The men seemed just as confused. They wanted a fight as well. Johan saw the nervous eyes of their enemy as they marched past him. He saw their fear, their cowardice. How they continued to exist without strength or dignity… it upset him.
He couldn't do anything without provoking the wrath of the princess. He would bide him time, changes were coming, Johan knew that much.
/*-*/
So… I guess I am going to ask for reviews please… pretty please. I know a lot of you just read the story and don't really post anything. That being said, I do get really excited when I see people reading into my stories.
What else to say… The reconquest arc is coming to a close. The next big chunk of the story will be very… intriguing.