Greetings my wonderful audience. Let me get started with saying I am back to full swing even with my new job of driving on the road. Hopefully the sights and sounds I will see on this new endeavor will improve my writing and I hope to share what I have seen to you in my sceneries in my stories. Second: I am ahead of the ball game with two more chapters already written and ready for the chopping block after I finish the current one I am one. All you dark Legionnaires rejoice after this.
And now to the meet and guts. Sonic, Knuckles and--hehe--'Twan are taking the spot light on this. First time really putting suspense on the for front with a little comedy relief from a new character, which should amuse some of you, I hope. My normal editor is absent due to me being absent so the spelling, grammar and possibly some sentences structures aren't going to be gold. But on my end of writing them and improving...well, I see that I am improving.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything of the original Sonic cast nor the Comic cast.
EnjoY, and please review.
Liberators from Knothole
By: Mauser
His thoughts trailed once more. One couldn't blame him, laying motionless in the wheat pasture, the straws itching at his back, all the while he waited for last light, the forced worker party, and for Sonic to come back. Thoughts helped slave off the boredom and sleep for Knuckles. Granted that most of his life was supposed to be spent in a chamber, guarding an emerald, but he wouldn't be doing it on constant guard like he was at the moment. Even the mind drained energy and strength from the body while in a constant state of full alertness.
But he kept thinking, coming back to the same thoughts that pushed him further into disbelief every time he entertained the same conclusion."I have a brother..." Warmth filled his mind when Aleutian's smile lathered his imagination. It was the perfect escape. The perfect diversion from the afternoon's trials. Aleutian's scarred, however, warming smile had become Knuckles' savior from the dead and the oppressed he had seen–and horridly touched–although he knew Aleutian was desperately looking for the same. Had he truly accepted that Aleutian was his brother? He felt so estranged to him at first, but over time and the course of the sea and yesterday, he felt closer to him...but still so far away. In some lights he still saw Aleutian walking away from him on the day he first met him, his back cloaked in the long black coat he wore, his head cowered to the sanctuary of the wooden floor. That silent whimper of despair. Was it his way of saying that he wanted to talk? Was it his way of saying...he was sorry?
"I should've talked to him more from the get-go," Knuckles coldly admitted to himself. A spark triggered another thought, one about himself. "I wonder if he can talk me out of the nightmares that I know are coming? Gosh...those faces, I can't forget those faces!" He sighed at the coming night, the sky turning blue except with a sickly amber color from the light pollution coming down the planed path. "He is my brother...I've felt it from the beginning, but I think I have accepted it now. I know that is what he needs."
"Where iz he?" fretted Antoine, cautiously gaining his balance on his feet and peering west, over the still tops of the wheat.
Knuckles sat up, gauging that last night was upon them, and agreeing to the underlying message that Sonic was late to come back. "If they found him, we would've heard the alarms by now. Just be patient, Antoine."
"How can you say zuch things. We're dead if he getz caught!"
Knuckles tucked his right leg under his left and carefully began to stand on his feet, gently raising up to peer over the tops of the wheat as well. "Sonic has this gift, Antoine, to do the most stupidest things and still come out on top."
"Oui, and we getz the punizhment!" scoffed the coyote. He tried to smile when Knuckles rolled his attuned eyes at the comment. Well, tried; only failing when he crossed his arms over his bare, furred chest. "Zome plan! he mockingly muttered in the still hot, dead air. Stealing a cold glance at his blue, ruined uniformed jacket, he remarked mentally at Knuckles' "expertly" slashed rips in the back and front of his jacket from the echidna's spiked knuckles. And seemingly adding insult to injury at Antoine's expense, Sonic had dragged the once clean and pressed uniform through the dust and tall wheat grass, turning the blue dyed cloth into a dusty tan color, and fraying the sleeves and liner. To Sonic's amusement, it was all Knuckle's idea to dirty up Antoine's jacket. Prisoner's are never clean, prim and proper.
Pushing his temper aside, he took note of Knuckles' long stare. "What do you see?" he inquired, pivoting his head slightly to the south and further back towards the camp. He could see the beaming white, searchlights of the camp's entrance in the distance, far enough away that eased the coyote's mind of not being seen.
Knuckles took his time in his observations. He could see structures in the distance, large ones at that, but he couldn't affirm his conclusions as to what they were. The brown haze from Eggman's by-product of his refineries lingered heavily across the void, consuming the facility's lights and refinement burn-offs--which Knuckles could barley make out just by the tall stacks that glowed from the spurting flames–like a sponge. He counted six of the plumes, although he was sure there was more that he couldn't see. And the smell! Bitter, sour, compounded with what he could describe as stale kerosene fuel, suffocating what fresh air he could breath in through his nostrils. "But it beats the smell of the dead," he sighed within himself. His crimson fur still had the icky sensation of laying on those dead, bloated bodies. His spine wasn't saved either, chilling and cringing with every fly and mosquito that passed across his ears, helping him relive his terrifying experience just by mere sound.
A long breath rested the dead finally, throwing his mind to his and Antoine's surroundings so they wouldn't become the same. No threats were aroused from his senses, just one timid coyote and a missing blue hedgehog just out for a look-see. "Where is he?" he growled to himself, no sense in letting Antoine become more spooked than he already was. The sun was fading fast in his impatient mind, and not for the better. Within the next half hour, he calculated, night would engross the land, and the surrounding lights were only going to hamper their situation. Knuckles wanted to leave the safety of the field, search for Sonic and drag him back by his pointed ears, and be ready for the passing labor party. If they would ever come at all. His muzzle wrinkled wit his tempered attitude about the whole situation, showing it to the four winds as his eyes laced the tops of the wheats, scanning once more for--
His, along with Antoine's head snapped to the south, the crushing of grain triggering their knee-jerk reaction perhaps faster than they would possibly have done in the safety of Knothole. Echidna and coyote stole quick glances at each other, reading the shared expression that they both had in fact heard something. Antoine was quickest to react from that silent conclusion, throwing himself low to the ground, practically diving for his coat that hid his saber under it, and using caution with speed to unsheathe it without letting the metal ring in the calm air. Letting the sheath fall where it may, he held the hilt sideways with his right hand, letting the curving blade lay flat while balancing the palm of his left at the base of the saber, cocking his arms back and preparing for a driving trust at what or who was coming. Knuckles took instant note of Antoine's stance and worked his way diligently to the coyote's left side, giving him a good berth at the edge of the small clearing they had flattened out in the course of their waiting. Their fixed eyes never left the jumbled wheat, Knuckles bringing his right arm back, fist clutched and knuckles ready to go to work, hoovering his left fist just below his chest for a quick defense if need be.
The rustling crept closer, footsteps becoming pronounced with each passing second and increasing heartbeat. The fighting charge was no stranger for Knuckles, letting his cool consume the anxiety of the impending ambush. Antoine, however, kept adjusting his stance, showing he was unsure of his technique although Knux knew it was sound. Whoever, or whatever, was coming was possibly going to feel Antoine's resolve before Knuckles' had the chance to deliver his. Two heartbeats progressed and so did the approaching threat. The tops of the grain wavered with each passing footfall. Blinking his eyes to reapply the lost moisture from holding them open, Knuckles began to make out a dark blob slowly become silhouetted through the thin gaps of the straw, trumping him to strafe to the left and lowing himself further over his knees. His heart was pounding now...not with fear, but the ecstasy of the coming combat. He loved it, breathed it, cherished it to a point that he wondered if he could ever live without it being a part of his life. He let his face bleed a smile over his charged face, brightening as the figure's textures started to become a little more pronounced.
Antoine revved back his saber, holding it and his breath back...waiting on impulse. The rustling and the ghostly figure was three paces away; enough to give one last cock to his–
"Yo, guys–you awake?" came the pompous whisper of an almost one dead hedgehog.
"Sonic–you idiot!" Knuckles snapped with a hoarse, deranged whisper, his face showing the same. His stance grudgingly relaxed, however his fist were still posed to strike. "I should just throttle you now just for fun, slow poke!"
Sonic peered out through the straw, sporting his trademark smile. It brightened when his emerald eyes fell on Antoine as he brought down his sword, but mustering his loathing face in rallying arms instead. "Juzt do 'et, Knuckles, zo we can be done witz zhez torture!"
Knuckles moved into the source of both his and 'Twan's currently anxiety. Sonic's face coward as he brought his arms up as a "don't-hurt-me stance", holding a slender camera and a pair of silver, ruffled objects out as hostages. Knuckles didn't care, giving the hedgehog what he considered to be a love tap on his right shoulder, but was sure Sonic would hopefully feel it for the rest of the night. "Where the heck have you been, Blue?" he hammered out over his disciplined voice, "and why didn't you say the codeword we agreed on?"
Sonic dropped the objects in his hands and produced a scolded look for once. "I forget it, okay–"
"How can you forget, juice!?" Knuckles festered, letting his mitts ask more of the question than his mouth.
"Hey, it happens."
"Oiu, and zo doez my blade cutting you open, hedgehog!" quipped Antoine, finding his sheathe and putting his saber at rest.
Knuckles studied the objects that Sonic had brought. "What are those?"
"Our ticket in, I hope? What size you wear, Rad?"
"Does it matter?"
Sonic released a "duh" expression on his face. "They're vulcan suits. Y'know, resists high temperatures–"
"Where did you get zhese?" Antoine whispered in panic, examining one after dropping his sword and mouth.
Sonic shrugged. "I borrowed them."
"They didn't see you, did they?" Knuckles asked almost with a growl.
"Believe me, you would've heard the priority one alarm if they did," Sonic quipped, rolling his eyes at the answer. After all, he was the most hunted rodent on the planet.
Knuckles and Antoine collectively calmed themselves, still peering over their shoulders just out of nervous habit. Taking in a relaxing sigh Knuckles brought his attention to the camera that Sonic still held in his hands, the long lens being covered by its respective cap. "Any good pictures while you were out spelunking?"
Sonic's face grew serious, driving Knuckles to the same plane. "Yeah...this is way more than an oil field. Egg-butt has himself a refueling port for his Eggfleet." Knuckles eyes became glued to Sonic's. "While I was taking keep-sake pictures, three ships came in and docked. There was another one coming in, and Eggman has his bots working on a fifth docking port. These things are huge, man."
Knuckles nodded and let his eyes wander in thought briefly before choosing his next question. "What about our ticket in?"
Sonic looked back to the south and over towards the lights. "Come with me...and this isn't going to be a cake walk."
"MOVE, FUR-BALLS!"
The huddled mass took to the speed of a starting train. Christian was lost somewhere in the middle of it, going along with the flow of the enslaved, eyes trained to ground as if he was searching to reclaim his convictions. All was lost to him in his current state of numbness. Being overworked to the point of exhaustion was actually a getaway from the fear of what had became of his Kripta. Never once in their five years of marriage had they ever been separated, and the depression that consumed him from her lacking presence drove away his will to resist the bots. He instead went along with their demands with only the fear of the promise of death keeping him close to reality.
Grime, oil, and the still air lathered his fur. Every step gradually brought him and the rest of the forced laborers towards the camp and away from the scorching refineries that dotted around the docks, two to each dock. The vulcan suits helped to fend off the high temperatures of the five story tall structures, a mass of bulging canister looking scrapers with pipes extending out from the tops that bellowed the brown smoke of the burnt off crude. But with the day hopefully coming to an end, Christian had his suit off, carrying it under his right arm as his left dangled.
A gentle touch scared him back to his surroundings. Relinquishing his gaze from the ground, he brought his head over to his right shoulder where his sagging, itchy eyes met the face of a beagle. He had a carefree smile about him, his droopy ears adding to the warmness that separated the dire situation of everyone's exhaustive state. "You alright?" he asked softly with his ever present deep Slovic accent, never looking over his shoulder to see if a bot was prying into their business.
Christian looked to the front, fixing a tired stare at the back of a racoon's vulcan suit. "I'll let you know in the morning." Sighing, he asked, "I heard we lost three more today?"
"Da," the beagle affirmed under a sigh. "These machines think we same as them. I'd give good monee for show to see them work under conditions they put us unda."
"They are, Mikhail," Christian managed to scoff, "and they're beating us hands down."
"Hm, maybe so...but." Mikhail peered over behind him and saw the nearest bot to the rear of the marching group was well away. He leaned down as he kept pace with Christian's ear. "The bots, you see, they getting lax in program."
The echidna darted his eyes all around him, looking unconvinced. "What makes you say that? Remember yesterday?"
"Da! And I also remember we had six machines marching us instead of four from morning. Diamond pattern I notice. One front, one rear, two sides. Under forced for the thirty of us, no?"
Christian thought he knew what the blotchy colored beagle was hinting at. "And the other twenty of us back at camp, Mikhail?"
"Don't worry my long haired friend. I'm not planning anything...yet."
An anxiety filled sigh. "They're not hair, Mikey. They're flesh and blood dreads."
Mikhail disciplined a quipped chuckle. "Who you tricking, echidna. You pull them back like girl's hair. I just worry about mange...not looking pretty for bots."
"Will you two shut-up," hissed male the racoon in front of them. "We'll be dead by the time we get back to camp."
Christian sulked his head as he scanned his surroundings once more. "You've seen those ships they brought in?"
The beagle snorted. "I'm not blind, Christian."
"That's not what I meant," came the looking reply.
"What are you going to do about them...steal one? Make fireworks? Heh, you need to be free first, no? Work on that, then think of big picture. Maybe you should think of your Kripta more? At least you think straight with her."
Christian shook his head in a depressive way. He was too drained to think of anything else but to eat and sleep. Tomorrow he'll continue to mourn his wife.
Hunching over his hands and knees, Knuckles slid back into the concealment of the wheat field. "They're coming," he said, shifting through the straw before stopping beside Sonic and Antoine. "So what did you have in mind, Blue?"
The answer wasn't comforting. "I'm still working on it."
"What!?"
Sonic raised his hands in defense, grimacing mostly at himself. The vulcan suit was part of his idea. Perhaps the best so far, but getting into the slow, dragging formation of prisoners was taking a good portion of his brain to figure out. Easing himself to the same spot Knuckles had just crept away from, he shifted a few of the standing straws from his eyes and peered at the jumbled group, guessing their distance was maybe a hundred yards, maybe shorter. Being the fastest thing on the planet tend to make distances shorter than what they were. Either way, it wasn't going to be long before they arrived and Sonic was running out of options.
Or so he thought.
Like a predator seeking prey Sonic picked out a sick quarry that he hoped would get sicker.
"Red, get that suit on! 'Twan, look your captured best...and leave your sword."
"Sacre bleu!"
"There's no choice, 'Twan. They're not armed so neither are we," Knuckles said, looking at his own "weapons". His solution was simple; tuck his mittens under the sleeves, letting the bulky jacket conceal them with ease. That was unless Sonic grabbed the wrong size. After he struggled into it, his worried thoughts perished for the suit was too big instead of the previous.
Sonic on the other hand wasn't having as much luck as the echidna. In retrospect the suit fitted perfectly, however the problem was...the suit fitted perfectly. It left hardly any room to shrink himself deep inside of it. "Great!"
Rolling flat on his stomach, he was joined by Knuckles to his left and Antoine on his right, the three watching intently at the approaching mass. "Only four bots...what a joke!"
It was only a matter of time, distance, and dwindling energy before the march claimed its first victim. Mikhail had observed the young female mouse for the past mile stumbling over her heavy feet, trying to keep up with herself and not the group. At his high vantage point he felt like an angel watching the heads of the befallen, becoming the protector against an unseen evil that was worse than the bots. Quickening his pace he navigated through the sea of Mobians while keeping his sharp eyes on the grey, balloon ears of the mouse. Tracking her down at the edge of the mass he caught her under the arms just as her legs began to give out.
"I have you," he announced, feeling her weight fully give out into his arms when he said it.
Dreary, worn and ragged, with her clothes looking the same way, her chocolate eyes looked into Mikhail's in a reverent way which seized his muscles to a stop and let her catch her breath. "I...I'm sorry."
A comforting smile released from his jowls. "There is nothing to be sorry about. We almost there...just bit further."
"Just leave me," she tiredly prayed.
"Out of the question. Before you know it, we'll be back at huts and dinning on sunflower bread and soup. Your strength be back."
A short koala broke from the passing marchers, giving assistance to the young girl, however showing worry and dismissal. "She needs to keep going. Come on, you can do it honey. You have more fight than us at your age."
Saddened disappointment seeped into Mikhail's stomach upon seeing the girl's head drop down to her chest. She was giving into hopelessness. He didn't blame her one bit and wished he do could the same, but others depended on the sight of strength from where ever they could witness it. When one gives in to defeat, Mikhail could count on five more doing the same, finding what they're eyes perceived as an excuse to end their suffering.
"You need to be strong for us, young one," urged the koala.
Mikhail lifted her some off the ground, his efforts spawning a tired whimper from the girl. "He's right. You stay at camp tomorrow. We make sure–"
"AND HALT!"
Mikhail's back bristled from the Eggbot's grueling command; those two words being the most feared throughout the camp. The tired mass slowed to a halt, sounds of their shuffling footsteps becoming faint in the silence of the plane, replaced by the groans of the servos from the bot marching up from behind. Mikhail felt the tension in his throat increase, swallowing it to gain his courage and composure, however finding the tightness never leaving. He knew it wouldn't but one could only hope.
He, and quite possibly the koala, bristled a second time from the voice box of the machine. "What is the matter? Why have you slowed?"
Taking a steady breath, and a prayer under it, he looked over his shoulder as he kept the girl close to him. "She is catching breath. Not long before she better."
"I compute that she is useless. She has out lived her usefulness," retorted the bot dryly.
Mikhail felt the girl come alive in his arms from the bots observations. He adjusted his holding stance and did his best not to bare his teeth when he brought forth his thoughts. "You compute all you want. She is fine. You know nothing of our suffering you put us unda."
"If she doesn't stand, we'll terminate her–"
"You will do nothing of the sort, machine!"
Sonic could feel the fright as with everyone else in the clustered group. He wanted to cheer for what the beagle was dishing out to Eggman's mindless machines, but jeering was becoming ever present in his mind."Just throw her over your shoulder man. C'mon, don't get everybody killed." Looking down the line, a smile beckoned him when the rear bot broke ranks and hastily marched to the problem.
Leaning his head to the side he brought his voice lower than a whisper. "Knux, you see it?"
How could he not? The huddled group to the rear step outwards as their curiosity threw caution to the wind–if there was any–creating a small shield of concealment. Unfortunately, he and Antoine had to cross the twenty foot void to reach it. The dark was working in their favor, however, the low light of the quarter moon wasn't, and the shiny vuclan suits were nothing more than a beacon in the sea of black.
Pressing up on his forearms he inched his way off his stomach, and positioned his feet under him. Glancing past Sonic, Antoine was struggling to do the same. "What are you going to do, Blue?" he asked cautiously.
"I got y'all. If those bozos do anything stupid, I'll shred 'em to the bot-afterlife, and we just rescue these instead of the camp. I'll go when you two are safe."
Knuckles nodded. "Alright. 'Twan? You ready?"
"Oui, monsieur."
The echidna lifted himself further up, balancing most of his weight on his feet. Like a runner waiting for the opening shot, holding his breath all the while, he attentively watched the trailing bot, holding himself steady for his time to bolt. There, the bot closed the distance that Knuckles knew was just enough to make the run. In a flash he was gone. Antoine's delay was expected, however his slowness was irritating to Sonic.
Knuckles crossed the void with his throttling legs, feet rolling to reduce the sound of the dirt rolling under his shoes, his senses on the prowl for threats and fidgeting his eyes behind him, keeping tabs on Antoine. A series of paces under his thrusting arms brought him closer, eyes now becoming fixed on a meandering male fox, thinly built, however becoming the Guardian's finishing line. Knuckles tried to breathe but disciplined himself to hold it more.
His heart stopped when the last bot started to turn towards the field. Snapping his head back which flung his dreads around in the process, Antoine was six paces behind him and dropping back more. If he survived along with the coyote, he promised himself he'd have Julie-Su take him on runs to speed his lazy tail up. This was getting ridicules.
Eyes forward, then back at the bot. It stopped it's turn! "Home free!"
The fox was startled when Knuckles charged passed him, becoming more so when Antoine raced passed him soon after, hard breathing and giddy. The two ignored him as they slowed, stopping when they lost sight of the bots behind the sea of Mobians. But Knuckles didn't expel his breath yet.
Sonic waited for what seemed like an eternity. His green eyes never left the two bots, both still "chatting" with the beagle, and the rest of the gathering party. To his relief it turned further to the crowd, and there, Sonic pumped his legs under his torso. Fighting the urge to go all out, he hammered away at the ground, his shoes never once losing traction or making a sound, clearing the distance in under a second and a half. It sure did feel longer, though. A light skid, a fast turn, and a sweeping arm behind Antoine brought him inside the mass of the desperate. A collective, relieved sigh came over them, pushing past the other mobians as they buried themselves deep within the ranks.
Easing past a turtle, Knuckles navigated the maze of stiffened bodies, looking for a safe crowd he could call sanctuary to hide amongst. To his surprised, baffled, but yet, excited mind...he found it sporting dreads.
It didn't take long for Mikhail to notice the new arrival. It didn't take him quite as long to notice the charging laser the machine had for a right arm whine to life. The policy, one which he and everyone else feared, was if a furry couldn't go on, they were "terminated" at the will of the bots. He hoped the girl remembered this. He'd seen too much life uselessly wasted over the past two days.
"Come," he whispered into her large ear, "the land you die on isn't worth your wants. You're not running to the camp...just light walk. That's all."
The fear of death shook her back from the path of despair. Her shoeless feet found the strength to stand, and Mikhail and the koala helped her up. The tension died shortly after a few steps. To the beagles great relief, the bots resumed their respective duties that most hoped would stay that way.
"You be alright?" he asked, eyeing his question at the koala as well. She only nodded.
"I'll take her the rest of the way, Mikey," offered the koala. "You've attracted too much attention to yourself as of now."
"Da."
Knuckles stood uneasy behind the brown echidna, waiting for the march to continue before he struck up a conversation. He wanted to smile, however he had to carry the face defeat like everyone else beside him, when the letters of the Echidna Security Team caught his purple eyes, wondering if the poor sap still knew his training.
"MARCH, FUR-BALLS!"
The slow grind of the forward motion brought the shuffling sound he was longing for. Pinching his lips and darting his eyes around, Knuckles finally found the courage to speak.
"Hello, fellow Echidna," he whispered under a brightened tone.
The brown echidna's head lifted from the ground and peered over his left shoulder, eyes becoming wide with surprise that amused Knuckles' ego to some degree. "Huh?" he stammered at first. "Where did you come from?"
"Thin air."
"Well, I hope you can disappear just as fast, 'cause I'm supposed to be the only echidna around here!"
Knuckles face frowned at the drop of a hat. "Well, that's comforting."
Christian kept moving forward, leaning his head back for his voice to reach the new echidna. "Who are you?" Knuckles opened the vulcan jacket and exposed his white crest. "Guardian!?" Christian about shrilled in panic. "What...what's going on?"
"Good news," answered Sonic to his left, spooking him even more. "We're breaking you all outta here."
"Done tried; done failed," came the fast reply.
A narrowed brow in annoyance. "We're the party crashers, friend," Knuckles assured. "Call it a career."
Christian fixed his eyes forward, his mind dwelling on his new guests. "I hope so."
Sonic peered off to the right side. He held his temptation to snort when he saw the beagle approach.
He was about to be amused for once.
Mikhail stopped dead with his face dropping in shock from seeing Knuckles. "Ah...they rabbits! They multiply!"
"Mikhail...quiet," Christian scolded under his breath. "We've got a problem here."
"Da! There two of you, Christian. That is big, big problem!"
"Wrong!" Sonic returned, "I'm the big problem. They see me, we're toast."
The beagle shot his head around the four points and continued walking. Satisfied the bots were unaware, he brought his observations to the hysterical group. "If you don't want to be found, stay close here in center. The machines have stopped caring of our numbers. Why you important to them?
Sonic let a grin come across his face at the beagle. A wide eyed nod sufficed for an answer. "Where's 'Twan?" he asked next
"Here," came the coyote from behind the four, his head turned backwards most of the march thus far, and sizing up the rear bot. "So, now what do we do?"
"We waltz in," Sonic said eerily calm. "Can you all hide us for the night...we don't plan to stay long."
"Yeah, sure," Christian answered.
"Put them in hut four, Christian. I'm sure the leopard will be most anxious to meet them."
Three hard nods confirmed the consensus. Looking forward once more, Christian felt his soul spark back to life as a sweeping light from one of the guard towers passed over them. Taking a breath, he relaxed his voice to a more fitting volume. "How did you all find out about us? Was beginning to wonder if all was lost."
Knuckles answered this round. "We intercepted a ciphered message going here."
"Yea, this place has been really picking up lately," Christian said. "Have you seen those ships?"
"You bet," Sonic interjected, "even got a new photo album of them. We'll be back for those, but we are definitely getting you all out first."
"Sooner the better. Christian...we need to tell Lemeans about changes with the bots and schedule."
"What's that about?" Sonic asked.
Christian waved his hand as if it were nothing. "They're loosening up on us. We're actually not due back till tomorrow afternoon. My two cents say they don't want us by the ships."
Knuckles nodded. "I can see that, but loosening up–hardly."
"It has been worse."
"We know," Antoine hissed.
Christian eased his pace some after seeing the entrance gate become active. Looking to Knuckles, he offered his talents of escape-and-evasion to him. "Stay close to my back. They bottleneck us into the entrance but afterwards they let us go our own way. If you have to, grab a hold of my tail."
Knuckles grimaced at the thought. "That won't be necessary."
Nodding, Christian turned to Sonic. "Do the same with, Mikey. Tuck your head low."
"Way ahead of ya, man."
It wasn't long before Christian's observations came true. Sure enough the bots opened the wired gates and bottlenecked the prisoners through the entrance. Knuckles' head was lowered to his chest, it covered tightly by the vulcan suit with his hands tucked inside the sleeves. He laughed at himself for he looked like a space-aged monk. However, his amusing thoughts vanished with the bots's commands, they were the same orders and demands he expected to come from their CPU's; hurry up, move on. He honestly wondered what their big hurry was. It wasn't like they had a wife and kids to go home to.
Entering the compound for Sonic was painstakingly slow. He swore his eyes were fixed to the roof of his sockets as he constantly had them up and sweeping side to side, grabbing as much of a look as he could. When the group's pace quickened, so did his. Mikhail's back had become a tractor beam to Sonic, pulling him invisibly towards the gate but shadowing him from prying sensors. Apprehension soon followed. Getting closer to the entrance, bots lined both sides in good numbers; five...maybe six, he observed, became unnerving to him. He was cramped, no where to run; no where to spin.
Three paces from the threshold his lungs tightened as he held the air within them. One step, followed by another...then the last. His head dropped down lower just on reflex. The shuffling feet all around him tensed his ears, fighting to hear any sort of alarm that may come from his presence.
None did.
Air slipped from his nostrils, expunging his held breath every so softly. But he wasn't out of the woods yet. He continued following the beagle, noticing he was doing the same with Christian. Passing through the first block of huts they turned sharply to the south, coasting a pace faster than they had arrived with. Christian side stepped to the left hut, arriving at a closed wooden door with one step on the ground to gain entry. Just as he opened the door, the whole camp went dark, shunts from the circuit breakers opening to kill the power drowned out the silence of the night. Light, however, poured out from the door, beckoning sanctuary to the five and other mobians that called the place home. Stepping in behind Mikhail, his ears were met with gasps and dropped clothes.
"Where's Lemeans?" Mikhail asked as soon as he came through the door.
A tired, weary, and heavily English accented voice answered through the bewildered onlookers. "Here, Mikhail. Tell me, have you brought a package?"
Knuckles eased his head up, searching for the voice that called from the standing bunks on either side of the wall. Most held vulcan suits and other clothes from the support struts, others totally occupied with a warm, exhausted body.
"Da. And they in good condition."
Silence echoed the summons for the three Freedom Fighters. Mikhail lead the way through the cramped quarters, weeding through the bodies of mobians that stood and gawked at his trailing entourage. Some didn't know who Knuckles was, but most did know about Sonic. And even with their excitement, they held true to their collective selves. Naked incandescent light bulbs hung from the rafters, three total and making the hut feel more like a dungeon to Knuckles' alert mind. As their journey to the rear of the hut neared the end, his surroundings darkened. Christian was right behind him, expressing the same feelings Knuckles had.
"Salutations," said the soft spoken voice. When Mikhail stopped and stepped aside, his body reviled a dingy furred leopard, his eyes wearing heavy from the lack of sleep and energy, slouching peacefully in a hastily made wooden chair. He found comfort with a blue, single breasted shirt, unbuttoned from the collar down to his abdomen, slit with holes from his occupation at the camp. Feet shoeless and propped up on a stool, however a pair of boots at the ready by their master. "I have been expecting you since this afternoon," he continued, smiling and bowing with dignity instilled in the gesture. "You can take off those hot articles, you are safe here now. Brilliant by the way, using those to get in. I have been much eager in hoping you would come. After David told of his encounter in the field and what you had said to him...well, here you are."
"Yea, here we are," Sonic festered. "Mind telling us what the heck has been going on around here?"
"Easy, lad. These walls are thin and they do have ears on the outside. Now, to your question. No doubt you have seen the oil fields and I might add, the docks." Nods were passed around the huddled group. "Well, that pretty much sums it up there. However, I'm afraid though, our use to them is coming to an end." This spurted frightened looks followed by puzzled brows; Knuckles crossing his mitts in front of his chest. "You see, they haven't sent any replenishment prisoners, and more and more of the guard force is going off to construct the docks."
Christian stepped forward, his indifference scribbled across his face. "And you haven't told us about it, yet? We're in this together, Lemeans. Anything effecting our lives should be known to us. Not your little group."
"There's more of you?" Knuckles asked with a hint of a growl.
"One to each hut," the leopard replied before turning his attention to Christian. "Of all people, Christian, you should know about the need-to-know basis. If I tell people who I still don't know, we could all be in a serious jam."
Christian grew angry at the answer. "Ah...okay. And what about those guys from Knothole. Why didn't you tell us about their blitz?"
Lemeans swayed his head around, uncaring. Knuckles wasn't impressed. "Because, Christian, I told them not to. We weren't ready. Since I didn't tell you, more lives were saved--"
Legs became the focal point of his rage, propelling Christian at the nonchalant leopard. "You son of a–"
Knuckles grabbed him from moving on Lemeans, stopping Christian at mid-sentence and mid-flight. Sonic was ready for back-up, watching a gray hare step out from behind a bunk and giving cover to the leopard. Muffled shouts lathered the heavy air, only becoming silent when hard knocks came from the front door. Sonic ducked between a bunk to his right while Knuckles found a nook on the others side, dragging Christian along with him. Antoine froze where he stood.
Seconds inched passed; nothing came of them.
"They're locking us in," Lemeans explained after a few moments, his voice relaxed. "As I said, you are safe."
"If you say so, dude!" Sonic scoffed. Easing himself away from the wall, he stepped back in front of Lemeans, peeved. "So what, you've been waiting for us all this time to come? Why didn't you help the guys from Knothole? They're just as good as us!"
"Were. They were too anxious, Sonic, and their motives were a little different."
"How so, Monsieur?" Antoine asked, tempered as well.
Lemeans relaxed to seriousness, breathing in some. "They were a pair of St. John's agents and they were looking to get out anyway they could. The information they had was of your Commander's interest. If they would have waited a little longer, our time might've come to get out."
"You know, you sound like Geoffrey. You sure you two weren't split from the same gene?" Sonic said, mockingly.
"I'm sure...we just come from the same line of work. When you get back to Knothole, you tell him his operations cover is sacked. His agents in the field are in jeopardy and it's time to sell the house and get out."
"That can be arranged," Knuckles said evenly.
"Very well. Now, I heard you have a plane."
"We are working on one," Sonic chimed in.
"Great. Any ideas? We have a lot of sick here and the nearest village is about two-hundred miles from here. Edgewood, I believed it's called. They're still holding out I gather, right David?"
The young chipmunk from the afternoon made his way to front, smiling eagerly at Knuckles and the rest. "Yes sir. They can take a good portion of us, but I don't think they could tend the ill."
"Okay," Lemeans nodded, then considered in silence. "How about you? Do you have transport of any kind?"
"A boogie," Sonic said, "it's past the sunflower field and doesn't have much in the way of first class seating."
"Can you call for one then?" David inquired.
Sonic looked to Antoine. "'Twan, you have Nicole with you?"
"Oui."
"We can call a cab from Knothole," Sonic bolstered back.
Lemeans nodded. "Okay, what about the guards. There's about fifteen here, maybe less after today."
A slant smile. "We can take care of some of them, but not a whole lot. You wouldn't happen to have any pilfered weapons, do you?"
"Afraid not, Sonic."
Mikhail stepped forward from his post by a bunk. "The bots have weapons. We can take their's once we sack a few."
"Bad idea, Mikey," Christian put in. "As soon as it goes down, they won't give us much of a chance. We need to break and run as fast as possible."
A pregnant pause came over the hut, onlookers watching on while peering through the slits in the walls, watching for any roving bots.
"Hey, what if we nail a few before we make a break for it?" David blurted out.
Lemeans smiled under his whiskers. "I think I know a kid with a sling-shot that could be handy."
"Make sure he get one with pulse-launcher," Mikhail announced with a devilish grin. "Could come in handy."
"We'll see what happens, Mikey. Don't go overboard just yet," Christian scolded, turning his face away from the convening crowd.
Knuckles took note of the hint of sadness but determination in his expression. "Hey, you have me here. Nothing to sweat over–"
"It's not that Guardian." Christian said with a wave, leaning his back against the wall.
Mikhail took the statement as a cue. "Yes...tell them what they did to you, my friend. Those pigs have no mercy for even our feelings. Rotten scum they are. I spit on their hulks when they cease to move."
Knuckles turned his attention to Christian this time, his expression asking the questions.
A swallow and a blink started the pain. "They took my wife away from me yesterday. And her brother. It was like they had it in for me, Guardian."
"Just them?" Sonic asked, turning his attention towards Lemeans.
A curt nod from the leopard. "Displeasing, isn't it."
Knuckles brought sincerity to his stare, peering deep inside Christian's. "They were Chameleons, right?"
Christian nodded under a grimacing face and streaming eyes. "Yeah."
"We were zent here to find a code word or zomethizing about Chameleons," Antoine pointed out.
"Yeah. We got wind of this from a new cipher that's been a real pain to crack," Sonic added.
Lemeans peered back to the gray hare behind him. "Leo, they grabbed those two not long after the execution?"
"Yes. Promising us freedom if we do as we're told."
Knuckles put in this time. "Who said that?"
"It came through the speakers," David explained. "Eggman watches us from time to time here, but he sounded as if he had a cold."
"Cold?" Sonic festered. "Kinda nasally?"
"Yea..."
"Ohhh, zhat ain't Eggman." said 'Twan eerily.
"Yeah, that's Snively," Knuckles concurred. "And they took them away right after the execution?"
Christian nodded, remaining speechless.
"Now that doesn't make any sense. What would baldy want with two Chameleons?" Sonic questioned in ponder.
"I don't know, but we better inform Knothole of our findingz." Antoine said.
"Out of the question, I'm sad to say," said Lemeans I don't trust any transmission leaving out of here to be unheard. Best we ask for a transport before we breakout and only then."
"I'm game with that," Sonic agreed.
"Very well," bolstered the leopard, slapping his hand on his lap in excitement. "Lets feed our travelers and get them bunked down. We might need to throw you under the rug come morning, but the beds here aren't quite as bad as they look."
And that they did. The trio of Freedom Fighters possibly never had Sunflower bread and soup in one sitting, and Knuckles knew he never would again. It was all dry and tasteless. Thoughts of why they hadn't broken out to begin with helped ease his tensioned mind. Bunking down for the night, he grew restless, hopping to sleep but knowing it was going to be haunting. The idea of the enemy just mere inches away from him wasn't coming easy.
Then he reflected to his past thought, one that became his escape once again from the ever present danger from the outside. "I have a brother..."
o how was it this round. Lemeans is a bit of a bastard isn't he. And what do you think of Mikhail. Please leave your reviews at the door. Tell me how I am doing.How is the plot coming?
Well, our next adventure goes back to the Albion. In the name of Dimitri.