A/N Howdy! Welcome to the second installment in my series! As mentioned in the summary, this is a sequel to "Gone with the Wind" (Formerly named "Kidnapped") Be forewarned that there are spoilers in this here prologue, so I'd highly suggest reading that story first. Anyways, thanks for checking out this story!
Prologue
Robotropolis, a darkened citadel ruled by the technological tyrant himself, "Doctor" Ivo Robotnik. The human who was once loyal to the Kingdom of Acorn as the minister of war, utilized his power, prestige, and influence to obtain internationally outlawed weaponry and robotics. Using his unknown military might, he launched a bloody coup that spared no one, young or old. Those who managed to survive the initial blitzkrieg soon faced a fate considered to be worse than death.
One such unfortunate individual, Sir Charles Hedgehog, the lead developer of medical technology was fed to his own creation. The machine he had built to aid the injured and terminally ill was corrupted and perverted by the newly founded dictator. The aptly named Roboticizer was an unholy device that converted flesh and blood to lead and steel as well as stripped its victims of any and all free will.
Despite the fall of the Acorn Kingdom and the beloved city of Mobotropolis, a small group of refugees banded together in the village of Knothole. The rural settlement, once used a respite for the Royal Family had become a thriving village and a home to a guerrilla style fighting force, simply known as the Knothole Freedom Fighters.
The small insurgency had proved to be a sizable thorn in the tyrant's side, using surgical strikes to slow down or outright halt production in the city. The group's leaders, the Royal Princess herself Sally Acorn and the infamous Sonic the Hedgehog, had led many successful raids, but the war remained eternally in Robotnik's favor.
After a string of failed missions, morale amongst the combatant group began to severely wain and before long, Sally's leadership abilities were called into question. The group soon found a new and miraculous source of inspiration, when Sally discovered and brought home a tiny abandoned fox cub.
The two tailed vulpine brought back a much-needed source of light and hope that helped the Freedom Fighters to carry on and fight another day. Although the location of Knothole was kept secret from Robotnik, the village's peace was not to last.
A mobian Skunk and a former lieutenant of The King's Secret Service had betrayed his loyalty in exchange for his spared life. Geoffrey St. John had been sent across the globe to destabilize any regional governments that had become to cohesive and thus posed a threat to Robotnik. Ultimately, the former special forces soldier would be tasked with the unthinkable and the unforgivable… Kidnap a child and deliver him to the tyrant.
St. John was successful in his endeavor and had set forth a chain of events that would lead to the ultimate discovery and near destruction of Knothole Village. As a result, a majority of the non-combatant residents fled the village and sought refuge amongst Lupe and the Wolf Pack.
The old village was soon rebuilt and served as a base of operations for the Freedom Fighters. Rotor, with the aid of Sir Charles, had developed a security system to detect any incoming attacks, using technology salvaged from destroyed SWATBots.
Nearly four years later, the Knothole Freedom Fighters had formed a coalition with several other groups in the region and had reclaimed the outer districts of the city. Each regiment worked independently, but a few members from each group formed the "Joint Special Operations Command" or JSOC.
One such JSOC member from Knothole was Miles Prower, the same two tailed fox that Sally had found alone, nearly 13 years prior. He had become a skilled pilot and mechanic. Using his primitively built biplane, he filled several essential roles in the struggle against Robotnik.
With the aid of the powerful handheld computer NICOLE, Tails had employed his skills to perform much needed reconnaissance. The bird's eye view provided much more detailed information on the citadel's lay out, resource distribution, and troop movement than what could be gathered from simple maps of the city.
The pilot also used his plane for tactical insertion and extraction of small groups. The limited squads would provide more detailed recon, execute surgical strikes, and even rescue or recover fallen freedom fighters.
As they pushed further into the city, the fighting grew in not only frequency, but intensity and violence. They required a means of suppressing and or destroying large groups of SWATBots and even mercenaries that had been contracted by Robotnik.
Former military members and bounty hunters from across the globe flooded the city in pursuit of wealth, prestige, and power. The number of mobians willing to betray their own kind was staggering and provided additional dilemmas for the freedom fighters.
The presence of other mobians proved to be not only a tactical challenge, but a psychological hurdle as well. Destroying various combat-oriented robots was routine and free of mental guilt, taking the life of another breathing creature however, rapidly took its toll on morale. Alas, such actions must be carried out and sacrifices had to be made for the greater good, despite the hefty price.
It was because of this very reason that Sally found herself locked in a stalemate with the Freedom Council, that was comprised of several members from each faction. Tails had volunteered to modify his plane to fit weaponry as a means to provide close air support and the proposal earned initial favor from the council. Unsurprisingly, one of the most adamant supporters was none other than Sonic himself.
Despite initial support, debates had been ongoing for weeks, being held in the former mess hall at Knothole village. The arguing, usually stemming from the princess's disapproval, would often carry late into the night with tensions steadily growing amongst the various groups.
"He is a child, Sonic!" Sally scolded the hedgehog as they walked out of the building and into the crisp clear moonlight. "He's done his part! He's done more than we've ever asked of him, isn't that enough?!"
"I hear yah, Sal," the hedgehog retorted in an aggravated manner, "I do. But we've been getting creamed out there, we need to let the kid do his thing. That's the only way we're gonna break through."
The chipmunk remained silent as the two walked toward her private quarters, the chilly breeze sliced through her fur and chilled her to the bone at the thought of Tails engaging in combat. The echoing crickets and rustling tree branches filled her with sadness and anxiety, the usual remedy for such negative emotions had become its own antithesis after the recent confirmation of Tails' proposal.
Her eyes traveled across the open land to the kit's hut. The domicile was dark, an indication that the fox was indeed, sound asleep and Sally found it difficult to pry her eyes away from the window. Just as her hand reached her own door, Sally's body began to shake.
"I've already lost him once," Sally said with a wavering tone and her back still turned to Sonic. "I don't want to… I can't lose him again." With a shake of her head the last words left her lips. Instinctively her hand rose to cover her mouth as fresh, fearful tears leaked from her eyes.
Those blue irises cut through his soul like a knife as Sonic too was reminded of Tails' kidnapping, years prior. He promptly closed the distance and wrapped his arms around the princess and allowed her to weep into his chest.
In truth, Sonic was equally worried but he wouldn't stand in Tails' way. Instead he would pledge his support for the fox. In the end, even if he were to raise his voice in opposition, it would be of moot value as the majority of the council had already voted in favor of the fox's proposal.
"Promise me," Sally's strained yet silky voice floated to his ears and he caught her longing gaze. "Promise me you'll protect him."
"We will," Sonic said solemnly. After several quiet moments, the chipmunk sought refuge in her hut leaving Sonic standing alone under the moon's stare. When his eyes rose to meet the lunar presence, he felt himself being torn in two separate directions.
It was as if the canvas above was a series of shattered skies.
A/N And there was the prologue... Again thank you so much for reading! IF you'd be so kind, leave a review and let me know what you think! As always Rock on and God Bless!