Preface: Hello, again! This'll be the only chapter I upload this week, and naturally, it's the beginning of the end of Freedom Pack. I'll try to upload the other two chapters next week. Anyways, enjoy!
FREEDOM PACK
Previously...after discovering a strange vortex in the middle of the night, Sally Acorn, along with Sonic, Tails, and Rotor, investigated it, leading them to a strange world of small mobian-like creatures. After meeting the Pikwik Pack, one of the new worlds' residents, they set out to help deliver a package while also finding the red Chaos Emerald on a farm. Eventually, the group was forced to split up, finding the yellow and green Chaos Emeralds along the way.
Now...the group reunites at the Blackout Woods...
Roll Call
Sonic the Hedgehog - Issac Ryan Brown: Fastest thing alive. Hero of Mobius.
Miles "Tails" Prower - Kate Higgins: Tech-savvy sidekick. High-flying pal.
Sally Acorn - Navia Robinson: Princess of the Kingdom of Acorn. Leader of the Freedom Fighters.
Rotor Walrus - Benjamin Diskin: Knothole's resident inventor. Mission control.
Suki the Hedgehog - Emma Ho: Pikwik Pack leader. Responsible boat driver.
Axel the Raccoon - Daniel Pathan: Blue-furred speedster. Driver of trucks.
Hazel the Kitten - Molly Lewis: Youngest Pikwik Pack member. Lover of tacos and helicopters.
Tibor the Hippo - Jacob Soley: Softy with a tough exterior. Train operator.
Chapter 6:
Family Lost
[Party Selected: Sonic, Tails, Sally, Rotor, Suki, Axel, Hazel, Tibor]
[Current World: Pikwik Planet]
[Current Location: Outskirts of Blackout Woods]
[BGM: Asher Lenz, Stephen Skratt - A Bright Idea BGM]
As the boat came to a stop at the shore, Sonic took off his life jacket and jumped onto the land. He gave a whoop and stretched. "Nothing like a boat ride and some whale-bot beating to leave you feelin' refreshed!" he said.
Tibor and Suki followed him on land. "I'm not so sure about that second part," said Tibor, chuckling. He noticed some figures waving to the group. "Hey! There are the others!"
The two groups of heroes ran to meet each other. "Hey, bro!" said Sonic, high-fiving Tails. "Did you find the next Chaos Emerald?"
"Had to steal it from some kind of squirrel-bot," said Tails, presenting the yellow jewel, "but we got it!"
"That little robo-squirrel kinda reminded me of Tibor's little buddy!" said Axel. "Remember that?"
Tibor rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. But we were attacked by a giant robo-whale!"
"A robo-whale?" said Hazel. "Yikes! I hope it wasn't as scary as Blackout Woods!" The kitten pointed to the forest that awaited the group. The trees were so densely packed together that not a single bit of light could shine through.
Suki gave a gulp. "I don't think we've ever been to Blackout Woods before," she said. "Did anyone bring a flashlight?"
Just as everyone was going to respond that they didn't, the three Chaos Emeralds and the rhombuses on the package began to sparkle and glow. There's that weird sparkling again, Sonic thought. What the heck is the reason for that?
"Well, I guess there's our light!" said Axel. "C'mon, guys! Let's go!"
Suki looked at the Pikwik Pack. She couldn't see any potential dangers within the woods, but she still felt it was her duty to protect the pack. "Okay, everyone stay behind me!" she said, taking the package and leading the way.
Sally pushed her communicator in. "Rotor, stay out here," she instructed. "If anything bad happens, you know what to do!"
Rotor nodded. "Don't worry! I'll keep watch from your cameras!" he said. With that, the group set out into the forest. As they did, however, Rotor's camera cut to static. "That's weird," he said, typing on the keyboards to get the signal back. "Sonic! Tails! Sally! Can you hear me?" he called. No answer. "Okay, something is seriously wrong here…"
Down in the forest, the emeralds and the package only provided just enough light to let them see where they were going - everything else was pitch-black. The group stayed close together in order to make sure nobody got lost.
While they were walking, Sonic decided to point out something that had been bothering him. "Y'know, guys, there's something weird going on with the package," he said.
"What is it?" asked Sally. "The fact that both the emeralds and the package's decorations are glowing? And back in that tangly vine forest, I thought I saw the yellow rhombus and emerald sparkle!"
"And I did notice that the package and emeralds have similar energy," Tails added. "There's gotta be some kind of connection between them…"
That's when something clicked for Sonic. He looked at the emeralds again, and then the package. The colors were basically the same - green, yellow, and red. "Wait! It just hit me!" the hedgehog called. "The package and the emeralds…are made out of candy!"
"WHAT?" Tails and Sally simultaneously shouted in disbelief.
"Relax, I'm just messing with ya!" Sonic clarified. "It's the colors! They're nearly the same!" He took another look at the green rhombus and noticed it seemed to look more bluish than he thought. "Tails! Do you still have that blue emerald?"
The fox reached into his hammerspace area and took out the emerald that he and his friends had brought with them. It too was glowing. "And on that tag, each color designates a certain detail about the delivery…" he added.
"So that must mean the energies between these colored emeralds and the package are so similar, they're basically the same!" Sally concluded. She grabbed her head, processing the discovery. "Holy cow! Guys, the Chaos Emeralds are more powerful than we thought!"
Sonic smirked. "And to think I thought those Chaos Princesses or whatever were all that I didn't know." Just then, he heard a strange noise. "Wait, does anyone else hear a strange, ominous sting?"
"Yeah, we must be here!" said Hazel. The group had arrived at a tall fortress that essentially blended into its surroundings.
Sonic squinted. "There's another thing bothering me," he said. "There's something fishy about this 'shadowy figure' business!"
"Well, we can't know for sure right now," said Sally, "but in case you're right, let's stay back a little." She walked up to Axel. "You four bring the package up to the door. We'll stay back."
"Oh…okay," said Axel, confused. The three Freedom Fighters stood back and watched as the Pikwik Pack walked up to the door and knocked. The door slowly creaked open, revealing a figure wearing a blue hood.
"Hello?" the figure said in a gravelly, yet booming voice. "What brings you here?"
Though slightly unnerved, the Pikwik Pack carried along with their usual routine. "It's a Pikwik delivery!" they all said at once. "Together we travel…" said Tibor.
"By land, sea, and air…" said Hazel.
"To bring you this package…" said Axel.
"Deliver with care!" finished Suki, handing the package to the figure.
"A package for me?" said the figure. "What could it be?"
"Just tug on the magical tag and see!" said the Pikwik Pack all at once. With that, the figure carefully reached to the tag and gave it a tug. The package floated into the air as the rhombuses flew off of the wrapping and spun around the box, unwrapping it and revealing it to be a clear tube with several white rhombuses floating inside.
"Whoa!" said Hazel, as surprised as the other pack members were. "What is that?"
The figure poked the tube, and the magic energy inside of it created another package out of thin air. "A package generator!" he cried, pulling the package out and tugging the tag on it to reveal…nothing!
"Oh, I get it!" said Axel. "It's so you can make your own packages!"
[BGM: Junkie XL - Dr. Robotnik]
"Yes…but now I need a power source to make them properly…" With that, the figure raised its hands, and a portal began to appear under the bush where Sonic, Tails, and Sally were hiding. The three noticed and jumped out of the way before they were sucked in, but their cover was blown anyway.
"I knew you were a phony customer!" Sonic shouted, accusatorially. He, Sally, and Tails ran in front of the Pikwik Pack, defending them from the figure.
Sally took out her Holo-Blades. "Alright, what's your plan?' she said, threateningly.
The figure chuckled. "Why tell you? I would ruin the surprise!" In response, Sally leapt at the figure, ready to attack, but he summoned a portal in front of himself, sending her into the fortress.
"So you're a portal maker, huh?" said Sonic. "Well, teleport us from this!" He grabbed Tails' arm, and the two simultaneously launched into a Super Sonic Spin Attack, forming the Rolling Combo. Rather than summon a portal to teleport them away from him, the figure simply created a brick wall out of thin air, and the two crashed into it. The Chaos Emeralds they had on them dropped out of their hammerspace area and into the portal that was created below them.
"Stop it!" cried Suki, irritated. "Why are you hurting them?"
"Because without their emeralds, I cannot advance my plan," the figure explained, dropping the brick wall. "But now that you know too much, I shall give you special access to my takeover!" He began to open a portal below the Pikwik Pack's feet, ready to suck them into the fortress.
Sonic peaked his head up from the ground just in time to see Suki start to be sucked in. "NOOOOOOO!" Like a bullet, he leapt from the ground and tackled the smaller hedgehog, saving her from the fate that unfortunately befell her friends. And then the figure pettily kicked Tails into the portal for good measure.
Suki's eyes went wide as she saw the portal close. "No…" she gasped. "No! Come back!"
"Oh, you want to see your friends again?" the figure said, somewhat mockingly. He opened his hands, and suddenly, the group members he kidnapped appeared, trapped in floating cages.
"Sonic!" Sally called out to the hedgehog. "Run!"
"No! We're not gonna abandon you!" Sonic responded. He charged up a Spin Dash and tried to hit the figure, but with a flick of the figure's hand, Sonic and Suki were sent flying out of Blackout Woods and back to the shore. Before his sight of them faded, Sonic called out "We'll come back for you!"
[BGM: End]
The two hedgehogs landed in front of the sea. Suki opened her eyes and found herself on Sonic's stomach. She climbed off and sat next to him. "I-I can't believe someone would do that!" she shouted.
"I know, right?" said Sonic. "He's not gonna get away with this, though! We're gonna go back and-" That was when he realized Suki was crying. "Oh, yeah. You've never seen something like that before…" Suki tried to make out words, but in her saddened state, it just came out as inelegant gibberish. "Hey, there there," Sonic reassured. "I'll be right back." He pushed his communicator in. "Rotor, beam me up."
"Sonic?" Rotor shouted, surprised. "What the heck happened? As soon as you walked into the forest, I lost the signal!"
"I'll explain when you get me on there," said Sonic. And so, Rotor typed a command that activated the traction beam. Sonic felt as if his body was disassembled before being rapidly reassembled onto the Hover Bus.
"So, what happened back there?" Rotor asked, spinning around in his chair.
Sonic walked over to the kitchen area Rotor added, took out a glass from the cabinet, and checked the refrigerator for a water pitcher. "It was horrible. That shadowy figure we were going to kidnapped everyone else but Suki and took the Chaos Emeralds. Turns out the package was a device that makes other packages, and I guess that guy's gonna use it for some kind of evil scheme."
Rotor calmly nodded as Sonic poured the water into the glass. "I figured something like this would happen," the walrus said. "Luckily, I have a backup plan."
Sonic smiled, walking back onto the teleportation pad where he appeared. "Cool. Just gimme a minute. Suki's really devastated about what happened." The pad activated again, and Sonic's body disassembled and reassembled back on the ground. "Want some water?" he asked the smaller hedgehog.
[BGM: Junkie XL - He is My Friend]
Sadly, Suki sat up, grabbed the glass and swallowed it in one gulp. "Thank you," she said, wiping her nose. "I can't believe I lost my family…"
The word struck Sonic like a bolt of lightning. "Waitaminute…family?" he asked. "I thought they were just your friends!"
Suki's eyes went wide, realizing her secret was out. "Uh…I didn't it mean it like that!" she insisted. "C'mon! Let's go save them!"
Sonic grabbed her, preventing her from running away. "Ah, ah, ah! The cat's outta the bag! And you're not leaving until you let it catch that mouse!"
Suki realized Sonic was serious and gave an unwilling sigh. "Okay…" The two walked back to the sea and sat down, sticking their feet in. "You see…I don't really know the family I was born in," the smaller hedgehog began her story. "And when I met the Pikwik Pack, it felt like we were friends immediately. But then we started living together and delivering the packages together, and…" She gulped. "I realized I want them to be my family." She looked up at Sonic and was shocked to see he had a completely straight face. "Why aren't you laughing?"
"Why would I laugh?" said Sonic, shaking his head. "Honestly, the only funny part about this is, why don't you just let them be your family?"
"Because we can't," Suki insisted. "We aren't…how do you say it…blood-connected."
"That's a lousy reason and you know it!" Sonic protested, taking his feet out of the water. "Family ain't blood! Tails, he's basically my little brother. The other Freedom Fighters are basically my other siblings." He blushed a little. "Well, except for maybe Sally…My point is, if you want them to be your family, just tell them that!"
Suki smiled. "Well, I did once tell Tibor that he can tell us anything." She shrugged. "I guess I'm a hypocrite."
"Better a hypocrite than a liar," said Sonic. "And stop lying to yourself, okay? Tell yourself how you really feel about them!"
As Sonic put his shoes back on, Suki stood up. She took a deep breath, and said, "I love them."
"Sorry, what was that?" said Sonic, putting his hand to his ear. "I couldn't hear you!"
"I love them!" Suki said, louder.
"Still can't hear you!"
"I LOVE THEM!"
"Aw yeah, now this is happening!" Sonic whooped. "That is what I'm talking about! So, are you ready to go save your family?"
Suki looked at herself. "Yeah. It is my duty after all."
"It is not," Sonic argued. "You're saving them because it's the right thing to do, not because of some moral obligation."
Suki nodded. "Okay, then."
"Good!" Sonic pushed his communicator back to his mouth. "Okay, Rotor! We're ready!"
"Good," said the walrus, teleporting down, clad in a modified backpack and glasses. "Because I'm ready to get dangerous!"
To be continued...and next time: storming the castle!
Next chapter: "Storming Castle Manipulator" Just because they lost numbers doesn't mean the heroes are gonna give up! Sonic, Suki, and Rotor are coming to the others' rescue, and the others can still help thanks to a very special AI! Unfortunately, the shadowy figure isn't quite as oblivious to what's going on as he seems...
Postface: Chapter complete! As kinda weird as it might seem, I'm pretty proud of that little bonding moment between Sonic and Suki at the end. That's a moment I've been waiting to do since the beginning of the story.
I will clear this up - the Blackout Woods aren't supposed to be the forest the Pikwik Pack encounter at the end of A Bright Idea, though the basic idea is the same. Also, the connection between the Chaos Emeralds and the package is revealed - though I am nervous it was a little too obvious. I thought it would be interesting to have the two be connected, since the packages never received any origin in Pikwik Pack, but they seem to be as magical as the Chaos Emeralds. Of course, the emeralds powering the shadowy figure's new pacakge maker is just the tip of the iceberg...
That should be it! Please read, review, and share around, and I'll see you all next time for the castle break-in! Stay diamond, everyone!
-Alfred
~The Pikwik Pack and everything related to them are properties of Guru Animation Studio, LTD. Sonic the Hedgehog and everything related to him are properties of Sega Corp. No copyright infringement with any of these companies nor financial gain was intended in the making of this story. Any resemblance to real-world people or events are either coincidental or done fictitiously.~
