Chapter Eight – Rogue Squadron
The journey back gave Sally time to reflect. She now had a city to turn around. They travelled above the clouds, until they thinned out and Sally could her home coming over the horizon towards her. It was beautiful spring day, as the approached the city, very different to the conditions of which she left it. She was also thrilled to see Mobotropolis again but feared how hard it had been it by the Winter. It had been one of the hardest and worse Winter's on record for the area, with horrendous storms and freezing temperatures. She wondered if anything would be still left standing. As awkward it was to leave, she was glad she did. It meant that her and all of her people survived, with no casualties. Yes, the Mutant Movement had been good to them, the now it was time to go home.
She was stood by one of the windows of the flying bus transports, with her brother by her side. Elise had insisted on accompanying her home. Sally had wondered if that was wise. Sonic was still out of action and hadn't been seen in weeks and with Elise being second in command, it officially left the Mutant Movement leaderless. But he had assured her, that they could cope for a few days. Sally sighed. Her thoughts went back to Sonic, and she preyed that he was alright. If anyone could figure it out, Uncle Chuck could. Elise didn't say much on the matter, didn't need to. His face said it all. He was extremely worried. He too highly respected Sonic but also feared him, know that if he was to turn, Mobius wouldn't stand a chance. Their transport bus was surrounded by many other, taking all of the rescued Mobians home.
However, a lot of the Mobians hadn't wanted to go home and had stayed with the Mutant Movement. They had found long lost families and friends and had built new lives with their new friends. Sally didn't blame them. She wasn't going to force them. But it meant that the number of people returning with her was significantly smaller then when she left. Lupe and Bunnie also had similar issues and as a result, less then half of all the people wanted to return to Mobotropolis. She was beginning to wonder if the Kingdom of Acorn could survive the oncoming months.
Sally watched Mobotropolis come slowly towards them and realised it was different. Sally was expecting change after the Winter, but this different. Too different. Elise, who had been looking through the window over the shoulder, moved to for a better look, and noticed it to. The city looked like it always did, the grey metal expanse set in the countryside, but Sally didn't remember the red and gold banners everywhere. Each of the blazing a simple of two intertwined hooks in black again them. Sally didn't recognise that symbol at all, and noticed to her horror, movement down in the city. It should have been abandoned. But not everyone had left Mobotropolis when the evacuated happened, as Sally thought, some stayed behind.
Elise took one look at the banners as they came to view, and immediately ordered for the convoy to be turned round. Sally was about to ask why, when they seemed to be hit by severe turbulence, completely out of nowhere. Several people screamed. Sally was throne to the floor.
"What's going on?" She asked, as Elise helps her to her feet. He growls.
"We're being shot at!" He spits. Out of the window, the people in the city had build a catapult out of scrap metal and was using it to throw petrol bombs at them. Primitive but highly effective, and one of them hitting any of the flying transports in the wrong location, could destroy them. Sally saw all this for herself.
What was going on? She was dumbfounded. This was her city. Why would they be shot at? Either way, she had to decide and quickly. Her people's lives were in danger. Does she turn back or risk trying to land, to who know's what reception. Elise grabbed her, to help her stay on her feet, as the turbulence was now getting worse.
"Who is it?" She squeals. Elise was gasping.
"Rogue Squadron!" He hissed. Sally's eyes widen. She had heard that before and instantly remembered one name linked with it. Geoffrey St. John. She'd left him behind, completely forgetting all about him. But then she was overwhelmed with fear, because it wasn't just that filthy Skunk down there, who Sally wasn't surprised, had survived but ordinary people. Families. Children. Who had just endured the worse Winter's on record was absolutely nothing. Sally dreaded to think what the butcher's bill would have been like.
She looked around at the frightened Mobians around her. Now was not the time to add to the death toll. She grabs her brother.
"Turn the convoy around, get them to safety!" She commands. She meant her people, all of them, to be taken back to the Mutant Movement. She hoped her message would get to Bunnie Rabbot and the Robians, and Lupe of the Underground, who were on other transports, to go back. Elise agrees and barks the orders to the drivers. The flying transports immediately begin to turn and speed away. Soon, the petal bombings stop. They were safe.
Sally turns back at Mobotropolis. She looks at her brother.
"I have to go down there." She asked. "They won't shoot if it's just me on my own." She stammers. If Geoffrey St. John was in charge, as she suspected, then he wouldn't hurt her. He still loved her, but it was still extremely dangerous, as it wasn't guaranteed. Elise wasn't happy, but he did agree. Sally was right. Someone had to find out what was going on.
"Fine!" He spat. "But I coming with you!" He leered. Sally growled. She was not a baby, she didn't need looking after.
"I'll be fine." She huffed. But Elise smirked.
"Oh, and how are you going to get down there?" He sniggered. "Won't you need a lift!" He hissed, buzzing in annoyance at his sister, from his large insect wings coming out of his shoulders. Sally sighed and backed off. Elise was right. She couldn't fly and they weren't allowed to land. She couldn't go down to the city without him. They both nodded and agreement. It was at times like this that they wished they had Sonic's enormous power behind them. But he wasn't here. This was for the House of Acorn to deal with, alone. As the convoy headed back the Mutant Movement, Elise told the others of their plans, and then moved his sister to the door of the transport and opened it. The wind rushing against their faces. The sun blinding them against the almost clear sky.
They both looked out and nodded. This was new territory for both of them. Sally had never been carried by a mutant like Elise before, and Elise had never carried anyone. Quite simply, Elise wasn't Sonic. Were his wings strong enough for both of them? They had to find out. They could let Geoffrey St. John win. With one last look, brother and sister take a deep embrace and Elise throws them out of the open door. He opens his large dragonfly-style wings, similar to Charlie's but larger, and beat them as fast as he could. The were more then strong enough to carry his weight but could they take his sister's too? They struggled, as the siblings began plummeting towards the ground. Elise using all the strength he had to slow their decent. It worked. He quickly realised that he couldn't carrying his sister in flight but he could her to ground safely. It was now he really envied Sonic's sheer power, as he carried three, as easily as anything. But now, he had to land them. Gritting his teeth, his swung them around and so they were feet first and they landed, just outside the city limits, with such a thump, that they were both forced to roll out of it.
Elise looked back is sister, who had been clinging on to him for deer life. She was fine, and he would have laughed, if they weren't both immediately surrounded, by a mob of people brandishing everything from pitch-folks to swords. They were a variety of species , all of whom were wearing rags, and all appeared to have an electronic implant sticking out slightly out of the side of the head. Both the siblings gulped, and got to their feet.
They were immediately ushered inside the city, towards the Palace, and what greeted Sally was her worse fears. She spotted a grave digger just outside the city, who was burying the dead, rows and rows, hundreds of them. A lot of the graves frighteningly small. Sally gulped again, as she was forced away into the backstreets of Mobotropolis, and found them in a worser condition then when she left them. They were partially flooded, under a foot of water, as the intense cold had froze ans subsequently burst every water and sewer pipe in the area. The smell was awful. To her complete horror, there were people living in those streets, and from the looks of it, had been there all Winter.
Both Sally and Elise were absolutely stunned. The entire city was checked before they left. Sonic did it himself. No one was here. There had to be two reasons for these people to be here. One, Sonic missed them, which is extremely unlikely, or two, they moved in after they left. But why? Why moved to such as inhospitable place? And at what cost? Sally thought back to the graves. Up to now, she had seen mainly adults surrounding her and her bother. Males mostly, none of them looking in the best of health, but few females and children, and those females she did see looked extremely ill.
Soon they were steered out of the backstreets, to the main street that lead to the Palace. Sally knew it well, and again, found it flooded, in several inches of murker black, stinking water. Everything looked dark and dingy despite the beautiful day, and the Palace looked no better. As she walked this street, she saw, various set of eyes looking at her from the shadows and wondered how many people were actually here. She suspected thousands, and there was coughing. A lot of coughing. Especially down this main street. Tears of grief could be heard down one side street as someone had passed, as the situation went from dire to desperate. As she and Elise was lead up the main Palace doors, the looks from the crowd of people who had taken them there had turned from anger to outright despair. These people needed help. They were sick and they were dying.
But they were Rogue Squadron. They were not her people. They had chosen to be here. But Sally frowned.
'Chosen or forced?' She wondered, looking at the implants again. She'd heard Rogue Squadron commanded loyalty, but did they force it. She shuddered as she suspected so, as who would choose to come here? She knew the conditions here would get dire. It was why she and her people left.
Now she and Elise were in front of the main doors. They looked at each other as they were pushed open for them. As they were escorted inside, the main entrance of the Palace had been completely redecorated, with the red and gold banners, each bearing the symbol of Rogue Squadron. Here to, there was the deep intense smell of the sewers, as even the Palace had gotten away scot free from the cold. There were also signs they it to had been flooded, by several feet of water. But that had long since drained away, and was in the process of bing dried out, but it left a strong smell of damp that cut through the smell of the sewer. As Sally made her way through to the Great Hall, she was thinking how much more appealing the Mutant Movement was right at this very moment, and was incredibly glad her people were there and not here.
As she looked around she was incredibly disheartened to find that a lot of the House of Acorn's family heirlooms had either been damaged or taken away, leaving very little of worth left. There was nothing left for her here anymore. Was the city still worth fighting for? It was now a total dump.
Sally sighed. For her people, no. But for the people trapped outside, who may have been forced to come here, yes. She caught a glance from Elise. He too, was thinking the same thing. The people outside needed help. It was up to them to help them, no matter who they were. It was one thing that Sonic had taught them both. Time to make him and their father proud.
Time to find Geoffrey.
They entered to Great Hall, to Sally's utter astonishment, to find it empty. All of the walls were bear and several of the windows had been blown in. The smell of damp was even worse as the giant hole in the floor that Sonic had created in getting Sally and her friends out, when they got locked in was still there, and was dripping with water. Sally shivered as the draft up through it was extremely cold indeed. The giant screen that used to hang on one of the wall, had crashed to the ground, and computer console had been completely trashed. At the far end of Great Hall, was the raised platform that housed the throne. Lounging across it was Geoffrey St. John, now de-robotised and completely in his element, not noticing at first that he had guests. The ugly Skunk was in his finest attire, in a high ranking gold and red uniform of the Rogue Squadron, completely triumphant in his acquisition of the throne.
Several girls, extremely thin, were slaving over him, all completely helpless to disobey. Sally noticed they too had implants and guess that Rogue Squadron had gotten robotising and brainwashing down to a fine art. She knew exactly how that felt and dreaded to think what he made those girls do, considering they were all the same species as Sally. She shuddered. Elise, on the other hand, was getting extremely impatient and had seen enough. He didn't personally know Geoffrey St. John but had heard enough by reputation. His temper flared.
"Geoffrey!" He growled, the voice carrying along the large empty hall. The Skunk finally looks up and spots Sally before Elise. He smirks evilly. He gets up off the throne and walks towards them as the siblings are poked from behind to approach. They meet at the base of the raised platform. Geoffrey grins inanely.
"Well, well." He hissed, straight at Sally, completely ignoring Elise. "You finally show up. I was beginning to wonder. Couldn't stay away, could you." He leers. Elise was about the object but Sally quickly silences him. She had realised that Geoffrey had no idea who Elise was and had thought he was just a simple bodyguard. Nothing more. Sally figured that maybe they could use this to their advantage, somehow. Elise quickly catches on and falls silent. Sally takes a deep breath. She absolutely loathed Geoffrey but she now had to challenge him.
"Enjoying my throne, are we?" She spat, in return. Throwing the malice back at him wasn't difficult, she hated him that much. Geoffrey laughed and returned to the throne.
"It's mine now!" He sneered. "You left it for the taking." He shrugged. Sally growled.
"I left it to save my people." She spat. "What about your's outside?" She grilled, pointing out of the window. Geoffrey shrugs. One of the girl's serves him a bowl of fruit. He grabs her.
"Not my problem!" He hissed, and proceed to do something highly explicit with her which make them all squirm. Sally, unimpressed, desperately trying to shake it off. That is not how a King behaves. She sighed.
"Oh really!" She spits. "How many children have you lost?" She huffed, folding her arms. Geoffrey looks up at the siblings, and goes white. The death toll on the people of Rogue Squadron had been absolutely brutal. They had come here, through the thick snow, a company of one hundred thousand strong. Now, only one thousand remain, as all others had either perished in the cold, or to the diseases that had ran rife in the weeks that followed. Quickly simply, all of the children were gone. Dead.
Sally could read this all over Geoffrey. But that wasn't going to stop him. He had the throne of the Kingdom of Acorn, he was going to keep it. Not matter what the costs. Even if he completely wiped out Rogue Squadron in the process. Sally rubbed her face. She dreaded to think what Geoffrey St. John did in Rogue Squadron to be made leader. How many people did he blackmail or even kill and now he was completely willing to sent his entire faction down the pan get what he wants. Sally was fighting every instinct to let him. Rogue Squadron were not her people but she knew that were people out there who have been forced into this, like those serving girls. If she didn't fight them, no one would.
She gritting her teeth. It was incredibly frustrating. She looked at the throne. Did it even mean anything anymore? She there and then had to decide as a Queen, what was more important.
"Geoffrey!" He spat. "The Kingdom of Acorn is dead. That throne counts for nothing. You have to leave, before your people perish." She pleaded. Geoffrey leans forward, growling.
"No!" He spat. "This Kingdom is mine. I am not leaving." He shouted. But Sally sighed. The Skunk was condemning his people to death.
"But the Kingdom of Acorn is dead. There is nothing left. You must leave." She pleaded again. But now Elise really objects, breaking his silence. He cuts across Sally before Geoffrey could reply.
"Whoa, Sally. I wouldn't say the Kingdom of Acorn is completely dead..." He growls. But Sally spits back, before he could finish.
"What are we, Elise? A place or a people?" She hissed. Elise looked at his sister with a look of both astonishment and extreme pride. For she was exactly right. Sally had decided there and then, that the Kingdom of Acorn was a people, not a place, and that her beloved Mobotropolis, the city that she was fought for years for, was dead. A combination of Geoffrey St. John over the years and the harshest Winter on record, had ripped the entire city apart. It was now completely beyond repair. Nothing could be done for it.
Geoffrey didn't reply, he just stared at Elise. Slowly the recognition appeared on the Skunk's face as he realised who Sally's companion was. A smirk appears as he sits back in the throne.
"Elise Acorn." He sneers. "Arn't you supposed to be dead?" He shrugged. Elise didn't answer, he just folded his arms, in absolute disgust. So Geoffrey pushes his advantage.
"Pity that." He leered. "That was not what I had arranged." He hissed, his lip curled. "Let me guess, that dam Hedgehog got in the way." He swore. Geoffrey hated Sonic. He always foiled everything.
Elise's temper exploded at that. To hear that Geoffrey St. John had arranged for his death at the beginning at the war against Robotnik was one thing but to ridicule Sonic for saving him was quite another. He'd been incredibly loyal to Sonic since that day, and took the comment very personally.
It was obvious that Rogue Squadron were not experienced at all in combat because they had not disarmed Elise before allowing him to enter the Palace. He had been throughly unimpressed with what he had seen so far, but Sally had warned him that he wasn't seeing their father's kingdom at its best. But he could see, however, that it would have been an incredible place, and wished he'd had the opportunity to see it in its heyday.
The huge anger swelled up inside of him and he grabbed his sword, which he always wore, drew it, and ran straight for Geoffrey. The Skunk, surprised to Elise with a weapon, recoiled in his throne. Both Sally and their escorts were both caught off-guard and weren't fast enough to stop him. He was going to kill Geoffrey.
But something stopped him. Or someone. He came straight through the window to the right, which a crash, and ran straight for Elise. He slipped slightly as though he was struggling to control his feet. He was extremely fast, almost picking him up clean off the ground. He was large, wearing black, with large blue dragon wings and quills. The wings flapped all over place until he managed to fold them away neatly. This seemed to frustrate him hugely. He shook of glass from the window, as if it was nothing. His very sudden appearance made everyone jump. Sonic himself was fuming.
"Whoa!" He spat. "Trust me, he's not worth it." He growled. "If he wants to be the King of this dump, then let him." He smirked.
Both Sally and Elise stared, Elise backing down. They were both glad to see that Sonic was alright, and back to normal but that was going too far. For two reasons. One, Sonic wouldn't have just crashed through the window, he would have flown in through the front. He had too much respect and two, that was unusually rude. This was still the Kingdom of Acorn to some degree. It may have been a dump, but to actually say that was a different matter. This was very unusually brash for him.
But there was something different about the mighty Sapphire Dragon. He hadn't been seen in weeks and now, he was acting somewhat strange, like his personality had been changed somehow. He seemed to have four heavily integrated wires, which were glowing with blue light, running from his forehead, down the sides of his head and neck, and down under his t-shirt, to what Sally could only guess was to his heart, or in Sonic's case, the Power Rock. Other then that, he looked in perfect health, better then the last time she saw him.
Geoffrey St. John was in absolute panic. He was cowering, shaking uncontrollably, in his throne. He'd never seen Sonic so large and so powerful. The last time he saw him, he was just a mere hologram. Now in the flesh, he was a lot bigger and a lot more powerful, and the Skunk knew he stood no chance against him. But Sally was glad he was here. It meant that Rogue Squadron was now no longer a threat to her or her brother.
But his attitude was way off. He been so gentle and so caring since they'd met in his new form that his current lack of care, as he was indicating to leave was seriously out of character. What about the people outside?
She fumed at Sonic, spitting this comment at the mighty dragon. Sonic bit his lip.
"Sorry, Sally." He shifted. "It these dam things." He spat, pointing to the integrated wires in his head. "Uncle Chuck successfully recalibrated the Power Rock, stopping it from corrupting but he had to run these wires from it, to my head, to give me back the control." He sighed. "However..." He spat. "Uncle Chuck is no brain surgeon. He accidentally altered my personality in the process. Making me now somewhat brash and a little careless. But don't worry your pretty little brain about it. I'm fine." He grinned.
Sally was torn. She was seriously impressed at Uncle Chuck for fixing Sonic but throughly unimpressed at the Blue Blur. Sally couldn't believe what she was hearing. 'Pretty little brain!' This was no laughing matter.
She lost her temper. Proceeding to rip Sonic to pieces about his lack of care for the people outside. Sonic held up his hands.
"Hey Sally." He defended. "Do you think I came here alone? The people are currently being rescued, their brainwashing removed and are being treated." He smirks. Sally jaw drops. She runs to the window and sees a long line are about five flying battleships, all extremely heavily armoured. Flying through the sky slowly towards them. Sally was overjoyed.
"You brought the Armada!" She said, incredibly relieved. Sonic scoffed.
"Yes." He grinned. "But it seems your throne is very popular today." He giggled, his voice thick with sarcasm. Sally frowned, frustrated.
"What is that supposed to mean?" She hissed. Sonic moves over to the window besides Sally.
"Because that Armada is not mine!" He spits, pointing out of the window. Everyone stares. But it was Geoffrey who spook first, finally finding the confidence.
"Then whose is it, then?" He stammers. They were all very frightened.
Sonic swings rounds with an evil look on his face. He knew whose it was. It was the reason why he'd been preparing the Mutant Movement for years. His lip curled.
"Robotnik!"